I showed up for my first Foundation Training class. Upon arrival I found out it was the pulling series. Thank goodness I have experience with pulls ups.

We started up with a rowing warm up. 500m. Then we started by learning the basic crossfit pullup which is the kipping pull up. The coach was great in terms of breaking down steps and allowing us to try things out. The only thing I thought was missing was the lack of verbal cues. He didn’t really walk around and offer individual advice.

We then graduated to using bands which definitely helps and was perfect for beginners. I’m still not strong enough to do unassisted pull ups so this was great for me.

After the lesson we did a Workout Of the Day (WOD). We had to find a partner and then complete 1000m row (combined with partner), 75 pull ups, 150 air squats and then in the remaing time AMRAP (as many reps as possible) of burpees. You couldn’t complete an exercise at the same time as your partner so you had to wait until they gassed out before you could go.

My partner and I (yay Aaron) got 49 burpees combined! Second place. But I’m not competitive or anything.

I even got my first war wound!

So before I even went, I explored the CrossFit Liberty Village website and clicked on the getting started button. They explain that you attend your first Foundation Training session complimentary. They also explain that you need to attend 5 foundation sessions before integrating into regular workouts. I get that consumers can read about this information on the website but noone was really on hand asking if it was my first time or if I’d like anymore information at the facility. Our coach for the day taught the class, was answering some questions but then had a private client so I didn’t even get a chance to ask any questions. Noone was behind the desk after the class. Everyone else in the gym seemed to be in another room working out themselves. So CFLV big miss on customer service and transitioning new students into paying customers that continue to come.

 I’ll give them one more chance as my friend Heather said she’d go with me to another foundation class. It’s also right around the corner from my office so super convenient for me. Let’s see if they can covert me to a customer yet…

Update: I followed up with an email to the box and the owner sent me off the pricing and next steps to completing the Foundations course! Yay customer service.

It’s Warrior Dash training time and all I know is that the hills at these ski resorts that obstacle races choose are killer. So it’s going to be a summer of running hills.

Here is your pinable workout for your next hill session!

My body was spent after this workout and doing a crazy leg workout the day before.

Group Shot!

And then I got to meet Jess’s fur baby Annabelle. Notice we made the same face!?

If you watch from 5:16 – 6:49 you can see our cameo in Jess’s daily vlogs on her YouTube channel.

The Wall of Shoe Porn

I tried on New Balance, Salomon, Saucony, La Sportiva and Brooks shoes.

These Salomon Speedcross 3 CS runners below look amazing for winter running. They were ridiculously warm on my feet. Perfect grips for snow or mud and had the quicklace technology. It’s almost like velcro shoes for kids

I’m also a huge fan of New Balance shoes because they fit my narrow feet and always have great support. These were perfectly light and so comfortable but when comparing the treads and the toe caps from the NB to the Salomon ones, Salomon won out.

I ended up going with the lighter (and less expensive!) model of the SpeedCross 3 as these were a bit lighter, still very warm so I can still wear them in the winter but my feet won’t die a sweaty death during summer, spring & fall workouts They also were a prettier blue colour vs. puke green but that didn’t affect my choice at all!!!!

I told my Mom that I wanted to research camelpaks for my trail running adventures and for my half marathon training and poof the MEC version which is 2L and a perfect pack size backpack appeared at the checkout as an early birthday present. I’m going to be well hydrated and well griped for my upcoming adventures. I cannot wait to get them out on the trail!

Happy Trail Running!

I’ve completed 5 challenges so far and feel like I’m rocking!

1. Written Validation – Sign up for a competitive event and post your registration as a sign of your commitment.

Since I’ve already announced I’m running three obstacle races this year and that my team goal is to kill our Warrior Dash time this was an easy challenge to get up! So I had to post my Warrior Dash registration proof!

2. Personal Record – Post a photo or video of a record you are proud of. Could be something measurable or a personal victory. Anything that represents a time you really owned it.

If you’re a loyal blog reader than you’ve probably already read my Tough Mudder recap. Super proud of myself. The fact that I crossed the finish line is my personal record!

3. On A Mission – What pushes you to work harder? In 25 words or less, write your personal athletic mission statement.

Mine is To Be Better Than I Was Yesterday (see photo below). The image is actually me achieving a new pb in weightlifting so it’s also my challenge number 4 complete.

4. Forward Progress – Mile-by-mile, rep after rep, minute-by-minute, show your progress to the community and yourself. Keep track of all of your extra miles and above and beyonds here.

I hang cleaned 75lbs on Thursday, March 9th! I started with 10 lb plates on either side of a 45lbs bar and have worked my way up to 3 10lb plates on either side! Woot Woot!

and

5. Pin It – Create a What’s Beautiful Pinterest pinboard of images that represent determination, commitment, perspiration and grit. Click on the photo to go to mine!

Next Week I’m going to tackle Up In Arms, #NOFilter, Get Fired Up, Two A Day and Jess, Morgan and I are going to attempt Push Up & Excel together next Monday!

Come join the amazing group of women going after their goals and sign up here! You can better yourself and potentially win some cool prizes. Win win if you ask me!

I had the lovely opportunity to try out some MPG Sport over the past few weeks. I received the purple Elixir tank, grey Lithe crops & the black series bag to try out!

MPG Sport Outfit @ Run Club

I’ve worn the outfit for a lifting workout with my trainer and for a run to see how they’d fair for two different types of workouts. I love the tank because it’s tight enough up top but doesn’t cut into my skin. High enough to cover up the cleave and loose around the bottom so it’s perfect for running. I hate wearing tight tanks when I run. The capris have a draw string so they don’t move. I love this feature for lifting workouts as I wasn’t constantly pulling them up after squatting

I had a dinner date at Fresh after my lifting workout so I just changed out of my shoes into knee high boots and threw on a long sweater over top of my tank and rushed off to dinner. They are fashionable enough that I could hang out in them at a healthy restaurant for dinner after my workout.

Now voila the Black Series Bag. This is is hands down my new favourite gym bag. It has two side pockets on both sides that fit my shoes. I can even throw in a water bottle and umbrella with the shoes! Inside there is a laptop sleeve that I’ve been sliding my MacBook Air from work into. There is also another pocket that I can throw hair elastics & lifting gloves into so they don’t get lost in the bottomless bag. I can fit a toiletry bag for showering, a makeup bag for pretty facing, 2 hair brushes, a hair straightener, work clothes and a couple of food containers too! It’s a long bag so easy to carry on the subway as it doesn’t stick out far from my body and knock people. Honestly I’m in love with this bag.

Ok now the giveaway part!!

What’s really awesome about MPG is that they want to generously gift one of my readers with a top & bottom from their collection!!! The winner of the giveaway gets to pick their choice of top & bottom (excludes outerwear and depends upon availability!)

The contest is open to both Canadian & US residents.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In addition, I would love if you would check out their Pinterest boards. I follow their motivation & yoga boards.

I have this image pinned to my fitness inspiration board! My dream is to get better at arm, head & hand stands.

Savings Tip: If you go and like their facebook page you can sign up for their mailing list and receive 25% off your first order.

*Giveaway is open until 11:59 pm EST on May 23, 2013.

**MPG sent me the items mentioned in the blog post, however I was not compensated for this post.

Day of the Race came! We left Toronto early at 6:30am to drive up to Barrie.

Weak Game Faces

The car ride talk was all game plan & strategy as they released the course map the day before. Some ate donuts. I carb loaded on mug cake and made everyone protein pancakes for pre-race fuel. I was getting so excited. The nerves hadn’t kicked in yet!

Jess and I got excited to get T shirts before the race so we were pretty excited to sport them. We kind of loved our slogan and so did several people on the course. I kept yelling back that I did cry during Arctic Enema under water

We May Die, But We Won’t Cry

Here’s a shot of our team pre-race. Mike & I fuelled up on Magnum Nutraceuticals Serum. We look pretty sexy with our numbers on our foreheads.

Team Active Yam – The Opposite of Couch Potatoes

Here is my recap of the obstacles and how I categorize them!

Hardest obstacles I completed:

Arctic Enema – mentally scary jumping into freezing cold water and having to go under a wood plank. The cold knocks the wind out of you and makes it hard to get a big enough breath to go under. Jess and I jumped in together and when we went under the wood I was slightly behind and may have gotten kicked in the head. Made me feel even more bad ass. Our best tactic was taking off our shirts and going in with only sports bra. Putting on the dry shift after felt so good. Below is a video from the official website.

Smoke Chute – mentally this was scary for me as it was a straight drop down a chute but you couldn’t see in front of you or where you were landing. I landed in the muddy pit and couldn’t see. We made friends with a guy on the course that ran with us and he pulled me out. Thank you Simon. I found the video online from another Mudder so you can see what I went through.

Cage Crawl – when I heard about this one I was excited and scared. I knew this was going to be mentally tough being trapped under a cage but easy as you just had to pull yourself along. I didn’t bank on the water being so cold that I could barely breath which didn’t help with the freak out factor. We almost bypassed this one as we were so cold but I wanted to be proud of completing this one.

Funnest obstacles I completed:

Kiss of Mud – Jess and I got lucky the barb wire was high enough for us to crawl on our hands and knees

Dirty Ballerina – the goal is to jump from platform to platform but I couldn’t make it so it was jump into the mud and climb out.

Trench Warfare – So Jess and I were a bit scared of being claustrophobic in the tunnels so I decided to serenade us with a whopping round of Gangnam Style while we were crawling. Well really only the “whop whop whop whop whopam gangnam style” part over and over again and then “heyyyy sexy lady”. Therefore I had the most fun here!

Mud Mile – I really enjoyed this challenge. It was hard to climb up and slide down but I had fun and felt hardcore on this one. The sun decided to join us at this point so I wasn’t that miserable anymore.

Greased Lightning – We were slowly making our way down one of the many ski hills when we came upon a massive patch of snow and then the slip and slide. Jess and I tried to go down holding hands until we got stuck and I had to pretend I was a train with my arms to get going again. The only part that sucked was landing in a patch of snow and freezing my hands even more.

Balls to the Wall – This was apparently a new obstacle for the Toronto course. It was near the end so most people have no grip strength left. I just focused, climbed, threw my leg over the top and climbed down. I may have had a celebration dance for how easy it was!

Obstacles that Jess and I needed man boosts for were Glory Blades & Berlin Walls. These needed a lot of upper body strength to muscle yourself up and over. The only trouble I had was getting over the second Berlin Wall and having no arm strength to lower myself down the other side. I needed Jess to catch a foot and help lower me

Tough but doable obstacles: Hold Your Wood (carry logs through the forest), Wounded Warrior Carry (Jess and I piggybacked each other) and Boa Constrictor (You climb down a tube into water and then back up a tube. A nice gentleman helped pull me up despite the snot dripping from my nose).

Obstacles I attempted but did not complete: Funky Monkey (fell after three rungs, pretty proud I tried as I just climbed across monkey bars for the first time the Weds before. I need to work on my grip strength) and Cliffhanger (climbed up the hill on the side vs. jumping in the water and scaling the mud)

Obstacles I did not attempt: Electric Eel (crawling through water while being shocked – nuff said), Firewalker (jump over fire into water – at this point my body was shutting down and I knew I needed to skip water obstacles), Walk the Plank (Jess and I both skipped due to severe shivering), Underwater Tunnels (more water obstacles – seeing a theme here?), Everest (I really wanted to attempt this one but my IT band caused severe knee pain at KM 12 so I made the choice to walk around) & Electroshock Therapy (more live wires – body shutting down – again nuff said).

All in all I’m super proud I ran up and down ski hills for 16 KM! My longest run to date I’m proud I completed the course in 3:20. I’m proud of the obstacles I tackled (17 out of 22). I’m happy I got to share the day with my friends who in over 5 months have become amazing supporters and I love spending time with them.

We’re cold but we didn’t give up

Finished, Cold, Sore, Proud!

Under Armour Women – What’s Beautiful Campaign

I absolutely love the Under Armour What’s Beautiful campaign. It is a competition to redefine the female athlete. I had originally signed up for the very first contest last year but then I went through a really tough summer and it had to fall to the bottom of my list of priorities. Now in a much better place I’m excited to throw my hat into the ring again and with the army of FitFluential ambassadors working on this campaign truly inspire women to set goals and know that they will accomplish them. The campaign is simple. Set a goal. Then show the world what it takes to accomplish it.

Here is a link to my profile. I’ve set a goal to compete in three obstacle races this year. I’ve already made the announcement on January 1st that I would but now I’ve taken on the extra challenge of doing it with an amazing community of women through Under Armour’s What’s Beautiful contest. I thought this picture below found on the Under Armour website was a perfect mantra for my muddy obstacle race goal. I will accomplish it.

On top of all this awesomeness, I’ve partnered up with my blends (bloggers + friends) Jess, Morgan & Krysten. We had already signed up for the Warrior Dash again this year (Morgan will be joining us for the 1st time!) and last year we ran it 54:59. Our goal this year will be to shave off 4 mins and try for a sub 50 mins goal!

To find out more about the contest and sign up go here: whatsbeautiful.ua.com