Mission: ACCOMPLISHED

Registration in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon: $45

Shoes, clothing and accessories from The Running Room: $400

Crossing the finish line and completing my first half-marathon: PRICELESS!



We did it!

We crossed the finish line holding hands at 2h 12m 46s!

I'll be back with details + pics, but right now I'm way too tired...

This time tomorrow....

...we should be nearing the finish line!

Last night we picked up our goodie bags at the Expo. Our bibs are printed with our numbers and names on them, our time chips are activated and we are ready to go.

I'm getting really excited now! I'm running my first race tomorrow!

100th Post!

Well, this is my 100th post! Cool.

It's just about time to accomplish this mission of mine. The 1/2 marathon is THIS SUNDAY! That's 2 days... actually, 1 day, 20 hours and 53 minutes. We are actually going to do this!

Tonight we are heading to the Expo at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to pick up our race kits and peruse the exhibitors. Then we're hitting The Old Spaghetti Factory for some carb loading! This part is not so bad. :)

Tomorrow will be a quiet day and an early night because we have to be downtown by 6 AM Sunday.

Check out LIVE Results on race day at www.Sportstats.ca - watch for our split time (1/2 way) and finish time.

You can also check it out on CBC News Morning or via live feed online at www.cbc.ca/sports

p.s. Thanks Christy and Lor for the comments. :)

8515

We are running this race in three days TO THE MINUTE!

We have our bib numbers... I'm 8515 and Mark is 8514. Makes it seem very real!

Tomorrow night we are heading to the Race Expo to pick up our kits and check out some of the booths.

It's so close I can smell it...

Reflections

Yesterday night I had my fitness assessment at my new gym, Persechini Fitness Centre. I'll share the all important numbers (weight, body fat, measurements) after my re-assessment in eight weeks. I can't wait to start weight training again and get into a routine. I will continue to run outside at least once a week and probably run on the treadmill a couple days, but my main goal for the fall and winter is to stick to a strict 1 hour/4 days per week weight training plan. It's going to be tough, but the results will be worth it. Or so I'm told. :)

Some of the questions that the trainer was asking got me thinking... this time last year, starting to run had never even crossed my mind! In January, I was thrilled to have run for 30 minutes straight. Hubby and I were just saying that we're going to hit the gym tonight for an "easy 5 K" on the treadmill. 8 months ago, running 5 KM was a huge accomplishment for me. Pretty amazing what I can do if I put my mind (and body!) to it.

4 days til the race!

Some more motivation

Another positive email this morning...


This is it! Race week. If you are nervous about racing the race you are feeling very normal emotions. It means you respect the distance and are excited about participating in the race.

Take a few minutes and reflect on all the training sessions you did this season. You are very well prepared. Now it comes down to resting, fueling and thinking your way through this week. The training you are doing this week is to merely keep your legs loose rather than training for the race. Your sessions should be short and light in intensity. You want to rest your body for race day. That way, you will show up anxious and ready to go on race day.

...

And finally, enjoy the journey on race day. Go with what the day brings. It could be warm or cold, rainy or windy. Or it could be perfect weather. Don't let the things you can't control affect your day. If you come to challenging parts of the race, think your way through. Just as life rolls through hard and easy days so will the race.

At the tough times, set a shorter goal to run or walk to a light poll or something closer to you than the finish. Set a series of shorter finish lines. Keep your head in the game as it controls your body and you'll get to the finish line! This tough time will pass and soon you will have a medal hanging around your neck.

Eye on the Prize

Every couple weeks, I get an email from the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon with news and tips and a reminder of how many weeks (or days!) are left.

This little article caught my eye this morning and now I feel all inspired and motivated.

Eye on the Prize

It's so close now you can almost feel it. It's there, right in front of you. If you close your eyes you can see yourself at the starting line, see yourself on the course, and see yourself crossing the finish line and getting a medal.

Let yourself live the fantasy. Imagine it all. See yourself having the best day of your life. From now until the gun goes off the race is all in your head.



I CAN DO THIS! I will run across that finish line and win that medal!

Yeah!

One week....

One week to go! ONE WEEK!

We picked up a great new toy today - the Garmin Forerunner® 205 . It's a personal training device with GPS that measures speed, distance, pace and calories burned, which can then be uploaded to the computer to store and analyze progress... among other things that we have yet to figure out. Pretty cool!



Did I mention that there's one to go! It seems like just yesterday that we decided to do this... but that was back in February! Where has this year gone?

Starting the countown at 10...

Well, there's just ten days to go.

Last logged run was about 10 KM last Wednesday (when Mother Nature had other plans!). Tuesday night I went out for about 6 KM, which nearly killed me. I was achy and crampy after a couple KM's! 4 days of eating and drinking my butt off in Montréal seems to have taken a toll. Tried again last night with 3 laps of a 3 KM loop in Thornhill and it went much more smoothly.

But then I made the mistake of going to bed without dinner and I am suffering for that today. I am STARVING. This always happens... Reminder to self: must eat after run.

Hubby and I are planning a long run (18+) this weekend and that will be about it til the race!

Oh boy.

Less than two weeks to go...

The big race is 13 days away. Am I ready? Who knows???

I'm hoping to get in a couple more long runs this week, then taking next week off to rest up before race day.

I think I'm starting to have second thoughts... whose idea was this anyway?

Mother Nature... Grrrrrrrr!

I love my new shoes! I felt like I was running on clouds yesterday. So comfortable!

We (Mark, Dave, me) had planned a nice 18K run in Thornhill, but unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas. We were about 9K in when the skies opened up and we were caught in pouring rain and insane winds. We managed to keep going for another 0.5 or so, but quickly realized that we had to turn back. :(

It sucks because we were all feeling great and could have easily finished the run.

Re-match next week!

Tomorrow we are heading to Montréal for 4 days so no runs, but lots of walking!

New Shoes!

I got myself some brand spankin' new shoes this weekend!



Brooks Trance 6 ® Designed for runners needing moderate to maximum support in a well-cushioned shoe. The Trance 6's MoGo midsole provides 40% more cushioning, 27% more energy return and 33% more durability than previous models. Multiple cushioning technologies in heel and forefoot provide exceptional comfort.


The Running Room recommended these because apparently I have stability issues (over-pronation to be specific) so the new shoes should help with that. Going to test 'em out tonight! Here's hoping for no more foot troubles.

So frustrating....

Last night we had to cut our run short at 13.5 KM because my feet were killing me. They were actually throbbing and it felt like I had marbles in my shoe in the arch of my foot. OW! The worst part is, it started within the first KM! I fought through it as long as I could, but by 13 KM my feet were starting to go numb so we had to turn in. SoOoOo frustrating because we were having a great run - lots of energy, no huffing and puffing.

I think I need new shoes...

I also tried my first Power Bar Gel last night. I didn't necessarily notice an immediate energy boost, but it would probably have more of an effect if I had not just eaten dinner. It went down easily and tasted like chocolate syrup (yum) so I'll definitely be using these again.

26 days til race day...

I'm still alive!! We ended up doing a mere 17 KM last Thursday instead of the planned 18 and it was damn hard. I (reluctantly) made Dave stop and walk a couple times, but we still finished in 2 hours, including stop lights and two bathroom/water stops so I don't feel bad about that. I was freaking sore and tired as you know what after the run, but felt good in the morning.

Mark and I ran just shy of 10 KM Sunday morning along the lake downtown and that was it for running this weekend, unless you count running around the bases during our baseball game Sunday afternoon. ;)

We splurged on some new Running Room gear over the weekend... a cute top for me to match my skort (more on that in a sec), shorts for Mark, Body Glide anti-chafing gel, a Fuel Belt for me, E-Load Heat Endurance Formula, and a few Power Bar Gels. Thank goodness for the 20% off coupons!

About the new top... I won't go into too much detail but let's just say that I made a bad judgement call by putting too much faith in the built-in bra Sunday morning and gave the Torontonians on the board walk quite a show! I'll be wearing a sports bra underneath from now on. Oops.

Tonight's plan is a nice 16 KM... we'll see how it goes!!

In other news, massive kudos to our buddy Dave who completed the Oakville 1/2 Marathon yesterday in a killer 2 hours and 1 minute... talk about setting the standards high for September 30th. ;) Good job, Dave!!