Montréal Run 53:24
Sunday, March 25, 2007
We took a bus to Montréal right after the concert last night getting in at 2:00am....another one of those nights. Tongith's concert was another crowd pleaser. I wasn't as on tonight as I wanted to be but that's the way she goes.
I slept in until almost 11:00. Er, Pete and I had lunch with some very dear old friends of ours from our McGill years. It was so great to see Kelly, Robert and John again...Thanks Kel and René for such a great spread of food and all the laughs! After lunch I met up with Mal and Le Claude for a run. After a brief warm-up of about 7 minutes and a couple of strides, we did a 2.5km loop five times at about 4:00/km pace up at the top of Westmount summit circle. It was another gorgeous day and the run was really enjoyable.
Tonight is a stay-in night. I ordered room service and plan on getting into my jammies and chatting with Giuse and watching some TV in bed. Er and Pete are staying at another hotel so I have the room all to myself. Tomorrow will be an easy 45 minute run, some shopping in the afternoon with Er and the final concert in the evening. I fly out to San Diego at 8:30am the next morning which means I have to be at the airport at 6:30am!!! Heeeeelp meeeee!! Matty is flying down from Victoria and will meet me there. We will rent a car and drive down to Crawlsbad where I plan on catching up on some sleep before the race!
I found out that our concert from Friday night will be broadcast on CBC Radio on Good Friday at 7:00pm with Kelly as the host!! I also found out that the documentary on our group featuring the Mozart Rquiem we did last fall will be aired on April 5th at 9pm on the CBC TV program called Opening Night. Here's some info: http://www.siegelproductions.ca/filmfanatics/lesviolins.htm
OK, I have a >talker> sitting next to me who is using the computer. He is commenting out loud on the emails or whatever he is reading. I am alone with him in the room...I am leaving now.
25 03 07 18:06 | diva | 
Saturday WO 1:08:18
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The concert last night was incredible. The hall was packed and the energy was amazing. Bernard was really on fire. He was intense and focused and his tempi were thrillingly brisk. The concert ended with the crowd gaving us a standing ovation. There was a reception afterwards that Er and I decided to go to even though we were both bagged. We went back to our room at about midnight and despite being exhausted I just couldn't fall asleep . The last time I looked at the clock it was 2:50am. I always find it so hard to sleep after a concert like that.
I got up at about 10:00, had my coffee and toast and headed out for my WO. The sun was out and the temperature was a balmy +3C!! After a 20 minute warmup and some strides I went right into my 3 minutes intervals. I did 6 x 3 minutes with 2 minute rests. The loop I found was perfect with a small hill on both sides of the long stretches giving me a chance to work on turn-over on the downhills and working the uphills. Matty said to split each interval into three, one-minute segments, getting progressively faster. The WO felt good today. I plan on catching up on some sleep after the concerts are over while we are in California. We have another concert tonight. I don't love doing a WO the day of a concert. It's not the best thing to be going into a high energy thing like that after a WO. I will try and have a nap before the show. Er is treating me to a foot massage/pedicure this afternoon...I can hardly wait!!
Québec City
Sunday, March 18, 2007 1:00:24
I managed to squeeze in an hour run at the lakes before my flight today. Legs felt pretty spinny but could feel yesterday’s WO a bit. I did an out and back to the boat house after finishing the loop and did a pick up in the last couple of kms. This felt pretty good and relaxed.
The trip out here was fine until my flight got delayed in Toronto. I ended up getting into Qurbec City at about 1:30am. It’s freeking freezing here and the city just got a big dump of snow a day before so I was not looking forward to tomorrow’s run. I was lulled to sleep by the snowplows going at it on the street directly below my hotel window.
Monday, March 19, 2007 51:13
I slept in until almost 10am. Jetlag. After a cup of coffee and some toast (ya, I brought my toaster again), I bundled up and headed down to the lobby. I got a few ‘are you nuts’ looks as I headed for the door leading outside…no wonder. It was sunny out but it was -20 C and there was a wicked, gusty wind blowing snow everywhere from all the snow drifts. How did I ever live out here? I braced myself and offf I went, hopping over snow banks and trying not to break my neck. I made it to the Plaines and boy was it bloody windy there. My face was freezing but I was determined to see if the x-country ski trails had been groomed. They were! I ran happily for about a kilometer on hard-packed snow. That didn’t last. The groomed trail for some reason turned into soft, deep snow so I ended up trudging for about 10 minutes cursing as my feet sank with every step…arg! I finally made my way back to the streets and spent the rest of the run dodging snow removal trucks which seemed to be at every turn. Fun-fun! I threw in 5 x strides...these felt great.
Er showed up about an hour after I got back. It’s so great we get to room together all this week! I miss having her around.
The day finished off with two, three-hour rehearsals. We get to rehearse in the new hall and I have to say…it’s a beauty!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Today’s run was done between our two rehearsals…this time on a treadmill…Lordy was that ever boring. I really despise running on treadmills. I got 45 minutes in and that was enough. It’s still freezing here but the temperature is supposed to go up in the next few days. It is snowing a bit and really windy so I just couldn’t face running out there today. The second rehearsal ended at 10:30 this evening. People are already getting pretty vocally fried. The piece is two and a half hours long and we sing for almost the entire time.
I miss Giuse.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 1:13 12
Today was a loooong day. We rehearsed from 10am -5pm with a break somewhere in there. My friend Bri and I, took a bus right after the rehearsal to the University of Laval to do a WO on the indoor track there. Matty gave me my running plan for the week and today he wanted me to do a solid WO of 200-400-600-800-1000-800-600-400-200. Bri was a real dolly for tagging along. He ran the warm-up and cool-down with me and even called out laps while I was doing the longer intervals…thanks Bri!!! Here is how the WO went: 200m :33 (60 sec rest) 400 1:13 (90) 600 1:57 (2:00) 800 2:45 (3:00) 1000 3:25(3:00) 800 2:44(2:30 I was supposed to take 3:00 but screwed it up) 600 2:00(2:00) 400 1:15 (90) :34 200. I felt pretty good although my calves cramped up quite a bit on the 2nd 800 so I had to slow up a bit on the last 600. There were scads of people walking and jogging on the inner lane making it a bit nerve-wracking at first until they figured out I was running a WO. They sort of became aware I might be coming up from behind every so often. The track was only 200m around so of course the turns were a lot sharper and more frequent making it tough on my calves and on my feet-I got a few hot spots on my left foot. I went a bit too fast on the first couple of intervals but otherwise, paced it well, I think. Matty was happy with my times and I was happy that I did it after an exhausting day, singing my face off. I was glad when it was over. Bri and I didn’t get back to the hotel until almost 9pm. Er luckily had ordered pizza so we all sat and watched a movie with me icing my calves. I fell into a coma just after midnight…I’m still on West coast time.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
No running for me today. I did go down to the weight room and did a few core exercises. We did another big day of singing. A few sopranos on my section aren’t singing to preserve their voices. I hope my voice holds out for the concert. I seem to be hanging in there ok so far. It’s warming up out there!!!
Friday, March 23, 2007
The weather is finally cooperating! It was still windy on this morning’s run but much warmer (+2C). I did a very enjoyable run along the esplanade in front of the Chateau Frontenac to the Plaines and then scouted out a loop on some quiet streets for tomorrow’s WO. I finished off with 5 x strides.
Er, Richy and Peter and I went to a restaurant that we always go to in the old town for lunch and had a really nice visit. I am going to lie down for a bit and then just oreder room service in with Er.
Tonight we have our first performance. I think it’s going to be an excellent one! Bernard seems to be very pleased and we are all excited about performing in the new hall!
Track WO 1:00:33
Saturday, March 17, 2007
I woke up this morning at 4am with a completely stuffed up nose. I got up and blew out some very nasty stuff. I didn’t turn on the light to look…I didn’t need to…I could just tell it was nasty. I crawled back into bed and felt my sinuses trickling and gurgling, re-filling all the cavities I just emptied. I managed to get back to sleep but woke up feeling pretty crappy. I decided to go to the track and see how I felt after the warm-up. The Fat One teased me about my voice saying I sounded funny…great. That should be a really nice way to start rehearsals on Monday. The warm-up felt pretty good. My energy was actually better than yesterday so after a few strides we started the WO. Today we did 2 sets of 10 x 200m with 30 second rests. The first set felt a bit lazy and I found it difficult to get the turn-over going so it was hard to stay motivated and focused. I was probably trying too hard to hit every interval at 36. On the second set I focused on staying smooth and relaxed, as Matty suggested and stopped aiming for a time. This set felt much better. Why do I always forget to stay relaxed!! (35-36-36-37-36-36-37-36-37-36) 400m jog (35-36-36-36-37-36-37-36-36-36). Completely soaked but happy I did a 20 minute warm-down. My breathing and legs feel very good. I had a nap this afternoon and my head feels much better. It’s been about four years now since I was last sick with a cold. With nine hours of travel in front of me tomorrow, it will be a miracle if I can get away with just a stuffy head for a few days.
I am just doing some last minute packing for tomorrow’s trip. The Weather Network is showing a wide range in temperature in Quebec City for the week as is usual for this time of the year. It looks like it is going to drop as low as -20 but there are also some 6 degree days towards the end of the week. This makes packing the right clothes and running gear a real chore. Giuse laughed at me when I grabbed my fleecey head band off the table with a sour look on my face. I am really dreading running in cold.
My flight leaves at noon tomorrow so Matty and I are going to meet at the lakes in the morning for a run of about 60 minutes.
Easy Run 52:38
Friday, March 16, 2007
I was so excited to get the heck out of the office to meet Fatty for a run today. After two days completely off I was itching to get moving and to enjoy running the trails at the lakes. It was warm out with no rain in site although there were still some pretty muddy sections from yesterday’s rain. Today’s run was just an easy paced loop plus a short out and back. I monitored my breathing and energy and think I will be good to run tomorrow’s WO. I will just have to be careful and ease my way into it. My legs felt a bit sluggish but I was expecting that so no surprises there.
I scooted home, took a quick shower and headed downtown with Giuse to meet up with Jennie, Lise and Paul at Sen Zushi. It was the first time Giuse met Paul. He is as potty-mouthed as Lise. They had us in stitches all night!
Another Day Off
I was planning on doing an easy loop around the lakes tonight but Matty said I should take another day off and run an easy run tomorrow instead. Although it meant missing my favorite WO (running intervals with IRR at the lakes) I figured another day off wouldn't kill me. Joey picked me up from work dressed in his running gear. When I got in the car he said, "There is something wrong with the Universe ... I've gone for a run two days in a row and you haven't!" That was pretty funny! I still went to the lakes tonight but instead, I met Shan there and she and I took Lola for a soggy walk. We went along the trail that hugs the lakeside (going counter-clockwise) to the rowing club and looped back. Lola was just hilarious! She LOVES other dogs and is so submissive and playful! She turned 5 months old today!! We had a blast watching her run and play. She's just like a little kid! We arrived back near the p-lot just in time to see the IRR gang finishing off their cooldown. I spoke to Pierre and he will be in Montréal the weekend I am there so we have agreed we would hook up for a run or two. Dawn is going to pass on a couple of email addresses to me of runners she knows in Québec City so I should be set for a couple of track workouts the first week I am away.
I am feeling good after these two days off so hopefully I will be good to go by the weekend!
Resting
Wednesday, March 15, 2007
I woke up this morning pretty stuffed up. I almost called in sick but after I showered and ate I was feeling better. I almost cancelled my voice lesson but I know I wouldn’t be able to re-schedule before I leave for out east and I really didn’t want to bail. It was a good thing too as I finally had a decent voice lesson. Since my lesson last week, I have been going back to basics and not singing anything too demanding so I could line things up properly. I think that helped a lot along with Selena’s incredible guidance, of course.
I took today off from running. Instead, after work I ended up putting in a solid three hours on my music for the VdeR concerts. It’s all been looked at and rehearsed so I should be good to go. While I was doing that, Giuse actually took my place with Boob’s run group. It was a gorgeous evening to run so I was a bit jealous as he headed out the door (in his snazzy new shoes!). He said it ended up being just Boob and Wayne. I asked him what they chatted about and Giuse said “THEY chatted. I was just trying to keep up!” ha!
Tomorrow will be an easy run around the lakes, I think. My body is telling me it needs a rest so I better listen to it. It’s not the best timing to be going away this weekend especially with a race coming up in two weeks. I can only hope the running conditions in Québec City aren’t too horrible.
Bummer! 50:30
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Well, I knew I wasn’t feeling right this past week and tonight’ WO confirmed it. Last night after my easy run, I emailed Matty to say that I didn’t feel recovered enough for the track WO he had planned for us the following day. He suggested we would see how I was feeling the next day and we would make a decision then. Today, as we drove to the Oak Bay track he agreed that we should just do 6 x 600m with 2 minutes rest at 1:54 pace. I could tell in the warm-up I was feeling wonky but figured I would perk up once I started the intervals. The first 600 was a bit quick at 1:52 so I adjusted the start of my second one but even with that I was breathing so hard after just 300m I didn’t think I could make it around the rest of the way. I was actually wheezing in the last 100m finishing in 1:55. Matty said to just do one more and call it a day. I got 400m into the next one and had to stop. I was just breathing way too hard (and wheezing!) Although I could have muscled myself around to the end I thought that would be stupid. After a full rest, I did 3 x 200 at 34 seconds with 3 minute recoveries. I was pretty bummed. It’s obvious I am a bit burnt or I am fighting something. Either way, I am going to take tomorrow completely off and will see how I feel on Thursday. Hopefully with a couple days of rest I will bounce back.
Recovery Run 45:04
Monday, March 12, 2007
The Giuse Meister and I did an easy paced family run at the lakes tonight. We did an out and back since I just wanted to do 45 minutes. The legs feel good but my breathing was a bit fast for my liking on such an easy run. We briefly saw Pierre and Tim as we were doing some strides. They said they would try and make the IRR WO this Thursday. It will be IRR’s first week back at the lakes. I am lovin’ the fact that Daylight Saving is earlier now. Spring is just around the corner!! I just have to get through the week in slushy Québec City and then I’m home free. The weather in California will be warm and hopefully by the time we get back from there, Victoria will be well into warmer and sunnier weather.
Bazan Bay 5km 17:46 (1:02:53)
Sunday, March 11, 2007
It was nasty getting up this morning especially since I could hear the rain hitting our bedroom window. As I drove out to Sidney, the rain really started coming down. At least it was fairly warm outside. I did part of my warm-up with Dawn and continued on my own when she headed back to the start area. My legs felt ok and although my chest felt a bit heavy (like I wanted to sigh and stretch my lungs) I wasn’t too concerned. After changing into some dry racing gear (which didn’t stay dry for very long), I headed to the start line and did some strides. These felt very frisky and strong so I was prepared to have a great race. I even gave my watch to Matty who came out to stand in the rain to cheer…thanks Fats! I also saw Pan-Pan and his Dad who came out to cheer Joyce and Lin on. Right on girls…great race!!!
Well, my race today wasn’t my best. After just a few hundred meters into the start my breathing was already fast and labored. I tried to ignore it and stick to the plan of hanging on to Cheryl but after 2kms, the breathing wasn’t relaxing and I could see her pulling away. I struggled along trying to find a fast rhythm to catch up but it just wasn’t there today. I crossed the line and didn’t catch my time but based on my effort, I thought I at least landed within my goal range of 17:10 – 17:30 so I was bummed when I found out I ran 17:46. Dang it! Oh well, I had a tough week (that corsage-making day at work last week really threw me into the depths of despair! Ha!) Or maybe I started out too fast for the day…who knows. Matty said that once I get on the track a couple of times a week, I will sharpen up and get some speed back in my legs. He’s probably right.
I did a 20 minute cool-down and would have done a bit more but the rain was still coming down like crazy and I was getting chilled even with my jacket on.
There were some awesome IRR performances today. A special mention goes to Ased. 16:19, nearly a 40 second PB. Beautiful! Wayne nailed another 1st place age category win as did Gwen. Hicham just keeps getting faster and Jarhead was once again the star of the day, running all the way to the race from James Bay and then finishing off his run with the race. He ran for over three hours with a 10 pound back-pack on his back…in the pouring rain. We actually had brunch together with Dawn (who also PB'd!!) and Joey who joined us between his rehearsal and concert. Jarhead looked surprisingly good after such a heavy-duty run. For some reason though, he didn’t like it when I punched him in the leg. I did this a few times just to make sure he still had some feeling left. Apparently he did!
Day Off
Saturday, March 10, 2007
I slept in until 10:00 am this morning…I guess I was a little tired! Ha! It was nice to have a sleep in and a relaxed morning with Giuse for a change. That second cup of coffee was glorious! Today was pretty productive. I got a good hour of singing in. I can’t say it was a brilliant practice but I am being patient and trying not to get too tense about it all…I’m trying! I bopped over to Frontrunners and picked up my race number and chip. They have nearly 1,500 people registered this year. Fantastic! Giuse and I had a nice chat with Torbin before going back home. I spent the remainder of the afternoon looking at my music for VdeR. Rehearsals start next week already!
The dean and the development officer from the McGill music faculty are in town doing an alumni event here in Victoria, tying it in Joey’s concert with the symphony. There are quite a number of alumni here and many play in the symphony. Anyway, we just had a great dinner with them and got caught up on all the McGill news. I dropped Giuse off at the theatre and headed home so I could try and get to sleep early. Waking up tomorrow morning is going to be gruesome so I better make it a super early night! Good luck to everyone racing…let’s hope the weather changes although it’s not looking too hopeful right now.
Easy Along the Goose 40:00
Friday, March 9, 2007
I did a comfy paced run along the Goose after work today. As I reached the Songhees path, the sun came out and it really felt like spring! I got stopped briefly by a woman carrying a TV camera over her shoulder. She asked me if I would like to be on TV on Shaw Cable. So of course I stopped said some blurb she asked me to repeat (“You are watching the Mid-Day show…) and then I continued along my way. We don’t get Shaw so if anyone sees it, let me know!
My body felt much better today. My legs had some spring in them and I had more flow. Maybe it was because it was sunny or (more likely) because it was Friday…who knows! After 20 minutes, I turned around and headed back home pacing the run almost perfectly. My timer went off just as I reached the front steps of my building. I did 3, 150m strides. The first one felt a bit sluggish but the final two felt very smooth and strong. Tomorrow will be a day off so i'll be rested for for Sunday. I am looking forward to Sunday’s Bazan Bay race. I hope we have decent weather.
In the evening I met Shan, Lis and Syl at the Royal to go see Giuse’s pops concert with the symphony. The theme was Hollywood Movie Music. It was a fun concert despite Giuse’s corny jokes…holy! They were brutal but the crowd loved it.
Feeling Wonky 1:11:06
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Matty sent me a plan and s few track WOs for the upcoming weeks leading to Carlsbad and the Sun Run & TC 10kms. I’ll be cutting back on the mileage and adding more speed. The problem I am facing right now is finding an indoor track I can run on while I am in Québec City. I contacted Dawn who is from there and she said she could possibly hook me up with a runner from Laval University who might be able to help me get in and maybe even join me in the WOs. The University is a good 20 minute drive from where I’ll be staying but I think I can work it into my schedule. The Plaines of Abraham and the trail near the river on Boulevard Champlain where I would normally run will likely be slushy and icy now that the temperatures there seem to be rising. It depends on how much snow they have been getting. I will figure something out. I called the Marriott where we are staying and they have a treadmill if all else fails.
Tonight Matty and I did 8 x 2 minutes with 90 seconds recovery. We took a route with mainly flat sections and slight downhills so we could keep the turnover fast. I realized after the first interval that I should have done a few strides before we started to prepare my legs for some faster running. I will remember next time. The intervals felt just ok. It’s been a stressful week so I am feeling tense. Matty saw this right away and did his best to loosen me up including running and flapping his arms like a bird…nice try!
Easy Run 51:39
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
I had another far from stellar voice lesson today. I’m not sure what’s going on but I have regressed a bit. I am trying not to freak out about it since I know I will find my way back eventually. I am supposed to be enjoying the process, right? Bugger.
Giusey picked me up from work with the intention of running around the lakes with me and Matty however the clouds moved in and it started to spit and get windy so he decided to just drop me off and go back home. He’s lucky he’s cute!
The weather ended up not being so bad. It was definitely windy but the rain held off as we did and easy loop and a short out and back. My legs felt much better tonight. The track WO got things lined up again and I felt more efficient. We finished off with some strides. Giuse had dinner waiting for me when I got home so I quickly forgave him for bailing on tonight’s run. Ha!
C'mon Leggies! 1:04:39
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
The weather held up for us tonight, thank gawd. We were expecting a windy, raining track WO but the weather forecast changed and we got lucky. Matty and I did a good 30 minute warm-up around the UVic trails, hooking up with Melina in the last 10 minutes for one lap around Ring Rd. It was a smaller group tonight despite the great conditions but all the die-hards were there. Boob’s WO tonight was 1000m with five minutes of full rest, then 4-6 x 300m with 90 seconds. Matty said we would skip the 1000m since I just needed to do some speed and would do 2 sets of 4 x 300m with 90 seconds rest and a 3:30 break between the two sets. After a few strides I could tell that my legs weren’t itching to run super fast but I knew it would be good for them. I have been feeling pretty clunky these past couple of days so some quick turn-over would hopefully kick-start some firing action in the ol' legs. So I told them to bugger off with the complaints and just get on with it. The 300s were 52, 52, 53, 52 then 52, 53, 53, 51. I was hitting my goal times but I didn’t feel very smooth. Matty said we were still going pretty fast considering we haven’t been doing much speed work so it’s a good sign. Matty's always right (he'll love that I wrote that!). A few quicker track WOs and we’ll get our flow back.
I made a wicked spaghetti sauce tonight…even better than the last batch I made. Joey was supposed to eat when he got back from rehearsal but assumed that I hadn’t made dinner so he picked up take-out on the way home! I wonder why he thought I wouldn’t have dinner waiting on the table…?
Easy Sunday 1:03:32
Sunday, March 04, 2007
I did a relaxed loop around the lakes today. Melina ran with me and Matty while Giuse and Lise ran together following us. We passed Shan at one point, who was running with her girlfriend from out of town. Matty and I finished off with about eight sets of strides to get some turn-over going in our legs.
Juan de Fuca 1:19:36
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Yesterday, the secretaries from the faculty where I work were given half the day off to attend a “Conversation Café”, a seminar to discuss and share ideas concerning our work. I won’t go into details about the seminar itself but it was pretty appalling. The seminar ended with a demonstration on how to make corsages. We were given the materials (flowers, wire etc) and we sat around our tables and made freekin’ corsages. It was too brutal.
That night I worked learning the score (Handel’s Israel in Egypt) for the next concert tour coming up in a couple of weeks. At least this time we got the music well in advance. We will be inaugurating the newly renovated Palais Montcalm concert hall in Québec City which will be the new permanent residence for Les Violons du Roy.
This morning, Matty and I met Boob at Juan de Fuca for a WO. We were to run 25 minutes with the first five minutes at an easy pace then moving into a tempo pace for 20 minutes. I started off feeling pretty good but realized after about 5 minutes into that I was running closer to 10km pace so I pulled it back a bit to be sure I stayed in the right zone. My laps were consistent and I was able to attack the final hill finishing strong. As Matty and I were running our warm-down, we saw Syl who came by to pick something up from me. That guy can sure make me laugh! After brunch, I did 2 sets of strength/core exercises. This is the end of my two weeks of harder running. Starting tomorrow I get an easy week. I will continue with my core exercises but will lay off the leg strengthening stuff until May.
Double Thursday 1:18:21
Thursday, March 1, 2007
The cedar chips were frosty this morning! My hands were frozen for the entire run but at least it was bright and sunny. Matty and I slogged around the golf course for close to thirty minutes, hardly saying a word. I think we were both too tired and cold.
The singing went better this morning. I just have to remember the process and take the baby steps that got me to a good place last time.
My legs were pretty heavy all day today at work…yikes! Matty gave me a lift from work to the Y in the Fat-mobile tonight. We did our usual route from the Y before meeting Boob and the rest of IRR. Giuse had a meeting and didn’t quite make it to the Y in time but took the short warm-up route to Gonzales so he could still do the WO. Matty and I ran at an easy pace to the base of Gonzales and then turned around and re-traced our route back to the Y running a total of 50 minutes. Our legs were fried so we skipped the strides. I did two sets of my strength/core routine when I got home. Tonight was pizza night for me and Giuse. I ate five pieces in about three minutes! Ha! I had a great chat with Lise tonight. We’re hoping to get an IRR long run happening this weekend.
A Day to Forget 1:10:38
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
My voice lesson today was far from stellar. My lesson ended with Selena saying “Try not to despair, dear.” That’s when you know it was bad. Downtrodden, I left the Conservatory to find that it was snowing outside. Perfect.
I was already pretty bummed when Matty picked me up to go to the Parkland track. As we were running the warm-up I knew I wasn’t in the mood to run around a windy track with the temperature dropping by the minute but I sucked it up did a few strides and off we went. The WO was 5 x 1km with 90 seconds break. This was my first time doing km repeats so I had no idea what to expect. I thought it was going to be pretty easy. Ha! Wrong. I knew it was going to be bad when I felt like a bag o' ka-ka and felt like stopping after just 400m into the first interval. My first km was 3:25 but it felt like I ran a 3:10. I knew then that the rest of the WO wasn’t going to be fun. My legs weren’t turning over and my hands and face were frozen from beginning to end with that relentless wind. That’s ok, I thought, I just need to warm up and get into a flow. Neither happened. I tried my hardest to maintain the pace but realized after the third failed attempt at getting closer to my goal pace of 3:24/km, it wasn’t going to happen today. I wanted desperately to stop about 20 times during the WO but I willed my way through to the end and got it done…fun-fun! So my times were: 3:25, 3:27, 3:28, 3:31, 3:30. Brutal. I was a bit disappointed (boo-Hoo) but then realized I just came off a hard week this past week of training and am likely just tired. At least, that’s what I’m going to hang on to. Matty was very encouraging saying not to worry about it…thanks Fatty.
The day ended nicely at least, with one of Giusey’s home-cooked meals. Matty stayed for dinner and was once again impressed with one of Chef Giuse’s culinary creations.
