12K Tempo Run and a First!

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Siobhan McCarthy

Yesterday was tempo run 12K day. I had to prepare my body for this run so I tried my hardest to hydrate ALL day long. So, my large bottle of water took it’s place on my desk in the morning:

I finished it all by lunch. That was a first number one for the day. I was so proud. I rewarded myself by drinking a Vitamin Water an hour before my workout:

I followed that by a coffee ten minutes before my workout. I would have had a picture but I downed that coffee as I walked into the gym.

I stepped on the t-mill and decided to be adventurous. I selected the “Top 25 Most Played” playlist. I was nervous to see what was going to happen. The first song was, I Do Not Hook Up by Kelly Clarkson. The first thing that came to my mind was my wardrobe ladies. When I worked in professional theatre in the costuming department, I was the DJ of the wardrobe. Kelly Clarkson’s album had just come out and we loved to belt out her tunes while working. We also took dance breaks. And everytime I had to go pull a costume from storage I would always come down with a costume on.

Yes, that is a wig. I liked to pull those out as well. I was also nicknamed Gidget. Small and a surfer? Yes, please!

During this run I realised that my life really is defined by music. I just have so many great memories that songs accompany. When John Mayer’s Half of My Heart came on- I immediatley thought of my 2010 Valentine’s Day date with John Mayer and some of my best friends. You can enjoy a highlight from the show and our hilarious commentary. Sorry if it’s jumpy. I just cannot stand still at a John Mayer show for the life of me. One might say that I was in love.

My cool down and stretching song reminded me of my Grand Bend Family (aka GBF). My friend Craig introduced me to the song You Don’t Know Me by Ben Folds and Regina Spektor. The image I have when I think of my GBF is this one:

I miss those beautiful sunsets. And my beautiful friends.

I could go on and on with more memories from more songs in this playlist. It was such a good one. I actually had a dopey smile on my face from the beginning to the end of this run. I had that “zen” feeling of living in every moment and I kept reminding myself that every step I take is different from the last one and will be different from the next one. I didn’t think of any pains that might have cause me–wait– speaking of. After the first km my shoe came untied because I didn’t get a chance to put my race runners into my shoes yet:

I had to jump onto the hard plastic on each side of the running band on the t-mill to tie my shoe. When I went to lift my hand I accidentally scraped it on the moving band. I know, I’m ridiculous. I ended up scraping a few layers of skin off my hand. But luckily, it didn’t bleed. So, I hopped back on the t-mill and just kept going. I forgot about it after about 0.1 km. I think I have my ZEN and the ART of RUNNING book to thank for that one. I was in the mode and living in the moment and not worrying about the past.

And my biggest first– I didn’t drink any water at all during my 12K tempo run! Can you believe it?! I actually hydrated myself all day inorder to keep myself from depending on that waterbottle infront of me. Actually, I didn’t even have my waterbottle– I forgot it. But I didn’t even have that feeling where I needed water. Amazing! Now I know I can continue to do it. And I will.

The Top 25 Most Played Playlist
I Do Not Hook Up- Kelly Clarkson
Party in the U.S.A- Miley Cyrus
Shake It- Metric Station
Steer- Missy Higgins
Untouched- The Veronicas
Don’t Let Me Stop You- Kelly Clarkson
Half of My Heart- John Mayer & Taylor Swift
I Don’t Need A Man- The Pussycat Dolls
Circus- Britney Spears
Give Me The Music- Eva Avila
Knock You Down- Keri Hilson, Kanye West, & Ne-Yo
All Dressed In Love- Jennifer Hudson
Love Song- Sara Bareilles

Cool Down/Stretching
You Don’t Know Me- Ben Folds and Regina Spektor

Stats of the Run
Distance: 12.03 km
Pace: 4:26 min/km
Incline: 1%

Don’t forget– there are only 9 days left to vote at BEST HEALTH MAGAZINE’S BLOG AWARDS! You can vote for me HERE!

Extra Bold Coffee With A Side of Inspiration, Please!

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Siobhan McCarthy

Yesterday I had quite the eventful day. I got to work to find a sheet of ice outside of my office door. I was honestly afraid I was going to drop my extra bold coffee to the ground which would lead to a sad decaffeinated morning.

So, I took every step carefully with my durable UGG rain boots that people like to make fun of and say I look 12 in but- I love them. And they keep me warm with their fur lining. Perfect!

As I sat at my office desk I looked up to see a man in his 50’s falling in mid air and come down on that hard walkway. I immediately left the office to see if he was OK and all he said was, “I just need an ambulance.” Easy enough. I got on the phone and the man managed to make it into my office and onto my couch. While we waited for the paramedics, I learnt that he was just leaving from the massage therapists office. How brutal is that?! To get all your kinks out and then hit the hard ice with full force. He ended up breaking a rib and had to be taken away to the hospital. I took his car keys upstairs to the masseuse’s office so that his son could come and get his car. I felt so bad and I got scared everytime someone passed my office window and I would say, “please don’t fall, please don’t fall!”

Throughout the day I couldn’t help but think, “Is Steve OK?” And then I thought, I could NEVER run on ice sheets even with shoe grips. With my luck, what happened to Steve walking would happen to me running. I don’t know how those runners do it! I can’t even eat soup without spilling it on myself! This was my lunch yesterday:

mmmm, spinach soup!

As I prepped my for my speedy 7K run, I decided it would be fun to throw some way back playback songs onto my playlist. Who doesn’t love running to Dance Mix ’95, Hanson, and S Club 7? I ask you that! And they were perfect powersongs. I put my playlist on a jukebox shuffle so that I wouldn’t know the order of my new top 40 meets old top 40 playlist. I loved it. I’m sure the girl walking on on the t-mill while talking on the phone next to me loved hearing my oldies blaring out of my ear buds. And I think drinking a bottle of Vitamin Water before my runs is helping. I went with the XXX before this run. You gotta love everything Costco sized! I love not having to hydrate all the time on my run and my mission to drink water all day long just doesn’t seem to be working lately. But I’m still persistent at making it work!

And have you seen Jennifer Aniston’s gone viral?! I love her. She’s hilarious. She may have inspired me to make a vlog. And drink Vitamin Water again. And get internet boys. And do my make-up like hers. So much inspiration in one video!

The Kickin’ It Playlist

*On jukebox shuffle

Bass Down Low- Dev and The Cataracs

1,2,3 Train With Me- Play Ahitty

Hummingbird Heartbeat- Katy Perry

Born This Way- Lady GaGa

Dancing With Tears In My Eyes- Ke$ha

Where’s The Love?- Hanson
S Club Party- S Club 7
Who’s That Chick?- David Guetta feat. Rihanna

Cool Down/Stretching
Wish You Were Here- Avril Lavigne
Freckles- Natasha Bedingfield

Stats of the Run
Distance: 7.03 km
Pace: 4:22 min/km
Incline: 1%

A weekend of forced rest days.

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Siobhan McCarthy

The last few days has been filled with leg pain. It hasn’t been severe but it’s enough to take a break from running. Hence, the lack of new postings.

On Friday night I went for a run on the t-mill and I had pain all up both of my shins, my ankles, and my knees. I had to come home and rest them with heat and ice. It was not fun. I don’t have a lot of pain when they are resting but every now and then they get a little sore.

So, I was really on a mission for a new pair of shoes during my forced rest days. I really wanted to get the New Balance 860’s because I loved my 760’s so much and everyone loves an upgrade! So, off to the New Balance store I went. When I got there to see the 860’s in green, pink, and blue I was so excited to have options! But it turned out none of them were a size 5! Wah! And none of the New Balance stores in TO had a size 5 and I would have to get them specially ordered! Waaaaaaah! Just my luck. I ended up having 2 options for new shoes. This was one of them:

You can tell by my attractive face that I was not impressed. I can’t even remember the style number of them. They were SO heavy and five year old boy coloured. Needless to say, they got put right back into their box. I want a sassy fun, and lightweight size 5! Is that so much to ask for?! When the next box came they ended up being a size 5 1/2. I put them on, took a test jog around the store and they won my heart.

Which style did I choose?! You will have to read about it tomorrow when I test them out at boot camp tonight! Muahahahah! Hopefully they heal my knee pain!

For now you read about the playlist I used on my 8K the other night that hurt my legs quite a bit. Whoops!

The Bitter Sweet Playlist
Till the World Ends- Britney Spears
Lose Control/Let Me Down- Keri Hilson
Who’s That Chick? – David Guetta feat. Rihanna
Higher- Taio Cruz feat. Travie McCoy
What The Hell- Avril Lavigne
On The Floor- Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull
More (RedOne Jimmy Joker Remix)- Usher
Born This Way- Lady GaGa
Hello- Martin Sloveig & Dragonette

Cool Down/Stretching
Bitter Sweet Symphony- The Verve

Stats of the Run
Distance: 8.10 km
Pace: 4:19 min/km

Thank you for all the lovely messages saying that you have voted for me in

BEST HEALTH MAGAZINE’S BLOG AWARDS!

You can still vote for me once a day HERE!

Ouch, you’re it!

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Siobhan McCarthy

I went to visit Mr. Treadmill and my muscles just weren’t feeling it. That is until the t-mill started moving. I was feeling pretty good and I started to get some shin pain in both of my legs. I know, I’m scared about it to. But after 2K I had this dopey smile on my face that just wouldn’t go away and I was feeling really good. I even kicked it in to high gear and did some speed intervals and ended up doing a nice 7K instead of the 5K I planned on doing. Unfortunately, there is a downside. My ankles are not loving me at the moment. I definitely have some pain in there.

During my last few workouts I have had pain in my knees, shins, ankles, and arches. I think it’s time for some new shoes. After a glorious 6 months with my New Balance 760’s, I’m ready to mingle with some new ones. Even though I just bought some beautiful Michael Kors shoes from Winners on the weekend for ridiculously cheap prices. Really, what’s another pair?! And plus, the MKors weren’t meant for running!

New running shoes, here I come! Wahooo! I will keep you posted on which ones I fall in love with!

The Top 40 Run Playlist

*On jukebox shuffle

I Hate This Part- The Pussycat Dolls

Dead and Gone- T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake

3- Britney Spears

I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)- Pitbull

What Hurts The Most- Cascada

LoveGame- Lady GaGa

Knock You Down- Keri Hilson, Kanye West, & Ne-Yo

I Like It- Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull

Cool Down/Stretching

Battlefield- Jordin Sparks

Stats of the Run

Distance: 7.16 km

Pace: 4:14 min/km

Incline: 1%

The lovely Mamarunsbarefoot has tagged me in the 7 Facts Blog Awards!

The Rules:

Link the person who awarded you.
Post 7 random facts about yourself.
Pass the award on to 7 other bloggers.

1. I have a Specialized Honours Degree in Theatre from York University where I studied design, performing, and stage production.

2. I was born in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day. In elementary school I’m pretty sure the other kids thought I was a leprechaun because if I did have school on my birthday (which didn’t always happen because of March break) they would chase me around the playground for my “pot of gold.”

3. I have one kidney that works at 25% and the other one works at 75%. Together they make one awesome kidney.

4. I LOVE coffee. The stronger the better. I’m pretty excited about the new Starbucks that is opening right around the corner from my office. Amazing!

5. When I was about 5 years old after gymnastics I would go to swimming lessons on a Saturday. I was in the Orange Level which was pretty basic. I failed it twice. I don’t think I will ever be a tri athlete. I’m OK with that.

6. When I was in grade 3 we had reading buddies with the grade eights. We went on a skating trip and my buddy told me that I wasn’t strong enough to push him on the ice. So, I obviously had to prove him wrong. I pushed him so hard that he lost control and went into a garbage can. How’s that for small and strong?

7. I LOVE Peanut Butter. I eat it by the tablespoon and right out of the jar. I’m classy like that. If one day I became allergic to PB, I will seriously cry a river. Yes Justin Timberlake I will do that for you!

TAG, YOU’RE IT! I’m passing the 7 Facts Blog Awards on to these friends:

Between A Dream

Twenty-Six and Then Some

The Hungry Runner Girl

And you can still vote for me at the BEST HEALTH MAGAZINE’S BLOG AWARDS once a day HERE!