Complete Bluenose Half Marathon – Check!

So, I have officially completed my first Half Marathon! I'm extremely proud that I can finally say that :)

{Me the night before trying on my Bluenose running shirt! The years slogan was "Run Like Your'e 10 Years Old" since they were celebrating 10 years running}

What an amazing experience – the crowds of people, the huge number of volunteers, the people all along the way cheering us all on and my family and friends all made yesterday so incredible. I honestly couldn't have done it without all of your support and am extremely grateful! Interested in a recap of the run yesterday? Here it is :) (Sorry for the lack of pictures, I haven't got pics yet from my family and I didn't have my phone with me but I will add some in later on).

So I got up around 7am and having laid out everything the night before I was well prepared and able to head out at 8:15am to the START line. I was so glad to see that the weather wasn't as bad as I imagined (I was prepared to step outside into freezing weather), but it was actually great running weather – cool but still sunny. Matt and I met up with my Mom, Dad, Katie and Alex and were able to watch the end of the 5k as they ran along the citadel as I was waiting in the start line. Goodlife fitness did a little warm up before we went which was great cause I was so nervous I almost forgot!

{Just before moving to the START line}

The thousands of people were a little intimidating and, as this was my first ever race, it was a bit overwhelming. But once the countdown began and the gun went off it was a lot of fun. I started off with a bunch of people around my goal pace (I started out near the 2h:20m pace bunny) and when we made our way around by Citadel High there was the first water station. It was really neat to see all these people waiting with water and gatorade to hand right to us as we ran by. I thought about stopping at the portapotties there since I had drank a lot of water before the race to stay hydrated but thought it would be better to wait until the next one. Well, I guess that was everyone's idea because at the next water station there was only two portapotties and about 10 of us lined up. I knew it was either wait now or risk feeling uncomfortable and not knowing where the next stop would be. So, I was sad to give up about 5 mins waiting in line but it was definitely worth it. Note for next time though to go RIGHT BEFORE the race starts. (I have a lot of these notes to self for next time lol). After that I was good to go and the next 6 or 7 kilometres were awesome. Around kilometre 10 or 11 things got a bit hard. There were a surprising number of hills in this course (another note to self, run at least part of course before hand to see what it's like) so my legs definitely got a work out.

Kilometers 13 through 18 were through Point Pleasant Park and I have to say those were the hardest. There were a lot of hills and I find the gravel tougher to run on. I could really feel myself slow down at this point too. I still ran most of it but took a lot more very short walking breaks. And as I don't have too much practice running past 14 or 15k my legs were starting to get pretty sore (Note: do more 15k+ long runs before hand). The funny part was it hurt more to walk than to run so I think that was what kept me going for the last couple of kilometres. The last stretch was downhill on Cogswell street to Brunswick which was great and as soon as I could see the finish line I pushed it to the end. I finished very close to my goal time (2 and a half hours) with a finish time of 2h:34m:32s. Since my original goal was basically just to finish, I am pretty happy with this time. The winner only beat me by, oh and hour and a half lol But I know each time I do a run, I can shave off more and more time and yesterdays time was a great start for my very first race.

It was so cool to see all of the people waiting at the finish line to cheer people as they passed the end and I felt such a sense of accomplishment when I was finished. After you were done, volunteers gave everyone a Bluenose 10th Anniversary Medal which was a nice bonus :)

One of the things I loved the most was the whole spirit of the event. All the way through the course people were cheering me on whether I knew them or not and, because many of us had our names on our bibs, I heard many people shout "Go, Shannon, Go!" which was so motivating to hear. It was nice when I did take a walk break people would yell out "keep going!" which helped a lot with keeping the breaks short if I was having a hard time. I must say I ran the majority of the race and kept my walking breaks to max 1 or 2 minutes which I am super proud to say :D

The major downside is the soreness that is running through my whole body lol Right after the race, it was as if I had aged 50 years. I could barely walk and my entire body was stiff. It was like that for the rest of the day with the worst being after sitting down for a while or when I woke up after my much need afternoon nap yesterday. Although I am still a bit sore today, it's actually a lot better than yesterday. I used my foam roller on my legs which seemed to help a lot.

All in all, I had such a great time yesterday and running the half marathon was a fun and rewarding experience. I had trained enough that although it wasn't easy, I didn't feel like dying by the end! :) I can't wait to run another race and hope to find another Half Marathon to run again soon (and by soon, I mean maybe after a couple more months of training so I can get a a better time and have lots of time to recover from this one). 

Thanks again to everyone that supported me through out my journey training for the run and to everyone that sponsored me to help raise money for HSHC. I'm not sure of the exact total but the ten of us that participated in the Bluenose Marathon for HSHC collectively raised over $3,500 to build the new exam room at the clinic! :D

To all my family and friends – thanks for coming on this journey with me. Keep checking the blog as I plan to still make updates as I continue to run and train for whatever is to come next!

Love,

Shannon

Almost Bluenose Time, Baby

Three more days!!!

Got in an easy 5k/34:03mins this morning before work. I felt really good afterwards and I definitely feel ready for Sunday :D Pick up for shirts/bibs is tomorrow at the WTCC so I'm going to make a trip over there after work tomorrow. I also need to make another visit to The Running Room to stock up on some more GU Chomps Energy Chews (I blog on and on out it here… so good!)

{Super excited for the Bluenose Marathon part – not so much about the 8:45am part. But meh, it could always be earlier!}

I'm actually getting a little nervous, not for the run on Sunday though but for our first Ultimate Frisbee practice which we're having on Saturday afternoon! A group of us are going to get together and throw a frisbee around and hopefully someone will teach us how to actually play. Then I believe another team will be joining us and we might have a little scrimmage. I'm hoping maybe we can just watch the first game and see how it's done. I'm so nervous that I am going to absolutely bomb at playing ultimate, but I guess it would be worse to not even try! So I just need to tell myself to relax. I'm really happy Maxine and I are both in the same boat (experience-wise) so we can be beginners together :)

If you're interested in the Recharge With Milk Half Marathon Route you can find it here! Looks like it will be a good run, scenery wise, starting in the North End then moving downtown towards Point Pleasant then finishing right by my house. Pretty convenient :) My mom, Dad and my sister and her boyfriend Alex will be coming down to cheer me on. Can't wait!

S

And the countdown begins!

So I got up bright and early at 6:30 this morning to… watch Real Housewives of Beverly Hills! lol I actually got up so I could drive Matt to work since he had to drive the company truck to Liverpool again for the week. I was going to go back to sleep when I got home, but instead put on some Real Housewives (I have the whole last season to catch up on!) and had myself some breakfast. Then I got dressed for the day and headed out to work early. On one hand, I wish I had used the time to get my run in early, but on the other, I actually do enjoy running in the afternoon/evening after work. I feel like my body is more awake and warmed up.

I got in a good 40 minute workout on the treadmill this afternoon. I didn't really pay attention to mileage or pace but more on speed, doing intervals of sprinting mixed with jogging. It was a nice change up from my regular runs and should help with my training, hopefully I can get a bit faster ;). I was really happy to finally try out my new running shoes and, I must say, they were INCREDIBLY COMFORTABLE! They are not as light as my New Balance runners but they felt like they provided a great amount of support and made for a great run. They were also surprisingly breathable. All around great choice of shoe for my clown feet which are in desperate need of love and care!

Only a couple more runs before the big day! I'm about 10% nervous, 90% excited! :D

{Saw this walking to the car the other day and it put a huge smile on my face :D}

S

I'm a cat person

Rest day today! And I'm thinking probably tomorrow too… I'm kind of worried about my knees since they've been pretty painful since the long run on Sunday. I've probably just been increasing my distance too fast but I really don't want anything to stop me from running on the 19th so I think I am going to take a couple of days to rest, ice my knees, as well as pick up a new pair of running shoes. I am going to get a pair that offers a bit more support and maybe this will help with the knee pain. I will leave it up to the experts though and see what they recommend :) I think wearing a small brace during the run may not be a bad idea either.

I had a pretty busy day today starting with driving Matt into work at 6:30am since he's going to work in Liverpool for the week and this way I can keep the car (yay!). Then I worked at the lab until 3pm followed by a doctor's appointment and now I'm volunteering at the Canadian Cancer Society Lodge That Gives unit 9pm. I will be glad when this day is over and I can watch the new Game of Thrones, that's for sure ;) So since I have no run to talk about today, I thought I would post some pics from the weekend that I forgot to post! Disclaimer: they are mostly of my cats...

{This is the anchor my Dad put in the front yard with some Virgina Bluebells growing beside it. Probably one of the things I like most about our house (beside the HUGE veranda my Dad built a couple summers ago – more pics on that once it's Summer, it looks beautiful :)}

{What a cutie – Ripley (after Sigourney Weaver's character in Alien – she had a really tiny head on a big body when she was a kitten) looking at me curiously in the living room. She is seriously the craziest cat I've ever met. Every time I'm home she picks up any clothes I have lying around and drags them all around the house! Last weekend she even picked up my ENTIRE bag of clothes and dragged it into the hallway before removing specific pieces she liked. What a weirdo ;P}

{Afterwards I was fooling around on Aviary and thought I'd add some hipster glasses because Ripley would definitely be a hipster if she was human – don't ask lol}

{Darwin and Ripley – aren't they adorable!? They often sleep all cuddled up with each other}

For all you greek yogurt lovers out there, I recently tried some Oikos Coconut Greek Yogurt and it is absolutely delicious! I usually stick to the 0% Plain Greek Yogurt and just add fruit, nuts, honey, chia, etc. to it as a snack or dessert. My mom had some of the coconut yogurt at home and mixed it with pineapple and melon and it tasted just like a pina colada! The coconut adds just enough flavour that it doesn't need any other sweetener and tastes great with some fruit on top. A nice change from the usual plan with still 0% fat and only 80 calories :)

{A little snack while volunteering}

S

P.S. I added a section on the left hand side bar that lists the blogs I follow so if you're bored you should check them out!

Time For Some Ultimate

So here's an update from the past couple of days:

On Wednesday I took a running break and a friend from my lab (Maxine) and I tossed around a frisbee for a bit. We wanted to get some practice in since we joined an Ultimate Frisbee League for the summer! We both wanted to join a team sport and thought it sounded fun. We put our names on the "free agent list" and were recruited by a team called the Raging Rambos haha. We're both pretty excited and the guy who contacted us sounds super nice and made us feel okay about not having too much experience, saying we'll put in some practice games before playing other teams. Practicing throwing the frisbee yesterday was such a relief since we wanted to make sure we actually COULD do it. Turns out we don't completely suck after all! I have seemed to get the hang of throwing the frisbee in the relatively right direction and Maxine is great at catching it even when I throw it crazy so I think we make a great pair :) I can't wait to actually learn how to play!

{The frisbee I won at James's birthday for coming in 3rd in the "Best 90's costume contest" for being Spike from Degrassi – I dressed as her unintentionally but it worked out nonetheless! Gotta love jean vests :D}

Yesterday I went to the gym after work for a run, 4.87 miles/58:03 mins. To be honest, my legs were still kind of stiff so I took a lot more walking breaks than I should have. I think I may need to get some running shoes with a bit more support for my ankles and knees since they seem to be giving me trouble (just a little bit). I love my New Balance Minimus shoes but I'm not sure they provide enough support, at least for while I'm starting out. They stiffness seemed to subside half-way through the run though and they felt like normal which I was happy with. I think I'm still getting over taking a bit of a break when I got all those blisters since I feel like I'm just getting back into the flow I had before, therefore I must have been out of the flow!

I'm heading home to the Bay for the weekend tonight and I am very excited! It's been a couple of months since I was last home which is the longest time without a visit in a while! I'm looking forward to some delicious wheat-free meals (which I will cook my fair share of, of course) and some Rummy games with my parents – our family is obsessed with cards. Euchre is our preferred choice but unfortunately it will only be the three of us this weekend (need four to play) since Matt has to work this weekend :( I'm hoping the weather will be nice so I can do one of my last long runs before the Bluenose Half Marathon. It's getting so close, where did the time go!? My trip to Baltimore to attend the 2013 Annual Sleep Society Meeting is coming up fast too so I am busy getting my poster ready :) I leave on June 1st (my birthday!) and will be there for 5 days. I'm excited to go to and present at my first conference! I'm looking up some stuff to do during some downtime while I'm there (not that there will be too much time for sight-seeing). I'd like to visit the Edgar Allan Poe Museum which is in the house he died in, in Baltimore. Sounds pretty cool to me!

{I used to enjoy reading Poe when I was younger and lately watching The Following has reignited my interest}

Side Note:

Within our HSHC Bluenose Marathon team there is a competition to see who can get the most new pledges by next Monday, May 13th! The winner gets a gift card to Niche (one of my fav places!) so if anyone can spare just $5 or $10, it would help me out a lot! You also win bragging rights too which is always fun :P All of the proceeds from my run (and the others running for HSHC) goes towards the conversion of an old office into a new treatment room at the Halifax Sexual Health Centre! Upon its completion, they will be able to see many more patients on a daily basis as well as decrease wait times for their critical services! Any little bit helps for this amazing organization!

Happy weekend everybody!

S

THANK YOU!

I wanted to use today's post to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has made a donation to sponsor my run! I've already reached my goal of $200 and there's still just about a month left before the race! Thank you so much for your support and know your donations are going to a great cause. The Halifax Sexual Health Centre (HSHC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free sexual health services to the community. Local doctors donate their time to provide pap and STI tests, prescriptions for birth control, counciling services, as well as anonymous HIV testing. All you need to make an appointment is a valid canadian health card which is helpful for those who are working or studying in Halifax and don't have access to their family doctor. I started volunteering at the clinic last summer and got to work with the amazing doctors, nurses, support staff and volunteers that help the centre run. During the school year, I've been involved in the Youth Committee for HSHC, helping to put together events for fundraising. We had our second annual Sexy Party at Pacifico that was a HUGE success, raising HSHC almost $7,000 with about 700 guests! Make sure to watch out for our third annual Sexy Party next February, it will be a night full music, games, dancing and all around sexiness!

I am very excited to be running the half marathon on May 19th on behalf of HSHC and am proud to be involved with such a commendable organization. If anyone would like to make a donation and help me surpass my goal, you can follow the link here! The money raised through the Bluenose Marathon is going towards converting an old office at the HSHC clinic to a third examination room, allowing the clinic to increase the number of clients seen by 30% and reduce wait lists for critical services!

Thanks again for your support :)

S