Could the real Santa be running with me?

Today was a day of firsts.

 My first race where I ran in costume.

The first time I have ever dressed up as Santa.

My first time running the entire way with friends (normally there is a natural split at some point during a race).

But today was different and it was kind of fun.

The Santa 5km Jingle race was a fun way to get into the spirit of the holidays.

Free stuff!

Today was my lucky today as I received a special care package from Nike (I’m coaching a 10 km running clinic and its goal race is the 2009 Nike Human Race) . Got some lunar glides, a Sportsband and an outfit. Looking forward to trying out the Nike Sportsband on upcoming runs. Will keep you posted with how it keeps track of my runs. 

Thank you Nike!

Flickr: striatic

Take advantage of the last of the summer weather with a leisurely bike ride on Toronto Island. All you need to do is hop on the finally operating ferry to Centre Island and walk to the bicycle rental shop. There is only one rental place on the island and they are definitely not of the best quality, but they do they trick. You can also bring your own bike to the island. I actually do this bike ride at least once a summer and am always fascinated with the community that lives there and how you can buy a house on the island. Finish the day off with a late lunch at the Rectory café.

Start the weekend off right with a trip to Toronto’s Nike lounge. On a Saturday morning they have an 8:30 a.m. open run and at 10 a.m. they have something called Escape Running which is helping a group train for the Men’s Health Urbanathlon in October. They incorporate a variety of different exercises into their running like plyometrics, hill training and strength. According to Facebook they are open to anyone joining and will leave no one behind!

Looking to mix a bit of exercise with some of Toronto’s culture then the Royal Ontario Museum’s walking tour of Mount Pleasant cemetery is for you. Taking place on August 9^th at 2 p.m. the free 2 hour walk will take you through different parts of the cemetery.

Future workout?

my friend runshorts just blogged about Canada’s first ever stiletto race that will take place on September 11. Check out the blog for details and make sure to register soon as this event is bound to be hot!

Flickr: rorris

Tomorrow is going to be a special day for me as I get to pace two of the women that I coached in this summer’s For Women Only running clinic in their first ever race. 

Running your first race is a pretty important milestone and is something that stays with you throughout your  entire running career. My first race was a 5km race in Montreal’s West Island and I still remember how I felt before, during and after the race. I had no idea what to expect or if I even wanted to be there. 30 minutes or so after the gun went off I was standing at the finish line amazed that I had finished. 

This summer I decided to give coaching a try at the Rosedale Running Room. The clinic I coached is geared towards the beginner female runner and is aimed at getting people with no running experience to 5km in 10 weeks. It is perfect for new moms or women who are looking to have a little time to themselves on a Saturday morning. By the end of the clinic you will have heard talks on nutrition, buying the right shoes and much more. Participants will also be able to run over 5km using the well tested Running Room program of running/walking intervals! Best part is that you will have made a great new group of girlfriends. 

Next round of  running clinics will start soon at the Rosedale Running Room, so definitely check out their website for more details. I promise you that you won’t be disappointed.

Today, I received an email that the 2010 Toronto Women’s Half Marathon is now open for early registration. Those of us that ran the 2009 edition will have first crack at the next one. I am not too sure if I want to sign up again for a number of reasons.

The course was really tight at times for us average-paced runners which means that there is most likely no chance of a personal best time.

The bathroom situation was not super great.

I also get kind of bored running through 21.1 kms of parks. After a while they all start to look the same.

And I hated the medal. I will admit the organizers did try to be different with a custom made necklace, but it just didn’t suit me.

On the flip side, the race was fun and the shirts were better than usual. Although why do running shirts either have to be cut too small or too large? The XS I got at Mississauga Marathon this year could have fit two of me, while the XS from Toronto Women’s fit quite…snugly. So, how do you know what size to get!? Agh, the dilemmas of a female runner.

Other bonuses from this race were the fireman handing out water and the chocolate station. I actually didn’t take the chocolate during the race, but enjoyed it at the end.

If you would like to read a more detailed account of this year’s race check out these race reports from runshorts and marleneruns.

Mmm, what to do? Knowing me I’ll probably procrastinate and then it will be too late.

But for those of you that are interested in running this event check out their website for more details! Oh and I forgot to mention there are also other distance options, so if the half marathon is not your thing there is plenty to choose from!

Finally, I have a tip for the sponsors – you should develop a social media strategy! Why aren’t you on Twitter? There are so many things you could be tapping into. Create a Flickr group and get all the women runners to upload their photos to it or something like that. The newsletter just ain’t cutting it for me!