Exploring

This morning at 8:00 a.m. Twin 1, 2, B & Onyx took a 2 hour hike into the Long Lake Provincial Park.  Living in the city as long as we have and Twin 2 has never been there.  Right in our back yard.  It was a beautiful morning this morning (been really nice the last couple of days finally) so we decided to take an adventure.  Here are a few pics of our hike.

And after our hike why not finish it off with some treats from Starbucks while enjoying the sun? Sounds like a good Saturday to us.

Booked!

Race Registration - check
Vacation Approved - check
Hotel Booked - check
Flight Booked - check

Nothing left to do but the training and waiting. WHOOT!!!

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

After the last couple of posts talking about staying on schedule life got in the way on Thursday so we weren’t able to do our 6k scheduled run.  You’ve heard the saying “Everything happens for a reason”?  I believe THIS was the reason.  If Twin 2 hadn’t of been home she would have missed this VERY important/exciting delivery.

 Limited Edition Island Coconut coffee.  Best. Coffee. Ever.

Have no fear.  We made up the run on Friday evening.

Twin 1 got a gift card from Winners so on Saturday we headed out to do a little shopping.  We each got a pair of running capri tights and Twin 2 got two tanks.  Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think we would be wearing tights but we must say they are the best invention yet for running.  And for those of you who can’t wear short shorts while running due to chub rub (we hope someone else has experienced this and we're not alone), please get yourself a pair of tights.

This morning we were scheduled for another 10k so we got up and at ‘em at 7:30 a.m.  I think spring left and winter returned.  This morning’s temps were +7 with a feel like of +3.  It certainly didn't feel nice first starting off but after running a few km it was a perfect temp.  Luckily we haven’t had to run in the rain yet.  This morning was a little misty and chilly but no actual rain.  I’m sure that time will eventually come.

Today with the colder temps we wore our new tights and we also hit a new PB for a 10k (since we bought our Garmins) so we’ll chalk it up to the new outfits.  

Twin 2 has decided that she is meant to be a long distance runner (lets hope for our sake or at least meant to run a 1/2 marathon).  It takes her about 5km to get warmed up, breathing right, mentally stable and to run with no complaints.  This morning at km #9 we were both in the groove, speed picked up and could have continued past 10k.  But we didn't.  We're sticking to the schedule.  No shorter runs, no longer runs.  That time will come when we venture to 11k and beyond.  We'll wait for it.

SPRUMMER

We hope you all had a great long weekend and enjoyed the nice weather.  We were both in the city for the long weekend so we had no trouble keeping with our running schedule but the upcoming months with vacations/trips planned will be a challenge to get out there and stick with it.  As the months dwindle down and spring turns to summer the ½ marathon will be here in no time.  

Since we have parted ways our week consisted of:

05/13/14 - We were scheduled to do a 6km run but we decided to do a 5km with our fellow TTPer’s as we hadn’t run with the group in a very long time.  We ran around 7:30 p.m  and found that time to be the perfect time of night to run in the sprummer. The company was great and the conversation flowed and good times were had by all.  It was nice to be out running with other people for a change.

05/15/14 – We ran our 6km route in the trail around Twin 1’s house. The trail is especially nice and quiet because there is work being done on it at the beginning of Lakeside so people think they either can’t get on it or don’t bother if it’s not fully open.  The temps actually felt like it was a “summer” day, running in tank and capris with the sun just a blazing.

05/18/14 – We had our “long run” 8k this beautiful Sunday morning.  We decided to get the run over with at 7:30 a.m. and we made a wise decision because if the sun had of come out it would have been H.O.T.  After our run our JM menu called for some waffles and berries and freshly brewed pot of Mexican coffee.  YUM!

While other people were running the Bluenose or just getting ready to start we pretty much had our run finished and a nice breakfast in front of us.  While we were running we asked ourselves “Why didn’t we just sign up for the Bluenose 10k as we were scheduled to run 8k anyway?”.  The Bluenose 10k was the first race we ever ran 2 years ago and we enjoyed every minute of it but we have no desire to run it again.  When we started running we said that we would run a different race in a different place every year which gives us a chance to travel and run at the same time.  We ran the PEI 10k last year and this year we planned the Army Run Half in Ottawa.  The only repeat run so far will be the Sole Sisters race in June but that is a fun run where we get to eat chocolate while running.  Who wouldn’t do that every opportunity they get?

05/20/14 – We were scheduled to run 5km again as that seems to be all our schedule consists of now on the weeknights which is fine because in the next couple of months we get into the tempo runs and hill training.  We are really looking forward to that (NOT!) but it will be a change and know that it’s important in our training.

We completed the first week of our JM menu and things went pretty well.  This past weekend at the grocery store wasn’t as difficult as last weekend but we still had some trouble and spent 2 hours shopping.  Bok Choy was on our ‘trouble’ list this week as the sign said 'bok choy' but all green leafy things looked the same.  There are still a few things we still haven’t been able to find since last week, ie. cannellini beans (where do they put those cannellini beans???)

This week we have added some weight training to the schedule as well.  We will get more into that next week.  We just need to get into the groove and routine and get our minds ready for both.

The last few runs haven’t been the most funnest.  Twin 2 is starting to get some shin splits every now and again but she just runs through them and they are gone after a few km.  Every once in a while our knees bother us but it’s not on a regular basis nor on every run.  This is the first time we’ve experienced this as we have never had problems before so something we need to look into. 
 

We are talking about MAYBE setting a time goal for the half instead of just finishing but that is something we will think about in the coming months and see how our training progresses.

Back to Basics

And so we complete our first week of running after vacation. 

More days than not now it’s starting to feel like spring and with the spring running weather comes the spring smells, i.e. BBQ, freshly cut grass, etc. It’s nice to be outside this time of year. 

With the temps rising and falling it’s still pretty hard to gauge what to wear for running. We have established that any temps +10 and over requires a t-shirt/tank & shorts/capris. Anything else is shorts/capris & long sleeve shirt. Our long run this past Sunday was another 10k and it was muggy and yucky. By km #5 we were ready to strip. Lesson learnt. A lot of people were out on the trail walking/running/biking and we even ran across a local celebrity in the Timberlea running blog world :)

All in all it was a successful week and now we are back on track and headed for the finish line. We have made a commitment that no matter what happens or what’s going on with family, friends, etc running comes first (until September 22). 

Back in January both of us signed up for the JM 90 day Body Revolution Challenge and did well until Twin 2 gave up during the last week. JM also has a meal plan that we did not follow during the challenge but thought why not give it a try because if it works for her type of workouts and strength training then why not for running? This isn’t a diet, it’s a ‘meal plan’. 

We printed off the meal plan on Friday and Saturday afternoon/evening was spent wondering around the grocery store trying to find things like cumin, cannellini beans (still can't find these), rice vinegar/balsamic vinegar/cider vinegar/red wine vinegar/white vinegar (who knew there were so many types of vinegar?) etc. 

Sunday was spent trying to divide all ingredients up between us and prepping a few meals to help us get meals prepared at least one day in advance. We had to recruit our little sista, Wi, to give us some cooking lessons as she, like any other normal person, knew what ‘broil’ was. We however, did not. About 3 hours later with 3 of us cooking in the kitchen we were one meal ahead. 

Our fridge is now full and our cupboards are empty.  We have not used/bought anything that was packaged in a box.  This means all ‘healthy’ food right?!

Here are a few pics of some of the things that were on our menu so far this week: 

 

1. Veggie burger with salad

2.  Spinach omelet with berries and pita

3. Salmon cakes with salad

4. Spicy & cheesy pumpkin seeds (attempt) 

Week one has been a challenge (see burnt pumpkin seeds above) and neither one of us have ever spent this much time in the kitchen but it’s fun learning of new foods and recipes.  We have tasted things for the first time (i.e. veggie burgers, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, beans, etc.)  The learning curve has been a big one and we still have a ways to go.  Hopefully this upcoming long weekend we’ll get ahead and the nights next week won’t be so busy with running/prepping/eating food and our grocery list won’t be so long or expensive.

Hope everyone enjoys their long weekend!

HOLA!

Vacation is over! 

Do you think we ran while in Mexico?  If so, you have more faith in us that we do ourselves.  This is what last week consisted of:

Now back at it tonight.

In Vacation Mode

Well it hasn't even been a month and we derailed, but for good reason.  After we ran our 10k on Monday we took a 'break' this week getting ready for MEXICO!!!  We leave in 13.5 hours!!  We spent the evenings this week getting ready/last minute shopping/packing, etc.  Our plan is to do a couple of short runs (3k) while down there but with the feel like temps of 49/50 degrees we'll see what happens.  There is the option of the resort gym but outside is so much better. 

Our plan when we return home is to train hard core as there will only be 4 MONTHS LEFT until race day!  EEEEEEEEKKKKKK!   So we'll enjoy this week :)

Until we check in again, have a great week!

One Month Almost Done

Last Sunday's long run was 8k.  We certainly know how to pick routes.  At 4k we hit a hill (Beech Tree Run if anyone is familiar with the area) and it was a toughie however, the run back down the hill on the other hand was a breeze. 

We used our auto pause function on the Garmin on this run for the stop lights.  We thought it worked great but as you can see from the picture it stopped tracking Twin 1's km at 6k but the timer kept going.  Twin 2 thinks Twin 1 is just too fast for the Garmin but from her pace you would think differently.

The weather was beautiful and we may have overdressed once again as it felt like we were Britney Spears in her sauna suit.

More Prezzies!!

We know it's been a while since we've updated but rest assured we are still in this thing.  Look for updates soon.

Now we could not pass up posting about this as soon as it arrived.  We received our Road IDs in the mail today!! YAY!

What is a road id you ask?  

"Road ID was created on the concept that active people should wear ID as part of their gear when participating in outdoor activities. It was started by a couple of guys who began to wonder "why in the heck don't we have ID on us when we go out for a run or a ride?" We looked at our dogs, they had ID. But, if we had an unexpected accident, while running or cycling, we would be in bad shape - nobody would know who we were or who to contact. That freaked us out."

We saw a fellow TTPer had one and thought what a GREAT idea so we had to have one.  Our thoughts were, what would happen in the summer on our long runs if we become dehydrated and passed out OR what would happen if while running on the trail we were attacked by either a bear or coyote (hopefully with our road id still attached to a part of our body) and someone eventually stumbled upon us, how would they know who we were or who to contact?  

Problem solved.

Now with our new Garmins and Road IDs we are starting to accumulate the same amount of accessories/gadgets that are on our bikes...

Week 2

Monday – rest day – YAY for rest day!

Tuesday – ran 4k on dreadful treadmill again as it was a hurricane outside. 

Wednesday – Ripped video – level 2 - AKA plank city

Thursday - 5k -  We were contemplating on which house to run from or  if we wanted to run with our fellow TTP’ers at 6:30 p.m. or to go out right after work and get it over with.  We opted to get it over with.  Twin 1 made the decision to include the trail in our route as it is nice and flat.  BIG MISTAKE!   The first 0.8k was all downhill.  Great pace.  Next 3k was in the trail which was mucky and muddy and it felt like we were running in quicksand.  Pace sure slowed down here but it was nice to be able to finally run in the trail again.  Our last 0.5k we turned the corner to head home and it is 0.5k of uphill into the headwind.  Nice way to end off a run.  Twin 2 was going to take a pic of the trail but what little momentum she had she did not want to lose it.  Next time.

Once again it’s this time of year where you have no idea what to wear when outside for a run.  Temps were 7 with a feel like of 4.  Wind was strong and chilly but the sun was shining.

The exciting news of the night was we got to use our GARMINs!!! We had a similar watch at one time but it was cheap and order straight from China.  It was very difficult to work.  The Garmin is a BREEZE!!   We would recommend it to anyone.  Well worth the money. Turns out we ordered the watches that matched our shirts…this was not planned, just the way it happened.

Friday – REST day again!! Whoot!