Around the Bay 30km race report

….or how about just a 24km race report as these kms good. The last 6km…not so much.

I love this race.. it is an interesting distance, great tune up for a spring marathon and a challenging course. This year was great because the weather was great until the very end and there was a ton of crowd support – if you saw a huge pile of people on Beach Blvd, that was my in-law family and I love them for being out there for us.

We had a huge group of runners out for the race today:

Don’t you love how running pics are always ‘ruined’ because of the reflective material we wear?

We were also very lucky to have access to private parking, a place to store our stuff and at least 6 support crew out on the course to cheer us on, provide us with extra Gatorade/gel/water/fruit if we needed it. To say I am lucky to have found this group of people is putting it mildly.

KM 1-6: felt really good – there was a group of about 6 of us who were all out for this as a training run. (this wasn’t my goal race) I decided I needed to make a pit stop so I let them go and … pitted. Small complaint – I appreciate spectators being out..but if you can let the runners use the porta-potties first..it would be appreciated. Being in line behind 3 was stressful.

KM 6-18: still felt good. I sped up from 6-8 to catch back up to my friends which hurt the legs a bit but I knew I wanted to stay with them. At the 14km , my in-law family was waiting for us so we high 5 all of them and it was a great boost. Hit the 15km mark slower than I thought but at this point I didn’t care and just wanted to come in strong.

KM 18-23: the blister on my right foot I thought that might have started came out in full force. Kept on going but was starting to hurt a bit.

KM 23-26: more walking happening…gels were not going down well at all and for the first time, I had stitches…What the? Where are they coming from?

KM 26-30km: just get this done. My WONDERFUL running friend stayed with me the entire time and pulled me through. One of our other running buddies actually paused so we caught up with her and we finished together.

So, my longest Race to date….It wasn’t ideal but it was realistically faster than our training run, I wasn’t injured and I didn’t quit.

The hubs did a 3 person relay and they rocked it finishing 7th our of 90 teams with all 3 of them PB’ing for 10km.

I did take a pic of the blister on my foot but it was too gross to post…I don’t want to look at it.

So all in all, a good training run and experience for me. Before Cincinnati, I will be experimenting more with gels as the GU just didn’t seem to work as well as the blister situation.

And yes…I am still doing the full Marathon.

Stats:

Chip: 3:51:48.8

10km: 1:14:49
15km: 1:52:46
20km: 2:30:19 – note how much I slowed down from 20-30km…that’s how bad it was.

Yes...I know this is slow...but one year ago almost to the day, I had trouble making it to the 15km mark as part of a relay in 2:04 so this is a big Victory for me.

Bring it on Around the Bay!

This was a weird mini-taper week. Monday was a rest day ...and so was Tuesday. I was bone tired when I got home on Tuesday so I knew there was no way I was doing a tempo run that night. Apparently I needed the rest as I fell asleep twice after dinner which I never do.
To make up for it I did a great 45 min tempo Wednesday afternoon and then hit up spin and core that night. Yesterday was a nice easy 45 min Zone1 run and today is just a 25 min run with 1 Zone5 interval.
Saturday's plans...are to update my iPod, sit on the couch and figure out what the heck to wear on Sunday for the Around the Bay Race. Right now, I am thinking my standby garbage bag will do the trick as I can dump it if it doesn't rain much but will keep some semblance of wetness away from me.
I am so looking forward to this race...I really do love it and know that no matter what, it will be a PB for me as I haven't actually done the full race so far. (we just train on the route so I am familiar with it) I have a time goal and will be running with some of my awesome run buddies so I will keep my goal in mind and keep my plan:
First 20km - 3 or 4 Zone 3 repeats
Last 10km - run the hills as Zone 5 and then ..... whatever I can muster up for the last 3km which is the hardest part of the race.
It doesn't help that the Grim Reaper tries to temp you into the cemetery near the end of the race.
Bring it Bay...no matter what, I will enjoy every moment of it.

Step Back and ....steping up

This week was a step back week in prep for this Sunday's Around the Bay 30 km race. (Older than Boston don't cha know...) I have run the course, I have trained the hills and am ready for my first full 30km race. Since this is still really a training run for me, the plan is to do the first 20km easy and then when the rolling hills start around the last 10km to run those at a Zone5 pace.

20km easy and then start running hard. What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Since it was step back, we did 12km on Sunday. It was weird 'just' doing 12km but it was fun. There is some Leafs V Habs rivalry in our group which resulted in one of the boys having to do his run in a skort - and he did it. The bets for the next matchup are already on... There was about 10 of us who all stuck together and it actually turned into a relatively nice day to run in. (unlike last week's monsoon). As of right now, the long term forcast is calling for rain on Sunday but I don't even care...as long as there isn't a ton of snow to screw up footing, I'm ok with rain. That's what garbage bags, extra mitts, DryFit clothing and a non-wussy attitude are for right?

So...this went into the mail on Saturday:

Yes..it is my info to change from the half marathon to the FULL at the Flying Pig in Cincinnati.

In 41 days I will run my first marathon.

Be prepared for mucho freakouts in the meantime.... For now, let's try to get through Sunday's race shall we?

You know you live in a 'healthy' house

...when the only thing you can find for a sweet post dinner treat is raisins. That's gotta change..

Hopefully everyone has been out enjoying the wicked weather we have been having. Not being a winter person, I say: "Bring it Spring!"
This week has been the usual nuttiness:

• Monday: off..surprisingly after Sunday's monsoon run, I felt pretty good. One of my run buddies said because we basically ran in an ice bath, that was why we felt ok.
• Tuesday: 4 Zone5 repeats. The hubs and I went out early and did these 'together'...by together I mean he did the warm up with me and then I watched his back as he busted out 3:25/km repeats which I plodded along trying to keep a 5:05/km pace. He only did 3 so did the 4th one with me which I guess was like walking to him. It was nice to be able to be out together.
• Wed: spin and core - which was really hard. Going home, we saw the lines up at the local bars for St Paddy's day....really? at 9pm at night? Guess I am getting OLD.
• Thursday: 60 min Zone3. Last night was a great night for a run and I had a good one. I held my pace for the whole 40 min I needed to and felt comfortable in the 20 min warm up/down.
• Friday: today is an easy run at the gym and since I am at the gym, I am getting some weights in...way to slack in this area...

Tonight we are going to a (late) St Paddy's day card party. Seeing as we spent the 17th in spin and core classes getting our butts handed to us, there may be a couple of bevvies consumed...Not many as Saturday consists of the usual 2 hrs of torture. Luckily we have a step back week in our run program so we are only running 12km on Sunday.
....never would I have thought: "wow, this is great- we are only running 12km on Sunday".

What are you doing this weekend?

Weekend in training

Saturday: Spin and Satan’s BootCamp

Spin time: 75 min

# of all out 2 min repeats: 11

# of times barfing almost happened: 2

Bootcamp time: 45 min

# of pushups: 100

# of walking lunges: ~ 120

Amount of time doing wall squats: 10 min

# of running drills: 4

Sunday: 30.5 km run : Around the Bay Route

Start time: 7:30am – 6:30 Non DST………

# of puddles: a billion – some were actually designated as lakes I think

# of sneaker soakers: ~ 10

amount of time it didn’t rain/ice pellet/have gale force winds: NONE

# of times the term “Character Builder” was used: 3

# of hills walked: NONE - ran 'em all

# of runners we saw...relieving themselves in plain view: 3 -yes ladies we saw you!

# of cemeteries run through: 1 .... just visiting....

# of support crew out to help with water/food/course ‘patrolling’: 7 - THANK YOU!

Total time: 3hr, 47 min

Pounds all of my waterlogged clothes weighed post run: ~5

Feeling of not wussing out and getting it done: Priceless

Back to the Grind and a miracle

Look...a sort of non-sucky race pic of me:










I like this because I look runner-ish, I am smiling at my run buddy and it is near the end of the race and I don't look like death. It's a Chilly Miracle....

I took Monday off and it was much needed. I was very sore and the idea of exercise was unappealing. I have had a serious deep seeded hunger since Monday as well - yesterday while getting my morning Tim's, they were giving away hashbrowns...I had one and seriously don't remember eating it...except for the crumpled empty wrapper in my hand. In all my training I haven't had a hunger like this so I incorporated the healthy stuff as usual, and took the bad as it came. 3 days ain't gonna kill me. In an effort to feed my body some really good stuff and stave off the hunger, today's morning snack was chia seeds, a scoop of beta allinine and a pkg of original Amazing Grass with water. For those of you who say you LIKE the taste of this on its own...I would hate to hear what you think tastes bad.

Now I am back to the grind:
Tuesday: the hubs dragged me out for a very easy 6km run which in the end I appreciated but I also complained a lot before we went.
Wednesday: spin and core and it felt ok - no pain, no injuries = a win in my books.
Thursday: 60 min Zone3 so I am going to see how it goes - run easy if I need to but if I feel ok, through in some Tempo.
Friday: another easy run so I am going to do 10km.
Saturday: spin and Torture bootcamp
Sunday: 30km run on the Bay Route - the rain apparently and it is Daylight savings so we lose an hr sleep so we will technically be starting at 6:30am.

Hold me.....

2010 Chilly 1/2 race report

Shout out to Mother Nature - thank you for such a great day weather wise. You=rock.

After spending a Saturday hydrating and visiting with my pops who is still in the hospital, I did my usual pre-race prep: a lot of sitting, a lot of water, pasta+spinach+tomato sauce and got my gear together for the race.

While I knew the weather would be great, I was still unsure what to wear - I was more concerned that it might be cold along the water if the wind picked up. I decided on:

• Nike tights
• Long sleeve Loft8 shirt
• Under Armout t-shirt
• Old Running Room jacket

The jacket was tossed at the 3km mark. I could have easily worn short sleeves the whole race but overall I was fine...

Since it was my Dad's bday on Sunday, I put a shout out to him on my bib:

The hubs was volunterring early in the morning at the race so I took a cab downtown. It was the first time to a race where I wasn't super early so it was a bit weird to be rushing around a bit before the race. I actually missed our running group photo as I was in line at the porta-potty. (3000+ runnners+volunteers+spectators = not enought portapotties...just saying..)

I rushed over to the corrals and was lucky enough to find my run buddies - I still can't believe I found them.

The race started off fine - no anthem though which I thought for sure they would play and was a bit dissapointed they didn't...aren't we all still on an Olympics/Canada high?

The route was changed this year to basically an out and back with 2 turnaround points. I thought I would hate this but I actually really liked it. I was awesome to see the front runners go by and it was fun (and distracting) trying to spot my friends who were also racing). Having all of Lakeshore closed was great as well....except for the GOOF who did turn out of a house on Lakeshore and drove up behind us at around 11km. The police officer who reprimanded him was way nicer than I would have been....

I hit all my goals at each KM and was ahead of where I knew I could realistically finish. I struggled a bit around the 19km mark as it was a bit gusty at that point but then I spotted one of my running buddies and focused on trying to catch her. I knew if I did, I would be able to finish even stronger.

And we did:

PB and a respectable time of: 2:27:41. I know this isn't fast for all you speedsters out there....this is a huge deal for me....

(sorry for the scary picture - post race/shower with zero makeup and extreme closeup isn't good for anyone...)

My legs are are seriously sore in my hamstrings and outer thighs....it feel good to know I worked hard this time around...

Chilly Half Marathon

PB + respectable race time = Me Happy
More to come tomorrow. I am tending to my first ever running blister. (seriously..)

Thanks, Taper, Olympics and the Number 9

Thanks: I truly appreciate the comments/best wishes from everyone about my pops. He is pretty much stable and overall getting stronger. The biggest issue is around his leg and what, if any, next steps they can do. We will just have to deal with one thing at a time. He has had a ton of visitors and the hospital staff have been great so it makes everything a wee bit easier.

Taper: Since this weekend is the Chilly, I am in taper mode. I am trying to love the taper this time around but I find it hard to back off when I am training - try doing an 'easy' spin class when everyone else is busting out a tough ride. This week has been 3 easy runs, 1 spin class and a core class. My sleeping has not been great but I am holding out hope for some good zzzz's tonight and tomorrow. CTV had an interesting video on Olympic athletes and tapering that I cannot seem to find but did find this great article around Tapering.

Olympics: Since everyone seems to be in post-Olympic withdrawal, here's another take:


Number 9: the expected high on Sunday is 9 degrees and sunny. Seriously? Last year it was
-20 and I had all my winter running gear on. This year is looking like capris. Thanks Mother Nature...I owe you one.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. If you are at the Chilly this weekend or doing any races - have fun, enjoy and if it is your goal race, leave it all out on the course.
I will.

A post that is a downer but trying not to be.....

Last week my Dad was admitted to the hospital as he had a heart attack. They then discovered he had some internal bleeding so focused on getting that under control. Over the weekend, he had a scope to ensure it had stopped...which it did. They can't do much at this point as he needs to stabilize overall before they can even look at the extent of what damage was caused.
It is too early to tell as all efforts are just getting him to rest and be in a better position overall with his health.

So there has been a lot of worrying, waiting, travelling over the last few days. At this point, I am taking it day by day - yesterday, his blood levels were better and he was eating and had more colour -step One. He had an echocardiogram and tests on the legs to see if there was anything serious that stood out - step Two. I feel better than I did over the weekend and am just getting everyone to focus on the small steps rather than the overall "What If" scenarios just yet. It sucks being at the hospital but it is the best place for him right now and I feel way better than if he was at home. At least there they are closely monitoring everything going on with him including food, insulin and overall vitals.

It is a good thing that I don't eat when I am stressed or I would be in trouble. Instead....I run and workout. I ended up with some great solo runs that helped me vent out a bit and clear my never ending thoughts.
I am still racing this weekend and will be heading back to the hospital for more visiting at least a couple more times this week. Ironically, Sunday is the race and also my Dad's birthday. Oh Fates, you are such funnnnnyyyy things.