Liv to run

Why

2007-05-17T21:32:00.001-04:00

do other people always get in the way of running? And I'm not talking about sharing the sidewalk. Every time I have my day perfectly planned out around a run, someone drops by the apartment, or phones with some long story, or whatever, and because I love these people I sacrifice my run over and over and over again to hear them out. It's making me into one very antsy non-runner.

PR!

2007-05-06T19:33:00.000-04:00

Yep, you read that right! Despite shoddy training, lack of motivation, mountains of studying, and sheer laziness, I pulled it together and got up at the crack of dawn this morning to run a stellar 10k race, copious amounts of whining the night before notwithstanding ("whyyyyyyyyyyy do I do this to myself? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?" - it's a wonder I still have roommates who love me).

Pre-start time was a bit of a disaster zone - DEFINITELY not enough porta-potties for 8000 people (especially counting those of us who express their jitters by having to pee TWICE before a race - ahem no naming names here, but let's just say that by the time I got through (again!) there were people with megaphones yelling "almost start time! Just hold it if you don't have to go that badly!" Hold it??? For 10k? Not me, babe.) Baggage check also took aeons, so it's a good thing I was super paranoid about arriving on time and ended up being way early - I needed every minute!

But those were only minor annoyances. The weather could not have been better, the course was sublime (love that net downhill!), and I stayed on pace, super focused, pushing steadily but not too hard for the entire distance. My dearly beloved Garmin was having some PMS, however (I suspect it may have calibrated itself from inside the porta-potty, actually...) and from the first mile my "splits" were completely wonky - it had barely charted a mile by the time I hit 2k. So no mile splits, to my sorrow, but a very respectable (for a turtle) pace of 5:45km - that's how they do it here in these Canuck races, okay? ;) - working out to a final chip time of 54:47 - more than a minute off my time in last year's race, and yes, a brand new shiny shimmery 10k PR!

To think - that was without proper training. One of these days, I will really whip myself into shape, and THEN we'll see what I can do :)

Is it hot in here, or is it just me?

2007-04-26T13:49:00.000-04:00

They aren't kidding around when they call it hot yoga, people. Whew.

My muscles have been a real pain, literally, as of late, so yesterday my roomie and I went to try and force some limberness into our bones and some sweat out of our pores with some Bikram-style yoga. Honestly, sometimes I thought it was harder than the half marathon - at least then there was a breeze! I have never sweated so much in my life. I didn't know my body was capable of so much sweating, but there you have it. Liv to run, saltwater spring!

Nevertheless, when it was all over, did I ever feel virtuous and purified! Not to mention utterly exhausted, and in no state to even contemplate running, yesterday or today. I just don't think I can handle it. Which is mildly concerning, since this 10k is in less than two weeks' time. Maybe another yoga session or two is in order, and quickly, so I can get back to mercilessly pounding my body on the pavement like I should be.

Spring has spRUNg

2007-04-20T02:18:00.000-04:00

Well... I'm back. No promises of certain return yet (I've made them before!), but maybe I'm back for real this time. I've been an unfaithful blogger and should be taken out behind the aid station and pelted with PowerGel packets. But this is the first time I've honestly felt like posting in months! And I never intended to make a job out of this. I can be a flake that way :)

I haven't been significantly more committed on the running front either, but perhaps the tide is turning: spring is in the air, I have some wicked new Nike gear I got at an even more wicked discount, and oh yeah, I've signed up for several long races this summer, with the marathon as a grand finale - maybe I'd better be in shape to finish 'em!

Well the 10k's doable, anyway, because today's "5 miler" turned into 7. Somehow I made two conflicting plans: run up to the Beltline trail, along it for a stretch, and back home; and run five miles. People... I live much farther from the Beltline than I thought! But I stuck to the route rather than the distance, and was sweating, proud, and exhausted by the time I got home. Still looking fabulous in my hot new gear.

I will not support that last statement with photos. I can lie to you all if I feel like it :)

Inspiration

2007-02-10T16:38:00.000-05:00

Diligent readers of Runner's World that most of you are, you've probably heard about these guys by now. But have you seen this video ? Guaranteed to tug at your heart-strings, to flood you with hope and joy.

1,2,3

2007-02-02T15:22:00.000-05:00

One week.

Two runs.

Three miles each.

How long did they take? That's classified.

How do I feel? Wonderful!

Just lace 'em up and... shit

2007-01-30T21:11:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally dragged my sorry behind to the gym today, feeling hale and whole for the first time in I can't remember how long. Though I really did feel lazy as hell on the way there, the act of changing into my gear and powering up the zillion steps to the track really fired me up and I was pumped to get running again by the time I....

.... realized that Tuesday night is track team night. Exclusive track team night. As in, you sad sorry slow mere members, please keep your stumpy legs off our turf. This is Varsity territory for the next two hours.

*sigh*. So yours truly had a date with a very rickety, uncomfortable stationary bike instead. But I pumped the shit out of that thing, and if it wasn't running, it at least felt wonderful to get my heart rate up. Followed up with a short yoga session (hidden away in a corner so I wouldn't get run over by maniacally charging varsity hurldlers), and felt that at least my time had been productively spent.

So no miles to log today. But I'm back, after a fashion. And I intend to keep it that way!

Hey!

2007-01-26T23:58:00.000-05:00

How come switching to the new Blogger has wrecked some of my links, and turned half of my comments "anonymous"? What gives and can I fix it? Help!

Oh, misery

2007-01-26T16:13:00.000-05:00

I think I can count on one hand the days that I have felt healthy in 2007. I can certainly count my runs, and I don't even need a thumb. Pa-the-tic, I tell you. Being "under the weather" doesn't begin to describe it; it's like the weather put on a pair of industrial boots with steel plates and squashed my immune system under its heel like a bug in a rug. So while my friend and I have been talking non-stop about how we are so excited to run a marathon this year, I have yet to submit my official registration because the longer my nose runs, the less I do. I feel the months of fitness training trickling away at an alarming rate, annihilating all my hard-earned accomplishments. The concept of driving 42km is daunting to me at my present energy level; the idea of running that far is unfathomable. So I am taking this moment to wallow in self pity. Wallow, wallow, wallow. And to hope desperately that this will all be over soon, before I waste away into nothingness, and my running muscles all atrophy from lack of use.

Yeah so clearly I'm a slacker

2007-01-22T19:19:00.000-05:00

And I'm sorry. Not much to blog about lately on the running front, so I figured I'd save you the boredom of my blogorrhea.

There is a small amount of news however: though it was a big push at the end, through cold and wind and darkness, December 31st saw me clock in at exactly 1000km for 2006. Since then, well - I've made the executive decision to be more or less on break until I gear up for my next race.

1000km.... and I end up right in front of my house. Lol - strategically planned for the photo op, of course.

Addendum

2006-12-19T15:11:00.000-05:00

He he - rethinking the whole egg nog topic. Egg nog = okay. Egg nog + large quantities of rum = even better. ESPECIALLY after 7 mile run. Hits you harder. Yup, yup :) So... everyone guess what *I* did last night...

Oh fer chrissakes...

2006-12-18T15:05:00.000-05:00

I see I am receiving a warm welcome back to Blogland by being oh-so-merrily tagged by Joe. Ah well, 'tis the season - to labour over trite memes until they are mildly entertaining.

Egg nog or hot chocolate? Um... if the word "chocolate" is in the title, is it really a contest?
Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? They better be wrapped! The surprise is most of the fun!
Colored lights on tree/house or white? We've got both in my apartment. We're very non-discriminatory.
Do you hang mistletoe? I just hang around *under* it... hoping... every year... hoping ;)
When do you put your decorations up? Between exams.
What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? YOU WANT ME TO PICK ONE?!?!?!? This is how I eat holiday dinner: fork up a piece of turkey, a dab of stuffing, a touch of mashed potatoes (slathered in gravy), and a hunk of cranberry sauce, and proceed to shove it all in my mouth at the same time. Yes, I do this for every bite. Note to self: do not take boy out for holiday dinner as first date.
Favorite holiday memory as a child? Waking up to find a present on the end of my bed - this was the ONLY thing I was allowed to unwrap until my parents rolled out of bed and my Dad set up the video camera twenty million hours later!
When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Truth? WHAT truth? Are you trying to tell me something here??????????? Lol - eventually, it was the wrapping paper that gave it away - there were waaaay more empty rolls in our recycling bin that my parents could possibly have used (you'd think this makes me clever... until you realize I was about 9 or 10 years old before this dawned on me.) We kept my brother going until he was almost 12, I think - Christmas is more magical with Santa around.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No, but I used to lurk around them like a fiend, poking, prodding, and shaking. Then I would be poked, prodded, and shaken off to bed before I damaged anything :)
How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Heh - I usually try to drive my Dad crazy by flinging tinsel all over the tree, the floor, and my brother. It gets him suitably riled up for the season. We also have a bunch of gawdawful ornaments my brother and I made in kindergarten, that still make their way out into the light every year.
Snow! Love it or dread it? SNOW!!!!!! I WANT SOME NOW!!!! This is Canada, for goodness' sake, WHY is it above zero on the 18th of December?
Can you ice skate? You bet your ass.
Do you remember your favorite gift? Getting a guitar in first year university was pretty amazing. But I think my favourite present of all was the time I opened up a basket from my Mum - you know, all wrapped up as if it was one of those trite holiday numbers filled with chocolate and nuts - and it was filled with GROCERIES! It was the cutest little student-friendly gift ever. I just thought it was brilliant.
What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? No school. Lots of food. 'Nuff said.
What is your favorite holiday dessert? It starts with a choco- and ends with a -late. You guess.
What is your favorite holiday tradition? Spending New Year's with a few good friends, totally smashed in my best friend's hot tub.
What tops your tree? In our apartment, a dinky little star from Dollarama. At home, this really kooky "angel" number my Mum made by spray-painting some macaroni silver. It actually looks aweseome, but never stands up straight.
Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Now there's a loaded question. I'm going to do the diplomatic answer: I enjoy giving something that the recipient really loves, because I like to see their *genuine* reaction, and see them use it later. But damn, I won't lie - I ADORE getting presents :)
What is your favorite Christmas song? I like the classic ones with a great melody, like O Holy Night and In Excelsis Gloria or however the fuck you spell that. Too bad they're the most religious ones, but I guess people are more motivated when they're writing songs for God or something. I DETEST the insipid carols that are always being played on the radio, when pop artists try their best to butcher the entire melody of a song with their inventive "variations". I think if I worked in a mall and had to listen to that shit all December long, I would probably jump off the Viaduct. Or at least shoot my ears off. But for sheer fun, nothing tops a good rendition of Feliz Navidad. And I can personally attest to the fact that Santa Baby makes a great soundtrack to the exam-ravaged, stir crazy individual who runs around her apartment dancing like a burlesque maniac and then takes it out to the fire escape so the whole neighborhood can witness her insanity. Not mentioning any names, of course ;)
Candy canes? Mmm... yes, please.
Favorite Christmas movie? Ugh... I'm not a huge fan of Christmas movies, to be honest - I usually don't manage to sit through them. But I do remember being a fan of The Santa Clause as a kid. And of course, nothing on Earth tops A Muppet's Christmas Carol.
What do you leave for Santa? One cookie for Santa... one cookie for me. One for Santa... one for me :)

HO HO HO! My Christmas gift to you all is to spare you the pain of more tagging. But please feel free to go ahead anyway if this is up your alley.

School's. Out. For. Ever!

2006-12-16T23:12:00.000-05:00

Okay, not really forever, one more semester to go... but at last I am free, I am bored, I am blogging!

Just a quick recap on the running for now... I've been running like a beast! Well, comparatively speaking :) 5 miles seems like an easy day, I can comfortably keep a 9:40 pace for up to 8 miles and feel it's "easy", and my new record for the mile is 7:47! WOOT! I'm well on track to hit my 1000km goal for the year, and finally, I'm contemplating a stab at the Buffalo marathon this coming spring. So you see.... I have been busy in my absence :)

Hope you are all running well and I'll be sure to drop by your blogs over the holidays.

I haven't died, but...

2006-11-13T15:57:00.000-05:00

... but school and work and life in general have been seriously impeding my blogging as of late. It pains me not to keep up, but with so much else going on right now, keeping myself current seems more like a chore than a pleasure. I hope this will change soon, and I will (virtually) see you all again when the holidays kick in (not long now... thank goodness!) Keep running strong - I know I will! And I'll check back soon, promise ;)

Braving the streets of Toronto

2006-10-31T01:20:00.000-05:00

Took a hiatus from the gym in order to hit the streets on Saturday. It began as an impromptu easy 3-miler, but something took hold of me, and I swear my feet grew wings. Suddenly it was a long tempo run, and it felt utterly sublime. The rain was coming down hard, but *I* was on fire! Hell, I was passing cars on my way down Spadina! I'm fully serious. Okay, so they were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but they were trying to move, so in my mind, the feat is legit.

mile 1: 9:19
mile 2: 9:42
mile 3: 8:19
mile 4: 9:17
mile 5: 8:47

I'm not entirely convinced about that 3rd mile... I think maybe Garmin had a brainfart... but I'll take her up on her sweet little lies...

Total time: 45:26 for 5 miles. That definitely shatters my own records - and my fears about coming up short. I am cruising through those last few hundred kilometers, and I am going to show them who. is. boss.

ARG!

2006-10-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

For those who've been following along, you might remember (it seems like aeons ago) my New Year's Resolution to run 1000km this year. 2007 approacheth at lightning speed it seems, and while I'm trying my darndest to log them all in, at the moment all I have to say is one thing:

Crap.

Why do I make myself answerable to such things?

Gym rat

2006-10-26T00:09:00.000-04:00

It's taken a while of easing in, but I think I'm officially there now: I'm a gym rat again. After all, I was there twice today - once for the 3 deadly miles, and once for an (almost as deadly!) yoga class.

Bye bye, great outdoors! You are too cold and blustery for me. Here is why hitting up the indoor track kind of rocks:

1-It's warm.

2-I can crank up the ipod (which works again! This is SUCH a high point in my life right now...) and tune out the world without fear of being run over by a car/bus/truck/rabid pedestrian/equally rabid racoon.

3-Almost everyone is faster than me. No really, this is a good thing: it's motivational. For the most part.
4-A select few are slower that me. And damn - THAT makes me proud.
5-A good portion of the girls there have far hotter bodies than I. That, I'll admit, turns me a particular shade of green on occasion (I should get shorts to match), but, again....it's motivational.
6-And most importantly: I get to have GYM CRUSHES! No, it's healthy, really - nothing like having the hots for someone to make you keep on running :)

Incidentally, my gym crush of the day spurred me on to greater speeds, greater agony, and overall greater satisfaction:

mile repeats:
1- 8:30
2- 8:32
3- 8:25

Too bad that secret somebody was finished working out and gone before I got down to stretching. Ah well. I don't take these things personally.

Oh and P.S., in response to the many questions about my last post: yes, she is in fact a scale AND a body fat monitor. And I take what SHE says VERY personally.

Spawn of Satan

2006-10-19T01:01:00.000-04:00

She is sleek, sexy, and all knowing.

She brings out the obsessiveness in me.

I know she's just the messenger... but really. What a bitch.

Golden miles

2006-10-16T23:06:00.000-04:00

I've logged a lot of miles this year. Or kilometers - whatever. Not as many miles as most of you real runners out there :) but lots of them all the same. But until today, I never ran miles. As in repeats. Hard, brutal, long, incredibly gratifying mile repeats. And I think I'm hooked.

Mile 1: 8:46!
(rest)
Mile 2: 8:41!!
(rest)
Mile 3: 8:30!!!

Pretty cool for someone who usually churns them out between 10 and 11 minutes. There may be a little speed yet in these short legs o'mine. If I can bring myself to give them the proper training and attention. Regularly. Consistantly.

Ha.

Finding my mojo

2006-10-14T02:53:00.000-04:00

Breaking news... this just in...

I have learned how to exercise again.

I finally did it - went to the gym, did some swimming, some running, some core crunching - THREE WHOLE TIMES this week. And I feel GREAT.

Isn't it idiotic the way we get ourselves (okay, I won't speak for everyone, the way I get myself) into these vicious cycles of "I feel crappy. I don't want to exercise. Now I feel crappier for not exercising"? The only real solution is to lace up the shoes, suck it up, and get the hell out there.

And all it took was Thanksgiving dinner, about a zillion pounds of chocolate, and 3 new and decidedly unwanted pounds on my body, to finally convince me something needed to be done. Motivation, motivation, motivation.

An unorthodox workout

2006-10-05T01:47:00.000-04:00

So - today I was going to go to the gym. I really really was.

But first... first I had to go to Future Shop to return/exchange a DVD player. So I walked there... only to discover that I had brought the WRONG RECEIPT with me! I walked home. I got the right one. I walked back. A customer service person then informed me that there was nothing wrong with my DVD player at all - I only needed an adaptor to make it work. No exchange - and no receipt necessary.

I walked home. And I skipped the gym.

I figure, I spent enough time walking today to merit workout points. And I probably burned lots of extra calories by muttering, cursing, and smacking myself repeatedly in the head.

Sometimes, I am really an imbecile.

Twenty one is so much fun!

2006-09-30T00:48:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am in all my glory. Neither my dad nor my camera-happy housemate have seen fit to send all my wonderful post-race pictures, so I am forced to resort to Action Sports International's oh-so-flattering portrayal. And trust me, this was by far the best shot, the others are classified...!

Well, what can I say about 21 kilometres? (Okay, okay, 13.1 miles)

-It's the farthest distance I have ever run in my life.
-It took me longer to finish it than it did for someone to win the marathon (which took place simultaneously).
-The first female marathoner came in after me, though. Ha.
-Oh, yeah, it was a total blast.

I wish I had some photos of my behind to share with you all. It was really, really sexy. Okay, backtrack, I'll explain that one. I realized the night before the race that I had neglected to consider one important conundrum: where was I to stash my carbo gels? After much scratching of head and gnashing of teeth, I settled on stowing them in a little invisible money belt, the kind you stick under your pants when you don't want your passport snarfed. And then I thought, while I'm at it, why don't I just chuck my key and my phone in there too, so I don't have to check baggage? Brilliant. Except I couldn't wear it as a fanny pack, it bounced too much - so, you guessed it, I wore the belt in its rightful position - under my shorts and on my ass. Like I really needed to look bigger down there. Still, I was happy with the functionality of the arrangement, and I marveled at the poor souls I passed who were running with big galumphing fanny packs, and one guy with a full-sized backpack. Seriously! They have water stations for a reason, hun, what the hell were you carrying? This is all a very long-winded plea for advice, if after the fact: what is a good way to store gels on the go (assuming that I didn't want to bring my bulky torso pack)?

Anyway, my hippo heiny and I plodded our way slowly but surely through the miles. I kept the first one slow, around 11min, which I figured I could reasonably keep up. But lo and behold, from there on in, every time my Garmin beeped I was thoroughly surprised and delighted to see the numbers consistently around 10:30. I even managed a 10:05 for mile 12 - that was the mile where my family came to cheer. Yay! After that it was just an onslaught of uplifting emotions as I fought to the finish with a huge grin on my face (accounting for most of the unflattering pictures - it's hard to grin and gasp for air at the same time without looking like a dying platypus). Energy welled up inside me as I sung an endless refrain of "I've done it, I've done it, I've really done it!" Who would have thought - short little Liv, with her short little legs, and she made it - all the way. 2:19:27 - a very pleasing first time, as I was aiming for 2:30 or so - and happy to be on the faster side of "or so"!

There were times, during my training, when I would lie down on the kitchen floor after a 10 mile run, dehydrated and exhausted, thinking "what ever possessed me to do this? It's ridiculous. After this race I'm never doing distance again. And forget ever bothering with a full marathon, schmarathon - what an illusion."

But running the half changed all that. I know I can do long distance, and I know that I love it. I'm dusting off that illusion again, and turning it back into a dream.

Stay tuned

2006-09-24T19:50:00.000-04:00

I can't muster up the patience for a full race report just now, and I don't have any photos yet, but it's in the works. For now, I must simply announce to you all that my first half was a total dream, an incredible experience. My first thought when I crossed the finish line was "I did it!", and the second was "when can I do it again?!"

Seriously

2006-09-22T23:44:00.000-04:00

This seems to be a recurring pattern of mine: sign up for race well in advance. Get absurdly excited about race. Train like a maniac. One month before race, lose all interest. Get absorbed in other things. Launch "taper" of extreme proportions. Suddenly wake up one day and realize: "holy shit. I've got a race this weekend."

But my obliviousness does not erase the fact that two days from now, less in fact, I will be running my first-ever half marathon. Yikes, people. I so don't feel ready. Although, I've put a lot of training into this - when I stop to think about it, I'm probably quite well prepared: I have two 10-milers in the bag, several eights and nines, the last of which was about a week and a half ago. I've sprinkled in a few tempo runs, and some easy jogs just for fun. Okay, so this week I did a grand total of two miles, but I'm legitimately tapering - plus, I've had a lot on my mind in terms of work and school. I should be ready, right? Then why do I feel like I haven't been a runner for 10 years?!

Oh well. Sunday shall come, regardless of my preparedness. Here goes nothing.

Pink ribbon lady

2006-09-12T10:30:00.000-04:00

Just a shameless plug here, but it's for a charitable cause so I'm forgiving myself :)

On Sunday, October 1st I will be participating in the Canadian Breast Cancer Society's infamous Run for the Cure. Okay, realistically, folks, I may be walking for the cure at that point, having just come off my first half marathon the weekend before. But a friend of mine put together a team and I just couldn't resist.

So, if anyone is interested in sponsoring me, the link to my donation page is here. I will still love each and every one of you regardless of monetary contribution... but if you enjoy supporting such causes, then by all means, please make me your messenger :)