jenbacca

Category Archives: 2011 Marathon


by

upping mileage & nursing a relatively minor injury

yep, things are goin’ pretty well. mostly. my running clinic came to a close on june 27 – just in time for work to seriously ramp up. i am very thankful to not have specific running “appointments” – i can schedule my training sessions as my calendar allows.

in general, running is going excellent. this morning i ploughed through 15km – i think i did allright since i hadn’t run more than 10k since May 29 – that’s over 6 weeks ago. prior to today, however, i was struggling a bit. my right leg has been bothering me for months – like 6 or more. i’ve had good days and bad days. i assumed it was something i would just have to accept. a couple weeks ago though, it started to get pretty painful. finally, the pain behind my right knee got to the point of unbearable and i was unable to run. i proceeded immediately to physio; not sure why i chose that over massage, chiropractic, or the family doctor… but it definitely paid off. he attributed my pain to very tight muscles. i’ve gone twice now, and each time the pain has gotten less and less severe. now i would say it’s “uncomfortable”; i can also manage it with: proper stretching, foam roller, and Deep Cold. physio ftw!

15k down today, next week and the following week should bring some periodization (which means letting my body get used to that distance before adding more mileage) with a 12-15km run again.

i also discovered the Glenmore Landing Good Earth cafe. Wow, best Good Earth I’ve been to. So much great selection of food & goodies!! I chose an Egg Salad Sandwich (yes, at 10:15am, but I was friggin hungry); when I sat down on the bench to eat it, I renamed it Mt Egg Salad Sandwich. Jeez louise – 1″ thick slices of grainy bread plus like 1 full cup (237ml people!) of egg salad.   !what!

 

Advertisements


by

life calms down, blog post ensues

 

whew. i have seriously not had time to blog, until now. i have been focusing on training, fundraising, and living – not blogging. the last 8 weeks have been a BLAST, but i sure am glad they’re over! it’s been so long that i need to do a timeline recap! we all know how much i like timeline posts.

may 7-11: minako, ange, paula, ami, and i went to vegas! we exhausted ourselves by: shopping, walking the strip, and going to shows for 5 days straight. we had no down time – but it was an amazing trip. we checked out the las vegas mob experience, which was by far the coolest thing i’ve ever been to – the had real live mobsters!! we also went to chippendales (also fun; they put on an actual choreographed show AND kept everything under wraps). and lastly i forced ange & paula to go see The Phantom of the Opera; i saw the Phantom when I was 10 and I’ve had a special place in my heart for that show ever since – this one did not disappoint.

may 13-15: jamie and i took a road trip through the bc interior for our 7 year anniversary! we check out radium hot springs and ainsworth hot springs.

may 21: surprise bday for my dad’s 65th! awesome day with lots of friends and family!

may 28: perogie making extravaganza! mega thanks to steph, paula, meghan, kathy, mike, donna, hubby, mom, ange, and sonya in helping me to make 814 perogies. we raised $231 for the Arthritis Society!

may 29: calgary half marathon, my time was 2:30. i ended up running it with minako (best trainer ever), had a blast, and CANNOT wait for next year’s event!

june 6: father-in-law’s 60th!

june 11: mitsubishi city chase… OMG, THIS WAS ONE OF THE MOST FUN DAYS OF MY LIFE. jamie and i competed as “Team Muppet Mafia”, and came in 230th(ish) out of over 500 finishing teams; we can in at 5:18. Another event that I cannot wait to sign up for in 2012!

june 18: comic expo. william shatner. elvira. ’nuff said.

And that summarizes the last 8 weeks. I hope to be able to post weekly, but we’ll see!

 


by 1 Comment

2nd time around, 2:30. And I’m totally ok with that.

On Sunday, May 29, I ran the Calgary Half Marathon. It was exciting, challenging, painful and emotional. My time was 2:30. That’s 2.5min longer than my previous – but that is just fine with me.

Who’s up for another play-by-play?!?!!

  • 12:05am: I can’t sleep. What’s on TV?
  • 03:00am: Still can’t sleep.
  • 03:30am: Maybe I can sleep?
  • 04:50am: Time to get up. I am not sure if I slept at all, but I’m telling myself I did.
  • 05:45am: WE ARE LATE!
  • 06:30am: Drop off Jen & Minako at the starting line. I NEED TO PEE.
  • 06:50am: Got through port-a-potty line, let’s head to the starting line!
  • 06:51am: Oh. My. God. How many people are there?!?!
  • 07:00am: Ready, Set, Go!
  • 07:05am: We finally pass through the “actual” starting line
  • KM 1: This is so fun and exciting! They closed Memorial for us?!?
  • KM 3: They closed Inglewood, too? I’ve never seen this part of the city! I’m feelin’ good! Running with Minako is so FUN!
  • KM 7: I can’t believe they closed 17th Ave! This is so awesome! So many runners!  So many people cheering for us! So many volunteers! I LOVE MY PACE BUNNY!  AND I CANNOT WAIT FOR HONOLULU!
  • KM 9: Minako needs a pee break. She waves me on to keep going (I’m slower)
  • KM 10: Minako has sprinted to catch up! She just ran a pace of 4:00min/km!!! And now we’re on Memorial Drive again – completely shut down for the race.
  • KM 10.5: Oh, some girl is stopping ahead… and sobbing… in pain. Her friend is wanting her to stop, but she won’t. Then she starts wailing. MY GOD WOMAN, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! There are NO prizes for finishing with injuries!
  • KM 11: There’s an Elvis Impersonator singing Neil Diamond! OMG AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT WAIT FOR HONOLULU!
  • KM 13: Turnaround point! And there is Jamie and Paula! Picture time. Oh… and… they’re running with us and cheering us on! YAY!
  • KM 17: Leg muscles are losing mobility – it is getting really hard to keep going
  • KM 18: only 3km left, only 3km left…
  • KM 20: only 1km left! my calves are killing me! and now I think I’m getting a charlie horse!!! NO NO NO!
  • KM 20.5: Sirens… police car passes us – making way for the FIRST PLACE FULL MARATHON RUNNER! Holy shit look at that dude go! I almost cried!
  • KM 20.7: Whoa – there is Ange! HI ANGE!
  • KM 20.8: THERE IS THE FINISH LINE THANK FRIGGIN GOD
  • KM 21: I feel confused. I did it. Now where? Oh, I get a medal? There’s Jamie! WHERE IS THE WATER???????????

We then got our bags out of the bag check, found the food tent, found Jamie, Paula, and Ange and headed to our traditional post-race breakfast @ The Loop cafe in Marda Loop. I have never walked so slowly in my entire life.

In spite of all the pain, I had an absolute blast! I am so ready to tackle the FULL MARATHON in Honolulu!


by

My Marathon Training & Fundraising Update: May 2, 2011

My training and fundraising for the Joints in Motion Honolulu Marathon is getting more exciting every day! It has been just over 1 month since I officially started my JIM (Joints in Motion) endeavor; I would like to share my progress with everyone.

First off, I have reached 36% of my $4800 goal – THANK YOU everyone! The 36% is almost entirely from sponsorships – WOW!!

Training Update:

I officially began training again around April 15. I started a compressed Half-Marathon plan to be ready for the Calgary 1/2 Marathon on May 29. I have been running 3-4 times per week, and cross-training up to 3 times per week. It’s going really well, and I am excited about the May 29 race. This will be my baseline to design the specifics of my marathon training (ie – what i personally need to focus on to make it through the 42km without collapsing in exhaustion and agony!)

I also signed up to be a an instructor with the Running Room for a 5km Running Clinic! This is incredibly exciting; I mean, I’m getting paid to run and inspire “newbie” runners – how good can it get?

Fundraising Update:

BAKING: I have been selling cookies in the office, and will continue to do so until my final November deadline. I have also had a couple “on-demand” requests for other baking. My recent baking adventures include: a fruit tart, peanut butter cup cheesecake, nanaimo bars, any cookie, banana bread, chocolate-espresso cupcakes, chocolate butter cake… i will pretty much bake anything! If you’d like to order some of my baking, please E-Mail me. ALL proceeds go to the Arthritis Society.

PEROGIES: In June, I will also be selling homemade “Donna’s Perogies” – a recipe from my Arthritis Hero, Donna. I have had the luxury of sampling these perogies, and they are delicious. I cannot get enough of them. A team of us will be volunteering our time & donating ingredients in a Perogie-Making-Extravaganza on May 28 to roll out dough, fill the dough, and shape the perogies! I will be sending out a notification out in Mid-May with all the details & prices, but if you know you want some, please E-Mail me and we’ll get your order set up! Again, ALL proceeds go to the Arthritis Society.

Overall, everything is going really well. I am so glad I’m doing this!!

If you would like to help sponsor me, and help the millions living with Arthritis, click here! Or I can also accept “in person” donations, just drop me an E-Mail and we’ll get it set up.


by

April Update!

As usual, time has been flying at a velocity which I am always unprepared for. Did you know it’s already the end of April? That means May is just around the corner. Ummm… what!?

warning – detailed running analysis ahead 😉 skip this paragraph if you don’t wanna read about boring old numbers!

If you’ve been reading my tweets and/or FB updates, you’re well aware that I have started training again. I have completed 2 long runs now, and I am trying to re-focus those to be based on Heart Rate(HR)  Training. The recommendation is that long runs should be a heart rate of 180 minus your age; that means my ideal HR is 151 beats per minute (bpm). Right now, it also means a very slow pace! But that’s ok – I learned that a true Long Slow Run should be completely time and pace agnostic… Train at the right HR to allow your cardiovascular system to have a chance to improve over time, slow enough for your body to improve instead of survive. My other runs, well, those are a different story. For hill training, I probably won’t even monitor my HR – I will just find a hill, run up it at the quickest pace I can (and maintain that pace) and repeat! For interval or speed training, I will attempt to be at 85% max HR… which I theoretically don’t know right now…but I’ll figure it all out.

less detailed running analysis now!

based on my new training focus, my 2 long runs have been fantastic – and i am looking forward to next weekend! it is amazing how much easier they are when you have a running buddy. i have managed to find running buddies for both so far – we’ll see how the next 5 weeks pan out for that!

I just signed up as an Instructor for a 5k Clinic with the Running Room! It’s crazy – I have only been running a year, but I am passionate enough to be an instructor 😉 Some of you have known me for many many years, and looking back at the shy girl i used to be, this is pretty impressive. There are approximately 18 people in the Clinic. Yikes. I guess I will get over any remaining fears of public speaking very quickly.

how about fundraising and other stuff related to my Joints in Motion Honolulu Marathon in December?

things are definitely going well on that front! i have reached about 35% of my overall goal. i still cannot believe i am doing this. there was a time in my life when i had no goals, no aspiration, no motivation for anything. and now i am fundraising $4800 and running a marathon. people are sponsoring me. people are supporting and helping me. it’s those little “you go girl!” and “A marathon – amazing!” and “this is a good cause, Jen.” that get me through everything. thank you everyone for everything.

and a special note to my awesome husband – if you took a look at my daily schedule, you would wonder how the Bussey Household EVER sleeps; well, we do, and it is because he makes it work for me; he’ll run this errand or that, do extra chores, take care of pixie – to allow me to train and fundraise and organize. thank you, sweetie, you are the best.