Peace Out Amigos

FINALLY!  Something has gone right with this upcoming trip…the strike was averted yesterday at 3:30pm.  If you heard someone squeal like a little girl…it was me.

So I am off to watch the hubs race:

Spend some quality time with him, my MIL and my awesome friends who are joining us on this journey.  Paella…here I come.  And my dear cats…please treat your house sitters nicely…(little demons that you are)

I’m supposed….

I should be ‘basking’ in the glow of Sunday’s 22km run…with race pace no less… that started in the dark:

and ended with beautiful skies.

I should be wishing my lovely friend and coach a Happy Bday with yet another Mama Pea Bday cake:

I should be so so so happy for the hubs who left today for our trip to Spain complete with fancy schmancy bike box:

but I am STRESSED that I might not even be able to leave due to the Air Canada strike that MIGHT be coming.

and be MIGHT I mean….I can’t get a refund until they cancel the flight…and I don’t know if they are going to cancel the fight…and there aren’t many flights to where we need to go…and I still have a connecting flight to try to make.

oh…and there isn’t just me, there is also 5 other people who will need to make changes.

AND….this is after Air Canada changed all our flights a few months ago where we had to make changes at great expense to us.

Vacations are supposed to be fun …. right?

Four for Friday – the wicked edition

(this would have been the awesome edition…but I’ve already done that…and “wicked” is fun to say…like “underpants” is to say.)

1.  Tonight the hubs and I are having dinner with my ‘rents, siblings and MIL.  We haven’t all gotten together in awhile so it will be an evening of good food and the usual nuttiness my family brings to the table. wicked.

2.  Last night was my first session with my newest coach. It was wicked.  We did a lot of the same drills we did on Sunday along with other balance/stability exercises.  My left side is wayyyyyyyy weaker than my right.  No wonder any issues I have had – knee, heel, psoas have all been on the left.  One exercise I cannot do?  Sit in a chair, lift one foot off the ground and raise yourself up balanced on one foot.  Not.wicked.

3.  Post workout, I went out for my tempo run and it was amazing.  I have never done a run that fast and though it was windy, it was NOT wind assisted…I actually beat my 10km PB time.  wicked.

4.  Not only am I lucky for the family I have, I am very lucky I have wicked friends. The kind that go on vacay and think of my and buy me my favorite socks….in a rainbow pattern:

Go to race socks?  Yes please!  Thanks Kerry!

Have a wicked weekend be it if you are racing, relaxing, enjoying life or just being.

20km+run drills? Yes please!

As cruddy as last Sunday’s run was…this week’s was awesome.  I did 4+km to the clinic and then 16km with my run buds..the 20km flew by.  Even my camera worked up a sweat apparently:

We had the most interesting range of conversations (as usual) on the run:

• reflecting on Sept 11th – still so fresh in everyone’s memories
• various races we are going to do …and more importantly where can we go to race and then do some SHOPPING!
• digestive issues and the value of finding a brand new porta potty en route when you least expect it.
• how porta potty toilet paper can stick everywhere when you are sweaty
• and the weirdest conversation?  A 10min one about how while Serena Williams is a great athlete…the girl needs a stylist.  Random but pretty funny.

Later in the afternoon, I was lucky enough to get invited to do some run drills with the hubs training team as they had a guest coach in.  It.was.awesome.  We expanded on the drills we did a few weeks ago to include some indoor drills (trail legs, fire hydrants, up and backs etc) as well as As, Bs, Cs, fast feet and actual run drills.  Then I recieved a great invitaion from one of my coaches asking if I would like to work once a week with their guest coach.  WOULD I?!  Of Course!  I am very excited …. who would have thought when I first started with this group almost 3 years ago I would be doing drills, running stronger than ever, having THREE awesome coaches to work with when the first day I ran with this group….I cried.

If you let it, work at it and embrace it, life is pretty sweet.

Four for Friday

1.  I realized that the pic post cruddy run on Sunday:

is very similar to the angry monkey logo on my new water bottle. 

2.  So here’s a happy monkey pic post tempo run last night…it was a good one.  I had the same great run on Tuesday (early) morning as well. My heel is acting up again but I continue to tape the crap out of it in the hopes it will go away again…..

3.  As much as I don’t want to think about Winter running, I am always on the hunt for a good deal on running clothes.  Last night I scored a great one on a Sugoi Firewall Zip jacket….$34.99 @ Winners.

4.  In two weeks..I will be on vacation…in Spain.  I am cramming every bit of great tough training in before my Oct 16th race as I can.  I will be trying to train while we are away…really trying…..

Have a happy monkey weekend!

5 day weekend

2 vacation days+a weekend+1 holiday = 5 blissful days off. 

• We had 2 dinners with family/friends we had not seen in awhile which were great. 
• Made some great vegetarian/vegan dishes courtesy of MamaPea’s recipe book.  Addicted to it?  Yes.I.Am.
• Had a fantastic 11km tempo run on Thursday night…and yes I did my drills before hand making look like an even goofier runner than I already am.  My neighbours must not get us at all.
• Had a good recovery run Friday morning which I stupidly started at 9:30am..when it was already 100% humidity and sun-tastic.  I was a sweatfest and then I played golf where I walked the course.  Beat doesn’t cover how I felt that night.
• Sunday’s long run was blech..there is no other way to describe.  I wasn’t feeling great on Saturday (potentially a carryover from Friday’s sun filled day).  I headed out to get a few extra KMs in by running to our clinic.  The view @ 6:10am of our street…I think.

The first 4km was brutal.  I met up with the group and did another 6 with them which were ok.  I really wanted to do the full distance with them but I knew it wasn’t going to happen so I headed back to the clinic for a total of 16km.  The last km wasn’t pretty…I may have walked it all. 

Monday was a rest day but I still played golf/walked the course.  The difference in temperature from Friday to Monday was unbelievable.  It appears Fall weather is here.  Don’t be overjoyed….that means Winter is around the corner people.

So overall it was a great long weekend full of (some) rest, running, outdoors, great healthy eats and being shocked that it is SEPTEMBER already!

Did you take the long weekend by the balls and enjoy it?  :)