My Fourth 5k

translated from my french blog...

This Sunday I participated in my fourth 5k event. It was for the Scotiabank Waterfront 5k.

20 000 runners were expected this year for the 20th anniversary! (running in the marathon, the half marathon or the 5k) There was a LOT of people at Nathan Phillip Square - phew!







It was so crowded at the finish line - S couldn't get a spot close by... This was his view of the finish:



I was well prepared this time. My outfit and gear was all in one place, ready to go. I had breakfast plans (Ezekiel bread and peanut butter with a glass of milk, yummy) I tried to 'apply' my new strategy : convince my brain that what I was about to do was easy... :)

So I started in the middle of the crowd in the yellow corral, about 2 hours after arriving on site (the start of the 5k was at the CNE this year, so there were shuttle buses from downtown to the start line...)

When I started running, I noticed I had some lower back pain, felt like muscle cramps of some sort. I guesses it was probably because I was a little cold and had been standing for a while... it worried me a little bit, but it quickly went away, phew!

A little later, I noted that there was a problem in my shoe - pain that I could only assume was due to the nail from one of my toes cutting into another toe... ouch! I tried to somewhat 'spread' my toes apart in there, but quickly realized there wasn't much I could do about it at that point, so I kept going...

Everything was going well, my strategy was working perfectly until I saw this hill that I was familiar with since I drove on it thousands of times - man I thought the brochure said the course was flat!! My brain was instantly and inevitably distracted - oh la la...

ok Marie, don't stop, keep running, you can do this

uh oh, that's tough!

it's ok it's ok, no big deal, let's just keep going, all that matters it that you keep running

but.... uh.... but..... it's difficult......


I kept running, all the way up. But my pace took a beating and my comfort/strategy - pffff... gone! I needed. to. walk. I still kept running until I got to the water station, where I dangerously slowed down to drink.. and then... and then... I walked for a bit.

A the end of the water station area there was a nice volunteer who was cheering on runners she said something along the lines of 'Come on you're almost there, don't stop now!' That gave me the kick I needed to start running again.

At that point, I started thinking about the finish line. Thinking about how I was doing for time... my goal was to finish faster than 32:19. So when I finally turned left on Bay Street, I checked my time and my iPod said 26 minutes. Wow! I was impressed! Being just a couple blocks away from the finish line meant I was doing really really well. So I started accelerating. It goes Front, the King, then Queen right? Here comes Front, yeah! Ok, time to push it a little more! then came Wellington (huh?) that's ok, keep going faster you're almost there! Then came King, ah!!! good, almost there push it!! Adelaide (wha???) man! ok how many more streets now?
Temperance St......
Richmond St..............
and Queeeeeeeeen!!!!
and FINALLY - the finish line!!!! Wheeeeeee!!!

Official results: 32:32 minutes

1311/4249 for the 5k runners
640/2769 for womens
148/474 for my category
pace: 6:44


Wheeeee!! Phew! Only 13 seconds above my goal - not too bad at all!! :)

Another 5k - done!

I found the finish line pretty crowded, I probably lost 1 second there, pfff ;) it really was crazy crowded past the finish line though and I started to worry, wondering if I would find S easily...



Let's play where's Waldo :) I was wearing my green shirt from the TO Women's 5k (I officially decided on a new tradition to wear the shirt from the last race on all my races if possible)






Oh there! I found you!!! :)



After the long path toward the exit and through the food station........




............ S and I 'found' each other and we left the race site. We went to the Running Room right away to get my reward: These super duper new running shoes!! :) (My old shoes were going on 4 years... they are now my designated 'yard work shoes' hee hee



When I took my shoe off at the store to try on some new pairs, I noticed that my sock was bloody - oooops! My toe nail was cutting my other toe after all - oh well! Luckily I had packed another pair of socks... I feel so tough now, yeah! ha ha ha ha





My next race? The CIBC Run for the Cure... Next Sunday! Ouiiiiiii :)

Later!!

My Third 5k

translated from my french blog...

Ok, even if I mistakenly ran for 3.5 km on my first 5k event, I decided it still counted - so from now on, I will include the Pride Run when I count my races. That being said, on August 29th, I ran my 3rd 5k :)

It was the TO Women's 5k. I was better prepared for that race... I got to wear the shirt from my previous 5k at the Acura 10 miler - which ended up being perfect for S, it was easy for him to find me in the crowd!



Can you see the yellow shirt in there? :)



I bought some 'real running shorts' for the occasion. Hmmm, a little short... I decided it doesn't really matter how it looks if it helps me run better :)

I was a bit nervous because I really didn't train much before that race, but I was still determined to improve my time from my previous race. So I pushed hard - I wanted to beat that time so bad! I ended up having to walk a little bit because I had a cramp. It was a very hot and humid day, it was difficult... but I did it!




The results?

Acura 10 Miler: 33:57 minutes
Toronto Women's 5k: 32:19 minutes.

32:19!!! WOW! I was proud of myself.

Next I am running the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon. The 5k, not the marathon!! hee hee I'm looking forward to it. I am a bit nervous because I trained even less this time around. I ran yesterday for 35 minutes though, and I would say it was actually pretty 'easy'.

I decided I wouldn't be hard on myself if it felt difficult (after all - I had not run in 2 weeks - oy!) I put myself in this mindset: it's ok, all I have to do is keep going for at least 32 minutes. I told myself: 'pffff it's going to be easy, 32 minutes is nothing! I can to this no problem...' and it worked!!! It was kind of easy. I spent the whole time thinking about my wedding planning, it was fun and very comfortable! If it was that easy every time I go for a run, I would sign up for a 10k! I'll try and trick myself into thinking that running is easy again on race day.

Calm down Marie, we can do this, it's going to be easy, all that matters is that we keep running...

I would really like to get a new record for the Scotiabank race and do it in even less time than the women's race. I'll push it, be uncomfortable for half an hour, but then there will be lots of joy, wheeee :) ha ha ha

ok that's it for now!

I would like to say Good Luck to some lovely TO blogger ladies who are running on Sunday:

Mouse
Eurydice
and
Angela

The are a great source of inspiration to me and they are all running the half marathon WOW! Good Luck Ladies!!!! :)

November 4th 2009

That's in 2 months. In 2 months I will be in New York City and it will be S's and my wedding day.
I have so much to prepare. Lots of things happened since I got engaged in February 2008:

I lost 35 lbs.
I successfully finished my first contract in Toronto.
I started a new (and extremely stressful) work contract.
I started to blog in english.
I started running.
I participated in 3 x 5k events.


Yeah, that's about all I can think of for now... My life is all about work these days. But let's not talk about that...

So here's the deal. I want to push myself to exercise seriously in the last 2 months I have before I wear what will probably be the only dress I will ever wear, and be photographed more than I probably ever will be in my life. My dress is strapless and short... it will show my arms and my legs... I know these photos will be around for a while and that is a very scary thing. Maybe that's somewhat 'shallow' but hey, I just would like to feel good enough in my skin to forget about how I look and enjoy every minute of that special day... and right now I just don't...

I know it is now impossible for me to be at my 'goal weight' by November 4th, so I will focus instead on strengthening my muscles, and tracking all my food properly. We'll see if the scale is nice or not. At this point I have maintained my weight at around 150 lbs for about a year, so it is safe to think that I will be 150 lbs in 2 month whether I like it or not... I would really like to lose 10 lbs (weight 140 lbs) by then, but it will not be the end of the world if I don't.

It's going to be a tough 2 months, intense in work and exercises, but I think it will be worth it, right? I get to enjoy the first 2 weeks holiday I had in 10 years! I need it sooooooo bad!

Now all I need is to stay focused long enough to come up with a plan... hmmmmm........