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.