After 20 miles in 4 days, today was declared a rest day. Yesterday's speedwork session was particularly intense and I honestly don't think I've ever run so fast in my life. Even with my super-slow warm-up and cool-down, I got in 5 miles in 46:19. It was a pyramid workout, starting and ending with 15 second segments, and maxing out at 2 minute intervals. And this was after teaching a class from 8-12!
As soon as I finished my run, I rushed home, showered and got ready for the afternoon's photoshoot. It was a semi-nude shoot and I have to say, I was a bit nervous, but the photographer sent me a sneak-peek today and I'm thrilled with how they turned out. I can't wait to get the rest of them!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
It`s been a while....
Since my last post, I've logged 34 miles (including a 12-mile long run), turned 24, travelled to New Brunswick and back (1600km/1000 miles), worked my butt off, and gotten sick. It's been a whirlwind. Thankfully, I'm feeling better though I'm still not at 100%.
Looking forwards, I have 3 miles to do today, then speedwork tomorrow. Sadly, I also have to work tomorrow morning 8-12, and then in the afternoon I have a photoshoot as well. It's going to be busy!
Looking forwards, I have 3 miles to do today, then speedwork tomorrow. Sadly, I also have to work tomorrow morning 8-12, and then in the afternoon I have a photoshoot as well. It's going to be busy!
Monday, February 13, 2012
My ankle's ok!!!
I did 3 miles easy on the treadmill today and my ankle felt great! It seems to only hurt when I do any sideways sort of movement, so running was pain-free! Awesome!!!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Fell down the stairs...there goes that plan
This past week started off fantastically, with my speedwork as the highlight. After that, everything just went downhill. 3 days of neck tension causing me grief, freezing cold weather, insane work schedule, the call of the nap, no self-discipline apparently - it all added up to an epic fail of a weekend. After all that, I was determined to get my 11 miles in today, come hell or high water. But of course, I hurt my ankle falling down the stairs yesterday. Great. Just what I needed. I'm resting it today and I'll be back at it with an easy run tomorrow.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
I'm a slacker
Last night, I had planned to do 11 miles on the TM. Did it happen? No..... I decided to take a nap instead and before I knew it, the gym closed before I could get my miles in. No worries, right? I've still got Saturday and Sunday. Except that the neck tension that was giving me grief yesterday is still bothering me today. Plus, after working 8-12 today (after an already-full week), guess what I did when I came home? Napped! And now the gym is closed. I might try to get 3 miles in outside tonight, but we're under a windchill warning, so that's unlikely to happen. Which leaves tomorrow to get in my 11-mile long run and a 3-mile easy run. I'm definitely going to prioritize the long run but I don't know about the other one.
Finally, all I want to do is eat stuff that's bad for me. I was starving after my class this morning, so I caved and stopped at McDonald's (judge me all you want, but it was really satisfying). Now I want to make cookies and I was thinking about making fettuccine alfredo for dinner. Jeez, what's wrong with me?
Finally, all I want to do is eat stuff that's bad for me. I was starving after my class this morning, so I caved and stopped at McDonald's (judge me all you want, but it was really satisfying). Now I want to make cookies and I was thinking about making fettuccine alfredo for dinner. Jeez, what's wrong with me?
Friday, February 10, 2012
Winter Blues
Ugh, this whole winter thing is really getting old. I'm tired of waking up extra-early to see if we need to shovel before going to work. I'm fed up of scraping the car in the morning and always worrying about wearing the right clothing and being warm enough. I'm sick of there being snow EVERYWHERE all the time. And I hate being cold. The sad thing is.....this is likely going to continue for another 2 months minimum. Great.
Monday
I had a 3-mile run on the schedule. I was trying out some new shoes on the TM and I didn't like how my knee was feeling (no pain, just weird) so I cut it short. Missing a mile here is really not that big a deal; I'd rather have my knee intact for all the future miles.
Tuesday
I had the most AWESOME run!!! It was the first speed workout I've done in a while and it was fantastic! 5 minute warm-up, then 30 x (30 second super-fast intervals followed by 30 seconds of rest), with a 5 minute cool-down. After going so fast before, my cool-down at my usual speed felt like walking. My legs were pretty beat at the end, but we weren't done yet. Then it was off to spinning. The first 3/4 of the class were fine but at the end, he had us do a 9-minute climb followed by a 2-minute wall-sit. At that point, about 1 minute into the wall-sit, my quads said enough and I fell. I managed to get back up and get the last 30 seconds or so in, but my legs were shot. I was expecting to be super-sore the next day (and the day after), but aside from a little tenderness in the hip flexors, there was nothing.
Wednesday
Haha, my "rest" day. Yeah, the day when I leave the house at around 7:15am and don't get home til close to 9:30pm. I had a mini-meltdown on the way to work - I'm fed up of doing a job that I was forced into, always running around from place to place, and micro-planning every second of the day to get everything in.
Thursday
Ended up being another rest day. To be fair, I've got my long run tonight so I wanted to be ready for that (in case of residual soreness, etc). Another long work day, so even if I had wanted to, I couldn't have gone running. The class I teach Thursday nights is from 6:30-10pm, and even though the timing is awful, I'm actually really enjoying this class. (We'll see if I say the same thing tomorrow after our Saturday morning 8am-12pm class.)
Friday
11-mile long run on the TM planned for tonight. If I didn't have a class this afternoon, I would do it outside since the weather is ridiculously warm today (as in 8C/32*F). But by the time I finish at 4, get home, change and get out there, it'll be too dark (sun sets at 4:56 tonight - another reason I hate winter). I was thinking about doing it outside either Saturday or Sunday but they're calling for temperatures in the -20*C's (-4*F) before windchill, and I really have no desire to spend 2 hours outside in those temperatures (running or not).
Monday
I had a 3-mile run on the schedule. I was trying out some new shoes on the TM and I didn't like how my knee was feeling (no pain, just weird) so I cut it short. Missing a mile here is really not that big a deal; I'd rather have my knee intact for all the future miles.
Tuesday
I had the most AWESOME run!!! It was the first speed workout I've done in a while and it was fantastic! 5 minute warm-up, then 30 x (30 second super-fast intervals followed by 30 seconds of rest), with a 5 minute cool-down. After going so fast before, my cool-down at my usual speed felt like walking. My legs were pretty beat at the end, but we weren't done yet. Then it was off to spinning. The first 3/4 of the class were fine but at the end, he had us do a 9-minute climb followed by a 2-minute wall-sit. At that point, about 1 minute into the wall-sit, my quads said enough and I fell. I managed to get back up and get the last 30 seconds or so in, but my legs were shot. I was expecting to be super-sore the next day (and the day after), but aside from a little tenderness in the hip flexors, there was nothing.
Wednesday
Haha, my "rest" day. Yeah, the day when I leave the house at around 7:15am and don't get home til close to 9:30pm. I had a mini-meltdown on the way to work - I'm fed up of doing a job that I was forced into, always running around from place to place, and micro-planning every second of the day to get everything in.
Thursday
Ended up being another rest day. To be fair, I've got my long run tonight so I wanted to be ready for that (in case of residual soreness, etc). Another long work day, so even if I had wanted to, I couldn't have gone running. The class I teach Thursday nights is from 6:30-10pm, and even though the timing is awful, I'm actually really enjoying this class. (We'll see if I say the same thing tomorrow after our Saturday morning 8am-12pm class.)
Friday
11-mile long run on the TM planned for tonight. If I didn't have a class this afternoon, I would do it outside since the weather is ridiculously warm today (as in 8C/32*F). But by the time I finish at 4, get home, change and get out there, it'll be too dark (sun sets at 4:56 tonight - another reason I hate winter). I was thinking about doing it outside either Saturday or Sunday but they're calling for temperatures in the -20*C's (-4*F) before windchill, and I really have no desire to spend 2 hours outside in those temperatures (running or not).
Sunday, February 5, 2012
11-11 (from the Loop on RW)
There's this sort-of chain blog thing going around The Loop on the Runner's World website. It's similar to the one Beth at i run like a girl tagged me in a couple weeks back. It's 11 random things about yourself, plus the answers to 11 standard questions. Here you are:
Ok, so 11 random things about me...
1. In university, my major was Latin. Yup, Latin. I took Latin throughout high school and of all my classes, I liked it the best so I decided to study it in university. I also took courses in Classics, ancient Greek, French, and Italian (ended up being my minor).
2. I did classical ballet all through high school. I did pointe work for a couple years and got to do a solo performance at a recital (wasn't very good, but hey, I tried). Unfortunately, when I graduated and left for uni, I couldn't keep up with it, but I was working towards my R.A.D. Advanced 1 qualification when I stopped.
3. In addition to being a geek (see #1), I'm also a nerd. I graduated at the top of my high school class and then somehow in first year of uni, I ended up being the top student on the entire campus.
4. In my spare time, I knit and crochet. I love crocheting big blankets for people. I also used to design and create authentic ancient costumes. Did I mention I'm a nerd?
5. My first job was as a counsellor at an ESL summer camp. My current job? ESL teacher. Weird how things come full circle.
6. I named my cat Jester after one of the pilots' call signs in Top Gun. I named our dog Mika after the pop singer (even though she's a female and he's a male...whatever). I named our other dog Kona after the place in Hawaii where they have the Ironman World Championships (it's like the Boston of triathlon). Kona's a Newfie/husky cross, so I figured she could swim (Newfie), run (husky) and bike....? Ok, well, I've never seen a dog bike, so close enough.
7. I live in a place that gets a lot of snow, a lot of cold and very little sun. In December, for example, the sun rose at about 7:30 and set around 3:45. Depressing much? In 2009, when we moved into our house on May 25, it was snowing. We also had a snowstorm around April 20 last year.
8. When my husband started his degree at the Royal Military College, he was the youngest cadet at the college at 16 years old. That meant that at the Christmas dinner, he got to switch jackets with the college commandant.
9. I've lived in 6 different area codes, yet the only Canadian provinces I've been to are Ontario and Quebec. I've been to a handful of U.S. states too but I've never left the eastern time zone. (That's about to change since we've planned a trip to New Brunswick in a couple weeks.)
10. I did my first triathlon in 2007 at age 19 and didn't finish last!!!
11. Some of you might know this already, but I live on a military base with fighter jets. Quite often, they take off and land right over our house. It's pretty cool except that the house shakes and if you're talking on the phone to someone, they think you're under attack or something.
And the 11 questions...
1. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? French vanilla.
2. Saucony Kinvara or a shoe from the Brooks Pure line, like the Connect of Flow? I've never tried either, actually. I'm usually a New Balance girl.
3. Where would you go if you had the money to take a two week dream vacation? Italy, to see all the ancient Roman stuff (see #1 above). Or somewhere tropical (see #7 above).
4. Did you play sports in high school? If so, what sports? Ballet. Does that count as a sport?
5. If you had to eat one item of food every day (you could eat other things, but you had to eat this one food too) for the rest of your life, what would you choose? I would probably choose pasta. Yes, I know I'd get fat but I love it so much!
6. Do you have a favorite professional runner? I'm not really familiar with any of them. Shame, I know.
7. What is one running item you would find it hard to run without? Probably my Garmin, though my mp3 player runs a close second.
8. Are you a morning runner or afternoon/evening runner? Is this by choice? And if it's not by choice, when would you choose to run: morning or afternoon/evening? I'm definitely a later runner, no questions asked. I do not do well with mornings. Ever.
9. What are your big races this year? My first marathon will be on May 27 in Ottawa, ON. After that, who knows?
10. Are you also a triathlete? Yes, yes I am. I've probably done around a dozen or so races, mostly sprints.
11. What do you like better: intense speed work, tempo runs, or long runs? I don't know. It really depends how I'm feeling that day.
And we were supposed to include some pictures too, so here you go:
Baby Mika (~ 7weeks)
Ok, so 11 random things about me...
1. In university, my major was Latin. Yup, Latin. I took Latin throughout high school and of all my classes, I liked it the best so I decided to study it in university. I also took courses in Classics, ancient Greek, French, and Italian (ended up being my minor).
2. I did classical ballet all through high school. I did pointe work for a couple years and got to do a solo performance at a recital (wasn't very good, but hey, I tried). Unfortunately, when I graduated and left for uni, I couldn't keep up with it, but I was working towards my R.A.D. Advanced 1 qualification when I stopped.
3. In addition to being a geek (see #1), I'm also a nerd. I graduated at the top of my high school class and then somehow in first year of uni, I ended up being the top student on the entire campus.
4. In my spare time, I knit and crochet. I love crocheting big blankets for people. I also used to design and create authentic ancient costumes. Did I mention I'm a nerd?
5. My first job was as a counsellor at an ESL summer camp. My current job? ESL teacher. Weird how things come full circle.
6. I named my cat Jester after one of the pilots' call signs in Top Gun. I named our dog Mika after the pop singer (even though she's a female and he's a male...whatever). I named our other dog Kona after the place in Hawaii where they have the Ironman World Championships (it's like the Boston of triathlon). Kona's a Newfie/husky cross, so I figured she could swim (Newfie), run (husky) and bike....? Ok, well, I've never seen a dog bike, so close enough.
7. I live in a place that gets a lot of snow, a lot of cold and very little sun. In December, for example, the sun rose at about 7:30 and set around 3:45. Depressing much? In 2009, when we moved into our house on May 25, it was snowing. We also had a snowstorm around April 20 last year.
8. When my husband started his degree at the Royal Military College, he was the youngest cadet at the college at 16 years old. That meant that at the Christmas dinner, he got to switch jackets with the college commandant.
9. I've lived in 6 different area codes, yet the only Canadian provinces I've been to are Ontario and Quebec. I've been to a handful of U.S. states too but I've never left the eastern time zone. (That's about to change since we've planned a trip to New Brunswick in a couple weeks.)
10. I did my first triathlon in 2007 at age 19 and didn't finish last!!!
11. Some of you might know this already, but I live on a military base with fighter jets. Quite often, they take off and land right over our house. It's pretty cool except that the house shakes and if you're talking on the phone to someone, they think you're under attack or something.
And the 11 questions...
1. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? French vanilla.
2. Saucony Kinvara or a shoe from the Brooks Pure line, like the Connect of Flow? I've never tried either, actually. I'm usually a New Balance girl.
3. Where would you go if you had the money to take a two week dream vacation? Italy, to see all the ancient Roman stuff (see #1 above). Or somewhere tropical (see #7 above).
4. Did you play sports in high school? If so, what sports? Ballet. Does that count as a sport?
5. If you had to eat one item of food every day (you could eat other things, but you had to eat this one food too) for the rest of your life, what would you choose? I would probably choose pasta. Yes, I know I'd get fat but I love it so much!
6. Do you have a favorite professional runner? I'm not really familiar with any of them. Shame, I know.
7. What is one running item you would find it hard to run without? Probably my Garmin, though my mp3 player runs a close second.
8. Are you a morning runner or afternoon/evening runner? Is this by choice? And if it's not by choice, when would you choose to run: morning or afternoon/evening? I'm definitely a later runner, no questions asked. I do not do well with mornings. Ever.
9. What are your big races this year? My first marathon will be on May 27 in Ottawa, ON. After that, who knows?
10. Are you also a triathlete? Yes, yes I am. I've probably done around a dozen or so races, mostly sprints.
11. What do you like better: intense speed work, tempo runs, or long runs? I don't know. It really depends how I'm feeling that day.
And we were supposed to include some pictures too, so here you go:
Baby Mika (~ 7weeks)
Baby Kona (~4 months old)
Mika: Look at my new toy!!!
My husband's idea of a practical joke. He called it Vietnamese Thanksgiving (his words, not mine). (Obviously we didn't roast our puppy for dinner so don't get any strange ideas.)
Being a puppy is rough...
And just for fun, one of the blankets I've made
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Survived the week!
I'm so glad it's Saturday! My only obligation today was to go for a run; other than that, I've been relaxing all day.
Thursday ended up being a really long day. I had a class in the morning, then it was off to the license bureau to renew my driver's license and the car registration. I had another class in the afternoon, followed by an upper-body workout at the gym. I had planned to do 5 miles as well but I was too tired and I needed to prepare for my evening class. This new class runs from 6:30-10 at the naval reserve unit downtown. Starting next week, we'll have an actual book to work from, so the preparation will be considerably less. However, the books haven't arrived yet, so I had to plan 3.5 hours of activities for a class I'd never taught before. I ended up over-preparing (as usual) but I wanted to have options in case the students' levels weren't what I was expecting. The class itself went much better than I anticipated but finishing at 10pm makes for a long day.
Thankfully, this Friday ended up being a fairly easy day. I had a class in the morning, then I went shopping with a friend in the afternoon (I had some gift certificates that I received at Christmas). I did a 3-mile run in the late afternoon and I felt fantastic afterwards. I almost didn't go but I'm really glad I did.
Today's 6-mile run was another awesome one. Even though all my runs this week have been on a treadmill, it hasn't been so bad. I've been playing some number games with the speeds and the distance, so it helps keep my mind entertained. I've got another run planned for tomorrow (5 miles) and I'm thinking about following it up with that Bodyrock workout I did last weekend to see if I can beat my time.
Happy running!
Thursday ended up being a really long day. I had a class in the morning, then it was off to the license bureau to renew my driver's license and the car registration. I had another class in the afternoon, followed by an upper-body workout at the gym. I had planned to do 5 miles as well but I was too tired and I needed to prepare for my evening class. This new class runs from 6:30-10 at the naval reserve unit downtown. Starting next week, we'll have an actual book to work from, so the preparation will be considerably less. However, the books haven't arrived yet, so I had to plan 3.5 hours of activities for a class I'd never taught before. I ended up over-preparing (as usual) but I wanted to have options in case the students' levels weren't what I was expecting. The class itself went much better than I anticipated but finishing at 10pm makes for a long day.
Thankfully, this Friday ended up being a fairly easy day. I had a class in the morning, then I went shopping with a friend in the afternoon (I had some gift certificates that I received at Christmas). I did a 3-mile run in the late afternoon and I felt fantastic afterwards. I almost didn't go but I'm really glad I did.
Today's 6-mile run was another awesome one. Even though all my runs this week have been on a treadmill, it hasn't been so bad. I've been playing some number games with the speeds and the distance, so it helps keep my mind entertained. I've got another run planned for tomorrow (5 miles) and I'm thinking about following it up with that Bodyrock workout I did last weekend to see if I can beat my time.
Happy running!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The soreness is finally gone!!!
After Saturday's 9-mile long run, I decided to take it easier on Sunday and did an easy 3 miles. When I got home from the gym, I was feeling pretty good so I decided to try the Bodyrock workout I've been talking about for the last couple weeks. It took me about 40 minutes to do the 550 reps. The leg exercises weren't too bad, but all the push-ups nearly killed me. As much as it hurt, it was good for me.
Despite all the stretching I did afterwards, I was stiffening up by the end on Sunday night. I took a hot bath to try to relax the muscles before I went to bed. That didn't work and I ended up taking two baths more throughout Monday morning. I had 3 miles on the schedule for Monday afternoon and I almost didn't go. Almost. But I'm glad I went; it was a challenge but I was able to push through it.
I was still a bit sore yesterday when I went to spinning. It was fun as always, but this week's class was extra-intense. Finally, this morning, 3 days after the Bodyrock workout, the soreness is finally gone.
This week so far has been really busy work-wise. I started a new evening course at the military community centre that runs Monday and Wednesday nights, and I'll be starting another one tomorrow night at the naval reserve unit downtown. Despite working and/or working out all day every day this week, by the time bedtime comes around, I've been having difficulty sleeping. The last couple nights, I've been averaging only about 2-3 hours sleep. Surprisingly, I haven't been as exhausted as I thought. I've started drinking green tea this week and I think it may be helping keep me alert. Weird but I'll take it. I'm hoping tonight goes a little better though. I hate just lying in bed waiting to fall asleep.
Despite all the stretching I did afterwards, I was stiffening up by the end on Sunday night. I took a hot bath to try to relax the muscles before I went to bed. That didn't work and I ended up taking two baths more throughout Monday morning. I had 3 miles on the schedule for Monday afternoon and I almost didn't go. Almost. But I'm glad I went; it was a challenge but I was able to push through it.
I was still a bit sore yesterday when I went to spinning. It was fun as always, but this week's class was extra-intense. Finally, this morning, 3 days after the Bodyrock workout, the soreness is finally gone.
This week so far has been really busy work-wise. I started a new evening course at the military community centre that runs Monday and Wednesday nights, and I'll be starting another one tomorrow night at the naval reserve unit downtown. Despite working and/or working out all day every day this week, by the time bedtime comes around, I've been having difficulty sleeping. The last couple nights, I've been averaging only about 2-3 hours sleep. Surprisingly, I haven't been as exhausted as I thought. I've started drinking green tea this week and I think it may be helping keep me alert. Weird but I'll take it. I'm hoping tonight goes a little better though. I hate just lying in bed waiting to fall asleep.
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