Whats Another Year?

It's time. It's opportunities. It's a chance for improvement.

If asked last year this question I might not have had an answer. A year is a long time in relation to some things. For a runner (or any athlete) a lot can happen and not always as planned. Injury aside there is always the chance that motivation or priorities can derail your momentum when training for, or participating in events.

Confused

I never mentioned this before but since things are pretty quiet for a few days I thought I would share where I get my post titles from.  Because as may become apparent, they won't always make sense right away.

Gotta Get Thru This

If Elise and I listened to music when we raced then this song would have been on repeat for the last 5km of our Hypo(er)thermic Half Marathon this morning.

Poor Old Fluffy

Man, when did the shortest month of the year become the busiest?  I'm starting to feel the overwhelming need for a nap.  The third weekend of February is my survivor weekend.  Starting with the 5km snowshoe race at Silver Star Mtn. on Saturday evening and finishing with the Hypothermic Half Marathon in Kamloops Sunday morning.

Surprise!

Yay! 2 Days in a row the mail delivery fairies have arrived with wonderful little packages for me.  Yesterday it was my longstanding subscription from Stridebox.  They put together a monthly selection of nutritional supplements and accessories coveted by runners.

Opening my Stridebox at work created a bit of a buzz in my little cubicle community shared with some running co-workers.  Ahhh...feel the runner envy.

I'm pretty stoked to try the Picky Bar, having seen numerous posts online from other runners preaching the bars yummy-ness.

Also in the box: Skratch Labs - Hot Apples & Cinnamon, Chike - high protein Iced Coffee, a Vitalyte gel, Joshua Tree - lip balm, a Nuun tab, tech friendly running gloves.
Looks like I have lots of hydrating and refueling options to try in the near future.

Do you stick with one favorite brand of athletic supplement or do you like to mix it up and try new ones occasionally?  What's your current favorite hydration or refuel option?

Loving You Is Easy

A couple weeks ago I was perusing the webpage of athletic accessory up and comers Headsweats.com and saw that they offer a "surprise" box subscription. Aptly named Club Headsweats.

Each month, to your door arrives a special something from their extensive inventory of hats, visors, toques and more.   

Don't know about you, but 90% of the time when I run there is something on my head in an attempt to manage wild curly hair or protect from twigs, ticks or rain. So I signed up, curiosity triumphed!

The first box arrived today and this being February the month of love, it was an ozzing-ly sweet chocolate welcome and included a few Power Bar supplements to get me through to the end of the month.

Love the Sasquatch Trucker hat! And the Headsweats edition Polar Insulated water bottle is a nice addition to my collection. Their customer service event went a step further by including a handwritten note of welcome to Club Headsweats.

Have you ever signed up for a subscription box? Where you happy with each of the boxes as they arrived?

On The Road Again

Contemplation

Starting Block 10km, Lavington, BC
IRA Race #1
The lead up to this annual season opener for the Road Race season was a brutal painful week of my hubby's "Man Cold" turned "Wife Beater".  I got in a 10km Monday afternoon that felt so so and woke up Friday morning wondering where the week went and what type of goal I should set for myself on Sunday.  A conservative, "treat it like a training run" approach seemed wise.

 Action

Awake Sunday, Feb. 15th to blue skies, frost and 2 C .  Glorious running conditions!
When the gun went off I stuck with my plan to enjoy the morning and "just get through this", for the first 5km anyhow.  Then since lungs and legs seemed to be hanging in together pretty well I began pushing for a negative split.  By 8 kms I could still feel some kick in the legs and decided to go for a strong finish. 

Thanks to my Brian for the finish line photo!  See the beautiful blue sky!  Official time: 50:05, 29 seconds better than last year.

 Maintenance

That deserves a celebration of sorts.  Thanks Misty and Tammy for joining me in a craft beer moment of Sloth.

Kudos to the KalRats, host club, for this well run event.  Your volunteers were terrific and upbeat.


This was narrowly my best 10km road race on a non-downhill route.  What a nice surprise!

Have you ever gone into a race expecting a not so wonderful result and been delightfully surprised by by how well things turned out?

Upcoming Adventure

Dirty Feet Snowshoe Race, Silver Star Ski Resort
I'm looking forward to the 3rd race in this series.  Last year I ran a little off course and lost some time, hope to make up for that this year.

Follow the link below to see the event page:

Feb 21st - Silver Star

Dashing Through The Snow

How do you run on trails when they are covered in snow? Snowshoes, of course.  Like this weekend at Big White Ski Resort where Dirty Feet Trail Races hosted their annual snowshoe run/ fun walk.  Racers choose between a 5km or 10km distance, strap on their snowshoes and hoof it around the course.  The race began shortly after sundown making headlamps both a necessity and a way to spot the runners ahead/behind you.

The route consisted of ski trail sections and single track snowshoe trails within the trees. Temperatures hovered just at the freezing mark and with an ample dumping of fresh snow on run day conditions were great for the event.

With a field of 33 racers and 100m elevation to climb over 5km (just shy actually) I came across the finish line at 37:40 for the silver medal.  Woohoo!
The next snowshoe race takes place in 2 weeks at Silver Star Resort in Vernon, BC

How Did I Get Here?!

Not really the most original start to a new weblog.

"Hi, I'm turning 40 this year and thought to commemorate the occasion by starting an online journal of potential accomplishments but likely just adventures in running."

As many out there I had a brief successful athletic history which lives in my elementary and high school memories.  I think I still hold some Track & Field performance record in my former secondary school. Then came post-secondary life and this small town girl was overwhelmed by a new environment, a much larger pool of competition and the shift in priorities which put running much lower on the list than well, everything.
Skip forward nearly 20yrs and an awesome girlfriend says, "Come run a Bare As U Dare run with me".
Huff, puff, little bit of wheezing...
The rest is as they say history.  This nearly 40 year old is whooping ass on her adolescent 10km times.  Going further and enjoying the run.
Even added trail running thanks to some crazy friends made along the way.
So welcome to my running adventure as it continues to unfold.