Army Run 2012

Happy Friday everyone!

As most of you know, I ran my third half-marathon last weekend. It was the Army Run, the same half I walked last year, and while I would totally walk it again it was pretty nice to be running this year! The route was the same so I knew exactly what to expect, which was both good and bad since there is one part in particular that I found incredibly boring last year and wasn't looking forward to but it turned out to be not quite as bad  as I remembered :P

The Army Run is unlike any other race I've ever done since it's in support of our troops. No matter what your political views are, you really can't help but feel so grateful for all the men and women in uniform out there fighting for our safety! I've always felt that this race is the least we can do to demonstrate our support.  Another really cool aspect of the race is that the Canadian troops in Afghanistan hold a "shadow race" there so they can participate too.

I started out faster than I would have normally, only because it was so cold  and I just wanted to warm up! It was a pretty windy day too and it felt like the wind was always against us, no matter what direction we were going in. I managed to maintain a pretty consistent pace and I didn't take any walking breaks, mostly because I was afraid I'd have a hard time getting started again :P The only down side to the race was that I got a pain in my right thigh again around mile 11. The same thing happened in NYC but this time it wasn't quite as bad so it didn't slow me down as much.

Mile Avg Pace 1 10'22"/mi 2 11'04"/mi 3 11'22"/mi 4 11'07"/mi 5 10'46"/mi 6 10'53"/mi 7 10'51"/mi 8 10'45"/mi 9 10'55"/mi 10 10'55"/mi 11 11'04"/mi 12 10'44"/mi 13 11'04"/mi   I finished in 2:25 so I was really happy :)! According to my Nike watch I ran 13.35 miles though so I need to work on running in a straight line :P  One of the highlights of this race is always having a hot man in uniform put the dog tag medal around your neck.  I was really impressed with the hoodies they gave us instead of those blankets; I'm not sure what they are made of but they zipper up which is awesome on a windy day! I live about a mile from where the race started and ended so I really appreciated having something to keep me warm on my walk home!  They also gave us a really cool snack box that I took a picture of but I just spent 15 minutes fighting with Blogger to put that pic here and I give up. So you'll just have to trust me on that one :P As always, the Army Run was an amazing experience and I know that I will continue to do this race every year as long as I'm in Ottawa :)  Do you guys have a race you do every year? Anyone racing this weekend?

Fitblogger

Good Morning!

I will be posting a recap of the Army Run very soon. For now, I can tell you that my third half-marathon was a success, even if my legs are still mad at me ;)

In the meantime, I'd love for you to head on over to Fitblogger to check out my guest contributor post. While you're there, be sure to check out some of the great posts from other bloggers too!

Have a great day :)

Fitness-related pins

Hey guys!

How is everyone's week going?  I somehow almost forgot that I'm running a half-marathon this weekend until I saw a friend's Facebook status counting down the days until the Army Run! A few of my friends and my sister-in-law are running the 5k of the same race and it's kind of nice to know other people who will be getting out of bed way too early on a Sunday ;)

While life has been busy lately I have managed to find the time to get lost in the land in Pinterest! Let me just say that looking at cute animals is a great cure for a bad day ;) I've also been having way too much fun planning my wedding (yep, I am single), and fantasizing about places I want to travel to.  But, since this is a fitness blog, I thought I'd share some my favorite fitness-related pins so far.

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Are you on Pinterest?  Let me know so I can follow you :)!

Pictures of Iceland

I meant to post some pictures of my trip to Iceland much sooner, but work and life in general have been crazy busy lately! So I'll keep this post short on words but I hope you enjoy the images :)

This was the view from hotel room.  I could live with waking up to this every morning :P 

View of the city from the top of the Hallgrimms church. I love all the colorful buildings!

Geysir - I tried to take a picture as it erupted but totally failed.

Steam rising from the ground

Gullfoss Waterfalls -  It was so windy up there I thought I might end up going for a swim :P

Sunset - This was around 11 pm

Lava rocks - So cool, it looked like a whole other planet

The Blue Lagoon!

A Virtual Run and Fall Races

How was everyone's Labor Day Weekend?

Mine was great! I got to spend some time with my family and friends, watched a few movies, read, took my guitar out for the first time in ages, and, of course, got some good workouts in :)

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I did my first double-digit run since the Reykjavik Half today.  I joined in the virtual run hosted by Laura at Mommy Run Fast and completed 10 miles in a little under 2 hours. It was a really good run, even though it was way too hot for my liking by the end of it. I seriously cannot wait for the cooler weather to arrive!

Fall is my favorite season by far, and it's also my favorite time to race! I have 2 half-marathons coming up that I am really excited about!

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The first one is the Army Run, which is on September 22.  As I mentioned in this post, the Army Run 5k was my first race ever, and I've participated every year since (other than the year I was in Germany).  Last year I walked the half-marathon with my sister-in-law but I'll be running it alone this year. I know it won't be as much fun without her but I'm looking forward to running my first half-marathon here in Ottawa!

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The other race I'll be doing is the Run to The Beat UK in London :)! Yep, another international race; I think I'm getting addicted to those.  My mom and I have been talking about going to the UK for a few years now and we've finally decided this is the time to do it!  I knew I would want to run a race there and Run to the Beat looks like so much fun  :)

So, this means I'm running 3 half-marathons in 3 months and I'm not entirely sure how to train.  Since I don't really "race" races, meaning I stick to a comfortable pace, I don't think it will be overly taxing on my body. My plan is to stick to two 5 milers a week and a long run on the weekends, anywhere between 8 and 10 miles. But any suggestions are more than welcome!!

Do you have any Fall races planned?