Some of my favourite things...all in a day

Today was a day of favourites:
1) Waking to the sound of my baby girl in her crib next door and feeding her before getting ready to leave for my race. What a quiet house!
2) Running a personal best and capturing first female at the Burlington Robbie Burns 8 km in 27:43.
3) Enjoying emend, porridge, and a hot shower right after my race. I tell you, this race is one of my favourites because of the porridge and showers! Check out the picture take by Alan Brookes.
4) Coming home to my amazing husband and 3 sweet kids.
5) Eating a few olives and salmon with a spinach salad (maple syrup, olive oil, balsam. vinegar and garlic dressing of course) for dinner.
6) Drinking a non-fat Starbucks mocha (my treat to myself after a good race), a bit of red wine w/ dinner, and later tonight a cup of tea w/ lots of milk and a little bit of peanut butter brownie.
7) Spending the afternoon and evening w/ my family.

I am thrilled to have 2 personal best times so far in 2012 (10 km and 8 km). Hopefully I'll keep up with this in my upcoming races! Set the bar high! There is no other way.

Canada Running Series

What we run for??? Krista DuChene all smiles with her porridge after racing home 1st Woman [6th overall] at Burlington Roadrunners' Robbie Burns 8K [27:43] this morning! Results: http://www.chiptimeresults.com/resultsreader.php?y=2012&r=robbieburnsS.htm

— with Krista DuChene.

Another Biggie!

This week I ran another highest-mileage-yet week, of 145 km. It ended w/ a solid 35 km long run this morning. Roads were quite snowy so there was much more effort required but it was great to run with James, Henry and Clayton. It had been quite a while. Seems like when I make my return from another baby, one of them is injured. Then we they make their return after injury, I am pregnant again!
On Monday I ran a 18 km tempo on the treadmill (incline 0.5), starting at 9.2 mph, peaking at 10.7 mph, and ending at 10.2 mph (goal marathon pace). I like ending at marathon pace so that it feels easy.
On Wednesday I did 14 km on the track, which consisted of a quick 2 km, 2 km, 1 km, and 2 km. It's somewhat difficult to get a good feel for my pace because it's a 210 m track but I think it's definitely helping me stay somewhat speedy anyway.
On Friday I ran a "hilly" 16 km on the treadmill. I did hill level 3 @10 mph for 30 min + hill level 2 @ 10.1 mph for 15 min + hill level 1 @ 10.3 mph for 15 min.
This week I will take it down in intensity and mileage as I prepare to race the Robbie Burns 8 km, which is Jan 29th. Sure would be nice to race in shorts again in January! Wishful thinking!
Rick Mannen is going to provide some support for me, locally. I'm quite excited about this. He ran a 2:18 marathon and has several marathon victories from his racing days.

January 9, 2012 ... a year older

The fact that I turned 35 last week is no biggie. My husband was kind enough to notify me that I'm half-way to 70. Gotta love that! Many marathon moms peak in their mid-late 30's and I sure hope I am one of them. Constantina Tomescu won the gold at the Olympic games at the age of 38. And of course there is Paula Radcliffe , Deena Kastor , and Kara Goucher (who captured the 3rd and final spot at the USA Olympic Marathon trials this past weekend). I am so pleased with what these ladies have done for running and pregnancy/parenting.
Anyway, all is well for my training. I ran 130 km last week, which included a 30 km run. This week the plan is to do 145 km w/ a 35 km long run. I am on the treadmill 2x/wk, the track 1x/wk, pushing the Chariot (w/ the kids) 2x/wk, and on my own 2x/wk. I continue to swim 3x/wk but have decreased a bit on the bike. Of course I am keeping up a bit of core/stretching/weights. I am pretty much back to my pre-pregnancy weight, which is a good sign because I am still nursing and 4 months from the big day (Ottawa marathon).
Here are a few pictures to enjoy (new track at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre and Seth sporting some new Saucony goods).

A Day Off ... Needed!

It's been a week since my new speedy 10 km PR of 35:29 and I finally took a well-deserved day off. I hadn't taken a whole day off since CHRISTmas day, 2 weeks ago and sure needed to. The last few weeks have been crazy! We had an offer accepted on a house (in town) so had to get our house ready to sell. This included (amongst many other things) my husband renovating a new bathroom. So, I was showering at the gym and taking the kids out in the evening to bathe. We had a wonderful week of Christmas celebrations then had to get the house finished to be listed. Today (Sunday) was our 9th house-showing in 6 days. I'll tell you, I can run for a long time and not get tired but house-showing w/ a dog and three kids under age 5 is something else! House-flipping is not for me!
Last week I logged 115 km of running and I plan to do 135 km this week. This mild weather is GREAT for running! I just hope we don't see blizzards in April!

Running Date

New Year's Eve was quiet. We returned from the Lehrbass family Christmas and got the kids to bed for a much needed sleep. Jonathan and I watched a movie and stayed up until midnight to bring in the new year together.
We went out on a date the next morning...to the New Year's race! Congrats Jonathan, on finishing your first 5 km. Better start training for a 10 km now!

New Year's Articles, Pictures, and Results.

"I've always had high energy and I like to encourage others," she said.

"It's a gift that God's given me."

Looking at the clock - picture.

So pleased - picture!

The Brantford Expositor - article.

Brant News - article.

5 km - results.

10 km - results.

Stacey B., here I come!

What a way to start the year! I aimed for a 35:30 to qualify for the Vancouver Sun Run and.... did it with one second to spare at the Brantford Tournament of Races New Year's Day 10 km ! Huge thanks to Cory Currie for pacing me. The last few weeks have been quite busy with celebrating CHRISTmas, putting an offer in on a house, and getting our house ready to sell! But I kept that goal in mind, ate a few less sweets, and stuck to the training plan. Wow!
Here are the times of my last three 10 km races:
36:39 June 2009 (15 months post baby)
38:17 August 2011 (5 months post baby)
35:29 January 2012 (10 months post baby)
With baby Leah nearly 10 months old, I think it's safe to say that I am in the best post-baby shape ever. I am quite excited to get this season's training support from Coach Nicole Stevenson, and local runners, Cory Currie and Rick Mannen. I'm ready to keep increasing the mileage without compromising the quality of my work-outs while staying injury-free. Bring it on!
The best part about today's race was running it for Stacey. She is a GREAT friend of mine who moved out to Vancouver a few years ago. I've only seen her once since (when I ran the Vancouver 1/2 Marathon in 2010) and can't wait to see her again. The second best part was that my husband ran his first 5 km race today. Maybe he'll join me in the Sun Run while we are out there?!