Saturday, May 26, 2012

TO Women’s Half Goals

3 races in 4 weeks ends tomorrow and I’m ready for a break.

Super excited though for tomorrow. I think that the Toronto Women’s races will also be special for me, cause it’s where I ran my first 5K in August 2010. Tomorrow’s half marathon will be my 6th race in the series.

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I’m not expecting huge improvements on my time from the Goodlife Half as it’s only been 4 weeks and I think that the course is going to be a bit tougher (ie. not downhill) and the weather is probably not going to be as perfect as it was for Goodlife.

Goals:

A – 2:40 finish. This would be a bit of a push, but if I pick up the pace during the second half of the race, might be manageable.

B – 2:43 finish (same as Goodlife). Based on my 10K time from two weeks ago, various running calculators put me at 2:43.

C- Finish with a smile.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

2012 Races - Update

April:
May:
June:
July:
Taking July off from racing

August:
  • A Midsummer Night's Run (15K) -August 18th registered for this at the Goodlife expo. Very excited about this race as it's been on my list of must-runs for a year or two.
  • Toronto Women's 10K - August 25th. Haven't registered for this yet, but I'm sure I will.

September:
Nothing planned yet for September but I really want to do Run for Your Lives!! Just trying to get the husband to join me.

October:

Friday, May 18, 2012

Near Gear!

After running two races in my Nikes, I decided that I needed some new shoes. I’ve only been running in my Nikes since February but I needed a slightly wider shoe with a bit more cushioning.

 

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I decided on Brooks Ghost 4. Very comfy and bonus points for the pink.

 

In June, I’m running the Toronto Pearson Runway Run with a couple of co-workers. I’ve been concerned about hydrating as there’s no water along the course, only at the end. Also, being on a runway, there’s no trees or shade of any kind. I don’t want to wear my fuel belt so I’ve been looking for a hand held water bottle.

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I found this one at Winners the other day for $10 so figured I would give it a try.

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Monday, May 14, 2012

Sporting Life 10K cntd.

Forgot to do my usual what I liked/didn't like about yesterday's race so here it is.

Things I liked:

  • The shirt. Nike dri fit shirt that fits. Even okay with it being bright yellow.
  • Well organized start line with proper corrals. 
  • Lots of people!
  • The course down Yonge Street is fun.
Things I didn't like:
  • Finish area was very spread out and there was no flow into it.
  • Took a long time to get a medal.
  • Not enough water stations. One more would have made a big difference in my opinion.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Sporting Life 10K 2012 Recap

This morning was my second time running the Sporting Life 10K.
I was up super early to get ready and arrived at the start line without any issue. The morning was a bit cool and it started to rain lightly. The start line of this event is always a bit crowded as there’s 20,000 runners! But it was well organized and everyone is broken into corrals. The line ups for the porta potties were very long but isn’t it always?
I met up with a co-worker (unplanned, I just happened to find him) who was running with a friend. I started off with them but they were doing 10/1’s and I wanted to stick with the same 4/1’s that I did last week so I lost track of them around 2K in.
I felt pretty good for most of the run. My sore toe from last week was bugging me a bit and I made the decision that I need new shoes. I had my fuel belt on which I was very happy about as there were only two water stations at 4K and 7K.
Coming to the end, I realized that I was really close to my goal of 1hr13 but needed to push it a bit to get there so I picked up the pace for the last 500m. Crossing the finish, my garmin said 1:12:59 which I was happy about as I had just made it under my goal time. My official chip time is 1:12:55 so even better! That’s 8 minutes off my first 10K on the same course and 7 minutes off my previous 10K PR. 7 minutes seems to be my magic number these days.

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The finishing area was pretty spread out and I had to walk awhile (seemed like a long while) to get there. Medal distribution seemed disorganized but I finally got my medal about 10 minutes after I finished. I couldn’t find the food/water stations, but luckily I still had water in my fuel belt. Transit was a bit of a nightmare and it took me about and hour and a half to get home (should have been closer to 40 minutes). Generally though, pleased with the race and my time.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Sporting Life 10K Goals

Tomorrow’s race has been completely overshadowed by last week’s half marathon. I actually pretty much haven’t given it any thought until a couple of days ago.

My goals for tomorrows 10K:

A – Finish under 1hr15min. Possible, but we’ll see. If I can repeat the first 10K of last week’s race, this could happen.
B – Finish in 1hr 15m. Based on recent times, I think this is do-able.
C – Break current PR of 1:19:50.
Have my usual pre-race dinner of pasta and garlic bread all set to go. Bagel, juice and banana set for the morning.
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(again, I kind of love the shirt)

Friday, May 11, 2012

Toronto Goodlife Half Marathon

Finally getting to my recap of last Sunday's half marathon. Figure I need to get on it as I just picked up my race kit tomorrow for this Sunday's 10K!





Sunday's weather was absolutely perfect and I woke up feeling excited and ready to run. And it was my birthday! As a birthday present, my husband drove me up to the start line at Mel Lastman square. The marathon started an hour before the half, and it was just started as we arrived. Made me a bit emotional watching them start.

The North York civic centre was open (including the washrooms) which was great. It wasn't cold out, but it was nice to get inside for a bit.

I made my way out to the start line and found the 2:40 pace bunny. There weren't any corrals which could have been annoying, but it seemed to work out alright. considering there was about 5000 runners.

I quickly lost the pace bunny and kept at 4-1 run/walk intervals. Yonge street was a bit hilly but it was fun running under the 401, by all the stores, along some of the route that I'll be on again at the Sporting Life 10K.

I was moving at a decent pace for the first half of the race. My garmin was a bit off, but I hit the 5K marker around 36 minutes in (my 5K PR is 36:23) and the 10K marker at 1:13 (my 10K PR is around an 1:19:50) so I knew that I was en track to beating my previous half marathon time of 2hrs 50 minutes.

We stayed on Yonge Street until just north of Bloor and turned down Rosedale Valley Road which was beautiful! No spectators, but tree lined sstretch of road.

I started getting tired around 14K and my 4/1's turned more into 3/1's, then 2/1's, then 1/1's, but I kept going. Turning onto the last stretch onto Lakeshore Blvd, I got a second (maybe 4th) wind and was able to come in strong.











My parents and husband were on the sidelines. I saw them a ways out and was waving my arms in the air. They almost missed me, but may have gotten a picture or two (they did! Just added them to this post).

I finished with the official time of 2:43:40 which was a full 7 minutes off last October's half. I'm very happy with this, especially considering that I didn't run at all between March 28th and April 18th due to my stress fracture.

Met my parents and my husband who were all "Happy Birthday". I was like "oh yeah, it's my birthday!" Completely forgot about that while I was out on the course.

Things I liked about the Goodlife Half:
  • Start at the civic centre - being able to go inside
  • The shirt - I think it's my new favourite
  • The course - I loved the course. Largely downhill which probably helped with my time and through some great areas of the city.
  • The finish line - I really liked finishing by Ontario Pace (rather than on Bay street like at the Waterfront Half). More room to meet people, stretch. Prettier being out by the water. No stupid little hill right at the end. This was a change from the usual course (normally finishes at Queen's Park) but I hope they keep it the same next year.
  • Giant medal
Things I didn't like or could be improved:
  • The Waterfront marathon seemed to have more spectators and music along the course.
  • Could have used more water stations. They seemed to be spaced out quite a bit at the later parts of the course so I was happy to have my fuel belt on.
  • Start corrals. They weren't necessarily needed, but I always think they're a good idea.
  • The bib was really big. I've compared it to my other bibs and it's an inch bigger top to bottom which was annoying. I have a short torso and with my fuel belt on, pinning it took a couple of tries.
Overall, it was a great first race of the year and I'm looking forward to the next one which is in two days!


Monday, May 7, 2012

Big Medal

 Finished in 2:43:40 so met my goal of finishing anywhere in the 2:40's. 7 minutes off my previous half marathon PR. Recap to come soon.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Ready… (I hope)

Despite a few set backs (stress fracture, cold, chest cough), I’m super excited for tomorrow.

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Half marathon day and it’s my birthday! And I kind of love this shirt.*

I don’t have huge expectations for tomorrow. With my lack of training for most of April, the distance is going to be tough. I’m definitely a stronger runner than I was for my first half last October, so I’m hoping that carries me through. I’m thinking of this race as more of a rehearsal for the next half at the end of the month.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a goal in mind. Here are my A, B and C goals.
A – Anywhere under 2hrs 50 minutes for a new PR
B – Similar time as last October – 2 hrs 50 minutes.
C – Just finish.

Off to bed soon to rest up.

*Not wearing this shirt tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Taper Week

Taper week so far...

Sunday: 12ish km
This run was a bit of a mess, both physically and mentally.
I dressed too warmly for the weather so I was too hot. I started running out of water. I didn't fuel properly before hand.
I started thinking "I can't do this!! I'm a lame runner!" which led to thinking about my cousin who passed away in January and is my inspiration  - she would pick herself up and keep going. Start crying a bit.
Yeah, it was all over the place.

Monday: Strength training

Tuesday: 5km run
Felt better, stronger. Regained confidence in myself.

Wednesday: Strength training.

Thursday will be some sort of run, probably 5km. Friday I will do some yoga, Saturday will be a rest day.