Sunday, March 30, 2014

Back from Holidays

Just got off the plane at 7:30 this morning after a week in sunny Cuba. With the sun shining and seeing all the post from PRC who were about to hit the road I could not resist. What started out to be an 8-10 km run ended up being a little over 11km. My focus is to keep our long Sunday runs at a marathon pace but that is alot harder than it sounds. With alot of group effort between Darlene, Dan and myself and a little laughter along the way we succeeded today- I think.

My Introduction

Hi Everyone, I will be your blogger for the month of April. Most of you will know me. My name is Madeline Wilson, I joined the PRC in the spring of 2011 after turning 50 years of age the previous December. My goal to to be healthy and physically fit which would also include weight loss. Well 3 years later and weighting 50 lbs less my physical fitness has improved and I have met some wonderful friends along the way.
It has not been an easy road but it certainly has been an adventurous,interesting, supportive, fun, inspirational one and the list of adjectives to describe the last three years could fill this page.
Hope you enjoy my blogging this month

Monday, March 24, 2014

Saturday runs are my favorite. I ran with the LTR's again - the weather was cold but beautiful. The roads were slippery in places but overall it was a great day for another 3.3km run.


The LTR's did amazing again and it was nice to see some of them stay for coffee after the run. With such a large group it can be difficult to get to know everyone, but I had a chat with Sheryl and Heather and they both seemed to be enjoying the group.


It will be another six weeks before I run with the LTR's again and I'm sure I'll be amazed at how far they have come with their running during that time.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Thursday was my second night with the LTRs. We ran/walked 3.4km and the weather was beautiful. The group did amazing again. We ran past some runners who did the learn to run program last fall and they were encouraging the new runners, telling them how they were in the same boat last year and before they knew it, they'd be running 5k non-stop as well. I'm looking forward to running with the LTRs later in their training program to see just how far they've come.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Learning to Run

Tonight was my first run with our newest group of runners, our LTRs, or Learn To Run group. Our members take turns supporting the LTRs in their training program and this week it's my turn.


The LTRs are an inspiring group. They made the decision to be more active and have followed through, showing up three times a week, straining their legs and lungs, pushing themselves to run for three minutes when it would be so much easier to give up, yet they keep at it. They are working harder than anyone in our running group.


As a group of 24, we ran/walked 3.3km in 30 minutes. Everyone did amazing and there was even talk of running the Tely 10. How amazing is that?

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Lucky 10

Saturday mornings - a time to sleep in, relax in your pajamas, have a coffee or three while you look out at the snow and ice realize that you don't need to go outside today.

That is unless you are part of the Paradise Running Club.

Andrew was up at 6:00 am, which meant I was up at 6:00 am. It was dark and -8 degrees. It was at this moment I decided I need new friends. Friends that sleep in and only run when the temperature is above zero and the sun is shining.

Andrew left at 7 am to meet Todd and run 26km. Puke.

I made it to PBD by 8am for our St. Patrick's Day run. There were lots of runners wearing green and looking very festive. Our group has certainly grown - the parking lot was full of people, including our newest members who are learning to run. LTR's are the most inspiring people. They are starting from scratch and giving it their all when it is so easy to just give up.

I had committed to run 10km for some reason so that is what I did. I started out with the group but I ran most of the way alone, passing members here and there along the way who always shouted words of encouragement.


It was a good run and I was pleased to see my pace had reached 6:14 at one point even with five layers on. That's a big jump from the 8:00 minute pace I had when I started running. 

The best part of the morning was heading to Coffee Matters with the group for coffee after the run. We filled the Coffee Shop, as we usually do, and shared our running stories of the morning. My legs were tired and I was cold but I would do it all again just to spend time with this group. Have I mentioned how awesome they are?





Friday, March 14, 2014

Field House, Anyone?

All day Thursday the weather was crappy so I knew I wouldn't be running with the group. I planned on getting on the treadmill but conveniently forgot all about it until my husband came home and reminded me. I suggested we run on the track at the field house instead and he was all for it.

My GPS doesn't work inside the field house so I didn't have any feedback on how my run was going. I felt like I was pushing harder than I have been lately but I was still being passed by everyone else. This doesn't bother me anymore - I run for me and not for anyone else.

After 20 laps I thought I was going to die so I figured I had run enough. I looked at the distance chart and calculated that I had run 4.54 km in 28 minutes, which works out to about a 6 minute pace. No wonder I was ready to keel over. I've never reached that speed before. Had I known I was so close to doing 5k in 30 minutes I think I would have tried for 2 more laps. I never thought I would reach that milestone but I was pleased that it now might be within reach.

 Of course there's always the possibility that I miscalculated or miscounted. But I prefer to think that all the winter running I've done while wearing 15 layers of clothing has made me a stronger, better runner. I just need some nice, warm weather to prove it.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

I'm NOT running 7km

I wasn't going to make it to the group run on Tuesday (I had tickets to go see Danny Bhoy) so when my husband came home at 3:00 in the afternoon and suggested we go for a run, I took him up on the offer.

As we are heading out the door he nonchalantly says, "I'll run 10k and you can do 7k." I haven't run more than 5k since October. "I'm not running that far," was my response.

We started out at PBD and went right to Kinder. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful feeling to be outside even with the biting wind on the top of the hill. Andrew would run ahead and then circle back to meet me as we made our way around the Topsail Pond area, him running in all the side roads while I stuck to the main drag.


As I headed down Three Island Pond Road I started calculating my distance and planning my turn around point. My sports tracker announced the 3k mark and doing math in my head, I figured I could turn around in about another 1/2k and have 5km under my belt.

But the guard rail is just ahead, so I figured I'd run to the guardrail and then head back.

Made it to the guardrail. I must be close to 4km now right? Might as well wait for the 4k announcement from my phone and then go back. I'll be closer to 6km by the time I'm done but that's fine.

4km. Where is Andrew? I have to let him know I've turned around. I'll just run ahead a little further and see if I can find him.

Oh, there he is, running behind me. Turning around now.

I get back to PBD and check the distance on my phone. 6.95km. Seriously??? Now I have to keep going to make that 7km.

It felt good to finish that distance, even though I had no plans to run that far. That's one of the many reasons I love running with PRC. No matter who you run with you are always encouraged to keep going and are offered support every step of the way. I didn't run with my usual buddies but I could hear you all pushing me forward to reach a goal I didn't feel up to doing.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

A New Month, A New Blogger

When PRC president Todd Ralph came up with the idea of having a group blog he suggested that each month a different member should do the writing. Jackie has done an excellent job sharing her experiences and has now passed the torch to me.

I volunteered for the month of March and here it is the 9th and I've yet to write anything. There are two reasons for this. One, I forgot I was supposed to take over the blog and two, my first run this month was yesterday.

I've been running for two years. I started running after I went to a PRC Social event with my husband. I had tried running once or twice before and I HATED it and swore I would never do it again. Then I met all these amazing people at a party and I realized that I wanted to be a part of their group. I signed up for their next learn to run program and have been with PRC ever since.

I'm not a very dedicated runner. I love running with the group but if a run is cancelled or the weather has been as cold as it has been lately and running outside isn't an option, I tend to skip my run for that day. I just checked my running log and realized I only ran twice in February. Hopefully this blog will keep me accountable and I'll get a few more runs in.

Yesterday, March 8, I finally got out to a group run. I have to admit that I have missed it, or maybe I've missed the people. They really are an awesome bunch. No one gives you grief if you miss a run or seven. There is always encouragement and support. I can't imagine running with anyone else.

I ran with Sharon yesterday. We ran 5.22 km in 41:36 with an average pace of 7:57 min/km. We were at the back of the pack, going slow, but we were out there, running. The weather was beautiful and the road conditions were good with only a few icy patches. Despite my nearly month long break, I didn't find the run overly hard. It's good to know I still have the ability to run without feeling like I'm going to die.