11 Random Things

Darlene at my First 5K and more says if you read her 11 randoms you're tagged. It's not in the rules but I'm going to do it anyway because I'm pretty boring so I wonder if I can even come up with 11 things........

1) My favourite colour is pink.

2) I was born in England, moved to Canada as a preschooler and became an official Canadian Citizen in 1990.

3) I missed my name being called in the Swearing in Ceremony to become a Canadian Citizen because I wasn't paying attention and had to slink up at the end. Very embarrassing. It was held during a very large Canada Day celebration where 1000's of people were in attendance.

4) When I turned 30 I started getting coldsores. When I turned 40 I became lactose intolerant. I'm scared to see what 50 is going to bring.

5) I was female athlete of the year at Paul A Fisher Elementary School. I am a bit like Al Bundy in that I still brag about this over 25 years later.

6) I have been a lacto ovo pescatarian since I was 16. Every now and then I think that I may start eating chicken because my diet is pretty boring......I never do though.

7) I LOVE to laugh. My sister and I have the exact same laugh. We work together at the sports bar. I think that people find it creepy when we both laugh at the same time.

8) If I don't like you, you will know it. I'm very black and white. There is no gray area.

9) I just may own more Lululemon than anyone you know. CHCH tv still uses film footage of me & my friend in line at the Lulu Hamilton warehouse sale from 3 years ago whenever they do a segment on Lululemon. I have not once seen this, but hear all about it whenever it is on.

10) I have a schnoodle named Gordie. Sometimes my husband says that I love the dog more than him. Somedays he is right.

11) I am a worrier. It drives my husband crazy because he's super easy going. We are total opposites, must be why we love each other. :o)

Answering Darlene's questions:

1. What made you start running? I was looking for some sort of fitness activity that could fit into my busy life.
2. What is your favorite race? I've only done a few so I don't really have a fav. Yet.....
3. This year’s running goal? Half marathon. In May. Woohoo.
4. Do you usually run alone or with others? I run alone, usually first thing in the morning.
5. Favorite time of day to run? Before the sun comes up.
6. Why did you start a blog? So that I could look back and see how far I've come.
7. Favorite TV show? The Amazing Race
8. Favorite actor? Hmmmmm I don't think that I have a fav.
9. Favorite movie of all time? I don't have a fav here either. I forget movies a few months after I've seen them. I recently saw The Help and really enjoyed it.
10. Favorite athlete? Ryan Miller. He is one of the goalies for the Buffalo Sabres. My son met him once at a hockey tournament and he was so awesome to Kyle I've liked him ever since. He even thanked Kyle for being so polite! Typical Canadian. :oP
11. What would you do if you couldn’t run anymore? Find something else. I'm pretty adaptable.

I won't bother posting questions seeing as every blog I go to has done this. If you would like to do it, just answer Darlene's questions too. :o)

Week 2 of training and not one but TWO virtual runs!

Week two of my training has gone well with the exception of last Saturdays long run in the snow. It was tough! My quads were on fire and I could barely finish the run let alone move for the rest of the day. I had to take a lot of walking breaks and I honestly almost cried when it came time to go up a hill (that kids were tobogganing on!) at the halfway point. Sending up a prayer right now that I never have to run a long distance in the snow again! I also did this weeks long run yesterday due to a hockey tournament this weekend. I was all excited to have downloaded a North American comedy podcast to listen to (last week was one from the UK and while some of it was hilarious, half of it I didn't get) but my headphones crapped out on me about 3K in so I stuffed it all into my pocket and with no Runstar prompts I just ran. I knew that I was probably going faster than I should be - Smart Coach said my pace should be 6:41, but I was feeling good so I just went with it. Turns out my pace was 6:12. Oops. Later on in the day I was telling my husband that my legs were pretty tired and that they say having an ice bath after your long runs helps but I'm not sure that I'm willing to do that yet. "And you do this all for fun?!" was his response. Huh. Good point. I'm going to have to see if I can find something else though. When lifting my legs to get into our Equinox is a problem I need to find a solution. :oP

Turn the camera around dummy!

Looking good. LOL

On Tuesday I dedicated 3.5 miles of my tempo run to Toni at Running, Living Loving and her 34th bday / 1st year blogiversary. My run this day was an 8k..2k warm up, 5k tempo and 1k cool down. I did the 3.5 in 30:10. It was hot as balls in the gym that day so I was extra sweaty. Happy birthday Toni my sweat is your gift! LOL

Today I will run 5K for  Adam aka The Boring Runner's Freeze Your Thorns Off 5K before we go to hockey. It's supposed to be 1* this afternoon so I doubt that I'll be freezing anything off. Thank God! ...........Ok. The weather was miserable for this! The temp was decent (0*C), but there was a strong wind and a mix of rain and snow. There were icy patches EVERYWHERE (thanks for the heads up text Sarah!). All together, it made running this quickly very difficult so I got it done in 5k in 28:26 and ended up soaking wet. SOOOOO happy that I did my long run yesterday rather than today!

I was too lazy to print up the bib. Here I am BESIDE it. :oP

WEEK IN REVIEW

Saturday Run 13.1k walk 3.45k then sit on the couch like a slug for the rest of the day because my legs hurt
Sunday REST!
Monday Run 3.15k @ 6:08 pace walk 3.45k
Tuesday Tempo Run 8k total 2k warm up 5k run 1k cool down
Wednesday 2k walk
Thursday 1mile run on treadmill then 1 hour spin. Dying! This was a toughy! 3.45k walk
Friday Run 13.04k 6:12 pace watch my sons team win 10-2 in their first tournament game!
Saturday Run 5k walk 3.45k Two games details to follow!

NEXT UP - Don't know when I'll fit spin in this week, my partner is leaving for the Dominican on Thursday. So inconsiderate! :oP
Sunday REST
Monday 3k @ 6:39pace
Tuesday Tempo Run 8k total 2k warm up 5k @ 5:56 1k cool down
Wednesday REST
Thursday REST
Friday 3K @ 6:39
Saturday 16K!!!! @ 6:39

Week 1 of half marathon training!

My first week of half marathon training has gone relatively well. Really, the only thing different was bumping my long run up to 13k. Talk about being super proud of myself when I got home from that one on Saturday! The run was a bit cursed mind you.  I had downloaded a podcast to listen to the day before and then as I was about to leave I realized that it had disappeared from my phone. After a bit of farting around I just ended up downloading it again but this put me about a half an hour behind schedule. I run a tight ship, half an hour is a big wrinkle in my day! Anyway, with the podcast finally dealt with off I went into the  -15*C weather to run my 13kms at a 6:43 pace as the Runners World Smart Coach tells me to do. This is a slow pace for me so it’s not a comfortable start but the podcast is keeping me fairly amused so I soon settle into my groove. My goal today is to run to the end of the trail that runs from just off my street down to about the midpoint of the city. This is generally the path that I run on because it has some rolling hills and it’s a straight out and back. I like to run straight out and back rather than a loop, it always makes the run back seem way faster. The cold isn’t bothering me at all; unbelievably I’m dressed properly for once. Thankfully I put on running tights underneath my running pants because the way back was straight into the wind and the pants alone wouldn’t have been enough.  I made it to the end of the path (YAY!) only to realize that there is a sign that says that the path continues in .03km across the street. Huh?

Well now I know where I can go on my longer runs, but I’m already 6km in so I’ll leave discovering that for another time. Once I hit the 6.5K mark I slow down for some water and jelly beans, almost breaking my teeth on the beans because they’ve frozen in my pocket. Next time I think that I’ll have to keep them inside of the handy gel pockets that Lulu puts into the waistband of their running pants/shorts. Hopefully my body heat will keep them a bit warmer making them a little easier to eat. Unfortunately at around the 9K mark my phone starts beeping that my battery is low. Crap! I’m running the podcast in a different program than my Runstar app and between them they’re draining all of my power. I turn the podcast off and start praying that I can make it home, but my words fall onto deaf ears and everything shuts down around the 10.5k mark. Boo! Now I’m really just hoping that nothing happens to me because I won’t be able to call home for help if it does. Oops. Thankfully the rest of my run is non eventful and I make it home in one piece. After stretching and eating I hit the Runkeeper website and edit the map to find that I actually ran 13.4kms! I kind of guess the time to be about 1hour 26 minutes judging from the pace and duration from the last time Runstar spoke to me, which gives me a pace of about 6:25. It’s not the 6:43 that I was supposed to be keeping, but considering I’m a natural negative splitter (crazy!) that’s probably where it came from and I really don’t think that I want to be messing around with that talent! Now tomorrow I have another 13kms to run. Hopefully things go a little smoother this time around. Mind you, we had a snowfall yesterday so I don’t really foresee that happening....the trail was pretty slippery today.

Up the slippery slope....

Week(s) in review:

Monday January 9 – run 6.13k

Tuesday January 10- run intervals 4.16k (30 seconds fast 30 seconds slow)

Wednesday January 11- run 5.2k walk 3.84k

Thursday January 12- spin 1 hour with 1 mile on treadmill to warm up

Friday January 13- walk 3.48k

Saturday January 14- run 13.4k (first day of Smart Coach training)

Sunday January 15- rest

Monday January 16- run 5.12k walk 3.01k (supposed to run 3K but that seemed like a waste)

Tuesday January 17- run 7k intervals on the treadmill at the gym. Rainy foggy day. Felt like a             suckhole everytime I saw someone go running by outside!

Wednesday January 18 – walk 2k

Thursday January 19- spin 1 hour with 1 mile on treadmill to warm up. This was the hardest spin class ever! My legs were like jelly.

Friday January 20 – run 4.17k walk 3.57k (supposed to only run 3K but again it seemed pretty lame.)

Took Gordo for a walk on the trail today

"Did you say cookies? I'm coming!!!"

Next Up:

Saturday January 21- run 13K @ 6:43 Sunday January 22- rest

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JAN 23	JAN 24	JAN 25	JAN 26	JAN 27	JAN 28	JAN 29
28 KM	Easy Run Dist: 4 KM @6:41	Rest / XT	Tempo Run Dist: 8 KM, inc Warm; 5 KM @ 5:58; Cool	Easy Run Dist: 3 KM @6:41	Rest / XT	Long Run Dist: 13 KM @6:41	Rest / XT

Go Hard or Go Home

So I've always been a go hard or go home, balls to the wall type girl. When I get into something I really GET IN to something. It's pretty much how I've been about running from the start. From that very first June day  that I laced up I had a 5K fall race in mind, and I did it. And not just once. Now this year, the 10K race was going to be my new milestone. At least my spring milestone...I was considering following it up with a half in the fall (which was going to be kept on the down low - I didn't want to commit to anything that I couldn't follow through on.) But then the other day as I was checking out the webpage for the Toronto Women's Half Marathon & 5K I stumbled across this.....

and fell in love. I wanted it! I was like Gollum and it was my precious. I had to have it. Then common sense kicked in. The farthest that I've ever run is 11K, a half marathon is 21.1K, that's almost double! I can't do that! Besides, I'm sure that the 5K finishers medal will be something nice and unique just like this. There's always next year! Maybe they'll have something even nicer then! But by this point it was too late. The seed had been planted and was starting to grow. Maybe I CAN do a half marathon. And after asking around a little bit, it seemed that others thought that I could too! And so there you have it. I'm going to run a half marathon in May. 21.1Kilometers.....13.1miles. And I'm going to kill it! It may not be the Toronto Women's (my inner Gollum may have to wait), it might just be the Mississauga but either way I'm running! Go me!

Final Week of HBBC

So this was the last week of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge held by Amanda at Run To The Finish. I am so glad that I took part in this challenge if for no other reason than it has gotten me eating better. I never really paid much attention to how many fruits & veg I would eat during the day, but this has helped me become more accountable over the weeks and it's something that I plan on keeping up. Big thanks to Amanda. Yay!

Saturday 5K run (3)
Sunday 5K run - resolution run double points (6)
Monday 3K walk 7 f&v (3)
Tuesday 5k run 7 f&v (4)
Wednesday 3K walk, 30 min bike 7 f&v (5)
Thursday 5K run 3K walk 7 f&v (6)
Friday 1 mile run on treadmill at gym, 60 min spin class, 4K walk 7 f&v  (10.5)

Weekly total 37.5

Challenge total 159.5 Yeah!


Another challenge that I've come across is the 'New to You' Cross Training Challenge held by Just Trying is For Little Girls. In this challenge you have to complete 12 new cross training experiences. I crossed the first one off my list on Friday morning. After a pretty slow night at work on Thursday I set my alarm and headed over to a 6am spin class with my sister and her friend. While it's 36 hours later and I can still feel the impression of the bike seat on my backside, I really enjoyed it. Sissy and her friend weren't impressed with the instructor or the music, so I'm curious to go back just to see how much better it can be! There is a new gym opening up around the corner from my house in the spring so I'm thinking of jumping ship from my bare bones gym when it opens. I've checked out the chains website and they have some pretty cool looking classes that I'd like to try out!


Lastly, I mentioned in my new years post that I need to get my nutrition together. Well, I'm happy to report that I've made a new friend who has helped me out with advice and online calculators so I'm properly tracking what I eat every day to make sure that I am getting the right amount of calories, protein & carbs. It's only been a few days but so far I'm feeling good and doing better. Big thanks goes out to Fancy Nancy at Living the Dream who helped me out tremendously with tips and patiently answered all of my newb questions. I also tried out the Green Monster Smoothie today and she's right. You can't taste the spinach at all!

2011 in review and 2012 goals

Today is January 1st, the day that you're supposed to reflect on the past year and make goals for the upcoming one. While I am never one to make resolutions (how can you change perfection?) I do try to make goals. This year my main goals in life are easy, keep up with my running and get better at it, save more money and spend less, and get back into attending mass regularly. While I do pray daily (usually while I'm walking my dog.....my neighbours must think I'm a bit nuts talking to myself LOL), I have been lazy about attending mass. This has never been more clear to me than when I went to wish our parishes Lay Minister a Merry Christmas at midnight mass last week and she jokingly asked who I was. Yikes, point taken. As far as my running goes, I am really proud of how far I've come my first year (6 months really). I started out in June with the Running Room's Learn to Run Clinic with week one's walk 1 run 1, and ended in December going my longest distance ever, 11kms! I've run about 450km's in total this year and completed 2 timed 5K races, 3 virtual races and raised $1850 for the Run for the Cure. This upcoming year I am looking to participate in the following races give or take a few:

Frosty 5K March 4 - This all depends on whether I want to race in the freezing cold :oP
Toronto Yonge St 10K - April 22 (day after my birthday) - Registered!
Mississauga Marathon 10K - May 5
Toronto Women's 5K - May 27
Moon in June 5K/10K- June 2
Warrior Dash -  July 21 - Registered!
Toronto Women's 5K/10K - August 25 -We'll see how the first one goes
Oasis Zoo Run 5K/10K - Sept 22
Toronto Women's 8K/5K - Oct 27 - Again, we'll see how the first one goes

I am really looking forward to adding the 10K race to my repertoire, hoping to achieve a new 5K PB (currently 26:46) and am aiming to run over 1000km's in total for the year. I would also like to revisit my first race ever, the Waterfront Trail but it isn't posted yet. I really enjoyed this race last year and hope to do it annually. My goal is to run at least 4x a week and maintain cross training with weights and the exercise bike. One thing that I really need to pay attention to this year is my eating. While some runners run to lose weight, I do it to stay healthy and can not afford to lose any weight. As I increased my distance at the end of the year I didn't bother to adjust my daily calories and lost 5lbs which was startlingly obvious on me. Hopefully this year I can figure it all out.