19 miles in Hurricane Danny

As much as I love running the idea of trekking out in Hurricane Danny is not high on my thrill list, especially with my last experience with Hurricane Bill and my abode. I've just begun the Dalhousie Womens Soccer team tryouts and had already been standing in the rain watching soccer for 2 hours when Julie and I were supposed to meet for the biggest challenge of our training to date. A 19 mile run to Bedford. Torrential rain left me contemplating carrying goggles in my bra along with my powergel, ipod, and extra money for water. It's amazing how fast a bra can turn into a purse when necessary. staying warm wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be but I'd recommend investing in some gloves if you have the circulation issues I tend to have. Even after the first hour my hands were still green with chill. I think we both feel super stoked knowing that the marathon is only another 7 miles! I love that I'm at the point 7 miles seems like a jaunt in the park. 

There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people. – Bill Bowerman

9 mile recovery loop isn't as easy as I remembered.

First run back in halifax after Dunbracks soccer victory and Julie and I decide to keep it light with 9 miles considering we have 19 miles to accomplish tomorrow. My legs felt very heavy and I'm praying it's just the jet lag and I've now run it out of me. A good nights rest should get them going for a serious day tomorrow! 

Dunbrack provincial champions led by miss Julie Lawrence!

So I come back from Calgary and the soccer team I've been "playing" for, sporadically attending at best, has won the provincial title!! Julie came out on top getting 2 out of the 3 goals! She's a Nova Scotia Soccer celebrity as you can see with her photo flying with outstretched wings in the chronicle after one of her goals and an article in the Metro. The game can be revisited in all its glory at tonight Friday the 28th at 7pm on Eastlink Channel 10. Julie and I planned our marathon choice to be in Niagara falls because it is on october 25th which would allow us to attend Soccer Nationals in Saskatchewan 2 weeks prior. Hopefully our bodies will withstand the extra abuse! Congrats Julie you're amazing!

Hurricane Bill takes the condo.

Just a quick update since getting back from the west. I took the travel day off running and started up again yesterday at my cottage for an 8 mile coastal run. I had to run at the cottage because I stayed there instead of my place in the city which had some trouble with the storm. I pulled a real hairbrain move and left a window open meaning water damage to some of the flooring. It wouldn't have been so bad if the manufacturers hadn't discontinued the flooring type so now the entire floor has to be redone. needless to say i'm noones favourite family member right now.  But the running continues. I never knew there was so much humidity in the air until I took a few jaunts out west. 

brother/sister Cory Pass Loop and Edith Mountain Banff hike

For a change of pace in the training my brother took me on a hike through beautiful Banff. We read "this is one of the most difficult hikes in Banff National Park, for strong hikers with good route finding skills. Return from Cory Pass by making a loop around Mount Edith and descending the Edith Pass trail" and thought this would definitely count for a training day. I just didn't think it would have to count for two days due to the after effects of using muscles I didn't know exist. Not only am I scared of heights but we were on our hands and knees crawling through some undefined terrain. I love giving people the misconception that I'm unathletic as I hiked a serious trail in my runners and lululemon gear. Even before we started the hike the typical skipole holding, huge sock-n-boot type of hiking group stopped me to make sure I knew the elevation was 915m. Man it felt good to pass them. We also passed another hiker who said he uses hikes as training for his marathons as well so I felt good about my substitution for a medium length run.  

how do you run outside when sydney crosbys in the building?

I went out to do 3 km loops of the local park before the lunch break crowds broke free and I ran into a ton of NHL coaches and players coming into the hotel. Even with all my international experience with soccer meeting many big name athletes I left just a little star struck. During the first loop of the run I really struggled considering i'm still ridiculously stiff from the mountain hike my brother and I did the other day but I persevered. On my 3rd loop in I got the amazing idea that NHL players=athletes=stay fit= WEIGHT ROOM IN HOTEL!!! so I ran back to the hotel to finish my run on the treadmill but secretly try to sneak a peak at some legends. Needless to say all i met were 2 commentators from rogers sports channel. No future husbands there (joking). I'm now sitting in the lobby on wireless internet before I check out hoping to see the Nova Scotia prodigy himself. I have a feeling I look like a huge groupie. Either way i'm looking forward to running back on known terrain.

Julie Conquers 17 miles solo!!

I had to put up the redeeming feat Julie accomplished while I was gone! I got a message that while I struggled to complete 8 miles without Julie pushing me along she did all 17 miles by herself. I'm looking forward to having my running buddy back come tuesday!

big city running for a small town girl.

I've gone to calgary to visit my brother for 5 days but I brought my sneakers with me and have had my first experience trying to run here. I used to think halifax had sidewalk traffic, but in calgary the sidewalks are equivalent to boston city rushhour. I laced up and tried getting my run over with at lunch hour which is when every single person leaves work and runs/bikes/ rollerskates (yes people still do it) around the Eau Claire Park. It was slightly stressful constantly dodging oncoming business men who run as if they just dominated a board meeting and won't move aside for anyone. Regardless I started getting frustrated with their "my-road-only" attitude so I started playing their games right on back. One shirtless middle-aged man taking up waaay too much room started coming at me and I got my stubborn streak rolling and decided I was NOT moving this time. 25 meters....20  meters...... neither budging....15 meters.....10 meters....come on try me....5 meters...3..2..ahhh...1 BAM! we nailed left arms and spun out enough like a total brat. I apologized as a good small city girl does while he sneered and kept going. I'll stick to my none aggressive running tactics from now on but I felt mighty proud I wasn't standing down for anyone. Even if it is a juvenile game of chicken... I didn't lose : )

running for mental sanity

Today is a "take-care-of-me" type of day. All these miles I'm running take up alot of time in your week and I'm realizing how mentally strenuous it can get when other areas of your life get neglected. Such as forgetting to do mundane but necessary chores like laundry, that turn into day events like the 3rd load i'm on now....all mostly socks and sports-bras since that's all I wear now anyways. regardless I took one of my many therapists (or friends as some people call them) on a walk/jog of the first part of my 10 mile run today. It was exactly what I needed. Friends are always great at giving that outside perspective you never seem to see still with your best interest at heart. I think more people need to take time out of their day to think about what they want out of life. For me my big questions of the day were am I looking after myself? This running can get exhausting and it isn't easy. Having my friends be the lighthearted addition to my day keep my legs light and ready to keep moving!! thanks for the chat therapist! love you!

weight lifting responses

ok so my last post with the weightlifting meathead experience got alot of responses from my Uconn soccer ladies who felt I hadn't fully painted a fair picture of my lifting abilities. Although I KNOW I am a ridiculously strong athlete it doesn't show with the same conviction on paper. By the end of my 4 years at university of connecticut I was able to pump out a solid bench press of about the bar plus a 5lbs addition on either side. Either way you wouldn't offer to run miles for someone trying to lose weight as much as a pick up the weights of a girl at the gym. Most of us are there for a reason and it's not to get a date! 

back to the treadmill

So this morning I ran without my trusty running buddy, Julie so that I could go out to my cottage and "work" poolside. I'm bringing an office frien, Magda, so really i think it counts as an official work day. without my running partner to track the runs so I don't get lost in the very city I grew up in, I iresorted to the gym. It's embarassing how easily I can zone out and get lost once I get in a good rythm so the safest way not to waste a full day is to go on the treadmill. I hate to admit it but I love going to the gym now. its convenient and I've found the corners where the meat heads will leave you alone. my favourite gym meathead encounter must be when a juiced up guy came over to me while I was carrying 15lbs dumbbells and asked if he could help carry them for me... I just looked at him and responded "I think the point is I need to lift them, but thanks". I'm sure he was being nice but something about his chivalry seemed misplaced in a gym. The gym is always entertaining, you never know what youre going to get! for today I managed a quick 4 mile with sprints and nothing special about it. Theres no way I could do another run in this heat! the marathons in october so really i should train in air conditioned areas right?

Julie collapses on mile 10!

Julie and I took on our first 17 mile run and it was officially the hottest day halifax has seen yet. It reached 34 degrees celsius and we didn't start our run until just after 9am. The heat must have fried my brain because I totally forgot to carry the money for water in my pool of boob-sweat in my bra. For those who also don't run in Halifax or Dartmouth its basically just a series of hills. so were on one of those horrible hills in Dartmouth just before the bridge, and Julie just stops and instantly curls to a semi fetal position. I've never seen heat stroke but this was pretty much it. she started dry heaving and crying and basically I have no words for that feeling where you want to make it stop and have no idea what you can do. The poor thing must have felt like death and she still wanted to keep on running! we had to walk all the way back from Darmouth to the Dalhousie region in Halifax. I HATE walking. it is the slowest way to get anywhere. Hence why I love running. It gets you from A-->B at the fastest means possible without needing any expensive machines! Also i'm not great with cars.. but thats a whole other series of disasters.
Anyway finished the run in a solid 3+ hours in scorching heat but Julie is alive and kicking and running again! hopefully the weather chills out a bit.. or I remember water. sorry Julie.

The Genesis

Let the Blogging begin! This is my first day I've ventured away from facebook and hotmail in my attempt to explore what else the internet has to offer... or me offer to it. This is a symbiotic relationship I have good motivation to dig into. I'm going to run 26 miles in the Niagara Falls International Marathon to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
If you asked me a year ago running for 26 minutes would have been a big enough feat in itself but hey, we all know alot changes in a year and I figure if i'm going to be addicted to something it might as well be endorphins... they're cheap. So until october 25th (judgment day!!) i'll be hitting trails, roads, and treadmills around halifax with my buddy Julie Lawrence to get our legs and mostly our minds ready for each step of each mile.

I guess the best introduction should be why am I running? and why is it for breast cancer?

Well I certainly wasn't born to run, really I don't think anyone is born to run 26 miles but I do believe some people are given a gift for active living and I've certainly been overly blessed in that area. I was apart of the junior canadian national team programs from when I was 14 until 2 years ago when I turned 21 and had my last year playing before I would have to join the full womens squad. I played in two junior world cups in russia and thailand, and have traveled all over the world to domican republic, trinidad and tobago, italy, germany, finland, mexico, brazil, and all over the USA and Canada. When highschool friends are recounting all the parties and details from nights out my highschool memories consist of all the different types of grassfields and turfs I would collapse on after pushing my body to its collapsing point. I then went to college at the university of Connecticut where I played 4 years with an amazing group of girls. once all the soccer was over though I realized I just have too much energy and it has to go somewhere or else I am one hard to handle person. So for the sanity of my friends and family.. especially you dad.. I took up running. Turns out it's not as boring as it looks. I have a fabulous imagination that can keep me occupied for hours. So I thought here a new skill I can apply to another area of my life.

the WHY cancer response.
Well I guess my reason is both selfish and communal. My mother died from breast cancer when I was 18 after she struggled with the disease for 5 years. It was brutal to watch and I know many women and friends who've witnessed the same disease attack their lives and the lives of those they love. my grandmother is a breast cancer survivor, but with my family history i'm in the high risk category. I'll touch on the subject of cancer and my experiences and feelings with it all later in detail. I think as a woman with high breast cancer risk it is something I wake up knowing may affect how my life ends but I won't let it effect how my life is lived. Thats why I'm running to raise money for the canadian breast cancer foundation. check out their website, they're on the right track funding not only ways to find a cure but on resources to improve living with this disease.

all in all. I know I can run. I know both women and men are fed up with losing loved ones to cancer. this is my way of trying to keep up awareness and hopefully some funding to one of the leading organizations on promoting a cancer free future!