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.