Color Me Rad 5K

When I found out Color Me Rad was coming to Toronto, I quickly signed up onto their mailing list and waited for notification. I signed up as soon as I got the email notification and told all my friends to sign up as well, sadly it sold out in a matter of days and only 4 of us were able to get a bib.

Getting our Rad on

At the start line

Equipped with the sunglasses that was in our swag bag and whatever white clothing we could find, wee all headed down to the race on a muggy overcast Saturday. Rain drops started to fall as we pulled into the parking lot. We were all hoping that the rain would hold off until the run was over.

So what is Color me Rad all about. Well, it is a fun run. There is a main stage area with an emcee and great music blasting away. People are cheering while color bombs are being tossed into the crowd. It is not chipped which means that it is not timed. The race is for all ages. I saw parents pushing strollers and babies in carriers. There were lots of families young and old. As I had said, it is not timed, so do not expect people to be "racing". It is a 5 kilometre distance with color stations spread throughout where volunteers will toss/throw/spray colored powder or coloured water at you. Most people slowed down, if not stopped at these stations to get covered in colour and take pictures.

Group shot after.. need I say more

We did end up getting rained on for part of the race which made the colors quite vibrant and definitely stuck to our clothes. If you are looking for a fun day out and willing to get a little dirty, I would highly recommend this run. It's for EVERYONE, especially anyone who is new to running. 

At the end of the race everyone was given one color packet to bring to the main stage area to throw into the crowd at the same time. They also threw out Color Me Rad swag out into the participants. I nicknamed this the color mosh pit as people were crazy. I lasted only a few minutes before I was covered in more colored powder. My friends stayed in the pit, danced, cheered and were able to catch some race swag.

Overall, it was an awesome race. Check them out here for a location near you.

In the color mosh pit

Have you ever done a color race?

Happy Father's Day - Week 4 Recap

Happy Father's Day to my dad, hubby and all the other dads out there. I hope you all had a wonderful day!

What started out to be an uneventful week has turned into a full on busy week. The hubs was let go from his job as his company was bought out by a bigger company and then sold. A day later my youngest started getting sick. I thought it was a growth spurt, but then he stopped eating. We ended up in the ER with my little guy to find out that his mouth was full of sores and quite dehydrated. Now it made sense to why he was not eating. My heart ached to see him in so much pain.

The weather is finally starting to look up. I started the week with a 5.63km run with baby in the jogging stroller as it was too nice to be stuck inside. The last time I took him out, he cried for quite a bit of my run, so I decided to wait and try to figure out when would be a good time to take him out.

Since he got sick, he was very cranky and off his regular schedule. I figured the best thing for him and I was to get outside for some fresh air. I ended up doing all my runs with him in the jogging stroller. He was probably too high on his pain medication to fuss and was quite happy on most of the runs.

Today was my long run and I was not sure how he would do. I timed it so that he had just had some food and was ready for a nap. He lasted the entire 15 km's with a short nap and no fussing.  I'm hoping that he will continue to enjoy my runs with me. I love running outside and pushing the stroller has made me work harder and hopefully I will be faster without the stroller. I look forward to week 5 and possibly some more stroller runs.

Long Run Sunday

Week 4 Recap

Tuesday - 5.63 km

Wednesday - 5k Tempo

Friday - 14.08 km

Saturday - 8.18km

Sunday 15.04 km

Total 48 kms All done with the jogging stroller except  for the Tempo run

Are you training for any races?

Did you race this weekend?

Zola Coconut Water Review

I have always loved coconut products, so when the opportunity came up to review Zola for Fit Approach/Sweat Pink, I jumped at the opportunity.  They sent 3 full size bottles. Two were coconut water and one was their Acai original juice.

I have been using coconut water in my smoothies and have also used them alone to replenish after exercising. Did you know that coconut water is full of electrolytes?? It's funny, but I actually didn't know that until I started running. I just liked coconut products. I like to have my coconut water cold, so I threw them into the fridge and went for a quick run. 

The sizes of the cans are very generous at 520ml. The first one I tried was the one with pulp as I like pulp in my juices. The coconut water was very refreshing and easy to digest. The taste is not very strong and quite light with no after taste. I liked large size however it would be nice if I was in a resealable bottle instead of a can. I liked the coconut pieces (pulp) that was at the bottom. I used a straw to get out all the pulp.

I tried the natural coconut water a few days later after another run and it was just as good as the one with pulp. This time I only drank half the can and saved the rest for my smoothies. I have tried a number of different brands and I must say this is one of my favourites. I like the portion sizes, not too big and not too small. I usually buy mine in one litre size tetra packs. I can pack the Zola cans into a cooler for summer activities and they fit right in my cup holder in the car.  I gave some to my 4 year old to try and she also gave it a thumbs up.

I tried the Organic Acai juice last with my 4 year old. She liked this the most as it was quite sweet with a bit of tartness. I mixed mine with some of the coconut water. Acai berries are loaded with tons of antioxidants, so its a win win for everyone.  I like that this product is organic, gluten and  GMO free and 100% vegan.

I highly recommend using coconut water to rehydrate and if you're not a fan of coconut water, I say give the Zola Coconut water a try as the taste is very subtle and not overpowering.  Thanks to Sweat Pink and Zola for the yummy Coconut Water and Acai Juice!

*Disclaimer I was given products to sample and all opinions on this blog post are my own and I was not paid or required to give a particular opinion

Have you tried coconut water or acai juice?

What's your favourite post-exercise drink?

What's your favourite brand?

The O course Recap - Uh Rah!

I convinced a few of my friends that will be participating in Tough Mudder with me to try out  The O Course this past Saturday. It is a military style obstacle course in Toronto designed by former US Marine drill instructor Sgt. Tony A., based on actual U.S. Marine Corps fitness training. It says on the website that all fitness levels welcome.  I figured that since it was not too far from home it would be good for us to test our physical abilities.

Other than running, I have not done much upper body strength training. Does carrying my 20lb baby all day long count?   My cousin works with The O Course and reassured me that I would be fine. However, I was still very nervous.

The weather was perfect on Saturday, a little overcast and the rain clouds were holding back. When we arrived we were each given a "rifle", a 4x4 piece of wood to keep with us for most of the course. After signing all the paper work and waiting for all participants to arrive, Tony A. and his crew bellowed out over the megaphone to line up rows for the warm up to begin.

The 45 minute warm up was INTENSE. We started out by holding out our arms out like a T for what seemed like a lifetime then doing circles and other variations. My head was spinning from the burning in my shoulders. We did burpees, jump squats, lunges, jumping jacks, and push ups. He then had us line up at the end of the soccer field and do sprints, followed by doing the crab crawl and front crawl across the length of the soccer field. My arms were burning and this was just the warm up.

We were then instructed to pick up our "rifles" and head outside to start the course. We ran about 5 km with our "rifles" towards the lake and onto a very nice green path where you stop every couple of kilometres to complete a number of drills. We actually went into the lake for most of the drills such as jump squats, sit ups and push ups all with our "rifles". The lake was nice and cool, but getting out and running with wet clothes and soaked running shoes was not my idea of fun.

When I finally ran back to the dome where we had done our warmup, I dropped off my "rifle" and thought I was done. Ha. Ha. Was I ever wrong. This was where the real military style obstacles would be. I pulled a tire from the lake by chains then and had to lift it over my head, jump over a wall, crawl through mud pit, drag myself up a mud pile then try to do monkey bars. I dragged bags of sand on my back while crawling in sand. The obstacles go on and on. When I got to the rope that I was supposed to pull myself up, all I could think of was G.I Jane. I never made it up the rope. Maybe next time. 

Pulling the cement block

By the end of the event, I was smiling and covered from head to toe in mud and sand. It was tough, but I survived. My body was tired but once again, all I could think about was getting home to nurse my baby. I think it took me 1:50 to complete the entire course. I'm proud that I survived the O course and tried all the tasks put before me even though I was not able to complete all of them. Yes, my body is sore all over and it hurts me to laugh. But, I know the pain is only temporary and in a funny way I would love to do it all over again.

Striking a pose before another burpee

I think The O Course is a great event. It runs every Saturday. It pushed me physically and mentally. I had a good time and would definitely do it again. We had great weather. Tony A. and his crew were fantastic.  Even with them barking at us, I felt that it helped push me to try harder.  If you are in the Toronto area, I highly recommend you check them out here. They also have photographers that take great photos of you during the entire course and are posted on their Facebook Page. Now back to marathon training :)

Ready for the next round

Have you ever done an obstacle course style race?


Have a great week