Father's Day and our week so far

Father's Day

We were supposed to do another 16k on Sunday but I worked 7-3 and then we went to my sister's for a Father's Day dinner right after so we had no time!

I got my Hubby the funniest book ever! We have 2 cats that we adore and are constantly laughing at their antics. Here is a pic of the cover:

And a sampling of its humour:

If you are a cat owner you will appreciate this!

I got to listen to him laugh all morning while reading it! Made me smile while working in the other room.


Here he is doing selfies with the cats. Yep my Hubby is quite the character.

 Jeff is a Step Dad to my daughter Mikayla and he does the most amazing job ever! He loves her unconditionally and takes such good care of her. They have such a great relationship. I love the 2 of them so much.

We had a nice dinner at my sister's place. What do you get your Dad that can't do much anymore?? He seems to like baking and makes the best apple pie. So I got him some fresh strawberries from one of the farms in Richmond and it worked out perfectly because they have some rhubarb in the garden and he was excited to make a Strawberry/Rhubarb pie!

A shout out to all the amazing dads out there that do such a wonderful job every day, especially my Dad, my Hubby, my daughter's Dad Evan and my bother in laws Brent and Scott!! Well done Men!


This week so far 

Back to running.. we were going to try to make it out for the 16k on Monday night but I still wasn't feeling 100% and since it was after work, long runs are really hard to do. It's about 2 hours out of our night!! So based on all this we decided to head out for a shorter 7k run. Another fail! Damn I am getting sick of all my fails!  

It actually started off great. Pace was pretty good. At around 4k I started coughing and then couldn't catch my breath, and then I ran right by someone's stinky garbage on the curb so I dry heaved a bunch! I was done. We finished at 5k with a 6:47 pace and walked 2k home. Another Bleh! I was in SUCH a bad mood after this and sulked the whole way home. Just ask Jeff. I think he wanted to throttle me! ; )

Last night we did some Fartleks (sprinting exercises) before Yoga class. They went well and just when i thought was done I threw in one more sprint! Yoga was awesome once again!! We really love it. We come out of it feeling so loose and bendy! Lol! And it is such a good workout at the same time! Yay! NOT a fail!

Tonight is Wicked Wednesday but I am doubting it will get done.. sigh. Hubby has a work meeting so will be getting home late. We'll see....

We are going to try to make up the 16k tomorrow night so hills might not be a good idea tonight.  

Stay tuned...

Yoga and weekly update

Sick

Since our last 16k I haven't posted any weekly workout updates. That's probably because there's not much to report!! Workouts have not been as regimented as in the past. Not that we were trying to slack off, I was just not feeling 100%.

I got a little chest cough that's been bugging me. When I first got it I was feeling quite tired and feverish and then it just developed into a really annoying wet cough that is still lingering.  As we are leaving for our vacation to France next week I can NOT be sick! I was super worried about bronchitis as I have gotten it a few years in a row in the past and am susceptible to it.  So Hubby is making sure I take it easy and rest as much as possible. So far it isn't too bad and I sleep well at night. Fingers crossed!!!

I know being healthy is important right now but I hate being off my training schedule. Although compared to the SeaWheeze Training App we are quite a bit ahead of schedule so that makes me feel a bit better. Having that 16k under our belt feels good!

Speaking of the SeaWheeze training program, I had a look and they are only doing 50m hill repeats!!! We have been doing 400m ones!! I am so jealous! Now I don't feel so bad that Wicked Wednesdays have gone to the wayside a bit!


Yoga

So last week we decided to try a Yoga class as I have heard how good Yoga is for runners. We are lucky to have found a class right next door to where we live!! So convenient so we have no excuse! We did a drop in on Tuesday night not knowing what to expect as we have both done maybe a couple of yoga classes ever and that would have been years and years ago. It turns out it was a Flow Yoga class  in which movement is synchronized to the breath. It has a fast-paced fitness approach as we move through a series of poses on an inhale or exhale. Perfect for us!

So the verdict is - we LOVED it!!! We are going to continue with it as much as possible during our training and think it will be so good for us. It is such a nice change of pace too. This class was NO JOKE! We were sweating, and grunting and groaning as we tried to hold some of the crazy poses. Some of them take a lot of flexibility, strength and balance. Our instructor was great. She has such a calming sweet voice and our jaws hung open as we saw her hold some poses that didn't look humanly possible. We had fun trying though. No wonder people get so cut from doing yoga! So much strength is involved which I need to work on so this is great for me! And the stretching we do! OMG I didn't know parts of my body could stretch like that! Feels so good on all my tired, overworked, sore muscles.

How the eff?!

Seriously, how?!

And who knew my Hubby was a yogi in hiding!? WTF!? He was SO good! I had no idea he was so flexible! He was holding poses that shocked me. He was the only one who could do the crow pose and was showing off! He was making me look bad lol!

Crow Pose

At the end of the hour long class we had a nice relaxation period and felt so refreshed and rejuvenated after. Loved it! Yay! This will help with centering, breathing, strength and stretching. I can honestly say I will look forward to every Tuesday night!


Hills - Fail!

I started feeling crappy on Wednesday of last week. Perfect timing for Wicked Wednesday - my body must be trying to tell me something! I still wanted to get out there so we decided to do much easier hill repeats closer to home. Well Richmond doesn't have a lot of choices so we just ran back and forth across a small bridge with inclines on both ends. Well my lungs felt pretty crappy so I had to stop at about 4k. Also Hubby was wearing some very fragrant sunscreen that I kept getting a big noseful of since it was a very windy day. Since I am extremely sensitive to smells it made me very nauseous. Oh well, at least we got out there. I think our pace was about 6:30. Bleh.

And that was it for last week. No other workouts, not good. Double bleh! FAIL!

Our running method - is it cheating??

So I have been pondering this fact for awhile. Since we reached 10k in our training we have adopted the Running Room's method of 10:1 intervals for our long runs. Runs before this were all straight through with no stopping or breaks.

For those of you not familiar with this method, here is a rundown from the Running Room creator John Stanton. This is taken directly from their Web site:

The ten to one concept is a fairly simple concept. You run for ten minutes and walk for one. It can help in many ways: helps beginners or heavy runners to increase their endurance to 5K, 10K, or even the marathon in as soon as 6 months. help runners of all ages to improve times because legs are strong at the end. reduces the chance of injury and overtraining to almost nothing. bestow the endurance for runners of all abilities to go beyond "the wall"

By alternating walking and running from the start, there's virtually no limit to the distance you can cover. The Running Room clinics have graduated 100's of people in their 40's and 50's with no exercise background who have used the walk-run method to complete a marathon. Using this method will extend the capacity of the running muscles at the end of the run because you're shifting the workload between the walking and the running muscles. It will also allow those with some types of previous injuries to knees, etc., to train for marathons without further injury. Walk breaks force you to slow down early in the run so that you don't start too fast. This reduction of the intensity of muscle use from the beginning conserves your energy , fluids and muscle capacity. On each walk break, the running muscles make internal adaptations, which give you the option to finish under control, increase the pace or go even further. The Running Room clinics continue to graduate folks through this simple concept which is fun and safe for everyone.

A friend of mine has successfully completed several races with this method and with good times so I figured I would give it a try. I also read other running blogs from ladies who seem to be at my same fitness level that also use this method successfully.

I have to say that I really like it and it works really well for me. My Hubby also thinks it is a great method. We find that we are finishing long runs feeling stronger, and our pace times overall are about the same if not better. Mentally it has been great for me as it breaks the run down for me. I feel a lot better in my body and my mind after finishing long runs which is exactly what this method wants to achieve! So how can I go wrong with this??

Well the thought entered my mind if I am not running the entire time, am I really "running" a race?  Am I less of a runner? Is this cheating in some way?

I knew I was being silly but I am guilty of constantly needing to be validated. What can I say, I am always battling with insecurity. So I googled it and got some of these testimonials:

-  I been following the walking breaks thing for years...(25 actually) ...
Here's my take: I used to think if you walked you really didn't do it. Most of the folks I ran with felt the same.Walking or taking breaks was a sin. Due to an injury, I sort of had to do it in a race...finished with a reasonable time and couldn't believe how good I felt compared to previous outings.
I read about Boston Bill Rodgers walking through aid stations, stopping to tie his shoes and such on the way to a win at Boston in the 70's. WALKING through aid stations!...I started to do it. It worked for me. Jeff Galloway comes along and puts the philosophy into fine form. He studies it and makes it do-able and understandable for everyone.
I'm a big believer in walking breaks. It allows me to go farther and recover quicker than when I was in my 20's and 30's.
Remember those folks I mentioned who believed that walking was a sin? They don't run anymore. They trashed themselves, had knee replacements and the only thing they can do now is walk.
10 x 1 works fine, but better yet find what works for you

-  I think walking breaks work really well for a lot of people. I have a friend who is a pretty reasonable marathoner (3:20) who swears by the 10/1 thing. I have tried to make it work for me, and it really doesn't (for me, that is). In order to average the same time, I have to run at a faster pace, and I can never seem to get back into it after each walking break. I'm one of those people who feel crappy at the start of a run and a whole lot better after 30 - 60 minutes. With the walk break, it seemed like the whole run just felt crappy. But like I said, I know lots of people that it works very very well for.

-  I tried something similar to this for the first time today on my 65 min run and it was great. I stopped about every 15 mins based on where there was shade or water on my path and at the end of my run I had a lot more energy than usual. I have my first triathlon this upcoming Saturday and I know for sure I will be trying this out.

-  I do not walk when doing a stand alone marathon. I tried walking the hydration stations once and it was not beneficial. It took too long to get back on pace. I do believe in breaks during long training runs to refuel and stretch.

-  From the way it felt, though, the walk breaks helped. It gave me confidence to push to the end of my run segments, knowing I had a break coming. And after the break I felt refreshed and ready to go another round. The last 10 minutes felt great, where usually if I'm running straight through I feel pretty dogged.

From Jeff Galloway-  By using muscles in different ways from the beginning, your legs keep their bounce as they conserve resources. When a muscle group, such as your calf, is used continuously step by step, it fatigues relatively soon. The weak areas get overused and force you to slow down later or scream at you in pain afterward. By shifting back and forth between walking and running muscles, you distribute the workload among a variety of muscles, increasing your overall performance capacity. For veteran marathoners, this is often the difference between achieving a time goal or not.

Walk breaks will significantly speed up recovery because there is less damage to repair. The early walk breaks erase fatigue, and the later walk breaks will reduce or eliminate overuse muscle breakdown.

-  Just an update on all of this... I've kept up the walk breaks, it's been about a year now with them. Ran (walked?) my first full marathon in October with them, went well.

I ran a 1/2 marathon yesterday that I had run last year.

2008- 1:53:55 (no walk breaks)
2009- 1:49:17 (walk breaks)

... and conditions this year weren't as good (some snow-covered sections, lots of wind).

OK, so I'm not lighting the world on fire... :) I know a lot of people much faster than me who probably wouldn't benefit from the walk breaks. And some of that decrease in time is due to fitness, I'm in better shape this year for sure. But the race felt so much more in control this year, I had energy right to the end. (I also intentionally negative split this race which was probably another factor).

-  Walking is for pussies!


I don't like the last one!!

I was also reading a blog from a woman my age who would feel so bad at the end of 90% of her races that she would be dry heaving and puking and having to see a medic and feel sick for hours after. Why would anyone want to do that to themselves. I believe in pushing past your limits but not to that extreme!

I have come to the conclusion that everyone should just do what works best for them. I feel like this method will help me to stay healthy for long term running. I am an old hag at 42 after all and don't want to trash my body yet! It will keep me confident, help me recover faster and prevent any injuries that could stop my running altogether. Hell I am still getting out there and doing it so who is anyone to question how I choose to complete it. In a 2 hour run, I am still running for 110 minutes! That's bad ass in my eyes! : )

I feel better now : ) 10:1's it will be!

What do you all think???

Support

I just recently shared my blog with family and some friends and I couldn't be more overwhelmed or touched by the support I have received!

I am a sap and it honestly brings me to tears. For people to tell me that I have inspired them truly means the world to me.

This blog just started out as a personal diary to keep track of this running journey my Hubby and I have embarked on. I didn't think anyone would read it let alone want to read it or follow it!

And to be told that my words have in some way gotten them to at least think about something that they never thought they could do, makes me beyond happy.

I was shy to share my blog as I am a private person and also don't want to let anyone see me fail but if anything, the outpouring of support has made me feel stronger than ever!

My mom told me my Running Inspirations post made her cry - wow my mom hardly ever cries. My brother and sister and sister in law told me that they are proud of me! How can I not feel touched!?

Special shout out to fellow blogger and co-worker Loida! Check out her great blog about life and taking chances at lomalara.blogspot.ca. She is example that strength and stepping out of your comfort zone come in all forms.

Thanks to Zyta as well who tells me all the time that she reads my blog as inspiration before her runs.  She has been my longest and most dedicated follower! : )

Hubby, thanks for proofreading and being the best character in this blog! You encourage me every day and tell me that my writing is great! Love you for that!

And for anyone that has sent me kind words or comments or anyone that has simply stopped by to have a read, a laugh or a self reflection - THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. YOU are all my inspirations and I couldn't do this without you behind me!

I love you all!

16k

We just friggin ran 16k!!! What???!!!

Can't believe we got through this run! 16k feels so awesome to have accomplished and I am still in disbelief! It has boosted my confidence even more.

The conditions were less than ideal. We had to push the Sunday run to Monday after work as Sunday just didn't happen. Monday was really warm but luckily there is a nice breeze by the water. It's just hard to get out and run for almost 2 hours after a full day of work!

We took our usual route and luckily the stinky manure road is ok now. I was nervous again but my body told me I could do it. I just had to listen. The first 3k were a little painful as my shins were quite tight and were hurting a lot but I knew that running more would just loosen them up so that is what I did! I ran 13k more!

This run was actually quite comedic as the Hubby and I were bickering a lot! Makes me laugh to picture us! Totally about stupid stuff and we apologized after but I must have had enough breath to yell at him which is a good sign! Lol!

I did try a new fuel on this run! I actually got almost a whole chocolate Gu gel down at 8k! It was totally fine! The taste or texture didn't bother me at all. It just tasted like chocolate frosting! Yay! So glad I tried it. I felt good after and it didn't bother my stomach. Hubby says our speed picked up on the last half so that's good too!

Most of the run was a blur which is actually really good for me because I struggled so much with boredom and doubt before. I guess I have finally been able to master just getting in the zone and clearing my mind. That is a huge weight off of my shoulders because all the negative thoughts in my head while running were really weighing me down.

Something that we came across really made me reflect on life itself and how fragile it is. We saw this memorial site for 2 young boys so I had to stop and pay my respects. I googled it after and it's for 2 teenage brothers that were killed in a car crash at that spot a year ago. 16 and 19, so very sad.

On a lighter note I wore my SeaWheeze shorts for the first time and they performed great! I forgot to mention that on the last long run I had a serious case of hungry bum!! Boy did I ever wear the wrong underwear last time, so to any drivers or dog walkers that saw me picking my underwear out of my butt I apologize!! So glad I didn't have to deal with that this time! TMI I know!

One thing I struggle with as we take on new distances is pace. I don't want to go out too fast and by the time I realize my body can handle a bit of a faster pace it is too late and our time is already slower than we want it to be. Oh well, it is a learning curve and I hope to find a balance. This is where I think a Garmin will really help!

One of the things Hubby and I fought about was he always overshoots our turnaround point so we end up being so far from home when we finish and have to walk a bunch extra! He's done it a few times! If I wasn't paying attention we would have been a lot further from home than we were.

Anyways we finished and I was elated! Tired and sore but elated! Sure enough we had a long walk back home and I was even having a hard time walking I was so spent! So I of course whined the whole way home. Hubby must have felt bad because he offered me a piggyback. Lol!

Not sure if the time is accurate because Hubby's phone died (the subject of another fight!) and my
phone seems to always be way off.

Total distance: 16.05k
Total time: 1:56:39
Pace: 7:16 (slow again but now that I know I can do the distance, I will try for a faster time next run)

Injury and gear report

Injuries

We have been so lucky thus far to have no major injuries during this training program. Knock on wood!  As much as I want to go faster, I know that keeping a steady recommended pace is helping to ensure that we make it to race day with no injuries. I wish my competitive nature didn't battle this fact so much!

Although we have no MAJOR injuries, there are some minor ones. I have one ugly big black toe!! My big toe on my right foot started bruising about a month ago. It was tender when I first noticed it and then it turned purplish but it wasn't really painful and I don't really notice it unless I push really hard on the nail. It hasn't gone away and although it doesn't bother me it is UGLY! So much for pretty toes in the summer! Forget about a French manicure! I can only wear really dark polish to cover it up. I'm not quite sure what is causing it but it's only on one toe. I know I am pounding a lot of pavement and losing toenails and getting bruised toenails can be common. I guess I won't worry about it unless it gets painful. Here it is in all it's black glory! U G L Y!

My minor injuries seem to favour my right side because on long runs I get a little bit of chafing under my right arm by my arm pit. I don't normally notice it until the end of the run and then it really stings. I have to remember to body glide that area!

I mentioned before that Hubby was having some pain in his shins. He was worried he was getting shin splints so he changed his gait to more of a shuffle and has had no further issues. Phew!

He gets a bit of chafing too on his thighs if he doesn't remember to apply some kind of protection. Luckily no bloody nipples yet!!

Gear

For my all important shoes I am a believer in more minimalist runners. If you've read the book Born To Run, you'll understand. I am nowhere near ready for barefoot running or Vibrams but I tend towards a minimalist runner. I was wearing Nike Free shoes which I had no problem running in but standing and walking in them made my arches ache. I also got blisters in them on some runs. I did some research and decided to try the Adidas Adizero  Adios 2. I heard great things about them and all the reviews were stellar. They are the same shoes Patrick Makau wore when he set the marathon world record last year! Anyways I love them! They are super comfortable, lightweight and cute too! I have had no blisters in them and they have carried me through my training so far with no injuries except for my ugly toe!

Of course all my running clothes are Lululemon. I don't know what I would do without cute, technical clothing? They make such a difference. The moisture wicking and anti stink capability are a god send! LOVE my running clothes! My wallet doesn't! Some of my faves are the speed shorts, the Ebb & Flow tank and crops, anything of the swiftly tops, the Free To Be bra and cool racerbacks. I usually wear a baseball hat to keep my hair out of my face. I am not too sweaty of a person so any hat works. My fave socks are Lulu. I have tried other socks but none of them even hold a candle to Lulu's.  I carry my iPhone in an armband that works really well and I listen to music and use MapMyRun or RunKeeper apps to keep track of time and distance. Well that's my gear in a nutshell. Oh and I REALLY need a Garmin!!! Maybe after our France trip : )

Quick recap from last week

Last week was tiring and almost burnt me out! I almost feel like we overtrained.

Tuesday:

We were at the track again and I decided to do a Magic Mile. I haven't done one in a long time, definitely not since we started training for this half. My goal was to run 1mile at a very uncomfortable fast pace. I did 1.82k in 9:19 with an average pace of 5:07!! My fastest mile ever! I think I took over a minute off my last one. My Hubby is crazy fast and did his in something riduculous like 7 minutes with an average pace of 4:06. Funny thing is last time he lapped me but he couldn't do it this time. YES! That makes it all worth it! Hehe!
I finished up with an easier 3k with an average pace of 6:28.

Wednesday:

It was a really hot day so we decided to push hill training to Friday instead. We did a really hard circuit workout for about 30 minutes. These always make my legs really sore the next day.

Thursday:

My daughter skipped Field Hockey practice as we had to go to her school awards ceremony where she was named for being on the honor roll for the year! SO proud!
We ended up doing an easy 6k at around 9:30 at night. Now that is dedication! We were both pretty pooped by the end of the day.

Friday:

Wicked Wednesday on a Friday = BAD idea!! Running 6 hill repeats at the end of the week was the LAST thing I felt like doing!! I had to drag my butt out there and whined the whole time.
My revelation was that hill training makes me very bitchy!! I don't want to talk before, during or after it. I just want to focus and get it done. Sorry honey for my bitchiness!

It was tough as shit as usual.

6 hill repeats
Total distance: 4.8k
Pace: 7:06 ( SLOW and not thrilled with the time but whatever, it's done! 'Nuff said!)

We were exhausted at the end of this week and we think we are in need of a change up! I signed us up for Yoga next week for a change of pace! Looking forward to stretching out these sore muscles!

Sunday Long Run - 14k

I saw this on the Lululemon SeaWheeze Facebook page the other day...

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – 

Robert Collier

Contrary to popular belief, improving as a runner is not about big efforts or even running fast more often, it’s about consistency and doing the small things repeatedly that will drive improvement over time.

This run was just another baby step towards the giant leap I am working towards but it actually felt like a pretty big step because it instilled a newfound confidence in me and I really couldn't ask for more than that.

Sunday was once again a very busy day. We had to be out of the house by 8:45am to be in West Vancouver for Mikayla's Field Hockey game. Once again we set the alarm for 6am. The alarm went off and we woke up but we promptly fell back asleep again. So much for that plan! It got to be too late to get the run in so we would just have to do it later.

The problem with running later is that you have ALL day to think about it. It weighed on me all day and I got very anxious.

I did get a nice message from my friend Zyta during the day. She is running her first 1/2 marathon as well and we talk regularly about our running journey. She said that she read my blog and it inspires her : ) Me!? That made me feel good. She inspires me because she is doing this on her own and is a Speedy Gonzales!

Throughout the day I pretty much convinced myself that I should expect the run to suck because last week went so well and it was likely time to have a bad run. I basically psyched myself out.

Maybe it was reverse psychology because this run rocked!! Shocker!!

We didn't head out til about 6:30pm because it was a pretty hot day and we wanted it to cool down a bit. This was going to be our longest run yet and we were both pretty nervous wondering if we could last and how our bodies would handle it.

We took the same route as last week and took it nice and easy for the first 5k running about a 7:05 pace. The extra distance was holding us back from going too fast. I have to keep telling myself that the Sunday run is about endurance and not pace!

It was another beautiful evening and it seems everyone decided to take a drive down the back roads of Richmond because it was so freaking busy!! We had to dodge so much traffic and I really think it affected our time because it takes you out of your groove to zig zag around the streets and watch out behind you. It didn't affect me mentally but I think it took its toll on our pace. We may have to try a different route next time as much as I love the area.

At 7k we reached our turnaround point and I was feeling pretty good. I knew we were slower than last week but not by too much and I was ok with that. I just wanted to finish feeling strong. I ate a Power Bar jelly and as tasty as they are they are really chewy and kind of hard to get down quickly. Jeff took along a chocolate Gu gel this time to try and he REALLY liked it. He also said that there was a noticeable pick up in his energy after. I can't say the jellies have done the same for me. I think I may just try the Gu chocolate gel next time. He said it tasted like a melted chocolate bar and it didn't  upset his tummy.

We were doing our 10:1 intervals again and I really, really like this method. It helps me mentally and keeps my form strong all without really affecting our pace. I am definitely a believer in this method now. The other thing that has truly helped me is nasal breathing. Breathing through my nose instead of my mouth really centres and calms me. I don't feel as hectic with my breathing and it makes my mouth less dry. I can't keep up nasal breathing with the faster paces of the short runs but I am finding it has really helped me with the long runs.

At 11k I was getting a bit tired but also really excited that we only had 3k more to go!!  My mantra this time was.. now don't laugh too hard.. "You're gonna turn this shit up!" Lol! I was listening to Will I Am and Britney Spears' Scream and Shout and that line got in my head so I stole it as my mantra. Ha! Cheesy I know!

At 12k, sneaky Jeff started to pick up the pace and was running ahead of me. I almost angrily yelled for him to slow down but instead I sucked it up and sped up to catch up with him.

We finished together AND we still had gas in the tank! YES!!! Our longest run EVER and we finished feeling good! I didn't die! I wasn't limping! I wasn't crying! It was a good run again!

At the end of 14K I was ready for another walk break but I knew I still had gas left and I could run more if I wanted to.

For the first time since we started this training program, I felt like I could actually run a 1/2 marathon. Up until this point I had so many doubts. My thoughts ranged from "this is too hard, why are you doing this to yourself?!" and "I really don't know if if can do this?!" Now I know that if I keep putting in the hard work I can DO this!

Total time: 1:38
Pace: 7:01 (slow but who cares!)

Weekly Recap

The weekly runs were a partial fail but I am still happy with the work we put in. Sometimes things just have to be adjusted in training and I have to learn to accept that. (I am still working on my attitude adjustment. It's a work in progress!)

Jeff had some issues with his shin after our 12k run and was really worried that he might be developing shin splints. Uh oh! We have been lucky enough to not have any injuries thus far. He iced them and rolled them out and I gave him a massage hoping it would just go away. Luckily he said they felt much better the next day but he decided he needed to change his running form. I noticed that  he tends to run like a gazelle bouncing up and down, spending a lot of time in the air. He decided he needs to shuffle more. Will report later how that goes for him.

Monday was rest day but we decided to do arm, shoulder and core strength training. Jeff has a program that he goes through with me that takes about 20 minutes. We use free weights and a Kettlebell. It's a good little workout and just enough to help me keep my upper body strong.

Tuesday was supposed to be our 4k tempo run but I had some "lady issues" and Jeff wanted to rest his shins for one more day. Sometimes you just have to listen to your body so we decided to push our training schedule back 1 day.  BUT not to completely throw in the towel we decided to do leg and more core strength training. This was a hard workout and we were sweating up a storm! Squats, calf raises, planks (which I can't do to save my life) and some plyometrics - tough stuff! So 2 strength training days this week made up for the 0 we did last week so I was happy with that.

Woke up on Wednesday REALLY sore in my legs!!  My quads and calves were screaming at me! Thank god Wicked Wednesday was pushed back 1 day! Today was a 4k tempo run. I must admit that I don't enjoy tempo runs. They are hard. Anyways off we went and about 1k in I got a really bad side stitch and was feeling crappy so I had to stop. The pace for that kilometre was about 6:06 so good pace but I couldn't continue. We walked a bunch until my stitch went away and decided to do fartleks instead. We would jog slowly and then run as fast as we could to the next light post. In the end we still got about 4k in. It wasn't according to plan but sometimes you gotta improvise and we still got a good run in so I can't be too disappointed. This all builds character!!
By the way Jeff's shins seemed to be fine. Yay! We can NOT get injured!!

Thursday was the new Wicked Wednesday! Once again I was dreading it. 5 hill repeats today! How?? We drove to our hill and did about a 1.5k warm up. I was worried as I felt tired. Ok, let's just get this over with. The first hill was fine but I could tell today was going to be a struggle. Who am I kidding!? EVERY Wicked Wednesday is a struggle! On Hill 3 I had to walk 1/2 way up. I had nothing in my legs. Good thing though was that I was just flying on the downhills. Having to walk on part of Hill 3 pissed me off enough to promise myself I would not stop on Hills 4 and 5. Well that worked and I ran up both of them without stopping even though my heart was beating out of my chest by the time I got to the top and I thought I may pass out! DONE!! 5 hill repeats finished!
Our pace was surprisingly good despite my walk and our last hill was the fastest!

Total distance: 4k
Pace: 6:25! Faster than last weeks 4 hills! I am getting stronger!

Friday or Saturday was supposed to be a 6k steady run... didn't happen and I'm ok with that. 3 runs and 2 strength training days was fine with me. We were both dealing with some issues so I am totally happy with what we did!