February

I know February isn't quite over yet... but it's close, and I don't expect anything major to happen in the next 3 days.

So.... February. What happened? I "raced" a couple of times. Quotes because they were more workouts than races, but they were in a race environment, which I like to do in February, so that once March rolls around, I'm (hopefully) ready both physically and mentally for real races.

What races did I run, you ask? Well... let me tell you.

February Race #1: Dion Winter Goose Chase (snowshoe race)
It's a 7ish km race in the trails at Shade's Mills Conservation Area in Cambridge. This was the second year of the race, and as the name implies... there's chasing of a "goose" involved. The "Goose" and "Gander" are the male and female winners from the previous year. Last year was the inaugural year, so there were no previous winners. Lisa (the RD) asked me if I would run as Gander (although due to misprint, I was the Goose and the guy was the Gander). I finished 2nd female last year, but as of the week of the race, this year's Goose was injured and unable to make the race. Lisa emailed me and asked if I would again fill in as Gander. Of course, I would. So... I was once again running with a literal target on my back.

I started 2nd row, so that I'd be in front of all the other women, since they were supposed to chase me. At the gun, I ran hard... I ran hard for I don't know how long.... a km or two... and then I was passed by a woman and was happy to be passed. This was my first snowshoe run of the season and it was NOT feeling good! Note to self.... make sure to run AT LEAST one run in snowshoes before attempting to race in them. So.. I was passed. I was now in 2nd female position. Then I was passed again. I was also fine with this, but was not going to let anyone kick me out of top 3, so I kept on keeping on. The snowshoes started to feel normal about half way through the race. The final 3 km felt pretty good and I passed one guy. I finished the race in 3rd female in a time a little slower than last year, but the course was not the same... Actually, I'm not sure if the distance was, either.

After the race, there was a bonfire at the finish area, pancakes and coffee inside, and then awards.

I ended up leaving with a pint glass full of Clif products (this was the registration gift), and two mugs also filled with Clif products (one was my prize for 3rd and the other was a draw prize), and a pair of gloves (pre-registration draw prize). It was a great way to spend the morning and I'd recommend this race to anyone.

February Race #2: Re-Fridgee-Eighter 8 Mile
I'm pretty sure I've done this race each and every year since I started running.... now I need to check and confirm that "fact" to ensure that I'm not making shit up... but I don't recall ever missing a year. It wasn't always the same distance (there's an 8K and an 8 mile), but I believe I've always been at the event.

Alright. I've checked. 2007 & 2008, I ran the 8K, my very first race ever was in the fall of 2006, so... so far it looks like I am correct. I will continue to look. 2014 was also 8K, but 2009-2013 and 2015-2018 were all the 8 mile distance. I was not mistaken! Yay!!

OK... back to the event. This one, I generally run as a tempo around half marathon pace. It's a good test of fitness in generally less than ideal weather conditions. This year was no exception weather-wise. There was some snow-cover, some slush, and then freezing rain for at least half of the race. Singlets were frozen solid at the end of the race, watch faces were covered in a layer of bumpy ice. It's "character building" or something.

Anyway.... I felt zero pressure for this race, since I wasn't intending to truly race it and also since the weather forecast was crap. I lined up at the start near some people who I knew would be running around the same pace as me and off we went. I stuck with Jan for the first few km, but he started running slightly quicker than I wanted to, so off he went, then after the turn at 4ish km, Emily caught up to me and we ran together for the rest of the race. We ended up reeling in Jan and finishing just in front of him in a finish gun time of 56:08, and were surprised to find out we finished 4th and 5th female. We were chatting most of the time we were running. It was a great half marathon effort training run!

Next up... Chilly Half Marathon next weekend. I'll try to write something shortly after that... but no guarantees. We all know I suck at posting. ;)

Re-Fridgee-Eighter and More Photos :)

Yesterday was the 16th annual Re-Fridgee-Eighter 8 km and 8 mile race. It was quite cold out, but it was clear and dry and was not windy. The conditions were quite good for a race in February. The race was well organized as always and the post race food was tasty. I had a slice of chicken club pizza which was very good.

I ran the 8 mile distance and was happy with my race. I came in over 3 minutes faster than my previous best time. The course was different this year and I talked to several others who had PBs today, but a PB is a PB and I’ll take it. :) I ran the race in 1:03:32, placing 8th female (out of 65 entrants) and second in my age group. Since the 3rd overall female was in my age group, I walked away with the first place medal for female ages 30-34.

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Since I had previously been updating with photos, I will continue that in the second half of this post. I finished up December last time, so now I will jump into January 2013, which should bring us up to date with the photos.

January 1st – Walter Bean Trail, Kitchener

Obstacle on the trail

January 5
Fun bridge in the trails just off the Walter Bean trail near Ottawa St.

January 6

Snowy Sunday morning run with Runners’ Choice 

January 12

A bit of an odd day weather-wise for the middle of January. As you can see below, I’m wearing a short sleeved shirt and by the look on my face you can tell that I am not cold. I was actually over dressed (I wore long pants.. should’ve done shorts or at the most, capris). I ran along the Grand River by Freeport. The river was misty at one point, so I took a few photos and included one below.

Misty River

January 19 – Frosty Trail 6 hour Ultra

I ran my very first ultra this day. It went better than I could’ve imagined. I had some fantastic encouragement along the way (very helpful and appreciated) followed by good conversation after the race. I ran 51 km during the 6 hours and placed 4th female. It was a good first ultra experience. I’m pretty sure I’m not done.

The trails got a bit muddy…

I was proud of myself after this race.

January 27

The sun started to set as I was finishing my my run near the Grand River this day. The colours looked much prettier in person, but it’s still nice in the photo, so I will include it.

Now that I have included photos up to the end of January, I think I am caught up and will go back to regular blogging as I finish any runs where photos have been taken. I hope you’ve enjoyed the bulk updates.

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 – 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