2-0 of Pure Determination

First off, in case you missed it (wink wink - lol!), Sunday was my birthday.  Being a runner, we do crazy things like challenge a new distance for our birthday.  There must be something wired wrong in our brains - seriously!

But it wasn't to be.  It rained SO hard on Sunday.  Now, it rains ALOT out here, we're quite used to it ... but this was beyond insane.  I think all said and done it was around 60mm (2+ inches) or more of rain.  My husband got up with the dog twice that night.  The first time he came back to bed and questioned my sanity to even consider running in that kind of rain.  The second time he came back he actually forbid me to run in it.  HAHAHA - he's cute!

My running friend called me in the morning to ask if I wanted to delay it an hour or two.  That was all I needed.  I would have done it, but really did not want to.

Instead we opted to do a nice family breakfast where I stuffed myself silly.  My running friend and her husband came over and she brought me Elmo Ice Cream Cupcakes from Dairy Queen.  Dairy Queen does not make ice cream cupcakes ... yet she convinced them that yes, indeed, they do make them, and they're cheap.  She's such a shyster!  They were cute and they tasted great.  It never really did clear up so we scrapped the run idea all together and went out to a Christmas store.  So festive!

In the evening we had some other friends over and had a wonderful dinner of Rouladen (recipe).  Mmmm, one of my favourites!  My friend also gave me a bottle of Kahlua which I've stashed away and will savour for probably a year or more.

The running plans were shot ... except I have this crazy goal of running 156.9 miles this month to meet my goal of running 1000 miles this year.  I really can't afford to miss a long run.  So, we did what any normal human being would do.  We just postponed it to the next day ... which just happens to be a Monday, and I work full time.

I went direct from work to my friends house and we were on the road by about 4:20.  I think we got about 10-15 minutes of semi-daylight before it got dark.  The first 2 miles were tough.  After a full day of work, in the dark ... my mind just wasn't into it ... plus my legs were stiff.  But then we hit a bit of a rhythym and it wasn't so bad. 

We passed my house and I was getting too hot so dropped off my jacket in the driveway.  I would come to regret this!  The route was a more or less out and back ... just after we reached the turn around point the skies decided to open up.  UGH!  I had no jacket.  I'd forgotten my hat.  Yuck!  It was disgusting.

Around mile 13 I was done, but there was still a long way to go.  I kept trying to find a way to zone out or magically click my heels and be teletransported (there's no place like home, there's no place like home  ... Oh Toto, we'll never get there).  It didn't work!

This run was SO much harder than last week's 18.5. Yes it was a little longer, after work, in the dark, in the rain ... but still.  Definitely a run of pure determination!

When we got back to her house we did a short walk but our legs just seemed to get stiffer as we walked.  We went into her garage for some stretching and I just started giggling like a school girl.  I went into hysterics, which of course made my friend start laughing.  Her husband came out and asked what was up.  I told him it was either laugh or cry, so I laughed. 

Between stretching at her house and then again when I got home, I probably spent over 40 minutes - and I'm still stiff.  Alot of stretching going on here at work today too!  It seems to be just tightness though, not soreness (ie injury), which is great!

There you have it ... 20 miles on the books ... pure h-e-double 'l', but it's done!  I slept like a log last night.  Hubby got up with the dog again and I didn't notice either of them even move.  There's definitely an option for those who suffer from insomnia.  Run for 3 1/2 hours right before bed.  Knocks you out flat!

NOTES

Consumed prior to run: breakfast & lunch (which included a bacon & cabbage dish - probably not ideal)
Consumed during run: 1water bottle filled with Gatorade, 1 of plain water, 4 Sharkies
Immediately after run:  Hot Chocolate & a Wendy's Spicy Chicken Burger (oh soooo good)
Approx 2 hours later:  Fast asleep!

Stomach issues: Not so great, couple of emergency stops .. probably the cabbage!

Energy level during run:  Medium-low - no doubt due to the circumstances and time of day
Muscles: O-U-C-H! 

Aftermath:  Other than expected stiffness this morning, I feel pretty darn good.  Rather tired, but I'm not certain that's related directly to the run.
Things to try on next long run:  An umbrella????
 

Keep Active!

   

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Nag Me. Bribe Me. Beat Me.

 NOVEMBER 2010

RUNNING RECAP

# of runs: ...........12
Distance: .......... 100.2 Miles / 161.2 Kms 
Monthly Goals:   Never officially set one, but was aiming for around 130 miles
Time Running: ...16 Hours 40 Minutes 35 Seconds

YEAR-TO-DATE

YTD Distance:  843 Miles / 1356 Kms
YTD Time Running: 133 Hours 43 Minutes 23 Seconds

SUMMARY

There are ups and downs to looking back on this past month.

* UP * I ran three of my longest runs to date (14, 16 & 16 miles).  One of those 16 mile runs was in very cold weather and I survived.  I can't say I enjoyed that one, but I did survive.  The other 16-er was nice though.

* DOWN * Other than these long runs I didn't do a whole lot of running.  It is NOT ideal to only do a long run on the weekend.  It is much more beneficial to include shorter mid-week runs.

* UP * I did incorporate swimming once a week for this whole month.  I'm coming to the conclusion that I really do not enjoy it.  I will never be a competitive swimmer.  But, I appreciate the workout and it's a convenient and relatively cheap alternative form of exercise that can be done in any weather.

* DOWN * While I did have a 100 mile month, I was really aiming for about 130 miles.  I'm now quite short to reach my goal of 1000 miles by the end of the year and I'm going to have to kick some serious booty to achieve this goal. 

So here we are, the end of the year.  Time to sink or swim on those goals we set earlier in the year.

Originally I had set a goal to run 750 miles this year (achieved this month - YAY!).  Not long after I decided to revise that (I'm a woman, it's my prerogative) and increased it to 1000 miles.

Things haven't always been smooth sailing.  I needed to average about 85 miles per month and there were some months where I hit 50 or less (May, July & August). 

Now I'm in a crunch.  Time is running out. 

I have ONE goal for December.

Run 156.9 miles or more

Considering my biggest month so far is 104.5 ... I've got my work cut out for me.

I'm asking my friends and blog readers to push me.  I HATE not reaching a goal.  If I have to run in the middle of the night I have to do it.  I CAN'T miss this.  It's very important to me.  Keep me accountable.  Nag me.  Bribe me.  Beat me.  Whatever it takes.  I WILL do this!!!

Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Hello Strangers

Hello Strangers ....... 

I've been majorly MIA lately.

First, we spent 6 days on our new property.  Our very good friends from Washington State came up camping with us.  It was so wonderful to spend so much time with them. 

The weather however was very uncooperative.  Alot of overcast and some drizzle.  Not terribly warm.  We did get one half-warm day, and the day we had to drive home it was nice (figures, right?)

The worst thing was that I came down with a bug - GRRRR!  We left on Jun 30th and by the evening of July 1st I was done.  My throat was absolutely killing me and my head felt like it was filled with rocks.  I had to take some medication which made me fall deep asleep maybe 5 minutes before the Canada Day fireworks started.  I was VERY disappointed.

Of and on for the rest of the trip I was sick.  I had planned to get in lots of running during this trip, and I wasn't able to do even 1 mile.  I did get out for a c ouple of walks, but nothing that really got my heart beating.

We got back home on Monday afternoon, and on Tuesday morning I woke up feeling even sicker.  I did however have to go into work.  But I only made it part way through the day.  By mid-afternoon I was toast and had to drive home.  I had what felt like a migraine and my stomach was tossing and turning.  I mostly slept the remainder of the day, and got sick in the afternoon.

Today I'm feeling ever so slightly better, though far from 100%.  My appetite did return with a vengeance after eating next to nothing yesterday. 

So ... I have decided I'm not setting any goals for July.  I haven't run at all for the first week of July and I think it could be a few more days before I'm able to do much physically.  I'm just going to do what I can, when I can.

As for eating & the South Beach diet .... I managed a good 12 days without a stitch of sugar or starchy carbs and I'm very proud of myself.  The next few days I had very limited amounts of those items.  Then I relaxed a little while camping (I had planned this before I went).

Originally I had planned to stick completely to the diet.  But then I thought .... you know what ... I'm not a machine and I want to be normal.  Yes, I want to lose more weight, but I also want to be able to enjoy treats during certain times - like camping.  And while I did indulge .... I didn't go insane crazy.  I enjoyed a couple of cookies each day.  I had two glasses of wine in a one week period.  I ate bread (white bread) and some meaty cheesy lasagna.  Crazy .... huh?  No ... normal.  I still drank my tea without sugar and stayed away from pop entirely.  When we got home I said to my husband that I went a little further than I should have, and he said "No, you ate like a normal person ... or less."  I suppose he's right.  I did gain 1.8 lbs in the week, but I'm totally OK with that.  The key is in taking it right back off and not staying in holiday mode and I feel I will be successful with that.

I think that's the way I want to live my life.  On a daily basis keep the treats & sugar at bay, and limit the starches.  But enjoy myself to a normal level for special occasions. 

I've been trying to catch up on my blogging buddies and will be more active over the next few days.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

June 2010 Recap

 JUNE 2010

RUNNING RECAP

# of runs: 19

Distance: .......... 100.0 Miles / 161 Kms
Monthly Goals:  100.0 Miles / 161 Kms

Summary: WAHOO Met my distance goal!  Started the month off slow again and didn't run much while on holiday.  But as soon as I came back I picked it up and worked out a plan to meet my goal.  I pretty much had to run every day for the last third of the month in order to meet my goal.  So, to avoid injury, I slowed down my pace.  I've stayed injury free and it was actually kind of neat to experience daily running, running on tired legs, and the mental challenge of running when I really did not feel like it.  Normally I tend to run every 2nd or 3rd day and I've always wanted to do more like 3 days on, 1 day off sort of thing.  This was a good experience to learn how to push through that mentally.

YEAR-TO-DATE

YTD Distance:  477 Miles / 767 Kms
750 mile Goal: ..370 Miles / 595 Kms
1000 mile Goal: 493 Miles / 793 Kms

As for my other goals ....

♥ Plan! Prepare! Organize! - This has gone pretty well, but I'm not doing so much pre-planning lately.  Mostly because I'm getting more used to thinking ahead and I'm pre-planning naturally and I'm not finding myself in that position of not having a clue what to cook nor having the ingredients to do so.

♥ Run a timed 5K and a timed Half Marathon - This didn't happen.  Honestly my heart just wasn't into it and I'm not going to force myself to do something I don't feel like doing.  Probably a good thing I didn't have any scheduled races.

♥ 30 Days of Activity - Did it!  Though some days were pretty lame, I did it.  I really liked this idea as it kept one missed day of activity from turning into 2 days, then 3, etc.

I haven't put much thought into my July goals yet.  I'm away for a couple days and will think about them and see what I come up with. 

Happy Canada Day

Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

May Goals

Have you seen this guy?  MARATHON QUEST 250

He was on the local news Saturday morning.  He's from Cochrane, Alberta but was in town for the Vancouver Marathon tomorrow.  250 Marathons in a YEAR!  WOW!!!  And I can barely imagine doing one.  He typically runs 5 days in a row then 2 rest days (with some exceptions of course). 

Reading through his blog and seeing some of the weather and things he goes through on his daily marathons is amazing.  Makes me re-think the times that I've skipped a workout because I'm tired, or it's cold/hot outside.

Here's another summer dress I picked up recently.  I have a thing for bright colors ... or black & white.  This IS going to be the summer I wear more dresses.  Now if the weather could just cooperate!

MAY 2010 GOALS

♥ Run 80+ Miles - reducing this one a bit this month.  In the back of my head I want to do 100 again.  If I can stay uninjured I will go for the 100, but I want to leave a little wiggle room.  80 I should be able to comfortably do.

♥ 10 Strength Sessions - not a huge number, but more than I have been doing.  This is once every 3 days and is likely to fit my schedule.

♥ Plan! Prepare! Organize! - this worked so well last month that I'm going to keep this up.  One thing that really helps is to prepare food on the weekends, especially for lunches (veggies, fruit, boiled eggs, leftovers).  Also, making large batches of meals that can be reheated quickly after work. 

♥ Races:

May 9 - Vancouver Sun Run 10K (goals for this TBA)

May 30 - Run for Water Half Marathon (tentative)

I may or may not do the May 30th Half.  That was the one I was originally planning to do next, but some of my friends are doing one at the end of June and I may do that one instead with them.  In a perfect world I'd do both, but financially I'll probably just do one.  Race fees for myself wouldn't be so bad, but it's me AND my husband and they add up. 

May is going to be a busy month and hopefully full of lots of exciting things!  I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm feeling ALOT more energy and focus than I have for quite a long time.

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

February Recap

The beginning of a new month/season/year is always good for looking back at what you've achieved and looking forward to what you are aiming for.

FEBRUARY 2010

RUNNING RECAP

# of runs: 14

Distance: ..........76.8 Miles / 123.5 Kms
Monthly Goals: 65 Miles / 104.6 Kms

Time Running:  11 Hours 39 Minutes 31 Seconds

Longest Distance: 12.1 Miles / 19.5 Kms (1:53:46)
Fastest Pace: ........7:45 min/Mile / 4:49 min/Km / 7.75 mph - on a 2 Mile treadmill run
Average Pace: ......8:57 min/Mile / 5:33 min/Km / 6.7 mph

Summary: Exceeded my monthly distance goal again this month - wahoo!  Overall my pace was a teensy bit slower than last month.  However, the majority of the runs I did were longer distance at a slower pace.  Only 3 of those runs were under 3 miles.  And my race pace has improved a bit since the beginning of the year, which of course is the result I want.

Here's my January recap for comparison.

YEAR-TO-DATE

Distance:  143.2 Miles / 230.5 Kms
Goal: .......120.0 Miles / 193.0 Kms

Time Running:  21 Hours 34 Minutes 19 Seconds

MARCH 2010 GOALS

♥ Increase the # of runs I do this month.  Ideally I'd like to be running more frequently than I am.  Last month I ran about every 3 days, but longer distances.  I think it would be beneficial to add in some shorter 2-3, or even 1 mile runs on the days in between.

♥ I had previously set a distance goal for March at 65 miles.  But I'm going to increase that to 80 miles in light of what I've done so far this year.

♥ Continue journalling EVERY day.  It's bringing me great success and there is no justifiable reason to stop.

♥ Continue getting adequate sleep.  I need a good 8 hours a night to function decently. 

♥ Work those buns!!!  My biggest downfall in races is hills.  They KILL me!  I don't feel it in my lungs - I feel it in my legs and buns.  More lunges, more squats and I'm not forgetting about core and upper body work either.

♥ Complete my first half marathon on March 13th!  My goal is to complete under 2 hours, which will require a good effort from me, but I think I can do it.  I'll be happy with finishing though.  I look at this like a starting point.

I have a race recap to post from this weekend, but I'll leave that to tomorrows post.

Hope everyone is having a great day!!!!!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Goals Set!

Welcome new followers.  How exciting!  I'll be off checking out your blogs very soon.

As I've mentioned a few times, I've been floundering with my weight the last few months.  I just haven't been 100% focused on it.  This realization began with my Belly Blast post last week.

But even after posting that, I didn't have all the tools quite in place to start the necessary changes.  For months I see the scale moving down and then a couple days later it pops right back up again. 

A few days ago I had a long bath and let myself just think.  What have I done before that got me past these humps?  What have I done that really kept me on track and focused on the big picture?

Sure I've had this goal for quite a while now to get down under 140 lbs .... but I realized that it was just one of those "one day" things.  You know ... I'd like to (blank) ... one day!  I realized that I need to set a concrete goal.

Then I remembered last year, before summer.  We made vacation plans and I told my husband that I would NOT go on holidays unless I was under 150 lbs.  I had been flirting between 151 and 155 for about 6 months and it was enough already. 

I made myself a chart and set reasonable weekly goals.  Then I also charted my weight, WW points and activity points DAILY as well.  I met my goal the day before we left!  Nothing like leaving it to the last minute, eh??  But I did get under and stay under there.  Now I'm at this next place where I'm stuck flirting within a few pound range and I need to push it to get over this hump.

The difference was I had something real to set my sights on.  When I look back on my posts from that time there were times when I could have strayed from plan, but because I had a real goal in mind, I remembered what I really wanted and I passed up those things.  Lately I haven't had anything to reach for and therefore had been letting myself have those little extras.  I haven't been tracking my food very well at all. 

The other night I created my a sheet with my weekly goals and am doing all the tracking like I did before.

So far it's working well.  We were watching TV last night and my MIL pulled out the potato chips.  Normally I would have had just a couple, not much, but we all know they add up over time.  But I remembered that I had goals to reach and those couple chips wouldn't help me get there.  I stayed OUT of that bag!

I'd like to set something contingent upon me reaching my goal weight, but I haven't figured that part out yet.  I'd love for it to be another trip, but the next trip we have planned (and can reasonably do) isn't until June.  Honestly I want to reach this goal long before then, but I'm putting it out there that I WILL be under 140 lbs by May 2010 at the latest, let's say May 31st for an absolutely deadline.

I leave you with a little sign of spring on the West Coast .... these really shouldn't be up until late April

(my apologies to all of those still blanketed in snow)

I'm off to get a bit of housekeeping done, a run in the beautiful sunshine ... then my MIL just booked me a pedicure for this afternoon.  Ahhhh, it's a wonderful day!

Have a great weekend everyone and good luck to those running races!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Blogland Giveaways

One More Mile shirt @ I Run Beacause ... I Can - this is some seriously funny clothing!!  I've seen this site a few times and really need to order something from there.  Hmmmm ... present idea if anyone out there loves me enough (hahahaha)

Chamion Shorts @ The Happy Runner

My buddy Syl is giving away an adorable shirt @ Live Smile Run - but don't bother to enter because I'm getting the shirt anyway - hahhaha

10K Race Report

Sunday was our most recent trail run on the roster.  It was supposed to be sunny and warm-ish (10C / 50F), but instead it was drizzling and damp.  Here on the coast when it rains it's a very damp cold, it can be above freezing but feel well below freezing.

Normally when we arrive there is a long line-up for unregistered participants, and little to no line for pre-registered.  This time however it was reversed and we had to wait quite a while to get our numbers.  This didn't leave us a whole lot of time for warm-up and stretching, but we got in enough.

Thankfully though they started the 5K runners in a different area and waited until they'd all gotten out onto the trail to start the 10K group.  Plus we started on a much wider trail.  It was nice to get off to a faster start!

And a fast start it was .... my first mile was under the 8 minute mark, that's really good for me.  I look forward to the day I can sustain that kind of pace over a longer distance.

The next 3 1/2 miles were SUPER hilly.  There is a hill on this trail that is referred to the locals as "Heart Attack Hill".  At the top is a bench where people often stop to catch their breath.  It's long AND steep.  My "running" speed on this hill dropped to 3 mph, maybe even a bit less.  We had to do a loop and run this hill TWICE!  I knew it would be on this course so I expected it, but it was still super tough.  Plus, the entire loop itself had a number of respectable hills.

The second time going up that long, steep hill I wasn't sure I could hold my cookies.  I actually had to stop for about 10 seconds at the top and get everything back in order.  But I knew once that was done that there would be a slight downhill and the rest of the course was flat.  Course knowledge is a wonderful thing!

After all those hills my average pace had dropped to 9:04, which was slower than I wanted to be.  For a moment I mentally checked out thinking I couldn't reach my goal, but I worked hard to push through that and then I knew that I could make up time.  So I really pushed to pick it up in the last part of the course. 

Running in a series is neat because you see familiar faces, you tend to run with the same people.  I knew from previous races who is typically just in front of me, who typically goes out faster than me and that I can pass later on, who runs faster uphill but then levels out ....  I used this to my advantage.  There is this one guy who always passes me at about 4K, then finishes about a minute in front of me.  This time when he passed me I pushed HARD!  I stayed on his tail and when I found I had just a bit more energy I passed him and wasn't going to let him by me again.  It wasn't about beating him for the sake of beating him, it was about knowing that if I beat him then I'd have beaten myself.  I'm nowhere near the point of competing within the field, so it's all about competition with myself.

With about 1/2 mile to go I could hear someone coming up behind me.  I really wanted to finish strong.  So I picked up my pace AGAIN and saw that my average pace had gone from 9:04 min miles to 8:57.  By now my stomach was beginning to churn again but I kept up my pace.  At about 6.15 miles the guy behind me passed me and I couldn't catch him - though I also could not see the finish line which should have been in sight by then.

The distance ended up being 6.35 miles (aka 10.25 Km) and I finished in 56:28.  My average pace was 8:53 min/mile - 5:32 min/Km.

Afterwards, the guy who passed me at the end came up to me and said "WOW, good pace!".  Apparently he'd been pushing hard to pass me too.  Glad I at least offered him a challenge.

My goal for this race was 55 minutes, and if you convert the distance to an actual 10K then I finished in 55:08.  Pretty darn close! 

I think that with all these hills, I should be able to break 53-54 minutes on this distance.  Though my goal for this year is to break 52.  I definitely need to do some hill & speed training to improve my game.

Tomorrow I'll recap a few things I thought about this race (and the series) as well as how the remainder of my day went after the race.  Race recovery is tough!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

10K (??+) Trail Race Report

Yesterday the hubby & I did another trail race.  The stars aligned once again and we had good weather (we are notorious for rain at this time of year so no rain is a minor miracle).

When my alarm went off in the morning I was still tired and did not want to get up.  But I was feeling fairly hungry and knew I had to eat something before we left.  I just had a piece of toast with peanut butter.  I didn't want to have too much and upset my tummy.

I was hoping to leave the house about 8:15 leaving us lots of time to get our numbers and do a long warm up.  At 8:20 I couldn't find my husband.  Eventually I found him outside CHANGING THE OIL ON MY CAR!  The race started at 9AM - ack!!!  I mean, yeah thanks, my car needed the oil change - but come on!

Anyhow, he came in, had a quick shower and when we arrived, there was still a huge line-up of late registrants.  Luckily we were pre-registered so we got our numbers quickly and still got in a good warm-up.  I took an Ibuprofen as a precaution, but everything felt great and I expected a pretty good race.

We started off on a somewhat narrow path (I don't know why they do this!).  Unfortunately we were a bit further back than maybe we should have been.  So the 200+ runners start off at the pace of a snail going backwards upside down - ridiculous.  Then as the faster runners were trying to pick through - past the people who for some reason figure they should start out running side by side with their friends, yakking & taking up the whole path.  This makes me angry!  If you wanna yak, fine, but stay off to the side until the crowd seperates and then enjoy your merry time.  GRRR!  I try to make a point of staying to the right and only moving over to pass, then go back over.  It's like driving to me ... mind you, many people don't obey that rule on the road either. :(

So this poor lady gets sandwiched between a few people and I don't know if someone ran her over or if she tripped or what but she goes down - HARD!  I was a few people over but I saw her land face first, in the gravel, with her hands behind her back.  When she lifted her head, her nose was completely scratched and bleeding.  There was a good half dozen people helping her already so we carried on, but I sure hope she's OK.  They really should start with a few waves.

We ran this same course last year, though I only did 5K and hubby did 10.  This year we both did 10.  It's a good trail, and it didn't seem nearly as hilly as it did last year.  It's funny how as you get fitter those hills seem smaller or non-existant.  There was one killer hill just before the end of the loop - three switchbacks to get up it!  I don't care who you are .... that one is tough!

At the end of loop one (you bypass a short turn-off to the finish if you're doing two loops) my time was around 28-29 minutes.  This really surprised me.  I know I can easily run 5K faster than that.  On the first loop I was running with this man and we got chatting a bit (nice guy, I ran with his son last race - ironic??).  So I figured maybe that cost me a bit of time.  I went ahead of him for loop 2 and pushed a bit harder figuring I could pick up a little time.

I knew at this time that I would not meet my goal of finishing in 54-55 minutes, but I was thinking I could get it done in 57 or less.  There were no distance markers along the way so it made it kind of hard to judge your pace (I'm not blessed with a Garmin or anything like that).  But, I followed close to my old guy - hahaa, so I figured I was on target.  There is this older man, and every race he passes me about 3/4 of the way through and then I can't catch him.  So this time when he passed me I focused on him and stayed as close as I could - which I did fairly well.

I was feeling really good.  I felt like I was pushing hard, but I also felt strong and had no aches.  I did feel a teeny bit hungry and thirsty though.  When I came around the corner to the big hill I knew I was almost there and just focused on keeping a good steady pace, even breathing and getting up that hill.

Shortly after I crested the hill I saw my husband standing at the final bend waiting for me.  He had a "look" on his face and told me I was at 57:30 and if I pushed it I could maybe break 58.  My heart sunk!  I immediately got this feeling of failure.  I was so far off my goal time and I couldn't understand it. 

I actually gave up.  I refused to sprint at the end.  Not because I was too tired, not because I was sore - but because I was disappointed.  It's a bad personality fault, what can I say...

I finished in 58:30 - ugh!  I'm still having a hard time processing this.  I'm still wondering if the distance was longer than 10K.  That's not a bad time for a 10K, but I know I can run it faster than that - even with hills and terrain and all.  Last year my husband ran it in 57:30 and I really wanted to beat that time.  I had set a goal that I was sure was achievable and being so far off it left me just shaking my head.

So now I wait until the next 10K (Feb 22nd) where typically people seem to run it 5-10% faster than this race.  This would put me finishing it around 54-56 minutes, which is where I'd expect to be.

Now ... so I'm not all doom and gloom ... here's the positives.  Last year I did the 5K option and finished in 32:46, which I was disappointed in too as I was running 5K in under 29 minutes at that point (this also leads me to believe this course is longer than described).  If I take that time and double it, my 10K time would have been at least 65:30.  So that means I improved by 7 minutes, or 12% - and that I'm impressed with.

My husband finished in 52:15 yesterday, this also means he improved by 10% (5+ minutes) from last year.  I think we've both done well.

I'm going to take a few days off of running as I am a bit sore today.  But I'm going to ramp up the weights this week.  However, it's only 2 weeks until our next race so I can't let it completely slide.
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Goal Check

It's been weeks, probably more like 2 months, since I last ran with my running friends.  Some of them had taken some time off around Christmas.  So earlier last week I received an e-mail planning to get together again. 

I was fully expecting to be a bit sore after my long run on Saturday, and was pleasantly surprised to see that I was just fine.  No aches, no painds, no tiredness.

Plus, as an added bonus, the weather Gods shone upon us!  I tell ya, it POURED during the night.  I laid awake listening to it pelt against my bedroom window.  I almost talked myself out of going on the run since I'd already done my long run for the week.  But then I didn't want the girls to think I'd deserted them.

Somehow shortly before I headed out the door the clouds parted and our entire run was sunny and beautiful.  Must have been meant to be.

We're all at VERY different stages of running.  I ended up running with a lady who is pretty similar to me, but she hasn't been doing much mileage lately.  It ended up being good for me because after my long run I wanted a nice, slow, easy run that wasn't too long.  I figured we'd do about 5-6K, but we were having a nice chat and the weather was beautiful so we ended up doing about 9K.  I love those kind of runs.

MID-MONTH MILEAGE CHECK

I don't think I posted about this yet, but at the beginning of the year I sort of set myself a mileage goal.  I think I didn't post about it because to be honest I don't really know what I should set as a goal.  I've never tracked it before.

This could be adjusted, but at the moment I'm aiming for 750 miles (1200 Km) for the year.  I set monthly goals so I could make sure that I stayed on track throughout the year and didn't have to run 15 miles a day in December to reach my goal - haha.

My goal for January is 55 miles (88.5Km).  As of today I've already done 50.5 miles (81.3Km).

This makes me VERY happy!

I thought I'd have a harder time getting the mileage in this month, but it just keeps adding up.

Another goal I have set for this year (2010 Goals) is to do 100 Days of Strength Training - about 2 days/week.  Ideally I'd love to do 3-4 days/week, but I know this isn't always realistic so I set my goals to be achievable, then adjust if necessary.

So far this month I'm on track, but just! I need to squeeze this in a little more often.

CLEAN EATING

Today my plans got blown to bits.  I should have prepared myself yesterday.  But instead I chose to watch a movie with the family (The Proposal is the cutest movie!) and my plan was to get up a bit early this morning to pack my lunch.

Shortly after getting up my husband informs me that an appraiser is coming by the house in the next couple of hours.  Normally this would be no big deal but I'm currently in the middle of a major disaster.  I've got my bookkeeping files spread all over the office.  And since I had to pull out all my bookkeeping, I also decided to reorganize the office (aka years and years of junk stuffed into cupboards).  Plus, we recently ripped out what is supposed to be the ensuite to our bedroom, but we've been using it as a storage cupboard forever.  So all the contents from that were spread throughout my bedroom and dining room.  And, because I have to organize all that stuff into the basement now, then I had all the Christmas decorations spread out over my gym floor so it too could be organized.

All this to be done in the 1/2 hour I had to get ready for work.  And yes, he got a tongue lashing from me for not giving me more warning.  I ended up getting the major stuff tidied up (don't ask me how??) but I was left with not a moment to prepare food.

Instead I opted for a Subway Chicken Salad, a massive apple from the grocery store, and a handful of hazelnuts (they're not on this stage of the diet but I don't care today!).  I'm supposed to have had 3-4 meals by this time of the day, but luckily that salad is massive and is holding me over just fine.

I hate getting derailed, but I think I made OK choices given the circumstances.  I even had to stop at McD's this morning to get a cup of tea.  I can't tell you how strong the urge was to get a greasy hashbrown to go with it.  I had to talk myself out of it - yes, outloud!
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2010 Goals

Last year I posted a list of goals I wanted to achieve for 2009.  And I did pretty good.  There was really only one I didn't accomplish and if I were honest, I didn't actually think I would when I posted it.  Here's how I did:

• 20 consecutive big girl push-ups - Could do this, so goal accomplished, but currently need to work back up to it again.  Use it or lose it!
• run 10km under 1 hour - Did it!  My best "recorded" time was 58:56 in April.  By year end I believe my 10Km time was proably somewhere around 55-56 minutes (maybe less), but I didn't officially time it ever.  My best 5K time was 24:53.
• run the entire Ft to Ft non stop (about 14 km) - Did this and blew it out of the water with the longest run I did being about 22 Km (aka 13.6 miles)
• climb the Grouse Grind in 50 minutes or less - Technically I didn't actually beat this goal.  I gave this one 2 attempts (it's not something I can do frequently) and after my first try I decided that my goal was extremely lofty.  My first attempt I did it in 58:42, but my second attempt was 50 minutes and 40 seconds so close darn enough to call it goal met!  I'm ecstatic with this achievement!
• eat fish at least once a week - Yeah OK, this is the one that I didn't even come close too.  I can't even say that I increase my consumption much at all, maybe a teensy bit.  I guess it's a baby step.
• REACH MY GOAL WEIGHT! - Technically I did get under 145 lbs, though fleeting.  So yes, goal met, but now I need to get under there and STAY under there!

I'm very, VERY happy with what I achieved in 2009.  Even taking my Christmas season gain into account I lost about 7 lbs over the year.  The previous year I lost 9 lbs and before that about 13 lbs.  It all adds up.  NEVER GIVE UP!

So .... without further adieu, I bring you my ........

2010 GOALS

• Run my next 10Km race (January 24th) in under 54-55 minutes.  Last year I did the 5K version of this race (1 lap instead of 2) and it took me 32:46, so I'm expecting a big improvement.
• Run a 10Km race under 52 minutes, adjust to less if necessary
• Run at least one Half Marathon (I'd love to do this around 2 hrs)
• Buy a new bikini (my sister & Mom will laugh over this one) and not worry about belly spillage
• Do strength training at least 100 days this year.  That equals about 2 days per week. I look, and feel, so much better when my body is strong!
• Increase fish & salad consumption.  Not setting any numbers here, but I'm starting from very low so and increase will be a positive one.
• Catch up and keep up on my bookkeeping so I don't get overstressed about it!

That's about it for now.  I'm not setting a weight goal.  I already know where I want to be and I know that by keeping focused on the goals I've set out for myself, the weight & measurements will follow.

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Today I picked up the January issue of Oxygen Magazine.  The last few years I stopped buying magazines to save money.  It had become a $50/month habit.  But I figured if I pick just one a month and actually use it then it's a good investment.

Susan at All Things in Moderation often mentions using the workouts from this magazine and I thought that sounded like a good idea.

Tonight I did the Upper Body session of their Best Body Ever plan.  When I first looked at it, it didn't seem like much of a workout.  But it's thorough!  I'm sure I'm going to feel it in the morning.

Tomorrow I will tell you what I did on New Years Day!!!!

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