Tania said sign up for a training race, a little 5 K to get used to the whole atmosphere, preparation and to get a feel for what it is like to run in a race environment.  So I headed off to do it yesterday, nervous and annoyed.  Nervous that I would absolutely fail in my quest to run it between 30 and 33 minutes, annoyed that I had a drive an hour and that my husband wanted to stay home to garden and not drive way into Halifax on a beautiful spring day.  However, since he is a great guy, he came because I was nervous.

We got there earlier then we needed and I saw all the people decked out in the great gear, expensive gear.  Thank God for Adidas, otherwise, I would have been in the running shoes I use to mow the lawn and a pair of sweat pants my in-law gave me for Christmas that came from Zellers. ( I love them and they are super comfortable but they don’t look like running pants) .  So, I looked the part of a runner due to Adidas.  Hurdle one overcome.

Tania said start about mid pack so I found the sign that said 25-30 minutes and looked for the pace bunny.  No pace bunny, only a guy in rubber boots holding the sign.  So I knew I was going to have to figure the pace out by myself and with my trusty digital timex that I had spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how to do splits, and turn on and off the stop watch.  It was crucial that I did not hit a wrong button because if I did, then the whole watch, including the time and date fades, and then it reboots itself and everything needs to be reset and would loose my split timing.  It was then I should have known I was screwed.

We start to run, and apparently I started in the wrong place because everyone, and I mean everyone was passing me.  Mothers running with their 6 year old, the 75 year old guy with some kind of curvature of the spine, the 50 year old in spandex.  They were bumping me and figuring out how to get around me.  Shocking, I looked like runner in the clothes yet I was apparently in the wrong place.  A little discouraged but I continued.

It was a nice flat course and the weather is beautiful.  The man with his daughter (about 8 years old) passes me and asks her if the pace is too fast.  She says no and they start to leave me behind.  Women with big bottoms, men with large bellies leave me behind.  Women with no body fat breeze past me, men with serious breathing problems pass me.  The announcer asks if there are people in the crowd with transplants (this is a Lung Association race) and a woman cheers and says lung transplant and runs past me.  You get the drift.

Then I see the leaders already coming back and I have not even seen the 1 k mark so that I can time my split.  I get to the 1 mile sign and am told 9.50 and it my split time.  Of course, I hit the wrong button and my watch clears.  I am a child of metric so 1 mile splits have not been what I have been working with.  I sink into the early stages of dispair.

I am on the return part of the course and everyone has passed me, it seems, except the walkers.  A mother in a strollers then goes by me and I am officially pissed off.  I am never running again, I thought.  This stupid make over contest will end,  and people will forget I even tried.  I remember I have been blogging about all this stuff and have passed out copies of the magazine and now I am really mad.  When I get really mad, I usually cry but I am breathing too hard and off course there is some 90 year old with one lung running in front of me (exaggeration for effect, remember east coast story teller liberties here) that I have to try and catch.  I SWEAR (really I did in the expletive sense) that I will never run again.  I hate iRUN, Adidas, Tania and everyone with a BMI less than 28 (hint mine is over 28).

I continue and we pass the 2 K marker and run by where the finish line will be.  I am not making any ground and my watch reads 12.30 am, and its really closer to 5.15pm, and my stop watch is not working and I have no splits.  My husband takes a picture as I run by and I refuse to look at him, and wished he had stayed home.  I am now completely in despair and wonder if I could just sneak into my car without anyone noticing.  Then I remember I have a timer thing on, and they race people would probably track me down.

I run, and funny thing is, I start to pass a few people.  There is an incline that some walk up (I don’t), then a decline and I pass people there.  I keep the pace with this woman who is obviously well trained, but probably 10 years older than me.    I pass a few more people, and my training seems to kick in.  I reach the 4 k location and I feel pretty tired, I have to say but try and keep pace with the woman in front of me and catch the younger one right in front of her.  I pass the one immediately in front and leave her behind.  I see the finish line and try and push to catch the one in front, but she leaves me behind.  I cross the line with little breath and one of the organizers asked me if I was Ok.  If I could I spoken I would asked him to call 911 because it looked like my time was around 28.50.  Shock and then disappointment sets in again.

Why didn’t I do it in 25 minutes.  I am so slow, what can’t I be faster.   My husband continues to snap photos and says some lovely things.  I am disappointed still but I don’t know my official time and convince myself that maybe I did it in 27 minutes and change (see previous blog about my delusional behavior).

In the end, I ran it in 28.42 and finished 22 out of 85 in my age class.  How can I still be disappointed?  I can be, and am, which is ridiculous.  Before I would have probably run that in 33-35.  However, its such an

average time. I am pleased with my improvement and thank Tania for her guidance but my body is not built for speed.  There is some acceptance of limitations that I think all people who are active must face.  I would like to know what mine are?

Yesterday, was one gigantic soap opera of my own making starring me and watched only by me.  I am not sure I can take my own drama as I do these races.  Its not the running that is tiring but the melodrama going on in my head.

Too bad a therapist was not part of the running team.

Considering buying your gels, chews, bars and sports drinks in bulk?  You might want to check out www.athleti.ca – a brand new online store that launched about a month ago and is dedicated to all things fuelling.

Since it is a Canadian company based in Montreal, all pricing is in Canadian funds and there will be no delays at customs or surprise duty fees.  According to the Testimonials, delivery is fast, and there’s even a satisfaction guarantee.  They also call out all of their gluten-free products on one page so they’re easy to find.

Why an online store dedicated just to fuelling?

According to the site, founder Sean Young started the site because he was sick of having to drive to multiple stores to get everything he needed for workouts and recovery, and thought athletes could use a service where they’re all in one place.

“I created athleti.ca to make our lives easier, to buy us time, and to save our cars for more important things,” said Young.  “When you’re trying to cram 15 hours of training into an already jam-packed week, the absolute last thing you want to do is run out to the store to stock up on fuel for your weekend workouts.”

Mizuno USA and Mizuno Canada To Support Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund

First, we appreciate the genuine concern shown by so many employees and friends related to the disaster that recently occurred in Japan. You should know that Mizuno Corporation has already committed 30 million Yen ( about US$375,000) as well as approximately 20,000 articles of clothing and footwear to disaster relief efforts.

In the wake of this horrific devastation that Japan has suffered throughout the past weeks, Mizuno USA and Mizuno Canada are also committed to help the relief efforts in addition to those already committed by Mizuno Corporation. We are still finalizing some of the logistics and details, but below is how both MUS and MCL are going to help our friends in Japan.

WHAT WE ARE DOING
1.) Internal Fund-raiser: Beginning, March 22nd, and through April 8, all MUS and MCL are encouraged to donate to the Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief Fund. Bob White will follow up with more details on how to contribute to the Relief Fund, but the Mizuno Management Team has set an employee target goal of $15,000, of which MUS and MCL will add a matching donation, bringing the total target to $30,000. .

2.) Product Donation: All three divisions-Diamond, Golf, and Running-are pooling together Mizuno apparel and footwear products which will be sent directly to an organization that supports the Japan relief fund. This includes items such as any athletic apparel, apparel tops, rain suits, and running and volleyball shoes.

3.) eBay Auction: With the help of our Promotions Departments, Mizuno is going to make our special sports memorabilia available through an eBay auction. Items signed by our top Mizuno Brand Ambassadors will be placed into the auction for bidding. All proceeds will go directly into the Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief Fund.

Thank you for your support.

On Sunday March 13th at the USA Masters RaceWalk Championships in Huntington Beach, California, Rachel Seaman broke the Canadian Record by 20 seconds in the 20KM RaceWalk event.  Rachel walked the 20Km course in a time of 1:34:30.  The previous record was held by Janice McCaffery from 2000 and it is almost a 3 minute PB!

Rachel is thrilled by the result. The race course was perfect, really fast and the weather couldn’t have been better, low 50s.

Rachel wears an assortment of Mizuno footwear depending on her training and racing needs including Wave Ronin 2 racing flats and Wave Inspire 6.  Currently, Rachel is testing the new women’s specific version of Wave Ronin 3 which launches this Spring 2011.

I did it! 32k! It was long and it was hard but I took it really slow and made it all the way home. Sure, the rest of the day was a write off, but still! 10k to go!

The 30k mark is a big one, and one was hard fought for me. I plan on running another 32 (maybe 33)k next week before upping my kilometres again.

This month is kind of crazy for me. I have my final exams and then we are taking our kids to Disney World for a week mid-month. By the time we get home it will be very near the end of April and that means only a month to go until race day!

So, of course, this morning I woke up with a heavy chest and sore throat. I felt kind of chesty yesterday, but hoped that my run would clear it. I’m really tired today, and kind of achy in my head/throat/chest. Other than rest and lots of water and healthy food, what can I do to avoid getting sick? Aside from the million things I have on my plate right now and the fact that I don’t *actually* have time to be sick, I really really don’t want to come down with a bug that affects my runs right now. The past two times I’ve gotten sick, it’s turned into a chest infection and I’m desperate to not have that happen.

Any advice? I’ll try (just about) anything. Honey? Cold FX? Plain old vitamin C? Lots of extra naps (oh!! if I must!!)? How do you guys avoid colds?