So for the first time I've still been running during my period of not updating my blog.
I've been unemployed for nearly a month now - which is quite terrible. I hate it. But it has given me some time to refocus my training.
At this point I'm hoping to run a series of half's in the fall. I'm still signed up for the Nissan 10 Miler in July --- and hope to run a Half in September, followed by hopefully another in October or November.
I'm also trying to run more efficiently -- and faster. I've gone back to 20 minute interval training during the week. My goal is to do short, fast, 20 minute intervals 3-4 times a week, in addition to my long runs on the weekend. This week I'm doing 3:1 splits, this weekend I'm going to run 8km. Next week I'll be doing 5:2 splits and will run 10km on the following weekend. Strict 20 minute runs during the week makes the whole thing more manageable for me, which is nice.
Otherwise my neighbour and I have been doing all sorts of exercise together recently. We got out the basketball, bikes, and we even bought a soccer ball -- I have visions of us running the length of the soccer field passing the ball back and forth by the summer - but I suppose we'll see. It's fun to get out though.
Otherwise - I'll just keep going with my little runs :)
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Didn't Win the Lottery :(
Boooooooooooo!
The results for the NYC Marathon's international lottery entries is up --- and my status has been declared "Not Accepted" - oh well! I guess I won't be running NYC this year!
I've been pondering it for the past month or so, and I think I'm going to rethink my whole approach to this season. I'm actually considering going back to the beginning and retraining myself entirely for a series of half's this fall. I was thinking of doing a tour of them - Scotia, Toronto and maybe even Hamilton. That's alot of races - but I sort of like the idea of learning to run faster, and more consistently.
Speed is what's inspiring this change in focus. I'm not satisfied running at my pokey 6.5-7 minute per km pace anymore. I have one speed, it's the same pace for whether I'm running a 5k and whether I'm running 25. I want to go faster, I want to stretch my legs. I want to run a friggan 10k in 50 minutes damnit!
So I'm rethinking my whole plan for this year now -- Nissan 10 miler is in July, the Run for Canada 10k is Canada Day and was mentioned to me... Montreal International is September 9, Scotia is end of September, Toronto is mid-October, and the new Hamilton Race & Angus Glen are both on November 4. Thats about 2 weeks between each race -- I'm wondering if it's a totally insane idea to try 4 races in 2 months, or not... If anything though - I bet I could run at least one of those races under 2h15m. I wonder how badly a race schedule like that messes with your head.......
I've been in the mood to test the limits of my body and mind recently. And I've found it in various types of activities. I like to marry the body and mind, and to challenge them together - the way I was running previously was more of a challenge to my mind. Oh, it was hard on the body - but I would say that my running was 70% mental and 30% physical --- I want that to be more even. Even more - I already know my brain is great, I'd like to see my physical ability surpass my mental ability, even just once.
So I didn't win the lottery :( It's a little sad, I would've really loved to have run New York this year - but that's okay, because it opens up the doors to a wealth of other possibilities.
Oh - and Sonia rocked her way through another marathon yesterday, despite a bunch of physical troubles. You should go congratulate her.
The results for the NYC Marathon's international lottery entries is up --- and my status has been declared "Not Accepted" - oh well! I guess I won't be running NYC this year!
I've been pondering it for the past month or so, and I think I'm going to rethink my whole approach to this season. I'm actually considering going back to the beginning and retraining myself entirely for a series of half's this fall. I was thinking of doing a tour of them - Scotia, Toronto and maybe even Hamilton. That's alot of races - but I sort of like the idea of learning to run faster, and more consistently.
Speed is what's inspiring this change in focus. I'm not satisfied running at my pokey 6.5-7 minute per km pace anymore. I have one speed, it's the same pace for whether I'm running a 5k and whether I'm running 25. I want to go faster, I want to stretch my legs. I want to run a friggan 10k in 50 minutes damnit!
So I'm rethinking my whole plan for this year now -- Nissan 10 miler is in July, the Run for Canada 10k is Canada Day and was mentioned to me... Montreal International is September 9, Scotia is end of September, Toronto is mid-October, and the new Hamilton Race & Angus Glen are both on November 4. Thats about 2 weeks between each race -- I'm wondering if it's a totally insane idea to try 4 races in 2 months, or not... If anything though - I bet I could run at least one of those races under 2h15m. I wonder how badly a race schedule like that messes with your head.......
I've been in the mood to test the limits of my body and mind recently. And I've found it in various types of activities. I like to marry the body and mind, and to challenge them together - the way I was running previously was more of a challenge to my mind. Oh, it was hard on the body - but I would say that my running was 70% mental and 30% physical --- I want that to be more even. Even more - I already know my brain is great, I'd like to see my physical ability surpass my mental ability, even just once.
So I didn't win the lottery :( It's a little sad, I would've really loved to have run New York this year - but that's okay, because it opens up the doors to a wealth of other possibilities.
Oh - and Sonia rocked her way through another marathon yesterday, despite a bunch of physical troubles. You should go congratulate her.
Friday, May 11, 2007
New Plan...
Bah! I knew it wouldn't be long before SOMETHING started to hurt. Running is definately a painful sport.
So I've been battling Shin Splints all week - trying to push through my runs. Meh - I do the milage, just end up walking alot of it - which definately doesn't count as a run.
So new plan. I'm taking today and tomorrow off to rest my legs. I'll add some Naproxen to the mix for the next few days to combat any inflamation (I got the Naproxen last year with my ITband syndrome) --- and I'll cross-train.
My plan is to go Biking down to the lake today, then to join the throes of inline skaters down there. I figure an hour on skates, plus about a half-hour on each side, will give me a good enough workout.
Tomorrow I'll take the day off entirely, and hopefully on Sunday I can be back on track for my LSD run (~15km) on Sunday - but we'll see. I really hate it when runs suck...
So I've been battling Shin Splints all week - trying to push through my runs. Meh - I do the milage, just end up walking alot of it - which definately doesn't count as a run.
So new plan. I'm taking today and tomorrow off to rest my legs. I'll add some Naproxen to the mix for the next few days to combat any inflamation (I got the Naproxen last year with my ITband syndrome) --- and I'll cross-train.
My plan is to go Biking down to the lake today, then to join the throes of inline skaters down there. I figure an hour on skates, plus about a half-hour on each side, will give me a good enough workout.
Tomorrow I'll take the day off entirely, and hopefully on Sunday I can be back on track for my LSD run (~15km) on Sunday - but we'll see. I really hate it when runs suck...
Sunday, May 6, 2007
I don't wanna talk about Sporting Life....
... but I will.
Honestly - I'm dissapointed in myself. I realize it's tacky to b*tch about the way you ran a race, but I'm seriously annoyed at myself right now. I totally choked. I did.
My race report:
Woke up at 5:30 this morning to get ready to run. Made myself a peanut butter & banana sandwich while I got ready, at 6am Toby & Sam picked me up and we headed off to pick up Ken & Vanessa. At 7am we had arrived at the starting line and proceeded to hang out for a bit, talking about how cold it was. Checked my bag and headed off to stand in the washroom line.
(a bunch of TMI stuff about my on-going gastro-intestinal stuff belongs here, but I'll save you the details...)
Anyways -- at the start of the race I was off --- I went strong until about the 6km mark - hitting my rhythm early on and maintaining a good pace of around 6 min/km. I was feeling pretty damn strong and sure of myself, and was incredibly proud of myself.
I should probably mention that I forgot my watch this morning. I was using the "stopwatch" feature on my ipod as some idea, but my ipod was in the zipper pocked of my running jacket, which was tied around my waste - so it was hardly a good timekeeper.
Anyways - it was at the 6.5km mark that I made a point of checking my time -- and it all sort of fell apart from there... I don't know what happened, if I was hitting my limit & getting tired, or if I just psyched myself out. Either way - I got slower. My pace slowed, my walk-breaks became more frequent. At the 8km mark I realized I had to push through, so I ran strong until about the 9km mark. At this point we were under the Gardiner, which is a little gross, so I walked a bit, and ran, and walked some more. I finished still running, paced in the chute for a bit before joining the huge bottleneck of runners.
5 minutes after I had finished, I realized I could definately keep running for another 5km, and that's when I realized I HADN'T run my best race. I totally could have gone harder, and I wish I had run like I did last year - to the point where I almost passed out and couldn't move another step at the finish line. But I didn't.
I finished in nearly the same time as last year - 1:08 (last year was 1:06). Mostly that time just annoys me.
Okay - so my recap.
- Out of this experience I've learned that I AM a stronger runner than I was last year. Even while I was "giving up" today it wasn't because my muscles were done, it was because my head was done cooperating with my body. I have to work on hill training more I think, and possibly some speedwork to improve my cardio-levels.
I've also learned the hard lesson that's going to kick me in the butt next time I face a run like this - because I'll have that finisher's medal hanging on my wall to remind me.
It's a great accomplishment to run 10k - not everyone can do that. But it's also a dissapointment to know that you could have run it better. A little bit of Yin & Yang for contemplation tonight.
Honestly - I'm dissapointed in myself. I realize it's tacky to b*tch about the way you ran a race, but I'm seriously annoyed at myself right now. I totally choked. I did.
My race report:
Woke up at 5:30 this morning to get ready to run. Made myself a peanut butter & banana sandwich while I got ready, at 6am Toby & Sam picked me up and we headed off to pick up Ken & Vanessa. At 7am we had arrived at the starting line and proceeded to hang out for a bit, talking about how cold it was. Checked my bag and headed off to stand in the washroom line.
(a bunch of TMI stuff about my on-going gastro-intestinal stuff belongs here, but I'll save you the details...)
Anyways -- at the start of the race I was off --- I went strong until about the 6km mark - hitting my rhythm early on and maintaining a good pace of around 6 min/km. I was feeling pretty damn strong and sure of myself, and was incredibly proud of myself.
I should probably mention that I forgot my watch this morning. I was using the "stopwatch" feature on my ipod as some idea, but my ipod was in the zipper pocked of my running jacket, which was tied around my waste - so it was hardly a good timekeeper.
Anyways - it was at the 6.5km mark that I made a point of checking my time -- and it all sort of fell apart from there... I don't know what happened, if I was hitting my limit & getting tired, or if I just psyched myself out. Either way - I got slower. My pace slowed, my walk-breaks became more frequent. At the 8km mark I realized I had to push through, so I ran strong until about the 9km mark. At this point we were under the Gardiner, which is a little gross, so I walked a bit, and ran, and walked some more. I finished still running, paced in the chute for a bit before joining the huge bottleneck of runners.
5 minutes after I had finished, I realized I could definately keep running for another 5km, and that's when I realized I HADN'T run my best race. I totally could have gone harder, and I wish I had run like I did last year - to the point where I almost passed out and couldn't move another step at the finish line. But I didn't.
I finished in nearly the same time as last year - 1:08 (last year was 1:06). Mostly that time just annoys me.
Okay - so my recap.
- Out of this experience I've learned that I AM a stronger runner than I was last year. Even while I was "giving up" today it wasn't because my muscles were done, it was because my head was done cooperating with my body. I have to work on hill training more I think, and possibly some speedwork to improve my cardio-levels.
I've also learned the hard lesson that's going to kick me in the butt next time I face a run like this - because I'll have that finisher's medal hanging on my wall to remind me.
It's a great accomplishment to run 10k - not everyone can do that. But it's also a dissapointment to know that you could have run it better. A little bit of Yin & Yang for contemplation tonight.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Countdown...
Due to my own idiocity and a little bit of extra-curricular activity I am left with SORE SORE leg muscles today!
I wanted to get out for 8km today in preparation for Sunday's race, but I don't think it's going to happen today... I think I'm going to take today off to recover my poor legs because a crappy run is worse than no run at all 4 days before a race.
So new plan: Today I will spend the afternoon walking with my dear friend Christine. We have to do some wedding preparation stuffs (her wedding, not mine) - tomorrow I will run that planned 8km, come hell or high water. And it will be fantastic damnit!
I wanted to get out for 8km today in preparation for Sunday's race, but I don't think it's going to happen today... I think I'm going to take today off to recover my poor legs because a crappy run is worse than no run at all 4 days before a race.
So new plan: Today I will spend the afternoon walking with my dear friend Christine. We have to do some wedding preparation stuffs (her wedding, not mine) - tomorrow I will run that planned 8km, come hell or high water. And it will be fantastic damnit!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
New Music!
Bought the new "Ministry of Sound Annual" album yesterday (the European version, not the crappy US version) --- I have to say, as mainstream-club-tunes as they may be, the Ministry albums have been CONSISTENTLY my favourite running music. I'm loading it into my itunes now and am really looking forward to getting out on the road to it.
Otherwise - went for a short run yesterday, which sucked. I hadn't fully recovered from my long run on Sunday and was acutely aware of my "hot spots" the whole way through. I'm going to focus on Cross-training today (with a few hours of bike-riding or blading this afternoon) and try again tomorrow for a slow 8km, followed by an easy 4km jog on Friday. Saturday I'll take entirely off in preparation for Sunday's race.
That's it. I have to get out of the house today and hit up the grocery store. I'm making an effort to eat more whole foods these days, while also slowly making my way through the reserves of canned/processed/dried stuff in my cupboards. My goal is to clear out my cupboards of all the junk soon enough so that I can switch over to mostly organic and whole foods.
Otherwise - went for a short run yesterday, which sucked. I hadn't fully recovered from my long run on Sunday and was acutely aware of my "hot spots" the whole way through. I'm going to focus on Cross-training today (with a few hours of bike-riding or blading this afternoon) and try again tomorrow for a slow 8km, followed by an easy 4km jog on Friday. Saturday I'll take entirely off in preparation for Sunday's race.
That's it. I have to get out of the house today and hit up the grocery store. I'm making an effort to eat more whole foods these days, while also slowly making my way through the reserves of canned/processed/dried stuff in my cupboards. My goal is to clear out my cupboards of all the junk soon enough so that I can switch over to mostly organic and whole foods.
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