TO QUIT OR NOT TO QUIT(COFFEE NOT RUNNING) THAT IS THE QUESTION?

All My Mugs                                                                   Mother's Day Mugs

This looks like my dog Gypsy, she was my first baby.

Old habits and addictions die hard especially when you have invested money into them. Take for instance my coffee addiction. I had bought a very nice coffee maker with a stainless steel and black finish to match my other appliances in the kitchen. Unfortunately it died on me yesterday despite my efforts to resuscitate it with the usual cleaning protocol. It was dead and I was now going to have to go out and replace it. Or was I?

I have been thinking about quitting coffee for sometime now. Perhaps this was the impetuous I was waiting for to finally just up and quit. I knew if I replaced the coffee maker that I would be investing in my addiction and furthering the probability that I would never quit. After all, once I have put out the money for another expensive appliance I would be damned if I would let it sit there unused. So as I stood there looking at my deceased coffee maker and trying to decide if I should go out and replace it with the newest model I began to empty out the dish washer and ponder the question further. As I opened the cabinet to put some dishes away I was struck by the sight of all of my coffee mugs piled atop of one another. OMG, how could I have forgotten about all of those. Perhaps 20 or 50 coffee mugs peered down at me, some with Loony Tunes characters, some with funny quotes, some with "I Love You Mom" on them. What would become of ALL the coffee mugs if I were to quit drinking coffee? There was the mug I was given when I turned 40, all the mugs I unwrapped at Christmas, mugs I picked up on vacation plus the ones I just couldn't resist in the Knick-Knack store and best of all the mugs my daughter gave me on Mother's Day. Oh yes, I had alot invested in those mugs, monetarily and emotionally. Sure if I was to get rid of them I would gain two entire shelves of cabinet space for storage, but then what would I replace them with? It is hard to replace all those gifts and memories with nondescript pieces of china or glassware. Well I didn't have much time to mull this all over as my husband arrived home with a new coffee maker and in no time I had that sucker cleaned and brewing.

As I sit here writing this I am enjoying a nice hot cup of coffee brewed in my brand new coffee maker and poured in to a very special mug which holds almost 2 cups of coffee plus the memory of the friend who gave it to me. OK perhaps I will quit after this new coffee maker dies and with our hard water that might be in 6 months or a year tops. Until then I will enjoy and savour some quality time with my tummy warming coffee and my heart warming mugs knowing that I could kick this addiction at anytime, if I ever really, really, really wanted to.

PS

Running went smashing this week. Lots of fast tempos and intervals which killed me and I loved it.

SYDENHAM FALL RUN...LATER THAT NIGHT!!

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2009 Sydenham Fall Trail Run Race Report

This report is a bit delayed as it took be sometime to chew, swallow and digest my "HUMBLE PIE".
I went into this race with specific time expectations so falling short of them really affected my overall veiw of the ultimate outcome. My goal was to start out slow and not to go out too fast like has been my habit. Actually my goal to start out slow is nothing new it is just that I have never actually accomplished it in previous races. This race was different though as I was a bit under confident in my ability to hold my intended pace of 4:30-4:35 for the entire 8kms.
The first km was a breeze and I did indeed keep to my 4:30 pace and I felt as I was at a slow gallop loping down the trail. This form actually felt so good that I held it for the next 2km which in hindsight was a mistake as I actually slowed down a bit to more af a 4:40 pace. For the first part of the race I was changing places with a couple of master's women runners including Kimberley Bohn and Shirley Mires. I knew both of these runners however neither knew of each other or myself and I am not sure if that was an advantage to me or not as I was quite intimidated by both of them. Shirley took the lead and Kimberley breathed down my back until we were coming to the 5km mark when Kim pulled out from behind me in an amazing example of downhill racing and flew by me with no mercy. This caught me by complete surprise as I was quite tired by then and feeling her speed by me seemingly effortlessly down the hill was quite the demoralizing experience. It was as though she had this huge reserve she had decided to unleash and I was left to struggle through my growing fatigue in her wake. It took me a bit of time to regroup and get my fight back and I set out to catch her for the next 2.5 km. Although I was never able to close the gap I had to take not letting her open it much further as my consolation prize for the day and I finished 13 seconds behind her with an average pace of 4:40.
 Looking back it really was a great day to race two amazing competitors on my home trail and I learned alot about racing during the course of it.
8km Race Times-
2005 Beat Beethoven 52:?? minutes
2007 Sydenham Fall Run 44: ??
2008 Sydenham Fall Run 40:16
2009 Sydenham Fall Run 37:25
Nice to see all my hard work is paying off and truely it is in more ways then just a faster time.
I learn so much from every race about running, racing and myself. Sometimes I see the good side of me, sometimes the bad side. It is very important to see myself from both angles as it helps me to determine my future path and future goals...and again not all of them running related.

Sydenham Fall Trail Run Pictures & Movie - unedited

Thanks to Derrick and Sara and all of the volunteers for putting on such a great event. I will write more about it when I get time.

It was also fun hanging with David and Kim after as well. Here is a picture as proof.

Hanging out with David and Kim

Sara and Derrick                                       David wins a pumpkin and a silver medal

Rob and Kim(silver for Kim)                         Me and my medal(3rd in age)

Kim, David and Eliza and pumpkins

This is an unedited video my Mom took of the race. You will note at the beginning Derrick is giving race instructions to the 200 runners then he is off on his bike to lead the mass of people to the race course along Sydenham Lake. You will then see Derrick and the lead runners running up the trail across the lake. At the finish Kim races in ahead of me in pink and it is nice to hear all the cheers of my name as I cross the finish line and pose for a picture with official photographer Sara.

A Sneak Peak at the Sydenham Fall Fun Run Trail

I went for a nice meandering walk on MY TRAIL today and took some nice pictures of the fall colours currently being displayed around the lake. This section of the trail is in really good shape for the race tomorrow and I suspect the rest of the trail is in similar shape.

Good Luck to everyone running this year and I hope to meet some of you at the post race festivities.
Thanks in advance to Derrick and Sara for putting on this great event year after year.

NO DOGS?

I have meant to put these photos from a trip to Florida up for a while. I just think the sign is hilarious.

I am pretty sure that the dog has more chance of outrunning that alligator then the guy does. 

The trail this sign was posted on looped around a swampy area and despite the sign I actually went for a jog there as it is the only dirt trail around and I was getting tired of running on the paved roads. It was the dry season so most of the alligators were not that far inland...I hoped.

Post Sandbanks 5km race I felt really good with no knee or calf problems for my effort. Just to be on the safe side I made sure to ice my knee and calve/achilles daily for the first few days. I had some easy NO Garmin runs and an amazing long run with a 50 minute slow tempo in the middle of it as preparation for the longer Sydenham 8km race which is only 3 weeks away.

Sandbanks 2009 The Movie

Sanbanks Official Results

My Goal: 22:30 and on a great day 22:00
The Results: 22:37
5km Race History: June 2008 Time Trial 29:50
                              Sandbanks 2008 25:46
                              Kingston May 2009 22:53
                              Sandbanks 2009 22:37
In Summary: I am getting FASTER: )
Future Goal: 22, 21, 20, ............ minutes
Thanks to Sara for my New Fave Quote she thinks is attributed to Lance Armstrong, "Anything is possible, but you have to believe and you have to fight."
I like it because I do feel the mind plays a powerful roll in determining our success' and failures as far as personal developement is concerned. Believing you are capable and deserving of a goal is key in reaching that goal. My favorite part of the quote is the part about having to fight. I love this part because it means we hold the power to succeed within us.
Note: My Garmin gave the funniest readings for this race. Not at all accurate. It said I ran 5kms in 19:54. Oh if it were only true. Perhaps my Garmin is from the future and was racing with me next year at this same race and somehow got sent back in time. WE HAVE NOW ENTERED THE TWILIGHT ZONE!!

My Trophies

Showing Off my "Trophies" scabs, stitches and ALL!!

My coach once had the nerve to tell me that the excruciatingly sore legs I was left with after my first goal race were infact my "TROPHIES". What kind of prize is that I thought, he must be CRAZY. But hey no one else was giving me any trophies so I took my prize and ran with it(them). The next time I raced my legs were sore again and as before I took my prize and ran with them. I have been running with my TROPHIES for a year and half now and I gotta tell you that these suckers are stronger and sturdier and faster then I ever thought possible. Sometimes I look down at them and I wonder where they came from and how they got attached to me. I am beginning to think that perhaps my coach was not so CRAZY afterall. I am very proud of my TROPHIES these days so I'm happy to show them off scabs, stitches and all and I must admit that my TROPHY CASE isn't looking too shabby either. If I do say so myself: )

Well I spent the week recovering from my fall while testing out the "trophies" with an easy run on Wednesday and Friday. Derrick scheduled a Tempo/Long run on Saturday and all felt great. I feel I have recovered 100% from my unfortunate fall and am good to go for my race this Sunday where I expect to be picking up another set of  "Trophies" for the effort. Wish me LUCK!

3 Lucky 7's

I was feeling amazing. I thought to myself that I wish I always felt so light and springy. I was nearing 2.5 km when I was thinking about a Pose Running Clinic going on in Montreal. I had missed the posting on line and thought that perhaps I could have gone...then I was down. My hand was bleeding and my head was a bit shaken although I did not hit it. I got up and kept going thinking how this was my second time falling in a month and I hoped I was not going to be making a habit of it as it was beginning to hurt. I kept running and rounded a bend on the trail at about 4.5km when a fawn saw me and began running down the trail away from me. I thought to myself I hope the Mom is not around and realized I was actually afraid of a deer. Hey one attacked my Mom and her dog once. Anyways I was thinking about all of that and BOOM I was down again...HARD. The ground came up so fast at me and I knew I was hurt. First thing I thought was I won't be able to finish this long run, 2nd thing I won't be able to run my Tempo on Tuesday or my Intervals on Thursday. I figured I could still run the race on the 20th if nothing was broken so I checked the body parts. I was bleeding from every limb and my left side of my body was all scraped up. The worst injury was my right knee. A thick flap of skin had lifted and was all mangled. GROSS. I thought about walking home but the blood was really coming down so I walk down the trail some more to a house and called my husband to pick me up. I have never had to make such a call to my husband and I hope I never will again. I spent the night going between Emergency rooms at the two Kingston hospitals. I finally saw Dr. Jones at KGH. He cleaned the wound out really good as it had half the trail in there and stitched me up. Which strangely enough leads me to another story. I was at Costco on Friday and my bill came to $77.77. I then went to a corner store and my bill was $7.00. I thought to myself that I was due for some LUCK and another 7 as things usually come in 3's. To my surprise I got my 3RD NUMBER 7 last night at the hospital as the Dr. finished stitching up my knee. 7 stitches in the shape of a 7. I am still waiting for my luck to kick in :)
PS
I feel fine today. A small bit of stiffness. My knees are both bandaged thank goodness because they are horrible to look at. the stones put huge pock marks in both of them and my elbows and my thigh and hip. Otherwise I'm OK. Just find all those 7's interesting so though: )

As Fall approaches...

For some reason this week I am finding it hard to finish my sentences and to form coherent thoughts.
I think it is just my excitement over getting back from Florida to my trail and some more sensible weather.

As Fall approaches I am LOOKING FORWARD to-
-training on my trail
-the race reports from this years Haliburton 50's and 100 Sept. 12th. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!
-training for Sandbanks
-racing at Sandbanks Sept. 20th
-training for Sydenham
-racing at Sydenham Oct. 18th
-running in the beautiful fall weather as the leaves change color

STEPS

A great week of training in Florida. The humidity and heat was crazy and I tried my best not to complain about the added discomfort and instead concentrated on running strong and with purpose. I had 2 aqua-runs this week and 4 road runs including a very successful interval run on Tuesday and a great long run on Saturday.

I find I spend a great amount of my running time thinking about my running form. One day I hope that such mundane thoughts will no longer clutter my brain during runs however at this point in my running career I am still figuring out how to put one foot in front of the other. I wrote this poem about my running form struggles.

STEPS

Sometimes the steps are HARD; SLUGGISH, SLOW and HEAVY,

Sometimes the steps are EASY; EFFORTLESS, FAST and LIGHT,

Yet every step does carry me; BODY, MIND and SOUL,

Across the distance by but, the POWER OF MY MIGHT!

Mr. Cranky Knee Beckons Me

The second I deleted my poem from the top of this Blog last week I had a sinking feeling that I may have been a bit premature. At the time of the deletion I was well aware that my knee problems were not 100% behind me and as it turns out I was correct...and that is a GOOD THING:) I was correct that Mr. Cranky Knee was NOT BEHIND ME because he was in fact waiting AHEAD OF ME 5 minutes or so at the end of each run beckoning me to continue on to him. He appears to be waiting for me further and further ahead with each run these days and will soon be so far down the road or trail that his beckoning calls are destined to be but mere whispers on the wind.

This week included 1 aqua-running session in a very warm Florida pool and 4 days of land running including back to back days, an encouraging interval run and a 60 minute long run.
I am starting to think about racing however training smart and staying healthy is my only true goal right now and hence my new motto "Smart Training Beats Dumb Straining".

The Perils of Aqua-Running in Florida

Retiring My Poem

With much thought and no remorse I have finally decided to retire my poem from the top of it's namesake Blog. I wrote the poem one very frustrating day in May, 2 weeks after my PB setting 5km race which marked the beginning of the end of my knee. I was 3 days into a 7 day layoff from running and my computer was refusing to turn on no matter how patient I was trying to be. Pressing that ON button over and over just seemed to escalate my already building frustration so rather then take it out on my computer I decided to take a break and wrote a poem. The line "I need drugs to get me through it" was originally "I need cryogenic sleep to get me through it" as taking 7 whole days off from running seemed like an eternity at the time. Well I made it through the 7 days with no running however the knee ache was sadly waiting for me on my next run and for every run after that for the next 3 months. The ache is still there however it joins me at the end of my runs these days rather then in the middle. I am really looking forward to ditching my cranky running partner altogether soon so I can stop worrying about when he is going to show up.

I had a successful week of training having upped my long run to over 55 minutes and feel I have finally reached a point where I am able to get some good time in on my legs and really start putting together(with the help of my coach) some real training runs.

Monday July 27th to Sunday August 2nd

Things felt really great this past week and I am almost ready to retire my poem from the top of this Blog. If all goes well this week then I will take it down.

I had 7 days of workouts including 3 days aqua-running, 3 days trail running and 1 day rowing on the Egometer due to rough water. My knee was good as gold all week and it was nice to finish each run without that horrible building knee ache which has been my cue to pack it in lately.

It has been 3 months since my knee problems began and one year since I ran in the Kingston Tri which was the goal race that got me training in the first place. It will be nice to start working towards some new/old goals now including the Sandbanks 5km and the Sydenham 8km.