Just Jess, diary of a fit girl

 well, well well... If it isn't the blog I started and abandoned I did quit the gym. (my last post in 2020) I have been working out exclusively from home since 2021. I "meant to cancel" for several months before actually committing.  I have done nothing monumental with the monies saved from quitting  (haha) Since my last post, I have done some more new hikes. My first overnight hike and first multi-day hike. My friend Sarah and I did a portion of the Sunshine Coast Trail last July (2023) We saw a bear (my biggest outdoor fear) and slept on the floor of a cabin which was so cool The Sunshine Coast Trail is 180km in total and an end to end trail. It's maintained by an, amazing, group of volunteers. It boasts the largest (longest) hut to hut trail in Canada. I had another baby :) another son, in 2022 and returned to work last year.  I changed jobs -- which is HUGE for me.  We took two kids camping summer 2022 which went really well actually. Sharing a small space w...

 Remember that scene in friends where Chandler and Ross go and try to quit the gym?  Yeah, I grew up in the 90s.  The point of the post being that I am thinking of quitting the gym.  When I was on mat leave I went 2-3 x a week and worked out at home while the baby napped. For whatever reason it wasn't an issue to get actual workouts in. I had a plan, I did several styles of workouts and what maintaining pretty well.  Fast forward to Nov (almost December) and I haven't stepped foot in the gym for about 10 days.  Covid is obviously still a thing and the cases are at an all time high. For whatever reason, I'm not as nervous as I was about it back in March.  We have also had a head cold or two run through the house and it's really ignorant to go out to the gym while you're not feeling well (full disclosure I was 100% that person pre-covid) I have been lucky not to have to miss any work due to colds or my son getting sick. Between him being OKd to return to...

I recently read a post in a Hiking group on FB talking about the top 10 Worst Hikes in Vancouver Worst basically means that its overhyped and too busy with all the instagram fools (you know the ones) Quarry Rock is on the bad list, and I would have to agree. So popular, people everywhere. No parking, and ill equipped hikers. One of my favorite sayings when we head outside is that I don't want to become a statistic today and, preparedness comes with that So, instead of Quarry Rock . We went to check out Black Mountain and Cabin lookout trail out of Cypress. I have wanted to hike St Marks for a while (my last time was in 2018) but it is super popular and with COVID still very much a thing I didn't want to be near so many other people  The hike is pretty steep to start off with. Lots of switch backs and a number of people on the trail, as expected. I left the wee man with his dad and went with my girlfriend and her two wiener dogs. They did amazing, especially for such short legs....

As the title proves, things have been a bit strange. 2020 has been a bit of a ride already and we are approx halfway through the year As if I have to spell it out? Covid-19 is here and all over the news etc. For me, I was still on maternity leave so not a lot changed. Who I saw changed though. I only saw my husband and the soon to be toddler. My husband did the grocery shopping since he was the one who was at work still and I didn't see my parents or my sister for about 8wks? It actually was a long time We live in a different town than our immediate families but we see our families (at least mine) pretty regularly.  Hubby did take 2wks off, he had vacation time still from work so he used it to stay home with us and honestly it went a lot better than the beginning of mat leave (real talk)  In that 2wk period the baby cut his first two teeth (yes, at 11 months) and started walking! So it ended up being a perfectly timed vacation time  Now that things have opened a bit where...

The Pre-Race shake out. What is it exactly? Well, similar to what it sounds like. It is a smaller version of (whatever style) race you're doing My most recent season, although short involved the shake out. My girlfriend offered to help me with post baby training for my triathlon and 10km trail race. It was nice to have a plan for the weight room and different styles of running, biking and swimming because I've been doing my own programming and honestly there is fault in that for a few reasons 1 - I don't pre write out my workouts. Things get missed and areas aren't being trained possibly as often to illicit the best gains 2 - I haven't taken any training to write programs. At best seeing or leaning online from podcasts or influencers will only get you so far. There is a lot of bad info out there My girlfriend has the training   to teach others and she's also personally experienced in training for long distances. Winner! As I shared before I was real...

Run, Run, Run Last year I was looking into stroller friendly races to do with the wee man once he was "old enough" to be in the running stroller. I went onto facebook market to find a used running stroller and I grabbed a Thule / Chariot for 40$ (they retail upwards of 700$ brand new!) and once Ethan was big enough we were off! It's very light weight a little large considering its a single stroller but it certainly does the trick! I've taken the stroller on some (basic) trails and gone running around our neck of the woods. You may have seen earlier that I did a trail race in November, and managed a sub 1-hour time! Which was my goal. I had friends surprise me on race day! and had three people to pace me - aka encourage me to speed up! I signed up for a stroller friendly 5km in Vancouver. It was on March 7th and the weather held out! I've been super unlucky  with the races I've picked over the last little while as far as weather is concerned. It poured...

Is my baby getting in the way of making gainz    in the gym? In a word... Yes. haha Babies. Sweet babies. They bring so much joy and so many changes. For mama's there is a very big change in your body. (Usually) being the one to house and grow said baby things are a changing! When I went for a post - partum check up with a pelvic floor physio  (*Which I would highly recommend  if you have one in or around where you live) and she mentioned that I didn't have a lot of good connection to my abs. Which, is totally normal!   You literally just spent the past 9m + learning how to turn off the signal. I had a C section so I went from being a fully capable pregnant lady - doing squats on my due date - to be post surgery. Unable to use my abs without pain or discomfort and fear of 'doing something wrong' kept me pretty much out of the gym and certainly away from core exercises.  I have since returned to core stability style training, and even some core s...

S.A.H.M - stay at home mom, or more appropriately - S.A.H. P. - stay at home Parent. It's 2020 people, dads stay home too Anyhoo, I have enjoyed my current situation staying at home with my son. I'm currenty on maternity leave and will be returning to work. I've been asked if I've just loved being at home with my son. Yes? I think so. I have moments where I do not want to return to work because then I'm leaving him with strangers. I have nothing against daycare personally, I think it's pretty great actually. I don't feel qualified to set my son up with the appropriate skills to make him a good student for school when it comes to that time. We don't do an awful lot in our day to day (compaired to some at least) In our house I try to get him outside daily. Wind / rain / snow / sunshine outside time is important for my mental health and he could certainly benefit as well. So, we go outside. We've also recently started swimming lessons. I loved swi...

What exactly does Optimal training mean?  Different things to different people for sure. It seems to be a "hot word" in regards to online coaching / training. For a lot of people the "optimal" time to workout is the middle of the day. You've (hopefully) rested and eaten 1-2 meals, had the chance to digest and therefore would be at the best place to workout I personally, enjoy working out in the morning. I would get up before work and get a good sweat in before heading out for the day. Was it the most optimal? Probably not. I would commonly workout fasted which can lead to lack in strength... but, if I ate first I'd have to get up that much earlier! Which was a not thanks for this gal - 5am is early enough as is Currently on maternity leave, if my hubby is home I prefer to go during nap time which is around 930/10 am. During the week its quieter at the gym which I def prefer. During the week I fly solo with the wee man so I 'll either workout at h...

Hey friends, Well 2020 is here! Last year was a big year for myself and my little family. We had our baby boy in April and the rest of the year was pretty focused on that haha I stopped working April 2, baby was born April 16 Quick overview / highlights of the year after that June - returned to softball August - family camping & fishing trip to Port Hardy, BC September - first standard distance triathlon October - cutest little skunk for his first Halloween. Went to Mt Rainier with my hubby & sister November - Ran a 10km trail race and got a Personal Best of sub 1 hr December - babies first christmas <3 So now that you're all caught up ... what's in store for 2020? Well, I am kind of big on goal setting and gearing up for new things. Last year was obviously having a baby and navigating an entirely new life balance etc. I was also able to play softball AND do (well) in my triathlon so there were some serious physical wins as well this past year. Having a ...

I had a lot of fear around getting pregnant. Not the normal stuff though. I didn't have as big of fear of if I would stay pregnant, would I get tonnes of morning sickness - as someone who hates throwing up   this was a concern. I did have some qualms about if I could get pregnant since I had almost zero cycle for close to 2 yrs.. that's part of another post.. One of my biggest fears was what pregnancy would do to my body. Social media, the way people talk about child birth etc all sends the message that pregnancy and child birth will ruin your body Now, being someone who has had body issues for quite some time this is a terrifying thought What if - I don't "bounce back" like my social media feed shows What if - I can't lose the baby weight What if - I am covered in stretch marks What if - My husband doesn't find me physically attractive anymore What if -I stop working out and just get huge I had a lot of people say to me that I would bounce back...

You may recall from previous posts that I have done a couple of triathlons (swim/bike/run) in the past. Specifically a SPRINT distance for my 31st birthday (750M/20km/5km) and a HALF IRONMAN for 2018 (2km /90km/21km) and I was geared up to do the Cultus Lake Triathlon that Sept for my very first STANDARD (or Olympic) distance (1.5km/40km/10km) however, I found myself newly pregnant and was too lethargic to be training. Honestly, I had almost no interest in training so I requested to move my name to the following year and just hoped that 5 months would be long enough to get back in to racing shape. Now, I am a leisure athlete. I am competitive to ME. I am not a professional athlete by any stretch of the imagination. A podium finish could be somewhere in my future, but not until I log some serious hours in each discipline. I digress. April 16, our son arrived. A bit later than I anticipated but still on time I had a cesarean and being told several times I had a major abdominal surger...

I watch baseball. My husband does not. In fact, 90% of the time sports are on in our house it's because I have put it on, not him. I am a Toronto Blue Jays fan. Have been for a while. When I wear BlueJays gear it's because I actually watch not strictly because they're the Canadian team. For the past ... 6ish years I have gone down with friends to Seattle when the Jays are in town! Once I got to go to Toronto for a work function and the Jays were out of town (dang!) and I would have gone to a home game which is one of those bucket list things people talk about I have been to Rogers centre in Toronto, and the JAYS store to buy way cheaper (and funner) Jays Gear. I digress, since I actually reside in BC it's not the easiest to get to Ontario simply to watch games. So, my gfs and I will make the trek to Seattle to watch a game or games when the Jays are in town This year, as with most things is a little different. Ethan came with this time. Now, he was a whopping ...

As promised, here is my update of how softball has been going now that the season is over. I have played softball for about 20 yrs. I have also played slow-pitch. Now, when I tell most people that I 'play ball' they assume its slow pitch. Both of these sports are considered 'ball' however, I am no good at slow pitch haha They have a different set of rules and although not always, it's co-ed So, I play competitive women's fastpitch. It is wear the pitcher throws the ball underhand from a 'windmill' style. At the Senior level there is A.B.C and D divisions. A level is where you play in college level you could play team Canada etc. D level is considered the HOUSE level where everyone plays etc. The team I play for, Pink Energy, is a C team. Most of our players have played rep ball at some point growing up and as a team we played Rep for a season or two over the 9 years I've played with them Last year was a great year. We played well and won pla...

In the post partum stage... people talk about it being a balancing act. I would agree that it's true. In this stage (3m PP) I have found some kind of life balance. Do we get a lot done? Sometimes. Do we sleep in? Yes. If baby will sleep so with this mum. I am currently on maternity leave with my first baby, so there's no other children (or pets) to attend to... it's whatever we feel like doing.. AKA what I feel like doing because at three months you don't get much of a say I have returned to playing softball. I use that term loosely as I cannot make the later games (830 pm starts) due to our schedule at home and baby isn't always asleep by then but my husband has to be in bed before games are over due to his early starts Regardless, I have returned to ball. Running post C section is... interesting. I was never super fast but definitely feeling slower. Starting off is hard and keeping speed is difficult. I stopped running around week 33 while pregnant and sprints...

Well, here it is... my birth story **there is dialogue that could be considered TMI to some, you have been warned I had been told that everyones story is different and I didn't doubt this to be true but I was curious what others went through before my own journey into parenthood. They   were right, my story is very much my own. Here we are 4+ wks later and I'm here for an update to recant the news My husband and I welcomed a little boy on tues April 16, 2019 I finished work on April 2nd  and then it was getting things ready, organizing the babies room and setting up the crib. I even re arranged my room when my husband was out of town (because he would never have let me move things on my own) haha Friday April 12 I wake up overnight with .. cramps. I was told this could be the very earliest stages of things to come... as in maybe the next week? They were similar to period cramps, they woke me up several times throughout the night Saturday April 13 - I start havi...