Not my best jump shot, but this was at the end of racing a 15k race, so not too shabby

I have been a long time supporter of all things Nike, for about the last ten years to be specific. I watched with envy as San Francisco and Washington hosted women only Nike events, so when I found out that Nike was bringing their race series to Toronto I was more than a little excited. I registered for the race as part of team Tribe Fitness Tribe Strong. The race took place on Toronto Island, which is awesome for me since I live very close to the ferry terminal.

This race was more than a race, it was a 4 day epic event with Nike creating their own village at Harbourfront (again, awesome since I live so close).  A giant store was put up where you could purchase limited edition Nike Toronto run clothing was well as shoes and a plethora of other Nike workout clothes. Let’s just say I had to restrain like I have never restrained before….after I bought 2 tank tops, a sweatshirt and a new pair of shoes, the LunaRacer 3’s. They also had a studio set up on a barge, named the Crystal Coliseum, where they offered NT+C classes from Thursday – Sunday.  I personally didn’t take any classes, as both coach and I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t exhausting my body any more than it would be in a typical week of teaching yoga and training.

The day before the race I did a shakeout run with Nike that took off from Sport Chek in Maple Leaf Square. It was a short, easy run of just a couple of kms. Afterwards I headed home to get my usual day before race lunch from IQ Foods. I love having the Lima box with quinoa 🙂 . I usually will just relax after lunch, watch movies, nap. But this time I went to a bridal shower of a friend. I made sure to stick to snacking on the veggies, no pastries or desserts for me (which was hard, as this bridal shower was stunning with a ton of delicious food!) Once I got home, I got everything ready for race day before my usual pre race dinner of salmon, asparagus, mushrooms and sweet potato. Dessert was a few squares of dark chocolate. I was in bed and fast asleep by about 10pm

Pre race with some of the Tribe ladies

Race day, I was up at 5am (I can never sleep the night before a race) to get ready. I was on the 6:40am ferry over to the island so I made my pre race breakfast of white rice, quinoa, banana, peanut butter and cinnamon and put it in a take-out container to bring with me. I wanted to be sure that I had my breakfast by about 7 – 7:15am since I was in the first wave and was starting at 9:30am. I met up with Tribe teammates and hung out until the usual pre-race potty breaks began around 8:15am. That’s when I headed towards my wave and started to warm up. I listened to some pump up music while warming up. In case you’re wondering, some of my favourites on this list are:

Lose Yourself – Eminem
All I do is Win – DJ Khaled (feat T-Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg & Rick Ross)
Turn Down for What – DJ Snake & Lil Jon

Right off the top it was crowded and it took a bit to get around people, but once I did I was able to settle into a 4:30/km pace. The grassy parts of the route were pretty squishy and soft due to the all the rain, and the dirt path was more mud path, so these parts of the route slowed me down a bit. By far, the coolest part of the route was being on the runway of the Island airport. Around the 9.5 – 10k part of the route my vision started to go funny – squiggly lines and dots – and it only got worse when I started to panic about it happening. I have had this happen to me a few times in the past, twice in my dancing days and once during a workout. What I have done in the past is eat something with sugar and after a bit it goes away. I had a small water bottle with me on race day containing watered down blueberry/pomegranate juice with raw honey, so I sipped some of that. That helped a bit, it was still there, just not as severe. Seeing my husband and son at the 10k and again at the 14k parts of the route was just what I needed! I kept pushing myself and gave everything I had for the last km and crossing the finish line was a huge relief. I felt like my lungs were going to explode for most of the race and because the rain finished and the sun came out, it was actually muggy and humid while I was running. Not long after I finished, the rain started again and I was freezing. With my husband and son with me we headed back to the ferry.

I would love to tell you what Km this was, but I can’t remember. But I have my usual race face on.

My goal was to run the 15k in 1:05-1:07, I finished in 1:11, while not the time I was hoping for I have been trying to not get too down about it. I placed 26/1171 in my category which isn’t too bad.

After talking to my coach, we think we may have pinpointed the reason why I was seeing spots. I have noticed that lately my breathing during races is quite labored; really short breaths with heavy breathing out of my mouth. So the plan is to start incorporating my yoga breathing a little bit more and hopefully I can get back on track with getting some serious PB’s.

Overall Nike did such an amazing job; 10,000 runners + family/friends + staff and it was so organized – from the Village at Harbourfront to the ferry to everything they had over on the island. Getting that Tiffany necklace, and seeing a friendly familiar face, the lovely Eva Redpath (Nike’s Canada’s Master Trainer. I have taken her classes for years!) who I haven’t seen in months! Was pretty sweet and the perfect way to finish off a great weekend. After a complete rest day where I binged watched Rookie Blue, I am back to my training. I am moving on and focusing on the rest of my race season. #ontothenextone

Thanks again Nike for a great event 🙂 #betterforit

VERY happy to finish!

Seeing my husband and my little guy with his sign he made at pre school made my day!