The Weekend Wrap Up

Since my Saturday morning was pretty well shot I procrastinated on my spin workout until sometime after 5 pm. I had a 72 minute ride on the schedule called "crest the hill." The idea is to spin hard in your low cadence section as you go up the hill, then keep the momentum going as you "crest the hill." It is definitely a good workout, and I'm hoping that these spin workouts are really going to help for when I can get outside to ride again.

After the workout was done I had a 20 minute T2 run on the schedule. It was getting late...it was -13C...so it was dark and icy out. But I got out there and got it done. Well...okay...I went for just under 17 minutes, but who wants to quibble over three minutes? With the warming, then the snowfall, then the freezing the sidewalks change day to day and they were brutal last night. I'd definitely be running somewhere else for my Sunday long run.

After the run I whipped up dinner. I'd found an interesting recipe in a magazine while I was waiting for my massage and I was keen to try it out - stuffed poblano peppers. These sounded like a great alternative to chile rellenos. I lucked out in finding some poblano peppers and queso fresco at a Mexican grocery here in Calgary, and this dish turned out so well. I'd definitely recommend it! Because I'm all about the pairing I figured some Dos Equis Amber would work out pretty well.
After dinner I went through my stretches from my PT and whipped out the foam roller. Holy...flibberdijibbet... That thing just about made me cry...

Sunday was more procrastination. The weather was supposed to warm up so I took care of a few things in the morning, had some lunch, then decided to head out for my run. I had 15K (or 9.3 mi) on the schedule. I've been running around my neighborhood most of the time and I needed a change of scenery. Not to mention that I wasn't keen to be dodging a lot of the ice on the sidewalks here. So I drove down to Shouldice and ran the pathway along the river towards downtown since I knew the pathway would be cleared well.

It was +2C (35F) when I was leaving my house. After the crazy cold weather this past week that meant capri weather in my books. Plus a long sleeve shirt and a midweight top. It was somewhat overcast and luckily it was nice and calm out. Since the pathway is pretty flat I also wanted to try and keep my heart rate in zone 2 the entire time. There were a lot of people really bundled up for their run, but I felt pretty comfortable. It just felt so good to not be bogged down in so many layers. I really can't wait for spring!

While I was running I was tossing and turning my fall race schedule around in my mind. The lottery for the Nike Women's Marathon opens this week so I had a lot going through my mind:

• Do I want to enter the half or the full marathon in San Francisco?
• Is two months enough time between Lake Stevens and a possible full marathon?
• Is San Francisco the place to go for a sub 4:30 marathon?
• If I do go for the full...that means I'd probably wipe the 2010 Disney Marathon off the slate. This is where I'm fence sitting mostly. While I'd love to go and meet up with friends do I really want to kill a full week of vacation at Disney World for the third year in a row?
• If I don't get into the Nike race, what's my backup? The more Suz (my friend in San Antonio) and I talk about meeting up, I think my backup race may be the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Race in November. It would be a great chance to hang out and to see friends back in SA. A race in November would really nix the Disney Marathon for sure. But anyhow, we'll see...
  

Anyhow, lots of stuff was running through my mind while I was out there today! I ran an out and back and it was pretty easy to keep my heart rate in zone 2. Slightly tougher on the way back. After I hit 8 miles I gave myself permission to just run without worrying about heart rate.

So the interesting thing is, I was trying to run easy...didn't feel the need for a walk break at any time...and I finished up in 1:33:46. That is a solid 6 minutes faster than the Minnie Marathon 15K last May when I was trying to race. Yay for progress!!

12 miles, a girls' night, and then a blogger meet up at a race

Saturday morning I had a 12 mile run scheduled. When I woke up in the morning there was sun peeking through the clouds, but it was still a pretty chilly 53F (12C). I was feeling pretty optimistic and I put on a short sleeve shirt and a skirt, laced up my green 2110s and headed out the door to Baker Park. I tried to pace myself and not start out too fast since I was heading out for 12 miles. I've never run 12 in a training run before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I eased into mile 1, but was confronted with some hills in mile 2 that made things interesting. By mile 3 I found my groove and it was feeling really good. The pathway I was following went along the Bow River and continued into Shouldice Park and Edworthy - two places that I have gone and run a fair bit. I hit the 6 mile mark at Edworthy so I turned around. Things were still good until I hit the second to last mile and hit those hills again. By that point in time my legs were pretty tired but once I got through it I cruised through the last mile to the finish. I didn't run as fast as last week, but I wasn't to far off. The temperature was perfect the entire way throughout the run and definitely nice and sunny.

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Saturday evening was a girls' night for a friend's stagette (also known as a bachelorette or hen party depending on where in the world you hail from). I am happy to report that either I'm wearing the right size shoes or the mileage isn't high enough yet, but I still have all ten toenails. And after the stagette they are looking that much prettier. It was a fun night of jello shooters, apple pie shots and other mayhem....so needless to say it was a short night before my volunteer gig at the Robert Hamilton Memorial 5 and 10 mile run.
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I was at the start site of the Robert Hamilton Memorial run at 7:30 am near Shouldice. It was overcast, threatening rain, and 48F (9C). Brr. I found the volunteer coordinator and was given a pair of socks for my effort. I was going to be working the finish line this time. This wasn't a chip timed race, so every time a runner crossed the finish line I pressed a button so a time was recorded that was later matched up with the racer's number. I ran into Dawn - a blog I read all the time, but a runner I had never met before. I also finally met Karen, another blog I read, and also one of the Calgary Roadrunners who heads up weekly runs. Karen recognized me as the girl who wrote about all the push ups I did! It was neat to finally meet them, and Karen, I promise that when I am back to running on Tuesdays I will be at the Roadrunner group runs. I also recognized Instructor S's husband who was running the 5 mile so I said hello. It was a pretty small race - around 100 people total registered for the events and it was a fast field. The guy who won the 5 mi race was minutes ahead of the 2nd place finisher. People who run that fast truly amaze me. It was a fun morning - after I was done it was time to grab a really big coffee from Starbucks to warm up and I headed out. Otherwise that's about it for the weekend. If any cross training happens outside of the housework variety I'll be sure to let you know.

Slow Tuesday...

Honestly my legs have been feeling a bit tired lately. I gave the legs a bit of a rest, but then got out on Tuesday for my scheduled 5 mile run. I opted to head out to Shouldice (again) because it is so nice and flat out there (plus I really do like running by the river). We had a thunderstorm warning in effect last night, but the sky was clear and blue, no sign of an impending storm. I think after last Tuesday's thunderstorm and flash flood that a lot of people opted to stay home because the pathways were eerily quiet. I ran nice and slow, and felt great the whole way. No tired legs. I have to say I really enjoyed the quiet to think and look around at the scenery.

I'm excited about my Banff Citizen's 10K this weekend. The course has an alternate route, just in case of animal activity along the primary pathway through Sundance Canyon. Interesting, eh? The only bad part is the forecast is calling for rain and a high of 48 deg F. Here's hoping the forecasters are wrong...

A confidence booster

So I decided not to blog about my run on Tuesday. I did run...a little...but it was such a debacle. I blame the impending thunderstorms that were set to arrive that night as I could see how dark the clouds were while I was out. The bad part about that run was that it left me feeling a little worried about running my 10K this weekend (not to mention that I plan on tacking on 2 mi before I start the race in order to total my scheduled 8 mi). I was definitely needing a confidence booster last night for my planned 4.5 mi run. So I drove down to Shouldice to run the loop around the river - a loop that would be nice and flat. An hurrah, the run felt great. I am now ready for my Footstock 10K in Cochrane on Saturday. Tonight I hit the expo and pick up my race packet..!!

Hot Hot Heat

Today I had a 7 mile long run scheduled. I woke up nice and early thanks to my dog Maggie, so I really had no excuse to not get going earlier. I did a few things around the house and then drove out to Shouldice around 11 am. Big mistake....by this time it was pretty warm....about 80 deg F. As there was no shade along the path it made for a pretty warm run. I must learn to get out the door earlier...

This coming weekend is my first of two back-to-back 10Ks. The first one is the Footstock 10K in Cochrane. I'm actually scheduled for an 8 mile run that weekend so I'll probably aim to get the first 2 miles in before the run, then finish up with the 10K race. I'm looking forward to heading up there, and excited for the pancake breakfast and beer garden we get afterwards...!!

**Also, an update on my hills. I finally downloaded my Garmin data....At McHugh Bluff I gained 152 ft over 0.3 miles.**