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.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
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!
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!
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