VegFest, zombies and competition prep confessions... oh my!

Exciting things have happened since my last post!

Last weekend was the Halifax VegFest. I arrived about an hour and a half after it started and the hall was packed with people. I was not expecting that many people. The organizers weren't expecting that many people. There were 3 000 tickets printed and they ran out which is great because proceeds were donated to Hope for Wildlife and North Mountain Animal Sanctuary.

The vendors weren't expecting that many people so most of the food ran out pretty quickly. I made the mistake of walking around the venue before deciding on what I wanted to eat. Because of that, I missed out on the Korean-inspired K-Dog and the other goodies at The Food Wolf food truck and EnVie was out of chickpea wraps when I scrambled to get one. So, I didn't get to eat as much as I would have liked. I ended up having a few random things, my favourite being the quinoa apple crisp from All Good Things Bakery. I am relieved that I couldn't get my hands on what I wanted. My coach told me that there will be time for cupcakes after my competition.

Alright, I may have had
a tiny cupcake from the
Foggy Goggle...

When I walked in to the venue, I was expecting to the same businesses and the same food that I see all of the time. It wasn't like that at all. Cocoa & Honey had vegan organic fair-trade chocolate and truffles. My fitness coach, Krissy, was beside the new supplement company she is endorsing, Verda. There were even animal rights groups that I have never ever heard of! And I thought I knew every single business and group in the area that supports veganism.

My favourite part of VegFest was seeing my friends. I spent half of my time talking to people, running into people that I have only ever known online and I was even hunted down by a woman that I haven't seen since junior high.

Oh yeah. I got the opportunity to talk to Gene Baur, co-founder of Farm Sanctuary. I was interested in knowing if he was planning on doing another run or Ironman and he seemed pretty interested in what I was doing as a bikini competitor. I had to thank him for being such an inspiration to me and for what he has done for the animals. He was one of the speakers this year and he gave an amazing talk that catered to vegans and non-vegans.

I've heard rumors that it will be in a bigger venue next year and it might be held over 2 days instead of one. Also, the vendors will know to bring more food. So if you missed it this year, you have to check it out next year!

Yesterday, Devin and I participated in the Zombie Trail Run. I was expecting the whole thing to be pretty cheesy but the zombies were pretty scary and the organizers got very creative with it. While we were walking up to the park, we passed zombies playing football with a severed head and zombies where limping along while we waited for the race to start. You were given a belt with 3 flags that the zombies are trying to grab. They had obstacles set up in the woods where zombies would pop out at you or chase you. My favourite obstable was near the beginning of the trail. There were 3 doors in the middle of the woods. You had to choose a door and run through it but there were zombies waiting on the other side. There were also zombies playing the banjo and hanging from trees along the trail. It was intense.

You think that's bad? At the end of the race, you hit an open field and where it is a zombie blood bath. Those football players were COMING AT YOU. There were gravel hills you had to run up and down and hale bales you had to jump onto. It was crazy. I lost my remaining 2 flags and Devin lost all of his during that leg.

Oh yeah, we accidentally had to do an extra kilometer because they sent our group down the wrong trail when we started. We also ended up walking 20 minutes back to our car. We parked at an elementary school and took a shuttle over to the trail. We had to leave immediately after the race was over but the there was no mention that the shuttle wouldn't start running again until 1pm. So I was exhausted!

And finally, I am 7 weeks out from the ECC. How is my prep going?

If I can describe it in one word: exhausting. A couple of weeks ago, I received a new workout plan. I have to workout 6 days a week. My workouts consist of weight lifting and pylometrics in supersets. I have to do 30 minutes of cardio on top of that. Some days are fairly quick but my last leg day took me 3 hours to complete. I do have an optional rest day. I haven't taken one yet.

Working full time and hitting the gym is bad enough. Doing the Maritime Race Weekend and the Zombie Trail Run was too much for my body. Running destroys my body. Today, I woke up with sore legs, incredibly sore obliques, a sore back and a bit of a sprained ankle and what did I do? I hit up the gym and did arms, 30 minutes on the ARC trainer and posing. This is also my second day with a killer headache. I'm staying with my parents this weekend and just being here has thrown off my routine. I had a soy latte after the run to get me through the trip home and my driving lesson yesterday.I thought I was dehydrated but maybe the caffiene is causing this headache. Water and painkillers helped last night but they are not helping me tonight. Also, I've been having digestive issues on top of that. Oy. I could hibernate right now.

Sticking to my meal plan has been pretty easy. In the spring, I had the opposite problem that I do now. Working out was fun but I could not get my fingers out of the chocolate chips.

Other than that, I am getting pretty excited. I am seeing huge changes in body. I love my suit. I can't wait to see myself on competition day.

After this show, I am considering taking a lengthy break from competing. There is a drug-free show I would like to do next September. Or I could do this show and decide to never compete again. Roller Derby is on my bucket list. I couldn't commit this year because of the cost and it interferes with competition prep. I might consider joining their orientation next October if I can scrap together some money for the gear.

I hope everyone had a great week. Remember, keep fit and have fun :D