The Hills are Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiive......

...with the sound of gasping for breath....yep, today was our first hill training in the Tacklebox, and while I was dreading it for the last few days, hills this morning was actually not bad at all! I met Linz at 525 this morning and after a 5 minute warmup, we ran up the hill at 10th Street for 5 X 90 second intervals with recovery jogs between them. Sure, it sucked to be up that early, but it means we are still sticking to the program and getting it done! Plus then I spent most of the day shadow boxing Rocky-style, totally proud of how awesome I felt!

Couldn't have been a better day for feeling awesome about hills either...the random draw for the Nike Woman's Half Marathon in San Fran opened this week! I entered the draw for the fifth time in a row, fingers crossed that this time I get in! Yes, San Fran would be a scary hilly course, but this is the one where finishers get a specially designed Tiffany necklace instead of a medal. FROM A FIREMAN! If that doesn't motivate a girl to want to run up 21K of hills, I don't know what will!



Brave AND bearing gifts in blue boxes, it doesn't get much better!

 This weekend is a 13K run and some more yoga....then next week we find out if that we got into San Fran, which will certainly motivate us on the hills!

Badass Mudders!

It's that time of year again...the clocks have spring forward, the days are getting longer, bunnies are trying to jump over each other but not quite making it and the urge to run outside gets overwhelming.  Today's forecast called for 12C, sunny and windy like the bejesus so I was just itching to get outside. Princess Chris and I made plans to run at lunchtime and I asked Lindsay, who I had coaxed into registering for the Seawheeze to join us.

The weather did not disappoint. While windier than I like (and it changed directions on the way back so it felt it like whole run was into the wind) the sun was shining and it was WARM out...not just a Chinook, it definitely felt like spring, and man, it felt great. I was wearing my new Mickey running shoes for the first time, and kept squealing when i looked down at my feet. But I quickly remembered the one thing I don't love quite so much about spring running...

MUD.

Ohh maaaaah laaaawd, the mud.  

Within 5 minutes of leaving the building, my gorgeous new Mickey shoes were covered in so much mud I bet they were 5lbs heavier. And even running through patches of (rapidly melting) snow couldn't rinse 'em off. A quick rinse when we got back to the office did little to restore their glory and to be honest, a quick whiff made me worry it wasn't all mud. I opted to wrap then in paper towels and stick them in my bag to let them dry out and hopefully clean them off later....

This was after the FIRST cleaning attempt. sorry Mickey!

Well, might as well break them in sooner or later, and a 5K didn't give me any trouble, hurray! It was windier than we would have liked, but overall a gorgeous day, great company and a pretty darn good run. We even spent the rest of the afternoon on a bit of a runner's high!
Plus, it was our first trio run. Next thing you know, we'll be running the Seawheeze in August!

Luck O'the Irish

We might have dropped the ball in 2012 as far as distance running, but St Patrick's Day 10K marked our first race of the year! It seemed like the perfect race for us  since it encouraged costumes, was sponsored by Steamwhistle beer, (the race included a random draw to win your weight in beer) as well as post race goodies by Cobbs Bakery. Basically, all the fun stuff that has nothing to do with the actual run itself.

Side note: I'd like to say I bulked up to increase the number of beers I could win, but to be honest, I just like pizza. At least I know how to motivate myself to run?

Anyways, St Pat's dawned sunny, clear, no rain/flurries like the forecast had called for and about 2C. I've discovered recently that 2C is probably my perfect running temperature; a bit chilly at the starting line, then nice and cool all the way through the run. We donned our green argyle socks, St Patrick's Day shirts, green boas, green wigs and shamrock headgear and we were ready to go!  Too bad neither of us had run more than 5K in the past 2 months...nonetheless, we were here to have fun and hoping only to finish in under 70 minutes.

The race started right on time without much fanfare---I guess this is why this race was a quarter of the price of a  Disney races.  To be honest, I was a smidge letdown at the starting line, I like me some pre-race fireworks, music and characters! Anyway, we thought we looked awesome and the crowds of people at the starting line let us know they agreed.

It felt like the the first and second kilometers flew by and my confidence grew. Training, schmaining, a 10K is easy I thought to myself as we easily kept pace. Plus I was all excited to see Daryl Janz at the Steamwhistle truck shouting numbers as people ran by (I never figured out what they were for, come to think of it?) In fact, the first 5K felt pretty awesome, the kind of run that makes me LOVE running. I started having fantasies of breaking an hour. By 6K, as the runners starting spacing out more, I was faltering a bit. I'm pretty sure they were spacing the markers further and further apart and I was getting a bit tired as we chugged past 7K. Somewhere around this point I started hating the wig as it filled with sweat and the boa as it kept flapping in my mouth or slithering off my shoulders. I think around 8K I started whimpering involuntarily and Christi was forced to dust off her Disneyland 2011 Mile 12 Peptalk (patent pending), bless her heart!! I cursed myself for double knotting my shoelaces so the stupid things couldn't come undone and earn me a quick "break".

We turned the last corner at about 9.5K and there it was...the finish line. Right in front of us. Like, just down the street. I knew we only had maybe 3 more minutes of running, but I was dying---I felt like my quads had been beaten with a cane and I SWEAR the finish line was actually getting further away instead of closer.Once we got close enough to see the timer and realized we had a darn good chance of breaking 1:04, I was able to finish in what felt like a pretty strong finish.

I didn't realize we got medals, so that was pretty exciting to see what was quite a nice 25th anniversary metal shamrock.  Post race, we were treated to Irish stew, CHOCOLATE CHIP MINT SCONES and Lucky  Charms, which I may have never tried before because I'm pretty sure I'd remember such tasty little sugar nuggets!! We didn't win our weight in beer, but the post-run awards and prizes were really fun. And those scones were too delicious to stick to just one.

Clearly this is the first half as I'm still smiling.

What next? Guess I'd better take this lesson to heart and start running more than 5K stints. And we're planning to register for a few runs this week to get us motivated and our training on track!!

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!!!

Cleared Waivers!

We got our race waivers this morning!!!!

....Which means we now know our bib numbers too... apparently we were the 9702, 9715 and 9719th ladies to register in this race. In reviewing the waiver, I see Disney has really covered their butts on this one...I just signed away the rights to my images from the race through ALL media, including stuff that hasn't been invented yet AND this is "throughout the universe in perpetuity". Does this mean they could laser beam my face onto the moon if they wanted to in 20 years? Bring it, Disney!

This + Moon = Awesome!

Also, if you want to track our progress on race day (you know, if you're up at 5am on a Sunday) you can do so by clicking here and signing up to follow us online!

Tomorrow we're doing a "practice" half marathon...we need to run 20K, so we're going to follow the route of the Calgary Hypothermic Half.  The weather is supposed to be nice, so we probably won't actually get hypothermia.  I bought waterproof mascara and eyeliner today, so I'm going to give those a whirl tomorrow and see if my face melts off like the Wicked Witch of the West or if I can finish the Calgary run actually looking like a princess!

Damsel in Distress...again.

OK, there was no Snidely Whiplash,
I brought this on myself...

Hey, remember when I got lost in Central Park? Well, apparently this feat isn't limited to other countries, but can just as easily be done in my hometown! For my 8K run last week, I was trying to figure out where I could fit it in. Since we were going to the Flames game and the weather had been fantastic, I joked I should just run to the Dome, but checking the route, I saw our house to the nearby Glencoe (where Bryan was going to be anyways) was 8.2k...PERFECT!

Thinking ahead, I packed a change of clothes (including jersey, of course) in Bryan's car the night before and planned to meet him around 7:15 so I could freshen up and we could get to the game for 8pm puck drop. At home, I packed my cash, ID (and yes, I DID get carded for beer later, HURRAY!), phone and keys into my Coach wristlet, put that into a plastic ziplock (am not going to get lovely bag all stinky, thank you!) and then tucked it into my pocket. My first run with a Coach bag, am so fashionable! I headed off and since the whole way is a gentle incline, the kilometers flew by as gravity helped me on my way.

I was wearing my headlamp, so no fears of slipping on the last remaining bits of ice.  I learned the hard way that sometimes I couldn't tell the difference between "ice" and "6 inches of icy water" so my feet were soaked by the time I got to 14th st. Undaunted, I pressed on, I was nearly there and I knew exactly where I was! I was so proud of myself for being all organized and fun for doing this, and had even added a new song to my running playlist. (Turns out, I REALLY liked running to this song, and maybe ended up listening to it 9 times in a row?) Anyways, I get to the traffic circle as expected right around the 7.5K mark and sped up a bit, excited at how smoothly the run had gone and how very on time I was going to be.

A few minutes later I came to a steep hill with no sidewalk. Hmm...I don't remember a hill around here?  Fearful of being smushed by a car, I sprinted up the hill and turned left into what I thought (and was now really hoping) was the Glencoe...no such luck. I was in a cul-de-sac overlooking...something. Maybe Elbow? I'm not sure. I fire off a quick "I'm not lost" text and backtrack, confident I was only slightly off course. I run another half kilometer and still no Glencoe. I stop to squint at street signs that don't help me.  I run another half kilometer and realize I'm not sure if I should be running to bigger street numbers or smaller. Looking around, I realize I no longer know which direction downtown is, let alone East or West.  I'm so lost, I don't even know which direction to head to figure out where to go. Defeated, I call Bryan. He asks where I am. I walk to the nearest street sign and read them out. He starts laughing and says not to move and he'll be there in 5 minutes.

I take the opportunity to do some post run stretches and feel sheepish...when Bryan does pull up, he is still laughing. He continues laughing as he drives for nearly 5 minutes to get back near the Glencoe, at which point I'm laughing pretty hard myself. Apparently at the traffic circle, instead of going straight, I had made a hard left and been heading due South for over a kilometer...

In case you're wondering, Bryan =2, Felicity =0 and I will always carry a phone on any run I go on by myself from now on. Also, because of this lengthy delay, I had to change in the car on a side street before hoofing it to the Dome. I felt sorry for the people sitting in front of me who had to smell my stinky feet the whole game. But I tell you what, the hot dog and pint of beer I had at the game were great!

Two very different 18Ks...

Part 1: 18 kilometer run



Sunday I woke up feeling lousy. My stomach hurt and I was kind of stuffed up. And really tired, in spite of a solid 10 hours of sleep. I didn't want to run 18K, I wanted to go back to sleep and then eat chicken noodle soup (laced with, um, Imodium). The great (and terrible) thing about training as a trio meant I couldn't do that, I had to get up and go. Still feeling lousy, I drove over to the Running Room to join the group and we set out on what I grudgingly acknowledge was a lovely sunny and warm (for January) morning run. We started out running towards the mountains, which was straight into a brisk Chinook wind, which means I was in trouble immediately. I find running INTO the wind means it sucks the air right out of me so the first 2K which are usually a treat before I get all tired were tough as I wheezed my way West. We wound our way into some pretty posh neighbourhoods and I eyed their 4 car garages nervously, daydreaming of what would happen if I knocked on their door and asked to use their servants bathroom should it be required. Running was NOT improving my tummy, but we kept on trucking. Crystal had brought her awesome marathoner buddy for the run and was wearing one headphone, so she stayed slightly ahead with the lead runners and entertained us with her random karaoke (run-eoke?) Christi was foolish enough to lag behind and both keep me company and force me to keep up with the group so I wouldn't get lost. This meant she had 123 minutes of me whining to look forward to!

Like the Evil Witch, this only looks good on the outside

 After a few KILLER hills, I was actually whimpering out loud. I didn't sign up for this!---wait, yes I did. After running up a dirt road hill, we reached what I can only assume was City limits, so we mercifully paused for a photo op. I made the mistake at this point of checking our distance, and was crushed to see we weren't even half way. We still had a few kms before we were even halfway. At that point, if a taxi had pulled up, I would have quit and gone home. I was tired, I wasn't feeling good, and at no point so far had I hit a running groove: basically every minute was feeling like torture and I was not having fun. But, no taxi (or bus, or rickshaw or donkey) came to save me, so on we went.

I'd like to say things got better at the halfway point, but they didn't. I whined for the next hour or so as we worked our way around Signal Hill and Richmond. Sorry Christi, and thanks for putting up with me! At one point, I got a stabby pain in my foot so sudden and severe I shrieked and dead stopped. I limped along for a few minutes until the pain subsided, and it hasn't come back since. We finally made it back to the Running Room only to realize we were still a quarter of a km off the finish, so we had to run over to the Best Buy and back, twice passing the others doing their cool downs. I was so relieved we were done, I wanted to lie face down on the icy pavement for the rest of the day. But then I would have missed what happened next...

Part 2: 18k....that's 18000 calories consumed, people

Now, the only reason I pushed through the run was under the promise of Pannenkoeks. We peeled over to the restaurant to get on the waiting list, stopping only to grab a jug of chocolate milk to fight off the post-run DTs. Noticing the "No Outside Food or Drink" sign on the door but not wanting to wait in the cold, we huddled around the curio cabinet, surreptitiously swigging and passing the jug around like bad high school kids at the mall with a mickey swiped from their parent's stash. When we were sat, we apologized to our server about the milk (we're not bad kids, we totally felt guilty!) and instead of being mad, she brought us sample sizes of their own chocolate milk which she claimed was the best in the city. After trying it, we couldn't argue. She also brought us extra cookies with our tea because "we looked like we needed them". HOOORAY!

Things only got better from there. We decided since 18k was so much more than 16k, we needed to split 4 between the 3 of us---2 savory and 2 sweet. We opted for their feature: grilled chicken, Anjou pear, maple glazed pecans and Gruyere, along with a repeat of the awesome one from last week: potato, bacon and cheese. Then we sat there unable to concentrate on a subject for more than 10 seconds until the sweet, sweet nosh arrived on our table. After some hasty pannenkoek math, we dived in to what can only be described as heaven on a plate. Not only was it excellent, but we were seriously tapping into empty carb tanks at that point. I could almost feel life and happiness flowing back into me as I alternated bites of each, pausing only to slather the potato one in sour cream.

No, I can't believe Crystal left a cookie either!

Before we knew it, we were staring at empty plates...but not for long. Moments later, our dessert pannenkoeks arrived. One was banana Nutella with ice cream AND whipped cream, the other was the cinnamon bun one (sugar and cream cheese frosting) with added baked apples and maple pecans. At this point, I was so excited, I had to put my head in my lap to avoid passing out, so Crystal and Christi divvied up the goods. Again, sweet sugary joy coursed through ourveins as we mainlined our dessert.

That's what I call a money shot!

Eventually we flatlined, so full we actually left traces of Nutella on the table. All we could do at that point was rush home for showers and serious couch time, both of which were well earned.

 

This folks, is what running is all about...through perseverance comes great rewards!

Note the crazy looks in our eyes...

Lots of Milestones



See how happy cold runs can be?



Not the restaurant with the delicious bellinis, we've hit a few more significant milestones this week. We're all keeping up with the training schedule, even if it's not on the correct date, and feeling mighty proud of ourselves doing it. With Christmas season in full swing, we've had to switch around the long runs (830am on a Sunday after 8 hours of Christmas cheer just doesn't work), but have still stuck to them. Some of the weekday runs are happening at different times, but are still getting done. We've done ALL the hill training, which is tough, but really not as hard as we'd built up in our minds. And most of our training has been through ice and snow, something I never thought I'd be able to do! Crystal was in Toronto on the weekend and ran on her own, but Christi and I hit the reservoir again. It was Christi and Crystal's first ever 12K runs, and my 12K was a full 10 minutes faster than the last one I had timed, so we all felt pretty darn good.

 This was also Christi's first run around the reservoir, and we all like it so much we're going to do the whole thing next weekend for our 14K (Christmas parties abound this weekend, no 830 run for us). We've also noticed that these long cold runs are really making us all frosty. I guess if you're outside running long enough to freeze your 750ml water bottle entirely, the rest of you gets a little icy too...we noticed that strands of hair get frosted all the way down, and you get these little "frost blossoms" around your neck and shoulders where the sweat comes out and freezes. Our breath makes icicles on our eyelashes, and tragi-comic goatees on our faces.


Why is my hair getting old?



Seriously, if you had told me a year ago I would run for miles in temperature cold enough to freeze water in a bottle strapped to my back, I would have said you were crazy. But as it turns out, running in cold weather is fine, and even better in some ways...you sure don't get the sweat rolling down your face and back like in hot weather.



As long as you've bundled up properly (thanks Outlet Malls!) it's really nice to crunch through the snow in the sun with all that winter quiet. And running over ice and snow is fine as long as you're watching the ground closely.



It only looks like we're running with Gumby

OK, one last milestone this past weekend...sort of gross, but it really made me feel like a REAL runner...around the 10K mark on Saturday, I just couldn't wait any longer and peed in the woods in the snow. It was both my first mid-run bathroom break, and the first time I've had bare skin from the waist down in -10C. I'm happy to say I didn't fall over, pee on my shoes, nor accidentally moon a crowd of runners on the path. Some people might read this as a “you’re disgusting, thanks for sharing, creep”, but I felt like I'd achieved one of the secret runner's rituals.


Reservoir, Schmeservoir

Yesterday, I ran 5k in Central Park. I felt like a movie star!  After a day of traipsing around New York in sweatpants and running shoes, eating only food prepared on the street, we hit the park at around 330 and entered the park right near the zoo. Bryan told me to bring my phone, and spent 10 minutes pointing out landmarks to help me get my bearings.  These both made me roll my eyes, I'm a grown up for Pete's sake, I don't get lost!  Harumph!  Finally, I was off!  I was running through Central Park!

I'd say it was one of the best runs I've ever had.  The weather was perfect, overcast and sort of cool, but not cold.  The ground was covered with leaves and the pavement that didn't have leaves had those dark imprints where leaves had been, so it was really pretty.  I admit, a few times I gleefully stomped through piles of leaves, this felt like movie set fall!  My plan was to run around the pond a couple of times to make sure I didn't get lost, but then I saw some cool looking stuff I wanted to run to.  No problem, I think, I still know where I am.  I run a few loops of a field, and run by The Met and around a few roads with horse drawn carriages, traffic cops and stand after stand of roasted nuts.  Oh, and where I was running was NOT at all flat. I don't think I ever ran on flat pavement, it was all rolling hills.  Great for training!  I also ran up and down around 8 flights of stairs.  These were neat too, it was like they were cut right into the rock, so they blended in and looked pretty.

As the iPod counted down from 400 meters, I was coming around the last loop and was all proud of myself.  Not only did I feel like an authentic New Yorker, but I showed Bryan that I don't get lost!  Hahaha!  I round the last corner just as the iPod announces I'm finished to find----I haven't been running around a pond, but a skating rink full of people. Ummm...maybe the pond froze, I think hopefully to myself and kept jogging until I realized not a thing looked familiar.  Also, I didn't remember where I had started, so the map I found didn't help me at all.  After 10 minutes of jogging and panicking, I finally call Bryan.  Good thing I brought the phone after all.  Realizing we have no way of meeting up in the park, he tells me to jog straight west out of the park and then text him the address of the street I'm on.  Apparently I ran 10 blocks past our meeting point, so I stand on the sidewalk feeling shame until Bryan comes along.  He opts not to mock my lack of direction and instead gives me a hug. 

If I was smart, I would have commemorated this event with a photo or two, but I totally forgot.  By the time we met up, we were running late for our hockey game so we had to boot it back to New Jersey.  Then I got to ride the Subway all sweaty and gross, but still totally proud of myself.  I loved everything about that run, and wish I could do it again sometime soon, but today we're off to Philly.  At least I'll get to run up the steps of the library in Philly Rocky-style!

Running on the Road...sort of

We arrived in New Jersey last night for the Rangers game (taking the train into NYC takes 20 minutes and saves us $300 a night) and this morning, I was ready for my first road trip run.  Yesterday, I drank nothing but lattes and beer (not a single sip of water), and ate nothing but pizza and White Castle burgers.  The complimentary breakfast at our hotel offers the Mecca of free breakfasts...breakfast sandwiches on a biscuit!  (Fueled with this 2 day nutritional powerhouse means that it's not just my running that's slow, heh) I power through a sandwich, 3 glazed donuts,  2 cafe mochas before hitting the...gym.

That's right, my first chance to run in New Jersey and I sort of chicken out.  I didn't know where to run, plus I was afraid of getting lost (and I think Bryan is secretly afraid of me getting shot) so I opted to run inside in what was a pretty fancy gym right next to the breakfast room. The upside was that I got in a 3 mile run (USA likes their imperial measurement) in 30 minutes flat in a room that smelled deliciously of bacon and eggs.  The downside was that I was a sweaty disgusting mess and wasted a great day outside where the temperature is a lovely 15C...making it 45C warmer than back home. Plus, I can't help but feel like a wimp. Tomorrow is a run in Central Park for sure!

Running in a Winter Wonderland

I'm going on vacation tomorrow, so I wouldn't be around to do the Sunday long run with the Running Room. Instead, I opted to take part in a Running Room event on Saturday night...Sight Night, an after dark run that benefits vision impaired athletes. Not only is that a great cause, but it was 8K (just one km short of the run I'm supposed to do tomorrow) on a really nice route and I get a cool headlamp! You had me at hello, Sight Night! Crystal had to work (boo) but Christi decides to keep me company (probably so she can sleep in on a Sunday)

Princess Chris meets me at Eau Claire bearing gifts---Fancy grippies for our shoes and head gloves to keep our foreheads, ears, chins and necks warm on a -17C run. Paired with our jazzy new headlamps, we looked like pros! After a few speeches and a quick warm up, we were off! The grippies felt weird in the mall, but were awesome on the snow; nary a slip or skid along the snow covered paths. Running along Memorial with 500 people in headlamps and reflective gear was pretty amazing, and we actually saw a few blind runners being guided along the route, which was pretty neat too. We cheered for all the volunteers along the route---I'm guessing standing around in -17C for an hour is harder than running in -17C for an hour, but they were all cheerful as they pointed us along our way. Unless that clapping we heard was actually teeth chattering. We got quite a few compliments on our snazzy matching head gloves too, which princesses always love to hear.

Product not exactly as shown,
but still totally awesome

We cross the finish line in 52 minutes flat and stay at the finish line for a few minutes cheering runners in until we started freezing. Both our Ipods say we ran 9K, not 8, so we're actually right on track for the long run this week, hurray! We head inside to discover they're handing out hot chocolate WITH AS MANY MARSHMALLOWS AS WE WANT in them along with some of Calgary's best sandwiches, bananas, chips and the biggest oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I've ever seen (full disclosure: I had 2 once I confirmed they weren't raisins). We plop ourselves down on the floor with our bounty, hastily take off every sweaty outer layer (Christi almost has a wardrobe malfunction forgetting which layer was the last one) and devour what is probably the best meal I've had in weeks, picnic style. Neither of us wins a door prize, but the shower I have when I get home is prize enough for me.

I think I've become addicted to entering races. I love the energy of the runners, the volunteers and the people who just want to stand there and cheer. I love the swag, the whole experience start to finish, and the pride I feel at the finish line. And I've loved every new thing I've tried so far---running with other people, running without headphones, running at night, running in the snow and combining all of the above! Now I'm off to follow the Flames on a road trip through New York, New Jersey, Philly and Pittsburgh, so I'm hoping I can get some runs in this week in exotic new destinations...stay tuned!

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!!

Synchronicity abounds!

We're 8 weeks into our training and we've decided to kick our training up a notch.  We've been sticking to our program  and having the support of our fellow princesses has been invaluable to our success so far, but we registered for one of the Running Rooms clinics that ends just 2 weeks before our Princess run.  Haha, we thought, this clinic is to prepare for the Hypothermic Half, but Orlando is gonna be SO much better!  Plus, now we'll have more motivation for those darn long runs.The nerves started as soon as we registered...I'm gonna suck, everyone's going to be RUNNERS there and I won't be able to keep  up...but right in the registration package it said not to worry about those butterflies in our stomach, it was going to be fun!  So, we show up at 630 tonight at the location nearest to all our houses and meet the other 12 or so people who will be running with us for the next 17 weeks.  There, we learn we have a fellow princess training for the same run, and she even works at the same place as us! And hey, so does the instructor!  And...we found out as we were leaving that one of the two gentleman in our clinic works there too!  I mean, what are the odds that HALF THE PEOPLE IN THIS CLINIC work at the same place which is possibly the furthest point from work while still being in the same city? Seriously, I just checked it on Mapquest and the airport is 30km away from our clinic, Vegas probably wouldn't even take those odds.

Anyway, we get our welcome packs and a brief overview of how the weekly schedule is going to go, and then head out for our first group run!  We run just under 4k as a group and it felt just fine!  It was a new route, it was COLD out and I think the group stayed reasonably close together during the run, so I think our running levels are pretty comparable.  Oh, and I found out during the run that one of the other girls is not only in the same soccer division as me, but that our teams play each other THIS SUNDAY?!?!?!  Seriously, it was a weird night for me, I should pick up a lottery ticket on my way to work tomorrow.

If we had really been thinking, we would have taken a picture to commemorate the occasion, but no luck. Just imagine the "Hurray for Disney" photo to the right has no sun, long pants, wind breakers over jackets, mittens and headbands, and red noses with sweaty foreheads. Oh, and matching shirts, as soon as they come in, they didn't have any left since we registered mere hours before the clinic started.  I think we're going to have fun at this and learn a few new things along the way. Plus, a lot of the people seemed like fun, so we might even find some new running buddies.  Now all we need is to psyche ourselves up to make it for the 830am Sunday runs.  Our instructor did suggest we all go for breakfast after these long runs at such an ungodly hour, so she knows how to motivate me for sure!

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!

"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!

August 17: Banner Day for the Princesses!

August 17 was another glorious summer day with temperatures soaring around 13C when the princesses embarked on their first ever run as a team!  Yes, we've all been running, but this was our first 5K as a trio! We start with a commemorative photo of the event and we're off!

5K ROCKS!!

We've mapped a route right from our office that is a perfect 5K.  Located out by the YYC airport, it always has a nice breeze (only sometimes caused by the 737 flight path directly above our heads) and is relatively flat.  We practice our royal wave at the dozens of gophers we pass, shield our eyes from the territorial hawks in the area, and finish in just over 34 minutes.

Milestones today:

-first run as a trio!
-Princess Crys' first 5K run with no walking breaks!