last minute stuff....

Finally the weather has cleared up a bit and the rain has stopped. Checked all of my gear and I'm ready to go.....

I haven't posted about the cold that I have caught over the last week because I have been in denial. I am feeling slightly better today and hope that I will be ok for Sunday. I feel really edgy because I haven't done much running this week. Hopefully I have enough K's in the bank to get me through.

My last post until next week, so good luck to all CR's going up to the GC.

The wind and the rain and the flooded GC!

Not nice out there today. I did not go out for my run this morning as planned. I stayed in bed and went back to sleep instead. I figure that the rest will do me good.

I have just heard about the flooding on the GC and the news that the GC airport is closed. It doesn't surprise me, the runway there has a huge dip in it and the water gathers at one end making it really dangerous during these stormy type of conditions.

I have a feeling that things will be ok for Sunday though.
I will try to get out for a run this afternoon if it clears up a bit, but I won't be too fussed if I don't.

Fly out tomorrow at about 13:00hrs and luckily I'm going to Brisbane airport. Would like to get down to the Expo on Saturday to have a look around. My friend from Noosa who was to do the half with me, has told me that she might have to pull out as she has a severe stomach virus! I don't mind going in the race by myself. Besides there will be heaps of CR's out there running and supporting the rest of us. She felt really bad as we have been planning this race for so long.

Final baggage check tonight, then off into the big blue.

3x1k

After a rest day yesterday, I had an early morning Interval session this morning.
Completed 3x1k reps:

4:45
4:43
4:43

Took it easy and tried to keep some consistancy.

Sunday afternoon, last longish run

Spent all morning playing with the kids after "Go Dad's" outstanding hot breakfast feast. Go Baby is starting to become "Little Mr Personality" and protesting a lot more than usual. This picture is of him having a feast of his own.



Set off at about 4:30pm, weather fine, sunny with a few patchy clouds around. Legs were still a little sore from Joggers the day before but I felt ok at the 2k mark. Decided to take another route and ran around the back of the streets where I usually go. Unfortunately due to the rain earlier in the day the ground was really muddy and it stuck to my foot like I had stepped in concrete. It made my shoe really heavy so I had to stop and get all of the mud off before getting back on track.

I quickly cut across a vacant block of land to make it back to my usual track on the road. About 10 mins later the clouds started to come over and sky opened up. I said to myself,"well your not going to stop if it rains at the GC are you?"
answer to self,"No" so I kept on going, besides where else was I going to go anyway? It wasn't too bad the rain was only light and rather refreshing. Luckily I had my new coolrunning hat on and it kept my head really dry.

I felt really good on this run! I could have just kept on going and going but I knew that I had to taper for next week. I felt that I was running consistantly quicker and stronger than I have ever run before. Even my up hills felt good, which I normally struggle with. Feeling really good and soaking up the good vibes, I then realised that it was dark and very wet and still raining. A slight contrast to when I had left home. (I'm sure all of the cars on Windsor Road were thinking that I was totally crazy) All up I made it home in a total of 72mins, not quite sure of the distance but I'm guessing around the 13k - 13.5k mark.

All up it was a really good run and helped me get through a few of the doubts that I had been having in regards to my preparation and training for the GC. I think it is going to be really cool meeting all of these people that I have chatted to on CR or through blogger. It's like we already know each other but we don't, if you know what I mean.... I'm really looking forward to it anyway.

Joggers 8k...

Nice fresh smelling morning in the hills this morning. I love it when it has rained and the air has that nice eucalyptusy,(I don't think that is a word) fresh smell about it.

The rain has kept the temperature mild so it wasn't too cold out there.
Started off ok this morning feeling better from my 2 day rest and shin recovery icing period. Met up with Martin Dugdale again and had a little chat at the beginning of the track before he left me for some serious road pounding. Nice run Martin!

The track was reasonably flat today, but as soon as we did reach a hill I really felt it. I only managed to get lost once today (Woohoo) and I have decided that if in doubt, turn left!

Made it back to the club in 37:17, (by my dodgy watch) At first I was really cheering to myself because thats almost 8 mins better than my previous 8k PB. So I thought that I should check on the distance first, before I start doing any celebratory laps or cartwheels. Distance: 7.3K.

Yes I was right, the track was short by 700m. I then worked out that it doesn't take me 8 mins to run 700m, so I'm really happy that my times are slowly improving.

GC here I come!

Shin recovery

Had 2 days rest to ensure that the shins have fully recovered. Feels good. Out for an early morning 8k with Joggers tommorrow. Then try for a 15k on Sunday as last long run before GC. Only one week to go.

6.5k slow recovery run

I had a slow recovery run this afternoon. It was really cold and very windy and I didn't feel like going out at all but I forced myself to get changed and go anyway.

I didn't really feel that good all of the way around so I just took it easy. Came in for a total of about 6.5k.

Well at least I did something I guess. I am sitting here now with ice packs on my shins hoping that I can recover in enough time for the GC. I think I should be ok because the pain isn't too bad.

Thinking about a day off tomorrow.

Update on 10k time from race

I have just had a look at the results from Sunday's Mini Mos. I guess my justification for wanting to buy a new watch is now warranted as I (and my not so loved watch) thought that I had finished in 53:33 when in fact my recorded time was 54:00 exactly. It's only 27 seconds difference but, the 53:33 looked so much better than the 54:00. Anyway it was still a PB and I had a great time, so that's all that counts I suppose.

Some quick stat's for my own records from the race.
Category placing: 39 out of 114
Gender placing: 88 out of 291
Overall placing: 380 out of 721

Back into it.

After a forced rest day yesterday, it's time to get back into the good stuff....Running that is!
Very windy afternoon and rain threatening, headed on down to the track for a 10 min warm up and a few stretches. Proceeded with 3 x 1k Intervals. Overall I felt pretty good today. I felt a lot lighter on the track and I didn't really have that sluggish feeling that I had been getting after the first lap this time.
Times were:

4:39
4:38
4:37

Consistantly ran at least 10seconds faster than previous set of 1k Intervals. Cool down 2 laps and some stretches for a total of 6k.(Must have been that new coolrunning cap that helped me along.)

Kids sick

Had a day off work today, both kids at home sick and Go Dad has gone to Queensland for work. No training for me today! Planning on 1k intervals tomorrow.

PS: My cool running hats turned up this afternoon so Go Boy and I ran around the house with them on all afternoon. He said to me, "Hey Mum, I'm a really cool runner now!"

Mini Mos 10k

Woke nice and early 0530hrs and drove into Mosman to pick up my race pack before 0730hrs. Go Dad and I wandered down to the school oval for a short warm up then lined up at the start. Go Dad was not running this time. (Football Injury) I spotted the father and daughter team from Joggers and had a quick chat at the line. (I also saw another Coolrunner, wearing a hat at the front, but didn't get a chance to catch up with him) found out later that it was superflake. Then the race started right on 0800hrs.

Felt pretty good at the start, kept with the pack in the beginning then the group started to narrow out a little after the 2mark. This course had a few hills but I felt that there was plenty of recovery time in between the hill climbs, so it wasn't too bad. Besides, we do heaps of Hills in the Hills! I still find that the hills are not my strong point though. I would really love to work a little harder on improving my strength and speed going up the hills.

Got to the 5k mark and felt ok. I still wanted to conserve some energy just in case, more hills came along. (I wasn't too familiar with the course.)I ran into smiley along the track, whom I had briefly spoken to during the MS 8K a few weeks ago. He filled me in on the hill status for the rest of the course. Thanks smiley!

At this stage there was about three major hills to go, at around the 7k mark. Turned up past the Taronga zoo and took note because we were going to take the kids there after the race. I was surprised throughout the race at how many people I over took on the flat and the down hill, then I was also surprised how many people over took me on the hills.

Just noting some of things that make me run faster during a race.

1. Lovely old lady slapping her feet into the ground running next to me and running with her hands on her hips.
2. Very heaving breathing, like darth vader, over my left shoulder.

I am not an experienced runner nor have I competed in many races by any means, but that to me, was really annoying! I found that I just had to get away from these people! So I did.

It was not funny to have two reasonable size hills just prior to the finish. I felt like I was sprinting home, Go Dad tells me I was shuffling on in! Oh well, I have now recorded my first 10k time : 53:33 I was hoping to get in under 60 and I did.

That's a PB for me. Back to the training schedule next week.

At the end of the race Go Dad tells me that there were heaps of coolrunners there, infact the first three males and the first female were all coolrunners. Good on them! The best story of the day was a set of twins (a boy and a girl) from year 4, came in, in just under 45 mins. That's amazing!

Friday - Saturday Rest.

Friday I had a rest day and Saturday ended up being a rest day as well due to some slight shin pain. I didn't want to do anything stupid before the Mini Mos 10k on Sunday.

Watch blues...

No this post is not about the Blues having a win last night but, did I mention that the blues won last night????

Woke up this morning ready for a nice 8k recovery run. Quads a little sore from yesterdays 1k intervals, so I was glad to be taking it easy. Set off on my usual route and reached the 3k marker. I had a quick look at my watch to do a time check and damn it... I had accidentally (somehow) pressed the button and the watch had stopped. Sometimes it just reverts back to the time and the stopwatch mode has cleared. It's really annoying when you are trying to keep track of your progress. Now I'm starting to think that maybe some of my recorded times could be inaccurate.

Normally this wouldn't bother me but this morning for some reason, I was really cheesed off. That's it! I'm going out to buy a new watch. I have always disliked this one anyway. (I borrowed it off my son so it was never really mine) Now I'm looking at all of the watches that are on the Internet. It's so confusing. I would like something that can measure distance and do the 30sec countdowns and time splits etc...

I think I might get on to Coolrunning for some advice. There's bound to be someone that has some useful info for me.
Clocking off.....

1k all the way....

Up early this morning 5:45am for 1k Intervals. It had been raining last night so the grass on the track was nice and wet. The track had this weird fog patch hanging around right in the middle of it. Two lap warm up and straight into the 1k intervals.

4:47
4:47
4:41

Ok, still not as good as I had hoped for but a slight improvement on the last few sessions. Before commencing my two cool down laps, I noticed that the fog was still in the middle of the track right over the 100m track.

This looks like fun....(Thinking back to my Little Aths days)I had a go at dispersing the fog.(by running through it)
Cooool! It felt really good to be having a go at sprinting over a shorter distance(like the old days).I totally felt like a kid again. I went up and back three times really stretching it out. Then two laps cool down. A total of about 6k today.

Tuesday rest day welcomed

Had a rest day today. A few stretches and a relax at home with the kids...nice!

Monday long run.

Decided to go out for my long run on Monday, mid morning. I really enjoyed the sleep in however, I still felt a little dehydrated from the red wine episode on Saturday night.

I had planned on just taking it easy anyway and getting a good long run in before the GC. Started off really average, couldn't get into a rhythm and felt really sore in the calves. Pushed on, I started to feel a little better at about the 8k mark. My hip had been hurting for about 3k but that had subsided and the calves felt slightly better at this stage. I started to pick up around the 12k mark and settled into a nice rhythm and a good breathing pattern. Ended up doing 18k in 1:30.

I was pretty happy with that. I felt tragic afterwards though. Downed a few Gatorades and had something to eat. I felt slightly better. That night Go Dad cooked a roast for dinner! Yumm! Now I feel better.

Sunday Rest

Decided to have a rest day Sunday. We had a huge day on the bikes and the boys were letting rip on the new track. Saturday night we had a big bon fire and sparklers for the kids. A few too many red wines by the bon fire but it was lovely and relaxing anyway.

Saturday 8k

Woke up feeling really good and ready for a big effort. Arrived early and did a few stretches and a lap of the car park for warm up. Met Martin Dugdale and found out that he is a coolrunner too. (Nice to meet you Martin) As it turns out, Martin is the one that I had e-mailed about the run club when I first moved from Canberra.
Found out that we were doing the bush track this week! 6k bush, 2k road. Suddenly my PB seemed out of reach. All lined up and headed off up the hill. I felt good because I was actually running up the hill with the group this time, not like last time when they all over took me and I shuffled up by myself and lost everyone.(I think that the track work is actually paying off) After a short road run we made our way into the bush.
I really love running in the bush! It reminded me of the tracks that I used to run in Canberra. A lot of uneven surfaces in certain spots on this track and a few slippery rocks. I had made it through the bush track and before I knew it we were back on the road. I kept in sight of two other runners today so I couldn't get lost.
Making my way back to the club two other runners came along and we put in a good sprint at the end to make it back in 45:01. Yeah..... Pb by 10 seconds! I then found out that the track was a little over 8k. Yee..haaa! Even better.
A few stretches and cool down. The chook raffle was drawn and low and behold I was the first number drawn out. It really was my lucky day. I then drew out my sprinting buddy's ticket. Roast chooks all round. Drove home and found that Go Dad, Go Boy and Go Baby were all still asleep! What the......Footy starts in like half an hour.
So I rounded them all up and sent Go Dad and Go Boy off, yelling out the oval venue, as they hopped into the car. Half an hour later, they returned and Go Dad did not look happy!
Firstly, he couldn't find the footy oval and then he got a speeding ticket on the way back. Double demerit points and a $200 fine makes Go Dad not a happy camper. Go Boy didn't care about missing footy, he was straight outside kicking the ball around and all excited about going bike riding for the rest of the weekend.
Go Dad then asked me why I was dressed in my running gear? I told him that I had been at Joggers had a PB and won the chook raffle. He suggested that maybe he should have stayed in bed.

Recovery Day - Boring Work Day

Recovery day today! Nothing much to report running wise, although I am feeling a little tight in the glutes this morning after speed work last night. A few stretches tonight and ready for Joggers Saturday morning. I am determined to do well this week!

I hate Fridays, I never get anything done at work because all I want to do is go home. Heaps to organise tonight for the weekend away. Can't wait!! A few reds by the bon fire Saturday night and rippin' it up on the track Sunday. (On the bike that is)

Checkin' out till Monday. Report back then.

Speed Work

Completed speed work session this afternoon. Started off with a slow jog warm up of 2k and I ran around to a Flattish stretch of the road that I had picked out to do my speed work on. I couldn't make it to the track so I had to find an alternative.

Once warmed up I completed the 10 x 30sec reps with 30 sec slow jog in between. What I hadn't counted on was the two boys (about 12years old) on thier bikes at the end of the street sitting there timing me. Once they had worked out what I was doing they started to yell out "Go" at the beginning of the 30 seconds. After the 10th rep when I stopped, they said to me, "Is that all?" So I said back, "No it's your turn now" to which they rode off.

Besides the cheer squad I felt ok! Definately felt the muscles in the legs on the jog back home. Once I had cooled down I started to feel my biceps really aching. Must have been pumping those arms hard I guess.

Pretty happy with training today and the sessions went well all week. Ready for a big PB on Saturday at Joggers.
Tomorrow = rest day!

Distance Measured

I went out this afternoon determined to find out how far I had run this morning. I tried the whereis thing but I have too many up and back, around and around things going on to calculate an accurate measurement. So I jumped in the trusty Landcruiser and measured out the route. It goes like this:
15k in 82min = 5.4min / km.
I'm pretty happy with that for now. I'm still working on improving the speed.The distance is coming together now and that's what I need for the Gold Coast.

New Lease of Life

Well, today I feel great! Jumped out of bed at about 5:45am quick stretch and I was out the door before 6am. After last nights pathetic effort I decided that I would do a long run this morning also taking into consideration the long weekend coming up.

I did bring along trusty old Mp3 player this morning, I still need him on my long runs. It's about time that I change the music though, it's getting a little tired. Wow, new route, longer distance and foggy.....3 new things to deal with this morning.

Took it easy this morning, first 5k felt good. Picked up the pace a bit after that and settled into a nice rhythm. I started to realise, just as the sun came up, exactly how cold it really was. Only wearing shorts and a t-shirt it started to get really chilly. By this stage I had done about 10k.

On my second lap I felt a small amount of pain in the left side towards my back again. This slowly subsided after about 10mins. Not sure what the pain was but I have noticed it once before.

Cruised on home feeling really good. Ended up runing for 82mins this morning. Not real sure of the distance. I will have to measure it tonight.
Quick stretch and inside to wake up Go Kids and Go Dad, get ready for work etc....

Changed the program around again, but due to the long weekend I didn't think that I would feel like doing the long run this Sunday after a weekend of motorbike riding, camping etc.....Go Dad and Go Boy have tickets to the Crusty Demons this Friday night, so they are going to be really pumped up for a big weekend of riding.

Next session: tomorrow = 10x30sec reps.

1k Intervals

Went down to the track for some 1k Intervals this afternoon. I should have just gone home I think!
After a 10 min warm up I lined up,set up the watch and off I went. First lap felt ok, second lap I felt dead. I nearly stopped but that little "Go Girl" in my head said "NO you are not stopping no matter what!" So I kept on going to the finish.

The next 1k felt terrible, I was so lethargic in the legs and my chest was still hurting from the cold that I'm trying (desperately!)to shake.

The final 1k I had talked my self into going hard and giving it my all, except it was supposed to be at a moderate pace. Oh well that suits better, moderate pace it is. Moderate all round I guess. Splits ended up being slower than my last session so I was really disappointed.
4:47
4:59
4:58
I will be giving myself a serious talking to tonight!

Rest Day / Intervals

I felt ok after Sundays MS 8k event. (I'm never eating steak before bed again) Sunday night was my son's eighth birthday gathering at the Outback Steakhouse. I felt so sick afterwards!

I decided that I am going to stick to the training plan this week (even though I am not completely over the flu) I am starting to freak out over the GC half as it is only 4 weeks away! Despite all of the reassurance I still feel that this may be too soon for me! One of the guys at Joggers told me that he had only ran 17k prior to the SMH half, but stuck to the training program and had no problems.

So I felt that my rest day would be better served actually resting than doing an easy 8k like I would normally do. It worked out well because the night before(Sunday night) I had a sore knee and I think the rest did it good.

Back into it today with the 3 x 1k moderate training sessions. I do want ot improve on my previous times so I will see how I go this afternoon.

MS 8k

Woke up nice and early (5:30 am) wasn't sure how long it would take to get into town today, so we didn't want to risk leaving too late. Go Dad decided that with no training under his belt, he was going to have a go at the 8k run and strapped on his bib.
Had organisesd to meet The Owl before the race and it was nice to catch up another coolrunner. "Nice to meet you Owl and your PH." Did a few stretches and a quick lap on the grass for warm up (although it was really cold) and that seemed to get the blood flowing.
We all crammed on to the road and waited for the starters gun. The first 1k wasn't too bad, my chest still felt a little tight until we came to the first hill. This is about where Go Dad signed off... (We had decided before the race that we were not going to wait for each other so I did my thing and he did his.) This is where the chest started to play up a bit. The hills grew and just as you thought the hills were gone, along came another one.
Anyway, had lots of people saying to me, "Go Coolrunner" which was nice and spurred me on a little. My legs actually felt really good considering I hadn't done any running since Tuesday.
Coming along the final stretch I had a little burst of energy and decided to go for it! Sprinting to the finish line. I ended up finishing in 45:11 just beating my MDC classic time. Not as good as I had hoped for but, happy to be back up running anyway.
Went and cheered the Owl as she came in, "Well Done Owl!" Waited for Go Dad and then had the chilly wait at the end to record the results and get the certificate. All up, it was a lovely morning and lovely views of our wonderful city.
Big plans for training this week, starting tomorrow.

Footy Day

Go Boy's big match is on today and he's really anxious about playing this team. We are all going along for support and to cheer for his team!

No training again today! I wonder how joggers went this morning? It was really foggy this morning and cold out side so I'm guessing that a few of the numbers would have been down this week. There are a few events on this weekend as well, which reminds me, MS 8k tomorrow! I am looking forward to it but I'm not as fit as I had wanted to be for this event. I have no problem with the distance, it's just this darn chest infection really affects my breathing. The Owl has offered to meet up before the race so it will be nice to finally meet her and any other CR's. as well.

I'm hoping for a speedy recovery because I want to get into some serious training next week. Some good speed sessions and work up to my long run next Sunday.That's the plan we'll see how it pans out!

No training today

Three days with no running and I am going stir crazy. I do feel that if I don't rest I will just make things much worse. Now I have a nasty chest infection and the whole family has been struck down with the flu.
Go Baby's at home with Go Dad. (both sick) Go boy said he was sick but couldn't face spending the day in bed (how boring)so he decided to got to school anyway.
Might just rest until Sunday morning MS 8k.

To run or not to run?

My recovery day ended rather rapidly after a hot shower, chucking on the tracksuit and crawling into bed at about 7:30pm. I didn't even have any dinner. Go Dad went to cricket with Go Boy and Go Baby went to bed at 6:30pm. I took full advantage of the situation and went to sleep myself.
Woke up this morning feeling slightly better (got rid of that nauseous feeling)however my chest felt really tight and sore and I had that tingly feeling like I am about to get really sick again.
I have some sprint training scheduled for today. I might just give it a miss and do it tomorrow instead. I will see how I feel this afternoon.