Get back to work.

One more week of training down, another week closer to the half marathon. Last week was a recovery week, so our workout was fairly simple (four times 400m with a one-minute rest in between) and our long run was only one hour. ...It's the point of the clinic when you stop yourself and say, "Wait a minute; an hour used to be a long run!"

Now we ramp things up again with a tougher workout and a two-hour run this Sunday. Time to roll up our sleeves and get back to work!

Cut it short.

This week's long run was going to go one of two ways: we would either run two hours and fifteen minutes, or we would cut it back to one hour and thirty minutes. Well, we had two Moms (Cristal and Christy) away this weekend, so I made the executive decision to run a shorter run. With another two-hour run the week after next and a two-hour-fifteen-minute run the following week, I knew that this weekend would be our last chance for a grace period and I'm glad we cut it short. An enjoyable route through Oak Bay with Laura, Adrienne and Carey (with her little guy Breck) was just the ticket!


Our workout this week was four times 800m with a two-minute break between sets. We will spend the next few weeks working on finding and recognizing our half-marathon race pace (with some 10K tempo thrown in for good measure). The coming week is an official recovery week, so the workout will be four times 400m and the Sunday run will be one (measly) hour. I'm looking forward to it!


I don't have any photos from our long run (I didn't bring my camera since I was running without  my girls in the Chariot), but here are a couple pics from a Friday run with Cristal and Laura a couple weeks ago. Have a great week and keep running!

Twenty Kilometers.

Twenty kilometers. Twenty thousand meters. Ready for this one? Two million centimeters. Any way you slice it, it's a milestone for many runners. And this weekend, we killed it.

A well-deserved post-run stretch.

This was the weekend when Running Moms broke the twenty-kilometer barrier. We ran the Elk/Beaver lake loop twice (our first field trip!) and even though it's supposed to be a ten-kilometer loop, I know that we ran a little extra by looping back to regroup after pick-ups (two fifteen-minute pick-ups to be exact) and taking a slightly longer route at one point of the trail. So my guesstimate is closer to twenty-one kilometers, which is creeping ever closer to the half-marathon distance of twenty-one point one... 

"Yahoo, I'm out of the stroller! That was looooong."

Our workout this week was a repeat of the Seven Sisters (or Seven Hills of Rockland). This time around, we ran the entire hill instead of limiting ourselves to one-minute uphills. It was hot out and it was tough, but everyone came through it so well; I was extremely proud! 

Once again, thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication to this training. You inspire me on every single run.

Pick-ups.

One foot in front of the other. Put your shoes on, step out the door and just go. The beauty and the simplicity. People push the limits, sure: they get technical about their shoes, about what they wear, about speed and distance. But in the end, you just keep on running and that is what I love about the sport. Run fast, run slow, but just keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

This week's workout was a toughie. We ran timed sprints of 2x90 sec (90 sec easy in-between), 4x60 sec (60 sec easy in-between), 4x30sec (30 sec easy in-between) and 4x15 sec (15 sec easy in-bewteen). Yes, it was as exhausting as it sounds, but it's also the type of workout that leaves you feeling accomplished in your exhaustion. In other words, run this workout and you'll have bragging rights, particularly if you run it while pushing your kids in a stroller. Not for the feint of heart.

Cristal and I ran 8.75kms on Friday  morning and it was hot. We were both just dripping in sweat; it was a great run and I was glad we got out. 

On Sunday, the Running Moms Half-Marathon group completed a 17.1km run with two ten-minute pick-ups, when we sped up to approximately half-marathon race pace. Our total run time was one hour and forty-five minutes. Cristal was the only Mom who brought her kids, so we all took turns pushing her stroller, which she greatly appreciated. I was nice enough to push the stroller during the pick-ups which was... fun. ;) 

This week, we run the Seven Hills of Rockland once again, and our Sunday run will be two hours and approximately 20kms. Looking forward to it!!