15 Weeks to go

I am please to say that my training seems to be on track. I have been meeting with WoW Walkers at Edwards Gardens Tuesday mornings and Krista has been putting us through drills of interval training and hills. If you can hear your heart beating in your ears, I think I have reached my max VO2. I have decided that I will schedule my back to back long distances Fridays and Saturdays which will allow for a Sunday rest day and time with the family. It also means that I will still be able to connect with my running girls Saturday mornings which I hope will help for the motivation . This week I covered 20Km on Friday and an additional 10km yesterday and I am upright and still coherent today (Sunday). I have also decided that I will do the longer distance on Friday followed by a shorter distance on Saturday which is opposite of the race weekend of the Half on Saturday and the Full on Sunday. My thoughts are that if I get used to giving more the day before I will still have something left over on the long day. Does this make sense to anyone else??

I have been surprised to notice that my body from the waist down is pain free (no aches, bruises or blisters). My fingers and biceps on the other hand or simply not happy. I have had to take Advil because of the pain. Arthritis maybe?? I have an appointment with the doctor of Tuesday and we will see.

Hubby's training you ask, lets not go there. We are having such a nice day.

Great Recovery

Yesterday I had planned on a nice 12-13 km. By the time I got home I had covered 16.25 km. That was a bit further than I had planned and I haven't covered that kind of distance since last summer. One year ago that certainly wouldn't not have felt like a big deal but yesterday, what can I say, I was dragging my butt and legs those last 3 km. In the afternoon, though I was very tired, it was not my legs that ached, it was the backs of my arms. Lee had instructed me that the arms need to be driven back (held at a 45 degree angle) with the hands coming behind the hip bones. She demonstrated by holding her hand flat behind my back and having me try to strike it hard with my elbows. The idea is that not only do we strengthen the fascia that runs from our shoulders and upper back to the glute to the hams and calfs, but also, driving the upper arms backwards drives the torso and hips forward. An added bonus is that I am losing those dreaded 'wings' that women develop under our arms. Four years of running had taught me to conserve upper body energy for use in the legs. So yes, after a 2.5 hour power walk it was my arms that were pooched, not my legs and butt. After a great night's sleep (worth noting as I having had a great one in a while), and a fabulous breakfast made by the world best husband, we are going a a recovery walk this morning, a 5km trail walk.

Happy travels everyone. Remember to keep the rubber side down.

Glutes are Firing

I met with my WoW Walkers group yesterday morning, for a great workout. Coach Krista had a new drill for us (as developed by some of the other walking coaches) which involved aiming for 100 steps in 20 seconds. Crazy, but true. The idea is to focus on a shortened stride, and a faster turn over. We started with intervals of 10 seconds and built up to 30 seconds and then settled back to 20 seconds, each time counting the number of foot strikes with the goal to build to 100 strikes in 20 seconds. After this drill Krista had us doing lunges (up hill) and squats, and I have to tell you I can feel it is my backside this morning Yeah!!!! It is always great to work muscle groups that you think you are working but maybe not so much.

Things ARE improving

Let's not mince words, it has been freaking hot in southern Ontario this July. Temps in the mid 30s adding in humidity it feels like mid 40s. I have personally been finding it hard to breath outdoors. Also, in combination with humidity and hormones I have been one continual sweaty mess and not very happy. Depression has been something I have combated my entire life (many times it felt like the disease was winning) but it has been particularly hard these last few months. After a visit to the doctor, a change in meds and a very hard month of withdrawal from one and a new tolerance of the new I am starting to feel much much better. I managed to get out twice last week and did a solid 12km yesterday morning. Recovery is difficult (last summer 12km was a daily distance - didn't feel tired unless to passed the 25km mark) and my protein recovery shake didn't sit well (no doubt because of the meds) but I sense that I will be able to get me mileage up before I officially begin my event training in September. As a treat, I purchased a $25 iTunes card for new tunes on the iPod. Life is going to be good again.

He made it out the door

With six months until race day, this husband finally agreed to join me on me Saturday walk. I was pleased that we have now passed this hurdle and that his training has at least officially started. It has been my hope that this race would be something that we, as a couple, could do together. Let's hope this is the start of something important. To mark the occasion, I photographed him in his running shoes and one pair of running socks. While I know he will need more socks (and maybe even running clothes????) I know we can't rush these things. Now his shoes don't quite glow as do in this picture.

Photos of Maui Race

Trying to figure out how to flip the last picture, but life is too short to sweat about that kind of stuff and at this race I sweated for a lifetime. Please note the clock on the stove. That would be 2:11 a.m. We had already been up for 45 minutes. Yes the views were lovely. Do you see the shade???? No??? I couldn't either. Shortly after these photos were taken my fingures were so swollen I couldn't push the shutter on the camera. I did finish, and I did get my medal in the mail. No t-shirt though. That's Ok I got a very cool running cap that I haven't seen on anyone else's head in these parts.

I have been able to get some good distances in this past week with little pain. AND I have been able to reach a pace of around 8 min/Km. This is GREAT. I can only get stronger.

Off for a fab weekend with the girls. No training though. To be continured Monday.

Has it been THAT long?????

Well now, looking at my last post it appears that it has been almost - but not quite- one full year since I posted anything. Oh crap. Life goes on. Yes yes I did finish Maui. It was dreadful. Not the scenery or the people - they were fantastic. The heat was oppressive. I had to put ice cubes in my bra, and under my hat. I sat for a brief time on a bench in a park because there was a little shade (never did THAT before). At one point a volunteer asked my if I was alright. I burst into tears and said "no, I wasn't". Just before he scooped me up to put me in a sweep vehicle, a second medial volunteer said that I would be alright, it wasn't far to the finish, I could do it (they had poured ice water on me to cool me down at that point). And I did finish, in just under 8 miserable hours. By that point they had run out of medals, finishers t-shirts, and post event snacks. They offered a I.V. but I passed on it. Cathy commandeered a school bus to get me back to the condo. Once again, Cathy has been there when I needed her the most.

Now I am training for the Disney Race and a Half Challenge a.k.a The Goofy. In January, even in Florida I should have the truly bad heat. Again I am planning on walking. This time however I have joined WoW Walkers, a group of race walkers in Toronto. Yes indeed I am developing my funny walk but I must say I must be doing something right because my butt is sore. I have hoping to have buns of steel by the time I finish my event.

As I am turning 50 this year this is my big fitness event. A year ago I brought forth the idea to my husband that I would like him to do the half with me at Disney. No pressure at the time, he just need to make a decision before registration opened in January. He said "Yes, I'll do it." So he was registered. It is now June 22nd with just over 6 months until race day and he has put in 20 minutes on a treadmill (over two different dates) and has walked to and from Baskin Robbins once. I don't think it's going to happen. I had hoped this could be something we shared, the training and then the race. I may be on my own. Will keep you posted.