BRRC Half Marathon Championships

What a day and what a way to end the weekend.

After some discussion with Pat I was advised strongly to take it easy today and just do a training run. With my goal until Canberra being to just focus on my speed sessions and see how I can improve I was happy to listen to him for a change :)

Arrived early all alone. Didn't need the family cheering for me to take 2hrs to do a half marathon....lol
Got there in the dark just after 5am and they had nothing set up. Not long after things started moving and all of a sudden I was in the line to register and getting that buzz in my stomach (the good one not the one sending me off to the loo!!!).

I was keen to do this and have some fun. Tess turned up around 5:30am and was all geared up for a great race. We discussed the previous days 6 Foot results and the feedback we had received from various runners already. It was making us chomping at the bit to get out there.
I had planned to do 1:50, running easy but steady for the duration of the 21.1km. It was so relaxing knowing that I had no pressures on me - especially the pressure I exert on myself to put my training to work!
There were so many runners out there today it was very exciting. A blind runner with runner in tow, the pack of fit looking men from the Gold Coast (who took out first and second in the mens race)and a good sprinkle of coolrunners.

The gun went off and Tess was flying. I checked as she went past for rollerblades but didn't see anything (couldn't with all the smoke coming off her shoes...).
I had on the full contingent of packed fuel belt but it was really giving me the shits and after the first loop I threw it on the ground and put my bottles on one of the water tables. The race was a 1.1 followed by 4 loops of 5km. So each time I past the tables I grabbed one and took it with me then put it on the next table. It worked great.
My shins and legs felt terrible for the first loop so I got to 6.1km thinking I was facing a DNF. Not seriously but enough to make me think about why I felt so crap. I put it down to lack of sufficient warm up. After the first loop was out of the way I kept a record of my km splits. I was alternating (purposely) between 4:40 and 5:15 with each km. It was fun but I don't like being passed by other runners and was very sad indeed to have some go by me. I picked up the pace...just a little...to make sure a woman who went past me was reassured by my ability and hence, I overtook her.

Tess was really crusing and I can honestly say looked very comfortable. I was more jealous!

The 5km race started and I saw the pack of racing males go by. RITH was up there among the first three and I was willing him on to a good race. He told me later he did 17:44 (WOW!!!) and I was very proud even though I got the feeling he was slightly disappointed.

The last 10km were great and just whizzed by as I was in the zone and had lots of encouragement from everyone. Tess didn't let up the whole race and finished in a blistering 1:34 - a brillant PB smasher.
On the last loop I saw her go and knew it was in the bag.. shortly afterwards I saw Lizzle who was running with her music. Knowing she had the earphones on and hadn't heard me on the last lap I yelled out to her as we past each other in opposite directions "LOOKING GOOD LIZ, LAST LAP". Anyone that knows me knows I can be loud. Well this time I was screaming to ensure she would hear me across the street through her earphones. She told me later her batteries had died just before I yelled out and hence got such a fright when I yelled at her....she couldn't stop laughing for the next km.

I eventually came in to landing in 1:47:10. A 6min PB for me so I know I can easily do a sub 1:45 as I was not racing today. Though I admit the last km I really kicked in. I couldnt' help it - training run or not there was a finish line and I could not just walk across it. I feel so great now. The legs are liking what they did today and I am happy I still feel fresh enough for some big efforts in this weeks speed sessions.

Wonder if Tess is still on cloud nine with todays extreme performance. Fingers crossed this is going to be magnified at Canberra....so fess up Tess what does the calculator say now for your marathon time??????

REGATTA RUNNERS - 30 SLEEPS

One night down and 30 more to go....

Met up early with Tess and we headed for some grass to do a few laps for 30mins before the 6am start with the Regatta Runners.

Moved out in steady pace and headed for the turnaround. Stopped for some water on the way out and just coasted along with Tess. At the turnaround I moved ahead to talk to Geoff and we ran for a bit and after a few kms realised that we were both pulling each other faster along. With 1.5km to the finish Geoff eased back and told me to go ahead. I thought I would stay with him but then saw another body ahead of me so thought I would try to go past them.
Before I knew it the 1km mark was coming up. I made a snap decision to go hard and finish strong. I hurt along the way but it was that good hurt feel when you race hard. I was mentally preparing myself for Canberra and any other race telling myself "this is how you will feel (exhausted) at the end of a race with 1km to go, finish hard and strong in training and you will finish hard and strong in the race". I really needed this after my 10km at BRRC where if it were not for Krishna I don't think I would have finished hard.

I clocked the watch bang on 1km mark and turned the legs over. My shoulders I kept relaxed and I watched my breathing. My lungs were burning and my split personality was laughing at my vain attempts to improve...but I got to the end and hit the watch. 4.18. I was happy with that time after an hours run and yesterdays manic speed session. I was more happier with the way I felt - strong and fast. I really hope I can keep replicating that feeling and speed in my races.

31 SLEEPS TO GO....

31 sleeps to Canberra.

I should have remembered that this morning when I was running.

Did an easy warm up with Pat's group. The B team have been leaving a few mins early so we don't have to warm up at 3min/km pace with Pat and the A Team.

Today's session was 2 x 5min efforts and then 10mins on hills. The 5mins were 2.5 out then turn around and come home. Pat said this is the best speed session you can do to help you learn how to pace. The idea for pacing is to get back where you started bang on 5min. I was very happy with today, I did the first 5min hard, went out after Tess and kept her within a few metres, then turned around and just held on so she did not overtake me...phew made it. Felt good but with only 50sec rest I could not do that again. Nonetheless I made the goal to be consistent with going out and then back at the same effort. Before I used to go out easy and come home hard, then have time left on the watch or go further than the starting point.
Was really happy with today's session - even if Eddie did fly past me on the second one. Thought he was supposed to be recuperating????

The hills I felt really good on. Actually felt I could have kept going. The last one is always tough - all the way over the bridge to the starting point.

The worst bit about today was the warm down. Tess and I headed off and I was knackered already so the last thing I felt like was a few km run around Southbank. But I know it did the legs good to work out those muscles (YES they are there hiding somewhere :BIGGRIN: )

Tess is officially WATER STATION SARGENT for the Lest We Forget Marathon. How exciting. That water is going to taste damn good too!
I volunteered to pace the 1hr 30min group in the half marathon but got refused by the snooty race director. Apparently he thinks I wouldn't be the right person for the job. WTF? Okay so maybe having a half PB of 1:53 is not going to cut it. Maybe next year.
Gonna have to bribe him now to get a job on the finish line.....

Knobby Knees Run

Pat had us down for a long warm up, 15min of Fartlek and then the cool down. All up about 11km.

Headed over to New Farm area to do the Fartlek. The warmup with the group is getting quite fast. I was not feeling comfortable with the pace - thought I was using up all my precious speed energy in the warm up.

After a few mins of stretching and then some stride outs I felt a lot better.

The group is getting really big now and the start can be a bit congested. Luckily it is not a race!!!
Went out for 1min fast then 1min jog, then 30sec fast then 30sec then 15sec sprint. 15ec rest then repeat all over x4.

I stayed as close as possible to Tess but I notice that my recovery jogs are always a lot slower than hers so she gets in front and then it is a mad race to try to close the gap when we are both running hard. I really need the slow recovery pace - especially after the 1min effort.

Tess had a big weekend - did 32km at 5:08pace on Saturday then followed it up with a 5km hard race. The first few km of the race was good pace just trying to get past everyone then with the last few km to go she took off and got home in 21:04. Just shy of her PB and a great effort.
So after all that I thought for sure she would be slack today, but no not our Tess. She still gave it everything she had with sore calves and all!!

My knee was so painful today but when the speedwork started it went away. Now it is back again. Can't wait to see what UQ tell me tomorrow when I go there for an assessment..

My Melbourne Friends....

CLAIRIES WEEKEND IN MEXICO MELBOURNE

Arrived in Melbourne at 8am Friday and started to get excited about a weekend in Mexico. Woohoo long weekend.

My clients did not want to wait around in the taxi line so we grabbed a limo and headed for our hotel. After dropping our bags off we walked the streets of Melbourne and spent most of the afternoon at the Motor Show.

My legs were killing me by now. Had high heeled boots on since 6am flight - not the best to walk for 6 hours in!!

We headed out to Lygon St that night for a great feed. After dinner I got a cab back to the hotel to get an early night. Little did I know there was a Bucks night in the room above so all I heard until 1am –when they were kicked out of the hotel, was screaming and laughing and swearing.

I was so tired by now that I just wanted to go home to my own bed. My legs ached and I wasn’t looking forward to another two days of this.

Got up super early ready for my run around the TAN. Walked through the city and just got to Flinders Station before the rain bucketed down. Think I should have taken ObiWan up on his offer of a lift!!!!
I kept going after a few minutes and proceeded to head up to the top of the TAN. Got there and did not see any crowds so I asked some people who were running around. They said the VRRC was around the other side for this mornings run. I wasn’t even sure where I was and if I was already on the Tan so I just tucked in with some runners who said they would show me the way....well this guy was fast. He was warming up and I think doing 4.30/km. I was trying to keep up but this was my racing pace…NOT FAIR! Then they told me how they were training for Comrades and I began to think I made a big mistake coming along for this run.

Arrived at the start and realised I had done more than 5km just to get there! After stretching and registering for the run I went in search of some coolrunners. I met up with PaulC, OBiWan, SlowSue and Superflake. Great bunch of runners.

Not long after that the race started and the early runners headed out. It was a handicapped race so we were all going off in the aim of finishing at the same time of 55mins.

PaulC and I went out at 15mins (=40min 8km) whilst Obi and Superflake hung around for about 22/23mins (=32min 8km).
The first lap was an eye opener. The hill I had run down in my warm up was now the one I was puffing up (Anderson St). It wasn’t too steep though and as it was the beginning of the run I actually liked the change in gradient. The first lap was done in 30sec better than our target which was pretty good considering Paul and I were chatting the whole way.
The rain started coming down then so now I was cold AND wet and thinking about the long walk home already! That was when I got to the Anderson St hill for the second lap. I knew I was either going to speed up and race this or just call it quits and walk. I wasn’t a quitter so off I took. My lungs were burning and my legs went into shock. Got to the top and kept going but at a slower pace for a few minutes to get by breath back. Enjoyed the last 2km of the run but didn’t really feel like doing much of a kick. I think the past few weeks of hard running was finally catching up with me.

Finished in 54mins 10sec which means a 39.10 8km. I didn’t feel hot and sweaty like I normally do and had to put a jacket on straight after the run (how novel!!).

I hung around and got some piccies and had breakfast courtesy of the VRRC. Superflake dropped me off in the city and I started walking back to the hotel. It was a lovely walk but I just wanted to get warm and dry and was in need of a hot cup of coffee.

I turned up a wrong street and ended up in Chinatown. A girl was surrounded by a group of 15-20 men, one of whom just hit her. I was terrified. I was in my running gear with just my camera and mobile phone. I phoned hubby so I could talk to someone as I walked past.
The girl was crying and screaming and I was about to stop and go to her when she kicked and slapped one of the guys and then came running in my direction. I had not stopped walking. The language coming out of her mouth was quite choice! The guys were laughing at her and she was still yelling. Makeup was all over her face. One of the guys went up to her and grabbed her, my hubby told me to just keep walking fast, I glanced back and they were kissing. Another fight between two of the guys was now getting all the attention of the group and I was almost out of range. It was terrifying.
The thing I was most angry about was my inability to stop in the first instance to ask if she needed any help. I should have called the police, not my husband. Ok so some people live like that but maybe it is because people like me just keep walking and don’t do anything about it?

I spent an hour in the bath at the hotel before walking back into the city. I shopped and shopped then went back to Chinatown. It was all hustle and bustle of a Saturday afternoon with no sign of gangs or any trouble. I went in and had Peking Duck for lunch as a treat YUMMMM!

Later that night I got in touch with wobbly man and called off the run for the following morning. My feet were so sore from all the walking and running. Also I knew I was in for another late night with my clients.

Sunday I spent at the Queen Victoria Markets and got a call from hubby to say the bank had rung. Apparently they thought someone had stolen my credit card and was running around Melbourne chalking up a list of expenses…..mmmm I knew then I should stop shopping so I got a jam doughnut (how good are they!!!) and waited around the city for my clients to finish at the Grand Prix. We limo’d back to the airport and flew out for the warmer weather.

Now that I am back safe and sound I feel a bit slack for not running Sunday. My legs might feel like they did a marathon this weekend but most of it was walking. I covered 16km on Saturday running - 10km at close to race pace and then 6km of jogging. I think I did at least twice that in walking.

Still having Friday AND Sunday off makes me feel like a slacker. It’s a mental thing. My legs welcome the break but my head is telling me I am loosing form with every rest day. I won’t have any excuse come Tuesday to do well at this weeks speedwork.

Speed Session + 1km No Watch Run

Did not sleep well at all last night. Tossed and turned and heard every noise. Also tried waiting for hubby to come to bed so I kept the light on but turns out he came to bed just before midnight. No wonder I was so restless all night.

Got up at 5.15am and felt ok but it didn't improve from there. Legs were not sore but just real tired and heavy.

Started out early for the warm up - one of our longer ones past the boat shed and did heaps of stretching. Felt better but thought I would still take it easy today.
Pat said 6 x 2min with 1min recovery but after the first 2min we had 50sec recovery and it got smaller from there.
We ended up doing 4 x 2min and then a final 2min effort to the start of the 1km mark.

From there we all had to pay a gold coin donation and guess our time to do 1km. What a joke. I wanted to go slow so put the time of 5:13 down. Went slow but still did 4:37. Not many of us were even close to our guesses. We were so used to doing that marked out km so fast (for our time trials) that we all ran faster than we guessed.

The money was all donated to Camp Quality and the winner (closest person to their guess) got the receipt for the donation for their tax return.
Hopefully by the end of the year we raise enough money to send 2 children away to Camp Quality.

After our cool down some merchandisers were giving away free Up and Go cereal bars. So appropriate for us fit looking people. We had a little fun and thanked them for the lovely (ukky sweet!!!) bars.

A great way to end the week. I won't be running tomorrow - have a plane to catch.
So look out Melbournites here I come!

Magical Midweek Run

Alarm went off at 4.30am and I was ready and raring to go (note to self - see Dr!)

Met up with Tess at 5.15am and we started out at a nice pace over to St Lucia from the Regatta. Legs were aching and telling me to hop back into my car and go home to bed.

It was hard going up the hills but then we did a few laps on a grassy oval and I felt heaps better.

Got back to the Regatta a few mins before 6am to start out with that group. Liz joined up with us and the three of us went out for a 10km loop into the Gardens. Liz and I ended up taking a cut and resting a the 9km mark whilst Superwoman Tess went and did the remaining km before re-joining us.

Ended up doing 16km (17 for Tess) before heading for the showers and going to work.

Superwoman Does it Again...!!!

I'm talking about Superwoman Tesso - not me!!

Had a 3km Time Trial on the schedule today. Not the exact type of thing I was feeling like. Decided to see how I felt after the warm up.
Some newcomers again to Pat's group. Most significant - Hannah! Finally fronted up (oh gee Tess we forgot to tell her about the time trial hee hee).
Headed out early on the warm up so we could really warm the legs at a reasonable pace - not fast like the group has been starting to do.

Did some strides and felt great. Still not sure what I was going to run but then the gun (imaginary) went off and so did everyone. I got caught up in it and saw Matt. He said he was planning on 4:10 even splits so I decided to run alongside him to see if I could do that as well. At least I could learn what it was like to run evenly.

Tesso was going to be doing a soft run so I hoped to keep her in sight but she was out like a cannon. After a big weekend and a major effort on Sunday I really thought today she would be just jogging, but no Superwoman had to get within 14sec of her outstanding PB. And that's when she's tired!!!! Still wooped my butt with a 12:07 finish. How on earth does she do it? I've been running so long with her now and still don't know her secret. :(

Blew my plan to run evenly out of the water at 1km with a 4:00 split. Then headed back on a slight incline. This is always the hardest one. I did 4:17 but wasn't looking at the watch - I was just running alongside Matty. The last km he started shouting at me and I thought the sooner I finish the sooner I get this nut off my shoulder, so I dug deeper and got home with a 4:05 to finish in 12:22. Woo Hoo another PB. Set my sights on the Commonwealth Games next.

Matt I love you right now but I coulda killed you at the 2km mark. Thanks heaps.

Eddie was running well today - for someone who was just jogging with a hip injury. All these injured tired runners out there today IN FRONT OF ME whats that all about. Great Effort Eddie and really nice to see you waited for Tess at the turn around to go home with her.

My legs are still thumping but damn I feel good!

10Km BRRC - 47:00, An official PB!

It's done. My PB for the 10km distance has been re-newed.

Got to West End super early for the Brisbane Road Runners Club 20/10/5km run.
Had hubby and kids up at 4.30am to have breaky and get dressed. Not impressed! They dropped me off and decided to go get supersized and the paper as well as it was an hour before I was due to start.

Walked around and went to the toilet about 8 times, did two warm up runs - one with Tess and one with Daniel. Only quick 1km runs with some stretching at the end.

Saw Tess and the others head out for their 20km at 6am. I was due to start at 6:30am so had some more walking and toilet stops. I so have to get rid of the bad race nerves I get.

Too soon it was time to line up. Not a huge crowd but I was there for me today. This run would determine what my goal for Canberra would be. I was really hoping for 46:30 finish. That would be 4:40kms with a final sprint km.

A good run in the humidity, I felt great running but could tell by the copious amounts of sweat that it was humid. My CR cap was comfy as usual but my head started to get a bit hot towards the end. I think I would have had to wet my head if I was doing the 20km run distance today.

I found it hard to drink water today. Even though I was sweating so much I didn't want to get another stitch after I got rid of one I had for the first 3km, so I tried to sip some water but it wasn't a happening thing. Ended up avoiding the water table on the last lap and then topped up heaps when I finished.

I felt strong but slow for most of the race. I could not believe 4:40pace was hurting me so much. Got to the 7km mark and think I even groaned out loud. By the time I got to the 8km mark I was smiling again...I was nearly home.

Unfortunately about this time some heavy breathing, foot stomping git decided to sit on my shoulder. I felt really penned in turning the corner with him just right there and not keeping his distance. We were close enough to be sweating on each other!
I sped up and so did he, slowed down and so did he. Eventually he dropped off and I was in my own space again.

With about 500m to go I heard footsteps gear up again and shuddered, only this time they were gentle and fast. It was Krishna Stanton. I was amazed that I had been ahead of her the whole time. I said hello and she said hello back. Then proceeded to ask me "how was I feeling" I think my inability to answer her whilst we both picked up the pace was answer enough.
I honestly believe she was pacing me to the finish. When I let her pass she slowed down, so I dug deep and got in front then she just sat on my shoulder and pushed me all the way home to a sprint finish.

I didn't do my race plan. Lost it somewhere in the 7-9km's but was still happy to finish in 47mins. That's 3mins and 19seconds off my previous PB.

It was all very exciting and I was very tired but imagine my suprise when they called out the top three lady finishers - I came third. Wow Podium finish. Kids were very proud. Hubby just expected it. Said I came first in effort. They had obviously forgotten the early start in the midst of all the finishing runners :BIGGRIN:

Had coffee with a large number of CR's and other runners in west end before heading home to spend some time with the kids (ie. cleaning the pool) and working (posting to CR).

Thanks to everyone who reads my blog for all your support and comments that have got me my PB today. Thanks to Tesso especially for believing in me and calming my nerves the night before.

Friday Easy Run

....ah now what did Tess and Clairie get up to today?

Headed out for our normal run on Fridays with the Regatta Runners but I only wanted to do 5km - saving myself for Sunday race. Tess ran ahead but then jumped out of line and headed into the city - damn work thing again! :)

Whilst I was stretching and waiting for the other runners to return an old lady crossed the bike path without looking and created a huge mess. No one hurt but lots of colourful language. Poor lady.
The funny thing was the cyclist got going and she stood there calling out to apologise (he wasn't even listening) and as she did another two bikes came hurtling down and screamed at her to move. She must have been terrified. Whilst she was in the wrong at first, the last bikers were just plain rude and going way too fast.

Had quick breakfast with the tribe and went off to work and suprise suprise some drunk man (because women don't get drunk) must have dropped a wad of tickets to the NRL game on Saturday in our carpark. I asked around but they don't belong to anyone I know. SCORE!
Going to take the whole family now. Wonder if they will turn up to find their seats taken?

Pain is Temporary - Glory is Forever

Walked along the pathway to get to the Ship Inn - where we meet up with the Pat Carollers. Saw Tim from the Running Buddies and told him to come along, he passed on the idea but I could tell he was tempted.
I was in the process of telling Tess and then Tim walked past - so she grabbed him and introduced him to Pat. That's all settled then. He's running with us. Poor guy. He worked so hard today too!

We did a warm up out to New Farm, then did 3 x 4min efforts with 40-50sec rest, followed by a 2min effort and then the cool down.

Tess was out of the gate and I was out chasing her. It was actually fun! Then when I was exhausted I looked at my watch...20sec down...3:40 to go. ha ha

Tess and I pushed each other to get home and it was great to be doing the effort and having fun at the same time. With so many newbies at the group it was good to be the B team - no longer the C team so we had lots of people to catch and pass.

Tess raced off into work after the 2nd effort and I felt like I had slowed down but everyone around me seemed to stay in the same 'positions' so I think we were all just tired.

Then Pat told us all to work hardest on this last one - said it was the difference between a few sec/minutes off your PB. He also said his magic words "Pain is Temporary, Glory is forever". Funnily enough on that last effort I ran with Tim and he was saying "yeah but pain is now, glory is forever away" I laughed, so obviously we weren't running our fastest for that one.

Did the warm down on my own. Stopped to fill the water bottle again but got a stitch - trying to emulate drinking on the run as per the 10km race this weekend. Damn. I never get a stitch from drinkin alcohol. Maybe I'll fill my own bottles before the run :)

Clairie is a Pacer

But if I was getting paid for it they would have sacked me!

Tesso and I arrived at the Regatta at 6am for our wed Run. Tess had just finished a quick 7km in the dark and I had just finished a quick 7hrs of sleep.

They announced the Regatta Runners were doing a Time Trial today of 3km. I wasn't fussed overly much. Tess and I had planned to run with them on the warm up and keep running, turning around at the 5km mark to cover off 10km easy running (17km for Tess).

At the finish of the warm up though Chris talked us into Pacing the back group for the time trial. We had done the warmup kms in reasonable pace of just under 5min kms so I was ready to do anything that would be at a slower pace than that. Chris assured us that a 6min pace was required and I grinned and accepted the challenge once Tess had given her approval.

Amy wanted to do the trial but didn't have a watch so as I was running with Tess at the back I gave her my watch.

Headed out after all the faster runners had taken off and paced the guys through to the first km. Got there in 5mins. Oh exciting lets keep this pace, went through to 1.5km in 7.5mins. Still on pace for 5min/km. This is where it all got exciting. Due to the bikes and walkers on the path I moved in front so I could get to the left, Tess stayed with the runners.

Chris then levelled with me and we chatted till we saw the finish. Then just up ahead I saw a man with a pram. No! Can't have a pram beat me. So forgetting my charges I flew off and finished 2sec in front of him in 14.32.

Tess brought her entourage over the line in sub 15 and they were all so excited and chuffed. My first experience of pacing others (without a watch too) it was fun and rewarding to see their achievement and also to be able to have enough puff to be encouraging along the way whilst knowing you could do it easily.

Nonetheless I'm sure it doesn't count for a slow recovery jog. Damnit!

Well we did do 2.5km warmdown at slowish pace. The first time we went over 5min pace all day! Tesso what are you doing to me?

Tuesdays Trauma

Okay I have finally gotten over the embarressment of yesterday to put it in my blog :)

Arrived at Pat's and saw a huge group - 35plus people! Great turnout. So many new faces is good to see.
Tess was chatting away to some old bloke hiding in a Sydney Striders singlet. Turned out it was Action - the SS President and one awesome runner.

Warmed up by running over to the Botanical Gardens. I always like that warmup - but I got the feeling we were running it all a bit faster than usual yesterday.

Did some strides and felt really good. Even managed to run with Eddie for a few - wow I must be improving LOL. Seriously though, I run with a great group of people and the fact that they put up with me is testament enough to their strength and endurance.

We then had to launch into 15mins of hill repeats. SPRINTING. UP THE HILL!!! I got to about 12mins and on the way down rolled my ankle. Oh the pain. I kept running, as downhill we were allowed to recovery jog. But on the turn to come back up it was still aching so I stopped. Now wait for the embarressing part - I cried! OMG. Pat came up to see why I was stopping and I told him. I panicked and suffered the thoughts of "what if I can't run for weeks" and it just brought on the tears. What a loser.

Anyhow I was so sweaty by this stage and redfaced from all the efforts so I don't think crying made me look much more of a mess...... I stood up and rinsed my foot with cool water then did a few stretches. It was sore.

Everyone headed back and Tess walked with me limping along. Bless her soul. I know that the long run home makes all the efforts feel good and is an important part of the schedule too, so I really appreciated her walking me the short cut over the bridge.

Got back to the office and iced my foot till it turned blue. It started to feel a lot better by mid morning and I started to feel a lot worse. What a load of fuss over nothing. Even considered going out for a run to make up for the 3 mins of hills I missed out on - and the warmdown. But ended up working late which I guess was good.

Thanks to all those running buddies and CR's that enquired to my health and showed concern yesterday. Oh the trials and tribulations of a runner...we really should write a book on them!

So here I am Wednesday morning and the foot is fine. I will follow Pat's advice and avoid any lumpy uneven ground for the rest of the week as a roll of the ankle is usually followed by more rolls apparentley.

Saturday - 15km

Arrived in the carpark to the sound of screeching tyres - mine! Was running a bit late due to a GI-NORMOUS spiderweb near my front door that I ran though on the way out to the car. Hubby came out to investigate the screaming and to reassure the neighbours - who had turned their lights on to see who was being murdered.
Anyway so i got there and everyone was waiting for me.

Tess and Bernie had already been out for an hour and were all geared up for another 90mins.
We headed out towards Indooroopilly Golf Course and took in the scenery along the way. Being so out of sorts I kept pressing stop on my watch and then not pressing start again when we had drink breaks. So I have no idea how long I actually ran for.
Tess had her laptop on the arm thing (Garmin 201) so she was accurately telling us what we had done but after 7.2km we turned around. She then left us so she could do MORE running before returning to the carpark.

So the rest of us normal runners headed back to the carpark and finished up just over 100mins later.

Tess arrived back sometime after 8am. We were well and truly into breakfast by then so it sort of hurt to see her all hot and exhausted whilst we sipped our lattes.

I also have it on good authority (from the lady herself) that she followed it up with a decent run around Mt Cootha on Sunday - whilst I was lazing about on a rest day.
So now we all know why Tess is going to blitz that Marathon and I am going to somehow manage to finish my 10km within the hour!!!

What not to do on a Recovery Day

Meet up with Tess at 5.15am at the Regatta (so sad the sun is taking longer to come up already!)
Run up past St Lucia golf club (hills!!) then turned around a conveniently placed bus stop to head back to the Regatta.

We then met up with the 30 odd Regatta Runners for the 6am run and did another 7.9km with them. A bit slower than usual but still a good pace. Came home last km in 4.30 pace. So out the window flew the concept of today being a slow recovery jog. Did just under 15km all up.

When we run it sort of goes like this: Tess runs faster, so clairie gets faster, so Tess gets faster, so clairie gets faster..... until finally we both pull up with aching quads and calves. Yep sounds like a recovery run to me.

Gee I hope Pat doesnt know about blogs!

5 x 1km Intervals with Pat

I like the official (non compulsory) uniform worn by Pat this morning. Will be putting in my order for a Pat Carroller Singlet very soon.

Did the warm up and felt like my legs had forgotten how to run. Got excited doing the strides when I went faster than Glenda (casper) but I was just being an idiot! Again!

Started out with high hopes to do the 1km reps in 4:00 each. My goal was to achieve consistency. However it backfired when I ran the first km in 3:48.
Was supposed to have 90sec rest but everyone else seemed to be doing 60-70sec so off I went too. Did the next lot in 4:07, 4:10, 4:09. The rest in between the last two was the full 90sec. By that stage I didn't care what anyone else was doing!

The faster runners did 5 x 1km, but a number of us only did the 4 x 1km in the alloted 25min time slot. I felt really good once I had finished but was very sad about not being able to be consistent. Have asked Pat for some advice and specific training to help me with this. don't think I can ask Tess to run EVERY race with me just to get me through :)

Oooops!

Missed Pat's session this morning. Sort of had a late night and did not have the energy to wake up.

Will need to find an oval to do a session tonight...

Went out to dinner last night and rushed through that to get to the UQ Track for the Veterans/Masters 10,000m.

Both Andrew and Glenda were running (Flashandy and Casper) as they had the mens and womans together in the same race. It was very exciting. They were going so fast. Despite both running on the weekend, Andrew did a 35:37 and Glenda a 37:31. Excellent efforts all round.

From there Hubby and I headed home and stayed up all night watching TV and stuff. :D

So today I feel very delicate. Must go search of nearest coffee shop........

BRRC 10 MILE CHAMPIONSHIP

Now that is what a race is supposed to be like!!!

Got there early in time to head out for a 3km warm up with Tess and Liz (who was celebrating her birthday in true running style).
Worked up quite a sweat just on the warm up so was feeling a bit apprehensive.
Made my way to the loo - of which there was only one and had a line of about 6 ladies. Each one keen to stay as long as they could..it was 5:59 when I finally got in!! Reminder to self - bring portaloo next race :)

Dashed to the start line and found Tess and her computer. She had the Garmin on her forearm and was ready to pace us for a steady run. The gun shot off and I looked around for Hubby but couldn't see him.

First loop was 1.1km and I felt great. So this is why runners warm up. Normally the first few km of a race I feel like crap.

Past hubby who was sitting down reading the newspaper and just that image relaxed me. This wasn't a race I was at all nervous about but I was keen to see what I could do.

After the first 1.1km we had to complete 3 loops of a 5km course. The first loop went by in a haze of jokes and laughs. Gavin was running near Tess and I and we kept trying to rate his body - think we decided on an 8.5/10. More laughter as Tess starting humming along to her Johnny Cash music.

Each lap we passed all the faster runners going in the other direction. Was able to cheer out or wave to our favourite runners, Eddie, Pat, Rith, Flashandy and all the girls too. Felt like a regular Pat's session down at West End.

2nd loop we saw Liz walking - she was not well today and I almost pulled up to talk to her but she was pushing on so I continued the run with Tesso. Soon enough I realised that I only had to get through this and then one more lap so I convinced myself I was able to maintain the pace.

Past Hubby for the last time and yelled out I was on my last lap. Just as I headed out the front runners were coming in. David Lang, Pat Carroll and Jodie were all racing towards the finish line. I think that sort of slowed the pace a bit as I hated the thought I had to keep running when they were stopping!

Tesso had told me to push on - after her 62km effort last week she was not in true Tesso racing form - so I had a man in a green singlet I was trying to keep pace with. Unfortunately on the last loop he just sprinted off into the distance and I was not sure if he was really going that much faster or if I had slowed down heaps.

On the home stretch I started to feel the pain of racing, but thankfully was nearly home. My brain was telling me I had miscounted laps and might have to do one more but then I heard Tesso yelling out 'don't let me catch you Clairie!!" so I knew we were not far from the finish.

Gavin came up alongside me and Tesso was just behind me - both of them pushing me along for a strong finish. I sounded like puffing billy but Gavin was strolling along offering words of encouragement "not far now, move those legs, cmon". I really appreciated the support of them both and felt they added immensely to my race experience.

After I crossed the line I saw Hubby madly taking photos (bless his soul) of me and other runners finishing. I was too busy trying to not be sick to say anything. Then he gave me some cold water and I immediately felt better. Well enough to walk around and grin broadly at everyone. I had done 1:16:10 and was so very proud of it!!!!

I ended up winning Second in my age Group - Tess got First in hers and Liz got first in hers after what she called a terrible run. That was very exciting for us.

It is just upwards and upwards for us Queenslander girls.

Regatta Runners - 8Km

The Amazing Don Wallace was missing today. Damn, took my camera in case I got an opportunity.

Went out at a steady pace and planned to continue and take it easy on the way home but Erica came up alongside and I automatically picked up the pace to run with her.

About 1km to go I told her to keep going and forget me - we were doing 4:40 pace and I had to drop back to 5:00 pace - my legs were burning from yesterdays effort still I think. Plus I had my Sunday run to think about.

She went ahead but then I felt crap for not keeping up so I picked up the pace again and crossed the finish 2 metres behind her. Have no idea what time we did as I walked to the alcove and stretched for a while to ease the legs.

Geoff was going great guns - went out steady and came home fast. Did the 7.9km route in 34:30. He is improving dramatically lately.

Off for busy day in the office today then heading down the Gold Coast for the night. Will come back up Sat night so I can go to the Brisbane Road Runners 10Mile Championship on Sunday. Only going to do it for a jog though. My legs would not forgive me next week if I went hard.

2k, 1k, 500m, 500, 1k

Headed out to West End for this mornings speed session with Pat. Tess popped her head in, even though her program said only a 40min run (no speed) - can't keep her away!
After the warm up Pat gave special mention to Tess's performance and then we were off.

I started out with Eddie and Jonesy just infront. I moved along to the side of the road where I prefer running and after 200m realised I was still just behind them. So told myself, well why not. Just follow them all the way to the 1km without falling back and then just run as usual. However at the 1km turnaround (4min) I felt okay so told myself..'just follow that Eddie until the 2km stop'. Got there in 8:05. Did the 90sec rest before heading out for the next one in 4:02min. Rested again for 70sec then did the 500m in 1:50,rested for 60sec then another 500m. Was dead by this stage so didn't recall my split but I maintained pace reasonably well.

Tess was just running at a steady pace behind me but I started to notice she was catching up with little effort. I want those drugs Tess!!! She did mention later that she was not stopping of the rests after each interval...but still!

The last kilometer seemed a lot shorter and I finished off well in around 4min.

Was absolutely trashed but I felt strong and had done a good session. I put this down to actually eating something before my run (I usually don't) so had a bit of something in the tank. Will keep having something before I leave home for the speed sessions - good practice for racing as well.

Did the warm down with Eye Candy as Tess caught up with all the other runners. Mr. Eye Candy is doing the tri on the weekend so took it a bit easy today. Said he usually did a couple of hours on his bike before his speed session - OMG! - so he normally felt really exhausted at the end of his run. Maybe that's why I was able to keep up and talk!!

Off to fill in all the mountainous paperwork for the dietician to see how nutritious my diet is and what foods I need to eat more/less of to get better running energy and strength.

8km

Regatta Runners have started really getting into gear for Canberra marathon and also Gold Coast later in the year.

As such todays run was a hilly one that Tess and I opted to miss out on. So we headed out towards the city to the 4km mark and then turned around for home.

Reasonable pace for a Wednesday run. Need to go easy on Wednesday as it is in between Pats two speed sessions (Tue and Thur) and they tend to hurt the legs a bit!

Had a business meeting in the city meeting a new client. Turned out to be a favourite runner of mine who has just started to go to Pat's session twice a week. We ended up spending most of the meeting talking about running and tomorrows anticipated session - to the terror and boredom of all the others present in the meeting. I think they all thought we were aliens talking some new language.

What a small world this is.

8 x 1 Min Intervals - 4 sec recovery

You thought that heading was a typo didn't you!!!

Seriously, Pats watch needs repairing or something. It was supposed to be 45sec recovery in between each effort but I know for sure it was reduced each time until finally the last two efforts actually became 1 x 2min effort.

After the 3.5k warm up we were all drenched in sweat and eager to get it over and done with to go home.
I had the worst gut ache/cramp in the world and never even felt like leaving home so I was happy I had lasted for the warm up.

My efforts were done semi-serious pace but it was hard to go fast and hold your tummy at the same time.

On the warm down I felt worse and walked through the park leaving everyone else in the group to go ahead of me.
I started to feel better and picked up the pace to get over the bridge. Pat had some sports drink for us and I felt a bit better after getting some of that in me.

Maryjane had waited for me to come back and had our trophy for Sat night, which was exciting. First trophy for the mantlepiece. Must go get new glass cabinet today (ha ha).

CABOOLTURE 12HRS - DUSK TO DAWN

Got a great sleep the night before and did a few laps in the pool in the morning as well as all the normal housework. It felt weird not getting up to do a Saturday morning run!

Took about an hour to get the esky together with everything I thought I might need during the night - doughnuts, chocolate, oranges, chico babes, powerade, water, coke, chips...glad the kids were there to get me through it all!

We arrived at the Village just after 5pm to find everyone excited and preparing for the run. Got a few photos and still no race nerves. This was too much fun!

Race organisers checked us in and gave out a t-shirt and water bottle to each competitor. Hubby set up our chairs and tables and the kids beds and started to settle in. I raced to the loo at the last minute thanks to all the water loading during the day!

There were a few keen runners doing laps already to warm up...I mean who warms up for a 12hr run???

Johnny (Fatbloke) was sounding terrible but very good spirits. Blamed his achilles injury on all the bending etc he had to do when he made the arrows on our 'Fatass' run up Mount Nebo last year....ooops Sorry 'bout that.

the race began - 5mins early so no time to do a quick "get to know you" lap.

The track is a certified 500m course - every two laps is a km.

The lap scorers were very good and advised us of our progress each lap. Thankfully - as I had lost count after 10 laps!

They knew each time I went around the track thanks to Tesso - she had given me a loud clapping hand clacker to shake each time I crossed the start line to let them know to record another lap.
It was very exciting for the first 90mins but then I got confused and actually thought I had three hands.... Yes it was not a very good run for me.

The first few laps everyone was very jolly and saying hello to each other as we all passed. FatBloke was happy to show everyone his tan lines and was a motivating source out there especially considering his state of health. He even didn't mind us talking about his manboobs (or lack of) or his brickers arse.... it certainly helped us pass the time with a lovely view :)

The swallowing of bugs gave me some extra protein in the last hour and I knew I really gave up caring when I saw a cane toad and thought "oh god I'm going to squash it" nothing triggered that I could possibly sidestep it or jump over it. The legs were just not willing and the brain was not functioning quick enough. Thankfully the said toad leapfrogged out of the way.

Sadly my two hours could not end quick enough, a fairly disappointing 44 laps, before I handed the hand clapper over to teammember #2 Davo and headed off to get my hamburger and coke!

Tesso was still going around like a champion and I knew we were in for a special result.

She reached the 50km mark third overall and 1st female. We were all cheering and jumping and so proud of her. (okay so I was the only one jumping..but we were ALL cheering).

I managed to bat my eyelids at a man there doing massages and he offered to rub me down. I didnt care that I was in the middle of the track in full view. I stripped off and jumped on his table. Think I embarressed him though as he went in seach of a towel to cover me 20mins later I felt in heaven and my sense of reality had returned and I got dressed and went to finish scoring for my team and Tesso.

The hours just flew by and before I knew it Tesso had done the magic 120 laps (60km). At this stage she was second overall in the 6hr event and first woman. The thing was she looked like she was getting faster and there was no stopping her.
AB was still in the lead at this point and he wasn't handing it over to anyone. I'm not sure of his exact lap count but hopefully he will post a full report too!

A few more laps and it was all over. 6hrs - of non stop running. I am still in awe.

Unfortunately I had to pack Hubby and sleeping kids in the car and head home - it was nearly 1am. But we listed to the radio and heard the presentations. Brought tears to my eyes to hear Tesso being called over on the radio!

Despite feeling so crap and not getting my desired 50 laps in I will be back next year. Hopefully in better form! Although I have to say - I'm feeling really good today :) not stiff or anything.... proof that I didn't work my body as hard as it felt like I was working it.
Another thing I realised was that I like running on surfaces that are straight, with a few hills to break up the efforts on the legs.
Kurrawa felt a lot easier than this race - and I ran further/longer there.
Just one of those things I guess.

Ohhh In For a Medal!!

How exciting.

Pat announced at this mornings session that seeing as we are all improving so well he wants to reward everyone's efforts with a medal.

He is going to see about having them done for Sub 14, Sub 13, Sub 12, Sub 11, Sub 10, Sub 9 (that guy is sick!) for the monthly 3K TT.

Seeing as I have just done my first Sub 13 this week, I hope I don't have to wait the whole year before I can get the Sub 12 medal :(

I think it is great that Pat is further encouraging his team.

Todays session was out for 3.5km then 6x2min (with 1min SR - NOT. Pat kept pusing it lower an lower. Think he needs new watch). Then the 3.5k run home again.

I took it easyish - didn't want to get sore just before Sat run. I know Sat is only 2hrs but I want to finish in reasonable shape with a decent distance achieived in that time.

Tomorrow is rest day. :)

Tess and Clairires Hilly Adventure

Met up with Tess at 5.30 at the Regatta to get 30mins of running in before the 6am group turned up. Just went out down the normal path into the city and turned around after 15mins. Got back a bit quicker so had a couple of mins to stretch and catch our breath (from talking not running hard!!!).

We then found out that the 6am group had planned to do a hilly run. mmm. Not exactly what was on the schedule. Any way neither of us are ones to back out of a run so off we toddled. After the first hill we agreed to fall back and just take it slow. We eventually lost the group and turned a wrong street. It was good though - we ran past the front runners in the wrong direction. they just laughed at us.

Then after a couple more we left the 'hill runners' and headed back out to the River City path before arriving back at the Regatta 40mins later.

Overall a nice steady 70 odd mins with a few (bloody!) hills thrown in. Not quite a H4 Tess tells me...

Speed Session - 3Km Time Trial

Some new faces down at Pats this morning. Could not believe my last boss was there.
I woke up several times during the night last night - too much water! At 4am I felt wide awake and then it hit me - today was a Time Trial. I got all nervous and thought maybe if I went back to bed I could sleep through the alarm and not go...

Anyway rocked up and it was good to see the numbers. Great to see Tesso again but terrified to find out she has crossed the dark side... what did those Sydney roaches do to her? She rocked up in BLACK SOCKS!

Headed out for the normal warm up. Felt good but that might have just been the goss session with Tess :)
A few strides to get the blood flowing. Then Pat had his pep session - fires you right up sometimes he does.

I moved out and thought it felt a bit quick. Hard to tell as Tess was so exhausted from her training and said she was going to take it easy today so I couldn't see her for most of the first 600m. Then quick as a flash she flew past me mmmm tactics heh!

Got to the 1km mark in 4min. oooh too fast I thought. Did the next one in 4.25 oooh too slow. The final one in 4:12. What I had hoped for. It hurt but I got a 12:37PB. Fantastic - 41secs better than my previous one.

I actually think I should have not slowed in the second one so much. I thought I had gone out too hard and would fade real fast so made myself slow down. Next time might try to just run it without a watch and go by how I feel.

Super effort by Tess - sub 12. So she has to set a new goal of sub 11 for this year now.
Everyone - all the CRS at least, seemed to do a real good run this morning. Either a PB or very close. Great to see. Now looking forward to a glass of red to celebrate tonight :)

Sunday Long Run

Headed out on Sunday down the Gold Coast after not being able to move yesterday morning. Warning to all runners - don't try to eat a kilo of pistachio nuts by yourself in one sitting!! Got up Saturday and was not very well so went back to bed.

Sunday was another day but damn it was humid!

Parked the car at the spit and headed out towards Kurrawa on the GC Marathon course. Made it to the end of Hedges avenue just under an hour (around 10km) and then turned around.

Kept playing leap frog with a runner who seemed to be in training for an ironman. Though the last time I saw him he was heaving at the side of the road in very poor condition. 15mins earlier he had taken a gu on the run - no water. In fact I hardly saw him drink any fluids for the 50mins we were running together. Idiot!

Aside from the exercise he was doing and the sweat that was pouring out of him it was also a very hot/humid morning. At least 250ml every 15mins is what it says in this months Runners World.

Got back around 2hrs. It was slightly under but Pat had me down for 2hrs so I just marked it off as 'done' :) arhhh. The artistic license....

The best thing about today was the cool down in the ocean. The water was so cold and so lovely on the legs. Really made a quick recovery. Headed back to get Allan and we drove down to NSW (Ballina) for wickedly delicious lunch. A great day in all.

Regatta Runners - 8Km

Getting into quite a routine now with all the different weekly runs. Think I could do Regatta run with a blindfold on.
Good size group turned up but still no Tess. :(
We were a bit late getting out. Chris was running keeping everyone in the lane to avoid all the bikes and other users of the path. He is terrified of another accident.
Good pace heading out but I forced myself to back off on the return. Really had to treat this like a recover run to enable me to be relatively fresh for tomorrows long run.
Then Casper caught up to me. She had inevitably gone for a longer route and was on her way back. I maintained pace with her (OMG) until another girl caught up - who had also done the longer route. Casper waved her on and stayed with me but then I said 'that's not like you to let someone get past' so she was off, chased her down and got home first. Thats more like it. No way could I have kept up and I didn't want to have to try...not today. She was fresh from her 37.20 10km run on Monday night at the track!
Legs felt really good in the shower but I would have loved to have done 30mins of stretching. Might need to do that when I get home tonight.

Lost Chundachick today!

Thursday Pat Speed Session. It was raining so the 20 odd of us that turned out was pretty good considering!
Did the long warmup at some incredible pace. Had some new eye candy (male) join the group and he and Pat headed out FAST! Found out he is a really nice guy David, who is a professional triathlete.

After the warm up and run throughs (strides) realised Chundachick had not come back from her loo visit. So instead of the required 2.5min sprint out and 2.5 min sprint home I sprinted 2.5 then went looking for her. Nowhere.... Headed back to the group in time for the next 2.5 sprint out (damn missed the 1min recovery) and then back again.

Following this Pat had a do 8 reps of the Goodwill bridge and decided to give a big pep talk about how todays session - digging deep today, would be what gave you that sub 3hr marathon. That got about 90% of the group moving!

The last one kills - up and over all the way to the Ship Inn.

Mr. Eye Candy then ran the warm down with me. Someone ought to tell him that you can't run so fast when your'e new. Got to start at the bottom of the ladder and work your way up. Must be such a great triathlete if his running is so good and that's his weak section.

Missed Tesso today but I live in hope that she is doing her bit in Sydney to show them how good us Brissy runners are. (well hopefully they will think we all run as fast as she does!)

10Km Recovery Run

Headed out this morning to meet up with Irishman and Pat -both who are training for upcoming Marathons. Had a 50min recovery run scheduled so I thought it would be quite easy.
Hubby even suprised me by jumping out of bed and coming along. He left us at the start as he just wanted to jog REAL slow. Tee'd up with Pats partner Jo and they did a good 8km.

The other two and I ran out for 25mins and got to the 5km turnround in the Botanical gardens. Thought we would head back and managed to pick up the pace. Saw hubby and Jo ahead so picked up the pace a bit again. Went by with some snide comment about his butt (gorgeous but I'm biased) and saw the 500m sign so sprinted home forgetting to remain in recovery mode. Did the 10km in just under 49mins.

I guarantee you I will be sore tomorrow.

Got home and Hubby and I lazed for the day watching movies and cricket. Happy Australia Day!

NIKE Intervals

First run in my new NIKE speed shoes. Went well but I laced up too tightly and one shoe was annoying me during the cooldown.
Went out for 4km warm up, then did 15mins of intervals followed by 3.5k cooldown around Southbank.
The intervals were 1min sprint(1min jog) 30sec sprint (30sec jog) 15sec sprint (15sec jog) and then repeat x4.
It was hard doing the 1min sprint after the 15 sec sprint as you only had 15sec to recover and I seemed to push harder on the shorter sprints. But it was good to then jog recovery for a whole minute.
The last 15sec was actually more like 45sec as we had to run to the finish line and everyone seemed to be bending over in the bushes or walking around trying to get air into their lungs so I think we all worked hard today.
I have no idea how Tess and Eddie manage it - after doing a long 3hr+ run on the weekend in the humidity and then a speed session (all up around 1hr 10mins).... I am sure they will both be breaking records this year.
Great to see Pat is back. He really is interested in everyone's running (of all capabilities) and always has something good to say or comment on. Today, whilst I pushed hard, I really thought how much I like being part of the group and seeing us all progress and how we all support each other. I'm sure another killer speed hill session on Thursday will wipe out any sentiment though.... :)

Short Long Run

With most of the running buddies doing a long run tomorrow down on the Gold Coast today's long run turned into a slow 12km. A few had started earlier at 5am so they could still do over 2 hours of running - as per their programs. However those of us who started at 6am ran around the streets along the river, into the Sherwoord Forest and back again.

Nothing spectacular about the run but certainly feeling refreshed and looking forward to a big week with Pat back on deck. A recovery week over and just looked up in my program - got another one in 4 weeks. So will try to go hard for the next three, recover for one week and then aim for a PB at BRR 10km on 27th Feb.

Sounds like a plan!

Steady 6km - just what Pat ordered!

Had a bad night. Hubby was late - had gone up to Coolum on his motorbike with Matt (12yr) so I could not sleep until they were home. Then I was freezing during the night and kept waking up (why I didn't just put the cover on I don't know). When Hubby got up to go to work at 4am I felt like we had only just gone to bed.

By the time I was at the Regatta for 6am run I felt good though. Heh It's Friday - my favourite day!

Headed out for a 6Km run. No Tess today - too busy working.
Told Glenda (very fast runner) aka coolrunner casper, that she had to do the 7.5km run and still be the first woman home. Hearing that she took off.
I turned around at the 3km mark (15mins) and came home in 14:40. She was about 300m behind me and had done just under 8km in 33mins. Amazing considering she was only warming up the first 3kms.

Did a lot of stretching whilst waiting for everyone else to finish (Glenda was first home out of all the runners). It felt good to stretch. My whole body felt tight today. Glenda showed me some new ones to work on the side of the glutes which are achy.
Showered and had breaky with Tesso. Wouldn't feel like a Regatta Friday without her.
At work now and lots to do but no motivation. Maybe I need a work coach???

Eddies Missing, Mattys Back and Ians a Nazi!

Yep it all happens at Thursday's speed session.

Eddie is excused as he had his big birthday celebrations keeping him up all night but we all missed him nontheless.

Great to see Matty back - even better to be able to run past him :)

But what on earth has happened to Ian??? Threatening us that we will have to do another sprint if we did not put more effort it. Said we were having a holiday because Pat was away and that we could all do better..yeh yeh yeh.
Anyhow it worked. Guess I must thank him and collect my knife from his back where I threw it on the warm down..

Ran out hard chasing Tess (who was chasing Robbie) then at the turnaround she was about 4m in front (so after turning I was in front). Upped the pace to try to keep her away then just as she was on my tail I saw the picnic table (finish line) so ran my guts out. Unfortunately got the wrong table so had to hold that pace for another 200m. Then as the run was a timed one and I had done a negative split had to keep going for another few seconds. Torture! Finished not even caring where anyone else was, just had to hold my guts to make sure they didn't come out my mouth!

Matty was cheering as we went past - he was running slowish due to injury - but could have killed him when he kept egging Tess on to fly past me. Note to Matt - she doesn't need encouragement she has hidden wings!!

Recovery Week Wednesday

Halfway through the recovery week in my program. Haven't done anything according to plan.

Was scheduled for 30min run on Monday but rested instead. Was scheduled for a rest today and ran 40mins instead.... :) Very naughty but with Pat away...

Fronting up to 'Ian's Group' tomorrow. Matty should be back so we could be in for some fun. At least my Tuesday and Thursday are always consistent.

Regatta run this morning was good. Was intending to run relaxed but at the turn around for the 4km mark I felt like a wuis as everyone else was continuing on for a mid week long run or speed training. Tesso and Jenny has started at 5am and had covered 9km before I even started.

I upped the ante at the 3km sign (3km to the finish) and decided to time myself to see what pace I could run comfortably but with some effort - ie not race pace but faster than long run pace. I got back in 14:20 so just under 5min pace. 37:20 for the whole 7.9km.

Showered and headed off for client breakfast - it's a hard life.

Ians Running Group

Pat is allowed one week of a year.....so this week is it.

Ian worked the group hard running us out to New Farm for the 8x 1min sessions with 45sec recovery.
Tried to stay with Tess. Managed it for the first 3 then slowed a bit. The 5th one I thought I was going to spew- had a stitch or something that wsa pushing my stomach up through my throat. The 6th one I started to come back and then went hard again for the final two just managed to catch Tess again.

Had to then do a 30sec effort on the way home. Pulled up at 26sec as I thought he said stop but he was yelling 'keep it going'. Anyhow I was hurting so bad I probably would have stopped anyway.

Keen to see how Thursday goes. This weather is hurting everyone and it seemed like we were all pushing hard and digging deep this morning. I am sure Tess is getting faster just trying to run away from me....will have to improve to keep trying to catch her. Heh Tess - if your'e reading this hurry up and get a blog so I can read all your training secrets :)

Running Buddies - 20Km

Aptly named, the Running Buddies really are a great group of friendly runners keen to laugh and talk and run long distances.

This morning we met up at 5am at Southbank and headed out for a run before meeting back at the Ship Inn to collect all the 6am starters. Did about 8km running out to the Regatta and back then waited around for everyone to arrive. Running out was easy and slow but Tesso and I were the only two going back to get the others so we picked up the pace a bit making the long run harder.
Once we had a group again we headed out along the cliffs and up over Storey Bridge into New Farm. Tess and I stopped about 1km out from New Farm Park and turned around to head home. 20Km was enough for one day. Tess has a 26km run to do tomorrow (Sunday) and I was simply exhausted from a full week back to running hard so cutting it short (everyone else was doing 30km) was a good thing.

According to Pat's program I am scheduled for a recovery week this week coming so should be interesting....

Regatta Runners - 8Km

Normal Friday run today.
Woke up with a fuzzy head after too much red wine last night. Got to bed before 10pm so thought I would be okay but think Christmas is catching up to me at last.

As Robbie Williams said it so well "Overdose at Christmas, then give it up for Lent" Whilst crude it seems to be an accurate way of describing my alcohol intake!

8km run went fairly smoothly in 37:08. Tesso left us after the turnaround to run into work so she missed out on the excitement.
First we had a woman who strained her calf and had to be iced up at the pub. Then just as we were all finishing a male runner crossed the path from where we were all standing/stretching and went to call out to a runner just finishing when a bike he didn't see collided into him. Another bike was also taken down in the hit as we all know how fast they cycle on that path!!
The runner had an instant bad bruise the size of a football with some scratches. Not sure what it will look like tomorrow!

Another early rise for Saturdays run with Tesso tomorrow. Looking forward to it but legs are very tired and starting to chant 'restday Sunday, restday Sunday'.........

Pat's Session - 2km, 1km, 500m, 500m, 1km

Did the above after a 3km warm up and some strides. Felt quite good the whole way. After the first 2km I wanted to keep going as I was on par for a 3km PB but thought the scheduled 90sec standing recovery might be good for the bursting lungs!

Pat ran the last 50m with me of the final 1Km to get me to sprint to the end. By that time I was knackered but he really knows how to push!!

Did the same to Eddie who had finished with a 2km instead of a 1km and he came home hard as well.

A Fast Midweek Slow Run

Got up this morning - big task seeing as it is Wednesday and my usual day off from running. But not no more. Now only one rest day per week until Canberra.

Met up at the Regatta with the other 14 runners. Tesso was there and we ran together whilst the other Regatta runners did their interval speed session. I knew we were cracking a good steady pace and was eager to finish but at the turn around Tess said "no we go further on Wednesdays" so we had to run another few kms...I was devastated.

After the eventual turnaround the speed runners caught up with us (they had gone a lot further) and we then ran back to the Regatta. With about 1km to go I really felt like dying. On top of yesterdays speed session and a few weeks of minimal running it was obvious I had lost some form. But what I hadn't lost was my determination to not walk and to keep up with Tess. Thankfully it got me home in one piece.

After we stopped Tess headed out to do another 10km! But not before she advised me we had just finished our 10km at under 5min pace. I was pretty chuffed. My 10km PB is 50.19. Whilst I know I can beat that I still need to wait for an offical track/time to do so. It was good to know that I was running steady at that pace anyhow. Not too sure how I will fare at tomorrows speed session with Pat though.

Can't wait until Sunday's rest day.

Yep it Hurts!

First speed session in weeks. Thought it would be good to keep up running but not do any speed sessions whilst I was on holidays. Managed to do the hills and run on the beach instead so I though I maintained some strength but gee this morning was a bit rough.

Had 30/30's in my program but got there to find out it was a hill session. A solid warm up followed by 15mins of racing up a big hill and jogging down then racing up etc.
Had Tess in arms reach for the first 8mins (she had just come off night shift) but she kept charging forward and I kept pulling back so the gap widened. With 2 to go I tried to close the gap as best I could but I was really hurting. Jonesy kept overtaking me on the downhill and then I would overtake him on the uphill - but here I was huffing and puffing and he is barely breathing!

At the bottom of the last one Pat said to jog to the Goodwill Bridge then race it home. Again I tried to catch Tesso but she was on skates, made do with overtaking two guys with great bods who were doing it hard over the bridge. Felt good about that even if they werent in our running group!

Definitely feeling it now as I feel like I need a quick cat nap to recover but must get back to all the work waiting for me. Looking forward to Thursdays session. No matter how hard they feel when you run them.....they make you feel great afterwards. Like a real runner!

New Year Running

Well it's started. The new year is here and already the first month is nearly halfway through.
I am feeling the effects of too much drinking and eating over the holidays. Amazing what a bottle of red and a bottle of baileys each night can do for you. As well as the weight issue the thing I fought with most was the lack of motivation to get up at 5am each morning.
I did get up every second day and by the time I had got home and showered everyone else was still dead to the world. I ended up reading a lot of books between 8am and 11am when everyone else eventually woke up, showered and had brunch. I must admit I was always first into bed in the evenings though. Some habits die hard.

Keen to start the serious training now as I hope to get a good result in Canberra in the 10Km. Also there is the Lest We Forget half marathon and many other races that will be coming up so quickly.
Tomorrows speed session should be an eyeopener as my gluttony will be on show for the world to see and it will be the first speed session since losing Don back in mid December!
Here's to a great year of running!

QLD Fat Ass Run

After starting a post on Coolrunning (www.coolrunning.com.au) about trail running I felt obliged to partake when one was organised for the 29th December at the start of my holidays.
No training up my sleeve aside from the running I had done for Kurrawa and my usual running. But I didn't think it would be an issue as I believed I was more than capable to do a 20km run with some hills.

Headed out just after 3am to meet up with Kato and drive to the top to drop off my car. Jumped in with Kato & travelled down to the start line.
Karisma and Run67 were pulling up in front of us were the first to arrive.

I wasn't actually nervous but when I saw some damn fit men turn up and start talking about their 50km training runs for this event I was sweating already. Damn! Couldn't I have slept in or something...?

Tesso and Liz arrived with Glen and took some photos at the beginning of the race. I was already needing to go to the toilet after drinking so much since waking up but there was no where around so I told the bladder to hold off.

We walked to near the trail start and when Tesso said 'Is this a run or a walk?' the boys started jogging and the run had begun.
When the trail started I got very excited. This was great a nice path - wider than a road almost - and not rocky or too loose a surface. Damn this is what trail running is all about.
Then came the hill.
It was almost a mountain leading up to the mountain.
Then came another one.
Then another.
I looked around for Kato to kill but was distracted by - you guessed it - another hill!
My legs were aching and it was only the first 2km. The girls had fallen behind into a group and let the men push their testosterone ahead of us. This was the opportunity I needed. I politely advised everyone I needed a break and disappeared only to find they were all standing there waiting for me making sure none of the boys looked back. Don't you just love being one of the girls!

We travelled a bit further up the mountain and I was really starting to feel the run when Tess referred to her garmin and told us all that we had covered 3km. Only 3!!! It was at this stage that I looked around for a snake to walk on so I could excuse myself whilst I got treated for snakebite....anyway they were all sleeping so I pushed on.
Glad I did as it got better. Over the next hill there were a few downhills and we were all talking and laughing. Then we came to the first arrow the boys had left for us and were chuffed that they had bothered (and secretly glad as we had no idea really when we saw the fork in the road). Plus it was a good photo opportunity!

After about an hour of up and down the mountain Glen met up with us and was heading back to his car. Tess and Liz went with him but promised to meet us at the top for a coffee. Karisma and I plodded on for the next half. Whilst we were told it was a 2 hr run up to the top it turned out to be a 3hr run for Karisma and I.
We got to a fork in the road with an arrow going left for us (thanks boys) but instead followed another runners advice who was on his way back down on a bike who said to go right to get to the carpark. We went down a very very steep and long valley to get to a stream and then had to make our way back up again. We came out on a road and i thought we were just around the corner. But just around the corner proved to be 4 more kilometres away. My legs were dead but Karisma was going strong and pushed on ahead and out of my sight.
I got to the carpark at 3hrs and 3 mins. Karisma had missed the turnoff so I was first there. Tess, Kato, Glen and Liz were all waiting (I had the carkeys - so poor Kato was a bit thirsty and hungry...). We had just got in the car to go looking for Karisma when she turned up and we could all start celebrating our run.
The coffee shop was closed so we just said goodbye and went our own way.

I was driving home and so elated. I had run a very very very hilly course and lasted the 3 hours. I was proud of my achievement and was also looking forward to a big night followed by a well deserved sleep in.

I got home in time to shower quickly, stretch a bit more, eat loads of food and jump in the car to go to Dreamworld with the kids. A big day out. We got there at 10.45 and walked around going on all the rides etc until it closed at 5.30pm. I slept the way home but got up the next morning all refreshed and with good legs.
Next big run I do I will make a point of walking and being active all day rather than resting as I would usually do.

Oh yeah and I found out that you didn't have to have a fatass to run. Fatboy explained to me what a Fatass run actually meant. Glad we cleared that up....

Lost our Don!!

Turned up for speed session this morning - glad to see good numbers still despite it being holidays for most people.

Don from Canberra - Tunggerong Don - pulled off the track for a pit stop and got left behind. We did not realise until we got to the start of the speed session after our 3/4km warmup. Not being a regular with the group he would not have known where we were headed and would have gone to the Gardens were he ran with us last week.

So Tess and I volunteered to give up our 8x 500m and 1 x 1km speed session to go and look for him. It took a lot of persuading to do this (Yeah Right!!!).
We split up and both went over diff bridges and met up just outside the gardens and split up again....still no sign of him. Running around the garden and calling his name still didn't locate poor Don. So we headed back to Pat's group just in time to start the cool down run.
By the end of it we had done more than 10km - with two speed runs amongst it where Tess and I were trying to race each other. She beat me but I wasn't too far behind - but any more and I would have been left for dead.
Another great run but the nerves are building for tomorrows long run. Have never ran a 20km+ trail before...

Christmas Day

What a wonderful way to start the day.
Up early and woke my two girls - Jordie and Shae my neice.
We headed out to UQ a bit early as I was not sure what oval we were meeting at. Found the athletics track straight away so assumed this was the right one. Then waited around for the others to turn up. Did a lap with Shae whilst I was waiting. The girls were just so excited it was Christmas.

Once we were all there (quite a few of us turned up) we headed out for a 3km warmup. This was followed by a set of 6x 2.5minutes at the track. Run around as fast as you can go and you rest for as long until 2.5 mins comes up. Then time to do it all again.

Great fun. I really enjoyed running on the track. You can see everyone in front of you and you also know exactly how far you have left to go. Coming home on the straight stretch was fun to try and go as hard as I could.

I did a few laps to cool down and then had a glass of champers with Tess, Liz, Kumi, Chris, Jo, Scotty, Manuel, Rob, John and others before heading off to go home and open our Chrissy presents and wake the other 9 people up for a big breaky.

Definitely doing this again next year!

Fast and Faster

Running almost killed me after a shocking nights sleep, actually that's not true, I slept like a baby, I just only had 4 hours of it!
Took the teenage girls shopping last night at about 11pm then decided to do the food shopping then instead of today. Got home and into bed after 1am (so I guess I did it today after all!). Up at 5am to go to the Regatta Runners.

Headed out with the Regatta guys whilst talking to Glenda (VERY FAST RUNNER) and focussed on maintaining pace with her and hence the lead group all the way.
Wow I thought I was such a good runner....striding it out with the lead pack and feeling good all the way. Felt like Christmas.
Not sure what happened at the turnaround point (4km) but I certainly didn't hear a gun go off. However everyone else must have - I was left for dead. Glenda took off and so did all the blokes. I was left dreaming that I had even been running with anyone.
Soon after some other Regatta Runners caught up to me so I felt a bit better (ie..wasn't last) but then the damned shoe lace came undone and my shoe almost came off as I was trying to ignore it until the finish. So I stopped at the water fountain and tied it back up - triple decker knot!

Got back to the start in complete exhaustion. I think I had tired legs from yesterdays' speed session as well as it being so bloody hot!!! I had striped off my singlet and ran the last 3km in my bra so I knew it was a stinker of a day to come.
Probably the xmas hat didn't help in cooling me down any.

I wish I had my watch on today but purposely left it off to just run relaxed but I am sure I did a PB for that course. Even tired and hot I felt strong running - just knew I couldnt sustain it for much longer.
Looking forward to Boxing Day so I can have a much desired day off. In the meantime will be fun to do tomorrows Christmas speed session at the Uni.

SPEED SPEED SPEED SPEED SPEED

At last....able to run fast.
Hard session this morning, not sure if it was the weather or what but even on the warm up I was struggling with the decision to quit or plod on...I'M NOT QUITTER so on I trotted. And very glad I did too!
Into the Jungle (Botanical Gardens) for two 5min surges. Run 2.5min as hard and far as you can then turn around and go further than the start. 1min rest then do it again.
This was followed up by lots and lots of reps up a grass hill. I ran these but did not sprint like others were doing. Didn't want to push the foot - which incidently was DOING MARVELLOUSLY -must be fully recovered now.
Then thought we were heading home but did another 4 hill reps on the Goodwill bridge. Managed to catch and run with Tess which was good. It really pushed me and afterwards I felt better for trying that little bit harder. Very motivating to catch someone faster than you and run with them.
The cool down was greatly welcomed to ease out all the twitching muscles.
Showered and sitting at my desk - boss has just bought in Bacon and Egg sandwiches for everyone. Must be Christmas :)

Tuesday Speed - Christmas Themed

What a laugh. How much fun do you think you can have at a speed session...I mean really have fun.

Pat turned up with his own little Santa (son Tim) dressed up in costume including full red sleigh (red BMX) and sack of pressies.
The pressies turned out to be hats and outfits for runners to wear!
Unfortunately being near the front I got handed one of the large joker hats with bells with big letters - Merry Christmas' written on the front. On it went just hiding my Coolrunning cap. Had to keep it on the whole way.
As I wasn't doing any speed I managed to keep it on and had a good laugh at those who were trying to be serious and running hard (everyone but me) running past with hats and outfits on.
One poor bugger had to wear a dress. Damn he looked good it in too! Sure some of the blokes were going to see their psychiatrist afterwards...
I hope to see the photo soon of puntermatt, Pat and Runner in the Hills all wearing their matching macho Mr Clause outfits. They looked a scream. Also being the fastest they led the way and home again screaming at any nearby person "Merry Christmas".

Everyone put in a hard effort, well except for me as I have a few more days of NO speed or hills, and after finishing up all met up at the local cafe for a hearty breakfast. The kids are on holidays and work is winding down but it wasn't until this mornings run that it really hit home - Christmas is coming.
I am so excited now. What a rush...........Merry Christmas Blogger readers.

NEW YEAR GOALS

My goals for 2005 as posted on Cool Running:

*Be Injury free
*Sub 45min 10km
*Sub 1.45min at Gold Coast half
*Sub 2:10 at Kurrawa in Dec 2005

*Be consistent with training
*Continue to love running and my fellow runners

--------------------
2006 - Marathon Year!

Saturday Mini Long Run

So as to not aggravate the foot - today was just a walk around the park. Well not literally but it was short.
Ran from the Regatta down to Goodwill bridge and back - approx 10km. Not too quick but faster than my usual long run pace coming home.
Maybe it was because I had left everyone at the bridge to turn around whilst they kept going on for a 21 or 30km Saturday run. To feel a bit better about it I cranked it up a little. Stopped off at a drink spot to stretch the calves and take some water then reached the Regatta feeling good and comfortable.

So used to wasting myself with the long run that it was a pleasant suprise to sit and have a cup of coffee waiting for the runners to come in and feeling quite refreshed instead of tired and achy.
When I run for more than 20km I get sleepy later in the day after showering and eating so normally have a quick 20min nap. Not today. Was energised and spring cleaned the whole house.
Still can't wait for my next long run - 23km up Mount Nebo on Wednesday week.

Cruzin Clairie

After such a dreadful moment yesterday (thought I was going to have to give up running for a while) I am back on track.
Went to see The Footman, who quickly diagnosed me and put in the direction of required treatment. So no tears today - just smiles.

Headed out this morning for an easy 5km, caught up with Tesso who had just finished her speed session and started on the Regatta Run.
Felt like cheating to turn around early but thought it best to follow Dr's orders.

Can you believe it is just one week to Christmas??? Not much running time left in this year so must make the most of it. Have to keep the 5km up for next week with no hills or speed so just a cruisy few days coming up....

DNF

First training session this morning since Kurrawa run on Sunday and I could not finish.
Got about 1.5km up the road and could not go a step further. Every step felt like a piece of glass in my foot as it hit the pavement. PAIN!!! I could walk fine but the minute I jogged it was there again. Told Scotty I was out and turned around for home.
Damn bloody foot...rushed home in tears and called the Footman for an appointment.

*Had family block of chocolate for lunch.
*Considering hot chips for dinner washed down by case of red wine....

nothing else to do :((

THE BIG RACE

Race day dawned. Actually it was a relief to finally be here after waking up every half hour during the night to see if the alarm was still working.
At 3.30am I decided to get up and get ready. I was awake anyhow. The carbo loading the night before (in fact the whole week before) must have done the trick. I felt good but knew eating was out of the question. Bad case of race nerves!
Loffy rocked up at 4.15am to pick me up from the hotel and off we set on our big adventure.
At 4.30am there was already a good gathering signing up and getting their numbers. The race is a regional run attracting runners from all walks of life - locals and far-awayers.
Everyone looked so fit and able at the start I was getting terrified. With the likes of RITH, Kelvin, RUN67 and Fat Bloke not to mention Tess and Karisma running - I was just hoping I would finish before they packed away the BBQ!

The Gold Coast Running Club did a good job, with so many late entrants and payments on the day the 5am start was only delayed about 6mins.

Off they went - those doing the full 50km and also those doing the 25km first leg starting together. First leg is from Kurrawa surf club up to Point Danger (my kids were fascinated when I told them the run was from QLD to NSW but they didn't believe me!!) and then it turns around and comes home again.

After the race start most of the second leggers in the relay moved out to meet their partner at a water stop and provide support.
This was the most fun of the day - driving 5km then jumping out and yelling at everyone and taking photos and hoping back in the car and doing it all again. Hooting as you went past....
Tesso got all the supporters to do the mexican wave as the runners came over the bridge and down a yukky hill and this seemed to bring out the most smiles! One poor lass who we all clapped and cheered on got so confused as she came down the hill - she was just out for a jog and not part of the race. Doh!

Too soon it was time to head to the halfway point - or the start/finish for the relay members. I think I did a record 7 toilet stops before I started I was so nervous! I had been waiting for this for many weeks.

Got down there and waited for Loffy to come in. Hubby and kids could see that I was nervous and kept their distance so they headed up the hill to get an action shot of my race start.
The worst part of the whole day was the waiting - not being able to go when others were heading out.
Then quite quickly Loffy came over the hill and I got all pumped up and ready to go, slapped his hand and off I took...who the hell's idea was it to put a big hill right there? I ran 500m and was stuffed! I only had 24.5km to go.

After a week of rain and storms the clouds moved aside to let the beaming sun burn our skins. I have lovely red marks on my legs where the leggins ended. Glad I didn't wear my shorts.
Yet as humid and hot as it was, I coped well and really had lots of fun. You could tell how hot it was by the water stations having two attendants - one that gave you water to drink and the other that hosed you down! I was keen to stop at all the water stations - but mainly to get directions. I was terrified of getting lost.

I got very excited when I ran down a couple of runners but it turned out they were doing the 50km so I felt a bit like a cheat running past them all fresh whilst they shuffled along. Still it consumed some time to get their heads into view then slowly hunt them down and pass them, only to look ahead for another head.

Hubby and kids (support crew) got lost and were waiting for me to arrive at a designated drink point but I had gone past it already as they had detoured via McDonalds for breaky. I wasn't too fussed.
The next drink stop was empty of water though and not wanting to stop and wait I kept going. It was now nearly 8km without water and very hot. Loffy and Mrs Loffy cruised past in their car and cheered and clapped but I managed to convince them I was not smiling but grimacing for water. They met me 500m up and handed me water and then stuck with me each 5km to the do same. Unfortunately they got caught with a good water supply so most runners got a drink or a drenching - whatever they needed as they went past.

Soon enough I had hobbled down the stairs from Nobby's Point and was on Hedges Ave.
It was the longest road in the world to run yesterday - you could not see the end of it but you knew by the cramps and knee pain that it had to end soon.
I caught a few more runners here. I think knowing this part of the course really helped psych me up for a strong finish. I dug in hard and told myself to get my poor battered body home. At this stage this was the longest and furtherest I had ever run..but I was still smiling . Went past Kurrawa Surf Club and looked for the finish line. I think I heard it before I saw it! Tesso and Loffy and Karisma and many other coolrunners and fellow racers were all cheering the finishers to the line. It was such a great feeling. You would have thought I was the winner the way they were carrying on.
Did the distance in 2:14 and felt like a winner. Still smiling - still sore and stiff mind you, some sunburn but a damn good day. Great BBQ and great friends new and old. They presented all the finishers with a trophy glass as a momento.
Hard to believe the man that won the race did the full 50km and broke the record by 13mins - doing a negative split with the two 25km legs. That is tough!
I will definitely be fronting up for next years run. Determined to cut it down to sub 2:10.
Tess was amazing. She took a wrong turn down one street but quickly corrected, still managing to finish in 2:00:22. I am sure she will be chasing that sub 2hrs next year! The most supportive person of the race award goes to her. She cheered everyone on in the first half then after finishing cheered and clapped all the finishers as they came in. She even collected their momentos for those who had to leave early. I know that without her constant encouragement at the various groups that we run together in, I would not have had the motivation to do all the training and to push myself when I least felt like it. It was great to have someone you could talk to about the run as well and share your training secrets (though I'm sure she's got some more up her sleeve...will just have to keep running with her).
Now to keep the feet up for a few days whilst they try recover. Feeling quite good aside from the left foot - which was sore prerace anyhow.

The best start to Christmas ever - now I can say I have run from NSW to QLD. That's Cool!

Athlete of the Month

Woo Hoo Athlete of the Month at Pat Carrolls running group. Very happy about that!!
Despite getting a PB in the time trial - I still came in last in the group on the day so did not even consider I was in the running.
Won myself a pair of shoes from RUN ON DOWN store. Fantastic Chrissy present for me.
mmmm...hope I don't have to run in the lead pack now... ha!

Big Effort Speed Session

I hate todays speed session - with a passion!
It is always hard. Yes it is getting easier but still it's hard.
4km warm up run (I was ready to go home then!) followed by some strides to get the blood flowing. Then Pat takes the lead and heads off a sprint. He puts his hand up when we can slow the pace and then puts his hand up when we have to dig deep for a faster pace.
You never know if you are going to be doing a 30sec effort or a 2min effort and it is hard to run at a pace you don't know if you can sustain...then when you do get a slow pace you don't know if this is going to be 10sec or 30sec.
The final run (2mins either way) is without a recovery and all the way up the street and back to the start. This is topped off with the 4km run back to the bridge.
The rain was held at bay for most of the morning but the humidity was out there in full force..YUK! Still it's much much better than winter running.

3K Time Trial

That dreaded time trial comes around so quickly each month. With the recent weather being warmer and warmer I thought today would be a scorcher but thankfully the rain kept most of the heat away. Unfortunately the wet weather did nothing to assist running!
Last week I told Pat I would bring the group water to the Time Trial so I parked my car where the race ends, then jogged to the meeting point. Then we ran our warm up to the start - so already I was soaking wet and buggered! That was before the race!
Just as Pat yelled GO the sky opened up and it poured down. Really hard rain. My shoes were like lead and I could hardly see in front of me. Suprising how fast you can run when you are trying to hold up your leggings! I was sure they would fall down as they were so heavy and wet but realised if I kept running fast with the knees up they were safe.
Nonetheless I pressed on. Before the end of the first 1Km I was the last in the group...I hate being last....where were all the slow people?
I started running hard with 500m to go and ended up pulling a PB - my fastest ever 3km (well since I've been recording) 00:13:18.
2005 Goal is 13mins even.
At the finish of the race everyone was keen to press on back home and were all waiting for me to finish (having done their TT somewhere between 00:09:30 and 00:12:30. The last thing those wet runners wanted was water to drink! However I was lucky enough to have my car there so packed up the water and copped out on the warm down.
Feeling dry and pretty good about the run now. Bring on 2005......

Group Running

One of the best things I like about the weekend long run is heading out with a group and catching up on the weeks runs and how everyone is doing.
Started out at St Lucia golf club carpark. Got there and saw about 30 runners all warming up. Turned out that the Running Buddies were meeting at the same time as the Hash House runners.
A couple of us Running Buddies headed out for a quick 30mins before returning to meet up with the 6am group. Then went out again for about an hour. Nothing too long. A good size - only 7 of us so nice and intimate and we all stayed together.
Most of us were exhausted from the heat and training during the week. Also I think as a number of us are running in Kurrawa next week we were keen to not go too far today.
The run itself was a bit undulating with one reasonable hill close to home. Tesso and Scotty were keen to take us out to a hilly run later in Dec or early next year. Will be a long run so might do it closer to the training leading up to Canberra Marathon - not that I am running in it but I will do the training.

Hot, Sweaty and Fast.....

Thats how the run was this morning.
Jumped out of the car just in time to make the 6am start in my new Regatta Runners dress (i think it was meant to be a singlet but is way too long/big.
Headed out just behind the lead group and caught up to Tess who was doing her camera thing. Had a quick chat before realising today was not going to be a talking day. All energy was needed to put one foot in front of the other and stay upright. Something to do with 3hrs sleep and wine last night....but the Eagles concert was worth it all :)
Got to the turn around and found myself drafting behind three guys. Kept that up until they burned for home. Hung on with the final 'leader' determined to finish the run as soon as I could to get some sustanence into me. Got back to the start at just over 36mins - best time ever for that course. Legs are burning now but not as bad as the eyes. Soooo tired. Be interesting to see how Tess's photos turn out.

Secret Heat Training

Anyone reading this will think I am truly crazy. Not quite but getting there....
I used to live in Darwin for many years and was accustomed to the humidity and breathing thick air. So now that I am acclimatised to the cooler Brissy weather I thought I would remind myself of Darwin in preparation for my run at Kurrawa.

To do this I have turned off the aircon in my car.
Sounds like nothing but when it has been in the sun at the shopping centre or clients office and you hop in - it is stifling - especially in 35oC+.
Whilst driving I have a bottle of water (important to stay hydrated) and leave the windows up. It is like a sauna. Hubby thinks I am crazy but I am truly adjusting really well to the summer already. The 40min drive home usually requires me to turn the fan on - but not the aircon. I am soaking wet when I get home and feel like I have had a workout. Getting out of the car is a relief - like slipping in the pool after a sauna.
Not recommended for everyone - need to pay attention to your vision and staying hydrated when you are driving - but I feel it is doing me some good with maintaining my energy levels in the heat.

Pat's Session

Groan! Another speed session.
Hard to get up after a late night at a client Chrissy party (pizza and wine for several hours...)
An initial warm up of 2.5km then 2km/1km/500m/500m/1km reps the faster runners finished with a 2km instead of the 1km but I had nothing left in the tank.
We had a standing recovery after each sprint but 60/90sec hardly counts.
After the speedwork I noticed all the girls had left early for work or other reasons, so I thought I would just walk back but then I fell into pace with Eddie. Well Eddie's pace is slightly faster than mine so I needed another cooldown after the cooldown!
Just over 10km and I am still feeling it now. The heat certainly makes a difference.