Sporting Life 10km, Collapsed Runner and Nipple Tape

Well Race #1 is officially under my belt.  I ran in the Sporting Life 10 km running race down Yonge Street on Sunday.  I had set a goal for myself of beating my previous 10 km personal best time of 53:15, which I believe I set in the same race about 12 years ago.  I fell a bit short of that goal with a time of 55:17.  I was right on track to be done in about 52 minutes at the half way point, but I found that I faded a fair bit around the 7 km mark.  I'm not too unhappy with my finish though, it puts me in the top 25% of all the female runners in that race and gives me some feedback about what I need to work on.  Now back to the training and find another 10 km race later in the season to see if I can improve on that time.  

As an aside, it was the first race ever where I've seen a runner collapsed on the course and being administered first aid.  The poor man was white as a ghost and gasping for air. I'm hoping it was nothing major, perhaps just pushed a bit too hard - kind of disconcerting to see though as you are running past.  And at the end my sympathies went out to another guy who's nipples were so badly chaffed from the run that he had 2 red streaks of blood streaming down his white race shirt - ouch!   

Inspiration

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go - T. S. Eliot

Running Hazards

Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, just not so much when they're off leash and I'm running.  Sunday morning I was out for my usual 10 km run along the Beltline.  If you're not familiar the Beltline it is a lovely wooded path that stretches from Mount Pleasant Cemetery and Yonge, across to the Allen Road.  It's an old railway line that the city filled in with dirt and turned into parkland.  It's great for running, shady, easy on the knees and away from traffic and pollution.  So I'm about midway through my run and these two dogs are off leash in an area that is NOT an off leash area.  Just as I run past them one decides to chase the other at top speed and both plow into my legs knocking them right out from under me and I land flat on my back and my left palm hits a sharp rock.  You know it looked bad when you can hear a gasp from the onlookers! One of the owners was kind enough to help me up and check that I was ok and I went on with my run.  It took another couple of kilometers for me to notice the blood dripping from my hand (endorphins are pretty amazing!).  Further along a smaller dog darted out in my path and I barely managed to avoid colliding with him.  If I had he would have been badly hurt.  Please dog owners for the safety of all concerned, keep them on a leash in areas heavily trafficked by runners or cyclists.

March Break - What Break?

Since Brandon's off school this week, I can organize childcare a bit around the pool schedule so I can get some much needed swimming in.  I haven't swum in about a year and a half, but it's just like riding a bike, it all comes right back to you.  Monday was a 1200 m swim, which I did in 300 m chunks since I'm a bit rusty.  It was surprisingly easy, but boy could I feel my deltoids, trapezoids and triceps muscles afterward.  I was back in the water again today and since Wednesday is one of my usual running days, I followed the 1200 m swim with a 5 km run, during which I'm thinking the triathlon is still almost 5 months away and I just did almost 2/3 of it - can you say over-prepared?   

Running

After some inspiration from a marathoner friend, I increased my Sunday morning runs from 6 km to 10 km a few weeks ago.  I was surprised how easy it was to just tack on the extra 4 km and while my legs were a bit sore the next couple of days, I'm pleased with the results.  Over the last 3 weeks I've been able to consistently shave 1 minute off my 10 km time which should put me in good shape for the Sporting Life 10 km run on Sunday May 2nd, not as fast as my personal best (PB) of 53 minutes, but under an hour and since that PB was about 15 years ago, not too shabby. 

Spring is on the Way...

and soon after begins the new race season.  I've been perusing and re-perusing race schedules and I think I've got my season all planned out:

• Sunday May 2nd - Sporting Life 10 km race for Kids with Cancer
• Saturday June 19th - Hoping to have a blast again at the Mitsubishi City Chase
• Sunday July 11th - Acura Toronto either 10 miler or 5 km, not decided yet
• Sunday August 8th - Grimsby Sprint distance triathlon - my shot at redemption on the swim and likely a new personal best time
• Sunday September 26th - Scotiabank 5 km, no marathons or half's for these knees

I would love some company on any or all of the above, or even for any of the training beforehand. 

Hope to see you at the races :)

Pamela

Run for the Cure

Well the Forces of Nature Wellness Team Ran for the Cure this morning.  Altogether I think we raised about $1600.  We had a wonderful time, the weather held so we didn't get rained on.  They are estimating 30 000 people were there and it sure seemed like it, the crowd was immense.  If you've never done a run like that before, it's a very worthwhile experience just to feel the energy from such a crowd of excited, positive people.  The organizers did a great job and the cheerleaders along the way made for lots of smiles and high fives. It took me 25 minutes to complete the 5 km run which I was pretty happy with, now I'm looking to run a more competitive 5 km race and see how I do. I'll keep you posted!