Wow. I can't believe it's already been a week and a half since my Toronto Marathon. Things have been busy, but I figured I would take the time to write my second marathon story while it's still fresh in my mind.
The big news is: I finished my second marathon on May 15th, and I shaved off almost 7 minutes from my original time. A PB! And when I crossed that finish line, the feeling was one of elation, joy and pride...Such night and day emotions compared to my first marathon.
Here, then, is the story of my second marathon:
On the Friday before the race, after a busy week at work and catching up with friends who I hadn't seen in months (this included far too much eating and not much running) I drove to Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto to pick up my race kit. There was a pretty long queue for the 5, 10 and half marathons, but only a few of us walking over to the full marathon tables. Bruce had told me that there would be more than 2,800 of us running the full -- more than 10 times more runners than the 130 runners at the Moncton Marathon in the fall -- but I still felt like I was part of a small group and I had a little glow of pride as I picked up my race bag.
There wasn't much happening at the Race Expo, which surprised me, but I did get to meet John Stanton in person and shake his hand. When I told him I was visiting from Halifax, he said I'd enjoy the Toronto course because it's mostly downhill and pretty flat, compared to Halifax. I asked him whether I should head out for a short run that night, since I'd only done 4k that week, but he suggested that I do an easy 3k the following morning and then rest my legs.
So that's what I did, after a surprisingly good night's sleep, considering race day was only two sleeps away. The next morning, I pulled on the blue 2011 Toronto Marathon t-shirt, again feeling a little glow of pride buzzing inside me, and I jogged over to the local Blockbuster to pick out a few mindless DVDs to watch over the course of the day. It was a hot, humid day, so I hoped that the rain they'd been promising for Sunday would actually come.
Funnily enough, the Twitter buzz about #torontomarathon was all about people worrying that our chips wouldn't be waterproof, our numbers wouldn't last in the rain, or that they'd freeze. Others complained that there had been chocolates (Tofifees and Werther's chocolate caramels) in our race bags ("are they trying to sabotage us?" one tweep posted), but I didn't mind -- I shared the chocolates with my parents as we watched The Switch.
Later that afternoon, I started laying out my gear on the dining room table, including my pre- and post-race bags. I still wasn't 100% sure what I'd feel like wearing in the morning, so I laid out a few different outfits, along with my camera, water bottles, GU, the race cheering signs my Halifax friends had made for me (which had survived the trip to Toronto), Gatorade, Body Glide, Ibuprofen and other essentials.
The butterflies were definitely there, but more than anything, it almost felt surreal. I'd been so busy the previous week that it hadn't given my overly active brain too much time to obsess about anything. Secretely, the usual questions still hovered -- am I ready? Did I train enough? Am I strong enough? Do I even want to do this?
But then I remembered some of the quotes Wendy had emailed me the previous week: "You're stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and braver than you feel." And: "Trust your training." All of the hard work was done now. All that remained was to go out there and run.
That night, my mom made us Gordon Ramsay's Pancetta Pasta for dinner -- my favourite pre-race meal. Then after watching a bit more mindless TV and calling my hubby for one last pep talk ("Just run it like any other run," he said, telling me how proud he was of me), I headed to bed early. And got another surprisingly good night's rest.
In the morning, I woke up at around 6:30 because we had an hour-long drive into North York before the starting gun went off at 9. Although one Twitter follower told me "get a move on gurl" because they thought I'd never make it, what with traffic, parking, etc., I tried to make my mind a blank and not think, because there was nothing I could do in the car.
Eventually, we made it to Mel Lastman Square just as the half marathoners were leaving. My parents had dropped me off on the east side of the street while they went off in search of parking, and here was this human river of runners that just kept coming for what seemed like five minutes. After awhile I just decided to try and get into the crowd and run diagonally across, all the while making a mental note of what folks were wearing.
I tend to be a fairly warm runner, so when I noticed that there were a number of people wearing shorts and t-shirts or tanks, I decided to switch out of my t-shirt and into my tank and running sleeves. At that point, the rain was just drizzling but it was hovering somewhere around 9 degrees, and it was going to warm up.
Inside Novotel Hotel as I waited in line for the bathroom, the buzz of the gathering runners was electric. By coincidence, I met Bruce and Darryl outside the hotel even though we'd said we would meet by the bag drop. Bruce told me he was wearing his lucky running shorts and had a good feeling about the run.
"Every time I wear these shorts, something good happens," he said. "Make sure you keep them on then," said my dad with a chuckle. I gave my parents a hug, and they wished me good luck (my dad": "break a leg"; my mom: "merde" -- "which means 'shit' in French," I explained to Bruce with a grin).
So the three of us Haligonians headed over to North York City Hall, where the crush of runners and electric hum of anticipation was even greater. I was amazed by just how many of them were wearing garbage bags -- we were going to get wet anyways, so what did it matter?
After one last trip to the bathroom, where I met Gail -- another runner from our Spring Garden Road Run Club -- I followed the crowd, which was slowly making its way to the start line. Bruce (our coach from my marathon clinic) had suggested that I find the four-hour pace bunny and try to stick with him, so I looked out for the pair of pink bunny ears that said 4:00 and made my way to that place in the crowd. Strangely, I still didn't feel nervous. I was floating in an in-between zone and just trying to keep focused on being confident and feeling ready.
The only thing that had me worried was that we'd been out there a few minutes and still, my Garmin wouldn't kick in. There was just that little sliver of white on the black status bar, and it would keep creeping up, then back down, then up...But finally with only two minutes to spare it kicked in. I set my pace to 5:26 and the workout to 10:1 intervals, and then I waited for the starting gun to go off.
I didn't have long to wait. Suddenly, we were counting down the 10 last seconds with the announcer. The starting gun exploded, and we were off!
I gave my parents an excited wave as we filed by them, and then we were on our way. I felt strong, and the pace bunny was setting a manageable pace, as we ran around Mel Lastman Square and onto Yonge Street. The only thing in the back of my mind was the hill at Hog's Hollow. Once we made it up that hill, I thought, I could relax and settle into things.
As we ran under the 401 and down Yonge to the intersection at York Mills, we took our first walk break. The hill loomed in the distance. We were keeping at about a 5:17 pace and I still felt great. I headed up the hill feeling strong -- I was from hilly Halifax, after all!
And then, the pace bunny and the group started passing me, then moving ahead. I figured that I'd catch up to them once I got to the crest, but I was starting to feel tired. No matter that I'd spent months training in one of the hilliest cities; this hill was long. I was tired, but I told myself that I could rest once we made it to flatter ground.
The hill crested, I picked up my pace to catch up with the bunny as the four-hour group stopped to grab a drink. We had another walk break, and then started back up. But my legs started feeling sluggish, then leaden. My breathing wasn't relaxed anymore. And somewhere in that stretch from Lawrence to Eglinton, even as I drew on the energy of the group cheering us on outside Lulu Lemon and as I high-fived a couple of wide-eyed little girls holding out their hands to us by the side of the road, I started to fall back, then back and back.
At that point, I made a decision: I could either try to keep up with the bunny and tire myself out at kilometre 7, or slow down and pick up the pace later if I felt up for it. So I did the latter, and I decided to ignore the pace setting on my watch. I noticed that more and more runners were starting to pass me, but there seemed to be nothing I could do to pick up my pace.
As 7 kilometres turned into 10, then 15, my mind, which had been so calm at the starting line, started playing the doubt game with me. Why was I feeling so tired? Had I done something wrong in the days before? Had I really trained enough? Maybe there was something physically wrong that I was fighting. Or maybe I really wasn't cut out for long distance running. Maybe, I should just quit at the halfway point.
And my parents, who had said they'd see me at the 10k mark, were nowhere to be seen. As we wound around Casa Loma, I waved frantically to a woman about my mom's height and wearing a similar jacket. I wasn't wearing my glasses, so it took me a while to realize that it wasn't in fact my mom.
It was at about kilometre 16 or so that we entered the beautiful treed valley of Rosedale Heights (I think that's what it's called). Everywhere, little yellow pollen buds littered the wet ground, and we were surrounded by green. If I hadn't been so tired and playing mind games with myself, I'd have said it was pretty.
And then the 4:15 pace bunny passed me to my left.
Ok, I thought. Let's try and keep up with these guys. I did, for about 10 minutes, glancing up at a spectator who was cheering us from a bridge above the road.
And then, I started to drop back. I just couldn't maintain their pace.
Well you can imagine what this did to my already active brain.
If I quit, I'd have still done a half marathon.
But I wouldn't get a finisher's medal.
That's why they call it a finisher's medal. Because you finish.
But no one would care except for me.
And what about all the people who'd cheered me on all these weeks? What about the fundraising I'd done in the name of Japan relief efforts? What about all the training I'd done?
So I let the 4:15 group (and time goal) drift away from me, but I didn`t stop. At this point, I was near tears. Emotionally, I was exhausted. Something was definitely wrong. I was just a couple of kilometres till the half, where I'd see my parents and quit.
And then...
As we emerged out of the valley and turned left onto Front Street near the St. Lawrence Market, out of the corner of my eye I saw a familiar face running towards me. It was my friend Kyla! She'd promised she would see me and would cycle the route to cheer me on, but with the rain and the winds, I had figured it was completely understandable that she'd decide to pass on her promise.
"How are you feeling?" she asked me, walking beside me as I took my walk break.
"I want to quit!" I half sobbed.
"Just think about all of the good things you're looking forward to when you cross that finish," she encouraged.
"Hugging your mom, taking a warm bath..." she chuckled. It was after all pretty chilly outside, though by that point I was hardly noticing the weather -- I was so stuck inside the battle in my brain.
I gave her a half smile, as I took in a gel and sipped on my water. I prepared to start running again as my Garmin counted down the seconds to the next running interval.
"I'll bike ahead and see you in half an hour on the course," Kyla said. "So you'd better be there or I'll start worrying about where you went!"
I promised to keep going, and started running again, my legs still feeling heavy, but somehow lightened by knowing that my friend had taken the time to come out here on a rainy Sunday just to cheer me on.
As I crossed Jarvis Street, I chuckled to myself as a cop started telling off an impatient Toronto driver who had tried to turn left and cut off the runners. He was gesturing and pointing in my direction, so I can only imagine that he was saying something like: "Can't you see there's a marathon going on here? What do you think you're doing?"
I had chuckled. So I guess I was starting to feel a bit better.
Approaching the halfway mark, I started looking out for my parents, but they were nowhere to be found. Part of me started worrying about them (which was a good way to distract me) and part of me was a little relieved, because if they'd been there, I'd have fallen, sobbing and tired, into their arms, and they would have let me quit if I felt it was the right thing to do.
So I kept on. We ran under the Gardiner, which was a nice change because it was warmer, but my hat blew off. All of a sudden I was at kilometre 23, then 24. At around that point, the front runners started coming back. I cheered for them, because they looked amazing. Inspiring, despite my fatigue.
And there was Kyla, on Lakeshore.
"How are you feeling now?" she asked, with a huge grin.
"A little better, but still not great." I admitted. "Thanks for showing up! You're amazing!"
"No, you're amazing," she said. "I'll see you in a bit!"
So I kept going, once again reflecting on what great friends and family I have, and thankful for their support.
Kyla showed up again a couple of kilometres later, as I was heading along Front Street towards the CNE.
"How are you feeling now?"
"I just don't know what's going on. I was aiming for a four-hour finish but my legs just felt like lead!" I agonized.
"It's raining and it's windy," Kyla said. "It's just a day."
I tried to believe her. I'd had so many "days" before, so this shouldn't be anything new. I handed her my hat, and I kept going.
As we ran along Lakeshore, more and more runners started coming back in the other direction, and I became focused on: A) spotting my parents; B) ticking down the kilometres. I had at this point long since given up any idea of keeping a pace or a time goal, but Kyla had encouraged me because she said she'd had to cycle a lot farther to find me between the last point and my current location than she'd expected.
"You're too fast!" she laughed.
I laughed too -- I hardly felt fast. But at this point speed didn't matter.
In Lake Ontario, the waves were slate grey against a dull sky. I could see a few dragonboat teams practising in the choppy waves.
I then realized that all along, I hadn't made much of a point of looking around me to gather images for my marathon story. So I looked up, only to find a guy passing me -- and running in completely bare feet. I'd heard about the barefoot running craze, and certainly seen quite a few "gorilla foot" runners in the last few months. But running barefoot in the streets of Toronto -- not to mention the rain-drenched streets of Toronto -- seemed not only painful, but quite gross, frankly. Better him than me!
As the stream of returning runners continued to my right, I also kept an eye out for the four-hour pace bunny, just to get a sense of how far back I'd slipped. I didn't see a bunny, yet, but I did catch a glimpse of a mouse: a grown man dressed in a brown velour mouse costume, complete with curly tail and pink ears. Better him than me!
Every so often, runners would spint by us wearing red "Relay" bibs on their backs. It was a little frustrating, because they only had a few kilometres to go so of course they could be fast. But that was their race, and this was mine.
And then, in the distance, somewhere around kilometre 27, I spotted a small woman in a red raincoat dancing and hopping from foot to foot, waving a fluorescent orange poster from side to side. Not wearing my glasses, I couldn't read what it said, but I knew the words that had been markered on to it:
"Go, Halifax Runner Girl!"
It was my parents! It was the first time they'd ever seen me at a road race, after years of hearing me talk about my running. And their glow of pride made me feel proud.
I took a walk break and asked my dad to walk alongside me for a quick minute.
"I wanted to quit," I told him.
"The 4:30 pace bunny is still behind you," he said. "So you're still ahead of that time."
Well that was it. That was my Plan B. No matter that my goal of breaking four hours had been shattered a couple of hours ago.
From that point on, the "race" (it had become more of a run) changed. Plan B was to achieve a personal best.
Never having run the course before, the next challenge on my list was learning to be patient: I kept on seeing so many runners heading back to the finish, but the turn seemed nowhere in sight. I knew it was only a few kilometres away, but when? And then we approached the white suspended bridge over the Humber River, ran under its footings, and I was running back.
By this point the rain had started in earnest. I pulled my sleeves back up and covered my hands, because the wind was hitting us full on. I could still see runners here and there wearing garbage bags, and I still couldn't understand it. Three hours of wearing a garbage bag? Yuck! Better them than me!
A few kilometres on, I saw my parents again, at around kilometre 33. My mom had switched to the neon green poster, and was doing another excited hop-hop-skip dance by the side of the road.
"The worst is over! We'll see you at the finish!" my dad said.
It felt so great having them there; Kyla, the support of all my friends and family. Who cared that I wouldn't break four hours? At this point, I was running a marathon. 42.2 kilometres. And if I had to walk to the finish, I would! But I knew that I could finish, even if it meant another nine very slow kilometres.
A couple of minutes later, I saw a volunteer hail a cab from the traffic next to us on the Lakeshore, and a runner in a Mylar blanket got in. I felt bad for him for the disapointment he must be feeling for not completing the race, but that was another reminder of just what an accomplishment actually finishing -- just finishing -- a marathon is.
Kyla was there on the way back, standing with another group of people cheering the runners on. The rain was really falling now, and was dripping onto them even though they were standing under a bridge. Seeing them huddled in the rain reminded me of how much I always appreciate the people who come to cheer runners on, even in miserable weather conditions.
I smiled at Kyla and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Still smiling!" she cried out.
It's true, I felt so much better than I had a couple of hours ago.
Funny how your mind plays games on you. Because although the trip along Lakeshore to the turnaround had seemed never-ending, the run back to the downtown core seemed quicker. The kilometres were ticking by. Maybe a little slowly, but that became my focus: from kilometre to kilometre, 10-minute walk interval to 10-minute walk interval.
To occupy my brain and stop it from wandering, I tried counting pylons, but that just became boring after 10 (I guess I had a short attention span at that point). So instead, I looked around me. At kilometre 37, a man ahead of me jumped up and slapped the 37-kilometre marker -- it seemed like a personal ritual to tell himself he'd run that far.
Then, another kilometre later, another man was standing to the side with a poster reading: "Free beer at the finish line." I gave him a thumbs-up (though I never did see that beer at the finish).
Kyla was there again as we turned left to head under the Gardiner. I gave her another wave and a thumbs-up. I was only a few kilometres away! The busy part of my brain kept on wanting to butt in, saying, "What if you choke? What if you have to quit now?" but I did my best to push it out and just focus on the pavement, and keeping on moving forward. Even if I had to walk the last few kilometres, I'd walk them!
We turned onto University, and I could see Queen's Park in the distance. John Stanton had said that Torontonians consider that part of the run a hill, but that I would find it flat. Sespite my exhaustion, I did. I tried to keep up on the flatter part of the road, because my left quad was starting to tire from running on the sloping side next to the streetcar tracks. Around us, lineups of cars waited, and I thanked the cops in bright yellow rainjackets for making sure we were safe.
About a kilometre and a half away from the finish I passed a younger guy, who looked up at me excitedly. "We're almost there!" he said. I could tell from his smile that this was his first marathon, so I congratulated him, and I kept going.
As I neared the brown buildings of Queen`s Park, I checked my distance, and I could see we still had around a kilometre to go. Something inside me told me that they'd make us run around Queen's Park to get to the finish. Rounding the bend, I started looking around me for the finish line.
The lawns in front of Queens Park were littered with flapping white event tents. I could hear an announcer's voice, and crowds were milling around. There in the distance was the blue inflated finish arch! Only a few more hundred metres, and we were done!
"You're home! You're home!" a man called out to us.
"Woohoo!" I yelled, raising my arms.
I felt amazing! I saw my dad to my left, his camera in hand. I gave him a thumbs up, and kept going, picking up the pace.
"Looking strong, Christine!" I heard a man say as I rounded the bend at the top.
I kept going, giving 'er all I had, drawing on the speedwork we'd done in recent weeks.
There were my parents, behind the red barricades on the side. I was so close to the finish!
I looked at them, raised my arms again, and cheered.
Give 'er, give 'er! You`ve done the speed work, you can do this!
A few more hundred metres, then a few more, and I crossed the Sport Stats mats!
I had just finished a marathon! I felt like the most amazing runner in the world, as I high-fived a couple of guys who had just crossed the mats at the same time as me.
"Christine!"
I turned around, to see my mom running behind me. She'd jumped around the barriers and run the last 100 metres with me. I hugged her, and looked for my dad.
A volunteer handed me a medal, and a photographer asked me to pose with my medal. I was sweaty and tired, but I beamed with pride as he snapped my photo.
Taking a Mylar blanket from one of the volunteers along with a banana and some chocolate milk, I took out my phone and dialed my hubby with frozen fingers.
"I finished! I'm so happy!" I said to Steve.
"I have a lump in my throat. I'm so proud of you!" he answered. He'd been watching my progress online for the last four and half hours, and said he felt like he'd been there with me the whole way.
Unlike my first marathon, this time, when I crossed that finish line line, the feeling of completing that race, the pride, the accomplishment, was 10 times bigger than the huge finisher's medal hung around my neck.
Because this time, I learned an important lesson: it's not how fast you run the race. It's about the journey.
Thank you to all of you who have supported me on this marathon journey. You have been amazing, and your support has meant the world.
~ HRG
Showing posts with label Toronto Good Life Marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toronto Good Life Marathon. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Week 17-18: Look how far I've come!
Eep! It's T-23 hours and 35 minutes till the starting gun goes off, and I've definitely got little butterflies and ladybugs flitting around in my tummy!
Today's going to be a rest day, so I'm taking the time to reflect on all the training I've done, as well as my personal milestones in my running history, all the way back to my first 5k at the Toronto Waterf ront Marathon in 2004. It's a great way to remind myself of just how much I've accomplished.
As for my training for this marathon, the last two weeks in Ontario have been a little busy, what with visiting family and friends throughout southeast Ontario, and working out of our National office in Toronto. Surprisingly, I did manage to get most of my runs in last week, including what felt like an amazing 16k race pace run in Orléans, Ottawa.
Unlike last fall, when the runs leading up to the Legs for Literacy Marathon in Moncton were painful, sluggish and had me wondering how the heck I could manage to run 42k when I couldn't keep up the pace for these smaller distances, last week's 16k felt amazing. Effortless.
As I wound my way through Orléans, the cars whizzing by me at a much busier rate than in Halifax, and trusting my Garmin and my sense of direction to get me back to my brother's house, I finally felt like all of my training was coming together. It took me a good 15-20 minutes to warm up, so my calves in particular were a little crampy at first, but I knew that if I just kept going, eventually they'd work themselves out. And once they did, it felt magical.
Looking down at my watch after the first few kilometres, I was surprised to see that I was running below my goal pace of around 5:40. I told myself I could hold off a bit, but even when I relaxed and "slowed down," my pace gradually increased to about 5:20ish, then even down to 5:11.
I couldn't believe it. There was no lactic acid buildup, my breathing was relaxed, and my legs felt FANTASTIC! After coming back home, pink-faced and sweaty, I spent most of the rest of the day on a cloud, proud of myself and all the work I had put into this training program, and confident that I could now accomplish what I have set out to do: run the GoodLife Toronto Marathon (and hopefully accomplish a PB over last race).
The following day, I did a slow 6k, and my legs felt much more sluggish, but I took most of the rest of the week off to relax (in any case, my work and social schedule were so busy last week, I had little or no time for running).
I've come so far since those first steps on my journey of 952.2 kilometres. To be honest, I haven't run all 952.2 kilometres in this training program. In fact I've built in a lot more cross-training into the program, with Zumba, Body Pump and yoga. But I feel ready.
Thinking back on my first Blue Nose 10k race in 2008, when that run from the Halifax town clock, over the MacDonald Bridge and back felt like a huge accomplishment (and it is - no doubt about it), I've come so far. I've made new friends, trained really hard, and run farther than I've ever done before. I also owe so much to the support and encouragement of my husband (who says he'll be virtually holding out the chocolate milk and chips for me at the finish, even though he'll be watching from Halifax), friends and family who believe in me and will be cheering me on.
In fact, on that night more than 10 years ago when I headed out for a short run through downtown Toronto, and kept running simply because I wanted to get home and out of the Riverdale Valley before it got dark (because at night in Toronto, the critters and the Don Valley tent dwellers come out) I could never have imagined I'd one day be prepping for my second marathon.
But no matter the highs and lows, the aches and pains, the nights that I don't want to pull on my gear and head out for that run...I've gotta say, I've been bitten by the running bug.
And no matter what happens tomorrow, whether I accomplish a PB or not, the important thing is the journey. And by golly, it's been a tough one, but I'm here, baby. Bring on the Toronto Marathon!
~ HRG
Today's going to be a rest day, so I'm taking the time to reflect on all the training I've done, as well as my personal milestones in my running history, all the way back to my first 5k at the Toronto Waterf ront Marathon in 2004. It's a great way to remind myself of just how much I've accomplished.
| Look how far I've come! | Time |
| 2004 Toronto Waterfront 5k | 39:20 |
| 2008 Blue Nose 10k | 54:14 |
| 2009 Halifax Hypothermic Half | 1:59:49 |
| 2009 Blue Nose Half | 1:56:48 |
| 2009 Valley Harvest Half | 1:54:46 |
| 2010 Blue Nose Half | 1:57:44 |
| 2010 Legs For Literacy Full | 4:39:51 |
Unlike last fall, when the runs leading up to the Legs for Literacy Marathon in Moncton were painful, sluggish and had me wondering how the heck I could manage to run 42k when I couldn't keep up the pace for these smaller distances, last week's 16k felt amazing. Effortless.
As I wound my way through Orléans, the cars whizzing by me at a much busier rate than in Halifax, and trusting my Garmin and my sense of direction to get me back to my brother's house, I finally felt like all of my training was coming together. It took me a good 15-20 minutes to warm up, so my calves in particular were a little crampy at first, but I knew that if I just kept going, eventually they'd work themselves out. And once they did, it felt magical.
Looking down at my watch after the first few kilometres, I was surprised to see that I was running below my goal pace of around 5:40. I told myself I could hold off a bit, but even when I relaxed and "slowed down," my pace gradually increased to about 5:20ish, then even down to 5:11.
I couldn't believe it. There was no lactic acid buildup, my breathing was relaxed, and my legs felt FANTASTIC! After coming back home, pink-faced and sweaty, I spent most of the rest of the day on a cloud, proud of myself and all the work I had put into this training program, and confident that I could now accomplish what I have set out to do: run the GoodLife Toronto Marathon (and hopefully accomplish a PB over last race).
The following day, I did a slow 6k, and my legs felt much more sluggish, but I took most of the rest of the week off to relax (in any case, my work and social schedule were so busy last week, I had little or no time for running).
 |
| My race bib and the Toronto Marathon t-shirt! |
Thinking back on my first Blue Nose 10k race in 2008, when that run from the Halifax town clock, over the MacDonald Bridge and back felt like a huge accomplishment (and it is - no doubt about it), I've come so far. I've made new friends, trained really hard, and run farther than I've ever done before. I also owe so much to the support and encouragement of my husband (who says he'll be virtually holding out the chocolate milk and chips for me at the finish, even though he'll be watching from Halifax), friends and family who believe in me and will be cheering me on.
In fact, on that night more than 10 years ago when I headed out for a short run through downtown Toronto, and kept running simply because I wanted to get home and out of the Riverdale Valley before it got dark (because at night in Toronto, the critters and the Don Valley tent dwellers come out) I could never have imagined I'd one day be prepping for my second marathon.
But no matter the highs and lows, the aches and pains, the nights that I don't want to pull on my gear and head out for that run...I've gotta say, I've been bitten by the running bug.
And no matter what happens tomorrow, whether I accomplish a PB or not, the important thing is the journey. And by golly, it's been a tough one, but I'm here, baby. Bring on the Toronto Marathon!
~ HRG
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Week 16/17: A rough tempo, Yasso 800s and gratitude for great running buddies!
Last Wednesday was my last speed work training session with our Running Room clinic before packing my bags and heading to Toronto and Port Hope, Ontario, to spend some time with family and friends before running in the Toronto GoodLife Marathon.
After dropping the car off at hubby's work, I met our group at the Running Room. It was a bit of a drizzly grey day, but not quite as cold as the previous week, when I'd had to wear my headband, gloves, a long-sleeved sweater and my jacket.
From Bruce's email to us: "Up to this point the runs have been done at 1:30 below race pace for long runs to 20 seconds below for tempo. On the program the intervals are done at faster than race pace to prepare you for running at your race pace."
For me, that means that while I've been doing my long runs at around 6:30-6:50 (for a four-hour finish) and my tempos at 5:30 to 5:45, my tempo should be around 5:26.
As I sprinted around the track on one of my laps, this time feeling a little more like a gazelle and less like a penguin (though a gazelle that was huffing and puffing...and when have you ever seen wildlife look like they're struggling on a run?), I looked up, only to see that Wendy was standing on the sidelines. She had told us that she would not be joining us as she was still recovering from Boston, so I was surprised to see her there. Then out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something neon green from across the track.
As I neared Wendy, I saw that she was holding up a sign. I figured she'd come out to cheer on our group. But as I came closer, I read the words:
As I rounded the corner on the track for my second lap of the 800 metres, I felt lighter -- as though little wings had sprouted on my shoes. I was Halifax Runner Girl, and I was going to rock this marathon! No matter that the speedsters in our group and Cliff's athletes were still running circles around me. I felt like the world's greatest runner.
It's amazing how knowing that there are folks who believe in you and care about you makes such a difference -- it can give you a boost more powerful than any gel or sport bean ever can. So if you're ever at a race standing on the sidelines, know that your presence there and your cheers do help make our feet lighter and the race easier.
Speedwork complete, I headed home to pack. Among the luggage I carried next morning, as I got into a taxi at an ungodly 4:45 am to take me to Toronto, were the two posters that Wendy had made for me so that my family can hold them up on race day (the other one says "Christine you rock!" :) ).
Although I may not actually catch a glimpse of them on the sidelines, I'll know they'll be there holding up those signs, and I'll also know that there will be a group of friends and my hubby cheering me on from Halifax. No matter how I finish, I'm so thankful for everyone's support and encouragement over these last 17 weeks. I'm grateful to have met a group of amazing friends and runners, and am ever thankful for their support.
Gratitude!
~ HRG
After dropping the car off at hubby's work, I met our group at the Running Room. It was a bit of a drizzly grey day, but not quite as cold as the previous week, when I'd had to wear my headband, gloves, a long-sleeved sweater and my jacket.
I was a little trepidatious about speedwork on that night, because the day before I'd done a tempo run with the group (three times around the North Commons) and my legs were feeling a little tender. I can always tell when my legs are tired (especially my calves and shins) when I start slapping my feet on the pavement like some kind of crazed penguin. Not gazelle-like at all!
I knew part of my fatigue on Tuesday had been largely due to Sunday's 32k run, so I chose not to worry. Also, despite our efforts to slow our pace on our tempo run, every time Carol looked at her Garmin (mine had died...again...) it seemed we kept speeding up. Andrea had told me that her 12-year-old son Luke had been reading my blog and said, "She needs to slow down." But sorry Luke, I failed at that again, until the pain in my legs forced me to slow down and walk for a bit.
Hence why I felt a little nervous about speedwork on Wednesday. But before we left the Running Room, Andrea handed me a card signed by her, Carol and Wendy - wishing me good luck for my marathon. I was sincerely touched that they'd done this for me, and I held on to my card as we headed down South Park Street to the SMU track at the Tower for speed/interval training.
Some of you may wonder, why start speedwork when we're three to four weeks away from race day? As Bruce explained it to us, we've spent close to 12 weeks building the base of our house - we developed a foundation with tempos and the walls with hills, and now we're putting on the roof of the house with speed/interval training.
From Bruce's email to us: "Up to this point the runs have been done at 1:30 below race pace for long runs to 20 seconds below for tempo. On the program the intervals are done at faster than race pace to prepare you for running at your race pace."
Number crunching aside, the point of interval training is to develop your VO2 max and get your body used to running at your maximum aerobic threshold.
Bruce had taught us a few speedwork drills last week, and we started off with them again: lunges for 10 metres, running with knees high for another 10, then running and kicking your butt for 10, then a short 10-metre sprint. I'd watched elite runners do all kinds of drills at the York University track way back in the day when all I could run was a few kilometres, and always wondered what they were doing. Cliff (a well-known Halifax running coach) and his runners were at the track too, and while I'll never be as fast as they are, it's still pretty cool to be eating their dust while we do our training.
Following our drill, we did six reps of Yasso 800s. According to this, you can predict your marathon time based on how long it takes you to do 800 metres. So if I'm looking to do a four-hour marathon, I should be able to complete the 800 metres in four minutes.
The week before, I was a little sore, so I hadn't pushed myself on the track, but my pace had still been faster than what I'm trying to accomplish. Also, instead of doing 800s I had done 1,600s with a longer break in between. This time, I decided to give 'er on the Yassos, crank the tunes, and just see what happened.
Overall, my pace averaged about 4:47, which works out to 3:47 for 800 metres -- which according to Bruce Yasso translates to a 3h 47min marathon.
Based on that, I should be more than able to achieve my four-hour goal, but if you've read my first marathon story, you'll know that it's not all about the physical abilities. So much of it (I'd say 95% for me) is mental. Really, what matters is that I was feeling good. I may not have looked fast, but I felt it.
As I sprinted around the track on one of my laps, this time feeling a little more like a gazelle and less like a penguin (though a gazelle that was huffing and puffing...and when have you ever seen wildlife look like they're struggling on a run?), I looked up, only to see that Wendy was standing on the sidelines. She had told us that she would not be joining us as she was still recovering from Boston, so I was surprised to see her there. Then out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something neon green from across the track.
As I neared Wendy, I saw that she was holding up a sign. I figured she'd come out to cheer on our group. But as I came closer, I read the words:
 |
| My pre-departure surprise from my fabulous running friends |
It's amazing how knowing that there are folks who believe in you and care about you makes such a difference -- it can give you a boost more powerful than any gel or sport bean ever can. So if you're ever at a race standing on the sidelines, know that your presence there and your cheers do help make our feet lighter and the race easier.
Speedwork complete, I headed home to pack. Among the luggage I carried next morning, as I got into a taxi at an ungodly 4:45 am to take me to Toronto, were the two posters that Wendy had made for me so that my family can hold them up on race day (the other one says "Christine you rock!" :) ).
Although I may not actually catch a glimpse of them on the sidelines, I'll know they'll be there holding up those signs, and I'll also know that there will be a group of friends and my hubby cheering me on from Halifax. No matter how I finish, I'm so thankful for everyone's support and encouragement over these last 17 weeks. I'm grateful to have met a group of amazing friends and runners, and am ever thankful for their support.
Gratitude!
~ HRG
Monday, April 25, 2011
Week 15: Let the taper begin!
Woohoo! I completed the second 32k of the training program yesterday. The taper begins today!
Because last week's long slow distance went fairly well with my pre-run dinner of Gordon Ramsay's Pancetta Spaghetti with a side pep talk by hubby, I asked him to make it for me again this Saturday. I followed last week's menu of no dairy and one small glass of wine, then headed to bed early. And...miracle of miracles, I actually managed to get a good 6-7 hours of sleep!
Since this was Easter Sunday, I knew most of my running buddies wouldn't be at Run Club this week. I had the option of putting my 32k run off till Monday or just getting 'er done on Sunday. And since Steve had put in the effort of making me my pasta meal the night before, I knew that once again there was no putting it off. So after sleeping in a wee bit and making sure my Garmin and iPod were charged, I headed out at around 9:30.
Although the Weather Network had called for an 80% chance of rain, by the time I headed out, all that remained was a light fog.
I'd spent a lot of time reading other runners' inspirational blogs and soaking in the post-Boston excitement last week. Among them was runner Erin Poirier's blog post -- Boston with Love -- where she recounted her Boston highs and lows -- from running with a demon to running like an awesome runner.
As I headed along the gravel trail near the Armdale Yacht Club, the sun beginning to poke through the fog and glint off the water, I thought about Erin's experience and I decided to try running like I was awesome. And as I climbed the steep slope near the boat dock, the air smeling like seaweed, I smiled to myself for the first time in many a long run. The rain had held off, I had the support of my husband and running friends who believed in me...and all I had to do was three repeats of 10k, plus a 2k to finish it off. Easy peasy. And my legs were feeling good!
The day before, I'd set out for an easy 6k run, but with the sun shining and the tunes cranked on my iPod, I once again reverted to my usual pattern of giving 'er for the first 2k, building up the lactic acid in my legs till they were cramping, and then having to slow down for part of the run. As I realized what I was doing, I kind of chuckled to myself. Will I never learn? Yet although I held back on the pace for the rest of the run, I still managed to maintain a 5:40ish or better pace for the remainder -- almost a tempo pace, and I wasn't even trying!
Which was another reason for the confidence I had as I continued on Sunday's long run, past the Northwest Arm, the fog cloaking the horizon in a romantic kind of way. By the time I made it up to Oxford, I was only 3k away from my first 10k. After that, I'd only have two more 10ks left plus a 2k. Easy!
I continued, turning onto Inglis to Tower, then into Point Pleasant Park. What a treat to run on cedar chips and soil...a nice break on the knees. I almost felt playful as I ran through the forest, chickadees chirping in the trees and dog walkers enjoying the trail.
At the halfway point, somewhere near the Seaport Market, I let out a silent cheer -- 16k down, only 16k left to go, and I was feeling strong! Nothing like the pain and agony of a few weeks ago, when I'd been doubting my abilities to do this. What a difference a good night's sleep, the right nutrition and confidence makes!
At around 20k, the sun finally came out. Although I started to tire and I was getting a little warm, I didn't worry. I'd just run all the way up Devonshire Rd -- a long, gradual incline -- and knew part of my tiredness was due to that hill. Meanwhile, the GoodLife Marathon in Toronto will be mainly downhill for most of the way.
Running along Windsor and turning left onto Joe Howe, I did feel awesome. I'd just run 24k, and I was only 6k from 30. At this point it was all about running down each 10 minutes until a walk break, and while I was tired, I wasn't disheartened. What a beautiful day for a run, I thought to myself as I ran along the Rails to Trails, past families, friends and couples out for a walk.
Eventually, after three hours and 39 minutes, I made it home. Walking along the trail behind our house, I really did let out a cheer. Because now, the taper begins!
Looking over my Garmin records from the last four months, I thought back on all of the hours of training I'd put in, and I felt proud. No matter what happens on race day, I know I've put in the effort and I'm ready. And more than any time goal, that's something to be proud of!
~ HRG
Because last week's long slow distance went fairly well with my pre-run dinner of Gordon Ramsay's Pancetta Spaghetti with a side pep talk by hubby, I asked him to make it for me again this Saturday. I followed last week's menu of no dairy and one small glass of wine, then headed to bed early. And...miracle of miracles, I actually managed to get a good 6-7 hours of sleep!
Since this was Easter Sunday, I knew most of my running buddies wouldn't be at Run Club this week. I had the option of putting my 32k run off till Monday or just getting 'er done on Sunday. And since Steve had put in the effort of making me my pasta meal the night before, I knew that once again there was no putting it off. So after sleeping in a wee bit and making sure my Garmin and iPod were charged, I headed out at around 9:30.
Although the Weather Network had called for an 80% chance of rain, by the time I headed out, all that remained was a light fog.
I'd spent a lot of time reading other runners' inspirational blogs and soaking in the post-Boston excitement last week. Among them was runner Erin Poirier's blog post -- Boston with Love -- where she recounted her Boston highs and lows -- from running with a demon to running like an awesome runner.
As I headed along the gravel trail near the Armdale Yacht Club, the sun beginning to poke through the fog and glint off the water, I thought about Erin's experience and I decided to try running like I was awesome. And as I climbed the steep slope near the boat dock, the air smeling like seaweed, I smiled to myself for the first time in many a long run. The rain had held off, I had the support of my husband and running friends who believed in me...and all I had to do was three repeats of 10k, plus a 2k to finish it off. Easy peasy. And my legs were feeling good!
The day before, I'd set out for an easy 6k run, but with the sun shining and the tunes cranked on my iPod, I once again reverted to my usual pattern of giving 'er for the first 2k, building up the lactic acid in my legs till they were cramping, and then having to slow down for part of the run. As I realized what I was doing, I kind of chuckled to myself. Will I never learn? Yet although I held back on the pace for the rest of the run, I still managed to maintain a 5:40ish or better pace for the remainder -- almost a tempo pace, and I wasn't even trying!
Which was another reason for the confidence I had as I continued on Sunday's long run, past the Northwest Arm, the fog cloaking the horizon in a romantic kind of way. By the time I made it up to Oxford, I was only 3k away from my first 10k. After that, I'd only have two more 10ks left plus a 2k. Easy!
I continued, turning onto Inglis to Tower, then into Point Pleasant Park. What a treat to run on cedar chips and soil...a nice break on the knees. I almost felt playful as I ran through the forest, chickadees chirping in the trees and dog walkers enjoying the trail.
At the halfway point, somewhere near the Seaport Market, I let out a silent cheer -- 16k down, only 16k left to go, and I was feeling strong! Nothing like the pain and agony of a few weeks ago, when I'd been doubting my abilities to do this. What a difference a good night's sleep, the right nutrition and confidence makes!
At around 20k, the sun finally came out. Although I started to tire and I was getting a little warm, I didn't worry. I'd just run all the way up Devonshire Rd -- a long, gradual incline -- and knew part of my tiredness was due to that hill. Meanwhile, the GoodLife Marathon in Toronto will be mainly downhill for most of the way.
Running along Windsor and turning left onto Joe Howe, I did feel awesome. I'd just run 24k, and I was only 6k from 30. At this point it was all about running down each 10 minutes until a walk break, and while I was tired, I wasn't disheartened. What a beautiful day for a run, I thought to myself as I ran along the Rails to Trails, past families, friends and couples out for a walk.
Eventually, after three hours and 39 minutes, I made it home. Walking along the trail behind our house, I really did let out a cheer. Because now, the taper begins!
Looking over my Garmin records from the last four months, I thought back on all of the hours of training I'd put in, and I felt proud. No matter what happens on race day, I know I've put in the effort and I'm ready. And more than any time goal, that's something to be proud of!
~ HRG
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Week 14 complete & 15 begins: the sun, the rain, the lows, the highs...the inspiration!
Where the heck is the sunny weather that graced us just last week? My fingers are still cold from tonight's speed training at the SMU track and a run home in rain and zero degree weather! But I felt pretty strong as I made my way around the track for two sets of four laps, averaging around 5:09-5:14/km, which isn't bad for a four-hour time goal, I'm told.
We are now into week 15 and race day is 24 days away! Little butterflies are starting to hatch from their cocoons and flutter in my belly when I think about running down Yonge Street along with thousands of runners...Eep!
Anyways, last week kinda went down like this:
Monday
In an effort to get some last-minute leg strength training in, I decided to do leg exercises at the gym prior to an hour-long Body Pump class. I felt ok, except that...
Tuesday
...On Tuesday I set out for my tempo run late after chatting with Wendy and Carol at the Running Room. Most of the group had already almost completed their 6k tempo as I started around the Commons, and I noticed my pace slowing and my legs struggling to keep up with a pace almost a minute slower than the previous week's tempo. I definitely wasn't coasting along like a running goddess. In fact, I was struggling at even 4k. So after my second lap around, I decided to head back to the Running Room -- a little deflated and worried, I will admit, especially after the difficult time I'd had with Sunday's long run.
Wednesday
Feeling a little stressed about how tough I'd been finding the runs, I emailed Bruce, our clinic leader (and manager of the Running Room on Spring Garden Road), and asked him for any advice. He was amazing and answered within a couple hours, saying that often times, difficulties in performance can be linked to iron deficiencies, especially in women. Which makes sense for me, as I've been diagnosed as being slightly anemic.
Bruce also suggested that I might be overdoing it -- that often we feel like we have to do all kinds of cross-training in order to be strong, but that with only four weeks away, I might want to cut back on the lower body strength training and just focus on having a strong core and upper body. His was advice was to take it easy for a couple days and put my legs up.
So I did.
Thursday
After work, we got together with some fellow runners to see our friends Wendy and Greg off for their Boston Marathon. We were so excited for them! We promised to watch their progress on Monday and send them all kinds of positive energy so they'd coast through the course. I love being part of a strong running community -- there is so much inspiration and support to draw on!
Bruce was there among us and I really appreciated him making a point of coming by and checking in with how I was feeling. He also made me feel a little better by admitting that he hadn't finished his hills the previous day, since he'd been feeling a little under the weather. "You're just going through a rough patch," he said. And I believed him.
Coming home that night, I told my husband I'd love to qualify for Boston one day. "I don't know which of you to believe," he joked -- referring to the fact that only a few days ago I'd been ready to quit running, and now I wanted to qualify for one of the largest marathons in North America!
"My heart wants to run, but sometimes my body doesn't listen," I said by way of explanation. I've never hidden that running is such a love/hate thing for me!
Friday
I opted for Zumba instead of a long run. I love Zumba -- one of my favourite cross-training cardio activities!
Saturday
In the morning, I stopped in at the Running Room and pick up some gels for Sunday's long run. I'd been debating hopping on the bike for half an hour or so, just to keep the impact off my legs, but then I decided to head out and see how I'd feel on a 6k run. My Garmin had died, but I didn't worry because I'd read Jon's blog only the day before about how he'd forced himself to run without a watch for a few runs and just enjoy the run instead of focusing on getting the last few 100 metres in or stay on pace. It was kind of refreshing, I must say.
The run itself was ok...Not great but not horrible. My left achilles tendon was a little tight, and when I stopped I had some weird throbbing ache in my right hamstring, but I worked that out with an hour and a half of Ashtanga yoga with Andrea and her sister Diana, and I felt so much better afterwards!
Another great thing that happened on Saturday -- I found out that my friend Jen was inspired by my blog to start running again! I'm so proud of her for starting again, because I myself know how intimidating starting to run again can feel, if you've been away from it for even a few months. And I'm so glad I've been able to inspire someone as others have inspired me.
Saturday night, my husband cooked me my favourite pre-race/long run meal: Gordon Ramsay's Pancetta Spaghetti. He gave me a great pep talk, encouraged me to get a good night's sleep and just get 'er done in the morning, even though the Weather Network was calling for rain. I felt encouraged by his support, and went to bed to try and get a few hours of shut-eye.
Sunday
Morning broke windy but not raining, although it was grey. I hadn't slept overly well, but I slept more than I usually do. Part of me really just wanted to stay in bed, but I knew that after Steve spending an hour and a bit cooking me my pre-run meal (after he'd had a long day at work) and giving me my pep talk, there was no backing out of this 29k run.
So I ate my oatmeal and half an apple, pulled on my gear, and headed out the door to drive downtown to the Running Room. Carol was there and had volunteered to be our pace group leader, since Wendy was in Boston enjoying a buffet with all of the Canadian runners before Marathon Monday!
We headed out, and actually had to pull back on our pace a bit since we were keeping pace with the four-hour group as we ran down Quinpool and turned right onto Connaught. I was a little worried that I hadn't dressed warmly enough, but since it hadn't started raining yet, I felt ok after about 10 minutes or so.
It's amazing what a difference running with friends makes when you're on a long run. Pretty soon we'd reached the start of Rails to Trails, and as we made our way along (with me trying to identify the songbirds in the bushes -- I spotted an American Goldfinch singing his heart out at the top of a trees and heard a few chickadees warbling away), we started picking up the pace. And then we were in Bayers Lake and at the Coke plant at kilometre 11.5. The wind was pushing us up the gradual incline, but didn't feel too strong on our backs. I was looking forward to running back downhill for the next 5k or so.
Or so I thought. Just as we turned around and started heading back into the city, the wind started driving rain into our faces. Cold. Wet. Drizzle. In fact it was so cold I started worrying I might have to flag down a cab at Bayers Lake before we headed back onto the trail. But I carrried on, knowing that if I stopped, I wouldn't want to start that run again.
Instead, I picked up the pace. I just wanted to get out of that weather, so I just put my head down and started pumping my legs a little more. The pasta dinner from the night before seemed to be doing its job, because I felt pretty strong.
Soon enough, Barry neared me and we started keeping pace with each other. We barely spoke until we reached the end of the trail -- we both just wanted to get it over with (he was wearing shorts and his legs were fairly cold -- nobody had expected this weather). Remembering that I'd once mentioned having Raynaud's syndrome, Barry kindly lent me his gloves, saying he didn't need them. Thank goodness -- he was a life saver!
As we got off the trail and could feel ourselves getting nearer the store, we started chatting again about vacation plans, work, whatever -- just shooting the breeze and making the time pass more easily by having someone to talk at.
When we reached the store, I decided to do the last 6k of my run on the treadmill. I just couldn't imagine going back outside for another 30 to 40 minutes. And after I finished those last kms, I still felt pretty good! Yay!
Monday
Marathon Monday! Woo! Andrea, Carol and I spent much of the day glued to our computers, watching Wendy and Greg's progress on the athlete tracker for the Boston Marathon. I also watched the #bostonmarathon feed, and was fascinated. In fact I'd have to say this was the first time I'd ever been so fully engaged in a sporting event in my life! Watching the play by play of the men's and women's races was just so exciting, and inspiring!
As we watched our friends' progress, we could see from their paces that they were just out there to have a good time and enjoy the experience. And what an experience it must have been! The Twitterverse was just buzzing with #bostonmarathon fever (at least among the runners)! I stand by what I said last week -- I'd love to be able to qualify for Boston one day. But now that the BQ has been made more aggressive, I'm not sure if that's achievable. Who knows!
Watching the buzz around Boston, I learned two things:
1) that even the pros have bad days. Kim Smith's interview after she had to bow out of the race when she had led it for almost half the course was especially heart-wrenching, but also reassuring;
2) that there is a difference between "racing" and "running" a marathon. And if you do the latter, you're more likely to have a fantastic time! Wendy and Greg's experience has inspired me to try and just run the GoodLife Marathon -- enjoy the course (dowhill most of the way, baby!) and the crowds, and soak in the experience. Here's hoping my type A personality will let me do it!
Finished the day with Body Pump but no leg weight training, hoping I wouldn't overdo it like last week. But...
Tuesday
...As it was another grey rainy day, and I'd had enough rain and cold with Sunday's run, I opted for Zumba. I did ok up until 45 mins in, then started to feel really really weak...I could tell my core and abductors/adductors just weren't recovered from Sunday's run yet (I just couldn't shimmy my hips like I usually can :P ). Maybe I should have eaten more before the run (I was hungry most of the day) or maybe I should have actually taken a rest day after a 29k run! I'm planning to just take it easy next Monday after Sunday's 32k.
But whereas a few weeks ago I might have beaten myself up for feeling tired after a workout, I opted to just see it as "a day" and move on to the next day. Just a day.
And race day is 24 days away! Woohoo!
~ HRG
We are now into week 15 and race day is 24 days away! Little butterflies are starting to hatch from their cocoons and flutter in my belly when I think about running down Yonge Street along with thousands of runners...Eep!
Anyways, last week kinda went down like this:
Monday
In an effort to get some last-minute leg strength training in, I decided to do leg exercises at the gym prior to an hour-long Body Pump class. I felt ok, except that...
Tuesday
...On Tuesday I set out for my tempo run late after chatting with Wendy and Carol at the Running Room. Most of the group had already almost completed their 6k tempo as I started around the Commons, and I noticed my pace slowing and my legs struggling to keep up with a pace almost a minute slower than the previous week's tempo. I definitely wasn't coasting along like a running goddess. In fact, I was struggling at even 4k. So after my second lap around, I decided to head back to the Running Room -- a little deflated and worried, I will admit, especially after the difficult time I'd had with Sunday's long run.
Wednesday
Feeling a little stressed about how tough I'd been finding the runs, I emailed Bruce, our clinic leader (and manager of the Running Room on Spring Garden Road), and asked him for any advice. He was amazing and answered within a couple hours, saying that often times, difficulties in performance can be linked to iron deficiencies, especially in women. Which makes sense for me, as I've been diagnosed as being slightly anemic.
Bruce also suggested that I might be overdoing it -- that often we feel like we have to do all kinds of cross-training in order to be strong, but that with only four weeks away, I might want to cut back on the lower body strength training and just focus on having a strong core and upper body. His was advice was to take it easy for a couple days and put my legs up.
So I did.
Thursday
After work, we got together with some fellow runners to see our friends Wendy and Greg off for their Boston Marathon. We were so excited for them! We promised to watch their progress on Monday and send them all kinds of positive energy so they'd coast through the course. I love being part of a strong running community -- there is so much inspiration and support to draw on!
Bruce was there among us and I really appreciated him making a point of coming by and checking in with how I was feeling. He also made me feel a little better by admitting that he hadn't finished his hills the previous day, since he'd been feeling a little under the weather. "You're just going through a rough patch," he said. And I believed him.
Coming home that night, I told my husband I'd love to qualify for Boston one day. "I don't know which of you to believe," he joked -- referring to the fact that only a few days ago I'd been ready to quit running, and now I wanted to qualify for one of the largest marathons in North America!
"My heart wants to run, but sometimes my body doesn't listen," I said by way of explanation. I've never hidden that running is such a love/hate thing for me!
Friday
I opted for Zumba instead of a long run. I love Zumba -- one of my favourite cross-training cardio activities!
Saturday
In the morning, I stopped in at the Running Room and pick up some gels for Sunday's long run. I'd been debating hopping on the bike for half an hour or so, just to keep the impact off my legs, but then I decided to head out and see how I'd feel on a 6k run. My Garmin had died, but I didn't worry because I'd read Jon's blog only the day before about how he'd forced himself to run without a watch for a few runs and just enjoy the run instead of focusing on getting the last few 100 metres in or stay on pace. It was kind of refreshing, I must say.
The run itself was ok...Not great but not horrible. My left achilles tendon was a little tight, and when I stopped I had some weird throbbing ache in my right hamstring, but I worked that out with an hour and a half of Ashtanga yoga with Andrea and her sister Diana, and I felt so much better afterwards!
Another great thing that happened on Saturday -- I found out that my friend Jen was inspired by my blog to start running again! I'm so proud of her for starting again, because I myself know how intimidating starting to run again can feel, if you've been away from it for even a few months. And I'm so glad I've been able to inspire someone as others have inspired me.
Saturday night, my husband cooked me my favourite pre-race/long run meal: Gordon Ramsay's Pancetta Spaghetti. He gave me a great pep talk, encouraged me to get a good night's sleep and just get 'er done in the morning, even though the Weather Network was calling for rain. I felt encouraged by his support, and went to bed to try and get a few hours of shut-eye.
Sunday
Morning broke windy but not raining, although it was grey. I hadn't slept overly well, but I slept more than I usually do. Part of me really just wanted to stay in bed, but I knew that after Steve spending an hour and a bit cooking me my pre-run meal (after he'd had a long day at work) and giving me my pep talk, there was no backing out of this 29k run.
So I ate my oatmeal and half an apple, pulled on my gear, and headed out the door to drive downtown to the Running Room. Carol was there and had volunteered to be our pace group leader, since Wendy was in Boston enjoying a buffet with all of the Canadian runners before Marathon Monday!
We headed out, and actually had to pull back on our pace a bit since we were keeping pace with the four-hour group as we ran down Quinpool and turned right onto Connaught. I was a little worried that I hadn't dressed warmly enough, but since it hadn't started raining yet, I felt ok after about 10 minutes or so.
It's amazing what a difference running with friends makes when you're on a long run. Pretty soon we'd reached the start of Rails to Trails, and as we made our way along (with me trying to identify the songbirds in the bushes -- I spotted an American Goldfinch singing his heart out at the top of a trees and heard a few chickadees warbling away), we started picking up the pace. And then we were in Bayers Lake and at the Coke plant at kilometre 11.5. The wind was pushing us up the gradual incline, but didn't feel too strong on our backs. I was looking forward to running back downhill for the next 5k or so.
Or so I thought. Just as we turned around and started heading back into the city, the wind started driving rain into our faces. Cold. Wet. Drizzle. In fact it was so cold I started worrying I might have to flag down a cab at Bayers Lake before we headed back onto the trail. But I carrried on, knowing that if I stopped, I wouldn't want to start that run again.
Instead, I picked up the pace. I just wanted to get out of that weather, so I just put my head down and started pumping my legs a little more. The pasta dinner from the night before seemed to be doing its job, because I felt pretty strong.
Soon enough, Barry neared me and we started keeping pace with each other. We barely spoke until we reached the end of the trail -- we both just wanted to get it over with (he was wearing shorts and his legs were fairly cold -- nobody had expected this weather). Remembering that I'd once mentioned having Raynaud's syndrome, Barry kindly lent me his gloves, saying he didn't need them. Thank goodness -- he was a life saver!
As we got off the trail and could feel ourselves getting nearer the store, we started chatting again about vacation plans, work, whatever -- just shooting the breeze and making the time pass more easily by having someone to talk at.
When we reached the store, I decided to do the last 6k of my run on the treadmill. I just couldn't imagine going back outside for another 30 to 40 minutes. And after I finished those last kms, I still felt pretty good! Yay!
Monday
Marathon Monday! Woo! Andrea, Carol and I spent much of the day glued to our computers, watching Wendy and Greg's progress on the athlete tracker for the Boston Marathon. I also watched the #bostonmarathon feed, and was fascinated. In fact I'd have to say this was the first time I'd ever been so fully engaged in a sporting event in my life! Watching the play by play of the men's and women's races was just so exciting, and inspiring!
As we watched our friends' progress, we could see from their paces that they were just out there to have a good time and enjoy the experience. And what an experience it must have been! The Twitterverse was just buzzing with #bostonmarathon fever (at least among the runners)! I stand by what I said last week -- I'd love to be able to qualify for Boston one day. But now that the BQ has been made more aggressive, I'm not sure if that's achievable. Who knows!
Watching the buzz around Boston, I learned two things:
1) that even the pros have bad days. Kim Smith's interview after she had to bow out of the race when she had led it for almost half the course was especially heart-wrenching, but also reassuring;
2) that there is a difference between "racing" and "running" a marathon. And if you do the latter, you're more likely to have a fantastic time! Wendy and Greg's experience has inspired me to try and just run the GoodLife Marathon -- enjoy the course (dowhill most of the way, baby!) and the crowds, and soak in the experience. Here's hoping my type A personality will let me do it!
Finished the day with Body Pump but no leg weight training, hoping I wouldn't overdo it like last week. But...
Tuesday
...As it was another grey rainy day, and I'd had enough rain and cold with Sunday's run, I opted for Zumba. I did ok up until 45 mins in, then started to feel really really weak...I could tell my core and abductors/adductors just weren't recovered from Sunday's run yet (I just couldn't shimmy my hips like I usually can :P ). Maybe I should have eaten more before the run (I was hungry most of the day) or maybe I should have actually taken a rest day after a 29k run! I'm planning to just take it easy next Monday after Sunday's 32k.
But whereas a few weeks ago I might have beaten myself up for feeling tired after a workout, I opted to just see it as "a day" and move on to the next day. Just a day.
And race day is 24 days away! Woohoo!
~ HRG
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Week 11: It's a mystery!
Well, so far this week has been a bit of a mystery.
On Saturday night, I ate pizza to store up on carbs, knowing that I would be running a looong run in the morning. I tried to get to bed early, and catch some zs -- always a hard feat for me the night before a long run, since my mind just seems to race ahead of me in anticipation. So I caught about 5 hours of shut-eye, which for me is not bad.
In the morning, I took my time getting ready, ate a bowl of oatmeal and a half cup of tea. To be honest, for some reason I was dreading the run even though I'd done 27k the weekend before, so I took my time even more. I gave myself just enough time to get to the Running Room and head for one more loo break, then we were on our way.
The first part of the run went pretty well, though I must admit I was having trouble catching my breath and falling into the groove as Andrea and I chatted about the previous day's Ashtanga yoga class. Part of me wondered if I'd overdone it, because in addition to that hour and a half class that had me sweating buckets, I'd also thrown in a 10k before it -- my week had gotten a little messed up when I missed a run on Tuesday. Regardless -- I was about to find out if I had indeed overdone it, the day before a 29k run.
At around 7k, we made it to the Rails to Trails, which is remarkably close to my house and yet I never knew it was there! One more option for running routes close to our house! We started our way along the trail, and I noticed I was dropping back, and back, and back. I was worried about my IT and hamstring too, because I've been having trouble with them lately (an injury that actually stopped me from running for two months last year).
Part of the trail passes by streets and houses, but then there's a big chunk of it that's literally in the middle of nowhere for about 5k. It's pretty, but I didn't want to end up stranded in the middle of nowhere if I couldn't keep up with the group, and I also didn't want them to feel like they had to slow down for me, since they were keeping up a pretty good pace.
So I turned around and headed back to the streets of Halifax for another 16k or so. And that's when the going started getting tough. For the next 11k, I had a really difficult run, physically (I was running at around 7:20 for a while there) and mentally. I started asking myself whether I could do a full marathon again if I was finding this so tough and I wasn't even at the 20k mark yet. Did even I want to do it? The feeling on the run on Sunday reminded me of the angst of my first marathon -- not a fun feeling at all. So why was I doing this if I found it so agonizing? Was I perhaps just more suited to shorter runs? Etc, etc, etc.
Signs of spring are everywhere in the city now, and did help to keep me going through the physical and mental strain. So I pushed on, at a very slow pace, knowing that if I didn't get this 29k in today, I would regret it. I made it back to the Running Room at around 24k (by then my Garmin had died. I must remember to charge it on Saturday nights!). The fast runners of our group had already made it back and were stretching. Boy, are they fast!
I went to the loo, again (well we are out there for more than a few hours), then headed back out for my last 5k. Since my Garmin wasn't working, I approximated my route. As I was heading up Bell Road, the rest of the group I'd peeled away from was heading in. Given that I had taken a couple of bathroom breaks (and one break to text Wendy to let her know I was fine), I estimated that they were probably around 2 or 3k ahead of me, pace-wise.
I ended up doing around 6k, so all told I did 30k. And truth be told, although mentally I was a little messy, physically I wasn't too bad. After stretching for a few minutes, I went to Pete's Frootique for a Blue Moon (blueberry smoothie -- lots of antioxidants and so a good recovery drink, says Bruce). Standing at the counter, I dialed our home number.
"I think I want to quit running," I said to my husband. But he wouldn't hear any more of my negative talk, saying it wasn't good for me. Basically holding up a big red stop sign in front of the negativity train I had been riding for the last three and a half to four hours.
Paying for my smoothie, I headed back to the car and drove home. As soon as I got in, Steve was there, and told me to hurry up, because he was going to take me out for lunch to celebrate my run. God I love my husband for that -- he knows me so well, and he knew right away that if he didn't take me out, I'd just go upstairs, have a bath, and wallow in pity and self-doubt.
Instead, we went to Duffy's for lunch and I had a pretty good steak sandwich and fries. Then over to the Hart & Thistle for a few pints and some laughs with Greg. At around 6pm though I was dying. My legs were stiff but not sore. Mostly I was just dead tired. We drove home, stopping at Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream (I'd just burned about 1,700 calories so I figured I could indulge in some comfort food. And boy is their ice cream yummy! So creamy!). At home, I changed into my jammies and then tucked in for a night of live-tweeting the Junos for work.
A perfect end to a difficult run.
Now what's the mystery behind all that, you wonder? We all have bad days, right? I know.
Here's the thing: yesterday, you would have thought that I'd be in some form of pain or discomfort, or that my legs would be feeling stiff. But you know what? I felt pretty good. So I decided to get some strength training in after work. My plan was to do Body Attack before Body Pump, to get a couple of hours of cross-training in.
Bear in mind, I've never taken Body Attack before. I didn't even know what it was, but the "attack" part of it made me think it involved some kind of punching or something.
Hehe...
Body Attack burns more calories than any other LesMills class, the instructor told us. Then she put on her mike, turned on the music, and we started stepping...and hopping...and jogging...And we jogged in circles. We jogged front and back. We did jumping jacks...And we didn't stop for a full hour...
But you know what? I didn't feel bad at all. I kept up with the whole class, and chose the level three or four high intensity option wherever I could. And despite being sweaty, I wasn't winded. Or at least nothing that I couldn't handle on a tempo run.
Coming out of that class was a realization that I am in pretty darned good shape, if I do say so myself. My confidence level was boosted again. I opted not to do the Body Pump, because technically Monday was supposed to be a rest day and I'd just finished Les Mills's hardest class (according to the instructor) when all I'd wanted was some strength training.
So you know what? Running remains a mystery to me. Some days, you have good days, others, bad. And other days when you think you'd have no energy, all of a sudden you feel like a superstar. The important thing is to find the positive in the pain, like spotting some crocuses blooming beside the sidewalk, or thinking of all the friends and family who have believed in you when you doubted yourself.
I owe so much of my perseverance to my husband and running friends who have pushed me on when the going got tough. Thank you. I won't be quitting running anytime soon, and my goal to run the GoodLife full in Toronto in May still stands.
Here's to a new day!
~ HRG
On Saturday night, I ate pizza to store up on carbs, knowing that I would be running a looong run in the morning. I tried to get to bed early, and catch some zs -- always a hard feat for me the night before a long run, since my mind just seems to race ahead of me in anticipation. So I caught about 5 hours of shut-eye, which for me is not bad.
In the morning, I took my time getting ready, ate a bowl of oatmeal and a half cup of tea. To be honest, for some reason I was dreading the run even though I'd done 27k the weekend before, so I took my time even more. I gave myself just enough time to get to the Running Room and head for one more loo break, then we were on our way.
The first part of the run went pretty well, though I must admit I was having trouble catching my breath and falling into the groove as Andrea and I chatted about the previous day's Ashtanga yoga class. Part of me wondered if I'd overdone it, because in addition to that hour and a half class that had me sweating buckets, I'd also thrown in a 10k before it -- my week had gotten a little messed up when I missed a run on Tuesday. Regardless -- I was about to find out if I had indeed overdone it, the day before a 29k run.
At around 7k, we made it to the Rails to Trails, which is remarkably close to my house and yet I never knew it was there! One more option for running routes close to our house! We started our way along the trail, and I noticed I was dropping back, and back, and back. I was worried about my IT and hamstring too, because I've been having trouble with them lately (an injury that actually stopped me from running for two months last year).
Part of the trail passes by streets and houses, but then there's a big chunk of it that's literally in the middle of nowhere for about 5k. It's pretty, but I didn't want to end up stranded in the middle of nowhere if I couldn't keep up with the group, and I also didn't want them to feel like they had to slow down for me, since they were keeping up a pretty good pace.
So I turned around and headed back to the streets of Halifax for another 16k or so. And that's when the going started getting tough. For the next 11k, I had a really difficult run, physically (I was running at around 7:20 for a while there) and mentally. I started asking myself whether I could do a full marathon again if I was finding this so tough and I wasn't even at the 20k mark yet. Did even I want to do it? The feeling on the run on Sunday reminded me of the angst of my first marathon -- not a fun feeling at all. So why was I doing this if I found it so agonizing? Was I perhaps just more suited to shorter runs? Etc, etc, etc.
Signs of spring are everywhere in the city now, and did help to keep me going through the physical and mental strain. So I pushed on, at a very slow pace, knowing that if I didn't get this 29k in today, I would regret it. I made it back to the Running Room at around 24k (by then my Garmin had died. I must remember to charge it on Saturday nights!). The fast runners of our group had already made it back and were stretching. Boy, are they fast!
I went to the loo, again (well we are out there for more than a few hours), then headed back out for my last 5k. Since my Garmin wasn't working, I approximated my route. As I was heading up Bell Road, the rest of the group I'd peeled away from was heading in. Given that I had taken a couple of bathroom breaks (and one break to text Wendy to let her know I was fine), I estimated that they were probably around 2 or 3k ahead of me, pace-wise.
I ended up doing around 6k, so all told I did 30k. And truth be told, although mentally I was a little messy, physically I wasn't too bad. After stretching for a few minutes, I went to Pete's Frootique for a Blue Moon (blueberry smoothie -- lots of antioxidants and so a good recovery drink, says Bruce). Standing at the counter, I dialed our home number.
"I think I want to quit running," I said to my husband. But he wouldn't hear any more of my negative talk, saying it wasn't good for me. Basically holding up a big red stop sign in front of the negativity train I had been riding for the last three and a half to four hours.
Paying for my smoothie, I headed back to the car and drove home. As soon as I got in, Steve was there, and told me to hurry up, because he was going to take me out for lunch to celebrate my run. God I love my husband for that -- he knows me so well, and he knew right away that if he didn't take me out, I'd just go upstairs, have a bath, and wallow in pity and self-doubt.
Instead, we went to Duffy's for lunch and I had a pretty good steak sandwich and fries. Then over to the Hart & Thistle for a few pints and some laughs with Greg. At around 6pm though I was dying. My legs were stiff but not sore. Mostly I was just dead tired. We drove home, stopping at Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream (I'd just burned about 1,700 calories so I figured I could indulge in some comfort food. And boy is their ice cream yummy! So creamy!). At home, I changed into my jammies and then tucked in for a night of live-tweeting the Junos for work.
A perfect end to a difficult run.
Now what's the mystery behind all that, you wonder? We all have bad days, right? I know.
Here's the thing: yesterday, you would have thought that I'd be in some form of pain or discomfort, or that my legs would be feeling stiff. But you know what? I felt pretty good. So I decided to get some strength training in after work. My plan was to do Body Attack before Body Pump, to get a couple of hours of cross-training in.
Bear in mind, I've never taken Body Attack before. I didn't even know what it was, but the "attack" part of it made me think it involved some kind of punching or something.
Hehe...
Body Attack burns more calories than any other LesMills class, the instructor told us. Then she put on her mike, turned on the music, and we started stepping...and hopping...and jogging...And we jogged in circles. We jogged front and back. We did jumping jacks...And we didn't stop for a full hour...
But you know what? I didn't feel bad at all. I kept up with the whole class, and chose the level three or four high intensity option wherever I could. And despite being sweaty, I wasn't winded. Or at least nothing that I couldn't handle on a tempo run.
Coming out of that class was a realization that I am in pretty darned good shape, if I do say so myself. My confidence level was boosted again. I opted not to do the Body Pump, because technically Monday was supposed to be a rest day and I'd just finished Les Mills's hardest class (according to the instructor) when all I'd wanted was some strength training.
So you know what? Running remains a mystery to me. Some days, you have good days, others, bad. And other days when you think you'd have no energy, all of a sudden you feel like a superstar. The important thing is to find the positive in the pain, like spotting some crocuses blooming beside the sidewalk, or thinking of all the friends and family who have believed in you when you doubted yourself.
I owe so much of my perseverance to my husband and running friends who have pushed me on when the going got tough. Thank you. I won't be quitting running anytime soon, and my goal to run the GoodLife full in Toronto in May still stands.
Here's to a new day!
~ HRG
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Week 10: No turning back now!
It's official! This week I signed up for the GoodLife Marathon - May 15 in Toronto. No turning back now!
I can't believe we are already into week 10, although the distances should tell me that - we moved up to 29k last Sunday (although my Garmin conked out so I only did 27...but that's not bad). Funny: when we started out for our run on Sunday, I just couldn't imagine how the heck we could run from downtown Halifax, all the way across the bridge, around to Shubie and back, and then add another 10k on top of that! Yet I'd done that route a few times last fall...Our minds just have short term memory, I guess.
So, instead of doing the run across the bridge (which freaks me out -- it's just so darned high and long and I feel utterly exposed there. Usually I pick up my pace to around 4:30 and sprint the 1 mile across till I get to solid ground again...), I opted to do loops around Halifax instead. For some reason that made it more manageable in my mind.
I found the 27k hard, there's no denying it. Part of it, I think, is that I've been getting a little lazy with my nutrition. That morning, I only ate a slice of toast with a little bit of PB on it -- I was having stomach issues so I didn't want to exacerbate it. But I realized that I've got to start paying closer attention to my nutrition, because the distances are just too long now to ignore. This week I'll probably run around 41 or 42kms combined, plus some cross-training thrown in for good measure. You just can't run that far on a handful of calories and expect to get anywhere.
Last Saturday I had the opportunity to meet with Colin Harris of http://www.takemeoutside.ca/. Colin is, get this -- running across Canada! He's doing about 3 marathons a week. In terms of nutrition, he says he burns about 6,000 calories a day so eating is just not a problem for him. His breakfast usually consists of a bagel and maybe PB -- much like most runners start with. He'll run about 10k in the morning, stop for a nutritious lunch, do another 15k in the afternoon, have a break and then do the remainder following the break and a snack.
Colin ran 1,300 kilometres from St. John's, Newfoundland and burned through two pairs of shoes to get to Halifax, and left from Truro on Monday morning to continue his journey east. He'll be visiting schools across Canada to speak to kids about the importance of getting outside. "Canada just has the best backyard ever," he says of his running route. "I just believe that everything feels better when you get outside."
I'll be asking Colin to answer some questions for a HRG Runner Profile spot soon, along with other local runners like Erin of http://www.love4gambia.com/, who is running across The Gambia.
So when the going feels a little tough, I just have to remember Colin and Erin. What's a little marathon when you're running across entire countries? Now THAT's dedication!
~ HRG
I can't believe we are already into week 10, although the distances should tell me that - we moved up to 29k last Sunday (although my Garmin conked out so I only did 27...but that's not bad). Funny: when we started out for our run on Sunday, I just couldn't imagine how the heck we could run from downtown Halifax, all the way across the bridge, around to Shubie and back, and then add another 10k on top of that! Yet I'd done that route a few times last fall...Our minds just have short term memory, I guess.
So, instead of doing the run across the bridge (which freaks me out -- it's just so darned high and long and I feel utterly exposed there. Usually I pick up my pace to around 4:30 and sprint the 1 mile across till I get to solid ground again...), I opted to do loops around Halifax instead. For some reason that made it more manageable in my mind.
I found the 27k hard, there's no denying it. Part of it, I think, is that I've been getting a little lazy with my nutrition. That morning, I only ate a slice of toast with a little bit of PB on it -- I was having stomach issues so I didn't want to exacerbate it. But I realized that I've got to start paying closer attention to my nutrition, because the distances are just too long now to ignore. This week I'll probably run around 41 or 42kms combined, plus some cross-training thrown in for good measure. You just can't run that far on a handful of calories and expect to get anywhere.
Last Saturday I had the opportunity to meet with Colin Harris of http://www.takemeoutside.ca/. Colin is, get this -- running across Canada! He's doing about 3 marathons a week. In terms of nutrition, he says he burns about 6,000 calories a day so eating is just not a problem for him. His breakfast usually consists of a bagel and maybe PB -- much like most runners start with. He'll run about 10k in the morning, stop for a nutritious lunch, do another 15k in the afternoon, have a break and then do the remainder following the break and a snack.
Colin ran 1,300 kilometres from St. John's, Newfoundland and burned through two pairs of shoes to get to Halifax, and left from Truro on Monday morning to continue his journey east. He'll be visiting schools across Canada to speak to kids about the importance of getting outside. "Canada just has the best backyard ever," he says of his running route. "I just believe that everything feels better when you get outside."
I'll be asking Colin to answer some questions for a HRG Runner Profile spot soon, along with other local runners like Erin of http://www.love4gambia.com/, who is running across The Gambia.
So when the going feels a little tough, I just have to remember Colin and Erin. What's a little marathon when you're running across entire countries? Now THAT's dedication!
~ HRG
Friday, March 18, 2011
It's just spring, silly! Or, learning to measure my enthusiasm
So today was the first day in months that I actually ran in my cropped pants, tank top and running sleeves. After a grey morning with heavy winds and rain, the weather changed so completely and abruptly as it can only do in Halifax. Suddenly the sun was shining, the breeze was light, and it was 9 degrees...
After a productive day at work, I decided there was just no way I could pass up a run in such glorious weather. So I pulled on my running gear, laced up my shoes, synched my Garmin to GPS, and headed out for an easy 10k run as per my schedule.
Or so I thought.
No sooner did I pop my earphones in and head out on the sidewalk, that I started pumping my legs. Although the schedule only called for about a 6:20 pace for today's run, I started pushing it. Soon, I was doing 5:45, then 5:35, and suddenly...5:20.
I felt great. I felt like a running goddess. I probably didn't look like one, but for the first time in months, I felt like I was floating on air. Rihanna's "Only girl in the world" was pulsing through my iPod, and I started belting it out (thankfully no one was around because I'm pretty sure that I was not remotely in pitch...but then again, I'm not auditioning for American Idol).
I coasted down Oxford, past University, watching my step on the cracked sidewalk -- last week I tripped in front of a whole bunch of cars at Dutch Village Road and I didn't want to repeat it.
Then, the pain began in my left shin and calves. "It's just pain, not muscle fatigue," I thought to myself. But -- I had another 6.5 k to go.
So I decided to use this as a teachable moment -- to use it as a reminder not to go too fast out of the gates, while at the same time being able to push through the pain and discomfort for the long haul.
I slowed down for a bit, heading down Point Pleasant Drive and then South Park, and letting my legs rest up a bit. But as soon as I turned onto North a few kms later, I picked it up again -- I only had a few more kms to go, so suddenly the energy bank was full again!
Lesson learned: sure, spring is around the corner (though I haven't packed away the snow shovel yet) but that doesn't mean I should burn all my fuel in the first few kms of a run. A lesson I'm going to need to bear in mind once I'm standing at the starting line of the Good Life Marathon in a couple of months!
Still - I love spring time! Woo!
~ HRG
After a productive day at work, I decided there was just no way I could pass up a run in such glorious weather. So I pulled on my running gear, laced up my shoes, synched my Garmin to GPS, and headed out for an easy 10k run as per my schedule.
Or so I thought.
No sooner did I pop my earphones in and head out on the sidewalk, that I started pumping my legs. Although the schedule only called for about a 6:20 pace for today's run, I started pushing it. Soon, I was doing 5:45, then 5:35, and suddenly...5:20.
I felt great. I felt like a running goddess. I probably didn't look like one, but for the first time in months, I felt like I was floating on air. Rihanna's "Only girl in the world" was pulsing through my iPod, and I started belting it out (thankfully no one was around because I'm pretty sure that I was not remotely in pitch...but then again, I'm not auditioning for American Idol).
I coasted down Oxford, past University, watching my step on the cracked sidewalk -- last week I tripped in front of a whole bunch of cars at Dutch Village Road and I didn't want to repeat it.
Then, the pain began in my left shin and calves. "It's just pain, not muscle fatigue," I thought to myself. But -- I had another 6.5 k to go.
So I decided to use this as a teachable moment -- to use it as a reminder not to go too fast out of the gates, while at the same time being able to push through the pain and discomfort for the long haul.
I slowed down for a bit, heading down Point Pleasant Drive and then South Park, and letting my legs rest up a bit. But as soon as I turned onto North a few kms later, I picked it up again -- I only had a few more kms to go, so suddenly the energy bank was full again!
Lesson learned: sure, spring is around the corner (though I haven't packed away the snow shovel yet) but that doesn't mean I should burn all my fuel in the first few kms of a run. A lesson I'm going to need to bear in mind once I'm standing at the starting line of the Good Life Marathon in a couple of months!
Still - I love spring time! Woo!
~ HRG
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Halifax Runner Girl's run for Japan
Hi all,
Further to my previous post, I have now set up a fundraising page. My goal is to raise at least $420.20 -- one dollar for every kilometre run in the Good Life Toronto Marathon on May 15. If I can raise more, that's fantastic too!
Click here for a link to my Giving Page to make a donation.
Thanks to Laura for pointing out the Giving Pages to me!
~ HRG
Further to my previous post, I have now set up a fundraising page. My goal is to raise at least $420.20 -- one dollar for every kilometre run in the Good Life Toronto Marathon on May 15. If I can raise more, that's fantastic too!
Click here for a link to my Giving Page to make a donation.
Thanks to Laura for pointing out the Giving Pages to me!
~ HRG
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Week eight: running with Lisa Simpson and David Suzuki, halfway there, and more
Ok, I haven't really been running with David Suzuki or Lisa Simpson. But as the weather starts to get warmer (6 degrees today - I actually ran in a t-shirt and my favourite running accessory - running sleeves from Lulu Lemon), the city's critters are starting to come out of their winter hiding places. I'm such a nature girl that the sight of a bald eagle near Point Pleasant Park last week and a pair of common mergansers floating in the Halifax Harbour today gave me an extra little spring in my step. Cause spring is in the air! I freely admit it - I'm a nature nerd.
My husband imagines that running with me (because he's never actually done it) must be like going for a run with Lisa Simpson - me trotting (or hobbling, depending on the day and the distance) along, my curly hair sticking out in points, chattering excitedly about little details like a cute shingled birdhouse or listening the chirps from a flock of chickadees nearby as we wind our way through the city. Which made me wonder - what would it be like to run through Halifax with David Suzuki? I'm sure he'd be much better than I am at identifying species, and he'd probably be able to pick out all kinds of other natural wonders I haven't noticed. It would be like having my very own Nature of Things documentary of Halifax. Then again, he might also start a monologue about our current environmental crisis, which could be a little bit of a downer. After all, some of those long runs can be painful enough without focusing on all that's wrong with the world.
But I guess my point is, the fun thing about road running outdoors is that you get to experience the city and urban nature as it shifts from one season to the next. I remember running through a rainstorm last fall, cold wet and miserable. I had merged onto the multi-use trail in the South end that extends off of Oxford, when all of a sudden a red squirrel jumped off one of the trees and started running alongside me on the top rail of the fence, hopping over the upright beams like they were hurdles. I'm sure he was probably racing around trying to hoard nuts before the weather turned chilly and he turned in for the winter. But I could have sworn he was racing me. Pretty soon, he hopped back onto another tree and circled around, letting me go on my way. I was still wet and cold, but a little warmer thanks to our little race.
As for my training program - week eight is now complete and we are now into week nine. Which means that we're at the halfway mark to my marathon goal: the Toronto Good Life Marathon on May 15. Actually, now that I think about it, I can't believe we're already halfway there! Just nine more weeks and I'll be at the start line, surrounded by thousands of other runners, my adrenaline racing. Eep!
The distances have been getting longer - 23k last week, which went fairly well (in fact I ran an extra kilometre or so without knowing it) and 26 today, which did not go as well, though that might have something to do with me only getting a couple of hours of sleep last night. Chalk it up to pre-long-run nerves (I never sleep well the night before a really long run). We've also started hill training and I'm continuing my strength training.
Next week, it's back down to 19k, then we jump right back up to 29 the following Sunday. Having done this training program once before, the distances don't seem as intimidating. I'm not saying I could go out and run a full marathon tomorrow, but at least I know what it feels like to be on the road for two, three or four hours.
And while I'm out there, there's so much to see and hear! I can't wait for the weather to keep getting warmer so I can observe the crocuses beginning to poke their heads out, dotting the city with bright polkadots.
Oh and before I forget - a shout out to Heart & Sole Running Club, a new local running group based in Dartmouth. Thanks for the follow!
That's it for today. Until next time, happy running!
~ HRG
My husband imagines that running with me (because he's never actually done it) must be like going for a run with Lisa Simpson - me trotting (or hobbling, depending on the day and the distance) along, my curly hair sticking out in points, chattering excitedly about little details like a cute shingled birdhouse or listening the chirps from a flock of chickadees nearby as we wind our way through the city. Which made me wonder - what would it be like to run through Halifax with David Suzuki? I'm sure he'd be much better than I am at identifying species, and he'd probably be able to pick out all kinds of other natural wonders I haven't noticed. It would be like having my very own Nature of Things documentary of Halifax. Then again, he might also start a monologue about our current environmental crisis, which could be a little bit of a downer. After all, some of those long runs can be painful enough without focusing on all that's wrong with the world.
But I guess my point is, the fun thing about road running outdoors is that you get to experience the city and urban nature as it shifts from one season to the next. I remember running through a rainstorm last fall, cold wet and miserable. I had merged onto the multi-use trail in the South end that extends off of Oxford, when all of a sudden a red squirrel jumped off one of the trees and started running alongside me on the top rail of the fence, hopping over the upright beams like they were hurdles. I'm sure he was probably racing around trying to hoard nuts before the weather turned chilly and he turned in for the winter. But I could have sworn he was racing me. Pretty soon, he hopped back onto another tree and circled around, letting me go on my way. I was still wet and cold, but a little warmer thanks to our little race.
As for my training program - week eight is now complete and we are now into week nine. Which means that we're at the halfway mark to my marathon goal: the Toronto Good Life Marathon on May 15. Actually, now that I think about it, I can't believe we're already halfway there! Just nine more weeks and I'll be at the start line, surrounded by thousands of other runners, my adrenaline racing. Eep!
The distances have been getting longer - 23k last week, which went fairly well (in fact I ran an extra kilometre or so without knowing it) and 26 today, which did not go as well, though that might have something to do with me only getting a couple of hours of sleep last night. Chalk it up to pre-long-run nerves (I never sleep well the night before a really long run). We've also started hill training and I'm continuing my strength training.
Next week, it's back down to 19k, then we jump right back up to 29 the following Sunday. Having done this training program once before, the distances don't seem as intimidating. I'm not saying I could go out and run a full marathon tomorrow, but at least I know what it feels like to be on the road for two, three or four hours.
And while I'm out there, there's so much to see and hear! I can't wait for the weather to keep getting warmer so I can observe the crocuses beginning to poke their heads out, dotting the city with bright polkadots.
Oh and before I forget - a shout out to Heart & Sole Running Club, a new local running group based in Dartmouth. Thanks for the follow!
That's it for today. Until next time, happy running!
~ HRG
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