Speed Trials

The Great Glebe Garage Sale was a little different for me this year. Usually a buyer, you can find me perusing the stalls, searching for the best deals, and scoping out the whole neighbourhood.  But this year Angelo had plans to sell some records, and I stuck by him for most of the day.  It was very interesting experiencing the GGGS from the point of view of the sellers. It ended up being a MUCH longer day!

The day started at about 4:30am;

Angelo and his brother Richard made plans to head down to the Glebe REALLY early to scope out a prime spot.  They ended up getting there at about 5:30am, and by then the spot they really wanted was already taken.  They ended up on First Ave. just west of Percy.

I had a more leisurely morning and joined them at around 8am. I made sure to bring cookies:

Hmmm….. Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were tasty!

Angelo had many boxes of records to sell, but he was no newbie seller.  He had spent the last week and a half researching, listening, and pricing each and every record in his stash. 

He sorted out any scratched or damaged records, and even grouped them by genre. He was a serious seller and his setup attracted serious buyers.

I also sold some old Metropolitan Home magazines from 2003/2004.  It’s sad to part with them, but I never look through them anymore, and they sold in bulk to a collector, so I know they went to a good home! Sniff.  I’ll miss you Met Home!!!

Richard brought all kinds of things to sell, from old skateboards and wheels to a high back wicker chair. He also had the great forethought to bring folding chairs, which were great and in the shade!

I did manage to sneak away for a bit and walk up and down a few streets.  I always love the GGGS, you never know what you can find!

from the old,

to the eclectic,

to the kitsch,

Possible wedding dress? (just kidding)

Something I started to notice was the crazy amount of pregnant women walking around. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a new aunt, or if it’s because it’s Spring, or if my clock is ticking a bit louder these days, but I just noticed them EVERYWHERE!!

Since I was a seller this year, I started to pay more attention to different people’s set ups:

Some definitely worked better than others!

The right way to sell clothes.

The wrong way to sell clothes.

By 2pm, the crowds had pretty much dwindled, and the brothers entertained the remaining shoppers with their mad skate skills!

They challenged this poor kid to a tricks contest, and if he lost he had to buy the rest of Richard’s stuff… Needless to say, that kid walked away with A LOT of crap under his arm!!

For the first time EVER, my run yesterday was dedicated to speed. I was nervous about the workout all day, and was seriously procrastinating at my desk, hesitant to hit the gym and put my body to the test.

The reason I’m not a fan of speed work, the reason I don’t push myself to go beyond my limits, comes down to the fact that I don’t like feeling like I might throw up.  The thought of pushing myself to the brink of bodily revolt terrifies me.  But as a result, my race times aren’t super stellar, they certainly aren’t improving, and I always feel as though I’ve got some energy “left in the tank” after my runs.

If I’m going to train to be a serious racer, I’m going to have to get over this fear of speed.

My run yesterday consisted of 1/4 mile (400m) sprint, followed by 1/4 mile (400m) easy pace, done 5 times. I did it on the treadmill, and I ran the slow parts at speed 5.1 and topped out at 6.9.

In total, I ran 2.75 miles (~4.5km) in 30:08. 

Not super fast for speed work, is it? I still have that fear of going too far too soon. I’ll have to work on that. I have to learn to test my limits more, knowing that I can ease off mid-run if I need to. The important thing about yesterday’s run was that it got me over the hump, and showed me that speed work isn’t SO scary. In fact, it felt great to run fast again after so many months off my feet.

Unfortunately, today I’ve got this nagging pain in my left ankle, a stiffness that wasn’t there before. Sigh. And so rather than try to stick with my program (which calls for the step machine and weight training today) I’m to do some gentle yoga instead.

Side note: Tomorrow is the Ottawa Race Weekend, and I know of a few first-time racers who will be in the crowd. I want to wish them the best of luck out there tomorrow! Be careful with all those heat and allergy warnings, and I hope you have a great race!

I’ve lived in Hintonburg for most of my life.  I never thought much of it, just a neighbourhood that was a little rough around the edges, a a little too close to Mechanicsville and Chinatown. But now that Hintonburg is becoming exceedingly fashionable, I’m starting to notice its charm and beauty that I took for granted when I was young.

And I’m not the only one. A few easy searches on the internet will inevitably lead you to urbantoronto.ca, who have the most extensive and beautiful photo spread of Hintonburg that I’ve seen to date.  I almost scrapped this post entirely because they did such a good job of it already! Visit their post on Hintonburg, I promise, you will not be disappointed!!!

But I want to talk a bit about my relationship with Hintonburg. I didn’t always love it, and sometimes I was downright ashamed to live in this rougher part of town.  I went to high school with kids who came from affluent established neighbourhoods, and it seemed like NO one I knew lived where I lived. As a child, I was forbidden to roam north of Wellington Street. That was called Mechanicsville, and it was a place that seemed so dark and mysterious, so seedy and terrifying, that I would run through it when I had to.

Nowadays there is virtually no distinction between Mechanicsville and Hintonburg, and there has been some traces of gentrification in the streets sandwiched between Scott and Wellington.

There’s also a sense of pride in the community that I wasn’t aware of before. Now that Hintonburg’s identity is public and known, its residents seem to be a little more willing to adopt it as their home, and they proudly announce to all who’ll listen that they live in that patch of town.

As for me, I’ve just come to realize how much I identify with Hintonburg. I’ve lived here for over 25 years – it’s home.  It’s where I learned to ride a bike (Devonshire school), where I first kissed a boy (on the corner of Laurel and Irving), where I had my confirmation (Église St-francois d’Assise), where I had my favourite after school job (Herb and Spice), and where I want to raise my family.

It’s also where I’ll be running my first post-injury race: the Hintonburg Centennial 5K.  Read more about my training program over at Speed Trials.

As soon as running was back on my radar, I started thinking about racing.

I was consumed with thoughts of training well, racing hard, setting new PRs and trying out longer distances (half marathon and marathons, and also triathlons.)

But I’m a bit more wary of pitfalls now, and I know that I simply can’t pick up with running where I left off in the fall of 2009.  I’ve had a change in perspective, taking care of my knee, which is healing nicely, and I made a pact with myself to allow enough time in my schedule for training, and develop a new attitude towards it and towards tracking my progress.

So while those dreams of becoming an endurance athlete percolate in my mind, I must resist the urge to push myself too hard too fast.

For my first post-injury race, I chose a 5k set for July 18.  The course is located in my neighbourhood, and is called the Hintonburg 5k Centennial.

It seems perfect for my comeback race.  And since it’s my first 5k, I’m guaranteed a PR!  I’m also running it with my brother and running guru, who is already modifying his training to add more speed work.  He wants to finish under 20min, and I think he can do it!

(Hintonburg is where I grew up, and it holds a special place in my heart.  For a more detailed look at the neighbourhood, head over to my sister blog: Baddirtdesigns.org)

I looked at Higdon training programs, but his stock plans seem a little too mile intensive for a recovering runner like myself…  Since I’m not expecting to blow any performance records with this race, I tailored the plan to make it more suitable for my particular situation.

I came up with this plan, which is low on miles, but high on frequency.  I have a few post-injury thoughts that I certainly want to share in a separate post, but be sure that I will be adding speed or distance GRADUALLY, SLOWLY, to avoid any more injuries, and also to create more of “running bank” to try to turn my body into the body of a runner.  And NO MORE EXERCISE BLITZES!! (i.e. going hard for two weeks and then burning out and doing nothing for two months).

Consistency is king. Also, there will be consistent weight training and physio exercises too.

So far the training’s been good. I find that my cardio is still in top shape, and since I spent the last six months strengthening my glutes and the muscles around my knee, I really pay more attention to those muscles when I run now.  I’m also trying to pay attention to my form, and I notice that by making sure my hips don’t travel too far forward, I really engage my glutes more in my run (which is a good thing!).

This closet is where I keep the shoes I don’t wear often.  Here you’ll find various pairs of high heels, my roller derby boots (sigh), my ski boots, and for the last 8 months, this is where my running shoes lived.

Until today!

To recap: On April 28, 2010, I went to my last physio appointment.  We stretched out my leg, measured my range of motion, and tried to work out that last bit of pain under my kneecap whenever I sit on my heels. My physiotherapist said that it was probably the cartilage under my kneecap that still hadn’t healed, and that there wasn’t much more he could do for me for that.  So, with that, I was discharged.

“But… what about running??? Will I be able to run again???” I didn’t want to ask the question, because I didn’t want to hear an answer that started with N-O.

Based on my range of motion, and based on my exercise routine from the last few weeks (which involved a lot of physio exercises, as well as use of the step machine) he said that I could try to run.  If there was no pain, I was good to go.  If things worsened, I was to call him and we’d take it from there.

Oh, glorious day!!! I left the clinic and went straight to the gym. No time like the present to give it a shot!!

I ran/walked for 24 min (5 min run followed by 1 min recovery walk x 4) that day, with no knee pain whatsoever.  It. Felt. Amazing.

I’ve been taking it easy, slowly getting back into it, and I’m happy to report that there is NO PAIN in my knee when I run. I’ve also adopted more of a shuffle when I run, not bending my knees quite as much as I used to, and working on improving my turnover rate.  I’ve also been running solely on the treadmill, to help lessen the impact on my knees.

But yesterday was such a beautiful day outside, and I felt so confident, I went out for a run around the neighbourhood.

Oh, happy day! It was so great to be able to run outside again!  I ran continuously, but taking it really easy, especially on any inclines.  here are my stats:

Distance: 3.5km

time: 19:43

Max heart rate: 157bpm

Average heart rate: 144bpm

Most importantly, I think, was how much FUN it was to run today.  Because I didn’t push myself to go faster or farther, I just enjoyed the run for what it was.  I refused to feel pressured to perform, instead basked in the realization that I was RUNNING again!