Almost a Race...

Yesterday was meant to mark the return to running by participating in the Vancouver First Half Marathon put on by the Pacific Road Runners - alas, due to the recurring injury, I transferred my entry to someone who was eager to run. I have been able to go out on two runs outside so far this year. Both being around 1.5kms, and both leaving me slightly unmotivated and slightly sore. My foot hasn't returned to normal, but I will take a more cautious approach to my training to make sure that I can run all the races that I have signed up for so far this year. I have signed up for some shorter distance races to start with a 5km, an 8km and I will run the 10km in Fargo. I was signed up for the Marathon, but I know that I won't be physically and mentally prepared for that race, and I think I will be putting unnecessary pressure on myself. I want to be prepared for the New York Marathon (assuming that I get in with Guaranteed Entry), and my goal is to work up to that, slowly.

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The first "official" race for me this year is: West Van Run on March 3.

So Long New York Marathon

It has been so long since I have posted anything....eek. Over the past few months I have been fighting my little negative demon, in the hopes that this injury that I have makes me a stronger person. My dream of running in the New York Marathon, are pretty much over, for this year anyway. I will have automatic entry into the race next year. I haven't been able to train for the past few months. I started training just before the Lululemon Half Marathon, and a few weeks before that race I felt something pop in my foot (could not run in the race). I knew that a more serious injury had happened this time, and knew that I should get to a physio stat, to try and get the healing process started.

I went to a physio that was recommended to me, and they are still to pinpoint exactly what is wrong with my foot. First of all, it was thought to be a stress fracture, which I had x-ray's for and they found nothing wrong with it, then it was thought to be muscle and ligament damage to my foot in between the little toe and forth toe, and now it looks like it is Achilles Tendon problem that hasn't healed properly from the last time I injured it. Since each week is a different diagnosis, and they can't really tell me what is wrong with it, I have decided to take a few weeks off physio, and do my own icing, and stretching that they have showed me to see if it makes any difference. Even if I am able to run in New York, I will wait until next year, since I haven't even started training for it yet, and I want to have a fighting chance to finish in a good time.

So since I have been on and off crutches and unable to exercise, the weight has slowly been piling on, it is a long negative and depressing progress, and that goes hand in hand with some other personal niggling problems that have been going on lately, I turn to my trusty food for comfort.

I have to make a change for the positive and start thinking happy thoughts instead of negative self defeating attitude, I will get through this again, and next year I will come back stronger and better then I have ever been. I want to mentally start preparing myself for the athletic challenges that I have set myself up for next year. I will complete my first tri next year, I will complete 2 marathons, and I will be the best version of me that I can be.

So where does that leave me for the rest of this year? Plenty of rest and stretching with gradual increase in exercising, I will start to walk a little further each day - taking into consideration how my foot is feeling, and not over do it, so that I won't make my current injury worse. I will also start to eat better. The first thing is to start Ani's 15-Day Fat Blast, which is a huge learning curve for me. I have never been on a vegan raw diet before, and I can't wait to see what effect that this has on my mood and how I feel in general. I will have a great support network as well with this, the BF will be doing this with me, and I have a friend who has just completed it, and says she feels fantastic. (I know that the results are different for everyone, but I hope I look as half as fantastic as her when I finish it). I look forward to writing about my experiences with it.

So the self pity party ends here. There are people around me that are have more devastating stories then me. Sometimes it is hard to dig myself out of my negative thoughts, but tomorrow is a new day, and it will be better then today......

Goals for the Week

Now that it is 19 weeks away from the New York Marathon I have to start making weekly goals so that I can stay on track and achieve my goals. So here are my goals for the first week of July:

1. Stay Committed to my training Plan:  I'm not going to lie, I get distracted when I come up with a plan, and often find that I don't stay on track. I always tell myself that I can start next week, instead of staying on track with what I have set out. I went for my first run yesterday in a long time - it was my first run since the Run for Women, and it totally hurt. Today I can feel all my muscles screaming, but I need to keep pushing ahead. My next run is scheduled for tomorrow. I couldn't make the full distance yesterday, but I am totally ok with that. I have to listen to my body, and make sure that I stop when my tendon starts to hurt. Yesterday, I felt a little twinge of pain with my tendon, so I stopped and rested for the rest of the day. Today it doesn't feel too bad, but I do know my limits.

2. Have fun at the Vancouver Subaru Triathlon: I sit on the committee for the Vancouver Subaru Triathlon, and the event is going to be held this weekend. It has been a lot of hard work to get everything organized but I know that this hard work is going to pay off, and it is going to be a lot of fun. The weather looks like it is going to be sunny - so hopefully the forecast stays true to its word. If you are in the Vancouver area over the weekend - you should come out and watch some pretty awesome athletes.

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3. Find a Personal Trainer or a New Gym: Now that it has been confirmed that we will be moving to a new abode, we have to find a new gym - or find myself a Personal Trainer, so that I can get stronger and a new found confidence. I am going to miss my current Bootcamp instructor she whipped me into shape before I went home, and has been very understanding while I have been out injured. It will just be too far to travel, and I won't get to any of the classes on time. Does anyone have any recommendations for what to look for in a good personal trainer.  So the hunt begins.....

Three Things Thursday

It's been a long time since I did one of these so here goes:

1: I Won't Be Running the Scotiabank Half Marathon on Sunday
After thinking a lot about this and doing a lot of soul searching, I have decided not to run the Scotiabank Half Marathon this weekend. This was going to be the race that launched my training for the New York Marathon. However, my leg has started to act up, and instead of pushing myself too far (with no training), I will sit this one out and start my Marathon training on the first weekend in July. I have to take good care of my tendon to ensure that I have nipped this injury before it gets too serious. Lots of stretching, ice and rest. I will listen to my leg when it starts to hurt too much. The Half Marathon that I will focus on for my New York training will be:

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One of my friends convinced me that this would be a great training run for me, so hey why not.

2. Training Plan has been set
I have chosen my training plan. It will give me the direction that I need for the lead up into the big one. I will adapt my training to match that from is from the John Stanton book "Running: The Complete Guide to Building Your Running Program":

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I have chosen the plan that will complete the marathon, but in no particular set time. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself for this marathon, just to finish will be A-OK with me. This will be my first marathon in which I go into it with a structured training plan. I am dedicated to this, and hope that I will have lots of other runners to join me on my long runs :)

3. It is finally Summer in Vancouver!!!!!!!!
I can hardly believe that we have had two decent warm days in a row. Fingers crossed that it keeps going - here's high hopes for a long warm summer!

Good luck to everyone running races this weekend!

Starbucks Run for Women Race Recap

Last week I ran in the Vancouver Starbucks Run for Women (June 9, 2012), held up and around UBC/Pacific Spirit Park.


Starbucks Run for Women

This would be my first attempt at a road/trail race. Before the race I had no idea that it was a trail race. I had done no preparation, and knew that this wouldn't be my fastest time for a 10km. We arrived pretty early to the starting area, along with a sea of  purple t-shirts and eager athletes to start the race. After a talk by John Stanton and Olympian Jennifer Heil, we were all called to the start line to start the inaugural race. After a short countdown, we were told to smile for the camera's as we passed the start line, and then we were off.

I knew form the get go, that I was going to struggle with the race, I was coming off a bad cold, and still had sinus issues, and I also forgot my water bottle. I set off with a slow pace, determined not to use up all my energy in the beginning. With lots of people jostling for positions, I found my happy pace. At the 1km mark was the first water station, and I was happy to have a short break to take in some water and have a breather. And then I was off again. After running down the side of a road for (what seemed like) a while we headed into Pacific Spirit Park and there I was official running through the trails for the first time.

I found the going to be pretty tough, and after a week of rain, the trails had not yet dried out, so there was plenty of mud and slippery rocks. I found the paths to be overcrowded, and they had not closed off the trail to others, so a few times I had to run around loose dogs, be wary of oncoming bikes, and the general public who were walking the trails.  I found myself slowly losing confidence in my abilities, and starting to struggle with negative thoughts after only running 4 km's, for the first time, I thought that I would not be able to complete the race.

I had to conserve my energy and to do this, I decided to walk up the hills, and run slowly down the hills. My legs were killing me, and I had a feeling that my IT bands were not going to be very happy with me after the race. They started tightening up on the first downhill part. I was dying to come to another water station. I believe that there was meant to be a water station at the 5.5km mark, however it felt like forever to get there. I kept looking at my watch and felt that I was running further then the markers had stated.

After I got to the second water station, I once again slowly took my time going through there, enjoying my breather, and knowing that I had under 5km's to go, I would take the rest of the race at a slower pace, I had relief knowing that I had a chance of completing my race. The final KM's of the race was pretty much like the beginning of the race. Up and down hills, trying hard not to run directly through the muddy trail. I played tag with people in front of me, trying to keep pace, and not let them get too far ahead of me.

Finally I could hear the cars on the road, after what seemed like forever. I was waiting for the final water station (9km mark) so that I could take in some more liquids, as my sinus issues were really waring me out. To my disappointment the water station was closed by the time I got there. I was a little disappointed, but I knew that I only had another KM or so to go, so I told myself to hold on, and that there would be a bottle of water waiting for me at the end!

Slowly but surely I made it onto the final hill, in preparation for the finish line. I huge wave of relief swept over me, as this had been one of the more challenging races that I had run in. (Mainly due to my own self doubt). I ran up the final hill to the finish shute, and I couldn't be more happier at that point to finally finish the race.  I really like that we received a finishers bracelet once we finished. It was a nice touch, and so different from the other medals I have received.

 
 
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Overall I ran the race in 1:19:31.52. By far my slowest race, but perhaps my most rewarding. The money raised went to the charity Plan Because I Am A Girl Project a program that I am hoping to support further in the not too distant future. I hope to be able to run this race again next year. Next year I will be prepared, train for it, and wear proper trail running shoes.

Next planned race for me, Vancouver Scotiabank Half Marathon (June 24). My goal is to finish in under 3 hours, I just want to finish the race, with little training, and hope not to injure myself for the beginning of my training for the New York Marathon.

I'm In.......Time to Come Up with a Training Plan

I found out a month or so ago, that I had made it into the New York Marathon.

Time to start figuring out my training plan. Something that I actually going to stick to this time because of the costs, and it is going to be the biggest race of my life. I have had my ups and downs recently, poor training and diet, and I am determined to kick some butt in this race. I'm sick at the moment, but know with proper rest I will be back up and running in no time. I know the extent of which I can push myself, and when to stop so that I don't re-injure myself. I have been battling an Achilles problem for a year, and every time I think that it is improving, my body defies me, and I am back to almost square one. I know the drill, ice, rest and plenty of stretching. I will take more notice of my body - it is obviously telling me something, when things stop working correctly.

What training plans do you stick to when it is the race of your life? I know that there are various running groups, but at this point in time, I don't have the money to be able to afford the luxury of a coach. I know that I will need motivation and  a set training plan. I know that I have countless support from my friends and family, and I don't want to let them down, I want to make then proud. 

So the hunt begins, for the perfect training plan for me. I'm tired of making excuses for my poor performances in races, the bottom line is that I don't train enough, and the reason my body rebels against me, is due to the lack of training. I want to perform at the very best that I can offer. In the past 4 weeks, I have run the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon, and the Fargo 10 & 5km challenge. My next race is this coming weekend, the Run for Women 10km (http://www.runningroom.com/runforwomen/) and then I will have the Scotiabank Half Marathon in a few weeks time (http://canadarunningseries.com/svhm/). I'm not going to push myself too hard in these races, I know that I have a long road ahead of me, to make sure that I can run the big one in November.

I am planning on updating the blog frequently as I want to be accountable, and keep myself motivated. (Since I have been off the blog for a while now). Full steam ahead for the next race!

I Want To Run!

I have been out for a while. Not that I wanted to take any time off, but my performance and enthusiasm was clearly lacking, and after a pretty poor performance at the Fargo Half Marathon, I knew something was up, when I could only hobble from mile 2 to the finish. I wanted to complete it in 3 hours, and I came in in 2:59. Far from my previous race times, however,  I knew that after the Vancouver Half, my mind and body just wasn't in love with running anymore. I was forced time off, after finding out that I had pulled my piriformis muscle and my tendon in my right leg which wasn't in love with the whole running thing without training/stretching. So far I have been off running for about 3 and a half months, gained about 10 pounds, and now have 4 months to lose all the weight that I have gained, since being in Canada, so that I can look my very best when I go home for Christmas, a majority of my family hasn't seen me for 3 years.

It's not like I have been inactive all that much since I have taken a running hiatus, I have been swimming and I have been bike riding long distances, as I have been mentoring the ladies doing the Nike Women's Marathon for Team in Training, and I have been on Roger my trusty bike to cheer them on every few km's. I logged around 40kms on the bike today, which has left me pretty exhausted, but now that I am actually missing running, and I can't wait to get back into it.  I hope to get the all clear next weekend after my next appointment. I will promise to stretch and train properly for my next event, which I won't schedule until next year. I can't wait to get back out there!!!