Sunday was a scheduled day off.

Monday I did an easy 6o’ with Jon. It was a beautiful morning and I felt pretty perky. We did a similar route to last week’s run heading out to the Centennial trails from the lakes and ran a route with hills, trails and unfortunately for Jon, encounters with dogs. He was flattened by a large, charging dog off-leash. Luckily he was ok. That’s a scary thing to have happen less than two weeks before a marathon…yikes! I sang in the masterclass in the afternoon. It went ok but the fellow giving the class spoke for a whole hour before anyone got up to perform. My pianist and I were frozen by the time we got up to do our bit, not to mention, had warmed up a good 90′ beforehand. It was all sort of bizarre. He talked a lot after we did our piece too so we didn’t get to work much…he sort of just kept talking. Oh well.

Tuesday I did two steady 40′ runs. I ran at Cedar Hill in the morning and at the lakes in the afternoon. Both runs felt effortless and smooth! I did a good session of core work.

Wednesday I did an easy 30′ around Swan Lake and then met Jon in the afternoon at Beckwith for a short wo: 3 x 2′ (at race pace) and 3 x 1′ (at 3km pace) off of 90″. Jon set up some cones and blew the whistle as I did the repeats around the soccer field. My legs felt good.  Channel A News met us there to do an interview with us and to shoot some footage of the session. They made me sing and yes it will be really corny. I think it will be on tomorrow evening (Thursday) at 5:30. Juice did the wram-up with me and then ran out to Lochside trail and came back just as we were finishing up. It was so nice of Jon to show up today. I was glad he dressed warmly…it was cold and windy. I better get used to it since Guelph will be even chillier. I heard it will be close to zero and the course is slushy from the wet snow they have had. I think the temperature won’t be as bad as last year though. We wished each other luck for our races. He and Dave leave tomorrow morning for Japan (an hour after we fly out). I went straight to Kim’s for a massage…it was awesome!

Yesterday was a scheduled day off. Today Jon and I met at the lakes and did a steady long run from there heading over to W Saanich Rd and then around Prospect Lake Rd cutting through the trails to Hector Rd, Logan Park, Viaduct and back to the lakes . Jon’s run was done but I had another 10′ so I did an out and back. I bumped into  Shan, Lola and Charlie! We gave each other a quick hug and then continued on our separate ways. I felt great on today’s run but the afternoon was spent in a coma. I got in some quality R&R!

Tuesday [1:21:20]

I did two 40′ runs today both at a steady clip and both felt really good. I met Shan, Jennie, Lis’ and Jen for our girl’s night out and chose to eat at a great Indian restaurant on Fort St. The last time we did this was in August! Where did those two months go? I did some core stuff when I got home.

Wednesday [1:30:12]

It was a breezy run this morning along the Goose. I ran 30′ easy and on the way out I was being pushed along nicely by the wind but faced it on the way back. I hate the wind.

My lesson with Benj today went pretty well. I am singing in a masterclass next week with Deen Larson, the director of the Franz Schubert Institute. If it sounds like singing in front of a German lieder expert could be humiliating…it could very well be!

I met Jon at the UVic track after classes this afternoon. He had already done his run for the day but he came out to watch me run the wo: 10 x 400m at 3km pace with 75″.  It was chilly and windy. I should have brought him a hot tea. Jon made said this session was just about getting into a good pace without going nutty. Maintaining good form and turn-over from beginning to end as well as maintaining an even effort was the idea. I put my track spikes on for this session since I have been wearing xc spikes all fall. They felt very comfortable which was a relief! I followed Jon’s instructions and eased into the first few reps dropping from 79 to 76. I held the pace at 76/75 for the middle four reps feeling very comfortable. Jon gave me some great feedback on my form at this point…I was apparently shuffling along like a marathon runner…ahhhh nooooo! So, lighter feet, higher knees and longer back and away I went again and this is where my instinct kicked in to pick it up. I ran the last three in 74-73-71. When I finished Jon said with a smile, ‘So you really went all out on the last one. (I said Yep)…no need for that.’ Yesiree, I was showing off but that’s also what I have always done and thought that’s what you should do in the last few repeats! He said that was ok but generally it’s best not to go haywire at the end because you risk getting injured. It’s so funny because we all do it, don’t we…but he’s right, of course! Why take the chance. Lesson learned. So in every way, a very good workout!

Thursday [1:01:23]

I had Kimmy as a great running partner today! We ran along the waterfront and included the an out and back on the breakwater. It was a recovery run for me and although my calves were a bit sore this morning they felt fine on the run…that’s until Kimmy got her hands on me. Ow-wow-wow! I was a squirmy patient today! Kim said I rarely flinch even when she’s digging in but today when she was working on my calves I was biting my lip! She did a good flush out though and when I got home I could already feel a difference.

Friday [1:20:55]

I had another double day today, Both 40′ runs at a steady pace. My morning run was along the Goose and the afternoon run was on the UVic trails. Both runs felt effortless and at a good clip. I was flying and had to hold myself back from running too quickly. Gotta love those runs! My calves were back to normal too! I did a good strengthand core session.

Saturday [1:36:41]

Joey left yesterday for Toronto where he is conducting the Toronto Symphony. It’s a great opportunity and he is very excited! My brother and sister-in-law are taking my niece and her friend to see him since it’s a children’s show (Beethoven Lives Upstairs). He has one rehearsal this morning and then two back to back shows this afternoon.

Jon’s group met at Beacon Hill this morning. Dave and Matty did a tempo run yesterday with Jon so the group today was me, Mike, Ian, Sarah and Nick. It was a nice morning and the sun came out just as we started the wo: 2 - 3 sets of 2.5′ @ 5km effort (2′) 7.5′ @ 10km effort (2′). The idea was to go pretty hard in the 2.5 and then as the wo continues you have to use part of the 7.5 as part of the recovery from the previous 5km effort. I felt good today and ran on Mike’s shoulder on the first two reps with Nick just up ahead. I swapped spots with Mike and tried to keep as close to Nick as I could on the second two reps. The toughest rep was not surprisingly the second 7.5′ but I held on and finished hard. Jon ran around watching us and used a whistle so we didn’t have to worry about our watches. It was such a hard but fun wo!

I did an easy 30′ in the evening running along Saanich Rd and felt great!

The iRun Nation blog is up.

Jon had me take yesterday off since our flight home left early.  I was tempted to do a short shake-out run but I am glad in the end he said to just leave it and get some sleep instead. The trip home was good but exhausting. Juice met me at the airport and we went straight over to Timothy’s for dinner. He made an amazing dinner of slow-cooked ribs with sauerkraut. super delicious!

Juice and I met Dave at Pipeline and we did a loop around the lakes this morning. My legs felt excellent which was disappointing. I knew I didn’t get the turn-over I was hoping to have on the weekend and not having any soreness makes me think I had more to give. What’s odd is that I really had nothing at the end so maybe it was just fighting the wind that got to me…dunno.

Tuesday [60:28]

Juice and I had a rehearsal this morning at 10am. I had a final look at my music and warmed up before we left for the theatre. We saw some of the orchestra players as we came in and they we very welcoming and sweet, knowing this was my “debut” with the symphony. The rehearsal was quick. We basically ran through the program and had very little time to go back and fix things. I was so thankful that I had gone through the pieces with Robert who reduced the orchestral accompaniments on piano so well. There were no surprises so thanks to Robert!

We had 90 minutes to get home, eat and get back to the theatre for the 2:30 concert. I threw my hair into curlers and got teased by nearly everyone who saw me when I arrived back at the theatre. haha!

The concert went really well. Scott Walker was the host and did a fabulous job. Joey was also incredible as usual and did a great job following me. I couldn’t see him which made it a bit tense…next time I will know to ask to have the conductor move back. Because I couldn’t see him, I had to listen hard to make sure I was with the orchestra so it was a bit touch and go here and there. Otherwise, I think the audience enjoyed the show. Selena and Benj came and were both pleased.

I was thrilled to see Kimmy and her family, Dave, Mike and Zora and Nacy and Brad there too. Thanks guys for coming!!

We went for a drink and a bite with Selena afterwards It was so wonderful seeing her again! She has been travelling and was asked to teach for a week at the Calgary Opera with the Young Artists and said she had a great time.

Juice and I went for a run as soon as we got home taking the Goose out past Spinnakers. It was a warm night and we had such a great run, chatting about the concert and looking at the city lights as we ran along the Songhees.

Wednesday  [1:00:34]

Jon met me at Beacon Hill this morning for a light wo. We ran the warm-up together and found a loop that would work well that had a couple of good hills with some flatter sections for easy turn-over. I did some strides on the all-weather field before we started and I kept my running flats on for the session. He gave me a wo I have never done before. 3′ at marathon effort right into 3′ at 10km effort x 4 sets. He said the trick was to monitor my effort carefully especially the marathon pace and gave me some pointers on how to ease into it without slowing up too much. The key was to just switch gears slightly rather than slowing right up.

Jon ran the first loop with me and after that cut through the course to watch me and had a whistle to signal when I was to switch pace. He also gave me some pointers on the hills as I went up. I completely forgot to hit my laps on each rep and remembered only on on the last set. I did get a reading for the average pace of the whole workout and got 3:45 pace…I hope that was because I was running 3:30s on the 10km and 4:00 on the marathon paces and not 3:43 and 3:47! Ha! I felt though it took me a couple of reps to get a feel for the pace switches. What a great wo! Considering what a big week it has been with CIS and the concert, I didn’t feel too bad. Jon didn’t want this to be a stressful session, just to get the legs moving a bit which I think is what we accomplished. We chatted some more on the warm-down about how to approach hills and where to take advantage on XC courses. Jon has a wealth of world-class knowledge and experience so I feel very fortunate to get a chance to hear all that he knows.

Juice and I had dinner with Alan and Deb. We got caught up and made plans for the IRR Xmas party and had a great time!

Thursday [1:00:57]

We woke up to a warm and sunny day today! I drove over to Jon’s place this morning and got to meet two of his furry friends. His lovely dog Luna was a big suckie and had me petting her like crazy as his Siamese cat rubbed up against my legs. I was in heaven! Jon had to do a long run today so I accompanied him for one hour. We started off running through Rithet’s Bog and then crossed over the highway and ran at a steady pace through Quick’s Bottom and the Camosun trails, then did a section of the lakes back to his place where he drank some energy drink and headed on his way for the rest of his run…I love telling him as he is leaving, ‘Only another 90 minutes to go…have fun with that!’ I’m sure he just loves hearing that!

I felt pretty good today. I think it will take me a couple of days though to completely feel rested.  I spent the rest of the day working on an assignment and putting together my application package for Saucony sponsorship.

Friday [1:21:12]

I did two runs today at a steady pace. My morning run was along Lochside trail with a detour around Swan Lake on my own and the evening run was with Dave at the Lakes followed by a few easy strides. Dave will be accompanying Jon to race in the International Fukuoka Marathon in Japan in December and is understandibly very excited about it!

Saturday [1:41:02]

Dave and Ian picked me up this morning to drive over to Beacon Hill. Jon had his group out to do a grass wo. The group included Nick Best, Matty, Dave, Ian, Trevor O and Mike Lord. My gluts were feeling pretty tight this morning even after doing the warm-up. I think sitting down all day yesterday at the computer wasn’t the best thing for my butt! After the warm-up I got into my spikes and did some strides. Jon had us all running 3′ intervals but with varying number of repeats, rests and paces. Everyone but me were running 3′ at 10km pace off of either 60″ or 90″. Jon, Matty and Dave were running 10 sets off of 60″ while Ian, Trevor, Mike and Nick did 8 sets off of 90″ and I did 6 sets but at 5km race pace off of 90″. Jon suggetsed I try and hang in with the guys as much as possible. This worked out well because Nick’s 10km pace was close to my 5km pace. Mike eased into the first few sets but joined us in my last two sets and then took over from me and ran with Nick for the last two of his 8 reps. The first few reps were quick but I managed to settle in ok. I would have liked to have felt smoother today but I think all the running on uneven surfaces is catching up with me. It’s also been a while since I have done this type of wo and having shorter rests. I was happy with today’s effort. We certainly had a beautiful morning for a wo. The sun was shining and it was warm enough to wear t-shirts!

I was pretty pooped this afternoon so I hung in and rested. I did a 30′ shake-out run at an easy pace at CH and then Juice and I met Pan-Pan and Lin for dinner. We hadn’t seen them since the summer!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Our flight left at an ungodly hour this morning but other than that, the day was pretty fun. I slept a lot on the plane so the trip whizzed by, We had some time to kill at stop-overs but always managed to find mature things to do to kill some time.

I got in touch with Squintch as soon as we arrived in Quebec City and we had dinner together. It was so great to see him again! Jon scheduled a day off for me so no running today.

The team got to stay at the Hilton in the old town…pretty swish! I got a room on my own which was good because I had to sing every day and would have driven even a very patient roommate nuts!

Thursday, November 6 [44:46]

I had breakfast in my room this morning. I brought my toaster on the trip as usual and made hot oatmeal using the coffee maker. I did a good chunk of work on an assignment for school and then got my gear on to meet the team in the hotel lobby. We jogged over to The Plaines where the race would take place (just a 5 minute jog away) and were surprised that in November in Quebec, we were sweating and complaining it was too hot! Parts of Ontario and Quebec were getting freak Indian Summer weather and man, was it nice! We an around where we thought the course would be wearing shorts and tank tops and we were still too hot. Brent had us do a ten minute tempo run and then a cool-down followed by some strides. My legs felt a bit heavy from the travel but  I have felt worse after flights so that wasn’t  worry.

After a quick shower, the girls met and we headed to rue Saint-Jean, the main drag in the old town to eat and do some shopping.

Tradition apparently for the Vikes and the other CIS teams is to have each team wearing matching outfits. That was the challenge of the day…to find 6 matching dresses.

We actually did it and the dress wasn’t too bad at all or expensive. We tried on a few numbers though that had me in a panic. Nothing worse than seeing a 40 year old wearing something meant only for twenty year olds.

Brent took the team out for a nice dinner although I think the guys would have preferred Quiznos!

Friday, November 7 [28:22]

I did a good 45 minutes of singing, going through the concert stuff and it went fine. I think I have managed to memorize the whole program….I hope! I won’t really know until I get in front of the symphony and do the run-through on Tuesday morning…gulp!

The weather today took a bad turn. The temperature dropped, it was dark and drizzling and the winds had picked up. The team went back to the course to do a tour. It was very windy so we had trouble hearing what the leaders were saying about the course which hadn’t yet been marked. David Gill was our leader and he did his best to navigate us around and did a great job.

The team went out for dinner again and I ended up having another steak! Mmmm, this was a good one!

The rest of the night was spent relaxing. Jon called to check in and we talked about the race and running this tough course. The big hill 400m into the race didn’t look too bad and had apparently been changed since last year. It did look like a more challenging course from what we had done up until now but I was confident I would be ok.

Saturday, November 8 [1:22:34]

I had a decent sleep last night. I woke up a bit early but had been sleeping well the nights previous so I felt ok. The women’s team met for breakfast downstairs to have a hearty meal and then it as back up to our rooms to relax. I got in a good 45 minutes of singing which was a good distraction. I went through all my repertoire for the concert thoroughly re-doing sections repeatedly where I could feel my memory slipping. I find if I do things by rote the words come out even when you lose focus for a second here and there.

By the time we walked over to the course, the winds were howling. There was some light drizzle but nothing substantial. The temperature had dropped and with the wind, it felt even colder. The team found a corner downstairs in the Delta Hotel which was just minutes from the start-line. It was a good spot where we could relax and stay warm before the race.  I avoided the wind on the warm-up and didn’t run on the section of the course that was getting hit the worse but even then, it was nasty! As I was putting on my spikes in the tent near the start-line, I heard a very familiar voice calling my name. I turned around and it was Malcolm!! He and Nat (along with little Milo and Portia) drove from Montreal to watch me race! I gave him a big hug and he was all smiles and proud looking and wished me luck.

The start of the race was just nuts. The winds were blowing us backwards as we stood trying to hearing the countdown over the noise of the cheering crowds and blowingwinds…it was just wild! The first 400m of the race was a rough ride and had us heading straight into the wind. We got about 80m of flat and then immediately we hurled ourselves down a fairly steepish hill of about 80m, a brief flat bit then a sharp turn to the right with a short climb to get us running along a ridge. This whole bit was fast and rough going with girls pushing and feet getting clipped. A right-hand turn had us finally running with the the wind heading back towards the start/finish area but with a  few turns along the way. I wasn’t feeling all that great after just a km into the race I was hanging on the back of the lead group of about 6 girls. I remembered Brent and the girls who had raced this course before say that the pace with the excitement of the race start was often a bit quick and so I made the decision to ease back into a pace I could hold steady for the first 2.5km loop. My hope was that the lead pack would tie up a bit on the second loop and that’s where I could make a move. The second km of the loop had a gradual climb back up to the top where we were now parallel to the start. We did a large loop on the back end of the course and eventually came through the start/finish. One loop down and one more to go. I was facing into the wind once again with no one to draft behind…this is when I realized that the lead pack would be harder to catch than I thought. I could hear Malcolm calling out for me to sart to close the gap. I tried with all my might but the going was really hard. A girl passed me after the first downhill and that gave me incentive pick it up to catch her. I hung on and eventually made a move to pass and could see I had made up some ground on the lead pack who were  good 50m ahead. The last 600m hurt as I ran in fear of getting caught by Erin who was not far behind me. When I crossed, I was finished! I gave it my all. What a great XC course but whoah was it mean! Malcolm and Squintch and the cheering squad were right there at the finish line. That was a great moment. Even though I knew I hadn’t raced my best, seeing Malcolm’s reaction that I made All-Canadian was a thrill!

The warm-down was freezing! I tried to take pictures of the guys but my hands were frozen solid so I apologize for the poor quality!

I rang Joey when I got back and he said Squintch called on his cell phone to give him the news. Juice said Squintch was still on the course looking for me. I saw him right after the race but we lost each other somehow.

The post-race events were quite fun. There was a Can-West awards thingie before the CIS banquet. Our very own Julia won Rookie of the Year!!

I was smart and ate some food beforehand because these awards took a long time. The banquet was nice although the Delta Hotel ran out of food (or rather they didn’t make enough food fast enough)…how you underestimate how much food a roomful of hungry runners can eat in record time is beyond me but there you have it! We had a great time regardless and just made up for the lack of entrees by eating desserts!

We went back to the hotel afterwards to get changed. I wasn’t planning on going out again. I still had to look after La Voce. I knew though I wouldn’t get to sleep right away anyway so I decided I would go for a short time to a pub that was along the way to the after-party. Before we left, we had fun goofing around.

We found a bar along the way to the party where we hung out for a bit and joked around.

I stayed for an hour or so and then went back to my room like a good singer while the others continued on to the after-party. I called Jon and gave him my take on the race. He was very positive and said this was a good experience running with a very competitive field which will help for Nationals!

I did two 40′ runs today both at a steady pace. I ran at CH in the morning and then did some work on my concert tunes with Robert in the afternoon and then drove to the lakes immediately after to join Dave. We ran from Pipeline rd and just did an out and back and I finished off with a few strides. I did my core routine when I got home and then spent the night relaxing with Juice.

Tuesday, November 4 [1:28:57]

I did an easy 30′ run along the goose this morning. I had a really good sleep last night so it took a while to wake up.

I sang through the concert rep again this time with Benj, Robert and Juice! Ha! I had quite an entourage! Robert came and played at the lesson while Juice wanted to follow along with the scores to see what I was doing so there won’t be any surprises. We only get one rehearsal with the symphony and that is the morning of the concert which is at 2:30 so there’s not a lot of time to make major adjustments!

I went to Lambrick park tonight for the Vikes grass wo. This is our last one before we leave for the big university championships on Saturday in Quebec City. I did a 10′ warm-up then another 10′ at tempo pace. I met the team and did some strides and then did the 2km of fartlek along the route we’ve been doing the past several weeks. My legs feel pretty frisky. The rest last week did me good, I think. The girls are pretty excited about going to Quebec. I think we have a great team and will do really well! I am excited too! I love that city and have already made plans to hook up with Squintch while I am there! Claire is on this trip too so that should be good for some laugh!

I saw Kimmy for a massage right after the run. It was a good one as usual….Kim has magic fingers, hands and elbows! I have been more diligent about rolling and she said she can feel a difference.

I have packed and am now heading to bed. It will be a long day tomorrow. 6:30am flight with a stop-over in Toronto for two hours so we get there at 5:30pm…that’s with the 3 hour time change. I have a ton of reading to do for next week so that will keep me busy. I’ve got a bunch of food packed up and my very attractive compression socks ready to go for the flight!

I found out the article in The Province will be in Friday’s paper. It should have some funny photos from my lesson with Benj…good grief…can’t wait!

Juice and I met up with Lis’, Shan and two very frisky puppies, Charlie and Lola. We did a very easy loop around the lakes. No soreness today but that could change by tomorrow so I took an ice-bath just to be safe. The rest of the day was spent relaxing! Juice and I hung out for a bit at Bubby Rose’s Bakery and had a coffee and treats and then just shopped around downtown

Tuesday, October 28 [50:11]

Yesterday was a scheduled day off from running but did a good session of core work. I met Robert in the afternoon and we ran through the Remembrance Day concert rep. It’s fast approaching and Robert was great at coaching me with ideas on style. This is not repertoire I am used to doing but it’s really fun!

I met Dave at Thetis lake this afternoon for a run. He was doing his looong run and I hopped in mid-way and kept him company for part of it. My legs felt pretty good. I finished off with a few strides and then went home and did my core routine.

Wednesday, October 29th [45:00]

I had a lesson with Benj today and he was great at helping me with the concert rep too. He is pretty good at this repertoire! I’ll get another lesson with him before we leave for Quebec next week so that will be perfect!

Juice and I met Dave at Mount Doug in the afternoon and we did a relaxed run around the trails there. I then headed over to Lambrick where the Vikes were doing a wo. Jon scheduled these past few days as recovery from the race on the weekend and I will do my long run tomorrow. I did my core and strength routine in the evening.

Thursday, October 30 [1:45:29]

Jon and I ran together this morning starting at Juan de Fuca. Juice did his workout there while we ran out to Royal Roads and did a couple of loops around the trails there. My legs felt very good and will be ready for a good session on Saturday.

I had my massage with Kimmy and she said my body felt great so I am happy I got in a few days of recovery. We had to go to a symphony shin-dig right afterwards… I was a greasy monkey at this reception! There were only appies at this event so we snuck off and had dinner at Moxie’s. When we walked in we bumped into Helena and Blair who who who were celebrating Helena’s b-day with friends. We joined them after dinner for birthday cake (from Pure Vanilla-yum!yum!) and had a great time catching up with them.

Friday, October 31 [1:31:13]

Happy Halloween! I almost forgot it was Halloween! I woke up early and did my first 45′ run at Cedar Hill . I was still half asleep when I ran by the public school I always pass to get to the golf course and it took me a few seconds to clue in that the little ghost that ran across my path was just a little kiddie in a costume. The run this morning felt good. I ran at a steady clip and enjoyed saying hello to the walkers and other runners as we passed by each other.

Juice picked me up at UVic in the late afternoon and we drove over to Pipeline and ran 45′ minutes from there at the lakes. I was pretty frisky and we ran at a good steady clip and finished off with a few strides and did a light core session.

Saturday, November [1:44:46]

The Vikes wo was on the grass field behind Mount Doug school this morning. We did 1 km at a fast clip, 2km at race pace and then 1km again at a clip. After a quick start in the first km we were supposed to settle into race pace but our group just kept going! I felt a bit rusty on this rep but  the 2km interval felt better and we finished off with a really brisk km doing staggered starts. It was really fun trying to catch up to the runners in front. I just wish the rests had been shorter so that we could have kept the HR up…I was freezing by the time we started the last km!

I did some work in the afternoon and then Juice and I ran together taking the Goose. I ran for 30′ then Juice continued on for another 20′ on his own to get his run in for the day.

We met Paul and Lis’ for dinner at Glo Bar tonight and got to meet their friends and co-workers that have just moved here to Victoria. We had a great time and laughed so much, Paul is crazy!!

Sunday, November 2 [1:16:34]

What a beautiful morning run we had! Jon, Nick B and I met at Thetis and we couldn’t have picked a better time to head out on to the trails. The sun came out and lit up the bright-coloured bed of leaves on the paths. I was in heaven! It was a great run this morning Juice bumped into Alan and Deb at the lakes and did his run with them.

We had Don-Don over for brunch even though he is a big pain in the butt! (: It had been a while since we saw him and we were due for a good visit. We all took a trip downtown afterwards and went shopping…bought nothing but had fun looking!

Tonight is all about staying in, eating a roast dinner and watching a movie…with popcorn!!

I did my presentation in class on Friday morning then left immediately afterwards for the ferry. I met the team on-board and when we got to Vancouver, we dropped our stuff off at the hotel and went straight to Stanley Park to jog the course. I was exhausted but once I started the run I felt better. I just did too much sitting this week at the computer. Chops was just finishing off his run when we arrived but he stuck around and showed us the route. The two of us grabbed a bite afterwards near his hood and he showed me his new student digs which were pretty sweet! He was also kind enough to drive me to a nice market grocery store so I could buy some water and munchies! Thanks Chops!!

I woke up way to early this morning but at least I had a decent sleep. Normally, I have a light breakfast of toast and maybe a banana before a race but since we weren’t running until 2pm, I decided to eat a bigger breakfast and have a snack closer to the race. There was a White Spot in the hotel so I joined the girls for some eggs, toast and coffee. The rest of the morning was spent relaxing, catching up on email and chatting with Shauna.

When we arrived at Stanley Park, the Junior Women’s race was already underway and the sun was breaking through the last bit of cloud cover, warming things up just in time. Justine won the race and looked so relaxed doing it. Amazing! Our very own Cliff won the junior men’s race.

Wendy, Chops and Nanc, pre-race.

Claire and me, pre-race.

I ran most of my warm-up with Claire and in the last five minutes I did a few 20-30″ pick-ups then jogged back to get on the start-line. I spoke to Jon just before the start and he gave me some advice on how to run the course. After some strides we finally lined up and off we went. I got into position in the first 200m at the front as soon as I could just to find a spot where I didn’t have to do a lot of weaving around other runners. I continued to pull away and once I established a decent gap, I got into a good pace.

Is that Shauna smiling?!

The course was laid out beautifully with rolling hills and some fun turns so there was always something to think about. The hills were spread out well so there was always time for recovery between each. The first 2km loop went by quickly. I don’t remember much of it other than focusing on maintaining my rhythm and staying relaxed. I could hear Ash’s clicking spikes getting closer as we climbed the long gravel hill on the second loop. She was gaining but I didn’t want to push too much since we were only half-way through the race. It was here I started to really let go on the downhills in order to stay ahead.  I knew once I was up and over the last gravel hill on the third loop I only had a few minutes left of hard running. I put more effort on this last climb and once that was done, I knew I could do it! The last km was all about holding my position and making sure I held a good enough gap. I was very aware that if Ash was anywhere near me  at this point she had the kick to cruise by me. I was right! As I made the last turn heading into the last straight stretch to the finish, I heard Chops say, she’s closin’ in. I ran hard to the finish with Ash just a few seconds behind. Whew!

A big thanks to Justine who took these photos.

It was a pretty exciting day. All the team did really well and everyone seemed happy which was great! The run of the day goes to Julia in the Junior women’s race. Her determined look as she passed a girl just metres from the finish was thrilling to watch.

Julia with post-race happy glo and me likely razzing Brent!

Maureen, me and Nanc, post-race

I got to watch the men’s race and that was a blast too. Jon made it look so easy.

 I took a lot of photos but here are a few!

ok, so I am no Tony Austin….

The Finish-line Cheering Squad and Gar after his finish.

I ran a quick cool-down with Jon and chatted about the race. We’re going to take a few days easy this week which will be hard to do but good for me especially since I was feeling a bit blah last week. This will have me feeling frisky again in time for Saturday’s wo.

A very fast a harrowing ride got us on the 5pm ferry JUST in time (kudos to Sean). I hung out with Nanc for the trip and we got to catch up on stuff and made the ride whizz by. Juice had dinner prepared for me when I got home…what a guy!

Monday, October 20, 2008 1:31:27

I ran twice today with Jon. We met up at the lakes in the morning running 45′ at a steady pace. Juice joined us for the second run. He’s supposed to be on a break right now so what does he do?…go for a run with Jon Brown…haha! He stayed with us from Locjside trail right up until Mount Doug but then we lost him in the trails there but he wasn’t too far behind. I did my core routine after supper.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 1:21:41

I ran at a very easy pace at Cedar hill this morning and then hooked up with the Vikes at Lambrick in the afternoon for a quick wo on the grass. We did the same 1 km loop of fartlek efforts of 150-300m that we did last week but did less volume. I was feeling a bit stiff in the hip flexors and gluts so I took the option of doing 3 of the 4 kms. When I got home I took an ice bath and spent the rest of the night working on the two assignments I have due on Friday before we leave for the BC XC championships.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 44:58

It was a beautiful day today. I just love this fall weather. Unfortunately, it was spent indoors for the most part until I finally left for my lesson at UVic. It went pretty well considering I haven’t practiced much this week! I met Kimmy afterwards and we did a 45′ run along Dallas Rd in the sunshine…boy did I need that! I felt a bit blah and stiff and I know it’s from sitting around all day doing work on the computer. I am on that thing more now than when I was at work, it seems! She then gave me a doozer of a massage (which I needed even more!). I tried to do some work after that but it was kind of useless. I gave myself a night to veg and watch some tube.

Thursday, October 23, 2008 4o:11

It was the big crunch today to get the assignments done. I got my run in first thing with Juice. We did an out and back at the lakes (feeling a bit better) with some strides and then picked up a couple of books I needed at the Commonwealth library. We saw the great Lucy Smith there heading out for a ride. I just love her positive energy.

 Our friends from Vancouver were in town so I took a dinner break and we met them at the Fernwood for a quick bite.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Yes! The assignments are done and I can now breathe. We’re off to Vancouver this afternoon, taking the 1pm ferry over  with the team so we’ll have time to jog tomorrow’s course. The race is in Stanley Park this year so I have no idea what it will be like. Should be a lot of fun!! I’ll just be so happy to be outside and moving around. I have felt like a caged animal all this week. Good luck to everyone racing!!

Juice dropped me of at Thetis this morning. He went on to the lakes to do an easy loop. He is on a two week break from wos and long runs. I met Jon in the p-lot and headed out from there to Royal Roads with a detour around the trails at Juan de Fuca. We eventually made our way along the Goose to Royal Roads campus and took some trails around the perimeter of the campus (we saw a few deer!) before we hit the last kms of the Hatley Castle race route. We looped back to Thetis and where I left Jon who continued on his way…he had another hour to do.

Juice picked me up and we drove back home, I took an ice bath, cleaned up quickly and then we went to Shan and Darren’s. They prepared an incredibly delicious spread of grub which included a Darren’s gourmet omelettes, blueberry pancakes, french toast (using french bread..MM-mmm) and sausages. Oh yeah! For dessert, Lola and Charlie were allowed to come in from outside (once all food was cleared away) and I got in a good visit with them!

I slept nearly 10 hours last night…wow. I thought I was feeling a bit tired! I have been staying up much too late doing homework so I think it finally caught up to me. I had this idea that once I started school, I would have more time to rest (and sing!). That was pretty funny that I thought that.

There was a huge group out this morning for the Vikes session. Keith also had his Oak Bay athletes out and there were a few extras that showed up too including The Finn who is planning on racing BCs next weekend. The session was 3 x 1200m on the lower loop going counter clock-wise with 2 x 1 mile on the upper loop alternating with the 1200s with 3′ recoveries. Ash and I paired up and as we jogged down to the start of the first rep we agreed to keep things controlled…no racing. We laughed at how we both ran way too hard the first time we ran together…we were like a couple of guys! Ha! We ran the wo together really well and had a great and painful time! I know I won’t have Ash as a side-by-side training partner much longer as she gets even fitter so I am enjoying her company and having her to work with while I can! I think we took a bit long on the rests but I was feeling a bit sluggish (too much sleep?) so I think it wasn’t such a bad thing. It was nearly 7km of hard effort and we held pace the whole way.

I spent the afternoon getting ahead on next week’s assignment. Iy was brutal staying indoors…it was absolutely gorgeous out! I asked Kimmy to pull me away in the late afternoon so I wouldn’t be a crank-pot. We were just going to meet for coffee but instead, we made plans for us to meet with Juice and Dave for dinner. I got in a quick 30′ run along the Goose…felt frisky but stuck to an easy pace…showered and off we went downtown.  We had a terrific dinner with great company at Sauce! Thanks guys!