Last Sunday (August 28th), we ran a route we haven't run before, along the West Bay walkway into Esquimalt. We ran a loop around Esquimalt and then back into town, finishing off along Dallas Road before heading back to the store. Although the mapped route says 19.5 km, Christy mapped it with her iPhone App while we were running and assured me it was well over 20 km. I believe her. All in all, it was a fun run, except that Cristal had to cut out early with a sore knee. I'm glad she took my advice and went home, because she was good to go by Wednesday with no overwhelmingly adverse effects.
Our workout this week was 3 x 10 minutes at Half-Marathon race pace with a 2-minute break between sets. Cristal, Adrianne, Laura and I ran the workout together, covering about 1.95 km in each 10-minute interval for a race pace that if sustained, would see us finishing a Half Marathon in around 1:48:19 (or 5:08 per km). It was a good workout and another great attempt to get to know what race pace should "feel" like. I'm always quick to point out that pace per kilometre varies widely within the race distance; it's nearly impossible to run each kilometre at the same steady pace. I also believe that our pace during the workout was a hair faster than I envision these ladies averaging on race day, but I know they will run some kilometres faster than this and some slower and that it will all even out in the end. My hope is that they find and recognize their comfortable pace, that they have the energy to push themselves when it counts, and that they finish feeling strong.
One of the reasons I lapsed writing the blog this week was that Peter, Sonja, Haven and I went to Peter's cousin's wedding up in Ucluelet. It was a quick and busy trip, but the weather for the beach wedding was stellar; not typical for Ucluelet! Before we left to return to Victoria, Peter, his Mom, his niece Mia, the girls and I went to Long Beach and I thought I'd share a photo as proof of the rather un-Ucluelet-like weather:
...And yes, I did run while we were there! I loaded the girls in the Chariot and went for a very hilly 5.5 km jaunt. Well worth it.
Today was our longest run of the clinic, and we ran the entire Goodlife Fitness Victoria Half Marathon course. There were a few stops along the way and I forgot to turn my timer back on somewhere around the 15 km mark, but Carey timed us at around 2 hours and 2 minutes and change. I am so extremely proud of the group; this is an outstanding time! I have to say, we were hauling ass for the final 5 km, so I'm not terribly surprised at the time; I'm just really pleased. What a strong group!!
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| Carey and Adrianne. You have to look really closely, but you can just make out Cristal and Laura up ahead. |
I need to announce one change to our regular schedule: starting September 13th, our drop-in runs will change from Fridays at 10am to Tuesdays at 10am. I'm making this change because Sonja is starting Preschool (!) on the 12th and she will be going Monday to Thursday. Since Friday is her only free morning, I thought it best that she spend it doing something other than sitting in the Chariot with her little sister. ...Not to mention I'll be able to run with just one kid (the Chariot will be around thirty pounds lighter)!
Have a fantastic week!
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