I felt accomplished this past weekend. Although physical activity was at a minimum, I was able to keep moving during Christmas and Boxing Day.
On Christmas Day, there was near chaos in the house. With family set to arrive later on in the afternoon, we were all hustling to prepare to host them. Tensions did rise at times, but we were all civil.
The dog was at the centre of it all. Knowing that she would have to be locked away in the basement, I invoked my 'get out there and away from the house for a bit' excuse - "Mom, I'm taking the dog outside for a run. She will go crazy being locked up down there so I'll take her out." My mother knew better... I wanted to go out and run as much as the dog did. She did not try to stop me even though she pointed out that it was raining outside. I quickly suited up, leashed the dog, and headed out just as people started arriving at the house.
The dog and I went around the neighbourhood and completed a six kilometre loop. The rain was falling lightly and became heavier as we progressed further into the run. I fought to keep the pace going and the dog was also starting to slow down. By the time we got back to the house, both of us were quite wet from the rain. The dog was tired enough to be led downstairs to her area and left alone for a few hours with no incident. I was also a happier person for just getting out there and moving freely.
I later paid for my effort by going to bed with a general feeling of malaise. I feared that I was going to come down with a full blown cold from running in the rain and that I was going to miss the Boxing Day 10M run the next day.
I woke up on Boxing Day feeling ok but still feeling a little ill. I stayed in bed and watched the Weather Network hoping to come up with a viable excuse as to why I should not head over to Hamilton for the race. Where I live, it was raining and I heard the rain falling outside. Finally, after looking online, something inside of me snapped and I quickly got out of bed. The time was quarter to nine in the morning and I knew I did not have too much time to get ready. Luckily for me, my running gear was pretty much organised. I did not have to fuss around. I was on the road by 9h30. The race was scheduled to start at 11h00 and I needed to get there on time to register.
I made it to Hamilton and was able to secure parking just before 10h30. Since my car was on the way to the start line, I went upstairs, registered and greeted some of my other friends including Ron (who had a straw for me), Bruce, and John T. before heading back to my car to get the stuff I needed for the race. The weather was great. Although it was overcast, there was no strong wind and no precipitation. In fact, it felt quite mild out. When I got to the start line, I scanned the crowd for other familiar faces. Lee-Anne was there and we enthusiastically greeted each other.
The race started and Lee-Anne and I ran together. As we were running along, we chatted about training plans for the winter. Lee-Anne is now training for the Boston Marathon and will not be running trails until it is over because of a previous ankle injury. We stayed together until just after the five mile mark. There was a big hill and I wanted to walk it for part of the way as I was still feeling worn out. She went ahead at that point. I caught up to Cherie Harthun who was walking up the hill. Cherie has been adjusting to life as a new mother and has started ramping up the distances again. She did tell me that it has been tough for her but she is determined to get back into running ultras again. Cherie definitely looked good during the race. I then caught up to the Hurdman's - Jeff and Elizabeth. They had passed me on the hill but we hung together for just over a mile before they pulled ahead of me. The Hurdman's are now training for Umstead 100M which will take place in April. Jeff told me it was a very close call for them. The online registration system crashed and Jeff had to quickly overnight a cheque to the organisers to secure a spot into the immediately sold out race.
The last two miles of the race were bittersweet. There was a couple of minor hills to climb, as well as some sweet downhills that I decided to use to my advantage. Although I was tired, I gave it most of what I had and fought to finish, sprinting in the final metres to the finish. 1:33 was the gun time which was roughly two minutes off my time from last year. I thought it was a little longer until I realised that my watch was a couple minutes ahead.
I hung around the finish with Cherie and her husband, Dwayne for a few minutes before heading to my car to get my stuff for the shower and then heading upstairs for some food. Upon arriving in the gym, I was greeted by Stephan and Kinga. We were bantering about winter training and planned races for the upcoming season. We were later joined by Ron and Terry as we started telling stories. Helen Malmberg, race director for Haliburton Forest Trail Races was also around. We were also joined by Joe Cleary, and George and Peggy Sarson (Race directors for the Run for the Toad). We chatted for awhile, filling our faces with tomato soup and apples until the awards ceremony concluded and we dispersed. I then headed for the changeroom and cleaned up before heading home.
Sunday morning did not really go according to plan. I was supposed to head over to Sulphur to run at least one loop with the gang before heading back into the city to pick up my niece and meet with my father. I was feeling really tired and ended up royally sleeping in. Oh well, it's all good... I realised that I would have probably ended up over-extending myself by trying to be two places at once. I would most likely have ended up feeling worst than I want to be.
I am now looking forward to a week of rest as I now have the week off from work. I am now planning my training for this week as well as the month ahead.
On Christmas Day, there was near chaos in the house. With family set to arrive later on in the afternoon, we were all hustling to prepare to host them. Tensions did rise at times, but we were all civil.
The dog was at the centre of it all. Knowing that she would have to be locked away in the basement, I invoked my 'get out there and away from the house for a bit' excuse - "Mom, I'm taking the dog outside for a run. She will go crazy being locked up down there so I'll take her out." My mother knew better... I wanted to go out and run as much as the dog did. She did not try to stop me even though she pointed out that it was raining outside. I quickly suited up, leashed the dog, and headed out just as people started arriving at the house.
The dog and I went around the neighbourhood and completed a six kilometre loop. The rain was falling lightly and became heavier as we progressed further into the run. I fought to keep the pace going and the dog was also starting to slow down. By the time we got back to the house, both of us were quite wet from the rain. The dog was tired enough to be led downstairs to her area and left alone for a few hours with no incident. I was also a happier person for just getting out there and moving freely.
I later paid for my effort by going to bed with a general feeling of malaise. I feared that I was going to come down with a full blown cold from running in the rain and that I was going to miss the Boxing Day 10M run the next day.
I woke up on Boxing Day feeling ok but still feeling a little ill. I stayed in bed and watched the Weather Network hoping to come up with a viable excuse as to why I should not head over to Hamilton for the race. Where I live, it was raining and I heard the rain falling outside. Finally, after looking online, something inside of me snapped and I quickly got out of bed. The time was quarter to nine in the morning and I knew I did not have too much time to get ready. Luckily for me, my running gear was pretty much organised. I did not have to fuss around. I was on the road by 9h30. The race was scheduled to start at 11h00 and I needed to get there on time to register.
I made it to Hamilton and was able to secure parking just before 10h30. Since my car was on the way to the start line, I went upstairs, registered and greeted some of my other friends including Ron (who had a straw for me), Bruce, and John T. before heading back to my car to get the stuff I needed for the race. The weather was great. Although it was overcast, there was no strong wind and no precipitation. In fact, it felt quite mild out. When I got to the start line, I scanned the crowd for other familiar faces. Lee-Anne was there and we enthusiastically greeted each other.
The race started and Lee-Anne and I ran together. As we were running along, we chatted about training plans for the winter. Lee-Anne is now training for the Boston Marathon and will not be running trails until it is over because of a previous ankle injury. We stayed together until just after the five mile mark. There was a big hill and I wanted to walk it for part of the way as I was still feeling worn out. She went ahead at that point. I caught up to Cherie Harthun who was walking up the hill. Cherie has been adjusting to life as a new mother and has started ramping up the distances again. She did tell me that it has been tough for her but she is determined to get back into running ultras again. Cherie definitely looked good during the race. I then caught up to the Hurdman's - Jeff and Elizabeth. They had passed me on the hill but we hung together for just over a mile before they pulled ahead of me. The Hurdman's are now training for Umstead 100M which will take place in April. Jeff told me it was a very close call for them. The online registration system crashed and Jeff had to quickly overnight a cheque to the organisers to secure a spot into the immediately sold out race.
The last two miles of the race were bittersweet. There was a couple of minor hills to climb, as well as some sweet downhills that I decided to use to my advantage. Although I was tired, I gave it most of what I had and fought to finish, sprinting in the final metres to the finish. 1:33 was the gun time which was roughly two minutes off my time from last year. I thought it was a little longer until I realised that my watch was a couple minutes ahead.
I hung around the finish with Cherie and her husband, Dwayne for a few minutes before heading to my car to get my stuff for the shower and then heading upstairs for some food. Upon arriving in the gym, I was greeted by Stephan and Kinga. We were bantering about winter training and planned races for the upcoming season. We were later joined by Ron and Terry as we started telling stories. Helen Malmberg, race director for Haliburton Forest Trail Races was also around. We were also joined by Joe Cleary, and George and Peggy Sarson (Race directors for the Run for the Toad). We chatted for awhile, filling our faces with tomato soup and apples until the awards ceremony concluded and we dispersed. I then headed for the changeroom and cleaned up before heading home.
Sunday morning did not really go according to plan. I was supposed to head over to Sulphur to run at least one loop with the gang before heading back into the city to pick up my niece and meet with my father. I was feeling really tired and ended up royally sleeping in. Oh well, it's all good... I realised that I would have probably ended up over-extending myself by trying to be two places at once. I would most likely have ended up feeling worst than I want to be.
I am now looking forward to a week of rest as I now have the week off from work. I am now planning my training for this week as well as the month ahead.
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