Calgary Marathon Recap - I am a Sub 4 Marathoner

So May 26, 2013 came and went, the day I ran the Calgary Marathon.

The week leading up to my marathon I had all kinds of emotions floating around, what if I don’t hit my goal, what if I hit my goal, what if I totally flake out and have to take a DNF, what if I don’t even start! My mind was driving me insane!!

Tuesday I woke up and had a really bad sore throat and cough and I was like oh my gosh this can’t be happening to me right now I cannot be getting sick. I spent the week willing myself to be better.

Saturday I went to bed and I surprisingly slept through the night, well after I managed to fall asleep because I think I spent a good two hours having a coughing attack.

Sunday morning I woke and I was nervous as heck. I was having trouble getting food into me and I could hardly tie my shoe laces because my hands kept shacking and I couldn't stop coughing. I made my way down to the start line and all that was going through my head was one foot in front of the other. I found the 3:30 pace bunny and I decided that if I could keep pace with him I would be make my time goal no problem. As the starting gun went off I said to myself “Tiara focus, this is just a run”! As we passed the first km mark I looked down to see my pace and thought to myself oh my gosh this pace bunny is going wayyyy too fast we are running a 7’48” mile. Everything was going great for me on the run until I hit the very first BIG hill and then things started going terribly wrong my left hamstring started cramping up and I was kicking myself for skipping water stations and I was having trouble breathing through my coughing fits! So I made the decision to stop running through the water stations and walk through them to get Gatorade into me instead of all over me. 

Upon coming up on the 10km mark I looked down at my watch and saw that I had slowed down a great deal and was now running an 8’12” and was not on target to hit my Boston Qualifying time rather I was about 2 minutes off from my target time. Instead of beating myself up I told myself that I still had 32 km’s to make up this time and to keep pushing forward. At the halfway point I looked at my time and I realized that I was 6 minutes off my Boston pace and this caused me to have a little bit of a break down, or a 5 minute cry session. I started crying right there in the middle of the race and almost decided to pull out because I was not going to hit my goal and then somewhere deep down my own voice was yelling at me “Tiara you have this, you are still on pace to run a sub 4 marathon and even better you are still going to set a personal best for yourself” I forced myself to keep running. As my body started to fatigue and as it wanted to give up I told myself keep running you will hit a water station in 3 km’s and you can walk through it but you have to keep running to the next water station.

As I entered Memorial drive my common lunch time running area I had 10km’s left to go and I said to myself “Tiara this is your area, this is where you need to own the race” I knew my legs were sore and I knew I wanted to stop running so I started biting my lip to focus the pain elsewhere and I kept pushing myself. I made it through Memorial and had 3km’s left to go when a TNT coach came up to me grabbed me by the hand and told me I was doing great, I started crying and said “I needed to finish 5 minutes ago to hit my time goal” he said "I know you did but you know what keep running because you are going to PB and that is the most important thing, today wasn’t your day but maybe tomorrow is, there is always another run”. 

As I entered my last two km’s I so badly wanted to just walk the rest of the way and someone from behind me came put her hand on my back and said “I have been chasing you almost the entire way, you are my motivation and my inspiration keep running because you are going to sub 4 this” and all of a sudden I hit a second wind and my legs wanted to move. As I entered the finishing shoot I saw my mom standing there waving at me and cheering me on and I knew I had the drive in me to do a sub 4. As I crossed the finish line I looked at my time and it read 3:57:55 and I was disappointed in myself for not hitting my BQ but also so proud of myself for finishing a marathon in under 4 hours.

As the results rolled in yesterday I realized that I had finished in the top 10 in my division and was even more proud of myself. Top 10 finish in my division is incredible.

One aspect of the Calgary Marathon I loved was that our name was wrote on our bibs so as we were running through the communities and people were out on their lawns cheering us on you would hear a random “Go Tiara” “You got this Tiara” “Run Strong Tiara” and hearing my name it would push me to push harder and faster!! It was great community support and it made me love Calgary even more.

Now it is time to refocus my goals and push to Boston Qualify in Edmonton on August 25. It’ll be my last chance to qualify for Boston for 2014 and I am even more determined now to hit this goal. I have the endurance I know I can run the 26.2 miles now it is time to work on maintaining my speed!

Do you have any advice for me as I start training for Edmonton? Have you qualified for Boston, if so what advice can you give me for race day? Or even for training?

Hope you continue joining me on this wonderful journey to Boston. 

Greatness is Within...

I have injured myself… again. It is confirmed that I have a tear in my right calf muscle. How bad the tear is we are not yet 100% sure I still need to go for a diagnostic ultrasound so they can see the damage I have done.

In the last 24 hours I have felt a variety of emotions from sadness to anger and then to fear. Last night I was sitting on my couch crying and saying to Mike “Why do I have to strive for greatness, why can’t I just be happy with completing a marathon why is it that I want to train to Boston qualify and to obtain elite status”! I can’t really answer that all I know is I was born with the overachiever gene and I never do anything halfhearted, it is all or nothing.

I tweeted earlier today “There is no injury in mediocrity, why can't I settle for being less than great”, and than I received a tweet from @TheLostGrad “Ain’t no injuries, but there damn sure ain’t no Glory either!!” It was this that made me realize how much of a wimp I am being. Yes I have an injury, is it the end of the world, NO!!

I thought back to Nike’s Find Greatness campaign along with a commercial that was aired at the Olympics this last summer  and they made me realize that setback happen, obstacles jump in our way but it how we overcome those obstacles and setbacks that prove if we are truly great or not.

"Now here's the reality of it. You don't want to be walking off with any regrets. 

Be annoyed. Go cry. You're on the line between breaking point and breaking through.

In struggle, you'll find strength. 

Now get over that line! Dig for that extra inch!

Take the best you can do! And do better! 

Every second is a moment in time. But this second is a moment in history."

Last night I felt like my dream to run was Boston was slipping out of my hands. I felt like throwing in the towel and giving up. This morning brought me a fresh new prospective. I might be out for a few weeks I might lose a little bit of my endurance in the short run but in the long run I am going to come back and I am going to come back stronger and faster than ever because there is greatness inside of me and I am not going to allow a little injury get in my way of qualifying for Boston.

I have given myself an hour to grieve over my lost training and my calf and now I am ready to fight, ready to do everything in my power to heal and come back strong.

I have to change up my training a little bit. My physio said once I am healed I will have to reduce mileage and speed for a period of time until I am back to normal but my physio is amazing and has always gotten me back on my feet in better condition than before I started seeing him.

Today I found greatness within myself, greatness that was always there but I didn’t realize was there, today I am a stronger person than I was yesterday.

New Dietitian - New Outlook

Last week I had my first meeting with my new dietitian and she is amazing. She is certified with the International Olympic Committee Diploma in Sports Nutrition and she is also a marathon runner so I thought that she would be perfect for me and after sitting down at our first meeting I realized that she was more than perfect for me she is exactly what I am looking for in a dietitian.

It is no secret of mine that I have suffered from Eating Disorders in the past. Not just anorexia but also binge eating disorders. That is one thing that my dietitian picked up on right away. Sometimes that it is something that dietitians miss about me because I don't look withered away.

Along with wanting to create better eating habits for myself I also want to be able to fuel properly for my long runs. I tend to crash about 8 miles into my run and my runs get harder and harder after that point. I am training to qualify for Boston and this crashing that occurs to me is hindering my runs.

One thing that she explained to me in detail was the need for carbs in our bodies!! I have an irrational fear of carbs I think they make me fat! However, yes they can make you fat but anything that is overeaten can make you fat.

Our brain – just our brains – require 130g of glucose a day to function when we don’t get enough of this our bodies go into what is called control fatigue. This hinders our decision making – reaching for the cookie instead of the apple – our concentration and our moods.

Glucose from carbs just doesn't go to our brains it also goes to our muscles creating muscle glycogen. If we are low in muscle glycogen it will have a negative effect on the quality of the workout – ever wonder why one day you can pump out 20 reps of push-ups and one day only do 6? Yeah you are lacking muscle glycogen – it also has a negative effect on our running. I know I have had days where my legs feel heavy, like lead heavy well this is because the body is going into principal fatigue from not having enough glycogen.

You often hear people talking about their breakfast helping them through their run. I always thought that if I had a decent supper and a good breakfast it would get me through my run, but I was wrong! It takes your body 20 – 24 hours to make muscle glycogen, so what you are eating 20 – 24 hours before your run is what will get your body through those long distances. Don't get me wrong, you still need a carb fueled breakfast but you also need a good lunch and supper the day before.

I decided to take what my dietitian is saying to heart. I mean I am paying her enough I should listen. I had a nice carb, protein, nutrient dense lunch and supper and the next day I didn't head out for a run until 11am. It had been 22 hours since I had my lunch and well I had my BEST run EVER!!

I ran a 1:34:43 half marathon, my best half yet. Was my body hurting through my run, obviously I was running an average 7’17”/mile, did I feel awesome, not really I was hurting on my run but was it my fastest, that it was!! It was the fastest long run I had run EVER.

Now I am learning to eat a proper amount of carbs and I am learning to eat a proper amount of food. I have been eating around 1,500 – 1,700 calories and my dietitian said that isn't enough for me because that is 1,500 – 1,700 not including what I burn off exercising and we determined this weekend that at rest I burn 2,300 calories so eating 1,500 – 1,700 isn't even enough to fuel me at rest. Now I am focusing on getting my calories to the 2,300 point with healthy food and making sure I have enough carbs to fuel me through my workouts. 

She gave me a chart of what carbs, nutrient dense food, and protein I should be eating with each of my meals and my goal is to follow this from now until my Marathon, she said if I follow this I should see weight come off, muscle gained and I should see my runs get faster. Two of my mail goals are to run a sub 6 marathon by next year and have abs before the summer, and she feels that both of these goals are do-able.

I believe that any serious athlete should hire a dietitian even if it is just for a few session, athletic needs are different from the average person and what works for me isn't necessarily going to work for you.

Ignite~Perspire~Inspire

Day 3 and 4 - 30 Day Run Challenge

3. What ultimate running goal would you like to accomplish?

My ultimate running goal is to qualify for Boston. It’s my dream!! I am running the Calgary marathon in May with hopes to qualify. For me to do that I have to run my full in under 3:35. I am aiming for a 3:30 time with a pace of 8 minutes per mile. Totally do-able right!! Right!!

My main focus is to push even when my body starts to hurt. I already know I can run a full, but can I run a full in under 3:30!!

During training I am focusing on a lot of tempo runs and speed work. I am working on pushing through even though I want to walk. Let’s face it, our legs give out long before our hearts do and when my legs say they are done that is when the heart has to pick up the slack.

What advice do you have for training for a Boston Qualifier?

4. Tell us about your first race or when you plan to start!

My very first run race was when I was in grade 5. I grew up in a town that was very athletic focused. I remember running the 400m and coming in 1^st.Than I remember running the 200m and coming in 3rd. I ran up to my mom and was like "Momma, Momma!! I came in 3rd"!! She looked at me and said "THIRD!!" in a very disgusted tone, lol. At the time I didn't think anything of it all I said was "I know I need to run harder" My mom said all these people stopped and looked at her "she patted my head and was like oh 3rd good" haha. I come from a very competitive family! I was so happy and excited!! It was my very first taste of real racing. I went on to be in the Summer Games that year but not long after that I took up competitive in swimming and that quickly became my life.

Since running in 2009 my most recent race is the Mother’s Day 10km. It was the first time I ran a real race in a long time. It was in 2011. I ran the race in 54:13 and there was nothing I was more proud of than crossing that finish line! It my was my moment. Even though I never trained for the race I think I performed pretty decent. 

My Decision to Run Calgary Marathon

Yesterday I made the decision to run the Calgary Marathon and not the BMO Marathon in Vancouver. I was kind of sad but had to make the decision.

One reason I decided on this is because Calgary in also a Boston Qualifying run and it is where I live. I figure if I can BQ anywhere it is going to be at my home. I’ll have my friends and family to cheer me on. Support is important. Also I tend to get stomach issues when I go away, I think it is from the change in water and I learned in San Fran that you can drink bottled water all you want but you cannot control what type of water is on the course and sadly for me it was tap water on the course and it turned out to be disasters for me at mile 15. I am used to the tap water in Calgary so I shouldn't end up with the same stomach issues as last time.

I was really looking forward to running the BMO marathon but maybe next year. I was looking forward to running in the crisp ocean air and having that feeling of my lungs opening right up but I think I will do amazing here in Calgary.

Since I don’t actually start training until the 9^th of February now I have created a calendar in word to hold myself accountable to my workouts. As a group of #SistersInNike along with Brandi and The Nike San Fran Runway Crew we are aiming for 23,000 NTC minutes in 2013 and I have 22,835 more to go, but the year has just started. Since I don’t have a whole lot of NTC incorporated into my marathon training schedule I have decided that I need to get a good head start this month. After I am done my Calgary Marathon I start training for the Nike Women’s Marathon shortly after. I would really like to make my goal. Hopefully this can hold me accountable and be able to track the minutes I am doing each month.

What is your favorite part of training? What is your favorite marathon? I am creating a bucket list of marathons I want to do. Leave them in my comments I’ll look them up and consider them.

Remember to keep rolling out your muscles, especially those IT bands!! They will keep your muscles and knees healthy. I found this and have printed it and put it at home to remind me to roll my muscles out often. The foam roller should be your best friend when training.

Happy Training!

Bring in 2013

Today is December 31^st, 2012. This is the time of year that everyone makes resolutions and usually they break them three months into the year, for that reason I don’t like to make resolutions, rather I like to look back on the year and look at what I did and look towards a new year with new goals.

This time last year I decided that it was time to start feeling better about myself. I challenged myself to do Jeanette Jenkins ab blast workout on the NTC app for the whole month of January; it was rough but totally worth it, for the first time in a very long time I saw changes in my body. Honestly, there were a few times in January that I wanted to give up, but I kept telling myself it is only 15 minutes, you can do anything for 15 minutes. With each week it got easier and easier. I felt my core getting stronger and stronger.

I also said I wanted to run a marathon before my 27^th birthday and I kept putting off looking into running one, until Nike Women contacted me in May and asked me to run the Nike Women’s Marathon. A week before my 27^th birthday I finished my very first marathon. Thanks to the help of Nike Women and Marie Purvis, through Marie's amazing training plan and Nike Women's encouragement I crossed the finish line and at the same time I caught the running bug. Much to my surprise I actually really love running marathons and can't wait to run my next one.

The year brought many wonderful challenges. I saw changes in my body as I learned to push myself beyond limits that I never thought I could push myself beyond. It brought changes to my way of thinking, I no longer thought of myself as weak and unable to push forward I realized I am strong and I can do anything I put my mind to.

As I sit here reflecting on the past year I am so thankful for the opportunities that have come my way, for the wonderful people I have met and for the friendships that I have made, I am esepcially thankful for the friendships I have found in my Sisters In Nike - Karen, Elizabeth, Nerissa and Renisha. Each one of you have taught me to love myself, to believe in myself and to love and challenge my body. I am so happy I have met each of you and I hope to run the Nike Women's Marathon with you each year, until we are old and grey. 

This 2013 I want to #MakeItCount as Nike’s ad campaign states. I will return to San Fran with my Sisters In Nike and run the 2013 Nike Women’s Marathon with my crew, I will also qualify for Boston. I plan on running the BMO marathon in May and I will be running the Calgary Half Marathon.

Don't get my wrong, I don't just have running goals set for myself. I want to be able to do pull-up's and I want to work towards becoming certified as a running coach. I also want to teach myself how to speak french again. 

What are your upcoming goals in 2013? How are you going to make them come true? 

October was an Great Month

October was an incredible month!! I mean incredible. I don’t think I could have asked or gotten a better birth month.

First off I boarded a plane to San Fran and I got to spend the weekend with Lydia from Nike Women and meet my twitter besties, Elizabeth and Karen. I seriously love these girls, they are amazing and we had such a fun time hanging out and running the Nike Women’s Marathon.

I ran my first marathon, the Nike Women’s Marathon. It is seriously the best marathon out there. I mean I am biased since it is my first but Nike makes an incredible experience out of it and I was a Nike Ambassador. I didn't finish in the time I wanted to, but I did finish and that is the most important thing. It has made me realize how much I really do love running. I have already started planning my next marathon and it is a Boston Qualifier.

After NWM my birthday came around and Meho made it such an amazing event. I had supper with my friends and had the opportunity to spend time with my family and Mike’s family. I think it is important to have that family and friend time. Sometimes our lives get so busy we neglect those that matter most to us and we need to remember to take time out of our lives to spend time with them.

Last weekend we spent some us time in Canmore. With me preparing for my marathon and going to San Fran we haven’t spent as much time together as we normally do. We spent the weekend with just us in an incredible condo in Canmore, seriously this place was bigger than my apartment. It was really nice to be alone with no interruption.

Shortly after getting home from NWM I started running again. I know people say a day more each mile you ran, but I knew I was at my peak performance level and didn't want to disrupt my training. I began running again almost right away. Much to my surprise my pace picked up in a huge way!!! This makes me so happy, I am hoping it isn't a fluke and I am really getting faster.

I also purchased the Nike Kinect game. I had a Kinect when they first came out and I wasn’t impressed. I purchased the Women’s Health game and was like this is kind of dumb. I ended up selling my Kinect and getting more Wii stuff, I have a Mario Kart obsession and Mario Party is an awesome game. I watched the Youtube video for this game and was like I want that, it will help me achieve my goals in a healthy matter. I tried it out last night and I LOVED it!! Seriously it is the best game for health and fitness out there. Marie Purvis kicks your ass in a good way, she will also prompt you when you are not in perfect form, so this is really going to help me perfect my form and get into athlete fit shape. This morning I woke up and I was so sore!! My whole lower body hurts. I can’t wait to get home connect it with my Nike Plus site and start racking up the fuel points. My only advice is don’t do a crazy workout before doing your fitness assessment I think this kind of skewed my results a little bit and made me look less fit than I really am. I know once you get it you will love it.

I have also been running the elements and the first month of it has been great, I likely will not get the chance to run in the heat, but have been doing a lot of cold, wind, snow runs so at least I can try and top those leader boards. I am not doing so bad right now either in 208th place!! Whoo-hoo , but I would like to get out of the 200's and into the 100's!!!

As you can see my October was an incredible month. I really pushed myself and my year is turning out to be a good year. Today is November 1, 2012 and it starts my challenge of 1,400 NTC minutes plus 100 Nike Running Miles along with keeping my training plan with Nike Kinect. I think I might have my abs my Christmas.

Happy Training .