Showing posts with label LSD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LSD. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Never underestimate how a cup of coffee can fix your running
I'm sure that like us, you've all got crazy schedules that seem to make running a distinct memory some days. Each of our individual lives are jam-packed with the kiddos extra-carricular activities and the every day challenges of marriage and parenting so we're sure you can appreciate that trying to merge our schedules just to get a run in together is a conundrum all it's own.
Then, just when you think all is lost, something magical happens and the run-gods bring everything into alignment and bada-bing bada-boom you get it together. In our case, instead of a run, it was a coffee date.........to talk about running.
Jess and I are the type of runners that in order to keep on track, need a goal to move us along. Ironically, we spend most of our time texting each other just trying to figure out what that goal can be since we can't manage to get a run in together...... we know......vicious circle.
So as it worked out we were sitting in a warm aquatic centre with coffees discussing our potential run plan for 2014.
Now, if you'll remember from last year about this time, we planned to do a bunch of Northern Ontario races in order to save ourselves some money and experience more of what the north had to offer. It must be said, we loved the experience. By far our favorite new experience was the Run for Patrick. It's likely that we will do this race again this year and would encourage any of of our followers to give it a go.
Seems like 2014 is going to be the year of ROLLING HILLS, REDEMPTION & RE-UNITING (is it just me or did you hear dramatic theme music?)
Rolling Hills: The Ramsay Tour and The Huntsville Half have hit our radar this year and both boast a very hilly and challanging course map. Let's see what happens! We'll be sure to post our antics!
Redemption: For runners this means taking back an absolutely crap-tastic race that you know in your runner's heart that you could've done better if something hadn't derailed it. (see Lowlights) You let it sour you for a short time but in the end you always yearn to go back and kick it's ass. For Jess this is the Toronto Women's 1/2 Marathon and it looks like we are going to be heading back to Toronto to take on this course and show it who's boss. Due to hot firefighters on the course........I am absolutely willing to help Jess in this endeavour!
Reuniting: Running is the sport that can bring complete strangers into hours of conversation about everything from that icky toe, to great conquests in training, to failures and of course the self-deprication that only comes from running. We have had the great pleasure to make some great run-friends in our years together and this year we are going to try to reunite with them at various races. This one came about because of a challenge that was thrown down to us on Facebook from the amazing Sharon Devellis of Yummy Mummy and Speedskating Mom fame. Looks like we are Mississauga bound. We are also trying to reconnect with a couple ladies we had the pleasure of meeting during our time with Team in Training at the Montreal Rock n' Roll Marathon but we are trying to convince them they need to come experience the north.......Wish us luck!
If anyone has races that they think we should try please let us know here or on our Facebook page. We'd love to hear from you!
Long may we run,
Denise and Jessica
Monday, September 9, 2013
Ramsey Tour - Race Recap
What a great event!
Considering the weather the previous day I was a little concerned but as weather goes, it was just the perfect weather for running. Cool to start but the sun was out to remind you that summer had just ended and enough of a breeze to keep you cool and not be considered a head wind.
If ever there was an underestimated race in the running season it's the Sudbury Masters Continental Insulation Ramsey Tour (Ramsey Tour for short ) The race itself is a grass roots type run that's been around for many years. It's championed by the anyone who's ever run either the 5 Km or 1/2 marathon courses and the attendance is annually supported by participants from Sudbury Rocks Run Club and Track North.
The 1/2 marathon course is one of the most challenging courses I've run (and I've done San Francisco!) but it's one of the most beautifully scenic courses so you can forgive the difficulty.
This year I was very excited to see some of the same volunteers as years past but a few new faces as well and I heard they were up to 5 aid stations this year! Big shout out to the volunteers, they rock!
The route is as the name suggests, a complete once around Lake Ramsey and to put it mildly, HILLY but nothing that would worry a Sudburian. Except that lovely little ditty known as cardiac hill but really.....walk it.......there's no shame in it. The "hilly" only lasts for the first 6 Km and then it's long stretches of flat or almost flat terrain that passes along Lake Ramsey for the better part of the remainder of the race. The hills are forgivable.
This year we had 5 water stations along the route so you can definitely run without the cumbersome fuel belt if you so choose but there is no gel station so remember to pack em if you got em'. There are also no port a potties, so be sure to go at the start, because at this time of year you may not have the leafy privacy coverage you need.
This is definitely a course you could try for a PB on, the local runners do! Although I have now resided it to be a Sunday LSD because with the great views and perfect weather they seem to get every year, I want to enjoy every kilometer of the course . With 50 participants in the 1/2 marathon average finish time was almost a 50/50 split in the pack with just over half finishing this year's race sub-2.
I will definitely run this race again. It's hard to beat a race with great community support, a great course, perfect weather and ice cream when you are finished!
Two Deux Crazy Thumbs Up!
Oh yeah...and me? A lovely little LSD brought in at 2:16
Long may we run,
D.
SudburyMasters Continental Insulation Ramsey Tour
Considering the weather the previous day I was a little concerned but as weather goes, it was just the perfect weather for running. Cool to start but the sun was out to remind you that summer had just ended and enough of a breeze to keep you cool and not be considered a head wind.
If ever there was an underestimated race in the running season it's the Sudbury Masters Continental Insulation Ramsey Tour (Ramsey Tour for short ) The race itself is a grass roots type run that's been around for many years. It's championed by the anyone who's ever run either the 5 Km or 1/2 marathon courses and the attendance is annually supported by participants from Sudbury Rocks Run Club and Track North.
The 1/2 marathon course is one of the most challenging courses I've run (and I've done San Francisco!) but it's one of the most beautifully scenic courses so you can forgive the difficulty.
This year I was very excited to see some of the same volunteers as years past but a few new faces as well and I heard they were up to 5 aid stations this year! Big shout out to the volunteers, they rock!
The route is as the name suggests, a complete once around Lake Ramsey and to put it mildly, HILLY but nothing that would worry a Sudburian. Except that lovely little ditty known as cardiac hill but really.....walk it.......there's no shame in it. The "hilly" only lasts for the first 6 Km and then it's long stretches of flat or almost flat terrain that passes along Lake Ramsey for the better part of the remainder of the race. The hills are forgivable.
This year we had 5 water stations along the route so you can definitely run without the cumbersome fuel belt if you so choose but there is no gel station so remember to pack em if you got em'. There are also no port a potties, so be sure to go at the start, because at this time of year you may not have the leafy privacy coverage you need.
This is definitely a course you could try for a PB on, the local runners do! Although I have now resided it to be a Sunday LSD because with the great views and perfect weather they seem to get every year, I want to enjoy every kilometer of the course . With 50 participants in the 1/2 marathon average finish time was almost a 50/50 split in the pack with just over half finishing this year's race sub-2.
I will definitely run this race again. It's hard to beat a race with great community support, a great course, perfect weather and ice cream when you are finished!
Two Deux Crazy Thumbs Up!
Oh yeah...and me? A lovely little LSD brought in at 2:16
Long may we run,
D.
SudburyMasters Continental Insulation Ramsey Tour
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Today's Run Report : Soakers. With a more than a chance of "Oh my God could I stop getting rained on please"
In case you haven't figured it out, we ran 28Km in the piss-pouring rain. Why would you do that on purpose you ask? Here's a little insight into Jessica and I and how we bargain with and enable each other in ridiculous ways.
FRIDAY (all via text message)
Jessica: We need a plan for our run. Saturday? Sunday?
Sunday is warmer, maybe raining
Saturday is colder with flurries
Sunday afternoon looks to be 8 degrees an sunny
I have not replied yet but can you see the selling already starting from my running mate who hates cold and winter?
Me: I would rather run in the morning.
( Challenge : This does not work well for Saturday unless we run wicked early in the cold, as one of the kiddos has a swim test that I'd like to be there for)
Jessica: me tooo. But.......8 degrees......and sunny! It's like a dream ha ha. (notice the layering of the sales shtick)
Me: It would be nice but what if it's raining?
Courtesy of the handy dandy weather app my techno savvy mate has she sends me ..........
Jessica: It appears that it will rain from 3am - 9am Sunday ( selling not only time but a lack of rain)
If we run @ 7am on Saturday it will be -10 before windchill ( remember, she hates winter)
Knowing that I can make my chum happy , and that I know how this will work best, I give back:
Me: How about we stick with our original plan of running Sunday, we start at 9am and take whatever comes at us.
And ta-daa there you have it how we ended up with a Sunday run.
Here's how that went:
Woke up to rain, not surprising since it was on the weather app and we knew it was supposed to stop by 9:00am. (This did not end up being the case)
Pulled everything together for a soggy run including a change of dry clothes, recovery snack and a towel. Made the drive to our trusty Running Room where we were meeting another one of our running friends who was going to join us for 16km of our run. Upon arriving she looked at me and said "are we really running in this?" To which I answered with "if you paid for a race entry and on race day it rained, would you run?" Nuff said. Off we go.
Now yes, we knew it was raining, and yes we knew it was going to be challenging to get through 28Km in said rain but I cannot begin to tell you the level of effort it took when after 9Km we were so soaking wet that it no longer mattered which layer of slush or puddle we ran through just as long as we could keep going.
We began to talk of how great it would be if one of the crazy husbands could meet us at 15km with dry clothes. Or what the possibility would be of one of them driving along side us with a portable heater or golf umbrella. We debated running to a local gym and taking up 2 dreadmills for the remainder of our run but knew this was not realistic. I think each of us was silentlymaking deals with the devil about the swapping of souls for the stopping of rain. When this didn't work, we cursed Mother Nature, loudly and frequently.
When all was said and done, we were cold, wet, and sore from all the dodging of puddles and slush but, we did it. Just as we always do, with humour and determination. Oh and let us not forget the ever important LATTE LATTE LATTE!
Long may we run,
D.
FRIDAY (all via text message)
Jessica: We need a plan for our run. Saturday? Sunday?
Sunday is warmer, maybe raining
Saturday is colder with flurries
Sunday afternoon looks to be 8 degrees an sunny
I have not replied yet but can you see the selling already starting from my running mate who hates cold and winter?
Me: I would rather run in the morning.
( Challenge : This does not work well for Saturday unless we run wicked early in the cold, as one of the kiddos has a swim test that I'd like to be there for)
Jessica: me tooo. But.......8 degrees......and sunny! It's like a dream ha ha. (notice the layering of the sales shtick)
Me: It would be nice but what if it's raining?
Courtesy of the handy dandy weather app my techno savvy mate has she sends me ..........
Jessica: It appears that it will rain from 3am - 9am Sunday ( selling not only time but a lack of rain)
If we run @ 7am on Saturday it will be -10 before windchill ( remember, she hates winter)
Knowing that I can make my chum happy , and that I know how this will work best, I give back:
Me: How about we stick with our original plan of running Sunday, we start at 9am and take whatever comes at us.
And ta-daa there you have it how we ended up with a Sunday run.
Here's how that went:
Woke up to rain, not surprising since it was on the weather app and we knew it was supposed to stop by 9:00am. (This did not end up being the case)
Pulled everything together for a soggy run including a change of dry clothes, recovery snack and a towel. Made the drive to our trusty Running Room where we were meeting another one of our running friends who was going to join us for 16km of our run. Upon arriving she looked at me and said "are we really running in this?" To which I answered with "if you paid for a race entry and on race day it rained, would you run?" Nuff said. Off we go.
Now yes, we knew it was raining, and yes we knew it was going to be challenging to get through 28Km in said rain but I cannot begin to tell you the level of effort it took when after 9Km we were so soaking wet that it no longer mattered which layer of slush or puddle we ran through just as long as we could keep going.
We began to talk of how great it would be if one of the crazy husbands could meet us at 15km with dry clothes. Or what the possibility would be of one of them driving along side us with a portable heater or golf umbrella. We debated running to a local gym and taking up 2 dreadmills for the remainder of our run but knew this was not realistic. I think each of us was silentlymaking deals with the devil about the swapping of souls for the stopping of rain. When this didn't work, we cursed Mother Nature, loudly and frequently.
When all was said and done, we were cold, wet, and sore from all the dodging of puddles and slush but, we did it. Just as we always do, with humour and determination. Oh and let us not forget the ever important LATTE LATTE LATTE!
Long may we run,
D.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Running a Frosty 20Km
Holy Crap that was a cold one!
Since we'd been having slightly warmer temps than usual for this time of year in the Suds, Jess and I held out hope that we were going to be blessed with an early dose of Spring to keep us motivated as we up our mileage for the weekend.
Not so much.
For our 20Km run on Saturday it was a nippy -25 with windchill.
Now don't get me wrong, when living in the north there is a certain amount of freeze-your-butt-off-ed-ness you learn to just accept. Fortunately, as runners in the north, we have learned that there are four requirements to running in the -20's that can come together to make for a brisk yet enjoyable run.
1. Base layer - a.k.a. trusty smart wool socks and Merino wool long underwear
2. Thermal layer - whatever brand of slightly thicker run jersey or fleece based garment you are comfy in
3. Outer layer - a jacket and pants that will resist wind but breathe so you don't turn into a moving lesson in condensation.
4. The ability to laugh at the oh so womanly frost beard and joker-like frozen smile you will undoubtedly sport somewhere around the 10 km mark.
To see where 20Km in -25 took us check out:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/fullscreen/181826570/
Running frosty,
D.
Since we'd been having slightly warmer temps than usual for this time of year in the Suds, Jess and I held out hope that we were going to be blessed with an early dose of Spring to keep us motivated as we up our mileage for the weekend.
Not so much.
For our 20Km run on Saturday it was a nippy -25 with windchill.
Now don't get me wrong, when living in the north there is a certain amount of freeze-your-butt-off-ed-ness you learn to just accept. Fortunately, as runners in the north, we have learned that there are four requirements to running in the -20's that can come together to make for a brisk yet enjoyable run.
1. Base layer - a.k.a. trusty smart wool socks and Merino wool long underwear
2. Thermal layer - whatever brand of slightly thicker run jersey or fleece based garment you are comfy in
3. Outer layer - a jacket and pants that will resist wind but breathe so you don't turn into a moving lesson in condensation.
4. The ability to laugh at the oh so womanly frost beard and joker-like frozen smile you will undoubtedly sport somewhere around the 10 km mark.
To see where 20Km in -25 took us check out:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/fullscreen/181826570/
Running frosty,
D.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Sometimes it's the little things.........like snails.
There are a great many things one would expect to see on a long run in Vaughn, Ontario.
Folks walking dogs, a couple sipping coffee on the patio at Starbucks and of course traffic but one does not usually expect to find snails on the sidewalk. Yep, that's what I said snails on the sidewalk.
I was about 3km into a 14km LSD on Saturday and as I was marveling to myself how wonderful it is to see the beauty of a river valley juxtaposed on the backdrop of a subdivision when I happened to look down and notice what I thought was a rock only to realize that the round rock I thought I was seeing actually had a tail end and little eyeball attenae at the other! It literally stopped me dead in my tracks and caused me to laugh out loud. I couldn't help but grasp the irony of the fact that I was running among something noted for being slow. In that moment, as I stood there over my shelled speed bump, I realized that even though I was out there to get my milage done-probably too quickly- and had a dozen other things to do that morning, that it was time to get back to why I love running. To breathe, to bid the daily stresses of life good-bye and to take a look around as I run and take in all that the road has to offer me. Of all the things I thought I would be thankful for in running, I never expected it to be a snail.
Here's to slowing down and taking in the little things.
D
Folks walking dogs, a couple sipping coffee on the patio at Starbucks and of course traffic but one does not usually expect to find snails on the sidewalk. Yep, that's what I said snails on the sidewalk.
I was about 3km into a 14km LSD on Saturday and as I was marveling to myself how wonderful it is to see the beauty of a river valley juxtaposed on the backdrop of a subdivision when I happened to look down and notice what I thought was a rock only to realize that the round rock I thought I was seeing actually had a tail end and little eyeball attenae at the other! It literally stopped me dead in my tracks and caused me to laugh out loud. I couldn't help but grasp the irony of the fact that I was running among something noted for being slow. In that moment, as I stood there over my shelled speed bump, I realized that even though I was out there to get my milage done-probably too quickly- and had a dozen other things to do that morning, that it was time to get back to why I love running. To breathe, to bid the daily stresses of life good-bye and to take a look around as I run and take in all that the road has to offer me. Of all the things I thought I would be thankful for in running, I never expected it to be a snail.
Here's to slowing down and taking in the little things.
D
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
12K LSD - or - 12K of complaining and suffering
Well, we ran a 12K slow run this weekend. Oh. Em. Gee. Did it EVER suck.
One of us was hungover, one of us was sleep deprived. It doesn't matter who was what, just that we were good companions for this run.
You know how the first 10 minutes or so of a run, you are warming up, and they don't feel the greatest? That feeling never went away. At 5K, we both felt like we'd run 18K. We were thankful for EVERY light that was blissfully red, giving us an excuse to stop without damaging our pride.
A new low, was at 10K, we were stopped at a light and Denise was leaning against the light pole while I was hunched over supporting myself on my knees.
Did we not just run a half marathon TWO WEEKS AGO?
But, we got it done. Sort of.
11.31km is just like 12km, right?
Right!?
Onward and Upward, I say.
One of us was hungover, one of us was sleep deprived. It doesn't matter who was what, just that we were good companions for this run.
You know how the first 10 minutes or so of a run, you are warming up, and they don't feel the greatest? That feeling never went away. At 5K, we both felt like we'd run 18K. We were thankful for EVERY light that was blissfully red, giving us an excuse to stop without damaging our pride.
A new low, was at 10K, we were stopped at a light and Denise was leaning against the light pole while I was hunched over supporting myself on my knees.
Did we not just run a half marathon TWO WEEKS AGO?
But, we got it done. Sort of.
11.31km is just like 12km, right?
Right!?
Onward and Upward, I say.
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