BMO Vancouver Marathon.... Part 2

I'm writing this a month later...so my memory has faded somewhat....

I guess I never really finished my last post because I was yapping too much about everything BUT the race! So here's Part 2 about the real nuts-and-bolts of what happened that day, again, based on whatever I can remember!

Despite being a rainy day, I managed to make a PR, beating my previous record by over 5 minutes. I had ran with a 2:11:00 pace band, and kept up with it, for the most part. Up until halfway through, I was beating pace by a couple of minutes, but by the time I had reached Prospect Point and that damn hill, all that shaved time crept back up and I was "even" again. I even succumbed to the evils in my head and (gasp!) walked for 30 seconds near the peak of the Point (that lady screaming that we were almost at the top obviously didn't walk that rest of the way to see how inaccurate she was!) But I gained some time on the nice downhill stretch between about 9 and 11 miles, leaving Stanley Park.

Everything on the route was labelled in kms, so I had a pace band in kms splits. I had no idea what I was really running in miles, since I had missed the 5-mile marker and only caught the 10-mile marker. Didn't matter, because by the time I got to the 17-km mark, I was almost ready to pack it in. I don't know how I managed to keep some kind of pace during the last 5 km. All the landmarks I passed made it seem so close to the finish line, yet as I passed ANOTHER familiar landmark, I realized that I was not as close as I thought!

As I approached the Finish, I could finally see the clock, and it was over about a minute and a half slower than what I been going by on my wristwatch. How could that be, I thought. If their km markings were accurate, there's no way my watch is that off! It turns out that in the chaos occurring in my mind at the time, I did not clue in that the clock was showing the Gun Time, and not Chip Time (as in MY Chip Time...how selfish of me!), therefore my clock I was going on was accurate to within a second of my official Chip Time. I can't say, though, that if I knew this at the time, if I would have had the energy to sprint to the Finish like a mad woman to break my goal of 2:11:00. Perhaps me stopping for 30 seconds at the top of the hill back at Prospect Point really did throw off my pace that much to cost me the 14 seconds I needed to make goal. I finished the race in 2:11:14 (former PR was 2:16:27).

But I can't dwell on little things like that, since it's these little things that can wreak havoc to the self-esteem, and I think I still did pretty well, with all the training I had done, to still be able to achieve a PR.

Now, I need another goal to achieve.

I think I'll try running just to run...until my next race, that is!

BMO Vancouver Marathon.... Part I

Today was the day....the day I had been training months for, since October of last year.

The BMO Vancouver Marathon!
My head is full of stories and thoughts during the run that I wish were able to have been instantly typed as they occurred: the people I observed, port-a-potty wonders, the numerous fails I experienced here and there...

Yes, FAILS!

Fail #1: Transit

I decided to take the bus this morning, since I received free transit passes on twitter from @bmovanmarathon. And this way, the hubby and the kids wouldn't have to wake up so early just to drop me off.

So, I arrived at the bus stop at 5:30, awaiting arrival at 5:37. Yup, the time came and went! And numerous taxis suspicious stopped close by and I finally caved and flagged one down. Turned out that the same taxi was circling me like a hawk, and good thing, because that bus never came. Taxi bill = $16.55 + $2 tip. After being dropped off at about 6:20 am, I made a firm commitment then, during, and after the race, that I would demand a refund from Translink for their misinformation on their Trip Planning website. Turns out, I selected tomorrow's Monday morning schedule and not Sunday's morning schedule. Dammit...you are off the hook, Translink...for now!

When I got there, I remembered what I heard John Stanton (Running Room founder, and Order of Canada recipient) said yesterday at a Guest Speaker presentation at the Sports Expo when I picked up my registration package: when you get here tomorrow, head straight for the port-a-potty. So, I did, and got to pick out any of the two-dozen parked by the entrance: no line-up (yet!). Going early, the port-a-potties were "fresh" from being recleaned.

Almost-Fail #2: Almost dropping wallet down port-a-potty!

Yes, almost! I have a neoprene pocket that clips to the inside of your pants that can hold some ID, keys, some cash. I clipped it the back of my pants, at the small of my back, and nearly forgot about it as I pulled my pants down. Good things I secured that baby well --- I usually don't! Yikes....that would have been bad, very bad....

I go inside the main building, where tons of runners are milling about, keeping warm. It's not terribly cold outside (about 6 degrees C?) but it's a lot more comfortable inside. I find my way to the back and got to Gear Check. I didn't bring anything to check except for the long sleeve shirt I was wearing on top of my souvenir technical tee; meanwhile, everyone around me had huge baggage reminiscent of being at an airport.

It was at this point I realized my decision to not bring my phone was a wrong move. People were surely checking in valuables despite a request not to. I could see their point, since bags could fall into the wrong owner's hand unknowingly, however, I highly doubted that someone would be accepting another's gear if they could recognize the monstrosity of their own baggage through the cloudy, crinkly plastic gear check bag.

A Running Post: My Final 10 Miles

1:23 in traffic delays and 10 sec because I was going in the wrong direction!

Including these delays: 1:43:04 was my time, which is a 10:17 pace. Without the lights and the misdirection (trying to recall the above map while running was constantly on my mind!), my pace was an ok 10:08.

Not as good a pace as I was expecting, but maybe during race time I'll be able to gain some speed.

I started slow today, waking up not as early as I hoped, at 6:30am. I scoured the kitchen for something to eat, and there was no yogurt, and the bananas had seen better days. I popped in an Eggo waffle, hoping it wouldn't cause cramps. I was out the door by 7:10am.

My 1st mile split was a slow 10:00 flat. I tried to keep it slow, so that I would last through the whole run.

It wasn't raining, so that was a great bonus. I still wore my tights and L/S shirt but I didn't need gloves. It was a tad windy but that came and went periodically.

During the quiet part of my run (it was pretty early in the morning), I could hear my left shoe cracking/squeaking! It was bugging the hell out of me! Something must have tightened up when the shoes got wet weeks ago. Argh!

Overall, the run went well. I hope I'm ready for the race next week! Now it's time to taper: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday is 4 miles, 3 miles, 2 miles, respectively. I'm thinking of driving over the route to familiarize myself with the race, so I don't get so freaked out.

It's still freaking me out anyways.

An Update...Yes, Another One!

I've been bad again, at not writing in my blog. I've been preoccupied with many things recently, and don't have much of an excuse.

1) Running

I'm in the last four weeks of training for my Half Marathon on May 2nd. I've been concentrating on getting my training runs in: four times a week, around 20+ miles mileage per week. My weekday runs have become long enough that I've started running to work in the mornings, to get it out of the way, and so I don't use up so much of my lunch hour and then some, as those runs were about 45 minutes long.

But I got hit hard with some kind of flu last week and it crippled me. Today I ran my first 3 miles in about nine days, and it was a bit difficult to push myself. I missed running 20 miles while sick, and I'm not about to give up on my training now. I have 18 miles to run by the end of this Sunday, and I'm going to have to do it slowly and without injury...I can't afford to screw up a knee or a shin this close to "Game Day".

2) My Blackberry

I've upgraded my simple candy-stick Sony Ericsson W810i white cell phone to a swanky BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone! Ahh, what love! I've been pining for a BlackBerry since the Fall, and a smartphone in general for a year or two. Ever since my beloved Sony Clie is no longer supported by Sony, with my battery dying on it, it's been acting up and I've been missing all the apps and games I've loaded on it. I've been itching for more organization in my life, and despite a gynormous family calendar on the face of our refrigerator, I need something I can edit on the fly. And, well, reading my email without being at my netbook is a big plus too!

So, I've been enthralled with it for the past month: hugging, kissing, petting it, sleeping with it...LOL. My husband would cry out in anguish, admitting that I indeed have found his replacement in my life.

And, with my new-found love, comes along my obscene desire to keep up with my Twitter account. If you haven't already read any of my tweets on the right pane of this blog, I can be followed on Twitter as @mystery_of_me. I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of interest from my family in joining Twitter, but it doesn't derail me that much...I've made new friends and have a great time conversing with people who I only know through their avatar, if that is indeed them in the first place!

And don't get me started on Foursquare! I've been waiting to get on this new social media site for a while....I just needed a smartphone! For those who don't know, Foursquare is a site where you can "check-in" your whereabouts, letting your friends know what you're up to, while discovering new places in your city, and earning you "badges" for visiting and seeing new places. A social media game, if you will. Insanely simple, yet addicting. With Easter Week recently, I "checked in" so many times at my church, I became "Mayor" of that location (for being the most frequent visitor)!

Ah, I love my Berry!

Me Bad! Another Update

I have been just terrible at sitting down and writing any posts! My intentions are good, but I never get a moment to just write and not worry about the content!

And I just wanted to say hello to some of my new followers -- Hello! -- as I meant to say hi earlier but just haven't had the time to do so.

And one of my favourite things to pass the time is going through Google Reader and catching up on blogs posts I follow (and there are a lot!), but I just never have the time these days.

But if it matters, I had started a few blog posts....but just didn't finish them. Is there a still a point of posting them. Hmmm.....

So, in a nutshell, I've been dealing with:

1. Kindergarten Registration: my 4 year old is going to school in the Fall and I had to register him last month. I registered him at his (English) catchment school, which he'll default to if no one else accepts him, and I registered him at the French Immersion catchment school, at which there is currently a lottery underway to see who'll get in.

One of my blog entries I never posted was my take on the whole French Immersion issue, so I won't discuss it here right now.

I also registered him at an out-of-catchment (English) school, a process which included me lining up in front of the school at 5 am, in the dark, until the school opened at 8 am, to secure that possible availability of accepting out-of-bounds students. There's nothing particular terrific about the school, 'cept that it does have a lower ESL (English as a Second Language) percentage than our regular catchment school, and that my next door neighbour has been on the PAC (Parent Advisory Committee) for years, and is currently the Chair. My take is that an excellent PAC that works well with the school administration is a school that takes pride in where it's going in the years ahead and makes for a pleasant school experience.

I'm waiting word this week if we get accepted into French Immersion. My next choice would be that out-of-catchment school I just mentioned, but we won't know if there's any space at the school until about March 1st.

2. Half-Marathon My 12 Weeks training starts tomorrow. I've built up a 100 mile base since October 2009, of which 48 miles were run in the past 4 weeks alone. I'll be following Hal Higdon's Half Marathon - Novice like I did in 2003. The schedule totally works, as I was able to complete my first half marathon in '03 in 2:16:27, and that was just running 3 days/week, not 4 as the schedule suggests. I'm planning on continuing to run 4 days a week, as long as the shins stay injury free, so I'm hoping to break my Personal Best. Here goes!

3. Weight Watchers I officially quit my WW Online subscription, after 8 months. The weight loss has stayed off (35 lbs - yay!) and I've been having trouble tracking my foods for the past 2-3 months. I've been burning over 1200 calories per week for a month now, and I'm eating for fuel for my runs. Again, I have a post I'm in the middle of editing, that shows how you can try WW without having to shell out any money like I did (which wasn't too much, and since it totally worked for me, was so worth the money).

I could babble for longer, but I won't. I'll be back soon, I hope!

If you want a daily dose of what's going on...head to Twitter and follow me . You can also read my recent tweets in my blog's side panel, on the right ---->

Happy New Year...About time I Blogged!

Hello, and, finally, Happy New Year!

I hadn't forgotten about my blog, but simply I just hadn't had the time to put a post up. I meant to write a decent-size post about what's been going on lately, yet I kept delaying it, convinced I didn't have the time to write what I thought would probably be a lengthy post.

So, here I am now. I'm not promising a long post, but let's see how far I get....

1. Back At Work:

Yes, my maternity leave is now over and I'm back at work. The year (or, rather, the 14 months) has gone by waaaay too fast, and I now Reality is here to stay. I'm sad that Life has to go on and I must return to my job, yet, who am I kidding, I love the money. I had been officially on paid vacation since Nov 23, 2009, so getting a nice paycheque for the following 5 weeks weren't hard to take! But now I have to actually DO some work to get paid so, sigh, off to work I go!

2. Work at Work:

My life at work is super busy! I can't believe that I have been given so much work to do! I work in a laboratory and they've got me re-training for a whole friggin' month! Normally, the duties I've been assigned to do are only a one week rotation, because no one's crazy to want a whole month. Yeah, so that's what they give me! AND, to top it all off, I got zapped with the highest specimen load we've ever experienced: normally we receive 10-15 specimens a week but I friggin' got 39!!!! THIRTY NINE! No wonder I was tired last week! No breaks, just 1/2 hr lunches, but mostly 15-20 min lunches, and working overtime. There was no one more happier than me to see the weekend!


3. The Kids:

My parents have decided that they want to watch the kids while I return to work. Save your money, they said, we'll watch them. So far, it's been pretty good. I drop the kids off by 8am and arrive at work by 8:30. If I left work at the time I was supposed to, I'd be back by 4:30 to pick them up. As per #2 above, I was working a few hours of overtime last week, so I haven't exactly established a real routine yet.

I don't want to put my parents out too much, as they're technically not on my payroll, so I try to head over as early as I can get out of work. It's so different than dealing with full-time daycare like I've done in the past. I've decided to give them a monthly allowance, for them to do as they please, just as a little thank you. They're still saving me a ton of money, so what little I can give them, I'm happy. My mom already offered to beat me when I gave her the money. Nice mom, huh? LOL Yet, she hasn't tried to return the money to me since!

4. Half Marathon

Yes, this is still in the works. I have 16 weeks before the BMO Vancouver Marathon on May 2, and if I want to run it, I have to start training. I ran about 50 miles in October, one run in Nov, and about 5 runs early December. I need to build a base before starting my 12 week training in a month. So I've started running at work this week. Work as somewhat leveled off and I can at least find time to hear myself think at my desk! I got myself a locker of my own in the common locker room down the hall, and can make no excuses about getting dressed for a run now.

I ran 3 miles yesterday and 2 miles today. I have another 3 miles to run and a 4-miler for my Long Run on Sundays. I plan to repeat this 3-2-3-4 pattern for the next 4 weeks until my training starts. I have been writing a running blog since I started running again in the Fall, and you can read that here. It's not the best online running blog to use, but it works for now. I've signed up for dailymile.com but haven't used it yet. My current running blog is set on private and I haven't really shared it with anyone, and the dailymile.com site can be linked to Facebook, being touted as a social training log.

Let's hope I can continue with the running and not get injured like I did with shin splints in October!

----------------------

That's all I can think of right now to share. I'm sure there are tons of things I could write more about but my head is just fried! I honestly don't know how I will manage all these weeks of waking up early, getting the kids ready, going to work, coming home, racing this way and that for after-school activities, get home, perhaps cook some dinner, wash dishes, prepare for the next day, still have some Me time on my computer, and STILL get a decent night's sleep before starting the whole damn thing over again!

Deep breath...

My First 2009 Race!

I did it!

I'm racing again!

I signed up to run a 5K fun run on Saturday, Dec 5th, called The Santa Shuffle. It's for the Salvation Army, to help them raise funds for needy families each Christmas.

I'm joining with a couple of friends on what seemed like a dare. One friend just completed the Royal Victoria Marathon last month, and the other friend, well, has never ran before. I signed up so that the friend who's never ran before will finally lace up those runners of hers that we went out to buy together and go for some training runs.

I'm also collecting donations for the event. If you live in Canada and want to support the Salvation Army this Christmas, please visit my secure Donation Page where you will also receive a tax receipt. I believe $10 is the mininum to receive a receipt. My goal is $50 (I know it's not a stellar goal...) but it's something.

Sponsor Me!



Gotta run!

How I Do Run: Let Me Count The Ways..

Ok, so that was a take on my favourite poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I doubt you could ever interpret her Love in her poem was for running. Who am I kidding? Most people HATE running. Those that do run have a love for it that's often unexplainable.

Me? Yeah, I can't explain it either. You either like it (because you CAN run) or you don't (because you haven't learned yet and you CAN'T). Everyone falls in one camp or the other; there is no in-between.

So, for those who can't stand running and would rather throw themselves under a bus before even considering donning runners for their true purpose, stop reading! You'll fall asleep anyways...

For the others, here's my training schedule I've planned out:

* Run Days are Tues/Wed/Thurs/Sun (long run), in that order
* Mileage is stated in Miles not Km

2.5/2/2.5/3
2.5/2/2.5/3.5
2.5/2/2.5/4 <--- This is where I am right now.
3/2/3/4
3/2/3/4.5
3/2/3/5

Repeating each week twice takes me until the end of the year, where I'll will have built up from 10 miles per week to 13 miles per week. But after today's long run, I think I'm going to adjust this schedule so that I'll be upping my mileage just a bit more than this.

This is what I'm thinking...

2.5/2/2.5/3
2.5/2/2.5/3.5
3/2/3/4 <----- This is this week's workout!

3/2/3/5
3.5/2/3.5/5
4/2/4/6

This schedule will actually take me to Week 5 of the 12-Week training program I'm planning on following in the New Year. This is the same schedule which I followed in 2003 to train on my own for the Half Marathon I did that year. I really works! I was considering moving from this Novice schedule to the Intermediate schedule, to achieve a PR (personal record), but seeing that I haven't ran this far in a long time, it's like I'm going in as a novice anyways. Besides, if I really wanted to, I go throw in a few fartlek speed workouts on the occasional Wednesday.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Weight Loss Journey: Complete! Next Challenge...

I finally did it! As of October 1st, I officially weighed-in at 120lbs, a 33-lb loss from when I started Weight Watchers on May 28, 18 weeks earlier.

I had been about 2-3 lbs within Goal for about 5 weeks straight, and I was certain that I would have another week at 122 lb. Without much resentment, I stimulated my metabolism by eating more than I usually would and, lo and behold, that seemed to have done the trick!

I'm currently on what's called Maintenance, where I get a few more extra points each day (5 pts), to up my caloric intake. Funny, after one week of Maintenance, I happened to lose ANOTHER 2 lbs, so that I now sit at 118. Apparently it may take a while for my body to re-stabilize, so a weight loss here and there may occur.

So, what's next, you ask? Now that I've reached my weight-loss goal, what do I do next? Other than go shopping (which I soooo have to do. I kid you not: the size 8 jeans I have are swimming on me that I can literally pull them down to my knees without unbuckling them! I'm now fitting my size 4 Gap khakis once again!), I'm concentrating on developing a good, solid running base so that I can train for that half marathon I've been raving about recently.

I had been taking kickboxing classes since the beginning of July and decided that for the month of October, I'd quit for a while and go invest in another pair of runners. My last pair has definitely seen 500 miles and would never see me through another training season. So, I hit up my local running store with a friend and bought these pretty little toe-covers:

Hot Pink! The NB 769's. Love them! Going for a run in them is awesome. They feel a bit different than the other New Balance shoes I used to use, the 1022's from six years ago.

(Technical notes: 769 is for mild overpronators, a cushioning, moderate stability shoe. Not as technical as the 1224's in terms of cushioning, but remains reponsive.)

So, with these, I'm hoping to run 3-4x a week, logging between 10-13 miles. I figure the next 12 weeks will take me into the New Year with a good conditioning base on which to start my Half Mara training. I probably have an extra 5 weeks in the New Year before the "official" training schedule gets followed, so I still have a buffer, should I need to repeat some training weeks if my body needs it.

I started running outdoors this week, and have only ran about 6 miles so far. Plotting my run routes, logging my miles and strength training (lunges, pushups, squats, etc) is occupying much of my time now. Not to mention that I had to figure out my plan-of-attack when it came to deciding when to run and how far and how often. I don't want to over-train (nor under-train!) or not schedule my runs in at all (since how likely will I go out and do them, then?).

I'm feeling sleek and fast, even though I'm still a snail by a racer's standards. I'm enjoying myself, in my own skin, more aware than ever how my body moves as I walk, run. My larger clothes serve as a reminder of the miracle that has occurred; my depression has lifted. I can move around my bedroom without banging my hips against the footboard and howling in pain and crying about not clearing it. I am less concerned about the once-apparent muffin top I carried and more concerned about which muffin recipe to try out.

I'm happy.

Now, I'm a happy, running fool.

"Run, Forrest, Run"

My Running Hopes

I have been toying with a crazy idea since yesterday, and it's consuming me.

I want to run another half-marathon.

Yes, silly, I know.

As if losing weight isn't a challenge enough, I thought it would be great if I could get into a regular running routine and run a race or two. In 2002 and 2003 I had ran several 5K and 10K events, culminating in running the Half at the Vancouver International Marathon in May 2003, and it was the time of my life! I was crazy-fit, logging in up to 20 miles per week for training. I felt fast and strong, ready to conquer the world. I was beaming with accomplishment every week.

I want that feeling again.

Mind you, haven't as so much stepped foot on the hot pavement yet, logging my miles on a treadmill, but I'm determined. I'm armed with my trusty Hal Higdon's Novice Half-Marathon guide, a few new ones for comparison, and re-reading my running bible, The Complete Book of Running for Women by Claire Kowalchik. I've even got a 2010 year-at-a-glance to figure out when the races are and how they fit in the training schedule.

Yes, I know, I've written before about running here and here but I'm serious this time....I think.

My Goal: run the Half at the Vancouver International Marathon on May 2, 2010

The Plan:

- buy new shoes (soooo important!)
- loosely follow an 8-week 10K training schedule starting Nov 1, 2009
- follow a 12-week Half-Marathon training schedule starting Feb 7, 2010

Training is hinging on the fact that I can afford new shoes. My current pair of runners have definitely seen 500 miles, even though they look pretty good for being so loved. But it's the inside cushioning that's so vital for running, and it's wear isn't apparent from the outside. This will probably set me back $150-175 a new pair of New Balance runners (LOVE them!). They have obviously discontinued my beloved 1022's, so I'm going to have to try another model. I'm not a heavy pronator, even though I have really flat feet, and if anything I suponate (roll outwards) and sometimes twist my ankle when I walk! So I need cushioning with neutral gait, without a stiff arch. Did you understand my Greek? LOL

So, there. The goal is finally in writing. That's a start, isn't it?

I feel the endorphins kicking in already!