Happy Fourth of July!

Ever have one of those days where you know that running may not be a good idea, but you really really want to run?  Yeah, that was my day today.  Last night I was achy all over and just couldn't get comfortable.  This morning I woke up and every muscle and bone in my body just hurt...a lot.

I tried stretching and it didn't help.  I decided to just take the dogs for a long walk.  I don't know if that helped or not.

Anya and Mulder share a leash when I walk them.  River is around my waist.  Normally they all settle into a pattern after the initial excitement of being out for a walk.  That didn't happen today.  Mike says they are like watching the Shriners in their little cars.  I think it's like the Keystone Cops.  Either way they never settled down.

Anya always has to go to the bathroom right away.  Since she and Mulder are on the same leash this leads to some pulling and me playing find the doggy doo in the grass.  When Mulder has to stop he is a stubborn little cuss.  He gets this look on his face and just digs his heals in.  Today he decided to wiggle out of his harness while I was picking up after him.  I was trying to get River to quit pulling, Anya to stop chasing Mulder, and Mulder to come back to me so I could put him back in his harness.  At least he panics when he realizes he's not on the leash anymore.  He freezes and doesn't move.  River on the other hand would see it as an opportunity to take off.

I finally get them all back and moving in the same direction.  We spent the rest of the walk going in three different directions, chasing robins and rabbits, barking at cars and people, and stopping every 5 feet to check out something cool.  Oh and we can't forget getting all tangled up because that's a fun activity.

All the pulling didn't help my muscles feel any better though.  I don't think it was the best idea to take all 3 at once.  Right now they are all sleeping and plotting their next move.  I'm going to spend the day cleaning out the fridge and making potato salad for our Fourth of July cookout tonight.  I need to show James how we Americans celebrate our birthday!

Be safe and enjoy your day!

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon-Half Marathon

Well, I did it!!!!!!!!  I ran my first half marathon in 2:44.30!  30 seconds under my goal time.  I had a good time with this race!

I was really nervous before the race.  James, Mike, mom and dad were great at trying to calm me down.  Here is James and before the race.

The size of the race was amazing!  The energy was amazing!  It was just a great race!

I started out too fast.  I felt really good and just let my legs run, but it was too fast.  I was 1:10 at the 10k mark.  Just off my best 10k time.  Not so hot for a half marathon.  I followed my plan and at the 10k mark I walked so I could eat my stingers and drink some Gatorade.  I still felt pretty good until about the 16k mark.  Then I could feel my muscles start to get tired.  I walked again to get the rest of my stingers and some more Gatorade.  At the 19k mark, my muscles were dead.  I had to walk a few minutes to get my legs under me for the rest of the race.

When I crossed the finish line I felt so good at having finished the race!  My legs were dead the rest of the day, but I did it!  I enjoyed running this distance.  It's just a good distance and a doable distance training wise. 

Here I am after the race.

I liked this distance so much, that I entered another half marathon on June 1st.  It will be the Niagara Falls Women's Half Marathon.  I'm excited and ready to do the training.

As of right now, my next goal race is the Robbie Burns 8k in January.  I'm going to be training for that starting next week.  This week I'm using to recover and do short runs to get my legs back.  Today I went for a short 2 mile run with River.  My legs are still pretty tired, but the run felt good.  It is getting cold out though.  I had to pull out my running tights and long sleeve shirts.  Brrrrr....I don't know that I'm ready for the cold weather yet.  Tomorrow I'm going to the gym to do the bike and Friday I'm taking another short run.  Sunday we have a 5k race that we are doing.  It's the Monster Dash in Toronto.  James and I are dressing up.  It should be a fun Halloween themed race.

I just have to get my legs rested and then I can get back on a training schedule and back in the gym for weights.  This race really got me motivated to keep running and to try the longer distances.

Day 85: Recovery Run Day

After running 2 races this weekend I let myself sleep in until I had to get up to get ready to start the day.  Sleeping in for my is 5:30-6:00.  I decided to run after I took James to school.  I'm glad it did it then.  There wasn't a lot of traffic.  There really wasn't a lot of people out.  It was still cool and River got to run with me.

We did about 2.5 miles at a nice easy pace.  We took a couple of paths through the woods and behind one of the schools.  She likes those paths a lot.  She was having a good time until another dog barked at her.  It wasn't a friendly bark either.  She gets so upset when dogs don't like her.  Poor girl was so sad the rest of the run.

The rest of my day has been working at the computer so I'm glad I got my run in when I did.  I may do the same thing tomorrow.  I don't know if I will be able to take River or not.  It depends on the weather.

Starting tomorrow I'm going to take at least one picture on my training runs until I run my half marathon.  I want to see the change in leaves and nature over the next month.  It should be fun.

Today I signed us all up for a Halloween run.  James was very interested in it so we will all be running the 5k together.  It looks like a lot of fun and it will be a nice easy race for me after my half.  I won't run fast and I'll just have fun with it.  It will also be a great way to get back into my training after taking a few days off.

I'm getting really excited!!!  Only 27days left!!!!!!!

Days 76-78: Kind of a mixed bag weekend

I think I finally have a handle on this new school schedule.  At least I hope I do.  The past 2 weeks my training has been crap. 

This weekend was pretty good though.  Saturday, James ran his first obstacle race.  He ran the Badass Dash.  He had a great time!  It was a nice race for kids.  Mike and I couldn't run the adult race for several reasons.  For me it was too close to the half marathon.  For Mike, the only times open were early in the morning and I had swim practice.  He couldn't leave James alone while he ran.  Maybe next year.

Anyway, James had a good time and loved the obstacle race!  He said his favorite obstacle was the Water Web.  He got soaked, but he loved it!  He also love that he had to climb over a bus.  Here are a few pictures from the race.

Sunday, I got up and did the Terry Fox Run with the swim team.  My groups had to run a 5k and the older kids had to do 10k.  I did 20k because I had to get my long run in sometime.  It was a beautiful day to run and it was a loop course.  I did 8 loops.  I thought I would get bored with that, but I really didn't.  It was a pretty course and it kind of made it feel faster.  I may try to do that with my next long run here.

The run itself felt really good.  I did break down and get new shoes and that has made a huge difference.  I had no pain at all in my Achilles or hamstring.  I ran an hour and a half before I did my 5 minute walk to get my honey stingers and Gatorade.  Then I did a 2 minute walk at the 2:15 mark.  This run really made me feel like I can do this half marathon.  I should be under my goal time, but we'll see.

This morning I got up and did a 2 mile recovery run with River.  It is so nice to run in cool weather.  I love running in the fall and in the spring because the weather is so awesome! 

Tomorrow I'm supposed to do a tempo run that is in total 7 miles with warm-up/cool down and the tempo part.  I think I'll take River with me as there will be times for breaks and her to get water.  I'm feeling really good about this race.  Only 34 more days!

Day 50: Ack!!!!!! Starting To Get REALLY Nervous!

Only 62 days left until I run my first half marathon.  I'm starting to get really nervous.  I know I'm getting stronger and fitter, but I'm still starting to really get scared.  My long runs are getting longer.  My short runs are getting longer.  My recovery runs are getting easier.  I just hope mentally I'm there on race day.

Today was a recovery run after the race we ran yesterday.  River ran with me.  Today is probably the only day she will be able to run with me because it's supposed to get warmer in the mornings this week.  She enjoyed her run.  She loves being out and just being able to go.  We took a path that she just loves to take.  It's a gravel trail that goes behind 2 schools.  It runs through some open fields so she's always looking for rabbits when we take that way.  There weren't any today though.

The run felt nice and easy.  I haven't had a nice feeling training run in awhile so this was a good change.  I was nice and relaxed and just did a nice easy speed run.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to do a 10k run.  It's going to be a bit warmer than what it has been this summer.  I think I have been spoiled by the cooler mornings.  I won't take River with me so when I get home I will have to take her for a walk.  If by some chance it is cool tomorrow morning, I will take her with me.

Today James and I have a busy day of preparing for Fax Expo on Thursday.  We are both so excited!  I will be getting up early to get my runs in before heading to the Expo each day.  I should be exhausted by Sunday night.  Off to get ready for the day!

Day 8: No Go

Today I spent recovering from yesterday.  I knew I probably wouldn't get a run in, but I was still hopeful that I would be feeling well enough to sneak in a mile or two.  No such luck.  While I couldn't run, I did get 4 miles of walking in with the River. 

I did eat some dinner tonight so maybe tomorrow I can get a short run in early in the morning.  I'm really hoping to at least get 2 miles in to see how I feel.

I can't decide if this hitting me at the beginning of my training is better than it hitting me at the end or not.  I guess I'll find out.