I'm Glad I am a Runner

...and not a mountain biker. They are all so strong and intense and determined!! Totally out there as hard core endurance athletes...

Today was the 6Hr Mountain Bike Endurance about 90mins from Brisbane. Jodi Willet was contending so I was keen to get down there as soon as I could after my role as Race Director at Road Runners this morning.

The BRRC run was a 3 x 5km Relay - which was loads of run and it was good to be at the other end watching all the runners work hard. Tess's team won which I was doubly proud of!

I raced home then showered and headed out for a long drive with hubby.

It was hot out there and dirty and there was lots of tears and blood and vomiting.

See below photo - that's Jodi just after she finished.



Then just a few minutes later the cramps kick in and this was all you saw....



All that white stuff on her shorts is the salt from sweat! Man she did it tough out there today. I am so very proud. Out of 20 odd solo women (there were hundreds of teams) doing the six hour event she came third with lots of great (bike) prizes. How cool is she!!!

COOL NIGHT CLASSIC

WIPEOUT!

Sorry to disappoint everyone - including myself. I had Eddie in my sights early (despite him being incognito without his Coolrunning cap) on and tucked in behind him, went past him YAH! around Kangaroo Point only to be overtaken MOAN!. It was a game of cat and mouse the whole way. In the end he cruised past me evilly laughing - with 800m to go and whopped my butt by more than 20sec.

I felt good in the race - went out hard and kept it going but found my new shorts really sweaty and I also got a stiTch - which is nothing new. I find I tend to get them when I run in the afternoon (and have had big roast beef roll/gravy for lunch ha!). But I was happy with my efforts for sure.

Stephen - no prizes :( But I got to run....that's a prize in itself. And had fun!

Next year instead of lining up with the elites....I'm gonna be at the front of the line - not the back!
I could not believe how many lined up at the front and then went out in 5min/6min pace. I had to duck and weave the whole way to get past them and also towards the end as the fast runners stopped to walk (part-timers I call em). Very frustrating...still all in all a great run and whilst poorly organised it is good to run in the city with so many people.

I just love the end where you run them down one by one!!!!!!!! well except Eddie..

Cool Morning + Cool Night Classic 5.14km

This morning was a very easy session. I could'nt be stuffed doing anything to exerting. So I did a warmup at the gym and then an hr of weights and mostly stretching. It was very good for the body and soul.

Tonight - I am racing with the PatCarrollRacingGroup in the Cool Night Classic. It is a run for the corporates around Brisbane that starts at 5:15pm. Some great prizes and they get a good crowd - which unfortunately means slow times and a congested start/finish areas. I'm just heading out there to have fun....oh and beat Eddie :)

Quick Update

Thursday - Hill session. Ran the trail with Galeforce runners - including David Waugh (Tugger). Was hard but I ran well with no further injury to the back.
Went to the gym afterwards for a stretching session.

Friday - Rested and back exercises.

Saturday - 30km run with Tesso around the streets of Noosa. Around 5:20min/km pace. Was very tired and struggling at the end but came good just before we finished.

Sunday - 10km run with Tesso around the streets of Noosa. Felt much better than yesterday.

Monday - hungover at Noosa.

Tuesday - Speed session at Pats. Worked hard but not maximum effort. Still in recovery from the weekend running and partying.

Tuesday Speed Session

After the race on Sunday I felt really great. I even managed to go out for a 7.5km run later that afternoon to loosen up the legs.

Monday morning I hit the gym and managed to totally fuck my back after lifting some weights following my spin class.
I raced to a phsyio who specialised in back pain and they spent an hour diagnosing and relieving my pain. Apparently I strained a disc. But the ultrasound also showed that under all the flab I have some very strong/tight Abdominus muscle. Yah.

Now I have lots of additional core exercises to do, NSAID's to take - and a lighter workload for the week. NO GYM PERMITTED. mmmm

Tuesday morning I fronted up to Pat's with a bit of trepidition. I shouldn't have worried - it was all good. I choose to just run steady at a decent pace instead of doing the 30fast/30recovery session the rest of the group was doing. It was funny going past them all in the recovery and trying to stay ahead of them when they started running fast. Didn't help that Pat NEVER runs 30sec recovery....more like 20sec. My back never crossed the unbearable threshold so I was happy.

When I got home from work I even braved the lap pool to do some laps - apparently swimming is excellent for the back. Pity the lungs got soaked as well - I think I swallowed half the pool.

I had NSAIDs on Monday and one yesterday before training but then didn't take anymore. I wanted to see how bad the pain got. I had a really good day yesterday but this morning I am no better and it may even be slightly worse so I will follow Dr instructions and take the NSAID's for a few days. Also have a 4pm appt with the Physio again to follow up.

Final BRRC Championships Race 2006

This morning was the final race in the series for 2006 - a 5km. If it wasn't in the Championships I guess I would not have run it. I would have done the 15km option instead.

I have never run 5km as a race before so I was interested to see what I could do. I know what all my friends, coaches and running calculators say I can do but I never meet up to those expectations when the distance is short - as we all know from my dismal 10km attempts.

This morning I woke up feeling well rested and ready to go but still didn't bank on having a great time. I was confident of one thing - I was going to give it everything I had.

Tess and I got there early so we could socialise...I mean warm up.

We headed out down the road but just before the 1km turnaround I realised I had not had my can of V (or any breaky) so turned back and left Tess to keep on runnning.

I had a few mouthfuls and knew I would regret it as it was only 8mins to race time.

I did two run thru's - pathetic really but it got my heart rate going so some good came from them.

The gun went and I hurtled out. I would like to know how fast Robertsong did his first km in because my Garmin says we did it in 3:34 and I am amazed at that. It was fast but I didn't think I could run THAT fast. The km's ticked by steady and I got a bit tired halfway but then pepped up when I realised it was HALFWAY. I then ran it home to get to the 4km mark where I was now physically tiring. I was really trying to just hold my form. My legs felt great - like I could go on forever. I was breathing like an elephant but with the ipod turned up loud I didn't care.

Crossed the finish line in exactly 20:30 - woo hoo third female and Gold for my age group. Faster than I expected and I was very very happy with that run. Any time today would have been a PB but at least now I can say I have a 5km time I am happy with....so I won't have to run one again!

Friday - Rest Day

Got up this morning and lacked enthusiasm but habit is stronger so I got in the car and headed into the gym.

The day started out badly when a BCC truck driver nearly ran me off the road. Then when I got to Milton road I was directed around in another direction due to the closure of the Riverside Expressway. When I went that way I was then directed over the Goodwill bridge - into Southbank....which is not anywhere near my gym.

I turned around and came back then went into Roma Street into the city. You could not turn right into the street my gym was on. I was 30mins late by now and really steaming.

So I gave up and came to work.

I feel sorry for the businesses that this road closure must be affecting. The gym is just one. How on earth anyone in a car can get to it is beyond me.

So enforced rest day today. Will have to do something tomorrow instead.

It's Tough Out There......

The hill session at Mount Cootha this morning turned into a hard slog.

We ended up doing the whole loop! Raced up the trail (without tripping up or hurting too much) though I was totally spent by the time we got to Channel 10.
We then continued along the top on an undulating road - which is wonderful on a long slow run - yet this morning was anything but! I had dead legs and was running on empty. I persevered more-so when a new girl tried to get in front of me! Imagine!

Going down was the hardest - my left knee was really aching. As soon as we went uphill again it was fine. Weird - but I always knew I hated downhills.

We ended up running for just over an hour of tough hills and I was totally buggered.

Obviouly I am an obsessed runner - because at lunch today I decided that HARD DAYS HAVE TO BE HARD so I went out for an hours run at 12:30pm.
Secret heat trainnig for Kurrawa!
Was meant to do it with Tess but she had a Very Important engagement to attend to.
So there I was dying along the river, sweating out buckets and looking at all the other people out there thinking "are they actually enjoying this??" I wasn't.
Then again, I had forgot my sunscreen and my Garmin went dead after 20mins so I had no idea how fast or how long I was actually out there for.

I have a headache now - so lots of water this afternoon.

Might have a rest tomorrow...then again might do SPIN.

Heh Neuted - can you sit on a bike yet? Maybe you can join me? 6:15am North Quay Fitness First gym.

Bring it on Sis!

I have a very fat sister. Well actually she used to be fat. Now she is damn skinny and rang me last night just to tell me she is now 54kg.

She is arriving shortly for the Noosa Triathlon and the first task will be to weigh her in to ensure this is correct. I liked being the skinniest sister (there are 6 of us). So water and crackers all week until she arrives.......

This morning, tired as I was I met Liz and we ran for 13km from Regatta into the Gardens and back - via the city thanks to the closure of the Expressway. It made for a welcome and interesting detour! Those police were very polite in offering their assistance upon witnessing my sweaty breathless demeanour.

I was exhausted when we finished - we averaged 5min/km so nothing too fast. Will try to eat some red meat in the next few days.

Today also was my regular massage day. I am not sure if it was just me or not but they don't hurt anymore and I don't really feel any pain during the massage. So my question to you - DO MUSCLES GET USED TO PAIN? Do they adapt the the vigours of a masseuse so that it feels quite thereapeutic (ie. aromatherapy like)????? I'm curious. Either that or I have to tell Jodi to have her weeties next fornight :)

Back at it again.....

Was so great to see Tesso back at Pat's this morning. It really lifted my spirits.

After the warm up I was feeling very lethargic and leg-heavy but was reassured by Tess that I would feel better once we got going.

I think the key is that you work so hard in a speed session you don't have time to ponder how you are feeling.....

We had 1min hard (30) 30 sec hard (15)15sec hard (15) REPEATED

Not sure how many times we did this but it felt like lots. Tess and I usually run together but the damn little champion has pneumonia and still was keeping up with me so I am obviously in need of some more speed sessions to keep up with her in the future.

It was a great session - all topped off by 2 x hill repeats that totally wasted me.

I felt great afterwards knowing I had worked hard and not slacked off (ummm thanks Tess for that comment halfway through..)

Going to go and reward myself with a cup of coffee now..mmmmmmmmm

Hard at it......

Thursday - Hills with the great Glasshouse Guru Tugga! Was a very hard session and I worked extra hard to keep with Dave. I felt great afterwards but definitely very tired.

Friday - Went back to spin class. Went well today - I definitely prefer the Friday man to the Monday woman.

Saturday - Hills again *groan*. We did the 18km circuit around Mount Cootha and I, for once, was glad to finish.

Sunday - Rest

Monday - Spinning again. Christian was there. He had won the Toowoomba 10km yesterday (32:10) and was still riding like a maniac!!!

Had a disgusting weekend on the food and alochol front. I even ate a hotdog at the Bullets game last night which was totally dubious. So this week - more focus on healthy eating, no alcohol and lots of mileage. BRING IT ON.

Its a beautiful day...

Liz and I struggled to get out this morning so we laughed when we both saw each other in the carpark at 5.30am both scowling and moaning.

We ended up having a great run and feeling really good for getting out there.

10.5km Fartlek that went like this
2.5 warmup
500m fast
500m steady
500m fast
2km steady
1km fast
500m steady
1km fast
1km steady
500m fast
500m cooldown.

A good workout. Steady pace was around 4:30-4:40 but we focussed on form and breathing as opposed to running all out speed so we were very happy. Even managed to talk through a few of them which gave us an added aerobic benefit.
Everything is just smooth sailing at the moment.
I love being a runner.
Thanks to everyone out there for making me enjoy it so much.

Gotta love the endorphins heh?

Bum back on the Bike

Monday:
Went to the gym and decided to try spinning again. I was confident that knowing how to get out of the bike and also how to set it up that I would be okay today.
The class was not as hard as the first one but I was not prepared for the pain in my butt when I took my first seat - I think I might have bruised it from the first session last week. Does that happen often?
Anyhow it was a great workout but this woman was not as good as the bloke - you could not hear a word she was saying and she did not really give off any energy or vibes. Nonetheless I worked hard and managed to get through it (and off) in one piece.

Tuesday:
Everyone was asking about Tess today - they knew she was due back and I was constantly being stopped and questioned about her absence. I will take a sign next time :)
I caught up with her quickly on Sunday night after she arrived back from her time in Sydney but she found out she was off to Adelaide for work for a few days - so no running at Pat's for another week for her.

We had her favourite hill session this morning. It was strange, I didn't feel like I was working hard. The first two laps I was out the front, then I got overtaken by a couple of people. Nothing unusual there. However I just kept going and towards the end I was able to go past those same people. Consistency really paid off.
Normally in this session I burn and bust and am satisfied but after today - it was way more satisfying finishing in one piece and working consistently hard throughout the session. I feel really great and all fired up so pretty happy that the spin yesterday didn't have any drastic effects on my legs for today.

River Loop - SATURDAY

We found the perfect course this morning - for a mid-long run.

The standard riverloop but go straight from the cementry to Southbank - ie leave out the meandering through Orleigh Park and West End. All up 24km of flat, hills and curves. A good workout.

We managed to finish strongly but I was very tired at the end. For the first time EVER I succumbed to a bacon and egg burger at the Regatta. It was great and fuelled me up for a big weekend.

Saturday the kids and I cruised around the shops and played Monopoly all afternoon. We had a BBQ for dinner and I got a good night sleep. Sunday it was golf followed by housework. Finished off with a trip over to Jodi's to celebrate her birthday.....I have a feeling she is still celebrating judging by the amount of alcohol there!!

A great weekend!

It's all about the bike..............

Only read on if you promise not to laugh at me!

The legs had been a bit punished lately so I thought I would waiver my 8km run the coach had me down for and head to the gym.

I snuck into the Spin class before anyone was there and had a look at the bikes. Can't be too hard I thought, the teacher came in and saw me and came straight over *groan*. He was great. Showed me how to adjust the bike for height, arm length and workload (and I thought you just sat on it). Then he ran through some of the catch phrases he would use during the session and what it meant (ie stand, sit, drink fluid etc). mmmm this is now getting too technical for a simple cross training exercise.

Just as it was about to get underway Champion Christian came bounding in (he runs 10km in 32mins), saw me and grinned. Grabbed the bike next to me - that I left purposely empty - and the class got underway.
That damn nasty teacher had to announce I was a newbie and Chris grinned even bigger and whispered - "don't worry I'll watch out for you - just follow my lead"

The teacher forgot to mention that the music was going to be so loud that I would not hear his catch phrases and I have never been good at lipreading when the sweat is pouring in my eyes.
Hence a few times I had a slap on the arm from Chris telling me to keep looking up or to put up the resistance (my response being a kindly "I'll put the resistance up something in a minute..").
I got through 20mins and we eased off and everyone was stretching their arms and grabbing some water. Great I thought, it was time for the cool down. Just as soon as I picked up my water bottle the man up front screamed and everyone was pumping their legs furiously. WTF was going on...I thought it was all over now!

I never knew I could run up a hill on a bike. Or glare at someone 5m away from me and have him smile widely back and say "CMON LETS SPRINT"
Yah finally something I can do. Oh...he means still on the bike....

The 45mins went for 45hrs. Everyone else was stretching after the cooldown but I just kept turning the legs over gently. Then they all starting leaving the room and I was still gently peddling along. The instructor came up to me and asked me what I thought so I told him it was a great workout and it really tested me. He then asked if I was staying for another class and I said no I had to go to work. I kept peddalling.
So he politely told me the next group would be in soon.
So I politely told him that I was waiting until everyone left so I could figure how to get out of the damn clips he had put my feet into. I mean did he really think I wanted to just keep peddalling when my legs were groaning?????
I think Christian is still laughing. I daren't ever go back there again.

50mins + 1km

Another hard session today, but it was fun.

We had just a 50min run on the program. I decided to run hard with Pat and Jonesy at the front - they were just doing a jog! We were going at 4:40pace - the garmin had it at much slower but when I asked Mark he had a good idea and knows his pace really well.

After 25mins I turned around and they kept going for another 500m past the bowls club. I thought we had been running 5min km (due to Garmin) so decided to run harder on the way home. Ended up doing 4:14 from the Garmin may have been a bit quicker but not too much. I was strong but tiring towards the end.

Rested up for a few minutes before Pat called a 1km no-watch run. I guesse my time of 4:30 and ended up running 4:24.

We finished off with a wondeful breakfast of pancakes and fruit salad - it was a great morning out! But I got the terrible news shortly after to put a damper on my day......Tess has decided to stay in Sydney. Well for another night or two anyhow :)

I am a naughty runner.....repeat after me...I am a naughty runner

Decided I was awake early so I might as well run at 5.30am. Headed out from the Regatta on my own and had my stop watch with me (instead of Garmin). Was taking the km splits and pleased to see the times were not as bad as I thought they were going to be. 4:58 was the first and slowest. Did the next 4km at 4:40 pace - give or take 5ec. Then stopped for a stretch and drink in the gardens.

Got going again and told myself to ease of and then I can push it when I get to the km markings again at 4km (4km back to the Regatta). The 500m markings are very accurate and allow you to run farlek, time trials, even races.

This morning however I was just enjoying it. Then I saw Liz just after the marker that says 3km to home. We stopped and chatting for a a few mins and then I told her to run hard with me instead of doing her planned 9km run. Naughty aren't I?

We raced 500m then jogged 500m then raced etc all the way back - finishing on a sprint of 500m followed by a jog to Tesso's house. We were exhausted. All efforts were done at 2min pace - the last one was 1:54 so I was really happy with that considering how tired we both were from our weekend race.

All up an honest days work.

3km Time Trial

Went out to the Time Trial this morning with absolutely no expectations.

I even contemplated just watching after the warm up but I was surrounded by so many enthusiastic persons that it was hard to not want to run.

Ally was racing and going to go sub-12 for the first time so I was keen to watch - which meant I had to stay close or not run. I decided to run and stay right behind her. Well I would never have had the energy to go past anyhow!!!

The legs felt lactic after 1km and I couldn't believe I was doing this to myself. But to tell you the truth they never got any worse and I started to just coast along. A very tranquil feeling, then again I eased off at the turnaround as it was quite crowded and you had to remain in single file.
I never got that gut busting finish or exhausted myself like I usually do but still I was able to have a good run.

Pat clocked me at 12:10 and I was happy with that effort. The km splits speak for themselves:
3:56
4:12
4:02

Another day in the bank. Oh and I must mention - 500gm lighter this week. So 4 weeks of solid effort has paid off (what a joke!)

Bribie Island Bash - 30km Beach Run

well well well

Another beautiful day in paradise. Only blur on the horizon as I arrived at Bribie was knowing Tesso wasn't going to be able to join me. This is one of her favourite races. :(

I arrived 1min (yes!) before the gun went off. It was so embarressing. I was putting on my shoes, signing a disclaimer as Allan was clipping up my camelpak. I didn't get the chance to put on extra sunscreen (big mistake) or any sportsshield (ouch) but I was glad to get to the start with 20secs to spare. Talk about wired.

I ran out onto the beach and found myself talking and laughing with Gavin Bell and CR Beagle. Run67 and Parso were just up in front with Ian sprinting off into the distance. We got to 10km just like that before I pulled back a bit. We had been running 4:50's up until then and I was fairly comfortable and definitely confident of doing 2:30hrs for the race. However when I reached the turnaround I realised what those grimaces had been on everyone's faces. I even understood Ian's reluctance to high-5 me as he went past.... The cool breeze on the way out was a massive headwind on the way back. It was terrible.

I struggled bad and instead of enjoying the view was forced to keep my head down to avoid the salt spray and sand. Despite that I enjoyed the challenge. I never gave up and I never walked. I plodded on and focussed on going from one song to the next on my ipod. When it was really bad I ran hard on the verse's and relaxed a bit on the chorus's. Before I knew it I had only 6km to go. It was then that I saw all the 15km runners coming toward me. It gave me an inner glow to see all my friends out there. I got to high five them all and smile and encourage them knowing what they didn't - they were still running with the wind at their back! LOL

The last few km were tough and the finishing beacon was a glorious sight to behold.

I raced up to the finish line in 2:39hrs - over my goal but elated with the result given the circumstances. I promptly declared I had no more energy left. Somehow i found some as we stayed around until 2pm surfing and having a BBQ and generally enjoying being with the family and some friends. A great day out!

GO THE BRONCOS!

WEIGHED DOWN....

I'll be weighing an extra 10kilos this week due to the heavy metal in my body. The amount of iron I have had in the past two days - I'm hoping some of it gets absorbed!!

Went to the gym yesterday as I thought it would be best to give the hills a miss this week. Did 30mins on the bike followed by 90mins on the weights. It was tough but I enjoyed it for a change.

Today is rest day. Yah. Haven't had one of those for a while.

I am really noticing my health plan benefits this week. I have been having coffee maybe 3 times a week. I no longer crave it and don't need a hot drink in the mornings either.
As for alcohol, I have had the odd glass of wine when out with friends but in the past 3 weeks have maybe had a total of 5 glasses. Thats a massive cut down for me.
But aside from the actual products themselves, what I really notice is that I am out of the habit.I love my coffee and wine and bad foods. But I no longer have them just because.
I no longer have a coffee when I arrive at work or go out with a client. I have grown inventive with other options.
I no longer have a glass of wine when cooking a special meal or eating out with my hubby. If I feel like one, I'll have one. But it is no longer habit.That is what I call eating healthy.

13km Hard Easy run

I just can't trust my garmin at all anymore. Ran for 30mins then into the gardens and back and it said 8.97km in total...aarrggh. I know I ran at least 13km today.

The first bit on my own at 5.30am was a struggle. I had some great music and was keen to run but the body just wasn't willing. I had to push myself up the hills and then prevent the body from walking down. I actually stopped after 2km (10mins) and stretched then turned around and ran back.

Back at the Regatta I picked up Liz and Chris. Saw Mark - who was off racing the world (what he calls taking it slow is 4.30min/km).

I ambled about with Liz and Chris and we talked about our running and iron levels. It was really good to chat to her - a nutritionist. She is doing a study at the moment (paper due at Uni after the break) about iron levels in women - with some focus on long distance runners. Very interesting.

Anyhow I finished the run feeling like I had done a marathon. Certainly won't be doing hills tomorrow.

Maybe I make this week a low mileage week before upping it again next week....

LITTLE SISTER

My little sister is a triathlete and is coming to Brisbane to do Noosa in 30 more sleeps. Look how fit she is.....I am so excited!
I will be cheering her on and then celebrating with the Moet in the spa afterwards (stuff the diet when she's here - I need her to get fat!!)

Go Rosie Go!

3 more weeks of tough training, 1 week of taper and YAHHOOOOO.

Speed Session and the Light goes on!

Was a great session. I worked hard to get to top gear. My HR was 172 during the recoveries - I never got to see what is was when I was hurtling along. But my average was 192 - which is higher than my max??

We had 5 x 1min efforts with 30sec recovery jog, then turn around and do 30/30 all the way back. For once Pat actually followed the times correctly. It was amusing because everyone was prepared for him to say "all the way home now" in the last minute but we got a rest just before the last 30sec effort. It was great and made us all go harder to get home.

I was just behind Robbie (15m) on the way out and gaining on him - I was doing well but as soon as we turned...well another story. My legs felt lactic and I was breathless. Pat stopped twice and asked me if I was okay. The first time I thought he was being nice. The second time I wiped my nose in case it was bleeding...I mean I was working hard here....of course I am not ok. But I didn't think I was attracting attention for any reason.
He spoke to me afterwards and suggested that I maybe low in iron. BINGO. That may be correct. With the new diet and the weights program I may be neglecting the iron food. I eat red meat once a week (ie a steak or stirfry) but I eat mince once a fortnight also, which I thought was plenty. I have been eating loads of fish and chicken. Spinach with every evening meal as well but Pat mentioned that even if you are taking sufficient Iron in your diet your body may not be absorbing it well due to training or other body issues. Hence you may need more than usual just to get the right amount absorbed.

I hope to get on top of it very quickly. Pat said the two main symptoms are:
* breathlessness when running (more so than usual)
* fatigue (at any time in the day - you may feel great when you run but tire easy later)

I have no upcoming races so I wont' suffer too much even if I was very low in iron but I don't want it to worsen and I have a 30km beach run on Sunday that I don't really want to feel dreadful all the way like I did on Sunday. So off to the chemist for some fluriovax or whatever it is called.

10KM WALK - BRRC

Was all fired up this morning for a good run. Went to bed early, ate well, hydrated well.

Woke up in the morning tired (Hubby was sick during the night) but still felt good. I left everyone at home to recuperate and sleep in and headed off to BRRC.

Arrived early and then remembered it was a handicap so I had more than an hour before the start. It was good to have a chat to everyone and see what their plans were for this morning.
There was a group of guys from Pat's that were pacing Gerard to run sub 40min/10km. He was very very nervous so I tried to make him laugh and loosen up a bit before he started.

Shane was also going for the magical sub 40. Owen was aiming for the 40min goal as well but I knew it would be hard for both of them as they would have no competition going off 30+mins for their handicapp. Not quite the same as a race start where everyone bolts out and chases each other.

Gerard & Pat's fellows were not in the Handicap race so had special dispensation to start at 0:00. It was great to see them do the first 5km right on target before I headed out for my warm up.

Christian (who runs sub 33min 10km) saw me and joined me for the warm up. I didn't have the heart to tell him that after the first 200m we were running at my race pace and he was just blabbing away talking whilst I was breathing hard!

A quick toilet break and chat with Parmy and I was ready to go. Did some run throughs (boy did everyone laugh at me for that!!) and was all fired up on the start line. BANG I was off. flying start....the heart was pumping, the legs were turning - it was all good. Close to the 1km I thought oh no I have gone out too fast and will regret it. At 1km I looked at my watch - it said 4:24 *groan* I wasn't even doing race pace. I knew then that today was really going to hurt. And that it was unlikely I was going to get close to my race goal dream of 42:30.

As it turned out I have no idea what went wrong. I felt strong and good, no issues with the stomach or fluids. I had great music on and just kept in ryhthym. The clock shows some drastic tales though with the following splits: 4:24, 4:20, 4:14, 4:46 and so it went - up and down.

Thanks to Matty Phillips and Langy who joined me as they were doing a warm down. It made me stop thinking and just run. Matty stuck with me to the very end and I was happy to finish strong. The last few km was decreasing and the last km was a 4:00min/km so I was wrapped with that. Yes I was very heady afterwards and needed fluid - which Cass kindly provided me with. Really angry with myself though because within an hour I felt I could run another 30km - obviously I didn't work hard enough.

Overall a crap race with a crap result. 45:00 (officially). I had 44:59 on my watch but whos' going to argue over a second? I am very very sad about this. No actually I am furious with myself. I felt great the whole way and despite knowing I wasn't running fast have absolutely no excuse. I think I will stick to longer runs from now on. Whilst I don't expect a PB everytime I honestly believed I would be better than that. I mean I run faster in a half marathon for crying out loud! Anyhow, the run is done and the experience is in the bag. Now onto the heavy training for Kurrawa!!!! Have finally decided to stick with the 25km but would like to aim for 1:55 this year. Thats a big ask for the second leg as it will be a zillion degrees then.

Well done to Owen for his great run at 40mins (yah a PB) and for Shane's extraordinary effort for sub 40.
Gerard didn't quite make his goal but he'll be back and more determined than ever. It was a big reminder to me about relaxing before a race. I saw firsthand what I must be like when I am stressed about a run. I will try to remember that....

The BRRC course was officially announced as being 100m short (50m per lap) at the committee meeting after the race (this didn't affect me whatsoever but I thought of those trying to go for sub 40 and just missing out by a few seconds - it would have made a difference to them!).

The course is going to be remeasured and re-routed to be an accurate certified course on the 8th October. We have a 20km run on the same day in which I will try to run consecutively faster loops. (4 x 5km).

It's a Busy Week

THURSDAY - Did Mount Cootha this morning. It was brilliant. I felt so strong. Did it three times with the elite runners (Jen Epps and John etc) and I was not too far behind them. They rested at the top for 10secs for me to get there and then I turned around and went straight down.
We did it three times. I walked the steep section on the last one - my legs were burning and my lungs were choking. But I started running again and finished the summit in good time. I was very very happy with this session. Stayed in my skins all day but didn't rest up too much - had a to play 18 holes of Golf. It's a hard life.

FRIDAY - Shane was at the regatta this morning so he, the Bee and I ran off in one little group whilst the others went at their pace. We did the first 4km in 5min/km pace and then sped up a bit. Shane went wild on the return journey and within seconds we couldn't see him anymore - he's fast! The Bee and I ran together going from 4:45 to 4:35 to 4:30 and then 4:20. I finished off strongly - thanks to Shane who came back out and ran in the last bit with me to make sure I didn't slack off. It was a good session and I was glad I got out of bed again. As usual we stayed and had breakfast - which was super as Cass and baby Sam stayed too and we all had a good ole chat and I drooled over their pancakes and icecream.

Saturday - Mostly due to my husbands illness I stayed in bed this morning. Coach Chris had said to anyhow but I was intending on still running 15km or so. However I got no sleep last night and at 3am finally got to sleep. I didn't wake up until 7am and realised the reason I had finally got to sleep was that Allan had moved to the couch to let me get some sleep. Fingers crossed his cough is not so bad tonight.

The last 10km race for the year is on this Sunday. Coach says I can run 42:30 but I will be happy to run strong and get a PB that I can work on in early 2007.
Wish me luck!!

Go Tesso - have fun in your half run on Sunday morning.

*********BRONCOS RULE*******************

14.5km or was it 15.5km - perhaps it was 35km?

Met Shane and Mark at the Regatta at 5.30am for an easy 5km before starting with the rest of the group at 6am.
Well if you know Mark - EASY just isn't in his vocabulary. We headed out to the St Lucia Uni and did 5km of hills! Which were actually quite enjoyable. I love hills.

Back at the Regatta Mark was chomping at the bit to keep going but I was happy to stop to for a minute or two.

We picked up Tesso and the rest of the Regatta crew before heading out again.

Amazing how the time passes when you are having fun. Shane, Tess and I just chatted and ran the 10km loop into the Gardens and back. Very pleasant but I still felt like I was running steady and not taking it easy. We increased the pace on the way home slightly and then I settled in for a solid last few kms.

With 500m to go - the pace had been getting faster but not overly much. Then Tesso pointed to Shane who was in front and said "Run Rabbit Run" I thought she meant we should get in front of him or chase him down. Anyhow her legs were getting faster and faster so I thought she was just about to burst into a sprint.
To counteract I moved up ahead and worked hard for the last little bit. Shane pulled up alongside me and it was good to have someone push you to the end.

Finished feeling great - just a bit grumpy that my X201 was more than a km out. I kept telling Tess it needed calibrating and she kept telling me it ran on the satellites....doh! Anyhow it doesn't work and has been slipping kms in the past month and getting worse...any suggestions anyone? Shane checked it and it has version 3.50 firmware on it. Though I may try to load it up again.

All up we ran just over 15km this morning - by Shane's GPS.

I'm a Wannabe Triathlete.....

Worked hard this morning! Feel alive and hot to trot. If anyone out there is eating dinner late please please please you owe it to yourself to eat healthy and eat early. If you train in the morning your body will thank you for it.

Was good to turn up at Pats and see some old faces as well as our good buddy Shane. A real catch up session. Anyone know where MJ is?? Is she okay??

Pat had us running out to the Floating Bridge near New Farm for our warm up and then a few strides before doing 8 x 1min efforts with 30sec standing recovery.

As we all know Pat's 30 seconds is just a standard 10sec. I tried complaining but he just told me to dig deep and well basically...shut up. Only he can get away with that.

I got to a certain place on the first effort and told Tess that was where we had to get to each time. We almost made it, with the exception of the last two where I was about 5m from the place I had mentally marked. I was happy with that as the recoveries were getting less as we progressed.

On the 6th effort I was really feeling it in my legs and struggling to run with form. I told Tesso this was were I needed her and she told me to keep running in front of her because I stunk of Garlic (it was a joke) and it actually made me laugh and run harder. Yah I made it!

After the session Pat had us do a 500m effort followed by the HILL CLIMB from Hell. I went up strongly but was struggling at the top and felt faint. My blood must have all been in my legs..I normally go back down and do it twice but not today.

We ran a good steady pace back to the Ship Inn and then had some psycho yelling at me to run up the hill at Ship Inn to finish off the session. *groan* When I blinked through the sweat I realised the Psycho was actually Tesso so I turned around and followed her up there. Were were the only two crazy enough to do it.

Pat had a competition that I entered - NOOSA TRIATHLON ENTRY. It's worth $145 I boasted to everyone that I would do it if my name came out and lo and behold....he calls out my name. *shame*
When everyone left I felt really bad and went up to him and discussed it. I felt like a fraud because a lot of the people in our group train really hard for this race and were hoping to win (the comp not the race). I was just going to do it for fun and a bit of a lark (on my mountain bike and with floaties..). Pat said it was my prize and I could give it to anyone I wanted. Jan and Tori had already entered so I gave it to Liz who really wanted it and was very very happy. I felt like Father Christmas!

Going is Tough...

Life is sweet....and then you get injured.

My injury is running related I say but my husband said it is not really. I got it when I hopped on the scales this morning after my first week of hard effort at training and following my regime of healthy eating. I put on weight. WTF. I am devastated.
So naturally my swollen toe seems to come from kicking the wall as opposed to running too many kms....

Headed to the gym in a foul mood that passed as soon as I went through the front door. Did a hard 30mins on the bike followed by 60mins of weights and stretching.

Going to stick it out still and see what comes of it. I'm not a quitter.
On the positive side I feel fantastic and full of energy so that is a better benefit than any body changes I was hoping for.

Run run run...

Feels great to be a runner doesn't it!

Friday:
Went to Gym and did bike work and weights. Nothing overly exciting.

Saturday
Was all geared up to run the Riverloop today but circumstances had us running out to New Farm park. Given the drizzly rain and overcast day it was probably just as well.
We ran 10.5km and I stopped to have a Gu - just as I was washing it down Tesso said we were going to turn around and run back! Noooo I felt terrible as I would not have had the gu to run just 20km but thought we were going further today. To compensate I decided to run harder on the way home and increased the pace.

Tess,Owen and Charlotte were all up for it and kept with me - pushing me even to go harder, which was great. In the last 2km Tess jumped in front and just as we hit the 1km mark (to home) I yelled out for us to all finish this off. Tess ran hard and we were all just chasing her. Owen flew past as if he had just been doing a walk and got to the finish first. Tess was running very strong and it was good to see the increased distance has only been positive for her. I came in last but very happy with a 4:20min/km last km. 1:43 for 21km - once upon a time I would have been happy with that for my half marathon time!!! Very strange thinking of it like that.

After the run Tess and I went to the gym for 90mins and did a good overall workout and stretch session - followed up by a sumptious lunch in the city with (Tess) Lulu, Vegie and Cirque. We had a ball and it was great to catch up over a relaxed lunch when you have worked so hard beforehand - it somehow feels more deserving by then!

Hill Assault

Met at the bottom of Mt Cootha this morning with a group of about 20 of us. Due to the sun rising earlier now we are able to go back to the trail run from Slaughter Falls up to Channel 9.

It was very nice out there this morning - chilly but good once you were warmed up.

Did 3 reps which I was really really really happy with - everyone else did 2!

I was keen to run and do the hills but the legs complained. No real pain just general slowness. Gosh I hope it is not permanent! :)

Got the skins on at work today (can you tell?) so hopefully the legs recover fully in time to be thrashed again tomorrow.
Thinking seriously about running on the treadmill at the gym instead just to give my legs a bit of rest from the concrete & bitumen before Saturdays long run.

The training begins.....

I am starting to feel really good - bodywise. Still have tired legs and sore muscles from the gym workouts but overall I feel the new plan is working.
The main thing is I am more aware of what I eat and....most importantly WHEN. I have been eating before 7.30pm which really helps.

This morning I met Tess and Toastie at Regatta at 5.30am. It was light and despite it being cool you could sense that we are on the end of winter.
We ran out towards the city and then over the Goodwill Bridge, along Kangaroo point over the Story bridge and back to the Regatta. All up 16.5km. Garmin had 16.3km in 1:21 - just under 5min pace. I was very happy with that. The Garmin always loses 200-300m on this run as we run under the bridges/riverside expressway for some time. When you come out the other end it corrects itself but doesn't match up to the markings on the footpath exactly.

Did 5mins of stretching and felt great after a hot shower.

An interesting discussion came up at Pat's yesterday - he is going to put a team in for the NY Marathon 2007.
Tess and I are both keen and this has just fuelled my desire to train hard. I am glad I am motivated as over the summer months I will look back on this posts/words to ensure I don't loose track or get discouraged as the heat affects my times and energy levels.

Running Buddie at Pats!

How exciting - this morning I was asked to be a Running Buddy. That means buddying up with a newbie to the group and taking them through the ropes. It was lots of fun and I think it will certainly help me learn everyones names - I am hopeless at names!

Daughter was her name this morning. I don't think I will ever forget that one! Strange but lovely. I can see all the puns now..hee hee. Anyhow she is a marathoner but had taken a long break since Gold Coast and today was her first run and first speed session. Poor girl...

We ran into the gardens and did a few strides. It felt great to run fast but I knew I wasn't able to do 100% still today. Nonetheless I did 100% enthusiasm instead!

We ran 30sec on 30sec jog for 15mins or so. I was running hard but never hurt - a sign that I am taking it easier than usual. I started behind everyone but the plan was to keep Tesso in sight. Umm well that worked until the last few laps. I think she got faster and faster with each lap...she certainly got further and further away. The only thing motivating me was the fear of being lapped.....

I feel very stiff now - my bum and lower back are all tight as. Thanks to the gym workout (part of the new me) I did yesterday. Hopefully I will go back in there on Thursday and be not as sore so I can get a good workout again which should free up some muscles.

Tomorrow 5:30am - the start of the midweek long runs with Tesso and Toastie.

DAY ONE

This is the first day of the rest of my life......

Well not really but I did start a Healthy life plan today.

It covers my running - I now have all my training till the end of October planned out. Including some double up days..yah!
It also includes weekly pilates and gym sessions *groan* and the worst thing....a weekly weigh in.

My meals - whilst not planned - are outlined with guidelines. So no alcohol or coffee, no bread, 5 fruits a day, 3 x fish meals a week etc etc.

I am looking forward to the 9 week challenge. Will keep you posted if it has any positive benefit on my training. I will log major things here so I can review it down the track but mostly it is boring stuff. I think my biggest challenge is to ensure my evening meal is before 7:30pm each night....have no idea how to cope with that one!!

Oh BTW I got Byron Bay bananas for $3 a kilo - lady finger ones. yummo! Got a whole box so will likely be eating just Bananas all week now...

Sunday plod

After a night out with my Husband (in a posh hotel on the Gold Coast) including a seafood buffet and bottle(s) of wine I decided to sleep in on Saturday. We voted and I then drove down to Ballina with my mum.

We had a lovely time and on Sunday morning I managed to get out early for a 15km run. The whole time I was thinking of Tess and Eddie running in the 25Km Championship at BRRC. I really wanted to be there but was glad I wasn't...does that make sense. I enjoyed my run but had no time restrictions and stopped for plenty of breaks along the way to enjoy the breaking ocean views - Ballina is beautiful.

Covered the 15km in 1:16 but as I said - had plenty of walking breaks and stretches to ensure the whole run was very leisurely. Camelbak worked very well again and I am in love with it and can't wait for the summer months to get some real good use out of it.

Struggle some..then struggle some more

I am fully motivated but the body hasn't seem to caught up yet. I was itching last night to go for a run but as soon as I started this morning I knew it was going to be a slow and painful jaunt.

Managed to do 8km in spot on 40mins but the final km was 5:30min/km pace - I was really hurting.

Still - I'll be back out there tomorrow and then rest up for a couple of days.

I'm reading books every night and planning my running for the next few months - not to mention talking to lots of running buddies about there running. It is all helping me work out what I want to do and what sort of training I need to get there.

Comrades.....interesting.....

OUT - but not down.

I should be devastated but in actual fact I feel only relief and some disappointment.

Due to family committments (they do come first - despite what many think!) and also my incapacity to run this week - I could barely walk until last night due to the Glasshouse Run. I have decided to not do the last remaining BRRC Championship race.

This Sunday is the 25km run - of which I had hoped to do well in and get a 99 or 98 score (second or third female member) but now I will not be competing. There is the true final - a 5km Run but I am not very competitive over the smaller distances so am never keen on this race. In fact I don't recall ever doing a 5km race before.

I am glad the pressure is off me now but I am sad to miss a great run with my running buddies. Will have my fingers crossed that Tess does her sub 2hr run with lots of time to spare.....GOOOO TESSSOOO

In the meantime my legs have been healing and today I can finally walk up the stairs at work without support.

I am looking forward to a long leisurely run on Saturday morning now to really free up the legs.

Next big focus is KURRAWA - 25KM in December.....then again I'm keen to run the full 50km if rumours are true and others are doing the full monty..(Tess you out there???)

Glasshouse 30Km

Aptly named that - Glasshouse. My legs feel totally shattered like broken glass. At least I escaped with no major blisters this time around.

My run was truly magnificent and has given me the confidence and enthusiasm that I desperately needed in my running. I felt strong the whole way and though I hurt a bit on some of the uphills I managed to overtake quite a few guys.
And guess what - NO ONE OVERTOOK ME well with the exception of three guys who got lost. I kept with them for about 20sec but two of them were running very hard and got way ahead. I stayed within 100m of the third guy - who is way faster than me normally but he was struggling on the hills so I was able to keep up for once! It was very rewarding to be so challeneged and come through feeling positive.

The 24hrs before my race I was totally focussed on the ultra runners and crewing for them. I even thought I may end up pacing during the night. That would have been interesting but I was terrified of what could happen out there and everyone was coming in looking terrible....not my idea of fun!
In the end Blue Dog was way ahead of schedule and I doubt I would have been able to keep up, Brendan was taking his time and still close to his plan and Horrie had a much better offer from Shultzy to pace him for the full 60km (which I could NEVER have done) so I was relieved that it was not necessary for me to run.
Nonetheless I was tired from being up all day and on my feet not the best lead up to a long race. I certainly thought I would struggle through the run and despite Tess absolutely knowing for sure that "I was going to have a great run"...I truly thought I would be coming in with the sweepers.... I would have been glad just to have done the distance for a training run anyhow!

I couldn't have done it without all the crew and coolrunners. Just knowing Tess was going to be at the finish line made me come in strong (and hollering....just in case she had fallen asleep waiting for me :)
During the run I was motivated by BlueDog who had finished his run by then and Tugger who did an awesome run as well...not to mention Spud, whippet and Tim who had all run sub24hr and of Tam and Tam who were out there doing it for the girls!

So I ran and thought of them all.

I thought of Horrie still being out there, I thought of Brendan's anguish at his DNF and how I had to keep going because of all of them. I had to do the best I could to be part of the whole amazing weekend. It worked and I am totally over the moon about my run. I don't even recall the exact time - it doesn't matter. I didn't think of time or splits the whole way, I just ran with the flow and ebb that is a trail run. It was great.

I ended up in second spot (female) in 2:44:xx which was rewarding but then again there were no more than 15 females in the race so can't get too excited about that!! Nonetheless...I did the best I could and felt great so nothing to complain about whatsoever!!!!!!!!!

Thankyou GBH.

MidWeek Crash

I just feel so tired!

Looking back over my blog I used to feel great on a Wednesday after a mid-week long run. So I know my tiredness is not from mileage. Rather I think it is from over-racing.

This morning Toastie, Tesso and I ran for 16.5km (well they both ran for 18km).

I stopped halfway whilst they did a 1km rep to measure one of Pat's courses and then had a quick detour to a loo on the way home. So I should have been comfortable the whole way but instead went in crazy waves of good/bad/ugly/good/great/bad etc etc

The pace was 5:07 average, which I think is pretty good for a longish run. Doesn't give me any confidence though when it hurts so much and I was hoping to be running that pace on the Glasshouse 30km Hilly run this Sunday!!!

The only bright point about the run this morning was the company. It is bloody marvellous to see Tesso out there shining again. She was on fire this morning and was holding herself back. Not to mention running circles around the city when I went to the loo and zipping up ahead when she was bursting of energy. It was good to see and certainly helped drag me through the worst of it.

Speed Work - 500M Efforts

Great day for a run. I milked my birthday for as long as I could - Pat gives everyone a free session for their birthday. I even got an email from him this morning calling me sneaky hee hee!

Back to business - we had 500m reps this morning. I chose to do 6 but as hard as I could. We had done a 3km warmup which got the blood pumping.

The rep distance is not accurate. I am not sure but after talking to other people it would be around 40m short. Might take Garmin out to measure one day.

I did a few strides and felt good but was not really looking forward to it. In the end it was a lot better than I expected after Sunday.
1:52's were the average - faster on the downhills and slightly slower on the uphill. I had one uphill rep at 2:00min where I really felt I was dying. In fact I thought my time would be much slower than this. Pat tried to pace me for one rep but I was going as fast as I could and he ended up dropping me - that was my third rep and I ran 1:50 up the hill - I was flying.

Afterwards I jogged slowly along the course to where the bottom of the Story Bridge hill is. Pat then sent us all up this one - it is very steep. I felt good with my breathing and stomach and legs but just wasn't going very fast. I was happy nontheless as I was overtaking everyone on the way up. Didn't quite manage to catch Tess but got close. I felt very solid after doing that hill rep.

Unfortunately putting 100% into training means you have nothing left - I found the warmdown a struggle and could not wait until the session finished. Finally got back to the Ship Inn and ate a bowl of pineapple.

I was horrified to be informed that during the session as Sue was setting out all the refreshments some guys came along and stole what was on the table. Poor Sue and Pat. I think the guarddog is coming to the next session!!!!

Best Birthday Ever!!

Still grinning and it is a wonderful wonderful day!

First up the kids didn't need to be shaken awake - they just got up by themselves *relief* at 5am so we could all go to Brisbane Road Runners for the 14km Club Champs race.
Matt thinks I'm getting fat so he gave me a cool pair of bathroom scales (no only kidding they were a requested item!) and Jordie made me a painting and all the kids signed it. Then hubby spoiled me with a beautiful gold bracelet. Very lucky indeed.

Off we set for BRRC and got there just as Tess was pulling up. So were 100 others so I raced down to sign on quickly - only to find no queue. The cars must have been for the hot air ballooning not the race!
Tess met me at the sign up table and checked if I had to change age categories - nope still a H. Fabulous seeing her there and we had a chuckle when we realised we had worn identical outfits (have no idea how that happened hee hee). Yep the Noosa Team were out there racing today.
Was lucky enough to get a birthday hug from Eddie so I knew today was going to be good!
We did a 2km warm up then a trip to the loo. We both had sworn of creamed rice after last weekend and I had had a very small honey sandwich. I say small because I cut the crusts off and there was pretty much nothing left!! That and a can of V would see me through.

I set the Garmin on Virtual partner for 4:25min/km and headed off to line up. Not sure how but the race starter knew it was my birthday and called me up to the line. I turned and faced everyone as they sang Happy Birthday. I did a little jig and laughed through it. It was a great feeling. No nerves anymore, I was going to enjoy today no matter what.

The first km was fast. Ran about 4:15 but soon settled into what I thought was an even pace. I only checked the garmin every now and then. Sometimes it said 23m in front others it said 200m in front. The km markings were incorrect (I never trust the 7km setup but the 5km set up is dead accurate). The loop turned out to be 120m long and as we had to run it twice we ran an extra 240m. Garmin said I ran an extra 400m but I think the 240 is more accurate.

I felt so good running today. Thankfully the tide must be turning on that account.
I even tried a new GU in the 8th km and it went down so well. I had no stiches, no stomach ache. I just hurt running - but it was a good hurt!
At around 10km Shane and Tesso pulled up alongside me (both fresh as a Daisy). Shane is like way fast so I knew he was just crusing and not racing. He must be unwell or have an injury? I looked at Tesso - tried to smile but think I grimaced and scared her. She told me to keep a hold of Shane and he would drag us through. Cool.
I did just that.
I didn't worry about pace or running. I just fell in with Shane's rythym and drafted behind him for the last 4km. It was great. I felt strong but knew I was working as my breathing was getting heavy. I just turned up my ipod - but must have been scary for Shane. He kept looking around to see if I had died yet or not :)
One km to go he held up the 1 finger. I didn't have enough juice left in me to push hard. Then Tess pulled back up beside me - she had been drafting behind me! and got in front. As we are both in diff age categories and some other sheila had by now already won the race I was cool to let her go past (anyone else I would have cried) we were both a sure thing to win gold for our age groups at this stage, but then I got a great song on and saw the finish chute - well the hill we run down anyway - and got a burst. I ran ahead and tried to get faster. I don't think I did but I was very very happy with my run. Tess and I finished 3sec apart which was fab as well. Running in identical outfits I think we made Team Noosa look good!

Thanks so much to Shane for dragging us home and giving up his own race. It was the best birthday present ever! Official time - 1:03:50 for 14km. Though Garmin said I did 1:03:00 for 14km and then did a bit extra. Either way - it's a great result for me.

The champagne breakfast afterwards was a roaring success and I am so grateful to have wonderful running buddies to run and eat with. Thanks to Tesso for organising and making the whole day memorable.
The kids are still talking about their icecream iced chocolates!

Struggling

Monday - I rested.
Tuesday - drove to work and ran for just under 5km. At 6min pace. Wow! The legs were really hurting from Sunday. I don't know what it was but they had DOMS bad!
Wednesday - Tess and I ran from the Regatta for 11km. Garmin went lost on us in the gardens so no accurate reading but by the time and the km it did click, we were running around 5:10's. The last few were faster - 4:45s and yes they felt it too!
Thursday - stuffed. Nothing
Friday - thats today! Met my favourite runner and ran with her for 4km. Then Tess went to work (she had ran in to meet me so that was her big run for the day!) and I turned around and ran back to the Regatta. We ran exactly 20mins for the 4km - but had done the first few at just over 5min pace so the last one was a fair bit quicker.

My 4km on the way back felt so slow. I could hear Tess still yelling at me as she ran into the city "SUB 4min" and just laughed. Yeah right. That wasn't happening today!

Finished the 8km in 39:27 so only 30sec faster on the way back. I faded alot and felt fatigued so not sure what is going on. Oh yes I do - had a bottle of red last night....mmmm almost forgot about that! OK so then today was a fairly good run all things considered :)

NOOSA HALF

Well it has taken me ages to get around to this! I think the DOM's affected leg also stretch to the brain....

I had a fantastic weekend with all my running buddies - as usual. The race itself was a big disappointment for me but all the other aspects of the weekend overshone so I was a happy girl when I went home.

We had a relaxing day on Saturday and I ate and drank well in preparation for the race. Early Sunday I arose and ate my creamed rice and had some gatorade. I felt much better than I had on Satruday and not very nervous at all. I was excited. I said goodbye to the family - who were all running as well but were still in bed!!! They don't understand my desire to get there "early".

Met up with Tess and we hung out at the loo line forever and misssed our chance for a warmup. We had to make do with doing 3/4 strides at the front of the race line. Wow for a minute there we looked like elite runners!

The gun went off and so did we. Owen, Tess, Liz and myself were all running 4:30's till the 5km mark and then doing whatever we could after that. Owen was a bit faster and we pushed each other for the first 4km. 4:18, 4:19, 4:23, 4:20 before I wound it back to closer to 4:30's in case I blew up. Actually it wasn't the plan - I think I just started getting slower that early on! Eddie had been so close to me and the tears welled up when I saw him getting further and further away. Damn wouldn't be the day for catching him!

It was not long after that Tesso caught up and we ran together for a while before she pushed on ahead. I chased her and got in front and we placed cat and mouse for the rest of the race. At the halfway mark we went around with Tesso in front but she stopped and grabbed my hand and we waved to everyone and ran for 100m grinning and yahhoooing like little girls. That was so cool. Pat Carroll called our names over and made fun of us and we lapped it all up...

100m down the line we got back to business. This is where I hurt. I was drinking lots and not feeling the heat very much so that was good. However I had a stomach ache that was not great and kept coming and going. Hence my running kept coming and going. I would get faster, then slower, then faster then slower etc. Looked like a rubber band I think!

I got a burst of wind 10mins after I had a gu at the 15km mark and we only had about 4km left so I put the legs into action and went out chasing everyone in front of me. I kept telling myself (and everyone around me) that it was just a 3km time trial from here. It didn't work for me. I don't think I actually got any faster - just stronger.

I finished in 1:37:25 on my watch. Just in front of Tess and about 90sec behind Owen. It was a bad run for me and I was devastated. Tess was too so we consoled each other. It wasn't long before we realised a lot of our buddies were having a bad day out there. For some reason - that cheered us up!

Hubby and Matt came springing over the line a few minutes better than Gold Coast and they were thrilled with that - even with a toilet break.

Can't wait for next year to do this one. The carnival atmosphere and partying afterwards was just the best.

On to the next race now..

PUNCH UP AT PATS!!

I think Tess had better come home now because she must be getting sick in Sydney. I got all sorts of weird messages from her last night on the phone...one of which was "punch Jonesy in the arm"....

Poor guy walked up to me this morning to give me a hug and I punched him. He just looked at me and then (thankfully) started laughing so hard he had to walk away. I still have no idea what the joke was.......I'm just glad he got it!!

This morning we had to do 2 x 2km at faster than 3km TT pace. That meant for me I had to run 7:45min for the 2km. Yeah well you try doing that with no shoelace. Unbelieveably at the first 500m my shoe came undone and I had to change my gait to ensure the shoe did not fall off. I managed to do 8:11 and blamed it on the shoe.

Then I took off and did a much faster 2km finishing in 8:15 ha ha ha ha. So what has really taken a beating today was my crap sense of perception. Obviously I was working harder but going slower. I honestly thought I would easily be under 8mins. (Same thing happened in the race on Sunday - whilst I was running 4:40's it felt like 4:20's going by my exertion faction).
Oh well not to be today and I have no idea why.

I have booked in for an appointment with Peter Stanton to get my body sorted out. Both hips are extremely tight and sore and I feel them when I run. I can't pinpoint pain by pressing on them and it is not the same pain as before so I believe this is not related to my broken hip but rather my running form and some tight muscles somewhere that need work.

Anyone know what muscles cause bad hip/lower back pain?? Jodi should be able to help out tomorrow when I visit for my regular massage too.

Sunday Robin Flower Memorial 10Miler - BRRC

Sunday morning and I was up and raring to go. Amazing what a day of no running can do for you.

Allan and I were both racing so I told him I would jog along and run with him. I think I was seriously looking for an excuse to run slower than I should have.
As it turned out I needn't have bothered - my little legs just couldn't cope with the recent workload.

I did a 2km warm up and one or two quick strides but still didn't feel ready. Allan was asleep in the car until 5mins before the race but sauntered down to the start line like the champion he is.

I ran out when the gun went off but despite me feeling like I was going too fast the clock only said 5min for the first 1.1km....ooh was going to be a long day in the office.

Jo Sherman and Parmy were running behind me and at 2.5km mark went past. I was trying to tell myself to let them go but the spirit inside made me chase them down. Within 100m I was back in front of Parmy and Jo and I ran together for another 2km together before she really kicked away and got a good 200m between us.

That's how it ended - her first and me 200m later in second position. How excited was I though when they announced Jo was ineligible for the prize as she was a non-member. They gave her a mug but I got a mug and a photo together with my name on the perennial trophy. It was awesome.

Worst thing of the day was seeing Allan come in behind me - only 5mins later!! He is certainly taking the micky out of those of us who actually train for these races!

After running hard today at constant 4:40 pace and feeling exhausted I am going to have to re-think my Noosa plan to be more conservative. Stay tuned....

Freaky Friday

Running at the Regatta this morning but as Tesso was in Sydney and Liz was resting I decided on an early start at 5.30am.

I did a warm up jog for the first 2km at around 5.10pace then got faster for the next 2km. I stopped just past the 4km mark at a bench and stretched for a bit. Then I ran 100m up the path and got the garmin ready. I really wanted to see if I could run 4:23min/km pace for the 4km back to the start. It was an accurate course and not very crowded this morning so I just had to focus on my legs and breathing.

I set the Garmin to virtual trainer and started running. As I crossed the green line I hit start (to ensure I lost no time warming up).
At 1km I looked at the Garmin and it said 50m..damn I had to get faster - so I sped up. At 2km it said 80m..I was getting slower so I put the foot down. I was really starting to struggle in the head thinking I was only halfway - it was tough.
At 3km it said 152m so I gave it all I had and crossed the line too disgusted with myself to look. I pressed stop but was so dizzy and hard of breathing that I walked around a bit before resetting the garmin.

Then I had a look....

Holy shit - I had ran 4:08's. Apparently the 50m, 80m etc was IN FRONT of the virtual runner - not the distance behind. Doh! I am glad though as it made me push myself harder than I would have done otherwise.

Totally exhausted and totally happy with that. Amazed at myself because I did not think I had that in me this morning! Woo hoo!

HILLS again!

Got out of bed and jumped into the car - was running late before I even woke up!

Got there just in time to the base of Mount Cootha where everyone was waiting.

We headed out for our warm up and I commented about how mild this winter has been. Then - I kid you not - as soon as I had finished saying that we turned the corner at Slaughter Hill falls and the cold air coming from there was like the ice wind in Antartica - it was freezing. We all groaned and moaned about leaving our gloves behind and not being prepared for this type of cold weather rant rant rant.

Before long we were warmed up and ready to head up the mountain. I was not very motivated but I was happy to be there and to have gotten out of bed. I was keen to run as well as I could - I just had no expectations for doing very well.

Which was just as well - Liz and I got overtaken by everyone and were the last of the runners. I called out to everyone that we were 'the sweepers' so they would think it was purposeful us staying behind. Then Liz starting calling out 'frozen snake' (which in a hill run means a twig - but it makes us laugh). So there were were laughing and carrying on. All the while Liz is carrying her Aussie Flag - she became an Australian officially last night and Tess and I were there at the ceremony. It was bloody fantastic! I can really call her my cobber mate now!

On one of the last reps we do we were on our recovery - which is a walk down hill, waiting for the horn to beep for us to turn and then race uphill. The horn never beeped and we were getting further and further from the top. I suggested we just turn and run but they all said Coach was giving us more recovery because C2S and Noosa were coming up. Yeah right.....after 8mins he came looking for us in the car and laughed at us walking still. We just hadn't heard him.
So I turned and ran and said to liz "I am just going to keep on going and not stop" I was pretty pissed at the long recovery so instead of 2-3 more runs to get to the top with recoveries in between I did one - no stopping all the way. I was slower but I think it gave me more strength as I was maintaining form even though I was very weary.

Liz came up beside me eventually and said she had to get to the top - her first run as an Aussie. So off we went and surged on ahead.
We made it.

The run down was lonely - eveyone else had gone ahead already as they had turned before the top - but we didn't mind.

I wish I had my skins on today - I am really feeling the effects of running now.....

Mid Week Long Run

It was a race between the garmins this morning. Every few km Toastie and I would ask each other what our garmins said and compare. Obviously Toastie cuts some corners as I was mostly a few metres ahead of him on the GPS.

Tess, Toastie and I met up at 5:30am and headed out for an easy longish run. We aimed to do 17km but knew the course was short. We all gambled on what the gps would tell us at the end.
I said 16.1km
Toastie said 16.25km
Tess said 16.4km - all the way to her house.

Garmin finished up with 16.31km with the distance to Tess making it 16.4km!! Isn't she amazing!

The run itself was really nice and passed quickly. Though going up the hill before Storey Bridge was a bit of a challenge after the session yesterday. I lost my breath and it took me a while to get it back.

With 2km to go I got a bad cramp/stitch and slowed down to breath it out. We then sped up again and I had a very sudden urge to go to the toilet ha ha okay so now I know what the cramp was about!! I did the last km very slowly but as soon as I finished I felt great! Typical.

Right now sitting at my desk I am totally exhausted. My legs are very tired and my whole body feels like it needs a rest. Oh well next week sometime it might get a break :)

Speed Session

Was very cold this morning.

After doing a warm up I felt much better and thought maybe I was over the cold I had.

The strides made me feel fast so I got excited that today would be the day....I go past Toastie.

Ok so it wasn't the day for that but I still worked hard and will get the benefits from that.

We had to do 1min (30sec) 30sec (15sec) 15 sec (15sec). So it was go go go out there.
I went out strong but died on the last one. Then I heard Pat say "last one" and I was able to push it out a bit more and finish off strong. But boy was I glad to stop.

I then realised we had to run to the end and then go up the hill. The first 10 people up the hill had to do it twice. Tess and I were already determined to run it twice but nonetheless I wanted to be in the top group to get up the hill. I think I was about 12th at the bottom of the hill but overtook three guys (yahhhhh) and made it up there in good shape. I turned around and realised my gut was on fire and my legs were jelly I could not even run down. I walked a bit and got my breath back then headed down. Tess was with me and we ran up again. 40m into the hill I heard Tess say "F@#@K" not really but she was in a lot of pain. However by this stage everyone was cheering for us and there was no stopping. So up we climbed.

On the run home my goal is always to keep a steady pace going. I said to Tess - who's running Sydney City to Surf this weekend - we have to race up Goodwill Bridge when we get there. Now I can say that due to the hill work I have been doing with Chris I am quite strong on hills but boy did Tess turn her little legs and shoot up there - I was running in her dust!!!

We then finished it all off with another hill near the Ship Inn and by that stage it was 80mins of running - including speed and hills and my body was shot.
Right now I not sure if my legs are with me or not - I can't feel them. Is that good or bad???

Bridge to Brisbane

What a treat. I got to spend the whole day with Tesso!!

We arrived just before 5.30am to catch the bus from New Farm to the Bridge. It was a great ride out there and seemed to take no time at all. Before we knew it we were up the front of the line surrounded by so many of our running pals. It was great to be amongst the fast people because you could just feel their energy.

Just before the gun went off we had a game of throwing our clothes into the trees to see who could get the highest. Tess didn't want to swing her bag in case we hit someone so we just handed it to a man, who handed it to a man, who handed it to a man.....in fact it probably made it's way all the way to the back of the line!!

Soon enough we were off and it was a struggle for me to get to the top of the bridge. I knew then that it was going to be a hard day at the office - normally I don't even notice the climb up.

At 2km I approached Tesso who was just up in front and mentioned for her to push on as I was going to stop at the loo. I figured I wasn't capable of going very fast so I may as well be comfortable. She said she wanted to stop too so we both had a quick detour and got back on track laughing about it.

At the 5km mark I saw the 60min pacer way up in front. In fact he was running towards me!! Obviously he had gone out way too fast and had to run back to get his team! Shocking job of pacing if you ask me.

I was breathing hard at the 6km mark and from them on was finding it hard going. My legs were going around by habit and my nose was running like a tap but I was still enjoying myself.
Tess was talking to me and everyone around us - running up then back, doing circles and running some more - just to keep me company. I couldn't even talk so she had to ask me a question and then answer it for me!! hee hee

At 9km I knew I was going to finish and I think (if I had bothered with splits) that I got a bit faster here. Tess had gone on ahead and I was trying to close the gap between us so she would not have to wait for me at the finish.

I got faster and she slowed down for me so we caught up and ran the last 1.5km to the finish. I was so glad to finish - my breathing sounded like RITH's and my heart was racing like a heart attack. Tess was on her knees and untying my chip for me before I knew what was happening. She said "I don't want you fainting again". That girl is just a true friend and I am so glad she ran with me.

The rest of the day was quite boring really - we hung around waiting to win the car. Tess knew the band playing so we got up the front and made ourselves comfortable. It was great being groupies for a Jazz band - they got a giggle out of us two being silly :)

3km Time Trial

I have no idea what went wrong this morning but I called on the excuse fairy and she gave me lots of good ideas....

In the end though I think I just have to say - I HAD A CRAP RUN.

I was running hard and feeling like I was exerting effort. My legs were going as fast as they could on the day. I was breathing okay and not as exerted as I have in the past but with not being able to move the legs any further there was no need to focus on other areas!

I did the first km in 4min - which is where I thought I was at to running today - approx 12min or 12:10. However when I crossed the line Pat called out his watch 12:54 I glanced at my watch and we were matching SNAP!!
Dammit I can walk faster than that!! okay well maybe not really...but you get the drift.

The most embarressing thing about it is everyone coming up to me afterwards "so how did you do" and when I told them my time - they were making excuses for me!! So Sad.

Then the next most embarressing thing happened. Pat asked me on the sly if I wanted him to record my time - officially. *shame* My response was "I did the time and I wasn't just pacing someone or having a jog - I was going as hard as I could on the day.

I even thought twice about blogging it but then the purpose of my blog would be deficit. I need a true and accurate record of my running - including the good and the ugly.
Perhaps the next race I do on a weekend I won't try to backup to a time trial on the Tuesday with great expectations - that's the benefit of a blog. Historical data! (ha! and you thought I was just here for the entertainment..)

GLASSHOUSE 2006 - 24km

I had a fabulous day with all my friends yesterday.

Very bad start to the day - my daughter Ashleigh got her "L's" yesterday and her and a friend were booked to climb the story bridge Saturday morning. They had to be there at 5am and Ash decided she wanted to drive us all there.

I got a fright when she woke ME up (how many years since she has done that!!!) at 3:45am....obviously she thought I needed hours to get ready!

So at 4:55am we waved good bye to the girls and wished them luck. By that time I was sick with nerves and was glad the trip was over. I could not believe she had driven us down the Ipswich Hwy amongst all the trucks. It was terrifying and I don't ever want to get in a car with her again. For a beginner though - she did extremely well. I just don't want to be a passenger until she has had her license for at least 5 years!!!
So after collecting my stomach Allan drove over to Tessos' where I had a good cup of coffee and a tin of creamed rice. Yuk I am really going off the creamed rice and will have to find another food to each before long runs.

It wasn't too long before Tess and I were picked up by Glenno and Liz and on our way up to the Beerburrum mountains for an adventourous day out (Allan had to go to work). None of us were planning to run hard so we were all very relaxed and jovial about it all. Must learn to be like that more often - it certainly made it all more fun!

We were there in plenty of time and registered and got ready. Before long we were lining up amongst about 60 other runners to head up into the mountains. Tess, Chelle, Liz and I had seen three other girls we called "competitors". They had new outfits, looked very fit and had matching camelbaks. Yikes - they looked fast. So we all agreed that as soon as the gun went off we would sprint for 500m to get a head start and give them something to worry about. Of course we were all laughing about it and only doing it to inject some fun into the race...however when the gun went off and I raced off like a scared rabbit my friends (it is with great reluctance I still call them that) were laughing at me and trotting along way way way behind.

Ahhh but I got the pleasure of being the race leader for 100m. It was a power rush and I wanted more. I'll guess that will come at night when I go to sleep and dream :)

So after totally embarressing myself I maintained running with the boys - Glenno, Johnny and Geoff for some time until they disappeared into the distance. For the rest of the 22km I was on my own! Yikes that has never happened to me in a race before.

The next 20km were absolutely fabulous. I loved it. Totally totally loved it. I had no idea what to expect but it was all so much fun. There was fire trails to begin with - fairly open to the sun and boring I thought. Then after the first water station we turned into bushland and literally I was running on grass and getting slapped in the face by trees. It was terrifying really because I had no idea except for the odd bit of white ribbon that I was going in the right direction. There were various tracks all over the place and only if you were paying attention would you see the arrow and/or ribbon directing you down that path. I had the odd glimpse of blue t-shirt in the distance and that kept me going at a reasonable pace so I would not loose sight of the runner in front.

At the first long uphill (not too steep but about 800m long) I overtook Mr. Blue Shirt and then was left with no-one near me for the next 15km.

There were water puddles and mud and tracks with treads in them that were either rock hard and punishing on the feet - crap did I mention I had blisters??? - or wet and difficult to keep traction as you jumped from side to side avoiding the obvious water puddles. It really challenged you and as soon as you started getting tired the terrain changed and you had to adjust to grass, or a hill, or another trail or a windy circuit requiring attention or you'd be lost.

From 6km on, I knew I had issues with my feet. I had selected old shoes to avoid damaging my good ones. Yeah well now I recall why these ones were banished to the 'old' bin. They hurt! I perservered and put the pain totally out of my mind. Unfortunately about 2km from the finish there was a wall of rock and stones. Each step my foot found a sharp or round stone that just seemed to penetrate my feet. Any blister I had was ripped and popped and the pain was unbearable. I had tears and was only running now to get to the finish and rip my shoes off.

2km back a woman had run up to me (and then gone past and eventually took 3rd place). She was so lovely and after seeing me run funny had stopped and offered me some bandaids etc. I told her to keep running (as I was) as the damage was done and I just had to get home now. Experience has taught me that stopping just makes the pain of re-starting all the worse. I wish I had known about the rocks coming up ahead that may have changed my mind to get those bandaids off her.

I really slowed there and walked on the rocks to lessen the impact. Still it was hard and the exhaustion of the run was starting to take effect. I started running again sensing the end and was overtaking the walkers in the 8km event so for the first time I had some company along the way to catch and overtake and say hello to.

At the finish I just sat down where I stopped and took off my shoes. My feet were totally tenderised. Blistered, ripped and only the heels seemed to escape punishment.

I think I was 4th female with a total time of 2:04:07 but haven't seen official results yet. It was a great day out and I really had a ball and enjoyed myself. The laughing and story swapping was just fantastic. It was only at the finish when 7mins later Glenno and the boys rocked up that I realised they had gotten lost - even Tesso, Chelle and Liz had done an extra km after losing their way.

I can't wait for the next one!!!!!

Glasshouse

Decided finally last night that I would run the Glasshouse 24km....um ok. Now what.

Quick decision but I don't think the run will be all that quick!! :0

Wednesday Run - Regatta

6am start at the Regatta as usual - only I was late. Seemed like every man and his dog was filling up at the fuel station (including me) and at 5.50am I was 11th in line!!!! crazy. Anyhow I just got to the run as everyone was crossing the road so I was 30sec behind them the whole way.

Ciaran was at the back and it was good to run with him for a short while. My quads were very very sore. How do they get sore? Is that from yesterdays' speed session??? I have rarely had sore quads so it was a new one for me.
So today was just a recovery run but when I heard Tara was doing 12km at 4:10 pace I decided to at least do the last 3km fast. I ran 4:25min/km and then the final one at 4:12. It killed me and was stupid to do for a recovery run but....that's me.

Hill session tomorrow at Mt Cootha - just can't wait. "insert sarcastic snigger"

ok I got my knuckles rapped over this one. Tara did not run 4:10min/km she went out at 4:30's and Ciaran told me she was running 4:10's on the way back BUT SHE DIDN'T AND SHE WANTS ME TO CORRECT THIS.....sorry Tara. But regardless - we all think you can do it :)

TUESDAYS PAIN...

Had a great session this morning at Pats.

I had a plan to work hard and mostly kept to the plan.

We did a warm up and then had 7x500m efforts with the finish being a run up a very steep hill!!

In between efforts was a 60sec resting recovery but when has that ever stopped Pat saying "go" after only 20sec.....
I thought I would cark it on the 4th on but was actually feeling good right up until the sixth one. I pulled in behind Toastie but then realised he was actually going 'slow' for him and was about to pull out but he surged and took off. Being in my comfort zone I just kept plodding till the end of the rep. I ran the next one hard, picked up my jumper and then did the final rep and shot up the hill. I felt strong but was definitely tiring and eager to stop.

An honest session and I felt good about my efforts. A little bit of aching legs later in the day but haven't led to anything further....

Brisbane Road Runners - 15Km Race

It seemed the whole of Queensland had decided to give this race a miss - bar a handful of diehards.

Todays race clashed with the Jetty 2 Jetty 10km run which is the 2nd in the series of USM Events (1st being River Run 10km and 3rd being Noosa Half) so most runners were out there no doubt contesting their placings.

That left Tesso, Shane, Jo, Adrian and Karisma to battle out this one for ourselves.

Tesso and I had a plan *groan* to go out at 4:45 min/km and then in the final 5km drop it down to 4:40 min/km to mimic trying to get faster on tired legs like you want to do in a 'real' race.
So out we shot with about 30 other runners and hit the first km in 4:28...hee hee hee did I mention that Tesso and I very rarely run to plan. Not sure what that is about.
We settled down and did 4:42 for the next km. Then Tess screamed at me (yes we both had Ipods on) that her leg was doing something weird (apart from running) and she was pulling back. Well I won't fall for that the next time round!! :) Needless to say Tesso overtook me 5km later looking like she had just started running!!!

So believing Tesso was running a slower than planned race I pulled in front and focussed on a steady pace. The next 3km were 4:39's followed by a 4:52 (WTF??) where I was overtaken by a number of runners - I hadn't even realised I had slowed so much.

At the 8km mark I moved back in front of Jo Sherman and tried to maintain that position running 4:27 before slipping out to finish 14km with some 4:30's. Just before the last km mark I stopped and watched as Tesso and some guys I had worked to overtake just flew past. I was waiting to run Jo in who is making a comeback to running. She is very fast and it must have been tough mentally for her that I went past her earlier.
I know I felt shocking when that happened to me so I assume she was working very hard and not feeling like she was getting any benefit. The other issue was in the second lap of the race I had taken my shirt off and accidently ripped my garmin off my arm and had to find my pin that holds it together. So before long Jo came cruising up and I asked if I could run in with her. We did and it was very rewarding for me knowing that she had done the same for me 12months ago.

Then Tess and I finished with a 2km cooldown the same as our 2km warm up. So all up 19km for the day and I felt great. It was only a training run for Tess and I who wanted to be fit for speed work on Tuesday. But nonetheless we both worked hard and Tess got Third prize for her fabulous efforts.

Unfortunately we had a BRRC committee meeting straight afterwards and I frooze and went stiff sitting around in my wet running gear. But now that I have showered, eaten and coffe'd myself up I feel much better......perhaps time for a nanny nap?

An amazing experience

What can I say? I had the run of my life.

It wasn't a race.
It wasn't the fastest I have gone.

It was just amazing because I was enjoying it, I felt pain (good pain) so knew I was working hard, the view was gorgeous running along the river, the weather was perfect to be running hard in and I was told my running form looked great. I was also amongst some very good runner and able to keep up - which was a big suprise. Then again they were likely doing a recover run :)

All up a top morning and welcome back into the spring of things.

8km Differential - ran out for 4km then turned and ran home. Here are the splits:
1km - 5:00
2km - 5:00
3km - 4:45
4km - 4:43
5km - 4:35
6km - 4:30
7km - 4:20 ....and tiring badly
8km - 4:15

Yah I made it.

And you will be pleased to know I then spent 15mins doing stretches and cooldown.

Can't wait to run again.

A Jealous Woman......

I am very unapproachable today so just stay away!!!

Talk about being the grumpiest in the world. I just can't seem to even manage a warm smile at people. Just a lift of the corner of my mouth to appear like a snubby smirk.

I hate not being able to run. It just messes with your brain.

I am at work thinking of all my wonderful friends out there running - at Pat's, at the Regatta, in freezing Canberra (yah CJ), Melbourne and Sydney and they are all doing the one thing I want to be doing.

I hereby swear that I will spend my running life (when I get one back) dedicating myself to avoiding injury.
I will stretch
I will warm up
I will cool down
I will wear good shoes
I will eat protein
I will race hard and enjoy the pain.
I will never take for granted the ability to run again.

Three more days before I venture out (LL if you are reading this -it's a misprint!!)

In the meantime my butt has grown, I cut my hair (my daughter swore the mullet would suit me!!!) and even the gym is no fun when you can't do a great warm up workout.

Ho hum......I'll be back in three days!

Back to the small group....

Turned up at Pats this morning to be met with a very tiny crowd of only 15 or so runners.

We just did a 50min run out to New Farm and back.

I felt very unco-ordinated on the way out and was struggling somewhat with motivation and pain but really got into it on the way back.

Finished strong and was really happy I had made myself do it. I felt great, invincible and ready to take on the world.

Alas after going straight to a meeting at 7:30am and then sitting for 90mins I stood up to immense pain. I called the doctor and he got me straight in.

So yep all cortisoned up now and feeling looooveeely. Bugger of it is that I am now sidelined for a bit.

This was the conversation after he injected me:

"so clairie, no running for 14 days now ok?"
"really 14 days? that's a bit extreme isn't it?"
"do you want a hip replacement in 10 years time?"
"mmm good point" "so can I bike?"
"no"
"swim?"
"no"
"walk fast?"
"get out of my office"

So being the medical expert that I am I have decided on the following plan of action - after all, I really know best and know my body the most. *evil laugh*
Today - injection
Fri - nothing
Sat - nothing
Sun - nothing
Mon - gym (upper)
Tue - gym (upper)
Wed - gym (upper) (are we bored yet???)
Thur - easy 6km
Fri - easy 8km
Sat - easy 15km run

If I get to this point injury free I will then do the Noosa attack but I do need to minimise distance for another week so have no excuse to not focus on speed training.

Dismal Effort Clairie.....

Pretty disappointed with my weekend on the Gold Coast.

My run was fairly ordinary but I am happy that I was able to run the best I could on the day - can't really ask for more than that. And I figure with all my good runs this year I was destined to do a not-so-good one anyhow!

I am mostly disappointed because I let everyone down this weekend.

Jen_runs was counting on me to bring my bike down so she could be more involved in the run and cycle along supporting everyone. A great idea but guess who forgot the bike when I decided to get a lift down with Tesso instead of going with the family in the 4wd??

Then in the race itself Miners was running along at a great pace - exactly as prescribed - but I just couldn't keep up. He gave up his run and getting others across to come back and get me and push me to the end. I will never forget that. But I also feel I don't ever want to run with a pacer again. I can't handle that feeling of not performing as expected. It is bad enough having a bad run but even worse when everyone knows it and they feel responsible for you.

Finally my choice to not rehydrate on the run - aside from two sips in the early stages was based around me thinking I would only be running for 95mins and that didnt' require much additional fluid. I forgot I'd had a runny nose all night and did not drink anything from when I woke up - so I started behind the eight ball.
We learn from these experiences but I will never get back the moment of seeing my boys (Mr Clairie and Master Clairie) crossing the finish line together in their first big race. It was momentous for Matty and I am still cursing that I missed it all.

The best thing to come out of the weekend was actually seeing everyone finish and realise their goals. Tara was outstanding, Glenda was amazing, Lizzle a tower of strength, JD making his comeback sneaking past Tess, Eddie - not for his run this weekend but because now I get to race him at Canberra once more and take him on. Robertsong for making the startline, all the PCRG runners who either achieved their goal or "finished the damn race" and celebrated anyhow - thats spirit. Then there are the coolrunners - Blue Dog (dammit ok so he is much faster than me, I admit it), Aunty - for giving me someone to chase when I needed it, VAT - Holy Shit Vat!

I think I will have to do a separate post on the CR Cheersquad. They just really lifted everyone and selflessly gave something back to the running community that reminded us all out there why we love to run.

I guess that's why I'll be lining up at Noosa - so I can get a cheer or two when I go past attempting to break another Clairie World Record :)

Off to Rob De CaStella

Was just on my way out to dinner with Rob when I emailed Tesso to see if I should pick her up on the way. Oops wrong night.

It think the psychological affect of not being tagged in the lastest round has left me noncomprehendus. It doesn't matter. I have real friends....somewhere.

On a bright note - Miners is officially slotted in as the 'unofficial' 95min pacer for the Gold Coast Marathon half. So guess who will be trying to keep his bright blouse in sight the whole way?????

PCRG - Just after 3km TT