Back at Burnaby Lake

I began my run at 10am on a cloudy but mild sunday morning. I was back at my normal sunday run routine, meeting the girls at Burnaby Lake. Racing requirements and injury obligations have forced me to run in different locations so it's be awhile, a couple months in fact, since I've been at the lake. I didn't realize how much I missed it. It looked like a completely different place this time around. All of the vegitation was so much greener and thicker. It was like the trail was closing in on inself from all this growth. Despite the mild claustrophobia I love the feeling of running on the soft trails compared to the hard pavement. The seawall, although beautiful kinda beats you up after awhile. We followed our typical route around the lake including an out- and-back along the Burnette River. 65-minutes later we were back where we started and finshed with some good stretching.

I finished off my workout with a fantastic recovery brunch with my mom. We had the Milestones usual: 2 cups of coffee, eggs benny for mom and california omelette no bacon extra ketchup for myself. After an amazing meal and 3 coffee refills I finished my afternoon with an Aritzia purchase (bad I know) and a good nap. Not a bad Sunday!

A giant weight has been lifted

As you can see, I’m sitting by the pool relaxing on a very comfy lounge chair in Pasadena. I’m soaking up my last few hours of sun before I head back to rainy Vancouver. I just finished my Sunday run and I’m enjoying an Orange Overload juice it up smoothie. My Sunday run was exhausting. It has only been about 15 hours since my race so I’m ok with being a little tired. I did an out-and-back run so I wouldn't get lost in a new place.  When you don’t know where you’re going it’s easier mentally to run in one direction instead of trying to kill time doing laps of the neighbourhood. To my unfortunate realization, on this run, when I turned around at 30 minutes I learned I had been running with the wind. I spent the entire second half of my run battling the huge gusts of wind that kept trying to prevent me from getting back to my hotel.

Despite slogging through my run mentally I felt light as a feather, a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. This is the first time I’ve been happy with my racing performance this year! For once I didn’t run an absolutely terrible 2:08! YES….

I didn’t realize how much of my energy has been devoted to my remaining positive while running terrible. It’s almost as exhausting as running itself. Looking back, I’m happy with how I’ve handled myself. I didn’t have any freak outs, well major freak outs, and I feel like I’m finally returning back to my normal running self. I have been keeping things in perspective. I know I can't let my running highs become too high or my running lows become too low. I've also been trying to focus on other amazing aspects of this fun life while waiting for a switch to flip.

Sitting here I keep thinking about racing. I’m looking forward to the next one instead of worrying who’s going to beat me. I am going to look at every race as an opportunity to show what I can do. I believe again, for real this time and I know I can run fast. I can finally race, I can fight, I have a chance.  I’m ready to take risks, kick ass and most importantly I’m going to love every minute. I’m so grateful to be able to run!

xoxo

Becks

A switch has been flipped!

I’m back baby, not only back but better than any race last year back (ha by .01). My time wasn’t all that fantastic but the fantastic part about it was I felt great! I’ve never been so happy to run 2:03.63. Today I could race, I was competitive and I had gears. The switch I’ve been praying for has FINALLY switched!

I was so excited to be part of this meet. It was very low-key but there was so much talent flowing out of every pore of the small stadium that it more than made up for it.

I didn’t know what to expect today. I’ve been taking it really easy because I’ve been fighting off a bit of sickness but I knew that my glands weren’t going to get in my way today. Warming up I was tight and I immediately began doubting myself. It's easy to justify my record doesn’t have much to speak of: tight hips and 208’s.  But about ¾ of my way through warm-up I passed a few amazing runners and realized the main difference between these runners and me is that they believe in themselves. Why am I doubting myself before I even start? It’s racing suicide.  As I passed those runners I immediately started to feel better,  I told myself to snap out of it. I told myself I’ve felt bad in warm-ups before and had great runs. I changed my attitude and made sure I was well warm up so I wouldn’t feel bad in the race due to oxygen debt.  

All I had to do today was sacrifice two minutes of my life to the run – my one max effort. Not a bad day at the office.

When the gun went off I tried to get into a good position. I went through 400 in 59-60 and was so pleased to be thinking omg I don’t feel terrible, I don’t feel like I won’t make it my legs are ok. I was in a bad spot at this point, on the outside pretty much in lane 2. I had another gear and I didn’t know when to use it because I didn’t want to waste too much energy on the curves. I hit 1:31 at 600-metres and kicked it with 150 to go. I was 4^th in my heat in 2:03.63. I think if I had gone a little earlier with about 250 to go I would have been faster.  I lost contact with the first three girls who ran the times I’m still praying to run. I think if I kept with them I could have put in a good fight. 

I keep thinking about how I should of done this or that and the outcome of the race would have been different. I’m telling my mind to stop now. I told myself if I ever got to even 205, with the way I have been feeling, I would be grateful. I am so grateful, I’m going to take this racing experience, learn from it and do even better next time. My fight is back, my determination is back and I’m so happy for it. The switch has flipped and I’m so looking forward to the rest of the season!

xo Rebecca

On set

First and foremost, I love my unconventional work life: It’s all so random and it’s all so fantastic.

Since my last post it has been one hectic week. I've been busy and as a result slow on the writing uptake. I realize "Busy" isn't a real excuse, I think busy happens when you start to lose control. I'll admit I'm kind of in that place but it's ok because it has all been by choice and it has been a fun ride.

This crazy chapter started two weeks ago when I went to an audition for “fit runner girl 25-30.” I knew this role was for me, I could feel it! I rocked the audition to the best of my running/acting abilities and waited.  After the second audition I did more of the same. I “worked it” the best I could and prayed for good news. To my disbelief these positive vibes worked! I was on hold the next day and booked the job that evening!

The following day I was at a fitting and two days later (Saturday) I found myself at a 6am call-time at Vancouver’s beautiful Jericho Park. As I’ve said before, I’m not a morning person. I would never wake up voluntarily at 4:50am but a cool crisp morning with the sun slowly rising over the ocean while someone is doing my hair and make-up - not a bad place to be. After a 12-hour shoot I was late for work (I had obviously discussed this issue with lulu earlier but I’m still forever grateful for their understanding). From location, I drove directly to Lulu to finish off the evening and help them close the store. I was home by 11 pm and shooting at the Richmond oval by 7am the next day (Sunday).  I was just so excited to be there! I easily filled a 14 hour day with fun shots, great food, sun, wireless internet, reading and lots of waiting with cool people.

When I got home I couldn’t sit still. I felt the need to hammer my Sunday workout on the treadmill (due to darkness).  I took Saturday off and completed my Sunday run on Friday.

I’m exhausted just writing this and now it’s all about recovery. I’m fighting a bug that has been creeping up on me for the last few weeks and sitting on a plane waiting to race. See…

A 400 and 15 200 Tuesday

It's been awhile since my last post, I've been running hard and sometimes the ability to siphon the energy required to compose a coherent sentence, let along a whole post, feels like it was left on the track.

It's been a few days but my Tuesday workout deserves an honourable mention. The practice was a 400 at 800-metre pace followed by 3x5 sets of 200's with 1 minute between reps and 3 minutes between sets. I felt a bit of the early morning weakness through the 400 but I put on my spikes and managed to finish in 59. I'll admit this time felt hard due to my recent foot-injury-lack-of-fitness but I haven't been able to comfortably run under 60 seconds in practice for awhile so I'll take it as leap in the right direction.

I changed into my racing flats and after a 4.5 minutes break began the 200's. I told myself the first few reps were going to feel harder than they should thanks to the previous 400. I was right but I managed to hit 30 seconds for all of my 200's. I was totally happy with this but I had to admit I was tired. I told myself not think about the 10 200's left on my plate but instead just to focus on the next set the appetizer. After a well needed 3 minutes we began the second set. I felt like I was starting to find my rhythm and hit mostly 30s with one or two 31's. After 10 I was exhausted and didn't know if I could keep the pace so I decided to change into my spikes. As I always say spikes are a godsend, the ease at which you can run compared to rubber boots is amazing. I realized how much harder I was working in my flats after putting on spikes and it made me feel pretty good about the first two sets. I finished off the 200's in a consistent 29-30.

I feel like a runner again, I can feel my old self returning. As I run I can once again give myself instructions that I know I can follow: contract the core, keeps your arms close, relax the hands. I can tell myself to push it and to try and run harder and drum roll..... I actually can make myself run faster. I'm starting to remember how great it feels to run when you're strong and I'm so so grateful for it!

My run before the Sun Run!

It was another beautiful morning, despite not being a morning person, I was up at 7:30 am and out the door a little before 8 (on a sunday!!). It was the Sun Run and I was excited to cheer on the runners with my fellow Lulu's. I wanted to go for my Sunday run first because it's hard to relax when there's unfinished business.

I headed out towards the sea wall but I didn't follow my usual route. I wanted to finish on the downtown side of the Burrard Bridge with the rest of the Lulu cheer squad. I headed in the opposite direction out towards Science World and along the water towards the opposite end of burrard bridge. There is something so powerful about bridges I feel a lot of strength when I'm under them, luckily I ran under a lot of them today.

Since it was early I expected to feel tired so I though it would be an easier run mentally to complete a bridge to bridge out-and-back type run. The only think was it took me less than an hour so I had to run in circles for about 5 minutes.

To my surprise I felt fantastic durning my run and it felt great to meet up with the rest of the group already finishing my day's work. I felt energized from the beautiful morning and the sea of runners. I was surprised by the never ending stream of people, they literally rocked my cheering world and the burrard street bridge. We formed alleys and runners high-fived us as they ran. We cheered from a seemingly stable structure but the whole bridge was shaking under the impact the 50 000+ runners. I heard on the news that pieces of bridge have been landing on the sea wall and I bet after today there were a few more to clean up.

Today was fun, I knew so many runners and the response from our cheering group was great! I did feel a great need to wash my hands about 5 million times and rinse with sanitizer after all the high-fiving.The day was finished off with a trip to Bowen for mom's day and some of Arron's bday cake.

Found a new gear!

Today was a sports bra and shorts kind of morning. It was what summer track is all about. The sun warmed my my muscles but it wasn't heat-exhaustion humbling. I woke up feeling good about the workout partially due to the weather but also because I knew my practice wasn't going to be that hard. I mean 5 broken 600's isn't a walk in the park but it's nothing compared to throwing 1000's into the mix. My confidence needed a doable workout day. I have been working hard through the past week, trying to focus on process, and I was still tired from it. My glands were also a bit bigger than they should be probably due to weeks of travelling.

I told myself I shouldn't expect to feel perfect I train hard and I'm always tired. Despite my sore throat practice went well. Today I found a new gear!

I started off my first 600's in racing flats, in my mind I was focusing on making the 200's strong and floating though the easy 200's. My first 600 was 1:52 it was too slow! I could use my racing flats as an excuse but it was still too slow. I followed up with 1:50 and 1:47. Then I changed into spikes and finished in 1:50 and 1:49.

At first I was frustrated with these times, I mean even when I'm doing 1000's I tend to go through 600 in these times or faster. I decided half way through to suck it up and quit complaining (in my head). I still felt good so I chose to take what I was been given and run with it. Today I could finally actually race!!!! For the first time in so so so long I tried to run faster and I started going faster! What a novel concept. Today my legs did not hinder me. I was in control I didn't feel as if  I was running and hoping for the best. When I decided to pushed it I went faster! What a concept! I am so happy for this newfound gear, it has been in hiding for awhile.

I know it's not all bells and whistles I still have a long way to go. It's hard not to think back to the last time I did broken 1000's and 6's and remember that I was faster through 600 even as I went on for the full 1000. As I try to push these thoughts out of my mind I can say that today is the first day that I felt like my old running self again. I was competitive I could fight and it feels great!

Running hills on the hill

It was a crisp, beautiful morning at SFU. There was no hail to contend with and I think this helped a long hill workout become significantly more bearable. I was happy to be doing some aerobic work, being injured has forced me to miss some of these important runs. For me some early workouts are like russian roulette, I never know what to expect, I try so hard but I'm just not a morning person.

Today was a welcomed surprise! I began the 20-minute hill session just hoping to feel strong. At first, I thought I had gone out too fast and was going to pay for it about 13 minutes in. As I attacked every hill it most definitely became harder but I was able to keep it together. With every rep I focused on keeping my core tight, relaxing my hands and trying to swing my arms. When I think of my form I'm trying to develop muscle memory that will help disperse fatigue throughout my whole body instead of having it focus in on my legs.

 I began my warm-up feeling incredibly stiff thanks to circuit training from the day before as well as a pm bike session and 6 hours of work. I realize I it's incredibly negative to doubt my strength before I even begin my workout but the last few weeks of terrible racing has made this very hard. For now, as I get my fitness back, I'm being realistic and today my legs felt great! For once, my hips were not limiting me at I reached the steepest parts of the hill.

I'm still waiting for a switch to flip, you know the one that will make me feel fast and fluid again during my races.  I would describe today as a dimmer switch I feel like someone has turned it up a bit. I know I'm on the right track (no pun intended) at least in my workouts and I think the races will eventually follow. I need to remember that even when I feel bad during warm-up the workout doesn't always follow the same fate. I'm grateful that my foot is feeling great and that I can finally focus on some solid weeks of running without worrying about it tearing! Be positive it's all in the process.

Sunny Cali to a Hail Storm

I'm back in Vancouver, the beautiful weather that I embraced while in Sunny California was not the case today. I completed 8x400-metres in almost sub-zero temperatures. I couldn't believe it. As I drove up the mountain, the clouds became darker shades of grey and the rain flooding my windshield quickly turned into pelting hail. I was tired for practice probably due to the last three weeks of travel, hotel beds and of course my training from the last few days: 60-minute early Sunday morning run through the streets of San Francisco and a Monday of 40-minute elliptical session and am weights followed by a 35-minute pm run. 

I am trying to snap out of it, this bad race thing is getting a little old. I am again disappointed with my race and I feel like it's out of my control. I felt great going into the race this weekend, legs were not that tight and I was positive but when that gun goes off I'm not able to fight the way I usually can. I feel like I'm just running and hoping for the best. When I finish I'm not exhausted to the extreme I try but I can't push myself to this point because it feels so hard from the start.  There is something in my legs and back making me feel abnormal: stiff and heavy. What is this preventing me from feeling fluid and relaxed? 


This is not my normal running self. I feel like the lack-of-efficiency out-of-shape excuse isn't adequate. Running terrible 2:08's is something else and I'm waiting to snap out of it. My asthma medication has been a little wonky for the last few weeks but it's now under control. So while I'm waiting for a switch to flip me back into blessed running ways I'm going to focus on the next few weeks of hard work, good sleeps and solid training.


ps: the passport has been found!

So close to smooth travels

Travel began so easy today, I felt so uncomfortably relaxed. There was no adrenalin-pumping-will-I-make-it experience this week. Instead I began my day with a trip to the chiropractors during late morning followed by a non-fat mocha and a JJ bean muffin. It was fantastic! 

When I was all packed and ready to go I moseyed to the sky train and 20 minutes later I was at the airport. I felt unusually calm, I had so much time. I really feel that checking in online is possibly one of the best inventions ever, not only do you bypass the line but you also reserve your seat! I strolled through customs and continued down my stream of line cutting thanks to my nexus card (best 50 bucks I've ever spent) and made it to the gate in less than an hour door to door. This has gotta be a record!

An enjoyable one hour and 37 minutes later, thanks to a Glee episode and a good cat nap, we were in San Fran. Everything was going so smoothly and that's when Mer mentioned it. We were all thinking it but she couldn't help but mention the breeze that was our evening travel. I agreed but for some reason I couldn't shake this uneasy feeling as if I was forgetting something.

Turns out this feeling was probably a form of sympathy pains as Mer realized she left her passport on the plane. Weirdly this travel now feels normal. I've said it before, actually it was just last week, it wouldn't be a typical track trip if everything went according to plan.

Mer knew where the passport should have been: Seat 17C, stashed in a McLeans Magazine, first one on the right but it didn't work out this time.

We're still waiting for a secret pocket to open and reveal the passport inside but it hasn't happened yet.  For now we're brainstorming solutions to this problem:
- get an irish passport so at least you'll have a spare
-vacation in san fran
-try for home and play stupid
-ticket change and postpone flight
-go to the oregon race early
-do what you gotta do, OTC

Again it wouldn't be a typical track if everything went smooth anyways. This feels normal! Race day tomorrow and I can't wait!