Pop! goes the... gastrocnemius????

Saturday morning ended up in a nice, crisp morning for a race. I met up with friend Kyla to head to the NCEP for a fun 5 k with a bunch of zombies.

We got there about 1/2 hour early and had lots of time to get our kit, stash our stuff back at the car, meet the rest of the team (Pascale and Marshal from Montreal and Kyla's brother Alec) and line up to start. The race course was on the grassy fields and forests of the equestrian park. The footing was pretty good (thank you aeration system!), but considering the rain we had the night before, as well as the cooler temperatures, the ground was still slick. As we left the start gate, we ran through one of the paddocks, climbed up and down a hay pile, and encountered our first zombies. We were warned that there would be both walkers (doing the stereotypical zombie shuffle) and runners; but that we wouldn't know which ones were which until we actually got to them. I "survived" the first 3 zombies, but one of them ended up being a runner - and ran after the group for a good 200 meters (uphill) - lots of screaming and startled people surprised that she would follow us that far away from her post. Good fun! Once past the barns, we headed down the more narrow pathway towards the x-country field. The next obstacle was a tunnel we had to crawl through... and where my one and only picture was taken.

Down another slope and there were some more zombies. They were chained to a post and I stopped to evaluate how to dodge them. I decided cutting away from them would make it so they couldn't reach me... I darted to the left and as I darted...

I heard a pop. In my right calf.

Followed by the inability to run.

I may or may not have uttered a word I won't write here since my parents read this blog.

I tried to walk it off, but to no avail.

There was no way I was going to finish this race.

I told my friends to go ahead and that I would meet them at the finish line. I wasn't going to ruin THEIR race just because mine was over!

I asked some of the "zombies" (who offered me their chair to sit on), to use their walkie (talkies) to get someone to pick me up as the walk back over the 1km I had just run was really unappealing. NO WALKIES. (seriously?????? Who doesn't have walkies throughout the course "just in case"?) Add to that, no transportation across the fields - the zombies had been driven to the outskirts of the fields and then told to walk across the field to reach their posts.

One of the girls told me she texted the organiser (but didn't get a response) that there was someone injured on course. What if someone was SERIOUSLY injured on the course? What sort of plan was in place? Earlier this year, someone DIED - yes DIED!!!!! -  while running a tough mudder (another, albeit longer, obstacle course...). Did this organiser not take that into account and plan for the worst? So, I was left to hobble up the paddock to where a car would HOPEFULLY be coming to get me.

Lucky for me, one of the other zombies was on crutches and offered me use of one of them to help me out. After walking about 2/3 of the way, the organizer DID show up and offer me a lift to the first aid tent. Where the volunteer offered me ice and suggested I get it checked out further (and then proceeded to offer me some Tylenol... "for the swelling".... errr, thanks, I said, you mean for the PAIN, right?).

Needless to say, I will be sending an email to the organisers of the event "suggesting" some changes to their race course "plan" for next year if they want to repeat the race.

Lucky for me, I was not driving AND we had plans to meet up with Sarah, my wonderful RMT/RPT friend for lunch. I had her assess me upon arrival and she deduced that it was my gastrocnemius (the more superficial muscle you use when moving quickly to the left). Nothing to do but stretch, ice and rest for 48 hours to give the muscle time to heal and for the swelling to go down.

Which brings us to today. As of today, I can WALK with a much shorter stride than usual and with obvious (to me) protecting of the muscle. I am no longer going into serious muscle spasm every time I move the "wrong" way, and I am now able to go up on my toes "A LITTLE".

I have a call into the physiotherapist I saw when dealing with my back injury last year and hope to be able to get further assessed sometime this week. Upate: appointment at 7pm on Wednesday... 

And I'm bummed.

And I can't help but remember that it was this time last year when I sprained my ankle and eventually resulted in sever sciatic back pain that kept me off work for a month... something I am STILL paying back in sick leave.

But that sort of thing couldn't POSSIBLE happen two years in a row, right???

Errr... here's hoping.

Apocalyptic

A cloud of sickness was over our household these past few weeks.

First, the husband and the boy were sick with a nasty sinus-y cold, then, the husband went away for a boys' weekend away and the daughter got sick. After his return, I started with the same cough as the girl... we were a family of yuck. Last week, it was confirmed (through x-rays no less!) that both of the ladies of the house were fighting with pneumonia and were placed on antibiotics.

Needless to say, there has not been much activity in the house since the triathlon. This is not to say I haven't wanted to exercise... quite the opposite, actually I YEARNED for the day that I could return to my regular exercise. I DESPERATELY wanted to run in the gorgeous fall weather we had, but held myself back in fear of making myself worse by rushing back too quickly.

On Tuesday evening, I decided to test the waters with a run around the neighbourhood. Less than 2 km and near my home just in case I felt the need to quit early. The first km sucked while I tried to sort out all the kinks my body had settled into over the last week and a half. My right calf hurt, my breathing was off, my mouth was dry but I kept going. And the second km felt much better.

Tonight, I am going to bootcamp and tomorrow, I hope to flush out some of the lactic acid that will undoubtedly arise from tonight's hell fun.

Saturday, I am signed up with a few friends to run my first obstacle course. And it should be a fun one! It is being held at my old stomping grounds, the NCEP and I'm going into it completely blind. I know it is a 5k course; I know it is an obstacle course; but I don't know anything else about it. The race organizers have kept the specific obstacles under wraps and have only told us that we will be completing the course while being chased by zombies... did I mention that? Sounds like a ghoulishly fun time! Those interested can check out their website here. Our team, named "Outrun, Outlast, Out...brain" is scheduled to run in the 11am heat. We are hoping to prove ourselves worthy of the team name and to survice the zombie apocalypse. The kids will NOT be joining us for this one... don't want to deal with nightmares of their momma being chased after by zombies for the next 15 years! ;-)

Perseverance

Preamble: this post is long and wordy as most race recaps tend to be... go grab a coffee and sit back for a long(er) read!

Definition as per the Webster dictionary: Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

A running friend used that word to describe my actions in the triathlon I competed in yesterday.

After some time of reflection, I agree with it. I am not only accepting it, but welcoming it. At first, I tried to mask that POSITIVE word with words like "stubborn" and "cheap". I am trying my hardest to let go of those negative words - albeit it is not an easy thing to do.

My triathlon story started off with an early wakeup at my mother's house (where I was staying so I didn't have to travel as far in the morning to get to the race site). She gave me the bad news that she was suffering from some major vertigo and wouldn't be able to come and watch me at the race. I've suffered from vertigo before and remember all to well its nasty effects. I understood. She was disappointed she couldn't be there, but I was fully confident that if there was any way, she would have. (xoxo)

While waiting for my breakfast bagel to toast, I checked facebook and was welcomed by this status from the husband:

Heading to bed thinking about the incomparable Josee Sisson challenging herself yet again with her first ever mini triathlon (try-a-tri) tomorrow morning. You're gonna be awesome and have a friggin' blast in the process!Can't wait to hear all about it tomorrow over a homemade gingerbread latte and slice o' homemade apple cake.Love ya lots. Now go kick some ass and have some fun!!!

There were also 3 other statuses from friends who would be at the tri as volunteers that expressed their excitement to watch us (there were 3 of us newbie tri LIO friends competing) finish. Also, 3 posts on my wall wishing me luck.

People were in my corner.

People had confidence in me.

Most importantly, I had confidence in me.

I arrived at the site right on time, got my kit and headed to my meeting spot. I had the normal pre-race jitters, but I was ready and I was excited.

Time seemed to fly by between arrival time (7:00) and our start time (8:30). At 8:15, we were in the pool and getting seeded in our respective times.

The Swim

The swim is only 100 meters, and I did not had any difficulties with that distance in trainig, but this time, it was different. The pool was a 50 meter pool, and about 3/4 of the way through the distance, I could feel myself slowing down and struggling to get to that deep end of the pool. I managed to, and the second half of the swim seemed easier, but getting OUT of the pool was a different story. Although I was exiting in the shallow end, the top lip of that shallow end (which really wasn't THAT shallow - the water still was up to my shoulders!) is HIGH! All of the sudden Jay's decision to take on of the side lanes and get those stairs didn't seem so silly!). I flopped myself over the edge like a beached whale (scraping up my knee at the same time) and headed to the first T-zone).

What I took away from the swim: I need to enroll in some adult swimming lessons to improve my strokes and stop feeling like I am sinking. Breast stroke would likely not cut it for a distance any longer than 100m. Also, need to work on my shoulder strength for exiting the pool.

T-1

A bit slower than I had hoped, but then again, I had nothing to compare with. The big smiley face balloon acted as a great maker (and thanks to Jay's heart shaped one that she left behind, I had something to bring home to the kiddies in the end!) to find where I had placed my bike. I wished I had a more absorbent towel that didn't make it so I was rolling down my shirt. Also, I was wearing too many layers. I wasn't hot, but it takes a lot longer to get dressed when you are putting on shorts, shirt, vest, socks and shoes...

What I took away from T-1: Wear as little as you need for the different portions of the race. make sure water bottle spout is open and zippers are unzipped before. Also, I decided at the last minute to have my shoes untied and ready to go... that was a good idea on my part!

Bike:

We had a 13k bike ride consisted of 2 6.5k loops along the road way surrounding the Sportsplex. I went out strong, and passed quite a few people relatively quickly. This is where my brother's road bike came in really handy. Often times, I felt like I was flying. I didn't get passed once during the whole first loop, and passed a lot of people. I was excited - and when I rode by the LIO cheering section (thanks Tracey and Leigh and gang!), I was totally pumped by the loud cheers. Halfway though the second loop, however, things (well, one thing, actually...) changed. I felt a wobble from my back tire and noticed how I was immediately slowing down. I thought for a split second about whether I could keep going for the last 3 or so kms on a flat tire, but at the first turn when my back tire slipped out from underneath me, I knew I was toast.

After a few un-mentionable words, I went to the grass to see the damage. This is a good time to note I did NOT have a bike kit; nor have I EVER changed a road bike tire. #!@%^!!!! 

Lucky for me, I had passed one of my LIO pals Barbara and I knew she DID have a kit, so when I saw her and she asked if I was ok, whether I had a spare tube and then offered me hers, she's lucky I didn't pull her off her bike and give her a hug. 2 separate, big, (motor)biker race officials came to my rescue, the first, who knew just a LITTLE more than I did about changing a tire (which is really not much!), the other that became my saviour. At one point during the whole 15 minute (at least) procedure, yet another race official asked me if I wanted him to call it in and get someone to come and pick me up. I politely but confidently informed him that I WOULD finish this race!!!! And #121 from the sprint race... thank you a thousand times for stopping briefly to loan me your bike pump.

Once back on the bike, it was smooth sailing back to the T-zone. But with lots of muttering obscenities to myself about the fact that "I CAN'T believe that happened - grrr!!"

What I took away from the bike:  This one is likely obvious: Get a bike repair kit (with a pump) to put
on the bike. And learn how to change a freakin' tire.

T-2

This one was pretty fast. Hop off bike, unclip helmet, run beside bike to happy face balloon, drop off bike and helmet, put on cap, glug one more bit of Nuun, and start running.

Run

This is the first time I managed to see my friends as I was running by the finish line. While they cheered at me, I yelled at them that I had blown out a tire... and I was frustrated. I started the run "naked" (with no music), but decided if I wanted to get this race done, I wanted to lose myself in my music and just.... GO. I popped in the headphones and made a concious decision then and there. No matter what... JUST KEEP RUNNING. I gave myself a little pep talk about not paying attention to anyone else around me. "If they are walking, you do NOT need to as well. You had 15 minutes of time to "build more energy" while you were waiting for that damned tire to be changed. YOU.CAN.DO.THIS.". And I did.

The only time I walked was during the water station, when I gulped down a gatorade first, then a water on the way back. About 30 seconds after I crossed the last km mark, I heard the 1k kids race start up and knew I'd be finishing my race along side (or, in some cases, behind!) a bunch of sprinting kids. I let them carry me home. At one point, a kid a little older than Madie sprinted past me, and I began to goat him on. Telling him he was doing awesome and to keep it up and that he could beat me! And I kept up to him.

As I turned the corner and could see the finish line, I started searching for my beacon. There were a bunch of kids in front of me which meant she was being kept busy, but I saw her, and knew I was almost there.

I crossed the finish line and gave my chip to Allyson (and a big hug). I walked a few more steps and got my medal from Donna (and another big hug), then, as I continued through the finishing shoot, banana in hand, I saw Caroline who gave me the most very awesome hug I think I have ever had. THAT's when the tears came and I allowed the disappointment to come. I let myself realise how well I was doing before the tire blow and how much it affected my time. I had a little cry while heading back to my bike. But also let myself be proud of what I DID accomplish.

...And knew I couldn't wait to sign up for my next one. :)

May 2014 = Redemption

Into the deep end

Holy crap I did it.

I actually pressed the submit button.

On the morning of September 29, 2013, I will be participating in a triathalon.

By 9:30am (or earlier), I will be a triathlete.

Let's backtrack a bit, shall we?

My brick workout last Sunday ended up going better than I expected.

I managed to comfortably complete over 10k on the bike in less than 30 minutes. My run, 1.78k (one small loop of my neighbourhood) was done in less than 13 minutes.

And it felt good!

After my ride, the legs and glutes were tight - the muscles constricted after being used for a longer period and at a speed not familiar. But instead of feeling jello legs, they felt strong and I found a bounce in my step that I don't normally have. My stride seemed a bit flatter but at the same time it seemed longer. Maybe it was all in my mind, I don't know; but whatever it was, I ran with confidence. When I walked after about 8 minutes, it was more because I "wanted to", not because I "felt it necessary". I was tired, but not "done". In reality, at one point, I played the "do I really NEED to walk?" game and told myself - you can walk as long as you run until the end of the road.

I arrived back at the house feeling invigorated and confident that I.CAN.DO.THIS.

My facebook status on Monday "I'm all in". I felt good and ready to tackle this new challenge.

Financially, I had to wait until today to click on submit, and when I did, I felt excited but still scared for the adventure of trying something unknown.

So, the race deets: It is at the Nepean Sportsplex and is E.A.R.L.Y. I need to be there by 7am and the first (fastest) swimmers in the try-a-tri will be in the pool at 8am.

NOTE: I need to figure out how long it takes me to swim 100 meters before then.

Then I'm on the bike for 13k (a totally indimidating thought due to needing to share the road with the cars! - eek!), then a 3k run through the (now more familiar to me because of the night race) wooden trails behind the Sportsplex.

I have found out my friend and inspirational half-ironwoman Allyson will be at the finish line giving out the medals. I look forward to running towards her and have forwarned her to expect a stinky finish line hug. :)

I have also inspired (well, to push the button...) another friend to take that jump into the deep end too. My friend Jay will also be trying-a-tri that day! YAY for sweaty company!

I have no clue whether I will get the kids and the husband out to cheer me on - but I suspect not because of the timing... I will need to be out of the house by 6:30am to arrive on time and I just can't see that happening with 2 kids and the husband in tow. They are likely to still be in bed by the time I am done and home! (slight exageration but really... we like our lazy weekend mornings in the Sisson household)

I'm hoping, aside from the few sweaty sisters I know will be there, I can phenangle a few family members to come act as cheering section. (hint, hint Maman!)

I can't wipe this excited smirk off my face, but yet I keep going back to that first line.

Holy crap, I did it.

a new plan

After almost 3 weeks off due to my toe injury, I went to Red Pine Camp with the family and had a great week. I made the most of my week (you can read more about it here) and enjoyed a very active week. One filled with a solo 7 km hilly run, swimming, water skiing, Stand-up-paddle boarding and lots and lots of walking.

Since being back, I have enjoyed a few nice, shorter distance runs, headed to the pool to swim some laps, met a friend to do some weights at her gym and acquired a road bike from my brother.

This weekend, I will attempt my first "brick" workout. For those not in the know (until recently, I would be included in that group!), a brick workout is a bike ride, followed immediately by a run. Apperently I am to expect jello legs for the run portion.

I'm doing this in preparation for my next challenge.

A triathalon.

Baring any complete disasters during this week's brick workout, I am planning on signing up for my first ever try-a-tri (a distance of 100 meters swim, 13km bike and 3 k run) to be held at (and around) the Nepean Sportsplex on September 29.

The bonus to this particular tri is that the swim portion is in the 50 meter pool. No crazy waves (other than the man-made ones from the swimmers), current or bad weather to contend with!

Stay tuned! More to come after Sunday's workout!

bumps in the road

Tuesday night is soccer night in our household which means an early and fast dinner before one of the parents rushes the boy to his practice / game.

This past Tuesday, it was the husband's turn to chauffeur the boy so I decided to bring the girl out for a post-supper trip to the park.

We played in the sand, we climbed the ladders, we swung on the swings and then I decided to be silly.

For an instant, I forgot about the extra weight i am carrying and the many years I have aged since I was able to dart myself around a jungle gym with the ease of a monkey.

I wanted to show my daughter I could be cool and hang upside down.

I didn't think about the fact that I no longer had the abdominal strength of a 13 year old. I didn't think that this MIGHT just be a BIT harder then I remembered...

I kicked off my flip flops and with a burst of energy swung my feet up to the sky;

DIRECTLY INTO THE MONKEY BARS.

OUCH.

Now, my foot looks like this: (for some reason, my computer won't allow me to upload a picture... you will have to trust me that it looks NASTY!)


and I am officially sidelined from running until I no longer feel the need to buddy tape my toes in order to walk (hobble is likely a better word).

So from now on I will heed the boy's advice.

and STAY AWAY FROM THE MONKEY BARS MOMMA!

Redemption

The last few runs, have been difficult. Whether the weather, the darkness or just being plain old tired; it hasn't be enjoyable. I have run because I felt I "had" to rather than because I "wanted" to.

This week the tide seems to have turned. The humidity is all but gone and we are having fall-like weather. Perhaps I am the only one; but, I am relishing in the temperature change.

I went to yoga on Wednesday during my lunch hour with my friend Caroline. It was cool enough to be wearing a fleece on the way to and from the Hill, but the weather could not have been MORE perfect for an hour long Vinyasa Flow class. The class seemed to focus a lot on opening the hips and lengthing the calfs. Add to that a bit of shoulder stretching and you have the perfect yoga class for me and my runner's tighness. I LOVED it.

Last night, I went out for a BEAUTIFUL run after putting m. to bed. I mapped out a 5k in our neighbourhood, grabbed the pooch (who, after being left behind as of late due to the humidity or my planned distances, was SO happy to be coming along!) and laced up the shoes. My plan was to stick with 10:1s and to not skip out early on them - no matter how slow that made me.

With surprise, I felt great for the first 10 minutes - surpassing the distance I thought I would get in those 10 minutes. I felt STRONG and FAST. The second ten minutes were just a good and I was THRILLED to see I made it to the "almost" 3k mark when my alarm told me it was time for my second walk break. That means I managed an average pace of 7 minutes / km (faster, likely, since this also includes 1 minute of walking)... for 21 minutes! (Just to give you a baseline, I have been averaging somewhere between 7:20-7:45 on a good run)

At that point I knew I had a "long-ish" incline back up to the main road (about 1.5km) and my mindframe changed back to my plan to stick with those 10:1s. I'm not sure exactly HOW slow the next 1.5 km uphill were, but the imporant thing is I stuck to my plan and pushed through the incline. YES!

I felt great once I turned that corner knowing I only had .5 k to go and I went for it. I even managed to sprint those last 200 meters... and BOY did that feel good!

When my fast dog (who, when I was running a 7 minute kilometer, was just gingerly trotting alongside) has to run flat out to keep up... nothing better than that to boost your confidence. :)

So last night's run was a HUIGE WIN for me - no matter the final result (38.21 minutes for a 5k). It was exactly what I needed to rejuvenate my love of running. I couldn't have asked for better than that.

Jumping for Joy

After more than a week of doing nothing except trying to cope with the heat and humidity, I had quite an active day yesterday.

The morning started with a running date with my friend Robin. I was really excited to get out for a run with her - it has been quite a while - and we scheduled a 10k along the Ottawa River.

It was a gorgeous, brisk morning - the first in what felt like forever - and as we started out, I felt strong and ready. Robin even asked me if I was doing okay during our first walk break. It would seem we were averaging a 7 minute km, which is pretty fast for me.

But after about 3k, I had an overwhelming feeling of nausea and I had to walk again. Robin and I even discussed how close we were to her house and how we could cut the run short and take refuge at her house.

After a little walk break, I decided I could probably do an out and back with the help of walk breaks whenever the pukie feelings got too strong. If I am being honest, I didn't want to disapoint, Robin OR myself, by cutting our 10k so short on such a beautiful morning.

It was a morning made for running and I was determined to do so.

Although our pace slowed WAY down, we ended the run on a good note with a jog up a hill (slope) and running our way back to our meeting place. We managed 7.37k in 1 hour exactly.

When I got home, I noticed a heat rash on my chest and I wonder whether the nausea and the rash go hand in hand?

Although I was disapointed in cutting the run short, the kids had a birthday party at Skyzone and I had a date with a trampoline.

This place was F.U.N. not only for the kids, but for the adults too!

I felt like a kids again almost immediately. Trying to jump as high as possible, doing sit jumps, split jumps and 360 turns high in the air. SO.MUCH.FUN.

Both Madie and I slept very well during nap time. ;-)

So this week, I have resolved to run twice and do yoga once. That, in addition to my mom's move on Saturday, SHOULD get me back into the swing of this exercise thing again.

Night Race 2013

Saturday was another stinking hot day in Ottawa. One of those days that is only enjoyable along side a pool with a daiquari in hand. Instead, I spent my day trying to hydrate myself for my first ever 10k race.

I knew with the humidity factor and a forecasted temperature in the mid 20s overnight, I would need as much excess liquid in my body as possible if I was to finish the race in any sort of "acceptable" time.

Given that it was my first official timed 10k race, my only "real" goal was to finish and to not be the last one across the finish line. But if I am being completely honest with myself, I was really, REALLY hoping to get over that finish line under 1:20.

The race consisted of doing two 5k loops around the Nepean Sportsplex, half of which were on the narrow pathways inside the pines behind the building. All the racers were required to wear a headlamp, and by the time we were done the first 4k, I understood why! Those pathways are really dark. Even with the help of my headlamp and the lanterns/ glow sticks that shone our way, I found myself really uncomfortable in those paths.

My race looked a bit like this:

I arrived at the race, hooked up with Kyla and Lori (who was signed up for the 5k) and hit the registration to get out headlamps then off to the porta poties then straight to the start gates to get started.

Kyla and I ran together and for the first 5k (as per Kyla's Nike+) we stuck to about a 7:20/km pace doing 10:1s. I really wish the race had a split time set up for the 5k, becasue if Kyla's stats were correct, I would have been on par for a PB for the 5k!

At around 5.5k, I was feeling a side cramp and decided to take a bit of a breather and walked for about 2-3 minutes. I took that time to drink a bunch of my drink and cross my fingers that the energy tabs would do their jobs and help me through the last half of the race.

The second time around the route, it got a lot darker and a lot more quiet. All the 5k runners had since come and gone and as we approached the entrance to the trails, darkness seemed to hit really fast.

Although I never felt unsafe, I found my pace got super slow the second time through the forrest. The best way I can describe the feeling is clausterphobic. The extreme dark combined with the narrow pathway surrounded by huge pines made me feel like I didn't have enough "space" around me. I was surprised to learn my reaction to that feeling was to slow instead of to speed up.

Somewhere between the 6 and 7k markers, Kyla said she was going to run the rest of the race without stoping. She felt good and wanted to try to push herslef a bit. I waved her by with a plan of my own. I was going to run each coming kilometer by not stoping until I saw the next marker - allowing myself a quick refresher walk at each marker.

I met up with another runner who offered to run with me. She was struggling to keep any sort of pace and found it helpful to run along side someone else. I feel bad I couldn't be more support for her. She seemed to need a "push" to keep going and I didn't feel I could give it to her. I wanted to finish and I wanted to finish feeling STRONG.

The 3:1s she was sticking with just weren't cutting it for me. Does that make me a bad runner????? I am a bit conflicted - because I left her behind. And when I looked at the finish, she was about 3 minutes behind me, which likely means she walked a good part of the finish. Would she have run better if I would had stayed with her?

I ended up finishing my race at 1:23.01.

I was a pool of sweat as I crossed and I downed the water bottle I was handed in no time flat. I briefly stopped by the "food" tent where they had chocolate mint cliff bars and apples before heading on to the "beer" tent to meet up with Kyla, Lori and get my complimentary beer. Yeah - that tasted good...

...ALMOST as good as finishing my first 10k race. :)

Almost

I had a 10k planned out for the weekend.

Initially, I was supposed to run it on Saturday. When that didn't happen, I made a plan to run Sunday morning, with a friend, but then she couldn't make it either. That was my "next" reason not to run. But I told Mark about the run and made myself accountable. I was going to run no mater what.

I've been offered to run in a collegue's place during a 10k night race in 2 weekends. If I do that (and I have officially told her I would like to), I NEED to be able to run a 10k on my own. I knew I needed to run a solo 10k before the race to boost my confidence and to prove to myself that I am able to do it without someone pushing me along for the last few kilometers.

So, once we got the kids into their p.j.s, I changed into my running gear, not letting myself cop out at the last minute.

I refreshed my route so that it was a "safer" route - knowing full well that if I was only leaving at 7:30pm, I may not get back before sometime closer to 9pm, when I would be much more comfortable running out in the open and a bit closer to some higher traffic areas.

I started off in my usual way, losening the kinks and getting a feel for how my run would be during the next 10k.

By the end of the 2nd km, I was feeling good. The weather was nice - cooler than it had been and a beautiful evening for a run. I felt strong and my pace was good while I estimated my distances by following the map I had made in my head.

I had deliberately made the route somewhat rectangular - knowing that if I found myself struggling, not only was there a lot of ways to shorten the run, if need be, but I could (and did) use the incentive of "the next turn" as a finish line and break my run into 4 smaller ones if need be.

By the time I arrived at my 2nd big turn, I had a kink in my waist that disapeared (magically) as quickly as it had appeared and I started on the self-talk. I would tell myself, "if you can only get to (fill in the next major intersection), then you can reivaluate and see if you need to walk" and repeat that to myself every time I arrived to the previous intersection.

My friend April had given me a couple of different energy tablets made by Arbornne which are supposed to be used as a way to give your body an extra boost of energy for when you are running longer distances. I decided to try one of them out on Sunday to see if it made any difference.

I can't say for sure whether or not it was only the placebo effect, but I did feel a difference. I mixed my tab with my regular water and it made it taste like a really strong crystal light. The only downfall was that I found myself drinking more often than I would it I were only drinking water so I needed to pace my drinking so that I wouldn't run out at, say, km #8 or something. I will say, my legs felt a lot more "fresh" than they have in the past when running longer distances. And although the run was still difficult, it was more mentally draining than physically.

And then, for some reason, I gave myself an out.

When I turned into my neighbourhood, I knew that I had mapped the run to continue on to end at the other end of my road. My road forms a bit of an L shape and if I were to have gone to the other end, it would have made my run completed at 10.22k. But instead, I let my mentality get the worst of me and accepted the excuses.

It was getting late and I didn't want to be up all night.

My phone battery was only at 5% and I didn't want to run without the emergency tool of a phone, or, more importantly, my music during that oh-so-pivotal last kilometer.

I had done a darned good job getting to where I was anyways so that was good enough for that night.

Whichever excuse I decided to use, I stopped short of my goal and went home.

I asked Mark to bring me a beer (oh my GOD that beer was good!) and headed to the bath for a cool soak.

And then I mapped out what I had run.

And I was all of the sudden hit with a wave of negative talk. Things like: "you dork... why in the world did you give up there? You ONLY had 800 meters to go!!! - Even at your slowest, that is something around 7 minutes at the very most... Like you didn't have it in you to get that done! You failed. AGAIN"

But you know what the best achievement is?

I ignored my inner critic and said, "screw that! I'm proud of this - I went out and ran ALONE for 9.2km. GOOD FOR YOU. YEAH you coulda done that extra 800 meters, but it is COMPLETELY OK that you didn't. You still went out and ran for 1:15, which, btw, is more than 3 minutes faster than the last time you ran 9k... AND you did it ALL ON YOUR OWN."

That, is something I am proud of.

Easy does it

I went running last night for the first time in what felt like a very long time (in reality, it had only been about a week). The weather had made a turn (again - really Mother Nature, this IS getting a bit silly) from nasty hot and it-hurts-to-breathe-while-walking-humid to a bit less humid, with a really REALLY nice breeze.

Now that I am aware of the raining, cool weather we will endure today, I totally get it. Last night though, I just really REALLY felt like I needed to take advantage and get.out.there.

I posted an accountability status on my FB profile of

"I.MUST.GET.OUT.RUNNING.TONIGHT"

and got the response I had hoped for. A handful of my runner friends who now knew I hoped to get out there and were guaranteed to follow up if they didn't see the post that shows up automatically via dailymile.com stating I had indeed gone out.

It was not until 8:20p.m that I finally stepped into my trusty runner and headed out for my run of "around 4.5k".

I wasn't as organised as usual, and hadn't looked at any of my maps. I was going blind, in some ways, and having to estimate the distance using one of the routes around my house.

Lucky for me, I remembered mapping out a large square-ish route going down my usual hilly road, but then heading west towards my old neighbourhood before turning back up and running a steady incline for 1.5k and then heading back home. I remembered it being somewhere between 4 and 5k (it ended up being 4.75k).

As usual, it took the first km to shaky the cobwebs off the old muscles, catch my breath, find my pace and then sit back and start enjoying my run. I found the air still heavy and my pace was ajusted accordingly. And when I turned that corner and felt a wonderful breeze blowing over my face, instead of cursing the headwind I would have to deal with while running uphill for the next 1.5k, I smiled and thought of how nice it felt.

And to the nice man who ran by me up that hill while I was on my walk break and gave me a good pace to mimic when I restarted my run, I thank you. You are what kept me going in the right direction and at the right speed halfway up that hill (before you turned around, obviously finished with your run). When you passed me, I thought you were running fast and stong and it made me feel the same when I could match your stride with relative ease.

All in all, the run was nowhere near a "good" time, but it WAS invigorating and I am so very happy to have gotten out that door.

This weekend, I hope to tackle 10k again. I have been offered a chance to run in a night race in the middle of July (go here to check it out) and that will be my first timed official 10k... so I want to get at least 2 more runs in for that distance before that!

Reaching...

This weather is killing me. Okay - that MAY be a bit of an exageration, but it IS killing any roll I was on with my training. Humidity and I have a long standing feud with each other. The heavy air makes it feel like I have a 20 pound weight crazy glued on my chest - making it hard to breath even when I am sedetary. You can imagine, running in this weather is not an option with this gal. So, in the past 2 weeks, I have managed 2 short runs and 1 yoga class and there is no reason why that can't be increased. But between the humidex and the thunderstorms in the forecast for this next week, I am trying to find other ways to reach my beloved endorphin buzz. In addition to the couple of shorter evening (cooler) runs I hope to be able to fit in, I hope to take a trip to our local swimming pool and see how I do with some swimming lengths. It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to swim laps and with all the triathalon talk I have been hearing as of late, I would love to see what I can do! Also, I will continue with my plank challenge (for those who aren't "in the know", this includes a month's worth of planks starting at 20 seconds and increasing up to 4.5 minutes). I'm currently at 2 minutes and almost halfway there! It is a really short daily exercise that makes you feel like you accomplish a lot in a short period of time. Something else I want to try soon: biking to work. It is only around 15 km from my work to my house and I am pretty confident that my legs could get me there... the fact that I also have a shower at my use at work makes this all the more inticing to me. :)

"Momma, I wanna RUN with you!"

My heart melted a little as those words came out of my daughter's mouth while we headed out the door to get to the race earlier than the 2 dads and the kids. To hear my daughter day that makes it all the more worth it. I am successfully teaching my daughter how important, fun and rewarding exercise can be. She WANTS to exercise with me - and it fills my heart with joy. Unfortunately, today's race was not exactly appropriate for her to accompany me. Sarah, Pascale and I were running our first (and not last, I suspect) Colour Run. A child friendly race, yes, but one I wanted to run with my girlfriends. For as much as she says she doesn't enjoy it, Sarah is a great runner with wonderful long legs that make her stride beautifully long and graceful... not to mention fast. I don't get to run with her often because it is very difficult for her to run at my, errr, pace. Pascale began the C25k after hearing I was planning on coming to Montreal to run this race. She decided it sounded fun and that she wanted to try. She too said she didn't like running; but yesterday, she told me she had changed her mind and now actually ENJOYS it. Although there was absolutely NO peer pressure involved, I still think it is pretty great that she feel like she should thank ME for getting her started. Since the race is very much a fun run (you run through colour stations at every kilometer or so and so in addition to running, there is also a lot of walking, skipping and dancing along the race route. It is NOT timed and most everyone involved has smiles on their faces the whole time. Once the race was over, we celebrated by brigning some colour "bombs" to our kids; who were waiting for us at the end of the race route. Then they were able to throw colour at us as well as at the other racers who were just about to complete their races too. AND, Madie got to run with her momma too. As I arrived to their watching spot, she asked again and I was happy to comply. I took her hand and ran about 400 meters with her; and it was great. This is a race I really plan to repeat - hopefully, as a family event. It was SO.MUCH.FUN. I loved just getting out there, running as much as you could (again, lots of "dodging" involved when there are that many people!) and having fun getting all coloured up along the way and not having to worry about time or pace. It really is freeing to not look at that watch when running.

back in the saddle

Even before running the Colonel By Classic 8k race, I had decided that upon completing the run, I would take a little time off of running in order to hoefully rest my nagging hamstring and ankle (which I now have been told is actually a hip problem) issues. Two days post-race, the Sisson family met up with new friends the Robbins family and my running friend Robin for a morning at the Farm. We went up to Wakefield and introduced our offspring to the wonders of barns, horses (in their cases, ponies) and tractors. Both Caroline and I were THRILLED to bits at how much our children enjoyed the pony riding and how brave the kids all were when it came to being on a moving beast. (sidenote - for all my riding experience, Caroline has much, much more. She used to be a jockey - helping train the 2 year olds before they headed to the racetracks... sigh - if only!) Once the kiddos started complaining of hungry tummies, the girls hopped on our own horses to go on a trail ride while the others had a picnic lunch. It was AWESOME to LITERALLY be back in the saddle again. I think I had a permanent smile for the next 2 days.

Not only did I have a permanent smile, but I also felt leg muscles I think I forgot I had. ;-)

THEN the allergies and cold set in. Lucky for me, even with Mark having a nasty cold the week before, I seemed to escape without it until AFTER the run was done. Once it did hit though, it really REALLY sucked. Even today, I am still coughing a ton from being short of breath!

This past Tuesday, it was time for me to get back to running. I had had enough with the excuse of being sick and stuffed up and coughing and just needed to run. I had begun to notice a change in my attitude - noticing how quick I was to snap at my kids and my husband and knew my lack of activity (more specifically, my lack of producing endorphins) was begining to show.

I made sure to get out for a nice "quick" run that evening and felt boatloads better afterwards. I also had a major revelation... I am at a point that I now think of 4.4k as a "quick and short run". HOW COOL IS THAT??????

Yesterday evening, I went out again. This time, with April, who has not run in about 6 weeks. I mapped us out a short 3.65k loop and went out looking forward to enjoying the company. I didn't care that we didn't make it up the hill, or that we had to walk on more than one occassion. I was SUPER proud of April for coming out and getting it done after such a long time off. Another revelation - it is not the distance or the speed that you run, but the ENJOYMENT you feel when you are doing it that matters most.

Looking forward to another fun run with friends tomorrow at lunch time!

Race Recap - Colonel By Classic 8k

Saturday morning, I got up, slipped on my race gear and headed downstiars to feed myself and the kids. I also packed a picnic lunch for Mark to bring to the park while I was running. Like all first time races, I was anxious with anticipation of the unknown. I knew this race was incorporated with a tri/duathalon which was happening in the morning. The road races were to begin while the last of the tri/duatheletes were completing their races; much later in the day. I had been informed by some of my tri-friends that since this was the first tri of the season, it was usually very popular and expected to be quite crowded.

I arrived on site early, not sure what sort of parking traffic to expect. I did have friends racing in the morning, but sadly, she had begun and finished her race before I was even done breakfast!

When I arrived, I quickly headed to the results to see if I could find her and I found out she did AWESOME for her first tri-a-tri. I am super proud of her and looking forward to hearing all about the race and what her plans are for her next race. :) Way ta go Donna!

I realised relatively quickly that the road race was definately not the draw of this event. Out of the 900+ people entered for the day, only 201 road racers... 76 of those were running the 8k. Now THAT'S a small race!

The race was beautiful. The weather was hot, but not scorchingly so and Colonel By Road had surprisingly more shade than I had expected. I started off deliberatly slow so that I would not run myself into the ground like I did in Manotick a few weeks ago. I kept pace with a friend who I have never run with but who had shared with me her estimated finish time. I kept up with her for the first 3k but when I slowed for my second walk break (I was running 10:1), she got ahead of me and I got to watch her from further away. She is fantastic at keeping and sticking with a pace and I hope I get a chance to run with her again sometime (shout out to Kyla!).

My only 2 complaints about this race:

1) the run was a out and back, starting at Carleton, going up to Pretoria Bridge and then back. Instead of making the race start further down Colonel By to make up the distance, they had us running past the start line (and finishing shoot) for about 300 meters before having to turn around and run back to the start line again on the grassy side of the road and into the finishing shoot. This really messed with my head. When I am running a race, I like to see the finish line and be able to go to it... not have to run PAST it only to have to loop back to it another time!

2) As I said, the route was an out and back. It also shared the same route with the 3k racers (of which their were 49). The water station was placed at around the 1.75 k mark - right under the Bank street bridge. I understand having it there so the volunteers are in the shade, but not only did the 3k peeps not get a water station (when it had been promissed to be at their turn around point), but it is kinda a crappy place to have it for the 8k runners too. Not many people need a drink after running for 10 minutes... although most people want water before 5.5k. I understand that given the race route, it didn't make a lot of sence to have more than 1 water station out... and I wore my water belt because I was aware of this before running... it was just odd.

I ended up finishing the race in 1:03:02, which I am happy with. I stuck with my "average" pace of 7:53 and although I suspect, given how fresh I felt after the race, that I could have pushed myself more, I accept the fact that this is only the 5th time I have ever run that distance (or further) and that alone is an accomplishment to be proud of.

At the finish line, I had my mother, my husband, my kids and my firend Sarah cheering me on and I finished strong and sprinted through the finish line. I am excited to see my race pictures but while I wait, here is one of my son and I sprinting to the finish... yes, he joined me for the last 100m on this race too. :)

HIGH TEN!!!

On Sunday morning, I woke up with my alarm, rolled out of bed and into my running gear. It was cold outside and I even contemplated trying to find my gloves. I decided I'd warm up on the run and that a quick breakfast and a few minutes to relax would be more important than the search for the missing gloves.

On Sunday morning, I hopped into my truck and went to pick up Ange. We had a route mapped out that started and finished at the local high school - one I assumed would be a relatively smooth run (and thank goodness, for the most part, I was right give or take a couple of small hills it was all on a nice bike path).

On Sunday morning, Ange and I ran 10k.

My very first 10k.

Last Sunday, Ange and I ran 9k... and it was hot and sweaty and took us (me) 1:18 to complete.

This past Sunday, we ran 10k in 1:21; at least half of which was into a pretty strong head wind making it feel as if we were running while pushing against wet towels. It was tough going!

Ange, as usual, was my anchor... she is so very wonderful at giving you that extra support when she can tell you are getting tired and cold and questioning your sanity. Every time I started feeling like I was beginning to struggle, I'd look at her and she would give me a big smile, tell me I was doing great, but that we were NOT going to stop. (sidenote: Ange is also the reason we still have a neighbourhood bootcamp. Every week, she puts together a 1 hour training plan and puts about 10 women (and sometime some men too) through their paces... You rock Ange!)

On Sunday, I achieved a goal that has been in my head since last fall. One I was forced to give up due to injury and one that I questioned many times over whether I would be able to accomplish. I did it and I am proud.

When we completed the run, we went back to our respective homes and I was welcomed with open arms by Mark and the kids, who were busily colouring mother's day cards and full of congratulations on my run.

I had breakfast in a bath, and then basked in my post-run glow for the rest of the day.

BEST mother's day EVER.

Just.keep.going.

Wednesday, was a wonderfully active work day.

During lunch hour, I trotted over to Parliament hill along with 1000 of my "other friends" to take a yoga class on the hill.  Every Wednesday from 12-1 in the spring/summer, Lululemon Rideau Centre gets yoga instructors from across the city to come and lead anyone interested in a wonderfully refreshing yoga class on the grass of Parliament Hill. This past Wednesday was my first time actually going and it was well worth it. One of the owners of Moksha Yoga in Orleans was leading us in a wonderfully paced hour of stretching, balancing, breathing and relaxing. It was a perfect way to split up my work week and will certainly become a mainstay in my exercise plan for the rest of the summer.

I also had plans to run in the evening. Although my running date fell through, I still forced myself to get out the door by making sure all my work out clothes were on and I was ready to go as soon as Madie's little head hit her beloved pillow. I went out knowing the running room gang was finishing up their hill repeats tonight and that I didn't want to risk aggravating my hamstring before my "big run" this Sunday.

I went out planning on doing the same 4.5k loop I did last week - a relatively even run that isn't very "challenging" but still gets me out the door. But at the last minute, I decided to change my route and head down towards the lower road where I knew in order to get back home, I would need to climb up as well.

As soon as I started the run, I felt "off". My legs were not exactly "sore", but they didn't feel right. Everything felt heavy and I began second guessing my ability to run at all.

After having a day to reflect on it, I know think this coincides with the afternoon yoga, which had done wonders to lengthen my tight muscles. I don't think I am USED TO running with muscles that are loose and subtle...
Is that a thing????

Anyways, I questioned my run so often in those first 2 km that I lost count. But I got it done, pushing the negative talk to the back of my mind and after a while, I started to "feel" the run. I felt good, having fallen into a stride I was comfortable in and didn't want to stop.

I kept thinking of ways to make the run longer instead of thinking up ways to shorten the run and found myself passing the roads which I would normally take up and back towards my neighbourhood. I found out that even though there may not be a sidewalk along the road you drive on (the Lower Aylmer Road), there IS a pathway just north of that road that brings you through a nice little park and safely onto Vanier which has the sidewalk the whole way up.

I took that road up a long gradual 2k increase, past my son's school where I allowed myself a quick 15 second walk break from the "hill". Then off I continued. At one point, I actually yelled out "go!" - knowing that if anyone was outside and heard, they would only think I was saying it to my dog, who was running with me, even though it was really me yelling at me to not stop.

Once I got back to my neighbourhood, it was getting dark and I had been out for just over 33 minutes. I knew I needed to head home, but because my route was somewhat exploratory, I had no idea what distance I had run. I did know that 1/3rd was downhill, and 1/3 was uphill, with the rest being a relatively flat in between.

After getting home and mapping out the route, I realised I had run around 4.5k in all.

But you know, although I am happy about the distance / time, I am more happy PROUD that I kept going through all the self doubt talk of those first 10 minutes.

And I go into today's run with some new knowledge about how long it takes me to find my groove (AND a new route to use too!) :)

9k

A friend of mine ran a marathon (her first!) on Sunday. Another friend ran a half-marathon and had a PB time that was almost 10 minutes faster than her last half marathon. Another couple friends ran a training run of 19k.

I, along with the HUGE help of my friend and super-star ego-booster Ange, ran a 9k.

In distance, this seems puny compared to the rest of the distance accomplishments my friends achieved this past Sunday, but to me... this WAS like running my own marathon.

Even now, I still find myself fighting the mind games that go along with this run:
I "only" ran 9k... no, I RAN 9k... when many others did not run at all!
My time was not even worth mentioning... NO, I ran 9k in 1:18 including a pee break at the library.
My hamstring began throwing spasms once every km or so after passing (about) the 4k mark... BUT I COMPENSATED AND KEPT GOING.
There were hills I didn't expect which excuses the time... I FOUGHT TO GET UP THOSE HILLS NO MATTER HOW SLOW A JOG IT TOOK ME.
Most importantly, we increased our speed (if only by a little) for the last 300 meters.

WE FINISHED STRONG.

I purposefully left my bus pass at home.
I purposefully planned a route that would take me on a big loop and would not give me any options of cutting the run short (unless I wanted to go up big hills... no thanks!).
I purposefully ensured I had company on my run (and good company at that!)
I purposefully avoided the running room so that I didn't feel that "guilt" of keeping others back nor did I start off my run with that negative self-talk telling me how slow I was and how I will never be able to keep up with the runners ahead of me.

Ange had to stop me a few times on the run... telling me "not to talk or think like that" when she would catch me starting with the negative talk. She told me I would be so happy once I finished the run and should be proud of accomplishing it.

And she was right.

In the end, I was proud. And BOY did that lemon-lime freezy, followed by a cool beer, followed by a cool shower ever feel FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC.

Ange was bringing her son to his swimming lesson after the run and was sweet enough to post some food for thought on my facebook page. She told me when she headed to Westboro, she decided to "out of curiosity" see how far 9kms felt in the car. It took her driving from our neighbourhood all the way to Dovercourt to get to the 9k distance.

That's pretty darned cool. :)

Recoup

Last week my family was sick with colds the majority of the week.

I was bound and determined to stay healthy... at least until after my race on Sunday.

Saturday morning, I had one KILLER of a headache, but with the help of extra strength Advil and a nap, I seemed to have been able to clear it in time for the run on Sunday.

Like clockwork, on Monday, I could feel my body succumbing to phlem and fatigue. On Tuesday morning, I took the day off work because I felt so rotten. I slept until noon, and then ate lunch in bed while catching up on Castle and Bones.

I could feel the goo (as my daughter calls it) in my lungs and quickly went and renewed my Advair (asthma inhaler) prescription and started taking it as a precautionary so this virus doesn't get too cozy and decide to play house in my lungs.

Today, I was supposed to run hills but and hesitant given my lungs not feeling 100%. Instead, I'll run a rolling route in my neighbourhood that begins going down, but also comes back up, only at a less obnoxious of a vertical than the hills I saw Sunday (or would see tonight were I to go to Westboro). The other important thing about the route tonight... It is easily changed on a whim. If I feel things are getting a bit too laboured, I can always cut it a bit shorter.

I am learning to be nice to my body; to respect and accept its occasional limitations - what a concept!

Reflection

My first race of 2013 was yesterday.

I entered it because it was a race in the same neck of the woods I grew up in and I thought it would be fun to support the local race. It also didn't hurt that the start and finish line were about 200 meters from my in-law's house so I knew we had a great place to call "home base" if need be.

In the week before the race, many people asked me whether I had a goal in mind for the race. I was adamant that there was NO goal "per say", but that improving on my other 2 official race times would be a great accomplishment - one that I foresaw would be relatively simple for me to accomplish given those 2 races had extenuating circumstances with lead to those results.

I was happy we arrived in Manotick early with lots of time for me to get to the finish line to hopefully see some of my running friends cross the finish line after their 10 and 18k races.

Out of complete coincidence, as I went to grab my phone from the truck, I saw a figure coming up the hill that I recognised... a quick glance downwards proved to confirm this lovely rainbow socked lady was indeed Caroline heading to her last 400 or so meters. I was so happy to be able to drop everything and run to the road to cheer her on, give her a high ten and send her off to the lovely road downhill (literally) to the finish.

After heading down myself, the pre-race jitters began. I managed to see another running friend Katie and her family after her race too... and remember thinking, I hope someday I can look that fresh after completing an 18k race!

I saw my mother in the crowd and went to say hello before going to the washroom once more and then heading to the warm up and then into the coral to await our start.

Around 5 minutes before the start of the race, I saw Mark and the kids walking over and got to get my good luck kisses from the kids before checking, double checking and triple checking that my music was ready and my interval apps was ready to go.

When the crowd starting the race, I felt fresh and the excitement of the race carried me down Doctor Leach Drive. There were a lot of high school kids participating and watching them blow out of the start gates was inspiring. I found myself a bit winded approaching the first k marker and allowed myself to look at my app to see my time thus far. This is when I realised the first mistake of the race... my speed was awesome... that first kilometer was done in 6:30, but there was NO WAY I could keep that speed up! I tried to slow myself down, but even so, as I crossed the 2k marker, I was still fast - my watch had me at 13:20... which meant my second k was still a sub-7 minute kilometer.

This is when my brain started playing tricks. And things started falling apart.

the defeatist in me was saying: I'm out of breath, I'm hot, and I still have 3 k to go...
the optimist in me was yelling - you just ran 1/3rd of your run in 13 minutes! Even if you can keep a DECENT pace from now on, you are going to do awesome!

I kept going. I tried to ignore both the extreme comments I had going through my head and started my visualisation... "you only have 500 meters until the water station... you can walk there... you have this! "

That worked until the 3 k mark but by then more and more people around me were walking... and I let the defeatist win... "if they are walking, why can't you?". I tried with all my might to keep up with some sort of intervals... but it seemed all over the place to me... sometimes running for 5 minutes before walking again, other times, only running 200 meters before walking again. My hamstring was bothering me too... which didn't help much with the stop and go of that 4th km.

I had promised Mark I would text him at the 4k marker. And when I saw it, it became my beacon again. I sent my message and knew I was only around 6 minutes from them, and about 8 from the finish.

And then... I saw THE HILL.

For some reason still unknown to me, the markers on the route were putting us past Beaverwood (where I had expected to turn), and instead continuing on the same finish path as the 18 and 10k racers up a nasty hill on Whitewood and then continuing up another hill on Colony before turning down Maple and to the finish.

I felt discouraged and sore and frustrated at that point, and had to walk up half the hill due to my hamstring hurting so much.

As I rounded the road to Colony I told myself to suck it up and that I could do this. I was about to turn a corner and see my family and then it was all downhill to the finish. I was pushing myself because I wanted NEEDED to see them.

As I rounded the bend from Maple to Beaverwood I caught a glimpse of Mark with the camera in front of his eyes, my mom cheering me on with a beaming smile and Madie and Joshua yelling "go, momma, go!" from the sidelines. From that turn onward, I didn't feel my hamstring at all. I was in pure bliss and that moment will likely be on top of my running memories forever.

As I approached the family, I waved and blew a kiss to Madie, and asked Joshua if he was joining me for the last leg. In the larger races, there are no openings in the fences between the route and the finish line and I was so happy to have him run with me to the end.

There was a man probably about 100 m ahead of me in a green shirt, my son, god love him, said to me "hey momma, let's beat that guy in the green!"... and because he was talking to me and I had taken my headphones out, I then heard the cheering... 4 of my LIO friends had stuck around (unbeknownst to me) to cheer me on... and cheer they did! WHAT A RUSH!!!!

We crossed the finish line with arms up high. They even gave Joshua a medal for crossing along with me!

I met up with friends and family alike and celebrated in the finish.

At the time, I did not yet know my time. And I am embarrassed to say that once I went to the stats site, I immediately felt like a turtle who was going back into her shell.

SOMEHOW, I managed to go from the strongest first half to the worst time. 41.30 a minute more than either of my runs the year before...

I felt... defeated...

It took the whole rest of the day and evening before I had the guts to put my time into my training log. I didn't want to write it down - because that would be me admitting that I had BLOWN it.

But when I DID finally put it in the log and mapped out the race route... I found out that the race was actually 5.55k instead of 5k. By making that little change, they had managed to add a half a km onto our time... which is NOT reflected on our finishes... All of the sudden... my final time isn't so bad... doing 5.55k in 41.30 makes my average pace at 7.28... which makes my 5k time somewhere around 36.40.

and THAT is something I am proud of.

Another one bites the dust

There is a reason hill training is normally a Wednesday event. A long run on a Sunday after ding hill training on Friday???? Yeah - not so pleasant.

The schedule had my run as either a(nother) 8k or a full 10k this week and I decided a repeat of last weekend's 8k was best for me and my sanity.

After rolling out my leg muscles using a rolling pin (yes, you read right!) the night before, they felt tired but ready to run on Sunday morning. I was again joined my my cheer team Caroline and Robin for my run (though those two super stars kept going after running the 8k with me and continued to the 10k mark). Surely thanks to Robin's "feedback" last weekend, the three of us were also joined by group leader Lian who stuck with us the whole way; giving Robin and Caroline the opportunity to go a little faster at times.

I still find it difficult to accept that I am not "holding people back" when they run with me. It is a constant mind-struggle of mine and I really REALLY hope one day I can concur it. I found myself proud of completing the 8k without "cheating the distance" and even ensuring I RAN up all the hills on the course (even if it meant I walked up to the bottom of the hills in order to get my endurance back) but still calling myself the "tortoise" of the group when posting my stats on facebook when I arrived home post-run.

What I have to keep repeating to myself and wish I could welcome as my mantra is that in the end, the tortoise wins the race.

When will the competitive little girl in me learn to believe (or at least accept) what everyone else is telling me?

This past week, I have again accomplished much. I ran the fastest pace I have ever run while running for Boston on Tuesday; I ran my first hill intervals and not 2 days later I ran my second 8k (with a few hills along the way!).

And I'm (trying) to own it.

Hillcrest Hell

Friday night's Running Room was my introduction to hill training. I've been told they help with endurance, with speed, with strength... yeah... they still suck.

We ran a half k warm up over to Hillcrest Avenue which is very aptly named. It runs north/south from Byron up to Nepean High School and is (from what I have been told) exactly 400 meters uphill. "Perfect" for hill training... yah.

Our induction included 3 repeats of this nasty hill. The first half is WAY nasty - with a relatively steep incline and then a road way's distance of "recovery" before the second incline hump up to the top. We were told we could walk on the way down until our heart rate lowered, and then once that occurred, to continue the rest of the way down the hill at a slow jog before heading up for the next repeat.

As I have become used to, although I was one of the first runners to follow Laurence (the Westboro manager - who was leading our hill training) up, I was quickly passed by the rest of the gang. There were times where I struggled and at least once (OK - many twice) when I had made the decision to only do 2 reps instead of the 3 we had scheduled for the night. Lucky (?????) for me, Laurence saw caught me trying to skimp the last 10 feet from the top of the hill (with an enthusiastic "the hill ends over there!"... THANKS Laurence! Sigh) and then when I turned around and redid those last 10 feet (cuz I am oh-so-good at taking a beating accepting training help), Laurence informed me he was "sticking with me" and thereby crushed my plans of not completing that last hill. In all seriousness though - Laurence is awesome and I was really glad he had my back.

So - another major milestone in my journey... hills training done! I now "only" need to double the amount of reps I did this past week in the next 3 weeks (increasing one hill per week).

My legs hurt just thinking of it...

because I can

I wasn't supposed to run today.

But the bombings that occurred at the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday has left me feeling the need to do so today.

So today, once the kidlets are in bed, I will run. Because I can. Because I feel the need to. On behalf of those thousands of marathon runners who yesterday, after training so very hard to accomplish their goals, were forced to stop at the last mile of the race. Because someone (or some organization) decided to replace pride and joy with fear and violence.

But, amongst all the shock and disgust I felt as information began to hit the airwaves and Internet, I  also felt pride... towards all the people - the volunteers, the spectators, the EMT, the police officers and the RUNNERS who had already crossed the finish line - whose first response to the bombs were to run TOWARDS the blasts in order to give help where they could. And to the runners who were halted a mile from the finish line that decided to then head to the medical tent or to the nearest hospital to give blood - you are true heroes.

Today, I feel lucky to be part of such a wonderful community and to call myself a runner.

My prayers are in Boston today as they continue to search for answers.

Another hurdle completed - 8k

Sunday morning I woke up with my alarm clock and looked outside and may or may not have uttered a word that rhymes with duck. There was this mix of wet snow and rain falling from the sky and I had a date with Caroline and Robin to run my first ever 8k.

These ladies have a lot more confidence in me than I do in myself... On more than one occasion, I was told that I had proved I could do this when I ran the 7k last weekend and that I was "doing it" when I felt like I was just about to puke (not that I actually admitted that to them though!).

But, I DID do it, and in less than stellar circumstances too!

This Sunday was the first time since starting running with this 10k group where I really did feel like I was left behind. Where the running room group was MUCH to fast for me to even keep them in my sight, and where none of the 3 "leaders" running with our group came back to see if they had left anyone behind (HELLO BACK HERE!!!!). Needless to say, I was really REALLY grateful to have 2 confident and patient running friends running along my side.

It only took just over 1k before the "group" went off their planned route... and they likely added about half a km onto their route by doing so too. But, it was not until somewhere around the 3 km point that we were left in the dust. I can honestly say they probably didn't even know we were back there.

The three of us in the back found our way back to the running room and chose our paths according to Robin's knowledge of the area and the help of their Garmins to tell us our distance.

When we got back to the running room, Robin was quick to give back "constructive feedback" to one of the leaders by reminding her that those in the back end of the run... those are the ones who NEED the extra support... and that PERHAPS it might be a good idea to have a strong runner (leader) stay back with THOSE people rather than running ahead with the people who are already able to cover the distance and are just looking to improve.

Robin, you are my hero. Although those who know me well know I don't usually have any difficulty speaking up, when I am the one who feels "little" (in this case, a slow poke, holding people back, not "good enough" for the rest of the group), I become introverted and tend to keep to myself. Thank you for being my voice. :)

In the end, we clocked in at one hour and twenty seconds... mostly 10:1s with one interval having a bit more of a walk so that I could review the route.

I'm finding it difficult to look at the distance without saying something negative about the pace that goes along with it, but I am trying to reflect on how far I have come. The other thing I am excited about... running 5k is no longer exhausting. On Sunday, it took me until 6k before I felt myself start to really feel bagged... which means my scheduled 5k race in a couple weeks will have me finishing STRONG rather than feeling like I am falling over that finish line. :)

This week introduces hills... I'm a bit terrified.

Rest

On Tuesday afternoon, I gave blood. We received a noticed through our work of an upcoming donor clinic and I decided it was time to bite the bullet and face my fear of the needle.

As an aside, I was also told I have "special" blood... something about not having contracted some sort of childhood virus... so my blood is the blood given to the NICU babies and those who are getting organ transplants. This is a very sneaky ploy to get me to donate more often. It may just have worked too.

But I digress...

I had a run scheduled for that evening with Ange. It was mapped out for 4.3 kms and I was excited to get out in the nice weather.

NOTE - running a 4+k run the evening after giving blood... DRAINS YOU!

My body felt fine but my stamina was zapped. By the end of the run I felt spacey. Hopped in the shower and his the hay.

I should also mention that Joshua's been sick most of the week. Nothing major, but very lethargic and complaining of a stomach ache. But enough to have the school call me that same Tuesday and ask me to go get him early.

Wednesday, I had actually planned to run with a bunch of LIO peeps downtown. I was the one who put out the call and planned the route. But Wednesday morning when I got up my legs were screaming at me. I had a headache. I was spacey. AND I was "on call" just in case the boy got sent home again. There was no way I was running that day. As much as I really REALLY wanted to.

Yesterday, I WAS home with the boy... and brought him to the clinic to make sure everything was as OK as I thought. (for those who want to know, he either is constipated - the likely possibility - or he has appendicitis... but with no other symptoms but tummy ache and tenderness in the lower right side of his abdominal, we are going with lots of liquid and a bit of dissolving powder to get things moving "down there")

Today, we have a freak snow and ice hail storm going on which does NOT invite me to run tonight. Not one bit.

With my 8k planned and a scheduled double date with some LIO girls, I will hope the rest (from exercise) of the last week will help me push through this next hurtle.

over the hump

On Sunday morning, my alarm went off at 7:30 a.m. This was supposed to give me plenty of time to get up, get dressed, have something to fuel me, and then get myself to Westboro for my first ever 7k run.

Instead, I looked at the alarm, and in my groggy state, tried to quickly calculate how far I could push that snooze button. I did NOT want to get out of bed. Not while the rest of the family still slept peacefully and especially since I had been the first to be awake the day before too. I wanted to be able to be in bed, warm and cozy and lazy. It didn't help that when I checked to forecast before going to bed the night before the weather "experts" were calling for ice over night and rain through the day.

So, I hit snooze for another 10 minutes and rolled over.

But, after 10 more minutes of blissful relaxation, I dragged myself out of bed and pulled on the running gear I had placed out in preparation the night before. I got myself downstairs, grabbed a cereal bar and an apple and filled my water bottle. I was NOT going to bail.

I arrived at the running room and was welcomed by my LIO running friend Robin who, after being out until 1 a.m. that morning, did not bail on meeting me (check #2 on thank goodness I still went!!!!).

We staid at the back of the pack, but ran well. Robin, who is a significantly faster runner than I, was nice enough to stick with my pace - something that kept me motivated to not skimp out of those 10:1 intervals. Just after the 3.5km turnaround, we had to run up our first hill. I LOATHE hills, but now have a trick which Robin taught me. DON'T LOOK PAST A COUPLE FEET IN FRONT OF YOURSELF WHEN GOING UP A HILL. I think that my history of riding horses has always had be looking further ahead to (what would be) the next "jump" (or block, as it would be during a run); which, in the case of hills, is usually at the top of the hill. When I tried it her way, I found the hill much more manageable. It kinda tricks your brain into not knowing how long or steep the hill is and so it makes it feel less *hard*. This is something I will be utilizing a LOT in the coming weeks... especially with our program starts to integrate hills on Wednesdays next week!

Coming up to what I assume would be around the 5k mark, I allowed myself to look at my phone to see how I was doing with time. At this point, Robin, god bless her, had made some sort of comment about me being fast and doing great (ppptttthhh - thanks, but... ummm, no ;-) ). At around the 5k mark (I think), we were at just over 36 minutes. YAY!!!!!

At about 6k, I was really tired. My legs were feeling really sore but I was determined to finish. I had officially gone further than ever and I had nowhere to go but back to my truck anyways ;-) Just as we arrived at Churchill, we were due for another walk break but we decided to run through it because the end was in reach.

We ended strong and with smiles on our faces. I can honestly say, Robin's support and patience made all the difference!

We ended the 7k run in just over 54 minutes! Robin also filled me in on the stats of each km after the run (man - I still so would like a Garmin!): our average pace was 7:46/km including walk breaks, and our fastest kms (1 and 4) were 7:13/km! Also, our LAST km was faster than both 5 and 6... so we finished strong.

I also noticed that we finished our 7k just before the "faster" runners finished their 8k (which, for some reason, made me proud?!?)

So, I being this new week looking back at the things I accomplished in my running last week:

1) I ran a total distance of 21 km last week (over 4 runs) - that's a half marathon's distance!!!!!
2) I ran my longest distance
3) I ran my longest time
4) I am officially further along in this 10k program then I was last fall when I had to stop due to injury.

This week's challenge - 8k! :)

Humbled

Yesterday, I decided to write a short post on the LIO facebook page that was an open letter to the store Lululemon about my conflicted feelings towards their store and their product. In particular, the letter was directed at the fact that their clothing line goes from size 0-12 and even only to size 10 in some styles. This post was not meant to be anything other than a way for me to vent my feelings and maybe even get a few supportive "here, here!"s from some of the other ladies in similar situations as me.

This is not, of course, the end of the story.

I did, get replies of support by many (MANY) people in the LIO group, and along with their notes of understanding and agreement came a strong suggestion to forward my note to Lululemon.

After my internal timid by nature self tried to pull a "what, ME???? I can't POSSIBLY do that!!!", I took the leap and sent it to the company email address, provided it to them via their web site comments section AND posted it on their facebook page. Heh, what can I say? My inner warrior was telling me to go big or go home ;-)

This all happened sometime around noon yesterday.

What happened next has made me proud, part of a group, thankful... lots of things... but most of all humbled. Thus far, MY open letter post on the Lululemon Athletica facebook group page has gotten 75 "likes" and 18 comments AND COUNTING!!! Included in those comments was an official one from Lululemon asking for further information.

Later yesterday afternoon, I received a reply for EACH of my two submissions from Lululemon via email. All of their replies have shown them to be grateful for my feedback and willing to bring my suggestions to their design team. Not to mention they have provided some suggestions as to what styles MAY work for someone on my "shape". In addition, 2 of the three replies offered to provide further suggestions on what may work for me if I provided them with my current measurements and the sizes I wear in other clothing.

All because of a little venting post. All goes to show that speaking up is usually the best thing.

Humbled people. HUMBLED.

PS. I kicked a$$ with my 4K run Wednesday. :)

(below, for those who do not have access to facebook, I have attached a copy of my letter).

Dearest Lulu...


We have an ongoing love / hate relationship.. and I am not sure why I keep hurting myself by always going back to you.

I LOVE your clothes... they are so cute and pretty and make me smile... but every time I go in to see you, you disappoint me with the lack of sizing for those of us currently TRYING to get fit and healthy but do not fit into your mold of the "ideal"...

I HATE that your clothes are sized 0-12... hate even more that those super cute running skirts only go to a size 10 (really??????) and that your shorts are all cut really slim making it impossible for those of us with larger legs to wear them... not to mention the super short length!

I HATE that every time I go in there, I keep hoping that SOMEDAY my chest will be a size that will fit into your sports bras, to no avail. And that every time I go there, I leave feeling a little less happy with the mold I am currently fitting.

AND, I especially hate that a running friend gave me a gift certificate to spend at your store, in celebration of my first year of running, and I can't use it. Maybe I will give it back to her so she can enjoy it... SIGH.

Week 2 RR 10k training

This week was a bit jumbled becasue of the Easter long weekend.

I wasn't able to run with the RR gang at all - between Mark working the late shift this past week (and therefore not getting home until just before 8pm each evening), Friday being a holiday and me not being able to make their run at 10am (had party planning to do for a certain 6 year old's party the next day) and Sunday morning being... well... Easter.

That's the bad new. The GOOD news, I still managed to run those runs along with an additional on on Tuesday with the help of my friends Caroline, Ange and April.

Tuesday was Caroline's runniversary. She decided to celebrate with a run and invite all her friends to run with her. She was going to run the Parliament loop and I joined her for the 3k I was scheduled to run that day. One of our other friends, Jay, linked arms with me for my last 200 meters and put on the speed... uphill... I may have cursed... but then it made me smile and I did thank her for the extra "push" (errr... maybe pull is a better word!) afterwards.

Wednesday, I met up with Ange and April for an evening 4k run. Again, I got the same encouragement at the end of the run - to finish strong and be smiling at the end of the run. Thanks for that Ange! ;-)

I ALMOST bailed on my friday run. It was supposed to be a 5k, and I really, REALLY wasn't feeling it. I was making excuses left, right and center why I SHOULDN'T run - I had too much to do, I could use that time to get x y and z completed... but I was NOT going to LET myself weizle out of it. Instead, I sent an email to Ange and April to see if either one of them had the time to run. Lucky for me, Ange was able to fit in a run with me and we managed another 4k. ANGE TO THE RESCUE! I am really not sure whether I would have done it otherwise.

Sunday, I had a 6k scheduled. It was supposed to be at 3pm, but we needed to bump it to the evening. I got all my stuff on and put Madie in bed, then looked outside at the wind and the rain that was begiining and decided I dodn't want to end my Easter Sunday feeling like a drowned rat. I postponned to Monday morning and set my clock for 7am to get er done before my day started.

I may not have reached my goal of 6k (I didn't map it out before hand and the route I did twice was around 2.8k instead of the 3k I had thought), but I still got it in and even managed my best pace yet! I guess the brisk morning air did me well... I managed around 5.7k in 41 minutes. NOt bad at all! :)

This week, I have 2 4ks scheduled for Wednesday and Friday and then a 7k on Sunday. This will be my longest distance yet and I am not going to lie, it intimidates me A LOT. But, I know if I just find my pace and stick with it, I will be able to complete it with one foot ahead of the other.

Solo 5k

I did it.

I ran my first 5k post-injury.

And I did it all.by.myself.

I had a run set up with a couple of friends yesterday afternoon. But after I asked to push it up by an hour so I could accommodate my kids want to swim, one of my friends had to bow out. 5 minutes before we were supposed to meet up, I got a text from my other friend and she had to bail due to a friend's surprise visit at her house.

I am glad she didn't give me any time to change my mind (or my clothes) because I had dedicated to go out and was still going even if it were to be a solo run. I had mapped it out, had let the husband know where I planned on running, and had plans to head to the swimming pool afterwards with the family - no way was I backing out now!

I headed out, and as usual, the first 10 minutes were the hardest. I find it usually takes that long for me to find my pace and keep it relatively even. I likely go a bit too fast out of the gates and once I get to that first minute walk, I am able to back off a bit, remind myself this is supposed to be a SLOW LONG RUN, and keep trucking along.

The wind was stronger than I had thought but the route I mapped out for myself was one that took the tour around our old neighbourhood, and it was fun to see how nothing had changed in the last 4 years. Next time, I will have to make sure I run by the old park to see if it has been upgraded yet.

Those last 400 meters (or so), I felt I really needed to push through - I really waned to stop prematurely and that is something I find difficult in races too. I see that (pretend) finish line and just want to stop once it is in sight instead of pounding the pavement until it is behind me.

Things to work on.

All in all, I tracked just a little less than 18 kms this past week - a new record!

Let's see if I can surpass it again this week.

The run

Friday was my first day at the Running Room for the 10k training group. I was, in a word, anxious.

I had all these nerves flowing through my body. Worries that I would not be fast enough, or good enough or strong enough. That I wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace of the group and that I would be left in the back.

This is what happened last fall, and I had been running a lot longer at that point than I have since being sidelined.

BUT, I decided to go to the class anyways, nerves balled up and stomach in knots, to challenge myself, to push myself and to TRY. If I didn't succeed, then I could always defer again and try again after.

There are 30 of us in the Friday night group - most with the look of long-term runners. The strong, lean bodies making me even more worried about my result.

After half an hour of listening to what we should expect from the program, we went out for our first run. I had expected a 3k... then was told it would be 4. I began the run in the middle of the pack, and fell to the back after the first 5 minutes. I felt sick to my stomach with running nerves - similar to those I have felt in the past when I get ready to start a race - and I knew it would take at least the first 10 minutes to work that out. So, expecting to be at the back of the pack, I plugged in to my headphones and tried to go at my own speed without feeling the pressure of NEEDING to catch up. I was reminded by the RR leader that I should be able to talk comfortably while running, and that if I found myself huffing and puffing I should slow down.

And then something happened. I told the leader (Lian) that I was just thrilled to be able to run 10 non-stop minutes... that this was something that I had told myself since my childhood I could NEVER do. I was always the one who was good at speed but never at endurance. But the very fact I had proven myself wrong... all these years later... made me proud and not interested in what the clock said, but at what my body said. And at that moment, I was able to let go of being at the back of the pack and simply enjoy the ride.

About halfway through the run, the girl who had been running at a similar pace to me but was about 10 steps ahead of me slowed down a bit, and we began running side by side. I found myself slowing to her pace because I didn't want her to feel like I had last fall... like I had failed because I was just so slow compared to the others. We ran together, not always speaking, but keeping each other's spirits up until we arrived back at the store. In total, we ran 4 k and we ran it in mess than 32 minutes (I know this because my 3rd 10 minute rep never ended).

And I left the run smiling. Feeling like maybe, JUST MAYBE, I CAN do this ;-)

gym dork

I can't believe I am actually posting this... My confidence level MUST be increasing with my exercise regime because there is NO WAY I would have shared this a year ago... especially not on an openly searchable goggle blog!

But... here is my laugh for you all today.

So, I decide today I will go to the gym to run since it is a bit slick outside and I don't want to tempt fate.

FIRST, I get to the gym only to be told my month has expired (oops! It was supposed to be spring today after all and I had really REALLY hoped to be enjoying the outside for my exercising enjoyment by now!)... they let me in for today;

I get inside, only to (SECOND) notice I forgot my sports bra at the office (doh!). Instead of going back across the street to get my bra, I decide I'll use my regular bra, and the elliptical because no one should have to see "the girls" jumping around while I try to run in a regular bra (plus... ouch!) and then go to the office and wear my sports bra for the afternoon. I have a great work out am all pumped with endorphins, head to the showers only to find out;

(THIRD) my sports bra was not the only thing I forgot at the office... my fresh undies are there too! Thank goodness for long coats! I headed - totally commando - back to the office to discreetly slip into the bathroom to put on my undergarments...

*forehead plant!*

Let's hope everything in threes is truly the case here!

Today's workout was 25 minutes on the elliptical. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed that piece of equipment... so nice an easy on your joints... like you are running on clouds. :-)

My friend Katie had suggested an interesting workout a while back that I decided would be fun (wait... whaaaa???????) for today.

Start on the elliptical and get to a good speed, using your legs to push you forwards.

Every 5 minutes, grab the moving arm handles, use your arms to propel yourself forward instead of your legs... all while "sitting" in a deep squat. I managed to do so for 30 seconds each 5 minutes (at minute 5, 10 and 15).

For the record... that s@!#$%s hard core!

Then, after 20 minute moving "forwards",  my last 5 minutes was moving "backwards" on the machine.

The machine put me at 3.64 km in total. I put me at a sweaty, hot mess.

This post was brought to you by gymdorksunite.com ;-)