Today's long run (15km) went exceptionally well considering I didn't start my run until 8am. I did my usual prep work:

waterbelt - check
extra money - check
phone (and music) - check
IT band(s) - check

I started off a lot stronger than I expected - was able to do about 5km within half an hour. I tried to keep the pace consistant even after the the 5km mark, and I think I managed a good average of it. Another bit of good news is that the shin splints I was feeling last week are no longer there! Oh pain-free is a great feeling! On my final return from the boardwalk (I do about 2 rounds back and forth), I could smell bbq food from people set up on the grassy area of the beaches. Smelled so good! "Follow your nose!" ;)

Admittantly at this point, everything I ate in the morning (some pecans and water!), had burned to nothing. I was pretty hungry. But I wanted to push myself just a little more... I ran past my usual "ending marker" (a simple beaches sign) located on the boardwalk, and as I did, it began to rain. Lightly at first, then slightly heavier.

My motto has been rain (rain, not thundering) or shine for the training, but perhaps it was the brief waft of bbq food that I came across in the run, maybe it was the slight chill in my arms, or that my gps monitor was telling me that I did my milage already...

I decided to turn back and head home. And probably eat something :) My mind had been set on making Milestones' California Salad for the past week. Got home. Showered. Made it. Turned out to be quite delicious :) Sorry, no picture of it. Literally made and devoured ;)

I have 3 weeks until my Midsummer Night's Run. 4 Weeks until my first Duathlon. The latter is what I'm worried about. I have yet to do a combo of both running and biking together in one session. Ai... wish me luck!

Shin Splints

Shin Splints. The term itself sounds painful. And that's not far from the truth either. An exact definition can be found on wikipedia:


Shin splints or medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS) refers to pain along or just behind the tibia (shinbone), the large bone in the front of the lower leg. Shin splints occur during physical activity and result from too much force on the shinbone and connective tissue attaching muscles to it. Shin splints are common in runners and in those who participate in activities with sudden stops and starts, such as football, basketball, soccer or tennis, along with sports that apply extreme pressure to the legs, such as gymnastics. Ten to fifteen percent of running injuries are shin splints.


From the looks of it (via self-diagnosis), my case isn't too bad. Ignoring it and continuing training crossed my mind, but that has never led to anything good. Besides, it's pretty painful. Hard to not feel pain!

So this past Saturday, I decided not to do my long run, and just take it easy... and sleep in for once :) Resting for the remainder of this week is also on the agenda.

Factors for the shin splint:
1. Running on uneven surfaces
2. A minor bruise on my shin from my warrior dash (it's not even purple...)
3. Tight Achilles and calf muscles (need more stretching before and after runs)
4. Over training (perhaps reduce my milage on my weekly runs)
5. Combination of all 4 factors

Training should resume next Monday. Right now, shin is feeling pretty happy. I hope it remains so when I get back on the running field :P

Training on one of the hottest days

I knew in advance today was going to be some kind of bloody hot day, so my plan of action was to get up at the crack of dawn (I name it to be around 5:30am) and do my run. Failed attempt. I heard the 5:30am one. Turned it off. 6:30am. Turned it off. Finally, I woke up at my own accord at 7am, and was out running by 7:30am. The run started off ok. Weather felt a little warm, but there was a breeze in the air. But by the time I was 5km in (and also at the OTHER end of the boardwalk), the air became thicker all of a sudden. I could feel the heat of the sun at the back of neck, my arms felt like it was being toasted. I picked up the pace and to fuel myself I ate a cliff blok candy. Never had I been so glad to wear my waterbelt. On my regular weekly runs, I only drank a cup of water before leaving my house; I never felt the need to carry any bottled water on me. I can't say that's ever a good idea. I should correct that bad habit. Dehydration is not fun. Been there, done that. Almost fainted in the showers of a gym. But luckily rescued by my friends.

By the time I returned home from the 7.3km run, I was soaked in sweat. I emmersed my face in cold water and while I normally shower with luke warm water, this time around, it was much cooler.

I swear, I didn't want to leave the house after that. I wanted to stay in my newly AC'd room and just breathe in the cool air. Sadly, no such luck though since it was a work day.

At lunch hour, my collegues and I went out for lunch. On our walk to the Salad King restaurant, out of curiousity I asked the temperature; it was 34 degrees. On our way back to the office, I checked my phone for the temperature; it was 36 degrees. It has risen 2 degrees in a matter of 30 minutes. The walk back to the office was very long. I had a serious craving for ice cream which I was glad to satisfy this evening!



In the midst of blogging todays run, my friend Jeff called me and we went for ice cream at Maple Leaf Dairy, (Formally called by locals: St. Clair's), and I got treated to a single scoop on a cone.

x 5!

It was not a single scoop. It was a 10 scooper! It was huge! Once we left the shop, it started melting. Jeff expertly ate his cone, while I struggled with mine. It was melting. so. fast. Within 5 minutes, my hand was covered with melted ice cream. It dripped everywhere. It reminded me of a time back in Highschool when my friend Lynette and I were returning from a Kiwanis Festival. We were at Eatons I think, and we both bought a dipped chocolate cone. Holding my violin case in one hand, I remember watching Lynette eat hers easily, nothing melting down the sides. For me, it was dripping all over the place. I decided then I had no skill with ice cream. And today, I have decided that has still not changed... :)

Sadly to say, half the ice cream melted off to the point where the top tip of the ice cream just toppled off. It was gracefully dropped down onto a patch of dry grass. Let the grass have some melted ice cream since it would probably do a better job of consuming it! :P

I'm debating right now whether to run tomorrow or hold off. I guess I will see how the weather is like. According to the forecast, it could be ok running weather in the morning. Maybe I can aim for 6am ;)

Warrior Dash 2011 - Ontario

Yesterday, I participated in an event that I never thought I would ever do; The Warrior Dash. On their website it is described as the following:

Warrior Dash is a mud-crawling, fire-leaping, extreme run from hell. This fierce running series is held on the most challenging and rugged terrain across the globe. Warriors conquer extreme obstacles, push their limits, and celebrate with kick-ass music, beer and warrior helmets.

Everyone is separated into "waves". This is probably the way they try to faciliate over 500 participants so there is no funnelling at the obstacles. The first wave starts as early as 8:00am. Last wave at 6:30pm. My wave was at 5:30pm.

July 9th, 2011
My morning started off at 6:30am, I couldn't sleep... so went through my checklist a few times. I printed out the maps to get to Horseshoe valley resort, the waver form, and double checked that I brought my ID. I also packed 2 sets of extra clothes instead of one. Just in case. lol. I texted my friend Lynette for advice about wearing my contacts and bringing my glasses as backup. Her suggestion: no backup needed. Just wear contacts. The chances of me losing them or crushing was much higher than having my contacts fall out. I can say now, after the race, she was dead on.

Lynette and Madeline arrived at my house promptly at 11:30am and we headed out to have lunch up in the Vaughan area; Grazie. I've never been there before, although I have always wanted to eat there. I envied what my friends ordered (although mine was good too). I couldn't have any cream sauce since my tolerance for lactose hasn't been very good. I had to make do with just a pasta with red sauce.



We finished our meal around 1:30ish and decided to drop by walmart to pick up some wetnaps and sunblock. In the same plaza, I went over to starbucks and changed into my "warrior gear". This consisted of an old black shirt and a some long black sweat pants (lululemon ones). I needed to wear long pants because I didn't want to get my IT band dirty (or lose it in the mud!)

When we started back on the road, we encountered a lot of traffic. I was really glad Lynette planned ahead and pushed to get us out there faster. We had to sacrifice shopping at Cooks town (no coach outlet!) and stopping by Costco to look at glasses.

As we neared our destination, there was some confusion on where the parking area was, (there were no specific signs that said "Warrior Dash Parking this way". Instead there was a nice white sign saying "Parking". On that assumption, we spotted a schoolbus that exited from (what I know now is Parking lot A) large parking lot with multiple shuttles. Since it was also on route based on our map, we went along with it. Shortly after, we arrived at our destination: horseshoe resort.

My friend Madeline mentioned that it seems all the crazy stuff that we seem to do starts off at the resort! Example being the 100km Oxfam trailwalker hike last year. It seems she's every bit right about that!


Once we parked (Parking Lot B), we walked to take the shuttles (the school buses). I requested my friends to help me carry my extra clothing so I could change after the race. The bus dropped us off at the starting area of the warrior dash. It was 4:00pm; we were right on time!



I made my way to the race packet pickup area, and got my "warrior" tshirt and hat, bib number, and of course, my race chip.




Looking around me, there were so many people at the event. It was really amazing. Some people wore amazing looking costumes, with war paint and all that jazz. I looked... lol like I wore all my old stuff. All is well. If I do decide to do something like this again, war paint is on! :D

We walked around, scouting to see any of the obstacles. There were three near the finish line: The mudpit that forced people to crawl through (there were chains hanging over head), some fire that people had to leap over, and cargo nets to climb.

We saw some people do belly flops into the mud. lol. The mud sloshed onto some spectators (including Mad!).

We sat (well, I sat anyway) around waiting for my wave time to start. As 5:30pm neared, I saw in the 5:00pm wave an old team mate from Team in Training! Such a small world!



5:30pm finally came, and I stood and made my way to the startline.

The eye of the tiger started playing (seems to be pre-music played for the start of each wave). I have to admit, every time I hear that song, I think of the outtake from Supernatural:



As the fire shot up, the "warrior cries" of wave 5:30pm, my dash started...we ran... and then trickled to a trot, and then a walk. There was a funnelling effect, people in front were slowing down, and some people beside me said that this was a Warrior dash, not a walk!! lol. hilarious. In a few minutes, we realized why... it was the mud pit area, .. I saw so many lost shoes in the mud. I saw some runners beside me lose their shoes. And then I nearly lost mine! I could feel the suction of the mud, pulling me down. I had to slow down. Think elf :) The faster and harder I ran, the stronger the pull. I had no intention of running barefoot!



Once I got past the muddy area, I ran for a bit until I reached the first official obstacle:

#1 The Great Warrior Wall (Conquer the Wooden Barricade).
I was thinking in my head... this wasn't on my list of obstacles was it? Anyway...I was pretty worried about this one. Pulling myself up a wall?! Turns out getting up the wall was the easy part. It was once that I was up there, that the hard part came. I have always had a fear of heights. Once up there, I could see how far up I was from the ground. There was a really nice couple behind me, that could see that I was feeling really nervous. I think his name was Craig, and he held on to the rope while I got my footing on the otherside the wooden wall. Once I got down, I was so relieved. I thanked the couple and began dashing to my next obstacle.

Turned out my dashing through the course was not going to be easy. There were so many hills. HILLS after hills after hills. Every corner I turned, there was another hill. I had only officially done one hill training in the whole time.. it was brutal. There was a girl beside me that was panting heavily, that made me worried. But she had a team with her, and they were watching out for her. I felt she was very lucky.

#2 Dive into Darkness and escape the trenches (Black out)
This one required me to get down on my hands and knees as a I crawled underneath this tent. I seriously was reliving my spelunking adventure some years back. It was pretty muddy, but there was ample room to crawl through.

Once I was out, I started running again... to more hills. horrible hills. They were not kidding about tough terrain! Then there was a steep downhill...then plateau, then uphill again. Finally, I read from afar a sign that there was an obstacle ahead.

#3 Thread through tangled ropes (Arachnophobia)
This obstacle really reminded me of jumpsie. An old school yard game I used to play in elementary school. Except its all twisted up. It was easier to get through, and with some teamwork from the other participants, it was even faster.

#4 Tires and junkyard
This one was interesting. I discovered I was in no shape to sprint through these tires. The tires were not all aligned, so that really made it difficult to even attempt it. I did my best, a little trot hop and step. And then it lead right into the junkyard. I finally got to step on a car! lol stomp stomp :) The tires continued after the junk yard.

#5 Hustle up over giant straw hales (Hay Fever)
This one was actually rather nice. Very easy to get up, and it was kinda fun. I wish I could stayed on this one and just hopped up and down :P The hay was soft and bouncy, kind of like jumping on a bed.

I'm not sure if this was the half way point, but there was this awful hill to go up. By the time I was up there, I couldn't wait for the water. After two cups, I continued the run. I prayed there were no more hills. I couldn't imagine what "Hell's hill" was suppose to be like!

No such thing, there were more hills.

#6 Rapple down a steep ravine (Cliffhanger)
This one was quite the opposite, it was more like going up a steephill, but it wasn't too bad. Quite a fast one to overcome. Building some momentum as I came downhill, I zipped up and grabbing the rope for extra support.

#7 Chaotic Crossover (crawl across tangled nets)
This one was a little tough to get through (for me anyway), but I stratigized and kind of did a side-stepping method to get across. Another girl (Jess) followed what I was doing, and we got across together. Team work! lol

After that, Jess and I ran the rest of the dash together.

#8 Slosh down a slippery slope (petrifying plunge)
This one was so cool! It was like doing the slip n' slide, a commercial I saw as a kid. Just with a little bit of mud :D

It was after this obstacle that I asked Jess about the hell's hill. And she told me that they had taken it off the course since we already had so many hills. She also said we were near the end... and we were! from a short distance, I could see the cargo climb, and the fire!

#9 Cargo Climb (Maneuver over cargo nets)
This one I took my time with. I hate heights. It also wasn't as bad as expected, but still a little tough due to my phobia.



#10 Warrior Roast (Leap over warrior fires)
By the time I got to this obstacle, it was the spectator area, and I knew the finish line was less than a km away. I leapt over the first fire, and then the second one...and I heard my friends cheering, and for a moment, I got distracted, lol and forgot that I was still leaping in mid air, while turning my head to the sound of my name.

Next thing I knew, I fell. lol. Flat on my face. Quite funny, but embarassing, because I could hear the crowd go "oooooh".

Jess turned back to check if I was ok, and I was, lol, only a little bruised pride ;)

I moved on to my last obstacle:
#11 Muddy Mayhem (Scrambling beneath barbed wire - replaced with chains - as you near the finish)
As I dove into this muddy pit, I not only felt immersed with mud, but I also felt the gravel beneath the mud. It bloody hurt! I looked over at Jess, who too felt the pain, and she started to limbo beneath the chains instead of crawling under it. I just kept crawling, I wanted to get out of the mud! I could feel it soak through my pants, my clothes, everything! *shudder* mud.. ick!

Once I was out of there, I knew it was over, the obstacles were done! I ran along side Jess to the finish line. Filled with dirt and grime, they hung our finisher medals on us, and handed us a paper cup filled with water. I drank it with zeal.

As we made our way out of the finishing area, I saw Lynette and Madeline ... and Jess saw her friend Nat right beside them! Strange coincidence! We took a finishing photo together, and then made our way to be "hosed down".

When I say hosed down, I literally mean that. There were two warrior dash staff members holding hoses and showering freezing cold water over all the mud covered "Warriors" :)

After rinsing out, I made my way to donate my running shoes. They were so caked with mud, even if I decided to keep them, they would never look anything near white again. I got my sandals (crocs) and extra clothes from my friends, and went to change in the portable bathrooms. I was really glad I brought some towels :P



After I changed, Lynette slipped on the "I survived" souvineer tshirt from the dash on, and we made our way to the shuttle buses. I decided that I didn't want any free beer nor the turkey leg.. we were going to have japanese tapenyaki, so had to save my stomach! :)




The evening ended spectacularly with an exceptional meal at Yangs. I loved my Salmon and Black Cod dish. I was so happy that I had friends to celebrate my acheivement, and I was so glad I was able to make it through the dash, with contacts, no scrapes! and ahead of my predicted time! An added bonus was that I wasn't too far behind some guys with six packs :P

Would I do something like this again? Yes.
Will I train more for it? H*ll yeah :) Hill training in particular!

There's something called a Tough Mudder that looks really interesting :P A friend told me about a Spartan one too, which is a charity dash. Both though are much more intense than Warrior Dash from I heard. We shall see how training goes ... :)

*** Edit add-on ***
So today, I made my way to the running room to buy new runners (can't train barefeet!), ironically the person fitting me (James) also did the warrior dash! He was in the 4:30pm wave. He agreed whole-heartedly that the hills were awfully hard to get through. Glad I wasn't the only who thought so!
After making my purchase, he said he had a great chat with a fellow warrior :)

Weekly Run ... Ducks sunbathing on the boardwalk

Today I had aimed to get up for 6:30am for my run. I set two alarms. One at 5:30am, and one at 6:30am. Didn't even hear the first one. I woke up to the second one. Turned it off, and rolled back to bed.
Half an hour later, I jerked awake and sadly glanced at my clock to find that it was 7am. I had half an hour to freshen up and get out the door... to run in the heat yet again.

On my return of my 7.4km run I took some pictures of ducks sunbathing. Quite adorable actually. I've been observing them almost every other day, from the start of my run and on my way back. The things you observe sometimes :)

So tomorrow is Warrior Dash, some crazy event I signed up for. In terms of training for this event, aside from just running and some aerobics exercise, I am ill prepared. Ai! I did read some blogs, particulary one called couple's bucket list, and it was inspiring to know that it's survivable :) I just have to be able to conquer my fears and try not to think about how little upper strength I have when I have to climb the nets... my fear of heights... fire... the dark...hills... lol.


#1: Go through tangled nets (Caotic Crossover)
#2: Forge your way through a dark forest (Dark Forest)
#3: Maneuver over cargo nets (Cargo Climb)
#4: Dive into Darkness and escape the trenches (Black out)
#5: Thread through tangled ropes (Arachnophobia)
#6: Speed through hundreds of tires (Knee high hell)
#7: Sprint to the Summit (Hell's Hill)
#8: Hustle up over giant straw hales (Hay Fever)
#9: Stampede through a scrap yard (Junk yard Jam)
#10: Slosh down a slippery slope (petrifying plunge)
#11: Leap through warrior fires (Warrior Roast)
#12: Scramble beneath barbed wire as you near the finish (Muddy Mayhem)

My checklist for this event?
#1 Contacts & backup glasses
I've only really wore contacts once to do running (today!), on and off in the evenings (2hrs?). Today, I managed a full 6 hours with it on. Wasn't too pleasant near the end...
#2 Extra set of clothes
#3 Sandals (my awesome crocs!)
#4 1L bottle of water for the end of the race (probably pick it up on my way up to Horseshoe Valley)
#5 Wear grungey cloths that I plan to retire (found a set!) Need to return the pants I bought from old navy... plus wear old runners. time to retire these 500km + oldies
#6 $10 cash for parking
#7 Map to the place
#8 Print out of the waiver to speed up the packet pick up process
#9 Bring my drivers license as ID for race packet pick up
#10 maybe a towel or something for freshening up post race
#11 Body Glide
#12 Some bandaids ;) (just in case!)
#13 Camera for the aftermath

Wish me luck... or just give me any extra you don't need :P

After this event... back to training for the duathlon! August is getting closer...

Todays long run went well, I did 16km instead of 15km. Pacing though was the same as the previous run, teetering between 4.6 to 5.1. I had a cramp around the 11km mark - not pleasant. Had to stop and massage, drink water and endure some regret that I didn't bring any e-discs on me. Fortunately I had some emergency clifshot bloks stored in one of my pouches. Did some stretching, had 2 clifshot bloks and downed lots of water (I discovered that perhaps 3 water bottles won't cut it afterall!), and proceeded finishing up my run. On my way back, I saw yet again the Magnum ice cream bar poster plastered at the side of a convenience store. Temptation almost got me. Sadly, I wasn't carrying any change on me. I really want to try it. The commercial actually had an effect on me...



Now it's break time till Monday's run. I think I should put some hill training in sometime next week. Even 1km worth would be better than nothing.

Happy Canada Day!

My run today started far later than usual, @9:30am. This was despite the fact two alarms, one at 6:30am and 7:00am had gone off. It's like my internal clock wanted to take a holiday, knowing that it's the long weekend. Yay for Canada Day!

Speedwise, it has improved. I finished 8.5km within an hour. But in terms of consistancy, it was still a bit of a struggle to keep a specific pace. My average speed wavered between 4.6 to 5.1. I also realized that since I'm starting to do longer distances on my weekly runs, I should bring at least a bottle water. I was so thirsty. It didn't help that the sun was beating down on me. What did help was I wasn't alone on the boardwalk running - there were at least 10 - 15 other runners going through the same thing I was. One runner, in particular, stood out. I think I saw him 3 times in my route. Looking at him (yes, he was pretty good looking too *blush*), made me think: now that's intense, all geared up with a heart rate monitor, garmin watch, running belt, fancy runners. And drenched in sweat. Made me think, perhaps I wasn't pushing myself enough. I could do better. I just have to try. so.. perhaps its time to up the ante and kick it up a notch!

Happy Canada Day everyone!

Tomorrow, long run, 15km.