The One About Mind Games

I once heard that running is 90 percent mental and 10 percent mental. I concur.

Hills this week were completed in the pouring rain. Somewhere along the 2 kilometer run to the hill I asked my clinic instructor what I already knew to be true. “Five hills tonight, Cheryl?” I asked, merely to start conversation.  

But surprisingly Cheryl answered “No”.

I thought that was strange. Every week we go up one hill; last week we ran four hills. Cheryl even sent out an e-mail before the run claiming we were running five hills.

But now, she had changed her mind. We weren’t running five hills anymore. We were running three and then two more.

It might seem funny, but on my second hill, I became overwhelmed by the strenuous workout ahead of me. And then, I thought to myself. Wait, just one more hill and that’s three. And then, I only have two more.  Mind games really work. I never realized it but I have always subconsciously played these activities with myself. Like today, I wasn’t running 14 kilometers- I was running the same distance as last week (12 kilometers), plus two more. Do you know how short two kilometers is? I can run that in ten minutes. Adding ten minutes to a run is easy-peasy. Ergo, running 14 kilometers is easy-peasy.  

Of course, running is easier if you are physically prepared but it is a sport that takes mental strength over anything.

Although I cannot attest to it, I bet when people run marathons they think of it as two half marathons. And I’m sure even my triathlon friend I met today has mind games of her own…. She recently completed a Half Ironman (1.9 km swim, 90 km bike ride, 21.1 km run) and I don’t know how she could do that without mentally tricking herself. Really, who does that for fun? But who am I to judge people’s past-times. It’s actually pretty inspirational- she couldn’t have been much older than myself.

I won’t be completing a triathlon anytime soon, but I will rely on misleading mind games to get me through my second half marathon--- I mean a run that is 21.1 kilometers less than a full marathon-  which is obviously going to be so easy!

My next big training run will be in the nation’s capital! I hope for snow…. Training for the hypothermic half in rain just doesn’t seem natural.

Regardless, I hope I can maintain my training through all the festivities. I wouldn’t want to deprive you of my blog posts.

Well, at least now I know, if I think I can, I can.

Until next run,

Running Romance xx 

The One About The Hangover

This week I learned that running hours after getting a typhoid shot is not fun. In fact, it’s almost as much fun as running 12 kilometers the morning after drinking a bottle of wine, a shot of tequila and a vodka Rockstar. When my alarm went at 7:44 on Sunday morning, the day after my Christmas party, the typhoid shot was the least of my worries-  I was regretting the tequila. Regardless, I rose, washed off my crusty make-up, and got dressed in my usual Sunday morning attire: my black leggings and an Under Armour shirt. I don’t go to church; running is my religion. But folks, I wouldn’t recommend doing either hungover. The run was, if I’m being honest, excruciating. Before the run, I was wise enough to purchase a blue Gatorade at the 24 hour Shoppers Drug Mart beside the Running Room. I chugged half of it before the run but saved the rest for later. God forbid I get a cramp. About 6 kilometers in, I had what my Vancouver roommate calls cotton-mouth. I hope you get a visual. I have never been so parched in my life. To make matters worse, the route included running over the Macdonald bridge to Dartmouth; In my state, making me run meters above gallons of undrinkable water was like offering a starving child a poisonous fruit. I was so busy wallowing in self pity I didn’t even appreciate the view- the bridge, a route I have never run before, overlooks almost all of Halifax. Anyways the good news for me was the run was really slow and steady. I trekked along and the second I got back to the store I bee-lined for my blue Gatorade. I chugged it. I started walking home and felt quite satisfied with myself. I may be an irresponsible university student but at least I’m committed to my running. I would love to tell you, my fellow bloggees, that the run cured my hangover; that I went on to have the most productive Sunday. But I am not going to lie. I got home from my 12 kilometre run, showered and ate a copious amount of delicious food. The rest of the day amounted to a movie about facebook, some food, some time on facebook, some food and than a Christmas dinner with my roommates. But it didn't matter, because I ran 12 kilometers hungover and that was my productivity of the day. Overall, running hungover was an experience for me- one that provided an entertaining blog entry. However, it is not something I plan to do again. I love running and would never dare ruin it with the dreaded hangover. Besides, I much prefer going out on Thursdays! A wise old man once told me, everything is okay in moderation. Running hungover has not turned me off of running- it has just turned me off of running hungover!  On that note, today is one of my two days off from running this week. It’s a cross-training day.  I’m off to hot yoga.

Namasta,

Running Romance xx

The One About Hill Training

Wheeeeeeeeeew. Happy hump day to YOU! I just completed my second session of hill training… and Oh. My. God. I’m excited for bed.  

Last Wednesday was the first session and it started with 3 hills- running up hill at 75-80% maximum speed and running down at a recovery pace. The hill is 400 meters long and last week it was easy…. I was running at the same pace as my instructor which clearly isn’t close to my maximum speed because it was a breeze. This week that light breeze turned into a tornado. I decided I need to get more out of my training so I ran solo at my maximum speed; I never knew 400 meters could feel so long. My heart was racing at the speed of light and I literally had to coach myself to the end of the hill. “You can do it, You can do it,” my high-pitched voice said over the techno music coming out of my IPod. By the time I was at the bottom of the hill for the fourth time, the modest incline looked like Mount Kilimanjaro. But obviously I survived and it is this training that I will appreciate when I am 15 kilometers into my half marathon and questioning my own sanity. That’s the significance of hill training: my body burned with every step I took but it instantly made me a stronger runner.

And yet, secretly, I loved every second of the physical challenge: afterwards I felt like I could conquer the world- or at least climb an African mountain!

Anyways, I’m going to cut this short. My bed is just a couple, flat meters away, and I don’t even have to run to get there.

Until next run,

Running Romance

The first snowfall of the season

Only in Halifax would 10 centimeters of snow be enough to cancel hill training. I have been looking forward to hill training for a month, and the first session was postponed. This isn’t shocking: In Halifax, snow shuts down the city. Yesterday I started work at 7 am. They sky was dark, but clear. When I was off at 2, rumor had it the buses weren’t running, the schools were closing and people were advised to leave work early. It was the first snowfall of the year and people did not know what to do. But I am from Ottawa, where 10 centimeters of snow is nothing more than an excuse to have an extra hot beverage. So I did what any normal Ottawan would do: I walked to the Mumford Mall’s (where I work) Second Cup, ordered a Medium vanilla bean latte, put my jacket hood up, my knitted mitts on and started my 5 kilometer walk home. Often, I bus home, but with the buses barely running (they were actually still running, just behind schedule) I took the opportunity to plug in my IPod and enjoy a leisure walk home. It was on this walk home that I learned my hill training planned for later in the night had been cancelled.

“I'm cancelling hills on account of the weather,” the e-mail read. “The snow is no longer supposed to change over to rain until much later tonight so we'd be slipping back down the hill after every step we ran up.”

Kayla, my training partner, did not share my genuine disappointment. But, I have been looking forward to hill training since I started the clinic. So far, the farthest we have run is 10 kilometers and it hasn’t been a challenge. The first month of the clinic focuses on endurance but I have natural endurance from my marathon running mother.  However, my struggle is with strength- ten pound dumbbells are too heavy for me.  Strength is developed through hill training. And yesterday was going to be first day of the strong Kendra. But… beautiful white powder fell from the sky and hill training was cancelled. My heart racing, leg shaking training would have to wait until tonight. 

Hills are tough- the owner of the Halifax Running Room says it is the most rewarding training. But, I wouldn’t know. When I trained for my first half marathon I had night class every Wednesday, which meant I missed hill training every week. This year, I don’t have class and I took Wednesday nights off work so I could experience it.

I guess I could have run hills by myself yesterday. But come on, I’m only human. When I got home from work, I saw five friendly faces outside my house competing in a full-fledged snowball fight. Naturally, I joined. An hour later, I had to go to class. And after class, it was minutes before I was back home in comfy flannel pajamas, nestled up on my couch with a cup of tea looking at what Halifax considers a winter wonderland. After all, I signed up for the clinic for a reason: I need motivation to challenge myself.

Anyways, for the sake of the hypothermic half training clinic, I hope we have a snowless winter.

Stay tuned for stories from my first session of strength.

Until next run,

Running Romance

xx

Running is my endless love

The difference between me and non-runners, my roommate told me this morning, is that I run even when I don’t want to. Today was one of those days. I woke up at 7 a.m. and the sun was shining. But the puddles visible from my bedroom window kindly reminded me of the 106 millimeters of rain we got yesterday. Surprising? Not in Halifax folks.

So, anyways, this morning I procrastinated as much as I could. I made some coffee and enjoyed my gulten free Chex cereal. At 9:30 I put on my new white and purple Asics, some black tights and a pink jacket. By the time I walked down my porch stairs, I was already in my therapeutic running bliss. But, my Asics no longer looked new.  

I am training with the Running Room and we have a very specific schedule. This week our schedule was as follows:

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: 4K tempo

Wednesday: 4K tempo

Thursday: Clinic night and 3K steady run

Friday: OFF

Saturday: 4K

Sunday: 9K

But here’s the thing. When I run by myself (technically Tuesdays and Saturdays) I have two routes to choose from: a 5K and a 10K. The route I choose depends on my energy, time availability, and mood. Sorry Running Room- I’ve never been a perfect student.

So that’s the nitty-gritty of my training. But the point of this blog is entertainment and that’s easy because each run brings along its own amazements and amusements.

On Today’s particular run, I was going at a steady pace. I was consistently running at a pace of 5 minutes 20 seconds per Kilometer (5:20/K). The pace was tolerable but fast. At least for me: To the man who passed me three times in Point Pleasant Park I could’ve been crawling. But regardless, I was proud of my pace and held it for the entire 48 minutes.

When I had successfully finished 9K (I work Sunday morning, so I did my long run this morning instead) I started to walk home. Then, it dawned on me.  To complete my goal of running the half marathon in under 2 hours I just have to maintain a similar pace as today’s run.  And do the same distance. Twice. And a little more.

Piece of cake, right?

Anyways the point is I still have a lot of training to do.

The good news is my race is in February- That’s three months away. The bad news is my race is in February- It’s going to be cold.

At least it doesn’t rain in February. This morning, when I was less than a kilometer from my house, a car drove a little too close to the sidewalk and I got to sample the puddle water. Breakfast of a champion! Oh, the pleasures of running… I promise there will be more to come.

Until next run,

Remember, it’s love,

Running Romance

xx