When we left off, our hero (ahem, me) had developed an ITB/Knee pain problem and was hoping that a combination of Physical Therapy, strength training and adapting workout schedules would help solve the problem. The past two weeks have seen improvement and regression. Sigh.
As you can see, I went ahead on week 12 and took my time to rest the knee more, switching a run for a 45 minute trainer ride on the Monday. Tuesday, I played it smart and ran a super easy 5k on the treadmill during my lunch hour. The knee felt stiff, but not bad, actually. Still being smart, I did a pre-PT ride on Wednesday and was happy with the way things felt.
Upon hitting PT, my therapist attacked my problem leg and I seriously almost had to ask her to give me a moment the (good) pain was so intense. I joked that I never knew she could hurt me so good. HAHA. I took Thursday off to allow my legs to recover, meanwhile I had been adding in clamshells, leg lifts, butt bridges etc all week to increase strength. By Friday, I decided that I needed to run to at least test my knee before a planned long and hilly run the next day. The run was okay, but that day I headed to the pharmacy to grab a knee brace (ended up being too small) and adhesive spray for my KT tape. I taped up my knee and met up with Jamie Saturday for a challenging, but lovely 27k run around Milton.
Jamie has this way of getting people to agree to climb all of the biggest hills around. I do admit that the view from the top of the escarpment was worth it though! A combo of KT tape, Aleve and a slower pace made the run bearable and I knew I'd be okay to run Around The Bay on April 3rd, but racing it was still in the air. That good feeling was tempted right away when I heard from Sam that she had sprained her ankle on her long run. Man! What is with us training for marathons together!?!?!
I turned 39 on Monday and so I took off at 4:36am and run the year. My knee held up really well (with tape, but no Aleve) until about 12k and then it "seized" a bit. I was able to run through and finish. The pain is so weird. It comes and its horrible, but then it just ... goes away as I run. I have no idea how to temper it.
Tuesday I rested in order to ... rest my knee. I also went back to PT and she used shockwave on me this time. CRAZY! But oh so good! She was telling me that I'd be better pretty much right away and she wasn't wrong! I ran on Wednesday (a treadmill 8k, with 4 at 5:11/km) and had ZERO pain! Again, playing things smart, I decided to hit the bike for a short, if intense ride on Thursday.
It was all systems go for the now traditional Good Friday Road Races. Per usual, Alasdair was running the 1k but this year Fergus joined in the fun. I like that they stagger the kids races by age, so Alasdair took off with his hockey friend and a few minutes later, Fergus and I were off as well. Both kids put in great efforts with Alasdair coming in 7th (his friend came in 3rd!). Alasdair and I will be running his first 5k race sometime this summer for sure.
Top is Fergus, Bottom is Alasdair. I may not keep up on our 5k!
My friend Kelly came to run the 5k and blasted to a 4th overall victory and 1st in our age group (30-39) with a blistering time of 21:03, netting her a personal best for the distance and a massive truffle filled, chocolate egg as a prize. I forgot to change my 910xt from the display above and ended up running by feel for an average pace of 4:55/km. I'm very happy with the effort, especially considering I managed to call Swiss Chalet with my new blue tooth headphones in the 2nd KM and ended up walking to hang up my phone. I bettered my placement from last year and was 6th overall for F30-39. Net time for 5.11km was 25:07. My knee didn't bother me at all.
On Saturday Ivanka, Sam and I met up to run a double out and back to ensure that neither Sam's ankle, nor my knee would cause us further problems. We ran a very easy flat route in Burlington and kept the pace reasonable. I didn't tape but I did take an Aleve pre run. Not taping was a mistake. My knee was bothersome pretty much throughout the run, even if the weather and company was spectacular. I struggled through the last 8k especially. Sigh. I've got to figure out how to get back into PT this week and I must ensure my knee is taped VERY well for the race on Sunday. But you know what? You can't beat these morning views.
My knee was horribly painful for the rest of the day and night. Waking up on Sunday didn't offer any relief either. Still, I jumped on my bike for a 45 minute recovery spin. When I got off, the knee pain was gone and hasn't yet returned. Hmm, who knew? This week will likely spell more rides of similar effort and intensity before heading into my fifth consecutive 30k race at Around the Bay. If nothing else, I'm looking forward to crossing my favourite finish line on Sunday. I'll be back to set up the goals once they are solidified. Until then, please do some anti-wind dances for us for Sunday, okay? The weather is looking BRUTAL.
Suffice to say, with week 10 ending on the high of the Chilly Half Marathon, I was eager and excited to tackle week 11 with renewed vigour.
The week started with Sam and I discussing if we should look at changing the harder workouts in the Pfitz-Douglas plan I had adapted from their Advanced Marathoning book. Suffice to say, after more than a bit of discussion, we agreed that we'd both do what works best for us, but that a few ending KM at race pace wouldn't go astray and decided to test the theory on Saturday's long run.
The rest of the week went really well in terms of workouts and pace. I nailed my 6x100s workout and ran my final split at 3:33/km pace - or 100m in 20 seconds. I know that my form was awesome and I could feel the difference ensuring perfect form made in the pick ups.
Wednesday was supposed to be 18k with 11k at half marathon pace, but as Sam and I had agreed to run at least 3k at marathon pace in the Saturday long run AND due to the fact that my legs were absolutely SHOT from the previous efforts, I ended up just running an easy 13k before work. The weather was amazing for March 9th and I was over dressed.
Wednesday was my work "Christmas" party and I decided to stay down town in order to ensure I got a really good nights rest. I left the party around 10pm, hopped into a cab and immediately sent him in search of McDonalds. I hadn't had much to eat at the party and sometimes you just need a Big Mac.
After an awesome 8 hours of sleep at the Strathcona Hotel, I woke up and decided to finish off my 18k run, with the final 5k on the Martin Goodman Trail. I had mapped out a route in Strava but basically just ran out until my watch said 2.5k and turned around and ran back. What a lovely way to run on a dedicated path in the city. It was nice to wave to the other runners who were out and also to see the city slowly come to life. Too bad it was a foggy (but warm!) day; I didn't get to enjoy all of my normal Toronto views
This run felt fine. I had felt a twinge in my right glute on the Wednesday morning run, but it was totally gone by this time, so I was happy to write it off as a one time random thing.
Saturday was long run day. Sam, Ivanka and I met near the lift bridge in Burlington to run the Around the Bay route, plus 2k for a total of 20 miles. We started at the 14k point of the Bay Race course which is awesome because it front loads the run with all of the hills which hit normally from about 19-24k. Right away, the run was a gong show. I forgot one of my gels on my front hall table. Luckily, Sam had a French candy thing from Zindine which was absolutely fine at 24k, but not something I'd go back too (just a taste thing). Ivanka and I were both running with the new Spi Belt Bottles and we kept losing them. Turns out, we were both weighted down too much to keep them still. Then, my ass was frozen. Like bad. Turns out one of the bottles had broken and spilled water all the way down my ass. Awesome. Finally, my left knee basically gave out around 12k or so. I had to stop every so often to stretch it out a bit and take Ivanka's emergency Advil to get through the run.
With about 4k left to go, I noticed a good spot for Sam's regularly scheduled Insta post and we laughed our way through yet another fun video capture
As soon as I straighten up, I knew I was in trouble. Right away, I told the girls that I'd start to walk a bit before running to give my knee some time to get used to the movement again. I started a light jog and fell into a good running pace again by the time they caught me, but soon after my knee buckled. IT Band Pain is real, yo! Sam yelled at me to walk the rest of the way, but I didn't listen. I did end my run right at 31k though when I made it back to the parking lot. I came home and took an Aleve, had a shower, rolled and taped up the knee as best as I could.
Yesterday I was still in some pain, but doing little jogs or lateral movement while playing catch with my son, didn't hurt, so I think (I hope) rest, a massage and more rolling TLC will do the trick. Oh and focused strength training as well. I guess. 7 days away from birthday 39 and my body is telling me that I need to focus on the TLC part of running too.
Needless to day, there was none of the planned 60 minute recovery bike yesterday, but I hope this is a mere bump in the road and recovery will come quickly.
This past Sunday was the 20th running of the Chilly Half Marathon in Burlington, Ontario. I had signed up right away after the race last year when the call was out for $50 registrations... or had I?
So, it turns out, I HAD attempted to register, but my payment never went through. I ended up paying full price for the race. Good thing it was a good one!
The plan was to go out with the 1:50 pace bunny and hold with them until the turn around 13.5k. From then, the thought was to pick it up if I was feeling good, or to stick with them until the end and then finish strong. This assumed a number of things: The pace bunny would be bang on pace (5:12/km), the weather would be good (no ice or snow or headwind), and that I'd actually, finally have a good race for the first time in over two and a half years.
I knew a few things going in: 1) Sam, Emma, Ivanka and I would start together, 2) I'd run with music, 3) I'd run this one for me and no one else (sorry Sam, Emma, and Ivanka). I was nervous going into this, my 19th half marathon and 49th (!!!) race. I wanted so, so, so badly to have a good race. One where I didn't shit the bed (literally or figuratively) as Sam says. I needed a race where my mind didn't break down on me either. To be honest, I knew in my heart of hearts that I could hold the damn pace - I'd been doing a lot of random 1 miles at this pace over my treadmill runs, but I didn't know if my mind could take it. Thus the music. Music is a huge mental help for me, something I needed to go back and remember. It was sad to not run and joke with Sam during the good parts as usual, but I'm confident she understood.
Race day dawned a bit colder than predicted. CRAP!!! Do I change my planned outfit? Will my sweet-ass PUMA Clash by Rhianna Tights hold up to the -1c? Maybe I should grab a heavier top? In the end, I stuck with what I had planned to wear, mainly because everything else was in the laundry and I wanted to wear those sweet, sweet tights, dammit. I ate my now typical pre-long run breakfast of plain oatmeal, made with water, topped with brown sugar and chased with a small apple juice. I tempted fate and had a small coffee. With the 10am start time, I figured I was good to go on the coffee. I grabbed a banana and some powerade to have while waiting.
I met up with Sam and Ivanka right on cue at 8am and by 8:25 we were sitting in the theatre at the Performing Arts Centre waiting for the race to begin. Emma and her husband got there about 20 minutes later and we all checked bags, ate bananas, cued playlists and got race ready. 3 trips to the bathroom and two shoe removals for me (to warm up my feet!) and we were ready to hit the corrals.
Right away, we found the 1:50 pace bunnies. There were two! Both continuous! WooHoo! Then, they started talking about running at 5:16/km pace (wrong) and being told to race for gun time (wrong). Whatever, this race was for me - they'd be a good target and help to keep the pace in check for the first few KM. The gun went off and so did the bunnies and the five of us (Emma's husband started with us; poor guy was battling the end of a cold and it wasn't his day). The bunnies started quicker than 5:16 and even 5:12, but no worry. They were going for gun pace afterall and had about 45-60s to make up. I stayed right with them. Sam stayed right with me. Emma, Ivanka and Steve were all lost.
I sang a few lyrics to Sam when good songs came through my playlist in the first 3k. I couldn't really hear her much, but it didn't matter. I was still taking the advice that Robin had provided before Ottawa last year and was conserving energy for running, not high-fiving and talking. After the turn, Sam said to me, "These guys [pace bunnies] are running too fast! We have to let them go." I agreed of course and tried to reel in the pace, but it was just one of those days where the pace came easy.
5:08-5:10-5:08-5:08-5:05-5:08-5:06-5:07-5:07-5:12. 10k Total: 51:19 I'm not sure I've ever paced my own racing so well.
Smarter this time about what I needed to get through the race in terms of nutrition, I had decided to carry Powerade in my handheld. I also stopped at water stations and grabbed water quickly. I didn't take the time to walk through them in the first half and they had no effect on my overall pace. I coupled this with half a gel at 6k and the other half at 9k. Sam had been bugging me lately about nutrition and I figured that I would use this race to experiment a bit if nothing else. I continued to take water at each station and had a final and full GU gel at 14k. I felt great the entire time; my stomach did not complain once.
After 10k, the race gets interesting if you've run it before and know what to expect. You begin to anticipate the elites and faster runners coming at you as the course is an out and back. There isn't much spectator support running out east, but what I did notice this year was that the course, while basically flat, has enough small, small rollers to keep things interesting. Sometime before the turn, I realized that I had lost Sam at a water station. I figured she'd catch me eventually. I figured that if something bad had happened, she either 1) didn't tell me as she could see how in the zone I was, or 2) would have told me so I knew not to expect her. Sure enough, so caught me back up and told me promptly, "You're running way too fast! I've got a 4:40 here!" I reminded her that she would show a faster split as she was just running hard to catch me. That made sense to both of us (phew) and we continued on. I was so in the zone.
The turn around came and none too soon; I needed to get there for my mental game. It had been super strong thus far with nothing threatening it, but making the turn at 13.5k means that you can count down the rest of the race and force yourself to stay on pace dammit-its-only-eight-k-more. Sam's husband was at the turnaround and she dropped off her water bottle to him and I said "Hi." We saw Emma shortly after the turn (yay, looking good) and could still see the 1:50 guys ahead of us. They must have settled in to about a 5:05/km pace based on the gap.
Right around here, we also came up to a kind of unofficial pace group. There was a clear leader (a tall blonde in a pink coat) and a clear group running with her. She was telling the group that they were perfectly on pace and that the plan was to hold on for these next 8k. Seeing her face and hearing her voice made me realize that it was Michelle. I asked her what the pace they were holding at was, "5:12-5:16" Perfect. We had enough time banked to hang with them. "Sam, let's stay with this group. This is Michelle. She's a track Super-Star."
Michelle, though smiling, was puzzled - "How do you... how do I...?" "Instagram" I managed to breath out. And then I left Sam and Michelle to chat about ages and BQs and I just followed. Ah, the beauty of a pacer running the speed they say and you just hanging on.
We had picked up a slight headwind after the turn, but it died down quickly (or I got used to it). I was happy to have my vest after hating my life with the tailwind on the way out (where I was super hot). My mental ability threatened starting at 16k, but I held firm. I WAS doing this today. I WAS not failing. I WOULDN'T let myself down. And so I ran. I took the final water station with a bit of a walk, but nothing lost - the KMs were still coming well within target, if not so even.
5:07-5:08-5:15-5:08-5:13-5:12-5:11-5:08-5:07, Total 11-19k: 46:29
As we came up to the 20th kilometre, Sam began to separate from the pace group. She veered over to the north side of the road as I did. I was behind her, but clearly saw what she was doing. She was making sure she didn't lose me when I made my way over to hit the 20k route marker (Every half. Always). Cheerleader by OMI was blasting in my ears and Sam was in full on cheerleader mode. "Let's go, Let's go!! C'mon!!!" Oh God, Sam my legs are lead, but I'm going as fast as I can. I'm not going to stop. I AM going to do this. We are going sub 1:50. We have time.
20 was my slowest kilometre of the bunch at 5:21. There was nothing here to slow me down... no hill or even slight rise, so I don't know why I slowed so much. I kept chasing Sam though. As always, I was chasing Sam to the end.
And I'm thinking 800m, 2x around the track.You got it, you got it. Saw Hi to Mari for me Sam. (Mari was at Brant and Lakeshore).
I'm pushing and Sam goes (as she does, damn finish kick). I see Mari and give her my only high-five of this race because I'm hitting all God-damned goals today and I'm feeling amazing. I hit Brant and see the crowd. And I run straight down the middle, watching Sam finish 5 seconds ahead of me and I wave my arms up and down, "Make some noise crowd! Celebrate me!!!" I even pulled a Usain Bolt move (I was in PUMA after all). And I cross the finish line and Sam tackles me and I know, this is what I needed. These people, these friends, this work. This is why I race. And this, this is the road to BQ. I know it.
Hello... is this thing on? Sorry, I've been MIA, which usually happens when work gets crazy. And its been two weeks of full on crazy, but we had our first big presentation yesterday and whew, it went well. So now I have a few down days before I get right back into revisions for the next round (advertising - all glamour!)
I've never seen an episode
So, how did the weeks go? Pretty okay. I missed some distance, but not the long runs, which are key. I actually fit all of my runs in last week including a 23k Tuesday run (spread over two runs!)
That's right, you even seen one trainer session in each week.
Week 8 I managed to run 6x100m run on the Monday and noped the nope out of any other work for the week. The week did end well with a 30k run along the Around the Bay route with Sam (for 18k) and Emma (for the entire run), and then tacked on 2k to hit my first 20 miler of the training plan. It was a tough run (what with the elevation changes and distance), but I'm super happy to have put the distance behind me, even if I was a bit delirious by the end.
Emma waited for me to jog out to the pier and take photos finish my run so that we could get a post-run selfie together and bask in our awesomeness. I was shocked when I loaded the splits and saw just how amazingly consistent they were for the last half of the run (all in the 5:30s/km - go us!).
Week 9 was planned as a huge week: 69km with a 23k run on Tuesday and 26k with 19k at pace on Saturday. Thankfully, Sam became the voice of reason, asking why we'd run race pace the week before an actual race that we were all planning on ... racing? Whew! With that settled, I tacked the week of long work and long runs and hit all of my distance and a bike ride! The long runs and long work hours meant far too many of these:
Its never a good thing to work a 7 minute walk from a Bulk Barn.
With the weekend long run clear to run easy, Sam decided that she'd plan a hell run, her favourite route which meant all of the Around the Bay Northshore Hills and then more hills followed by other hills after that. And one super sweet downhill. I wasn't feeling the run from the second I woke up, but I did my best to keep up with the girls and they were awesome about waiting for me to crest the hills and in the end, I felt great for having put the mileage in.
So, two good weeks, building base, if not speed. I was on the treadmill a few times in those weeks, so that does mean I was running some speed within those, but no tempo or anything. That is something that will come back next week. For this week, the goal is the nail the Chilly Half Marathon.
This will be my fifth running of the race. I PB'd my first race here and have always enjoyed the run despite varied conditions. I've decided to go out with the 1:50 pacer and the goal is to come in at 1:49xx. This is faster than I need to run to qualify for the Boston Marathon and if I manage to nail it, it will be a huge mental boost. Besides, Emma is looking to PB at sub 1:51:19 (and I was part of that!) and I want to do my best to help her get there. I know she can do it and I know I can too. Sunday will tell! See you on the flip side with the race report!
Back to reality this week. And reality meant a deep freeze!
Coming back from vacation and being sluggish coupled with a travelling husband and the cold meant that I spent a whole lot of time on the treadmill this week. In fact, only one run wasn't done on the treadmill and that was done on the indoor track at the Milton Sports Centre. Here's what the end of 53 laps around a 200m track looks like.
The weekend provided a much needed break though! We had a long weekend in Ontario to celebrate family day and I really feel like we actually got a chance to relax and chill out. There was hockey for my boys and rep lacrosse tryouts for my oldest son, but we also had friends over for dinner and did some simple things, like rolling all of the coins we had hanging around.
I even managed to watch the US Olympic Marathon Trials live and was super inspired watching all of the runners, especially Amy and Shalane who reminded me of the Ottawa marathon run from last year. As Sam noted, we're the original A&S. As always, I was routing heavily for Meb who proves time and time again that age is just a number and I was thrilled to see him come in second place. I do admit that I got a bit afraid after a commercial break when I couldn't see him in the lead pack any longer, but I quickly realized that he had just tucked his singlet into his shorts. So funny how you can get personally invested in the elites. I actually spent the first hour watching the trials on my bike with Trainer Road and am happy to have fit cycling back into the mix. I hope to hit the bike at least twice this week.
Here's how my week 7 shook out:
Monday: 6k on the treadmill at lunch. I slept in and totally missed the 16k I was supposed to do.
Tuesday: Rest. My husband was travelling so that took before and after work out of the equation and I couldn't manage a lunch run either.
Wednesday: 8k in the evening. My husband was back home! YAY!
Thursday: 5k at lunch with the middle mile at BQ pace and 53 laps around the track for 10k in total. That made 15k on the day.
Friday: Rest in anticipation of running my long run the next day.
Saturday: I couldn't make the timing work for the run meet up based on my son's activities, so I ended up on my bike trainer for an hour with Black during the US Olympic Marathon trials. 22.5k in total.
Sunday: 29k. On the treadmill. All at once. Thank goodness I haven't had time to listen to the last three episodes of season two of Serial. Do you know what's on TV on Sunday mornings? Fishing shows, Infomercials and Church service. But when the temperature is -31c, I'm not heading outside for 3 hours. On purpose.
I made the run interesting by stopping for a minute or so after each 6 miles and changing pace every mile. That also helped. Never has the mantra "Run the Mile You're In" been more clear to me.
And that's it for week 7. I did miss a bit of distance (13k), but I also fit in a spin, so I'm calling evens on the week. Week 8 is on track thus far and we're getting a break from the cold, so that's always a good thing.
Hello! So much to catch up on! I've been absent the past while due to vacation. First, there was the hustle in getting ready to go on vacation, then the vacation itself and finally, being back at work and settling back into a routine. That's been tough. I haven't even grocery shopped yet, so I've been stealing enjoying my kids lunchtime snacks as my own (goldfish crackers and cheese strings anyone?).
That's about half of our 22 person group, ready to cruise on the Disney Fantasy (Yes, we were on the sailing that had mechanical problems and skipped Castaway Cay). The trip was awesome! This is was our third sailing with Disney and even before the discount we received as a result of the malfunction, we were already thinking about our next trip!
Let's catch up on running a bit, shall we?
Week 5 went well, very well. I ran 73.94k over 5 runs, including my long 24k run with Amy. It was a great run, but unfortunately, we saw a coyote hit by a car right in front of us and die. We stopped and called the humane society and they came to pick up the animal. the driver didn't even stop!!! There was a lot of damage to the front of the drivers vehicle as well, so I'm shocked that they just kept driving! I also hit the trainer for one ride, putting in 17.6k on Carter +1.
Week six was the week were leaving on vacation, driving to Buffalo on Thursday evening, flying to Orlando on Friday and sailing on Saturday! I front loaded my week, but running the first half marathon pace run on Sunday which allowed me to take a bit of pressure off. In the end, I only fit in two runs, a 12k and a 26k, but that 26k was an epic run: All Treadmill! The last 16k was done at pace and the run actually went amazingly. I got a whole lot of support for this run from Emma and Sam which also made it easier. I couldn't quit as people were waiting for me to finish
Then, we left on vacation.
Dry month also came to an end!
For the week of vacation, I ran three times! They were all on the boat and they all felt great!
Can't beat these views (Tortola)
Cool map from my 5 mile run as we docked in Tortola
While we were unable to make it to Castaway Cay, we still got a chance to run the race, around deck 4 of the boat on the running tack. I started with the first wave and even though I had no pace feedback from my garmin (it would pause and not track things correctly, for example a 4 mile run became 19k!), I still managed to run faster than half marathon pace for first place female!
We got home last Saturday night and I still managed to fit in a short run on Sunday, even though I could really feel that my "land legs" hadn't come back yet. That 6k brought my weekly total up to a respectable 25.5k run on the week!
And now, we are back home and I'm tackling week 7 of the plan. With the success of the 26k treadmill run and the 5k at faster than half marathon pace behind me, I decided to pull the trigger and finally signed up for the Goodlife Toronto Marathon. Whew! In 78 days I'll toe the line at marathon #5 and BQ attempt #3. Let's hope this one sticks.
In the meantime, I'll continue to bask in the memories of another awesome family vacation as I run through cold, wind and snow.
So week three was last week. I had super high hopes for this week after how well everything worked for me in week two. There was only one high stress workout on the plan with Thursday's run scheduled to be 13k with 6k at half marathon pace. I've resigned myself to the fact that I will be hard pressed to PB a half marathon in the late winter (when I'll be racing at Chilly), so my goal for these paces right now is to not fall below 5:05/km. I was pumped and ready to go on week three!
Monday: I knew the night before that the morning would be freezing and so I planned to get to the gym early and throw down as much as I could out of the 16k on the plan before work, making up the rest in the afternoon. Yup, two sets of clothes, two towels, two shoes etc, etc. Mainly because, two runs, two different gyms. I love my Goodlife all gym membership.
Tuesday: Poor Fergus was home sick, so I stayed home as well. It was snowing all day on and off, so it ended up better for me as I didn't have to do the 3hr round trip commute. When my husband got home, I took to the clear bike lanes and ran my 6k as scheduled 33:11
Wednesday: I took it to the bike and repeated Goddard 45 on Trainer Road. Man, this felt amazing! I'm getting better on the bike for sure! 17.4k, 45 minutes.
Thursday: The aforementioned high stress day. I decided that I couldn't take another 8 miles on the treadmill in the week and figured that I'd be fine on the bike path again, so decided to hit the roads early (aka 0420 alarm) and get it done. Well, real winter had other ideas and it snowed overnight, rendering everything snow covered and slippery and gross and I barely broke 6 minute kilometers while slugging through 9k in 53:28. The run was a huge disappointment at the time, but I've since decided that one run (which wasn't even bad, it was just thwarted by weather) won't a bad training cycle make. Also, it yielded my most liked 2016 Insta so far.
Saturday: Run the hills! Met up with Gerald, Sam, and Emma and ran the Northshore Hills out and back. These easy long runs need to be done on this route as its part of Around the Bay, which is my goal race. With limited to no plans to run hill repeats within my plan, I need to prepare for this race and doing it on a Saturday morning with friends is the best way possible! 23k, 2:11:02
Sunday: Don't ask me why (though the answer is probably that Trainer Road is somehow a cult and I've been assimilated), but I wanted to ride a bit longer and a bit tougher on Sunday. I found a ride called Blackcap and Emma assured me that it was a good one to try. I believe she calls these rides REWARDING. Well, she's not wrong. The ride felt difficult after a super busy day, but after 75 minutes on the bike (my longest trainer ride to date), I felt awesome! I'm super happy about this! Total KM were 29.2.
There is more snow and cold on schedule for this week, so I'll have to determine if that means more treadmills or risking the roads, but my head is settled back on straight after Thursday and I'm ready to tackle week four with renewed vigour! I hope your training is going just as well!
If you ask me right now, I will 100% be toeing the line of the Toronto Marathon on May 1st. The week that I had went so well and ended with one of the most confidence boosting runs I've had in a long, long while. Of course, have the great support of my friends and the social media community on Instagram and Strava really help a whole bunch. Here's how things shook out.
Monday: It was a coooooold morning to start the week. -19c with wind chill or something stupid like that. I was ready though:
So I hit the road bright and early and was able to NAIL my workout of 10x100m. I actually used the workout feature on my Garmin 910XT for the first time and it was awesome to just run hard or slow down once the watch buzzed. I don't know why I haven't used this feature before. HAHA. 13k, 1:15:56
Tuesday: Rest day. I had a 45 minute trainer ride on the plan, but my son's had hockey and we didn't get home until after 730 and I still had to eat dinner and prep everyone's lunch for the next day. That's the way it goes at times.
Wednesday: An even EARLIER morning with the 0420 alarm, but the plan called for 16k. I had a great run and was very happy to run by a friend twice on the run as it gave me some much needed boosts to know that I wasn't the only crazy early bird getting my run on. 16.64k, 1:34:23. As a note, this is a 5:40/km pace. These runs are supposed to be "aerobic" however the prescribed pace is low for the work my heart is supposed to do, so my attempt will be to nail these runs at 5:40-5:45 pace.
Thursday: Upper box and abs at the gym at lunch. I really don't like lifting weights all that much, but I know that upper body strength will go a long way to helping me run a successful and quick marathon, so I suck it up and go. 40 minutes in the weight room. Once I got home, I hoped on the trainer and road the 45 minute ride I had skipped on Tuesday. It was a good ride and I got in 17.85k
Friday: Rest day! My goal is to keep Friday's as rest days as much as possible.
Saturday: Bring in the reinforcements! Sam and Ivanka agreed to meet in Milton to run the 21k we had on plan. I knew Henro is usually happy to join in as well and to my surprise, Gerald (my friend from my Running Room days) messaged me looking for a run as well. So, the ladies started at my place and ran 4k to meet up with the men. At that point, the work began as the plan called for 13k at goal marathon pace (5:20/km), the run was a big loop and having a group plus running around Milton in the daylight helped to make it fly by. Before we knew it, we were back at the meeting point having nailed our pace work and running the 13k at 5:13/km on average! WooHoo! Only 29.2k more like that and we'll be booking our tickets to Boston! 21k, 1:53:18 (I think this is the fasted half I've run in almost two years).
Sunday: I had big plans for the pool on Sunday, but my bed was way more comfortable. I've decided to only swim if I really want to. I'm NOT training for a triathlon (though it would be nice to try one this summer) and the goal is 100% the BQ, so no guilt on missing the third sport. Instead, I had a relaxing morning with my family, watched Fergus' hockey game, went grocery shopping and then came home and rode my final ride of the week, Monitor 30. Brutal (yet rewarding as Emma says) workout of 4x6 minutes in the sweet spot with only :30seconds of rest. I nailed it. The mental game I'm gaining on the bike is really going to help me during those tough runs as well. 12.5k total
And that's it. Week two. All workouts were done and executed well. If today was April 1st, I'd be signing up for the marathon. However it's not and I plan to keep up the work over the coming weeks so that I am in a place to do so at that time.
Last week, I started my new training plan which will (hopefully) take me to a marathon in May! Its true, I have yet to officially sign up for a spring marathon. After evaluating my past two seasons, I decided to train as if I was going to run one and then use the 30k race at Around the Bay as the final test before I commit any money to the cause. Once again, my partners in crime include the best racing partner ever Sam, triathlete extraordinaire Emma, and the super lovely and funny Ivanka! I'm looking forward to many great Saturday mornings spent in Burlington and Oakville running the beach strip and northshore hills bitching about enjoying the cold and wind.
My dreams are once again BIG for 2016. As with the past two years, I'm still chasing that elusive Boston Qualifier Marathon. The bonus this year is that I will be running to qualify for the 2017 race, when I will be 40. This means my time has gone up to 3:45! WooHoo! Of course we all know that its super difficult to get into Boston now with a time just inside of the cut-off, so the aim will be a 3:42xx and fingers crossed. I really hope I finally am able to put together a good marathon!
Since I started going after the big BQ, my goal has been to qualify before I'm 40, so this is my final year to meet that goal. Hard and consistent training will help me to get there and in week one I'm off to a great start.
Monday: 13k with 6k 3k at half marathon pace. I was not in shape to handle this yet, plus I had a persistent headcold to battle with. 3k was enough. This was run with Sam and fellow hockey mum, Kelly.
Tuesday: Trainer Road! The key to my cross training this cycle (PUN!) will be the bike. I rode Ericsson for 45 minutes and 18.1k. Getting faster!
Wednesday: Mid-week long run of 14k. This cycle, I'm using a plan from Advanced Marathoning and it calls for mid-week long runs. This was done in the afternoon on a nice day after snowfall. I got it done. It was fine.
Thursday: Trainer Road Carson. The only 1 hour ride of the Sprint Triathlon plan I'm following. I rode this well and enjoyed* all of the simulated hills and seat transitions. 23.5k
*clearly, Trainer Road has somehow worked its magic on me
Friday: Rest day! We were in The Blue Mountains for New Years Eve with my husband's brother and family and while I didn't have a drop of alcohol**, there was no time to fit anything in with the drive home. Besides, it was a rest day on the plan.
**My husband and I have gone dry for a month
Saturday: Starting the New Year right with an out and back on the beach path in Burlington/Hamilton with a great group of people! We ran 20.16k and all stopped our watches perfectly! 1:53:32
photo credit: Emma's husband
Sunday: 30 minute Taku recovery ride on Trainer Road. The day didn't work out to be conducive to a swim (I slept in too late for the morning swim and hockey got in the way of the noon swim), but I didn't want to do nothing, so this short ride for 10.9k it was!
All in all, it was a fantastic week! I got in all of the runs and cross training I was supposed to do while still enjoying my time off with my family. We had a great New Year and I'm ready to tackle the BQ goal again. Glad to have you along for the ride.
