This week was a little bit different from my typical, since I was in Toronto for work Wednesday-Friday. I went to meet with the General Mills Canada team and to visit my warehouses and traveled with my friend Kim (who is my counterpart in Transportation). Overall, it was a great trip and super valuable in terms of relationship building. It did throw off my fitness routine a little bit, but sometimes you just gotta roll with it. So I did.
FOOD:
I have this split pre-Toronto and in Toronto.
- Breakfasts: Pre-Toronto = super food muesli. In Toronto = oatmeal with a lot of fruit.
- Lunches: Pre-Toronto = Salad with a bunch of greens, ½ grapefruit, ¼ cup black beans, 3 oz grilled chicken breast and a drizzle of tahini. In Toronto = salads with some sort of protein and various vegetables.
- Dinners: Pre-Toronto = Salmon en papillote with lemon & asparagus and some brown rice. In Toronto = see below.
- Snacks: Pre-Toronto = raspberries in the mornings, baby carrots in the afternoons, and healthy black bean brownies after dinner.
- Saturday Brunch: I made this roasted tomato and zucchini clafoutis with whipped lemon-oregano feta again. So, so good.
- Some fun eats:
- On Wednesday one of our Canadian co-workers organized a happy hour, so that we could meet some people and talk with them outside of work. We went to the Irish Shebeen because it was close to the office. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly! It made me feel really excited about working with this team.
- Later that night Kim, Paul (who was also visiting Toronto from Minneapolis) went to Moxie’s for dinner. Some people from the office recommended it to us because it had good food and it was close to our hotel. They also told us it was like a high-class Hooters, which it was. Apparently they only hire model-esque people and do not allow employees to date. Anyways, I have the seared ginger tuna salad and a glass of Malbec. Both were delicious.
- On Thursday night two of our co-workers took Kim and I out to dinner in Toronto (since the office is actually in a suburb) so that we could actually see the city. We went to Le Select Bistro, an adorable restaurant with a menu full of delicious things. We got a bottle of Sancerre for the table. For food I went with one of the prix fixe menus and got the salade maison, duck confit, and crème brûlée. Everything was amazing. Afterwards we headed to Valdez to meet up with some other co-workers for post-dinner drinks. It was a super fun night.
FITNESS:
As I mentioned, my travel put a wrench in my workouts, but still not a bad week overall.
- Sunday: A tempo workout turned into an easy run + yoga. Since I was travelling for work the back half of the week I wanted to make sure to fit in my tempo runs before I left. I planned to do 2-4x 10-minute tempos with a short rest in between. I tried, but I just couldn’t, which was both annoying and frustrating. I don’t know if there were lingering things from when I wasn’t feeling good Friday and Saturday or if it was mental. Either way, it was a struggle. After attempting two rounds of tempo I just finished out the run at an easy pace. Total = 6.0 miles; 9:25 min/mile pace. Then I took a Core Power Heated Power Yoga class and felt much better.
- Monday: Strength + Intervals. I started out the day with a morning DharmaCycle Prime Yoga class. Then after work I headed to the treadmill for some intervals. I did 4x ½-mile @ 8:00 min/mile pace + 4x ¼-mile @ 7:30 min/mile pace with recovery in between and a little bit of warm up and cool down running. Total = 5.0 miles.
- Tuesday: Easy run. I met up with my friend Lindsey for an easy 6-mile morning run downtown. My legs were sore from Monday’s workout and hers were too, so it was nice to do an easy run and catch up a little bit. It was a gorgeous spring morning and there were so many people out running! Total = 6.0 miles; 9:45 min/mile pace.
- Wednesday: Rest day. I hadn’t planned for this to be a rest day, but I was up at 3:30am to get to the airport and was go go go until I got back to the hotel in Toronto at 10:00pm. I wasn’t thrilled about missing a workout, but whatever. Life happens.
- Thursday: Cross Training. The hotel had a decent gym. I planned to do some sprints on the treadmill and some strength training circuits, but the treadmills (all 2 of them) were being used, so I did the elliptical instead. I did a warm-up then 7x 1-minute intervals at 10 resistance followed by a 1-minute recovery then a couple minutes of cool down. Then I did two sets of the following strength training circuits – 1st: Romanian dead lifts, biceps curls, triceps extensions, weighted side dips; 2nd: sumo squats with shoulder press, bent-over rows, chest press, plank knee-to-elbow.
- Friday: Rest day. I was thinking about waking up early to do about 20-minutes on the bike, but after a late night on Thursday I decided it would be best to get more sleep and save my legs for Saturday’s long run.
- Saturday: Long run. This was the longest run of training yet – 18 miles! I finally joined run club for a run and ran it nice and easy with my friend Lindsey. Starting out at a slower pace definitely helped me feel good throughout the run. The last few miles were definitely tough, because I was starting to really feel it in my legs, but overall it felt great considering it was my first 18-mile run in quite some time. Plus, it was an absolutely gorgeous morning! Total = 18.0 miles; 9:35 min/mile pace
- Total: 1 yoga class, 2 strength training sessions, 35 miles.
OTHER FUN THINGS:
- The trip to Toronto was so fantastic. It was hectic and busy and exhausting, but it was so great to finally meet the people I have been talking to on the phone weekly since February. A lot of work can be done remotely, but face-to-face time is also so valuable. We didn’t get to explore too much of the city, but Kim and I decided that the next time we travel there we will definitely need to stay for the weekend.
- Saturday was a beautiful, hot, sunny day, so I met up with some friends in the late afternoon to grab some drinks on patios around Minneapolis – summer is here!!!
I hope you had a great week and got to enjoy the sunshine!