Today I had an appointment with an Athletic Therapist to discuss my hips and knees and to give me some options on how to correct them.

Well it turned out that one of my legs is shorter than the other so he fixed that somehow, it seemed like he stretched it back to normal but I am sure there was more to it than just that. My hips can get better and stronger with more stretching (I am so bad for it)plus some core training, but my knees are in a world of their own, apparently there isn't much I can do about it. My problem is that my knees pronate and it is just how my body is, there is nothing I can do or change to make them straight. I am ok with that though since with my "deformed" body, I was still able to make it to Boston.

So now this guy will pass on the info to another guy who will make up a care training schedule that will work with my running training schedule and then hopefully by April I will be in more shape and be able to run a better marathon.....pain free.

It has been quite a while since my last blog on here. I wasn't really training for much but now that my more serious training is starting I figured why not start this up again.

Since my last post back in June I have continued running here and there running a few races here and there and also getting a few more PB's. I ran a 10K on Canada Day with a PB of 46:44 (I still can't break that 45min!). In September I ran a 1:41:42 Half Marathon, another PB for me and then in October I ran another 10K in support of the Ottawa Hospital. Since then I have just been going out for some runs with friends.

We have been quite lucky this year with our weather and the lack of snow that are paths for running are all still open. Today I ended up running 22K, not too sure how that came to be since just last week it was only up to 18K. I felt good going out, I kept my pace up but was quite tired coming back especially through the Experimental farm where it is all open space and like running through a wind tunnel. My fingers even froze up on the way back, I guess it is time to get out some more winter things. In the end I ran the 22K in 2hrs and 11min.

My full training will start in January and I will also be starting with some more core training. There are a few more races I have in mind to help with my training leading up to Boston. Some I will race and some I will just run.....maybe.

I ran a 10k race this morning, I haven't run a 10k in a long time but during most of my training for the marathon I was able to run 10k tempos in about 50 min. I had a goal time of 45min for this one. Showing up for the race I was happy to see many of my fellow runners from the RR and met up with one to do a bit of a warm up and start together. The weather seemed really good for a run before it started, it was a cloudy day a bit cool, but as the race started you could feel the humidity hit and by 2k I was already dripping wet. As with all my 10k races I got a stitch early on, about 2k in and it was very difficult to get it to go away, even as I sit here a few hours after the run I can still feel it a bit. My friend and I joked after the run that we would have rather ran the marathon again over running this. Hee hee well maybe not.

I did not reach my goal time of 45 and instead finished with a 47:58. Here are my stats for this run.

I was so surprised and a little shocked to see that I came in 1st out of all the females in my age category and the 5th woman overall. For coming in first I got a nice little prize, a New Balance Mini Vent sports watch. Very exciting!

Shoes Shoes Shoes

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/confidential/sneaker_video.html

Wednesday night I showed up at the Running Room and didn't see too many of my usual running partners so I ended up going out with this other group of guys. They are also Boston Qualifiers so I thought I would try it out, however, they were all men, most of them have been to Boston a couple of times already, and they have completed it with a sub 3 hour. So keeping up with them was a challenge but I had to so I wouldn't get lost or left behind. I basically ran an 11km run in under an hour and it wasn't even a race.

I do have a couple of 10km races coming up in the next couple of weeks before I go on vacation. Just because I go on vacation it does not mean that I am not going to run though, as I am planning to run a 1/2 marathon in September. My serious training won't start until December/January and I am considering joining this other group out in Barrhaven that has an actual Boston group. I have also started more cross training as part of my overall training hoping it will help in the end.

Now I am off to enjoy this summerlike day.

I DID IT!

Yes that is right I did it......I qualified for Boston!!! I am so excited!

Last Sunday was the National Capital Race Weekend in Ottawa and they had so many people running many different distances from 2km all the way up to 42.2km. I had a good weekend leading up to Sunday, I had an early pasta lunch for the carbs and then an early meat and potato dinner for the protein. I went to bed early to be sure I got a good night's sleep and sleep I did, I don't think I've ever slept so well in a long time. I had all my gear ready to go so I wouldn't forget anything.

Sunday morning I got up early and made myself some oatmeal with egg whites for some extra protein, got dressed and headed out the door by 5:50am for a 7 o'clock race start. I met up with a lot of the people from my running group and got together in the coloured corral system. I was not feeling nervous at all before the race started which is so not like me as I usually get butterflies when I go out for our LSD. I was very calm and ready for the day to start. The gun went off and we all started it was already pretty warm when we took off which I didn't notice until later.

I felt so good during the first half, it was so nice to see so many other "crazy" people up at that time of day just to cheer us other "crazy" people on, it gave me a high and allowed me to keep going. The second half was more difficult for many reasons; 1 I was already tired from running half of it; 2 the sun was getting hotter and there was less shade to hide from it; 3 the wind was always coming at me. It seemed there were more hills in the second half or it could have just been my brain going a little coo-coo. I didn't notice any discomfort until around the 25km mark, which is pretty good for me and I will have to thank it on all the ART I had done leading up to the race. After the last water station was where I was having a lot of trouble keeping focused and keeping on my pace. The crowds nearing the finish line were tremendous and I tried to feed off of them, at about 700m left to go was where I started feeling a little faint so I took some more water and pushed it right to the end knowing that at that point I had about 4 minutes to get to the finish line to qualify. Passing that finish line was overwhelming and I literally had nothing left in me, I had to waddle over to get some water, a foil blanket and of course.....my medal! Which will be engraved soon.

I waited for some of my friends to come through the finishing chute to see how they did and felt, after I found a few of them we went through for some post race food (not a good idea for me) and then we were off to find our families.

Here are my stats and split times:

Placed 770/3577 overall; 113/1343 females; placed 30/224 females 30-34 years

10k split 51:19; 21.1k split 1:47:31; 30k split 2:33:57

Chip time 3:39:44; Gun time 3:40:46

By the way did I tell you I qualified for Boston?

NYC Marathon

Well today I got the email from the NYRR and once I saw that word "Unfortunately" I knew it was not the year for me. I know of a few other people who did get accepted though.

Now I have to figure out which other race I should do instead. There is the Fall Colours in Cumberland, the Army Half or even the Toronto Waterfront again. Who knows, all I know is that I will finish this Marathon first and see what happens. Maybe my next race will be Boston.

Here's to hoping.

I am now done with all my long runs, my hills and my speed work all I have left is running a few more days at race pace. Now if I could only figure out what my race pace is. I have a few ideas but I am not completly sure and I probably won't know exactly until the gun goes off on race day.

My first option is taking it really easy and enjoy the day, but I know, and those that know me know that that won't happen as I am way too competitive for that.
My next option is trying to beat my last marathon time of 3:57:41 and hoping to finish with a 3:50:00 time this year (probably my best option).
And finally my last and most desired option is going all out and attempting to qualify for Boston with a finish time of 3:40:00

I will try out some different things on my next 3 runs at RP like maybe starting out slower for the first little bit and gradually increasing my speed as I go along. I know that I will run with walk breaks but I am not too sure if I will do that every 10 mins or every 15 mins.

As long as I sleep well the night before and eat well I should be good. Plus I also know there are a lot of people out there hoping for me to do my best and supporting me in anyway possible.

I have just finished my last LSD run of 32km, it was a nice route organized by the Running Room where we all got together at the Kanata store and made our way to the Bank St. one. They had some water stations along the way and opened some places for bathroom breaks if it was needed. We were also entered in for some door prizes although no one I knew won any of them. I met up with all the guys from my group at Bank St and took a bus out to Kanata to get started, there were so many people it almost felt like it was a race so it made it hard to keep my group on our slow pace for the run, I did have to yell at them a few times, but in a nice way ;) I think the hardest part of the run was coming up from the Ottawa River beside the locks and Parliament Hill, it was a very big and steep hill and it was near the end so we were already very tired to begin with. I finished the run feeling good and enjoyed some nice snacks and Gatorade inside the store at the end. Then a few of us from our group went out for a nice brunch and most importantly COFFEE!

I now have 3 weeks left before the race and I can now taper down to more reasonable distances plus a couple of runs done at my race pace (I'm still not too sure what it will be yet). My only problem is that Ultimate starts the weekend before the race and it will be hard for me to not play but I do have to remember the investment I have put into this race and how badly I want to go to Boston.

Need New Shoes?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1170253/The-painful-truth-trainers-Are-expensive-running-shoes-waste-money.html

I think I would still prefer to wear shoes.

Speed

Out with the hills and in with the speed. We had our talk about speed training and so we are basically supposed to run as fast as we can. Easy yes? Sounds like it, but we have to do that for 2 1/2 laps (1km) of the track. We warmed up by running about 2.5km to the track and then stretched a bit and then the horses were off. I started off first but could hear everyone's feet behind me. I tried hard not to let anyone pass me (I'm not competitive ;) ) but I also knew I didn't want to injure myself. I was trying to go at a 4:42 pace as that is what is recommended for a 3:45 marathon finish. After lap 1 I ended up running it at a 4:00 pace. The 2nd lap (and last) I ended up running at a 3:52. So maybe finishing the marathon with a 3:45 is in my reach.

Now I am off to heat, roll and stretch.

Race Route

I ran the first half of the marathon route. It started downtown at City Hall and took us through Hull and back, then along Sussex past the PM Harper's house and through Rockcliffe. There are so many nice houses in along Rockcliffe including the Governor General's, it was a little confusing as the roads twisted and turned so much but we found our way through there. I didn't get lost until we came out of there and the map said to go one way while everyone else said to go the other way. Slight detour. Then we went along Beechwood past the cemetary where the soldiers are laid to rest and back along Sussex to City Hall again. It was a nice route once we got back to the Ontario side, and I felt pretty good during it.

I think that things are going to go well for me, at least I keep telling myself that, but I feel more confident and positive after each run. Only a few more long runs left now.

I have reached the 32 km mark of my training, we have been building it up to this for a couple of months now and it has finally arrived. I am quite happy that it happened on the long Easter weekend because then it gave us the option of running on Saturday morning and still having a weekend to enjoy. It started off really cool and windy but as we progressed I felt better about wearing my capris and wind vest, I even shed my vest when we stopped at City Hall.

I have stopped taking Advil before my runs and I have had no problems so far, not too much pain either. I know which gels I like although I am still trying out some new ones, it seems like any GU ones are preferred and the tastes agree with me too. I am also taking my eLoad capsules regularly and I find they help me and prevent any stitches in my side that I used to get frequently.

Next week we have a shorter run of 23 km and so we are meeting downtown to run the 1/2 Marathon route of the race. I hope this sunny weather stays for a while longer. Wed is my last night of hills (10) I am looking forward to that.

Another 29km down. Today was a pretty tough run, we did the same route as last week but in reverse so we basically had the wind towards us for most of the second half of our run. It was especially strong as we were going along the Ottawa river. I felt like I was going backwards at times. Once we got back onto the main roads it was better. I tried something new for this week's run, I did not take any Advil before running as was advised and I was fine so maybe I took them before for psychological reasons. Who knows really, I also didn't have as much pain as last week's run, it may be because of the ART or just that my body is getting used to running more distances. I also used the heating pad and foam roller as part of my stretching this afternoon.

Next week is Easter so my group and I are going out for a run on Saturday morning instead of Sunday, we are running our first 32km. I have never ran that far in my training but I trust everything will go well and hope that the weather will be on our side that day.

ART

I went for my first ART session this evening, I learned a lot and realized I am not bad off as I thought I was. The pain in my knee is not so bad and can easily be resolved, I may make some changes in the future on my running technique but overall I should be good to go. I plan to go back in about a week to see how my LSD goes this weekend (another 29). I thought it was going to be a very painful procedure from what a lot of people have said but I didn't find it to be that way, it was uncomfortable but not so painful maybe I just have a a good threshold of pain.

I chose not to run tonight but will make it up over the next few days, although I probably should have since it was such a nice day 13°C but I wasn't too sure if would be a good idea. Oh and I plan to not take Advil before my runs anymore as it is not a good idea but if I have to I will take Tylenol after or during. I was told.

Let's see how this weekend's run goes :)

I am almost done with the hill section of my training, tonight we ran 8 repeats and I can now say that I will miss them when we are finished. I know that I have said earlier that I am not fond of them but the same thing happened last year, they grew on me. I am not feeling as strong lately but I think that has to do with all the increases in our distances, we are running another 29km this Sunday and then we are up to 32km before we decrease a bit and then work our way up again. Tomorrow I am going for my massage so hopefully he can "fix" me and then I can have a pain free run on Sunday. We shall see.

29 KM

Today we ran our first 29km, for some it was the furthest they have ever run at one time. I wasn't feeling that great going in to the run knowing that it was going to rain. When we got started it was just a light mist and then it seemed to have stopped for a while. My knee was giving me some discomfort near the end but I got through it and did lots of stretching after. We ran along the Ottawa River and took a little break at City Hall before returning along tha canal. The rain didn't down pour until about the last km of our run which we seemed to have sped up to either avoid the rain, finish the run, or get to the chocolate milk. Yum! I made some raisin muffins for all those that ran, we did miss a few people from our group this week as they were off in Hamilton for the Around the Bay 30km race. I am sure they all did well and will have lots to tell us when they come back.

Someone decided to send me this, this is how fast I need to run to qualify for Boston.

3:40:00 Marathon

1km 0:04:54
3km 0:15:22
5km 0:25:49
7km 0:36:17
9km 0:46:45
11km 0:57:12
13km 1:07:40
15km 1:18:08
17km 1:28:35
19km 1:39:03
21.1km 1:50:00
23km 1:59:20
25km 2:09:48
27km 2:20:15
29km 2:30:43
31km 2:41:11
33km 2:51:38
35km 3:02:06
37km 3:12:34
39km 3:23:01
41km 3:33:29
42.2km 3:40:00

7 Hills!!!!

I did it and felt ok. I still don't enjoy them but I am learning that I don't have a choice and to suck it up. I have started getting some pain in my knee again and the surrounding area so today I made an appointment to get an ART massage. I have talked with a few of my fellow runners about this and it seems like it would be a good idea since in the next few weeks my mileage increases tremendously and it will help to loosen a lot and help me to keep going. He may even be able to give me some pointers on how to improve. If all goes well then I may only need to see him for another massage a few weeks before my actual race.

I have never had an ART before so I am not too sure what to expect, some people have told me how good it was and others have told me they were in so much pain. I know that it is not a candles and serenading music kind of massage, and I know that the place I am going to is registered massage therapists plus he is also a triathlon so he knows about running and all of that. I will let you know if I survive the massage or not, but first I have to run a 29km LSD and some more hills :(

I have officially signed up for the New York City Marathon!! It is a lottery registration so I may not be picked to go this year, I will find out mid May. I will keep you posted though.

26 KM

I have just completed my 26km run this morning. I was able to keep my group under a bit more control than before and we stayed at a 6:30 pace. Which is really good since lately, especially near the end of our runs, we are usually at a 6:00 pace.

Today was an amazing day for a run, the sun was shining, the paths were mostly clear and I finally got to wear my capris! Yeah!!! The best part of my run was wearing those capris. I felt good through most of it, I always get a bit tired near the end but this week we ran to City Hall and back and so we got a nice little pee and refill break. That makes a big difference in running these long distances. I know I won't have that luxury during the race but I will take it if I can now.

After the run there was a nice treat waiting for us when we got back to the store, Chocolate Milk and Fig Newtons! Then it was off to breakfast for some protein and carbs, one of the good things about running a marathon is all the eating you can do. I am sure I will probably be hungry again in about 2 hours or so. Next week will be a short long distance of 19km!

More Hills

We are now up to 5 repeats of hills, although when we ran them on Wednesday night it felt like we did much more than that. We (Ottawa) were in the middle of a huge wind storm, wind gusts were up to about 70 km/h and it certainly had an effect on our training. The wind was definitely against us, but not in the way we wanted it to be, it would have been great if it was against us when we were going down the hills for our recovery but no it had to be full on us as we are trying to go up these steep hills 5 times. It felt at times as if I was going backwards and at other times I almost thought I would fly away like Mary Poppins except I didn't have an umbrella.

I don't like hills to start with and this is definitely not going to help me to start liking them, in fact I dislike them even more now. Maybe next week will be different because of the lack of wind but I highly doubt it.

Hills

Today I started my hill part of training, actually it was supposed to be last night but I ended up going to a hockey game so I missed out on doing it with my group. I did get up early this morning to go out with a friend, we did 4 hills repeat and I have to say I do not like doing them anymore than the last time. Hills is not one of my favourite things to do, however, when we get to speed work I actually miss the hills. Funny how that is. Today was a pretty cold day but it helped having someone else out there with me. Now I have to stretch, relax and rest before going out again tonight to run a 10km Tempo. Hopefully I won't be in too much pain tomorrow.

I think I have to start taking a more substantial breakfast before my long runs, right now I am eating some oatmeal but I find myself getting hungrier earlier in my run then before. Any ideas?

Today was a bad day for me. I didn't really feel like running for one thing although it was a nice day, just cold (-24°C ). We didn't really know where to turn around on our route so we went further than we were supposed to by about 3 km (we were supposed to run 19km). I wasn't quite prepared for it and started to get a stitch near the end of the run, it was so bad that I had to walk it in at that point, I am in some pain now too. I will be missing the first of our Hills nights so I am going to have to make it up on my own, we start with 4 hills. Hopefully that day will go better than today.

Winterman 2009

I tried something new today, there was a winter race in Ottawa which corresponds with Winterlude. I chose to run the Marathon but had some friends help me out, we each ran 10km with the final guy running 12.2km. It was pretty good with the organization aspect considering it was the first ever Winterman race. Our team was called "Suck It Up Buttercup" and we did very well. I started the relay and finished my 10km at 52 min then I passed the timing chip to the next runner and so on until all four of us finished. Our final time was 3:39:57 we came in 6th out of 22 other teams. Apart from the slush and snow it was an overall good day and it was nice to cheer on our teammates. I think we may try it again.

Today was our Marathon clinic night so we got a little talk before heading out to do our 6km Tempo run. Our topic was on Nutrition and it was interesting to see how much we can eat. Sure we still have to watch what types of food to eat but because of all the running we get to eat Carbs! A lot of it will burn off during our runs. The Nutritionist who came in to speak to us will be back closer to our race day to help us through the last few weeks of our training and what to expect for the day of the race.

Our 6km went well, most of the snow and ice were cleared off, the only thing we had to worry about was the red lights. It seems like we always get stuck at the red lights which doesn't really help with our Tempo runs as we are suppose to run slightly faster than normal and straight through. But we all got through it and could all still carry on a conversation at least with a few breaths in between words. We will be back out tomorrow for our 10km Tempo run, it is supposed to be a nice 9°C so I am looking forward to the beginning stages of un-layering my clothes. I may even wear a ball cap instead of a toque. How crazy am I?

Today I ran a 13km LSD and it was quite hard for me. My foot is still giving me some pain but the tough cookie that I am I chose to ignore it. I know that is not what I am suppose to do but I am planning on getting shoes soon. I even got a 10% discount coupon given to me from a friend thank you friend, so I just have to make the time to go. My feet are saying please.

Anyway this run was not only hard because of my feet but it was actually a nice day yesterday almost 0°C and so some of the snow and ice started to melt. Usually I would just love it because after almost 6months of running in the cold and dealing with windchills the sounds of Spring make me smile. Then the horror came the next day when there were puddles everywhere. Now when I say puddles I don't mean those nice little ones you can hop over, these were massive lake size ones that were the same width of the sidewalks and so there was no where else to go but in. So not only were my feet not too happy about the shoe issue but now they were cold, wet and we were only about 3 km into the run, I had another 10km of these.......lakes? Forget Spring....when is Summer?

I have an off day tomorrow (yeah) so I will be back on Tuesday.

Another blog already???? I know that's what you all are saying. I had such a nice morning today and thought I would share it all with you.I went out for a run at about 11 and the sun started to peek out of the clouds. The air was crisp and fresh and the best part.......ready?......no snow on the sidewalks. I don't think I can really remember the last time I could run on pavement for a whole 8 km stretch. I really liked the feeling of Spring approaching and hope soon I can shed my hat, mitts and coat while I run. I also felt pain on the tops of my feet but that just reminds me that it is time to get some new shoes. Oh Running Room. Also with all this warm weather and decrease of snow makes it a little harder for me to keep on my pace. I was suppose to be running an 8km steady run at about a 6:00 pace but for some reason I couldn't get that slow, I did more like a tempo run.I have decided to alter my training schedule a bit and do most of my training for a 4 hour finish and the rest for a 3:45 hour finish. I am not sure if this will help or hinder me but I don't think I am quite ready for a 3:45 and more advanced (a little) than the 4 hour.

I haven't been keeping up with my running routine as much I should be. I know it is early on and I shouldn't be skipping runs already but it seems whenever I am suppose to do my run we get another 20cm of snow, plus we had our bus strike so it would take me a long time to get home or to run club (sometimes too long that I miss run club). Running outside on my own is not really safe either and the treadmill is broken. Although now I don't have much of an excuse to miss because I am off work for 3 weeks.