SeaWheeze Half Marathon: Round Two!

A few days ago I received this in my email inbox:

After crushing last year’s goal of running my first half marathon, I was hesitant to run again because I hate running in the heat. But, if you know anything about me – I love a physical challenge! Last year it was hot, really hot, towards the end (and that was only a little after 9am!) so this year I’ve learned a few lessons that I know will help me this year.

2013 SeaWheeze tips:

Tip #1: Be prepared for heat. Wear very little clothing – trust me, you’ll thank me later.

Tip #2: Carry water on you. I didn’t train with water last year and I regretted it immensely when I hit the 15km mark. This year I’m buying a water belt!

Tip #3: Don’t change ANYTHING on race day. Make sure that you are 100% comfortable with all clothing, footwear and assescories you have on you. The only thing I wish I would have done differently here was fine tuning my play list a little better. I have a tendency to let my mind wander if I’m not feeling the music.

Tip #4: HILL TRAIN! If you take anything from this post, make sure you run the Burrard Street bridge and up West 4th to the lululemon store and back over the bridge. This was tough last year in the sun, I’m definitely going to do some practice runs over the race course – especially this league.

Tip #5: Have fun! I have many more friends running the race this year so I’m looking forward to doing some training runs with them. Go to the pre-race expo, get there early and do the group warm up, enjoy the after race brunch and go back to the yoga and concert to end the day!

It’s true that this is technically a race – but when it comes down to it, training for any kind of competition, test, presentation, performance – it’s all about enjoying the path to the race.

Don’t be too hard on yourself, but don’t cheat yourself either. Train hard, race hard!

2013 SeaWheeze goals:

1. Finish in under 2 hours. Last year (my first ever half marathon!) I was aiming for 1:50-2:00… and I crossed the finish line at 2:08.

2. Don’t stop. I let myself get overwhelmed towards the end of the last race and ran/walked the last 3 km – that will not be the case this time!

  There’s no backing down now!

Are you running the 2013 SeaWheeze? What are your goals for the race?

Crazy little thing called life

Hey strangers! If you are still following my blog, thank you! Honestly it means so much to be that my blog as been such a creative and authentic medium for me to share my random life achievements and to have readers like you follow along and cheer from the side lines (you know who you are!).

I know it’s been a while since I posted anything about health and fitness so I wanted to post a little update to tell you what I’ve been up to since running a half marathon in August. I’m back into full fledged kettlebell fitness training. I set a goal to get certified this year and after two failed attempts (they had to cancel the sessions twice) – Agatsu is coming back to Vancouver!

As some of you might not be familiar with kettlebells, I’ve included a few of my recent workouts to give you an idea of the types of exercises and variations of workouts:

(I haven’t written out the exercises – but I definitely can if anyone is interested just leave me a comment below!)

I’ve personally noticed amazing results through kettlebell training – increased cardio, fat loss and strength gain – and intend on working even harder (it’s seriously all about what you eat!) to get the body I’ve been working toward. I’ve combined 3-4 kettlebell sessions with one run (around 10km) a week. One of my sessions has been with certified personal trainer and kettlebell instructor Rosa Coelho from Rocofit.com. Rosa has been incredible at helping me stay on track with my food intake (eating 95% paleo at the moment), refining my technique in all areas of kettlebell moves and helping me prepare for the course.

What is paleo/primal diet? Check out how Rosa describes what the paleo way of eating looks like:

I have to say that I feel so much better, lighter and have started to notice results only after two weeks! Check out her YouTube channel for workouts and meal ideas :)

Or the moment that is where im focusing all my spare energy.. oh and did I mention I just got a new job? Things are progressing PR career wise and life couldn’t be any better!

What are your goals for the rest of 2012?