Week 11: Session 3 ... yesterday

Thursday was an outside run 
5minute warm up 
40minute run, 1minute walk and 10minute run 
5min cool down
61minutes... I believe I did a bit more then 8k.
Forgot the ipod AGAIN. 
Forgot to load the BlackBerry with music.
Forgot to charge Garmin aka Dennis the Menace.
BUT it still managed to be a good run and easier then I thought it would be. 
When I first start my run I break it down in portions so it doesn't seem so overwhelming. 
I tell myself to run for 20mintues and then ONLY another 10minutes and then ONLY another 5minutes and next thing I know I've been running for 40minutes. It really seems to trick my mind in thinking its not a big deal and I can totally do it.
My Girlfriend Claudia, who runs with our Couch-to-5k group decided to join me on part of my run and it was really nice to have some company. 
It's strange to think that just 4 months ago I was in her shoes, not able to run more then 90 seconds and NOW I'm able to run for 40minutes straight. 
If you were to tell me last year that this year I would be running a 10k, I would have called you INSANE!! 
And now look at me... gearing up to run my first 10k in a week. 


Today, was supposed to be Session 1 of week 12... but my shins were just not up to it. BECAUSE yesterday when I got home from my run I was absolutely exhausted and did NOT stretch, did NOT ice... when will I learn?? 
So instead I ran with our Couch-to-5k group, which today was only my 64yr old Mom and my friend Ana. 
This upcoming week I will try to finish what I started 4 months ago, I hope the weather is nice so I can continue running outside and I really hope my legs and shins hold up. 

week 11: Session 2

It's a beautiful Spring night in Toronto and todays Run was OUTSIDE!! 
5minute warm up 
30minute run, 1minute walk and 20minute run (JUST realized that this was supposed to be a 30min run, 1min walk and 25minute run) OH WELL. I could have run for another 5minutes, so I'm going to say that I absolutely completed this session and move on. 
8.25km (5.12miles) in 61minutes. 
Todays run, although SLOW went so well. I am so pleased and just happy. 
I don't want to say that it was an easy run, because trust me I'm not at the place yet where running is easy, but it could not have gone better today. 
My Shins held up really well, with very little pain and although I was tired it all seems to come together for the perfect run for me. 
Funny... I got home after having one of those days at work and things at home have not been that great either... I don't think I could have run on the treadmill tonight, BUT things changed as soon as I got outside and went for my run. 
I just left everything behind. Running all by myself with no music it was therapeutic, I felt so renewed and ready to tackle whatever was waiting for me at home. 


Tomorrow, I'm training the girls on their Couch-to-5km. 
Wednesday I'm running session 3 of week 11.
Tonight we have a short post ... it's allergy season and my baby boy is really struggling with his allergies and asthma, it's going to be a long night. 


I wanted to thank everyone for their support and kind words. 
THANK You, it means so much to me!! 

week 11: Session 1 redo DONE!!

Friday was an emotional day... and lets leave it at that. 
I was supposed to redo session 1 of week 11 and honestly I could not see myself running for 1hr on the treadmill, I just had NO motivation to do so. 
However the Girls really wanted to run and I'm really glad I ended up going with them.
So out we went for our Couch-to-5k run, we had a great run and my shins held up really well and I felt so much better after. It was really nice running in a group and just clearing my mind. 

TODAY I ran... before my run I decided to give Vega Sport Pre-Workout Sports Beverage a try. 

This is meant to be taken before you work out to help you sustaining energy, enhanced mental focus and increased aerobic and anaerobic capacity, also replenishes electrolytes and reduces inflammation, joint and muscle pain to assist recovery. 

I mixed the single serving pouch of the Acai-berry in a cup of ice cold water and although it was a bit grainy I have to say that I was really surprised by how good it tasted, not what I was expecting. 

NOW did it do what it claims it does ... I'm not sure. I felt great during the first portion of my run, but not more then normal. I can't say that I really noticed a difference in my endurance or how great I felt. My tummy was actually not that happy, but I'm not sure if that was because of the Vega or just because. 

I will have to give it another try and see how I do the next time. 

on treadmill 

5 minute warm up 

25 minute run, 1minute walk & 25 minute run (51minutes) 

5 minute cool down 

7k in 61minutes 

As always I have no issues with the first 25 minute run, if that is all I had to do I would fine, it's after the 1 minute walk that things fall apart, AND today was no different. 

I'm not sure why I loose momentum after walking... you would think that the walking break EVEN if just for 1min would let me pick up where I left off and continue a great run. BUT it doesn't, it does the opposite... I get sluggish, can't find my stride, I have a hard time keeping it together, all of sudden I hit a wall and want to give it up. I hate that! 
BUT I hang in there today and finished and I felt so accomplished!! 


After my run I had a BIG TALL glass of Green Smoothie  

Todays Green Smoothie had; 1 cup of Almond Milk, 1 Banana, 1 handful of Frozen Mangos, 1 T of Ground Flax seeds & about 3 cups of Spinach.
LOVE that Green Colour... it felt so refreshing after that very sweaty run!! 


This morning while catching up on my blogs I came across Running Diva Mom's post on the  goodies she received from Girls on The Run for her upcoming race. 
What really hit me was the quote on the Tech-shirt;


Sweat cleanses from the inside. It comes from places a shower will never reach.–Dr. George Sheehan 


I don't know why but it just really hit home with me. 


Do you have a favourite quote, that really speaks to you?

week 11: Session 1 redo not so much ...

on treadmill 
5 minute warm up 
25 minute run, 1 minute walk and 10minute run (36minutes) 
5 minute cool down 
4.5km in 45 minutes
I was supposed to Run 25min, walk 1min Run 25minutes ... SO I was 15minutes short on my running portion. 
The first 25minutes went really well but after my 1min walk it just all fell apart... kids were hungry and it was already 6:15p and I still had to stretch and make dinner, my legs were heavy, my calf was hurting.
Honestly, I did not want to run today, my head just wasn't in it and I didn't feel great after I ran. 
I felt quite discouraged with myself. Tell me WHY I am doing this again? 


I ran with my Couch-to-5k group on Tuesday and decided to take Yesterday off running, which set me back one day on my training.  That meant I had to run today,  pushing my training back another day was not an option. 
Well, it didn't go so great... looks like I will need to redo todays session tomorrow.


This is what's left on my The Beginning Runners Handbook 13 wk walk/run Program, I have 2 weeks to complete it before my Race. 


Week 11
Session 1 (51 minutes) Run 25 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 25 minutes.
Session 2 (56 minutes) Run 30 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 25 minutes.
Session 3 (51 minutes) Run 40 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 10 minutes.

Week 12
Session 1 (66 minutes) Run 45 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 20 minutes.
Session 2 (66 minutes) Run 50 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 15 minutes.
Session 3 (45 minutes) Run 45 minutes.

Week 13
Session 1 (50 minutes) Run 50 minutes.
Session 2 (40 minutes) Run 40 minutes.Session 3 (60 minutes) Complete your first 10-k event  

The 10k event I picked is Sporting Life 10k on May 2nd. 
Feeling a little overwhelmed right now...

Week 11: Session 2, another failed run

I haven't run since Monday, my right shin has been really bugging me and I decided to give my legs a rest. 

Today was supposed to be a run day, my legs felt better BUT not 100%. 

On the treadmill I went,  warmed up for 5minutes, ran for 10minutes and then had to call it quits... I was in pain, not intense pain but the kind of pain that I didn't think I should be running in. 

I hopped on the bike and was on there for 10minutes before heading back on the treadmill. Walked for 10minutes and thought that the leg felt really good so I gave running another try ... NOPE still in pain. 

This really sucks!! I think I could have gotten a really good run in today. I was looking forward to it, actually craving it.

I'm mad... that I've come this far, was doing so well and now this. It's frustrating!! 

SO the plan is to rest Friday and Saturday and then run On Sunday.

Starting week 11 over on Sunday means that I wont be finishing my 13wk walk/run Program before my 5k race in 3 weeks!! 

I don't want to make a big deal out of it yet, let's see how Sunday goes and then I will go from there. 

Keeping my fingers crossed that this is nothing and I get back to running in no time. 

On Sunday at the Grocery Store, these Bars caught my eye and I just had to try them... PUMPKIN PIE, yes please! 

I'm not a big granola bar person, I always find them too sweet and I would rather just have a piece of Fruit but was so looking forward to having this one since I LOVE Pumpkin Pie and I really like Kashi Cereal. 

The Bar had a layer of an Pumpkin pie like icing on top... and looked delish. 

I really wanted to love it ... but I have to say I was disappointed. It was really sweet, too sweet for me. I didn't enjoy it at all, I wished I would have picked the Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bar instead. OH well, I'll just take it into the office I'm sure the co-workers will love these. 

Week 11: Session 1 and a Lunchtime Run

We had a busy weekend at the house, so there was very little time spend running. 

I tried to run on Sunday morning, jumped out of bed and decided to get my run in before having breakfast!! After 25minutes I was ready to give up. I still managed to get in 3.5km which is not shabby I guess BUT it was supposed to be session 1 of week 11 and it turned out to be just a run. No biggie dust it off and move on.  

Mr. WeatherMan was calling for Sunny Skies and a high of 12C for Monday and what better way then start of my week with a lunchtime run? A redo of week 11: session 1. 

WHO ARE YOU and what have you done with Claudia... honestly? What happened to Lunchtime trip to the Eaton Centre or perhaps strolling along Queen St West, maybe even sitting out on the patio? 

Well that was last year, this year we have 'Lunchtime Run Claudia' get used to it. 

Around 10:30am I had my pre run snack ... a Bananawich, also known as Peanut Butter in a Banana

Unfortunately there are no showers at work... I know what you're thinking. How could I run and NOT shower after? Am I not worried about being all sweaty and stinky at the office? 

WELL we do have bathrooms with running water and really that's all you need.

I decided to have no 'Shower Clean-up' by packing up some BabyWipes, a Towel, Deodorant, Toner, Tinted Moisturizer and Body Mist. 

I changed into my running clothes just before heading out on my run, this includes running socks and sports bra.  I also packed some fresh undies to change into after, this is very important unless you run without.

I was so impressed that I managed to remember everything.

I think the only thing that I meant to bring in but completely forgot was my Evian Mineral Water Spray... it would have been a nice treat BUT not necessary. 

Week 11: Session 1 (redo) 

run outside 

4min warm up 

run 25minutes, walk 1minute and run 25minutes (51minutes) 

5min Cool down 

7.77km (4.83miles) in 60min my average pace was 11:54

Oh BOY... Loved running during my lunch BUT I had some issues.

The first 25minutes I did OK ... not great but OK, I wasn't sure what to do at a red light? Do I stop the Garmin? Do I jog on the spot? I was also overdressed, I had to stop and remove one of my layers (stop the Garmin). 

Running along Harboufront was great!! Loved seeing all the runners out, everyone is so friendly and saying "hello", waving. 
Really enjoyed running along the waterfront, it was such a nice break from my work day.

(on Bathurst Street) 

(Harbourfront) 

(The Rogers Centre and 1/2 CN Tower) 

Once I headed back into the city, up Bay Street along Front back to Spadina that's where I was dodging the lunch crowd... NOT FUN!! Some People were nice and moved out of the way BUT some where not so nice. 
That was also the half way mark of my run and where I started to have issues. I think I must have taken about 4x 30sec walking breaks and then maybe 3 set of red lights... SO it really wasn't a continues 25minute run. I wasn't impressed. 
I also used Map my Run to figure out my route I figured I would run around 7.5k in 51minutes and I ended up being 10minutes short, so I ran in circles for a while and then decided to run to Fresh and pick up a Power Shake; Fruity Green (Broccoli, Spinach, Pineapple, Mango, Banana, Orange & Greens+)  and a Sandwich for Lunch. 
YUM!! The Power Shake didn't even make it to the office (which is only a 3minute walk from Fresh) 

The Sandwich was  Goat Cheese and Red Pesto on White Baguette with Butter, Mixed Lettuce, Tomato, Red Pepper, sea salt and black Pepper. PERFECT! 


I had a great lunch today, including the running part and I plan on doing this again on Wednesday, if the weather keeps up like this. 
Not sure If I will repeat session 1 or move on to session 2 which is run 30minutes, walk 1minute and run 25minutes.  


Do you run/workout during your lunch hour and if so how do you freshen up after?