Ready to Race

Well, race day is 4 days away. It'll be busy between now and then; we get the keys to our new house, we have Leah's birthday party to prepare for, Micah has hockey, and sadly, I will be attending my uncle's funeral.
Last week was a decent training week. I ran 125 km, swam 5 km, and did a bit of cycling. I did a tempo treadmill run, which included 18 km at avg 3:32/km at incl. 0.5 (Tuesday). My long run was on the treadmill (only 30 km as a taper) and I did it in 1:50 (Friday). Since then I've been taking it easy.
I am feeling fit and fast so hopefully we get decent weather and I can get a speedy time!

Crash But No Burn

So, the boys had stomach flu last weekend and the rest of us thought we dodged it. Then, Jonathan felt a bit off Monday so he stayed home from work. My stomach still felt fine but I knew I was close to the limit w/ my running. I was not over-training or ignoring an injury or anything like that, but I just needed a day off, sooner than planned. Then on Tuesday my stomach started to feel a bit off. So, I decided to go to bed in decent time. I hadn't even fallen asleep and heard the dreaded cough coming from the boys' room (they had been fine for 2 days). Poor Seth was puking again. We'd just put away all the buckets and got the laundry mountain done...and were back at it again. Jonathan was at hockey so I was on my own. I won't get into details but it's much easier w/ 2 parents than one, with a puking child. So, when he returned Jonathan started another load of laundry and slept on the couch. Seth slept w/ me. I tell you, when your kids are puking, it's one of the hardest things. You feel terrible for them, and can hardly sleep because you fear, and don't know, when they will puke again. So, Seth was sick one more time then slept until morning. But, I didn't. Between sharing the bed with him (he is all over the place!) and an off-stomach myself, I had a rough night. Jonathan had to leave for work early so after a few failed attempts to get Micah a ride to school, I drove him myself, in my pj's. Fortunately I didn't have to get out of the van. So, I came back home w/ the younger two and CRASHED for the day, as best as I could; I still had an 11 mo. old and nearly 4 yr old to watch but made the best of it. While Leah napped, Seth got to watch tv and I slept. Honestly, I can't remember when I've EVER done this but I stayed in my pj's all day. After having some toast and a shower, I was able to go to work and all was well. Thursday, I shortened my Chariot run to 18 km, and Friday I did a steady swim and 19 km treadmill run at 6:00/mile (3:45/km), hill level 1. So, it's a new weekend and we've moved past the stomach flu and are on to teething and ear infections. Consequently last night was pretty rough but I managed to get a great 38 km run in this morning. So, my mileage was lowered to 136 km this week (I had planned to do 155 km) but I'm glad I played it safe with the crash, and no burn. I have one more tough work-out (I did 10 km and 14 km at 10.5 mph incl 0.5, and plan to do 18 km this week) then will take it easy over the remaining 1.5 weeks in preparation for the upcoming Chilly 1/2 Marathon. Another 2012 race in shorts and PR sure would be nice!

Past Results

I'm doing a bit of blog updating and thought I would remove my past results so stuck them here just in case I want to refer to them later. It's kinda neat to look at. Consistency is key, that's for sure! You can tell when I had my babies too (2006, 2008, 2011)!

Past Results (archive)

2010

May 30 - Canadian Marathon Champion and 6th Overall - Ottawa Marathon, 2:39:08.

May 2 - 1st Female - Vancouver BMO 1/2 Marathon, 1:16:39.

April 18 - Canadian 1/2 Marathon Champion Runner-Up - Montreal, 3rd Overall 1:15:55

March 28 - 3rd Female - Around the Bay, Hamilton 30 km 1:53:10

February 28 - 1st Female, 9th overall - Grimsby 1/2 Marathon 1:18:14

January 24 - 1st Female, 11th overall - Robbie Burns 8 km. 28:21

2009

November 1 - 1st Female, 8th Overall - Road 2 Hope Marathon, Hamilton, ON.

September 27 - 1st Canadian Female, 8th Overall Female, 2nd with Team Canada for International Team Challange - Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Toronto, ON.

August 30 - Women's Champion - Quebec City 1/2 Marathon, QC.

July 19 - 2nd Female - Acura 10 mile, Toronto, ON.

June 30 - 2nd Female - Peachbud 10 km, Grimsby, ON.

May 18 - Women’s Champion – Alvinston-Watford 16 km Road Race, Watford, ON.

May 10 – Women’s Champion – Mississauga Marathon, Mississauga, ON.

March 29 – 6^th Female – Around the Bay Road Race, Hamilton, ON.

February 22 – 3^rd Female – Grimsby Half Marathon, Grimsby, ON.

2008

November 2 – 6^th Female – Road 2 Hope Half Marathon, Hamilton, ON.

August 30 – 3^rd in Category – Guelph Sprint Triathlon, Guelph, ON.

2007

May 22 – Women’s Champion – Alvinston-Watford 16 km Road Race, Watford, ON.

2006

November 12 – 5^th Female – Paris Grand Half Marathon, Paris, ON.

September 3 – 2^nd in Category – Guelph Olympic Triathlon, Guelph, ON.

July 23 – 6^th in Category – Niagara Sprint Triathlon, Niagara Falls, ON.

May 22 – 2^nd Female – Alvinston-Watford 16 km Road Race, Watford, ON.

April 30 – Women’s Champion – Brantford Classic 10 km Race, Brantford, ON.

2005

November 13 – 6 Months Pregnant! – Paris Grand Half Marathon, Paris, ON.

May 18 – Women’s Champion – Alvinston-Watford 16 km Road Race, Watford, ON.

May 14 – Women’s Champion – Where’s Franktown 10 km Road Race, Franktown, ON.

April 18 – 3^rd Canadian Female – Boston Marathon, Boston, MA.

March 20 – 12^th Female – Around the Bay Road Race, Hamilton, ON.

February 27 – Women’s Champion – Grimsby Half Marathon, Grimsby, ON.

2004

November 14 – 3^rd Female – Paris Grand Half Marathon, Paris, ON.

September 4 – 7^th in Category – Guelph Sprint Triathlon, Guelph, ON.

2003

November 16 – 3^rd Female – Paris Grand Half Marathon, Paris, ON.

October 26 – 11^th Female – Niagara Falls Half Marathon, Niagara Falls, ON.

March 2 – 4^th Female – Grimsby Half Marathon, Grimsby, ON.

May 11 – 14^th Female (1^st in Category) – Ottawa Marathon, Ottawa, ON.

March 30 – 18^th Female – Around the Bay Road Race, Hamilton, ON.

2002

October 27 – 19^th Female (1^st in Category) – Niagara Falls Marathon, Niagara Falls, ON.

September 29 – 12^th Female – Run for the Grapes Half Marathon, Grimsby, ON.

Crazy Busy

Not the most flattering picture of Leah but sometimes we all feel like this!

Life has been crazy busy and I am running more than ever (and loving it!). All is well and I know I say it many times, and will say it again, that I am so blessed to have a great husband, 3 wonderful kids, and a healthy body. God is good!
We will be moving to a new house (just a bit bigger, still in town) in April, likely the weekend between my races in Vancouver and Montreal. So, between selling our house, planning renos for the new house (kitchen, floors, paint, etc.), and all the paper work (seems like a lot!), it's been a bit crazy.
And there is more to come!
My now 11 month old baby girl had a fever last weekend, and my almost 4-yr old son had it this week. Combined with the fact that he is out-growing the childcare at the gym (like many do, who are soon to start school and who've been there since birth!), he was quite nasty one day, which made me feel terrible. A mom can easily feel guilty and over-analyze these things but thankfully he was back to his happy self today, and Maureen and Jeanetta reassured me that all was well.
My 6 yr old son just had his birthday last week, which was fun. He is now playing on a houseleague AND select hockey team. There was one week in January that he had 11 ice times in 12 days! On one day, he had 3 games, which was the day before my Robbie Burns race. Busy.
My husband has been so supportive, as usual, while he juggles his job, rec hockey/volleyball, leadership duties at church, and the rest of us! I'm so glad he can do the school run in the a.m. Next week he will start leading another course of Financial Peace University (life-changing!) and I will continue with my new weekly evening shift as RD with a local Family Health Team. Busy.
So, a few times this week I really had to be disciplined by going to bed early and napping when I could. I have to keep telling myself that rest is so important if I want to keep all of this craziness going! I can do a lot of praying while running, which is great during this busy time!

Here's what I did this week (for those of you who don't care so much about my personal life!):
Sun -
off (I usually take every other Sunday off)
Mon -
2km swim
20 km tempo on treadmill = 1 mile @ (9.7,9.8, 9.9,10.0,...10.7 incline 0.5)+1.5 mile@10.2mph
Tues -
27 km run with 2 kids in the Chariot
10 min quick Cannondale bike (rollers)
Wed -
2 km swim
15 km speed on track (warm up, 7x880m@ 3:29/km, cool down)
Thurs -
27 km run with 1 kid in the Chariot
10 min quick Cannondale bike (rollers)
Fri -
2 km swim
20 km on treadmill (8.5miles@10mph Hill1+ 4miles@10.2mph incl.1.0)
Sat-
to be an easy 36 km run, which will end the total week w/ 145 km

One more hard week, then a 2 week taper for the Chilly Half. I'm now a bit below my pre-pregnancy weight and my RHR was 34 the other day so I'm hoping for a fairly speedy 1/2 marathon, March 4th. I'll be looking forward to celebrating Leah's first birthday later that afternoon. Crazy busy, yes.

Coaching, Logging the Distance, and Back to Work

This picture was taken after we returned home from Micah's 6th birthday party (we had it at our church, which was great because the 9 boys could run around in the gym!). Can't believe I have a 6 year old!

So, the week after my new 8 km PR of 27:43 was a solid one. I must say that physical recovery after the shorter races seems to be much easier than after the longer ones! Also, I've enjoyed the break from the mental toughness needed in the longer races. I'm not saying it's easy to run shorter, fast races but you have no time to get into the mental battles.
So, this week I ran 135 km, which included coach Nicole's execution long run (35 km) on Saturday. It can be a challenge to get that pace faster near the end; but it's critical. I've been focusing on running strong, mentally and physically, at the end of each workout as it's good prep for the marathon. At 37 km it may feel like you are working hard, just to maintain race pace to the end!
Another great part of the week was meeting with Rick Mannen*. He is going to provide local coaching support for me (specifically key tempo and interval workouts), while I maintain following Coach Nicole's plan (basically increased mileage and intensity from my 2010 plan as I am doing many of the same races). I look forward to this as well as continuing to support Rick with the new Brantford Tournament of Races - Road and Trail Series. This month I will contribute to the "Running with Rick" monthly column for the paper with a focus on running and nutrition. Later I will write about being a mom of 3 while working and training. I am fortunate that I am able to return to work this week, with one weekly 4 hour shifts in the evenings. Doing just a bit of work will be great to keep my dietitian head sharp while not compromising my training.


Here is a sneak preview to the upcoming article:
"Now that you have started your running, jogging or walking program, you may wish to gain some insight into what you should eat and drink in order to lose or maintain weight. You may also be wondering what types of nutrition you should be taking in advance of, during and after a run.

My personal stance has always been everything in moderation is the best route to go. I also believe that depriving yourself of food and drink that you really enjoy, can often end in overindulgence. We have heard of carbo-loading, protein based diets, power gels etc… but I thought I would speak with Brantford’s Krista DuChene, R.D. about her thoughts on this topic. Krista is a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant. She played with the University of Guelph Women’s Ice Hockey Team before trading in her skates for running shoes and is now a wife, marathon mom of three children and one of Canada’s premier marathoners and 2010 Canadian Women’s Marathon Champion with a best time of 2:39:08 for the 42.2 km distance. "



*Rick Mannen was Brantford born and raised, a former international class marathon runner, winner of seven international marathons including Hong Kong, Toronto and Buffalo, competed for Canada at the World Cup Marathon in Seoul, South Korea and the Pan Pacific Marathon Championships in Long Beach, California, inductee into Brantford’s Sports Hall of Recognition.)