Monday, January 27, 2014

One Down, 12 to go!


Well, it's been 1 week since our first half marathon, and 2 weeks until our next. 

After 21.1km of snowy, slippery, pot holed trails at the HYPO 1/2, my body was left feeling a bit sore; to say the least.

My muscles were more sore than usual, from the uneven surfaces and slipperiness of the tunnels.  I also experienced a bit of superficial frost bite on my face and legs. One thing that I didn't predict, was how sore my toes would be. 

In hindsight, I would have purchased, and practiced in a pair of yak-tracks (or similar product). I didnt think it was a good idea to try them out for the first time on race day, so we powered through the snow an ice without them!

Despite the challenging experience of the past race, both of us got back out on the roads this week to keep up with our training. Our races are 2 to 4 weeks apart so it's important to stay on schedule. With 28 kms spread out over this week including a slow and steady 15km run on Sunday, this will be our heavest week before tapering for race day. We are right on track and feeling good! Lets hope we can keep it up.

Our next race is the Winterman 1/2 at Ottawa's Winterlude Festival on Febuary 16th. We will provide an update with more details closer to race day.

Until next time,

Melissa and Kaitlin

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Ottawa Hypothermic 1/2

21.1kms in a blizzard?... Yes Please!

As we wind down on the night before our first half of the year, we are full of mixed emotions. Although we are overwhelmed with excitement to get our year of running  started, we were recently informed that our route for the Hypo 1/2 will NOT be cleared or grated before the race. For obvious reasons the idea of running in a foot of snow for our entire race does not thrill either of us. Living in Toronto, Kaitlin does not get much training in the snow and she's feeling particularly unprepared for this challenge. Tomorrow will be a lesson in patience and perseverance!

We will wake up brave and ready for the fight! The Ottawa Hypothermic Half is being held at The Marshes Golf Course in Kanata. We chose a 1:00pm start time in hopes the sun may come out to cheer us on (and warm us up!). The race consists of four 5km loops, and a 550m out and back (Yuck!). We will not be running to achieve a goal time this race, so we will have each other for encouragement (and a little tough love) along the way.

Nerves aside we both can't wait to get out there and do what we love! 

On your mark, get set, GO!

Until next time,

Kaitlin and Melissa

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Melissa's 1 Year Runniversary

It is officially 365 days since I arrived home from our family cruise, on Jan 20, 2013, and started training for my first half marathon under the esteemed guidance of Corey Turnbull. When I think back, I can't believe the transformation that running has had on my life. It has been a stress reliever, a source of therapy and occasionally a very cold pain in the butt.

It all seems like yesterday......when I couldn't run 5 kilometers without feeling like I was going to throw up; the day I first ran more than 10k and also hit my first "wall"; the feeling of accomplishing my first 18 kilometers, and finally feeling a sense of preparedness.

I can remember the excitement of crossing the finish line at the Spring Fling Running Thing; the disappointment of not reaching my goal time at the Army Half or Road2Hope; the pride of loosing my first toenail; and most of all, the look on my little sisters face when I finally caught a glimpse of her at our first half together (I'm so proud of her!).

So, on my 365th day of running I would like to thank everyone who has inspired, guided, coached, supported, and put up with my running over the last year (there are way too many to mention, but you know who you are!). I couldn't have gotten here without you! To quote Kaitlin Marie Hillier "I don't remember what my life was like before I started running, but it couldn't have been this awesome!"

Happy Running!

Friday, January 17, 2014

The Excitement is Building!

Well, our first taper has arrived. Only 10 days until our first half-marathon of 2014. This was the last full build/taper that we will be doing for a while, as we have three half-marathons scheduled within 36 days.

One of the neat parts of going through this training and racing together, is being able to understand how different our bodies are. This is important to keep in mind when you have a training partner for anything; you likely won’t both excel in the same areas, and your bodies may not have identical reactions to the exact same training schedule.

I’ll explain…

For Melissa, the last 10 days have been AMAZING! I had a great 16k in the slush and snow to start last week off. On Wednesday, I had an appointment with Kim Ethier of Restorative Health in Smiths Falls, to work on any areas of my body that were giving me trouble. On Sunday, I worked on a new running technique with Michael Stashin of www.runeffortlessly.com; we focused on form and perfecting my technique. And to top it all off, I registered for my first snowshoe race! Yes, that’s right; my first time trying them out is going to be a 6.7Km snowshoe race in Frontenac on Sunday. You know what Eleanor Roosevelt said about doing something that scares you!

As for Kaitlin, the last few days (including my 18k) were AWFUL. I have a severe gluten allergy and a dairy sensitivity. Sometimes this, in addition to a very fast paced lifestyle, makes it hard to get enough calories during heavy training. This is something that several coaches had warned us of when we were first discussing our goals for 2014, and I had to find out the hard way this week. After several days of feeling faint and nauseous, I began adding extra protein (chicken and harmonized vegan protein powder) into my diet and eating small portions many times throughout the day. These changes seemed to help, but it's probably time that we visit a nutritionist to make sure we're ready for the next 11.5 months.

There will be times when this happens, it’s inevitable. However, our hopes are that the AMAZING weeks that we both have, will outweigh the others. Essentially, this is the reason for our blog. We have committed to a goal of running 13 half-marathons in one year and we want to be able to share our highs and lows with you. Things that worked and didn’t work; problems we encounter; and celebrating our accomplishments.

Until next time,

Kaitlin & Melissa