Half-Marathon Personal Best!

The short version: A new half-marathon PR: 2:31:15. (Old PR: 2:35:40). (According to the Garmin, we actually ran 13.25)

The long version:

I guess all that long, slow marathon training finally paid off!

This race was not a goal race at all. I was just planning on running it as a long run, and having fun running through the city. I did have a great 8 miler last weekend, that was a lot faster than I expected, but I had no expectations of running that same kind of pace today. For once, my bad weather luck was absent, and conditions were fairly nice. It was a little warmer and sunnier than forecast, but nothing major, and most of the run was through the Englischer Garten, a large park in the middle of Munich, so we were running along nice shady paths with lots of trees. The few times we were running directly in the sun (especially at the end of the race), you could really feel the difference. But it was still lovely weather: 16°C when we started and a high of 20°C (68°F) by the end, with just very light winds (7 km/hr / 5 mph at the most).

The race started at 8:00 am, and there were tons of people out to run. A record number of registrants: 17 000. But that was between the half, the 10K, and the 5K. So it took us about 10 minutes to cross the start line. We started in downtown Munich, at Marienplatz, and ran towards the Englischer Garten. Once in the Garten, we were running in very familiar territory. Hubby and I do most of our runs, especially our long runs, on the various paths there, and the race went along many of the same paths that we regularly run on.

The first several kilometre markers were way off, so I had no idea what kind of pace I was really running, but hubby had the Garmin on and although he kept asking me if I felt okay, he had no concerns about my pace. Turns out I was running at a good clip. Everything was feeling good though. Legs felt fine, I was breathing comfortably and talking to hubby. The only thing that told me I was running a little on the fast side was that I didn't want to take in anything other than Gatorade. Gels, bananas, etc. all held no appeal.

The course was very flat, with two exceptions: going over a bridge in the Englischer Garten to cross over major roads at one point, and then right before the 20km point, there was a hill to get out of the Isar River valley where the Englischer Garten is, back to the normal city elevation.

Kept a good, fairly even clip up until the 11 mile point. Then I started to feel a little tired. Wasn't sore, but the legs were starting to get tired and I was starting to breathe a little harder. So miles 12 and 13.1 were slower. But I had a bit of a kick at the finish, and was delighted to cross the finish line in 2:31:15, a huge PR for me!

After the race, we were given water, then made our way to where we could gets bananas, apples, Semmel (buns), Breze (Bavarian soft pretzels), and Alkoholfrei Bier (non-alcoholic beer). The banana, Breze and beer were great post-run food.

This was a Stadtlauf (City Run) so it was a little different from other races. We did have chips, and very nice technical race t-shirts, but we all had to wear the race t-shirt as part of the run (to have access to all the race stuff, including the refreshment stations during the race and after). No bibs, no personal photos, and no medals. But hubby and I took some photos of each other after the race. There were also only four refreshment stations along the route, with only water and Sprudel (carbonated mineral water) at the first two, and water along with bananas and apple juice at the last two. Hubby carried two bottles of Powerade for us, however, so that was what we drank. After the race, we slowly walked home, taking about an hour and a half. It was a nice, long cooldown, although my hamstrings were starting to complain (didn't bother me at all during the run) and they really didn't like having to climb out of the Isar River valley.

I wore one of my running skirts, along with the race shirt, and it was very comfortable. I'm sure it helped me run faster. Photos below.

So I finally had decent weather for a run, and I finally ran another PR! Now I'm actually thinking of doing a 30km run in the fall, instead of a half, and then hopefully try to break 2:30 for a half next spring.

Here are the photos we took.

Splits (some of them are really off, although my total time is close to my chip time):

1 km: 8:13
2 km: 7:20
3 km: 7:51
4 km: 5:27 (this can't be right!)
5 km: 4:54 (I'm definitely not running this fast!)
6 km: 7:14
7 km: 6:56
8 km: 6:53
9 km: 7:33 (don't think I slowed down that much)
10km: 7:06 (that's more like it)
11km: 6:33
12km: 6:59
13km: 7:13
14km: 6:58
15km: 7:12
16km: 6:56
17km: 7:22
18km: 7:14
19km: 7:36
20km: 9:40 (this seems off too - I was slowing down, but not this much! This was the hill out of the Isar River Valley)
21.1km: 7:56

Garmin splits for the miles are much more even:

Mile 1: 11:34
2: 11:33
3: 11:04
4: 11:10
5: 11:21
6: 11:35
7: 11:11
8: 11:34
9: 11:21
10: 11:32
11: 11:25
12: 11:56
13: 12:09
0.1: 1:01

Hamburg Marathon Race Report

The short version: Excellent race organization. Very well run. Great crowd support, even for us turtles (or penguins). A marathon PR for me by almost 7 minutes. Chip time: 5:51:11.

The good: Cooler than forecast
The bad: Windier than forecast
The ugly: I had major stomach problems, which I normally don't have.

The long version:

I had several goals heading into this race. One, simply to finish the race before the course closed (accomplished). Two: PR (accomplished). Three: Run the entire race (didn't happen because of my upset belly.) Four: Run it in 5:45 (didn't happen, again, probably largely due to the belly.)

Normally, my stomach doesn't bother me at all when I run or race. The only time I've had an upset stomach while running was on our last 20 mile training run, and as I was dealing with major endometriosis pain at the time, and had taken a painkiller before the run, I figured those two things combined contributed to my upset stomach. But then I had my stomach be very unhappy today. I'm not sure why - I didn't eat anything that I don't normally eat the night before the race, and this morning I ate my normal pre-race food. Didn't do anything new during the race - the only difference is that I was drinking Hamburg water, which I've never had before. So who knows? Anyhow, it really affected me for a while. Basically, from about the 24 km mark on, my stomach didn't let me run as fast as my legs wanted to, and really slowed me down for a while.

The race started at 9:00. Our time group (5+ hours) started at 9:15. We had to be in line at 8:35 for the race organizers to check our bibs and make sure we were in the right corral (there was a letter on your bib indicating where you should line up.) There were starts on three different streets - they converged later on with no congestion, because the elites and fast runners started first, on their street, then another group started five minutes later, then another group, then the final group. It seemed to work really well. There wasn't a crazy amount of crowding at the start and there was no crowding at all where all the start lines came together.

It was nice and cool when we started. We were running slightly uphill for about the first 5 km, through a very nice neighbourhood, then slightly downhill for the next 5 km, with a large portion of the course along the harbourfront. Just after 10 km, there was a nice, long downhill, where I just let gravity pull me down. After the harbour, we turned into the city, and started experiencing some wind. The wind wasn't too bad until the 19 km mark, where it suddenly was blowing very strong. Got through the half in a time that I was happy with.

After the halfway point, things started going downhill. The wind was really blowing, and my stomach started acting up. It just wouldn't settle down, and the pounding was making it worse. My legs wanted to run faster, but my belly was saying no way. When I ran slow enough to keep my belly happy, my quads started complaining. So finally I took a walk break, which helped to settle my stomach, and I continued to take them whenever my stomach got really bad. So I didn't make my goal of running the entire thing. But since when I tried to run with my belly, I had slowed to a crawl, I was actually faster walking and then running!

Near the end, the shade that had lined most of the course disappeared for a long while. Although it didn't get terribly hot out there today (high of about 17°C), being in the direct sun felt really hot, and that slowed me down a bit. Tried to kick it into high gear at the end of the race, but although I was running, I wasn't able to sprint as fast as I would have liked, since my stomach was holding me back.

Received our medals at the end, and then our "Verpflegung" kits, which consisted of a banana, apple, granola bar and bottle of water in a plastic bag. Went to get a glass of non-alcoholic beer, then went to the massage area, and I got a massage, which felt really good.

The race didn't run out of anything, even for the slowpokes like me! There was plenty of water, sports drink, bananas, etc. at all of the water stations, and there were still lots of spectators lining the streets, cheering us on. Because our bibs also had our first names printed on the front, we heard our names called out a lot! Mine as pronounced the German way, which threw me at first, until I realized they were calling out to me! Hubby's name (Keith) was more problematic. You see, in German, and "ei" is pronounced "eye" and they don't do the "th" combination. So those who didn't know English were pronouncing it "Kite". Cute, anyhow, especially when the little kids tried to say it!

Kilometre splits and commentary on some of them:

1 & 2: 16:15 (missed the first kilometre marker)
3: 8:17 (uphill)
4: 8:05 (slight uphill)
5: 8:03 (slight uphill)
6: 7:46 (slight downhill)
7: 7:36 (slight downhill)
8: 8:04 (fiddling with my first gel)
9: 7:41 (feeling good)
10: 7:51
11: 7:10 (big downhill)
12: 7:39
13: 8:00
14: 8:07 (a little windy here)
15: 7:56
16: 7:56
17: 8:07 (took my second gel)
18: 7:53
19: 8:26 (strong winds: 20 km/hr with gusts up to 40 km/hr )
20: 7:52
21: 8:06
22: 8:42 (more strong wind )
23: 8:31 (still windy)
24: 8:54 (stomach starting to bother me )
25: 9:26 (stomach not happy)
26: 9:36 (stomach not happy)
27: 9:51 (stomach REALLY not happy )
28: 9:21 (took walk break to try to settle stomach)
29: 8:27 (stomach happier after the walk break)
30 & 31: 16:38 (missed 30 km mark - had photo and video taken)
32: 8:32 (stomach acting up a bit again)
33: 8:05
34: 7:57
35: 8:14 (stomach not letting me run any faster )
36: 8:09
37: 8:22 (starting to get tired)
38: 9:47 (tired and hot - it's too sunny - where's my shade? )
39: 8:31
40: 8:51 (slight uphill right here)
41: 8:23 (then a little bit of a downhill - stomach still not terribly happy)
42: 8:35 (trying to turn it on, but my stomach didn't want me going faster)
0.2: 1:14

Total time (watch): 5:51:18 Chip time: 5:51:11 Clock time: 5:54:09

So, I'm happy that I have a new marathon PR, but upset that I didn't manage to run the entire thing, and didn't manage that 5:45 I had hoped for. For the next while, I think I'm going to stick with half-marathons. For someone as slow as I am, you are out there for a LONG time when running a marathon and it's probably not something I'll do again soon. The half is a nice distance. Long enough to be challenging, but the training doesn't consume your life like the marathon does (again, especially when you are as slow as I am, and an easy 5 miles takes an hour to complete.) But who knows, I may change my mind in a few days, especially since I didn't meet my goal of running the entire thing. But if I do another marathon, I'll either look for a trail one, to minimize the pounding on the asphalt, or maybe even do a 50K that's on the trails. I'm sure one of the reasons I've been able to run more since moving to Munich is due to the fact that just about all of my runs are done on dirt or gravel trails, with minimal asphalt.

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Steps

I'm not sure how many steps you take during a half-marathon, but suffice it to say, you take a LOT (13.1 miles / 21.1 km)! Here are photos of me (first photo) and my hubby (second photo) running the Prague Half-Marathon on March 24th, 2007. We'll be taking even more steps on April 29th, when we run the Hamburg Marathon (26.2 miles / 42.2 km).



(Click the photos for larger images. And apologies for the poor quality - we didn't bring our scanner with us from Canada to Germany, so I had to take photos of hard-copy photos.)

Tags: Photo Hunt, Photo Hunters, race, running, half-marathon, half marathon, Prague, Prague Half-Marathon, race photos

Prague Trip & Half-Marathon Report

Somewhere along the line, I must have annoyed the race weather gods, because although I had perfect weather for my first half back in 2004, every race that I've run since then has either been: 1. extremely hot and humid (dangerously so), 2. very smoggy with poor air quality or 3. extremely windy.

The race in Prague fell into category 3.

Thank goodness this wasn't a goal race. My husband and I are in the middle of training for the Hamburg Marathon on April 29th, so this was just a race to practice pacing and it was an excuse to visit Prague. Plus hubby had 4 days of leave he had to burn before year end (new leave year starts April 1st) so we decided to head to Prague to run the half.

The race organization was top-notch. The expo was well organized, but very small (compared to the expos I've been to in Canada.) The race shirts were short-sleeve Adidas Climalite, so technical tees, and they are really nice.

Prague is a beautiful city. Globalization has definitely come to the city since the Iron Curtain fell. There are American, British, German and other European chains (both restaurants, stores and department stores) throughout the city. A lot of work has been done to restore the old buildings. It is really lovely and full of history.

Thursday, hubby and I drove to Prague, checked into our hotel, and headed for the expo. Picked up our kits, and wandered through some of Prague Old Town on the way back to our hotel. Ate dinner at a wonderful restaurant that had amazing service and incredible food. Very pricey, though, but we definitely got what we paid for.

Friday, in order to rest up for the race, we took a lunch-time cruise along the Vlatava River that runs through Prague, and saw many of the city's landmarks from the river. Also had a chance to scout out some of the race course, since a lot of it would be run along the river.

Saturday, the race didn't start until noon, so we had time to have breakfast, and slowly get ready. Our hotel was right next to the Charles Bridge along the Vlatava River, and the race starting line was just on the opposite side of the river at the Charles Bridge.

Left the hotel around 11:15, crossed over the bridge, and found our corral to line up. It was not too warm out (8°C), but overcast, and windy, around 20 km/hr. It would get windier as the race progressed.

The race started at noon, and it took us about 8 minutes to reach the starting line. Started running, crossed the chip mat, and we were off. Our first stretch of cobblestone was here along the Charles Bridge, and right after we had crossed over, before we managed to get onto asphalt.

After crossing the bridge, the first kilometre was directly into the wind. We crossed another bridge, ran along the other side of the river, again, directly into the wind. Since we were running right along the river bank, there were no buildings to shield us from the wind. So up until about the fifth kilometre we were running into a headwind.

After crossing another bridge, we change direction so we were finally running with the wind at our backs. Unfortunately, we were in a mixed industrial and residential area, so there were a lot of buildings, which meant we didn't have the wind pushing us along, except in a few places.

At the ninth kilometre, we turned and headed into Prague Old Town. From here until the 11th kilometre was the most scenic part of the route, running through Old Town and past many of the beautiful historical buildings in the city. This is also one of the busiest tourist areas, so there were lots of people along the route, whereas from the 2nd to 9th km there had been no spectators. Unfortunately, we were running on cobblestones through this area, so I had to cut my pace a bit, to keep my footing.

An hour into the race, the winds had picked up to 30 km/hr. They were mostly at right angles to us as we headed back along the river for the 11th and 12th km. Around the 12th km marker, we passed the first of three "beer refreshment points." Yes, they were serving beer on course, non-alcoholic, but still beer! Midway between kilometres 12 and 13, we headed into a residential area, and straight into a headwind. The winds were really messing with us, because when we turned around, at km 14, we were heading back into a headwind, this time with gusts of up to 40 km/hr. Not fun.

At km 16, we crossed yet another bridge, and headed into an industrial area of the city. This was the worst part of the entire course. Kilometres 16 to 19 were through and industrial area, past the Staropramen brewery (race sponsor and provider of the non-alcoholic beer on course, and the real beer at the finish) and these kilometres seemed to go on FOREVER. It didn't help that for km 16 and 17 we were running into winds of 30-40 km/hr and then for 18 and 19 we were running into winds that were gusting up to 80 km/hr! If I could change any part of the course, it would be here. Ugly, boring, and seemed to go on forever, with absolutely no crowd support. There was a beer refreshment point just before the 17th km marker and another at the 19th. Hubby had a few sips of beer at the 19 km point, just to say that he'd drank beer during a race.

At kilometre 20 we crossed another bridge, and I was feeling strong, so I picked up the pace. We ran along the river on the other side, and passed the Charles Bridge. The finish line was just before another one of the many bridges crossing the river.

Crossed the finish nice and strong, received my medal and my foil blanket, and headed across the river to the "technical area" to get out chip deposits refunded and to have a massage.

Was a little disappointed to find that by the time we finished, there was no food or sports drink left , although there was a lot of water. Fortunately, the refreshment points along the course (every 5 kilometres) had been well-stocked and didn't run out of water or sports drink (along they were serving Isostar which I've never had, so hubby carried two bottles of Powerade for us to drink in addition to the bottled water on course.)

Otherwise the race was very well-organized, and it was fairly flat, as advertised. There were only a few slight inclines leading up to the various bridges we crossed, and slight declines on the other side of the bridges. Otherwise, definitely flat. The race advertises there is only about a kilometre of cobblestone, but I would say there was a little more than that. Maybe 2 to 2.5 km of cobblestone, in total.

Now, I'm a little confused about my chip time, because hubby started his watch when we crossed the start line, and stopped it when we crossed the finish line, and it took us at least 8 minutes to cross the start line when the race started. So I have three different times for the race. Clock time: 2.48.07 Chip time: 2.44.02 Watch time: 2:40:55 (My half PR is 2:35:45 set in 2004 on a day that was perfect for me weather-wise, along on a hilly course, so not a typical PR course.) Since I know it took us at least 8 minutes to cross the start line (it was the only time I looked at my watch - hubby wore the Garmin to keep track of our pace) I'm inclined to think the watch time is correct, but have no idea why the chip time would be so off.

I'm very happy with my watch time, and with my race, despite the fact that it wasn't a PR. Given the conditions, I ran a really strong, evenly paced race (except for the kilometres running into the 80 km/hr winds for km 18 and 19) and I was able to kick it into high gear for the last kilometre and a half, after crossing the last bridge and heading to the finish line. I was never sore or tired during the race, and felt good and strong the entire way.

I also wasn't very sore after the race. My right quad and glute were a little sore on Sunday, but not sore enough to keep me from taking a tour of Prague and walking for most of the day. I'm feeling good today - went for an easy 3 mile run and the legs felt fine. So I'm confident that when I have a half as a goal race on a day with decent weather, provided I'm healthy, I will get that half PR.

So I'm of mixed feelings about the race. On the one hand, although I wasn't aiming for a PR, I was hoping to get close to it if the weather conditions had cooperated, so I'm disappointed that it was so windy and that I didn't run as fast as I could have. On the other hand, I wasn't really racing from the start, so I can't really be disappointed that I didn't PR, since that wasn't my goal. At any rate, I feel confident about Hamburg, provided the weather cooperates and I stay healthy.

No official photos yet, and I haven't uploaded my trip photos yet, but I do have a few photos of us after the race:
http://sports.webshots.com/album/558384260FQDSKy

Tags: running, race, half-marathon, Prague, Prague half-marathon

Weekend Workouts

Well, the cold water and ice bath on Friday after our 20 mile run worked, because my legs weren't too sore this weekend. I was tired after the 20 miler, but not in pain or experiencing a great deal of soreness.

Taught "Step and Tone" at the gym on Saturday. I had a medium-sized class, which was nice. Used the BOSU for the sculpting/tone portion of the class for a change of pace.

Sunday I ran 3 miles, nice and easy. Legs were tired, but it felt good to stretch them out.

Hubby and I are now registered for the Hamburg Marathon on April 29th. We've both our flights, hotel and registered for the race!

Thursday Thirteen

#20 - 13 Races I've Run and Plan on Running

1. Terry Fox Run - I've run this race every year for as long as I can remember. Even before I was a runner, I used to walk the 5K or 10K. Back in school, we would also do the Terry Fox Run during a school day. The Terry Fox Run raises money for cancer research. For those of you who don't know who Terry Fox was, he was a Canadian single leg amputee (due to bone cancer) who set out to run across Canada, a journey called the Marathon of Hope. Sadly, the cancer spread to his lungs and he had to stop before he had finished his journey. But every year, in his memory, Canadians across the country and around the world, participate in the Terry Fox Run in his memory.
   
   
2. Run For The Cure - I've run this race every year since becoming a runner. The Run for the Cure is a 5K event that raises money for Breast Cancer Research.
   
   
3. Do It For Dad - My husband and I ran this race for the first time last year, doing the 10K run, while my mom and dad walked the 5K. This race raises money for prostate cancer research, and I wanted to do this race after my dad was diagnosed with, and treated for, prostate cancer last year.
   
   
4. HBC Run For Canada - Taking place on July 1st (Canada Day) my husband and I have run all of the "Run For Canada" 10K races taking place in Ottawa. The race is run early in the morning on Canada Day, before all the Canada Day celebrations start in downtown Ottawa, and has been a fabulous way to celebrate Canada's birthday. Entry fees from this race go to support local charities as well as Canadian amateur athletes.
   
   
5. Run For Lunch - This was my first "real" 10K race, timed, with an entrant's bib and number (the Terry Fox races, being charity events, aren't officially timed and you don't have an entry number or bib.) This entry fee from this race went to help the student food bank at the University of Ottawa, hence the name "Run For Lunch."
   
   
6. Ottawa Fall Colours Half-Marathon - In 2004 I ran this race as my first half-marathon. It was a great race. Small, but well organized, and the weather that day was perfect for me for running - overcast and cool. The photo in my Thursday Thirteen header this week is from this race.
   
   
7. National Capital Half-Marathon - My husband and I have run this race the past two years, when it has been incredibly hot and humid, so not ideal conditions for running. The course for this race is lovely, along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, but there is little shade along the route. So with the half-marathon starting at 10 am at the end of May, it is hot out there for the runners. For 2007, they are finally moving the half start to an earlier time.
   
   
8. Prince Edward County Marathon - My husband and I ran this race in 2005 as our first marathon. A small, rural marathon, the route is quite nice, through rural farmland, small villages, and through Sandbanks Provincial Park. Unfortunately, the year we ran it was also a very hot day, much warmer than usual for October, and so the conditions weren't ideal for running. Still, it was an accomplishment to finish my first marathon.
   
   
9. 20 km de Paris - My first race in Europe. I ran this race this past October, meeting a group of friends from the Runango Running Forum. The race went well, although not as well as I had hoped. There is a lot of smog in Paris and my poor lungs couldn't take it! But it was fun to see Paris on foot and to socialize with my running friends.
   
   
10. Vienna Marathon - My husband and I plan on running the Vienna Marathon this April. It will be our second marathon, and our goal is just to finish, running the entire race (unless the weather doesn't cooperate.) I am very fortunate - my husband runs much faster than I do (I'm very slow for a variety of reasons, including poor biomechanics due to the way my bones come together at the joints and a permanently compressed vertebra from a fracture in 1993) but he enjoys running and racing with me, so he happily runs with me for our long runs and for races. He does get runs in at his own pace when he runs at lunch at work (as an army officer, he is expected to stay fit and has time in his workday to do PT - physical training.) He is a great running coach and supporter.
    
    
11. Winterlaufserie 15K - My husband and I plan on doing this race as a training run on February 15th. It will be an opportunity to run through Olympiapark, where the München Frühjahrslauf will take place.
    
    
12. München Frühjahrslauf - My husband and I plan on running this half-marathon on April 1st of this year here in Munich. I'm hoping that the weather will be cool enough for me to have a good race.
    
    
13. Munich Marathon - If, after Vienna, I still have the desire to run another marathon, it will be the Munich Marathon. The course runs through many of Munich's neighbourhoods and past some of Munich's most famous monuments, buildings and sights. The highlight of the race is the finish in the Olympic Stadium.

For those who are curious about the various race distances, here are some conversions:

• 5K = 5km = 3.1 miles
• 10K = 10km = 6.2 miles
• 15K = 15km = 9.3 miles
  
• 20K = 20km = 12.4 miles
• Half-Marathon = 21.1 km = 13.1 miles
• Marathon = 42.2 km = 26.2 miles

Tags: Thursday Thirteen, race, running, memes

Thursday Thirteen

#18 - 13 of Caylynn's Favourite Hobbies

1. Running - it will come as no surprise to any regular visitor that running is one of my favourite hobbies. I usually run between 3 and 5 times a week, and I'm currently training for a spring marathon (the Vienna Marathon) so my long runs are increasing - last week my long run was 14 miles, and the next several will be 16, 18, 20 and 20 miles. I've run numerous races, including several 10Ks (6.2 miles), three half-marathons (13.1 miles or 21.1 km), one 20K, and one marathon (26.2 miles or 42.2 km). I'm very slow, but I can run forever. After fracturing my L2 vertebra falling off a horse while jumping back in 1993, I'm just happy to be able to run at all!
   
   
2. Horseback riding - Yep, even though I fractured a vertebra while riding, I still love it! There's nothing like the connection between a horse and a rider when it works. I ride English-style, and in the past I've mostly ridden hunter seat. Since my riding accident I have jumped again (mostly for psychological reasons, to prove to myself that I wasn't afraid) but I currently take dressage lessons.
   
   
3. Teaching Group Fitness - Many of you will know group fitness as "aerobics" but those of us in the industry don't use that term anymore, since group fitness classes encompass so much more than traditional aerobics. When we were living in Canada, I was teaching between 4 and 6 group fitness classes a week. Here in Munich, I only teach once a week. I love it! I'm a certified group fitness instructor with CanFitPro, and I also have a Resist-A-Ball Level I certification. My favourite classes to teach are Step and Stability Ball. I can also teach High-Low (traditional floor aerobics), Body Sculpting/Muscle Conditioning (strength training/weights in a group setting), and any combination of the previous classes. The class I currently teach is Step and Tone - step choreography alternating with muscle conditioning.
   
   
4. Taking Group Fitness Classes - I also enjoy taking classes from other instructors, especially formats that I don't teach, such as Pilates, or Advanced Step. (I teach basic to intermediate step.)
   
   
5. Strength Training - I love lifting weights. I love the way it makes me feel and the way it makes me look. I like being strong! I lift heavy weights, because that is the most effective way to develop strength, and most women won't bulk up, even when lifting very heavy weights. I only know a few women who , due to their genetics, actually develop large, bulky muscles when lifting heavy. For most women, lifting heavy will just help them develop strength, acquire sculpted muscles, and burn fat. By the way, most women, unless they are genetically blessed, cannot develop "six pack" abs unless they get their body fat down to an extremely unhealthy level.
   
   
6. Reading - I'm a voracious reader. I read every night before bed - it's my way of relaxing and unwinding at the end of the day. I read mostly fantasy and historical fiction. I also enjoy reading non-fiction (history, science, running, horseback riding, etc.) but now that I'm a student again (working towards a Masters degree in Physiotherapy) I don't read as much non-fiction. I get enough of it in my studies! Some of my favourite authors are L.E. Modesitt Jr., Katherine Kurtz, Kate Elliott, R.A. Salvatore, George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, J.R.R. Tolkien, Isaac Asimov, Diana Gabaldon, Lindsey Davis, Dick Francis, and many others, too numerous to mention.
   
   
7. Comic Books - My husband is a long-time comic book collector and reader, and he introduced me to the hobby. I now enjoy reading comic books almost as much as I enjoy reading regular books. My favourite comic book creators include George Pérez, Gail Simone, Brian K. Vaughn, Greg Land, Greg Rucka, Brian Michael Bendis. Titles that I'm enjoying at the moment include Birds of Prey, 52, Civil War, Ex Machina, Fables, Jack of Fables, Knights of the Dinner Table, Queen and Country, Rex Mundi, Runaways, Artesia, Ultimate Spiderman, Y: The Last Man, Age of Bronze. Favourite past runs include George Pérez' re-launch of Wonder Woman, Marv Wolfman and George Pérez' New Teen Titans, and CrossGen's Sojourn.
   
   
8. Watching TV - Yes, I also enjoy watching TV. I mostly enjoy watching shows on Discovery, National Geographic and History channels, although my husband and I also enjoyed watching regular T.V. My all-time favourite TV show is M*A*S*H. The best show ever made, in my opinion. Shows that we currently watch include Mythbusters, Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, Smallville, Battlestar Gallactica (the new one) and the various Law & Orders.
   
   
9. Computer Games - I enjoy playing role-playing games(RPGs) such as Neverwinter Nights (1 & 2), Knights of the Old Republic (1 & 2), Oblivion, Baldur's Gate (1 & 2) and similar RPGs. I also enjoy turn-based Strategy Games such as Civilization III & IV, and City-Building Games such as Caesar IV.
   
   
10. Playing with our Sphynx Kitten, Dragonheart - Drake LOVES playing with wand toys, so we obviously need to play with him. He especially enjoys chasing anything that has feathers on the end. Of course, doing anything with Dragonheart is fun.
    
    
11. Blogging - It goes without saying, but blogging has become one of my favourite hobbies very quickly! I started a family blog first to keep in touch with our friends and family back home in Canada, then I started a blog to record my training runs, and now it has expanded from there. But I've met a lot of wonderful, friendly people through blogging, so I'm glad I started!
    
    
12. Writing - Unlike many bloggers out there, I'm not a writer, and I don't have any desire to write short stories or novels, or to ever be published, but I do participate in an interactive fiction/role-playing group called alt.starfleet.rpg. I currently have two characters that I write, a Chief Medical Officer, LCDR StarSong to-Ennien, MD, PhD; and an Operations Officer, LT Catharina Ledoux. It's a lot of fun, and I really enjoy writing with a diverse group of people to create our own adventures in the Star Trek universe.
    
    
13. Doing anything with my husband - We enjoy spending time together. Whether we're running, lifting weights, watching TV, or just doing ordinary, everyday things such as grocery shopping, we just enjoy being together. We are truly best friends and have a great time together, no matter what we're doing.
    

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Tags: Dragonheart, cats, group fitness, horseback riding, injury, memes, Thursday Thirteen, race, Sphynx, hobbies

Saturday's Photo Scavenger Hunt

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Lines

The finish lines of the 2005 and 2006 National Capital Half-Marathon in Ottawa, Ontario. (Don't have any shots of the finish line from our full marathon. Hopefully we'll get one when we run the Vienna Marathon in the spring.)

Tags: memes, race, running, Photo Hunter, Saturday's Photo Scavenger Hunt, photos, race photos, National Capital Half-Marathon

Foto Pherrets

Hump Day Hunt - Week Fifty-Two

Wow! It's hump day hunt #52! One whole year of pherretting!

In honor of this fact, our word for this week is:
Celebrate



Here, my husband and I celebrate the successful completion of my first half-marathon (his second) in October 2004 at the Ottawa Fall Colours Races. That's 13.1 mile or 21.1 km. At the time, it was the farthest I had ever run (my long training runs went up to 11 miles). Since then I've run two more half-marathons, one 20km race and one full marathon (26.2 miles or 41.1 km)! We plan to run another full and another half in the spring (München Frühjahrslauf for the half and the Vienna Marathon for the full.)

Foto Pherrets

Hump Day Hunt - Week Forty-Six

Many people did this in the U.S. yesterday, but few of them won.

Our word for this week is:
Run

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

To view the captions for the photos, mouse over the photo.

This week's theme was easy, because my husband and I have run many races, both together, and separately. Together we've run 3 half-marathons, one full marathon, and numerous 10Ks and charity runs. We plan on running another half-marathon (München Frühjahrslauf) and full marathon (Vienna Marathon) in the spring.

BTW, if you use Firefox as your browser, visit my Tenant, Recommended this week. Their blog has great reviews of Firefox extensions, as well as software programs and web sites.

Tags: memes, photography, Foto Pherrets, running, races, racing, run

A Ring and A Run!

My hubby was away all last week. The job he is in right now, as a Liaison/Exchange Officer with the German military engineers, requires him to go back to Canada twice a year for meetings and briefings at National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ). Last week was one of those times. The nice thing is that NDHQ is in Ottawa, and my close family (parents, sister & brother-in-law & niece) are all in the Ottawa area.

I sent hubby with a list of things he had to pick up for me, that I haven't been able to find here in Germany, and he also brought me a surprise! He arrived home yesterday, and you can see the lovely diamond ring he brought back as a surprise below.

Then today we went for a run together. It's only my second run in the past two weeks. I ran a 20km race in Paris on October 15th, and took a few days off after the race to let my legs recover. Well, a was able to get one short run in before falling ill. I'm unfortunately the type of person who can't exercise when ill, otherwise I just make myself worse, and my illness lasts longer, even if it's just a head cold. So I ran once last Sunday, and then hadn't ran all week, while I was fighting a sore throat and sinus cold.

Fortunately, I'm starting to feel better, so hubby and I went for a short, easy run today. I have no idea how far we went, as I didn't care about distance. I just wanted to get out there, stretch the legs, get some fresh air, and start running again. We ran for 40 minutes. It was slow, my legs were heavy, and it took a lot out of me, but it's a start back. I have about 2 weeks to get back into the swing of things before we start training for a spring half- and full-marathon. We're looking at running the Frühjahrslauf München - a Munich half-marathon on April 1st and then the Vienna City Marathon on April 29th. Hopefully Munich will have a typical winter, and not another winter of record-breaking snows, so we can get our long runs in. But if we have a hard time getting our long runs in over the winter, we'll just run two halfs in the spring, instead of a half and a full.

Ring!

Tags: running, race

Paris FE (Forum Encounter) and Race Report

As my regular readers will know, this past weekend I was in Paris, to run the 20 Kilomètres de Paris. A few weeks ago, I had high hopes for the race, before injuring my calf two weeks before the race, and being unable to run for an entire week. The week before the race, I was able to get three short, easy runs in, so I felt confident I would be able to run the race in Paris, but not race it. That turned out to be the case.

Hubby and I flew to Paris from Munich on Friday, took a taxi to our hotel, checked in, grabbed some lunch, and then headed to the race expo to pick up my race kit (timing chip, number, etc.) The race expo was held right at the base of the Eiffel Tower. It was very small compared to the race expos I'm used to in Canada, but picking up my race kit was very quick and easy.

At the Eiffel Tower, we saw a bunch of tour buses, and hubby asked if I'd like to do a bus tour of Paris. I said sure, and off we went. It was a great way to see many of the major tourist sites of Paris, without actually having to do a lot of walking. We didn't have time to go into any of the buildings we saw, but we saw a lot.

Went back to the hotel, grabbed a bite to eat, and tried to get in contact with the other European ladies running the race that I was supposed to meet up with. No luck. Two of the other women were supposed to be staying at the same hotel as us, and one of the ladies was a Paris native. However, she was on vacation the week before the race, and only due to arrive back in Paris late that night.

The next morning, we hear from the Paris native (Magali). It turns out there are *two* Mercure Tour Eiffel Hotels in Paris, just a few blocks from each other, and the other two ladies (Ammi and Martina) are staying at the other hotel. Thank goodness we found each other! Planned to hook up at the race expo, where the other ladies would pick up their race kits.

So we met up, then planned to meet at the Musée d'Orsay to view some art. Hubby and I jumped on the bus, and the other ladies decided to walk. Got off the bus at the Musée d'Orsay, went and grabbed some lunch (I had some absolutely decadent and delicious chocolate crepes), then waited for the gals at the museum. When they showed up we went inside, and viewed some beautiful paintings by Monet, Degas, Cezanne, Manet, and Van Gogh. Chatted for a while outside the museum, then hubby and I jumped back on the bus, with plans to meet the others for dinner at 6:00 pm.

Well, we never managed to hook up for dinner. We must have just missed each other, because we left at 6:40, and the others said they had arrived at 6:30. So hubby and I went to have some pasta to carbo load for the race, then headed back to the hotel to relax, and then sleep.

Race morning met up with the others at their hotel, which was spitting distance from the Eiffel Tower. The race started and ended in front of the tower. The crowd was immense, with 20,000 people running the race.

I stuck with the other gals the first two miles, but then my heart rate was soaring, so I told them to go on. We ran through le Bois de Boulogne and along the Seine. It was a very picturesque course. They had water stops at the 5, 10 and 15 km points, with sugar, water, and orange slices available. I was cruising along until about the 10 km point, when I started to have difficulty breathing. Maybe it was the Paris smog, or that fact that my heart rate was soaring (over 90%) but I just had a difficult time catching my breath. So I had to slow down, and even take some walk breaks.

Due to the difficulty I had breathing, and the walk breaks, my time for the race was not what I hoped. I'm a slow runner to begin with, but I've run further in training at a faster pace than I ran the 20km race. I did run the last full kilometre into the finish line, with no walk breaks.

Was approached by a camera man at the finish, who asked me a few questions, including if I was from "Londres" (London) - clearly my French had an English accent. Strangely enough, my response was "Munich" and not "Canada"! I guess this place is home now. Was fuzzy during the interview, so said a lot of "Merci" (thank you) and "bon" (good).

The crowd support was rather thin, but the people who were out, were encouraging, shouting "Allez" (go) and "Courage" (courage, of course. ).

So I'm disappointed in my race, because I know I can run faster, and have done so in training. It clearly just wasn't my day on Sunday. One of these days, I will hopefully have a good race again (my first half-marathon was my best to date - the halfs I've run since then have been plagued by stupid-hot and humid weather of +30°C with over 80% humidity).

Here are some pictures of the Forum Encounter, and of the race. Click on the picture to see all of the photos. I'll be posting pictures from our Paris tour in the near future. This was the first race of this distance that hubby didn't run right alongside of me (he was originally supposed to be back in Canada the weekend of the race, but when his business trip was postponed, he decided to come to Paris with me, although the race was already full, so he couldn't sign up to run it with me.) Since he wasn't running, he was able to take a bunch of pictures.

Paris 20K and FE

Success!

So yesterday, the calf was feeling pretty good, so I decided to try it out with a short run. I'm pleased to report the run was I success -I ran 5K with no calf pain or tightness!

It was very, very slow, and I had to walk a lot to keep my heart rate in the right zone, but I ran!

So, this are looking encouraging for Paris. I don't think I'll be racing it, which is too bad, since my training had been going really well until this calf thing, but hey, stuff happens. ::shrug:: There will be other races. At least I should be able to run.

Resting was hard, but it seems to have worked!

(Details on my calf injury can be found here.)

In other news, we picked up our new car yesterday. It's a Smart four door. More details on the car can be found here.