Wine Festival Weekend

This weekend I was in the Okanagan visiting my parents and partaking in a few of the Fall Wine Festival festivities. When I was in the Okanagan this summer I signed up for Tinhorn Creek's Crush Club. If you commit to buying a mixed case of wine from them each year then you get 15% off of wine from their shop, plus special invites to a few events. This weekend was the pick up party for my half a case of red, so I figured it would be worth a trip out there. Of course, also a bonus was a chance to see my favourite Scottish Terrier again, Maggie.I caught the final flight out of Calgary on Friday night and arrived in time to have dinner with my parents and then called it a night. Because we had to drive down to Oliver in time for the pick up party on Saturday I didn't really have a chance to get my long run in. Oh well, it was raining when I woke up, so I wasn't too upset about it. Once we parked at Tinhorn we were warned that we shouldn't be wandering around the vines on our own too much...

The party was a good time. I got my wine, and then we were all treated to a lunch of burgers (being cooked by the winery owner himself), some assorted salads, and two glasses of wine of our choice. Delicious! There was also a band and some draw prizes, so it was quite the event. The afternoon was spent tasting at a couple of different wineries, and then in the evening it was on to Sumac Ridge for a special dinner with the winemaker. Sumac was one of the first wineries in the Okanagan to make a sparkling wine and they were offering a five course dinner to be paired with various new and library releases of their sparklers. It was pretty fantastic stuff...
So that took care of Saturday, and then I needed to get my run in on Sunday. I might have been a wee bit dehydrated (cough, cough), so I was fully prepared for disaster. On the schedule? An hour and a half run with three - 10 minute steady state intervals to be run in upper HR zone 2 to lower HR zone 3. Interesting... I had set the workout up on Garmin Training Center and I knew as soon as I got started that I had made a mistake. I was supposed to warm up in zone 2 and I'd made that a goal in my workout. Because of all of the hills around where I was running (and I started off running downhill) I was having a tough time getting into zone 2. Having my Garmin beep at me continuously telling me that my heart rate was too low? Annoying... Finally my warm up was over and I hit the first interval. I poured the speed on for a bit, then hit some hills that helped to keep my heart rate up. Running to heart rate was interesting. Because of all of the hilliness I found it hard to really hit my stride since if I tried to keep my pace going up the hill I skyrocketed out of zone 3. By the time interval number two came around I smartened up and managed to run on fairly level terrain for most of it. I was feeling good, which was totally unexpected! I decided to run somewhat of a loop from winery to winery. I headed off to Mount Boucherie, ran past Quails Gate, then ran up the big hill to Mission Hill. I finished up with 8.5 very hilly miles for my hour and a half run.
After the run it was time to head off to See Ya Later Ranch for their annual pig roast. The event was amazing! Fantastic food, and there was quite the amount of wine available for consumption (cough, cough).
After the pig roast it was time to head back to Kelowna so I could catch the last flight out to Calgary for the evening. It was a short, fairly whirlwind trip, but I had a great time seeing my parents, enjoying the festivities, and I even got a terrific run in!

Happy first birthday Avery!

Today is my darling niece's first birthday. Happy birthday Avery!

The weekend was pretty well one big long celebration. On Friday evening we all went over to my brother and sister-in-law's for dinner. After downing a few slices of Papa John's and a bottle or two of Okanagan Springs Pale Ale I had the brilliant realization that I needed to run 8 miles the next morning. So much for hydrating the night before! After heading home I fell asleep watching the Olympics. I woke up briefly around 3 am, realized the rowing was on and thought I could watch it live, but instead turned over and fell back asleep. I made it up and out of bed somewhere around 6 am and learned that we'd won a few medals overnight. I delayed heading out on my run so that I could eat some breakfast and watch the coverage on CBC. It turns out that our first gold medal winner, Carol Huynh (48 kg wrestling), has a bit of a tie to the family. She's the baby cuddler for Avery's mom and baby group. So my niece has been cuddled by a gold medal winning wrestler. Pretty cool, eh? Once I watched all the highlights I headed out for an 8 mile run around my neighborhood. The sun was pretty intense and I was sweating up a storm but the run felt great. My final long run before the marathon...I feel great!

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In the afternoon it was back to my brother's place to help get ready for Avery's party. I whipped up some dates stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon...yumminess on a tooth pick! The party was a good time and Avery seemed to really enjoy herself. When it came time for cake she was pretty enthralled. She ate all the icing first before turning her attention to the cake. Good stuff!

I've been totally caught up in the Olympics otherwise. I was rooting for Paula Radcliffe and Deena Kastor in the women's marathon. I can't believe the lead that Constantina Tomescu-Dita had. She was way out in front of everyone and was blazing fast! The women's triathlon last night was also super impressive. This morning I was late leaving for work because I got caught up in watching Karen Cockburn win a silver medal in trampolining. Gotta love the Olympics!

You're how old?

So I finally made it home from Walt Disney World Saturday afternoon. We landed to snow flurries and cool temperatures and yesterday was an even better balmy -18 deg C (0 deg F) out. Lovely. When it warms up I may try for a run at some point.

My aim for Sunday was to make Carbonnade Flamande for dinner, a Belgian dish otherwise known as beef in beer. I stopped in at the liquor store to pick up the appropriate brew. When I went to pay the man at the cash register looks me over and asks for my ID.

The drinking age in Alberta is 18. I have never been carded here...

After he looked my ID over he looks at me and proclaims, "You are almost 30!"

Why yes I am....

An Angry Meeting

One of the things that I love about this blog is the ability to connect with runners all over the place. Angry and I have been following each other's blogs ever since we discovered we were both going to be at the same marathon event. Angry and I met up Saturday afternoon after I had finished the half marathon. We found each other in the crowd of people at the UK pavilion and the first words out of his mouth were..."You're taller than I thought." Ah...well...good to know! I thought we would sit down somewhere to chat and hydrate but as it was so busy where we were we just started aimlessly wandering around World Showcase. Before I knew it we had walked all around there and some of Future World and Angry turns to me and mentions we've probably walked about a mile and a half. Uh oh...so much for resting my feet! We make our way back to the UK and find a bench but pretty soon I have to rush off for my pre-race dinner at Spoodles at the Boardwalk.

We planned to meet up at the start of the marathon, but thanks to two missteps that didn't happen. #1 - I wasn't wearing my glasses so couldn't actually see Angry. #2 - I had told him I would be wearing safety yellow and never followed through on that. By the time I rolled in to the finish line Angry and his family were already eating lunch at the German restaurant.

Several e-mails had flown back and forth before the race about celebrating post-marathon at Pleasure Island. Runners get free admission so we were supposed to meet up, share stories and a few drinks. I texted Angry around 8:30 to see if he was still in but I got the reply "I am an old man and am going to bed." Sigh...with no one to party with I turned in for the evening.

Angry and I met back up at the UK again on Monday and swapped race stories over a beer. Once the beers were done we wandered over to the ride at Norway where I oohed and ahhed over the offshore oil platforms your little boat passes by. From there we stopped in at Germany to grab another beer and headed over to Spaceship Earth to people watch. Along the way Angry wanted to stop and get a picture of us with our beers doing a simultaneous head tilt. I think he was hoping for a picture like this:

But this was what we got instead. Better luck next time on the head tilt Angry.

You could tell the marathoners in the crowd - mostly from the tell tale limp, but several folks were sporting their shirts or their medals. We noticed one fellow wearing jeans, his race shirt, and his fuel belt. I guess you never know when you are going to need to hydrate at Epcot... It was terrific meeting up with Angry. Hopefully opportunities for other blogger meet ups will happen in the future!

No running to report...

...After my terribly bad run the other day I decided to head out for a swim yesterday instead. It was still reasonably early (about 7ish) and it was still somewhat cool out so I had the pool to myself. It felt really good. We've been touring around the wineries in Swan Valley for the last few days and eating some pretty fabulous food. I tried kangaroo (which didn't taste too different from any other game meat), Wagyu beef, and have eaten copious amounts of fish and chips. After a late night catching up with some family friends (and continuing along that suspicious hydration plan) I opted to take today as a rest day. Tomorrow I'm hoping to get a run in, either around Fremantle or maybe down in Perth. It is hard to believe that tomorrow is the final day of 2007....

That would be the kangaroo...

A stonker in Fremantle

Greetings from sweltering Perth, AU. I probably shouldn't mention this, but it was 44 deg C (111 deg F) when we arrived on the 26th. It was the hottest Boxing Day on record in Perth. Since then it has cooled down to 32 deg C (90 deg F), but for a girl who is used to hovering around the freezing mark at this point in time this is quite the change.

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We spent the 27th on a wine cruise along the Swan River which was a pretty nice relaxing way to spend the day. It probably doesn't make for the best hydration plan....but oh well. I got up around 6 am today (the 28th) so that I could head out for a run near where we are staying in Fremantle (a town about 30 minutes outside of downtown Perth). As soon as I started I had a feeling it wasn't going to be a great run...things were hurting, specifically my knees all the way down to my ankles. It almost felt like it was time to retire my shoes except these runners only have about 100 miles on them so that is way too early. Well, while the run didn't feel great it certainly was pretty (and luckily it wasn't too hot yet either). 3.1 miles done.

I saw this kookaburra just at the end of the run, making his signature noise. Very cool!

Make Up Miles, BBC #10 and a Camelbak Review

Since I didn't run on Wednesday I wanted to get my miles in on Thursday prior to BBC. Unfortunately I wound up leaving the house too late, and it took me a bit longer to get to Confederation Park than I figured, so I fit 3 miles in while I was originally hoping for 4. Summer has momentarily disappeared from Calgary and it was 55F (12C), overcast and drizzling out while I was running. The first mile felt...terrible...my rear hurt, my right shin hurt, my right ankle hurt. What was I thinking? I was still going to have to run at BBC and this felt...gross. After a mile it was like some sort of magic and everything disappeared. Oh right, this is why I love running! The pathway through Confederation Park continues through Queen's Park Cemetery. Talk about an eerie run, especially with the rain and all. I finished with 3.13 mi just in time to start BBC.

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As soon as Instructor S saw me she called me out for bailing on speed work on Wednesday and said that exercise would have helped to work it out. *Guilt* *Guilt* *Guilt* This session would involve running through the park and stopping at various intervals for different exercises. We required no equipment except some resistance tubing and our water. We ran to the first park bench where we stopped for push ups, tricep dips and jumping squats. At the end of the session we had done some grade 7 dance, slow motion lunges with resistance tubing, rhomboid pinches, walking twisting lunges, and some fun (but tough) horse and buggy exercises. The horse and buggy involves you and a partner and some resistance tubing. One person is the horse, the buggy driver holds on to resistance tubing that circles the horse's waist, and the horse works like crazy to run while the driver provides resistance on the tubing. All said and done we got some great exercises in, plus I tallied another 1.5 mi for the day. For most of the running portions I was either chasing my friend DGB or running with her. This girl is speedy! We are running the Iron Girl in Seattle together next month and I think she just might be able to push me to a PR for that one. Fingers crossed anyways..!!

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I finally gave the ol' Camelbak Flashflo a try last night and it wasn't too bad. It has a bladder that holds 45 oz, so by far this carries the most liquid of all my hydration pack options. Initially on the run while it was still pretty full I had some issues with the waist straps loosening. I loved how easy it was to drink out of, and thanks to a little bit of diluted Gatorade in the bladder there was no worry about a plastic taste. Plus there is lots of room for gels, Shot Bloks, Sharkies...keys...you name it. So while I think my Fuel Belt is still my number one choice at the moment, I think the Flashflo may be a better option for my 15 to 20 mile runs thanks to the extra storage capacity (liquid and stuff-wise) over my Fuel Belt.

New Favorites

I tried a few new things out on my run today and I officially have a few new favorites:

1. Fuel Belt: I tried out my new four bottle Endurance Fuel Belt and I was really happy with it. It stayed in place and felt really comfortable the entire way.
2. Sharkies: I finally tried these organic energy fruit chews out in Berry Blast (cherry and blackberry flavors). These actually tasted really good - kind of like a gummy candy but not as sweet, and not as salty tasting as the Sport Beans. Plus the small size was more manageable than the Clif Shot Bloks. And the best part? They are shaped like small little sharks!
3. RunningSkirts.com: I took this running skirt out for its first spin and I think this surpasses the Skirt Sports Gym Girl on the favorite list. The fit was great, and no chafing. I may look into getting one or two more these..!!
   

The quest for the perfect hydration pack

I'm currently on the search for the perfect hydration system for my runs. When I first started out I wasn't going that far and I picked up this snazzy little bottle from the Nike outlet store. It is reasonably ergonomic, but doesn't hold a lot for hot days or long runs, plus after awhile it is really a big pain to carry.

Last year while I was training for a full marathon it looked like I was going to have to run a 10 miler while on vacation in Las Vegas in June. Knowing that one bottle of water wouldn't be enough I started to look at what my other options were. I wound up purchasing a Camelbak Flashflo hydration pack which holds 45 oz of fluid. It has storage room for keys and gels or what not. Unfortunately I didn't get to try it out in Vegas since that was right when I figured out there was something wrong with my ankle and my training was derailed. I honestly still haven't tried the Camelbak on a run yet. Bad Leana for buying something and not using it, but I do mean to try it out soon...honestly. I think it is because the one time I filled it up to take it on a run the water tasted really plasticky.

This summer I thought I would try out the bottle in the holster type idea, so I picked up this one from Ultimate Direction. Again, same issue with capacity since it only holds a bottle. Plus with the waistband not having any give - I try to wear the pack more on my hips - it rides up, wants to hang around my waist which isn't comfy, and bounces around.

Today I stopped in at the Running Room and saw that they had some discontinued Fuel Belts on sale. I picked up the 4 bottle Endurance belt at a great price. This one has a stretchy belt, so I'm hoping that will help to keep it on my hips. The pocket isn't huge, but it should be enough to fit the necessities. I'll give it a whirl on my next long run.

I'm curious as to what other people have found work best for them and what their favorites are. Drop me a comment if you have a strong opinion!

10 miles = ow, ow, ow....

This morning I had my last long run before the Calgary Half Marathon next weekend, a 10 miler. This was a first for me - my longest distance so far! I went back out to Glenmore Reservoir again as I really like that pathway and the scenery around there. This time I started near the rowing club which was a pretty busy place for this Saturday morning. My whole way around the reservoir I could hear the rowers out there which was really neat. It was really starting to warm up, and not quite half way through my route I was running low on water. Luckily I was right near the Glenmore Landing shopping center, so I took a break to run into Good Earth and replenish my fluids. I discovered that I really seem to dislike running on flat ground for an extended period of time. I noticed that I would really slow down on these portions. Of course the downhills are speedy, but I'm really starting to find the uphills really motivating and I made some good time on most of the climbs. I felt like I really pushed my pace today, and as a result I averaged 00:17/mile faster than last week's long run. I'm not sure if I could have sustained this another 3.1 miles, but I guess we'll see what happens next weekend. I went with the Lemon-Lime Clif Shot Bloks this time around. The flavor was slightly better than the black cherry, but I think I still want to try a few more flavors out. However for next weekend I'm going to stick with a flavor I've tried since I know it agrees with my stomach!

For the first time in awhile I could tell I was going to be sore after this run. Last week I felt great, but even with a bunch of stretching I knew I was going to stiffen up in the car on the way home today. And yup, I was right! I should have come home and gone with an ice bath, but I opted to eat and have a nap instead even though I knew this wasn't the best option...and as a result I'm definitely a bit stiff. On days like these I wonder why I thought a 4 level split townhome was a good idea....!

Shame on Auntie Leana

On a non-running related note, here is a picture of my canine niece Zoe. I've been looking after her for a few days while her parents are on holiday. She doesn't care for drinking out of her water dish and much prefers to lap water from the faucet in the tub. Her parents have been working hard to break the habit, but unfortunately after the weekend at my place she is back to square one. She wouldn't drink out of her dish and kept whining at the bath tub. In an effort to keep my niece fully hydrated and happy...I gave in. Watching her drink from the tub is a serious hoot, but I apologize to my brother and sister-in-law for this somewhat egregious set back.