Why life is good - and a training PR!

"The day you decide to do, is your lucky day."  Japanese Proverb

"The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself." Douglas MacArthur

The first week of March was the school break over here and since my husband is a teacher, I also took the week off. That week, if I count the kilometers I spent snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, I completed a grand total of 82km (that's 51 miles). If you count only the running, I completed a total of 65km (or 40.3 miles). Yay! Then last Sunday, I ended the week with the longest long run of my program, which was 28km (17.4 miles). I'm really proud of myself. 

I'm glad that I didn't listen to the inner voice that often tried to keep me home to "rest" because I was feeling tired and even mildly nauseous on some mornings (it's a women thing). The voice that told me I was perhaps trying to do too much. The thing is, almost every time I got out there, I felt good and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

On Wednesday, I celebrated my birthday with some intervals on the treadmill and I felt great! I actually thought to myself, "How amazing it is to feel this strong at 54". Then Thursday morning I was meeting one of my close friends for some cc skiing on Mont St-Bruno and then a nice lunch. Again, once I got there, it was beautiful being out there and I felt so lucky! On Friday, Uber H and I were  going to Mont Orford with some family. He was going cc skiing and I was going snowshoeing with my SIL. Once again, an extremely amazing day...with perfect weather. We did 11km with a total elevation of 1,196 meters...and I loved every minute.

Beautiful day on Mont Orford!

Breathtaking views!

We carried our lunch in a backpack and ate up on the mountain in a small wood cabin that had a fireplace going...truly a wonderful day. I then did my one-hour run on Saturday, once again on Mont St-Bruno, on the trails! Then, I concluded my week with a 28km run on Sunday. The weather was quite nice, though cloudy and a bit windy, but I did it, completing the run in 3h08m49s, and I felt strong. I now use a 14/1 ratio, which is working really well for me.

So, the point of my quotes is that although I could just say that I'm so lucky to have these opportunities...I know that it's a question of getting out there and taking these opportunities. It's getting everything ready and then driving to the mountain and planning and organizing...but it is so worth it! 

I'm also thrilled because yesterday, the plan was to include 4km at 10K pace in my workout. However, it was going well and so I decided to try and beat my 5K PR...and I did it, completing in 28m56s! I was excited to break the 29-minute barrier :) 

And so it continues, I cross-train with spinning and a strength workout on Tuesdays and yoga on Fridays...along with lots of running. We all know, that we never know what can happen on race day...so I'm glad that I am enjoying the journey!

Of course, there's a little bit of luck in the fact that I am not sick, like Caroline, or injured or banged up from a pothole, like ajh...but you know what I mean :)

Cheers!

Get out there and make your luck! St. Patrick's day is coming up :)