Spring is my favourite time of year as it is symbolic of a new beginning, and with the snow melting and new buds blooming I am always inspired to start fresh. I review old data from last season’s training to help set new and improved goals; for this season’s work, however I do not worry about how fast I used to be but rather how fast I want to be. I forget the runner that I was and I focus on the runner that I am.
This year I have decided to take part in the Nike Women’s 15km Run in Toronto on June 14th. This women’s only run is celebrating women, health, fitness, and challenging ourselves to find our limits and push past them. I love a destination run as it feels more like a party than a race, especially since I have always had the philosophy that a race day is your party day. Race day is a celebration of all the hard work you have done, leading up to the start line. It is a celebration of all the interval sessions that have made you want to puke, the long runs in the rain, and your speed workouts where all you want to do is crawl under a rock and forget everything but running. It is a celebration of every lost toenail and all your hard earned calluses on your feet. This will be my first run in Toronto and as running is my favourite way to see and explore a city, I am very excited to run to the finish line.
So through my journey to Toronto I am going to share with you anything and everything running, from how to track and pace runs, to how to fuel before, during and after your training runs and races, to how to cross train, to what to train in and how to remain injury free.
I will start with the one of the most important things to do while training for a race, which is setting goals and tracking your progress. These days, with nearly everyone owning a smart phone, it’s a lot simpler. Now in saying this I need to be honest, as I am someone who hates wasting their time with technology. I am pretty basic and rarely even run with a heart rate monitor. However, since being introduced to the Nike+ Running app I have to admit I am converted. I love being held accountable not only by Nike, but by all of my virtual training partners that I follow, and who follow me, on the app. It helps me stay within my pace, because I am known to be quite competitive while training and will pick my pace up to unrealistic speeds, just so the cute guy that passes me on the seawall does not get too far ahead. It also tracks my progress so I can see my paces improving as well as my distances advancing.
If you are like me and love to take advantage of the bright mornings and evenings that spring offers us to get outside and run in, put this app on your phone, find me to follow along and track your own progress. We have two months – let’s do this!
