The Wild Bunch

Last night was a very late night for Elena and myself, a 5am late night to be precise. We worked out, whipped up a storm cooking, we socialized, and laughed a lot; typical Alyssa and Elena hijinks. Needless to say we didn't wake up too early, but when we did I picked up Nazaire, made some pasta, and then we headed out for our run. Today we had some extra people on our run: Reid and Elena. Reid didn't run the loop with us, but he did what he could. Elena kept up with us for 3.66 km which was great; I was impressed and proud. And, we finished up week 8 with a 4.61 km run. I feel very confident about the Frosty 5K, we will definitely be able to run it comfortable.

Oh and Nazaire surprised me with some beautiful gerbera flowers for our 5 month anniversary. :-)

We've got a visitor...

I will make this post, it's me Nazaire; Alyssa has nothing to say for this post. Hmm... I think she would because she smoked me in this run. The weather was windy and I certainly was not feeling this run, I just concentrated on my breathing. All week I have had an upset stomach so I just did what I could. Today I met Elena, Alyssa's best friend from Winnipeg. I can tell their best friends you can just sense it, it's really nice. Anyways, we're heading out to best buy and then the mall, see ya later!

Running in a winter wonderland + Frosty

Today upon finishing school I headed over to Nazaire's so we could go see the mantinee of Shutter Island. Seriously, what a great time and day to go. There were maybe 10 other people in the theater, and since it was Telus Tuesday we each got a free popcorn and drink out of the deal! The movie was great... lots of twists and turns, slow at times, but overall I'd definitely recommend it. Leo did a great job and played the character perfectly.

After the movie it was starting to get dark so we headed out for our run. I wasn't looking forward to it thanks to the nice dump of snow we got from the little blizzard the day before, but it was actually quite warm outside. We ran one of our usual Stoney Creek loops except in the opposite direction which we had never done on that route. It was a great run for me... the for me the first half of the run I paced myself, then at the half way point I speed up and just zoned out. For a good portion of the last third of our run I was maybe a few feet to a meter in front of Nazaire. I felt bad, I don't like leaving him behind, but I was just zoning right out and felt great running at a faster pace. I still would look for his shadow and listen for his steps to make sure he was okay and not too far behind. And, it still felt nice to know he was with me. Also, we set to first times... first 28 minute straight run of our program and longest run yet at 4.47 km; not a bad way to start week 8.

Once the run was done Nazaire decided to take advantage of the sticky packing snow perfect for making a snowman, and made a masterpiece. :-)

A Sunny Sunday Run

Today me and Nazaire went out for the last run of week 7, and wow what a nice day for it! The weather is sunny and warm; I didn't even have to wear a jacket, mitts, or headband. We ran throughout my area... it was a route we had done before, but we ran it backwards to switch it up. We also were running it in daylight which is a change. Usually we end up running at night, not because we want to (well I kind of what to lol... I enjoy running at night, you can't see where your going, it feels like it goes by faster), but more because it ends up being the time running is possible for us. Regardless of the change, however, I struggled. I felt a good deal of pain in the medial posterior aspect of my patella (thank you exercise science ;-) ). I slowed down and pushed through it though. We also ran by a man with his young son, and when the man saw Nazaire's Montreal Canadiens hat he commented that he liked it. Nazaire said, "ya me too... much better than the Leafs!" and the man agreed. We also ran by a lot of groups of families; it is a amazing how few people will move out of the way and give you a bit of space even though they do see you coming. Another spotting we made today is a big Cooper's hawk, and we even caught a great snap shoot of it. Off to eat and then cheer on Team Canada at 7:40. GO CANADA!!!

Bueler!

Early morning Saturday and we're on the couch watching Ferris Bueler's day off; one of Reid's favorites. Tonight's run was really good; we both ran strong, but not too fast or too slow, it was a good pace. Alyssa said it was her best run to date and I think she's right. I kept up step for step till the end and she bolted away for the finish. She's crazy, she all out sprinted for the last minute, I kept up as best I could. Also, Alyssa said her average heart rate was the lowest it's been... 145. We are  exactly two weeks away from accomplishing our goal of a 5km and we're well on target.

P.s. Reid got his braces today!

In the 4's

This evening I headed to Alyssa's because she wasn't feeling up to driving. She's been really tired lately and had a lot of history homework, so I headed down to keep up with our program. The snow was coming down, not hard but steady in light flakes, and there was a tad bit of wind. I felt pretty good running and from the past few days; I feel like I'm on a roll. I ran 16km Saturday from my place to Joseph Brant Hospital and we ran 4km on Monday. Alyssa was tired, the wind was cold to her, but not me... maybe because I have a beard now lol. None the less, we kept up with chatting and we pushed along just fine. Another 4km run so were looking good for the Frosty 5K in a few weeks. Well that's all for now... I'm going to watch more olympics.

Jog, Jog, Sprint!

Today's run was the first run in a little over a week. For me it was mentally tough to get back into the swing of things, for Nazaire it was much easier (he did run 16km earlier this week). The weather was really nice, minimal wind. In fact, halfway through the run I was feeling so warm I had to ditch my gloves and unzip my jacket a bit. We completed this run in the Stoney Creek area and it was our first 25 minute straight run; the following weeks before the Frosty 5K will consists of only 25 and 30 minute runs. Like I said for me it was a mentally tough run, I was just trying to zone out for most of it until the last 3 minutes (those are always the easiest for me). The last  minute I just sprinted and left Nazaire in the dust, I had picked a spot that I wanted to finish at and I went for it. Plus, I really enjoy finishing strong... it feels great. It was also great that it was our longest run yet, 4.1K... we'll definitely have a great race in a few weeks!

Valentine's Day in Pictures.

 

DECA!

Just got back from DECA Provincials. It's a business competition for high school students to help them gain experience in business, entrepreneurship, and marketing. After getting second place in my category of Apparel and Accessories Marketing at Regionals, I qualified for Provincials. It was crazy; 5200 of the best kids competing from all over Ontario held in Downtown Toronto over the course of three days (February seventh to ninth). About twenty-four kids from my school qualified and we all stayed in the Sheraton Hotel; ninety percent of the hotel was occupied by DECA making for a lot of fun and meeting new people. Though I tried hard, I did not place this time around (bummer, Internationals in Louisville, Kentucky would have been a blast). However, it was still a great experience and a lot of fun.

We saw a rabbit.

This evening Alyssa and I dragged our butts out into the cold toward where my granny has lived for the past 50 yrs or so. Along the way I saw my uncle Bob ("rabbit") walking to the corner store in some pain; I gave a shout out and asked him who he liked in the super bowl. After our run we treated ourselves to a blockbuster movie; Alyssa picked TAKEN with Liam Neeson. She has a crush on him lol, must be the accent. It was a good movie and I would recommend it.

back in the creek

We were running in my home town today. The weather was sunny and a tad bit overcast, but it wasn't too cold. It felt great to be out running on some of the roads my father use to play on and run as a kid. This run was off the main road into the industrial area of Stoney Creek and onto the back country road behind my home. That area is mostly fields, fruit trees and small orchards. We clocked in around 3.6 km which was one of are longest runs so far and one of the few day time runs we had had together. Overall, it was a great run.