Gotta Have Goals!

My first 5K!  I had several things working against me - I was sick, I was unaware that walkers and runners were starting together, I took two planned walking breaks, I ran the night before, etc. - however, I managed to finish 1:20 fast than I had hoped.  I won't go into the details, as it wasn't a very eventful race, but I will send a shout out to Patricia and Karen who ran with me.  They were great encouragement!

Next race is in August and I would like to run that one in 30:00.  I've got my work cut out for me, but I'm confident with determination and a little hill training, the goal is within reach!

A relatively easy run on flat terrain.  A scheduled clinic day.  It was raining, but that felt good (minus not being able to see very well at some points).

Today was pretty tough.  I think running Tues/Wed wears me down a little bit.  I finished the run (2 10 and 1's + 6 additional minutes) though, so that's what counts.  The last couple of weeks my clinic instructor has been injured, so she has been riding alongside the group on her bicycle.  I really notice the difference in not having her running with the group.  I find it much more difficult to stay on pace and everyone spreads out more than usual.

One really good thing!  She has offered to keep running with me as I train for the women's 5K in August, as she is also running that race.  Our clinic is officially over at the end of July.  It will be nice to have someone to keep me going, as I often lack the motivation to just get out and do it!

I didn't run today, as it would have been my third day running in a row, so I went for a 5K walk instead.  I walked around the water on my usual running route.  It made me want to get out running again!

No running, but TONS of biking.  I had not biked in Toronto before, but was staying at my friend's brother's and he and his girlfriend were nice enough to lend us their bikes.  I am buying a bike ASAP.  It was just too much fun!  Transportation and cross-training all rolled into one.  It doesn't get much better than that.

Biked across town (and Toronto is not a small town) to breakfast and then biked back.

Did I mention how much I love biking?!

A scheduled clinic day.  Getting myself out there was very difficult, as I was having a pretty rotten day.  Once I was there though, I knew I had made a good choice.  Our topic for the day was motivation!  I think I needed to hear it.  It also gave me an opportunity to think about what has motivated me to run.  Some others in my clinic group also shared their sources of motivation and inspiration, which was terrific.

On our run, we followed the walking/bike path around Kempenfelt Bay.  It was actually almost the very same route as the Canada Day 5K.  We did two 10 and 1's, plus 8 additional minutes of running.  This made for a total of 30 minutes, so I figure I am well on my way to achieving my goal of running the All Women's 5K in August in 30 minutes - I was only a few hundred metres short of 5K tonight.  I just need to begin shortening my walk breaks from 1 minute to 30 seconds, and then remove them altogether.  With no walk breaks, and continuous training (I am going to add in another day of training so that I will consistently be training 3-4 times a week), I should be able to get under 30 minutes no problem. :)

I also biked downtown and back earlier in the day, so I suppose that counts as cross-training.  In total, that was about 5K of biking (with a few killer hills).

Not the best day... well, likely the worst.  I got out there, but had to stop due to fatigue and just generally not feeling well.  Oh, well.  There will be more days!

A discouraging day.  I don't normally run in the morning, but got up in time to make it to the 8:30 run at the Running Room.  I should have woke up in time to eat properly.  As soon as I got into my second 10 minute running interval, I got dizzy.  I eventually had to stop and walk for a bit.  I have learned my lesson!

Ran 5K in about 32 minutes... my time is getting faster!  I could have been going at a slightly faster pace, but wanted to make sure I finished my 3 10 and 1's.  A great run and a nice change from last week.  I had a lot of energy and am looking forward to signing up for the upcoming 10K clinic!

Was almost late to my clinic,  but jogged halfway there (arrived sweating and out of breath) even though I still had 5K ahead of me.  I'm not sure if this hurt or helped, but I'm thinking it helped... at least my muscles were all warmed up and I was ready to go.

Tonight was the first time that I ran 5K after running 5K the day before.  It felt good.  I went out with the women from my running clinic, but actually ended up running alone as I wanted to keep my pace a little quicker than the rest preferred (another first!).  It got a little difficult after 4K, but mental toughness prevailed.  It was one of the most satisfying runs I've had yet!  Can't wait to run next week...  the final week of my clinic!

 Oh!  There was one thing bringing me down though!  For some reason, it felt as though my toes were being squished in my shoes.  This hasn't happened before, so I'm not sure why it happened today.  The only thing I can think of us that my feel were swollen (?), but I've run other days in the heat and not noticed.

The last night of my clinic!  I am happy to say I made every night except one (but it was the day I graduated from university, so I think it's a good enough excuse).  The last nine weeks have been great in terms of improving my physical fitness and my ability to fight through the pain of tired muscles.  Prior to taking the clinic I would just stop when I felt tired or challenged to the point of being uncomfortable, but I have learned to allow myself to persevere.  It's really very satisifying to push yourself further than you thought you could ever go and then live to tell about it.  I've learned it's so important (I'm thinking even more so when you are training for a longer distance) to really push yourself in training so that when you are struggling in a race, you can remember what it felt like to struggle like that in training, and you already know that it is in fact possible to push through.

Anyway, I think in general, the struggles I've felt in my training so far have mirrored the struggles I've recently faced in my life.  Successfully completing this clinic has shown me that it is possible to do things that at first seem impossible.

About the running... we just did 20 minutes tonight.  There was a severe weather warning, so we did two 10 and 1's and then went out for celebratory drinks and food.  It was nice to be able to celebrate what really was quite an accomplishment!