Midsummer Night's 30K Race

I had signed up for the Midsummer Night's Run in January knowing that this distance would help me prepare for the full marathon in the October. Up until the race, I had never run more than 22 kilometres.

I had registered for this race a few years ago but downgraded to walking the 15K because of injuries. This year I was pumped and excited to tackle the 30 kilometre distance.

My commemorative "Mortal Pin" for the total
distance I've completed

I had started carb loading mid week as I wanted to make sure I had enough fuel to get me through the race. My run buddy came over the night before to pick up her bib and have a few drinks with me. We figured the race was the next evening, so a few glasses of wine would be fine. Plus, it helped with our nerves as we planed our outfits and game plan for the race.

This race was an evening race, so I wasn't quite sure what to do. I decided to try to eat clean throughout the day and not eat anything greasy as it would probably upset my stomach. I was also trying to detox from the wine from the night before.

The race was moved to Toronto Island this  year due to construction on the originally planned course. We set out early to head downtown to park the car and over to catch the ferry to the Island. It's a good thing we got there early as it was PACKED with people who were going over to run the race as well as people who were just heading to the island for the day. 

It was a gorgeous evening for the race. As soon as we docked, we dashed for the closest washrooms and got changed for the race.  After asking a few volunteers, we found the start line and placed ourselves in the pace groups that we were hoping to finish in. I was a ball of nerves. I had never run this distance before and was so afraid that my legs would give out. My stomach was in knots, but it was too late. I decided that I was going to finish no matter what it took out of me.

Our Before shot

I placed myself with in the 3:15 pace group and hoped for the best. I was not sure how long it would take me to finish the 30K, but I was really hoping for a 3 hour finish. When the gun went off, I took off with a good steady pace, but also knowing that I had to really pace myself to last the entire distance. I had also decided to only carry gels and depend on the water stations for water. I caught up with the 3:00 pace group in the first 5 kilometres and stuck with them for a little while, but the group was rather large, so I picked it up a bit and found 2 lovely ladies that were running at a good steady pace and stuck with them for most of the race.

Gorgeous view of the lake

"Toronto Seawall"

The race info had said that we would be running on several different surfaces and to "BE PREPARED!" As you can see from my photo above, we ended up running on a wooden boardwalk along the beautiful waterfront. The view was great but I can't say the same about the wooden planks. Every time another runner stepped on a plank it would bounce. We also ran on pavement, grass and some sand. I guess I can't say I wasn't forewarned. 

The layout of the race was basically a few loops of the island. I actually ran on that wooden boardwalk 3 times. Thank goodness with each loop, there were fewer runners. I kept a steady pace between 5:30 and 6:00 km/hour.  Somehow around the 15 km mark, I lost both my elastics holding my pigtails together. I spent the most part of the next few kilometres asking every female volunteer for and elastic. Finally my "elastic" fairy came to my rescue, a course marshal at the 25km mark tossed me her elastic as I ran by her. She definitely made my race. I would almost consider that a wardrobe malfunction. I have learned that I will always run with extra elastics on my wrists.

Caught checking my pace

After the second loop of the island, I ran up to a split where the race marshals asked if we were at the 22 or 29 kilometre mark. I sadly was only at the 22 mark and knew that I had to do 1 more final loop. ARGH!!!  My Garmin said 2:09, so I knew that if I picked up my feet, I could get my sub 3:00 finish. So, I dug deep for the last few kilometres. Grabbed my last gel, sucked it back and gave it all I had.

My Huge Medal
2:52 Finish

My Splits from my Garmin

5.03 km   - 29:32

10.09 km - 1:00

15 km      - 1:28

20.16km  - 1:58

25.06 km - 2:25

30 km      - 2:52

Gunning for the finish

Have a great weekend.

Thanks for reading... feel free to say hello and leave a comment.

How do you prepare nutritionally for a night race?

Do you carry water for your races?

What do you like to use for fuel during races or long runs?

I love their Race Shirt and the back said
"Mind over Matter"

Lululemon Seawheeze Half Marathon

The Lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon is a fairly new race, but very popular as it sold out in a few weeks of registration opening up.  This was the second year for the event which takes place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

I headed out early Thursday with my kids, cousin and mom in tow to the airport as we were flying standby to Vancouver. I will have to write another post on the adventures of travelling standby another day. We eventually made it to Vancouver after almost 24 hours of being up.

The package pickup/expo was on Friday  and features a "showcase store". Lululemon sets up a store with limited edition SeaWheeze themed clothing. I had hoped to head out to the SeaWheeze expo/showcase bright and early, but since the kids went to bed at 3am PST, there was no was I was going to try to wake them up at 7 to head out. My little guy was also burning hot with a fever.  It turns out he had Roseola. 

Thank goodness for social media as I found out an old friend from high school had also flown in to run the race as well and was able to connect with her. We kept in touch as she was on her way to packet pickup and was able to give me the details of the ridiculous line to get into the Vancouver Convention Centre to pick up her bib and the "showcase store". She told me that the line was around the building and that there was no separate line for the runners. I was rather disappointed to hear this as I had hoped that they would have a special line for runners. I heard that people had started lining up at 4 am to get first dibs on the limited edition clothing and many of these people were not even running the race. I'm sure I will see many of the clothes on eBay. I decided to wait until later in the day to go pick up my packet in hopes that the lines would die down. She told me that it took her 1 hour from start to finish to get her bib. I think this was appalling!! I was not going to drag my kids to wait an hour to pick up my bib. I hope Lululemon will resolve this matter for future races.

I decided to take my kids to the Vancouver Aquarium instead and wait out the lines for package pickup. It was a huge hit with my daughter. I highly recommend visiting the aquarium as it it right inside Stanley Park and is easy to get around and see all the animals and exhibits. I went to pick up my packet after the aquarium and there were no lines, but the showcase store was pretty depleted. They had sold out most items in my size, so I left empty handed.

Instead of bibs, all the runners got an all access wristband to the events that they had planned for us. They had yoga on the beach and an awesome concert the evening after the race.

I woke up bright and early race day to overcast skies and a very sick baby. I felt guilty for leaving him with my mom, but I had decided that I was going to aim for my sub 2:00 half marathon. Thank goodness for moms and baby Advil.

Ready to go, Olympic cauldron behind me

I tried to work my way up to the 2:00 pacers, but was met by walls of people. There were over 10,000 people running the race.  I finally wedged myself right in front of the 2:10 pace group.  In the midst of me rushing out of the hotel and worrying about my sick baby, I had forgotten to grab the pace band that I had made for the race. Luckily, I had my iPhone and was able to pull up the split times that I would need to get my 2:00 hour finish. I quickly memorized the splits and waited to start.

Heading into Stanley Park

I didn't take many pictures during this run as I was aiming for my sub 2:00 finish. I don't think I took my phone out until after 13km. I had been told by one or the staff (Thanks Tara) at my local Lululemon store who had run this race last year to enjoy the view and that the cheering squads were going to be amazing and she was right. I was quite surprised to see all the people out cheering the runners on. There were some awesome drag queens at a top of a pretty steep hill yelling at us to make it to the top. Musical acts, acrobats, a young girls cheer squad, lots of Lululemon staff, BMO Vancouver Marathon people cheering, people on boats in the water yelling from megaphones to motivate us, and even people on paddle boards. I was rather overwhelmed by all the positive energy.

The fuel stations were amazing. There was water, Vega energizer drinks and endurance gels, as well as bananas and oranges. This race had the best fuelling stations I have ever had in all the races I have run.

The nice KM markers on the road

The race course was absolutely stunning. We started by running through parts of downtown Vancouver and eventually onto the Seawall. The weather was perfect as it was not too hot or cold and a bit overcast. A few raindrops fell during the early parts of the race but stopped. I was never able to find the 2:00 pacer, but kept to the times that I had memorized while standing in the start coral. I felt that I was pretty strong and with the new marathon plan I had from my coach, I was going to give it my all.  I finished under my 2:00 goal.

My Splits from my Garmin

5.05 km - 28:40

10.04km -  57:30

15.03 km- 1:25

20.04 km - 1:52

21.25 km - 1:58

My sweet Swag

I must say Lululemon put on a FANTASTIC race weekend. It was not just a race, but a fun filled weekend. I wish I had dragged some girlfriends with me as this would have been the perfect event.  Even though the line up was long at the expo, they handed out Popsicles and goodies to those waiting in line. Lululemon had scheduled yoga on the beach and a huge party afterwards in the park with a concert and more yoga. There were manicures and pedicures and tattoo booths.  The swag was great as you get a pair of Lululemon running shorts and a nice canvas bag that was used for bag check. Vega was sponsor for all the fuelling throughout the race, which was a bonus for me as I love their products. The medal is one of a kind as you can see from my photos. They set up photo booths afterwards for all runners to take photos to put into their "medals".

There were free massages and an awesome brunch after the race.  All finishers were given a Saje runners reward package with their Peppermint Halo and Pain Release oils AND Skullcandy earbuds.

Surprise! It's a locket 

The Medal 

Post Race shot taken by my daughter, rocking
my Lululemon Outfit

I highly recommend this race to everyone. Vancouver is a beautiful city and the SeaWheeze is definitely one of the best races I have ever ran. I was not able to take part in any of the things/events that were set up as my little one was sick, but I hope to go back next year with some friends and rock this race again.

What is your favourite race that you have run?

Have a great weekend.

I am a TOUGH MUDDER!!!

Well, this past Friday I packed the family up and we drove down to Rochester to stay with our friends who had convinced me to partake in Tough Mudder. I couldn't believe that July 27 was finally here. We had signed up nearly 8 months ago and it seemed like we had a lifetime to prepare.  When I signed up, I thought that I would be able to strength train and prepare but it just never happened. I figured that I was on maternity leave and would have oodles of time. Duh, what was I thinking.

My other concern was that I am still nursing my son and have not completely weaned him. He just turned 10 months and I cannot believe how fast the time is flying by. I had calculated that I would be away from him for at least 7-8 hours. I decided to try to get him onto a bottle a week before and luckily for me he took the bottle. This also makes me happy because now I can actually do the long runs that are planned in my training plan without fearing that he will starve at home waiting for me to run home and nurse him.

Tough Mudder Buffalo was located in Andover, NY. It was a gorgeous scenic drive to the ATV park where the event was to take place. It is billed the be 'Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet'. With this in mind, I was nervous and anxious to see what was ahead. My 5 friends and I had gone over the course map briefly the night before. All I knew was that there was 11+ miles that we had to cover with 15 muddy obstacles in between.

To start of the event, we had to scale a 6 foot wall just to get into the starting bay which they waited to be filled up with all the participants that were starting in our wave. Once we got all in, we were given a very motivational speech and reminded the its "not a race. It is about camaraderie and helping your fellow team members complete the race and get to the finish line".

It was an overcast day with rain clouds hovering. As soon as the horn went off, we were off.

My team and I taking off, we were so eager and CLEAN!

Obstacle 1 - Blades of Glory
After running for 1.5 miles we came up to our first obstacle.  We had to get over 2 sets of 8 foot walls that are angled towards you. Thank goodness we had the guys to help give the girls a boost. I really should have worked on doing more chin ups 

Obstacle 2- Kiss of Mud
Our first mud obstacle got us down right dirty. We had to crawl commando-style in the mud under barbed wire that was set 8 inches from the ground. This one made me think of my little guy because he will only crawl in this position. Other than getting muddy, I didn't mind this one so much.

Obstacle 3 - Funky Monkey
Just before mile 3 we came up to the monkey bars. But, these are no ordinary monkey bars. You need to do them over pool of muddy water. I loved monkey bars as a kid, but that was many eons ago. I tried to wipe off a much mud off my hands as possible and surprisingly, I made it all the way across.

Obstacle 4 - Walk the Plank
This one was a tough one for me. You are required to jump off a 15 foot platform into dark muddy water. I had never been afraid of heights until I had kids. It took me a few attempts before I actually took the plunge. I had thought that I would touch the bottom of the mud pool, but never did. It seemed like forever before I came up for air.  Even our friend who couldn't swim jumped. Thank goodness, he brought a life vest.  But now my shoes were soaked and we still had 7 more miles of running to do.

Obstacle 5 - Electric Eel
This obstacle came up shortly after mile 5 where once again we had to get onto our bellies and crawl and slide our way through more muddy water with electric shock wires dangling about you similar to the kiss of mud. I tried to go slowly avoid the live wires which carry as much as 10,000 volts of electric shock. However, it was unavoidable. I was shocked on my arms and legs as I was trying to climb out of the mud. OUCH, it was not pleasant.

Obstacle 6 - Mud Mile
Dirty, dirty, dirty. It is exactly as it sounds. We had to climb over 5 mounds of mud to land into waste deep pools of mud. I ripped a pretty large hole in my bottom area of my pants on mud hill #2 and scraped my leg on hill #3 and then decided to skip the last 2 hills. After the mud hills, we continued running for a mile through the muddy woods. It was muddy trail running with lots of up and down hills.

My awesome team mates, Love her goggles.
 I'm wearing pink in the back

Obstacle 7 - Warrior Carry
This was one of the easier ones. Our group of 6 split into 2 teams of 3 and carried 1 person each. It's nice that we had a team so that we could pair up.

Obstacle 8 - Arctic Enema
This was a deep plunge into a FREEZING pool of ice water. Once you are in the water, you have to submerge yourself under a wooden plank before you can jump out on the other side. The water was SO SO SO cold. I could barely get out and felt my legs tingle as I was finally out.

My team and I after climbing out of Arctic Enema
As you can see from my face. I am NOT a happy camper

Obstacle 9 - Hold your Wood
This is pretty much what is sounds like. We had the choice of carrying a large stump of wood or a heavy log on the course for about 1/2 a mile. I paired up with a teammate and picked large heavy log and hoisted it onto our shoulders and marched on. It sounds and looked easy, but I was ready to drop that log when I saw the drop off point. 

Obstacle 10 -  Cage Crawl
This was another water obstacle and not for ones fear confined spaces. I had to flip onto my back and pull myself across 60 feet of cage with only 6 inches of breathing room. It wasn't so bad as the bottom of the mud water was lined with plastic, I just held on as tight as I could to the cage and dragged myself to the end.

Obstacle 11 - Boa Constrictor
This is another one that is not for those who are claustrophobic as you are required to crawl through a plastic tube on your stomach into a more muddy water and then crawl back into another dark tube and crawl your way out to the light. The guy behind me must have been in a rush because I could feel his head bumping into my feet every time I made a move to crawl out.

Obstacle 12 - Mystery Obstacle
This one was unexpected and we had no idea what we were going to face. As we got closer to the obstacle, I could hear banging noises. We were directed to run through 2 freight containers (the ones you see on 18 wheeler trucks) as we were running through them all  we could hear was the loud banging noises and was not sure what it was coming from until we exited the last container and saw our obstacle. We had to jump over a series of 5 plastic barricades while tennis balls machines were being fired at us. It was the tennis balls hitting the side of the container that was making all the noise. I ran as fast as I could to each barricade and hurdled myself over trying not to get hit with the tennis balls.  I lucked out and made it through without getting hit, but a little bit bruised up from banging into the barricades.

Obstacle 13 - Berlin Walls
This one was another team effort obstacle. With the help of our teammates, we had to get over a two 12 foot wooden walls. Thank goodness we had guys on our team. I'm not sure if we would have made it over without the extra boost.

Obstacle 14 - Everest
This obstacle is near the end of the course and it was starting to rain as we approached. Everest looks like a skateboarders half-pipe wall. You have to run up the slippery, muddy wall and try to make it to the top with the help of your team mates and the volunteers at the top to pull you up. I was very undecided about this obstacle as I have to run a half marathon in 2 weeks and did not want to injure my knees, so I decided to walk around. Maybe next time I will try it out. I am so proud that all my teammates made it to the top

Obstacle 15 - Electroshock Therapy
This was the last obstacle before the finish line and is it what it sounds like. You have to run through a muddy, hilly field of live wires, some carrying as much as 10,000 volts of electric shock. I opted out of this one as well. I didn't like being shocked in electric eel and this one was going to be bad. 

Our husband and wife teammates are so sweet,
they held hands through it all

As we crossed the finish line, we were rewarded with the Tough Mudder signature orange headband, a finisher shirt, a cold beer and most of all the overwhelming pride of having finished "Probably the Toughest Event of the Planet".

Overall, it was a great day. The rain held off until the very end which made trying to clean all the mud off a little difficult. The course was VERY muddy and quite hilly in parts. I did see a few people get taken off the course in stretchers for various injuries. I saw many people off the the side stretching their legs and dealing with leg cramps. The Tough Mudder event is definitely a hard event. Many of the obstacles are mentally and physically challenging.  I would recommend it to anyone who was looking for something fun and challenging, but please do train for it. My running helped me get through the course quite easily, but a bit more upper body strength training would have helped more. I would suggest wearing clothes that you don't mind throwing out as you will be completely submerged in mud and your clothes may tear or rip on the obstacles. Covering your knees and elbows will help with the crawling obstacles and for my friends that can't swim, a life jacket will come in handy. Some of my team mates had gloves and goggles. Expect to get a few bumps and bruises along the way.

A huge thank you to my friends for sticking with me to the very end. A big thank you to the Ng's for hosting us and for buying all these awesome photos. Way to go team CanAm Mudders. Looking forward to another Tough Mudder.

Team CanAm Mudders

Have you ever completed a Tough Mudder event? Would you?

Have you done any other "muddy" type of obstacle events?

Have a great day !

iRun 42.2

I got some exciting news this week. I was selected to take part in iRun 42.2 program. I am super excited as I have been training with my run buddy for a marathon in the fall and now I am truly committed.  With the iRun program, I will get a personalized training program designed by coach Rick Hellard from Zone3sports and entry into the Toronto Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon this October.

I had started training 9 weeks ago with my own marathon training plan. I just received my personalized plan from coach Rick yesterday and will now shift over to what he has planned for me. I have noticed that my original plan was based on distance and my 'new' plan is based on timed runs.

We have been dealing with an extreme heat alert in the city this week with temperatures in the high 30's going up to 40's with the humidity. For all my friends using the Fahrenheit system, it means 100's. YIKES!! It has been hard to get out and run with the air being SO hot. I have been staring out my window for the sun to go down so that I can run. My friends think I'm nuts, but I am more committed than ever now to nail this marathon training down.

I am also gearing up for Tough Mudder next weekend. I don't know where the time went. I still remember when I registered in January thinking about how much time I had to train for this crazy event, and it's now a week away. I have been so busy thinking about marathon training that I have not been able to do much strength training for Tough Mudder. I pray that I will survive the course.

We are having out of town visitors this weekend, so I am trying to figure out how I will be able to squeeze in my runs while entertaining and taking care of my two young kids.

Runs logged for this week

Monday - 5 K
Tuesday - 10K
Wednesday - Strength training
Today - 45 minutes of running planned

Are you training for any races?

How do you train? Do you train in distance or time?

Any advice for trying to squeeze my runs in?

Have a great week!!

Sick AGAIN!!!

Yes, I am still sick, but this time with a nagging cough and cold. I was thinking that I was recovering well from the hand, foot, mouth virus and then I end up with a sore throat and an unforgiving cough last week. I finally dragged myself to see the doctor today to confirm that I have a sinus infection as well as a swollen throat from all the coughing.  ARGH!!! Thank goodness for drugs.

I am now coming to the end of week 8 of my marathon training plan and so far, so good. My knees started to ache a little at the end of week 7, so I took out my KT Tape and taped them up for my long run last Sunday and a few of my runs at the beginning of this week.

Love the pretty colours 

I was lucky enough to get outside for all my runs this week and 2 were with the baby. I think he's starting to enjoy the runs with me.

The gorgeous views

It has been quite a challenge to run with my cough, but it's been too nice to pass up a good run outdoors. With each week that is coming up, the mileage is increasing to numbers that I am not used to running. I now understand how much this sport is a mental challenge as much as it is a physical challenge.  I look forward to my long run tomorrow and look forward to writing about it.

Have a great weekend!

How do you deal with the mental aspect of running? 

Have you ever hit a wall in your training?

OUCH.. Hand, Foot Mouth!

For all of you who have never heard of hand, foot, mouth disease, I highly suggest you go and Google it. My little guy caught the awful virus from who knows where and passed it onto me.  In one of my last posts, I had mentioned that he was sick. Well, we figured out what it was after I had the blisters all over my feet and a few on my hands.

The blisters burned and covered my feet which made week 5 of training quite painful. I'm one of those people that can take quite a bit of pain, but this was a tough one. I had to adjust my training days to accommodate my poor feet. I also ran the Color Me Rad 5K at the end of week 5, so I wanted to let my feet heal for that race.

A nice reminder I got this week

This past week was week 6 of the training plan and was a rest week, with a total of 42km to run before I start building up more mileage. I found this week to be the hardest so far and I couldn't figure out why. I guess you can't always have great runs. Every run this week seemed to drag on and I just couldn't get my spirits up. I finally felt better yesterday during my long run. I'm hoping that this week will pick up. 

I'm also learning to like my treadmill as I am doing most of my tempo runs on the treadmill.  I like to do my tempo runs on the treadmill as it keeps the speed at a steady pace. I was able to find a great treadmill cheat sheet to help me figure out what settings to use when I'm on the treadmill. It changed my life :)  

Long Run Sunday

As I am heading into week 7 of my training plan, I am excited at scared as the mileage will be increasing every week from now until the week before the marathon. I hope my body will be able to keep up with it and not break down. 

I was very excited this week to have gotten 7 other my friends to commit and sign up for the Niagara Fall's Women's Half Marathon next June, 2014. They thought I was crazy when I sent out the email, but there was an early bird special and I told them that they will each get a bottle of wine in their swag bag. It will be a first for a few of them, so I am super excited for all of them.  

Did you race this weekend? 

Have you ever been in a running slump? How did you get out of it?

Have a Great week!

Alice

Color Me Rad 5K

When I found out Color Me Rad was coming to Toronto, I quickly signed up onto their mailing list and waited for notification. I signed up as soon as I got the email notification and told all my friends to sign up as well, sadly it sold out in a matter of days and only 4 of us were able to get a bib.

Getting our Rad on

At the start line

Equipped with the sunglasses that was in our swag bag and whatever white clothing we could find, wee all headed down to the race on a muggy overcast Saturday. Rain drops started to fall as we pulled into the parking lot. We were all hoping that the rain would hold off until the run was over.

So what is Color me Rad all about. Well, it is a fun run. There is a main stage area with an emcee and great music blasting away. People are cheering while color bombs are being tossed into the crowd. It is not chipped which means that it is not timed. The race is for all ages. I saw parents pushing strollers and babies in carriers. There were lots of families young and old. As I had said, it is not timed, so do not expect people to be "racing". It is a 5 kilometre distance with color stations spread throughout where volunteers will toss/throw/spray colored powder or coloured water at you. Most people slowed down, if not stopped at these stations to get covered in colour and take pictures.

Group shot after.. need I say more

We did end up getting rained on for part of the race which made the colors quite vibrant and definitely stuck to our clothes. If you are looking for a fun day out and willing to get a little dirty, I would highly recommend this run. It's for EVERYONE, especially anyone who is new to running. 

At the end of the race everyone was given one color packet to bring to the main stage area to throw into the crowd at the same time. They also threw out Color Me Rad swag out into the participants. I nicknamed this the color mosh pit as people were crazy. I lasted only a few minutes before I was covered in more colored powder. My friends stayed in the pit, danced, cheered and were able to catch some race swag.

Overall, it was an awesome race. Check them out here for a location near you.

In the color mosh pit

Have you ever done a color race?

Happy Father's Day - Week 4 Recap

Happy Father's Day to my dad, hubby and all the other dads out there. I hope you all had a wonderful day!

What started out to be an uneventful week has turned into a full on busy week. The hubs was let go from his job as his company was bought out by a bigger company and then sold. A day later my youngest started getting sick. I thought it was a growth spurt, but then he stopped eating. We ended up in the ER with my little guy to find out that his mouth was full of sores and quite dehydrated. Now it made sense to why he was not eating. My heart ached to see him in so much pain.

The weather is finally starting to look up. I started the week with a 5.63km run with baby in the jogging stroller as it was too nice to be stuck inside. The last time I took him out, he cried for quite a bit of my run, so I decided to wait and try to figure out when would be a good time to take him out.

Since he got sick, he was very cranky and off his regular schedule. I figured the best thing for him and I was to get outside for some fresh air. I ended up doing all my runs with him in the jogging stroller. He was probably too high on his pain medication to fuss and was quite happy on most of the runs.

Today was my long run and I was not sure how he would do. I timed it so that he had just had some food and was ready for a nap. He lasted the entire 15 km's with a short nap and no fussing.  I'm hoping that he will continue to enjoy my runs with me. I love running outside and pushing the stroller has made me work harder and hopefully I will be faster without the stroller. I look forward to week 5 and possibly some more stroller runs.

Long Run Sunday

Week 4 Recap

Tuesday - 5.63 km

Wednesday - 5k Tempo

Friday - 14.08 km

Saturday - 8.18km

Sunday 15.04 km

Total 48 kms All done with the jogging stroller except  for the Tempo run

Are you training for any races?

Did you race this weekend?

Zola Coconut Water Review

I have always loved coconut products, so when the opportunity came up to review Zola for Fit Approach/Sweat Pink, I jumped at the opportunity.  They sent 3 full size bottles. Two were coconut water and one was their Acai original juice.

I have been using coconut water in my smoothies and have also used them alone to replenish after exercising. Did you know that coconut water is full of electrolytes?? It's funny, but I actually didn't know that until I started running. I just liked coconut products. I like to have my coconut water cold, so I threw them into the fridge and went for a quick run. 

The sizes of the cans are very generous at 520ml. The first one I tried was the one with pulp as I like pulp in my juices. The coconut water was very refreshing and easy to digest. The taste is not very strong and quite light with no after taste. I liked large size however it would be nice if I was in a resealable bottle instead of a can. I liked the coconut pieces (pulp) that was at the bottom. I used a straw to get out all the pulp.

I tried the natural coconut water a few days later after another run and it was just as good as the one with pulp. This time I only drank half the can and saved the rest for my smoothies. I have tried a number of different brands and I must say this is one of my favourites. I like the portion sizes, not too big and not too small. I usually buy mine in one litre size tetra packs. I can pack the Zola cans into a cooler for summer activities and they fit right in my cup holder in the car.  I gave some to my 4 year old to try and she also gave it a thumbs up.

I tried the Organic Acai juice last with my 4 year old. She liked this the most as it was quite sweet with a bit of tartness. I mixed mine with some of the coconut water. Acai berries are loaded with tons of antioxidants, so its a win win for everyone.  I like that this product is organic, gluten and  GMO free and 100% vegan.

I highly recommend using coconut water to rehydrate and if you're not a fan of coconut water, I say give the Zola Coconut water a try as the taste is very subtle and not overpowering.  Thanks to Sweat Pink and Zola for the yummy Coconut Water and Acai Juice!

*Disclaimer I was given products to sample and all opinions on this blog post are my own and I was not paid or required to give a particular opinion

Have you tried coconut water or acai juice?

What's your favourite post-exercise drink?

What's your favourite brand?

The O course Recap - Uh Rah!

I convinced a few of my friends that will be participating in Tough Mudder with me to try out  The O Course this past Saturday. It is a military style obstacle course in Toronto designed by former US Marine drill instructor Sgt. Tony A., based on actual U.S. Marine Corps fitness training. It says on the website that all fitness levels welcome.  I figured that since it was not too far from home it would be good for us to test our physical abilities.

Other than running, I have not done much upper body strength training. Does carrying my 20lb baby all day long count?   My cousin works with The O Course and reassured me that I would be fine. However, I was still very nervous.

The weather was perfect on Saturday, a little overcast and the rain clouds were holding back. When we arrived we were each given a "rifle", a 4x4 piece of wood to keep with us for most of the course. After signing all the paper work and waiting for all participants to arrive, Tony A. and his crew bellowed out over the megaphone to line up rows for the warm up to begin.

The 45 minute warm up was INTENSE. We started out by holding out our arms out like a T for what seemed like a lifetime then doing circles and other variations. My head was spinning from the burning in my shoulders. We did burpees, jump squats, lunges, jumping jacks, and push ups. He then had us line up at the end of the soccer field and do sprints, followed by doing the crab crawl and front crawl across the length of the soccer field. My arms were burning and this was just the warm up.

We were then instructed to pick up our "rifles" and head outside to start the course. We ran about 5 km with our "rifles" towards the lake and onto a very nice green path where you stop every couple of kilometres to complete a number of drills. We actually went into the lake for most of the drills such as jump squats, sit ups and push ups all with our "rifles". The lake was nice and cool, but getting out and running with wet clothes and soaked running shoes was not my idea of fun.

When I finally ran back to the dome where we had done our warmup, I dropped off my "rifle" and thought I was done. Ha. Ha. Was I ever wrong. This was where the real military style obstacles would be. I pulled a tire from the lake by chains then and had to lift it over my head, jump over a wall, crawl through mud pit, drag myself up a mud pile then try to do monkey bars. I dragged bags of sand on my back while crawling in sand. The obstacles go on and on. When I got to the rope that I was supposed to pull myself up, all I could think of was G.I Jane. I never made it up the rope. Maybe next time. 

Pulling the cement block

By the end of the event, I was smiling and covered from head to toe in mud and sand. It was tough, but I survived. My body was tired but once again, all I could think about was getting home to nurse my baby. I think it took me 1:50 to complete the entire course. I'm proud that I survived the O course and tried all the tasks put before me even though I was not able to complete all of them. Yes, my body is sore all over and it hurts me to laugh. But, I know the pain is only temporary and in a funny way I would love to do it all over again.

Striking a pose before another burpee

I think The O Course is a great event. It runs every Saturday. It pushed me physically and mentally. I had a good time and would definitely do it again. We had great weather. Tony A. and his crew were fantastic.  Even with them barking at us, I felt that it helped push me to try harder.  If you are in the Toronto area, I highly recommend you check them out here. They also have photographers that take great photos of you during the entire course and are posted on their Facebook Page. Now back to marathon training :)

Ready for the next round

Have you ever done an obstacle course style race?


Have a great week

Our Beloved Vitamix

I had heard so many wonderful things about juicing and about smoothies. We are a family always on the go and always looking for new and creative ways to eat healthy. Since I started my running adventures, I've also tried to make sure that I have proper nutrition to fuel me through whatever training plan I may be on.

I asked many of my juicing friends for their opinions and read many reviews and we decided on the Vitamix. Since getting it in the spring, we have not stopped using it. My hubby will make us a breakfast smoothie every morning and I've used it to make many post run smoothies as well as soups and baby food for the little one. It is definitely one of the best purchases I have ever made and I highly recommend it. It blends everything so quickly and everything is blended. No more chunks. Ice is crushed in seconds. 

I find that I am always looking for new recipes as I am in marathon training to help me perform my best. 

Here's my current favourite post run smoothie recipe

Do you blend/juice/mix?

Do you have any favourite recipes? Care to share?

Have a great week :)