New Shoes!

My hunt is over! I found my Nike Flyknit Lunar 1+ runners at the Nike Outlet in the States...in my size....and for only $89.97!!! Score!!  My patience paid off. They are $195 in Canada!

Here they are:

When you are going to war, choose your weapon wisely

They are nice and bright and so lightweight. I sized up to a 7.5 and my big toe doesn't feel cramped at all. I am hoping this resolves my black toenails issue.

I broke them in on my long run so there will be a full report on the recap. Just a sneak peek.... they were amazing!

I also got a new dry fit running top at the Nike outlet. I really like a lot of Nike's running clothes but they are more expensive than Lulu. The outlet had some great deals though. The top was $45 and is a long sleeve pullover with a hood. It's really soft and I love the color. It's nice to have an option so I'm not head to toe Lululemon.

I of course had to stop at the Lululemon outlet and they had some great deals. I just didn't really need anything. HUH!? Who said that!? Lol! I did get some Speed Shorts (my fave running shorts for the summer) in a fun striped print and a tank top for only $19. I can always find something! 

Jeff found some amazing deals. It was the best selection they have ever had for men! He got a running top and shorts for a total of $65! Both were really nice colors too.

Running Slow During Training is a Good Thing!!

I was reading a really good article online about how your easy, slow runs are important. It made me feel better about being such a turtle : )

It's an in-depth and scientific look at the aerobic system, easy runs, and optimal pacing which opens your eyes to why easy running is critical to long-term success and why running too fast is doubly detrimental to your progress.

You can read this very informative article here.

Week 11 Recap

Tuesday: Yoga

Ou regular teacher is out of town for the next couple of weeks so we had a sub. The class was still challenging but also really relaxing because we went at a much slower pace than normal. It was exactly what we needed. We did try a new pose called Dancer's Pose. I liked it! Brings me back to my old dancing days.

Here is what it's supposed to look like. My leg does not go quite that high yet!

Wednesday: Fartleks, total 6k, Untimed

Today was the start of speed training and we were doing Fartkeks. The word Fartlek, is a Swedish term that means "speed play," and is a form of interval or speed training that can be effective in improving your speed and endurance.

Fartlek running involves varying your pace throughout your run, alternating between fast segments and slow jogs. Work-rest intervals can be based on how the body feels. With fartlek training, you can experiment with pace and endurance, and to experience changes of pace.

So we did a 2k warmup, followed by 5 x 2 minutes of surges with a jog recovery in between each set, and then a 2k cool down. I actually really enjoyed this workout!  We did time the surges and our fastest paces for the 2 mins were 4:58, 5:27 and 5:29.

Thursday: Yoga

It was a tougher class than usual! The pace was faster than normal with lots of strength work. We tried a new pose in this class as well and I'm happy to say that I was able to do it on my stronger right side. It was so fun to try. It's called Bird of Paradise and is kinda crazy but I liked it!

Friday: Rest Day

I switched my rest day from Saturday to Friday. I was too busy having fun and that's the way life goes. 

Saturday: 5k in the pouring rain, 6:34 mins/km for the first 3k (I didn't resume my timing app properly after pausing it at a stop light)

So Jeff is still resting after having some bad IT band issues. I decided to head out for a 5k on my own but unfortunately it was pretty much a downpour all day! I guess this will just show my dedication! I put on a rain jacket and a short sleeved shirt but I was really hot. The temps have warmed up a lot. I did have the hood up but got so hot I just had to deal with getting totally wet. My pace was fast (for me) for the first 2k with an average pace of 6:20 mins/km. The first km was 6:07 and it kind of winded me. I should learn to start out slower and get into my groove and then pick up the pace. I didn't feel great on this run and I was completely soaked. I had trouble with water getting in my eyes, I almost needed goggles! I did bring my Handana for the first time which did help to clear my eyes at least. I paused my timing app at a stop light at 3k and thought I resumed it but I guess I didn't. Anyways, it was a very wet somewhat crappy run but I did it!

You can't totally tell but I am drenched 

Sunday: Long, slow run pushed back to Monday

Jeff thought he could use another rest day just to make sure his IT Band issues were a-ok. Plus we were too busy having fun again and searching for my new shoes. Oh and I forgot to put my soaked shoes in front of the fire to dry out so they were still completely wet.

Monday:  17k Long, Slow Run , Pace 7:12 mins/km

I ended up doing more than 1/2 of this run by myself and I am so proud of myself!! Daylight savings time will definitely help with our later in the day runs and it was such a beautiful sunny day. We both worked til 5 and headed out the door at about 5:45. We figured we had about 2 hours of daylight so we decided to run our favorite road. This road is not safe to run on when it's dark, so it's nice to be able to take advantage of it when we can. We decided to do 3 loops, each loop being about 5k. For the first 3k my shins were feeling quite sore and tight but they were totally fine after warming up. After our first loop, unfortunately Jeff was feeling pain again. Ugh! So frustrating for him! I'm also sad because I miss my running partner. He decided to head home at 6k. I decided to push on by myself despite the fact that I had no interval timer for my 10:1's and no water. Jeff said he would come back on his bike but I was confident I would be fine.

I was actually feeling really good and comfortable. I was doing nasal breathing and things felt fairly effortless. Nothing was laboured. I decided I would run for 3 songs and then take a walk break. This timing worked out perfect. I had some Cliff Shot Blocks in my pocket and took one at 4k and 8k. I like these a lot better than the Sharkie chews. They are tasty, a good texture and don't stick to you teeth. I couldn't take a Gu gel without water so I just skipped it but I was totally fine. I felt like I had  energy the whole time. I also couldn't believe how fast time was going by. I think doing the loops helped since each loop broke the run down. At the end of the loop is a tiny hill and I powered up it each time without tiring which was a good test as well. Usually any incline when I am really tired feels laborious to me.

Jeff showed up on his bike at about 10k, but he had popped his tire on the way over!! Talk about a bad night! All I could do was shake my head. He wanted to make sure I was ok and give me some water. I took a few swigs and told him to head home as I was feeling good. He stuck with me till about 12k and it was getting really cold and would be dark soon. The wind was pretty strong at some points and I wasn't dressed too warm. I decided that I would finish up on the road and not take the trail home since it would be dark by then. I asked Jeff to head home and come pick me up in the car in 30 mins.

It ended up working out perfectly. I had about .50k to finish up when he showed up and I even had enough energy to sprint it to the finish! I couldn't believe I did that and I couldn't believe how good I felt! I had I idea what my average pace was as my running app crapped out and I wasn't really paying attention to the Garmin. 

When I plugged in the results I was extremely happy with the 7:12. It was a bit faster than the 16k and it felt 10x better. It's nice to know that 7:12 is comfortable and I still have room to push myself.  Also it means that my nasal breathing threshold has gotten better. I used to only be able to breathe through my nose continuously at slower speeds of around 7:20 or more. 

Only 4k to go til I reach 1/2 marathon distance again!

I am just praying Jeff recovers soon!

After the run I wore my compression socks for a few hours and my legs felt great the next day! They didn't feel stiff or sore at all while walking around, so very happy with that result as well : )

Random Running Stuff

Upcoming Races

Whidbey Island 1/2 - April 14

Our second 1/2 Marathon is quickly approaching. EEK! I hope I'll be ready and I hope we can both make it injury free. I've sort of been freaking myself out by reading some race reports of the Whidbey Island route. It's a hilly route. Apparently there's a hill for a whole mile! Yikes, I'm worried! Although, what goes up must come down and I do love my downhills. I've also read how windy it was one year. Wind and hills are not a good combo. 

Lululemon Sea Wheeze 1/2 - August 23

Registering for this was quite the fiasco! Due to popularity the registration was shut down. So the second registration was set up and it sold out in less than an hour!!! Worse than concert tickets! I was lucky enough to be off this day. If I wasn't we would not have gotten a spot. Sadly, some of my friends did not get a spot. I was SO happy we got in but also so bummed for my friends. 

I love this race and can't wait! It's the race that started my whole 1/2 marathon racing journey. I hope to be able to participate every year but it sure is getting popular and hard to get a spot.

Possibilities

We were really hoping to get a spot at the 1/2 Corked run in Oliver in May. Due to popularity, they do registration by lottery. You basically get to run through vineyards to sample wine and food for 18k! I understand why it would be so popular! Sadly, neither Hubby nor I got a spot. We are on the waiting list so crossing our fingers that something will still come up. It sounds like so much fun.

We are thinking of doing the Scotiabank 1/2 in June to carry us over to the SeaWheeze in August. Haven't decided yet. I think we will see how the Whidbey Island one goes and if there are still spots left then we'll jump on it then. 

There is also the Rock n Roll series coming to Vancouver for the first time in October. I've always wanted to do a Rock n Roll run and how cool would it be to do the inaugural one in my very own city. But that would be another 7 months of training! Sigh.. we will see what happens.

New Gear

This makes me laugh! 

- I finally ordered a Handana and it came in the mail today. Excited to try it out!

- I'm not really a fan of protein bars but I have found a nutrition bar that I love for some quick fuelling before runs. They are sooo tasty! I also did some research on them and they top a lot of dietician's lists for best nutrition bars out there.

So far my fave is the peanut butter and dark chocolate but I haven't tried a flavour yet that I don't like

- I have been meaning to buy compression socks which I have been told by several runners really help with recovery after long runs. Here is the theory behind compression garments:

 “accelerate blood circulation, aiding muscle recovery and reducing toxins…reducing build up of lactic acid, preventing muscle oscillation, minimizing muscle fatigue, faster recovery and preventing injuries” (company website description of compression socks for runners). 

I am willing to try anything to help me along with recovery and reduce the chance of injury but they are damn expensive. Some are over $70! We checked the Running Room and found a pair of Sugoi ones for $39.99 - much more affordable! I have some long runs coming up so I am crossing my fingers that they make a bit of a difference.

The hunt for new shoes

This might as well be called "The Hunt for Red October" with how difficult it's been! My beloved Adidas shoes need to be replaced. The toe box is too small for my big toes, thus the ugly black toenails. And the material where my big toe hits is starting to rip. I have had no injuries in my current shoes so I know I like the minimal feel and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I went on a search all day yesterday and had NO luck! I got fitted at 2 different running stores and nothing felt right. I tried every brand and type they had. The more cushioned, supportive ones just didn't feel good. I felt like my foot was surrounded by so much cushioning and support that they couldn't breathe, flex or feel the road. I like to feel the road beneath my feet when I am running. I had done some research online about minimal shoes and the new Nike Flyknit Lunar 1+ are getting rave reviews. I finally got a chance to try them on in a 1/2 size too big and 1/2 size too small but they still felt awesome!! I could just tell as soon as I put them on that they were more the type of shoe I was looking for. Sadly nowhere had my right size. Just my luck. I checked online and the Nike online store had them on sale but they don't deliver to Canada. Grrr! I have a few more stores to check so wish me luck! If I don't find them I might try to find my current shoes again but order a 1/2 size up.

My current shoe but mine is pink of course

What I want

Speed Training - Time to get uncomfortable

So Week 11 marks the start of Speed Training. Weeks 1 - 6 were about Endurance Building. Weeks 7 - 10 were about Strength Building and the remainder is Speed Building until Taper Week.

Sigh... speed is for sure my Achilles heel. I know I can get the distance in, I've done it before, but speed doesn't come naturally to me. Aerobic exercise has always been hard for me. I was that skinny girl in the back of an aerobics class in the 80's that was totally sucking wind. I'm working on it and know I have come quite far from when I started but I still beat myself up over my slowness. I know that to get faster you have to run faster. It's as simple as that. It's time to quit sulking and whining and start running faster!

Week 10 Recap

After our less than stellar Week 9, we were determined to make it an excellent week and that we did!! Well, at least I did...

Our plan was to throw in an extra run day on Monday and do a 16k instead of 15k for our long run. We had to move the long run to Saturday since I was working on Sunday. So it was going to be 6 workout days in a row. It was going to be a loooong ass week!

Monday: 4k Run/Walk in the snow

So it snowed over night and snowed all day. Sigh...the weather was really ruining our training! I feel sorry for those runners dealing with Polar Vortex! I am not a treadmill girl so that limits our options.

How am I supposed to run in this??

I really wanted to get outside so we decided to go for a long walk in the snow. We bundled up and found that the snow along some of our neighbourhood trails were actually good to run in. So off we went. We ran wherever it was possible. It was so beautiful out! 

We ended up in a field of deep snow and did sprints which almost felt like hill training because of the resistance. We were sweating before we knew it. It was a good workout and really refreshing! 

Tuesday: Yoga

Wednesday: 7 Hill Repeats

We decided to try out a new hill for our final hill training session (yay!). Actually it was kind of planned because I wanted to go to Lululemon and there was one near the new hill (tee hee). The hill was a bit steeper than the other one so Lulu must be worth it for a steeper hill with 7 repeats! There was still a lot of snow on the ground in some areas but luckily the hill itself was totally clear. We did a 2k warm up and the area we were in wasn't totally flat so it was good to get some inclines in on a regular run. So up and down that hill we went...7 times! Yikes, it was tough as usual but got it done! I even had some kind of second wind on the 5th repeat and blew past Jeff! He is always in front of me. He said he had to really turn it up to catch up to me! 

I was especially happy because hill repeats are now done for this training program! Yippee!

So we popped into Lulu and I was so happy to get another Swiftly long sleeved shirt on sale. I live in these tops for winter runs. Another happy moment!

Hi Maks!

Thursday: Yoga

Friday: 6k Moderate Run, Pace 6:43 mins/km

This was a dream run. You know those runs that just feel effortless, go by quickly and you're smiling the whole time. This was one of those runs for me. What an unexpected but wonderfully welcome surprise it was! I had downloaded the new Hedley album, put it on play and just enjoyed listening to it. I almost forgot I was running at some points. That never happens to me! I always feel like I am thinking about running when I run and would prefer not to. I also did nasal breathing for most of it and felt like I never got winded. I didn't think about pace at all and just took it nice and easy. For the last 2k I had lots of energy so I opened up and turned up the pace and had negative splits. It was awesome! I wish all runs were like this but unfortunately it is rare. I loved it though!

Unfortunately it turns out that Jeff's run was the complete opposite. He said he felt awful and crappy the whole time. He wanted to quit early on but could tell I was having a good run so toughed it out. Like I say all the time, some runs are just going to be bad runs.

Saturday: 16k Long Slow Run, Pace 7:19 mins/km

Last day of our 6 in a row! Thank God! This run actually almost didn't happen. Jeff had to force me. Glad he did as there is no way we would have been able to fit it in on Sunday and we just couldn't miss another long run.

Since it was my only day off I didn't want it to be only about getting the run done. I wanted to enjoy the day and do something fun so it at least felt like a weekend. We decided to head to the Vancouver Farmers Market and enjoy food from our fave Food Truck - Le Tigre. Love their food! We then headed to the North Shore to check out the Aritzia Warehouse Sale. Mikayla and I got some great deals! Nothing like a little retail therapy to perk up your day : )

We didn't get home til about 5pm and it had gotten really cold. Snow was in the forecast. I told Jeff I didn't want to run but he convinced me we had to. Sigh... he was right.

We didn't head out until 6pm and got back a couple of hours later. Since we were upping our mileage by 3k, we knew we just had to keep it slow and steady. Sunday is about endurance. It did start to lightly snow when we were out but it was quite nice. We got to the other side of Richmond as far as we could go at about 6k and turned around. I was feeling very comfortable. By the time we got back to our starting point we were at about 12k. This is kind of where the wheels fell off. Well for Jeff anyways. He started to complain of knee pain and was having to stop more than usual to walk. He told me to keep running and he would catch up but I found it distracting and would slow down as well. I could tell he was suffering and I told him to listen to his body and not push it too far as I didn't want him to get injured this far into our training. But he kept going. I was quite tired with 4k to go and my legs were starting to feel like lead but I was determined to get this run done. I was doing nasal breathing the whole time which keeps me centred and comfortable but when I start to tire I start to breathe through my mouth. 

We got to our house at 15k and Jeff said he was done. I decided that I really wanted to get the 16k under my belt and said I would carry on for another km. I totally thought Jeff went inside but then I was startled to see him run up beside me. Such a stubborn boy! Anyways we finished up but bad news is Jeff had another bad run. He has never had IT band issues before so we are a little worried. He is just going to do lots of stretching and take it one run at a time.

For fuelling we took a gel at 8k and brought the fuel belt with some Nuun electrolyte drink. It was just right.

Our pace for our long slow run was totally decent considering how much we had to stop to give Jeff's knee a break.

Oh and I'm super happy with my Charity Miles. I earned 32 meals for hungry people. It makes all the hard work SO worth it! Every mile matters.

Sunday: Rest Day, Pace 0:00 mins/km!

It was an extremely successful week! Super happy with our discipline! Now we just have to get Jeff healthy!

Week 9 Recap

So after the horrible wind/rainstorm we were less than enthusiastic about our upcoming training week and the results show. Pretty much a fail week...bleh.

Tuesday: Yoga

Yoga was cancelled last week and our regular instructor has been away a lot so we weren't sure if there would be a sub or not. We were pleasantly surprised to see her and had a good workout as usual.

I'm quite happy with our yoga progress. It's so nice to have found an activity that I love and connect with.

Wednesday: 6 Hill Repeats

It's really hard to get out there for hill training since we have to get in a car and drive a ways to find a hill. Anyways off we went after work and it was a pretty cold night. We did a 2k warm up and did a pretty good hill repeat session. It was our one success of the week. It's such a good workout and my heart is ready to burst out of my chest by the end of it. We didn't time it but I'm happy to say that the hard work earned 6 puppy and kitten vaccinations for the ASPCA with our Charity Miles app!!  It warms my heart to know our training can make a difference!

Thursday: No Yoga, Fail

Didn't make it to yoga. I can't even remember why? Lame.

Friday: 3.5k, Untimed

I worked 9:30 - 5:30 that day and we had plans to go shopping in the States right after work. I didn't want to miss a run so decided I would run in the morning before work. My plan was to run about 4 - 5k. I got up kinda late and felt groggy. I had a granola bar and headed out still feeling sleepy. So I've confirmed I am NOT a morning runner. Everything still feels tight. It feels like my body hasn't woken up yet. What a friggin awful run I had! I felt like I had never run before. My legs never loosened up, I couldn't get my breathing settled, I felt tired and dizzy. Ugh, it was a true example of how some runs just suck! Oh well, better than nothing.

Saturday: Rest Day

It wasn't really a rest day since I worked and then right after we had a family birthday party for my niece. Then we got up at 4am to watch Canada win Gold in Hockey at the Olympics!! Busy but fun day!

Sunday: No Long Run, Fail

So we had an unexpected dumping of snow over the weekend. It really didn't stop snowing and we wondered how we were ever going to get our run done. It wasn't hard packed snow. It was kind of slushy which made for really wet, slippery sidewalks. We fully intended on still getting out there but a combo of a few different things made us miss our first long run since I put my back out. I HATE missing runs! As mentioned we got up at 4am to watch hockey and then went back to bed at around 6am. This threw me off for the whole day. I felt in a fog and sleepy all day because of it. By the afternoon we were going to get ready to brave the conditions but we then discovered we had no water! Turns out the water was shut off in our area due to a neighbours pipe bursting. We got an update that it could be up to 48 hours!! Well that made our decision for us!  There was no way we were going to run if we could not take a shower after. Especially with it being a work day the next day for Jeff. The water luckily came back on at 10pm but I still feel like we made the right decision. I still felt really guilty though.