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Sep 5/01 — Jacquie: Kingston run/ "BMZ"

Monday: No run; despite trying to run on Mondays, I was just getting over a cold. I had taken the day off and didn't think it was a good idea to run, especially since I really wanted to make the wings and beer run on Tuesday at Whistlers ;) Tuesday: To make it brief, every possible obstacle presented itself. I finally did get to run, but not with the group, I ended up on the treadmill at my gym. I was able to run 50 minutes at 4.5-5.3 for a total of 6.4 km. I had a lunch of rice and peas, and a power gel pack on my way, which seemed to do well for my energy level during the run. I am finding that for that length of time, my heart and breathing feel great as long as I start at 4.5 and work my way up. I was able to do a minute at 5.5 but had to bring it right back down to 5 after. The run felt good especially after the huge rush to get to there, realizing that I wasn't going to make the group run, having a panic attack, thinking - oh man, I am not going to be able to run and finally coming up with a plan to run on my own and meet up with the group for the wings and beer later. Whew! But it was worth the effort! Wednesday & Thursday: Off Friday: I was in Kingston to pick my sister up from school but had wisely packed my running gear. I mapped a route in my head and headed out. This was a pretty big deal for me as usually when I run alone, I typically head for a treadmill. I'm not sure why this is my preference. Maybe, I feel safe knowing that I can get off at anytime, even though I normally set really conservative goals and it's been a long time since I have had to stop running before I have met them. Anyway, I had a bowl of cereal then set out with my headphones and my water bottle. It was awful at first. My steps felt uncoordinated, my breathing was off, and I even felt twinges of pain in my ankles and knees. I thought about turning back but decided to go on. After about 15 minutes, things started to feel better and I thought ok, I'll just do 15 minutes more and 1/2 hour run is respectable for me and I'll not feel too disappointed. At the 30-minute point, I was feeling great. Somehow, all the strange kinks and quirks worked their way out and I was running smoothly. I ran for another hour, along the lake and through neighbourhoods feeling great. Got back to my starting point and had enough time to stretch, which I am really trying to make time to do because of the tightness I have been noticing in my Achilles tendon every morning. Saturday: Off Sunday: The great 19K run. I can't believe I ran 19K. Kathryn planned a beautiful route along the Humber River. I met Kelly just after 8 and we connected with Kathryn at about 8:30. We left one car and drove the other to our starting point. I remember thinking to myself - if we have to drive to our starting point, we are definitely running too far :) So off we went along the Tommy Thompson trail. It was beautiful day. We were doing 5 and 1's. Again, I had a rough start. My legs felt tight and uncoordinated each step felt so heavy. I felt so stiff. I'm a fraud, I was thinking, I can't do this, what am I going to do, how am I going to get back to the car? As we ran on, I noticed that I wasn't feeling as bad. I think we had done about 8K when I mentioned to Kathryn and Kelly how tough the first part of the run was for me. They reassured me and told me that it was not unusual for the first part of a run to be challenging. It was so encouraging to hear! One of the things that I love the most about the Penguins is the amount of knowledge that I can access. No ailment is too gross, off limits or taboo. I've been recently cautioned about my unpreparedness for long runs: not enough food, water; I've even received calls the day before to eat well in order to ward "Eric" off. I have been able to continually meet one of my goals, to run safely, with the help of this kind of advice. Thanks guys! Back to the run. We ran on and on and on. We were cruising and I was feeling nice. We talked and ran in silence. The hills didn't seem as bad, although I still cringed whenever we happened upon them. Kelly knows this is true. Fast forward to the last 5K. We were all feeling pretty nice, in a nice groove. Nice pace. Taking turns leading. Then Kathryn said, and I don't know why it had this effect on me, "we just have to turn around and run back down there..." and something else about a figure-eight and that was it for me. All of a sudden my legs felt like lead. We ran more and I couldn't believe that there was no clear ending in sight. Kathryn was bubbling on about 2 more and I snapped "Two more what? 2 feet, 2 minutes, 2 what?" Kathryn smiled, said 2K and asked Kelly if I was in the "bite me zone" which I didn't think was funny at all. So on we plodded and my mind kind of went blank. Kelly told me to try and keep my feet closer to the ground, which helped but they felt so heavy. Then all of a sudden, Kathryn said you have just run 19K. I almost fell to the ground. I was exhausted and strangely emotional 1/2 crying and 1/2 laughing and still very much in the "bite me zone" for about 15 minutes after we stopped running. Kathryn had prepared a celebratory picnic with Perrier, pastries, truffles, raspberries it was pretty awesome. Off to Swiss Chalet for food and home, home, home for a nap, nap, nap. And that was my week. -30-

Previous Jacquie journal: Routine week, Aug 29
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Last updated: Oct 5/01