I've Always Been a Joiner

WIAW - Superbowl edition

2012-02-08T06:22:00.019-05:00

It is another round of What I Ate Wednesday. When I headed over to Pea's and Crayons to get the logo, I discovered that it was "Love Your Veggies Month".

WHOOPS!

Today's post is brought to you by Superbowl Sunday, so I'll have to get on that theme next week (all food was consumed on Superbowl Sunday)

Breakfast is a recycled photo, but the point is there. Oatmeal with brown sugar and frozen blue berries.

Post run lunch was an amazing tuna sandwich on toasted white bread with loads of iceberg lettuce.

Pre-game snacks - Chips and salsa and pretzels.

Fergus LOVED them too. He thought the salsa was "Chetchup" though.

What is a sporting event without beer? And lots of water to keep hydrated.

Amazing dinner! Our salad was a mix of iceberg lettuce and baby spinach with peppers, green onions, croutons, grape tomatoes and shredded carrot. My husband made pulled chicken in the crockpot and I made this super easy one pot mac and cheese.

During dinner beer, with desert, tea.

This cake (which looked bad and didn't photograph well) was lovingly made by my older son and I that very morning. It is an amazing recipe that my brother in law shared and never fails to please.

Especially when you get to lick the icing beaters.

I hope you enjoyed a fun filled weekend!

Do you like to make BIG occasions out of bit TV events like the Superbowl or the Oscars or Election night?

Mississauga Marathon Training – Week 5!

2012-02-06T09:57:00.000-05:00

Rolling right along…

Monday: I did some core strength and inner thigh strengthening exercising while watching Top Chef Texas. I’m trying to get much better at getting this workout in.

Tuesday: Treadmill Tempo Tuesday! Another brilliant run on the treadmill at a 5:25/km pace. The pace is feeling easy and I’ve been running it for five weeks now. I’m going to increase (decrease?) it to 5:20/km starting in week six. 6.44k, 37:32

Wednesday: Free run night at Running Room. We had 10k with tempo on tap and I blasted through this tempo run, hitting 4:XX/km way too much and ending the tempo part with an average pace of 5:16/km! 10.15k, 1:00:19

Thursday: It was clinic night, but I ended up being stuck on the GO train for an extra 45 minutes as something was blocking the tracks. I missed the clinic and ended up putting my kids to bed before I headed out for an easy out and back run along Derry Road. I didn’t want to go, but I felt great running and was very happy that I stuck with the plan. 8k, 50:18

Friday: I’ve decided to work on stretching and strengthening to help me complete the training cycle and the marathon as best as I can. Based on this and the fact that I work from home on Friday, I was able to fit in an early morning BodyFlow class at my gym. The class is a combination of yoga, Tai Chi, and Pilates and I felt good to add this into my training.

Saturday: My husband took the kids and went to visit his parents in Cobourg and asked that I complete my long run while they were away. I was lucky that my friend Kerry also wanted to get her long run in on this day and we agreed to meet shortly after noon. I was a bit worried as I’ve never completed a LSD run mid-day, but I didn’t have anything to worry about. I was fueled perfectly having eating a croissant and peanut butter for lunch and I was dressed perfectly in a long sleeved top and vest (this February weather is AMAZING!). I didn’t take any of the gels I had packed and just drank a bit of sports drink near the end. Kerry joined me for 16k and I was able to get my full 20k in. 20k, 2:08:36

Sunday: Another brilliant day! I wanted to be sure that I got the kilometers in per the training plan so I executed my first ever recovery run post LSD. I started less then 24 hours after I had completed the 20k the day before but felt GREAT for the entire run. I concentrated on keeping my pace nice and easy and on running tall. 8k, 51:33

This was another great week of training. I’m actually starting to feel the need to run most days which is a nice feeling at this stage. Week six will see me run my longest LSD distance ever! Stay tuned to see how that goes!

Total KM: 52.59
Total Time: 5:28:18
Average pace per KM: 0:06:15

January Recap!

2012-02-02T13:59:00.004-05:00

What a great first month of MARATHON training!

# of runs: 21 (I didn’t skip a single one!)

Longest run: 20k on a lovely Milton morning with Alison and Sarah

Races: One: Robbie Burns 8k

Total KM: 202.01 – beating my previous highest month by 20.98km

Total time spent running: 20h56m54s (Holy CRAP!)

Average pace per KM: 0:06:13

I’m super happy about the way the training is shaping up! I’m sure February will be a lower mileage month due to our trip and the shorter month, but I’m going to do my very best to keep up with the program! My next race is the Chilly Half Marathon on March 4th and I’m really looking forward to it!

The best part of this month was ending it knowing that I can start to run my tempo runs faster. Currently I’m aiming for a 5:25/km pace which I get on the treadmill without problem (of course), but the last two outdoor runs I hit around a 5:16/5:18, so I’m upping my goal pace to 5:20/km. I’m happy to see where I am in another six weeks and I hope I’ll be faster still! I’m planning on keeping my long runs around 6:25-6:40/km though. No sense in changing that seeing as all of these paces are within the same program toward a four hour marathon.

I also joined MyFitnessPal this month and am really enjoying the accountability it is giving me toward healthier eating especially with so much training. I’ve never loved hard boiled eggs more (HAHA!). I’m hoping to loose a bit of weight before the marathon, but I’m also working hard to eat all of my calories every day so that I’m fueled enough to get the work done that I need. I also love the WIAW posts for the very same reason!

How was your January?

What I ate Wednesday

2012-01-31T21:07:00.011-05:00

Hosted by the very lovely and talented

Peas and Crayons
All food was consumed on Tuesday!

Breakfast: Cheerios and half a banana with milk

Once at my desk: Coffee and water

Snack before my run: Granola bar and yogurt

Lunch after my run: Homemade sweet potato soup, hard boiled egg, half a bread stick and chocolate milk

Afternoon snack: 3 squares of Lindt dark chili chocolate. Trust me and try it!

Dinner: Mum's homemade beef and rice cabbage rolls with potatoes and carrots. I forgot to take a photo, but the meal was awesome!

I hope you enjoyed a great day of eating as well!

11 Randoms

2012-01-31T09:08:00.007-05:00

I was tagged by Robin and Caroline and here are my answers!

Here are the rules:

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

So, 11 Random things about me:

1. I’m growing out my hair and CAN’T wait until I can put it in a ponytail again. I always lose my hair post partum so I always chop it off.

About a month post partum with great hair (before it started falling out)

By five months, my hair was all gone!

My last haircut - in December!

2. I used/use cloth diapers for my babies – our favorite brand is Fuzzi Bunz
3. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University – my major was Theatre history, theory and directing with a minor in Film and TV history and theory
4. I work as a media strategist at a big Canadian bank
5. I played zero sports in high school but was a competitive dancer, attending tournaments in Las Vegas and Florida
6. The longest distance I ever ran before I took up running at age 30 was 800 meters in grade six
7. Recently I’ve reduced my make up to just mascara and powder (because I have blond eyelashes)
8. I rarely wear make-up Friday-Sunday unless we are going somewhere important (grocery shopping doesn’t count)
9. I only JUST bought my first lululemon running item (long sleeved top) and I LOVE IT!
10. I love major league baseball – go Jays!
11. My dream job would be to work in the marketing department of the Toronto Blue Jays

From Robin:

1)What is the worst thing you've ever eaten? I can’t really think of anything right now – I tried quinoa as breakfast last week and it was gross despite the brown sugar and cinnamon
2) What is the most exotic place you've ever visited? Hmm – I’ve been to New Zealand and I’ve been to Australia, but I’m going to go with the Carcross Desert in the Yukon
3) If you won the lottery what would be the most important thing you did with the money? I’d do something that would help children – especially hungry children
4) Biggest pet peeve? People who show up at a meeting late – always
5) Are you a commuter to work? Yes, I take the Go Train – Whee 3 hour commute a day in total.
6) Favourite TV show? I love Amazing Race and Top Chef
7) Do you get enough sleep? Not lately – Fergus woke up at 4am today (I did lay on his floor until 515 though)
8) Have you ever experienced what you think is a miracle? – I’ve had two kids
9) Biggest goal for 2012? – Finish the Mississauga marathon
10) Winter or summer? Fall
11) Favourite person – My husband and my sons – a three way tie

From Caroline:

1. What is your favorite brand of running shoes? I’ve only worn New Balance
2. Favorite book you have read recently? The Hunger Games Trilogy
3. Letterman or Leno? Letterman, but I never watch – I’m in bed by 10pm
4. How are you today? Tired!
5. Who is someone you admire? My neighbour Vivette – she’s amazing
6. Reality TV: yes? no? if yes...confess the worst...I won't tell anyone Yes! I like Survivor, Amazing Race, Top Chef, Chopped
7. What makes you laugh? My kids
8. Why are the Kardashians famous again? No idea - I’ve never watched those shows
9. Favorite Olympic moment? – Crosby’s goal
10. What is something you cannot stand? People who are always late for meetings
11. When is your next race? March 4th! Chilly Half Marathon

I will not be tagging anyone as pretty much every blog I read has been tagged!

Mississauga Marathon Training - Week 4!

2012-01-30T20:04:00.006-05:00

WooHoo! Yet another great week of training!

Monday: Rest Day.

Tuesday: Treadmill tempo during my lunch hour. This just felt good. I did the typical: 12 minute warm up, 20 minutes at 5:25/km pace and cool down to round out the 4 miles. 6.44k, 37:40

Wednesday: Ah-MAZ-ING ten k tempo. It was just a great, great run and it was a wonderful way to celebrate Robbie Burns day. This run was 15 minute warm up, 20 minutes at 5:25/km and the rest to cool down. Around 17 minutes, the clinic leader came up on me and I managed to gasp: "Don't push the pace. Three minutes. Left. Temp. O." He glided along with me until I was done and we ran the rest nice and easy. 10.12k, 59:12

Thursday: Official clinic night. We had a great injury prevention/stretching talk and then headed out for 8k easy. My legs wouldn't stay slow for this one. 8.24k, 50:53

Friday: As I had the Robbie Burns race on Sunday, I decided to do my long run on Friday as I work from home that day. It was a snowy morning, but it wasn't cold out and the snow was sticky, not slippery. By the end of the cut-back LSD my feet were soaked, but I was very happy to have finished the run:

16k, 1:39:51.

Saturday: Rest

Sunday:
Robbie Burns 8k race. A great, great day for a great, great run!

8k, 44:58.

Total KM: 48.8k
Total Time: 4:52:34
Average pace per KM: 0:06:00

The next two weeks will be key in keeping up my mileage as we are heading aboard this for a week of fun-filled family time February 12-19:

That's the Disney Wonder and we sail from LA to Mexico and back. It will be our first cruise, our first time in Mexico and our first family trip!

This is the first week when my LSD run actually matched that of the group and that my total distance is what it should be. While we are supposed to stay at 16k this week and head up to 23k the week after, I'm pretty sure I'll hit 18-20k this week and do my final long run before the trip on February 11th in honour of Sherry Arnold.

The weeks are flying by for sure!

How is your training? Are you heading on any winter holiday soon?

Robbie Burns 8k Race Report

2012-01-29T13:45:00.017-05:00

I hope you're rrrrrr-olling your RRRRRsss when you are reading the title!

What a fantastic race! I honestly don't think I could feel better about it at all.

Here's how it went down.

Kerry and I texted back and forth on Friday and Saturday and we decided to go out at marathon race pace (She's aiming for a 2hr half at Chilly - so am I, plus I'm training toward a 4hr marathon). She felt that it may be a bit too much for her for the entire 8k, but I knew that 5:40/km should be easy for me. We agreed that we'd evaluate as we went and cut each other loose if need be. It felt great to have a plan.

Race morning came late for me! I was just getting out of bed at 0630 when usually I'm almost on my way out the door for my long run at that time. Ahh, sleep! I got dressed, went downstairs to join my boys who were all already awake and ate my usual peanut butter and bagel. I even had a small coffee! I was feeling some stomach nerves which I thought was pretty odd as I was very confident that I'd have no problem with this race. I had such a bad pain in my left ribs when I was buttering my bagel that I had to squat down and do some Lamaze breathing to get though it (I guess you do use that stuff more then ~~once~~ twice). Once I ate, the pains went away though and I'm pretty sure it was just nerves. CRAZY!

I picked up Kerry and we were on the way by 0750. Traffic was non-existent and we were quickly at the high school start with Kerry exclaiming on the old building (she's a high school Phys. Ed teacher) and me smiling at all of the kilts. We got our race kits, and got our bibs on. I decided not to wear a fleece layer (thank goodness), but did add the socks my husband wore at our wedding:

I got a lot of smiles and encouragement when people saw my get-up and it felt so fun to be dressed up and ready to enjoy the race. I mean any race with this guy has GOT to be good, right?

Soon, we were being told to head out to the start and as we did, we got to pass by the Halton Police Pipes band:
There were great and set the right tone for a fun, great race.

Soon, were were hearing the final countdown and were off! Kerry and I were pretty close to the front, but it was still very congested. I asked if she wanted to wait until things cleared out a bit or weave and get on pace. The answer was weave and we did until we were settled in with people running at the same pace as us. At 1km, my garmin lap showed 5:41 and I gave Kerry a thumbs up, letting her know we were bang on pace. 2k and 3k went by much the same way and I said to Kerry - "Only 5k left! Piece of cake; we'll be done in half an hour." Kerry was pleased to hear it and I was thrilled with my ability to keep the pace around the mark we set, adjusting for the slight downhill as we ran on toward the lake.

I can't really explain how great this race and pace felt for me. I actually felt the exact same way I did when I ran Mississauga: I was having fun, I was feeling great and I was running fine. At 6k, I asked Kerry how she was doing and she was struggling a bit. I told her how amazing she was doing considering she had not done any speed-work in her training cycle and that there were less then 2k to go! She told me to go on without her and I said I wasn't ready yet. We ran for a bit more before she told me that she'd have to walk soon and when I looked at her, I knew she needed the break. I told her that she could totally do this and then bid her goodbye as I picked it up for the next 1.5k. I was flirting with my pace around tempo for the last bit of the race and really turned it on in the final 1k. It felt hard as I kept being hit with winds when we crossed streets but I knew that the race was almost over and that there was no point in slowing down. I finally finished a race passing people in the final kilometre! Before I knew it, I had turned the corner, and was running to the finish, smiling all the way. I realized that I would finish right at 45 minutes and was happy with the effort and my ability to control my race from start to finish.

Final Time: 44:57

Per Garmin; 5:41-5:40-5:34-5:38-5:35-5:42-5:37-5:14-4:14 (last 70m)

I'll be heading back to the race next year with an 8k PR goal for sure!

RRRRAAAAAAAAAAB-BIE BURRRRNS race goals

2012-01-27T08:58:00.003-05:00

“Ah wad some power the giftie gie us
To see ourselves as others see us.”
― Robert Burns

This will be my very first 8k race.

I'm not really sure what to put down as a race goal.

I can aim for 10k race pace (5:31/km) and a time of 44:06.

I can aim for MRP (5:40/km) and a time of 45:20.

I can decide to run it with my friend Kerry at whatever pace she wants (I have no idea if she's even wanting to race it).

Either way, I've got to get 16k in either today or tomorrow and that may be the deciding factor on how fast I run (or not).

Well, that and the kilt I'll be wearing!

Here's tae the heath, the hill and the heather,
The bonnet, the plaid, the kilt and the feather.

Say "HI" if you see me!

What I Ate Wednesday!

2012-01-24T19:51:00.015-05:00

Hosted by the very lovely and talented

Peas and Crayons!

All food was consumed on Tuesday!

I started the day at 6:15 with Quick oats with brown sugar and frozen blueberries. I also took my Immunity drops with cranberry juice:

Then once I got to work at 8am, one of the best parts of the day:

10am snack time brought me some yummy fruit: pineapple and a clementine:

Post tempo run lunchtime: Mixed greens with quinoa, cherry tomatoes and balsamic dressing and a cheese string (I buy these in bulk so I'm not stealing them from my kids):

2pm snack time brought a 100 calorie granola bar (again, purchased for children, but finding its way into my lunch), and some water (I drank 4 of these glasses while at work):

And supper: Tex-Mex Fusilli:

And a final snack while watching the hockey game:

What did YOU eat today?

Week 3! - Mississauga Marathon Training

2012-01-22T13:15:00.004-05:00

Another fantastic week!

Monday: Rest. I did spend about 15 minutes doing some push ups, crunches, dips and planks. I need to do more of these.

Tuesday: Treadmill tempo during lunch hour. I hit the pace perfectly and felt great. 6.44k, 37:53

Wednesday: Group free run, 10k with Tempo. This run sucked. But as Lindsay pointed out, it was likely mental as I did most of the tempo at a pretty good pace. 9.63k, 56:40

Thursday: Clinic run. The schedule had us down for 8k, but the leader only had a 6k map. I wanted to stick to the schedule so I did the run and then tacked on the extra 2k from the store. This easy run felt great! 8k, 50:34

Friday: Rest. Man, I needed it!

Saturday: This was a beautiful day! The sun was shining, even if the sidewalks/roads were snowy due to a nighttime snowfall. I met with my friend Kerry and we ran together in the wonderful sun. 9.6k, 1:03:31

Sunday: I had a goal to run 30k this weekend which meant a 20k run on Sunday. I was scheduled to meet with Alison from the clinic and her friend Sarah in town for our run, but they were going shorter distances then me. I got around this by leaving my house at 0640 and running 5k before meeting with them for 14k more, plus 1k home after I left them. Another wonderful morning with clean roads. It feels so AMAZING to get back home before 9am knowing that the group has only run about 3-6k. 20k, 2:08:25

All in all, another great week minus Wednesday! I missed my highest mileage week by 2.45k, but I know I'll break that soon enough. Next week will be a cut back week as I'm racing the Robbie Burns 8k race on Sunday.

Total KM: 53.77
Total Time: 5:37:03
Average pace per KM: 0:06:16

When it just doesn't work

2012-01-20T09:36:00.003-05:00

Wednesday's run was a really crappy run for me.

I went into the group run already thinking that I wouldn't do my tempo portion even though it was scheduled (and I'm pretty big on keeping to the schedule). I figured that I could do the run as easy and get the tempo in on Thursday or Saturday. I was so tired as my youngest son has been walking up throughout the night again and is up for the day around 4am (He was awake today, Friday, from 3-6 and then fell back asleep leaning against me on the couch. Yawn). I was not enthusiastic at all about running.

When we started the run, I ended up alone (again - that's what SUCKS about a small group - no one is at my pace) and I had quite the internal discussion going on about running the tempo versus saving it for later in the week (saving it! HA! Like its a treat or something!). The store manager who is running with our group doubled back from the front pack and we talked for a bit about it and while he didn't say anything one way or another, he pretty much agreed that if I was feeling okay, I should probably just get it done.

At 15 minutes into the run, I hit lap on my Garmin and picked up the pace to my McMillan target of 5:25/km (Running Room has me doing tempo at 5:44/km and has me racing at 5:42/km - that just seems wrong to me, thus McMillan who agrees that my Mpace should be 5:42 to achieve a 4 hour marathon). I felt pretty good for the first 10 minutes. I was alone (boo), but managing my internal chatter to keep motivated (the usual - "you can do anything for 20 minutes." "do you think running a MARATHON will be easy?" "Suck it up, macnic"). The sidewalks were icy in parts so that slowed me down and made the run a bit harder I think. I did manage a thankful thought as I ran by my childhood Church (where I was married) and thought about how lucky I was to even be out and running.

But then... then...

My tired body and legs just caught up to me. I had caught up to the speedy runners in the group and passed them as they were done their tempo and just... crashed and burned. I hit lap at 15:56 into my tempo portion and walked for a full minute. The speedy group passed me. I caught them again at a light and said I was sticking with them now (YAY! Friends!) and managed to run another 4km with them at a punishing 5:52/km average pace.

When I finished I just felt like crap.

Ya, I did the (almost) 10k and I pretty much did a the entire tempo run, but it just felt like crap. There was no fun in the run.

Thank goodness I know that this does happen from time to time and my next run will be better (and it was).

What do you do when you're in the middle of the run and you realize that its just not working?

What I Ate Wednesday!

2012-01-17T21:22:00.016-05:00

Once again, hosted by
Peas & Crayons,

I bring you my new favorite post to write: What I Ate Wednesday!
(Note, all food in this post was consumed on Tuesday!)

6am Breakfast - Yogurt with 1 tsp of fish oil stirred in and a homemade whole wheat, oat bran and flax blueberry muffin (those are ice crystals on it, I make a batch and freeze them so I have breakfast options)

Shared with this guy (who was awake at the un-Godly hour of 0400.

THAT'S FOUR AM PEOPLE!):

8am, once at work (I like strong coffee and I always get a bold at the 'bucks. I don't mind Tim Horton's, but it is not my absolute fave):

It was a busy morning, so this snack of cantaloupe was eaten between 11 and 12:20 before I went for a run:

1:40pm lunch, mini quiche, mixed greens and cherry tomatoes with balsamic dressing and carrot sticks with hummus:

6pm dinner. Homemade turkey pot pie. Yes, we still have turkey in the freezer from Christmas. This was made with the turkey, a can of low fat cream of chicken soup, some s&p, some dried rosemary and frozen peas, carrots, corn, peppers and asparagus. It was so tasty, but I limited myself to the one piece:

Cranberry juice. Taken just to get those immunity plus drops down. Man, they are alcohol-y! (I also drank about 4L of water throughout the day):

9pm. Oreo truffles. Again, these are from Christmas and reside in the freezer. I should just bring them into work and get them eaten. So easy to make and so yummy!
I can offer the recipes for the muffins, the quiche and the truffles if anyone is interested. Just ask.

I must say again, that I love this post! It really makes me think about what I'm going to eat that day and reading all of the posts that get logged on the Peas & Crayons site gives me all kinds of ideas on new things to eat.

What did you eat today?

Weekend shopping trip!

2012-01-16T10:32:00.004-05:00

I may have had a bit of a schizophrenic shopping trip on Saturday:

Yes, I spent the same amount on booze as I did at the health food store buying supplements.

What I bought:

LCBO:

Kahlua, Bailey’s, 1664 Blanc, Sapporo.

The 1664 Blanc is a wheat beer with a citrus flavour that should be served with a wedge of orange. This is the first time I’ve tried it and I really enjoyed it. Plus the bottle is a really cool blue. You can only get this at the LCBO (in Ontario).

Sapporo is the oldest Japanese beer around and is now brewed down the street in Guelph at the Sleeman Brewery. It’s good beer, but this purchase was for my husband.

Kahlua + Bailey’s + Coffee + Whipped Cream = cottage coffee. Otherwise known as a great post-run afternoon treat!

Health store:

Probiotic pills – I was out

Immunity Plus drops – The pharmacist (? Is that what you call them) at the store said to drink some juice, shoot a full dropper down my throat and chase with juice. This was fine. The taste is a bit alcohol-y (not that I have any problem with that – see above). I’m taking this at her suggestion instead of oil of oregano to help keep me healthy as I spend so much time sweating outside these days.

Pure Essential Greens Concentrate – I noticed last week that I had full days where my ratio of fruit to vegetables was really off. I love smoothies and figured that with all the goodness that I add to my smoothies, I could likely choke back some greens added to them as well. When I opened the container, I almost gagged as this stuff smells like fish food. I made my smoothie (frozen strawberries, banana, kiwifruit, yogurt, milk, protein powder, (took some out for Fergus, 17 months who is OBSESSED with smoothies), ground flax and fish oil) and added the concentrate. My older son, Alasdair and I were amazed by how green a scant teaspoon of this ~~fish food~~ concentrate turned the smoothie. It tasted fine to me, but there was a bit (a tiny bit) of an odd aftertaste. I think this is a good compromise to getting more greens into my diet though.

How was your weekend? Did you make any neat purchases?

Week 2! Mississauga Marathon Training

2012-01-15T13:29:00.007-05:00

After a great first week, I was ready to head into week two with continued enthusiasm.

The first day went great!

Monday: Rest - DONE!

Tuesday: Tempo run at lunch time on the treadmill. This was a good run. I used my goal race time (4hr marathon) to pick a tempo (5:25/km or 8:42/mi) to start with and pushed myself through 20 minutes at Tpace while watching Food network. 6.44k, 37:40.

Wednesday: Mid-long tempo run with the group. Well, the group and I ran the same route. Well, we all started and ended up at the store. I met up with the group and got the 10k map. I asked if anyone was going to run tempo per the plan and two ladies who had never run tempo said, "Why not!" I was pleased that I'd have partners as Tempo runs can be very challenging at the end (if you're doing them correctly). After a 15 minute easy run with the group, the ladies and I started. Within a minute, one had dropped out. We got stopped for a light at 3 minutes in and the next one was also history. I guess the pace was too much for them (though the lady who lasted 3 minutes wants to BQ with Mississauga at a 3hr40min, so she should be able to hit this pace right now in my humble opinion). I didn't let the lack of company keep me from staying with the 20 minutes of tempo. I WAS surprised that the clinic leader didn't come with me for a bit, but oh well. I ended up missing a turn in the dark, but make it back to the store and got the 10k in as I know the neighbourhood well. I perfectly hit my pace at 5:23/km for the 20 minute tempo part even though the last four minutes almost killed me. 10.15k, 1:01:25.

Thursday: Group discussion about shoes that ran the gambit into barefoot running! Then we were off for 6k easy. I took it easy, staying with the same four people from my half marathon group. 6.15k, 40:08.

Friday: Rest! I had my final physio appointment in the morning and it felt great to get my quad and IT band worked on. My knees have made great progress with the increased and new stretches so I'm going to (hopefully) only use physio strategically now around/after races for massage therapy.

Saturday: This day could have ended up being a gong show of running, but it wasn't. I had planned to meet with Alison from the group in our town and get the LSD in. But she forgot about her son's gymnastics class that would have conflicted with our agreed upon time. I couldn't go when she was free as my oldest had late hockey practice. Then, there was the weather. It was the first real cold, windy day and I didn't really feel like running outside at all. I had decided to do the shorter run of the weekend and almost went to the gym, but managed to suck it up and get outside. I was rewarded by being perfectly dressed and being able to run in the glorious sun! 8k, 49:39.

Sunday: Dawned early as Fergus, 17 months, was up at 0530. Sunday's are my day to sleep in, so I stayed in bed until 0615 and then got up, got dressed, ate and got out for my LSD. As the temperature was the same as Saturday (-15c), but there was no wind, I wore the same thing as the day before. I also wore my brand new 4 bottle endurance belt that I picked up in the States at TJ Maxx for $3!!! I loved running with this belt! It made me run a lot straighter as I had the reminder at my waist. The run sped by as I thought of the million things and the nothings that you think about when you run alone. I only needed one GU and had more than enough water. I was super frosty by the end with snow on my hat, gloves and coat and my legs were cold as I only had on one pair of winter tights, but I was fine otherwise:

18k, 1:55:46.

So, that's week #2! 16 more to go!

Are you training for anything right now? How is your training going? Do you ever rethink your run distance or place based on weather?

Total KM: 48.74
Total time: 5:04:38
Ave pace per KM: 0:06:15

What I Ate Wednesday

2012-01-11T21:09:00.010-05:00

This post is inspired by Marlene who borrowed it from Peas and Crayons. Without further ado:

6am Breakfast (Toast with cashew nut butter and yogurt with fish oil stirred in)

8am, once at my desk

10am snack

Lunch - Hard boiled egg on toasted English muffin with cheese

And dessert

3pm snack and water. I drink about 3-4 of these glasses throughout the work day.

5:30pm dinner with mum and dad (I eat at my folks on Wednesday's in order to make it to run club on time. Nope, eating before a run doesn't bother me at all). Pork tenderloin, homemade scalloped potatoes with cheese, broccoli.

Post run snack. I didn't like this as much as I liked the Chocolate Almond Fudge Clif bar, but it was okay.

What did you eat today?

Back in the saddle again – Marathon training, week 1

2012-01-10T09:35:00.000-05:00

Last week saw the start of an eighteen week journey towards finishing my very first marathon on May 6th, 2012.

The week went very well.

We got an introduction email from our clinic leader, Chris early in the week and I was pleased to see that I had already completed the first run correctly without even knowing it: 6k tempo. 6.44k, 37:40.

This run was done at the gym while my kids were taken care of by the in-gym daycare. I decided to run tempo only because I had forgotten my ear buds and was so bored by running with nothing but visuals to distract me. It turns out that the quicker run was good because my youngest cried the entire time at the daycare.

On Wednesday, some of us from the clinic decided to meet at the store for the free run and we ran almost 10k. It was a slower run for me, but that was fine. The weather was beautiful and I was over dressed for this run. Somehow I ended the run with Chris and he pushed the pace from about 7 min/km that I had been running to 6:15 min/km. He doesn’t wear a GPS watch and just runs by feel. I’ll have to ensure that I don’t get sucked into running with him in the future or I could hurt myself.
9.73k, 1:06:18.

Thursday was the official start of the clinic and we got to hear a little more about Chris and his background (he’s run 21 marathons and is aiming for 19 more in the next three years to hit 40 by the time he’s 40) and the goals of each member in our clinic. As there are only 11 of us, it was nice to start off with hearing about what everyone wants to get out of the next four and a half months.

I was interested to hear that some of the faster people from the half marathon clinic I had been in were targeting a full marathon time much slower then me. It was great to hear one lady who’s goal is to run a Boston Qualifier time 3:40:00 (even though she’s never run a sub-2hr half marathon – however she’s also never following a training program and she’s FAST) and it was cool to hear about a tri-athlete dude who is looking to improve his running so that he can run in the Tremblant IronMan in 2013 looking toward Kona.

I was disappointed to learn that the Running Room no longer gives out the little digest sized books with the training programs in them – you have to go online to get the schedules now. I was also upset to hear that Chris wouldn’t be offering any speed training (only tempo and hill runs). I quickly decided that I’d have to build in some speed workouts on my own.

We ended up running a nice 6k and I quickly discovered that the people in our clinic are TALL. SUPER TALL. I was at least four inches shorter then the next shortest person. Oh well, I guess I’ll be building speed no matter what. 6.34k, 38:05.

Friday brought a rest day (and my last day of vacation!). I took the kids swimming for an hour in the morning, meaning I bounced around the water holding on to Fergus and kept an eye on Alasdair so that he didn’t hurt himself. I was tempted to put this “workout” on DailyMile, but resisted the urge to do so.

Saturday was a beautiful day (seriously, January has been so nice!) and my parents where over at my house to help with the kids as my husband had to work. So while my dad took my oldest to hockey practice, my mum watched my youngest and I went out for my scheduled run. It was really lovely in the sunshine and I was dressed perfectly. I daydreamed about the weather being so nice for the Around the Bay race at the end of March. 6.25k, 38:09.

For Sunday’s LSD, the clinic was meeting at 8:30 and running 10k. I quickly decided not to join in with the group as I wanted to get the run done by that time and I wanted to run further. I connected with Alison from the clinic and my friend Kerry to plan to run together. Kerry and I met Alison around 3k and ran a bit of a fast run with her for the next 8k or so. Kerry ended up having trouble with her IT band and I looped back to get her after Alison left and we held a slower pace for about 2.5km, walking when needed. I left her with about 2.5k to go as I knew she was close to home and I was actually getting a bit cold at that time (after stripping off my wind coat early in the run). I finished strong, struggling to keep my pace at the easy 6:22 min/km instead of hitting 5:55s. 15.5k, 1:44:28.

In total, it was a wonderful first week and I’m really excited about how my body responded to the return of so much running. My legs were a bit sore on Friday, but I had no problems otherwise. To put it in perspective, I ran 46% of my total December distance in one week last week! I’m so happy that training season has begun!

Total KM: 44.26
Total Time: 4h44m40s
Pace per KM: 0:06:26

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T19:08:00.005-05:00

Hello 2012.

Or, the year of the MARATHON!

I know it has been way too long since I last posted, but the month of December was very busy for me and I didn't run a lot due to my knee. I did manage to get a nice 16km run in on Christmas Eve morning and ended up topping out the month at 96km run (um, wow! I didn't realise I had run that much!) and 10h16m48s. I didn't run any races in December but finished the month (and year) with the annual resolution run on New Years Eve out of my local running room. I ran with my friend J who was running her first official anything and took my time and stayed with her through the end. She was amazing and never stopped!

In terms of 2011 as a whole, it was an AMAZING year of running for me! I completed my first and second half marathon and managed to get some very nice PBs in the shorter distances of 5 and 10k. In total, I ran 1427km without ever setting a goal in that department (something I'll be sure to do in 2012). I managed to keep my love of running and joining the community at the local Running Room and on DailyMile has really helped with that. I'm really looking forward to the year ahead.

Speaking of which, Marathon training started today! I hit the treadmill at the gym while my kids enjoyed the child care services (well, my 5 year old enjoyed himself, my 16 month old cried pretty much the entire time). I forgot my earbuds so decided to keep the run interesting by throwing in two 10 minute bursts of tempo at 5:17 pace per km. I felt good and it was a great run.

Tomorrow I'm heading to the free run at the RR and we'll run 10k (let's hope this -21c weather goes away) and on Thursday, the clinic officially begins when we have our first clinic night.

The marathon isn't my only goal for 2012, but it is my first half goal, so I'll talk about what I want to do after May 6th sometime later.

In the meantime, get ready to hear more from me as training ramps up again and I discover the joys of long-long runs!

Vastus Intermedius

2011-12-18T14:57:00.002-05:00

No, no, I haven't started to speak/write in Latin. Rather, I've found the cause of my knee pain. After a wonderful physio session on Friday, the diagnosis is that I have a very tight muscle in my quad which is causing pulling on my knee which in turn is causing the pain. The therapist didn't feel any "clicking" or "crackling" like last time which means that the knee isn't damaged in the same way it was after the Bread and Honey 15k race. She did admit that my charge down the Red Hill Valley Parkway likely didn't help me at all.

So, with my therapist's blessing, I'm going to keep running. I'm very sure I'll be able to end the year at 1400 if not 1420km which is obviously my highest mileage ever for a year. I mean, in 2009 I wanted to get to 600 and had to give up when I keep puking during every run (I was newly pregnant at the end of that year).

This morning, I enjoyed a solo 13km run around town in the freshly fallen snow. I left the house just after 7am and enjoyed watching the sky brighten and being joined by other runners, dog walkers and church goers from time to time. There is something so fulfilling about being outside in the still morning and reminding yourself that you're alive (through running and a bit of knee pain!). I'm especially proud as I didn't want to get up when the alarm rang at 0630, but instead of using all of the excuses I came up with, I let the truth get me out of bed: I would have felt so guilty for missing the run.

By the time I was following my footprints back home like a breadcrumb trail, I was very happy to have gotten out of bed and out the door, even if my knee was feeling some of the effects of the 13k.

Totals for the week: 3 runs, 24k, 2h33m running.

No, I haven't fallen off of the planet

2011-12-06T08:44:00.006-05:00

I've just been busy.

Work has been MADNESS all of November. I've been in back to back meetings all day long and then I've been coming home and putting in another 2-3 hours just to catch up.

It is a good thing that my knee really bothered me after the Hamilton Half Marathon as it forced me to take a bit of a break and I didn't beat myself up about it.

This means that my November stats are not that pretty:

# of runs: 7
Total KM: 54.67
Races: Hamilton Half Marathon
Total time running: 5:32:22
Fitness classes: 4, my fave being BodyPump followed closely by Gravity - both are strength training classes.

I'm going to continue to try to get to those fitness classes throughout December and I'm slowing starting to build up my mileage again as my knee is no longer bothering me. My goal is to hit around 30k a week with two fitness classes until marathon training begins in January.

I'll also try not to be such a stranger!

Cheers!

The off season

2011-11-14T19:32:00.003-05:00

I've started the off season.

My first ever.

Seeing as this is the first year that I've really run and trained and seeing as I've kept it up all year, I'm really glad to have made it to this point.

My goals for the next two months are as follows:

1) Lose those last 10 pounds (which means resisting the Halloween leftovers after supper).

2) Strength train to build up my leg muscles so that my knees don't get injured. Strength train to build my core for better running form and everything else that goes with having a better core.

3) Run at least three times a week - A shortie (5-6k), a mid-tempo (6-9k) and a LSD (16k or more)

Right now, my left knee is still a bit off as a result of the race and I felt it during a run yesterday. I'm going to work on goal one and two over the next two weeks and hope that the knee heals much like it did in the summer when I first felt this problem.

Marathon (!) training begins January 5th!

Hamilton Half Marathon Race Report

2011-11-08T19:52:00.018-05:00

The seeds for running this race were sown the moment I crossed the line at the
Mississauga Half Marathon. Don't get me wrong, I was very happy to have finished and to have beaten my in-going goal, but I knew that I could have done better and I wanted to take the time over the summer to train for improvement and to get there.

On Sunday, I was not disappointed.

Race morning came early, but not too early as some brilliant race director decided that this race was to take place the day after daylight savings time ended, meaning that we got an extra hour of sleep.

I was up at 0530 as was Fergus and my husband and so we all headed downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. Fergus joined me to help eat my bagel and I relaxed knowing that there was lots of time to get to the race and I was as prepared as I could be.

I got dressed and decided to wear a tank top under my Warrior Dash long sleeved top. I wore my summer tights and my light wind jacket. It was cold out with frost on the roofs of houses, but the sun was shinning brightly. I grabbed my dollar store gloves, my homemade pace band, and added a quick motivational message to my left hand:

We got on the road and got to the start line 20 minutes before my targeted time of 0730. Ken and the kids headed to Tim Horton's and to visit with some friends while I stayed warm, used the washroom and kept an eye out for Marlene, who was the 2 hour pacer. Before long, I spotted her ~~surrounded by her groupies~~ chatting with her friends and I went over to say hello. She was dressed in a rainbow tutu and leg warmers and had the bunny ears. I stayed back to allow her to do her own pre-race thing and get advice from her people, but basically ~~stalked her~~ kept her in my sights the entire time.

After a late (by 10 minutes) start by the marathon, I met up with Marlene again outside and we headed into the mass crowd of runners. I'm so short and she's fairly tall that I almost felt like grabbing a piece of her tutu least I get lost.

I didn't.

This is one of the complaints I had about the race. The start was really pathetic with no corrals or anything. It was just a HUGE crowd of people. I think they could start it on Highland proper and set up corrals as well. They could also ask the bunny's to carry pace signs for the first two kilometers or so, just so that people could find them. Lots of people were asking Marlene if she was 10 and 1s as that is who they wanted, but we never saw that pacer.

It was while waiting for the start that I realized that I had no need of my wind coat. It was cold, but warming up with that beautiful sun. Though the coat was free, I couldn't bare to throw it away, so I tied it around my waist instead.

Then we were off. I stuck right with Marlene, running either behind or beside her. I didn't talk to her at all and I don't know why. I'm normally VERY chatty while running, but I was very serious about this race. I had no time for idle chatter. I needed to get on pace, stick to pace and continue to feel good.

And we did. The start was crowded, but quickly thinned enough to allow us to run at the 5:40 pace per KM easily. I noticed that my Garmin was perfectly aligned with the KM markers and locked in the pace.

1k, 2k, 3k.

Check, check, check.

4k came out of nowhere. I turned to Marlene and said, "Fastest five and a half minutes EVER", to which she replied, "That's good. That's really good!". We chatted briefly about being over dressed and then were climbing the on ramp to the Red Hill Valley Parkway. I told Marlene, "Well, no offence, but I hope not to see you again today." There was no offence taken at all and off I went to bank some time on the downhill.

1k - 5:45, 2k - 5:32, 3k - 5:41, 4k - 5:38, 5k - 5:27

5k: 28:03, pace band, 28:26

Getting on the highway was very cool. People travelling southbound were honking at us and waving and there were spectators on the overpasses cheering us on. Under one overpass there were two guys playing the drums and that gave me a lot of energy. It was also the time of the race that people started stripping down. I ran with a few men who stripped down to nothing but shorts and women who stripped down to just sports bras. For November 6th, the sunny, 12C day was so unusual that I think many people were overdressed.

After about 3k, I noticed that my effort was needed a bit more and realised that the majority of the downhill part of the race was complete. I took a GU and told myself that I had about two minutes in the bank and that all I had to do for the next 5k was to hold on to the 5:40 pace.

6k - 5:09, 7k - 5:14, 8k - 5:25 (Gu), 9k - 5:37, 10k - 5:39

10k: 55:07, pace band, 56:52 - this is also a 10k PB!

The next 5k were along industrial roads, heading to Confederation park. The road wasn't shut down and we were forced to run pretty much in single file as we were confined to the bike lane. I was still feeling good, taking water in and staying on pace. I wanted to ask the people around me about their pace and goal, but I just wasn't feeling like chatting at all.

I was so, so, so focused. I always run with the same list of music, but put it on shuffle. I couldn't tell you what songs I heard other than the very first one (Ant's Marching, live at Central Park, Dave Matthews Band). Unlike the race at Mississauga, I wasn't singing along or joking. I was running.

I was racing.

11k - 5:47, 12k - 5:41, 13k - 5:34, 14k - 5:43, 15k - 5:32

15k: 1:23:24, pace band, 1:25:18

And then we were on Beach Blvd and I was boinking.

Oh man, it was pretty bad.

I took a Gu hoping to hold myself off.

I looked at my hand.

A lot.

I told myself that I had time to ease off a bit, that I could allow Marlene to catch me and then stick with her to meet my goal.

I told myself that the Gu was working and to just keep going.

10 mile run, 5k race.

And then, we were on the waterfront trail and the wind hit. Marlene describes this as a "nice breeze", but it might as well have been a full on tropical storm to me. Oh man I was feeling the effort. I saw a EMS golf cart and actually thought of how nice it would be to just sit down.

Of course I kept running all of this time, counting down the kilometers, looking at my hand, keeping my pace.

There was no giving up. I didn't even want to give up those two-ish minutes I had in the bank.

And so on I ran. The crowds got thicker and lots of people were walking on the path toward the finish. This is my second complaint. The path should be sectioned off so that the public can't walk on the same path as the racers. It is wide enough to give everyone their own area. Seeing those people walking did a number on my head as well and I just wanted to stop and walk with them.

Of course I didn't as I knew that would be the end of my race. My mental chatter went like this:

Oh, it would be so nice to just walk for a few seconds.

Are you kidding? Once you walk you're done.

But I will see Marlene and then just run to the end with her.

If you walk and then try to keep up with her, you'll die.

And so on I ran.

I tapped the 20k marker sign. I did this at Mississauga as well and decided that I'd do it whenever I ran a big race. The signs were on the north side of the path and for some reason, I headed back towards the south side. Just as I looked up, I saw my son and good friend Trudy who were watching for me:

I booted it over to Alasdair to give him a high five and a kind of hug and then headed on to the end. I was so revived having seen them that I didn't feel any effort any longer. I was just running for the end. I knew I had the 2 hour goal in the bag, that I couldn't fail and I was finally enjoying it after a few kilometers of tough running.

I turned the corner after the final tiny uphill (that felt like a mountain) and saw the finish. While I didn't hear my name, I did hear the announcer congratulating us as we came in saying, "You've all done it in under 2 hours! Well done! Great job!"

That announcement made me quite happy:

And so on I went to cross the finish line.

16k - 5:42 (GU), 17k - 5:36, 18k - 5:40, 19k - 5:42, 20k- 5:44, 21k - 5:39, 0.1 - 0:58

Chip: 1:58:32 (that's a 0:15:18 PB)
W30-34: 51/102
Overall: 903/1721

I did it! I trained myself and was able to hit a major milestone and a major personal best less than six months after my very first half marathon. I ran through the finish, grabbed my water and medal and heard the announcer say that the two hour bunny was coming up to the finish, right on pace. I stopped and waited until I could grab Marlene to shake her hand. She asked if I had done it and I said, "Oh ya" showing her my Garmin, acting all casual instead of letting on about the hellish last five k. I thanked her for the start and headed into the crowd to find my family and friends.

So, races for 2011 are finished. I'm more than happy to go out with this one as the last one. One day soon, my quads and knee will stop yelling at every move I make and I'll be out running again, but until then, I'm going to enjoy the glow of hitting the goal and breaking that two hour mark.

Thanks for coming along on the journey with me.

Hamilton Half Marathon Goals!

2011-11-03T19:57:00.005-04:00

Well, the goal for this half marathon has changed so many times since I signed up back in June.

At first I just wanted to beat my time from Mississauga, so that goal would have been sub 2:13:49.

Then, throughout this training cycle, I started gaining speed and started hitting PBs. Then I started to play with McMillan's Calculator and decided I could run the race in sub 2:05:00.

Then lots of peeps on Daily Mile started suggesting that I could run the half faster. And so I did some test pace runs.

And I gained confidence.

The final piece to the puzzle came together, when one of the people who inspires me most in my running life confirmed that she would be the 2:00 Pace Bunny.

As such, my goal is clear:

1:59:59

Or bust.

My strategy is going to be the one that Marlene suggested. I'm going to go out strong, right behind her and stick with her pace (which should be 5:40/km) until we hit the down hill portion of the course.

As the course descends the 142m, I will be letting my legs fly. I may attempt to keep my pace around 5:00/km, but the goal on the hill (which should last around 5-6km) is to BANK TIME.

Once the hill is done, I plan to stick to the 5:40s and keep my time in the bank. I'm worried about the turn onto the waterfront trail and the wind. Currently the weather is expected to be perfect, with partly cloudy skies, 12c, but with winds up to 35km/hr. We run along the lake for the last 5k and I want my bank of time for this part. If it all falls apart once I leave Marlene and the 2 hr group, my plan is to ensure I stick with them to the end.

I've already got some ideas of the way I'll motivate myself through the last 5k, and I'll be sure to take photos once I land on them.

So, there it is.

The goal.

The plan.

Now, I just need to lace'em up and toe that line.

See you after the finish!

October!

2011-10-31T10:21:00.005-04:00

Another great month of training!

In six days, I'm going to run a great half marathon and I owe it to many things, one of which is being blessed to be able to run and train around the rest of my life!

I didn't race at all this month, but I ran a lot of race pace runs as I figured out just what that pace is going to be on November 6th. My longest run was 22k on the Sunday before Thanksgiving and I did that cold run solo. I also ran a hard 20k with the last 14k at race pace despite wind gusts up to 35km per hour. This ended up being my cut back month as I ran about 27km less then in September, but I'm not complaining about the work I did.

I feel ready for Sunday!

# of runs: 16
Time spent running: 15:19:49
KMs run: 153.27
Average pace per KM: 0:06:00

Week 16!

2011-10-31T09:46:00.001-04:00

I ended up with a bit of a taper week, but no problem!

Sunday:16k at half marathon race pace. We slept at my parents house on Saturday night as Ken and I were at a wedding and I ran home. I actually saw my peeps this time and waves as they drove by beeping the horn at me. 1:28:52

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 6.44k. I was going to run at lunch time, but the day ended up being too busy, so I sucked it up and went to the gym after the kids went to bed. I could have run outside, but it was raining and I didn't want to risk any kind of cold. 39:44 (I'm pretty sure I ran this faster, but this is what I put down on Daily Mile, so I'm going with that).

Wednesday: Rest - another busy day at work with a lunch and learn session.

Thursday: 5k. Gym run again. I was on my way back to the office after an early morning meeting and passing the gym, so I took the opportunity to go for a quick run. 29:40

Friday: 6.44k. I had to go into work on this day, so I hit the treadmill at lunch. 37:37

Total KM: 33.88, Total time: 3:15:53, Average pace per KM: 0:05:47

Hamilton Half Marathon Goal

2011-10-24T20:59:00.002-04:00

I'm not writing an official goal post yet, but I'll let you do some math and figure it out based on my point to point run home yesterday (from my parents house).

Week 15!

2011-10-24T20:52:00.002-04:00

It was a cut back week because I ran my LSD on Friday instead of Sunday. I had planned to try to make it up, but that didn't work out so well. Instead of beating myself up, I just ran everything at race pace.

Sunday: Rest

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 7.24k. Treadmill Tuesday! I hit the gym at lunch and ran hard for as long as I could. 42:17

Wednesday: 6.44k. Not as much time at the gym today, so I blasted this out a bit faster. 37:16

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 8.5k. A quick AM run. Working from home has made this possible as I don't have to leave my house by 06:25. 47:07

Saturday: Rest (we had a wedding).

And so... that's it! I ran all of these runs quickly and increased my confidence for the half marathon race, but I didn't run lots. Oh well. Sometimes life happens and that's okay.

Total KM: 22.18, Total time: 2:06:40, Average pace per KM: 0:05:43

2012

2011-10-20T08:56:00.001-04:00

2012!

Too early?

Maybe it is too early to write this post, but I have 2012 race news and I want to share it with everyone!

Let’s back up a bit, shall we?

When I started running in late 2008, I never thought that I would become a runner. I thought that I’d run a few miles on the treadmill at the gym or in my basement and get into shape and that would be that.

Then, my friend enticed me to race my first 5k and I was hooked!

Hooked on running, hooked on racing.

That was May 2009.

I ran a few more races in 2009, but never got into a consistent running schedule. By October of that year, I had run my first 10k race at the zoo and had decided to run a half marathon and soon.

In November 2009, I got pregnant (and ended up puking every time I tried to run).

By August 2010 Fergus joined our family via C-Section and I waited to heal and get back on the ~~horse~~ treadmill.

Finally I did. It was October 2010 and I was determined to race the Mississauga half marathon in May 2011. I joined the running room program. I ran the race.

I spent the rest of this summer working on speed and racing to PBs in 5k (26:50) and 10k (57:15) races. On November 6th, 2011, I’ll PB at the Hamilton half marathon (yep, I’m calling it here).

And I became a runner.

And a racer.

And racers, race.

Two nights ago, I put my money where my mouth is and signed up for the following:

Robbie Burns 8k
Chilly Half Marathon
Around the Bay 30k

Mississauga FULL Marathon
(and the relevant Running Room clinic)

This will take my 2012 season to May. Stay tuned for plans for the second half of the year.

A year that will continue to see me evolve as a true runner, something I never thought I’d become.

Week 14!

2011-10-16T19:47:00.003-04:00

As the end gets closer and closer and November 6th gets closer and closer, I keep challenging myself to come up with a good reason not to attempt a crazy time at Hamilton. This week included a test of sorts.

Sunday: 22k. LONGEST RUN EVER! And I did this Thanksgiving bad boy solo. This was a great run - it was cool enough to be comfortable, but not too cold so that I needed gloves or a coat. It was a great morning and as I watched the sun rise over a farmers field, back lighting the lone trees I realized that I had so many things to be thankful for on this day, least of which was the ability to run 22k straight into the arms of my wonderful family. Happy Thanksgiving indeed. 2:19:35

Monday: Rest. Duh.

Tuesday: 6.44k. Treadmill run. I just put the speed up and ran for 4 miles. 40:05

Wednesday: 5k.Oh how I didn't want to go and run. I had all kinds or excuses ready, like the fact that my new shoes haven't come in yet. Or - I was wearing tights which suck to put back on just after a shower. But in the end I knew Jamie would be waiting for me and I sucked it up and ran fast just to get it in. 30:40

Friday: 18k. Telecommuting has its advantages, one of which is the ability to get an early morning, weekday long run in. I had to do this as we were away all weekend. I decided not to look at the pace at all and just run by feel. I was rewarded. 1:44:50

Saturday: Rest. And 50th wedding anniversary of my parents-in-law. With these two "smashers"

Another awesome (and confidence building) week!

Total KM: 51.44k. Total Time: 5:15:10. Average pace per KM: 0:06:08.
Congrats to everyone who ran at Scotia today!

Week 13!

2011-10-11T09:16:00.000-04:00

Sunday: AMAZING solo 20k! Longest solo run ever and I did the last 14k at race pace, averaging 5:57/km despite a walk break at 10k for my one and only GU. This was a HARD run as at times the wind was gusting upwards of 35km/hr and it was the first real cold morning of the year. I had a very hard time around 17k and ended up cursing at myself (in my head) to keep running. Funny, when I motivate others its all, “You can do it! You’re amazing! Tall and smiling” When I motivate myself, I’m all, “F&$k YOU! Keep RUNNING and SUCK IT UP. DON’T even THINK about slowing down or quitting!!!” HA! 2:02:22

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Treadmill Tuesday! 6.44k at the gym in 40:00

Wednesday: Treadmill redux! 5k, 31:00

Thursday: Rest

Friday: Work remote day so I got out at lunch for 9.33k. My legs did NOT want to go, but the weather was beautiful and I kept the pace slow and easy. 59:00

Saturday: I realized that I hadn’t done short speedwork this week so I ran 5k with 1k warm up, 3k at descending tempo (5 seconds faster each k) and 1k cool down: 29:00

Total KM: 45.77, Total Time: 4:41:22, Average pace per KM: 0:06:09

Week 12

2011-10-03T20:17:00.003-04:00

I've hit the training cycle blahs and am doing my best to continue to get out there for all of my runs and stick to my plan...

Sunday: Rest. I totally used the Zoo Race as an excuse - I could have run.

And so I felt guilty and so -

Monday: 16k - LSD after work. I got home at 6pm, dropped the baby off and headed out for the run. It was not very pleasant. Despite eating an apple and a Clif bar on the GO Train on the way home, I was starving by like 7k and the GU Chomps did nothing to help with this. When I got home, I ate my pasta dinner and drank loads of water, but ended up with major stomach issues. I drank some gatorade and ended up crawling up to bed. 1:40:50

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 11.44k - Intervals with the clinic again. We did 5 repeats on this night and I ended up running with a girl who was aiming for a 5:15 pace. Because my watch has a light, I ended up being the time keeper/pace bunny and cheerleader as I ensured she didn't wimp out on the last repeat. Splits were 5:13-5:18-5:12-5:14-5:14. Cheers included: "You can do ANYTHING for four minutes." This was a great run - lots of fun. 1:11:05

Thursday: 5k - Hit the gym for a treadmill run during lunch. Part of the No Excuses mantra. I was bored so increased the pace each mile, despite the hard work the night before. 32:25

Friday: 5.32k - I had the day off of work and was planning to run as soon as I dropped my oldest off at school, but a 4am wake up by Fergus saw me come home and have a nap instead. Then I met a friend for lunch and met my husband at the dealership to buy a new-to-us truck:

Then I had to shop as we were having people over for supper both Saturday and Sunday nights. By the time I got home, I had enough time to get just a quick run in before I had to pick my son up from the after-school program. 32:15

Saturday: Rest - I PLANNED to run, but there was just too much family and prep stuff to do and as I've mentioned, I've hit the BLAHS this week with running.

Total KM: 36.76 Time spent running: 3:53:35 Average pace per KM: 0:06:26

September!

2011-10-01T09:11:00.005-04:00

September was a phenomenal month for me! I returned to work on September 6th and managed to keep up with my training plan and hit two personal best times in races.

On September 10th, I PB'd at the Energizer 5K Night Race with a time of 26:50.

I'm not in this photo

Two weeks later on September 24th, I PB'd at the Oasis Zoo 10K race with a time of 57:15.

My longest run was 20k which I ran with two lovely ladies around Milton. I kept up with the Running Room group and joined them on interval training. I have no doubt that this harder training has helped me to hit my time goals in the shorter races. McMillan is telling me that I can run a half marathon somewhere between 2:04 and 2:07 and I'm going to give a MRP run a try tomorrow during my long run. I have one month left before the Hamilton half and I'm going to use it to my advantage, training hard with quality runs.

September brought two more non-speed milestones for me: I hit 1,000km run on the year and I had my highest mileage month ever. Not bad considering I was worried what going back to work would do to my schedule!

# of runs 20
Time spend running: 18:52:02
KMs run: 181.03
Average pace per KM: 0:06:15

Oasis Zoo 10k Race Report!

2011-09-30T21:26:00.010-04:00

Forgive me for the delay in writing this report; being back at work has seriously cut into my blogging time!

The night before the zoo race was not a good one for sleep in our house. Fergus was having one of his nights where waking up at 4am was the thing to do. We tried to get him to fall back asleep in our bed, but even that wasn't working.

I finally got up around 5:30 and made my way downstairs to eat a few pieces of toast with peanut butter and some OJ. This race was an odd one for me. I had a key goal in mind (PB at sub 59:59) and I had spent the summer speed training to get there, but I didn't have any nerves or anything.

I got on the road early as I needed to pick up my race kit and was planning to meet some friends around 7:30. Despite some slow traffic on the 401, I got to the zoo in plenty of time to get my kit, bring it back to my car (which got primo parking right at the gate), go to the washroom and eat my banana.

I met up with my friends and chatted for a bit. D and her husband were running their first 10k races as was N. They all had time goals in mind and were all going to start in the same coral. I had changed my coral to the <1hr one as that was my goal.

Soon it was time to head to the corals and port-o-potties. We stood in the worst line and were still there when the first two corals left. I got in and out just before my start, but lined up in the wrong area! Shouting, "Oh SHIT!" I booted it across the parking lot and caught up with the last people in the <1hr coral.

I started off with the goal of keeping my pace around 5:50 per KM. The first one was spent weaving and passing as I was at the back of the pack. I did run (literally, I guess) into my neighbour and ran with him for a bit and chatted, but he pretty much told me go ahead as he knew what I wanted to do in terms of time and he was aiming for about 1:10:00 (he finished in 1:03:45).

There is a nice long stretch along Meadowvale Road and Old Finch that allowed the runners to spread out and let me get into a groove in terms of pacing. Once again, I couldn't "feel" the pace and ended up checking my Garmin way too often for my liking. By 3k we started seeing elites coming back along the narrow path and it was great to hear the cheers go up from the crowd of runners as they passed.

Just after this, I saw my first animal: Zebras. It was cool to see them and I thought about how they must feel watching all of these people running past them. They looked like they were watching with the best front row seats in the house!

When the aid station came up, I decided to go ahead and take some poweraid. I don't normally drink sports drink during a run, but something told me that I'd want a taste on this day instead of straight water. I've learned a lot in my 11 races and I managed to get the whole drink down while still running and without getting any up my nose! Hooray!

4 and 5k made me realize that the course had been changed since I ran the race in 2009 and we were uphill, downhill, uphill, downhill. Across the bridge, through the woods and finally hitting the 5k mat.

(Times per Garmin, which was off by 200m)

5:39-5:44-5:39-5:40-5:34

I was feeling fantastic!

I had 100% confidence that I'd hit my goal without any trouble and I decided to hold on to a 5:40-5:45 pace least I burn out. I'm glad I made that choice. The course was very challenging with seemingly constant rolling hills and turns. I was starting to feel hungry! and so I accepted more poweraid at the station when I passed through again.

I did get into the enjoyment of running through the zoo at this point and I started noticing animals. I think a lot of my ability to do so was because of the woman in front of me snapping photos. I was awed to see the giraffes and watched them as long as I could because they were so close. When I passed the flamingos, half of them changed their stance as if on some kind of musical theater cue and it was so cool to see.

After 7k, I allowed myself to speed up a bit and push for a finish with the best time that I could get. I never went out so fast that I thought I would have to stop or puke, and I managed to hold on. I knew that I had the goal in the bag and I allowed myself to enjoy it, smiling at the photographers when I saw them:

When I got to the last 500m, I noticed a lot of people passing me (especially men who were struggling - I guess there is some pride at stake?) and I realized that I've got to get into the passing mindset at the end of a race instead of in a "thank-God-this-is-done-and-I-hit-my-goal-and-oh-my-goodness-I-can't-wait-for-more-poweraid" I think I'll work on this in the next few weeks.

When I was about to cross, I listened for my name and when I heard it, knowing that I had hit my goal and then some, I did what any normal person would do: The Fist Pump:

Seriously, look at how happy I am:

And why shouldn't I be? The stats say it all:

Chip: 57:15 (that's a 5:50 PB based on my last 10k race - the zoo in 2009)
W30-34: 84/307
Women: 325/1339
Overall: 832/2194
5k split: 28:55, 10k split: 28:22

Garmin:
5:46-5:43-5:32-5:32-5:26-4:45 (last 200m)

That's PB 2/3 complete.

PB 3 comes November 6th.

I have no doubts!

Week 11!

2011-09-26T20:41:00.001-04:00

This week was a bit messed up for me and I ended up running less than normal because I did my LSD on Saturday.

Sunday: Rest

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: No excuses. Ran at the gym during my lunch hour and got in 4 quality miles. 6.44k, 42:30

Wednesday: I ran intervals with the running room group again. We did a 3k warm up the 4x 4 mins at Ipace, 3 mins jogging. I was aiming for a 5:20 Ipace and finished with 5:19-5:16-5:22-5:19. 10k, 1:01:09. This is when I knew I'd be able to race a sub 59:59 at the zoo on Saturday.

Thursday: Another lunch run at the gym. I bit the bullet and changed my membership, so I'll be trying to hit the gym on lunch at least 2x a week. 5k, 31:42.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Zoo Race! I totally hit my goal, running the 10k in 57:16 per the chip. This is a 5:49 personal best! I'm very happy. I'll write the report when the pictures are ready.

Totals: 31.44k, Time spent running: 3:12:37, Average pace per KM: 0:06:08.

It was a speedy week for me!

Oasis Zoo 10k Race GOALS!

2011-09-22T08:10:00.004-04:00

That should really read race goal.

Sub 59:59

Yep.

That's it.

Once goal.

For real.

Bib #1536.

I'll be at the big world outside the gates meeting friends at 7:45. If you see me, say hi. I think I'm going to run with my phone (because I think I've lost my iPod!) so will try for photos this time!

I think Saturday will be a great day for a PB.

Week 10!!!

2011-09-20T08:12:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it is already week 10 of the training plan. The time has flown by since I started and I'm so, so proud that I've stuck to the plan. The weather is changing and we are getting perfect running weather these days (I love the fall) so it is nice that I'll be able to finish up the weeks that way.

Sunday: I was at my parents house as my husband was away for the weekend and us sleeping over would make the whole morning routine a lot easier for everyone (as they would be dropping children off everywhere). I decided to sleep in and then after dinner I ran 14k to round out a total 1,000k on the year. 1:30:00 (My times will be rounded as I don't have access to my Garmin files).

Monday: Rest!

Tuesday: I got up bright and early (well, Fergus got me up and after he went back to bed, I did not) and ran under the morning stars. This is part of my "no excuses" mantra. I'm not allowing myself to make any excuses about not running due to work. There is always time to find time. 6.21k, 0:40:00.

Wednesday: Back with the running room half marathon clinic. They were doing speed work that night and I decided to join. 3k warm up then 4x (4 minute interval pace (aiming for 5:20’s), 3 minute jog). Intervals were 5:19-5:13-5:21-5:25. I can't wait to do this type of run again. 10k, 1:02:00.

Thursday: Rest!

Friday: I had the day off as I was headed to a girl’s long weekend retreat in Prince Edward County that day. I got up and walked my oldest to school and then headed straight out for a run. This morning was the beautiful fall weather that I loved. I ran in a long sleeved shirt and light wind jacket and was perfectly warm/cool enough. 8.01k, 0:50:00

Saturday: I had a great Friday night, but didn't indulge too much so after a leisurely Saturday breakfast and more than a few laughs I headed out on Highway 33 (Loyalist Parkway) for my long run. Many of the 23 ladies were either going on a cheese tasting or spa trip (or both), but I just wanted to relax and run. I was originally going to run 16k, but decided to run entirely through the town of Bloomfield so I ended up going 18k on my out and back. The last 6k were at 10k race pace with no problems. 18k, 1:53:00.

Whew! What a week for me - my highest yet!

Totals: 56.22k, Time: 5:55:00 Average pace per KM: 0:06:19

I won't hit such high mileage this week as it is the week of the Zoo Run! This is a goal race for me and I'll be sharing goals after Wednesday's interval run.

Energizer 5k night race

2011-09-14T21:44:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, September 10th I ran in the inaugural Toronto night race put on by Energizer. I had decided to run the 5k race because a few of the ladies that I did the Warrior Dash with were suppose to run this 5k as well. Well, life got in the way and they all dropped out.

Not I! I had decided that this race would be a PB attempt and ~~I'm too cheap to lose my fee~~ I was excited to be part of this first time event.

The race pick up was easy and the shirts were very nice. Black with bright yellow strips down the side. The headlamp was great and I put it together on the Subway back to work.

On Saturday, I did my best to take it easy during the day and to eat a higher number of carbs than I normally would. I was okay on both fronts. My husband was away camping, so I was solo parenting and where I would have normally attempted to take a nap in the afternoon, I couldn't do it because someone had to actually parent the kids! :-p

When Fergus woke up from his nap, the kids and I headed to my parents where I had an original Coke in lieu of sleep! HA. We had dinner with them (steak, potatoes, beans) and I ate about half of what I normally would have because I didn't want stomach issues during the race. This turned out to be a mistake as I was starving by 3k.

I left Mississauga with plenty of time to get to Sunnybrook which was good because the 401 was a mess (seriously, is it EVER any other way?) and I ended up parking in lot 8 at Sunnybrook (aka a long, long, long, long, long way from the Start/Finish). I hopped on a shuttle bus to the start line (Brilliant idea!) and we started rolling when I realized that I was still clutching my sunglasses and I hadn't taken any gum with me (yes, I like to start runs with gum). No problem, the shuttle guy stopped and let me off and I sorted myself out and got the next shuttle.

I got to the start and used the port-o-potties, joined the warm up and watched the 10k race go. Then it was time for the 5k race to line up and I seeded myself accordingly behind the 25-35 minute sign. We all ensured our headlamps were on and that our earbuds were out of view (they were prohibited) and the race began.

I started really strong and concentrated on keeping my pace at 5:20/5:25. I had put my ear buds in and had the music going very low as I don't like running without music unless I have someone to talk to. It got dark super fast and the head lamps were awesome! It was fun to run with everyone and their lights and I found that I had no problem passing people or letting them pass me. I just kept repeating that I'd get my sub 26:45 (a goal I had in mind) if I just kept it at 5:20ish and ran strong in the last kilometre.

The race really just flew by. My only complaint was that I was ALWAYS checking my watch to check my pace. I just didn't find anyone that I could pace off of so I really was all on my own. It is good practice for Hamilton as I will be running alone, but it was annoying to look at the watch every 300-500 metres.

Before I knew it, I was in the final KM and I kept myself running at the 5:20ish pace, telling myself that I'd ramp up in the last 500m. I heard a man behind me talking to himself saying, "You got it! You got it!" and then a 70 year old passed me trucking along on his way to a great finish. It was great to see.

I crossed the finish line and was looking at the 10k time clock so had no idea what I passed in. I looked at my watch and it said: 5.07km, 26:53. WOOT! I had totally done it! I had gotten my 26:45 FOR SURE. I did some quick math and determined that my time was 26:35!!! WOO-HOO! I posted on Twitter and on Facebook claiming my unofficial 5k time.

Then I got home and looked up Sports Stats. Hmm.

27:00 time
26:50 chip
WHAT?!?!

I guess the race was long or my Garmin was off. I was mad for a bit, but after a few days I'm happy. I met my A+ goal and beat my April time by 1:54. That's nothing to be upset about.

Then I looked at Sports Stats a bit harder.

74 out of 574. I was on the FIRST page for the first time ever!

21 out of 396 females.

10 out 130 in my age group.

I'm happy. It turns out, the race was great for me and my stats!

Splits:
5:13-5:20-5:18-5:26-5:17-4:42 (last 70m), Average pace: 5:18

(according to McMillan, I can run a 2:04:02 half marathon - now that is something to think about...)

Zoo Run next Saturday, I can't wait!

Week 9!

2011-09-13T08:32:00.003-04:00

Another great week in the books!

Sunday: I ran 20k with two ladies (one who I met at the Thomas Street Hill). I was so glad that they were able to run with me as the Ks ticked by and I was able to get it done without any problems. I only took one gel on this run which was an all time low for me, but I felt okay throughout. I hope this means I'm getting stronger. 2h11mXXs (I don't have my garmin with me right now).

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Rest. It was my first official day back at work! I also had my last baseball game of the season, so fitting in a run would have been difficult. I went 1/3 and scored a run.

Wednesday: Amazing tempo run! 7.32k, 42min

Thursday: Treadmill run at the gym during lunch. I will have to figure out if upping my membership is worth it for lunch time runs, but I was happy to get it in. 7k, 45min.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Energizer 5k Night Race. A PB for me at 26:50! Race report to follow tonight.

Totals: 39.32k. Time: 4:04:50 (give or take a few). Average pace per KM: 0:06:14

Energizer 5k Night Race - Goals!

2011-09-09T20:04:00.003-04:00

When I signed up for this race my entire goal was to run the race in under 30 minutes. I've never done this in a Chip timed race.

I did run a 5k under 30 minutes back in April, when I raced the Avery Bravery 5k in 28:44 (per Garmin).

Since that time, I've run a half marathon, kept training and have really focused on speed-work. I've had some speedy runs as of late and as such, here are my goals:

C: 28:43 - Just beat the fastest time to date

B: 27:59 - Shave some time off of that April time

A: 26:59 - Based on my tempo run on Wednesday, I should be able to do this.

A+: sub 26:45

My other goal is to run the race smart.

I don't want to get caught up in the start. 5k can be a LONG race if you go all out too quickly. My goal is to go out at a 5:30 pace per KM and speed up after 2k and run like I'll never run again in the last 1k-500m.

The headlamp is ready and so am I.

Bib 2375.

See you after the race.

Amazing Wednesday Tempo!

2011-09-09T08:47:00.003-04:00

Now that I'm back at work, I've decided that the best way to keep up with my running schedule is to use the no excuses mantra that has seemed to work for me during all other busy times.

With this in mind, I took off for a 7k tempo based run on Wednesday night after the baby had gone to bed. I decided that I'd run 2k easy, 4k at tempo pace and then the last 1k easy. It was a cool night so I wore my long-sleeved Warrior Dash shirt for the first time and was glad to have made the decision to do so (I started the run around 7:45pm).

The first 2k ticked by very easy and a bit fast and I decided that I could probably up my tempo time to a 5:40 pace (per KM) based on the interval training I had been doing. I hadn't run a true tempo run in over six weeks and I had previously been doing them at a 5:45 pace. When I started to run, I ran fast. I first looked at my watch and saw a pace of 4:xx and reeled it in. But I couldn't reel it in too much. It just felt too slow. I quickly made a decision to go with it and ended up running a 5:17 first KM of tempo.

Having that in mind, I decided I'd try to hit 5:20s for the next three k. This is faster then the pace I want to run Saturday's 5k in and I realized that it would be a great test of my ability to achieve the results I want at Sunnybrook Park.

5:17
5:27
5:22
5:18

Average pace per KM: 5:21

I was pumped! In all, the 7.23k I ran had an average pace of 5:45 per km and I'm confidant that I'm going to achieve my goal tomorrow night (which I'll share with you in the next post).

Man, this no excuses thing really helps doesn't it?

Week 8!

2011-09-05T20:33:00.006-04:00

Half way there! I have a 16 week training plan with week 17 being the half marathon race. This was a cut back week FOR SURE as we were out of town on Sunday and Monday, but I made up for it with great feeling, speedy runs for the rest of the week.
Sunday: Rest

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 10k. I took my oldest to the dentist so my youngest stayed with my folks. When we got back to their house, it was still mid-morning and they had no problem with me leaving the kids so that I could run. I headed out to the trails around the man made lakes that our clinic ran often and discovered that the route from my parents house was exactly 10k. 1:02:22. (Also, fast pitch - 2/3 with a run).

Wednesday: 6.24k. I had spent the day at the Ex with my neighbour who has kids the same age as mine and we did a lot of walking, but not a lot of junk eating (we packed lunches). I did get Tiny Tom Donuts though (and I'm not linking to their website because, wow is it annoying!). I knew I had to get out for a run and didn't expect much but I had speedy legs again and rocked out the run. 39:17

Thursday: 9.4k. I had both kids so off to the gym it was. I love that I can get two hours of babysitting for $7 for both kids while I run and shower. I decided to see how far I could get in an hour. I'm sure I could have pushed for 10k, but I'm happy with the run the was it was. 1:00:00

Friday: I took Friday off because I got my hair done:Back to work hair!

I didn't have time to run in the AM (plus I wanted to enjoy some of my last sleeping in for a while) and who wants to run with freshly done hair?!?

Saturday: 6.77k. I ran in the later afternoon at the gym during the big thunderstorm that rolled through the GTA. It was humid even in the gym. 42:00

All in all, it was a good week with a lot of running even though I missed 20k on Sunday.

Totals: 32.41k Time: 3:23:39 Average pace per KM: 0:06:17 It was a speedy week! I'm wondering if I should keep up with tempo and interval training for the last eight weeks. Right now I've only got intervals planned, but a short tempo run during my lunch hour may also work out well. I'd love some advice!

AUGUST!

2011-09-01T20:20:00.000-04:00

August was an amazing month for me! I really got into my Hamilton Half training and I haven't fallen off of the plan in a major way yet.

I joined the RR group for hill work almost every Tuesday and I got some great long solo runs in, including running from home to my parents house. I added Track Intervals to my training and really started to see the results from them. I also discovered that I really liked them.

More then straight tempo runs I think.

I continued to get out with local friends when I could including meeting up with a girl from the RR group for a long run and various runs with Jenn with and without our boys:

BFFs!

In total I ran 155.92k in 17h19m55s for an average pace per KM of 0:06:40.

My longest run was 18k and I completed that easy in 2h16s. I'm feeling good about my upcoming races in September and the ability I'll have to run PBs. My only anxiety is that I return to work from Mat Leave on September 6th and I don't want to loose this training momentum. I'm sure racing twice in September will really help to carry me through.

It was a great August. I'm so lucky to be able to participate in this sport.

Week 7! (excuse the delay!)

2011-09-01T19:49:00.001-04:00

Rather late, but I'm filling the last days of my leave before returning to work on Tuesday!

Sunday: I met up with Alison from the current half marathon RR group and we ran together for about 13k while I got my 18k in. A great run with great company and it flew by. I kicked up the pace in the end. 2:00:16

Monday: Rest. Fastball: 2/4 with an RBI.

Tuesday: Thomas Street Hill. 8 repeats with VO2 max on the last two repeats. It was a gross night running for me as I felt pretty slow and ragged on the hills, but hit paces of 5:24 and 5:12 on the VO2 max parts. 9k, 1:00:21

Wednesday: I went to the gym as the sky looked like rain and decided to go a bit longer then I would have with the jogging stroller. 7.2k, 0:49:26

Thursday: Rest

Friday: I was kid-less all day but was getting ready for a small cocktail party with my girlfriends all day. When I finished early, I decided to go for a short, quick run. Quick it was - I was 7 seconds off my PB from April. 5k, 0:28:50

Saturday: No time. We went away and we were busy organizing kids and packing.

Totals: 39.2k Time: 4:18:53 Pace per KM: 0:06:36

Week 6!

2011-08-21T12:23:00.002-04:00

Another great week, even if I did miss a run.

Sunday: I ran from my house, to my parent's house. This is something I always wanted to do and it was a great feeling to complete the run. 16k, 1:46:18.

Monday: Rest + Fastball. I went 1 for 3 with an RBI and run scored. I also made a sweet catch at second base. Anyone who thinks women's softball is easy should watch a few games.

Tuesday: Thomas Street Hills! 7 repeats with VO2 max on the 7th repeat. This was a hard run, but 100% worth it. I'm so glad I made the decision to get out with the group for hills and that the clinic leader let me join in. I also got to talking with another woman who lives in Milton and it looks like we're going to try to hook up for some runs. 8k, 54:36

Wednesday: I was planning to run an easy 8-10k with my friend Sarah (and maybe Alison), but Sarah cancelled so I decided to run my intervals instead. A run I didn't want to complete turned into a great workout and 10k PB!. It just goes to show you that getting out there even when you don't want to bring surprises. 11.23k, 1:08:54

Thursday: Rest.

Friday: I put Fergus in the stroller and ran over to meet Jenn with her baby, Jackson and we ran through downtown. A quick stop at her place for the washroom and then home again. 8.62k, 1:09:32

It is hard to run with the stroller, but how cute are these besties?

Saturday: 5k Rest. We had a busy day as we had a family party in Whitby at 2pm and I wanted to go to the farmers market. I met up with Jenn and Jackson again at her house and we ended up walking, so I did get a 3.5k walk in with the stroller, but more importantly, I got loads of potatoes (including PURPLE ones), strawberries, meat pies and a lovely bunch of flowers for my cousin at the market.

Total KM: 43.85 Total Time: 4:59:20 Average Pace Per KM: 0:6:50

Actually, that wasn't a bad week at all! Hope you had a good one.

Excuses, excuses

2011-08-18T12:33:00.005-04:00

Last night, my training plan called for me to run 7x400m intervals at the track. Originally, I was going to meet up with my friend Sarah to just do an easy run for 8-10k and hit the intervals later in the week, but she cancelled and I realised that I should just get them out of the way.

The problem was that I really, REALLY didn't want to.

I thought up every single excuse under the sun (and then ridiculed myself for them).

-I had a tetanus shot yesterday and my arm hurt (oh, princess!).

-Fergus hasn't been sleeping well and I was tired (poor muffin!).

-It would be almost 9pm by the time I got home and then I'd have to shower, make a lunch for Alasdair to take to camp and be too wound up to sleep until 11pm, thus making me tired for when Fergus woke up in the wee hours (again and again) (life just isn't fair!).

Of course, I got dressed as soon as I put Fergus to bed and headed out for the run. I decided to run to the track and then see how I felt. I figured I could just do the 10k easy I would have done with Sarah if nothing else.

50m into the run (when I had to stop to tie up my pants tighter as they were falling down), my legs felt like lead and I almost started into my 6k route instead of toward the track. That's when I really told myself to suck it up and kept heading for the track. Somehow, in the next 2.9k I managed to convince myself to get the intervals completed.

And so I did. I also only allowed myself to walk 20 seconds on each recovery lap, so that my heart rate didn't dip too much in the 400m rests.

I was aiming to hit 2:00 time (4:45 pace) per lap and I think I did rather well, considering I ran 7 hill repeats the night before:

1:54 (4:37)
1:57 (4:43)
1:56 (4:43)
1:57 (4:47)
1:57 (4:47)
1:59 (4:51)
1:58 (4:48)

I was really and truly spent by lap 5. I kept talking to myself throughout. I was telling myself to run tall, to keep my hands loose and not to cross my arms over my midsection while running. I used my arms to pump the strides in the last turns. By the time I was about 75m from starting my final lap, I was giving myself a pep-talk about lap 7:

This is the end of your zoo 10k. If you run this in under 2minutes you'll get a time under an hour. This is the last 400m of Hamilton. You'll break 2h10m in you run hard here

I pushed and pushed and ended up getting around the track in under 2 minutes.

Then it was 3k back home.

I was tired and running easy, happy to have gotten the laps in when I noticed that I would be able to best my 10k time from the 2009 Zoo Race if I just bumped my pace up ~~a bit~~ by 30 seconds. So, I did! I made sure to hit the lap button at 10k exactly and was very pleased when I got home to find a 2m33s PB of 1h00m31s.

Not bad for a night where I almost didn't even run.

Something I've always wanted to do

2011-08-15T12:58:00.006-04:00

Every since I started running long distances (you know, like back in Feb or Mar), I have wanted to do a Sunday run from my home in Milton to my parent's home in Meadowvale. The route is a perfect 16k (10 miles) and my mum is a fantastic cook! I figured we could combine a Sunday night dinner with a training run.

Yesterday I was able to make this happen!

Today is Fergus' first birthday, so my sister and family were in town and we decided to enjoy the leftovers from Saturday's party at my parents house.

I set out at 13:34 after Fergus had gone down for his nap. I wasn't worried about the distance as I had run 16k the week before, but I was concerned about the time of day as I had been doing my long runs in the early mornings (and really enjoying them). I can say that I did have quite a bit of stiffness and fatigue in the first few Ks, but I think a lot of this had to do with the fact that I was on my feet all day on Saturday, hosting Fergus' birthday party.

I was also worried about having to run on the shoulder of Derry Road, but that ended up not being a problem as I probably only had to run about 5k on the shoulder and the traffic was fine. In fact, the first 6ks or so clicked by even with the stiffness and then I started to feel a bit low. I decided to stop at the next intersection and dig out my Gu Chomps and eat a few. I also had the epiphany that I could use my large water bottle to fill my handheld for easier water access, so I did all of that while walking. This happened to be at the exact time that my husband and the kids drove by and I didn't hear them honking or see them! My husband did take the time to BBM me to "Quit walking!" (I ran with my iPod on lower than normal and with my phone, just in case).

As I started running again, I felt good, until I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye. It was a rather large German Shepherd who was following me along as I passed by his property. I promptly stopped as I'm not the biggest fan of dogs, much less big dogs. The dog also stopped. I started walking. So did he. I was running on the north side of the street so that I faced into traffic for safety, but decided that the imminent danger of being bitten by a strange dog was more pressing then the off chance that a car would hit me in broad daylight, so I zoomed across the four lanes of road and started running again.

So did the dog.

In fact, he came out closer to the road as if HE was going to cross the street as well, so I walked again with a wary eye on him until he turned back into his property. Once I was well clear of that property, I crossed back to the north side of the road for safety.

The Ks kept ticking away and I was having a hard time because of the constant headwind but making good time anyway. I just focused on keeping myself running tall, running easy and eating chomps and drinking when I needed to. Before I knew it I was at the 407 overpass and past the sign welcoming me to Mississauga (Meadowvale is a community in the north of the city). I welcomed my Garmin flipping over the 11k and let myself enjoy the boost that comes with knowing there is only 5k left of the run. At this time, I was also running with a lot of short breaks as there are lots of traffic lights, so I'm sure that also helped.

Before long, I was making the turn off Derry Road toward my parents house and then on to their street (as I turned onto my folks street, my mum turned in as well having just been out to pick up some rolls for supper!). I was very happy to be finished and out of the wind! I was also super excited to have fulfilled this goal of running from my house to my parent's house.

16k, 1:46:18, Average pace per KM: 0:06:38

Just think, next year when I'm in Marathon training, I can stop for a break and then head back home to complete a 20-miler!

Hmm, I guess I just set the next goal!

How as your long run this weekend?

Week 5!

2011-08-15T12:36:00.005-04:00

Looking at my blog these days, I think you can pretty much tell that I am very busy enjoying the last days of my year-long Maternity Leave. I actually officially go back to work today, but I took three weeks holidays so I don't go back to the office until September 6th! Yippee for full pay!

Last week looked like this:

Sunday: 16k with tempo. This run went amazingly well! I ran a strategy from the clinic where you warm up for 15min, run tempo for 3x (6min tempo, 1 min rest), then 35 min easy and 2x (10min tempo, 2 min rest), then easy home. I averaged a 5:38 pace on the tempo parts and blasted the last one with a pace of 5:31! I also got totally soaked during the last part of the run and suspect that this is what made me run faster! 1:42:40.

Monday: Rest. And I played fastball that night.

Tuesday: 8.15k. The Thomas Street hill! 6x hill repeats, but I took them easy due to Sunday's workout. The running was great, but two people got their water belts with their car keys stolen at the base of the hill so it was a crappy night in that regard. I ended up running with J from the group to the GO Train station after the hills just to make sure everyone had a way home (they did), this is why I got 8ks in. 54:53

Wednesday:

5.06k with the stroller. Easy. And fun. While I love to run with music unless I'm running with someone, it was great to run to the sound of Fergus babbling away as well! 33:39

Thursday: J was going to meet me for track intervals but ended up with a conflict and I spent the day at Wonderland with my four year old and some friends so this ended up being a rest day as well.

Friday: Supposed to be a rest day, but swapped it due to Thursday. My husband was home so I met my other friend J who is just picking up this running thing and we ran to the track (her with her new jogging stroller and her almost one year old) and then I did my 6x400m intervals. These were tough, but worth it! I started out too fast with a 4:29 loop, but only didn't hit my targeted pace of 4:45 on the last lap (4:50). Warm up: 1.5k, 13:26. Intervals and cool down: 6k, 35:54

I was supposed to run 5k on Saturday, but we did this instead:

Yep, Fergus is one year old TODAY!

Total KM: 36.71 Total Time: 4:00:32 Average Pace per KM: 0:06:33

Week 4!

2011-08-09T14:25:00.005-04:00

The weeks training for the Road To Hope half marathon in Hamilton are really flying by! I can't believe that I've already completed four weeks of training and that I've managed to ~~pretty much~~ stay on schedule.

Last week was a bit of a fall back week in that I kept the LSD run at the same distance and then took three days in a row off in order to go camping with my family and family friends.

So, the week rounded out like this:

Sunday: 14.75k. LSD solo run at 0635 again. I am really loving this time to get out the door for a run on Sunday. I'm already up anyway with Fergus and sure I could sleep in as it is my day (my husband sleeps in on Saturday), but I love the empty roads, the cooler temperatures and getting back to the house in time for breakfast and Mass with my oldest. 1:37:40

We left for the Pinery at lunch that day and so I had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as rest days. I was planning on running something on Wednesday evening, but I came home with a sore throat and was in bed by 8pm.

Thursday: 10.17k. INTERVALS!!! I rocked them out! 1:05:37

Friday: 6.4k. I ran a super easy run at the gym on Friday on the treadmill. I had both boys all day and I loved getting a mini break while they were taken care of by the in-gym daycare. You can't beat $7 for two hours of child care for two children. The run was boring and I even suffered through a horrid reality show called "Holly's World". 0:44:45.

Saturday: 3.3k. Another learn to run with my good friend Jenn. I took Fergus and the jogging stroller and chatted her ear off while we did a short loop around my neighbourhood. The great thing about running with friends is that you can then do spontaneous Farmer's Market trips after the run. We celebrated a great LTR by stocking up on good fruit and veggies after. 0:28:59

So, there you go. A fall back week for sure, but a good one with some hard work as well.

Total KM: 34.62k Total Time: 3h57m01s Average Pace per KM: 0:06:51

Foto Friday

2011-08-05T14:10:00.004-04:00

Camping at the Pinery!

Ha! This was the tent we bought as a "play" tent for the kids. My four year old couldn't even stand up in it.

The Beach was beautiful!

And we all loved it.

Intervals!

2011-08-04T21:48:00.003-04:00

I ran my second set of intervals last night. I ran 5x400 with 400 recovery's in between. It was difficult.

It was the first time I was able to go to the high school track to get the intervals completed. Last week I ended up at my parents house and while they watched the kids, I ran at my old elementary school, but the track is just a paved path, not quite 400m long. That first week ended up being okay though as those four repeats let me know a few things.

1. I can run intervals
2. I can run them at a 5 minute pace per KM

My intention this week was to run them when we got home from our annual August long weekend camping trip on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I was unable to do so as I was not feeling very well at all and ended up in bed right after the baby (at 7:30!). I think the sore throat I had combined with being kept awake until 2:30am the night before (due to a boisterous Euchre game at a neighbouring site) caught up with me and I just crashed.

Thursday rolled around and we got back to normal life, including hosting a play date and I decided that I'd run to the track for sure (about 3k) and turn around if I wasn't feeling up to intervals.

After the baby was in bed, I headed out into the lovely setting sun and 25C temperatures toward the high school. I got there and there was a Men's League Flag Football game in progress, so I decided that an audience of strangers would be enough motivation to push through the 5x400s (with 400m recoveries).

Somehow, I ended up averaging 416m per lap, but I am very pleased to say that I did it!

Time per lap (pace per KM): 1:52 (4:30)-1:55 (4:34)-1:57 (4:44)-1:58 (4:44)-1:55 (4:45).

I am having a hate/love relationship with this type of training so far. I hate running them, but love seeing the great times!

The run home (which I extended to get a full 10k in), was slow and difficult. I was bang on a 7:00 per KM pace and am glad I took my time. Can't wait to see how I fare next week with 6 repeats!

Week 3!

2011-08-04T21:31:00.004-04:00

I know this is late, but we headed out camping on Sunday, so I didn't have time to get on a computer until now. It was a great four days away with lovely company and the kids did great! Photos to come of the beauty of Lake Huron at the Pinery.

Sunday: 14.5k My Longest Solo Distance EVER! It was an amazing day for a run. 1:35:59

Tuesday: 5.81k. Hills! I returned to the Thomas Street hill with the group and battled my way up four hills, rocking out the pace again (5:49-6:01-5:59-6:15). Yeah, the last one was brutal! 0:38:51

Thursday: 9k. My first time running intervals! I dropped my kids off at my parents house and then ran the slightly shorter than 400m track at my old elementary school. The plan called for 4x400 with a 400m recovery and I hit the planned 2mins per 400m each time (2:07-2:00-1:59-1:57). I then did a long recovery jog home to get the KMs in. 0:57:29

Friday: 6.18k. Just a short run in my subdivision to get it in. I felt alright, but it was just a run, you know... nothing special. 0:39:59

Total KM: 35.49k Total Time: 3:52:18 Ave pace per KM: 0:6:33

Another great week!

Week 2!

2011-07-25T21:33:00.004-04:00

Here we go! Week two recap:

Sunday: 12.27k. A pretty good run on a new route that was just a huge door to door rectangle. I totally miscalculated the sun and ran in the direct sun too much, but was okay anyway. I got out the door around 0730 and was hot. I did manage to get home in time to nurse the baby down to his 9am nap and I made it to 10am mass with my oldest as well. 1:21:35

Tuesday: Thomas Street Hill. I gladly joined the new half marathon clinic to run hills. A short warm up and three repeats and we were done. I was happy to be close to tempo for all three repeats. My plan is to keep up with them when I don't have a baseball game conflict. 5.12k, 0:33:26

Wednesday: I decided to do a medium long run on this night rather then the tempo I had planned because it was still stinking hot at 8pm. I wavered at 6k when I could have turned for home, 300 metres away. Instead I continued on the route and finished strong at 8.2k. 0:52:42

Friday: Tempo run on the treadmill at the gym. It was HOT last week. My oldest was at camp, so the baby and I headed to the gym so that I could get this in. It felt good. Actually, if I admit it it felt a bit too easy. No worries though - I start intervals in week three, so I'm sure there will be pain again. 6.4k, 0:41:13

Saturday: My friend has started a learn to run program on her own so I told her I'd run with her anytime. We agreed to meet Saturday, so I ran to her place. It was 16:18 when I started and the temperature was +37C. It was a hot run. 4.3k, 0:27:12. We then went on to do her LTR (4 and 1s) for 2k (0:16:48).

Total KM: 38.29 Total Time: 4h12m56s Average Pace per KM: 0:6:36

Longest Solo Distance Sunday!

2011-07-25T21:08:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, my training plan called for me to run 14k. I gamely sorted out a route via Gmaps on Saturday afternoon and then watched the weather before deciding to set the alarm for 6am (have I mentioned that Sunday is my weekend day to sleep in?), to get up and out and back before the real humidity and hot weather hit (I had run on Saturday afternoon in +37C sun and had absolutely NO intentions of repeating that kind of run, especially for a LSD).

This was to be the longest distance I have ever run alone. Yes, I did race the Bread & Honey 15k road race alone, but it was a race; you're never alone during a race. I actually didn't think too much about it before the run other then calculate that it should take me no more then about 1 hour 40 minutes or so if I kept the pace easy. To be honest, I was more worried about being over-heated than being lonely.

Turns out I had no reason to worry on either account. I got out the door at 0635 and was off. I made a point of looking a the digital temperature display I pass during long runs and it said +22C. I was very happy to read that even though I was sweating buckets and it was only 2k in. It was pretty humid out, but I had come prepared with an extra 500mL of water that I carried in my hand (my hand-held is only 10oz). I didn't find carrying a water bottle too bad and I loved the idea that I could finish it by 7k.

It was around 7 or 8k that the weather changed. The sun went behind the clouds and the sky turned dark enough that I was able to take off my sunglasses. There was a breeze. A COOL breeze. It was like heaven after days of breezes that blew at you like the ones that come from the depths of your oven after you open it when the broiler has been in use. I was running along a new street for me; an old part of town. The houses were post-WWII bungalows with carports and mature trees. It was nice to zone out and enjoy the breeze, the quaint houses where the monotony was only broken by the different hostas planted in front gardens.

Before I knew it, I was close to 10k in and I decided to take a GU, least my legs give out on me in the final push. By this time, I was headed to Main Street (Milton, ON) and was able to put the empty water bottle in the garbage and run on hands free. Running up Main Street to the new end of my town was awesome. I didn't see one single soul. It was too early for church and coffee and too late for late-night barfly's. I loved the feeling of being alone. I can't accurately explain how great I felt to just run on, knowing that the run would soon come to an end.

As I headed up the final hill to the subdivision that would lead me across the major road and into my own subdivision, I passed a women who I had passed very early in my run. I took a few seconds to ask how far she was running, "I dunno... maybe 15?"

"I'm going 14" I said, "Have a good one!" And with a wave and a nod, we each ran on (me going west, her going east) happy to have shared the camaraderie of a long Sunday run and glad to be left alone with our thoughts again.

Distance: 14.5k, Time: 1:35:59, Pace: 6:37/km on average

Three Things Thursday

2011-07-21T10:07:00.002-04:00

I might as well play along!

1. I was wrong about my Hamilton Half Marathon training plan. I'm actually doing a 17 week plan; 16 weeks of training with the 17th week being race week! This happened because I, um, missed a week in August. HA!

2. So far this week has been great! I completed a great 12k run on Sunday on my own, ran hills with the current half marathon clinic (and ran them speedy!) and did a great medium-long 8k last night. Today calls for 6k tempo... If it happens, it'll be at the gym on the treadmill as there is no way I'm attempting to run in 50C heat (and yes, I DO live in Canada).

3. I'm ~~pretty~~ very sure my ePace has changed. I can't seem to run slower then 6:45 these days no matter how hard I try. In fact, during the hill repeats on Tuesday, I actually almost hit my old 6:00m/km tempo pace for the first time ever on all repeats (6:04, 6:09, 6:05). As a result, I'm not going to kill myself trying to go slower then 6:45m/km on my easy runs anymore, but I am going to do my best to stick with that speed least I re-injure myself. For the record, my tempo pace is now 5:45m/km. I start intervals next week, so we'll see how they go!

Have a great day, and if you're in the GTA stay cool!

Hamilton Half Marathon Week 1 Training Recap

2011-07-18T14:50:00.005-04:00

Last week I kicked off my self directed training plan to get me into shape for the Hamilton Half Marathon. I'm both excited and nervous to be attempting a self-directed training plan for only my second half marathon, but because it is the summer, because I'm heading back to work from maternity leave in September and because my Running Room's current half clinic is targeting the Scotiabank Marathon, I decided to do it on my own.

The Running Room program calls for 17 weeks of training with week 18 being the race. I've reduced this to 15 weeks with 16 being the race as I already have a good base. I was supposed to run 21km and ended up with 26km in (Su-Sa)

Mon Jul 11: Ran 8k at the gym on the treadmill. I stuck to an easy pace for the first 5k and used the last 3k as a tempo run: 0:54:00. I also played baseball that night (and Tuesday night).

Wed Jul 13: 5.81k in a door to door loop before I went to dinner with the girls. It was a hot, fast run, but it allowed me to stick with the program: 0:35:46

Thur Jul 14: 7k door to door again after I put the baby to bed. I did not want to run and felt so tired before I headed out, but I couldn't keep my legs slow: 0:44:21

Sat Jul 16: 5.13k with the jogging stroller and Fergus. This should count for much more as it is HARD to run with the stroller. It did allow me to keep my ePace easy though: 0:35:28

Total: 26km
Time: 2:49:25
Pace per KM: 0:6:31

This is right where I want to be right now. I'm planning on increasing the distance and pushing the speed in the weeks to come as I start to incorporate a 10k speed plan within the half training schedule in order to get ready to PB the Zoo Race on September 24th.

Happy Running!

When you don't want to run

2011-07-15T07:27:00.002-04:00

I didn't want to run last night. Not at all. I was tired after spending a lot of the afternoon outside yesterday and generally from fighting a cold all the while being woke up 1-2x a night by the baby.

At 7pm, I nursed the baby to sleep and almost joined him.

Instead, I resisted the urge to curl up on the couch and watch TV and got out with my tunes and shoes, settling in for 7k. It was pretty crazy. I was tired and sluggish, but I couldn't keep my body from running fast. I don't know if it is because I only ran one 3k stretch of tempo this week or if it was because I was only mentally tired, but at the end of the run, even after doing my best to run conservatively, I had held a 6:20 pace on average (my half race pace was 6:23).

I'm going to get a quick tempo in tomorrow and then a 12k long run on Sunday. My goal for Sunday is to keep my pace at 6:50. I've got to slow down. I don't want to end up back in physio.

Do you have any tips for keeping it slow?

Warrior Dash (non) Race Report!

2011-07-11T09:11:00.006-04:00

Let me say first off that had I actually ran this race, it would have been the most difficult race I have ever done in my entire life. As it was, the girls I was running with had a hard time (as did many) and so we walked the entire race.

We headed up to Barrie around 12:30 and hit traffic on the 400 highway as we suspected. We had lots of time to make our 4:30 wave start so we cruised, chatted, stopped for Ice Capps and texted with our fellow racers who were ahead of us.

We got off the highway and made it to parking after a bit of confusion being turned around a few times by officers telling us we couldn't go this way or that way. We met up with our fourth and her boyfriend and got on the school buses for the 2 minute drive to Horseshoe Resort. The scene was awesome with loads of Warriors milling around pre and post race. The mud on those who had completed the race was amazing.

We then saw that people were lining up to be sprayed off by fire hoses after their race. Wow.

We checked our bags, hit the washroom and then started to line up but not before I ran into my cousin (watching her complete her first marathon at Mississauga in 2009 really inspired me to become a runner). She had just finished and repeated what we were hearing all around us: The hills were BRUTAL, the obstacles were nothing, we would get muddy.

Soon, it was time to start and the gun went (as did the fire at the start line!) and we were off. The very first obstacle we hit was a mud pit and while we all thought we were prepared with shoes tied on super tight, one of the girls lost her shoe. She dug it out and we stopped to let her empty it and then put it back on.

This is where the 'race' part of the race went out the window. The three ladies I was with were all out of breath (all smokers, all with asthma) and we decided to walk it. It was brutally hot and we literally were walking up a black diamond ski hill. We were in the back of the pack and I was doing fine, so I settled into my role as cheerleader.

I don't have much more to report. As I wasn't racing, I didn't pay much attention to times or anything else. After the halfway point, we caught up with another group of 4:30ers who were struggling up yet another steep hill and we joked around with them. It was at this time that the 5:00 wave front runners started to pass us and I started to cheer them on as they could barely run up the hill (it was that steep and trust me, these people were FIT). I was doing leg kicks and cheer leading moves saying, "Go 5:00, go 5:00, go 5:00 wave! You're doing it! You're lapping us 4:30ers! Keep racing! Keep racing! Keep racing shirtless please!"

At least I got some laughs from those who were struggling badly up the hill (even though my friend Flo (who I did the Santa run with) was ready to kill me and my positive attitude!). We made it up that hill and from that point on it was mainly downhill through the last obstacles. I climbed the final cargo net, jumped the two fires but did not get down on my stomach for an army crawl through the final mud pit. At that point, I wasn't feeling it. I am short enough that I was able to crouch down to get under the chains even though some people were walking over them.

We finished and grabbed some water and photos:

As you can see, I'm not muddy!

We then went to the fire hose to clean up a bit (I donated my shoes), changed to cleaner clothes and got our free beer (the timing chip was good for a free beer):

I would do this race again. 100%. I would race it though, but with someone who could stay with me. It would be no fun to do it alone. I'm very glad I stayed with these four ladies throughout. If you decide to do this race next year I only have one recommendation: Get ready for hills!

Time: 1:10:29
Place: 9417
Place F30-34: 864

Races and goals

2011-07-08T10:53:00.006-04:00

These past two weeks have really been great for me. I've totally gotten back into my running routine and have even gotten out for morning runs before my husband goes to work (these are needed as I am now home with both of my sons and I can't run while my four year old bikes beside me - we've tried!).

With the success I've been having any my husband's blessing, I bit the bullet this past week and signed up for the Road 2 Hope Half Marathon taking place in Hamilton on November 6, 2011.

The goal for this one is pretty simple:

Personal Best (sub 2:13:58)

I also signed up for the Energizer 5k Night Race on September 10, 2011. The goal here is fuzzy, but a sub 28 minutes is the current goal.

Of course, I will also look for a 10k PB at the zoo run on September 24th.

For this weekend at the Warrior Dash, I have no goals.

Finish.

Actually attempt the jump over the fire.

Not get hurt.

Drink a lot of beer (post race).

I'm having a great summer!

Discharge

2011-07-05T14:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I was discharged from Physio! Yippee!

My knee is on the mend, but I need to ensure that I keep up the stretching and strengthening routines that I learned. My knee is still "tracking" slightly off, so I need to get back in to see the therapist at the first sign of something odd to ensure I don't end up with a very bad injury. He also suggested that I ice my knee after every run whenever possible.

I'm also back in the running game! According to Daily Mile I ran 32k last week (M-Su) for a total of 3h32m spent running over four workouts. I'm very pleased to see those numbers! I ran my LSD on Saturday morning as we were attending a party later in the day and sleeping over so I wouldn't have been able to get it in on Sunday AM. This strategy worked out well for me and I didn't feel one iota of guild as I loaded up on the 12 kinds of amazing salads on offer at the buffet (or the piece of chocolate Canada Day cake!).

I kept up the early morning routine this morning, heading out the door at 0715 to start my day with 5.7k around my neighbourhood. It took me about 2k to get my legs working and less stiff, but it was great to get back in the house knowing that I got the workout in (I have baseball tonight, plus both of my kids are home with me now that school is out and it is really hard to run with the jogging stroller and my four year old on his bike!).

I'm eager to put some speed work back on the plan, but I'm unsure if I could handle a tempo run so early in the AM. I guess I can test the theory tomorrow morning as I think my husband is off for a bike ride tomorrow evening, meaning I can't run once the kids are in bed (as he'll be gone).

This weekend is also the Warrior Dash, but that will be more about ~~the post-race drinks~~ having a great time, then racing. I'll write about that one later in the week.

Back at it

2011-06-27T09:22:00.002-04:00

Nothing much more to report.

After getting the all clear at Physio on Thursday, I'm back on the running train. I ran 5k on Friday and 10k on Sunday. Both were meant to be easy paced runs.

The 5k was a 6:50 pace - perfect.

The 10k was a 6:35 pace - too fast (my Mpace is around 6:23).

The knee was fine after Friday and a bit touchy yesterday, but I iced it twice and its fine now.

I am supposed to run for about 10 minutes and then stop and do a series of dynamic stretches before continuing my run. I don't like it. It totally ruins my momentum and messes with my head. I think I'm going to have to do a bunch of jumping jacks at home, then the stretches and then run. I don't want to mess up my knee again/further, so I know I have to stick with the suggestions they gave me at Physio.

All in all, I'm happy to be back on the road. Hoping to hit 5 runs this week (with one already completed yesterday).

No Run Knee

2011-06-14T08:12:00.003-04:00

Last Thursday, I woke up to a very swollen knee. It was painful and I had very limited range of motion. I couldn't figure out what I had done (race Sunday, baseball Monday, easy run Tuesday, rest Wednesday), but clearly, I had done something.

I iced and elevated the knee throughout the day and saw real progress. Nevertheless, I headed to my family doctor on Friday and secured a referral to physio.

Yesterday (Monday), my knee felt fine, but I headed to physio anyway.

After a few pokes and bends and measurements the therapist determined that I had some cartilage damage but not a full on Meniscus tear (thank goodness!).

So.

I can't run for two weeks and I'll be hitting physio two times a week for the next three for laser, ice and some other kind of therapy (I can't remember).

I hope the weeks pass quickly.

Of course, we've had the perfect running weather the past few days.

Bread & Honey 15k Race Report

2011-06-06T09:26:00.009-04:00

Never trust a runner who says they have no goals about a race.

Simply: Don't believe them.

Whether the goal is as easy as to run the miles easy, or as detailed as to evenly split each kilometer, you can bet that the runner has goals. Even, "I'm just going to cross the finish line" is a goal.

So, I know I claimed to have no goals for the race yesterday, but to be honest, I toyed with two: run a true LSD run (with a 6:50ish average pace) OR, beat my 15k time from the Mississauga Half Marathon three weeks ago (sub 1:35:51).

I got up at 6am on Sunday morning with my husband who was up with ~~the only morning person in our house~~ Fergus and ate, checked the weather and got dressed. It was expected to be 21 degrees celsius by 9am and I debated wearing my black shirt from Mississauga, but decided to keep it as I was more worried about sunburns on my shoulders. I lathered on the sunscreen and grabbed a hat (funny - it would be the same hat I wore the last time I ran a B&H race, the 5k in 2009):

I also grabbed my water belt with the 500mL bottle in the back as I knew that water every 3k would not be enough for me (again, this was the first race I wore this belt to!).

I was on the road early and arrived at the start with plenty of time to secure a parking spot metres from the start/finish on a side street. Then I found the washroom in the high school (yippee! REAL washrooms! With soap and water!) and went to look for the members of my clinic who were racing and spectating. Before long, I ran into a few people who were there to do either of the above and we chatted for a while looking for more people and our instructor, Bing who was racing the 5k. Before we found him, we lined up. Only three of us were running in the 15k and the two other ladies were much faster then me so I asked them to not allow me to run with them and wished them luck!

Aside: Bing raced the 5k so well he came in third in his age group. I was able to meet up with him and the rest of the group post race. Photos to come.

Before long, Hazel was making her ~~incoherent~~ inspirational speech and sounding the horn to get us started.

I stared WAY TOO FAST. I was telling myself to keep it easy, use it as an easy run, that I was going to die by 8k etc etc:

KM1 - 6:01, KM2 - 5:59, KM3 - 6:13, KM4 - 6:13, KM5 - 6:21

It took me 5 kilometres to get my pace to race pace. CRAZY! The great thing about the first few kilometres of this race is that I know all of the streets as I grew up taking lessons in Streetsville, so I just zoned out and enjoyed the spectators, the little town feel and watching the 5k elites blazing past us around the 10 minute mark. Once we made the split from those racing 5k, the crowd really thinned out as did the spectators (uh, there were none). The course is challenging in that regard and because it it pretty hilly. I concentrated on attempting to keep my pace even at 6:23 or so and keeping myself hydrated. It was super hot and I took fluids at ever station and pretty much every K.

I found it difficult to settle into a great pace as I was by myself and I couldn't find anyone who was running at the same pace as I was. I saw a lot of the same people around me, but most were walk-running and I was having none of that. I did walk through some water stations and to jam my bottle back into my belt, but those spells were function walks, not any kind of strategy. It was a pretty BLAH race after Mississauga to be honest. My best memory from these 5k were watching during the turn around for my clinic friends and yelling out good job to them as they passed me. I also saw a woman who was at least 7 months pregnant racing in a skirt and sports bra - belly proudly leading the way (I found her after the race and congratulated her!). It was hot.

KM6 - 6:16 (GU), KM7 - 6:16, KM8 - 6:21, KM9 - 6:19, KM10 - 6:14

At 10k I started having some trouble. It was hot. We were in an industrial part of the course, I was unsure where I was. It was hot. There was a family of walk-runners who kept yo-yoing with me (mum, dad and 8 year old!) and it was playing with my head. I started to smile at and thank all volunteers and police officers I saw. I realized that I like to see people when I race and to interact with them. I kept zoning out which is good, I guess, but the race didn't feel fun like the last one did. I told myself that it should only be a LSD run anyway and to slow down and not worry about it. I took a GU at 11.5km and it didn't seem to help at all! That's when I put my "suck it up" pants on and took control of my head.

I knew I was on pace to beat my 15k time from Mississauga. I knew the streets again. I knew that there were 3k left and they were nothing. Finally, the parents let their 8 year old race (kid took off!) while they continued to walk-run and I let him lose me. The last three Ks were a lot better.

At 700 metres to go, I came up to a man walking. I said to him, "700 metres to go! Buddy, you've GOT IT!" He started running with me. And by with me, I mean the guy might as well have been tethered to me! When I crossed the road to cut the corner, he was with me. When we had to shift to the left to get out of the way of a fire truck (someone had to be taken off course), he was there! I kept telling him how long was left.

Then, we were almost at the line and I remembered to pull my ear buds out. Just in time because there was the rest of my clinic group, cheering and taking photos form the side lines! It was so AWESOME! It was the first time I had lots of people cheering! I also heard/saw a lady from my baseball team who was there with her fitness class to run the 5k as their final exam. Finally, I felt the normal race rush and crossed with the normal thrill of a finish. Of course, it helped that I had beat the 15k time from Mississauga!

KM11 - 6:26, KM12 - 6:37 (GU), KM13 - 6:07, KM14 - 6:01, KM15 - 5:41

Chip: 1:33:35, Pace: 6:12
Place: 308/446
W30-34: 25/39

Photos to come!

Bread & Honey 15k Road Race Goals

2011-06-04T18:54:00.001-04:00

None.

I'm just gonna run the thing and see what happens.

Bib 262, 8am start.

5 Things Friday

2011-06-03T12:22:00.008-04:00

1. This week, I finally took advantage of the good weather AND the jogging stroller:

Don't worry, I have a UV/Bug cover that goes over top of him!

I ran 5.15k on Tuesday morning and man, it was HOT:

It was also a lot harder than I thought to push the stroller, but totally doable, even in heat that was 40 or so with the humidity.

2. I bought new clothes (2x shorts and 2x racer back tanks)! Zellars has a BOGO 50% off and I took advantage of the offer. For the amount I spent, I would have only gotten one pair of regularly priced shorts at RR or lulu. My husband is rather happy about that! I WORE the short shorts on my 6k tempo last night and they were okay! I can't believe I've come so far as to actually WEAR shorts on a run!

3. Speaking of shorts and confidence, I hit the 130s on the scale this week for the first time in well over five years! I'm only just into this zone, but I'm celebrating anyway! My scale victory has been followed by being able to wear shorts and capris I haven't worn in years!

4. I finally bought new shoes! I stuck with the exact same pair that have done me so well up until now, and purchased New Balance 940s (formally 850s). I can't wait to try them out tonight!

5. I'm bib #262 for the Break and Honey 15k road race this Sunday, June 5th. I've yet to decide if I'm going to put any goals out there. It is 9.3 miles so an odd distance and I should really just use it as an LSD run. I'm going to think about it some more.

How was your week?

Back to the routine... kinda

2011-06-02T21:43:00.006-04:00

My goal going into this week was to get back into the routine of running 4-5 times a week and keeping at least one of those runs a long (12+km) one and one run a tempo run.

So far this week, I've hit the first goal, and this evening I hit the second one with a lovely routine 6k tempo run around my subdivision.

I was starting out later in the evening for me at 8pm and it was only about 45 minutes after I had finished supper. I decided that I'd run wherever my legs took me, but that I wouldn't cross any major roads to get the 6k in. Instead, I ran along many undiscovered streets and let my Garmin track my KMs and pace.

The first 12 minutes were easy of course as prescribed for the warm up. I ran a bit fast with an average pace of 6:28/km, but I felt good. It was a PERFECT night for running as the sun set: 16C with a touch of wind. I felt great! Then, it was time for Tempo!

After my success last Wednesday in the rain, I decided to go for an average pace of 5:45/km. This is a leap from the 6:00/km I was running at the end of the clinic, but to be honest, that pace felt really easy but Bing had cautioned me not to make any changes so close to the half marathon. With the ease of the 6 minute pace and the extremely successful half marathon, I decided that I would push up my tempo until it felt like the 9/10 effort it should be.

Both last week and this week, I was not disappointed. I run a straight 20 minutes at tempo pace and about 14 minutes in I was checking the time every minute, then every 45 seconds, then every half minute to count down how long it would be until I was finished. There was a huge effort for me to run that fast, but a good effort nonetheless. After downloading the data, I see that my pace was 5:44 for the 20 minute tempo portion and I feel great now!

Just think, back in late February I completed my first tempo run at 6:14/km and now, a mere four months later, I've jumped to a pace that is a full 32 seconds faster!

I can't wait to break all of my records in the second half of 2011!

Long run alone

2011-05-29T20:55:00.004-04:00

Well, here I am two weeks after completing my first ever half marathon and I've recommitted to a Sunday morning long run (and so has my awesome husband).

Because I don't want to put my family out too much with my running, I've decided not to join in on the long runs with the Running Room for the time being and will instead be doing them all by myself.

This morning I set off at 9:10 and ran a 12k route through my end of town. It was a good run as it didn't rain, it wasn't silly humid and while I did fail at keeping my pace at 6:50/km or slower, I felt good.

I decided that I'd run with a sports drink in my handheld for the first time along with my water bottle and felt okay taking that. I doubt I'll ever race with sports drink as I do find it sweet, but I sweat like crazy and I want to be able to replace all of the salt I loose when I'm on these shorter long runs.

Before I knew it, I was back in my subdivision and heading for home. I am glad I got out there for the longest distance ever run alone in my life.

12k, 1:19:40, 6:48/km

24k last week (w/o May 23), aiming for 35-40 this week.

One week until the Bread and Honey 15k race. Goals to come

Increase in Tempo pace... in the rain!

2011-05-25T20:46:00.003-04:00

Average pace over 4k: 5:48/km

I felt great!

Total: 6k, 35:29, average pace: 5:57/km

Long, Slow Run

2011-05-24T09:19:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was Victoria Day in Canada. This is a federal holiday and so my husband ~~golfed~~ was home (but he played 9 in the morning). It was an odd day with on and off rain, thunder, sun and wind but after the baby went for his afternoon nap, I risked the weather and set out to run my first LSD run since the half marathon, settling on a 10k loop through town.

This was the first time I had run more than 9k on my own so I was excited to get out there to see if I could finally pace myself to an actual slow pace and keep myself company for the 70 or so minutes.

I started off good, deciding to hit the hard part on gravel first and was quickly through the first two kilometers. I was enjoying my music, the scenery and the cool breeze. My only problem was that I was checking my Garmin all the time just to ensure that my pace wasn't creeping above 6:50/km. Before I knew it, I was on Main street (I really did run through town) and at 5k. At that time I started reflecting on how short 10k now seems. I can't believe that back in January, I was dying at the end of 7k thinking it was such a long distance. Again, I was grateful that I had signed up for the program with the Running Room as those 16 weeks taught me so much.

While I was running kms 6-8 the sun came out in full force and it was HOT. I was thankful that I opted for my shorts and tank and that I had remembered a hat and sunscreen. Ideally, my goal is to get out for LSD runs on Sunday mornings and keep up the schedule that I had with the RR, but from home. This weekend being a holiday is what shifted my schedule a bit.

I finished strong (if a bit fast) and am looking forward to building a schedule to focus on speed for the 5 and 10k PBs I want to hit this year and building distance so that I can tackle the 30k Midsummer Night's Run in August.

10k, 1:07:16, 0:06:42 average pace per KM.

And on to the future

2011-05-18T14:05:00.004-04:00

First of all, thanks for all of the comments on my race report! Six entire comments is a new record for me! HA!

And so... now it is time to look to the future.

Thus far, my summer looks like this:

June 5th Bread and Honey 15k Road Race

July 9th Warrior Dash "3.24 Hellish Miles" 4:30 Heat!

August 20th A Midsummer Night's Run 30k I was thisclose to signing up at the expo last week, so I just need to sign up for this one.

September 10th Energizer Night Race (not sure if I'll do 5k or 10k) I need to sign up!

September 24th Oasis Zoo Run 10k

November 6th Road To Hope Hamilton ~~Full~~ ~~Half~~ ~~Full~~ Half Marathon ~~Or maybe the full~~ I have to sign up!

My other goals are simple:
1. PB 5k (sub 28:44)
2. PB 10k (sub 1:03:05)
3. PB the Half Marathon (unless I do the full!)

Obviously, I have a big decision to make regarding November and soon. Do you think I'm crazy to run my first half marathon and first full marathon within six months?

Mississauga Half Marathon Race Report!

2011-05-16T09:20:00.012-04:00

Without a doubt, this race was a wonderful experience for me (despite the grey skies, drizzle and high winds). It cemented my love of running, my love of racing and the fact that I will continue to be a runner for a long time to come.

After doing the smart thing and dropping the kids off at my parents to spend the night (the baby is still up at least once per night), we headed home to relax a bit before I headed to bed. I went up around 9pm and was tired but read a bit to ensure I was able to sleep right away. That was AFTER I discovered that the top and sports bra I wanted to wear and all of my socks were in the wash and I had to do laundry! Thank goodness for dry-weave!

I slept okay in about 4 hour spurts which makes sense as the baby usually wakes me up. I was able to get right back to sleep each time. My watch alarm (I had 3 alarms set!) went off right at 5am and I slowly got out of bed to eat (Bagel with peanut butter) and ~~check the weather and twitter~~ get ready. The weather looked bad: 9 degrees, rain and wind gusts up to 54kph. I grabbed a long sleeved top along with a wind coat and my husband and I got on the road.

Luckily for me, a friend from my running group works at the start line and so we met at her office building and were able to avoid the long port-a-potty lines before heading to the start. We saw quite a few of our group at the start, but not Bing (who we did see sprinting toward the start line when we were leaving the office building. I'm sad to say I didn't see him at all after the race).

The entire time I was debating if I should pin my bib on my short sleeved shirt or my long sleeved one. It was cold, but not raining. It seemed like the day of our training course run and so I decided to keep on the long sleeved shirt with my bib attached and my watch on the sleeve. I was also wearing a garbage bag (as were many others) and that worked wonders for keeping warm.

The gun went, the bag came off and we walked to the start, crossing the line about 5 minutes after the gun. The race had begun!!!

The strategy that C and I had set was to run the thing at a 6:23 pace which would allow us to meet the A goal of 2h:15m. We had decided on attempting a negative split so that we would conserve energy for two things: The hill around 9.5km and the last three KMs. So, we started strong and right on pace.

Within the first 2k, I knew I was over dressed. It was so humid and not yet raining. I made a quick decision to strip off my long sleeved top which meant fumbling of: Belt, bib (with four pins), watch, ear buds and pace band. C agreed that I should do it early when we could catch up time if it slowed us down and held a bunch of my stuff while I ran and redressed. The lesson here is to buy a bib belt thing. I had bleeding fingers from re-pinning. The first 5k were easy despite this and I was just waiting for the turn onto Mississauga Road so that we'd be on familiar ground.

KM1: 6:27
KM2: 6:24
KM3: 6:23
KM4: 6:17
KM5: 6:27

5k split: 0:31:58 Pace band: 0:31:59

We were racing smart. We were reeling in if our pace got too fast and watching the pace bands to ensure that we were on target for the overall goal. We both skipped the first two water stations as we had our own water and didn't need any. There are some downhills in this part and it was still early so it was awesome to see the sea of people in front of us running. There were quite a few spectators (for such a crappy day) and their support was great. It started to mist/rain, but I couldn't feel any wind and told C that I'd take pouring rain over wind any day.

These next five KMs are the ones that stick out the most in my mind. I noticed people running in Vibrams, ladies heading behind stores to pee (while men just stood with their backs to the race), people using bus shelters to strip off layers. For a while we were running right with a couple who had shirts printed with "First Marathon 2011" which made me smile. The turn onto Mississauga Road was a boost because from here on out it was familiar ground and I was feeling good. My normally stiff knees felt perfectly fine.

At 6k, I ran through the water stop to chug a cup and took my first of three planned gels. We were now on the route we had ran in practice and I was feeling great! C and I were chatting, ensuring we kept the pace as planned and enjoying the misty rain keeping us cool (I run VERY hot!). We looped through UoTM which has a few small hills and saw people walking already. We kept passing, passing, passing which was a testament to our steady pace and great training. When we came out of campus, we knew that the hill was coming up. We actually thought it was a bit earlier (around 7ish km) and C took a gel sooner than she wanted to I think but no matter, we banked some time on the downhill and got ready to keep running. Around this point I told C that I had a feeling. And that feeling was that, "We've got this in the bag." C was hesitant as we still had the hill and she finds the last three KMs challenging.

At the base of the hill, right at Dundas and Mississauga Road, there was a spectator that I noticed right away. He had a sign with a square cut out of it and on the top it said, "I'm your biggest fan." He was sticking his head through the cut out, making himself part of he sign. I pointed him out to C and he saw me and pointed right at me. I cracked right up and it was the perfect start of the hill for me. (C was a bit confused - she was wondering if this dude was my husband! He was just an ~~random~~ awesome spectator).

So. The hill. We ran it no problem. The 10k marker is right in the middle. We kept running. If you look at the splits, we ran the first half FAST! We spotted a familiar back and low and behold it was C2 from our clinic! She must have gone out FAST as it took us 10k to catch her and she constantly runs at a slower pace than us. We saw her after the race and she was very pleased as her strategy was to positive split. This was her second half marathon and she knew what worked for her.

KM6: 6:26 GU
KM7: 6:18
KM8: 6:22
KM9: 6:13
KM10: 6:15

10k split: 1:03:32 Pace band: 1:03:59

We finished the hill and talked strategy again. We decided to keep our pace no faster than 6:20 so that we had some legs left for the last three k. I told C that I wanted to wait until we passed the highway portion before going significantly faster as that is my least favorite part of the route and she agreed that it was a good plan. And so we ran. It was still lightly raining. I still felt no wind. My run play list was done by this time so I had shuffle on and I was getting some awesome tunes to motive me (and I'm the type of gal who was motivated on this day by Bust a Move, Delilah and Rock Me Gently). I was chatting, feeling great and most of all I was not thinking. There was no mental game going on. I took another gel at 12k and started to run through all of the water stations. At 14k, there was the "Lucky Shoe" and I tapped it. At 14.5k, the full marathoners turned onto Indian Road and I told C that we'd be making that turn next year. By 15k, I started thinking: 10 mile run, 5k race.

KM11: 6:45 (last of the hill)
KM12: 6:25 GU
KM13: 6:25
KM14: 6:21
KM15: 6:23

15k split: 1:35:51 Pace band: 1:35:58

Just before 16k and the turn parallel to the lake I told C that we were right on time. A man asked us what pace we were running and I told him 6:23/2h15m finish. He was pleased as that was his target. I told him that we were bang on and he smiled. Once we were running parallel to the lake, I did feel some wind, but it didn't phase me. I was having such a great run! I just can't explain how amazing I was feeling. Sometime around here an older man passed us running in bare feet. C wasn't talking but a woman and I remarked about how his feet MUST be leather. He was booking it as well and passed us with speed. I must also admit, that we didn't see a lot of the same people on the race. This means that the people who passed us, passed us and we didn't give chase. It also means that the people we passed, we passed - we never ran too quickly.

I took my last gel at 18k even though I didn't feel like I needed it. I wanted to boost some energy for the last bit and give myself every chance I had. By 19k, race bikes started passing us telling us to keep to the right. At first I didn't understand what was going on. Then I started looking ~~for traffic~~ for the Marathon Elites and cheered with everyone else as Josphat Nzinga floated by us on his way to the win. What a boost! We kept running. I was slightly ahead of C at this point, but knew she was right there. Then we saw A from our clinic who was very happy to see us. She didn't have her best day with foot cramps and was so happy to see someone she knew as she couldn't keep up with her partners. We chatted for a few seconds, but then we ran on.

I had so much in the tank. By the 19k marker I knew I was going to go for it. I turned to C and told her, "We've got it! Its done!" She again, hesitated. I shouted, "We have 14 minutes to run 2k! WE'VE DONE IT!" A woman running near us asked if that was 2h15m and when I said yes, it must have given her something more because she said that the time was her goal as well and then... she was gone!. It gave me something as well. I was going to try for tempo pace in the last two kilometres and had no problem. Sure, my breathing was a bit heavy, but my legs felt great. I can honestly say I did not have one single negative thought in my head. At that point the run became about getting in sub 2:15 by as much as possible.

At 20k I took my ear buds out (note: sticking them into the straps of a sports bra is perfect as they don't flop all over the place) and enjoyed the crowd. I was a bit challenged to pass people, but keep on the right side to allow people to pass me and I stopped looking for C, but I kept running. With 500m to go, I stopped looking at my watch. I knew I was running fast. I knew I would just keep running until I got passed the line. I didn't look for anyone (my husband, Bing), I just ran. There was a MASSIVE puddle around here and I ran right through it as well (my feet were already soaked). I ran and ran and to my surprise, I didn't cry or even get close to it. Like the rest of the race, I was smiling, laughing, enjoying this amazing run, this wonderful accomplishment, exhilarated with my mind and body coming together to meet a goal that was 4 months in the making. At the line, I threw my hands up and celebrated!

KM16: 6:08
KM17: 6:22
KM18: 6:13 GU
KM19: 6:20
KM20: 6:07
KM21: 5:44
0.21KM: 1:04

21.1k split: 2:13:58 Pace band: 2:15:00

Official Stats:
Time: 2:18:37 (6:35 pace)
Chip: 2:13:50 (per Garmin - 6:19 pace)
F30-34: 178/289
F: 1115/1946
Overall: 2300/3430

Crossing the line:

I can't tell you how happy I am. This next photo shows it a bit (Um, Fergus loves cold things right now as he's teething. Don't worry, no baby drank any beer. That was all for me!)

Now the question is: What half marathon do I run this fall?

Mississauga Half Marathon

2011-05-15T13:28:00.001-04:00

Official: 2:13:51

A+ baby!

Full report to come.

Foto(s) Friday (and a bit of showing off)

2011-05-13T19:24:00.004-04:00

With my clinic ended, I'll need some motivation to run on my own at multiple times a week. Lucky for me, we have a great second hand store in town and I picked this up for $80 yesterday (this is just a photo from the net):

Everyone has spent the past few days carb loading. MMM, Bagels!

And Scoobi Doo pasta (For real, that's what the package says, I'm not just pandering to my four year old).

Finally, this is what happens when race kit pick up interferes with afternoon nap time:

How was your week?

Goals

2011-05-13T14:27:00.003-04:00

As you know by now, my first ever half marathon is this Sunday, May 15th.

When I started training, I thought that my main goal would be to just cross the finish line.

Of course, after 16 weeks I have some more specific goals in mind:

C Goal: 2:20 (should be doable despite the forecast rain and 40KPH wind)

B Goal: Sub 2:20 (not out of reach, it is a 6:38/KM pace which slower than our 6:37 pace during our practice run on course)

A Goal: 2:15 (this is the real goal. The one that C is aiming for as this is her repeat half marathon)

A+ Goal: Sub 2:15 (The secret, I'm pretty sure I can do it if I just hang on and RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE! goal)

No matter what, this race is a Personal Best.

It is a reward for committing to the training and for running (nearly) every training run.

BIB 5065

I can't wait!

Getting excited!

2011-05-11T20:43:00.000-04:00

And nauseous.

And excited.

And nervous.

And excited.

And I'm not the only one!

I don't know if I've mentioned, but the half marathon on Sunday falls exactly nine months to the day that Fergus was born. In fact, at 4am on Aug 15, 2010 I had my first contraction. At that exact time on Sunday (May 15, 2011) I'll be hearing the alarm to get up.

Today, my girlfriend gave me the following shirt that, along with my husband's help, she had made to help me celebrate:

That's the front. The back is what is awesome:

And proud?

Yeah, just a little!

The end is almost upon us....

2011-05-05T13:20:00.003-04:00

Sunday will be the start of the end.

It will be the last Sunday run of our half marathon clinic which began way back on January 25th.

So much has changed for me since then and I really can not believe how far I've come. Here are some numbers (to date - May 5):

# of Runs: 61
Time spent running: 47h58m47s
# of KMs run: 432
Weight lost: 20 lbs
Wipe outs (while running): 2
Injury's: 0 (knock wood!)

I've done so much more though. I've learned about new neighbourhoods both near where I grew up (which is where the clinic was held) and here in Milton.

I've learned that Gu Gels aren't actually the devil.

That I CAN rock skin tight pants (um, only while running though).

That ~~my love for~~ Eminem on the play list is justified for motivation.

That I WANT others to share my love of running.

That I am my own motivator.

That I will be a runner for a long time to come.

10 Days until half marathon #1.

Avery's Bravery 5k Run - Report

2011-04-30T18:55:00.003-04:00

Today, I supported Sick Kid's hospital and Avery Bond running the second annual Avery's Bravery Race. Avery was born in Rockwood in March 2009 and underwent life saving heart surgery at 13 days of age to repair a Coarctation of the aorta. Avery also has Turners Syndrome, which causes several other health complications, but Avery is doing well and celebrated her 2nd birthday on March 13.

The goal for this 5k run was to use it as a long tempo run and PB with a time of sub 30:11. The course was through Rockwood Conservation Area and some surrounding streets for a 5k loop. What interested me the most about the run was the location as we camp every father's day at Rockwood and are already booked for this coming June. It is a lovely spot for a weekend or a day and I thought it would be very neat to run through a (mostly) empty campground.

I got to the race with lots of time to spare and enjoyed watching the kids participate in the 100 metre heart pumper dash. The run was very small, but very organized and we actually began about 2 minutes early.

I started out fast per my plan as the first kilometre was downhill and I wanted to bank some time here. Unfortunately, my pants had other ideas as they kept falling down! I had to stop to re-tie them way tighter but I did so quickly.

This however was a complete crap run for me. I was ready to pace at around 5:55 per KM and get in a longer tempo run to PB, but with my pants falling down, I got all messed up. I ran out way too quickly afterward and ran the uphill too aggressively. The course had very gentle rolling hills (a typical campground that heads to a beach) and lots of pot-holes and the terrain was far more challenging for me then it should have been. I resorted to walking up one hill but wouldn't allow myself to do so a second time. I also didn't eat properly for the 10:30am start and I was STARVING by 3k. I was actually thinking that I'd have to stop on the way home, least I pass out (no worries though, the race gave out water, banana's and granola bars to all finishers; it was a well run race).

I met my goal and PB'd, but I'm not happy with the way the run went at all. I'll being doing another 5k after the half marathon with the goal of running a smarter (and faster!) race:

1KM: 5:02
2KM: 6:27
3KM: 6:03
4KM: 6:01
5KM: 5:12

Total: 28:44 (per Garmin)

It wasn't quite the high note I wanted to go out on in April, but at least I did PB.

April totals: 162km run, 18h21m running.

Tomorrow we will complete 21.1k easy.

20k Practice Run

2011-04-26T09:28:00.006-04:00

Complete!

On Sunday, our group headed out to meet at the Sheridan Running Room location to run a practice half marathon route for our long run.

The planned route was 19.4k with the last 15k being the Mississauga Half Marathon course (somehow, C and I ended up running an extra 600m loop).

The plan of attack was to run easy for the first bit and then to run the last 60-80 minutes at race pace. After discussion with the ladies who I normally run with, we discovered that there were two race paces, the 6:28 min/km that C and I were prescribed and the 6:40 min/km that CH and N had. Thus a strategy discussion took place between C and I (and some early morning math!) and we decided to hit up the last 13k at race pace.

While it started out seemingly cold and rainy, it actually ended up being the perfect morning to run. We started out easy and before long, we were running along the U of T Mississauga campus and close to 6k. C told me that "the hill" (the one and only true hill in the course) was coming up soon and so we'd hit race pace after that. We agreed that no matter what, we'd talk after 7k.

7k came and we hadn't hit the hill yet, so we decided to just go for it increasing our pace from about 7 minutes per km to our race pace. It felt easy and I was glad that I had someone to run with who had done the race before because she was very knowledgeable about the course.

KM 1: 7:17
KM 2: 7:13
KM 3: 6:51 (half a GU)
KM 4: 6:49
KM 5: 6:50
KM 6: 6:46 (half a GU)
KM 7: 6:42
KM 8: 6:22

Based on my garmin, we actually hit the hill around 9k. There have been rumblings about the hill in the clinic group for a few weeks, but the consensus from the repeat half marathoners was that if you could run up our training hill, you could do this one no problem. This turned out to be the case for C and I. We put our heads down (figuratively of course) and took the hill in stride (sorry, I love a cheesy pun).

KM 9: 6:41 (2 GU Chomps)

Right after the hill, we saw the next pace group stopped to take off extra layers and take gels etc. C and I didn't stop. It was almost an unspoken agreement. Even when she took off her coat, we keep running along with me holding her water belt while she figured out her garmin and coat. Then, our speediest clinic member came up behind us (he was running a slightly longer course) and congratulated us on actually taking the hill really quickly (then he sped away!).

I was practicing a new fuel strategy on this run as I felt that the full GU's sat a bit heavy in my stomach on the 18k run the previous Sunday. My plan was to fuel every 3k, but to keep my stomach in mind considering the er, bathroom problems I had experienced earlier in the week. I also decided to try the GU chomps and rather liked them.

KM 10: 6:28
KM 11: 6:25
KM 12: 6:18 (one Chomp)
KM 13: 6:27
KM 14: 6:32

I think it was during the 14th kilometer that C and I got a bit mixed up on the map and actually paused for a few seconds before deciding which way to go. The run was going well and my only concern was the fact that I was rapidly running out of water (I had a 10 oz hand held and a 500 mL bottle in a belt). I was taking water every kilometer, making sure my stomach was feeling okay and that I was still sweating. I'm not worried about race day because there will be water on the way and I plan to take advantage of it. The other bothersome thing was the little black "noseeem" bugs that were EVERYWHERE on the water front trail. It was gross! C resorted to running with the map held over her nose and mouth least she take in extra protein along the way. There was also a biker that told us we were running along the wrong side of the road (we run into traffic) and called us "Stupid Effers", but I guess the Easter Bunny wasn't that good to him that morning.

KM 15: 6:25 (half a GU)
KM 16: 6:27
KM 17: 6:15 (I have no idea what made us speed through this part)
KM 18: 6:30

I was planning on taking the final half a GU at this point, but I had no water and I was feeling okay. Based on what happened during the last two kilometers I will be taking it for sure as I needed the boost and I'm sure to have water left.

KM 19: 6:35 (we see our group at the parking lot and just have to run to them!)
KM 20: 6:25

Total: 20KM: 2:12:26, 6:37/km pace

Oh man, I was spent.

SPENT!

I was very tired and very proud! Of course I didn't know how good were were at hitting the race pace in the final 13 or so kilometers (as I wasn't up to mental math at that point), but I knew we had done it pretty bang on! I spoke briefly with Bing as he was checking me in and could barely get any words out telling him that we ran, "20 minutes in 2:12" to which he gave me a crazy look and I just said "You know what I mean."

This run confirmed a lot to me. I'm fully confidant that I'll be RACING the half marathon on May 15th with an actual goal time in mind instead of just aiming to cross the finish line. I'm aware of what a good fuel strategy is for me now (every 3km worked very well as did taking the Chomps in the mid section). Finally, I'm very happy to have run the course because it is a long run down Mississauga Road and that can get very tedious mentally (especially because Bing is quite a fan of twisty routes).

I'm actually still on quite a high from finishing the longest distance run of my life at a great pace (or maybe that's just my tight hamstring talking!).

How did you spend your Easter Sunday morning?

Better now

2011-04-23T16:03:00.003-04:00

Then three weeks from now.

This past week, I caught a slight bug which caused me an upset stomach for three days. This means I missed our last hill training night (9 hills) and an easy run on Thursday. While I felt pretty darn guilty about missing these runs, I'm glad I focused on my health especially when Bing's email came yesterday and told us that we have done enough work to be able to cross the finish line in three weeks!

Today, I tempted fate and other things and took advantage of the beautiful late morning to run 9.2k. It went very well and I felt really good! I didn't look at my garmin much and ran by feel and clocked the run in at one hour even.

Tomorrow is our long run. We are running 19k and doing the last 15k of the half marathon route. The last 11k is an option to run it at race pace.

I'll be taking the option baring an upset tummy.

21 days!!!!

I'm starting to formulate plans and goals and will share them soon!

April?

2011-04-18T13:26:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we ran 18k for our long slow distance run.

No problem you say ~~because the distance is a joke for you~~, because it is the middle of April and the weather is getting better in SW Ontario.

Uh, not so much.

We ran through beautiful sunny conditions.

We ran through rain.

Through sleet.

Through snow.

Through 66kph (41mph) winds.

We are not the postal service!

It was a long run and we did take it easy (my average pace was 7:03/km), but it was hard with those conditions.

The run though did mark a few firsts:

The first time I've run more than 16km at once.
The first time I've run in such wind.
The first time I've stopped to relieve my bladder during a run.

All I have to say is thank goodness I'm a camper with no problem squatting outdoors. We were running through an industrial complex with no gas stations or coffee shops nearby, so I ended up using an electrical box and trees for cover. The result of this break was a tempo paced 5th kilometre to catch back up with my running partner.

So my goal in the next few weeks is to figure out hydration as I can't drink lots right before I run otherwise I'll need a washroom about 2k into it.

Less than a month to the half!

Hope all those who ran Boston today got exactly what they wanted out of the race. Well done!

Shock and Awe... I'm doing it wrong

2011-04-09T10:11:00.004-04:00

I may have mentioned in the past that my clinic leader, Bing calls his clinic, "Shock and Awe" and while there have been various examples of this over the past weeks, this week really showed me the true meaning behind it.

On Wednesday we did 7 hills.

For the last four, we added about 45 sec - 1 min of VO2 Max training, at the top of the hill.

We are supposed to run the hills at T-pace, of course I ~~always~~ never hit mine, but I do my best. Then, at the end of the hill, we were to keep running at Ipace (45 seconds or so faster than Tpace). Here are my average paces:

Hill 1 (no VO2): 6:47/km
Hill 2 (no VO2): 6:52/km
Hill 3 (no VO2): 7:07/km
Hill 4 (w/ VO2): 7:15/km
Hill 5 (w/ VO2): 7:30/km (and Bing paced me!)
Hill 6 (w/ VO2): 7:41/km
Hill 7 (w/ VO2): 7:32/km (yes, I pushed here)

My Tpace is 6:00/km and thus my Ipace is 5:15/km

Shock and Awe - I'm doin it wrong.

A (Virtual) Half Marathon Weekend!

2011-04-04T09:49:00.003-04:00

Back at the beginning of year, The Happy Runner issued her Half Marathon Challenge and I decided to accept it.

My plan was to run it in two parts, over the weekend knowing that my Sunday long run would make up more than half of the KMs.

Here are my results:

Saturday April 2: 5k - 31:42
Sunday April 3: 16.1k - 1:48:12

Total: 21.1k - 2:19:54

I managed to run this "race" about two minutes faster than my current prescribed Marathon Race Pace as I did the 5k around a tempo pace and the 16k was done at varied pace - 15min warm up easy, 6min at tempo with 1min rest x 3, around 42 minutes easy, then 10 min at tempo with 1 min rest x 2, then easy for the rest of the run.

That was a very difficult 16.1k, but I'm glad I decided to do that option (the other options were: Warm up, 70 mins at marathon pace, then easy or just a straight LSD run). I had sore/stiff knees for the rest of the day, but they feel fine now and I'm looking forward to pushing myself more as I train more.

I'm starting to get excited about the race even though it is AGES away and my goal this week is to PUSH during our hill training instead of wimping out after two hills and taking them easy-ish.

Congrats to all of those who ran the Harry's Spring Run Off, those who ran a surprise marathon and of course, The Happy Runner herself, who killed her A goal in her half marathon!

What did you do this weekend?

Spend a little... spend a lot!

2011-03-28T10:42:00.013-04:00

This weekend I took advantage of the Running Room gift card I got from my parents for my birthday last week and also a great sale at a certain big box store. What follows is my haul:

Yes, they are men's, but they were on clearance for $5 and have built in underwear. With my ~~thunder thighs~~ muscular quads, I need something loose that won't drive me crazy with ride up, so I'm going to give these a chance for gym and hot outdoor running.

These 3/4 length tights are more like ankle waders on me, but they are super light and will be great for long runs. I'm thinking these may be the race pants on May 15th.

We ran 16k yesterday, and after last Sunday's 14k, I knew I needed something extra to get me through. I bought this particular flavour on the recommendation of my pace group leader. It was okay, but a bit sweet. I think I'll try the lemon flavour next week. I took half of this at 6k and half at 11k, but next Sunday we are doing a varied pace 16k with T and M paces, so I think I'll be needing two.

And finally (at the big box store - on sale for $150):

Happy Tax refund to me!

This major purchase confirms my runner status to me even more. Especially because when I made my facebook status: "Just bought a Forerunner 305! Yippee!", half of the people who commented on it thought I had bought a new car. HA!

Now, I'm putting my wallet away for a while... even though I need new shoes!

I know why runners talk in miles...

2011-03-26T09:32:00.003-04:00

Besides the fact that many of them are American.

It just feels shorter when you're talking about a 5 mile run versus a 8 kilometre run.

Yesterday, I ran 5 miles at the gym on the treadmill. I did a true easy pace and it took me 59 minutes. It was an easy run from the mental aspect as well.

Let me expand and tie all of the above together.

The treadmills at the gym only talk in miles, so I knew that I needed to go 5 miles to get my prescribed 8k in (I've combined my Thursday and Saturday runs into one Friday run). I knew that 1.86 miles was equal to 3km.

I like math.

Thus, I spent a lot of the time ~~being annoyed by Regis and Kelly~~ looking at the display and calculating how many kilometres I had run, how many I had left, and what time I'd be at when finished.

The mental aspect of finishing 5 miles instead of 8km really kicked in once I had run 2.5mi/4km.

What makes you feel better?

2.5 to go

or

4 to go

Regardless of the fact that it is the exact same distance, it sure feels a whole lot easier to count down 2.5 miles.

And thus, I learned why lots of runners (even Canadians) tend to talk in miles after a while.

Looking forward to 10 miles with the group on Sunday.

Crazy or just a typical runner?

2011-03-24T09:14:00.003-04:00

Yesterday the GTA was hit with our typical spring snow fall. Well, typical in that the snow fell, a-typical in that 11+ centimetres fell over the course of 12 hours.

So, our planned hills were cancelled and in fact our group leader suggested via email that we run them on a treadmill if possible.

So, I did.

After supper with the family (a lovely unrushed affair because I wasn't on a timeline) and nursing the baby to sleep (GAH! The baby is almost 7.5 months!), I headed out to the gym at the grocery store and got on the treadmill.

I had a tiny post-it note with cheat times and mileage on it so that I knew when to ramp up the hills and speed etc and off I went. The gym was empty, TLC taught me all about Sister Wives and Charlie Sheen and after figuring out that I needed to actually hold on to my cheat sheet (it fell twice), I was in a huge zone.

5 hills plus warm up and cool down took me an hour and 8.4km.

Did you know that treadmills go into cool down mode after an hour?

Neither did I.

I felt so good after getting the hills done even though while I was running them, I was cursing the 1/4 miles.

So, does this make me crazy or just a typical runner?

What a week!

2011-03-18T08:46:00.004-04:00

First, it is March Break, so this week has seemed like a holiday, even though it has pretty much been business as normal for this on mat-leave mum. It has seemed a lot busier so there has not been much time for blogging.

Here is the week of running:

Sunday, 12k - varied pace. We were supposed to run the trail around the man made lake again and while it was a lovely, sunny morning, it was icy. We started off okay on the sidewalks, but once we got on trails it was very icy. We came up to the front of the group during one of the tempo parts of the run and they were stopped. I don't know WHAT I was thinking, but I kept running even though everyone was yelling, "ice! ICE!" I was slowing down, but I thought the ice was in the tunnel we were about to run through, not on the down sloped path into it.

You see where this is going yet?

Yes, I had an EPIC wipe out. My tailbone hit, my legs flew in front of me, my arm skidded down the mud and I cracked my head. We abandoned the trail and finished the 12k and I spent the rest of the day with a slight headache.

Tuesday was 5.8k easy. We ran another trail run out and back and we did it in complete daylight! Yippee!!! I took my earbuds out for this run and chatted away with a lovely woman and got the "easy" run done a wee bit too quickly (6:50 min/k), but it was nice.

Wednesday was our very first day of hills! We ran 4x400 meter hills. Plus warm up with strides and cool down.

I am not a fan.

To say the least.

Thursday was all messed up because I had both kids (due to March Break) and had to be at an appointment at 11, so I skipped my normal gym run.

Tonight, I put in a very quick 3.5k as soon as my husband got home from work. This worked out quite well as he made supper while I ran.

Tomorrow brings 5.5k.

32k for the week.

Not bad considering I used to struggle to fit in 15.

Long SNOWY Run

2011-03-07T08:57:00.002-05:00

Ah, Sunday!

Sunday was either ~~race~~ PR Day or Pacer Day or in my case, long slow run day.

After a four hour drive home from my Aunt's 60th birthday party in Victoria Harbour in the crazy snow storm on Saturday night, I knew that Sunday's planned trail run would not be easy. A normal two hour drive took us a bit over four hours and while I slept in the car, I didn't get to my bed until 2am. The baby was up at 5am to eat as well.

Nonetheless, I was up at 7:15 determined to get out and run the 12k trail that our group had planned. I was sure that by 8:30am, the roads would be a lot better as at 5am, it was not snowing anymore. How wrong I was! The normal 20 minute highway drive to the Running Room took me 30 minutes and I saw 4 different accidents (including an airport limo where the driver was sitting in the car and the passenger was standing on the side of the 401 with his luggage looking ANGRY).

When I got to the store, I heard the marathon group leader telling her group that they'd need their spikes for the 26k run they had planned. I was worried. I barely have any running gear beyond some winter tights, shoes and a new 10 ounce handheld water bottle I bought last week.

When Bing started handing out the route, he gave us a road route. You could tell he was disappointed. This was the second weekend in a row that we had planned to run this trail around a (man made) lake/storm drain and the plan had been foiled by snow. I someone suggested that he should stop planning this route and it would stop snowing on Sunday's.

Before we headed out, he gave the group a choice - run the road route (which was road, but not much better with the icy/non-plowed conditions) or to try the trail which would be much the same, but without cars etc. My pace leader (who has knee issues) decided on the roads and the majority of our group decided to follow the bigger group to the lake.

It was tough, but not horrible. The best part was passing people who looked at us like we were crazy (which I totally understand). When we got to the trail proper, Bing gave the group another choice to turn back on the roads or to keep going to the lake. The group basically had the "we've come this far" mentality and off we went. When we got to the lake loop, the plan was three times around the lake and back to the store again for a total of 12k. After the first rotation, some people left. I did a second rotation but knew that I had 3.3k back to the store and decided to be happy with 9.8k instead of 12k and so I headed back with about 5 other people while a few kept running for the total mileage.

The run back was uneventful. Well, if you ignore the fact that at about 750 meters to go, I got a HUGE soaker by a car (we were on the sidewalk by this point). Dude got me. Head to toe. Man, that woke me up and had me pushing a whole lot faster for the end.

I'm proud of this run for many reasons. Running in the conditions, running on such little sleep, running a longer distance when it was totally okay for me to cut out early. And mostly for completing it in a reasonable time:

9.8k, 1:13:29. 7:30/km pace.

10 weeks until the half marathon!

A big shout out to the people who participated in the Chilly half marathon and Frosty 5k yesterday. I've linked to two above: MARLENE who managed to PR in these conditions and YUMKE who proved that he's a pacer you want to run with, bringing in his 1:45 continuous group in 26 seconds ahead of their goal. CONGRATS!

Tempo

2011-03-03T08:40:00.003-05:00

Nicole, I think you're running too slow. You shouldn't be laughing and teasing me. Tomorrow, run with the 6km/min group.

And so I did.

And so I experienced a real tempo run.

But let's back up a bit, shall we?

Tuesday night yielded the first night I got out with my Running Room group to run Tempo. It was a deceiving night, weather wise. We thought it was going to be nice and warm and it seemed that way, until we got out there and felt the wind blow. No matter, after 10 minutes of easy running we were warmed up enough to tackle the 6:14/min KMs assigned to us.

Running tempo with the group was great! I loved the warnings as we approached the end of the 10 minute warm up. I loved that everyone fell silent and just RAN as hard as they were supposed to. I loved just RUNNING without worrying about running too quickly as all I had to do was follow the leader.

We completed the first 10 minutes of tempo run and slowed down for the two minute rest. I felt great! When it was time to kick it up again, my leader told me to follow someone else; her knees were bothering her. So I did and ran with the same freedom as before. It was near the end that Bing came back to us and asked how we were all doing. When a few of us answered easily and joked with him, he quickly told us that we'd be moving up a pace group the next night. He was so serious! But it was fine.

So last night, I was determined to keep up with the new group, but to not KILL myself in the process. I'm happy to report that I was able to do it. In fact, we averaged 5:57/km (perhaps the crazy wind helped us when we were not heading into it). This was the nine out of ten effort that Bing spoke of. I still enjoyed the run for the fact that I DID IT, but it was hard. There was effort. Effort that will be rewarded on May 15.

Next week: Hills!

Vacation and Tempo Run

2011-02-25T12:36:00.005-05:00

So.

I've been away with my family since Saturday morning (and when I say morning, I mean 4:30 AM). We spent some time at the resort of Mont Tremblant thanks to some friends who have access to a family condo there and we had a wonderful time (side note, four kids 4 and under are a LOT to manage!). While I had all kinds of notions of running while staying at Tremblant (especially as I was not going to ski), I didn't get out once. I'm sure everyone will agree that family time trumps running, even when you are training for a big race.

On a positive note, we stopped in Kanata for the night at my husband's sister's place so I was able to get out for the Sunday LSD run with the Kanata Running Room. While their half marathon group was only going 7k (I should have ran 9k), they had already broken up into pace groups, so I just had to follow my appropriate pace leader, which was easy to do as he had a NYC Marathon jacket on. We did 7k in about 51 minutes and this group employed the 10 and 1 training method that the Running Room favours.

I didn't like it. Not at all. I felt that as soon as I got into a good grove, we were walking. No matter, my usual group does not use this method (shh, don't tell John Stanton), so I'll be back to the normal way of running that I'm comfortable with this Sunday.

Today (Friday), I ignored the "rest" day scheduled in my training (as I had rested from Monday-Thursday) and did my first ever Tempo paced run (my group did two of these this week, Tuesday and Wednesday). I did it at the gym, on the treadmill and call me crazy, but I LOVED it.

I loved increasing the speed and pushing myself and also getting a 5k in rather quickly. I liked the challenge and feel that I could have ran a whee bit faster than I was supposed to, but I'm sticking with what Bing has prescribed for a few weeks to see what I think overall and to see how I feel when I do these runs outside.

In case you're wondering, Bing has me paced to complete the half marathon in 2:26:48 (which is what I calculated using his M-pace of 6:41). My Tempo pace is 6:14 with my easy pace being 7:20 (all per KM). I'll be very happy to finish under 2:30:00, but of course the competitor in me will likely set a more aggressive A goal closer to the date.

In all, the vacation was good, but I'm also glad to be back to training.

"You're running too fast..."

2011-02-14T09:07:00.003-05:00

Those are words I never thought I would hear, but I heard them yesterday during our Sunday "easy" run.

It was a beautiful morning for a run, if a bit windy and I somehow ended up right at the front of the group when we got to the start point, so I just started running. I knew fairly early that I was running too quickly, but I kept concentrating on my breathing and it seemed to me that I was doing okay.

Finally, some people passed me (I prefer trailing as then I can get a better sense on how fast I'm actually running), and I slowed down a bit more but continued to run alone.

Bing caught up to me and we began to chat. He kept looking at his pace watch (he's putting us into pace groups next week). I told him how I had finally figured out a pace on the treadmill and he cautioned me about going too fast during our easy runs. He reminded me of our first clinic topic about stress and injury and slow/fast twitch muscles. He also kinda scared me, hinting that if I keep running easy runs too quickly, I may have nothing left in the tank in 89 days. Finally, he drove his point home with the following:

You're currently running a 6:45 (min/k). This means your tempo pace is 5:15 (min/k) and I know you don't have that in you.

Um, no! I could likely run ONE kilometre at 5:15 with Bing running beside me pacing me, but an entire tempo run? HAHAHA!

Anyway, in light of the fact that I don't have a pace watch or a garmin and I don't plan the routes, I guess the only thing to do during group runs is to just run slower. The runs are feeling easier, but I think I'll take the advice of the leader.

Anyway, yesterday I did 7k in 45:10 for 6:27 ave/km. I'm averaging a 6:55 pace on my runs, so I know that Bing was right. Tuesday, I will go out with some ladies who I was finishing with in the early runs and having them near me will keep me on track. I'm sure they'll be in my pace group anyway.

I'm still loving the training!

I was right!

2011-02-10T14:38:00.005-05:00

Last night, during our group run (we are still running short, easy (LSD pace) runs), I thought to myself, This seems to be getting easier.

While it makes sense, I didn't quite trust myself that I was right. Low and behold, the email from our instructor showed up today confirming that the running should be feeling easier. He also warned us to enjoy it because, Bing's Shock and Awe clinic would be starting week of February 20th (good thing my family is away that week! :-) ).

So this morning, when I went to run my Thursday run on the dreadmill at the gym, I decided to push my tempo a bit as my runs outside were averaging about 45 seconds faster per KM than the one's on the 'mill. Of course, it was fine. I was able to complete the entire 4k run, running and the most troublesome part was trying to keep my #$%&ing earbuds in my ears.

Yippee for getting stronger!

Ugg... Sunday's run

2011-02-09T10:33:00.004-05:00

Sunday was our long run.

On Saturday night, the GTA got a bit of snow. Not lots, but enough so that sidewalks and roads needed to be plowed.

This weekend was the one I tried to get Fergus (5.5 months) to sleep longer at night and only wake once to eat. I was alone with him as my husband and older son were away visiting my in-laws.

On Sunday morning, Fergus woke up at 5:15am and was up for the day. I was feeling okay, just a bit tired, but I ate something and got us both ready to go (Fergus to my parents, me for the run).

Once I got there, I was rather excited as it was bright and warm outside. That quickly faded when we started.

We started our 7k run on the sidewalk of a very busy main road. The sidewalk had been plowed, but the road plows had just put all of the road snow back on the sidewalk. So we were "running" through mushy, dirty snow. At first it was fun. Until I realized that it went on and on and on. Finally, I followed suit of some of the other runners and jumped on the road until we were able to turn into a subdivision to continue the run on the roadway.

Great, I thought, now things will be easier.

But they weren't. I found the run hard and it just seemed to go on FOR-EV-ER. Thankfully, I grew up in the area where we run, so I know the main roads well. Once we turned back toward the Running Room on a main road, I got up a bit more motivation, but still had a very hard time as it was a uphill route with a poorly plowed sidewalk. I did finish the run without walking, but was over 3 minutes behind my 7k time from the week before.

Upon chatting with some of my colleagues in the clinic last night, a few of the veterans told me not to worry, that Sunday was a bad day to run. That the route was difficult and that it was more like a 10k than a 7k.

I'll take it!

I'm still motivated and doing well otherwise.

So, training...

2011-02-02T20:22:00.005-05:00

Half marathon training is going really well. I'm super motivated and am enjoying meeting with the group for runs (even though I've yet to really speak with anyone). I've been able to completely run every run so far (something I'd never do on my own, that's for sure) and I'm not taking any water for the short runs that we've been doing (3k). I've also been steadily holding to a 6:45/KM pace which is good and bodes well for improving my race time once we begin to train with hills, intervals etc.

I need to work on dressing. Twice now, I've been scared by the -XXc with windchill weather and have dressed far too warmly. I chatted with Bing during the run last night about this and he basically told me to trust in my warmth layer (the resolution run jacket) and my windbreak as it will be enough. I'm really tempted to buy the ubiquitous Running Room wind jacket. I just can't seem to decide on a colour. HA.

I'm SO, SO, SO glad I decided to join the clinic. I know that I'm going to be a much better runner afterwards. I know that I'll likely kill my (in my head) time goal come May. I'm one of the few people who haven't taken a clinic before and I find that I tend to run alone, but finish with the same people, so I should make some friends soon, eh? I'm also in the middle of the pack on easy runs, so that makes me feel good as well.

With all this said, I missed tonight's 3k run with the group because of the snow storm that hit the GTA. I didn't want to drive the normal 20 minute highway drive in the snow for 3k. Had it been a Sunday, I would have done it. So now I have to decide if I should just skip it or if I should double up the run tomorrow for 7k (which will be easy anyway).

Now you're probably laughing - Of course she's enjoying it - short distance, easy runs. I know it'll be harder soon, but at least there is an end goal to keep me motivated.

Clinic commences

2011-01-27T08:24:00.003-05:00

It started this week, on Tuesday!

After an early dinner and frantic search for the appropriate ounces of frozen milk for the baby, I arrived at the store in plenty of time to discover that I'm one of few people taking the half marathon clinic for the first time. This became more and more apparent as people showed up and hugged each other.

Finally, at 6:30, we got our welcome from the store manager and our clinic coach, Bing took over for the lesson. The lesson was basically his approach to training and how he was going to convert our "fast-twitch" muscles to "slow-twitch" muscles so that we can run our best half marathon. He spoke about the different paces we'll train at and that the first four weeks would be easy weeks.

And we were off! 2.9k around the neighbourhood. I was at the tail end of the 35+ person pack, but I didn't expect anything else. I was able to run the entire distance and I didn't need my water at all. Bing spoke to everyone briefly to ensure they were running at an easy pace (one where you can maintain a conversation) and 19 minutes after I started, I was back at the store.

Wednesday was the open group run and our group only did 3k again. We ran a different route and I decided not to carry any water which was great! I was dressed a bit too warmly on top, but that didn't make things too bad. The plus was that I tied my pants tight enough so that they didn't fall down! HA! This run took me 22:45 and I was at the end again.

Today, I ran 3.7k at the gym. Yes, I re-joined Goodlife fitness, taking over my husband's AMAZING rate so that I have access to a treadmill during the day. The bonus is that they have child minding, so I can bring the baby and get the run in without disrupting my family life any further.

Saturday brings another 3k and Sunday's group run will be 7k.

I'm really glad I joined the clinic and fully expect that I will surprise myself on May 15.

A first ... and a last

2011-01-19T12:39:00.003-05:00

It has been an exciting running week in this house (GAH! can anyone else hear Bob Harper?) and it is only Wednesday!

On Sunday morning, I went and ran my first winter run ever!.

It was great! Thanks to some great winter running presents from my husband for Christmas (tights and socks) and the Resolution Run coat, I was armed for the weather (-12c, -22c with the wind-chill) and was able to cover 7k in my neighbourhood in 44 minutes.

I'm so stoked to have found a great route (really, just a big 'round the block loop that I did 3 times) and to have gotten that first out of the way. Next week, the Running Room program starts and I know that we will be outside no matter what!

The last is a whole lot more sad.

My treadmill is officially dead. Beyond repair (it would cost way more than its worth). This means that I can no longer get in any daytime runs as I do not belong to a gym (yet?). I'm not going to worry about it too much in the short term, but will get something figured out soon so that I can make up the other two runs as suggested by the half-marathon training program.

Whee! I'm looking forward to beginning the training next week!

Time

2011-01-13T14:09:00.003-05:00

On the days that I don't run, but am suppose to, I always tell myself that I ran out of time.

The truth is, I just got lazy.

Yesterday, I made a change to this behaviour.

In an attempt to get ready for the Running Room's Half Marathon clinic that starts on January 25th, I'm trying to run at least 15-20k a week in 3-4 runs. I had run on Monday for 30 minutes while the baby napped (4k) and was thus "scheduled" to run again yesterday (Wednesday). Wednesday turned out to be a busy day: Mum's lunch-playdate from 11-2:30, pick up son #1 at 3:00, go out to dinner with the girls at 7:00. I had no idea when my husband would be home (he can get home as late at 5:30) and I had to feed the kids (eek - the baby has started cereal!) and bath at least one of them (my husband and I divide and conquer here).

My husband actually came home right after son #1 got off the bus and they stayed outside to play/shovel and the baby was asleep in his car seat. This was my chance! As soon as they came in (and I made them hot chocolate), I fired up the treadmill for 5k. So, I MADE the time to get the run in. Of course, it helped that my husband was home early, but I didn't use any excuses - I just got the run in!

THE BAD NEWS
With 0.2 miles to go, my treadmill began to chug... chug... chug... The belt is dying and I know that once it does, I'll have to get outside (AHHH!) or find a new-to-me treadmill. I'm just hoping and praying that it'll hold out until Jan 25 for multiple runs/week (I'm planning on running outside in the day on Saturday's) and then for one run/week until the spring. Please send good thoughts to the treadmill gods.

Race plans 2011

2011-01-10T09:20:00.006-05:00

Yes.

I have plans.

Official, BIG plans.

2011 has become the year of the half marathon.

After further discussion with my husband about what it means for me to join the Running Room's half marathon training clinic (out two consecutive nights a week and Sunday mornings which leaves him with bed-time duty and crazy morning duty) and rationalizing the need of the baby to nurse to sleep (Perhaps being bottle fed at bed time more often will lead to less wake ups?), I've decided to join the program and run the Half Marathon at Mississauga on May 15th!

Officially, I need to call/go out to the store and join. Then I need to register. However I feel like the decision has been made and that is the most important step.

To be honest. I'm afraid.

I'm very afraid I won't be able to keep up with the training.

I'm NOT afraid of the race.

HA!

I know that once I start the race, I'll finish.

I know that getting to the finish means training.

But I'm afraid of the training.

Strange? Maybe.

Other race plans for 2011 are hazy as this is the BIG one.

Right now, I want to do the Bread and Honey 5k again (with my mat leave friend, Jenn), the Zoo 10k and maybe another half in the fall (Oakville? Hamilton? Niagara?). Perhaps I'll do a few women's only runs as well.

Who knows? The main event happens in 18 weeks.

18 weeks.

Hol-lee Mol-lee.

Update: Sign up for training program completed.

Update #2: I've signed up for the RACE.

AKA, THIS IS NOW REAL!

Conversations in Gear with a 4-year old

2011-01-05T20:18:00.002-05:00

Alasdair: Mummy, what's this?

Me: It's my running bra.

Alasdair: Can I get one for when I go treadmilling [running on the dreadmill]?

Me: No, boys don't need them. Boys don't have breasts.

Alasdair: Oh. When I get older, I'm going to put breasts on my Christmas list.

Me: I'm sure you will

Resolution Run Report

2011-01-04T15:23:00.002-05:00

I showed up to the Running Room with plenty of time to pick up my bib, go to the washroom and hang around, outside wit the other 75-100 runners.

The weather was AMAZING for December 31st in the GTA! 9 degrees with no wind and a fine mist at times. I had brought the Resolution Jacket that we got as part of the kit just in case, but I didn't need it at all. In fact, by the end of the run, I was feeling very hot in my brand new warm running tights and a tank top, long sleeved dry-fit top and wind jacket. I'm glad I wore a baseball cap instead of a toque.

The run was through a subdivision and it was tough as there were many, many, many slight variations in the grade of the road which meant a bunch of up and downs. I powered through most of them though and only ended up walking three times.

I finished in 34:45 which is awesome as it means I cut 4 minutes from the Jingle 5k 20 days ago!

I now have to decide if I'm going to join the running room's half marathon program targeting the Mississauga half marathon or if I'm going to do it on my own. In the meantime, the goal is to run 20k a week in the next few weeks until I'm forced to make a decision.

Resolution Run

2010-12-29T19:41:00.004-05:00

I picked up the "kit" today. It was a few flyer's and a great (if BRIGHT) jacket.

I also enquired about the half marathon clinic which starts January 25 and targets Mississauga.

I'm 98% sure I'm signing up for the clinic and will run the race (in other words, walk the walk if you will).

(the 2% is if the instructor says I can't do it as I'll miss 3 long runs).

For the Resolution Run on Friday, the weather is going to be 9C and raining. My goal is to beat my 38:50 time from the Jingle 5k.

Its the most wonderful time of the year...

2010-12-22T19:22:00.003-05:00

Except not for this runner.

Last week, I signed up for the 5k Resolution Run which takes place on December 31st at 5pm. This is a perfect race to, 1)Beat my Jingle run time, 2)Have an excuse to over indulge later that night. However, after a great week last week, I've yet to run at all this week.

I'm finding it hard to fit it in with my older son at home this week and by the time everyone is in bed at 7:30pm, I'm just way too tired to want to bother (I'm still up 3 times a night with the baby).

The good thing is that I don't really feel like I'm in any kind of mode right now. I'm not too worried about hitting a time like those I hit in my pre-pregnancy 5k races and I'm not training for the half marathon yet, but I do feel... sluggish.

Of course, maybe that's my nightly 11pm, 2am, 5am, and 7:30am wake up calls.

Santa Jingle 5k Race report

2010-12-12T19:38:00.005-05:00

Whee!

38:50.

Totally not my best race (by a long shot), but one of the most fun I've been in.

My friend Florence got to my house on Friday evening around 8:30pm and after we made some adjustments to our suits (basically cutting the legs to our height) and had a few drinks, we went to bed around 10 to get ready for the 6am wake up call.

Of course, with a non-sleeping newborn, I was also awake at 12:30am, 3, 3:30 and 4am before the alarm went off at 6am. I rolled over, hit snooze and then got up nine minutes later and stumbled to the washroom to get dressed.

Flo joined me for toast and yogurt and pretty soon the entire household was awake (except for the baby - of COURSE!) and my oldest son was quite thrilled to see the two Santa's off:

After a stop at Tim Horton's, we got to Burlington in plenty of time to park, use the washrooms and hang out waiting for the race to begin. It was really cool to see 3,000 Santa's all waiting to run the race.

After quite a while (we were way too early and they started late), the gun went and we were off. I had promised Florence that I would not leave her, so I settled in to encourage her to keep going and to point out the kilometres as they passed by. For me, it was an easy run/walk but I was quite glad to initiate someone else into the world of racing!

With one kilometre left, we decided that I would run out the last one at my own pace and wait for Flo at the finish. So I did.

I had targeted to get both of us to finish in 40 minutes and I did it in 38:50 with Florence completing her first 5k race in 41:16. She's hooked and I'm hooked on this race as it was so much fun!

Next up is likely the Robbie Burns 8k in January!

I'm back and racing again!