Long Overdue Update

Since I have not written anything about running since early February, I will take this post as update on the races that I’ve completed since then.

Re-Fridgee-Eighter 8 mile - February 12, 2012
I ran the 8 mile distance again this year and finished in 1:06:57, which was improved from my 1:08:44 time in 2011. I finished 3rd in my age group, but since the first place female was from my age group, I ended up with a 2nd place medal!

Around the Bay 30 K – March 25, 2012
I finished the 30K race in 2:42:44 (I ran it in 2:56:02 in 2011). I’m definitely happy with this improvement.

ENDURrace 5K and 8K – April 21 & 28, 2012
On the 5K day, I came very close to my PB in this distance, which I set back in 2007 (only 4 seconds slower). I finished in 23:22, which was a minute and 22 seconds faster than last year, but it was a new course this year.
For the 8K day, I set a PB! I ran the 8K in 38:50. In 2011, my 8K time (different course) was 42:04. My previous PB for the 8K distance was set at the 2011 REMEMBERrun.

Waterloo Marathon – April 29, 2012
The day after running my 8K PB (see above), I decided to run a marathon. I had been training for a marathon with no particular race planned, so it wasn’t that crazy an idea. I signed up 2 days before the race when I saw that the weather was going to be nice and sunny, with a high of 14. I completed the marathon in 4:03:02, which I was perfectly happy with. I had some issues with my right leg in the last 10 or so km, but backed off a bit and finished feeling alright. I decided that finishing injury-free was way more important than finishing with a faster time. I’m definitely happy that I made that choice, because I’ve gotten out for some good training runs this week and also had another race scheduled for today, which brings us to..

The Downtown MudPuppy Chase – May 6, 2012
Today was the 6th annual Downtown MudPuppy Chase, which was also the race that I chose for 2012 for fundraising (I choose one race per year); I was happy to raise $740 for KidsAbility this year.
The 10K race started at 10am this morning and the weather was fantastic! It was already around 16 C at the start and the sun was shining. In past years, this has been a bit of a rainy race, but the sun was not blocked by any clouds the entire time.
I finished with a PB time of 47:57, beating my previous BP of 48:52, which was set at the 2011 MudPuppy! I placed 2nd in my age group and won a nice pair of Saucony compression socks.

Other than these races, I’ve been doing a lot of training with the Runners’ Choice Marathon Group and a lot of running on my own as well.

It’s been a very good race season so far and it should continue to be a great rest of the year! I’m looking forward to the upcoming events and will be sure to update this blog more often. 

Re-Fridgee-Eighter Run

This morning was the 14th annual Re-Fridgee-Eighter 8 km and 8 mile races at RIM Park in Waterloo.

The race was well-run as always with plenty of support both on the course and at the start/finish area.

Chip pick-up went very smoothly, the intersections on the course were well managed with police and volunteer help, water stations were plentiful, and the finish area was easy to manoeuvre through. The post race food at any RunWaterloo event is always good and today was no exception. There was coffee, hot chocolate, pizza, hot dogs, fruit, bagels, cream cheese, and even ice cream.

I ran the 8 mile race in 1:08:44, which was over a minute faster than my time last year, so I’m happy with that. I didn’t know what to expect today as my body kept telling me that it didn’t want to run today. The weather was great, so I’m sure that helped. We had nice clear roads and it wasn’t too cold, which great.

First run of the year down and many exciting events to come.

Today I ran to Remember

This morning was the Remember Run 5K and 8K races in Cambridge at the Legion. The funds from this race go to the Poppy Fund.

I ran the 8K race. It was a beautiful course, running through Riverside Park on roads, trails, boardwalks, bridges, and even some stairs. Anything wooden was slippery with frost and ice, but it was cold out, so that’s to be expected.

I took it easy on the slippery sections and walked a bit. I don’t want any injuries this close to Vegas. I’d rather be safe than sorry. I finished in 43:17 and actually finished first in my age group, which I was not expecting. There are usually some sub-40 minute 8Kers out there.

Dirty Dash

This morning, I ran the first annual Dirty Dash trail/cross country race in Waterloo. The race involved running through a meadow, grass trail, dirt rail through a forest, river (both a section straight down it and another area where you just crossed it), more dirt trail with a large hill that ended up quite muddy, and finally, a mud pit just before the finish line.

I ran the 8K distance (there was an 8K, 4K, and a 1K kid’s fun run) and it was the toughest 8K I’ve ever run. It was very hilly and running with soaking wet shoes is also another new experience. Since the 8K course was a 2 look version of the 4K so all (except the mud pit) was done twice.

The mud pit was longer than I expected and you had to go under all of the flags above the mud, so crawling was pretty much the way to go. I crawled through the pit, went to stand up after going under the last set of flags and my shoe got stuck as I tried to move. I fell back down, pulled my foot out of the mud, and moved on my way, passing through the finish area.

I placed 3rd in my age group today. Needless to say, the times were slower than most races as there were more obstacles and with so many people running on a narrow trail at once, there were some delays on the first trip into the river. It was a lot of fun today and I’ll definitely do this one again next year!

There will be some photos and another point of view (photographer’s point of view, that is) on Ryan’s blog in the next few days.

Today’s Run:
Distance: 8km
Weather: 24 C, felt like 29 C

Re-Fridgee-Eighter – my first race of the year

This morning at 10am, the gun sounded the start of the 13th annual “Re-Fridgee-Eighter” 8K and 8 mile run.

This race is the first of the year in the Waterloo Running Series. It is held in February every year, which makes for variable weather. Two years ago, it was freezing rain right up until race start when it turned to regular rain. It was quite the slippery course with runners falling down quite regularly. Parts of the course were not even run-able and I had to walk, or more accurately, slide as if I was skating in my shoes. Other years have been very cold, or sometimes sunny and above seasonal temperatures.

This year was not icy at all. I’d have to say the weather was pretty much perfect. The sun was shining, the roads were clear of ice and snow and the temperatures were around or just above the freezing mark.

The course started at RIM Park and included large sections on University Avenue, Bridge Street, and Lexington Road. Both distances covered the same route, with the 8 mile distance taking a short detour into a neighbourhood and back out to do a second loop of the middle section of the course.

There were several water stations on the course run and police, REACT, and event volunteers were on the scenes providing a well-organized, safe, and vehicle-free run for all.

Photos of the race will be on Ryan’s Photo Blog in the next few days.

I ran the 8 mile distance today and had a decent run. I was a bit concerned that my fitness level was sub-par as I hadn’t been training as much this winter as last, but turns out I held up well. I knocked a few minutes off of last year’s time (although I had a cold when I ran last year, so it’s not exactly a fair comparison) and finished 3rd in my age group.

Today’s Run:
Distance: 8 miles (12.87 km)
Weather: –3C, winds 7km/h