Liebster Blog Award

As the days are passing by and I am getting lazier and squishier with each and every one of them, eating candy and chocolate to keep my stress level afloat, it comes in handy that I was nominated by Sam from "Breaking my Runners In" (thank you!) for the Liebster Blog Award so I don't have to give my brain too much of a workout in writing a post. Don't worry, I am not in the race to win anything, but it's a way of spreading the love forward amongst us underdog fitness bloggers. This award is for bloggers with less than 200 followers (hiya, all 5 of you!) who deserve some recognition and support to keep on blogging (that's me, whee!). The rules are as following:

So here we go:

1. POST 11 FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF (I used to have 100 of those when I first started blogging 10 years ago, where are they when I need them?)

• I am an only child
• I was born in Romania where I lived for 15 years, then moved with my parents to France after the fall of the communist regime, where I lived for another 10 years. In 2000 I moved to Canada with my hubbs and so far, I don't have any plans for moving again. :-)
• I can solve the Rubik's cube in about 90 sec, I learned when I was 12, but I am getting rusty and need to practice regularly so I don't forget.
• I practiced volleyball and taekwon-do competitively when I was younger and more agile. I can also play a mean ping-pong.
• I wear a fancy title at work, but I am still a goof at heart and I fight for being taken seriously.
• My blood type is B+, so is my hubbs'. I keep on wondering what my kids' blood types are.
I would like to donate blood, but nobody wants it because I lived in France and I am a potential mad cow disease carrier.
• I saw Guns'n Roses, Supertramp, Paul Mc Cartney,  Madonna, Shania Twain, Vanesa Paradis and U2 in concert.
• My favorite still cartoon characters are Calvin and Hobbes, my favorite cartoon character is Wyle E. Coyote.
• I knitted a sweater for my teddy bear when I was 12
• When I was 8 months pregnant with my first child I was selected for a French TV show where I had to guess 6 people's hobbies/jobs. The show's name was "Qui est Qui?" (Who's Who?). I was the winner of the show and took home 20,000 Francs and a Carribean vacation that I couldn't go to, for being pregnant at the time. I still haven't been to a Carribean vacation, ever.
• I would like to learn how to juggle, but I know there are some things that I will never be good  at, such as juggling, or playing a musical instrument. I am totally fine with it.
• I hate vanilla scent. I also discovered in the past 2 years that I was allergic to perfume and fumes and I get asthma attacks because of it. No perfume around me please, not even scented candles.

2. ANSWER 11 QUESTIONS FROM YOUR NOMINATOR

• Are you a folder or a crumpler? 
I only fold my fitness clothes and PJs because they go in a drawer. The rest of my wardrobe is on hangers, so the question does not apply. I also fold my towels and sheets, but I don't care about fitted sheets, which can be crumpled at will.
• What is your favourite type of fiction?
I like crime/mystery stories and not-too-far-in-the-future sci-fi. For those who are familiar with French literature, I own every single one of Rene Barjavel's books.
• What is your favourite thing for dinner, either at home or when you go out to eat?
At home, hubbs' lasagna, the best I've ever had. I am not very fond of restaurant food, but I find Boston Pizza's salmon and spinach salad very tasty. I can hardly say no to a good steak, but if I go to the Keg, I usually have that with shrimp and steamed vegetables.
• Have you ever gone to the bathroom in the bushes on a run?
Yes, I do it all the time, last time was during the Toronto Marathon, you can notice it on my Runkeeper GPS trace around km 30. I have no shame.
• Coffee or tea
Coffee in the morning (with milk and sugar) and herbal mint tea after 3pm.
• What month do you wish it was all year round?
I am pretty fond of September. Perfect temperature, pretty colors, my birthday.
• Do you dress up at Halloween?
It depends on the mood. I seems that every 3-4 years I feel like dressing up and I get pretty involved in the process. One time, I was a very ugly witch complete with prosthetic nose and plaster and makeup all over my face (nobody recognized me), another time a punk rocker with a mohawk and a mean attitude and just yesterday, a funny/creepy clown with full makeup and polkadots and rainbows everywhere.

Hope you are not scared of clowns

• Do you cross train?
I love Yoga, so for a triathlete who already does swimming and biking regularly, that probably qualifies as cross training. I prefer hot and sweaty yoga to the zen and mellow kind. I also do some strength training exercises with dumbbells and body weight stuff, plus planks/crunches when I feel motivated enough.
• Do you still live in the same city as where you were born?
Nope, see the 11 facts about me above.
• What did you want to be when you 'grew up'?
When I was not yet a grown up, I wanted to be a biologist, but since I grew up, I also considered becoming a professional photographer and a police officer. Nope, I am not any of these.
• What is your favourite brand of running gear?
I am not loyal to any brand in particular because I am rather thrifty and many times I would just pick up from a thrift store what fits me. I have been quite impressed with the fabrics from Nike, the shoes from Adidas and New Balance, the bottoms from Sugoi and the bras from Champion (almost no chaffing, yay!). 

3. NOMINATE 11 OTHER BLOGS WITH UNDER 200 FOLLOWERS AND ASK THEM 11 QUESTIONS (in no particular order)

• Read.Write.Run.Mom
• 21 Days
• Project Iron
• Carol Levesque's Blog
• just a jaunt around the block...
• Cavegirl on the run
• A whole lot of soles
• Run.Write.Race

May have more than 200 followers, but highly recommended:

• run this amazing day
• Sub-three
• Mission to a(nother) marathon
• Ann's running commentary

11 QUESTIONS TO MY NOMINEES

• What is your favorite distance to run, swim, bike, or all three, and why?
• What inspired you to include fitness in your lifestyle?
• What movie made you cry, if any?
• What gets you going in the morning?
• What is your favorite pair of running shoes?
• What is the most daring thing you've ever done?
• Do you have a life goal that you're still chasing?
• Favorite ice cream flavour?
• Do you have a favorite pre-race breakfast?
• Who is your biggest fan?
• If you were to motivate someone to get off the couch and start exercising, what would you tell them?