Friday, March 30, 2007

I'M EXHAUSTED!!

I am feeling physically, intellectually and emotionally very tired. I had a big week at work in the lab everyday, and althought I wasn't that sore after ATB, standing all day took a toll on me. I hadn't much time to recover from the race as I took only Monday off and resumed my training schedule on Tuesday.
Here's this week in review:
Tuesday 5 miles @ 11:23 min/mile
Wednesday 8 miles @ 10:31 min/mile (PACE)
Thursday 5 miles @ 11:09 min/mile

The last 2 runs were very hard, I was running on the waterfront and there was a lot of wind. I felt like I was fighting with the wind more than running. I was tageting 10:20 for my pace run but I was not able to maintain it. I believe it's a mix of the evil wind and being tired. I actually had to nap for a hour before Thursday's run!

I'm happy this is a step back week, I'm only doing 12 miles tomorrow and that will feel like nothing after last week's 19!! =)

Here are some pictures from ATB.
Before the race with Tim (tdiller on RM)



During the race, look at the swing of my hair!! I almost didn't recognize myself! I think it's a great picture!





I really like the finish line one.
As you can see my gun time was 3:25:32






Sunday, March 25, 2007

FUN TIMES AROUND THE BAY!!

I had a blast at the Around the Bay 30K race!!! This has just become my favorite race =) I only have postive things to say from the organization , the volunteers, and the people cheering on the side of the road to the race course. There was almost twice as many people as at the Chilly Half (5200) but the organization was so much better! It didn't feel crowded except at the beginning of the race, it took me almost 4 minutes to cross the starting line! I hung out with some maniacs at the beginning and it was great! It was so nice to be running and meeting some of them on the course, felt like I was running with some friends, orange power! ;-)

I didn't start the race at a crazy and unmaintainable pace which is a small victory for me! I am also very proud to announce that I finally got negative splits!! YAY!

10K @ 10:50 min/mile

20K @ 10:55 min/mile

30K @ 10:44 min/mile (woohoo!)

I felt strong the whole time, I could not believe how easy it was to maintain that pace! No knee pain, nothing hurt at all. This was a great test for me, all that winter running really paid off and the 4:30 spring marathon is really becoming a reality. =) Everyone was talking about all the rolling hills and the big one, but I didn't think they were that bad and I really didn't concentrate on hill training this winter. I actually had lots of fun doing them (yes you can call me crazy!). I'm sure that driving the course and seeing all the hills the night before (thanks to Dierdre) really helped me on visualising them and not being afraid. I had lots of energy the whole race but when I saw the 28 km marker I really speeded up! I crossed the finish line at 3:21:45 (chip time) and felt great about my time and my performance!

I love this race and I'm hoping to do it again in the future! Thanks for reading and happy running everyone! =)

Friday, March 23, 2007

AROUND THE BAY, HERE I COME!

I am leaving tomorrow morning for Hamilton and I'm very excited to be racing the oldest road race in North America which was established in 1894!!! =) It even started 3 years before Boston! This will be very fun! I'm not going to race it, I will be running it as a LSD (targeting 11-11:30 min/mile). I don't really have a goal time in mind anything around 3h30 will be fine with me. I think this is a great way to get a 19 miles run in while getting out of Windsor and seeing some Maniacs.

As far as this week's recap:
Tuesday: 5 miles at 11:14 min/mile
Wednesday: 8 miles at 10:52 min/mile
Thursday: 5 miles at 11:05 min/mile

Have a good week-end everyone!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

SPRING THAW????

Spring has come and gone here! After our wonderful heat wave last week, the weather cool down just in time for the race. It was really chilly on Sunday morning!! And the race started 30 mins late, I was completely frozen after 5 minutes and even if I was cheering the kids at the dash and 1K, I could barely feel my feet by the beginning of the race!!! Once the gun went off (I didn't even heard it, just followed people who started running!), cold feet and hands didn't matter anymore!! I didn't want to stat too crazy, as this is my biggest issue with races. So, I tried a 8:20 min/mile pace which is a pace that I think I could have maintained if I had been running on fresh legs (I ran 11 miles the day before). When I realised the legs were not cooperating as much as I wanted, I just tried to keep my pace around 9 min/mile for the whole time. The race went by fast!! I had completely forgotten how short a 5K race is after running all these longer distances!! I did it in 27:33 which is a PR for me, improving my time by almost 2 minutes!!! My last 5K was on Canada Day with 29:29. The best thing about this: a sub 9 min/mile pace!!!! 8:52 min/mile is so sexy =) Also, I finally made out of the "Back of the pack", I'm not a proud "Middle of the pack" (12/24 in my AG)!! Yay, I'm so happy with my improvements this year so far!


I noticed Shelley's Ironman hat when she made the U-turn, she had been running right in front of me! =) I had a chance to talk to her after the race and it is very nice to meet a fellow blogger, especially someone who is such an inspiration to me! She never stops, has more energy than the energizer bunny!! I mean she is training for her 7th Ironman this year!!

Today was a rest day, tomorrow back to our normal running schedule (5 miles). Have a good week everyone!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

YOU KNOW SPRING IS HERE WHEN....

-It's 20 oC outside and you can run in capris and a tank top
-The usually deserted streets are full of people just hanging out on the front porch
-You don't see any more snow
-The birds are singing
-You decide to run 8 miles at pace (10:22 min/mile) instead of the plan 4 because it's so nice and you can't stop....
-Last but not least: you're running through MicMac Park and you see people having sex in the back seat of a car! yes I did see you in the Grey Mazda Protégé!!!

Have a good day everyone =) it's still gorgeous here and I'm going to do a slow 4 miler tonight!

Saturday, March 10, 2007

IT'S ALL RELATIVE!

It was really grey and windy this morning and I wasn't too enthusiastic about the 17 miles run!! But by the time I ate breakfast and walked the pooch, the sun started to come out and it ended up being a GREAT run. I remember last summer when I tried the 15 and 16 milers I was ready to die at the end. Well, things have changed and I'm very happy about it! This almost seemed like an easy walk in the park! =) I ran 17 miles @ 11:23 min/mile pace which is right on target for my LSDs. I think I'm getting good at this whole training thing! =) When I got home, I went in a cold water bath for as long as I could take it (2 mins!). I felt so tired, I ate a banana and got some chocolate milk and went to bed.... 1h30 later I woke up soooo hungry.

The pics from the chilly half are up... not pretty, the fuel belt underneat the coat means I look like 30 lbs overweight.... oh well that's what you get for winter racing!! :D




Wednesday, March 07, 2007

HALF-MARATHON vs MARATHON PACE

Now that the half-mary is behind me, I had to figure out what my marathon pace will be... According to the Equivalent time Calculator I could run a 4h33 marathon!! WOW that would just be amazing!! =) That's why I've decided to target 10:20-30 min/mile for my pace runs (compared to 10 min/mile for the half).

It's been a big week so far with the race on Sunday and having only Monday off I feel like I haven't stop at all!! Tuesday's run was very hard, I was still sore from the race and going up and down the stairs hurt! The good things is that weather has warmed up and we're looking at a GREAT week-end (8oC). Thank god because I will be running 17 miles on Saturday and I wasn't looking forward to it!!

Here's this week's recap:
Tuesday 4 miles @ 11:09 min/mile
Wednesday 7 miles @ 10:22 min/miles (PACE)
Thursday 4 miles @ 11:31 min/mile

Have a good week-end everyone! =)

Monday, March 05, 2007

CHILLY IN BURLINGTON!!

The Chilly Half-Marathon was a great race! It was a very nice flat course and despite the really cold weather (-15 oC with windchill) I had a very good time! On the morning of the race, I found myself very relaxed and not nervous at all. =) That was a good change from my previous races, I think I just felt confident about myself, the distance and the performance I could pull off. It was nice to see my friend Amanda at the startig line (thanks for coming!). I swore to myself before the race that I wouldn't start too fast.... but I did anyway... I don't know why but there is some sort of energy that takes over me and I can't rationalise my speed... oh well at least I didn't crash and burn! I was feeling like a speed racer though (9-9:10 min/mile for the first 4 miles). But then I couldn't maintain that pace (of course that's my 5K speed!!).

I started to lower my speed to 9:45 min/mile for the next few miles but then again I found myself, out of breath... The good thing is that my legs were feeling great. No knee problems, no shin splints =) Then we got to Lakeshore Rd for the last 5 miles and the wind was in our face the whole time up to the end! It was hard but everytime I wanted to slow down I kept saying to myself: "If you don't give your 100% you'll be disappointed" or "Pain is temporary, pride is forever".... I felt very strong mentally =) When I saw the 20K marker I speed up a lot but it look like the never ending 1.1K (apparently the markers were slightly off...). My official time is 2:10:59 (chip time)!!! I am soooooo HAPPY with my time!! It's right on my target time with an average pace of 9:59 min/mile. I am so glad that I train smart and hard as it paid off at the race! I PRed by about 13 minutes, I am so proud!! =)

The thing that I learned with this race, is that I am not a big fan of crowded courses, there was over 3000 people running and it was way too much for me. I like to have my own space and not have to fight for it... I'm guessing Around the Bay will be even more crazier than this but I'm a strong believer in "Gotta try something once to know you don't like it!".

Well thanks everyone for all the good wishes on the race! I had a blast and it felt good to be racing again! I'm even more excited for the marathon in May!

Thursday, March 01, 2007

RAINING... AGAIN....

I ran 4 miles on Tuesday (10:30 min/mile) and then 30 min tempo run on Wednesday (9:35 min/mile). And tonight was 2 miles in pouring rain.... again... grr! We're having this freezing rain warning going. I decided to bring the pooch along tonight, makes the run more enjoyable =) And I knew I wouldn't have to walk him in the rain after (bonus!). He did start to slow down considerably after 1.5 miles, he was way behind me!!! I believe he can run 3 miles but 2 miles is a great distance for him. I would have love to adopt a bigger dog and be able to do all the runs with him, maybe one day!

I just checked the weather network and it seems that Sunday will be a great Race Day! Sunny with a high of -1 oC and a min of -6 oC and wind of 20 km/h. Perfect! Well this has time to change like 20 times in the meantime but at least the outlook is good!! I can't wait till the road trip, Flashy is coming with me! This is going to be great!!! =)