Nik’s Chicks is a FREE ladies only running/triathlon group. It is only a time and place to meet & a program to follow. I cannot join you on every run/workout. If you are new to exercising, it is advisable to have a doctor’s OK prior to beginning. Any information or products represented on this site are for educational purposes only and are not a substitute for any advice given to you by a medical, nutritional or fitness professional. Please sign my waiver (in “About”) and fill out my contact info sheet when you arrive for your first run. Please park on West Oak Trails Blvd or Nightingale to avoid the locking beeps and car doors closing around my neighbors’ houses – especially on Saturday mornings! We run Monday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings. Check out Weekly Workout section for specific times.
Quote of the Week:
At first an ordeal and then an accomplishment, the daily run becomes a staple, like bread, or wine… or air.
Benjamin Cheever, author and Runner’s World contributor
Hello ladies, here is the latest news from the “nest”! A big welcome goes out to all of the new Chicks who have come out this week…and returnees too! It’s really great to see our numbers increase again. I think we had around 25 runners out on Saturday morning. It’s not too late for Newbie runners to start…they should jump in by Monday. I was chatting with the new ladies this week and explained to them that the purpose of the group is to gather likeminded women together in a social setting so that we can carve out time for ourselves to get/be active and healthy. It’s not always easy to do this! Life (kids, work, spouses!) often get in the way of our best intentions. Do your best to make Monday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings sacred!
Around the Bay Relays: Registration for ATB is open! This is a great race in late March in Hamilton – it’s the oldest road race in North America. The distances include 30km, 2x15km relay, 3x10km relay and 5km fun run. We had a blast doing the relays last year, we had 8 teams and some amazing Chicks run the 30km. I know it feels really early to even contemplate this, but the relays will sell out before November and the 30km will sell out before the new year. Get your teams together and we will hopefully surpass 8 teams in 2014. Name you team “Nik’s Chicks 1, 2” etc. Send me a note when you reg and I will post teams.
Wetsuits: Anyone considering triathlons next summer might be interested in this deal. Xterra wetsuit is having a 57% off sale until September 20th. Use codePEAKXW to get the deal. There are at least 7 Chicks who have Xterra suits and quite like them…and really like the price! Comparable suits locally would cost around 400.00. http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/
A Really Cool App: Thanks to Ellen for sending this info along. “Cruise Control” is a Canadian made app that allows you to choose a running pace and then have all of your songs play at a beats per minute rate that matches your pace! What a great way to keep you on pace. Check out this website for more info: http://www.cruisecontrolrun.com/
Be Seen: It’s very dark during our evening runs and it’s imperative that you are visible to drivers. Most shoes, jackets and running hats have some reflective material on them. Add to the visibility with reflective bands or LED lightts. Here are some examples:
UFO light – MEC – 8.00
Turtle light MEC – 5.75
Planet bike strap light MEC – 9.75
With Halloween coming up, the Dollar stores will have some reflective bands as well!
100 Oakville Women: My girlfriend Lynn passed along an interesting letter directed at women who wish to raise 10,000 for their favorite charity. It is a fundraising concept I have never heard of before, and just might work! You can read it in it’s entirety here:
Running Tops: I still have many of the purple Nik’s Chicks sleeveless running tops in stock. They have our logo on the front left chest, upper back and our sponsors are printed on the lower back. The tops are lightweight and were purchased through Mountain Equipment Co-op. See me after your next group run to try one on. Only 20.00 each!! They are great for working out at the gym!
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Looking For Donations: My osteopath, Dave Ellis, is collecting old race shirts or Dry Fit type shirts in all sizes. When his Dad was in palliative care he found himself struggling to maintain a consistent body temperature in his cotton clothes. Dave gave him some of his technical clothing to wear and his Dad was much more comfortable in his final days. Dave is collecting the clothing for the Palliative Care patients of the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. You can drop off your donations at my place prior to every run. I will bring them down to Dave’s clinic, Balance Point Health Centre on October 1st. Thanks for your help!
Destination Race: Just wanted to throw this idea out there. A few of us have been chatting about finding a race and making a girls only long weekend out of it. There are so many to choose from. I am thinking the race needs to be around the long weekend in May so saving funds can take place, appropriate timelines for training and we can give spouses and kids a huge heads up! The race should have a marathon and half marathon (go big or go home). I think it should be a tropical/vacation location that gives us time to relax post race – maybe a Friday – Tuesday long weekend. We can chat about this over the next couple of months and come up with something really good! I will post suggestions as they roll in.
Tips from Runner’s World 2013 Daily Calendar: 1) Sometimes it’s good to quit while the quitting is good. End the workout like you could run one more interval at the given pace. This requires honest evaluation. Most runners want to continue hammering away until the time slide occurs, but by then you’ve gone too far. 2) Find out everything there is to know about a race. Run or drive the course the day before the race. Find out where the water stops are and what beverages will be available. Answer every question that could possibly plague your brain at 3am. 3) At the end of a an event, have this stuff ready: Extra socks, shirt,and shorts, waterproof jacket, food, Ibuprofen, towel, plastic bag for ice and dirty clothes. You’ll be glad you thought of these things ahead of time.
This week’s workouts – (Meet at corner of Blackbird and Redwing Court)
Monday – Sept 15 8:00pm
New Learn to Run 5km – 5 min warm up walk, alternate 90 sec jogging and 2 min walking for 20 min (turn after 10 min), cool down walk 5 min
New Learn to Run 10km – 5km
Holding on 5km – 5km
Holding on 10km – 5km
Half Marathon – 5km
Chicago Marathoners – on own schedule
Thursday – Sept 18 8:00pm
New Learn to Run 5km – 5 min warm up walk, alternate 90 sec jogging and 2 min walking for 20 min (turn after 10 min), cool down walk 5 min
New Learn to Run 10km – 4km with 1 hill
Holding on 5km – 5km with 1 hill
Holding on 10km – 5km with 1 hill
Half Marathon – 4-5km
Chicago Marathoners – on own schedule
Saturday – Sept 20th 8:00am
New Learn to Run 5km – 5 min warm up walk, jog 90/walk 90sec/jog 3 min/walk3min(turn) repeat sequence on way back), cool down walk 5 min
New Learn to Run 10km – 6km
Holding on 5km – 5km
Holding on 10km – 10km
Half Marathon – RACE DAY TOMORROW! GOOD LUCK!
Chicago Marathoners – on own schedule
Monday – September 22nd 8:00pm
New Learn to Run 5km – 5 min warm up walk, jog 90/walk 90sec/jog 3 min/walk3min(turn) repeat sequence on way back), cool down walk 5 minNew Learn to Run 10km – 4km
Holding on 5km – 5km
Holding on 10km – 5km
Half Marathon – rest
Chicago Marathoners – on own schedule
Have a wonderful week! Niki
Nik's Chicks 
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