2011 in Review

2011 was a good year. I don’t think I ever blogged about my goals for the year, but we’ll look at them now. I’ve had them saved on my iPod since last January so I can regularly review them.
Improve 5K Time
In 2010, my best 5K time was 40:17. I really wanted to break 38 minutes and with the help of Running Jennie, I crushed that in October finishing in 36:23.

Weigh Less
I’m down 9 pounds and 9% body fat from the beginning of the year.I did see my weight watchers goal weight a couple of weeks back but then Christmas happened. Ah well.
Workout 5+ Days Per Week
2008 and 2009 were the years I stopped working out because of my arthritis. 2010, I started working out but not regularly. 2011 was the year that I embraced fitness. 6 workouts a week is my standard now and I love it.
Apply for New Jobs
This didn’t happen because my position at my current job changed for the better so I’m happy again where I am.
Run a 10K Race
Not only did I run two 10K races, I ran my first half marathon.


Races run: 5 (2 5K’s, 2 10K’s, 1 Half Marathon)
Fitness Minutes (according to Spark People) 13,192
Kilometres Run: 576

Looking forward to a fabulous 2012!

Crazy in the Spring?

I’m contemplating spring races and this is my newest plan:

April 22nd	Yonge Street 10K
May 6th	Goodlife Half Marathon
May 13th	Sporting Life 10K
May 27th	Toronto Women's Half Marathon

I’m already registered for the Yonge Street 10K so that one has been set for a long time.
My original plan was to run the Goodlife Half (which is on my birthday!) then the 5K portion of the May Toronto Women’s Race.
Then I found out that the Sporting Life 10K is offering a $50 gift card for Sporting Life if you register before January 15th. Who can pass up a free gift card?? Plus it will be interesting to compare the two 10K’s since they’re on the same course. So that went onto my list.
But lately I’ve been thinking that I might not be ready for a half marathon at the beginning of May, so I started thinking about Toronto Women’s Half Marathon and adjusted the training plan I had created accordingly.
After adjusting my training plan, my 20Km LSR falls conveniently on May 6th. So if I’m going to run 20Km anyways, why not just run the Goodlife half?
Is this nuts?? Its a lot of race fees but I already paid for the Yonge Street 10K last May. And I have a new pair of shoes stashed away that I bought at the outlets in Vegas last summer so I shouldn’t need any new shoes for a while.
I’m happy to hear any opinions.

Goals Check In

1. Increase run time
I've done 10/1 run/walk intervals twice now. The first time was easy, the second time not so much. My pace is slower than normal, but its a start.

2. Keep running over the winter
I was going to run this morning but it was -6, feels like -13 and I chickened out. I'm hoping to get some near (warmer) gear for Christmas which will make a big difference. Right now I'm running in a long sleeved top and a windbreaker which is good when the weather is around 0. There is a couple of treadmills in the condo gym, so I might have to break down to use those.

3. Strength Training 3 Times a Week
This is going very well. I just finished week 2 of the Push Circuit which is the second phase of Chalean Extreme. I'm feeling stronger and my push ups are getting better. Plus I have actually have some definition in my arms now.

4. Yoga
Fail. I haven't been to any yoga classes and have only done my DVD once. Maybe I'll get to a class tomorrow.

5. Loose the last 5 pounds to get back to my Weight Watchers goal weight.
I'm at my Weight Watchers goal weight. Very happy about that.

Weigh In Day

May 2005
Started weight watchers at 198 pounds

February 2006
Hit goal weight of 147 pounds

January 2007
Slowly started putting the weight back on

January 2010
Hit 173 pounds and decided enough was enough. Time to loose it again.

Dec 2 2011
I'm back at my goal weight!!!!!!!!!

My Running Bucket List

A Mid Summer Night's Run
Running in the evening by the lake with fairy wings? Yes please.

Ottawa Marathon or Half Marathon
I've heard good things about this race. Again, running by water is right up my alley.

New York City Marathon
Looks like a ton of fun and amazing crowd support. Also, I want to run through Central Park.

Las Vegas Half Marathon
Running up the strip at night.

London Marathon
London is my favourite city so any excuse to go is a good excuse.

Goofy's Race and a Half
This is my ultimate racing goal. I have a 7 year plan that works up to this race (half marathon on Saturday followed by full marathon on Sunday). My goal is to run Goofy in 2018, which will mark 10 years since my rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis.

New Gear

I picked up a couple of new running related items today.

Old Navy Compressions Crops

The pair I got is slightly different then the pair posted (they have some pink at the waist and around the leg). I quite like them. They're about mid calf length, have a small zip pocket on the back. Best of all - super cheap! The regular price is around $27, but they were reduced to $15 and I had a 30% off coupon so they came to $10.50!

Lululemon Brisk Earwarmer

This is super soft and feels very warm. Looking forward to wearing this when it's chilly.

Toronto Women's 5K Recap - October Edition

This past Saturday was the final race of the year for me - The Toronto Women's 5K and 8K.

My original plan for the year was to run the 8K. But I ended up signing up for the 5K for two reasons - It was two week's after the half marathon and I wanted an opportunity to improve my 5K PR.

Saturday morning was quite chilly but Sunnybrook park was lovely with fall colours. I met up with Running Jennie who was also running the 5K. We've been blog/daily mile friends for a while so it was great to meet in person. Jennie contacted me the week before and asked if I wanted to run for her and she would help me get to my goal of running a 5K in the 38 minute range. I've never run with anyone else (other then my husband who is much faster then me and we both end up annoyed) but thought this would be fun so we meet up.

Racing with a buddy was super fun. We chatted the whole way and kept up a decent pace. Having someone to chat with made the race go by fast.

We did 3-1 run/walk intervals most of the time and had enough energy left at the end to finish strong. Completely crushed my goal of running a 38 minute 5K.

New 5K PR

36 minutes 23 seconds

I'm flying! Weee!

This was pretty huge for me. Let's look at my previous 5K times, shall we?

August 2010 (first race) - 41:26

September 2010 - 40:31

October 2010 - 40:17

May 2011 - 39:36

I'm pretty happy with cutting over 3 minutes off my previous 5K time.

Thank you Jennie for pushing me out of my comfort zone! 

Running Jennie's Photo

I learned a couple of things at this last race. First, that I'm not pushing myself hard enough. I've been coasting in my 8min/km zone so I need to work more on my speed. Also, running with other people is fun! I'm going to look into a running room clinic for the spring.

Week So Far

After the half marathon on the 16th, I took things easy the rest of the week. I did a couple of short runs but my hip was bothering me. I ended up going out of town on the week-end to visit my parents and purposely didn't bring any workout gear with me so I would take a rest break.

That seemed to be exactly what I needed. Sunday I came home and went out for a run. One of my goals for the year is to lower my 5K PR to 38 minutes. I did run/walk intervals of 3/1. My run intervals were between 6.26min/km and 7.25min/km and I hit 5km at 37 minutes and 59 seconds. Hopefully I can repeat this at Saturday's race.

When I got home, I did 40 minutes of stretching which seemed to help work out all of the lingering kinks.

Monday evening, I went back to my buddy Tony Horton and did P90X Back & Biceps and followed up with Ab Ripper X. Ouch. I've been neglecting my weight training in the final weeks of half marathon training so I was quite sore afterwards.

Pouring rain when I got home last night so I hung out with my other Beach Body friend Charlene and did Fire 30 followed by more stretching.

So back into regular workout routine and feeling good.

Scotiabank Waterfront Half Marathon 2011 Recap

3 days later and I'm still collecting my thoughts on my first half marathon. Its kind of a blur.

Pre Race

I got up at 5:30 which ended up being about 20 minutes too early. Had a shower to wake up, ate a bagel with jam and juice for breakfast. Headed off for the blue line buses to get downtown. Noticed other runners on the bus which was fun.

Conveniently, the start line was directly outside of one of the locations I work at so I hung out inside. No porta potties or bag check for me (thank goodness cause the bag check situation turned into a two hour nightmare for a lot of people). Filled my water belt, called my husband to say hello, ate a cliff bar.

I headed out to the start corrals twenty minutes before the start and thankfully I allowed myself a bit of time as I went completely the wrong way and ended up walking around for 15 minutes to get to my proper corral.

I hate being in start corrals by myself, but I just took the time to take in the whole atmosphere. I was chilly in my t-shirt. Next time I need to bring a throwaway sweater.

Race

Being in the slowest corral, it was 15 minutes after the official start that I finally crossed the start line. There was a good crowd along the first stretch which was fun.

I was super pumped up and on a bit of a adrenaline high for the first three kilometres. I loved running down front street as I normally walk that route to go to work.

I hit the 5km mark in 40 minutes so I knew I was on my 8min/km pace.

Around 8km, my left hip starting hurting during my walk breaks.

I was super happy to reach the turnaround point around 12km at Windermere. Turns out one of my staff was around there but I didn't see her.

The volunteers and spectators were great. I enjoyed the signs along the course and the encouragement from random people at the side of the road.

I walked up every hill to conserve energy and I walked between kilometre 19 and 21. My hip was hurting, my feet hurt, my right knee felt wonky. I had a cup of Gatorade at the last water stop and that gave me a bit of energy.

When I turned onto Bay street, I was determined the run the rest of the way. I took out my earphones so I could hear the crowds and get the full experience.  I saw my parents and my husband around the 300 metres to go mark. They were yelling and waving.

This is when I started to get emotional. I started thinking how when I started running in March 2010, 3 km was super tough and all I wanted to do was get to my first 5km race. I remembered limping the 10 minute walk to the subway station in 2008 when my arthritis was at its worse. I thought about how happy I was when I got the okay to start working out again in 2009 and I was able to get on an exercise bike for 15 minutes at a time. And here I am now, about to finish my first half marathon.

I crossed the finish line with a chip time of 2hrs 50 minutes and 45 seconds. Not a great time for most people but I'm super proud of it. Got my medal, picked up a bottle of water, a bagel and a bottle of Gatorade. Saw the ridiculous crowds at bag check and snuck out through an opening in the fence. Found my family and headed home.

I loved every minute of this race. It was tough, the food selection at the finish line was lame and the weather wasn't ideal but it's always going to be one of the highlights of my life.

Did it!

2hrs 50 min

8:03 min/km

I'm on a high.

Race recap to come.

Day Before

Saturday = rest day. I did all of my errands and running around yesterday afternoon so today I'm going to relax, eat properly and get ready for Sunday morning. I have pasta for dinner,  Downton Abbey and Spirit of the Marathon on DVD.

After my MRI yesterday, I hit up race kit pick up and the expo.

Besides the shirt and bag, the race kit wasn't too exciting. A juice box, a mini cliff bar and the usual flyers. I like the shirt though. Fits alright and I like that there is a different shirt for each distance (the marathon shirt looks the best. As it should).

I wandered around the expo for a bit. I didn't end up buying anything except for a renewal on Canadian Running magazine. I did stop by the Run Disney booth and picked up a brochure. They did have all of their medals out including the goofy medal. I felt kind of emotional holding it. Sigh. Someday.

Race Goals


My goal tomorrow is to finish strong. I'm expecting to finish in about 3 hours which is slow yes, but its realistic for me. Signing up for this half marathon was (and still is) so far out of my comfort zone. This is the first of what will hopefully be many half marathons so there's lots of time to work on speed and times later. First one is always a PR!

Almost There

This evening I did my last pre-race run. 3 km at 5/1 run/walk intervals. I decided to do a shorter distance so I could push it a bit.

I'm focusing on healthy eats, lots of water, rest. I've upped my calories for the week. The focus is on fueling for Sunday, not weight loss.

I'm hoping to get to the race expo tomorrow afternoon but I had a last minute MRI scheduled. My rheumy has sent me for an ultrasound and an MRI for my feet and hands to see if I have any inflammation that she can't see in my x-rays. My hands have been feeling good but my feet hurt on and off. I am concerned that she'll tell me to lay off the running but I'm not going to dwell on that.

4 days

I'm getting super nervous.

My last long run was two and a half weeks ago. What if I can't run further then 10 km??
Everyone at work is coughing. I don't want to get sick!!
My feet have been achy. What if my arthritis flares up??
I skipped my run today!! Because of rain!! I'm a wimpy runner!!

I had two different marathon anxiety dreams last night. One I was late to the race and the other I lost my shoes and had to run in my socks.

At the same time, I'm super pumped. I'm looking forward to the race expo and picking up my race kit. I'm excited about being in the start corrals with a ton of other people. Really excited for the finish line and getting a medal. Its the in between start line and finish line that's more of an unknown.

7 Days

I'm on a bit of a countdown to the half marathon. Its pretty much all I can think about right now.

Yesterday -  ran 10 km. I started out too quick which came back to bite me later. At one point I looked down at my garmin and realized I was at a 5:30m/km pace. Um, no. My overall pace wound up at 8:02/km which is where I want to be right now for longer distances. I'm expecting to be more around 8:30m/km at the actual race.

When I got home, I stretched a bit. I have a pain in the muscle of my left leg which is a bit worrisome but it only seems to hurt if I put pressure on it.

I picked up a couple of books for motivation.

"No Need for Speed" and "Accidental Athlete" both by John "The Penguin" Bingham. I think of myself as a bit of penguin so these are both right up my alley.

On today's agenda - rest and pie baking. Yum yum. Pie won't get eaten though until tomorrow night at my parents' house.

8 days….

8 days left until my first half marathon.

Eeeek!!

I’ve been taking things easy this week. I ran 5K on Tuesday then 6ish on Thursday. I have a 10K planned for later today.

I am kind of freaking out a bit and really want to do another 20K run to cement in my mind that I can do this, but I’ve read enough magazine articles to trust the taper that’s in my training plan.

September in Review

Total Distance Ran: 115.99 km

Longest Distance: 19.74 km

Best pace: 7.47/km

September was a monumental month for me, running wise. I pushed myself both in terms of distance and in terms of speed. While 7.47/km is slow for most people, its heading in the right direction for me.

 

What’s Ahead in October:

• Thanksgiving (yay!)
• Half Marathon
• Last 5K of the year

Update

Arthritis

Still pain free! My rheumatologist is sending me for an MRI to see if there’s any inflammation in my joints that she can’t detect. If everything comes back clear, then we’re going to start scaling back my medications!

 

Half Marathon Training

Half marathon is in three weeks!! I’ve gone from being nervous to being super pumped. I did 19.75K yesterday and felt good for about 90% of the run. The last 2 kilometres were tough. I was able to keep a decent pace (8:20min/km). I’d prefer to be around 8min/km but most likely I’ll speed up a bit at the actual race.

I added a new leg to my usual running trail to get the extra distance in and it’s beautiful. Meandering paths through a forest, by little creeks. The ground is pretty uneven and there’s some brutal hills but it keeps me motivated.

I’m focusing on keeping my diet relatively clean and I’ve cut out alcohol until the race is done. A cold beer with be a nice reward once I’m done with the race.

13K

This morning I did a 13K run.

The weather was pretty much perfect for running – slightly chilly, overcast. I was comfortable in a t-shirt and shorts.

I felt good throughout the entire run. I did 2:30/2 run/walk intervals. I think I’m going to move to 3/2 to improve my pace a bit.

6 weeks to the half marathon. EEK!

Passport to Prana: Yoga Sanctuary Danforth

A few months back, I picked up a Passport to Prana


Passport to Prana gives you access to one class at a bunch of different yoga studios. It’s available in a bunch of different cities in both Canada and the U.S. Basically the cost ($35 for Toronto) works out to be about 2 classes. It expires one year after activation.
Yesterday, I took my passport to The Yoga Sanctuary – Danforth.
I used to live up the street from this studio and it’s where I first discovered yoga.
I went to a 90 minute Hatha level 1 class on Sunday afternoon.

The studio itself is beautiful. Very large with wood floors and brick walls. I always liked to position myself by the windows to get the occasional view of the busy street. Being right at a busy intersection, you do hear the streetcars and traffic below, but that doesn’t bother me.
The class itself was very relaxing. The last yoga class I attended was a bikram class so this was the complete opposite. The instructor kept telling us to do what feels the most comfortable and offered a lot of options for poses.
I would come back to the yoga sanctuary however I think that a different class would work better for me. Something with a bit more of quicker pace that’s a bit challenging.
My plan for September is to either attend one yoga class a week or do a yoga DVD. My muscles have been very tight after my runs lately so I think this should help.

Week So Far

• Had a good run yesterday. The weather is starting to change so even though it was still 30 degrees with the humidity, it didn’t feel as hot as it has been the last couple of weeks. Or maybe I’m just used to it now.
• Just finished P90X Legs & Back and Ab Ripper. I’ve been doing Ab Ripper on and off (mostly off) for about a month now and its slowly getting less hard. Not easier, just less hard.
• Pictures from Saturday’s race are up. There’s a bunch of pictures of me grinning like a maniac.

Toronto Women’s 10K

Today marks 1 year since my first 5K and yesterday, I ran my second 10K.

The race kit consisted of the usual flyers, a luna bar and the brightest yellow t-shirt.
I got to the park just after 7. Race time was 8. Had a good amount of time to drink some water, visit the porta potties repeatedly and get ready.
The 10K was divided up better than May’s 5K. I positioned myself in the 60 minutes + group but once we started, it was clear that some there were some people who should have been in faster starting positions. Bit annoying. Also, I saw a couple of 5K people turning around and heading back so they started at the wrong time (5K’s started 15 minutes earlier). The announcements were pretty clear – if you have a yellow bib, get out of the starting line. That really sucks though for them. I’d be very annoyed at myself if I had started at the wrong time and already run half the race.
The 10K course starts off following the usual TO Women’s 5K course which after 3 times running it, I’m pretty familiar with. Than we turn off and run through part of the park that I hadn’t seen before. It was very pretty – over little bridges and along streams. Over to the expressway. Up a hill, down a hill (stupid hills).
I felt good throughout the entire race. I was doing 2:30/1:30 run/walk intervals and kept pretty much dead on my 8 min/km pace throughout the race. That was one of my main problems with the Sporting Life 10K – I went out too fast than struggled later. There were 3 water stops along the way plus I had my fuel belt and some sport beans. I was at the back, but wasn’t concerned about it. I was running the race that I wanted to run and feeling good.
My husband came out to the park to see me finish and he was about 50 metres ahead of the finish line. I was very happy to see him!

I had enough energy left at the end to pick up the pace and finished strong.
Official Time: 1 hr 20m 22s
Chip Time: 1hr 19m 50s
So I beat my Sporting Life 10K time by 48 seconds which I am very happy amount. 1hr 20 minutes was my goal, and I’m 10 seconds under it. I felt good covering the longer distance which makes me feel better about October’s half marathon. And I got a medal and a shirt! Yay for swag!!


Things I liked about this race:

• Course was pretty
• Shirt & medal
• 3 water stations
• The volunteers were great – really supportive and encouraging.
• Post race food – bananas, breakfast pita, chocolate bar, water and bag of chips
• General energy of the racers. I like women’s races.

Things I didn’t like:

• People not positioning themselves properly at start
• There’s a parking lot that we run through at the beginning and end of the race. I hate that parking lot for some reason. Rest of the course is fine.
• Course is open to the public which worked out fine but is a bit annoying.

Week Plan Aug 22 - 27

Monday:
Run 44 minutes

Tuesday:
P90X Legs & Back, Ab Ripper

Wednesday:
Run 44 minutes

Thursday:
P90X Shoulders & Arms. Ab Ripper

Friday:
Rest day. Pick up race kit.

Saturday:
Toronto Women's 10K

Goals for week:
Track food Monday to Friday
Pack lunch the night before (Monday morning = fail)

Thanks for the recent comments! I'm trying to change my set up so I can actually reply to them.

Relaxing Sunday

I’m back to work tomorrow after 12 days off. Blah.
Today consisted of laundry, cleaning, bit of organizing, some cooking.
Getting tortured by this guy

Back to P90X. Today’s workout: chest & back.
I’m doing most of the push ups from my knees and using a resistance band looped over the husband’s pull up bar rather than attempting pull ups. Pull ups and RA wrists do not mix, at least not right now. Maybe soon.

I did three weeks of P90X in July than took some time off from it. I’m doing three P90X workouts (skipping the cardio) in combination of half marathon training.
Think I’ll be sore tomorrow.

11K’s

Spent 5 hot sweaty days in Vegas. We came home on a red eye flight, getting in early on Tuesday morning. Completely put me out of commission for the entire day.



5 days of eating not so nutritious food and no exercise other than walking up and down the strip. Last year’s Vegas trip, I came home with an extra 6 pounds.

This year – stayed the same! Yay!
However it’s back at it now. Half marathon is coming up quick.
Thursday’s 5K run was painful. It was my first run in a week and I was moving rather slow. Than the 5K turned into “hunt for the missing fuel belt bottle”. While looking for missing bottle #1, bottle #2 fell off. I found bottle #2 and gave up on #1. I’ve been thinking about getting a new belt anyways, so this was a sign. My old belt was too big and I wanted one with 4 bottles instead of just two. Came home to find a 20% coupon for the running store in my e-mail. Score!
I set off with my new size smaller, 4 bottle fuel belt this morning. 11 kilometres later, I was home. Tired, hot, moving really really slow but pumped. This was my longest run yet. This time last year when I was prepping for my first 5K, I would never have thought 11K would be possible. Yes I’m still slow. Yes I still walk 50% of the time. I’m constantly reminding myself that I’m a slightly overweight 31 year old with rheumatoid arthritis that doesn’t have an athletic bone in my body and avoided the 100 metre dash at track and field days. The fact that I’m even doing this is enough.

Bikram Yoga

I bought a 25 class pass to a Bikram Yoga studio a couple of months ago from a groupon-like website. I’ve always avoided hot yoga, didn’t seem very pleasant. I don’t want to drown in my own sweat. It was kind of a whim that I bought the pass.
Than I put off using it for 6 months because I was convinced that I was going to hate Bikram yoga. Or pass out. Or vomit. Or both.
So what is Bikram yoga?
From Wikipedia:
Bikram Yoga is a system of yoga that Bikram Choudhury synthesized from traditional yoga techniques and popularized beginning in the early 1970s.^[1][2] Bikram's classes run exactly 90 minutes and consist of a set series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105°F (≈ 40.6°C) with a humidity of 40%, and is the most popular form of hot yoga.
So it’s hot, extremely structured yoga for an hour and a half.
I took my first class today. Brought my yoga mat, my towel to place over the mat (to catch the sweat), bottle of water. Wore as little clothes as possible. Stepped into the room and immediately rerated this decision.
But I stuck it out and I liked it.
 
 

[source]

Pros:

• The heat made me super bendy.
• Most of the poses aren’t very difficult and because you’re holding the pose for quite some time, it’s easy to follow.

Cons:

• Wasn’t the most relaxing yoga class I’ve been to. The instructor talks throughout the class the entire time and at a rapid pace. It was like being at an auction.
• There’s no variation so I can see getting bored of Bikram quickly.
• I like sun salutations and vinyasas. Felt odd to do a yoga class without downward facing dog.
• I was drenched in sweat.

I’ll go back again, maybe next week. I really want to do more yoga. It’s a nice break from running and weight lifting.

CLX Lean Circuit

I just finished Lean Circuit 3.

Oh my god.

My chest muscles are shaking.

I'm having mixed feelings about Lean Circuit.
I like that it's very challenging and a good change from Push Circuit. But its very hard on my wrists, especially Lean Circuit 2 and Lean Circuit 3. I think I'm going to have to come up with some modifications. Exercises like one arm row while in plank and push ups to side plank are not what my poor slightly arthritis damaged wrists need.

Back to It

Back to work tomorrow. And I seriously need to get back to eating properly.
My vacation week eats went out with a bang last night – late night out with friends at Boston Pizza that included two massive pitchers of beer. Which is good in a way cause I felt kind of gross afterwards so am happy to make a massive salad for lunch.
Today’s agenda:

• Chalean Extreme – Lean Circuit 1
• Hair cut
• Laundry
• 5K afternoon run

Toronto Women’s 5K May 2011 Recap

This was my third time doing this race – I did the 5K portions on August and October of last year.
I picked up my race kit from the Running Room on Saturday. A couple of good samples in the kit – a mini luna bar, chap stick, Immunity FX (I keep getting this in race kits and I can’t use it – my immune system wants to attack my joints so it’s not getting any support!).
Fabulous blue long sleeved shirt. I requested a medium but the shirts ran a bit small. Luckily I was able to exchange it after the race.

Sunday morning, I was up early and left my place around 6:45. Had no issues with Sunday morning buses and got to the park by 7:30 (half marathon started at 8, the 5K at 8:20).
The half marathoners went out first in 3 waves. Than all of the 5K’ers were clumped together. There were around 1500 doing the half and 700ish doing the 5K. So not a huge race, but I wish that there were at least signs saying “under 30 minutes”, “35+ minutes”, “walkers”, etc to split everyone up properly. I tried to position myself further back, but there were lots of faster runners dodging people to get ahead and lots of walkers ahead of me that I had to get around.
The race runs through Sunnybrook park which is pretty and green with winding paths. Only problem with this is that you have a ton of people all on a smallish path plus whoever else is in the park that day. There were narrow sections where it was really hard to pass people. This didn’t bother me last year but after running down Yonge Street in the Sporting Life 10K, I appreciate having some space.

The course is and out and back. It was great seeing the leaders coming back. Everyone on the other side of the path cheered for them.
Just before the water station, volunteers were handing out Cadbury Thins chocolate. As much as I like chocolate, it was so not appealing while running. Some people just took them to carry, but I didn’t particularly want to carry a chocolate bar for the rest of the race.
I was slowing down on the way back, feeling kind of tired. As I was approaching the finish line, I looked at my Garmin. I was at 39 minutes – I just wanted to break 40. So I sprinted to the end. Looking at my Garmin splits, the last 500 metres I was running between a 4.5 to a 5 min/km pace. I hit the mat, looked at my watch, saw it was under 40 minutes and leapt into the air. I may have yelled something.

Got my medal and a brown bag full of snacks (more chocolate, a banana, bottle of water, a breakfast pita and a bag of chips) than headed home.

Overall, I really like the Toronto Women’s Races. They’re well organized, not too big and the post race area is always well laid out. The volunteers were great, the energy was fantastic. I’m planning on doing the 10K and either the 5K or 8K in October.
Thinks I liked:

• Shirt (and easy size exchanges)
• Medal
• Beautiful park setting
• Post race food

Things I didn’t like:

• No start corrals for the 5K
• Narrow paths

Week Off – Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

My week off is almost over. Very sad.

Monday was our wedding anniversary but the husband had to work so we didn’t do anything until Wednesday. We decided to spend the day at Canada’s Wonderland, a big theme park just north of Toronto.


I hadn’t been to Wonderland or on a roller coaster for about 6 years. We went on some of the big coasters, ate some bad for us food (including funnel cake) and got a lot of sun.

Thursday, we went to see Thor.

I enjoyed it, but I’m really into all of the movies leading up to The Avengers. We saw it in 3D – I’d recommend saving the extra $5 and seeing it in 2D. We only went to a 3D screening because it was all they had a the theatre closest to us.
I haven’t been eating great this week, but am keeping up with my workouts.
Wednesday – Chalean Extreme Push Circuit 2 & Abs
Thursday – Ran 5K
Today, I was going to do my long run for the week (6K) but I’m taking a rest day instead. I’m really trying to aim to get in one rest day a week, but I want to do strength training 3 times a week, running 4 times and some yoga thrown in so it’s difficult. But I’ve been feeling kind of off and sluggish all day so I figure that it’s good to take a rest.

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Week Off: Tuesday

Another fabulous vacation week day.
The temperature hit 30 degrees Celsius today, with humidex up to 40! Bit crazy considering that it rained for pretty much the last two months and I seem to remember wearing pants and a jacket to work last week.
The husband is still thinking of doing his crazy Spartan race and has been meaning to do some running. He went out last week and borrowed my Garmin - he's fast. Much faster than me.
I was going for a run today so I dragged him out with me. We left together, but no way were we going to run together. He's been athletic his whole life, played numerous sports. I found every possible excuse to get out of gym class and mocked things like pep rallies and athletic award banquets in high school. I trekked off on my 25 minutes at my usual slow pace and he did 5K in half an hour. Still, it was nice to be out together.
I puttered around Yorkville which is a swanky shopping district in Toronto. Shops in the area include such stores as Gucci, Prada, Chanel. I skipped those and headed to the Gap and Lululemon. I had a wonderful facial (courtesy of a group buy coupon that I got a few months ago) and took my first trip to Whole Foods - I completely understand now why people refer to it as Whole Paycheck!
Came home and have had another relaxing evening.

Week Off: Monday

My vacation time needs to be used up by the end of July and I had two weeks left. So I'm off this week and I'm taking a week off in July as well.
It's fabulous having a week off with nothing planned. Usually when I take time off work it's to do something specific like see my parents or go on a trip (which I would prefer to be doing but hey).
I started today with Chalean Extreme - Push Circuit 1. I'm in the last week of the Push phase and as much as I've enjoyed it, I'm ready to move on. Feeling a bit bored with the same moves.
For the afternoon, I debated between going to the mall and hot yoga. The mall won out.
Stopped to get groceries on the way home. Had a nice dinner of baked tofu, asparagus and some random vegetables that I had in the fridge.
The husband is at work this evening so it's a quiet night. I decided to head downstairs to the condo pool (its indoors). We've lived in our condo for a year and a half and I think I've used the pool 3 times. I keep meaning to use it more.
I only spent about 15 minutes swimming, but it was so nice. No one else was down there so I just floated around on my back, did some breaststroke. I'm not a very strong swimmer, so no crazy laps for me. Sat in the sauna for a bit afterwards. It was a lovely way to finish the day.

May

I completely dropped off the radar. So what have I been up to?
Had my 31st birthday!
My parents gave me a fabulous Garmin 405 for my birthday! I love it.
The husband took me on a post-birthday trip to Niagara Falls. We did touristy things, some outlet shopping, lost some money at the casino.


I registered for my first half marathon! Happening October 16th.
I'm starting my training next week.
I went to a fabulous Astanga Yoga class last Monday. Since moving to my condo, I haven’t done much in the way of group classes – I either work out in the condo gym, run or do videos. It was great to be with a group of people and I loved the class! Challenging, but not too much so.
In terms of my running, I decided to go back to basics - Couch to 5K. When I first started running last year, this is what I started with. I got to week 5, gave up after not being able to run 5 minutes straight and started doing my own thing. I did complete three 5K’s just kind of winging it, but between my first 5K last August and my last 5K of the year in October, I didn’t improve at all.
So I started at week 5 (run 5, walk 3) the other week. I just finished week 6 (run 25 minutes with no walking) the other day. This is definitely making a difference – when I go back to run/walk intervals, I don’t loose steam. I’m able to watch my heart rate on my Garmin and slow down when it starts getting too high.
Proof of the training working – ran my 2nd race, first 5K of the year.

• Previous 5K PR – 40:17
• New 5K PR – 39:36

Difference of 40 seconds but I just wanted to get under 40 minutes and I did!
I’ll write a longer 5K recap later.

Sporting Life 10K Recap

Last Sunday was my first 10K race, the Sporting Life 10K.

Bag check closed at 7:40 and as this was a big race with a lot of people, I wanted to get there early.
I completely overestimated how long it would take me to get there - I was at the race by 6:15 (race time = 8 a.m.) They were still setting up.
It was chilly, overcast, still dark so I went to sit in a coffee shop for a bit. I didn't fully warm up though for the entire day.
This was by far the largest race I've participated in (15,000 people). It didn't seem crowded though on the course as we were running on the street so there was a lot of room.
I was doing alright for the first 6k. Looking at my nike+ after the race, I apparently hit 5:55/km for a bit which is a bit ridiculous for me. Around the 7K mark, I hit a wall. I switched from run/walk intervals of 4m/1m to run 2 minutes/walk 2 minutes.  I was tired, cold, thirsty - there were two water stations on the course which wasn't enough for me. I hadn't brought my fuel belt either.
My main goal for my first 10K was just to finish, but I was hoping to finish in 1hour, 20 minutes. I made it in at 1 hr, 20 minutes, 39 seconds so not too far off.
Things I like about this race:

• Few bands along the route.
• Running down Yonge Street.
• Great t-shirt
• Medal!
• Lots of people – so many people running = great energy.

Things I didn’t like about this race:

• Lots of people – was very crowded. Especially at the post race party.
• Post Race Area – crowded. Really spread out so it was hard to find where to pick up my bag. The food selection was lacking (bananas, apples and bagels).
• Lack of water stations – there were 2 along the course. Probably fine for the speedy people, but being out there for over an hour, I needed more water.

My husband came to meet me at the finish line. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it down there until after I had finished. Ah well. He took a picture of me anyways.

Afterwards, I was a bit sore. I didn’t stretch which didn’t help matters and I was still cold! I came home and dove under the covers for a much needed nap.
My next 10K will be at the end of August. I’m hoping to improve my time a bit, finish feeling stronger and I’m going to wear my fuel belt!

Week Recap May 2 - 7

Busy week! Haven't had time or energy to blog.
Last Week:
Monday: Push Circuit 1 & Ab Burner Done.
Tuesday: Run 5K Was raining and chilly so did Fire 45 instead.
Wednesday: Push Circuit 2 & Ab Burner Done but started Extreme Abs instead of Ab Burner
Thursday: Yoga Ran 5K
Friday: Run 5K My birthday! I did Push Circuit 3 & Extreme abs instead of running (raining - again).
Saturday: Push Circuit 3 & Ab Burner I had to work and forgot I was going to a stag n doe in the evening, so no workout.
Sunday: Run 6K Did 5 instead.
I'm loving Push Circuit. I prefer doing one move at a time rather than say bicep curls with squats. I can focus more on the movement. And I love lifting heavier weights. I have a bit of joint damage in my wrists, so I need to be careful but so far, so good.
This week's plan:

• Monday: Push Circuit 1 & Extreme Abs
• Tuesday: Fire 55 EZ
• Wednesday: Push Circuit 2 & Extreme Abs
• Thursday: Run 5K
• Friday: Push Circuit 3 & Extreme Abs
• Saturday: rest
• Sunday: run 6K

Week Recap (Apr 25 - May 1)

Been a bit of a crazy week.
Found out I'm getting a promotion in July. Busiest week of the year at work. Royal Wedding on Friday (loved every moment of it - may have watched it twice on PVR).
Ran my first 10k!!
I'll write more about this later. My goal was to finish at 1hr20 (8min/km pace) and I finished at 1:20:39! Super close! This was the biggest race I've run (15,000 runners). I'm super proud of myself for completing this.
Last Week's Workouts:
Monday: TF Sculpt 30 & Core 20 Check
Tuesday: Rest Done
Wednesday: Run 5K Did Fire 45 instead
Thursday: Fire 55 EZ Did Tone 30 & Core 20 instead
Friday: TF Tone 30 & Core 20 (this might be skipped though to watch the royal wedding) Actual: Completely skipped for royal wedding watching.
Saturday: Some form of yoga Rested. My joints were a bit flared up so wanted to rest them.
Sunday: My first 10K!!
On tap for this week:

• Voting! (Federal election time in Canada - we seem to do this every 2 years).
• My 31st Birthday! (on Friday)

Workout Plan:

• Monday: Push Circuit 1 & Ab Burner
• Tuesday: Run 5K
• Wednesday: Push Circuit 2 & Ab Burner
• Thursday: Yoga
• Friday: Run 5K
• Saturday: Push Circuit 3 & Ab Burner
• Sunday: Run 6K

Feels Like Spring (Finally)

Feels like spring!! Yay! Hopefully no more snow.
I lost two pounds this week so maybe I've broken through my plateau. Eating a bit more seems to have helped.
I finished the Burn phase of Chalean Extreme. I'm looking forward to moving onto the Push phase. I might write a bit more about my experience with the Burn phase later.
My 10K is coming up next Sunday so I'm going to take things a bit easy this week. I won't be starting Push phase until the first week of May as I don't want to try anything new prior to my race.
Last week:
Monday: Burn Circuit 1 & Ab Burner
Done
Tuesday: Rest
Took the rest day - I was feeling antsy, but rest is good.
Wednesday: Run 10K
Ran 9.5K. So close.
Thursday: Burn Circuit 2 & Ab Burner
Check
Friday: Run 6K
Did 5 instead
Saturday: Burn Circuit 3 & Ab Burner
Check
Sunday: Run 5K
Ran 6 instead.
Next Week's Plan:Monday: TF Sculpt 30 & Core 20
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Run 5K
Thursday: Fire 55 EZ
Friday: TF Tone 30 & Core 20 (this might be skipped though to watch the royal wedding)
Saturday: Some form of yoga
Sunday: My first 10K!!

Practice 10K

Yesterday was cold, very windy, overcast, muddy - not exactly ideal conditions for a run, but I wanted to get in a practice 10K before my race next Saturday.
I set off going at a decent pace, but since this was my first time doing this distance, I slowed down a fair deal and took quite a few walk breaks.
I completed 9.5K in an hour, 25 minutes (I am a turtle). I was going for 10, but my route didn't work out that way. I had mapped it out on map my run but hadn't realized that there was a staircase at the end of the trail. Ah well.
I felt pretty good. My legs were a bit achey when I got in but I stretched for 20 minutes which helped.
Hopefully the weather is better next week.

Week-End

- Had a non-tracking food day yesterday. I ate whatever I wanted all day and didn't track anything. Surprisingly, I didn't eat anything horrible other than 4 butter tarts (so good) and more cheese than I would normally eat.
- Attended a yoga show that's happening here. Nothing too exciting - if I go next year, I'd bring my yoga mat and do some of the included classes. I did pick up a Passport to Prana card which gives me access to a lot of yoga studios for a year. I need more yoga in my life.
- Did Fire 55 EZ today which was such a nice break from long runs.
Last week's Plan:
Sunday: Fire 30 EZ and Stretch 30
check
Monday: Burn Circuit 1 & Ab Burner
check
Tuesday: Rest?
Actual: 43 minutes of running.
Wednesday: Burn Circuit 2 & Ab Burner
Actual: did Burn Circuit 2 but didn't have time for Ab Burner. Ran for 43ish minutes after work (calibrating my nike+)
Thursday: Fire 55 EZ
Actual: Rest Day
Friday: Run 10K
Actual: Ran 8K
Saturday: Burn Circuit 3 & Ab Burner
Actual: Burn Circuit 3 & Core 20 to mix things up a bit.
This week's plan:
Sunday - just finished Fire 55 EZ and a bit of yoga
Monday: Burn Circuit 1 & Ab Burner
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Run 10K (dependent on weather - it snowed again today so who knows what'll happen later in the week)
Thursday: Burn Circuit 2 & Ab Burner
Friday: Run 6K
Saturday: Burn Circuit 3 & Ab Burner
Sunday: Run 5K

8K and A Plateu

I went out yesterday and did my 8K run - for real this time! I mapped it out before I went. Nike+ is now overestimating the distance. According to mapmyrun.com, the route was 8.05K and Nike+ says it was 8.15k. Ah well, better than running 7K instead of 8k.
Yesterday's run was super slow, but I really need to focus on adding distance rather than my speed. I kept thinking how this time last year, I was running 2 - 3 km so I've come a long way.
Today was my weigh in day - I seem to be stuck at 153 pounds. The scale has been hovering between 153 to 153.8 for the past 5 weeks. My food tracking has been good, but I'm thinking that I might not be eating enough. I usually finish the day having ate between 1560 - 1590 calories, but maybe I should aim more for 1600 - 1700. I am exercising 6 days a week, so maybe my body is hanging onto the weight. I'll increase it a bit next week and see what happens.

Frustrated (Nike+ Fail)

I'm feeling rather frustrated today.

I've been wondering how accurate my nike+ shoe pod is. I run the same route all of the time and every time I do 5K, I seem to turn around at a different point. So I headed off to a nearby track to calibrate my nike+. Going there, Nike+ says I've gone 2.03K at a pace of 7:26min/km. I run around the track once, walk around the track once to calibrate. Coming back following the same route - distance = 1.73km at a pace of 8:23min/km. I'm thinking nike+ is on crack. So I pull up mapmyrun.com to check the distance =1.79km. So calibrated run is more accurate, ok.

I check a couple of websites where you enter in the distance and the time it took - pace is 8:04min/km. So its quite possible that my wonderful running breakthrough from last week was just my nike+ being inaccurate. And the 8K run I did on the week-end was really 7km.

I'm feeling pretty frustrated as I thought I had made all sorts of progress. I'm glad that I found this out now and not at my 10K in two weeks. Would have been an unwelcome surprise that A - I'm running slower than I think and B - that 10K is further than any of my training runs.

I'm trying to tell myself that I shouldn't be concerned with how fast I'm going. That three years ago I was in so much pain from my arthritis that I could barely walk. That when I started last year, I could barely do 3km. But its still frustrating that I haven't improved my time at all since last year. Ah well, at least I have a more accurate start point now.

Week Plan April 10-16

Last week:
Sunday: Run 6K
Check
Monday: Burn Circuit 1 & Extreme Abs
Yes, but I've realized that its Ab Burner I'm doing, not Extreme Abs. I'll save Extreme Abs for next month.
Tuesday: Run 5K
Actual: Fire 45 & Stretch 10
Wednesday: Burn Circuit 2 & Extreme Abs
Yes, than did 20 minutes of yoga after work.
Thursday: rest
Ran 5K.
Friday: Burn Circuit 3
Check
Saturday: Run 8K
Yep.
Upcoming Week:
Sunday: Fire 30 EZ and Stretch 30
Monday: Burn Circuit 1 & Ab Burner
Tuesday: Rest?
Wednesday: Burn Circuit 2 & Ab Burner
Thursday: Fire 55 EZ
Friday: Run 10K
Saturday: Burn Circuit 3 & Ab Burner

Saturday

I was too tired out to blog much yesterday.

Saturday morning, the husband and I trekked out to go to a race & event expo. I was hoping that some of the races would be offering discounts to register, but no such luck. I didn't find anything that I didn't already know about.

The husband, however, is pretty keen now to do a Spartan Race which looks a bit insane. It's a 5K but with the added fun of crawling through mud, jumping over hot coals, gladiator style fighting. I wanted him to do a race with me at some point, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind.

I came home than set out on my long run for the week - 8K. Weather was absolutely perfect, 15C, sunny, tiny bit of a breeze. It was my first time out this year in a t-shirt so my arms got a bit of sun.
I kept up 4-1 run/walk intervals for most of the run with a slightly longer walk break around 6K and then picked it up a bit at the end. The whole run took about an hour which is pretty much what I expected. I finished off both water bottles from my fuel belt and ate some sport beans as I went.

I spent 20 minutes stretching when I got home but I was still sore last night. I'm feeling better now as I had an amazing sleep. Cure for insomnia - run for a long time.

8K

Beautiful sunny day out. Spring is finally here!
(I'm touching wood - don't want it to snow over night like it did last Sunday).
Just back from an 8K run - my longest run ever!

Running Break Through

I had a bit of a running break through today.
Two things lead to this:
1. I mentioned to someone at work that I’m considering a half marathon. He said something about “its all about watching your pace”.
2. I was sitting in the waiting room for my annual x-rays, reading a running book. The beginning program leads up to running 5 minutes and walking 1. I started thinking that I’ve been running for a year now, why am I still not even able to complete a beginners program??
So on today’s 5K run I decided to try two things:
- slow my running pace down for the majority of the run
- try doing 5-1 intervals instead of the 3-1 I had planned
The results? I ran 5 kilometres in just under 37 minutes at a 7:15min/km average pace. I normally finish in 40 minutes at an 8 min/km pace.
Best. Run. Ever.
This really proofed to me that the only thing that’s been holding me back with running is myself and feeling like I can’t do this. I’m 30 years old, carrying an extra 10 pounds, I have rheumatoid arthritis so why should I be able to do anything less than an 8 minute kilometre.
Well I can.
Score 1 for me.
In your face arthritis.

Tuesday

You ever have one of those days when your workout is exactly what you needed?
I was supposed to run last night, but the weather was a bit wonky all day. It was sunny, it was cold, it hailed, it was super windy. So I decided to stay inside and did Turbo Fire instead.
I haven't done a regular (non HIIT) TF workout in about two weeks and it was so what I needed. Chalean Extreme is tough, running is great but also hard work. Fire 45 was challenging but just so much fun. It was a good break from weight lifting and running.
After Fire 45, I did Stretch 10 - again, exactly what my body needed. Felt very zen like afterwards.

Goals for April

• Chalean Extreme - 3 times per week
• Do an abs workout 3 times per week
• Cardio workout - 3 times per week
• Focus on eating fruits and veggies
• Cook dinner twice a week
• Keep running! Increase distance gradually so 10K race on May 1st isn't painful
• Stretch 4 times a week

Burn Circuit 2

Tuesday:
I'm trying to keep my diet very clean this week. But what do I do on my lunch break? Buy a package of wine gums. Gah! Could have been worse as they're only 150 calories, but still! I had all sorts of healthy snacks with me.
Finished the day with Burn Circuit 2 from Chalean Extreme and Extreme Abs. The schedule only has Extreme Abs once a week, but my core is really weak so I'm thinking I'll add this on to every CLX workout. Feeling rather sore today. I'm finding the Chalean Extreme workouts difficult right now which isn't surprising as I've been doing very little weight training since I started Turbo Fire back in January. So its good, but I'm missing intense cardio.
This morning, did HIIT 25 from Turbo Fire. So tough but I felt good afterwards. Followed that with 15 minutes of yoga, just doing whatever moves I felt like doing. Great way to start the day.

Long Week-end!

And it’s not done yet! Yay!
I took Thursday & Friday off work so I could go visit my parents for a couple of days. I’m also off on Monday as I’ll be working next Saturday. My cat was upset and didn’t want me to go.


Friday, I went to Curves with my step-mother for Zumba. This was my first time at a Curves location. The workout was a lot of fun, and I got to try all of the strength training stations in between dancing away. It was an alright workout – nothing strenuous, but I can see how women who aren’t up for a more challenging workout would like it.
Saturday, I did Fire 55 EZ in my parents’ basement. Doing tuck jumps on carpet = very different from doing tuck jumps on hardwood. I felt more cushioned, so was jumping higher.
I came back home Saturday night and started Sunday off with some Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 1.

As I mentioned, the other week, I don’t think that Turbo Fire will fit in well with my running. So to mix things up, I’m going to do Chalean Extreme three times a week and than 3 days a week of cardio, either running or Turbo Fire.
I really like Chalean Extreme – same trainer. Music isn’t as good as Turbo Fire, but I’m concentrating on the moves, so that’s all right. Burn Circuit 1 is 36 minutes but I added an extra 5 onto that having to pause to adjust my weights. I really want some Select Tech dumb bells, but so not in the budget right now.

Last week’s plan:

• Monday – TF Fire 45 EZ check
• Tuesday – rest day check
• Wednesday – Fire 45 check
• Thursday – 4K run, 3-1 intervals didn’t happen – I rested instead
• Friday – Fire 55EZ Zumba at curves
• Saturday – either Zumba or Fire 45 EZ Fire 55 EZ

This week’s plan:

• Sunday: CLX Burn Circuit 1
• Monday: Run 5K
• Tuesday: CLX Burn Circuit 2
• Wednesday: Run 5K
• Thursday: CLX Burn Circuit 3
• Friday: HITT 20 + CLX Abs
• Saturday: Fire 45

Test Drives

Last day of my mini break – boo.
Scheduled workout today was a 40 minute run. I was going to head outside, but there’s still snow on the ground and its rather chilly so I headed to the treadmill instead. It was a good opportunity to test out my new running shoes:

I bought these on Friday. They’re Nike Air Pegasus 27. They felt great in the store and worked fine for Turbo Fire, but within 10 minutes on the treadmill, the bottom of both feet started hurting. Luckily, Running Room allows exchanges if they haven’t been worn outside so back to the store they go. I’ll probably end up with the updated version of my current shoes.
The other thing I picked up was a new sports bra.

The Fiona bra from Moving Comfort. Really happy with this. Very comfortable, good for running and the straps adjust from the front! What a fabulous idea! Kind of want a couple more.

Snow??

This is what I woke up to -

And it snowed all day long. Joy. There goes my running path. I was in my spring jacket on Monday. Today its back to puffy coat, hat and winter boots. Boo snow!
Came home from work and did Fire 45 and realized that I need new running shoes.

I normally wear my running shoes for Turbo Fire as I find they give the right amount of support. But after Sunday’s run, they were covered in mud. So I tried first my cross trainers (that I bought in 2007) and my first pair of running shoes (which the above shoes replaced in March 2010) and no go. My feet were achy and I was getting a pain in my shin. So on went the runners and than my living room floor needed a good cleaning when I was done. My plan is to get a new pair of running shoes to wear for outdoor runs and than I’ll keep these for Turbo Fire and treadmill running.
Speaking of treadmills (dreadmills) that’s where I’ll be tomorrow. Running outside in –10C and 10cm of snow = not my idea of a good time.

Unhappy Body

Whole lot of ups and downs this week-end.
Saturday, I had to work during the day but came home and went out for a run. I was only going to do 3K but once I was out, I noticed that my favourite running path was clear of snow! Yay!! So off I went.
I ended up doing 5.03K in 39 minutes at a 7:48/km pace. Pretty good. My goal is to be able to keep up a 7:30/km pace. As I increase my run intervals, my time goes down.

Sunday was not so good. I was feeling off most of the day. I did drag myself out for a run, just wanted to do 3K since I did 5 the day before. 3 was a struggle. It was harder than any run I had done in the past week. My pace was alright (7:47/km) but I felt wiped out.
When I got home, I pretty much lay in bed for 20 minutes. I didn’t stretch, which probably didn’t help matters. Just lay down gulping down water (note to self – take fuel belt no matter how short the run).
As the evening went on, my joints starting hurting – my hands, my knees, my feet, my hips. I was dizzy and feverish – a fabulous flare up. Not fun. I haven’t had one in a while. Went to bed at 9:30 and slept solidly to 7 this morning. I’m feeling much better now, but maybe I need to take it easy for a bit.

Week Plan

Feeling much better this morning. I took inventory of my joints before getting out of bed - no pain or stiffness so I sprung up and did Fire 45 EZ. Just what I needed. Fire 45 EZ is (as the title says) 45 minutes long. The main difference between this video and other Turbo Fire classes, is that there's no fire drills. While I normally like sumo burpies and "air jacks", it was nice to just do some kicks and punches.
Week Plan:

• Monday - TF Fire 45 EZ
• Tuesday - rest day
• Wednesday - Fire 45
• Thursday - 4K run, 3-1 intervals
• Friday - Fire 55EZ
• Saturday - either Zumba or Fire 45 EZ

2011 Races

Just back from a run. Its a lovely spring like day. 6 degrees Celsius and sunny. I really want the last of the snow to melt.
Today’s run:
Distance: 4.52K
Time: 35 minutes
Pace: 7:44 min/Km
Intervals: 2 min run/1 min walk
My goal is to increase my run interval by one minute every week. Was feeling good with the 2/1.
The last 500 metres of my run, I decided to just run, no walking, no looking at my heart rate monitor. I ran 5 minutes straight and didn’t keel over at the end. So I know that I can handle more than 2 minutes of running at a time, just not sure if I can maintain that though for an extended period of time.
I love running.
2011 Racing Plan:

Sporting Life 10K on May 1st. I registered for this after coming back from Sunday’s run.


Toronto Women’s on May 29th. I am clearly doing the 5K and not the half marathon (not yet, maybe next year).


Toronto Women’s 10K on August 27th. This was my first 5K last year and this year, I’m moving up to the 10K.

Toronto Women’s 8K. Again, I did the 5K portion last year. I really like this series.

And a marathon! Ha – just kidding. I’ll do the 5K portion. I’m trying to convince my husband to do this one with me.
Of course, this is all dependent on my RA staying in check, but I’ve been pretty much pain free for a year, so I’m sure it’ll be fine (touch wood).

Ouch

Yesterday, I went for my first outdoor run of the year. I’ve been craving a run but I don’t want to run on ice (I don’t like walking ice so running on ice = no way) so I’ve taken the last 3 months off.
I just wanted to see where I’m at. So I didn’t plan any set run/walk intervals, didn’t worry about my pace. I just set my nike+ for 5K and went.
Happy to say I maintained a 8min/km pace and finished 5K in 40 minutes which is where all 3 of last year’s races were.
So the bad news – I didn’t improve at all in 2010.
The good news – I haven’t gotten worse after 3 months of no running. I really think my intense Turbo Fire workouts have helped.
Little sore around the hips and shins today. I guess my body needs to get used to running again.
I’m trying to figure out how to incorporate running with my turbo fire schedule. I’m in week 7 of 12. I was supposed to do Fire 55 EZ which is a 55 minute rather intense workout but I got 15 minutes in and my body wasn’t having it. My shins hurt, the bottom of my feet hurt, my knees. I really wanted to do the video (I love it!) but my body said no. Rather than pushing through it and possibly injuring myself, I turned it off and did a toning video instead.
I want to run 3 times a week, do yoga once a week, strength training and turbo fire. Unfortunately, I also need to work full time, sleep and give my body a rest once in a while.
I’ll have to think on this.

MIA

So what have I been up to for the past month??
Tracking food and exercise on Spark People.

Waiting for the snow to melt and spring to start.
Doing Turbo Fire 6 times a week.
Participated in The Power of Movement (loved this! Going to do it again next year).
Buying smaller clothes.
Harassing the husband while he's doing P90X.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ-jhsOFCdY]

Post Yoga Bliss

Just finished my Turbo Fire workouts - Core 20 and Stretch 40.
I love the way my body feels after yoga. All of the knots in my shoulders from hunching over a computer all week are gone. My hips don't feel tight. My back feels relaxed.
I'm in a state of body bliss.

Turbo Fire Month 1

Loving Turbo Fire!!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRGTuvoEgdA]
I finished week 5 of the prep schedule on Sunday and decided that rather than continuing on with another 4 weeks of prep, to move onto the regular schedule. I have the advanced program with comes with a few extra workouts, so the entire schedule is 20 weeks. So I’m good for workouts until the end of June.
The workouts are definitely tough but I can keep up with some modifications. Lots of punches, kicks, bit of dancing (as Charlene says - “SHAKE IT!!”). Than you throw in the fire drills – 30 seconds to a minute long ultra high intensity cardio. Burpies, “jacks with air”, high knees, jumps. I’m sweating and completely out of breath when its over.
After give weeks, I’m down 5 pounds and 3.5 inches. I’m also pumped up and ready for more!

Quick 2010 Recap

I've been on a good streak of fabulous years. 2008 - went on a fabulous two-week trip to England, my husband proposed. 2009 - got married, went to Jamaica on honeymoon, bought our first condo. 2010 was pretty wonderful too. My highlights:

2nd trip to Jamaica for my 30th birthday.

Vegas in August

Running my first, second and third 5K's.