Lobsters and mussels and running and happy!

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Well it’s been a while since I wrote last. I had a bit of a work-stress-induced running hiatus, which when I think about it is a pretty poor excuse since running is one of the best de-stressing activities there is. In any case, I’m back at it now and hopefully I’ll keep the ball rolling this time. So far, stress levels have been kept relatively low and the happiness gauge is pointing upwards!

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. First of all, Kimberly and I both did not get accepted in the NYC Marathon lottery. Then two weeks later, we both got accepted in the Chicago Marathon lottery! We’re running Chicago! I’ve never run a marathon, and decided that this would be the year. I’m pretty excited that Chicago is going to be the place to do it, since it’s a city I’ve always wanted to visit and have heard great things about. Training starts last week!

We also just got back from a vacation to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Even though the weather wasn’t the greatest, we still had a fantastic vacation. Visited lots of family and a few friends, and did some solo exploring in Halifax, Peggy’s Cove, Mahone Bay and Lunenberg. This was also the time when the accumulated work stress from the last two months began to melt away and I started running again. We got in a few runs while on vacation and I convinced myself that I shouldn’t let work interfere with doing something I love. In fact, a regular running schedule is likely to help manage a stressful work environment by keeping my sanity intact! So since we got back, I’ve run six of the last seven days. My plan going forward is to do shorter, specific workouts during the week and then one long run on the weekends. Six runs a week, without overdoing it and injuring myself (fingers crossed!).

I also just replaced my old runners with a brand new pair of Newton Distance III’s. As per usual with Newton, they’re amazing. I had been running in the Distance S for the past few years but decided that I don’t need the support any more, and I’m pretty sure I’ve made the right decision. After close to a dozen or so runs with them, I’ve had no issues and my feet are happy. They’re really light, my feet like them, and I’m digging the colour.

Newton Distance III

Today tested my new found commitment as it was 2 degrees celcius and snowing lightly in Edmonton. I got out for an easy 14km run anyway. Sometimes weather that looks unpleasant from the warmth of your couch isn’t actually that bad once you get out there – provided you’re dressed for it! I had a pretty decent run today and it felt good knowing that I’ve started ramping up my mileage again. The little pellets of snow had me squinting pretty hard for the first couple of km’s, but after that things improved and the rest of the run was actually pretty pleasant. I enjoy long runs. Probably because (most of the time) they’re run at a pretty leisurely pace. I’m looking forward to when I’m getting in those 25-35 km runs in preparation for the marathon, but I also want to make sure I slowly ramp up the miles so I don’t overdo it and put myself out of commission.

Spring-ish run

I’ve been doing the food thing the last few posts but I am admittedly unprepared for it this time. I could tell you about the lobster rolls we had at my parents’ place in Miramichi, or the platter of mussels, oysters, dulce, smoked salmon, or the fish and chips we had at the Tide and Boar in Moncton, or the “pound and a pint” I got at the Salt Shaker Deli in Lunenberg, NS… but that’s not that interesting, is it? ;) If you find yourself in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia – get the seafood. Even if you don’t like seafood!

Mussels!That’s all for now. Along with my commitment to run more, I am officially committing to write more! I’ll be back with another post next week. Promise!

Irish I Could Run Faster!

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Well this has been a couple of weeks coming! Back on March 16th I found myself in Cowtown, Alberta, toeing the line for the Calgary Road Runners’ annual St. Patrick’s Day Run. I chose the 5k, in accordance with my pre-determined season plan of running a 5k, 10k, half-marathon, then a marathon – all PB’s of course! In theory, it was going to be easy to PB in this run because I’ve never actually run a 5k before. In practice though, I know how fast I should be able to run a 5k – knowing my 5k splits in half-marathons that I’ve run in the past. I had set myself a shot-in-the-dark goal of running sub-20 minutes for a 5k. Seemed hard enough to push myself, but I figured it should be doable.

On the morning of the race, my sister drove Kimberly and I to the Central Memorial High School, where the run would start and finish. It was a chilly but sunny morning and I did a bit of a warm-up while waiting for things to get going. A short jog up and down the start/finish straight, some a/b/c’s, a few strides, butt-kicks… I think I probably looked like I knew what I was doing more than I felt I knew what I was doing!

Shortly after the 10k’ers took off, they summoned the 5k’ers to the starting line and gave us all of 4 seconds notice that the race was about to start… surprise!! I started at a pretty quick pace. Whether it’s a good thing or not I’m not sure, but I kept looking at my Garmin to see what my initial pace was. I wanted to make sure I didn’t overdo it in the first km. I slowed myself down a bit but made sure I was still pushing. I ran the first km in just over four minutes – pretty close to my 20 minute pace – but I was feeling it! My second km clocked in at around 4:18 if memory serves me, and then I slowed down a bit. The roads were slightly rolling and in the third km, we went up a short but steep-ish hill that really sucked the air out of my lungs. I got passed by what appeared to be a 13 year old.

Over the top of the hill, I tried to get myself back up to speed. I knew at this point that I had no chance of hitting 20 minutes, but I wanted to keep it under 22. I recovered a bit and then there was a beautiful downhill in the final km, before ramping up again at the finish. It felt like my lungs were bleeding, but I pushed on and crossed the line in 21:58. Take that, 22 minutes!

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So that wasn’t really close to my goal time but I guess everybody needs a starting point. This is also the earliest in the year that I’ve ever done a race. Back in my bike racing days, I got out to an early April race but there was never anything in March. So I’ll take the positive that I trained for the race and ran as hard as I could. Heck, I got third in my age group and won a Steamwhistle stein! Done.

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I haven’t registered for anything else yet but I’m looking for another 5k or 10k near Edmonton in April. It’s probably still too early for me to go for a fast 10k time so maybe I’ll take another shot at a 5k first. I’m open to race suggestions if anybody knows of some good ones coming up?!

Cheers!

Taking a turn for the better

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Winter in Canada is a strange and frustrating thing. The weather (and weather forecasters) toy with our emotions all year long, and 30 degree temperature swings over a period of one – to – two days isn’t all that uncommon. I just looked back at the blog I posted last week and it was -34 degrees while I was writing it. Now it’s 8 degrees and sunny and everything is melting! It’s spring! We’re saved!

Nah, I’m not that naive. It is nice to allow yourself to get swept up in the excitement of a beautiful day though. Even though we probably still have quite a few below-zero days and snow storms coming our way before summer, winter is definitely on its way out and it’s days like this that make you feel like things are really starting to take a turn for the better.

Speaking of taking a turn for the better, the back problems I whined about last week are also subsiding and I managed to get a total of five decent runs in last week. Included in those workouts were 2 x 1 mile at 5k pace, and a track workout that consisted of three sets of 2 x 400m and 1 x 150m. I love 400′s (massive sarcasm)! Really though, track workouts make my lungs hurt. But it’s the kind of hurt that I know is going to pay off later this summer when I’m killing my PB’s! I also managed to get out for a short run with Kimberly. We don’t run together all that often, but it is nice when we’re able to go out and keep each other company on a beautiful spring-ish day.

Our first run together - 2014

This week I’m going to try to keep the consistency up, and get a speed workout and a hill workout in before taking on the St. Patrick’s Day 5k in Calgary next Sunday. I had originally set my sights on a sub-20 minute run but the closer it gets the more I’m thinking that might be a bit too ambitious for this time of year. Regardless, I’m going to give’er and see what happens.

Another benefit of spring-like weather is that it means it’s time to dust off the barbecue! Last night we had some friends over and tried a chicken skewer recipe from Whitewater Cooks (one of our favourite series of cookbooks), that included three different dipping sauces – chipotle honey, tzaziki, and charmoula. Tonight, we also dipped into the Whitewater books for an Indian Chicken Burger recipe, made with ground chicken, garam masala, curry powder, garlic, eggs and bread crumbs, and topped with mango chutney, raita sauce, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Damn – I’ll be making this one again! Can’t say enough good things about the Whitewater series of cookbooks. So many of their recipes are in our regular rotation! Check them out for sure.

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Well, one more week and we’ll be half-way through March. It’s kind of hard to believe that summer will be here soon. The winter in Edmonton has been so harsh this year – and probably has been in most other parts of Canada as well (unless you live in the Okanagan or Vancouver area…). The nice weather has lifted my spirits and I would like to wish everybody a great start to their outdoor running season! Wish me luck for my 5k next week – it’s short, but it’s going to be tough!

The Challenges of Getting Back Into Shape

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Oh, the ups and downs of running! It’s winter in Edmonton and keeping motivated to run in the cold (COLD!), snow, ice and darkness can be quite the mental challenge. Since the beginning of 2014 this is a challenge I’ve been working on. An indoor run here, and outdoor run there, a cancelled run due to -35 Celsius windchill… Keeping consistent is hard!

I thought the answer to my fear of commitment would be to register for a race. Forced commitment! So as mentioned in my last post, I registered for the Calgary St. Patrick’s day 5k. And well… It worked!

In the week that followed, I logged about 42km, mostly outside. Temps in the -20′s be damned, I was getting those runs in. And earlier this week I had time to squeeze in a short 6.5 km run and I nailed it! If you’re reading this and you’re a runner, you know the feeling – you’re pushing hard but rather than getting fatigued or sore like you usually do, you feel like you can just keep going. You’re breathing hard, but it’s not a problem. The legs are doing what you want them to do and even if it hurts they’re going to keep going. It just clicks.

The feeling of fitness returning is a great feeling. You’re reminded of past accomplishments and times when you thought to yourself, “I’m in the best shape of my life”. Even though you might not be there yet, you remember the feeling and you know you’re on your way.

And then it happens. A twinge in your knee, or a dull ache in your ankle, or a deep pain in your hip that forces you to limp and eventually abandon your workout. For me, it was my back. I’ve never really had back problems, but boy did I mess something up last week. It was painful to start, then subsided, then came back with such a vengeance that I could barely move my body above the waist. Whatever caused it, I’ll get it sorted out, but the point is that my training was starting to pay dividends and then a stupid injury screwed things up!

It’s not the end of the world. I went to my chiro and it’s just a muscular problem that can be solved with ice, rolling and stretching. I could even start running again this weekend. As a matter of fact, I just ran on the indoor track for the good part of an hour and my back felt just fine.

It’s hard to think that it’s -34 right now and I’m registered to run a road race in two weeks. I’ll make the most of my time between now and then. As long as I really do have this back problem sorted out, I’ll try to make it to the track three times this week coming up. None of coach Glen’s workouts are easy, and doing three of them in one week would probably benefit me a lot.

So I guess there are always hurdles to overcome. Whether they be injuries, work commitments, family commitments, miserable weather or life in general you just need to roll with it and do what needs to be done.

Now, I did say before that I was going to try to do a bit about food in each of my posts. I don’t have anything terribly exciting to talk about this time, but we did try a very tasty kale salad recently (apparently kale is “trendy” now-a-days). Trendy or not, this was tasty enough that we made it twice this week. The recipe is here, and a picture of how it turned out is below. Healthy isn’t always boring!

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Okay, here’s to a big running week. St. Paddy’s day is coming up soon and 20 minutes is looking like a very daunting goal the closer the date gets! Early morning to the track tomorrow. Cheers!

T25. Because all the cool kids are doing it.

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Last year Chris and I started doing the Insanity workout DVDs. I’m active and fit (usually), but found Insanity challenging, especially when simultaneously training for a marathon. I heard from some friends that a newer program by the same coach (Shaun T) had been released, called T25. It’s high intensity and similar to Insanity, but each DVD is only 25 minutes long. Don’t be fooled, it’s 25 minutes of HARD work, but fortunately it’s only 25 minutes. Twenty-five minutes a day of exercise is manageable for almost anyone!

Chris and I spent nearly two weeks at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico in December, and then it was Christmas when we returned, so we literally did nothing but eat and relax for the majority of the month. Come the new year, we knew it was time to buckle down and get back in shape. I ordered the DVDs off amazon.ca and started the program the first week of January.

The DVDs came with two different cycles, alpha and beta but they’re all in the same case. I didn’t pay much attention to the case, but just pulled out a DVD that said “cardio” and started doing it. About halfway through the twenty-five minutes (and too late for me to want to change it!) I realized I was totally doing the beta cardio, rather than the alpha. I struggled my post-wedding/vacation/Christmas butt through it, but it wasn’t pretty…

There’s also a third level of T25 (gamma), but you need to order it separately. However after a month of T25 alpha, I’m well on my way and am ready to start beta soon! It feels great!

Good intentions and motivation don’t always go hand-in-hand

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We’re now well into 2014, and since my last race I’ve gotten married, spent a week and a half in Mexico followed by two days in Kelowna for Christmas, followed by a week and change at work for year-end festivities (fellow accountants know what I’m talking about). Did I mention that lunch and dinner was provided during year-end… Buffet style? Good times for sure. And I have the gut to prove it!

Okay, it might not be THAT bad, but suffice to say that December and January were not friendly to my fitness, despite feeling motivated to set goals and start training for 2014. But that is all going to change, of course. Isn’t it?

In the past few weeks I’ve hit the track maybe once a week and run outside maybe twice a week. Swimming has been admittedly lacking, even though it is my weakness, and I am hoping that my cycling fitness comes back quickly since it is my strong suit. I’m not going to make excuses, even though I could. I’ve been lazy. Yes, I do workouts every week but definitely not with the consistency that someone with big goals should. Something needs to change.

With that being said, I’ve decided that my starting point is going to be to register for the St. Patrick’s day 5km run in Calgary. It’s a distance that I haven’t tried before, and I am interested to see how I would go on a shorter-distance race. For the next month I’m really going to focus on this, with a goal of going under 20 minutes. Maybe I should be more ambitious than that, but it’s a bit of an unknown for me and under 20 seems to be a pretty decent time.

On top of that, I’ve managed to get in about 32km of running this week, which included one track session that consisted of 4 sets of 5 x 200m on one minute (ouch), and three outdoor runs – one 12k run at my long, slow pace, one 6.5k run at a moderate intensity, and an 8k run at an easy-ish pace. The main goal for now is to increase frequency and mileage. Four runs in a week isn’t bad to start but my goal is 5-6. Edmonton winters make it difficult to achieve this at times – this morning when I woke up it was -26 Celcius with the windchill rated at -34. I’m not running in that! At the moment though, we’re only at -21 with no windchill so it’s looking like I’ll be able to get in my long run after all. Consistency is the key, and it looks like the ball has started rolling!

Must. Get. Satellites! If it's not on Garmin, it didn't happen!

Must. Get. Satellites! If it’s not on Garmin, it didn’t happen!

This is where my morning torture sessions take place.

This is where my morning torture sessions take place.

I also want to try to do a bit about food in each of my blog entries. After all – as runners, nutrition is part of the game and we do work up some healthy appetites with all of these workouts! This week we tried a recipe that Kim found on blissfulbblog.com called Creamy Avocado Pasta. I never would have thought to make pasta sauce using an avocado, but this is genius! I pretty much followed her recipe, but used regular linguini noodles instead of whole wheat spaghetti, and added in some chopped grape tomatoes. Delish! This one is definitely going into our regular rotation.

Yum! (That would be a chocolate porter in the glass next to it. Why pair wine when there is perfectly good beer in the fridge??)

Yum! (That would be a chocolate porter in the glass next to it. Why pair wine when there is perfectly good beer in the fridge??)

I think I was saying something about going for a run? Better go layer up before I convince myself that it’s nicer in the warmth of my condo!

Insanity During Run Training??

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Last summer when I was training for the NYC Marathon, my running buddy kept telling me about an exercise DVD she was doing called Insanity. I had vaguely heard about before. It’s high intensity workouts that don’t require any equipment, other than a bit of space to jump around on your living room floor. She told me about how she was doing an Insanity video once or twice a week and how she really though it was helping her running. Being a sucker for punishment, and wanting to be fit for the marathon (and our wedding!), I ordered the DVD’s off Amazon.ca.There’s two separate months of DVDs. You do month one, then have a week where you do a recovery DVD, and in month two, the length and intensity increases for different videos.

We started with the first month of Insanity right after we returned from Challenge Penticton. The very first day you do a fit test, which since it was only a 20 minute video, Chris and I decided we would go for a five kilometre run afterwards. That was an optimistic plan. The fit test kicked my butt and I definitely did not make it very far on the run. Fortunately, I found that the more we did the videos, the somewhat easier they became (huge emphasis on the word somewhat – they were still so hard). We also tried to follow the nutritional plan, but found that with marathon training in addition to the DVD program there’s no way I could eat the number of calories the program was telling me to. But we did our best!

We managed to keep up with Insanity for the most part for almost all of September, and in to October. During the second weekend of October we went to Kelowna and ran the Okanagan half marathon. I had been approaching this race as a training run, and without even trying too hard, I killed it – taking eight minutes off my previously fastest time and finished under two hours the first time ever. I attribute a lot of this to the Insanity workouts we’d been doing, as I really hadn’t changed anything in my run training. Insanity hugely helped with my hip and core strength and speed.

Unfortunately after that half marathon, with just a few weeks before New York, I couldn’t keep up with month #2 of the videos as well as keeping my body in peak running shape at the same time. I found that I was too fatigued from Insanity and was unable to get quality runs in, so I stopped. I was maybe doing one video a week in October before the NYC marathon.

I’m curious, have you done any exercise DVDs or serious other workouts while training for an endurance run? I would love to hear about it! Would you like to hear more about the specifics of the workouts or nutritional plan? Let me know!

Side note: Late last year I started hearing about another program by the same trainer, called T25. I really like Shaun T as a coach and a motivator, so I had no doubt this other program would be great as well. I purchased the T25 DVDs and started them in January 2014. Review to come shortly!