Midsummer Night's 30K Run -- The Mind Rules the Body

This day started off with my second day of being at the CanFit Pro conference.  I started early on Friday morning and went until 3:00 Sunday.  I purposely registered myself for mostly lectures so that I would be ready to run 30K on Saturday night.  I couldn't help myself, but I did register for a TRX session on Friday night.  My arms were sore for days.

So Saturday morning on the train I sat like this the whole way:

I got to meet Brendan Brazier, the creator of the Vega Line.  Really great speaker and I loved both of his sessions that I took, but he was a little awkward in person.  He was offering one of his books for free but they were limited so I made sure I got back to the Expo quick.  Snagged the book and a photo op.

He's really tall and skinny, but, yes, I know I'm short.

Getting prepared for this race while being at a fitness conference all weekend was a bit of a challenge, given that I'd be there from early morning. I needed to make sure I had enough proper hydration and nutrition so  I made extra food for dinner Friday night so that I could put it in a container to take with me for lunch.  I also made plain quinoa as a pre-race fuel because I knew I would be hungry for something solid to eat before the race.

I hightailed it out of my last session of the day and got changed into my run gear.   It was going to be a hot night for a run.  I just can't catch a break with this weather!  I'm really, really hoping Erie will be cooler.  I was meeting my group at the ferry dock for 3:15.  I walked over from the convention centre and was met with lines and lines of people waiting to either buy tickets for the ferry or waiting to get on the ferry.  Luckily we had our tickets included with our race kit.

It was a bit of a gong show meeting up with everyone and getting on the ferry, but once there we made our way over to the Franklin fountain to try to meet up with Sam, Emma, Nicole and other Daily Milers who were running this race.  There was no one that I recognized there so we headed over to the race site and found a shaded area to hang out till it was time to run.

On one of our many pit stops to the loo, I got to meet Marlene.  Super sweet and super fast lady!

After returning from one of my port-a-potty trips I find out that more than half the group went to get hotdogs because they were hungry.  Ugh!  Some were smart (??) and only ate half a hotdog.   A couple, like my husband, ate a whole one and paid for it during the run.  Hello, Mr. Firefighter?  Can I borrow the fire station toilet?  Just ignore the noises, please.  Yeah, nice one, honey!  We're not allowed on Centre Island anymore.

So, after a hideously long line up to check our bags, I went to another long line up -- the one to start the race.  Why, oh why, did I sign up for the 30K?  Everybody else was doing the 15.  Damn  me and doing an early marathon!

I did get a chance to see Sam and Emma while I was waiting for the race to start and chatted with them for a bit before the gun went off.  I wished them both a great race and lined up.   Since the race this year was on the island because of construction issues in Toronto, it was a pretty narrow start on the path.  Pace Fairies were all pretty close to each other and it took a while before there was any semblance of control.

I've been injured lately (there, I've finally admitted it) so I decided that this was going to be a run to get it done.  I knew I needed to keep my hamstring/glute/hip flexor relatively happy if I had any chance of finishing up this whole training session.  I placed myself between the 3:15 and 3:30 pacers because I wasn't sure how this was going to go.  The first few kilometres were too fast.  I was running sub 6:00s and I knew that it would probably come back to bite me in the ass if I kept up that pace.  So I did a lot of running by feel, but also needed to look down at my Garmin every once in a while to make sure I wasn't going too fast.  I had to keep forcing myself to slow down.  I knew I felt okay, but I could begin to feel the hamstring pulling and I didn't want to aggravate it.

The worst part of this race was having to battle all the bikes, quad bikes, walkers (not those in the race) and generally oblivious people that there was a race going on.   I think the race director should have made up a bunch of signs and placed them around the islands letting people know that there would be a race in progress.  I actually saw a runner collide with a cyclist in front of me.  Luckily they were both okay, but they were both shaken up over the collision.

So the leg was pretty good for about 10K and then I could feel it starting to get really tight.  I knew this would be a bit of a battle and would be a mind over matter situation.  And it was conveniently the theme of their race shirts so I had lots of reminders.   Speaking of, it was 90 degrees out there.  Who wears long sleeve shirts to race in that kind of weather?

Anyway, I'm making a short story very long.  I didn't actually mind the boardwalk area, unlike many others.  It just felt like a long stretch and their 28K marker along the boardwalk was actually at 27.5 so that played with my head for the last kilometre which seemed like a freaking marathon away.  This was when my race mantra of "the mind rules the body" went into overdrive.

I wasn't thrilled with the grassy areas, especially when the last kilometre was all grass.  Thank goodness that it wasn't completely pitch black when I was coming into the finish because the neon shirts the volunteers were wearing helped me sight to the end.

I think this is the only race I've ever done where my Garmin was bang on with the distance.  As soon as I hit the mat, my Garmin registered 30K.  I'll give the race directors an A+ for that, but I know a couple people took some short detours because of all the loops.  I'm glad I didn't.  I don't think my leg wanted to do more than what was required of it.  I was grateful for the cheering of the hubs with 200m to go and my friends cheering me on at the finish.

(The only decent photo and my results):

 

But all I wanted to do when I got my aluminum water bottle (they're getting smaller and smaller every year) and medal (still awesome) at the finish line was throw up.  I'm not sure why but it was pretty overwhelming.  I managed to keep it down and walked over to where the gang were sitting in the beer tent.  No one saved me any, the bastards!  I'm not sure I would have been able to keep it down anyway.

This is where I found Kenny and I finally got my Boston band that I won in his giveaway.  Yay!!  Thank you so much, I love it!

Skinny wrists means it goes on the ankle

After I managed to get changed we all wanted to head home.  That's when we found out the delay for the ferry back to Toronto was 1.5 to 2 hours.  No way.  I was getting wave after wave of nausea and I knew I wouldn't make it.  We heard about the water taxi and that it was $10 per person so we all decided we were willing to pay the price.  Twenty minutes later we were on a boat back to the mainland.  Best money spent.  Oddly, the boat ride back settled my stomach.  No idea why, but once again I'm grateful.

So, will I do this race next year if it's on the island?  Not likely.  Getting on and off the island was inconvenient, especially since we're a 45 minute drive away.  Dodging bikes, walkers, children and dogs was bordering on dangerous, and the route became tedious for those doing the 30K when you had to cover the same area three times.  I love this race, especially when you get sweet medals and shirts like this:

But I may reconsider if they bring it back to its original location.  Will I do the 30K again?  Again, not likely because I don't plan on doing another early marathon.  I like the 15K distance, especially when it's a late afternoon/early evening race start.

Plus, I may be doing a very different kind of race the same weekend as this next year, but I haven't decided just quite yet.  I'll need to make a decision very, very soon because it WILL sell out.

Please stay tuned........

The Mind is Ready

But the body is not.

After a couple of months of being unenthused about training for my next marathon, I'm beginning to get that excited feeling of training again.  Unfortunately, my body isn't exactly on the same page as my mind.  I've been struggling with some nagging pains -- I won't say injuries -- in my left hamstring, hip flexor and my left arm.  The arm has since resolved itself with some rest.

I was ready to start pushing those running paces again, but I decided it would be wise to lay off on any speed and tempo runs for a couple of weeks.   Things were beginning to feel a little better, so I went for a semi-speed session last week after my self-imposed rest just to try out the legs.  Well, I was one hurting unit after that attempt.   So without further procrastination, I made an appointment to see my ART guy, aka Dr. Pain.  After two visits, the hamstring is much better.  The hip flexor is going to take some work, but he hasn't said I can't run.

He even encouraged trail running.  Good thing because we went up to Paris for the Run for the Toad training run this past weekend.   I expected some hard climbs, but there was a continuous stream of non-stop hills right from the start. Tough day but amazing fun.  It was a really well-organized event and a great course with some awesome views.  I was signed up to do the two loops of 12.5K but the downhills were beginning to aggravate the hip flexor so I only did part of the second loop and called it a day at 16.5.  16.5K of tough trail running is equivalent to the 30K road running I was supposed to do for the weekend, right?

The gang that came out for the Run for the Toad practice run:

Worst hill.  Felt like I was climbing a wall.

So after a couple of ART visits and some very intimate time with my foam roller and little blue ball being massaged into my hip flexor, I will go for a tempo run tomorrow and hope that there's no residual pain.

I am eager to train hard again and I only have six-and-a-half weeks before my marathon.  I've had to think hard about my goals for September's marathon and this setback may dictate what I do.  I've been pondering dropping down to the half marathon, but I haven't made a firm decision yet.  I have some long runs coming up and the Midsummer Night's 30K mid-August.   How I decide to run the Erie Marathon may be a race-day decision.

All I know is that I'm happy to have the fire in my belly again.  While I'd like to say that it doesn't matter to me if I decide I can't go for my BQ in September, the reality is that that isn't entirely true.  It would be the icing on the cake and a validation that I only seek for myself.  But in the end, what does really matter to me is the fact that I have the ability to run and that the exhilaration of running has returned.  All it took was a little irritation in my body to remind me how very lucky I am that I get to run.

Peachbud 10K Race Report

Last Christmas we gave my oldest nephew a race registration as a gift.  He could pick whatever 5K or 10K race he wanted and he could hang out and run with his very cool aunt and uncle -- that would be me and the hubs, just in case there was any doubt.

He loved the gift, thank goodness, and he would finally get to experience some of the adventures that we constantly (ad nauseam?) talk about at family gatherings.  He's a hockey player and has been since he was a kid so I know he's a strong athlete and he would probably kick my a$$ on the run.

I'd never done this race before, but I was there last year when a bunch of my friends did it and they all enjoyed it.  When they mentioned doing it again, I was on board and suggested to my nephew it would be a good race to do.  It worked with his schedule and I got us registered.

He'd given me a couple of training updates in the weeks leading up to the race.  Things like, "I did a 5.1K in 24 minutes and I had lots left in the tank."   Of course you did, you 22-year-old aerobic engine, but have you done 10K before in the heat and humidity?  Damn whipper-snappers!

Race day arrives and it happens to be a very hot and humid day and they're calling for thunderstorms.  Just perfect!  So I get this text from my nephew:

I'm not thrilled with running in that kind of heat either and my left hamstring has been giving me grief for a couple of weeks.  The plan was to go as hard as I could but keeping in mind I didn't want to jeopardize my marathon training for a 10K this early in the season.  My nephew's goal was to do it in around 50 minutes or just do the whole thing without stopping.   Based on how I've been feeling lately, I knew 50 minutes was out of the question for me and I told him so.  We were going to start together and assess from there.

I wasn't feeling great during the day and fueling for a 7:30 p.m. race is a bit tricky and something I hadn't done before.  Maybe the extra-large lunch didn't help my feeling of discomfort.  Blech!

We get to the race site and race kit pick up is a breeze.  Race tech shirts were really, really cute (white for the ladies) and very masculine for the guys in a dark forest green.

Thankfully, the evening clouded over and the threat of thunderstorms subsided.   It was slightly cooler and windier in Grimsby.  We had about an hour to kill so we got ourselves organized and we each did our warm ups.  I can tell by my warm up that the race may not go as well as I would like.  My nephew, on the other hand, is raring to go.

Yes, I look really short but he's 6'1"

The 5K race went before us so he got a kick out of watching them all take off.   We're now lined up and ready to go.  We decide that we'll go out a bit slower so that we can save some kick for the end.  I remember waiting for the gun to go off and thinking that I didn't want to be the 101st person to cross the finish line.   This race has a graduated medal system.  The first 100 get gold medals, the second 100 get silver, and everyone else gets bronze.  In retrospect, I should have mentioned this to my nephew.

The first 2K in and I see we're averaging 5:15 paces and I know that I haven't got it in me to hold on to that pace for the whole thing.  Just before the 3K marker, I told my nephew to go ahead and I'd see him at the finish.   And just like that he was off like a slapshot <-- probably the only hockey metaphor I'll ever use.

This race has a few rollers but nothing too difficult.  It's actually a really pretty route.  There's an overpass and a slightly steeper hill before the 6K mark that are of any significance.  I felt like I'd been pushing the pace and I wasn't sure whether there were anymore hills after this so I took a really short walk on the steeper of the hills so I could re-group and then took off again.   The rest of the race was flat but slightly into the wind.  

There were tons of volunteers and aid stations and even the firefighters came out and opened up one of their hoses (TWSS :-p) to cool us off.

I'd been playing rabbit with this older gentleman for at least 6K of this run but around the 7K mark, I decided that I needed to pick up the pace.   I knew for sure that the route would be flat from here and I wondered (in vain apparently) if I could catch my nephew.  That was definitely not happening, but I must have picked off at least 20 people in the last 2K of the race.   I found out later that the older gentleman was in the 70+ category and came in only 45 seconds behind me.  I want to be that fast when I grow up.

I think my lungs were ready to burst by the time I got to the finish line.  I never caught my nephew but I found him at the finish line.  He did it in 51:05.

That makes me one pretty damn proud aunt, I can tell you.  He was pretty happy -- and hooked!   We went inside the arena to check race results.  That's where I discovered I came in 3rd in my age group.......

....and my nephew discovered he came in 101st.  Hmmm, he was not happy.  But since he caught the racing bug and won't meander his way into the finish line again, he's decided to do another race and is doing the Downtown Dash.  I gently told him that he needs to assume that the person in front of him is in the same age group and he needs to kick it all the way into the finish.  He won't make that mistake again.

Just as an aside, the woman who won the masters was in my age group so I got bumped up to second.  I stuck around for the awards because I knew they were giving out medals.  If I had known it was going to be the exact duplicate of what I got for finishing, I'm not sure I would have waited the extra half hour it took for them to present the awards.  What?  It was 9:30 and I hadn't had dinner yet.  Yes, I could have eaten the hot food that was at the finish, but I wanted my pizza and beer.

The crew at the finish.

Tough Mudder? Oh Yeah!

What am I thinking??   It's two weeks after my September marathon!  Am I nuts!?!  The things I do for friends!    I'll be getting muddy -- and possibly electrocuted -- with this gal:

Ali.

I love you, girlfriend, but I would have been happy just to hang out having dinner -- which I may be eating through a straw after September 28.

So, training?  I'm thinking I may need to work on doing lots of pull ups.  I'm not sure I can do even one at this point.  Anyone have any other helpful suggestions?

Slowly Getting the Mojo Back

It was a tough couple of weeks after my marathon.  I really wasn't sure about doing a fall marathon and I pretty literally left it till the last minute to register before the price went up.  Two hours to be exact.    If you read my last post, then you know I've registered for another marathon.  I'm ready to get back at it and have had a couple of good, but challenging, runs since this journey started.  Before I decided to jump back on the bandwagon, the hubs and I went on a great vacation to San Diego and did some fun stuff like this:

Segway Fun in LaJolla

Running on the beach in Coronado

Doing some trail running in LaJolla

Hanging out at Petco Park in sweet seats behind home plate to watch the Padres play

I've also decided to change my training around a little.  I won't be running six times a week anymore because I'm back to riding my bike with these awesome ladies:

Girlfriend on the right is doing her first Ironman in November.  Girlfriend on the left is a 4x Ironman!

I've been hitting up the stairs on the Hamilton Escarpment for a great butt and calf workout.  I've mastered Chedoke (well, okay, not really -- I thought I had polio two days after I did Chedoke for the first time last week).  The hubs and I did Kenilworth last week, and this week I am tackling Chedoke and Dundurn stairs -- on.the.same.day.  Yeah, we're hardcore that way! -- with the hubs, this awesome gal and another awesome gal who I finally met in real life on the weekend though I've known her through Daily Mile for over six months.

Sweaty goodness after an early start on the Chedoke stairs.

Yoga has been a staple for the past six months.  I just can't believe it took me this long to try it.  I'm in love.  And now that the weather has been nicer - sort of - I've been pulling out my mat, my Bosu ball, my stability ball and doing some strength and core workouts in my backyard.

Slowly, but surely, all of the above things and being surrounded by truly incredible friends is leading me back to the one thing I truly love to do:  run.

And just because this picture makes me happy, I want to include it just to sign off.

The group I run with and some DM friends at the Moon in June.

Time to Start Again

It's been a whole four weeks since my marathon and I've been cajoled into contemplating a fall marathon.   So the nod is for the Erie Marathon at Presque Isle.  Technically, I guess it's still a summer marathon because it's on September 15th, which means that it could be just as warm as the last marathon I just ran.  At least I'll be training through the summer heat this time and won't have to worry about varying temperatures.  Go ahead and get cold if only for that one day.

It's touted as "quite possibly the flattest course in the country."  The country being USA, not Canada.  It's probably the least expensive marathon I've ever registered for at a whopping $50 and it's only a three-hour drive from home.   So at the very least it's another fun road trip with my best running buddies and shopping in Grove City.

To be completely honest, I'm not quite ready to be mentally in the game for this training.  I feel physically and emotionally spent from this past winter/spring training.  As much as I enjoyed it, it was tough.  

I'm hoping that this running funk is just a temporary one.  I shouldn't say it's a running funk.  It's a training funk.  And more of a training "alone" funk.   Most of my runs had been solo through the winter, but I'm going to have a couple of training partners this time around and someone (maybe two people) to pace me at the marathon.

Me and my pacer, Lynn :)

She qualified for Boston (again) in May at the same race I did.  She's awesome and wicked fast.   Janine has also been coerced into agreed to pace me to my qualifier.  She's run Boston countless times and has run over 20 marathons.

Lynn and Janine, aka "my pacers"

I am surrounded by greatness and truly incredible people.  I am thankful for wonderful friends.

So, here's to getting my groove back -- hopefully sooner rather than later.

JDRF 5K Race Report

Working backwards, this was the last race before my marathon.  I'll give a little background before I get to the details.

I have a running friend who works for Ford and they are the major sponsor for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 5K.  This particular race is held in Oakville.  They started this race three years ago and she asked a bunch of us if we would be willing to participate.   I had never done a 5K race before so I was game.

I've done it every year since.  This is a small race, roughly 300 participants, and you get some pretty good race kit and post-race goodies for such a small race.

The first year I did this, I came third in my age group.  Something I'd never done before so I was pretty pumped.  Last year, I took 50 seconds off the previous year and came in second, but I got bumped up to first because the woman who won my age group won the Masters.  Sweet!!  Thank you very much, unknown fast woman.  But wait.....she beat me by a measly nine seconds!!  Ah, if I had only known, I wonder if I could have run any faster?

Fast forward to this year.  Once again, we were asked to participate so I went on a little re-con mission.  I wanted to know if this woman was racing again so I checked, re-checked and checked yet again the confirmation page to see if she was racing.  I was bound and determined to beat her and to try and take the Masters title away from her.  (Competitive much?)  She wasn't racing!  Well, at least as far as online registration went.  No worries, I know what she looks like now so I scoured the crowds on race day to see if she came out.  Not that I could see.  Woohoo, victory could be mine.

When we arrived at the parking lot, I bumped into one of my Daily Mile friends, Laurie Ann, and we wished each other a good race.  She is a diabetic and has raised many funds for this event.  In fact, she was the top fundraiser last year.  I also met her husband and kids, one of which was racing, the other being pushed in the stroller by dad.

As I was walking towards Laurie Ann, I saw another woman at the back of her vehicle who had some lime green KT tape on the back of her legs.  She looked fast -- whatever that means.

I put myself as close to the front of the start line without looking like a tool for getting so close.  The gun went off and I took off.  I knew this would be a sufferfest, and I was prepared to suffer.  I hurt for the whole 5K.

Around the 2.5K mark I see lime green KT tape girl passing me.  I thought to myself that this could be someone I need to hang on to.  I tried, I really did, but she was just too fast.

Turns out she was someone I needed to hang onto.  She won the women's Masters and she beat me handily by 50 seconds.  I take comfort in the fact that she's eight years younger than me and I still won my age group.

The small one for finishing and the big one for my age group win.

Four other friends and the hubs also raced and everyone had PBs.  Three of us podiumed (is that a word?) so we were one happy run club.

My buddy Kevin came in 2nd in his age group and my buddy Kerry came in 3rd in our age group

That's the gang who raced....

...and that's a hurting face coming into the finish.