Heavy Lifting

So awhile ago, I mentioned that after the marathon was over, I was going to start the New Rules of Lifting for Women.  Well, the time has come.

I've been wanting to start this program for awhile, and need something to focus on for the next few months so I don't hoover up everything in sight over the holiday season and turn into a plump little Asian dumpling.  I've been pretty darn lax in exercising and eating properly after the marathon but I don't regret it...everyone needs to live a little!  But now it's time to get back on the wagon and get back at 'er.  And truth be told...I've been feeling a bit aimless now that the big one is over...definitely a case of post-marathon blues.  There's a lot of time until my next goal race in the Spring, so what better than to establish a new goal and banish the blues?

This is a six month program, so I'm going to incorporate this into my regular training since next year will be less strenous since I'm not planning on doing a full marathon.  This program works best done three times a week but is doable with two, so I'm going to add in two days of lifting mixed in with running and/or bootcamp.  Not a moment too soon either...with all the running, I definitely haven't been focussing at all on strength and it shows!  I did some strength training on Sunday...some simple stuff like squats and lunges, and pushups with some bicep and tricep work thrown in for good measure...and I'm sore.  And it wasn't even all that hard and I wasn't lifting heavy at all!  And stronger is better, especially for speed.  We'll see how it helps with my spring half marathon!

So.excited.

Aloha!

Back from Maui...and it was awweeesssome.  Exactly what we needed to recharge our batteries after a busy summer of training and preparing for the marathon.  Weather was pretty nice - we've never gone during this time of year but I think we might just start going in the early Fall as it's not quite so hot.  We ended up staying at a difference place than our usual spot as they were going through some major renovations...the great folks over at Hale Napili are so good to us and rebooked us at the place next door and paid the difference to make up for inconveniencing us!  The new place was wonderful, but we missed coming home to Hale Napili as we get treated like family when we arrive.  Love it there. 

As far as what we did, the trip itself was the same old, same old...a lot of relaxing, eating and moseying around.  We did manage to fit in a few runs as well, and I was saving my first road run after the marathon for Maui.  We have a favourite route that we do that takes us into the next area Kapalua, which is absolutely gorgeous and is home to the Ritz Carlton and a beautiful golf course that hosts a few PGA tournaments.  It was on one of these runs that we noticed that there was something called Xterra going on, and after asking around we discovered it was an off road triathlon that was having its world championship in Kapalua!  So cool.  We made sure we went back to check it out, and the vibe was electric with helicopters buzzing around as camera crews recorded the race.  We watched the swim and were planning on leaving after the bike transition until we heard there was a very special guest racing in the Xterra...

Lance Armstrong!  This is a shot of him transitioning to the run and he was kicking some ass at this point and was in the top ten.  Unfortunately, the run got the better of him and he was around 26th or so.  The female leader was a gal who was also from Victoria (woohoo!) named Melanie McQuaid who was taking no prisoners until the last bit when the heat and a lost electrolyte bottle ended the race for her, and collapsed within about 200 feet from the finish line (if you're checking out her site, here is her race report - read it, it's amazing).  Now some people may think she's crazy, but I'm in absolute and utter awe of someone who pushes themselves so hard and is trying to finish even though physically she is completely shot and has nothing left to give.  Melanie, you may not have won the world championship, but you rock in my books.  You made me proud to be Canadian that day!

Is it wrong that I reallllly want to try a tri?  Guess I gotta learn how to swim first though, eh?  Heh.

Ants in My Pants

Today is my one week anniversary of the marathon!  Don't worry everyone...I won't keep doing the anniversary countdown...promise!  I can't believe it was a week ago...as the morning went by today, I kept looking at the time and thinking this time last week I would have been at this point and marvelling that it was over.  I was  stalking following Jessica over at Mommy Running Through as she was also a first time marathoner...it's funny, because when I saw her finish, I got verklempt all over again...so cool to follow people through their training and the actual race.  I was also watching the Toronto Waterfront Marathon on TV today, and it was pretty cool to see one of our Canadian boys Reid Coolsaet place third overall, and come within a minute or so of almost beating the Canadian record.  Reid was doing awesome until about 35K into the race when he started to fade...and the announcer said something to the effect of he ran a great 35K, but then there was the second half of the race left to go.  Ha!  I chuckled only because what he was saying was oh, so true...the last 7K were tougher than the first 35K put together for me, and it's where runners start to fade.  However...all of this hasn't turned me off the marathon...I know I posted earlier that I wasn't going to be doing another one anytime soon (and I'm sticking to that), I'm really getting ants in my pants to get training and start working on my speed to put myself in a good position for a marathon in 2013.  I ran yesterday for the first time since the marathon, and while I'm not sore, there are definitely some twinges and twangs that are telling me I'm not recovered yet...and I must say that I'm enormously tired at night and can barely keep my eyes open.  I think my body is telling me that it needs a rest, and that's exactly what we're going to do when Hubs and I hit the sandy beaches of Maui on Tuesday.

So...with that, I'm signing off for a bit while we're away...bring on the chichis!

So What's Next?

OMG, get me away from dairy.  I've been really good at cutting it out before the marathon, but now that it's over....the floodgates have opened!  Cheese this, dairy that...gah!  It's soooo bad for me but it tastes sooo good....but I've got to stop because I've been noticing I've been feeling extremely tired and not that great.  I've been letting myself have treats here and there for post-marathon week, but after this I'm back on good eating again. 

I think I've created a monster.  My legs are feeling much, much better now...the first few days were torturous, but pretty much all the soreness is gone now but there are a few pangs and twinges remaining that tell me that things still are healing, and I should take 'er easy.  I was saying to Hubs that I was going to a very short run on Saturday, maybe 3K or so just to get things moving again as I'm feeling itchy to start running.  So thinking that he would do the same because like I've said before, he doesn't really love to run...he says well he's going to go out for a 10K run instead.  Wha?!  Who are you and what have you done with my husband?  Ha!  It's awesome...he's bound and determined this time to keep up with longer distances to maintain his current level of fitness.  Eeeeexcelllllent.

So...the big question is, what are we going to do now that the marathon training is over?  Definitely for the next few months I'll be taking a break from any kind of race training, and will just run because...well, I love to run.  I'm going back to bootcamps and other cross training, and am toying with the idea of doing a weight lifting program for the balance of the year to get my strength back up again.  I saw my race photos and wasn't happy with how shapeless my spaghetti arms were.  As for running plans...Hubs and I have decided that we're going to increase our weekend runs to around the 15K-ish range, just so the transition to any kind of longer distances won't be quite so painful in the new year.  We've also decided that 2012 will be the year of speed ..we've built our distance bases, so now is the time to get our pace up and our times down!  I've also been looking into races for next year, and we're going to take a running clinic called Mindful Strides that one of the speakers at the Race Expo spoke about.  The clinic leader is named Marilyn Arsenault, a really talented runner who found running a bit later in life (she's an opera singer by trade)...she was the fastest woman in the half marathon in 2009 with a blistering 1:15:39 at the age of 40!  Her clinic is all about running form - she went through similar training herself and she found that the better her form was, the faster she was able to run with less chance of injury.  Sign me up!

Looking forward to running in 2012.

This Made Me Laugh Out Loud

Marathon Aftermath

I can sooooooo relate right now...ha!

2011 Goodlife Victoria Marathon - Race Report

I've got so much to say, I almost don't know where to start!  There's so much that I want to remember of this day, which I can honestly say is one of the proudest moments of my life.  I guess what better place to start than at the beginning of marathon day, hey?  Hubs and I got up bright and early at 5:00am - I needed to get up early so I could eat something, and we had to get down early as Hubs' race was at 7:30am (mine didn't start until over an hour later at 8:45am...definitely not a fan of the late start!).  I'd had a pretty good night's sleep, but did wake up a few times...I'd been having some tummy troubles in the past few days, and woke up with a bit of cramping.  I had my usual scone snack and felt OK, so proceeded to get showered.  I know...I'm weird, right? I'm going to be sweating up a storm for four plus hours but I have to shower before I go do that.  But it's all about having a routine and I wasn't a-strayin'!

The night before we laid out our gear...I've been meaning to review the iFitness race belt I got recently, but man I heart this thing!  It absolutely rocks so I'll be reviewing it shortly:

Yummy Gu flavours...makes you non-runners almost want to start, no?  Espresso Love was my fave but Mint Chocolate is quickly eclipsing it.

I made sure I slapped on some Body Glide, to avoid the dreaded marathon chafe (chub rub + 42.2 kilometres + sweating for four plus hours = agony):

Once we were all geared up, we headed down to my work which is a 10 minute walk from the start line...yes!  We got there around 6:45-ish and met up with M and her fam...her kids were doing the 8K race and her Hubs was running the half with her as well.  After everyone left and I was on my own, I had to get myself mentally into a marathon frame of mind.  It was hard to get a handle on my emotions all Saturday and Sunday morning - I went through spells of being anxious, being scared, wondering if I could really pull this off...it was a constant emotional roller coaster.  I headed out at around 8:15am after eating a banana and some Gu Chomps, but before I left I had to a little something to do first:

I stole this idea from my running idol Marlene over at Mission to a(nother) Marathon...I wanted to have a mantra to get myself through the next four plus hours of running, and what better than "Go Wong"?  A's card played such a significant part in keeping me motivated, so this was a no brainer...these two words would come to save me later.  As I walked to the start line, I was alone with my thoughts and had time to put my game face on.

At the Start Line:
The day was perfect for a race - I was watching the weather like hawk all week, and I needn't have worried at all.  Cool, overcast and no wind...it was awesome!  I positioned myself at the back of the 4:30 corral and waited for the race to start, all the while reminding myself to pace, pace, pace.  I wasn't going to set any land speed records, so wanted to settle in with a pace of 6:20 - 6:30/km for the race and kept reminding myself that was the target.  After singing a rousing Oh Canada, we were off!

0 - 10K
For the first few kilometres, I mentally kept pinching myself.  Was I really doing this?  Was I really running a marathon?!  I completely resisted the urge to burst out of the gates, but paced myself pretty well and was feeling really good for the first quarter of the race.  My splits were pretty much on target and I was having no trouble locking in on my target paces.  I was loving the cheering crowds and was surprised at the huge number of people out to suppport all the runners.  This is another aspect of running that I just enjoy so much...the sense of kinship and inclusion that embodies the running community - whether you're a runner, a spectator or a volunteer, you're part of the gang.   Contrary to what people might think, it's not an elitist sport...people cheer the back of the packers as much as they cheer the race leader.  I heard more cowbells than I think I've ever heard in my life, and I was feeling great and loving every second...there were some great signs out there, the most memorable being a saucy blonde with a sign that said "Naked Cheerleaders, Next Mile"  I laughed out loud with I saw that!

1K:   6:28  Saltstick and 4 Gu Chomps
2K:   6:21
3K:   6:21
4K:   6:33
5K:   6:24
6K:   6:25 Gu
7K:   6:34
8K:   6:22
9K:   6:21
10K: 6:32

10K split - 1:06:38

11 - 21K
Around this part of the race, we ended up leaving the water views along Dallas Road and headed towards the long stretch through to Oak Bay and the Uplands.  The weather started to get really sunny, and I was wondering if that was going to have any effect on my run.  I must say...I was glad to have packed my own water because the race site stated that aid stations are every 3K - whatevs!  They were sporadic and oddly placed, but I kept with my plan of running 3K with a 1 minute walk break and if that didn't coincide with an aid station, that was fine.  My legs were feeling really good, and I didn't feel tired at all up to the half way marker.  It was somewhere around this stretch that we saw the winner of the race coming back towards us, which is a part of the race that I love so much.  As he raced towards us, all the runners were cheering him on and clapping.  While I was paying attention to my splits and how I was doing compared to times on my paceband, I tried to not get too wrapped up in it and looked around a lot at the scenery, the spectators and my surroundings.  I was going to stay in the present!

11K:  6:18
12K:  6:15 Gu
13K: 6:41
14K: 6:18
15K: 6:20
16K: 6:37
17K: 6:19
18K: 6:18 Gu
19K: 6:37
20K: 6:23
21K: 6:16 Saltstick

Half marathon split - 2:18:10

22K - 32K
This part of the course would prove to be my favourite section.  The spectators were pretty amazing and the run itself was peaceful, albeit challenging...there were some rollling hills in this section that were a bit brutal.  I was so happy when I reached the turnaround part of the course (this is an out and back) and it was at this point that I thought you know what...I might just do this...this might really happen!  Somewhere around the 25K point was when I saw Ben from over at Ben Does Life (here's his race recap).  I've been following his blog for awhile and admire so much of what he's done and accomplished.  Knowing his journey and how far he's come in the past few years, I had to say something, right?  I clapped and yelled out "Hey Ben!" (ooh, I have a way with words, eh?  Ha!) and we high five'd as we passed each other.  Cool!

I must say though...the best part of this race (besides the finish line, of course!) came at the 32K point.  Hubs and my inlaws were going to be there to meet me, as well as KEW and A with those awesome "Go Wong" signs.  As I  headed up the slight hill towards where I knew they were going to be, I honestly couldn't get there fast enough.  As I scanned the streets looking for them, I finally saw Hubs.  I was feeling pretty fresh at this point still as you can see from my splits, so gave them a thumbs up and swooped in to give Hubs a quick kiss.  As I continued down the street, I was looking for KEW and A but couldn't see them and was hoping that I didn't miss them.  As I came close to the end of the block where I'd have to turn I spotted them and the flood of pent up emotions from the past few days came rushing out.  Verklempt does not come close to describing how I felt, and we hugged each other through our tears.  Feeling renewed, it was at this point that I realized I was going to finish this thing.

22K: 6:44
23K: 6:23
24K: 6:32 Gu
25K: 6:32
26K: 6:24
27K: 6:16
28K: 6:34
29K: 6:29
30K: 6:14 Gu
31K: 6:43
32K: 6:18

30K split - 3:16:17

33K - 42.2K
Having been buoyed by seeing friends and family, I continued on and thought this was too easy, I was feeling pretty good considering I'd been running for over three hours.  Spoken way too soon, my friends...10 kilometres is a long way to go especially after running for 32 kilometres.  This is where the true test of mental and physical toughness came.  As I got to the 35K mark, my legs were so incredibly tired and my right calf was in danger of cramping and seizing up.  I could feel it start to go but somehow kept it at bay, and my right knee was starting to ache terribly.  I had to count down the kilometres one by one, and kept repeating my mantra "Go Wong" in my head along with each footstep, just to keep forging ahead.  At 36K I was scheduled to take a Gu, and toyed with the idea of not taking it because at this point I was sooooo sick of taking these things.  Even yummy flavours like mint chocolate were turning my stomach and I choked down half a gel before tossing it.  Ugh. 

The last stretch was along the water on Dallas Road, and while beautiful it was hot...the weather was gorgeous, but warm...and by this point it would be around 1pm so we were running at the warmest point of the day.  As I came around to the 37K point, just moving was extremely difficult and I was inserting quick walk breaks in every few hundred metres or so.  It was getting harder and harder to start running after taking a walk break and my legs were in agony, even though mentally I felt good still.  The last few kilometres felt interminable and I had slowed down to a shuffle, as you can tell from my last splits. 

When I finally saw that "1K" sign, it was everything I could do to keep going...but I could hear the cheering as I rounded the final corner to the finish line.  This was it, and I was absolutely going to savour this moment.  As I headed down the final stretch, people on both sides started to cheer, and I could feel tears spring to my eyes.  I looked around to see if I could see Hubs and when I finally found him, I gave him a thumbs up and let out a big "wooohoooo!"  As I came down the chute, I looked up and kept my eyes locked on what I've worked towards for the last year and a half, the finish line...and as I crossed the mats, I smiled and raised my arms in happiness and relief...I was a marathoner!  The race director came over to shake my hand, and I even got a hug from Kathrine Switzer!  If I'd been of a better frame of mind, I would have told her how amazing I thought she was.  My friend A was handing out medals so I shuffled over to get my medal and my first post-race hug...it was so good to see a smiling face at the end! 

The bling:

33K: 6:18
34K: 6:49
35K: 6:57
36K: 6:47  1/2 Gu
37K: 6:43
38K: 7:04  Ooow
39K: 7:25  I hurt bad
40K: 7:29  I must be effing insane
41K: 6:48  Everything hurts
42K: 7:17  Yes!

Time result - 4:40:56!  I think this might change as my gun and chip time were posted as the same, and because I was at the back of the pack my chip time should be a bit shorter.  We'll see what the final results are, but whatever...I'm thrilled with my time and I achieved my main goal of enjoying the race and finishing with a smile on my face.  A lot of people will ask what my future race plans are and at this point, I'm not comtemplating another marathon anytime soon.  I've got a few goals rolling around my head right now though so we'll see!

Now the big question...how am I feeling apres run?  My legs are incredibly sore...I definitely have the marathon shuffle going on!  Stairs are definitely difficult to negotiate, which should prove interesting at work tomorrow.  Ha!  Great news though...while I'm definitely sore, my foot held up beautifully and there's no hint of foot pain at all today.   No chafing either, and I was happy to have avoided hitting the wall but I do have a very painful toenail that appears to be turning black underneath my pretty pink polish.  Right after the race I wasn't hungry at all - I didn't eat much yesterday, but I'm making up for it today and hoovering up everything in sight...there are some benefits to running a marathon, right?  Ha!

So since today is Thanksgiving, I'm going to give thanks for everyone who've supported me through the past 18 months of marathon craziness.  All my friends, coworkers, family, people in the bloggie community and what I've dubbed "Team Wong" (my RMT, chiro, physio) are a big part of what helped get me to the finish line...but one person more than anyone else was key and that person was Hubs.  When I was up at 5:00am to run, so was he.  When I was out there for hours, he'd be with me on the bike riding behind me with my water and Gu.  So thank you, Hubs...you are the absolute best.

Item #1 on my bucket list - done.  On to some R&R in Maui in a few short day....bring on the mai tais!

I Am A Marathoner!

I am soooo happy right now.  On air.  I feel fantastic...well, everything from the waist down is in absolute agony, but I'm alert and feel awesome!  I did it - hit my goal of finishing upright, feeling great and enjoying the marathon from start to finish (OK, well the last 5K were brutal but I'll save that for the race recap).  Chip time...4:40:56.  My goal was 4:30, so not too bad!  For my first marathon, I am more than thrilled.  Going to enjoy dinner tonight for sure.

Look out for race recap to come your way shortly!

Marathon Eve

So inspiring.  I just went to the Speaker Series at the race expo, and listened to Steve King intervew Kathrine Switzer and Bart Yasso.  Kathrine Switzer was amazing - she said a little something that hit it squarely on the head as to why running is more than just one step in front of another...it's that too, but it's also about the feeling of self empowerment, self confidence and self esteem that you get from it.  So, so true.  She truly was a pioneer in women's running and was recently inducted into the National Womens' Hall of Fame for activating social change...she was in good company, with the likes of people like Rosa Parkes!  Seeing Bart Yasso was pretty cool too...every runner has heard of the Yasso 800s, right?  He's the "Chief Running Officer" at Runner's World, and had his own moving stories about how running has come to embody social change and the sense of community and inclusion.   When it came to the question and answer period, a newbie marathoner asked for the one piece of advice that either of them had for first timers, and both Bart and Kathrine said to not set expectations and to just enjoy the event.  Seeing as these are two of the greats of running, I'm going to listen to them fully and just go out there and enjoy the reward for all the training over the past 18 weeks.

Plans for tonight?  A quiet night at home with the family and just some general R&R.  So I guess this is it, eh?  When you hear from me next time, I'll be a marathoner.  I'm on a total roller coaster of emotions but I'm ready to get 'er done at this point!  If anyone is so inclined, here is the link to the race site where you can go to watch the race live, or here's the link to the race results!  I hope to be crossing the finish line anywhere between 1 - 2pm, and bib number is 1703.  I'm going to end this post with a quote from my fave, Oprah:

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."

Catch you all on the flip side!

Stats

So because I'm an accountant and a total numbers geek, I thought it'd be cool to put together some stats on the journey to the marathon.   It's weird...it feels like I've been doing this forever and that it went by fast, all at the same time.  I guess I'm a little sad that the training is over, because as you know I'm a goal-oriented kinda gal and I love having something to work towards...I've already got my mind whirling as to what the next running goal is gonna be...it's never ending, right?

So here goes...in 18 weeks...

 - 569 kilometres
 - 65 hours running
 - 50 runs
 - 20 bootcamp sessions
 - 8 bike sessions
 - 3 pairs of shoes
 - 25 bananas eaten on long run days
 - 15 Gu's
 - 7 physio sessions
 - 4 chiro sessions
 - 3 massages
 - 3 immune booster shots

No wonder I'm totally looking forward to kicking back and just chilling in Maui!  Heh.  Can't wait to get to that start line.

The Wall

ZOMG.  Someone take the internet away from me.

So because I'm all in taper mode and have all this free time on my hands now that I'm chilling out, I'm all over the interwebz, reading about people's first time marathon experience's and it's scaring the shit out of me.  I'm sure it's kinda like having kids, right?  You know what they say, that within minutes of having the kid, you forget the pain and would do it again in a second?!  I'm kinda hoping that's the case because for the most part, these people who were writing about their horrific first marathon/hitting the wall experiences lived to tell the tale and run many more after that.

Turning off computer NOW.

Multiple Things Monday

OK...where do I start?  I have so many things to blabber on about and my mind is all over the place right now that I'm just gonna talk about it all!

1.  Go Wong Go

So back last year when I was going through attempt #1 at training for a marathon, my motivation started to wane a bit and I posted about how meh I was feeling about the whole marathon gig.  It was hard, it was hot, wah wah wah, whine whine whine.  Well...it's through times like that when you find out who your friends are.  One of my besties A read my post, and sent me a homemade card that I use as daily motivation because I tell ya...there are days when I didn't really want to go out and run and I thought what have I gotten myself into?  I look at that card all.the.time.  Well, A and her little girl KEW are going to cheer me on at the 32K point of the run, with these signs that are big versions of my card:

Seriously.  Are these not the best?  These were posted on my Facebook, and as soon as I saw them I got all verklempt.  I told you I was going to be a mess in the last few days, didn't I?

Aren't these great?  I can't wait to see them. Thanks guys, can't tell you how much this means.

2.  Final Physio

Holy, I'm all about the alliteration today aren't I?  Ha!  I went to see my awesome and amazing physio today for the last time before the race, and told her about my foot and lower leg pain.  She was pretty happy with how I was moving and pinpointed a few spots that she thought were causing my issues.  Out came the needles, and she released muscles in my calf, bum and front thigh that were causing tightness and pulling on my foot.  After the needles, pain and achiness are gone!  My physio has been the main reason why I've gotten to within days of the race relatively injury free and I'm so thankful I found her.   She's a marathoner as well, so I asked for her advice and she definitely said to not go out too fast, to just go out there and experience it.  Definitely must find her a nice thank you gift.

3.  Five More Days

Gaaaaahhhhh!  I'm so excited.  And scared.  And anxious.  But most of all, I'm just looking forward to experiencing the day.  They say that the marathon is the reward for all your training, and it's kinda true.  The tough part really is the training and I just want to get to the race already!   The one thing I want to make sure I do is really experience it and stay in the present so I can remember it.  Honestly, that's the one thing I regret about my wedding day because I was so rushed and anxious that I didn't stop to look around and really feel the moment...I can barely remember anything about the ceremony and had to ask Hubs about it after.  Plus I gotta remember it all so I can blog about it after, right?   Ha!

4.  Race Expo

Race expo this weekend, and it should be a great one.  Bart Yasso and Kathrine Switzer is going to be there as speakers...KATHRINE SWITZER, people!  For those of you who don't know who she is, she was the first female to run Boston...and the race director Jock Semple actually ran onto the course and tried to grab her while yelling "get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!"...luckily her boyfriend was there and ran interference for her so she could continue on with the race....

Yes...women were not allowed to race Boston previously...in fact it wasn't recommended for women to run at all because your uterus might fall out or something redonkulous.  Can't wait to hear her speak.  And yeah, and Bart too.  Kidding!  Bart is pretty awesome as well.

5.  Germies Go Away

I am immune boosting like it's my job...so many people around me are sick right now!  Just need to stay healthy.  So if I run away from you covering my face, it's not that I don't love you or anything...I just can't get sick right now. 

6.  Taper Madness

OK, I gotta say...I am having NO problems with taper madness...in fact, I'm greatly enjoying this last week where I'm barely running at all (comparatively speaking) and I'm not going to any bootcamps (just in case, to avoid tweaking any muscles).   I can sit back and chill and not even feel guilty!   And I'm allowed to up my carb intake.  What's not to love about taper time?

Phew!  OK, think I'm done.

Marathon Quest 2011 - Week 17 Recap

Ahhhhhhh.  Had a massage this morning and I gotta say...if I won the lotto, I would be gettin' one of those at least once a week.  Heck, daily.  I love a good massage, and the girl who worked on me this morning (apologies to my regular girl, but I had to get one today) was amazing...almost as good as my usual RMT, and wasn't afraid to get in there and really work the knots out.  I've tried a few other RMTs that weren't bad, but I found that they just didn't press hard enough and I came out feeling no different than when I walked in.  Just cuz I'm little doesn't mean I'm some kind of delicate Asian lotus blossom...sheesh!

Well...one more recap to go.  I'm almost a little sad because my first marathon is the premise of this blog, but there'll be other goals to achieve, right?  There are plenty of PBs left in me and lots of inane observations on life and recipes to review, so I'll still be kicking around on the interwebz for awhile.  And who knows...I may get addicted to marathoning *sneaking sideways glance at Hubs*....

Sunday - rest day

Monday - stationery bike 20 minutes
I jammed on bootcamp...my foot was still bugging me from Saturday's run, so I decided to be conservative and let it rest by doing a quick workout on the bike. 

Tuesday - rest day

Wednesday - 6K treadmill run

Thursday - 6K treadmill run
I was in Vancouver for work for a big convention, and got to stay a really nice hotel, the Fairmont Waterfront.  Now when I checked out the amenities, it said first class gym...and it actually was.  Yay!  I carted my butt up out of bed early-ish to go down and do a quick treadmill run, and then ordered up some room service as I wanted to make sure I got a good meal in rather than just grabbing some scone or some big sugar bomb as we were going to busy working a tradeshow booth at the convention.  It's funny, because I absolutely cannot go without eating breakfast anymore. I was never, ever, ever a breakfast eater, but Hubs totally changed that.  When he found out I didn't eat breakfast, he was aghast...and would have to cajole me into eating it.  Now, I have to eat something healthy and hearty to start off my day or I'm a mess.  See, even old dogs can learn new tricks!

Friday - bootcamp

Saturday - 16K 13K run, at race pace
According to our training schedules, we were supposed to do our runs this week at race pace...eek! I've not run anything remotely close to race pace in months, so I was a little apprehensive.  My overall pace for a 4:30 finish is either 6:24/km overall or 6:09/km walk adjusted (meaning that if I take walk breaks, I have to run a bit faster when I'm actually running).  Gah.  Because the Running Room program does 10 and 1's and I'm doing something more like a 20 and 1 (which works out to be every 3K where the aid stations are), I figured that my pace needed to be about 6:15/km when I'm running to average to a 6:24/km pace overall once I throw in the walk breaks. 

Hubs took off ahead of me, as he was going for a  6:00/km pace...so I started off to what I thought was a conservative pace.  As I looked down at my Garmin, I kept seeing times below 6:00/km.  It was really, really hard to lock in my target pace of 6:15/km...and by the end of the run, I checked my average pace and it was 6:14/km, so 10 seconds per kilometre too fast even incorporating walk breaks.  Now the theory goes for every second you go too fast initially, you'll slow down by double that at the end...so I really need to figure out my pacing or I'm gonna be in a bit of trouble come the latter stages of the race. 

So the big question is...how is the foot feeling?  Truthfully - not great right now.  It's sore and achy, and everything below my knee is a dull ache.  I have an appointment with my physio on Monday, so I'm hoping the last round of IMS will help release all my muscles to give me some more cushioning/movement to get through the race.  It's not unbearable, and nowhere near how it felt last year...all I need is for it to hold out next week and I'm golden.  I just have a few short runs left and then it's "off my feet" mode until Sunday.

Eight more sleeps, kids.