Boxing Day On The Bramble Brae

After eating delicious leftovers at lunch and spending the am with friends and family Kevin and I went for a short shake out run. We spent the run on some short trails by The Links in Portsoy and on The Bramble Brae. These trails contain everything from sod like grass to large rocks that you really need to be careful on. Pictures don't do it justice so see the video below for what's closest to the real thing. 

I love a lazy, relaxing Boxing Day and it was nice to run with no set time or pace. Hope you all had a brilliant Christmas and Boxing Day!

Blown Away By Scotland

Sunday was spent doing some last minute shopping for Christmas in Elgin. To be honest my holiday shopping was done, but I made the mistake of forgetting to pack some of the holiday parcels. I still blame my baby brain for this! Elgin turned out to be a great place to do this because 1) we got there as the shops opened, 2) there are a small amount of shops, and 3) the shopping is relatively condensed. With our last shopping hoorah over swiftly, we finished the trip off with a special treat at Costa (Coffee Shop). 

The treat was meeting some of the Souter Clan, some of which I had never met, and others that I haven't seen in two years. We all enjoyed a great catch up and yummy sweets. I have to say that Costa makes my new favourite hot chocolate, 'Black Forest Hot Chocolate'. I must warn you that it's probably one of the most unhealthiest drinks you can have, I found out later it has 60g of sugar in it...YIKES. As you can see, that's not all I had! I had a gingerbread muffin to go with it too! I'm not going to even go into the details of what that contained. It's Christmas and I don't eat/drink this way often. It's a nice to splurge once in a while and I knew I'd run it off later. 

Black Forest Hot Chocolate, and Gingerbread Muffin from Costa

Iyla, Annie and Fergus

After arriving back in Portsoy, Kevin and I quickly changed to go for a training run. This time we had a local friend and athlete, Scott Donald join us. Scott knows his way around the surrounding areas much better than Kevin (having left many years ago) and I, so he helped navigate the route. When running in Scotland you have to be mindful of the sunrise and sunset, at this time of year you only get 6 and a half hours of daylight. This is on a good day when it's not a 'dark and dreich day' (dull and wet). We left at 2:30pm on our run and finished in the dark at 3:45pm. During this run we were on a main road for a wee bit and I noticed that despite being in a single file, drivers were not too fond of us. Once off the main road we spent the next 30mins running into the wind while climbing a steady incline. Scott led us for this portion and kept us going strong. I could barely talk during this part, it was the longest and quickest pace I've done since my marathon. It's amazing how quickly you can lose your endurance post race.

Our run was supposed to circle around but both Scott and Kevin 'couldna mine' (couldn't remember) a road correctly so we had to turn back on the same road. With the wind and incline on our side we flew all the way home.

A-98, Main road leaving Portsoy

Scott and I on the steady incline into the wind

Lot's of sheep hanging a boot

Quick photo opp with Scott in front of 'Fordyce Castle'

Kev and I ready to call Canada, it's actually usable!!!!

Although an easy and steady 75min run was on deck, we completed 9.04 miles at a 8:18avg pace per mile. We certainly noticed and felt the difference the wind made both with and against. With gale winds beating the United Kingdom and causing airports, railways and traffic to reach a standstill, we are lucky to be in a pocket of the country that seems to be sheltered from the worst. Having said that we are certainly on the receiving end of stronger winds as the days are passing! We are mindful to spare a thought and our prayers to those affected by the adverse weather both here and in Canada over this holiday period. Merry Christmas everyone :)

Christmas in Scotland Week 1 Training

My husband, Kevin and I took our daughter, Iyla on her first overseas adventure to see her Scottish Highland roots! There is no real easy way (except from spending a fortune over and above) to cross the Atlantic and traverse to the North-East corner of Scotland. This meant embarking on a set of three flights on Monday spanning into Tuesday. Iyla was a good sport on all three flights. In fact we were very happy with our 'strategic' decision to fly through the night so that she would sleep as per her regular schedule. To be honest it did take her a wee bit to pass out but she finally managed after Kevin laid her on my empty seat while I was using the bathroom as a PJ's changeroom. This worked a treat, so much so, we didn't want to stir the pot! One of the fantastic air stewardesses found a vacant seat for Kevin to sit while I watched over our wee angel. Using a complimentary blanket we created a makeshift tent to deflect any light and away she was into dreamland.

Flight #1: Toronto Island to Montreal

Flight #2: Montreal to London

Right before boarding our last flight, she slept the whole way to Aberdeen

We arrived Tuesday afternoon and started back with our training on Wednesday. Our coach has set us up with workouts through 'Personal Best' TrainingPeaks but stressed that first and foremost to enjoy the time with family, and to just do what we can. Typically this is the end of season for many triathletes before planning the upcoming year. We have a big race this April and are a little antsy! We have a feeling that training will intensify through January and beyond so in typical Souter fashion we will keep ticking over. We love that he understands how important family is to us, BEST COACH (Sean Bechtel)!. We do have a few community pools in nearby towns but with Kevin not being insured to drive over here anymore, we depend on family to drive us (thank you Souter family). Our workouts here will consist mostly of running and some swimming. We will try to bike on Kevin's parents mountain bikes but its a much different cycling workout.

Running so far has included gale winds(50 miles/hour), rain, trails, cobblestone, hills, mud and stunning scenery!!!

'The Heathery' West of Portsoy

Plenty Hills

Kevin's new kicks, great for the rain and trails here

Challenges we've faced:

-Jet lag (5hrs ahead of Toronto) resulting in all three of us struggling to find our sleep pattern while randomly falling asleep or sneaking the odd nap!

-Internet pool schedule not being accurate, lesson learned...call to double check

-Lack of pool accessories for drills

With a supporting cast of family we are fortunate to be able to work out together on a regular basis. We will enjoy our time here with live-in babysitters and our occasional chauffeur (to the pool). Although it's a small town, there is so much history and areas to run. Stay tuned for more adventure and scenery!

Four Days of Firsts

With Kevin away recruiting in Ottawa I decided to pack up with Iyla and Kaiser and head back to 'The Cove' to spend some quality time with family and friends.

After a 4.5 hour drive and one 'white-out' section on the 401 by London we arrived safely. I was back for 4 days and this is the fun that was had.

Kaiser met a horse for the first time and almost jumped out of his skin when a cow nearby mooed while visiting Nanny at the farm.

Kaiser also "ran away" from my dad, with my dad frustratingly and frantically spending the next hour and a half trying to get him back and away from the water. Kaiser doesn't actually "run away" he stays close, but not close enough for you to grab him. It's a game, a game unfortunately that too many people have experienced with him when taking his leash off.

Lake Erie, You can barely tell where the sky ends and the water begins

Took this right before Kaiser came running back to me when I went looking for the two of them.

On the Thursday evening two of my closest friends since high-school came out to visit us and have supper. It flew by too fast since we were all kept busy looking after the two little ones (Izzy and Iyla) and Kaiser who was knocking Izzy down with his big sloppy kisses.

Iyla and Izzy

Iyla was mesmerized by the cozy fire place at my Dad and Rose's good friends (Les & Barb) place. We had two lovely visits with them while I was back, one of these visits I was fortunate to receive acupuncture on my sore back by their brilliant daughter. This was a blessing that eased much pain I was having due to an altercation with the staircase at my home.

Les and Iyla

I went on two runs while I was home with my Garmin fully charged and strapped back on to my wrist! My pace has slowed a bit, but where I noticed the biggest difference was in my lungs. They were burning a bit for the first mile. Below is a picture I took on my run of the lake. You can see it's starting to freeze pretty far out. Many fisherman and duck hunters were out and about.

Lake St. Clair

Much time was spent together playing. Iyla experienced many firsts:

• Continuous deep belly giggles
• First tooth is now in sight and is as sharp as can be
• Although it wasn't her first she was rolling more from her back to her stomach
• She's almost ready to crawl too!

I had my 1st ladies night out since having Iyla. One of my closest friends, Amy moved back to our hometown where we went to school as youngsters, a year ago. Our mutual friend, Adrienne arranged for a bunch of the Toronto ladies to come visit Amy and I joined in on the fun. 

I took this right before I went out for the night after sharing lot's of laughter and love

We all met up outside of Chatham at 'The Central', a bar located in a small village known as Pain Court. It was a much needed night out with great conversation and time spent dancing on the floor to Amy's man's band, 'The Chasers'. I love these girls and had a blast!!!

 I am forever thankful to lululemon athletica because it is the reason I have the most loving, generous, inspiring and fierce friends below in my life. 

I learned during that night out that no matter how old I get I am always my dad's little girl, and he will worry. I received a call from him close to midnight to check in on me and to make sure I was safe! Now being a parent it gets me thinking about how Kevin and I will be when Iyla grows up and goes out. 

The next morning I drove back to my home to find this lovely set up below, representing Kevin and I's 3 year wedding anniversary. My oh my, time has flown by and I fall more and more in love with him as it does. 

What are some firsts that you and your family have experienced lately?

The New Shoe Review

Before the snow had a chance to hit the 'Lighthouse Cove' grounds, I had the opportunity to test out my New Balance 890v4's. The Cove, being one of the places I grew up in, is where I share many of my fondest memories. With childhood friends I enjoyed boating, skiing, playing hockey on the canals and let me not forget, hide and seek in the dark. This hidden jewel of a community is located within 'Lakeshore' situated on Lake St.Clair.

My dad, and step mom Rose, used to live in this active community before embarking in their RV adventures and travels. Now when they come back, they rent a cottage or stay here with friends. While visiting, it goes without saying my parents were excited to babysit, giving Kevin and I the chance to go on a run together. This was the first time since having Iyla that it was just us 2 running, no dog or baby to push. Here I am below ready to embark on my first long run after the marathon (this was 2 weeks ago tomorrow). 

I can't tell you my pace because I didn't wear my watch. I take a break from my watch after every marathon for three weeks so that I am running and purely enjoying the surroundings, distraction free!

The distance we covered was 6 miles and this is what I learned about my new shoes:

- Great fit and space in the toebox

- Wider than my New Balance 1400's but still comfortable 

- Laces are an old school feel and they don't have much stretch, I'd prefer them to have more elasticity

- I could feel more cushion under my feet than in my 1400's. They made me feel so light and bouncy

- I love the bottom and the fact that I never get any stones or rocks in them 

Kevin below at Luken Marina, our turn-around point. You can see the Thames River behind him and how low the water level is. 

We are surrounded by windmills now, it's still crazy to me because growing up there were none. Now they are EVERYWHERE.  

All done and spending some time relaxing. 

Great run. Great to be home. And so far so good....Great shoes! 

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

When it comes to running and goals many people set a reward for accomplishing them. I am one of those people. As most of you already know I celebrate through-out my long runs to keep my energy and mind on track (for those of you that don't, see my wins map on a previous blog, http://thetrisout.blogspot.ca/2013/10/taper-truths.html). My biggest goal for Hamilton Marathon Road2Hope was to Qualify for Boston and I accomplished this and that was a reward in itself. As great as that mental reward was, I still find a physical reward a good thing. When choosing a reward I think it's best to reward with something that keeps you motivated and on track for your next goal.

The physical reward I had in mind took a lot of research and time before the purchase was complete. My reward for my race was NEW SHOES! Not just any kind of shoes, RUNNING SHOES, 2 PAIRS (2 wasn't originally in my plan but needed to happen)!!!! Yes it was time to replace my shoes, as I had been running in them for far too many miles. Here are some of the highlights I learned about when to replace shoes:

• Lightweight shoes last 60% as long as heavier, more durable shoes (I wear lightweight shoes so this is an important point that I didn't know). For more info surrounding this point go to this link http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/ask-coaches-when-replace-shoes
• Running shoes should be retired on average between 300-500 miles. The variation on miles is dependent on the user (where you run, the way you run etc). http://www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes/common-shoe-questions
• Racing flats should only be worn for racing, not training!

Simple points but points I was reckless to. I wasn't tracking my mileage and I can tell you I've been running in the same shoes since April 2013, that's 7 months and well over 500 miles. To make matters worse my shoes that I so adore, are racing flats. Not really meant for training, another error on my part. Hopefully all this ignorance just means that my next marathon will be my fastest yet.

The shoes I adore and ran in for my race are the, New Balance 1400's . They are my favourite running shoes that I've EVER owned! Now that's a tall order since I've been in everything from Asics, Mizunos, Brooks, and Nike. I can tell you that since I've been in New Balance and logging more mileage than ever, I've been injury free! I can't say that about the rest of my shoes. 

I knew I wanted to get a new pair of 1400's but that I would need to make them my race shoe and a shoe I'd wear only once in a while for some tempo runs and one LSD run. Here's the beauties I bought:

You can buy at New Balance Canada

Now I still needed to purchase a training shoe that could take the long mileage while maintaining the integrity of the shoe. I decided to stay within the same brand since I saw success with the 1400's. After watching numerous videos on shoes, this video helped support my choice for the, New Balance 890 v4. This shoe won the 'BEST UPDATE' award at Runners World. It's light, minimal and can handle the distance.

This shoe comes in a special edition NY City marathon colour style but I preferred a version that the US New Balance Website had. Thankfully the next day they were on the Canadian website, just in time for an order. Here's the ones I chose...

You can buy at New Balance Canada

Well I'm extremely happy with my shoe choices and after ordering them online, they arrived only a few days later. So stay tuned for tomorrows blog on my first experiences with them on!

Ugly Sweater Run 5k Race Report

Team, 'Nut Crackers and the Jingle Balls'

Race: The Ugly Sweater Run 5k
Website: http://theuglysweaterrun.com/
Where: Toronto, Ontario (Downsview Park)
When: Saturday, November 16th, 2013
Cost: $44.00 ($5 discount if you register as a team), was later on groupon for $20.00, kids and dogs for free
Start Time: 11:00 am
Aid Stations: 1 hot chocolate and water aid station on course and 1 at the finish line
Swag: custom vintage knit hat, a moustache, unlimited hot chocolate, badge pin and 2 Winter Lagers (if of age)

Race Kit

Pre Race: 

Kevin set up Iyla's high chair and we had her in it for the first time! It's only been in the last few weeks that we have introduced cereal after her morning feed. She loves oatmeal and barley.

Iyla's first time in a high chair before breakfast

Iyla post breakfast covered in barley

We all got our ugly sweaters on, I had difficulty finding one under $50 (no way I was going to spend that much on an ugly sweater, and all the thrift stores we went to were out of them) so we just pinned Kaiser's stocking on my sweater from last year. I did however find the coolest reindeer leggings that I sported. After arriving at the race we met up with our good friends Katie and Jordan and their kids Georgia Rose, Hudson and their dog Cody. Here are their kids below in their Chariot stroller.

Georgia Rose and Hudson ready to rock

We all quickly went towards the start line since we only had about 3mins till the race started. We met up with more friends, Kat and Laura at the ID line to get our beer bracelets. As we drew near the start line it was awesome to see so many people, and dogs in holiday sweaters and hats. Like nothing else! We all started in the last corral of runners since we had with us the strollers and dogs. 

Iyla Skye ready for her first 5k race with the sun shinning bright

Katie, Kat and Laura pre race

Everyone sporting their USR toques

Kev, Iyla Skye, Kaiser and I at the start line

The Race:

Once starting the dogs pulled us along, they were so excited to be part of it. As the dogs easily manoeuvred past others, Katie and I struggled while pushing the strollers to keep up without running anyone down. Just as we caught up with our four legged friends, it was time for their unashamed pit stop and us ladies took the lead. Along the route, Kaiser was getting tons of compliments on his dog ugly sweater and others even asked to take photos. He was a star! 

Our first stop happened when we spotted a photo op at the inflatable reindeer. I've never been in a race before where there are actual photo stops set up along course, there was even a line.

The girls and Hudson posing by the reindeer

The dads turn

Second stop happened at the aid station for some hot chocolate. Quite weird having hot chocolate when our bodies were roasting from running in thick sweaters and in the warm fall day we had. On the course we came across a fork in the road where we had to decide if we wanted to climb the hill or stay on a flat route to the finish. We took the challenge to climb the hill, and that's when Kevin and I switched up running partners. I took Kaiser up while Kev pushed Iyla, and she slept the whole time. We had our third stop at the top to give the dogs some water and have our second photo op. 

Kevin and Kaiser after the first hot chocolate station

Uphill

Made it to the top!

Race finish had the largest inflatable Santa Claus I had ever seen with a third photo op by a fireside. We had our second hot chocolate and gave Kaiser more water before heading home for the day. 

Biggest Take Aways:

• Great family race and way to start the holiday season
• Always give ourselves an extra 30mins to get ready, we always take longer than we think 
• Non chip races from now on will be a must at least once a year for me and my family because it allows for a relaxed and fun filled atmosphere. I'm not saying I don't have fun during racing because I always do, but it's a different type of fun. There is a competitive edge to it and at this race (chip free), competition didn't even come into play
• What a great workout for our dog, who spent the rest of the day and today sleeping

Finish line fireside

Post Race:

After the race we had Katie, Jordan, the kiddos and Cody back for lunch. This was great for all of us, the dogs are great friends and played the whole time. This works well for both our families because with having a baby, Kaiser doesn't get as much attention now as he once did. The girls got to play together and Hudson was entertained by all. Because weather has been so cold, we wanted to keep with the Christmas theme and have a hot meal. We made hot caramel-apple cider, and a creamy thick soup. 

Post race cuddles from Georgia

Recovery lunch: creamy potato corn & mushroom soup with hot carmel apple cider

A few pumpkin stouts as well

Now I'd love to know...

What is your favourite family run?

Do you like running races that are time/chip free?