9 Days ago...

That's how long it's been since my last run...and boy do I hate being forced to take time off. I woke up last week with a brutal headache that came with neck, upper and lower back pain that ran all the way down my spine. Each step that I took I could feel it radiating down through my spine...so forget about running if I can feel it walking! That was the start of a week of migraines that hasn't really stopped yet. Originally I was getting them every 4 hours...then I graduated to 8...and now finally i'm around 10 hours in between. How bizarre.

I don't know where the back and neck issues came from but eventually decided I needed a massage to see if that would help. I received a pretty awesome massage in that area from this woman that specializes in cranial massage and sees a lot of people that have headache/migraine issues. Apparently the whole right side - neck, back, shoulders - is extremely tight and she did loosen it up a great deal. Maybe it's part of the reason why i'm now down to 10 hours in between headaches. To anyone who has had a migraine before you know nausea often comes with it from the pain which i've been experiencing a lot of. Ugh.

My most recent migraine was at 3:30 this morning and after managing to get rid of it and going back to sleep, I came to work feeling pretty good. I decided i've had enough and today I would try running again! I was a little worried about the back stuff I had going on recently even though it's been feeling better. However, the run turned out to be pretty great...did I ever miss running the last week and a half! It was a beautiful 14 degree day and I love every opportunity I get this time of year to wear shorts! Felt great. I figured it would be a pretty slow and easy run...yet my easy pace was still pretty quick according to my garmin so that was good!! I'm happy to report that it's been 10.5 hours since my last headache and it's not back yet. I've been doing a lot of stretching of my neck and back so hopefully it's working!

Anyhow, aside from those issues that I have, I had a fun weekend...a great meal on friday night with some girlfriends at this awesome vegetarian restaurant the coup....Andrew and I went out to a bbq on saturday night with a bunch of my Newfie friends that I grew up with and then off to the yardhouse for drinks later (non alcoholic for me as it often sets off a migraine) to celebrate Andrew's friend's birthday...as well as some dog park visits this weekend.

Sunday was a pretty lazy day for Andrew and I which I definitely love now and then. We ended the night with one of our favorite things to make....home made pizzas :) Here's a picture of Andrew's on the top rack and mine on the bottom. Yum!

Hopefully i'll have everything straighted out soon and back to a regular running routine again. I don't want to push it too soon so tomorrow i'll probably do some other type of cardio at the gym and run again on wednesday.

"the Episode"

Today was a beautiful day...and spring skiing up at Lake Louise! I had a feeling it was going to be icy as we haven't had any new snow out there in a week...but didn't know just how icy! The front side is always the worst for it and I immediately tense up and it's like I forget how to ski all of a sudden! I just hate the feeling of trying to slow down but hitting an icy patch! Ugh!

One particular part of the day found me on a mogul section that had giant moguls close together with ice all around them and in a pretty steep area. I was not a happy camper. I've actually started to really like moguls lately and have fun in there but not today. At one point I psyched myself out and completely froze on the spot all freaked out. Poor Andrew had skied down and stood there watching me and very patiently waiting while I eventually forced myself to move along. Later this would be known as "the episode" as he so lovingly called it lol. It's true...and when I got down from that section I was stressed and angry by it! I've been trying so hard to get better and have been...but ice is what I hate more than anything!! Plus I always get frustrated and feel bad when I'm skiing with someone who is so good! Like I said...he's very patient and thank goodness for that :)

The backside of the mountain was a lot more fun for me for sure! And I managed to get to ski in some much more fun mogul spots that weren't so intense! They ended up being one of my favorite runs of the day! Andrew and I got there early and got in a full day of skiing along with a little time out on the patio in the afternoon enjoying a beer. It got soooo warm. I started the day pretty comfortable with what I had on for -11...then when we left at the end of the day it was +8 and I just wanted to strip down!

Anyhow, as much as my lower body is completely aching from being so tense on the hill today and putting my legs through hell...i'm on my way out to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday! She's one of the last to join the rest of us in the dirty 30s! :)

I'm going to aim for no hangover so I can get in my long run tomorrow! It's supposed to be 12 degrees, wahoo!

Edworthy Park

What a beautiful evening in Calgary last night! I want this warm weather to stay...it makes me so happy!! March is usually Calgary's snowiest month so i'm just wondering when exactly that might happen...and when I have to break out the winter running gear again...cuz you know it will!

Anyhow, I'm taking full advantage of all this nice weather! Here are a few pics I took last night of me and Logan on our walk to and around the dog park!

At the top of Edworthy Park with the Foothills Hospital in the background

Yup, he's pretty happy!

Today promises to be another beautiful one...simply can not wait to get a run in at lunch and then more dog time outside after work! It is supposed to hit a record high of 19 degrees...beating a 100 year old record if it does. Needless to say i'll be running in shorts...and getting an early start of getting some colour into these pasty white legs! :)

Winter in the Mountains + Spring in the City = Happy Deb!

It seems that the mountains haven't gotten any new snow in FOREVER. So when Sunshine got 20cm of new snow last monday, I knew I was definitely going skiing on friday! Friday just happened to be my day off as well as my friend Leanne's and she definitely didn't need convincing to go skiing either! As soon as we entered Banff National Park....we had literally driven into a winter wonder land. It was like night and day...it was now snowing and it had been for a while that morning...and continued to do so all day as a matter of fact. I was like a kid on Christmas morning when we parked and got our ski gear ready. I was trembling with excitement...a powder day!! And it did not disappoint...I think it was the best ski day for me all year...i had soooo much fun. I never get to ski in powder...sigh. Here are a couple of pics from our day...

Leanne, not falling...but just deciding she needed to give her legs a break and have a little lie down

Happy skiers!

Me...enjoying some snow angel time!

Back in Calgary, a chinook had blown in and we came back to 14 degrees C!! What a difference! The rest of the weekend was quite nice but pretty windy and not as warm as Calgary has been used to lately. I still managed to get in some pretty good runs...a 14km on Saturday and a 22km on Sunday...although it felt like no matter what direction I ran, I was always fighting with the wind.

Running has been going well and my foot seems to be dealing well with the added mileage...last week I ran 49km total which is the most i've been able to do in a really long time. So i've been pretty happy about that...especially as my long runs will continue to get longer and longer from here on in. Did I mention that I signed up for the Rock n' Roll Seattle Marathon on June 26th? It's official! I'm excited and i'm really looking forward to it. I've never been to Seattle either and have always wanted to go!

Aside from the running and skiing lately, i've been spending some good quality time with my dawg. We've been going on some pretty massive walks after work and hopefully going on many more dog park visits too at night now that it'll stay lighter longer in the evenings!

Seattle?

For some reason I find myself dreaming of road races lately...mainly the marathon. I really don't know why...because everyday that I run, I dream about running on the trails again soon and all the kick ass runs I want to do in the mountains....as our weather becomes more and more springlike. Strange, I know. I guess I'm not a huge of fan of training on the road...but do love a good, fast road race and improving my times.

So for those of you who are strictly trailrunners and pretty much shun the road running scene...I apologize for this post...maybe you should move along and come back another day! My brother is one of those people...likes to jokingly call me a road runner as he's definitely not a fan and is all about trail for sure...but who got him hooked on trail running last summer? Yeah, that's right! Me! :D It's pretty wicked actually...he has several ultras lined up for this summer and even informed me that maybe we should do Transrockies again sometime. Whoa! After his sick summer of trail racing he's got coming up...I might end up out of his league as a partner for that race, but who knows.

And why the heck am I thinking about road races right now? I dunno...I guess i'm not really mainly a road runner or a trail runner...but am liking to do both. And right now I'm really wanting to run a marathon...and not just run it just to do it...but to run a fast one. I've had mild success in both trail and road races so far...with most of it all happening last season....and after the Okanagan marathon last fall with my fastest time yet, I find myself really wanting to keep improving my marathon time and get even faster. Not sure how possible that is and when I'll possibly stop setting PBs in the marathon but I really hope it isn't anytime soon. I'd really love to one day break the 3 hour mark...and even though i'm "only" 12 mins off...I think that's probably pretty significant and not sure if there's any possibility of me doing that! Who knows?!

On that note, i'm starting to think about doing the Seattle Marathon on June 26th. I'm already well into training for it as i've been training for the Police half marathon that's at the end of next month. I definitely plan on doing a significant amount of trail running this summer and have some good races lined up...but not sure if there will be any ultras in there...that might have to wait another year. Seattle is not a definite thing yet but i'm giving it some serious thought. I guess it depends on how well my foot progresses over the next while and how it feels during and after the Police half. It's doing well so far and allowing me to get in some good mileage lately.

K, that's it for now!