Saskatoon half marathon

I haven't blogged in so long!  This weekend I went to Saskatoon with Nathan, and stayed at my sisters place for free.  We went for dinner, to the mall, the driving range for my first time golfing, mini golfing, and to the zoo. It was such a great weekend.  I ran the half marathon of the Saskatchewan marathon on Sunday, May 24.  During my training I started doing 10s and 1s (run 10 min, walk 1) and found it very helpful for me.  That's exactly what I did in the race as well.  Must be what works for me!

I finished in about 2:15, which is great for me! I'm not very fast yet. While I was running across a huge bridge there and down by the river, it felt like I was in San Francisco again, just slightly muggier! The water from the river smelled and felt like salt, even Nathan noticed that. Maybe it was just the muggy weather. It threatened to rain all weekend but didn't actually rain during the race at all! Just nice warm overcast, perfect running weather to keep me cool. I couldn't have asked for a better race.

Of course, Nathan took my car and drove along to meet me at about 4 check stops along the route. It helped tremendously knowing I would see him every few kilometers after 10k (the easy first half). 

And I ate 1 pack of GU chomps and half of a gel, lots of water, and I was good to go. At the end I wasn't too dead surprisingly, even though the last 3km were difficult with a lot of walking. Yesterday, however, I could barely walk. Today is better, but every tiny piece of my legs is just so sore. 

Oh and I forgot to mention, I ran the entire race with my shorts inside out...which have built in underwear that were then tightly attached to the outside of my shorts. Lovely. Hopefully no one noticed, my tank top was long! 

Full marathon, here we come!

Looking forward to fast 5ks

On Tuesday I ran my fastest 5k yet! (With Nathan's help since he's faster) 29 minutes and something...but the point is it was under 30 min. I'm a pretty slow runner, but for short distances I should really try to pick my pace up. So I'm going to always run 5 in less than 30 min now. And 10 in less than an hour! I'm determined to increase my speed.

In search of perfect running underwear

I realize I might sound very strange, but I need to find the perfect running underwear. They need to be non cotton, full coverage, and stay in place! I tried the Under armour booty short style ones, but honestly they just slide up from one minute into my run 'till the end.

I've heard Asics and Patagonia make some good ones, I'll have to check them out when I go to the states in August! Hopefully I can find some in Canada before that for a reasonable price. Okay, I'm done writing about my underwear for this year now.

Spring?

Usually, I don't want spring to come, because that means winter (aka. snowboarding season and fun winter activities) are over. But right now I want the snow to melt so my new garden on my balcony can grow and so I can run more comfortably in the warm weather! Also, I want all my races to start already.

Oh yeah, and I also want my tax money so I can buy a new Lululemon or other running item! Maybe a bright silverescent tank top or the speed shorts I've been wanting. One day I'm going to have ten running outfits...after I graduate. Happy Spring! (hopefully)

Hill runs

Yesterday I did my first big hill run with Kristen. She took me to the Strathcona Science Park just off 17st (10 min from my place!) and there's a service road that lots of runners use for training. It's half a kilometer bottom to top. A bit long, but it's great! It killed me. We did 3 repeats to start, since she hasn't been running and since it was my first time hill training.

I plan to go back, and work my way up to about 6-7 repeats total within a month or so. I have to remember warm up and cool down next time though! Also, taking Nathan there on Saturday since he wants to start running!

It is a very boring road, but it'll do for once a week seeing as it's a perfect hill, and it's not too far away.

Half marathon

Well I have bad news.  I have just changed my marathon to a half marathon.  Am I disappointed?  Embarrassed?  Sad?  YES.  But I have thought about it and decided this will be a more realistic goal.  I have only been running for a year, and last year didn't get too serious.  I need to learn more, and get more kms under my belt before attempting a marathon.  I would love to still do it, but decided I would be happier going into a half marathon confidently, and a marathon when I feel I have trained enough and am more ready.  

I want to attempt a full marathon later in the year, but I already have too many races this year.  I will probably just wait till next year.  Here's to my half marathon!  Now I can focus on increasing my pace and other factors, as well.  54 more days!

Struggling to find trails

Trail running is so much better than running on sidewalks near streets.  The only problem?  I don't live near any.  I'm a student, so I'm usually broke.  This means I'd prefer to save gas money and not drive to trails, but I am hating sidewalk running more and more each time.  The cars, noise, dust from the road, lights, and people all annoy me.  Then again, some trails can get secluded along the way, making it unsafe for me to run on alone anyways.  

So right now I am in search of a few safe and open, beautiful trails that would be about 10 times more enjoyable than running near roads and residential areas.  Hopefully I find something not too far away...although most of the longer trails are all the way downtown in the river valley, and I run 4 days a week or so.  I guess I'll just have to suck it up and drive to my running destinations.  

And by trail running, I don't mean running in the woods, or on gravel paths.  I haven't reached that point yet, and those trails are almost always secluded.  That would be a great goal one day if I had a running partner or something, though.  I just mean nice, paved bike trails.

Wish I lived here, looks beautiful by the water.