Put me back on my bike...

Joy here...Today's title is taken from the biography of Tour de France cyclist Tom Simpson who died of exhaustion on the famed Mont Ventoux.  And while his story is a dramatic and traumatic one of bravery and determination, mine is nothing of the sort.  My story is about emerging on the other side of a seemingly never-ending winter and climbing back on my bike and heading out to the park with its dreaded hills so that I can get some riding in my legs before we head on a plane to Malaysia.

On Sunday, I went out with two friends (LS and CW) to ride up to the Pink Lake lookout, which is at the top of the first steep climb in our local park.  From door-to-door, it's about a 50km bike ride.  Then today, I went out with The Man and my other cycling friend who was my regular Sunday cycling buddy last summer/fall, and we ride up to the Pink Lake lookout, and then kept on going into the nearest town where we stopped for a treat before turning around.  From door-to-door, it's about a 57km bike ride.

I won't lie to you (well, okay, maybe I would, but I'm not lying now), and I'll be honest when I say that riding up those hills was HARD.  My legs aren't used to it, and there's a world of difference between a spinning class and a real out-of-doors cycling experience.  However, I will be honest and say that while I'm not as fit on the bike as I remember being by the end of last autumn, I am more fit on the bike that I think I've ever been at the start of any cycling season.  

And I remember thinking of all my bike rides when I was running the 1/2 marathon in October, and I used the memory of riding up those hills to boost my confidence as I was lagging in the 1/2 marathon, and since my next 1/2 marathon is a short month away from now, I'm going to have to use these rides to fuel my confidence on that run.

The reward for riding all the way up to Pink Lake is the view, of course!

So while I don't necessarily feel prepared for this upcoming 1/2 marathon, and don't necessarily feel like my running is where I'd like it to be, I will admit that generally speaking, I feel fit and strong, and like I'm making overall progress.  And for now, that's just got to be enough!

Heck...in a week from now, we begin our journey to Malaysia...so I'm just happy that I've been able to get out into the park and enjoy the beautiful scenery before we're gone for a good six weeks!

Over and out,
Joy

An Unplanned Week Off!

Joy here...Okay, so I was away for work for the last week.  I packed my shoes.  I packed my running gear. I planned to run.  I thought about running.  I envisioned running.  I didn't run.

Not once.

The tough thing about running is that the longer you take off between runs, the harder it is to get your butt out the door to make up for that lost time.  So, of course, even though I have to get in a long run, since I am still training for a 1/2 marathon that is only 5 weeks away, I wasn't really able to get out the door for the planned 2 hours.

What I will say, though, is that even though today's run was very difficult (and by "difficult" I mean that my feet hurt, my knees hurt, my hips ached, my breathing was laboured, and I was downright tired), the never-ending winter appeared to recede ever so briefly.

Finally...a bright, blue spring sky!

As we woke this morning, we were treated to freezing rain showers and temperatures hovering around zero degrees celsius.

As we headed out the door this afternoon, we were treated to cold mist and grey skies.

As we ended our run this afternoon, we were treated to blue skies and sunshine.  It was glorious.  This winter has been a long and drawn out affair, and I often despair of it ever leaving for good, but coming home today under a bright sun and an ever-blueing sky made me begin to believe that true spring may, in fact, just be around the corner.

 So as the buds begin to reach ever forwards out of their winter slumber, trying to grow and bring spring and summer with them, I will make sure that I keep a positive outlook about my running:  Sure, I didn't get my planned long run in today.  Sure, I don't think I'm as fast or as prepared for this upcoming 1/2 marathon as I'd like to be.  However, after taking a week off running and feeling out of sorts after travelling, I was still able to run an easy 10kms.  That in and of itself is a triumph.  So here are my run stats for today's spring run:
Ran for a total of 1:03:27 for a distance of 10.22kms with an average pace of 6:13min/km.

Over and out,
Joy

And then there was...SNOW!

Joy here...Okay, I've written about the fact that spring has begin to poke its nose around the corner, but just as I've mentioned about fall in Canada, spring is also a fickle little biotch.  She'll show up one day, flaunt herself in sunlight, teasing you and making you think she's here to stay.  And then the next day you'll feel her cold shoulder as she turns away from you and leaves you all alone.  So if she was here on our Tuesday run, she was definitely gone by Saturday's run.

We woke up Saturday morning planning a long run and looked outside to the dark clouds overhead.  The weather station was promising rain, so we knew that we'd want to be out there sooner rather than later to avoid that rain.  So we bundled ourselves up for the +3 C temperature and out the door we went.

Since my 30km run two weeks ago, I haven't really been running all that consistently.  April is a terribly busy month, and we just haven't clarified any training goals or notions for the next little while.  We've told ourselves that we won't really start "training" (i.e. tempo runs, hill repeats etc.) for our next half marathon (which is only 6 weeks away!!!) until we arrive in Malaysia at the start of May.  So for the past two weeks and for the next two weeks, we'll just keep our running up.

That was Saturday's plan.  And here are our run stats:
Ran for a total of 1:38:44 for a distance of 16.77km with an average pace of 5:53min/km.

I'm happy enough with that.  It means that the distance issue for our upcoming half marathon won't be a problem (I mean, I can easily add another 4kms on in 6 weeks!), and so we'll just have to worry about acclimatizing to the heat and humidity and trying to build in some speed.

But the story today isn't about the run...it's about the WEATHER.  As we finished our 100 minute run, the rain had started, and we were getting uncomfortably cold in the wet.  But then, as we jogged up the front steps to our house, that cold rain turned to snow.  Yep, that's right.  On April 16th it was snowing in Ottawa!

Ugh.

Anyone wanna offer me a job in Hawaii???

Over and out,
Joy

*Note:  Just for the record, after our Tuesday run, I took Wednesday off.  Then on Thursday I had my 1 hour spinning class followed by 1 hour of strength training with our trainer (but no running).  And then I took Friday off.  So this week, I only ran on Tuesday and Saturday...ooopsies.  I really should improve and get out there 3 or 4 times per week, otherwise this half marathon in Singapore is going to HURT and the full marathon in Toronto is going to cause injury!!!

Sunny and +16 C

Joy here...Oh my gosh!  (Or OMG! as it were)  The weather was lovely yesterday, with the mercury topping out at +16 C.  Let me tell you that after a whole winter of weather below zero, that +16 C felt warm and balmy.  I put on my tank top, put on some sunscreen, and went out the door for my run.  I couldn't believe what a difference it makes to run while you can actually feel the warmth on your skin.  It was a sensation that I had long forgotten.  I hadn't remembered what it felt like to run and feel a cool breeze on my bare arms.  I hadn't remembered what it felt like to feel sunlight on my bare arms.  I had forgotten just how lovely it feels to be connected to your environment rather than protected from it.  So we ran along the gravel path by the Ottawa River that separates the province of Ontario from the province of Quebec and basked, simply basked.

And all that basking actually produced faster running too!  I've been grappling with the fact that even though I was able to increase my distances this winter with my minimal running I was unable to run at a pace that I would be happy with.  And, well, really throughout the winter months, it was enough of a battle just to get out the door, I wasn't about to complain too loudly or vociferously about my lack of speed.

However, yesterday's run was at a nice, comfortable pace that made me remember what it was like to train for that half marathon last summer.  I'm now starting to think that with six weeks to go until our next half marathon, we just might not be half bad afterall!

Here are my run stats:
Ran for a total of 1:09:38 for a distance of 12kms with an average pace of 5:48min/km.

Over and out,
Joy

Slow and Steady...Loses!

Joy here...Okay, with the 30km "Around the Bay" roadrace under my belt, the next race is the half marathon in Singapore on May 29th that Nomi, Lulu, The Man, and I are all signed up for.  Last year at the Sundown event in Singapore, Nomi and I ran the 10km race together - our first running race ever.  This year at the Sundown event in Singapore, we're running the 21km race together - only one year after running our first race ever.

So I've been trying to just survive the winter, running when I can and trying my best not to suck, and in the next 6 weeks or so I'm going to have to pull off a half marathon.  So whether I like it or not, I'm going to have to stop running long, slow runs and start adding in some tempo, speed, hills, and strength to my runs.  Otherwise, I'll be running a painfully slow, hot, and sweaty race in Singapore.  (I don't even want to think about that tropical humidity at the moment.)

So on Saturday, did I get out there and do a fast run?  Did I get out there and work in some tempo sets or hills?

Nope.

I basically did a long, slow run.  Ooopsies.

Slow and steady doesn't in fact win the race; sure, slow and steady finishes the race, but fast and steady wins!

I promise to be better tomorrow.

For now, here are my run stats from this weekend:
Ran for a total of 1:23:06 for a distance of 12.6kms with an average pace of 6:36min/km (man, that's practically walking speed!).

But tomorrow is a new day, right?

Over and out,
Joy

"Ah ha" Moment: Just me and my Keyboard

Joy here...Okay, I've written about the "double double" before, basically doing two workouts in one day (what triathletes call a "brick", i.e. stacking one workout discipline upon another, something that is necessary for a three-sport event like triathlon).  I've also written about adding strength training with a personal trainer to my regular regime of running and cycling/spinning to bring in elements of cross training to help build strength and avoid injury.  I even wrote about doing a triple workout - spinning, strength training, and running - all in one day.  So if you have read this blog, or look at some of the archived entries that I've linked to today's entry, you'll be familiar with the fact that while I'm trying to improve my running, I'm also riding my bike, doing strength training exercises, and even going out climbing every week.

What I've now realized is that as I've used this blog to chart my own progress and keep a record for myself, I've also wanted my friends and family (including Nomi in Malaysia) to see what I've been up to and be inspired in their own journeys, whatever they may look like.  However, I think that the more I use this blog as a way of logging training information, the less likely people will be interested in reading it.  You see, I still think of myself as an unfit, average gal just looking for health and balance in life.  But I'm beginning to see that others might think of me as an "athlete."  What is different between being an "average gal" and being an "athlete" is that people are interested/inspired by the "average gal," but not so much by the "athlete."  I totally get this.  I mean, I never watched marathons or was into sports, because I just thought to myself "hell, I'm not some Kenyan; they're like pure bread elite athletes, so what do they have to teach me?"  I mean, I thought that watching elite athletes was just like watching horse racing or something...basically something terribly alien to me and my life.  And I still feel that way.  I'd much rather watch the Iron Man footage of the age group athletes than the professionals.  I'd much rather watch a 10km race and see the people finishing and meeting their own various goals than watching a 2hour marathon runner in peak condition.  Now I don't mean to say I'm in the latter's league (because I'm not emphatically NOT), but I guess I'm having what Oprah would call an "ah ha" moment.

Back in the fall I wrote about asking my friends to head out for an easy peasy 12km run, and having them laugh at me for that.  The assumptions I made at that point is that everyone is more fit than I am, and therefore, if I can do something, so can my friends around me, who are superior to me in every way. Now I find myself making the similar assumption.  I assume that anyone out there reading this blog is a superior athlete or at least capable of doing what I can do, and now I must grapple with the fact that people don't want to read about someone doing something they can't do.  My sister put it to me simply when I asked her if she had read the blog lately and she said:  "I don't read it because I don't want to feel like shit about myself."  How could my journey to run a marathon make her feel like shit about herself?  How is that possible?  I couldn't figure it out, but then I realized that I've lost any audience I might have had, and thus have to reconcile myself to the fact that this writing is for me.  I can no longer imagine a readership of supportive friends and family taking the opportunity to see what goes on inside my little brain.  Instead it's just me and my keyboard.

So this will continue to be my own little diary, and as with all diaries, the reader is also the writer.  A bit solipsistic, yes, I know, but there you have it (or there I have it, I suppose!).

So, Joy, here are your workout stats for today:
(1)  Spinning class:  Rode for 1:03:32 with an average heart rate of 128 beats/min.
(2)  Strength training:  Worked out with our trainer for an hour, lifting weights and doing body weight exercises.
(3)  Running:  Ran for 1:06:33 for a distance of 10.74km with an average pace of 6:12min/km (with 4 strides).

And while I'm proud of my triple workout day, I know that I'm the only one reading this, and so my own pride is as good as it gets!

Over and out,
Joy

Spring has sprung...

Joy here...Well after my little bike ride on Sunday, I took Monday and Tuesday off, but Wednesday arrived with temperatures of around +5 C and blue skies, so we opted for going for a run rather than sitting on our bikes in the basement.

You see, now that I've successfully survived the winter (as symbolized by my completion of the 30km race), now I need to turn my attention to the upcoming half marathon in Singapore (May 28, 2011) and then to the main goal of the year, a fall full marathon in Toronto (October 16, 2011).  So as much as I'd just like to hang up my running shoes, sit on the couch, and laze, I really don't think that's much of an option right now.  I want to build momentum.

Which gets me back to the weather.  When the snow finally begins to melt and you can finally feel the sun warm on your skin, suddenly the world looks like a much better place.  Everything seems possible, and the optimism that you had somehow put away under the bed with the dust throughout the winter, comes out and lodges in your heart.  It's a small, little seed of optimism at first, but like all little seeds beginning to sprout in the spring sun, you can feel confident that it, too, will begin to grow and blossom.

And so it was with this newly burgeoning sense of optimism that we went for our Wednesday run.  It wasn't super fast, and it wasn't super easy, but it was a nice, steady run under a late afternoon spring sun when the world seems like a much happier place than it has in some time.  So I'll happily take it.

Here are my run stats:
Ran for a total of 1:33:44 for a distance of 15.15kms with an average pace of 6:11min/km.

Over and out,
Joy

Sunday Ride - no pain, no gain!

dirty, leftover snow piles

Joy here...Well there's still snow on the ground, and the weather was -2 C when I woke up, but I made plans to head outside for my very first bike ride of the season.  Friends of mine planned a nice, easy ride along a roadway that is cleared of snow, and I figured that I might as well just join up and get my legs turning.

So we all hopped in our cars and loaded ourselves down with bikes in backseats and helmets and shoes and snacks and waterbottles and drove out to the parking lot where we could begin our ride.  It was a 15km "out and back" ride, which means that we'd ride around 7.5kms from the parking lot, turn around and ride back around 7.5kms.

snow melting....slowly

The wind was cold out on the roadway, but the sky was bright blue, and all the cyclists seem to have crawled out from their winter hideaways.  Fancy jerseys and matching kit were dusted off, and plenty of riders were out there looking fast, fit, and professional.  For my part, I was just happy that I managed my first ride of the year without falling over!

soon that dead, winter grass will turn green

Also, my two friends tell me that all my spinning classes throughout the winter and all my running seems to have paid off, because for an early April ride I wasn't out of breath or looking weak.  And you know what?  I think they might be right.

I had my new little bike computer that tells my speed still hooked up to my bike, and I was able to ride a nice, easy 25km/hr pace and probably could have gone even faster if I had wanted to.  Seeing as how my first bike rides last summer saw me routinely falling over and huffing and puffing with every pedal stroke, I think that I must have made some progress since I felt very comfortable out there in the chill breeze on my bike today.

Well, when I say "comfortable," I'm certainly not talking about the weather!  That cold wind blew right through me, and the tips of my fingers were numb by the end of the ride.  I guess that's what athletes mean when they say "no pain, no gain."

Over and out,
Joy

Post-Race Recovery Week

Joy here...Okay, after running 30kms or any kind of long distance, it's probably a good idea to take it a bit easy.  It's also probably a good idea if your post-race plans don't include all kinds of driving.  Not so for me.

I finished my race on Sunday, then stretched, showered, and had lunch with my grandma before hopping in my car to drive an hour to spend the next day with my sister, brother-in-law, and baby nephew.  (I had a work-related meeting in their city, so planned to hit more than one bird with my one and only stone.)  Then after that, I hopped in my car to drive for another hour to the city where my university is located so I could do more work-related stuff.  Only a day after running 30kms, and I was wearing a suit and high heels and operating just fine, as though I hadn't done a thing.  And the day after that, I hopped back in my car to drive another 5 hours to get home.

And then I had a strength workout with The Man and our trainer.  That was Wednesday.

Then Thursday I had my spinning class.  (Rode for 57:51:40 with an average heart rate of 125 beats/min).

Then Friday I rode the bike indoors.  (Rode for 1:03:26 with an average speed of 26km/hr and 5 30sec. "stomps" at 45kms/hr).

Then Saturday I went for a run.  (Ran for 1:20:53 for 13.36km with an average pace of 6:03min/km).

So really, I guess I only took Monday and Tuesday as "rest" days, but they didn't feel all that restful with all the driving.  And I suppose I didn't run Mon-Fri inclusive, giving me a full five days of "rest" from running.  I'm not sure if this is a good post-race recovery strategy or not, but I guess I might as well keep on doing my best to move forward and build up so that I can actually run 30kms without feeling under prepared and under trained in the future!  I mean...there's a full marathon that I just might sign up for in October.

Onwards!
Joy