Only a few days to go until Around the Bay in Hamilton! At this point I am both nervous and excited. My training has gone well and I have every reason to believe that I'm strong enough to finish the 30 km. Probably not running every step - if nothing else, there are the water breaks - but at a reasonable pace for most of it.
My longest run to date was 28 km, back on (I think) March 3. Before that, it was 27 km about halfway through February. 15 km the Sunday just past, 18 km the Saturday before that, 12 km or so two or three times during the week. This week I did 8 km Monday and 8 km today, and that's it until the race. The "official" training plan has a few slow km the day before, but in the past taking a solid few days off has paid off for me, so why mess with it?
A couple of weeks ago DH and I drove out to Hamilton to get a look at the course. Especially The Hill - a long 500 metres or so at some point between 25 and 26 km. It's intimidating, to say the least, especially since my hill training has been minimal. We have run outside three times this month, and each time I have done hills, but before that, just couldn't seem to get my act together and get on the treadmill. There is a good-sized hill near our place, almost as long as the Hamilton hill (I think) and I went up it several times on this Sunday's run. Although I wouldn't call what I was doing "running", neither was it actual walking, so that was encouraging.
Of course, the weather is an open question. In less than 24 hours the long-range forecast for Sunday went from a high of 14 C and sunny to a high of 11 C with an 80% probability of showers or light rain. At least at this point, it doesn't look like snow or below freezing temperatures, so that's encouraging.
It was wonderful to finally go for a run outside two weekends ago. We had a brief warm spell, it was about 7 C and everything was melting, and it was SO exhilarating to be out in the fresh air. The parks and tracks were still covered in snow, so the whole run was on various streets, with some pedestrian dodging involved, but it was still wonderful. Then it got cold again, and it's still dark in the mornings, so I only managed one outdoor run last week. Sunday it was sunny but a little cold and windy, but we reminded ourselves this could be Hamilton and ran outdoors. It was actually not too bad, except for the wind. Always the bane of my existence...
I still don't quite believe that on Sunday I'm going to attempt to run 20 miles, in (I hope) no more than two hours and forty-five minutes. Just one step at a time - and the bragging rights will feel so good...!
My longest run to date was 28 km, back on (I think) March 3. Before that, it was 27 km about halfway through February. 15 km the Sunday just past, 18 km the Saturday before that, 12 km or so two or three times during the week. This week I did 8 km Monday and 8 km today, and that's it until the race. The "official" training plan has a few slow km the day before, but in the past taking a solid few days off has paid off for me, so why mess with it?
A couple of weeks ago DH and I drove out to Hamilton to get a look at the course. Especially The Hill - a long 500 metres or so at some point between 25 and 26 km. It's intimidating, to say the least, especially since my hill training has been minimal. We have run outside three times this month, and each time I have done hills, but before that, just couldn't seem to get my act together and get on the treadmill. There is a good-sized hill near our place, almost as long as the Hamilton hill (I think) and I went up it several times on this Sunday's run. Although I wouldn't call what I was doing "running", neither was it actual walking, so that was encouraging.
Of course, the weather is an open question. In less than 24 hours the long-range forecast for Sunday went from a high of 14 C and sunny to a high of 11 C with an 80% probability of showers or light rain. At least at this point, it doesn't look like snow or below freezing temperatures, so that's encouraging.
It was wonderful to finally go for a run outside two weekends ago. We had a brief warm spell, it was about 7 C and everything was melting, and it was SO exhilarating to be out in the fresh air. The parks and tracks were still covered in snow, so the whole run was on various streets, with some pedestrian dodging involved, but it was still wonderful. Then it got cold again, and it's still dark in the mornings, so I only managed one outdoor run last week. Sunday it was sunny but a little cold and windy, but we reminded ourselves this could be Hamilton and ran outdoors. It was actually not too bad, except for the wind. Always the bane of my existence...
I still don't quite believe that on Sunday I'm going to attempt to run 20 miles, in (I hope) no more than two hours and forty-five minutes. Just one step at a time - and the bragging rights will feel so good...!
posted by Jogger Barbie | 9:05 PM
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