The Zombification of Jessica - (TO Women's Race Report)

My fourth half marathon has come and gone. I had a good time.  It was hard, but fun! I knew that my ongoing breathing issues were going to prevent me from a Personal Best (PB) so I needed a new goal. It's important to have a goal, don't you think?

Personal Worst (PW) it was!

I was hoping for a 2:10 in this race, and I think that without the health challenges that have plagued me the last four weeks or so, it was attainable. Difficult but attainable.  Sadly, sometimes during allergy season, my breathing is unmanageable, and I went into this race on a pharmaceutical cocktail that included 3 inhalers, Prednisone, and Singulair.  I had my doctor's blessing to run, but was told to take it easy.

On Saturday night, I was having a lot of difficulty breathing.  For me, this means I cough.  A lot, and hard.  It sounds a lot like kids do when they have the croup.  I didn't want to worry anyone, but I started to think that I may not be able to run after all.  Denise didn't say anything to me, but I am pretty sure that she was thinking the same thing.

Sunday morning came, and I was feeling a bit better. I decided I would run, but I would treat it like a leisurely Sunday morning long run.  You know, with 2200 of my closest friends.

I really am glad I ran.  It is a challenging, hilly and beautiful course. The race takes you through Sunnybrook Park, and let me tell you, if I could run there all the time, I would. Fab-u-lous.

Overall, I felt okay through the run. There were a few spots when I needed my inhaler, but nothing too dramatic. I took it easy, enjoyed the scenery, and listened to some great music on my iPod, Radcliffe. (Yes, I named my iPod Radcliffe).  It really was nice to enjoy the run without the pressure of meeting a time goal.

Only two things went wrong for me on this race, and they were pretty minor.  I had to use EVERY. SINGLE. PORT-A-POTTY.  Because I was having some breathing struggles, I used a LOT of water.  I also coughed a lot.  So I had to pee a lot. That wasn't ideal, but no biggie.  At least on the race course, you know there will be washrooms. If more had been stocked with toilet paper, that would have been nice.

I collided with a runner mid-course.  Hard.  The way the course is designed, there are a few locations where the race is run in both directions.  This means that at some points, while us slower people are running one way on the path, the front runners are running the other way.  Sometimes this can cause a bit of a bottle neck.  In this particular instance, we were on a gravel/dirt path, and there was a puddle.  In my mind, not such a big deal.  In the mind of the runner in front of me, the puddle must of been infested with alligators, because she stopped DEAD in her tracks.  Trying to avoid a collision with her, I veered left and ran into a runner coming towards me.  I have a bruise on my shoulder and one on my shin.  I really hope she was okay!

Otherwise, I can't complain.  I ran the entire hill that is placed at 19K.  Its a big hill leading to a shaky bridge and the majority of people around me were walking it.  But not ME! I am SUDBURIAN.  We run our hills.

Coming up to the finish line, I heard my name, looked ahead and saw Denise.  I was feeling pretty done at that point, so it was great to see her.  She met up with me and ran beside me for about 50 meters, then veered off so I could finish.

I was met just passed the finish line by Hayley, the district manager for our Running Room in Sudbury. "Are you okay? How's your breathing? Do you need anything?"  I thanked her, thinking it was nice of her to ask.

This is what I looked like.



BRRRAAAAIIINNNSSS!

Clearly, not my best look. So, it wasn't my best race.  But I really enjoyed it! And really, that's all I can ask for.  I'll get my 2:10 at another race. There's ALWAYS another race.

For now though....Marathon training is starting.  WHOOOO HOOOO!

Here are a few more pictures from the day!

Denise, rocking out after the race.

Jessica, looking MUCH better!

Us, with Dayna Pidhoresky. (She's fast. Like, Top woman at Around the Bay in 2011, fast)

I'll never take the wine away, but I may smack that cookie out of your mouth!

Eating to Run: Sort of

Jessica and I have often joked about the fact that we run so we can eat. Which for the largest part is true due to the fact that we both love all things sweet and chocolatey and that all good things must be had with wine. 

So as we were getting set to drive home this past Sunday after our race it caused me to giggle when Jessica looked over at me with a slightly giddy and panicked smile and confessed that she was nervous that I was going to start telling her that she couldn't eat things that were bad for her while we were training for this marathon.  I really think she was worried I would take away the wine!!!! 

Now I am no dietary saint. Although, when training for a marathon I do tend to walk the straight and narrow a bit more and I will admit, it's definately alot easier to get through the training week on well planned healthy meals than it is to try to survive on the plan of fast food, finishing your kids plates and discovering the chocolate bar under the front seat of the SUV.  But, life gets in the way sometimes and we as women with a goal sometimes have to sacrifice a good meal in the name of schedules and sanity.

So, I promise my dear friend;  I will not take the wine away, but I may smack that cookie out of your mouth!

D.

Toronto Women's Half

Less than 36 hours until we run another half marathon!  YAY!
This one is in Toronto, the TO Women's Half, at Sunnybrook Park.  Please wish us luck!

Denise is picking me up at 6:30 or so, which means that I will be up by 5:30am.  That's cruel and unusual punishment, if you ask me.

Look here on Monday evening for an update with our finishing times.  Hopefully there will be pictures too! However, if you just can't wait that long, you can certainly search us out on www.sportstats.ca!

Have a great weekend, and if you are the praying kind, please pray for rain in the Timmins area. That fire is terrible and they need all the help they can get!

Jessica

Donations Welcome!

So, here's the crux of it all.

We each need to raise $3000, to participate in the Montreal Rock n Roll Marathon with Team In Training.  This is totally doable - with YOUR help.  So, please visit our fundraising pages and send us a donation!

Its that easy. 

If you aren't comfortable with donating online, please don't hesitate to contact us.  We will be happy to work something out with you.

Jessica's Fundraising Page

Denise's Fundraising Page

If you donate by giving us a donation personally, or through our fundraising page, you get a tax receipt.  So many positives to that:

1) You support a great cause
2) You pay less taxes
3) We run a marathon and feel good about it
4) Prime Minister Stephen Harper gets less of your hard earned money. Woot!!

However!  This is NOT the only way to donate.

Indeed, we will be having a few fundraising events throughout our FUNdraising period.  As you can tell from the very subtle title, these events will be FUN, FUN, FUN!

So keep visiting our site.  We will try to post at least once a week.

Remember, we couldnt't have come as far in our running as we have without your support, and we definitely need it now!

Thanks!

Denise and Jessica

The Adventure Begins

Welcome!

We are thrilled that you've decided to visit our blog. 

As you may already know, we have decided to join Team in Training to run a Marathon on September 23rd, in Montreal.  This is the place where we will keep you updated on our training and fundraising progress!

Team in Training is a fantastic organization, whose goal is to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, making a difference in the life of cancer patients and their families.

Any support is welcome, whether it be kind words, laughter at some of our shenanigans (you KNOW there will be shenanigans), or a donation.

How did we come up with that crazy blog title?

Well, neither of us speaks French very well, (although we are trying to learn), and we are running a race together in the beautiful city of Montreal.  Our kids are all in French Immersion, and we both have French last names!  We though it would be great to poke a little fun at ourselves.

We are looking forward to this adventure and are so happy to have you along!

Denise and Jessica