Training: Week 1 Recap

Day 1: Monday June 24

The first official day of training! I decided to run while Little Fox was at soccer. I also chose to do 3k today and 5k tomorrow for two reasons. First, I ran 6 yesterday. Second, it was REALLY hot. The "Feels Like" temperature was 32 or something like that. So, hot and humid.

I started at the high school and went down Victoria to where the centennial trail crosses. Then took the trail down to what I call the train station (really a pub, a few little shops and the liquor store... but it's shaped like a train station, and there's an old train engine just beyond the building) and a bit past that. The 1.5k turn around was just past the Frosty Treat. The first 2 k weren't too bad... it was hot, but there was a bit of a breeze blowing on my face. But the third km was slow going. No breeze, and I was sooooo hot. I hate breathing in hot air. I feel like it isn't as... "oxygenated" as cool air. I walked a bit, and then had to wait for cars at 2 crossings. I won't lie, I didn't mind the waiting!

Distance: 3 km
Time: 19:25
Average Pace: 6:27/km

Splits
1 - 6:05
2 - 6:06
3 - 7:12

I have my alarm set for an early morning run tomorrow. It's supposed to thunder tonight, so hopefully it will be cooler tomorrow morning!

Day 2: Tuesday June 25

It didn't thunder last night, and it was 20 degrees at 6:15 this morning... with a "feels like" temp of 26. I got up at 6, ate a "rolled up peanut butter sandwich" (which is what Little Fox calls one slice of bread with pb, folded in half), had some water, and got dressed. I was out the door at 6:30.

I ran from home, down to the beach, back up to where the pavement turns to clay and then back toward the beach for a total of 5k. That made the first km downhill, the middle 2 kms uphill, and the last 2 km downhill. The hills are very slight, but enough to make me work in the middle of the run, and to allow me to go faster at the end. According to google earth, over the 2k from the beach to where the clay starts, the elevation goes from 3 m to 41 m, and it's a consistent grade.

It was hot, my legs were heavy, and it was a battle of will to keep going. I walked for a few seconds at the 3k point. Just long enough to wipe my face and take a few deep breaths. The last km was... satisfying. I ran fast, but the km felt like it was lasting forever (how many times can I look at my Garmin in 1 km!) but I wanted to finish strong.

My feet hurt a bit. The balls of my feet and my toes feel (and look) a little swollen. I have blisters on my second toes, but I've had them since I started running, pretty much. I used the body glide on them this morning and it seemed to help.

Distance: 5k
Time: 29:26
Average Pace: 5:52/km

Splits
1 - 5:58
2 - 6:11
3 - 6:24
4 - 5:43
5 - 5:08

Day 3: Wednesday June 26

Today was supposed to be another 5k, but the bottom of my foot is hurting so I took the day off to rest it. Last night I iced and soaked it, but it was still sore today... like a bruise on the ball of my right foot. Tomorrow was supposed to be yoga day, but it's cancelled. :( So I'll do the 5k run tomorrow and get back on track.

Day 4: Thursday June 27

Woke up at 6, got dressed and out the door at 6:30. Ran from home to the end of River Rd and then straight across the "highway" until I hit 3k. Stopped for a few deep breaths and then headed back home. I hoped that my garmin would show 5k before I hit that hill, but it didn't, and had to run about 300 m up the hill.

I felt good this morning. It was nice and cool out, about 12 degrees and overcast. I actually ran the first half km with a sweater on. I didn't eat anything, but I felt better during this mornings run than during Tuesday's morning run. But maybe it was the temp, and not the food intake. My foot doesn't hurt (yet) and I taped my toes; they don't hurt much so I think it helped!

Distance: 5k
Time: 29:29
Average Pace: 5:53

Splits
1 - 6:04
2 - 5:45
3 - 6:07
4 - 5:43
5 - 5:46

Day 5: Friday June 28

Fridays are scheduled to be rest days. However, since I didn't run on Wednesday, and yoga was cancelled yesterday, I should have done something today. I was going to find a yoga video online, but we got a surprise visit from Red Fox's brother, so we sat around and chit chatted instead.

Day 6: Saturday June 29

I slept until 8 this morning and then did today's scheduled run. I got dressed and filled the bottles for my fuel belt. I haven't used it yet, but I figured I'd better get used to it as my runs get longer and the weather gets hotter. It's not too warm out (it was about 18 when I left), but it is MUGGY. I didn't eat anything this morning... I was going to have a banana, but someone ate it last night!

I ran from home, down the River Rd and then toward the Anne museum. I felt... average. It wasn't a great run, but it wasn't my worst either. My arms were really tired this morning, and I had to keep letting them drop down straight by my sides, which looks funny, but gives them a rest.

Distance: 7k
Time: 44:18
Average Pace: 6:19

Splits
1 - 5:57
2 - 6:29
3 - 7:30 -->  I had to stop to tighten my water belt, take my hat off (looped it on my belt) and fix my hair (twice)
4 - 5:55
5 - 6:05
6 - 5:45
7 - 6:35

I feel like my pace per km is all over the place, but there are so many hills around here!

Looking forward to Day 7: Sunday June 30

Strength and stretching is on the schedule for tomorrow. I'm going to try the 8 min ab video that I saw linked on Girl Goes Running, as well as some arm stuff. I'm looking forward to doing a good stretch.

Quick Update

It's been a  few days since I posted. Nothing exciting enough to write about! We've been working and cleaning Cottage 1 over the last few days. Red Fox has been trying to fix the washing machine in that cottage. It's one of those apartment-sized stackable units, and the washer part hasn't been draining. Things come out clean, but soaked. He things he got the problem fixed (the hose was plugged up), so he's going to put it all back together and see if it works. If it's not that, then he'll check the pump. Anything to avoid buying a brand new one! The cottage is in a serious mess right now, but once we get the washer/dryer and stove back in place, it'll be quick to get it cleaned up. The bathroom and bedrooms are done, and all ready for our "special guests" this weekend. Little Fox is going to be "so es-cited" when he sees who arrives!

I've been keeping up with my training schedule, and I'm going to be posting weekly recaps so that my non-runner readers (do I have any of those?) don't have to read about running every day!

Headlights and soccer

Little Fox got mail today! Grand Dad sent him a little package, and inside was a light that clips on to the brim of a hat. It shines bright white lights, with a second setting that makes the 2 outside bulbs change colours. We tried it on his new fedora (i love the way it bends his ears!), but it didn't fit right. So he clipped it on upside down. It will be perfect for walking down to the fireworks on Canada Day!

Little Fox had soccer tonight, and afterward we went for ice cream because it was SO HOT. I went for a 3k run (first of the half marathon training... recap to come at the end of the week), and then sat under an umbrella for the rest of the practice! Those poor kids must have been boiling out there.

Close call in the rain

I tried to do my long run yesterday, but it was a big fail. I got 3km in, and knew it would do more damage than good! I was tired, my form was bad, and I was miserable. I didn't even save the run on my Garmin. 

Today, I went into Kensington to run on the trail. I thought it would be a nice change to run on the flat trail as opposed to the hills here around home. I checked the weather and it said it would start to rain at about 9, so I headed out at 7 to beat the rain. 

Or, so I thought. 

I pushed start on my Garmin, took about 5 steps and the rain fell. Not pouring or anything, but big giant drops. 

I was wearing my white shirt from the Runway Run and a white sports bra. In the rain. 

There wasn't anyone around, so I figured I'd just keep going until it got too wet. It only lasted a few minutes, though, but sprinkled now and then for the duration of my 6k run. As soon as I finished, I walked over to the boardwalk next to the trail and sat down. And then it started to pour. Good timing! I stopped at the corner store for milk, and got a popsicle too. 

I enjoyed running on the trail. It was nice to be able to focus on running instead of the hills! 

Distance: 6 km

Time: 36 minutes

Average Pace: 6 minutes/km

Splits:

1 - 6:00

2 - 5:53

3 - 6:51

4 - 6:11

5 - 6:02

6 - 6:00

After my run, I showered, then played cars with Little Fox. After Little Fox went to bed, I watched an episode of Deadwood, then stretched and foam rolled. 

It's really pouring now, so I'm off to bed to read and listen to the rain!

The Haunted Mansion

Little Fox has been begging us for weeks to go to the Haunted Mansion. It a tourist attraction, with a big house that's filled with scary stuff. Apparently. We didn't go through it. Little Fox would hardly go to the front counter with me.

He wanted to go because in front of the mansion is a little theme park. There's a water/flower garden with mini castles and slides. It's quite pretty actually, in between the tacky stuff that kids love! There are also some rides (tilt-a-whirl and airplanes), a "train" ride, and some small animals (chickens, a goat and sheep, and kittens).

Little Fox LOVED the rides. We went on the tilt-a-whirl about 6 times, and he went on the planes about 4 times. He met 2 little boys and they were instant friends, going on rides together and sitting together on the train ride. (The train isn't really a train... more like a tractor and trailer pretending to be a train).

Dog teaches Fox how to Downward Dog

I set up my camera last night to take some pictures of myself doing a few yoga poses... I wanted to see the poses from different angles to see if I'm doing them right. Note to self... next time, don't wear that baggy shirt.

I had an audience, of course... the dog and Little Fox. Obviously, Molly thought I needed a downward dog demonstration...

No, no no, you're doing it all wrong. Straighten your back, stretch through the shoulders! (At this point, I was laughing too hard)

After that, Little Fox wanted me to take some pictures of HIM doing yoga. Check out that beatific expression in the first image! LOL

Today, we had 2 pretty decent thunderstorms... short, but loud, with one big flash of lightning that made Red Fox dance (I wish I had that on camera!). After the second one, I looked outside and realized that it was still raining pretty hard, but it was sunny. I went out to get some photos...

 
And saw this. I don't know WHY I get so excited about things like this. I saw it, and yelled for the boys to come see it. Red Fox said he thought something terrible happened, and he went to see "what happened" to Little Fox before coming outside. I'm sure the whole community heard me!

 I think it ended right in the Bay.

My dream race

Northwest Passage Marathon

Program: Northwest Passage Marathon and Ultramarathon
Dates: July 1st to July 5th, 2013
Cost: $4,400 from Yellowknife, NT, Canada

The 2013 Northwest Passage Marathon on Somerset Island in Nunavut, Canada, is North America’s most northerly marathon and ultramarathon. This race date July 3rd, is held under the 24-hour Arctic sun and against the backdrop of the fabled Northwest Passage.

The Northwest Passage Marathon is a true wilderness route. The 50 km course leaves Arctic Watch, goes north along the shore of the Cunningham Inlet for 10 km to Polar Bear Point. The runners then turn west and run beside the famed Northwest Passage for the next 18 km. The trail follows a series of old raised beaches of sandstone pebbles. There are icebergs on the water and ancient encampments on the shore. During past events, runners saw dozens of beluga whales, many seals and polar bears. At Cape Marie, runners turn south and inland along the Red Valley (so named for the red stone and soil). Muskox sightings in this area are common. The trail then swings back east and climbs gently before dropping back down towards the Cunningham River. The final kilometres are along the river back to Arctic Watch.

This is a rough trail run with no roads, marked with Inukshuks and flags. The surface is generally smooth and covered with pebble-sized rocks. There are some shallow creek crossings. There’s no need to carry water, all the water is potable. But expect to have wet feet!

- See more at: http://www.arcticwatch.ca/arctic-adventures/northwest-passage-marathon#sthash.Vakn6OVJ.dpuf 

No run today!

I was going to run today... but then supper was a bit late, and I thought I'd have a glass of wine with supper. Which meant, apparently, a glass of wine while MAKING supper, followed by a glass WITH supper... and a glass for dessert. I'm in no shape to run tonight!

Also... I had ice cream. Which wouldn't be a big deal if I were not lactose intolerant. Sorry... maybe TMI.

I've been stretching every night before bed... and I'm slowly seeing some improvement in my flexibility. It's still nothing near what I used to be, but it's getting there!

Tomorrow is yoga day!

Summer Schedule

So... here's my training schedule for the Half at the PEI Marathon. Seems intense... what do you guys think?

Easy 8k

This evening after supper we were outside.... We had a fire going and Little Fox was running/swinging, and I decided that I'd do my "long" run. I had originally planned to do 10k tomorrow, but I did 8k tonight. It was SUCH a nice evening, that I just couldn't pass it up. 

I ran down Cape Road, along the main road to River road, back onto Cape Road right down to the beach and back to our house. It was a nice easy run, I didn't push my pace. I stopped once cause I saw a fox, again to cross the road, and then again cause I walked up that hill... but no "i'm tired/bored so I'll walk" breaks.

8.03km in 51:39 

6:26/km

My toes have been hurting lately. Is it possible that my feet are growing? My casual sneakers hurt my toes, and tonight my running sneakers did too. I have another pair of Saucony's that are about a size bigger... I'll try those next time. 

This morning, after the bike rodeo, we went to Summerside and I picked up some new running tights and a running skirt with some birthday money. I wanted to get some socks too, but Little Fox was being... well, 5, and I had had enough. My jaw was hurting and I had a headache. I think my jaw pain is stress-related, but I don't think it's from clenching my teeth... I think it's just from always having tension in my jaw... my face is never relaxed, and I often have my lower jaw pushed forward (mom, remember that photo of me when I was a kid, petting the goat? Kind of like that).

Now to stretch and go to bed. Fathers Day tomorrow!

Bike Rodeo

I took Little Fox to the Kensington bike rodeo this morning. I wasn't sure if he'd enjoy it, but it was great! Lots of stations, lots of enthusiastic and encouraging police officers, and a LOT of kids on bikes. No one got hurt, as far as I know, but there were some near misses! I think kids are in much better control than adults give them credit for!

While we waited for everyone to get registered, the kids just milled around on their bikes.

Then they had all the kids line up according to grade, and they did a bike inspection. He got 19/20 on that one... he lost a point because his bike didn't have a bell on it. His bike doesn't have a bell for my own sanity. It would never stop ringing! The officer commented on what a great bike Little Fox had, and was surprised to hear that it was a cast-off that my dad fixed up. Actually, I told a few of the officers that, and they were all very impressed and surprised, saying they never would have guessed. One of them said (jokingly) "well, as long as it wasn't stolen!" and Little Fox replied "Nope, no stuff stealers here!"

The next station was the balance station, where the kids had to keep their bike on a line as they rode along it. Little Fox kept saying "I don't think I can do this one!" but he did it perfectly! The other stations included zig-zagging around cones, braking and turning using their hand signals, and a figure-eight. He got perfect scores on everything and ended up with 99%. After that, there was a bbq with hotdogs. They also give away bikes, but I'm not sure what happened with that cause we stuck around until the police left, and no prizes were given out. *shrug* Little Fox got a brand new bike for his birthday (big enough to last a few years), so he certainly doesn't need one!

Thanks to the Kensington police and other volunteers! 

I love my Garmin

I went for a run early this afternoon... basically as soon as my Garmin was charged and I had read the manual.

I loved it. I am not used to wearing something on my wrist, so I "noticed" it and felt like I had to adjust it now and then, but I figure it's like wearing a ring... once it's there for a while you no longer feel it. It's not heavy, and feels only a bit sticky/sweaty during the run.

I turned on the virtual pacer, and I really liked the feedback. I set it for 6 min per km, and if I went too fast (down the big hill) or too slow (up the big hill) it beeped and told me. It also told me when I was on pace.

 I really needed the pace feedback. When the half marathon training starts, it'll be very useful. I'm looking forward to my long run this weekend, now!

I liked having the distance updating in real time, too. I've been using google earth to plan my routes, as well as driving them and checking the distance that way. The garmin tells me that the river rd is a bit over 3.5k, but the car tells me it's exactly 4. I'm thinking the discrepancy is elevation changes in addition to equipment error.  Red Fox and I have joked about setting up the rtk system and I can go for a run with that to see what it is exactly. LOL

I haven't done anything with the data yet... you can upload it to a website and all that. I might look into that tonight after Little Fox is in bed.

Also, I'm super sore today from yoga. Mainly my stomach. :)  My legs have a bit of a "overstretched" feeling, but my stomach has that "getting stronger" feeling.

TGIF!

Having our first bbq of the season tonight. I know we're a little late... the bbq was buried in the garage, so Red Fox pulled it out and the steaks are on!

Tomorrow morning there's a bike rodeo for kids that I might take Little Fox to. Weather depending!

31

Today, I turned 31.

I had a really great day. Little Fox brought me this birthday gift:

A feather

I worked until about 3:30 (started early this morning so I could finish early). Red and Little Fox went shopping *grin* while I worked. When they got home, Little Fox had a great time showing me everything they bought. He was too excited to wait for me to look for myself. :) They got me body glide (anti-chafe stuff like vaseline for running), Gu (gel stuff to slurp down for energy while running), a water belt, and a GARMIN gps watch. I'm super pumped about the Garmin, being the gps/mapping nerd that I am. If I wasn't so stuffed from supper, I'd go run right now. 

After gift time, we all went outside. Red Fox did some work on the flower beds, and Little Fox and I played soccer, tag, and hide-and-seek. Then we left for Summerside so I could take the "hard" yoga flow class at Stretch Fitness. It was a little more intense than the smooth yoga class I was taking, and I loved it! I especially like the balance poses... like toppling tree and eagle. I'd really like to try a class where they do upside-down stuff. You know... being an ex-gymnast and all... I bet I could do that crow pose like no-big-deal. ;) Ha. 

After yoga, we went for dinner at Brothers 2 in Summerside. They sometimes have a  dinner theater, but the next play doesn't start for another 2 weeks. I had a delicious maple curry dish, Red Fox had nachos and Little Fox had a "ham-booger". I had oreo cheese cake for dessert. Little Fox sang Happy birthday to me. Well, his own rendition of it, which is even better. :)

Look how happy I am about the cheesecake!

Soccer and Rainbows

Little Fox had soccer last night. He had a great time, and is smiling in 99% of the 113 photos I took. He was MUCH more coordinated than when he played the last time.

He had some trouble focusing on the task at hand... there was a dog at the other end of the field that caught his attention. And he has a few things to learn about following direction and getting in line, but these are things he'll get better at, I know... especially when he starts school. There were a lot of kids on his "team" that have already finished a year at school and I can really see the difference between those kids and Little Fox.

I could feel my inner soccer-mom coming out... I'm going to be that mom-coach on the sidelines that all coaches hate. There were a few times that Little Fox was the only kid without a ball, and a few times that he was obviously lost and confused. The coach was about high-school aged, and while he obviously knew soccer, he was having trouble with the coaching part. He spoke very softly, and seemed hesitant. Which I understand... been there, done that! It's very hard, when you have like 25 kids and don't know anyone's name... and when you have mom's like me watching. *sigh*

Here's a note to coaches and gym teaches out there. Don't ASK the kids if they know how to play. The ones who do will all chorus "yes" and the kids who don't won't say anything. You won't hear any no's. Don't assume kids know the rules or skills they need. Assume they DON'T. Always explain the game and rules. I remember being in gym class and playing floor hockey... whenever the whistle blew, I was like, what??? what's going on? I had no idea what was allowed or not allowed, I was just given a stick that I didn't know how to hold correctly, and told to play. I could see that in Little Fox last night. They split into teams and started actually playing a soccer game, but Little Fox thought it was tag. He had no idea that he was supposed to be chasing the BALL and trying to kick it between THOSE cones.

But, the main idea is for exercise and fun. And that it was! He ran non-stop and smiled and laughed through it all. It was the first thing he talked about this morning. Some of the kids there will probably be in his class at school, too, and he was trying to chat up everyone.

It started to rain JUST as we were walking back to the truck. It was that awesome kind of weather when the sun is still peeking through and below the clouds so all the colours are still bright, but it's raining. I love that! We saw 3 or 4 rainbows on the way home!

  

Runway Run Recap

This morning was the Fly PEI Runway Run 5k. Also this morning? The arrival of Andrea the Storm. It was raining pretty heavily when I woke up, but it wasn't too windy. I packed a change of clothes, and we all piled into the truck.

We were the first ones to arrive. Which is pretty typical for me. If I'm not at least 10 minutes early, I feel like I'm late. I'd rather leave early and arrive early than leave on time and have something happen (get lost) on the way and arrive late. It helps keep my pre-race anxiety a bit lower.

We got there, found the hangar, got my race kit, and then Little Fox found some kid's stuff at the back of the hangar. They had toy planes, Frisbees, colouring, etc. I found the bathroom. We milled around for a bit, I went to the bathroom again... and then went again! The race was on a RUNWAY, no where to hide out there if you have to pee! The race shirts are awesome. It's my favorite race shirt yet. I don't typically wear the shirt AT the race, since to me, I haven't earned it til I finish... however, this was basically a race in a hurricane, so I figured I earned it just by showing up! I pulled it on over my rain jacket, and ended up looking like a stuffed sausage, but, oh well!

The turn-out was amazing actually. WAY more people than I expected, which is great because the race was a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity.

One thing I was surprised at was the number of people who kept talking while the race coordinator was discussing course safety. I mean, he's talking about med-evacs people... stop talking and listen! Not to mention that it was a bit rude... (stepping off soap-box now).

Finally, it was time to start. Everyone went outside, into the rain and wind, and off we went. It was WET. I splashed right though the first puddle, since I knew I'd be soaked by the end anyway! I wish it hadn't been quite so windy... I wanted to be able to look around (I love love love airports... have I said that already), but I knew if I looked up, the wind would blow the rain onto my glasses and then I'd be running blind. So, head down and run. The race was an "out and back", obviously, since it was a runway.

My calves and shins cramped up quite badly during this race. I don't usually have problems with muscles cramping, but it was cold, and my sneakers were soaked and HEAVY. My goal was to not stop during this race (I have yet to finish a race without a walk break, to my frustration), but I had to stop I think 4 times to stretch my legs.  There was a water station at the 2.5k turn-around, but I had enough rain in my mouth and nose to keep me going! By this time, my sneakers were like bricks. I picked 2 girls in front of me, and used them as pacers. When there was just over 1k left, I kicked it up a notch, and pulled ahead. I think one of the girls was coaching the other, and she was super supportive and encouraging! Nice job, pink-jacket-girls! (You can see them behind me in the photo below)

I was hoping for a sub-30 minute finish. As I turned off of the runway and toward the hangar, I couldn't see the numbers on the clock because of the rain drops on my glasses and on the plastic covering the clock... as I got closer, I saw that it said 28:20-ish, and I finished in 28:40.

Photo courtesy of Janet Norman-Bain, who comes to almost all of the races and takes thousands of photos!

This one was taken by Red Fox. Thanks for standing in the rain for me!

After the race, they had Tim's coffee and muffins! Awesome! I really needed a coffee (I never drink coffee before a race... even without it I had to pee 3 times before this mornings race!) and it was nice to have something warm on a day like today! They said that over $5000 dollars was raised for Habitat for Humanity! I'm so glad I brought a change of clothes... I was SOAKED. When I got home, I had to wring out my race shirt before hanging it to dry!

On the way home, we stopped at the Island Preserve Company, where they make and sell teas, jams, jellies, spice mixes and all kinds of delicious things. They have a restaurant, so we had lunch there. I had the fish chowder (Red Fox doesn't like it, so I never get to make it at home), and we split an order of their tea/scones/jams/cheese. Little Fox had a pb&j, and Red Fox had a blt. It was a really nice way to relax and get warmed up after a chilly race!

Holy Half!

At the end of April, I registered for the PEI Marathon 10k race. Well, today, I "upgraded" to the HALF! I'm actually REALLY excited. Last year, when I registered for the 5k at the PEI Marathon, I was literally shaking for a good hour after submitting the registration.

And although I'm not 100% comfortable running 10k yet (meaning, I don't find it "easy"), I'm looking forward to starting the training for the half. I think it will be challenging. It's just under 20k from home to Kensington, so I'll make that my final long run before the race. Make Red Fox meet me at the Frosty Treat as a reward!

I just looked at the registration list on the Running Room website, and didn't see my name. So I thought maybe I registered on the Atlantic Chip site... not there either. Then I panicked, thinking I just scammed the poor PEI Marathon girl into registering me for the half for only 20 bucks (which I would have called about first thing Monday morning!)... I checked my email, and sure enough, the Running Room confirmation email is there... *phew* so hopefully I get added the the master list! Note to self: keep receipt!

Tomorrow morning is the FlyPEI Runway Run (5k) for Habitat for Humanity. Might be a little rainy, but that's ok. Won't be the first time I've run in the rain! Race recap will follow later tomorrow. For now, I'm gonna watch episode 8 of Game of Thrones...only one more til the Red Wedding episode!

My fastest 4k yet

I had a little... "altercation" we'll call it... with a co-worker today. Confrontation makes me anxious, so I had a little bit of latent confrontation adrenalin to burn off.

Also, Heather says that today is National Running Day. So, off I went.

I tried to push my pace a little, and it took me 21:38 to run the 4k from home to the end of River Rd and back. That's about 5 and a half minutes per km.

Beautiful day for a run. The lupines are starting to bloom, and I can smell the lilacs along my route (my favorite!).

This weekend I'm running in the runway run at the Charlottetown airport. I'm pretty excited... while I know there won't be planes taking off or anything while we're running, I love the general excitement of an airport!

I'm thinking of running the half marathon at the PEI marathon this year. On their facebook page, they asked for bloggers who would be willing to blog about their training. I emailed and offered to do so, (I love to, actually!) but didn't get a reply. :(  Anyway, I have a few weeks to decide before the 12-week training (Hal Higdon's program) would have to start. Although, knowing me, now that I have the idea in my head, I know I'll just keep thinking about it until I just do it!

Yoga kicked my butt

I've missed yoga the last few weeks, and I was really excited to go today. I worked from 7-3, and spent the day googling and reading publications. I left home at 3:45, and got signed into the class. Usually, Greg leads the class, but this woman came in and got set up front and center. Turns out, this is the girl who teaches the "hard" yoga class. She said she was going to "dial it back" from her regular class. Holy Crap.

It was quite a bit harder than the regular class... you know, shaking muscles and such. But I loved it! I'm thinking about taking Greg's class for a few more weeks and then moving up to Kristen's class (I think that's her name...?). Her class is a better time slot anyway... starting next week, Little Fox has soccer on Mondays at 6... yoga ends at 5:30, so it would be a rush to get to soccer.

We'll see how sore I am tomorrow! I planned a 6 or 7k run tomorrow...

Catch up and Race recap

It's been a while! I've been busy! This past week, I had to be in NS for meetings at the office. I stayed with a coworker, and had a blast. She and her bf are great and funny people. I got to meet Joey, their new-ish dog, who loved to steal my stuff, right out of my bag. He's a great tug-of-war dog, though! I also got to visit with some mommy friends, and I got in a run around Colby loop (5.5 k).

I came back home on Thursday, and that day a university friend arrived to stay with us for a few days. D and I lived in the same residence, and became quite good friends. I've been trying to show him some Island-y stuff. I took him to Cavendish, where we saw a fox and collected shells on the beach.

We also went to Cows Creamery for ice cream and a tour. The tour wasn't as "interesting" as I expected, but the only make ice cream on certain days, and only in the summer. However, I didn't realize that they make their tshirts there as well. They also make cheese (delicious!) and butter. 

Today, I ran in a 5k fundraising race for the College of Piping dancers. They are going to a competition in Quebec, I think. Anyway, I wasn't really in the mood to run, and haven't been running much since the Blue Nose. But I registered anyway. I wore my home made running skirt and a shirt that I found at Old Navy that matches. I loved the skirt, but I wore my shorts under it and I found them hot. 

The race, which was an out and back course on the crushed-rock trail, started at 5 pm. There was a 5k and a 10k, which started at the same time but in different directions. That caused a bit of confusion, but we sorted it out. 

I didn't feel great during the run... I guess I just really wasn't in to it. I was expecting to get a PB on this run, since it was a flat course with no hills. But I stopped to walk a few times, and didn't have the motivation to keep going. I started out strong, and was the lead female for about 2 k... but them people started passing me and I just couldn't keep up. The run back after the 2.5k turn around was worse! I felt like I did terribly, but still finished as the 3rd female and in 30:16.

This one makes me laugh... looks like I'm levitating.

Ok. Hopefully we'll be back to regularly scheduled programming after this short blogging hiatus. Although summer is pretty much here and that means it's cottage season... busy! I hope.