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Jennifer Lau

@jenn.vdb_

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Regional Studio Manager YEG & YYC Cycle🧡| Co-Founder of Arii | Personal Trainer | Pre & Postnatal Training | Menopause and Peri- Menopause Training |

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A little look back at what half marathon training actually looked like for me 💜Most weeks looked something like:
• 5 runs per week-including easier runs, long runs, and speed work
• 2 strength focused sessions
• The occasional HYROX style workout, spin class, hot yoga class, or group fitness session to keep things fun
• And honestly… a LOT of treadmill runs while watching shows because it was too cold to run outside for most of this training cycle 😂

As much as I love running, I realized pretty quickly that I still need variety and community in my training too. I genuinely missed group fitness during heavier running weeks, which is why workouts at YEG Cycle, Impact, Team Fortitude, hot yoga, and even doing a HYROX simulation became such a fun part of the process.

The HYROX simulation especially ended up being one of my favorite parts of training. I was honestly just curious to see how I’d do, and it ended up reminding me how much I enjoy challenging myself in different ways and trying things outside of just running.

Honestly though, some of the hardest parts for me weren’t even the actual runs. Learning how to fuel properly during longer runs and forcing myself to slow down during tapering before race day were probably harder mentally than a lot of the workouts themselves 😅

Overall, I think this experience reminded me that training doesn’t have to look perfect to still be meaningful. Sometimes it’s just about finding consistency where you can, adjusting as you go, and still making space for the things you enjoy along the way 💜 by @jenn.vdb_

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5 months ago

Well… I did it 😅 Today I ran my very first race, a half marathon! Truthfully, I’ve always avoided races and competitions because if I do them, I want to do well. I’m not very good at “just finishing”.

Finding time to train with two kids and a full time job definitely wasn’t easy. Most runs happened at 5am before everyone was awake, or during Levi’s nap time. I still love doing all types of training, strength, HYROX style workouts, spin, running, all of it, so focusing enough on just running was actually harder for me than the running itself.

I didn’t even officially sign up until two weeks before the race because I genuinely didn’t know if I could do it. My goal walking into today was sub 1:40, and I was BEYOND nervous.

But somehow…I did it.

🏁 1:38:27
Top 10 in my age category
Top 50 female overall

For my very first race ever, I’m honestly really happy with that. It definitely wasn’t perfect 😂 It was windy, there were hills, my shoelace came undone mid race, my bib broke and was hanging off one side, contacts in my eyes were so dry from the wind that I could barely focus. There were definitely moments where I questioned my life choices out there. But it was such a cool experience.

Thank you to everyone who supported me along the way. To friends who checked in, sent encouraging messages, and came out to cheer. To my family and kids for waking up ridiculously early to support me. And thank you Corry for driving me there, taking me to the expo because I had no idea what I was doing, and trying to catch me at different points throughout the race.

Seeing everyone’s HYROX reflections lately definitely got me thinking too. Will I do another half marathon? I honestly don’t know, but HYROX next…maybe. by @jenn.vdb_

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5 months ago

A little running milestone I wasn’t expecting to hit quite so soon 🥹 I started running again in February, and about three weeks ago I set myself a goal to run a sub 20 minute 5K before the end of the year.

Last week @team_fortitude_yeg mentioned that he thought I could already do it. I wasn’t so sure, but figured there was only one way to find out. So today I decided to give it a shot. 19:48!! 🎉

Honestly, I didn’t expect to hit that goal this soon, but I’m pretty happy about it! It’s been such a fun few months getting back into running. From completing my first half marathon in May to setting little goals for myself along the way, I’ve really enjoyed the process and seeing the progress. Sometimes it just takes someone else believing you can do something to give you that extra push to try. Now I guess I need a new goal 😅💜 by @jenn.vdb_

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8 days ago

A little life photo dump💜

📸 @deanjtumibay by @jenn.vdb_

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24 days ago

So much fun being on the other side today, helping out and cheering everyone on 🙌🏼 Everyone absolutely crushed it!! Low key FOMO watching though 😂👀 by @jenn.vdb_

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a month ago

Wasn’t planning on doing another full HYROX sim… but apparently we’re doing these things now 😂 I definitely didn’t go into this expecting a PR, but somehow managed to sneak one in at 1:04:26, 34 seconds faster than my last sim 🙌 Pretty sure I can thank the wall balls for that one because nothing gets you moving quite like having a group of people cheering, counting you down AND a camera pointed at you. The pressure works.

Another seriously amazing event put together by Matt @team_fortitude_yeg .These sims are always so well organized, and there’s so much work that goes on behind the scenes to make days like this happen.

But honestly, the community might be my favourite part. So many familiar faces, everyone cheering each other through the hard parts, and some seriously impressive times out there 🔥It’s pretty cool watching people put in the work and then seeing it pay off.

And obviously the perfect way to finish @mooscanada muffins waiting for us afterward. The perfect protein treat after a full sim! Another one in the books. Maybe I should stop saying I’m not going to do these 😂 by @jenn.vdb_

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2 months ago

Edmonton Marathon, you were a VIBE!! 🔥 Congrats to every single runner who showed up and crushed it! Such a fun morning cheering everyone on with the BEST crew 🧡 Couldn’t ask for a better team or community!

#EdmontonMarathonCheerSquad #RaceDayEnergy by @jenn.vdb_

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2 months ago

August lately ☀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏆🚲🧡👦🏻

📸 @deanjtumibay by @jenn.vdb_

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2 months ago

This weekend’s HYROX Race Simulation was such a good time. Huge shoutout to @team_fortitude_yeg for putting together such a fun event! Despite the heat, everyone showed up, pushed themselves, cheered each other on, and absolutely crushed it 🥵👏

I was definitely nervous going into this one. Since finishing my half marathon in May, I’ve been trying to make it to Matt’s HYROX training about once a week, but between my toe injury and life getting busy, my training over the last month was much less consistent than I would’ve liked.

I knew I could finish, but anyone who knows me knows I’m not always very good at doing something just to finish it 😂 I wanted to see how well I could do, get an honest baseline, and decide whether I was ready to sign up for my first official HYROX race.

I ended up finishing in exactly 1:05, beating my previous simulation time, and somehow finishing 1st in the Women’s Solo division 😅 I genuinely wasn’t expecting that, especially after the last month of inconsistent training, but I’m really happy with how it went.

More than anything, the day reminded me how much I love the community around this kind of training. It gave me a clearer idea of where I’m at, what I need to work on, and maybe the push I needed to finally sign up for the real thing 👀 by @jenn.vdb_

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3 months ago

Stampede 🤠 by @jenn.vdb_

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3 months ago

Team Building 🧡 #fs8 by @jenn.vdb_

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5 months ago