25k River Bank Run. Largest 25k in the country. Draws athletes from around the world. What have I gotten myself into?!
Woke up to the sound of howling winds. Not good. Freezing out. Not good. Looks like rain. Not good.
Meeting the girls in the lot at 630. Up at 515 to eat an english muffin with peanut butter, honey and cinnamon. Back in bed. Snuggle with Mischa. Visualizing the finish line. Have never run 15.5 miles before so not sure what to expect. Longest race to date is 10 miles and did that on a whim. 600...better get moving. Shorts (tights in the bag), sports bra, sleeveless, long sleeves, jacket (vest in the bag), hoodie, sweat pants, smart wool socks (back ups in the bag), race belt, ipod, beer tickets :), bib number, coffee mug with hot water...think thats everything. Out the door. Crazy traffic. 18,000 runners! Finally at the lot and there's my girls.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Buzzing but nervous May 7
Packet pick up today and downtown is buzzing. You can feel it in the the air...this energy and excitement that is hard to describe if you haven't experienced it first hand. Feeling excited for the first time about this race. Picked up packets for myself, Lea and Kate and look forward to seeing the girls later tonight.
I love this feeling of nervous excitement. Came home from the expo and headed out for 30 easy minutes with 5 minutes of tempo and some 30 second pick ups. Felt good...easy. Went toward downtown to feed off the energy. Back home for pasta and making a playlist. Didn't get to bed until after 11 but got too excited when Lea came over. Feels good to smile again.
Wish me luck!
Jamie
I love this feeling of nervous excitement. Came home from the expo and headed out for 30 easy minutes with 5 minutes of tempo and some 30 second pick ups. Felt good...easy. Went toward downtown to feed off the energy. Back home for pasta and making a playlist. Didn't get to bed until after 11 but got too excited when Lea came over. Feels good to smile again.
The nine inches right here; set it straight and you can beat anybody in the world.
--Sebastian Coe
(as he said this Coe held his fingers up to his head)
Jamie
Its a brick... May 6
Normally today would be an off day as it the Thursday before a Saturday race, but I have some catching up to do...and some stuff to work through or forget about for a little while.
90 minute ride followed by a 30 minute run...not sure if it was supposed to be a brick, but that's what I needed. Rode hills out in Caledonia and it was fantastic. Sean, you would have loved this ride. Country roads with wide, smooth shoulders. Flat enough to be fast and hilly enough to be interesting with enough wind to keep you honest. Averaged a little over 17 mph for this challenging ride and am happy with that. Know that I must push myself as the bike leg is going to take a lot out of me in Peterborough.
Run off the bike...changed shorts and shoes at my brothers house and headed back out. Slowly. Sluggishly. Actually looked down at my legs to make sure they were still moving forward. May have scolded them. Took about 5 minutes for them to adjust to running and I realized that this was my first actual, honest brick workout. Settled into a rhythm and got through the 30 minutes. Feeling pleasantly exhausted...and maybe a little hungry. Nutrition has been lacking the last week...no appetite. Too tired now to think of anything but home and hanging out with Lea. Thanks for the grapefruit chica :)
Jamie
90 minute ride followed by a 30 minute run...not sure if it was supposed to be a brick, but that's what I needed. Rode hills out in Caledonia and it was fantastic. Sean, you would have loved this ride. Country roads with wide, smooth shoulders. Flat enough to be fast and hilly enough to be interesting with enough wind to keep you honest. Averaged a little over 17 mph for this challenging ride and am happy with that. Know that I must push myself as the bike leg is going to take a lot out of me in Peterborough.
Run off the bike...changed shorts and shoes at my brothers house and headed back out. Slowly. Sluggishly. Actually looked down at my legs to make sure they were still moving forward. May have scolded them. Took about 5 minutes for them to adjust to running and I realized that this was my first actual, honest brick workout. Settled into a rhythm and got through the 30 minutes. Feeling pleasantly exhausted...and maybe a little hungry. Nutrition has been lacking the last week...no appetite. Too tired now to think of anything but home and hanging out with Lea. Thanks for the grapefruit chica :)
It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.
--Seneca
Home alone... May 5
Drove back from Ontario today and am emotionally spent. Just feel completely drained. Thank you so much to the Jacksons. I love you guys and couldn't ask for better friends. Thanks for putting up with me.
Got called off work so decided to run 5 miles as my mileage has been lacking to say the least. Ran it hard to clear my head. 25k race on Saturday is really weighing on my mind. Initial goal of 2 hours seems unattainable. Neglected my training and now am wondering if I should even attempt it. Have let myself down, but can't let Lea down. She has worked so hard for this and I owe it to her to be there, running. Finished winded and tired. Given the last few days I should cut myself some slack, but its just not my style...
Got called off work so decided to run 5 miles as my mileage has been lacking to say the least. Ran it hard to clear my head. 25k race on Saturday is really weighing on my mind. Initial goal of 2 hours seems unattainable. Neglected my training and now am wondering if I should even attempt it. Have let myself down, but can't let Lea down. She has worked so hard for this and I owe it to her to be there, running. Finished winded and tired. Given the last few days I should cut myself some slack, but its just not my style...
Running is real and relatively simple…but it ain't easy.
--Mark Will-Weber
--Mark Will-Weber
Jamie
Brrr...May 4
Cold, rainy and windy so Sean and I spent the day in Toronto in lieu of workouts. Shopping at MEC (yea Vibrams), all you can eat sushi and walking by the water. It was a really great day. Nothing makes me happier than time spent with him. Headed home tomorrow...
"Carpe Diem"
Jamie
Riding with Sean... May 3
In Ontario for a few days visiting friends. Got in very early Sunday morning after driving overnight. Took Sunday off, just relaxing and napping and catching up. Enjoying the presence on good friends.
Woke up today feeling unexpectedly good and the weather looked better than it was supposed to so took advantage of the trails and did an hour on soft terrain with Mischa. Good run, felt very strong and was able to push through some stomach pains which I think is important. I imagine I will encounter these at some point in the race so good to not be surprised. Finished hard, Mischa is tired :P
Time for a real ride. So, silly me, thought I was riding pretty hard all by myself on the relatively flat White Pine Trail. Needless to say, I was very, very wrong. Did about 25 miles on the roads in Orillia near Sean's house and I have a much better appreciation for how good he is and how far I've got to go to even be okay. Averaged about 16 mph on hills and reached 33 mph on a downhill that scared me half to death. Made it up the big hill. Saw where Sean got hit...seethed. Hoped I wasn't holding him back too much. Very glad to be done fighting the wind though Sean taught me how to draft and took the brunt of it for a good bit of the ride.
Need to ride uncomfortably hard to make riding hard more comfortable...
Thanks,
Jamie
Woke up today feeling unexpectedly good and the weather looked better than it was supposed to so took advantage of the trails and did an hour on soft terrain with Mischa. Good run, felt very strong and was able to push through some stomach pains which I think is important. I imagine I will encounter these at some point in the race so good to not be surprised. Finished hard, Mischa is tired :P
Time for a real ride. So, silly me, thought I was riding pretty hard all by myself on the relatively flat White Pine Trail. Needless to say, I was very, very wrong. Did about 25 miles on the roads in Orillia near Sean's house and I have a much better appreciation for how good he is and how far I've got to go to even be okay. Averaged about 16 mph on hills and reached 33 mph on a downhill that scared me half to death. Made it up the big hill. Saw where Sean got hit...seethed. Hoped I wasn't holding him back too much. Very glad to be done fighting the wind though Sean taught me how to draft and took the brunt of it for a good bit of the ride.
Need to ride uncomfortably hard to make riding hard more comfortable...
"Man imposes his own limitations, don't set any"
-Anthony Bailey
Jamie
I'm back... May 3
K...know it's been ages since I posted anything, but I have been training, I swear! An update on what is going on...
Moved, bought a bike, dealing with some very serious relationship stuff, finding my balance, coping, moving forward if not moving on, taking one day at a time.
Thank you for being patient. I didn't actually realize there were people reading this. Thank you to all my friends for the support over the last week, I know I've not been myself.
So, I bought my bike and am in love. It's a Specialized Ruby and she's my baby. Just can't get enough time in the saddle. Long ride so far is 50 miles and put into perspective what I am getting into with the Peterborough race. But the bike feels good and I like going fast. Have been neglecting my running a bit as riding has been my preference of late. Also took a big break from the pool which concerns me more.
So that's where we pick up again...
Moved, bought a bike, dealing with some very serious relationship stuff, finding my balance, coping, moving forward if not moving on, taking one day at a time.
Thank you for being patient. I didn't actually realize there were people reading this. Thank you to all my friends for the support over the last week, I know I've not been myself.
So, I bought my bike and am in love. It's a Specialized Ruby and she's my baby. Just can't get enough time in the saddle. Long ride so far is 50 miles and put into perspective what I am getting into with the Peterborough race. But the bike feels good and I like going fast. Have been neglecting my running a bit as riding has been my preference of late. Also took a big break from the pool which concerns me more.
So that's where we pick up again...
The greatest pleasure in life, is doing the things people say we cannot do.
-- Walter Bagehot
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