Soooooo...It's Been a While!

Something happened last fall and my motivation ground to a halt. My interest in taking time to exercise, run and go to the gym vanished. It's no coincidence that blogging fell off at the same time that I stopped having anything to really talk about. I think it started off as taking some time to rest and relax after a busy season...but the motivation to pick things up where I left off hasn't really come back.

I'm working on it.

Meanwhile, I kept signing up - and showing up - for races, but they have been harder than they needed to be since I haven't been training.

Both my mom and my friend Julia called me out on my lack of blogging recently. I promised Julia that if I could make it to the finish line of my race today, that I'd pick it up again. I did, so here I am (Hi, Julia!). Hopefully recommitting to blogging will force me to get moving again, so that I have something to write about!

Here's what you've missed:

December 2012 - Santa Shuffle 5K

Sarah, my daughter, me, Emma, my son

This was a strange one - it is usually a very well-organized race but not this time? It was supposed to be a 10am start, but at 9.30 they started letting people go out whenever they showed up, causing a lot of confusion for all runners who came on time. A number of bandits also ran the race, were given medals and allowed to help themselves to post-race refreshments - meaning that by the time we crossed the finish line there was barely anything left. It's a charity race so I shouldn't mind - but it was a very chaotic morning and things really didn't need to be this way.
 
March 2013 - Around the Bay 30K relay (15K for each runner)
Big, scary goal #1

Only 2K left to go. Just passed The Reaper

Rachel & Sarah (relay team), Emma (30K), Laura (30K), myself & Lynda (relay team)

This race kicked my butt but I had so much fun that I didn't care. It's out of town, so we booked a hotel room, made a girls' weekend out of it and had a blast. We went last year, but I only did the 5K. Not-so-secretly had my heart set on doing the relay but wasn't mentally ready at the time. Made sure I'd be back for the longer course in 2013 to earn one of their "older than Boston" shirts.

This race features rolling hills (bah) but a lovely view and the people who live on the route not only come out to cheer for hours, but play music, offer snacks and generally put on a party. That last hill is a killer though - and the Reaper is waiting for you at the top. The agonizing thing? You can see the finish line for the last 3 kms and it takes forever on tired legs to get there.

More training and better nutrition would have been wise. I was going on empty for the last 1.5K. Took everything I had to pick things up for the finish line. Going back next year and aim to arrived trained.

May 13, 2013 - Sporting Life 10K

One of the few moments where I managed to actually run

Alex, Sarah, myself

This race kicked my butt and I DID care. I could not believe how much fitness I lost in two short months after ATB. I was running on empty after about KM 3 and the whole thing was such a struggle. Spent most of it power-walking. An eye-opener to say the least....but I couldn't get back in to running just yet because it was time to cram for...

June 2, 2013 - Ride for Heart 75K
Big, scary goal #2

Done and so happy. Amazing how all the pain goes away as soon as you cross the finish line!

You heard me - I crammed for a 75K bike ride. I started with a few short rides and almost gave up. Switched to my husband's road bike (significantly lighter than my mountain bike) and pulled off confidence-boosting 21K and 44K rides over rollllling hills.

I've also done the 25K (2011) and 50K (2012) version of this ride and wasn't going to give up on my goal of doing the full course this year.

So - I got up at 4.30am, rode to the 6am start line and just. kept. riding. It poured rain for a while - so heavily that I was actually wishing for my swim goggles. Then the wind picked up. Which was not fun. But I watched my nutrition carefully (G2, Hammer gels, bananas, raisins & pretzels for the record), managed not to swallow any bugs and didn't walk up a single hill. 81K total including my ride from home.

But I really don't recommend cramming for this sort of thing.  I also don't recommend doing this sort of thing in NON-PADDED shorts. Ouch.

What's next? A recovery day or two, then back to the gym and C25K. We're doing the Colour Run later this month, the Warrior Dash in July, and Island Girl 10.5K in September. I'd prefer not to go into these completely undertrained.

How have you been?

Island Girl Half Marathon Relay - Check!

Ahem - I have an announcement to make.

This race was my first 10K!

10-point-5-K actually - it was a half-marathon relay!

And finishing it means I can cross another Big, Scary Goal off the list :-)

 

The Island Girl has been on my wishlist since last year, when we happened to be on the Toronto Islands on the same day as the race. Beautiful spot, flat course, hula dancers, steel drums. It took me until this spring to work up the courage to sign up, and I'm oh, so glad that I did!

 

Convinced my co-worker Sarah to sign up as a relay partner with me...

Waiting for the ferry - with my daughter, Sarah and Stella.
Yes, my daugher is wearing a rain hat on this bright, sunny day. That's the way she rolls.







...and that made for 3 teams doing today's run. So fun to do these with a crowd.

 



With Laura, Rachel, another Sarah and Emma - you may recognise them from Around the Bay and a few other races.

Up early, into the car with my husband, kids, dog and a picnic breakfast, down to the lake and onto the ferry. Landed on the island, strolled around for a bit...ditched the extra layers...BRRRRRR....and Emma, blondeSarah and I headed to the start while everyone else headed for the relay exchange point. It's a T-shaped out and back course, and the exchange is at the 750m/5.5K/10.5K mark. 

 

Passing my family @ 750m - my husband took this while holding Stella back from trying to join me.
He had to hold her back again when I passed them at 5.5K My running partner was feeling left out!

 



I've run 7K once (the Spartan Race this summer) and 6.5K twice in training, but other than that have been covering 5.5K and shorter so I really didn't know how I'd be with this distance. Decided to take things slow and easy and made sure I didn't go out too fast.  

 

My 5K PR is roughly 39 minutes, and I had hopes of doing this race in 1.5 hours. But fully expected to take longer.

 

I hit the 5K mark at 39 minutes - dead on my PR - and was pleasantly surprised at how short 5K felt! 



Crossing into "I've never run this far before" territory
This bouncy boardwalk did a number on my back...

 

...but check out the view! We had close to 2K of quiet, lovely lakeside running.
Rest of the course was on the beautiful, tree-lined paths that make the island such a wonderful spot to spend a day.

Lots of 5s/1s and 4s/2s, lots of enjoying the lovely, scenic route, and all of a sudden I was almost done!

Past the hula dances and into the relay exchange - two thumbs up and a big smile

High 5s to Sarah at the exchange point, hugs from my family, and was nearly knocked off my feet by my overly excited dog.

 

Hey Stella? I missed you during the run. Would have brought you if I could.

Speaking of hula dancers...my daughter getting into the spirit of things on the beach

Hey - here comes Sarah! 5.5K, she's over half done!

Stopping for some parkour on our way to the finish line

Emma, blonde Sarah and I (with Stella) waited about 200m before the finish line to run our teammates in. Lots of cheering, then a sprint to the finish, medals, water and snacks.

So much fun.

Sarah and I. We are absolutely wearing our medals to work tomorrow.

Sarah, me, Sarah, Rachel, Laura and Emma

My finish time? 1:29 and I'm delighted. I'm a slow runner and I walk a lot, but I did this 10.5K in just over twice my 5K PR time. That's a win!

Next? I've been wanting to do the Women's Run at the end of October, but wasn't sure if I'd sign up for the 5K or the 8K. Figured I'd see how this race went before I decided.

Since today went so well, it's a no-brainer. Got out my credit card tonight signed up for the 8K. Now, let's see who I can convince to run it with me...

Orillia Try-A-Tri - Check!

My first triathlon is in the books!

350m swim + 10K bike + 2.5K run = 1:09:57

Let me just preface this by saying...I am a poor swimmer, I'm afraid of taking hills and corners too quickly on my bike, and I'm a slow runner. So why the heck would I sign up to try a tri?

I really don't have an answer for that, aside from...it called to me.

It called to me so loudly that I actually signed up for two this summer. So that if this one was dreadful, I'd have a second shot at tri in August, rather than having to wait until next season to redeem myself.

Now, if you've been following along, you may have noticed that I didn't exactly train for this. I've been biking, I've taken up running, and I swim when I can. But I wouldn't call that focused training.

Each leg in the tri sounded very reasonable to me - but I really underestimated what a game changer it is to put 'em together in one event. Particularly when you add in 31C weather with blazing sun.

So you won't be surprised that this event was a challenge! 

My goals for this race were modest, though: Learn the logistics of doing a tri. Finish. Not dead last if possible.

Done and done :-)

Here's the details -

Before

We stayed at my parent's the night before. The race had an 11am start time, so I had plenty of time to wake up, have breakfast and get ready. Said 'see you at the finish' to my family and rode my bike to the starting line - about 6 minutes away. Sweet.

My red bike is racked. Yes, it's a mountain bike.
 I'll invest in a road bike by next season, I promise.

Checked in about 45 minutes before the start, picked up my ankle chip, got marked, racked my bike, organized my gear, checked out the entry & exit points for each leg, then headed to the beach.

Was a bit of a long walk from transition to the swim start, but on soft grass and clean sand. Nice and easy on the bare feet.

Hit the water for a quick swim. Lovely and warm. And all of a sudden, it was time to get started.

First two waves went out...2 mintues to go before mine...tap on the shoulder...my mom and sister had come to the start to surprise me! Which helped take my mind off how nervous I was.

Hamming it up for the camera with a gun show. Less than a minute to go.
Yes, I'm wearing a swim suit. Will invest in tri suit and possibly wet suit for next season 

 350m swim - 13:32 (includes time to exit the water, cross the beach and enter transition)

Honestly, there were more than a dozen of us in this wave - everyone is really spread out to the sides

Ran in as far as I could, started swimming, and immediately ran into trouble.

Between a mad rush of adreneline making me forget absolutely everything I knew about breathing and technique...and the water being much choppier than I had trained in...I got hit in the face with a wave, swallowed most of it and couldn't breath. Like I'd had the wind knocked out of me.

Forced myself not to panic and to tread water until I recovered. What really helped keep the panic away? The idea of having to give up 20 seconds into a race that I'd signed up for 8 months ago...well, that made me furious.

Recovered, started swimming and almost ran into trouble again with another wave. Decided to flip onto my back for most of the swim rather than keep fighting the waves. Had to swim a heck of a lot harder than I had planned to in order to made up for lost time.

Left the water breathing hard and headed to transition.

T1 - 3:06

Pleased with how I laid out my gear; everything went smoothly. Took a few moments but I was still having a hard time generally calming down. Headed out on the bike still breathing hard.

Leaving T1. Wondering exactly when I'll be able to catch my breath, and how on earth I'm going to be able to run later.

Bike - 34:53

Bike started at the bottom of a steep hill. Said a few nasty words to myself about it and headed up. Reached the top without stopping to walk (woohoo!), and started up a long slope. Followed by another hill. Things levelled out around the 4K mark and I was finally able to get my breathing under control.

Got to the turnaround and - hey - isn't that my mom over there? Fabulous surprise. So great to see a familiar face on the course.

Me in black beside the guy in red.
Mom didn't get a pic of me approaching. Guess I was going too fast, haha.

Aside from being somewhat cautious on down slopes and corners, I love biking. I was really able to relax and enjoy this ride.

Which was over far too quickly!

T2 - 1:48

Got off the bike and was shocked at how tight my legs were. You know, I had *meant* to do some brick training this spring...better get on that before my next tri in a month...

Run - 21:34

The late morning start to this race meant that it was getting close to noon - and very hot and sunny - when I headed out on the run. I knew going into the race that this would be a problem so decided just to have fun with it. Short runs, lots of walk breaks. Took my time at the water stations getting a drink and sprayed down. And guess who showed up at the turnaround? Mom!

I wasn't kidding when I said I'd decided to have fun on this run.

The best thing about a 2.5K run? It's over really fast.

About 50 feet to go and just spotted my husband, kids and dog. Lots of cheering for mom.
And the dog dragged my son off his feet trying to get to me! 

FINISHED!!!!! And with a smile.

After the race - kids played at the park, I walked the dog around a bit, picked up a goodie bag of snacks, picked up my gear and rode bck to my mom's. Lunch, then a 3-generation girl's trip to another beach (Orillia is full of beaches) to celebrate!

The verdict? I learned a lot, including how undertrained I was for this. Have a plan for how I'm going to prepare for the next one in 4 weeks. And a goal to do this again next year :-)

A HUGE thank you to my family for all of their support and encouragement. My younger sister for picking up my race kit and coming to the start, my mom for driving all around town to catch me on each leg, my kids for cheering me on at the finish, to my dog for coming on every training run with me!

...and most of all my husband, for always helping out and NEVER complaining about being on sherpa and driving detail for all of the races I do. 

xoxoxoxox Jen

50K Ride for Heart - Check!

The Becel Ride for Heart is an absolutely fantastic, 25-year-old event in Toronto. Two major highways are closed off to make this work - one running along the Lake Ontario waterfront, the other through the beautiful Don Valley. It's hard to really notice just how scenic these routes are from a speeding car - but it's lovely from a bike.

Equally spectacular is the opportunity to go for a ride along a perfectly smooth (no potholes!), 3-to-4-lane-wide highway that's closed to cars.

This event is capped at 13,000 riders and sells out every year.

I can see why.

It also raises over $5M for the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario every year. It's a pretty big deal around here.

I rode the 25K course last year - the longest ride I'd ever done at that point - and came away so delighted from the experience that I knew I'd be back for the 50K this year. I actually made up my mind about that before I even hit the 10K mark last year - this ride IS that fun.

Last year, I went out with the general 8am start - which meant starting in a chute with over 10,000 other riders. The first 5K or so looked something like this:

From the 2012 Ride's Facebook page. You get the idea - that's a big crowd

It took me a while to get through the pack and be able to ride at my own pace - about 5-6KMs actually. That part wasn't all that fun, come to think of it.

But this year, I got up a little earlier and went out in the early-bird start. Smart move. I didn't arrive at the start until 7.50am, but WOW. Was it ever fabulous to ride past the massive crowd in the starting chute, flash my green badge at the marshalls and head out in this crowd:

Except for paramedics, I HAD THE HIGHWAY TO MYSELF!  

That sweet 10-minute head start meant that I was loooong gone when the crowd hit the course.

I started to catch up to other early starters around the 3K mark, but even by 10K the road was nice and open:

Early bird starts are the BEST.

Now, the 25K course is very pleasant - lots of low, gradual rises and falls. I imagine the net elevation change is maybe...0 metres?

But what happens on the longer course?

In additon to being worried about the overall distance of the course - and freaked out by the dismal experience in my one and only long training ride - I've spent the last few months absolutely terrified of The Hill.

A few 50K finishers from past years had warned me about The Hill. "Things change once you get north of the turnaround for the 25K route".

Put all this together and you can see why this race was one of my Big, Scary Goals for 2012.

I didn't had a chance to drive the route in the last 6+ months, and didn't think to map it out, so had to go by logic: Toronto is built on a long slope that leads down to Lake Ontario, so heading away from the lake means going uphill. I live on the west side of the city at the top of an escarpment, and there are some nasty hills over here, so I can imagine that things would be fairly similar a few KMs east.

I've read about nasty hills - like this one that has made Julie swear off of all events that include it.

With that in mind, I made a quick stop at the 15K spot (DVP/Eglinton) for a snack - 1/4 Luna bar, 1/4 banana, some water - and some stretching. Gotta get ready for that Hill.

But as I got  further north, I noticed that I was going DOWNHILL. And that The Hill was on the other side of the highway - beside me - in the southbound part of the course. Not going to be fun tackling that in another 10KMs or so.

Except when I headed through the (dangerously crowded) turnaround (where are the race marshalls??), headed south and got over to The Hill - it was just another long, low rise. A little longer and a bit...rise-ier...than others, but nothing like I was worried about. It would have been a piece of cake with fresh legs, but even so, it really wasn't so bad.

Said a small prayer of thanks to the engineers who designed this highway.

Remembered that Julie lives in Colorado. 

Promised myself that I'd be back next year for the 75K course.

Stopped for another quick snack (more Luna/water/banana/stretching) and kept going.

There WAS a nasty surprise later on - the course involves a short detour off the highway, around a cloverleaf and back on. It's short, but rather steep. It's part of the 25K turnaround and it almost killed me last year although I managed to keep going rather than walk up. 

Surprise, surprise - it turns out that it's part of the 50K course as well, because it's a spot for those doing the 75K to loop around north again.

This year, that detour was much easier, even on tired legs. I have running and boot camp to thank for that.

I have running and boot camp to thank for a lot of things, actually.

Anyway - once I was past THAT and had only another 11K to go - my competitive nature showed up.

I'd started this with "finish" as my goal.

Now it became about time.

I finished 25K last year in 1H10mins - slowed down by the pack at first, but no breaks aside from a quick text to my husband.  

Wonder how fast I can get to the finish this year? And wouldn't it be great to finish before the rain shows up?

Only 5K or so to go. Starting to get crowded - lots of 25K and 50K finishers riding together at this point

I did have to slow down a bit because of the gathering crowd..and to send a few quick texts to my family...be there soon...but soon rolled into the finish line with a smile and legs that could have gone for more.

Finish time: 2 hours, 15minutes.

Number of bugs swallowed: 0

I'm very pleased with BOTH of those numbers!

Loaded up on snacks, found my family, hugs and kisses all around, photo op...

I just tackled one of my Big Scary Goals - and it wasn't so bad!
That smile is mostly joy, but with a bit of relief mixed in :-)

...stretched, and headed for the car.

The CAR! That's right!

What with the early bird start...and living somewhat close to the starting line...I actually rode my bike to the starting line. Left the family sleeping and the car at home.

Which means that I rode fifty-SIX kms today.

And had enough left over to walk down to the dog park after lunch. And again after dinner.

Yep - I'm going back for 75K next year.

That being said?

Having ridden 50K, I can't EVEN IMAGINE doing 42K on foot. All the marathoners out there are made of IRON. Wow!

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!

25K Ride for Heart? Check!

The Becel Ride for Heart - what a fabulous event! Hands down, my favourite so far and definitely a race that I'll do again next year. It helped that the weather was stunningly beautiful!

This one was one of my big, scary goals for 2011 and I'm wicked proud of myself for doing it.

After crossing the finish line

If you're not familiar with this event: Toronto closes two major highways for this one every spring. Follow the Gardiner east alongside Lake Ontario, then head north on the DVP through the beautiful Don Valley before turning back to the start.

This being my first time, I picked the 25K course (there are also 50K and 75K routes). This was a reasonably easy course with a few gradual slopes, two short hills and a beautiful view - and how cool was it to be riding on these car-free highways?!

Ever take a picture of yourself during a ride? Flattering, no?
Didn't realize that my helmet was sitting that far back - time to adjust it.

# of times that I stopped: 1 (15 seconds at the turn-around to text my progress to my husband)

# of hills that I walked up: 0

# of hills that I wanted to walk up but rode up anyway: 1

# of bugs that I swallowed: 0

Amount of food that I ate after crossing the finish line: Vast. Thank you to the organizers for having fresh fruit, bagels, juice, water and granola bars on hand. So appreciated.


Now, I call that a successful race!

I am very proud to say that I finished in 1H10 - but disappointed that it was over so quickly! I am definitely signing up for the 50K route for 2012. It comes with more hills so will be more challenging - but that's a good thing, right? Make that one my first big, scary goal for next year!

How was your weekend?