Thursday, July 2, 2009

I am happy to say my groin pain has gone away. I cleaned the floors at home yesterday afternoon and usually the twisting motion from sweeping/mopping makes things worse but I felt fine and I felt nothing on both my runs today. The massage and glute activations worked! I ran 40′ along the Goose this morning and got in a few plyos and some strides on the grass before work. Everything feels good! My first day went well and was pretty low-key. I met with the acting Chair to go over what the year will look like and ordered some supplies for my office.

I met Dave at Mount Doug for my second run. We went pretty easy and it was great to catch up with each other. Kerry and I made plans to do a  wo together on Saturday morning. I am pretty excited and hope we can do a few wos over the summer when she is in town.

Total Time:  1:21:43 (15.81 km)

AM:  Flat 41:24 (8.85 km)

Avg/Km: 4:41  Avg HR: 118 bpm

PM:  undulating-hilly 40:19 (6.96 km)

Avg/Km: 5:48  Avg/HR: 116

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Yet another spectacular day! The weather has been just incredible this week and it looks like we’re in for a few more days of it!

I met Jon at Thetis this morning for a run on the back trails heading out to the back end of Stewart Mountain Rd where we then ran on a very rocky and hilly trail that eventually popped us out on to Munns Rd. From there we looped back on Munns and headed back to the park off of Highland Rd. It was a very hilly route but I just loved it. The trails behind Thetis are my favorite trails around here and today was a new route for me so I enjoyed it a lot! Juice in the meantime did his run along The Goose (he isn’t big on running on “rough” trails) and said he had a good run. He ran with IRR yesterday at Cedar Hill and said it went well so I think he is back on track after experiencing some jet-lag.

We spent part of the day hanging out with Chops at the beach where I got in an icing which felt great. I did my strength and core routine after dinner. I start my first day back at work at UVic in my new position tomorrow. It will be a bit of a shock after being a full-time student for a year. I feel so fortunate that I got the opportunity to focus on my singing and running for almost a year. It went by too quickly however and I wish I had another year to explore my two passions now that all the time-consuming course work is done. It will be good to be earning money again though and I am very grateful for the time I had. Not too many people get a chance like that and I think I took every advantage I could to make it as fulfilling as possible. So, it’s back in the saddle for me. Thankfully, I am starting back part-time until September so it’s a good way to ease back into it all and it’s a new position with new challenges. I’m not one to stay still for long!

Total Time: Hilly 1:33:24 (18.51 km)

Avg/Km: 4:59

Avg HR: 127 bpm

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

I met Jon at the lakes this morning. It was another stunning summer day here in Victoria. I really love this place!  We did a warm-up, did a couple of strides then discussed pace. Jon has a sore hamstring right now so he said he would run the 10km loop with me and would help me in the last 5km. The wo went really well. I felt so much smoother than when I did this wo six weeks ago so my fitness has really improved. I ran 36:26 this time around. Jon was barely breathing of course and I could only guess that the comparison would be someone like me running with a beginner runner…with a broken leg haha!  He just glides along covering ground with such ease. Unbelievable. I was grateful he ran with me as we took turns leading through the trails. It helped me hold focus and inspired me to stay relaxed and feel as smooth as he looked. The second to last km had a hill (we went clock-wise around the lakes) and that was a tough climb but otherwise I was in control and was even able to run a frisky last km. I also held pace very consistently from beginning to end. Thanks Jon! The best part was that my groin gave me no problems in the wo. It was bothering me on the cool-down though so I will have to do some more work on it tonight. It was a sad sight in the parking lot after the wo when I thought I had locked myself out of my car. I looked around the ground where I had been standing, re-checked my pocket then peered into the side window of the car to see if I had left it on the seat….then finally I noticed the key was in my hand….IN MY HAND!! That just terrifies me. I am just steps away from sitting in a chair with a blanket on my lap, drooling.

I got in an icing in the ocean, sang for an hour, picked up our window blinds that we had cleaned, met  Slaw for a meeting regarding setting up a track series next summer, dropped a pair of pants off to be hemmed, got a haircut, took a bus home and made dinner. Pretty full day!

Total Time:  1:04:53 (15.70 km)

Monday, June 29, 2009

Juice and I parked at Boob’s office lot and headed out from there this morning to the Tech Park  over to Viaduct through Logan’s Park on to Hector Rd which eventually looped us back via the Camosun trails. I felt decent today and the hills felt easier than the day before so I think my legs are coming back. My old groin injury has resurfaced though. I was pulling luggage out of a trunk last week and felt something go clunk in my groin but nothing came of it but then today as I was running along Hector Rd., two stray dogs barked and growled as I ran by which startled me. I made a quick move to turn to see if they were starting to chase me down and I felt the clunk again, this time though it hurt immediately. I managed the pain through the rest of the run. I iced in the ocean in the afternoon, did my second run at Cedar Hill taking it pretty easy and then did some major  rolling on my glute using the hard ball that comes with the Travel Roller. The rolling made it better immediately so I knew I was doing the right thing. I am guessing that because I was sitting more than usual these past two weeks (on the long flights, sitting through long dinners) and not doing my strength routine as often as I normally do, my glutes got lazy, stopped firing and tightened up which in turn pulls at something in my groin. Thankfully, I have had this problem before so I knew what to do. It took me two years to figure out what worked but I finally figured it out and what to do to prevent it….so back to the exercises.

Total Time:  1:3o:43 (19.55 km)

AM:  Undulating 1:00:35 (13.25 km)

Avg/Km: 4:34  Avg HR: 128 bpm

PM:  undulating 30:08 (6.30 km)

Avg/Km: 4:47  Avg/HR: 126

Sunday, June 28, 2009

I woke up again this morning just before 5am. I kind of like waking up that early right now since there is already light at that time. I get an early start to the day which is a good thing.

Juice an I drove to Thetis. He went on his own along The Goose since he is not too keen on running trails while I ran with Matty and Swanny in the back trails at Thetis. It was a fun run and I got to catch up with all their news. The hills were a slog for me today and we ran a lot of them. Jon had shortened the run up from 105′ to 90′ today and in the end, I was glad to have a shortened run. I am still jet-lagged and my legs are a bit heavy from the travel. Still, a fun run!

Juice and I hung out for a couple of hours at Willows beach where I did a 10 minute icing. The weather is absolutely gorgeous right now! We then dropped by the OCal’s for a visit and hung out with them in their backyard with Paddy providing some entertainment. He is an avid football player so OCal and I took turns kicking the ball around and passing back and foth while Paddy intercepted. ha! It got late so we all decided to grab dinner out together at The Med Grill. It’s always so great hanging out with Jac and Paul!

Total Time: Hilly 1:29:31 (18.51km)

Avg/Km: 4:50

Avg HR: 133 bpm

I left Victoria five weeks ago and although I had a wonderful time working in London and vacationing in Scotland, I am glad to be home! Five weeks is a long time to be away from home and routine, especially with training. I didn’t do all the details I usually get in while training but got the basic runs and wos in. Weight training was pretty limited and although I tried to get some core work in, it was a few sad attempts. I was on vacation so I treated it as a small break from doing all the details. I wasn’t able to keep up with blogging so I have some catching up to do.

 Juice and I discovered some incredible trails just minutes from Barb and David’s home. The River Don has a trail that runs along either side (yes, yet another river to run beside). The trail was pretty rough once we got into the more rural areas going in either direction and one way we found ourselves running through grassy fields, hopping over cow paddies. I love going on discovery runs in places I don’t know and get a real kick when I happen across a great running trail or road.  On our second run in Inverurie, I was running ahead of Joey, leading  him through s narrow offshoot trail that I wanted to explore. The path was deteriorating and getting narrower to the point where we could barely see a trail at all through the grass and weeds. Just as I was about to give up and turn around, the trail opened up and poured us out on to an old country single lane road. We rarely saw a car on this road as it rolled up and down through stunning Scottish landscapes. We passed by fields of green and gold, fields covered in heather and brightly coloured wild flowers. It was all just so beautiful and I hooted and skipped, Juice following behind me shaking his head. Sheep and cows would stare dumbly as we ran by. I was in heaven! I felt terribly guilty taking off in the mornings to do my runs. Barb and David haven’t experienced living with me as a runner and I think they were surprised at the time I put in to train. Anyway, they thought I was nuts I am sure….and I wasn’t even doing as much as I normally do!

It was so wonderful that we finally got to see David’s home, Craiguan. We had a great time sight seeing and visiting/meeting David’s family and friends which was a lot of fun. A highlight was meeting David’s older cousin Doug and his whippet Brandy. Doug is a true Scot and we just loved his teasing personality and dry whit. Brandy is a thoroughbred Whippet and was once a champion racing dog but an injury a year or so ago while chasing a rabbit left him paralyzed. Doug and his wife nursed him back to health and despite the vet’s warnings that Brandy would never walk, he is now walking and running a bit (albeit, rather crookedly). I fell in love with him of course and spent a lot of time petting him.

We  ate a gluttonous amount of sweets while in Scotland. Juice and I would stand in front of the cookie section at Tescos grocery store. This store has a large spread of endless types of chockies and bickies. The variations on a simple digestive cookie alone were staggering…dark or milk chocolate- covered, orange, pecan, cranberry, ginger, caramel, crunchy, cream-filled….you name it. Then there were even more choices for shortbread cookies, then another 500 other kinds of biscuits to choose from and this is just at the local grocer. Well, we tried a lot of it, to the point that by week two, I had to detox and say nay to two of the three desserts we were offered daily from that point on! I have never in my life eaten so much butter and cream. I think I saw a total of three vegetables while we were there! haha!

Here’s the running that burned off the intake of  fat and sugar!

Saturday, June 27

Back in Victoria! Easy run at the lakes with Juice plus some strides. We bumped into Shan and Darren and the pups on the trail off of Pipeline Rd as we were finishing up and then Lis’ and Paul!

Total Time: Flat 50:42 (11.37 km)

Avg/Km: 4:28

Avg HR: 125 bpm

Friday, June 26, 2009

Juice and I ran an easy run from the airport hotel we stayed at the night before. We hopped a fence, ran around the trails of a golf course we found for about 15′ until we were kicked off…not all my discovery runs turn out! My legs felt great on this run despite the fact that it was already nearly 30 degrees celcius by 8:30am! I had some time before our afternoon flight so I did my strength and core routine in the hotel gym. We had a good trip home. It was so great to smell the sea air when we got off the plane!

Total Time: Flat 47:55 (10.21 km)

Avg/Km: 4:42

Avg HR: 118 bpm

We left on Thursday at 6am, drove to Glasgow with David (Barb was staying on at the house) and flew to Toronto. We got to our hotel at dinnertime. I was scheduled to run 45 easy but emailed Jon to say I wasn’t in the mood to run around the strange area alone. I don’t usually bail on runs but I figured missing one is no biggie and Jon agreed.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

It was a cool and cloudy day, quite a change from yesterday. I ran solo and took the route out to the woodland trails. I ran easy for the first 20′ and then picked it up for 20′ then ran easy again. I felt good!

Total Time: Flat 1:22:01(17.79km)

Avg/Km: 4:37

Avg HR: 127 bpm

Tuesday June 23, 2009

We woke up to sunny skies and warm temps…really warm. Juice and I got out the door mid-morning. I had 8 x 1′ hills (90″) to do. I found a quiet gravel road that worked well for the repeats. It was shady for the most part but the humidity that day was brutal. I knew I was in for a tough wo when after just two repeats I was having to really focus to keep the turn-over going. I was able to run the same distance for the first 8 reps but then depsite my efforts to push through the discomfort, I fell back a few metres. I either ran the first part of the wo tooquick or the heat and humidity got to me…or both!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Today’s run felt great. Juice and I did a variation on the route we discovered last week. I kept the effort in control knowing I had a wo the next day. Here are some shots from our third castle trip (Fyvie Castle) and our visit to the coast, walking along the sand dunes along the North Sea near Aberdeen.

Total Time: 1:16;37 (16.81 km)

Avg/Km: 4:35

Avg HR: 125 bpm

Sunday, June 21, 2009

We got another beautiful day today! I got in a solid 90′ this morning and felt great! I was able to get to the end of the woodland trail today and found another country road to run on. It had a few good-sized hills but they were spaced out nicely. We had guests stay overnight at the house after the recital so we all had brunch together. Doug brought Brandy who behaved so well. She loves lying in the sun!

Total Time: Hilly 1:30:56 (19.88 km)

Avg/Km: 4:35

Avg HR: 129 bpm

Saturday was off for me for running. Barb had organized a recital for us to do at the local church. It went really well and the church was lovely to sing in. There was a party at the house afterwards so it was a late night!

Friday, June 19, 2009

I had a grass wo scheduled today for some faster running. Jon gave me 8 x 3′ (1′) at 10km effort. We found a cricket field to run on that was smooth and fairly flat. There was a brisk wind though that made a section of the run challenging. I felt great today! I kept the first few in control and then found a quick rhythm that I was able to hold without straining. With the short rests, I was happy with my effort and recovery between reps.

Total Time: Very flat 1:15:51(16.91 km)

WO: 8 x3′ repeats: 3:35-3:32-3:27-3:31-3:27-3:23-3:22-3:22

Doug took Juice, David and I up Bennachie for a hike. It was amazing! Doug brought Brandy who did really well but near the top where it got too steep for her, she was carried. Doug brought us a picnic lunch which we ate at the top just before the rain started to come down. I was pretty bagged after having done a wo AND a major hike!

 

Thursday, June 18, 2009

I ran an easy 60′ today along the River Don. The weather was much nicer today but the footing was tricky since the trail turned slippery from yesterday’s constant rain.

Doug took us all out for dinner at this fab restaurant! He is an artist and his paintings are displayed throughout and are incredible!! We went over to his place afterwards and had a visit with Brandy.

Total Time: 1:oo:07 (12.16 km)

Avg/Km: 4:57

Avg HR: 124 bpm

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Today was a double run. I did a good session of strength and plyos after the morning run…in the pouring rain. I used two stones from the garden for my free weights. It looked a bit nuts.

Total Time:  1:0o:52 (20:41 km)

AM: Total Time: Rough Trails and very muddy! 56:05

 Avg/Km: 4:51  Avg HR: 111 bpm

PM: Total Time: 45:47

Avg/Km: 4:39 vAvg/HR: 137

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Today’s run felt great! I felt smooth and was just ticking along nicely with hardly any effort so I was pleased that I recovered so well after the race. We got a beautiful, sunshiny day. We headed along in the other direction along the river and after a tricky section of trail we found a superb country road with two forest trails to run on with good footing!

We took a tour at Crathes Castle not too far away from Inverurie in the afternoon. It was pretty incredible and the gardens were stunning. We picked up some take-away on the way home of fish and chips.

 

Total Time: 1:46:20 (23.56 km)

Avg/Km: 4:31

Avg HR: 126 bpm

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Juice and I ran a very easy run along the River Don this morning. My legs feel very good. No major soreness or fatigue but I took it easy to make sure I got in the recovery. There is a rugged trail along the river. We explored going one way today and we were able to run for almost 20′ before coming to a fence. We had to turn around anyway…will check out the trail going the other way tomorrow.

Total Time: 45:31(9.22km)

Avg/Km: 4:56

Avg HR: 115 bpm

Sunday, June 14, 2009

As usual, Juice and I had a restless pre-race night. It was more to do with a warm room than anything. The windows only opened a crack and the temperature outside was not exactly cool anyway. Regardless, I felt fine because the sleep I had the night before was stellar. Breakfast was included with our room and was delivered to our door. I brought my Bodum so we had coffee, croissant and cereal. My belly wasn’t feeling all that great…travel seems to screw around with my plumbing. We walked over to the race start and grabbed our timing chips. We were so close we were able to go back to our room, change into our gear, attend to last minute bathroom needs and get to the race start with no probs.

The skies were clear with just a few clouds and already at 9am, it was pretty warm and muggy. I made sure I lined up at the very last minute to get near the front since there was no seeding. I was told by David, the race director, that there would be a few women running close to 35 minutes and that Toni McIntosh, the series forerunner would be leading the way. I saw a group of girls that looked serious and got right in behind them as soon as the race started. After only a half a km, one girl, who I figured was Toni, took the lead by a good 100m. I felt I was holding a decent pace at this point and stuck with my plan to hold steady for the start. I figured, as she continued to gain distance on me, that she would win by a minute or so, or I would catch back up to her farther into the race. The description of the race course was accurate. The first 2.5 kms were basically a long uphill grind followed by a long downhill and then some flatish running. Despite my attempt to gain some distance on the downhill, Toni was a good 200m in front by 2km. I almost resigned myself to the fact that I would be coming in second when I noticed a fellow just up ahead was running  very steady and was slowly closing in on runners up ahead. I surged up to him (Adam) and decided I would hold on to his lead as long as I could and that would perhaps get me up to Toni. It worked. We caught her at 7km. She held on right behind us for almost a km and then fell back. I just stared at Adam’s back and kept going, telling myself to suck it up and not slow down. He was very consistent and steady and helped me out enormously! As we rounded the last turn of the looped course, we could hear bagpipes playing! I picked it up as hard as I could go in the last 400m in case Toni was close behind and for the first time, broke the tape! I generally felt pretty good today. My breathing was good and my legs were not terribly flat from the travel. I seem to be getting stronger and I hope once we start to get into some tougher training and more than one wo a week, I will be feeliing very strong. The base work I am doing right now seems to be providing me with enough for the time being though. Results are here.

I ended up winning an Asics gift certificate worth 250 GBP and a pair of nifty Polaroid sunglasses. I am sponsored by Saucony so it looks like Juice will be oufitted for a a while! I got to chat a bit with Toni and some of the other women after the race. 

Juice and I got a nice cool-down in on some other trails we discovered and got back in time for the awards. We had just enough time to shower and check out before catching our train to Glasgow. We caught the 1:40 train and had a hour to kill so we went and picked up a pair of shoes I saw the day before…and they were on sale!! They were a reward for the day’s win!

The train ride to Aberdeen was a lot of fun. We rested a lot…it was almost four hours and took in the beautiful countryside as we head north up the east coast. 

Barb and David picked us up at the train station with their friend Eric and we drove to their home in Inverurie where we will be staying for the remainder of our holiday. It should be a wonderful week!

Eric and Joy came over for dinner our first night there and we had a great visit with them! 

Total Time: 1:22:40 (24.90 km)

Km Splits although I didn’t catch all the markers:

0-2: 7:16

2-4: 7:00

4-8: 14:22 (3:36 average)

8-9: 3:29

9-10: 3:27

Saturday, June 13, 2009

I think we were just a wee bit tired! Juice and I slept until 11:30 this morning….that was a twelve-hour sleep and it was a deep one! I was pretty happy about that. I felt rested and knew that even if I had a typical tossy-turney night before tomorrow’s race, I would be ok. The room, and the bed more importantly, was comfortable so I slept like a baby!

We checked out of our room, left our luggage at the hotel and had breakfast just a few minutes away and then spent another hour or so shopping around before we went back, picked up our luggage and headed for the train station. The trip to Balloch was only 40′. It was another glorious day so we got to see a bit of the country-side. Balloch is a quaint village on the famous Loch Lomond. Finding the inn was pretty easy as it was just a five minute walk from the train station. We crossed a bridge and noticed there were B&Bs everywhere.

I noticed that when I went on-line a few weeks ago to look for a place, there were dozens of places to choose from. It turns out I made a good choice because were were close to both the train station and the race start. We stayed at the Waterhouse Inn. There was a small pub below with just a few rooms above and we lucked out again because the room was great!

Our race packages were waiting for us when we got there and we got an idea from rough directions inside, where the race started but had no idea where the actual race route went. The description of the course indicated that there was a good 2kms of uphill running somewhere near the start. We were without internet so I couldn’t check in with Jon. I guessed with the jet-lag and the tough start to the race, he would advise me to take the first few kms fairly steady and then try and run quicker as the race went on, so that was the plan.

Juice and I did an easy 25′ along some great trails we found near the start . We just love where we are staying. The town is so cute ans quiet! We then had dinner at an inn across from where we were staying. We saw a number of other athletes there. When we got back to the room we looked at the race brochure more closely and found out that this race, which is one is a series, was the Scottish 10km Road Race Championships…I thought this was a fun run…yikes!

Total Time: Very flat 25:52 (4.34 km)

Avg/Km: 5:52

Avg HR: 104 bpm

We flew into Glasgow early this morning. Our flight from Toronto was delayed for 3 hours but otherwise the trip wasn’t bad. It actually seemed quite short since we weren’t flying from Victoria. Juice and I were able to check into our hotel as soon as we got downtown. We freshened up and then walked just a few steps to Buchanan St., a street closed off to traffic lined with some great restaurants, pubs, cafés and some greats shops!

 We found a great spot for brunch. I had the ‘full breakfast’ which included scrambled eggs, sausage potatoes, grilled tomatoes, toast and blood pudding. I never had blood pudding before and despite knowing what goes into it, I tried and it liked it! Even Juice liked it!

We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the shops and exploring and taking it all in.

We had a gorgeous day and even found a pretty walkway next to the Clyde River where we took some time out to rest our legs and soak up some rays. 

We were both strarting to fade so we went back to the room and had a nap from 3 to 5pm and then jogged back to the waterway and did a 30′ run along the Clyde River. So, I ran along the Thames in London, The Avon River in Stratford, the Riviere de Prairie in Montreal and now Clyde River here in Glasgow. Running next to these waterways appealed to my Aquarian nature!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Juice and I did a 75′ run along the bike path that runs along Riviére de Prairie to Ile De la Visitation where I did a few laps around the small island. I ran with Juice for the first 20; then went ahead and ran at an easy/steady pace. I was feeling really smooth today (had a great sleep!) but held back keeping an eye on my HR.

Total Time: Very flat 1:15:14 (17.09 km)

Avg/Km: 4:24

Avg HR: 125 bpm

 

Tuesday June 9, 2009

We woke up to pouring ran this morning. I made plans to meet Mal  for my wo in the early afternoon. When we got there the rain was still coming down hard so I had to do a bit of arm-twisting to get Sir Malcolm out the door. It was raining, windy and cold and we quetched all the way to Mount Royal. Jon gave me a quick and short wo: 2 sets of 5′ (3′) 2.5′ at 5km effort. Mal used a 1km loop near the base of Mount Royal than was run partly on the main gravel road, partly on a smaller, muddier path with one good sized hill. The rain let up just as we started the first interval. I felt very good and finished strongly with all reps at about 3:28/km pace, the last at 3:15 as we didn’t hit the hill on that rep. The three of us came back covered in mud. Mal took some great pictures of my white shirt with mud splattered all up the back.

Monday, June 8, 2009

I got in 2 x 45′ at a steady pace in beautiful weather! The first was done on the bike path near Joey’s Mom’s place and the second one was done on Mount Royale with Mal and Juice going around the cross at the top…it has been years since I have done that run and it was great fun running with Mal again and talking shop! Juice and I got a quick visit in with Mal and Pam’s newest family member!

Total Time: 1:39:46 (20.98 km)

AM: Time: 45:08  Avg/Km: 4:25  (10.24)  Avg HR: 125 bpm

PM: 54:37 (10.74 km) Avg/Km: 5:05  Avg HR: 117 bpm

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Getting up this morning was brutal. Brandon met me at the residence at 7:45 and took me on some great trails on a new route. We bumped into a friend od his from his club who joined us for the last 30′. The pace was pretty easy because the trails were gnarly. I had less than an hour to shower and get packed up because I wanted to get some core work in before I left. I got it all in and got a lift to Toronto by Brandon who even took me to the train station. He was picking up Chantelle the next day at the airport so I lucked out. Thanks Bran! The trip to Montreal on the train was great. I love the train!

Total Time: Gnarly trails 1:30:06 (18.17 km)

Avg/Km: 4:46 Avg HR: 122 bpm

Saturday, June 6, 2009

I ran along the conservation trails again today. I got out early and beat the heat and followed that with a plyo session. I felt pretty springy! David got me a ticket to see West Side Story at the Festival last night so we went and got to see a great show!

Tonight was closing night for the opera. Bran’s parents invited me over before the show for a home-cooked meal. It was absolutely delicious!! They are the sweetest people and I really enjoyed meeting them! I can see how Bran and Chantelle turned out so well.

Total Time: 1:00:03 (13:11 km)

Avg/Km: 4:35 Avg HR: 128 bpm

Friday, June 5, 2009

I got a lift after last night’s show to Stratford. I got in two runs today and did the same route along the Avon River and cedar chip conservation trails down the street from the house. I did the same route for both runs and each run had three large hills so I got in some good strength training while maintaining a steady pace.

Total Time: Hilly 1:34:11 (21.33 km)

AM: 47:07 Avg/Km: 4:24 (10.71) Avg HR: 130 bpm

PM: 47:04 Avg/Km: 4:26 (10.62) Avg HR: 129 bpm

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Jon is always very good at giving positive and inspiring feed back after a race without being Pollyanna about it. I am looking forward to getting more specific with my training especially when I get back home and back into a proper routine. I bet he’ll be happy too not having to deal with my weird schedule.

Today’s run felt great! I ran easily though making sure my HR didn’t go above 130 bpm. No soreness at all from the race last night. I am glad I wore flats instead of spikes. My calves were saved and I should be able to get in a good week of training before the next race in Scotland next Sunday. I even got in a good session of weights after the run.

Total Time: 1:1010 (13.39 km)

Avg/Km: 4:30 Avg HR: 128 bpm

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

I got to bed just before midnight last night but woke up bright and early. …5:30. ugh. I tossed about in bed for a bit but gave up trying to go to go back to sleep. I did a 20′ run after breakfast at a very easy pace and felt a bit bagged. I rested during the day as much as I could to  have the energy to race. I got in about 40′ of singing  before heading over to the U of Western track. It was only a 10 minute walk so that was convenient! I bumped into Derek as soon as I got there and then saw Brandon shortly after that. It was nice to see people I knew and I got to meet Brandon and Chantelle’s parents.

I did  a warm-up on the trails around the track and then headed into the in-field to do some strides. The announcer started announcing the runners in the race and when he said my name, I heard this huge cheer coming from the stands, The cast from show had come to watch and cheer me on!. It was then mentioned I was singing in the opera in town and I guess because a certain tenor was singing out loud, he guessed that the cast had come and mentioned that too. It was pretty funny!  The race had eight women lined up, few of whom were hoping to run sub-17 minutes, myself included. I got myself a bit boxed in off the start of the race with two girls between me and the two leaders. I spent two laps trying to get myself tucked in there  but finally settled in. I was hitting 80″ laps and I felt pretty relaxed right up until the 2km mark. The girls got a small gap on me and as I moved into the third km I chickened out and let my pace drop a smidge…enough to open the gap a bit more. Now I was struggling trying to stay focused on my own. Maybe had I hung in there, it would have been painful but running on my own was just as painful. I went through 3km in 10:06 so still on pace to run sub-17. It was about here I got a side-stitch for about two laps…that provided me with some fun entertainment. I saw with the last km ahead of me that I wasn’t going to make it under 17 . I could hear there was another runner coming up from behind with two laps to go so I got my focus back and dug in to hold her off but just barely. Results are here: http://www.londonrunner.ca/page.php?content=RCLDS

It was a really good experience running this race. All eight women ran under 18 minutes which is a pretty good field for a low-key twilight meet. I was hoping to run under 17 minutes and was kicking myself afterwards because there were some women up there to pull me along. For where I am in my training right now though, it is a decent time.

I got to chat briefly with Hilary Stellingwerf, our top 1500m female who was as warm and friendly as ever. I also got to see her race the 800m. What  a lovely runner! I did a cool-down with Courtney and Rachel and had a great little chat before heading off to a pub with my entourage from the show. They had a pretty good time apparently. I heard them cheering like mad every time I went by them which helped out a lot. Thanks you guys!