18K is A-OK, Hip-hip-HOORAY!

Well, I know my last post was about being terrified, and we still don't have costumes figured out (essential!), but we've had two great long runs in a row. Friday we were supposed to run 16.5K and met at work at 530 to head out in (accidentally) matching outfits. We ran from work to Hooters (heh!) over to 16th Ave and Deerfoot and then back to the office. It was a glorious morning where the temperature was just right, the air felt fresh and the sky was shining. We had our Gatorade and our GU just at the right time. As we headed back up the service road, I suggested we cut back across the temporary running path and then loop back.  See, last week we ended up being a bit short and had to retrace a bit to get our 15K in, which feels a bit sad to be so close to the finish and then realize you're not quite done...

No problem, we cut back to the running path while fighting off a mosquito parade and head back. As we head to the 4 way stop, Princess Chris pulls out her iphone to check our time and our distance---turns out I had forgot to hit start on mine, so we hadn't been checking our distance or pace at all during our run...good thing there was a backup!

She punches me in the arm and shrieks.

With excitement!

Turns out, we had accidentally shot past the 16.5K we were aiming for and had already passed 17.5K in the same amount of time. Figuring we had nothing to lose at this point, we kept running for another few minutes to make it an even 18K in just a smidge over 2 hours. So, not only did we run too far, but we had done it much faster than expected. And felt great about it!

In short, we arrived at our desks Friday morning shrieky with excitement and incredibly proud of ourselves.  Anytime we saw each other throughout the day we highfived and shrieked. Saturday rolls around and I'm only a teensy bit sore.  Short story long...I'm suddenly feeling a lot more confident about this race now!!

Cancel that miracle!

Well, I guess a few days of rest and Stampede DID make for an improved run last week, but I should have known it wouldn't last. Another week goes by complete with a zillion beers, more mac and cheese pizza (carbolicious!!!) and more cowboys than you can shake a stick at.  I didn't run once (chasing the bus doesn't count) and as far as nutrition went, only deep fried things fueled me and only beer hydrated me.

These were full length jeans a week ago??

So, it should come as no surprise that I've gained a few pounds and gotten a little slower.

Nonetheless, I LOVE Stampede, and while my body could sure use the break, I'm going to miss it. But back to training! It was warm this morning (already nearly 20C at 6am) when I headed out for a 5K. My only goal this morning was to run the whole 5K without walking. I had put some new music on my ipod and was ready to go!  Sure enough, I felt great. The sun rose as I ran out on the usual airport path, and there were no bugs. AND sure enough, I was able to run the whole 5K without much trouble. In fact, I felt pretty good and darn fast, in spite of the bowl of jelly I seemed to be carrying around my midriff.  As the ipod announced I was done, I eagerly grabbed it, sure I had broken records or at least come close.

The ipod said it had taken me just over 34 minutes. I checked again...surely that couldn't be right??? I had been awesome! I felt good, my music was awesome and I thought I had really booted it the last half km, surely today was the day I had finally broken the 30 minute mark I've been striving for. But no, I guess when I run alone I'm lazy as can be and will be as slow as a turtle!

Nonetheless, I did what I had set out to do by running the whole thing with no breaks, so whatever, I'm back on track with a mere 40-something days left.

Oh, and yesterday I started the Insanity regime, diet and all. So, I dryheaved through the Fit Test yesterday and did the first workout today...I bet my body is totally confused by all the lean protein and vegetables I've eaten and I'm pretty sure there's no more beer or fried food residue in me anymore based on the amount of sweat I lost in the past 24 hours.

4.5 Sleeps to go!

That's right...since we take the red eye flight on Thursday, I don't think it actually counts as a full night's sleep. We got a few more pictures from our practice half last week thanks to our Running Room buddies!

This is what the start looked like! Too bad we missed it!

Crowns still shiny on the home stretch!

A perfect princess wave, well done!

Princesses and our Ladies-in-Waiting! Thanks Jen and Cherie!

So much to do before we go...mostly deciding what shoes to pack and which parks to go to!

Hypothermic Half "Test" Marathon!!

Well here we are, 2 weeks prior to our race and our training schedule this weekend called for our longest run ever, 20kms! It just so happened that this particular weekend was the half marathon that the rest of our Running Room group was actually training for, the Calgary Hypothermic Half Marathon. We figured since we had to run 20kms anyways this weekend, why not join in and just run it? What's 1km more? We didn't register in time so we didn't have an official number on a bib or a chip but we were excited to run the course with other runners and get a taste of that 'race' feeling.

In the days before the race we made sure to 'hydrate, hydrate, hydrate'! And we all enjoyed a BIG meal the night before the race. It was early to bed and thankfully not too early to rise; the race was at 10am. Weather check in the morning and it was calling for a gorgeous day, sunny with a high of +6 degrees. We haven't run in temperatures that warm we almost didn't know what to wear and had to quickly confirm with each other on only 2 layers. Princess Fliss offered to pick Princess Chris and I up in the morning at 9:30 and head over to Eau Claire where the race started. We figured we didn't have to be there that early as there was no race package to pick up, we were just planning on blending into the crowd and hope no one noticed we were ghost running the race. I guess this is common in the running world and the path is still open to anyone to run on, but it was our first 'ghost run' so we felt somewhat like kids sneaking into a concert or an amusement park.

We got ready quickly after parking all with bedazzled tiaras (Thanks Felicity!) and headed to the start only to find it a ghost town! There wasn't a sole there! . We questioned if the race maybe didn't start until 10:30 or 11 but then we noticed the race clock just passing 5 minutes. We were late! We missed the whole start! So instead of taking off right then and there we had to of course get some passerbys to take our picture in front of the big inflatable Running Room start/finish sign. We then headed out at 10:07am onto the running route. We didn't see anyone that looked as if they were part of a race, just your normal Sunday walkers and joggers. Thankfully Fliss had looked up the route online and knew where to go. We had a good laugh at missing the race and were happy with ourselves for just being outside and about to run 21kms.

The run started off like any other, the first km or two feeling terrible as our bodies adjusted and got into a rhythm. We trudged along the river feeling a little disappointed to not be 'in the race' when all of a sudden we passed someone wearing a bib!! Then another, and another!! We were in it! Christi pointed out what looked like a larger group of runners and we could see them! We were catching up! This filled us with joy and accomplishment. We were now in the race and set our minds now on the long steady run ahead of us. As we crossed over the 14th St bridge we saw a familiar face signalling where to turn and it was Karen from our Running Room group. She snapped an action shot of us, we said a quick hello and ran on, finally passing the 5km marker. "Pffft, 5kms, that was easy! Want to do another 5km? Sure! Why not. Then maybe turn around and come back".

Feeling pretty good we slowly but surely passed people. It was an amazing feeling. We noticed lots of people running the other direction looking at us funny then remembered we were wearing tiaras. As we passed some of the race participants, they smiled or laughed and told us how much they liked the tiaras or said "Yay Princesses!". It was extremely uplifting and Felicity decided she is going to wear a tiara every time she runs which we agreed was a great idea. We did at one point get called a Stagette as one of the crowns was silver and the other 2 were pink and our outfits all coincidentally matched.

Christi's friend Anne-Marie had come out to cheer her on and when we made it to her she jogged along with us for a good little while like a natural runner herself! She was kind enough to take all of our gloves for us as it was just way too warm to wear them and we took a moment for a great photo op of us jumping, clearly showing just how excited we were to be there. AND she's the only person to have ever snapped one of our jumping shots on the first take!

As we neared the bridge at Edgeworthy Park we noticed a water station and 2 photographers. Even though we weren't registered we still smiled like Princesses should, hey, you never know! The volunteers cheered for 'The Princesses' and gave us water as we ran by. We began hitting icy patches along the path at which was the only point the shoe grips would have come in handy. No one fell and we kept on trucking along. We were now seeing racers coming back and were cheering them on. As more and more runners began running back the other way, more people cheered and encouraged and we really began to feel the energy of the race and get that 'Runners High' where you feel like you could run forever!

The half way point came, we stopped for a photo op again and heard someone say as we ran off "Love the tiaras Princesses, see you in 2 weeks!". We don't know who it was but it was pretty exciting. We refuelled at this point. The girls had Luna power bars and I tried out a Goo for the first time expecting it to be terrible, but surprisingly it was not bad! Now we were running back and passing people still heading in the direction of the turn around and more encouraging words and compliments on the tiaras pushed us through. I was nervously waiting for the pain in my knee that had almost made me want to cut my 12k run short the weekend before to start but it never did! Christi had lent me a knee brace and I think it worked like a charm.

We made it to the 15km marker, stopped for a picture (yes, we really do need to document as much of these runs as possible) and starred dauntingly at the view of down town Calgary that seemed so far away. It was only 6kms more but we were beginning to feel like muscles were slowly tightening up and our legs getting heavier. My ankle began to hurt and I noticed a cramp in my left shoulder. We shook out our arms and slowed our pace a little. Little by little the city seemed to get closer as we ran along the river.

We passed Karen again as she cheered us on and neared Eau Clair feeling like there must only be 500ms left. At this point we felt the only moment of despair as we were directed to run onto Prince's Island and around back into Eau Claire making it more like another 2kms to the finish. It seemed so close yet so far. I remember thinking at this point that I will never run a marathon because this wouldn't even be half way yet!

We rounded the last bend and corner and all of a sudden the end was in sight! Our plan had been to just veer off and not cross the finish line since we didn't have a chip but we found ourselves now trapped on the path in a chute of spectators cheering loudly for The Princesses! There was no where else for us to go other than the finish line. It felt great to be cheered on but we felt guilty for not being actual race participants especially when they tried to put medals around our necks! But WE DID IT!! We ran an actual half marathon and we all felt amazing! Our time was 2:18 which we were all very happy with considering how many times we stopped.

Back in the car again, into some dry shirts and chugging a 4L carton of chocolate milk like teenagers passing around a bottle in the parking lot of a school dance, we revelled in the afterglow of our accomplishment. Next stop was breakfast at Galaxie Dinner with a giant creamcicle shake and all you can eat hashbrowns! It was one of the best meals I have had in awhile!

I think all of us stayed on that runners high for the rest of the weekend and we all felt great with only mild soreness the next day! It was a good sign, a great day, a good race and just what we needed to know we'll be unstoppable in Orlando!!!

Packed my bags last night, pre-flight!



Looking good ladies! See you soon!



We're getting close.

Like, really, REALLY close.

Last night was our last running clinic with the Running Room(which ended with an excellent potluck, which in retrospect was something we really should have done every week!) Most of our run buddies will be doing their half this weekend, but we still have a bit further to go.  Two weeks from tonight we'll be packing our bags and checking in for our flight since we'll be leaving Thursday night! I'm already looking forward to choosing which three 100ml bottles of liquids I can't travel without. And which shirts to pack. And which bag to pack them in. And how many pairs of shoes is too many for a 4 night stay again?

On one hand, it feels like we've been training forever and we'd never make it Florida, and on the other hand, it's starting to feel like this race is coming up way too fast...I mean, we have to run 20K on Saturday and won't even get a medal at the end of it!   Unless pannenkoeks count as a medal (I'd take them over metal anytime, since they come with a side of sour cream!) And while I've pinpointed the nearest cupcake store to our hotel (BabyCakes in Downtown Disney, yum!), I have no idea where the closest premium outlet is.

And we need to watch our princess movies to get us all prepped for race day. I mean, what if at Mile 7 I realize I can't remember ALL the lyrics to Little Town or Something There or just how many eggs Gaston ate every morning to help him get large? This kind of training is important too, we have to be prepared!

100 Days to Go!

So, we have 100 days to go before the Princess Half Marathon and I think we've come a long way so far.  We still have lots to do-hill training, fartleks, speed intervals, book hotel, make costumes, lots!  But, we've had quite a few firsts...including this week, when WINTER finally hit Calgary.  After weeks and weeks of unseasonably warm weather this fall, Calgary was hit with 10-15cm of snow this week and the average daily highs dropped from 10C to...minus 20C.  For our running clinic this week, we spent all day Tuesday just dreading our 4K run.  None of us had ever run at a temperature below zero, and certainly never in -10C and not in the snow at night.  It was cold and icy, and only 6 people showed up for the clinic (I'm guessing most people were stuck in traffic rather than outright skipping it)  Fortunately, we had all stocked up on fleecy cold weather gear on our recent US trip, so we did a few outfit changes before deciding on an assortment of toques, mittens, layers, fleeces, shells and liners. 

We headed out on Tuesday full of trepidation, but as soon as we started running, things got pretty great pretty darn fast.  The snow was still falling, and it was pretty neat to run through fresh snow in near deafening quiet.  And none of us were cold, our new stuff was awesome!  There were no slips or near slips and I spent most of the run exclaiming how great I felt and how much I liked running in the snow.  At one house we passed, all the kids playing in the snow in their backyards cheered for us runners as we went by, which felt good.  When we got back, we all had icy eyelashes and frosty hair---we looked like Snow Princesses!

The next day  the temperature dropped further and  the snow kept up.  We eyed the weather network online all morning, and decided what the heck, let's head out at lunchtime instead of running on treadmills at the gym.  So, we bundle up and head out.  It's colder and windier out by the airport, so even though it was daytime, it was a good 10C colder.  We opted to do laps around the parking lot just in case we got too cold, then we wouldn't be more than 3 minutes away from going inside at any point.  Plus, then everyone inside would see how badass we are.  Turns out the parking lot is an exact 1K loop, so 4 laps later we were done!  It was so cold and windy, that every loop we did, our previous tracks were already gone.  Yikes!  But hitting the showers afterwards felt fantastic!

I think we spent the rest of the afternoon in a happy glow, so proud of ourselves for having faced the elements and not only won, but actually had some fun doing it.  And now we know that if we can do back-to-back runs under Arctic conditions, then we can handle anything that running throws at us.  We're going to do this half marathon in 100 days, and it's going to be GREAT!!

What went wrong in my hood?

I took up running a little under 2 years ago. I've lived in my house since 2007.  Yesterday was the first time I've ever put my runners on and gone for a run out my back door.  That's right, the past 2 years, ALL my runs have been on treadmills, at sports centers, near work, in a friend's neighbourhood or at city parks. Yesterday I was in a hurry and had to get my first 10k in as quickly as I could so I could get started on my Halloween baking (delicious annual tradition).  I thought I'd save time driving somewhere to run and just go from my house.  It's another great day in Cowscary, all blue skies and crisp fall air, I have my water belt on and I think I'm in for an awesome run.

Guess what?  The Signal Hill area is ALL hills. I knew this, obviously, but didn't really think about what this meant until I was about 300 meters from my back door and hit my first steep hill. No problem, I think, I'm a REAL RUNNER now, this will be fine!  I spring up the hill, then hit my second steep hill about a minute later and the third on just as my Nike + told me I had 1k down.  I walked for the first time at about 1500 meters, and  this was when I started to worry.  I had picked uphill from my house to start so that I wouldn't have to run uphill for the back half of a 10k run, which I guess was smart, but man.  At the 2k marker, I was walking up the steepest hill yet, gasping so loudly I could hear it over the Black Box blaring from my iPod.  I tried to find some level patches for swticthbacks to try to regain my breath, but the next 2k weren't much better and I started getting stitches in my side, which meant I was periodically running with my right arm straight out in an attempt to make the stabby pain in my side go away.

At 4k, I did something I don't think I've ever done before on a run. I paused the Nike + (so it wouldn't know) and sat on a bench to try to catch my breath and make the pain in my side diminish.  I drank some water and ate some of those high carb jelly beans (that I just LOVE...they're like salty jelly beans and they taste awesome!) and was probably on that bench for 5 minutes, willing myself to keep going.  I kept running away from my house even though it was still uphill because I knew if I headed back, I would quit. I was exhausted and this run was hard. I just couldn't catch my breath and my lungs and stomach hurt.  The more hills I ran (or walked) up, the more my legs started to hurt too.  And I walked a lot.

At the 6k mark, I started back home, hoping the way back would just be all fun shrieking arm-waving as I barrelled down hill after hill back to my house. Since I wasn't doing the flat switchbacks on the way back, I got to my house at 8.85k.  Here, I had another sad running first. I QUIT.  I've never cut short a run before and it was horrible.  Even as I walked up the driveway, I told myself that finishing the last kilometer would take just 10 more minutes even if I walked it all, but I couldn't muster up the emotional energy to do it.  At this point, a decent time was out of the question, but I still couldn't even will myself to finish. Bryan came into the kitchen to find me lying on the floor in a pool of my own sweat, too tired and defeated to even ask for a glass of water.  I lay there for quite a while feeling shame (and pain) before I got up (slowly). 

It's not all bad, I learned that maybe it's OK to listen to my body once in a while. I haven't had side cramps like that since I was a kid, and I really didn't want my lungs to burst out of my mouth. And, I have to say, right behind my house is a ravine that has a bunch of paths that are actually really pleasant that I had never thought about running through before. I bet that if I ran up the ravine for 2k, then turned around and came home, it would actually be a pretty great 4k hill training run.  As a 10k, my route stank, but I'm totally going to give it another shot in the very near future on a much shorter run.  Oh, and I guess I have to wash the salt stains off the kitchen floor too.

Keeping the streak alive!

For this week's long run, I joined the First Annual Brent's Run.  A friend of a friend's fiance died of a heart attack last year a month before their wedding so in his memory, she had organized a family fun run where you made a small donation to the Heart and Stroke foundation.  The run was supposed to be from Eau Claire, but had a last minute move to North Glenmore Park (that's right, my long run streak at the reservoir is unbroken!)  For this run, you could do the 5K loop once or twice if you wanted to do the 10K.  I met up with several friends just before 10 on a glorious sunny (but pretty chilly) Saturday to join what was probably about 50 people with kids on bikes, strollers, dogs and Starbucks and we were off!  I felt pretty good, the chill wore off pretty quickly and once again, I got to enjoy the lovely views of the reservoir on a cloudless day.

This wasn't a very competitive run, most people were out to support this woman, celebrate the memory of her fiance and get a little exercise doing it. I had never met either of these people before, but I've lost a few family members to sudden heart attacks in the past few years myself. I can't relate to losing a spouse like that, but I can sure relate to how horrible it is to get that phone call. Plus, it was a great cause, and the date happened to fit into my training schedule perfectly. I do like when there's synchronicity in my life! I found myself thinking of my mum a lot during the run, pleasant memories that propelled me down the path. She wasn't the running type, but I bet she would have totally appreciated how nicely my snappy running shirt matched my shoes and how my running belt could hold so much stuff!



At the end of the first loop, I headed back out for the second loop and noticed all the people who had been in front of me for the first half were now stretching at the finish line with bottles of water.  Um...what?? One of the organizers high fived me as I passed and said I was the first person starting the 10K.  Wait, all those fit people who left me in their dust at the starting line weren't doing the second loop?  Off I went, actually hoping to be passed by someone on the second loop.  As I headed out, the people finishing their 5Ks were coming back in,  a number of them waved at me as I went by.  I started to worry that maybe I was the only person doing the 10K and everyone would have gone home by the time I got back to the finish line and picked up the pace as much as someone on the back half of a 10K could.

I also realized early in the second loop the route markers had been set up incorrectly and it wasn't actually going to be a 10K.  I had my Nike + plugged into the iPod and the cheery woman announced 8K just when I noticed I could see the finish line again.  I did the math and realized the finish line was actually going to be at 9K and decided to go past the finish line for half a kilometer and then coming back to get the even 10K in.  As I got to the finish line, I realized everyone was sitting around eating sandwiches and cookies and were waiting..ummm...for me?!?!?  I actually WAS the only person who did the 10K, so I WON!  Everyone cheered as I came in, and it was sort of awesome. Plus, no way I could keep running after that reception, I'd look like a jerk!  So, I didn't actually run 10K, which is fine. The Nike + told me my pace really WAS fast, nearly 30 seconds faster per km than last week's run, and I felt really good! I wasn't tired, my legs weren't sore and I could have kept on going no problem. Maybe all this training really IS paying off!! Plus, the 8 cookies and 3 beers I had after the race tasted like food of the gods.  No wonder I like this running thing so much.  Acessories and endless appetite with guilt free snacking = the sport for me!

How Jurassic Park failed me

Yesterday it hit 24C in mid October in Calgary. This morning when I woke up to go for my long run, it was gusting wind and flurries, temperature 4C. I know I harp about Calgary weather a LOT on this blog, but seriously, this is crazy. Maybe if I had my fellow princesses, then MAYBE I would have gone for a run outside.  But I draw the line at running in the dark, cold, wind snow by myself. I did think about scrapping the run altogether, saying go back to bed and I can always do it Monday.  Then I realized if I didn't do it now, it wasn't going to happen at all. I'm great at lying to myself. So, inside on the treadmill it was. 

I used to love the treadmill.  Running in place while watching TV or movies was great, so I thought.  Now I've really come to hate it, and hate it I did this morning for 6 whole miles.  I put in Jurassic Park to cheer myself up, but it didn't come close to a good long run out by the reservoir or the airport or anywhere that wasn't just staring at the same 4 walls. In fact, the movie was...starting to look like it was 20 years old.  What was with all the high waisted pants? Marky Mark was 20 years ago, but he's still awesome! And for probably the first time ever, I started thinking the whole premise of the movie was stupid and implausible. I bet a T-Rex would eat more than a single goat for lunch.  And I bet scientists would know when they were splicing frog DNA that the species can switch genders, that seems like a pretty stupid mistake. 

Sorry JP, I think this is the runner's low talking

I was so busy being angry about running on a treadmill I couldn't enjoy the movie at all, but nor did it distract me from my task at hand.  I get sweaty anytime I run, but running inside on a treadmill is the very worst, I was DRENCHED when I was done.  My headband was actually heavy when I pulled it off, and my shoes were soaked.  Also, I realize now that 6 miles is actually 9.6K, which means I ended up running an extra half kilometer because I can't do simple math!? GRR!!

I'm not saying treadmills are useless, I like them for speed intervals and hills and for sometimes just mindlessly watching the Food Network (yes, I love to watch bacon fry while I run, don't judge me) .  And yeah, they will sometimes beat the heck out of running in the snow or paying a $15 drop in fee to run laps at your local rec center, but I just didn't enjoy my run at all today.  I won't dwell on it, because it's done and next week's run will be outside for sure.  On the bright side, now I won't have to run on Monday with a hangover.

Some Like It Hot

RIP Tony Curtis, we will miss your
dashing looks and comedic timing!

I might have just sunburned for the first time ever in October in Calgary.  After sleeping in until noon (yes, I do that pretty much every Saturday, but this week I have an excuse...I was volunteering until 1230 last night at a literacy fundraiser!  Lookit me, all philothropantic!) and eating a nutritious breakfast of Spolumbo's breakfast sausages and Eggs a la Joey, I headed over to the reservoir for an 8k run.  It was already 24C, and a glorious day, so I was looking forward to enjoying one of those few lovely fall days Calgary gets per year.  I headed out, enjoying the cloudless azure blue skies against the canary yellow leaves still on the trees while the latest international dance songs scrolled by on my Ipod.  I have to say, I really enjoyed the first 5K, I felt fast and the scenery was amazing. I felt like a RUNNER and it felt good!

Around 6.5K, I started crapping out. It was hot, my lips were all dried out and gross and my legs were getting heavy. Also, the sun was just blazing and my skin felt like it was burning under the crust of salt accumulating on my arms, but I kept pushing on.  I know from last week I can run 7.5K without too much trouble now, and I wanted to go at least that far again.  I started skipping songs on the Ipod looking for the ones I knew could carry me through another 4 minutes.

I thought I had timed it so the big hill I ran down at the beginning of my run would be the end of the 8K and I could walk up the hill as my cool down. I hit this hill just as the Nike Plus cheerfully announced "400 meters!" and I almost quit.  I was so hot, so tired, and I just didn't think I could make it up this hill after running 7.5K, but I thought I would give it a try since a sinewy woman in front of me was still chugging along.  I started up, and just at the point where I was going to quit, a sweet elderly gentleman on a bike started pacing me and saying "you can do it, you're almost at the top!"  I kept shuffling along, still running but barely as he cheered me on. At the 200m to go mark, I gasped "I don't think I can do this" to which he replied "yes, you can!  You're young, you can do it!!!.....but I can't, I'm old!" as he hopped off his bike and started walking.  Just as he did that, Sinewy Lady also started walking. 

 I'll be darned if I didn't chug my way to the top of the hill.   I was just channeling the Little Engine That Could because I figured if that old timer thought I could do it, then I probably really could.  Apparently I'm kinda petty because when I passed Sinewy Lady, I chortled to myself "you may be 5% body fat with zero cellulite, lady, but I'm passing you, mwahahahahaha!" It was a pretty weak finish to my run, and I bet that last 400 meters took as long as the previous km had, but I still ran the entire 8K without walking once, so I'd still say it was a win! 

I guess I could! Yay me!

PS...check out the update to our running to Disneyworld as of October 1...we're so close to the border, we can see the bright lights of the Duty Free!

"If it was easy, everyone would do it"

If you have been following our blog somewhat regularly, you would have noticed a trend in the posts, and that they have mostly been written by PrincessFliss. She gives us the stink eye all the time because we haven’t been posting. I think her blogs are awesome and love her writing and I haven’t really had anything to write about. I could have wrote about how I went to Vegas a few weeks ago and pretty much didn’t run for 2 weeks after that. I didn’t even kid myself by bringing my running stuff to Vegas. The only running I did there was the running man on the dance floor in heels! Now that’s cardio!

It’s amazing how fast you can fall out of running and your body begins to revert back to it’s couch potato state when you take a few days off. I then had a terrible cold after Vegas so didn’t do much running the week after I returned. It was then that I realized how close the 10k race I had agreed to run with a girlfriend actually was! It was Tuesday and the race was Saturday! First off let me tell you I have never run a race before and I had also never run a full 10km before!! The furthest I had made it in my training so far was about 6.3km! So, I was a little nervous and I got me arse out running in the few days I had left before Saturday. I ran here at the airport once, along the river from home once and over to a girl friend’s house one evening, which was my attempt at hill training! Yikes!

Well Friday came around and I forced myself to call it a night and be in bed by 10 even though I really wanted to stay out for vino with my friend Courtney on what felt like that last nice day Calgary will ever see again. Treena (my roommate and running pal that day) and I were up early, good breakfast in our bellies and about to hit the road when Treena couldn’t find that one little thing that might make or break her run. Her running shoes!! She couldn’t find them anywhere! So she threw on a pair of mine (size and a half too small) and we were out the door. She’s a trooper because I probably would have said F’it and gone back to bed! We arrived in Banff after a very windy drive there but the temperature was already +16 degrees at 9:30 in the morning, the sun was shining, the changing trees gorgeous and people in spandex everywhere!

I’m starting to ramble here so I’ll jump to it. I LOVED IT! The race was an amazing experience and I can for sure say I am hooked now! There’s definitely a crazy energy in a race environment and the most rewarding feeling when it’s done. This was the Melissa’s Road Race in Banff and is either a 10k or a 22k. The route was in and around the town of Banff and up a crazy hill at the very beginning. I had heard horror stories about the hill and that it just kills you at the start. It turned out to not be as bad as I thought and I think I did pretty well given that I have never done hill training! I had to stop twice to walk quickly to catch my breath but only for about a minute each time, so I pretty much ran the whole hill. Then of course, what goes up, must come down and it was a nice run down, perfect to recover a little from the hill. A friend a told me not to let myself get discouraged by all the runners flying by me, but I didn’t at all. First of all, I was actually passing people! That made me feel great and the people running past me only inspired me. They were amazing! I also really enjoyed checking out all the different running outfits as well as all the amazing calves on everyone! I have this obsession to get kick ass calves and I was definitely motivated to run faster. The one thing I certainly did not enjoy though were the people passing gas as they were running. And, no it wasn’t the sulfur hot springs I could smell!

I loved all the people along the sides cheering and all the signs they were holding. My favorite sign I saw, was one that said “If it was easy, everyone would do it!” and I thought “YA, that’s right!” and kept on running! It went by surprisingly fast, adrenaline assisting there I’m sure. I noticed the 2km marker and then didn’t see anymore until the 7km marker pleasantly popped up. At that point that was the furthest I had EVER run before so already I had accomplished something. I didn’t bring my ipod, so I enjoyed listening to all the random things groups of runners were chatting about and lots of them passing me and didn’t even sound out of breath one bit! Amazing! At this point I kept looking for another marker as it had to be getting close and we were rounding back to the area we started. I saw the 15km marker for the 22ers and sort of gasped in my head at the thought of running 22km at this point. People were cheering and yelling “Home Stretch!” although I still hadn’t seen another marker. I overheard someone saying it was just up and around this bend and back to where we started. I could see all the people who had switched back and were almost done, cheering and yelling “You’re almost there!”. At the bend, the person directing the path was yelling “1km! Only 1km left! And a beer at the end!!”. Well if that wasn’t enough to kick me into high gear. Now let me tell you, 1km, after running 9 already, seems like a piece of cake. But when you decide ‘I’m going to run like the dickens this last km’ and you think a km is shorter in your head than it really is, running really fast that last bit, probably isn’t the best idea. I was running and passing people and feeling awesome and knew I was really close to the point where the race started. Then I could see where it started and reality stuck hard, that the finish line was not exactly where we had started! It was further back in a different spot! Nausea set in instantly because I had run so hard that last bit, and then panic as I would rather die than barf in front of everyone 250m from the finish line. But, a few deep breaths later I was good to go and I was in that last little stretch. It’s a bit of a blur, all the people cheering and I couldn’t tell which line was the actual finish. I think one scans you as you cross for your name to be announced then the last one under the big timer clocks your time. I saw a photographer at the end and I couldn’t think of how my face should look as I crossed the finish! I think I may have mustered a half smile but inside I was beaming. I did it. I ACTUALLY DID IT! A year ago I would have never thought I could even run 5km let alone 10. The half marathon still seems like a stretch but more feasible than ever now. My official time was 1:03:46 which I was very proud of given that this was my first 10km ever, my first race ever and I was told it’s not an easy race either. SUCCESS!!

Next up: 10km race in Phoenix. Piece of cake!

Lunchtime 5km Run - 33min (Christi & Crystal)