It's Here!

I leave for Boston in the morning and I can't wait to get there. I'll be back after the race with my jacket!

1 Week to Go

I am now down to my last week of training so really there is not much I can do to change anything now, whatever happens happens. I have had a very good tapering week and hoping this next week goes along the same path. My leg is feeling much better and I can now run as I had before the injury, maybe it is because I went from 6 days of training to 5 or the extra rest I took when I was injured, either way I am just glad that I am able to run comfortably again.

I have started planning what I will take with me to Boston, I am so afraid that I may forget something or that my luggage will get lost during my flight. So I am making sure I have a backup plan that I bring in my carry-on. I'm sure everything will be fine but just in case.

Today I ran 15k at my projected race pace, I found it hard to start this run but I got into a comfortable stride not too far into the run and so averaged a 4:50 pace. It felt good and easy so I may try to keep that pace for the marathon. I have 3 different goals for the finish of this marathon 1. To feel good at the finish, well I'd like that no matter what but just finishing would be a great feeling. 2. Requalifying, meaning finishing with a 3:40, I think this is very likely as long as there is no snow squalls although I have done some training through those. 3. Finishing with a 3:30 time but I am not expecting that. It would be great to have that time, don't get me wrong, but it would have to be one of those perfect days. We'll see.

April's Here

Only 16 days left before I begin the Boston Marathon!

Thursday I think I had one of my hardest workout's yet, another clinic night another speed night. We went off to the track as usual but this time we had to do a continuous 10k run around the track and after every 400m we changed our pace. I started with my marathon pace which ended up being about 4:40 then after 400m went to my 10k pace which was a 4:30 and continued that for the whole 10k (about 25 laps). I was really tired after that, but like a lot of my workouts I was very glad to have it done.

Saturday I went out and ran my final hills workout I went back to my original hill because after running ATB and running a hilly 12k on Wednesday I wanted to take it a bit easier, but it still seemed hard. I averaged a 4:45 pace up and down each of the 6 hills I did. Again, happy to be done. I ran a total of 10.8k which included my warm up and cool down.

I am now officially tapering and I am really excited for the next couple of weeks and arriving in Boston for the first time. I got my package in the mail which had my official bib number and all the other info I will need for the big day.

My total for the week is 71.84k

Around the Bay

I went to Hamilton for the weekend to run a 30k race, my first 30k race, but it was still part of my training. After having the past couple of weeks with my calf pain I wasn't really sure how this would play out. I rested a lot more the past week and continued to ice and stretch it. After my Thursday night's speed workout, which I finally did all of, I felt much better and I wasn't planning to run anymore until race day.

I have heard a lot of different stories about running Around the Bay (btw it is older than Boston), and I was given lots of little hints about what to expect at each mark along the route. All of the guys I run with were also doing the race so even though it was not at home it did make it a lot easier and gave it that homey feel to it. A lot of them, myself included, took a bus trip there that was organized by one of the local running groups from Ottawa. The bus trip included the ride there and back plus a hotel room for the night. It was nice to not have to worry about too much and to just focus on the run.

My plan for this race was to feel good at the end and to try and maintain a 5min pace throughout. I was feeling really good the day of the race and excited to be there. I was under that pace for the first little while thinking I will slow down once I got out of the crowds of people, but the pace I was at, which was about a 4:30-4:40 for the first half, felt natural for me and I didn't really notice until the 10k mark when they posted the split time up along the route. One problem I had along the route was not taking water at the first 2 water stations, had I known that after those first 2 ones there wouldn't have been one for about 8k I probably would have taken some, but I got over it and decided to stop at each one after that, even if it was just a sip. The other part I wasn't prepared for was "the hill", now this isn't just any hill, this hill goes on and on and then on some more. I really had to say a few choice words going up that hill to just get me to the top. This hill is also at the 26k mark of the 30k run, so you're not quite as energetic as you were when you first started. Once I finally got to the top I had to walk a bit to refocus myself and to breath again. I loved coming into Copps Coliseum I think that was one of my favourite parts not only because of the crowds but also because the finish line was right there. I can't say I would do it again (I may) but I am glad I ran it. Oh and I got a silver medal for finishing in under 2:30:00

Here are my stats from this race:
2:22:21 with a 4:46 pace
639 out of 5702 runners
19/371 females 30-34 years
88/2684 females
46:11 10k split
1:10:22 15k split
1:34:41 20k split

Coming Back

Today's run went pretty well. I didn't run the last 2 days and have been nursing my calf, I wanted to take it easy and see how it went today. I started off with a 14.5k loop and it didn't feel too bad at the end of it. It was still quite sore and tender before starting and for the first couple of kms, but as the run went on it seem to get used to being used again. I figured that instead of doing another 14.5k loop I would do a 10k loop instead so not to push it too far and to end on a good note. I think the final 10k was just right and I was even able to bring my pace up to about a 5:10. I am going to continue icing, heating and stretching this week and maybe try another run on Tuesday, but things are finally looking better and I may actually race at Around the Bay in Hamilton this weekend (fingers crossed).

I ran a total of 25.01k today.

Setback

This has been one of worst weeks of training yet. My lower left calf has not gotten better and almost feels like it has gotten worse over the week, I finally called my RMT guy for an ART and after that it felt better but then I decided I could try and do my speed work. Oops maybe not. I was only able to do about half of the workout and had to stop. I've only been able to run at most 15k on any night and even that seemed to be pushing it. I'm very frustrated with this whole situation and the fact that I can't get my runs in for the week. I didn't run yesterday or today, but I plan to tomorrow morning, I'm supposed to run 29k but I'll have to see how everything is feeling at that time. In the mean time I've been icing it a lot (still can't quite do the whole ice bath thing) and I've been stretching it as well as the hips as that could have played a part in it too. I'll let you know how my run goes tomorrow but for now all I can do is rest.

On a positive note I found out my bib number for the Marathon and I now know that I am definitely in Wave 2 so I won't be starting the race until 10:30. Things on that end are falling into place, now to just get back to the training.

My total for the week is a sad 55.83k

Wet Wet Wet and Cold

This has probably been one of the worst days I've had to run so far. Sure there's no more snow but after running today I almost wished it was snow instead of the rain and wind we had. It was a "lovely" 1 degree when we started but with the windchill it was more like -6, and yes there was wind, for most of the run we were running into the 40km/h wind and don't forget to add the rain (at times it felt like ice pellets). Plus we changed our clocks forward so we lost an hour of sleep. I bet you all wished you were here, don't you?.

My left calf was quite tight/sore again today which didn't help with everything else I had to deal with, so I was not much in the conversational mood. I just wanted to get this 26k run done and out of the way. Luckily we did our weekly loops again because my calf was not feeling better after the first 14k loop so I stopped there. I am going to be icing and stretching it for the next while and hope that it will finally feel better for good. I have a feeling the problem is my shoes, I think they have died and forgot to tell me so I had to find out this way. I will be using my newer shoes from now on and see how that goes. I already have tomorrow off and I'm not sure how much I'll be doing this week, just planning to take it one day at a time.

March 7-13

It has been a while and the countdown is now at 39 days until Boston, everything seems to be happening so fast and I am now starting to feel the pressure, but trying to keep it under control.

Sunday was another 32k run, my last 32k run, as I will be racing a 30k race in Hamilton in a couple of weeks, well maybe racing we will see how I'm feeling that day. I ran 5k before meeting up with the guys who were planning on running 26-29k that day, it ended up being closer to 29k so I ended up going 34k. It was a great day for a run, nice and sunny and some of them even had shorts on, not me yet. We did the same loops as last week and I felt much better running this day then the last time I ran my 32k, so things are going well it seems.

Tuesday I attempted to run in Richmond because the days are getting warmer and I see a lot more sunlight at the end of the day. However, after running my first of three 4k tempos it got pretty dark and the street I was running on didn't have much lighting so I chose to run the other two on the treadmill. It was so hard to run tempo on a treadmill and I kept thinking I was going to fall off the end, so I'm going to have to find another way to get these runs done. I did run my 3x 4k at a 4:40 pace for a total of 13.8k

Wednesday, another awesome day for running, I had a 15k run on my schedule which I ran at a 5:05 pace. I just had to keep an eye out for all the potholes on the roads but other than that another warmish day.

Thursday I did my 2.8k warm up then went on to the speed portion of 5x 1600m at a 4:10 pace and the 4x 400m at a 4:05 pace for a total of 14.27k. My right calf was feeling really tight during and after that work out. I couldn't walk much the next day so I skipped my easy Friday run and did a lot of stretching and heating hoping I could still run my hills on Saturday.

Saturday I went out to a new area to run my hills, I wasn't sure how it would go because of all the pain I had the day before so my plan was to just do what I could and not push myself too hard (yeah right). I felt fine in the morning so I was optimistic it would go well. I did end up running all 7 of the hills I needed to do, this hill was a longer and steeper one than the ones I had ran previously. The first 2 times going up the hill was really hard but once I got those done it didn't seem so bad. The weather was not as nice as I was hoping, there was no sun, a lot of overcast clouds and the wind was so strong that at times I felt I was going the wrong way, but I pushed on and got it done. It feels so much more rewarding when I finish some of my harder runs. I ran a total of 13.5k which included my warm up and cool down, and I followed up with a lot of stretching. I do not want to get injured now with all the work I've put into my training.

My total for the week is 90.75k

March 2-6

Tuesday I got a bit of a break from my training I didn't have quite as much distance to do. I ran 13.2k by running a 2k warm up at the dome followed by 3x 3k tempo that I was able to maintain at a 4:40 pace and then another 2k for my cool down. It felt pretty good this night and I always enjoy the coffee we have afterwards even though I do get home late.

Wednesday I had a much harder night, somehow I was going to run 19k at a moderate pace (which I learned is in-between tempo and race pace). I ended up running about 4k with the kids in the stroller before heading to the RR to run the other 15k. I am so thankful that the days are getting longer and even though I don't start running until 6pm it is still somewhat light out. I ended the night with 19.1k at a 4:50 pace. I felt good during the run and afterwards but I am starting to feel a bit more tired from running 6 days a week and not spending as much time with my bed.

Thursday = Speedday. It was finally a nice and clear day to do my speed workout. I started as usual running 2.7k as my warm up then began my 4x 1600m repeats at a 4:10 pace with 2 min rests in-between each then 4x 800m at a 4:05 pace followed by a 1.8k cool down and some yummy treats for a total of 14.36k

Friday I didn't really feel up to running so I took the night off.

Saturday I ran a 7.5k route around Richmond before heading out for the day, it was such a nice day for a run and I'm so glad to see the sun shining again. Spring must certainly be on it's way!

My total for the week is 83.43k

Feb 28

Sunday.....another long run today. It was so nice and warm today I brought my vest along with me for the run, but in the end chose a jacket, it was still a bit damp. I met the guys as we were all doing the same distance this week 29k. We started with a 14.6k loop which was slow at first because there was quite a bit of ice on the sidewalks, by the time we started our 2nd loop of 14.6k the ice had melted and it was a lot easier to run it. The weather was so nice (0 degrees and going up to 2 degrees) and it really started to feel like Spring was finally coming. I finished my 29.3k run in 2:46:44 averaging a 5:42 pace. I felt really good at the end and not too much discomfort in the knees.

Now I am home relaxing and getting ready to watch Canada beat those Americans at our game, for GOLD!

My total distance for February ended up being 333.19k

Week of Feb 23-27

Tuesday at the dome I ran a 2k warm up then 3x 4k tempo intervals at a 4:40 pace and just ended it there for a total of 14.1k

Wednesday I ran 3k on my own then joined the guys for another 14k for a total of 17.1k at a 5:05 pace. It was a pretty wet night and I found myself stepping in many puddles, I was really glad to have brought an extra pair of socks and shoes for after. Although it didn't help my toes much, I am now the proud owner of a blood blister on the bottom of my littlest toe. Also I was informed on how fast I should be doing my Wednesday runs and I am apparently slower than I should be so I am going to try and pick it up for next week.

Thursday night was definitely not how I expected it to go. It is a speed night but with all the snow on the ground and the ice pellets in the face it made it quite difficult to keep my pace where it should have been. I ended up doing 2.7k warm up, then 3x 1600m at a 4:40 pace, 2x 1200m at a 4:40 pace, 2x 800m at a 4:40 pace and 2x 400m at a 4:35 pace then a 1.8k cool down for a total of 14.1k

Friday I ran a nice relaxed 7k run on the treadmill to allow my other very wet shoes to dry out a bit more.

Saturday (today) I ran my 2.4k warm up to the hills and then did 5x hills at a 4:45 pace followed by a 2.5k cool down for a total of 10k. The puddles and slush were still out on the sidewalks and there were so many cars out this morning it made it hard to keep an average pace for the whole hill. I also usually leave my waterbelt at the bottom of the hill so when I finish my up and down I can have a little break and some water. After the second hill it disappeared, I looked around for it and couldn't find it so I figured that when I was going up the hill someone swiped it. I was hoping that maybe while I went up again it might come back to me. It will be missed.

My total for the week is 83.41k

Update

The Winterman race had a few flaws with the timing chips and so a few adjustments were made, so my final standings are as follows now:

1:39:45 final time PB
27th overall
3rd out of 113 women (Bronze)
1st out of 17 women 30-34

My prize for this race is now being sent out to me through the mail. Very exciting!

Winterman 2010

Today was the 2nd annual Winterman race. Last year I did a 10k relay with 3 other people, this year I wanted to do a Half Marathon on my own. Leading up to the race day I was watching the weather and when they said that it would be -1 and no snow I was so happy, so when I woke up this morning and looked out the window I was not too pleased to see the snow falling. I was feeling good but a little nervous for this race, not sure why. My plan for this race was to race it but if I wasn't feeling it I wouldn't be disappointed with the results. It was cold and windy and snowy, all the things you don't want to see on race day.

The course was definitely a hilly route, I don't think we ever ran on any flat part for the whole course. It was a series of 5k loops up and down hills plus an extra loop of 1.1k. My main goal for this race was to get a negative split, it wasn't too hard since all the racers started at the same time so I had no choice but to go slow for the first km trying to get through the crowds of people. Then I got into my rhythm and kept on a decent pace for the run I found it rewarding to pass people on the uphill.

My stats for the race are as follows:
1:39:45 finishing time (4:44 pace) Another PB for me too
28 out of 253 competitors
4 out of 113 women
2 out of 17 women (30-34 years)

Week of Feb 16-19

Tuesday I had a hard workout at the dome which consisted of a 2k warm up, then 3x 3k tempo intervals at a 4:45 pace, then a 2k cool down for a total of 14.1k (I like the .1).

Wednesday was supposed to be an easy run but I was really not feeling too good that day. I was supposed to run 15k which shouldn't have been so hard for me but something was off and my body was telling me so. I somehow managed to do 14.5k at a 5:12 pace, (.5 off my distance but my body was done at 13k).

Thursday aka "fun night", I got an email saying we were to do 12x 800m sprint repeats so I was definitely not looking forward to it. When I got there I was told to do half the workout (which I did at a 4:15 pace) since I was signed up for a half marathon race on the weekend, it certainly made my day. My total distance was 9.5k which included my warm up and cool down.

Friday was a recovery run which I wanted to relax while doing it to make sure I was ok for the race on Sunday. I ran on the treadmill, not my most favourite way to run, but at least I still got it done. I ran 7k at a 5:45 pace.

My total for this week is 77.9k

Feb 14

32K!!!! Already? I can't believe I'm at this distance already. This is the highest distance I'll be doing during my training although I do have to do it again plus a 30k race next month. I arrived at the RR early to get 8k in before meeting up with everyone else, they were doing 24k so I had to make up an extra few. It was another very windy day and so we decided to do 2 12k loops again, unfortunately, I stopped my Garmin at one of the traffic lights and forgot to turn it back on. I didn't notice it until about 3k later, I was not very happy with that. I had a hard second loop of the 12k as my knee was started to give me some discomfort, not sure if it was from the distance or the greasy roads to run on. I did do the 32k even though my Garmin says otherwise and I am glad it is over with......for now. I will be doing a lot of stretching as my knee is still hurting and I'm finding it hard to go from sitting to standing and stairs are not my friend right now either. I will have Monday off and maybe that will help before the next big week I have lined up.

Week of Feb 9-13

Here is another weekly blog of my training this past week.

Tuesday, another dome night, I started with a 2k warm up then on to the fun stuff. I did 3x 2k tempo repeats at a 4:30 pace with about 1 minute rest in between each one, then I did a nice 2k cool down.

Wednesday I had 18k on my schedule so I tried to run 4k before run club with the kids in the stroller, not an easy thing to do especially when they have their snowsuits on, so I ended up doing 3.5k, followed by a 14k hilly route with the guys from the RR. It was a nice night for the run but a lot of ice on the paths plus not much lighting made it a little more of a cautious run at times. It felt awesome running up the hills and then down right away. I finished the night with 18.1k at a 5:10 pace.

Thursday was another speed night, the hardest one yet and I don't think they'll get much easier as we keep going. I did my 2.8k warm up then 5x 1600m speed at 4:10 pace and 4x 400m speed at 3:55 pace, then 1.8k cool down for a total of 14.3k. Some how the 400m speeds seem much harder to do then the 1600m ones.

Friday I watched the Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

Saturday I did a 2.3k warm up then 5x hill repeats at a 5:00 pace and a 2.5k cool down for a total of 10k.

My total for this week is 80.7k

Feb 7

This has been one of my longest runs in a while so I was not sure how I would feel after it. I started by doing 4k on my own as my companions were running 24k total and so I tacked on at the beginning so I would have 28k in the end. I didn't want to see them finish and then have to run more. We ended up doing two 12k loops so we could fuel up at the store if we needed to, it was a tough run as we had to start out each loop in a huge wind but it was nice to get it done and have an easier run at the end of it. Surprisingly I felt fine, not too much discomfort at least nothing that a little stretching couldn't help, but overall a good day for a run.

Week of Feb 2-6

It has been another long week of work even though I only worked 4 days this week, but at least my routine is back to normal, well almost. My running routine is still on pace with what I am supposed to be doing.

Tuesday I headed to the dome again to do my tempo repeats, it was definitely a tough run this time, I started with a 2k warm up followed by 2x 5k tempo pace (4:45) and then a 2.5k cool down. A total of 14.5k for the night. It was a tough workout but it always feels good when you're done.

Wednesday was a slower steady run, it was nice and mild out so it made it for a nice night for a run. I did a 15.3k run and I was able to slow it down even more than the week before for an average pace of 5:07. As soon as I finished my run a huge snow squall came by and you can't believe how happy I was to have finished.

Thursday I had another clinic night with K2J, on the schedule for tonight was 3-4x 1600m, 2x 800m and 4x 400m. So I started with a 2.7k warm up, then began my 1600m at a 4:20 pace, I figured 3 was good enough for me so then I began my 2x 800 at a 4:10 pace, but when I finished my first one I was told that I should have done 4 of the 1600m instead of 3 so I had to make it up by running an extra 800m sprint. Oops. Then I did my 4x 400m at a 4:00 pace, followed by a little 1.8k cool down for a total of 13.4k

I skipped my Friday run and went to see Blind Side (great movie). I kind of needed a break since I had a bit of a fall on Thursday and didn't really feel up to it. No big injuries from the fall just a scraped up hand and I think some bruising near my ribs.

Saturday is supposed to be my hills day but because of the fall I didn't want to push it too hard as my ribs and abs were still pretty sore. So instead I met up with the guys and ran at the dome a nice 8.6k at a 6:00 pace, it felt fine until the last couple of laps so I ended it there.

My total for this week is 71.8k

Feb 1st

Today is my off day from running, but I didn't run my 7-9k on Friday because of the windchill and I have been feeling a little guilty for missing it that I decided to run it today. I actually wasn't even going to run it today either but when I saw a post on facebook saying that some of the gang went out to run their 10k I figured I better do mine too, gotta keep up with them. No competitiveness or anything.

I decided to run on the treadmill, one of the places I hate the most to run, mainly because it is in miles and I never know what pace I should be at. I did figure out how to change it to kms but I still had the pace issue. It felt like I was going at a good pace but it turns out it is the slowest I have run, so I don't know what to make of it. Well I guess I got the run in so I should be happy for that no matter how fast or slow I went. I did my 10k at a 6:30 pace (according to the treadmill).

Jan 31

Sunday is usually my long run day but since I did my 62.5 laps/25k yesterday I went out for some hills this morning. I wasn't feeling that good today I had a stitch on my right side for most of the night and during my run as well. I did a nice slow 2.3k warm up at about a 6:00 pace then I started my hills and could really feel the stitch coming back again. I tried some deep breathing but it didn't help too much. So my 5x hills were a bit slower than last week but I did want to get through it. I did each hill at about a 5:30 pace. I took a longer break between each one hoping that it might help with my situation, but no. I made my cool down a bit longer mainly so I could finish the run with a 10k run so my cool down was 2.7k at a 6:00 pace. I was so happy to finish that run.

My total distance for January ended up being 267.74k Which is pretty much running from Ottawa to Trenton, Ontario.

Jan 30

I am switching up my runs the next few days so instead of doing my LSD on Sunday I opted for going with the guys to the dome today to do it. The only thing was that we had to be at the dome by 7am because we had to be out of there by 9 so that the Ottawa Lions Club could use it. My LSD was a 25k run, that is 25k of going around and around and around the 400m track, a total of 62.5 laps. You probably thought I was crazy for running out in the snow squall the other day, well I think this is a new level of crazy. I don't think I will do my LSDs there too many times but it was nice to run in shorts and no wind. Always some positive in there.

I did go over my limit of the 2 hours we had there but I was so close to finishing that I figured I would keep going until they kicked me out, that came when I had 2.5 laps left, fortunately they said it was okay to finish since I was close to the end of it anyway. My average pace for the day was a 5:41 which is actually where it should be.....for once. The best part of an early morning run is the breakfast afterwards especially the coffee, for some reason it always tastes better after a run.

My total distance for the week is 90.67k (mainly because of 2 LSD runs in the week).

Jan 29

Today I am supposed to run an easy 7-9k but looking outside and seeing everyone bundled up and then checking the weather network and seeing that is -19 with a windchill of -33 I kind of decided that the risk of frostbite was not worth it and so I stayed inside my nice warm house. I may try to make it up on Monday but we will see how cold it is then.

Jan 28

Another speed workout down and only 80 days left now until Boston, it's going to go by so fast I just hope I'll be ready, yet calm for the race.

Tonight's work out I was dreading most of the day, I didn't really want to go out in the cold, snow and wind that I heard howling from the inside of the nice warm house. At times during the day when I looked out the window I couldn't even see the backyard fence, and I had to run in this? I did go, but also wore many many layers. It wasn't as bad as I thought. The 2.8k warm up was actually nice, that was because I was running with the wind to my back for it. Once we got to the Transitway for our speed intervals I noticed the wind, I had to do 3x 1600m which I did at a 4:30 pace then 4x 800m which I did at a 4:20 pace. Then I finished it off with a 1.8k cool down all into the wind. The worst was the return trip of the speed which was head on into the wind, at times I thought I was going backwards, and I had to do this how many times? CRAZY!!!!

I changed my stride a bit as per my coach's request and I did notice a change it was a bit more tiring for my legs yet a more relaxed feel (if that makes any sense) he says that if I continue to do it this way then I should be able to use up less energy during the race and go a little faster, I just have to get used to running this new way. It felt good so I'll try it out for the next few runs and take it from there.

My total distance for tonight was 12.77k

Jan 27

A nice 13k run tonight. It wasn't that cold either, a bit damp but still pretty warm for a January night. The roads and sidewalks were pretty good until near the end of the run when the temperature started to drop and everything got a little greasy. I did almost the same route as last week minus 2k. Near the end I had to go up a hill and that's just where the wind was coming after me and a dog also decided to say hello, at least that was at the end of the run. I was still a bit fast during this run, it's hard to run slower but I did slow it down a bit from last week, my pace tonight was a 5:05. I will get to the right pace one of these days.

Jan 26

Dome night! Tonight's workout consisted of tempo intervals, so I started with a 2k warm up (5 laps) then started my real workout. I ran 4k (10 laps) at a 4:30-4:45 pace and then I ran that 4k again, followed by a 2k cool down for a total of 12.5k. I decided to run my tempo a bit faster than last week and I could tell, it wasn't as easy and comfortable as before which is a good thing, I'm supposed to be going a bit harder than my LSD and steady pace but not as fast as a speed pace. I will try to keep it in that range the next time too. Overall I felt good at the end of it and there were cookies!

Jan 24

Today was a long run day, usually I meet up with my RR companions but this time they were all in the Ottawa Hypothermic Half. I considered running it too as a bandit but I needed to get 27km in and after running the race I don't know how willing I would be to do the extra distance. So instead I decided to run here in Richmond, the night before I found a route via Google maps and thought I would try it out. The route consisted of a lot of farmlands around me so there wasn't a whole lot to see but it helped because there wasn't a whole lot of traffic either. I saw some horses, cows and heard a rooster crowing at one point too. My main fear was if there were any coyotes out in the bushes. I was thinking about what I would do if I did run into one, I'm not sure if I could out run one, luckily I didn't have to deal with it.....this time.

I at least remembered to bring my Ipod with me (something I forgot when doing my hills yesterday), so Stuart McLean kept me company for my over 2 1/2 hour trek. He is a Canadian writer and usually broadcasts his stories on the local CBC radio station, he also has them available as podcasts and so I download them weekly. He is quite funny with his Dave and Morley stories and I actually laughed out loud a couple of times, it was nice to be distracted from my run and taken to another place. Next week hopefully I will be back with my running guys because even though it is nice to run on my own (and powerful too knowing I can do it), it is always nicer to have some company.

My total for today was 27.05km at a 5:44 pace.

Week of Jan 19-23

I know I haven't been posting as I would have liked but I don't have the time to run at night and then write about it when some nights I get home pretty late. This week should be better since I have the week off from work. So instead I will give you my weekly update this time.

Tuesday I ran at the Dome again where I started with a 3k warm up and then continued with 2 sets of 3k at my tempo pace which this time was a 5min/km then did another 3k cool down for a total of 12.75k It felt good but I may have to change my pace a bit I'm still playing around with that.

Wednesday I had a 15k run in my schedule so I went to the RR after work and was happy to have a running partner for that night as 1. it is dark at night still and 2. I don't know too many 15k routes but we worked it out and took a few extra loops where we needed to and it came to exactly 15k, we averaged a 5:09 pace, I think I may have to slow that one down a bit because the next night is another hard run.

Thursday I have my clinic night with K2J and we do our hard speed workouts. I did a nice 3k warm up followed by 2x 1600m speed at a 4:30 pace, then a 5 min break. Next was 4x 800m speed at a 4:30 pace, then another 5 min break. Finally 4x 400m speed at a 4:15 pace and then a nice 2k cool down. Like I said a hard run night.

Friday I was supposed to do a 7-9k easy run. I got home and didn't feel like going outside for a run so I decided to run on the treadmill instead. I have no idea what equivalency a treadmill is for pace compared to my Garmin, so I played around with it a bit and even looked on google for some ideas but in the end I found I forgot to switch it over to km from miles and so I ended up running 11.26k at a 5:15 pace. Oops!

Now we are on to Saturday. I started my hills today, found a nice hill that is almost exactly 500m going up and going down. I also found a good place to park that is far enough to give me a decent warm up and cool down. I ran a 2.2k warm up then 4x hills (up and down continuously) at a 5:15 pace then a 2.3k cool down for a total of 8.5k This weeks total distance came to 70.28k

Now I can take it easy before my long run tomorrow morning.

Richmond Road Race

This morning I ran another 10K race hoping to finally break my PB and get a 45min finish time. It was nice having the race in Richmond because it was just down the street from where I am living and also it didn't start until 10am so I actually got to sleep in a bit on a Sunday morning. I haven't done that in many weeks. It was a surprising warm day, for January that is, a nice -4 or -10 with windchill. There were even a few crazies out there wearing shorts, not me though, I am always cold so I decided on tights and a jacket which was just right for me.

I had to start a little bit faster to get away from the crowd but then settled into a nice pace of 4:34, I stopped once at the water station (the 5K mark) for a little bit then headed up the hill and never once did I look back. I felt good and strong throughout the race and finished with a time of 45:39 my best yet and finally got that magic 45 number. I don't have all the stats from the race yet but I do know that I was the second female in my age category which entitled me to a new pair of Smartwool socks. I love new socks!

My stats for this race are as follows:

I was 53rd out of 199 participants
7th out of 89 women
2nd out of 23 in my age category

Jan 14

I started my Boston clinic tonight with K2J Fitness, it is a group run in Barrhaven so only about 10 min from home. It is more along the line of a coaching group and I think that is about the level I'm at now with my running. I learned that already I have to change a few things in my schedule, I will no longer have my speed workout on Tuesdays at the dome but instead I can do a tempo run there. I will be doing my speed intervals on Thursday nights with my group and getting feedback as I go along. I still don't have my schedule yet with them and I am anxious to check it out and see what is in store for me.
Tonight I ran a 2K warm up then I did 6X 800m repeats where I was able to stay at about a 3:30 pace, next was 4X 400m repeats I was able to maintain a 1:40 pace then a cool down to equal it out to 11.14 km for the night. I am not sure if my pace for the intervals were where they should be but I'll find that out later. I think that for this week I am going to take tomorrow off since I did 3 nights in a row of hard workouts this week already and I have my 10k race on Sunday.

Jan 13

Hills! That's right, it has now begun, we all know that Boston is known for their hills, not just their up hills but mostly their down hills as in almost the whole first half of the marathon.
We started off with a warm up on the way to the hills in the neighbourhood then ran 6 hills up enjoying the run down too as a recovery. I found it a bit tough but I guess that's what you get for doing a speed workout the night before. Then we headed back to the store for a total of 10km.
Tomorrow I start with a new running group to help me get ready for Boston. They will be setting me up with a running schedule to follow, I'm not sure what to expect but I hope it will help me achieve my new goal and get through the marathon.

Jan 12

Today is Tuesday and that means Dome day. A later run but I really look forward to it because 1 I got to run inside and 2 I got to do speed. Basically, I ran 10 laps (4km) as my warm up at about a 5:30 pace then I got to do my 100m speed intervals (10x) and finished it off with 10 laps (4km) cool down for a total of 12.5km. This week felt much better than the last one, probably because I had better footing on my Sunday run and so my knee was thankful for that. Tomorrow will be hills.

Jan 10

Today was an okay day for my run. We met early at the RR for our 22K run and it was cold (-16 but felt like -23 with the wind) and there was wind. My toes were frozen at the beginning and stayed that way for the first 5K then I started to get some feeling back into them. My balaclava stayed up and over my nose pretty much for the whole run.

We started by running a 10K loop so we could get back to the store for a water and pee break before heading out again, usually the water freezes if we carry it and that is no help at all. The first 10K went well and seemed to have not taken so long. The second half I was getting tired and had a hard time lifting my legs, but I had to push myself through it, afterall this is one of our longest distances in a while because of the weather being quite crappy the last few Sundays. I think next time I should bring some gels with me again as that could have helped me, if not physically than maybe mentally. We only ended up doing 20Km, actually I did 20.1K and that .1 is nice to have and I will keep it in my books.

Next Sunday I will running the Richmond Road Race, a first for me but a nice 10K just down the road from where I am.

Jan 6

Another 10K down and added to my mileage for the year. I want to increase my mileage from last year which didn't seem like much, maybe I forgot to input some of them but I don't know so now I am religiously adding them up, training for Boston should help with that too. My 10K tonight was much nicer to run than it was on Sunday (same route). The weather was about the same (-15 with windchill) but at least this time the sidewalks were plowed so no more knee high movements. It helped that we started off into the wind which allowed us to have the wind push us back to the RR and somehow the lights were being nice to us by turning red right before getting to them giving us little rests along the way. Tomorrow is my last free Thursday until the big day so I will enjoy it and then worry about having some "me" time later, after all it's not everyday I get to go to Boston.

Jan 5

I had my first "real" run at the dome today. I will be going every Tuesday from now until April 19th. I say it was my first real one because it is only the second time I've been there and I now know a bit more of what I should do. I meet up with a bunch of the guys and we all head out there, some of them have a different routine while there but that's what makes it good to go because even though we are not all at the same level or speed we can still push and encourage each other. The only thing I don't like about the dome is that my Garmin doesn't work as acurately as when I am outside.

I brought my Ipod with me this time and found it really helped to keep me focused. I started with 10 laps of 400m each (4K) for my warm up. It was so hard to start the running and I am glad I did such a long warm up because then I felt good to go. Then we changed direction and ran 10 sets of 100m for some speed intervals (another 4K) until it was time to cool down although I probably should have done another 10 laps I only did 5 laps (2K). I really wanted to see the end of the gold hockey game.

Tomorrow I believe I'll be running 10K outside so it might feel like 20K, we'll have to wait and see how much more snow we will get before then.

Getting There