Monday, December 31, 2018

And so it begins......


It is official! Marathon training has begun so it is time to wake this blog up and document my training better than I did for the half. The goal race is the BMO Vancouver Marathon. Everything is bought and paid for: race, accommodations and the flight to get there. It is time to get the training done!

My plan for the next 18 week to train inspired by the Hanson's Marathon Method. Basically it is a high total weekly mileage, but with a maximum long run of 16 miles. The premise is based on cumulative fatigue. I will need to modify this training plan because I teach group fitness classes and I find them to be quite tiring. When I trained for the half marathon in May I ran 5 times a week but I kept the same outline of long run, speed runs and strength runs. I will do the same thing for the marathon, modifying the beginner plan/ You can find more detail on the plans via a search, and can even get free pdf.

As written it is as follows:
Monday - 4-7 easy miles beginning in week 6 (plus warm up and cool down)
Tuesday - speed/strength runs beginning in week 6
Wednesday - rest day, no running
Thursday - 5-10 mile race pace run beginning in week 6 (plus warm up and cool down)
Friday - 3-6 easy miles beginning in week 2
Saturday - 3-8 easy miles
Sunday - 4-6 easy miles building to 10-16 mile long run starting in week 7


The plan starts off with running 4 days a week for weeks 1-2 and 5 days a week for week 3-5. On week 6 the last day of running is added in as well as the increase in intensity.

I will be modifying the schedule to suit my life.

1. Starting with 5 days a week running 5-7 miles.

2.  Friday and Thursday runs will be switched because I teach 4 classes on Thursday and there is no way I will have the stamina to add another 90 or so minutes of activity in there.

3. The  miles from the (now to me) Thursday run will most likely be added to the other easy runs of the week or skipped according to fatigue levels.



I know that this plan is going to be tiring. I found training for the half marathon tiring, and I have a lot more on my schedule than I did then.  I know I am going to have to get as much rest as I can and not stretch myself to far.

My goal for this blog is to update at least once a week with my training progress, comparing what I have run to what is on the Hanson's Plan. Please follow along, as well as follow @collbel on instagram for my almost daily recaps.

Monday, December 17, 2018

So soon is all relative...

I have less than two weeks before I start the training plan.  I have been consistently running 5 days a week since the week of October 15 and have gradually building up my weekly mileage from 25 to 40 km a week.
I have also added some intervals and some shorter race pace segments.

According to the Hanson's plan the first week that has both of those is week 6. The mileage also is 64km for the week (over 6 runs). I know I will have to build up the mileage over the first 5 weeks safely. I also was thinking about what I am going to do about that 6th run. The way I have it on my calendar that run is up to 10km and on a Thursday. That's the day that I teach 4 classes. Although I don't do them all high intensity, there is 30 minutes of spinning, and I am also on my feet for 2:45 for the other 3. This will have to adequately substitute. I know from the experience of training for the half marathon that I cannot run 6 days a week plus teach classes.

In other news, I have finally finished all my courses for my personal trainer diploma!!

Monday, November 19, 2018

Will be back soon!

I have officially signed up for the BMO marathon in Vancouver on May 5, 2019. A mere 166 days away.

I am going to give the Hanson's Marathon Method a try for this race. I will be modifying the beginner plan in that I will be using the day I teach 4 classes to substitute for an easy run. The days will be shifted so the SOS workouts will be Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Tuesday will be my day off from everything and the day you will need to hook me up to a coffee IV.

My goal is to qualify for Boston. I 99% don't think it will happen at this race, but you never know. The qualification times have now dropped another 5 minutes. In 2020 I would need to be faster than 3:50. So yay for being in the 45-49 age group at that point. The main time goal is to beat the 4:33 PB I set in 2007. I will be training using the 4:00 marathon paces.

Anyway, the point is that I will be blogging my training for the marathon here and hopefully with more success than the half marathon. I promise to put it in my daytimer.

In other news, I am one class away from finishing my Personal Fitnes trainer diploma. Actually, I have 70% of the course finished, and just 2 15% video assignments left and this course is done.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

I believed that I could so I did

Race map
Flat Colleen
 Saturday I picked my friend up at the airport and we drove together to Red Deer. I forget exactly how many half marathons I have run on this course but I think this was going to be about my 10th. I went into this race training for the sub-2 result, something that I have only achieved once and never on this course. We went to get our race packages and I was getting nervous. We met up with a third friend for lunch and then went back to the hotel. I was feeling distracted and tired and starting to get worried about what I was eating and was it enough. It was to the point that I was starting to feel like throwing up. I took some deep breaths and tried to calm myself down. I have been like tht before, any time that I have trained hard for a race and worked hard: both Ironman races and the last half marathon that I ran in less than 2 hours. There is a lot to be said about running races for fun as I never feel that nervous about them.

Pre-race, pre-freakout
I actually had an amazing sleep. Even though I was up a lot during the night, when my alarm went at 5:30, I actually felt well rested. I had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast but skipped the banana as I wasn't hungry for it, and of course I had my usual coffee.

My friends were both running the "10". Quotes are with sarcasm as this race measures long, and I should know as I ran it last year. We wished each other well and I burst into tears. The emotion of the day ahead of my was showing and I was so nervous about it. But I knew that I was ready. I trained hard for it and I was already at peace with whatever the result would be and that I would be happy that my body allowed me to race this distance again.

I got my nerves under control and went in to the starting corral with all the other runners and waited for the countdown. I opted to run this race without music as I didn't want the distraction. There were a few times where I would have liked it, but I did fine without music.

The race started off easily enough, I settled into a good rhythm off the start. I could feel the tightness in my right glute, which wasn't that surprising and it reminded me that I forgot to do my release exericses. Whoops. I knew it was something I could ignore. A friend found me during the first km and we chatted for a bit but I ended up getting ahead of her.

One thing I have to say about the Red Deer course is that it is beautiful. It runs on mostly paved trails along or close to the river. There are a lot of ups and downs and 2 significant climbs, one in the 9th km and one in the 20th km, both about 9%.

I felt great for the first 5km. My glute was bugging me a bit but it was manageable. I had relaxed and controlled breathing and I was keeping my strides fast. I was having fun! The first 7km felt like a breeze. I was sticking to my gel schedule, drinking water at the stations and having a salt tablet because I knew I needed it. the first climb was approaching and my stragegy was to maintain the short quick strides. It's not that long, the steepest is about a 15% grade but it continues at a false flat for another km or so. At then end of the steepest parts my legs felt like they were done. I will admit that I didn't do any hill training, and relied on my cycle classes and some strength to help me, but I was shocked at the feeling in my legs. They were starting to cramp. So I drank from the little bottle I had wih me and had half a gel to see if they could use some energy and that seemed to help in the short term. I was pretending in my head that I was walking and stretching and they were starting to feel better. Mind over matter.

Done!
By my watch I was at the halfway point at about 58:30 so I had a bit of a cushion. The next section was a nice downhill and I used it to the best that I could to lengthen my stride and use gravity, but it seemed that as soon as the path flattened a bit I hit a wall. No worries...short strides. All good.

The 13-14th km lose the paved trail to gravel and it circles an island that is in the river. It really is pretty and most other days I would be happy to run it. I didn't enjoy how the gravel seemed to be sucking my energy, and I just focussed on keeping the same distance ahead of the people behind me, and not letting the person ahead of me get too far ahead. Internally I was just waiting for it to be done.

I was relieved to be off the gravel, but this is where I started to mentally struggle. The next 4.5 km are full of those short steep up and downs, woth some false flat sections in between. The cramping in my legs wasn't getting better, even after taking 2 more salt tablets and electrolyte drink at every water station. It was a struggle to keep going. At 16km we run past the Bower Ponds, which are lovely, and it was at this point I considered texting my friends that I wasn't doing well and I didn't know if I would make my time goal. I did a quick 10s calf stretch and kept going, silently moaning in my head. I was at 1:29 and that meant that I needed 31 minutes to run the final 5.1km. I felt lke I could do that. If I kept all my splits under a 6/km then I would do it. I knuckled under.

That was the longest 5km of my life. I kept saying "fight for it" over and over OUT LOUD! DIG DEEP! YOU WANT TO GET TO BOSTON? Stuff like that over and over. With about 3km to go another woman caught up to me and she said that she never had run under 2 hours. I told her to get after it.

At 19km my legs are screaming at me. All I am thinking about now is that I want to be done. 1.5km to go and the path splits, us lucky half marathoners get to go right to the finish, marathoners have to go right. The path is flat and I can hear the finish line. I pass 20km and I have 7 minutes to make my goal. One giant hill, one downhill and a sprint to the finish. I ignore the pain in my legs and I run (ok shuffle) up that hill, and them embrace the downhill. I round the corner and I can hear the crowd  cheering. I see 1:59 on the clock. I do my best sprint impression and I cross the line at 2:00:01.

Chip time is 1:59:48 I have finally broken 2 hours on that course. I stop my Garmin with the 1:59 visible and take about 100 pictures of it. I practically collapse on the grass. I had absolutely nothing left to give that course and I am pretty sure I left pieces of me out there.





I trained so hard for this race. I listened to my body and respected it when it told me that 6 runs a week was too much. This achievement is more than the time on the clock. It is mt showing RA that I control me, that I choose my capabilities, that I am a fighter and that I will go down swinging, cramped legs and all until I am pulled off the playing field.

I am so proud of myself. I believed that I could break 2 hours in Red Deer, and I did.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

The hay is in the barn (and all that)

Thumbs up for a great training cycle. Only ran twice this week and both times my legs felt rested and fresh.

I had a massage on Tuesday and my MT found tightness at the attachment at the hips that I didn't know I had. Long story short is that she worked hard and I felt really stiff and achy the next day but with movement it wore off.

Looking forward to what this body can do tomorrow. less than 24h to race start and hopefully less than 26h to race finish. No matter what happens I am grateful that I was able to survive training.

Sunday, May 13, 2018

One week to go

Happy girl after 20km in Vancouver.
 Again I am absolutely terrible at updating this blog. But important highlights are the following items.

I completed my last long run for the race May 4 in beautiful Vancouver, BC. I ran from my friends house to the seawall at the science center and then the seawall cutting through Stanley Park to Canada Place to total 20km. I have done 4 2h runs so aerobically I am ready for this race.
Finished the 8km in Vancouver

I registered at the beginning of the year for the BMO 8km in Vancouver wil full intention to incorporate it into my training. At the time I didn't know how I would approach it but I ended up racing my ass off and finishing 5/173 in my age group, 49/1691 in my gender and 200/2648 overall. This is the best result I have ever had. I also had a distance PB by over a minute, and this includes my pre RA diagnosis times. I was absolutely floored when I saw the 5th place finish. There have been times that I struggle with the race pace runs and I think "how am I ever going to do this on race day". The short answer is that I just will, because I just do. I held on when it hurt and I was crazy happy with the result.

Thumbs up for solid training

One week to go so I m relaxing post run
It took most of the week for my legs not to feel like lead weights but today's run was glorious. I happy 6km in the river valley, running the same spots where I did all those long runs.

The hay is in the barn. I just have to trust my training and not think that I have to do it all. I have a massage booked this week and the runs planned are all short. I am hopeful that my body (and the weather) are on my side in a week and I will have a great race and meet my time goals.

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Week 15 summary

I realize that it has been a while since I last updated on a week by week basis. Last week's training is as follows:

pre injection            post injection
12 hours later           24 hours later
Monday - nothing as I got a cortisone injection in my left foot as the neuroma was causing pain. Now that it has been almost a week I think that it has taken effect although it is still bruised. It is nice to be able to walk barefoot without pain!

Tuesday - intevals 4 x 400m w/ 1:30rec, 4 x 800m w/ 3:00 rec,  4 x 400 w/1:30 rec.

Wednesday - easy 7km plus yoga, spin classes and strength class.

Thursday - easy 10km
Post race pace run

Friday - cut back long run. 15.3km

Post "long" run
Saturday - day off

                 Sunday - 10.7km with 9 km race pace. When this run was done I felt light headed and i could feel myself listing to the side. I don't know what the issue was. Maybe I was dehydrated or under fueled? I was putting off this run because the weather was cool and windy. However I ended up running a 2km loop in my neighbourhood,



I get to celebrate that another semester of my schooling is done. Only 3 more classes to go and I will have achieved my PFT diploma. In these classes I got As so I still maintain my 4.0 GPA which I am very proud of.

I am also deciding to drop the Arava. A while ago I ran out and took about a week because I didn't make the time to go pick up my prescription. During this time I was having great runs without the need to pit stop. I started taking it again and was having changes, and back to the pit stops! So I didn't take one yesterday or today and I didn't have to stop on my run.

Monday, April 23, 2018

Another week done

I had another good training week last week. I ran 58km last week in a combination of 6 x 800m intervals, 9km at race pace and a long run of 20km. My easy pace is faster outside than on the treadmill for the same perceived effort.

I have been dealing with 2 issues. The first in the patellofemoral syndrome in my left leg. I know it isn't anything more than that because it does go away about 20 minutes into my run. The second is that the balls of my feet get sore and my toes feel like they are being jabbed with a pin. I had a cortisone injection in my left foot today (6 hours later and my foot is still frozen) and I have one booked for my right foot on May 10. I am hoping that this will take care of that problem.

Other than that I am feeling really good about my running and I am getting more confident that I will have a successful half marathon as long as my body cooperates.

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Mini update

I will come back with more detail to how things are going but the brief summary is this: I am feeling tired and have made the decision to drop a run to decrease the weekly mileage and I am also modifying the Tuesday strength workouts into shorter ones. I do think the program overall is good but it is a bit much for my needs. At the same time, I don't think that much thought was put into it as it is an abridged version of the full marathon training program.

I am noticing my body is a bit unbalanced so I need to increase the strength and core work.

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Don't ask?

This picture came up on my Facebook feed today via one of my friends. They also suffer from chronic illness, and have been for a very long time. For a long time I didn't know she was suffering. I figured that she just withdrew from me and didn't want to be my friend anymore. However, I still kept the communication doors open, and she opened up to me. I remember telling her that I missed talking to her and her friendship and that's what started the conversations again. I am very glad I did. Even though we share some similar diagnosis, we are still friends beyond that and have other things that are in common.

This picture describes me perfectly. I do guard my privacy but I am always willing to open up and answer questions. It is very rare that I will talk about my RA with someone who doesn't already know about it. Even with those who do, I won't necessarily bring it up off the start unless I am really struggling that day. I have some great friends that check up on me and ask how I am doing. I also have others that ignore me when I talk about it. I talk to the former group more and have learned to not bring it up with the latter. The thing about that is that it never actually gets brought up so I generally leave these conversations feeling ignored, and then just don't bother to reach out anymore. I am not looking to be noticed, or desperate for attention, I just want the reciprocity. 

One thing that conversations like that remind me of is the notion that people will not do what you think they should do, even if it is (what you think is) the right thing. Just because you ask someone how they are and listen with an attentive ear doesn't mean that you will get the same thing in return. And just because you may mention something about yourself doesn't mean you will get to talk about it. And this may continue to happen no matter how many times you may mention that it bothers you that they don't ask. While I have been told that they want to respect my privacy, I have said in return that I am not bothered that they ask. That being said I am not going to chase someone down for the attention, or force myself in conversations to see if this is the time that is different. 

So why am I bothering to write this? Because it is something that bothers me, even though I wish it wouldn't. I am not looking for an influx of messages asking about me, although feel free. Also, it is good practice for me to talk about myself. 



Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Shit's getting real


The splits
I tried the strength intervals yesterday.
They were hard.
This is one of the workouts that I will be modifying.
My splits are 2km at the faster than race pace with 500m active recovery. It was shorter than what was prescribed. When I am doing these workouts outside, I will change the recovery from distance to time and walk a bit more. I didn't feel fully recovered for the interval so they felt harder than they needed to. Hanson's is about cumulative fatigue so the recovery is supposed to be a jog, which I can't do right from the start.
How I felt after the run.
I want to feel confident with these workouts. The mileage from the easy running has built up a great aerobic base, and I know during a race, and most of the times outside, my mental is strong, so there will be no question on race day.
One positive from yesterday is that increasing the warmup was a good thing and I will do that from now on.

Monday, April 2, 2018

Week 11 Summary

Monday easy 10 km

Nothing. Not a damn thing. Too tired and I needed a break. The thought of running mentally exhausted me so I took a rest day.

Tuesday 6 x 1600m w/400m recovery
Did 4 of these instead of 6 and that was enough. I think the doubling of this intense workout would be too much for me. I have never done more than 4 miles worth of intervals for a half marathon before.


Wednesday rest or cross train
Taught my usual 2 spin classes but also did some strength for my back muscles and yoga in the evening.

Thursday 8km race pace
I was really wishy washy with this run. I ended up running 2km easy, then 2km race pace, 2km easy, 2 km race pace then 2 km easy. Half the race pace effort done and I think I was lucky to get that.

Friday easy 8 km
I felt ok enough so stuck to a recovery paced 9km run. I was starting to feel fresher.

Saturday 16km long run
I ran this as a progresson, starting at 6:31/km and increasing the speed by 0.1km/h every 2km finishing at 6:03. I felt strong and only started feeling tied in the last 3 km. I was paying attention to my heart rate and it stayed in the mid 150s for the last 5km, not really spiking at all. I felt very confident after this run.

Sunday easy 8km
Did this run at a recovery pace.

Even with ditching a run completly, I still covered 55km. This is a lot less than the 70km that the program calls for. I had a slow start to the week but finished strong.

I also payed attention to amounts of food that I eat and when I have a large supper I tend to have a good run. I also have been doing a lot of the runs after lunch because of my school commitments, and I find my energy is low in the afternoons. I am going to tr to get the runs done in the mornings, starting soon after the kids are sent off to school.

Friday, March 30, 2018

Be.....nice

This is a simple lesson, really. Be nice. Be nice to the people around you. Be nice to yourself.

I spent a lot of today's easy run thinking about that. I am nice to most people most of the time. I am not saying that I am a ray of sunshine to everyone, but I try to give the benefit of the doubt to people and see the kindness in their gestures and actions. And when their gestures and actions are lacking, I try to not take it personally. We never know what people are going through unless we ask, and even then we may not be given the whole picture. So in these situations I am being nice by putting on a smile and sometimes taking the shit that is being flung at me. There is a lot I don't say under the premise of being nice.

Being nice to myself can be a struggle. I need to not compare myself to the Colleen of old. She isn't dead but things are different time. I have come to terms that I need to deal with my body and mind differently.

Being kind to myself requires a lot of effort and a change of mindset. I have learned to recognize the unhealthy patterns of thinking and deal with them head on. I have been wearing my fitbit to monitor my heart rate when I run but then it turned into being obsessed with step count and getting my 250 steps every hour, feeling bad if I didn't even though I ran for 12 km earlier. That's stupid, so I took it off and it is now in the drawer. That is the same reason why I don't track my food. My issues with food have been well documented and I cannot measure, weigh portion anything because it doesn't take much to get into the unhealthy and obsessive habits. So I don't. Instead I make healthy choices most of the time and remember that food is fuel. When I eat well, I run well and feel better. That's enough.

I also have to remember that missing a run or modifying one isn't being a failure, it is being smart and being kind to my body. Last summer when I ran a half marathon I missed the big picture that I was accomplishing something amazing instead I felt like I let myself down. The training for this half marathon is going ok, it's the hardest that I have ever worked for a half marathon. But it is becoming too much. With doing my practical hours I have spent more time on my feet than they're used to and I have to remember that that is actually hard on my body.

My goal this long weekend is to look at the remaining weeks of my training plan and adjust it so I am not running more than about 55km in a week. I am going to pare down some of the strength workouts and replace them with easy running. One thing that has been obvious to me is on the days that I do the easy runs I not only feel like I could run forever at that speed, but I don't feel like I am shattered for the rest of the day! I also think it would be prudent to have a day off of everything. No work or running. My rest day from running still involves at leat 2 spin classes. I am never actually resting.

Time to be fucking nice.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

It is time

This is our cat Rogue. She is very personable. She likes to be where her people are and when they aren't home she likes to be near something that reminds her of them. I found her yesterday sleeping with her head on my running shoes. when I am home she is always close. In fact as I type this she is sleeping right beside me.

What is is time for? It is time to modify my training plan more. While I have been loving the increase in mileage and the milestones that I have achieved I don't think that keeping up that intensity is best for my body.
For example, yesterday's strength intervals was the following: 1.5 mile warm up, 6 x 1600m with 400m recovery, 1.5 mile cool down. Instead I did 2km warn up, 4 x 1600m with 400m recovery, 2 km cool down. So it was a but shorter than scheduled. but more manageable.

Today is a rest day from running. I still will teach 2 spin classes and do some strength.

I have some soft tissue in my feet that swell and I have received cortisone injections for them in the past. They are in between my third and fourth toes on both feet and my feet feel squishy when I walk. I don't know if it has been the increase of running or poor shoe quality but they have started forming again. I went to my GP to see if he could expedite the process for injections and he did! I have appointments for the end of the month; I don't have to wait for the rheumatologist to arrange them. My GP is absolutely amazing. I had to wait over 45 minutes past my appointment time to see him but I don't mind because of how thorough he is with me, and I assume is with all of his patients. I always leave with my questions answered and I am never feeling rushed to as him. I am very grateful for his care.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Listening to my body

Yesterday I took a rest day from running. Even though the sun was out I could not get excited about running. When I was teaching my class in the morning I had difficulty with my balance, and just felt overall tired.

It was a 10km easy run. I may or may not make it up depending on how I am feeling.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Week 10 summary.

 Summary of the week: Hanson's Plan vs what I actually did.

Monday easy 9.6km
9km done on the treadmill in an hour as this was all I had time for. Made sure I slowed down and tried to have relaxed cadence and stride.

Tuesday 4 x 1200m w/600m recovery
Went outside for this one. The repeats were done at the folowing paces  (/km): 5:13, 5:11, 5:10 and 5:08. I was very happy that I was able to run this fast and enjoyed having a finish line for this.

Wednesday rest or cross train
2 practical clients and 2 spin classes.

Thursday 6.4km race pace
Back to the treadmill as is was too windy to run this outside. Like last time, I slowed it down and alternated 2 speeds for 7km. This run is still the most mentally challenging for me. 10km total

Friday easy 8km
Done at a slower recovery pace. I find anything slower than 6:45/km feels hard on my joints, especially my knees. I am probably due for a massage.

Saturday 19.2 km long run

Because the 16km runs were taking me about 1:45 to do, I figured that 2 hours would be a good cut off for me. I managed 18.2km in 1:59 which I am happy with. However my left foot was getting soe and my toes were hurting. I think it is a combination on the Morton's Neuroma that is coming back as well as old shoes. Both pairs of shoes that I have been running the majority of my mileage each have over 750km on it.






Sunday easy 8km
Did easy 6km at recovery pace.

Total mileage this week is over 60km!

Every week I impress myself with my accomplishments. I am ho grateful for the ability to run this far. I am hoping I am doing my body good, because I feel mentally good.

As much as I am enjoying the training, I am looking forward to when the race is over and running will be less structured. I want to hit the river valley trails. Actually there is nothing stopping me from doing my easy runs there now except how muddy and icy and cold they will be. I am ready for warmer weather! Time to take all those colourful speed shorts outside.

Friday, March 23, 2018

Will I ever not be tired?

One thing I have felt with RA is always a low grade fatigue. It isn't to the point where I feel like I can't drag myself out of bed, but at about mid afternoon I always feel like I could use a nap. This happens even on days where I wake up feeling rested. Those days don't happen terribly often.

The Hanson's program builds on cumulative fatigue and in the program I am following one day is rest or cross train. For me that's the Wednesdays where I don't actually run but I still teach 2 spin classes, and soon to be a third in the morning. I think I need to take an actual day off of all activity, including teaching and rest my body.
Intervals done outside
 I staarted the week with an easy 9km treadmill run because that's all I had time for. The plan called for 9.6 but that's close enough. I also slowed it down from 6:30/km to 6:40.
 
Tuesday the weather was Colleen friendly so I took my interval runs outside. I ran around our local lake which is about a mile around and that was perfect for 4 x 1200m w/400m recovery. I actually shorted myself some recovery as the plan says 600m recovery. Whoops. However, I was able to run them all consistently, getting a couple of seconds faster every time, and also running them at a faster lace than the previous two interval workouts.What??? I guess being outside and having a finish line works for me, as well as slowing down the easy run. At the time they felt hard, and the last half of the last one I could start feeling my whole body getting tired, but I completed it without slowing down. Yay me!

Post race pace run high five
I find wind to be hard on my body so I took this week's race pace run to the treadmill. The plan was 4 miles but I took it up to 7km. Next week it is 8km on the schedule and I wanted a gradual increase. I am looking forward to challenging myself outside with this. I just didn't want to battle the wind. It's not race day. I am mentally strong on race day.
Look! My eyeball
I had an opthalmologist appointment yesterday for my biannual check up. Did you know RA can affect vision? Spoiler: it can fuck up everything!! Don't worry, everything is good with my eyes so far, and she says that I take excellent pictures, which you can see here.
did you also know I suck at blog formatting?







Monday, March 19, 2018

Week 9 summary

I know I am terrible at updating this blog. Not very inspirational I know. Oh well.

Another successful week of training done. Here is the comparison, but I have moved the Hanson's plan workouts to the same day where I did something similar.

Monday 5 x 1km intervals
I only did 4 of these as I was feeling tired. I was actually able to jog the in betweens. I know I didn't have another one in me so I quick while I was still slightly behind. I also teach a group fitness class in the morning and I find my legs are really tired from it.

Tuesday easy 5 miles
I also cut this one a bit short as my legs were still tired. I completed 6km instead of the 8. I also taught an extra class today so that was a bonus half hour cycle and 45 minutes on my feet.

Wednesday rest or cross train
Teaching 2 cycle classes and 2 training sessions adds up to a successful cross training day.

Thursday 4 miles goal pace
I was able to do this to completion, actually going slightly farther. Ok, 0.1km but it was still farther. I kept it closer to the 1:59 goal pace instead of the slightly faster which I found tiring a few weeks ago. I think this is starting to click

Friday easy 5 miles
Cut this short because I taught a bootcamp class this morning and honestly didn't have 2 more miles in me. 5km done.

Saturday 10 mile long run
Toughed this one out on the treadmill because we were getting a ton of snow and I didn't feel like trudging outside. Also, I had 5 pit stops in the first half so it was nice to have a bathroom 10 steps away. I did a run 9 walk 1 style to make sure that I drank enough fluid. Last week I had a hard time towards the end and maybe that was because of an electrolyte imbalance or dehydration. I ended up drinking 400mL NUUN during this run and felt good. I also ran the segments faster in the second half, but still kept it in the long run pace range.

Sunday easy 6 miles
I slowed this one down a bit and trudged through it.

Total mileage this week was 57km. A new high for me.

There is a lot of motivation out there: people saying that you should get your workouts done as written. And I agree with that. If ou want to achieve your goal, you need to do the work. Even thought I cut about 5 miles from the schedule this week, I still think I am doing ok with the volume of activity I do in other things. Ideally when people are run training according to this plan all you are supposed to do is run. If I were able to do that I would.

I don't know how much the running is exacerbating this, but the Morton's Neuroma I get on my left foot is returning and I am starting to feel it when I run. My orthotics feel off and the top of my foot feels hot. I have made an appointment to see my doctor to start the ball rolling to get a cortisone injection.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Week 8 summary


I finished this week with a 16km long run on Saturday and a 9km easy run on Sunday, both outside, and the first time outside in our winter here for 2 months. It was sunny and this fair weather runner gave it a thumbs up!

It is much harder to run outside in non ideal weather conditions than on my treadmill, but I did like going somewhere. I was overdressed on Saturday and sweat a lot, and my thighs ended up cramping the last couple of km which brought my overall pace down.

But looking at the past few weeks the consistency has been there, even the last 2 weeks at the same overall distance and being 6 seconds apart. I couldn't have even tried to plan that precision.

This training is making me feel tired though. With school etc I feel like I have a lot to balance and even though I just came back from a me trip less than a month ago, I am already looking forward to the next one in May.

Friday, March 9, 2018

Tempo Thursday

HHM: 1.5 mile warm up, 4 miles @half pace, 1.5 miles cool down, 11.2km total
Me: 2 km warm up, 6km half pace, 1 km cooldown 9km total

I had a great run today for a number of reasons, or maybe none of the following:

1. A great night's sleep. I logged over 8 hours of snoozing!

2. I huge supper. I had a big plateful of gluten free pasta and half a chicken breast.

3. I started my run about 9am, which is hours earlier than the afternoon runs I have been doing. I find my brain is sharpest in the morning, so I need to do school work then while I can still think clearly.

4. I slowed down. My previous race pace runs have been about 5:32/km. I slowed this to a 5:38. The five seconds don't seem like a lot on paper, but they really helped. Also 5:38/km is closer to what a true 2 hour half pace is, 5:41. I don't need to try to train for the faster result. 

This morning my feet do feel tender. I have the plan to call the doctor that did the cortisone injections in my feet to see if she will do them for me. I don't want to have to go through my rheum.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Tuesday intervals

I do love running fast and I do llove when fast training pays off in the end. I am getting a bit tired of the treadmill for speed though, because I like running towards something rather than follwing a cursor around the track.

I realize now I should have been listing what the plan says vs what I actually did.so today:

HHM: 1.5 mile warm up, 6 x 800m (5-10k pace) w/ 400m rec, 1.5 mile cool down 12 km total
Modificaton: 1.5 mile warm up, 6 x 800m (ave 5:13/km) w/400m rec, 1 mile cool down 11km total

Slightly shorter because like ever speed session I just want the workout done and I'm usually tired, so the cool down gets cut. Also, I wore new shoes yesterday and I think there is too much cushioning in them and my feet really started to hurt the last 15 minutes or so.

The post workout glow of actually surviving!

Being all bendy.
I had some thoughts about the plan as a whole that I posted on an online journal:

I trust the training and I really want to give it my best shot. I fully think I am capable of a sub 2 half. I look at my training the last time I achieved it, and I thought I trained hard for it but this is much harder. I know I have to stay ahead of the fatigue and the possible extra inflammation I may be afflicting on my body. For example, I did 4 x 1.6km as my toughest interval workout last time and my weekly mileage the last 6 weeks was in the 45-55km range. I'm sure that is enough. I don't think I need to run 6 x 1.6km and 2 x 4.8km in addition to a 6-10km tempo in the same week. I'm already in that 45-55km range.

But that devil on my shoulder wants me to follow the plan....

The angel knows I need to have a hard look at it and do the modifications to it now, so when it pops up on my calendar it's already done, in stone, and "officially" the plan.

Monday, March 5, 2018

Week 7 summary

Last week was another week above 50km for me!! 53.1km in addition to 1:30 of spin classes and teaching my regular older adult class Monday plus 3 additional classes. Yesterday my legs were toast!

Monday easy 6.4km
Tuesday 8 x 600m with 400m recovery 11 km total
Wednesday no running
Thursday 7.5km with 5k at race pace
Friday easy 7.2
Saturday long 16km
Sunday easy 5km

The race pace runs are going to be my most challenging. I need to find a way to stay competitive with myself. I don't seem to have an issue during a race!

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

February summary

This has been my highest mileage month in a very long time!

July 2007 training and completing a marathon: 170.8km with 2 50km weeks. That was the highest mileage month I have ever done....until this month!

February 2018 178.5km!

This picture was taken today after I did my 8 x 600m repeats. As a whole workout, it went fast because I thought that it would take a lot longer than it would. The 600m took a little over 3 minutes each and the first 4 were very manageable but there were times in the last 4 where time stood still. The last minute/200m were hard to muscle through and the temptation to hop on the side was very strong. However I kept on going and I am glad that I did!


Friday, February 23, 2018

Training update

I realize that I have fallen behind. I have been busy with my practical hours. Even though it is 5 hours a week there is still the time that goes into researching and preparing for each session, as well as the assignments for that class, and keeping up with the other. I have good intentions to update but they never seem to happen.

So I will just continue on from here. I have been steadily increasing my mileage and have not had any major issues because of fatigue. Last weekend I was lucky enough to visit my parents who snowbird in Arizona and I treated myself to a trail race in the desert for my birthday.
Cliche sunrise before the race began.
Action shot to prove that I run for fun.
Post race! Pace 5:37/km and 7th in AG, 72 overall!

I was pleased with the race. I have done a very small amount of speed running since the year started. As in 3km of race pace effort, so I was so happy to have this result. I even started slow and had a 2 minute negative split. 

This result also excites me that the program is working. I have built a base and now the fun runs begin. I just have to be aware of listening to my body and taking the rest when I need to. I am not the best at that but I have to remember to look long term. A missed run now because I am tired or need a break makes the likelihood of a successful half marathon more likely. 







I was also able to run through Veteran's Oases Park in Chandler, a place that I love to run in. If I lived in that area I would be hard pressed to find another place to go. 




Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Loving the easy runs!

Just for fun I wore my heart rate strap on my treadmill for my easy run. 6.8km in less than 45 minutes gave the following result:

I maxed out at 151 and that was only for a split second. I was not expecting it to be that low as I have worn a heart rate monitor before and my running HR wa much higher. I am looking forward to using it again, and I am curious to see what it will reach when I start my interval training.

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Week one is done!

Summary for the week:


Run - 31km in 6 runs 3:21Spin - 6 classes 3:00Strength - 45:00 in 2 classes



I subbed 2:00 worth of spin for a  fellow instructor and this is the last week for one of my spin classes, so that number won't be as high. It was tiring but I look forward to the paycheck that will follow.

Speaking of money, I spent another $173 because I was selected in the random draw for the Seawheeze half marathon in Vancouver in September. As I write this one of my friends got in, but my sister in law hasn't yet. The three of us were roomies last year so I hope it will be 2 years in a row for us. I plan on running this race for fun. The half marathon in May is the A race and then I will let my body recover but still have the fitness to complete another half. It is a beautiful course and I want to actually enjoy it this year.

All in all a good start to my half marathon training.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Trust the process, but....

The Hanson half marathon plan calls for 24km in 5 runs in the second week. What I have planned is 31km in 5 runs. I am following the paces that the plan suggests for me but I have increased the mileage a bit. That is because I know that my body needs time to adapt to training in order to be effective. The mileage increases at the beginning of the plan are too steep for me to do safely. Next week the total is 33.6km in 5 runs and I have 38km planned in 6. I have the extra run because eventually the Hanson plan increases to 6 runs and I need to get there safely.

I have faith in the plan that it will work for me as best as it can, given my limitations. I am excited about it. I don't want to dismiss this plan and say it doesn't work for me without giving it a fair try. So far it is manageable, but it is early and no real speed or distance have started yet!

I also have my client consultations planned within the next week for mt personal fitness trainer practical, so I am excited about that.

I have also entered the lottery for the Seawheeze half marathon. The draw is tomorrow. I am hopeful that my name is selected for entry.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

What inspires me.

This is my forearm tattoo. I got it on this day in 2016 after over a year of thinking about it and saving for it. It represents my family's birthstones. The large ones are my children. The purple one is me and the green is my husband. I put it specifically on my forearm so I would always see it and would always be reminded of who are the most important people in my life. The 4 of them is why I want to be the best person that I can me and work on that every day, in every aspect of my life. I am not perfect at it but I do try.

In terms of my physical accomplishments, I am not motivated entirely by performance. I don't think that if I achieve a PB in whatever race or a top placement that it will change what my family will think of me. I want to show them that I don't give up and I always do my best and that they should want to do the same. When I raced Seawheeze last year, I was too focused on the performance and not enough on the enjoyment of running and feeling humbled that I was actually running a half marathon. I reflected on that and I will approach that event differently in the future.

That being said, I do look at past performances as motivation to do my best. Before my diagnosis I worked hard at Ironman training and I finished my second over an hour after my first. I also worked hard at getting my half marathon time under 2 hours, actually taking 7 minutes off my previously best time. I don't know if I will achieve either of those things again, but I certainly want to try.

I follow people and search for people via Instagram who inspire me. There are those who have healed and controlled their autoimmune disease without medication. There are those who have autoimmune disease but still hit the gym or the roads and trails like a badass. There are those who have other illnesses and still grab life by the balls and go for it every day. And there are those who don't have any illness but work hard at their goals. I love reading about all these people and I can take bits and pieces from them and apply that to my life. I am willing and open to learning from everyone. I started on Instagram looking for a way to feel connected, and I do. I also have a large amount of respect for those that share their vulnerabilities and low points because that's when we can learn the most. Not every day is sunshine and rainbows and I don't always feel my best, but it is reassuring to know that I am not alone.

I also look to myself for inspiration. I am internally motivated and a goal setter. I can logically see the steps I need to take to achieve my goal and I take them. I know that goals need to change. Right now I am in the early and easy stages of my half marathon training. I feel excited and well rested and unstoppable. I also know that things can change at any given moment and my goal will have to change and I am ok with that.

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Hanson's half marathon week 1

It's official! I am half marathon training. I am excited to be doing this again. I am not going to explain what the training program is all about, because that information can be found through any search engine. But I will summarize what I have done and compare it to the training plan. I am going to be modifying the beginner plan a bit and here's why:

1. I don't think the amount of mileage the plan calls for is going to agree with my body so I will most likely cut back some of the distance.

2. The beginner plan ramps up quickly when compared to the advanced, so I am going to increase the mileage a bit more linearly.

3. The beginner plan has 6 days running and one that is cross training/rest. I may drop to 5 as I have 2 days a week where I teach 2 classes and as much as I will try to hold intensity back, I may have to substitute one of the days out.

Week 1 according to plan: 16 km in 3 runs
What I did: 21.2km in 4 runs

I needed a bit of a cutback after the high mileage start to the month.

Me and my new foam roller. Yes, I really am that short!




Sunday, January 14, 2018

The strava challenge


As a challenge to myself I entered it. The goal is to achieve either 40km or 80km recorded via GPS in 14 days. Because my phone and Garmin are shit at getting signals indoors this meant that I would have to run outside. This is me stepping outside of my comfort zone because I love my treadmill!!

Anyway, I did it! I did the math at the beginning and figured that it was an average of 5.7km a day with an extra .2 somewhere. It was very doable the first week when the weather was nice, but I really had to dig deep when there was a cold snap in the second week. Several days of below -20C made it hard. But I wanted to
prove that I could do it . And I did.

Friday, January 12, 2018

Winter running

 I am the first to admit that I would much rather run on my treadmill or the indoor track than run outside.
But then a carrot was presented to me: run either 40km or 80km  Jan 2-15 and track with the Strava app and possibly get a treat from Lululemon. Uh...have you seen my workout clothes drawer? It is 99% lulu, so of course I have to participate. I have run outside for all those days, even in the current cold snap of -20C and below. I have 4 days to run 22km to get my 80km achievement.










I can also say with 99% certainty that once this challenge is over I will be indoors on my treadmill until this coldsnap is over. And most likely until the weather is more Colleen friendly. To say I am enjoying the outdoor running right now is a bit of a stretch. I am proud that I have been committed to it (ahem, Lulu) but once I'm about 15 minutes in I am hot and sweaty and then 10 minutes from there I start getting chilled.
I've been running a 1km loop around my neighbourhood and I can still see my footpronts form 3 days ago because:
1. No one can be bothered to shovel their damn sidewalks and
2. No one else is stupid enough to be outside when it is that cold.

And soon that will be me.

Check me out on Instagram @collbel for all my running adventures


Thursday, January 11, 2018

10 Ways to Love

Someone I follow on Instagram posted this in their story today. I think this is an excellent list, so I am posting about it here. I know I feel more valued when people around me follow these "rules" and I also know that I could work on them myself. It is easy to point out to others how they can improve, but much more difficult to turn inwards. It is one of my goals to be a better person.


Listen without interrupting
I know I could be better at listening as well. I can finish someone's thoughts aloud, or ask a question at the wrong time. I hate being interrupted. I'm sure so does EVERYONE ELSE!

Speak without accusing
I have been told that my tone and body language can give me away, or they are actually not congruent with a good intention. I need to tell my body that my mind is open and attentive.

Give without sparing
There have been times where I have been generous and have not gotten a thank you. That makes it difficult for me to continue giving if I am not getting recognition. I need to remember that I give out of love and the recipient knows that, even if they don't tell me.

Pray without ceasing
I don't pray, so I have no comment on this.

Answer without arguing
Goes hand in hand with the first one. It's easy to argue and get defensive sometimes, especially if the perception is the other person is being accusatory. Listen, assimilate and then answer.

Share without pretending
Goes hand in hand with giving. Do I pretend that I am doing someone a favour? This one needs more thought.

Enjoy without complaining
Yes! Live in the moment and look at the good. Yes it's cold outside, but I am lucky that I have a house that keeps me warm. My legs hurt from running...but I am running. There are so many silver linings in bad situations.

Trust without wavering
I believe in the love of my family that they want what's best for me and their actions are out of love. I trust my family with all my heart. I'm sure there is a spiritual component to this: trust in what you believe in, that it is guiding you on the right path.

Forgive without punishing
This can be hard. If I say I am over something, then I am working hard to make it so and not to act out. I know what it is like to be held in limbo about something, to be told that yes, everything is ok when in fact is isn't and I am getting dragged through it time and time again. The best that I can do, is not do this to someone else. I know there are 2 situations that fall under tis category and I am doing my best to work towards better behavior.

Promise without forgetting
This can go hand in hand with the above. If you promise you're fine, then act fine. Literally, if you say you're going to do something then do it. I know I have difficulty with remembering things, so I am working harder at writing things down as an attempt to remember.


Wednesday, January 3, 2018

2018 a look ahead

I have a lot on my mind to accomplish this year personally, professionally and athletically.

Personally, I would like to let go of the things that have been living rent free in my brain. Once the kids are back in school I will be able to reflect and find ways to have closure. The year ended with a not so stellar reflection of my best self. I am owning my actions, and whatever hurt they have caused, but I refuse to own any more than that. I cannot control what the result will be and I will let that go. I need to heal my body so I can't have other people's shit on my brain when I have enough of my own.

Professionally, I will be finishing my NAIT PFT diploma! Looking forward to the opportunities that will give me. The first practical starts this semester and I am really looking forward to using what I have learned in a one on one and small group setting.

Athletically, I am going after that half marathon PB in May. Pre-diagnosis I ran a 1:56. I am looking to better that, to prove that I am stronger than RA. This blog will turn more into a training focussed journal.