Post race wrap-up and what to do next

Oops, sorry for the long break! I've been distracted with the rapture and the ending of the world and haven't gotten around to posting my post race wrap-up yet. It's very time consuming to prepare for the apocalypse ;)

Race review

The race organizers were a bit more generous this year with the race kit. Last year, my race kit consisted of a t-shirt, a sample pack of 2 Advil, 1 chapstick and a couple of one-use heating pads. This year, behold the bounty:

The package of chocolate Werther's originals did not survive the week.

I was a little leery of the weather - as this was my view for most of the day before. Ah, it was so delightfully dreary!
On race day itself, the weather was a little chilly and it rained off and on for the entire race. This was just fine for me, since I have a tendency to overheat when I'm running and I actually enjoy running in the rain. I brought along a hoodie for the walk over to the starting line, but ended up tying it around my waist while I was waiting in the crowd for the race to start because I was already starting to get a bit warm. I'm proud to say that I did NOT cry at the end. I did get a little misty eyed at the starting line though. Especially after the the national anthem was sung and the crowd started to cheer for us when we all started the race. Argh, I do not know what's happening to my icy cold heart of steel!!

The course was beautiful - we ran down around the Credit Valley area, UTM campus, Mississauga Road - the posh neighbourhood with the million dollar homes and down along the lakeshore. Despite the rain and gloom, the trees were so green and pretty and the waves crashing hard along the lakeshore were quite cool.

For the first bit of the race, I was following the 4:15 marathon pace bunny. I ended up losing them somewhere around the 8 km marker. I think they stopped for water at one of the aid stations and I lost them in the crowd. Then I started to follow this one lady who was dressed in a black and white polka dot tank top and a white running skirt. Wearing white during a rainstorm - how scandalous!! The black and white polka dot tank top looked like Lulu's Power Y tank top, but I've never seen a polka dotted tank at Lulu (and let me tell you, I've been online stalking them for years). Ever the creepy stalker, I kept on (unsuccessfully) trying to catch up with her to confirm its authenticity. (Ah, the strange little games one likes to play to keep the mind occupied for 21 kms.) But I ended up losing her when she turned off to continue on the marathon course. Around this time, I started to run with the two sets of 2:15 half-marathon pace bunnies (dammit!). I passed one of the 2:15 pace bunnies, then the other one passed me, then the one from behind passed me, then I passed the other one...it was all very confusing. I ended up finishing around 2:15 without any pace bunnies...I don't know where they disappeared to, as I started to space out a bit around 20 km. My time was still off from my personal best, I think I could (and should) have done better, since I was killing all of my old times at the 5 km and 10 km markers - however, I did SO much better than my personal worst at the Chilly half, so I'll take it as a victory!!

Where do we go from here?

After my race was finished and my celebratory sushi lunch was digested, I started to suffer from a bit of post-race depression. For the last 6 months, I've had half-marathons on my mind and I've had plans/schedules which were centred around my goal races. I had rolled my ankle back in March just before the Chilly half and since then I've been getting random flare-ups of pain - so I didn't want to train for another half-marathon this year and thought that I should probably back off a bit from the distances. For the first time in months, I found myself without a challenge to work towards. So, I sulked around for a week and quietly pondered what I should do next. I didn't have to wonder for too long - since I can always count on the Running Room to welcome me back into their world of dry-fit technical running clothes and 8AM weekend training practices. Starting on Monday, I'm excited to announce that I'll be coaching the Learn to Run clinic! I'm a little nervous, but mostly looking forward to this new experience. I've had a lot of support over the years from my previous coaches and fellow runners - I'm excited to be able to pass along the things that I've learned to my new group of runners and introduce them to the exciting world of running :)

21.34 km + I am soooooo S-M-R-T

First of all, a thought or two related to the election. I'd just like to say that based on my observations during my long distance weekend runs, I predicted that the Liberals were in trouble a month ago in this very blog. I am soooo S-M-R-T! Lets just see if I can predict what's going to happen in the provincial election in the fall [that is, if I'm still doing long distance runs]...stay tuned...

This past weekend was my last long run before my half-marathon. Since being prepared is not just for boy scouts anymore, I decided to try out the half-marathon route with the stuff I was hoping to use on race day. The good news is that my cute black capri tights worked out well - I should not have worried as the spandex was strong enough to keep the butt bounce under control, yet stretchy enough to let the girls (my freakishly muscular calves) have free reign to bulge all over the place. The bad news is that my favourite running hat is on the verge of dying - the velcro is pretty much worn out and the sweat stains are getting really gross. *sniffle* I've had that hat for almost 4 years!

The sun was super hot on Saturday and I ended up getting a nasty sunburn on my back, shoulders and arms -- in the shape of my racerback tank top (ugh!). The route is very scenic and I was finished my run before I knew it. John was nice enough to meet me at the end, so that I wasn't stranded many km's away from home. I couldn't sit down for awhile after my run because my legs would cramp up, so we strolled along the lakeshore for a bit and then went to a pub for lunch. I was going to get wild and have 1 beer to celebrate, but ended up just having water because I was feeling a bit sick. I caught way too much sun on Saturday and felt kinda heat-stroked for the rest of the day.

I have one more week of training and then its my favourite part of training - taper week!

Schedule:
Tuesday - Cross-training: kettle-bell workout and cardio circuit training
Wednesday - Speeds: 5 k
Thursday - Cross-training: cardio/weight interval training + yoga classes
Friday - Rest
Weekend - 6-7 k

Warming up for 2012

It appears that Mother Nature is also training, she seems to have amped up the insane weather patterns, in preparation for the end of 2012 when she will kill us all. Today there were 80 km/h winds along with rain, snow, hail and flash white-outs. Ever the cautious runner, I decided to take my workout indoors today and use the dreaded treadmill for a two hour workout which tested my sanity to the limit. Since I despise the treadmill, I decided to do intervals - 30 mins on the treadmill, 30 mins on the seated bike, 30 mins on the treadmill and then 30 mins on the spinning bike. Mother Nature is both a cruel and spiteful mistress, as the weather cleared up when I was an hour into my workout. The beautiful sunshine was taunting me, while I tried to complete the workout that just would not end.

Thoughts from poor me stuck running/biking without actually getting anywhere for 2 hours:
- OMG, I HATE THE TREADMILL!!
- OMG, I HATE STATIONARY BIKES!!
- I hate the way the treadmill at the gym ends fairly abruptly at the end of the workout. Would it not make sense to have a taper period at the end, so the person doesn't go from running full speed to a dead stop within 10 seconds? For me, I get a little dizzy after running on the treadmill, so I like to spend a minute walking before hopping off
- I get motion sickness from reading too much closed-captioning on the TVs when running on the treadmill. No TV makes the mind-numbing boredom even worse.
- That being said, I was so happy for NHL playoffs! I ended up watching 2 periods of the Caps/Rangers game. I could ignore the CC and just watch the boys playing hockey.
- I didn't realize how young Ovechkin is.
- I don't like the Rangers but I just can't help cheering against the Capitals
- There was a guy wearing cargo shorts and a Hilfiger skull cap on an elliptical. He was really cut, so I guess he knew what he was doing, but I couldn't help but judge him anyway.
- Why the hell is Donald Trump thinking about running for president?
- I feel bad for the poor little rodents stuck with nothing to do except running in those wheels stuck to the side of their cage.
- Having mutiple slices of pepperoni pizza and gulps of delicious coke a half hour before a workout is a bad idea. Felt so sick for the first hour of the workout.

The green smoothie challenge is still going on. We've had our first disaster - celery, parsley, lemon, tomato and onion. YUCK! I think I'm happy with sticking to the fruity green smoothies for now...