Run for the Cure

Sarah and me, modelling Team VIRCS t-shirts

Airlie shows us some team spirit

Christianne and me with the Salmon Kings' mascot - the Vancouver Island marmot (now how does that make sense?!)

Mary, me, and Christianne, post-race

Thanks to all the team member from VIRCS who ran/walked the Run for the Cure in the wind and rain! Go VIRCS!

Skipped workout

I don't normally skip workouts, especially 12 days until raceday! But, as I'm starting to feel a little under the weather, and everyone at the office is sick, I decided to play safe and rest up. Today was only supposed to be an easy 30 minute run, so it's no big deal...only I was supposed to run with my colleagues.

I did, however, get lots of advice on how to beat a cold. It's interesting to hear all the remedies...I'd rather endure a cold than take some these cures!
- Swallowing a heaping tablespoon of minced raw garlic, smothered in honey
- Potassium broth (potatoes, onions, garlic, and parsley)
- Hot water, lemon, honey, and ginger
- Hot water and dried chrysanthemum blossoms
- Coke boiled with lemon slices (a Hong Kong recipe)
- Zinc lozenges with Vitamin C and echinacea
- Gargling with cayenne pepper

Garlic seems like a popular choice...my dad used to put raw cloves up his nose!! I'm not sure what he was trying to accomplish there! I don't like the smell or taste of raw garlic so I cheated and roasted it - but I did eat an entire bulb!! I pity my clients who are coming to see me tomorrow...

13 more sleeps

Sept 23: 25km

Yesterday's workout was the first run of the "taper" period. Although it was almost 10km less than last week, it felt a lot harder because we had 6-7 very substantial, steep hills on the course. Coach, I thought we were supposed to be taking it easy from now 'til the race?! This must be what they call "tough love."

Logistics

Yesterday's workout: 90 minutes (30 min warm-up; 45 minutes steady pace; 15 minutes cool down)

Friday workouts are always dicey because I have to do them before work. I never do well when I just roll out of bed, lace up the shoes and head out the door - I'm stil groggy and half-asleep, thirsty and in desparate need of a cup of coffee. Yesterday's workout was no exception...and to make matters worse, I needed the washroom after 30 minutes.

Going to the bathroom in the middle of the marathon is unavoidable, but you waste a lot of time waiting for those porta-potties; last year, 5-7 minutes were eaten up by my pee break. This may not seem like an unreasonable amount of time, but when you're trying to break a personal record or qualify for the Boston Marathon, every second counts! I just don't know how to get around this problem though...when you gotta go, you gotta go! And I'm not prepared to do what some elite runners do, which is pee in their shorts! I'm not that crazy!

Building "character"

Our coaches, Randy and Rob, have devised a 3 stage training schedule where we build up strength and speed before tapering. The first part of the program consisted of hills to build strength and "character" - that's how you know it is NOT going to be fun. We started with 5 hill repeats and built up to 9. Keep in mind that this was in the middle of July! Tonight we finished 9 x 800m, the last speed workout before the long-awaited taper. As we were rounding the last lap in the dying light of the beautiful autumn day, I must say I did get a bit of the "runner's high."

I can't believe the marathon is only a couple weeks away! Randy told me last year that some people feel a bit depressed after the euphoria of finishing. At first, I scoffed at the idea - no more insanely long runs, early Sundays, blisters, chafing, or chiropractor appointments? Being able to drink, eat whatever, and go out on Saturday nights? Bring it on! But I do have to admit, I did feel a bit down in the dumps after finishing last year. There was so much buildup and I had devoted so much time to training that I just didn't know what to do after it was all done! (And of course, the thesis was not exactly something I looked forward to!) Well, I'll just have to keep myself busy somehow until the next training clinic in January!

3 weeks to go

Today's workout: 34 km, the last long run before the marathon.
Weather: Cool and rainy
Course: through much of the marathon route http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1290912 (very scenic - lots of ocean views)
Distance actually ran: about 34.6 km
Time: 3hours 21 minutes
Pace: 5:50/min - about 10 seconds slower than target pace, but includes a pee break
Mood: sleepy - chipper - tired - relieved
Current status: kind of stiff and so tired I can't be bothered to write full sentences

But hey, now we're on a taper! The Sunday before the run I'm doing the Run for the Cure with my co-workers. Very exciting! (I'm especially stoked about the team t-shirts).

Off to bed now...

One more week 'til the taper!

Tonight's workout: 8 street circuits (800m).

Lately I've been dreading the Wednesday workouts - feeling frustrated because I have been lagging behind. I considered skipping it, or maybe running on my own on the treadmill. My excuse was going to be work - I had to stay behind while some clients were being assessed. But then my colleague very kindly offered to stay so I could do my workout - and so I had to do it!

It was a cool but sunny night - perfect for running. Surprisingly, everything felt good - no complaints from the hips or knees, and no nausea. I think I even had enough energy to run a couple more! (That is encouraging as we are doing nine repeats next week!) So thank you, Hereity, for staying behind at work so I could train. I don't know why I skip workouts...I always feel so guilty that I can't enjoy my time off anyhow!

This Sunday is our last long run: 34km. Then we taper until the race. It's funny I look forward to a "short" distance like 20km! 25 sleeps to go...

"Gearing" up for runs

Compared to most sports, running seems to be relatively cheap - all you need is a good pair of shoes, right? That might suffice if you are a casual jogger, but if you're running a lot, there is actually a lot of gear involved.

First, you need technical clothes - that means dry, light, breathable clothes - no cotton. Wearing ill-fitting, cheap clothes results in blisters, chafing and a lot of discomfort, especially if you're running more than an hour. Even the socks are important - I shudder when I think about my cousin who runs in his old cotton tube socks. You also need a good hat or sunglasses for summer, a light but warm jacket for winter, and a good watch. Some people also swear by a heart rate monitor. And of course, a really great pair of shoes. My shoes - Mizuno Inspire - cost about $150 and I have to replace them every 8-9 months.

If you run marathons, then you need to consider nutrition. For any run lasting more than an hour, you'll have to replenish electrolytes, fluids, and calories. It gets quite technical. I carry a fuel belt when I run, which holds my gels, a house key, fluids, and quarters for when I get lost and need to call someone to pick me up.


For nutrition, I take goopy, sweet, syrupy gels. They are a bit hard to swallow but with lots of water, they are sort of palatable. Most are kind of gross, but I like Carb Boom: banana peach and vanilla orange are the best. I can't imagine having chocolate or cappuccino - yuck! Then again, I think gels are relatively easy to stomach compared to some things you get on ultra marathons. My coach says that at some aid stations for 50km + races, you get pizza, PBJ sandwiches, hamburgers, etc.! At Pauillac Marathon - a place with lots of vineyards - they have reds and whites at each station (but no Gatorade!) as well steak and oysters. Crazy! (But sounds like a lot of fun).



In the mornings, I mix my electrolyte and recovery drinks (Endurox - $40 for 2.5L!). With all these powders, bottles and gels I feel like an apothecary or a chemist sometimes! In my medicine cabinet I have a "valu-size" bottle of ibuprofen, SPF 40 sunscreen and Bodyglide, an anti-chafing stick that is my BEST friend when I run. I would bathe in that stuff if I could. Finally, I have 3 icepacks chilling in the freezer and my physiotherapist and chiropractor on my speed dial in case I need some fixin'!

After factoring in price of the clinics and race entries, you see that my hobby is actually quite expensive! But honestly, you can't put a price on that feeling when you are running in the fresh, clean air of the morning, feeling like every part of your body is moving in perfect harmony.

Morning mishaps

Did I mention that I am not a morning person? Today, most of the people in the running group ran the Lands End Half Marathon race. (Congratulations to everyone who ran!). I opted out and decided to run 20km at my marathon pace - 5:38 per km (aiming for sub 4 hour marathon). I mapped a really nice route through Oak Bay and Dallas Rd, running through some of the marathon course. Well, you can guess what happens when someone who is directionally challenged writes down a route before she has had her morning coffee...

The wrong turn was at Moss St. For some reason, I had written down a right turn when I should have turned left. (Distinguishing between right and left can be hard at 6am). I had a hunch that I was going the wrong direction, but didn't start heading back until I hit Fort St. At that point, I had to run through Cook St. Village and back towards Dallas Rd. It really wasn't that bad - I stopped at where I thought was 20km - except that I had to walk 30 minutes back to my house. I just calculated the distance and turns out I ran 21.3km - just a little over the distance for a half marathon. And my pace was 5:21! Felt good to know that I was on track.

This is not the first time I've taken wrong turns. The most memorable was when I ran the Run for MS in Vancouver. I had planned to run 12km - I hadn't run more than 11km at that point. I missed the turn and ended up running the 20km route!! I was hobbling for a good week. Another good one was when I mapped out a 15 MILE route instead of 15 km! The most recent debacle was when with my running partner, John, in the hilly part of Queenswood. We ended up running a couple of extra k's and adding a couple of big hills to an already tough route. Now he is always in charge of holding the map!

No wonder orienteering was my least favourite part of PE class...

VIRCS running club

Every Thursday after work, a group from my workplace run together, and it is inevitably one of my favourite runs of the week. It's so nice to get out of our chairs, away from the computers, and into the sunshine. We are lucky because we are downtown - we usually run right by Ocean Pointe Inn or in Beacon Hill Park. I was a bit hesitant to start it at first, but people have been really enthusiastic and they even ran by themselves while I was in Spain. And we are going to start to have them on Tuesdays as well! It is especially great to see those who hadn't run at all progress from running about 5 minutes (with walk breaks) to running 20. I love to run and I'm super happy when someone "converts" into a runner. The more running partners for me the better!

Tonight's inspiration

John, my inspiration for running and former Right to Play participant, came to Peninsula Runners to talk about his experience in the refugee camp in Rwanda. It was amazing - you could tell that people were really touched by his story. You could hear a pin drop, everyone was listening so intently. John even came to the workout afterwards, and blew us all away with his speed and enthusiasm! It was great to see him burning up the track while singing, laughing and cheering us on. And this is without any training, and in hiking shoes!! Well, he definitely inspired me because I had one of my best workouts in a long time. Lately, I've been really struggling and lagging behind (except in my long runs), but tonight, I felt good again. I think I just needed some perspective....

Pledge page is in the works. Stay tuned.

Easy run day

I love "easy run" days. Finally the sun came through the clouds and Meghan, my co-worker, and I went for a relaxing run in Beacon Hill Park. Everything is feeling pretty good...maybe I don't have to Vaseline and duct tape my blister after all! (My coach has some craaaaazy suggestions). You'd never know it, but long distance running is an extreme sport! Just ask those poor male marathon runners who cross the finish line with bleeding nipples. Ow. The list of injuries I've had is long: blisters, black toes, chafing, IT band tightness, knee soreness, foot cramps...Then again, I'm way better now than I was last year, when I spent a good time of the day propping up my leg with an ice pack and knocking back the ibuprofen like it was candy. How does that song go? "Hurts so good..."

Another long run done!

Woo hoo, another one done. Randy, our coach, mapped out a nice route so we were running right by farmland, the beach, and the ocean. There is this one farm that has these huge pigs lolling around in the mud, and there was this hen that was standing on the back of the biggest one. Except for the occasional stench of fertilizer, it was quite lovely. I especially liked the fields of sunflowers. I actually felt really good today - running long and hard does wonders for heartache.

Sacrificing Saturdays

Day 73: Those who know me know that I am not a morning person, as seen by the many times I've put on clothes backwards or made coffee with no coffee grounds. So, I often find it hard to motivate myself to wake up and run. Yesterday I woke up at 6, bleary-eyed, and promptly hit the snooze button. The schedule said to run 110 minutes, but since I had a late start, I could only run 45. The first 10 minutes were a bit of a slog, but as my legs started to wake up, the cobwebs cleared from my brain and I began to enjoy having the streets to myself.

Tomorrow's long run starts later - at 7 - but as I have to eat breakfast and drive to Elk Lake, I can't exactly roll out of bed at 6:30. My alarm is set for 4:45, which gives me plenty of time to digest my peanut butter toast and coffee, do the Sunday crossword, get all my drinks and gels ready, and mentally prepare myself. It's hard giving up my Saturday night - no drinking or late nights for months now, it seems! - but it will all be worth it when I cross that finish line on October 7.