June running plan

Hello there race fans! Are you getting your June race plans in order? We have some great plans in our household! The kids and I have signed up for the Enfield Penguin Run on June 1st, which is in our community, so we are excited to participate with the Penguins for the first time.  If you haven't signed up yet, visit their site at http://penguinrun.ca/ and check out the mock-up of the medal:

Since I plan on attending a few races this summer, I also joined Run Nova Scotia. Got my card in the mail yesterday! With that membership you get a discount on a number of races throughout the province.

Todd has to skip the Penguin, except he will be in his role as a cheerleader. He broke a bone spur in his foot a couple of weeks ago, and on top of that is fighting Plantar Fasciitis. The road to Disney's Wine and Dine is starting off slowly for him.

Since time was running out, we all signed up for the Johnny Miles Marathon Weekend. We are all going to do the 5k, and kids registration was free!! And for the adults, I have to say I think the medal is pretty cool!  Here's Johnny........

Having grown up in Pictou County, I've always known about the Johnny Miles and for a LONG time just thought that was something that I couldn't do. I mean,  I am one of the most uncoordinated people you have ever met. Remember that post about my first running experience? Yeah, that road rash was earned on the roads of New Glasgow! LOL.

But this is my year! Now granted, I have fallen off my running game a little and at this point can guarantee that my 5k will be a mixture of running and walking, and I highly doubt I will break the 40 minute mark at either the Penguin or at Johnny, but there is that small chance that if I try to keep up with my son I *might* squeak in under the 40 minute mark.

Oh, and guess what else I am doing this month?  I was SOOO bummed about not getting a registration for the Sole Sisters 5k in Dartmouth on June 8th. And our spring schedule is coming together and I figured out I can volunteer that night at the race! So if you are running, watch for me! I will be cheering you on somewhere!!

I am also eyeing up the July races on the Atlantic Chip and Run Nova Scotia sites.  I am seriously considering the Run for the Lobster race in Pictou the weekend of July 7th. It looks like there is a 5k and 10k option. From what I can picture in my mind I think the course is relatively flat so I am thinking this might be a good run to move it up a notch to the 10k. If you are familiar with the course and can confirm its flatness, please let me know!  I can't seem to get on to the website to confirm the course layout.

Having said all that I guess I will see if I can get myself out the door tonight. June 1st is going to come quickly!

169 days until I Run Disney!!!

That's me, waaayyyy at the back! ;-)

Have you registered yet for the Tartan Twosome?? You should see the BLING!!

I am so excited! A peek at the medals was shared last night for the Maritime Race Weekend in September.We are doing the 5k Sunset race Friday night and the 10k Sunrise race Saturday morning to earn the Tartan Twosome medal and buff!

Here's a peek for you!

And don't forget the buff:

You may not hear me saying "Ahoy,matey" as we run along the water in Eastern Passage that weekend, but I'm pretty sure I will be saying "Aaaaaarghhhh" as I finish the 10k Saturday morning. It looks like a great race route and I have read great reviews of it from last year:

So, if you would like to join us at Maritime Race Weekend - sign up here for the Tartan Twosome (70% sold today!). See you there!  http://www.maritimeraceweekend.com/coastalrace/

Boston, Basketball, and Blogging

So it's been a little while since I did a post. March and April are busy months for accountants, and in the middle of that we took a little trip to Boston to see the Celtics play with a big group of friends. Twenty-six of us managed to tour the city, do lots of shopping, watch the Miami Heat play the Celtics, and have a lot of fun over a five day trip. Boston is a beautiful city, and if you have never been I would encourage you to go. Don't let this week's crazy events stop you from visiting a city that is home to the Freedom Trail and the National Holocaust Memorial, clear evidence that Boston is a peace-loving city.

The Holocaust Memorial is a moving tribute to the millions who were murdered by the Nazis during the second world war, and this large boisterous group of travellers all stopped and quietly read the memorials and digested the visual lesson on how many innocent people were a part of that time in our World history.

Each glass tower is etched with the numbers of the prisoners taken to the concentration camps. The sheer size stuns you into disbelief that this could have happened.

Upon our return from Boston, we then had the provincial basketball tournament at Central Kings Rural High School in Coldbrook, NS. There was a lot of tough competition,but the boys came home with provincial bronze medals and everyone had a great time. The Kings Gators deserve a lot of credit, this was by far the best basketball tournament we have attended. From the opening ceremony where the kids got introduced and heard two Acadia Basketball players speak, to the foul shooting contest, to the canteen and the friendly spirit of the hosts, the tournament was a standout and I congratulate them on a job well done. Basketball Nova Scotia may want to find out what was done here and give format suggestions to other tournaments, because it was incredibly well done.

And so now I return to running and to blogging. We all know what happened on Monday at the Boston Marathon. So on Wednesday I joined the running community and ran 2.62 miles in honour of those who lost their lives and those who were injured in Boston. 

Tomorrow we are running the Earth Day 5k as a family. Our medals have arrived, and after we complete the race we will be presenting the kids with their Earth Day 5k medals.

Lots of my friends are starting to run, and that is awesome! What's funny is that these same friends are the ones who now motivate me to get out and run. Seeing them enjoy the activity, and hearing their positive thoughts about running, encourages and motivates me to keep at it.  So don't worry about being in last place, and don't worry about how much you walk compared to how much you run. Just get out there and move!! You will enjoy it too!

A little magic

Have you ever heard of a magic mile?

I have been using the Jeff Galloway app for time improvement and he had me run a Magic Mile last week. Basically you warm up, get ready, put everything you can into this mile and then check out your pace to help you determine a reasonable estimate of you race time for your longer race (after you train adequately!).

So I did my magic mile, and I was thrilled to accomplish that mile in 12 minutes exactly. Doesn't sound like much, but that is four minutes faster than the necessary pace to avoid the pace bunnies who DQ you at Disney, so the most important thing is being ahead of that pace.

Speaking of Disney, today was the day registration opened for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon and I am excited to say Todd and I are both registered!! Now the hard work really begins! It was quite funny to see me dancing around the office with my registration paper, beaming about the fact that I am now officially registered to subject myself to unknown physical demand along with the potential for public humiliation! But excited I am!

My Training Partner

So, I have recently mentioned this guy who is my training partner for this year. In the heat of the moment, when I randomly suggest one winter day that WE should go run a half marathon at Disney, my sweet husband Todd agrees and says, "Sure, how much time do I have for training?"

Todd is actually the person who first introduced me to running. I think I briefly touched on that topic early in my blogging. I was 19 at the time, Todd was 21, and he was VERY fit. He ran regularly. I ran to the fridge, to the snack cupboard, and on the weekends to the bars.

But because Todd loved to run, I agreed to go out on a run with him one fateful summer evening in July. Now, I did have some minor experience with running. I was a track star in elementary school, regularly winning ribbons for the 50 meter dash, the 100 meter dash, and I believe once or twice for the obstacle course. So, thinking "How hard can it be?" I went out the door, down Todd's driveway, and took a right turn to head UP the mountain with him. Because by running up first, you at least would get the benefit of running down at the end. Or at least that's what Todd told me.

That theory really didn't matter. I believe we made it about 400 meters when I landed my foot in a pothole.  HOW you ask????

I suspect I was likely watching Todd ahead of me and not the road. I don't know. But my foot landed in a pothole, I twisted my ankle and landed on the asphalt like a ton of bricks. As Todd helped me up and we surveyed the damage, it was clear that I was covered in road rash from my ankle to my arse. Literally.

We turned and hobbled back towards Todd's house. A neighbour stopped and asked if I needed help. I WAS SOOO EMBARRASSED!! I hid my face and said "No" to Todd, and when he told the people in the car they haughtily replied, "We weren't talking to YOU, we were talking to HER."

So I replied that No, I was fine and only my dignity was hurt, and we made it back to Todd's house where he lovingly poured a bottle of rubbing alcohol over my leg, "because alcohol won't scar your leg like peroxide will." 

Todd's mom arrived home to the bathroom scene of Wanda shrieking her head off like a crazed banshee and Todd trying to be supportive and no doubt questioning what he had gotten himself into.

I swore I would never run again. I figured I was as graceful as a 1980's robot and just wasn't cut out for that kind of sport, and quickly returned to my routine of running to the fridge, to the snack cupboard, and to the bars.  Of course, I took Todd along for the fun and helped him to find a few extra pounds. Per year. For the last twenty-two years.

So, it was quite surprising when I decided I was going to be a runner. Even more surprising that I have not fallen yet during this quest that I am on. Although I am much more careful to watch for potholes now, and dips in the road, etc.

And now I have convinced Todd to join me. He is returning to his former exercise of choice - running. And he has been at it now for six weeks. During that time, he has run the New Year's Rock 'n' Run 5k, the US Road Runners Movie Marathon 5k, and his last race, the Love on the 5k Run.  It is this last race that I find mildly humorous.

Todd ran this race one winter evening, round about February 14th. And it was exceptionally icy here that week. And my husband can be a little stubborn at times (how we get along I will never know, we both have heavy doses of the stubborn gene). So as he was leaving I gave him some advice, to run on the roads through the subdivision, because there was a lot of melting that day and the sidewalks on the main road had been flooded in many spots when I was out. That was sure to freeze to ice but the roads themselves would be salted and fine.

Approximately 40 minutes later my phone dings and it's a text from Todd.

"Ouch."

And me, "What?"

"I fell."

"Want me to come get you."

"No, I'm fine."

I put the phone down and ponder what I am sure has happened. About ten minutes later, Todd walks in the door, knees ripped on his pants and dirt all over him. He confirms that he took the sidewalk route. And that he fell again. Ouch.

Now, unlike me way back when I was 19, Todd has not sworn off running. He has continued to go out the door and work towards his goal of losing some of those extra pounds and joining me through several races this summer and 13.1 miles of Disney in November.

But I have come up with a personalized name for his Love on the 5k Run. I have taken to calling it "Twice on the Ice."  It has a special ring to it, don't you think?

A Long Distance Accomplishment

It has been an exceptionally busy week for our family. After an injury and physiotherapy all last week, Noah's basketball team was in play-offs on the weekend for their division in the Metro Basketball Association. After three great games, the team won the championship game against the St. Margaret's Bay Slam by a score of 39-36. No easy task, the Slam were a strong team all year and our boys had not won against them during the regular season. But with a really tough defence and their offensive talents of outside shooting mixed with great rebounding and inside shots, the boys took the division championship.

Here they are, the Tri-County Tigers MBA Champs:

The win wasn't without disappointment. Both teams were given blue T-shirts to celebrate the tournament. No trophy, no medal, no banner. Nothing to mark the win for the boys. Which was disappointing for them because other divisions were given awesome trophies. So while I give kudos to the MBA for their great work in organizing such a great league for the season, they really need to get some consistency in what they are giving out to winning teams at the end of the season.

The boys are playing this weekend in the Bedford Classic, known as the largest minor basketball tournament in Canada. So far it has been great, and the boys are playing today and tomorrow at the Canada Games Centre so they are pretty excited about that opportunity!

Around the life of a basketball fan, I did a LONG run Sunday night, quite by accident. The dog showed up by my feet at 8:45pm holding his leash. I felt bad for him, no walk or run Sunday, so I got dressed and went out for a run. After I got started I realized it was 400's, which are timed intervals designed for you to push yourself a bit and see what times you can consistently get on that distance. I decided to give it my best effort, and ran my BUTT off for the first 400.

After what seemed like a very long time, I thought to myself, "You know, I MUST have run 400 meters by NOW." Checked my phone and realized, to my utter dismay, that I didn't have the GPS turned on so my phone had not registered that I had run any distance!

Another rule of thumb for my collection.
Don't set off on a timed distance run without GPS turned on.

At this point I had two choices. 1) the one I would usually be inclined to take: walk home and say to hell with it. And 2) turn on the GPS and start the intervals.

I'm not entirely sure why, maybe it was my sympathy for Boomer who clearly wanted to run, but I turned on the GPS and did the SIX intervals. Granted, at the time I decided to do them I thought there would only be FOUR intervals, but Jeff Galloway decided to trick me up and add two more to this weeks workout.

My goal for these intervals was to run the entirety of every 400m interval. Since I have been using Jeff Galloway's Run/Walk method, I haven't been pushing myself to run longer periods. So I thought I would give it a try for the interval training.

I was really excited by the end of the run. I had run all of the intervals (granted, it was slow running), and I made it home without sore shins or a sore lower back. These two areas have really bothered me since the mishap at the Fieldhouse Track, and I wasn't sure how they would hold up.

When I got home, I used Map My Run to figure out my distance (since I didn't have the GPS on the whole way). In the end, I went 6.5 km. I covered the 6.5 km in 1 hour, 1 minute and 33 seconds. Not a remarkably fast time, but don't forget this included my warm up walk, cool down walk, and a mid-run recovery walk since I wasn't used to running this far.

I was VERY excited by this! To complete this distance, run all of the intervals, and come out on the other side with no pain is a very exciting accomplishment!

Next up........let's talk about Magic with Jeff Galloway and it's place in training for distance runs.

Love on the Run 5k!!

So I got out the door today for a break from being stuck inside with my sick boy and working from home. Although I ran 6.5 km in total under the Jeff Galloway program, I used the middle 5km as my Love on the Run 5k. I forgot my bib though!!

It was an interesting outing today. The weather was nice for February, it was really mild. The roads were good through the subdivision, and I walked up to Carriage Lane before starting my run. Keep in mind I wanted to stay close to home, just in case the boy needed me. I followed my current run:walk ratio of 2 minutes running and 1 minute walking and found that this worked well for me. The first kilometer went great and even though Boomer tried to trip me and mess up that sore sciatic area on my left I still managed a time of 7:13 on the first kilometer.

I always seem to struggle with the second kilometer, my legs get tired and I just feel like I'm not going to be able to keep going. I usually take a slightly longer walk break here, give my body time to recover and then start in again. My time here was 8:23. I picked it up in the third kilometer and finished that one in 7:45. Then I struggled again in the fourth but pulled out an 8:39. I would just like to point out that this fourth kilometer consisted of me trying to puddle hop through several flooded areas on the sidewalk. After slowly going through four of those areas but somehow managing to still get wet, Boomer and I stepped out onto Highway 2 and started running there to avoid the last flood zone that was sure to ruin my sneakers. The last kilometer was uphill (yes, I said uphill, the four letter word of my running world) for 500 meters and then I turned around and ran back downhill for the last 500 meters. In spite of the up portion of that kilometer, I still managed to pull off a 7:45.

So I don't do those grand things called negative splits...that's okay. I move in the right direction: forward. I did, however, manage to pull out a PR (personal record) today. My time of 39:50 was my first time breaking 40 minutes for 5k!! That's more than a full minute faster than my time 3 weeks ago for the Movie Madness 5k!

I figure my actual time is at least 15 seconds less than this, because of stopping and switching up with the dog, the puddles and yes, even snowbanks. But that's okay, I will take a sub-40 time today and be extremely excited about it!! I even did a little dance on Bona Crescent when I finished!

Here's the details from my Garmin.
Love on the Run 5k by wandaleese at Garmin Connect - Player

Don't forget my medal:

Thank you Jim Parker at www.muffinstomarathons.com for creating these great virtual races that we can do on our own time, at the location of our choosing, and yet with a great group of people over the internet!

Todd has to do his 5k tonight...did I mention that I have convinced him to join me on this hare-brained goal of running at Disney in November??

My Other January Medal Came Today!!

I was so excited at the mailbox today, my New Year's Rock 'n' Run 5k Medal arrived from Muffins to Marathons. It is awesome!!! I have to run the Love on the Run 5k tomorrow and get my time in to them so I can get my February medal on its way!

My race bib came on Sunday and it is even personalized!

I am still working on my decisions about the races I want to do this summer in Nova Scotia. I can't waste much more time, since some of them are selling out early and I don't want to miss out! I don't plan on doing the Bluenose weekend because that is our long weekend at the trailer and I won't miss that for anything!!  Hold on, let's think about summer for a minute...

Sorry, I got a little distracted there!

I am thinking I will do the Enfield Penguin Run (5k) in June, in our village of Enfield. That is on June 1st and is a chip-timed event if you are interested. http://penguinrun.ca/

Next up will be Johnny Miles weekend in New Glasgow on June 16th. Not sure if I will do the 5k or...maybe even the 10k. http://www.johnnymiles.ca/

Then I think I will take a brief pause because June is generally a busy month. Then in July if the mood is good I may do the Run for the Lobster in Pictou. Again, not sure if I will do the 5k or the 10k at this point. I would like to do a couple of 10k's over the summer/fall to get a time to use for Corral placement at the Wine & Dine.

For those of you who don't know, Disney uses Corrals to group runners before the start line. Those who run fastest are in Corral A, then B, etc. If you don't have a time to use for Corral placement you are placed in the last Corral. I would like to be ahead of the last Corral. Mostly this is because I think that it might gain you a few minutes of grace before those pacer bunnies knock you out of the run if you don't maintain that 16 minute per mile pace.

Next possibility, Not Since Moses at Five Islands on August 11th. This one will be for the kids, not me. Running in mud and getting all dirty. Yuck.

We are going to take the kids to the Runway Run at the airport here in Halifax on Sunday, September 8th too!

My big planned race for the fall is Maritime Race Weekend, September 13th and 14th. We are going to do the Tartan Twosome, which is the Sunset 5k Friday night (with the kids) and then the Sunrise race Saturday morning. Planning on doing the 10k on Saturday. Then I will get three medals!!!  http://www.maritimeraceweekend.com/coastalrace/

After that, I think I will just stick with training for Disney!!!  I'm glad I figured this out - now I have to start registering!!  Anyone want to join me?

Prepping for a Storm

So our forecast is calling for 40+cm of snow over the course of tomorrow evening and Saturday. For you Americans, that's 16 inches. I'm curious how other runners run in snow. I don't have winter runnng shoes,  just have the same ones I always wear. So RUNNERS, how do you run on ice and snow and not break a leg? Or an arm...

I've heard a friend mention grips. Do they work? Or do you wear winter running shoes? Enquiring minds want to know. Preferably before I have to go out and run in snow this weekend. LOL

Last night I ran inside at the fieldhouse on the track.

Sounds great right??? Not so much. There is an explicit danger in running on that track. Many, many parents cross the track to take their kids onto the field for soccer practice. And wee little brothers and sisters run out on the track from time to time. And lazy parents sit on the benches and stretch their legs out ACROSS THE TRACK. All while you are attempting to run your run around the track.

I thnk they can't read. There are signs there. All in capital letters. They say:

KEEP THE WALKING TRACK

CLEAR

AT ALL TIMES!

Or perhaps as is typical, they think they are special and the rules don't apply to them. So for the bargain price of $2 each visit, I can pay to use the track for those five times a year I deem the roads and sidewalks to be unsuitable (even though my property taxes have a Sportsplex surcharge and this is the ONLY use of the Sportsplex that anyone in my family has). And in return I can attempt to run and avoid the adults, children, feet and shoes that try to trip me up each lap. Last night I pulled a muscle in my leg and did something to my sciatic nerve as I tried to avoid a collision with a Mom and her son. Thank you.

Anyway, I felt the need to vent about that. Glad I got it off my chest.

On to brighter things. Do you Zumba? Apparently Zumba at the Sportsplex is great on Tuesday nights! Not that you will ever see me there....I am not graceful enough for that shit. I did Zumba in the basement once. Todd laughs every time I mention it. But just thought I should let you know in case you are looking for something new and exciting.

Did I give you the link to Muffins to Marathons yet? This weekend I am going to do the Love on the Run 5k for my February medal. I managed two medals in January, so I am well on my way to accomplishing my 13 in 2013. @ramblingchick is doing 13 in 2013.1 and I have to say I kind of like that slogan. And it most definitely applies to me since my first 12 are the leadup to race number 13: the 13.1 miles I am going to cover at Disney in November!

Anyway, if you are looking for some virtual races to get you started and carry you through the winter, check out the link at:

http://www.muffinstomarathons.com/virtual-races.php

I had really wanted to do the Frosty 10k but it sold out before I registered. Same for the Sole Sisters 5k in Dartmouth in June. I guess I just have to start registering as soon as I find these races!!

Tell me what you use on your feet for winter running please!!!

Road to runDisney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon

So the last time I posted I told you I had big plans. Well, here is my official announcement! I have started training for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon to be held at Walt Disney World, Florida, November 9th, 2013.

Here - have a glimpse at the 2012 event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xou-qiN_rWM

So, let's be clear. I'm doing this for two reasons.

#1. The bling. Yup, that medal is super-cool and I can't wait to have one of those.
#2. The party. True to form, I can't wait to hobble from the finish line to the beer table, grab me a cold one and begin the coolest post-race party ever: at Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival, until the wee hours of the morning.

What's the breakdown? Race time is 10pm Orlando time. I hope to finish in the upright position before 2am. And then party until 4!

We've got our accomodations all booked for this magical weekend of pain and bling:

Disney's Boardwalk Villas! I love this place, have wanted to stay here for years but it's quite expensive. I got a lead on a deal though and our long weekend accommodations at this Disney Deluxe Resort are really reasonably priced. And the best part about the Boardwalk is that it is a short walk from Epcot so when we run out of steam at the after-party we can just hobble back to the hotel.

Did I mention the bling?

So I've been training since November, after I found those heel lifts and solved my sore leg issues. Made it back to 5k distance pretty quickly. But I wasn't happy with my time...or, to be more specific, at that speed the pace car would definitely be picking me up before the end of the race....SOOOO I have begun training to improve my 5k time using the Jeff Galloway Easy 5k app.

So far I am liking this app. It uses my music, let's me set the run/walk ratio that I want to use, and tells me when to run and when to walk. It changes up the speed of the music to match the pace I should be moving at, and I like to run to the beat so I find it keeps my feet moving longer than they might otherwise move.

I started the program last week and finished week 1 on Saturday with a 45 minute outing that nearly killed me. Everything seemed very hard on Saturday. Today I did the first day of week 2, and because of a program malfunction (that's fancy talk for "Wanda screwed up and restarted the program about 9 minutes in") I ended up doing 42 minutes. And today it seemed much easier. No muscle fatigue. Not nearly so much difficulty breathing. Of course, I was inside on the track today and not outside in minus 10 degree Celsius weather, so that may have helped too.

I think I am going to make 2013 the year of the medal. I've already got two:

New Year's Rock and Run 2013

Movie Madness 5k 2013

And I have a few more targeted in my hunt for thirteen medals in 2013. There's the Love on the Run Virtual 5k, Run Rock Shamrock Virtual 5k, Too Hop to Trot Virtual 5k, Mother Knows Best Virtual 5k, and Wait Till Your Father Gets Home Virtual 5k. These are all through Muffins to Marathons at http://www.muffinstomarathons.com/virtual-races.php and will see me through until running season gets underway here in Nova Scotia.

I've got a couple of races targeted here in Nova Scotia too! More to come on that next time. Have a great week and don't forget, February is Heart Month and that means it is a great time to start YOUR exercise program!