16 Runs with 16 Friends: February Update

This month's weather fluctuated a lot, and Ontario's had some sudden blasts of cold weather along with snowfall that sometimes turned into ice. Unfortunately, this meant that it was harder to get people to run with me. But I still managed to run outside a fair bit, even had a 3 day running streak at the beginning of February when it was unseasonably warm!

One of my new running experiences this month was running with Nike Run Club (NRC). I had heard about NRC's free group runs and training clinics earlier this year, and decided to try them out with a friend. Initially, I wanted to have all my "16 runs" be one on one meet ups, but I've decided to include this because it was a fun first experience for both of us and we have professional photos to prove it. I hope to be able to meet up with my friend one on one for a "Part 2" run later this year!

I've never run downtown in the evening before. Running with NRC has not only
allowed me to see more of Toronto, but in a different light! Literally. :)

My hands look funny here because I tend to ball my hands up into fists when I run,
and don't actually use the finger parts of the mitt. 

Run with Friend #4: Eaton Centre to Lakeshore / Sugar Beach

Date: February 16, my first time running with Nike Run Club!

Temperature: Around -1C.
Distance: 5K, interval speed training.

My friend Mark here, representing the Running Room with his blue jacket!

Speed has never been my forte, or even part of my training for my past 3 half marathons. The terms "intervals", "fartleks" and "tempo" have always belonged in the training plans of "hardcore" runners, a group that I don't think I belong to. But since Tuesday night worked for us, we ended up trying Nike's Speed Run training!

Mark and I only met earlier this year and I'd say that it's our shared love for running that made this an easy friendship. He runs regularly with his local Running Room, and has shared stories of his family's active lifestyle. I must say I'm a teensy bit jealous because my family is still getting used to my relationship with running. I've never been physically active as a child or teenager, so family bonding over physical activity kind of boggles me! I only started running 3 years ago, and I feel like I've only started to dip my toe into having a more physically active lifestyle in the past year. 

We started with the 6:00 min/km pace group and it was only when we did a few intervals that Mark told me that he's been able to run 5K in 20 minutes. So he was definitely in the wrong pace group! But what about me? It's rarely occurred to me to ask fellow runners for their finishing times or running pace because speed has never been the motivating factor behind my own training. But I hoped that running with NRC would help me figure out what pace I'm able to keep up with. By the end of the night, Mark and I were flying ahead of our pace group (with Mark leading us!) and I knew that I should try the next pace group up if I come back another time.

Will I be running with NRC again?

ABC warmups!

I already did! Twice in fact! And on my own too! Even though NRC isn't exactly local for me, Tuesday evenings work, so I will definitely try to make their free training runs. It's free, I get to meet other runners (whom I could befriend as part of my 16 runs?!) and the pacers do all the mathematical thinking for you!! Why not? 

On my second visit, I joined the 5:30 min/km pace group and definitely felt more challenged. I stayed in the back-middle of the pack for much of the run, but was able to push to the front in our last 200 meters sprint!

My third run with NRC was with their Morning Miles group on a Sunday that is in the Liberty Village area. We ran a 6K with no specific pace groups, but as one big spread out running family. They even had some Nike running shoes for us to trial on the run! I tried a pair of Nike LunarGlide 7s, but unfortunately they didn't work so well for me. 

We also receive emails after the run with the professional photos taken by NRC's resident photographer, Jess Baumbung. Not only does he snap snazzy photos, he also runs with us too! He sprints ahead of the various groups (while carrying his camera of course!) so he can be ready at the crosswalks, waiting to capture us running at him! I rarely have non-race photos of myself running when I'm just having fun. So these free photos are definitely a plus! All of the photos in this post, except one (can you guess which?), are taken by Jess. Check out more of his photography here: jessbaumung.com

Thanks again to NRC's Jess Baumung for the great photos!

Even though I didn't get in as many of my 16 runs in as I did in January, I think I still had a great month in terms of my running! Running with NRC has been a great way for me to see more of Toronto and keep me running at least once a week.

With March, comes spring! Right? *Fingers crossed* 4 runs down, 12 to go!