Hello Summer!

Greetings Peeps!

I heart summer.  Every single little thing about it, too.  I love the heat.  I love the Northern Ontario humidity.  I love the cool lightning storms during the heat waves.  I love being on holidays.  I love the lake and visiting my family.  And of course I love summer running!

This will be a quick post as I'm in between swims.  Nothing beats this crazy 40 plus degree heat like some jumps off the dock!

First.  Decided to stop wondering about all this barefoot brouhaha and give it a try myself.  And then decided I am not hardcore enough to do the total barefoot thing (and my feet are ugly enough from running) and purchased a pair of Saucony Hattori minimalist trainers.  This is them...

I started by running my summer training and personal training in them.  And guess what?  Love.  They felt great!  So, I took it one barefoot step further and just went for a jog.  A quick 33 minute affair that included 10 repeats on Christie's hill.  I decided this was a good way to experiment since the hill is steep and I am mainly on my toes for this anyhow.  The outcome? My  left achilles and knees are slightly sore, but other than that, a good thing...or so I think.  I had to work really, really hard to stay off my heels, especially on the downhills. 

Anyhow- the long and the short of it is that I think these are GREAT, although I'm not quite ready for a 26.2 in them yet and likely never will be!  But they will be fun for shorter runs.  Want some?  Go see Nolan and the gang and the Tech Shop in Calgary.  They will put you in the right pair!   

Second.  Did I mention I love summer?  This is why:

Summer training, lake style.  What I see while working out at my cottage.  Or camp, in Kenora speak.

Broke out the TRX and hung from our crooked tree.  Worked beautifully.  Plus got to jump in between sets.

Anyone want to come over for a workout?  We could even swim for intervals!

Third.  A huge shout out to KayZ (like JayZ but she's way cooler, trust me) for her third place finish in the Stampede Road Race 10k.  You. Are. Awesome!  And you run like the wind!  I see some very speedy fall training runs in our future!

Fourth.  I get to meet Barry the Baby in just 22 short days.  At least if I have my say and mother nature cooperates.  I'm going to be an ant!  I mean an aunt!  I wonder if it's too early to purchase some new runners for the little one...

Happy summer everyone!  Enjoy!

Guess WHAT?

This is a photo of the start of the NYC marathon.

And...

My plan is to be there...

NEXT YEAR!  YES! YES! YES!  Exciting!  SO exciting!

I discovered in my interweb travels today that the NYC has a guaranteed entry if you have run under a certain time.  For me that certain time was a 3:23.  My 3:09 in Chicago just became that much sweeter, as next year I plan to be in that pack, pounding the pavement on the means streets of New York.  The only question now is how am I going to manage to contain myself for a full calendar year.  Curious.  Tips anyone?  Do share...

But that's not the ending of the running excitement and news...

This past weekend was Winterstart.  Yes, THE Winterstart, which, in previous years, has resulted in everything from an altercation with a VERY irrate hotel employee over the Inn Keeper's Act to intense Flippy Cup competitions hard fought at the Rose and Crown.  I'm pleased to report that this year we managed to avoid any legal disasters and cup casualties.  The 5 miler up Tunnel Mountain was conquered by all and we managed to keep our behaviour in check.  One item of consequence I would like to highlight is the fact that ARJR, Bergie-Lynn, Ellis and I finished the race in a solid tie- around the 47 minute mark.  There really is nothing quite like holding hands and crossing that line together.  Nice work, ladies!  And for that matter, nice work to ALL the ladies that made the trek to Banff for this event- a job well done!

And last, but definitely not least, I'm running again.  YES!  So happy to be back at it.  It just feels awesome to get out there and work it out people.  I think I've decided that my next 26.2 is going to be Vancouver in May.  Having said that I'm open to suggestions...any other ideas for a spring marathon?  I'd love your input...yes, YOU!

And one more small thing...I'm training the Tech Shop half marathoners again.  The target race is the Calgary police half at the end of April and I'm really excited to be working with Nolan and his crew again.  If you are considering this kind of training, I highly suggest checking out their website (The Tech Shop) or stopping into the store to sign up.  If the half distance seems a bit daunting at this point, there will also be a learn to run clinic, which usually has a shorter distance for the target race.  Go for it, people!  I promise you won't be disappointed!

Please Note.

Just in case people are wondering (and I know you all spend hours wondering what I'm up to these days- hee), it is official, I am registered for the Manitoba Marathon! 

The run takes place on June 20th this year (hoping for heat...crazy, but I LOVE running in the heat) and is a lovely, FLAT and fast course.  I am excited.  Should be a great day.  Now I just have to train.  Ah, the details of this whole running adventrue...

Second.  I would love to give a shout out to my peeps at the Tech Shop on 4th Street in Calgary.  Nolan and staff, you guys are FABULOUS!  Always cheerful and excited about running.  And as for the crew in the half marathon training on Tuesday, Thursday nights and Sunday morning...well, you guys rock.  I am totally impressed with your dedication and running prowess.  Last night we hit a VERY steep hill for 8 repeats, and each and every one of you did a fabulous job.  That was one tough hill!  Running comrades, please see Nolan and staff at the Tech Shop for all of your running needs- shoes, gear, gel, industrial strength bras (that's for you CH), advice, running gait analysis...these guys really do have you covered!  The Tech Shop- 4th Street

Third.  One last small deet.  ARJR, CH and I hit up the Banff Springs over the weekend.  LOVELY.  The only not so lovely thing??  The boot camp we attended in an attempt to "earn" our dinner on Saturday night.  More on that to follow...but let's just say I'm still sore...