Home!

What a whirlwind! I'm still teeming with adrenaline. Over the next couple days I'll be posting all the details & pics from my trip to Boston, especially the B.A.A. 5K and that other little event that took place yesterday. :)

Thanks for all your support! Please bear with me for a couple days while I get caught up on what you've all been up to.

For now, I need a glass of wine after eleven hours of traveling. It's been a long day!

Boston Bound!

This is it! We hit the road at 4:30AM tomorrow.

The weather forecast looks pretty good, but let's hope that rain doesn't show up on Monday.



If you have any speedy vibes to spare, please send them my way on Sunday morning for the B.A.A. 5K.

Here are the details if you want to check out my results. I'm hoping for something around 23:00 - preferably <23:37.



(Bib # 76! How cool is that, with 4000 runners?!)

I'll be keeping everyone posted throughout the weekend via Twitter, so watch for updates in the side bar.

Have a great weekend! I'll be back Tuesday night.

Catch up

I'm a little behind on keeping you guys up to date. Besides, I think I'm due for a bullet post.

Here goes.

• After Tuesday's rip roaring intervals last week, I took it easy with a slow 5K on Wednesday. 5.37K (3.34mi) /31:56

• On Thursday night Silvia Ruegger (reigning Canadian record-holder for the women's marathon, 2:28:36 set in 1986) spoke to my marathon group. She is a wonderful speaker with a great story.

• Silvia's talk went over (totally worth it) so we shortened our run to an 8K tempo instead of the planned yassos (fine by me, having run my intervals Tuesday). 8.18K (5.08mi) /45:13

• Spent the entire day Friday cleaning the house - if every weekend were three days, my house would be a lot cleaner.

• Met up with a few people from my marathon group for our long run Saturday morning. We were all running different distances so we broke off into pairs.

• I ran with Paula, the one who took me skiing that fateful day.

• Everyone always jokes that I should keep my distance so she doesn't push me again. Either that or I should get revenge...

• We took a "short cut" back to our cars through a school field, which turned out to be a mud pit. We jumped over two ditches and thought we were going to have to climb the fence (found an opening). Turning around was not an option after 26K.

• 26.07K (16.20mi) /2:45:03

• Rest day Sunday, family dinner, Happy Easter!

• Attempted 3x1600m intervals tonight - outside, on my own. First 1600... too fast. Second... too slow and almost died. Third... didn't happen. Meh. 8.92K (5.54mi) / 51:02

• Not feeling too confident about a 5K PR this weekend. Still going to try like hell.

• I finally jumped on the Twitter bandwagon after Yumke's convincing post.

• I also finally bought a cell phone after not having one for more than a year. I even hooked myself up with web browsing so I can check in from Boston.

• 4 sleeps til we hit the road!

More random facts about ME! (+ Foto Friday)

There's another survey floating around bloggie land and the lovely teacherwoman at Dare to Tri was kind enough to tag me.

The rules are:
1. Fill it out
2. Change one question with one of your own
3. Add an additional question
4. Tage 3 other people to do the same


1. What are your current obsessions?

I only have one: running!

2. Which item from your closet are you wearing most often?

Right now I would have to say it's my CityChase shirt from last year. It's a thicker short sleeve - perfect for this time of year. I've been wearing it a LOT lately!



3. Last thing you bought for myself?

Lululemon comfy pants.

4. What’s for dinner?

We had ham with my mother-in-law.

5. Say something to the person who tagged you:

teacherwoman: You have a great spirit and positive attitude. I always enjoy your posts!

6. What is one item you could not live without?

Laptop.

7. Vacation spots you must visit before you die?

Hawaii.

8. Three things to do before you die:

a. qualify for Boston
b. have children
c. pay off our house - haha!

9. What are you reading right now?

Chi Running by Danny Dreyer

10. What is the last movie you saw and enjoyed?

Twilight!



11. What’s your guilty pleasure?

Edward Cullen

12. What’s your favorite smell?

Birthday cake.

13.If cost wasn't an issue and you could run any race in the world what would it be?

Great Wall

14. Do you have a goal that you are trying accomplish before 2009 is over?

PR in every distance. Ambitious, I know.

15. Describe one of your happiest moments.

By far, finish line of my first marathon.



16. What was your best Halloween costume?

Hubby and I dressed up as M&M's a couple years ago (both of our names start with M).



17. What do you have an addiction to?

Chocolate.

18. What do you do that you would be embarassed for others to know about?

I often get diarrhea before a race. That's embarassing, but I also know I'm not alone.

19. Do you have a favorite training tip?

Rest days and recovery runs are as important as the hard workouts.

20. What is the biggest mistake you have ever made (running-related)?

Running in an underwire bra when I forgot to pack my sports bra. Ouch.


I'll pass this along to:

Stacey
Leana
J

***

Diana is guest host for Foto Friday this week. Check it out!

Yes she can.

Thank you so much for the votes of confidence. What a great feeling to have such a big group of fans supporters behind me. I am happy to report that yes, I did it!

I elected to drive straight to the gym and include my warm-up and cool-down on the 'mill. It was cold and blustery and I knew I wasn't going to feel like running home after sweating it out for 45 minutes (couldn't procure a ride).

Surprisingly, most of the treadmills were free so I had no problem getting a good one. There was actually a line-up for the machines when I left, so I guess I got there at the right time.

Here's how the workout went down:

0.5mi at 5.0mph
0.5mi at 5.5mph
0.5mi at 6.0mph
1.0mi at 8.1mph
0.5mi at 5.0 mph
1.0mi at 8.1mph
0.5mi at 5.0 mph
1.0mi at 8.1mph
0.5mi at 5.0 mph

Total: 6.0mi (9.65KM), 56:40

It took my legs a good minute at the beginning of each interval to find their rhythm and stop inching toward the back of the treadmill. Once I got going, I was generally okay. At times I felt like I could continue all day, at times I felt it was never going to end. I didn't feel like I was going to barf or die, so I guess that's a good thing!

I imagined that I looked something like this:



My ultimate power song, the Rocky theme, came on during the second interval and I had a really hard time not pumping my fist. During the third interval, I envisioned myself running toward the finish line in Boston and once again had to resist fist-pumping.

Overall, it felt really good and I even found it kind of fun - you know, it a sick and torturous kind of way. I would like to complete the same workout outdoors next week. 11 days til B.A.A. 5K, 8 days til we leave for Boston!

***

Make sure you drop by The Happy Runner's blog to congratulate her on 200 posts and enter for a chance to win a sweet giveaway!

Can she do it?

I should have known better than to think spring was here to stay. This is Southern Ontario after all so it shouldn't be a big surprise that we got hit with some nasty cold, snow and ice yesterday.

I had grand plans for an interval run tonight (3 x 1600) and hubby had even offered to pace me. Unfortunately the conditions are not remotely suitable for intervals, so I'm going to have to take it indoors and slog it out on the treadmill. Boring! I wonder if one of the trainers would be willing to stand in front of the treadmill screaming at me à la Jillian Michaels to JUST KEEP RUNNING!

The plan is:

• Warm-up run to the gym (2k)
• Strip layers, grab a treadmill (hopefully one of the good ones!)
• 5 min. warm-up jog
• 3 x 1600 at goal 5K pace (4:36/km = 7:24/mi = 8.1mph) with 800m recovery jogs
• 5 min. cool-down jog
• Layer back-up and jog home (unless I can procure a ride)

I typically don't fare well on the treadmill at high speeds and I've never even completed a workout like this, so it will be interesting. I do have some confidence based on my intervals with the group in the last couple weeks, so I'm going to channel my inner Little Engine That Could.



I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

But can I??

Week in Review

Monday

Met a couple friends after work for a leisurely (paved) trail run followed by dinner. My legs felt heavy and slow, but good company made the time fly by. 9.5K (5.9mi) / 54:33.

Tuesday

HOT (High Octane Training): the usual ass-kicking.

Wednesday

Dropped my car off for service and ran to my Mom's house. Gotta love a south-bound run with constant winds from the south. Crazy hills too! The huge climb from about 2K to 5.5K almost did me in. 9.7K (6mi) / 56:26.



Thursday

Marathon clinic. Awesome pep talk from our instructor where the primary message was:

Just because you have a bad run doesn't mean you suck. Define yoursrlf by your good runs. If you can do it once, you can do it again, so figure out what factors contribute to a good vs bad run and don't be a whiney baby. (I think a lot ofd us needed to hear this.)

We completed a ladder-style interval workout: 3K warm-up, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800 intervals, 2K cool-down. During the first 800, I did not think I would be able to complete the workout but took it one "leg" at a time and what a feeling of satisfaction when we were done. The mile just about killed me! Each interval was completed at sub-5:00/KM pace (equiv. 8:03/mile). Overall: 11.02K (6.85mi) / 59:53.

Friday

Much needed rest!


Saturday

Long run. Woke up to constant 40kph winds wirh 50+ gusts. It pretty much sucked the life out of me, especially the last 4K being entirely uphill and into the crazy winds. I could hardly walk in a straight line, let alone run. Nonetheless, I got 'er done. 22.95K (14.26mi) / 2:21:54.

Sunday

Volunteered at the first official Angus Glen 10-Miler, taking place on the cart paths of the Angus Glen golf club. The event sold out at 350 runners and walkers and it was a huge success, definitely on my "list" for next year.

***

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Back to the grind tomorrow!