Bit late with this.
Monday (July 8th)
- 45 minute lunch time yoga class with co-worker who just recently completed her teacher training. Outside in the courtyard, so a bit hot, but really great.
- strength training cut short due to power outage (which lasted 3 hours)
Tuesday
-4km's on the Belt Line. Couple of downed trees along the way
Wednesday
- Push Circuit 3: chest, back, legs and core. Making up for Monday's workout
Thursday
- 3.44km in 24 minutes (6.50/km) with running room clinic
Friday
- 6.21 km in 43 minutes (6:57/km pace)
Saturday
- REST DAY! So enjoyed this. I didn't even do any yoga, just ran some errands.
Sunday
LSD with Half Clinic - 9.04km in 1hr8 min (7:32/km)
I stuck with a small group of other 2:40 half marathoners. Great run - having company made the time go by.
All in all, a good week despite the weird storms/power outage.
My Garmin mysteriously has stopped beeping (when I plug it in, for intervals, splits, etc). Can't figure out why and have yet to fix it. Must call Garmin support this week.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
Fall Half Training Week 2
Monday
Chalean Extreme Push Circuit 1 & Extreme Abs - biceps, triceps, lower body, core.
Followed up with Rodney Yee AM Yoga - Twists
Tuesday
5.58km, including 4K Tempo. 38 minutes (6:51/km)
Wednesday
4.34km including 3K Tempo. 29 minutes (6:42/km)
I couldn't make it to the Running Room for the group run, so did this on my own. I'm not sure if I'm doing the tempo runs correctly still but I'm definitely increasing my pace (this was my third fastest run ever according to Garmin Connect).
Thursday
3.08km in 22min (6:58/km)
2nd week with running room clinic. Nothing too exciting. I am enjoying running in a new neighbourhood.
Followed with a 4K walk home to cool down. Way too sweaty for the bus.
Friday
Chalean Extreme Push Circuit 2 & Extreme Abs - shoulders, lower body, core.
Saturday
75 minute Hatha Flow class. I really enjoy this class, but sadly will be the last one for awhile. As part of a "save money" plan for a fall trip, I'm cutting out a lot of extra spending and yoga classes is one of the things to go. I figure there are a lot of really good free yoga options available (dvd's that I already own or from the library, websites) so I can still get my yoga in without paying $15+ per class. I do also have access to a $5 class at work that just started up so I'm going to give that a try.
Sunday
7.8km LSD in 57 min (7:18/km)
Sunday morning clinic run which also happened to be Tune Up Run for the Waterfront Marathon. I won a shirt! Yay swag! I stuck with the slow poke group. Great run, good company, beautiful route. I felt really good, even with a couple of hills thrown in.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Stride Box Review
Confession - I'm a beauty product addict. Last year, I was getting monthly sample boxes from a variety of different companies (Glymm, Top Box, Glossy Box). I've noticed a couple of bloggers talking about some subscription boxes for runners so decided to check out StrideBox.
I've received two Stride Boxes so far, May and June.
So far, I'm pretty happy with StrideBox. Lots of fun things to try out. July's box started arriving last week in the states, so I should get mine this week.
StrideBox is a monthly subscription box. Cost is $15 which includes shipping in the states - there's an extra $5 charge for shipping to Canada. Generally I get my box about a week after they start arriving in the states. The boxes ship automatically (charging your card) every month unless you cancel.
I've received two Stride Boxes so far, May and June.
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| May's Box |
The box is packed full of goodies - a mix of accessories/gadgets and nutritional products.
In May's box, I received the following:
In May's box, I received the following:
- Just Great Stuff Bar (not a fan)
- A vanilla flavoured gel (VFuel Endurance Gel)
- Vanilla Protein Powder (Perfect Fit)
- Sport Beans (used for a training run)
- Cherry Cola Honey Stingers - Yay for new flavour. Very tastey.
- Bonk Breaker Bite (Peanut Butter & Jelly flavour so gave to my husband. I'm one of those weird people who don't like peanut butter).
- Blister Bands (2). Really should use this so I stop making the blister on my big toe worse.
- Water Bottle Cleaner Tablet
- Footwear clip for attaching your shoes to a bag. (Not sure if I will use this, but could come in handy).
June's Box:
- Skratch Labs Sports drink mix
- Almond Butter "Pocket Fuel" (I do like almond butter, just not peanut). I can't see eating this on a run. Think I'll save this for travelling.
- Electro Delytes Energy bar
- Power Ice Frozen Refereshing Ice Bar with Electrolytes! Such a good idea. Post run freezies!
- Blue Steel Sports Anti chafe cream with tea tree oil
- Lock laces
- Foot Rubz Massage Ball
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| I kind of love this thing. |
Monday, July 1, 2013
Fall Half Training Week 1
And so we begin again...
Three weeks away from any sort of training plan was nice, but I like structure in my workouts so happy to get going again.
I'll be running the Scotiabank Waterfront Half Marathon in October for the third time. I have a bit of nostalgia for this race as it was my first half in 2011. Signed up a week or two after running my first 10K and my friend was all like "I'm going to start training for a half!" and got me excited. Two years later, I've run 6 halfs and he has yet to do his first (I try to peer pressure him every year).
As anyone who's been following my blog this year will probably know, a 2:30 half has been my goal for a bit. I came close at my last two (2:33 and 2:34) so it's most likely very do-able this fall. As added insurance, I just began my first running room clinic to keep me on track and to make sure I'm getting quality training in.
Thinking back to my spring training, the things that worked well for me:
Three weeks away from any sort of training plan was nice, but I like structure in my workouts so happy to get going again.
I'll be running the Scotiabank Waterfront Half Marathon in October for the third time. I have a bit of nostalgia for this race as it was my first half in 2011. Signed up a week or two after running my first 10K and my friend was all like "I'm going to start training for a half!" and got me excited. Two years later, I've run 6 halfs and he has yet to do his first (I try to peer pressure him every year).
As anyone who's been following my blog this year will probably know, a 2:30 half has been my goal for a bit. I came close at my last two (2:33 and 2:34) so it's most likely very do-able this fall. As added insurance, I just began my first running room clinic to keep me on track and to make sure I'm getting quality training in.
Thinking back to my spring training, the things that worked well for me:
- increasing my run/walk ratio from 5/1's to 10/1's
- running 4 times per week instead of 3
- decent tempo runs
- yoga and quality post-run stretching
Things that need to be changed:
- incorporating hills and speed work (especially the hills)
- maintaining 10/1's on all long runs. This really falls apart for me when I get tired and start taking extra walk breaks.
- keeping up with lower body strength training. I dropped it early in my training because my legs were tired all the time (perhaps P90X Legs and Back was not the best choice). My hips/quads don't bother me when I've been doing squats and the such so I'm going to keep on with the lower body work. I'm currently in phase 2 of Chalean Extreme so will keep at that, switching from three strength training sessions per week to two.
The running room clinic will keep me on track with the first two changes and I kind of love strength training, so I'm fine with the third. My weeks will look something like this (providing work/life doesn't get in the way):
Monday - strength training
Tuesday - run (tempos by the looks of my training plan)
Wednesday - run either with clinic whenever possible or on own. Tempos, speed, hills.
Thursday - run clinic
Friday - strength training
Saturday - rest day or yoga
Sunday - long with with clinic
6 days per week is my usual workout schedule so this seems manageable. I'm not 100% sure about the three running days in a row but we'll see how that goes.
Onto last week's training:
Monday
Chalean Extreme Push Circuit 1 & Extreme Abs. I love Push Circuit - heavy weights, 6 to 8 reps. I feel bad ass. Biceps, triceps, lower body and core. Followed up with a bit of Rodney Yee yoga.
Tuesday
Tempo Run. 6.05K in 43 minutes (7:02/km)
Wednesday
Push Circuit 2 & Extreme Abs. Shoulders, lower body, core.
Thursday
Running Room Clinic - tiny little run. Was supposed to be 3K but Garmin said 2.78. 19 minutes = 6:53/km. Decided to walk to and from Running Room which was 8K in total. Might not do that anymore.
Friday
Push Circuit 3 & Extreme Abs. Chest, back, lower body, core.
Saturday
Hatha Flow. Went in expecting an easy class, but the levels at the new studio I'm going to seem to be different than my old studio. This class was pretty much exactly at my level, so I could focus on my alignment and breathing. Challenging enough though to get a sweat going.
Sunday
First LSD with running room (took the bus this time - no walking). 7km in 51 minutes, 7:17/km. I really enjoyed running with a group and that kept me with my 10/1's, no extra walk breaks. Thinking now that maybe this wasn't as slow as needed since my best half marathon pace is 7:16/km, but I'm sure we'll slow down as the distance increases.
Yin Yoga - I have a month long unlimited pass so I'm trying some classes that I might not normally go to. This was super boring. 75 minute class, we probably did 12 poses - held for longer periods. I'm sure it was super beneficial for my body, but really not my thing.
All in all, a good first week of training.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Color Me Rad 2013
Been pretty quiet around the blog. I've had three weeks off between spring training ending and fall training starting so haven't had much to say.
Until today!
I first heard about Color Runs last year but couldn't find any in Toronto. When Color Me Rad announced a Toronto date, I was all over it and harassed a bunch of people until they said they would register with me. T
Than it sold out :(
Luckily, they opened a second day so I quickly convinced a few people to join me and we were all set. I don't think either of them were too sure about this race, but I thought it would be a ton of fun.
And it was!
Color Me Rad was held at Downsview Park and very easy to get to by subway, followed by a shuttle bus.
Found the rest of our group. The event seemed quite organized. My only complaint - no bag check! Seems silly for a run that's all about getting messy.
We had registered for the 11 a.m. wave but no one really seemed to care when you went and waves were going out about every 10 minutes so we started a bit earilier.
The run pretty much starts off like this:
so you're already covered in the first colour.
Lots of people walking this race which was alright. The event isn't timed and you're just doing to have fun. It was ridiculously hot so we took more walk breaks than we normally would - also we wanted to stay together throughout the race.
Until today!
I first heard about Color Runs last year but couldn't find any in Toronto. When Color Me Rad announced a Toronto date, I was all over it and harassed a bunch of people until they said they would register with me. T
Than it sold out :(
Luckily, they opened a second day so I quickly convinced a few people to join me and we were all set. I don't think either of them were too sure about this race, but I thought it would be a ton of fun.
And it was!
Color Me Rad was held at Downsview Park and very easy to get to by subway, followed by a shuttle bus.
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| Sitting in the back of the bus with our crazy glasses on. |
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| Before. We're all clean. |
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| Waiting to start. |
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| Color Bomb (not my photo) |
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| Having fun! (My friend isn't convinced yet). |
This was seriously a great way to transition from one training period to the next. No expectations, just a good fun day to remind me why I love to run.
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| After. |
I would do this again. Many times.
In case anyone is wondering - the colour came off my skin very easily. The buff I'm wearing kept it out of my hair for the most part. My old shoes are quite colourful now, quite like it. My shorts have a pinkish tinge to them now that might not come out. The shirt was an old cotton one that I cut the arms off. I might leave it colourful. Also - my phone was in a ziplock through the run - I took it out for pictures.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Niagara Falls Women's Half Marathon
Half marathon number 6 done. I didn't hit any either of my time goals so no new PR for me, but I'm okay with that.
Saturday morning, the husband and I headed out to Niagara Falls. Our first stop was race kit pick up which was very quick and well organized. Besides the usual shirt (which I quite like) and bib, there was a bunch of health & beauty products and best of all, a bottle of wine. Big improvement on the race kits (if you can call it that) from Goodlife and Sporting Life.
After picking up all of my goodies, I stood in line for a bit to meet Kathrine Switzer. She spent a good couple of minutes with everyone, asking about their race goals, whether this was their first half or not, taking photos, signing bibs and books. She greeted everyone with a big hug and just made everyone feel special.
Sunday morning, we drove over to the starting area (conveniently the same spot as packet pick up and lots of parking).
Tents were set up. Tables out with linen tablecloths (all very civilized). Great announcer getting everyone pumped.
The start line was a bit disorganized. They asked all of the runners to get into the starting area 15 minutes before the race started and line up appropriately. They did have signs for finishing times (sub 2, 2-3:30, 2:30 - 3, 3+), but I don't think they were spaced out enough so runners were just getting in wherever they could. Than they brought a marching band through the starting area which was kind of fun, but everyone had to move to the sides.
The organization was also just left up to the runners which I don't think is ever a good idea. The crowds weren't huge (1700 runners & walkers) but once I crossed the start line, people on one side of me took off and people on the other kept walking.
I looked for the 2:30 pace bunny and none was to be found. Their Facebook page listed bunnies for 2:30, 2:45 and 3 but I only saw the 2:15 bunny and the two 2hr bunnies. I'm not having good luck with pace bunnies.
Katherine Switzer gave a little pep talk, we did the wave a couple of times, high fived our neighbours and were off!
The course was quite pretty, all along the Niagara Falls Boulevard, the falls and the Niagara River.
Very flat, just a couple of little inclines.
Running by the falls was nice with the cooling mist.
It was pretty hot, very humid and quite windy. Not my favourite running conditions. My right leg started hurting early on and I just felt kind of groggy for most of the race.
The course is an out and back that takes about 7km followed by another (longer) out and back. This would have been a fun race to do with a bunch of friends cause you would see each other a couple of times along the course. The race leader passed us back of the pack people on the first loop quite early. Everyone was cheering and clapping for her and she actually acknowledge us and gave us some applause too which was really nice.
Coming back to the starting area at 7km, there were quite a few spectators and the marching band from earlier. My husband was out taking pictures. I yelled out to him "this isn't going very good so far! I'm struggling" He told me later that he thought this was the half way mark and I had run 10K in 45 minutes (ha!) so was a bit confused.
The crowds, seeing my husband and getting a high five from Kathrine Switzer gave me a second wind and I was feeling better for the next 4k's.
With the heat and humidity, I was trying my best to stay hydrated. I had my fuel belt on with two bottles and took at least one cup at every water station (either to drink or refill my bottles). Around 15k, I ran out of water in my fuel belt. The next water station was around km 16. They had about 10 cups of powerade out and had run out of water! Not good. Next water station was at km 20 so I took two cups to refill my bottles. They were also handing out timbits which was the most disgusting thing I could imagine eating at that point.
My leg was hurting quite a bit so I was alternating between running and limping. Saw a friend right before turning into the final 200m. Lots of people and cheering in the final stretch. Sorry to say that I didn't finish strong or with my arms in the air. Kind of went out with a whimper.
Despite feeling cruddy for most of the race, I finished in 2:34:06 making this my second best half and just a minute behind my half marathon PR.
Firemen handed out the medals followed by volunteers handed out cold, wet washcloths (more races should do this). Picked up a bottle of water, powerade, a chocolate milk and snacks in a box (once again, much better than Goodlife and Sporting Life).
Besides the water issue and the start line disorganization, I really liked this race.
The course was scenic, the swag was good. The runners seemed very encouraging of each other. The volunteers were very enthusiastic. One interesting note - the top 3 runners were all over 45, the first place runner in age group 50-54. I would definitely do this race again at some point, probably not next year as I'm determined to make SeaWheeze happen.
Now that this race is done, I have a few weeks off before starting training for the fall. Looking forward to a few weeks of unstructured running and exercise.
Saturday morning, the husband and I headed out to Niagara Falls. Our first stop was race kit pick up which was very quick and well organized. Besides the usual shirt (which I quite like) and bib, there was a bunch of health & beauty products and best of all, a bottle of wine. Big improvement on the race kits (if you can call it that) from Goodlife and Sporting Life.
After picking up all of my goodies, I stood in line for a bit to meet Kathrine Switzer. She spent a good couple of minutes with everyone, asking about their race goals, whether this was their first half or not, taking photos, signing bibs and books. She greeted everyone with a big hug and just made everyone feel special. |
| Ready to go. |
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| The much advertised "classy" porta potties. |
The start line was a bit disorganized. They asked all of the runners to get into the starting area 15 minutes before the race started and line up appropriately. They did have signs for finishing times (sub 2, 2-3:30, 2:30 - 3, 3+), but I don't think they were spaced out enough so runners were just getting in wherever they could. Than they brought a marching band through the starting area which was kind of fun, but everyone had to move to the sides.
I looked for the 2:30 pace bunny and none was to be found. Their Facebook page listed bunnies for 2:30, 2:45 and 3 but I only saw the 2:15 bunny and the two 2hr bunnies. I'm not having good luck with pace bunnies.
Katherine Switzer gave a little pep talk, we did the wave a couple of times, high fived our neighbours and were off!
 |
| Yay! Happy! |
The course was quite pretty, all along the Niagara Falls Boulevard, the falls and the Niagara River.
Running by the falls was nice with the cooling mist.
The course is an out and back that takes about 7km followed by another (longer) out and back. This would have been a fun race to do with a bunch of friends cause you would see each other a couple of times along the course. The race leader passed us back of the pack people on the first loop quite early. Everyone was cheering and clapping for her and she actually acknowledge us and gave us some applause too which was really nice.
Coming back to the starting area at 7km, there were quite a few spectators and the marching band from earlier. My husband was out taking pictures. I yelled out to him "this isn't going very good so far! I'm struggling" He told me later that he thought this was the half way mark and I had run 10K in 45 minutes (ha!) so was a bit confused.
With the heat and humidity, I was trying my best to stay hydrated. I had my fuel belt on with two bottles and took at least one cup at every water station (either to drink or refill my bottles). Around 15k, I ran out of water in my fuel belt. The next water station was around km 16. They had about 10 cups of powerade out and had run out of water! Not good. Next water station was at km 20 so I took two cups to refill my bottles. They were also handing out timbits which was the most disgusting thing I could imagine eating at that point.
My leg was hurting quite a bit so I was alternating between running and limping. Saw a friend right before turning into the final 200m. Lots of people and cheering in the final stretch. Sorry to say that I didn't finish strong or with my arms in the air. Kind of went out with a whimper.
 |
| Looking tired. |
Despite feeling cruddy for most of the race, I finished in 2:34:06 making this my second best half and just a minute behind my half marathon PR.
Firemen handed out the medals followed by volunteers handed out cold, wet washcloths (more races should do this). Picked up a bottle of water, powerade, a chocolate milk and snacks in a box (once again, much better than Goodlife and Sporting Life).
Besides the water issue and the start line disorganization, I really liked this race.
The course was scenic, the swag was good. The runners seemed very encouraging of each other. The volunteers were very enthusiastic. One interesting note - the top 3 runners were all over 45, the first place runner in age group 50-54. I would definitely do this race again at some point, probably not next year as I'm determined to make SeaWheeze happen.
Now that this race is done, I have a few weeks off before starting training for the fall. Looking forward to a few weeks of unstructured running and exercise.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Niagara Falls Women's Half Goals
Half marathon number 6 coming up on Sunday!
Signing up for Niagara Falls was kind of my consolation for not being able to do SeaWheeze for a variety of reasons (next year! Going to make it happen!). I did two half marathons in a relatively short period of time last year so figured I could do it again - this year I actually have an extra week.
This event just looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. Relatively flat course, apparently a fabulous race kit (last two races I got my bib and a shirt so not hard to improve on that). Smallish race (capped at 2500) and from the comments on Facebook, lots of people doing this as their first half marathon.
My goals:
A. 2:30 of course
B. Sub 2:33 for a new PR (I do realize that at some point, not every race will be a new PR. Not looking forward to that day).
My plan:
- Stay hydrated and avoid overheating. Forecast at the moment is low 15, high 22, feels like 28, isolated showers. I'm liking the showers part, not so much the rest of it. The course goes up and down the Niagara Parkway which I remember being a bit shady (I hope). Hoping for some mist off the falls.
- Start out with 2:30 pace bunny but have a back up plan. Learning from Goodlife - set my Garmin for 10/1's so I'm not relying on other people and have a pace band ready.
- Be careful with eating on Saturday. This is my first "away" race so I'm a bit worried about making sure I'm drinking enough water and eating properly on Saturday. Temptation will be to have a beer on a patio - I'll try to leave that to post-race. I am bringing breakfast foods with me and healthy snacks.
- Don't spend too much time walking around on Saturday - rest the legs.
Signing up for Niagara Falls was kind of my consolation for not being able to do SeaWheeze for a variety of reasons (next year! Going to make it happen!). I did two half marathons in a relatively short period of time last year so figured I could do it again - this year I actually have an extra week.
This event just looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. Relatively flat course, apparently a fabulous race kit (last two races I got my bib and a shirt so not hard to improve on that). Smallish race (capped at 2500) and from the comments on Facebook, lots of people doing this as their first half marathon.
My goals:
A. 2:30 of course
B. Sub 2:33 for a new PR (I do realize that at some point, not every race will be a new PR. Not looking forward to that day).
My plan:
- Stay hydrated and avoid overheating. Forecast at the moment is low 15, high 22, feels like 28, isolated showers. I'm liking the showers part, not so much the rest of it. The course goes up and down the Niagara Parkway which I remember being a bit shady (I hope). Hoping for some mist off the falls.
- Start out with 2:30 pace bunny but have a back up plan. Learning from Goodlife - set my Garmin for 10/1's so I'm not relying on other people and have a pace band ready.
- Be careful with eating on Saturday. This is my first "away" race so I'm a bit worried about making sure I'm drinking enough water and eating properly on Saturday. Temptation will be to have a beer on a patio - I'll try to leave that to post-race. I am bringing breakfast foods with me and healthy snacks.
- Don't spend too much time walking around on Saturday - rest the legs.
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