A Happy Runner and the foodie in me

Ummm… the road back to training last week hit some serious road blocks in the form of work and humidity. This means 3 runs all week, 2 of which I felt like I just paid ‘leg’ service to. (I better run-I don’t want to-let’s get this over with.)

Sunday started out much better:

I headed out to meet up with our running group who are still hosting maintenance runs until our next clinic starts. I was pleasantly surprised to see about 20 people out. It was a hot but a great 60 min run…we actually had to slow down as we were booking it at one point. ** Note how matchy-match I was…even my shoes were white and pinkish…It was noted by my runner friends how well I coordinated. I noted they didn’t say I was coordinated..just my clothes.

The rest of the day was listening to a coaching talk about Triathlon race strategy for next week’s race in Milton. There are a few newbie triathletes so it was interesting to hear the various rules:

-if you litter on course, you can be DQ’ed

- do not touch anyone’s stuff/equipment in transition…again a DQ

-whenever you are in possession of your bike, your helmet strap must be attached..

Too much stress for me – I’ll stick to running but will cheer those nutty ones on.

The foodie in me is always on the lookout for healthy but tasty meals to have…especially since I do.all.the.cooking…

Last night’s dinner was a keeper:

Raw veggies - Red and orange peppers, green onion, sugar snap peas, carrots, cucumber - mint, cilantro, chicken, cooked rice noodles mixed with a dressing of soya sauce, lime juice, ginger, sesame oil and brown sugar.

Awesome.

Tonight is homemade guac with chicken, corn and green. I am hungry already…..

Duathlon recap and the Death of a Gym Membership

Monday was the hubs first race of the season:  Victoria’s Duathlon in Waterloo.  Last year’s race season was waylaid by a busted shoulder blade and that whole internal bleed thing so he was excited about getting back into racing. 

DU = Run+Bike+Run:

 

Stats for 4km run/30km bike/4km run:

18:16/56:52/21:09 = 1:39:13 which is slightly better than he was aiming to do.  I was not able to attend but told him to ensure he was well coated in sunscreen.  He did a great job…nothing like having you race number sunburned into your arm.  Doink…

Last Friday, I cancelled my gym membership.  From the various acquisitions my membership has undergone, I have been a member for about 17 years…and have had a lot of problems every few months – i.e. they say I don’t have access to that club, I have to call around, get mad etc.  Friday they did it again based on a screw up on their part so I cancelled…I don’t really need it as once our clinic starts again, I have run/spin/core etc. to keep me busy 5 days a week but I did like having it for 1-2 days a week. 

Not anymore…Bye Bye GoodLife…sorry you didn’t think I worthy of your membership.

7 things about me on a holiday Monday….

Marlene tagged me for The Versatile Blogger Award!

What to do??  Post 7 random things about me and then tag 10 of you to do the same. Here goes:

1. The hubs and I met in first year University when we were 19 and have been together ever since – just past our 16 yr wedding ‘versary.

2. Said hubs and my first date was to a TiCats game after Frosh week…he forgot his wallet and I had to pay for the date.

3. I have been at the same company for almost 15 years. I have done everything from client rep to manager of 40 staff to my current role. (see below)

4. My job is kind of weird – I plan for disasters and making sure our business keeps running.

5. The hubs and I are big foodies..but of late I am really eating clean and no meat/chicken/pork etc.  It is actually easier than I thought.

6. i regularly play golf love it but am really not very good.  I have a lot of good moments, just not at the same time.

7. I love fashion and have some wicked clothes and shoes (…a lot of pairs..) but tend to be lazy about dressing up. Now though I have lost over 30lbs so I am making the effort and feel the best I have every about myself.

Some of you may have been tagged already but if not..you are it:

Amy, Krissie, Marie, Aneta, Linz, Julie, Krista, Alyssa, Cindy, Shelly

Hope my Canuck friends are enjoying this awesome long weekend. I have had a great one thus far and am wishing the hubs a great Duathlon today…wish I was there but will cheer you on from afar.

Marathon of a Biggest Loser rant

The marathon part of the Biggest Loser show has always gotten in my craw…Sure I am all for challenging yourself and I KNOW this is a reality/entertainment/fantasy TV show but I get sensitive when they do this. 30 days to run a marathon - Really? As a runner do you get your back up? Why don’t they have to wake up early every Sunday to run? Or run hills? Or experiment with vile flavours of Gu? Or run so fast you’d think you were going to barf?

One thing they don’t show is any of the eating or drinking along the way. Come on…they have to have and they just aren’t showing it right? I honestly think that they stop timing when they are eating/hydrating. Krissie said it best last night when this would have finally been the perfect spot for product endorsement. Hell, I would have been happy to see them eat Jenni-O turkey for goodness sake.

I am not trying to take anything away from their accomplishments – good for them if they really did do 42.2km – it is a long freakin’ way. I am not jealous either. If I was jealous of everyone who was a better runner than me…my eyes would be yellow from all that hateful bile. But is seems to send the wrong impression and almost take away from the sheer training needed to complete a marathon. Daris’ time was ‘unbelievable’…it seems he has some great natural running ability but...that is FAST....

One of my favourite quotes from Spirit of the Marathon is: “The marathon will change your life”. While my time in my actual first race is not something I am proud of, I am proud of my blisters, of not quitting and having done the sheer amount of training I did. All of that changed my life forever.

<end rant>

Note: these are not the ramblings of someone lacking in sleep, who is working 12+hr days and whose husband is still away and whose cats are klingons because said husband is away…

“Awesome” and a non-runner recap of the Mississauga Marathon

Friday’s anniversary dinner with the hubs was great (as usual).  We both had gong show days at work so it was nice to have some great good and talk.  We don’t usually get gifts for each other, just a card but we both bought each other the exact same book:

Must.be.love…

Sunday I headed out to Mississauga to cheer on our run group.  We had about 15 people who were doing either the half or full and boy did they luck out with a beautiful day to race on.  We saw everyone off and then headed into Port Credit and scored a great spot at the finish chute where we spent the next 6 hrs and cheered everyone on.  (Side note:  Personalized Bibs rock!)

We also spent time yelling at the spectators who were ‘strolling’ across the finish area as runners were coming in.  There were no gates along the top part of the chute and it was very narrow…I cannot believe that there wasn’t anyone who wiped out through there, especially when the Marathoners were coming in at the same time as the Half Marathoners were. 

Note to ‘new’ racers…..I know it is exciting to finish together but don’t take up the whole space – you are supposed to keep to the right and try to be single file.  Turn you headphones OFF so you can hear if someone is coming up from behind….

While waiting for one of our runners who was aiming for a 4 hr finish, I happened to see:

Marlene!  Glad that she posted what she was going to be wearing at the race!

Our group did amazing…we had two that qualified for Boston and three first timers who did amazing.  Everyone finished strong and happy.  I finished sunburnt…that is not awesome….

The Queen of Rest

Ok…it has been 12 days since the marathon…I have ran once.  It was a nice (rainy!!) 7km run but since that one, the mojo just is not there.  Granted I have been so busy with work that I cannot see straight but it is weighing on my mind. I know I need to rest and this still falls into what the experts recommend (1 day of rest per mile ran) but I thought mentally I would be more ‘ready’ to run than I am.

I am a total slave to the plan – I need to know what distances to do, when to do speed work etc. so this whole “run for time and take it easy” until our next clinic starts isn’t easy for me.  Tomorrow I am getting back on track with spinning at the gym, yoga and 3 weekly runs.  Otherwise I may lose what is left of my rapidly fraying rope.

Luckily I have this to look forward to:

Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon.  As it turns out, it the goal race for our next clinic…it doesn’t hurt when the course is flat with a nice downhill…way different from the Pig!  My coach and I talked briefly about some changes to my training this time around…and it is going to hurt but I cannot wait.  Of course our summer clinic also means stairs and hill workouts and a month of track workouts but bring it.

Tonight I have the pleasure of going out for a wicked dinner with the hubs for our ANNIVERSARY.  Then he leaves me for a conference in N’Awlins.   Bummer…

Happy ‘Versary…glad we have driven each other nuts for oh so many years with more to come…

First Marathon – post race ‘Muising’

Post marathon, I actually feel pretty good.  Well…it took until Wednesday night to feel good but that’s better than I thought I would be.    I am taking a full week off to rest and start back into a regular routine on Monday.  Heavy training starts in June…

Post Race ‘Muising’ .. my last name being Muise….

To be honest, I am happy the ‘first’ marathon is over.  I know what I am like and if I am not certain of something, I don’t do well.  I am  a planner – I plan meals, workouts, schedules, work etc so not knowing what would happen at the end of the race freaked me out more than I thought it would.  Now that I really know what to expect from the distance and in horrible conditions, I am not as anxious about the whole thing. 

While it was brutal, I finished.  It would have been easy to quit or cut it to a half marathon..but I didn’t.

Mile 23-26.2 were the longest 5km I have ever done.  I know I dropped a huge F*Bomb when the mile 25 marker seemed to take forever to appear.  I apologize if you were running near me.

I still need to experiment with these crazy blisters of mine.  I think Vaseline will be the next step along with toe caps.  There has to be a good combo somewhere.

I was finally happy with what I ate during the race: 5 gels, 5 eLoad tabs and water/Gatorade at the stops.  I do need to find another gel as CarbBoom didn’t really cut it for this distance.  More experimenting coming up…

My run group/friends are.the.best.  None of them cared how long it took me and some of them waited and cheered me into the finish ‘swine’…many of them having waiting over an hour in the rain when they were already soaked.  This means a lot.

My hubs is unbelievable..he flew in to be with me, gave me an amazing card, waited in the rain, left me alone when I needed space, took my shoes/socks/band aids after the race when I couldn’t bend down to take them off and was proud of me.

I can’t wait to do it all again…..

Flying Pig Marathon Report – brought to you by the letter H

H for:

hills – this is one hilly course…Around the Bay is a cake walk compared to this..

heavy rain and humidity: there were some gaps in the rain but it was the wettest and hottest Pig on record.  Wee!!

heart: the volunteers, spectators, my husband and our support crew have great hearts and I owe them a lot.

healing: I can barely walk stairs and I have blisters upon blisters from the rain.  My pinky toe has no skin left – sexy!

We drove to Cincinnati on Friday in lovely weather –sunny and very warm.  We made it in time to go to the expo and get our race kits.  The expo was pretty good – lots of free samples, nice race t-shirt, a poster and a gym bag.  Pretty sweet.  There are pigs everywhere…

I picked up this awesome shirt that sums up marathon training:

Saturday, it rained…a lot.  One of our group did the 10km so we were out to support her.  For a newbie runner, she did great and didn’t complain about the weather – good lesson for everyone who complains about not wanting to run in ‘bad’ weather.  Post race was a lot resting and obsessively checking the weather reports for race day.  I was pretty certain they would not cancel the race but with the threat of lightning, we weren’t sure.

Sunday dawned to ….more rain, thunder and lightning.  One of the weather forecasters said that marathoners “train in this kind of weather so heavy rain and lightning isn’t an issue.”  Seriously?  You try it buddy.

We all met at the Hyatt to get to the start line together – wearing of course the best in rain gear:

It was humid as well…not something we were used to so we all ended up dumping our ponchos very early in the race and lived with being soaked.

The rain got worse as we headed to the start time…because it was also dark we ended up doing our best to dodge giant puddles which wasn’t always successful so socks and shoes were water logged before the gun went off.  Funny point – just before the race started, a huge thunder clap happened…and the power went out.  What a way to start the race…

The course is tough….I knew this going in.  You know it is tough when the people in my run group tell me it was tough..and some of them have done Boston and are 10+ marathon vets…

 

Overall, the race was really well organized.  The volunteers were amazing, there were a TON of water/gatorade stations and a huge amount of porta potties – Ottawa I am looking at you when I type this.  The people who came out to cheer us on were also amazing – they were just as soaked as us and still yelled their hearts out.  The people in Ontario could take a lesson from them as it means a lot when you are out there as long as some of us are. 

So…how did I do?  Well I am not proud of my time.  It was tough to get a sense of if I was going too fast, knowing if I could hold a pace etc.  I felt great for the first half and then the blisters started.  My body-glided feet/toes did very well in my smart wool socks but there was little I could do.  Around 30km, I stopped and spent about 5 min changing into dry socks and changing band aids.  

This helped a bit but then new ones started.  Around 36km, I stopped again to try to re-band aid and ended up changing back into my smarwools.  By this time, I threw my pace band out the window and just watched any sort of time goal passed by. 

I finished strong in 6:10:  

 

and got this:

Would I do this race again?  If it weren’t so far, maybe but it is tough.  Will I run another marathon?  You bet….Running Hamilton in the Fall with plans to CRUSH this time are in the works.

Thanks for reading and hope you will continue on this journey and not be turned off by my sloooowww time..

Lessons learned will come next.