Monday, March 31, 2014

Hamilton Around the Bay 30K

Posted by Anonymous

Well folks, we did it and we survived! This was the first time for each of us to race a 30K (18 mile) distance. And, for me, this was only the 2nd time I have ever run this far. I have done several 25-28 k runs but only once before did I run 30 k. I have a full-marathon in my schedule, 5 weeks from now, so I thought this would be a good training run to prepare me for that. It certainly was that. This was quite a hilly course and at times, I thought they were playing a joke on us by how steep the hills were. Some may think I am exaggerating but in my mind, that was for real! The last 10 k are through rolling hills and I mean rolling…

Anyways, on to the event details. You will see other recaps this week on the event so I won’t include everything. I will leave some things to the others.

We hit up the race expo on Saturday to pick up our race bibs and packs. There were a lot of great booths there and I wanted to look more but for me, there were too many people and I wasn’t interested in weaving through all the people to look at stuff so we didn’t spend too much time there. Our race packs came with a long sleeve tech shirt and a hat. Both very nice and very comfy!

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Sunday morning came and we were up and at it by 7 am. Race start time was 9:30. We arrived around 8:30, hit up the washrooms then waiting to be herded to the corrals. We all stuck together before the start. We were about 6 minutes back from the starting line after the gun went off. Once we crossed over the starting line, we wished each other well and were on our individual ways. I saw Mike up ahead of me for a bit, then lost sight of him. I put my iPod on and my head down and powered away.

The weather ended up being very nice for a run. It was about 3°C/37°F and sunny which really helped.

I would have to say this race was as equally challenging to me physically and mentally. I took some of your advice from comments on one of my posts from earlier this month and mentally broke the run up into 3-10 k runs. It really did help so thank you!

When we originally signed up for this race my goal was to finish in 2:45 but then after the last couple weeks and really struggling with some pain in my left foot and right hamstring I thought I would take it slower and hoped to finish in 3:00. I listened to my body throughout the run and kept a pace that was comfortable and did not push myself. I ended up finishing in 2:41:24 so I was very happy with that. I did do a positive split throughout the last 10k of the race with brought down my overall pace but I didn’t mind that at all.

At the finish, we were handed a bag and some items of food and drinks and then our medals.

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I found Mike and we headed back to the car to get our change of clothes and came back to meet up with Michelle when she finished. The race finished inside the First Ontario Place so we were able to have a warm spot to sit in the stands and see Michelle finish.

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This was our view of the finish area.

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As we were sitting there, I said to Mike “why are they playing wedding music?”. Mike looked around and noticed that there was actually a couple getting married right by the finish line.

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Not sure what the story is behind that but it was kinda cool to see that! Congrats to whoever the couple is!

After we all finished, we were starved and needed some food immediately. Michelle found online that there was a Mother’s Pizza close by so off we headed to get our post-race fuel.

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It was everything I thought it would be!! Delicious and nutritious!! Right??!! I left with a full and satisfied belly.

All in all, I am glad we did this race and I am happy with my finish but I am not so sure I will be rushing to sign up for next year.

Did anybody race this weekend?

What was the weather like to run in?

Sunday, March 30, 2014

3 Cheap Runners' Weekend Wrap

Posted by CheapRunnerMike

While the 3 Cheap Runners enjoy their day off, here are a few of the happenings that caught their eyes during the past week...

 

Links we Liked

 

In case you missed a day...

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Snapshot Saturday

Posted by CheapRunnerMike
Enjoy some photos snapped by the 3CheapRunners this week as seen on Instagram.
 
 



Follow MichelleInstagram Follow RhodaInstagramFollow MikeInstagram

 

 

Friday, March 28, 2014

Bring on the Melt!

Posted by CheapRunnerMike

Spring may almost be ready to wake from her slumber in these parts as it has warmed up this morning and we'll get up to a balmy 9°C (48°F)…there is rain mind you, but that's part of spring I suppose.  We'll take it!

The forecast looks alright for our Sunday race, 7°C (45°F) and mainly sunny…excellent running conditions.  Hopefully we won't have too much wind coming in off the lake.  The course is 30K (about 19 miles), which is quite an odd distance…the first 20K is described as fast and scenic, but the last 10K "includes rolling hills".  Apparently the race director's idea of "rolling" is this reporter's idea of "brutal".

Well, at least the weather should be better than that!  I also just found out that one of my brother's friend's is running the race as well…Boyd is a Leukemia survivor and is running for awareness of the OneMatch Bone Marrow Registry.  There's a story and a short clip on the CHCH News site here, take a look.  Good luck Boyd!

I've been taking care of the foot and it feels really good…I'm ready to run but not going to do anything until race day.  Just keep icing and playing foot tennis.

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I've had a couple rides on the trainer this week, one while Michelle and Kennedy were watching TV and I really busted some ass and the other where I decided to play some Disney Infinity with Jackson and I kinda forgot I was on the bike and was barely pedaling at some points.  We'll call that a recovery ride Smile

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If you remember back to a couple weekends ago I did the MEC Race and got dressed up for St Patrick's Day.  Well one of the ladies here at work came to me and said she saw me in the newspaper running in a striped shirt…I had no idea.  I went online and found the article, can you spot me?

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I'll be back in the pool again today giving 1600m a try…that's a whole mile!  Hopefully all the flooding around here holds off and I won't have to swim my way back to work afterwards (rain + snow melt = high river in London).

Tue swim 1200m
Wed bike 23.4K
Thu bike 16.4K

Have you ever been in the newspaper before?  What for?
I was another time too, as a tuxedo model in a bridal special of all things

Any exciting plans for the weekend?  Who's racing?

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Time to Celebrate

Posted by CheapRunnerMichelle
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So this weekend is a special weekend! It's our little man's 5th birthday!!!! Tomorrow night we are having our family over to celebrate and have a little party for him. I'm pretty stoked about the present we got him...we are taking him to Fallsview Indoor Waterpark in a few weeks.

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Jackson - you are such a caring, helpful, thoughtful little boy, and I am already so proud of the man I see you becoming. Your sense of humour is sharp and witty and you can always put a smile on other's faces. You're such a cool cat and I am so fortunate to get to be your mom - I love you and happy 5th birthday.

And here are some things I promise to teach you as you continue to grow

- Play a sport.  It will teach you how to win honorably, lose gracefully, respect authority, work with others, manage your time and stay out of trouble.   And maybe even throw or catch.

- You will set the tone for the sexual relationship, so don't take something away from a girl that you can't give back - and remember that God created this as gift to share with your wife on your wedding night

- Use careful aim when you pee.  Somebody's got to clean that up, you know.

- Save money when you're young because you're going to need it some day.

- Allow me to introduce you to the dishwasher, oven, washing machine, iron, vacuum, mop and broom.  Now please go use them.

- Pray and be a spiritual leader.

- Don't ever be a bully and don't ever start a fight, but if some idiot clocks you, please defend yourself.

- Your knowledge and education is something that nobody can take away from you.

- Treat women kindly.  Forever is a long time to live alone and it's even longer to live with somebody who hates your guts.

- Take pride in your appearance.

- Be strong and tender at the same time.

- A woman can do everything that you can do.  This includes her having a successful career and you changing diapers at 3 A.M.  Mutual respect is the key to a good relationship.

- "Yes ma'am" and "yes sir" still go a long way.

- The reason that they're called "private parts" is because they're "private".  Please do not scratch them in public.

- Peer pressure is a scary thing.  Be a good leader and others will follow.

- Bringing her flowers for no reason is always a good idea.

- Potty humour isn't the only thing that's humorous. 

- Please choose your spouse wisely.  My daughter-in-law will be the gatekeeper for me spending time with you and my grandchildren.

- Remember to call your mother because I might be missing you.

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Anything else I should add to the list?


Anyone else have a birthday this weekend?

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Running, Eating and Shopping

Posted by Anonymous

Yesterday, I got my first run in since last Wednesday.

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Foot felt pretty good but my right hammy was still quite sore. I did some good stretching post run and massaged it off and on throughout the night last night. This morning my foot felt tight and my hammy felt a little better. I guess it is a back and forth game right now. Hopefully both cooperate for Race Day on Sunday.

So, for today, that is all the running I have to talk about. What do I do when I don’t talk about running? Talk about food and shopping of course.

I love fruit smoothies and once the nicer weather arrives, that will be my breakfast every morning. I have never really been into the whole fruit/veggie smoothie combo thing but last week, I came across a frozen fruit/veggie combo in a bag that you can make yourself at home. The bag said you can make 3 smoothies out of the bag and it was $4 (way better than the $5-$7 for 1 that they go for at the smoothie bars), so I snagged one up. I gave it a try yesterday.

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The instructions say to mix it with milk or juice. I tried it with this Slim Tropical Mango juice and it was quite delish!

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I have also been enjoying some chili, crackers & hummus, and my new favorite fruit-mangos. Up until about 2 weeks ago, I have gone my whole life thinking I hated mangos. Not so true anymore.

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I did a little shopping on the weekend. I made a rule for myself when I moved last Fall. For every new piece of clothing I add to my closet, something must go. I simply do not have the room, like I used to, for excess clothes. Well, I seem to have forgotten that rule. So after my shopping on the weekend, I decided it was now time to go through my closet and start sticking to my rule.

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2 garbage bags full later (I will donate to a Used Clothing Store), my closet now has room!

What has been your fruit of choice lately?

How often do you purge your closet?

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Cross-Train to Beat the Pain

Posted by CheapRunnerMike

Despite not running at all since I had pain in my foot last Tuesday, I still have managed to get in some great training this past week.  Thankfully there were no ill effects to my peroneal tendonitis while biking or swimming, so I've taken this opportunity to get a lot of swimming and biking in…though I'd rather the weather was nice enough to allow me to actually go outside and ride my bike instead of being locked on the trainer.  We've been well below freezing this past week and even woke up to snow this morning.  Have I complained about this winter much?

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My poor bike just wants to put some rubber on the road instead of just sitting in front of the TV spinning her wheels…well, wheel.  Soon enough, I hope.

The swimming is going well and my confidence in the pool is growing.  I am now up to 1500m sessions, just under a mile and only a quarter mile off the swim required for a Half Ironman race.  I finish up feeling strong and knowing I could keep going, and my times are slowing improving as well.

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The Swim-a-Mile app I've been using has been great for me as a beginner swimmer…there are plenty of programs and plans available out there, but most of them make no sense to me at all.  They are laced with swim jargon and can be quite intimidating for a newbie.  The Swim-a-Mile app is as basic as it gets…swim this distance this many times and rest this long in between.  So easy to understand, and helps you build not only a good base, but the confidence and desire to do more.

As far as my foot goes, I've relied on the advice I found on the Athletes treating Athletes site.  I've been resting, icing, stretching, using a tennis ball (everyone rolls a tennis ball with their foot under their desk at work right?  Totally normal), anti-inflamitories, I've taped once (it didn't hold) and I should be foam rolling but still haven't.  The foot is feeling much better and is nearly pain free.  Every now and then I feel it when I'm walking, so I'm still not going to chance a run.  At the most I may try a short 5K on Friday to see how it feels going into the Around the Bay 30K race on Sunday.  I just want to get through the run without hurting anything…no time goals this time.

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So another week off of running means another week of swimming and biking…I'll be off to the Y at lunch to get a swim in and then the challenge will be to get back to the office without freezing my butt off.  Apparently wet hair has the ability to freeze in this lovely Spring weather even if you have your winter hat on…

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TRAINING

Mon swim 1200m
Tue run 10.5K
Wed swim 1200m
Thu swim 1200m
Fri bike trainer 26.5K
Sat bike trainer 24K
Sun swim 1500m

So I swam 5100m, biked 50K and ran 10K…not too bad for a week that I went into with an injury.  Yay for cross-training!  Hopefully it helps keep fit while not running so that I'll come back strong when the foot's ready.

How do you train through an injury?

Do you ice, stretch, etc. at the office?

Monday, March 24, 2014

Mail Haul

Posted by CheapRunnerMichelle
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Other then going to work during the day...this pic pretty much sums up the kind of week I've had. It all started late Tuesday night and continues into today. I would say that Saturday was the worst of it, and dare I say...I think I'm starting to feel a little tiny bit better. In addition to feeling like garbage, my ears have been plugged, so I've been deaf too. So my hubby bought me a great gift the other night

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I have an appointment at the doctor's tomorrow morning to get my ears flushed out, and I am so excited to be able to hear again.

It ended up being a great mail week though!

Last month I signed up for a mug swap.  I ended up getting paired with a really sweet girl Lindi from Texas. After a few email exchanges we sent our mugs to each other.

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I know it's kinda hard to read in the pic, but the mug says 'Michelle Princess on the Run'. I thought it was so nice of her to take the time to get to know me a bit and really add a personal touch! I hear there are rumors about doing this mug swap again - and I would participate again in a heartbeat!

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Some reading material arrived (for all the hours I am spending in bed right now)

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Loose Button is a beauty subscription that I have shared on here before...it comes out every 3 months. Some great products in it this month that I am looking forward to trying!

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I signed up for iPsy a loooong time ago, but this month I finally got off the wait list, and received my first package. This one is a monthly beauty subscription, and seems to be a great value...all this for $10...a full size OPI nail polish, a bare minerals lipstick, a face primer and an eye shadow quad and that cute makeup bag that it was all shipped in.

This has not exactly been the week to try any of that out, so once I'm feeling better, I'll start playing around with my new products.

And last, but certainly not least...my favourite mail that arrived this week

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Can't wait to break these beauties in!!!

Did you get anything exciting in the mail this week?

Anyone have some nice weather that you would like to bottle up and send my way?!? We were still getting snow yesterday :(

Sunday, March 23, 2014

3 Cheap Runners' Weekend Wrap

Posted by CheapRunnerMike

While the 3 Cheap Runners enjoy their day off, here are a few of the happenings that caught their eyes during the past week...

 

Links we Liked

 

In case you missed a day...

 

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Snapshot Saturday

Posted by CheapRunnerMike
Enjoy some photos snapped by the 3CheapRunners this week as seen on Instagram.
 
 



Follow MichelleInstagram Follow RhodaInstagramFollow MikeInstagram

 

 

Friday, March 21, 2014

Five Things Friday

Posted by Anonymous

Good morning everyone! Happy Friday! Can’t believe the weekend is almost here. This week has disappeared on me.

I have been struggling with a sore left foot and a sore right hamstring since last Saturday. I took Sunday and Monday off from running and got outside for a 10k on Tuesday. Both were pretty sore after that run. Wednesday, I woke up feeling sore but both got better as the day went on, so I decided I would go for a run on the treadmill. I made it to 5k and was pretty sore, so stopped there. I want to feel good for next weekend’s race so I have scaled back in hopes to let some repair action happen.

I am joining Clare on her Five Things Friday today!

1. Who doesn’t love a sprinkle donut??

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2. If I can’t live in California, I will enjoy some California rolls.

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3. Did you say Coconut Macaroon?? Don’t mind if I do….

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4. Been a little thirsty….

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5. Yes, these are the signs of 2 days in a row of planking

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Am I allowed to have 1 more favorite??

I will say yes!

6. Saved the best for last! It was my dad’s birthday this week so we all had a little celebration.

My dad with my 2 nephews.

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Have a great weekend everyone!

What is one of your favorites from this week?

Any birthdays out there this week?