Jillian Michaels at Canfitpro at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre

It's a busy weekend down at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  The CanFitPro Consumer Fitness + Wellness Show is on for 3 days, and it has drawn people from all around.  As I mentioned briefly in my previous entry, Marie and I both entered to win a contest to participate with a friend in a BodyShred class led by Jillian Michaels, a guest of honour at the show.  I ended up winning, so off we went on Friday morning to line up to get a good spot in the room.  What greeted us was a glorious atmosphere of fit and beautiful people milling about, waiting for a workshop or browsing around the trade show in search of new shoes or a new protein bar.

Shred was held in a giant hall, which fit 500 people.  Lucky us, though - we were at the front!  4 rows away from the stage, in fact.  We got in, grabbed our 3lb weights, and secured our spots.  Marie was super excited, jumping around and grinning like a looney!  We stretched, struck up a conversation with a girl who works at a Markham Goodlife, and gawked at the large room.  Our regular Wednesday night Shred instructor, Lauren, was also there, and she dropped by to say hello.  A lot of Goodlife instructors were there, catching up with old friends and, I'm sure, making new ones.  There was a nice buzz of excitement in the room, and it was contagious.

The workout itself was great, and we did some new moves we don't normally do.  Jillian came out onto the stage (to great applause and cheering), greeted us, and jumped right into explaining all the moves.

She went through each one before hitting play and starting up the workout.  BodyShred is just a half hour long, so it was done in the blink of an eye.  She was yelling at us to keep our asses moving!  At one point she came down off the stage and was interacting with some of the girls in front of us, getting them to lift their knees higher and push harder.

Jillian Michaels is ripped.  She's a shorter lady, at 5'2", but her personality and muscles make her seem dozens of metres taller!

And while she's known for crazy workouts and intense execution, she seems like a really down-to-earth person.  When she was demonstrating the moves before the workout began, she was losing her balance a bit, and she just laughed at herself, rather than getting annoyed.  I'm sure a one-on-one session with her would be intense and scary, but as it stands, I really enjoyed the class and how it was taught.  I can see how our instructor has modelled her execution of the class on Jillian's.  A good instructor makes all the difference, just like a good teacher in high school, or an inspiring professor at university.  A good fitness instructor will show you the moves clearly, explain them with ease, and do the moves with you.  They will make sure you know exactly what it coming up and when.  We definitely get that Wednesday nights, and we definitely got that Friday morning.

When the workout was over, we grabbed our things and headed over to the trade show to see what was going on there.  We entered another hall with displays from all sorts of protein powder, energy bar, running shoe, and fitness machine companies.  We tried a bunch of the shakes and bars, looked through the clothes (I picked up a new headband - let's see if this will keep those wisps of hair from getting in my eyes), and chatted with people who were selling their ideas (a new Tai Chi program, an obstacle course, and so on).  Marie pointed out that because so many fitness instructors attend the show, we were grouped in with them by association.  We were at the trade show and therefore employed by a gym.  We got a nice, inclusive vibe from the room and the people.  There weren't a lot of freebies, but it was fun to wander around and see what's out there in the commercial fitness world.

Done with the trade show, we went to meet the other Marie for dim sum, and then a bit of a shopping trip at the Eaton Centre (well deserved!).  A successful day that has left me feeling happy, inspired, and revved up for next Wednesday night Shred!


Finally, this isn't fitness-related, but a funny thing happened on the way to register for the trade show first thing when I got there in the morning.  I headed to what looked like registration tables.  I gave my photo I.D. to the woman there, who spoke with a Spanish accent.  She was looking for my name on her sheet but couldn't find it.  I piped up and said that I'd done the free registration and that I didn't actually know if I was supposed to sign up at that desk.  Revelation dawned on her face, but then the strangest thing happened - she switched to Spanish.  I barely even realised at first, though something at the back of my head was telling me that this wasn't normal.  "Look, you have to go over to those registration desks there (*points to desks*) and they can confirm your registration there.  This is for instructors," she said.  So I said "OK, gracias!" and headed over, meanwhile starting to realise what had just happened.   It's funny that she assumed I'd understand her, but I think it's awesome!

Enter athleticism

Hail to the world.

I finished my first 10K run this morning.  It was a wonderful, exhilarating moment that I wish I could share with everyone I know, not just the 27,000 folks who ran with me.  I was so inspired by what transpired today that I felt the urgent need to create a blog to talk about what brought me to this point, and furthermore, how I will continue this addictive journey I've unwittingly begun.

I moved back to my hometown this past summer, and while reconnecting with friends, I found one friend who was interested in starting up a running routine in our neighbourhood.  We finally made solid plans and began in the (cold!) month of December.  Shortly after beginning our weekly runs, our mutual friend told us we should sign up for the Sporting Life 10K run annually held in May.  We thought about it, and we said "Sure!"  May as well have a goal to help us along, yes?  Then another one of our (slightly more sadistic) friends made a friendly bet - he bet that we would not continue our weekly routine of running.  On the line?  Drinks for the night.  So Ben and I, motivated by pride and money, consistently met at least once per week to run.

Fast forward to today.  The race was upon us.  I was anxious and nervous.  A number of friends were running, and some of us met beforehand to chat and get pumped up.  It was freezing in the morning.  Something like 4 degrees centigrade.  We hurried into our corrals at the last possible moment and jumped and shivered to stay warm.  As we edged towards the starting line, my nervousness began to fade, and all I felt was excitement and certainty - certainty that I would run nonstop and finish this race.  I also had hope - hope that I would finish the race with a time of 00:59:59.

The excitement took over completely.  The adrenaline and the crowds gave me strength.  I put my earphones in and started up my iPod, which was full of tunes I had selected carefully the day before.  I reached the start line, and then I was off.  The course is mainly downhill, but there are a few hills that require a bit of extra effort, so I paced myself.

What happened next was amazing.  I ran from uptown to downtown in the city I had grown up in.  I had biked this distance before, I had walked all parts of it, and I had ridden in cars and public transport through it, but I had never just taken off and run the whole distance.  It was strange to run down the middle of a usually busy street.  At each kilometre there was a different band playing a different kind of music, revving the runners up and cheering us on.  I smiled as I ran by, focusing on my running.

Kilometres 1 through 4 felt absolutely normal, besides my intense excitement.  It was just another morning run.

At kilometre 5 I felt a slight cramp coming on.  I thought I might have had too much tea in the morning and maybe I had to pee.  By kilometre 6 it was gone.

At kilometre 7 I grabbed a cup of Gatorade just to wet my mouth.  Most of it ended up on the ground, along with the cup.

At kilometre 8 I got a little cocky.  I passed a number of people, but kilometre 9 was taking too long to arrive, so I paced myself down again.

At kilometre 9 I could almost taste victory.  I stepped up the pace.

At kilometre 9.7 I could see the finish line.  I revved my engines, and I directed all the energy I'd been conserving for hills towards my legs for a mad sprint to the end.  I sprinted and I sprinted and I sprinted, and I hit the finish line with every last bit I had.

Kilometre 10... I smiled, cheered, and slowed down to a brisk walk.

And that was my run.  My time?  1:02:37.

My certainty at the beginning of the race had been proven.  I had run nonstop and I had finished.  My hope, however, had not been met.  I did not hit under an hour.  But 2 and a half minutes over?  Not bad, not bad.  Instead of shattering my hope, my spirit has been reinvigorated.  I know I can improve, and with more training, I'll be able to run at a faster pace.  For now, I think what I did was amazing.  It has also given me a benchmark.  I know that next year is the year I should aim to run at an hour or under.

As if this post weren't long enough, I have one more thing to add - last week I joined a gym.  My friend had taken me to some of Goodlife's crazy aerobics classes, which I adored.  One thing led to another, and here I am, a brand new member.  My journey into fitdom is just beginning.

I am so lucky to have so many supportive friends.  Everyone has encouraged me to do my best at this run, and I am grateful.  I could not be doing this without friends who think my actions are worthwhile.

With all this written, I would like to now formally welcome you to my corner of the internet.  Encouragement, laughter, and inspiration are what I aim to dish out here.  I imagine this journey I've begun will be eventful, and it would be my pleasure to share it with those who care.