goals

Race Recap – GoodLife Toronto Half Marathon

Not a PB but a Feelings PB  and I’m SO into running again! 🙂

Sunday’s GoodLife Fitness Toronto Half Marathon may not have brought a PB in time but it was definitely a Feelings PB. Although… I will give myself credit that it was the fastest 21.1KM I’ve run in over 18 months (finishing at 1:59:18) – so that’s pretty darn awesome!

When I say it was a Feelings PB, it’s because I felt joy, strength and motivation throughout the whole race. Running alongside 14,000 runners in some unfavourable weather and the vibes were still so high. The crew love was absolutely incredible and carried me through most of the race (Huge Thanks Morgan & Lauren!) And even though I grew a tad tired towards the end, I really did enjoy every minute of those 21.1KM! I had no crazy pains, no hoping for it to be over soon, and no question on whether I would finish strong or whether I might die of pain the day after.

Today, my heart is full, my body feels energized and while there will always be some slight disappointment in not beating a previous time, I’m thankful to have been able to run. With coming back from some time off, not fully recovered from an eye illness and running with only one contact in, the fact that I was able to get out and run for 2 hours is something to REALLY appreciate.

We all run our own races for different reasons and it’s not always about the distance or time. For me, running this race was about celebrating the achievements that surrounded me pre, during and post-race. It was about celebrating the end of 16 amazing training weeks with Academy of Lions RunCrew  and its success in helping me grow stronger, faster and find my love for running again (as I had set out to do with joining RunLAB) + I made friends with some pretty rad people along the way! This race was about meeting challenges, putting the last 4 months of ups/downs into perspective and enjoying the final victory lap of  RunLAB; running with our community all set out to smash their own goals.

It may have been dreary, cold, windy and rainy, but we killed it and we did it together! Congrats fellow runners! 🙂5813

Inthis2gether! xx

Race Recap- Toronto Yonge Street 10K

Now that was refreshing! And not because I opted for shorts and a t-shirt in cooler than expected temps. Refreshing because 10K was a walk in the park compared to the memories that linger from ATB’s 30K.

I was really looking forward to running a 10K race and relishing in the ease of a shorter distance compared to what I had been clocking in long runs, leading up to ATB. This race was for pure fun with no serious expectation on hitting a certain time. I knew I would beat anything prior thanks to a flat and downhill route and was banking on finishing around 52:00. The last 10K race I ran was the Women’s Set the Pace in August, at 55:16 and I crushed that time with 50:36! I was all smiles post race and my recovery was a dream, I felt/feel so great!

race results

I’m running the Sporting Life 10K in less than 3 weeks, I’m hoping I can clock a sub 50 this time, which I’m quite hopeful for. Let’s hope there aren’t crazy winds like there was on Sunday, although the cold temps may have given me that extra push to hit the next block of sunshine on the shadow covered streets.

Will keep you posted on how it goes!

TYS10KGet Running! xx

Run Rest Repeat

In 2014 I crossed a huge running accomplishment off of my list of goals- to run a half marathon (read all about it here). It was truly self-fulfilling and I was on a major runners high for weeks following. I instantly started to think of what my next race would be and after consulting with a few running friends; I committed myself to running Hamilton’s Around the Bay 30K. What was another 9K right? I thought it would be relatively easy (so to speak) after my first half, however with this deep freezing winter we had, I think I may have overestimated my love for running. HA!

With months of training for the 30K and race day quickly approaching (10 days away), I have crazy butterflies fluttering around the pit of my stomach going into this one. Some excitement but mostly nerves, I am “trying” to keep positive knowing that my body and mind are capable of magical things and that I will push through the mileage and hit this goal head on. I’m not too focused on a finish time, but am hoping to finish in 3 hours, average finish for 2014 was 3:07.

just run

My running goals for 2015 are to run more races and get better at running shorter races. I also plan to get more social with running and hit up some run clubs now that the weather is warming up.

Here’s a list of upcoming races that I will be gearing up for. I always love a good training buddy, so let me know what races you are training for and/or join me in one of these upcoming races. 🙂

Upcoming Races

March 29 – Around the Bay 30K

April 19- Toronto Yonge Street 10K

May 10- Sporting Life 10K

June 14- Nike Women’s 15K Toronto (hoping to get into this one!)

runspirationJust Run. xx