2013 - January - April

The shoulder though was NOT getting better.  The Harry Rosen Spring Run-off was weeks again and my training was limited to half an hour on the treadmill. I had to loop my hand into my running bra and run that way. Not easy folks, not easy.  Finally I was talked into getting a cortisone shot just before Valentine’s Day – it was possibly one of the more painful experiences I’ve had to date vis a vi medical procedures.  The joint in which the cortisone was administered hurt for about 4 weeks. Then the pain – all of the pain, was gone. (Okay I’m lying about 98 % of all the pain was gone).  My training on the treadmill continued – as was water running.  I could run for about an hour at a time. I put on a good movie (Bourne Trilogy) run like I was helping Matt Damon save the world, mileage wasn’t going to knock anyone’s sock off but HEY I WAS RUNNING.

My goal was to have run the Green Jewel 50k in Cleveland, Ohio at the beginning of March. With my training being so underwhelming, there was no way I was going to participate in that race. I went and cheered on my crew of girls I had trained and Keith as well. While trying to encourage Karen C & Cindy into the finish I ran beside them --- OMG --- in hiking boots with my winter coat on and I did it! There were no more excuses; I would have to start training in the great outdoors now! Damn. No more safety of the basement. No more saving the world with Matt. I was getting shipped out into the real world.

Keith and I ran the Spring Run-off together.  My time was slower than the year before which was a bit of a letdown, but let me say that I KILLED that hill at the end. I ran the WHOLE thing from bottom to top without stopping.  That in itself was better than anything I had hoped to accomplish!

I had in the back of my head to go with Keith to the Outrun 24 hour race … and just have some fun and run what I could.  April 13^th I was offered the opportunity to run in Cindy’s stead at the Marden Half Marathon, if I could finish that – it would be the longest distance I had run since the MCM marathon in October.
I put on my Saucony’s, begged a rain poncho from Nancy Chong ( a fellow Barrie Road Runner) and got my groove happening. I ran with Karen C, Karen D and Bruce D. Karen C took off, her membership to Cross Fit was paying off in dividends. Karen D, Bruce and I kept it at a decent clippety clop. By the time we got to the turnaround at the half way point, I was feeling pretty good, by the time 17 k hit both Karen D and I started picking up the pace. We finished side by side in 2:28… I felt good about that. I felt very good about that!

That solidified my decision to sign up for the O24 run.  I wanted that 100km medal. I had a plan … I dreamed my plan… I had a plan for my plan.  24 hours divided by 4 is 6… so I would have 6 hours to run 25 km… every doable. I could take a couple hours break and start running again.  Sounded like a solid plan. I was in!

We stayed overnight the night before with Dave (who we had met at BR 100 volunteering) and his wife Sandra. Dave was going to attempt 100 miles in 24 hrs as well Keith.  O24 is a one mile loop in the Cleveland Metro Parks area of Kirtland. So literally you only had one more mile each time you came to the start/finish area.  I managed 50k in just over 7 hours, I sat down for a while and was deciding if I could do 50 more. I felt awful. I didn’t think I would be able to continue.  But I kept drinking my Isagenix  Want More Energy, having Isalean Shakes and talking to myself… changed my plan … just keep going. Never mind doing this in quarters. Keep running. 

My girlfriend Francoise who lived in Cleveland showed up to walk a couple of loops with me as well. Dave’s friend Ben Kimball wanted to do 100k as well. He had never run more than 50k either. So we teamed up and ran together.  I was the drill sergeant, I said when we walked, when we ran, enforced eating and foot maintenance.  When we reached 56 miles (84 km) a double marathon we high fived each other, and continued with our quest.  For me everything over 50k was gravy and I was having a great time talking to folks as they passed me or if I passed them.  I made new friends. It was all awesome. It was all gravy! Ben and I broke it down to manageable pieces. 5 more loops, then once those 5 were completed. 5 more loops, then 3 loops after that. Then 2 loops after that .. etc.  Until we got 62 loops in. 100 km medal was indeed all mine!  Ben and I are solids now!  You bond over successes like that!  I’ll crew him whenever he wants me to. I’ll get him to his goals.  He wanted to quit – I wouldn’t let him.  I can say with honesty – I made him finish.  Then with two miles to go – he did the same for me.  He dragged me to the finish line.  Keith was there to tape that!  I was so happy.  I curled up in our tent under the sleeping bags but couldn’t stop shaking… it was non stop! Eek. 

It’s a milestone I had in my head; I saw it and totally believed it was within my reach.  It felt so easy … I know it was difficult, but in my head it was already a done deal.  I didn’t advertise that I was going, in fact I told perhaps 3 people I was going to participate and not just crew, I didn’t want a whole lot of attention, I just wanted it to be me doing it for me.

Where to start?

Oh my gosh it’s been a very long time since I’ve blogged about my running or my life really and I’m not sure that it matters in the grand scheme of life, but it’s fun to put thoughts into sentences.  Plus on my way to work I started thinking about Stephen Fry and the fact he has such an eloquent way with words, some (nay most) of which I need to look up to find their meaning.  It is exercise for my brain, and with the fog I live in most days, it’s a necessity to stretch my cerebral muscles as much as possible. Use it or lose it babe!

*brutal sigh*

So where did we last leave our heroine?  *taps head with fore finger* hmmm… I do believe it was late 2011… so let’s wrap that year up with a change of work venue.  I went from working in Toronto to finding a job in Barrie, only five kilometres from home. The universe answers your requests!  It was time to move on, I had outgrown my previous employer, I needed more than what they could provide me. I wanted to be a REAL PROJECT MANAGER! I felt like Pinocchio when the Blue Fairy granted him his wish to be a real boy!  I landed the job of a life time. Project Manager, managing REAL projects for an IT company in Barrie! Could it be true?!   Life was grand.  Running … not so bad!

Ran my usual MidSummer Night’s Run in August in a great time, my training was paying off.  Speed training, hill training, and distance training all doing its thing. I started using and selling Isagenix – what a difference in my life for nutrition! WOW! I felt like I could keep running once I crossed the finish line after the 30 km. Woohoo! Fantastic! Done in 3:23
Raised funds AND ran an awesome individual race!

And that was pretty much my races for 2011. I was volunteering a lot with one race director in both the Barrie and Base Borden half Marathon’s rather than running. It was my “giving back” to the running community. And I had also broken my toe in October so I couldn’t run even if I wanted to. I dropped a bench on it whilst setting up for my volunteers making the race kits for the Base Borden run. I was out of commission for at least 6 weeks. 

The ringing in of the New Year 2012 …
It was going to be another year filled with change, who knew, both in my running and in my personal life; again.  I started seriously hanging around with a gentleman and eventually it lead to official dates instead of coffees… he signed up to do the Harry Rosen Spring Run Off 8k with me to help get me to my goal time of between 44 – 45 minutes.  I managed, with his help, to finish in 44:02. I struggled up that final hill –again.  *kicks self*

I didn’t really sign up for many races in 2012, I was suffering from horrible shoulder pain,  to the point where I couldn’t even sleep at night. After seeing three different medical / health and wellness practioners, I was finally and more importantly correctly diagnosed with adhesive capsulitis or Frozen Shoulder.  As well my left leg was starting to act up as well, strong pain in the calf muscle, I was starting to think the fascia was ripped again.  OH NO!!!!!!!!

In the mean time I had signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon in October, the marathon sold out in about 5 hours or less.  It was crazy, I signed up seconds after the online registration opened, before the end of the day it had sold out.

I ran Pick Your Poison 25k run in April – that was a cool day and finished this run in 3:30 – it was a tough go up and down the ski trails. I survived and lived to tell the tail.  I ran with Sandra Lalonde for part of the race, but she was far too quick and off she went for the 2^nd loop.

I signed up for and ran my first Ultra Marathon – the Niagara 50k, in mid-June and for preparation for the I signed up for the 25 k at Sulpher Springs (which I completed in 3:06 ) and then the next day I ran the Women’s Only Half Marathon which I completed in 2:19 ( I believe – have to check my facts) and I felt really good throughout the race.  Once I again I started with Sandra & at about 15k I told her to keep on going. She was just too quick for me to keep up.  The point is though, I managed to do the back to back runs without keeling over, so I felt that Niagara was a go!

It was I started off really well, at about 28k my garmin died so I couldn’t really gauge my time properly as I was doing 15 min run & 2 min walk. At the 40k mark I ran into Keith & he was packing it in for the day, at 60k he was having knee pain & wanted to save himself for this 100 Miler later in July. At that point I was feeling good, my time was so-so 5hrs something.  Then  it happened around 42 km  the wheels fell off, I still finished (in under 7 hours). My Mum was there to see me cross the finish line as was Keith.  It was a great day. I knew with better training I could manage ultra- running with more aplomb.  Roads were not my friend – trails were for me.  

July I travelled to Vermont to pace and crew for him at the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance race.  What an amazing time that was. Unfortunately for Keith, he had to drop out around 52 miles due to medical reasons (he had lost 9 lbs and was in rough shape.  He tried to run, but his body seized up and wouldn’t move) and during the weekend we had met up with a couple of fellow Canadians from Montreal; Kate and Gary (who hails originally from the North of London). Once Keith had bowed out we took it upon ourselves to crew for them and a friendship was formed!  As well it opened my eyes to what a crew member needs to do for their runner, I needed to be forceful and more cognisant of what my runner was and wasn’t doing. Lesson learned.
July also took me to Ohio to volunteer for the Burning River 100 Mile endurance race, Keith needs to put in 8 hours of volunteer time annually so that he can meet the qualifications to enter into the lottery for Western States 100 Mile Endurance Race.  At the Gates Mill aid station we met and struck an instant friendship with a fellow named Dave, a transplanted Essex boy working and living in Ohio, what a treat to meet him, we laughed all day! I so miss that humour.

August brought me, again, to the MidSummer Night’s Run – a favourite of mine. I was in love with the new Adidas Trail shoes I had purchased while in the US, so much so that I wore them for my race, all 30K. I finished in a good time, I once again felt great during the run.  I got to the 25 k mark and kept going. Usually that is where I start faltering. I made it to 27 – still feeling strong.  Had a walk break here and there, yes that’s true, but they were short lived and at a quick pace.  I crossed the finish line feeling awesome in 3:30 only 7 minutes slower, but I was okay with that since I wasn’t doing as much speed workouts and hill training due to the injuries I had sustained.
Then in a few days my left calf started to ache. I thought it was from wearing trail shoes on the road.  Ohhh it hurt.  I had to continue training MCM 26.2 was just over the horizon and after all that hoopla to get in; I was NOT going to miss this opportunity.  I had my calf sleeves to try to keep things from going south and I was, most of all, determined (stubborn is perhaps a better term).

October rolled around – we ( Cindy, Shannon, Karen C, me & Keith as our dogsbody / tour guide) arrived in Arlington, Va ready to do the MCM 26.2 race.  Saturday we spent wandering around Washington DC and went crazy visiting the Museums… THEY WERE FREE!!!!! It was amazing! Silly of us to walk for hours considering we had a marathon to run the following day, but how do you say no to free museums?  Simply put, you don’t.

We arrived with, in my estimation, not enough time prior to the start of the race.  I’m the type of gal that likes to be there at least an hour before the race, get in line for the port o potties, have a few laughs with the folks around you, relax and start the race. Keith rather get there minutes before the start… we’ll need to work on that. J
We were all in the line-up for the potty when the guns went off to signal the start of the race. OMG!!!!!! Luckily there were soooo many people that the bottle neck allowed us to get out with little to no impact.  Everything was going well – then by the nine mile mark I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty.  By mile 11 I told Cindy to have a good race.  By mile 17 I was crying my eyes out to Keith (he was following us on the course – using the Metro system) that I never EVER wanted to run a race again where I was injured. It wasn’t fun! Running has to be fun … or it’s just not worth it.  Yes I am competitive, but I always have a smile and a giggle throughout the race with the people around me.  By the time I hit 21 miles I was desperately trying to figure out a way to cut the race short without DNF’ing, however; since that is not in my make up, I struggled on and kept going.  I crossed the finish line – I wasn’t happy but I finished.  Now to try and find the others,  Keith was waiting for me at the end of the VERY LONG runners chute.  I was so happy to try to forget about that race. I got the medal and the shirt (which I must admit sucks… mock turtleneck cotton shirt… EWW)

In the meantime – Keith had moved in and we settled into a  wonderful routine.  Yes a bit of getting used to for me, but regardless, it was great to have him sharing my life, my home (our home) etc. The rocky bits would be dealt with as and when they would happen.

After much figuring out – I came to realize that it wasn’t the trail shoes that caused my issues, with the help of my bestie Trish (and she happens to be my PT) we figured that I was curling my toes trying to grip the shoes. This happened, in my opinion from wearing sandals all summer – and caused tendonitis in my calf – the main tendon runs around where the big toe is.. so mystery somewhat solved

Cause it hasn't been forever since I wrote a blog!!!

Wow - I looked in my account FINALLY and I haven't blogged about my runs since 2011. I can't believe that! I mean I can - but I can't. So much to catch up on and so much to say. I'll have to sit down in the next few days and do the Reader's Digest version of what transpired in 2012 and then I think I can catch most up with what's been happening in 2013. Not that many races for me, but significant ones!!! Stay tuned!

My bad... Ack... Need to catch ya'll up.

My goodness I can't believe it's been so long since I was able to blog about the running that's been going on.
Ack.Eep.Whoops.

Let's see.. hmm... Tuesday nights are suppose to be trail running nights - sometimes I can make it, some times I can't. When I have managed trails the last few times it's been STINKING HOT... so I can't bring Mika with me, it would be cruel. A couple of weeks ago I managed to get home on time (traffic during July has been awful) I quickly took the dogs out for a walk & wouldn't you know it Kees gets skunked. ACK. Then last couple of weeks I don't get back home until gone 5:30 and then after I take the dogs for a nice walk inthe woods it's well past 6pm. I have an obligation to them & during the extreme heat they were not getting quality walks & Mocha needs them. The other two get terrorized if she doesn't.

Wednesday runs - have been going well, very well. I've got a good tempo going and sometimes I get a gaggle of runners following me. As much as I love the company, I do have to strike out on my own. A couple of Wednesdays nights ago I was running with a teenager - holy crap she ran my pants off. I need more of that. I have to ask Trish more about her so I can team up with for tempo runs - it felt good!!! Note to self... ask Trish. :)

This Wednesday it was a challenge to get to Barrie. I left work an hour late due to work issues. (blech) and had to get to a meeting with Jeff Moyle the race director for the Barrie Half Marathon, I'm his newly appointed Race Volunteer Co-ordinator & we just wanted a meet & greet. Spit ball some thoughts and brain storm a bit. Then at 6:30 we mosied over to the Running Room to schlep our wares. I didn't even have time to go home to get my running stuff first, so no running for me. We hung around the store a bit and chatted. Then I had to race off back home to take care of my puppies.

My speed work has been hit and miss. I got a late start on speed work due to traffic & only managed about half an hour of speed work then I had to jet off to take the recycling bins etc in for my g/f that is away & check on their amphibians. Then zoom home to take the dogs for a long walk - Mocha needs the work out. A tired puppy is a good puppy. Then to wash and change to get Chelsea & make it to the movies.

My Sundays are really EARLY morning runs. Like 5am & head down the rail trail for 30km runs. that way Shannon & I are back by about 8:30 - and she can still spend the day with the family, church etc. I can take the doggies for a walk before the bad heat & then spend the day doing all the things I didn't have time over the course of the week.

Crazy busy. I also have to incorporate a hill training night. I might do this Friday night & use Leacock since it is the closest to me, I can run there for a warm up and then pick my poison as it were as to how far up it I wish to run, just for the sake of adventure.

Post Va Beach runs

I didn’t run on Sunday morning as I only arrived back to Barrie at 12:30am from Va Beach. I drove for 19 hours with having only at a 6 inch vegetarian sub from subway and some Gatorade. Nope, there was no way I was running.
Tuesday I was all set to run trails. I got home at an appropriate time. I grabbed the dogs headed out the door for a quick walk in the woods. I wasn’t taking Mika on the run as it was far too hot & humid for that. We had just walked into the woods when Kees went dashing off in chase of a chipmunk. Halfway through the walk I thought I was being followed by a skunk, turns out the chipmunk used a skunk for self defense. ACK. There goes Trails. He got spayed in and around the mouth, so… I had to take some care in administering my concoction of peroxide, baking soda & dishwashing detergent.
Wednesday nights 9.3 K run was fantastic. The first half was a bit shakey, but by the 4 k mark I was feeling the love, my groin only ached a tad.
I finished off very strong and well ahead of the others. Not that that is important, I just mean that I was able to run with out stopping and I could pick up the pace comfortably.
My speed work went very well. I managed to stay very consistent in my 3 x 800m runs. I should have done 4 but I miscalculated.

Sunday’s long run became Saturday’s long run. Shannon & I went around 5:45 am for a 25K jaunt along the rail trail. It’s not exciting or sexy as far as route, but when getting back into the distance thing, it does just jim-dandy. We did the distance that’s what counts, the out to the 4th line went really well. The bugs were awful around there holy crap. Those horseflies were inconceivably large & determined. So were we – TO GET THE HECK OUT OF THERE.
The sun was just starting to peek through the trees when we left, now at the half way mark we could feel it was going to be a hot one. By the time we hit Range Rd it was sweltering and we were more than grateful for the shade provided by the trees. We were running 3 k & walking 1 min. It seemed to be going well. Our pace would range from 5:45 – 6:30 depending on what we were talking about at the time. LOL. However; as we hit the 17 k mark we were starting to run in silence. Shannon hadn’t been running much and this was the furthest she had done since March.
Though we both had Kevin in our heads providing us with different pieces of advice, man did we laugh when we confided that to each other. Ahaha.
After we got off the rail trail and back on to Ridge Rd things were starting to stiffen up, by the time we hit the new side walk near the trail entrance off Blake/Ridge Rd I had to take a bit of an elongated walk break. Then back on for the last 3 k. We took another two walk breaks.. K’s 22-23 were not pretty, not by any stretch of the imagination. However; by about 24k we were back in business and managed to whip out a good steady clip-clop. We did 25 in 2:49 which is perfect for a long slow run. Hopefully we’ll be able to get out a bit earlier next Saturday. I’d like to do about 30K.
Our goal, that’s Shannon & myself, is to run to Orillia one Saturday morning very early in the next 4 weeks. I want to have my runs for the next while consistently over 35k.

Virginia Beach Vacation July 2011

My last runs before Virginia Beach were rather painful as my groin pull was fabulously emphatic about how much it was damaged. I managed through them fine, but they were not enjoyable at all. However; at least my calf muscle wasn’t hurting me.

I got to Va Beach ( as they say in the States) on Saturday around 11pm after having left my Toronto departure pad at 9am, so a Sunday run was not in the cards. I did run Monday morning. I got up bright & early and was out the door by 6:50 am. I ran from 60th Street on Atlantic towards the Interstate. I stayed on Atlantic until it became Pacific and continued to run. I’m always wary about running in something other than a straight line in a city I do not know. I’m paranoid I know, but I have a underdeveloped directional sense from time to time. I continued to run up until 15th Street and then turned around. I didn’t have my garmin but by this point my groin was starting to twinge. I had seen Trish in the week and that helped immensely & I was not going to mess with that. So I turn around and headed back. And let me tell you something – IT WAS EFFING HUMID by 6am. I was drenched before I got to 40th Street.
Now I have no idea of how far I actually ran – and if I was a keener I’d use Map My Run to figure it out, I ran 50 minutes out, I used my cell to track my time, and then back. I know I took a bit more time on the way back as I had about 2 more quick walk breaks, but dang it was humid.
I got back to the house at about 1:47 mins which is a 16-18K run depending on my speed. So I was okay with that.
My next run was on Wednesday morning. I was out the door around the same time but it was even warmer. So I ran to 24th Street and back, dripping in sweat the whole way. I had sodium tabs with me as well but holy crap!!!!!!!
My plan was to run on Friday on the beach, it was a 6k stretch from where we get on the beach to the end. I figured I could tack more on going the other way as well, however….. I was reading “ The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” and was at some of the freaky parts when I went to bed. I scared myself so badly that I couldn’t run on the beach in fear of being dismembered and pitched into the ocean.
Yeah… so erhm I didn’t. However; I’m estatic with the fact I did manage to get a few bargoons from the U/A store at the outlet mall in Williamsburgh. Some tights & a sports bra – My favourite one too! Yippee it’s my favourite one EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

An unexpected turn of events

For the crazies in our running family they have done night runs from Barrie to Orillia and back to Barrie to condition the runner to be able to run extended distances during the night to simulate the experience they will be having when doing their endurance race.
One of my girls is running her first 100 miler, yes you saw that correctly, in another couple of weeks and along with another runner doing his first 100 miler organized this night run on the rail trail. My concern was that because she’s a “slower” runner that there would be little to no support for her, so Friday morning I started sms’ing with Catherine to find out the logistics of her team. It was just her and Bill & perhaps Chris. The extent of my volunteer was going to be to drive a support vehicle between the concessions to make sure she had everything when she needed it.
As it turned out Bill was driving support on the way up, would I like to run with her. RUN? TO ORILLIA? The most I had done was 21.1 on May 29th. Last week I crawled back up to 18k at a decent training pace. I haven’t done 35 k in a long time…. Sure why not! The worst that could happen was I had to bow out part of the way, but at least she’d have someone, Chris wasn’t going to meet her until part of the way (I found that out later).
It use to be that distance would intimidate me, but on this occasion it did not. So by the afternoon it was decided that I would run up to Orillia on the rail trail with Catherine.
I got home, walked the dogs, couldn’t eat cause I don’t eat before I run, I get indigestion. So I picked up a small Dairy Milk bar & two small(ish) bags of regular chips. I figured they serve them at ultra races, if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.
I like a salty treat now and again.
We were to meet at Hooter’s and start running around 6pm. Then it changed to 6:30 and then finally at 7:04 Catherine and I started off down the trail. We were gabbing away. It was a glorious evening. Her running strategy was run 5 minutes walk 3 minutes. Okay. I’ll do that. It wasn’t about me. It wasn’t about anyone else but Catherine and getting her to Orillia and back.
The male contingency of crazies was heading off around 8pm – so we expected them to overtake us around 10pm, so with that in mind we continued our 5 & 3’s. Our pace whilst running was a solid 6:13 sometimes even quicker.
Dusk was setting and the rain was gently falling on us, it was so light and gentle it was hard to tell if it was raining at all. The fireflies were out in force and lit up the scenery around us. Frogs were calling out, crickets were chirping & stillness lay about the land. It was amazing. The only down side was hearing the crush of snails under my feet. I certainly felt awful trampling them, made me rather ill inside. However; I couldn’t see them even with my headlamp on. So many acts of generosity & kindness will need to be done this week.
We passed by a pond chatting away only to hear a huge SLAP of what I can only imagine was a beaver’s tail. Then further down the trail a HUGE porcupine ambled across our path. She was NOT going to go any faster than she wanted to & we were NOT going to push her.
However; all of this wildlife made Catherine rather nervous and she started to pick up the pace a tad. When I hit the 25Km mark I was getting a tad bit fatigued & started to use some tricks I picked up on how to combat pain. They were working up until about the 28K mark. Then I started thinking about all the people I know and to say 5 nice things about them, by the time I hit 30K I knew that I was on my last few kilometers.
I hadn’t prepared properly for the run. Not enough hydrating that morning (as I didn’t know until late in the day I was running), no proper carb loading & didn’t put electrolyte replacement in my water.
My calf muscles were seizing up every step and when we saw Bill at the 30K mark I was not smiling, I was grimacing. I said I would run until the next line and make my determination at that point, but those last two kilometres were agony. It was like a set of escalators going up my calves. The muscle spasms would start at the bottom and work up to my knee then start again.
At 32k Bill took Cathy the last 3 k to the turnaround point and the lads had not caught up to us. We did see a single light behind us & figured that must have been Chris as we never did meet up with him on the trail. So it was a good thing that I did end up running with Catherine or she would have been alone.
At the turn around I started to inquire about logistics for the run back. The guys apparently were fine, yeh them. My concern was that someone be there for Catherine. As it turns out none of the fellas thought that far. ( I won’t say typical) Luckily Steen showed up to do some support type duties. He took Brendan & Chris back to Barrie and I stuck around to follow Catherine & Bill. Luckily I did. At the 49 K mark – Concession 14 Catherine was having ankle problems. We put some topical anti-inflam cream on it and she went off again. I drove to the next concession to wait, unfortunately Catherine wasn’t any better and decided to drop out of running any further in fear that she might injure herself and not be able to do her 100 Miler. I think that was a wise choice.

Saturday was spent trying to catch a bit of shut eye. I didn’t make it home until 3:30. I was up again at 7am because the dogs don’t care. Off for our walk at 8am. House work, lunch, nap, more house work.
Sunday I had wanted to do 23K – but as per usual I decided NOT to listen to myself. I picked up the map for the marathon clinic & started to do that. It was 13k and all uphill for the first half. Currently that just does me in, as I train better this will disappear, but for now BAHHUM BUG!!!!
I couldn’t imagine running past the 4 k mark. Greg caught up to me around Johnson & Blake street. We chatted… I carried on. Then Tracy & Catherine caught up & I stuck along with them. At Grove I turned left and followed it all the way back to Owen. Once on Grove and on my own, I felt much better and I knew I should have stuck with my original game plan. Right now I need “flat” with manageable inclines. Next week… I’ll listen to myself. I did get just under 11k in so I was happy with that.
I surprised myself being able to pull that run out of my backside, and I’m very glad that I could be there for Catherine. It was about her. It’s unfortunate she had to pull out after 51K – however; that’s still a tremendous distance! GOOD LUCK CATHERINE.