Three Sleeps Away

I am just hoping that I will get three good nights of sleep before I run for the Ottawa Race Weekend. I finished my last 6km training run last night and to be honest, I felt sluggish. We have had a heat wave for the past week and yesterday was in the 30's. Everyone involved with this run is hoping the weather will cool off a bit. Sunday is expected to have a high of 28. So keeping hydrated will be key.

To prepare for the race, I am going to try a low fiber diet for the next three days. I am hoping that the reduced whole wheat may slow down the system a bit. I'm also going to lay off dairy. I plan to load up on carbs and not too much protein the days before the run. I'll see how it goes. I also plan to remember to drink plenty of fluids the day before the race and use salt a little more freely.  I hope it works. My goal is to have no more than one quick pit stop along the course.

As far as times go, I would love to be in the 2 hour range, but if I'm 2:15, I won't be upset, especially if it's very hot. I am keeping relaxed and I think I will be able to enjoy the experience of the race. I am so thankful that my cousin, Sophie gave me the excuse to do this, my brother-in-law Scott is coming from Kalowna to run in the race with me, my good friend Sophie kept me motivated by training with me, and that I will be doing this event with the support of my kids and Ian. I have met some really nice supportive people at the Running Room. I plan to take their words of encouragement with me to the start line.

I have always wanted to run a half marathon. Here is my chance. Wish me luck!

Tough Training

I have decided that training for a half marathon is very time consuming. It would be more time consuming if I were able to take it seriously. As much as I absolutely love having something that selfishly is just for ME, these days it is more of a compromise with the kids and Ian for Mommy to get some time to run. Most weeks I am able to get the shorter runs in during the day with Simon in the stroller, but Ian has been travelling with work and it has made things a little bit more complicated.

Some training strategies I have tried:

Running hills in the morning with the dog and Simon - didn't go quite as planned. During the warm-up, the dog's leash got stuck in the stroller's wheel. Simon did not enjoy the repeated hills and complained so much after the 6th hill, I let him sit in the car and watch the last three.

Intervals at the soccer field - Plunked the kids in the middle of the field with tennis balls, a soccer ball, baseball gloves and water. I managed to keep an eye on them while I circled trying to do 2 min intervals of fast and slow jog. With three boys, I guess you can't expect them to just play nicely. It turned into more of a yelling and wrestling match for the boys than a nice supportive run for mom. I only lasted about 40 min before I had to stop for fear that one of the boys was going to get hurt.

Biking to do errands - Just so I am not on my feet all the time, I am trying to bike to do errands rather than drive. You should have seen the face on the lady at the dry cleaners when I picked up my nice clean dress and folded it into the bike trailer with the kids.

Post tapered 12 km run on Sunday I chose to join the kids in a game of ball hockey - I felt good. It was a nice relatively short run, so I thought I could get rid of my extra energy with some fun. I managed to tweak my knee when I tried to stop too quickly. Ouch! Now I am being forced to rest and feeling grouchy about it!

I think that if I ever train for another half marathon, I will do it at a time when I can get most of the training done on my own time and I don't have to drag one, two, or three kids some place so that I can run.

Next year perhaps....

Recap of the week

Tuesday - 5.5km tempo completed with Baloo and Simon
Wednesday - 8 short Hills at Kanata tobogganing hill, completed with Toby and Simon, finished off a short lap around the park with Toby on his bike and Simon in the stroller, sore shins after this one
Thursday- 6km steady run completed with Baloo and Simon, in Amberwoods

12.5km on the Trail

I planned to run this morning on my own. I really enjoy running with the group, but today I was feeling a bit sluggish and I had a feeling I was going to need to run close to home. So, I set out at 8am having mapped my route the night before. I found a good steady pace and skipped my first walk. After roughly 20min I did my minute of walking and got back on pace. Feeling good despite the incline I focussed on my breathing and reducing my stride to save energy.
There were a lot of people out running, walking and biking on the trail this morning, so there were a lot of good distractions. When I met Kerry-Ann on the path, we decided to complete the remainder of the run together. Running with a friend definately makes the time pass. I continued with Karry-Ann until we parted ways at about 11km. Then a little further on, I had some stomach issues. I stopped, turned around and made a bee line for home. Luckily, it wasn't far.
Here is a helpful article I found on this issue. Thank goodness I am not alone.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/injury_archives/trots.html

 I finished the run adding another km with Baloo. I think Baloo dragged me for the last 2km until we managed to find our way home. Whew! Another long run done. Check!

Howe Lucky Maple Syrup

This week was March break for the kids and Ian was off from work. Apart from Ethan getting stitches in his chin, we had a great family holiday. We decided to go to Howe Island to help my dad with the second batch of maple syrup. It was the best he has produced to date. The weather was warm and sunny and we spent the majority of our days outside. The boys loved riding their bikes and collecting sap. Ian loved cooking on the BBQ, building a fort, and getting out on his bike for a few good rides.

Here are some pictures of the boys for those who don't get to see them every day.

The recap from the week:
Tuesday - 5km tempo, felt good
Wednesday - no hills on Howe Island, so eliptical 30min 3.8 miles
Thursday - 7km steady, really good run
Sunday - 10km, lonely, not well paced, but finished in about 53 or 54 min

Reflections:
 I think the run on Thursday was easy because the elliptical is not so hard on my body. It was a bit of a break from the jarring I would have had on the hills. Although, later in the day I did find some hills on the island.
Sundays run started out really strong. I was passed by some guy that may or may not have been with our group. He would have been running at about a 35min/10km pace. He was flying. It was humbling. Good for me. There was no way I could keep up to that guy. The three faster woman that I have run with in the past were not there today, so I was very very alone. No music, just listening to the birds and trying to focus on steady breathing.

Tip:
I tend to run like a chicken. My arm muscles feel like they need to be stretched after a good run because they are folded into my armpits for so long. I made an effort to use my arms more. It made me work harder, but it took some of the momentum from my legs and was especially good when going up hill.

I also need to find proper running tights that are long enough. We went to a few stores to look to day. No luck. Any ideas anyone?

Chilly 10

Forecast: +2, -4 with the wind chill, rain, very windy

Not the best weather for running!

This morning the clocks changed. We had to wake up an hour earlier than usual. I could hear the wind pushing the rain onto the bedroom window. The snow is melting, but if it gets any colder, we are in for more. It was enough to make me consider rolling over and snuggling back into my warm bed. I considered this for a while, but really I just needed to get this run done and over with. I am a fair weather runner. I don't like running in the cold. I prefer sunny days! So, reluctantly, I got out of bed, got dressed and tried to psych myself up for the group run.

I definitely felt sluggish. I took in a little oatmeal with raisins, half a cup of coffee and headed out the door.

It was a tough run! Cathy and I went out together, but she was much stronger than I was today. I really struggled with the wind, a caugh, runny nose, and sore ears. She had to wait for me a number of times before she finally decided to go on ahead. To be fair, we were not going at a bad pace. She is just faster. Finally it was over. I was soaked head to toe. I just wanted to go home and take a nice hot bath.

We finished in 55 minutes. I'm just fine with that!

Advice for the day:
- Wear more layers in the rain and dress for the cold.
- Once home, put newspaper in the shoes. It will help absorb the moisture and keep their shape.
- Give yourself a pat on the back when it is all over. Smile.