Vancouver Marathon Training - Week 4

Today marks a major miletone in my blogging life - my first comments posted by John of the Ladysmith Striders on Vancouver Island and Jane (who I happen to know is a co-worker of mine) - thanks to all two of you reading my blog! So it was a pretty good week - though I managed to miss a run for the second week in a row...I feel OK about that since there was a deadline at work that required me to stay late a few nights...which PAINS me to do. Tuesday - 5K - 25:16 I was even more grateful to worship at the temple of Run today than usual. If I hadn't taken a much needed 1 hour break to run, stretch, shower, and change it would have been a 12 hour day in the cube. And I would have been even grumpier - yes, new coworkers, it IS possible. Wednesday - work-imposed "rest" Worked too many hours - no run :( However I DID enjoy a big ol' after work margherita - so it wasn't a complete waste of a day. Thursday-10K to Second Beach Pool & Back in record time (56:52) Wicked late afternoon seawall run made possible by all the long hours over the last 2 weeks. Left work at 3pm today and went running into a gorgeous orange sunset beside the gently lapping waves of English Bay...Sweet. Evenings like these are why I live here. Friday- rest Rested up for big honkin' run tomorrow - ate carbs. Saturday - 13K - 1:34 (=embarrassing) Again, we spent the weekend in Pemberton (about 20 minutes up the highway from Whistler) and was given another opportunity to practice winter running. The temperature was a crisp -5C and it was snowing pretty hard, so I wore a lot of layers. T-shirt, long sleeved thermal top, fleece, toque, gloves, and a light super reflective lemon-yellow running jacket (and pants, duh). That was overkill as it turned out - not the pants dummy - I had to make a wardrobe change after only 10 minutes and tied the fleece around my waist. The road I was on today was way busier than I expected and the shoulder seemed to get narrower and narrower as I went along. Every time I tried to move a bit to the side to leave extra room for passing cars my feet sank into deep snow and I looked like a stumbling drunk. Super embarrassing. About 1 Km short of home a snowplow passed on the opposite side of the road - speeding down the highway like a bat out of hell - sparks flying. Needless to say, I sped up - fearing it would turn around at some point and come barreling toward me. On purpose no doubt. After a minute or two I came to my senses, reached for my cell phone and prepared to call in the reinforcements ....when amazingly my chariot - in the form of our Honda Accord - pulled up! That is why I love you Honda (and your driver). Next week will be better. Note to self - in blowing snow goggles should not be considered excessive.

Sunday - cross training - huge meal followed by absurd portion of chocolate mousse

Vancouver Marathon Training - Week 3

I'm starting to get a routine going again. And just to make sure I stay motivated I've registered for my first 3 races of the year (not including the marathon): 1. March 9th - Bazan Bay 5K in the cute little seaside town of Sidney (Vancouver Island) 2. April 6th - April Fool's Run HALF Marathon (yikes) - Sechelt to Gibsons, on the Sunshine Coast). 3. Sun Run- which is only 2 weeks before the marathon (April 20th) I've decided to go ahead and do it since my registration is paid already by SportMed BC...since I'm now an OFFICIAL Sun Run InTraining Run Leader...More about that later..... In the meantime, here's my week: Tuesday - 5K - 24:46 Fastest unofficial 5K training run to date (FUFTR - new acronym). I ran a FUFTR!! YAY! My plan was to run at a steady fast pace the whole distance but I got tired and had to take some walk breaks toward the end. Maybe it wasn't tiredness so much as boredom and apathy brought on by the scenery - the concrete landscape around BC Place is so uninspiring - grey on grey slabs - yawn....Good times. Wednesday - 5K - MISSED Yes I missed this run, I'm not a robot despite what you may have heard. Thursday - 8K - 48:14 I took - that's right, TOOK baby. You have to take what you got coming in this life..ain't nobody gonna give it to you sister. Ok, so yeah - I took an extra long lunch to get in my 8K despite working kinda long hours this week. It was great to try a new route - to Coal Harbour seawall (past the Shaw Tower, Bayshore Hotel, and the rowing club). Excellent to get out of the cube. Friday - rest Saturday - 10K long run - Pemberton Lets all give a very special welcome to my SEEESTER making a guest appearance on Running Bebe! Thanks for being such a good sport and keeping me company. It was really interesting to hear a normal non-running-obsessed point of view of a 10K on the snow covered roads of Pemberton. She kept saying how its a lot harder than running on bare streets, kinda like running on sand - which explains the heaviness in the legs. We took it pretty slow since T Bone hasn't been running much - but she held her own and ran 40 minutes straight without any walk breaks. After that we averaged about a minute walking for every 5 minutes of running. Toward the end Tina's calves were getting sore, and for some reason mine too. I think they were sympathetic pains. So we walked it in. It's all good - 1oK -- CHECK! Sunday - cross training - downhill skiing at Whistler Guilt set in today as Tina's shaky legs created some extra diffuculty for her return to snowboarding....I guess my merciless training session on Saturday was a bit too much. I promise to be nicer next time.

Vancouver Marathon Training - Week 2 (31K/19m)

It was a rainy week out there. I have to admit I was not super enthusiastic most days. BUT I got all my runs in and that's what counts. Hopefully I'll be a happier camper next week.

Mon- rest

Tues - 5K (easy) - 30:52
This was an example of a day when I didn't feel like going out. But as is usually the case, I did get into it as I was running and felt a lot more energized afterwards.

Wed - 8K bridges (Cambie & Burrard) - 43:38
For the second day this week I did NOT want to go out there in the icky rain and darkness. I had to go after work because I slept in, which made it even harder. After a lot of procrastinating I decided to at least put on my running clothes...telling myself "I'll just put these on and see if anything happens".
It is pretty amazing how just changing into a different outfit can alter your state of mind. By the time my shoes were laced I found myself grabbing my ipod and filling my water bottle and before you know it I was heading out the door. I found I had a lot of stored up energy when I started to run which I was able to sustain for 43 minutes. It ended up being my fastest run in a LONG time. I'm sure the pizza I had waiting at home had nothing to do with it.....

Thu - 5K - 36:45
Same story....I REALLY didn't want to go out onto the dark, soggy streets. But poor Ian was planning to go with me all day and I didn't want to let him down. It wasn't the best run ever...I think my body was a bit tired from the previous day's fast running. Good to have gone though - as usual I felt better afterwards.

Fri - rest

Sat - cross training - 1 hour yoga
Lying on the living room floor doing fish pose is a lot more interesting when you have a concerned looking rottweiler peering over you to make sure you're still alive...

Sun - 13K long run - 1:22.21
My longest run since the marathon in October - mission accomplished! I did experience some unfortunate chafing....but will spare you the details. Suffice it to say I need to invest in some new running (under-) pants. I also need some different fuel for those over an hour runs...The Power Bar gels I used last summer make me want to hurl. I think it has something to do with the fact that I used them during the marathon and my insides were totally messed up for 24 hours afterwards. I tried to injest a package but I could only manage half.

Another note: in the future if I'm going to on the seawall on a Saturday morning I'll go earlier. I started my run at about 10am and there were tons of other runners, including a bunch of groups from the Running Room. I really hope they were from more advanced classes because they all passed me pretty swiftly.

Vancouver Marathon Training - Week 1 (28K/17m)

Pretty much on track this week. I am still making up for my lousy base a bit and starting a bit slower than I might have done. Mon- rest Tues - 5K (easy) - 36:00 Nice to be back on schedule! Wed - 8K bridges (Cambie & Burrard) - 50:50 It rained - hard - the last 10 minutes or so. But I'm a star and I finished my run like a good little soldier. I have no problem taking credit when its deserved. Thu - 5K lunch hour run - 26:30 That was an interesting one - they've opened up the seawall at southeast False Creek and its really starting to look nice. Kind of nice to see the neighbourhood transforming from its old industrial grimy-ness. Also there are 8 or 10 construction cranes all decorated with lights for the season. The Winter 2010 Games Athletes Village is taking shape here.... It was super nice to get out of the office for a run in the middle of the day but it is kind of a hassle to have to shower, change, do my hair, and retouch my makeup. I wish I was more like a guy that way, but I can't do the no makeup thing. Fri - rest Sat - 10K long run in the snow - 1:07 Now that we are official Pemberton, BC weekenders I have to contend with real winter conditions for my Saturday long runs NOT TO MENTION the peer pressure to just go skiing already. Yes, our house is about 30 minutes drive from Whistler - only the best skiing North America has to offer. OK now this was INTERESTING. I have special rubber things to put on my shoes with little cleats on the bottom for running on ice and they work well but unfortunately it warmed up a bit in Pemberton and there was a lot of crud to run on. Ice, slush, huge puddles....It was pretty rough going. I feel pretty good about my speed considering the circumstances. It was harsh. Sun - cross training - 45 min. nordic skiing (classic)