One Week to Go!

One week from now I will be lined up in the parking lot by Mandalay Bay getting ready to run the Rock n' Roll Las Vegas half-marathon.  Excited to get there, excited to run, REALLY excited to have it over.  Hoping the sore back, head, throat, etc., are a result of not sleeping so well lately and NOT because I am getting sick again!

Cheap Trick will be playing to get us pumped up at the start...I am sure between them, the Vegas atmosphere, and the running Elvi - it will be an exciting and energizing environment. Suddenly a week seems like such a long time.  I'm half packed already...Training is practically done.....I am ready... LET'S DO THIS THING!! 

Not How It Is Supposed to Work

So.....as you may know....I'm training for a half marathon.  I've done 11.5 weeks of training so far.  Running more km a week than I ever have in my life...  Ran 24 km last weekend alone....  I must be SUPER FIT now, eh?

Can you believe I've GAINED weight?  Colleen keeps telling me about all the weight she's losing and I keep finding it!!  Seriously!  And this isn't "oh it's muscle" weight gain like people try to tell us to make us feel better... This is "hmmm...these pants feel kinda snug" weight gain... 

How is it possible to gain weight when doing so much more running, you ask?  Well, it's quite simple!  You use the extra mileage as an excuse to eat anything and everything you desire.  You eat like you've been living on a deserted island and have just seen food for the first time in months... Quite simply, you consume so many calories that even super long, 19k runs are not enough to counteract the volume of food you're taking in.

I keep telling myself that after Vegas I'll smarten up again...  Good thing Vegas is just a week and a half away.... Otherwise I'd be waddling across the finish line...  In the meantime; however, I think I'll go find a snack...

Whose Idea Was This Anyway???

Ok....I have good news and bad news...

The good news is I seem to have gotten the upper hand on the blisters.  Slicing the big one wide open, applying antiseptic regularly and soaking in salt water seemed to work.  I still applied band-aids and mole skin before today's run - just to be safe - but ended up with no trouble with them at all.  Yay!

However, that might be the only part of my lower body that doesn't hurt :(  My body is seriously telling me it does NOT like these longer distances.  Even my feet hurt...all the time...a dull kind of burning ache.  Kind of ironic that I was the one who wanted to do a half-marathon and I was the one who wanted to go to Vegas...Now I just can't wait for it to be over.  Only 3 more long runs...That's what I have to remember.  Surely I can make it through 3 more long runs...

That's all...

And So It Begins...

I was hoping Mother Nature would take pity on us and hold off for another month...but no such luck :(  Today, exactly one month before the Rock n' Roll Las Vegas Half-Marathon...this is what's happening outside:

Ugggh...Snow.  Ok...I KNOW I live in Canada. I KNOW it is November and this is FAR from unusual...but I was really hoping for a miracle and that we could continue training in dry conditions. I am ok with running in the snow when we get back..but so not looking forward to trudging through snow for 19km in a couple weeks...

Sigh...

I know...I know....suck it up, princess....

16K is a Killer...

Another week....another long run.  This one was 16k...and my body knows it.  Hurt for the last few km of the run...and am pretty stiff still.  Went slow during the run and had some pretty serious, heart-felt conversations along the way.  Amazing what we're willing to disclose when out running.  It is like a really slow, painful therapy session...

Sure wish I could figure out the pain thing when I'm running though.  Colleen has no pain at all when running - it is amazing.  I have a feeling the fact that I have one hip that sits higher than the other, which makes one leg longer than the other is a big reason for my pain.  Maybe?  Who knows....Hopefully I am able to run our 5.5k EZ run tomorrow.  Then I'm going to have my boy over for a special dinner tomorrow night!  Yay!

Half Way There...

Ok....so I'm behind on my blogging....  Have had some "stuff" going on...  So glad to have had running as a coping mechanism...

Anyway...we're half way there!  Week 6 of our 12-week training plan is DONE DONE DONE!  The long run was 14.5 km and I did it alone...and it was great.  Well, except for the pit bull and husky running after me, circling around me and barking like it wanted to rip my throat out.  Could have done without that...but whatever... (stupid, irresponsible pet owners!).

As of Sunday, we've logged 162.5 official training km.  And the compression tights?  I think they might be pretty great.  I wasn't able to get the full effect because I started with a sore back...but I think that I had less hip/glute pain this time around...and my legs felt GREAT!

I can't imagine being able to get those tiny little things stretched over my less-tiny body in the women's washroom at work, however....so I think the compression tights will remain only for long runs on weekends...when I can get dressed at home and fall over on my bed in the process...not end up falling in the toilet or something...

The next 6-weeks of my training will be dedicated to my friend who has a long road ahead of her too...but just like us, she'll get through it by putting one foot in front of the other.

How Do YOU Spell Relief?

I'm hoping relief is spelled C-O-M-P-R-E-S-S-I-O-N!

As mentioned, I am experiencing pain when I do my long runs... And though some pain is maybe to be expected, this is pain that could very well interfere with my ability to finish a long run (though if I wasn't so stubborn and stopped and stretched for a minute when it started hurting it would help...but whatever...we all have issues).

So, today I got my compression tights in the mail.  Aren't they fancy looking:

Now, if you've never worn compression tights before, lemme tell ya.  Just putting them on is an experience. It is a workout just getting them up....and you've NEVER seen a muffin top like a compression tights muffin top if you don't quite get them pulled up far enough.  Not a pretty sight (be thankful I didn't take a picture of THAT!).

My next run is this week's long run.  14.5k....so it will be time to give the tights a real test.  Fingers crossed please (they cost a bloody fortune and will break my heart if they don't give me some relief!). 

Seven Weeks to Go!

Finished another week of training....week 5!  Like the past several weeks, Tuesday (a relatively short run) sucked majorly...hurt, tired, etc.  Not sure why I struggle through Tuesdays.

Because our spin class (cross training) is on Thursday evenings, we've switched our Wed & Thur training...so now Wed we run a 1.5k warmup, then do a distance (varies each week) at race pace and then a 1.5k cool down.  You'd think that would be a tougher run...but I've quite enjoyed the Wednesday runs. 

Thursday spin classes always rock!  I am pushing myself way harder this fall than I ever did before summer.  Loving it!

Saturday is long run day...this week was 13k.  By the time I start getting close to the double digits in km, I start hurting.  The outside of my hips/glutes and lower back....aching big time :(  So, after some intense research via Google I decided that maybe compression tights might help. So I went to our "cycle and sports" shop here in town - which is the closest we come to a running supply store and asked if they have compression tights.  The oh-so-wise fellow helping me suggested I go to the local drugstore.

WHAT!!??  Is he serious??  He thinks I am asking for THESE:

Ugghh!!  Shows we live in a small town and are in DESPERATE need of a real running/yoga/bike store when the closest we have refers me to the drug store for SUPPORT HOSE!!  Wow.

So, today we took a ride to Invermere....A smaller town...but one that actually has a great store called Crazy Soles.  Unfortunately, despite a phone message that said they were open Sunday's....they were not.  So, we drove an hour and a half each way and I ended up with a 45 calorie DQ Fudge Bar and a bottle of water.  Oh well, it was a fun trip anyway....however, the search for ACTUAL compression tights continues....

And on to week 6 of training! Almost half way there!

Groin, Groin....Gone

Ouch!  So....barely slept last night because my groin hurt every time I moved.  Rolling over or moving from one side to another was a near impossibility...Ugggh...  I am only a third of the way through training...I soooo can NOT have a groin injury at this point.

Pulled out the other shoes that I bought in Spokane and wore them for today's run, am eating better so my body gets what it needs to repair better, loaded up on Ibuprofen and a "value size" tube of Voltaren and spent my lunch hour doing some hip and hamstring stretching to see if it will help. So far today I am feeling MUCH better than yesterday (though yesterday's run WAS longer).  This Saturday is a 13k run....That will be the next test.

However, I keep hearing about the woman who ran the Chicago Marathon last weekend...at 38 weeks pregnant....and gave birth 7 hours after crossing the finish line!??  WTF!  SERIOUSLY???  Who does that!!??  Ok, that puts my achy girl bits in a little better perspective.  Suck it up, Schmidt.... At least you're not carrying another human along with you when you run....a human who is trying to get out no less!  Yikes!  THAT is commitment.

Four Weeks in...

Ok....we've completed four weeks.  We're officially 1/3 of the way there.  It only gets harder from here...YIKES!  My glutes/hips are NOT particularly enjoying the long runs.  Will have to figure something out with those.  Foam roller? Stretching? Strengthening?  I dunno.  Trial and error I guess. The long run for week 4 was 11k.  Still well within my comfort zone after doing 10k long runs all summer.  Though I got the 10k under an hour, I have thrown all thoughts about speed out the window.  It's all about just getting it done at this point.

Yup....one hour, 16 minutes....but that's ok.  What worries me is the fact that my hips, lower back and glutes were quite sore for the last part of the run and I was very stiff and sore after we were done (felt much better after stretching).  Not sure how I'll get through a 19k run!  Yikes!

This upcoming weekend we'll be doing the longest run we've ever done!  13k.  That's one more than Bloomsday, 3 more than a "regular" long run.  And a little scary...  But we'll just do what we can do I guess.  Good thing I'm stubborn :)

Some Yummy Inspiration

Well...Ok. This running thing started as a way to get into better shape. Once I lost a fair amount of weight, I began to look at people's body's and admiring nicely toned arms, flat bellies, muscular legs, etc...and use that as inspiration to continue working.

Today, however, I was handed (actually tweeted) some AMAZING inspiration. This image of a body that looks almost impossible to achieve...and it happens to be the body of my favourite Vancouver Canuck! Yup...It's Ryan Kesler's photo from his ESPN's The Body Issue.

Seriously...how does a human being look like that? There is not an ounce of fat anywhere. It's pure, sculpted, rock-solid perfection (and is also now the desktop wallpaper on my laptop!)

Now, don't get me wrong...as inspiring as this picture is - I don't have any delusions that my body fat will get into the negatives like Kesler's appears to be....but WOW! It's hard to not want to work a little harder at least. (Right after I'm done staring at my new desktop, that is!)

Jogging For Jerry

It's official!  We've launched our website and have begun collecting donations on behalf of Epilepsy Canada. Check out the details!

Fingers crossed that we're able to raise at least the $1000 that is our goal before Vegas.  Training will be so much easier with this goal in mind.  It's no longer about us as individuals.... Our aches and pains we're sure to experience as a result of our training pale in comparison to what Jerry and others with epilepsy endure.

So, bring on the donations!  We'll run hard in return :)

Three Weeks Down....

...and NINE to go!  Yikes!

Last week the thought of 9 more weeks might have been enough to bring me to tears.  Running was HARD again.  Things hurt.  I lost my mo-jo.  I just wasn't into it....at all.  Totally regretted signing up for the half, totally regretted our training plan, kinda regretted I ever started running.

Then I had a good run.  Yup, that is all it takes...  I quit trying to get the fastest time I could and just started running.  And it felt good.  Better than good.  It re-invigorated me.  I am back to enjoying running.  I am actually LOOKING FORWARD TO our longer weekend runs!  11k next Saturday!  Whoo Hoooo!  Bring it on!

Let's hope the next 9 weeks of training keep pumping me up and the lost mo-jo days are behind me.  Temporarily at least.  They'll be back.  Post-race let-down and all that.  In December.  Shouldn't be too hard to re-find my desire to run in December right?  Snow, ice, dark, weeks and months of freezing temperatures ahead.  Oh well....TODAY I had a good run....so, bring it!

It's All Downhill From Here....

It's official!!  Times are in for the Blue Heron 10k in Creston....and I was officially in under an hour!

Yup!  58:35.  So what if I almost threw-up once I crossed the finish line...  I got in under an hour...and only 4 people in my age group beat me...(and lets face it...I am at the TOP of my age group).

It seems that this milestone happened in the nick of time.  In a recent edition of a running magazine, there was an article about how times begin increasing once runners turn 40.  As you'll see in the image above....I'm the magical age of 39 right now.  And, as you may recall, we are going to Vegas in December....to run a half-marathon...and to celebrate me turning 40!  In fact there's only about 53 days from this race day to the big 4-0!  Talk about getting in under the wire...

But it's done now.  I have an "OFFICIAL" under 60-minute 10k on record...and my times are EXPECTED to get longer now that I'm getting so old...  What a relief!  I can just coast from now on!  Ahhhhh  :)

Anal AND Annoying

Sooo, if you read the comments on my blog you will have seen that one friend recently requested a blog post about how anal and annoying I am!  Now, SOME people might consider a comment like that rude...or at very least a little judgmental...  But you have to KNOW this friend...then it is just FUNNY.  What makes it even funnier is how monumentally true it is!

I AM anal....and it IS annoying!  But I'm ok with that.  It hasn't always served me well in ALL areas of my life.  I have control issues (my son can attest to that) and my need to control things did neither him nor I any favours when I was raising him.  My control issues also make me a bit of a psycho because I have irrational fears of pretty much anything out of my control (which includes most of the world!).  So, what was I saying about being ok with it?  hmmmm...

Oh yah!  I am ok with it because in some cases it works well for me.  And since this is a running blog...it has served me especially well with running.  I started running with the Couch to 5K program.  I listened to a podcast which told me when to run and when to walk and when to stop.  It was perfect for me.  I knew what to expect each and every time I ran and stopping wasn't a question... I had to do what I was being told to do (which drove this same friend insane when I got to the point that I was willing to run with her...I still remember her ready to kill me because we were on a downhill and she wanted to take advantage of it and start running...but my podcast hadn't given me the go-ahead yet.  Still surprised she didn't shove me under the next passing car). 

When I finished the Couch to 5K I then went on to the Gateway to 10k, training for the Bloomsday 12K and then began a routine of running every second day.  It is not an option for me.  Weather doesn't matter.  The "rule" is I run on running days.  I don't see it as an option...and while people think I am insane - I am training for a half marathon... If I had given myself the option to quit - if I didn't follow the plan in a hugely anal, annoying way....I would have quit...long ago.... I know it.

I have gotten slightly more relaxed about my routine.  Recently, I cut back my lunch-time workouts to only 2 days/week instead of 5 (though I still go to the gym for core work and stretching those other 3 days) and though I am following a new training plan I have given myself a little bit of leeway with it.  Today was to be my long run day (though only 8k) and tomorrow an easy 4k... But I had signed up for a 10k which is tomorrow so I did my short run today and will do the 10k tomorrow.  Just like that...I changed things up!  Like a crazy woman!! 

But after that...it's back to my schedule, back to my routine, back to being anal and annoying....because anal and annoying keeps me running!

Getting Closer....But Not There Yet

Well, my quest to complete a 10k in under an hour has gone another month without being achieved....and I thought I was going to throw up today I was running so hard at the end...ugghh...

Getting ever closer, though:

Goal is still make it in under an hour at the Blue Heron 10k....if not before...  Damn you, 10k...I WILL win this one!!  ONE DAY!!!!

You MIGHT be obsessed if....

Ok yah....so the mould thing continues... The more that gets ripped out, the more there is to rip out.  Should have a totally new house by the time its done....Won't be able to afford to live in it...but new all the same...

The huge issue is the sore throat, headache and stuffy nose I've been experiencing the past few days.  All mould related I'm sure.  As I told a friend of mine today - "I start official half marathon training in 3 weeks...if it gets into my respiratory system and interferes with that I am going to be PISSED"!  "Oh", she said "So, who cares about your health in general - it's whether it interferes with running or not?". 

Huh...when did I become THAT person?...  Oh well...I'll still be pissed if it messes with my half!

One Twenty Three....Almost Killed Me!

So, I was doing a fair amount of walking leading up into and at the start of my last week of vacation.  Whenever I go for a lengthy walk, a run or a bike ride, I always strap on my Garmin watch to track what I'm doing.  I then go to the dailymile.com website afterward to log what I've done and post it to Facebook (cuz I'm braggy like that)... The dailymile website keeps a running tab on the top of the # of km you've logged for the week so far...Sooo...being the dumbass I am, I thought "I wonder if I can do 100km this week?".  Once the idea has been planted...

So, the week looked like this - Monday 8k walk, Tuesday 5k run/8k walk, Wednesday 8k walk, Thursday 5k run, 8k walk...hmmm...my lower back is beginning to bother me a little...feels a bit tight... Friday 10k bike, 9k walk (yup, lower back not really very happy).  Saturday 10k run (owww...THAT hurt!)...and then it was Sunday...and I had 29km more to go!  Yikes...So, Sunday I decided to bike to Kimberley and back... STUPID...Not only is it more km than I needed...but I had that nagging back thing going on...  But I'm nothing if not stubborn...  Hopped on my bike and away I went.  Got as far as Marysville and was thinking this isn't too bad...not much farther to Kimberley.  Unfortunately, Marysville to Kimberley is ALL up hill...(which my back does NOT like).  Somehow I made it...painfully... Turned around, stopped at a picnic table for a snack and some water and coasted back down to Marysville...ahh...my back didn't mind that so much.  Then I remembered....the 3.5km hill I had to climb to get back to Cranbrook...and then the KILLER hill back up to my house...uggghh....but I did it...  Could barely walk by the time I got back...had to skip running on Monday because of my back....but I did it.  Worth it???  You betcha!  I beat my goal...123km in one week!  Woot Woot!

The picture below was taken at the official 100km mark!

One Month Until The Torture Begins....

One month from today we officially start our training program for the half marathon.  When I think ahead to a 19k training run it kind of scares the crap out of me....yet, in some ways - I can't believe we still have to wait another month.  It seems like we'll never get around to training.  Running has been going well for me lately and I just want to take advantage of that and train while the training is good.  Fingers crossed that it lasts!

From Aggressive Deer to Barking Birds??

So, anyone who lives in my little city knows full well that we've had a little issue with deer who have decided they are quite comfortable hanging out in town with the rest of us.  For the most part, they are just a bit of a nuisance - eating all the flowers out of gardens, eating trees/bushes, strolling ever so slowly across busy streets...but on occasion, when their babies are quite little - they can act like any other momma acts and will do anything to protect their fawns.  A couple of people have been hurt...and one video of a dog getting it's ass kicked went viral on YouTube (put your dogs on a leash, people, and you don't have to worry about it!).

For obvious reasons, however, our folks at City Hall decided that warning signs were in order.  So....a certain husband of a certain friend of mine ordered up and had signs posted reminding us to be on the lookout for the deer.

And....whaddya know!  The signs work!  Who knew we have the smartest deer around in our little ole city?  But apparently we DO!  I think they can read!  SERIOUSLY!  I have not seen ONE deer when out walking/running/biking (which you may have noticed I do a fair amount of) since the signs went up!  I can just hear them now...at a town hall type gathering of deer... "Oh shit!  Those humans are on to us now!  First these signs...then what??  A cull??  Yikes!  Let's get our little white tails out of here"!  Seems like the most logical explanation for the sudden decline in deer sightings to me!  Well played, Mr. Z, well played!

HOWEVER!  On our walk today, I heard the strangest noise come out of a bird's beak...  I looked at Colleen and said "Did that bird just BARK at us?".  She agreed that it had.  So, just a heads up to the fine folks at City Hall (and that includes you Mr Z!), you might want to think about some signage for barking birds before long.  We can't be expected to tolerate THAT type of behaviour, can we?