Happy Sunday everyone! I am now back from Ottawa but didn’t really post any updates this past week on what I was up to. It was a very busy week with training all day every day and in the evenings I kept myself busy with fun social things, either with the new friends I made at training or blog friends!

It’s funny because this was my second time visiting Ottawa and I was there for 5.5 full days and 6 nights. Last time I was there for 4 full days and 4 nights. But I feel like I saw so much more of Ottawa last time. Probably because for 3 of the 4 days I was touring around with Anais! That trip is recapped here, here and here.

In my true “photography” fashion lately I took a bunch of instagram photos last week so I figured I’d recap my week in one post, through those photos!

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When I first arrived in Ottawa last Sunday night it was cold. Like -20 C with the windchill! I was not happy since I had left a balmy 15 C behind in Kamloops. But it did give me the opportunity to wear the toque Lisa made for me finally!

After a long day of training on Monday I met Anais for a (very cold!) run. We ran 5.5 miles along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa and then went back to her house where she made me a delicious dinner of rainbow trout and quinoa salad. It was great! Silly me didn’t get any photos of us together, though.

On Tuesday I participated in one of the social events with my training group! We did a tour of Parliament and then went for dinner and drinks at a nearby pub. It was really fun and great to get to know all the people in my group better! I ended up making some awesome friends by the end of the week.

Wednesday I hung out with Anais again and went to hot power yoga at her gym. The gym she goes to is AWESOME. It’s massively huge and it has a hot yoga studio right inside of it that is included with the membership. It was an intense workout and I was glad to fit in some yoga during my trip. We then went for tofu burgers (same one I had with her last time), which were amazing! I once again failed at getting a photo of the two of us though

Thursday was super fun! Our training group went to the Ottawa Senators game and had box seats, which was so cool!

Friday our training wrapped up by 1:00 PM. It was really sad actually, it was very group-focused training and I met some awesome people from all across the country. All of my friends were flying out that day and I wasn’t flying out until Saturday but a few of them had a late flight so we wandered around Ottawa a bit more. We walked back to Byward Market so I could eat a Beaver Tail!

A beaver tail is just a piece of fry bread with your choice of topping! I had maple butter which was super drippy and sweet, but delicious!

I love this photo I took near Parliament in downtown Ottawa. The contrast of the new skyscraper beside the older parliament building is so cool to me. I really love Ottawa and could actually picture myself living there one day.

After saying goodbye to my friends I got ready to meet Cynthia for dinner! She just happened to be in Ottawa that weekend for work as well so it was really fun that we got to meet up. I, once again, failed on taking any photos of us. Probably because we talked for two hours straight without stopping. It’s crazy how you can meet someone for the very first time but feel like you know them so well! We had delicious pad thai and then it was early to bed for me as I had a long run planned in the morning.

I met up with Rebecca bright and early on Saturday morning to run 18 miles (29 km). I woke up to see that it had snowed and was about -10 C outside so I admit I was really dreading this run.

Well it turned out that this was by far THE BEST long run I’ve ever done. Rebecca and I literally chatted non-stop the entire three hours and I felt amazing. By the last mile or two the bottoms of my feet were starting to hurt from walking lots the day before but overall it was a really amazing run. If I feel that good during the marathon I will be one happy girl! We also ran along the Rideau Canal which was gorgeous and even though it was chilly it was also bright and sunny.

Afterwards we went back to the Scone Witch for a delicious brunch which I basically thought about the entire last half of the run.

And then it was time to head home for me! I felt really good after my run and all day yesterday but I’m definitely pretty stiff today from running for three hours and then sitting on a plane / in airports for 8.

I had a really awesome week though. I met some great new people working for the same organization as me, I learned A LOT and I had some super fun times with blog friends. Nothing wrong with that!

How was your week? Do you like traveling for work or no?

Hi everyone, I know I’ve been pretty absent on general life posts lately so here’s a quick five on Friday with some updates for you

One.

I am writing this from bed. Ahhh, three-day weekends complete me!

Two.

Yesterday was my last day at my job. It was definitely a very bittersweet day. I had coffee with all my co-workers and boss in the morning and my boss said some really kind words and then they gave me a gift card to the spa. Clearing off and out my desk (above) was pretty sad too. It was definitely hard to leave such a great group of people to work with!

Three.

This has been the weirdest winter ever. Just when I think spring might actually be here I wake up to a huge dump of snow (read: this morning). I don’t hate the snow but I am kind of over it. At least it’s good for snowboarding (what Eric and I will be doing tomorrow) but it’s so not good for running which is why I’m still laying in bed instead of out running 3 miles right now.We had the most amazing December and January with spring-like weather and now February keeps dumping snow. Dislike.

Four.

Chloe got spayed on Tuesday. It was coincidental that it coincided with this but now I kind of hope she always associates chewing up things with going to the vet Anyways, she’s been running around with a cone on her head for the last three days and it’s kind of hilarious!

Five.

Plans for this 3-day weekend include: cleaning out some of the clutter in our house, cleaning my car, going clothes shopping, going snowboarding, going to the Vagina Monologues with some girlfriends, running 16 miles (26 km), writing some freelance stories and squeezing in some rest and relaxation. It should be a busy, but good one!

Question of the day: What are you up to this weekend?

Last night I spent the evening sipping wine, catching up on my overflowing inbox and doing some reading all from the comfort of my couch.

One thing I promised myself when I started marathon training was that I would listen to my body and give it rest when it asked for rest. That’s why it’s been easier for me to plan out my weeks one at a time, so I can really assess how busy I am with other things – like social activities and work – during each week and then plan my workouts around those things.

Yesterday I had “5:15 PM – yoga?” in my planner. The question mark was there because I added it in as an afterthought since I took Monday as a rest day already this week. But yesterday morning I woke up feeling really, really tired. Like could barely drag myself out of bed tired. I continued to feel tired through most of the work day.

After work I headed out for my usual walk with Chloe and on-the-spot decided that I would walk an extra 10 minutes with Chloe rather than go to the 90 minute yoga class I’d been thinking about. I still got a little bit of movement in but it was definitely more of a rest day since my walks with Chloe are more like a leisurely stroll!

Oh, and then I planked before bed. 1:30 was REALLY hard for me. My ultimate goal is a 3:00 plank but I have a long ways to go.

It was obviously just what I needed because this morning I leapt (OK, leapt is a strong word but I wasn’t as tired as I usually am at 5:30 AM) out of bed for my 5-mile run!! It was my first run all by myself in my full four weeks of training, which felt a little weird to be honest. Especially since it was on the same route I usually run with a friend or my group. The last two weeks haven’t looked like what I thought they would training-wise but I’ve been listening to what my body needs and I think that’s most important!

Off to work I go. Happy Friday!

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Question of the day: Anyone else in training for a spring marathon or race and find your body is asking for more rest than you planned to give it? What is everyone up to this weekend?