Tinkerblue

Fall Classic 5km Run

 my bib

Today was the New Balance Fall Classic.  Although today it was more like the Winter Classic.  The Fall Classic consists of a half marathon, 10km, and 5km.  I signed up for the 5km, as last week I finished the Couch to 5K running program.  

-1°C, slush and ice and snow flurries is not my idea of great running weather.  I had about 10 layers on to keep warm including toque/beanie and scarf. I forgot my gloves but luckily the race organisers were giving away free race day gloves. I ditched the toque/beanie and scarf before the race started. And I left the gloves and the first water station.

 

 my chip - it was stuck on the back of my bib, rather than a chip I had to attach to my shoelaces. I like this much better. 

The run went okay.  Last year I tore my right calf muscle.  Today is was fine. My left calf not so much. It was so tight I thought I might have to stop running and walk.  I warmed up and lightly stretched before hand so I'm not sure why it's acting up. I have never been so glad to see the 4km sign.  

I signed up for a post race massage on both calves.  Now I can barely walk. The right calf is fine, but the left is definitely chucking a hissy fit.  Boot camp starts again tomorrow, so it had better recover soon.

 

 My event shirt. I upgraded from the t-shirt to the 1/4 zip and I'm glad I did. It's fleecy on the inside and warm.

I started the Nike thingy on my iPod when I crossed the start and hit done as I ran past the finish line. According to it I ran for 37 mins 37 secs at a pace of 7:55mins per km.  It says I only ran 4.75km. 

According to the Fall Classic results page my chip time for 5kms was 36:00 mins even. I was 20th in my age group and 153rd overall. (There were 244 runners who finished the 5km).  I am happy with 36 mins. The last time I ran a timed 5km race, about 4 years ago my chip time was 44mins. So I've dropped 8 minutes off my time, and I was running with a dodgy calf.  I had three goals in mind today. a) finish b) run the entire 5km and c) finish in under 40 mins.  I met all 3 goals.

 

Next up? I'm going to stick with 5km for a bit, and work on speed and hills.  And then Pam and I are going to run a 5km in the spring.  Right, Pam?

Couch to 5K. Weeks 7 and 8 complete and Boot Camp Grocery Tour

Hard to believe that 8 weeks ago it almost killed me to run for a minute. I was huffing and puffing and couldn't wait for the walk break.

Yesterday I ran 28 minutes non stop.  Hubby ran with me. Kind of. He walked quite a bit of it. At the end he said he kept waiting for me to stop and walk.  

I use my iPod and the Nike Sport Plus kit. According to it, we ran 3:35km.  Hubby used an app on his iPhone. According to it we ran 3:6km. And he actually ran a shorter distance to me, he took the short cut home. So I'm going with his distance. Maybe it's time to recalibrate my iPod.

We'll be running 4 times this week instead of 3. Yesterdays run was actually part of week 8. Some how I only ran twice last week. Not sure how that happened.  One of the week 8 runs was done on an elliptical machine in the hotel gym in Seattle.  I hated it. Yes, it was inside and I watched TV while I ran. That part was good.  But I hated the actual machine. For whatever reason I kept locking my knees, I ran slower and it was just nasty.  The treadmill probably would have been better, but someone was probably already on it.

Tomorrow will be run #1 of week 9 - the last week of the Couch to 5K program. I prefer to run in the morning (never thought I'd be saying that), but hubby has a flying lesson and then field work so we'll go when he gets home tomorrow night.  All three runs this week are run 30 mins non stop. It's only two minutes longer than last week, but in my head it seems a whole lot longer. At least hubby will be there to keep me company, in his brand new shiny white running shoes.

I just signed up for the New Balance Fall Classic 5km run on Sunday November 21st.  And you can bet there will be some rewards afterward.  Two in fact. One for completing the Couch to 5km program and one for running the Fall Classic 5km.  Hubby has a search and rescue training that day, so I'll be on my own. Unless anyone wants to join me?

And this week is the last week of boot camp. I can't believe it's week 4 already.  Tonight we had a boot camp excursion.  A field trip to the grocery store. I managed to drag hubby along with me. We learned all sorts of info.  Some of which we already knew, some we didn't. We were there for about an hour. Some highlights:

• Eat every 3-4 hours.
• Shop mainly from the outside perimeter of the supermarket.
• Just because a product is in the health food aisle, doesn't mean it's a healthy food.
• If sugar is one of the first four ingredients listed on a product, don't buy it.
• Health Canada recommends that adults do not exceed 2,300 mg of sodium per day. Most Canadians consume 4x that amount.
• Fruit juice is as bad as soda.  It's all processed and full of sugar.  You are better off making your own fresh squeezed juice, or just eating the piece of fruit. 
• When you read the nutrition label, the sugar content should be no more than 20%  of the carbohydrate total. e.g. if 'the carbohydrate total is 20grams, the sugar content should be less than 4g. If the sugar content is more than the 20% don't buy it. There is to too much sugar.
• Low fat, reduced fat, light, lite foods often equals high sugar.  In order to make low fat foods more palatable, sugar is added.  Keep an eye out for fructose, sucrose, glucose, corn syrup etc in the ingredient list.
• Bread is better if it's made from sprouted grains, like squirrelly bread.

Hubby says he's just not going to eat any more. He said that will be easier than trying to remember all of the above and more.

Couch to 5K. Weeks 4 & 5 & 6 Done. Onto Week 7.

It' s been a while since I posted a running update.  No, I haven't given up. Still running.  Week 4 was the last of the run/walk combos.  Weeks 5 and 6 were the beginning of running only, with no walking.  Runs 1 and 2 of each week, were run and walk combos and then the 3rd run was run 20 mins (week 5) and run 25 mins (week 6).  I was so not looking forward to the 20 minutes of solid running in week 5, but it was actually okay.  I didn't look at the clock as often as I normally do, and there was no aches and pains.  It was a good run.  The 25 minutes solid run in week 6 was a nightmare.  It was raining. Not  a light sprinkle but bucketing down rain.  Parts of the run I was ankle deep in puddles. It was cold.  My iPod battery died. I just wanted it to be over.

 

 

This week - week 7 is all about the running. No walking.  It's run 25 minutes for all three runs.  Next week is run 28 minutes and the last week is run 30 minutes. This is where I start to get bored. At least the run/walk combos break up the monotony.  I'm ready to change the playlist I run to, but guess what?  Our desk top died.  It needs a new power supply.  So I'm stuck listening to the same music until we can fix the 'puter and I can synch my iPod.

 

 

I don't like out and back runs. I get bored.  I prefer to run a circuit, but if I run the same route more than a couple of times then I get bored with it. I think this week, I might get hubby to drop me somewhere and then I'll run home.  That way I can mix it up a bit.

Tomorrow is day 3 of week 2 of boot camp. I'm really enjoying it, apart from the getting up at 5am thingy.  That I am not enjoying so much.  So far I've learned my legs are quite strong, my calves are built like oak trees and my shoulders are weak.  WEAK. I am working on them. 

Couch to 5K. End of Week 3. Start of Week 4.

Last week was run 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes and then repeat. The first day I read it wrong.  I read it as run 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, run 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes, run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes and then repeat.  I ran twice as far as I needed to! You can bet I only did that for the first run. I noticed my shins starting to hurt.  I'm a heel striker. I land on my heel. I need to unlearn that habit. It makes me prone to shin splits. My hips were getting tight, but Jen gave me a good stretch and it works well.  Kelli suggested a foam roller,which I added to my shopping list. Although hubby will be all for making one out of our old camping foamies.

Today is the beginning of week 4.  The instructions are: Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

I use the times rather than the miles.  But there was no where I was going to remember all the different times. So I wrote it on my hand.

 

My shins started to hurt about 1/2 way through. I think that made me over compensate because then my calf started to feel tight.  I made sure to give my calf a good stretch, iced my shins and then phoned the massage therapist and the physiotherapist to make appointments for later this week.  Good thing their offices are right next to each other.

My average run time was 8.54km/hr for 2.41 km in 21mins 30 seconds. My last run in week 3 was 10.12min/hr for 1.96km in 20mins. A small improvement, but I'll take it.

 

Back to Running

It's no secret that in the past 10 years I've put on quite a bit of weight.  It all started when I moved here (to Canada) and started working in a call centre.  Previously I had worked as a waitress, a lifeguard, at hotel front desks, camp counselor...always on feet, always on the move.  But a call centre? Didn't work so well for me. Sitting on my butt all day, with a headset attached to my ear, I couldn't even wander round the office.  I was bored, and I snacked all day.  Exercise went out the window.  We (hubby and I), do not have what you would call an active lifestyle.  Busy, yes, but active, no.  Worse, we eat a lot of junk. A lot. Years of laziness have caught up with me.  My IBS is worse, I get irritable easily and I don't sleep well. Can you say insomnia?

My blood pressure is good, my blood sugar is fine, my cholesterol is okay, so I've not been too concerned but I've decided it's finally time to make a change.  After all I have time on my hands. Time to exercise, time to meal plan, time to cook, basically time for me.

 

This week, my plan is to get back into a routine for exercise.  Running, swimming, walking, weights, yoga, pilates, kayaking, cycling or maybe a combination of all of the above.  We'll see. But for this week, I'll start with one thing.

The gym is not my thing.  Paying a membership fee, driving there, waiting for equipment, no thanks.  I run. Slowly.  Very slowly. I like that I just open my front door and go.  I've completed 3 1/2 marathons. I like running. It gives me time to think, to dream, to plan. Last year I tore a muscle in my calf.  It hurt. Not so fun. I've tried to run since then, but my calf always screamed.  Today I gave it another try.

 

• Running shorts - check
• sports bra - check
• drymax/coolmax/whatever top - check (see what's on it, this is the top a group of us wore for the inaugural Disneyland 1/2 marathon in 2006.)
• cute socks - check
• hair up - check
• body glide - check
• sneakers - check
• iPod - check. No wait.  Not a single one is charged. Oh well, no iPod today.

And I'm off. It's been so long since I've run that I am going back to the beginning.  I am using the Couch to 5K program. Week 1, Day 1 = run 60 seconds, walk 90 seconds for 20 minutes.  How did I feel afterwards? Better than I was expecting. No aches and pains. My calf held up well. I was out of breath and huffing and puffing and bright red in the face. I survived.

 

Notes to self for next time...

• my lips get really dry, put lip balm on before run
• my regular watch bounces round and it's hard to keep track of the intervals, find my digital watch
• charge iPod
• work out why the Nike sensor thing isn't working.  It can't possibly be dead already.
• I didn't sweat much, my lips tasted salty = dehydrated = drink more water
• need a new sports bra
• my hands swell when running, take wedding and engagement ring off before

Morag - I don't know about a 1/2 marathon in March, it may take be awhile to get back up that distance, maybe 2012?