Another Race Recap

Happy wet Monday from Ottawa!  I am happy it rained today and not yesterday because running a half marathon in the rain is nor my idea of a fun Sunday.  Yesterday I ran the half marathon at Ottawa Race weekend.  I was hoping for redemption after last years disaster run but I did not get it, again the first half was great and the last half fell apart, sort of.  I had a great first 11K, I was on my pace of 5:55 and then my left hamstring decided it did not want to run anymore and decided to get very vocal about it.  Since this was not an "A" race for me, I decided to slow down and not push my luck.  I had not been a good about doing my glute exercises since my Marathon and I paid the price yesterday and I got the message loud and clear.  I have to do them daily and I need to kick my training into high gear as IMMT is in 82 today...yikes!

If you asked me today if I was confident of my finishing IMMT I would probably say I have a 60% chance of making the cut-off times.  I am not being pessimistic, just realistic and I always try to be that.  I know I have one week of rest and need 2 weeks for taper and that gives me 9 weeks of hard training.  In 2013 I had 9 weeks of hard training to go from zero to my first 70.3 and I did it and I know I will do so again.  I am not afraid of hard work and I know I will be working hard for those 9 weeks, double workouts each day, long brick workouts and lots of lifting semi-heavy things.  I know the outcome is up to me, I can work hard and improve my chances of success or I can decide not to and take my chances, the choice is mine.  My goal is to increase that % to as close to 100 as I can with the things I can control.  I am trying not to worry, it wastes energy and just focus on the job at hand..one workout...one day...one week at a time.

May Madness

May is usually a big race month for me and this May is no exception. I will start with a recap of the Mississauga marathon I ran on May 3rd.

This was my 4th marathon and after the disappointment at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront marathon last October I was hoping for a better result this time.  I had trained hard and all I wanted was to get to the start line healthy.  I have been getting physio on a glute/hamstring issue but I was given the all clear to run and push it on race day.  I had told my coach I thought I could do 4:40 and I told my hubby I thought 4:35 to 4:40 and I was close, 4:41:15.  I probably started out too fast and I found the last 10K really hard but I hung in there and keep moving forward.  It was a much better race in many ways, I never thought "Why am I doing this", I managed to keep the negative voice in my head quiet which is a big accomplishment since my iPod died at 8K and I finally nailed down my nutrition on a marathon with no issues and only one potty stop. I still want to work on staying strong in the last 10K, my hubby managed to negatively split the race so I know it can be done but for me it seems less likely.

Next weekend is Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, one of my favorite races of the year.   This year marks my 6th consecutive year of participating an event this weekend, in 2010 I walked the half marathon and last year I ran the half marathon.  It was not a great race so I am back running it, looking for a better result.  Running this race reminds me that I am still on track, committed to a health lifestyle and doing things for me, to prove I can dream big and accomplish them with hard work.  I love watching the 5 and 10K races on the Saturday night, I ran the 5K three years in a row, I love that race.  I love seeing everyone running or walking, dong the race with family or friends, trying for a PB or just hoping to finish.

I keep saying this but it is true, if I can do this, anyone can.  I am not a super athlete and in fact it is only recently I could call myself a runner and I usually cringe inside when I call myself an athlete.  I am someone who tries hard, who is willing to put in the work to accomplish my dreams and I dream BIG.  I have proven to myself that I CAN and I WILL and I hope I can inspire others to do the same.

Hibernation is over

Hello, remember me.....

Spring has sprung, finally and tax season is now over and I can almost return to normal life, well as normal as it gets when you are training for an Ironman. Just to put my life into context, I have a full time job as CFO for a communications company I co-own and for the last 10 years I have had a bookkeeping and tax business that I still have, I have a marathon on Sunday and an Ironman in August just to keep life interesting.  It has been a crazy few weeks..OK months but I have done pretty well.  I had a 30K race at the end of March, I ran the first half exactly as planned but the second half fell apart because I had the flu.  Before anyone tells me off, I know running with the flu is not smart...and some would say doing an Ironman is not smart as well, it seems to be a common thread in my life these days.  Another not smart thing I did was to ignore a nagging hamstring issue, I mean really it was only bothering me since July and it was now March...whats the rush...right.  I finally went off to the Physio to get assessed and it turns out my glute muscles were not firing properly, especially the left one and the  hamstring was carrying the whole load and not happy about it. Anyway, fast forward to today and my right glute muscle is back to 100% and the left is at 80% and getting stronger every day.  I am off to run my 4th marathon on Sunday and I am hoping, no planning for a good run.  Once this is over, I am back to one full time job and training for the Ironman, it should be doable...I hope.

The Voice

Well it looks like Spring is trying to make an appearance in Ottawa and it is about time.  I for one am ready to see the snow melt and leave us.  I have been busy training and working, it is the start of my busy season and I am trying to fit it all in. I managed to get outside for a few runs and I can't wait to do more, especially the long Sunday runs.  Today I did mine on the treadmill, I should have ventured outside but since I had a specific workout to do, I stayed inside to do it.

Today I had to run 28K with the last 10K at best pace.  I am never sure what my coach is looking for with these runs so I decided that I would try to run the last 10K at 6:15 pace or the pace I hope to run my 30K race in at the end of the month.  I did my slow part at 7:04 pace while I watched 3 chapters of House of Cards and then it was time to crank up the speed.  I started and then slowed, I did not think I could do it, could I really do 10K at this faster pace.  I knew I COULD, I did 9K in 50:38 this week during my speed workout but could I now do it.

Thursday I am talking to the marathon clinic about goals and motivation and I knew I could not face them if I gave up today so I thought about what I wanted to share with them, I thought about everything I had learned about myself through running and triathlon and what motivates me. Before I knew it, I had 2km left to do so I increased the speed again and finished with a smile on my face and in my heart.

I remember running the Miami half marathon hearing a voice in my head telling me to suck it up and keep running, I had no reason to stop and today I heard the same voice telling me not to stop, to run faster. This voice is loud and strong and it is getting stronger every time.  It is the voice that told me to run faster on Tuesday and it is the voice that told me to go to Bodypump on Monday after a rough day at work.  This voice that wants to be an Ironman more then anything else, this voice that wants to push me outside my comfort zone, this voice has replaced the negative one that use to live in my head. Instead of listening to the negative voice, I will listen to this positive one, it is MY VOICE and now that I have found it, I am not going to lose it. 

I love this video, it inspires me every time I watch it, so Rise and Shine, it is time to make our dreams happen

6 Months and Counting

OMG, IMMT is in 6 months!!!!  I am glad week 2 went better then week 1, sort of.  I missed my Thursday swim practice due to work commitments but the rest was done.  I had an issue with my long run on Sunday, I managed 13.4K before a muscle issue caused me to throw in the towel.  I spend 90 mins on my tri bike on Saturday, 2/3 of it in aero position and my right leg did not like it, not one bit.  I went to yoga last night and put heat on it and it seems better today so we will see. Next week I will go back to double spin classes on Saturday and then try the tri bike again.  I really need to work on that so I am use to it once I can get outside. Otherwise I am happy with how the week went.

I am great at doing all the cardio on my training plan, where I fall down is my strength training, I just don't do any, I know I need too but it just does not happen.  As I sit here typing this tonight I am suppose to go to the gym for a power bar class with friends and I am trying to justify not going.  Yes I have work to do and tons of ironing to do but they are not pressing, they are an excuse.  Last week three great stories popped onto my newsfeed talking about excuses and I knew the universe was sending me a message, time to stop making excuses and just do it.  I know I need to do it, I know I should want to do it but I still make excuses.

So I am not going to let my excuses be bigger then my dreams, I will go to the gym tonight, I will do strength training twice a week and I will use the hand-weights in Zen cycle on Saturday morning..YES I WILL.  I will do PIYO twice a week and a core workout after every run...YES I WILL.

I also need to start watching my nutrition and food, tighten up and less cheating, less wine and less carbs.  This will be harder but I can and will do this as well.  I need to put in a great effort, I need to put away all my excuses and I need to put on my big girl panties and just do this because the next six months will pass and I can be ready or not.

I Want a Do Over

Good morning from snowy Ottawa.  We are having a blizzard today so we have opted for running on the treadmill at home.  Two runners, one treadmill means waiting your turn and since Neale has the longer run, he is going first.  This sort of sums up my week, my first week of IM training, well in mind anyway my coach may not agree.  In my mind I had mid November and December as my off season, January as my build up month and February was to be the start of IMMT training.  

I had a great vacation and was ready to get to it, 13K run on Sunday and Tuesday started well, swim practice and I was looking forward to spinning and yoga in the evening.  Unfortunately, Neale decided to share his cold with me and I started to feel worse as the day went on.  I decided to go to spinning but skipped yoga as my runny nose would not be appreciated in the hot room and the constant sniffling might be annoying.  By Wednesday morning I felt terrible and I missed my speed workout...and then swimming on Thursday morning and spinning Thursday night.  My strong start was crumbling, week one was a bust and I want a do over.  I managed to get back on track by the weekend and had a great double spin class on Saturday followed by a 3K run and today I will do my 16K run.   

So next week will be WEEK ONE 2.0 and I will take my frustrations from last week and channel them into this weeks training. 

IMMT is 189 days away and I plan on making every one count, there will be set backs, there will be good workouts and bad workouts but whatever happens, I will get there...one day, one workout at a time.

Miami Race Recap

I am home after a week in the heat and I am sick of the cold already.  On Jan 25th I ran the Miami half marathon in a tank dress and yesterday I ran in Ottawa in lots of layers and -29C temps. It was so cold I had to wear my water belt under my jacket so it did not freeze.  Calgon, take me away again...please! 

Leanne in the foreground and me in the red hat had a great chat as we ran

I headed to Miami on Jan 23rd and I was looking forward to a fun run in South Beach, I love the Art Deco style and that was one of the reason the race appealed to me.  The other was the ability to hop on a cruise ship after the race...which I did :-)  The Saturday was overcast, muggy and windy but Sunday started out cold, well cold for Miami anyway.  At 6:15 when the race was suppose to start it was 10C and I was glad to have my long sleeve t-shirt on.  The race puts your flag on your bib and in the starting corral, I was flashed by another runner showing me her maple leaf on her bib.  It turned out she was from Ottawa as well and was doing the same thing I was, running the half and hopping on a cruise.  I saw her a few time during the race which was nice for me but not for her as she planned on running a sub 2 hour time and I was not.  

The run was great for the first 15ish km/9 miles, I had a few hiccups like compression shorts that would not stay in place but I was enjoying the run.  I managed to stay with the 4:15 marathon pace bunny until the 9 mile marker and then I had to slow my pace.  I had a sharp pain on my toe, like someone was sticking a pin under the nail and the start of a blister on the bottom of the same foot.  I knew at that point a PB was not in the cards but I was determined to keep running, just keep moving forward and I would eventually finish.  I pulled out all the mental tricks I knew, I though of those who could not run, I thought of the athletes in wheelchairs I had passed, I thought of my mother-in-law and I though of my coach and all the time she just kept running regardless of the pain she was in and she has some great stories to tell.  At one point I started walking up a canal bridge, I was fed up and frustrated and so ready to stop but I did not give up, I got mad.  I got mad that I was giving in to the dark side, I had no reason to stop, it was a beautiful sunny day and I was running in a beautiful city, I was healthy, I was happy and I was alive.  I started to run again and I was not going to stop until the finish line, that was the only time I walked the whole race.  

I did finish in 2:09:30, 32 seconds slower then my Las Vegas time and  I was happy with that.  I knew that without the foot issue, I could have met my 2:07 goal time or been real close and I can live with that.  I will not show you a picture of my toe but lets just say it is a nice shade of black and I will be losing the nail any day now.  I finished in the top 22% for my AG, 24% of all Masters women and 26% of all women.  I have worked hard on my running and the results are starting to show, soon I will be going for a sub 2:05 half marathon time and maybe next year I will crack the sub 2 hour mark, I will not stop trying until I do.

After the run, I went back to the hotel to shower and change and then I headed to the cruise port to board our ship, it was a great reward for a year of hard work and helped me re-focus for this year. IMMT is in 6.5 months and this is about to get really real...fast.