Run.

Being Nuts

"You're nuts!" 

It's often said with affection, only half-seriously, and usually after the admission that I've gone for a run at 5:15am, or that "I'm just going to go for a quick run before we ..." - head to a concert, hang out, insert other activity here. 

Running has definitely become part of my routine. I can't imagine a week without it. I can't say I love the early morning runs - I'm not a morning person in any way - but I do love the feeling it gives me for the rest of the day. It's has been a long time in the making, but I'm finally feeling like this: 

I do realize that I have become everything I couldn't understand when I first started running. "How can they plan their whole week around this torture?" "How can they get up so early just to go run?" "Why would they worry about fitting that run in on that day?" 

This week marks Week 4 of marathon training, and I have never been so obsessive about mileage or how many days a week I'm running. I drag myself grumpily out of bed at 4:45am just so I can crank out a 10k with the girls before work. It's probably minus-something-in-the-teens plus wind chill, it's always dark - even when I get home - and I would much rather stay in my warm, cozy bed for another two hours. 

But I do it. I crawl out from the comfy covers and I go. And that in itself is a source of pride for me, because I used to be able to make any excuse in the world not to run. For the first time, I'm motivated for me (and by the fact that I'm spending a lot of money to go to Ottawa!). It is nuts, and it's something you can only understand after you lace up and take that first step ... 

Marathon Training Week 3 - Check!

Yesterday wrapped up Week 3 of my marathon training. I'm following a combo of Hal Higdon's Intermediate 2 and Advanced 1 marathon training plans.  There are few differences, other than the Advanced 1 calls for an extra run during the week, and some speed work. The long runs are pretty much the same. 

This week went something like this: 

• Monday - 6k 
• Tuesday - Early morning 10k and a massage after work. My calves were like steel, but my IT bands weren't as bad as my massage lady expected. I attribute this to my foam roller, which feels like I'm stabbing my legs with large knives at the time, but pays off in the end.
• Wednesday - Unexpected snow day! No run, but an hour-long snowshoe with the doggies.
• Thursday - Early morning 6k 
• Friday - A speedy 5k after work before Blue Rodeo! 
• Saturday - A beautiful morning for a long run in the country. This week was a cut back week, so I ran from home to the library in Bridgetown (10k) and joined the group run for my final 3k. I don't usually run with music, but I do sometimes listen to a podcast or an audiobook. Yesterday, I turned on CBC Radio 2 with the intention of listening to some Saturday morning tunes, but instead caught the Vinyl Café with Stuart McLean, made even better by the fact that the musical guest was Kathleen Edwards. Before I knew it, the Vinyl Café was over, and so was the first 10k of my run! 

This was the first week I've been feeling a little tired and sore, and I know it's the rapid increase in mileage compared to what I was doing before. I also know my body will adjust in time to running five days a week compared to the three or four I was doing. 

I've discovered that early morning runs (between 5:15 and 5:30am starts) aren't as bad as I'd originally thought. In fact, after my 10k morning run on Tuesday, I felt like a million bucks all day. The only part I'm finding difficult is getting to bed early enough to not experience burnout part way through the week. I'm a night owl by nature and I feel compelled to get all of my schoolwork done before going to bed. I definitely need to change that if I'm going to be running early! 

Marathon Training

I recently marked two years of consistent running with my hometown running group. When I began in January 2012, I didn't know if I'd even stick with the program to run my first 5k in April. When I made it to my first 5k, I didn't know if I'd continue running after marking that milestone. However, it was shortly after that that I committed to my first 10k, the Scotiabank Bluenose race in Halifax, in May 2012. 

I think you see where this is going. I didn't quit.

In October of that year, I ran my first half marathon, the Wolfville Valley Harvest, in 2:14. I was sick with a cold and undertrained, and ended up walking far more of the race than I had planned. I wound up feeling really discouraged. I hadn't put the hours in for that kind of race, and I said I would never do another half marathon. It had felt like torture. After sticking through running for nearly a year, I was starting to feel like I was going too hard too fast, pushing myself to keep up with everyone else and not doing a great job of it. I had little motivation and was still feeling like my relationship with running was a love-hate affair. I needed some time to discover my own motivations that weren't based on keeping up with the Joneses. Not an easy thing to do, and I would say I haven't entirely worked that out. Ah, the beauty of being in your mid-twenties.

In February 2013, I ran my second half marathon distance in 2:11. I felt way better than I had about the first. The Goofy run was taking place in Disney at that time, and the girls and I printed the bibs and ran for charity from home. Coming into Bridgetown, I knew that I could do this again. I also learned that winter training is WAY better than summer training. Cold, clear air, no humidity, no heat. Perfect. I registered for the Bluenose for a second time, but this time, Jason and I committed to the half marathon distance. While the other girls registered for the full marathon, I knew I needed to work on this distance for awhile longer instead of jumping so quickly to the next level. That, and I knew that I didn't have the desire to commit to that kind of distance. It sounded like torture.

Here's the picture of us crossing the line after our half marathon in May. We came in somewhere around 2:08. As usual, Jason looked fabulous, like he could have kept going. He spent the race milking it for all it was worth, high-fiving children in the crowd and yelling, ''Woooo!!'' as often as he could. I spent it, as I spend most of my races, gasping for breath and trying to muster the mental capacity to finish. So, the picture pretty much captures how it went for both of us.

Even though it comes pretty naturally to him, Jason decided that half marathons wouldn't be in his future for awhile. I decided that my next journey would be to tackle my nemesis from the year before, the Valley Harvest half. I was better trained and, despite having the same miserable cold that I had the year before, I was feeling ok when it came to race day. I was hoping for a 2:00 time, though I knew that shaving 8 minutes off my previous half marathon time was kind of unrealistic. I went out too fast, which seems to be my downfall, but still finished very happily with a time of 2:04, my fastest half marathon to date.



Look how happy I was.

After that, I decided to cut back for awhile and rest. Then, I started to feel something that I never thought possible - the desire to run a marathon. In December, I registered for my first full - Ottawa Race Weekend 2014. I am terrified by the distance, but I also know now that I've found the drive to get my runs in and it's something I'm doing just for me (it's on the Pre-Kids Bucket List). I also have three great people with whom to share the long runs - there was still no way I was going to do those alone!

Running with Jase

In the spring of 2012, my fiancé, Jason, bought his first pair of running shoes. By the fall, they were still in shiny, like-new condition. However, once his work began to slow down for the winter, Jason began making more and more appearances at running club. 

And, we quickly realized that he's made for this thing. 

Jason is not built like your typical runner (if I'm being honest with myself, though, I have to say that neither of us are). Despite that, when he came out of the blocks, it became apparent that he was naturally good at running. Within two weeks of coming to running group, he was running Saturday morning 10kms with us. 

Beyond that, though, was his speed. I've been running for a year, and he came out and left me in his dust. 

I might be a little bitter. 

One great thing about this running together business is that it gives us both a common activity and set times to do something social. Three times a week, we meet up with other people and run. We might run separately and talk to other people, or we might tune everyone else out and talk to each other. But we're sharing something. And for two people who are as different as we are, that's really important to keep our relationship growing. 

Now, we're planning on training for the Bluenose Half-Marathon together, and I know he will have no problem with it. The main thing for him, as it is for any new runner, is to take it easy and listen to his body. 

I can't wait to cross that finish line with my best bud! 

At home after our first race together in August - the 4k Natal Day Fun Run in Annapolis Royal. 

Some members of the Bridgetown Running Group after the Ciderfest 5k Fun Run in September.

The Virtual Half-Goofy Challenge

I learned about this challenge a couple of days before it happened from the girls in my running group, one of them being Monica. We would support a mother in Alberta running the Walt Disney World marathon, doing the Goofy Challenge. Cori was hoping to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a cause near and dear to my heart.

No matter how sentimental the cause made me, however, there rested the issue that I hadn't run 21.1kms since the Valley Harvest Half Marathon in October. I'd been maintaining my base with some long runs of 17 or 18kms, but 21.1 was just that much further out of reach.

So I decided to do it.

Still warming up!

My grand finish - a new PB at 2:11-ish!

2:09 for Monica and Megan! 2:11-ish for Andrea and me!

The half-marathoners

Goofy bib!

This was such a great confidence boost for me. I was very disappointed with my first half. I came down sick with my only cold last year right before the race, and I didn't feel prepared. This race, I shaved over three minutes off my Valley Half time and proved to myself that I can do it.



Valley Harvest Half-Marathon 

This year, I ran my first half-marathon in Wolfville, Nova Scotia at the 20th annual Valley Harvest Marathon. While I just finished under my goal time of 2:15, I started out too fast and wound up hitting the wall hard and walking far more than the 10 to 1 ratio I had planned. Still, I finished, and here's the picture to prove it:

Taken from marathon-photos.com

Bridgetown Running Group represent!

I clawed my way to the finish line. At least I was still smiling!

There were a couple of things I learned from this race. One, you can only race against yourself, and you have to listen to your body. I started out way too fast trying to keep up with two other girls from my running group. But, I had come down with a miserable cold a couple of days before and I'd been having some trouble with my right foot. If I'd kept it slower and steadier, I would have had a better time and I would have felt way better about the race. 

Two, more training was needed. It was summer, it was hot, and quite simply, I slacked off. I wasn't running the hills or the kilometres I needed to prepare myself for this first half. 

Finally, until I have a stronger base, I'm going to save the longer races for the colder months and keep the 5s and 10s for the summer and early fall. I've really enjoyed my winter running and have found the long runs far easier. Aiming for the Bluenose Half-Marathon will keep most of my hard training in the cooler months of winter and early spring.