Victoria run

We were in Victoria this weekend for a wedding and I was looking forward to a change of scenery for my long run. After drinking mezcal until midnight Friday night, I woke up bright and early on Saturday and headed out. I wasn't feeling bad, but it took a while to get into the groove. It was a beautiful day and running along the water was very nice. I have fond memories of Dallas Rd and the breakwater. We used to spend a lot of time there as kids when visiting relatives in Victoria. I had mapped out this run before we left Vancouver and it was a bit short distance-wise so after looking at the map I made a mental note to turn a block or two further than I had originally planned to increase the distance. The houses out along the water in the Oak Bay area were amazing!! Big yards with beautiful gardens. The streets were so quiet, it was very nice. When I finally turned on Lansdowne I was getting pretty hungry. I only brought 2 gels with me and took them both - the first one at about 50 minutes and the second one at about 1hr 40min. I was so relieved to be finally running through downtown and back on familiar streets. I felt so relieved to see the Parliament buildings and felt pretty accomplished too that I had managed to navigate the route without any trouble. I was a bit worried that I had been running too slow since by the time I was back at the hotel my watch read 2hr35min. A 14-mile run should have only taken me 2hr20min. Turns out it was a 15-mile run so I was right on time!

After heading out for breakfast (which was incredibly delicious) Loranda and I had a bit of a spa day in the hotel. We had foot masks, manicures and pedicures and face masks. My feet were very happy. I got some blisters on this run where I haven't had problems before and my feet were very tired and sore. No time for sore feet though! By 5pm we were all dressed up and happy to watch our friends on their special day. Dinner was delicious and then the dancing began. My legs were so tired and my feet were so sore!!! But it was still fun. We stumbled up to our room around midnight and fell asleep pretty soon thereafter.

Luke and I are now at the Saltspring Spa for a few days for some relaxing and pampering. We've got some visiting to do back in Victoria and then Luke will be going to the Victoria Juggling Festival this week and I'll be (happily) heading home. I'm looking forward to my next run for 2 reasons... first, it's another short 12-14 mile run, second, Nicole is home!! :)

Deering Island

Ever heard of it? I hadn't until today. 19.5 miles, 3hrs 15min. There are some crazy huge houses in Southlands. Everyone has horses. Deering Island is a strange little place. A short little stretch of land with VERY expensive houses. We didn't see a single person, but I know people were home since their Audis, BMWs, Mercedes and Landrovers were in the driveways. I took 3 gels today, 2 of them had caffeine. So far Carboom is definitely my favourite. Clif shots taste like the rice syrup they are made of with lousy flavouring over top. Power Gels are way too sweet. I tried a vanilla Goo gel for the first time today, but it wasn't nearly as good as the Carboom vanilla gel which tastes exactly like vanilla icing. Mmm. I felt really good today. Only 7 more miles in a marathon and I felt today like I could have done it. Maybe not today. Hard to say. I felt good at the end of the run and I could have gone farther - I can say that much. It was nice to go someplace new - I'd never been to Southlands and I was pretty amazed by the houses. House isn't the right word - estate is more like it. Huge mansions on huge lots with perfect landscaping. Anyway, this was a pretty hilly route but I felt strong. I actually felt like we were running a bit slow at times and I could have gone faster. All in all this run left me feeling ready for the marathon - 9 weeks to go!!

The route

Here's yesterday's route mapped out on mapmyrun.com and viewed in Google Earth. So awesome. My quads are a bit sore today but otherwise I feel pretty good. I actually woke up before my alarm this morning at 6am feeling really rested. I'm trying to implement some of the principles discussed in Brendan Brazier's Thrive Diet. I really enjoyed reading the book. I'll talk about that more some other time.

10 weeks to go

I had a wonderful run this morning. Hard not to when it's so beautiful outside. I decided to skip the Y clinic and planned a route out on my own. Mapmyrun.com is a great site for mapping out routes. I planned a big loop - I much prefer loops to out-and-back routes. I left home and ran down Cypress to the beach and followed the water all the way out to Spanish Banks. I got up on the road, turned on my ipod and headed for the dreaded "UBC hill". That hill is a mile long! I felt really strong the whole way. Once at the top I ran along Marine Drive to 16th Ave and then 16th all the way to Cypress and home from there. In total it was about 13.5 miles and took me just under 2hrs20min. I took one gel before the hill at about 50min and then another just as I was leaving UBC at Blanca at 1hr40min. The second gel had caffeine in it for a bit of an extra boost.

I was so happy with the route. I like the mix of concrete, asphalt, and gravel trails. I can see doing this route again, maybe even after this training is over. There were good hills and very nice views.

This was a good week for training. I ran twice, about 4 miles each time, and went snowshoeing yesterday at Seymour. My legs were a bit tired this morning but it didn't slow me down. I got a new pair of runners this week and I love them! They are Mizunos - the Wave Creation 9. They are pink and orange and they make me feel fast! My old ones felt pretty flat in the race last weekend and my sore knees told me it was time for an upgrade.

11 weeks to go

A blast on Blackcomb
Had an awesome day skiing at Blackcomb on Friday after spending the night in a super cool room at the Hilton. It snowed all day and I think it was my best day skiing this year. I've been renting skis and have been very impressed with the quality of the rentals both at Big White and Whistler. This time they were freshly waxed, wide, and curvy skis. We skied the Blackcomb glacier and although there was zero visibility it was my favourite part. Surrounded by white, hardly able to see the tips of your skis, but floating on powder and it's soft all around you. It was fun. Ran into some traffic about 30 minutes south of Whistler that turned out to be quite a serious accident that closed the highway for the next 7 hours or so. We tried to make the best of it and were completely exhausted when we got home way past the middle of the night.

Fort Langley Historic Half Marathon (21.1km/13.1 miles)
Watched the sunrise as we left for the race this morning. Cold and clear. Started out feeling good and enjoying the scenery. Ran through foggy farmland with beautiful mountain views. Big hill. Through a nature conservancy with donkeys, wild dogs and other assorted animals. Another hill. Residential Walnut Grove. The Hill. Then 2 big downhills and flat to the finish. I got really tired around 15km but started feeling better around 18km (so close!). Not sure of my official time yet but it was around 2:10. I wanted to finish in under 2 hours - better luck next time!

Training
Ran twice last week. 5 miles in the sun on Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday. Good cross-training on Friday (skiing)! I think I may incorporate some hills into my training. The hilly runs we've done and the hills in the race today really tired me out. 11 weeks until the marathon!!

18 miles

We had our longest run so far this past Sunday - 18 miles. We ran out along Point Grey Rd to Blenheim, then up to 16th and along to Granville, up into Shaughnessy to 49th, did a loop around Langara golf course then down Cambie and back to the Y. Nicole and were feeling pretty good so we actually did an extra little loop downtown to add on a mile. I was quite pleased with the run and the fact that I felt so good. I had the usual achy-tiredness that I get the last mile of any long run, but nothing terrible. My feet were quite sore, but that wasn't all that surprising considering the distance we had just covered. I only took 2 gels although I could have used another towards the end. I wasn't nearly as stiff as I usually am while stretching immediately after the run which could be because it was quite a bit warmer outside than on any of our past runs.

The rest of the day was quite busy and there was no time for a nap. I was pretty exhausted all day Monday but surprisingly I had no muscle pain. Last week was the best training week I've had since we started. I ran twice and had some very intense and focused yoga sessions. I ate really well and drank a lot of water and it really paid off. The long run was great and I seem to have recovered pretty quickly.

Our mileage drops back to 12-14 miles this Sunday and I am actually running a half marathon race with Nicole and Beth. It's the Historic Half in Fort Langley and I'm going to try to beat my personal best time of 2hrs 3min. I'd love to break 2hrs.

I hate hills

That's not true, I don't hate them all the time. Today I did though. It's my own fault. I only ran once this week and the run today was tough. It was only 12 or 13 miles but my legs nearly quit. We left downtown and ran over the Granville bridge and up into Shaughnessy. I love looking at the big houses in there. I'm sure some of them have libraries with revolving bookcases and hidden rooms full of secrets.

We ran to 41st and Arbutus and then along 41st to Dunbar. Everything was great until then. I felt fine and was enjoying a nice run on a nice day. Turned around the corner onto Dunbar and there it was - the hill that would suck every last bit of strength out of me. It was about 18 blocks long and it felt like forever. I got a cramp near the top and slowed a bit, it was very painful but I ran it off. We turned onto 16th and then onto Macdonald. Ran along Cornwall and then over Burrard and back to the Y.

I only took one gel so maybe another would have helped. I'm very tired. This week will be different!! I promise I'll run at least twice, maybe 3 times! We've got our longest run yet next week... 18-20 miles and I'm going to be prepared. I'm actually kind of looking forward to it. It'll be a good test, mentally and physically.