Running makes you better at running! Who knew?

I ran an easy 10K earlier this week as part of my training, and to my surprise I discovered I was about three minutes faster than my Sun Run 10K time in April. Crazy! I haven't been training for speed at all, focusing instead on increasing my distance every week, but man was that time nice to see! I'm still super slow, but I am improving. Small victories!

Sunny Saturday Run

This morning I completed a 13km run. This is a little shorter then I would like to be running at this point in my training but I am gradually getting back into my long runs. I chose a challenging route with a lot of hills, from Kits to UBC and back. I previously disliked the big hill going up 8^th Avenue by West Point Grey School but it is slowly growing on me. The reason being is that it is getting easier every time I go up, I see myself improving and it makes every other incline manageable. It is not only the hard work that makes me fitter; it makes me happier when I can accomplish something much easier than I was able to before.

I find that a lot of new runners find running quite challenging for various reasons. The way I look at it is that running is like any new thing you decide to do, you aren’t going to be good at it right away, it takes time and training. A quote from Mind Gym that I always reference back too is that you have to get “comfortable with the uncomfortable”. For me, this quote aligns perfectly with my long runs. When I increase my mileage for a long run, it usually doesn’t feel the greatest. When my body adapts and my training is on track that is when I feel “comfortable” in what I am doing. 

Running for CAN (Canucks Autism Network)

For those of you who don't know me, before I became a full-time mom I have been working with kids with autism for almost 10 years. When I started my very first semester at SFU, I thought I wanted to be a teacher or a child psychologist since I had volunteered lots at day camps and knew I loved working with children. One of my friends asked if I would be interested in working with a child who was autistic. It was the first time I'd ever heard of the word and I thought she had said "artistic" and wondered why artistic children needed special help.....well I've learned a lot more about what autism since then. I finished my BA in Psychology and went on to get my Master in Special Education specializing in Autism and Developmental Disorders. I've worked with at least 50 or more kids on the autism spectrum and I love, love, love my job. I am a behavioral consultant at Family Centred Practices Group and I meet families right after they get the ASD diagnosis when their child is usually 2 or 3 years old. Then I work really hard to help them learn  communication, social, academic and/or self-help skills.

I'm doing the half-marathon for the Canucks Autism Network (CAN). They are an awesome non-profit group that helps enhance the quality of life for families with kids with autism. One of the kids CAN has helped is a little sweetheart I work with. His name is Lewis and when I first met him, he was a shy 3-year-old with just a few words. In the past 3 years of working with him, he has been significant gains. He is now a super chatty, adorable and well-liked student in his kindergarten class. When I saw him yesterday, he ran to the door said, "Hi Vanessa! How are you?" and gave me a big hug. That just melts my heart because our team worked so hard for him to learn greeting skills. If you don't know much about autism, one of the areas that many children with ASD struggle with is social skills. Lewis is one of those kids. For example, when he was at the playground, I saw a girl his age nearby so I whispered, "say hi to the girl." He took this very literally (as many kids with autism do), turned to her and says, "Hi girl" and then walked away. So you can see that social skills is an area that we've focused on for Lewis. The Canucks Autism Network offers many social programs and one is the I CAN Play series. These programs are specifically designed to promote the physical and social development of children with autism by providing an environment and pace of instruction that is modified to meet their needs. CAN also provides a place to learn sports skills and socialize with their peers without the fear of acceptance or the worry of competition. It is a chance for them to build new friendships and most importantly participate in sports any typical child would. Lewis has been going to the I CAN soccer series for the past several months, it is so wonderful to see him so excited to go to soccer every Satruday morning and talk about the friends he has made. During the summer, his older brother will be able to go soccer camp with him. CAN provides such a great opportunity for families to have experiences that many of us with typically developing children take for granted. If you don't know anything about CAN, take a minute and watch the video, it also doesn't hurt that Manny Malhotra of the Vancouver Canucks is CAN's official spokesperson =)

And if you want to help CAN continue the awesome work it is doing, click on the fundraising link below. All the kids I work with say THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1366342&langPref=en-CA&Referrer=direct%2fnone

Remember sunscreen!

Long weekend! Time for lots of running, right? Saturday's run is 18K, and I will try to remember sunscreen this time -- I have a nice little burn from last Saturday. Turns out running for more almost two hours in the middle of the day on a sunny Saturday without sunscreen is not the best idea. Oops.

One thing I've noticed since starting my training is that it's a lot easier than I thought it would be to get my runs in. I worried that that training would take over my life and I would miss out on social events for several months leading up to the half, but it's not actually that bad. My post-work runs during the week aren't too long and really, I'd just be checking Facebook during that time anyway. I can move them around to a different day if I have a softball game that conflicts with a scheduled run. And my long runs on the weekend are early enough that my boyfriend is still in bed when I leave, and still in his pyjamas reading when I get back. We still have enough of the day left to do whatever we had planned. Some weeks are busier than others, of course, but overall the training is less time-consuming than everyone thinks it will be.

Now I need to plan my route for my 18K run! Any ideas?

Thank you Asics and Forerunners

The day after I finished my first 20K, I got all the gear that I won for being a Joe Runner. I was so stoked to get my new Asics shoes on. Aren't they fabulous? I also got an Asics shirt, short and socks. Plus a $100 to Forerunners on West 4th. I went this week and picked up a fuel belt, a long sleeved performance running shirt and a variety of different gels. I am so pumped now. Thank you Asics and Forerunners!

Unfortunately, the morning after my 20K last week, I woke up and could barely walk because my right knee was feeling so stiff and sore. By Tuesday, I could walk but my knee still didn't feel quite right but I was so stoked to break in my new runners, I have been walking in my new Asics all week. I did a slow 9K today and made time to stretch after my run. I hope I haven't injured it too badly. Do you stretch before you run or do you wait after 10 minutes or so after you're warmed up? What about post-run, what are some good stretches after a good work-out?

Strength In Numbers

I have always been involved in team sports throughout my life. The motivation, competition and desire that comes from a team working towards a common goal is so inspiring. I have always considered running an individual sport but in the past few weeks I have changed my mind.

The past two Wednesdays I have gone to the Forerunners running clinic. I joined Ken’s group hoping to keep up with the speedy pace that will hopefully help me attain my goal time for the half marathon.  Considering it is only been my second week with the group, everyone has been so friendly and always looks out for each other during the workout. I think its fair to say that I push myself a lot harder with the running group versus on my own. Some people say music, sunny weather or new running shoes motivates them to run faster however for me, a group that is willing to push themselves and support each other has been my inspiration! So if you are having difficulty mustering up the enthusiasm to go for a run, grab a partner or a join a group, the drive to strive for success is contagious. 

Running's a pain (sometimes)

I've been noticing some right knee and hip pain since I started training for the Sun Run in January, and I finally was able to see a sports medicine specialist yesterday. (My doctor admitted that she knows very little about sports medicine and figured it was best to just send me off to someone who knows what they're doing.)

The doctor's diagnosis was that I have hip bursitis on my right side, which is caused by a super tight IT band. The tight IT band is also probably causing some knee pain, but the main cause of my knee pain is probably the fact that my kneecap on my right side is pretty loose. For my treatment, I'm supposed to be stretching my IT band a lot more and doing squats to strengthen my quads to help keep my kneecap stable. He didn't tell me to stop running, though, so that's good! I'll be back in his office in about 7 weeks to see whether I'm feeling better.

When scheduling the follow up appointment, I realized that the half is 6 and a half weeks! Ah! So soon!

My first 20K!

I DID IT! I DID IT! I just finished my first 20K! And what a gorgeous day for a long run too! I thought the first half of the run would be easier since I would have more energy but the first 10K seemed to drag on forever. I felt like an impatient child in the backseat of the car, "are we there yet?" "are we there yet?" I kept looking down at my iPod and I felt like it must be already 5K and it was only at 3K, but after I made it halfway the last 10K seemed to go by a lot faster. I ran out to the very end of the Fraser Foreshore Trail in Burnaby and then turned around and ran west all the way to the Knight Street bridge and back home. I somehow timed it perfectly too and it was 20.3K from my doorstep there and back! I only had to stop twice for a drink at water fountains. I don't have a fuel belt and I was running on pretty much an empty stomach, is a fuel belt really necessary? And if I get one, what are some good quick energy things to pack along? I've never had one of those gel things before. Honestly, they look kinda gross, do they really work? And can all you running pros suggest some good recovery snacks after a long run? I've heard chocolate milk is good, anything else?

New gear!

My new Asics gear has arrived!

As one of the Joe Runners, I got a new shirt, shorts, socks and shoes from Asics, and a lovely gift certificate from Forerunners (who also provided my training program and my Wednesday night running clinic). I tried everything on as soon as I got home of course, and I'm pleased to report it all fits perfectly. My boyfriend even commented that the light purple of the shirt is a very flattering colour for me. Excellent! His comment on the shoes: "Oh man, those are so cool!" That's what happens when you opt for the brightest colours. Thanks, Gel-Speedstar 6. I knew limeade would be the perfect colour for a summer race.

Now that I've got all this sweet running gear, what should I get with the Forerunners gift certificate? Foam roller? Fuel belt? Fancy heart rate monitor?

Can't wait to bust out my new shoes. I already did my run today, but I've got 10K coming up on Monday...

Thursday tempo run

So it's day 3 of following the Forerunners Training Guide and today calls for a tempo run: "2.5K warm up and 4 X 5min repeats with 90 sec recovery, 1.5K cool down - 9K total aproximately".  It was raining and didn't look like would stop so I bundled Natallie up and strapped her down and headed out for my very first tempo run. I couldn't look at my running timer app thing because it was raining and I didn't want my iPod to get wet so I kept my iPod in my pocket and just ran a block as fast as I could pushing the stroller and then walked the next block for my recovery. Does that count as a tempo run? After I did that for 5 blocks, I decided to just run. I thought I would be so tired since Natallie had me up at 6:30am but maybe this training is actually working because at the end of my 10K run, I felt great! Then when I got home, it was part 2 of my workout: taking Natallie to her swim class. The swim lesson is in the shallow end of Killarney Pool and to keep Natallie afloat, I have to be in a squatted position the entire time (great quad work-out for me!) What a fantastic day: a 10K run and a great time at the pool. All smiles for mom and baby.