I Need to Kick it Up a Notch OR Get a Kick in the Butt OR BOTH!

Yesterday I was reviewing my blog and I need to kick it up a notch there and... 

...EVERYWHERE!

I used to write a post almost everyday, and today I noticed that I only wrote 1 post in July and 1 so far this month, August.  So since today is the end of the month, I thought I better write another post in order to better myself from last month.  Plus, my birthday was in July, and my husband and children gave me a gift of a new laptop.  My other one was about the same age as my son, almost 8 years old, and it was running so very ssslllooooowwwww.  Some of my past posts would take so long to get finished, post, and share on all the social media platforms that I am on, it got very frustrating.

 

So now it's time to kick it up a notch and get back to where I was and beyond... 

I told you in my last blog that I was to run 21KM last Saturday to complete my half marathon training, but instead I ran in the awesome In Running Colour run here in Waterloo. 

Well today I DID IT! 

 

I ran 21KM.  My time was 2:30:43.  So now I have a time that I can improve on.

This past week I kind of fell short on my running days because of family things and getting stuff ready for school.  I know that is no excuse, but that's what happened.  I did, however ride my spin bike again on Thursday night.  And yes, I wore my silver "space suit" again, my sauna suit. 
 

 

But today I laced up my running shoes and hit the road again, it felt great. 

I wasn't sure where I was going to run until last night at around 5:30pm.  My son was going to a sleepover at his friend's house, and his mum was picking my son up after work.  When she came to pick up my son, I asked her "how many kilometres to their home?"  She said it was about 21KM.  My son has been asking me..."when are you going to do the 21K training run?"  And he asked me again last night before he left for his friend's house.  I told him that maybe I would run to him in the morning.  They both thought I was joking.

It was no joke.

After my son left, my husband and daughter were getting ready for a in house movie night while I was getting ready for a girl's night out with some friends.  I had a lovely dinner and great laughs.  I guess you could say that this was my BIG dinner before my BIG training run.  I even had 1 drink and then water.  Thanks for the great night ladies.

I returned home and set my alarm for 7am and another one for 7:30am. 

 7am rolled around but I slept until the 7:30am alarm went off.  I got up, moved around and got ready to go.  As you may know if you have been following my journey, I am not one for eating or drinking much before my runs or workouts.  I figure I ate enough last night to keep me going.  I did consume one of the CLIF Chocolate shots gel packs.  You know me and chocolate...I LOVE IT!  I packed another one in my back pocket in my running top along with my iPhone.  I was ready to go.

So my plan was to run the 21KM to where my son's friend lived, and then have my husband come and pick us up.  That was if I made it there before his friend's mum drove him home.  She had mentioned they would leave late morning, so I was thinking I would get there in time.

I started out and this once Wimpy-weather-runner was kind of hoping for a little rain to cool things down a bit.  But it didn't.  And that was still okay.  Once I was nearing the end of the first road I ran down, another group of runners passed by me.  At first it made me feel slow and out of shape, but then I thought...I'm out here on the road and I am not still in bed sleeping like many others.  I was there and I was going to do it, even if I wasn't a fast as those others runners. 

 

And THAT I did!

The one man had a Triathlon shirt on and even though I couldn't keep pace with them, I always had them in sight until they turned the corner and I was continuing on the road straight.  Along the way besides the other runners and cyclists out on the road, I also spotted a live mouse scurry across in front of me, some squashed frogs, a dead rodent of some sort, a skunk(a dead one, thankfully) and lots of horse crap.  Yes, I was running in Mennonite country.  I was really enjoying this run.  I was sporting my Galactic Spandits! again, my Nike running shoes and had my Nike+ app running, letting me know how well I was doing, and how far I had left to go.

 

I had hit the halfway point and I was feeling great.  I knew I was going to have some tough kilometres ahead of me yet.  For those of you who know the area and the roads that I ran on, you will know how tough this next part was.  I was running into Hawkesville, ON.  Coming up the road to the crazy sharp bend was a bit scary because the oncoming traffic could not see me and many make a tight turn around the corner and I could have very easily been squashed into the pavement.  But I didn't.  Actually the road wasn't that busy and I think only 1 car came around the bend.  After the bend...the Hell Hills of Hawkesville began (I named them that).  The first one was so bad...it was the second one that was the killer.  It was straight up and never seemed to end.  But it did.  And I made it.  It was tough, especially running on uneven ground.  I felt as though I was walking up this hill, but I was still running and I was glad when I finally reached the top of it.  The is an "up" side to these hills, no pun intended, there was a BIG downside once I reached the top.  The hill had an UP and a DOWN.  Whereas some hills you run, only go up, and then straighten out to a flat road, those sometimes SUCK.  So once I was down, I had yet another hill staring me in the face to conquer, and this hill was one of the sucky ones.  It flattened out and then it turned into a steady incline to my destination.  Once I got up that last hill the countdown was on.  I will start at the remaining 4.11 miles.  At that point it was time to have my second CLIF Chocolate Energy Shot.  Now it was just me and the road, oh yeah and more horse shit.  I felt like I was doing an obstacle course at times.  I could see in the distance where I needed to be and then as I got closer, it was no longer visible.  More steady climbing had to be done to get to the side road where my son's friend lived.  It was at the 2.11 mile mark where the road was visible again.  At that point I was hoping that I would have enough road between me and the house to fit in the 2.11 miles I needed to complete yet.  I was running down Ament Line, and as I got closer to my cut off, the male voice of my Nike+ app called out "1.11 miles to go"...YES!  I soon reached the gravel road to which their house was down, I made the slight turn and my goal was soon in sight.  Then...all of a sudden I could smell the scent of...a skunk...NO!!!!!  I think it was just some of the wild flowers along the side of the road, at least that what I was telling myself.  If I would have gotten sprayed by a skunk, my husband would have made me run all the way back home, or at least walk...LOL.  So I picked up my paced just a little.  No skunks to be seen, thankfully.  My judgement of the road was pretty good, I could see the house and the Nike+ man called out ".11 miles to go".  I ran by the house and noticed that both cars were still in the driveway, so I knew they were still at home.  I ran around the bend up to a bridge that had huge puddles of water over it from last night's thunderstorm.  I was thinking of running through but then turned and headed back to the house.  About 20 seconds later the Nike+ app man said, "Congratulations, you have reached your goal of 13.1 miles." 

I DID IT!!!

Just as I was coming up to the house once again, I saw my son coming out the front door of the house with his backpack on.  They were just getting ready to take him home.  I made it just in time.

It felt great!!!  Yes, my legs felt like jelly and I was in need of a drink of water, but I was happy.  I proved to myself that I could actually run 21KM.

Plus, it felt great to complete the 21KM training run with my son at the end of it.  The run that he has been asking me to do.

These next two pictures are selfies on the ride home...

 

Feeling happy and looking good in my Spandits!

 

So as I mentioned earlier in this post, I now have a time to improve on.  I know that my time should be better during the half marathon itself because as far as I know, there are no "hell hills of Hawkesville" along the streets and the waterfront in Toronto, ON.  And if some were to spring up...I will be ready for them.

This coming week is going to be a challenge in a whole new way, well at least one I haven't seen since before the end of the school year in June.  That's right it's back to school time and that means back to routine for my children as well as myself.  My 5:30am alarm will be set and I MUST get my A$$ out of bed at that time once again.  I have slacked off my strength training workouts throughout the summer and it's time to get that kick in the butt.  I know that with getting back to my strength training it will help to improve my running times.  Plus it will help to improve my frame of mind.  Change is here and I'm ready for it.  I hope you are too.

Tomorrow is going to be a fun day with the family which will include a walk and stretch to loosen me up from today's BIG accomplishment.

Until I write again...Stay Strong!

Good night

Trina

 

My Children and I Ran "In Running Colour" Today

It was a beautiful colourful day...

My kids have been waiting for this day all summer long.  It was the day that we were running in the fun run of In Running Colour put on by the Waterloo Running Series here in Waterloo, ON.  With us in our whites and the race crew with their colour zones, we were in for lots of FUN. 

 

I was also sporting my colourful Spandits! Over-the-knee running capris.

LOVE THEM!!!

My husband had to work this morning, so I had to make arrangements for someone to stay at the START/FINISH line with my son and daughter while I ran the 4KM run.  We picked up my nephew, and he was in charge of my two little runners while I was out getting blasted with colour.  Before the run began my kids opened their colour packs and like everyone else, they started throwing coloured powder on each other and on me and on their cousin. 

This picture above is post race. 

A big thanks to my nephew for watching over my two little ROCK STAR runners.

This was the 1st In Running Colour event for the Waterloo Running Series and it was fantastic.  We has a blast and as I looked around there were smiles and colour everywhere.  It was a perfect day for a run like this.

Here are some pictures from the day...

 

 

 

I was running the 1KM run with my daughter.  So I was able to snap some pictures of her while running and hitting the colour zones.  My son ran out on ahead and I only got pictures of him at the finish.

 

"Look Mum, another colour pack."

This green one ended up on his head.  His hair is still green even after a shower. 

Tomorrow I will get it out.

A well deserved drink of water for this little ROCK STAR runner. 

My brother-in-law came to pick my nephew up after making our way over to the street.  We were too messy to get in the van so my kids decided they wanted to walk home.  They are troopers.  My son said it was good for us to get more exercise by walking home.  So true!  I sent a text to my husband to see where he was and he told me that he was on his way to pick us up.  The kids still wanted to keep walking home, but I knew they would get tired soon.  I told my husband where we were and once they saw him drive by and turn around, they were ready for a ride home. 

Here they are putting on their best tired looks...

A few seconds later they were full of energy again.

 

I know it has been a while since I have written to you all, with my last post being the day my children and I did the Dirty Dash.  Another Waterloo Running Series event.  My children really enjoyed both of these events.  Great job to all of the organizers and volunteer of these great races.  You make running fun for all ages and all fitness levels.  Thank you.

 

Over the summer I have been keeping up with my half marathon training by running trails, roads, beaches, water and last week I finished my long run on a pier.  I have been running long runs, short runs and some in between.  I am actually enjoying my long runs more than my shorts runs.  Today was to be the last day of my training with running the full 21KM, but I put it off because of the In Running Colour run I did today with my children.  I am not worried about missing my run today, I still have time to finish my training.  I have registered for my first half marathon which will take place on Sunday October 20th in Toronto, ON Canada.  It is the Bank of Nova Scotia Waterfront Half Marathon.  So I have some time to keep training and get back into top form.

 

That's right...I have slacked off a bit this year, and I am not feeling as strong as I did last year.  As I have mentioned in some of my last posts, it has been a real crap fest of a year.  Others have said, and I have also talked about how "you can't out train a bad diet".  It's SO true.  I have been running A LOT, but my eating has not been what is was, and the end result = feeling like crap and no weight loss.  That must change.  That will change. 

Last week my family and I were on holidays and my long run took place last Saturday in Kincardine, ON.  I was really needing to get out for my run so I told my husband on the Friday night that I would meet them down at the beach, even if I just went for a shorter run.  I wasn't sure if I was going to get my full 1hour and 50 minutes of running done since I really didn't know the area and I really wanted to hit the beach.  But once I got out there on the road, and got past my first 30 minutes, I knew that I would keep on going.  Since the beach was only about a 20 minute run away from where we were staying, I knew I needed to keep going.  I ran down the main street, then made a few turns and I was on to Broiler Beach Road.  What a lovely road to run along. 

 

 

 

I could see the lake on my right side as I ran out, and some beautiful homes and cottages on my left.  I thought to myself, I will keep running until I reach my halfway point and then turn and run back to the beach.  The halfway point came and went and I was still running away from the beach, the long distance runner in me had taken over, and I was loving it.  I finally came to a bend in the road so I decided to turn around head to the beach to meet up with my husband and children.  Once I made it back to the beach, I didn't see my family there yet so I finished my run by running along the pier and back again.  I sent a text to my husband to tell him I was waiting and he had his hands full with our children...I knew there was a reason I wanted to run...LOL.  I felt great after this run and spent the rest of the day on the beach...I love vacation.

 The beginning of our week of vacation we went camping and I completed my long run in and out of the campsite.  I was sporting my AWESOME Spandits! running capris Galactic print.  Did I mention I love these running pants.  I love wearing them for my long runs, that way I get to spend more time in them.

 

Another run that I did while we were camping was a totally family motivating one.  We had packed up and ready to go home and they left me there.  They me at the campsite.  So...I had to run home.  It's not as bad as it sounds because it was my idea.  I figured if I wanted to get home to shower and get ready for the next leg of our vacation, I needed to get my A$$ in gear and run home.

Here was my run home...

My run was 30 minutes followed by about a 15 minute walk.

 

 

I mentioned earlier that I have been running on beaches and in the water.  During our July vacation, I finished a shorter run of mine along Wasaga Beach, while my family walked it.  The day before that run, I ran laps in the pool at the hotel, that was tough running.  The time spent in the shallow end wasn't too bad, but once I hit the deep end it was a different story.  My breath shortened and my pace slowed down, but I kept it up for 30 minutes. 

Here I am in the deep end of the pool.  Running my laps.

I had read an article about training on different surfaces, so I thought I would try it out.  So...so far in my training, I have run in water, on sand, through trails, through mud(Dirty Dash), on the road, on grass, through pouring rain and with today's In Running Colour, through multiple COLOUR ZONES.  Oh yes and I can't forget the 76 dreaded minutes I spent running on a treadmill in a Toronto hotel during our July vacation.  That totally SUCKED!!!  I know that I am definitely not a treadmill runner.  I would rather skip a run than run on a treadmill...does that make me a bad runner???  I just don't like it. 
 

This picture above was from a day running in the pouring rain. 

YES!  I am wearing my Spandits! running capris AGAIN.  They totally match up with the new running shoes and rain jacket that I bought myself.

For really cool running pants, shorts, skirts and other gear check out www.spandits.com

They even have gear for kids too!

 

I think it's time for me to order another pair so you don't get sick of seeing these very cool and awesome pants.  But I know that you won't because they are so awesome that you will probably order some for yourself as well.  DO IT! and if you live near me we could go running together in them.  And I do plan to wear them for my half marathon.  I trained hard, so I want to make sure people see me cross the finish line.

 

This week at home has been a little bit crazy trying to get back to reality after a week of holidays.  I got out for only two of my runs this week but I made up for the third one by riding my spin bike for almost an hour.  It wasn't just a normal ride in regular workout clothes.  I have a sauna suit(AKA my silver space suit) that I decided to wear for my ride. 

Nice, eh?

HOLY MOLEY!!!! 

 

 

It was definitely like being in a sauna.  I sweat SO much it was disgusting.  LOL Underneath the sauna suit I was wearing only my underwear and a light navy blue tank top.  No there is not a picture of me like that, but I do have a picture of my tank top after.  I could have wrung the swear out it, my underwear and my socks!  So even though I didn't get out on the road in my running shoes, I did sweat up a storm and it felt great.

 

So getting back to the craziness around here...the house is a disaster, the kids are crazy and I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.  But that is not in the cards so I have to Keep Calm and Stay Strong! and get things done around here.  Today we went out and did some back-to-school shopping. 

And this is the outfit my daughter was sporting while shopping...

The powdered colour was all washed off but she wanted to keep the colour spirit alive by wearing her In Running Colour t-shirt and sun glasses.

 

 

 Tomorrow is operation clean up day and the fridge is the first thing on the list.  Grocery shopping will be done with clean foods all on the list.  Getting back to that Healthier Version of Me that I introduced to you all last year.  I know that that version of me is not that far gone, and it's time to bring her back.  I once felt great that I was an inspiration to you, and in return, you inspired me to push harder.  I know earlier this year, I tried to get back on track and then more crap happen in my life.  I tried and tried.  Well, it's time to be that version of me again.  It's all about being honest with yourself and realizing what is holding you back.  I know that I have been eating like crap, and I know that I can't out train a bad diet, so it's time to face those facts and make the change.

 

I hope you are still with me on this journey, as I will always be with you.

 

Until next time...Stay Strong!

 

Good night

 

Trina