The day I reached my peak

Something really quite remarkable happened to me last weekend... I placed in a race

I came second. Me. I can hardly believe it. 

The race is a annual local fun run challenge. There are 2 distances - a 5km or 10km.

The 10km is simply the 5km course done twice. And its not a fast track as there are a couple of steep hills.

(The number of hills depends on who you talk to. I was told 3 hills; 2 on the way out and 1 on the way back. But, for the record, it sure felt like there was more than 3)

I decided to enter the 5km race as mentally I simply couldn't handle getting to the finish line and then heading for the hills again. I also only officially committed last Wednesday, 4 days before the race. I didn't prepare for it, as such.

So, race day.

I arrived with my boys (who were signed up to do the 1km kids dash) just as the 10km started, which was great as I got to cheer on some people that I knew.

The 10km finished, I chatted with some friends, then watched the boys and all of the other kids run.

About 10 minutes before the start of my race we ambled down to the start line. 

I had the butterflies that you get from any such scenario but I wasn't nervous about doing a great time or placing or anything like that. I'd had a quick look at the past results and saw that they were in the 24 minute area. As my PB for 5km is around that and due to this being a hilly race I didn't even look too closely at the times and just thought I'd aim for sub 30 minutes - ie give myself about a 5 minute leeway to allow for the hills slowing me down.

When the race started I don't even recall if it was a gun or hooter or just someone saying go... because I was chatting to my friend, her daughter and her daughters friend.
This friend of mine, Alisha, is fast. She's really quite amazing and I admire how quickly she's built up her speed too. I thought that if I could just stay with her then i'd have a good race.
The first hill came and, well, I don't mind hills and I just had a bit more speed in my legs than Alisha did on the day. I debated hanging back so that we could run together but I knew Alisha wouldn't want that, just as I wouldn't expect her to do for me.

It was an out and back race so as we got to the second big hill I knew there was only about 500 metres up and I'd start to see the people who were on their way back.
All males, more males, then one female who had a different ribbon on (indicating under 12 age group - yes under 12 - a gun in her own right) and then one female in the open category and then that was it.

OMG, was I in second??

I couldn't believe it.

From then I just aimed to keep this girl in my sights. I still wasn't certain that I'd counted correctly and thought that there was a very good chance that I'd missed someone but as I got to the last km and started to pass officials a couple of them gave me a little clap and said "keep going, you're coming second"

OMG, I WAS in second!

I heard my boys yell out to me and my friends gave a little shout too and then I crossed the line and those officials were right.

I DID get second place.

As I caught my breath the girl who came first thanked me because I made her keep going as she though I might catch her. This was all too unbelievable.

I was beaming. I wanted to shout it out to everyone there. I wanted to talk about how amazing it was to anyone with ears. But I tried to restrain myself. I'm not sure how successful I was at that. All weekend I was grinning like the Chesire cat. Even, now, as I type this, 2 days later, I am still so super excited.

When they presented the certificates I found out my time was 24:02. I am so pleased with that as I was honestly aiming for sub 30 minutes.

Super excited to come second

And what else is great (maybe even greater than the placing) is the fact that any time a self doubt tries to creep in it is squashed almost immediately by the joy that I still feel.
Yes, it was just a local fun run with maybe 100 people in my race. Yes, it was only 5km. Yes, there are many people in the running community that I know who could beat my time.
But I am honestly not thinking like that.
I am claiming it.

Any race, at any distance, is open to whoever turns up on the day. And this was just my day.

This may very well be the peak of my running life. Even that makes me smile.

I simply had to get this down on paper so that when this feeling subsides I can relive it again by reading my own recount

And, because it made the day just that much sweeter -  my boys did great in the kids dash, my friend Alisha came 4th in the 5km, her daughter came 1st in the under 17's 5km (and she'd only 13). Plus my local long run running friend came 2nd in the 10km and another friend came 4th in the 10km. (They're all in the picture)

New shoes. Yay!!

In general, I am totally hopeless at making decisions on bigger purchases.
Having to spend our money gets me that little bit anxious - for example, it took me about 12 months to decide on a new dinner set and I was only ever looking at plain white ones. We went without a dishwasher for about 2 months before I was forced into buying one. And, as my first pair of running shoes - well that took me about 5 months to decide on. I must've tried on about 20 pairs of shoes at around 10 different shops.

I do sometimes wonder why I am like this and if I'll ever get better at spending money. I am NOT a shopper. If I ever find myself in the situation of being with girl friends at a shopping centre (which I try to avoid) you will most likely find me out on the husband seat!

I think the reasons for my anxiousness stem from the following:

      1. I worry that I will get buyers remorse and/or have picked the wrong product. When I buy something new I ask for everyones opinion. And then I ask them additional questions. I research on the Internet, for way more time than necessary. I read as many reviews as I can. I go to shops and harass the staff there with a lot of questions. And believe me, I ask a lot of questions.
     2. Spending money on myself and for things that I am going to use. Growing up I was taught to be mindful of money and, extending on from point one, I hate the idea of spending money on something that turns out to be wrong. And spending money on myself is much much harder than spending money for my boys.
     3. I think there's a part of me that likes the research side. Much like a holiday - the planning is half the fun.
     4. A fear that I will see the same thing on special somewhere after I have already purchased. I always hold out hope for some super special deal. Consequently I have missed things in the past which have simply been discontinued; which inevitably puts me back to square one.

Anyway, after 9 months and around 1000km in my running shoes I really knew that I needed a new pair. The 'bounce' was gone from my old ones and my shins were not liking the pounding on the pavement.
I had read about a shop in Brisbane and went there with a few ideas in mind of what to try.

The guy who helped me was great. He watched me run in my old shoes, listened to what I do running wise and then brought out a few pairs for me to try on. I went in with the idea that I'd try Asics Kayano (what I was currently wearing) plus, based on the info I'd gathered from other people, I would also try Altra's and the Brooks Pure range.
Well, he didn't even bring out the Altra's or Brooks Pure. So I asked why not. He was knowledgeable enough and got both pairs for me to try so i could feel why they may not suit.
I tried a few more on, and some were comfy, some were definitely not right for me and I was able to narrow it down to 2 pairs. In the end I couldn't go past what I knew and had worked so well for me for the last 9 months.
And I committed - then and there in the shop.
OK, so I did have to ask him to hold them for me while I went and had a coffee to think about it, but I went back and bought on the day. BIG deal for me.

What I really really liked about this shop, and a big reason as to why I purchased from there
is that they give a 14 day guarantee on the purchase - I can wear the shoes for 2 weeks on any terrain and if I get pain or excessive blisters or something just isn't right then they will swap them over. Perfect for someone like me who fears committing to a purchase.
(For reference this place is called Intraining - their site is: http://www.intraining.com.au/)

My new PINK Kayano's. The photo doesn't show it very well but the laces are fluro yellow too. No chance anyone will miss me coming in these!
 

I couldn't wait to try them out so I took them for a spin that afternoon around the place where I grew up. I even ran past my old primary school - the place where I ran my first school 'fun run' 28 years ago.

And the verdict - So far, so good!

Hello running my old friend

I have a confession to make...

I have just had 16 days off from running. Not a lot of days to some people but a long time for me. I promised myself (and my husband) that I'd take 2 weeks off after I completed my second Half and then as day 14 approached I got a cough/cold and, worse than that, nerves snuck in.

What if...what if I couldn't even run 5km (3.1 miles) without having to stop. what if I didn't enjoy it anymore . what if I forgot how to pace myself.
Yeah yeah, really dumb what ifs, but its like the mental hurdle that I'd crossed so long ago was suddenly right back up in my face.

So, I put my fears out there in the big ole land of Facebook so that I couldn't chicken out and that I was accountable.
And I didn't wait to see the responses either.
I just went for a run.

What was I so worried about?

I swear that when I took my first few steps I looked like the Cheshire Cat - grinning so widely because I was already loving the feeling. Within 5 strides I felt good.

I decided before I left that I'd do 30 minutes and accept whatever that was.
I could tell you my distance but I don't want to - not because it's bad (it isn't) but because it truly doesn't matter.
There is a little part of me that feels like a new runner who is doing a beginner half marathon training program and this was day 1. That, surprisingly, makes me smile too.

My head cold or cough didn't really bother me on the run. (Although I did cough my guts up (Aussie slang) on the walk home, so much so that an old lady crossed over to the other side of the path and then mumbled under her breath after she'd passed me).

The best bit...I can't wait to go again. Yay

What a difference a month can make...the story of my second half marathon

Yesterday I ran my second half marathon; indeed only the second time I have run over 20km.

If you read my post about my first half (here) you'll know that I over analysed that one and dwelled on the 'what if's' for a day afterwards.
Well, I am happy to report, not this time.

This time I am super pleased because I totally pushed myself to MY limit on the day.

(This is kind of long. If you don't want to read it all just scroll down to the *summary part at the bottom)

I arrived into the city (Brisbane) nice and early and found the start line so I knew where it was.  This already relaxed me a bit.
Then off to find the toilets, as you do.
While hanging around I got to meet up with a few other girls from the running pages. I had met Mon at the GC but the others I had only met on facebook so it was fantastic to meet them in person.

From left to right is Mara-Mon, Runder Woman, me, Kiley and Weight & Run.
 

 So after the little photo opp we all wandered over to the start line.
Now, the big difference that you need to know about this race compared to the GC is that I didn't really have any expectations about time or beating my GC result (which was 1:57:39. I could say PB but that seems a little silly when it is my only time at that distance).
I was going in this race for fun because, in hindsight, I had put a bit of pressure on myself to complete the GC and wanted to enjoy this one more.

Of the 4 other ladies in the above picture one is in marathon training and so was going to go at a slower pace. Two of the ladies were in the same boat as me, this was only their second ever race and they were both hoping for a time better than the GC so were going to stay with the 1:55 pacer. The final person, Lynn, was also hoping for a PB and had planned to stay with the 1:45 pacer.

I can't tell you what clicked or when it clicked but in a really quick decision I decided to go hard and to stick with Lynn if I could.

The gun went off and I stuck with Lynn with the first few km's, and for those first few km's the pace was faster than I have ever done (4:54, 4:30 and 4:42 mins per kilometre) but I just felt ok and I wanted to see what I could do.

Over the story bridge Lynn surged ahead and I just kept her in my sights (thankfully she was in bright yellow so it was easy to do)

There were a LOT of hills in this race. Way more than I realised. It felt like there was a hill every couple of kilometres. In fact the total elevation climb (according to my RunKeeper app) was 792 metres. Felt like it too!

I was constantly scared that the 1:55 balloon was going to pass me and that i'd never keep up if he did so I tried to keep at a steady pace. Looking back now it reminds me of this picture. That 1:55 pacer may as well have been a zombie. I was that scared of him!

 At around the 18km mark I was feeling pretty exhausted. I had pushed so hard at the beginning and was beginning to doubt myself. I couldn't see Lynn anymore and felt like the 1:55 pacer zombie was right behind me.
There was a guy in front of me in a long sleeve running shirt who seemed to be running steady so I planted myself beside him and used him to pace me. After about half a km or so I started to drop back. Then long sleeve guy turned around and gave me this look that said c'mon, keep up. So I did; I caught up and then I think I paced him for the next half a km. We got to the drink station at around the 19.5km mark and he slowed down. I turned a couple of times to see if he was behind me but he'd dropped back, so I just kept going.

At around the 20km mark I had a little conversation to myself that went along the lines of "Hey Brain, remember this; You couldn't have pushed any harder. This was all you had to give today". I was worried that I was going to over analyse this race like last time and wanted to remember that I gave it all that I could on the day.

Through the Botanical gardens and to the finish line.
Rounding the last corner (and another hill to finish) I crossed over in 1:51:32. YES. Arms in the air and all.

Long sleeve guy came in about a minute behind and came over to say thanks. But it was me who was thankful. I can't thank him enough for that look that he gave me when I had started to drop back.

Grabbed my drink and banana and sat down on the lawn, utterly spent but grinning from ear to ear.

I made a quick phone call to my husband and then went over to find the most awesome running bunch and get the group shot we'd been hoping for.



From left to right: Kate (Running in the rain), Mon (Mara-Mon), me, Nic (Running Girl), Gretlyn (Running because I can), Skye (Runder Woman) and Lynn (Weight and Run)

 

After we had all gone our separate ways I went to meet my husband and boys and my Mum who were coming in together.
My boys were signed up to do the 2.2km kids dash so we showed them where the finish was and then went over to the start line. At the last minute the youngest of my two decided that he would like me to run with him. So, a 2.2km warm down it was!
I think it was harder than the half though. He would jog, then walk, then jog and then, out of nowhere, he'd sprint for a 100m or so. I caught up to him after his first burst and asked where that speed came from. In typical 7 year old mentality he replied that someone was going to pass him so he sped up!
They both finished it and I am so proud. The eldest got 11th for his age group and the youngest got 12th for his age group

And now, just over 24 hours later, I am still smiling at the whole day. It's going to take a while to top this one.

*Some summary points and things that I learned between doing my first half and this one:

* In hindsight I don't think that I pushed myself hard enough at the GC half marathon. Because I'd never done over 20km I was worried that I wouldn't have enough left in the tank to finish that race and so went slightly conservative at the start. I am fairly certain that's why I over analysed it. This time I went out hard as I knew I could do the distance

* I am so glad that I had that little conversation with myself at the 20km mark to remind myself that I couldn't push any more. Because of that there isn't any doubt about what I did on the day.

* Backing up a half with a 2.2km kids dash two hours later is probably not the best idea for my legs. Not quite the recovery run that my PT friend suggests.

* My net time was 1:51:03. I grin every time I think about it. Its 6:36 minutes off the GC time. I even did negative splits which is amazing because I was definitely tired in the second half.

* Having my name on my bib was fabulous. Random strangers would yell out "Go Jen" or "You're doing great Jen". It's just what I needed to hear and made a massive difference, to me anyway.

* I did less 'training' for this one but trusted in my ability more. I also went in with a relaxed mindset. Imagine what I can do if train more and combine it with the trust and relaxed mindset! (Another grin as I type)


Resting an injury.... it actually helps

In case it isn't so obvious, the title of this post is meant to be read with tongue in cheek. Common sense tells me that resting an injury will help. It's just stubbornness that didn't want me to listen.

The quick background to my 'injury' is that I rolled my foot (ankle) on a run about a month out from my first half. It was the outside part of the foot that hurt. I iced it and did what I was meant to do, ie. RICE. I rested it for 3 days and then went for a run when it felt ok. The mistake that I made was going for my long run as my first run back. I am fairly certain that at around the halfway point of that run I (subconsciously?) eased off the sore part of my foot and so leaned in, if that makes sense. And lo and behold, caused another pain to surface.
It meant that I limped each morning when I hopped out of bed and limped for around the first km of any run.

But I was 3 weeks out from my first half.

I couldn't rest now! So I kept running.

I finally partially admitted defeat and went to see an acupuncturist. I didn't notice any real improvement though. (In his defence he was great. I simply think I left it too long after the fact to get the benefit)
Then I went to see an awesome physio (Physio Plus) and he confirmed what Dr Google had told me - it was posterior shin splints. A good massage and strapping and it was feeling a lot better. I saw the physio once more the following week and got it massaged and strapped again. It made a massive difference, and I was as ready for the race as I could be.

The half went great (that's on another blog post here)

But then, as expected after pushing myself on the day, the pain was back. I had promised my husband and physio that i'd rest for at least a week once the race finished. I had good intentions to do so but, well, running is fun and, and.... I don't know, I can't think of any good excuses to write here!!

So, 2 days after the half I did a very slow recovery run/walk. My leg was a bit stiff, but ok I thought. Then I went back to my outdoor group on the Thursday and it included a small run at the start and finish (max 1km each time so very little), but I limped.

That night, after much consideration, I decided that a self imposed running ban was in order. My leg hurt and it wasn't getting better.

Everything that I'd read on posterior shin splints (or any injury for that matter) said that in order to get it better the treatment had to include rest.
My mind and body had a bit of an argument about this...

Rest, arrgggghhhh, nooo, don't make me rest. Anything but that.

 

My head won. Logic tends to be the victor in most of my rantings.

Seven days of no running at all is really hard when you are accustomed to going for a run every day or every second day. But I knew I had to give resting a chance.
I did squats and planks and went swimming to fill in the time.

And yesterday, after my ban of 7 days I went back to my outdoor group. It included going up an down some hell-ish local stairs (I so wish I had a photo of them so you could see i'm not exaggerating here), prisoner squats and, just when my legs couldn't get any more jelly-like, there were some lunges thrown in to finish me off.
I walked when I had to and I did extra stretches at the top and bottom of each stair set.
I was proud of myself for being so sensible. HA!

I got home and iced my leg, just to be safe. And then I iced it again another 3 times up until I went to bed. And it felt good.

This morning I woke up, no limp. Yay. I'm not going to say it was 100% but it's way waaayyyy better, and so I'll say 90%. Pretty good.

But I was still scared. Scared to write this, scared to update my Facebook page to say "I'm back", scared to post this link...

What if I jinxed myself.

And guess what....I did jinx myself a little!
In between starting to write this post this morning and finishing it now (at nearly 6pm) I thought I'd ice my leg one more time, just for good measure
Silly me though, I didn't concentrate when I was doing it. I rolled the ice pack back and forth and in doing so the tea towel that I had wrapped it in came away. So now when you Google the definition of stupidity you may see this image...

In case it's not obvious, this is a picture of an amazing freezer burn.
I am so mad at myself and yep, feel pretty dumb.
(And yes, I have burn gel and gauze dressing on it as I type)

But I always try to find the positive in everything. So, what's the positive? Um, actually I don't know. Maybe it's just a lesson learned and that's enough. Because if my leg is good enough to run on then nothing else matters anyway.

So, I'm BACK.

But let's just whisper that for now.

I don't want to jinx myself any more!

First Half Marathon recap

Gosh where to start...

I'll start with the dot point details

Race: Gold Coast Half Marathon 7th July 2013

Goal: Well, that depends on when you asked....
          I was only going to do the 10km until January this year when I swapped to half dreams.
          Up until around April the goal was to finish, with resignation that if I had to walk then that would be totally ok.
          In June the goal was to finish in under 2 hours 10 minutes.
          A fortnight before the race the goal went back to just finishing with walking in the mix. Then as quickly as that doubt crept in, it was gone and the goal was back to under 2 hours 10 minutes with a desire and hope to finish in under 2 hours

PB at Half marathon distance: No idea. I had purposely never done any more than 19.75km so that any finish time would be a PB

I hate to even type this as it kind of feels like I am trying to find an excuse but I also went into this race with a very minor soreness from posterior shin splints. I did get acupuncture on it but probably left that a little too late after the fact to have any real impact. I did have physio on it and got it taped with Dynamic tape and that helped wonders. I am lucky that my husband knows an awesome physio who I got to see twice in the last fortnight before the race. (Physio Plus link here)
Prior to the physio I was limping for the first half to one km of each run. With the physio the limp was pretty much gone and the pain minor and gone fairly quickly once I'd warmed up.

So, race day.
The plan was that my husband would drive me to the start then drive back to my sister's house, wake the boys and drive to the halfway point so that they could all cheer me on. But, god bless, my boys (aged 7 and 9) were so excited that they woke up at 4.30am and wanted to come too. So quick dressing and brushing of teeth and we were in the car.
(At this point I was pleased i'd thought to pre-pack some food and drinks for them while making my brekky the night before)

I met my friend in Southport and we walked over to the race area. Wow, so many people. I mean, I knew there were a lot of people in the race but it's still amazing to see thousands of people at a park 5:15 in the morning.

We wandered around, dazed, for a bit and then found the toilet line! (eww, enough said on those)

Before we knew it the time was 5:45 and we could hear them calling to get in lines and we didn't know where the line was! Luckily we just followed the lead of a couple of other people and jumped the barriers rather than try to find the actual correct entrance. It meant we ended up in zone B, when we were meant to be in zone C but we placed ourselves at the back of the pack so as not to get in the way of too many.

Chat chat chat, oh crap, we're moving!
Yep, we were real professionals here ha ha.
Stop, start again, stop, then we were off.

My friend streaked ahead at around the 2km mark and I lost sight of her around the 5km mark.
(She did it in 1:55. Yay for her)

I felt good. I ran at a steady pace I think; I didn't have any tech support to tell me that, but it felt steady.

My husband and boys were at the 10k mark. It was so great to see them and the youngest got a photo that I love because I look how I felt - excited and having fun (which it was)

10k mark (photo by son number 2)

At the halfway turn I felt good. I knew that my time wasn't fabulous as it had taken me a full hour to do the 10km, and I know that I can do it in 54 or 55 minutes normally.
I hadn't felt the need for water yet. I had a gel with me but didn't feel like I needed it which was great too.

Around the 14km mark I decided to have the gel. No real reason other than I wanted the coffee hit!! (I like Endure coffee flavoured gel).
The last 5km felt great. I love the last 5km (or half hour) of any run and it gave me a boost to be passing people who had passed me earlier in the race.

Having all the crowd there for the last 2-3 km was amazing too. I am pretty sure I was grinning like an idiot from 20km onwards because I had never run that far before.

I rounded the last corner and saw 2:22 on the clock. I was devastated but then as I got closer I saw that it was 2:02. (I normally wear glasses for distance so reading it incorrectly wasn't that much of a surprise)
2:02, yay, not under 2 but still under my goal of sub 2h10. I sprinted the last bit and saw the clock as I went over the line at 2:02:51.

My goal had been to stay with the black balloon pace runner which was a 2 hour finish. I know that they started behind me but I never saw them pass me. (Obviously they did though). I was slightly disappointed in that.

Grabbed my drink and fruit and then my medal and shirt and went out to find my family who were waiting at the exit.

With my husband. (Photography by son number 1)

We hung around for a bit then went back to the car so I could grab my phone because my sister was going to text me my net time...

And I'd done it. I cracked 2 hours with a net time of 1:57:39



I was so pleased with myself. We went out to breakfast at an old haunt to celebrate and then headed home.

Then my brain started ticking and I started over analysing...

I hate to say it but I went to bed feeling pretty crap about the race. Waking up I felt even worse.

I had soaked up the atmosphere, but maybe a bit too much. Looking back I think that at times I was so busy soaking up the people around me and the view that I was kind of daydreaming. I guess the positive is that at least it was relaxing!

Questions swirled in my head...
Could I have gone out harder?
Should I have made more effort to stay with my friend?
Should I have given that last 5km even more of a crack?
Did I do enough?

I actually think that I did the last 11.1km in around 57 minutes because I'm pretty sure the first 10km took an hour. So, that's really really good for me.

I'd finished, I didn't have to walk at any stage and i'd done it in under 2 hours goddam it!

Why wasn't my brain focusing on that instead of the self-doubt?

I chatted via email with another friend who had also completed the half for the first time. She felt the same as I did. Although I hated that she had the same feelings I was glad I wasn't alone.
And the longer we chatted the more I eased off on being so hard on myself.
I hope she did too.
I messaged another friend who helped me in the last few months. She made me feel better too.

And slowly, as the day wore on, I started to feel proud again.

Surprisingly, what really helped a lot was good old facebook. Nearly half of my facebook friends either liked or commented (or both) on a photo of me holding my medal. I wasn't expecting that at all.
A couple of other running pages sent a heap of new likes my way and other running pages wrote some fantastic comments to me.
Someone even said I was an inspiration. Me?
A few others said they'd wished they could do it and would try to join me next year.
Wow.

And the best bit - My boys may have caught the running bug! They nagged me all day to sign up to the Brisbane running festival 2.2km dash and they even practised the distance by running around the block with my runkeeper app going until they hit the 2km mark.

So, I have decided to forget last night and this morning. The self doubt was a waste of energy.

And tonight, as I type this, I am happy to tell you that I completed my first half marathon and achieved all my goals in doing so with a PB of 1:57:39

I will go to sleep tonight with a smile on my face and giving myself a pat on the back for job well done.

Do you want to come for a run with me?

Dear new runners,

Here's something I wish I'd known when I started. (there's sooo many things I wish I'd know, this is just one of them)

I still consider myself to be new to running as I've really only been running for about 9 months and I have never completed a race of any distance.

When I started running I was doing distances of 3-5km (2-3.1 miles) for a couple of months, before working my way up to 10km (6.2 miles) which is where I hovered for a bit.

Around this time, people that I know would invite me to join them on their run. These were no ordinary people though; these were distance runners. People who had completed half marathons and full marathons. Way out of my league, or so I thought.

Why would they invite me to run with them?

I thought they were just being polite and didn't really mean it.
Besides that, I was always scared that I would hold them back and that they'd get annoyed with me for 'wrecking' their run. So, I always said no. Or i'd say something along the lines of "oh I'd just slow you down" and leave it at that.

Now that I am doing longer distances I find myself in the odd position of being that person who is constantly inviting (nagging) other new people to join me and I am getting the same response that I used to give people; "oh, I wouldn't be able to keep up".

But I'd like to tell you that it's not about keeping up.
Honestly.

Obviously I don't know what everyone else's running schedules are but, personally, I do one big run once a week. The rest of the week for me is what I consider to be short runs of anywhere between 5 and 10 km's (3.1 - 6.2 miles).

The day after my big run is when I am meant to be doing a recovery run. A recovery run is also called a slow run and it is literally that - a slow, easy run at an easy pace.
Now, again, I don't know about other runners, but an 'easy pace' is harder than it sounds when you spend the rest of the week trying to perfect the one, slightly faster, pace.
I do try my best to go slower but I just end up running at my regular pace.
 This is where a new runner makes the PERFECT running partner. We run, we chat, I go easy, and you, the new runner, can dictate the pace. It doesn't matter how slow you think that is. As long as we keep moving along it is perfect for me.

Once a week I try to do sprint sessions or sets of stairs and a new person is again the PERFECT partner to base against. I have been running once a week with some girlfriends who are just new and we do some killer stairs together. My aim is to do 2 sets to their 1.
Or I might get to a point where there is a short cut or a long way around. My friends take the short cut and I use the long way to do a sprint session and try to get to the meeting point at the same time.
It (hopefully) encourages them to keep going, keep getting better each week. There will come a time where they beat me up the stairs and at the sprint point. I know it and I hope they know it too. When that times comes we'll just re-draw the line. It makes me smile thinking about it.

The final positive is that, for me, it's nice to have some company as I am normally a solo runner.
If I can inspire someone at the same time then that's awesome.
And it reminds me how far I have come from a year ago when I couldn't even run 1 km without stopping.

So, the next time that someone who you consider to be a 'runner' says to you "Do come you want to come for a run with me?" please don't be afraid to take them up on it.

Even better, ask them first!

Have you set your deadline yet?

 

Run run as fast as you can
You can't catch me because in my mind I've already won...

I am now 11 sleeps away from my very first race, the Gold Coast (GC) Half Marathon.
I even paused after I typed that line because I almost have to pinch myself to believe it.

I have been running for 9 months and late last year I had plans to do the 10k at the GC. I thought that 10k would be amazing and such an achievement. But, after 4 months of running, I got to 10k, and it wasn't as hard as I thought to get there. Around the same time a few people started to get into my head about doing a half instead. These people, looking back now, could probably see that I was physically capable but mentally....well that's another story.

A half is a big step. Massive.
It's over double the 10. What if I had to walk parts of it? What if I didn't make it to the end? What if I didn't finish by the cut off time?
There's a lot of 'what if's' to consider there.

So, outwardly, I fobbed of any suggestion of the half for a couple of months. Inwardly though I wanted to test myself, physically at least. I read a few guides and took what I knew already and just slowly started to increase my long run each week. Pretty soon the idea of doing the 10k seemed like the easy route. But the problem was, the half still seemed like a dream.

Then I read this quote somewhere,



 

 

I have no idea where I originally read it or who coined the phrase (Google not much help either) but it just seemed to 'get me'.

It was then that I started to admit to myself and to others that maybe I could do the half.

 

Fast forward to May and I signed up to do my first Half.

 

Less than 2 weeks out now and the absolute BEST part, I am mentally ready.

I am even a bit excited!

I CAN do this.

My fear is gone. I don't anticipate walking any part of the race but if something happens on the day and I do have to walk then I am not going to worry about it.

 

I am going to cross that line with the biggest grin on my face. I will have done something that I never thought possible, something for me.

 

 

My dream became a goal. My deadline is July 7 2013.

 

Have you set your deadline yet?

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Running without music, scary stuff!

Today was long run day for me. (Normally long run day is Sunday but I am a bit off schedule due to a very minor foot injury about 2 weeks ago)

I decided that today was THE day.....to run without music, and even more scary than that, I ran without my RunKeeper app lady telling me when I hit each kilometre and my time at each kilometre. Gasp!
My reason to make this bold move (ok, maybe that's a bit melodramatic) was because when I run my first ever race (the GC half) I want to be able to soak up the atmosphere of the day, without my own music.

I've really worked on my pace so the aim today was just to run steadily for 2 hours and see how I went.

I'd love to tell you it was great, but the truth is that it felt yuk pretty much from start to finish.

Why? I don't really know.

Was it because I had no music?
Was it because my shin was really hurting until around the 6 or 7 km mark?
Did I not have enough water the last few days and this morning? I thought I did
Did what I ate yesterday and this morning let me down? Or is that just trying to find an excuse?
Was it because it was a sunny 22 degree day and I was running in the middle of it instead of the crisp morning?

Did not having music make me think too much? I kept thinking I was going too slow and that it was hurting and then I think that negativity just stuck around for the whole time. At some points I felt like I was doing the Cliffy Young shuffle instead of running.
For the last 20 minutes I think I looked at my watch every minute to see if it was over yet. I have NEVER done that.

Then again there was a part of me that was really happy with it. I knew that the distance would be ok and was even worried at some points i'd have run too far. I have never run over 20km on purpose. I want my first ever 21.1km to be on the actual race day so that I am elated to have reached that distance, with no pressure about beating a PB.

And another thing, which I wasn't totally oblivious to: boy, do I breathe heavy. I can not breathe through my nose so every gasp is made through my mouth. I chuckled to myself a bit at the thought that at least I am giving any runners in front of me the warning that I am approaching.

So, how did I do?
I ran 19.47km in 1:55:34. Pace wasn't spectacular but it was steady. I averaged 5:56 mins per km (I've done a similar distance before at 5:45) so it was still under 6:00 which is all I am really aiming for on race day.
Now that its over and i've iced my shin and showered I am overall pleased with it. If this is me at my worst then race day will be fine. Adrenaline on the day should help too.

I hope your long run day was better than this

Why I run

The very short answer to the question of why I run is easy: Because I enjoy it.

The longer version...

Before having children both my husband and I were quite active. We ran or cycled or swam. We played tennis at least once a week with some friends.

But children have a way of changing things. A bit like a snow globe. Everything is beautiful and calm and serene, then all of a sudden someone shakes it up. It is still beautiful and you know it will settle but it can be hard to see anything other than the snow for a little while.
I enjoy being a Mum. Sure, they are turning me grey and I do yell sometimes, but all up it's a fab job.
Exercising didn't seem so important.
Coupled with that is my fantastic metabolism. I am one of  'those' people - I can pretty much eat whatever I want and I don't really put on weight. For 8 years I did barely any exercise except the odd bike ride with the kids - but even that was at snails pace.

Every few years I'd say to my husband "I want to get fit again. I'm going running tomorrow" or something along those lines. Then for one or two days I'd run and then I'd give up.
I'd give up for any number of reasons (read excuses). It was too hot or too cold or it was raining or it was embarrassing. If you've been there you know what I mean.

So what changed? I really wish I could tell you that I had a lightbulb moment but I honestly didn't.
It was a few things added up. My Dad had had two heart attacks (survived both, the second finally made him change his ways), my eldest son who was 8 at the time was getting annoyed that I couldn't keep up in chasing type games, some of my size 10 stuff was getting snug (for me that was big) and I just wasn't all that happy with what I saw in the mirror.

Another Mum for the primary school where our children went told me about an outdoor class. I thought I'd give it a go. I even hooked up with another friend and promised to pick her up each week. That way I couldn't back out if I woke at 5.30am and it was raining or cold - I'd committed myself to picking her up. So I went. First week was hard. I had no idea what burpees were and could barely do 2 push ups on my knees! I was embarrassed but the group in general were all so lovely and didn't make me feel like a complete idiot.

The trainer is the absolute best and I could write a whole separate blog just praising her.

I don't think I could sit down for a couple of days after that first session. But it was kind of fun. So I went back the next week, and the week after that.
It did take me a few weeks to notice my own improvement but it was the feeling of doing something and getting better at it that was the fun part.

Due to my size I did get a few 'looks' from some who were bigger than me. I don't think bigger people realise that they make the very same assumptions and judgements on thinner people that they think people make on them for being big.
Does that make sense?
For example, I heard talk that went along with those stares about my right to be at the group because I wasn't big so why did I need to be there.

Anyway, after about 6 months of this once a week outdoor group I realised that my overall fitness and running had improved. At school I always enjoyed distance running and would get to zone or regionals for cross country.
Running was something I could fit in at a time that suited me. It is free and, best of all, I found that it allowed me to clear my head. For someone who thinks waaayyy too much it was a great thought sorter.
Running was also something I could do with my children.
I worked my way up slowly. First it was 2 or 3kms, then 4 or 5km for a couple of months. Then 8 or 9km. My children would ride beside me and tell me about their day. Win win.

After 4 months I reached 10km for the first time. I was so excited. A few people started getting into my head suggesting that I could do the Gold Coast Half in July. I wasn't so sure. I kept running, my distances kept improving and then about 6 weeks ago I finally believed in myself enough to sign up for the half.
The mental hurdle is a bitch (sorry, no other word suits it better).
Once I passed that I was even more excited and more determined.
Nerves still creep in. As I type this I have 4 weeks to go.
Thinking about it makes me have butterflies in my stomach.
I am hoping that I don't go out too hard so have been working on my pace and even doing a few runs without my RK lady in my ear.

So, in 4 weeks I am 'popping my race cherry'. I have done no other (organised) races in preparation. That does scare me a little but I think it will also make race day all that more exciting.


Wish me luck!

Oh, this is trickier than I thought

Goodness, where do I start with this blogging caper.
Am I doing this right?
I've got to say that the tutorials weren't all that helpful. (Although I do admit they may have been more helpful if I had made an effort to really read them)

So, I have been really thinking about blogging for ages now. What made me make today the day? Well, it was this little post at the start of a weekly meal plan I read each week - http://blogs.kidspot.com.au/villagevoices/meal-plan-carbonara/
It's like the author, Ella Walsh, was reading my mind. Especially when she wrote about the fear of making the wrong decision.
I really have to let that go, not totally, but a little bit. It's not a great trait (being indecisive). It wastes a lot of time. One great thing about it though is that when I do make a decision I have a real sense of accomplishment; like "wow, I did it", little pat on the back for making a decision, yay me.

So, my plans for my blog are to write about my two loves - running and cooking. My aim is to post weekly meal plans. They will be a mixture of experimental dinners plus some tried and true favourites. The posts about running will just be my thoughts, my goals and my achievements.

Let me know you thoughts at any stage

This is the link that made me jump in today (not sure the top one works)
http://blogs.kidspot.com.au/villagevoices/meal-plan-carbonara/