Follow the Race in Costa Rica

3 days until the start! The TCC Coastal Challenge race is about to get underway in just a few days time. I have been working for 7 months with 3 amazing ladies who have giving it like crazy to get ready for this 6 day staged run down in Costa Rica. These ladies have undertaken one of the coolest and rewarding experiences of all time! None of them have ever done a race of such length but yet they have challenged themselves to go down and tackle it! I am so proud and honored to be apart of their journey.

What they may no know is that this is just the beginning for them!!! Chances are very high that this might be the first of many races like this that they do! So exciting. My final instructions to them were: "enjoy each and every single step that you take. When you don't think that you can go any farther, just keep taking steps, keep moving forward."

They are going to be great!!!! I will be blogging here once the race gets underway to keep everyone up to date and in the loop!!! Let's send them all the energy that we can!

Shannon, Jen and Jude - I'm so proud of you ladies!!! GO GET IT!!!!

Camps & Clinics....

and all kinds of great stuff!!

2010 is the year that I hope I can help you to achieve your own personal goals! I have been busy working on the Challenge by Choice Coaching workshops, clinics, camps etc and I hope there is something there that you can benefit from. Just to give you a few highlights.....

MARCH - Outdoor Athlete Conditioning Classes - women's only - AM!

MARCH - Learn to Run - Skill & Technique Development

MARCH - Need for Speed - Thursday night coached workouts at the track start!

MAY - Outdoor Athlete Conditioning Classes - women's & co-ed - AM & PM

MAY - Comfortably Numb Trail Race Training Clinic begins - get ready for the race!

JUNE - Women's Running & Conditioning Retreat in Tofino

JULY - Trail Running Camp in Squamish/Whistler with guest coach Ray Zahab

JULY - Xterra/Triathlon camp in Squamish/Whistler with guest coach Brandyn Roark-Grey

JULY - 3 day Group Ride of the Golden Triangle in the Rockies

ONGOING - Training and preparing for TCC Races in Bolivia and Costa Rica (an extra 10% discount on top of the early bird pricing to all runners through me - awesome)

Keeping everyone in the loop!!! Take your goals and make them real!!!

Adventure onwards........

For the Coffee Lover

YES PLEASE!! Can I drink this artist's display? This is my kind of art! Cheers to whomever created this one! Happy Monday everyone!! Oh, and some great info coming for anyone thinking of joining TEAM CANADA for Panama or Bolivia this year or Costa Rica next year! Further discounts on entry fees by signing up in advanced (this is on top of the early bird pricing!!) Don't miss out!

Exercise is a Lifestyle

In IMPACT Magazine's most recent publication, one of my favorite FOOD experts, Adam Hart, shared his knowledge on training and fueling correctly during the winter. Adam and I share the same belief on food and I love working with him on projects. He always has great recipes too. Read the article and learn more about Adam at www.poweroffood.com

Also, I wanted to share a new article that Jack Christy wrote for the Georgia Straight recently. I was happy to talk to Jack about my thoughts on fitness. It's all about the mindset that we approach our health with. Training for me has become playtime and I hope everyone in life can find that "thing" out there that keeps them active and having fun!

Paleo Living

I have now completed just over 1 week of staying focused on my nutrition. I am using the Paleo as my guide. It's not that far off from the way that I have been eating already however, with a focused plan, I am now:

1) increasing my lean protein intake and making sure that I eat it at every meal

2) cutting out the extra junk calories (chocolate in other words is very limited)

3) exploring with all kinds of new recipes that taste delicious

4) removed dairy from my diet 99% of the time (the 1% in comes from cream in coffee)

5) decided that coffee with cream accounts for my 5% of "room to stray a bit"

6) not feeling the bloated feeling since I started - this is from removing dairy, wheat and grains.

I am feeling great as a result of staying committed. The house is empty of nearly everything that would work against my goal. To simply put it, the fridge and freezer are loaded and the cupboards are bare. On a nutritional plan such as this, the foundations are: Fruits, veggies, nuts, lean proteins and seafood. AKA - the hunter/gather'er diet. I am re-addressing how I fuel pre and post workouts as there are some differences there. In one week, I have dropped 2lbs without feeling deprived. My training volume isn't crazy either as I only just returned to running. I am hitting the bike a great deal though to build my base. At this rate, I should be on target to reaching my goal race weight by mid February. I will keep you posted as I go.....

Favorite New Recipe from the Paleo Diet for Athletes book by Joe Friel and Loren Cordain:

Broccoli Soup

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 pounds broccoli florets

3 c chicken stock

pepper or spices to taste

Cook the onion and garlic in a saucepan until tender while you bring the chicken stock and broccoli to a boil in a large pot. Add onions and garlic in and cook for 15-25mins until broccoli is tender. Purree in a blender until smooth and then return to the pot. Re-heat and serve!!! AWESOME. note - careful with putting hot liquids in blender, they explode, so remove top to 1/2 off and cover with cloth.

A Runner Again.....

Quick post tonight. Just wanted to share some great news... I have now completed 3 successful runs since 2010 started. This is huge for me and I am thrilled. I can't brag about time or distance as I have kept them at 30mins a piece, however, I am on the road to being a runner once again..................

My achilles injury is slowly simmering down after a long year in 2009. Thanks to my wonderful massage therapist Laura Miller in Squamish and my dedication to icing 24/7 and being diligent with my stretching.

I feel optimistic now about the upcoming year and competing hard again. I've just posted my new race schedule to my website. So, on that note, who wants to join me for 2 amazing races this year in paradise??? TCC Panama - Island Run and TCC Bolivia - Inca Run are the highlights for sure!!! I am so excited, I am ready to pack my bags and get there!!! If you are considering the experience of a lifetime, check out these races and come join Team Canada. Coaching packages are coming to my website this week to get you ready.

Running onwards.......