5 posts tagged “granville island”

...YET IT WAS FABULOUS!!!!!! 

Sunday was another GTS with my wonderful team and on the agenda for the full marathoners was 32km.  We did an "out and back" run starting at Granville Island all the way out to and running around the UBC campus and back to Granville Island. 

This week was a bit different because I started off a lot slower than I normally do.  My runners have been dead for about two weeks and I could definitely feel it affecting my feet on this run...just feels like there is no cushioning or support what-so-ever.  Other than that my left knee was slightly bothersome but the pain was dull and didn't get any worse so it didn't concern me too much - it was more an annoyance.

I found this week a lot easier to get through than last week.  I'm not exactly sure why that is though I won't question it ;)  The weather started out like it usually does for us: overcast and a bit rainy but by the end clearing up completely with the sun shining.  One of the honouree's, Nathan, was there helping with the water stations and gave us a motivational speech before we headed out which was good to refocus and remember the cause we are running for.

I did better with nutrition on the run though the hydration was a little iffy because I hadn't washed out my bottles thoroughly so the first time I took a swig I could taste soap.  Let me tell you that was quite the unpleasant shock, haha.  I tried to rinse them out the best I could at one stop.  Went to the washroom at the Museum of Anthropology which I found amusing walking into it all sweaty and in spandex.  Getting up the massive hill took some effort (it's probably 4km long) I kept looking at it in small chunks which seemed to help.   After halfway I couldn't believe I was feeling fine - a little stiff but less than normal so that made me happy.  I accidentally turned the wrong way on one of the streets and went a few blocks out of the way, oops. 

Once I got back I took an ice cold bath.  Ooo bloody hell you curse it while you're in there but I see a noticeable difference following it.  Today only the bottoms of my feet hurt!!  That seems amazing considering two weeks ago after 24km I thought I might fall apart, haha.   I'm hoping I can keep a better pace next week...we shall see!  I checked my email after I washed up and my inbox had the confirmation email for the race.  Cemented it in reality that just running towards a cancer cure is all that matters.

Yesterday I was able to go to the group training session for our weekly long run!!!  I was a bit apprehensive though because I wasn't sure that I would be at 100% and promised myself if the shins gave me any discomfort I would stop.  Beforehand, Lorraine told us that she was running for a friend who has Hodgkin's and has a 50/50 chance of survival...which is an important message because people usually associate Hodgkin's with being the "curable" cancer but there is still a long way to go even with that type. This I think reminded us all of the reason we are running and to give us some focus.

It was SUCH a good run!!!  I was SO happy to be running again.  I didn't have ANY pain in my shins at ALL; absolutely not even a twinge of hurt!!!  That had me so ridiculously excited you wouldn't believe it! The weather was great for running, the sun was out but it was cool, around 18 degrees.  We started out at the False Creek Community Centre and went along the seawall around Kits Beach until we hit Point Grey Rd. There was a slight breeze by the beach and you could smell the saltwater and got a bit sandy, so great!  The mountains had a lot of clouds around their peaks but you could still make most of them out.

When we reached Jericho Beach we took a washroom break and refilled the hydration belts.  Then we kept running until the end of the big hill where Lorraine and Michael gave us Gatorade and water refills which was MUCH appreciated.  They were surprised we made it up there so fast!  Then we continued along a bit of a boring stretch where it was basically just road and trees...not much to see.  After that we got into a beautiful residential portion near the university, the people I was pacing myself with and I talked about different houses and girly things like that.

Michael met us again at a park for another much appreciated water and Gatorade stop!  We kept on going and finally reached Dunbar street where Alicia and Christian met us on their bikes, cheering us on (they are training for a tri)!  We followed Dunbar to the stairs down to the seawall and stopped to stretch a bit and pick some wild blackberries which were very appetizing; they were definitely a welcomed treat and we probably stopped a bit too long to eat some, haha.

We picked up our running again following Kits Beach and it was raining lightly at this point, which was a nice cool-down.  We stopped at a fountain to refill our hydration belts...I think our pace had slowed down considerably by this point.  Once we got back to the Community Centre we stretched out for a while and called it a day!

It was great how even into a hour and a half of running it doesn't seem like much anymore, haha.  The tiredness comes in waves when doing the long runs.  Sometimes I'll think I could kick it up a notch and then others it's just keeping one foot in front of the other.  At no point on this run did I feel like stopping though.  I was worried all the biking and elliptical training wouldn't be sufficient but I guess it was!

Today I was a bit stiff but my calves and shins are not at all!  It's mainly my back which feels like it's in a thousand knots, lol.  I am incredibly glad I took all the time off I needed to make sure my shin splints healed fully and that I was able to complete this run without problems!!  SO EXCITED for next week!!   It was also wonderful to see the team again and be able to chat with them while running.  For sure this was a highlight in my week!!!

Here's the route we completed (I put the start and washroom markers in the wrong spots just ignore that):

I finally made it to the Sunday GTS!!! Yay!  This morning we ran a lot...more than I ever have before and my legs don't want to move now!  Though I'm not feeling tired; so I guess it's a trade-off :)  Let's see, we went all over Granville Island, English Bay, Stanley Park, the seawall, etc.  Weather-wise it was good: overcast and not hot like it's been the past week so that was a welcomed change.

My calves kept seizing up  (so I guess it wasn't all in my head on the speed workout) it took me forever to complete (at least it seemed that way.)  Sidenote: if anyone wants to give me a free massage you might be able to convince me to oblige, haha. 

I tried another sports gel today, the Power Bar brand, strawberry-banana flavour.  It didn't give me any issues either

but the banana taste wasn't to my liking so I may try it in another flavour.  I'm a bit wary about the caffeine in it though...not sure what I think of that yet.  I want to start comparing sports drinks in a little while, any recommendations?

Overall, the run went well.  I didn't get super frustrated and all negative with the calves this run and tried to focus on the fact that if my legs were capable of moving faster that I would've been fine because my endurance has definitely increased. Thankfully, another woman from the group ran along with me so it was nice to not be running alone!  I just enjoyed going along the ocean and looking at the mountains while running at the slower pace today.  Sometimes I take for granted what Vancouver has to offer...it's always so breathtaking and yet there are times when I forget how wonderful this city is.  When I got home I noticed I had sand all over me, haha.  That kind of surprised me because the ocean was very calm today...it was windy so that's probably the culprit.

All in all a fabulous day!

P.S. The hand was ok, it's just irritating to run with it all bandaged and above my heart but there was less pain after the run in it than previously, yay!

Today it was up super early again for another morning workout.  I was feeling pretty cozy in my bed, not going to lie...but knowing how much I've been enjoying the GTS's I got out of bed fairly quickly!  I managed to get to Granville Island early today and chatted a bit with people before we started our 6k run.  The morning was fairly warm but EXTREMELY windy.  It was funny though because I felt better running against the wind on the way up the route rather than running with the wind on the way down.  Who knows why but oh well! 

I have been having some issues with my right knee hurting and I figured maybe it was compensating for my stupid ankle, lol.  My runners are not old at all so that isn't the problem.  During my weekly runs I put on a tensor bandage but it didn't seem to do much.  I did take an extra rest day this week because it was very painful at one point.  On this day though I put on one of my ankle braces and found that it helped my knee tremendously!  So even though I started off concerned the run felt great and my sleepiness wore off pretty quickly!  Afterwards, two members offered me a ride home since they live near me so that was nice to not have to take transit back :)

My Team in Training Site

Today was the first Group Training Session (GTS) of the season!!! I had to get up at 05:30 in order to make it on transit for 08:30.  It was raining, I was chilled, and grumpy at the transit system.  I arrived as we were just about to start and quickly threw my things down, running to catch up (ironic, eh?!) We did 6k and once I started running all my grumpy-ness melted away.  The rain was quite refreshing to run in and I talked to several of the group members that were at the same pace I was.  Vancouver is so gorgeous, I sometimes am so busy I forget to look around.  We ran along the seawall at Kit's beach and having the ocean surround you even on a fairly ugly day is awesome.  Afterwards we socialized and grabbed a bite to eat at one of the cafe's on Granville Island.  It was great to meet more team members!  Once I got home and showered I felt energized for the rest of the day and was glad I made it out.

My Team in Training Site