Back in the pool

Tonight was a cross training day, so we decided to go for another swim at the Waterdown YMCA.
Again Alyssa was spoiled because she had access to a pool where she was staying. It was a good swim, we slowly dragged are butts over to the Y and started off slow and steady. I definitely felt better this time around swimming and I took less breaks than the previous outing. Breast strokes, free style, back strokes and body board flutter kick. We were in there for 35 min total, not as much as our program wants but it was better than nothing and the pool was closing at a certain time and we were late on arrival lol.
Im very happy were back together working as a team and enjoying it.
Until our next post.

First day back

Today is the first run Alyssa and I have had together since her week long trip in Palm Springs.
The weather was pretty good, not too cold and a little overcast, Alyssa sure was spoiled with the weather in California and me on the other hand so so ahha. Our reunion was great, I was so happy to see her pull into the driveway and give her a hug and kiss. Our run was a 6.4km but we ended up at 6.13km because I calculated wrong on the map my run web site, still we managed it in less than 39 minutes going at a normal pace and not overexerting. I am just glad were back to our running routine and on track for the Mercedes Benz 10 k challenge.

Some days just HURT...

This run I must admit, though I would rather not, was a real struggle for me (Alyssa). Before we even ran my stomach felt a little off and I felt a little nauseous, not to mention I didn't get much sleep the night before. We started running, I felt so heavy and very quickly I got a bad side stitch, I tried to push through it but it persisted and I had to tell Nazaire that we needed to stop for a minute. So we stopped in someones driveway and waited for a minute as I tried to just breath and get rid of the pain. Jeez, I can't even tell you how mad I was at myself for even having to stop at all... the only other time I had ever even stopped in our training so far was during the killer hill we ran once and even that I limited to 30 seconds. Anyways, after our brief stop I felt better the pain was gone so we started to run again. After not in 30 seconds of running again the stitch came back, ugh. I pushed and kept running for as long as I could and then we had to stop for our second 1 minute break. We started running again and we were nearing Nazaire's street which we were supposed to run past... I can't even tell you how bad I just wanted to give up and head down his street home. I seriously considered it for a few minutes, but I knew I couldn't or I would feel like crap about myself and beat myself up for it. So, as we were running past I just pretended it wasn't there and kept running. We stopped one last time during the run then I held on til we got back to his house and even sprinted a little at the end to try and make up for how bad I felt about having to stop lol. Unlike me Nazaire seemed to feel pretty strong on today's run... although later at Winners he kept whining about how sore he was lol. Hopefully Saturday's run will go a little more smoothly.

My little fish

Today was our first day of cross training so we decided to mix it up and head over to the Waterdown YMCA to do some laps in the pool. I think it's a good idea to work all the muscles and to try something other than a run, however with that said, I hadn't been in lap pool in years. I struggled a bit, but I enjoyed the breast stroke and backstroke; those are my favorites. Alyssa, on the other hand, was like a fish in her own backyard pond; she got stronger and stronger as the minutes went on. We were in there for 59 minutes, had a pretty good workout, and she still didn't want to stop and leave but they were closing the pool. We then capped off the workout with a few minutes in the sauna. I will sleep great tonight and tomorrow we're back at it with a run.

Training day 1 for the Mercedes-Benz 10k!

Alyssa and I started out late in the afternoon/evening; the weather was a beautiful for a run. We were excited to start our first day of training for the 10k, I think because it's a new challenge and we are coming off a high from our 5k race over the weekend. This run was our longest to date at 5.34k and we both ran at a good pace. Alyssa was running well and breathing much better than on race day probably because I wasn't yapping in her ear. It's good when you can get in the zone and focus. My legs were tired and a little burnt out from giving it at the race, but I pushed through it and enjoyed the run none the less. Now on to our cross training day tomorrow; we will see how it goes.

More Race Day Photos

Race Day: Mission Accomplished, 28:13 !

 

Nazaire: 28:12      11/21 in his age group    111/202 out of the males   174/586 overall

Alyssa:   28:13      4/11 in her age group     65/384 out of the females    176/586 overall

Nazaire's Account of the Day: 
Well 9 weeks is officially done; I'm so happy we completed and competed in this 5k race. I must say my nerves were shot before the race and just waiting at the starting line calming my body and all the chills. Alyssa had to go to the bathroom so she went to the porta poty and was almost late for the start. I was freaking out and killing time with her parents. But when I saw her with minutes to spare I was ready and relaxed, no nervousness. The horn went and away we went off in a heap of bodies. Alyssa set the pace and I felt fine the whole way; my breathing was good and my strides were confident. I felt happy with my race and I'm very proud of Alyssa for pushing me along the way and bringing out the competitor in me. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences that I have had. I look forward to our next race and adventure. Way to go babe. I love you.

Alyssa's Account of the Day:
Let me just start by stating a couple well known race day laws; what ever can go long, will go wrong and expect the unexpected. Last night and today definitely fit with these quotes. First off, last night Nazaire got an unexpected visitor in the middle of the night. He came into his room to find the words "KILL" taped on the door, floor, and bed. And, then about an hour later was awoken by Reid in a mask taping his arm to the bed post with hockey tape; he had to cut his way out with an swiss army knife. I think Reid was inspired from watching Paranormal Activity the day before, and their "Stepbrother" relationship encouraged it as well. Oh did I mention, Fabio was also posted on the door lol.

This morning we woke up good, ate, and headed out the door. You could tell Nazaire was on edge though; he gave one person the finger and freaked out on another girl who was crossing the road without looking. Then as we were getting off the highway, in a rush to get to the mall to catch the shuttle in time, their was an accident at the exit. Needless to say that didn't help the anxiety. Despite the small road bump, we got to the mall in time and on the shuttle pretty quick. However, the problems weren't over yet; I then go to pin on the bib and realize that the safety pins I placed in my arm pocket are missing and I forgot my sunglasses, DOH! So, I called up my Mom quickly and asked her to bring 'em. Then the rest was just a waiting game at city hall.

Nearing the race I was dying to go to the washroom and we headed outside thinking the line up at the porta potties would be shorter then the LOOONG women's line inside. Not the case... the line up was HUGE... longer than the lines you see at Wonderland. Regardless though I figured I had to wait it out, I mean I had to pee like a race horse! So, after a long, long wait I get to the front little bit where you have to take a chance and pick a line. I thought I picked a pretty good one until I saw that out of our line's two porta potties one guy hadn't come out for a good twenty minutes. Of course, when I was at the front of the line that guy decided to come out... you can all tell how well that went down. After that ordeal, feeling nice and relieved, I ran down to the Start line where Nazaire was a little frazzled waiting for me. We got in the corral of bodies and awaited the sound of the starting gun. All I remember was them counting down the time from 3 minutes and thinking, "Wow, that was the fastest 3 minutes ever!" We started and I felt good at first, however, that quickly changed. At around 2k I felt a major cramp coming on, ack I rarely get those! And, that baby stayed with me for the rest of the race, I also couldn't get into a good groove and zone out like I usually do. But, it was still a great race and we beat our goal! Next stop, the Mercedes-Benz 10K. Bring it on!

Butterflies...

Today is Saturday, the day before the race! This afternoon Nazaire and I headed down to the Travelodge to pick up our bibs, timing chips, Frosty 5k shirts, and race kit. The place was a total zoo! After finishing up that we went to a few places here and there looking for more blister bandaids and such. Out of that excursion came two great things; we got some awesome pictures of the sky at sunset (see below) and Nazaire found some great running tight. The running tights are pretty good; we found them at Walmart for $13, can't beat that! He says its awesome, feels really light and like a super hero lol. After that we headed back to my house to relax a bit, eat some dinner, and get all dolled up for a celebratory treat at Demetres. It was great; we ordered this fantastic strawberry-waffle-ice cream dessert that was absolutely delicious. Then we got back home and we're heading to bed shortly. Now let's see if we feel like little kids trying to fall asleep for Christmas, I hope not!

Last run before the race

I cant believe 9 weeks has come and gone, and that we are here with the race day only a couple days away.
I think it's quite an accomplishment that we stuck it out and did it together as a team. We set two goals: to run under 30 minutes and to go over 100k in our training. So far we've crossed one off the list, over 100k done in training, yippee.

Todays run was just after sunset, a lil windy but not too chilly. I had some major cramps and Alyssa felt like she was going to be sick, what great timming lol. Never the less we pushed on through it, worked up a good sweat, and when we got to the house our time was great, 30:18 for 5.14k which Alyssa estimates puts  us at at 5:54 pace. We will definitely break 30 minutes, now it's just a matter of by how much.

P.s. We forgot to mention Alyssa was accepted to Ryerson for psychology last Friday!

Going Crazie....

It was an eventful run today; Alyssa, Elena, Reid and I all took part on this sunny run. What a nice day to get out, the weather was beautiful. Alyssa and I just have one more run to go before the frosty, yay! Reid came along on his bike, singing and swerving alongside the street; it was good to see him out there. Elena has taken a liking to the training and has impressed the both of us finishing 5.14k just a few minutes after us, I hope she sticks with it. Alyssa and I ran at a good pace, we wanted to break the 30 min barrier for a 5k and we just did by a bit at 30:59 for 5.14k. So, we have our goal set for friday and on sunday's race to come in below 30 minutes and I feel comfortable and confident we will.

A side note, after the run we did P90X's Ab Ripper X with Elena. Then later that night we went and saw the movie The Crazies. It was awesome! Highly recommend.

Alone at last...

Today marked a first for us, our first run without each other. Between school, Elena and I wanting to go shopping, etc. getting to Nazaire's house and doing everything that needed to be done just wasn't possible. So, we had to do the unthinkable and run alone, gasp lol. Wait, actually I should rephrase that... Nazaire had to run alone, I got to run with Elena. However, we did both plan it out so we were running during the same time, so I guess technically we ran together... just in different locations. As for the weather though, wow, it was gorgeous! So warm that I just wore a long sleeve tech shirt, my tights, and a very thin wind breaker... and even that was too much. It was really cool; the sun was out and I just thought to myself while running, "it feels like spring," and then smiled. Unfortunately, one downside to this lovely weather was the massive puddles. One was completely unavoidable and was a little deeper then it looked leaving me with a soaking wet foot. Then that soaking wet foot turned into a blister, ouch, first one for me during our 9 weeks of training. Regardless of the blister, I ran 5.14km in 32:35 minutes; finally running 5km was a great feeling. However, now that I know running 5km's is a reality I'll be on to pushing myself and stressing out about going faster. Oh the joys of being a perfectionist!