500's at PCRG

It was a tough session today. Mainly because it felt like I was swimming and not running with the amount of sweat coming of me and those running around me - truly it was a hot day and everyone seemed to be feeling it.

We did the 3k warm up without too much fuss and then got straight into our efforts. 6 x 500m with 1x500m to finish.
The first effort was wonderful. Truly I felt fantastic and great to be out running again. The foot was flying along and in harmony to the rest of my body (as opposed to the limping effort of late). However I had to focus on my lungs after that first effort as I was having difficulty filling them with oxygen and maintaining my form.

Nonetheless I got through the seesion with only mild heart attacks and suprisingly no chucks at the end - though it WAS close!

I felt I worked hard today and was really happy with my performance. Then again, I have had the week off so I guess I was well rested and due to come back!

On the cooldown back to the Ship Inn my foot was aching badly. Really weird thing was it went away afer we stopped for water in the gardens about 1km from the finish. It has been intermittent all day in my work shoes but I can't say I feel anything at the moment as I type this. I am so over not knowing what it is that I have decided to run regardless and as (if) the pain changes or increases I will then submit to the MRI. In the meantime....there is training to be done!

FOOTAGE....

Um thats a foot update to those who haven't been around for a while :)

The Foot Doctor has reviewed the situation and laid to rest my worst fears. I can run again!

Diagnosis: Foot Strain/sprain and possible bone stress
Occurred: Over fatigued when beach running (after big week and stress of Mt Cootha) and did further damage running without shoes to support my toes/foot structure.
Treatment: Ice in cold icy water daily (no good just putting on ice pack) for 10mins.
Voltaren gel applied directly.
Run 5km Friday morning. No excess pain then run again Sunday for 10km. No excess pain then straight back into training.
Any excess pain experienced in either runs or that wakes me at night, an MRI on Monday.

It was interesting to note that if it does turn out to be a stressy it may be one of those ones that people can train through. Only reason we discussed that was because it doesn't seem to give the sort of pain that a stressy would but due to location of pain any tendonitis is ruled out.

Was good to come out of the Dr. room to find my bestest running buddy there waiting anxiously for the results. Thanks Tesso :) I guess that meant I couldn't fib and say in front of the Dr that he had said I could run for 30km on Sat hee hee :)

Cant wait to run tomorrow at last!! The only bummer of the day is my long run is ruled out this week so I will have to bike instead for a few hours.

FOOT UPDATE

Hah! Nothing to update. Except the gym has been busy swiping my access card.

Done some weights session and an RPM class. It is good for fitness but nothing like the joy (and pains) of running.

I am a fuckwit, a wanker, a complete moron. You can join in at any time. I don't really care because I am a stupid stubborn woman who deserves the abuse of my fellow friends.

Over a week ago my friends told me to get my foot checked out. Over a week ago we suggested remedies and possible scenarios together as I ran about why my foot was sore. Over a week ago....I should have done something.

Saturday I ran 28.5km. Average pace was 5:20 but most of the mileage was a lot faster with 2km very slow or walking - changing the overall average on the garmin.

It was a tough run. Not to mention the fact that my foot slamming into the concrete on each step was agony.
I tried to run on the grass at every opportunity. Looking stupid I ran on the hills or grassy sidewalks, preferring them to the wide footpaths or over the bitumen. It was the only little relief I could afford myself at the time.

Now I am knocking my head on a brick wall...why not I stamped my foot on concrete for three hours despite it hurting. What is it about runners that makes us so single bloody minded that we have to finish a run, that we don't admit our own pain or that we try to minimise the extent of our pain or injuries????? Are we really that masochistic? Why on earth do we both to fool even ourselves?

Anyhow I guess I won't be running for a couple of weeks as I suspect I have a stress fracture. Appointment with the foot doctor is the first thing on the agenda this week. Until then - its drowning for me (thats my style of swimmning for all those fishes out there).
Guess I can get out the bike thing as well *oh joy*...sorry Miners but some of us just arent' built to ride two wheels without motors :)

Thursday No Watch Run

As my foot has been a bit sore lately from coming down Mt Cootha to hard last week I decided to skip that session and head to Pats instead. Thankfully he wasn't scheduing a speed session and we had a 50min run on the books instead. Though getting caught talking to the faster runners in the group I certainly ran a lot harder and faster than I wanted to.

The 1km race at the end I didn't bother nominating a time and just run easy. Did 4:57min and the weeks running caught up with me so I stayed with Pat to call in the last few runners. I then walked all the way back to the Ship Inn for a pancake breakfast.

Oh and best thing of the day - I won the Group Member Award, which was a double pass to Gold Class cinemas woo hoo.

Speedy Kills - really it does!

Coach Chris said to run 15km in a controlled 4:45 min/km pace this morning.

I roped in Tara and iliketoast for the ride and we strapped on our rocket boots. Started the morning with a 1km run to warm up and then Mark got the whip cracking. I had garmin on virtual partner to tell me how I was doing but I should have ignored it - I totally lost track of the satellites and it took forever to get them again when I resurfaced from under the bridge. Hence it was saying I was too slow, so I sped up and left Mark & Tara behind. Then they went in front as I attempted to slow down and get back on pace....aaarrrrgggh. I am hopeless at this.

I was really pushing it and finding the pace tough going. It is a fairly hard run. We all walked the hill going up to the Storey Bridge to conserve energy - and my calves are still sore from the beach.
Going over the bridge for the first time I felt I was going to make this. I was really warmed up by now and ready to pump some action.

Going past the ship Inn and not stopping nearly killed me. It was good to do something different today but at the time I cried. Not nearly as much as when we went over Queen Victoria bridge - man that was tough. Exhausted and trying to keep up the pace running uphill is really hard. I slowed a little in the next km and did a 4:48, then we increased the tempo and did the last two km in 4:44 and 4:31. I would never have believed I could finish off like that.

The crazy thing is - I have to run that pace for the whole marathon!!!! So much training ahead of me still...
Run results: 15km in 1:07:00
Total run: 1:12:20 (1km at 5:20 to warm up)

GET FIT CHALLENGE

Okay it is official. Blogger Scott and myself have lauched vicious attacks at each other.
Well that certainly sounds a lot more dramatic than going on a diet!!!

Scott and I both need to lose weight, not because we are fat, but to get down to our racing weight before our key races.

Scott needs to lose 5kg and I need to drop 4kg. Scott needs to lose his weight by mid feb, I have till end of Feb. Might sound a bit harsh on poor old Scotty but my keen dietitian tells me it is easier for a male to lose that weight than a female. Oh and it just so happens Scotty has the added pressure of his race being on the 18th Feb!!

We both know the prizes we are going to give the winner....but we'll save that for a later post.

Rules:
Must still be able to train well (ie can't check in to hospital and have stomach pumped each day!!).
Can't chop off any body parts.
Must maintain fluids - weightloss can't be dehydration.
Must be progressive (ie can't drop 4kg overnight....mmm I wish!!)

Hopefully the joint venture will provide us both with will power and motivation at the times we need it.

*Interruption by Secretary*
Clairies response: no thanks, no Tim Tam for me today...

Ok I'm back - see it is working already!!!

3km Time Trial

That time of the month again. I was sore all over during the warm up but was confident that I had done everything right. I had an early dinner, was in bed before 8.30pm, wore my long skins, had plenty of fluids beforehand. I was pumped.

The warm up and strides didn't feel too good but as soon as we started I was on fire. I was flying along and did 1:45 for the first 500m. Then I realised how silly I was so I slowed down and let the lead pack go. I was quickly overtaken by others and eventually made it to the turnaround at halfway in 5:58min. I was on target for a sub 12 and was feeling really good.

Then the wheels came off. I struggled past Tess and more people overtook me. Just as I reached Tess the 12min pacing group went past me and I groaned aloud I think. I had no excuse I just didn't want it enough.
Going up the hill I almost stopped to walk so I knew mentally I was in trouble.

I struggled home and 400m from the finish I saw Matty coming up, I increased the pace slightly and then when Matt reached me he told me to run hard and think of Canberra. so I did. Simple as that. As usual I sprinted hard and it didn't hurt anymore than the running I had been doing but I was damn fast. I flew past 'Afrikan Will' who had overtaken me 200m back and kept going till the finish. I crossed in 12:14 and was happy with the fast finish. At the 500m I was on target for a 12:20 finish so I had smashed the last few hundred metres. Now I just have to get the desire to do that the whole 3km!!!!!

Running Update # 2

Friday: 3km Gym treadmill, 60mins weights/stretching. (ok 60mins laying down on the ground pretending to stretch my back.

Saturday: 23.5km Mini River Loop through St Lucia, Indooropilly, Yeronga and back to Southbank skipping West End. A good run with fast moments and slow moments. The slow ones were at the end. That may sound logical but I had hoped that I would be able to finish strong on my long runs by now. So the plan for next weekends run is to go easy and be able to finish as strong as I start.

Sunday: 55min beach run. The run that was not supposed to be. I have a suspected sore foot. Well it IS sore but I am hoping it is nothing overly much to worry about. It doesn't hurt when I am barefoot :)
5mins knee high water, 5mins soft sand, 5mins hard sand. REPEAT 3 times finish off with 10mins water running to cool down.

Monday: Rest Day....I need it, first day back at work and I have the Holiday Is All Over Blues.

Running Update

Just a quick one.

Starting to feel very weary. The aftereffects of the flu thing and also the amount of training of late.

Tuesday - Speed session at Pats. Only did 80% effort but kept the recovery time down to compensate.

Wednesday - 16.5km. Went out easy, upped the pace midway, came home easy then did a hard last km - well it felt hard but was only 4:30min/km pace. I was very tired...and cold...and wet. It rained pretty much the whole run.

Thursday - 9km. Mount Cootha trails. Was cool again this morning and Chris had a plan to make us work for it. He sent us off in groups A, B & C with 2mins in between each starting. I was in group B. The idea was to catch the members of the group in front of you. I did that within 15mins but was also overtaken by the C group quite easily (oh dear..). It was fun but the weird thing was we all worked so damn hard it was our fastest run ever on that course. Coach was very impressed. I was very sore. Icing my ankles now as they were hurting alot from the downhills. I need new shoes :(

New Years Resolutions

For the past few weeks I have been suffering from a bad chest cold that has caused me to not do many runs.

Christmas Day I had the pleasure of running with my running buddies and then wheezing whilst I watched them run many more laps than I was able to.

I rested a week after Kurrawa and then ran again because everyone was doing the Green Bridge initiation run. I just couldn't miss out when everyone else in Brisbane was christening the new bridge. It was a 17.5km run and I honestly can't recall going up some of the hills. But the bridge I remember. It was lovely. Thank goodness it was overcast and not overly hot.

I went to bed for three days and was generally miserable.

Christmas Day I had the pleasure of running with my running buddies and then wheezing whilst I watched them run many more laps than I was able to.

I felt much better a few days later but decided against running hard for a week.

Saturday we did the Green Bridge run again - the opposite direction for the loop. It was fun and I realised how much I had missed out on the previous week.

Sunday 31st we did the New Years Eve run up Mt Cootha. It was tough but I felt great and loved it. Tess was tearing up the hill and I was amazed and in awe of her running ability.

This morning - 1st January 2007 I ran again with friends and did an hour running around the city greeting all those that felt seedy or for other reasons were on their way home after a long night out. It was fun but I was ready to just go back to bed after finishing.

The trek towards Canberra has begun and I am keen to get stuck into my training now.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES.

Hi Claire

We've received your entry for the 2007 Canberra Marathon ~ thank you for your ongoing support & we look forward to seeing you in Canberra again.

All the very best to you and your family for a very merry Christmas, a happy new year and a wonderful 2007.



Regards

Fran
Canberra Marathon
www.canberramarathon.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)2 4342 7611
Mob: 0417 285 609

Pats Christmas Run

Tess and I decided to not run today.......we sent PCRG WONDERWOMAN in our place.

Santas little gift

What to get for a 24yo unfit male for a work christmas party???

Budget - $30

HELP!!!

Weekend Runs - its all good!!

After Kurrawa I did nothing. Zip Zaddo Naddo! Just ate, drank and watched movies late every night with the kids, went to Robbie Williams with Tesso and just spent the ENTIRE week thinking of anything but running. It was a good break.

Saturday I was keen to run again but knew I should only do an easy 12km. Easy it wasn't. It was bloody hot and I was tired after the first few km. My legs were fine but I could hardly get air into my lungs. It had nothing to do with fitness, it was all about weather. The day was slighly overcast which I thought would be good but it was dreadful and humid and days later I am still complaining. To top it all off Tess rang to tell me she was running in her jeans because it was so FREEZING in Canberra.

Sunday I was keen to run again and a group of us met on the Gold Coast beach and ran a very hard session for 50mins.
5min hard sand
5min soft sand
5min water running (just below knees)

Repeat 3 times and finish off with a run back to the start. Man it was tough and at the end we all just floated around in the tumble that was the surf. It was raining and there was no sun. It was actually cold - can you believe it! But the water was really nice and warm. My family - whom I had promised a great day at the beach (they played cricket whilst I ran) if they would just get up with me at 4.30am - were trying to work out which one would kill me first. We showered and went for a hot breakfast. It was all good.

Today I have calves that are like rocks and very tight. My feet won't fit into shoes at work because I have blisters covering the botttom of my feet. In fact everyone is asking if I went to see HAPPY FEET because I am walking like a waddling penguin today. But....it is still all good.

Can't wait for the next run.

KURRAWA 25KM

I put off writing my post because I needed to think a bit more about how I felt and what it all meant to me.

I love this race, it is honestly one of the most challenging runs I have done and it calls me back year after year.
The race is small - with approx 187 runners doing 25km. Of them 33 runners did the whole 50km this year. It is an out and back race - so 25km out (hand over to relay partner) and 25km back. A flat, hot course with hills. Sounds terrible doesn't it?

Views of the ocean, cars streaming past with runners cheering you on, friends driving 5km jumping out handing you drinks, jumping back in and driving further up the road. Family on the motorbike doing loops yelling encouragement and telling me how it was cooler a few km up the road if I can just get there......(liars!)
It was all good.

My relay partner Robbie had trained for months for this race after having a shocker last year. He worked very hard and was wired to put in a good run. He started out well but just towards the end his legs got very tired and he just couldn't go as fast as he wanted. Still - he did the 25km in under 2hrs so even though he was upset I was very impressed.
It was hot before I even started at 7.45am and I felt for Tess as I had not even seen her all morning since the start - her runner was injured and just taking it easy. Goodness knows when she would be starting!

THE RUN
After the initial 500m which is up a steep hill, I ran very hard for the next 6km. It was hot and I was not really warmed up. I was on 4.30min/km pace and feeling good but slightly breathless. I reached Liz by 7km and there was a group of runners there all keeping the same pace. I decided to go past and then ease up and get my breath back. Shortly after Hubby announced Tara was 200m behind me and just sitting there.

I was feeling unwell and in need of fluid but my camelbak only had weak powerade in it which I had been sipping. I took a gel and washed it down with the powerade. Everyone kept trying to offer me electrolyte drinks (must have thought I had water in the camel) so I kept refusing. I grabbed a cup of water at an aid station and it was cold and heavenly. I didn't realise until then how hot I was - this was 10km into the race!!
Shortly after I stopped and had to empty my stomach but it was brief and I felt better so it was the best thing to do. I had more powerade but cramped up shortly after. Looking back I know now I had no where near enough water. The powerade in the camelbak was a stupid idea.
My legs were happy little buggers and kept me going despite the rest of me telling myself I would never ever do this again. They kept going up the new hill and then raced down the other side to gain some momentum. Not long to go now.

With 6km to the finish Tara went past. It was good to see someone I knew and have a chat. I had been so lonely the whole race - I think that makes a difference. In the fist leg you have a lot of people around you pushing you to keep pace.
Tara was running well so off she went. She looked comfortable and I knew she was having a great day so I let her go.
3km on I had caught up and was only 2m behind Tara. We just played cat and mouse from there.

The First prize of the Running Buddy Trophy was on offer and we both wanted it.

I was getting uncomfortable again, Tara's partner Ciaran was offering water but I refused it thinking I just wanted to run and get it over with (only a few km now). Tara took some and put some ice in her ha - smart chick. I raced off and got in front and did some strides to put some distance between us. Not a good idea....1km on and I was hot and tiring very quickly. The effect of fartleking the last 7km had taken it's toll.
Tara went past again and kindly offered me her camelpak straw to take a sip, I smiled and said 'nothing could help me now'. She went off and I felt like I was going backwards.
Kurrawa SLC loomed up and she went left and I went right. Bloody got nipped by damn magpies, which was probably a good thing as it made me squeal and run fast. 200m to go.
Tara crossed and there I was just 30m behind her. I was devastated with my placing.
After I had cooled down I felt much better. I did a good time that I was happy with in those conditions and ran the best I could on the day. Tara had an absolute blinder and was always going to beat me in time (she started 1min AFTER I did) and was really suprised and happy with her efforts....but now I have to run next year to get that Trophy or I will be the only Running Buddy who has never won it. :(

At the end of the day I ran well and did 25km in those conditions in 2:03:00, gotta be happy with that.

My legs feel really good today so the recovery is going well and I should be back into form in a few days. I'm taking it easy until January when I will launch into my Sub 3:20 Training for Canberra.

Thanks for all the well wishes friends, it certainly worked and I felt you all with me out there on Sunday.

Day 1 of recovery....

Some photos................. just to show how hard we were working out there.....

Its just soooooo close now.....3 sleeps!!!!

Am still a bit under the weather but I can't work out if that is due to general malaise or the 18 pancakes I had at Pat's this morning.

Not long now till the race and too late to worry about general fitness. So just concentrate on keeping relaxed and in high spirits.

This is it...been working towards this and it is just about here.

Will post again after the race. Thanks to everyone for your witty, wonderful, encouraging comments. They all mean a lot and forgive me for not always responding.

Being in such an elated, weird mood, I am going to be psychic and predict that Tomorrow at Pat's speed session Tesso will win a pair of sunglasses........

5 More Sleeps.....

Allan (hubby) said last night as we were drifting off to sleep..."Kurrawa is going to be so good this year for you, you must be well prepared because you aren't even nervous yet"

I didn't sleep after that. Bastard! He went out like a light.

Time trial - 3km at Pats this morning. I didn't run hard as I choose to pace Sarah to a PB. She got an 8 second PB....gotta be happy with that.

I just love going to Pats group runs and this morning was no different - there must have been 100 runners!!!!!

6 More Sleeps......

Wow getting REAL close now.

I had a massive blowout on the weekend. Totally ate everything in sight. The kids are still alive, thankfully.

We ran 16km (or 14.5km according to Tesso) on Saturday. I had no watch or garmin so have no idea. The turnaround was 7.9km and then we headed back a slightly different route. I ran hard on the way out but took it easy coming home.

Sunday I was really unwell. Not sure if I am coming down with something but I struggled to get out with the kids to Southbank. We spent the day there watching the bike race and swimming in the beach. It was fun but I was very lethargic. Early to bed.

This morning - again lacking energy. Did RPM class but only stretching afterwards.

From here on - it's taper all the way. Gotta look after this sexy bod and get it to the start line in one piece.