1 week left….!

Jord and I had a great run this Saturday, the 28th. We did an 8 Miler From Granville Island, over the Burrard Street Bridge, into English Bay, which was packed full of people soaking up the beautiful sunshine. We were testing out the bridge because we will have to run over it and back in the Marathon next week. What we found out was…. it was a piece of cake! We then ran into Stanley Park for a loop around the lake and back to where we started. It was an absolutely gorgeous sunny day, and a great last weekend run before the big day.

2 weeks to go…

This week we took ‘er a little easier, because Jordan has been suffering from a leg injury. We ran once during the week and we did our long run on Saturday, which was 13 miles, or about 21 km. We finished in 1 hour 56.5 min, and we were bookin’ it at the end! We were sprinting as we crossed our finish line, and it felt pretty damn good. It is a good sign of things to come, if we can still feel that good after a half-marathon distance to just give it everything you have for the last few hundred metres.

Milestone

Yes, yesterday was a HUGE milestone for us in our Marathon training. Jordan and I ran 20 miles… which is 32 km… which equals 3 laps around Burnaby Lake… and we survived it. It took 3 hours and 1 minute. I did have to ice my knees, take a lot of Advil, and I dozed off a few times while watching the Canucks game (whoops!) because I was so exhausted, but I’m still kicking. I can still walk. I am sore today; I kind of feel like I’m 80 years old, but I was expecting it. Yesterday was a personal best, a distance that I’m only going to surpass once, 3 weeks from now on May 6. Thank goodness! And thank you to my big Bro, if it wasn’t for your crazy idea, and having you as my partner, I would never have gotten this far.

Easter Run

I thought I would save and post our 14 mile route, or “Tour de Powell River” run that we did Easter weekend. Check it out here at mapmyrun.com. For those of you who are Powell Riverites, you’ll see that we covered most of town – Westview, Cranberry Lake, the Townsite, then the Beach Trail back to Westview, the Sea Walk and out to Thunderbay along Marine, back to Oceanview and a loop around the track at Gordon Park before heading back to Parksville Street! It’s one route I won’t be attempting again very soon…

Finally Some Photos!

It took going home to Powell River for the weekend for us to have a photographer document some of our training. As we approached our parents house, I yelled at brother Wes to grab my camera and start firing.

The result was a “time lapse” of sorts, of our finish of today’s 14 mile training run. I’ve made the photos into a Flickr slideshow, an idea that was admittedly cooler in theory than in execution. View it here.

The Tools of the Trade

Still no shot of us running, but I snapped this quick pic of my shoes this morning after running another 9 miles.

Also, we’re getting serious, as this morning while running we were discussing having our own TEAM BEHAN shirts printed up for the big event. With a “Sponsored by Tell Ten Friends Marketing” graphic, of course.

Blisters

They suck.

I have blisters on my blisters, and my toes feel like they’re on fire with every step.

We ran another great mid-week five miler today though; only a little over a hundred more miles to run before the big day!

18 Miles

We were absolutely flying yesterday. We ran 18 miles/29.8km at Burnaby Lake, our longest run so far to date. To do so, we had to run 2 and 3/4 times around the lake, and we finished in 2 hours 43 min. We needed a little extra boost, doing such a long distance, so we decided to use Powerbar Gels after our first and second hour of running. I have to tell you, these things work like a charm! They look and taste like disgusting sugary goop, or like cake icing is how Jordan described it. But after we had the first gel, and we were over half way around the second lap, we were cruising along so fast that Jord suggested we slow down so that we had enough gas left in us later, to finish the distance. It was pretty unbelievable. They take a little while to release in your system, but that little bit of sugar and carbohydrates really gives you that extra boost you need. I would suggest to anyone doing any kind of endurance training to test these babies out. I am hoping to God that these little gels will be what I need to help me finish those dreaded 26 miles on May 6. Here’s to hoping!

Oh yes, and I must mention that I do not feel any pain today! It’s crazy! Normally I feel like I can’t even walk right after we run the long distances, and the next day is PAIN city in the feet and legs area. Today – nothing! It’s awesome!

Janis