Terapin's Journal: 5 yrs running! Couch to Goofy, Fracture to Fab, Baby to Dopey. Comments welcome!

Hello! Happy February!

Things are going just fine here. Let me start by saying I haven't lost any weight at all since last month. Boo. But I really didn't try very hard, honestly, in the sustained way I need to. I had great days and I had no-so-great days, so I am reaping the 'reward' of zero change.

HOWEVER, what is going well is my running! While my distances are still low (3-4km), I am running much better. I am still doing 1:1 running/walking, but my running portions have gotten considerably faster and I am back at my old pace of 6:45-7:15/km (which is about 11 mins a mile), and overall my pace is 9:00/km which is about 14 mins a mile. So this week I am moving up my mileage! I am signed up for the Princess 10k in two weeks and my goal is to do intervals for the first 5k and then whatever gets me to the finish for the last 5k. I have zero doubt that I can finish just fine, as I have been keeping up with my walking throughout the pregnancy and routinely had days of 10-14km walking all in (I did a walking tour of Japan, Disneyland 2x and WDW 2x in pregnancy, full days of 10-14k a day), and trips to both parks since where we just walked and walked all day, with zero issues. Still, I wish I were better trained so I could plan on running the whole thing.

Also, my physio is going well. My legs are feeling much stronger and my hip isn't quite so bad. My hip issue is a nerve compression in my pelvis which is causing nerve pain and weakness down my leg. Apparently it has something to do with the relaxin hormone in pregnancy and with breastfeeding that loosens up the pelvic joints and is allowing it to go out of alignment and causing nerve compression. I am doing exercises to strengthen my hip, butt and thigh muscles to help the pelvis stay more stable.

My foot is doing pretty well! It occasionally is tweaked at the beginning of a run until I am warmed up, then is fine. It doesn't hurt or ache the next day. I'm not sure the slight ache will ever go away, as apparently the tendon is permanently enlarged and I suppose when I start running it needs to move in my foot a bit before moves well?

I am running with the kids every few weeks. We did 3k two weekends ago and the kids kept up well, even my non-runner son who is really benefiting from some exercise. We have signed the kids up for some local 5k races to help keep the running spark alive.

I am also working out with a trainer 1-2x a week, doing core, upper body, and running-enhancing lower body. I am stretching and doing yoga on my own but I need to do more.

These are the races I have signed up/planned for this year:

Feb- Princess 10k
Mar-
Apr- 5k stroller run, 5k run with kids (two different dates)
May- Pixie Dust Challenge (!), also a 5k with the kids
June - Niagara Falls women's half marathon, another 5k with the kids
July- 1/4 marathon with kids
Aug- Toronto Women's 10k
Sep- Paris DL 5k and HM, Army HM
Oct- Toronto Women's 8k, Scotiabank HM
Nov -Angus Glen HM

That will mean 5 x 5k, 1 x 8k, 4 x 10k, 6 x HM.

So clearly I gotta keep this train moving. It's a big leap to Pixie Dust Challenge. That HM will be tough.

This is all leading up to a plan to do Dopey 2017. We even have the room booked through DVC. GULP.

I've got a lot of work to do, and a real need not to get injured.

Today is a 4k run outside, some stretching and some yoga. Tomorrow is the trainer.
 
Hello! Happy March!

I am thrilled to report that the Princess 10K went really well! I stuck to 1:1 intervals and my pace was really consistent. I finished feeling great! My foot was a little tender for the rest of the day, but we came back to AKV, had a bath and a short nap, and headed out for a full day at the parks (pedometer said another 11k!)

IMG_0936_zpst1ujtmfh.jpg


I hired a running coach and had my first session at the track! It was great and I think we are really going to get along and get some work done! He said he was pleasantly surprised that I did as well as I did - yay!
 
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I wanted to write more about why I wanted a running coach when I am a lousy runner. I really want to become a better runner, and build back up. And I don't want to get injured. I am so, so fearful of getting injured again. I found my coach on the internet after a quick search. He lives quite close to me and ran for Canada internationally, and was a very, very good runner years back. Now he coaches full time. We chatted on the phone for quite some time where I told him my story (fat, lost 60 pounds, ran a bunch, ran Goofy, ran a bunch, got injured, tried to heal injury, had to rest injury, gained back weight, underwent fertility treatment, got pregnant, had a baby, started running again!). He's quite funny and we share the same sense of humour. He's been around the running scene locally and beyond for a long time.

We met at an indoor track and we ran together. He wanted to see where I was at. I've only run intervals of 1:1 at this point, but he had me running for the first 7-8 minutes before a walk break. And you know what? I was fine. We ran intervals of about 6:1s for a bunch, around and around the 200m track. Eventually I was getting tired before the 6 minutes so he shortened the intervals as need be, running me until I got tired, and then we'd walk. When we were done he had me sprint 100m and that felt amazing! He told me afterwards that I did better than he thought, in terms of me having better stamina that he thought, which was nice. I didn't feel overly tired or overworked when we were done, just like I had done a good run.

He asked me to run 3x more until we meet again Wednesday, 2 x 30 minutes and 1 x 45 minutes. Yesterday I did a 30 minute run and it went well, but it was cold and my asthma was quite bad. I ran 4:1.5 intervals, and went 3.55k in 30 minutes, with a pace of 8:31 overall. That was about :30 faster than I had been doing myself, so I was pleased with that. Tomorrow is a 45 minute run. He wants me to work on time on feet rather than pace or distance.

I got new shoes! Brooks Transcend 3. I quite like them - supportive and very cushy! Holy expensive, though.
 


Weight is starting to budge. 230.0 today. If I shifted around a little I could get the scale to read 229.5 but that is cheating, so being in the 220s will be a goal reached another day! My left hip is hurting near the iliac crest, but it is much better than yesterday. Maybe it's from shovelling snow?

Got my 30 minute run in (3.57k, 8:28/km pace). It was a sucky run - I will be honest. Emotionally just not feeling it today. But it's done. And my weight was 229.7 afterwards ;-)
 
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Had my second session with the coach. We met and warmed up in a local neighbourhood, then hit a long hill. I ran the hill pole to pole as a warm up, and then we did some variations of up and down running and walking, and finished with a long run up as far as I could manage and then down again. In total the workout was 6k and about an hour. The hill wasn't steep, but it was hard work. A perfect training hill. I finished feeling good but fatigued. My left hip is bugging me and I can't get into my physio for 2 weeks, so I am resting it for 2 days, and seeing a Thai yoga massage guy for some stretching tomorrow. Coach wants 2-3 runs on my own until we meet next Wednesday. I worked hard and am proud of the run.
 
Good morning!

Had my third session with my coach on Wednesday. The weather did not cooperate: heavy, cold rain. So we did hills! We started with a warm up dodging puddles, and then the hills. I had to stop for a bathroom break and it was so hard to go back out in the rain to finish off the hills, but I did, and then I was rewarded with heading home to eat lunch by the fireplace and then a hot bath.

I'm currently doing 5:1s, and over the week did a 10k run and a 4k run on my own. The 10k run was last weekend and involved getting bitten by a dog! I was about 5k in and a German Shepherd ran out from her yard and I stopped running, let the dog sniff me and then told her to go home. She did, but was replaced by a larger dog who darted on and just went for my arm. He jumped down, and then bit me again. I was pretty upset. The owner came and yelled at the dog who didn't mind him much, but eventually they retreated. I walked for a bit, called A and cried on the phone to him, then decided to keep going. The adrenaline rush made the next 2k pretty easy, but the last kilometre was a slog and I was getting soooo sore in my joints.

The 4k went pretty well, but the last minute of 5:1s is a slog. My coach wants to get me to the point where I am running without *needing* breaks.

My weight hasn't changed at all. I guess I am still eating too much. I'm sitting at 230-231. I thought I was working pretty well at eating well, but apparently not. That is a goal for this week: to see the scale go down.

I have a couple work trips coming up: Italy and LA. It will be interesting to see how I can fit in my runs there, especially given that they are for longer periods of time now.

Countdown to Pixie Dust Challenge - can't wait!
 


Had my fourth session with the coach yesterday after freezing rain derailed our plans earlier in the week. We met at the track and after a warm up we did what coach called, "Peaks and Fades". They were basically me running all out around the track, and stopping when I felt I could do no more. What that actually looked like was me running (like a gazelle!) about 150m all-out, then another 50m at a rapidly slowing pace, then walking about 300m before starting up again. We did this 6 times. It felt pretty good to run fast (for me!) Coach said I was running at a 7 minute mile pace at 90% effort. But I couldn't sustain that, that's for sure. Apparently we will work up to 2 minutes at 90-95% pace.

I have some speed goals, if I haven't written that before: under 30 minute 5k, under 1 hour 10k, and eventually a sub 2hour HM, and sub 5 hour HM. I think my old body couldn't do much faster than that as speed goals. Currently my PR for 10k is 1:14 or 1:09, I can't remember, and 36 mins for 5k I think. I have it all written down somewhere back from when it was relevant.

The last run before the coach run was 10.5k done over 95 minutes mid-week. Gosh it is hilly where I live - and I live in a bowl-shaped area where every direction involves a fairly significant net gain. I tried to push myself, and the reward was a net downhill on the way back home. But then I undershot my mileage and had to run around the neighbourhood, ending with a very long hill. LOL. The nice thing was the next day I was doing pretty well with no muscle or foot soreness, but some joint stiffness in my hips.

This week I am meeting the coach for a trail run on Wednesday. I have a short and a long run to do before that. Tomorrow is a short run and Tuesday will be my long run - 11k, 100 minutes. I decided I need to plan to work out every day to try and budge this weight. Being overweight is really the crux of what is holding me back. Running is easier than not watching what I eat too too closely, but I gotta stop being permissive with myself and really tighten down the eating again and *sustain* that.
 
I haven't written in awhile! No weight change (well, down to 228) but something funky is up with my body. I was retaining a ton of water, with even swollen ankles. I lost 4 pounds overnight and am not nearly as swollen. Not sure what was up with that. Hoping to see some more weight come off this week as I am working really hard at it.

Training is going well, except my hip. I've been battling a very sore TFL. It's getting better I think. During my last long run it got so bad I had to stop running, but eased up quite nicely after some massage and stretching and I was able to continue my run. Since then it's been sore but less sore than last week. I am seeing the physio weekly - not sure how much time is helping and how much his exercises and therapy are helping, but I am continuing on figuring I should do as much as possible.

My mileage is coming up quite nicely. I hit the milestone of a 2 hour run last week on Friday. I went 13.5k in 120 minutes. Soooooo slow but my coach keeps telling me to shut up about pace, that it will come. Right now we are working on "time on feet". I stuck with 4:1 intervals and that was manageable. For shorter runs I am getting much more comfortable with longer intervals.

Here is my mileage for April so far:
April 2 11.14k 8:58/km pace
April 5 4k 8:02 pace
April 7 6.18 hills and warmup/cool down
April 9 5k race (8:22 pace - very hilly course)
April 11 5.6k 8:20 pace
April 13 6k of hills and warmup/cool down -> coach said I was 30 seconds faster on same hill work out than last week - woot!
April 15 13.5k 8:40 pace
April 17 5k with kids, 10:00/km pace (running with a 9 year old non-runner)
April 19 3.55km, 8:22 pace

Tomorrow about 6-8km trail run with coach, and Friday is my long run - should be 15k

We've done a couple races. First one was April 9 and was the Race Roster Spring Run-Off. It was a 5k and very hilly! The last 500m was a big, steep incline. So much so that they had prizes for the runners who scaled that beast the fastest. My coach asked that I run as long as I could without taking a walking break and I made it 23 mins. I walked for 3 minutes, then ran for 8, and walked the last 8 (because of that hill!). I finished exactly 42:00 mins. I wasn't going for a time, just the shedding of intervals.

The second race was April 17 with the kids. Our 2 9-year-olds ran, and did Ad and I. He took his girls and they ran it well - finishing about 38 mins or so. Alden and I took a little longer and he needed a lot of encouragement and chat to keep going. Fair enough: his last run was months ago and the longest was 3k. So he did awesome. We stuck to 1:1 intervals and finished at 54:25. It didn't feel much like a solid training run to me, but was fun exercise and I am so proud of my kid!

Waiting to sign up for Dopey today. Woot! I am sooooo nervous just signing up. I know what I am in for. My coach is coming with us though! He's become a friend, too. We have a 1bdrm at BLT booked, so there is room for him. He's going to run with me, and act as my sherpa he says. He's run NYC, Boston, Tokyo, LA marathons, but never a Disney race. So it will be super fun to introduce him to that. Imagine me having something to new in running to show him (he has been a career professional runner and coach his whole adult life). Can't wait to have his help. Dreading the miles leading up to it, though! Although he says he won't have me exceed 3 hours of running for training - but I suppose my speed and endurance will be much different in those 3 hours than I could do now. My longest run since 2013 was last week: 120 minutes. Getting there!
 
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Down to 226. So things are moving - slooooowly. But then again, I'm not a very good dieter. So there's that!

I've been having decent runs, except my last long run sucked so bad. It was an out and back down by the lake and it was pretty, and mostly pretty flat. The weather was about 16c but 83% humidity. I made a few mistakes. One was that I fuelled poorly. I ate well, 2 eggs and 2 slices of toast, but it was 2.5 hours before I ran and shortly after I started running I was already hungry. I also packed fluids, but just 400ml and they were sports drink. After 5k I was desperately thirsty and the sweet drink (which was stevia-sweetned, not sugar) tasted so gross, so I called a friend who was working nearby and she came and rescued me with 500ml of water. After that I was feeling much better and the warm sun and humidity didn't bother me so much. I made it to the turn around at 7.5km and was feeling pretty good. But after another 30 minutes I was really starting to flag. I brought two gels but they were gone at this point. I was getting hungry, tired and sore. It was overcast, but the sun came out occasionally, and when it did it was bearing down on me (no hat, either!). I totally forgot how to run in warm weather.

Around the 1h30m mark the wheels really started to come off and I was walking a bit more than my 4:1 intervals. But at 1h45m I was done. I mean, crying and snotty done. Feeling so sorry for myself that my left foot was hurting, my right ankle was hurting, my SI on my right side and my left hip, all sore. Foot getting too sore to run. I was totally wah-wahing. So I walked that last 3-4k. I told my coach it as a 90minute run with a 45min cool down- that's essentially how it went done. He wanted 2.25 hours on feet, and he got that. He also got a text saying I was a ****ty runner and needed motivation. Poor guy. After I got some fluids and food I felt like I had been such a suck, but in that moment I was just feeling so crappy and un-optimistic about my future running commitments.

So there you have it, a supremely crappy run. They happen. Gonna do that course over next week and do better.
 
Down to 224! Woot! Was so pleased when I weighed myself this morning. And it's just a smidge over 224 so it's actually close to 223s. LOL. The other thing is that my scale weighs heavy. I know this. It actually runs about 4 pounds heavy as compared with multiple other scales, including my physician's scale. But I'd rather have the worst-case scenario and so I still use those numbers.

I am THRILLED to report that I finished the Pixie Dust Challenge! I managed to get two more long runs after that super craptastic long run I wrote about, and the last one wasn't too awful. I managed to get in 2:15 of running and 15k twice. So while I wasn't un-trained, I think I would have done even better in the race if I had had a couple more long runs. It wasn't that I wasn't motivated or following my plan to a T, it was just that I was really pushing myself to get to a half-marathon in such a short time.

I will come back and write more about the races and post pictures - I need to drop the kids off at school.

Short report: 10K crowded and lots of bottlenecks, finished without issues but hip and foot a little sore. Time: 1:35
HM humid and crowded, but no issues. Tired starting at 16k. More walking after that, but still running 50/50. Time: 3:26

I have to smack myself about when I get down on myself for being so slow. My mileage has just ramped up, I had a baby 7 months ago, had a terrible injury 18 months ago that stopped be running completely, and I am heavy. I tried really hard in those races and so while I long for better times, they will come this year as I get stronger and leaner! My coach was thrilled I finished, and had NO injuries after than much mileage. I felt better after the half than the 10k, other than some minor muscle soreness after the HM that I didn't have after the 10k. My hip and foot were 99% fine after the race!

I did my first post-race run yesterday with the coach - we did hills, but in a 30:30 format where I ran them at a good pace but not all guts out for 30 seconds then walked them for 30 seconds. We had a really long hill. It felt good but my hip is tweaking this morning and my heel is sore? I also gardened this week and got some hamstring and glute soreness after all the bending and raking. Clearly those muscles are under used!

Anyway, I feel like I AM BACK!!! I managed to get back to a half marathon ability!

Mileage for january: 22k
February 27K
March 75k
April 105k
May - on target for about 130k

Before the 10K:

image
by Carolynn Prior, on Flickr

After!
image by Carolynn Prior, on Flickr

HM complete!
image by Carolynn Prior, on Flickr
 
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Down to 220. Slowly coming off.

My hip is pretty sore. The exercises the physio gave are aggravating it so I am resting it for a few days. I'm supposed to do a long run today, but given that I have a half-marathon on Sunday I think my best bet is to rest the hip and hopefully get it to settle down. I'm also trying to see a massage therapist this week to get some relief that way. Once it is calm, I'll go back to doing the exercises and see if I can kick it.

Pool is open, so starting doing laps. I keep holding my breath - gotta work on remembering to breathe during laps.

We are heading out on the Magic June 17 - can't wait! Will have to pack all my exercise stuff so as to not derail the weight loss with yummy cruise food and easy living.

Running with the coach is going well. We did speed work this week. He didn't work me too hard as my hip was really hurting, but we did 8 x 30 second sprints with recovery of 30 seconds in between. I should have been able to do 10 or so reps, but the hip started dominating my efforts and we pulled back.

My partner, Adam, is running really well. He did a 10k run in 51:30. I can't wait to see him let loose at races.

Well, hopefully the race goes ok on Sunday. I feel undertrained, frankly. I hope to improve on my Tink time though. My goal is 3:15 for this one.
 
Weight down 219. And I finished last Sunday! I think it was half marathon #15. My time wasn't great: 3:22 but was a few minutes faster than my last race and given how I felt going into it, I will take it. I stuck to intervals and only ever walked once more than 2 minutes. I just really kept moving and telling myself I would be done faster if I ran rather than walked. The last 4k was a struggle. I ran the last 200m into the chute as fast as I could and man that was hard!

The race was the Niagara Women's Half Marathon. The weather was so so this year. It was raining almost up to start time, but just a light sprinkle. The temp was perfect: about 15c/60f. It was overcast with occasional sun, which I like as it is easier on the eyes and there was no risk of getting sunburnt. The only downside was that the promised swag bag was empty, except the shirt and wine. Apparently they ran out of swag unexpectedly. Boo.

We leave for London in less than a week! Woot!

I'm not sure what I am doing this week running-wise. I saw my physio yesterday about my damn hip still being awful. He did some acupuncture and it's feeling less painful today, but I need to kick it! I made an appt with the sports med doctor on Monday so maybe some diagnostics are in order. I think I need to run today - just waiting to hear from coach if it will be a run with him or not.

Me and my sister at the start line:
image by Carolynn Prior, on Flickr

Nice view:
image by Carolynn Prior, on Flickr

image by Carolynn Prior, on Flickr
 
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4k done before 9am Sunday. Yay! I needed this to be a good run and it was! I decided to dial down to 1:1s and really enjoy the running portions. I've been having a hard time with my heart rate being a bit too high and early fatigue, so it was nice to enjoy some speedy sections, then walk down my heart rate.

I really worked on form this run, with really engaging my feet and pushing off with long legs, rather than just letting things fall and using my legs to pull up my feet. I'm hoping better form will help my hip pain and fatigue levels. It sure felt stronger and more dynamic.

In my head Dopey training began today! I've got less than 200 days to get ready for the hurtfest that is running a 5k, 10k, 21k and 42k on consecutive days. Can't wait to meet with Coach Bruce this week and get our game on!

Weight was down to 215 prior to the cruise. It's 218 now, and I imagine it will come down a bit more this week. I worked hard not to overindulge, but indulge just a little :-)
 
Weight is 214, augmented by some food poisoning a few days ago. LOL. My weight was higher yesterday so I don't think it is artificially down, and I am all hydrated again.

Training for Dopey (gulp!) started in earnest this week. I missed two workouts due to illness so I will make up one of the runs Sunday, and tack on the cross-training this weekend to a run day, so I am only short one cross training session. This week was about really getting my head in the game. I read some Dopey blogs and watched some videos. I am SUPER intimidated, but excited. I am so so SO worried about the marathon portion.
 
Ok, so weight is up a little to 216 so I guess that really was the stomach flu/food poisoning that brought it down. I shoulda known! Anyway, doesn't change the plan.

So because my hip was so sore and because I was really feeling the long runs as acutely uncomfortable and almost unbearable, I decided to talk to my coach about dialling down the mileage a little. He checked out some running plans (he knows the Macmillan Running guy and liked his), and we decided I have time. So I am starting back lower down. I looked at the Hal Higdon and JG and made a plan that was a hybrid of them. HH has the mileage up a little higher than I want right now, but I want more days of running than JG. I also am not going to surpass 3 hours of training runs, and JG has you up to the full 26 miles.

My plan is running 4 days per week, with a LSD and a session with the coach (usually hills but was trails last week), and two shorter runs that I am doing more by feel, usually a little on the fast side for fun. I don't always have the luxury of picking what time I go so sometimes those short runs end up being heat training! Also, two cross training sessions *at least*. I got a new bike so I am planning on biking a few times a week, using our pool for laps, and our home gym for resistance and weight training.

I'm just really ready to have a better, stronger, leaner body. My back has been bothering me lately and I after a pregnancy I just feel like bones, joints, skin and some weak muscle. And a bunch of fat! I'm ready to feel taut, lean and strong.

Next week is Comicon for work, so tons of walking! I'll do my long run Monday and perhaps see my coach Tuesday, so the walking will count as cross-training (LOL) and I only have to get in two runs Wednesday through Sunday. We're staying at a nice hotel so they *should* have a gym, if it's not packed. Wait, do nerds and geeks use the gym? ;-) Well we do, so I guess so!

This morning I have some work to do, then I am going to go for a swim before my long run. Lunch is baked salmon and broccoli I think. I bought a huge salmon filet at Costco and it's gotta get cooked.
 
WELL, plans are out the window. It seems that we brought home a souvenir of the best kind from our Norway/Iceland cruise and this mama is out of running races and losing weight until after the Little Souvenir makes his/her appearance. To say that I was shocked would be an understatement. I am 44 and we battled infertility with our last baby a few years ago. I was told I wouldn't conceive on my own. Wrong-o!

In the month I have gained about 5 pounds. Boo. I assume it's water and pregnancy, but I am hoping that things slow down. I only gained about 30 pounds last pregnancy, but started much heavier. My goal this time is to not gain more than 25-30 pounds, so I will be in a better place after the pregnancy. I have been running a bit but the temperature has been brutally hot and it's humid too, and I have had quite bad morning sickness. Eating helped the nausea, so I think that is where some of the extra weight came from, too. Now that I am on medication, I am back to eating better and can anticipate the weight gain will be better.

I am planning on biking and running as soon as I get some energy. Lol
 
Terapin!! Congratulations on working so hard to be healthy! I really liked hearing about the running coach. But my eyes POPPED when I saw you are expecting! Congrats!!
 
Terapin!! Congratulations on working so hard to be healthy! I really liked hearing about the running coach. But my eyes POPPED when I saw you are expecting! Congrats!!

Thanks C_leen! I was pretty shocked!
 

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