Celebrate the Little Things

This is the time of year for celebration and it can be quite busy.   We celebrate our holiday traditions with friends and family.  We celebrate the end of another year.   The end of the year always has me reflecting on how the year unfolded.   What things stood out for me?  What things did I take the time to celebrate for myself and for others?

There are a LOT pretty awesome moments that I celebrated this year:

Two of my friends completing their first Ironman
A friend of mine completing her first half marathon
Coaching a friend of mine to complete his first marathon
Getting through a non wetsuit swim at Eagleman without freaking out (this was probably THE highlight of the year for me)
Multiple weddings
Leading my AG from start to finish in one of my favourite races
My sister heading back to school to do her second Masters
My sister's boyfriend graduating from Teacher's College
My mom's 65th birthday
A friend of mine walking the first half of the Appalachian trail BY HERSELF (my mind is still blown by this)
Getting my Triathlon coaching certification
Helping one of my athletes win her AG and get to the 70.3 World Championships
And being told yesterday that I didn't have to take the rest of the month off from running / cycling.  Which was nice to hear after I wrote this post on Monday.

I think it's important to take the time to celebrate the little things as well as the milestones because it helps us appreciate what we have to be thankful for. 

Thanks to Deb Runs for hosting the Wednesday Word link up!

That's All She Wrote: #STWM 2015

Normally I would have graced you guys with a weekly recap on Monday but I can sum it up in one word:  TAPER.  It wasn't a very exciting week.   So instead, I'm jumping right into my race recap while it's still fairly fresh in my mind.

As I mentioned last week, this was the first time in ages that I've gone into a race without a time goal.  I hoped to be somewhere in the 1:30's but I didn't have a solid goal.  I figured I'd start with the 1:40 pace bunny and see how I felt.  If I felt good, I'd pick it up.

I had my usual pre race bowl of steel cut oats and hit the road just before 7:00.  I got almost every single green light on the way there.  Woohoo!  I headed down Bay street and hoped there would be space by the bus station.  Sure enough, I grabbed one of the last spots on the street.  SCORE.  I had to meet up with the #BBFFit girls at 7:50 am for a pre-race photo op.  It was COLD (fact, it was snowing at the start- WTF,  it's OCTOBER).  I ran down Chestnut street and ducked into the Doubletree Hilton to use the washroom.  That's the bonus of having run this race multiple times, you know where all the warm washrooms are, ha ha.  There was no line up so I was in and out in no time.  I ran down to Richmond and over to University and found Carmy and Janice right away.  We stood around chatting and waiting for Morgan.  A couple of minutes later, Morgan arrived and it was picture time!

I was supposed to meet my pal David up at a building on University just north of Armoury around 8:00 so I wished the ladies good luck, hopped into a porta potty and then ran up to meet David and his pals.  I waited there for a while and didn't see them so I wandered down to the corner of Dundas and Amoury and waited a bit there.  No luck so I wandered back up.  They were waiting inside the building so they let me in and I got to hang out in the warmth for a while.   One last bathroom stop and we all started to shed some layers.  We had 5 minutes to get to the start corral.  Luckily David and I were in the first one so we didn't have far to go.  They were singing the National Anthem when we got down to the corrals so David and I booked it over to the opening and made our way up towards the middle of the pack.  I spotted the 1:40 pace bunny a ways ahead so we tried to move up a bit but there were too many people so we gave up and waited for the gun to go off.   A few seconds later we were off and running.  

Normally I take off like a shot once the gun goes off but because I was actually running with someone, I didn't.  Instead, I mirrored David's pace.  The first bit of the course is uphill to Bloor so we were working a bit from the start.   That and there was a lot of dodging people.  Speeding up and slowing down etc.  Once we got up to Bloor, we seemed to find a groove.  My plan was to hit every aid station and get either Gatorade or water.  Or both, depending on how I was feeling.  We hit the first aid station and I grabbed a Gatorade and managed to actually get most of it in my mouth.  A-MA-ZING.   There were a ton of spectators along here and U of T actually had a full on cheerleading squad out, pom poms and all.  That was pretty awesome.

We turned onto Bathurst and really started picking up the pace.  We were going downhill so that was easy enough to do.  David was keeping his eyes peeled for the 1:40 pace bunny.  Apparently he wasn't too far ahead of us.  Most of Bathurst was a bit of a blur.  David and I spent most of it yammering away.  I do recall running by the Black Toe Running cheer station and hearing my name called out by a fellow WTP'er.  We closed in on the 1:40 pace bunny as we got to Front Street.  I heard my name again and turned to see Andrew Chak, another social media pal, who was running the marathon.  Shortly thereafter I saw Kristen Bowers, yet another social medial pal and one of the first few athletes that I coached.  I had seen her at the start and she gave me a huge hug.  She's a real sweetheart.  She was chugging along, looking strong and we waved to each other.  There was some pretty awesome crowd support along the Bathurst bridge as we turned onto Fort York.

As we got out onto Lakeshore I noticed a little bit of wind, but nothing too bad.  I still had my gloves on but my hands were boiling so I opted to pull them off.  I stuck them down my shirt until I had gone through the aid station.  I knew that G was going to be at the 12km aid station so my plan was to leave them with him.  We passed the 9km mark and started going over the Gardiner overpass by Dunn.  The little climb winded me and David and I turned to each other and both said that kinda sucked, ha ha.  We were coming up to the 10km mark and I announced that I was tired.  David said he was too.  The next few kms were kind of quiet.  I knew once we got closer to the aid station that there would be a ton of crowd support.  I was surprised to see it start earlier than normal - there were lots of people hanging out in the median by Palais Royale, which was GREAT to see.  The intersection of Lakeshore and Parkside was also packed.

We got to the WTP aid station at 12km and I immediately spotted G so I ran up to him, blew him a kiss and handed him my gloves.  I got some WTP crew love as I ran through the aid station.  David was hoping to shed his vest but never got a chance to get over and toss it.  We were heading to the turn around at Ellis and the crowd support here was phenomenal.  It's always great along here but this year there seemed to be so many more people.  And it was LOUD.  I wasn't running with music so I really noticed the cheers.  We hit the turn around and I could feel the wind slightly at our back which was nice.  David managed to ditch his vest when we passed the WTP aid station on the way back.  My energy was flagging so I took a gel.  My lower back was also really starting to get sore and tighten up.  I started to feel like I was running a little off balance.  I focused on keeping my shoulders back and my chest out.  That helped but I'd still feel the occasional nerve pinch in my glute.  Only 7km to go.

My friend and co-worker Caitlin was running the half as well.  It was her first and I really wanted to see her so David and I stayed close to the middle of the road to see if we could catch a glimpse of her.  I didn't see her but I saw Brie Young, a fellow Mizuno Run Bird, who had spotted me first and called my name - more woohoo-ing ensued.  As we ran towards the Legion, the Steel band that is always there was playing Hot Hot Hot and it reminded me of my Auntie Carol.  I smiled to myself and knew that she was cheering me on from somewhere.  David and I kept scanning the crowd for Caitlin but never saw her.  We crested the hill at the Legion, complained about how that sucked, and continued on. 

We motored along Lakeshore and I could feel myself getting tired again.  We got to 17km and I said to David that I thought the chute might come out over the next few km.  He said no way, we have 4km left, you'll be fine, you can do it.  So, I followed his lead.  At 18km I spotted Danielle holding one of her awesome race signs.  So I ran over and said hi.  There was some woohoo-ing and then I had to pick it up to catch David.  I went through the subsequent aid station and slowed down a bit.  Once again I had to pick it up to catch David.  He was pushing the pace a bit.  We started to climb the Spadina ramp, which is another tough little climb.  Our chatter had died down a fair bit by this point.  I think both of us were tired.  We had planned on doing a silly finishing photo that involved jumping so I hoped my legs would be able to do it.   2km to go.

We came to the marathon / half marathon split and up ahead I could see the 20km archway.  The street was PACKED with spectators.  I saw confetti flying through the air.  The Parkdale Road Runners had set up an EPIC cheer station.  It was deafening running through there and it was just the pick me up I needed.  We turned onto Bay Street and I was grinning.  As soon as we crossed Lakeshore the wind hit us.  My hands were freezing.  David gave me one of his gloves.  We powered up the steep little hill and made our way up Bay Street.  I was really starting to feel it.  I was tired.  My form was slipping.  But I stuck with David.  The crowds got increasingly louder the closer we got to the finish.  People started sprinting by us but we held back and let them go.  We wanted to make sure we had a clear path in the finishing chute.  We rounded the bend and let a few more people pass us.  We could see the finishing chute and as we got closer I turned to David who started counting down.  3-2-1 - JUMP.  At least that's what he did.  Because I'm a spaz, I jumped on one.  So I jumped AGAIN.  By that time David had landed.  What a gong show.  But the pics are hilarious so I bought them. 

At least both of us have our feet off the ground!

We crossed the line in 1:35:09 which wasn't a P.R for either of us but we didn't really care.  It wasn't about a P.R for me.  I knew I wasn't in any shape for that.  It was all about having fun and hanging out with one of my good friends.   David and I have done many of the same races but we've never actually run together in the 3 years we've known each other so I'm really glad we got the opportunity to do so before he gets CRAZY fast again and I won't be able to keep up with him.

When I went back and looked at the stats, I saw a couple of things that surprised me.  1) I was 8th in my AG.  I certainly wasn't expecting to make the top 10 and 2) we ran a negative split.  I can't remember the last time I negative split a race.  I told David he has to pace me from now on.  I think he thought I was kidding.  D, if you're reading this, I was serious. I promise to pay you in chocolate and homemade ginger molasses cookies!  You have it in writing. 

I have to say, I absolutely love this race.  It's no wonder I've done it 6 times.   If I can manage to get and stay 100% healthy for 2016, you know I'll be toeing the line again next October with an actual goal.   For now it's time for me to take some time off my feet and to work on fixing the little niggles that have been hanging around for far too long this year. 

A huge thanks to Burnbrae Farms for sponsoring me into this race and fueling my training.

Bring on the OFF SEASON!

The Final Countdown

TGIF! 

This is it folks, the end of the week.  The day that everyone looks forward to, ha ha.  I did my last run before Scotia this morning and it didn't feel awesome but it was better than Tuesday's run, which totally sucked.  I suspect that I didn't feel good because I spent all day yesterday running around on concrete floors in leather soled boots.  Not the best idea. But it's done and now I can take it easy for the rest of the day.  

 It feels very strange for me to be heading into a race with no concrete time goal.  I'm so goal oriented that it's almost like my brain can't function without that parameter, ha ha.   I honestly don't know what I'm going to be capable of come Sunday.  I'm still not 100%.  My lower back has been very bothersome over the last week and a bit and I haven't been able to get in to see my osteopath so I'm relying on Robaxacet to try to relax the muscles around it for now.  At least I know after Sunday, I can take as much time as I need off.  

Speaking of Sunday, the forecast currently looks like crap and I don't suspect it will change much.   At least I'm not racing Saturday.   That looks even worse.   On the plus side, the wind doesn't look like it's going to be too bad on Sunday (between 11-15 kph), which is great because it can get really windy along the water.  It's going to be coming out of the north west which means we'll be running into it for the first bit on the course.  Once we hit the turnaround and Windermere, then it should be at our backs.  Running up to the finish will probably be ugly as Bay Street can be a bit of a wind tunnel.  But at that point, you're almost done. 

I'm going to have to work at pacing myself properly here because I don't have the fitness to go out guns a blazin' and hold a crazy pace like I did in 2013.  I'm going to find the 1:40 pace bunny and hang out with them and see how I feel.  If I'm still feeling good by the 12km mark, I'll start to pick up the pace.  If not then I just hang on and finish. 

In other news, I found out this week that I got accepted as a Momentum Jewelry ambassador!  I've been following them on Instagram for a while and have been eyeballing their stuff since day one but could never make up my mind as to what I wanted to get.  Give me one of everything!!!  Anyway, I now have a nice little collection of items from them.  I will be sporting one of their Foot Notes on Sunday (Shut Up Legs in case you were wondering, ha ha) as a reminder to keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

After I finish the half on Sunday, I'm going to make my way out to the 40km mark of the marathon to wait for two of my athletes, Britt & Christina.  I told Christina I'd run the last 2km with her so I know that I'm going to have to run at least 23km on Sunday.  Ha, hopefully my legs will be able to handle that.  I suspect that Monday isn't going to be pretty, ha ha.  But, it's off season so it's all good.   I'm also hoping to meet up with the rest of the Burnbrae Farms Ambassador crew this Sunday - Morgan, Carmy and Janice.   We're all running the half and it's going to be Morgan's first so that's a pretty big deal!!  If you follow me on instagram, I apologize in advance for flooding your IG stream! 


Are you racing this weekend or are you in your "off season"?  

The Changing of the Seasons

Monday again.  Another weekend that absolutely just FLEW by.   We spent it up north at our friend David's place in Huntsville.  The plan was to do a "fall colours" bike ride.  Mother Nature wasn't the most cooperative.  The colours were just starting to change which was nice but holy moly was it ever windy.  We had a tailwind on the way out and a BRUTAL headwind on the way back.  Needless to say that shortened our ride substantially, ha ha.  I had hoped to do about 60-70km but we pulled the pin at 41 minutes out and it took us about 55 minutes to get back!  It was still nice to get out.   We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Huntsville and when we got back we played Settlers of Catan while dinner was simmering away.  I'm normally not a fan of board games but I actually quiet enjoyed that one!

Sunday morning David and I hit the road and some trail to do 20km.  He took me over all the hills in Huntsville, ha ha.  My glutes were killing me by the end of that run.  And my knees were quite sore too.  I haven't felt that in a while.  Hills obviously still cause me problems.  It was a perfect day for a run though, overcast and slightly misty.  This is totally my favourite time of year to run.  The scenery wasn't too shabby either!

Sunday was my last long run before Scotia.  Now it's time to taper.   This will be the first time in a long time I've run this race without a goal.  I'm just going to RUN it.  It's kind of strange but kind of nice at the same time.  It's nice going into a race with no pressure or expectations.  Actually most of my races this year have been like that.  It's been mentally refreshing, ha ha. 

The weather this past week wasn't great and I actually wussed out and opted to skip my tempo run on Tuesday because it was raining.  Slightly.  I ended up doing in on Thursday morning and froze my butt off instead.  It was super windy and quite cold.  But I did it.  I think my legs were still unhappy from last Sunday's monster ride.

I've been gradually scaling back things so this week was a little less insane then last week workout wise:

Monday: 2500m swim
Tuesday:  50 minutes strength work
Wednesday:  2000m swim
Thursday:  16km run with 13km at tempo + 40 minute strength, core & stretching afterwards

Friday:  OFF
Saturday:  44.5km on the bike
Sunday:  20km run.

Total time:  7 hours 43 minutes.

One last parting image.  It's finally fall when I start wearing socks and have my first Pumpkin Spice Latte....Is it just me or has Starbucks been starting this whole #PSL thing WAY earlier than normal???

Don't forget, tomorrow is Tri Talk Tuesday and we're chatting about The OFF SEASON tomorrow so swing on by and join in the link up!

What's your favourite season to run in?

#STWM Number 6 and a Recipe

In just under 4 weeks, I will be toeing the line to run my 6th Scotiabank Half Marathon.  I've seen pretty much every incarnation of the course as the first one I ran was way back in 2001.  I ran it again 5 years later, in 2006.  I took a hiatus from running and then came back in 2011 to try to break 1:40.  Did that, ran it again in 2012 as part of my last long run leading up to the New York Marathon and then it was the scene of my #sub130orbust half in 2013.  To say that I love this race would be an understatement.  It's grown so much in the last 15 years, it's amazing.   It's really become a world class running event.  The current route is my favourite.  The goal was to give participants a good tour of the city and I think they've succeeded in this. 

I've been pretty lax with my training for this.  I don't even know if I should use the word training.  If you follow me on Strava, you'll see I've been spending more time on my bike than on my feet.  I've gotten a few quality long runs in, some shorter distance work on occasion during the week and the odd track and tempo workouts.  This will probably be the least prepared I've ever been for this race.  Normally I'd be really worried but if there's one thing I've learned this year, it's that just because I'm not running as much as normal, doesn't mean I can't run well, especially on a flat course.  I don't expect anything close to 2013's performance but I am hoping that I can land somewhere in the mid-1:30's.  I ran 21.3km yesterday just to see how my legs would feel and even though it was slow (for me) I felt alright.  Especially after coming off of a sinus infection and 10 days of no running.  I still have a few weeks to work on my speed so that's the plan for now.  I can thank the awesome gang at Burnbrae Farms for sponsoring me into the race this year and helping me fuel my training.

Speaking of fueling, I wanted to share a recipe for one of my go to pre-race / long run breakfasts:  Pumpkin Spice Protein Oatmeal!   Because it's almost fall and it's time for #allthepumpkin.  There's also a secret ingredient in it that makes it extra smooth and silky and gives you a boost of protein.  Yes, protein in oatmeal.  And it's not from what you'd expect.   Note:  The original recipe for this can be found in the Racing Weight cookbook.  The addition of egg whites was my two cents. 

yes, I put egg whites in my oatmeal!

Pumpkin Spice Protein Oatmeal

1 cup steel cut oats
1/4 cup + 2 TBSP of Burnbrae Farms egg whites
1/2 cup of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling as that has added sugar)
1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
maple syrup to taste
handful of chopped walnuts or pecans to garnish

Cook steel cut oats according the package directions.   Once the oats are cooked, remove from heat and let them cool a bit.  Whisk in egg whites.   Add pumpkin and spice and mix in well.   Add maple syrup to taste and garnish with walnuts.  Enjoy!  Makes 2 very generous servings.

I find getting a bit of protein in with my carbs makes me feel fuller longer, thus the addition of the egg whites.   Not only is pumpkin tasty but it's rich in fiber, antioxidants and minerals.   I usually make this oatmeal the day before my long run or ride, put it in a container and store it in the fridge.  When I'm ready to eat it, I re-heat it in the microwave.  If it's a little lumpy, add some liquid (I usually use almond milk) and mix it in, then re-heat.

This tasty breakfast was what fueled my long run and my swim this past weekend.  After feeling like crap since last week and then coming down with a sinus infection, I had done nothing since last Sunday.  On Thursday I started to feel better (thank you antibiotics) so I went to the gym.  I really wanted to go for a run Thursday night but it was really hot and muggy and I didn't want to push things.   I was feeling a lot better by the weekend so I figured I'd test the legs, thus my 21.3 km run.   Despite being sick, I still got in a few good workouts.

Monday:  OFF
Tuesday:  SICK
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday:   50 minute strength workout
Friday:  1800m swim
Saturday:  21.3km run
Sunday:  2750m swim

Total time 4h 30 minutes.

I'm now feeling pretty much 100%.  Today is my last day on antibiotics - YAY!   I haven't had too many side effects other than a really bad headache that first day and some taste bud issues.  After I take them, usually a couple of hours later, all I taste is a chemical after taste.  Yuck.

I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike this week.   G and I are going to be riding 100km on Sunday for the 10th Annual Greg's Ride.   Hopefully it doesn't rain!   I also really need to get some speed work in for Scotia.  I've done a few good track workouts but nothing consistent.  Time to dial that in a bit.  Especially if I want to squeak into the 1:30's.

How was your week?   Are you a fan of pumpkin?

Got My Mojo Workin' - Part Two: Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon

When I originally started this blog 2 years ago it was to document my journey to run 3 half marathons in a year and cap it all off with a sub 1:40 half at the age of 40.   Since then it has evolved into so much more that I ever it expected it to.  Much like my running.  So it seems fitting that I entitle this post Got My Mojo Workin' - Part Two.  Part One happened two years ago at the same race.  At the time the thought of running a sub 1:30 was just crazy talk.  A pipe dream.

Fast forward to 2012 and the Chilly Half.  Out of nowhere I managed to run a 1:31 and change.  Then I started to think that maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to break 1:30.  I wasn't going to try to do it that year though.  At that point it was all about trying to qualify for Boston and then running NYCM in November.  But perhaps 2013 would be the year I'd give it a shot.

Once again the Chilly Half in March of this year proved to be a good testing ground for me.  It was my birthday so I was extra pumped to have a good day.  Amazingly I ran a 1:30:49.  I knew that if I trained hard over the summer that I'd definitely break 1:30 in the fall.  I had a P.B at Boston and then spent the summer racing my a$$ off in short course triathlons.  Testing my limits on a regular basis.  I can honestly say all that racing prepared me for this day.  Going all out for anywhere between 1h 15 and 1h 45 really builds your speed.  I definitely raced myself into really good shape.   My workouts leading up to this race had been way faster than my prescribed paces.  I was starting to see sub 4:00 min km's on a more regular basis.  THAT blew my mind.  The speedy guys in my run group helped to push me too.  After my last few track workouts, I knew that sub 1:30 was going to happen.  The question that I was now thinking was How Much?  I had a number in my head but wasn't sure how possible it would be.  We'd see how things panned out on race day.

Race morning was freezing cold.  I bundled myself up in layers and laced up my trusty Mizuno Wave Sayonaras.   G was driving the "race bus" loaded up with my friends David, Heather and Sue.  All of us were running the half.  It was Heather's first and Sue's first half in about 7 years.  We were all fairly nervous, with the exception of David.  It was just another race for him.   It was nice to have the company on race morning.  Normally it's just me and G.   The plan was to have G drop us off while he went to find parking.  He pulled onto Elizabeth street to drop us off and spotted a free parking spot.  SWEET.  He pulled in and we all piled out.  We were really early so we made our way down to the bag check and then opted to keep our warm clothes and hang around inside a nearby hotel for a while.  We ran into one of my run group pals, Steve so he joined our little posse.  8:00 am rolled around and I was starting to get antsy.   But of course there had to be a photo op before we headed out into the cold.

Steve, Heather and I weren't checking bags so we waited for Sue and David to check theirs.  Heather was on a mission to find an indoor bathroom so she ran up to the Metropolitan Hotel.  She came back about 5 minutes later and said that the bathroom was pretty much empty.  SWEET!  At that point I figured it was definitely going to be a good day because luck like that NEVER happens at a race like this.  Sue and I hustled over and were in and out in no time.   We followed the signs to the corrals and as we got to Nathan Phillips Square, G said he was going to head back to the car.  So I got my good luck hug and kiss and everyone else got hugs from G too.  I was really starting to get excited.  I didn't do a warm up run, which is a first for me but I figured if I did a bit of a dynamic warm up while I was in the corral, I'd be ok.

Sue and Heather were in different corrals so we said goodbye to them and made our way into the red corral.  Of course I made a beeline towards the front.  We ran into my friend Bob so we all stopped and chatted.  And of course took some more pics.   I also saw my friend Shannon and stopped to chat with him for a while. 

Freaking love this pic.  We're nerds.

David & I:  Totally freezing our a$$es off.

Steve and I were jonesing to get up to the front so we wished David and Bob good luck and made our way through the crowds.  I was trying to find the 1:30 pace bunny but I didn't see him at all.  I figured eventually he'd show up somewhere towards the front but he never did.  I saw another Team Running Free athlete, Mindy Fleming and wished her luck.  I figured she'd totally crush it.  She's super fast.  The national anthem started and I closed my eyes and smiled.  It was finally here.  I got to the start line in one piece.  I was happy and I was grateful.  The anthem ended and I opened my eyes and looked around at the crowd.  Everyone was buzzing.  The energy was palpable. I saw my friend Patrick and said hi.  Two seconds later, the gun went off.  I crossed the start line about 3 seconds later and it was game on.

My original race plan was to find the 1:30 pace bunny and stick with him until about 14km and if I felt good, I'd drop the hammer.  Well, that plan quickly went out the window when I didn't find the pace bunny.  I started hauling ass up University and immediately spiked my heart rate.  My lack of a warm up was felt in my legs for sure.   Steve was right behind me.  I dodged and weaved through the crowd to make my way closer to the curb lane.  As we rounded the bend a long haired fella past me and wished me luck on breaking 1:30.  Caught me completely by surprise.  I always forget that putting yourself out there in the social media world means that people that you've never met in real life may know exactly who you are.  I thanked him and tried to catch a glimpse of his bib so I could see his name but to no avail.  Shortly after that Roger Jonas, a fellow WTP'er passed me.  I tried to calm myself down but my legs didn't seem to want to slow down. 

As we turned onto Bloor I figured I'd try to slow myself down.  No go.  I didn't feel great when I slowed down.  My legs really just wanted to go.  Ok.  So be it.  I'd let them go and see how long they lasted.  Totally not the best way to race a half but it wouldn't be the first time I've done it.  It would be the first time I raced a half without my trusty fuel belt though so I had to make sure I got fluids at every aid station, which I did.  Made the timing of my gel taking a little more difficult than usual but I managed.  I hadn't been using much in the way of gels during my long runs but there was no way I was going to race without them.

We booked it along Bloor and I saw my first familiar face at the first aid station - Paige - a prop stylist I've worked with several times.  She saw me before I saw her.  Of course I got all excited and started woohoo-ing.  There was a lot of that on the course..  I kept my eyes peeled for one of my photographers, Vicky Lam, who said she was going to be cheering in the Annex but I didn't see her.  As we turned onto Bathurst I figured I'd see Christina and Michelle Clarke when I got down towards King.  Michelle had mentioned on IG that she would be down that way.  Sure enough, there they were cheering like crazy.  I had just passed the 6km mark and I glanced down at my watch to see 24 minutes and change.  Holy smokes, was I flying.  I kept telling myself I needed to slow down or else I was going to pay for it later.  Didn't happen.

I motored along, ticking off the km's.  I didn't know where Steve had gone and most of the time I was running solo.  There were usually a few people in front of me and a few people behind me.  I knew that once we hit Lakeshore and the Prince's Gates I'd probably see my friend Kim and her boyfriend Mike.  Mike is the Scotia Sign Guy.  I couldn't wait to see what he'd have this year.  Sure enough as we came up to the gates, I saw them.  He was dressed as a beer bottle with a sign that said "I know you want me".  Best. Sign.  EVER.  Totally made me laugh.  Of course that got a loud WOOHOO from me.   I took my first gel just before the aid station around the 8km mark.  I remember looking at my watch and seeing 33 minutes.  Wow.  I couldn't believe the pace I was running at.  I was curious to see what I'd hit the 10km mark in.

I started to notice some of the people around me and just up ahead of me was my long haired friend that wished me well at the start.  I made it my goal to keep him in my sights.  I glanced at my watch as I hit 10km 40:59.   Wow.  Just wow.   We were coming up to my favourite part of the race.  The turn around at Windermere.  I knew that my friend Kiki would be down there.  She said she'd be at the 12km mark.  Sure enough I spotted her jumping up and down and yelled woohoo and flipped my rock star fingers.  The crowds were dense along here.  It's always a really popular spectating spot.  I totally picked up the pace because of the people cheering.  I rounded the bend, looking forward to hitting the 13km mark and seeing my run group at the aid station.  Much to my surprise, I saw Kiki again.  She crossed the road to come and cheer on the other side of the road.  I high-fived her as I ran by. She yelled that Roger was just in front of me.  There was no way I was going to catch him, I was already pushing it. 

I could see the aid station coming up and I was trying to figure out what side of the road the WTP gang were on.  I spotted a blue shirt and saw Peter so I pointed and smiled.  I grabbed my Gatorade from him, then another from Al, whose hand I almost ripped off.  I woohoo-ed through this entire stretch.  I grabbed water from Monique and one other person.   It was so awesome to see them all.  Gave me a huge boost for the next little while (FYI, I ran a 4:01km through here!)

I was coming up to the Legion and figured I'd try to see if I could spot some other folks that I knew.  As I chugged my way up the hill I heard someone yell my name.  Sure enough it was Danielle.  She got a loud woohoo in return.  Apparently woohoo was the word of the day for me.  I kept scanning the crowd for people but didn't spot anyone else until just before Ontario Place when I saw Dawn from Shrinking Inkd Girl.  I hollered her name but she was totally in the zone.  We were coming up on the 16km mark.  I was starting to hurt a little bit.  My feet were really feeling it.  I definitely had a blister forming on my right foot.  It was throbbing.  Just ahead of me, I could see my long haired friend.  I was starting to close the gap.

We came back by the Prince's Gates and I saw Mike and Kim again.  I ran across the road to go and high five both of them and then ran back into the pack.  I was flying through here, buoyed by the cheers of the spectators.  I took half a gel as I could feel a bit of fatigue starting to build in my legs.  I started the mental math and the self talk.  I hit 18km and started to pass a couple of guys.  Only 3km left.  Less than 15 minutes.  There was a small pack of us coming up to the Lakeshore ramp.  I held on for dear life as we went up the ramp.  Any sort of incline at this point just made my legs hurt.  I figured the turn up Bay street was really going to suck.  I let my legs go on the slight downhill.  The self talk was in full effect at this point.  19km.  Only 2 more km.  Roughly 8 minutes at your current pace.  Hang on.  Part of me didn't care what I ran the last 2km in.  I knew I was going to break 1:30.  The competitor in me was having none of it.  This was a race and in a race, you give it your all until you hit the finish line.

I'm not going to sugar coat it.  Those last two km were ugly.  They really flipping hurt.  The last km in particular.  As soon as I came out from under the tunnel on Bay Street I felt like I was going to die.  I was running uphill and into a headwind.  A HEADWIND.  REALLY?!?  There had been no wind on the course all day and now this, in the last kilometre.   I remember glancing down at my watch and seeing 5:19km pace.  I gritted my teeth and tried to relax.  Then I thought "Just Smile...you are almost done."  So I smiled.  Amazingly I felt better.  More relaxed.  I watched the signs as they counted down the metres to go.  A girl in pink whizzed by me with about 500m left.  I had nothing.  No answer.  Another girl came up and was just behind me, running just off my shoulder.  I wasn't sure if she was drafting or just didn't have enough gas to pass me.  Whatever the case, her being right where she was flicked a switch in me and I started to pull ahead.

I was closing in on the 300m to mark when I felt the blister on my right foot pop.  I am pretty sure I grimaced when that happened.  It really hurt.  I faltered a bit but regained my stride and kept pushing.  My shadow and I were coming towards Queen Street.  The crowd was awesome.  So much noise!  Amazingly I heard someone yell PK!! and I looked up to see my friend Rick (Sue's husband) yelling and waving.  I waved back.  There was just over 100m left to go and my shadow was still on my shoulder.  I didn't have a whole lot left but I had enough to drop a mini hammer and pull away from her.  I came flying down the finishing chute, a big silly grin plastered on my face as I looked up at the clock.

1:27:11

I had done it.  I blew sub 1:30 right out of the water and I hit my goal.  I had only told 2 people what I thought I might be able to do at the race - G and my friend Caitlin.  In my head I had 1:27 something as to where I thought I'd finish.  Guess I really am getting to know my abilities.

As I walked into the finishing chute, I saw my long haired friend again.  We made eye contact and I went over to him and gave him a hug.  He congratulated me and I told him I kept him in my sights for as long as I could.  I tried to catch a glimpse of his bib once again and I think I saw Alexandre but I'm not 100% sure.  If you're reading this - THANK YOU for your words of encouragement and for being my "Bunny".   The finishing chute turned out to be quite the party place.  Shortly after I saw my long haired friend, I ran into Mindy who ran a smoking 1:23 and change, a P.B for her.  Then I ran into Christina and Michelle.  I have no clue how they managed to get into the finishing chute but they did.  Crazy ladies.  It was great to see them.  I saw my friend Pat who ran 15km to the start then proceeded to run a 1:22 and change.  The guy is a machine.  I grabbed my post race food and started to head out of the chute when I heard my name and saw my friend Stephanie.  I waited for her to come around and we walked into Nathan Philips Square together.  She had a great day as well, beating her previous time by a couple of minutes. 

We came out into Nathan Phillips Square and I saw G right away.  I went up to him and gave him a HUGE hug and a kiss.  I was still in shock.   He was beaming with pride and had his usual "I told you so grin" on his face.

We regrouped on the other side of the fence and waited for the rest of our contingent to come in.  Next up was David, who had a great day despite his lack of training (he ran a 1:38:36 and that was with a pit stop!).  Then I saw Carrie from my run group.  She came bounding over to give me a huge hug.  She had an AMAZING day, running a 1:40 and change taking over two minutes off her previous half P.B.  She was positively beaming.  Next up was Bob, who also had a P.B of 1:44:02.  Like Carrie, he took two minutes off his previous time.  I'm telling you, our little run group is filled with a whole lot of folks who push each other and work their butts off.   Shortly after Bob rolled in, we saw Sue.  Yup, you guessed it.  Another P.B.  1:47:26.  A whopping 6 minutes faster than her previous half time.  Shortly thereafter, Heather came in, grinning from ear to ear.  She ran a 1:55:38 for her first half marathon.  I was so proud and happy for her.  It was definitely a day for records to fall.  Both Lanni Marchant and Krista Duchene broke the Canadian Women's marathon record that had stood for the past 28 years.  Totally amazing.

While we were waiting for folks, G was checking the stats and informed me that I came in third in my AG and was the 21st woman overall.  I was completely overwhelmed with emotion.  I got really choked up.  Carrie gave me a huge hug while I blubbered away into her shoulder.  Never in a million years did I ever expect to be in that position.   I had hoped to make the top 5.  I didn't think I'd have a chance at the top 3.   Checking the results online today, I found out that I was actually the 3rd place Masters woman.  This whole Masters thing is really freaking awesome. Ironically this was also my 13th race of 2013.  Definitely a lucky 13!

Mmmm...TASTY!

When I got home I found out that 3 more of my friends all had great races as well.  My friend Kirsten beat her previous time by almost two minutes.  Danielle, whom I have been coaching, had a 1 minute P.B over her previous time at the same race and Krysten also ran a P.B.  Smiles all around. 

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.  The weather was spot on.  Sharing the start experience with my friends was amazing (thank you Heather, Sue, David, Bob & Steve).  Seeing G and his big I told you so smile totally made my day.  The best part was the feeling I had going into the race.  I believed in myself and my ability 100%.  There was no doubt.  I can't ever remember going into a race without that doubt.  I guess I've come a long way.  My friend Shannon's comment on my Facebook post summed it up nicely.  He said "You had a positively vibrant aura this morning."  I think my confidence has finally found it's way out and it really helped me shine yesterday.

Thanks again to everyone who has been following along here, on twitter and on instagram.  All your messages of support and encouragement mean so much to me.  As long as I'm able to move forward, I will continue to push my limits.  I hope that you will continue to follow along.

One last picture...as if there weren't enough in here already.   3 very happy finishers.  Woot woot!

Did you race this weekend?  How did it go?

Somebody Get Me a Chill Pill.

It's official.  I'm in bouncing off the wall mode.  4 more days till RACE DAY.  I was completely calm until late yesterday afternoon when I received my bib number (10682) and corral assignment (red).  As soon as I saw my email, I got butterflies. As Shrinking Inkd Girl said yesterday when she posted her bib number on Facebook - "S**t just got real".

Despite my nerves, I am really looking forward to this race.  The half is apparently sold out, which has never happened in the history of this race (as far as I know).   I have SO many friends and blends running, it's crazy.  Ben Kaplan from the National Post / Each Coach is running the marathon, Krysten at Darwinial Fail is running, Danielle at Work It, Wear It, Eat It is running - I've been coaching her a bit so I'm really excited to see how she does.  Dawn at Shrinking Inkd Girl is running it...plus there are a ton of twitter folks that I follow that are also running. 

I've been pretty good with following my list of things to get me through this week. I've been eating much better (no crap, although there have been a few pieces of dark chocolate) and the Thanksgiving bloating is starting to subside.  I am in a constant state of hunger though and it's a bit maddening.  I'm also still hemming and hawing about my race day attire because it now looks like it's going to be freezing (4 degrees at the start with the chance of rain - BOO).  I haven't been able to whittle down my playlist to 90 minutes either so I figure I'm just going to leave it as is.  It's just over two hours.  If anything it will give me a little extra variety.

I clearly have a few favourites. 

As for the Steer clear of the Beer....well...I had one on Tuesday night.  I took my friend Kiki out to see Two Door Cinema Club for her birthday and we went out to dinner first.  So of course I had a beer with dinner.  A Blanche du Chambly in case you're wondering.  I'd have to say that Tuesday was probably my one bad day so far this week.  Beer, a late night + standing / dancing = one very tired lady on Wednesday morning.  It was worth it though, the concert was awesome.  And, miraculously, the heel and foot pain I was experiencing magically disappeared when I got up yesterday morning. Must have been the dancing.

Balcony seats didn't stop us from dancing.

 My goal over the next few days is to get a couple of nights of good, solid sleep because I'm pretty sure I won't sleep well the night before the race.  My fancy new pillow is definitely helping me with that.  I was given the opportunity to test out and review a Dormeo Octaspring memory foam pillow a couple of weeks ago.  The review will be up tomorrow AND, the folks at IDEA Workshop have given me one to give away as well!  So check back tomorrow for the review and the giveaway details.

Speaking of giveaways, I'm trying to bump up my Facebook page numbers to 350 (baby steps people, baby steps).  I'm currently at 325.  When I get to 350, I'll do another giveaway that will include some Sweat pink laces and some of my favourite racing & recovery fuel (Can you say GU?).  So if you're reading along and you haven't liked my facebook page, go on over and click that button!  I'll be forever grateful. 

Who else is racing this weekend? 

7 Steps to Get Through Race Week

Well, it's finally here...the final countdown to #STWM 2013 a.k.a #sub130orbust is on.  That also means its taper week for me.  So, I'm going to do my best to heed my own advice this week and not lose my mind.   Everyone deals with race week a little differently.  Since I am the Queen of list making it would only make sense that I've come up with a little to do list for this week.  These are things that I try to do in the days leading up to the race. 

Get the Knots Out

I did my last long run yesterday and promptly went and suffered through treated myself to a 90 minute massage.   I always find it important to get a massage before and after my big races.  When going for a massage before your race, figure out if you want it to be a deep tissue massage (i.e get the knots out) or something a little lighter just to flush your legs out.  Given the beat down I've put on my legs over the last 4 weeks, I opted for the get the knots out version.  The deeper the massage, the longer the recovery time.  At least that's what I've learned over the years.  If you're going to go deep, give yourself a week to recover before race day.   If not, you could probably get away with doing it 3-4 days pre-race.   It all depends on how well you recover.  This is what has worked for me in the past so this is what I've stuck with.

Race Strategy & Visualization

Visualization is something I like to work on pretty much every day leading up to the race.  I picture myself in my race day outfit, getting into my corral at the start line.  I let the butterflies come and I breathe through them.  I practice calming myself down.  If it's a race I've done before, I visualize myself running along the course.  Remembering the landmarks.  Luckily I ran the re-vamped Scotia course last year so I know what to expect come race day.  For my goal races, I usually have some kind of game plan going in.  Sometimes I stick to it and sometimes I don't.  Given my goal this time around, I am definitely going to be sticking with my race plan.  I'm going to start with the 1:30 pace bunny and see how that feels.   If I feel good at the 13km mark, I will start to pick it up and try to hold 4:10's until the 18km mark.  If I'm still feeling alright at this point, I'm going to drop the hammer and go all out for the last 3km.  Obviously if I'm not feeling great, I'll stick with the 1:30 pace bunny and hold on for dear life.

Keep it Clean

I generally eat fairly clean about 80% of the time but during race week I make a concerted effort to stay away from the junk.  Especially any sort of refined foods and sweets.  I look at it this way:  Would you fill a Formula One car with low grade fuel and expect it to perform its best?  Of course not.  It takes premium quality fuel for it to perform its best.  Your body is like a race car.  Why on earth would you fill it with anything less than premium fuel?  Not only will your body perform better, you'll feel better and recover better as well.  It may also help boost your immune system, which is a huge bonus leading up to a race.  The last thing you want is to get sick just days out from your goal race.  After all that training, how much would that suck? 

Plan your race day outfit

I am the worst for this.  I will weather watch for days leading up to the race and hem an haw about what I'm going to wear and change my mind a million times (totally a woman's prerogative!).  Fall races in Ontario generally mean cooler temps and sometimes rain.   Last year, it was muggy and rainy.  I wore a t-shirt with my Running Free singlet over it, plus arm warmers and I was totally overdressed.  Of course I've checked the forecast already and right now the forecast is a high of 11, low of 5 with showers.  Awesome.  I think that this year I'm going to forgo the t-shirt and just wear my singlet and arm warmers.  I am hoping to be working hard enough that I won't be cold for too long. 


Make Your Race Day Playlist

Given the choice, I always chose to race with music.  I don't find it takes away from my racing experience or my concentration.  It's a soundtrack to my race experience.  Background noise that somehow manages to enhance my race experience.  I always enjoy making playlists, although I think this time around it's going to be tough.  I currently have about 3.5 hours of music on my shuffle that I'm going to have to whittle down to 1.5 hours.  Guess I have my work cut out for me.  Stay tuned this week to see what I've decided on.

Steer Clear of the Beer

Those of you that follow me on Instagram know that I love a good beer.   I don't over indulge, I usually just have one, maybe two.  I find that sometimes, if I have two, it can affect my sleep.  I end up tossing and turning and not sleeping well and we all know how important a good nights sleep is, especially two days before a race.   Some people have no problem drinking beer the day before a race.  I am not one of those people so I choose to avoid it for at least 3 days before the race.  Afterwards is an entirely different story.  I have an amazing bottle of Pumpkin Ale waiting in the fridge for me for after the race next week.

No New Foods!

I am a creature of habit in terms of my diet and my body knows that.  I try to feed it things that its used to eating in the days leading up to the race.  The last thing you want is any sort of stomach upset or digestive issues because you've eaten something you're not used to eating.  Race morning jitters are more than enough to keep me in the bathroom, let alone eating something I'm not used to the day before the race. 

Focusing on these things in my "down time" this week, should help me deal with the tapermadness crazies that will inevitably start to creep in sometime in the next few days.  Lucky for G he is away for work this week so he won't be around to have to deal with it.  I think he planned it that way.   Smart fella.  Maybe I should just save it all up for Friday night when he gets home and unleash it then, ha ha. 

Truth be told,  as of this moment, I'm feeling pretty excited about next Sundays race.   Let's see how I'm doing come Friday.


Do you have anything you'd add to this list? 

Friday Favourites & My Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream Recipe!

TGIF!  Another weekend is almost here and I couldn't be happier.   It's been a productive week here in B&BT land in all aspects of my life.  I'm getting my training in, work is actually manageable (i.e I'm not a big ball of stress) and I've been eating and sleeping really well.  I think the sleeping has something to do with my new pillow but that will be a separate blog post that will involve a giveaway - wheee!

This week has been a-ma-zing weather wise here in the Big Smoke so that brings me to my first Friday Favourite (try saying *that* 5 times fast).

1)  Running in shorts and a tank top on October 1st, sweating buckets and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes post run.  I can't remember the last time that happened....if ever.   Last nights run was also a warm one.  No tank top but I did wear shorts and a very light weight t-shirt and was soaked when I got back.   I also had a nice frizzy fro from the humidity in the air.  Yes, humidity in October.  Amazing.

2)  Finally catching up on some of my favourite blogs and discovering some new ones!  I loved this post from Ty at Seeking Boston Marathon and this post from Debbie at Live from La Quinta.  Thanks to Debbie's post I've gotten some great blogging tips and discovered some new food blogs that I can't wait to check out further.

3)  Perfecting my chocolate cherry "ice cream".  I am a sucker for ice cream, however it doesn't always play nice with my tummy.  Both on the inside and out, ha ha.  I've been messing around with this for a while, trying to get it right, but it was missing that creamy texture that only real ice cream has.  I finally figured it out.  Well, actually my pal Peter did so I have to give him props for the idea.  Are you ready?  It's AVOCADO.  I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner as I've used avocado for a pudding base before.    The best part about this recipe is that you don't need an ice cream maker.  You don't even have to freeze this, you can eat it straight away.  Unless of course you prefer a firmer texture.  I think this is more like a gelato or soft serve ice cream in terms of texture.  Anyway, here is the recipe for my latest addiction.  I'll be linking up with Kierston over at Candy Fit today too so make sure you stop by her blog to see what she's cooked up for #RecipeFriday.

Chocolate Cherry "Ice Cream"

1 cup of Frozen Sweet Dark Cherries (I use Presidents Choice)  The cherries need to be frozen in order for this to work. 
1/2 of an avocado
2 tbsp of unsweetened almond milk OR if you want it to be really decadent, 2 tbsp of full fat coconut milk (the stuff in the cans!)
1/2 - 2/3 of a scoop of chocolate protein powder (depending on how chocolatey you want it).

You could also try using cocoa powder and a powdered sweetener of your choice.  Too much liquid and the consistency won't be right.

I think this next step is one of the reasons I get a really nice consistency with this.  I use an immersion blender to blend this all up.  I've tried it in a regular blender and it doesn't turn out well with these quantities.  I'd probably have to double it at least to get it to work in a regular blender.  If you are lucky enough to have a Vitamix or a Blendtech it may work well in there but you'll probably have to add ice.

I put everything into my blender cup, press down firmly on the mixture and turn the blender on.  I almost use the blender like a giant spoon and mix everything as I'm blending.  It's almost like it aerates the mixture so it's creamy and smooth, much like a gelato.

If you want to get fancy, you could spoon it out into a bowl, garnish with some chocolate shavings and enjoy.  Or, you could do what I do and eat it right out of the blender container.  One less dish to clean....

 

What were your favourite things about this week?

The Young Guns + My Last Big Run

This has been a very active weekend.  Although I think every weekend is a fairly active weekend in our household.  It's just what we do.  This weekend started with us having friends over for dinner on Friday night.  We shared a lot of laughs and a lot of wine.  I'll admit I had a wee bit of a hangover when I got up on Saturday morning.  I almost bailed on our ride but figured some time outside in the fresh fall air would do me good. 

We were going to be riding with our friend Jordan, who had been at our place for dinner the night before, as well as Adam who is G's friends son.  Adam is all of 16 years old but has taken a keen interest in cycling.  Adam's dad mentioned this to G a while ago and G pointed them in the direction of our local bike shop, Wheels of Bloor.  The guys there fitted him on a decent entry level bike and got him into a good pair of cycling shoes.  G has given him some of his old cycling jerseys and has been bringing him along on some of the long rides he's been doing.  Last week they went out and did a route that was almost 100km.  It was Adam's longest ride ever and of course, being 16 years old, he had a ton of energy even after the ride.  G told me afterwards that he called Tom (Adam's dad) and told him that he thinks that Adam has the potential to be a great rider.  So since we were riding again this weekend, he emailed Adam and asked if he wanted to come along.  Apparently Adam was bouncing off the ceiling at being able to come out with G again.  Knowing G, he will continue to help Adam grow as a cyclist in any way he can.  I rode with Adam for a while and he definitely has the potential to be a strong cyclist.  He rode away from me on a climb like I was standing still.  I honestly think that us old fogies held him back a bit.  We talked gear, Top Gear and music (he also loves Rush) for quite some time.  He's a great kid and I'm happy that we can help him get those miles in on his beloved bike. 

It was a perfect day for a ride.  The fall colours are starting to come out.  I suspect in a couple of weeks everything will be lit in a blaze of colour.  Just in time for Thanksgiving! 

That's Adam speeding away from the Old Guys

When we got home, our nephew called to tell us that he made the Richmond Hill A Team for baseball.  This is a big. freaking. deal.  Drew is an incredibly talented baseball player. His previous team was coached by two dads that had their kids on the team and they played favourites so Drew never really got many opportunities to play infield or pitch.  Drew is an excellent all rounder who really understands the game.  He's smart and he's got the size and physical ability.  He's 13 years old, and already 5ft 9 with size 13 feet.  Every time I see him, he's grown another inch.  Seriously.  I don't know what my sister in law is feeding him but he keeps growing like a weed. Anyway, he didn't have a very good experience with this team so his parents decided it was time to move him elsewhere.  He went to Richmond Hill and went through all 5 rounds of try outs.  There was room on the AA team and the A team.   He made the A team and was totally ecstatic.  As were we.  This was a HUGE relief for him and a fantastic opportunity for a fresh start.  We weren't able to have kids of our own so it's nice to be able to be supportive and involved in the lives of these two budding athletes.  Both of them make us proud!

Today was my last big run before Scotia before I start to scale back my mileage.  My original plan was to get up really early and do my 24km before my 8:00 am swim.  Insane, I know.  My alarm went off just before 5:00 am.  I actually got dressed and went downstairs to eat breakfast.  Shortly after I ate, I decided that I really didn't want to go and run 24km in the dark so something was going to have to give.  I opted to bail on my swim.  I went back upstairs, put my pj's back on and slept for another 2.5 hours!  I must have needed it or something, ha ha.  I got up, got re-dressed and ate a Lara Bar, then headed out the door.  My legs felt very heavy when I started.   That's what happens when 1) you haven't been on your road bike in weeks and 2) you go out and ride a hilly 45km.  But whatever, sometimes it takes me a little while to get into a groove.  I figured by about 6-7km I'd be ok.  Sure enough around the 6km mark, I started to feel like I had warmed up.  My pace started to drop.  I was also boiling hot.  I opted for a short sleeve t-shirt when what I should have worn was a tank top.  After 15 years there are time where I still can't seem to get it right.  Oh well.  The run was tough.  Good but tough.  My legs were tired at the start and continued to feel that way throughout.  The last 4km were the toughest as I was running into the wind.  I also decided to push the pace the last few km so I had to dig a little deeper than normal.  It was all about running on tired legs today.  I guess you could say I nailed that, ha ha.  I made it home in just under 2 hours, one sore, tired, sweaty mess.  There is definitely going to be an epsom salt bath in my immediate future.   I am starting to get excited about Scotia.  I feel like these last few weeks of hard training are starting to pay off.  Look out sub 1:30, I'm coming for you!

How has your weekend been?  Did you get out and enjoy the great fall weather?

9 Weeks Till Scotia & Yet Another Race

Yesterday I had a nice little reminder that my second A race is only 9 weeks away.  9. freaking. weeks.  Gah.   I had a bit of a panic attack when I saw that email but quickly told myself to chill out.  Normally I like to give myself 10-12 weeks to ramp up for a half, depending on my fitness level but when I sat down an actually thought about it, I realized that I was just fine.  I've been getting good solid long runs in so distance wise I'm good.  The one thing I haven't really been doing is focused speed work.  Although I guess you could count all my racing as speed work to a certain extent.  I definitely think it's helped but I don't have solid proof.   So, to test things out, I'm going to do another race.  Yup, as if my dance card wasn't full enough already.  I've got my last tri of the season this Sunday and I'm going to follow that up with a 10km on Sept 8th.  I'm going to do the MEC 10km and use that as a race pace test.  I'll do a good warm up, probably at least 20-25 minutes, race the 10km and then do a good cool down for about 15 minutes.   That should get me about 17km for the day give or take.  The race is only $15 to enter and it's not too far from my house so that makes it a no brainer.   The outcome will determine how much track time I'm going to have to put in between then and Oct 20th, ha ha.   I'm not going to kid myself, breaking 1:30 is going to be hard and it's going to hurt.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit scared.  But if I was close to doing it in March this year, I think it's within my reach. 

Who else is training for a fall race?  If so which one? 

A Running Start: Scotiabank Toronto Half Marathon Race Report

Sunday marked my last long run before The NYC Marathon.  I was scheduled to do 35km.  I was also supposed to run the Scotiabank Half so the plan was to run to the start and then do a 3km cool down after the race.  I ended up running with a friend of a friend who happens to live in my neighbourhood and who is also doing NYC.  Lucky for me she also decided that running to the start line would be the best way to get her mileage in.  We met up at 6:45 am in the pouring rain at Parklawn and Lakeshore and made our way east along the Lakeshore.  We ran at a very comfortable pace (5:30's or so) and my legs felt great.  They should have as I hardly ran at all this week.  I've been re-habbing my achilles and I've had both my treatments on days where I run with my group.  My Tuesday treatment left my achilles and calf quite sore.  She had tried like crazy to release my rather stiff ankle to no avail.  I think it finally released on my run because all it did was crack.  I had to stop at 6.5km in because it was affecting my gait.  And it was so loud it was grossing me out.  My Thursday treatment was acupuncture and my calf was so tender by the end of the day I figured there was no point in running.  I'd just rest and hopefully be good to go come Sunday. I felt better on Friday and thought I'd run when I got home but after the day I had, a glass of wine was what happened instead of a run.  Oh well.
I also spent over 5 hours on my feet on the Saturday wandering around the Annual Fall Bike Sale.  I had vowed not to be there for more than 2 hours but G was hell bent on buying a new mountain bike.  So 5.5 hours later, I walked out with a whole new cycling wardrobe and G with a new bike.  Smiles all around.

The run to the start was a lot of fun despite the rain.  Jackie had me in stitches the entire time.  It was really nice to have the company.   We made it to the Eaton's Centre and ducked inside to use the washrooms.  Unfortunately a large number of racers also thought that would be a good idea so we went to the other end of the Eaton's Centre only to be greeted by a similar line up.  Hmm.  It was almost 8:00 am and the race started at 8:30.  I knew that getting into our starting corral was going to be a pain in the ass so we opted to duck out and try our luck at the Tim Horton's around the corner.  Ran in there and conveniently their washrooms were Out of Service.  Uh-huh.  More like they just didn't want a bunch of runners messing it up.  Luckily for me Jackie knew her way around Ryerson so we ran over there hoping that the doors were unlocked.  They were.  Jackpot!!  We had our own clean bathroom with toilet paper!  Oh the joy!

I had called G when we were in the Eaton's Centre and as I had predicted he was not anywhere near us yet.  As we were finishing up at Ryerson he called me.  He wasn't too far from us but I didn't want to risk waiting for him.  It was 8:10 and we still had to run over to Dundas and University so I told him not to worry and that I'd look for him at the start if I could.  We made our way over to the start line and it was complete chaos.  The way they have the corrals set up is awful.  I understand why they do it the way they do but it really causes a lot of unnecessary stress.  There was ONE entrance into the red corral and there isn't really any other way to get to the corrals other than along the next to non existent sidewalk.  I was climbing over planters and jumping into the crowd of runners.  I finally found the entrance to the red corral.  Thank goodness they actually had people screening the runners for the correct bib or else I imagine I would have missed the start.  I wedged my way in and pushed through the crowds towards the front.  I still had my hideous jacket on because I was unable to meet up with G due to him being held up in traffic (no comment).  At that point I don't think it mattered.  I was totally soaked.  I took it off, hung it up on the fence and went back into the crowd.  The body heat of the crowd kept me warm.  In fact I thought I might actually be a bit overdressed as I could feel sweat dripping down my chest.   Nothing I could do about it then as I didn't feel like tossing my nice New Balance shirt.  This is where seeing G would have been handy.  But I digress.

The rain had stopped when we were making our way over to the start line so I hoped that was going to be the last of it.  I didn't even want to see what my feet looked like at that point, never mind adding another 21.1km to it.  As I stood there with thousands of other runners, it started misting.  Ugh.  Then the 1:30 pace bunny made his way into the crowd and stood right in front of me.  Uh-oh.  Sure enough, I started to get crowded by the folks that wanted to run that pace.  I knew that was going to be too fast for me so I tried to get out of the way a bit.  Not an easy feat when everyone is jammed in like sardines.   The announcements started, they played the anthem and the countdown began.

And then we were off!

Of course I started running far too quickly because my legs felt great.  I was nice and warmed up from my 11.66km run to the start.  To say I got a little carried away by the crowds was an understatement.  At about 3km I finally told myself to "chill the eff out".  I didn't have much of a choice because we were going uptown at this point.  The route for this years race was re-jigged in an effort to make it more spectator friendly and give runners a better feel for the city.  In that regards I think it was quite successful.   I enjoyed running through "The Village" and along Bloor Street, through Yorkville.  Crowd support was a bit sporadic but the weather wasn't great so I wasn't too surprised.  (it had started raining again shortly after the race started).  If the weather cooperates next year, I suspect that the route through The Village will get a lot more entertaining.   We motored along Bloor and then made our way down St. George through the U of T area which is quite nice.  We then hit College which was just plain weird to run on.  I was trying to avoid the streetcar tracks and all the bumps in the road.  It's not the nicest road to run on.   We were at about 5km in when I thought "I don't want to do this".  I was tired, it was raining and my achilles was just starting to ache.  I already had almost 17km in my legs at that point.  I wasn't sure I could face another 16.   But I'm not a quitter so I decided I needed to focus on something else.  I had to banish those negative thoughts.  I started checking out the people around me.  I noticed a guy in front of me wearing a t-shirt that said "I am Chuck Norris" and from the back I would have agreed.  I stuck behind him for a while.  We turned on to Bathurst and I happened to look over and see G standing there.  I smiled and waved and he blew me a kiss.  I caught it and blew one back.  I know, get the barf bucket.  I was bummed that I didn't get to see him at the start and he knew that.  That little gesture lifted me up and I ended up catching Chuck Norris.  I gotta say, this guy could have been his younger twin.  It was uncanny.

We were coming towards Lakeshore and Bathurst and I knew that my run group was manning one of the water stations down there.  Sure enough as I came barreling down road I could see them.  I saw them all before they saw me.  I started cheering and grabbed a cup of Gatorade from Steve and they all started cheering and yelling.  That totally buoyed me along.   By this point the pain in my achilles was a constant dull ache.  I hoped that that would be the worst of it.  I tried not to think about it.

We headed west along Lakeshore and I was bracing myself for the wind.  It's usually pretty brutal along there but it surprisingly wasn't too bad.  There were a few windy patches so I just made sure I slowed down and drafted where I could.  I chugged along Lakeshore at a decent pace.  My legs were starting to feel a bit rough.  I knew the 10km mark wasn't too far off.  Sure enough I crossed it a few minutes later in 44:15.  Not too shabby.  We were heading towards my favourite part of the race.  We usually head west along Lakeshore to the turnaround at Windermere which is always jam packed.  This year they changed it and had the turnaround just past Parkside.  The change and the unpleasant weather didn't deter the spectators.  They were out in full force.  I knew my friends Kiki and Bob were going to be around here somewhere so I kept my eyes peeled for them.  Sure enough I saw them a few minutes later right at the turn around point.  I saw them before they saw me.  There was lots of cheering and I even busted out the Rock On Fingers.  Luckily Bob snapped a pic as I made what seemed like a 180 degree turn.  Apparently a few people wiped out here.  Not cool.

Some people take their racing far too seriously.

 I was actually feeling pretty good through here.  That changed about 1km later.  My achilles really started to hurt.  I tried to ignore it but it got so bad at points that it affected my gait.  I decided it was time to distract myself again so I started watching the oncoming crowd of runners to see if I could spot some familiar faces.  I had hoped to see fellow running blogger Krysten before the race to wish her luck (she was running her first marathon!) but that didn't happen so I kept scanning the crowd for her.  I also tried desperately to spot my friend Kirsten and my RMT David who were both racing.  I suspected that David was probably not far behind me as he was aiming for a sub 1:40.  I was also supposed to find him at the start but that didn't happen either.  The constant stream of people was actually quite hypnotic.  I know I slowed down for a while.  In fact, I got so distracted that I actually missed taking my gel by almost 5 minutes.  And I wondered why I was hurting so much.  Well other than the fact that I had about 27km on my legs at that point.
The next few kms were really tough.  I remember looking up at one point and seeing the 16km mark and thinking ok, just 25 more minutes.  That's it.  Just hang on for 25 more minutes.   At 18km I really started to hurt.  My quads had started to cramp slightly.  I was coming up on a woman in a Longboat Runners singlet.  As I got closer I realized it was the same woman I caught and passed at 20km of the Oakville Half.  Crazy.  I got up behind her as we ran up the Spadina off ramp.  My legs did not want to work.  She started to pull away from me on the downhill.  I caught her again on the flat and we were running almost side by side.  We ran along to Bay Street and as I came under the bridge towards Front Street, she started to pull away.  I was running for all I was worth.  I hurt so much.  I glanced at my watch.  I had hoped to beat my time from last year.  It was going to be close.  I pushed hard towards Nathan Phillips Square.  I actually managed to catch a woman as we passed Queen Street.  I was meters away.  My entire body hurt and my lungs felt like they were going to burst.  I heard the announcer call my name as I came down the finishing chute.  I glanced at my watch:  1:34:15.  I had beaten last years time by just over 30 seconds.   With an 11+ km warm up and an injured achilles,  I'll take it. 

I was sore for two days post race.  Today is actually the first day where I'm not going down the stairs sideways.  My achilles was very sore on Sunday and for some of Monday.  I had some work done on it yesterday and now it feels a lot better.  It's still fairly tight but I'm stretching it every day and doing my prescribed calf raises.  I don't suspect it will be fully healed when I do NYC but at least I know that once I'm done, that's it for my season.  It's time to put the feet up and rest.  Two marathons in one year is too much for this body.

Did you race this past weekend?  If so, what race did you do?

If you did Scotia, what did you think of the new course?  I really liked the changes.  I think it will give out of town runners a good feel for the city.