Week 14 - 11/02/2019 - Peak Week

After taking a nice rest on Sunday, we were back at it Monday with some speed work.  This week our buddy had some 400m repeats for us. The work out was essentially 4x400 with decreasing rests.  Running fast has never been my strong point, but I have to keep reminding myself that it SHOULD help me.

Tuesday morning we wake up to some more snow fall and to find out all the school buses in our region have been cancelled.  After, we dropped the kids off at school, I was off to meet up with the run crew for a road run. We ran for 1 hour and 4 minutes and covered 9.01 km.  As I am checking my Garmin statistics,  I see that the day before at speed we ran 1 hour 4 minutes and covered 9.02 km.   I'm going to assume that I should have covered more distance the day before.  I'm going to assume that it was because of the snow that had accumulated  on the roads.  Can anyone shed light on this?

Wednesday ended up being another snowy day,  so I decided to take it inside on my beloved treadmill. I was also keen on catching up with my latest addiction of watching Game of Thrones.  After 1:45 and 2 episodes of the show, I was off to run some errands before the kids got home.

Valentine's Day was on Thursday and it was also the day before our longest run of the training cycle. I decided to take it easy and really rest the legs, but all I could think about was how LONG the run was going to take and if I could survive.  I took full advantage of the day off and rested and enjoyed a nice dinner with hubs and tried my best to sleep early.

Valentine's Meal with Hubs

After dropping off the kids at the bus stop,  I hurried home to pack up my stuff for the long run and was out to door to meet up with my friends for our long run.  30 miles was planned for the day or whatever we could get in before I had to be home to pick up the kids from the bus stop.

New Altras for the Long Run

My girlfriend had planned our route.  The run was going to be on road as we were limited on time.  We ran locally and then onto some country roads before heading out to our pit stop at the school where my training partner's husband is a teacher.   She had sent him to school with extra supplies for us to refill and refuel.  Her planning was perfect as we arrived at the time she had told him and we were able to refill all our bottles, use the washrooms and change out whatever we wanted to drop off.  We had probably run around 35 kms at this point.

Pit Stop

The road down to the school was exposed with no trees to block any wind and it had been quite windy for a lot of this section. I was happy to have this pit stop but looking at the time, I knew we had to get moving.  We were supposed to head back up to my girlfriends place where my car was, but I had to cut the run short and run to the bus stop to pick up the kiddies and finish my run on the treadmill after the kids got home.  My watch had died around the 40 km mark so I had no idea how much or how far I actually finished with.  My Garmin has been dying lately.   After a full charge, it will only last at maximum 4 and a half hours. I'm pretty bummed as I know it will not be able to last the race.  I had hoped to get the battery changed but it doesn't seem to be an option for this model, the Garmin 620.

I was surprised that I was not dead after the long run.  But, as a mom, there's never really any breaks. Back to wife and mom duties.  

My friend and fellow runner from Rochester had come up to celebrate Chinese New Year with us for the weekend.  I asked her to join us for our second long run on Saturday.  Hubs had made plans with the other dads to take the kids to the Toronto International Show which meant I had more time than I usually have on Saturdays to run.  I was able to sleep in a little and have a nice long run catching up with my buddy.  It was such a treat.  We met up with some of our other girlfriends for a lovely brunch.  It was a great way to end this week.  I finished the week with 94 kms.  Hoping this is enough for the race.

All Smiles after 18 km

Brunch

How was your week?

Week 4 Antelope Canyon Training, bring on the Christmas Parties

I can't believe that we have been training for 4 weeks now. But, my body is definitely starting to feel it.  I had enjoyed the week at home the week before and was looking forward to this week as well. There was also a sense of urgency as I knew it was my last week off before heading back to work. I was trying to make sure I had everything done for the holidays and the family before flying out for the next two weeks.

Training has been coming along. I actually ran every day this week except for Sunday

Monday speed session was awful and that's just me being honest. I don't like speed work. I always want to die and I know that you should push yourself hard, but many times I give up before I even start.  Feeling like you want to drop dead and puke at the end of every lap is not what I enjoy any more.  I am hoping that I will embrace it again. We met up at my friend's place to run laps around the school. We did one warm up lap and then 4 laps around the school. We ran one of our friends home and finished with another lap and a cool down.

Laps are just under 1km

Tuesday was pretty much a write off. Husband bought us a new t.v on the Black Friday weekend and delivery was scheduled for today, but the window was ridiculous, 9-5. Seriously,  who sits around the entire day waiting for a delivery. I was rather disappointed as he had bought the television from Costco and I would expect better service.  I decided to use this day as a catchup day and rest. However, I got restless and ended up running for an hour slowly on the treadmill while watching Netflix. The delivery ended up being a complete mess and we would never recommend Costco for this service again.

Wednesday was a gorgeous day..

Sunrise

My buddy was free for a run so we met up for a quick easy run on road and trails of Milne Park

Rouge River

Milne Park

It was quite wet and soggy as the trails did not have a lot of traffic in parts. We ended up forging our way off the trails for part of our run.

We also discovered bike repair/aid stations that the City of Markham had placed at certain trail heads entering the paved parts of the trails. The stations had tools as well as a bicycle pump for anyone to use free of charge.

Fixit Station

Thursday was to be an easy day but I just had to take advantage of having the week off, so I was able to convince a buddy of mine to meet up with me for an easy 10km.  Have I mentioned that this awesome run buddy is a grandma in her 60's and can run the pants off of me. I was struggling to keep pace with her. I would have considered this my tempo run :)

Friday was long run 1 of 2. The training plan calls for 15 miles. We had decided that it would equate to about 3-3.5 hours in the trails. We headed back up to Durham Forest to explore the trails. As we were running through the trails, we commented on how lucky we were to actually live so close (20 minutes drive) to some of these trails that we run in.

It was the coldest day of the week on Friday and I was not sure how to dress as it was the first super cold day of this training cycle.  

Felt much Colder

The trails were covered in snow, but there were bike tracks that we were able to follow along to the section markers.  My toes were frozen and all I could think about was whether or not to tell my friends. I figure they were just as cold as I was and since they didn't say anything.  All I could think about was what would happen if my toes froze... would I have to amputate them?  Thank goodness after 4 km's of running before I could start feeling my toes again.  The trails were quiet and we only bumped into 1 cyclist.

Fat Bike Treads

We found new trails that we had not run in before and ended up a the base of a local ski resort. If you look closely at the map, you can make out 2 ski resorts on the right side. The ski resorts had their snow making machines working hard to get ready for a weekend of skiing.  Tough run and was exhausted when we finally finished.

That evening the run squad had our Christmas get together. We got to just chill and relax. I've been so blessed to have met these ladies. We have spent many miles pounding the pavement and exploring trails. I am lucky to call them my friends.  It was so nice to be able just to catch up and chat since most of the times I'm trying to keep up with them and barely able to speak because I'm so out of breath.

Missing a few Ladies

Saturday, I was up nice and early to get in long run number 2; 11 miles.  My buddy picked me up at 5:30 and we were off to start in the dark. It was actually a bit warmer than Friday's run, but not by much. The light snow was pretty, but my legs didn't want to move at all. My buddy and I usually run the road which is a pretty big hill for about an hour to kill some time while the sun comes up.

Rouge River

Fresh Snow

Hair is frozen

Are we done yet???

Sunrise and Stairs

This run was actually really nice with the fresh snowfall. Even though my legs were toast, my buddy was nice enough to keep the pace and keep me moving. The whole idea of having the 2 back to back long runs is to run on tired legs and I was definitely feeling it today. All I wanted to do was to walk, but we both had to be home at 8:30 to get to our mom duties, so I had to get moving.

After a day of driving the kids to all their weekend activities, we headed out to Rockwood to another Christmas party.  I was so happy to be done with Week 4 of this training cycle that I just ended up passing out by 9pm. Thank goodness for sleepover parties where you can just eat, drink and fall asleep.

Kids and Ugly Sweaters

Mom's 

Dad's

Finished week 4 with 72.86 km, 2 Christmas parties and a full belly. Vacation is now done and back to work next week. Mileage will go down as I will be flying for 2 days out of the week.

How was your week? Do you run in cold weather? Do you like it? Anyone racing this week?

Thanks for reading... :)

Wet Start to Ultra Training Cycle

I was surprised that training was starting this week. I thought that I had a few more weeks to slack off and take it easy, but here we are.  My friends and I have been running  trails leading up to this week. After training and racing two ultras with me, they are helping me through another training cycle.  They are doing what they can to help me succeed at the Antelope Canyon 50 Miler.  I am lucky to have my friends to train with me an race this with me in the Spring os 2019.

My job takes me away to foreign destinations where I have to adjust my training.  My friends try to accommodate my schedule if possible so that we can do our long runs together.  

This week I was flying to Hong Kong which meant that I would be away for 3 days out of the week.

Monday, I was able to run with 10 km with my friends L and K. K had just returned from racing the Chicago Marathon a few weeks ago so it was nice to catch up with her.  Did I mention that she's in her 60's and an Ironman Finisher. 

Tuesday morning I head out bright and early to the airport after helping hubs get the kids ready for school. This week, I was off to  Hong Kong, which means I usually get no running/activity completed for the day as the flight is 15 hours and with the time change, I am landing in Hong Kong Wednesday afternoon the next day.

Wednesday late afternoon I get into my hotel room after the 15 hour flight and pass out. I had set my alarm to wake up and head to the track for some speed work or the gym, but neither happened.  When I finally got up, the guilt set in from in activity. I have some workout videos saved on my iPad and I did a quick 30 minute Insanity session in my room and then was out for the count.

Thursday morning I wake up and head out to Lion Rock Country Park for a trail run. Hong Kong has an extensive trail system that I discovered last year as I was training for the 100km race. I was thrilled to find out about all the trails. I have been flying to Hong Kong for over 15 years and had never gone into the trails. Hong Kong is very lush and surrounded by mountain. With the help of the Internet, I was able to discover many routes.

The Lion Rock hike is the closest to my hotel and is easy to get to. It takes me about 30 minutes on public transportation to get there.  The trail section I do is about 8 km and 469 m in elevation.  When I first did this route, it took me over 2 hours to complete. Every time I go there now, I try to beat my previous time.  This trail has A LOT of stairs.  The first time on the trail, I was with a fellow crew member and we saw wild boars. This time, I had to wait for 2 monkeys to get off the path and let me  pass. Weather was nice but still got my sweat on. Then head back to the hotel, shower and get back on the plane home to Toronto.

We landed in Toronto Thursday night to Toronto's first big snow storm for this season.  The captain had said "a little dusting of snow", but he was wrong.  By Friday morning, the Toronto area had accumulated 11 cm of snow.

Snow on the Plane Parked Beside Us.

Friday morning, I picked up my friend K to the mechanic to drop off my car to have the winter tires installed. We dropped the car off and went for a run. I had to run 25 km and she was going to keep me company for 15 km of it.  The weather was terrible. It was still snowing from the night before. The snow was wet and heavy, perfect for making snowmen, but not ideal for running.  Not all the roads or sidewalks had been plowed.   We ran on both the sidewalks and the road hoping to avoid all the wet, slushy snow.  Some of the sidewalks were light plowed and some parts were snow covered. It was like running in quick sand. When we went onto the roads, it was wet. The snow had either melted or was driven over so much that it was all slush and with every passing car or bus we were getting soaked.  Within the first 10km, both of our feet and shoes were soaked. I ran K home at 15 km and finished a l0 km loop to the mechanic to pick up my car finishing at 25 km. It worked out quick well.

Saturday morning , the crew came out for 15 km run. The roads were finally dry after snowy day the day before. It was nice to run with dry feet and the gang to keep the conversations going.

I was treated to a girls night out Saturday evening.  We went to the theatre to watch Ain't to Proud, a musical about the life of The Tempations and the music of Motown. It was a great show and the performance were spectacular.

Sunday - Rest day

Total mileage -  61.7 km

How was your week?  Do you have any races you're training for?

Ultra Training.. the good, bad and ugly

My running lately seems be feel Groundhog Day. I feel like I've been running everyday and for endless miles. This is most likely because I've been immersed in training for my first ultra in March. My family has had to endure me waking up a ridiculous hours on weekends to get my long runs in. I've spent my layovers sleeping, eating, and running.

I have tried to incorporate more strength training to build strength to help me be a stronger runner/athlete overall.  But there never seems enough time in the day to fit it all in.

If it's one thing I learned so far in my 2 months of training for an ultra is that you really need to organize your time well. I am a working mom with 2 young kids and a job that requires me to travel.  I have had to squeeze in as much of the training in when I can along with keeping up with all the other responsibilities I have.  

The training has taken over all my free time. I am dressed to go for a run as I take my kids to school,  then off to run errands in my running clothes.  I have cooked dinner in my running gear and many times not gotten to the shower until the end of day.  I have gone through many pairs of socks. I can barely recognize my feet and I think I will be losing a few more toenails along the way. I am constantly doing laundry. 

I started training in December with my buddies and I finished the month with 317 km.  We just finished month 2 (January) with 330 km. I am pretty sure that I have never ran this much in all my years of training for my races.  As of today, I have run over 560 km. I am happy to say that I am still able to walk and not hobbling around my house.  The foam roller is my best friend as well as my cabinet full of oils and elixers.

One of the best things that has gotten me through all this training so far are the strong ladies that I am training with. No matter what the weather is, we run OUTSIDE!!! I have run in snow storms, wind storms, my feet and shoes have been soaked through, splashed by buses, and yelled at by drivers.  I relish in any day where the temperature has been about -10. I however have been able to get in a few runs while I am away at work. Although I am jet lagged, I try to get out and squeeze in a run just because I do not have to wear 3 layers, gloves, and wool socks.

So far I have learned to try to stick with the training plan and if things don't work out, relax and let it go. I have had to get used to running back to back long runs. It doesn't always work out for me as my work gets in the way. I used to think having to get one long run a week was tough, trying getting in two. I had my first 100km+ week which has NEVER happened. I haven't gotten any faster by any means, but I think I am getting stronger. I still battle with negative thoughts before many of my runs and contemplate giving up most days. But having to be accountable to my pals has gotten me to pull myself together and forge on.

Thanks for reading... have a great week.

Any tips for getting through those dark moments when you just want to give up? 

Ultra , Why Not?

I had met a wonderful group of running moms a few years ago and started running with them on and off early last year. At first, I was afraid to run with them as most of them are experienced runners, Boston qualifiers with tons of races under their belts.  I had a lot of self doubt and didn't want to be "that" slow one, or the one that they had to wait for.   But we all had a few things in common, the love of running and love for our family.  When I first met them, we were all training for a range of distances from half marathons to ultra marathons. I was inspired by their many stories and found myself wanting to run with them.

I spent this past year training with alongside them. I was training for my full and they were training for 100 miler and 100 km races. We spent many runs together chatting and getting to know each other. It had become my therapy to meet with these women from all walks of life and just run and forget about all that was going on in our busy lives for that couple of hours we were out for our long runs.

My 2016 racing season did not go as planned. I spent many days after my fall marathon thinking about all that went wrong and how to do it better for 2017. After a few weeks of feeling sorry for myself, I decided to try something new.  They were nothing but supportive when I asked if they would be interested in running my first ultra marathon with me. I had heard all about their previous races and was just dying to try something new. They were both experienced trail runners and had done a few ultras in the past, so I knew that I would be in good hands.

My buddies had given me a criteria for me when I was looking up races. They did not want to train in the Canadian summer which meant I had to find a Spring race, no races that are just in the forest,  they wanted something with breath taking views and nothing in Utah. We decided on the Monument Valley 50 Mile Race for 2017. I have days where I'm super excited, but most days I try not to think about it, because I am freaking out.

So tomorrow we start our training. ....




Thanks for reading...

Have you ever run and Ultra Marathon?

If so where?

Any Tips for this Newbie??