Wednesday, October 29, 2008

240km - 7km - 16km - 9km - 8km = 200km

Couple of boring runs around the local neighbourhood because I could not get to Pats for any speedwork. Billy turned 1 (can you believe it has been a year!!) and rada rada rada...

Long run last weekend was quite short at 16km but fast! Was under 5min/km and I hurt the whole way and the whole week after!!

Tuesday was 9km - including 3km Time Trial. I am so pleased to report I ran a PB PB (thats a Post Baby Personal Best). Thankfully I was paced by Matt and Scotty who were still healing after Melbourne Marathon and they kept me honest the whole way even though I sounded (and most likely looked) like I was having an asthma attach. Ended up crossing the line in 12:43. Incidentally Pat called out 11:43 by error and I was transported into another space and gaped and Matt and almost hit him for making me run so fast...until Pat laughed and corrected himself. Not having a watch on I had no idea how fast we had gone.
First km was 4:03min, second was 4:29!! then brought it home in 4:11..still think we went out too hard but who cares - I was happy with the result!!!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

273km - 18km - 15km = 240km

A big weekend and I am feeling fantastic...because I just love that exhausted feeling! It has been sooo long since I have felt like this.

Saturday - 18km Green Bridge loop - first 5km was a bit fast and I was just clinging on for dear life...but after a water stop and a slackening off in the pace I was pretty happy with the run. Best thing? Finishing!!

Sunday - BRRC 15km. Was crap to be running with Tesso on the sidelines cheering me. Apart from that it was fun to be out there again. Having no expectations and just wanting to back up from yesterday I was very happy with a 1:16:20 give or take a few sec. I didn't wear a watch and just ran how I felt..I wasn't go as fast as I could but I lasted feeling good and maybe if I had gone faster earlier on I would have crashed and burned on concrete legs? Who cares - I finished and was very happy! Thanks to Fi for putting up with all the whinging about the music on my ipod :)

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

299.5km - 9km - 8km - 9.5km =273km

Tuesday - 9km speed session. Totally forgot what it was like to turn up to a speed session on tired legs from a race on the weekend. Even though I didn't run fast on Sunday...it was hard and long for me. The legs feel it now.
The long warm up made me wish I had stayed in bed but once the faster stuff started I felt better. A short cool down and I was done!

Thursday - My hip has started to ache so I gave up the idea of running this morning and rang Bruno for a massage instead.

Monday - 8km running with the pram. Tough stuff. Why does this running caper seem so hard all of a sudden?

Tuesday - 10km. West End 3 x 4m with a 3k warm up/down. I started to get a headache at the last rep and was very red in the face but apart from that I was enjoying the session. I think maybe dehydrated??

Thursday, October 02, 2008

329.5km - 10km - 20km = 299.5km

Thursday - back at Pats. It really hurt today. I busted my gut and I know that is what speedwork is all about but honestly....tell me it gets easier!!!!
2min, 3min, 2min, 3min 4min, with 30sec rest in between (yeah right!). It was good but the long warm up/cool down was killing me by the end and I was ready to sit.

Sunday - BRRC 20km. Not quite the middle of summer but you could have fooled me this morning. I was hot out there! Didn't drink nearly enough water and felt unwell for the majority of the race. Due to the lack of female competition I ended up coming in second place which was amusing. 1:48 dragged the feet in the first and last lap and ran around 5:15/5:25 pace for the middle two laps.

Have been at the RAAF Open Day at Amberley watching the last of the F1-11 scare the crap out of Billy. We had a great day out but my legs are burnt and I am so tired and sore from the run this morning and all the walking around. I am scared if I lay down I will never get up again.....

Time for a days rest!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

357km - 10 - 17.5= 329.5km

Tuesday - 10km Man a hard speed session this one! Honestly felt like I was going to throw up. Tesso was walking around the gardens with Billy so I was able to focus and put in some effort. I was really happy with how I was going...it was just how I was FEELING that made me realise how further I have to go to get back to good fitness.

Saturday - 17.5km Slowly inching my way up to some decent mileage for the Saturday run. I will be happy when I can run 25km and finish without collapsing for the weekend.

Had Sun/Mon off to ease the legs before the time trial this morning but due to home circumstances (aka teething baby...departing husband...school holidays...end of quarter) it all got too much and 5mins from leaving home I broke down and stayed wiht my sooky bub. I was wrought at the time but dealing with it all now.
Having a tea break at work (busiest day of the year), Billy's temp is down and he seems happy when I check in on him and (very importantly) I have promised myself I will get out for a run tonight.

I have to stop feeling like I have to achieve everything and select a few things that are important to me and focus on them and not put so much onto the day to day training/racing....in other words the focus should be on things like KURRAWA and CANBERRA!!!

Monday, September 22, 2008

390km - 7 - 10 - 16 = 357km

Tuesday - 7km. A Hill session with the pram at PCRG. OM! You have not lived until you attempt this one...I had to cut short the cool down due to dead legs and lack of energy.
Thursday - 10km Toughest Speed Session Ever. 3.5km warm up. 3min x 4 sprints (Pat stood there and yelled at us so there was no slacking off) A final 500m effort before the 3.5km trek back. I was rooted. It was so exhausting and did no talking on the way back. Tesso was great - she came along to the session just so she could walk Billy in the pram. They both went off and did their thing (she was teaching him how to say TESS and PAT...) and I went off on the speed session. We joined up at the finish and had a chat...and yes she did give Billy back to me :)
Saturday - 16.3km - 5:45min/km. A tough run around the Green Bridge loop in the 94% humidity. It was a hard day out there but I was sooo happy to be able to have company on the long run I didn't care. i enjoyed this one and the feeling of exhaustion afterwards was a pleasant one. i just still miss Tess :(

Monday, September 01, 2008

411km - 12 - 9 = 390km

12km Sunday - 9am very hot!!! Felt like a riverloop so kept it shorter than what I had intended. Slow Run.


Tuesday - 3km Time Trial 13:15 woo hooo 45sec faster than last month. mmm will enjoy the big improvements as they come because they will be slowing down reaaalll soooon!!!

A bit of a slack week after the TT...was resting up for B2B but a neck injury (incurred on the dance floor Friday night) saw me crippled for the weekend.

Really looking forward to speed training this week - my first week I was hoping to make a big effort in the long road back to serious training.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

424km - 13km=411km

A great way to start the day...running with the Running Buddies around Brisbane watching the sunrise on yet another beautiful day in paradise! 13km around the city...only thing missing was Tesso :(

Sunday, August 24, 2008

440.5km-16.5km = 424km

Robin Flower Memorial 10Mile Club Championships + a bit to warm up.

Ffffreeezing first lap eventually got warm...then eventually got worn out ha ha

Not used to the long distance and feel like a train wreck - but incredibly happy to make this race and finish with some satisfaction in 1:20 exact.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Sunday, August 17, 2008

456km - 8 = 448km

Toughest run yet. Had to walk/run the uphill...but it was SO GREAT to be out running. GPS went a bit haywire but I know the last 2.5km took me 19mins!!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

464km - 8km = 456km

Man if only I had said 500minutes not 500km....!!! I'd be there already I am sure!!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

469.5km - 4.5km = 464km

..slow but steady. Hilly...very enjoyable.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

486 - 8km = 478km

3km Time Trial...Woohoo. Made myself sick with worry about this. Was soo hoping to get under 15mins and suprised myself with a 14:01. Very happy about that....and very thankful to the fantastic trio - Tesso, Matt and Andrew for getting me across the line and encouraging me the whole way. Thanks Guys - you rock!

490km - 4km = 486km

around the block....yes its a BIG block :)

Sunday, August 03, 2008

496km - 6km = 490km

Just a jog around the neighbourhood.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

500Km - 4Km=496km

I won't even begin to talk about the pace I ran at :)

500km Challenge

In order to give me a focus and some motivation to get out of the house on these cold chilly days I have decided I want to run 500km. Before you all fall out of your chairs with laughter....read on.

I intend to record my running each day/week and will consider me back in training once I tally the runs to be 500km. This will be a way for me to ease back into running but still encouraging myself to get out the door at least every second day.

It should be interesting as I have avoided blogging about any of my boring run-around-the-blocks and then some days I have just stayed in bed because no one but me cares if I don't run...so hopefully my virtual friends out there will pay me out if I appear to be slacking off too much.

*Waves to you all*

Thursday, May 15, 2008

YABBADABBADOOOOOO......

I'm Back...aaaarrrrr FLASH....AAARRRRRR Clairie....(sung to the Flash Gordon music of course...)

mmm okay so it wasn't really that much of an achievement...but it was Fantastic.
I got a stitch, couldn't breathe, my legs were aching and I was smiling the whole time. Weird what we put ourselves through in order to have some fun heh?

Alarm went off at 4.10am this morning and I thought I was nuts. However with Tesso waiting on me I decided I had better get moving. My fat arse hasn't done anything for exactly six weeks since the op so today was MOVEMENT DAY. I got Billy up, fed him, changed him and threw him (= placed gently) in the car. Off we went to PCRG for our first session post op.

Ran with Tesso for the 3km warm up and felt great. Okay we were at the back of the pack and she was almost walking to stay with me but it was wonderful to just be out there with everyone. I did a few minutes whilst everyone went off and did their speed session but I didn't want to push it too much. I mean really if I follow the rules of getting back into it I should'nt be doing more than 10% each week....though how do you start if 10% of nothing always = zero :))))

The cool down was better for me because I was used to the action of running now and I felt I could go forever...until about 500m out from the end and a slight rise (remember I WAS pushing the pram) caused me to groan and ease to a walk for a bit. I didn't have the energy to do any pushups (my arms would have hated me) so I stretched, had a coffee and raced Billy off to care and me to work.

I feel fantastic, exhausted, tired, sore. But this is what I have been missing.

WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO

Monday, April 28, 2008

Alls Well...

No it wasn't an April Fools Joke :)

All good in my household. Well apart from being hit with a revolting virus that had the whole household floored. literally I spent Sunday laying in a daze on various beds/floors around the house in between running to the bathroom to be violently ill. This morning I woke up and it was all over THANK GOODNESS I can't bear to be sick.

So now is the good side of recovery. Getting my energy back up today from the Virus and hopefully by the end of this week I will be out for some longer walks to try to regain some fitness. The operation meant I had to have 6 weeks off from any strenuous exercise. For the first two weeks I couldn't even lift my baby - which drove me crazy. Having to wake hubby or my sister up in the night to bring my baby to me was hilarious. I felt like a queen but in reality it was not fun and I wasn't relaxed at all.

Now I am trying to work out how quickly I will be able to build up to a good 2 hour walk and from there onto a run. At least this time I will be able to run from middle of May - which I am sooooo excited about. I can't explain how it has made me feel to be fit but not able to run. I am already starting to dream about the exhaustion and endorphin rush of doing a long run. Man it has been a long time coming but I am going to thoroughly enjoy all the pain of training and slogging it out in the weeks to come. Not taking a single thing for granted any more :) well not for a week at least!!!!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Out of Action

Well tomorrow Wednesday 2nd April is the big day for my operation.

I know enough from my time in nursing to not be a big sook but perhaps too much to know that things can go wrong.

Tomorrow is my first time under a general and I am literally terrified. I have not been able to accomplish much this week and have been teary and/or manic in an effort to avoid thinking of it.
I know it is just one hour of my life and afterwards I will be well looked after with pain relief and hopefully a quick recovery...but nonetheless the thought of something going wrong and me not being here to see my kids grow up, to hear Glenda do a PB at Canberra or even share that bottle of wine with my best buddy Tesso is just gut wrenching.
I have had to consider where I want to be buried, what my husband should do with the kids, what to do with the money (aka debt) and so many other things. Yeah you could be hit by a bus tomorrow and not have all this planned out but knowing in advance something may need you to have this things detailed makes you think about all these things and prepare for the worst scenario.

Anyhow so this post is simply.....a big thanks to all my running mates out there (I am not sure if anyone still reads this blog or not...) and thanks for being there for me and for letting me read all your blogs even if I don't comment much heh heh.

I love you all and please please please....someone make sure Tesso runs her guts out in Canberra and puts all her hard efforts to work.

xxxxx
Clairie

Thursday, February 07, 2008

STEADY PCRG RUN

After a relatively sleep deprived night I decided to turn up to Pats for training anyhow....I can't keep using the excuse of not sleeping well to avoid getting out for a run.

Hubby was kind enough to offer to go to work late and hence allow me to run without bub. Though having to wake him up at 4.30am to feed him so I could run empty was a bit tough of the little one :)

I picked a good session to turn up to, it was a 45min steady run. We ran from the Ship Inn over to Dockside, over the Story Bridge and back along the river to the gardens.

The first 20mins was okay but I started to get a stitch/need a break/die of thirst at 25mins so I pulled back a bit and let the faster runners go by.

I had two small walk breaks going over the bridge which really helped. I can honestly say that I am looking forward to doing a hard run and saying at the finish "GOSH THAT WAS TOUGH"... in other words I am waiting for the day when I don't mutter "f*&K THIS IS TOUGH" after just 15mins of running!!! At least it seems more acceptable to say it AFTER the run.

My legs are getting used to running again but I do have to get into the habit of stretching and possibly see what I can do about scheduling a few massages in somewhere to ensure I don't injure the hip or ITB too much this year.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Slow and Steady....

It was a lovely Sunday morning in Brisbane...by that I mean hot, humid and drizzly :)

It was a special farewell run for one of the members at PCRG so we all met up at 5:30am at the Ship Inn to run the Sunday run together. We started out at a nice easy pace - I have to admit to being quite nervous about actually being able to get through the first three kilometres with this group!!! By the time we hit the 5km mark and stopped for a quick top up of water I knew I was not going to last much longer so I decided to turn around with some of the others and head back. I was pretty proud of myself in getting to 5km maintaining a nice steady pace and not walking or gasping for air or anything.

The last km was a killer. We were running past the beach at Southbank and I just wanted to stop and not go any further. However I had to make it all the way back to the start and then turn around and finish at the beach to make it the full 10km. The watch recorded 54mins so I was pretty happy with that - bear in mind I did stop it for the two water stops we had!

So my longest run in many many months and I feel great. The legs are tired, I am tired but I am confident now that I can handle this running caper again. At least I will gain some fitness back before I go back into hospital. I am not looking forward to starting speed training but with me heading back to work this week I guess all good things must come to an end.....and that includes my couch lifestyle of the past 15 weeks!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Another Saturday Passes By....

Again, met up with the Brisbane Running Buddies after several weeks of doing nothing at all. I struggled through but due to time constraints Katy and I managed to do quite a fast (okay we flew) paced walk/run session for just under two hours.

We did the green bridge loop which is around 12km and after sitting down for breaky for 30mins I was almost unable to get up and move again I was that sore!!

Billy joined us for breaky but stayed in bed with Daddy for the run so it was nice to be able to push the pace and see what it felt like without the pram.

I can't wait to be able to do a long run and go for two hours running. I am so far away from doing that but it is a dream that I am clinging to right now.