Chop Chop Chop

After over a year, probably well over a year and many months of saying "I should get a hair cut," I finally went and did it. This past week I decided my hair was getting too long as it started to fall out of its tied up bun when I ran. Having it in a pony tail have way down my back was annoying. So on Friday I made an appointment to get it cut.....

..... and once I got it cut... part of me regretted it. Let me be clear, I didn't regret the entire haircut, but I did regret how much was taken off. In fact, when I was getting it cut some guy walked by and was like "what are you doing? you don't see women with long hair anymore." It ended up being slightly shorter than I was looking for, which may be why I am missing it. I get told "people won't even notice it is cut." That is fine, but for anyone who has had long hair, you know that it is easy to notice when a few inches get cut off and I had more than a few inches! Anyway, here is the before and after shots to show the change in length.

Before

After

I do have to admit that my hair is much lighter now. Maybe that will make me faster? ;) I know it will grow back, so I will try to enjoy the shortness now. Hopefully it won't be another year before I get another one; however, when I do, it certainly won't be shorter than this! No matter how many people tell me to cut it short, no way, not now, not any time soon!

Land's End 10km Race Report

First order of business: Both kitties are now fine and healthy. About 48 hours after Socket got his shot, he perked up and started chasing Steve around the house again! Yay! He is no longer breaking my heart, but he is back to getting into mischief which made us say "maybe he was better off sick." =)

Second order of business and the main reason for this post is my race report. Let's just say I would like to ultimately forget this race. Not kidding. I haven't raced since my mile on the track in June which went incredibly well. It was followed by a no running, no working out, no nothing break. From there, I have put in some pretty awesome training with plenty of ups and downs. For the last few weeks it has been more down, finding out low iron and feeling like junk stuff; however, for the past week I have felt a slight perk again. Then comes the race. 

I went out and supported the Nanaimo 5km/10km/Half Marathon last weekend. Part of me wanted to race because it is my home race, but the course isn't ideal. Instead I opted for the Land's End 10km down in Victoria as it was supposed to be a much faster course. Plenty of fast times last year, but the rumor that the course was short. Nevertheless, it was a better course and a good chance to get in a good effort. 

I was scheduled to work this weekend, so I worked Friday and then took Saturday off. The race started at 9:15am on Sunday and I didn't want to work until 11:15 Saturday night and then have to leave the house by 6:30am on Sunday. I relaxed all night and attempted to have the lights out by 10pm. The lights were out, but I struggled to fall asleep. I really actually don't know how much I slept during the night because I woke up about 5 times and each time it seemed like I lied there forever waiting to fall back asleep. Let's just say the morning came REAL early! 

Jason came with me to Victoria as he wanted to visit a store that was only open in Victoria, which meant I didn't have to drive so that was nice. The one bad part about not driving is that by the time I got there I was starting to fall asleep. I also saw that the rainy drizzle that was in Nanaimo was also in Victoria, which meant a wet race. No big worries though. 

I picked up my race number and heard 2 ladies in front of me state "if I wasn't already registered, I wouldn't be running today," which made me laugh. It's only rain! My warm up felt okay, though my breathing seemed a bit more labored than it should have been. I chalked it up to nerves because I haven't raced in months. With a change of shoes and socks, the loss of extra clothes and the addition of a hat, I headed off to the start. 

We were advised that the km markers were a bit off, but that the course was measured and was not short this year. The top 2 male and females were also predicted, which didn't include me, though based on who I saw on the line I figured I had a chance at 2nd and hoped I could pull it off. There was money on the line $150 for first and $100 for second. I wanted to be top 2. 

The race started and off we went. I ran along side my friend and competitor Melissa. She is a very strong 10km runner (among other distances) and has proven herself often in the 10km distance over this past year. I knew it was a gamble to run with her though as I have yet to run a faster 10km. Then again, since Sept 2009, this was only my 3rd 10km (one in Sept 2009, one in April 2010 and then this race). Not ideal. I knew based on my fitness though, I should be able to keep up or within a reasonable distance. 

We went out at a good pace, nothing overly fast and it felt good. I felt good until about 4.5km and then I had a slight side stitch which made me lose contact. At the turn around, I think I was I don't know 15-20m behind. From there, that was the end of my race. My legs never once felt horrid and didn't hurt, but as much as I kept willing them to move faster, they decided to cruise at the their own pace. 

From that point I was also running all on my own watching the 2 people in front of me get further and further away. I knew the 3rd female (Claire) was likely gaining on me too as my km splits became slower. I knew when I had 1km left I had to pick it up. 2 people were gaining on me (1 male and Claire) and I just barely held off the male and Claire was 12 seconds behind. 

 Coming into the finish. I am apparently still guilty of sitting back. A bit blurry too as Jason used the wrong setting.

 
I finished in 38:41 which was 21 seconds off my PB, which might I add was from back in April and also a less than stellar feeling race. I had lost 1:17 on Melissa after 4km. lol. Good run Mel! I know it wasn't even near your best time either.

I was incredibly frustrated when I cross the line. Frustrated, disappointed and had simply had enough. I commented that my race was horrid, which was overheard and taken the wrong way by another runner (my bad). The race was horrid though. No way does it match up with my other races or training. I had to let off some steam. Maybe it was the wrong moment, but it was honest. I was speaking my friend Mike who also had a bad race, we both commented that maybe it was time to start drinking full time and quit running. =)

All and all it was a race and a solid effort. I wasn't overly fast for the first 5km and there is also rumors that the course might have been slightly long. No idea if it is true, my Garmin along with my friend Mike's said 10.06km which means 60m long. There were a lot of slower than normal times though. Anyway, I would rather a long course than a short course though. A short course gives a false impression. Also, this was my first race back, a rust buster basically. I am not making excuses, believe me, I just wasn't there on the day. This was not my goal race though, my goal race is on 10-10-10. I will take this crappy run, get over it, move on and hopefully smash my goal! 

I want to thank everyone who gave me supportive comments over the last 24 hours. I admit I was a big grump after my race. I sulked, I vented etc. I hope other athletes can understand though, you work so damn hard and then when a race goes incredibly wrong you take a hit mentally. It doesn't help that I am incredibly hard on myself and always have been! With that.... onto 10-10-10! 

Sick Kitty

Sick Kitty is breaking my heart. I first mentioned that Steve became sick. He was sneezing a lot, snorting snot everywhere and sleeping much more than normal. I knew it was a matter of time before Socket would get sick because Steve would simply sneeze right in Sockets face. Yummy eh? So then last Wednesday I came home from work and was told that Socket was starting to sneeze all the time.

Bring on sick kitty #2. Socket sneezed snot rockets all weekend, slept a lot, exactly like Steve did. Then when I came home from work on Monday, Socket was now wheezing along with sneezing. As Jay says, Socket sounds like a 100 year old asthmatic smoker. That night he preceded to sleep on my pillow by my head, wheezing all night long in my ear. He generally visits my pillow briefly and then goes to sleep on the floor, not this night. I resorted to ear plugs that night and decided the next morning I would take him to the vet.

I called my normal vet and they were all booked up due to the canine parvovirus going through Nanaimo right now affecting dogs. So people are booking to get immunized. I called up another vet and was originally told 2pm, to which I said wouldn't work as I worked at 3pm. They gave me another option of 10:30am. So off we went.

We had to drive half way across town to this vet, which is Socket's longest drive ever. I take him in the car every so often to get him used to it and he is normally good, wandering from front passenger seat to the back looking out the window. Only incident this time, was he decided to poop right on my jacket in the back seat. Little bugger. I guess it's better than on the actual seat of the car?! Easier to clean anyways.

We see the vet and she honestly does a 3 minute exam and says, he has an upper respiratory infection. Oh surprise surprise. That is what I figured. She gave him a shot of antibiotic that she said would last 2 weeks and that we should see an improvement in 24 hours and sent us home. No incidents on the way home.

Here we are the next day and kitty has been sleeping basically all day, but the wheezing is sounding better slowly. At least I think so. He did snort out a gross snot rocket at one point though and last night I swear he had a sneezing fit of about 20-25 sneezes all in a row. I wasn't sure he was going to stop. The little bugger is breaking my heart.

Wheezing Kitty!

Sneezing Kitty!

Family Reunion 2010

Last weekend my dad and step mom hosted a family reunion up in Qualicum Beach. I have a complicated family that includes 1 real sister, 1 half brother, 1 half sister and a whole whack of step brothers and step sisters. All of which are all older than me so I am not really that close to most of them except my real sister. It has also been a long time since my step mom's kids and all of my dad's kids have been all together. The last time was their wedding in 1995; however, that aspect will have to wait as only 1 of my step mom's 4 kids were able to make it. All 4 of my dad's kids made it though so it was great to see all of those who did make it.

Everyone else arrived in Qualicum on Friday night, but since I worked Friday night, I came on Saturday. I was a bit delayed in my arrival as well considering I had to get in my long run prior to the events. I eventually made it though and it was good to see everyone.

Events included lunch, then some baseball beanbag where the kids whooped the adults butts.

Winning team

After beanbag baseball we headed over to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. Such a beautiful day, though slightly windy which made it cold.

Events at the beach included "tickle fights"



This little guy, basically one of my nephews would attack anyone his dad said to. We even thought he was going to attack 2 random people on the beach after he said to. Luckily he stopped before he did though!



Step brother and his nephew kite flying

How cute is this one!

Adults relaxing



Me!



He'll kill me if he knows I posted this, but here is me and Jason



Dad and his 4 kids! My half brother still hasn't grown up apparently ;)

Finally a nice shot!

Can't forget my 2 nieces. I wasn't there for art session, so these along with a few other photos posted above were stolen from my sister (thanks sis)!

After the beach we had dinner at a local hotel restaurant and then back to my dad's for dessert. My half sister and brother eventually left with their kids, leaving just the adults who played a game before we all eventually headed off. Everyone else stayed in Qualicum, while Jason and I came home. The next day they all had breakfast at my dad's before heading to their own homes. I unfortunately had to work on the Sunday, which is why we came home Saturday night. Luckily it is only a 45 minute drive or so!

Overall a fun day. I rarely get to see my nieces and nephews, which is unfortunate. I really should go visit them more often, but sometimes it is hard. I get busy on my days off with training and errands and sometimes I just want to relax. I cherish the time I do get to see them though!

PS. 1 sick sneezing kitty has now turned into the other kitty sneezing. But the first one is almost better. I guess it didn't help that sick kitty #1 would sneeze is sick kitty #2's face, so needless to say I was kind of expecting it.

Don't get me started on Doctors

Don't even get me started on Doctor's here in Nanaimo. I tend to describe most doctors in Nanaimo as USELESS and I apologize in advance but this blog post might turn into a bit of a vent.

Let me begin on Friday afternoon. Just prior to 4pm while I was at work, I received a call from the Doctors office. Actually, let's back up to Wednesday. I picked up the mail and found my blood test results from the previous Friday when I had them taken. In my results I saw my Ferritin level had dropped from 14 back in March/April to 10. WTF? I have been taking a supplement and eating more spinach over the last 6 months. Officially these were the results supplied with the normal levels in brackets.

Ferritin: 10 ug/L (15-180)
Iron: 10 umol/L (10-33)
TIBC: 70 umol/L (37-72)
SAT: 0.14 (0.20-0.55)

The original doctor (we'll call him Dr. S) who ordered the test is alright, but somewhat useless. I wanted the total blood count test done as well, but he apparently did not include it. Anyways, I had the results and knew they were low, what the heck, with supplements as well. Hmm.

Fast forward to Friday afternoon at 4pm, my phone rings, it's the doctor's office. I don't answer as I am at work, but check my voicemail when I have a second. Message states to call back as Dr. S would like to see me about my test results. I return the call, at probably 4:05 wondering if they are even open as I thought maybe they closed at 4pm, hence the call on Friday afternoon at 3:58pm. I was in luck though, as the appointment desk was open until 5. Here is how that conversation went.

Receptionist: "How can I help you"
Me: "Yes I would like to book an appointment with Dr. S"
Receptionist: "Oh Dr.S is on holidays"
Me: "Uhh okay, why did I just receive a message asking me to book an appointment with him about my iron test"
Receptionist: "Well he isn't back until September 9th"
Me: "Can I book with someone else then"

The result was me booking with Dr. J for Monday morning. I arrive at Dr. J's 5 minutes before my appointment and proceed to wait another 20-25 minutes. I enter Dr. J's office and meet him for the first time. He asks what he can do for me. I explain I would like to sort out my iron results. He looks through them and states that they don't look that bad. I explain I am a runner and that the Ferritin is low. He states that Ferritin really isn't a tell all factor and doesn't concern him. I explain that when I say I am a runner, I mean a real runner not some random jogger. He says that he understands, but still proceeds to be a douche (sorry).

He goes on to say again that Ferritin isn't that low and that he isn't too concerned. He said what he goes by is Hemoglobin levels and I didn't have that tested. Last tested in April at 131 g/L within normal limits of 120-150. Uhh that was how many months ago doctor? I told him I originally wanted that to be included in my blood tests, but Dr. S didn't include it. So he fills out a form to have me get my total blood count tested.

In the meantime he asks what I was taking for supplements and I showed him. He said it had very little iron and told me very briefly what he normally prescribes. He also asks whether I have low iron symptoms. I told him yes, within the last few weeks my motivation has dropped, my energy level has dropped, my immune system is crap, my hr is high and my breathing is increased even on paces that shouldn't be. Again he brushed it off. I took the form and left his office nearly in tears as he frustrated me and made me feel as though I was wasting his time. I walked by the patients waiting shaking my head and muttering "useless" under my breath.

I went and got the other required tests and I hope to hear back by the end of the week or early next week. Whenever the mail gets to me I suppose (finger's crossed by Friday).

In the meantime, I stopped at the pharmacy and asked them what they would suggest. I told them what I was taking and they basically said that anything bought from a health food store will not have enough iron as they are not licensed to sell higher doses. Basically, what I have been taking for the last 6 months is about 1/10'th the amount of iron I should be taking. I purchased the pills they suggested and went on my way.

I can name the useless doctors in Nanaimo, Dr. S, Dr, J, Dr. B, Dr.M. I think the list could really go on as I have seen more than those whenever my doctor's aren't available. I am in the hunt for a new better doctor but the main issue is a lot of doctors don't accept patients who technically already have family doctors. My main family doctor is half retired and unless you want to book a month in advance you can't see him as he is always on holidays.

So that is where I stand. I rocked the workouts 1.5 weeks ago, but then things slowly dropped off, even with plenty of rest days. Paces became harder to hold, breathing increased on even easy runs. Some say, oh maybe too many hard workouts and not enough rest, but I can honestly say that is not the case. My coach does very well at planning and I have felt this before, I know it has to do with my iron levels.

Oh did I mention an old lady in the waiting room at the lab before I had my blood tested muttered to her friend "she is all bones." Ugh, I get sick of hearing that. Just because I am thin they consider that I have an eating disorder. Totally not the case. I like my sweets WAY too much for that ;)

So that is where things stand. We'll see what the next results say. I took a different iron supplement over the weekend and had ferritin and iron retested today (I think) so hopefully it is more than 10.

In other news, this is what happens when you try to read a newspaper in my house.

You get a little kitty who will come and lie down right in the middle of the paper. This poor kitty is sick right now, sneezing a lot over the last 2-3 days, spraying snot everywhere and has runny eyes. I feel so bad for him, but I know he will get over it. I am keeping an eye on it and if it becomes serious I will take him to the vet, but in the meantime I will wait it out to save the expensive vet fees. Think good thoughts for Steve!

Moksha Yoga

After a wicked progression run last Saturday (Aug 21), I had Sunday off running. I had heard of a free Moksha Yoga session down town at the waterfront, but basically didn't want to go alone. I have only done Yoga a few times with Mindful Strides. An old childhood friend Heather mentioned on her Facebook that she was going to go, so I sent her a message and said if she was going, I would go too. I don't think I have seen her in years, but we grew up a few blocks away from each other and our parents are still in the same houses. I was the same age as her brother Ryan and she was a year older than us.

Anyways, so we headed down for the free session. Moksha Yoga Nanaimo was holding the free session. Their studio is in the same building as Island Optimal as they share the same space. It was an easy session and the sun was in and out, but it was fun and they had a good turn out. Definitely good to get a few stretches in and I had even done most of the poses before, which was a bonus for me. That means I didn't look stupid trying to figure out what to do!

** photos courtesy of Moksha Yoga

Arriving early to get a good spot!



Group slowly growing



Time to get started!

Thanks Moksha yoga for putting on this free class. Next time it would be better on the green grass though ;)

Cat Nip and Biggs Park

Yesterday I attended 60 minutes of free yoga downtown put on by Moksha Yoga Nanaimo. Moksha is located at the same place Island Optimal is at, so I saw their flyer there earlier this week and I debated going. Then an old friend updated her facebook that she was going to attend, so I decided to go with her. It was an easy session with a decent group of people. I will blog more about it once they post some photos in which I am waiting for that will go along with the post.

In the meantime, we gave the cats some Cat Nip last night. It is always amusing.

I'm so high!!

Today I went to pick up some parcels from the post office when I noticed it was 12:30. Our post office is closed for lunch from 12-1, so I went and got some groceries and grabbed my camera and headed out to Bigg's Park. It is located out in Cedar near BC Ferries for Duke Point.

From Biggs Park it overlooks downtown Nanaimo and you get a good view of Mount Benson that is in the background. Photo op time!

Blue function on camera



Nothing like taking dorky photos of yourself! It took me a few tries to get the timing somewhat right, then someone came along so I stopped, hah. So this was the best of what I got.



Follow the arrows home!



This was the loot I picked up at the post office. I had 5 slips in the mail box to pick up. Socket of course had to check it out. Top 3 are BBQ Set's and the bottom 2 are Muskoka Chairs.



The chairs are in pieces so photos will have to wait until they eventually get put together. Here is the BBQ though.

Gotta love contests! See you on the trails!