Recap

Well it’s been about 2 weeks since we actually posted about our training and how things are going.  Let's recap.

Tuesdays are still on the schedule for hill repeats.  We have 2 more left (8x & 9x repeats).  Last week we shortened the hill to 200m instead of 400m as it was a 7x repeat night and that seemed hard (lol) plus the weather was iffy.  It looked like a thunder storm was brewing so we stayed closed to home on a smaller hill.  Once the hills were over we ran about another 1k and did some sprints at the end just for fun.  We may make this a regular occurrence on our shorter runs during the week (we're talking about the sprints here.  We require no more hills than necessary).

Over the long weekend the parents were up so we relaxed a bit.  We hit up Chapters to look at books on running (Yes we know, we should have bought them at the beginning of training).  We bought these three hoping it will give us some inspiration/motivation to get through this last month of training.  

Notice the bars and Starbucks for motivation/inspiration as well? (I cannot rotate pic..sorry)

The main reason we bought “Women's Complete Guide to Running" was because of this page we took note of while flipping through.  It called our names "Cookie Monsters".

Twin 2 finished the book and what she gathered from this particular chapter is in order to tame the cookie monster we cannot deprive ourselves and starve ourselves and give up something in particular because when we find ourselves alone and in a bad mood/stressed we tend to crave these things (i.e. cookies).  Soooo the best way to tame the cookie monster is to have one cookie a day and eventually you will get sick of them and not desire one anymore.  Meaning COOKIES EVERY DAY!! We’ll let you know how this works for us.

Last Sunday we were scheduled to run 16k but as stated above it was a long weekend and the parents were up so we switched it to Monday evening.  We started running around 5pm and it was another hot and humid day (hopefully the humidity will leave us soon).  We were contemplating on whether or not we should try walk/run intervals but while deciding (during the first 1k) and in true sister fashion we were getting frustrated and annoyed with each other (probably due to the weather AND we left our run so late compared to early morning when we usually do it) so Twin 1 ran her pace and Twin 2 ran her pace.  Technically we ran 16k by ourselves.  Our route stayed on the road with hills included.  It was a good ‘training’ run.  Twin 1 finished about 15 min before Twin 2.  At least we know we can run this on our own if the need ever arises.  During the last 2k all’s Twin 2 could think about when she was finished the run was this:

It was well worth it!

This past week Twin 2 was on vacation and we were going to try to get our runs over with in the morning before Twin 1 had to go to work (just to get them out of the way).  When 4:30 a.m. rolled around we decided we’d prefer to do them at night,

The only run we did this week was our hill run.  We skipped the run on Friday because Twin 2 was at the in-laws and there were thunderstorms happening throughout HRM.  We played it safe.

So today brings us to our long run Sunday again…18K!!! We were up at 4:30 a.m. to get some food into us as we were hoping to be out of the house between 6:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.  We actually got out by 6:30 a.m.  Our route today consisted of road and trail.  Road had some rolling hills and trail was a nice relief.  A little bit of balance.

Getting up so early means setting gear out the night before and being ready to roll.  I'm not sure if you can see here but there is a blue elastic amongst the gear.  (Just a side note: Twin 2 does not take elastics on her runs even though they are one of her addictions).

This morning was a little cooler than previous runs this summer.  It was 16 degrees with a cool breeze every now and again.  We had some sun/cloud/rain mixture on this run as well.  We decided to do 10/1 intervals as it had been 3 days since we ran and 18k seemed like a good chuck of distance to cover.  We loaded ourselves with water/honey stingers/toilet paper (just in case) and off we went.  The run went well and around 8:00 a.m. in the trail we started seeing walkers/runners/bikers so it was nice to have a bit of company as we packed on the kms.  When we reached 16k Twin 2 ran out of steam (Note: at the 16k mark her Garmin indicated that she ran 8 mins faster this go around than last 16k).  Her pace started to slow down and it was a struggle to hit the 18k mark but we got it done.

This what we feel like today:

Now onto 21k.

 

Tip Tuesday

Single-leg directional hops help improve ankle and knee stability for a stronger push-off and landing.  To do this exercise, stand on your left leg, with the right knee raised to hip height, hop forward, landing softly.  Hop back to start, then hop diagonally (to the left) and back to centre, hop to the right and return to start.  Do 12 reps; switch legs.

Score!

FOUND:  1 pair of Asics Gel-Cumulus 15.  Size 7 … ON SALE!!!  (AND $30 cheaper than Twin 2’s ‘on sale price’)

Also FOUND: 2 Adidas sports bras on sale + BOGO $1

WHOOT!  WHOOT!

Tip Tuesday

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Running in a poorly laced shoe can cause the foot to slip around and force the wearer to use more effort to push off, which hastens fatigue.

Bluffing

As Twin 2 usually writes the posts Twin 1 thought it only fair that it was her turn to write. This post was gonna be written at work but because she slacked off for 2 weeks while her manager was away she has reverted to doing this on her new tablet that she received for her birthday courteous of Twin 2 and her hubby.  It's been a great gift but there has been lack of sleep as she's up all night watching Netflix, courteous of them as well.  THANK YOU!

Since PEI we did our long run of 11k (we thought we were scheduled for 15...wishful thinking I guess.  Whaaaaa?) on Sunday which does not seem long anymore .....We started out at the usual Sunday Runday time of 7 a.m.  We managed to beat the heat and saw all kind of humans in the trail doing the same.

Monday was our rest day and Tuesday brought us back to hills.  The hills on our training schedule measure 400m and we were to do 5 repeats.  We assumed this would be a "short and fast" run but we picked a 500m hill so it turned out to be a longer run then expected. 2k there, 1k up and down x5 and 1k home = 8k!  Little did we know that the humidex was way higher then normal and Cindy Day was advising people not to exert themselves in the humidity.  Humidity is humidity at this point.  A gentleman had his sprinkler going at the top of the hill but every time we arrived at the top the sprinkler was always facing the other way.  Needless to say we got er done as always.

I stated above that we ran hills on Tuesday but it was really Wednesday as we had a schedule change.  AND that brought us to our second run on FRIDAY NIGHT!   Who in their right minds wants to run on a Friday night?  It had to be done so we went out for a short 6k trail run.  It was a great night in the trail except for the pesky horse flies....hate horse flies. Nough said.

Saturday morning arose bright and early and Twin 1 and company checked out the Timberlea gem, The Bluff Trail.  Its a great trail and will be explored more as the summer progresses.

That brings us back to Sunday Runday yesterday morning of 14k.  This was exciting for Twin 1 as the last 14k run her Garmin died so today she set a new record of longest run.  ●Note to self: charge Garmin Mondays and Fridays.

We aimed to start out for 630 a.m. but to no avail.  We did manage to get out the door at 6:50 a.m. ... close enough.  This run wasn't as hot as the last one but hot enough.  There wasn't really any sun but we still had to deal with the humidity.  During the first 3k it started to spit big drops of rain and we thought we were in for it but we got lucky and it stopped just as fast as it started ... one of these days.

During the last 2 weeks we have gotten some new gear.  That will be another post.  Chow for now.

Annual Cox & Palmer 5k/10k

Last Saturday morning we had the privilege to run another 5k with Flo.  After the Sole Sisters run she told us about the 5k run her law firm, Cox & Palmer, puts on every year to raise money for prostate cancer and how she wanted us to come over and run it with her.  It didn't take much to convince us.  A weekend in PEI (albeit short), another chance to see Flo, and a nice Saturday morning run.   Sold!

We arrived on the island around 8pm on Friday night and checked into our hotel and then had about an hour visit with Flo. 

Woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to a beautiful sunny and hot morning.  We stayed at the Hotel on Pownal (which seems to be our race hotel of choice as it's so convenient and has a FREE breakfast (not to mention coffee all day and FREE homemade cookies from 3pm to midnight).  Registration for the race was at 8 a.m. so Flo registered us and we met at the park.  This race started at 9 a.m. so as the hour dragged on it got hotter and hotter.  But that's ok because we were running through Victoria Park by the water.  It's always breezy there right?  WRONG!  Not today.  Not a breath of air.  

When the gun when off we started off quick and Twin 2 set a new record for her fastest 1k at 6.53/km....shouldn't have done that.  By km #2 she felt it and the heat/humidity didn't help.  Twin 2 and Flo ran together throughout the race but Twin 1 was a little ahead of us and she made a new friend.  A 65 year old man who just started running and is training for his first 1/2 marathon.  In. Spiring.  He wasn't actually running in this race but was following the same route along the water.  Him and Twin 1 chatted and ran together for about 1.5k and then she lost him at the water station.  She was well ahead of us and we saw her when she was on her way back after the turn around spot.  Instead of waiting for us she just continued on and finished the race ahead of us.  She was there to meet us across the finish line with a cold drink in hand.

And instead of a medal after the race we were given a mug instead.  While a medal is nice, who doesn't need a new mug?

After the run we hung around the park for a bit waiting to see when prizes would be drawn.  They told us around 10:30 a.m.  It was around 10:00 a.m. at that time so our hotel was only 3 blocks away so we went back and gathered up our belongings and walked out the front door. We arrived back at the park around 10:20 a.m. and all the prizes were being drawn at that time.  We didn't win any of the prizes that were still being drawn for and we hoped that our name was still in that bin and we didn't miss winning (if they drew your name and you weren't there they drew another).

After the rest of the prices were drawn we took advantage of the nice weather and took a stroll around the waterfront and a stop at Starbucks for a treat of course.

After our treat and walk around downtown we ventured over to Flo's to see the kiddies and to have a little fun on the trampoline.

We left the Pilons between 1pm and 2pm and headed home.  The only reason we headed home was because we had a long run scheduled for Sunday morning.  We knew for a fact that if we had of stayed in PEI for another night we would not have woken up Sunday morning and went for our run.  So we played it safe and headed back home Saturday night.

After we got home Twin 2 uploaded her Garmin and checked out her race route....

We know it was hot but she doesn't remember running through the harbour, although it would have been a good idea....

We want to end this post with a shout out to Callie Jo.  One year ago yesterday in the early hours of the morning she came into this world two months premature and Twin 2 had the honour of being by her mother's side and witnessing the birth of the little bundle.  She was born at 3lbs 7oz.  A year later she is a force to be reckoned with.  Love you Babe!

Tip Tuesday

Deck yourself out in running gear.  Looking good out there can really give you a mental boost, which is going to make the effort seem easier.  So buy a great-looking, color-coordinated running outfit that you enjoy wearing.

Shopping you say?  Yes, please.

60 days until go time!

An Update in Pictures

We have not updated for a week or two so today we are going to update in pictures:

This week was birthday week.  Twin 1 and Twin 2 split the German Chocolate Cake (fav) and each ate half.

Time for new sneaks.  Twin 2 found a pair in her size (on sale) but Twin 1 had no luck.  We called all over the province for this particular kind and in her size.  We're keeping our eyes open and hope new stock comes in.

We had 2 long runs since we last updated.  First was was 13k and last week was 14k.  We needed to try some fuel so we bought a pack of Fruit Smoothie flavoured Honey Stingers....just like gummies/jube jubes.  Last year we tried sport beans but these are a bit better as the sport beans seems to be more sugarey and you need to drink water with those.  These ones are very easy to chew and don't require water.

And this was fuel for after the 14k.  Can't go wrong with snickers and a coffee.  Hungry?  Grab a snickers.

Found this gem at the Country Market.  The Cinnamon Monster.  Recommend it.

Tuesday we started hill training.  We did 4 repeats of this hill....we picked the biggest/steepest one in Timberlea.

At the top.  As you can see we didn't have much of a view.  It does overlook the lake and the new golf course but that night was misty/foggy which made the run not as fun as we had no view to look forward to at the top.   It does make a difference.

On the way back down.

Tonight we are headed to PEI to run another 5k race with Flo tomorrow.  Updates from that will follow in due course.

Tip Tuesday

Are you drinking enough water?  To check, go to the bathroom.  If your urine looks dark, like iced tea, you're definitely not drinking enough.  Pale yellow is ideal.

(We promise to update this week)