The Fall 2014 Plan

Well! I figure as I sit here after the first official training week for the Fall that I should likely share my fall plans with all of you. Of course, as I learned this week, I can not be 100% in anything I've not yet signed up for as my oldest son has made the Rep Hockey Novice team and thus hockey and tournaments now take precedence over everything (kinda).

So, the fall plan has been written. Here are the first few weeks

The red box is when we are away for the week. I don't force myself to stick to the plan during this time.

If you click, it will go larger. As you can see, there is an equal number of bikes and runs during the week!

I KNOW! That's because I had to write my entire fall plan around The Epic Tour Halton (September 7) where I will be riding the 80k distance with my co-worker who talked me into it. Of course, I have this sweet mum bike to get me through and I've gotten speeds up to 22.2km/h thus far. Don't be too jealous! 

But what else am I doing? There is quite a bit of running on that plan as well. In order, here is the plan:

A return to pacing and the awesome 30k at A MidSummer Night's Run (August 16) (I'll pace the 3hr group, join me!)

This may happen again

Next after that, I'm hoping to run the 10k at MEC Race 4 (September 6). This comes the day before the Gran Fondo, so we'll see what happens. This 10k is also the basis of all of the early speedwork for the summer. Like during the summer of 2011, I plan to return to the track in order to gain the grounding in order to toe the line at this race hoping for a finishing time around 48 minutes. Sam's keen on the same goal, so we're using the same basic running plan.

After my Gran Fondo is in the bag, the plan ups the ante with four run days and one bike day a week. I also begin to add some goal half marathon pace into the long runs. There won't be much time to test out my newfound speed over distance though, because like Sam, I plan to take my first stab at going sub-1:45 in the half at the Oakville Half Marathon (September 21), after all, I had a great time running with Sam and Richard during the last 5k in 2013. This race conflicts with my son's first tournament. The tournament was supposed to be on September 12-14, however they had to change to September 19-21 and will be in Essex. I signed up for the race and the next day, the tournament got changed! My husband and I have chatted though and he's fine with me doing the race as I can't get a refund on my bib. 

Skirt power with Sam at the end of Oakville last year

After Oakville, Sam, Emma, Bridgett and I will reunite for another 25k trail race, Run for the Toad (October 4). I'm hoping we can produce more awesome tampon commercial worthy photos

Finally, finally, there will be the now traditional, Road2Hope half marathon on November 2nd. Unless a hockey tournament conflicts. My backup in that case is the weekend before at the Niagara Falls half marathon. I've also put my hand up to pace Niagara, so we'll see what happens.

As you can see, I have a VERY full plan on the go. Of course, in my first week of training I've been able to get every workout in and have hit 83 combined bike/run kilometers for the week. This meant I was in bed at 2115 on Saturday night. Turns out massive amounts of physical activity and a party lifestyle don't really go hand in hand. But I'm okay with that. I think the biking will really help me keep my Plantar Fasciitis in check, plus everyone keeps telling me it will help with my running. 

And who knows? I may just become a multi-sport athlete before you know it!

The Fall Plan

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

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

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

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

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

Jack Daniels' Running Formula to the rescue!

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

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

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

Yep.

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

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

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

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

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

Step By Step.

I dreamed a dream.... Fall plans

Well, I road the high of the marathon all week last week. I ran a bit (28k, with one 15.8k recovery paced run with friends). I ate what I wanted. I went for a massage.

I ordered some books.

I dreamed of a fall marathon.

Then, I finally worked up the courage to speak to Ken about training through the summer.

Intense, I'm going to attempt to qualify for Boston, training. I laid out all of my reasons: my folks are going to be living with us through the summer while their condo is built, I'm on a good path toward racing success right now, my running room coach is going to pace the 3:35 or 3:40 group.

It went the way I expected.

Can't you just run a normal half marathon? It takes so much away from family time. I'd really rather you wait until next winter and just do only one marathon a year.

And so, the decision is made.

The rest of my year shakes out like this:

Bread & Honey 5k (goal: PB and increased age group placement - placed 6th last year)

A Midsummer Night's Run 30k (I've approached the race organizers about being the 3hr pacer. I REALLY hope to hear back in the positive)

Milton Half Marathon (Duh! My hometown. I've also asked about being a pacer here, but haven't heard back other then to confirm that they already have a 2hr pacer. If I don't pace this race, it will 100% be my PB attempt this fall)

Army Run Half Marathon (This is a maybe. I said I'd run it with my Brother In Law, Joe but something is holding me back from signing up)

As always, I'll do the 5k Resolution Run on New Year's Eve as well.

I will also approach some other fall races about pacing. I think I would do a good job.

I'm a bit sad about losing the dream of a big huge BQ at STWM, but Boston and other marathons will be there in the future.

I will focus on speed this summer (and weight loss - for real), and I will be happy about it instead of mourning what could have been.

Because I'll run another marathon next year. And it will be the BQ attempt.

I'm sure of that.

Vacation photos and 2013 Plans!

Oh hi! How are you? Yes, I know, we are now two weeks into 2013 and you haven't heard from me in forever. Well, I spent the first eight days of the year in Ocho Rios, Jamaica and the next seven catching up on everything else.

We did not take our kids.

Thus, the house keeping staff made some holiday suggestions for us:

It is amazing what a $5USD tip gets you!

Plans for 2013

My race schedule is an exact duplicate of 2012!

January 27: Robbie Burns 8k!

March 3: Chilly Half Marathon!

March 24: Around the Bay 30k!

May 5: Mississauga Marathon!

With the exception of Around the Bay, I will be pushing hard for a PB in each race. Training started in earnest last week, though I did run twice while in Jamaica.

My other goal for this year is to get my weight down to 125lbs. In November, I was around 129-131lbs, but today I'm 136.8lbs. I have recommitted to the love of salads and oatmeal and food tracking and know that I can get there. I just have to stop enjoying stuff like this so much:

I hope you all enjoyed a great New Year! What are your plans and goals for this year? What is your favorite libation? 

MidSummer Night's Race 30k and Milton Half Training Plan

Yes, I've finally written my plan and not a second too soon as it begins on Monday!

The goal of this plan is twofold. I want to be able to race the MidSummer 30k at a pace of at least 5:40/km and I want to put in a strong PB at the Milton Half Marathon even though the course looks quite tough.

The key to this plan will be flexibility. The summer is a busy time for life and work looks like it is going to be crazy as well. I've already booked my outlook every Monday at lunch so that I can get to the gym to get that 8k tempo run in. I think Tuesday is the day that will present the most challenges as I'll either have to run starting around 8pm due to Alasdair's baseball game or run around 5AM because of my own baseball game later that night. Running TO my ball game is out of the question - it is not a safe route and I owe it to the team to be fresh and ready to play, not tired out by a run.

As you see, the LSD takes advantage of the fact that I work from home most Friday's and I will continue to use that time to my advantage, hitting the road around 6-6:30am to get the run in before the workday begins.

I also have left out my plans to turn some of those LSD's into longer tempo runs a la Daniels, but trust me, this will happen. I know the key to running faster is to run faster and I plan on doing just that.

It feels good to have a plan on paper. I've felt rather aimless these past weeks after the Marathon.

Next up: 5k Bread and Honey Race on Sunday. Goals to come!

And now what?

That's pretty much how I'm feeling lately.

I had decided that I'd take the rest of May "off" and just run easy, not worrying about pace or training plans or anything like that. I've managed to get some quality runs in the last two weeks including a 16k run last Sunday with Julie from the full clinic (she's racing her first full marathon in Ottawa next weekend!) and 18k LSD on Friday morning on my own this week.

I've run some shorter distances at easy pace as well and am just trying to fit in running where I can without putting any strain on family life.

But what's next?

No, I haven't given up racing!

On June 3rd, I'll return to the Bread & Honey 5k race and attempt a PB I think. More on that later.

I've signed up for A Midsummer Night's Run 30k on August 18th and I'm also signed up for the inaugural Milton Half Marathon on September 16th.

I want to find a good 10k (in July?) to attempt a PB.

And I really have to decide if I go ahead and attempt a fall marathon (even though I had no plans to run a second marathon this year. And I told my husband I wouldn't.).

I feel like if I'm going to train to run the 30k, what's another few weeks of early morning runs to get me to another full marathon?

I guess I'll have to see how things go. I don't have to make a decision until about mid-June either way. The marathon's I'd look at would be Hamilton or Niagara. I have zero desire to run Toronto.

In the meantime, I'm going to stick to enjoying stuff like this:

 Cottage coffee: Coffee + Baileys + Kahlua + Whipped cream

Mint Chocolate chip on a Sugar Cone!

2012

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.

And on to the future

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?

Race plans 2011

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!

Resolution Run

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.

Okay, so I'm not teh krazy...

There is no way on "God's green earth" (do you remember my love of Survivor? That's a quote from this past week) that I can run over 200km in 38 days.

It was a good thought this afternoon and it got me off of my ass tonight and plowed me through 6.1km on the treadmill, but really?

I can't do it.

I'd likely injure myself.

That's not the real reason though.

The real reason why I can't run over 200km in just 5 weeks is because of two things that are directly related:

1) I like to drink
2) Tis the season

Now don't get me wrong, I can not drink. I mean, I made it through a pregnancy and a year of breastfeeding, but when the reason isn't the health of my kid, I don't like to give up the grog.

So, I've revised my goal.

I will run 500km this year and I started tonight.

I have to run just over 2.9km every day for the next 37 to meet the goal. This means that if I run 6k every other day, I'm gold. If I get out on the weekends for 10k runs, I'm way ahead.

And, I can take those nights off to enjoy the wine/rye/gin etc of the season as well.

I like this plan. I can't wait to see it happen.

"If you can run 10k...

...you can run a half."

Yup, I heard this on Sunday.

Ha!

Um, so.

I think I may begin training for the May Mississauga Half in January (20 weeks is a good timeline, right?).

January is perfect timing because my Cardio Sculpt class will be finished as will the kid's parent and tot swimming class, so I'll have time to dedicate to running. I'll join a program as well for sure!

As long as work doesn't get in the way.

This week has been okay, but I haven't run as much as I wanted to. Sunday, I hosted 8 ladies for a cupcake exchange (CampCupCake)



Who runs after an afternoon of sampling nine different cupcakes? Not me! Nope, I eat pizza, more cupcakes and drink wine.

Monday I ended up working late and not getting home and eating until 8:30, so I didn't run. Tuesday I went to Curves at lunch and the aforementioned Cardio Sculpt at 7pm (which had lots of Cardio, just not running). Wednesday, I worked late. AGAIN (you'd think I perform kidney transplants or something, but nope, I work in marketing). Today I went to Curves and came home and ran 5.15k before dinner on the treadmill.

It was difficult for sure. The 6pm news is not easy to run to (perhaps because I can't stand Christine Bentley). I did eat an apple 30 minutes before my run, so I wasn't lacking in energy or anything, the run was just tough and my right leg/knee was twinging.

I wish I didn't commute almost 3 hours a day, I'd love to run right after work way more often.

So, a low-key week (with exercise, but not a lot of running - yet) and a plan (kinda).

Amazing what a good race will do for you!

Thanks for the comments in my race report. I'm still on the high!

Gah! GAH!

In less than six days I suppose to run 5k and PB it in under 30 minutes.

GAH!

I know I can do it (I did run this distance in 30:11 at the Bread and Honey race).

But! BUT!

I’m feeling a bit queasy because there is little to no opportunity for runs this week.

Witness:

Monday: Baseball
Tuesday: Baseball
Now, if one of these gets rained out, then the treadmill will be hit, for sure
Wednesday: Dinner out with mat leave friends
Thursday: Dinner out with awesome gals met through work
Friday: No run as the race is the next day at 8am

What’s a gal to do?

I guess I can run at lunch like Marlene, or before work.

There are pros and cons to both.

Pros: I’ll get the runs in.

Cons (lunch): Sweat + lack of shower means I’ll have to do a crazy sponge bath job in the accessible bathroom post run, of course Marlene proves it can be done.

Cons (before work): 4:45am wake up.

Well, seeing it written out like that, there is no contest. I’m off to map a 5/6k route from the office.

I have run twice since I last wrote: 5k in the humidity on a stomach full of grilled steak a-top mixed greens with roasted red and yellow Hungarian peppers, blue cheese and walnuts. This was not a good run. I also did 5k in 34:29 on the treadmill while watching the Jays suck-it against the Angels on Saturday afternoon. That 34:29 is scaring me. How I’m going to shave 4:29 off a 5k run is beyond me. I must really kick it up during races!

Pre-race post to come Friday. I think I’m putting too much pressure on myself, but maybe it’ll be a good thing

2 confessions, 1 question

I have two confessions to make and a question to ask.

Confessions first.

I love to sweat. LOVE.

I fell off of my treadmill tonight. Really.

So first things first.

Sweat.

I decided to run speed intervals on the treadmill tonight. The only research I've done is to read various running blogs to see what other people do and then absorb it all and try my own version. I ended up doing a 2 min walk, 4 mins comfortable pace (5.4), 3 mins fast (6.5 pace), 2 mins slow (3.8 pace) x 2, then 2 and 2's x 2, then 3 mins at 6.0, then a 1 min slow and a steady run to finish 4.35 km in 32 mins. It was hard. It was hot.

Wait for it.






It was sweaty!

Because the "summer" has been so mild, we've not put our A/C on. While the basement is cooler than the house, it is still humid and I loved it! I was literally dripping, my hair was wet, my skin was gleaming. I really do not like to exercise unless I have this tangible evidence of work. Plus, it just feels good. I think this odd love of sweat must come from my years of summer dance class in studios without A/C. Ahh, childhood memories.

And so. Ah-hem. Confession #2:

I fell off the treadmill.

For the first time ever (I've had the EVO since October 2008 and have ran on treadmills on and off for the past 10 years).

I had left the treadmill during my walk warm up to turn up the TV (hey, Hasselhoff says some okay things on America's Got Talent), and when I went to step back on it, I TOTALLY blanked that it was still going. I stepped on it as if it was off and CRASH! BOOM! BANG! I'm fine and continued with the run, but the cats are likely even more afraid of the machine now and I've added a few (more) grey hairs to my husband's head.

Losah.

Question: I wore my new running (capri) pants tonight (they are too big in the waist! I hope I can shrink them?), my question is: What are the holes at the back of the calf for? They have reflective material around them and I can't for the life of my think what they are for. These can't be bike pants cause they don't have any padding. Any guesses?

So, speed run (as it were) for 4.35 km tonight. I feel awesome.

Training begun

So I went for a 6.15km (according to MapMyRun) or 7.14km (according to gmaps pedometer) run this morning in Oakville with a friend of mine.

Let's go with gmaps, eh?

It was great to run with someone! It only took us about 45 minutes and we talked the entire time. We only took one short break at the half way point (ran an out and back) and I needed to walk to drink about two more times after that. This friend has run a half marathon in the past, but has a 15 month old and is getting back into running as exercise.

I can not believe what a difference running and talking makes. Even though I didn't know the route (so I couldn't enjoy the mental monologue You're almost halfway, only 1km to go), I found it easy to just keep chatting and running. It was a beautiful morning and we saw so many different running and cycling groups along the lakeshore of Oakville. At the end we agreed to meet up next Sunday and if this keeps up I'll have my "long" run covered!

This week, its all about sticking to the training plan. Wish me luck. I think the morning hill is what may kill me! HA.

In case you’ve been wondering…

Yep, I haven’t run since Jun 16th. I had a small medical thing, so common that it is not worth going into here; suffice to say that it kept me from running. Now that I’m over all of that, I can rejoin the world of running once again.

And so, I did.

I did about 5.5km outside yesterday through my neighborhood in a big loop and quite enjoyed myself despite the heat. It is hard to judge distance without a Garmin and MapMyRun doesn’t have all of the new streets in place yet. As I said to the hubs upon my return, there were + and – to the run:

+ I ran
- I walked a whole heck of a lot of it
+ I remembered my hat
- I forgot my sun screen (not too bad – no burns, just more colour on my arms that I should have)
+ I ran with my water belt thing
- It still bumps around
+ I discovered if the water is only ¾ full and at my hip, it doesn’t bump so much
+ New route
- I had to run through construction and almost killed myself on some stones
+ my last song of the run came up as Neil Diamond!
- The run/walk took me 50 mins!
+ I got back out there!

The plan for the week includes the following:

M: Baseball
T: Curves, Baseball
W: Curves, Run (likely 5km treadmill as Hubs is out)
TH: Curves
F: Run (short – 5km?)
Sa: Long run (as in 7km?)

I’m debating signing up for another race as well to keep me focused.

The one where life gets in the way

I set up the treadmill at 8:30 tonight to run just over 7km in an effort to gain more miles and work my way up to a 10k race sometime at the end of the summer. This was my first time back to any kind of running since the Bread and Honey 5k because last week just left so little time for running.

I couldn't get on the treadmill until that time for two reasons: 1)the kid is not going to bed as easily as he once did at 8pm, so we are allowing him to stay up until 8:30 and 2)the husband was out shopping.

With 1.8km to go, the husband came down to the basement and asked if I was almost done. I let him know that I'd be at least 10-15 mins (I had a horrid/tiring run tonight) and he gave me puppy dog eyes. He had said he'd head over to a buddy's house for a beer, so I cooled down, ran the time to 45 minutes and completed 6.1km. Not bad, not what I wanted to do either.

I have found a race that I will be doing for sure next year. The GTAA Runway Race . How cool would it be to run 5k down the runways at Pearson while fighter jets and commercial airlines are buzzing overhead? Having grown up at the edge of the airport and having spent a year there working in Customs, I must do this race next year!

Plan for the week:
Monday: Curves, Baseball (we won!)
Tuesday: 6.1km - treadmill
Wednesday: Curves
Thursday: 7km - outside!
Friday: Curves/Treadmill (I'm booked in solid meetings on Friday so I may not get Curves in)
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 5km run with my ladies running group

Mid Week Check in...

I missed Sunday's run. I admit it right now. I spent the time when my son napped and used it to make some meals for the week and some muffins. Then our family went for a walk and played together after he woke up. I don't mind.

Running outside on Saturday was hot. At the most it was 13c when I ran, but the sun was beating down on me and I was sweating badly. One good thing I did is to wear a baseball cap. That really helped to keep the sweat out of my eyes. I only ran 5k, but I could have used some water. I guess I'm going to have to look at budgeting for a belt because I couldn't run and carry something like water, it would completely throw me off.

Monday, I made it to Curves and played baseball (a loss), Tuesday I played baseball again (a win!), but it was not much exercise if I'm being honest. Today, I did curves and 5.8k on the treadmill as it was raining post 8pm (when the kid goes to bed). I ran 5.5k of that straight. STRAIGHT! Woot! I can't believe it. I don't know what helped me to keep running (a good day, watching So You Think You Can Dance, eating pasta primavera for dinner), but I just kept it up. I even kicked it into a faster pace for the last two minutes. I think that if I target one treadmill run a week, I should attempt to do greater distances with the hope of improving my 5k times. I haven't read much about running techniques or personal best strategies as I still feel like a novice who is just trying to be consistent, but one thing I have read is that in order to improve my 5k time, I should attempt longer runs.

Speaking of PB's. I'm pretty sure I'm going to sign up for the Bread and Honey 5k race next weekend. I'm from Meadowvale (the town adjacent to Streetsville) and I used to walk/dance in the parade every year. The race is at 8am on June 7th, so I don't know how I'll do in terms of time (I SHOCKED myself with my Mississauga Marathon 5k time), and I have no friends who will run it with me, but I really think it'll be a great way to keep up my momentum and its a month from my last race.

I guess I'll update once I decide to go ahead!

No lagomorphs hurt this month

Which means zero excuses for a 60km June.

I'm starting this afternoon with an outdoor run as soon as my husband gets home from some errands (I'm currently listening to our kid chat to his toys in his crib).

This past week sucked. I got to Curves once and played baseball, but work was very busy and I felt like crap (hoped it was early pregnancy, not pre-menstruation) and then had to go to a visitation and funeral of a 2 year old Thursday/Friday.

This week looks like this:

Sat: 5k run
Sun: 5k run (or plus)
Monday: Curves, baseball 9pm
Tuesday: Baseball 7pm
Wednesday: Curves, 5k run
Thursday: Curves
Friday: 5k run (or plus)
Sat: All you can eat Red Sox @ Blue Jays

Perhaps listing it all will help me to get it done!