What the....Fun Run!?

So, our Seawheeze training schedule on Wednesday alternates between sprint drills and hill drills and today was hills (which I prefer to sprints…I can probably chug slowly up a hill forever if I had to, but I can’t sprint worth a damn).

The last 2 months of hill training have been “jog up hill for 90 seconds, then jog slowly back down and run easy recovery and then repeat until 50 minutes is up”, with the easy recovery time getting shorter and shorter as the weeks went by (ie, the first week you only did the hill 3 times and then had lovely 10 minute recoveries, and the last one was run up the hill 8 times so your recoveries were only 3 minutes). You know, the gradual buildup to hills that are a staple in half marathon training.

This morning was different though.
 
The drill call for the same 8 hills, but instead of easy recovery jog back down and then around the block, you then SPRINTED BACK DOWN THE HILL and then repeated…so the “recovery” was actually at a high speed.

 

So what ended up happening was a jog up the hill and then a sprint back down gleefully waving my arms and shouting WHEEEEEEEEE with a vague feeling of terror that I would trip at such breakneck speed. Which was EXHAUSTING because we never really got a proper recovery, but was probably my favorite drill work EVER, because the running down the hill was SO fun…it was like when running down hills as a little kid was the funnest thing ever and running was for the fun of it before I grow up and it became all hard and horrible because I am out of shape and my joints are getting old. And while it was exhausting because there was no recovery time (and to tell the truth, at the end the jogs back up were slower and slower and had more walking than usual), the sprints down the hill were exhilarating and meant that instead of 50 minutes of varying levels of horrible, I got 8 minutes of pure unadulterated joy in the mix. I actually couldn’t stop the WHEEEEEEEEEEE from escaping, and I’m sure anyone driving towards me would have wondered how someone could run with such a smile on their face.

Anyway, now my legs hurt in all kinds of crazy new places and I am struggling to stay awake. So I will assume that means it was effective training and Friday's long run will be a breeze!

PS… I promised I would post about the 2 Toronto runs I did last month and I haven’t forgotten…I even have fun pictures! They will be up by this weekend!!

NWT = A OK!

Week 3 is now underway, and I’m very proud to report that we are all still on track with the training program!  We have done sprints, hills, maintenance runs and everything, but the one struggle I am finding is trying to schedule my long runs. The schedule says to do them on Saturday, but I find I almost never have the time to do them Saturdays and end up switching them for Sunday instead. This makes Sunday a great day of Run. Laundry. Nap. Eat Everything. I’m still DOING them, don’t you worry, but I find that with summer around the corner my weekends are filling up and I am having to plan well ahead of time to get in the vital loooooooong runs to build up the stamina for race day.

 

For example, last weekend I was in Yellowknife because it was the week before the equinox.  The last 2 times I was in the Territories were in the winter and the sun came up for an hour a day and it was colder than all heck so I wanted to see what it was like at the other end of the spectrum so off we went.

For the record, it is MUCH nicer there in June than in February. And it is darn right UNSETTLING to have the sun still shining at midnight. But we drank $14 bottles of beer, ate some (unexpectedly) delicious food and I got in both the scheduled weekend runs. And I’m happy to report that while I was a poky little puppy for both the short run and the long, the scenery was great, the temperature was just about perfect, I didn’t get too many bug bites and I didn’t get lost.

 

See how pretty?!  The view, not the sweaty rumpled princess. FYI, 2 minutes
 after this I took a "nature break" in those trees....and got caught by a local out walking their dog.

The only downside was that I was expecting it to be easy breathing since I was 3000 feet closer to sea level than usual, but I ended up gasping along and walking more than I wanted to. Am pretty lazy when I'm by myself. Plus I was one Sweaty Betty, I didn’t realize how humid it was there! I also forgot to bring some carb chews, so I had to eat a granola bar at the halfway mark…tasty but not the best feeling to be choking down sawdust halfway through a 14K run. Will have to remember to pack some for the next few weekends when I am away.

The NWT Legislature! Sadly closed on Sundays or I could have used
 their bathrooms. I mean, taken a tour and learned about the government process.

 

Tomorrow is our first Official Trio Seawheeze Training Run, and it will be 50 minutes of Fartlek training. Which pretty much guarantees I will be struggling for breath for 49 minutes as I laugh childishly.

Week One

We are four days in and feeling great! After a solid week of rain in YYC, we've had gorgeous blue skies and warmer weather, which means it's been pretty easy to get up early and knock out the day's running schedule. Even if the schedule is for a 50 minute run with 6 intervals of one minute sprints. That made for 360 seconds of me muttering words my father doesn't know I know followed by a day of SUPER sore legs.  But we are all feeling great for sticking with it and I'm sure I'll have a good sleep tonight! Plus tomorrow is the best day of the week...REST DAY! That's right...no run, no cardio, no crosstrain, just give my tired legs a day to rest and repair and get ready for this weekend's long run...but frankly 11K actually sounds better than those repeats from this morning.

Also...you know those days when you drag your sad tired fat carcass out of bed early the week after vacation and blearily dress and head out for a run, cursing the day you ever registered for a race involving the hateful activity that gobbles up so much of your TV watching time? Well, sometimes you get a reward so awesome that even 2 days afterward it makes the smile stay on your face?  Well, this is what temporarily halted our run on Tuesday morning....

How goose-stepping got its name!

Pretty much the cutest interruption ever, the morning skies rang with our shrieks of delight! So even though it was a rough start, it reminded me just how much I like getting up and running first thing in the morning.

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!

One Week Later

OK, so I still feel like I haven't recovered from the Princess on Sunday. I still feel tired and achy...like I fell out of a tree or something. Plus, darn it, I deserve a bit of a break. So I haven't run once since then, or even been to the gym in the past week. That's fine, I think a few days to fully recover is a good idea. So in the meantime, please enjoy our before and after pictures from the race:

Why are we smiling? We're about to run 21K in 25C!

Note we both have a touch of the crazies in

our eyes...we're dazzled by the new bling!



Also, a friend sent me this, but I'm thinking it's a pretty good idea....might give this a whirl the next time I'm downtown...DANCE WALK BABY!!

Mother Nature takes a Midol

That's right, it's been a while. I fell again and this time it was worse....I fell forward and bashed up both knees and rewhacked my elbow, which put me out of commission for a while. I did try to get a few runs in, but even walking hurt quite a lot for a few weeks so I took it pretty easy----still active every day, but no running. But I'm back in action and back to running, which is certainly getting easier as the weather improves and the days continue to get longer. Now it's fully daylight at 6am which makes early morning training that much easier to plan.

That is, until Saturday rolled around. My alarm goes off at 8am and I hop out of bed for a run before a busy day. I take a peek out the window to THIS:

Yeah, it's May.

Seriously? It looked like December out there. Although I had full intentions of going for a run, I do NOT want to go out in 4 inches of slush accumulating on the roads or the sleet that would soak me within minutes. It may not have been cold, but it was certainly miserable. So, I did the only sensible thing to do during a snowstorm and went back to bed for 2 more hours. Really, I had no choice.

Of course, Princess Chris and I had a 10k run scheduled for Sunday, but I didn't feel too good about it yesterday. Now, I do live in Calgary, so my fears were unfounded. By Saturday night the snow had stopped and melted and our run was still on. Sunday dawned clear, crisp and about a million times greener than it had been a few days earlier.

Ahhhh, that's more like it.

We met at the Weaselhead as scheduled and not only did our 10k, but we overshot a bit for 10.5k. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and the weather was that perfect running temperature of 4C with just a hint of breeze to keep you cool without being chilly. And we weren't alone, the path was packed with smiling runners just happy to be out on a gorgeous day! With today's 10k, we're slowly building up our long runs and getting back into half marathon form. Heck, we might even register for a race soon!

War wounds

It's been over a year since I first started -and promptly fell in love- with winter running. It feels amazing to bundle up and face the elements, and not turning into a sweaty mess feels pretty great. And you can't beat a sunny day with crisp white snow, frosty trees and that noisy kind of quiet you get from muffled snow running. I can't believe how many gorgeous winter days I wasted inside on a treadmill thinking my lungs would freeze or I would slip on the ice.


So after all this time in the great outdoors and the unpredictable Calgary weather, it was bound to happen. On Saturday, a few days after an April snowstorm, I went out for a quick morning 5k in the ravine behind my house. I had breakfast plans and had overslept a bit, so my timeline was pretty tight. As I approached the switchback path down to the ravine I recalled how slick it had been the week before in the spring thaw, so I slowed right down as I came to the halfway point on the path. I had moved off the snow covered path to what I thought was bare road...


BOOM.


Before I realized what had happened, I was sitting flat on my ass, too stunned to move or even comprehend what had happened. Did I just...FALL??? A shriek of pain and rage was heard over my iPod as pain set in. Now, I had fallen right down, no twisting or sliding, but rather one second I was upright, the next picking dirt out of my palms. I sat there for at least a minute, still shocked that I was sitting instead of jogging up the ravine admiring the trees before I dared move. I was so afraid of finding out I'd twisted or banged an ankle or knee and that it would be a long walk home followed by rest...

Fortunately, the only thing I'd hurt was my hands and elbows as I crashed down. Well, guess I smacked my rump pretty hard too, but there's certainly enough padding to protect me there. My palms certainly stung, but the cool air helped, and there didn't seem to be anything too permanent and nothing to stop me from running. I carefully picked my way down the hill and very cautiously finished the run. Took a few minutes longer than usual, but no more mishaps and I got the sympathy I was hoping for when I got home and showed off my puffy hands and slowly brushing elbows. I self treated with ice and a few beers and I should be as good as new in no time!

Everybody! Socks! Socks! Socks-socks-socks!

So Palm Springs was a complete success!  It was gorgeous and sunny and I managed to get up at 730 on a Sunday to run 5K in the desert before the thermometer hit a billion. It sure was a refreshing change to run beside cactusaii and sand without a coat on, even if my persistent cough slowed us up a little.  Our post-run Jack in the Box breakfast sandwiches never tasted so good!

We also went to the outlet mall and Target, where I got all sorts of deals (on non-running shoes) and a pack of sports socks that have turned out to be totally awesome...padded in the right places, absorbent, and with those little thingies on them that keep them from slipping down into your shoe while ensuring you don't get a funny ankle tan if you run in them all summer. Plus I got a range of colors in the pack---OK, black, white and grey are colors, it just means I don't have to throw white socks in with dark loads all the time...

Came home to back-to-back dumps of snow, so we were forced onto the treadmill a few times. This means we did some speedwork AND hillwork in an effort to not die of boredom. Hey, look at us, we sound like we're training for something!

In like a lion...

We're at the end of the first week and still totally keen!  We ran three times this week-once on the treadmill and twice outside...in the morning, in the dark, in the snow, by the airport...with a few walking breaks.  But we did it! Winter here in YYC has been unseasonably warm, but both runs this week were in -10C through icy shoulders of the service road or the unplowed running path of the NE. Chilly, but it sure felt nice to be back out there...

Yeah, but I'm still blowing him off this weekend...

Still, I'm heading to Palm Springs for the weekend to catch some REAL sun and enjoy the 25C they're forcasting for the weekend. I'm bringing my running stuff, so I'm going to get in at least one run somewhere warm, sunny and at sea level, which should certainly help with my training! Plus since I'll be near a Target AND an outlet mall, I'd say the chances of buying some snappy new running gear are pretty good...

Can't wait to see you Mr Sun!

Happy Leap Day!

According to a study conducted by Harvard in the late  70's, new graduates who wrote down their goals and plans to accomplish them were something like a bazillion times richer and more successful than those who did not. I'm starting to think that this is true. If I write something down I am WAY more likely to stick to it than just saying or thinking it. So here goes my LEAP!!

In 2012, I am going to run FOUR Half Marathons. We've been searching for suitable options and here are a few of the really fun looking ones...

-Calgary or Edmonton Half Marathon (TBD)
-Kelowna Half Marathon (TBD)
-Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon
-Lululemon's SeaWheeze
-Nike Women's Half Marathon (TBD)
-Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon

We're trying to space them out every couple of months which should hopefully keep us in shape and motivated all year long. We're also trying to find a balance between "fun" and "affordable"...I recently figured out I spent over $500 on race fees last year, to say nothing of the trips I took to get there! But I just can't say no to those awesome Disney races!

Any suggestions?

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!!

Running out of time

So, in just over 5 weeks we'll be leaving for Disney.

HURRAY! 

Um, at which point we'll need to run another half marathon.

CRAP! 

I'll be honest, we're not quite as prepared as last time. We're finding summer is actually tougher than winter training and man, do we miss that snow (for running! We still love summer!) There are more bugs, more sweat and less time to do things like...well....run 15 or 20km at a time.

As far as the trip, we have booked our hotel, we're not renting a car for this trip (Disneyland is so easy to get around, we figured there's no need) and our flights look fine, so that's good.

Ummm....we don't have costumes yet either, and this is just as stressful as the lack of training.  We know what they're going to look like, but haven't gotten around to buying/making them yet.

Never fear, the upside is that we still have 5 whole weeks to get back into shape and whip up some snappy running outfits. We're starting with tomorrow's 15k run at 545am...yeah!

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.

Stampede Miracle!

I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth which was awesome. Not only did I get my rodeo and beloved chuckwagons in, but I was able to be Second Greatest Show on Earth...me pigging out on the midway for 3 days. Here's but a mere  sampling of what I enjoyed on the weekend...

Maple Bacon Ice Cream = Delicious? Who knew???
The good people at McKays, that's who!

Donut burger....MAPLE GLAZED donut burger..mmmm

Deep fried poptart goodness=breakfast of champions

Mac and Cheese Pizza---Carbo-licious!!!

Ummm...there may have also been corndogs, mini donuts, poutine, deep fried cheese, sausage rolls, smokies, deep fried mac and cheese and a few beers thrown in for good measure, but a girl can only document so much shame.  So, YES, on Monday I felt like a giant bag of horse manure.  And barely managed 30 minutes on the elliptical at the gym, a run was out of the question.  I ate nothing but vegetables and grilled meats and drank endless cups of green tea in hopes of soothing achy liver.

Tuesday rolls around and Princess Crys and I head out for a morning 5K, both dreading what is sure to be a slow and painful run. In the rain.

It is our fastest run since March.

It felt OK. Actually, a bit better than OK. I felt good and like I could have run more. More like I used to feel in the winter when our training was umm...a bit more structured.

In short, now I'm somewhat convinced my all-deepfried weekend only enhanced my running performance!   I celebrated today's findings with not one, but TWO pancake breakfasts. YAHOO!!! 

Really need to start documenting this...

That's right, still not photographic evidence that we are actually doing any of this, but trust me, we're sticking to our program, we only have 11 weeks to go!

This is how I waddle

So, we're a few weeks in and yesterday was our first official "long" run...we did 9k on Sunday morning. We were going to do it Saturday after work, but when 5pm rolled around it was pouring and so windy it looked like our cars were going to blow away, so we pushed it back.

I'm really glad we did.

Now, I don't mind running at the airport, but there isn't much to see there. And we sort of do it a lot, so while it still beats the old treadmill, it can get stale running the same route, particularly since there's only one now with all the construction.

Anyway, yesterday 9am rolls around and it is clear skies for the first time in a week. It's roughly 13C out and the sun is shining when Princess Chris and I meet at the Weaselhead for a 9k run around the reservoir. It was pretty great. The leaves were rustling, the grass was green and the air smelled amazing, all fresh and with a hint of lilac on the breeze. Plus, since we were running towards the same route as the nearby Running Room morning run, we passed dozens and dozens of runners who cheerfully returned our hellos.  We had both worn the same shirts (not on purpose, but I guess great minds think alike!), so they probably thought we were our own race or something.

We had planned to run 5-6K out and then come back, but at around the 4.5k mark, we hit a puddle so deep we couldn't go around it (even though it was sunny, I guess 2 hours can't erase a week of torrential downpour?) so we turned back (umm, wait, where did all those Running Room people come from then??). We had to double back just a bit, but it was still pretty great---instead of running through the cool, sun-dappled shade, we were running along the edge of the Weaselhead overlooking the water and it was glorious!

We're still not in the shape we were in at the beginning of the year, but we finished up our run in one piece. Then maintaining our winter tradition, we headed to the Pannenkoek Haus for an amazing breakfast served by the friendliest folks in town.

Tomorrow might be our last run as a trio for a while...I leave for Mexico on Wednesday and Princess Chris leaves for a Europtrip soon after, so hopefully we can get in a few blogs on the road in the next few weeks!

Back for real. No, really this time!



This morning the three princesses went for our first run together since...well...our Princess Half Marathon. We've each had the odd run here and there, but it's been a while since we were a trio! It was really great to run with the ladies again, I've missed it.

What's up, you ask?



My toes look prettier, but the idea is the same

-Princess Fliss and Princess Chris have registered for the Disneyland Half Marathon in September, which means we get Coast to Coast medals for extra blingy glory on race day!

-Princess Crys wasn't able to commit to the race before it sold out (back in March, guess we aren't the only ones who want the Coast to Coast) but has promised to keep up the race training with us

-Nobody's running pants fit quite as nicely as they did when we were running 30-40K a week.

So, we have a PLAN and we're sticking to it! Disney was kind enough to even make one for us and while we're starting a few weeks behind, I think this one will work nicely. We have the basics under our (stretched out, in my case) belts and hopefully the flexibility of this plan will help us stick to it.  We were a bit slower today that we used to be, but I think everyone felt good about the run.

As for our paths, the airport construction is in full swing but they've been kind enough to add an actual running route back in for us that's a near perfect 5K, thanks YYC!  Plus, if we run after 7am, the mosquitos are so thick out there they keep us running away from them.

What wears a tiara, has two thumbs, and sucks?

Yeah, there's a plate of poutine just out of the shot

 I gotta say, since our half marathon, I've really fallen off the running wagon. In my defence, I got kicked REALLY hard during the last 10 seconds of my last indoor soccer game this season. A few x-rays and a set of crutches later, I wasn't doing any running for a few weeks. Well, at least it hadn't happened a few weeks earlier. I used that time wisely to sit around "resting" my bruised foot and eating as much poutine as I could. I also went to New Orleans, where it turns out, it's extremely easy to scarf 5000 calories a day thanks to a strict deep fried seafood diet washed down with so very many tasty Miller Lites.

Long story short, this means I gained nearly 10lbs in April and totally forgot how to run. Last week I did my first 5K in 5 weeks and it was almost like I'd never run in my life. It took me 40 minutes, not including the time I spent lying on a bench near my house trying not to vomit, and every step was like torture.

Short story long, tomorrow I'm doing the Mother's Day 10K which I am totally unprepared for, and just might kill me, since I've also had a cold all week. But it should be a good chance to get on with training...more on that later!

PS, if you're wondering WTF are the photos from the Princess Run we've been promising since, oh, March, they ARE still coming, I just don't really understand how to use Flickr.

Costume update…

Well the trip to Edmonton turned successful with finding a great running tank for my costume. Then I spent my Saturday night at my sister’s place ‘costuming’ and was able to talk her into using any ‘crafty’ like skills she might have ever acquired to assist me with completing this last minute costume change. The belt she created was simply amazing!!

Well it does seem like the pixie dust was falling last night and the stars aligned again so I was able to find the last remaining items to complete my costume… the perfect shirt for over my running shirt, dye to dye it the perfect colour and the “skill” to ensure the whole thing came together perfectly.. and it did!! It took a couple of hours, but I’m totally happy with the outcome.

It was awesome having enough of the costume completed to run this morning and as Princess Felic mentioned.. we both were able to run with no major “malfunctions” and came away from our morning run knowing what needed tweeking and our dignity in tack. Thank goodness we have the treadmills at work and our ‘regulars’ at the gym so we were able to do a test run without the questioning eyes of a whole gym watching us!

2 and a half more sleeps!!!

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!!!

Three weeks to go!

23 more sleeps, Mickey!!!

It seems like only yesterday we were 200 days away from our race, but this time three weeks from now, we'll be arriving in Florida!   We still have one more week of running clinic, we have a 20K to get through in training, and I need to find some sweatproof mascara and eyeliner, but I've been compusively checking our flights, the weather, where the cupcake shops are and even had my first "Disneymare" last night...I dreamt we went for lunch in Toronto during our layover and missed our connecting flight.  Yes, I woke up in a sweaty panic today, but I guess if I'm still not too worried about the run itself, then we're doing OK!