Run, Swim update

Quick training update:

Yesterday's run:

Distance - 9km (about)

Time - 56.45 min.

Average HR - 160 bpm

Today's swim:

Distance - 3.8 km

Time - 1:20

I am VERY much looking forward to the VERY warm and long weekend coming up! Bike and I are ready to go! Will keep you updated!

65% THERE!!!

I wasn't going to post a blog entry tonight, but after receiving a HUGE and VERY GENEROUS donation from my grandparents (the parents of Judy) I simply had to thank them. With one donation they have put me at 65% of my goal! THANK YOU!! The only thing separating me and my goal of doing the ride to conquer cancer is $875.00. I will easily reach this and I have to thank everyone, your OVERWHELMING support has absolutely stunned me. This is a huge inspiration and I will continue training tomorrow! Keep you posted! :)

Longest Run Yet!

THANK YOU KAITLIN SHORT!! Appreciate your donation!! 45% Already!!

Today was quite the running day for me. I decided I wanted to do a long run and ended up running about 14-15 km (to the park and back, 6km, and 3 laps around the park about 9 km). I don't think I have ran that long ever! I was surprised that I still had energy at the end to do a bit of a sprint back to my place. I noticed throughout the run that I had ups and downs. Some moments I felt like quitting, but then would get a burst of energy and just keep going! I don't know if that is a mental thing or a physical thing. Will have to work on both! Stats:

Time: 1:37.11

Distance: 14-15 km

Average HR: 156 bpm

This puts me at an average speed of 8.95 km/hr, or about 6.7 min/km. Not so bad, but still needs improvement! I'm feeling the effects now though, I am quite tired indeed! Hopefully these will get easier the more I do them. Off to bed!

Biking, Fundraising and Thank-you's!

Oh no! I am falling behind in my blogging! Bad habit to get into ... Ok, let's fix that!

Yesterday:

Let me start off by saying yesterday was cold AND windy! However, I was very determined to get out (finally!) on my bike, so I did! It was fantastic. Although the head wind had me down to 19 km/hr at some points, I preserved and managed to fight the elements for a good hour and a half. Stats for the bike:

Time: 1:24.42

Avg. HR: 144 bpm

Distance: 33.47 km

Avg. Speed: 23.7km/hr

My toes were slightly numb at the conclusion of my ride, but it was all worth it! Looking forward to the next one!!!

Today:

THANK YOU to MONA AFLAKI, SHANNON WRIGHT and BOB & JEANETTE WRIGHT!!! I'm up to $1,110!!!! AWESOME!

Every Friday in our lab we have journal club meetings in the morning. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to bake muffins and see what kind of response I would get (muffin = small donation, $0.50). To my ABSOLUTE delight, with 23 muffins (I sampled one ...) I made $20!!! Thank you SOOOO MUCH to everyone in the lab for your support, I will make this a weekly treat! How does everyone feel about blueberry for next week?!

I would also like to take a moment to plug our Mad Hatter's Tea Party! Let me just say I'm sooo EXCITED about this party!! It is going to be a fantastic time and the more people we have there, the better!! So please, come one, come all and bring everyone you know!! April 17th is fast approaching!!!!!!

Awesome!

We had a pretty solid fundraising day today!!! I would like to deeply thank Charmody Leppington, Amy Cairns (Dawson) and Sandra Stewart (Dawson) for all of their awesome contributions!! I can't believe I'm already at 40% of my goal! AWESOME!

We have some exciting fundraising events coming up that I would like to share with everyone! The first are two bake sales occurring at McGill University on April 14 and 20th. We will be selling all kinds of baked goods in the McIntyre building from 11:30 - 1 pm.

The second and the one I am VERY MUCH looking forward to is our Mad Hatter's Tea Party! I would like to extend a huge thank you to Georghia Michael for coming up with the great idea and for helping put the idea into reality. You can see the awesome invitations she made for the party!

Now for the physical part!

Today felt like winter was coming back so I decided it was a good time to hit the pool! I managed to do 3.6 km in about 60-70 mins. I always feel so relaxed and calm after the swim and am looking forward to my bed!

Thank You!! Running Training

First of all, a HUGE THANK YOU to Coon Bros Sand and Gravel for a wonderful donation, and also THANK YOU to my dear friend Jen Dobie, I really appreciate your support!!! I can't believe I'm already at 31% of my goal and we are still in March!! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

I went on another run today. I pushed this one a little harder than I have been in the past and I really felt my legs on this run. I'm really happy with my cardiovascular system but my muscular strength in my legs is something I really must work on (especially for the biking!). Stats for the run:

Distance: about 9 km (same route as last 9 km)

Time: 57.11

Average HR: 158

Thanks everyone!

More Running!

Today Jen and I went running in the park:

Time: 33.38

Distance: 5.7 km

Average HR: 162 bpm

Average heart rate was higher than usual, but this was more of a sprint and I felt GREAT after it! I usually feel very winded after running and my breathing is usually the limiting factor, not sore muscles. However, this time around my cardiovascular system was great and my legs were the sore ones.

Although our run was great, we had a really bad experience after and I must apologize to Jen! Protect your valuables people, some people just like to profit from the expense of others ...

For Judy

To begin, my legs were still quite sore yesterday so Jen and I did some power walking around Maisonneuve Park so that I could stretch my legs out. I'm hoping to either get some biking in today or tomorrow and get back into the swing of things!

Now on to the important stuff. I had always had an interest in doing the ride to conquer cancer but, out of honesty I was more interested in the ride itself as opposed to the actual fundraising and cancer message. I, like everyone else, heard of people who got cancer but these were usually people quite removed from my closest family and friends - our next door neighbour, friends of my parents, and customers of my parents. These stories are sad, and your heart goes out to everyone involved, but it still remains that cancer is something "other people" get and you don't realize the fight and struggle these people have to go through. When my aunt was diagnosed (Judy is pictured on the left in the above picture along with my Grandma and other aunt, Amy) and we realized it was very serious and that she would die at some point in the near future from this disease, things changed for me. Cancer was no longer an abstract disease everyone talked about, it was now in our family and could strike very quickly with little warning and little mercy. Therefore, when Jen and I attended the conquer cancer information session and Jen signed up, things were different for me this time. I didn't see the fundraising as something I had to do to ride, I saw it as something that is so necessary and important for the fight against cancer that I signed up even though I wasn't certain HOW or even IF I would gather all of this money! I can say now though that I have been surprised beyond belief. The generosity of people has been absolutely amazing. In one week and from 6 people I have raised $510.00, I am already at 20% of my goal. A bunch of other people have also expressed their desire to give and the words of encouragement have been very touching. People have mentioned they admire me, or respect me, or have said other very flattering things but I must stress that this is the very least I can do. The only reason it is possible for me to do what I am trying to do is because people like you have given generously to cancer research. It is YOU who I respect, who I admire and who I can never thank enough.

So again, THANK YOU everyone for your help, donations, and support. Judy, this one is for you.

Thank you GODFATHER!!

Wow! This is a day late but, a HUGE THANK YOU to my dear Godfather Paul Ecclestone and his wife Janis for the largest donation to date! I was slipping majorly behind Jen, but it seems I'm only trailing by a little now! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I went running yesterday even though I was a little sore from Wednesday's run. This one was a little shorter and slower. Stats:

Time: 1:03.26

Average HR: 154 BPM

Distance: about 9 km

Today I must admit I am feeling the burn!! My quadriceps are burning something fierce and the thought of walking down the stairs right now makes me want to cry (thank goodness for elevators!). I have an intramural volleyball game tonight (thank goodness the skill level there is basic) and then I think I will be icing my legs! I wanted to do a long bike ride tomorrow, but we will see what shape I am in!

Thank you once again to everyone who has donated, I couldn't do this without you!

Training has officially begun!

First of all I would just like to thank Ling and Rob for their generous donations which have now put me over the $100 mark! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Now I must admit the Ride to Conquer Cancer is not my only challenge this summer/fall. I have a heavy schedule in front of me that involves:

10 km Run, May 2, Quebec City

Olympic Distance Triathlon June 12, Ottawa

Ride to Conquer Cancer July 10-11

Olympic Distance Triathlon Sept., Montreal

Half-Marathon, Oct. 17, Toronto

Therefore my only training will NOT be biking! I have to incorporate a lot of swimming and running in to meet my triathlon and running goals. In order to keep track of my progress and to motivate me to work out more I'm going to use this blog also as an athletic journal.

Today the weather was amazing here in Montreal - sun and high of 13 C. This persuaded me to go for my first outside run since the fall. Although I have been training on and off through out the winter, Jen and I's recent trip to Cuba sidelined my training for a good two weeks! Therefore, this run was meant more for fun and just seeing how much shape I was in. Stats for my run:

Time: 1:17.53 (including traffic lights!)

Average heart rate: 155 bpm

Distance: about 11 km (give or take)

Actually, that is not too bad, average 8.46 km/hr. My goal for the half marathon is 2.5 hrs - hopefully that will be obtainable by October! My wonderful, awesome friend Ellie has sent me a half-marathon training schedule so I'm going to follow that on top of adding some long bike rides in.

Alright, enough for today, I'm quite tired now! Until next time!

Officially Started!

I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Mike Snudden for getting the ball rolling and giving the first donation. Also, another huge THANK YOU to Anik Therrien for being my second donor allowing me to be at 2% of my goal, so I have a long way to go, but with everyone's help we can get there!! THANK YOU! :)

TO DONATE:

http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Montreal2010?px=2404943&pg=personal&fr_id=1341

Kristin's Journey to Conquer Cancer

I already published this post on my ride to conquer cancer personal page, but I decided I wanted a more versatile blog so I have signed up here! This will allow me to post pictures and I personally feel this lay out is easier to read and more user friendly. Here is my first post from my webpage:

Wow, I can't believe I really did it, I signed up for the ride to conquer cancer!

My friend and fellow team mate Jen convinced me to attend an information session just to "see what is the deal with the ride to conquer cancer" however, after seeing the video and realizing Jen meant business I walked out of the information session with a black t-shirt and the reality check that I would need to raise $2,500 in 4 months in order to bike 250 + km!!! What the heck have I gotten myself into?!?!?
Jen and I have since brainstormed our selves silly and now I have a glimmer of hope that this may be possible!! I am very much looking forward to the physical and financial challenge and I look forward to blogging every step of this process! Please check in regularly, I would really appreciate your support and words of encouragement!! Thank you!

And remember (this is mostly for myself ...) A journey of 1,000 steps begins with a single one!