Challenging Run

March has come in like a lion with freezing rain and snow on the 1^st.  Although I know this lack of snow is not good for the farmers I won’t complain about it as running outside is much smoother.

 

Mentioning running I was scheduled for 28K last Sunday.  I was in my happy place as I posted my blog after spin and saw no reason why I would not complete it. I have learned the hard way I need to take better care of my nutrition and ensure I’m stretching.  I started my third loop (I have a 6.6K loop I usually run) and essentially stopped dead.  My body was saying I’m not running anymore but my mind was saying lets get it done.  After three attempts to restart the engine it still would not happen and I ended up walking home with 16K done.  I’ll admit I was extremely upset. When I got home I e-mailed Coach Paul for some encouragement along with facebooking a few members of my”supporting cast”.   The turning point was a pep talk from Dr. J who made me realize its okay and its part of training. It happened on a training day not race day.  I reached out to Coach Christine who has many Ironmans under her belt – an amazing athlete.  Christine and I discussed the run along with my nutrition and reviewed it again at Wednesday night spin.  The conclusion is water.  I know I was down a pint or two of water on Saturday and yes those few glasses of wine caused even more dehydration.  Net result the engine was down a quart or two of oil and the engine light was on (severe calf pain) giving me the indication that something was just wrong.  Now I’m back to monitoring my water intake. My previous trainer, Dan, pounded the need for water in my brain but for some reason I needed another reminder of how important it is.

Coach Paul and I agreed I should hold off on the mid week run while my calves loosen up as the distance run is most important.  This change saw me on the elliptical for an hour on Thursday versus a 10K run.   Today’s run started rough with the calf (only one) telling me that it lives in my leg however after about 40 minutes and taking a shot block it decided it was happier.  It tightened up again with about 5K to go but I did complete my 26K.  Coach Christine had some more advice which I’ll add into the training plan this week with regards to mineral intake.

At the end of each month I evaluate my training calendar to see how I did following Coach’s schedule.  I completed 84% of all my scheduled training events which equates to 6 hours of weights, 5.5 hours of swim, 6 hours of yoga, 14 hours of spin (indoor cycling) and 132K / 13 hours of running.  Now that I’m posting these stats I had best increase that percentage. 

I’m pleased to confirm things are moving along with my fundraising initiative from an administration point of view.  The Canada Gives web site has been tested and is functioning.  Last week I sat with the Board of Directors to outline my fundraising goal and upcoming events.  When I walked into the facility I could feel the good vibe and energy this place exudes.  It is a most welcoming environment for those who desperately need the services.  Services include breakfast and lunch, counselling, support groups, computer use, access to a phone, photocopier and fax machine, clean clothes, shower and laundry facilities and literacy training. Last year an average of 80 to 100 clients visited the Oshawa-based homeless outreach centre each day as of December 2011 it's between 100 and 125.  Learn more by clicking on the link to the Rogers TV clip. Next goal let people know about it.