Just Like Bad Underwear

It's less than three weeks to the Tely. When I really think about that I can't help but wonder how it crept up so fast. Just like bad underwear, as Sugar would say.

I'm not panicked or freaked out. I've put in the time training and I know what I need to do to have a good run. I have good shoes, I know how to fuel and hydrate and I've got a bazillion PRCers running with me. Bring it on.

It seemed like the majority of the running community decided to run the Tely route on Canada Day so I jumped on the bandwagon. Snap, Crackle and Pop were either out of town, running other races or had previous commitments so I joined another bunch of PRCers (I will call them Batman's Angels, or BA for short) for the practice run. BA were doing the full Tely route, but since I only had 15 K to do (yes, I said ONLY) and planned to finish at Quidi Vidi where Sugar would be waiting after his run, I started further along the route, between the one and two mile markers.

It was humid. For the first eight kilometers or so, everything I was wearing or carrying was pasted to my body. I felt like a roll of Saran Wrap. Or Scotch Tape. But at least it was overcast, or it was for the first half hour of the run. Then the skies cleared and the sun came out in full force, beating down on us like ants under a magnifying glass. As we passed the Village Mall, I decided to cross over to the opposite side of the street where there was at least partial shade. Many of the other ants followed my lead. 

It was difficult to run in the heat and I started having flashbacks of Tely's past. I kept reminding myself that it would be different on race day - the firemen will be out with the hoses, Gina will have the PRC pit stop set up, there will be water tables around the next turn. And maybe it won't be this hot on July 24th. 

When I reached the Mile 10 marker, BA were all lying in the grass enjoying cold beverages and relishing being finished. I stopped for a brief chat before heading on to the lake where Sugar and his Crisps were waiting to take me out for tea. 

I made it to the lake and hit the finish button on my phone. My FitBit app always has an encouraging message for me after I finish a run. This time it was "Bring it!" I thought it was fitting considering my next long run will be the Tely. It pretty much sums up how I feel.

And maybe it's also fitting that the map showing my route looks like a smile. My app is happy and so am I - this is the longest I've run since my last Tely and I felt great after. No aches, pains or discomfort of any kind. 

With every long run, I'm more and more encouraged that the half marathon will be a success. It's only eleven weeks away and I'm sure it will be another pair of bad underwear. I think when Maritime Race Weekend is over, I'll buy myself a nice pair of bloomers. 

Lessons Learned

This was supposed to be an easy running week with a couple of 5 K's and an 8 on the weekend, but with the Tely getting closer, I started questioning my training plan. Originally, there were 2 weeks between each long run which I thought would give my body time to adjust to all the extra strain it was undergoing, but I began to notice one week after a long run, I felt able to do another. 

As the weekend approached I mentioned to the girls that we didn't have a 15 K scheduled before the Tely and if we wanted to run that distance, we would have to move our 14 K up to this weekend. Even as I write this I'm trying to figure out what exactly has happened to me. How did I get from not wanting to run at all to adding an extra 15 kilometers to my schedule? 

We decided to run the T'railway from Coffee Matters in Paradise down to Biped on Water Street. If you take the trail right to the train station before heading to Biped, it's exactly 14 kilometers. Plus now that Biped has its own coffee bar right in the store, it's the perfect spot to finish a run. 

Before we set off, the girls surprised me with t-shirts they had made. It all started when the lovely Wendy Wall referred to us as "The Rice Krispie Group" one Saturday morning at Coffee Matters. Shortly after that, Batman gave us all nicknames.

And it's only gotten weirder as time goes on. Sugar is now referred to as Sugar Crisp and Molly has been dubbed Tony the Tiger. I'm trying to figure out who could be Toucan Sam and Count Chocula. At Maritime Race Weekend we'll all be Captain Crunch. I'm starting to think the next PRC group photo will look something like this:

But I digress.

There were five of us running this morning - Myself, Lori, Paula, Renee and Joyce. Things started out on a bad note when both Joyce and Renee realized that their iPod's were dead and they would have to run 14 K without music. At 5 K Renee had to drop out because she was feeling light headed. Then Paula ran out of water and by the time we reached Water Street she was feeling the effects of the heat and loss of fluids. Biped was an oasis in a 14 kilometer desert.

Within a few minutes of entering the store we were all eating yummy treats and drinking tea. They had all the necessities for runners - bananas, granola bars and my personal favorite, snowballs. Renee joined us for a snack and all the horrible parts of the run were forgotten. This was the longest, warmest run we've done to date and it was a good reminder of how things could be at the Tely. We have one long run left to get all the kinks out before July 24th. We've all learned a few lessons and I'm sure our 15 K next week will see a huge improvement.

The Ultimate Running Secret

Today I begin the Town of Paradise's FitBit Challenge. I figure all this training has got to put me in the running for one of the top spots on the leader-board. Plus, I need some extra motivation to help keep me on track with my running.

This past week I only managed to get in about 19 km. I missed the group run on Tuesday since I was helping my teenager study for his final exams. I had every intention of running the day before, or Tuesday morning, or maybe Wednesday but I ended up staying home, contemplating why rain, drizzle and fog seem to have moved in permanently.

Thursday was hill repeats and I couldn't miss another run, even if the rain was coming down in biblical proportions. Paula started the run with a big hate on for the weather, while Lori made the most of it and ran the entire time wearing her Spiderman rain poncho. Myself and Paula managed seven repeats, while Lori did eight. She is hardcore after all.

Saturday was our long run day. 13 kms were on the schedule so I came up with a route that included the upcoming Mews 8k course plus a lap of Quidi Vidi lake. For the first time in ages I decided to run with music. I knew Renee and Paula would be wearing their ear buds and since I didn't fancy spending the hour and a half talking to myself I figured having my own music was the way to go. My Tely 10 playlist from 2013 was still on my iPod so I added a few of my recent favorites and we hit the road. 

Maybe it was the music, maybe it was because we didn't run until 11:00, but whatever the cause, I was having a great run. We were nearly finished the Mews course and it felt like we had just started out so when Renee suggested we change our route to include Lakeview Avenue I was all for it.

By the time I reached the top of the hill, I thought I was going to die. Visions of Sugar fixing his sneakers floated in front of my eyes. This is it - I'm having a stroke or a heart attack. Death by running.

It wasn't until Renee started talking to my vision that I realized Sugar was actually there at the top of the hill. He had planned his 23 km route to end with ours so he could hitch a ride home.

With five kilometers left to go, I finished off the last of my Rice Krispie Cookies. We ran through Quidi Vidi Village and back to the Boulevard. It was about this time that the energy from the cookies kicked in. I started to run a little faster, my feet hitting the pavement to the beat of the music.

At kilometer eleven I discovered the ultimate running secret. 

Rick Astley.

With "She Wants To Dance With Me" ringing in my ears, my pace increased from 7:13 to 6:28. Not only is he still making number one hits, Rick Astley has given me hope that I can get my first PB in four years. Gigs all around. 

When I run the Mews in 3 weeks I'm hoping to not only beat my previous Mews time, but beat my best 8 K time as well. It's been a while since I've "raced" and I'm kind of looking forward to it. This will be the first race of the season where all four of us will be trying for a PB and I'm sure with a little help from Kellogg's and Rick, we'll be able to do it.

Seaman Simeon Rogers, Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve, 1885 - 1917

The Uniformed Services Run is a race that is new to me. This is the sixth year the run has been hosted by ANE and the first time I have taken part. I couldn't have picked a better year for my inaugural USR.

As most Newfoundlanders know, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont Hamel. If you are anywhere in the older parts of St. John's, your bound to see the signs, banners and displays that commemorate the sacrifice of so many young men who died during the First World War. ANE decided to incorporate these soldiers into their race by assigning each runner a fallen soldier. The race bibs held the names and service numbers of those who died and everyone received a beautiful finisher medal, complete with the caribou, the emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

We had the option of choosing a soldier to run for. As far as I know, none of my ancestors perished during WW1, but the name Simeon Rogers caught my attention. I did have a great uncle named Simeon Rodgers who, coincidentally, also died in 1917 when the train he was traveling on derailed and caught fire. Though they were two different people, since they had the same name I thought it could be possible that if I looked back far enough, I just might discover that we are distant cousins.

I did a little research on Simeon. According to his military file, his last reported address was 176 Water Street - the building that currently holds the Kitchen Queen store. His parents were Willis and Sarah Rogers. He was married to Bertha and they had four children, ranging in age from two to nine when he was killed on January 25th, 1917.


Simeon was assigned to the HMS Laurentic. They sailed from Ireland on the afternoon of the 25th and ran straight into two German mines. While it was reported that all men safely made it to life boats, the weather was too stormy for them to reach shore and more than 350 men died from exposure. Simeon was 31 years old.



While we could have run a half marathon or half marathon relay, myself and the girls chose the 10K option for the race. Lori and Paula were slightly ahead of myself and Renee the entire time, and though we had every intention of catching up so we could cross the finish line together, in the end it didn't happen. Most likely because there was an impromptu photo shoot somewhere around kilometer eight.

Photos courtesy of Kiley Dominie

Even though we didn't cross the finish line at the same time, our names did end up together in the results.  

It was a great race and I was pleased to see how many others took the time to learn a little something about the soldier they ran for. We have the freedom to take part in events like this and have fun along the way because of men like them. I hope we will always remember the fallen.

Thank You For Being A Friend

This past week we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday and as I sat at her kitchen table watching her celebrate with friends, some old, some new, I realized that she is part of a wonderful group of ladies that make up an awesome support network. I could just picture myself and the girls in the very same situation one day in the future. 

I am so thankful that I too, have such a supportive group of people to lean on. When I'm struggling to get through the temptations that inevitably come my way and threaten to derail my training and healthy eating goals, I know I can always count on them for encouragement and to help me make better choices. 

Sort of.

Well, at least I can depend on them to make sure we get our long runs in. This past week we had 12 km on our schedule and we struggled to find a time on the weekend when we could all run together. Between work schedules and kid activities it looked like we wouldn't all be able to run together. But we were determined to find a solution and finally decided to do our long run on Thursday night instead of on the weekend. We did our hills on Tuesday to be sure we didn't miss out on those and Thursday night all five of us met for the group run, raring to go. Maybe it was the route, or maybe it was the cool temperatures, but this run didn't seem as long or as hard as our 11 km two weeks ago. Most likely it's because we didn't have to run up the hill on Paradise Road this time. 

Maybe I should have picked a route with more hills because as we ran, Molly and Paula (who obviously forgot how horrible Paradise Hill was) started making plans to run from Cape Spear to Water Street. I'm sure this is their way of trying to convince me to run the Cape to Cabot next year. I'm thinking NO.

Sugar was working on Thursday so I knew there wouldn't be any surprise water stops on our route. I decided to leave my vehicle at the half way point so we could refuel without having to carry all our snacks. On the advice of Kiley Dominator, I flattened my treats this time because apparently they make you run better if you eat them that way. They are definitely easier to eat and I may have had more than I should have at the pit stop. I'm not sure the others even got a taste. 

According to my FitBit, I ran 12.15 km in 1:37:38. Since I forgot to pause my app, this includes the time it took to stop and visit the bathrooms at Coffee Matters as well as the time it took for me to eat all the aforementioned cookies. Overall, I think that's a pretty decent time. For me at least. And other than tired legs the next day, there were no ill effects from the run. That alone deserves a medal.

This coming week we'll actually get a medal for our long run because we're doing the USR on Sunday. I've never done this race before but I'm glad to be a part of it this year since its focus is on the 100th anniversary of the battle of Beaumont Hamel. I think there's still time to register for one of the five races (anywhere from 1 km to 21 km) so head on over to the ANE website and check it out.

Happy Training!

55 Days and Counting

Whenever one of us suggests that we might not be able to make a run, Hardcore Lori sends us this screenshot:

The Tely 10 is 55 days away and by my calculations we have about 160 kms to run before July 24th. It seems to be harder to schedule runs that all four of us can do together because work, school, kids and naps are interfering with our plans. 

Maybe I should say all five of us now. Molly is becoming a regular on our training runs and I think we all feel better because of it. Molly is a good match for Lori when it comes to pace, so now that Lori has someone more on her level, she's more likely to stick with us.

A recap of our runs this week: 

Tuesday - It was one million degrees out and myself, Lori and Paula ran Octagon Pond, which is about 6 km. 

Thursday - It was negative one million degrees out and myself, Lori and Molly ran Neil's Pond and did six hill repeats, which is about 6.5 km. Molly informed us that the last time she did hill repeats was 21 years ago but that didn't stop her from being the first one finished. Looks like we have two hardcore runners in our little group now.

Saturday - Was the LTR graduation run and there were hail stones smacking me in the face. Myself, Lori and Renee ran Octagon Pond with the group (5 km) and after we filled up on tea and cookies, myself and Lori ran another 3 km around Neil's Pond to bring the total up to 8 km. Renee had other commitments and since she couldn't join us, decided to put her Garmin on her five year old in an effort to make up the extra distance. I think her plan backfired because Renee has been preparing us for another monkey funeral in the not to distance future.

Lori sent me our pace info after we did hills on Thursday. Obviously it's a little skewed since she runs up hills like her butt is on fire, but over all, we started and finished running at the same time, side by side. Our average pace for the 6.5 km run was 7:11/km. For comparison, my average pace for the 6.3 km the week before was 8:28/km. Not only did I have to run farther faster, I had to do it in seven minutes less. Obviously, running with Lori and Molly takes some serious dedication. Or maybe ignorance. Either way, you have to give up on talking during the run and really dislike being able to breathe. That being said, I did like having a little extra push and it's always good to be reminded that I still have the ability to run like this and survive.

This week coming we have a 12 km run planned. Molly already told us she wants in. Lori is raring to go. Renee went all hardcore and ran 12 km solo on the weekend so she'll probably only join us for a portion of the route. Paula is going whether she likes it or not (55 days Paula!!!). We had planned on a route that conveniently ended at The Big R where we would obviously have to have breakfast, but conflicting schedules have pushed that route to a later date. I'll just have to settle for tea and maybe something with coconut on it this time around. 

Half Marathon Training - Week Two

Before I fill you in on our training for this week, I want to update you on my weight loss progress.

The healthy eating/exercise plan is still going well. I've been getting in my 10,000 steps each day and Sugar has continued to fill the fridge with veggies and protein each week while I watch My 600 lb Life and text the girls, who are at their own homes, meal prepping for the week and watching TV as well. I'm down 10 pounds and can now fit comfortably in my clothes again. I've been diligently using My Fitness Pal to keep me on track, as have the girls, which makes it much easier to stick to the plan. Each Friday we do our own weigh ins and share our results with each other and we've all been doing great. It's so much easier to keep going when you have a good support team.

Awesome sneakers from Biped

Alright - back to training. Tuesday we did 5K with the LTRs, who are way faster than I will ever be. They officially finish their program this coming weekend, but they've done so well, they could have been done weeks ago. Thursday, we did 6K with 5 hill repeats thrown in, just for fun. Did I tell you I bought a new pair of sneakers? My Saucony Blues have been showing signs of wear and I wanted to be sure I had a decent pair for running the Tely/Half, so I headed down to Biped's new store on Water Street and got these new Saucony Pinks. I wore them on my long run this weekend and they are just as awesome as my Blues. I couldn't be happier.

Our scheduled long run this week was 11k. For some reason I have been nominated as the training coach for our little group. I create a possible route and they always seem to agree to it without question. I'm pretty sure they don't even look at the maps, they're just happy to have someone else set it all up for them. Take Sunday's route for example. If they had really looked at the route I picked, I'm sure they (Renee) would have said no. It wasn't until Sunday morning that they (Renee) finally realized what we were going to do. Truthfully, I started to doubt the route myself at about the 9K mark. It was blissfully warm and feeling overheated, I wondered if running up Paradise Road was such a good idea after all.


Lori was the first to reach the top. When she runs a hill, she runs a hill. Full steam to the top, no stopping or slowing down. I think I was second, with a whole lot less steam, but no stopping. I waited at the top for Renee and Paula and it took a minute for me to realize that Lori had stopped a little further down the road and was talking to someone. She had a red cup in her hand. The someone she was talking to was waving at me with a big toothy grin. I'm staring, trying to make sense of what is going on, when Renee runs past me, angry running music blaring from her headphones, asking, "Is that Sugar???" She took off like a blue streak and it finally dawned on me that Sugar had set up an impromptu water station for us. I left Paula on the hill alone (Sorry Paula) and ran ahead to join in the celebration with Lori and Renee. There was Gatorade being poured, ice cubes in buckets, cold paper towels in baggies, towels to dry off with. I'm pretty sure Belinda Carlisle was on the radio singing "Heaven Is A Place On Earth". 

Thanks Sugar! You are AMAZING.

I now know how all the runners who stopped for sponges at our Tely 10 pit stop felt. It was so encouraging to see someone you know standing there with a little pick me up to get you through the last few kilometers. I'll definitely be happy to see Gina and the gang on the Tely route this year, and I'm sure so many others will as well.

Paula did make it up the hill and joined us for a cool down before heading to our finish line at Coffee Matters. She wrote how she felt about the experience over at the PRC blog. Be sure to check it out.

We survived another week. The text messages have already been flying back and forth about our next long run. I'm not sure what has happened to my tea-drinking, rest-day-taking running buddies, but I think I've inadvertently turned them in to running monsters. They are adding distance and hill repeats to all our runs and rearranging their lives to fit in with the running schedule. They are an amazing group and I'm so glad that I get to go through this process with them. Bring on week three!