It's been awhile!

October and November caught me and got away from me.  Wow were they busy months.  Let's see if I can upate on my training and racing.

At the end of October I did the Zombie Race in Milton.  It was a great race, but of course it was raining and a bit chilly.  The mud made it more fun though.  It was mostly trails and I loved it!

 

Here is James and I after the race.  He was a bit disappointed that he couldn't run it with me.  In a few years he will be old enough.

 



November started and so did the swim meets.  My kids have been swimming okay.  There is still some technical stuff to fix, but we are making progress towards that.  My training was up and down.

I went to Indiana to surprise my mom for her birthday and brought back the newest member our our family. 

River is a Treeing Walker Coonhound mix.  She is very high energy and gets along great with Anya and Mulder.

We've had her for just over a week and James said it feels like we've had her all our lives.  She is on a great schedule to get lots of exercise.  Monday and Thursday I take her to the dog park.  Tuesday and Friday we walk to daycare when James is with us and then we go for a run.  Wednesday she goes to Doggy Daycare.  Saturday and Sunday we go to the dog park or hike.  I get all three of them out for walks at least 2 other times a day as well. 

Here she is at daycare playing with some of her friends.

When I got back from Indiana I ran the Hanukkah Hustle in Hamilton.  I ran this race last year and had a good time, so I was back for a second year.  I did pretty good for my training being hit and miss.

After the race we took all three dogs hiking.  They had a ball and the weather was awesome!

I ran a bit last week and took River for her first run with me.  We ran just under 3 miles and she had me moving!  She really does love to run.

Saturday James and I ran the Hamilton Santa 5k.  We had to dress in Santa suits to run.  It was a lot of fun and James ran a best time of 44:09!

 

Mike and James will be running the Santa 5k in Burlington on Mike's birthday.  James had such a good time he wants to do it again!

So that brings us to this morning.  I was going to walk all three dogs to daycare with James, but it was just too cold out for Mulder.  He wears a coat, but still gets really cold, so I just took River.  It's 1.63 miles to daycare and then we went for a 4 mile run.  She just keeps going!  There was no way she was letting me slow down or walk at any point.  She just loves to run!  I won't be able to run with her on Friday as I'm at a swim meet, but Saturday afternoon she and I will go for another run when I get home from practice.

My next goal race is the Robbie Burns 8k at the end of January.  I'd like to be around 50 minutes or faster.  I think I can do it, if I stick to my training schedule.  I have to start doing weights again next week to build up my strength again.  I'll be able to see where I'm at on January 1st when I run the Resolution Run. 

Right now I have to get so much stuff done that I feel like I'm already behind!  Off to enjoy the rest of my day!  Have a wonderful one yourself!

The Disney Jar Is Growing!

The money in our Disney jar is growing!  With me having to ride the bike this week, it's getting a huge boost.  It's nice to see that we are getting there.  Like Mike says, right now we have just about enough for a lunch for all 3 of us.  LOL.

My ankle is feeling better.  In fact, I really had to force myself to just stick to the bike today.  The bruise is healing and I don't have pain when I move it.  I just have to not start back to running too soon or else it will take even longer to heal.  I am on the bike for the next 4 days and Tuesday I'm back to running.

On Monday after I do the bike, I'm adding my weights in again.  The weights have helped me and I feel better when I have a bit more tone to my arms especially.

My next race is on the 27th of this month.  I'm running the Zombie Race in Milton.  It should be fun.  I'm really looking forward to it.  I love doing races like this.  It's a nice change from just regular road races.  My next road race is the Hannukah Hustle in November.  It will be a good gage as to where I'm at for my goal race in January.

I have a busy day ahead of me.  I'm working on the Univesity newsletter as well as the Marlin newsletter and trying to finish up the last load of laundry and get packed for Buffalo.  But first I'm going to finish enjoying my post-workout smoothie and cup of coffee.  Have a great Thursday!

Back To Reality

Well, after a long weekend it's back to reality.  Back to the pool and back to chaos and craziness.  It's my normal though!

I am glad that I decided to just do the bike this week and give my ankle a break.  I woke up and my ankle was a bit swollen and tender.  The bruise is healing though.  It was just a really deep bruise.  I got the gym and did 10 miles on the recumbent bike.  I didn't push it too hard this morning since I ran a race yesterday.  It felt good to just read and go at an okay pace.  It got all the stiffness out and just got me ready for the day.

I do have a massage scheduled for today so that's going to be awesome!  It's later on this morning and it will also help work out some kinks in my legs.

Today I'm spending the day finishing up the laundry and working on the newsletter.  It goes out next week so I need to finish up my stuff.  I don't go into the office today so I can get some things done at home while getting home things done.

Tomorrow is my long day and I have to find a time to run home to let the dogs out since Mike is gone this week.  I feel bad when he's out of town and they are alone on Wednesdays for so long.  The other days are okay, but Wednesdays are long.

Tomorrow is also my rest day, but I may see if I can sneak a brisk walk in the arboreteum in before I start doing office work.  I won't run, but a walk would be nice.  I'll have to see though.

Thursday and Friday I'm back on the bike.  Friday I head to Buffalo for a swim meet so Saturday and Sunday I'll get in the fitness room at the hotel and get on a bike or go for a short run on the treadmill.  Next week I'm on a training schedule for my first goal race in January, the Robbie Burns 8k. 

Off to get ready for my massage.  Have a great day!

Oktoberfest Thanksgiving 5k

I just ran a new personal best by over a mintue!  I'm so excited about that too!!!!!

For two weeks I've been trying to get my bruised ankle to feel good running.  Monday I had the worst run ever.  Wednesday wasn't much better.  I took the rest of the week off and rested it so it could heal up a bit.  I guess it paid off.  I ran a 31:25 today on a route that is hilly.

Mike is in Ohio so I had to run without a cheering section.  His brother did get up and meet me at the finish line and drive me to the starting line so my car would be at the finish.  I didn't want to have to wait for the parade to finish before I could come home.  I really appreciate that he did that.  I made him a pecan pie for Thanksgiving so it evened out.

I decided that I was going to dress up for this race.  It's a fun race and since we run the parade route there are a ton of people.  I decided to be Wonder Woman.  So yesterday I hit the Halloween store and put together my costume.

It was cold this morning so I had to dig out my winter running clothes.  Luckily I had just bought a few long sleeve running shirts for the winter and one of them was red.  It workout out well.

I felt pretty good the whole race.  The route was hilly, but I knew that going in as it was my 3rd year running this race.  I like running this race because the people there for the parade make a great cheer squad.  I did see James along the route.  He was excited to see me. He said he really wants to run it next year.  We'll have to see though.

When I crossed the finish line I had to keep checking my watch to make sure the time was right.  I looked at the clock to make sure as well.  I still can't believe I ran a personal best.  I'm closing in on that 30 minute goal. 

Saturday I sat down and mapped out my training schedule for the next year.  I have 3 goal races I'm looking at so I wanted to see how I was going to train.  My first goal race is the Robbie Burns 8k in January.  The next one is the Chocolate Race 10k in May and the last one is the Zoo Run 10k in September.  I have a lot of other 5k and 10k races sprinkled in there to keep me focused, but these are my goal races. 

Next week I'm giving my ankle one more week off and just hitting the bike in the gym.  The following week I'm back to running and weights.  My next race is the Zombie Race on the 27th.  That's just a fun race though.

I'm gearing up for another great running season!

Today though, I'm going to enjoy my Thanksgiving and relax.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Friday!

It's finally Friday!  Although this week seemed to just fly by so I can't really complain too much.

Last night I made James' Halloween costume.  He's been so excited that I just broke down and did it last night.  He's going to be Toad from the Mario games.  Here is the finished product.

He's pretending to drive a car.  It really turned out well.  I just used some scrubs that I got at Walmart for the pants and vest, yellow duck tape for the edge of the vest, and the hat was from a clearance Toad costume that was too small for him.  Add a brown t-shirt and you've got Toad!  It was super easy.  Since the scrubs were too big I just cut and hemmed up the pants.  I had to remove the pockets from the shirt and pants as well as the sleeves.  That was the most time consuming part, but overall it was super simple.  He can't wait for Halloween now.

This morning I was going to go for a short run after walking James to daycare, but decided to rest my ankle and just walk home.  It is feeling better, but I don't want to have it hurting too much since I have to run a race on Monday.  The course is pretty hilly too so I want to be as pain free as possible.  Next week I'm just going to do the bike for the week to really give it a chance to heal.  I'm not happy about that, but I have to let it heal before I can go back to a good running schedule.  Plus next week our Disney jar will get a lot of money put in.  I usually do about 10-12 miles on the bike when I ride.  I guess that means we have that much more for Disney.

I have this weekend off because it's Thanksgiving.  I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend.  I'm going to get the house in order on Sunday since Mike leaves for Ohio.  Monday I'll just relax after the race and watch chick flicks and cross stitch.  It will be a nice quiet Thanksgiving for me.  Tomorrow I we are doing Thanksgiving at Mike's parent's house.  It's not the big deal that it is in the States and I can't get used to that, but it's still family.

Today I'm baking a blueberry pie as James requested it for tomorrow.  So off to the grocery store I go!  Have a great day!

Yucky Wednesday Run

Ugh...this was not pretty in the least.  I only ran 1 mile, but you would have thought it was 10 by the time.  My ankle hurt and I was not happy.

I ran in the arboreteum and the trails were better than the road so Friday I may go to the park and run as opposed to running on the sidewalk. I'll have to see.

I HATE being injured.  I want to keep going and that's not good for it.  I think next week I'll just stick to the recumbent bike to stay in shape and lay off the running for awhile.

I wish I knew what I did to my ankle.  It's still swollen and very bruised.  I just have to make it through the race on Monday and then I can hit the bike for a week or two.

I am so not good at taking the adivce I give though.

Welcome to Monday!

We had a pretty low key weekend.  We did do the Run For the Cure yesterday.  That was a lot of fun. James loves doing the fundraising and then getting all dressed up in pink for the race.  I made t-shirts for us this year.  On the front I did a different super hero logo for each of us.  On the back I put "Heroes Wear Pink."  Here we are in our shirts.

When we got to the race there were all sorts of fun warm-ups.  James had a ball doing the zumba one.

He ran the race and did an awesome job!  He dropped 5 minutes from his time last year.  It was a great day.

This morning we walked to daycare.  It took us a bit longer than usual as we had to carry our Star Student stuff.  James is Star Student this week so he had to make a poster about himself this weekend and bring in something special to him to share.   He did the poster and decided to bring in one of his scrapbooks that he made.  That meant we had to have an extra bag to carry everything in as well as his bag for running tomorrow.  His mother has to take him to the clothes had to go with him to daycare.  We were loaded done.

After I dropped him off at daycare I went for a run.  I wanted to go between 6-8 miles today, but that didn't work out so well.  Last weekend at one of my races I bruised the inside of my right ankle, right on the bone.  I rested it last week hoping that it would heal fairly quickly if I didn't run and push it.  I was wrong.  I think because I'm standing on the pool deck and walking around on it, it hasn't had a chance to heal.  I started out feeling pretty good, but after about a mile it really started to hurt.  It went numb and then it really started causing me problems.  I would stop to stretch, but you can't stretch out a bruise.  I was really frustrated.  I had a good pace going and I was feeling really good.  I ended up only running 4 miles and my time was AWFUL!!!!!!!!  Tomorrow I'm doing some speed intervals so we'll see how it does on the treadmill.  I'm just not happy about this at all.

Well, I'm off to make my smoothie, get a quick shower and then head to the pool.  Have a terrific Monday!

Race Weekend Breakdown

Ack...swimming started and this is the first time I've had to sit down and write anything other than emails.  Wow...those first few weeks really were crazy!  I'm back and on a schedule now so things should be going along better now.

My training has been okay.  Not where I want it, but hopefully that will change starting this week.  I got the back-to-school creepin' crud and spent one weekend in bed hopped up on Nyquil.  I've still got the last little bit, but getting better.

This past weekend was my crazy race weekend.  I did 3 races in 24 hours.  I had such a great weekend running and spending time with Mike.  We really enjoyed our weekend together.

The weekend started out with the Oasis Zoo Run.  I ran the 10K.  It starts outside the zoo and then does a loop through the zoo.  It's early in the morning so the animals you go by are awake and watching you.  It was cool and rainy at the start of the race, but it turned out to be a great morning.  Here we are before the race.

I felt really good through most of the race, but I forgot how hilly the zoo is.  Wow! But I finished and was happy with my time.

After the zoo run, it was in the car and up North we went.  I was running in the Run For Your Lives 5k zombie run.  It was a BLAST!!!!!!!!  The obstacles were fun and not too difficult. 

Another really cool thing was that Mike could watch almost the whole race.  They had it set up where spectators had great viewing.

Of course there were zombies trying to get you!

 

Then came the final obstacles...through the tunnels and under the electric fence.

 



At the end I didn't survive.  I was turned into a zombie.

After the race, we drove back to Toronto to spend the night.  Sunday we got up for my last race of the weekend.  The race was on Centre Island in Toronto.  It was a pretty morning and a nice flat course.  I got into the spirt of the Island Girl 5k.

It wasn't my best time, but I was happy with it considering I was pretty sore from my first two races.  I had a good time though.

I'm taking two days off to recover and then Wednesday going for a short run while at the University.  I wasn't sure that I could do it, but I did! I'm so glad we had a great weekend together!

Happy Thursday!

It's hard to believe that it's Thursday already!  The week has really flown by.  I had some sort of bug or cold or something that knocked me down for 2 days.  I just felt icky, but not really sick.  Two days of rest helped though.

Today I got up feeling much better and went to the gym.  I did hill intervals on the treadmill.  I did a nice, slow, easy warm up then pushed outside my comfort zone on the hills.  I really don't like hills so these intervals were tough for me, but I did them.  After my cool down I did weights focusing on legs today.  I increased the weight on several machines so it was tough.  I will feel it in the morning.  I have a light run scheduled for tomorrow.  It's supposed to be 2-4 miles.  I'm hoping to get in closer to 4 miles since I didn't run Tuesday and may not get to run Saturday.

Tomorrow we head to Indiana to see my parents and for my 20th class reunion.  It should be a good time.  James is coming with us and my brother and SIL will be there with my neices and nephew.  Yesterday I made unicorn poop cookies to bring down with us.  James and I made those a few weeks ago and they are pretty good.  They are fun to make as well.  Here are the ones from yesterday.

They take awhile to make, but the look cool.  I think the girls will love them!

Today I have to finish laundry and pack.  We are leaving tomorrow around 3pm.  I'm really looking forward to it!

Have a great day!

Toronto Women's 5K and Fan Expo

Wow!  We had a busy weekend!  It was a lot of fun though!

Friday we went to the Waterloo Busker Carnival.  We weren't able to go last year, so Mike and I decided to head up for it this year.  It's a lot of fun to watch the street perfomers.  Here are a few pictures.

Saturday was our really busy day!  Mike and I got up at 4:15 to get ready to head into Toronto.  I had a race that started at 8am and we had to leave by 5:15 to get there to pick up my number and get stretched before running.  I ran the 5k and it was pretty good.  Last week was my first week back with my consistent training.  I was also walking at least 3 miles everyday to take James to his camp.  I started back with my weights and I was feeling really good.  I had a good run and while it wasn't my best, I was still pretty happy with my time.  Here are a few pictures from the race.

 

After the race, we went to the convention center for the Fan Expo.  I have been looking forward to this for a long time!  I got to geek out and meet some really great actors and actresses.  I got to see all sorts of interesting costumes.  And I got hooked.  I wanna go to the ComicCon in March.

I had 3 people that were on my list for photo op and autographes.  They were David Prowse, Lou Ferrigno, and James Marsters.  I was able to get all three.  It was really cool to meet Darth Vader, The Hulk, and Spike.  Here are some pictures from the expo.

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday we just lounged around and watched the first season of The Walking Dead.  It is soooooo good!  We hadn't seen it yet and we are now hooked!  I'm going to get season 2 today.

This morning I went to the gym for a cross training day.  I did 9 miles on the recumbent bike and then a full body weight circut.  I was sore from lifting last week so this really helped.

This afternoon I have a massage scheduled.  Mike got me gift certificates and I haven't used them yet.  I'm using the first one today.  I'm hoping it will help get rid of this kink I've had in my neck for a few weeks.

Tomorrow I am out for a 4 mile run.  I'm looking forward to it.  Have a great Monday!

Crazy Busy, But Slowing Down Now

Wow have things been crazy the past few weeks.  Between swim camp and James' camps and appointments, I've been going going going!  Unfortunately my training has suffered, but I'm back at it and ready to attack my goal race!

A few weeks ago we had the Kitchener reception for Uncle Pat and Aunt Kristie.  It was held at a lodge near us.  It was nice to see family, but it was warm until the sun when down.  James had a blast!  He got to see Meredith and one of Uncle Pat's friends taught him to fish.

That next night we had a bunch of friends over.  We just did snacky type things and shrimp. There was a ton of food,  but it was good.  It was nice to see everyone and we all had a good time.

Then swim camp came around.  I was at the pool all day for 4 days and then I did lessons at night.  Crazy busy and the first 2 days were so bloody hot.  It rained the last 2 days so it was a bit cooler.  That weekend Mike and I had absolutely nothing to do so we were lazy and just lounged around.

The same week as swim camp, James had Clay Camp.  It's held at a local studio and they do all sorts of art projects with the focus being clay.  It made some really cute things.  We have his painting hanging up in the hallway and his pot and monster displayed in the living room.  He loved the camp!

Last week I started my canning.  I made 33 jars of pickles.  It took me all day, but they are done and they look great!  I have already given two jars away and will be taking some down to Indiana next weekend with us to give to my family.

I also had densist and eye appointments last week.  The dentist appointment went much better than the previous one.  I still have two more scheduled to get the crown put on, but I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Saturday we went hiking along the Bruce Trail.  We did about a 3 hour hike on a pretty technical trail.  A lot of it was very narrow.  The end we had to go almost straight up the escarpment to get back to our car.  We had fun and ate lunch in a nice clearing.  After our hike we stopped at the Royal Botanical Gardens.  James loved seeing all the flowers and took lots of pictures.  Then we went out for dinner. 

Sunday I went to Welland for Open Water Provincials.  I had 3 swimmers swimming and they did awesome!  One girl swam the 3k and the other two swam the 1k.  The 1k swimmers each placed 3rd in their age groups.

Yesterday I started back on my sub-30 5k traning program.  I'm also using it to help me get ready for my 10 Zoo run at the end of September.  I was in the gym yesterday doing cross training.  I rode the recumbent bike 8 miles and did weights.  Afterwards James and I walked to Mad Science camp together.  He was so excited about the camp.  The topic for the week is rockets.  When I picked him up yesterday they were launching rockets and all the kids were so excited.  On the walk home he just talked a mile a minute.  After I totaled up my mileage from the gym and walking yesterday it was 15 miles.  That was a nice chunk of change to put in the Disney jar.  Then James added his $3 for his 3 miles walked to and from camp.

The Disny Jar is the way we are saving to go to Disney World.  For every mile walked/run/biked we put a dollar in the jar.  James has gotten on me about starting my training again so he can see the jar fill up.  He really wants to go to Disney.

Today I got up and ran 4 miles.  It was a beautiful morning to run.  The temperature was 48 and it was quiet and peaceful on my run.  I counted 6 rabbits along the way and only 3 scared the crap out of me.  They darted out in front of me and I almost stepped on one.  I felt really good on this run.  This is the weather I love to run in and wish all my mornings were like this.  The only thing that made me laugh was something they were saying on the radio.  I run to the radio not just a playlist.  I like the talking.  Towards the end of my run, they were talking about a study that just came out of Japan that said if you wake up before 5am you have a higher risk of hardening of the arteries.  Then if you exercise that early you have a higher risk of a heart attack.  I'm listening to this as I'm finishing my run and knowing that 5am is sleeping in on some days.  Oh well.  I'm not going to change.

After breakfast James and I walked to camp.  My muscles were a bit stiff.  I know it was from the weights yesterday as I did legs.  I enjoyed the walk though.  I have my coffee and James always talks about interesting things.  Today we talked about fruit, older brothers/sisters, how he's excited for school and what he's going to ride when he goes to Great Wolf Lodge with mommy.  It was a quiet walk home.  I don't take my iPod on the walks, just my runs.

Tomorrow is my rest day, but James and I will still walk to camp.  A nice leisurely 3 mile walk will be fine.  Thursday I'm doing speed work and weights at the gym and Friday a short 3-4 mile run.  Saturday I have a race and then we are going to FanExpo.  It's the ComicCon of Canada.  I'm so excited!!!!!!  I can't wait to go!

Well, I'm off to do laundry and get a few other things done.  I'm glad I'm back on track and I feel great!  Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Happy Wednesday!

Today was hard for me to get out and run.  The timing wasn't good.  The team I coach for has a swimmer on the Canadian Olympic team.  Andrew Ford made it in the 200 IM.  The prelims for that event were this morning.  Since CTV is showing it live he swam at 6:06 this morning our time.  I left for my run at 5:45.  When I got home, I got online and watched his swim.  He made the semi-finals tonight!  It was a really good swim too.  This afternoon I'll watch the semi-finals.

Yesterday I was supposed to go for a 4 mile run.  I got up, got dressed, let the dogs out and saw lightening.  It was a nice morning too.  Of course nothing ever came of it, but I didn't want to take that chance.  So I came back in and got ready to go to the Farmer's Market.

Today I ran with my brother-in-law again.  We did the 2 minute run/2 minute walk again.  The first few rounds I felt like I was pushing it a bit.  I think he was too.  The last 2 we got slower.  Overall my run was a bit slower than Monday.  I just felt slow and my feet felt heavy.  Tomorrow I'll be doing speed work.  I enjoy doing speed work.  It breaks things up.  I don't get a lot of distance, but it's fun to do.

Today I'm doing some more cleaning and organizing.  It seems like it never ends!  It has to get done though. Right now I'm off to do my core workout and then to shower.  Have a great day!!!!!!

Lake Festival and Monday Morning Run

This past weekend Mike and I went to Ohio for Lake Festival.  I love going because I get to see family.  Lake Festival used to be so much bigger, but it has just been really weak the last few years. It's sad to see that it's not as big as it used to be.  I used to love going downtown and seeing all the crafts and sales.  It seemed that more community groups used to do various things.  There has to be a way to make it better.

I did run the 5k that they have.  I love this course as it's really really really flat.  Here you get flat courses, but not like this.  It's so nice to run on the flat course.  It's my first 5k road race since I hurt my knee.  I did run the 10k in June, but 5k is still my favorite race.  I ran it in 33:14 officially.  That is about 30 seconds off my best time.  I was happy with that.  If that's where I am now after taking almost 2 months off to rehab my knee, then I should be running a best time in August when I run the Toronto Women's 5k.

Here are a few pictures from the race.

I got to see my great aunt this weekend as well.  I don't get to see her often so I love when I do get too.  Here I am with my great aunt, my grandma and my mom.  It's been about 5 years since we've all been together for a group picture.

I got to visit with my grandpa and my aunt and uncle as well.  I love when I can go down and see everyone.

This morning I got up and ran with Mike's brother.  He wanted to start running and asked if I would run with him.  I warmed up by running the mile to his house to get him.  We then did an interval run.  We started with a 5 minute walking warm-up.  Then we did 5 rounds of 2 minutes run/2 minutes walk.  Finally a 5 minute cool down.  The ended up being about 2 miles.  Then I ran the 1 mile home.  I'm back doing my sub-30 5k training program.  It worked to get me ready for my 10k in April and got my time down so I'm doing it again.  I have adjusted it some.  Today was supposed to be a cross-training day, but I figured this run/walk would be like cross training.  Tomorrow I have  4 mile long, easy run to do.  I'm taking a very hilly route tomorrow so I'll get some nice hill work in.  That's still my weakness so I'm going to really work on it this time through the program.  Wednesday, I run with Pat again, but I'm also hitting the gym to start back on my weights.  Thursday it's speed intervals and weights.  Friday short run with Pat and weights.  Saturday will be a rest day and Sunday a easy run.  I'm pretty excited to try to push it a bit again.  My knee has been feeling really good so this should be a good training phase.

I've been watching the Olympics and I love it!!!!!  What's nice is I can watch both the US coverage and the Canadian coverage.  I get to see different sports and different countries.  Right now I'm watching Serbia/South Korea in women's volleyball.  I watched rowing this morning and some swimming.  I am such an Olympic junkie and for the next 2 weeks I'll be glued to the coverage.

I'm off to do my core workout now.  I have been letting that slide so I'm back on it.

Have a great Monday!!!!!!