First, I want to give a huge, huge, HUGE shoutout of congrats to Anais, Leigh and Eric’s cousin Katrina. All three of them ran their first half-marathon this morning! Two in Calgary and one in Ottawa.

I remember running my first half-marathon and having such a great experience. It is a GIANT accomplishment so congratulations girls – I’m so proud of you!!

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This morning I ran the Blackwell Dairy Run 15K for the third year in a row! This is the only race I’ve ran every year since I started running so I’m kind of excited about that.

• 2009 race report
• 2010 race report

I really enjoy this race and was looking forward to it this year despite remembering how hilly it is! I got there a few minutes early and visited with some of my running friends – lots of familiar faces were there. It’s funny to think of how many people I’ve gotten to know in the Kamloops running community the last couple of years.

The race started at promptly 9:00 AM on a downhill. I was hoping for a PR but was not going to push it too hard. I decided to just ride it out and see how I felt.

Mile 1 – 8:50

Mile 2 – 9:33

Around mile 3 the rolling hills that I knew were coming started.

Mile 3 – 10:38

I actually found myself really, really enjoying the rolling hills this year. Ya, it’s kind of brutal to have so many uphills. But when you also have so many downhills it evens out. On this course I didn’t feel like I had to walk very much because as soon as I had finished powering up a hill I would have a downhill to ride down – this would leave me refreshed for the next uphill!

Check out the elevation map from my garmin so you know what I’m talking about with all these hills!

Mile 4 – 10:03

At mile 4 I was reminded why I love this race. The amazing views.

I was just really, really enjoying myself at this point. I had a huge smile on my face and was having a lot of fun.

If you’ve never experienced a runners high, go run some hills, nothing feels as good as conquering a huge hill and cresting the top. It is such a powerful feeling. I just kept putting my head down and pushing myself up the hills and then cruising down the other side with a HUGE grin on my face!

Mile 5 – 9:36

Around mile 5 I literally said “OH YA” out loud when I remembered the one huge hill you have to run up (photo from last years race):

I forced myself to power up it and I felt SO GOOD at the top of that hill. It was like I got a second wind. I couldn’t believe how well the race was going. When I sailed back down this hill I got a little teary-eyed thinking about how much I love running and how blessed I am to have a body that can carry me through races like this.

You know it’s a good run when it makes you emotional

Mile 6 – 10:30

It was around the 10K mark where I walked for the first time (I had only walked through 2 water stations so far). The elation I was feeling from conquering all the hills was beginning to wane and my legs were feeling jelly-ish. At this point, my love/hate relationship with the hills turned to HATE!

Mile 7 – 9:24

Another second wind came at mile 7 and I took off from the couple I’d been running along and chatting with. I felt really good for the next mile or so and was cruising along enjoying myself.

Mile 8 – 9:32

At the end of this race they do something really evil; They make you go up, up, up!

I walked a lot the last mile. It was tough!

Mile 9 – 11:15

Mile 9 – 9.3 – 9:41

Final Garmin Stats

9.33 miles – 1:32:28 – 9:55 pace

And then came the real reason I put myself through the hilly torture year after year…

Not only does this race offer a pancake breakfast afterwards, they also offer free ice cream. Ummm, yes please!

I felt stronger than I have in awhile running today and I certainly felt a lot better and happier than my last big race. I’d call that a huge success! This is a well-organized, fun, pretty race. I highly recommend it and I’ll likely be out there again next year!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend, the sun has finally peeked out here so I’m spending the afternoon getting my bike ready as next week is Bike to Work Week here. I have committed to biking to work 3 times next week!

How’s your weekend going?

My second day in Ottawa was just as fabulous as the first! This trip is flying by SO QUICKLY!

This morning I ran my very first 5K with Anais and her boyfriend! I know, I know, I’ve ran a marathon and a few half-marathons but NEVER a 5K!

Side note: 5K’s are hard!

Side note #2: Anais boyfriend WON this race. It wasn’t an official race with a “timing chip” or anything but he was the first runner in around 18 minutes!

I’m so glad we decided to do this race. It was such an awesome way to see more of the city! I actually forgot my Garmin at home (boo!) so don’t have mile splits for this race – my time is just from a normal watch. The race was along the canal and SO pretty!

Anais boyfriend coming back the other way:

Anais and I ran together until the turnaround point and then I walked to get some water and sent her up ahead of me. I was feeling pretty tired at that point actually – running fast is HARD! Coming back was a little more uphill than on the way out so I just told myself that I could “jog” but no walking, even though I really wanted to.

I kept thinking about what my running coach says when we’re doing intervals, “is it your legs or your lungs?” usually it’s my lungs that are tired and my legs are fine! So I remembered that and forced myself to push on! Since the race was for the ‘Make a Wish Foundation’ there were posters at the end that had children’s wishes on it. Reading those was really motivating and I pushed hard at the end and even sprinted through the finish line!

Running 5K fast was hard. I definitely felt kind of sick and nauseous towards the end from pushing myself.

I crossed the finish line in 26:18, which is an 8:29 pace. I was really happy with that for my first 5K! Eventually I would love to do one in under 25 minutes.

Sweaty and red-faced (me):

After the race we went to this ADORABLE restaurant called the Sconewitch for brunch! We had to wait a bit for a table but it was 110% worth it. Best brunch I’ve ever had!

Obviously they specialize in scones (I had a vanilla cream one) but you also get scrambled eggs with your choice of topping and fresh fruit on the side! SO GOOD!

After brunch we went back to Anais’ and showered before heading out for more sightseeing and fun. I’m obsessed with all the brick houses in downtown Ottawa!

After a bit of walking around we went for CUPCAKES! These were soooo good! We had a chocolate chip twist and a lemon cupcake (we each had half). They were insanely delicious. Very light and fluffy. I am 99% sure I want cupcakes at our wedding instead of a cake-cake

After that we did more walking along the canal and saw some of the pretty Ottawa tulips! We also did a bit of window shopping and visited a stationery store, a fun kitchen store and a store devoted entirely to selling loose-leaf tea! I bought a tea infuser so I can start making loose-leaf tea at home.

After walking along the canal and sitting on a bench reading our books for a bit we went for appies and caesars at a restaurant right along the canal! Good food, great view and amazing conversation! Anyone who has met another blogger knows what I mean – it’s like hanging out with an old friend!

As if today didn’t involve enough good food Anais made me her famous four day pizza tonight AND chocolate chip blondies (recipe from Eat Live Run!)

This pizza seriously reminded me of pizza I had in Italy – it was that good!

Pizza + blondies + wine = GREAT night!

We are watching Run Fat Boy Run tonight before heading to bed – I’ve never seen it but it’s really funny so far!

Tomorrow morning we are going for one more brunch and then it’s time for me to change into work-mode (the real reason I’m in Ottawa!) for Sunday night and all day Monday!

Hope your having a great weekend!

Have you ever ran a 5K? Did you think it was hard?

PS: I’ve been bugging Anais ALL weekend about blogging and she posted tonight after a bit of a hiatus. So go check it out!

This report should actually be titled “respect the distance” because the list of things I did wrong leading up to this race are endless.

Live and learn right?

Let’s start from the very beginning – i.e. the beginning of “training” (or lack thereof). I mean sure, I’d been running, about 18 – 23 miles per week. Not great but not terrible. However the longest long run I did in preparation for this half-marathon was 10 miles.

Then I got sick last week and did not run once all week. Not once. In fact, the most physical activity I did last week was 20 minutes of yoga.

And the icing on the cake? I got a pedicure. A PEDICURE. The week before my half-marathon. I asked her not to take all my calluses off, and she didn’t, but she took off enough that my feet were NOT happy to run 13 miles three days later.

OK, let’s get on to the race report shall we?

I started my day off with two pieces of cinnamon-raisin bread toasted with butter on one and peanut butter + banana on the other. I ate this around 7:30 AM (race didn’t start till 9:30 AM). I had brought a banana with me to eat while waiting for the race to start but forgot it in my car. Yet another FAIL!

First I met up with a bunch of people from the yoga studio for a photo. I ran on the Hot Yoga studio corporate team (but didn’t actually get to run WITH them since I was doing the 21K and had to start up front) and we wanted to do a “yoga-runner” photo before the race (can you spot me? Grey shorts!)

Then I headed downtown to soak up some of the excitement. This race was probably one of the most community-focused, fun, pumped-up races I’ve ever done. The whole community really comes out to support Boogie and they have great music playing before the race starts and the crowd is just super pumped up! There is also great course support and bands along the first half of the route.

They started with a kids race which was cute to watch!

And before I knew it we were lining up at the start! I started off with two running friends and the first 3 miles went by really quickly!

Mile 1 – 9:17

Mile 2 – 9:15

Mile 3 – 9:28

It was an out-and-back route on a path I logged LOTS of miles on last summer while marathon training. I thought mentally that would make it easier but it didn’t. Instead, since I knew the path so well, I was more focused on my legs tightening up and the bottom of my feet starting to hurt!

Around Mile 4 we hit the gravel path. A.K.A: where things started to go downhill!

Mile 4 - - 9:55 - took my first GU here since I was feeling hungry

Mile 5 – 9:34

Mile 6 – 10:01

This gravel path was SO BRUTAL (it’s the same one I ran on for my 10K a few weeks ago) but this time we were on it for almost four miles. It destroyed my legs.

Mile 7 (turnaround point) – 10:19 – had a small cup of gatorade – SO needed!

Mile 8 – 11:25

This is my “omg I’m ACTUALLY dieing” face.

After I got off the gravel path I felt a bit better. But it was hot out there with almost no shade and the bottom of my feet were starting to blister and get really sore. I just kept chugging along.

I started taking a lot more frequent walk breaks at this point.

Mile 9 – 9:52

Mile 10 – 9:56

Finally I reached mile 10 where they had orange slices!! Most delicious orange slices ever. I stopped and ate 3!

Mile 11 – 11:10

At mile 11 my iPod shuffle died. Luckily I had my iPhone in my spibelt so I took a walk break and hooked up to that. Since Boogie is a 5K, 10K and 21K race a lot of runners are in the first two distances. Which means by the end of the 21K your probably alone up there with maybe a few runners up ahead in the distance. I really felt like I needed my music during this race!

Mile 12 – 10:05

Is there anything more cruel than inserting a large hill at mile 12 of a half-marathon? No? Didn’t think so!

Mile 12 – 12.98 – 10:11 (according to my garmin the course was short)

Final Garmin Stats

12.98 miles – 2:10:14 – 10:03 pace

Done and done! I did not feel well after this half. Maybe it was the two giant hills at the end or the hot sun that beat down on me the whole way but my legs were SO tight and cramped up. I just felt pooped.

Four half-marathons in the books!

Definitely not my best half-marathon, but not my worst either. It was a beautiful day out and the course was nice

Afterwards I posed for a photo with my running friends and then hobbled back to my car and came home for an ice bath. I also devoured a small-ish spinach pizza while video-chatting with Becky this afternoon! Yum

Lesson learned? Respect the distance. I definitely had the I-ran-a-marathon-a-half-marathon-is-nothing mentality and that’s where I went wrong. It was tough out there today!

I plan on doing another half-marathon in the fall and I will definitely be training harder and smarter for it!