After successful completion of a 5km race without the need of a defibrillator I signed up for my next challenge, a 10km race!!!
There are so many options for 10km races, almost every weekend you'll find two or three around the city. I decided on the Xerox 10km which would be a combination of paved path and trail run. Sounded delightful! As I look back now over my running history there is one red flag that I failed to see before every race...I never looked at the route before race day. Even now, of the 5 half-marathons I've run in the last two years I only looked at two of the routes...and funny enough those two were the races I have set personal bests...maybe there is a connection.
Anyway I continued my exhausting outdoor running in preparation for the Xerox 10km, of course only running on flat paved pathways. I showed up on race day to the beautiful arboretum, surrounded by lakes, beautiful trees, flowers, AND DEAR MOTHER OF GOD WHAT IS THAT HILL? Denial has been a good friend to me over the years so she and I headed to the start line. Apparently the track was a 3.3km loop, starting out downhill, turning into a flat then at the 2.5 km you had to scale the hill on a gravel and dirt path...good times. I never run a loop, I love an out and back, you know exactly when you've hit half way, and on an out and back you can't get lapped, over and over and over again.
And this is exactly what happened to me. I swear I hadn't even made it to the hill and some showoff lapped me, then his buddy and then a steady stream. Oh well time to focus and tackle the hill. Gravel is fun, you take a step and you slide back a little bit, great motivator. After a fair amount of cursing I made it to the top....woohoo only two laps to go!
This race was tough! But I made it to the end, only to discover I was last! LAST!!! My friend Teresa tried to convince me someone came in after me but I think she was just being kind. I will say I was discouraged but as the pain of the race finished I started to focus on the positives:
- I ran a 10km race!
- I ran on a trail which I'd never done before
- I could only improve from here!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Ready, Set, Go!
I decided on my weight loss journey that running a 5km race would be a good goal for me. There is a big race weekend here and thousands of runners from all over the world come to run the 5km, 10km, half and full marathons. So I signed up and started to prepare.
Most people would have joined a running club, picked up a book about running, flipped through a running magazine...not me. How hard could it be? So I got off the treadmill and decided I would run outside. Well there is an eye-opener! So I ran about 1km and almost died. I had a month to get ready. I set a plan to run 4 days a week until the race, by the end of the month surely I'd be able to run 5km. Well do you know what's really difficult? Running! Do you know what is really hard to motivate yourself to do? Go for a run! So I dialed it in...ran a handful of times and before I knew it Race Day had arrived! Ugh!
I stood with 10,000 other 5km runners feeling my anxiety levels rise. I had no idea what my finish time would be so had no idea where I should stand...I figured in the middle would be good. The gun went off and I almost puked. But I was running! The first kilometer I felt like I was all over the map, getting passed by about 9,999 other runners, the second and third kilometers I felt like I had found my rhythm. The fourth kilometer I was struggling and had to take some walk breaks. I got a second wind for the the last kilometer, woohoo I was going to finish! Better get ready for my finish line photo, if only this 85 year old man would get out of my way, I can pass him, around him, nope can't quite get enough speed...SNAP! There is my finish photo half obscured by a senior citizen. Oh well it was time to check my results...I must have been in the middle of the pack. Ahhh that would be a negative, I had a blistering time of 48 minutes! Out of women aged 25-29 I finished 533rd out of 541, I assume the other ladies were no-shows.
But I ran a 5km race!!! I'll take it. After that I was hooked and wanted to do better. I've now run countless 5 and 10km races and 5 half marathons. I look back on that first race and think how far I've come...its not about the finish time its about finishing.
Most people would have joined a running club, picked up a book about running, flipped through a running magazine...not me. How hard could it be? So I got off the treadmill and decided I would run outside. Well there is an eye-opener! So I ran about 1km and almost died. I had a month to get ready. I set a plan to run 4 days a week until the race, by the end of the month surely I'd be able to run 5km. Well do you know what's really difficult? Running! Do you know what is really hard to motivate yourself to do? Go for a run! So I dialed it in...ran a handful of times and before I knew it Race Day had arrived! Ugh!
I stood with 10,000 other 5km runners feeling my anxiety levels rise. I had no idea what my finish time would be so had no idea where I should stand...I figured in the middle would be good. The gun went off and I almost puked. But I was running! The first kilometer I felt like I was all over the map, getting passed by about 9,999 other runners, the second and third kilometers I felt like I had found my rhythm. The fourth kilometer I was struggling and had to take some walk breaks. I got a second wind for the the last kilometer, woohoo I was going to finish! Better get ready for my finish line photo, if only this 85 year old man would get out of my way, I can pass him, around him, nope can't quite get enough speed...SNAP! There is my finish photo half obscured by a senior citizen. Oh well it was time to check my results...I must have been in the middle of the pack. Ahhh that would be a negative, I had a blistering time of 48 minutes! Out of women aged 25-29 I finished 533rd out of 541, I assume the other ladies were no-shows.
But I ran a 5km race!!! I'll take it. After that I was hooked and wanted to do better. I've now run countless 5 and 10km races and 5 half marathons. I look back on that first race and think how far I've come...its not about the finish time its about finishing.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Wipe off your #&*%^*% machine!
I think as newbies at a gym we all make some rookie mistakes, so if you look like you just stumbled through the door I'll cut you some slack. The rest of you need a wake-up call.
Top 10 Most Irritating Gym Behaviours:
1. Get your ass off the weight machine between sets! For the love of God! You should be resting 60-90 seconds between most weight training sets, 60-90 seconds is ample time for someone else to jump on and do a set. Besides walking around will increase blood and oxygen flow to your muscles which will help your recovery.
2. Wipe your filthy sweat off the machine! Grab a towel and wipe, its not difficult.
3. Put your weights back on the rack in the correct order! There is nothing worse than having to hunt along the rack looking for the correct weights. Come on now 5, 8, 10, 12 see a pattern?
4. It's 5pm, you have 30 minutes on the treadmill 30 MINUTES!!! If you want to spend an hour on the treadmill come to the gym at 8pm there won't be a line-up.
5. Don't slam the weights together! It's annoying, stop it!
6. If I am a woman in the weight room it is not an open invitation to all the muscleheads to come over and help me with my form. I know what I'm doing so back off!
7. Step class is tricky, if I accidentally end up on your stepper please know it was not intentional.
8. Gentlemen please keep your shirts on, no matter how ripped your chest and abs are I don't want to see your armpits when you are doing a shoulder press.
9. Be nice to the gym staff, they get paid very little and have to wash your dirty towels.
10. When you get out of the shower look behind you before you bend over to reach into your gym bag, I don't want your bare ass brushing me.
Top 10 Most Irritating Gym Behaviours:
1. Get your ass off the weight machine between sets! For the love of God! You should be resting 60-90 seconds between most weight training sets, 60-90 seconds is ample time for someone else to jump on and do a set. Besides walking around will increase blood and oxygen flow to your muscles which will help your recovery.
2. Wipe your filthy sweat off the machine! Grab a towel and wipe, its not difficult.
3. Put your weights back on the rack in the correct order! There is nothing worse than having to hunt along the rack looking for the correct weights. Come on now 5, 8, 10, 12 see a pattern?
4. It's 5pm, you have 30 minutes on the treadmill 30 MINUTES!!! If you want to spend an hour on the treadmill come to the gym at 8pm there won't be a line-up.
5. Don't slam the weights together! It's annoying, stop it!
6. If I am a woman in the weight room it is not an open invitation to all the muscleheads to come over and help me with my form. I know what I'm doing so back off!
7. Step class is tricky, if I accidentally end up on your stepper please know it was not intentional.
8. Gentlemen please keep your shirts on, no matter how ripped your chest and abs are I don't want to see your armpits when you are doing a shoulder press.
9. Be nice to the gym staff, they get paid very little and have to wash your dirty towels.
10. When you get out of the shower look behind you before you bend over to reach into your gym bag, I don't want your bare ass brushing me.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Sticks and Stones
A lot of people from high school have commented on my blog that they never saw me as obese. That's probably because I wasn't particularly large in high school. I was of average size maybe a little chubby at best. Right after high school I left town to go to college, travel, work etc and never really went back. This was the time where my weight gain got out of control.
In school I was pretty outgoing, enjoyed playing some sports, was a pretty good student, overall a pretty normal kid. But I can remember the exact moment when a switch was flipped in my head and I stopped being a carefree kid and became preoccupied with my weight. It was Grade 8, I was standing in the hall with a group of friends joking around with a popular boy from Grade 9, he had some stubble on his chin and I, in a teasing tone, said "Oh you need to shave!" and he replied, in a flat serious tone "maybe but you need to lose some weight."
I was literally crushed, it felt like a tonne of bricks fell on my head that very moment. I didn't burst into tears or run away I just tucked that little hurtful tidbit in my mind and brought it up every single day after. I'm sure he has no recollection of saying those words to me, and to be honest perhaps on a different day at a different time maybe they wouldn't have impacted me so heavily but on that day they did.
From then on, through junior high into high school, I became very aware of my size, always comparing myself to others. I remember doing fitness tests in gym class and comparing my weight to the other girls. I stopped playing sports and taking gym class because I was too self conscious in the change room. Sadly like a lot of teenage girls I'd severely restrict my calories for days at a time only to then binge. Thankfully that dangerous routine was short lived. All this behaviour was slowly building until I was out from under the watchful eye of my parents and I could go completely off the rails...which I did, with a bang!
I wonder if most obese people have a moment they can pinpoint which led them to self-destructive behaviours? I'm sure looking back I wasn't aware I had started to sabotage myself. Perhaps for most its a combination of events over a long period of time but for me its date stamped in my DNA.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." How untrue. Be kind with your words, you never know how the one hearing you will be impacted.
In school I was pretty outgoing, enjoyed playing some sports, was a pretty good student, overall a pretty normal kid. But I can remember the exact moment when a switch was flipped in my head and I stopped being a carefree kid and became preoccupied with my weight. It was Grade 8, I was standing in the hall with a group of friends joking around with a popular boy from Grade 9, he had some stubble on his chin and I, in a teasing tone, said "Oh you need to shave!" and he replied, in a flat serious tone "maybe but you need to lose some weight."
I was literally crushed, it felt like a tonne of bricks fell on my head that very moment. I didn't burst into tears or run away I just tucked that little hurtful tidbit in my mind and brought it up every single day after. I'm sure he has no recollection of saying those words to me, and to be honest perhaps on a different day at a different time maybe they wouldn't have impacted me so heavily but on that day they did.
From then on, through junior high into high school, I became very aware of my size, always comparing myself to others. I remember doing fitness tests in gym class and comparing my weight to the other girls. I stopped playing sports and taking gym class because I was too self conscious in the change room. Sadly like a lot of teenage girls I'd severely restrict my calories for days at a time only to then binge. Thankfully that dangerous routine was short lived. All this behaviour was slowly building until I was out from under the watchful eye of my parents and I could go completely off the rails...which I did, with a bang!
I wonder if most obese people have a moment they can pinpoint which led them to self-destructive behaviours? I'm sure looking back I wasn't aware I had started to sabotage myself. Perhaps for most its a combination of events over a long period of time but for me its date stamped in my DNA.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." How untrue. Be kind with your words, you never know how the one hearing you will be impacted.
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