The ‘Earthquake Run & Shake 5 Point Oh No’ Recap

Greetings! (aka: Hellllloooooooo)

What a day!

So interesting to read all of your comments about your earthquake experience today. The news is now reporting that it was a Magnitude 5.0 earthquake that originated in Quebec from 18 km in the ground. Crazy!

However, I carried on. I had a race to fuel for and lots of work to do!

The theme of my pre-race eats = Green, Carbo, Clean!

Ezekiel toast with curried couscous and basil…

I got up from the table and promptly put some salsa on it. Perfect-o!

With a Green Juice

Note- this is the first time my juicer has ever gotten any juice out of a leafy green before! I have tried juicing kale before and did not get a drop of juice out of it. I’m not sure what I did differently with this spinach, but it came pouring out. I think it might have been due to placing a couple items on top of the spinach (lemon, apple) to hold it in place…

The juice contained spinach, 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 a cuke, and a tiny apple.

Yum!

Dessert was Trader Joe’s Fair Trade Dark Chocolate! LOVE this chocolate so much. My heart goes pitter patter.

8 squares for good measure!

Afternoon fueling snacks were a Liberate Raw + GF Glo Bar…

A TJ’s Raspberry Fruit Leather…

I used to eat fruit leather all the time as a teenager. I’d like to make my own in the food dehydrator, actually! Specifically dried mangoes…oodles and oodles of dried mangoes. Mmmmmm.

….and late afternoon, a Green Monster. I wasn’t sure how to fuel for an evening race, so I figured Green Monsters were always fine with previous races so I decided on that! Can’t go wrong with a monstaaaa.

It contained: 1 tbsp peanut butter, 2 cups Red Russian Kale (that was the mystery veggie from last week’s CSA!), 1 cup hemp milk, 1/2 scoop Amazing Grass Chocolate Amazing Meal Powder, 1 tbsp chia seeds, ice, ice, baby.

It was thick and chewy. :ermm: I might have good news on a new blender coming soon though…

So yes, I was fueled up.

But I was still undecided about the 5-mile race in Toronto. This called for a phone call consultation to OSGMOM. She was less than thrilled for me to be going given all the crazy circumstances today. I also consulted Karly.

She said…

I think there have been enough warning signs today to give yourself permission to not go to this race:
1. Earthquake
2. Crazy protests in Toronto
3. Sweltering heat
4. Torrential downpours/severe thunderstorms expected tonight
5. Possible looming tornado!!!!!

Do you need anymore reasons? :biggrin:

Sometimes all you need is a worried mother and friend to tell it like it is. Reluctantly, I made the call to skip the race, BUT to make things fun for myself, I hosted my own race, much like Caitlin did with the Chickpea Masala 10k Race.

I called it….

The Earthquake Run & Shake 5 Point Oh…No

I didn’t have much time to advertise though, so the turn out was a bit less than expected!

I approached the start line and checked the mailbox while I was waiting. Awesome.

To my surprise, I was in the FIRST Corral, so that right there was a confidence booster. Sadly, I did not see any elite runners though. I think they were ‘running’ late.

Then, the horn sounded and off I went, filled with adrenaline!

Mile 1:

Right from the start of this race I knew it would be a struggle. The air was thick and humid and the temperature was 29C with a humidity of 37C! The air felt like a damp cloth that had been sitting in a steam room. Gross. Luckily I had my Camelbak on me and it was full with COLD water, so I was good to go. The Camelbak has made my runs SO much better. Having water easily accessible on a run is truly amazing. I am used to the extra weight now too so that is not a factor.

• Mile 1 time = 8:15 min/mile
• Avg heart rate = 162 bpm
• Max heart rate =  174 bpm

Mile 2:

The storm clouds rolled in and the wind picked up!

Hence, ‘OH NO’

I knew right then and there that I had to turn back because the storm was approaching quicker than expected. I pictured the ground opening up and swallowing me whole, but I persisted on. I figured if it did, that would be a pretty cool way to kick the bucket. The wind was refreshing, yet it made the run much more difficult. I was able to pick up a bit of speed despite this.

• Mile 2 time = 8:12 min/mile
• Avg heart rate = 167 bpm
• Max heart rate =  174 bpm

Mile 3:

It started to rain during the last 0.5 mile stretch and this was great inspiration to boot it home! I ran fast and I ran hard. I decided a 5k race would have to do! During the last 1/4 mile it POURED rain and I felt like I was in the Amazing Race or something. That, or I was Rocky. Probably Rocky actually.

3 mile race stats:

• Time: 24:17 min/mile
• Avg pace: 8:06 min/mile

[That is not all sweat… it was raining too! But yea, it’s mostly all sweat I guess. lol]

As I approached the ‘finish line’ no one was in sight and amazingly, I WON the race! :lol: I even took home this awesome 1st place ribbon!

I can assure you, I will not be taking this bad boy off for a while.

I have some post-race fuel waiting to be consumed. Have a good night!