Looking like a geek and more hills

Tonight on the way to hills, I had to make a quick pit stop - water overload - so I headed into the Tim Hortons enroute. On my way out, I caught a glimpse of myself and had a good chuckle over it:

• Running Hat
• Gloves
• Neck warmer
• Giant Garmin watch
• Flashing light attached to my arm
• Reflectors on my leg, jacket etc.
• Winter Running tights

I don't think about how different I look all kitted out in my running gear as I am usually surrounded by people dressed the same as me. Trust me, you really stand out when you are on your own. No wonder I got a few odd looks on the way out.
Anyway, Hill Training session #3 last night. It was, as everyone says to make you feel better, a 'character' builder. It was tough last night. My breathing was way off - I was labouring on the downhill portion of the run - that is not a good thing. I still made it through just under 4 repeats for a total of 8.5km. Tonight I am heading to the gym for a leisurely treadmill run and weights. Let's hope the New Year's Resolutioners don't get in my way.

Come On Mama Nature...Sunday's 17km adventure.

She doesn't like runners that I know..
Woke up at 5:30am yesterday and peeked out the front upstairs window to see how much snow we had.....except I couldn't actually see anything as the pile of snow was too high. Oh boy - nothing like 15cm plus of snow.
Husband and I went out and shovelled which turned into a game of: "Pick up snow and search for a place to actually put it". We have run out of places and it is only January. AWESOME!
I was already a bit frustrated as I knew the footing was going to be a challenge - and it certainly was. We were given a different route to go on to try to keep us off the main streets seeing as drivers tend to aim for us when we are out on the actual roads. For the most part it wasn't too bad if we could run on the actual asphalt part but it was a lot of slipping and sliding, in fact, 17.2 km worth of it. I am seriously happy to have completed the run but my legs are sore. I took an epsom salt bath prior to my shower yesterday so that seemed to help a bit. I am going to hit the gym to do weights and a bit of cross training today. Nothing too 'leg' heavy today but enough to keep them loose. And perhaps kick on the sauna at the gym as well.
I will say it again that the people we run with ROCK. There is no two ways about it. They make sure we have water, food etc at the halfway point, they follow us out on the course to make sure we are ok and offer an ton of encouragement all the time. I have never had so many people high five me before, especially for my running!.

The bit of good news was my water and GU didn't freeze today. Small things make me happy as far was Winter running goes!

It happened again...

Another primo parking spot at the gym yesterday afternoon. So again, no excuses and hope all around for a good run. Turned out pretty good -8.5 km at a steady pace. All week my legs, specifically my hamstrings, have been sore from Sunday's run. I'm not the only one who commented on that in our group so I don't feel so bad. Because of the snow we had on Sunday, we were doing a lot of slipping and jumping around to find somewhere to run ... and dodge the idiots driving at us. This causes your hams to kick in even more than usual hence the soreness.
It is supposed to 'warm' up a bit starting tomorrow. Of course the tradeoff to this is we are supposed to get MORE Snow.
Yeah. 17km tomorrow morning will be a slip-slide again.

Hills - #2 .. big surprise, there was snow and COLD

3 hill repeats tonight for a total of 7km. We just did a run to the top of the hill instead of our usual 15 min warm up as it was too slippery to run on the sidewalk. The road inself was actually in pretty good shape as they had salted it early in the afternoon. It still was a challenge as it was -20 degrees and it had just finished snowing when we got there. We have an amazing run club as we had 5 spotters out on the route at the various corners in the run to warn of us oncoming cars....or in my case at one point, a SNOWPLOW! Seriously, worrying about where to get out of the way while you are running as a snowplow is heading for you. Our spotters also give us amazing support and encouragement along the run. We also get hot chocolate at the end. It tastes like liquid gold by the end.
Overall, I felt ok and did a bit better than last week. I still have to do some walking at various points but at least I feel like I am making some improvements.
Tomorrow is Yoga day. Instead of the gym, I put together a basic routine to do at home instead:

• Push ups - floor and on the ball
• tricep dips
• planks - front and side
• squats - sumo and ballet
• wall sits

Kicking it old school with this routine. If we had a rope ladder, I'd try to climb it.

Choose Your Attitude

Today's Weather Forecast:
Day: Increasing cloudiness. Periods of snow beginning early this afternoon. Amount 2 cm. High minus 12.

Night: Snow at times heavy. Local amount 10 cm. Wind up to 15 km/h. Low minus 20. Wind chill minus 27.

-27 ... yikes. Tonight is Hill Running.... 3 repeats like last week. I am going to hit up Winners to see if they have any dealios for some thermal running tights. My bottom half is always cold - must be the surface area that needs to be covered. :)

It is no secret I do not like winter. I don't enjoy being cold, I hate winter driving, shoveling etc.

So to get out and run with our group outside it not always fun...at all. However, if you set yourself up to hate it, you probably will. So in the end, what is the point thinking you are going to dislike every minute you are out there? None. So instead of not going or not doing it....

CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE. It really isn't that hard. There are very few times when I don't finish a run or workout and at least feel a little better. And it is easier to just get it done rather than try to schedule it in later because then what happens? It gets pushed back further and further and you end up trying to double up. Remember, if you try to catch up, you run a greater risk of getting injured. I don't have time to be injured.

Last night was our scheduled tempo run. It was cold (-20 or so) but the challenge was more that the sidewalks were really slippery. It ended up being more of an interval run as anytime we hit actual bare pavement, we ran faster. We only got about 5 km in but we all thought that was better than nothing.

5 cm doesn't seem like a lot

Unless you have to run in it apparently. Sunday's LSD was 15 km for me. My wonderful running buddy and I decided to meet early at 7:45 am instead of 8am. She is running the full marathon distance and because our pace is slower, she ends up having to finish later than everyone else. This way when she makes the turn back, there are other runners to finish with her. The temperature was around -14 or so but the cold really didn't bother us. Virtually no sidewalks were shovelled so we had to run on the road where we could - and this meant where we would not get run over by the insane drivers who use LakeShore Road. Seriously, where do you have to go that early in the morning and that fast? The footing on the road wasn't too bad but LakeShore is narrow so you have to do a lot of jumping back and forth. And a shout out to the idiot who 'purposefully' splashed me on Walkers Road: "Bite Me". Karma's a bitch you know....
3/4 of the run was pretty good..the last 1/4 was just not fun. There was no way I was running on the road by myself so I just tried to run when there was some sidewalk shovelled and fast walk the rest.
Another discovery - Mocha flavored Cliff Shots and Blue Gatorade just do not go well together. I don't use Gatorade as it is just too sweet but at the half way point, my gel shot was almost totally frozen as was my water and I needed something to keep me going. So I filled up with half water, half Gatorade so it would not freeze as fast. I squeezed what I could out of the gel shot and rinsed it down with Gatorade. Uck...not pleasant.
The stuff runners do.....

I should buy a lottery ticket

Yesterday morning's early run did not happen.  Well, the 4:30am alarm went off but the need for sleep won out.  So I sucked it up and went to the gym after work.  There was some negative talk on the way there (I COULD go on Saturday instead...) but when I got to the gym, I got a primo parking spot - this never happens to me.  I have no parking mojo.  Apparently, the New Year resolutioners take Fridays off as it was surprisingly quiet went to got there so no worries about taking up time on a treadmill without feeling too guilty.  As I put my things into a locker, I noticed it happened to be my lucky number.  Things were going my way so I had high hopes for this run.

And it was awesome.  8km at a steady pace and I could have kept going.  There was no line up for mats afterwards so I was able to stretch in peace.

Yep, lottery ticket might be a good idea...

Oh Me, Oh My...Hills

Tuesday night's tempo run was just ok. We did an out and back for a total of 42 min. I was having breating issues for the first 15 min or so which seems to be yet another pattern occuring on the Tuesday night runs. I have to just relax and ease into it a bit more even if it is a tempo run.
Hill training started last night...in the snow..and wind. It was brutal but man, do you feel great at the end of it. It ends up being equal amounts of leg endurance, mental toughness and swearing. I believe I came up with new swear words last night.
This type of training is totally different than the hill repeats I have previously done. Last night we did a 15 min warmup and then headed out to the course. Each leg was approx. 1.3 km which you start out on a steady downhill, into a small flat section and then straight uphill. Turn around and repeat. Total for 1 repeat is 2.6 km. I managed 2 full repeats which is what I was supposed to do but I did need to walk a bit especially on the way back. It was also pretty slippery by the end because of the snow. I actually feel ok this morning but I am going to ensure that tonight not only do I do some yoga but also grab a bath with Epsom salts so that I can manage my run tomorrow.
Speaking of which, I will be heading out to the gym for a 5am run...Yes, 5am. I have not had to do this in awhile just because of holidays so I am not looking forward to the cry of the alarm tomorrow.

2009 - Goals

I do not do resolutions...I just think they set you up for failure. I will tell you that when I see all the newbies at the gym in January, I do get irritated. Cruel? Yep, but year after year I see the same thing only to never see those people back in 2-3 months.
I do believe in setting goals however...I just happen to be setting them in January. :)

1. Continue Run plan.
I have no choice here. I am committed to not only my husband and running group but also to a myriad of races coming up:

• March 1 - Chilly 1/2 marathon
• March 29th: ATB Relay (15km)
• May 24th: Ottawa 1/2 marathon

My secret whisper goal is to do a full marathon in the Fall - but let's not get too ahead of ourselves just yet.

2. Stay injury free.
This is a no brainer but I have to do what I can to ensure I stave off injuries as the kilometers increase. For the most part I stretch after running but I really have to be more diligent in doing so all the time, including adding in a yoga session.

3. Get rid of these 20 pounds.
Again, a no brainer. Running + less weight = way freakin' easier running. Duh..... Food / nutrition wise, I know what to do and over the holidays, I was pretty good with being conscious of my eating so I will just continue along this path. And let me tell you when you live with a husband who needs to gain weight and has trouble doing so, it is not easy.

4. Work out purposefully.
Right now, I love running but really do not enjoy much else. Over the holidays, I did mix things up a bit (elliptical, arc trainer, weights) but there was a lot of watching the clock while doing it and really not going into these workouts with a plan. If I am going to do it, I need to make it count.

So - how to execute the goals?
1a - continue with my run club. They won't let me fail.
2a - dedicate 15 min every night to doing some stretching. If I am going to watch TV, I might as well do something productive.
3a - plan out meals and snacks and get them ready ahead of time.
3b - weekly weigh in. I have Angie and Lynn's challenge to follow as well as accountability to our run coach. None of them show any mercy.
4a - write out cross training/weight workouts.

There....now that wasn't so hard was it?

Back to Reality

Whoa - time flies when you actually get a few days off. I didn't realize I had not posted in almost two weeks but the time away was great. I wasn't really into the 'holiday spirit' as it were so we really just tried to treat it as vacation time. Food wise, we really didn't indulge too much and workouts were pretty much spot on.
Go us.
Running has been really good of late. There were a few more runs at the gym than I would have preferred but to be totally honest, I just do not have the motivation to run by myself outside at this point. I didn't miss any workouts so that is a good thing.
Sunday's latest long run was 13km. That is the farthest I have gone since last year's Chilly 1/2 marathon. It wasn't too bad. I have found a new run buddy who keeps the same pace as me so we have been running together. We push each other so that is great for me. The first 10km was good but the last three involved a lot of swearing. My legs were toast by the end but feel ok today.

Hill training starts this week.
Dripping with sarcasm, I say: Yeah.....