ramblings of an intern

Alright, I’ll be the first to admit it. I’ve been slacking in the blogging department. Give me a break – I’ve transitioned from being a full time student, to being a full time intern. Things are completely different…and completely awesome. SUN TV has been a great place to learn the ropes of marketing and PR. I’ve been creating all sorts of communications tools; media lists, press releases and even writing copy for print ads! I’m going to be pretty excited to see my first ad in the paper.

In running news – the race is on Sunday. I’m not feeling too confident about a great finishing time, but I know I will cross the finish line. Also – it is supposed to be real hot this weekend, this will be an interesting race. It will feel pretty great to cross the finish line though.

In yoga news – I bought this great pass called Passport to Prana. It was $35 and gives you access to one yoga class at loads of different studios all over Toronto. So far I’ve been to four studios and they have all been great experiences. It is a great deal that I would recommend to all interested in yoga!

couch to 5k

Here is a helpful article - from your couch to a 5k run!

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

zzz

Last night, I slept through the night. This is very exciting news. I think it may have something to do with the fact that one of my very best friends was beside me, we had just eaten a lot of ice cream, and a George Clooney movie was playing in the background. It's a lot easier to fall asleep when you cant think about anything.

Recently, I have become very close friends with 3am...4am...and 5am. Not sleeping is very unusual for me, I have always been able to fall asleep anywhere very comfortably. I think the stress of these 13 assignments hanging over my head has my brain working on over time...and it's hard to shut off 'thinking'.

Now...all of this leads back to a podcast I was listening to last week (while trying to fall asleep). It was called Is sleep really that important?, and is from the How Stuff Works series that I have become mildly obsessed with. Read the article http://health.howstuffworks.com/importance-of-sleep.htm, or find the podcast. Do it now. I promise it is interesting.

namaste

About two years ago I tried yoga for the first time. I didn't fall in love right away. It was actually pretty intimidating. I was working at a Starbucks that was inside a health club and employees could take any classes we wanted; for free. I went a few times with co-workers and found myself paying more attention to what everyone else was doing rather than what I was capable of.

When I was living in Guernsey I started going to a class called 'body balance'. It was a mixture of yoga and pilates. It was a lot less intimidating because everyone was focused on themselves and the teacher reminded us often that yoga was all about 'you and your practice'. I started looking forward to my Saturday morning classes. Once I was back in Canada (and I got my old job back at Starbucks) I used the free yoga classes as often as I could.

In recent months I have forgotten about how great yoga is and how it can make you feel. Nothing beats the feeling of savasana.

no fun

The end of the school year is coming fast. All the stress of school and other things has made jogging seem less and less important.

I was looking forward to going home this weekend and even going for a jog in my old neighbourhood, but I ended up feeling sick all weekend.

I did go for a jog earlier today. The weather is lovely and summer is on it's way.

splish splash

Although I would rather be jumping in puddles than running in the rain I decided to be venture outdoors today. My formerly clean white runners are not impressed.

I tried something new today. I didn't ask Harriet to join me. I recently read an article that suggested, to become a runner you need to think like a runner. It advised to stop concentrating on how many kilometers or how many minutes you've been jogging, and to just...run. The numbers, apparently, aren't important.

When I put in my headphones this afternoon I didn't turn on my step counter or my running buddy and I just ran (errrr jogged). While I was on the path of trying new things I opted to turn on a podcast instead of the usual song shuffle (http://www.howstuffworks.com/stuff-you-should-know-podcast.htm). Now I know all about 'how bail works' and I had a nice jog in the rain.

upside down

I accomplished one of my goals! A headstand without the help of a wall. It took a lot of practice but I've finally done it. Yay!

Now. Back to the running.

better together

a little video i prepared for an assignment.

hills

I have been slacking just a little bit. Since I haven't run in over two weeks, I decided to start back at week five for my run today. Three five minute runs with three minute walks in-between. It was easier than I thought it was going to be, I had it in my head that all of my endurance would be gone. It's just the last minute of the running intervals that is really hard for me. Harriet tells me "you have one minute left!" and I think "another whole minute? ahhh."

I spent the last week in San Francisco! Walking up those hills and running away from crazy people waving umbrellas should count for something. But maybe all of the french fries cancels that out.

my mind is elsewhere

I have been slacking. I have many excuses. Let's review them...

• Its too cold to run outside
• I have too much homework
• I'm too tired
• I want to sit in my bed and eat Doritos

I know I need to stop making excuses and start running again. I promise I will go tomorrow. Harriet will be very cross with me, but I think we can work it out. Uhh I did a little peeking at the schedule and I'm supposed to be able to run 20 minutes straight by the end of next week. I think I might need to repeat a week to get back on track. The 5k isn't until the end of May so I do have the time. I also need to make a running playlist for my ipod, when a bad songs comes on and I'm in the middle of a run it throws me off.

I'm gearing up for a little vacation to San Francisco! I hear that all of the streets are crazy hills. That counts as running right?

learnin'

I thought I would post more details about my interval training. I'm on week 4 right now. This is what I have done so far, each week requires 3 runs.

Week 1 - 8 x 1 minute runs (walk for 1.5 minutes between each run)

Week 2- 6 x 1.5 minute runs (walk for 2 minutes between each run)

Week 3 - run 1.5 minutes, walk 1.5 minutes, run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes (repeat twice!)

Week 4- run 3 minutes, walk 1.5 minutes, run 5 minutes, walk 2.5 minutes, (repeat twice!)

I should also mention each run has a 5 minute warm up and cool down of brisk walking.

Apparently week 9 is 30 minutes of straight running.

run etienne runnnn!

yum?

I didn't run yesterday. I ate Mexican food instead. BUT this is the first run I've skipped...so stop judging me.

On an un-related note, check out my friend Becky interviewing me about my time as an au pair!

http://podcasts-with-becky.yolasite.com/resources/BeckyAuPairSaraf.mp3

cookie cookie

Okay, so I ran on Friday, yadda yadda. Thursday night I was at Wal-Mart and I bought some delicious rainbow chocolate chip cookies. Cookies make me happy. These particular cookies make me smile because of a conversation I once had with my mother...

Me: Mmmm I bought some rainbow cookies.

Mom: Rambo cookies? Rambo makes cookies?

Rambo cookies are delicious. I ate some after my run.

This is the 5k I signed up for in May:

http://www.towomensruns.com/half_marathon_5k_info.html

Although it is a women's run, men can do it too! So everyone should probably go sign up.

but it is cold.

There has been some snow on the ground for the past couple of days so I have been running inside. Not inside on the spot, but on a treadmill. Harriet and I are still pals and I am beginning to realize that blogging about jogging is getting old fast. I should have called it The Jog Blog. That would have been clever.

All this running is hard work. Maybe I'll just jump into the race from the crowd and win it like Rosie Ruiz. Cheating is fun.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_Ruiz

i like sleep

I think my British ipod friend needs a name. I shall call her Harriet.

I wanted to stay in bed all day yesterday, but I got some extra motivation from my 'coach' to go for a run. Plus every time I finish a run Harriet gives me the date of my next one; it was supposed to be Friday. I was interested to see if she would scold me for being a day late, but she didn't mention it. She did, however, double my running time from 1.5 minute intervals to 3 minute intervals. I was running for 3 minutes at a time, but I also got 3 minutes of recovery time. It went okay. Running on the treadmill is so much easier, it is actually semi - enjoyable.

My goal towards the perfect headstand is coming along nicely. I stayed up for a solid 5 seconds before crashing to the floor. I wonder what my roommates think when they hear those loud thuds.

new friend.

I have a new running buddy. She is British and she lives in my ipod. I downloaded the 'Get Running' application and apparently I will be able to run 5k in a few months. Lets all cross our fingers. My new British friend interrupts my songs to let me know when to run, when to walk, and she throws in the occasional "great job!" to keep me happy.

I did 2.8km on the treadmill yesterday and found it a lot easier than running outside. There is no wind (this keeps throat burning to a minimum), no rain, and I don't have to wear 3 shirts to keep warm.

On a yoga related note...I've been practicing doing headstands without the help of a wall (or someone holding my feet). So far unsuccessful.

run + fun?

Apparently some people actually like running. Some people get out of bed earlier than they have to; to run. I've read that there is a certain point when your head gets past the fact that your throat is burning and your shins are aching and the running becomes fun. I am waiting for this to happen.