Scotiabank 5k Race Report

After a raucous night of partying (and WAYYYYYY too much wine on my part), we headed down to the Race Expo first thing Saturday morning. We quickly found a parking spot and headed into the EXPO. We were promised a much larger expo than last year, but I have to say, I was disappointed. The SPACE was larger, but the expo was about the same size. I also didn’t see a lot of familiar faces, even at The Running Room booth.

We headed home and I slept off the night before for a few hours. Then I made a yummy pasta bake for hubby, since he would be running the Half Marathon. Then we got our gear organized and off to bed we went!

We woke up several times during the night with little Cam Man, so our wakeup call was not necessary. We rolled out of bed, hoped in the car and made it to our parking spot by 6am. After checking our bags in what seemed like the world’s longest lines (1-7000 and 7001+) we roamed around Nathan Phillips until hubby went to his starting corral. I snagged a spot and watched the start. I love watching the beginning of races. It is so cool. Once I spotted hubby, I ran to the shuttle bus that would take the 5ker’s to Exhibition Place, where our race would be starting from.

I quickly ran off the bus and ran out to the race course to see if I could see my BFF Marlene, and of course, hubby. I did see hubby, but not M L I guess she was just too fast for me! I ran to the OTHERSIDE of the course and managed to see M’s hubby, who was so in the zone (he finished the half in 1:33). I saw my hubby and gave him a high five before heading to the start corrals.

As much as I appreciate that they wanted to give the 5ker’s their own race experience, I did not like the start of this race. There were 4252 participants. Of those, I am sure half we walkers. And I am going to use the term WALKERS loosely here. It took me 7 minutes to cross the finish line. The Elites had finished the first kilometre before I even began to MOVE down the chute. And once I did cross, it took me until at least 2k to get into my groove. Most people were strolling, not walking. Everyone races their own race. I understand that of course. But a lot of these walkers weren’t racing. Some seemed to be strolling, almost leisurely. It was frustrating to get out of that type of crowd. But I managed!

I had a goal in mind of 45:00 minutes, but the congestion at the beginning really hindered that goal. So, I changed it to 48:00 minutes and pushed as hard as I could. I did find the race difficult, especially the last 500 metres. Coming in with the marathoners was a real rush. I pushed and managed to finish upright and smiling:

Gun Time: 55:38.9
Chip Time: 48:11.6
Pace: 11:08
Category: W25-29
Category Place: 380/473
Gender Place: 1898/2771

A HUGE IMPROVEMENT over my 5k time in August and a new PR! I felt good after, but was sore all day Monday. But some stretching did a body good.

Today I actually went out and did eight sets of walking 2 minutes and running 1 minute! And it felt great. I am not going to push myself too hard, but I have to say. It feels great to be getting back to my old self!

I also wanted to mention my new personal hero (who am I kidding, she has always been a hero of mine!) Marlene. She worked her ass off this summer and shaved over 16 MINUTES off her Marathon finish last year. It was so rewarding for me, as her friend, to see her cross the finish line. She looked great and I could tell she felt better. I am so incredibly proud of her accomplishment and cannot wait to see what she has planned next. She will continue to inspire me, I am sure of it!

I would also be remiss in not mentioning hubby, who also finished his third half a strong 2:03. While it was not a PR for him, he was happy to finish well and will be running one more half this fall to see about a new PR before he begins his Half Marathon clinic in November in Aurora (at The Running Room, so come on down and register people!)

Something to Talk About

Cause I got nothing......well that isn't true.

I managed to find a dress in Buffalo, although I am not entirely pleased with it. It's nice, but I had an idea of what I wanted and I couldn't find it down there. The selection wasn't as great as I thought it would be!

My next 5k is this Sunday, but I don't think I am going to find the time to worry too much about it. With the wedding Friday, brunch and picking up our race kits Saturday it will be here before we know it.

Notice I said "our" race kits! Hubby decided to run the half marathon. He is teaching the Half Marathon Clinic at our Running Room this November which is HUGE! He is so excited, and he wanted to get another half under his belt.

I wish I could say things are going to be calming down, but with OCTOBER on the horizon (where did 2009 go?) things are only going to get busier from here on out!

Getting Carried Away

Our first social function since the baby was born is coming up and I think I am getting a little excited about it.

First is the dress, which I will be purchasing this weekend in Buffalo. Why Buffalo you ask? Ahhh, cross boarder shopping! The price is right, as even with gas, I found some great dresses in my size online for over half the price it would cost here in Canada. And I also get to spend a day with my Mom and sister, which I don't think we have done in years. If ever.

Next is the "maintenance". All the waxing and plucking. Then is the hair. I am excited about it all. I felt so crappy the last few months that I am looking forward to having some work done and partying my butt off!

But it will be fun. And how often do we get dressed up with good friends and have fun nowadays. Not often enough!

The Sun Comes Up......

On another day.

Firstly, let me apologize for the blatant pity post from yesterday. But I am sure that anyone that has ever had a baby knows that 4+ hours of crying can really drive you mad.

But that was it and he was a doll for the rest of the night! He was cranky, but in much better spirits.

Secondly a friend was having a much harder day then I could ever imagine, and reached out to me. Thank you for that. I hope that you are waking up with the sun this morning too.

I didn't go for my walk last night. Laundry piled up and the kiddies needed baths so we did that instead. But tonight, I will be walking at least 4k, if time allows!

My feet are still in pretty bad shape. I haven't been able to tape them yet, so I am not sure if that is going to work. I am going to try the Vaseline/body glide trick tonight. Hopefully it will help a little. I have never experienced blisters this bad!

Good Day Bad Day

Some days are good days. Some days are bad days.

Today is one of my very bad days.

It didn't start out bad. Not at all. Hubby made me coffee before shuffling off to work, the kiddies slept in until almost eight, and woke up delightful and eager to start the day. They ate ALL their breakfast and played outside.

But then it was nap time.

Sydney went down fine. Connor did not. At all. Screaming, throwing things. I want this. No I want that. But he finally settled.

And the real fun began.

Cameron, my sweet, quiet, well behaved four week old has not. stopped. screaming. He is crying as I type in fact. He thinks he's hungry, but isn't. He thinks he needs his bum changed, but he does not. He wants to be put down. Nope, he wants to be picked up. Connor and Syd are doing there best to help me out, but even they seem upset that he is so upset.

Ahhhhh the joys of motherhood.

Needless to say, we were supposed to go for a walk after dinner. All I want to do is sit on my butt and eat. Stress is such a trigger for me.

Wait. Silence finally. He is asleep!

Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day.

Small Changes

I have been getting some flack in real life over the fact that, only four weeks postpartum, I am watching what I eat and drink and am exercising.

I can understand some peoples worries and that they don't want me to push myself too hard in the beginning. And I can promise them, I am not. There are a lot of factors that went into my decision to jump right back into my old routine:

1. Bad habits die hard: While I can proudly say I only gained 19 pounds this pregnancy, I was heavier when I found out I was pregnant. So I had some extra weight on my frame to begin with. And for me, pregnancy is like a switch. Off goes the healthy eating switch and on goes the "eat whatever the hell I want switch". And I didn't want to continue that frame of mind for the six weeks prior to having the baby.

2. My pregnancy was rough. Especially the last five weeks. I was practically bed ridden (who am I kidding, I WAS bed ridden). I couldn't even look after my kids properly. I felt out of sorts and nothing like myself. I felt defeated and guilty because I didn't want the baby to come so I could meet him, I wanted him to come because I was miserable and wanted it all to be over with. Which leads me to.........

3. I felt fantastic after he came. Truly. Within 3 days I was at a baby shower and I was able to walk 5k only after two weeks. I was already starting to feel like me again. And that is exactly what I needed.

4. It goes with out saying, but my kids are probably the biggest reason I decided to jump back into the deep end so soon. I want to be a good role model and I want to live to see them get married and have kids of their own. I know, it sounds so cliche. But it's true. I have been reminded to frequently in the past few months and years how short life is, and how taking it for granted could be the biggest mistake you will ever make.

So while in the grand scheme of things, these seem like big changes to the people around me, to me they are small. And totally worth it!

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Speaking of changes, there is one to my fall schedule. I am no longer going to be able to do the November Whitby race. My hubby is going to be teaching the 1/2 marathon clinic starting November 20th (yay). But their first "long" run is on the same Sunday. He is also running the Road2Hope 1/2 marathon on November 1st (my 30th birthday!) so Angus Glen is out as well. It's not so bad though. I still have the rest of the races to look forward too.