Thirty days 'till the 30K

Around the Bay 30K is March 30, in Hamilton, Ontario.

No more goofing around with my training. No whining about the cold and snow, wind and sleet. Nope it’s time to haul the butt out the door and just get on with it.

With any luck, March will come in like a Lion (they are calling for another 10 - 15 centimetres of snow today), and that will be the last blast of winter. Well I can dream can’t I?

Every person that I’ve spoken with is just about as fed up as I am, but on the bright side, it’ll be gone soon enough and then everyone will be complaining about the heat and humidity . . . we just don’t quit.

So, my training is looking like this;

I have 221.5K to jam in before race day and 50K of those are hills. I haven’t broken down the tempo runs nor speed runs yet, but I didn’t want the non-runners’ eyes to glaze over at this point.

Truthfully though, I’m finding the five days a week running a little much, maybe because I’m tired of bundling up to go out and run. So, I’m trying four days per week, including Wednesdays, yes Hump Day is Hill Day in my world. Go figure . . .

In actual fact, the 30K Around the Bay is a regular training day, but my logic is, if you have to run 29K that day, you might as well do the 30K and get the Medal . . . for me “it’s all about the Bling!”

Also going on in Hamilton that weekend is the Food & Drink Fest,

what?, you think I go just to run? Not likely . . .

I'll let you know how the training is going, oh, and for the run too!

Enjoy your journey, one step at a time,

Lily

Happy Leap Year!

Appetizer

What was your first real job?

Soup
Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity?

Salad
I’m embarrassed when ...

Main dish
What values did you parents instill in you?

Dessert
Name three fads from your teenage years.

A Great Thursday!

Okay, so I’m lying in bed this morning contemplating getting up before the alarm goes off at 05:30, and thinking about what on earth will I talk about today on the blog.

The furnace is on a timer which doesn’t click in until 05:35, so my house is really quite cool at 62 degrees until the furnace switches on, so if I do get up I’m really going to freeze.

Pulling the covers up higher around me and still thinking about what to write about, I wait it out.....come on furnace!

Still nothing of shock nor value is coming to me so I decide to write about what was discussed on Clinic night at the Running Room on Tuesday night.

Proper fitting shoes and having them fit for your foot configuration (either you supinate or pronate, very few up us are balanced and equal in foot strike). This means balance and cushioning are key and necessary depending upon the distances you’ll be running while training for your event! Okay, I can "run" with this topic.....

Great!! Now I have something else to discuss...I’m on a roll, okay, since we are in deep winter here in Ottawa, winter running apparel was also a topic on Tuesday night....layering....."cotton is rotten", so layering with wicking (not wicked) technical tops and long underwear....




okay, let’s see, all the necessities of lip gloss with SPF, sun screen slathered on your face and hands, yes even in winter...I’m so excited....this is going to be a breeze, my brain is really ramping up.....





I leap out of bed....the cat is scurrying around, she is just not use to me being so fired up this early in the morning....I’m on a mission .... the cat is fed, coffee is on and I power up the gateway to the world.....hah, my first sip of coffee, cobwebs are gone and...........




WOW, a new visitor....NAT.....I love new visitors’ and she’s from Ottawa!

How cool is that....I quickly flip over to Nat’s blog and much to my surprise and horror, which quickly turned into gratitude, Nat had written about the very topics that I was still trying to compose in my brain....and the bonus is Nat did a way better job then I would ever be able to do this early in the morning!!!

Hey, were you at the same clinic???

THANKS NAT, and WELCOME.......

well, my job is done.....Life's fun if you don't weaken!

Enjoy your journey, one step at a time

Lily

Wordless Wednesday!

Ode to Celery Straws!

When the dreary winter weather brings me down.

Neither grape nor hops can make me drown,

the sorrow of winter’s cold, damp and raw.

But, Bloody Caesar with a celery straw,

Can make me sit up and say HURRAH!!!

bwwahhhhhhaaaaa,

Lily

Another Diamond of a Day!

Wow, what a great weekend.

Today the marathon group was running 16K LSD.

With the day bright and sunny it brought out many runners to the Running Room this morning, great to see so many faces . . . old friends and new runners, everyone pumped and positive.

Our Marathon Group is very large in numbers so we head outdoors first. We went across the parking lot to assemble and get our predetermined run route for the day. The various pace groups get together with their pace runner and off they go . . . I’m in the 5-hour pace group, so we are the second last group to head out.


This gave me some time to take a quick picture of the 10K group getting their instructions.


The 5-hour group this week was small, and there were four of us. The great part of the 16 week training is that you can try different pace groups . . . several jumped over to the 4:30 group while a couple of others went back into the "to finish" group.

Off we went. Today’s run was like a treasure hunt, a brand new run route that none of us was familiar with . . . it took us through a very affluent subdivision and in close proximity to a private golf course. There were some amazing homes and properties tucked away in these private courts . . . with quite a bit of ooohing and ahhhing from us needless to say as we looked at another spectacular home.

As we were running, it turned into more of a quest for a pit stop run than anything else, go figure, four women, cold day . . . need I say more? After several thwarted efforts we had to totally give up on the run route to detour to find a public washroom, thank you Tim Horton’s!!! The coffee did smell great, but we had to settle for our sports drinks and gel’s.

By now we were really off our "supposed"route so we put our collective heads together along with the Garmin’s and headed off again.

What a beautiful day.

The sun was out and really quite strong for this time of year, wonderful! The wind was starting to pick up as we headed back toward the Running Room. Some of the sidewalks were slippery and icy but we managed without any damage done to anyone. I’m not all that cognisant of times nor splits right now, so I just go by what feels right, however the other women had their Garmin's and even though our pace was a little fast, we were all comfortable with it so we just continued on . . . even with the detour and pit stop we came into the Running Room four minutes ahead of what we were suppose to be at 2:04:00. It was an awesome run, comfortable pace and wonderful company.

When we were just about to cross the road to finish up our run,
we came across some of the ladies doing their practising for their walk,

60K for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer . . . You Go Girls!

As a side note:



















With our detour today, we ended up crossing over Valour Bridge, a bridge that I find an honour to run over. It is dedicated to the all the men and women who have fought to keep Canada free. All along the bridge there are plaques commemorating the various wars throughout the 20th and 21st Centuries, however, this plaque is the one that sums it all up for me .

Thank YOU!

Thank you for allowing me the feedom to run, the freedom to have a voice in this country and the freedom to be me!

Life's fun if you don't weaken, enjoy your journey one step at a time...

thank you,
Lily

I threw away a week and was given a diamond of a day!

This past week was one heck of a week weather wise. It was just a typical winter week of snow, cold, wind and blowing snow.

Monday was a day off from running so it really didn’t matter that the wind was blowing and it was cold and dark. The good news is, the days are getting longer. Thank goodness, because I truly need my daylight.

Tuesday evening is our Running Room Marathon Clinic. This weeks guest speaker was a well known RTM who was going to be there to discuss the importance of stretching and massage therapy once you hit the longer distances. Well, one look out of my front window squashed any ideas of turning around and heading back into town for the lecture and follow up 6K run....(please see photo from Tuesday blog).

Wednesday was cold, damp with whiteouts on the way into work and on the way home, not all that great a day, a 10K was on my schedule for Wednesday...gah, I got home and it was not nice at all...so, another day slips into the abyss. Never once did it cross my mind to pack my gym bag to take with me, just in case the weather was too crappy....oh, nooooo, never once did it cross my mind that I could go to the gym.....it was just too easy to whine and say, it’s too cold, what a wimp....

By the time Thursday rolled around I was totally ensconced in my pity party....what? Me Run In This? You’ve got to be kidding, nope, can’t make me, won’t do it......luckily Friday rolled around and it is a day off, so, whew, I DIDN’T HAVE TO RUN, how cool is that, they are giving me a day off from running and I don’t have to run....I’m so excited....but then guilt sets in (well sort of)....I made peace with the running gods that I would check my B.A., (bad attitude) at the door and get out and run on Saturday....okay, okay, I will....

Saturday dawns to the most spectacular sun rise and just proceeds to get better. After the mandatory swirl around the house (cleaning) I laced up my runners and out I went....it was LOVELY, a no gloves day....off I went,

well I’m just interested in how much snow YOU have....

I must admit by taking the week off, my joints were a little stiff, my feet a little sore and my breathing a little short, so I slowed down my pace and really started to savour the day. It was gorgeous out and sun made it feel warmer than what it actually is.

This is our community Fun Winter Weekend. There are so many activities going on within the community but the main focus of all the events were taking place at our community centre. Chili making contests, games of shinny on the outdoor rink, and for the children, face painting, indoor games, music and just plain old running around.

So I headed up the Community Centre Road,

Feeling good ~ not three sheets to the wind, but really good!

For the adults the main event of the day is the Snow Pitch competition....always a riot to participate in but also so much fun to watch. It is a regular game of three pitch baseball with a florescent ball (so you won’t loose it in the snow) and swatches of carpet to mark where the bases ought to be, they do end in various areas within the diamond.....too much fun!

My run today was 6K which I ran easily, really enjoying all the sights and sounds of the community. My pace was slower than normal but it didn’t matter today, it was just such a wonderful day to be out and enjoying the sun. After such a beautiful day and wonderful run, how could I dislike this winter so much? I suppose it depends on the day!

When I returned home, my backyard was alive with birds that have been hunkered down all week trying to get out of the bad weather.

Ms. Cardinal was at the feeder when I arrived but I frightened her and she flew up into my oak tree, normally she is very illusive I hardly ever get to really see her other than a flash of colour, she today she indulged me with letting me take a photo of her.....

unlike the Blue Jay, they are not shy at all.....

Well, that was the perfect day, a great run, could it get much better than this in February?

Life's fun if you don't weaken, enjoy your journey one step at a time and here we are, chill'ax'n on the front deck!

Lily!!

Friday Feast

APPETIZER

If you were a dog, what breed would you be and why?

SOUP

What does the colour purple make you think of?

SALAD

Approximately how long does it take you to get ready each morning?

MAIN COURSE

Name two things you consistenly do that you consider healthy habits.

Dessert

Take your initials (first, middle, last) and come up with something else those letters could stand for. (i.e., SFO, sweet funny otter)

I need inspiration....

"The intensity at which you demand performance from the body must be matched with the intensity that you take care of it".

I just read that on another site and it hit me, strangely that this is what I seem to be lacking. As a first time Marathoner to be, do I have the support I need, mentally, physically and spiritually?

Let's see;

• do I eat properly? do nacho's and salsa count as a food group?
  
  
• do I get enough sleep? does sleeping at my office desk count?
  
  
• do I have an attitude of gratitude? YOU BET!
  


• do I have the mental fortitude to get out off the couch and into the cold five days a week? so far, mmmm, not really, but I'm working on it!
  


• am I getting support from my running friends! YES!
  
  
• am I self sabotaging myself? YES!
  


• have I given myself enough mental preparation for this distance? Yes, but I'm still whining....it's tooooo cold out!
  
  
• will I ask for a kick in the butt when I need it? Don't have to, my cheerleaders do that for me before I ask!
  


• am I giving myself credit for getting this far? sort of.........
  


• will I continue with the training and not bail? Absolutely, this feeling is temporary...
  
  
• have I figured out why I'm doing this training? Yes, to be a better me, to find where my inner strength is...where it comes from....
  
  
• am I being too serious and loosing the reason why I want to run a marathon? YES!
  


• will I lighten up and live by my own words, of "Life's fun if you don't weaken, enjoy your journey one step at a time....YOU BET!
  
  so, what is your Thirteen on Thursday??

Lily

Full Snow Moon

February 20, 2008,

Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February's full Moon the Full Snow Moon.

Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.

Call me Luna, but I am very affected by the Moon....go figure!

Enjoy your Full Moon evening....
even with the satellite being shot down and all!

Lily (I love the full moon).

Wordless Wednesday!

I didn't run tonight

Okay, is it me?

Or are we having an awful lot of snow this winter? Now I have to shift my running schedule, that's okay, I'll manage!

Run safe,

Lily

Serious Arm Exercises!

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.

With a 5-lb potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can.

Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.

Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.

After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato sacks.

Then try 50-lb potato sacks and then eventually try to get where you can lift a 100-lb potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level.)

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the
sacks....oh, bye the way, that's not me ~ that's Marilyn.....

Good luck with your arm exercises!!

Lily

Monday's Musings

This is how I feel today.

All thighs and no arms.....Upper body and arm fatigue ~ never have I experienced this more than now. Gah, am I going the way of the dinosaur???

I spoke with my Team Leader after yesterday's run to discuss this issue and her words of wisdom were to use free weights and do more upper body stretches. Will get right on that.

In the mean time I found this article this morning.....

*Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., C.S.C.S, the Fitness Research Director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, MA.

"The basic exercise for the biceps muscles is the arm curl, performed with barbells, dumbbells, or machines. Training the triceps involves some form of arm extension, either with free-weights or machines.
A good means for working the biceps and upper back muscles together is chin-ups with bodyweight or on a weight-assisted chin/dip machine. A good means for working the triceps and chest muscles together is bar dips with bodyweight or on a weight-assisted chin/dip machine.

The neck muscles maintain head position throughout each run. As the head weighs up to 15 pounds, this is an important function. In fact, the first place where many runners fatigue and tighten up is the neck/shoulder area. We therefore recommend the 4-way neck machine to strengthen these muscles. If you do not have access to this machine, perhaps the best approach is manual resistance. That is, place your hands in front of your forehead to resist slow neck flexion movements, and place your hands behind your head to resist slow neck extension movements."

He of course includes Leg, Upper Body, Arm and Midsection exercises, when put all together help build the core strength that longer distance runners' require.

Personally, I prefer yoga stretches and free weights (5lb), but will not exclude ANY information to help me on my marathon journey.

Hopefully with continued workouts over the next 12 - 13 weeks, I’ll be able to *Hold my head up high*....

Life's fun if you don't weaken, enjoy your journey one Tyrannosaurus rex step at a time!

Lily

RED SKY IN THE MORNING, SAILORS TAKE WARNING!

The sky this morning was pretty incredible, the photo does not do it justice.

Sunday 16K day ~ a really large crowd today leaving from the Running Room(TM), Learn to run right up to the marathon group, everyone wanted to get their run in before the freezing rain started....my good friend GeeZen is back from the sunny south where American's are not allowd to go.....she joined our group today, it is always so much fun to run with her. It is really nice getting to know the others in the group too. Over such a long distance we all mix it up and end up running with various people in the group. Nice way to meet people, everyone has something to teach you....

Currently, I'm running with the five hour group, we will see how that will pan out once we get into the longer distances, but for now it is a really comfortable pace. Again, due to the extreme amount of snow we were having to do the majority of the run on the side of the roads.....not every driver is courteous, one lady gave all of us the finger, so we high fived her back! I'm certain she was on her way to church! *hehehe*

The actual run was GREAT, nice and steady with one pit stop along the way...thank you Burger King! I feel great, no aches nor pains.....once back to the store I got a power bar to munch on the way home.

Luckily, I decided to stop for groceries, a quick whirl around the grocery store, picked up some red wine to have with dinner and I was on my way home. As I headed up my lane, I could tell by my Canadian flag that is on the flag pole on my garden shed that the wind had changed direction....and not in the good direction! I quickly unloaded the car and got groceries et el, into the house when the freezing rain started......Thanks for letting me get home!!!!!

Well, this week is done, I'm going to carb load, have a BEvERage and watch a movie this afternoon! What are YOU doing???

Run Safe, enjoy your journey once step at a time...

Life's fun if you don't weaken

Lily

A Week in Retrospect

This has been a crazy week.

My Woooo Hoooo metre was thrown right off kilter, way too many things going on, I totally lost focus once I posted Wordless Wednesday's picture, my mind wandered down to the beach and got lost in the seafoam......Ah, but alas, back to reality....whooot, Valentines Day....another day to reflect on life, I’m not even going to go there.....Friday’s Feast, what can I say....now back to running.

In between all of the festivities I did get my running in....mile after mile, kilometre after kilometre....

Tuesday night is our group clinic held in town at our local Running Room(TM), there is a large contingency of runners for this session with the ING Ottawa Marathon Race Weekend as our target race.

We start off the evening with guest speakers, ranging from nutritionists, RTM’s to shoe fit experts, no matter how many times you hear something, when the student is ready, the teacher appears. I’m not sure how many times I’ve heard things being suggested or discussed but for some reason this clinic I’m learning so much more. Maybe because I’m ready to learn this and maybe because I’m afraid of this whole distance process. However, I have learned that being afraid is really a waste of energy, being afraid is only because I don’t know what to anticipate, being afraid is being afraid of the unknown, why would I let my mind to this to me? Being afraid is just plain stupid.

After our informative lecture we bundle up and head out the door for our 6K run, Tuesday night group night is always 6K. The night was very cold and the wind was picking up. We did a out and back, heading into the wind, gah, I’ve come to the conclusion that no mater what size your ass is, you’re just going to freeze it off this winter.....BBrrrrrr..........
after the run I headed home, had a hot shower and did my yoga stretches while watching Grey’s Anatomy....or Top Model reruns....can’t remember, my mind was still frozen.

Wednesday is a 10K run for several weeks before I start hill training. Again, the Running Room offers an open evening run to anyone who deems they should get out and off the couch on a Wednesday....as mentioned before, I really need my daylight once February rolls around, so after work I went home, bundled up and off I went for my 10K.

It was cold and windy (this is becoming the norm I think), by the time I got around to the last 2K, it was totally dark, even though I had my reflective clothing on, I hadn’t brought my running night lights, very foolish. The last 2K were a struggle, it was so cold and dark and I ended up walking on the snowmobile trail at the side of the road so I wouldn’t interfere with the traffic.....we have so much snow along the roadways, it just makes it far more difficult to keep out of the drivers way....until the days really lighten up, I’ll have to judge my timing a little better.

With all of the other events going on this week, I ended up taking Thursday off and then the usual day off on Friday.

This morning, Saturday is bright and very cold.....I’m considering going to the gym. 6K today, I can do that.....

Sunday is 16K, we have a Winter Storm Watch on right now.....please note the sidebar with the Ottawa weather link.




I’ll let you know how Sunday works out.....in the mean time,

Run safe, life’s fun if you don’t weaken, enjoy you journey, one step at a time.


I WILL do my run today because I'm a proud Canadian, winter won't stop me!!!

Appetizer

Name two things that made you smile this week.

Soup

Fill in the blank; don’t you hate it when___________

Salad

When you can’t go to sleep, what is your personal remedy to help yourself get to sleep

Main dish

Is there something which you’ve always wondered about but have not yet found a good answer?

Dessert

What is your favourite pasta dish (what wine do you serve with it?)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Wordless Wednesday!

Results are in.....

Well, you'll be pleased to know that I made it into the "Darling" category for the "9 on the 9th Sweetheart Shuffle" .....how great is that!

I also made it into the picture collage....for finishers! I'm so excited.

We need more "cross border" participants for the next virtual race Non-Runner Nancy holds....stay tuned, hopefully you'll take up the challenge too!

I know I'm in for the next race!!! Please see Non-Runner Nancy's blog located on my side bar....too much fun!

Life's fun if you don't weaken!! Enjoy your journey one step at a time!



Lily

An Attitude of Gratitude

What can I say other than I’m very blessed to be able to run the distances with the fantastic group of runners that have come together for this incredible marathon journey we have embarked upon.

The Queen of Self Sabotage was really quite evident earlier this week, and she was doing her darnedest to make me believe in her and not in myself. Well, just to let you know, she has been dethroned and hopefully we won’t see her again or at least not for a very, very long time.

Yesterday I had such a good run and a good fun time putting together my virtual race results for Non-Runner Nancy, who instigated the 9 on the 9th Sweetheart Shuffle, kudos Nancy! That was so much fun!

Today, Sunday, was our 13K LSD, (Long Slow Distance), not Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds . . .

Since all the run clinics are back in operation there was a tremendous turnout of runners this morning at 8:30. Every level of runner, every group from Learn to Run right up to the Marathon group, we all have something to learn from one another. Just showing up at 8:30 on a Sunday morning shows the commitment to the sport and to themselves . . . good on everyone, it shows a champion attitude! You are all heros’ in my eyes.

For me, never having run a Marathon before, this is a little nerve wracking, but now that the Queen has been set aside, things are much more realistic for me. I had emailed one of my Phoenix Phenom’s with my concerns. True to her wisdom (having run three marathons and many half marathons) I received this sage advice.

“Toward the end of the training you will have doubts that you did the right thing & doubts that you are able to even complete. But you need to remember it’s your head talking & your body is exhausted. You can really do this! I have no doubt! Think of it Lily, I’ve done three….you can do this! One run at a time & believe me, they won’t all be good ones; maybe today’s will be crappy but tomorrows will be good. All you need to remember is….”one step in front of the other….& at the end something WONDERFUL is going to happen”.

You will be a “MARATHONER”.

Well, with that in mind we headed off for our 13K LSD, Phoenix Phenom and I ran with the 5 hour group. (Meaning our target race time to complete the Marathon will be in 5 hours.....makes sense). The sidewalks were not in that great of shape considering we had another snow fall last night. However, the roadways were clear so we pretty much stuck to running on the roads.

It was a really nice run with a wonderful group of enthusiastic, chatty runners, from the novice (me) to the Ultra Marathon / Iron Man (who dropped back to chat with us), we all had a great run! The day is sunny and bright, cold and if you can stay out of the wind, quite enjoyable.


Back to my attitude of gratitude. Thanks everyone for the kind words of encouragement and I really do know several people, both young and elderly who cannot get outside due to extreme health issues, so I say this, get better soon! You are always in my thoughts as I am so blessed to be able to do this.....

Life’s fun if you don’t weaken, enjoy your journey one step at a time.

Lily

9 on the 9th, Sweetheart Shuffle Results!

Results from Canada!

The virtual challenge was met with a great run! Although the weather was snowy and cold it was an awesome fun, run!

Light snow was falling as I hit the streets, it was quite a run ~ traffic, snowmobiler's, a few other runner's, never before have I run a race with so many other vehicles!

The footing was good, not slippery, not too wet and hardly any puddles, yet for some reason not too many well wishers were out on the side of the route! Instead of relying on any non existent water stations, I carried my usual POWERade. Thank goodness, in the cold I really needed it today.

The run felt good, no aches nor pains, and I included two walk breaks where the water stations should have been, Woooo Hoooo! Feeling good! Even running up the last hill, what a great energy boost, a car went by and honked the horn! Nothing better than tardy cheerleaders along the way.

Well, it's done! My first EVER Sweetheart Shuffle, THANKS Nancy! oh yes, I ran it in 1:35:43.....not quite a PB, but pretty darn close. Thanks for the FUN!!!

Enjoy your journey, one step at a time, Life's fun if you don't weaken.....

Lily

p.s. Katie Holmes doesn't need a bra on the best of days!

Appetizer

What is your favourite beverage?

Soup

Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work.

Salad

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?

Main Course

If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?

Dessert

What stresses you out? What calms you down?

Okay, I bailed on today's run

No excuse other than I had too many other things happen to me today.

What you ask?

• worked late,
• got my car stuck on ice and snow on my way home, grocery parking lot,
• had to pick up cat food,
• didn't feel like it and I will run tomorrow,
• had laundry to do (long underwear)
• truth!
• is stranger than fiction!!!!!

So, there you go.....

sorry,

Lily

Thirteen on Thursday

1. January : Phoenix Half Marathon
   : Richmond Road Race
   
   
2. February : Start Marathon Training
   
   
3. March : 30K Around the Bay
   
   
4. April : chill-laxing, yea, right!
   
   
5. May : ING Marathon
   
   
6. June : hopefully upright and smiling
   
   
7. July : 15K Utica Boilermaker
   
   
8. August : Virginia Beach Half or Quebec City - so many choices
   
   
9. September : sigh, nothing booked ... yet
   
   
10. October : Niagara Falls Half Marathon???
    
    
11. November : OFF
    
    
12. December : Santa Shuffle
    
    
13. that wraps up 2008!!!

Lily

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Day Two, Week One

Winter is brewing all around where I live.

My Dad, who lives in Toronto, called to tell me that they were having one heck of a storm. Even though he is about three plus hours from here, we will end up being the recipient of bad weather in about six hours.

Here, in Ottawa, the day was damp, raw and overcast. We had snow showers throughout the day. Looking out from my office window this afternoon, there was a fleeting moment of self sabotage. We’ve all done it to ourselves, "oh, it’s not that nice out, so I’ll just go home and run...mmmm, on Saturday".

Today is only day two of marathon training. A 10K Tempo run. Now if I was to run with my new running group, I would drive home, grab a quick bite to eat, change into my running clothes and turn around and drive another forty-five minutes back into town to run with the group.

Okay, I know, enough whining, give your head a shake, this is your choice, you decided to do this, no one has forced you and IT’S ONLY DAY TWO....really, it’s not that bad.

Luckily, I had the opportunity to leave the office almost on time today and head home. The afternoon was brightening up and there was still a fair amount of overcast natural daylight left in the afternoon.

Volia! A light bulb moment, I will run my 10K from home! Wow, that felt great, to make a decision that was so pro-active.

10K Tempo

The running conditions this afternoon were cold, raw, damp, -5 degrees Celsius with a wind chill of -12. The wind was coming from the north, north east at 26 km/hr....brrr.....

Out came the toque, neck cowl, another layer on top. Once suited up, I tied up my laces and out I went. Luckily the roadways around the Bay were clear and not slippery. Much better footing than last night, for sure. Heading off into the wind it took me a few kilometres to warm up (literally) and get my breathing and cadence consistent.

Considering this was to be a tempo run and I was feeling a little logie, 10:1's were included to the run. I have to admit, even though it took a while to get going, once I was out and running everything just seemed to fall into place and it was a very enjoyable run.

Fortunately, the days are staying lighter longer, which allowed me to absorb some natural daylight into my system. Not sure about you, but by February my body is craving sunlight....no matter how diffused.

All in all, even though I missed the group run in town, I’m very happy with my decision to run the 10K on my own, one more run down.......many more to come.

Tomorrow night, 8K steady run, talk with you then.

Life’s fun if you don’t weaken, enjoy your journey one step at a time.

Lily