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Happy Runiversary!

6/27/2017

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July 1 is my 'runiversary.'

I'm so glad that it lands on a signifant day like Canada Day, because I'm a crazy proud Canadian and it's an easy way to ensure the date doesn't slip by without me remembering.

In some ways it's hard to believe running was ever not in my life because it has made such an impact. In other ways, I still feel like I have so much to learn. This year I tried several new things as a runner and feel like I've only cracked open the cover and peeked inside at the opportunities that await.

During the dark, cold days of January, February and March, I drove up to York University to participate in track meets. This is typically what you'd hear from your third grade nephew, (well, except the driving part!) but what makes it even better is that it was part of Ontario Master's Athletics (OMA) of which I am now a member. This means that participants are all over age 30. I participated in several 800 m races and a 1500 m. During the Ontario Championships I even got a medal!

The OMA also has a road race series. Basically, instead of putting on their own races, they piggy-back onto established races in Ontario for each typical distance. I was able to participate in the Robbie Burns 8K, Toronto Waterfront 10K, Pride and Remembrance 5K and will be racing the Sunset Shuffle 6K later this summer. In the first three I managed to obtain a top three finish in my age catagory! I always feel like I have to add that there aren't a ton of participants in my catagory and my chances of making the age catagory in the over all race are very slim, but it is a great way to encourage runners to be competitive and frankly, I love the bling!

Last September I did my first destination race, which, coincidentally was also my shortest road race ever! Michelle, Allison, Carmy and I drove down to New York to participate in the 5th Avenue Mile. No race I've done can compare to the race atmosphere of that day. I will never forget that race or trip.

In May if you follow me on social media you will undoubtedly know what I was doing...The Ragnar Niagara Relay. In a nut shell it is a relay race of 300+ kilometres from Cobourg (that's waaaaay past Pickering, Ajax, Oshawa and even Bownamville to give you context) to Niagara Falls in just over 24 hours. One member of our 12 person team was running at a time and each team member ran three legs that generally ranged from 5-15k each. We spent our non-running time travelling to and from each exchange point, cheering on our team mates, eating chips, not sleeping and laughing a lot. I am signed up to do another relay race in September, this time in the trails!

Which brings me to, trail running! My close friends told me that I would love trail running. They know me well! My first time trying trail running was at the 5 Peaks Terra Cotta race this spring. You know how they say don't try anything new on race day? Well, that kinda went out the window, didn't it? Turns out that race day was after epic rainfalls and flooding throughout the province. The mud was ankle high in a huge number of sections. I learned quickly that in most cases it's pretty pointless to try to navigate around the mud and puddles. You might as well just go right on through (it was admittedly more fun too!) My second race at the much more technical (aka scrambling up the rocky escapement using your hands to hang on) was less muddy and while challenging and hot, really sparked the trail bug in me! I'll be doing at least two more of the 5 Peaks series this summer.

This year also represents my first full year training with Coach Michelle. I would say my biggest take-homes have been speedwork and my mental game. I love my track workouts every week. Yes, they are painful, but the pain is short lived. Mentally I know I can hang on. 'Hanging on' has been a phrase I have used a lot this year. Holding on during an 800 m race on the track for that last lung burning lap. Hanging on to my pace during a 5K when I just want to slow down. Hanging on going up a hill. Hanging on during a 15K in 30K wind gusts and pelting rain. Which is what I've tried so hard to learn as part of my mental game.

Looking back, I managed to get a PB in my 8K and half marathon distances. I tied a previous 15K PB and established a time to beat in the road mile, as well as the indoor track 1500 and 800 m.

What are my plans as I head into my fifth year of running? I have found greater joy in shorter distances lately. Recovery is quicker and I can do another race sooner and take advantage of my training. I will continue to do trails, the OMA Road Race series and likely summer outdoor track season. I am itching to improve my 5K time and next spring hope to do the same for 10K which will be a much bigger challenge. I also look forward to supporting my friend Jean-Paul as part of JPs Team as he attempts to run six marathons (aka Six in the 6) during the Scotiabank Waterfront Toront Marathon weekend.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me this past year. Although most of run training is done solo, having my husband, coach, family and friends behind me (or beside me as the case was during a couple races) means so much to me.
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JPsTeam fun run to Casa Loma

6/25/2017

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Photos from today's JPsTeam fun run to Casa Loma. Thanks to everyone who came along for a hilly, longer route!
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Pride & Remembrance 5K

6/24/2017

1 Comment

 
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It's not even the last weekend in June and I was heading into my fourth race of the month, and 7th or 8th of the last two months. I've lost count! I have to say that while I thought I'd be more worn out, these shorter distance local races are great compared to long distance and far away races. I can get up, commute, race, hang around and be home by lunch. Am I trying to sell myself on shorter distances again? Sure sounds like it! Ha ha.

I'd seen posts by running friends Jess and Lauren about this race last year, how they set out to get Lauren a post baby PB and ended up getting best times for them both. Given this was also an OMA Road Race, I thought I'd sign up.

As soon as I got off the subway and walked out onto Wellesley, I was bombarded with rainbow pride. I literally stood in the middle of the Church and Wellesley intersection watching the people around me and all of the decorations for Pride. I snapped a bunch of photos and helped others take pics in front of some of the great posing locations.

I dropped off my bag and bumped into several friends who had all obviously chosen to meet others in front of the 519. I headed back to the stretch of closed street on Wellesley to do a warm up. Although the temperature was a bit cooler than last week, the later race start meant it was warming up rapidly.
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I made my way into the corral. I only saw one pace sign for 20-25 minutes at the very front and couldn't see where the second corral was, so I positioned myself midway back, which ended up being right by the stage. Kathleen Wynne was there and race organizers announced that Olympian and fastest Canadian marathoner Lanni Marchant was racing today. The vibe in the crowd was amazing. The countdown for wave one began and I decided to go out with the group fearing getting caught up with the walkers in the second corral. I was very glad I did as there were a lot of slower runners that went out even ahead of me running in large groups side by side. I had to do a lot of weaving.
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The race route was a west on Wellesley to Queens Park, twice around Queens Park Circle and back on Wellesley. Of course things on the map always seem different than during a race! The twice around Queens Park was a good thing bad thing. After one lap it was deflating to have to head back for another lap. But, there was also the 'been there' feeling and fact that we really didn't stray that far from the start finish line, so mentally it felt like it was 'just right there.'

My first kilometre was about 15-20 seconds fast, but given I only had four more to go, I wasn't too concerned. Plus, it had been shady most of this section and I could see it wouldn't be ahead. Queens Park Circle definitely has a slight elevation changes. I'd be curious to see the stats. By the water station at around 2K my throats was so dry, I could hard.y swallow. There was no question as to whether I was getting water. I paused to gulp it down and go.

My second kilometer was pretty much bang-on. I could feel myself fading as I headed around the Circle for lap two. I knew this was where my race was going to start to be good, or bad. I loosened my shoulders and held on. Finally, there was the water station again. Funny how things stand out in your head during a race. The cute little girl at the very front of the volunteers and then the guy about 20 meters after the last volunteer in case you'd missed your chance at grabbing a cup.

I turned and headed back up the Circle. At this point everyone was prepping to turn ahead so the racers were getting mixed up with the walkers. More weaving. The cheering near Wellesley was amazing and drowned out my music. I spotted Brie, Melanie and April and yelled as I passed.

I'd spoken to running friend Laura before the race about the 'looming' finish and looking down Wellesley I could see what she meant. Ugh. Despite feeling the heat and knowing my pace had slowed the past two kilometres, I kept pushing. I was pretty sure a PB was out of reach but knew it wasn't that far off. On the final stretch I gave it my all and sprinted through the confetti, barely seeing the finish mat! I was 55 seconds from tying my PB, but, like last week, I wasn't upset. I'd raced hard and held on. I played the mental game against myself, and won!

I think if it had of been cooler, there were less people to weave around and I'd been training for a 5K (not having raced a hodge-podge of distances the past two months) it would have been a PB. That felt good.  

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Once I'd grabbed some water and sent a shlew of 'done!' texts, I made my way to the party site, stopping at the very cool (pun intended) Eska misting station, photo bombing Peter's selfie and getting my bag from the incredibly organized bag check.

Anyone who has run RBC Race for the Kids will know they put on an amazing post race party. Today I got to experience an equally incredible, just different party. It truly felt like you were at some sort of festival with the multiple food stations, volunteers every where you turned and party atmosphere. The food was also amazing. At no point did you feel like they were going to be running out. The usual bananas (perfectly ripe and not chopped in half), water, really yummy bagels (not the standard packaged from what I could tell), a squeeze pack of Liberte Greek yogurt (such an awesome post race treat and easy to eat), spice loaf annnnd Dufflet brownies. There were also vendors from Starbucks giving what looked like free espresso shots and V8 handing out an iced cold fruit energy drink. I was glad I had picked up my bag, as many of these treats (definitely not the brownie) went into my bag.
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I made my way over to OMA Road Race Series director Lynn. I was picking up my bronze medal from last week's Toronto 10. As she got it ready for me she told me that the field had been incredibly strong for today race. I didn't doubt it. I'd seen a huge number of sub-elites warming up and knew from social media that this was a much loved and supported race for speedy Toronto runners. She got out her list of finishers as I prepared myself to not see my name on the list this time. Alas, apparently all the OMA runners in my category (but seemingly no others) had alternate plans today! Yeees! A gold medal for this masters runner! I'll take it!
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I headed to the the finish line to try to take a couple pics of my medal. I arrived to find one of those moments of humanity that warms your heart and makes you believe there is a child at heart in all of us.

As I stood there, parents with kids tossed armfuls of confetti into the air. Some took photos, some videos, some just danced around in the tissue paper snowstorm. But it wasn't just kids. A police officer stood nearby laughing, a man dressed as a bunch of grapes twirled and flung handfuls of paper in the air. It was an unexpected special moment that you could tell everyone there was feeling.
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I turned around at one point and Lanni Marchant was there talking to one of the race organizers. When she was done, I said, "Oh, come on, you gotta do a confetti throwing video!" She laughed and being the awesome sport she is, grabbed an armful. My friend Jess was there and snapped the photo below (which is both hilarious in my totally awkward confetti throwing stance, and the fact that if it weren't for the Wonder Woman costume and power legs, you wouldn't k ow it was Lanni!) Jess suggested a Boomerang video which we did a couple takes of prior to getting the one below. It was an awesome end to an amazing morning.

Would I do this race again? ABSOLUTELY.
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Bread & Honey 15K

6/21/2017

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Much earlier this year I was scheduled to race the Niagara Women's Half Marathon, but due to some organizational changes with the race ambassador program (more about that in a future post), I found myself available on the first weekend in June.

I'd seen the cute bee medal splashed on social media in previous years, and since Bread & Honey was part of the OMA Road Race series for 2017, I started looking into the race. I felt like I still had some mileage training from Goodlife and Ragnar and started wondering if I could pull off a 15K PB.

​It had been several years since I'd had a real attempt at this distance. I'd run the RBC Race for the Kids 15K in 2015 and 2016, but both were run for fun as an ambassador. I'd also done the NIKE Women's 15K but since I'd been recovering from a very tough race season I walked a lot during the race. My PB was actually from my first 15K race, the now defunct Midsummer's Night Race in 2014. 

The morning of the race I woke up to extremely grey skies, gusting wind and pouring rain. As I drove out to Streetsville Mississauga in my cozy car I was having some regrets about signing up! After parking, I made my way to the bib pick up. I was incredibly impressed with the building that housed the race head quarters. Although it was dark and dreary, I was seeing that this was a very pretty and historic town. Bib pick up was easy. I huddled inside for a little while, then ventured out into the rain to watch the kids race come in. I was very glad to have brought along an old heat blanket from a previous race to stay warm (ish) and dry (not really). With my heat shield billowing like a cape I did an (admittedly too short) warm up. Thankfully when I was running back I could hear the announcer calling for the 15K runners. 

I waited until I was in the corral before reluctantly draping my heat blanket on the corral fence. I was wearing capris and a short sleeve while others around me were in long sleeves, tights and jackets. I tend to aim for less when running in the rain figuring it is less material to get soaked and have to carry. But it was definitely WINDY and chilly. I hoped I wouldn't regret this race kit choice. I'd changed my mind several times even right before leaving that morning.
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We were off. The route was very simple, a big square that is exited and reentered from the top to the center. Michelle had given me a reasonable race plan. I felt pretty good for the first 5K. It was when we turned to run south and the wind and rain hit the runners straight on that I started to feel deflated. There were two runners running side by side at what seemed a similar pace. I tucked in behind them and truly hope I didn't drive them nuts as I wound up staying just behind them for several kilometers! It was a race where all you can do is put your head slightly down and run. Nothing much to distract from the discomfort and crappy weather. 

We turned west. Please don't let it be windy (or hilly), please don't let it be...UGH. Here's where the 'excuse maker' reared it's ugly head. Every potential reason for not doing well started popping into my mind. I didn't just want to walk, I wanted to reroute back to my car and not finish and never do a longer distance race again. I was both too hot and sweating in the 100% humidity, and cold from the rain. Every runner who had been wearing a jacket or long sleeve had them draped around their waists. A song that my friend Allison had recommended and then played on her iPhone speaker during the final stages of my recent half marathon came on my race playlist. Sigh. Okay. I was walking again. I started plodding again.

At 10K, I'd been playing leapfrog with the same half dozen runners doing the same as me. Something suddenly seemed to click--I felt a bit better. I figured it was short lived, but I managed to find a comfortable pace again. The kilometers slowly clicked off. 11, 12, 13. I looked at my watch. I realized that if I was able to push and hold on I'd be able to PB. I pushed and held on for dear life. I could hear coach Michelle in my head telling me to go, go, go. When I finally turned south on the final stretch I looked ahead desperately for the finish. I could see the steeple of the race headquarters looming which was a good thing / bad thing. That darn steeple and then the finish banner seemed to loom FOREVER. A couple of times I purposely looked down for awhile to kill time and not be reminded of how far it was. When I looked up I SWORE someone had moved it! Finally, finally, finally the finish was there and I used whatever I had to get there. 

At first I thought it was a PB, but upon looking it was a tie (if you don't count the stupid seconds!) 

After wandering to recover a bit, I put on a dry shirt and watched the awards. I checked in with Lynn of the OMA and was incredibly pleased to find out that my time had resulted in an OMA Road Race Series silver medal! I'll take it! While there were a LOT of speedy runners at the race and I was very impressed with the times.
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​Would I do the race again? I'm not sure. It was tough. It would likely be far nicer if the weather was clearer. It was truly a 'get it done' and 'when will this be over' kind of race. Would I do a 15K again? I know many people have the 'I'm never racing again' feelings during a 'meh' race, but in truth I really have been exploring the thoughts of not doing longer distance races any longer. I've totally enjoyed trying all the new things this year including the track, trail and relay running at Ragnar. The longer distance (over 10K) races just haven't been bringing me joy or satisfaction the past few years. I find myself feeling deflated each time I race.  Plus, the training for them is time consuming and recovery slower. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing like the feeling of a long training run on Sunday morning. But when it comes to a race? We shall see. For now, there are no long races on my calendar. ​
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5 Peaks: Rattlesnake Point

6/10/2017

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My trail experience gets better and better with each race!


Today I ran 5 Peaks Rattlesnake Point sport distance (each race has a sport and endurance distance).. After getting my feet wet (more like muddy) at my first trail race in Terra Cotta I thought I'd push the limits a bit on this one to see what I could do. Considering it's called the most technical of the Ontario courses, I'm really pleased with my finish time and race overall. I even passed a lot of people!

Congrats to Leanne for her first official race back, to Scott for his first trail race ever, to Michelle and Gemma for their podium finishes, and to Lisa for keeping Leanne from running the whole thing!

If you haven't tried a trail race, do it. It's a TOTALLY different world than road racing. I didn't quite believe it till I tried it. And now I am more hooked than ever.

PS There are sour gummy worms, chips and cookies at the finish!
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    Cathy V

    Running. Design.  Family. Dogs. Gardening. Food. Crochet. Canadian. 
    ​Order varies. 


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