Last long run before marathon

August 14, 2011 Sunday 6 days to go

Long run - 90 minutes - I did 94 minutes

Started out feeling great. Tried eating a Lara Bar 45 minutes before running. By 30 minutes I felt dead. Ate a Mars Bar and had some water and started to pick up again. Had another Mars Bar 15 minutes later, then at 1 hour I felt dead again. Ate another Mars Bar with water and when I got to 4 K to go decided to try for a no peeking 4K in race time. Part way along a car stopped to ask me for directions to Super Store so I got off track. Tried again at 2 K but when I peeked I was going way slower than I thought I was eg 7:30 instead of 6:55. I struggled with that and then my last kilometer I was determined to do at race pace, but I had to keep peeking to keep myself on pace. I felt like there was nothing left in me.

This is all a little disconcerting as it is only 6 days till the marathon. I feel like I am getting worse instead of better. The other thing is that I feel so tired.


Now I get to wash up all my gear for the marathon and get it packed in my carry on.  One more run before I leave.

Weight: 142 lb

Easy Run

August 13, 2011 7 days to go - 1 week today!

Easy run - 35 minutes - I ran 33 minutes. It felt better than yesterday, but I still feel out of form and out of step. I ran up to Pinecrest then down to 9th and back. I left at about 5:45 pm and its cool out. Wonder if that makes a difference?

Spent the afternoon asleep in bed. Lorne and I drove to Courtenay to get my International Driver's Licence. We then went out for lunch to Locals. On the way home we were both having trouble keeping our eyes open. When we got home we both hopped into bed had a nap. Shannon woke us up at 3:30, then I went right back to sleep until 5:30. This is not normal and yet I felt I could have slept on forever.

Weight: 142 lb

Disappointing Workout

August 12, 2011 Friday 9 days to go.

Workout - 3 x 1 Km at 5:30 pace - 4 k no peeking at watch try for 27:40

Morning workout - 6:30 am

No energy today. Everything felt like I had lead in my legs and I was just on the last leg of a race with nothing left on the tank. Times fo 1Ks - 5:35, 5:35, 5:43. This is not great. Last week my times for the same workout were: 5:13, 5:27, 5:19. My 4 k took 30 minutes, last week it was 27: something. Today I felt done by 2 k and had to push on through to finish. It was all so disappointing.

Two hours later and I still feel spent. Just exhausted. Feel like I am panting for breath.

Weight: 142 lb

Internet Up and Running Again

August 10, 2011 Wednesday 11 days to go - I leave in 1 week today

My home internet has been down, so it is a long time since I wrote anything. Highlights would be:
Nautical Days 4 mile race on August 1. 39:44 (I think)
Last 2 hour run on August 7- went well - used Mars Bars for fuel every 15 to 20 minutes
Workouts trying to get used to 6:55 pace without looking
Today was 35 minutes easy. Ran along McLean St then down past the Museum to 9th. Haven't run any hills lately so was definitely aware of them.
Yesterday was 45 minutes race pace. I did pretty well not looking at my watch and maintaining pace.

Weight:  144.5

Longest run

July 30, 2011 Saturday 21 days to go - 3 weeks

Today was the longest run yet - 3 1/2 hours - actually in my case 3:28. I did an out and back run - 26.10 K.
Felt pretty good for most of it - wore my old Newtons, knee braces, listened to music. Got out early - by 6:00am. It was just cool enough that I think maybe I should wear running gloves to start if it's the same temperature in Iceland. Wore a short sleeve shirt which is good as our new Team D T shirts are short sleeved.

Tried out Power Gels - latte flavour. When I first tasted them, I thought no way. Later I tried drinking it down with water at the same time and was able to keep it down. Used three packs. I ran out of water at the far end of my run so was without water for nearly an hour. I stopped at the ESSO station and filled my bottles. I gulped water down as I was so thirsty even though I knew better. I started to feel ill. I ate my last power gel after that. By 3 hours I was really feeling sick. I don't know if it was drinking the water too fast or the power gels. I haven't had much success with power gels in the past, so maybe it was a combination of both. I will try GU on my next long run. I like Mars Bars, but I don't think I could do a whole marathon just eating them.

I found that I did quite a bit of my run at marathon pace. I also found times when I slowed down quite a bit and had to up my pace.  When my Ipod quit I used the metronome to keep my cadence steady. My thought of increasing it went out the window when I was nearing 3 1/2 hours. 80 will be just fine.

Did the cold water bath when I got home. The first step into the tub is always a challenge. I kept telling myself that this was doing me good. I think it did as my feet, legs and knees have felt fine. I iced my right knee this evening for awhile, but all in all the run was a success.

Weight: 146 lb

Speedwork - it's been awhile

July 28, 2011 Thursday 23 days to go.

Today was speedwork - 5 x 1 K with 2-3 minutes recovery, 10 minutes warmup, 5 minutes cooldown.

I started out on Seawalk after 5 minutes warmup - simply because that's when I arrived at the K mark. Here are my times: #1 - 5:33, #2 - 5:27, #3 -  5:29, #4 - 6:03, #5 - 5:59.
I experimented with #4 by running with my metronome at 80 cadence. It felt slow and as it turns out, it was. #5 wasn't very good and I think it was because I didn't get back to my first running cadence whatever that was.

I think I am going to have to review my cadence. I dropped it down to 80 from 85 awhile back and now I think I need to move it up again. I tried 81 and 82 during my cooldown and they felt fine, so this is something I will play with over my next runs.

Weight: 147.5

Run Interrupted

July 27, 2011 Wednesday 24 days to go

45 minutes easy Ran along the seawalk with Becky's tunes playing on her Ipod. I was hoping to find tunes that match my cadence. With the sound of traffic in the background I found it hard to keep beat with the metronome.
Eventually gave up and just ran. Literally ran to the pottie stop just after 1st K. Went to throw open the door - it was locked. I waited around but no one came out. I was desperate by now, so the only solution was to run home. BUT If I ran too hard, it made things worse so I walked/ran and fortunately made it home.
Run was only 24 minutes. Stomach was unsettled so didn't venture out again.

Weight: 147  I want to say yeah! but I got into Becky's peanut butter cookies tonight and now feel like I may be several pounds heavier.

Beautiful evening run

July 26, 2011 Tuesday 25 days to go

It was hard to make myself get out for a run tonight. I delayed until 9:00 pm and realized that if I wanted to get to bed tonight I better get out the door.

45 minutes @ 6:55/K run. I don't think I was meeting my 6:55/K all the time. I couldn't read my watch to time the kilometers and my pace was all over the place. One minute I would be at 6:15 the next at 7:15. One thing I did notice however is that my cadence seems to be more steady and although I only measured it a couple of times, I think I am finally getting the hang of it.

Stomach hurt while running. Maybe dinner wasn't digested or it was the applesauce I ate before leaving. I ran through it, but I sure don't want to experience that during a marathon!

Weight: 147.5

Hot Run

January 24, 2011 Sunday 27 days to go

Long run - 3 hours in the hot sun. The run went pretty well other than I had my energy totally sucked out of me by the heat.
I started off with 2 water flasks, 6 Mars bars, knee braces, metronome and my Ipod with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader on it. A kilometer into the run, I realized the shirt I was wearing was already chaffing and I had a long run ahead of me. I ran home and changed shirts then started off again. All went pretty steady. I ate a Mars bar every 1/2 hour and had sips of water. Refilled bottles at water stop in Willow Point. By 2 hours the sun was really starting to get to me. I kept going and looked for shade when it was available.

Feel completely drained. I don't think it is as much from the run as from the heat. My feet don't hurt like last long run and my knees are ok.

Weight: 148.5

4 weeks to go

July 23, 2011 Saturday 28 days to go

40 minutes easy
Ran along the seawalk, no knee braces. Iced knee when I got home. Uneventful run on a sunny day.


Weight: 149

Running with a friend

July 22, 2011 Friday 29 days to go

Today I did my 7:05/K pace run. Marion met me at the seawalk and we timed each kilometer to see how close to pace I was. At one point we sped it up just to see how it affected me. I found the run went quickly, maybe because I was talking so much.

Marion suggested that I add 5 minutes to my time ( actually decrease my goal time by 5 minutes) to allow for bathroom breaks or whatever. I talked to Jerry about it tonight and figured out that if I did a 6:59/K pace that would bring me in at 4:55 theoretically.

Also talked about doing the Nautical Days 4 mile on August 1. That's a hard race, but I think it would be some good speedwork

Weight: 149
Tonight we went sailing so grabbed some White Spot hamburgers to eat on the boat. I had forgotten how bad they can be. I was so hungry I ate it thinking the whole time, this can't be good for me.

June 20, 2011 Wednesday 31 days ( 1 month) to go

Today was easy run 45 minutes. I ran some lanes and down to 9th Ave using my metronome for pace. I worked on keeping under 8:00/K. Didn't wear my knee braces and was fine. Wore my new Newtons.

Weight: 150

This is discouraging. I seem to fall for the wheat and milk thing when it means strawberry rhubarb pie with whipped cream. I ate everything else in moderation so hope I don't wake up at 151 tomorrow.
I am trying to appear "normal" by eating what everyone else is so that I don't draw attention to my diet. Most of the time is has been pretty easy. Desserts are my downfall because if I refuse dessert something definitely is suspicious as everyone knows I love desserts.

July 18, 2011 Monday 33 days to go

Long run - 2 1/2 hours. This is yesterday's workout. I got up early yesterday morning but didn't leave enough time to finish run and get cleaned up before church - no problem -  would do it after church. We were just finishing lunch and I was getting ready to get into my gear when our friends the Baynes (our 94 year old buddies) showed up. We had a great visit and we ended up inviting them to stay for dinner. It was good having them here. We talked about ideas on how to spend their 66th anniversary today. They wanted to do something different so I suggested riding the chairlift to the top of Mount Washington then having dinner there at the restaurant. Alf thought it was a good idea so I will have to find out tomorrow if they went.

Alarm went off this morning at 5:00am. I got up and had some coffee and sat on the couch. I woke up 40 minutes later still sitting on the couch with my coffee. I'm not doing too well with these morning runs. One would think that after 13 weeks I would have it mastered by now. Seeing as how my window of opportunity had just shut, I went to work and got all my work done by noon. Bad timing as now the sun has come out and it is hot. It is windy too so there is some relief.

I started off on the seawalk with my ipod playing the story Prince Caspian, my metronome, my knee braces, my old Newtons, a heart rate monitor and my GPS. I also had my fuel belt with two flasks of water and 6 mini mars bars. The run started out well enough. I certainly didn't feel energetic, but my pace was around 8:00/K or less. I ran for 2 1/2 hours with 3 bathroom stops. I drank both flasks of water and refilled at the water stop at Willow Point. I ate all 6 Mars Bars. It was a slog of a run. It reminded me of the dog parts of the marathon where one just keeps putting along. I don't know how much the wind and the sun influenced how I felt. I walked another 10 minutes and was glad that it was over. My knees felt fine, but my toes were really sore. I am beginning to wonder if my Newtons are the right shoes for the marathon. Talked to Jerry about it tonight. Might try a run in my old Mizunos that I wore for my last marathon.

Weight: 149.5 (Got into Becky's sweet chocolate squares last night.)

July 17, 2011 Sunday 34 days to go

As I didn't get my long run in I did 45 minutes of core exercises. I used the program that Dave used to use for his Nordic ski team. I will do these every rest day and may try to increase even more than that. I noticed on runs that as I tire I start to bend over. Then I remember and run upright with a bit of a lean and feel much better. I only see benefit coming from doing these exercises.

Weight: 149 (I need to get Becky to hide her baking again!)

Best Run Yet

July 16, 2011 Saturday 35 days (5 weeks) to go.

Easy run - 40 minutes. I started out along the seawalk with my metronome in hand and a watch to check my pace. It felt so glorious to be running in cool showers 14 C (heck its 15 C in Reykavik today). This is a perfect race temperature and I don't even mind the showers. I kept imagining running a marathon like this because the chances are it could rain on the day of the marathon. I wore my vest which seems to be like my "blankie" when I run, so I am wondering if I should consider wearing it during the race. It doesn't keep me dry, but somehow I always feel good wearing it.  If I did, then that would eliminate the need for a fuel belt as I could stuff my pockets with mars bars and put 1 flask of water in a pocket. Something to think about.

I didn't pay much attention to pace at first as this was an easy run, but when I looked I was running around 6:45. I timed a few kilometers along the seawalk and I averaged out at 7:00. I slowed down the pace to 7:20 then 7:30 as that is what I should be looking at tomorrow for my long run. For the last kilometer I didn't look at my watch till it was up - 7:00 minutes again.

Notes to self:
     Wear knee braces. I ran without them and my right knee is sore and requires icing.
     Wear hat. I wore one and am really glad as I noticed how wet it was and how dry my head was when I took it off.
     Wear wicking socks. I stepped in many puddles, my feet are soaked and the socks I am wearing are old Wright double layer ones. I think moisture wicking ones would feel better over the long run in wet feet.
     Try short sleeved shirt with vest. Our Team Diabetes shirts will be short sleeved I think, so it would be good to try it out. I wore long sleeves today and was quite glad.  The other alternative would be to take an old Team D singlet and wear it over something long sleeved.
     The problem with the vest is that you can't see the Team D shirt underneath. The vest is also really big. Think of some solutions.
     Wear my Nike shorts. The old Sugoi ones I wore today are downright ugly and unflatterring and I can't believe these are the kind of shorts I have been wearing all these years.

Weight: 148.5  Yippeeeee!

Consistent Pace

July 12, 2011 Tuesday 39 days to go Along the Seawalk

Today was my "consistent" run - trying to nail a 7:05 pace consistently. I started out with 10 minutes warmup and spent the next 50 minutes trying to keep at 7:05. I found it really hard to stay on target. I would go too fast so try to slow down and then be going too slow so would try to speed up, then too fast again. I timed my final kilometer and I came out at 7:00 so that was good. Next time I will take my metronome to help me keep a consistent pace. Finished with 5 minutes cool down.

Weight: 151

Three Hour Run

July 10, 2011 Sunday 41 days to go.

Today was my longest run yet - 3 hours. I prepared my food - mini mars bars and my fuel belt with 1 water flask. Started out wearing new Newtons, no knee braces. Fuel belt set up the way it was wasn't going to work, so headed out without it.

The plan today is to test nutrition and to run by the house every 5 kilometers as if it was a water station. Looking at the possibility of running without a fuel belt to save a couple of pounds.

First fuel stop I ate my mini Mars bar - yum -  and drank a little water. I took off for my next 5 k. Next fuel stop, I changed back to my old Newtons, the new ones felt hard on the soles of my feet. I also donned knee braces. Tried cutting up mars bars and putting them in one of my water flasks. Took a flask of water and wore my fuel belt. Half hour later I tried to get the Mars bars out of the flask. It was really hard. That is not going to be a solution. Continued on for another half hour and tried again to have some water and Mars bars. They were stuck in there. Finally got them out. Wondering if making a pocket for my shorts might be the answer. Finished the run. I feel really wiped out. It may be more than just the run. I feel like I am fighting a bug too. My toes were really sore, especially the left foot. Are my shoes the right shoes? I don't know.
Knees are swollen, but not hurting too much. Put my compression socks on and they have made everything feel better. Lorne also massaged my toes and that helped alot too.

Weight: 152.5 lb.

A sunny day in the woods

July 9, 2011 Saturday Happy Birthday Jerry! 42 days to go

Today marks 6 weeks to go. It's easy day - 30 minutes -  but I missed yesterday's speedwork, so I ramped up the easy day workout. Ran in the Beaver Lodge Lands. I started out easy, then increased speed to more like a tempo run then started interspersing fartleks. I did a number of repeats then slowed down to an easy run for the finish. Felt good.

I had a running debate with myself about substituting my missed speedwork. It was tempting but I think at this point to put two hard workouts back to back is counterproductive.

Weight was 154 lb this morning. That was really discouraging. Six weeks to go is sort of a last chance to get some good training and nutrition in. Guess I will have to fall back on my ultra plan - no wheat or milk. This is a regime that I find really hard to stick to. When I do I feel much better.  According to my allergy tests I am allergic to wheat and milk. Obviously I am not so allergic to it that I have visible attacks but it does affect my digestion. I see this change as more of a feeling 100% than a diet so not sure how my weight will be affected.
Will start tomorrow.

8:00 am and already 17 C

July 6, 2011 Wednesday 45 days to go

Today is going to be a scorcher! Went out for marathon pace run - 7:05/K for 45 minutes with 10 minute warmup and 5 minute cooldown. I played with cadence and lean (not bend) to control my pace. I tried to get my cadence consistent to 85 then control lean so I was running an average of 7:00/K. I discovered that if I didn't pay attention, I would slow down to about 7:14/K then just a bit of lean would take me back to 6:55/K. The trick was not to lean too much or I would go down to 6:15/K. This knowledge will probably come in handy towards the end of the marathon when I am really tired.

Weight: 152.5

Hot and Sunny

July 5, 2011 Tuesday 46 days to go.

Summer finally found Campbell River and I waited until what felt like the hottest part of the day to do my 40 minutes easy. I timed my run to coincide with Becky's eye appointment so instead of sitting in a waiting room I was doing something constructive.Wow. It felt like the heat sucked all the energy out of me. I wore my new Newtons to start breaking them in and no knee braces. I kept thinking to myself, glad this next marathon is Iceland not Hawaii.  The Honolulu marathon when it got hot was brutal.
Love the sun, but will run in the cool of the morning next time.

Food today:                                                     Weight: 153 lb
7:30 coffee with milk
8:30 boiled egg and Kavli crackers
10:30 1/2 a Vega bar
12:30 pork tenderloin on 3 Kavli crackers
5:30 rice pasta and turkey, vegetable casserole, carrots, cucumbers, 1 1/2 slices bread and butter, glass wine

Treadmill

July 3, 2011 Sunday 48 days to go

Today is long run day - 2:45 is the goal.  Dressed a little differently today. Wore my Newtons, my pink compression socks, my compression shorts and my kneebraces. Started out on the seawalk. Two minutes into the run, I knew this combination of compression wear and kneebraces was not going to work. Also there were rumblings of a similar incident to yesterday, so I hurried home. Changed to shorts and regular socks and headed of to Jen and Jerry's house to use the treadmill. If I could go only a few minutes without a gastrointestinal incident, I might as well run on their treadmill next to a bathroom.
 
Its been a long while since I ran for any length of time on a treadmill. I set up the DVD player with a dance movie, set the treadmill to 1% incline and started off. Using Jerry's conversion chart taped to the treadmill, tried to find a pace that would give me somewhere around 7:30 per kilometer. Was going along great then accidentally hit the safety cord and everything came to a stop. Once I started up again, all my information was wiped out. This became a trend for the run.  If I added up all the minutes I think I did at least 2:45. I did a movie and a half. I didn't wear kneebraces and my knees were pretty good, but my feet were really tired at the end.

Weight: 152

Too Embarrasing to Talk About

July 2, 2011 Saturday 7 weeks until race day!

One of the reasons I run the Seawalk is that it has a portapotty just after 1 K and another one just before 6 K. One of the reasons I run in the Beaver Lodge lands is that it is all bush.
I have a problem. After anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes of running I need a toilet/bush for a bowel movement.
I am sure other people have a similar problem as just before races I see the lineups to the bathroom and they can all just be going pee. But nobody ever talks about it and I haven't seen it addressed in running books. When I am racing I time my warmups to leave room for an extra trip to the bathroom before I race. The times I have had to deal with it during a marathon, I have been fortunate to find a portapotty or bush to hide in. Tonight was different. I was running along and suddenly there was no warning, then next - an explosion. It was awful!. Fortunately this was a training run, but what would one do if this happened during the marathon?
What is marathon protocol for emergency pitstops with no portapotties or bushes around? If anyone has answers I sure would like to hear them.  Also, if anyone has suggestions about foods to avoid, or foods that help, I'm all ears. Enough of that. My 45 minute run got cut short to 15 minutes.

Food today:                                                  Weight: 153.5 lb
8:00 coffee with milk
9:00 oatmeal with blueberries, 2 strips bacon
12:00 beef stew
1:00 winetasting at Coastal Black Winery sampled 9 different wines
3:00 McDonalds Filet of Fish
6:00 Beef stew and beans

Speed Work

June 30, 2011 Thursday 51 days to go.

Speedwork today: 10 minute warmup then 1K x 5 with 2-3 minutes recovery in between. 5 minute cooldown.
1st K: 5:48
2nd K: 5:44
3rd K: 5:40
4th K: 5:42
5th K: 6:02
Wore knee braces and knees felt fine afterwards. Ran on Seawalk where there are marked out kilometers.

 Food today:                                                           Weight: 153.5
7:00 coffee with milk
8:30 juice, protein, banana smoothie
12:00 chicken, rice, cauliflower, fresh fruit, chai tea with milk and sugar
5:30 pork and beans deluxe a la Lorne, ww bun with butter, 1/2 glass beer, glass juice

I'm glad to be at 153.5 but now I am stuck again. It seems I lose a tiny bit of weight and then just get stuck.  I want so much to get below 150 soon.

Test Run

June 28, Tuesday 53 days to go

Today was a test run. Went out without knee braces and started a comfortably hard run. Wore my Newtons.
I was feeling pretty good at the start but gradually my right knee started to have pain so dropped down to a walk/ run and finally a walk home. Lost track of time out but at least 30 minutes if not more.
I think I will wear my knee braces for my workouts for the next while until my knees settle down.

Did some of Coach Dave's core routine yesterday.  Mostly bent arm planks - front, sides and back then straight arm planks  - front , sides and back. Goal is 1 minute each.

Noticed on Sunday's long run that as I tire I start to bend over at the waist. Hopefully core exercise will fight that tendency.

Weight 153.5

Long Run

June 26, 2011 Sunday 55 days to go.

Today my long run of 2 1/2 hours was the longest I have run in a long while. My right knee was still tender from yesterday , so I decided to wear a knee brace.  Also wore my Adidas instead of my Newtons.Began running along seawalk and 5 minutes into run realized that I was going to need a knee brace for my left knee as well. Returned home, got knee brace and then thought to myself "why am I running in the beating down sun on pavement when I could be on shady trails in the wood?" Went to Beaver Lodge lands and ran the trails there. At 30 minutes felt done, so ate a Mentos and had some water. That perked me right up. Had a Mentos every 30 minutes after that. Sipped alot of water too. At 1 hour my right knee felt shot. I tightened the knee brace and was good to go. At 2 hours my right knee was having shooting pains. Question - which is doing more good - quitting or running for another 1/2 hour? I ran/walked for the last 1/2 hour then iced my knee when I got home. Later Lorne massaged it for quite awhile.

Food today:                                                              Weight: 154 lb

8:30 coffee with milk
9:30 freshly squeezed orange juice
10:00 porridge with milk and sugar
3:30 Vega shake and go
5:30 chicken, lettuce, tomato, bun, corn on cob waffle ice cream con
8:30 1/2 glass vodka cooler

A new leaf? As in Turning over

June 25, 2011 Saturday

Everyday is a new shot at life and so is later on the same day.  Decided to make some changes. I would run first thing when I got up. I finally got up at 11:30 am. Couldn't put getting up off any longer.

10 minute warmup run then ran along the seawalk for my kilometer repeats. (I like the seawalk as it has marked off kilometers). Who would have suspected that there would be a garage sale right in the middle of my kilometer!  The first K I just sort of paused and kept going - 5.56/K.  The next kilometer I stopped , put a few books aside, paused watch, continued on - 5:49/K. Third repeat I tried not to look as I passed, but now the smell of grilled hotdogs and onions was really getting to me, so I spent that kilometer planning my lunch at the garage sale after my run. 5:56/K. Last kilometer I debated the whole time about the hotdog. Gave myself permission to eat it and then decided I really didn't need it as I could have something healthy and nourishing at home. 5:44/K. Finished with easy run then back to garage sale to pick up my books - no hotdog.

The Wee Hours of the Morning

June 25, 2011 Saturday 56 days to go 8 weeks today is THE day

Can't sleep. Stressing about the marathon. One good thing - its still 8 weeks away. One bad thing - actually alot of bad things, lack consistency in workouts and eating is still out of control. Sometimes I think I'm like a kid with selective hearing. I hear "go early for my run" but its like I don't really hear it or I would do it. Same with "eat properly". Maybe I am beating myself up because I missed another workout again yesterday AND I let my I eating get completely out of control again with lots of chocolate, scones and chips.

It seems I go along fine and then when something gets me out of routine - BAM - it all goes out the window.

Had a little holiday for our anniversary - 37 years. It was great! We stayed overnight in a beautiful suite overlooking the ocean, ate amazing food in the restaurant and totally enjoyed a bit of time to ourselves. I did my tempo workout the morning we left - 40 minutes trail running and it felt good. Next morning ate Eggs Benedict instead of going for a run. In no time at all it was back to work and regular life.Oh, well, will trade that day for off day.

Yesterday, then was the day to do my kilometer repeats at 6 min/K. Late night the night before due to an emergency so question is: sleep in? or get up anyway with less hours of sleep and do run? I slept in and of course the day took over and the window closed until the evening when I was too tired to run.

There will always be an excuse for not running and I will always find an excuse for eating WAY too much chocolate. The fact is that I have 8 weeks left to make a go of this training and do it properly. If I don't take it seriously NOW there just won't be enough time to get in the workouts and weight loss required to run a marathon. As I say this to myself I am already bargaining with myself how I can sleep in and get the run in some time during the day today. A compromise. When Lorne gets up for his meeting I will do my run first before doing anything else. Now lets see if I can get back to sleep so I am not a zombie doing my run.

Long Run

June 20, 2011 Monday 61 days to go

Did my long run this morning as yesterday, just when  I was preparing to head out, some friends of ours dropped by to visit. Alf and Margaret Bayne founded a children's camp over 60 years ago. Both 94 years of age, they have been an inspiration to us and like grandparents to our children. They still live at the camp and keep up their garden and go kayaking. I could go on and on about them but suffice it to say, when they drop by, I drop my plans and we enjoy a cup of tea, some cookies and good conversation.

Last night Jerry and I decided that I better up my long run mileage as time is getting short to get it all in.  I finally received my Running Book by John Stanton from Team Diabetes, so we looked at the program to see where I would be at following it. I'm behind.

2 hours was my goal this morning. Not sure how far I went but figure at least 16K. Ran along the ocean so it was basically flat. Felt good until 1h55min. My right knee complained loudly. Limped another 11 minutes to get home and spent the day icing it off and on, taking Advil and this evening getting a massage on it. Tonight it is feeling a lot better.

Run seemed to knock the stuffing out of me. I went to work and was basically useless. Finally came home and went to bed for a few hours. This is not typical, so I am wondering if I am fighting some kind of a bug.

Weight loss still remains a challenge. I am stuck at 155.5 lb. Becky's homemade lemon meringue pies for father's day have been a temptation that I succumbed to.

Food today:
6:00 coffee with milk
9:00 protein smoothie
11:00 smoked salmon, lemon meringue pie
4:00 banana
5:30 stir fry - chicken and fresh veggies, lemon meringue pie
9:00 lemon meringue pie ( its almost all gone!), a few chocolate chips, 1/2 glass beer

June 17, 2011 Friday 64 days to go

This was the "killer" workout I always dread. 10 min warmup, 4 x 1K at 6 min/K 5 min easy.
I warmed up - 1st K - 5:53 so decided to slow a bit to get to 6 min. 2K - 5:44, slowed some more, 3rd k 5:46, tried slowing again, last K - 5:45. I felt like my cadence was quicker. I also felt like the more I relaxed the easier it became. I was tired after each K but not wrecked.


June 18, 2011 Saturday 63 days to go


Today was 30 minutes easy. I had a funny run. Started out and by 10 minutes I was home on the toilet. Started out again. Helped a lady look for a lost dog. Continued on. Passed a garage sale. Nice fishing rond, wonder if Lorne would like it. Oh, there are books that Hannah would like. Ran and got Hannah, borrowed $3.00 from Jen. Hannah and I ran to garage sale. She pucked out 6 books and then we ran home again. Ran to get Lorne. Jumped in van and drove to garage sale. Yes he liked one of the fishing rods. We bought it and came home. So, I lost track of whether I did 30 minutes, but I had lots of adventures.

Food today:                                       Weight:155.5
9:30 coffee with milk
12:30 1 piece of Alex's fish from her fish and chips, coleslaw
4:00  Larabar
6:00  chicken breast, lettuce on 1/2 wholewheat bun, 1/2 glass beer
8:00  other 1/2 wholewheat bun with butter

Catching Up

June 16, 2011 Thursday 65 days to go

Since Saturday June 11, I have done a 91 minute easy run and run a 5 K race in 31:02 chip time. Tonight was easy run 30 minutes. I did 32 minutes. Found it hard to make myself get out there and waited until after 9:00 PM before going. My right knee is a little tender on the knee cap and swollen as well so will ice it.

Food today:                                   Weight: 155.5 lb
8:00 coffee with milk
9:00 cottage cheese with fresh fruit salad
12:00 pork loin with mushrooms and sauce, chicken thigh, green salad, rice
2:30 Protein bar
5:30  hot dog with mustard, 1/2 glass beer
7:30  4 oatmeal cookies
10:00 2 small glasses chocolate milk

A Beautiful Vista June

June 11, 2011 Saturday

One of my favourite places to run is in Abbotsford where Byron, Jen and kids live. All around as far as I can see is farmland and tonight there were beautiful cloud formations and colours in the sky. I started out on Vye Road then took a left onto a long stretch of road where no cars came by - running between fields on either side of me.
I was so taken with the scenery that my 25 minute easy run went by quickly. I did 27 minutes.

Food today:                                              Weight:156.5
8:30  coffee with milk
9:00  granola with yogurt
12:00 grilled cheese sandwich and another coffee with milk somewhere in there
4:30  meat sauce with spaghetti, carrot sticks
7:30  apple crisp
9:30  cookie

Another Day

June 9, 2011 Thursday 72 days to go

Did yesterday's workout tonight. 15 minutes warmup, 40 minutes marathon pace, 5 minutes cool down. I did 67 minutes altogether. Realized that marathon pace is at a fair clip.  Keeping that up for 42 km will be a challenge.
                  
Food today:                            Weight: 156 lb
8:00 coffee with milk
9:30 apple juice, whey protein, banana smoothie
12:00  spiced ground beef, lettuce, salsa, 4 chocolate chip My Kitty cookies (made them with Hannah)
3:30 Vega shake and go smoothie - tasted awful! and I have a package of 10 servings!
6:00 chicken noodle soup and a cheese biscuit rat plus several more cheese biscuits with jam
8:00 a few chocolate chips
10:30 - a tot of whiskey
Let wheat back into my diet today.

A Sunny Day

June 7, 2011 Tuesday 74 days to go

Easy run - 30 minutes. I did 31 minutes. It's never "easy" but I kept up a regular pace and just did it.

I couldn't help thinking how special this time is of walking the kids to school. Hannah reached out to hold my hand while walking- not typical of Hannah with me - and I kept thinking of how fortunate I am to have these times. When my kids were little, there always seemed to be pressing things and I don't think I savoured the time with my children in the same way. Listening to Gideon on the way home as he talked about his day made me nostalgic for time lost with my kids. I think one does the best that they can at the time and when opportunity affords revel in the moment.

Food today:                Weight 156.5
8:00  coffee with milk
9:30  apple juice, strawberry, whey protein smoothie
12:00 2 Rye Krisp with Tuna salad
1:30  1 Rye Krisp with Tuna salad and some carrot raisin salad
3:30  cottage cheese with applesauce
5:30  sushi, corn on the cob, apple struesel
11:30 this is where it gets bad! 6 ritz crackers with cheddar cheese, tot of whiskey

There's lead in them there legs

June 6, 2011 Monday 75 days to go

Walked Gideon and Hannah to school then went for Easy Run - 25 minutes. It turned out to be 28 min. Legs felt heavy and back still is tender.  Iced knees when I got home.Walked Gideon home from school. I'll be walking to and from school with kids twice a day this week while Jen and Jerry are away.- an additional 6 km walking a day.

Thinking about losing weight.  I think it is time to cut out wheat from my diet. I'll try it for a week and see if it makes any difference. I need to cut 7000 calories a week if I want to lose 2 lbs a week. It seems like a lot but when its broken down to 1000 calories a day it sounds more doable. I think 2 lbs a week is a reasonable goal. That would bring my racing weight down to 137 lb.

Food today:                                       Weight: 157.5
7:30  coffee with milk
9:15  grape juice, whey protein, strawberry smoothie
12:00  3 rye krisp with mayonnaise, red pepper and shrimp
3:00  cottage cheese with banana
5:30  meat spaghetti sauce on rice, carrot raisin salad, spinach salad, scoop chocolate ice cream

Regroup

June 5, 2011, Sunday 76 days to go
Long run - supposed to be 1:45:00 long - actually did 1:15:00. Disappointing. Started out well enough but by 45 minutes I was struggling. I drank water and ate some jujubes, felt a bit better, then I got dizzy.  I was well along one of the trails and decided it was probably best to start heading back out. It wasn't like hitting a wall but I felt done in. One of the things I hadn't thought through was wearing a hat and sunglasses. I thought it would be shady in the Beaver Lodge lands but it was actually really sunny and hot and maybe that is what made me feel dizzy.
The other thing that bothered me was my feet. They hurt! Wondered if it was my shoes or what, but in the end it was a disappointing workout.
I have been having a series of less than good workouts. There just isn't enough time left for any of my workouts to be less than the best. My eating habits have also deteriorated and that is evidenced by my weight gain. Again, the excess weight is a barrier to my success, so will have to apply discipline. I always look at big chunks of time. I think I need to break it down to a day at a time or even an hour at a time if needs be.
Need to be conscious of drinking more water.  Sleep patterns need to be put into place. I have been staying up with Lorne to watch a series he is watching right now, but that means getting to be around midnight.
What is really boils down is if I want to have results I need to put more discipline in my life to get them. I envy those people who tell me that they love to run. I don't think I even like to run.

Food consumed today                                                     Weight: 157.5
8:00 coffee with milk, juice smoothie with homemade grape juice, protein powder, wheat germ, flax seeds, chia seeds, psillium husks, fish oil
12:00  shrimp, red pepper, mayonnaise on 3 rye krisps
3:30  16 jujubes
5:30  roast beef, potato, gravy, carrots 
7:00  slice rhubarb pie with strawberry icecream
10:30  thin slice rhubarb pie

Reluctant runner

June 4, 2011 Saturday 77 days to go
Short bike ride this morning, then I worked in the garden all day.
Easy run today so went out after the hockey game. Canucks won! Wore my trail runners and every step was a jar to my knees. I didn't think shoes would make that much difference, but they sure did. Instead of continually jarring my knees I turned around and walked home.

Food consumed today                          Weight 157.5
8:00 coffee with milk, 2 oatmeal, banana, chocolate chip muffins
11:00 3 banana muffins
2:00  smokie with 1/2 hamburger bun, mustard
4:00  small Slurpee
6:00  corn on the cob, nachos with 3 cheeses, hamburger meat, peppers and salsa
8:00  7 mini peanut butter cups
Drank lots of water

An Evening Jaunt

June 3, 2011 Friday 78 days to go
Rode bike to Outdoor Addictions for Bike to work week breakfast then back to work.
Planned on doing my Tempo run this evening. After warmup there just wasn't enough juice for a tempo workout so went on a jog of the neighbourhood which included a stop at Fishermans Wharf to look at a Coronado 25 that was for sale. I suggested scuttling Ptarmigan Stew and buying this. I think it is sold however.
Did some fartleks between telephone poles, looked for The Bruise and called here kitty, kitty around the neighbourhood. I wonder if she is in jail. Will check the SPCA tomorrow.
My jaunt took me 47 minutes and included a mix of running, walking, hills, fartleks. That was the best I could come up with tonight.

Food consumed today                                                        Weight 157 lb
7:45  2 blueberry bran muffins, coffee with cream
11:00  granola bar
1:00  Thai rice, vegetable and beef dish, 1 springroll
2:30  Coffee with lots of milk
4:00  handful chocolate chips
5:30  aero chocolate bar
6:00  hamburger with bacon, cheese, mushrooms, corn on the cob

Running along

June 2, 2011 Thursday 79 days to go
Rode bike to breakfast at Christian School then down to work. Later to lunch meeting and back from home.
Ran to 9th Ave and back. Felt easier today. 24 :23 minutes is my memory, but that doesn't make sense - it usually takes longer so I may have gotten my numbers mixed up. Ran at 80 cadence and heart rate was average 146 - good for an easy run.

Food consumed today:                                            Weight 157  here we go again!
7:30  breakfast burrito, juice, coffee, apple
11:00 granola bar
12:15  Indian butter chicken, beef, spinach salad, mixed vegetables, rice, chi tea with milk and sugar, chocolate square
3:00 granola bar
5:30 2 pancakes, 2 sausage, omlette
8:00 3 chocolate chip cookies
9:30 1/2 a beer

On the Road Again

June 1, 2011 Wednesday 80 days to go
Training has fallen off the map since I hurt my back. Rode my bike about 11 km Monday then had laser surgery on both eyes.  Short bike ride to work yesterday. This is my first run since last week. I did 16.5 minutes easy. Felt rusty. like starting up my old Porsche then got running smoothly then broke down a bit towards the end. Ran with my eyes closed alot just to concentrate on feeling form.

Have gained weight again. Went back up to 159 but weigh 158 lb today.

On Hold

May 27, 2011 Friday
Back sore. Got Xrayed. Worked.

Food Consumed today                                                     Weight:  156 lb
8:00  coffee with milk
10:00 protein shake
12:30  Thai currry chicken soup, stuffed chicken wing
3:30  2 Tim Hortons cookies
5:45  3 strips bacon, beans
7:30  small bowl buttered and salted popcorn
9:30 4 spoons chocolate icing
It will be interesting to see what weight I am tomorrow.

Staying Put

May 26, 2011 Thursday 86 days to go
My back has gotten worse. I got Becky to drive me to work as it hurt too much to drive.Went to doctor.I go for an xray, but basically its time and as he said emphatically - no sitting, no sitting no sitting.
Cancelled trip to Abbotsford and my race on Sunday. I feel really down about all this. I was looking forward to seeing kids and grandkids and brother and Michelle and Jean. I was also looking forward to the race to see how my training is working. Felt rather blue about it all evening.

Food consumed today:                                 Weight: 155
8:00 coffee with milk
9:00  protein shake
10:30  square rhubarb cake
12:00 mixed vegetables, rice, porkchop, 2 chocolate squares
3:30  4 squares rhubarb cake
7:30  1 small potato, 2 asparagus, 1 small slice steak
8:30 protein shake
Can see my stress eating emerging.

Go Canucks Go!

May 25, 2011 Wednesday Happy Birthday Michelle
What  a game. The Canucks are on their way to the Stanley Cup. Came home from J2, skipped sauna and went to bed. Another sleepless night. What's with this? I usually fall asleep the minute my head hits the pillow.

Alarm went off for early workout. Tried to get out of bed. My back had seized up. Walking was hard.  Needless to say I didnt run or walk. Iced back several times today and this evening had sauna and soak in tub.
I don't think I will run again until Sunday's race.

Jerry sent me link to Comox ValleyRoad Runners. Kiwi Keith is losing weight. We both started at 157 lbs the same day and I thought I could offer a challenge to him.  Forget it. He has lost 4 lbs in 2 days, I've lost 1.

Food Today:                                               Weight:  156 lb
8:00  coffee with milk
9:00  boiled egg, 2 pieces rye krisp
12:15  cottage cheese with strawberries, 1 rye krisp with peanut butter, green tea
3:30  cottage cheese with banana, green tea
6:00  halibut, brown rice, asparagus
water throughout day

Foiled Again!

May 24, 2011 Tuesday Happy Birthday Jen H - 88 days to go
Jerry thinks I should work on being consistent and getting my workouts in first thing in the morning so -
I went to bed at 9:30 pm last night, read a bit and figured I'd be asleep at 10:00. But at 10:00 I was so cold I had to get up and put flannel pjs and socks on to keep warm. I would have worn a toque if I had found one, but wrapped my head in the covers.  Couldn't sleep.11:30 - too hot! Off go the pjs and head covers. Still can't sleep.12:00 take ibuprophin for back. 1:04 Lorne comes to bed Still awake. 2:00 Lorne won't stop snoring. Put earplugs in.  Fall asleep. Sleep through alarm - in fact sleep till 8:00 when coffee shows up.

Took Jerry's advise about not running if back still hurt. During a break at work got Lorne to drive me to General Hill. It only took me 1:30 minutes to have my heart rate in training zone. Kept heart rate between 146 and 150 bpm. Steep part of General Hill reminded me of the Easter Island marathon, except that incline was 4 km long. Seems walking does the same thing to my system as running. Stopped at 20 minutes and found a bush. Fortunately only one truck went by as I was pretty exposed. Did lots of stretches and some walking while I waited for someone to pick me up.  Iced back upon return to work.

Iced back again after dinner then did my 7/3's x 3.  Will have a sauna tonight.

Food consumed today:                               Weight:156.5
8:00 coffee with milk
8:30   protein drink and a banana
10:30  cottage cheese and an apple
12:30  3 rye krisp with tuna salad on top, 15 small carrots, 5 potato chips, green tea
3:30  celery stick with peanut butter on it
5:30  6 small slices steak, 4 small potatoes, 3 asparagus spears, lettuce salad
lots of drinks of water throughout day

Its a beautiful day

May 23, 2011
Holiday yeah! It's Queen Victoria day so I got to sleep in and lolligag. Talked to Jerry about the Galloway method of run/walk. I have just about finished reading Galloway's book and his ideas about exercise, strength training, etc. are quite different than ideas that I have been reading about in Runner's World.  I tried a bit of run walk on my last speed workout. I think I will stick to run and then walk if I need a break not 2:30/1:00.

Today was 15 minutes easy - I did 16:24. I tried a new route home in the lanes behind the church etc. I didn't realize that they were paved. My knees felt fine while I was running but when I got home my right knee started complaining loudly. The inside of my kneecap really hurt when I walked. I iced my knees and took ibuprophin.

I changed my cadence back to 80 steps - was finding that 85 was a push and I couldn't keep form. 80 steps almost felt slow but I think that is a good cadence for me at least until after the race. Wore my heart rate monitor again to see if I stay in Zone 1 doing my easy runs. It was perfect - the only time I went higher to 159 was when I went up 1st Ave. Also concentrated on my arms today.  I noticed that when I get tired my left arm starts swinging across my body so concentrated on having my arms swinging on my sides.

After ice and drugs kicked in did my 3 sets of 7 min cycling, 3 min exercises. Added a real push up. Right knee didn't like the exercise so back to icing.

Food today:                                         Weight: 157
9:00 coffee with milk
10:15 boiled egg with half toasted whole wheat bun, coffee with milk
12:30  1/4 chicken breast, cup rice
4:45  apple quarters with Tbsp peanut butter
5:45  3 small pancakes, syrup, 2 slices bacon, 3 slices grapefruit
lots of sips of water throughout day

Happy Birthday Brother John

May 22, 2011
Its my brother's 78th birthday today and he defies any images of "old". In his case age is just a number. He still does his Air Force exercises everyday, takes an acute interest in everything going on in the world and takes time to play - be it golf, walking the dog, or travel. He is an inspiration to me.

Today was long run - 85 minutes. I did 87 minutes. Went to Beaver Lodge lands and ran the trails there. I wore my trail running shoes and I was still able to keep my form while running. I kept thinking of running behind Dave through those trails and how light he was on his feet, even though he was carrying about 25 lbs of body weight more than when he was in training.


I wore my heart rate monitor and my heart rate varied between 140 and 151. I think the highest it went was to 153. Those are within the range of what it should be for my "easy" runs. I ran with 2 small flasks of water in my fuel belt and consumed 2 Mentos on way to Beaver Lodge lands and two around the 1 hour mark. Took sips of water about every 15 minutes and only consumed about 6 ounces.

Had to do my usual break about 20 minutes into the run. Thank goodness for bushes. Now my feet are sore, but my knees feel pretty good and that is my weak spot.

Food consumed today:                      Weight today:  158 lbs.
8:30 coffee with milk
10:00  protein drink
12:00  whole wheat bun with peanut butter and banana
           1/2 cup coffee with milk
2:30  2 mentos
3:00  2 mentos
4:00  glass chocolate milk
5:30  chicken breast, rice, lettuce, cucumber, carrots, salad dressing, rhubarb crisp and strawberry icecream
6:30 3 mentos
8:30 5 baby carrots

Arrrgggg

May 18, 2011 Wednesday Speedwork
Dreading this workout all day. Finally got myself down to the Seawalk at 8:15 pm. Decided to incorporate some walking into my routine tonight so to warm up did 2:30 run/1:00 walk. First km did 3:00/1:00 and time was 6:15. Second km did 2:30/1:00 and time was 6:06. Third km did 3:30/1:00 and time was 6:17. Noticed that I was way more relaxed by third km and that is probably why I forgot to take walk break earlier.
Did the whole workout at 85 paces per minute. It was feeling easier tonight.
Once home did 7 minutes cycling/planks front and sides, 7 minutes cycling/10 pushups, 20 crunches, 20 elbow to knee crunches, 7 minutes cycling. This equaled 21:05 cycling, 12.24 km and 290.6 calories burned. (My goal was to burn at least 260 to account for 1/2 the 100 gram chocoate bar I ate at lunch today).

Talked to Jerry about my running. He said he thinks that getting my weight down is as important as my runs. I seem to be able to pull off my races with minimal training but my weight is a real problem.  I finally hit below 160 today - 159.5.  Tomorrow I will start keeping a food journal.

May 17, 2011 Tuesday was a missed run.

Cadence - what's the best?

May 16, 2011 Monday 96 days to go
Today was 15 minutes easy - I did 17 minutes.  Have been working on cadence - upped my cadence to 85 steps per minute.  Apparently 90 steps is ideal.  I found that 85 wore me out.  I can't figure out how to do an easy run with 85 steps per minute. I was at 83 last week and got used to it so maybe I will back down to 84 for tomorrow.
Still working on form. Keeping a mid-foot strike with relaxed forward lean is a challenge for me. I tense up and it all falls apart. Guess that is why one practices.

Have been reading about Galloway's method of running for marathons. He recommends walking breaks. If I aim for a 4:59:00 marathon I will be running about 2:15 minutes and walking 1 minute. Will have to read more about this.

May 15, 2011 Sunday.
Was at Mother-Daughter Camp at Camp Homewood so did my long run on Quadra Island. Forgot how hilly it is.Misjudged my out and back timing so only got 55 minutes of actual running in - not the 80 I had planned.

May 14, 2011 Saturday Quadra Island
Easy run 15 minutes.  It was more like a fast walk than run and a little longer than 15 minutes.

May 13, 2011 Friday
5 minutes easy, 20 minutes approx 6:40/km, 5 minutes easy
Ran from ferry to Tyee spit and back. Overload on 4:30 ferry so it was a perfect opportunity to fit run in.

May 12, 2011 Thursday.
Decided to consider Wednesday's miss a real miss instead of trying to play catchup. Dave used to talk about a workout missed being a miss.So - did my Thursday easy 15 but I thought it was easy 20 so actually did easy 19.5 minutes.

Discouraged

May 11, 2011 101 days to go.
Didn't get out for a run today. Today is speedwork day. All day I fought about whether to run or not. My knees are not hurting as much as yesterday, but I feel very vulnerable.  It poured rain alot of the day. Around 8:00 pm a rainbow came out and I seriously considered it for a moment, but then not.

May 10, 2011 Easy 20 minutes
Knees are really sore. Spent alot of time icing them. No run today.

May 9. 2011 Easy run 15 minutes
Once again thankful for the 15 minutes easy run after a long run. Went to 6th and back - 16 minutes. Stopped at Jen and Jer's on the way home to watch the 3rd period of the hockey game. Canucks won. Go Canucks!

May 8, 2011 Sunday Long run 75 minutes  Mother's Day
Woke up at 6:00 am and wrestled with my warm bed for half an hour. Finally decided to get my long run in before the festivities of Mother's Day and then church. Ran along the seawalk going a pace average 8 minutes per kilometer.  Had to make 2 pottie stops. Stomach a bit queezy.  Thank goodness the toilet was unlocked as it could have been a disaster otherwise.  Came home and iced my knees.  Iced them several times throughout the day.

May 7, 2011 Saturday. Sopposed to be easy run, but I did tempo run.
Tempo run along the seawalk - 5 minutes easy, 15 minutes pace about 6:35 per km then 5 minutes easy. I added a bit to beginning and end of run so did another 10 minutes easy.

May 6, 2011
Didn't get out the door early and then the day took over. Band concert tonight. Decided to do tempo work Saturday.

Heart Rate Monitor

May 5, 2011 Thursday 107 days to go
Easy day - 15 minutes. I tried something I haven't done for awhile. I used my heart rate monitor. Also used the metronome. Ran to 80, matching every beat and found that my heart rate stayed between 130 and 140 except when running up the hill when it went to 155. Not sure how to use this information, but it was interesting. I will have to get a resting heart rate to see if it changes over the course of my training.

Get the run in first

May 4, 2011 108 days to go.
I can see why its best to get the run in before the day gets going. Otherwise the rest of the day is spent trying to figure out when to fit it in and often as not, it doesn't happen.

Today, I got out for my speedwork after lunch. Had done some deliveries and the last one took me close to home so took advantage of the situation.Went to the seawalk.10 minutes warmup, 1 km 5:57, 3 minutes recovery, 1 km 6:02, more recovery walking and running. I was out altogether for about 40 minutes.
Just got in the door, the phone rang and I was needed at work immediately. Drove my sweaty self down  - still in shorts, top, running shoes. Ended my work day with a lab coat over my running gear - firstly for warmth and secondly for an attempt to look a little more professional.

Still working with a metronome to keep a steady pace. It seems when I am running easy the pace is too fast then when I am running fast, the pace is too slow. Right now I am working on 80 beats a minute.
Concentrated on my footstrike too. If I land on the ridge on the bottom of my shoes, it really does propel me forward and the footstrike seems lighter. My weight is an issue with my "lightfootedness". I am still 160 lb and I haven't gotten into a routine or plan on how to rectify that.



Will get to bed early tonight to get my run in first thing tomorrow morning.

"Back in the Saddle Again"

Wow, when one gets out of sync it is really hard to get back in. My new standby quote is:

Even if the activity is less vigorous than it had been before, or if your schedule is tight and it cannot be done for long, exercise anyway. Something is always better than nothing, and even short runs or walks help to retain the habit. 

So since my last post Day 8 Easter Monday:

Day 9 April 26, 2011
Easy day - 15 minutes. Rode my bike to and from work.

Day 10 April 27, 2011Speedwork
Knees are sore - took day off. Rode bike to and from work

Day 11 April 28, 2011
Another day off - knees still sore. Rode bike to and from work.

Day 12 April 29, 2011
Yet another day off because of knees. Talk to Jerry. Knee soreness coincides with me riding bike to work. Going to work is fine - its downhill.  Coming home takes some low gear work. Jerry has read that that can be hard on knees if out of practice.  Will give bike riding a break.

Day 13 April 30, 2011 Saturday
Down to the seawalk for my speedwork. 10 minutes easy, 2 x 1 km hard with 3 minutes recovery in between, then about 6 minutes cooldown. My watch quit so I'm not sure of pace, but I think it was under 6 minutes per km.

Iced knees as soon as I came in the door and iced them several more times throughout the day.

Day 14 May 1, 2011 Sunday Long run
What a glorious day. I ran along the seawalk beside the ocean in the sunshine. There were lots of people walking, running, cycling greeting each other as they passed. It really felt like the promise of Spring. Ran 70 minutes then came home and iced knees. Again, continued with the icing several more times that day.

Jerry and I reviewed my program Sunday night and decided that this week would be a repeat of last week since I missed my tempo run. My long run will be 5 minutes longer.

Day 15 May 2, 2011 Monday Easy run
Did my 15 minutes easy and followed up with icing my knees.

Day 16 May 3, 2011 Tuesday Easy run
Another easy 15 minutes followed by icing my knees.  Haven't got back to the stationery cycling after run yet, but my knees are feeling better.  Haven't got back to the first thing out the door by 7:00 am either. Its been more like sleep in after the alarm goes, listen to the news, drink coffee, then go. Then be late for work. News has been interesting however. First the death of Bin Laden and then this morning the final results of the Canadian election - majority Conservative government, NDP opposition, Green Party with a representative, Bloc wiped out with only 4 seats and Liberals only 37 seats. What a shakeup in our government! Who would ever have imagined this a month ago!

I DID IT! GOT OUT THE DOOR.

It was close.  I ate 6 homemade lemon cream puffs while thinking about it.  Did I mention that I'm a stress eater?
Then - I made my break for it. Grabbed my running gear and got in the car before anyone noticed I was missing.
Drove to the Seawalk for my long run - 1 hour. The first 3 kilometers were dreadful.. All my Easter food indiscretions were yelling at me from my stomach. I timed myself from kilometers 4 to 6 and it was 15 minutes 15 seconds - an average of 00.07:75 per km for easy run.  So I ran for an hour - 8 km.

What A weekend Routine undone!

Day 5 Good Friday April 22, 2011 Tempo Day

Woke at 6:30 to my youngest granddaughters calling "Grandma - where's Grandma?" Those are some of the best words in the world. Lots of chatting from my bed, then my son Byron brought me coffee in bed. This is the life!
Got up to play with my granddaughters Katie and Eva who had arrived from Abbotsford the night before. We played cats.  Byron turned our couch in the livingroom into a sailboat complete with red blanket sail. We had alot of adventures including cat overboard, swimming of the boat. What fun! Thoughts of running are quickly becoming a dim memory.

Finally as it was getting close to breakfast I mentioned that I was supposed to do a tempo run today. Byron said go and that got me out the door. Once again I drove to the Seawalk.  Ten minutes easy to warm up, then my first kilometer tempo - 6:45. Goal was 7:00. Second kilometer was 6:33.  Now it was time to do easy back to the car. Thought I would time my easy kilometer just to see what an easy run was for me. 6:30. That makes no sense. Or does it? I was warmed up and very relaxed because it was just easy running and I was concentrating more on form.

Home to 7 minutes cycle.  That was it. There were now 6 grandchildren playing lego on the floor next to the stationery bike. Called it done for the day.


Day 6 April 23, 2011 Cold -2 C  Easy day

A 15 minute easy run seemed doable. Played with grandchildren then popped out the door before breakfast and was back before anyone noticed I was missing. On to making breakfast and other grandmotherly duties so the next part - my cycling and exercises went by the wayside.  Besides the room where my bike and exercise mat are has become Lego central with intricate structures and lots of activity.


Day 7 April 24, 2011 Easter Sunday.  Long run

Got up at 5:30 am dressed in running gear and set up the table with all the Easter bowls with candies and presents for the family. Everything looked so festive. Figured I could get my 1 hour long run in before the family got going. Shortly after 6:00 I heard Katie and Byron.  They had a sleepover and now Katie was excited to get up.  She loved her purple bunny and candy.  Soon Eva and Jen were here. More excitement. If breakfast was to be at 8:30 my window for a long run was quickly closing.  Besides, its not every day I get to spend Easter with Byron, Jen, Katie, Eva and James. I stared making the fruit salad while Jen put the Pulla in to bake. Sausages and bacon sizzling, more family up or arriving. Lots of excitement. Easter breakfast was a family success!

Quiet - family has gone back to Jen and Jerry's to get ready for church.  Can I fit an hour in before church? No.  Then I talk to my brother on the phone.  Haven't talked since Christmas.  Lots of news to exchange. Get off the phone and realize that church has already stared and I'm not there.

Well, I will do my run now. No, its time to make lunch for everyone coming back from church.

Quiet in the house again. Nap times for little ones, play times for older ones, time to run? No. Its time to get the roast ready to go in the oven, make the sweet potatoes, make the Easter Pie, get the other vegetables ready, set the table with tablecloth and good china and silver....Dinner is at 5:00 pm.  At 4:30 pm I take off my running gear and accept defeat.  There is always tomorrow and a celebration of the Lord's triumph over the grave with all my family is better than anything.

Day 7 Easter Monday Long Run (because I didn't do it yesterday)

Byron, Jen, James, Katie and Eva left to go home today. Alex was up at 6:30 to make fresh apple muffins for them.  I played with the girls and we had a special tea party using the best china teacups, teapot etc.
Just after 7:30 am it was time to say goodbye. I got really cold standing outside in just my Tshirt while waiting for them to say all the farewells, I came home chilled. Wrapped myself in a heated blanket and promptly fell asleep. When I woke up again the day was well underway, the cleanup on and so I pitched in.  Now it is 3:45pm and I am trying to make excuses for not going for a run. We'll see.

122 days to Marathon Day!

Day 4 April 21, 2011 Easy Day, Cold and sunny outside 1 C

When one lays things out the night before to be ready to run in the morning - make sure that includes everything. I hopped into my toasty heated running gear then- oh oh where are my gloves? Where is my hat? Not where I dropped  them when I returned from my run yesterday.  Someone has tidied up. Not me. 5 minutes wasted trying to find two items that at 1 degree C I was determined to not leave without. Note to self not to let that happen again.

Its my Easy Day - 15 minutes. I started out stiff and creaky but settled into a really easy gait. Still working on form. Went as far as 5th Ave and back - 16 minutes. Came in, did the coffee and water grab and onto the stationery bike. Did my 7 minute bike, 3 minutes exercise times 3 and then hopped into the sauna for 20 minutes. Oh that felt good! I added another pushup to my routine. Shouldn't be too impressed with myself as these are still ladies pushups!  Oh well, I have to start somewhere.

Just remembered the other decision Jerry and I made about my training. We decided for me to train by time rather than distance. He thought that would be less stressful than worrying about getting my kilometers in each day. Most programs tell you how many kilometers or miles to run each day.  The one other time I trained that way, I had my personal best for a marathon.

The other special thing about Jerry, he asks me every day how my run went . It makes me feel accountable.

Countdown to Marathon - the journey continues

Day 3 April 20, 2011 Speedwork day Cold outside

Dressed in my heated running gear, grabbed gloves this time, and watch, and drove to the Seawalk.  Usually I would walk, but I didn't want anything to mess up my program.

10 minutes easy run, then 1 kilometer fast - goal 6:35. Timed my run start and finish - 5:53! Finished off with more easy run to make 20 minutes total. Really felt the 1 km speed work, but it was doable. Kept thinking that maybe the seawalk stretches so its a longer 1 km. Doubt it!

Home to cycling and exercises.  Its already becoming a routine.  Take off outer clothes, grab coffee and water and hit the bike. 7 minutes, 3 minutes planks, 7 minutes, 3 minutes pushups ( added 1 more to make 7) and situps, 7 minutes, 3 minutes stability. Again time for shower and off to work.

Oh, and I weighed 161 lb today.  How does a person lose 1.5 pounds overnight?  No wonder people are told to trust measurements over scales.  Waist is 35 inches. 

I was thinking how smart Jerry is to start me off slowly.  I think if I had to run more than 15 minutes Monday or Tuesday I would have been ready to give up.

18 weeks until Reykjavik Marathon

Another marathon with Team Diabetes coming up - my 11th. Apprehension - my last few marathons have been dismal -  not enough training, too many things taking priority. I want this marathon to be different.

Son-in-law Jerry to the rescue!  Sunday night we sat down with about 10 different marathon training programs in front of us and looked at the pros and cons of each one.  Jerry is great. He helped me decide what training style I wanted e.g. run 3 days a week, run 5 days a week, run every day. I chose every day. I think I am going to need the consistency of getting out the door daily to stick with a program.  Next we chose our 3 main focuses, the long run, speed work and tempo.  All the other days would be built around them.  So it is going to be Wednesdays Speed work, Fridays Tempo and Sundays long run. Next we  filled in the rest of the week with easy runs.  We looked up times to see what would be reasonable times for speed work and the tempo run. Based on my Sunday's performance of 1:09:13 for a 10k we decided for 6:35 minutes for 1 k for speed and 7 minutes (1/2 marathon pace) for 1 k for tempo.

A real issue that is effecting my running is the excess weight I am carrying. This is something that we both agreed I would have to address.  Jerry says apples and carrots. Also suggested me getting my bike out of the shed and that I ride to work each day. My weight is 161.5 lb.

The next part is getting me out the door.  The reality is that I am NOT a morning person, BUT if I don't run first thing in the morning the chances of getting a run in diminish as the day goes by. Also, as part of my training Jerry has added 7 minutes of fast, low resistance cycling on the stationery bike followed by 3 minutes of exercise X 3.  Working backwards from when I have to be at work we figured if my alarm went off at 6:45 am and I was out the door at 7:00 am I could fit it all in.  Last words of advise from Jerry - lay your clothes out the night before. He sleeps in his socks so thought I would try it.

Day 1 Monday April 18, 2011 Easy Day 15 minutes easy run Freezing outside
I slept in my socks and when the alarm went off walked straight to my clothes.  I had piled them inside a heated blanket so they were toasty warm. Couldn't find a working watch, no problem, out the door to do my regular 15 minute route.  Stiff - everything seized up.  Must be the after effects of 10 k race day before. Tried for some form in my running, a shuffle was the best that I was coming up with.  Started out too fast. In no time was down to walking.  What's happening? I'm out of breath and have only gone a few blocks. On I went to turn around.  The hill - again, had to stop to walk. I feel old and creaky. Ran the last few blocks home.  23 minutes! for my usual 15 minute run.  Good thing this was an easy day!
Now to change to shorts and top for cycling. Find yoga mat for exercises. Got organized and began cycling. 7 minutes. 3 minutes doing planks.7 minutes, 3 minutes doing push ups and sit ups.7 minutes, 3 minutes doing stablizing exercises.
Still cold so decide to spend some time in the sauna. 30 minutes of sauna and I am not going to make it to work on time.  Make arrangements to arrive late. Shower and off to work. Gained a pound overnight, now 162.5. Must have been all of Becky's birthday cake.

Day 2 Tuesday April 19, 2011 Easy 15 minutes Freezing outside
Slept in socks but didn't heat my clothes. Won't make that mistake tomorrow. In an effort for time efficiency tried wearing short sleeve top under long sleeve, shorts under long windbreaker pants.  Wore my Newtons to practice form running. Wore a watch as well!. Concentrated on form.  Have been trying to learn the Chi  Running technique. About a block out, my hands were frozen. Had forgotten to grab gloves. Now I know why runners will be running in singlets but still be wearing gloves! 15 minutes seemed to take forever.  I kept watching my watch to see if it was time to turn around to come home.  By the time I was getting near home, I was starting to feel a bit like a runner again.
Transition to cycling was smooth. Grab a coffee, a glass of water, slip off long sleeve top and outer pants and good to go! I did my 7 x 3 and other exercises as well. Added one more push up - now 6. Finished at 8:00 am exactly. Enough time for a shower and off to work.