cycling only -- and a trip down memory lane

luckily i've taken a very keen interest in biking, cuz that's what i'll be doing for a bit.  no running.  i have shin splints on my left leg.  The anterior muscle is wound up so tight in a ball that it's a visible lump.  Going back tomorrow for more ART, he said i shouldn't be out of commission too long, but it's being stubborn, so better off resting it for now.  I told him that i better get credit for putting his beautiful year old daughter through college... cuz if I continue running, I'll evidently be there a lot.  lol

this next part is not intended to offend anyone --  if you're sensitive about your age, and don't like to laugh, stop reading now.  LOL

Having recently moved, and now having more room to put things, we unpacked one of Jay's old old boxes that has stayed in storage till now, books that he had many years ago.  I also recently learned that he used to do duathlons!  He may have told me before, but don't tell him I must not have listened to him that day lol.

He had a book called "Triathloning for Ordinary Mortals" by Steven Jonas, M.D.  This book is copyrighted in 1986... 22 years ago.  So keep that in mind as we continue.

As discussed before, I'm also thinking about doing a duathlon next year... maybe, so I started flipping through the book.  I reached page 153, where it shows a table titled A Basic Triathlon Equipment Budget (In 1984 prices)  I was 7.  Check this out:

Running

Shoes $75.00  --  a size 2 kids shoe maybe

Shorts, singlets, T-shirts (2 sets)       50.00 -- with or without a Nike symbol???

Socks (4 pair)    25.00

Sweatbands (4)      5.00 -- sounds like a bargin, but no. i don't  

think so

Warm-up suit, nylon    75.00 -- should we really be wearing these??

Polypropylene underwear (1 set)      30.00 -- sounds like a banned substance

Woolen hat    10.00

Athletic supporters / support bras 25.00

Subtotal                                    $295.00

Cycling

10- to 12-speed bike, good quality $400.00  -- my clipless pedals, shoes and shorts were almost this price, not including the bike

Bike computer, pump, water bottle, other on-

the-bike accessories 100.00

Helmet  40.00 -- were helmets really used back then?

Bike shirt and shorts (2 sets)        100.00 -- maybe a pair of shorts and a sleeve of a shirt today?

Gloves  15.00

Touring Shoes  35.00 -- ya right.

Tools, floor pump  50.00

Subtotal $840.00 - still way less than what i paid for my bike!!!!!!

Swimming

Suits, two   $30.00 -- not sure i want to see these

Goggles, top quality   25.00

Noseclip, ear plugs     5.00

Subtotal               $60.00

Grand Total $1195.00

OK, I can't get this thing to line up properly in 2 pretty lines... but you get the idea.... Isn't that funny???  Back to reality.

"that's so cool..."

... that is what my son said to me yesterday when he got home after spending a few weeks with his dad, and finding out that I had won the shoes, and that "my story" was chosen as July's ExtraOrdinary Runner's award.  These last few days have been a bit overwhelming to me, but in a good way -- if you met me in person, you would know that I'm fairly shy, until I get to know you and am comfortable, I get embarrassed easily, turning all kinds of shades of red, and am absolutely not the type of person who likes to be the center of attention.  I know I should be comfortable enough in my own skin and proud, and trust me, I AM, but I still lack total confidence!  Working on that  :)

Reading all the comments on the site and on my blog over the last few days and especially this morning have had the water tap effect, tears a-flow-ing, and made me tear up countless times, even now, as I write this!  The posting of my journey and start to running was amazing for me and really made me think how far I've come.  It also really made me realize how one's experiences really shapes your life.  The choices you make, and the things you do as a result of an event, good or bad.  It's just interesting.  

Thank you all for the wonderful words and encouragement.  One of the girls from my running group read the post just before going into a meeting, sorry!!! LOL

Yesterday's run was less than spectacular.  Over the last few weeks, my inner calf has been nagging me.  I started my run feeling just a bit of an ache... but the group running behind me noticed my right ankle rolling in a lot, even while walking.  **sigh**  not again.  Could I be over-compensating with the left, hence the pain?  Our plan was 32k.  I reached a point at about 12k where I had a choice of going back to the start only about 2k away or continuing.  I was definitely starting to feel worse than when I started out, so rather than push on and try to be brave and tough it out, I made the choice to go back.  (Today I'm glad I did, and I'm in quite a bit of discomfort).  On my way back, started thinking about it, and it seems to be that since I tried Nike shoes, I've been having weird aches and pains, consistently.  I've read quite a few disappointing comments about Nike's for running, and P.O.M even broke up with hers recently! Since I have a 30k run coming up August 16th, and also had a 20% off coupon, I figured I'd start looking at new shoes... AGAIN!  ugh.  I tried on what felt like a hundred shoes, 

but settled on the Asics Gel Nimbus 10. The guy at the running store noticed a huge difference between the two shoes, and I felt a huge difference, so hopefully I've found a good match.  If they are, I'll get a second pair with my prize!

I know pain, injuries, shoes all go with running. I think that I've learned something about my personality though.  I've worked in the IT field where most times it either works or it doesn't, and when it doesn't, you have to figure out why. A puzzle of sorts.  I'm typically a very patient person, but the experimentation phase, the trial and error is getting on my last nerve.  LOL. Not enough to get the better of me, don't worry.  

I'm am more confident than what I was a year ago looking in the mirror.  

I have a healthy idea of what I'd like to be.... not necessarily a certain weight on the scale, but a lower BMI.  (I will never be "skinny" nor do I want to be, i have very thick muscular legs from years of gymnastics, figure skating, and want to keep building the definition in my arms). I must be doing somethings right though, as I have lost about 13 pounds the weight gain after quitting smoking.  I rarely eat french fries anymore, those were my guilty pleasure.  But I struggle knowing how much to eat to get there, while fueling my body properly for my level of activity, body type, metabolism, etc.  It's experimentation, just like the shoes are.  I bought this book yesterday to try to help me take the guess work out... and find a better balance.  I want to lose more fat, but need to have enough calories in my diet to not sabotage my body, help in muscle recovery and optimally fuelled.  

The journey and learning continue.  I'm off to the sports injury doc for some more ART.  Hope I don't cry more than I already have today LOL.

**edit** injuries suck.  shin splints suck.  being forced to rest sucks.  if i were to find a silver lining, i'm allowed to bike, and with my recent interest in riding, i'm ok with this. My 30k run August 16th is up in the air.  :(

a wonderful surprise! new shoes!! :)

Reading other blogs has become part of my daily routine.  I have learned so much from other runners, read some pretty remarkable posts, and stumbled across the Runners' Lounge website while reading someone's blog (can't remember who right now).  

After I created my profile, I was given a link to submit "my story" in more details.  I've been inspired by so many great stories and people throughout my journey, that if I can motivate or provide inspiration to even one person out there, then it's not in vain.

So I submitted the following story, which I haven't even blogged about fully!  This is the first time I wrote or even told this much of the full story -- to anyone!

Much to my surprise, my story was picked for the monthly prize! I got an email from Amy this morning letting me know that I am the July winner of shoes!  Yippie!  I never win anything, except a crappy forecast and rain while running!  (at least lately it seems like it... lol)  It totally made my day!!!  Thanks to Tom and Amy! 

Bootcamp last night was fun as always, and luckily the rain was short-lived.  We did it in the parking lot of the park though, because the field was a swamp... with the recent down-pours we've been getting.  I brought Jay's daughter (she's 9 years old, 5 months younger than my son) with me as he had something to do... and she did bootcamp with us!

   Until the ice cream truck came through the neighborhood!!  She grabbed my keys, ran to the car, got my wallet.  I bought her an ice cream cuz she did more of the bootcamp with far less complaints than her dad LOL  She had fun though.

Anyway, that's it for now!  Have a great weekend!

and the forecast includes....

SUN... for now.  At least for my lunchtime workout it did!!  Finally!  

I went for a 3.47k run, followed that with a 5k bike ride... nice like 30 minute workout, squeezed in during my lunch hour.

However, I thought about something while in the shower after all that.  I need to learn how to organize myself better.  I left the house for my run wearing a running skirt, shirt, fuel belt with 2 bottles of water, my cell phone, my house key only, taken off the key chain, Garmin, ipod.  All set. Since I only did a short route, I decided I'd tack on a short bike ride.  So I got home, had to go back into the house to change to my cycling shoes, put my key back on the keychain, since my bike lock key is there.  Get out to the garage, unlock the bike, hat off, helmet and gloves on. Change Garmin to Bike from run.  Off I go.  Nice ride, but after I had left, I realized that the reason I wanted to go for a bike ride was to see the cadence setting on my Garmin.  

Tuesday, I purchased the cadence sensor accessory for my bike, another gadget to add to my toolkit.  It was delivered yesterday already, quick and easy to install, but I had no time to really test it out.  So I was really looking forward to seeing the newly available data.

2 things I didn't do.  I didn't add cadence to my Garmin's data fields, and even though I paired the sensor with the Garmin yesterday, I forgot to turn it on!! DUH!!!  Having been in technical support, I'm embarrassed to admit it.  LOL  But I guess that's what I mean by getting used to brick type workouts, and if I am gonna use all these gadgets, making sure i get into a habit.

***edit -- upon closer inspection, I guess I don't need to turn it on.... when looking at www.motionbased.com, I now noticed that there's a column for cadence  (rpm), which wasn't there on my previous rides.

Bootcamp tonight, yay!  However, I just checked the weather network, potential wicked weather again tonight.  Bootcamp starts at 7:00pm ... should I start taking bets what time the bad weather starts???? LOL  ***edit -- 5:05pm, clouds are rolling in, winds are picking up. lol

**edit -- 5:22pm, it's raining, hopefully it'll be short and sweet

what have i done?

....to piss off Mother Nature?

I went out for a bike ride at lunch, giving my legs a break from running.

12.74k, 31:23.  Another very fun ride.  Got back to my area, but decided to do one last loop and

 hill.  

Look who greeted me on my last stretch:

surprised???  lol  didn't think so.  neither was i.

i guess i should be happy i made it home safely first.  it's thundering like crazy and pouring out... i love it.

edit**  I just checked the local news website, story about the rain, and the intersection it talks about... 3 minutes from my house.. lol  

speed limit? what speed limit?

today started out as any other. My usual breakfast, fresh fruit for a  mid-morning snack. Decided to go for a run at lunch.  Set out on my run, and was feeling good.  A bit of tightness in the left calf still, but not so bad.  Sun shining, light breeze, some clouds.

I rounded the last corner before the last 500m home.  It was eerie.  A sudden cold wind gust almost blew off my hat, and made the hair on my arms stand on end.  Cloud had quickly turned black. Drizzle.   Ha, this time I beat you mother nature!

Stretched, showered, grabbed some food, and synced my Garmin.  Much to my surprise, I had a 5:41/km pace.  Me!  May not seem fast to some of you, but that may be my fastest pace to date I'm sure of it!!

When I started running in May, 2007 I'm not sure I was able to run a full minute without feeling like I was going to barf... at a 7:37/km pace!  i guess everyone has to start somewhere right?  And I supposed it's a good testament to practice, patience, consistency, dedication and hard work paying off!

Now, this is using the Nike+ website, which I still think is slower than actual due to inaccurate calibration.  Take today's run for example:  Nike+ showed 3.68km distance, while Garmin showed 3.92km.  Not a huge difference, but this was also a very short run... and it obviously affects the average pace -- Nike+ showed an average pace of 6:00 today, where Garmin shows 5:41.  I trust my Garmin more than I do my Nike+, but still like some of the features of that site, having music as background noise while running, despite the volume being low and only using one ear bud, so I still use it for my runs.

Anyway, even if I were to take Nike+'s average pace for today, 6:00km on a normal run... not a race... I'm still very happy with my progress, that's almost a minute and forty seconds faster per km!!!

Being that I'm a numbers-kinda-gal, I wish I could get a more accurate assessment of my true progress, just to know.  I know I'll never win a race, so in reality, I am competing only against myself and my goals.  Maybe that'll be a new project. 

Then after work, we went for a bike ride... and i have to tell you, it got me a little giddy.  Maybe the speed of being on a bike makes up for my lack of speediness while running, but I hit a top speed of 53.1km/hr!

There are no major hills in this neighborhood, and while it was on a small decent, I couldn't believe how fast I was going!  Speed limit in this area due to a number of elementary schools, etc is 40km/hr!!!  

At one point, there were 2 teenage guys, trying to be very cool, riding their bikes with no hands, weaving in and out of cars, being goofs.  I told Jay and his daughter the route we should go, and blew past the two guys...  It was a total rush.  When I met up with Jay again, he asked me how much fun it was to beat the boys... I guess he knows me well enough to know that I loved the moment.  LOL

Anyway, sorry for a dorky-numbers post today, but it was just an odd speedy day for me. I don't remember having an extra coffee or doing anything differently???  

going clipless and a new goal???

a few months ago I bought a hybrid bike, more on the comfort side rather than performance... not really knowing how much I'd enjoy riding. I'm not sure that it was buyer's remorse, but I've been contemplating, researching, and testing out some road bikes, and decided yesterday to buy my first ever road bike.  It's a totally new experience for me as it's also my first bike with clipless pedals! I bought myself a Trek 2.3 WSD,

and instead of the bucket type pedals, replaced them with Shimano SPD clipless pedals, and got some cute (can bike shoes be considered cute??) Shimano biking shoes.  Anyone have any suggestions on a name for this bad-boy?

SLB, you'll be happy to know that I've taken your advice, and have equipped myself with a spare tire tube, a pump, and tire wrenches.  Not that I have any friggen clue what to do with it in the event of a flat, but at least I look prepared. LOL

After a basic fitting, and a brief orientation on the shoes and clips, I now own my first road bike.  My first ride went something like this:  got down my street a bit, and realized I left my Garmin on the back of my car.  As this was my first ride on my new wheels, I was not at all concerned with pace or distance, especially since we had the kids with us, but I guess it's just habit.  It was in plain view too, and we're on a decently busy street, so I told them to continue, and I'd catch up shortly -- would be a reason to go fast to catch up again... muhahaha.  Turned into my driveway, which would be the first time in a "real biking situation" that I'd need to unclip... and let's just say it didn't happen so gracefully.   I almost toppled over, still clipped, and although it happened so fast, I somehow managed to get out, and not have the bike or me hit the ground.  Phew!  Once I was safely on two feet, I cracked a smile about it, pride still in tact cuz luckily no one was around to see me. It was such a great ride, I had no idea how much of a difference the bike makes... especially the effort needed with the new pedals.  I really wanted to get out for another ride today, without the kids, but weather was crappy today -- a perfect rainy, lazy, stay in bed all day Sunday, but not good for a new-to-road-bike-and-clipless-wheels-especially-on-wet-pavement-bike-ride.

I got up this morning for our group run, and only me and 2 others showed up.  It was a constant heavy rain... miserable.  While I like running in the rain, no one was really feeling like getting out there, didn't look like it would let up, so we grabbed a coffee instead.  Got back home, grabbed a few more hours of sleep, then carried on with my day.  Rain would start, stop, start, stop all day.  Looked like it was clearing up, so I got ready... and headed out the door.  In typical Mel-style, I got caught in the rain... again.  I guess Jay saw me running in front of the house, coming up the driveway, where me met me with the door open, towel in hand.... awwwwwww.  How sweet  :D  

drowned rat... I was soaked. So even though I didn't run in the rain this morning, maybe karma reared it's ugly head and made sure to rain while I was out there.  I only did about 7k, a big difference to the original 32k that we were planning to run, but I think my body enjoyed the few extra hours sleep this morning.

The bike ride didn't happen, so I'll just have to practice a bit of patience, as they're forecasting rain for tomorrow as well.  

I have a lot of thoughts going through my mind now about a new goal---  I previously talked about maybe doing a try-a-tri.  Biking and running would be easier for me to train for, and while I like to swim, it would be a challenge for me. So I'm thinking of looking at a Duathlon -- run, bike, run!  No swim.  Not for this year, but possibly next year. What I really want to do first is either volunteer or be a spectator at an event, as I've now learned from this site there are many local events in the next few months!  I would love to see the atmosphere and see if this type of event would be something I'd like to try. 

Seeking any advice from those that have trained or are training for multisport events, and possible training plans that might work well for me.  thanks as always, hope everyone had a great weekend.  have a great week!  

starting week 2 of the 100 push up challenge tomorrow, wish me luck :)

like mother, like son

wow. 3 blogging days in a row!  will i ever shut up! LOL

Last night was the Running Room's 20 minute challenge.  I took my 9 year old son Terron with me.  Normally if I go out for a run with him, he's on his bike, so we both thought it would be fun and something different.  It wasn't a race, just an free, annual event to encourage being active.

I see a lot of me in Terron... but last night was like looking back 20 years ago in a mirror.  The other day I blogged about how much I hated running as a child, and how I made up every excuse to avoid it.  Well, Terron did the same and had some fresh, new excuses that I wouldn't have thought of!  It was so funny.  I later told him in the car after ice cream that I was onto him, and he laughed.  He also found it pretty strange that I did the same thing as a kid, and now love it, so he said said maybe one day he'll be doing races like this.  So we ran a bit, then walked, but had a good time together... which was my intention anyway.

I went for a 10k bike ride at lunch today to change up from running, and tonight was bootcamp! Yay!    Jay did not go...  i'll leave it that. ha ha.  He said next week... we'll see.  

Shins are still nagging me... I'd like to say that they a little better today, but i'm not sure. I've been icing them like crazy, resting, elevating them.  I go tomorrow to the sports injury doc at lunch for another ART treatment, so hopefully there will be progress.  Even though I'm not at the point of frustration yet, I would love to understand why I'm getting this!  I've been pretty consistent with running since May 2007, other than my injury in March, after which I start back slowly and rebuilt again gradually.  I've taken the odd week off for vacation and moving... but isn't a bit of a break a good thing sometimes?  A week off training shouldn't be getting my legs so unconditioned!  I've been doing a lot of cross-training... biking, bootcamp, 100 push-up challenge, and varying my runs with tempos, hillls, LSD, building distance gradually, stretching for 10+ minutes after runs, etc...  I feel like after some struggles, I've got the right combination of orthotics and shoes, and no shin splints for the first 200 km with the shoes/orthotics, why now? 

Anyway, my dad, a former marathoner, is wanting to get back into running, and wants me to show him the program I followed!  I'm so excited, because he's one of my running hero's.  I know now that he's getting back to his normal self, and that us moving back in with him is helping... He's  gone through so much over the last 2 years, so to see him like this, I'm happy.

Speaking of hero's, do you have a running hero?  Have a great weekend... and happy running, hopefully I will be too :)

my 15 seconds of fame

July/August's issue of The Running Room magazine came in the mail yesterday.  Flipping through it last night casually while watching tv, not really paying much attention to either.

I get to page 50 in the magazine, and there I am! Literally!!!  

With my running group the I boast and blog about regularly!  It would seem that two of the original group members wrote an article about their beginnings of running, the stray members collected along the way throughout the various clinics they've done (including yours truly), and the accomplishment of completing the half Marathon together in March.  The wednesday following the 1/2, we wore our shirts proudly and went out bowling and for dinner to celebrate, where the picture shown was taken.  I remember the two girls discussing submitting an article, but didn't know it actually happened! What a surprise.  If you want to actually read the articles, you can click here, and download the .pdf version. (If reading it there, i think we're on page 27).

On page 44 of the same magazine, I noticed a story about a lady in the same small town in Manitoba where my mom lives.  Being that it's such a small town, I immediately grabbed the phone, called my mom, and yes, she knows who the story is written about quite well! How weird is that??!  So someone she knows, AND her daughter, in two completely different Canadian cities, within 6 pages of each other in the same magazine, in totally unrelated running stories!  Small world!!!! 

forgive me bloggers, for I have fibbed... a long time ago!!!

...not recently, and not to any of you, i promise!!!!  lol

i noticed last night how greatly my life has changed with running. It's no secret that I hated running -- never tried to hide this fact.  My gym teacher knew it, my parents, there was just nothing I enjoyed about it.  You sweat, you breathe heavily, you stink, you hurt, why would anyone do this to themselves... for fun!  Even though I was sorta tom-boyish as a child, playing football or tag outside with the boys rather than barbies or dress-up with the girls; if I was told to run, forget it, I found excuses.  

Have you ever exaggerated something, like when you don't feel well, or have an ache or pain, and make it seem worse than it is to get out of doing something you don't like? Well, I got creative to get out of gym class to avoid running....  

i often had cramps or a stomach ache ... hey, I never said I proud of it, and I was young, so please don't hold it against me! Luckily I loved gymnastics, swimming, volleyball, skipping, etc, so I always passed my classes lol.

well, during the last few runs, my left calf has been feeling pretty tight... like I have a knot that I just can't get rid of.  Icing and Aleve aren't helping so much, and I don't want it turning into anything worse, so I made an appointment to see my sports injury doc last night.  

I couldn't help but laugh at myself while I was in the room waiting for the doc to come in.  I was thinking about how to describe what was 'hurting', how it was feeling, when the pain occurs, what motion triggers it.  I had to come up with a way to be truthful, to get the help I need, but not make it sound as serious, so that i don't hear those dreaded words -- you "need to take a break", or "No Running".

Funny how years ago I would have done anything to avoid running -- now I do everything to make sure I can, while keeping in mind that I need to listen to my body.

Anyway, after an ART treatment, he said I am at the beginning stages of shin splints.  Need to continue icing (which is great that I work from home now as I can constantly keep ice packs in the freezer and switch them up when needed).  He said that he's not going to restrict my training yet -- as long as I continue icing, especially after running, continue switching up and varying my runs (hills, tempo, LSD, fartlek, etc) and not to continuously do the same route... so that I'm not on the same bevel of the road all the time.  Deal!  He wants to see me again later in the week, so I will try to get in there Thursday or Friday for another treatment and see how it is.  He was happy, as was I, that I didn't wait till it got worse to see him.  I guess I do learn  :)

I went out for a short 3k run at lunch today... I really just needed to get out of the house for a change of scenery.  I've been sitting in on various training sessions, so my days have been very long.  I walked a bit more than I would normally need to on a short run... but tender after the treatment, so I took it easy.  Doing the 20 minute Challenge with my son tomorrow night at the Running Room.  We'll see how i'm feeling by Thursday, may switch up my run for a bike ride instead, and Boot Camp at night... Jay is still undecided if he'll be joining us this week.... LOL.

Have a great week everyone :) thanks for reading.

feet don't fail me now!

took 2 days off running, Friday and yesterday.  Bootcamp sorta kicked my ass too... so I figured that I'd give my body a bit of a break.  We went over to a friend's place last night that had a hot tub outside.  So with a fire pit going, a 1 litre bottle of water in hand to ensure proper hydration for my long run this morning (no alcohol, water only!  dedication, right!) we chilled out in the hot tub under the stars.  My legs and butt really thanked me for it... 

This morning, I got up, had my breakfast, and off I went to meet the running group... and it started raining.  Not a lot, but enough to put a chill in the air.  7k, urgent bathroom break needed, ran into a hotel, used the facilities, good to go.

At 13k, I split from the girl I was running with as their group was heading back, so I continued on my own.  I was later discussing this with a few of the girls... I am happy running with someone or on my own... both have benefits and enjoyment.  I do need to run with music though... just something for some background noise.  I use one ear bud, and keep the volume down, and can easily maintain a conversation without being distracted by the song, or talking super loud over the music.  Most runs, I couldn't even name you a song I heard!  I do know that there are moments that I do get "picked up" by a good tune, but most times, it's just background noise to distract my mind from watching the "clock".  Checking the Garmin every minute to see how long I've been out there, or how far I've gone plays bad games with my mind... i keep looking for reasons to stop, even though I really en

joy running.  Music does enough to distract me from this.

But I saw no one else from my group... so I carried on, in my own happy little world.  By this time, the rain/drizzle had stopped, it was cloudy, a light breeze.  An absolute perfect day to be out running.  Before I realized it, I was on the homestretch.  About 4k to go, and at the same distance that I was at last weekend, which was a huge milestone for me... passing the 21.1 km distance.

I remember running past Canada's Wonderland, kinda teary eyed.  Not because of pain but more because of accomplishment and pride, and because I can run.  Ya, I'm a suck sometimes lol.  To those that discouraged me, thought I'd never be able to quit smoking, or questioned my sanity when I said I started running.... I have the following to say:

To those of you, family and friends, virtual bloggers, readers, others that i may never get the privilege of meeting, a heartfelt thank you for the encouragement, providing your wisdom,  and even just taking the time to read what at first I thought would be a journal for me to go back to, if ever i needed encouragement and to see how far I've come. 

I hit 27.31 km today!  Looking at the map, it seems so far, and I ran it!  

I came home, ate, showered, had a 3o minute power nap, then went and crashed my father-in-law's pool party! LOL  It felt so good for my legs :)

Tomorrow I start the 100 push up challenge.  Bring it on!

humbled

this time, it's not me for a change! LOL

After all the raving I've been doing about the BootCamp workouts we've been doing on Thursdays, Jay decided he wanted to come and check it out. He had nothing going on tonight, so it was perfect.  He said to me at the beginning of the week that because he coached my women's football team a few years ago, he could create us a good BootCamp routine, but I assured him that our workouts were tough and not to underestimate it or us until he tried one.

"We're running to which bench?" "How many pushups did you say?" "More lunges?" LOL These were some of the comments that I heard, between laughter, not only by Jay, but others as well.  A bit more than half way through, I turned to Jay to see how he was doing... and he said "I'm in horrible shape, you runners are crazy" He's a QB, he needs 40 yard sprints, any sort of distance running is not his thing, but he was definitely surprised by what we were out doing every week, already stiffening up as he was getting out of the car, and unsure how tonight's hockey game would go.  He seemed sure that he'd be giving up some of his ice time for his fellow team-mates tonight as there were a lot of lunges and squats... A LOT!  :)

One more thing came out of tonight's bootcamp.  I got my #.  The number of push ups I can currently do.  My initial test is done.  The new challenge has been spreading like wildfire, I'm seeing more and more people participating, and I've been wanting to start, but procrastinating for the "test".  So it's on...  I'm gonna start the 100 pushup challenge on Monday to make it easy.

Will be taking a break from running tomorrow, but my boss said that we'd likely wrap up the day around noon! Yahoo!!!  If that's the case, I will try to get out for a bike ride.  Hoping for a 5-6k run on Saturday at some point, possibly before or after a bike ride, then 29k on Sunday, and a much flatter route!  That's my hope, but we'll see how it goes.  Have a great weekend! 

The Good, the Bad and the Cute???!

for any of you who have been reading my blog lately, you'll undoubtedly remember my luck over the last month or so with getting caught in the rain, not once-- but twice, including getting a flat tire on my bike, not once, but also twice!

Not this time!!  I got home from the office, since my new boss is in town this week training me on my new job.... which I think I'm going to L.O.V.E!!!  

I got dressed in clothes intended for my cruise back in May, since I had full intentions of running, which didn't happen... see here for more details.  I had bought myself a black with pink trim running skirt, a matching pink v-neck, hooded short sleeve shirt... and I just never got the courage or nerve to wear it!  Not sure why, since I am the one that bought it, but I guess it's one of those things that us girls do... we think it looks better on the rack than on ourselves.

I got home, and Jay said "You look so cute in that outfit!"  He scored big points  :) And I actually loved running in it!

It was 29℃, 60%+ humidity, feeling more like 38℃!  Forecasting thunderstorms, gotta go quick!  Ran a short, quick 4k.  Jay wanted to go for a bike ride... but dad needs technical assistance (mental note -- need to add this to my resume, as he seems to have gotten my phone number mistaken with Microsoft Tech Support...). 5 minute phone call with my dad, got him sorted out, and we're out the door.  We ride around the neighborhood, discovered an amazing new trail right down the street from my house!!!  Bonus!  Short 7k ride because by now, I'm feeling hungry.  When my blood sugar gets low, I get cranky.... I hate that feeling.  So we head home to get some grub, and the rain starts....  ha ha!

Hey SLB!  No flat this time either! Maybe this is my beginning of your decade long string of no flats! **KNOCKING ON SOME WOOD FOR BOTH OF US!!!** LOL

New Milestone

5:30 am.  The time my alarm clock rang.  On a Sunday.  I really must like running thing.  LOL

It was my first time getting to the group's meeting spot since moving, so I gave myself extra time; got there in plenty of time, probably could have stayed in bed a bit longer, but I was looking very forward to today's run.  It's been 3 weeks since my last long run, and with a 30k coming up in 6 weeks, I really want to get my confidence up.

The plan was originally to run 29k, but there was quite a bit of discussion prior to setting out that the route was probably too hilly, and for our long slow runs, we should be picking a flatter route.

I was running with one girl from another group, who was running 13k, so we separated at about 8k, and I was completely separated from the rest of my group.  I've only done this full route once, and by some miracle, I made it back to a familiar part of the route on my own! I was quite pleased with myself, but later found out that i missed one part, which would have added about another 5k.  I finished by running 23k.  6k short of our original plan, however, I feel happy with my decision of not completing the full 29k because of the following:   

• I missed 2 long runs in a row, last long run was just over 20k.  
• I haven't been running as consistently as normal over the last 2 weeks
  
• I had another runners' keys in my car... not sure if they were back already, waiting for me, and didn't want to hold them up
• 6 weeks till my 30k, don't want to risk injury
• It was getting pretty hot out

This is my longest distance yet!  I haven't run anything past my 1/2 marathon distance in March, so I'm quite pleased.  I felt great today!  Fueling was not a problem, I feel that I paced myself properly knowing there were lots of hills, and that the intention was to be an LSD run, and other than a little bit of mind games my brain was trying to play on me while walking up the last hill, I could have continued!

One thing that I did notice though is that when I ran my 1/2 marathon, the consensus seemed to be that the 18k mark was "the wall".  I remember looking at my Garmin and was 17.98k and still felt strong!  It was the hill that seemed like a mountain at that point...    

I met up with "Speedy" from our group and we ran together for about the last 4k, and when we got back, no one did the full distance.  I did 23, Speedy did 26, and then the others were 20, 15, and 9.  I guess we all really broke away from the pack and did our own thing and whatever each individual could do.  I really like that about this group.  We're all so different in pace and distance, but we all encourage each other and have fun. Next week we're changing up the route to a flatter area, and will try for 29k then.  Hopefully I will feel as good as I did today.

I called my son who is hanging out with his dad for 2 weeks, and he asked how far I ran this morning. I told him 23k.  He said "mom, you ran more than a 1/2 marathon this morning?!"  Crazy, but yes! I did!  :)