Day??? Lost track of time!

Arrived in Hofn, it's Wednesday night at 9pm. Just settling into our sleeping quarters which is kinda like a bed and kitchen....family home with no breakfast included. Just a room with a double bed! Should be an interesting sleep considering my travel partner snores. So far our adventure has reminded me a lot of the movie " Planes, trains and automobiles with John Candy.  Not a dull moment with Nyree my travel partner! We rented a 4x4 Kia and we set off on our own little adventure travelling the island. Today, has been by far, the most spectacular! I have seen places, I have only dreamed of. Iceland is so vast and has so many different landscapes. From lunar views, to mountains, volcanoes, incredible waterfalls and even icebergs!
For dinner, we ate a a local restaurant in Hofn, on the pier. I had Icelandic lobster...it was delicious! For lunch, lamb sandwich....OH so good! I love this Country and feel so lucky to be here! I want to share pictures but having difficulties with wifi downloads at this time. Sorry!

Reykjavik, Day 2

Woke up to another beautiful day in Reykjavik....alarm went off at 6am...but my internal clock didn't allow to wake up until 8:00am!  So much for having time to digest my breakfast before my 9am Team Diabetes fun Run....I quickly slipped on my running gear and grabbed a bite then headed in front of our hotel to meet the rest of the team.  Had a great 5.5km run, then the rest of the day was "shopping day".  Turns out Reykjavik is pretty pricey!  Be it food, clothes or beer....it ain't cheap!  I payed $10.00 US for an espresso Americano and and small danish...beer is about $7.50/beer.....yeuuuuup!
After shopping we met the Team for our Pre-race dinner.  Great food, great people.  Met a bunch of fantastic people from across Canada:
Nick and Ryan......from Ottawa (we call them the matching guys.....always wearing matching shirts...Nick is 6'5 and Ryan is average height.
Andy....from Ottawa
Troy from Edmonton
Trina....from Regina
Jocelyn from Calgary
Harry from Calgary
Wayne and Heather from North of Barrie
Johnny and Donna from Saskatchewan
Chris Coveny.....fellow Realtor in Ottawa
and Scott Rush from Hot 89.9 Radio Station in Ottawa.
Joe Orrechio and Donna Dowsett....Team Diabetes

Now, just back at the room, gonna chill so that I am prepared for the big race....can't wait!

REYKJAVIK, Arrival-DAY 1

Jru!st landed at Keflavic Airport

Guess what? We're in Iceland....said Nyree as our plane was nearing the runway. My face lit up and I had a permanent smile. Although I hadn't slept a wink on the flight from Washington to Iceland, my adrenaline must have kicked in because I suddenly had a burst of energy.

 We arrived at Keflavic at 8am and made our way to our hotel in Reykjavik....approx. 45min drive.  Upon arrival we had some time to spare prior to our Welcome breakfast.  Starving and suddenly feeling myblack of sleep, we walked to a nearby coffee shop for an espresso and pastry.  On our way, we were startled by the loud planes flying out of the Reykjavik airport!  I couldn't believe how close they were flying above our heads....every 10 to 15 minutes, another plane would fly above us....it was spectacular!

16 DAYS TO MY 1/2 MARATHON

WOW, so hard to believe that in less than 2 weeks, I will be jumping on a plane and heading to Iceland to complete my 1/2 marathon!!!Especially when I have let my training go.  I was doing so well, running three days/week and attending the gym 5 days/week!  I hate to admit that for the most part of July, I took a break. I let my training and healthy eating habits go and indulged in greasy, yummy food and fancy drinks.... put on a few pounds.

Last week I received an email and my running shirt from Team Diabetes....what a wake up call!! I had to switch gears... I thought, it's do or die. August 18th is not going away and I had committed to the half marathon and raising funds for the Canadian Diabetes association.....so this week, I jumped back on my saddle!

Last Friday I attempted to run 3miles and nearly died after 2 miles.  I cramped up and had to stop.  But I didn't give up...I just figured, that's only one try....so on Tuesday July 31st, I put on my sneakers, my sunscreen, grabbed my bottle of water and my Iphone with my running music and ran 6 MILES!!!!  I felt so good....I CAN DO IT!!  I believe the success of completing and achieving the 1/2 marathon is mostly mental.....kind of like life.  If I set my mind to it....I know I can do it...it may be difficult and painful, but I will do it and I will feel great about my success.

Today I ran 4miles and also felt great afterwords.  Now I have to start getting geared up for the run. Looking forward to it.....so exciting.

I still have not met my fundraising goal but I am more than half way to reaching my $6,100.00.  Not certain of the exact number yet as I've had to pay off the difference with my credit card to ensure I can participate.  I will need to look at the numbers and will post my progress in my next Blog.

Measurements and progress!

My training has been going incredibly well.  I had to take a break on my daily gym workouts as business really picked up this past month and I have not been able to make the time for my morning workouts.  I have still been doing my runs and I recently ran 12KM with no cramping or pains and feeling great after my run.  My biggest challenge is still my fundraising.  I have raised $2700.00 to date and had to personally invest the difference to reach my $4,500.00 milestone in order to be able to book my flight. Good news is...my flight is now booked and I can't wait for my run!

I thought it would be fun to check out my before measurements and my current body measurements to see what kind of a change my body has experienced.  Personally, without looking at numbers, I have never felt better about myself.  My body feels great...even better than my teen years :-)

BEFORE-February 27, 2012

Weight: 128lbs

Waist:   31 inches
Chest:   25 inches
Thighs:  35 inches
Hips:      36 inches
Pipes:   11.75  inches

4 MONTHS LATER-June 18th, 2012

Weight:    can't find my scale!!! Who cares! All I know  is that I can fit into clothes I haven't been able to wear in about 2 yrs!

Waist:      29 inches

Chest:      35 inches....huh?? What the...??

                  I must have measured

                  incorrectly last time...could I have grown

                 10 inches in my chest?? Wow wee!

Thighs:     34 inches

Hips:        35 inches

Pipes:       11.25 inches

Begining to increase my distance!

It's been a while since I've posted an update on my training progress.  My training has been going extremely well!  I have been working out regularly at the GRC gym 4 days per week.  One day working my upper body and the next my lower body.  Everyday I include an abdominal workout when I attend the gym.  I am also still running 3 times/week and I am nearing completion of the "Learn to Run" clinic at the running room.  I began my training by working on my endurance.  We were running 2 minutes and walking 1 min for about 3 km.  We did this 3 times/week.  Every week, we increased our run time to 3 min, 4min and now I am running 10 min, walking 1 min for about 4.5km-5km! Last week, I felt pretty good and increased my distance by running an extra 10 min for a total of 45 min and TODAY, I increased my distance again and ran a total of 55 min! Now that I have increased my endurance, I am ready to work on increasing my distance.  For the next few weeks, I plan on increasing my distance by 10 minutes/week.  For the rest of this week, I will continue my 55 minute runs with 10 minute running and  1minute walking intervals. Then next week I will run for 65minutes, and keep increasing my time weekly by 10 minutes until I can complete a 1/2marathon.  I figure it will take me between 2-2.5hrs to complete!

...and the support keeps pouring in :)

A big thank you goes out to my client for putting out a challenge to all my friends to match her $15.00 donation!  The challenge raised a total of $270.00!!!  Awesome...thanks so much to everyone who took up the challenge!

I also created a fundraiser by drawing up 100 squares on a bristol board....I am selling each square for $5.00...the purchaser just needs to put their name on the square for an opportunity to win $100.00!!!  Once all the squares have been purchased, I will cut them up and put them all in a hat and draw a name......The remainder of the funds raised will go towards my fundraising efforts!

I just created this board 2 days ago and brought it in to the office at Keller Williams VIP realty and already 66 squares have been purchased....this is phenominal!
As for my training progress...it is going extremely well.  I have my up days and down days and I have skipped a few workouts but I am so encouraged by the change I have seen in my body.  When I don't feel like working out or running, I just think about how rewarding the outcome is.  Just that change...pushes me to "Just Do It".  I am feeling great!  I run 3 times/ week and do weight training 4-5 times per week.  I've lost 7 pounds and have toned up .... no more mushroom top hanging out of my jeans...lol.
Everyone has been so supportive and encouraging...thanks...you guys also keep me pumped!