When my friend texted me this afternoon to ask me to go for a 12k run, I considered my options. I was tired and had been planning to stay inside out of the freezing wind. Maybe catch the hockey game.
So of course I quickly texted back with a suggested time we meet. What else does one do on a Saturday evening after all? Sure, Flames are in the playoffs. But hockey schmockey...this is running. With one of the coolest gals I know. How could I resist?
It was one of the easiest runs I've done in a long time, even though distance-wise I think this is the longest run I've done this year. But running with a good friend does that. There is so much to talk about and before you know it you've gone the 12k and 1hr 16min has passed and you really can't believe you were running so fast (that time includes our 3 x 1min walking breaks) and never felt fatigued.
My benchmark for fitness can be measured by 2 different things:
1. When I run consistent (aka 3+) 1k repeats under 4.50min
2. When 12k feels easy
I guess I've reached that latter benchmark this year! With time, I feel confident I'll reach the former again as well.
But for now, I'm going to enjoy the rest of the evening on my runner's high. And look at that...I have time to watch that hockey game and be a proper Canadian.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Country Jaunt
Last weekend I had a run out in the country. It was a nice change-up.
I was a little nervous at the start, because I remember the last time I ran in a rural area, I got chased by a lot of territorial dogs that owners let roam free. I love dogs. I just don't love territorial, uncontrolled dogs who may or may not decide to bite me.
My other concern was for moose. I knew moose were in the area (I'd seen a calf the day before), and I really didn't have any desire to get up close and personal with any during my run.
And then there was the "don't get lost" factor of running in a new area.
So I kept it boring. Straight down one road for 4k and then straight back. It was icy cold, but manageable.
No dogs, which was great. I did startle a herd of deer crossing the road. Deer are fine. Deer are not moose!
I ran past horses and across a train track. Wouldn't it be funny, I thought, if a train came by and trap me on the wrong side? As it turns out, one did come along! But I had just squeaked onto the homeward side of the tracks so it was all good.
Total distance: 8k
Total time: irrelevant
I was a little nervous at the start, because I remember the last time I ran in a rural area, I got chased by a lot of territorial dogs that owners let roam free. I love dogs. I just don't love territorial, uncontrolled dogs who may or may not decide to bite me.
My other concern was for moose. I knew moose were in the area (I'd seen a calf the day before), and I really didn't have any desire to get up close and personal with any during my run.
And then there was the "don't get lost" factor of running in a new area.
So I kept it boring. Straight down one road for 4k and then straight back. It was icy cold, but manageable.
No dogs, which was great. I did startle a herd of deer crossing the road. Deer are fine. Deer are not moose!
I ran past horses and across a train track. Wouldn't it be funny, I thought, if a train came by and trap me on the wrong side? As it turns out, one did come along! But I had just squeaked onto the homeward side of the tracks so it was all good.
Total distance: 8k
Total time: irrelevant
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Wardrobe Misjudgement
On Saturday morning I decided it was time for another run. I really miss my 1k repeats, so I thought they would be a good choice. As it was cold out, I put on a pair of long pants and a light jacket. Then, off I went. My aim was to get in 4 solid 1k repeats...maybe 5, if I was feeling strong.
It became clear to me within the first 50m that I had not chosen my pants wisely. They were comfy yoga pants that were by now a few years old, and the elastic had lost a bit of stretch. Good enough for a walk or everyday things, but when doing a fast 1k, I regretted the choice in wardrobe.
Lucky it was bright and early in the morning and no one else was awake! As it was, I spent most of the km ensuring that my pants stayed covering my butt. During my recovery, I wisely tucked my shirt in to try and bulk my waist up a bit so the elastic would hold better. I wished a bit for safety pins.
Total time: 5.02min (yes, this is significantly slower than my normal 1k repeats. I will get back there! I WILL get back there!)
Then I started my second km repeat. My pants were holding up (better), when my shoelaces came undone. Gaaa! Fortunately it was only in the last few metres, so I waited until the next recovery to re-tie my laces, re-tuck in my t-shirt, and re-pull up my pants.
Total time: 4.57min (on the right end of the 5-min marker, but still much room for improvement)
The third km repeat my shoelaces stayed tied, and my pants stayed on (with extra help needed).
Total time: 5.04min (siiiigh)
I was not only unfit, but the cars and people were starting to come out and I was rather sick of having to constantly pull up my pants in the middle of my run. So I called it a day.
Note to self: get better pants to run in!
Double note to self: do more 1k repeats to get back to previous fitness level!
It became clear to me within the first 50m that I had not chosen my pants wisely. They were comfy yoga pants that were by now a few years old, and the elastic had lost a bit of stretch. Good enough for a walk or everyday things, but when doing a fast 1k, I regretted the choice in wardrobe.
Lucky it was bright and early in the morning and no one else was awake! As it was, I spent most of the km ensuring that my pants stayed covering my butt. During my recovery, I wisely tucked my shirt in to try and bulk my waist up a bit so the elastic would hold better. I wished a bit for safety pins.
Total time: 5.02min (yes, this is significantly slower than my normal 1k repeats. I will get back there! I WILL get back there!)
Then I started my second km repeat. My pants were holding up (better), when my shoelaces came undone. Gaaa! Fortunately it was only in the last few metres, so I waited until the next recovery to re-tie my laces, re-tuck in my t-shirt, and re-pull up my pants.
Total time: 4.57min (on the right end of the 5-min marker, but still much room for improvement)
Total time: 5.04min (siiiigh)
I was not only unfit, but the cars and people were starting to come out and I was rather sick of having to constantly pull up my pants in the middle of my run. So I called it a day.
Note to self: get better pants to run in!
Double note to self: do more 1k repeats to get back to previous fitness level!
Monday, April 13, 2015
Marathon of Hope
There is one runner who - in my opinion - stands in a class of their own. I'm talking of course, about Canadian icon Terry Fox.
Terry Fox is a man who left a legacy that inspires us all. So when I found out that today was the Marathon of Hope, I jumped on board and signed up. It's not an organized race, or even a marathon. It's just a bunch of people committing to run a certain distance in memory of this great man and what he stood for.
There were officially 1k, 5k, or 10k distances. But you could also commit to running any distance you wanted.
I opted for 10k. The day was sunny (but eesh, what a cold northern wind!) and the group smiling. I went out with the 10k group who were only running 8k, so I planned to add an extra couple of k's on at the end. Fortunately for me, one of the other gals was in the same mindset, so off we went. The last few km's went quickly. Tough, but quickly since I was trying to keep up with my running buddy.
Two days of running in a row...hooray! I'm starting to find my feet again. And the running shoes feel great.
And throughout the entire run today, tickling at the back of my mind were thoughts of Terry Fox. He may not have won any races, but he won over a nation.
I admire the speedy runners and envy them (gaa! How can I get faster???). But my favourite thing about my fellow runners? Their strength of character. Every one has a story. But few are quite so well known as that of Terry Fox.
Terry Fox is a man who left a legacy that inspires us all. So when I found out that today was the Marathon of Hope, I jumped on board and signed up. It's not an organized race, or even a marathon. It's just a bunch of people committing to run a certain distance in memory of this great man and what he stood for.
There were officially 1k, 5k, or 10k distances. But you could also commit to running any distance you wanted.
I opted for 10k. The day was sunny (but eesh, what a cold northern wind!) and the group smiling. I went out with the 10k group who were only running 8k, so I planned to add an extra couple of k's on at the end. Fortunately for me, one of the other gals was in the same mindset, so off we went. The last few km's went quickly. Tough, but quickly since I was trying to keep up with my running buddy.
Two days of running in a row...hooray! I'm starting to find my feet again. And the running shoes feel great.
And throughout the entire run today, tickling at the back of my mind were thoughts of Terry Fox. He may not have won any races, but he won over a nation.
I admire the speedy runners and envy them (gaa! How can I get faster???). But my favourite thing about my fellow runners? Their strength of character. Every one has a story. But few are quite so well known as that of Terry Fox.
Push Challenge Post-Testing
As I may have mentioned, one of my running friends and I took part in a 3-month fitness challenge at our local gym. It got us out training twice a week lifting weights. Weight training is good for runners, after all. Or so I keep hearing.
I was minimalistic (to say the least) about running this spring, but I did go to the gym faithfully to meet up with my friend and lift weights with the help of a fantastic personal trainer. I don't think I could have done this on my own, but having a friend there with me was fantastic.
What does this have to do with running? Well, as part of the "testing" we did a pre-challenge 3k time trial and a post-challenge 3k time trial. I was curious to see if my times would improve just by doing the weight training. Okay, I was planning to run as well, but that didn't seem to happen as much as it should have.
Having done weight training before Christmas with another friend and skiing throughout winter, I had thought myself in fairly good condition.
Pre-test 3k: 18.27min
Post-test 3k: 15.28min
I was a bit surprised. 3 minutes off my time is not too bad. Not great, but not terrible either. My pass was exactly 1min faster per km. With 5 laps around the track to a km, that's 10 seconds faster on each lap.
I did meet my goal time, in a way. Although I had been really hoping for a sub-5min pace, I knew that wasn't in the cards due to my lack of running fitness. But, I thought, if I can run a sub-15.45min pace, I would be okay with that. And so I set myself up from the start to do 1.02min per each lap (15 laps in a 3k). And while some laps I was a little slower and some laps I was a little faster, that's the pace I kept up the entire time. I was hoping I could speed up the last km of the run, and I was able to do so just a wee bit.
There's one thing to be said...I really miss the training I did in Australia. Every Tuesday we'd do repeats between 800m-3k. It made for a tough morning, but I loved every minute of it...in a love/hate sort of way.
PS - for interest sake, that wasn't the only part to the challenge. My before/after results for the other aspects are as follows:
Wall sit: 1:12 / 4:04
Plank hold: 1:06 / 3:11
Supine back row: 8 / 13
Triple jump distance: 13.8ft / 17.2 ft (why they felt the need to use the archaic Imperial system for this is beyond me)
8kg medicine ball throw: 142 inches / 151 inches (again, Imperial system?!)
Some of these felt a bit meaningless. The run was important for me. But how far can I jump 3 times in a row? How far I can throw an 8kg weight? In what world would that be important?
I was minimalistic (to say the least) about running this spring, but I did go to the gym faithfully to meet up with my friend and lift weights with the help of a fantastic personal trainer. I don't think I could have done this on my own, but having a friend there with me was fantastic.
What does this have to do with running? Well, as part of the "testing" we did a pre-challenge 3k time trial and a post-challenge 3k time trial. I was curious to see if my times would improve just by doing the weight training. Okay, I was planning to run as well, but that didn't seem to happen as much as it should have.
Having done weight training before Christmas with another friend and skiing throughout winter, I had thought myself in fairly good condition.
Pre-test 3k: 18.27min
Post-test 3k: 15.28min
I was a bit surprised. 3 minutes off my time is not too bad. Not great, but not terrible either. My pass was exactly 1min faster per km. With 5 laps around the track to a km, that's 10 seconds faster on each lap.
I did meet my goal time, in a way. Although I had been really hoping for a sub-5min pace, I knew that wasn't in the cards due to my lack of running fitness. But, I thought, if I can run a sub-15.45min pace, I would be okay with that. And so I set myself up from the start to do 1.02min per each lap (15 laps in a 3k). And while some laps I was a little slower and some laps I was a little faster, that's the pace I kept up the entire time. I was hoping I could speed up the last km of the run, and I was able to do so just a wee bit.
There's one thing to be said...I really miss the training I did in Australia. Every Tuesday we'd do repeats between 800m-3k. It made for a tough morning, but I loved every minute of it...in a love/hate sort of way.
PS - for interest sake, that wasn't the only part to the challenge. My before/after results for the other aspects are as follows:
Wall sit: 1:12 / 4:04
Plank hold: 1:06 / 3:11
Supine back row: 8 / 13
Triple jump distance: 13.8ft / 17.2 ft (why they felt the need to use the archaic Imperial system for this is beyond me)
8kg medicine ball throw: 142 inches / 151 inches (again, Imperial system?!)
Some of these felt a bit meaningless. The run was important for me. But how far can I jump 3 times in a row? How far I can throw an 8kg weight? In what world would that be important?
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