The Lakes 1:30:46

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Doug, Matty and I did an extra 20 minutes before the group arrived for the WO. My legs felt better than the day before but did not feel completely perky at first. As I warmed up they found their spring. Tonight we did 3-2-1 minute x 4 with 1 minute rests and 2 minute set-breaks. I ran the first set with Pierre at a very relaxed pace. I wanted to keep moving between the faster runs so I wouldn’t run too hard in the intervals so I ended up running most of the intervals on my own. I felt smooth and relaxed in the rest of the sets but I was still going at a good clip with no real hard effort. A big change from Tuesday! Deby was flying tonight. He is so fit right now. Joey said he felt good and he even did a longer cool-down with Ased, Deby and Lisa!

I got my blood test results back and my ferritin has gone up a tiny bit but everything else is the same. I am in a normal range but Ron said my iron levels could be a lot better so it’s time to make more of an effort to eat more iron-rich food…like liver and kidneys...kill me now.

My First Double 1:18:52

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Matty wanted to do a short and easy shake out run this morning so I joined him at Cedar Hill before work. We did one and a half loops at a very relaxed pace. My legs weren’t too happy at the start especially on the hills but warmed up as we went along. We ran for 28 minutes.

I checked with Ron and he said could go ahead and run again after work as long as it was at an easy pace. I met Alan, Dave, Jarhead and Deby at Thetis and all of us agreed to run a trail with the fewest hills possible. Alan led the way and this time and we ran for 50 minutes. I felt better at the start and the run felt just fine although my legs were still a bit sore from all the hills I ran on the weekend and last night.

We all headed over to Alan’s after the run and had a small IRR gathering. We talked a bit about the WOs for next year and Boob told us that our race is now the final race of the series since the Oceanside race has been cancelled…too bad. It was a nice, challenging course. We will also be the host for the series’ final awards.

Cedar 1:33:12

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

I ran to Cedar Hell and met up with Matty there. Joey came early and brought the bungee chords for us to try out with the drills. Ron was there and had a few laughs watching Matty run while I had the chords attached to his ankles, pulling him backwards. The rest of the group arrived at 5:30…the group is getting larger each week! Tonight we did a full loop warm-up followed by 2 x ¾ loops, 1 upper half and on lower half. We began with a staggered start but by the second interval we were all spread out and I was basically alone. My energy was good but my legs felt stiff and heavy on the hills even in the warm-up. I started the ¾ loops at a steady pace and then worked a bit on the hills. The hills were more of a struggle than usual…the perkiness factor was definitely not there but I managed it. The upper loop felt better and I was happy that I ran it just under 6 minutes with a shorter break than usual. I held back a bit at the start of the bottom loop and tried to pick it up leading into the final hill. I was tying up in an ugly way after the first steep section near the end but refused to give in and tried to keep the cadence going on the final long, uphill stretch….brutal! It was like running in molasses. Ron was there for support and checking on us between intervals. He didn't listen to any of my whinings...he's heard it all before a hundreds times over, I'm sure! I was happy with my effort tonight even though I didn’t feel super fresh and perky. I did another ¾ loop cool-down making the total running time 1:33:12 not including the drills…This will either pay off or kill me! Ha!

Joey wasn’t going to do the workout because he was feeling a bit tired but I told him to just get it in even if it’s slower than usual. Sure enough, he got warmed up and found another gear half-way through the run and had a great WO…Yay!

We spent the rest of the night flaked out on the couch.

Rest Day

Monday, August 28, 2006

It looks like the programming has changed for the concert in November. Joey is now leaning towards doing the Vespers by Mozart rather than the Handel. We’ll still be doing the Bach. I have performed the solo from the Vespers many times but have never done the ensemble solos.

I just read my last blog entry from yesterday…I really shouldn’t write these things when I am tired. I just had to edit it which is lame, I know…and then made the mistake of going back and reading other entries…wow.  A good one was “out way” instead of outweigh. That was charming. I am notorious for making up words too. Joey’s favorite is “turn tiles” instead of turnstiles. Another brilliant one is “splitting image” instead of “spitting image”…I think mine makes more sense. Anyway, if you read my entries and see a typo, a misspelled word or appalling grammar…tough titty!

No run for me today. No one else was going and I had very little sleep last night so I bailed. I did do some weights and core exercises tonight so I wasn’t a total slacker.

I did some sleep-walking last night, actually. I thought I saw someone in our room in the middle of the night. He turned and walked silently out of the room and down the hallway so I got out of bed and followed him. When I woke up I was at the end of the hall looking around for him, scared I would actually see him again. It creeped me out. I even checked that the door was locked because I could have sworn I had seen someone. I had trouble falling back to sleep after that.

I got my blood work done after work today (ferritin levels). While the nurse was putting the needle in my arm a teenaged girl in the next room started hyperventilating and whining and then began screaming. Her mother bribed her with money to get her to calm down. It took fifty bucks. I wanted to start crying too to see if it would work for me but by then the nurse had finished my test.

I booked my ticket out east to sing with Violons du Roy. We are in Montreal for three rehearsals starting October 29th then we are off to Austin, Texas on November 1st, back in Montreal on the 3rd and then I get to twiddle my thumbs until the 7th (I guess I’ll have time to train…in the snow, perhaps!) then we’re off to Costa Mesa and Napa in California until the 12th. I’ll fly directly home from there. It is pretty lucky that I won’t be missing any cross-country races. The second tour starts just a few days after Nationals at the beginning of December. It’s going to be a busy fall!

Long Run 1:33:27

Sunday, August 27, 2006

I ran with Matty this morning in North Saanich. His folks live out that way so we ran on some gorgeous trails that he used to run on when he lived out there. We ran up Horth Hill (brutal but good) and along the horse paths in the area. Part of the run took us along the Land’s End ½ race route but it was mostly on trails at a fairly good clip. I definitely want to go back and do this run again.

Joey did his own long run with Squintch at the lakes. Squintch left after one lap but Joey continued on and did an out and back to Hamsterly Beach. I picked him up on my way home (I was a bit late…oooops!). We had Matty, Squintch and Jennie over for brunch and spent the rest of the afternoon eating and yakking with them around the table. I was pretty beat so I lay down for about an hour and rested before we headed over to Timothy’s for dinner.

Oak Bay 1:22:16

Saturday, August 26, 2006

There was a nice gang out again at the track this morning. Once again, we were all doing different WOs depending on our training schedules. It was 600s for me (and Rui) today. We ran the first 600m of each of the 1kms repeats that Paul and Arturo were doing. We got extra time on the breaks while the guys finished their final 400m. They got just a 200m break which gave me and Rui about 2:40-2:50 total in recovery time. This allowed us to run a bit zippier than usual. The first 3-4 for me felt pretty smooth and I even had the courage to lead on the 3rd one. It started getting tough holding on to the pace on the 5th so Ron gave Me and Rui a full recovery before doing the last repeat. The 600s today were 152-1:51-1:51-1:52-1:51-1:48. It was inspiring seeing Paul and Arturo’s grit…a great motivator. They did 8 x 1km repeats straight through. After watching them finish up, I felt like a lazy slob seeing as we got to stop early AND got more time to recover!

I did a great cool-down run with Kate running around the trails at Cattle Point and finishing off with a 10 minute leg-soak in the ocean.

We met Squintch for brunch at Demi-Tasse and then headed over to Dallas rode for a stroll along the breakwater. What a day!

Brasserie!

Friday, August 25, 2006

It was my usual day off from running today. Joey took me out to our favorite restaurant Brasserie L’école after work and boy-o was it ever good! I started off with some oysters, followed by the 7oz. sirloin with fancy frites, then had dessert- the most delicious strawberries I have ever had in my life (with home-made whipped cream) and then Joey and I shared a cheese platter. We rolled out of there at 8:30…2 hours after we arrived, got into some loose-fitting PJ’s and watched a couple more episodes of Prison Break. A great evening of eating and lounging!

That's More Like it! 1:11:03

Thursday, August 24, 2006

When the alarm went off this morning I was in a deep sleep and could have slept hard for a few more hours. I was dragging my butt the rest of the day and my legs felt stiff (boo-hoo!). I hope it is just from the last few weeks of higher mileage (90-100km). I am trimming down the volume this week to recover so I should bounce back by the weekend.

I had a lesson this afternoon with Barbara Livingston. She is Selena's protégé so I thought would be a good idea to work with her and stay on track while Selena is away. We had a great time working together and it was thrill as always to hear her belt ou a few phrases….man, can she sing! We worked a lot on interpretation and got away from the technical stuff which made it way more fun and the technique stuck for the most part...progress! 

Tonight was the group run at the lakes. I skipped the extra 20 minutes this week and Ron also suggested I not go full-out on the intervals but that I could do a bit of extra cool-down if I was feeling good. The WO was 3-4-5-5-4-3 min with 2 min recoveries. Pierre was looking for a partner to do 2 x 10 min at tempo pace with 60 seconds recovery. It looked like a good option since I knew I would likely go too hard on the shorter intervals especially with the longer 2 minute recovery. The longer intervals and shorter breaks forced me and Pierre to run a real tempo pace. We did the first 10 at a comfy, half-marathon pace. 60 secs was more than enough to recover. The second 10 was closer to 15k race-pace but we stayed relaxed and smooth and even did a 30 second stride-out at the end. Pierre gave me some tips while we were running on how to find that faster gear towards the very end of a race which was really helpful. The group was still doing their intervals so I did a 4 minute cut-down on my own, again staying relaxed with no pushing - felt strong and light. It was a solid run tonight without feeling spent so I was happy with how I did the WO. Ased, and Joey joined me and Matty on an extra 15 minute cool-down.

It was another relaxing evening watching Prison Break…the suspense is killing me!

Easy 39:09

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Tonight was a super easy run with Boob, Deby, Alan and Joey. We ran from Boob’s office to the lakes and just did a small loop going up Pipeline Rd. to the fork near the 9km marker, along the trail closest to the lake and back along Pipeline again. This was Deby’s long run so he had been running for an hours when he joined us and continued to run home when we got back to the p-lot. Joey and I went down to the gym with Boob and did a quick weigh-in and some chin-ups. It’s been nearly a month since the last time I took a stab at chin-ups. I was able to do just five of them but I made sure they were quality ones …no cheating!

I did a good session of core work when I got home and then Joey and I spent the rest of the night lying on the couch watching a couple of episodes of Prison Break. We’re about halfway through the first season already!

That Kind of Sucked 1:22:17

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

I ran from work to Cedar Hill and met Matty for some Pose drills. I had a session with Rob Hasagawa yesterday and he managed to get me balanced again. I also did some core stuff and spent some time lying on the floor last night doing my Alexander Technique thing which always helps...I must do more of this. The drills felt a bit lame tonight. My legs didn’t want to respond to any of the “quick-fire” drills. Who put the lead in my shoes?…Tonight's WO should be a scream, I thought. There was a large group out tonight - a good 15-20 people. Patrick showed up just as we were about to start the warm-up. He just got back from his adventures of cycling across Canada.

Judy caught up to us towards the end of the warm-up so I knew there wouldn't be any slacking off for me tonight! The fun planned for us was 8-7-6-5-4-3 with 2 minute recoveries. Boob had us running in a figure eight and planned it (so he says) so that we finished at the top of the gravel hill at the p-lot near the club house…I'm thinking it was just a fluke!

The first interval was pretty tame but then LeRoo got serious and started cranking it up. I tried to kick my own butt to keep up holding on to LeRoo's shirt tails as long as I could but it was a struggle and I think I forced a bit...oops! Why did I do that? LeRoo was pulling me along with enough energy to call out encouraging words! I cut the 5 minute interval short by a minute to take a desperate pit stop at the washroom (and it wasn’t to fix my hair, I’ll tell ya!). I had a strong climb up the last hill but then started sucking wind in the last minute so I slowed right down and made a b-line to the washroom….fun times. LeRoo had an awesome run…the second of the day, I might add…How does she do it?! I want to be like her when I grow up. So… a bit of a sucky WO in terms of feeling strong but a decent effort. Tomorrow will be a super easy 30-45 minutes with Joey to be sure I recover for Thursday.

Easy Dallas Road Run 51:57

Monday, August 21, 2006

A group of us met at Squintch’s for our easy Monday run. This week the gang included Alan, Squintch and Jarhead. Joey took the day off since he ran 20km yesterday but he drove a little ways down on Dallas and watched us run by as we sang Happy Birthday to him at the top of our lungs….he wasn’t there on the way back….I wonder why?! We ran along Dallas again at a very easy pace, talking and joking the whole way. Squintch had made a roast in his slow cooker so Jarhead, Joey and I stayed for dinner…great meal!

Birthday Dinner! 1:45:37

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Joey actually got out of bed before me this morning to go for a run. He arranged to meet Pan-Pan at 8:00 while Matty and I had organized to meet Judith on the second of her three laps around the lakes. We timed hooking up with her, Nanc, Arturo and Claire perfectly thanks to Ron who had estimated what time they would be nearing the boathouse. We ran at a steady pace, picking it up a bit with about 3km to go and then threw in some brisk running in the last few minutes. Matty and I did an extra out and back to the boat house to meet LeRoo so we did close to 24km today. Ron was there to cheer us on at various points of the run. We crossed paths with Joey and Pan-Pan a couple of times…both of them did two loops as well and looked like they were having a good time.

Joey and I spent the rest of the day hanging out downtown and then went for a walk along Dallas Rd. I did another 10 minute soaking session in the ocean and boy-o, did that feel fantastic!! I going to try and do that more often.

It’s Joey’s birthday tomorrow (!!!)…and it’s a big one… I arranged a surprise birthday gathering at Moxie’s for this evening. I told him Squintch were going to take him to dinner. I booked a private room and invited everyone I could think of to come out and help celebrate. We had a really great evening! Thanks everyone for making Joey's b-day so special! 

Oak Bay Track 1:23:30

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Ron’s group at the Oak Bay track is getting larger every week. Again, we all split into different groups to do made-to-measure WOs since we are all in different stages of training. Nanc, LeRoo and I did 3 sets of 300m (100m jog) 600m (200m jog) 300m with a lap set break. We were to break up the intervals into three, changing gears (easy-moderate-brisk) while keeping our form smooth and relaxed ...or as LeRoo likes to say, “Look pretty!” I had trouble keeping track of where we were supposed to stop our 1st 600m and we ended up running an extra 100m…way to be! The first set wasn’t smooth at all but finally I found my rhythm in the last set. Our intervals were: (58-??-58) (57-2:00-57) (56-1:56-55). I did a good 37 minute cool-down buzzing around on my own through the trails at Cattle Point.

Joey and I went to Willow’s to laze on the beach for an hour or so. I managed a good 10 minute leg-soaking in the ocean…my legs felt great the rest of the day! We hung out with Squintch for a bit and then just walked around downtown.

LeRoo invited us over for dinner so after a short nap, we headed over to her place.  She made a fabulous spread of food which we ate on her lovely patio! We got to see the renovations she had done this year and yakked about decorating ideas… a lot of fun!

Day Off

Friday, August 18, 2006

No running today. After work Joey and I went out to Rona in Langford and bought a BBQ!! I did some weights and core stuff and went to bed early!

Lakes 1:28:17

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Joey and I met Matty early at the lakes and did an extra 20 minutes before meeting the group for tonight’s WO. We were to do 6 x 4 minutes with 2 min breaks. I decided to switch it up a bit and did 4 x 6 minutes. Pierre and Deby were into doing the same thing while the others stuck to the original WO plan. Pierre and I kept a brisk but steady tempo pace while Deby flew like the wind ahead of us. We decided on a 90 second break since we weren’t going all out. I didn’t feel super fresh but felt I could have done a couple more when we finished. When we got back to the fountain Deby and Matty and I ran an extra 20 minutes making it a good 17-18km run. Joey’s calf was a bit tender so after the warm-up we suggested he call it a day and walk back to the car, which he did. This was his 4th day of running in a row and with yesterday’s run being close to an hour, his legs have had enough. I think he should cut the Wednesday run out or as Matt suggested, just do 30 minutes at an easy pace. My usual back complaint was nagging at me all day today. It started soon after the massage. Chris really worked the on my lower left side the night before and now it feels like it is locked up and needs to be cracked or something. I made an appointment to see Rob Hasagawa for Monday morning. Hopefully he can do his usual magic!

Joey and I watched a couple of episodes of Prison Break last night off the DVDs that Jennie lent us. We got our surround sound system installed finally so it was fun to curl up together on the couch and watch it with the system all set up. So far we really like the series…I thought the plot-line was a bit hokey at first but now I think it’s cool!

Blackberry Run 58:39

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

We did a super easy run tonight through the trails out near Camosun Interurban Campus. The group tonight included Alan, Boob, Deby and Joey. Judy LeRoo crossed our path, whizzing by on her bike along one of the country roads we were crossing. We stopped a few times to eat the blackberries that lined either side of the trail as we were nearing Layritz Park on the way back. It was torture running right by all the clumps of juicy berries so we just had to stop and eat a few....I'd hate to see them go to waste! I had a quick shower at the gym and then went for a massage that I booked a couple of weeks ago as a treat to myself….heaven!

Running Cedar Hell 1:24:52

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

I had another good session today at Cedar Hill this week. My legs were not thrilled doing yet another hill run but I know from last year that the WOs at Cedar are essential. The combination of the strength it takes to run uphill and a bit of spinning coming off the hills rolled into one WO has a really great training effect, I think. I can’t really run as quickly down the hills at the 7 hills route we do in the winter without the likelihood of getting injured. However at Cedar, you can really let go going downhill on the cedar-chip trails training your legs to keep spinning instead of breaking as you descend. Also, due to the unstable nature of the spongy surface, your foot is sinking in a bit on every step so you work a bit harder going uphill and at the same time, all the muscles involved with balance/support are being used and strengthened. A tough WO every time but the benefits outweigh the pain!

I ran from UVic to add on some warm-up time. I met Matty in the field at we did about 20 minutes of Pose drills before the group arrived. Ron showed up saying he wanted to see if I actually do the WO or just sit at home and make stuff up to put on the blog..Ha! LeRoo and I ran together (too much fun!) with Matty who was not doing the WO full-out. Judy and I run well together…same running rhythm and encouraging vibe…Matty is just a pain but we let him tag along anyway! J

So the tonight’s torture was a full loop warm-up then ¾, 2 upper loops and two hill repeats. Ron said to run aerobically. I read a bit on training zones tonight. Based on the descriptions I’ve read, I was working my V02 today. I’ll have to ask Ron if this was the right zone for what he wanted out of the WO. Joey had a great run tonight and I think was happy with how he felt.

Dallas Road 50:15

Monday, August 14, 2006

I’ve been spending the last week learning the tunes for the Handel concert. Lot’s of notes but it should be fine.

Joey and I ran easily along Dallas with Jarhead, Sylvan, Alan and Squintch after work today. We ran a 25 minute out and back. We all enjoyed it so much we are planning on meeting next week and doing the same route again.

I did some core and hip strengthening excercises then yakked a bit with Shan on the phone before dinner and then just vegged out with Giuse in front of the tube.

Salty 1:25:53

Sunday, August 13, 2006

I spent the night on Saltspring so I could do a long run with Boob first thing in the morning and then help him with his shed. We started running at about 9:00 rightt from the cottage this time. We started on some trails that eventually took us to Ganges Rd, and then looped up on Blackburn Rd., down Cranberry Rd, and then back down to Ganges Rd. We hung a right on to Beddis Rd. and ran to the end which brought us to Beddis Beach. After a quick stop to throw some cold ocean water on our heads we ran back along Beddis to Cusheon Lake Rd., on to Stewart Rd., hung a left on Horel Rd. and did and out and back past the cottage. There were plenty of hills so it was a great strength building long run. We jumped into the lake to cool off and then went right to work. We managed to put up half of the roof so it’s coming along!

I thought I had done my first 100km week but realized I miscalculated and did only 90k. It was a big week though with a bit more quality running than what I normally do (and should have done).

Oak Bay Track 1:13:51

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Saturday was the track session at Oak Bay. We were split up into smaller groups again this week. I ran 6 x 600m with Buddy and Arturo while Kate and Judy did 8 x 400m. There were a few others running but I didn’t catch what they were doing. We were to run the 1st 400m at a tempo pace and then pick it up through the last 200m while staying relaxed with good running efficiency. I didn’t feel completely smooth but I didn’t feel half as stiff as last week. My breaks which were 200m got gradually longer in time as I went along but that endurance will come in the next few weeks, I’m sure. Times: 1:55-1:57-1:57-2:00-2:00-1:58. I did a good long cool-down with Buddy and we did some tempo running in the last 10-15 minutes…feeling good.

Girls Night Out 1:24:06

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Joey, Matty and I did an extra warm-up run of 20 minutes before the group met. The WO was 5-3-2 x 2 with 2 minutes. I was to run at a moderate pace since I have a WO on Saturday…good thing too. I felt fine in the warm-up but my leggies were not in the mood to work hard so I don’t think I could have gone faster even if I wanted to. My upper thighs felt stiff and heavy when I tried to pick it up even a little in the shorter intervals...so I stopped trying…I guess they’re tired....Big surprise there! My shenanigans earlier this week have caught up to me a bit so tomorrow’s rest will do me good. We added a five minute out and back to the end of the cool-down and then Lisa and I went over to her place to take a quick shower before dinner. We met Jennie and Shan at the Med Grill and had a great time catching up on each other’s news. Lisa brought us all a special chocolate dessert from La Collina which we devoured in the back of her truck…it was quite funny…all of us sitting in there with the heat on eating these fabulous tarts. Thanks Lise!!

A Real Recovery Run 1:11:31

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

Joey and I met up with Boob and Alan for an easy run. We ran through Broadmead along the Lochside Trail heading north towards Cordova Bay and made our way to Parker Park where we went down the stairs to the beach to look at the view. On the way back, Boob decided to take us on a “shortcut” up Claremont hill, through the fields of Claremont High School to have a look at the track there, then to Haliburton which brought us down to the Pat Bay Hwy and then back to Boob’s work. The pace was super easy and we chatted about all kinds of things including Alan’s latest fishing adventures.

I did my strength routine as soon as we got back while watching a dancing show that I like to watch (so You Think You Can Dance). I love watching dance and these competitors are incredible! It looks like so much fun (well they make it look so easy)!

Jarhead and T were just over for a quick visit and I got to see the promotion package for his Gobi Race...it looks very professional!

Rainy Run 1:28:15

Tuesday, August 8, 2006

I started working through one of the pieces I will be singing with the Victoria Choral Society in November. I took a look at the solos and decided, what the heck...let's just do it!  Joey has scheduled Bach's Magnificat and Handel's Psalm 112. There's a lot of music to learn so I better get at it!

I ran to Cedar Hill after work. It was raining a bit which was actually a nice change from the hot, dry weather we’ve been having. I could tell my legs weren’t quite as perky as they could have been if I had taken yesterday easier but that’s how you learn…I’m sure it won’t be the last time I do something stupid like that.

I met Matty in the p-lot since we arranged to meet early to do some Pose drills. He wanted to learn a few of the drills and caught on quite quickly. People started to show up so we had to cut it short. Boob arrived to give the WO but couldn’t run. There was a pretty large group out tonight including Nanc and Judy…yay! We did a full loop warm-up followed by one ¾ loop, one lower ½ loop and two upper half loops. I began a bit tentatively since I wasn’t feeling too frisky but was surprised I was able to have a great WO and had a blast running through the winding trails. I jogged home with Deby to find dinner minutes away from being ready...How lucky am I! Matty came over and we had a wonderful pork roast dinner. Thanks Giuse!

Lakes 50:06

Monday, August 7, 2006

I woke up this morning at 8:00, rolled over and feel back asleep for another hour…it was glorious!

After a lazy morning, Joey and I bummed around Willow’s for a couple of hours with Squintch and then went over to Shan’s new place. She took a break from the renos she was doing to give us a tour. We liked the place a lot and I think she is going to be really happy there. We went straight from there to the lakes where we met up with Joan, Boob, Tony and Alan. It was a very casual run for the first 25 minutes. When we hit Hamsterly beach, Boob and Tony ran ahead while I stayed at an easy pace for a few more minutes. I slowly picked it up to a relaxed tempo pace catching up to the guys at about the 7km marker. My legs felt surprisingly perky after yesterday’s long run and it felt good to run the last 20 minutes at a light tempo…perhaps not the best thing to do on a recovery run but we did run the first half very slowly...and it was just so fun!

Saltspring 1:24:59

Sunday, August 6, 2006

Joey and I caught the 9:00am ferry to Saltspring this morning along with Boob, his two boys and Matt. Boob led us on a beautiful run that included some trails, gravel roads and challenging hills. One hill was quite steep and long and I started asking God for help…he wasn’t listening. I started to pick it up as we approached the end and the boys took the bait and sprinted like maniacs in the last 100 meters or so…so predictable! We jumped right into the lake as soon as we got back and then cooked up some burgers and chatted on the deck. What an awesome place! Boob is building a shed down near the water so we helped him put the walls up…well, I passed nails up to him and held the ladder, if you call that helping.

We took the last ferry off the island and are trying to decide what to do tomorrow. It’s supposed to be another stunning day! 

Oak Bay Track 1:20:08

Saturday, August 5, 2006

I took my usual day off yesterday. Ron was holding the track session at Oak Bay this morning. Kate was there …yay! It was great to run with her again and to catch up with each other. Antonia actually came back this week despite last week’s shenanigans….I am glad we didn’t scare her off!

After a few strides, Ron gave us girls 3 x 150m, gradually moving into quicker rhythms as we went through each 50m. Then we broke up and did our own thing since the three of us are all at different training stages. Rui and I did 6 x 300 (4 min break) then 4 x 300. We latched onto Paul and Gary who were doing 400s with 1 minute recovery so we had an extra 20 second break while they continued on with the extra 100m, joining up with them again at the start of the next interval. The 300s felt great for me until half-way in, and then I felt like ka-ka for the last 150m. I managed to stay consistent however: 50-53-53-53-53-53 then 52-50 (thanks to Kate hopping in and kicking my arse!) another break of 5 min then 51-54…ouch! These last two were ugly…the last one was a mess!

 It was inspiring watching Paul and Gary…two great Masters runners. Paul looks so smooth and strong. He is going to break a bunch of Master records this year without a doubt! Kate and I did the usual cool-down route along Willows and then I did a few laps around the field next to the track. I think Joey and I are going to hang out at a beach and then it’s another dinner-party at Timothy’s.

IRR @ the Lakes 1:13:23

Thursday, August 3, 2006

There was another great turn out tonight at the lakes. I counted just over twenty people including Rhonda from last year and Monica. Joey and I did a little 10 minute out and back to add on a bit of time, before the group warm-up. Tonight the group did a 5 minute interval to the fountain, re-grouped and then did 6-4-3-2 minutes with 2 minute rests. I ran at a good clip for the first interval, then eased into the 6 min, picking it up as I went along, did the same for the 4 and ran with Tony on the 3, breaking that interval into three gears and then really spinned through the last 2 minute interval. I felt great, finishing off with a clippie cool-down. Joey looked speedy tonight. Don is incredibly fast right now too and Matty was way ahead of us all…the brat! Joey and I had to split to go to a dinner party at Timothy’s out on Mt. Newton X-Road. We had a great time but dinner wasn’t ready until 8:45! We didn’t get home until close to 1:00am…

Broadmead Run 1:00:45

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Just as it looked like I was going to be running solo after work, Boob emailed me to say he was back in town and was looking to go for an hour or so. We ran from his place and went on a route that Joan and her friend often run in Broadmead. We climbed a set of stairs then went up and up an extremely steep hill (I had to walk parts of it). There was a great view at the top that looked out over the rest of Broadmead and Cordova Bay. The trail continued around the top and eventually wound down to some residential streets that took us back down to Chatterton Way. We continued along through Rithet’s Bog and then through another set of trails to Boob’s. Joey picked me up and stopped in briefly to check out some photos that Boob and Joan took of their trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands. The kids sounded like they had a blast playing in the sand and collecting fossils. They gave us a beautiful slab of salmon that Boob and the kids caught while they were there!

I did some core exercises and weights and then hung out and watched some tube with Joey before going to bed.

Cedar Hill 1:24:11

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

I met Timothy at the Conservatory this morning and had a coaching with him. Robert was kind enough to play. I started with Liu’s aria and it went quite well. My knees started shaking towards the end…violently…it was pretty funny! Timothy was very pleased with my progress and said that I am connecting properly with my body making a huge difference in the maturity of the sound. He said my phrasing and legato are excellent. It was great to hear since that is exactly what Selena and I have been working on this past yera and what I personally felt I was experiencing. It was nice to get that kind of affirmation. He gave me an excellent tip that helped to line up the high b-flat at the end. We worked on the aria for most of the coaching and then I sang Mimi’s aria from La Boheme. That wasn’t so hot. It’s a long aria and hasn’t settled yet so there were some ugly moments. He talked mostly about characterization and portamento. For some reason I was sticking in portamenti in spots where it’s not written…must have been nerves. All in all it was a very good experience and Timothy seemed genuinely impressed.

I ran to Cedar Hell after work. There must have been about 10-12 of us tonight. After the ¾ loop warm-up, we did 2 intervals on the upper loop, running to the bench (about 600-700 meters?), a break of 1 minute then the rest of the way to the p-lot (about 800 meters?) x 4 sets. I got the ok from Ron to do the WO at a moderate pace. I sort of rotated from moderate to brisk as I felt. It was so fun to finally stride out a bit and fly through the trails especially in the last section near the p-lot. I felt pretty good and I made sure I kept jogging through all the rests.

I ran home with Deby and rung our buzzer to be let in but Joey didn’t answer. I waited outside for 20 minutes when Joey finally showed up walking his bike. He went for a ride but got a flat and had to walk about 40 minutes to get back home…poor guy!

Easy Run 51:11

Monday, July 31, 2006

Tonight’s run was with Alan, Syl, Jarhead and Squintch. We drove to Spinnakers and left from there with Syl leading us through parts of Esquimalt. We ran along streets and trails that lead us to Sax Point then up some stairs that took us up to a lookout and what Syl called the highest point in Esquimalt. We bumped into Andy doing his own run and he joined us for a bit. It was a super easy pace, which everyone seemed ok with. Squintch, Syl and I grabbed a bite to eat at Spinnaker’s afterwards and had a few laughs together.