All Downhill From Here

I had planned on two loops of 10km (6.2 miles) today, but Linda talked me into running 11 km in the second loop. We actually ran a smidge further than that, and boy am I tired.

The last 7 km were hard work, but I made it. Slightly more than 13 miles, for the first time ever! I forgot to buy more gels this week so got really, really hungry in the second loop. Linda took pity on me and shared a Peak Freans chocolate orange cookie. DiVINE.

Legs got achy in the last quarter of the run, but no substantial pain anywhere, and I was able to focus on moving forward steadily.

Did I mention I’m tired?

Soccer Boy had an “away game” last night in the south end of the city, so I scribbled down directions to the field, picked up one of his other teammates in our neighborhood and off we went. One of Soccer Boy’s other buddies likes soccer but isn’t on a team this season, and came along to cheer. This buddy is 14 and is one of those enthusiastic dudes that is always up for a hike, a round of hoops, whatever might be happening. When I talked to his mom about him coming along, I told her to have him wear his running clothes and he could come with me on a run before the game.

Instant running partner 🙂

Boy Next Door and I dropped off the Soccer Boys at the field a half hour before their game, as Coach prefers, and headed out. I suggested that we run out for 25 minutes and then turn around and come back. We’d miss some of the game, but the games take about 90 minutes to play, so we wouldn’t miss much.

Two blocks into the jog I realized that we weren’t far from North Glenmore Park, where I had cheered on friends running the Police Half in April. I made that a goal for our turn around point. Boy Next Door agreed heartily on our destination when I told him there is an outhouse at the park – he’d neglected to use the loo before leaving home. We reached it in 24:30. Am I good or what?

We took a few seconds to enjoy the view of the Weaselhead before hordes of mosquitoes reminded us we should be getting back. The run back had some slight uphill grades, but I worked hard and Boy Next Door kindly waited for me as I huffed and puffed back up. Ah, youth!

Nah, nothing to do with youth. I couldn’t even run a mile when I was his age. I’m in way better cardio shape now than I was as a teenager.

The soccer game had started late, so when we got back we’d only missed about 15 minutes. The second we settled on the damp, grassy field hundreds of mosquitoes attacked us and we bundled up like nomads. Boy Next Door got my sweat pants and two blankets to wrap around his torso and head. I donned my hoodie and wrapped the remaining blanket around my legs. One of the parents who was wearing a skirt got a bright orange garbage bag from her car and spent the second half of the game standing in it, with it tied around her waist. Quite the fashion statement, but it worked! Note to self: stash some bug repellent in the van, with the umbrella and sunscreen.

The game went very, very well. They passed a lot and controlled the ball well. Our boys WON, 5-1. Their first victory of the season. I liked the other team’s families – they were very supportive of their boys, and good sports. The game didn’t end until 9:45, but we’d WON, so I had to come through with my promise at the beginning of the season: Dairy Queen on the way home if we win. The boys dug into Blizzards, I had a small chocolate sundae, and I hoped their parents would forgive us for coming home past their bedtimes.

Monday I took Soccer Boy to his game and happily rested in the lawn chair while he played. I even wore my office clothes and sandals, so I couldn’t be called upon to “run lines” – I do this on purpose, because I just know I’m not going to be able to spot off-side calls or figure out which kid kicked the ball out.

Tuesday I ran with the Gord’s group. Yolanda and Tracey ran with Dawn, in her starting-over group, and my usual buds, Krista and Linda had other stuff to do. Kelly and Fair Weather Tim kindly held back for me and we did a hilly run in the hot sunshine. (Note: Fair Weather Tim has informed me that he did run in the rain this weekend, so I can’t call him that anymore) It was at least 28C/82F and I was glad I’d brought my water. FW Tim barely cracked a sweat as he ran on ahead at the end, and he was wearing sweat pants and a long-sleeved shirt!

Yesterday I skipped work and went with my daughter’s Grade 4 class to Calaway Park, the local amusement park. We walked from 10:30 – 2 pm and thankfully didn’t go on any dizzying rides. I lucked out and got the timid group – had a lot of fun on the Bumper Boats! I put Katie down for 3 miles of running/walking towards her Strong Kids Marathon Mile.

Last night no soccer or running, but I did a stair and weight workout anyway, hauling stuff up from my basement to the garage. I’m selling lots of junk stuff intriguing items this Saturday – drop by if you have a few minutes!

Tonight we’re off to another soccer game and I hope to run during the first half of the game. It’s an away game, so I’m not sure of the terrain I’ll find, but I have a feeling I’ll be avoiding hills if at all possible.

Linda, Krista and I ran about 18 km this morning, in training for our Half in 3 weeks. We met at the Edworthy Park North Parking Lot and ran along the river to the Langevin (Edmonton Trail) Bridge and back.

Things I learned on our long run today:

1) Long runs feel MUCH better when I am recovering from a cold (this weekend), as opposed to getting one (last weekend).

2) Vaseline on your legs can keep them warm and dry when you’re wearing shorts on a windy, rainy day. I wore leggings and got too hot today at one point, but Linda passed that gem on to me and I think I have to try it next time.

3) Chocolate Hammer Gel doesn’t taste as sweet as Chocolate Power Gel, but I like them both, and they seem to like me.

4) Wild Raspberry Ultima powder in my water bottle tastes the BEST of all the sports drinks I’ve tried so far.

3) The Bow River sounds much louder and less peaceful when it is fuller.

4) That bump/blister/callous/bunion(?) on the side of my left big toe seems to be caused by my turning my left knee in when I’m tired. That would also explain why my left knee got achy in the last km last week. I can work on straightening that form.

5) Long runs are just better with Imodium in my system (and cooler outdoor temperatures).

6) My cadence for 30 seconds of the last mile, when I counted it, was 84 steps per minute, and we did that mile in about 10:35.

7) When it’s raining in my neighbourhood in outer suburbia that doesn’t mean it is down by the river, where we ran for over 2 1/4 hours, rain-free until the last mile.

8) I talk more on a long run when I feel better. Or is it that I feel better when I talk more?

9) I really didn’t need my jacket after all.

10) I am going to have a BLAST running this Half Marathon!

I haven’t done a serious hill workout in a while, but I did tonight. A mile to the hill, dowwwwn about 700m, and then back up. It took me about 5 ish minutes to run down, 6 ish minutes to run up, and I did it 3 times. I worked hard for over an hour, turned beet red, sweated buckets and it felt real good.

In the top third of the third hill I gave myself a pep talk. Yes, I answer when I talk to myself – here’s how it went:

a: I am strong!
b: (pant pant) yeah.

a: I am amazing!
b: (pant pant) yeah.

a: I could do this for hours!
b: hahaha! I guess so, if I had to.

a: But you don’t have to. Hey, you chose to. Look at you choosing to run this hill!
b: (pant pant) uh huh.

a: I am strong! and light!
b: (pant pant) right. Are we there yet?

I gave myself little walk breaks after reaching the top the first two times, but after the 3rd hill I pushed on. For fun I counted my cadence on my right leg for 30 seconds on the flat part of the mile home, like Mark mentioned. For the record, I had a cadence of about 80 steps per minute. Not bad, but I could work on increasing that a bit. Short legs like mine need to go faster to cover more ground!

Little Miss Sniffles and I got out for a walk yesterday after all. She hung out on the couch all morning, but the sun was warm and inviting, so after lunch we went for a walk. We walked a km away from the house and then turned down into a valley on the way back. She was tired by about 1.5 km, so we sat in the tall grass on a hill and just sat and enjoyed the sounds of bugs and wind and distant traffic. Then we made our way back up the hill to home, and had good naps.

I love naps. Oh yes.

After naptime I had a shower, took a couple of Dristan cold tablets and made supper. Grilled salmon, pasta with pesto, and peas. Soccer Boy did his homework, got ready for his game, and I dropped him off on the way to my running group.

I ran about 7ish km with the girls. A new Karen showed up with her camelback and ran on ahead while we huffed and puffed on a walk break across the 14th St bridge. We lost Krista at 10th St. on the way back – she found a bathroom and joined us later. Yolanda and I made it across the Prince’s Island bridge on the way back, and up 150+ curling club stairs.

The rain held off, the sun shone, and the stiff, cool breeze was just what we needed.

Little Miss Sniffles and I got out for a walk yesterday after all. She hung out on the couch all morning, but the sun was warm and inviting, so after lunch we went for a walk. We walked a km away from the house and then turned down into a valley on the way back. She was tired by about 1.5 km, so we sat in the tall grass on a hill and just sat and enjoyed the sounds of bugs and wind and distant traffic. Then we made our way back up the hill to home, and had good naps.

I love naps. Oh yes.

After naptime I had a shower, took a couple of Dristan cold tablets and made supper. Grilled salmon, pasta with pesto, and peas. Soccer Boy did his homework, got ready for his game, and I dropped him off on the way to my running group.

I ran about 7ish km with the girls. A new Karen showed up with her camelback and ran on ahead while we huffed and puffed on a walk break across the 14th St bridge. We lost Krista at 10th St. on the way back – she found a bathroom and joined us later. Yolanda and I made it across the Prince’s Island bridge on the way back, and up 150+ curling club stairs.

The rain held off, the sun shone, and the stiff, cool breeze was just what we needed.

Uh oh, the dreaded hedgehog has struck again. Little Runner and I are at home with head colds. She curled up on the couch after school and fell asleep before supper. No mile last night for us!

Soccer Boy had some sniffles, but we sent him to school. Might keep him home tomorrow, if he’s as bad then as we are today. We’ll dope up on vitamin C, fruit, chicken soup, echinacea, zinc and naps, and see if we can feel better tomorrow. If the sun stays out and we feel energetic after our nap, we might go for a slow walk.

Since the cold seems to be in my head, I’m still planning on running tonight. Runner’s cold rules: above the shoulders – run but take it easy; below the neck – no running.

Life’s busy, but I need to blog about yesterday’s long run. Dawn and I met up with Krista and Yolanda down by the Edworthy Park Bridge yesterday morning at 8:30. Linda was no where to be seen, but it turned out she’d slept in and she cleverly found us later on by running in the opposite direction on the loop we’d planned to run. We ran East to Crowchild Trail, crossed on the pedestrian under-bridge and back alongside the train tracks on the South side of the river. This is about an 8 km loop, so in doing it twice we covered about 16 km or 10 miles.

Yolanda is just getting back into running after a month’s hiatus, so was happy to join us for the first loop and then head home. With Krista engaged to be married this fall, we talked about weddings and such. Well, Yolanda and I chatted – I think we started out a bit fast for a 2 hour run and Krista only filled us in on her wedding plans during walk breaks.

After we had one really long walk break at 20-25 minutes, we settled into 10/1 s except for Krista, who chugged steadily on ahead. In the total run we were passed by 3 trains, which reminded me to send strong vibes to Nancy, who was probably still competing at the time. I had told her to be unstoppable, “like a freight train”, and I put some of that thinking to my own efforts, as well.

Linda and I stopped at the biffy half way through for a much needed break, and sucked back some chocolate Powergels while we were at it. Yummy. I was reminded half way through the second loop that I was going to try taking some Imodium before this run, and HADN’T. It was a good thing we were running on the natural-park side of the the river! I was very efficient though – managed to keep my visit to the bushes inside a 1-minute walk break.

When I emerged from the bushes I found Linda further down the trail, picking wild roses to press for a project she was working on. I think she got some bigger smiles when other runners glanced at her flowers. Krista beat us back by a good 7 minutes or so, but welcomed us back to the popsicle stand with a cheer.

Keep an eye on Nancy’s Blog over the next day or two, for her Eagleman Half-Ironman report. Nancy has been a huge source of inspiration to me since I signed up on the Penguin message boards way back in 2000. If you haven’t been following her progress, have a read on the preparations she’s been making to get this far.

Go Nancy!