Run Wild for The Detriot Zoo!

We are one week from race day!! We were scheduled to run 15k but I am doing the 10k Detriot Zoo race instead. The Run Wild For The Detriot Zoo race has become a family tradition with myself, my brother and my dad!

The Detriot Zoo race is a good one. It was slightly disappointing last year to realize that it doesn't actually run through the zoo. However, it does run through some really nice residential neighbourhoods. There is a good turn out of over 1000 people and a great group of volunteers. It is nice because many of the residents come out of their homes and sit on their lawns to cheer the runners on. This race includes a 5k and a 10k. The race is chip timed, but you only get a cotton t-shirt and there is no medal. you do get free admission to the zoo which is always fun to look around afterwards. So for only $25.00 it is a great run!

I felt ready and strong today and I wanted to feel that way at the end as well. With the marathon only a week away I wanted to be as confident as possible. I also really wanted to have a pb. Last year I ran this race 1:03, so it was tough to think I could beat that. Last year the water stops were about 10 mins apart, so my plan was to run to each water stop and take my walk break with the water. This year, however, they did not have as many water stops and the water stops were at least 20 mins apart, I still kept to the same plan and only walked long enough to have some water. My final time was 1:01:02. Next year I would love to be under an hour... we shall see! My brother, Jordan and my dad had a good run too Jordan finished in just over 43 mins and my dad in just over 49 mins. The training is paying off and after a long, hot summer it is nice to see the results!

Chicago Half Marathon 2010

September 12th, 2010, 2 friends and I ran the Chicago Half Marathon. What an awesome race it was. The Chicago Half was very well organized, lots of entertainment, the perfect amount of water stops, ideal weather and a whole lot of fun.

Because the Scotiabank Full Marathon is only 2 weeks away, I decided I wasn't going to push too hard. I decided that I was going to run with my bestie and enjoy the experience. And enjoy I did. I felt great the whole way. I made sure that everytime I saw a photo op I took it. I made sure I drank at every water stop. I made sure I stuck to my 10 and 1's. And I ended up with a 10 min personal best!! Yahoo!!!! My time was 2:24:37!

My friend, who has not done much training since April, ran with me the whole way until the 12th mile. At this point she was feeling tired and her feet were hurting, she asked me to go and when I looked at my watch and figured out that I could make my goal time which was 2:25. I would have actually been happy with anything below 2:30.

Last Tuesday our clinic had a talk by an accomplished marathon runner. He talked about race prep and tips for race day. What stood out for me was he said no to look at your watch at the finish line, he said to make sure that you take advantage of the photo-op and put your arms up and smile! So I remembered going through the finish line and I got a great photo out of it! Definitely great advice!

Chicago is an awesome city and I completely enjoyed myself. I know 3 of my running friends are running the Chicago Full Marathon on October 10th.. I am excited for them as I know they will enjoy it as much as I did.

Other highlights of the trip included the spectacular hotel The Palmer House, The Navy Pier, the real deep dish pizza, the shopping, and we even got $25.00 Rush tickets to Billy Elliot the musical. Billy Elliot was an incredible show, possible the best I have ever seen and the seats were awesome!

I hope to one day go back to Chicago and visit again. There is so much to do. Could I be back for the Full? Any thing's possible!

All By Myself!

Since I started running I have made friends with a lot of really great people. And I like running with them so much that I work extra hard to keep up with them. On the short runs this usually isn't a problem but once we get into the long runs I can only keep up for so long. I usually can maintain for about 15-18km then I fall back. By the end of the run I have walked more than I would have liked and feel like crap.

As it turns out I had to go to a wedding on labour day weekend and needed to run on the Friday. I even took the day off work, lol! So at just after 6am I headed out for the longest run ever- 35km!! I started out nice and slow and was able to maintain. I met my very dear running friend for a water stop at her house at about 10k and again at about 18k. I felt incredible and I was actually enjoying running.

I stuck to my 10 and 1's. At about 25km it started to pour. I was soaked. I ended up waiting under the Wonderland Bridge for about 15 mins. and then headed out again. I only ended up running a tad over 33km that day because my route was adjust a little shy. However, I felt awesome afterwards and even wore very high heals out that night! Usually after a long run I am out for the day.

Running at my own pace is something I need to appreciate. I am now convinced it will actually make my times faster and definitely adds to the "fun" factor. While I love my running ladies on the longs runs I need to run at my own pace. Running alone is character building and it has given me more confidence for the marathon!

A Midsummer's Night's Run

So I am little behind updating my blog, but with all this running I just have not had time.

On August 21st, 2010 we ran the 30k Midsummer Night's Run in Toronto Ontario. The race started at 5:30pm so it was quite strange to run such a long distance that late at night. The race was a good one, it was not very big race with about 500 participants in the 30k. However, the "bling" was awesome! We got really nice New Balance hoodies, and the medal was huge and well done! We even got to purchase a New Balance long sleeve t-shirt for only $5.00.

Four of us had shirts made with little fairy's on the back, to go along with the theme. One of the girls actually ran the 15k race with fairy wings! There were some great constumes.

So how did the race go? Well, it wasn't pretty. I had an allergic reaction to something I must have ate at the hotel. I tend to be allergic to something that is common in Italian food but despite having allergy testing, I still can't seem to determine what it is. This is the second time I have had this reaction in the last 2 months. When I get this it makes it very hard to breath, like I cannot get enough oxygen into my lungs.

All in all, I struggled throughout the race and with also just getting over a cold it was a crap shoot! I also got discouaged when the 12k participants came speeding by you, it just took you off guard. The race also got dark and I don't think there was enough volunteers to direct you. At one point I was convinced I had gone off course. At the end of the race my friend ran me in and I was crying because when I rounded the corner I saw the finish line was down, I thought I was last and everyone was packing up. It turned out that the machine that keeps it blown up had shut down. My friend noticed right away that something wasn't right as my lips and nail beds were blue. It took me at least 12 hours before I could breath properly again and I wheezed all night. I probably shouldn't have ran but at least I got it done and got that great medal!! Not sure I would do this race again next year, but defiantly an experience and great prep for the marathon, eek!!

In addition, we had a great time in Toronto and it was a good little break from the ordinary!

If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say, Say Nothing At All!

You know I really don't get some people. I don't get why or how people think it's OK to say their every though out loud or how they have the audacity to make negative comments for other people to hear. People that barely know you, have nothing to gain or lose from talking about you, still find it OK to put others down. Is it like our mother's always said because they are jealous, because they want to make themselves feel better? I don't know! Now, I know I am no saint and I am not going to lie and say that I am not guilty of a little gossip here and there, but I can say that I would never purposefully hurt someone's feelings.

Lately I have really become comfortable with me. I am so proud of my accomplishments, especially with the running. I have been liking both the outside and the inside me. I am strong, healthy and happy! OK so I am not a size 2, nor will I ever be. I wear bathing suits that cover my stomach and I have accepted the fact that I will never wear a bikini, it's just not in my fate. But do I think I am an attractive person? Most days yes. There are always things you'd like to change and funnily enough I have always hated my teeth and recently go braces to correct this. I care about my appearance and I LOVE fashion. It's funny because I know I look so different when running, my hair all tied back, sweaty most of the time and that damn spandex is not too flattering on anyone.

This weekend I got a blow to my ego and I am so upset that it got to me this much. Someone had said behind my back but loud enough for others to over hear that they "didn't understand that if I was doing all of this running, why was I still SO BIG". SO BIG? Since when did a size 12 become "SO BIG". I haven't really thought of myself as "SO BIG" in a long time. I have always and will always struggle with issues around weight. My mum always has and so will I. I am a strong person and I can take a whole lot, but call me BIG, or FAT or something like that and I lose it. Now as much as my feminist friends won't like this I would honestly rather someone call me "a C_N_" that a "fat cow". The dreaded "C-word", really can't insult you, I mean what does it really mean? But "fat" or "BIG" that stings. Now I am not condoning the use of the "C-word", in fact I hate it but I just want to get my point across how much this hurts. When I heard about this I become an emotional mess. Now fine, if it was an isolated comment but why did this person have to connect it to running? Running is for me and it is the hardest and best thing I have ever done. It is something I am proud of!

Yesterday I felt defeated, and if I am honest, I still do. I couldn't stop crying about it and hate myself for letting it get to me. I wanted to quit running all together. Although I have talked to people about it and they keep reassuring me, I can't stop thinking about it. It plays like a broken record, over and over in my head. Bringing tears to my eyes every so often. I have visions of people laughing at me because I am the circus creature that could run an almost marathon. Why? Why I am I so hung up on this person and their thoughtless, shameful comment? Why does it matter? We have all heard the saying: "if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!" Since when did we forget about it?

New Distances

Over the last several weeks I have climbed to covering kilometers I never thought possible. First it was 23, then 26 and now 30 what an incredible accomplishment! Deep down inside I am so proud of myself and can barely believe that I am able to do it. Does it hurt? Yeah, sometimes. Does it take a lot of time? Oh yeah! Is it worth it? For sure!

Running is all I seem to think about, it consumes most of my brain and I cannot wait for the day that I become one of those few people who can say they have ran a marathon. I can't really imagine my life without running, what would I do with my time?

With the new distances covered, comes new fears. Right now I am worried about the next 12km and what about the damn wall... what will I do if I hit it? Although I love how far we have come, I still question my ability. The training is getting more intense and I really need to keep up the positive thoughts and believe in me!

Music!

So today I ran a very hot 19k and I actually ran with a group of 5 of us which I really liked and while they chatted back and forth I listened to my headphones and joined in the conversation on the walk breaks. After a year and a half of running, I still find it difficult to talk while running no matter what the pace. And I still rely on my MP3 player to get me through a run long or short. 5 k is about the longest I have ever ran with out music. I get the music is a huge crutch for me and I honestly think that I would just walk if it gave out during a long run.

There are several reasons why I love my headphones. Firstly, it keeps me pumped. My running buddies have rep roted back to me that they know it must be a fast paced song because I run a little faster or they see better posture (something I need to work on). Secondly, I find it difficult to talk while running and I think people don't talk when they see you are listening to music. I love my running friends and love chatting with them, but it honestly takes everything I have to run and chatting, especially on the long runs is too much for me at this point. Thirdly, I hate listening to myself pant because it makes me feel exhausted, the headphones block that out.

Recently one of my running friends gave me a iPod Nano and an arm band. Before this I was using firstly an iPod Shuffle, then my iPhone. I accidently washed my i-pod shuffle and I found the i-phone cumbersome and the band terrible for shafing. The arm band is awesome! IT is made of dry-fit fabric and is super comforatable; it is made my Nike (my favorite running products)! She also gave me the Nike+ iPod chip, which I have not figured out how to use just yet but my thoughts on this will come too! It is great to have such wonderful friends who really get you!

The Running Room is generally against listening to music especially in a group run. So I have broken the rule and continue to listen to music, despite what RR tells me. I have explained to everyone I run with why I do it and that it's not that I am a snob and most people get it. I am always amazed at those who can carry a conversation and run, I love talking and would love to find running almost effortless to the point where I can chat. Perhaps when I can chat while running this will when I call myself a runner. It is definitely something I may try to when myself off of at some point, but not now.

P.s- The Globe and Mail produced an article proving that music can increase a workout especially with upbeat music.