First week of Fall

For a first week of Fall, it's been a glorious example of perfection.  Okay, so I could have done without the +29C temps on Saturday, but today is +18C, the sun is shining and it looks perfect out.  I, of course, am now trapped at my desk, stuck indoors, due to a last minute crisis at work that needs to be dealt with.  "I'm on it!!"  That should be my battle cry!  Oh, well, I'll get my fill of Fall when I hit up boot camp later.

I really needed last night's class, although the run up Douglas Fir and the Bitch Path repeatedly, especially after Melissa's, was a little taxing on the legs.  While I didn't make the poorest of choices while playing in Banff this weekend, I didn't make the best either, and really felt my over-indulgence when I woke up yesterday.  I felt bloated and lethargic, and Mr. Scale was.not.kind!  I've been doing my best to eat clean ever since, and am getting the water in.  Flush it all out, please.

I am happy to report that my new shoes and socks did great at Melissa's on Saturday.  Nary a blister or sore to speak of.  I did break two cardinal rules that day, running in both new shoes and socks (a type I have never tried before, being sort of compression) but I survived.  The running gods were smiling upon me.

Boot camp last night may have been a small group, but we were hard core!  After warming up on Douglas Fir (right to the top this time), we returned to a good old circuit of add-ons.  Started with step-ups, then push-ups, then jump rope, then dips.  Return to start...add curl/press/drops (I don't know what to call these...curl up, then press the weights, then control the drop back down the front with arms straight), do push-ups, add foot crunches (again, don't know what they're called, but when you crunch, you touch your fingers to the bottom of your feet (knees to chest)), add sumo squats, skip, dips, add incline presses.  Return to start, and repeat...adding lat raises, adding toe touches, adding skaters, adding leg-drivers, return to start.  Black out...wait, that may have just been me!

Then, for kicks, we grabbed our weights and moved up to the base of the Bitch path.  There we did bent-over rows, flies and kick-backs...run up the path.  Repeat...times 3.  Again, with the blacking out thing!  Finished the day with weighted toe touches, banana hold and scissor kicks.  Then some good old fashioned sit ups and negatives and another hour has flown by. 

Since I was meeting up with H-woman for dinner (noodles, sans the actual noodles for me!  So...broth, chicken and vegetables!), but not for another hour, I decided to wander through the dog park and take some fall pictures.  Is it weird to wander through a dog park without a dog?!  Some of the dogs seemed to think so, as they just did not know what to think about me!  Run up wagging, then stop and look at me like "wait a minute...something doesn't smell right here..." and then back away slowly!  Not sure whether to be offended or not!

This is part of the dog park at Edworthy...

Top of the BA Hill, viewing from the south...

Road down into Edworthy Park...

Ooooo...artistic!

Had dinner, a good long visit and then home.  Not sure what I did to totally waste my evening, but didn't do anything once home, yet didn't make it to bed until 11:30!  And I wonder why I'm always tired.

Tonight's boot camp should be equally fun/punishing...we're meeting up at Weaslehead, which means more hills...I'll try to take some snaps of it.

Later,

Melissa's 20.65

Seriously doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?  Melissa's 22 is what the race really is, but due to construction (curses), the course had to be modified slightly.

Drove up to Banff Friday night after boot camp...yes, I still did my hour boot camp the night before a long run.  I am hard core!  And Trainer Josh put us through our leg paces, with a climb up the BA hill, squat tabata, lunge/leg drive tabata and general running around.  All of that past work has definitely made my legs and core stronger.  Since I had already picked up my race package on Thursday (when I was helping out, and therefore earning my bib fee back...score!), I didn't have to worry about anything other than driving to and checking into my hotel.

Staying at the Driftwood again, which is an older hotel "attached" to a newer, fancier one.  Funny part is the $100 difference in rate, since I still get to use all the facilities at the other hotel, but pay much less.  Granted the rooms are simple and a little dated, but who cares?  As long as it has a bed, a bathroom and is clean, that's all I really need.  Oh, and the mini-coffee maker!  Three cheers for the mini-coffee maker!!  Met up with C. & K. and went into downtown to find dinner, ending up at the Elksman (something like that) for a pint of Guinness (most excellent pre and post race fuel!) and a chicken wrap with salad.  Broke the carb rule, but not by much...and I did have a race in the morning.

Woke up yesterday to a glorious day in the mountains.  Second day of Fall, and the temps were forecast to hit +29C!  That's almost 90F, for crying out loud!  I was a bit concerned about the heat...you all know how much I "love" running in the heat...but thought with the mountains, trees and altitude, it wouldn't be that bad.  I was a little wrong!  K. & C. walked down to my hotel, and then we all walked up to the recreation grounds where the race started.  Because the race is in September, they have a wonderfully late start...10:30 for the 10k, and 10:40 for the 22.  C. was running the 10, but we lost sight of her in the sea of people!  I think there were 4,000-5,000 running in total, and add to that "race support" and the town's population certainly doubled quickly!  Met up with my hiking ladies, M., S. and J., and ran into many others from the running groups at Eau Claire, and we settled into our pace groups in the queue.  J. was aiming for a 2 hour finish, so moved ahead of us.  I wanted a 2:30 finish, which is fast for me, and M. & S. were there to pace me, as they run about a 2:15 normally.  Awesome gals!  Heart them all!

We started, and M. was in charge of pacing.  I just set Mr. Garmin for the distance and did my very best to concentrate on my legs and breathing and not obsessively glance at him every 4 seconds!  We were running 10:1's, which for the first 11-12k felt pretty good.  Not too fast, although we did get caught in the drag a couple of times (when the front-runners blew past us, on their second lap, and when some friends ran past too!) but for the most part, I felt pretty good.  Sadly, it got hot.  And that took it's usual toll.  I didn't want to slow down the ladies, but I just couldn't seem to stay in the groove...so we dropped to 5:1's, and then 2:1's and then finally 1:1's...but that helped.  We also picked up other runners along the way, who weren't doing so well, and said 'run with us, we'll get you to the finish line'.  A lady from Edmonton joined us at about the 11k mark, and we picked up a gentleman from Calgary at about marker 15.  The five of us did 1:1's the rest of the way in, encouraging each other, laughing, joking, getting to know each other, and generally having an amazing race.

And the best part??  Finishing feeling strong, upright and at 2:35:58!!!!!  Even with my "slow down", I still blew my former times out of the water.  Granted, it's hard to compare, since we're missing 1.35k, but I don't care.  I felt great, and there was beer waiting at the finish line!  That's almost better than chocolate milk...almost.  K., who was my pacer for my first marathon clinic, came in at 2:49, which is not bad for her first time at Melissa's.  It really is a challenging race, not necessarily because of the hills (there's really not a lot on the long course, the 10k is another story), but it is harder to run at these high elevations, and it was a hot day.  And there's usually a good head-wind by the club house on the golf course...who knows why it's that spot, but it's always that spot!

We sat, rested up, gathered all the peeps together and then walked back into town to the Rose & Crown, which was SLAMMED with runners, desperate for food and more beer!  We did have to wait awhile for service, but once he made it to us, was great.  Had a pint (or two), and enjoyed a lamb pita sandwich (yes, I know...darn carbs) with salad and roasted veggies.  I "may" have tasted some of J.'s nachos...but what happens in Banff, stays in Banff...right peeps?!

Everyone went their separate ways (some were driving home to Calgary, some off to visit other friends, me and C., back to our hotels) and then later in the evening, C. and I met up for dinner.  We went to Magpie and Stump, a very good Tex-Mex restaurant in town that has been here as long as I can remember.  I most definitely broke the carb rule last night, as we shared seafood cerviche, served with corn chips, and then I had the chicken enchilada dinner.  I didn't eat the rice, save for a couple of bites, and left most of the refried beans, but let's face it...the chicken wasn't wrapped in a lettuce leaf, was it?!  But it was good, as was the sangria (it was fruit once, wasn't it) but I was so full afterwards, we ended up walking around town, just to get the bloating down!

I slept till I felt like waking up this morning (after blacking out at 10:30!), getting probably 11 hours of zzzz's.  Awesome.  I should get ready and pack up, since C. and I will meet up for brunch/lunch soon, and I need to check out.  Sadly back to reality.  However, I need to check the lottery tickets...maybe waking up in Banff every morning could be my new reality!  That would be sweet.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Later,

Fresh mountain air

Sorry - no post last night.  It was a LONG day, as I was at Edworthy Park  at 6am (yes, AM!) for boot camp.  That meant the alarm went off at 5...yuck!  After an hour of running, push-ups, squats, jumping rope, curls, rows, etc, I drove to the nearest Starbucks, grabbed my 6-shots of heaven and drove into work.  Who the heck are all these people, and why are they in my way?!  I don't get how people drive to work every single day.  I would have to hurt myself...walking in is so much more peaceful!  Got to the office, changed and got all purdy for the office, and sat at my desk by 8.  Walked on by the meeting room filled with pizza, pop and Caesar salads at lunch, on my way to Weight Watchers.  I am strong like ox!  Although that pizza smelled damn good!!  People questioned how I could walk away from pizza (a gift from our VP for surviving year end), and I just said I was allergic to it...it makes my butt swell. 

My strength was rewarded, as I lost another 1.2 pounds at weigh-in.  That pushed me past 40 (it's been a year) and resulted in a 10 pound loss since letting Trainer Josh push me around 5 days a week, and tell me what to (and what not to) eat every day!  It sounds like a concentration camp, but he's very easy going, and we do joke about it all the time.  He really does care that I get back my live, and therefore my ability to run, to speed up, to hike, to climb, to lift...to move in general without pain.  And I really don't miss the carbs after 3pm.  It just makes me take a closer look at what I'm actually putting in mouth.  What a concept, huh??  Move more and eat less.  Wow.  We should market it!

After work, I went over to Eau Claire to help out with package pick-up for Melissa's Road Race.  It's an annual race in Banff, Canada,  that is so popular, it sells out in 2-3 hours every year.  I'm running the 22 (don't know who came up with 22, rather than 21.1 but it's what it's always been - there's a 10k too) with some of the hiking ladies, and am aiming for a 2:30 finish.  This year this is some construction, so the route had to be changed and is "only" 20.67 or something like that.  Just won't be the same, but it's still an excuse to spend the weekend in Banff, one of my favourite places in the world.  And for handing out race bibs, and answering questions, I got my entry fee paid back to me.  Yippee!  Ran into said ladies last night, as they returned from a training run, so we all went to the Barley Mill for beer and dinner.  Threw the staff over there off a little (yes, we are there every Wednesday night) but I had my usual...Guinness,  mussels (no bread) and salad.  Got home after 10pm, so went straight to bed.  Did not turn on computer, did not pass go!

Returned to normal routine today...work, walked up to Gord's Running Store at lunch and finally got some women's runners that fit, walked back to the office (5k total?), had lunch, made it home, packed, changed, loaded up the truck, went to boot camp (Tabata Friday!), filled the truck  with fuel and drove to Banff.  Some highway trouble before leaving the city (a jeep on fire at side of road...no one hurt) but made it here, changed again, met up with C. & K., who are both running tomorrow, and had some dinner.  A pint, a nice walk through downtown Banff (and where the weather is phenomenal!) and I am back in my hotel, catching up on blogs and winding down.

Okay...I have the alarm set - this race has a gloriously late start at 10:40 - and my gear all laid out.  Time to crawl into bed.  Race and day recap tomorrow night.

Later,

A really quick one

Must head for bed soon, as I'm going to go to boot camp at 6 am tomorrow.  Yes, that was an A followed by an M.  Be afraid...pretty sure it's one of the 7 signs!!!!

Boot camp last night was a Weaslehead-a-thon...I think by the time class ended, we had run the hill a good 6-7 times.  Over 3km clocked, which for a boot camp is a lot.  Feeling my hamstrings today, from the hill and the dead-lefts.

Tonight we ran the BA hill, and instead of our usual stairs, we did some trail running through the woods.  Then we got down to business, with a lot of focus on the quads.  Ow...  The morning class should be interesting.

Typical Wednesday meal of Guinness, mussels (no bread) and salad.  Boring, but delicious. 

I really have to shut down here...the alarm is going to go off earlier than normal, and I don't know how I feel about that yet!

Later,

Name Change

I have been mulling this for awhile, and finally decided to just do it.  I'm changing my name.  Okay, not MY name, but the blog name.  Mytimein09 was just...well...outdated.  After all, 2009 was two years ago, and quite frankly this is the year that I've really had the greatest transformations, whether they be physical or emotional.  I have turned into a RunnerGirl.  I am not fast, but I run.  I do not win, but I run.  And sometimes, I don't run, but I finish what I start.  So, Mytime is now RunnerGirl48.  Tell all your friends.  I hopefully have told all 14 of my followers!  LOL!

Good boot camp tonight, as the rain of the morning cleared away to a rather lovely afternoon.  Sunny but still a little crisp.  This is actually my favourite time of year, as I love that little bite in the air.  After a warm-up run (paths were too wet for Douglas Fir or the Hill), we got down to business, moving from circuit to circuit, pumping, jumping, bending, pulling and pushing.  Every body part got used, and used to the max.  Despite the cooler weather, I still managed to sweat up a storm. 

Home, fed and catching up on Facebook and blogland.  Aiming to be in bed by 10pm, so the Charlie Sheen roast and Two and a Half Men are on the PVR, waiting to record.   Sleep more important.  Sleep make me stronger...faster...leaner...nicer...hehehehe.

Later,

A hike for all seasons

After a quick conference with the warden, we (eight of us today) decided on the nice and easy hike of Hummingbird Plume.  A total of 12km, 300m rise...gentle and kind, especially since almost half of us just finished a 100km race a mere 7 days earlier! 

Of course, this is how all of our hikes start...simple and easy.  Then we get to the pass, or peak, or point of interest and say "is that it??"  or "let's try this way"...every time!  Saturday was no exception.

The weather started off cool, but the forecast was dry.  Silly weatherman!  It rained while we drove into K-country, but then stopped as we all got ready.  Swear that takes longer than it does to drive sometime.

Miss J., ready to roll with go-cup and everything!  LOVE the gaters!  Note the damp ground.

It's raining...no, wait.  It's foggy...no, wait.  It's sunny...okay, for now.  Once we reached Hummingbird (after getting a little turned around and crossing Nakiska ski slopes in error), we decided to add to the distance and go up to Skogen Pass.

Yes, that is the town of Canmore off in the distance.  We joked about just continuing on and taking a taxi back to the cars.  Joking, people...we really were joking!  After a very civilized lunch (meaning we sat at an actual table!), we were on our way back down to the cars, realizing we had passed what we had initially intended to hike by a couple of klicks already.  After having to strip off a few layers, due to the sun and heat, we all had to bundle up again.  And why, you ask?!  Because it is September and we were in the mountains...which are notorious for quick weather patterns.

Yup...that'd be SNOW!  Great big fat flakes of snow.  It wasn't that cold (okay, ask the others...I'm biased as I'm always hot these days), and it really was pretty.  We kept going down, down, down the mountain (snow stopped...sun came back out briefly), and then we decided we had to see the Troll Falls.  "Just" a quick side route off the trail...but worth it.

We finally started making our way back to the cars, and when all was said and done, we have covered 26kms and spent over 7 hours hiking, noshing, laughing (I entertained (or horrified) the others with tales of my social life) and generally spending another glorious day in the mountains.  May they never end.

Later,

A great day

I totally kicked ass at boot camp.  I mean KICKED ASS!!  I lead the pack almost the whole way through the first circuits.  A-mazing!  I was a "steppin-up, jumping jacker, 1-legged squater, dipper, incline pusher, rowing, lat pulling, curling, burpee-pumping, sprinting, row pushing, v-sitting presser, bench pressing" MACHINE!!  Boo-yah!  After the circuit (and # 2, when we doubled everything), we did some killer squat to chest pull to shoulder press to drop arms to side raise.  Repeat 10 times.  Then we moved to the trees and did wall sits with curls to shoulder press to controlled arms down.  Stand up and do squats while holding weights high above head.  Repeat all 30 times.  I admit that I had to drop one weight after the first round, for fear of dropping it on my head!  End the class with hip raises, rowing, scissors, window-wipers (drop legs side to side, like a wiper blade), full sit-ups and negatives.  Another sweaty hour under my belt.

Took me by surprise as well, since yesterday it was all I could do to merely walk up the stairs, let alone "turn and fire".  And I was beat today...we stayed out a little late last night celebrating with a couple of the Coulee Chicks (awesome ladies who completed the 100k ultra in Lethbridge on the weekend), and while I was good, sticking to only 1 pint of Guinness, I was still really dragging today.  So much so that I was ready to sleep right after lunch, and had a brief nap when I got home.  Weird dreams though that revolved around boot camp, construction sites and having to balance on long thin poles over deep holes.  Very odd...but apparently what I needed.

Swung by PetPlanet for some food for George.  He has decided that his diabetic food sucks, so we're going the organic way, with little or no carbs per can.  So far, so good.  He practically dances while I'm putting the food down...yay.  I hate throwing away ignored food from his dish.  Then I picked up an easy but good dinner at the Safeway next door...turkey meatloaf (a favourite of mine), tomato and baby mozzarella salad and some mixed, marinated veggies (tomatoes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, baby corn and celery).  Quick and easy is what I wanted, since I didn't get home until after 8.  Late boot camp is hard for this.  It will take some planning through the winter months, especially since I still won't be speaking to potatoes, rice or pasta!!!!

I managed to lose what I found last week, and a touch more, bringing me to within .2 pound of 40 down.  Looking back, I'm almost where I was last October in Toronto (where I PB'd), so I am really focused on blowing past that.  Maybe that's what was driving my legs today.  The fire in my belly!!

Good day at work too...I officially sent my announcement around to the people I deal with, letting them know that after 11.5 years (yes, that says YEARS) I will be switching jobs within my company and walking away from everything I know, oh so well, to try my hand at something new (to me!).  I'm still in my same department and with the same team, but my focus will be completely different.  It's going to be hard, I am more than a little scared, and really excited.  Sadly I was getting bored and it was time for a change.  I am blessed to have a manager that recognized that and encourages his team.  I don't have an exact start date (trying to finish up with year end first), and we haven't even posted my job yet, but this will all come over the next few weeks or so.  Boot camp will become even more vital, as I maintain my balance through all the chaos.

Okay, it's 10:17 and I vowed today at WW to get a good nights sleep!!  Six hours or so, day after day, just doesn't cut it.

Later,