Monday, November 9, 2009
The News Gets Better
Turns out my gun time was actually 28.09! Woohoo! And I was 4th in my age group, which is huge for me. Yay!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Cookie Run 5K Race Report
This morning I ran the Cookie Run 5K in support of the local Girl Guides. My goal for this race was to beat my old personal best (PB) of 30:08 from June. I really wanted break 30 minutes! I knew I could do it, as I've broken 30:00 in training and now I can hit it during everyday runs without really taxing myself. It was just a matter of by how much I would break it.
When I woke up it was cloudy, risk of flurries, -5C with the wind and I was really unsure as to what to wear, as the forecast called for it to warm up and for the sun to come up. I ended up wearing my my Sugoi Mid-Zero tights, a very light long-sleeve tech tee under my Sugoi Locust Jacket, along with a tech beanie and gloves. It ended up being the right decision.
Before the race I met up with two friends who were attempting a personal best in the 10K. They planned a 5:40/K pace (they run 10/:45 intervals). So as long as I was near them, I knew I would break 30 minutes. I warmed up a bit on the walk to the start and jogged a little before lining up.
The race started at 10 a.m., it was about 0C at that point with a slight wind. I turned on my Nike+ right as the horn sounded. There was a hill right after the start, which lasted about 500m and then a slight downhill. The rest of the course was pancake flat, minus a very tiny uphill just before 2K, and a downhill on a path at 4K. There were lots of kids and people of all ages and abilities. The course was on a closed road at our local research centre, so there was lots of room for everyone.
I tried to run the tangents as best I could, as there were lots of turns on the course. I took water at the 1.5K mark as my mouth felt cottony from my puffer (hooray for exercise-induced asthma) but didn't need it on the way back at 3.5K. The pace felt very comfortable and I felt as if I was going too slow. I knew this was a product of my speedwork over the last month, as I'd had this feeling in most of my runs recently. I resisted the urge to peek at my iPod, but I knew the race was going well because I was keeping pace with my friends.
At the 4K mark, I could feel my legs starting to get heavy. My head was clear, so I knew I had something left in the tank. I rounded the corner and saw the finish line. I started my sprint about 200m out and crossed the finish line in a blaze of glory!
The clock at the finish line wasn't working, but volunteers wrote down bib numbers and times. My iPod told me all I needed to know: 28.16! Woohoo! I beat my old personal best by 1:52!
I grabbed some water and girl guide cookies and used the walk back to the car as my cooldown. I'll likely be sore tomorrow... but I feel good knowing I left everything out on the course. I'm on such a high! My friends also beat their previous PB in the 10K by about 2 minutes. Congrats guys!
My next race is the Resolution Run 5K on New Years' Eve. Until then, I'll continue to work on building up my base. I start running 4x a week in December.
When I woke up it was cloudy, risk of flurries, -5C with the wind and I was really unsure as to what to wear, as the forecast called for it to warm up and for the sun to come up. I ended up wearing my my Sugoi Mid-Zero tights, a very light long-sleeve tech tee under my Sugoi Locust Jacket, along with a tech beanie and gloves. It ended up being the right decision.
Before the race I met up with two friends who were attempting a personal best in the 10K. They planned a 5:40/K pace (they run 10/:45 intervals). So as long as I was near them, I knew I would break 30 minutes. I warmed up a bit on the walk to the start and jogged a little before lining up.
The race started at 10 a.m., it was about 0C at that point with a slight wind. I turned on my Nike+ right as the horn sounded. There was a hill right after the start, which lasted about 500m and then a slight downhill. The rest of the course was pancake flat, minus a very tiny uphill just before 2K, and a downhill on a path at 4K. There were lots of kids and people of all ages and abilities. The course was on a closed road at our local research centre, so there was lots of room for everyone.
I tried to run the tangents as best I could, as there were lots of turns on the course. I took water at the 1.5K mark as my mouth felt cottony from my puffer (hooray for exercise-induced asthma) but didn't need it on the way back at 3.5K. The pace felt very comfortable and I felt as if I was going too slow. I knew this was a product of my speedwork over the last month, as I'd had this feeling in most of my runs recently. I resisted the urge to peek at my iPod, but I knew the race was going well because I was keeping pace with my friends.
At the 4K mark, I could feel my legs starting to get heavy. My head was clear, so I knew I had something left in the tank. I rounded the corner and saw the finish line. I started my sprint about 200m out and crossed the finish line in a blaze of glory!
The clock at the finish line wasn't working, but volunteers wrote down bib numbers and times. My iPod told me all I needed to know: 28.16! Woohoo! I beat my old personal best by 1:52!
I grabbed some water and girl guide cookies and used the walk back to the car as my cooldown. I'll likely be sore tomorrow... but I feel good knowing I left everything out on the course. I'm on such a high! My friends also beat their previous PB in the 10K by about 2 minutes. Congrats guys!
My next race is the Resolution Run 5K on New Years' Eve. Until then, I'll continue to work on building up my base. I start running 4x a week in December.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Getting to know yourself
A fellow runner, whose opinion I really respect, posted this on Runners World today:
"Get to know yourself as a runner better before making commitments you may regret."
I think it's so true. This comment was in response to a beginner's post stating that he'd been running for 3 weeks and he asked if it was to early to start training for a half-marathon in February.
I'd seen that the lottery for the 2010 NYC Marathon opened today, and I was so tempted to enter. But, I realized quickly that I was crazy. I've never run a marathon. Heck, I haven't even run a half marathon yet. And I'd be crazy to run my first marathon at the biggest marathon in the world. Talk about biting off more than I can chew.
Running is such an individual experience that what works for me may not work for you. And of course, vice-versa. I think a lot of it for runners, both novice and advanced alike, has to do with wanting to have your cake and to eat it while running. Everyone runs along a different path in the journey that is running. Enjoy that run to your goal and take it as you put one foot in front of the other.
"Get to know yourself as a runner better before making commitments you may regret."
I think it's so true. This comment was in response to a beginner's post stating that he'd been running for 3 weeks and he asked if it was to early to start training for a half-marathon in February.
I'd seen that the lottery for the 2010 NYC Marathon opened today, and I was so tempted to enter. But, I realized quickly that I was crazy. I've never run a marathon. Heck, I haven't even run a half marathon yet. And I'd be crazy to run my first marathon at the biggest marathon in the world. Talk about biting off more than I can chew.
Running is such an individual experience that what works for me may not work for you. And of course, vice-versa. I think a lot of it for runners, both novice and advanced alike, has to do with wanting to have your cake and to eat it while running. Everyone runs along a different path in the journey that is running. Enjoy that run to your goal and take it as you put one foot in front of the other.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Running on my wedding day
I got married a month ago. During the photos, all I wanted to do was go for a run. It was a beautiful afternoon, one that was perfect for a run! I'd skipped my run the day before due to lack of sleep, because I didn't want to get hurt. There were runners on the path nearby and seeing them gave me the itch to go for a run.
So I decided to get creative and I worked running into our wedding photos! It's such a huge part of who I am now, so I really wanted to capture it on one of the most important days of my life. My husband was such a good sport about it!
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