I got picked!!

I am so delighted!  I was chosen as one of the lucky runners who get to participate in the runDisney Marathon Weekend Meetup.

How lucky am I??

From the runDisney confirmation email, here's what I have to look forward to:

"Our runDisney morning will start promptly at 7:05 a.m. with a 2.5-mile run-walk-run with Jeff Galloway. Please arrive prepared to start our run. We will have staff on-site that can take small personal items to the location where we will be after the run.

Along with Galloway, we will have a number of special guests Friday morning, including Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, New York and Boston Marathon championBill Rodgers, Runner’s World columnist Bart Yasso and athlete/television host Dick Beardsley.

To keep up with all the race weekend’s events, follow @runDisney and @DisneySportson Twitter. The Meet-Up hashtag on Twitter is #WDWMarathonMeetUp. And to share photos and experiences, the event weekend hashtag is #WDWMarathon."

Source: Disney Parks Blog

All those world class, elite athletes... and ME (plus 99 other lucky winners).

I mean... WHAT??

I just... I can't... I... 

Wheeeeeeee!!!

Pins and Needles

So, today is the day that all runDisney nerds spazz out.  (Me included)

We're waiting for the announcement of the official Marathon Weekend runDisney meet up on the Disney Parks Blog.  (Me included)

It involves an early morning 3 mile run through (usually) a Disney park, led by the official runDisney trainer and former Olympian, Jeff Galloway.  I've read other bloggers reports of it, and it sounds super fun and well organized.

So, refresh, refresh, refresh on the blog...

Weigh in Day

Today was weigh-in, and I was pleased to find out that my first week on the Weight Watchers 360 program, I was down 3.4 lbs.  Very pleased.  My goal was to have lost 3 lbs, since I know you always lose a little more in week one.

That includes the drinks I've had this week (1 beer and 1/2 a bottle of champagne on New Year's Eve) and the bits of candy I've allowed myself (and counted).  Oh, candy.

But what I've done is try to include a bit of fruit or veg with every snack I've had (relatively successful) and tracked evvvverything.  Tracking what I'm eating has made me very aware of how little fruit I'd been eating.  Dummy.  Fruit is your friend.

Physiotherapy has been going well.  My PT was happy to see the swelling in my achilles had decreased and the range of motion had improved over the weekend.  I'm heading back to see him tomorrow, and then hopefully once next week before the half.  I will say this - it feels significantly better than it did a week ago.  There's still a bump, but it doesn't hurt to touch it any more... so... good?

And in the irony department - the clinic where I go also sells shoes and braces and what-have-you...  Yeah.  They have my old Nike Structure 15s.  So I could have gotten them there...

Duh.

We had one of our few remaining training runs last night and went super-duper slow.  It was cold, icy and we were both a little twingy from our respective physio treatments, so we took it a little easy.  Seeing a 15 min/mile pace freaks me out a little for a mid-week training run (I prefer them to be faster), but you have to take the miles as they come.

The countdown to the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend begins.  We leave in ONE WEEK!!

Perhaps my next post will focus on packing and organizing for the trip... excited?

The Prodigal Blogger

I admit.  I've been a bad blogger.  I fell off the face of the earth.

Well, not really.

But I fell into a bit of a black hole.  To call it "depression" sounds a little to dramatic for my taste, but in reality, that has something to do with it.

Just plain bummed out about career stuff, money stuff, my weight... just gross feelings.

So, no blogsies.  I suppose blogging through that might have been cathartic, therapeutic, or what have you; but frankly the thought of pouring out my sensitive ouchy feelings grosses me out even more, so... 6 weeks off.

What happened during that time?

I did a lot of work promoting a certain coffee machine in-stores and brought home some fiduciary bacon (and a LOT of left over coffee, sadly in brands and flavours which I do not enjoy.  Soon to be donated.)

I struggled to continue my half marathon training - I missed a few runs, and as a result I am a bit behind, but am relying on my half marathon in November, and my 8 mile long run this month to get me through (I had a 5 mile taper run this past weekend that went alright).

I began physiotherapy again to tend to my achilles tendinitis - just some tune-ups and some pain relief.

I got new shoes.  I'd been having pain in the ball of my foot and eventually it occurred to me to turn over my shoe and have a look at the sole.  Right at the ball of my foot?  Worn right down.
Now, my Nike Structure 15s are discontinued and pretty hard to get ahold of.  The Nike Store in Toronto did an amazing job by locating a pair for me, and also suggesting I try the new 16s.  I was hesitant to try a brand new shoe that might not work, and they went above and beyond by agreeing to let me take the newer (lighter) Structure 16s out for a training run (outside, on my own) so I wouldn't get stuck with shoes that were wrong for me right before the half marathon.  I really like the new Nike Structure 16s!  I put them on side by side in the store, and I could definitely feel the difference in the weight of the shoe.
I got such personal, careful service from the Nike Store, I'll be going directly there in future.

Source:  Nike.com

I tried something fun - I love me some zombies, so I've been giving the Zombies, Run! a try.

I don't use it every time I run - I generally run with my sister, so I don't listen to anything since we're usually talking and listening for our Garmins to beep our intervals.  But when I do use it, I really enjoy it.  It seems pricey at first glance, but it's a well produced bit of radio drama, with some very cool technology included.  I enjoy the story (you listen to it as episodes of either half an hour or an hour), I enjoy the interactivity of it, and I enjoy the chill I get on the back of my neck when I hear the zombies close in.

I recommend it - it's especially creepy when running at night, but my creepiest run to date was my solo run through the deserted grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition during daylight.  Nothing like chains on doors and closed fences to add a bit of reality to your theatre-run.

And finally, and I struggled with mentioning this because I tend to deal with my weight in the shadows, but I finally (after a month of 'intending to') made my way to a Weight Watchers meeting.  Before I started working on ships, I was very successful with their program and got to my goal weight.

But then the ships... oh, the ships.

When you start the job, you kind of forget that you're not on vacation.  Don't get me wrong, there's work to be done, but you're constantly surrounded by people having their week of fun, and it's hard not to get caught up in that spirit.

Cut to:  30lbs later.

Yuck.

So, I'm working on it.  And now I'm admitting that I'm working on it.  It's been an issue for me, but it's especially hard on me when we come home because I always think people are looking at me thinking to themselves "oh, look how big she got".  I know my friends aren't judging me, but it's an icky thing that always goes through my head and it gets compounded by the fact that when I come home, none of my clothes that I left behind seem to fit me anymore.  I literally skipped a party this holiday season because I was ashamed.  That's how I knew it was time to get this thing sorted out.

Voila!  Warts!  Tears of a clown!  This blog has it all!

I feel better now that I've taken action.  I really do.  Sometimes all you need is to take the first step.  It can give you hope that you have what it takes to take the next one.  And the next one.

Running taught me that.

I'll do my best to keep this up.  The Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend is right around the corner, and so is my first half marathon of 2013.  We're not looking to run for time, just for fun!

But I was delighted that my Toronto Women's 10K time was sufficient to get me placed in Corral C for the race!  I'll be hopping back a couple of corrals to start with my sister, but it feels good to know I earned that spot.

My plan for 2013 is to keep running.  I want to focus on shorter distances this year (unless we find a way to manage doing another Coast to Coast to take part in Disneyland's new Dumbo Double Dare).  I want to improve my speed.  I mean, I've got these long legs... they've got to be good for something!

So there's my unfocussed, start of the year, all out, first post of the year.

Happy 2013!

A Clinical Race Review of the Downsview Half

I went to MyNextRace.com to review the Downsview Half Marathon - a more personal review of the race is forthcoming.

I think the most fair way to approach this is to address the race based on how it was promoted, and therefore my impressions compared to those expectations.

From the race’s website: (My comments in brackets) 

 Race Information 

 Certified Half Marathon 21.1k route (13.1 miles) and 5k (My Garmin – and others – measured the course over the 21.1k. I was told on facebook by the race organizer that the course was accurate, and that sometimes GPS devices can be inaccurate. So I guess there were a number of inaccurate GPS devices out there. I hugged the pylons and didn’t do any bobbing and weaving between people, so I can’t place where else the distance comes from.) 

Flat & fast course (NOT flat. Not super hilly like the Oasis Zoo Run, but the park section, which we ran twice, had plenty of hill action… including the final stretch to the finish line. Ouch.)

Start & finish inside Downsview Park (Yes, yes it did!)

Run throughout the Park past the new lake, the ‘mounds’, hangars, soccer fields and more (We sure saw all those things – twice!)

Run past vintage planes and modern Bombardier jets (Not really. I don’t fault the race organizers for the fact that there was only one airplane on the course, despite the course map delineating 6 spots where planes and jets would be located. Clearly, this one is on Bombardier, but it was still kind of a bummer. The planes were a big draw for me.)

Free parking (Yes! And it was CLOSE!! Wonderful)

Technical race hat, goodie bag, finisher medal (Nice hat, lots of great treats in the goodie bag – side note, are Werther’s Caramelts the new big thing for races? I sure got a lot this season! – and finally, the MEDAL. The medal is GREAT. It is a big part of what drew us to add this race this year as we train for another half in January.)

Remembrance Day ceremony with military personnel, bagpiper & more (Very nice, and very respectful. It was a nice touch.)

Aside from all that:
There were great, supportive volunteers along the course (I was only almost mis-directed one time).
There were a handful of military personnel hanging around the parked military vehicles (including a wee tank) and I got a big kick out of them saying “Good job, ma’am”.
The course didn’t seem too crowded, despite the narrow pathways (although that could be because we were well in the back of the pack!), so the number of runners felt right.
Having a place indoors to wait for the race, stretch and cool down afterwards was a huge plus.

Things I’d like to see improved?
Get Bombardier to pony up the airplanes
A turnaround chip reader
Reword the race description (some rolling hills through parkland, baby)
The road to the military base was muddy (slippery) and full of holes – obviously the organizers can’t go out there and fill the holes themselves, but I hope that the road is in better shape next time
Clear signs (not just volunteers trying to deal with hundreds of runners) showing “1/2 marathon, this way” “5K, second loop, this way” – and maybe clearly colour-code the km signs – they got confusing in the 5k loop.

Overall, I had a good time. The weather happened to be perfect, and so it added to my enjoyment of the race so I was more forgiving than I would have been had it been gross outside. While I had a good time, and enjoyed a PR I’m not sure I’d hurry back next year without some changes.

Downsview Half Marathon Result

Race Report to come, but for now, I'll just say it was a great day for a PR! 
It didn't hurt that this was the first long run we've done in a long time that wasn't in the rain.

Hooray for sunshine and unseasonably warm weather!

Oh *that* work/life balance

It may come as no surprise that while home from my job working on a cruise ship, my schedule has been relatively open.  Not working has a funny way of keeping your time pretty free.

But it also has a wicked toll on an already tight budget.  I've been doing pretty well with our grocery budget using flyers and coupons, but more than anything, I needed to start bringing in some money.

Getting a job when you know you're leaving town in 5 months can be tough.  I can't in good conscience not tell people that I'm not sticking around, and I couldn't face an office job, temporary or no.  So as a result, I've found work doing product demonstrations, which has been fun and a good second use of my compression socks (hello, at least 6 hours on your feet!)

So, that's where I've been.  Bridal show, in-store demo, some mystery shops... I've missed a couple of conditioning runs (but not many) and I've also completed a 10 mile long run.

The long run was delayed.  We were scheduled to run it on a Saturday, however we woke up to significant rain, so a long postponed trip to the Running Room outlet store in Etobicoke was in order.  We stocked up on warm, water resistant attire, did some Halloween candy shopping, waited for Greg to get his hair cut (he booked a commercial and needed to look "clean cut"), then accepted that we would be running the next day instead.

Cold run.  Wet run.  Long run.  But, ultimately, successful run.  We ended up speeding up for the last few miles to try to outrun my sister's dying iPhone battery.  That's one way to guarantee a negative split!

We were happy to finish the run feeling good, because it was our last long run before our upcoming half marathon this Sunday, November 11.

I had to opt out of my weekend run this past weekend because I'm pretty sure I gave myself a mild concussion after walking into a cement overhang in a parking garage on Sunday on my way into work.  I was tempted to just pack up the car and leave and head to the hospital, but in my mind, I HAD to work - there wasn't really anyone to replace me, and despite Greg being out of town shooting a commercial that will help us get through the next few months comfortably, I NEEDED to bring in some money.

It was a real knock to the noggin, too.  My vision went for a second, I dropped what I was carrying, and the pain was something I don't think I've ever felt before.  It wasn't just hurting me, it was scaring me, and I was on the verge of tears for about an hour.  The only reason I didn't let myself cry was because I was wearing makeup and didn't have extra to do touch-ups.  I just applied ice to my head with one hand, and set up my display with the other.

I was a blathering idiot for the first hour of trying to do my product demonstrations for people, and then less of an idiot but still confused for the rest of the day, with a headache that wouldn't go away.

In retrospect, hospital.  Right away.  I was a dummy.

In the long run, though, everything was much better after a good night's sleep.  All is well.

So that's where I've been.