Stopped in my Tracks

Going back to my tendency of setting goals, I have decided that this house needs a thorough cleaning. I had intended to do so last Spring and then put it off to last Fall.....and here we are. It's Spring again and it can't wait any longer! Don't get me wrong, our house is organized(ish) and the main things are clean(enough). I'm talking about the big things like the walls and other surfaces that generally go by the wayside. And the amount of 'stuff' that we've accumulated has begun to pile up and cause me to feel a wee bit claustrophobic!

I'm not sure at my reasoning, but I decided to start the process in the basement. The furnace room and the back closet have been successfully cleaned and purged (trust me, it was more of an undertaking than one would think!). Yesterday, I made my way into the spare room. I thought this should be pretty easy. Other than all of my husband's work stuff that is crammed into the closet, this room is pretty sparse. I started dusting and organizing the two large bookshelves. As I was doing so, something fluttered to the floor at my feet. It was a picture of Heather and I.

One of the shelves holds a beautiful mahogany photo box that my husband gave me at my university convocation. It houses all of the pictures from my time at school in Saskatoon. I don't know why this particular photo was loose and out of the case, but seeing it stopped me in my tracks.

March of 2002, Heather had come with my family and I to the Psychology department graduation supper and program. However, when May rolled around and it was time for me to receive my degree, Heather was working at the U of S campus as a groundskeeper, so she wasn't able to come to the ceremony. We had gone to the campus to take some graduation photos and return my cap & gown. Then we headed across to Griffith Stadium where I knew she would be weeding.

Of course, given Heather's enthusiasm, she was excited to see me on this important day! So, we posed for this picture. She in her grubby work clothes and me in my fancy outfit. Happy, sharing the moment together.

No matter how busy I keep myself parenting, running, fundraising, blogging, cleaning, organizing, etc. Heather is still gone and my heart still hurts.

CANCER SUCKS.

A Fun Photo Shoot

I had made arrangements to have our family photos taken by a friend of mine. I met Erica last year when I had the chance to run the Banff to Jasper relay with a great group of women. She works a full-time job and then pursues her passion for photography, taking pictures for friends and family, on her days off. Because both of my boys have their birthdays in February, we try each year to get some shots of them around that time to fill the frames on the walls. However, the weather usually restricts us to inside photos that we take ourselves and the results are usually less than stellar. Being that this year has been so mild, the weather has finally worked in our favour to have pictures taken outside!

The day before we've planned to meet up, Erica sends me a message that says, "I actually have a couple ideas for pictures for your blog. Could u bring a pair of black running tights or leggings to wear. And I have a top I bought that would look smoking hot on u! I also have a pair of new CRAZY fuchsia runners that I want to incorporate into the shot as well!". I was immediately nervous....my rear end is still a sight for sore eyes in tights! would the top fit? what would it look like? crazy shoes? what kind of shots did she have in mind? But at the same time, there was something about her thoughtfulness that made me excited!

So, I borrowed a pair of black leggings from my friend (my aversion to fitted things on my behind means I don't even own a pair of running tights!) and we got the boys all spiffed up and away we went!

We started out at Erica's house. She had her dinning room all re-arranged and set up as a back drop. We took some family pictures and a couple shots of the boys. Then we set them up downstairs with a movie and it was time for me to don the tights!

The top was pretty foxy (it had lots of complicated straps and a low back) and it fit! The shoes were definitely a crazy shade of fushia; but, it was their vibrant pink colour that had inspired Erica to take these shots for me. She knows that I'm a 'mom on the run' trying to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society and the pink runners reminded her of the breast cancer awareness pink ribbons.

I should have known better than to be so nervous. We had a fun time shooting these pics! Erica had the vision for the shots and I just did what she told me to. I trusted her judgement. Then we got the boys to come and join me. A 'mom on the run' is not so without her kiddos. And, that was that. I switched back to my regular clothes and away we went to an acreage for the rest of our family pictures.

It was a really fun afternoon. The weather was perfect and it was super nice to have a chance to catch up with Erica!

When we were on our way home, my husband said to me, "I think you're going to be really happy with the pictures she took of you." But, when I asked him why he wouldn't be more specific and just said he thought they'd turn out good.

Then the next day Erica posted them to Facebook.

This is one of those times for me, that my self-perception does not line up with reality. I was shocked at how good the pictures turned out. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I've experienced this lately when I look in the mirror or walk past a window and I see my reflection and it catches me off-guard. I've heard of this happening to people when they lose weight really fast. They have a hard time adjusting to their new self. But, I've lost weight SO slowly, that I didn't expect to feel this way.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good feeling for sure; but, I've never really been happy with how I've looked before. So, I felt funny to be pleased with how I looked in the photos.

When my husband got home from work, he was surprised that I wasn't over the moon excited.

I said, "I am happy. I should have known Erica would make me look good." He looked at me kinda funny and said, "she didn't make you look like anything. I was there, this is what you looked like."

I LOVE him.

......I went for a run.....I mulled it over....I cleared my thoughts.....I decided it was alright to feel this way and I went home over the moon excited!

Thanks so much for this awesome experience Erica. If you hadn't suggested these shots, this is not something I would have ever had the chance to experience. This is MY version of boudoir photos and I am so happy with them!

The family pictures turned out awesome too....but I wasn't nearly as worried about them....my boys would look cute even if they were wearing running tights!

A Couple Event Changes

I have changed a couple of the events that I'm planning on participating in.

The first week of January, I was lucky to have grabbed a spot for the Regina Police Service Half Marathon before it quickly sold out. However, since then I have become aware of another commitment I have in Saskatoon the night before. So, I am opting instead to run the Saskatoon Police Service Half Marathon that is set to take place the same day as the original RPS run. I am sure that it will be a great event and the only reason I had originally chosen to do the Regina run was because I wanted to do at least one of my runs this year in my hometown. Hence the next change.

So, I have also changed my September event to the Queen City Marathon. My cousins and my sister-in-law had shown an interest in completing an event with me. As they are all closer to Regina than they are to Saskatoon, I thought it would be nice to do the run in the Queen City. I haven't ran the QCM since 2008 and I'm very much looking forward to it!

Last week, I was featured in the Saskatoon Road Runners Association's weekly newsletter! I have been a member of the club for a couple years. I had contacted President Lorrie Dobni to ask for any suggestions she or the other members may have had for my remaining three Fall events. She surprised me when she asked if I would be willing to appear as the member profile for the week!

My first reaction was one of fear. Presumably, most of the members of the club are 'real' runners....what would they think of me and my shenanigans!?! But then I reminded myself why I'm doing this. Obviously, the more word spreads about my goal, the better. So, honoured by her willingness to support me, I wrote up a little epistle about myself, took a big breath and submitted it! Check it out if you have a sec. Now that I've calmed my nerves a bit, I'm pretty proud of it.

The Brainsport Brainfreeze

The Scenario

Sunday, March 4th was the annual Brainfreeze. Three of Heather's friends had registered for the 10km run. Andrea Schick grew up playing soccer with Heather and got to know her and her family well. In high school, Andrea introduced Heather to Kristen Vanderkooy and they were close friends ever since. I met both Andrea & Kristen during my years at the U of S and Heather had kept me updated with what they were up to in the years between then and now. Both girls had previously completed a 10km run (Kristen did the Bridge City Boogie last year while Andrea's prior 10k was a few years ago) and they were motivated to re-discover running after Heather's passing. I met Caroline Hilbig this weekend. She was introduced to Heather by Kristen and was also happy to be running in her honour.

So, together we met up with the other runners Sunday afternoon at the Grace Westminister Church. After the brief pre-race instructions (that included the directive, "when I say 'go', that will be the start of the race", lol!), we headed back outside. The weather was beautiful and the temperature hovered right around zero degrees Celsius as we started on our way. By the time I finished, the temperature was up close to +4.

I had overdressed and was too warm by the 5km point. I wrapped my jacket around my waist with my mitts and toque shoved up the sleeves. This was annoying and a bit cumbersome, so I was super thankful when one of the road marshals  (who was located shortly after the halfway turnaround point) agreed to bring it back to the finish area for me. It was so much easier to move without it weighing me down and the rest of my run was really enjoyable! As I write this, and I look out the window at the blizzard, again, I am made aware how lucky I've been with the timing of my runs this winter.

The Event

This was the 4th annual Brainfreeze. It is an event that offers 10km & half marathon distances. It is sponsored by Brainsport and organized by the U of S Huskies Cross Country team as a fundraiser for the varsity program. This was a really well organized and fun event! It is a smaller race with 106 registrants in the 10km and 57 runners completing the 21.1km this year. The route was well marked; and, although it was a similar course to the Hypothermic Half, I appreciated the fact that (unlike that route) it was a simple out & back (I knew exactly how far I had left to go because I just needed to get back the same way I had come). The road marshals were friendly and I was never worried that I was going the wrong way. The drink stations were well spaced and the long-sleeve tech shirt is great!

The Excuses

Here's where the part about me being a mom comes into play. So, my family had a busy weekend ahead of us. But I had it organized and coordinated so that as long as everything went according to plan everyone could be where they needed to be at the appropriate time. However, I should know by now, that things never totally go the way they're supposed to.

Myles's third birthday was last week. Forgetting that I had to be in the city to pick up my race package Saturday between 2-5 p.m., I had booked the pool for his firefighter/swimming party for 2:30 in Warman. No biggy. I got everything organized and loaded into the truck, went in to the city, got the last minute party supplies, ran some other errands and was able to pick up my race package right at 2:00 and met my husband and the boys at the pool with just enough time to get organized. Myles and his friends had a wonderful time.

When the party was done, we headed home and I made my chicken breast, pasta and broccoli "night before run carbo load" meal while the boys played with the new toys Myles had received as presents.

Then it was onto baths, books & bed...."goodnight, sleep tight, we have another busy day ahead of us tomorrow", Saturday was declared a SUCCESS!.....3 a.m. Myles is up with the flu.

My poor little man was/is horribly sick. He was up every 15 minutes for the rest of the night. My husband got up with him and let me get as much rest as I could and avoid catching the flu bug before my run. He missed his morning hockey game because Myles was in no shape to be sitting in a rink and made arrangements for Owen to get to his hockey practice that afternoon. Without my husband's support (and the help of friends), I would not have been able to make it to this run; but he knew how important it was to me and he took away all the excuses for me to feel bad about going. Such an awesome partner!

I completed my run and in the resulting state of euphoria, I returned home and reported for barf-duty. We high-fived on the landing and my husband headed to his evening hockey game. It was 8:30 p.m. before I got to get showered up and ice my sore hip, but that's just the way things go when you're a mom. I feel like a VERY lucky girl.

The Best Part

Kristen trained hard for this run and she was able to complete the 10km and she exceeded her time goal! Way to go! Next on her list, is the half marathon at the Mogathon in June.

I was so pleased to have Andrea's company during the first 2.5km of the route! It was so nice to have a chance to catch up. I'm looking forward to seeing her again at the Saskatchewan Marathon where she will be completing the half marathon (her first ever!).

I had a lot of fun listening to the playlist that I had put together with the songs my friends suggested! It's funny how well it worked out. The playlist ended up only being an hour and a half long and I worried that I would have to fuddle around with my ipod finding additional music for the last portion of the run. However, being that I was able to run with Andrea (sans music) for the first bit of the way, it actually ended up being almost the perfect length.

It was great to switch things up with some fresh music and being that I wasn't sure what song would be on next, it kept me entertained. Thank you to those of you that played along with me! Please keep the song suggestions coming. For the most part, I enjoyed all of the songs that were recommended. Here's how the list ended up:

• Smile - Uncle Kracker
• Big Black Car - Gregory Alan Isakov
• Only Girl - Rhianna
• Take Care - Drake
• Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
• International Love - Pitbull
• I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
• Weapon of Choice - Fat Boy Slim
• Runaway Baby - Bruno Mars
• Runnin' Down a Dream - Tom Petty
• Don't Stop Believing - Journey
• Push It - Salt 'n Peppa (ha, ha, Anna, this one made me laugh!)
• Sexy and I Know it - LMFAO
• Morning After Dark - Timbaland & So Shy
• Second Hand News - Fleetwood Mac
• Party All The Time - Black Eyed Peas
• Raise Your Glass - Pink
• Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO
• Don't Stop the Party - The Black Eyed Peas
• Telling the World - Taio Cruz
• We Run - Sugarland
• Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
• Good Feeling - Flo Rida
• On the Floor - Jennifer Lopez
• Let's Get Ready to Rumble - DJ Dalphy
• Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne

I strategically organized them so that things would start out a little mellow and then progress to the more upbeat stuff the further along I got. The timing of the songs was perfect! Just as I hit a hard uphill stretch Uncle Bob's recommended Fat Boy Slim and Bruno Mars songs came blasting on and got me through. As far as the songs that made me smile and push harder, these two would be my winners (I actually re-played them for the last 2km of the route).

However, for a few reasons, I chose Jadah's suggestion as my favourite. Hopefully, she can use the $10 Running Room gift card to buy a couple GUs as she trains for the her first half marathon set for the end of May! Around the 18km point my left hip was going numb and being a bother and that is when "We Run" by Sugarland came on. I was tuckered by this point which inevitably makes me even more emotional than I already am. The fact that this is a country song made me think even more of Heather and as I pushed up a little incline under the Circle Drive bridge the lyrics came,

"You may never know how fast that you can go, 

   'til someone lifts your feet up off the ground."

And it just struck a chord with me. Thank you Jadah.

Whether it was the playlist, the beautiful sunny day or the extra bit of training I've been doing, I ran my best half marathon time! I finished the run in 2 hours and 9 minutes!!!

My finish felt a bit anti-climatic because there was no one there waiting for me other than the timekeeping people and a smattering of other enthusiastic onlookers (although there was a text waiting for me in the vehicle and lots of hugs when I got home). I was, however, happy when I got down into the church where the post-race snacks were and saw a familiar face. I had met Lorrie Dobni the President of the Saskatoon Road Runners Association for a coffee the day before. She had come to cheer me in. While she was disappointed that she missed me crossing the finish line, she was excited for me to have exceeded my time goal. Thanks for your support Lorrie!

I'm excited that this half has put my 2012 total distance to date over the 170 mile point! I can't believe that I'm already a quarter of the way done for the year! Now I've got eight weeks before my next event....that's the longest stretch I'll have between races this year, so we'll see what kind of progress I can make between now and the end of April!

The Power of Music

A good playlist can make all the difference for me when I'm running. The tempo of the song definitely impacts my speed. I have a few specific songs that I keep in my back pocket for when the going gets tough. Somehow music can help me forget the fatigue, the chaffing skin and the hurting muscles & joints and it pushes me through the 'mentally' difficult sections of a long run. It also makes things more fun!

After my debacle with my ipod at the Hypothermic Half a few weeks ago, I asked Uncle Bob to send me his playlist (the one he serenaded me with while we ran). As I expected, it is an enjoyable, eclectic mix of songs. Here it is:


"hits to half-marathon by"

• charlie winston.....hello alone
• i dont' want to set the world on fire...joel cathey
• tip jar...wade johnson and the navigators
• bust your kneecaps...pomplamoose
• we are all made of stars...moby
• it's a great day to be alive...travis tritt
• some techno song i don't know the title or artist 
• lazy...press with david byyne
• i want love....elton john (that one is loud-----haha!)
• bohemian rhapsody...queen
• shake it off...jarvis church
• a little less conversation...elvis
• change the sheets....kathleen edwards
• pumped up kicks...foster the people
• superstition....stevie wonder
• our day will come---amy winehouse
• will you still love me---amywinehouse
• the girl from ipanema---amy winehouse
• looks....carleton stone
• lay me down sweet jesus....justin rutledge and the junction forty
• paradise---coldplay
• lonely boy---the black keys
• good morning starshine---serena ryder
• my heart cries for you---serena ryder
• worrisome heart----melody gardot
• little talks...of monsters and men
• you and i---lady gaga
• inside out---imelda may
• a fool in love----ike and tina turner
• river shiver---pomplamoose
• sad night---blue rodeo
• second son---jim cuddy
• whistler---jim cuddy
• disappointment---jim cuddy
• too many hands---jim cuddy

Tomorrow, I need to overhaul my ipod. I want to create a great playlist for the Brainfreeze.

I would like to make this a little more interactive. So (at the risk of having no one reply), I'm asking you to tell me (by leaving a comment either at the end of this post or on my facebook) what is or are the song(s) that get you moving? I know you aren't all runners, but what music just makes you smile and grab your kids and dance around the kitchen?

To sweeten the deal a little, I have a $10 gift certificate for the Running Room that is eating a hole  in my pocket. I will give it to whomever suggests the song I most like running to on Sunday (that's right, no random.org, it's going to be totally unfair and based solely on my personal preference, lol!).