Elements of Erin 337

With only 3 weeks left until the Florida Marathon I am feeling pretty good physically and mentally.  I have to admit that signing up for a December marathon seemed like a better idea back in September when the weather was still good for training.  With the constant rain of the past few weeks, getting out for a run has not been so enjoyable.  Even though I do OK in the dry heat, I am starting to have some concerns about the potential of humid heat in Clearmont, FL.  My training plan had me run my longest run last weekend (4 weeks from the race).  I felt good for 26kms of my 36km run.  The last 10kms were tough.  I met up with The SAA members at the Sea Island Starbucks after 26kms.  I made the mistake of stopping for a 'quick' chat then started my final 10kms.  Getting going again in the cold and rain was not so easy.  I did slug it out and finished happy and without any injury.  I certainly felt the run in my legs but nothing to ...

If you have followed my blog for a while, you will know that I am a very big advocate of having goals. There is no way that I could have trained a year for Ironman Canada without having milestone goals along the way. In 2009 I raced 2 sprint triathlons (Delta Tri and North Shore Tri), 2 Half Ironman (Victoria and Vancouver), the big show at IMC 2009, one 5km race (Las Vegas), a Half Marathon (New Balance Fall Classic) and to wrap it all up, a Marathon (Florida Marathon). It has been a fantastic year of training, racing and personal achievements. Many triathlete and runner blogs I follow are now starting to make public their races and goals for 2010. Which got me thinking about my 2010 goals. At this time last year, I had my race schedule planned and was two months in to my IMC training plan. So what do I have on my race calendar for 2010? Well....nothing. 2010 in my house is known as " The Year Of Tim ". My always accommodating and supportive husband is having a milestone bi...

The New Balance Fall Classic Half Marathon was a great day for me! The weather was cold, windy and rainy but that didn't stop me from getting a PB. My previous PB was the Pacific Roadrunners First Half in 2000 in a time of 2:08:28 (back then I was in the 25-29 Age Group). That was also the first half marathon I ever ran. Since then I was able to run everything from a 2:10 all the way to a 2:20 a couple of years ago but never anything under 2:08:28. My goals for Sunday were to: run under 2:08 run 2:00 run under 2:00 The race started out quickly and mostly downhill as you can see by the chart below. Once the first 3 kms were done, I settled into a solid sub 2hour pace. The course is 2 loops which can be boring but also helpful when trying to set a consistent pace. I started to slow down around the 16-18km mark but had 'banked' a few minutes with my faster start time so I still felt I could come in under the 2 hour time. I used the pacing feature with my Garmin 405...

Last night we made our way in to Vancouver for the Sugoi Warehouse Sale. I was very happy to see a great selection of Brand Champion gear in ALL sizes and ALL at 50% off the lowest ticketed price. Running tech shirts were $10, Bike jerseys were $20 and I even picked up a cycling vest for $20 (keep an eye out for the vest tomorrow when I run the Fall Classic 1/2 Marathon) It was a very productive and exhausting shopping experience for all of us. Yes, we bought ALL of the stuff in this photo. We even took the security guard home with us. :-) Incredible Sugoi!

Will I see you there on Friday night?

I wanted to share a great 31km route with everyone. If you are training for a hilly event, then this is the route for you! Click on the photos below for a more detailed route. Believe it or not, I have learned that the Florida Marathon is hilly. Hard to believe but true. How hilly? Not exactly sure but it doesn't hurt to train on the hills anyway. During this run yesterday I was alone with my iPod for about 20kms. I would suggest that this is a busy and safe route to run alone during the day for anyone. There is a bathroom located at the top of Queen Elizabeth Park which was about 1/2 way. During this run I ate a PowerGel every 45mins and had four 8oz bottles of orange Gatorade. I was very happy to have stashed a peanut butter sandwich in my car for after the run. I was hungry! All in all a great run and I am feeling prepared for the Fall Classic Half Marathon next weekend and my marathon on December 19th. Happy Training to all!

Sugoi means Incredible or WOW in Japanese! A couple of weeks ago I was selected to participate in the Sugoi Brand Champions program. As my first 'responsibility' for this position I purchased this beautiful Brand Champion singlet to wear at my upcoming races. Because I will be running my marathon in Florida I wanted something that would be cool. I am also running the Fall Classic 1/2 Marathon in a few weeks and need something warm. I felt this would work in both races. I can wear it on its own for Florida and with a long sleeve shirt underneath for the Fall Classic. Stay tuned for actual photos coming as soon as it arrives! Also, I will let you in on Sugoi Warehouse Sale happening very soon in Vancouver. Click here for the details. Thank you Sugoi !