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| The best picture I could get before my phone froze. That's the Bay behind us:) |
- I feel shattered. Not emotionally, but physically. Today I ran my last LSD (long slow distance) with Dawn before the Around the Bay 30K at the end of the month. I did not want to run. Thank goodness Dawn was there to motivate me. It was sunny and clear and -20C with the windchill. My phone froze around 15K, so my running app shows we were 10K short. But Dawn's Garmin clocked the whole run. We ran 25K.
- I was feeling bitter when I picked Dawn up this morning. Angry at that crazy B**CH Mother Nature. Every single long run I have done this winter has had some issue with the weather. Either snow or extreme cold or both. Yesterday morning I ran wearing 2 layers without gloves for the first time since November. The temperature dropped during the day and night and it became bitterly cold. And that's what I ran in today. Today I wore 3 pairs of socks, two layers on my bottom, 4 layers on my top and two pairs of gloves.
- So Dawn and I head out around 8:45am. We ran out of Dundurn Castle again so that we could run all the hills on the back half of the Bay. I tripped once on a piece of frozen dirt around 4K in, but didn't go down. Then at 8.5K I tripped on another piece of frozen dirt and went down face first. If I didn't clench my neck, I would have slammed my face right into the pavement and broken my nose. Instead I got dirt on the tip of my nose. I did hurt both my knees, my right shin and my boobs! What to do, what to do. I got up, walked it off for a few minutes, could see that I could still walk and started running again. Hardcore or stupid? I'm going with hardcore. Although my shin was swollen when I got home, I iced it and spent the afternoon on the couch. I feel okay right now, just sore from impact. My shin is going to sport a lovely bruise for sure, but my fibula is intact!
- When I first went down, I thought about my fibula right away. It hurt when I started running again, but the further I went, the less pain I felt. I didn't start to truly hurt until I got back in my car to drive home. I dreaded walking into my house and stripping off my clothes to get into the shower. When you run long distance, your skin has a layer of salt from sweat. And it itches. I was also stiff and sore everywhere. Dawn and I decided that if we win the lottery, we are going to hire drivers, carriers, strippers and chefs for long run days. The drivers to take us to and from our long run destination, the carriers to carry us into our respective homes, the strippers to take our gear off and the chef is self explanatory. I'm gonna keep playing the lottery.
- During the run I saw a few people I knew. Love seeing familiar faces. Tons of people out on the Bay route running their last LSD. Runners are so supportive. Even seeing people I don't know? Everyone is so encouraging and complimentary. Runners ROCK!
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| My awesome run from Saturday. No gloves (and I got my nails done), 6:15/km pace, and only 2 layers!!!!! |
- On Saturday morning it was mild and the side walks were clear. I procrastinated leaving for my run, but once I was out my door, I just took off. I managed to run my best practice run pace post broken ankle. And pre-broken ankle. I ran 6:11/km at the Chocolate Race 5K last May. But I was trying to get a sub 30 minute 5K. Although I ran well yesterday, I wasn't as fatigued as I remember after running the Chocolate Race. Definitely a boost to my diminishing runner's confidence.
- I met up with a group of runner girls on Friday night. We were discussing races we've run and races coming up. It was a lovely evening and a good catch-up session. Some of these ladies have crazy racing schedules. I'm so glad I made the decision not to race any more after the Bay. I'm going to focus on going to the gym (yuck), getting faster, and teaching in the next round of running clinics. No pressure, no crazy training schedules. Just running for fun. I really need to step back. Since I began running, I have never not had a race I wasn't training for. Except when I broke my ankle (while training). And as soon as I could run again, I started training for the Bay. I will run the Meredith Hagan 10K trail run (June 21). I've run it two years in a row and it's for a good cause. And the Stockholm Half Marathon (September 13) with Tanya of course. After the half, I'll get another 2 month running hiatus before I have to start training for the Bay again.
- I burned 2000 calories during my run today. Try as I might, I can't replenish my calorie deficit for the day. I did eat (a bit) before leaving on the run. I had 2 gels during, but my recovery meal was pretty lame. This eating to run isn't as easy as it sounds. Surprisingly enough, regardless of how little I eat before a long run, I never feel like I don't have enough energy. Do not follow my example though. It is important to fuel before runs.
- I had a really bad sleep last night. I don't think I took melatonin. I can't remember. What I do remember is going to bed at 11pm then waking up at 2:30am, tossing and turning for 2 hours, before falling asleep again at around 4. I woke up for good at 5:45am. While I was tossing and turning, I was anxious as all get out. My stomach was in knots. I don't know if I was nervous about the LSD? Or maybe I was having a premonition about my face first fall. Either way, I had reason to be nervous about my run today. But honestly, it took away any anxiety I actually had about running the Bay. If I can run 25K in the cold of today with the mishap that took place, and my crampy toes (almost forgot about them), I can run 30K. Piece of cake. Not the ideal way that I wanted to gain confidence, but I'll take it:)
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| Feeling tired and sore on my massive couch:) I do not have a black eye. Just bags from tiredness! |