The better side of things

I'm finally getting around to posting some pics from last weeks game.

First off, here's a video of the crowd signing Oh Canada (we would not win any international voice competitions).  There was so much positive energy flowing.  Everyone was excited and into it.  This doesn't even begin to capture how many people were there.  My husband caught me doing my stupid cheesy little grin near the end.  I'm such a nerd!

Here's me & my family before it began.  Love how I'm the shortest.

 Me & my "wittle" boy (who's ducking down so we both fit in the screen) ...

 Daddy & his girl

Proud to be Canadian

Rumors are that the riot started when this kid tried to throw his sister into a water fountain (kidding)

Vancouver really is a beautiful city (not that these pictures do it justice) 

You just gotta love the water & the mountains.

Now ... to update my 30 Days of Activity.....

I'm disappointed to say that I missed a day. :(  Bad Heidi!  Last Thursday, I just didn't get to it and got lazy.  Not that it counts, but I certainly made up for it on Friday when I rode my bike to work (30 min), rode from work and directly to a friends house (52 min), then went for a hike (2 hours),  followed by a bike ride home (20 min).  In total about 3 hours and 40 min of exercise .... and it didn't even really feel like it.  I love breaking up workouts like that. Wasn't even sore the next day.

This week I should be bike commuting for most of the week.  My husband's truck is waiting for a part to come in.  We are a 1 car family with 3 drivers - interesting!  Hopefully the weather cooperates, which it may or may not.

Jun 1- 2.5 mile run + walking

Jun 2- 2.6 mile run + walking

Jun 3 - 75 min walk

Jun 4 - 30 min walk

Jun 5 - 75 min biking

Jun 6 - 80 min biking, 10 min running, 15 min walking

Jun 7 - 30 min walk

Jun 8 - 80 min bike

Jun 9 - 30 min walk

Jun 10 - 90 min bike, 35 min run

Jun 11 - 7hrs yardwork

Jun 12 - 2+ hrs hike

Jun 13 - 4.5 mile run

Jun 14 - 1.5 hr hike

Jun 15 - approx. 90 min walking

Jun 16 - NOTHING - Grrrr!

Jun 17 - 1 hr 40 min biking, 2+ hrs hike

Jun 18 - 60 min walk

Jun 19 - 30 min walk

Heidi

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Step By Step

After a little time off and a few changes on the home front, I'm feeling so much more refreshed and ready to start working on this weight loss thing again.

Last night I took step one in that direction.  Hmmm, is this step one AGAIN?  Perhaps, but personally I don't believe failure is messing up and having to start again .... for me it's failing to restart.  So, when I got home yesterday I immediately suited up, grabbed the dog, and headed out for a brisk walk. 

We're having typical April showers here these days.  If you get a window of sunshine between the showers, you need to take advantage of it.  And I did!  45 minutes of glorious sunshine and fresh air.

Eating was pretty decent too.  Started dinner off with a massive salad.  Definitely have been lacking on fresh veggies lately.  Yum YUM!

Of course, the scale showed a 2 lb gain from yesterday to today ... that's always nice.  But I'm not worrying about that.  My focus right now is on eating healthier and moving more frequently.  The rest will fall into place with consistancy. 

Heidi

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What It's All About

Mentally, this weekend was just what I needed.  A little get away.  A lot of time with family.  Mostly good weather.  It was pretty much perfect.  A few minor bumps in the road (including an emergency call out vet bill that we really could have done without), but these things are to be expected in our world.

For most of our married life we have gone camping on Easter weekend.  It's become a bit of a tradition.  This year we really probably shouldn't have gone ... with finances, obligations and all.  But mentally it was so necessary it wasn't even funny.  The choice was pretty much down to getting away for a few days or checking into a mental institution. 

Honestly I don't think the weekend could have gone much better.  We spent a ton of time together. We laughed, we joked, we just chilled.  It was wonderful.

Yes, there was the situation where we thought the dog had found some mouse poison.  But, the vet thinks she probably pinched a nerve in her back and after what essentially boils down to a VERY expensive bottle of Doggie Advil, she's 100% again and that's what matters the most.

After such a great weekend I feel refreshed again and ready to take on the world. 

Heidi

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Week in Review - Catching up

Here I thought I'd have all the time in the world to blog over the holidays .... and I've barely touched the computer.

So where have I been and what have I been up to? (I know you're all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to hear - hahahhaa).

Let's start with just before Christmas.  I've mentioned a few times that my legs are tight, tired, & sore.  It took barely being able to walk or straighten my legs to finally buck up and make an appointment with the therapist.  He worked my legs a bit and confirmed that they are extremely tight.  Extra mileage exaggerated the problem, but he said that I'm prone to it with my feet and he (like the shoe fitter) suggested I try stability shoes.  He told me to try running a little bit, see how it feels and come back after Christmas.  I was a bit disappointed because I didn't feel he worked my legs much (these thoughts would come back to bite me BIG TIME at the next visit).

Christmas was very peaceful and low key.  Finances are horrible so the gift exchange was beyond low, but it was still nice to have some down time together as a family and it was very peaceful.  On Christmas Day I went out for a walk, tried running a short distance and there was no way.  Even after that walk my legs were painfully tight.

Boxing Day was a total score for me!  My daughter and I hit up the Adidas outlet store.  I knew they had some pretty good prices before Christmas, but when we arrived everything was 40% off the lowest ticketed price.  My Mom had given me money for Christmas and I spent wisely!  I got:

• 5 pairs of running capris (1 for my daughter)
• 1 pair soccer pants for my daughter
• 1 pair yoga pants for my daughter
• 4 t-shirts (2 for me, 2 for the kiddo)
• 2 running tanks
• 1 long sleeve running shirt
• 1 yoga style jacket

 .... all for under $200!  Original value was about $700.  TOTAL SCORE!

 

Jacket - $15

Tank - $10.80

Capris - $6 !!!!!!!

Top - $10.80

Capris - $25

Cheesy Grin - Priceless!

I love the back of the blue tank.  And the capris with the long sleeve purple top are SO comfy!  On the back of the calf is about a 4" zipper and when you open it up, there is mesh in the opening.

Pictures of the other clothes will be scattered over the next few posts.

Plus I finally ordered some running shoes - Brooks Adrenaline GTS.  $170 in the local store (taxes in), $70 shipped, final price, online.  Score again!!!!  They arrived yesterday!!!!  WHOOP WHOOP!  I hope they help my problem.  I wore them around the house all last night but won't run in them until tomorrow.

On Monday, with all that new workout gear staring at me, I was dying to try it out and I HIT UP THE GYM!!!  That's been a while.  I warmed up with 1 mile on the treadmill and felt good, but decided to stop at that.  Did a killer weight workout that left me with expected, but reasonable, stiffness the next day (or two!).

Tuesday my friend wanted to get in her last long run before her upcoming marathon.  It was a nice day and she begged encouraged me to join her on my bike.  I met her partway through her run and did 18 miles along side her.  It wasn't much of a workout, but it was good to spin my legs.

Wed morning I had another session with Dr. Evil!  At my last appt I told him that I had expected it would hurt (because it always does) and he said, "It doesn't always have to hurt, Heidi."  Today as I was gritting my teeth trying not to scream and scare away his other patients, I reminded him of this conversation.  he said, "Ah yes, but last week I was just trying to figure out what was wrong with you ... today I'm fixing it!".  Holy mother of bright rainbows ... OWWWWWW!!!!!!!  He told me I could try running again a little bit to see how it feels, and to come back on Friday.  He said my legs are both very, very tight and definiely need some work.  I have a race on Saturday but will have to be open about whether I can "race" it or not.  It might have to be a casual run with the option of backing out part way if needed.  He didn't go so far as to give me permission to do it, but he didn't outright forbid me either.  I will play it by ear.  I'm already registered and paid so I may as well go.  I'm sure there's no harm in running it at a slow pace.  I will see how I feel.

After my session, I did a little 3 mile easy run.  It felt FANTASTIC and I wanted to fly.  Could still feel a little pain in my left foot, but the legs wanted to GO!  Good thing it was a courtesy run for my friend to shake out her legs from her long run, because left to my own devices I would have gone too fast & too long. By the evening I could feel some stiffness creeping back in, though I wonder if some of that might still be from my weight workout the other day.

So there you have it, the lowdown of my excitement for the last week.  At some point in the next week I will review my goals from 2010 and post my goals for 2011. 

Wishing everyone the very best for 2011 - health, happiness, prosperity.  I know there are some of us who can't put 2010 behind us quick enough (for me there are parts of it that I want to file in the "Forget this %$@#" drawer pronto!), let's do all we can to make the next year the best it can be. 

Reach for the stars, even if you only hit the moon you'll have one heck of a view.

Keep Active!

Heidi

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Snuggles with a Snowman

Another great hike!

My son is still injured and was unable to play his game this weekend.  This left me with a bit of unexpected free time, which I took full advantage of.

I squeezed in one more hike up one of our local mountains.  Typically I go up Grouse Mountain via the Grouse Grind, however this time we tried something new and went up an adjacent trail called the BCMC (BC Mountaineering Club) trail. 

Nice trail!  Compared to the Grind, it's not quite as well marked (the GG is idiot proof), but it is easy to follow and there are lots of markers that are easy to spot.  It's more natural, very few man-made steps.  Not quite as steep, or as big of steps, but still very challenging.  I'd say that I prefer it.

The weather is turning here and snow on this trail is imminent.  In fact, any given day you could encounter it going up.  We were prepared to turn around if necessary, and we also came with extra provisions in case of trouble.  As it turned out there was no snow until after we crested the top of the trail and arrived at the Grouse Mountain Chalet.  There was maybe 2-3" of wet snow up there. 

When I saw this cutie pie I just had to get some pics taken with him:

It looks like snow falling, but it's actually just very thick fog.  It felt so festive.  The mountain has just opened up their skating rink up there too.  $8 just to rent skates though - rip off!  I'd rather carry mine up on the hike than spend that. 

I know that I may not get another hike up there this year.  It's usually too much of a time crunch for me, and for every week that goes by the possibility of snow/ice is too real.  I like a challenge, but safety comes first.

Come spring though, I want to be spending alot of time on these (and other) mountains.  I ♥ hiking!

Keep Active!

Heidi

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Race Recap & Halloween pics

Another amazing weekend!

First, there was Fran's Virtual Pink Dress Run. For me it wasn't a long or fast one, but it was a fun one!  I had planned to participate both Saturday and Sunday, but as you will see below, I wasn't able to work in the pink on Sunday.

We went out for another nighttime trail run. This time on a safer trail. It was only 2.5 miles long, but it sure is alot of fun running in the dark. So quiet, a bit mysterious, challenging not being able to see exactly where you are.  We put a flashing LED on the dog and let her rip around. She looked like a little UFO.  Here's me in my cheesy pinkness:

Sunday morning we had a race.  It was the 40th Annual James Cunningham Seawall Race.  If you are ever in Vancouver, take the opportunity to run around the seawall.  It's just gorgeous!  And if you are local, try out this race.  The distance was a bit odd at 9.5K (5.9 miles) but it is the distance of the entire seawall - which the race represents.

As I said the other day, this race was about participation, location & FUN!  It was definitely all of that and more.

When we started out I had no intention to actually "race".  I was going to run at a comfortably fast pace and just enjoy the route.  At the start line I contemplated running with our friends, but quickly decided that I wanted to run a little faster than that.  However, I didn't bother weaving through traffic like I would normally if I were racing it.  If traffic opened up I moved through, but I took in the scenery and enjoyed checking out all the costumes.

I had made a conscious decision to NOT look at my Garmin until at least the 5K mark - just because.  I wanted to run by feel and just see what happened.  I expected to finish between 55 minutes up to an hour, or about a 9:30 pace, give or take.  Around 3K though I was feeling a bit tired and wondered if I even had it in me.  I've been running alot of 10:00 paces lately due to a variety of reasons and had no idea if I was capable of more right now.

At the 5K mark my husband asked me if we were at a 9:30 pace.  I checked and was shocked to see that we were at an 8:35!  Especially since we were running in costumes (which you will see shortly).  This inspired me to put in the effort to hold, or improve, on this pace.

By about 8K I wanted to be done.  This is tyipically where I fade on this distance.  I just wanted it to be over.  I was HOT and parts of my costume were beginning to bother me.  My husband also started to get bothered by chafing from his get-up.  But I wanted to finish strong and do the best I could do on that day.

We crossed the finish line together at 50:02.  My Garmin said 49:59, so I was happy to be under 50 minutes, but I must have missed the first timing mat.  Oh well, close enough.  Our average pace was 8:27, which is faster than the last race I did (without costume and with a faster start). 

I was 10th out of 59 in my age category.  I'm pleased with that!

Every race sure teaches me more and more about my strong & weak points and I'm learning where to make little adjustments.

Now ... for the costumes.  We had decided as a group to go as cats, however my husband couldn't wrap his head around that for himself (and neither could I really).  He likes to go big or stay home.  When we were in high school he dressed as a caveman for Halloween once and spent the whole day grunting instead of talking and he ran around hunched up and sniffing everyone, climbing on lockers.  He considered dragging out this costume again ... which immediately made me think of the Geico commercials "So Easy A Caveman Can Do It".  I told him if he was going to wear the costume, he had to carry a sign with that saying on it.

Here we are pre-race:

As soon as we arrived people starting asking for pictures.  The race photgrapher grabbed us immediately.  I can't find any race photos posted yet, but I'm sure we will be in some.  The entire race people were laughing at his sign and couldn't believe he was running in that outfit.

The sign provided quite a bit of wind resistance and by the last half of the race he said his shoulders were feeling it.  My boa wasn't nearly as annoying as I thought it would be, but certainly added some unnecessary warmth.  I worried that feathers would get stuck all over me, but it wasn't an issue.  The great thing about my feathers was that they fell off constantly, so our friends behind us had a good laugh knowing they were trailing us the whole time.  They kept watching to see if my feathers trailed off to a washroom - which I'm pleased was not an issue this race (yippee!).

After the race we scored WELL!  There were a ton of door prizes to be given out and we stayed for it all.  They started out calling bib numbers, but most of the people weren't there, so they resorted to calling random things - which is my favourite!  I'm very keen when it comes to that game and almost always leave with something.

They called out for the first person who has bunny ears ... first person who is bald ... etc.  Finally they got to the first leopard and I dove to the stage and won myself a $10 Subway card.  Moments later they called out for someone with ears (as part of a costume).  I didn't want to go as I had just won something, so I shoved my friend who was in the same type of costume.  She was a moment late, but she sprinted and then literally flung herself on stage doing a roll into the announcer saying "Me, I have ears!".  It was hilarous.  She won a $50 gift certificate to a swanky restaurant.  I don't remember what the call was for, but my husband then won a visor and key chain.

The announcer was running out of ideas and so she called for the first three people to do 5 push-ups.  My friend and I didn't even consult one another.  We both lunged to the stage and dropped for 5.  Though I literally dropped!  I went down and crashed belly first to the ground with barely the strength to get up.  But I squeaked them out and I won a $25 running room gift certificate and she won a $10 Subway card.  SCORE!  It amazes me how many people don't even bother trying for these things.

Then it was time to announce the costume award for the day.  They chose 3 people to come up to the stage and then the crowd got to cheer individually for each one to choose the winner.  My husband was among the 3 ... and he easily won!  WOOOHOOO.  I have quite the hollering cheer so that helped, but he had tons of crowd support.  Funny thing was he didn't even know there was going to be a contest.  Numerous people came up to him earlier saying they hoped he would win the prize.  He won a Polar Heart Rate Monitor.  I'd say overall we more than got our low entry fees back.

Aside from the prizes, it was a fantastic race and I will definitely enter it again.  The location is gorgeous.  The entry fee is low.   Seeing so many people in costumes is fun.  Just awesome!

This is post race, at home again.  Make-up a little smudged, but still happy.  After this I showered and crashed.

Keep Active!

Heidi

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Bunch of Crazy Kids

Now that we've discussed how to run safe alone.  Let's discuss how NOT to run safe.

Yesterday I wrote a post on how to stay safe while out running, and then last night I ran the scariest route I've ever been on.  My friend has been dying to show me a little 5K route she used to favour. 

Being that it's close to Halloween, we decided to ham it up a bit.  She brought all of us glow sticks to wear.  However, they were ALL duds.  We did however wear some flashing lights and carried a couple flashlights.

When we left it was nearly dark, and very quickly was completely dark.  We started in a not-so-great part of town and went downhill from there.  We ran through trails, passing groups of smoking teens in the pitch black.  We ran through dense bush.  Eeek!  I would NEVER in a million years run these trails alone in the daylight.  However, in the company of my husband and two prison guards, I felt pretty safe.

Date-iversary

22 Years ago today I started dating my husband.  We met two days before, at my high school dance, when I was 15.  He had previously graduated from the school, but his sister had dragged him along.  I still have the costume I wore to the dance that night - it just fits a little different now, but I can get it on!

Our kids now attend that same school, and my daughter attended a dance there last night.  Hmmm, she's 14, hopefully we have at least another year or so before she meets her future husband.  Though I'm told I don't need to worry.  She says she never getting married, never having kids, and never having sex.  She actually said she would promise to never, ever have sex if I would excuse her from the HPV immunizations.

Our early days 

Speaking of my kids .... today they both dressed up for school.  I think this is a first, or at least a first in many years.

My son the redneck .... My husband & daughter .... and my daughter the cat 

I think their true personalities come out here. 

My son's belt says "White Trash".  He got it from a friends brother who wears it regular.  The friend's brother also has another buckle that says "My Other Ride Is Your Mother", with a picture of a truck above it.  Kinda funny, but not sure if the school would find humour in that.

I have a race this weekend - 5.9 miles / 9.5 Km.  It will NOT be a serious race.  It will be about participation, location and FUN.  I will most definitely have to be getting some pics.  The rumour mill also suggests that Ma & Pa will be dropping in for a visit - yippee!

Hope everyone has a FANTASTIC weekend, and a safe & funHalloween!

Keep Active!

(and keep outta the "fun" size bars)

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

10 Miles, Race Pics & Well Wishes

There are so many people doing big races this weekend and I want to wish them all good luck.  I hope you ladies have an amazing time at your races.  I want to mention these ladies who are all conquering their FIRSTS at certain distances:

Linzi @ Destination 26.2 Doing her FIRST full marathon at the Nike Marathon in San Francisco.  I am SO excited for her.  She has worked so hard for this and has been a huge inspiration to me.

Aneta @ Confessions of a Rambunctious Runner - Also doing her FIRST full marathon, the Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon.  These last few weeks have been a challenge for Aneta (injuries and flu symptoms just to name a couple), but she is trudging forth with amazing spirit.  I can't decide if I'm more excited to read her race report, or to see what cute running outfit she picks for this race.

Nej (Jen??  OMG how did I not see that before, duh) @ I Think I Can, I Think I Can - Running her FIRST half marathon.  She has just recently been suffering from some leg pains and a bit of pre-race doldroms (don't you hate those), but is so excited to conquer this beast.  She's also looking for some "after the big race" ideas for "what's next?".

I wish all you ladies the best on your FIRSTS this weekend and look forward to your race recaps!

Stop by and wish these ladies good luck.

Now ... ABOUT ME! (because, really, isn't it ALL about me - haha)

My friend sent me the picture she took after our race this weekend.  What a ham!  Not my hottest, but this is me, hahaha. 

Speaking of goofy pics.  I found a couple from the actual race.  I can't decide if I run in my sleep or this is some horrible coincidence.  I can't post the actual pictures here but you can see them at these links:

• During the race (typical eyes down)
• Also during the race - For this one I actually saw the photographer and made an effort to move out from behind the person just in front of me and conscientiously closed my mouth and looked up.  I still look like a dork - haha.
• Just After the Finish (again eyes down)
• At the finish stopping my watch
• There is also this one from when I doubled back and ran the finish line again with my friends - I kinda like that one.

Actually, I know what the problem is here.  I tend to look at the ground when I run, which makes my eyes appear closed.  I try to force myself to look up, but then I worry that I'll trip over something and history tells me this is a real possibility. 

Another thing I notice (and has been oh so sweetly pointed out to me by my loving, caring, embarrassed husband and children) is that I run with my shoulders hiked up and my elbows high.  The more tired I get, the more they creep up.  I've been working on trying to let them hang down more, but they have a mind of their own.

A few weeks ago I was laughing at the girl on that Lotto 6/49 commercial (it may be a local thing .. I can't find a video of it).  Anyway, it's based on their "Can You Imagine" campaign and shows a woman running basically all over the world - because she can.  I was commenting on her posture.  She is VERY erect and holds her arms quite high.  My family all looked at me like I had fallen off the turnip truck and informed me that I run just like that.  Hmmmm, so I look weird but apparently could do commercials.  Yup, I'm going with that.

This weekend I have 10 miles planned and I'm going to try out a new route.  I'm hoping I can have a biking companion along with for company and supplies.  That would be nice!  I haven't done a double digit run since April, and I can't wait!

Have a great weekend!!!

Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Back from Alberta

Took a little hiatus upon my return from our mini holiday.  We got back Thursday and I took the extended weekend to decompress and lay low.  It was much needed.  This trip was a bit of a whirlwind that involved WAY too much driving and too many late, late nights.  Alberta is 1 hour ahead of us, plus they get daylight until quite late - so going to bed early was a challenge that we failed every night.  I'm almost caught up now.

Thankfully though the weather was beautiful!

This is what faced us as we packed up and left Friday morning.

Thankfully we drove out of that crap and found sunshine.  By the evening we were treated by this amazing view of Mt Robson near the BC/Alberta border.  It's a rare treat to find this view completely unobstructed from clouds.

The wedding was amazing!  It was a gorgeous day, the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  A lovely casual event with an incredible view in the Canadian Rockies.  My husband is the giraffe 2nd groomsman.

This is us after the ceremony.

My son before the ceremony.  You wouldn't know it but he was sick with a cold and after one dose of daytime cold medicine he was ready to drop off to sleep, which he spent the majority of the day doing.

And my daughter posing on the bridge afterwards

The view from our room was breathtaking.  Such a beautiful part of our country.  I ♥ nature!

I have a few more pictures to share but I'll leave that for another day.

The trip was way too short with WAY too much driving.  28 hours of driving time (not including stops) in less than a week.  Didn't leave alot of room for activity, but I did manage to squeeze it in, even if at times it was on the lame side.

I have returned though with a refreshed resolve and a renewed fire!  All those hours in the truck are good for something....

June 1 - 5 mile/8K run
June 2 - 30 Day Shred Level 1
June 3 - 4 x 1 mile treadmill intervals and core
June 4 - 30 Day Shred Level 1
June 5 - 2.5 mile walk and 1.5 mile run
June 6 - 3 Hours heavy clean-up

June 7 - 5 x 10 minute treadmill intervals and some core

June 8 - Shred Level 1

June 9 - 45 min run/walk

June 10 - lifting & walking

June 11 - lifting & walking

June 12 - 30 min run & dancing

June 13 - 30 min hike

June 14 - run & walk

June 15 - 2+ hours walking

June 16 - swimming & stair climbing

June 17 - 7 mile treadmill run

June 18 - walking

June 19 - stairs & walking

June 20 - 8 mile run (pretty fast)

June 21 - 6.2 mile steady run

Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Sun Run Race Report

What a weekend!  I am E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D!!!!

Friday morning I went into Vancouver with a few of my running friends.  We had to pick up our race packages and figured while we were down there we would do a little, easy run on the Stanley Park Seawall.  It was an absoluely gorgeous day and I REALLY enjoyed myself.  Afterwards we went to a nice little Sushi place .. YUM!

I had been having some pretty big fears about getting an upset stomach again during a race.  So all day Saturday I was pretty obsessed about what I ate.  I ate pretty clean and included a banana and basically plain pasta (which I like) for dinner - which was eaten early.

When I woke up at 6AM on Sunday my tummy felt off, but an hour later everything was fine.  I didn't eat breakfast, as planned.  I wasn't hungry at all and I didn't want to risk anything.  We left home around 7:20.  We had planned to take the Sky Train downtown (as is suggested) but my husband missed the turn-off and traffic was flowing so nicely that we just kept going.  It turned out to be a good choice.  We got there way faster than we would have on transit and even managed to find free parking - a small miracle in itself downtown Vancouver. 

Though the parking we did find was about 2Km or so away from the start.  We jogged very slowly over to the start, with a short bathroom stop at a Starbucks (WAY better than the huge line-ups for the porta-potties at the start area).

We still had plenty of time and walked through the crowds to find our starting corral.  When we got there we found a couple of people from the walkers division had pushed their way in.  This really bothers me.  I heard them talking and they were planning to walk the whole thing anyway.  So why would you jump the line and get in other peoples way???  I found out today that at least one of these people didn't even finish the race.

This was from us to the starting line.  There was probably 10 times this many people behind us.

Towards the start

Now ... you know it's going to be a good race when your bib numbers include two of your favourite numbers (17 and 7).

Waiting to get into the corrals

The elites took off then it was our turn to move towards the start line. We managed to get ourselves up pretty close to the start line. That was wonderful! Immediately we got off to a good pace. About 10 seconds into the race my husband gave me a kiss and said he'd see me at the finish line.

The start was incredible!  We moved up a division from last year and it was an awesome decision.  Yes, there was still alot of weaving, but in general most of us were pretty even paced and most runners in this section seemed experienced and were respectful of each others space.  So nice!

I felt fantastic.  I've been having off/on pain in my leg and have been taking things pretty easy to let it heal.  I had NO pain during the run ... and still don't.

I heard my Garmin go off at mile 1.  It seemed early and I debated looking at it, but caved ... so curious.  I nearly fell over! 7:25 for my first mile.  WHAT?  I have NEVER done a 7:25 mile, even on a single mile.  I think a grin came on my face then that never really went away for the rest of the day.  My aim was to have an average pace of 8:30/mile.    I was ecstatic to have so much wiggle room.

Mile 2 my average pace was still well below my goal.  Then mile 3 ... I was still well below ... 7:42 average.  My time at the 5K mark was 23:53 - blowing nearly a minute off my previous 5K PR ... and this was for a 10K.  I was in shock. 

Though in all fairness I will say that this course leads itself to giving you a wicked time on the first 5K.  Alot of gradual downhill and easy flats.  Not there is much in the way of hills on this course, but they are definitely in the second half of the course.

It was getting pretty hot and I could feel fatigue setting in.  I started dreaming of finish times that I had not even considered.  I already knew I was up for a killer time and decided to just enjoy the rest of the race.  I could kill myself, but decided to leave a little on the table and just be super happy with what was going on.

I had to take a moment to pull out my camera when these guys went passed.  They were hilarious and it was quite fun running in their vicinity for the last few Kms because the crowd really got going for them.

Around 8K I was T-I-R-E-D.  My body felt fine and my breathing was fine ... I was just a bit drained.  The heat was probably the biggest factor as we haven't had very warm weather lately.  We came up over the last bridge and I picked it up a notch.  Finished my last 1/2 Km at 7:19 pace.

Final time .....

50:59 (chip time)

60 / 1203 Age Group (35-39)

3885 / 39855 Overall

I was in the top 10%.  WHOA!  I still can't believe it.

My goal for this year was to run a 10K under 52 minutes.  WOOOHOOO!

And yes ... I did follow through on my promise.  Here is me with my shirt off on the streets of Vancouver. 

Though I don't believe I made the news as there was a stabbing incident going on at this time.  We didn't witness it, but did see an ambulance about 10 minutes after this picture was taken.  There apparently was also a death later that day, which police have classified a suicide. Something about a man taking off his clothes (including a race day shirt) and going into the water. 

I knocked 8 MINUTES off of last years time.  Never, in my wildest dreams......

Funny thing, there are four ladies I went to school with that do this race together every year.  They have been WAY faster than me.  Last year 3 of them finished under 49 minutes.  This year ... I beat them all!  Two of them by less than a second .. but still. 

My husband rocked his time too.  Last year he was about 52:40 ... he took 7 minutes off and finished in 45:43.  WOW!  I bow to him.  Doubt I'll ever be that fast.

What an amazing day and an amazing race.

I had a smile on my face ALL day!

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

♥♥♥♥♥

April Recap

I'm VERY much looking forward to some summer weather ... SOON!

I picked up this cute little top the other day.  It has a built in bra (SO comfy).  I can't wait until it's warm enough to wear it without a cardi of some sort.

 APRIL 2010

RUNNING RECAP

# of runs: 18  (Goal - 20)

Distance: ..........100.5 Miles / 161.7 Kms
Monthly Goals:  100.0 Miles / 160.9 Kms

Summary: I got myself terribly behind on my goal this month.  The trouble started in March after my first half.  I took too much time off and that rolled over into early April.  By mid-month I only had maybe 25 miles on my belt.  So I kicked it up a notch ... too much, then ended up feeling the start of an injury.  I had to put a couple extra rest days in there, so didn't quite reach my goal of doing 20 runs this month.  I also had to slow my pace down considerably which seems to really be helping the healing process.  Honestly the ONLY reason I reached my goal this month is sheer stubborness.  A sane person would have learned their lessons about procrastinating and made sure to reach their goals for the future months.  That's probably what I should have done.  I'm hoping that by backing off the pace, and then being smarter next month, that I won't pay a penalty for my stubborness.

YEAR-TO-DATE

Distance:  330 Miles / 531 Kms
Goal: .......300.0 Miles / 482.8 Kms

Time Running:  N/A

My running times are on my work computer and I'm off today so I'll have to update later.

I'm super happy to have reached my distance goal this month.  And I vow to NEVER be so stupid about getting behind and/or killing myself to reach a distance goal again.  Though I feel OK right now, the pressure I put on myself was uncalled for and I can't be putting myself in that position

As for my other goals ....

♥ # of runs - goal was 20 and I fell slightly short.  Given the circumstances I'm happy with what I did.  Thinking about it ... I'm not sure I want to run THAT often in a month.  Especially with better weather coming, I want to switch off some of those running days for biking.  And I definitely have fallen for weights again this past week.

♥ Mileage goal - 100 miles:  met it, but as I summarized above, I did it the wrong way.  Lesson learned!

♥ Plan! Prepare! Organize! - yup, YUP, YUP!!!  Boy does this help.  I didn't  do as much preplanning as I should have.  But I certainly made a major improvement on preparing and organizing which made a HUGE difference on the days that I hadn't preplanned.  I had food prepped that I could just grab and go.  And NO helter skelter last minute runs to the grocery store.  YEAH!

♥ Since I had no scheduled official races this month, I planned two timed events for myself.

April 11 - Heidi's Springtastic 10K

April 25 - Heidi's Happy Half Marathon

I completed the Springtastic, but with the injury I thought it wasn't wise to push myself for the second one.  This last week I've been keeping my pace slow and my mileage spread out to what I can handle each day rather than lumping a long day into the mix.

I'm very much looking forward to May.  Lots of fun and exciting things happening for me.  I'll get my May goals posted soon. 

Have a FANTASTIC weekend!!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Recovery Week?

I'm not sure I have this concept down of a recovery/rest week. First there was the weekend before my first half where I ran the full 13.1 instead of my intended 12.1 miles. Then last weekend, there was the actual disaster race, where while I ran a little short, I still ran 12.1 miles.  Then this weekend I completely went over my anticipated mileage and almost did another half.

This week I had fully intended to back off the mileage a bit. Monday my husband and I decided to do an easy recovery run. We'd planned to go about 3 miles, but it ended up over 4 miles.

Wed I planned to do 2 miles ... I did 3.

Friday I went out running with a couple of friends, and a new running mate.  I expected we'd probably do about 4 miles ... we did over 6.

Sunday I was to run with friends again.  I expected we'd do maybe 5-6 miles on this run, however I wanted to go a bit longer than that (to keep up my half training for next months race) so I went early and planned to do 2-3 miles before meeting them.  This ended up being a lot longer (details to follow).

Friday was actually a pretty cool day.  I had plans to get together for coffee/tea with a good friend "Mel".  I run regualrly with her sister "Mac" and also had plans to run with her that day.  Mel is just starting to run again and decided she'd come out with us and we'd run ahead and then all meet up afterwards at the coffee shop.  It was a beautiful day.  Mac brought along a co-worker with her, who she's been running with and it was awesome to run with someone new.  Very nice lady!  We ended up running 6.35 miles.  A little slower than I've been running, but it was alot of fun to just yak and not think about running.

Afterwards Mel & I went to a 2nd hand store and I got myself an awesome sports bra in fantastic shape and 2 cute dresses - one with tags on still.  Then we went to my favourite little Mexican restaurant and had a lovely lunch.  It was a fun day.

This one is just a tad tight through the chest/back and waist.

I can wear it, but I know I'd be a bit more comfortable in it being down about 5 lbs.

This one is SO comfy!  I think it will be super comfortable to wear in the summer.

Sunday I met up with Mac and a couple other running friends.  As I said above, I wanted to do a few miles on my own, so I started before they got there.  I had planned on doing about 2-3 miles, but once I got going it just felt so good.  We'd had some more torrential rain in the morning, and the sun had just come out and it was SO warm.  I ran 2 1/2 miles then called Mac to see where she was.  She was running late - PERFECT, I wanted to run more.  I ended up doing 5.5 miles on my own before we even met up.

Mac & I run at a faster pace than the others, so we went ahead on our own.  I figured she'd want to do about 5-6 miles, so was very happy to be getting about 11 miles in for the day.  As it was, she wanted to go a bit longer and we ended up doing 7.3 together.

So in total, I ran 12.8 miles!  It was a much slower than race pace, but it was awesome.  Except for the last bout of rain we got.  About 2 miles from the end the skies suddenly opened up.  I could barely see from the rain falling in my eyes.  Insane!  At one point I threw up my arms and screamed to the skies "Bring It On!" ... I believe I got answered!

For a week that I'd anticipated running about 17 miles .... I ran 27 miles!

I'm going to be so ready for that next half!  I can't wait to go check out the route.


**GIVEAWAY TO MENTION**

Another giveaway at Running Through Life for a beautiful Adidas jacket.  I love Adidas clothes!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Half Marathon Pics

I was lacking for bloggy ideas today, when these little gems showed up ... pics from our recent half marathon.

My husband is at the back in the brown hoodie. 

He always looks so big compared to most runners.

I am to his left, but am too short to see me behind bow-tie guy.

I'm pretty sure we were the last runners to cross the start line.

Being a chip time I didn't feel the need to crowd up into the start gate.

He took off his hoodie around the 2Km mark and left it by a volunteer.  After the race it wasn't there and it hadn't been returned to the organizers.  We left our name & number, but no one has called to say it was returned yet.  This kind of disappoints and suprises me. 

Here he is further along in the race (after ditching the sweater ... and leaving me).  At least he managed somewhat of a smile for the camera

UNLIKE ME.....

What?  That doesn't look like me?? 

I'm in the purple long sleeves behind this guy.

I didn't realize I was that much behind this guy. 

I think I was in front of him a bit when I got too sick and had to stop.

Here is the (un)HAPPY face I'm talking about ...

I think I was attempting a smile, but a bit late. 

And OH MY the hair. 

The way it's going up and back makes it look like I have a super short cut. 

When in fact, I'm trying to grow it out again and it's longer than it's been in a while.

At the next race I see a camera, I will try extra hard for more of this look

I had no idea that top moved that much either.  It always feels so snug.  Hmmm

Not the prettiest things, but eh. 

I haven't decided what to do with ours yet. 

Might hang them in the gym by the treadmill.

Speaking of the treadmill...

As I mentioned yesterday, I got up early and did the first workout from Making the Cut.  Then last night, I did the 2nd workout in the book.  I had missed Tuesday and wanted to make it up.

Afterwards I decided to do mile intervals with a short break in between each mile on the treadmill.  I want to work on turning my legs over quicker, so did shorter distances at a faster pace.  I was pretty happy with my paces, especially the last one.  I don't recall doing a sub 8 min mile before.

 

Mile 1 @ 8:13 mile/min

Mile 2 @ 8:00 mile/min

Mile 3 @ 7:45 mile/min

But somewhere about midway I got what I thought was a major cramp in my sides ... but both sides, not just one.  I've never had anything like that before and it felt REALLY weird.  It felt like something was grabbing my stomach inside and pulling it in.

It wasn't until this morning when I jogged up the stairs to my office that I put it all together.  It was my abs from the strength workouts!  It's been a while since I worked those babies hard.  I'm feeling that lovely little ache from a good workout today.  Love that burn!

It's a beautiful sunny day again today.  Got out for a short walk on my lunch break.  Tomorrow I'm supposed to go running with a friend and a new running mate of hers.  That's always exciting.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥