It's getting chilly

We took a trip to the Running Room this morning to pick out our Christmas gifts from my mother-in-law. I picked up the Windpro Headband and Windpro 3 Mittens - both noted for wind protection, water repellancy, breathability and warmth without weight.

I still need to get reflective winter pants but they didn't have my size. What I have now will keep me warm enough until the temperature really starts to drop.

Slight modification

I can admit it when it's just too much, and that was too much. The first two sets went well, but I was not able to complete the third. I felt like I was quite possibly going to fall off the treadmill and collapse in a heap. And I know it's time to ease up when I start to feel nauseous! I cut the third and fourth sets from 800 metres to 400 metres. I'll probably do the same next week and then try 800's again.

That was seriously tough and I am POOPED!

It's all about pushing as hard as you can, listening to the body, knowing when it's just too much and adapting!

Speed work

It's about time that I started including speed work in my weekly regime. It is (obviously) one of the most important aspects of my training to help decrease my half marathon time. I also want to complete the Santa Shuffle 5K under 26 minutes, so I really need to get busy.

My hubby was kind enough to write a program for me and it starts off like this:

4 x 800 - 5k pace - 400 rest

What the heck does that mean?!

I will run 800 metres at my 5K pace* (which is 5:12 min/km) followed by a 400 metre rest (slow jog) and repeat 4 times.

Next week will be 6 sets of 400 metres at 5 seconds faster than my 5K pace. It's complicated, but it's supposed to work. So we'll see how it goes!

*My 5K pace is the pace at which I want to (eventually) be running 5K in order to complete the half marathon in my goal time of <2:00:00.

Treadmill woes

Last night I ran 6 KM on the treadmill and came to the decision that from now on, all runs >5KM will be completed OUTSIDE. It is so freaking boring! And because there is so little distraction, I find myself concentrating on the tiniest cramps and pains, which I normally woulkd not even notice. And then there's the sweat factor! I sweat like a mofo on the treadmill and since there's no breeze to blow it off my face, I am absolutely dripping the entire time. Sometimes I feel like I'm wiping my face with the towel every 30 seconds. So I'll do my shorter runs and speedwork at the gym, but otherwise I will do them outside. Unless it's minus 30 degrees. Sometimes this may mean running outside AND going to the gym for weights in one night, but I will make it happen.

Clinic: Week One

Day One of the Half Marathon Clinic went great. The weather was a little disconcerting throughout the afternoon (cold rain and heavy wind are not my idea of nice running conditions!) but it improved a little just before our run and it turned out alright. I even managed to squeeze in some agility training whilst jumping over puddles that looked the size of Lake Superior.

Tonight consisted primarily of an introduction to the program and getting to know our instructor (she rocks!) and fellow runners. There is quite a variety of people in our group, mostly in their 30'a and 40's (we're the babies!) and many of whom have an equivalent level of experience to us. Some have never completed a half, some have completed multiple, one is actually training for a full. Some seem to have joined the clinic for the social aspect, some for motivation to continue running once Old Man Winter rears his ugly head (myself included on the latter).

The program starts off a little too easy and everyone agreed to have our instructor make some modifications. The original plan has us running 3 & 4 KM's quite regularly, but that is a warm-up run for most of us. We should get a copy of the new program at our next session on Sunday, but the basic idea is: LSD (long slow distance) on Sundays, educational session (different topic each week) on Tuesdays (plus easy run) and hill training (fartleks later in the program) on Wednesdays. We then run on our own one or two more times. I have to devise a new plan, balancing the group runs and gym nights (oh, and rest days... if there's time!) but it might look something like:

Monday: gym - weights only
Tuesday: group run (easy), then weights (gym)
Wednesday: group run (hills/fartleks)
Thursday: gym - treadmill + weights
Friday: gym - treadmill + weights
Saturday: REST!!
Sunday: group run - LSD

We'll have to play it by ear and make some adjustments if it's too much. The last thing I want is to burn myself out.

Anyway, tonight we just did a nice 4K around the block. It was easy and we finished at the front of the pack - not that it's a race.

We have one beef. Everyone in the group seems to like doing 10&1's (run 10 minutes, walk 1), which we do not. The instructor will probably accommodate the majority, but she encourages us to go ahead and run continuously if it suits us. She will give us a map of the route each day, so it's okay if we don't stay with the pack. A few people have asked me what I have against 10&1's or any kind of walk breaks. The thing is, if I start to walk, I have a really hard time getting back into the run groove and I would hate to be constantly waiting for that "beep beep" - know what I mean? When my body needs a rest, I just take it down to a slow and steady jog and so far, that works for me.

So it looks like we now have a good handful of races planned for next year:

March: Chilly Half in Burlington
May: Sporting Like 10K, Persechini 10K (hosted by our gym), Mississauga Half
August: Mid Summer Night's Run (15K)
September: Scotiabank Toronto Half

Not to mention that softball season starts up again in May and I could be playing on as many as three teams next year! I better be damn skinny after next summer. ;)

Change of plans

I love fall, but the weather can be so unpredictable! Saturday morning I was out running in a t-shirt and today it's cold, windy, rainy and miserable. Thankfully, tonight was a gym night.

Hopefully tomorrow will be much nicer because our Running Room clinic is starting! It wasn't scheduled to start until December 12th but apparently it had to be moved up. How nice of them to let us know... THE DAY BEFORE! Yeah, they just called. Argh. But it's not a huge problem for us and actually, I'm punped to get started! The goal race for this clinic is the Burlington Chilly Half Marathon on March 2nd...which we are now considering. What can I say? We seem to be addicts.

So our first session is tomorrow evening. Not sure what to expect but I'll be back with a full report.

Something fun to kick off the holidays

Today we signed up for the Santa Shuffle Fun Run(5K) which takes place on December 1st from our local Running Room store.

This merry event helps The Salvation Army to assist families and individuals in need during the Christmas season and throughout the year.

It looks like fun and supports a good cause. Those of you who know me IRL (in real life) may be hounded for pledges in the near future. :)