Hello, again!

It's been a while...again.

I mentioned last time that I'd lost my motivation to keep moving. Still struggling with that, but things are on the upswing. Turns out that I had been battling some reasonably minor health problems that were sapping my energy. Those peaked in July, and have since been resolved, but at the same time, my gym went out of business very unexpectedly. I started searching for a new one but found myself really enjoying the extra free time that came from not working out. Kept meaning to take up running again, but then the summer heat & humidity hit, vacation time interrupted my routines...and wow, is that ever a long list of excuses for not exercising, eh?

The good news is that back in June, I stopped driving to work and taking transit, which has given me about 2 kms each day of extra walking. So, there's that. 

Here's what I've been up to: 

Color Me Rad 5K with Lynda - a brutally hot day. It was 38C with the humidity at 10am!

Tree planting day with our local park group. We shovelled mulch onto 100 new trees!

Archery lesson with my husband at our local castle. Turns out that we're both pretty good at this :-)

Got the kids to the beach a few times -

Rented a cabin up north for a week in July. Lots and lots of relaxing, but I got out in a kayak almost every day:

Our dog loved loved loved the cabin!

 My cousin & I got our kids up north in August for our annual Two Moms, Six Kids camping trip.

This beach was about 2 minutes from our tents

And hiking led to some spectacular views. 

 Got the dog out for lots and lots of walks of course -

And today, a bunch of us got up early and caught the ferry over to the Island for our annual Island Girl Run! Orange medals = half marathon relay (10.5KM each); blue medals = half marathon!

Back: Cassie, Sarah, Karen, Me, Lynda, Laura.
Front: Melissa, Alex, Emma

I have to say - doing 10.5K on no training didn't make for the best morning, but my nutrition was solid and I power walked my way into a finish that was only 6 minutes slower than last year's run WITH training. 

What's up next? I'm not signed up for anything, but we are talking about the Around the Bay race in March again, and I'm thinking of doing an 8K in October. I suppose I'd better stop talking about training and actually get out there. 

I'll keep you posted. 

Women's Run 5K - Check!

With Sarah & Rachel

Well, I found out today that I am not (yet) acclimated to running in the heat. Oh my.

We ran in 22C with a slight humidity and I quickly realized just how different summer training is going to be from winter training. This was a day to be hot & sweaty and with heavy legs. Good heavens - what is July running going to be like?

That being said, I had a good run. I'm pleased with the steady pace that I stuck to, and pleased with the amount of walking that I did - more that I expected but I am A-OK given the warm weather that I am not (yet) used to running in. 

I finished in 39:47 and I'm very pleased.

Funny thing about that - it's slower than my current PR of 39.06, but that time was set in a terribly uneven run that I really didn't enjoy. I almost don't even want to call that one my PR since my run was so terrible. 

However, it's faster than the 40.35 that I earned in the fabulous Around the Bay run, a great run. Perfect weather and I paced myself well.

So I'm pretty proud of besting that time despite the heat slowing me down.

Any advice for a new runner facing warm weather running for the first time?

Other than that, the past week has been pretty quiet on the exercise front -

Last Saturday - Rode to my gum (6K round trip), circuit/bootcamp

Last Sunday - Headed out for a 9am run with Stella but the heat (21C but baking hot sun) made us have to cut it short. We covered 3.8K of some running, a lot of flopping down on front lawns and a lot walking. After this, we run after dark - poor hot dog! Later - the 5 of us headed out of town to a provincial park. Did a hilly 4.5K hike in reasonably shady trails and had a picnic dinner.

This tree always amazes me. Completely hollow and somehow yet still alive.
It's slightly creepy shape earned it our nickname the "Tim Burton Tree"

Monday - Victoria Day! Puttered in the garden,  short dog walk, neighbourhood street party

Tuesday - Saturday - Between a gigantic blister (gardening without gloves, not a good move) and a generally crazy busy week, I ended up having a lot of days without exercise. 

Had a lot of fun on Friday, though - my son is crazy for parkour and I found a local studio that runs an intro/safety lesson. Brought him over and was amazed to see what he can do. He added some great moves to his reperatoire and picked up some good safety tips. Walking to school is about to get a lot more interesting!

With Ana

Sunday - Women's Run 5K! Followed by a 2K dog park walk and a birthday party for my nephew. Earned the 'awesome aunt' award - our present is that we will take him on a tree-top trekking & ziplining day this summer, and he's really pleased. Looking forward to it!

Around the Bay 5K - Check!

I had a great race.

I didn't PR.

But it was such a great day!

Let me back up a bit - back at the end of October, my friend Emma signed up for the 30K Around the Bay Race, having run nothing longer than a 10K so far. A fleet of us also signed up for various distances - 5K, relay team, 30K - to be there to cheer her on. Reserved a few hotel rooms and made a weekend out of it. Had a fun Saturday travelling, out for lunch, hitting the expo, out for dinner, grocery store run for bananas and so on.

Race morning was overcast and cool with a slight breeze - perfect conditions for a run!

Heading to the starting line - me, Emma, Lynda

We saw Lynda off with the 8:30am power walkers, then the 30K and relay runners headed to their start and I went out with the 5K a few minutes later.

I'd heard that the 30K course is lovely - it does go "around the bay" after all - but I didn't expect the 5K course to be scenic, too! We ran a short leg through downtown Hamilton, long leg through a tree-lined residential street  (with lots of spectators cheering us on), a long leg along the waterfront trail, past a bagpipe band, then a short leg back through downtown, into Copps Coliseum, down the red carpet and across the finish line at centre ice.

Medals, water, snacks, then to the stands to wait for the elite athletes to finish their 30K. Sweet.

I got  to watch Reid Coolsaet - who will be running in the 2012 Olympics - cross the 30K finish line in 1:33, to fireworks and wild cheering. He runs a 2:09 marathon and did this one as a fun run. He looked as fresh at the finish as he did at the start. Amazing.

Also amazing? My run!

See that smile?

I've been slow running 8s & 3s and 10s & 1s in C25K training, but maxing out at covering 3.4KMs in the 25-30 minutes that they call for.

This time, I ran slow and steady 8s & 1s for the first 4KM, took a 2 min walk break, then ran the last 600 metres to the finish line. Same slow and steady pace. This is the most running I've ever done in a 5K - ever. And it was one of those good, evenly paced runs that reminded me that running doesn't necessary...suck.

Yes, I do turn really red when I exercise.
Race medics always stop me to make sure that I can carry on a conversation.  

This was such a good run for me that I simply didn't care when I saw my time (40:35; my PR is 39:06). This was one of those runs that made me feel like I might finally be building up some endurance. Speed can some later.

Anyway - Elissa and I met up after she finished the first leg of the relay and we headed back outside to cheer people on to the finish. So inspiring to see people at the end of a run like this.

Like the Armed Forces guys and gals who did the 30K in full field uniform with full packs.

And the lady who was celebrating her 80th birthday by doing this run - for the 60th consecutive year.

Absolutely amazing.

Lynda, 5 minutes after finishing her 30K.
Right after this, she hopped in her car and hit the highway to get to a meeting. Crazy!

And of course our own girls - every single one of them finishing their races with a smile. 

Me (5K), Elissa, Sarah, Rachel (relay team), Emma (30K), Laura (30K)

Emma - congrats on hitting your dream of going long.

Less than 24 hours after crossing the finish line, she was already talking about what's next. Love it!

Here's this week's recap:

Saturday - travel day
Sunday - ATB 5K
Monday - Curves circuit + an abs boot camp - lots of crunches, planks and pushups - and stretching.
Tuesday - rest day; 1K dog power walk.
Wednesday - skipped the gym in favour of going to see The Hunger Games
Thursday - skipped the gym in favour of going to see the Mythbusters: Behind the Myths Tour. Knock this one off my son`s list!

An evening with Adam & Jamie - stunts, stories and lots of audience participation. SO FUN.

Friday - Curves circuit + boot camp lite (250 crunches, 50 pushups, 1 min plank)

Next up? The CN Tower climb in April. A 5K in May. And try-a-tri training starts next week...

Race Season Begins!

Sarah, me, Rachel - St. Pat's 5K: Check!

We have liftoff!

Between now and the end of the summer, I'm in about one event a month. It was a bit hard mentally getting back into the swing of things after a 10-week break from racing but we got things going this week with a very fun St. Pat's 5K.  

We has a great time when we did this race last year and decided to use it to kick-start this year's race season. The out and back course is a bit dull aside from the last KM, but it's a reasonably flat route and this is generally a fun event. Tons of energy and lots of green and silly costumes at this race.

Just like my latest C25K training run, I had a very uneven race - run 5 mins, fast walk 2, run 3, slow walk 2 and so on. I started out too fast, dressed too warmly, and had too many late nights and treats over March Break. No surprise that I struggled.

But a winter's worth of boot camps and 7 weeks of C25K paid off, because I shaved 58 seconds off my best time.

Which made me extremely happy.

New PR: 39:06.

I may be slow, but I'm faster than I was!

And a few days after the race, I found out that the course was actually 130 metres too long.

Big grin.

I've been eating well and easing back on training this week. Let's see how I do in this weekend's Around the Bay 5K. Would be great to break through that 39 minute mark.

Here's this week's recap:

Saturday - Tail end of March Break and my cousin's visit. Took the kids to High Park for a few hours of strolling and climbing.

Stella makes an excellent goalie.

Sunday - St. Pat's 5K, then met my family at the park for a lively game of dog soccer. 2K stroll with Stella before bed. Feeling good, and very pleased with myself to be tired but not completely exhausted after the run.

Monday - Curves circuit + boot camp (200 crunches + another crazy-short-but-intense session)

Tuesday - REST DAY. 2K stroll with Stella.

Wednesday -  1K jog with the dog beside a scooter-riding girl. Later, Curves circuit + boot camp (300 crunches + 2 x 35second planks + crazy/short/intense session)

Thursday - Rest Day.

Friday - Took kids and dog to the park. Lovely evening, made even better by my husband bringing Indian food home for dinner.

Spring showed up this week in most of North America - how did you take advantage of this wave of lovely weather? We found ourselves outside more in the evenings and started puttering around with the outdoor chores. Next step - get the bikes tuned up this weekend. Can't wait to get back on two wheels! 

Women's Run 5K? Check!

My daughter has been watching her brother go out for races with me this year and said a few months ago that she wanted to do a 5K with me herself.

I've been hearing great things about the Toronto Women's Runs and thought the October run would be the perfect 5K for us to do together.

I've been a bit nervous about this - she's fit, but she's only 7-1/2. She found the Do Life 5K back in July long and tiring, which meant a lot of complaining on the way to the finish line. I've been reminding myself that it was a warm day, we did a lot of visiting & walking before we even got to the start and I think she was a bit tired when we started - and she's young.

But she's been emphatic that she wants to do a 5K with Mom. So I signed us up and we've been doing some training. Power walking with the dog, doing some slow running now and then, that sort of thing.

A fair bit of our preparation has been pep talks and setting expectations. It's a mirror to the kinds of things I told myself before my own first 5K -

"We're going to show up, walk as much as we need to, run when we want to, and eventually cross the finish line."

"Who cares how long it takes us - you're setting a personal record just by showing up at the start line."

And a few incentives:

"It's a women's only run - and they've got fire fighters at the water station! And chocolate at the finish line! And medals for everyone!"

She's been looking forward to it all fall.

The day before the run, she confessed that she was nervous but that she has been telling herself that if her brother can do 5K, so can she. OK, I'm impressed.

She really got into the routine of getting ready for a race - planning her race day breakfast (bowl of Vector with milk, sliced banana), going to packet pickup, deciding what to wear and making plans to hook up with Mom's friends for a finish line picture. She's seen the rest of us do this for our races and was very pleased to be going through the pre-race rituals herself. 

Morning of the race? She woke up early, happy and excited.

We met up with a few friends who were doing the 8K run -  

Sarah, Rachel, me, my daughter

...cheered them on as they started, then waited for our own gun to go off.

Bibs on and stopping for a quick picture before heading to the start corral

Did our stretching, watched the clock, and then we were off!

And she was AMAZING.

She did a slow and steady run for about the first 300 metres...then slowed down and said "I'm tired, how much further is it?" That had me kind of worried, but after that? No complaints from her.  

See her right hand? She had a pocket full of Smarties and popped one every 1/2K. That helped :-)

Visualization also helped. Before the run, we had talked about how the distance from our house to our dog park is 1K, so we used that to measure our progress. "1K - we made it to the dog park!" "2K - we made it home!"  "3K - we're back at the dog park" and so on.

Turnaround marker at 2.5K...firefighters and water at 3K...she's still smiling at 3.5K (above)...cracking jokes at 4K ("you've got my next Smartie - hand it over!")...

Aaaaand before we knew it - THERE'S THE FINISH LINE!

 

We both put on a burst of speed, flew past my cheering husband and son, and finished with a smile.

Got our medals and ran back to the finish line to cheer on Rachel and Sarah. Stopped for a group pic:

Finally getting to be in an after-race pic with the girls.

...then collected the goodie bags that the organizers were giving out. Bananas, almonds, water, bagels and Lara bars.  And chocolate!

So, so proud of my girl. She really earned that finisher's medal. She amazed me with how strong she is, but also with how disciplined and determined she can be. She had a great time at the race and is floating on air with pride for having done this. She also showed beautiful race etiquette on the course (just like her big brother) and it was a real pleasure to run with her.

She's in no hurry to do another race, but I'm sure she'll be back when she's a bit older. Like Rachel said to her - you'll find yourself getting addicted to these things!

OH!!! Our finish time! I really didn't know how long this would take her, and was hoping for about an hour.

Well.

She sure showed me.

We finished in 43:59.

SPECTACULAR!

As for the race itself? This was a very, very fun run and was an incredibly well-organized event on a beautiful course. I'll definitely be back in 2012!

Scotiabank Waterfront 5K? Check!

My fall race season has started!! My son and I kicked things off with the 5K course on the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Bit of a chilly breeze coming off of the lake, and I'm grateful that we were able to wait inside a conference centre before it was time to start. Once the race started and we got moving, we warmed right up though.

Waiting for the start. Brrrrr.
Check out the glow from the Epic Orange Jacket.

Oh, how'd we do? We both PR'd!

40:03 for me (prev PR 40:43), 38:26 for him (prev 39:25). Just call us speedy. Well, speedier!

This was a good race for me. I did more running than ever before and felt reasonably strong. So great to see my fitness improving measurably over time. I do believe that I was scowling  when I crossed the finish line though...will be interesting to see what my official photos look like!

You know what's great? That my son is old enough (and responsible enough) that I could let him go at his own pace and meet him at the finish line. He knows that his time is a true measure of what he's capable of at this stage, that he wasn't held back by needing to stick close to Mom. I was able to run with him here and there on the course but also listen to my iPod the rest of the time - which is a huge help for me.

I do have a few complaints about the race - 

1. Like all big events, this one attracted a lot of new runners, and there were a number of student groups (i.e. pre-teens) participating. Great to see them competing - BUT - so very few of them knew anything about race etiquette. Walkers walking 5 abreast right down the middle of the course, kids weaving in and out and in and out and in and out of the pack, walkers strolling down the left...the right...the middle. Sigh. The course was wide enough that I was able to get around but all of this was a big, big pain and really interrupted the flow of the course. Race organizers - especially for these big events - should seriously include a race etiquette 101 in the info that they send out before the event.

I know, I know - I was a rookie participant myself not that long ago, but I was fortunate enough to have experienced racers give me a briefing before my first event, and I have drilled proper etiquette into my son from Day 1.

2. No distance markers for most of the course! I don't have a Garmin and really rely on course markers to know how far we've gone. The first distance marker we got was at the 4K mark.  Other 5Ks that I've done (even those that were part of a marathon course) marked every KM and sometimes even the halfway mark. Can someone tell me: is this a valid complaint for a 5K, or have I just gotten lucky/spoiled in the past?

Anyway - we finished stong and sweaty!

Laura (who did the half marathon!), Emma, Rachel, me, my son
Wearing my lucky St. Pat's 5K shirt and my Resolution Run jacket.
Enter enough races and you never need to go shopping for workout clothes again.

We hit the food stands for Gatorade, water and fruit, then hopped on the subway and went out for brunch. I ate a huge caprese omelet (tomatoes, bocconcini cheese and basil pesto - YUM); he had the home fries and a Coke. Think this is the 6th or so Coke he's ever had in his entire life. Not the world's best recovery meal - but he talked me into it. He DID need to replenish his salt and sugars...right?

THANKS MOM!
Still wearing his race bib. Not pictured: I'm wearing my medal. And my bib.

So - what's next?

My daughter and I are doing a 5K at the end of the month. No PRs will be set by me - this one will be all about getting her across the finish line. After that, I am hoping to find one for my son and I in November or early December that fits my calender, and the Resolution Run at the end of December. We both want to see what we can do to our times before the end of the year. Better keep jogging with the dog at night.

What's coming up on your race calendar?

Here's this week's recap:

Saturday - 2K dog park walk + a take-it-easy workout at Curves + 20 pushups.

Sunday - My husband's birthday, and he was very sweet to not complain about us spending it at the race. I took the dog on a 2K dog park walk first thing, he took our daughter to the zoo during the 5K, and I took the dog on another 2K dog park walk after we got home. I have to admit that I was feeling very sorry for my poor, tired self about going on that second dog walk...until I read about Fauja Singh, who at 100 years-old finished the marathon today in 8:25:16. Huh. OK, I officially feel like a whiner now.

Teaching Stella to play fetch. She's definitely obedient and well socialized but doesn't know many tricks.
She lived with two other dogs and only one human in her last home, so we're guessing that her playtime was mainly with the dogs. Kids have taught her to shake a paw; fetch is coming along nicely.

Monday - 2k dog park walk + Curves for an easy recovery workout + 10 pushups.

Tuesday - Rest day. Thank goodness. 1K dog walk before bed.

Wednesday - Zumba + Curves circuit + 20 pushups + 1.2K dog walk. Phew.

Thursday - 2K dog park walk. You know something? My hips are still a bit sore after the race. OH - and it's my birthday today!! Happy Birthday to Me! We went out for Indian food - the best dal, chana masala and homemade naan in town - fabulous!

My favourite present? A new necklace featuring a triathalon spinner from http://www.sportyjewels.com/ - it's to keep me motivated to train for the two try-a-tris I want to do next summer!

Had a look through their website tonight and couldn't help but notice all of the other charms that I would love love love to pick up. Pretty sure that I'll be getting the "bike" one after next summer's 50K Ride for Heart.

Friday - 2K dog park walk. Followed by taking two children shopping for winter gear. Sigh.

I am a WARRIOR!

 And I don't think I'll ever take off my medal!

I'm wearing a red t-shirt today

 So - a few months ago, I saw this:

...signed up with a few friends and made it my second Big Scary Goal for 2011.

I've been pretty busy with other events this spring...but this has been in the back of my mind the whole season.

I woke up the morning of the race absolutely terrified. The "I'm-not-going-to-get-out-of-bed-and-you-can't-make-me" kind of terrified. I went through the motions though - shower, breakfast, clothes - said goodbye to the kids (we were staying at my mom's) and got in the car with my husband, my faithful roadie ;-)

Drove out to the event, picked up my race kit. A couple of my friends and my sister had to drop out from injuries, but I found the rest and a few new ones:

Leslie, Elissa, Rachel, Sarah, Emma, me

...and headed to the starting line:

Looks like a mild enough starting line, no?

Headed into the course:

...and what a course it was. See the lighter green lines on the course? Those are ski hills. FREAKIN' SKI HILLS!!That we had to run UP. And sometimes DOWN.

OK, now - see the darker green areas? Those are forests. Forests with steep inclines. Inclines so steep that most of them were marked "CAUTION - STEEP INCLINE".

Steep inclines that we HAD TO RUN UP. And sometimes DOWN.

At least they were shady. The ski hills were brutally sunny. I believe I did a lot of cursing on the trails.

What is this event like in flatter parts of the world - like Texas? Couldn't have been anything like this!

Even without the obstacles - the course alone was punishing.

Oh, right - the obstacles! All were challenging, but none were as brutal as I'd feared. Or maybe they were just a welcome break from running the hills?

As you read this list , remember - we had to run up and down SKI HILLS and steep forest trails in between EACH AND EVERY ONE of these:

• Run through knee deep muddy trenches here and there in the forest (is that compost I smell?)
• Through tangled rope webs
• Crawl on hands and knees through a blackout trench
• Up and over a 15' high (I think?) wall - that was shaking from all the warriors on it
• Up and across about 20' of webbed rope net
• Up and over a haybale freakin' mountain
• Through a junk yard of old tires and over a bunch of junker cars
• Up and rappel over a sandy hill
• Slide down a  wet, slick slope 
• Up and over 30' high cargo nets - also shaking from all the warriors on it
• Jump over fire
• Crawl about 30' through a gravel-bottomed (OUCH) mud pit under barbed wire
• Finish!

I have to say - during the course, my legs were shaking and I was desperate for water. Lots of water. And bananas.

I also mentally thanked every boot camp class, every workout, every bike ride and every hike I've ever been on for making me strong enough to keep going.

Just off the cargo nets and heading to the fire - that's me in the white t-shirt

Seriously? By the time I got to the fire, my legs were so tired I could barely manage a pathetic little hop over it. Not feeling bad about that at all - my husband says some people completely bailed and went around it!

And by the time I got to the mud pit? I was so tired that I needed the threat of barbed wire to force me down on my knees and elbows.

Me in white, about to get REALLY muddy.
See the chair lifts at the top of the hill - yep, those are freakin' SKI HILLS we were running through.

Crossing a finish line has never been so satisfying! Medals, water, bananas and photo ops:

Emma and I. Extra points if you can see my race bib.

Lots of fun photo ops:

Sarah, Elissa, me, Emma

Some very nice firefighters hosed us down - with fire hoses and heart-stoppingly cold water. We cleaned up as best as we could, and hit the food tent for beer, turkey legs (not me) and veggie burgers (that's more like it).

WARRIORS!
We totally earned those fuzzy helmets!

Somewhere in there, I had the presence of mind to ask my husband what time it was, and almost fell over from shock.

We finished in 1:05.

One hour and five minutes.

We trudged through 5 kilometres of ski hills, punishing forest trails and a dozen obstacles.

And finished in one hour and five minutes.

I'm crazy proud of us. Wicked proud of myself.

I think I'll keep my medal on for a few more days. Actually - I don't think I'll ever take it off.

Later that day - on the beach at my SIL's cottage.
Wearing my medal.

PS - This event was amazingly well organized. From parking to shuttle bus to checkin, from start to finish on the course, and the after party - every single detail was well planned. Very, very impressive - well done Red Frog!

Jen Does Life

There was no other possible title for this post :-)

On Saturday morning, we headed downtown, met up with Ben and Pa...

...42 more really, really nice people and a puppy...

People came from all around the GTA, Ottawa, Boston and beyond!

 ...chatted for a while with some new friends, bought some really great medal hangers from the designer himself...

...and then the Do Life CEO kicked things off with a few motivational words ("Anyone want to skip the run and go straight to lunch?"):

Made our way over to the very official starting line of the Toronto Do Life International Official Unofficial 5K:

...and we were off!

An out and back course, my favourite!

Sprinted to the finish line:

 

...and ended with a smile:

A bunch of us went for lunch afterwards:

...talked up a storm, laughed a lot, swapped stories, and generally had a great time. I've never seen a group of total strangers click so quickly! We heard inspiring stories of weight loss and lifestyle changes from everyone we talked to. Some people had just run their first 5K, others were training for their next half-marathon - and everyone was there to celebrate Doing Life. Such a fantastic group of people. At the end of our meal, we were all reluctant to say goodbye and go our separate ways.  

Ben - thanks for being such an inspiration. John - thanks for logging so many hours as the Do Life Roadie. It was an honour to meet you both - and thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet so many amazing people.

I'm floored by the fact that you're both training for your next Ironman while on the road. It's impossible to not be inspired by you!

Even better that you are totally goofy :-)

Truly great day. Wishing you all the best with the rest of the tour.