St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Greetings from the Island of St. Vincent! St. Vincent is located west of Barbados (45mins by air) and it is South of St. Lucia and north of Grenada. St. Vincent and the Grenadines has a population of about 104,000 and approximately 100,000 people live on the Island of St. Vincent.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a parliamentary democracy and a member of the Commonwealth. The Queen is head of state...like Canada they have a prime minister and a governor general. It is a volcanic island and it is non-touristy. There are no large hotels or shopping areas. The main industry is agriculture-banana and exotic flowers also it is the largest grower of marijuana in the Eastern Carribean. Tourism is related to sailing and scuba diving.

The Flag

The colours represent the blue of the ocean, the green of the land, the yellow of the sun and the diamonds represent the multiple islands that make up the country.

This is my 4th time visiting the island. My dad teaches at the Medical School and has been coming here for 2-3weeks twice a year since 1988. This has become a very special place for my dad and the family. The Island is wonderful and although it is not touristy there are a lot of places to explore :) Yesterday we went on a hike with another professor from the school. I am not doing any training this week so this hike was wonderful cross training. St. Vincent is EXTREMELY hilly. It is a very green island because it is a Volcanic Island. The highest peak of the island is the volcano-La Soufriere-which last erupted in 1979.

Here are some pics from the hike and where I am staying...

I hope to post more pictures this week....but for now I need to go and get some Vitamin D and catch up on some reading and resting :)

LONG WEEKEND :)

Here in Ontario it is a LONG weekend! Wooohooo....love it...Even though I did take Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off this week..hehe...Vacay 3 days, work 2 days then only a 4 day work week this week...I am spoiled...plus I am on vacation the following week...really spoiled...

Anyway...Week in Review...

Last Sunday after my 20km run in the middle of a blizzard the weather cleared up nicely and the Hubby and I headed to Muskoka for a few days...It was wonderful...

Monday: We went Downhill Skiing...I love downhill skiing (I used to be a Certified Instructor and also worked with the Track 3 program...It teaches kids with different abilities to ski...I loved it and miss is a lot...

Tuesday: 6km Tempo

Wednesday: 10km Tempo

Thursday: Hot Yoga

Friday: 8km Steady/Hot Yoga

Saturday: 1 hour Trainer ride on the bike

Sunday 23km LSD (Long Slow Distance)

I did my usual weigh in on Sat. and after all of the cottage feasting I was worried but I did loose another 1.8 lbs for a Total Loss of 15.2 lbs since January...

I must say that I am doing a great job of eating clean, having a well balanced diet...I have no eliminated a single thing...Everything in moderation, I am watching my portion sizes and WOW what a difference when you eat healthy...I have so much energy and I also feeling like I am eating a lot and often...I do try and get my 8 glasses of water in each day and more if I have a tough workout...I tend to drink a lot of Nuun on workout days....


I found this picture on my Camera that I had TOTALLY forgot about...On December 31, 2011 my mum and I participated in the Resolution Run...I was so proud of her as this fall she completed the 10km Walking Program at the Running Room...I ran the 10km and she walked it that night...Beyond proud of her!!

Anyway this week is technically my first week of 70.3 training...there is NO turning back now :)

Pure Fit Nutrition Bar Review

Like some other bloggers out there I was contacted by PureFit Nutrition Bars to do a review of their gluten-free sports nutrition bars...

I going to start off by saying that I am NOT a bar person...I have tried almost every bar out there and almost every GU/GEL/BEAN/Chew etc...I have a very sensitive stomach and have trouble eating anything before a run/ride/swim...

I was pretty hesitant about these bars and I find that most bars actually taste plastic like and have a weird shiny glaze on them...totally not natural..

Anyway...

PureFit Nutrition Bars

• NO Hydrogenated Oils
• NO Animal Products - Vegan
• NO Cholesterol or Trans Fatty Acids
• NO Wheat or Gluten
• NO Artificial Sweeteners
• NO Hidden Carbohydrates
• NO Sugar Alcohol

PureFit Nutrition Bars are specifically designed to give you sustained energy and help stabilize blood sugar.

I immediately liked the packaging...All the information I needed was right there, easy to ready and I did not feel like they were hiding anything...also one neat thing is on the back of the bar...

Hard to read in that picture but is says "Adopt Your Next Dog or Cat" with a little blurb....love that and there are so many animals out there in need of a home!

On to the taste: 30mins prior to my 6km Tempo Run on Tuesday I took half of the Almond Crunch Bar...I love how it was easy to break in half as usually I cannot tolerate a full bar, it was soft, not too dry and there was no plastic taste or "sheen".  They were full of flavour..it really tasted pretty amazing... I was pleasantly surprised. It was DELICIOUS...The best part was when I did my run and had ZERO digestive issues...BIG BONUS!!!  When I got home I immediately ate the rest of the bar...I found the bars to be filling as well.

They sent me 5 bars and here is the order in which I liked them best:

1.  Peanut Butter Crunch
2.  Chocolate Brownie
3.  Almond Crunch
4.  Granola Crunch
5.  Berry Almond Crunch 


The Purefit website is great...There is a lot of info there including a local retail finder.  I am lucky that a health food store here in London sells them...I definitely plan on using these in my Half-Ironman training!


Pure Fit Nutrition Bars has provided me with a coupon code that will save you 25% off your first order. Enter code PROMO25 at checkout to receive the discount.
Follow PureFit Bars on Twitter -> @PureFitBars
Follow PureFit Bars on Facebook -> PureFit Nutrition Bars
*PureFit Nutrition Bars provided me five nutrition bars to taste   and review. I was not compensated for this review otherwise. All opinions expressed here are my own.*

Character Building Run

Yesterday was a tough run BUT I am happy I finished...it was slow...not pretty and I had to take some walk breaks but it is done....now I am rewarding myself with a few days vacation with the Hubby in beautiful Muskoka :). Today we are going to go skiing..hoping to post a video later...Happy Monday!

Here We Go

I can't believe that it is already February 2012! It feels like yesterday that I was injured...not running and starting to think about training plans for Muncie 70.3. Well the time is here and although my 20 week training plan doesn't officially start for another 2 weeks I am trying my best to ramp up my training...

The next two weeks are a challenge as I am away for the first few days...wrapping up things in my current job in order to start a new job after a week away in the sun with my dad...haha 2nd week of training and I am going away where I will have no access to a bike or be able to run...BUT there is a pool so I plan on doing some intensive pool training and will probably bring a couple work out DVD's and do core work...so I will be happy come March 6, 2012 when my life will go back to somewhat of a routine...

My big goal is to get down to a better racing weight...I think that for the past two years I have justified my overeating with the fact that I was marathon training...this lead to an 18lb weight gain...boo urns...Starting January 4, 2012 I have a good weight loss plan in place and am looking forward to getting down to a BMI that is within a healthy weight range...Like this season on the Biggest Loser...2012 is the year of NO EXCUSES!

To date I have lost 13.4lbs. (9.6lbs to go for my min goal but will most likely try for more) I am happy with that so far and continue on my journey. I have a great and supportive husband who is totally on the ball...we've been making lunches and eating out WAY less for the past month and a half...also another person that is so motivating is my dad....since October he has lost 50lbs!!! 50lbs! Just amazing...and I am so proud of him.


This Past Week:

Sunday: 18km Run
Monday: 30mins on bike trainer and 1000m Swim
Tuesday: 6km Tempo
Wednesday: REST
Thursday: 10km Tempo
Friday: 8km Steady
Saturday: 1h on the bike trainer

Tomorrow I will head out for a 20km run...

Happy Training!