Save the Breasts, Save the People, and Why I Run.

Apologies.  I didn't update last week for a number of reasons, but mainly because I didn't feel I had anything vitally important to say.

Today, however, I do have something exciting to report: I did my first 5K run.  It was the CIBC Run for the Cure, a run whose proceeds go towards the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.  A number of my friends signed up for it, so some of us met in the morning before the race.  We were excited to be there.  The gloomy sky and the spitting rain didn't deter us.

The race was not timed, so I brought my phone in lieu of a proper stopwatch.  The run started at Queen's Park, went down Queen's Park/University, looped back up to Bloor, then back down St. George till College, where we ran eastward until the entrance to King's Circle, where the finish line lay.

I made sure to start at a brisk pace, because unlike the 10k, I didn't have to conserve my energy for later.  I could feel I was pushing it faster than usual, but I felt good.  Just past the 3K (I think) mark, there was a water station, so I grabbed a cup.  I took a little sip and then aimed my cup at a garbage bag a man was holding for empty cups.  I threw it in, but I think I got some on him, so I turned around to yell that I was sorry.  While not looking forward, I ran right into another man who was handing out water.  I swerved out of his way.... right into a garbage can.  It almost fell, so I steadied it quickly, as I yelled out more apologies and continued on my way.  The episode was absolutely ridiculous, and it unsettled me, my heart speeding from guilt, embarrassment, and residual fear.

Despite this hiccup, I finished the run at 27:46.  That's a 5:33 min/km, faster (as planned) than my previous 10K pace (5:51 min/km.)!  In a previous entry, I wrote that 25 minutes was my goal, but that I would be happy not reaching it this time around.  Indeed, I'm absolutely happy with my time!  I'm very proud that I ran strong, and I'm confident that I will improve next time.

Something that also really struck me today was that I was running for something very near and dear to many people's hearts, and something that, honestly, is a threat to me and all of my friends and family.  Breast Cancer is a looming shadow over the shoulders of many women, a number of them younger than I am.  Today I heard a statistic that 1 in 9 Canadian women is expected to, at some point in their lives, be stricken with breast cancer.  1 in 9?!  That's terrible.  So today I ran for the people that cannot run themselves.  I ran for my future, my friends' futures, my family members' futures.  I ran to promote healthy living, something that has so many healing properties, both physical and mental.  I ran to show that there are people supporting you when you feel hope is lost in the face of an indiscriminate genetic sentence.

Injuries and continuing gym bonanzas

Injury alert!  Nothing too bad, but my thumb has been giving me trouble the past few days.  It got sore from stapling large amounts of papers together at work (I would constantly jam the stapler into the palm of my hand to help the staples get through the pile). Now it hurts to even hold a glass of water.  Some rest should get it feeling back to normal, but for now, I'll tread (or hand?) carefully.

I visited the gym 5 times this week.  Thursday night I tried a new Pump class, the instructor for which I really liked.  Then Saturday I did Zumba for 45 minutes, then ran over to another gym to do Shred, followed by a class called Awesome Abs.  The Zumba killed my shoulders, the Abs killed my butt (go figure).  I feel really strong today!

In other news, I got some new responsibilities at work.  It's nice that I'm trusted to start taking on new things.  It certainly helps with confidence levels.  Mood is good and motivation is high.  This week is going to be another gym bonanza as I prepare for my next run, but work will have calmed down a bit.  I'll be training for my new tasks, but I won't be working 10 hours per day.  It'll be nice to focus on other things in my life, such as… everything else!

Steady as she goes for now.  Perhaps there will be some more groundbreaking news next week. :)

4/4

Monday Attack, Wednesday Shred, Saturday Attack, and Sunday Pump.  It was pretty much a normal week, except that I would have done some running if it wasn't for work.  I'm on my feet for most of the day at work, and the September rush creates some long hours, so by the time I get home, I'm not about to strap my running shoes to go on for a hungry, dark, cold, late night run.  I need to stop making excuses, though...

Weather.  The weather has changed.  We were in the midst of a heat advisory, and then 2 days later it was suddenly 6 degrees.  I'm sure once I get back outdoors for my runs I'll appreciate the cooler weather more (well, not 6 degrees, although 12 I don't mind), but for now, it's just a shock to the body and mind.  I love the summer so much.  I don't want to have to bundle up to step outside...

I have felt quite energetic this weekend!  I jumped out of bed yesterday morning and this morning, ready to work out.  Today at Pump, I pushed myself to a new level with the squats, upping the weight by a few kilograms.  I was inspired by the soreness in my muscles the few days after the Longboat 10K.  While I broke my record at that one, there was a price to pay.  Extra leg work will help, since stronger legs will mean less pain after I push myself.

My next run is a 5K coming up on October 6th.  It's the CIBC Run for the Cure.  I've been thinking about my goal for that run.  If I divide my 10K PB, I'd finish the 5K in about 29 minutes.  But it's a shorter distance, so I should be able to push myself a bit harder for the duration.  I've therefore decided to settle on 25 minutes as my goal.  Now, I know that's quite a bit of a time difference, but it's not something I necessarily have to accomplish this October.  If I don't make it on the 6th, then I'll aim to make it next 5K.  Aim high or go home!

A Victory

I ran the Longboat Toronto Island 10K today!  It was a beautiful day for a run - sunny, a bit cooler at about 20 degrees, and not too windy.  Esther and I participated in this one, with Josh, Esther's husband, watching from the sidelines.

We started off near the front.  Esther is a little speed demon, so she set a pace, and I tried to keep up with her for as long as I could.  I lost sight of her sometime before the 4km mark.  It was a sad moment, but it also meant that till then I was going at a faster pace than usual.  The course was very flat, and it was a mix of pavement, grass, and boardwalk.

This time, my faster pace at the beginning had my body screaming for relief until 5km.  Up until 5, I was thinking "What have I gotten myself into?!  I haven't trained properly for this!!  I haven't gone for a run in ages!  I should just stop and take a breather!"

But so many things came to my mind and made me continue.  I thought of my gym classes, I thought of my instructors encouraging me to keep going, I thought of Marie doing pushups on her toes and egging me on to get off my knees and follow her, and heck, I even thought of having to post a FB status update about the race.

Just after I passed the 5km mark (which was actually the start line that we'd looped back to), the pain and hesitation left my body.  Everything normalised, and I realised that I was now more than halfway done and that it was totally possible to keep going.

So I kept going and going and going.  The last 2 kilometres were along the boardwalk.  The sailboats on the water were a beautiful sight to behold, but I found it easiest to look down at the ground so that a) I wouldn't get distracted by the pretty view, and b) I wouldn't get discouraged by what was up ahead (almost 2 kilometres of just boardwalk).

Once I got back up on the pavement, I could see the finish line.  Oh, the sprint that I did.  Oh, that sprint.  I ran so hard and so fast for the last few hundred metres that I almost made myself sick.  Felt damned good.

I picked up my medal with glee and went off to find Esther and Josh for the BBQ that was being held.  Veggie burger, apple, apple juice, Cliff Builders bars… It was a feast well earned.

My time?

Drumroll…

58:32!!

A triumphant 5:51 min./km.  The time I was aiming to beat was from my May 10K, a time of 1:02:37.  I blasted it!  I shaved 4 minutes and 5 seconds off of my time, and I came in at under an hour, which was my goal last run.  Right when I finished the race, I was pretty sure I'd come in under an hour, so I was in a good mood, but when I confirmed it online when I got home, I daaaaaanced.  I boogied in delight.  Woo!

I feel reinvigorated and energised.  This is going to be a good week since I'm so inspired.  I plan to hit the gym at least 4 times, which I hope will begin to propel me to some new level of fitness.  I'm also going to make sure I go for runs more often, if anything to toughen my feet up (I got a few blisters this morning).

And you know what?  It's time to sit and think about a new running goal.  How exciting is that?!

Only three times?

I was talking to a co-worker and friend today about my exercise these days.

"How's the gym going?" she asked.

I took a breath to answer, then stopped myself.

I took a step back from what I was going to say, thought about what it meant, and its implications, and then continued, "Wow, I sound like a total snob saying this, but my response to that is: it's going well, but I only went to the gym three times last week."

*Only* three times?  Clearly I've reached a point where going to the gym three times per week doesn't feel like enough.

And it's true!  I never went out for those runs I promised in my last entry, which has left me feeling unsettled and unprepared for my 10K on Sunday.  But last week for me was an incredibly busy week.  I went out every night.  As Marie put it on Facebook, "Work was just a break between one party to the next".  It was a much-needed social week, as I connected with new friends and re-connected with old friends.

Work this week has become a madhouse, and it will continue for the next few weeks.  I won't have as much time to relax, read, meet friends for coffee and drinks.  Tomorrow is definitely a gym night, but we'll see what I have time to do in the next few days before the weekend.  I feel confident at least in my basic fitness level that running a 10K without direct running training won't kill me.  But I feel like the 1:02 time I would like to beat will not be beat this Sunday.  And you know what?  I'm okay with that.  There will be other races, less busy weeks, and more training to come!

That's all for now, as I must now go and rest from an 11 hour day at work!  My next update will probably be about the run.  Ciao!

When you think you're done, you're just beginning

This week…. This week!  It has been wonderful.

Monday BodyAttack

Wednesday BodyShred

Thursday BodyShred

Saturday playing with a 2.5 year old and impromptu fitness session at Marie's condo

Sunday BodyPump AND BodyAttack.

My heart and muscles have increased 2 sizes!  The greatest was today.  I was up bright and early for BodyPump at 10:30.  Having gone to sleep quite late the previous night because of a party, this was my first small victory of the day.  Marie joined me for the class, and I'm happy to report that we did very well for not having done Pump in many weeks.  We finished the one-hour class successfully, grabbed our things, and left.

However!  Just as we were exiting the building, we saw Alisa, my Monday night BodyAttack instructor.  We burst through the door, and Marie asked "Are you teaching Attack now?!"  Alisa said no, but that she was taking the class and that we should join.  We looked at each other, turned right around, and followed her back into the gym.  What ensued was a magnificent display of second wind.  We somehow gathered up the energy to keep going for another hour.  We sweat through runs, agility training, and more pushups.

At the end of the hour, we were completely wiped, but we felt so GOOD.  There's something amazing about beating your body up like that.  You become so exhausted, but it energises you.  Tonight's sleep is very well deserved.  This week's lesson: when you think you're done, you're just beginning.  Your real workout begins when you're completely exhausted and think you can't go another step.

I have a run coming up on the 8th of September.  I haven't been doing my regular runs outdoors lately, but I hope that my strength and cardio training in my gym classes will translate well.  I'll do some runs this week and see where I'm at.  I will report!  I may need to do some emergency run training and fewer gym classes.

Jillian Michaels at Canfitpro at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre

It's a busy weekend down at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  The CanFitPro Consumer Fitness + Wellness Show is on for 3 days, and it has drawn people from all around.  As I mentioned briefly in my previous entry, Marie and I both entered to win a contest to participate with a friend in a BodyShred class led by Jillian Michaels, a guest of honour at the show.  I ended up winning, so off we went on Friday morning to line up to get a good spot in the room.  What greeted us was a glorious atmosphere of fit and beautiful people milling about, waiting for a workshop or browsing around the trade show in search of new shoes or a new protein bar.

Shred was held in a giant hall, which fit 500 people.  Lucky us, though - we were at the front!  4 rows away from the stage, in fact.  We got in, grabbed our 3lb weights, and secured our spots.  Marie was super excited, jumping around and grinning like a looney!  We stretched, struck up a conversation with a girl who works at a Markham Goodlife, and gawked at the large room.  Our regular Wednesday night Shred instructor, Lauren, was also there, and she dropped by to say hello.  A lot of Goodlife instructors were there, catching up with old friends and, I'm sure, making new ones.  There was a nice buzz of excitement in the room, and it was contagious.

The workout itself was great, and we did some new moves we don't normally do.  Jillian came out onto the stage (to great applause and cheering), greeted us, and jumped right into explaining all the moves.

She went through each one before hitting play and starting up the workout.  BodyShred is just a half hour long, so it was done in the blink of an eye.  She was yelling at us to keep our asses moving!  At one point she came down off the stage and was interacting with some of the girls in front of us, getting them to lift their knees higher and push harder.

Jillian Michaels is ripped.  She's a shorter lady, at 5'2", but her personality and muscles make her seem dozens of metres taller!

And while she's known for crazy workouts and intense execution, she seems like a really down-to-earth person.  When she was demonstrating the moves before the workout began, she was losing her balance a bit, and she just laughed at herself, rather than getting annoyed.  I'm sure a one-on-one session with her would be intense and scary, but as it stands, I really enjoyed the class and how it was taught.  I can see how our instructor has modelled her execution of the class on Jillian's.  A good instructor makes all the difference, just like a good teacher in high school, or an inspiring professor at university.  A good fitness instructor will show you the moves clearly, explain them with ease, and do the moves with you.  They will make sure you know exactly what it coming up and when.  We definitely get that Wednesday nights, and we definitely got that Friday morning.

When the workout was over, we grabbed our things and headed over to the trade show to see what was going on there.  We entered another hall with displays from all sorts of protein powder, energy bar, running shoe, and fitness machine companies.  We tried a bunch of the shakes and bars, looked through the clothes (I picked up a new headband - let's see if this will keep those wisps of hair from getting in my eyes), and chatted with people who were selling their ideas (a new Tai Chi program, an obstacle course, and so on).  Marie pointed out that because so many fitness instructors attend the show, we were grouped in with them by association.  We were at the trade show and therefore employed by a gym.  We got a nice, inclusive vibe from the room and the people.  There weren't a lot of freebies, but it was fun to wander around and see what's out there in the commercial fitness world.

Done with the trade show, we went to meet the other Marie for dim sum, and then a bit of a shopping trip at the Eaton Centre (well deserved!).  A successful day that has left me feeling happy, inspired, and revved up for next Wednesday night Shred!


Finally, this isn't fitness-related, but a funny thing happened on the way to register for the trade show first thing when I got there in the morning.  I headed to what looked like registration tables.  I gave my photo I.D. to the woman there, who spoke with a Spanish accent.  She was looking for my name on her sheet but couldn't find it.  I piped up and said that I'd done the free registration and that I didn't actually know if I was supposed to sign up at that desk.  Revelation dawned on her face, but then the strangest thing happened - she switched to Spanish.  I barely even realised at first, though something at the back of my head was telling me that this wasn't normal.  "Look, you have to go over to those registration desks there (*points to desks*) and they can confirm your registration there.  This is for instructors," she said.  So I said "OK, gracias!" and headed over, meanwhile starting to realise what had just happened.   It's funny that she assumed I'd understand her, but I think it's awesome!