The buddy system

Tis the holiday season and time to get together and celebrate some good cheer with old friends. And so last week I found myself reconnecting with a girl I grew up with. We'd been through the Girl Guides system, softball teams, and swimming lessons together ... lost touch through university but found out years later we belonged to the same gym. And so we'd end up having baked brie and beer on occasion. Last week was one such occasion. Of course, we talked about the gym: how she goes, even after she had knee surgery a few months ago, while I talk about how I've been avoiding it because in truth, I've turned pretty lazy about exercising (I keep blaming my bad shoulders but guess what I have a doctor's appointment next week to finally get it seriously checked out.) My friend and I came to a buddy system agreement where we will meet each other at the gym every Monday so that we can each get a good start to the week (though we started on Thursday this week because of previous engagements). She convinced me to join her because she's in the early stages of learning to run. She's at a 15-minute walk/run level right now. I thought to myself, I should be able to handle that. Just ease back in...

And so I showed up today and we found two treadmills together. Started with walking, then eased into a jog. It was about 3 min run, then 1 min walk pace. By around the 10th minute, I was feeling pretty good about myself: unexpectedly, my breathing was not particularly labored, nor were my running mechanics totally off kilter. I was not in as rough shape as I thought. I decided to push it and run harder for the last five minutes. It was hard to maintain the 6 mph pace, but I did it. I am pretty sure I will actually feel it in my legs tomorrow. But it was fun and I might just do this again tomorrow.

And this is how we build towards the Around the Bay 30K race. Peer pressure might just get me to sign up (like everyone is doing it! Yumke, Fleetfooted, Cousin...!!!) but let's see how I handle a little more distance in the next week or two before I really commit. I'm pretty good at talking a big game sometimes and then "forgetting" about it, when it comes to these races and stuff.

Oh ya, speaking of buddies: Yumke has devilishly decided to revive the 2006 Chicago team of himself, me and Fleetfooted to run another race together and has generously decided to pay for our choice of Toronto spring races next year. Ah, the gift of running.

Cheerleader

Today I played the role of cheerleader, running on the sidelines instead of in the main event. This was an event that I had to precisely time if I wanted to see all the runners I needed to see today, and I spent a lot of time this weekend trying to figure out best places to catch them at one point or another.

But I knew I wanted to spend as much of it chasing Yumke around town on the subway while he chased his dream to qualify for Boston. He's come so far since we both trained for the Chicago Marathon in 2006. (I have actually gone backwards but this is not about me today).

I saw him at the 9K mark, where the half-marathon and marathon routes split up. I took a quick break to try and catch the half-marathoners and made my way to near the finish line. I missed Cousin's finish (she was spot on what I thought she would do, way to go!) but caught R and her sister (awesome!). Walked a few blocks and saw my former boss and his son in the home stretch of their half-marathon together. Hopped on the subway and positioned myself right near work and not more than three minutes later caught Yumke as he hit the halfway mark. The cheering group at this corner kept shouting "BOSTON! BOSTON!", and I chimed in too. As soon Yumke passed by, I headed back up to the finish line and met up with Cousin. We sipped americanos, conspired about doing a marathon together next year (really?) or at least the 30K Around the Bay, and then scooted back into position at the 41K mark to watch for Yumke.

We saw the 3:10 pace bunny go by and I knew Yumke couldn't be far behind. And in what seemed like an eternity, a white hat came bobbing along, and as Yumke approached, our little group went crazy and while we didn't know what time it was and where Yumke stood against the clock, we had a good feeling that it was good enough to be a BQ. Our suspicions were all but confirmed when we spotted the 3:15 pacer run by solo after Yumke (where'd his group go?)

We found this happy guy as he slowly walked through the chute. No doubt savoring the moment.

Congrats Yumke. So proud of you.

Gak, it hurts but confidence building

Mini update, not that there's much to say. Last month, I ran Harry's Spring 5K with a bunch of former university paper staffers, making good on a promise we made to each other last year when we coincidentally came together at this race. It hurt. It hurt bad. My breathing was off, my strides were all wrong, my arms felt alien to me. Oh and it was so cold and windy which set the stage for miserable attitude anyway. My 5K time was kind of embarrassing -- 34:47.o chip -- though much better than my prediction that I'd finish in 40-45 minutes, that's how much confidence I had heading into it. But that's what I get for running less than I can count on one hand since... well let's not even review that. 

I then missed out on the Sporting Life 10K -- one of my favorite races in this city -- because I *forgot* to sign up. Just as well because after my performance at Harry's, I was too scared to go out and train for it, didn't have the will to even try. As if I'm not scared enough as it is, I've recently agreed with J from work to sign up for the Toronto half-marathon in October (151 days to go). And the midterm goal is to hit a 10 miler in the summer (60 days to race day).  

So today, as I wind down my hours in cottage country (CMan whisked me away to the resort we stayed at for our honeymoon for a long weekend), I laced up my shoes and ran a little, from the resort to the turn-in off the highway (which the sign says is 2K one way). It wasn't easy but there's something about running on backcountry roads that's so much more something something than city asphalt. And there was a hot tub with a magnificent view of the lake at the end of it. 

It was a good start in that I started. If I can get two or three more runs in this week, I'm sure it'll become a habit again. Confidence will rebuild, but it's baby steps. Sometimes I still marvel at how I dragged myself cross that finish line in Chicago, but obviously I can do it. I can repeat the slow build to achieving that personal goal if I want to. And I want to. Because lately I've been feeling as useful as a sack of potatoes...Maybe even resembling!

Resolutionista

So on a premeditated whim (is that an oxymoron?), I decided to go 2 for 2 to the gym, in terms of weeks. I went twice last week, once for some stationary biking and the second time for a yoga class that was too advanced for my impatient and unGumbyish self. Today, I spent my lunch break at the gym -- running on the treadmill of all things. I've been wondering lately what my fitness level was,  having continued to avoid the gym for another month where there was no doubt a lot of New Year's resolutionistas. I read a blurb today about how the majority of people who make New Year's resolutions to go to the gym inevitably quit by February 1. It was kinda quiet at the gym late into the lunch hour. Usually I would have to fight for a treadmill. Maybe it's true, that blurb... I've probably been that statistic one year. Call it a February resolution, but all I really want right now is to fit better into a few favorite pieces that don't feel so right anymore.

It was surprisingly a relatively easy 5K over 40 minutes flat, which bodes well for the spring race I think I want to do. More on that later.

My knees hurt now. That doesn't bode so well.

Unfinished business: part 2

New year, oh a new year.

I've been on another of my famous hiatuses. I had finished the Zoo Race on quite a high. I could have let that momentum carry me. Instead, I let it die ....and along with it, this blog.

I could make the excuse that I had started a new job (actually I finished a three-year special project and sadly returned to a job I thought I had progressed from) and it wasn't going well. I could make the excuse that my shoulder was causing me to back off from running (how? I don't know. I said it was an excuse.) I could make the excuse that I hate winter running. Or maybe I am just not enthused about running anymore and seek another challenge.

A girl at work has asked me to run with her -- no wait, she said "teach me to run" -- when we return from the holiday break. It was an fascinating proposition and I wasn't sure how to respond. Teach? I don't know what I have to offer, but I suppose I am a non-threatening slower-than-average runner whose fleeting persistence somehow motivates others. What they don't know is that I think I actually need them more to motivate me than they need me.

The seriousness with running that I applied to the Chicago Marathon in 2006 is all but gone. I wish to do another marathon but the thought scares me a little because of the commitment involved. I know I am comfortable with the half-marathon and the shorter distances -- much more forgiving with the other things I enjoy in life (mostly extreme laziness whenever the whim takes me). Out of habit, I'll probably sign up for Harry's, Sporting Life, and the Zoo and likely the Scotiabank half-marathon too. I am not looking to do anything out of town this year, but I can be swayed easily. The year is only a few hours old.

Unfinished business ... Race report: Lions and tigers and bears, oh my

Ed: The following race report was written Oct 18, 2008. It's not entirely complete, and never posted til now. It was my last race and the last time I had put running shoes on. It was probably one of my best races.


My second 10K Zoo Run is in the books. I really enjoyed it today and have been thinking it should be part of my race plans every year, and I think Team Family might agree to it. Today's race went extremely well. I am very pleased with the effort, the results. I wasn't sure how I'd perform after having very little sleep this past week and having workload issues that left me more than a little upset this week, but it was like the crisp autumn air and seeing a couple of zoo animals made everything okay for an hour.

I only slept about 4.5 hours before this race, not much more than all the other days this week. When I woke up, I nibbled on half a bagel with peanut butter and swigged some Gatorade. I didn't feel good. My cousin drove my sister and I and on the way, we decided where to go the post-race meal.

We lined up. My cousin and sister had blue markers on their bibs, indicating they were in the last corral, the 1:00:00+ group. I had a green marker, one corral ahead of them. When you sign up for these things -- and for me that's usually months ahead before I've actually really considered any kind of training plan -- they sometimes ask when you plan to finish. I guess I thought I'd do it in under an hour because I've done that once and would like to repeat. Again, this is like two weeks ago with the half-marathon: I lined up where I shouldn't.

The three of us started together. I kept pace with my sister, who still has weak ankles, and then left her after we'd completed the first kilometer. She was planning on not aggravating her ankles, despite the elastic foot wrap. We wished her luck and said we'd meet at the finish line. She urged me to run the distance without her, so she wouldn't be holding me back from improving my time since I would otherwise stick with her from start to finish. Today, I would be making sure my cousin didn't slack off. I mostly didn't but I gave in to her wish to walk for a minute around the 7K mark. I think I could have otherwise ran the distance nonstop but it was nice to run a race with my cousin. We haven't signed up for that many together, but every time we have, we start together and separate (usually I was behind -- be it bladder, conditioning, or sticking with my sister). I left my cousin shortly after 9K. I had a lot of energy left -- who knows where it was coming from -- and took advantage. As I was doing the final K, I thought I could run the whole course again.

We left the zoo and did the same thing we did last year (sadly without Yumke who was resting between marathons or something) and went Chinese styles -- noodles, a big bowl of congee with fried dough on the side, and lots of cups of green tea. Funny thing this year, my parents and a friend were also coincidentally at the same restaurant. Bonus -- they paid!

Chip time: 1:07:34.2 (last year 1:14:37.9)
Pace/km: 6:52 (last year: 7:38)