I have runner's legs???

I ran 12.45k this morning. Can I just say that I love my running group? It's so much nicer to have to a group around when I'm struggling through runs like today. Even though I ended up doing the last segment on my own, I kept going because I knew that half of the group was going another way, and we'd meet up eventually, and that the speedy group would be looking out for me.

Along the way, other Running Room enthusiasts were completing their runs for the day, and just when I needed it, they were full of encouragement. I saw a couple of them twice. And on the final leg they said "you're almost there!". It was exactly what I needed to hear. I made sure the say thank you when I got back to the start area. One of the guys said, "well you have the legs for it!" That made me feel even better!! HA HA. I'll take compliments in my ultra-short running shorts on a blistering Sunday morning!

Proof

Here's proof that I actually ran on Sunday. And yes, those shorts are longer when I'm not moving. HA HA!

My first official race: Beat Beethoven 8k

Well, I just missed beating Beethoven by 58 seconds. Here are my official results.

Rank: 641 out of 807
Clock Time: 50:45
Pace: 6:21 /km
Distance: 8 km

If you're wondering what in the world this race entails, visit the official site here: http://www.events.runningroom.com/site/?raceId=2269

I was so nervous Saturday night that I couldn't stop drinking water. I had to get up twice during the night because of that! When the alarm went of at 5:30 a.m., I tried to stay calm, and I ate my oatmeal, raisins and banana right away. I kept drinking water and dealing with the consequences thereof...

I read the pre-race prep. paragraphs in my running books and took a nice warm shower, as suggested. That actually calmed me down a little. I wore red and black, as planned, and I felt pretty confident as I got ready. My Mum came to watch me race, so we left the house early to meet with 2 of my running clinic buddies. Carpooling was such a brilliant idea. We listened to a James Bond soundtrack in the car! By the time we got to the Winspear, it was time for yet ANOTHER potty break. And we looked high and low for toilets that were unlocked...only to discover that the Winspear was open the entire time! Lesson #1: Always ask race officials FIRST instead of thinking you know where things are.

We met up with the rest of our gang at about 7:30, and after some nervous chatter, we did a quick warm-up run and LOTS Of stretching. Surprisingly enough, running and then stretching in the sunshine calmed me down enormously! I felt like I could do anything! There was time for one last bathroom run, and then we wished each other well, and stood in line. There were so many people! I'm glad we stood off to the side. It made it easier not to get run over! I made sure my watch was set of 10 and 1 intervals (we walked for 1 minute after each 10 minutes of running, as per training instructions), and off we went. It was surreal running in a sea of people. I could see so many people ahead of us that if felt like the whole city was running with us! The first mile was super easy. And then I figured out why. We were running too slowly! Our goal had been to run a 9:35 mile and keep that pace. We took 10min. and 2 seconds. I knew it felt too good! I should have trusted my Garmin and pushed my 3 partners more. Lesson #2: Speak up earlier rather than later if the pace isn't fast enough.

It was fun having the different musical groups playing for us along the route. Between kilometres 3 and 4, we heard (and saw) bagpipes! Talk about the perfect way to speed up your pace! If I had bagpipes the whole way, I'd be sailing! It was such great timing! We got a little too excited, and ended up doing a 5:18/km pace for a few seconds...which is probably why I got a stitch at about 4.5 km. LACK OF AIR! So I ended up walking through a water station in order to catch my breath. Lesson #3: Remember to breathe WITH the bagpipe music.

The route was an out-and-back 8k, so we saw our instructor fly by with the speedy runners at some point. He finished in 49th place overall. We just kept moving along. The 7th kilometre was the toughest for me. I wanted to make sure the stitch didn't come back again, and I was starting to notice my form deteriorating a bit, so I had to concentrate twice as hard to stay on track. I'm amazed that we kept our tempo! When we got to the 7km marker, I was really glad, but I still wasn't sure how much I could push it before the end. I kept hearing our instructor saying "don't kick too soon. You want to be able to finish strong". So I was a bit reluctant to pick up the pace at that marker. When we had 100 metres left, I could hear the cheering and clapping at the finish line. The odd thing about this race is that it finishes around a corner. So once you round the corner, you've got about 49 or so metres left. But we could hear the cheers! M. and A. ran ahead before I felt my own adrenaline surge and I stayed with S. When we rounded the corner, we "sprinted" to the finish, and there was my Mum! She was right there with the camera! I felt like a celebrity. There weren't any chutes, contrary to what the race packet had mentioned, so all we had to do was give up our timing chips and keep walking. I thought we had beat Beethoven because my Garmin showed 47 mins. But I had forgotten that because I had set the walk intervals, it only showed the total RUN time. Lesson #4: Next time, set the Garmin to record to show the WHOLE time I've been on the move.

So I was very confused when another person said we'd come in too late. That's when I thought "if only I had trusted my energy reserves". But we finished! I completed an 8k race and I was still smiling! We all congratulated each other, my Mum took a group photo, and off we went to refuel.

I'm already looking at the next 8k race I can do, to see how soon I can beat my time. How crazy is that? I won't be able to run the ING 10k with my group, so my next race may be a 10k at the end of August instead.

All in all, it was a very good day. I'm so proud of myself! A year ago, I would have been hard-pressed to finish a 1k race without stopping to walk every 10 seconds. Hurray for healthy legs and lungs!

Organizing 101

So I've agreed to let my darling mummy come and help me organize my overabundance of stuff. I was reluctant. Still am, really. I don't really want to think about it all, even though I know that I need to. And I long to have one of those homes you see on HGTV. All neat and tidy and spacious. Everything in its place. Quite frankly, hardly anything that could even come remotely close to clutter! So in order to reach that spatial paradise, I need to get help. I need to have a plan, and just DO IT! Even if I'm running an 8k race on Sunday and will be tired, I need to grin and bear it and let my mum help me sort through the boxes that are the bane of my existence. I feel like my home will be on a scaled-down version of "Neat". Yay. Can you hear the excitement? At least there will be no cameras.

Progress?

So the running shorts and I are getting along well. Although I still feel more comfortable when I'm surrounded by my running group. I even bought a pair or running tights, capri-length. And I quite like them. No fabric moving all over the place. Except that I discovered, in a rather shocking way, just how thin they are! Is it acceptable to wear them even though you can see the difference between where my underwear stops and the rest of my legs begin in the darkness/or lack of darkness of the fabric?

Why am I overanalyzing?

This has been a pretty off week with my training. I'm running Beat Beethoven on Sunday, and I should have done a practice run on Sunday morning with my group, but got in late from visiting my mum and then couldn't find my group!!! So I blew off the run entirely. Even ate really badly. Went to a friend's funeral service and that I was really down about the whole thing. Plus thinking about another friend's dad who will be buried shortly. I was not in good spirits. And what do I do when I'm not feeling great about life? I EAT!!! At least, that was what I did BEFORE now. But I resorted to it on Sunday. Totally went off program.That's the other thing.

Last week I made the decision (albeit unnecessary, given the cost) to join LA Weight Loss. Figured it would help keep me on track for the summer. But so far it has left me hungry. And frankly peeved that it costs so much to buy their snacks! I had a choice in the matter, but I should have stuck to my guns and said no. Instead, now I've gone and spent a sum of money that 24 hours later I regretted. On Tuesday I found out that my car repairs may end up costing me up to $1000 more than I had thought. And my insurance company has closed the file, so they are not giving me any more cash. And I clued in to the fact that the pay I got at the end of June is ALL I'm getting until the end of September, because I was on a temporary contract. So all this money I thought I had, all the money I've spent on this weight loss program, I wished for a few hours that I could take it all back. But no. Because they are such generous people, they don't do refunds. So I have to deal with it and move on.

All part of growing up, I suppose. I think I may have to try to find a summer job. Novel idea. I think I'll have a look now.

Summertime...

SOOOOO glad that school is finally over and that I can relax...at least after I get all of my stuff put away. I brought home boxes full of things I won't use next year. I'll be teaching classes in grades 7 to 10...so all my grade 5 stuff would just have taken up space.

This is one of those times when I'd love to have a basement. Which started me thinking about house ownership again. Years ago I thought I'd own my first home AFTER I got married. But I'm seeing the benefits of being a homeowner even while I'm single. A basement is only one of them. Equity is another. More room to play hostess as well. And a garden.

ANYHOW, it's on my mind.

So what have I done with my summer so far?
1. Attended a wedding...with a "date"
2. Attended a baby shower
3. Attended a service for a friend who died of cancer on Friday evening
4. Spent an entire day in pyjamas
5. Played guitar (it's been months!)
6. Run 10 km. in 1 hour and 8 minutes (that's 3 minutes faster!)
7. Discussed the possibility of spending time in B.C. this month


Not too shabby for 3 days, right?

Today's going to be full of glorious things too, if all goes well. A curiosity visit to a fitness/weight-loss centre to see what advice they have for me. A search for inline skates. Some cleaning at home. Another movie, maybe? We shall see...

Time to get moving!