Change of Tempo

I decided early on that to maintain my base, I would continue to run two 5k runs ON TOP of the one clinic night and two run clubs I would be doing with my Women's Only Clinic. I made up my schedule, stuck it on the fridge and marked off each run as it came. Week One, check! Week Two....uh, check! Week Three....not so much.

Looking back at my runs from March/April and comparing them to my pace now, I am currently running about a minute and a half FASTER than I was ten weeks ago. So while I am not as sore, and certainly not as tired, I am running faster and harder. So I have decided that just because I can, doesn't mean I SHOULD. I have taken those two runs off my calendar for the remainder of the clinic and I will be only running with the clinic from now on. It works for me!

And since I will be teaching the next 5K CLINIC (!) I don't want to risk injury either.

Last night hubby received an email announcing that registration was open for the 2011 Mississauga Marathon and Half Marathon. I have been back and forth as to whether or not I was going to run a half in the next twelve months. I decided to go for it! So I registered for the Mississauga 1/2 Marathon for May 2011! I am so PUMPED. I will be taking the 10k clinic this fall and then falling right into the 1/2 Marathon clinic in January. I am very excited, I am very nervous and I am very happy.


Hope everyone else is having a great week!

Friday Round Up

This week seemed so slow, yet here we are at Friday again!

Week 2 has come in the Women's Only Clinic. 7 sets of 2 & 1's and the girls are doing great! There going FAST. We finish just under 2.33 in 20 minutes last night. So I have decided to create "group leaders" that will receive 30% off clinic coupons AND a pair of socks! It will help me with the front of the pack.....while I can keep an eye at the back of the pack.

I am also trying to maintain my own base by running at least twice a week on my own, but so far, that hasn't been going so well! The weather hasn't been all that cooperative (thunder on Monday and Tuesday) so I plan on going out today for a few k's with the little man! It is going to rain again today though. We need the rain, so who am I to complain!

And since the Learn to Run clinic began on March 15th, I managed to lose about 20 pounds! Yay me. Time to go shopping for some clothes for summer, because since my operation I am in DIRE need of some shorts and tops! Especially tops!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Monday Bullets

• My Women's Only Clinic started on Thursday night and I have a small, but lovely group of speedy ladies :) So I suppose that's good for me right? I feel bad for them though, that they are sweeping me lol! But seriously, my slowest runner's pace is just under an 8 minute k, so I am going to have my work cut out for me!
• On top of my clinic, I decided to incorporate two more 5k runs a week just to keep my current base steady, at least at the beginning of the clinic. Once we start covering further distances in the coming weeks, I will probably drop one of those, if not both. So right now, I don't run on Tuesdays or Saturdays.
• It looks like we might be finally getting a break from this heat beginning on Wednesday. That would be nice. I am all for summer, but in SUMMER would be nice!
• Lots of friends ran this weekend in various races! Congrats to you all! Especially in the heat!
  

Three Things Thursday

1. Okay, okay. I know that, as Canadians, complaining about the weather is sport. We aren't happy if it's cold, hot, raining, snowing etc. So I do apologize if my bitching about the heat on here or on Facebook is making people hot! But, it's May. Not July. And since it is cold out west, I can only hope that means a cool down is imminent for us too! But in the meantime, I walked out the door last night to do my run, turned around and walked right back in! Brutal. I have a 'fro :)
2. I may have failed to mention, but beginning tonight, I will be teaching the Women's Only Clinic at the store for the next 10 weeks! EEK! This is traditionally a smaller clinic, so I am looking forward to it. It will be interesting to see how everyone does with their 10 sets of 1 & 1's. We all know as the instructor, I am going to smoke them LOL! Just hope I have no fast kids..........
3. If you are a regular reader, you know how busy we can get in the summer. Well, I was looking at our calendar and we are booked solid every weekend in July and August already. How did that happen? And I haven't even gotten my work schedule yet. Killer. I wish I could say once the fall hits it will let up, but you know that is a lie. Plus, Connor starts school in September. Uh, what? When did THAT happen?

It's May 27th everyone. Only 4 more days till June. Yep.

Its Gettin' Hot in Here

So take off all your clothes!

I kid, sort of!

It's hot today. Like my fellow bloggy friend and BFF says, there is an EXTREME HEAT ALERT. I say, WHAAAAAAA!

In an effort to not die when I run, I managed to sneak out and do a 5k yesterday after spending my long weekend working and SICK. Yes, sick. Apparently, I had a random temperature, but it really made me feel awful. And we had house guests so i was just no fun and really anti social. Hopefully the next long weekend won't be such a bomb!

Back to the run: the early morning departure made no matter. It was hot, and I could feel it. May first K was almost 11 minutes, but I did manage to pick it up and finish the five at JUST under 50 minutes, which felt good. I wanted to go out tonight, but, it is so hot. I might die. I probably will..........because I am a running addict now. Who knew?

High Five Friday

Marlene tagged me today on "High Five Friday". I now have to spout off SEVEN random facts about myself. So here we go:

1. I have an irrational fear of being in enclosed places over and around water. So driving over bridges or through tunnels while I am in a car, being on boats etc. If you believe in past lives, maybe I died in a submarine accident!
2. I wanted to be a journalist when I was in high school and I even went to college to do so. But alas, a journalist I am not.
3. I am not a huge fan of Peanut Butter. Unlike some of my friends and family, I have actually had my peanut and other nut butters EXPIRE before I could eat them.....and yes, they do expire lol ;)
4. My husband and I are high school sweethearts. So, as of August 25th of this year, we will have been together for 15 years!
5. As of now, I only plan on running one marathon before my 35th birthday. I have three in mind: San Francisco, Chicago and New York. And I am hoping a certain someone will run it with me!
6. I love hockey and I am a huge Toronto Maple Leafs Fan! Go Leafs Go! I do, on occasion cheer for other Canadian teams (Go Habs Go).
7. I do not know what my true hair color is (but really, what woman really does?).

Have a GREAT LONG WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Three Things Thursday

1. I have managed to get out two more times since my race this week. Both 5k! I feel pretty good too. With the month coming to an end and work ramping up, I will be running home from work a few times, otherwise I won't be fitting running in at all in the next 18 days! This is also sort of a grey area when it comes to running. It is in between plans, so hopefully I can keep it up before my next training schedule kicks in next Thursday
2. I think I may have failed to mention that in the next round of clinics I will be teaching! YES, I will be teaching the Women's Only Clinic starting next Thursday. It is the Learn to Run program, but it id taught by a female instructor (me) and only has female participants. I will also be training using the 5k program as well. So lots of running will be had in the next few months! Phew!
3. Our celebration dinner is tonight! Yay Carbs :)
   

Hazel 5k Race Report

Saturday morning started out very badly. We got some bad news about someone and I spent most of the day in emergency. I was back and forth about whether or not I would even race on Saturday. But at the very last minute and with no time to spare, we managed to pull it together and get me to the start line of the Hazel 5k.

As I lined up to the start, I hoped that maybe the sun would peak out. But it did not, and we began under cloudy skies. Because it had been such an emotionally exhausting day for me, my only goal was to complete my sets of 10 & 1's, run my own race, and cross the finish line. Upright and smiling.

1k- The 1k sign came up fast. It is a flat course, but I seemed to be moving along pretty well. This wasn't the largest 5k race I have participated in (Scotia blew that out of the water) but it seemed the hardest to get out of that back pack. I tried to make sure I didn't go too far in front, not wanting to make the faster runners dodge around me! I had a woman that had obviously signed up on a whim (she was wearing jeans) who kept running past me and then stopping in front of me and walking. I knew I wouldn't be able to race the whole race like that, so when I saw the 2k Sign coming up, I picked up my pace and left her in my dust!

2k to 4k - nothing spectacular. I held on to my 10 & 1's, managed to keep my pace and I felt pretty good. It was cold, but it was humid. I had managed to not drink enough water during the day, and it was starting to show. But as I saw the 4k marker, I knew we were almost there.

4k to Finish - you could HEAR the finish line at about 3.5k because of the wind carrying the sound which was torture. But I picked up the pace and came into the shoot. Near the end, I managed to see Colin and the kids and gave them a high five. Then through to the finish.

Gun Time: 45:50.7
Chip Time: 44:29.9
Pace: 8:53
Category: F30-34
Category Place: 110/116
Gender Place: 753-834

I hit my B Goal! I was so pleased!

Race Day Thoughts - I want to run a sub 40 5k this year. I may even tweek my training to include a 5k at the end of the year instead of a 10k. We'll see.

My hip also held up. It felt pretty sore yesterday, but not sore enough to keep me off the road for tonight! Look out!

Expo Friday

Today I will be going to Mississauga to get my race kit, which will be a lot of fun. I received an email this morning with my bib number:

SARAH MACDONALD: 15347
EVENT: 5K

Someday maybe the Marathon!

So now it's time for my goals!

C Goal - 50:00 minutes: this would put me behind the rolling clear, which would mean that I would be at the mercy of the rules of the road. Plus it is a full 7 minutes slower than my personal best. If I walked the race, I would probably still be faster than this by a few minutes!

B Goal - <45:00 minutes: my training to this point has me running just under a 45 minute walk adjusted pace. I think I can do this. If my hip doesn't act up.

A Goal - <43:00 This would be under my current Personal Best, but I did run it on a local course that was measured a few hundred metres short, so while I would love to get a PB, I am not holding my breath!

Speaking of my hip, it feels ok. I have been stretching like crazy, hoping it works itself out in the next couple of days. I wish I could figure out what it is without making an expensive visit to the chiropractor or MT.

Next up: The Hazel 5K!

Three Things Thursday

1. I want to send a huge "Congratulations" out to my sister Meghan and her husband Dan and our niece Casey! Our new niece Hailey was born yesterday at 3:29 weighing in at 8 pounds 6 ounces! Mommy and Baby are doing fine! Love you Megs!
2. I was supposed to run 4.5k last night, but at about 2.5k, my right hip really started to bother me. So a took a walk break and then threw in the towel at 4k. Better to use caution at this point then to risk injury before race day. I wish I could explain what the pain is, but I can't. It's a pain in my ass is what it is!
3. Speaking of race day, trying to come up with the logistics has been a bit of a challenge, to say the least! It is a one way race, and taking the kids down is going to be a challenge as well. Plus, we want to snag a good finish line spot to get good picture of the clinic members finishing!

Tomorrow I will be publishing my A B & C goals so stay tuned!

Monday Round Up

So this weekend we decided to drive to Mount Forest so Colin could race in a local race called the Trillium 10k.
Me and the kiddies, waiting inside before the race begins out of the rain (it was about 6 degrees, winds from the north at about 25k/h and it was raining. Hard.) Notice the abundance of "stuff" the stroller has. Man, three kids and two adults leave a huge carbon footprint!

Anyways, it was a great day. Colin is preparing to run his second marathon this fall and has some big plans in the next few months. So he is fitting in as many "local" races as he can and is running as often as he can!

And here he comes, in the pouring rain and a new Personal Best of 50:54! Great job baby!

*********************************************************************

When we arrived home, I was so inspired by my hubby's performance, I decided to head out for a run of my own. Turns out I was more inspired than I thought, because I ended up running 6k instead of my planned 4.5! But I felt good with my 10 & 1's and actually stopped running because I ran out of road and, well, it was really raining and cold out. Oh, and it started to snow. Yeah. Snow.

I have another set of 10 & 1's for 4.5k on tap for tonight and Wednesday and then 3k of 10 & 1's on Thursday. I am picking up my race kit on Friday and working on Saturday before the race. Not too smart, but I can't help that! Like I said, I will be post my goals later in the week! So stay tuned!

Foto(s) Friday

Sydney and Connor getting ready to run in their "first" race!

Sydney the blur on the left hand side. I had to run my butt off (Garmin said 4:46!) to catch her!
Hey Mama, where'd you come from?
Connor and Daddy displaying their medals! Sydney was not so interested!

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Last nights run was a success! Ran 4k in 36 minutes/9k pace! So I feel good going into next week. I think I am going to TRY and go out tonight to run my 10 & 1's for 4.5k. We are VERY busy this weekend with lots of housework and Mother's Day stuff, so I would like to be able to enjoy it and not have to worry about going out to run!

Next week a will be posting my ABC goals ala Marlene so stay tuned!

Three Things Thursday

1. Best Laid Plans. I was going to try and squeeze my run in last night before Colin had to go to run club (our weekly babysitter is in Las Vegas "HI MOM") but in true Southern Ontario Fashion at 5pm, the skies opened up into a nice thunder and lightening storm. And while some of my friends (HI MARK) inform me they LIKE running in this weather, I am not one of them. So the plan is: tonight I do my set of 8 & 1's for 4k, Saturday afternoon I will do my 10 & 1's for 4.5 and Monday I will also do my 10 & 1's for 4.5. Then I will be caught up for Run Club next Wednesday! Then it's taper on Thursday, cause my race is on SATURDAY! OMG!
2. While I am loving my Adrenaline's, my left foot is still bothering me. So I ordered a pair of New Balance 760's that I am going to give a try. Meh, they may or may not work. But since my mileage has started to climb (12k a week haha) my foot has been bothering me more that just those first few minutes of each run. In fact, since my run on Sunday, it has been sore. But I did run a pretty strange route which included four different surface types (Pavement, Concrete, Gravel and Boardwalk) so that may have something to do with it.
3. I will be working an INSANE amount this month, which I could not be happier about! Our store is going to be having the travelling sidewalk sale, which generally means another whole store is opened up OUTSIDE in the parking lot. It also means that we will be having a lot of deals coming into the store. So if you are in the area you should head on over. From May 19th to the 30th at the Aurora Running Room. And while you're there, look into some of our upcoming clinics (Triathlon anyone ;) )

Have a great day everyone!

Tuesday Afternoon

........I'm just beginning to see, now I'm on my way
It doesn't matter to me, chasing the clouds away

(Gotta love the Moody Blues!)

To say I was sore after my run on Sunday might be an understatement. And working a 5 hour shift before AND a 7 hour shift yesterday probably didn't help! Buy my legs feel good today and I am anxious to get out tomorrow and get my last set done before we move on to 10 & 1's! EEK! Where does the time go? I mean, really?

After this clinic, I will be doing training for another 5k race this July: The Rebecca Run for SMA 5k. It is a nice local race that has become very popular. It is also the goal race for the next round of local clinics, so it is going to sell out very fast.

After that, who knows what might happen ;)

Almost Here

Good Monday morning everyone! Just wanted to say congrats to all my friends who ran a very humid Sporting Life 10k yesterday! Good Job Guys!

We moved on to 8 & 1's on Thursday and I am actually really liking it. My speed is SLOOOOW but that doesn't matter right? I just have to finish the race! Speaking of which, just under two weeks from now is the Hazel 5k in Mississauga! I am really looking forward to this! A 5k with a medal is a rarity, although now it is becoming a bit more common.

Yesterday after work, I decided to run my 8 & 1's. Instead of before. Not the smartest idea. And the route I chose was not ideal, although around here, many aren't! But I finished in just under 37 minutes, so I am hoping on a flatter course I can kick it's butt!

Happy Monday Everyone :)

Three Things Thursday

• I finished up my last set of 6 & 1's for 3.5k last night and it was awesome! Despite some SERIOUS winds, I ran my best yet. It felt really good to have another good run under my belt. Tonight we move up to 8 & 1's! YIKES! But seriously, I am actually not at all nervous about it. I am feeling good and I think it's going to be great! Plus our talk is about cross training, which mean one of my fav people D I will be talking! YAY!
• My schedule in May is INSANE! Which means I am working a ton. And running even more. I have been trying to come up with a plan to run one the days that I work, and I think running home from work is going to be what I end up doing. It is just under 5k door to door, and the run is nice this time of year. Just hope the nights I want to run home the weather is good
• I am already considering my late summer/fall game plan as well. I wanted to try and see about training for Chilly in March, but I think I am going to aim for a spring 1/2 instead. Maybe. We'll see ;)
  

What a Weekend

Saturday morning we celebrated hubby's birthday with a few small gifts and his favorite breakfast: Oven Stuffed Overnight French Toast! It was divine! We then headed to our nieces 4th birthday party and then out to dinner and dessert with friends. By the time Sunday, our real busy day came around, we were already tired.

Hubby ran his half marathon in under two hours, which on this hilly local course, was all he really wanted. He managed to get back in time to watch both Connor AND Sydney run in the Mini Mile (about 250 metres around some trees!). They got their own bibs and medals. And asked if they could do it again!

I ran with our run club while Colin ran his race. 3.2 in 31 minutes. The headwinds on the way back were BRUTAL. I was kicking it but up until that point too. Ugh. I hope that my goal race weather is cool, with no rain or wind lol!

I can't wait to read how everyone else's weekends were!

FOTO Friday

My boys :)

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So last night we moved on to 6 & 1's. I DID IT. It was HARD, but I did it.

An oppourtunity to do the Hartwell 5k Race has come up and I have to decide tonight if I should. It starts at 8:40am, so I can be back in plenty of time to see Connor run his first race! But then there is all the logistics of getting all the kids there, looking after them. I need to decide soon!

It is my hubby's birthday tomorrow. He is the light of our lives and I have been lucky enough to know him for over HALF of mine. I LOVE YOU XO

Three Things Thursday

1. Yesterday Connor went to school for the very first time! He was very excited! And he seemed to like it. Hopefully when he starts in the fall he will still be as enthusiastic.
2. We are moving onto 6 & 1's tonight. Holy cow, where has the time gone? I cannot believe we are in week six already. The race is just over three weeks away! I am actually really excited!
3. Yesterday was the appointment with my neurologist. We decided that a second MRI wasn't necessary. Thank you for that! She has given me a presciption that I began taking yesterday. With time, I will be taking it everyday. Hopefully it will help rid me of my headaches!
   

Tuesday Bullets

• So a friend from work is going to look at my food diary and try to help me make an affordable "healthy eating" meal plan that we can incorporate into our daily life. We all need to start eating more good and less CRAP!
• So the plan was to run home from work tonight, but my surgery site is infected and OPENED this morning. Not too badly, but running 4+k might make it worse. So I am going to try and squeeze in a run tomorrow morning while my Mom is here with the kids during my neurology appointment.
• Connor's first race is coming up this weekend (along with a 1/2 marathon for dad)! He is pretty excited about it actually. It should be a blast!
• Colin has decided NOT to run the Mississauga Marathon after all. Won't get into it, as it is his business, but he is focusing on a Fall Marathon. He thinks he has settled on this one!
• Thanks for all the ideas for my Hubby's birthday. The kids are already asking to go and get the cake lol!

Tomorrow is Wednesday! YAY!