No Race

I didn't run today. I was suppose to. I paid my entrance fee and everything, but I didn't. I partly feel like a failure, but I know I made the right decision for me.

I haven't ran in about 3 weeks. It actually might be longer.  As a result, I knew I wouldn't be able to run it like I would want to, I knew I'd probably be last again and I just didn't want to feel bad about it.

I'm finally starting to feel good again and I didn't need a bad run pulling me down.

Judge me if you will, but that's how it is.

I knew if I had a bad run, I'd be all bummed about it, and start feeling sad about it, rather than being happy that I was just out there doing it. I know myself too well and this is how it would go so I didn't go.

I do still plan to keep running. I will not give it up, but for now it will be with friends on own my own time. In the new year I'll pick a new race and share my results with you all.

I promise!

For now I know I did what is right for me.

5K on the Runway!

Today I woke up and headed to the local airport to run my fourth ever 5K.  My Mother was suppose to come with me as she signed up for the 1K walk, but she didn't end up making it as she unexpectedly had to go out of town.

The weather for the run this morning was wet, wet, wet.  Mother nature surely didn't give a rats that I was running! I'm not going to lie, this one was VERY hard for me. I thought I had mentally prepared for rain (and I think I partly did), but I didn't realize how hard running a route that had NO hills would be. Holy Mother people. It kicked my behind in a big way!!!

I always curse hills. NEVER again! I do dislike going up them, but now I'll take a hilly 5K any day. Why...because what goes up, must come down...and I love running downhill! Running on a runway is super hard. It's flat people. Flat as a pancake. Add the fact that you have no where to hide from the the crazy elements you're totally vulnerable. Sure other runners might have thought this run was still a piece of cake, but I did not! This run was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

I ran the first 20min fine and then I think I had a mini mental breakdown. There was so much negativity swimming around in my head. ugh....Not. Good! The same thing happened when I ran the Pride and Remembrance run by myself. I swear I am far better when I run races with buddies than when I run them by myself! I'm not sure if I took off too fast out of the gate, or walking for 8 hours yesterday, or eating shit food lately finally caught up with me, .but by the 20min mark I was toast. As a result, I ended up walking the route a lot more than I was expecting to after that. I really wanted to do 10s and 1s like I did at my last 5K (which worked out great!), but I just couldn't muster up the energy or the will to push on. I walked and jogged off and on the rest of the way to the finish line.

The good news is I finished the race just past the 40 min mark (Still a much better time than my first 5K and that one I ran the entire thing!  Yup...I was S.L.O.W). I'm really happy about my time this time, because this means, I am capable of running under 40min in the right conditions, if I stuck to my 10s and 1s and don't have a mental breakdown! lol.... Sure it sucks that didn't happen this time, but whatever. I still got out there in the rain and did my best and that's all that matters!!!!  This was a hard race for me, under hard conditions and I was just happy to finish.  Next time I'm hoping for a nicer route and better weather so I will be able to finally say I ran a timed 5K under 40.

Here are some pictures I thought I'd share. Enjoy!

Not the greatest pic I know. Doesn't My father know to take pictures of fat gals on a down angle???!!!!!
Taken at my parents (as I had to pick up my Mom's pledges) before heading to  the race.
Like my new gear?

At the airport
Cool to see some planes!

Getting ready to depart!

Wet, Wet, Wet!!!!!
Silly me didn't bring a hat....hey, I'm learning. Last time I didn't bring gloves, this time I did!
The girl behind me didn't though! ;-)

Still not sure I should call myself a Runner yet!

Sea of Umbrellas

Sad I wasn't under 40 minutes this time.....

....but happy to be done!!!! 

Look what they had! A veggie burger!!!! 

Today I ran for my Mom!

Today was a great day. I woke up at 6:45am did some yoga stretches, stuck on my gear and headed out the door. Soon after I picked up my Mother and we were on our way to the CIBC Run for the Cure!

I ran the 5K at a personal best of just under 40 minutes and my Mom walked the 1K.  My friend ran the 5K as well ----> with a chest cold! It was her first 5K and she rocked it!

Last year I couldn't have run this race if my life depended on it. Last year I said never gain. I'm so proud that I took the time to train and was able to meet my goal.  This race was special in so many ways!

Before the Race - it was a tad chilly! 

My Mom and I - She got a special survivor t-shirt to wear (and a funky wig!)

The sea of people who raised over $500 000 for Breast Cancer Research! 

The only running picture I have (Mom took a video that didn't really turn out that well at the finish line).
My friend's husband took this one. I'm the chick on the far right waving! lol.....

Cancer

Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month Everyone!

Did you know that breast cancer continues to be the most common cancer among Canadian women?


Did you know that in 2010, an estimated 23,200 women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer, an increase of (500) from 2009?  On average, 445 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every week.

Did you know....

◦6,600 breast cancer cases diagnosed in women 70+

◦5, 800 breast cancer cases diagnosed in women 60-69

◦6,200 breast cancer cases diagnosed in women 50-59

◦3, 500 breast cancer cases diagnosed in women 40-49

◦950 breast cancer cases diagnosed in women under the age of 40

Also, did you know that in 2010, an estimated 180 men in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer? (all facts taken from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation website)

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I never thought to put this on my blog, but since I was asked if I was taking donations in a comment I though would post it.

If you care to donate to either 5K I will be running this month. You can find the links below.

Once again I will be running the "CIBC Run for the Cure" this October 3, 2010 in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Who am I running for????? -----------> My Mom!

You can donate here if you wish.

On October 24, 2010 I will be running the "5K on the Runway" in support of the Hearth Place Cancer Centre which provides support and services to all people coping with cancer.

If you would like to donate to this cause send me your e-mail address and I can send you the link to the Runningroom donation page. I've tried a few times to have it link up here, but it doesn't seem to be working! ugh....

If you do decide to support this cause that is close to my heart, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Thursday Weigh in - Down 0.6lbs

Another small loss, but a loss nonetheless and I'm happy about that.  I'm hoping by week 16 to be 20lbs lighter. It's totally doable. It's only 3.6 pounds in three weeks that I would need to lose. I know I can do it and I'm actually excited about it. I can't wait to lose more weight!

What's going to help me kick this weight? Running that's what! As a result I've decided to sign up for another 5K. Woot Woot!!!!! I'll be running the "5K on the Runway" in support of Hearth Place Cancer Centre on October 24th. This is the Cancer centre that my Mother had (and continues) to find support at. They have wonderful programs for people with cancer along with cancer survivors like my Mom.

It's the first time the local airport has hosted such an event and it sounds like it could be a lot of fun. I missed running the 5K at Pearson Airport this summer (which would have been awesome) so I don't want to miss this one.  I will not get to see 747 airplanes taking off and landing (it's a smaller airport),  but it should still be cool. A colleague of mine said she would run it with me along with my running buddy who's doing the run on sunday with me so I'm looking forward to it. My Mother is also going to be doing the 1K walk.

Food wise it's been okay. I did have a treat night tonight though and ate a footlong veggie sub, with light mayo and cheese at Subway. I also had two cookies and a lemonade. I'm not too worried. I usually eat a little more than usual after WI and I'm fine on the scale next week.  One thing I'm not too happy about is my lack of veggies and fruits on the whole lately though. I've been a bit of a carb-o-holic simply because I had a grocery issue. In other words I had none.  To fix that problem I went  to the store and stocked up after my WW meeting and my stop at Subway. I now have bananas, apples, watermelon and cucumbers in my fridge along with peppers and onions and red potatoes etc..... I feel much better going forward. I do plan on making some new recipes that I found online, so stay tuned to learn how they turned out!

Yum!

I made one of my favourite dishes today. Today being last night for the rest of you. Yes, I'm still working my crazy stretch of night shifts and writing this at 4:00am. What can I say...it's been a slow night here.
Today I decided to make Shepard's Pie.  I've actually talked about this recipe before here. It actually might have been the last time I made it too. Why? I have no clue, it's so freak'in yummy!

The recipe is originally not for vegetarians. Hello, it's shepard's pie, but I use Yves Veggie Ground Round (awesome stuff) as my ground beef.  Tonight, I decided to add onions and fresh mushrooms to my 'meat' along with the green beans and corn I usually add in. I have to say the additions were fantastic!  Of course I use low fat cream of mushroom soup and cheese and I added in some garlic powder just because. I truly loved it and the best part, when I put the ingredients into my WW recipe builder to calculate how many points it was it turns out to be only 5 points per serving (six servings total). Not too shabby I'd say!

In other news, I'm coming up to doing a run that is very important to me. Last year I watched from the sidelines and wished I could do it, but couldn't. This year I can and I am! On October 3rd, I'll be participating in the 5K CIBC Run for the Cure. Who am I running for? My Mom!!! :-)

Pride and Remembrance

Well folks, I did it.  I took part in the Pride and Remembrance 5K race today in Toronto as part of Pride week.  I'm happy I finished it, as a few days ago I was thinking of skipping it. My day was already booked off work however, (I was suppose to work today) and I really wanted to run it to remember my clients who have passed so I did it!

I have been slacking with my runs lately related to my overnight schedule and a huge fear of the humidity and the heat outside (I don't own a gym membership). As a result I was slow, really slow and walked a few parts. I was yet again one of the last ones to finish. I HATE THAT!!!!! I hate being the fat girl at the end of the line.

Annnyyyyway, as my bff said...'Sonya don't worry about that, you're still doing it and that's what matters' and that is true. I could have skipped the race and slept in, but I didn't. I got out there and did some exercise and did a little remembering as I ran/walked my way around the course.

After the run, I surprisingly got a tad emotional (thank god for sunglasses!).  So I decided to walk to the AIDS Memorial where many of my client's names are listed. Sadly the closer I got to it, I realized the memorial was blocked off. I get it...they want to protect it, but man I wish it wasn't.

Here are a few photos of my morning. Can  you guess where I hid my camera when I wasn't taking pictures? lol.... Sports bras are a wonderful thing I tell ya!

30 minutes until race time! 

Proof I was there! lol
I had to get those shorts yesterday as I found out my black stretch pants are see through! Oops!
I look a tad geeky, but whatever....

AIDS Memorial

You haven't had the full Pride Experience if you don't get a picture with a Drag Queen
LOVE HER!

I'm really glad I did the run and I did have fun which was the main thing. There were so many people there which was a huge difference to the first 5K I did in Ajax. It makes it way better! 

After the run, I had some free water and headed home. Now I'm off to get my hair cut!

Pride

Hey folks,

Nothing too exciting to report. I've been pretty hungry these last few days (damn you buffet for stretching out my stomach again!), but I'm doing my best to keep on track. So far so good. This morning I took a  peek at the scale. It shows I'm down, but I was also naked so here's hoping it will still be down with clothes on at my weight watchers WI.

The last few days I've been thinking about the Pride and Remembrance Run I'm suppose to be doing on saturday. A part of me feels like dropping out. I have only run 2 times since my 5K race and I'm not feeling ready at all. Add that to the fact I'll be all by myself this time in a crowd of thousands, makes me feel a tad lonely.  I don't have a crazy team, I don't even have a crazy partner. I'm doing this one by myself with no cheering section.

The other part of me really still wants to do it though. The other part of me wants to run for my clients and in particular for one. For one that was a huge runner before he became ill. One that encouraged me to run when I was training for my first 5K, but died before I could share the fact that I accomplished my goal. He died of AIDS.

The pride and remembrance run are for my clients. So really, who cares if I run the entire thing. The fact that I'm getting out there and doing it for him and my many other clients should be enough. So here goes nothing. I will face my fears and remember what Eleanor Roosevelt said "you must do the thing you think you cannot do" and be proud for just getting out there.

I did it!

I did it. I ran in a 5K race! I had wonderful supporters cheering me to the finish line and a great companion along the route. It was a very hard run as it was windy as hell and cloudy (we had a thunderstorm only 3 hours before!), but I did it. I didn't walk once.  I did learn something today though. My Nike + sensor is not calibrated right. lol....OOPS!  I would hit the 2km (or so my Nike + sensor would tell me I did) when in fact I still had about 400 meters or so to go to hit it according the the official race flags. As a result, I'm thinking today I ran my first "official" 5K...and my time shows it. lol.... My chip time was 44.02. I was slow as molasses and I was way behind the average pace, but I finished. I didn't walk once. 

The fact that I want to increase my pace in the future so bad, has me thinking of counting calories again. I have fallen off the wagon food wise for awhile now, and I really want/need to get back to battling the bulge. I know if I was skinnier I'd be faster...and I really want to be faster, and stronger, and more fit than I am. As a result, I'm thinking of heading back to WW soon. It's such an easy program if you can stay on target and follow it. I know I'll see results if I try it again. So here goes nothing.

Anyway, I'll leave you with some photos from the run! Enjoy.

Getting Ready!

Slow as Molasses, but I did it! 

The Runners - The little guy did his first 1K run at 2.5 years old!!! 

My best buds and I