Catch Up

Wow, I've been a lazy blogger lately.  The truth is, I was a lazy runner for most of June.  After the relay I got in one of those funks where I had no energy.  No energy for cooking so I ate junk which compounded the problem.  No energy for running, so I didn't run when a run was the one thing that would help get me out of my funk.

The past two weeks, I've been back on the bandwagon.  I met with a running buddy for a Monday morning run, and that was all it took to get back into a routine.  This past week I was at a conference in Vancouver, with days starting at 7:30am, and going until well after my usual 10pm bedtime.  Still, I managed to fit in early morning runs 3 days in Stanley Park, and a long run this weekend, marking week 1 of my fall 1/2 training plan.

It is great to have a plan again, and I am feeling pretty determined to stick to it.

BRR: Race Recap Part 2

Read the first part of the recap here:  BRR: Race Recap Part 1

A few of my team mates met me at the finish of my stage, and then I waited with the mixed team stage 3 runner while the others went back to catch our other runner on stage 2 as she neared the finish line.  They had oranges, bananas, cookies and water at the end of the stage.  I grabbed a couple of oranges and chatted with a few other runners that I knew.  It was sunny, but still probably only 12C, so I cooled off quickly in my shorts and t-shirt.  There were showers available in the park where I ended, but I hadn't brought a towel or soap.  I had brought wet wipes and a change of clothes, and felt better as soon as I was out of my sweaty running clothes.

I did not think to bring an extra pair of shoes.  Lesson learned.

As soon as I was changed, we were off to cheer on our runners on stage 3.  Stage 3 is TOUGH.  It is nearly all up hill, and makes my stage look like a breeze.  Both of the runners on this stage were going strong and making it look easy.  The stage 4 runners were both feeling a bit nervous so we got them to the start of their leg with time to spare.  At this point, I was really glad I was done early.  You could feel that the anxiety of other runners was feeding the others and even very experienced runners were starting to feel nervous about their stages later in the day.

The second stage 3 runner had nearly caught up to the first, so our stage 4 runners ran together most of the way.  This made cheering them on easier!  Unfortunately, I think one of them had a bad race, while the other was ready to rock it.  It took awhile to convince her to go on ahead and run her own race over the last 5K.

Because the race goes over 100km, and runners get so spread out, they have a second mass start at the start of stage 5 at noon.  One car went ahead, but I didn't even see the stage 5 runners, and we just jumped ahead to stage 6.

I was riding with our stage 7 runner, so after we stopped a couple of times to cheer on the stage 6 runners, we went ahead again so that she could get ready to run at the start of her leg.

During stage 7, the runners head into Barkerville, and then onto trails, so there's no cheering them on.  We waited at the entrance to Barkerville, chatted with other runners and volunteers and waited.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, perfect for running.  They had a person with a walky talky (no cell service in these parts), calling down to the entrance to let us know when the runners hit the turn around at Summit Rock.

I admit, at this point, the day started to feel very long.  If I'd had my own vehicle, I probably would have snuck away and taken a nap.  It was the opening weekend for Barkerville, so during this time you could go in and walk around the historic site.  Many runners were heading to the bakery or the restaurants for a snack.

Our two runners came out a few minutes apart, so we were off again cheering on the final stage.  Apparently, on this leg (and on stage 6) in previous years, the RCMP have had to position themselves between grizzlies and runners, but we did not see any bears on Sunday.  Soon, we were at the finish line, and both of our teams were done, minutes apart!

The first of the two 100K runners had already crossed the finish line and the second (who ran my marathon running clinic 2 years ago), was approaching.  We waited to cheer her on as she crossed the line (hello, inspirational?), and saw the final runners finish.  Then it was time to eat!

As I mentioned, there were snacks at the end of each leg, but at the end of the race, each runner got a full meal during the awards ceremony, served up in the Wells Community Hall.  We had salads, veggies, lasagne, potatoes, chicken, roast beef, and gravy, plus fruit and squares for dessert.  Yum!  The local ski club was also selling beer, so of course, I had to support them!

The MC introduced the new sponsor from the Running Room, and then called out the awards.  I knew there were 14 teams, plus the solo runners, but didn't know the break down of categories.  It turns out there were two 8-member ladies teams, and ours came in first!  Wells is an artistic community, so mugs made by a local potter replaced the traditional medal.  The other category prizes were awarded, and then the fastest runner on each leg (male and female) all got mugs as well.  There were also door prizes that were bought from local businesses in Quesnel, mostly on a running theme.  There was at least one for every team.  To end the night, they had a door prize for a gold nugget! (Barkerville was a gold rush town).

On the drive home, we saw a bear and three cubs, 5 more black bears, and two moose.  I picked up my car at the start of stage 2, and headed home.

Overall, this race was a fantastic event.  I had wanted to run it for the past few years, but because it's on a long weekend, the timing had never worked.  I would make it work in the future.  The volunteers were awesome, it was a great way to meet some new runners, and everyone, on every team was friendly and supportive.  There is a stage for everyone, from very hilly, to very, very hilly, to long, steady climbs, to trail, and almost flat.  There are 3 stages that are over 17K, and 3 that are 10K or less, and if you want, you can split any of the 17K stages between 2 runners.  There were runners of all ages, some running their first race, and some running the 10th anniversary of this race for the 10th time.

I absolutely recommend this race to anyone with 7 running friends.  It is a great time of year to visit the Cariboo!  For more info, go here:  BRR

BRR: Race Recap Part 1

Yesterday, I ran my very first relay.  We had an 8 person team to run an 8 leg, 100 km race.  Some teams had two runners split the longer legs, so up to 11 people could be on each team.  In previous years, there were some 4 person teams, but this year, two people ran the whole 100 km solo, and finished.  The race is mostly on paved road, with a small section on dirt road, and stage 7 on trail (which is still covered in snow).  I was running stage 2, 17.1 hilly kilometres.

This winter and spring, I have been running with a group from our local running store, and the store owner, Candace, put together a mixed team and a ladies team. I was on the ladies team. We had a brief team meeting on Saturday, got our bibs, store t-shirts, and discussed who would have cars to shuttle runners to their stage.  Because of frequent bear sightings along the route, teams are asked to keep a vehicle in sight of their runner at all times.

The starting line was about 20 minutes away from my house, so I set my alarm for 5:45, got up and had my typical pre-race breakfast of a bagel and peanut butter, and a cup of tea, got dressed in shorts and a t-shirt (it was supposed to be 9C and sunny by my estimated start time), and put a couple of layers on top because it was only 4C as I headed to meet my team at the start line at 6:30.

At this point, my stomach was not feeling good.  I was fearing a repeat of the 2011 Vancouver marathon.  I hadn't eaten anything funky, and I wasn't feeling nervous (I ran my stage the week before and felt comfortable), but my stomach was not happy.  We took a few pictures at the start, saw our runners off, and then I drove straight to the start of my stage.  Stage 1 is 8.5K, and very hilly.  I had ran it as a practice run 2 weeks ago and it took me 51 minutes, so I figured I had at least 45 minutes until I started, and I wanted to take that time to try to relax and get my stomach to settle down.

After about 10 minutes, a few other runners started to show up, and my stomach felt better.  I knew a few people so we were chatting while we waited for our runners to come in.  The first runner through was one that was running the full 100 km!  There were a few more, and then my runner was racing in with another girl so two of us were starting at about the same time.  I had been sorta hoping our stage one runner would come in solo so that I would be starting out on my own, but there was nothing I could do soI was off!

The run started with a big down hill, but soon we were climbing.  The first hill is big one, and then the climbing continues for the first 4km.  The other runner that started at the same time as me, passed me on that first uphill.  I caught up to the next runner, passed her, and then got a horrible, can't take a proper breath, cramp under my rib.  I had to walk, and that runner passed me.  I had taken the hill too fast. After about 10 seconds, I ran again, passed her again, and proceeded to have the best run I've had in a looooong time.

After the first doozy of a hill, the rest of the climbing is broken up with just-in-time down dips and short flat stints for a welcome break. I did not worry about my pace at all, because I knew it would be slow going up the hills and I would make up for it on the down hill later.  I just knew after the first 4K, it was going to get easier and I was counting down to that, but feeling good.

5:11 (downhill start)
7:03 (I told you,  it's a doozy)
6:50 (still climbing)
6:04 (almost there!)

The runner on our other team had started after me, so our vehicles would drive ahead of me, check in, wait for the other runner, then drive ahead again.  This was perfect for me.  I'm used to running on my own, so I didn't feel like I needed anyone cheering me on any more frequently, but it was nice to know that they were never too far away so I didn't worry about running out of water (there were no aid stations).   There were also other vehicles around because that runner that passed me on the first hill was always just ahead of me, and I was pretty sure they would warn me if there was a bear.

At about the 5K mark, I was passed by three runners that came out of nowhere.  They were fast.  I felt a little demoralized for about a minute, but I could see that these were strong runners.  I was not trying to win the stage, our team was not competing to win the race, I just wanted to run my own best race.  I was feeling good, my legs felt strong, and I just kept going.  At this point there is a bit of downhill which was a nice break before another 2K of climbing.  I just kept that first runner that had passed me in my sight, and felt sure I could pass her.

5:28 (ahh, flat)
5:09 (heading down!)
5:35 (feeling good)
5:16 (nearly halfway)

At 9K, I took a gel, just before the last big hill of the stage.  Halfway up the hill, that runner switched off with another runner.  Again, I felt low for about a minute as the new runner would have fresh legs with only 7K too go, but I quickly realized I was closing in.  I passed going up the hill and still felt strong.  I knew after this I had 6K of glorious downhill.  The other three runners that had passed me were long gone, and with nobody  in sight in front of me, it was easy to just feel like I was out for a long run on my own.  I felt great.  I kept waiting for my hip flexor to tense up or my legs to tire out as they had the week before, but I still felt strong, and just kept pushing.  I wasn't paying attention to pace on my Garmin, but as I went into the downhill, I knew I was on course to finish faster than I had during the practice run the week before, and that gave me another boost.

5:13 (going strong)
6:56 (gel and up the big hill)
5:39 (down hill is in sight!)

As I was heading downhill, and our runner on the other team was still climbing, and I was no longer near another runner, I went for quite a while without seeing a vehicle.  I pushed thoughts of bears out of my head, tried not to pay attention to sounds coming from the bushes, and just kept running.  4000m to go, 3200m to go, 2000m to go.  The downhill ends and there is another giant uphill.  No, not really.  It is fairly flat, with slight uphill, but at this point it felt like the giant uphill from the beginning.  I knew I was almost done, and wanted a strong finish.  Just as the hill started to get a little steeper, it was time to turn off and into Cottonwood park where I would tag the next runner.  Down a little dirt road, along a gravel path, across a wooden bridge....how much farther?  I wasn't racing another runner, but I wanted to come in strong!  Pass the general store, there's the timer's table, and finally the pylons and the next runner!  Phew!

5:11 (down)
5:11 (down)
5:10 (down)
4:52 (down, and woah!?)
5:53 (flattening out and got a little carried away - 20 second walk)

I was so happy with my race, I forgot to stop my watch.  Race results won't be posted until Tuesday, so I won't know my official time until then.  I figure it took me over a minute to stop my watch at 1:39:51, and the last time I looked at my watch as I turned onto the dirt road I was at 1:36:xx, so I think my time was probably around 1:38, 3 minutes faster than I ran last weekend.

5:32
?:??

For the record, my Garmin also says I went 17.44 km, rather than 17.1.

I wish I had photos to share, but I didn't take any until the car ride home.  More on the whole race day experience to come...

Three Things Thursday: Pre-relay

1. I have my first race in almost 2 years this weekend, and my first ever relay.  I am running leg 2:

2.  At the end of my practise run this past Sunday, my right hip flexor was very tight.  By the time I got home, I practically had to use my arms to lift my leg up the stairs.  After a bit of stretching, and ice, I tried an easy run on Monday morning to shake it out.  It felt fine until I got to work and had to climb the stairs.  Rest and ice, Tuesday and Wednesday, and my run today felt fine.  Lets hope it was just a little blip and won't haunt me THIS Sunday.

3.  I am excited!  I haven't run a race since the Calgary half in June 2011, when I put way too much pressure on myself and hated the race.  This weekend is all about fun.  I have a personal goal in mind, but our team is just in it for fun.  I know quite a few people that are running on different teams, so it should be a good day along the Barkerville Hwy.

Week in Review: May 6-12

It's time to get back on board with my weekly training posts.  And posting in general.

Last week, summer arrived.  It had snowed the week before, so we literally skipped spring and went straight into summer, without giving my body any time to adjust.  Despite the heat, I had some decent runs.

Monday - Rest
I had done a tough run the day before and had not hydrated well afterwards.  Despite plans to start the week with a 5K in the morning, I slept in.

Tuesday - 7K
In high heat, and poor air quality, I went out and did the river walk loop from the rec centre.  I had left my Garmin at work by accident, but I don't think I want to know how long this one took me.  It was very hot, and despite the short distance, I found myself needing a little walk break part way through and thankful for the stoplight for a break.

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - 8.5K
Our local running store is putting two teams into a local relay race next weekend.  I'm on one of the teams, and a group of us wanted to go out to practice some stages before hand.  Only 3 of us ended up running, and our injured store owner went on bear patrol/pick up duty so that we didn't have to drop a car at the end.  The race is on a very hilly route, and stage one, our practice stage for Thursday night, gets things rolling right from the start (so punny, ha ha).  This was the longest 8.5K I've ever run with the combined hills and heat.  One of those runs that makes you feel like if you can do that, you can do any course.

Friday - Rest
I planned to go out Friday morning...it just didn't happen.  No excuses.  I was lazy.

Saturday - Stretching

Sunday - 17.1K
Two of us met up on Sunday to practice stage 2 of the relay.  This will be my stage next weekend.  I can only hope I have the same kind of day next Sunday as I did this Sunday.  I got off to a slower start, but then again, the first 4K are pretty steady climbing.  I felt stronger as I went.  The rolling hills in the middle were easier than I thought, and I felt confident running, rather than plodding up some of the shorter ones.  The stage ends with 6K of fairly steady downhill, so I flew to the finish.

It was a perfect day.  Warm, but with a nice breeze, some clouds for an occasional break from the sun, and we were out early enough that we still had a bit of shade as we did the toughest climbing at the beginning.  My goal for next weekend was to finish in 1:42, but since I finished just a bit faster than that this Sunday, I think I'm going to really race to the finish and see what I can do.  My team is not competitive, so there is no pressure except for what I put on myself.  I was a bit nervous when I signed up for this race, but now I'm excited!

Have a great week!

March and April in Review

Has it really been over a month since my last post?

This is not going to be a typical monthly recap.

Without going into details, it has been a busy and stressful couple of months.  There is a lot going on right now and I don't think I want to write about it.

On the bright side, I have fit in most of my runs, which has mostly kept me sane, and am on track with building mileage.

Here are some highlights:

• Group runs every Thursday
• Getting back to the track for some speedy 400s
• Finding new long run routes and climbing the Bouchie Lake hill
• The last snowshoe trek of the year, out at Stanley in the sun
• Sunshine in the morning making it easier to get up
• Finding a relay team for the race to Barkerville

My goal for May is to get back to yoga, and fit in 4 runs each week.  If I get healthy meals in, that's a bonus.

Week in review: March 25-31

This was a great week running wise, though not a great week for much else.  I have completely fallen off the yoga wagon despite good intentions togeter back on.  A beautiful walk on Sunday means that yoga was the only workout I missed this week.

Monday - rest

Tuesday - 5K after work
I brought my running clothes to work but forgot my shoes and Garmin. Luckily, I keep an old pair of shoes in my car for running emergencies and we have a trail around town that is exactly 5K.  I didn't sooty about pace and just ran a relaxed run around the loop.  My first run in shorts this year!

Wednesday - rest

Thursday - 11K group run
This was an ok run, but more good than bad.  The bad was that we headed into trails that were still pretty icy so we did a fair amount of walking uphill rather than running for the first half of the run.  The good parts were that even though we were running on snow, it was warm enough to go out in shorts and a tshirt, once off the snow I hit a nice rhythm and had a great run back into town, and the overall distance was longer than planned so even if we walked a whole km, the distance ran was still 10K.

Friday - 5.4km
I took Cookie with me on this run which served  as a good reminder that I need to hydrate after an evening run if I want to run the next morning. Not my best run, but got it done.

Saturday - long run - 13.9km
Because I am hoping to run a very hilly relay in May, I've decided to keep looking for hilly long run routes. This is not a problem where I live.  We have LOTS of hills.  I headed out from town on Pinnacles Rd.  With a little flat section to warm up, once you start climbing this road goes up, up, up for almost 5K with little relief.  It is a challenge, but a strength and confidence builder as well.  I took a short walk break after the steepest section and another short break to get Cookie a drink.  I also stopped at the top to stretch out my calf that was feeling tight, before the 5k back into town.  I was just short of my planned 14km, but decided I had spent enough time on my feet with the slow climb up and called it a day at 13.9km.

Sunday - hike in the snow
We took the dogs out for 90minutes on some snow covered trails.  There was snow on the ground but the sun was shining bright and I had my sleeves and pants rolled up.  The car said it was only 14C, but it definitely felt warmer.

Running this week:  35.3 km
Yoga-ing this week:  None, but I did stretch more before and after (and during) my runs which seems to be keeping my feet from falling asleep on me!
Phone a friend:  Auntie Holly and Ali
Highlights of the week:  4 day weekend!

Happy Birthday, Cookie!

Cookie's birthday was actually a month ago.  I had this post ready and forgot to publish it.  We are coming up to one year that she has been with us in early April, so perhaps I should retitle this, Happy Doggiversary!

How could you say no to that face?

For a while those ears were growing faster than her body!

Week in Review: March 18-24

This wasn't a great week.  Without going into details, I will say that I ran twice, but I spent the week where I needed to be.  Sometimes running can't and shouldn't be the priority.

Monday-Wednesday - no activity

Thursday - Group run - 12.3km
This was both my worst and best run in recent memory.  The bad part was that my feet completely fell asleep on me.  The good part is that I just wanted to get it over with and ran fast, especially after the turn around.  The other good part is that after the run, I did a little more research on what could be causing my feet to fall asleep.  This has happened before, and I have already done the easy fixes, like switching to bigger shoes and a wider toe box.  There are two other possible reasons, and one was tight calf muscles.  Bingo.  I've never made this connection before, but it was definitely the case during this run.  I have become a bit lazy with my stretching regimen and have not fit yoga into my schedule for the past two weeks.  Sure enough, when I stretched my calves out before my run on Saturday, I did not have the same problem.

Saturday - Long run - 14 km
I decided to try another new route this week.  I parked at the boat launch and ran out towards the cross country ski trails.  In my head this route had some hills, but was mostly flat.  In reality, it was mostly hill and a little flat.  Oh well, I like a challenge!  It was a beautiful sunny day, and though my car said it was -1C, with the sun it felt a lot warmer and I ran in just a long sleeve and tights, no jacket or vest.  When I got to the ski trails, I went one km further before I turned around.  I had 13K on the schedule, but because it had been a light week mileage-wise, I did just a little bit extra.

Sunday - Snowshoe - 1 hour 45 minutes
Another beautiful, sunny day.  The snow is definitely melting away in town (though we still have about a foot in our backyard), but about 45 minutes east, and up in elevation, the snow is still several feet deep.  With the sun, the top layer of snow was more like packing snow than powder, so we weren't sinking down as much, which was nice for us, and the dogs who didn't have to become their own personal snow plows!  A good way to end the week.

Running kms:  26.3km
Yoga-ing:  None, but about 30 minutes of calf stretching
Phone a friend:  None :(
Highlights of the week:  Good workmates, Saturday's run, a haircut, snowshoeing on Sunday

Signs of Spring

Spring officially began yesterday.  There's still snow on the ground, it hasn't been warm enough for shorts yet, but I am sure spring is really around the corner.  There are signs!

There's uncertainty about what to wear for the weather...

My shoes are covered in muck...

My legs get covered in splatter...

The back of my car has seen better cleaner days...

Cookie requires a dreaded post-run bath after every run...

It's still cool enough for a post-run hot chocolate for me, but it comes in a rrroll-up-the-rim cup!

Is it spring-i-er where you are?  What signs of spring do you see on your runs?

Week in Review March 11-17

Ugh.  This week dragged on forever.  I definitely felt the effects of the time change longer than I ever have before.  I managed to get all of my runs in, but nothing else.

Monday - 5K
Check!  It was tough to get out of bed this morning, but I pried myself out from under the covers and bundled up for a chilly run.  I waited until the last minute to leave the house so that I would be running in daylight and not need my headlamp.  Another week or two and this will be less of an issue for 5K runs.

Tuesday:  Group run
Tuesday's group run was a good one.  The BF had to work late so I rushed home to let the dogs out rather than staying in town, then brought Cookie back into town with me to join the group for the run.  She nearly lost her mind with excitement when she saw there were 2 other dogs there, but once she had her place ahead of the other pups she settled in and was very good with the other runners.  The plan was to run to the track at the high school, then do laps of the track until everyone had made it there.  This way the faster runners would get more laps, but everyone would do at least one before we left as a group to head back downtown.  Unfortunately, the track was still covered in snow so we did laps around the parking lot instead.  Not quite the same, but I still tried to use it as a speed workout and Cookie actually got to run as opposed to the little trot she does next to me at my normal pace.

Wednesday: yoga  rest
I could NOT get out of bed this morning.  I figured I could do yoga in the evening instead, but got side tracked baking cupcakes.  Oh well.

Thursday:  8K Group Run 12K with the group - 1:15
Because I was having such a hard time getting out of bed this week, I decided to join the group for a run on Thursday as well.  I had an 8K run on my schedule and the Thursday group does 8-10K (Tuesday is 5-7K), so it was perfect.  I brought Cookie again since she had so much fun the first time and I've been slacking in the walking department this week.  As the route was described I was thinking it sounded a little longer than 8K, but I had never run part of the route before so maybe not.  My Garmin died at about 4K so I didn't know how far we were going, but we were still headed "out" at this point.  The pace was nice and easy, and it was just above 0C with a light drizzle of rain.  There were only 6 of us running, but we all stuck together and when we got back to the store where we started we had done 12K.  Definitely longer than we planned, and longer than I would have done in the rain at that temperature without a group.  Sometimes a group is a great motivator!

Friday:  rest
I didn't even try to get up to do yoga on Friday morning.  I just took the extra sleep.

Saturday:  Long run 9.55K
Since my run with the group on Thursday was the same distance as what I had planned for my long run this week, I decided to run about 8K which is what I had planned for Thursday.  I was not feeling very motivated on Saturday morning and decided a change of scenery would help, so I drove to a school to park and ran a loop that I had not done in awhile but I figured was somewhere between 8-10K.  I like this loop because it starts flat, then has a big downhill, followed by rolling hills before a big climb, then rolling hills back to the start.  It makes me smile running this and enjoying it because there was a time that I avoided hills at all costs and now I go looking for them on days when I don't feel motivated!  It was snowing lightly throughout this run, but the roads were quiet and I did not see many vehicles.  I did see a crow and a bald eagle fighting over some A&W fries that had been tossed out a car window, but it was otherwise a nice run, and of course, I was glad I got my butt in gear and went.

Sunday:  Snowshoe
We had something come up and did not get to snowshoe this week.  Though spring is officially beginning this week, I think we'll still have several weeks of snow just a short drive from town.

Running this week:  33.05km
Yoga-ing this week:  0
Phone a friend:  Auntie Holly and Grandma
Highlights of the week:  4 solid runs, and a shamrock shake!

Four For Friday

It's been awhile since I've done a random post like this.  Here we go:

1.  The clock change wreaked havoc on my week.  I don't remember ever being so badly effected before!  Every day this week I was almost late for work, and nipped in just  before 9 am.  It should get easier next week.

2.  We have had the craziest weather this week.  +16C on Wednesday, freezing rain Thursday, and snow this morning.  I am giving winter one more week before I am officially over it.  Based on where I live, I probably have about another month before it is officially over.

3.  I have signed up for another round of group runs at our local running store.  This time I joined the 8-10K group instead of the 5-7K group.  I ran with this group last night to try it out.  We went 12K in the rain.  Oh well - this might count as my long run for the week!

4.  I am going to be in Vancouver the same weekend as the Scotiabank 1/2 at the end of June.  Early bird registration ends on Monday.  Have you ever ran this race?  Thoughts?

Have a great weekend!

Week In Review: March 4-10

This was a great week.  I fit in every run I had planned, made some future running/racing plans, and it is really starting to warm up and feel like spring.  I haven't broken out my shorts yet, but soon!  The only downside to this week is that I'm having camera issues - so no photos.

Monday - rest
After we got home from snowshoeing on Sunday, I felt under the weather for the rest of the day.  On Monday morning, I felt craptacular.  I almost called in sick for work, but I knew I was going to be the only one in the office that day, so I went in and got a few things done and kept the doors open, before wiping the whole place down with lysol wipes at the end of the day so as not to spread my germies.

Tuesday - group run - 6.2km/42:00
Tuesday morning I still wasn't feeling great, but by the afternoon, I was feeling much better.  I decided to go out for the group run and just take it easy.  We ran mostly on the road with a little bit on the trail in the middle.  The trail was really hard packed snow and very uneven and really slowed me down.  I was glad I went, and actually felt better afterwards.  I also got a bit more info on an upcoming local relay, and a summer trail race, two things I definitely have in mind for this year, but have not committed to yet pending summer travel plans.  We'll see.

Wednesday - morning run - 5km/28:38
I did my old, trusty 5K route around the neighbourhood.  It was a nice, quiet morning, and I felt pretty good and went a little faster than intended, but was not uncomfortable at this pace.

Thursday - evening yoga 30 minutes
I was having internet issues, so plans for an hour got shortened to 30 minutes.  I can't decide if I prefer evening or morning yoga.

Friday - morning run - 5.27km/30:39
Cookie came with me on this run.  Despite going the same pace as Wednesday morning, I did not feel as good on Friday morning.  Then I realized that I had barely eaten anything for dinner the night before.  The BF was sick, and had soup, and I just made myself a couple of pieces of toast.

Saturday - "Long run" 10K 1:00:35
I had two goals for this run - to run up a big hill and to take longer than an hour to run 10K.  Mission accomplished!  None of the routes I run in the mornings have any big hills, and our group run was pretty flat this week, so I wanted to give myself a little challenge this weekend.  I took Cookie with me into town, and then we ran a route that would take us up a hill that is about 1.5km up with a couple of short sections that flatten out a bit.  I have a bad habit of running my normal pace on long runs, and I really want to try to run them slow as I build up this time around.  With the big hill, I probably should have been going even slower, but I was really trying not to be constantly looking at my Garmin either, and just stayed at what felt like a very comfortable pace the whole time.

Sunday - Walk in the snow - 3.3km/1:45
It was such a beautiful, sunny day to be outside.  The sun was so warm, I was without my jacket and toque for most of this walk.  We took lots of breaks while the dogs played in the snow, but moved at a faster pace while walking.

Running this week:  26.47km
Yoga-ing this week:  30min
Phone a friend:  Liz on skype and Roxanne (finally!)
Highlights of the week:  Sunny days, good chats with friends, no foot pain, back on track with my sleep.

Flashback Friday

Back when I wasn't blogging much last year, I had an amazing opportunity.  I always meant to blog about it, but kept putting it off.  Lately, I've been thinking of a few other past experiences that would make some good posts, so I'm going to start doing the occasional Flashback Friday to share those with you.  My apologies in advance for some of the wonky formatting in this post.

If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I used to work for a national youth program.  Now that that program has lost it's funding from the government and I no longer work there, I will call it by name.  I worked for an amazing youth program called Katimavik.  (www.katimavik.org)  When the program was cancelled all of our houses across the country had to be closed.  I had to do pre-inspections with my staff, and then thorough inspections with landlords to see what damages had been done, ensure furniture and property were returned or donated, etc.  It was a big job in all four of the communities in my district and the same thing had to be done across the country. 

Someone needed to go to Iqaluit, Nunavut to do the same thing there.

That someone got to be me!

I had been slyly overtly campaigning for the opportunity to travel to Iqaluit if ever there was a need for anyone to go there to do anything.  Finally, it was my turn!

Getting to Iqaluit is no easy feat.  Though it is the territorial capitol, it is on Baffin Island.  There are no roads in or out, and relatively few flights.  I flew from home to Vancouver, Vancouver to Ottawa, stayed overnight in Ottawa, and got a 3 hour flight on First Air the next morning, flying over a cloudless sky across Northern Quebec, Hudson Bay, and finally, into Frobisher Bay.  (May I just say that First Air is the best airline in our country.  Though the ticket costs a small fortune, you get a good hot meal, a warm cookie, and free wine, and you are not charged for a second piece of luggage).

The ice was just breaking up on the bay at the end of June

A beautiful, sunny day at the airport

The project leader picked me up at the airport.  We had a lot of work to do to get the house ready for the inspection, but it was too beautiful to be inside.  Besides, with 23 hours of daylight, we had plenty of time to clean later.  We headed out for a hike around the bay.

There are no trees at this latitude, but I had perfect timing to see the Arctic in bloom:

Arctic poppies

Bones from a young cariboo were scattered around

 

I may have got a sunburn!

We buckled down and got to work that evening and all the next day.  Then there was a community feast to go to.  This feast was hosted by the health authority, and spoke about health benefits and risks of "country foods," meaning the traditional foods of the Inuit, whale blubber, seal meat, arctic char, and berries.  A feast of all but the berries was available following the presentation:

Community members could help themselves to the arctic char, seal or muktuk

We had more work to do, and a presentation of our own to give the community afterwards.  Then it was time to feed the dogs.  The project leader I was working with was house sitting for a month following her contract and had already started caring for the sled dog team belonging to the owner of the house.  It was very foggy and rainy that evening, but still plenty of daylight at 11pm.

This guy is saving his for later

This guy can't wait to dig in

The team is ready for their food!

The next morning, we were up early for our inspection with the landlord.  Our cleaning and work had paid off!  We were done, and now I had two extra days in Iqaluit.  The project leader took me to a territorial park for another hike.  

Do you see that warning on the bottom?  Let's take a closer look:

Look out for polar bears!

The park was barren, but there was a good view of town, a nice waterfall, some more flowers, and it was just a beautiful and quiet place to walk and reflect.  Katimavik means meeting place in Inuktitut, the language in Iqaluit.  What a perfect place to think back on all of the amazing people I had met over the past 5 years.

A view back towards town

A waterfall that changes with the tide

Glacial action at work

Not a tree in sight

Growing in the lichen

That afternoon, I went off by myself to be a tourist.  I visited the legislative building (more interesting than it sounds), and the museum, and went for a walk around town.  I was very lucky to be there at the same time as the Alainait Arts Festival, which offered free workshops.  I got to try drum dancing, which is much harder than it looks to coordinate the drum, your head, your body and the stick - and I didn't even try singing while doing it.

This is just a short video of a small group at a previous festival:

Then I got to try Arctic Games.  These are amazing athletes.  The stamina, balance, strength and skill required to hunt for your family's survival in these conditions is unfathomable.  These games were developed to keep in shape in the "off season."  They were banned in assimilation efforts by the government, but were re-introduced in the 70s.  I was NOT good at these games.  Here is another small video sample:

In the evening, I took in the Alianait Arts Festival, which was amazing, but my pictures didn't turn out.  60% of the population is Inuit, Metis, or First Nations, and Inuktitut is an official language of the territory.  All welcoming and speeches were done in Inuktitut, as well as English and French.  Ever heard throat singing, live?  It's pretty amazing, but no video I could find did it justice, and mine will not upload.

I ended the night at the restaurant with a $10 can of beer at a table of other youth workers in the community.  Iqaluit is semi-dry.  There is no liquor store, but you can purchase alcohol at a premium at a handful of restaurant/pubs.  I walked home at midnight, with the sun lighting my way.

The following morning I had to fly back to Ottawa, but with long daylight hours, I got up early and I started the day with another hike to the old Hudson Bay post.  I took one of the dogs with me for company, which was good, because it was a little eerie out there in the fog, and again, this is polar bear country.

Summer camp set up

The Bay

My companion

My work with Katimavik took me to every province from Quebec to BC, and to all three territories over five years.  This was an amazing way to end my time with the program.  A special experience I will not soon forget.

Working at home vs. Working in an office vs. Working Out

At 33 years old, I started my very first "conventional" office job.  Until now, I've always had jobs where I have worked from home, or worked evenings, or worked outside, or worked at a school and was finished in the early afternoon.  In my previous job which I did from my home office with a fair amount of travel, I always marvelled at runners who worked 9-5 in offices.  How did they fit training around that?

Having the luxury to mold my day as I saw fit, I could start work at 8, go for a run at 10, or whenever the sun was out, take a mid afternoon break to do some yoga, or fit in a class at the rec centre.  As long as I was fitting in my 35 hours (plus) a week, it didn't matter when I did it.  Not once in the past 5 years did I get up before 8 am to run.  I thought I was lucky that I didn't have to do it.  I could not have imagined that faced with a more traditional 9-5 schedule, I too would be hitting the streets before the sun was up to fit in a run before work.

No one could be more surprised than me to find that I like this new running schedule.  I'm not going to lie - it's tough getting out of bed (see my goals for this month), but I love the feeling of getting my run done and out of the way before starting work.  I feel more alert when I get to work on those mornings, and am certain I am more productive before noon on the mornings I have been out for a run or got up early for yoga.

Working in an office has other benefits too, which I would not have thought of before.  When I worked from home I had some bad eating habits.  Not just in what I ate, but when.  Often, I would get out of bed and go straight into my office.  All of a sudden I would look at the clock, it would be 11am, I'd have worked since 8 in my pjs, and I would not have eaten breakfast yet.  Or, having had a good breakfast, I would get engrossed in work and keep working straight through lunch.  In either case, I would be likely to grab a less healthy snack rather than a proper meal.

Working in an office, I get up in time to make myself a healthy breakfast (almost) every morning, and always take my lunch when everyone else in the office is taking lunch.  Also, having to pre-pack a lunch means that I am pre-thinking about what I want to eat.  The cupboards with tempting snacks aren't just a few steps away.     If I don't pack cookies, I won't eat them.  (But sometimes I do pack them, in moderation, of course).  There are temptations at work too - the store downstairs with chocolate bars, Starbucks down the street, Tim Hortons across the parking lot, but they all take a few extra steps to get to, and the extra cost makes a difference.  If I've already packed a healthier snack in my lunch, I'm less likely to go out for sweets.  (I don't care what anyone says, homemade cookies are healthier than a chocolate bar).

Do you work from home or in an office?  What are the pros and cons for you?