RBC Run for the Kids - my longest race to date!!

September 20  Plan:  18k LSD  Actual:  16k race

I signed up for this race ages ago when I was looking for something a bit longer than a 10k but not as daunting as a half.  There aren't many 15k races out there and this one had no registration fee ($100 fundraising goal instead), a good shirt and a medal, so it totally fit the bill for me. 

As race day approached, I was actually crazy nervous.  I'd done this distance (and more) at least three times so I knew I COULD do it.  I think what spooked me the most was the unknown - I had no clue how the set up was going to be (I like to know in advance where the start line is, that kind of thing) or what the route looked like so I was winging it, totally. 

I'm not a fan of winging it.  :)

I was very fortunate that Micheal decided to come along with me to do the driving, see me off at the start line and welcome me back at the finish.   Best cheerleader ever. 

Race started bright and early at 7am.  Insanity.   And chilly! 

A few minutes after 7 we were off.  I'd seen the elevation maps and they looked quite flat with one significant exception where there was a huge downhill then the corresponding uphill.  The first few k were rather flat-eque with a few exceptions, then further on Finch as we passed Bathurst and headed towards Dufferin, everything turned to shit.

This is a crappy picture as I was snapping it on the run (pardon the pun - whomp whomp) but yeah, down then up up up up up.  Then up some more, just when you thought you were done the uphill part!

Flying down the hill was fun, up was a real trudge but I managed.

Once we rounded the corner on Dufferin we weren't on the streets much longer, then it was into G. Ross Lord park.  Nice to run through a park for the most part, then the landscape opened up more and we were running on paths amidst the power lines.  Lost some of its picturesque-ness but it was nice to get off the main roads where the traffic was less than kind to those of us running, blocked lanes or not.

And I was able to avail myself of a much needed porta potty as we crossed a street into the second part of the park - my first on route rest stop during a race ever.  Seeing that blue structure appear on the horizon was delightful, to say the least.

Pit stop completed, I headed back into the park just after the 10k mark.  Continued through the power lines, for another three or so k, then as we came out of the park we emerged back into civilization and hit the turn off point for the 25k folks.  At that point I couldn't be more grateful that I'd elected to do the 15k. Not that I COULD do the 25, but still.  By the split we only had 1k left and they had 11.  Zoinks. Noooooo thank you.

Rounding the corner we met up with the 5k runners, a huge volume of whom were nearing their end as well.  Kids, strollers, runners of all speeds and expertise melted into one lane of traffic and the dodging and weaving began for me.  I was so grateful to have less than one k to go in all this chaos.

So you can imagine my surprise when that one k came and went and I was still running.

And running, and running and running.

We were on Yonge St by then and since it's a downhill it was easy to see a sea of blue shirts ahead of me.  Well ahead of me, for a good long time.  What the whut?  Aren't we supposed to be done by now!?

Seriously, nothing more disheartening than thinking you're done and having to just keep going.  Fack.

Before I started the race I was hoping to finish in 2 hours.  Actually, I told myself I'd have been ecstatic with 2 hours, all things considered.  So you can imagine my glee when my Nike app told me the elapsed time at 15k was 2:00:49.  Woot!  And yet there was still so much more route to run! 

Finally rounded one final corner and made my way through the finish chute.  Was an interesting experience because we were surrounded by thousands of other people crossing at the same time, but they'd all done the 5k so it was a completely different feel.  3,600 people did the 5k.  1,000 did the 15 or 25k.  So yeah, there were lots of people all crammed into the same space finishing around the same time (the 5k started at 8:30) which just felt...weird.  Don't know how else to put it.

Micheal was there right as I crossed and I quickly grabbed my medal and got the hell out of the finish area.  He'd had more than enough time to scope out the celebration area so we made our way over there which was good, because it helped me stretch out my legs a bit post race. 

Legs ended up being rather okay, which I was happy about. Chiro and stretching are helping!  Sadly I've somehow managed to pooch my neck and shoulders so that totally sucks now, but I digress.

The food pickins were fantastic after the race.  There were bins full of chocolate milk containers everywhere, and ones with bananas, too.  Liberte had a truck there with free yogurt, and there were separate food stations serving pizza, grilled cheese and burritos throughout the space.  I had a hankering for grilled cheese so that's the direction we headed in.  After making it through the massive line we made a beeline for the car so we could get out of there and head home.  At that point it was just too many people for me and I needed to GTFO, so we did.

Tried to eat my grilled cheese in the car but surprisingly I didn't like it so alas, no grilled cheese for me.  I was fortunate, however, to finally find a Starbucks that had a pumpkin scone on hand so my quest for that was over and I enjoyed my well deserved reward.

All in all it was a good experience.  The volunteers for the event were fantastic - they were everywhere, cheering us on, always smiling.  Really really helped, and they should all be commended.  I think I was most disheartened that the race was longer than it was supposed to be only for the mental aspect at the end, but in the long run it actually worked in my favour as there's 18k on the schedule for this week and I was never going to get to that (no desire to run an extra 3k after a race!) so 16 will have to do.

Very glad it's done.  Now to sleep in tomorrow and make up for getting up so insanely early this morning.

Next race?  The half marathon in less than a month.  Eeps!  Getting close, oh so very close. 

Running with a dollar store bag in hand is suprisingly hard

September 18  Plan:  8k steady  Actual: 4ish k errand run

This one was a toughie.  Not the run itself, per se, but figuring out what to do and when to do it.

I had my 15k race coming up on Saturday at 7am, a mere 36 hours after this run.  The schedule called for 8 and I was more than a bit concerned about doing 8k then racing 15 on Saturday morning so I decided to split the difference and go for four or so, see how the legs feel, that kind of stuff.

Then my GO train got delayed and that messed things up even further.  We were supposed to stop and drop off/pick up a few things on the way home, hit the Dollarama, then come home and I would run.  Then we'd eat.

Not so much.  Micheal dropped everything off while I waited for my late train to pull in, but then he was in traffic on his way to get me after I arrived so I hopped on a bus to get home.  We ended up meeting half way up and made our way back to the house. 

Which meant that we didn't pass Dollarama as expected, which meant that I'd have to go out later in the evening, which I really didn't want to do.  So I improvised.

I ran to Dollarama, then home.

I took the long, loopy way, but I did it.  Ran there, got what I needed (something for a friend at work and legwarmers for my self to help keep me warm at Saturday's race), and ran back.

Running there was fine.  Nice enough.  Especially since I knew it would be a rather quick jaunt.

Running home with a damned dollar store back was a pain in the ass.

I like to swing my arms when I run.  Not just like, need to.  So this new impediment to free motion really screwed me up on the last leg of things home. 

It was like my arms didn't know what to do with themselves.  I pushed the handles of the bag up near my elbow so I could still move my arms back and forth and that just  made it bounce around more.  Annoying.

Needless to say I was quite delighted when I finally rounded my corner to home.  Also happy to keep the pace under 8 minutes which a few months ago would have been a no brainer but now is some near magical feat.  Good times.

Anyway, nice little run with an interlude, got it done and it helped me stretch out my legs pre race.  Let's just hope it's my last in a long while with a damned shopping bag.

'Cause she's got hiiiiiigh hopes.

September 16  Plan:  5k tempo  Actual:  5k steady

I did.  I really did.  I had high apple pie in the sky hopes for this run.

I was feeling relatively good. It had been a stressful day at the office and I was actually looking forward - REALLY looking forward, which is unusual for me - to getting out there, pounding the pavement and putting it all behind me.  So this should have been a great run.

But alas.

It wasn't horrible, I'll give it that, but I never did move my rubber tree plant.

I think part of it was the sun/heat.  Which I was no longer accustomed to thanks to our cooler summer.  Whatever it was, it wasn't as easy as I'd hoped it would be. 

Still, before I get carried away, it wasn't a horrible run, either.  I still gave it a straight line smiley face, so it can't have been that bad!

I must admit I'm getting a bit bored of the routes in the immediate vicinity of my house.  I really wish I had some other options but I can't justify getting in the car and adding time to already packed work nights.  So through my hood I go.

Just over a month now until race day.  Surely I can suck it up and make it through these next few weeks close to home.

Beating the Blerch

September 14  Plan:  12k LSD  Actual:  12k LSD

Yes, you read that right.  The title of this post is Beating the Blerch. 

Here's what I mean.

Have you heard of The Oatmeal?  The guy who draws funny cartoons and stuff?  That guy?  Well, he's also a runner and has done a series about the Blerch, this character he devised on those days when he didn't want to get off the couch to run.  The Blerch would speak to him and tell him to stay on the couch, eat more snacks, generally be gross and slovenly and lazy.  I think we all can relate and have our own personal Blerch.  Mine wants to feed me chocolate croissants.  But I digress.

The Blerch became popular enough that they actually started a Beat the Blerch run (10k/half/full) somewhere out in Washington state where the guy is from.  I think.  That's my guess, anyway.  Otherwise why the fu(k would they have it in BF, Washington?  I digress again.

The race is set to take place on Saturday, September 20.  Then it was so popular and sold out so fast that they decided to run it all again on the next day.  THEN because so many people wanted in on it in one way, shape or form, they decided to sell virtual race kits so people could get the stuff and run the race on their own time, in their own necks of the woods.  Or they could sit on their couches and hang with the Blerch, who would know?

So I bought in to the whole thing and got my race kit a week or so ago.  Since I already have a race the weekend of the 20th, I figured I'd use this weekend's LSD run as my virtual 10k so I could, in good conscience, hang my medal up on my wall.  Nice bag of tricks, eh?  Wasn't cheap but I totally believe it's worth it.

So.  Original plan had been to run Saturday but got up that morning and it was raining so no dice.  I knew the next day was supposed to be better so I set my alarm for 8 or something like that and gave myself a bit of extra sleep. 

I was rather delighted that this week dropped back down to 12 instead of going up to a higher distance.  I know I'll get there at some point in the not to distant future but I'd be lying if I wasn't relieved to have fewer rather than more to tackle. 

Was going to re-run my last 12k route but as I passed Garrard Street I elected to turn down there and just run until I hit the 6k mark, at which point I'd turn around and come home.  Made it down to Rossland which left me a wee bit short so I plunked in a little side street on my way back up. 

All in all this run felt reasonably good.  Was happy to be in my newer shoes - that's still helping.  As is chiro.  Saw Matt twice this past week and he's got me working on some stretching and exercises and icing of my knees which seems to be helping overall.  

Was happy overall with my various splits.  Managed to keep most of my intervals intact so that was a good thing.

 And when it was all said and done, despite the distance I'd actually managed to shave 20 seconds per km off the average of my past 7 runs.  Not too shabby, I say!!








A few post run shots of the virtual race belt - no, I did not do my run with it - and the medal.  Apparently I was quite lucky to get the pi belt.  :)

And finally, one last pic, my medal now proudly on display since I've earned it.  Sure, I did 12 instead of 10 but I still Beat that Blerch so up goes the medal.  I even made sure to leave room for the one I'll be getting at next week's race. 

My legs are trying to kill me

September 11   Plan:  7k steady  Actual:  6k slow

I have a confession to make.

Well, not a confession, per se.  It's not like there's anything really wrong with it.  In fact, it's probably a good thing in the long run.  Of course it is a good thing...

I'm seeing someone.

Yep, I decided it was time to get off my painful butt and see a specialist.  So I'm going to a chiropractor to help with my messed up legs.

Knees have been bugging me for a few weeks now ever since I did those 16k runs and tweaked things.  There have been other pains, too, and since I still have five weeks of training left and the kms are just going to keep going up I decided to take the bull by the horns and shuffle myself off to a professional. 

In the end it was long overdue and I wish I would have done it sooner.  Well, maybe my wallet doesn't, but my legs do.  Once they stop screaming.  Went to my first appointment on Monday and he did an initial assessment where his conclusion was that pretty much everything in my legs is messed up.  Go big or go home, I say!  He thinks it's primarily that my glutes aren't strong enough to sustain what I'm doing so I have some exercises to firm up my ass. 

Good times.

I've seen him twice this past week and I do believe it's helping.  Painful as hell during the session, but helping.  I go back again on Monday and while he'll probably want to see me again in that week I'm going to have to drop down to once weekly sessions - at $48 per half hour, can't really afford two trips a week for the next five weeks, you know?  As much as I'd love to, just ain't happening.

So in the mean time I'm going to do what he tells me to do - ice, roll, exercises, all that stuff - and hope for the best.

I was pretty nervous to get out and do this run, mostly because I'd wrenched my knee when I was picking up speed to catch a subway train that was pulling into the station as I was leaving work.  I had no clue what the run was going to feel like but I needed to try so I did.  Despite my fatigue - it had been a helluva day at work - I had to see how it would feel.

I told myself I'd give it a whirl and see what happens.  I'd do a quick loop every close to home so if something bad happened I'd be close.  If things felt good I also knew that I wasn't going to do the full 7k - I just didn't want to push my luck at that point.  So I laced up my new shoes thinking that part of my issues might be because my shoes are too worn out (at just over 300k) and stepped outside.  Gingerly, because my knee hurt a bit, but out I went anyway.

Much to my very pleasant surprise there was no knee pain.  None.  I was flabbergasted.  And the shoes?  They felt amazing!  It was like a whole new lease on life!  I felt lighter and better supported.  I was able to concentrate more on my gait and focus on trying not to trudge run (I'm bad for that) and found that I could get an extra bit of speed without too much extra effort.  It was all good.

Kept going for 6k then decided that was enough - no need to push my luck.  But was delighted to see that I was 10-30 seconds faster per km than I'd been over the past few runs.  And that, despite how tired and heartburn-y I was on this run.  Yay!

Wore my running shoes to work today as part of casual Friday to give my knees even more support.  I've got 12k on the schedule for tomorrow - likely in the rain, so it would appear - then I'm going to take Sunday off and get more rest.  Rest for my legs and rest for my weary body that hasn't had the opportunity to sleep in in forever.  Can't flipping wait.

Fingers crossed the rain holds off!!!

New routes are fun!

September 9   Plan: 5k tempo    Actual:  5k whatever

Yet another opportunity to run in the city!

Had a meeting at 4:30pm up at Avenue and Lawrence which meant I was kinda screwed timing wise for running.  I'm usually on the 4:53 train home, then I go do my run, and given that we were going to be there for at least a hour, that wasn't going to happen. 

So I decided to make the most out of the situation and get my run in on my way back to the GO train.  After the meeting, which went longer than anticipated, I changed into my running clothes, shoved all my workday stuff into my MEC backpack, and hit the road.

This is the second time I've run with a backpack and while I'm not the biggest fan, it's not nearly as bad as I thought it might be.

I generally know this area well as I lived there a thousand years ago so it was nice to reminisce as I ran through the old neighbourhood.  Despite being a flat then downhill course it still felt rather taxing for whatever reason.  I blame the extra pounds.  But I digress...

Was originally running down Duplex so as to avoid the pedestrian traffic on Yonge but then the need for a bathroom struck and I adjusted my route.  Found myself a Subway, took care of business, and got back on the sidewalk.  Reminded me of doing the Sporting Life 10k which was kinda neat, and I enjoyed my last 2k or so down to Davisville subway station where I hopped on and continued my trek to Union Station, run under my belt.

Thankfully this journey wasn't nearly as hot or humid as my previous one so I was able to just continue on with my business and not stink up the joint too badly. 

Having done two of these in as many weeks I'm kind of hoping that's it for now.  As much as I really do appreciate a change of scenery - I'm getting really bored with my own 'hood - the lugging of stuff is a pain in the ass.  And the back, for that matter.  So hopefully this is it for a while.

Going that weeeeee bit further

September 7   Plan:  16k LSD  Actual:  16.2k LSD

After getting home around 9pm from a very long day of crewing a major event, we didn't last long and hit the hay rather early.  I knew I had this big run the next day and my bed was calling.  Which tells you just how hard it was to get out of the next morning, but get out I did.

Had my cup of coffee and some toast, gathered my stuff and was off.  Decided not to re-do the same 16k route I'd done the week before thanks to the hills and stuff so tried for an out and back to get me the same distance.

All in all this wasn't a bad run.   The temperature was great but the sun, that damned sun, beat down on me and made me hot.  Real hot.  Like, soul draining hot.  Fack. 

Thankfully I was wearing a white shirt, the re-registration shirt from the event we'd worked the day before, so that kept the sun at bay a bit.  But just a bit.

I decided to pace myself and do the best I could without trying to kill myself.  I figured I'd be able to beat my last time at this distance because I didn't have the rolling hills and, fingers crossed, wouldn't have a tweaky knee to walk off for a bit.  Sadly that didn't pan out, and while I wasn't off by much, this run did take me longer than my last outing.  I attribute this to the fact that going down Brock Street, which I avoided entirely this go around, gained me some serious time since it's so downhill.  My first few splits on that run were well faster than my normal pace, so even with kms being slower later, I'd set myself up well for a better pace.  And that day was overcast, therefore less sun impact to deal with.  So yeah, we'll just go with that.

Passed a good many runners on this jaunt.  Pretty sure, in fact, that I passed the Whitby Running Room half marathon clinic as we went in opposite directions up and down Garrard.  Runners are the best - always waving and smiling at one another.   In fact, I got a great boost from another runner who passed me around my 11k mark.  I had slowed to eat a Shot Blok and sip some water and as he ran past he said, 'hang in there, you've got this!!' and kept going.  Put an extra bit of spring in my step as I started off again.  He was right - I did have this.  :)

Legs handled this distance well, too.  Not nearly as crampy on the walk intervals as they'd been the week before which was a nice change.  And I was careful to stretch and roll and soak and all that good stuff when I got home which I'm convinced plays a huge role in how I feel overall.

Pushed myself to go that tiny bit extra at the very end because I like getting new records.  Wasn't by much, but I'll take em!!

One last shot - me sporting my new shirt and celebrating my longest distance yet.  :)

Oh hi, 33 degrees

September 5  Plan:  Nothing really, but I had to make up for a weekend run I was going to miss.  Actual:  4 very sweaty and slow k

See the temperature in the middle of the image down there?  Yeah, that's right.  32 degrees at 5pm on September 5th.  And that's pre humidity.

Needless to say it was f'in gross outside.

It's rare for me to run on a Friday night and even rarer still to do it in downtown Toronto. But I kind of had no choice if I wanted to get my fourth weekly run in for the week.

Micheal and I were volunteering at The Weekend to End Women's Cancers which benefits my workplace, The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.  We were going to be gone all day on Saturday which meant my long run would get booted to Sunday.  And my short weekend run?  Well, it was Friday night or nothing.

Since we had a crew meeting that I needed to attend at the Roger's Centre on Friday night, I thought I'd lace up my shoes and run from the office to the stadium.  Was supposed to do 5k and had mapped myself out a route (the straight line there wasn't near far enough) but between the heat and an emergency bathroom stop on route, I wouldn't have made it on time if I'd added in that extra k so four it was going to have to be.

Upon my arrival at the Roger's Centre I was a bona fide sweaty Betty.  Disgusting. Thankfully I'd brought some wipes, deodorant and a fresh shirt but truly, after running any distance in heat and humidity, no amount of wipes in the world was going to return me to a daisy fresh state.  So I just generally sat away from people and apologized in advance if they got too close. 

Ended up being a long day - didn't get home until after 9pm - but was glad I got it in and it was nice to have a change of scenery if even for a short run.  Even got to run through the Toronto International Film Festival happenings where I stopped for a minute to steal a pic.  Not a great one, but a pic.  Enjoy.

I'm sensing a theme here...

September 4  Plan:  7k steady  Actual:  7k slowly

Catching up again and so excited to tell you about yet another shitty outing.  I tried to enjoy this one, I really did.  But yet again the planets were aligning and setting me up to not have a good time.

It was surprisingly hot this evening.  So hot that I almost waited until way later in the evening to get out there but alas that didn't happen.  I really wish it would have, everything would have gone much smoother.

The sun was beating down on me which I never like and the breeze wasn't helping, just hindering everything.  Once again I walked a lot and was just content to get it done.

I passed a gentleman along the way who is obviously a very experienced runner.  When I passed him the second time and he remarked to me 'man, it's crazy hot out here, eh?  Makes it so hard to run!' I will admit that I felt so much better about myself - woohoooo - it's not just me feeling like a sweaty pile of ass shuffling from street to street.

Bugger.

Got home and was disgusting.  But as always was happy to have gotten out there and got it done.

Sometimes the runs just suck

September 2   Plan 5k tempo  Actual:  5k mega slow

 This was one of those times.

So yeah, I know I know, I'm late in posting my updates.  This run was a good long while ago and you know what?  I still remember how much it sucked.  Ha!

No real clue why...guess I was just tired and crabby and didn't want to run.  At all.  I think I walked as much as I ran this time around.  Everything hurt and I just couldn't catch my breath.  Not fun at all.

So guess what - we're not going to dwell on this one.  Run and done, is what I say.  I got out there, even when I really didn't want to, and got it done.

End of post.  :)



See that smile?  I'm lying.  Ha.

Running in someone else's hood

August 31  Plan: 5k steady  Actual: 5k slow

As mentioned in my last post Micheal and I spent the long weekend (starting Saturday as my sister had guests Friday night) with said sister and her family in Waterloo. I knew I needed to get a 5k run in there somewhere so packed all my running gear and brought it along for a Sunday morning run.

We were pretty tired from the day before so I decided to sleep in a bit longer than I might for a normal Sunday run.  I took the dog out for a pee when I woke up around 7.  The skies were overcast so I wasn't worried about being beaten by the sun and the temps were supposed to say somewhat low so I figured I was good.  Which means I went back to sleep for a bit. 

Yeah. 

Should have just put my shoes on and gone at that point, because of course, as luck would have it, when I was finally ready to go around 9, the skies had pretty much cleared and it was as humid as Hades outside. 

Well done, Shannon.  Well done.

I know her area reasonably well but had no clue how to determine a route for said 5k run so it was Map My Run to the rescue.  They have a neat feature that allows you to use your current location and scan other routes that people have logged nearby.  I found a 4.93 route someone else had done starting a block or two away and figured it would be easy enough to round it up to 5k knowing what I knew of her immediate vicinity.

Well.  All I really have to say is that I'm very very glad I don't do all of my running in this neck of the woods.  And that I'll never complain about hills around me ever again.

I reversed the route from my original intent because I knew there was a long and gradual hill that I much preferred to go up than down. Which of course meant that I had a massive uphill climb on my first loop but that couldn't be avoided and was much better than the alternative, trust me!

I had to run with my phone in my hand to ensure that I stayed on track which was a bit distracting for me but gave me that sense of control so I dealt with it.  Was following along quite nicely, my wee blue dot tracking the red lines of the route in Map My Run.  And then it was time to leave the roads for some park trails.

I love running on trails.  No cars, flatter pavement, nice scenery, all that good stuff.  BUT...they don't show up properly on all maps.  Especially this one.  Which is cool, 'cause hey - it's a trail.  Follow it and all is well.

Unless you're running on park trails in Waterloo.  Trails that go every which direction over and over and over again.

It was like a choose your own adventure book at times.  I got to one split and had two choices.  Based on the direction the red line was going on the app I was reasonably sure that I needed to stay right.  So I ran for a bit, watched my blue dot, and just hoped it followed the red line on the screen.  Huzzah!  Success!  Trails won't foil me!

Then my mind nearly exploded as I rounded a corner and saw not one, not two, not even three but FOUR separate trail options unfolding in front of me.  And what made matters worse was that one was almost stacked up on top of the other...wtf was I supposed to do now?

So I did what any reasonable human being would do in similar circumstances.

I guessed.

Thankfully I guessed correctly and after an insanely steep uphill climb I popped back out on to the road, right where I should be.  Phew!


A few extra loops around the block and I was finally at my 5k mark. Knee got a bit twitchy a few times but all and all I was pretty happy with how it felt.


Thus marked my last run for the month of August.  Final tally was 86.5k which isn't too bad, considering I was on vacation for a week then sick for a portion of it, too.  Wonder how many kms September will bring???

Breakin records and poppin knees

August 29  Plan:  rest day  Actual:  16k LSD

So this was a crazy, flip floppy kinda week.  Usually I run Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the my LSD on Saturday and my shorter run on Sunday.  But for a few reasons that wasn't going to work this week so things got all moved around.

This was the start of the long weekend which meant a half day of work at our office.  Fortunately I was able to work from home Friday morning, thus negating a $22 commute into Toronto for three hours of work AND allowing me to get my 16k LSD in early as we were heading to Waterloo Saturday morning and I really didn't want to sit in a car for hours right after having done my longest run ever.

Right?  Right.

Got up at regular time - 6am - on Friday because I wanted to ensure that I was done, at home and ready to be working no later than 9am as I didn't want to take advantage of my boss' kindness in allowing me to work from home.  Had my toast with PB, a cup of coffee, and I was out the door just as it was getting light out at 6:40am.

I knew this was going to be a loooong run but I was jazzed for it.  A bit concerned about how my legs would feel and if I'd run out of water but off I set.  Managed to map a great route - one giant square - and on Micheal's advice elected to run south on Brock first to avoid the big hills on the way home.

What I didn't pay attention to, however, are the insane ups (and a few downs) along Dundas Street, especially between  Garden and Garrard.  Sweet mary mother they almost did me in!!!

When I finally rounded the corner onto Garrard I almost cried with relief.  This is a street I run often so I knew it was relatively flat and would be much kinder to me than it's east/westerly cousin.  I was ready for easy by this point as I'd crossed the 10k mark and was heading to 11.

Then, just as I was getting back into my intervals and feeling better about things, I felt a pop in my right knee.  Or maybe it was a twist or a twinge - who knows, it just felt pained.

I tried to run it off but it just kept hurting so I slowed to a walk for a bit to see if it would go away.

Sure enough, didn't hurt at all when I walked but as soon as I attempted running anew, sharp pain.

This was NOT good.

I was more than 5k from home and since Micheal was on his way to work, calling him to come and get me wasn't even an option.  So I just kept going.

Walking then running a bit, walking then running.

Eventually I could get into a good rhythm where the knee wasn't too painful. Which of course meant that I ended up with pain elsewhere, namely my lower back, as I changed up my gait and compensated for my knee.  But I was running again, every step one closer to home.  And that was good.

Thankfully the conditions were ideal for me - overcast sky, light breeze and a decent temperature so that really helped.  Until the sun started to come out on my last few k.

At the 13k mark I was feeling generally better and able to run my entire intervals.  The hard part came when I'd slow for my walk breaks, then have to try to start running again.  I guess this is part of getting used to the longer distances but boy howdy did my legs hurt like crazy as I made the transition from walk to run.  But I kept at it and made it back to the house in one piece 2 hours and 15 minutes later.

This is the face of someone very, very, very glad to be done.  And someone who will definitely rethink this route for next weekend when I have to run this distance all over again.

Once I got home I did some quick stretching, grabbed another cup of coffee and had my solid meal of Greek yogurt, frozen berries and some granola.  Got down to business until noon with frequent walking breaks so I didn't cramp up entirely, then when noon struck I broke in my new foam roller and headed upstairs for a nice, warm Epsom bath followed by a delightful shower.

Scrubbed clean I was now starving, so I got dressed, slapped a different pair of running shoes on, and made a very slow walking trek out of my hood to Mucho Burrito for a nice lunch salad.  After refueling I slipped across the street for a Starbucks and then slowly made my way home.

I was pretty sore as I walked - or bent down, or sat down - but I really believe that this extra bit of walking helped save me overall.  That and the stretching and rolling.  Good times.

All in all I enjoy the challenge of a long run but wow, 16k is far, yo.  Hard to believe that I have this PLUS 5k more to do in a few short weeks.  Eesh!!