Winter Running Gear

With winter in full force here in Ottawa, I wanted to share my favorite winter running gear. Our temperatures here this winter have fluctuated an astounding 50 degree Celsius (if you take into account the windchill), so being prepared for any type of weather has been key.

Here are some of my go-to winter running items. Obviously the warmer the temperature, the less of these layers I tend to wear but the key for winter running for me is just that – LAYERS.

From top to bottom:

1) New Balance touque with ponytail hole: I love this touque. I always had a problem with an uncomfortable ponytail while running with normal touques, so I was thrilled to have found this one last year. There are so many other brands that make them now, I have seen them everywhere this winter.

2) Running Room reflective jacket: I was on the hunt for a winter running jacket for a few months and was excited when I received a such a nice one in my Resolution Run race kit on December 31st. The jacket fits me well despite being a unisex item and has great reflective strips on it.

3) MEC 1/4 zip long sleeve dryfit shirt: I love wearing a 1/4 shirt under my jacket as I can unzip it if need be. This MEC shirt has been my favorite 1/4 zip for some time, and it never fails me on a run (any time of the year actually!).

4) Nike Hyperwarm long sleeve base layer: A new piece to my winter running wardrobe. I purchased this at a Nike Outlet in California while there on vacation last February. It’s a wonderfully warm base layer with a bit of a mock turtle neck. Not too high to be irritating, but just enough for some extra warmth.

5) Lululemon Brisk Run Gloves: Gloves are key for me as my fingers can never seem to warm up on their own. These Lululemon brisk run gloves are last year’s edition, and actually have a mitten portion that can either cover the gloves or tuck down inside them if it’s warmer. I love the versatility of them. They are lightweight but have kept me warm up to -20c. The reflective dots on them are a nice touch too!

6) Running Room Winter Running Tights: Another piece of winter running gear I was on the hunt for this winter was cold weather/winter running tights. In the past, I had always worn my normal tights and paired them with another layer of wind pants on colder days. I wanted to limit to one layer which would include a wind blocking front panel. I found the perfect pair on the clearance rack at the Running Room and love how they feel on cold, windy winter days.

*I have no good photos of these pants but as winter doesn’t seem to be going any where any time soon, I’m sure they will make an appearance in a future post at some point.

7) Yaktrax Run: These have been my newest purchase. I was given a gift card to Sail for Christmas and was able to pick up a pair of these in my size (after a few attempts at a few different stores). They slip on over regular running shoes and provide traction with their coils and spikes on snowy, slushy surfaces. A more detailed review to come in a later post.

And so, here’s a look at the complete outfit taken during the Resolution Run in London, Ontario:

You may have noticed one important piece of running gear missing from this list – SOCKS. I currently don’t have any winter running socks. I tend to either wear my compression socks as they are long enough to cover half my legs for added warmth, or just regular longer socks.

Any winter running sock recommendations??

M.

Running & Jumbo the Elephant – A Tale of Running in St. Thomas, Ontario

Much of this last week was spent relaxing and hanging out with family in Southern Ontario . My husband and I drove the long 7 hours to St. Thomas from our home in Ottawa for my father-in-law’s retirement party and decided to make a full week-long vacation out of it.

Luckily, the weather in Southern Ontario was completely different than what we had here in Ottawa, and so I was happy to take advantage of the mild, snow and ice-free conditions to get in a decent run.

Absolutely no ice or snow!

I planned out a different route than the usual out and back loop that I find myself running while I am there.

This time, I wanted to run to one of  the city’s most significant landmarks, the Jumbo the Elephant Statue.

For those who don’t know (probably most of you), a life size statue of Jumbo, a famous Barnum and Bailey Circus elephant, was erected in St. Thomas on the centennial of the elephant’s death. Why St. Thomas, you ask? Because, in 1885, when the circus came to St. Thomas, Jumbo was hit by a train and killed.

You can read all about it here: Story of Jumbo the Elephant

Wanting to make this run memorable, I convinced my husband to come meet me at the Jumbo Statue at a pre-determined time so that I wouldn’t have to loop back (and so that he could take a photo of me to prove I met up with Jumbo that day).

The majority of my run took place along Wellington Street, which actually allowed me to get a great view of some of the older, more historic houses, buildings and churches in St. Thomas.

I was a bit disappointed I didn’t bring my camera with me to get some photos of some of them, but was happy to have captured the most important moment from that day:

Having now returned to Ottawa, I am looking forward to a time, likely many months from now, when the roads and sidewalks will be as clear of snow and ice as they were that day in St. Thomas. Until then, I shall embrace cold, winter weather running…stay tuned for my post on that coming soon!

M.

2013 Running Goals

After writing my 2012 Running Year in Review earlier this week, I have been given some serious thought to what I wanted out of my running in 2013.

With a really busy year ahead of me (mainly due to lot of business travel and long hours at work forecast for 2013), I have decided that marathons, half-marathons and intense training won’t be on tap for me this year.

I would, of course, like most other runners, love to PR in every distance and get a lot of races in like I did in 2012, but I’ve decided not to make that my focus this year.

Finishing my first of 13 races in 2012 (It was February and I hadn’t even decided on any 2012 running goals at that point)

In contemplating running goals for 2013, I was inspired by some other running bloggers out there and their unique running goals that did not have performance (time or distance) goals attached to them.

I have thus come up with a list of running goals that I am both proud of and really excited about working towards in 2013.

And so, here goes …my list of 2013 ‘Running in Transit’ Goals:

1) Volunteer at a race: I have never volunteered at a race, but have taken part in so many of them that I know the importance of volunteers at any race. I want to experience a race from the other side, as a volunteer, and contribute my time back to a sport that I have loved so much.

The biggest race in my city is the Ottawa Marathon in May 2013, so I have my eye on volunteering in some way for this great event.

2) Pace someone in a race: I am by no means the fastest runner out there, I certainly understand that, but I hope to be able to use whatever running competencies I do have to help someone else finish a race or finish in a particular goal time. I typically run alone, in races and in training runs, but in 2013, I want to try to run with someone else, helping them to the finish line, encouraging them along the way to meet their own goals.

3) Fundraise for a cause: I hear a lot about people fundraising for particular causes at various races and I think it’s a wonderful thing to do. I have the time and ability to fundraise, so I want to make it a priority this year to invest some energy into generating funds for important causes. In 2013, I have made it my goal to fundraise for two races:

• Terry Fox Run: I have been running the Terry Fox Run since I was 4 years old and at times have fundraised for it, with funds going toward cancer research, but I have not invested as much time into it as I’d always wanted to.  In 2013, I want to fundraise for this important cause and proudly present my cheque on September 15, 2013 to my local race organizers.

• True Sport Ottawa Race Weekend Fundraiser: True sport is a social movement that believes in transforming lives and communities through sport – something I very much believe in too. For the first time, they have created a running team for the 2013 Ottawa Race Weekend – a team that will fundraise and bring awareness to the cause. I have already registered for the 10km on Ottawa Race Weekend and want to become a True Sport running team member in 2013 on top of it.

4) Enjoy a fun race: Since having joined the “blogging world” I have had the opportunity to read race reviews for some really exciting sounding races. Each time I read about a fun-themed race, a race with an amazing race kit or fun race perks, I find myself really wanted to take part. I am making it a goal in 2013 to take part in a new, fun race and I have my eye on one in particular: the Montreal Color Run!

5) Complete destination race: I completed one destination race in 2012 and I loved the experience. In 2013, I want to take advantage of the numerous work trips I might have to complete another. I have not yet decided what that race will be as I await my work travel schedule to be firmed up, but there might be some interesting options out there for me.

Along those lines, I hope to expand on my Running in Transit series with as many different recaps of running in cities around the world as possible this year. The first of 2013 might be Paris as a side trip after a work trip to Russia is in the works for this April!

With what should be a busy 2013, these five goals will be top of mind for me. That said, I do hope to run a few races (some 5km and 10km), work for PRs as usual, but over and above that, I want these five goals to be the highlight of my running year when I do my 2013 Year in Review 12 months from now.

Stay tuned for updates in 2013 on each of these goals!

M.

2012 Running Year in Review

With my final race of 2012 in the books on December 31st, I thought a recap of my year of running was due.

As I only started this blog in October of 2012, the majority of my running this year was not captured anywhere. Hopefully this recap does it justice.

A very foggy St. Patrick’s Day 10km race

2012 Goals

On this blog, I had two goals listed for 2012. I decided at the beginning of the year that training for any long distances was not in the cards for me in 2012, so I settled on shorter races and tried my best to work towards these two goals:

1. Average one race per month

2. PR in 5km and 10km

Having only really decided on these goals in February after my first race of the year, I missed out on running a January race so I had to make up for it at some other point throughout the year. I am happy to say I was successful in both of these goals! I ran a total of 13 races in 2012, one every month, and two in both September and October, and set new PR’s in the 5km, 8km, and 10km – every race distance I ran this year!

I had a third running goal that I had not put up on the blog – potentially for fear that I could not do it. I told a few people about it, but didn’t go fully public (i.e. on the blog) with it.

Not to leave you hanging, this third running goal of the year was to win my age group prize at a small, local running series called Somersault Run Series, in their Champions Challenge event.

I knew I had a shot at it if I ran my best and entered the correct number of races in 2012 – not many other runners in my age group even qualified for it (you had to enter a minimum number of races).

To my delight, I found in October after the Ottawa Fall Colours 10km that I had won my age group and was invited to an Awards Banquet the following month. The banquet itself was nice, but I was most pleased with the accomplishment of working at and completing this elusive third goal.

Stats from my 2012 running year:

• Number of 5km races: 8 
• Number of 8km races: 1
• Number of 10km races: 4
• New 5km PR: 22:32
• New 8km PR: 37:09
• New 10km PR: 48:06
• Number of kilometers total: Over 1000

Running in Transit:

I didn’t do as much travel this year as I have in past years, but I was still fortunate enough to get some travel in. I was lucky to also be able to find time to run on the road whenever possible – here are some of the places I was able to “run in transit”.

• San Francisco, California – A run along the water  from the Embarcadero, through Fisherman’s Wharf and on into the Marina (February).
• Edmonton, Alberta – Snuck in a run on a business trip and took in some of the Edmonton sites (March).
• Toronto, Ontario – Amazing 10km run along the city’s lakeshore (April).
• Montreal, Quebec – A sunny, fall run through gorgeous Mount Royal (November).
• London, Ontario – The 5km Resolution Run on New Years Eve in a foot of snow (December).

2012 Running Q&As:

A lot of other bloggers out there have recapped their year this way and so I thought I would join in as well by answering a few questions to show the highlights of my running year:

What was your favorite run of the year?

I had so many amazing runs this year that it was hard to choose. I have narrowed it down to two runs that I would have to name as my favorites:

1) While on vacation in San Francisco in February, I completed an amazing morning run through some picturesque parts of the city. My recap of that run is here. I loved the water front pathway, the amazing views of the city and the Golden Gate bridge and the perfect running weather!

2) Although I wasn’t training for any longer races this year, I still enjoyed getting out for some long runs on weekends. One late summer day, I had an 16km run scheduled and decided to drive to a spot along the scenic Ottawa River and hop on a trail by the water that would bring me all the way into downtown Ottawa. Along the way, I hit some construction and a small detour. The detour turned into a much bigger one that I expected but I was enjoying the gorgeous views so didn’t mind.

Once I looped back towards where my car was parked, I realized I would be doing more than 16km; it would actually be closer to 19-20km. With the wind at my back, I was feeling great so I decided right then and there that I was going to extend the run even further and officially make it a half marathon…what’s an extra kilometer or two once I have already done 19 or 20, right?!

And that is just what I did. I could not have been more pleased with my running that day. Even though I didn’t complete any half-marathons or marathons in 2012, I am proud I can still say I ran 21.1km once this year!

What was your favorite race of the year/best race experience?

My favorite race was the Bay Breeze 5km in San Leandro, California – it wasn’t my fastest 5km of the year, but it was my best race experience. It was a destination race for me, albeit only a short race. When my husband and I decided to go to San Francisco for a week’s vacation, I immediately looked up races in the general area and settled on this one.

It was put on by Brazen Racing, who did a fantastic job with everything. I hadn’t raced a 5km race in years so didn’t have any expectations of myself. The weather was perfect for running and for my first race of the year, and my first race since 2010, I gave it all I had.

To my surprise, I finished in 23:05, which was good enough for 2nd in my age group (and a nifty silver medal!)

Also, this race had by far the best looking participant’s medal!

What has been your biggest inspiration in 2012?

2012 is the year I really got into reading, following and eventually writing a running blog, and I would have to say that this has been my biggest inspiration. The virtual running community accessible through social media, be it blogs, twitter or Daily Mile motivates me each and every day to stay active and to push myself to be a better runner.

Best running advice I’ve received in 2012?

I can’t say I have received a lot of running advice this year, but one thing that has certainly stuck with me, sort of as a piece of advice, is Saucony’s slogan “Find Your Strong”. I used it more as a mantra in 2012, and I know it has helped me push through some tough runs this year.

My “Find Your Strong” reminder right in front of my treadmill

What was your favorite piece of new running gear in 2012?

Hands-down, my Garmin Forerunner 405CX is my favorite piece of new running gear this year. I got it in January 2012 and I have barely taken it off since.

I love being able to see my pace, time and distance as I run, all in one glance. It has helped me in training and during races, and the post-workout analysis that is available online is a great tool. I don’t know how I ever ran without it!

2012 Running Photos:

FEBRUARY – Bay Breeze 5km in San Leandro, California

MARCH – Decked out in green for St. Patrick’s Day 10km race

APRIL – 10km PR Race – The Bear Run (48:06)

MAY – After the Mother’s Day 10km Race with some prize winnings

JUNE – Leading the pack (not really…there are still another 60 runners ahead of me in the Emilie’s Run 5km but this is my favorite photo of the year)

JULY – Canada Day 5km PR race (22:31) – my friend set a PR of her own too!

AUGUST – Hottest race of the year at the National Capital 5km!

SEPTEMBER – My sprint to the finish at the Canadian 8km

OCTOBER – Rattle Me Bones 5km Race

NOVEMBER – The run that I got Girl Guide Cookies at the finish line!

DECEMBER – Last race of the year – the Resolution Run!

Stay tuned for my 2013 Running Goals – to be revealed in my next post.

M.

Resolution Run Race Recap

On December 31st, 2012, I ran my 13th race of the year – a race that finally marked the completion of my “race a month” goal. To be fair, it was more of an “average one race a month” goal since I missed a January race (only having come up with this goal in February) and ran two races a month in both September and October.

I ran the Resolution Run 5km  in London, Ontario, an event put on my the Running Room in various locations across Canada.

My husband and I were in that area visiting family during the Christmas holidays and I thought it would be a great way to ring in the New Year. I had encouraged a few other friends to sign up too and had my husband and mother-in-law come out to cheer me on, so it made for a fun race with lots of company (…lots compared to what I usually have at races!)

Pre-race:

London usually doesn’t have much snow, but this year, five days before the race, they got a pretty good snowstorm and the snow was still sticking around by New Year’s Eve. I decided to prepare my race outfit accordingly and settled on all of this:

The blue jacket was part of the race kit – a Running Room jacket with lots of reflective properties. I typically don’t like to wear my race kit gear for races, but since this was much nicer and more appropriate for a night race than my actual winter running jacket, I decided to wear it for the race…along with 90% of the other runners there.

I had just purchased new winter running tights from the Running Room, and was eager to test them out in a race, along with my other favorite winter running pieces (New Balance touque with ponytail hole, Lululemon Brisk Run gloves, and thermal Nike long sleeve).

The day prior to the race, I went out for a quick 5km around my mother-in-law’s neighborhood in St. Thomas, Ontario (close to London) to loosen up my legs after not much exercise over the holidays.

Much to my dismay, the sidewalks had not been fully cleared of snow and I could not generate any speed. It felt like I was running in sand! My only consolation was that the race the next day would be much better…or so I thought.

The Race

My “crew” and I got to the race site in plenty of time to check everything out and get settled. When we got to the start line, the 10km racers had just taken off and we noticed that they appeared to be running in almost single file…and on the sidewalks.

We were certainly surprised to see this, especially as the sidewalks in London did not appear to have been cleared of the snow either. Cars were still driving down the roads we were racing on and there was no sign that any road closures had been made for this race.

We knew then we’d be in for a slow race.

As we approached the start line, we also learnt that there was no official start or timing, so we set out in almost single file as we  crossed the start line.

My friends and I had determined that we’d start together but each run at our own pace. As we crawled through the start line, I quickly wished my friends well and said I wanted to try to speed up…if I could get by anyone on the sidewalk in the snow.

This proved to be a HUGE feat; passing people on the snow covered sidewalks, correction – snow FILLED sidewalks, was nearly impossible.

I did somehow managed to dart past people when there were openings and when we crossed streets and all in all must have passed well over 100 over the course of the 5km.

Despite that however, there were just too many slow downs to generate any sort of steady, fast pace so I finished with a much slower time than I would have liked, but still got to enjoy a winter run with some friends and with the support of family.

AND the $80 Running Room jacket pretty much made up for everything….given that my race entry fee was only $50!

M.