Category Archives: New Balance

Coach Siobhan

Posted on by
Reply

I decided to take my latest race buddy out for a run.

Meet my mum, Nancy:

As she gears up for her first race ever, Harry Spring Run Off on Saturday, I decided to go out for a run with her at her pace. I like to call myself, the extra motivation to let her know that she can kick this race in the butt. Mum likes to call me, the killer. I’m OK with that.

It felt really great to go out and give her advice while running and give her that push to get her sprinting the last few meters of our run. For my mum, she loved that I could push her to go harder when normally on her own she would want to walk. For me, I loved slowing my pace down and going for an easy run.

When I’m on my own, I speed up my pace because when I slow down I start getting bored. But when you have a running pal, the time goes by much faster and I find that I can actually accomplish my easy, slower paced run. I think I’m going to start taking mumsy out for a run at least once a week. This way we can both benefit from eachother.

Our run gave her the confidence she needs to get through her first race. I’m so excited for her! And for the picture with me, my sister, and my mum each holding our finisher’s medals at the end of the race.

Ahhh, I love racing season!  

And in case you were wondering, yes I am wearing a new pair of shoes. I know, I know– I JUST got a pair of New Balance 760’s. But when I was at the 30K Around the Bay Expo on Saturday, they had the 860’s in a size 5 and how could I say no to these beauties:

New Balance 860
After all the trouble I went through to find a size 5 shoe, I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass me by. So now I will alternate shoes. And can I just tell you how much I love the 860’s? There is more stability in the arch of the shoe and the material is so breathable and lovely. There are no complaints from this girl! And that is the last product I bought at the expo, I promise!

Julia’s 30K Around the Bay!

Posted on by
Reply
It’s such a different feeling to wake up on race day and not be racing. I was so excited for my sister’s first 30K and I wanted to make her morning smell delicious with coffee. So, I went to the fridge to pull out the fresh grounds but then I got distracted by a treat:



Reese Peanut Butter Bites



Of course I snuck some before continuing with breakfast.

We got into the car and it was game face prep time. 
Julia’s BIB: Check!

Once we got to Hamilton there were a tonne of runners EVERYWHERE. And you can tell all of the ones in their cars with their “26.2” stickers from One More Mile. It was fun spotting out all the runners from Toronto to Hamilton. But then finding parking or anywhere to stop was next to impossible so we shoved Julia out of the car and rolled out to find parking.

On our way to the finish line we had to find a bathroom. As a race participant you see porta potties EVERYWHERE. And I like a picture of them. This time it was just a sign pointing to the floor. Is that where the fans go?!

Is is the bathroom!?
We got to the finish line to find that the Running Room and New Balance booth’s were still open! So, Ken bought some new shoes! The male version of my New Balance 860’s. Yea, we’re stability pals.
We Love Expo Shoes!

After dropping our belongings in the car we headed to the finish line and started cheering with our cowbell app! Who knew that was what everyone did in the stands?!

Cowbell App!

We got to see the excitement of the first 30K runner run through the finish with a 1:37:14 time. It was so exciting! He ended up being the first Canadian to win the 30K Around the Bay since 1996.

THE WINNER!

And being so excited to see the winner, you should have seen me waiting for Julia! After 2 hours of standing at the prime finish line spot, Ken and I were getting pretty antsy to see her blast past us. We were camera ready and pumped as soon as she gave us the phone call to tell us that she was at the 27KM mark.



After all the excitement we found Julia with her medal and I insisted on taking her picture before she ate all the food in her goodie bag.

After she rested up, we took a nicer one:

On the car ride home I ended up winning a coffee on my roll-up the rim! In the words of Charlie Sheen, “I’M WINNING!”

Ken got a medal for standing at the finish line for so long:
Sorry Julia, it looks like you lost your medal. But– I’m SO proud of you! She finished in 3:08! How amazing is that?! 
It was an awesome race and being a spectator for the day made me really appreciate my friends in the stands. Having a team cheering you on and believing in you, really inspires you to push yourself harder and makes you feel really proud of your accomplishments. So, a big thank you to all of the supporters!

I’m doing a 30K?!

Posted on by
Reply
My sister Julia is running 30K Around the Bay today and yesterday she called me on her way to the expo to pick up her bib and I obviously wanted to go. I told her to swing by and get me on her way. And I decided to document our adventure. 
Meet my sister Julia:  
Julia on the way to her package pick-up!

How crazy is it that she is running 30K?! I mean seriously– 21K is enough for me!

I LOVE RUNNING EXPO’S!




Can we please talk about how lopsided my sunglasses are? First I thought it was the arms of my glasses but more and more I am thinking my ears are just uneven. My regular glasses for distance do the same thing but I know those arms are bent because I fell asleep with them on annnd you can tell. But these bad boys do not have that problem. Ahh well. 
So I started getting hungry before we even got there. (Typical). But lucky for me there was a farmer’s market right beside the expo! How perfect! I was going to get an apple but then I passed by the British booth and saw Empire Cookies and I was sold on them.
So, we became those unhealthy girls who walked into the expo with cookie crumbs ALL down our jackets as we shoved the rest of the cookies in our faces. 
As we walked around I found my favourite store at the Disney Expo One More Mile. I love all of their hilarious products. Julia found this funny: 

“I’m only doing this so I can post a picture on Facebook.”

And then I found the sentence that I was saying after I ran the Disney half and said I would never run another one again. And then I signed up for the Goodlife Toronto half.

“I know, I know- I said I’d never do this again.”




And then I found myself saying this sentence again when we passed the A Midsummer Night’s Run booth. Why? Well, they were having a special and if you registered that day for either the 15K run, 15K walk, or 30K run that is happening on August 20th, 2011 you get an awesome New Balance running jacket that day. As we were leaving the booth I was pretty much begging Julia to run the 30K. I know, 30K! Am I insane?! I think I was in the hype and jealous that I wasn’t doing the 30K Around the Bay. Julia insisted that the bay was going to be her first and last 30K but she would go over and look at the running route. As we got over and looked at the map I said, “it’s around the beaches of Toronto, it’s easy peasy! Let’s do the 30K!” So, I told the guy if he had a small enough jacket to fit this 4’9″ girl, I would register. I tried the small on, took a picture to see if it fit:

And- it did. I immediately said, “SIGN ME UP!!” And Julia followed. Muahahahhaha! 30K in August– hellls yes! I’m SO excited! It brings my two worlds together theatre and running. AHHH-MAAAAY-ZIIIING! 
We continued to walk the booths and came across the finish line. I made Julia take a picture in front of it. 
Julia casually at the finish line

How amazing is it that it ends in a stadium and she will be on a big screen running through the finish line?! Mainly more exciting for me and my bro in law Ken because we won’t have to freeze our butts off waiting outside for her to finish. I’ve never been a spectator at a running event before but I’m SO excited to cheer my sister on today! Wahooooo! 

After the expo I was so pumped for my 14K run that I had on tap for the day. I suited up and ran High Park which is where my Harry run will be next week. I put some U2 on my ipod and hit jukebox shuffle and off I went. I ended up going through the park and detoured into the High Park Zoo. It’s so small that it only lasts about 1K. But I saw some animals along my way and took a photo for you:
High Park Zoo Run!

After running High Park I’m so confident for next weeks race. My only concern is picking what my happy pace will be. I only know how to pace for long runs and I’m a wee bit concerned for how hard I should go next week. But, I’ll figure it out. 

Stats of the Run
Distance: 14.53 km
Pace: 4:31 min/km
I’m off to the 30K Around the Bay! Let’s Go Julia!! Wahooo! 

I’m still in love.

Posted on by
Reply

OK friends, I took my new shoes out for a spin. The one out of the two options that I had and I’m pretty sure we were made for eachother. So option number two for shoes. Are you ready for them?! 

This angle makes me look so tall and strong!
And up close and personal…
You’re probably thinking, “Siobhan, those are your old shoes. You just washed them!” Friends, I bought the exact same shoes. Same brand, same size, same style number, and the exact same colour. I was so against this idea but I put them on went for a jog in the store and said, “I’m still in love!” So I put them in their box and said, “Yep, they’re the ones!” 

It’s funny because I came home and read my book ZEN AND THE ART OF RUNNING By Larry Shapiro:

and he said that when you have a Zen attitude you find a product that works for you and you stick with it. You need to experiment with different products and find the ones that work best for you. Stability 760’s (aka my sole mates) I’m glad we are together again! But I have learned from this experience and I will be special ordering my next pair of shoes very soon!

And another plus– my legs felt so good at boot camp! I didn’t want to chance them being 100% so I came home and heated my legs while watching The Bachelor. Nobody likes leg pain coming back for revenge!

This is me feeling sorry for Michelle for the first time ever.

And how excited am I for another week of The Bachelor?! How could I even forget that there is a “The Women Tell All” episode the week before the proposal. Ahhh-may-ziiing!

You can only vote 13 more times for BEST HEALTH MAGAZINE’S BLOG AWARDS!
And you can do it HERE once a day!