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?!

Another Fun Hockey Game

This year I enjoyed another game of hockey against Avery's team. It seemed much easier, not having a baby to carry out front (last year I played 61/2 mo pregnant)! I had finished a new highest-mileage-yet week of 140 km that morning so it felt great to sleep that night!
We are busy at home, getting our house ready to sell, since our offer was accepted on a new one in town. And of course, we are preparing for CHRISTmas! The kids are having fun! Quite exciting! The timing is great for the work around the house because I am now tapering for the Jan 1st race.

100 miles? Wow!

Way to go, Dale! Read, "100-mile races reality for Brantford man".

135 km = done

Yep, did it! My highest mileage week. You may be surprised by this but 135 km (not miles!) is in fact the most I've run in one week, ever. It included a 36 km long run, and felt GREAT! This is definitely the best baby-come-back yet! And it's only the beginning!
I've succeeded in the past w/ low mileage and high quality workouts but knew my body was ready to ramp it up without compromising the workouts. The goal is to keep quality and quantity higher than ever as I start "real" training Jan 1/12. I'm still cross-training consistently; it really helps keep the little nagging twinges away as well as keep other parts strong. Particularly I'm feeling a stronger core than ever.
Speed will be the focus over the next few weeks as I prepare for the Jan 1st 10 km race in Brantford. See www.likerunning.ca Cory Currie, another Brantford runner who is also promoting the new Brantford running series, has graciously agreed to pace me! Today I was quite pleased to finish a 20 x 400 m workout (each 400 m at 10 km race pace w/ 30 second recovery between each). I'll have to watch the turkey and baked goods consumption during the week of Christmas, before the race. Can't let all this hard work be wasted!