Running a race is kind of like giving birth (though much easier, it must be stressed). It's a very intense experience the details of which quickly fade from memory, so I'd like to get the happy moments of this race recorded right now, while it's still fresh (which is what I always did after my births, too).
Today I did the Run for the Toad, a 25km trail race that is extremely well organized, and well-attended. And you kind of figure that anyone who signs up to run 25km (or 50km, which some racers were completing on the same course today) is pretty serious about running. I wondered how my ad hoc training and fitness would hold up.
I got up at 6:20 and was off before 7, and on site before 8. It was so cold! After getting my race kit and tinkering with my clothing choices, I stayed in the car reading my book until quite close to race time. I realized, too late, that because I'd gotten up and eaten breakfast so early, my stomach was already growling again by the time the race was about to start. But I couldn't eat anything at that point. Too far to make it to the truck for that half of a banana I'd meant to eat, and I wasn't sure my tummy would like food forced upon it with mere minutes to go anyway. I ran into someone I knew, distantly, at the starting line, which was nice and nicely distracting. And as soon as we got running, I warmed up. I'd been shivering uncontrollably.
The first couple of kilometres were slow due to bottlenecking on the trail, but I did start fairly close to the front. Not close enough to avoid the bottlenecking and having to walk, though, for brief portions. There was also one point, several kilometres on, where the trail went down to single file and I got stuck behind some slow runners. I tried not to get frustrated. I was also pretty thirsty, and I had decided not to carry water, but to stop at the stations, so the first four-ish kilometres or so were not my happiest.
But it always takes me awhile to get my stride anyway. The course was hilly, to say the least. If you weren't going up, you were going down again. There were very few flat stretches and those were extremely brief. Luckily, I discovered something about myself on the course: I'm killer fast down those hills. I guess I always have been, but never knew going fast downhill wasn't something most runners do (and I didn't see anyone else going that fast--maybe it's a rookie error and dangerous, I don't know, but I really speed down the hills). I put that gravity to use, let me tell you, because going up hills are not my strength. I'm not one who stops to walk uphill, mind you, but keeping pace remains a challenge. So every downhill, I let my legs roll, and there was a kind of upswing into the next uphill, much like there is when riding a bike. Except on the bike, I'm the opposite: fast up the hills, not quite so fast down.
I passed a lot of people going downhill. The trick was to be sure I was staying in control and focused and not tripping, and also calling out to warn people if I was passing them in tight areas. The first 6-8 kilometres were probably my most challenging. I didn't feel great. I asked myself, what is it? Is it the breathing? Nope, breathing was very controlled and calm. Were my muscles tired? They didn't feel bad. I think I was just getting used to trail running and all those hills. I was forgetting the recovery that happens--many mini-recoveries--throughout a long race. Plus, the first half of the course was tougher than the second, in my opinion (with the exception of the crazy steep climb in the last kilometre of the loop, which I had to walk because my legs couldn't figure out how to run it).
By 8 kilometres, I felt comfortable. I started to enjoy the ride. I figured I'd feel good up until at least 17km, and I was hoping to feel good until 20. Gutting out 5km at the end is to be expected, and doesn't seem like a long distance to me anymore. I did the first loop in 1 hour, 11 minutes. Slightly slower than I'd hoped (I figured I could run the course in 2 hours, 20 minutes, so that was off by a minute). But factoring in the slow first couple of kilometres, I figured I could speed up on the second round. So that's what I tried to do.
I was so grateful for those 12km training runs, because I KNEW I could do it. At one point early in the second loop, I passed this very annoying loud guy who kept shouting obnoxious stuff at the people around him (he was running with a girl, and I think was trying to keep her going, to entertain her). When I passed them (on a downhilll, of course), the girl said, "I have to keep reminding myself that this is fun." "Yeah," said the guy, "especially when you get ..." and here's where I'm not sure that I heard him right, because I think he said "when you get chicked." And then he yelled obnoxiously to the people in front of him, whom I was also passing, to "catch her, don't let her get away" (me, I'm assuming). Is getting chicked getting passed by a girl? Or maybe I totally heard that wrong. In any case, that gave me something to think about as I ran, and also motivation on the big endless hills ahead to get as far away from that loud guy as possible.
People got really friendly toward the end. (Though another guy also called out to other runners to catch me on another downhill, which was kind of weird, and they responded, "No way!" Maybe my running etiquette is bad? Maybe I'm not supposed to pass people going downhill? I was trying to be polite and to call out if needed, and I never felt like I was out-of-control-fast.) Anyway, people were generally really friendly on that second loop. We were quite spread out by that point, so I wasn't passing people as often (and I should add that I was occasionally passed, too), but most I did pass were quick to say, "Good running," or "Good work," or something encouraging. That was awesome. With about four kilometres to go, I was passed by two men who were chatting away--they'd recognized each other from another race, and the one even remembered the other's name. I stayed right behind them to the water station, and we all stopped to grab one last drink, and the one guy said to the other, "Hey, I've never seen you stop before. You're human after all!" And the other guy replied, "Have you seen her [ie. me!] on the downhills! I've gotta try to keep up!"
Well, that sure gave me a boost for those last few kilometres. I did indeed stay ahead of them because the next stretch was downhill. But on that last brutal hill, the man who'd given me that sweet sweet compliment passed me. (The other man was still back there somewhere). He obviously had a good kick for the last stretch, so I set my mind to trying to catch him. Focusing on him helped me catch a couple of people I'd actually thought were too far ahead for me to catch, so even though I never caught up to the man in blue, I sure kept running fast. I crossed the finish line in 2:19:22, or something like that (need to go check my chip time to be exact), which was a minute faster than my mental estimate (those mental estimates are getting more accurate, as I get to know my capabilities better). And sure enough, I did run that second loop faster than the first--a good three minutes faster. See--second half always faster than first. Don't know why.
I caught up with the guy in blue and said, "You caught me!" and he said, "Great race!" or something like that. It was a nice exchange.
The good news is that the length really didn't feel that hard. I'm not saying it felt easy, but it didn't kill me or wipe me out. I was even able to eat lunch pretty much immediately afterward. I didn't feel sick or crampy, and though I was pretty chilled, being all wet from the sweat and the air being so cold, I got warmed up in a bath when I got home. I'll sleep well tonight, that's for sure.
But wow! It was so fun! I loved being able to do it, and I love that I know my body well enough now that I knew during those last few kilometres exactly what I was capable of managing, even though my breath was speeding up. I can run like this for another ten kilometres, easy, I kept telling myself. And I think it's true. That still leaves me with seven extra kilometres to complete the marathon, but on the other hand, there won't be so many killer hills on the marathon course. Those hills definitely required a tweaking of the pacing, with some moments of quick recovery built in at the top of hills.
Aaaaanndddd I think that's a thorough-enough capturing of the experience. Thanks to the strangers who raced with me and gave me such encouragement. You never know how much you're helping when you say something so seemingly small and kind ... but you're helping a lot. (I need to remember that, too!)
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Day before
Woke up wishing I'd have one more day between late-night dance fest and trail run. But at least there's today. Today, I am doing nothing. I even napped for nearly an hour, which seems crazy and wasteful, but there it is. I was tired. And I want to feel as fresh and zippy tomorrow morning as it is possible to feel, under the circumstances.
I'm going alone, and hope there will be somewhere secure for me to leave my bag. Will I have to carry my car keys with me on the trail? Probably. I will pick my shirt accordingly. To be perfectly frank, I'm not feeling very energetic or excited today. I'm trying to ignore what I'm going to do tomorrow.
I was really sluggish in the pool yesterday. I got through 2000m and called it quits. I felt tired and didn't want to wear myself out. Nothing like Monday's swim. I've also run twice this week and gone to a hot yoga class. Today, I'm trying to write, and I've got a sick kid home with me (in fact, he's spending the day in the same room with me, because he's lonely and bored), and I'm wearing ear plugs, and after school I have to go pick up our weekly order of local food.
But the babysitting has been arranged for tomorrow, and carpooling for my soccer kid, too. I'll be out the door by 7am. Need to look up directions and pack my bag tonight. Next weekend, I'm planning a 32km long slow run in preparation for the marathon. That will be the longest run I do before the marathon. I've done some research, and that sounds acceptable, even if not ideal. Then again, I haven't actually been training toward a marathon, and there's no way to switch gears this close to the date. I'll just continue to train fairly similarly to how I've been training, and know that I'll have to finish that race on guts alone. That will be my last race of the season, and of this quite astonishing year. I'm proud of the gains I've made in fitness and endurance. It hasn't been easy, and occasionally it's cramped my social life, but for the most part I'm happy with the balance.
Here's the thing about balance: just when you think you've got yourself upright and stable, you have to fight to find your core strength all over again. A balancing act is never ending, requires constant vigilance, and you have to fall sometimes, too.
I'll let you know how this race goes .... Here's hoping to enjoy myself during and feel happy afterward.
I'm going alone, and hope there will be somewhere secure for me to leave my bag. Will I have to carry my car keys with me on the trail? Probably. I will pick my shirt accordingly. To be perfectly frank, I'm not feeling very energetic or excited today. I'm trying to ignore what I'm going to do tomorrow.
I was really sluggish in the pool yesterday. I got through 2000m and called it quits. I felt tired and didn't want to wear myself out. Nothing like Monday's swim. I've also run twice this week and gone to a hot yoga class. Today, I'm trying to write, and I've got a sick kid home with me (in fact, he's spending the day in the same room with me, because he's lonely and bored), and I'm wearing ear plugs, and after school I have to go pick up our weekly order of local food.
But the babysitting has been arranged for tomorrow, and carpooling for my soccer kid, too. I'll be out the door by 7am. Need to look up directions and pack my bag tonight. Next weekend, I'm planning a 32km long slow run in preparation for the marathon. That will be the longest run I do before the marathon. I've done some research, and that sounds acceptable, even if not ideal. Then again, I haven't actually been training toward a marathon, and there's no way to switch gears this close to the date. I'll just continue to train fairly similarly to how I've been training, and know that I'll have to finish that race on guts alone. That will be my last race of the season, and of this quite astonishing year. I'm proud of the gains I've made in fitness and endurance. It hasn't been easy, and occasionally it's cramped my social life, but for the most part I'm happy with the balance.
Here's the thing about balance: just when you think you've got yourself upright and stable, you have to fight to find your core strength all over again. A balancing act is never ending, requires constant vigilance, and you have to fall sometimes, too.
I'll let you know how this race goes .... Here's hoping to enjoy myself during and feel happy afterward.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Day: awesome swim
Well, that felt great. For some reason, I've really noticed a boost in my endurance in the pool this fall. Maybe it's all the running I've been doing. Who knows. But this morning, I was pleased to be able to keep my pace steady and fast for the first 1500m (fast for me, that is--it's all relative). I like using 1500 metres as a mark because that's how far you have to swim for an Olympic triathlon. I remember that distance used to wear me out, that I was really struggling to complete it feeling comfortable--I mean, that's how I felt just before doing the triathlon. And now that length is pretty comfortable. I'd like to test this out next summer by doing the triathlon again.
Right now, I'd say I'm good up to about 2000m, at which point it becomes more laborious to keep my stroke going well.
But I felt good enough today to push on for 2800m, completed in just under an hour. My goal is 3000m in that hour, but that's still awhile away. Nevertheless, there were moments in the pool today when my stroke and kick felt really smooth and clean ... and I was wishing I wouldn't have to turn around every 20m because my momentum was good.
I took this past Friday off. Stayed up late (late for me, that is--yup, it's really relative) and had three glasses of wine. Went for an early run the next morning while my daughter was at her soccer tryout. There is a lovely trail near the fiel, paved, though, not dirt, and I ran for a little over an hour and managed 13.6km. I wasn't feeling fabulous, in fact, I was feeling a bit hungover (I hardly ever drink anymore!), but I persevered and it was a nice run, overall. That's progress, I think. I did the same run yesterday morning, too, following another late night and not enough sleep and one beer. It felt harder, but I think that was because I threw in three sprints right in the middle of the run, just to see if I could. As I said to Kevin afterward, "Why do I do that to myself? Any normal person would be satisfied with a nice run, but I'm thinking, this is too slow, I'm not working hard enough, I need to do more ...." Anyway ... those sprints killed me. I only made it 11km and was glad to be done.
Still, that put my week's mileage at 38.8km. Much less than the previous couple of weeks, but on track with the training schedule posted by the Run for the Toad people.
A few more shortish runs this week, and then I'll be running 25km in Saturday's race. Yikes. But I think I can. I'm not too worried, more worried about setting the right pace and running a smart race.
:::
P.S. I JUST SIGNED UP TO RUN A MARATHON!!!! On November 6th. (That must have been a really good swim this morning).
Right now, I'd say I'm good up to about 2000m, at which point it becomes more laborious to keep my stroke going well.
But I felt good enough today to push on for 2800m, completed in just under an hour. My goal is 3000m in that hour, but that's still awhile away. Nevertheless, there were moments in the pool today when my stroke and kick felt really smooth and clean ... and I was wishing I wouldn't have to turn around every 20m because my momentum was good.
I took this past Friday off. Stayed up late (late for me, that is--yup, it's really relative) and had three glasses of wine. Went for an early run the next morning while my daughter was at her soccer tryout. There is a lovely trail near the fiel, paved, though, not dirt, and I ran for a little over an hour and managed 13.6km. I wasn't feeling fabulous, in fact, I was feeling a bit hungover (I hardly ever drink anymore!), but I persevered and it was a nice run, overall. That's progress, I think. I did the same run yesterday morning, too, following another late night and not enough sleep and one beer. It felt harder, but I think that was because I threw in three sprints right in the middle of the run, just to see if I could. As I said to Kevin afterward, "Why do I do that to myself? Any normal person would be satisfied with a nice run, but I'm thinking, this is too slow, I'm not working hard enough, I need to do more ...." Anyway ... those sprints killed me. I only made it 11km and was glad to be done.
Still, that put my week's mileage at 38.8km. Much less than the previous couple of weeks, but on track with the training schedule posted by the Run for the Toad people.
A few more shortish runs this week, and then I'll be running 25km in Saturday's race. Yikes. But I think I can. I'm not too worried, more worried about setting the right pace and running a smart race.
:::
P.S. I JUST SIGNED UP TO RUN A MARATHON!!!! On November 6th. (That must have been a really good swim this morning).
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Day: second swim of the week
Thursdays are nice at the pool. The lanes are lengthened by 5 metres (to 25m), the swim club kids are swimming which I always find immensely cheerful--all those kids getting up at 5am!--and today there were way less people than on Monday or Friday. I swam in the same lane with the woman I used to swim with (she did her fourth Ironman this summer) ... and I've gotten way faster. She used to lap me regularly, but today I was gaining on her by increments until about 1000m when I must have slowed slightly and she started to gain on me by increments. But then she left and I had the lane to myself for the rest of the hour. I didn't swim for quite an hour, but did swim 2600m. I added the extra 100m because I don't think I've ever gone longer than 2500, and I'd like to work my way up to 3000. The running work is definitely paying off in the pool in terms of endurance gains. I didn't feel fatigued until that magical number of 2500, and then it seemed like my stroke deteriorated, which is why I didn't push it. Also because the pool was getting busier and a bunch of people were coming into the leisure lane, where I swam today--but not because I felt leisurely or slow, just because it was empty.
So this week I swam 4800m. I've also gone to one 90-minute hot yoga class, which was, frankly, blissful. Those classes feel much less challenging than they used to, but the stretching feels immensely good, and the stillness and quiet are something I look forward to all week. But I haven't done quite the same amount of running this week. I felt pretty tired after that long week on Sunday evening. According to the training schedule I'm following for the Toad, I should do two 12.5km runs this weekend in place of one long run.
What I'd LOVE to do is drive over to my favourite trail spot and run tonight, but it's meet the teacher night. No running going to happen. Will have to get up early tomorrow to fit in a run. I'm feeling pretty tired by the end of the week, though. Also trying to fit in some small moments of socializing. Went out with my siblings last night, and plan to have friends over for a drink tomorrow night. And go out with my husband on Saturday night!
How to fit everything in? Don't know. And I also feel like I need another goal to work toward, to keep me motivated, though signing up for classes helps: I'm sure to go to spin class when it starts next month, because I'm going with friends and I'm paying for it. Beyond that ... not sure. But it definitely is motivating to sign up for a race and work toward it. It might be worth it just for that.
(I'll admit that I got a little bummed recently reading this short piece in the newspaper written by a marathoner--she's giving weekly exercise tips to aspiring marathoners, and she posted Canada's ninth fastest marathon time for a female runner. So last week, her tip was to stick with your pace and not go faster at the beginning. Her pace? She planned to run her very first marathon in under three hours (!!!!!) so her pace was approximately 2:55/km, except she mess up and ran her first kilometre in 2:45. Did you read that correctly? 2:45 and 2:55/km. When I'm running as fast as I possibly can, for those 12km runs, I'm averaging 4:55/km, maybe running a few of those kilometres at 4:40. So she's running her first marathon TWO MINUTES faster PER KILOMETRE. Anyway, the moral of her story was that she should have stuck to her plan because she seized up around the 34km mark, and staggered to a time of 3:10, I think it was. Good grief. I'll never be anywhere near that fast, no matter how hard I work. So that was a bit discouraging to contemplate. And yes, I realize that my goals are impossibly grandiose, and I'm never going to be Canada's xth faster marathoner, but gee, it would have been nice to think I could run a bit faster than I'm running now--okay, a lot faster. If she can do that for a marathon, just imagine what her 5km time would work out to!).
That was a long tangent. I must be sleepy. Very short nap this morning to refresh brain. Must get to work.
So this week I swam 4800m. I've also gone to one 90-minute hot yoga class, which was, frankly, blissful. Those classes feel much less challenging than they used to, but the stretching feels immensely good, and the stillness and quiet are something I look forward to all week. But I haven't done quite the same amount of running this week. I felt pretty tired after that long week on Sunday evening. According to the training schedule I'm following for the Toad, I should do two 12.5km runs this weekend in place of one long run.
What I'd LOVE to do is drive over to my favourite trail spot and run tonight, but it's meet the teacher night. No running going to happen. Will have to get up early tomorrow to fit in a run. I'm feeling pretty tired by the end of the week, though. Also trying to fit in some small moments of socializing. Went out with my siblings last night, and plan to have friends over for a drink tomorrow night. And go out with my husband on Saturday night!
How to fit everything in? Don't know. And I also feel like I need another goal to work toward, to keep me motivated, though signing up for classes helps: I'm sure to go to spin class when it starts next month, because I'm going with friends and I'm paying for it. Beyond that ... not sure. But it definitely is motivating to sign up for a race and work toward it. It might be worth it just for that.
(I'll admit that I got a little bummed recently reading this short piece in the newspaper written by a marathoner--she's giving weekly exercise tips to aspiring marathoners, and she posted Canada's ninth fastest marathon time for a female runner. So last week, her tip was to stick with your pace and not go faster at the beginning. Her pace? She planned to run her very first marathon in under three hours (!!!!!) so her pace was approximately 2:55/km, except she mess up and ran her first kilometre in 2:45. Did you read that correctly? 2:45 and 2:55/km. When I'm running as fast as I possibly can, for those 12km runs, I'm averaging 4:55/km, maybe running a few of those kilometres at 4:40. So she's running her first marathon TWO MINUTES faster PER KILOMETRE. Anyway, the moral of her story was that she should have stuck to her plan because she seized up around the 34km mark, and staggered to a time of 3:10, I think it was. Good grief. I'll never be anywhere near that fast, no matter how hard I work. So that was a bit discouraging to contemplate. And yes, I realize that my goals are impossibly grandiose, and I'm never going to be Canada's xth faster marathoner, but gee, it would have been nice to think I could run a bit faster than I'm running now--okay, a lot faster. If she can do that for a marathon, just imagine what her 5km time would work out to!).
That was a long tangent. I must be sleepy. Very short nap this morning to refresh brain. Must get to work.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Day: should I do a marathon this fall?
I think I could still sign up for a marathon, if that's a form of torture I'd like to inflict upon myself at least once before I die. I've been doing a lot of running in the past month, and as I look at my distances, I'm realizing that this looks more like marathon training than half-marathon training (though I could sign up for one of those, and it would almost seem breezy).
Here are the numbers from the past four weeks of running (and since returning from the cottage, when I ran precisely zero kilometres for an entire week):
week one: 31.7km
week two: 51.4km
week three: 50.9km
week four: 69.3km
I had in mind, very loosely, an eight-week running experiment, where I would try my best to improve my times and my endurance simply by running longer and faster and more often. I'm running five times a week, now. Not sure why I wanted to do this, though I was hoping to be in fighting shape for the Toad run; as I was running last night, however, I thought, gee, I should revisit that marathon notion. I'm probably not a natural marathoner; I'm probably going to be better at the shorter distances, like the 10km, and possibly the half. But I would like to do it once in my lifetime. And this seems to be the year for doing new things. I should slip a 5km race in here just to cover my bases.
Won't run today, because I got up and swam instead. Wasn't feeling particularly perky, having just run 23km a mere eleven hours previously, but still managed to back and forth myself to 2200m. My goal was 2000, and anything on top of that was gravy. The pool was very crowded today, but our lane worked out well, even when it had four swimmers in it. We were all going relatively the same speed. A good start to the week.
Here are the numbers from the past four weeks of running (and since returning from the cottage, when I ran precisely zero kilometres for an entire week):
week one: 31.7km
week two: 51.4km
week three: 50.9km
week four: 69.3km
I had in mind, very loosely, an eight-week running experiment, where I would try my best to improve my times and my endurance simply by running longer and faster and more often. I'm running five times a week, now. Not sure why I wanted to do this, though I was hoping to be in fighting shape for the Toad run; as I was running last night, however, I thought, gee, I should revisit that marathon notion. I'm probably not a natural marathoner; I'm probably going to be better at the shorter distances, like the 10km, and possibly the half. But I would like to do it once in my lifetime. And this seems to be the year for doing new things. I should slip a 5km race in here just to cover my bases.
Won't run today, because I got up and swam instead. Wasn't feeling particularly perky, having just run 23km a mere eleven hours previously, but still managed to back and forth myself to 2200m. My goal was 2000, and anything on top of that was gravy. The pool was very crowded today, but our lane worked out well, even when it had four swimmers in it. We were all going relatively the same speed. A good start to the week.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Day: looooong run
Two more runs to note. Did not run or do anything on Friday. Too tired to get up to swim, had insomnia and was awake through the night, and decided to sleep instead. I have a tight writing deadline to meet and that and other thoughts were keeping me awake and I couldn't add swimming to my to-do list. So ...
Yesterday was spent mostly at my daughter's soccer cup final. By the time we got home it was after 3pm, and we'd been gone all day, and I had another to-do list up to my neck and I was so stressed out that my husband suggested I go for a run. He knows me well. Off I went, and burned up the 12.2km route in under an hour. Don't know why, but I love the feeling of pushing myself past the point of no return.
That helped.
Today, I needed to do a long run in preparation for this upcoming trail run (now in less than two weeks). I wanted to go at least 20km, but didn't get started until nearly suppertime. But I'm home now, and I'm pleased. I ran for two hours and five minutes, and when I marked out my route, I'd gone 23km. Not bad. That puts me at around 5:30 or so per kilometre, and it felt very doable. I was not pushing myself, except toward the end when my legs started to fatigue. But I stayed in a very easy breathing mode. It's amazing the difference 30-40 seconds per kilometre make in the breathing and the effort. Knocking a couple of minutes off one's time is harder than it seems on first glance.
Okay, now to shower and get back to that massive to-do list, which is still there waiting to be done.
Yesterday was spent mostly at my daughter's soccer cup final. By the time we got home it was after 3pm, and we'd been gone all day, and I had another to-do list up to my neck and I was so stressed out that my husband suggested I go for a run. He knows me well. Off I went, and burned up the 12.2km route in under an hour. Don't know why, but I love the feeling of pushing myself past the point of no return.
That helped.
Today, I needed to do a long run in preparation for this upcoming trail run (now in less than two weeks). I wanted to go at least 20km, but didn't get started until nearly suppertime. But I'm home now, and I'm pleased. I ran for two hours and five minutes, and when I marked out my route, I'd gone 23km. Not bad. That puts me at around 5:30 or so per kilometre, and it felt very doable. I was not pushing myself, except toward the end when my legs started to fatigue. But I stayed in a very easy breathing mode. It's amazing the difference 30-40 seconds per kilometre make in the breathing and the effort. Knocking a couple of minutes off one's time is harder than it seems on first glance.
Okay, now to shower and get back to that massive to-do list, which is still there waiting to be done.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Day: trail running
On last soccer practice yesterday evening, though it was at different park, thankfully near enough to my favourite trail-running park for it to make sense for me to drive over and run. Seems ridiculous to drive to go for a run ... but I just love these trails. They're easy on my joins, and the hills are crazy, and it's such a challenge. Plus, I can see the improvements in my cardio and strength after a summer of running them fairly regularly (not quite once-a-week). I still haven't found a way to figure out distances on these trails, but when I started running them, half an hour of hard running did me in, and I'm up to a full hour, now.
There is a running club (actually, more than one) that meets and runs these trails on Thursday evenings. They might be a university-based club, because their numbers have swelled these last two weeks, but there are several older men among their number, so I haven't quite figured them out. Most look university-aged. They seem to start with a free-ranging warm-up (I can never guess which direction they'll be running for that, and you kind of want to choose the same direction, because they're a huge pack; going the wrong way is like swimming against the tide). And then they run a loop, down and up, and around the field. They seem to run several intervals of this loop, so I'm guessing it's between 1-2 kilometres. Might just be 1 km with a cool-down built into it. So yesterday, I ran around and around, taking different paths and trying to avoid getting in anyone's way. On my last time around, I decided to run their loop, and it happened that just as turned onto that path, one of the faster groups blew by me. So I chased them. I wanted to see if I could come close to going how fast they were going. Downhill, it was pretty easy to keep up, but they were definitely faster than my on the straightaway at the bottom. But I saw a group of slower runners ahead of them make way, and then realized I was running much faster than this group, too (and they were also with the running club). They politely made way for me, too, and then I had to pound up the hill ahead of them, trying to maintain pace. At this point, I'd been running hard for an hour, and I was pretty much at transcendence, so I pushed it up the hill, and continued on after the faster group, who were now a couple hundred metres ahead of me. But I wasn't quite brave enough to follow their exact path out of the woods and around the field, sprinting after them.
I'm not part of the team, after all, just an interloper. So I finished my run by heading for the parking lot on a different path. Afterward, I wished I'd run after them just to test myself out. Why not?
And I had a couple of different thoughts. One: why are there no older women running with that running club? There are quite a few older men (ie. older than me), lots of young men, and a fair-sized group of young women. But not one woman older than university-aged. Weird.
Two: I'd really like to run with a team. I sense that it would push me in ways that I can't push myself. Psychologically, it would be hard, because when I'm on my own, I'm always the fastest (and the slowest; you know what I mean). It might feel like I'm pushing myself hard, but without that extra jolt of fear/encouragement that competition provides, I can't know how much harder I could actually push. I wonder how one joins a team?
More running thoughts and some confusion: how hard is too hard? For example, should I have run two days in a row, both days pushing very hard? I ran a personal best 12km time on Wednesday evening, and then went out the very next evening and ran for approximately the same distance, pushing as hard as I could. (I know I'm running at my preferred level of exertion when I'm breathing too deeply to talk; if I can talk, I'm not running very hard). Is that too much? I've read that runners should take breaks after races--two weeks after a 10km race. ???? But I try to run much like I'm in a race, when I run, most runs. So I don't know. I may be wearing myself out rather than building my strength, who knows. I'm not an expert. Another reason it would be nice to run with a team, and a coach.
Can I just repeat, ad nauseum, how much I love to run? I love digging down into the layers of myself, into the layers of the experience, which seems to get harder and then somehow, weirdly, easier, almost like my body can tolerate more as my mind drifts further and further above the experience. I felt yesterday like I was coming into a deeper understanding of the meaning of transcendence.
There is a running club (actually, more than one) that meets and runs these trails on Thursday evenings. They might be a university-based club, because their numbers have swelled these last two weeks, but there are several older men among their number, so I haven't quite figured them out. Most look university-aged. They seem to start with a free-ranging warm-up (I can never guess which direction they'll be running for that, and you kind of want to choose the same direction, because they're a huge pack; going the wrong way is like swimming against the tide). And then they run a loop, down and up, and around the field. They seem to run several intervals of this loop, so I'm guessing it's between 1-2 kilometres. Might just be 1 km with a cool-down built into it. So yesterday, I ran around and around, taking different paths and trying to avoid getting in anyone's way. On my last time around, I decided to run their loop, and it happened that just as turned onto that path, one of the faster groups blew by me. So I chased them. I wanted to see if I could come close to going how fast they were going. Downhill, it was pretty easy to keep up, but they were definitely faster than my on the straightaway at the bottom. But I saw a group of slower runners ahead of them make way, and then realized I was running much faster than this group, too (and they were also with the running club). They politely made way for me, too, and then I had to pound up the hill ahead of them, trying to maintain pace. At this point, I'd been running hard for an hour, and I was pretty much at transcendence, so I pushed it up the hill, and continued on after the faster group, who were now a couple hundred metres ahead of me. But I wasn't quite brave enough to follow their exact path out of the woods and around the field, sprinting after them.
I'm not part of the team, after all, just an interloper. So I finished my run by heading for the parking lot on a different path. Afterward, I wished I'd run after them just to test myself out. Why not?
And I had a couple of different thoughts. One: why are there no older women running with that running club? There are quite a few older men (ie. older than me), lots of young men, and a fair-sized group of young women. But not one woman older than university-aged. Weird.
Two: I'd really like to run with a team. I sense that it would push me in ways that I can't push myself. Psychologically, it would be hard, because when I'm on my own, I'm always the fastest (and the slowest; you know what I mean). It might feel like I'm pushing myself hard, but without that extra jolt of fear/encouragement that competition provides, I can't know how much harder I could actually push. I wonder how one joins a team?
More running thoughts and some confusion: how hard is too hard? For example, should I have run two days in a row, both days pushing very hard? I ran a personal best 12km time on Wednesday evening, and then went out the very next evening and ran for approximately the same distance, pushing as hard as I could. (I know I'm running at my preferred level of exertion when I'm breathing too deeply to talk; if I can talk, I'm not running very hard). Is that too much? I've read that runners should take breaks after races--two weeks after a 10km race. ???? But I try to run much like I'm in a race, when I run, most runs. So I don't know. I may be wearing myself out rather than building my strength, who knows. I'm not an expert. Another reason it would be nice to run with a team, and a coach.
Can I just repeat, ad nauseum, how much I love to run? I love digging down into the layers of myself, into the layers of the experience, which seems to get harder and then somehow, weirdly, easier, almost like my body can tolerate more as my mind drifts further and further above the experience. I felt yesterday like I was coming into a deeper understanding of the meaning of transcendence.
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