Catching up!

Hello! I feel like it has been forever since I've had the time to sit down and blab all about what's been up with me. Pretty much the usual has kept me from blogging: Crazy work and family time!  So here's what I've been up to in a nut-shell!

Training Plan

The plan kicked off last week with a 10k Monday morning run, then a 10k Tuesday morning run with tempo! I got both in, but decided to take Wednesday as a rest day and forego yoga as well because my calves and shins were bothering me. Not painful, just tight. I spent some time with my foam roller

 and things seemed okay for the rest of my week which included one more easy run of 7.5k (again at the crack of dawn) and one long run, done on Friday morning after I dropped my son off at school:

Out of the planned 54k for week one, I managed to get in 45.5k. Not bad as I skipped one run of 8k and only ran 7.5k instead of 8k for an easy run.

I enjoyed my first cold water bath of the training cycle after the 18k. Maybe one day I'll add ice...

Family Time

The reason why I had to shorten the run week and why I had Friday off was because we spent the weekend camping at Rockwood Conservation Area with some great friends including my best friend from high school. Friday was great and it rained most of the day on Saturday:

But we were able to get to the beach after dinner and spent another four hours on the beach on Sunday before heading home. I love camping at Rockwood because it is at most, 30 minutes from home. 

Morning Runnig

Look at that time of day! As mentioned, I am attempting to get 4/5 runs done in the early morning before work (and done before 0600). This means that I'm up with the alarm at 0435 and out the door while the time still shows 04XX. I've enjoyed this routine so far because I'm getting some good quality runs in and getting them out of the way without compromising everything else I want to do in the day. Plus its hot out.

Even at 0550 in the morning, the heat is killer! I had to miss my morning tempo today because I had a big meeting at work and had to leave the house by 0615, so we'll see how the humidity treats me around 2000 tonight. 

Work

Has been busy, but joyful. Today is my three month anniversary here so YAY! end of probation and bring on the benefits! Because I've been running so much in the morning, I'm embracing my natural frizzy wavy/curly hair and am actually loving it

So, that's life in a nutshell! Hope you've also been keeping well. 

Tell me, do you work out in the morning? What is the earliest you'd be willing to wake up to get that workout in? (for me, it is 0430). Any frizzy curly hair tips?

The Fall Plan

As mentioned in my May Recap post, I will be targeting an aggressive training plan for my goal half marathon(s) this fall.

What? Oh, I signed up for the Milton Half Marathon on September 15th and then with Speedy Sammy's prompting, I also signed up for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon on October 20th

Our goal (SS's and mine), is to run a 1:45 half marathon (or better).

If I get this accomplished at Milton, then I will just have to attempt to run faster in Toronto.

So, I needed a plan focused on speed and endurance. One that I know will work and one that can be customized.

Jack Daniels' Running Formula to the rescue!

Working with Daniels' marathon/half marathon training plan, I developed a plan for Sam and I that would also see me build my endurance well enough to handle running the 30k at the Midsummer Night's Run on August 17th (Sam will do a test race pace run for the 15k).

And there is the plan. Green indicates that I'm camping. Orange is "if I want to run tempo." Read the plan thoroughly and you'll discover something I've not posted about yet either.

Yes, this will be difficult. I've executed a few long tempo based runs in the past and they are challenging, yet rewarding. The other difficult thing will be to get all of the runs in. As you know, part of the goal this summer is to enjoy more family time. This means that I will be running those weekday runs starting at 0445-0500. 

Yep.

I've done well so far with getting myself ready to do this. I'm making lunches and getting the coffee machine ready the night before and the majority of my runs these past two weeks have been in the morning, started before 0515. Saturday, I ran 16k and started at 0551 (sleeping "in" until 0515). I don't think it will be a challenge to keep this up because I have to if I want to hit the goal.

I've also added hot yoga to the mix and arm work (because I'm determined to get some GUNS!). I know that all of these extra workouts will improve my running and should help with my weight loss (eating better is a whole other post). 

Sam and I have agreed that we will do our best to hit those tough Saturday runs together which means at least I'll have someone to struggle laugh with.

At the end of the day, this summer is really the start to the ultimate 2014 goal which is to qualify to run the Boston Marathon. 

As my favorite band (from when I was 13) said:

Step By Step.

May Recap!

It occurs to me that I didn't recap April last month! Well, April was the final push toward the marathon, with a longest ever training run of 34km and a total distance of 227km (peak month was March). It set me up quite nicely for May!

May was a spectacular month. Of course, it was marathon month, but I also kept up running and strongly!

# of runs: 18 (not bad considering I ran the marathon May 5th! I think yo can say that recovery has gone well)

Races: One, the Mississauga Marathon

Highlight run of the month: Duh! Of course it was the marathon with the incredible run and strong finish!

Total KM: 180.44. Again, recovery from the marathon has gone incredibly well. I haven't really gotten any long runs in (my next longest run in May was 15.8km  the week after the race), but I've been consistent in getting up and out for morning runs of about 5-7.5km which bodes well for my summer training. I also started some core and arm work which I aim to continue indefinitely.

Total time spent running: 17h24m10s

Average pace per KM: 0:05:47. This is about where my new easy pace is so most of my runs are executed around here.

June is off to a brilliant start in every way and I'm even lining up new workouts to add to my runs in order to strengthen them. June 17th is when I'll start my new Jack Daniels based running program (no whiskey required) which will bring challenges that I am looking to fully embrace in every way. I hope you had a great May as well. I'd love to hear about your next goal race or summer training plans!

Bread & Honey 5k Race Report

My friend and fellow blogger, Alan has spoken in the past about gumption here. He defines it based on the Pirsig definition and I fully embrace the way its been defined: "a combination of commonsense, shrewdness, and a sense of initiative."

Today, I had no gumption.

The race morning dawned at 0540 when the alarm went off and I headed to the washroom to dress, put on sunscreen and do my hair! Yes, Patty and Sam have really changed the way I view race attire. I wanted to look cute today, especially because I was wearing a skirt, but also because I figured I'd have a good chance of getting on the podium and I wanted to show those sports-bra-bum-hugger-wearing speedsters that fun outfits can also be speedy:

Skirt, two pigtails, thumbs up!

I ate breakfast and said goodbye to my husband (who has gone with the kids to visit his folks today), who asked, "So. Are you going to podium?" Har. Well. Um. It was in the back of my head.

I got to Streestville in plenty of time and immediately found my first photo opp at the start line:

Yes, 5ks are supposed to hurt, but for me this is not a profession, it is a hobby and at the end of the day, I run because I love it. Posing for a cheese-ball photo with a gigantic bee reminds me of that.

After that, I headed out for a 2k warm up at an easy and breezy 6min/km pace.

It was so humid, OMIGAWD.

I was dripping when I returned to chat with friends and visit the potty line one last time. I found Lyndsey and her husband, Dave. Dave and I headed toward the front as we wanted to run a similar time (22:30ish).

The race

And we're off. For the first time in my entire life, I elbowed the 'ish outta people at the start. My goodness I've never been pissed about runners improperly lined up at the start of the race and you can't really be mad in a community 5k like this, but if you're going to run a 6:30/km pace: DON'T LINE UP AT THE FRONT.

I will elbow you.

The course map

We headed out and cruised along down hill toward the 1k mark and I was doing fine. I saw my watch say 3:58/km pace at one point and I just breathed through that as we were running downhill at the time (I never did change the display so I saw Total Time, Total Distance, Lap Pace). Running along, see the 1k marker, see that my watch is lined up with the markers and that we're spread out now and I'm cruising trying not to think. I can see Dave in my peripheral vision and he's totally heeding his wife's advice to stay with me as long as it feels good. 

We head toward 2k and its fine. I don't look at my watch.

My breathing starts to get away from me.

I try not to think.

I see the cross streets but not the turn down to Church street and toward the end.

I think about my stupid, heavy breathing.

I call on the gumption gods.

They're busy with other people.

2.34km

I put my hand in the air and walk.

I don't even berate myself or anything. I just say to myself. "Okay Revoy, 10 seconds. Control the breathing. Let's go."

And I'm off again. 

We hit the turn toward Church street and I know that the water station is coming up. Last year, I flew through this station as I didn't need a drink. I was racing a bloody 5k! This year, my mouth felt as though I had spend 5 months in the desert and those volunteers with those plastic cups were an oasis of H2O perfection.

I walked through the station to drink.

Away again. We are back on Queen Street now and I know 4k is coming and I know that there is that slight hill. I also see that I can still make my PB. I can STILL DO IT!

Our father of gumption, hallowed be thy racing name...

Gumption god: I'm busy, Kid. Maybe next time.

I'm not proud to say I walked the end of that hill.

Away again. Screw this bloody race anyway! Screw this humidity and this sunscreen in my eye. Screw you sun for deciding to come out blasting now right at the end when I have no hat or sunglasess on.

Oh! Hi Eminem. I know, I know, Till I Collapse.

I head to the right side of the street where I know my Running Room friend Stephanie is, waiting to cheer us in and I run and run and run.

Then I see the finish and the clock: 24:00

Gumption god: I'm with you now, kid.

I kick and kick and kick.

24:37.

Tying my old PB.

Fourth place AG finish. 

That's right kids. I didn't get the PB, but I did advance in Age Group placement.

Here's the thing. If I had kept the pace up? If I had let myself have that shitty 3rd KM and then picked it up again? 

I would have podiumed.

Next time.

Yep, next time! What else can I say?

I had fun. I looked freaking awesome! I did the best I could possibly have done today.

Now, to work on that gumption:

4:29-4:33-5:10-5:06-5:03-0:18 (last 71 meters, 4:26/km pace)

Gun Time: 24:46

Chip Time: 24:37 (matching my current PB!)

Place: 110/676

Females: 33/433

AG: 4/48, F35-39

Next up? The start of the aggressive training plan toward an aggressive fall half marathon race.