Sea Jane Half Marathon Seattle, July 14th 2013

Today Jozen, Melanie, Ravi and me ran the Sea Jane Half Marathon in Seattle. Melanie and I wanted to run it in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Our personal best was Scottia so we did not want to push it hard today, but we wanted to hit 2:15 and feel that it was kind of easy. We finished it in 2 hours and 7 minutes and it definitely felt that we could have pushed harder, which was the idea!

I really liked this race because of the goodies that we got at the end. There was vegan ice cream, vegan chocolate, coconut water, champaign! And the usual bananas, bagels, etc. The weather was perfect so we stayed at the finish line for a while eating and chatting.

Although the course was by the water and I can't complain, there is nothing like running in Vancouver. Nothing took my breath away today. Also, we saw different running patterns than the ones we are used to in Canada. For example, almost no one was carrying water, meaning water belts or the hand ones like mine. They all used the water stations, which is fine, but you definitely see tons of people carrying their own water in Canada. You can immediately notice that we are not in the land of Lululemon. Running in Vancouver with out wearing Lululemon is almost like a sin (not that I use it). The tens and ones is also not very popular down here. You do see people walking but not following a specific pattern of running 10 minutes and walking one, to fuel and drink water. When you run a race in Vancouver you can hear all the Garmin watches beeping almost at the same time, letting people know that the walking break has arrived. Today, the only watches beeping were ours.

So, by running this race I have completed three races within 90 days, which qualifies me to be a half marathon fanatic! As soon as I get back home I will register and eventually will receive my half fanatic t-shirt.

My animal lover note: I am on a vegan quest in the west coast. I have tried two new restaurants that I did not know before. I am very impress with the variety of options that vegans have here in Seattle (as well as Vancouver). Next week I will post some pictures with names and addresses so when ever you feel like vegan, you can indulge yourself in these amazing, compassionate places.

Vegan Dinner

Last night I hosted a vegan dinner at my house with two purposes: raise funds for PETA Pack and get together with my running buddies to celebrate the end of the Scotia Half running clinic. We were 14 people in all and every person contributed a $20 donation to the fundraiser.

I started cooking at 10am and did not stop until 4pm! And then it was cleaning time, of course, because after cooking for 6 hours the kitchen is a total mess. I also had to vacuum and put things on place before everyone came. This was the menu: chickpeas with spinach and coconut milk, Dijon lentils, quinoa salad, BBQ tofu, broccoli lasagna, roasted curry cauliflower and bread. For dessert we had blueberry muffins, peanut butter and oatmeal cookies and Melanie brought a vegan chocolate mousse.

I have to confess I was kind of nervous because, even though I like my cooking, you never know if others are going to like it. People started arriving at 5:30pm and by 6:00 every one was here. We sat in the deck outside and around 6:45pm I started warming up the food. We started eating around 7pm. I was the last one getting served. I just stood by the kitchen door and observed people’s faces. Then I got my food and followed everyone outside. I was pleased to see their reaction, to listen to their sounds while eating, and finally to see them going back to the kitchen to grab more food! I think I scored! Then the compliments about the food came:
•If someone would cook like this to me every day I would easily become vegan.
•This is my first vegan meal ever. I did not know what to expect. It was delicious!
•It feels so good afterwards. I am full but I do not feel heavy like when I eat meat.
•Impressive!
•Can I have the recipes for…….?

I was very pleased with everything. We had a wonderful evening and I raised $220 from the dinner itself plus $185 that Ron, our running instructor, donated to the cause. That is amazing!

My animal lover note: copy paste the following link on your browser and it will take you to the PETA Pack website. There, you will see the money that I have raised and some of the donors. Thanks everyone for your help!
http://www2.peta.org/site/TR/Events/PETAsOnlineCommunity?px=9328251&pg=personal&fr_id=1100

What is going on…

After a race and all the hard training that leads to it, it is recommended to take a couple of days off to let your body recover. When you push your body to extreme work-outs, lots of muscle fibres break down. These fibres need to recover, rebuilt themselves. The new fibres are stronger, faster and more resistant but to be able to let this happen, you do need to give your body a break. Last week I took two days off of my training. Now that the resting is over I need to start thinking about my upcoming events: on July 14th I will be running Sea Jane half marathon in Seattle and on August 10th I will run Sea-Wheeze, a Lululemon sponsored half marathon race in Vancouver. So this is a pretty busy period, with one race after the other.

Yesterday morning we went out for a supposedly 13k run, but the heat was so hard on us that we cut it to 11.5K. We are used to running on cold weather, and although I love the summer and the heat, I can see that it takes a toll on my performance. While running we were dreaming of a swimming pool to jump in or someone washing a car or sprinkling the garden, but none of the above. We even ran by a park to get water from a water fountain and it was broken! I don’t even want to think about next Sunday, when we have to run 18k and not to mention the Sunday after that one, when it is the actual race.

Here are a couple new pictures that I got from last weekend’s race:

My animal lover note: I found the perfect way to race more fund for my cause. It is a tradition in our running clinic to get together by the end of it. We go to someone’s house or to a restaurant and spend some time together, without our usual sweaty and smelly running clothes.
I offered my house for the gathering and to raise funds I will host a vegan dinner. Each person that comes has to donate $20 that will go entirely to PETA PACK. This will happen next weekend. Of course, I will let you know how it goes as well as show you pictures of it.

Scotiabank Half Marathon Race 2013

The night before a race I always lay out all my running stuff on top of my drawer. I want to make sure I have everything ready for the following day. I do not want to be running around the house looking for a sock or my favourite bra 10 minutes before I have to leave. I take out my clothes as well as my accessories: Garmin, IPhone, ear-buds, water bottle, fueling blocks, sunglasses, hat, bib number, safety pins to hold the bib number on the shirt and socks. This ritual helps me feeling more at ease and puts my mind in a ready for racing state.

Today I woke up at 4:20 am, had my smoothie for breakfast and got ready to go and pick up my people: Melanie, Ron and Laura. My husband was nice enough to drive us all to the start line and stick with us until we started. This helped a lot because I am usually freezing at that time in the morning. I know is going to get crazy warm latter on but at 6:30 in the morning is kind of chilly. So, having someone there that can get your sweater just right before you will start running is kind of nice.
As you already know, making sure you have expelled every possible drop of pee out of your system is imperative. To be able to do this you have to get to the start line an hour before the race starts, so you can go to the washroom twice: as soon as you get there, and just before the race starts. There is usually a big line for the second time around so you better line up pretty fast after you have finished with your first round.

Today the weather was great, warm and sunny. I have to confess I felt guilty that I did not wear my Peta Pack t-shirt but I get so hot when I am running, especially when I know the weather is going to be super warm, that I had to go for a tank top instead. I hate when I over dress and I know that doing it affects my performance. To be able to take my official picture with it, I told my husband to take it with him to the finish line.

Today’s race was great. No, I am lying, it was amazing!!!! I did my personal best today: 2 hours and 4 minutes. Yeahh baby! I rock, I know it. Here are some pre and post-race picks.

A little gossip before the race

The race is about to start. Making last minute adjustments

After 2 hours and 4 minutes

Some highlights from the race:
•I can’t believe there are people that run a freaking race wearing a Barnie costume or a wedding dress. Are you f*$@# kidding me!
•I saw a blind athlete being guided by someone else. They were attached to each other by a short rope and were wearing t-shirts that said that one of them was blind and the other one was his guide. Way to go.
•An older lady ran the race (and got there before me) pushing someone else on a wheel chair! That is what I call inspirational!
•The ginger bread man seems to be running all the half marathon races that I go to.
•Best cheering signs: “suck it up princess” and “run bitches run” Loved them!
•Today I ran my fastest 10k: 57minutes!
•I love running in Vancouver, I love my running buddies, I love my husband and I definitely love running.

My Animal Lover Note: As I said before, today, after the race, I wanted to go for brunch to GRAZE, the newest vegan restaurant in Vancouver. Ron, Melanie, my husband and I went together. We had an amazing vegan brunch: healthy and tasty. Just what I needed and deserved after my race. Did you know that I burn around 2000 calories after running a half marathon race? This is a lot of food that I can indulge on, and when this food is vegan, it basically triples the amount of it.

Race Day Outfit

One of the worst things a runner can do is trying out something new on race day. And by something I mean anything new: a different breakfast, a new gel, new shoes, socks, underwear, shirt, pants, glasses, pouch to hold iPod, ear-buds, hat, etc.
I have a story for almost every single one of the items above. Last year, for the Scotia Half race, some one that trained with us decided to give it a try to one of the gels that are offered in the fuelling stations throughout the course of the race. You never know how your body is going to react to a new element, and you definitely don’t want to find out on race day. Well, it seems that the gel was not good on his stomach and it made him dizzy and sick. He had to finish the race walking! Another friend decided to use a new pair of bras for the race. As Murphy’s Law dictates, they moved a little, rubbing against her skin while she was running and cutting the skin under her breast!!! Someone else had a new pair of running pants and they happened to not sit fit at the waist but fell down with the running movement. I have heard stories of new socks that have caused blisters, and new breakfasts that have caused indigestion and several bathroom stops. The list is endless, and by now we all know that on race day nothing should be new, nothing.
Being this said, and knowing that next Sunday is my next race, I tested my whole race outfit today. This morning we had a 10k race pace run. Since race pace is definitely different form the pace we do on our regular Sunday long runs, it is good to test your equipment because you can know how it will behave with the speed you will be doing on race day. My clothing outfit has been tested several times already but I had three new pieces that I needed to test today: ear-buds, a new IPhone holder that goes on my arm and a new water bottle (bigger, different grip). I wanted to know if the ear-buds actually stayed in the whole time (I hated my old ones that kept falling off!), that the IPhone holder was going to stay in place and was not going to be too tight and difficult to handle, and finally, I wanted to know how much water my new water bottle could hold so I can plan my water breaks throughout the race. I also placed my fueling blocks on the little pocket of my shorts to check if they did not move a lot or felt heavy.
Everything has to be beautifully crafted so, during race day, you just worry about performing and giving your best, not about other things that could have been tested before. My three new things worked out perfect and they are now part of my official running outfit.

My Animal Lover Note: Look at their faces, eyes and mouths, aren't they suffering? Why do we kill them if there are so many ways to eat healthy and good with out causing pain and distress?

Just 16K

I used to think that running was not for me. I used to see runners as this elite kind of humans that I definitely did not belong to. I always admired them but, in my mind, they belonged to a different race, especially those who run half marathons and full marathons. Who in hell can do that! When I started running I could not run more than a kilometer without having to stop (and I was good at cardio). I moved from running 10 minutes to 15, to 20, to 40 until I got to the full hour. When I reached my first 10k I felt so proud of myself that I could not even believe it. I thought I had reached the top, I had done it. During my second 10k race I saw this older guy running in front on me. I found it very cute to see an older guy running and I was completely sure that sooner than later I was going to be passing him. 10 minutes after, I still had not been able to pass him, but even worse, he took the turn to the half marathon course! The older guy was running a half marathon! And I, the younger lady, was doing just 10 cute kilometers. There is when I said “if he can do it, I can do it.”
After 4 half marathon races under my belt, and 4 more to go during this year, I still can’t believe I have made it this far. Every time I finish a long run I feel proud of myself, I feel tired and exhausted but at the same time I feel strong. To be able to overcome the pain, the tiredness, and the mental barriers to run 22k is a very profound experience. I can’t imagine what the feeling will be when I complete a full marathon.
But as practice makes perfect, I can say now that 20k has changed from being a goal to being a morning run, and I say it because when I finish running 20K I feel that there is more in the tank to keep going.
Every time I tell my no running friends that Sunday I am just running 16k or 18k, they open their eyes and say “f*you! Just 16k, you make it sound as if it was easy!”
My animal lover note: I arrived home today at 11:40am, after running 22k, took a quick shower and headed to a vegan potluck that started at noon. We arrived 15 minutes late but it was just in time to enjoy the delicious food we always have when we go there. The best thing of the potluck: I do not have to ask a hundred times if what I am eating is vegan; I don’t have to ask for ingredients, I just grab my food and enjoy it.

Destination Run

We always try to do one destination run while training for a race. Since today we had to run 20k, we decided to go to Stanley Park and run the sea wall twice (one complete loop is 10k). 18 of us carpooled to Vancouver and by 8am we were already running. Running by the sea wall is always a great experience. It is just so beautiful running by the water, seeing the mountains, the trees, the seagulls, and today was also sunny and warm, which made the perfect combination for a perfect run.
After we finished running we all went for brunch. During brunch four of us agreed that next year we are going to run the BMO Marathon. We want to start training in January to get ready for the race in May, and we want Ron to train us. This will require some talking, and convincing, and networking but hopefully he will fall into our charms. I want to run a marathon before I am 40, which means I have 4 years left, but I am afraid because the distance will double! Every time I finish a 21k run or race I can’t imagine how I could keep running for 21 more kilometers. Right now it sounds impossible and I have to confess, I don’t know if I can do it. But what I do know is that if I train with them things will feel easier.
For now I will focus on keep training for the 4 half marathon races I have left: June, July, August and November.



Laura, Melanie, Andy and Me

My Animal Lover Note: Last Friday my husband and I went out for dinner to Graze, a new vegan restaurant on 3980 Fraser Street (Vancouver). The place is very nice and comfortable and they serve amazing vegan food. We ordered the Antipasti Board (fermented nut cheese, pickles, preserves, smoked olives and tofu, herbed flatbread), the Ravioli (cauliflower ravioli, walnut pesto, sauté celery root and poached pear), and the Perogies (yam and eggplant perogies with smoky coconut cheddar sauce, sour cream and spicy tomato jam). For dessert we had French toast carrot cake and a rhubarb dessert with vegan white chocolate!!!!!! It makes me so happy knowing that healthy, vegan options are becoming more available and popular. This restaurant also serves brunch during weekends. In three weeks, after running the Scotia Half, my husband and I are heading to Graze for brunch. I can’t wait!