It's Christmas time (well in a month it is, anyway...) and people are STRESSED!
The pressure of finding the perfect gifts for all of the wonderful people in your life, organizing time to spend with family and friends, preparing for a big trip away...Christmas...wonderful AND stressful!
Do yourself a favour. Go running. Keep running. And even better, do it outside in the crisp winter air. Trust me, all that fresh air and those lovely little exercise induced endorphins will reduce your stress level and keep you smiling and humming those Christmas carols.
For an excellent read on running stressed, check out the following article from Runner's World...
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--13333-2-1-2,00.html
Take a second and have a look- it just might save you this Christmas!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Revolution.
That’s it. My running purist days are over. Yep, that’s right. O-V-E-R.I’m going to start training with a gadget. And that gadget is a Garmin!
Garmin- a lovely little wrist-watch type GPS that keeps track of:
Distance
Pace
Calories
Heart Rate
Where in the world you are running
Where you are in relation to your goal pace (note: I plan on ALWAYS being ahead- hee)
Lap times
And I’m sure a zillion more things that I haven’t even figured out yet.
I must give credit where credit is due…the Garmin was purchased for me by my biggest and tallest fan for my birthday upon returning from his never ending trip to the Sahara Desert. What a lovely and thoughtful gift for a running crazed lunatic like me! Anyhow, I went for my first official run with my Garmin on Sunday. Those of you who know me well will know that I have a wee bit of a competitive side, and Garmin sure does nurture that competitive side! I was in a MAJOR race with Garmin. MAJOR. It really, really did push me to run much faster than I normally would…so I do believe this is going to be revolutionary for me. That’s right- all sorts of good can only come of this as I will train harder, faster and smarter, all thanks to that little gem on my wrist…and to the tall guy who purchased it!
Second: There is going to be a revolution. A running one. Let’s just call it a Running Revolution. Deets to follow. Stay tuned…
P.S.- AC is running the Santa Barbara marathon in just a short 19 days! Wow. Nice work, lady! The Winterstart crew is certain that you are going to rock it out. Rock.It.Out. Especially since you aren’t even the slightest bit concerned about a bathroom pit stop. Hee. PLEASE everyone- positive thoughts and energy her way through the last little bit of training and for the race!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Up The Mountain We Went!
Ains and Pyb came. We ran. We flipped. We did not get kicked out of our hotel. A monumental Winterstart for sure.
I should mention that it was a fabulous night for a run. Just as one should picture an evening run in the town of Banff…lovely snow falling against the mountain and tree back drop…picturesque indeed! Albeit a bit slick! But I am happy to report that no one wiped out on the run. After the bar on the way home, however, was an entirely different matter; and no, it wasn’t me! Luckily enough the only injury was to the “pride” as this lovely reported to the RCMP officer who witnessed the fall. Too bad this didn’t translate into a ride back to the hotel!
I would like to share the following (FUNNY) Winterstart results with ya’ll…
204 28/213 F3039 843 Andrea RICE Calgary 43:50 8:46
205 29/213 F3039 254 Amanda ELLIS Calgary 43:51 8:47
206 30/213 F3039 842 Ainsley RICE Winnipeg 43:51 8:47
Why so funny? Well, for starters, Ellis didn’t run as she is nursing an injured knee. So Ains ran with her own chip timer AND Ellis’…just because…and Ains and I ran together…so it’s VERY funny that Ellis managed to appear ahead of her in the results! Hee. Anyhow, another Winterstart bites the dust. And I hope to recover in time to participate next year.
I should mention that it was a fabulous night for a run. Just as one should picture an evening run in the town of Banff…lovely snow falling against the mountain and tree back drop…picturesque indeed! Albeit a bit slick! But I am happy to report that no one wiped out on the run. After the bar on the way home, however, was an entirely different matter; and no, it wasn’t me! Luckily enough the only injury was to the “pride” as this lovely reported to the RCMP officer who witnessed the fall. Too bad this didn’t translate into a ride back to the hotel!
I would like to share the following (FUNNY) Winterstart results with ya’ll…
204 28/213 F3039 843 Andrea RICE Calgary 43:50 8:46
205 29/213 F3039 254 Amanda ELLIS Calgary 43:51 8:47
206 30/213 F3039 842 Ainsley RICE Winnipeg 43:51 8:47
Why so funny? Well, for starters, Ellis didn’t run as she is nursing an injured knee. So Ains ran with her own chip timer AND Ellis’…just because…and Ains and I ran together…so it’s VERY funny that Ellis managed to appear ahead of her in the results! Hee. Anyhow, another Winterstart bites the dust. And I hope to recover in time to participate next year.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Finally
Yes! It's finally here. WINTERSTART! Love Winterstart! LIVE for Winterstart! So excited for a weekend of fun and shenanigans with my peeps in Banff! A small list of the things I have been looking forward to re: Winterstart...
1. Ains and Pyb making the annual trek for the event
2. Visiting with the larger group of "those girls" of which I am a card holding member and proud of it!
3. Wine, beer and hopefully NO shooters!
4. Flippy cup. Really, I left this for number 4?
5. Staying out of trouble (?) and hopefully out of jail. Eep! Good thing we have lawyers in the group (at least 4 or so I'm told...)
And lest I forget, the "intended" purpose of the yearly fun that is Winterstart...the run up (2.5 miles UP the mountain, and then 2.5 down) Tunnel Mountain on Saturday night. What could be better than a quick 5 mile night run complete with snowflakes and glow sticks. FUN!
One more thing...I also need to mention that my biggest and tallest fan is here! Yay! After a LONG almost 3 month wait, he is finally here. And although he won't be in Banff for the race, I am looking damn forward to the care he will provide me on Sunday post run, which will certainly be more for my post Winterstart hangover.
Friday, October 30, 2009
New Shoes!
No offense New Balance, but your shoes are stiff. STIFF. Like my feet are cramping a bit stiff. But they sure are pretty. And this fact alone has lead my to wear my brand new orange and white New Balance shoes to work today. Also today, I’m sporting my brand new Chicago marathon T, purchased very generously by one JRICE as she hit up the Big C just prior to marathon weekend. Nothing like moonlighting as a marathon runner! Practically every person I see hits me with, "WOW- did you run in the Chicago marathon?" To which I smile pleasantly and respond, “No, I plan to someday!"
Anyhow- I digress. Really, what I wanted to put out there in the world today was a great big thank-you to the Harvest Half Marathon and the Tech Shop, as they are responsible for the fabulous new kicks I'm sporting. No, I have not managed to become a sponsored marathoner (I WISH!) but I am thrilled to report (and also slightly embarrassed) that back at the beginning of October when I ran in the Harvest Half Marathon, I somehow managed to cross the line first for women. While I would like to attribute this first and likely only win to my exceptional training and dedication, I can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that it was probably a huge fluke, and one I’m relatively certain won't be repeated. There are simply too many variables on race day to ever go into a race believing you're going to win it. The good news is that along with the glory of being able to say that I crossed the line first, I won a prize! YAY! New Balance shoes from the Tech Shop…which I picked up last weekend and have been wearing all week. I am hugely appreciative to have won these shoes! Although I’m not going to make the switch to actually train and run in New Balance, I am very happy to have a new pair of “wear around” shoes. Thanks Harvest Half marathon! Thanks Tech Shop! Thanks a million!
For those of you who train religiously on the pavement, paths, track or treadmill, you know just what I mean when I say that new shoes are just a lovely little treat for your feet, knees, hips and lower back. And while new shoes are a bit pricey, I’d like everyone who has been putting off the purchase of new running shoes to consider the wear and tear that running has on your body. Let’s be honest- it’s significant. Our bodies certainly were not made to withstand the punishment of marathon training. So while the $150 bucks may seem like a bit of a stretch when there are other bills to pay and more “fun” items to purchase (I can think of about a million), consider it an investment in your “joint” health. Believe me, when your 40, 50 or 60, your joints will remember the favour and will pay you back ten fold. And hopefully your running career can continue into your old age because your body is happy!
And one last little note before I get back to the task of enlightening the student world with my vast knowledge of biology (?), I should mention that I am scaling back on the running. Time to let the injuries heal and the body prepare for the next round of punishment…oops I mean training. After all, now that I’m wearing the shirt from Chicago, I should actually earn the right to say I ran in it!
Anyhow- I digress. Really, what I wanted to put out there in the world today was a great big thank-you to the Harvest Half Marathon and the Tech Shop, as they are responsible for the fabulous new kicks I'm sporting. No, I have not managed to become a sponsored marathoner (I WISH!) but I am thrilled to report (and also slightly embarrassed) that back at the beginning of October when I ran in the Harvest Half Marathon, I somehow managed to cross the line first for women. While I would like to attribute this first and likely only win to my exceptional training and dedication, I can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that it was probably a huge fluke, and one I’m relatively certain won't be repeated. There are simply too many variables on race day to ever go into a race believing you're going to win it. The good news is that along with the glory of being able to say that I crossed the line first, I won a prize! YAY! New Balance shoes from the Tech Shop…which I picked up last weekend and have been wearing all week. I am hugely appreciative to have won these shoes! Although I’m not going to make the switch to actually train and run in New Balance, I am very happy to have a new pair of “wear around” shoes. Thanks Harvest Half marathon! Thanks Tech Shop! Thanks a million!
For those of you who train religiously on the pavement, paths, track or treadmill, you know just what I mean when I say that new shoes are just a lovely little treat for your feet, knees, hips and lower back. And while new shoes are a bit pricey, I’d like everyone who has been putting off the purchase of new running shoes to consider the wear and tear that running has on your body. Let’s be honest- it’s significant. Our bodies certainly were not made to withstand the punishment of marathon training. So while the $150 bucks may seem like a bit of a stretch when there are other bills to pay and more “fun” items to purchase (I can think of about a million), consider it an investment in your “joint” health. Believe me, when your 40, 50 or 60, your joints will remember the favour and will pay you back ten fold. And hopefully your running career can continue into your old age because your body is happy!
And one last little note before I get back to the task of enlightening the student world with my vast knowledge of biology (?), I should mention that I am scaling back on the running. Time to let the injuries heal and the body prepare for the next round of punishment…oops I mean training. After all, now that I’m wearing the shirt from Chicago, I should actually earn the right to say I ran in it!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Human Race
In exactly 11 minutes I will be leaving to run in the Nike+ Human Race...
http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/humanrace/?id=race_day
Very cool. Very, VERY cool!
And just in case anyone's wondering...
I AM A CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER! YAY! And I am ready to assess your posture, range of motion and write you a program. Whether you want to train for a marathon, half, 10k or hit the gym to recommit to health and fitness, let me know...I AM YOUR WOMAN!
And now I must run...
P.S. I can train you...or your mother...or your brother...or your lover...or your mother's brother's lover...
http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/humanrace/?id=race_day
Very cool. Very, VERY cool!
And just in case anyone's wondering...
I AM A CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER! YAY! And I am ready to assess your posture, range of motion and write you a program. Whether you want to train for a marathon, half, 10k or hit the gym to recommit to health and fitness, let me know...I AM YOUR WOMAN!
And now I must run...
P.S. I can train you...or your mother...or your brother...or your lover...or your mother's brother's lover...
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Weather and Hills
Saturday, October 3rd...what a lovely morning for a run! And so we did just that...
For those of you that recall, the 3rd was the Harvest Half Marathon, a nice, little UPHILL run through Fish Creek Park. I hadn't run this one in about 4 years, and the last time I undertook this half was post-flooding in Calgary and thus the route was very different. This year, the run, while very beautiful, was on an entirely different course than the one I did years ago. And again, I repeat, it was UPHILL. Ugh. It wasn't the physical toll of hills that was terribly taxing since I am religious in my hill training, however, hills on race day do require a bit of a different mindset that I didn't have right off the bat. It took me a bit, but I did eventually get there; like the sign in Boston said- "Mind over body, body over hill"!
I should also note that when my alarm went off that the rain was pouring down. Not drizzling or showering, POURING. And the temperature was hoovering right around zero which translates into rain translating into snow. This caused a moment or two of complete and utter panic in which I loaded up every single piece of running gear I own into my car on the off chance that I may have to sport some (or all) of it. The good news is that the weather gods did prevail and it stopped raining just before the run began and didn't start snowing until after the run was over. Thank goodness for small miracles as running wet equals complete and total misery for this girl!
I would like to point out that I was not alone in running this half...I had two lovelies running with me who had caught the running bug after completing the Calgary half way back in May! A huge congratulations is in order to both of these running crazies who took time of the mark they had set in the Calgary half; and on a much, much tougher course! Way to go ladies! You are both incredibly awesome and I hope you are taking a well deserved break from running. As for myself, I had hopes of getting under 1:30...but was going to be very happy with anything under 1:33, my previous personal best. And I clocked in at 1:32. Which made me smile. It was an incredibly HARD run in more ways than one. Besides the hills and the weather, wrapping my head around strategy for a half (TOTALLY different that marathoning) was interesting. I generally consider myself a slow starter and in the shorter distance there is simply no time to get off to a slow start! If you are pushing for a time then you really do have to push right from the start. There certainly isn't time to hold back for "finding your legs" as I often do in the full marathon. Anyhow- for my next half I will certainly train differently- push the pace on those tempo runs even harder and keep up with the speedwork, stairs and hills so my body is prepared to deal with the lactic acid build up it will face. Not that I'm unhappy with my race, that just is not the case, but I'm always thinking about "next" and the goal I have is to get under that 1:30 mark!
And so that brings us to today...and what is going on in my running word TODAY? I've only gone for 3 runs since the half. My hip is very sore and I am trying to remember that the body needs rest to recover and repair. Although since I lived the "all carb" diet over T-Giving I should think that I should be running a lot more. Mmm...pumpkin pie, cabbage rolls, perogies, stuffing, sweet and mashed potatoes...yes, that's right, ALL CARB! And lest I forget, I did eat a bit of turkey too!
I have 2 races scheduled in the next little bit, but I use the term "race" loosely since its much more about the fun in these 2 little jaunts! On October 24th I am running in Nike's Human Race, which is a 10k that you clock on your Nike+ system through your ipod. It was $25 to enter, $5 goes to the Lance Armstrong Foundation and you get a t-shirt. Also, on the the 7th of November is that fabulous little event we like to call Winterstart (see picture on sidebar) which is less about the running and more about the fabulous time I'm going to have with the fabulous people running with me. I can't wait!
And now I must work. At my regular job. Which is teaching and not running. WHAT? How did that happen?
For those of you that recall, the 3rd was the Harvest Half Marathon, a nice, little UPHILL run through Fish Creek Park. I hadn't run this one in about 4 years, and the last time I undertook this half was post-flooding in Calgary and thus the route was very different. This year, the run, while very beautiful, was on an entirely different course than the one I did years ago. And again, I repeat, it was UPHILL. Ugh. It wasn't the physical toll of hills that was terribly taxing since I am religious in my hill training, however, hills on race day do require a bit of a different mindset that I didn't have right off the bat. It took me a bit, but I did eventually get there; like the sign in Boston said- "Mind over body, body over hill"!
I should also note that when my alarm went off that the rain was pouring down. Not drizzling or showering, POURING. And the temperature was hoovering right around zero which translates into rain translating into snow. This caused a moment or two of complete and utter panic in which I loaded up every single piece of running gear I own into my car on the off chance that I may have to sport some (or all) of it. The good news is that the weather gods did prevail and it stopped raining just before the run began and didn't start snowing until after the run was over. Thank goodness for small miracles as running wet equals complete and total misery for this girl!
I would like to point out that I was not alone in running this half...I had two lovelies running with me who had caught the running bug after completing the Calgary half way back in May! A huge congratulations is in order to both of these running crazies who took time of the mark they had set in the Calgary half; and on a much, much tougher course! Way to go ladies! You are both incredibly awesome and I hope you are taking a well deserved break from running. As for myself, I had hopes of getting under 1:30...but was going to be very happy with anything under 1:33, my previous personal best. And I clocked in at 1:32. Which made me smile. It was an incredibly HARD run in more ways than one. Besides the hills and the weather, wrapping my head around strategy for a half (TOTALLY different that marathoning) was interesting. I generally consider myself a slow starter and in the shorter distance there is simply no time to get off to a slow start! If you are pushing for a time then you really do have to push right from the start. There certainly isn't time to hold back for "finding your legs" as I often do in the full marathon. Anyhow- for my next half I will certainly train differently- push the pace on those tempo runs even harder and keep up with the speedwork, stairs and hills so my body is prepared to deal with the lactic acid build up it will face. Not that I'm unhappy with my race, that just is not the case, but I'm always thinking about "next" and the goal I have is to get under that 1:30 mark!
And so that brings us to today...and what is going on in my running word TODAY? I've only gone for 3 runs since the half. My hip is very sore and I am trying to remember that the body needs rest to recover and repair. Although since I lived the "all carb" diet over T-Giving I should think that I should be running a lot more. Mmm...pumpkin pie, cabbage rolls, perogies, stuffing, sweet and mashed potatoes...yes, that's right, ALL CARB! And lest I forget, I did eat a bit of turkey too!
I have 2 races scheduled in the next little bit, but I use the term "race" loosely since its much more about the fun in these 2 little jaunts! On October 24th I am running in Nike's Human Race, which is a 10k that you clock on your Nike+ system through your ipod. It was $25 to enter, $5 goes to the Lance Armstrong Foundation and you get a t-shirt. Also, on the the 7th of November is that fabulous little event we like to call Winterstart (see picture on sidebar) which is less about the running and more about the fabulous time I'm going to have with the fabulous people running with me. I can't wait!
And now I must work. At my regular job. Which is teaching and not running. WHAT? How did that happen?
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