Right.  I have a blog.  And I am still running...ha!   Something had to give as work ramped up, but now that some fresh young things have joined the practice and taken work off my plate, I'll have a bit more time to get this in.

 Since my last post, I ran the Midsummer Night race last August and truly hated it.  It was cool to see Cynthia again and to meet Samantha, but it was all downhill after that.  Phil did the 30k and hated it too.  I think it's the area I don't like running in. I get all light headed when I'm east of Yonge Street.

 

I liked the Energizer Night 10k race, even though it was east too.  And rock star Phil placed in his age group.  Woot! 

We did Scotiabank in October again.  I managed a one minute PR or something and Phil ran his first marathon on wounded legs.  Oh and both Reid Coolsaet and his friend Eric Gillis qualified for the 2012 Olympics at that race.

I loved him when...I'm such a hipster.

There was no way I was going to get close enough for a picture with all the media swarming them, especially since I finished the half 10 minutes + after they finished the full.  Or was there a way?

 

The Hamilton Road to Hope half was in there somewhere too, and I definitely did better than the previous year, but not as well as I hoped.  And not a PR.

I had my first experience with running a repeat race slower than the first time at the Egg Nog Jog up in who-knows-where in December.  The weather was 100% better the second time, but my running just wasn't up to par.  I accosted Mark and his lovely wife, Mrs Mark, in the tent before the race, before I was all discouraged.

Come spring time things were looking up a bit.  The Harry's Spring Run-Off 8k in High Park went better than the previous year. I still wasn't able to run all the way up the killer hill at the end, but knowing that the finish line was right at the top, I sprinted the last half of it and passed a whole buncha people.  Then spent 20 minutes thinking I was going to hurl.



Still hurting.



Lots and lots of missed races followed due to those darn babies not respecting my schedule and insisting on being born when they wanted to be.  So selfish.

But I did manage to get in my first marathon -- the Goodlife Toronto in May, down Yonge Street and along Lakeshore.  I joined my local Running Room clinic in January, since it is only three blocks from my house.  I had never had a good experience shopping there, but was hopeful. As it turns out, it was an equally unhelpful experience running with them; it was certainly not the group for a first timer.  There was one other woman who ran at my pace, otherwise I just would have not shown up again.  Five or six Boston marathon contenders and us. You guys just go on ahead then and we'll do our own thing.  For $69.99 plus tax.  I did like the training plan, though, and it got me through. 



Almost right -- this is last year's.  I'll take a large medal please.



My goal was to finish under 5 hours and I blew that outta the park with a 4:58:20!  Yes, I was really hoping for more under-5-hourness than that, but whatever.  I felt remarkably okay when it was over, even managed to drive Phil's car home as his legs were all cramped up after running A 20 MINUTE PR, but then I developed stomach issues in the late afternoon that lasted for a day and a half.  Not sure what that was.  Could it have been the chocolate milk with added protein they were handing out at the end?  Probably wouldn't have lasted so long if it was only that.

And I'm ready to do another one next year, if only the training didn't take so much time.  We'll see how it goes. 



Post-Sporting Life with Mel and Steve. We're not really in a parking lot.
We were in Mimico, facing Lake Ontario, drinking very good coffee. Nice.



 The Sporting Life 10k was the next weekend.  I was still chasing my under one hour 10k goal -- finished in 1:00:04.  Heartbreaking.  There was a jam up at the end as I was trying to sprint in.  An ambulance had just arrived to resuscitate a girl who collapsed near the finish line.  She was reportedly okay once they got her heart restarted, but again, so selfish.  I think I might have got it done 5 seconds faster without that, but I guess we'll just never know.

Phil won ANOTHER age group prize at the Run for Vaughan 10k, which was raced in and around Canada's Wonderland in May.  He's just getting faster and faster.  Fun race, but no PR for me. 

And that catches us up.  We were signed up for the Runway Run at the airport again, but went a day late!  Oops.  Who puts a race on a Saturday?

Pride and Remembrance, that's who!  It's coming up this weekend and it is my favourite.  Three-peat!  Please root for Team Beaverhausen, even though Phil will be missing in action.

Acura 10 Miler Race Report

I believe the last post says all that needs to be said about this race.  Too exciting.  However, I should probably have some record of what else happened.

We ran this very flat downtown T.O. race last year and it was the worst run ever.  Way too many bad things converged and I took over 2 hours to finish.  I had never run that slow, even in training runs, so I was miserable. 

This year, it was not as hot or sunny (though it was a bit muggy) and I wasn't an emotional cesspool. I was looking out for several celebrities like Jessica from Mommy Running Through, and commenter Dawn, who was running the 5k.  I didn't see them, unfortunately, but did snag a pick with cute-as-a-button Cynthia from Cynthia's Adventures.

We should not have been in the same corral
-- she is way faster than me.

Not often your race award is
a picture of yourself.



Oh, and did I mention I saw Reid Coolsaet?  And that he won again with a time of 48:24? And that he came within 9 seconds of beating the course record?  And that he set that course record last year, before our relationship started?

I managed a PR of 1:46:02 and I do believe I can do better next year.  I had a great sprint at the end, telling me I should have pushed harder for the previous 9.9 miles.

Phil also had a PR of 1:20:47 (19th in his age group of a gazillion) -- crazy fast if you ask me. 

Next up is the Midsummer's Night Run tomorrow.  I had signed up for the 30k ages ago, but was just too busy at work to train for it, so dropped down to a much more manageable 15k.  My PR for that distance is 1:37:01 at the Bread & Honey and I'm hoping to come in a couple of minutes faster since there are no hills.  Phil is doing the 30k, a new race distance for him, in preparation for his first marathon in October.  Go Phil! And good luck to Jessica, Cynthia, Laura and Samantha tomorrow too!

Edit:  I'm so behind in blog reading -- add Robin and Marlene to the list! Who else don't I know about?  Reid Coolsaet?  This could be quite the blogger-meet-op!  I'll be wearing pink and sending Phil off at the 30k.  Good luck!

Shamelessly Up Close and Personal

Erica's Wish 10k Race Report

This was another repeat race in Erindale Park in Mississauga.  Mostly flat on fine gravel except for one behemoth hill at the 4k mark.  This year, I was ready for it, meaning I planned my Gatorade break to walk up the thing.  Just being realistic. 

I really like this race.  It's quite small -- just 134 in the 10k, more in the 5k, and there's a 1k to start that kids and some of the survivors of osteosarcoma, including Erica herself, finish to great applause.  Very touching.

An ultra cool DJ led the warm-up exercises.

Others chose to prepare in different ways.

Soaked!

It was pouring rain for most of the race, but it was really quite refreshing.  Last year, it was super hot, so anything was better.  Huge lakes formed along the trail, but mostly runners just plowed through.

And though it wasn't a 10K PR for either of us, both Phil and I significantly improved over last year -- me by 6m28s for 1:04:29 and Phil by over 4 minutes at 48:xx.  I still believe I will break 1:00 for a 10k this year.

In other fabulous news, I'm hoping for another up-close-and-personal with my boyfriend, Reid Coolsaet next weekend at the Acura 10 miler.  He recently announced he would defend his 2010 title, and his friend/competitor Eric Gillis will be running too, so it should be a great race.

Pride & Remembrance 5k Race Report

That was so much fun.

Gay Pride 2011 is well underway here in Toronto (someone tell the mayor) and today was the 5k.  Phil and I ran this race last year and it was my PR, until the Runway Run 2 weeks ago (that's 29:04, in case I didn't spell it out then).  It's a pretty flat course, but it's no runway -- small inclines and more turns -- so I was just hoping to beat last year's time (31:12).  I've also been back to birthin' babies, so my sleep schedule, and therefore running schedule, have been outta whack.  Sounds like I'm getting ALL the excuses in up front.

Proud to be a member of 11th place Team Beaverhausen.
Next year, I'll wear the race shirt.

Although the 5k race is just a small part of the 10-day long celebrations, it is extremely well organized.  Gender specific tech shirts, chip timing, water stations and hugely good food at the after party including individually packaged pasta salad, bananas, yogurt, coffee (my favourite thing) and CAKE!  Several different varieties of CAKE from Dufflet Pastries. 

And so many things to take in, not seen at most races.



enthusiastic teams



hyper-friendly mascots



a jock strap booth



It's also the most incredibly welcoming, inclusive, supportive race I've run, with the absolute best cheering crowd at the finish line.  I hope I can run this one many more times.


Looking good, Tim.
Spain has cars, though, right?

Mel and Steve came with us this year, and the race also marked the return of Tim!  Last month, Tim walked across Spain (I know...what?) and unfortunately re-injured himself, but still had a great time.

Phil managed an outstanding PR and broke 22 minutes, coming in 8th in his age category.

Mel shaved 20 seconds off her 5k PR.

Steve sailed across the finish line 36 seconds faster than ever before.

And me?

Well, I beat this guy:



but not this guy:



or this gal:

But I did beat my Runway Run PR. 



28:49.  W00T!

I still cannot believe it.  The course wasn't even short.  My new season goal:  sub-28-minute-5k.  You saw it here first.

Happy National Birthday weekend, everyone!





Sweating My Thorns Off 5K

I managed to haul myself off the couch to run I am Boring's second annual Sweat Your Thorns Off 5k today.  Negative splits and everything.  Really helps to start out uphill and coast down to finish. 

I really was a sweaty mess at the end.

Where's my medal?

Runway Run Race Report.

Now THAT was five kays. Very cool race on the runway of Toronto Pearson Airport (when did they change the name?) while real live planes were landing and taking off right beside us.

Mad photo editing skills.



I thought we were all going to do the airplane.  Embarrassing. 
If I had concentrated more, I might have beaten Steven Spielberg there.

You know what else was cool about running on a runway?  There aren't any hills.  You know what happened because there weren't any hills? 

5K-under-30-minute goal smack-down!

But the real star of the show?

No, not this guy.

This guy!



That's right. He's Number 2! 

And Number 1 Dad. 

Happy Fathers' Day!