Spectating at the Victoria Marathon

So, it happened.  The cold germs I was trying so hard to avoid snuck up on me overnight and today I woke up with a yukky throat and a runny nose.  I think I have gone through a box of tissues today.  Okay, it's done and I will get over it!

Today is race day in Victoria... the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon, Half Marathon, 8km Road Race, and a Kid's Run/Marathon, too.  The 8km road race and the Half Marathon shared a finish line so I watched about 45 mintues of the 8km runners finishing and saw the first half marathon finishers, via live stream on the internet.  Then we set off in the car to head into the City so I could see some of the marathon runners.

We situated ourselves at just about the 20km point about 45 minutes after the marathon started.  We saw several early starters, both runners and walkers, coming and going and then finally, the first of the men at just after 1:05, then the 2nd and then the 3rd... several more men, then the first wheeled competitor,  and finally the first woman. It was so exciting for me to see these elite runners in the the flesh!

Thomas Omwenga, went on to win overall, post a new course record, and finish in 2:14:33

Philip Samoei, went on to finish second overall in 2:25:39

Gilbert Kiptoo, DNF

Jeff Thompson, went on to win the wheel division and finish in 2:44:25

and

Ryan Day, went on to finish third overall in 2:26:40

Lucy Njeri, went on to finish first of the women, with a new course record in 2:37:56



We waited till they made the turn and then came back our way... and then watched and cheered on many, many more runners before heading off to do some freggie shopping.  I am so glad we went.  I have watched many races on the internet and on tv, including Boston, but being there, is so much better. 

And now I am even more excited to take part in a race and sign up for my first half!

Foggy Morning Run

I did do a shortened version of my upper body routine with 8 lb. dumbbells last night... I managed to get it in shortly before heading off to bed for the night.

This morning I woke up in a fog.  Or should I clarify, and say, when I woke up this morning, the marina was blanketed in fog!  I made very good use of my time while waiting for The Captain to make breakfast...

And I talked him into adding pumpkin puree and cinnamon to his mix this morning.  Mmmm.  It's Canadian Thanksgiving weekend after all.  Love the color and flavor of pumpkin so much.



About an hour later I set off for my solo run, leaving The Captain behind to watch some golf on tv.  I am going to drag him into the City tomorrow to watch some of the Victoria Marathon and hit the expo and so I want him to rest more and fight the sniffles.

It was still quite foggy and a bit nippy when I set off so I wore my vented Running Room shell, but ended up taking it off and tying it around my waist part-way through.  It was too cool for just the sleeves though.  I might have to dig out some light gloves soon as my fingertips were sorta blue.

I wanted to put some speedier intervals in my run today.  So, after my warm up walk I started off by running fast for one minute, then a bit slower for one minute and then fast again for one minute. I decided to increase the length of the slower intervals by one minute each till they reached 5 minutes... then just finish running the route I had planned.

So it looked like this:

1 minute fast, 1 minute normal
1 minute fast, 2 minutes normal
1 minute fast, 3 minutes normal
1 minute fast, 4 minutes normal
1 minute fast, 5 minutes normal
1 minute fast... and then the rest of the run I ran pretty much my normal pace with a few shorter, fast bursts at sporadic intervals.

I ran the fast intervals at about a 9 on my perceived exertion scale.  I was breathing very had by the time the one minute was done.

I had a great time and having something to concentrate on made it go by very quickly and also kept me occupied so that I didn't even think about taking walk breaks.  It required a lot of watch-watching though.  Whew!

I was so happy to see blue sky peeking through the fog as I completed my run and did my walk back down the dock to the boat.  I really enjoyed a nice stretch before heading in for my clean up...

W2 R44 W3
stretch 5 minutes

Hmmm.... wonder which one of these LARABARS I should eat for my after-run snack?

Do you eat a snack after you run or work out?

What is your favorite?

Sunshine... hurray!

I poked my head out of the aft cabin this morning, after sleeping in till 8:45, and there is was... the sun shining in a sky that was mostly blue.  Hurray. Let me outa here!

The Captain and I had coffee together and then I made us a light breakfast of yogurt and bananas topped with toasted oats and maple syrup.  Light because I didn't want to wait too long before I headed out for my run.  In spite of my best efforts, it was 10:30 before I got away.

It was so good to be out and running.  It is amazing to me the difference that the sunshine makes in the way I see my world. I don't think I would do well in a part of the world where it is dark for most of the day during the winter months.  

I ran very slowly today.  I covered the same 4.85 km that I have done the past few runs, but took 6 whole minutes longer today to do it.  I didn't want to take a walk break at all, and I am so afraid of catching anything that I don't want to overdo it at all.

I do know that I am likely to compromise my immune system only if I go too long or too fast, but - knock on wood here - I am not taking any chances. If you are wondering why I am so freaked out about catching a cold right now, it is because I have surgery scheduled on my right eye on October 20th... 2 weeks from today... and I cannot be sneezing or sniffling or coughing during or after that surgery.  If I catch a cold, they will cancel it.  Anyway, more about that in a future post.

So, 40 minutes later I was back at the marina, walking and then stretching and riding the endorphin high that this run brought me. 

W2 R40 W4

stretch 5 minutes

I do so love to stretch.  At one time I thought it was a waste of my time but now I revel in it.  It just feels so good.

Do you take the time to stretch after you run?

Or after you strength train?





At Least I Am Cute!

A couple of days ago, Fall arrived with a vengeance!  It has been rainy, and cool and we have been cooped up inside the boat.

The Captain has the sniffles. and I am trying to ward them off... so we are both getting lots of rest, eating wholesome food and taking lots of vitamins.  No cuddling which is what you would think we should be doing in this weather!

Thank Goodness for tv, the internet and all of your blogs to read and giveaways to enter.

Tonight I am pretty much feeling like this....

 

I am going to do an upper body workout with my 8 lb. dumbbells as soon as I finish this post, I swear.  If I publish it, I will have to do it...

2 reps X 10 each:

• bicep curls
• tricep kickbacks
• lateral raises
• overhead presses
• delt raises
• upright rows

2 X 10 each per leg:

• standing abductors
• standing adductors

I am too lazy to get down on the floor and do pushups!

Do you ever feel like that?  That you just kinda don't care?

So not like me, and I am convinced I will snap out of it any moment.  Tomorrow's forecast is for dry cloudy weather... and I am going for a run.  It's a promise I made to ME!

Saturday Run, Breathing Hard, Speed ???

Of course we had pancakes and eggs for breakfast this morning.  It is Saturday, no? And I am so happy that we found some blackberries to pick a few days ago, to have in the cakes today, too.  I do love that sweet berry flavor and the purple batter!

While I was waiting for my breakfast to settle, I read a Tweet from See Mom Run Far saying that she was watching a live stream from the St. George's Marathon in Utah.  Great idea!  So I found a live stream and watched for about 20 minutes.  So, if you came in between 3:30 and 3:45, I think I saw you!

The audio was very poor and I couldn't make out what the announcer was saying.  Do they announce every runner's name as he/she finishes?

About an hour after we finished breakfast, we set out for a run... it was the same 4.85 km route that we did the last time we went and we finished it in the same amount of time.  But it felt harder today.  I know that I went out faster and was pretty excited about my speed, but couldn't keep it up for the whole run.  Good lesson for me.  I have read about starting out too fast and then having to drop back but this is the first time I have ever been conscious of it during one of my own runs.

On the return, I was breathing much harder than was comfortable and needed to relieve that and I tried taking shorter steps without slowing my cadence.  That didn't help at all so I finally gave in and reduced my footstrike rate.  That did give me the relief I was after.

But then I noticed that I was wanting to stride out too far and I had to work at keeping that in check.  I guess that was a mental reaction - trying to make up for the slower rate by taking longer steps.  I ran at the slower cadence off and on for several blocks, to catch my breath a bit.

But I pulled up my socks and put it into high for the last half kilometer!  I was very conscious of just felt myself leaning into it and taking off, and was really aware of how high my legs were kicking up behind me as I ran.  Felt great!  And The Captain had to run to keep up with me.  Loved that too.

W2 R34 @17/1 W3
stretch 6 minutes

And so now I am wondering how I am ever going to get any faster? 

It is my breathing that is holding me back, speedwise, not my legs.

Do I just start adding a few speedier sessions to my runs once a week? 

For instance, if I do a 3km run, I can pretty much go all out for that short a distance.  But I cannot do that for 5 km.  Should I try running 2 intervals of 1km each, faster, and then the other 3 km at my normal speed?

Will runnier speedier intervals help my breathing get easier?  Will that increase my aerobic capacity?

Are there any breathing techniques that might help?

This is something that I would like to work on for the next few months before I think about starting my half marathon training in January.  Once I start that training I will be thinking about mileage, not speed, I am sure.