This past Sunday I raced in the Yorkville 5km. The last time I did this race was 2011 and my goal was to go under 21 mins. My previous PB had been 21:07. That year, I did 20:07 and was quite excited and happy to have cut off so much time. Since that race I have tried at least 2-3 times to go under 20 mins, always missing by 10-20 seconds which in a 5km is like 20 mins in a marathon! It’s a big differential. My goal for this weekend was to not have a “2” in front of my time. I did not even care if it was 19:59.9999. I just wanted that “1” in front. I did a bit of a taper for a couple of days before. Not huge, but cut back to one training session a day instead of my usual 2 on most days during the Mon-Fri week. And cut back on the time I was running and cycling. My legs still did not feel totally sprightly, but I guess it was enough to hold off any big fatigue.

Race morning it was windy, coming from the north but temperate. I arrived early as usual, got a great parking spot and walked to the start and just hung out inside a building until 30 mins before the start. I did a 15 mins or so warm up , realizing that when I need to run fast I need to be well warmed up. Being a Masters athlete too it does take the body time to warm up to speed! I then stood at the start for about 15 mins then did a few more strides when the race organizers said we could cross the mats if we wanted to warm up more. I got a spot close to the front as they also said that prizing was based on gun time not chip time. There is one girl who always beats me in races and I was looking out for her and did not see her until well…..5 mins before she then stepped to the start! So I thought, forget about winning age group, but go for the time goal.

I had my virtual partner set for 3:58/km. The gun went off and I took off and stayed ahead of my virtual partner and at the first km I heard someone call out 3:42….Yikes…..oh well I said, just keep going. Actually my first km was 3:36!! I managed to pass one other Masters woman about 3 km in and just tried to hold on, and stay ahead of my pace. As I approached the last few hundred meters I heard someone call out to someone else, “You can make sub 19:30 if you go hard”. I went as hard as I could and came in at 19:34. I was so happy!!! I knew I did not win my age group, but was good enough for 2nd (the winner came in at 19:07,…she is so fast) and was 11th woman overall. Here is a picture after the race:

Overall it was a great race and I was really happy with how it all turned out. Now time to change the focus back to Half Marathon training. Scotiabank Half is in 6 weeks or so.

In other news, I am officially a Brand Ambassador with Mizuno. I am really excited about this relationship. I love their shoes and apparel and am happy to be able to write articles on a regular basis for IRUN magazine and the Mizuno Run club associated with the magazine. So look out for that to come soon.

Mizuno is so great and has looked after my shoe needs for the last year or so. And as of today my 10 yr old has them too. Thanks to Mizuno for keeping her outfitted too in such great shoes. Here she is sporting her new Wave Musha:

Well that’s it for now…keep on running, biking, swimming or whatever you do to keep fit! Fall is coming and it’s time to get out there when the temps are cool and there is no snow on the ground!!

This past Saturday I ran the Toronto Women’s 10km. Not only is this a great event and run series, but my very good friend Cory Freedman is the race director and founder, so it is always fun to hang out and help out as well . 

The day started bright and early when the alarm went off at 5:15 a.m. My husband and daughter also volunteer at each of the TO Women’s events (there are 3), so it makes for a nice family time too. Jada and I did kit pick up as I usually do before each race. 

 

It was a bit of a cool morning as it usually is down in the park and for some reason I NEVER dress appropriately whilst handing out kits. Next time I wear my winter coat no matter what! Honestly, I spend more time shivering and getting wet feet, that I really need to dress for being in a forest weather and not bright sunny day weather. 

I did a warm up for the race about 20 mins before, and felt okay then headed over to line up for the start. It was a perfect day for a race, just not perfect for standing still! My goal for this race was to run sub 42 mins and win my age group. However, I only did a 1 day taper…:). Not ideal, but in the whole scheme of the importance of the race for me it was not my main goal race for the year. That is coming up in 2 weeks and then in October. So I will make sure I extend my taper for those ones . Once the gun went off I felt sluggish and out of sorts for the first km or two as I usually do no matter what I do for warm up. I am old, and so it always takes me longer to get my body going and into a rhythm. By km 3 or so I knew I was not hitting the splits I had wanted to, so I switched off my Garmin’s virtual partner screen which was set for 4:09 /km and back to main screen to see what I was currently running and tried to gauge my effort for strong but still saving some for the last 7 km! I usually get to 7km and feel I have gone too hard. This time I actually did not feel that at 7km but felt stronger as I went along. 

There was a girl up ahead of me that I caught and felt like if I just kept pushing I may be able to catch her as I was gaining on her. At about the 8km mark I went by her and then just kept going. I knew I was going to win my age group as the girls ahead of me were much younger:). Then I just wanted to get as close to 42 mins as possible. At one point along the course I thought I had gone the wrong way, but when you are running on your own it is sometimes hard to figure out where you should be even though I followed the signs. I always have that moment of “have I gone the right way”? . Then I saw the course marshall up ahead and knew I was okay. Oh maybe I also need to look at course maps ahead of time…..I seem to like that element of surprise for some reason! 

Once I got back to the parking lot part of the course I knew I just had 500 m to go. I saw the clock too and it was just clicking close to 42 mins so I went as hard as I could. Just missed it by 5 seconds. But I was happy to have come 4th to some very fast girls (the winner was 38 mins and change!!!). I won my age group by about 4 mins too. Overall I was really happy with how it went. My daughter presented me with my medal too so that was pretty cool and cute! 

I came home with some hardware (Mizuno hat and a plaque). I ran in my Mizuno Wave Ekiden which I just LOVE for 10km races and longer speed workouts. They are so light and comfortable but still give me that little bit of something underfoot. I feel like I have nothing on my feet yet they are so responsive. Thank you Mizuno!!!! 

Next race : Yorkville B and O 5km. My goal is to finally go sub 20 mins. I think I will taper better this time :). 

 

I signed up for this race mid spring, after initially thinking it was such a short distance, maybe more for beginners, maybe I did not belong there, etc etc. As the months went on, I became really excited to race it. I liked the fact that after a half Ironman, I was looking forwards to a short distance!! Less pressure in training, fun to be with an all women crowd, no male intimidation, no male cyclists whizzing by me without the “on your left” call out as they passed. Not to be mistaken, I do like male competition especially when I get to “chick” some on the run, but it was also nice to have the relaxed estrogen environment for a change! 

Arriving at the venue, it was well organized, colourful (race $ went to Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, so there was a lot of pink!), and fun to have less bike racks to contend with. I racked my bike in a good spot (it also helps when you arrive way too early cuz you think it will take longer to get there), got body marked, did my prerace rituals and met up with my friend Cathy. 

The walk down to the swim was PAINFUL! There was a reason there were shuttle buses or shoe drop. We decided to walk in our bare feet. Rocks the whole way. My feet were vibrating by the time I got down to the start 500 m away. Ouch, next time we take the shuttle! 

The start of the race was calm. I went in the first wave as an elite age grouper and had clear sailing with a swim close to the shore. The race was designed so anyone who was nervous or panicked could stand up at any time. I had a good swim, exiting in just over 10 mins. Love short swims!!! When I got back to T1, I saw two girls leaving on their bikes in my rack and one beside which I thought was also my age group (more on this later). 

Onto the bike, it was a flat and fast course. The only problem with being in the first wave is sometimes you are alone and have no clue if you are going the right way. Oh I guess if I had looked at the map I would have known there were no turns:). I did not catch the two girls I was hunting, but did the ride I wanted to with the pace I wanted to. Bike time was 35:03 for 20km. When I racked my bike, I saw one of the women who left before me getting her run stuff on. And one was gone (the one at my rack). As we left transition, I passed the woman on the rack beside me, looked at her calf and saw a 50. Phew, she was not in my age group in the end!! So one more to catch. I just told myself it was not over till it was over and who knew where the other woman was. I know that the run off the bike is my strength, so I just charged along. 

2km into the run I passed the other girl! As I got up to her she said “Okay you got me”……:). I knew that all I had to do was keep pace and I would win my age group. However not going off with the rest of the wave, there could have been others who went faster. 

I had a good run, making one wrong turn but recovering quickly enough to just have lost about 10-20 seconds . 21:26 for the 5km. There was a bit of trail to run on which was nice and shady, but always slows me down a bit as I want to be careful not to sprain an ankle. 

I finished first in my age group and 6th overall. I was really happy and had a great day. 

The prizes were amazing too. They threw out all kinds of swag. For my win, I got this: 

The shoes will be okay for walking around, but I can’t run in them. I am a Mizuno fan! 

Here is a photo of the awards ceremony: 

I would definitely return to this race. It was very well organized by the Suburu Triathlon Series, and was a fun, relaxing environment. 

Up next: Toronto Women’s 10km this Saturday. 

 

 

This past weekend I jumped back into the world of longer course racing. The last time I did a triathlon longer than an Olympic distance was in 2006 when I did Ironman Wisconsin. After that I became turned off of the pain, training, recovery time and nutrition issues that go along with longer course efforts. And I was bored. And slow. With short course, I could be more competitive, work on my speed, be home on Saturdays before 4 pm, and race without worrying about issues related to GI upset and energy failure which regularly plagued me in Ironman racing. With short course I found I was placing in my age category and enjoying getting faster which kept the motivation high to train and race.

So what did I decide to do? After getting back into half marathons last year, and remaining competitive in my category, I thought I would give this half IM thing a go again. Less training, less nutrition issues (hopefully), less boring. This weekend it all came together at the Musselman Half Ironman.

As usual, I was a stressed out mess the days leading up to Sunday. This is usual for me. I turn into a mini bitch (well depends on who you ask!). I stress about what to wear (yes I know this should have been tested out before), what the weather will be like (we triathletes tend to be weather geeks), etc etc. The race was in Geneva , New York, one of the finger lakes and was rated as the 4th best tri in the world by numerous publications and the triathlon world itself. It is a small town race with a big town race feel!

Race morning dawned and as usual I had that feeling of “ugh, do I really want to get out of bed??”….how else does one tend to feel at 4:45 a.m.? Especially after a rather rough nights sleep with noisy adjoining room people and a wedding at the hotel. I for one don’t usually ever wake up excited to race, but I think and have come to accept this is part of my pre race prep!

The forecast was for humidex of close to 40C….and the temps quickly climbed through the day. Setting up in transition was easy. There were spots with your name on it and number and a little personal saying after your name. To be honest I forget what mine said, but something to the effect of being able to achieve a goal. Nice personal touch regardless.

Swim: 

We were corralled into wave starts. I was with all women, so it was good to not get pummelled by any men. Here are a few photos. Note I never smile…..and yes, I was nervous as usual getting into the water. Not my favourite part. I think I secretly fear of drowning or getting beaten up or hyperventilating or something to that effect but invariably once I get going I am totally fine!

I had a great swim. Got into a quick rhythm, was actually able to bilateral breathe, which I can never do in a sprint/Olympic and felt like I was at a good effort and pace. My goal was 40 mins max and I came out in just over 34. Shocked when I looked down at my watch.

Bike:

I had a relatively easy transition, no fighting with the wetsuit and out onto the bike. I had an idea of what intensity level I wanted to ride at to achieve my sub 3:00 goal. I started out a little quick I think but soon settled it down and road very comfortably. The course had very few hills, more like false flats. I only had to change out of big ring about 3 x or so. No need to stand and grind any hills. I like that kind of course in some respects and in others you don’t get as much of a break on the legs. I maintained an even effort through the majority of the ride. I felt the heat but still with a breeze from the biking it was not super hot. I drank and fuelled at regular intervals and felt fine getting off. Goal was sub 3 hours……time 2:52 and change! So far I had bought myself 14 minutes of time to reach my goal race time.

Run: 

Normally my favorite part of a tri is doing a sub 1 minute T2. But I decided to take the extra 30 seconds and throw some moleskin on my area of my toe that always rubs in my shoes. So unfortunately I did not get that sub 1 minuter but it did save THAT area of my foot. Not so much any others though! I

I felt strong leaving transition. Thankful that I did not take out too much energy on the bike. I ran by Michael in the first km and he said, “save some energy for the hills!”. I said no problem. As I ticked off km 1 and 2 at 4:30 ish pace/km. Hmmm, I thought, better slow down a bit.

I quickly threw the visor to Michael as it was making me too hot. I hate running in hats! I was noticing how hot it was but at each aid station I made sure to use water on me, sponges, and drink 1-2 big sips from 2 cups. it got to the point where as much as it was hot, I think was not focusing on that but rather getting the km’s to click by and keep my form efficient. The course had 3 big hills. And I mean BIG……I ended up walking portions of 2 of them as soon as I started to feel my hamstring tendon tighten up. I am glad I did that. I felt pretty good for the first 15 km, took a gel again, not bad through 17, then ……. legs said, yah you think you are holding sub 5:00km’s you have another thing coming! By the time I got to the 18km mark I was focusing more on not walking, but keeping feet going and not tripping! My run goal was sub 1:45. I finished the run in 1:47. I was pretty darn happy with that given the conditions.

Here is a photo right before the finish line:

My finish time was 5:17:58. Just shy of 13 mins faster than my goal of 5:29:59! A 20 mins PB from the last time I did a half IM. I was 2nd in my age category and 16th woman overall.

My husband always tells me to smile when I am running or racing. Well by the time I saw him with 2 miles to go, the last thing I wanted to do was smile. I was HOT , tired, sore and wanted to be done! I doubt he would have smiled either…well maybe he would have!

And then the awards. We got a local wine bottle and some natural peanut butter.  I was so happy when they did the women first as we had a 5 hour trip home. And I was soooo hot and tired.

Overall a great venue, a well put on race. It’s no wonder it is rated so high. The post race party is great. The amount of food flowing, and all really good and healthy too for the most part. They had a local fruit orchard with vats of cherries and apricots and watermelon! Wegmans was the main sponsor and so the selection was like no other and you could have more than one of each item. What a novelty!

And then to help recover….

So as much as I said I would NEVER do this distance again right after the race and in the last 4 km or so, the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction I got from it, may make me decide to give it another go next summer. Maybe a different location this time as it is a great way to see an area.

Next up: Irongirl tri ….500m swim/20km bike/5 km run……Looking forward to the all women event and the less amount of training required. Oh and it will be over in a flash. Back to speed now!

 

I decided to race the sprint distance at the Peterborough Triathlon as a last minute tune up to my Half Ironman this coming Sunday. Ideally I did not want to race two weekends in a row, but since the last race was taking place in heavy rain and cool temps, I bailed on my first ever triathlon that day in mid June. This Sunday the forecast was also for rain but with temperatures in the mid 20’s and the fact that almost EVERY Sunday it has rained in the last 2 months, I realized I had better get some practice racing in the rain. So I was going rain or shine!

 

After getting back late Saturday night from visiting my daughter at camp, the alarm went off at 5:15 a.m and the skies were grey. Driving out to Peterborough, skies went from gray to partly cloudy to even seeing a bit of sunshine. Once at the race site, I figured it would be okay. Just as I thought that,  the rain started. It rained off and on until the start then the rain tapered off but still left the roads wet for the ride.

 

Getting ready for the race, I was a bit nervous as usual for the swim portion. It’s not that I think I won’t be able to do it, but I hate the contact aspect of it! I worry that I will get beaten up or that I will run out of oxygen. Even after 13 years in this sport, I still get butterflies before the start. I think it also has to do with the pressure I put on myself to do well! The water was nice and temperate but very weedy. And it was not until after the race that I heard of the high E.Coli levels! I took off in the first wave (Elite Age group, plus Elites and all 20 somethings.) The beauty of this wave is the clear bike and run courses. The downside is getting pummeled by the 20 something males! However this swim was relatively contact free and I got out of the water in just under 15 mins. About 1 minute faster than 2 years ago. My swim never really seems to improve, but a minute is not too bad I felt.

 

I had a pretty quick transition and then onto the bike. I took it a bit easier at the start to suss out the road conditions. And took all corners super slowly. It is not worth getting hurt over losing a few seconds. I was lucky enough to borrow a friend’s race wheels and I think this along with the new bike program I did over the winter helped me to ride 33.8km/hour for the 20km.

 

My favorite part of the race and my goal in every race is to get out of T2 in under 1 minute. Success…..52 seconds. Onto the run, I felt a bit tired as I had not tapered at all for this race and ran 16 km two days before the race. The run in Peterborough is also 90% on grass which I can’t stand running on. I was careful with my footing and just tried to keep my cadence up. 20:52 for the 5km run was surprising to me . I thought I was slower. Must have been my Mizuno Wave Universe shoes helping me to be quick on my feet!:).

 

When racing in the Elite Age group wave you have no idea really where you place since there could be others racing faster who started behind you. I managed to get online at the race site and with the speed of the internet these days, the results were immediately uploaded. Lo and Behold I won my age group! I have never won a Suburu race before. Always the bridesmaid or 3^rd/4^th…. This time I won the coveted race winner hat!

I was really pleased with how this race went and feel good to get one under my belt leading into the half . The only thing I need to do now is figure out proper pacing since racing a sprint and racing a half are two totally different levels of intensity.

 

Next stop Geneva New York for the Musselman Half Ironman. Rated #2 or #3 I think in the Slowtwitch and Triathlon Magazine top races to do. I am looking forward to it. Forecast is for hot conditions though, so will have to just take the day as it comes. I just want a dry bike course!

 

 

It’s been a long time since I wrote anything….. so here goes. Over the last 7 years I had decided that long course racing was no longer for me. I preferred the competitiveness of the short course, was excelling in my age group and enjoying the easier training with less injury. Last winter I got back into Half marathons and really loved the distance. I was able to race and train without much going wrong and improved my time from 1:40 in April, to 1:32 in October. After having that success, I decided to try a half Ironman again for the first time going long in anything since Boston of 2006. Musselman Half Ironman July 14th 2013 it is. It took a lot for me to press that “submit” button on my computer! But here it is 7 months later about to embark on my first long distance race in a long time.

Training has been going great. After a rough winter of bad weather and battling my ever chronic 15 yr old hamstring tendon tear, I managed to continue training and with a new diagnoses of a labral tear in my hip, I embarked on a yoga regimine that I believe has saved me. Twice a week at home for 20-25 mins Rodney Yee and I have a date. I have learned to love it and the fact that it is helping me makes it more palatable. I still do turn off the computer before he is finished his relaxation stuff:). Can’t teach old dogs new tricks.

I have recently received a ton of support from one particular friend/contact at Mizuno. Shoes and apparel are appearing at my door on a regular basis. The stuff is awesome. I am running in a combo of the Wave Ekiden/Wave Universe for speed as well as the Wave Musha for some mid distance runs. 

Here is a photo of the last delivery. The stuff is awesome. Great light weight fabrics and fit is great. Nice and light for summer wear.

I have two more weeks of training to go (well less than that now). A sprint race in Peterborough this week since my intended tune up was rained out at least for me! Then I need to be good at tapering which I never really am. But I feel ready to go so I need to make sure I am well rested going into the half. Then I will pray to the weather gods for no rain as rainy bike rides are never fun especially if you want to do a good PB. That’s the goal. Putting it out there….sub 5:30 or bust.

Here is my ever growing shoe collection: Mizuno has a great line up . Thanks for all the support. Will update after my Half Ironman next weekend.

So it’s been a long time since the last post, but I thought I would recap the last few events of the season. Fall was all about run events, since I am a fair weather triathlete, and swimming in the chilly Sept waters, is not my idea of a good time. So first up was the Zoo 10km. I had a PB on the course (it’s hilly!!) at 41:25, which put me in 2nd in my age category after the masters winners got taken out. 

Next up the Scotiabank Half Marathon. I have never run it before always favoring the fast and flat 5km. The morning started out rainy and leading up to it I was also not pleased about the forecast. Thankfully it was warm out and within a few km’s the rain tapered off. I had a GREAT run. Hampered by a little hamstring tendon recurrence (this is a 14 year off and on thorn in my side , well butt!), but it did not limit my race I felt. I wanted to go sub 1:34 and ended up running 1:31:53. I was super happy and felt really strong until the last couple of km and just stayed focused. 

Finally the Toronto Women’s 5km, when I wanted to run sub 20 for the first time. I love to come out and volunteer for this event and support my good friend and RD Cory Freedman who puts on a great show! Again race morning came with pouring rain, this time not so warm! After volunteering in the packet pick up tent for 2 hours before, I was sufficiently cold enough and at 3 km, my legs just froze up and I lost my pace . I still ended up winning my age group and staying just over 20 at 20:29, so I was still pleased. And given a couple of years ago, I never thought I would go under 21:00 for a 5km, I have run 2 under 21 with my PB still at 20:07, so sub 20 is not far off! 

The hamstring tendon is finally starting to settle down after some good treatment and cutting back on speedwork and distance. Time to keep the body moving, but scale back a bit in preparation for some new goals come 2013. 

Looking forwards to a family vacation to celebrate my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary this Xmas week on a Carribean cruise! 

Oh..it’s been a long time since I have posted!!! Not that I know if anyone is actually reading this, but it is fun to do.

My tri season started out great, although the weather was less than ideal for the first race in Binbrook. Rain pelted down on the way out, and during the first portion and last portion of the race. I was so cold my teeth were chattering and I was shaking in the water. Tempted to go back to the car and go home. But I knew once I got going, all would be fine. And so it was. Good swim, strong bike and great run. All good for 2nd in my age category, by just short of a minute from first. 

Next up was Welland, which I did with my BFF from Hong Kong in for the summer. We stayed overnight to make a bit of a trip out of it and also to get to sleep in!! Time trial start at the swim and I got to race again in Elite Age category, meant faster bike with less traffic and borrowed race wheels too! To top it off I had the fastest run split of any female (even beat the young whipper snappers of 20 and below:). I placed first in Elite Age group, but that was by default!! Would have been 2nd again in my category if I raced in it.

Next up is Toronto Tri Festival Olympic distance and other than swimming in lake Ontario, I am looking forward to a local race and flat run course. Then my baby comes home from camp!! It’s been a long month without her, but nice to have some extra free time too.

Till next time……………

The Good: 

May started out with a great race at Sporting Life 10km on May 13th. I had hoped to get a PB with a 42:20. My previous best was just over 43 mins (although that year I was stopped by an ambulance crossing the course!). I set my little virtual man on the Garmin for the above time and just went. I was gaining on him with each km, and topped out at 500 m ahead. Not having any idea what my time was, I came to see the finish line and the clock said 39:50! I was shocked. I pushed it to the end and came across at 40:05. Good for 2nd in my age group out of 1138, 24th overall female and the 2nd Masters woman. Once I got home and checked the results, I found out that I had won a GPS from Timex and a $300 gift card at Sporting Life….not bad for not expecting anything spectacular. I was so happy with my run. 

The Bad: 

The day before this event, I decided to put my puppy up for adoption. It had just become too much for me to handle and in the end I was the one home with him while I worked and taking care of him during the day and after school. I had a very stressful week leading up to this day and also felt stress of the race the next day. I put an ad on Facebook and within 3 hours I had a wonderful family coming to see him on Mothers day. They decided to adopt him and he left this past Friday. He spent a week with us before he left and I was very close to changing my mind up to the 11th hour. My husband and sister convinced me that I would be making the wrong decision for the wrong reasons and so we went ahead with it. It was a very difficult thing to do, but in the end it was right for our family at this time. And right for the dog too. 

Lessons learned: 

So much to learn about myself through this process and that impulsiveness can be the kiss of death at any time. I need to really work on this part of my personality as it has gotten me into troubling situations before. 

Next up in terms of racing is Binbrook Sprint Triathlon on June 9th. 

Today I ran my second half marathon since 2008’s proposed long distance retirement! I am actually starting to like this distance. It was quite chilly before the race, Michael and I sat in the car with the heat on and a blanket before heading  to the start. I chose to wear 3/4 tights and my CEP sleeves, plus a long sleeve and t-shirt. In the over 10km into the wind I was glad I had chosen the warm route, but in the remaining I had wished I had my shorts on! Overall I was happy with my decision to be warmer in the legs . 

The course was rolling for parts of it, flat for parts of it and windy for much of it! As for scenery…I have no idea as I just get into this zone. Michael’s mom, aunt and uncle and Jada apparently went to two different locations and I only saw them at one. They said they were screaming to me but I did not hear them. 

I felt strong for all but mile 9-10 and 11-12 ish. Maybe it was more wind, I don’t know. Overall I finished in 1:36:10. Good for 2nd in my age group, and 5th woman. Also a PB by 2 mins+. Michael also did great. He PB’d at 1:54:36. 

So, maybe I will continue on in this path, trying to get stronger in the half. I may also consider a half IM next season. I think for this season I will stick to Oly and sprints. Our summer schedule also does not really allow for fitting in a local half IM late enough in the season to get the biking in. Plus I think I would like to do one in a nice locale. 

here are a couple of photos from today: 

Next event is Sporting Life 10km in 3 weeks. Goal is sub 43:00. 

Till next time…….I am gonna hurt tomorrow!