Weekend happenings...

Saturday 29th

Rest day

Sunday 30th

I actually made it out of bed before 7am for a planned 1hr 30mins run. I started off at reasonable pace, just enjoying the surroundings and happy to be out running early in the morning again.

No niggles or anything to report for the entire run and it was all pretty uneventful really. Completed the run and went home for some stretches and a yummy breakfast.

The weather was great and I took the opportunity of such a great day and walked to the Park with the kids. We have one of those unreal spiderweb playgrounds near home. Go Boy and I had fun racing each other to the top. Later I overheard one of the other kids asking his mum to race him to the top too. Ooops, I don't think I was very popular with the other Mum's.











Time: 1hr 26mins
Distance: 17.3km
Avg Pace: 5:01/km

My little adventure

More Hunter Valley pics..Miners and Digger after their fantastic Marathon run.
Well done! (Picture courtesy of Rags) - Just for you Andrew!

Thursday 28th

50 mins easy on a hilly course followed by 4 hard hill reps. A total of 60 mins all up. I felt great during this run, it was one of those runs that just wish you could bottle it and keep it for the days you are having a shocker.

I made it back to the work to discover that I had locked myself out.(!) So I then ran 10k home to get the spare key and then cycled the 10k back to work. Not really what I had in mind for the day but I ended up with a total of:

Run: 21km
Cycle:10km

I was pretty tired after all of that and I realised that I had no hydration at all until I made it home. 21km on no fluid intake is very naughty**Big smack** Needless to say I spent all afternoon rehydrating. Slept pretty well too.

Friday 29th

I'm beginning to like this midday running. I get to sleep in and it's a lot warmer when I get out at lunch time. I wasn't expecting anything too flash out of todays session after yesterdays little adventure but I was looking forward to it anyway.

20mins warm up run - It was really warm out there.

5 x 1km reps with 1min 30secs sr:

3:58

3:55

4:01

4:03

3:56

20mins run back.

I was really surprised with the times which are the best 1km reps that I have ever done. I'm guessing that now the fatigue of the Marathon is over I am riding on the back of the fitness that I had built up just before that. I'm really happy with the session overall and I finished off with some 20mins of weights and core ab exercises : ))

Total: 12km

Time: 58 mins

Unfortunately I won't make it to the CR 5km Challenge tomorrow or even to Joggers now. Because of all of the rain we have had the slab to our house is being poured tomorrow so I am on Football and Kids Birthday Party duties all day!

Cruisey Lunch run..

Mmmm the finish line....










Mmmm Oranges.....Oh, that's Mrs Tuttle in the middle.









Mmmmm Wine......








Edit: pictures of the Hunter Valley and the winning team 1st place in the Female Marathon Relay category : ) Yay Jen and Nat!

Tuesday 25th

Rest

Wednesday 26th

I took off for a lunch run and headed down to the Caddies Creek Cycle path. This is a great little run going through the back of Kellyville and Beaumont Hills. A bit of a hilly run combined with some flat pathways stretching for approx 5km. Very nice for a midday session. Feeling pretty good.

Time: 1hr 17mins
Distance: 15.1km
Avg Pace: 5:08

A red one for me too.

Monday 24th

Yay! I got a red one. #3160

City 2 Surf Bib that is. I wasn't sure if I would make it into this group this year but I was very pleased when I opened my mail yesterday and I had made it into the "Red Bib" brigade for the C2S.

I'm a bit like Gronk...I'm starting to feel like a real runner now : ) Last year I stood at the start of the Blue pack (not that there's anything wrong with being in the Blue group) wondering if I would ever make it to the Red group. And...I did. Now I can seriously start thinking about this run and I had better do some preparations. Luckily I was planning on returing to Joggers this Saturday morning anyway, they always do some good hill runs.

Cycle - 50mins - windtrainer. Did this last night just to get the legs moving again and I find that it really helps my knee's. I don't have any pain when I cycle regularly. So I guess it will now become a permanent part of my training. It was just a slow session I don't even think I raised a sweat.

Wine tasting tour with a twist...

Sunday 23rd

What a great weekend! (I have cut and pasted most of this from my CR post btw) Started off the weekend with picking up Jen and driving to the Hunter via a few other places ; ) Once we finally arrived we went to pick up our race pack and met up with Miners briefly before heading off for coffee with Rags and Mrs R. Very nice!

One notable thing missing from the race pack was the lack of instructions on timings for race starts and instructions for relay runners etc... Nice shirts and drink bottles in the pack though. Rags did the recon for dinner and we soon made our way down to the Irish pub for some yummy pizza and a glass of wine.

We woke up early the next morning and had some toast and I had a cup of tea before heading down to the start. I don't think things quite went to plan for the race organisers. As I was running the second leg of the Marathon Relay and I remained in the start / finish area, I got to see the whole mess unfold. I feel that the organisers had tried to take on too much for a first time event and having so many things going on at once was really confusing to everyone.

Firstly the Marathon start was delayed by about 15mins and most competitiors were unsure of which event was going first. After cheering off Miners, Tuttle, Digger and Plu in the Marathon, I had the pleasure of babysitting "Mini Tuttle" who was very well behaved and we watched his Mum power on home in the 10k. Also saw MPH who was obviously disappointed and ended up with a dnf which was a shame as he was running so well.

Being the second runner in the Marathon Relay with Jen_runs I had no idea where to stand to do the change over and Jen had no idea where to run to tag me for the second half. When I did start running (we just did our own thing) it soon became very clear that I was going to be running alone as all of the marathoners that were on their second lap had already gone through.

Unfortunately I became lost in the first 1km and ran approximately 2km in the wrong direction because I didn't have anyone to follow and there were no signs or marshalls directing me out side the gate to the road?? I then found that when I did come up to a marshall or a drink station they were assuming that I was on my second lap of the Marathon and already knew where to go.
So directions like "just go the same way you went before" were not really helpful. I didn't see any km markings on the course at all either.

Word soon got around to the Marshalls that I was the last runner which was the case until I caught up to about half a dozen of the Marathon tailenders. It was funny because every Marshall knew my name and cheered me on when I ran past them. Obviously the one guy that I stopped to talk to had radioed ahead and told them all, so that was pretty cool : ) I will be interested to see the data from Rags's Garmin (I left mine at home) just to see what the splits were when I was running (not asking for directions)

I felt strong right to the end and came in with a 1:45 which is not too disappointing considering all of the stop/starts and wrong turns. All other things aside I had a great run. I felt like I was running without any sign of fatigue for the first time since the GCM. In fact I felt fantastic out there on the trails : ) If I hadn't just been out for a fun weekend with friends then I probably would have been a bit more disappointed about the lack of directions and markings on the course.

Overall though it was a great weekend. I had a lovely dinner with Jen_runs, Rags and Mrs R the night before the run and enjoyed their company for lunch again after the run where we polished off our spot prize of a nice bottle of Red. A huge thanks to my wonderful Relay partner - Jen_runs. You did a great job!

I did it!

Friday 21st

Not so amazing but...I went for a run.

Firstly, you will notice that there was no report of running for yesterday that's because I didn't run at all yesterday, so 2 days off in a row. Ho Hum...

However, I did get out of bed this morning for an easy trot around the Ridge : ) What looked like rain at first was really only just wet ground and fog...lots of it. I decided to leave "Gabby" at home today and just really take it easy. I was running pretty smoothly and even had a smile on my face at one stage until...my leg started aching.

It's exactly the same leg and spot that bothered me during the GCM. I really thought that the couple of days rest would fix all of these silly little niggles. (Grrr) I managed to finish the run which was 8km all up. I'm stretching and icing at the moment but I'm sure I will be ok for the weekend. I'm not going to do anything silly at the Hunter Valley so like my Relay Partner , I will just be taking it easy.

I'm really looking forward to the social aspect of this weekend more than anything, just keep me away from the Red Wine ; )

That's not the spirit....

Monday 17th

Cycle 1hr 30mins windtrainer - Felt great. Did a really hard hill session and I watched the A1 channel which had a Nepal Mountain bike race program on. I felt like I was riding those hills with them. Except it took them 6 days and their hills were bigger than mine and they were on a real mountain. : ( Oh well, one day I will get to take my bike to a real mountain.

Tuesday 18th

50mins easy - This was the first run since the Marathon that I almost felt normal again. Still having some issues with energy levels despite eating heaps of carbs during the day and drinking plenty of water. Not sure what is going on there?

Wednesday 20th

I had planned to get up early - didn't happen.
I was going to cycle in the afternoon - didn't happen.
I could have run in the afternoon - didn't happen.

I'm really struggling with getting back into the early mornings again. Even though I have put together a new porgram to get me past W2B I just don't seem to have the determination and motivation to get into it. I need a good kick in the pants I think!

Ok, so it was only 1 day off training that I missed and I was suffering from some DOMS after the big hill session on Monday night so it was probably better that I had a rest day anyway. That's not the issue here. Where has my motivation gone???

Thursday 20th

Big plans to get up and run this morning but you guessed it, I slept in, again : ( So now I plan on getting out this afternoon - we'll see about that!

Weekend update

Thursday 13th

Return to speedwork and I felt really good during this session. Thought that I would just do 12 x 30sec's fast x 30secs jog recovery. Unfortunately it aggravated my knee again so probably wasn't a wise move.

Distance: 9.5km

Friday 14th

Cycle : 1hr 15mins

Saturday 15th

Rest

Sunday 16th

Cherrybrook Chase. I headed over to Cherrybrook for the 5km event. It was great to catch up with some familiar faces from the Hills area that I hadn't seen for a while. Also to catch up with a host of CR's including Pipe, Plu, Sailaway, Superflake, 2b, Bert, Dash Incredible and a few others.

I knew that the recovery from the Marathon was holding me back a bit so there was never going to be any PB's especially since this was supposedly a hilly course as well. The start went well and I soon realised that I had run out way too quickly as I struggled up the first series of hills. Things levelled out a little after that and I settled into a rhythm with another female who seemed a little agitated to have me breathing down her neck.

I saw Sparkie first coming back in the opposite direction and he was looking very strong in first place. I could only count one female that was infront of me at the turn so I had a quick look back and the 3rd placing female was a fair way behind me so second place was pretty much in the bag. It's a pity that I had run almost a PW and still managed a placing. (23:32) A long way off the great time that I ran just before the Marathon for this distance but that was on a totally flat course under different conditions and on much fresher legs. Still, I'm pretty happy with my Bling : )

My leg feels alright after the run today and with some stretching during the week I think everything should be good for the HV - Relay on the weekend.

Running again

Tuesday 11th

40mins run - Knee feeling heaps better on this run and I ran through some pretty decent hills. Although my energy level was a little down during this run, I still felt good at the end of it. Ran at lunch time from work which was different for a change.

Wednesday 12th

1hr 20 mins cycle - windtrainer

Weights and core abs - 30mins

I sweated a bucket load but it was fun. I have started to follow a speed / hills program that I found on the Internet. Good workout! I watched a cricket dvd from the 80's. What a classic! I never tire of watching Dennis Lillie and the boys from back then strutting their stuff on the field. But what about those clothes???

I think I'm starting to like this bike thingy. It would be good if I could get myself out on the road again sometime ; )

New Inspiration

Wednesday 5th

After packing up the kids and making our way to the GC airport we sat in the gate lounge waiting for our flight. There was a heap of other families and kids playing around waiting for the same flight back to Sydney. I noticed one mother chatting away to her kids but then when I looked a little closer I realised that it was Kerryn McCann. Oooh..how exciting. Well for me it was anyway. I told my eldest son who she was and he was really excited too. He sat with me and watched her amazing Commonwealth Games win, so he knew exactly who she was.

Once we were on the flight I realised that I just so happened to have a copy of the Runners World in my bag with Kerryn on the cover. She was just sitting two seats ahead of us, so Go Boy and I went and got her autograph. She signed it on the page of with her in full flight with the words "Never say Never" in the background.

I think this made up for missing out on getting Brooke Hanson's autograph the day before : (

Thursday 6th

Rest - Knee still sore

Friday 7th

Rest - Easy Tiger massage

Saturday 8th

Walk - 5km

Sunday 9th

Run slowly- 40mins - Felt good during the run but the knee complained bitterly afterwards : (

Ice, voltaren and stretching

Monday 10th

Does my bum look big in this??

I look like a duck on steroids with those Nicks on. Talk about bubble butt.

Cycle - Windtrainer - 1hr15mins.

Weights and core abs - 30mins

I didn't want to stop! Felt great bopping away to my music in the lounge. Luckily no one was home to see me or to hear my horribly out of tune singing.

Gold Coast Marathon Report Part 2.....

Post Race...Still on Sunday.... Photo thanks to PLU!

I managed to hobble over to the Pat Carroll tent after I had finished and did a few stretches and caught up with Tesso and JD and found out about all of the other runners in the Half and some of the other Marathoners as well. It was like stories from the battlefield, a great atmosphere.

I knew that I had done some damage to my knee and calf muscle but I really didn't care too much because I had finished my first Marathon. There were so many great stories out there. I went down to the finishing chute to cheer on some of the other runners coming through.

Desperate for a shower I made my way back to the hotel and then hobbled on down to the Northcliff SLSC. That was great fun! After the first half of my beer I was feeling pretty happy but the pain in my knee didn't seem to go away..I think it got worse by all of the sitting around.

A few beers later and lots of chatting and socialising...We made our way into Caville Mall for dinner. It was really great to catch up with all of the CR's over the weekend and had some laughs with Nando, Rags and Allrounder at dinner. The walk back to the Hotel was just sooo painful. My hotel was only two streets away but it felt like my leg was being stabbed by a thousand knives..ok slight exaggeration 999 knives. Ouch!..It was a very restless nights sleep. The next day (Monday) was just spent resting and walking around the shops. I think the walking around did me some good.

Some thoughts:

I will not.....

Forget my CR cap for a race again
Forget to pack Bodyglide
Wear the wrong shorts
Run on the left side of the road in any race.... : ( Tank Girl has suffered a a very simular injury to mine and I think that the road had something to do with it. Both felt the same pain after about 16km..
Cry in Caville Mall again after saying goodbye to my friends : (

I will.....

Learn to adjust my race plan mid race and accept that "anything" can happen
Run another Marathon
Continue to have fun and enjoy running

The best part is......I have now qualified for 6ft. Yeah! **jumps in the air, cartwheels and Hi fives allround**

Tuesday 4th

Some one thought it was my Birthday! Thanks for the messages but no, it's not until August : )

Went to Movie World with the kids and Go Hubby. It was goos to keep moving and walk around most of the day. I was pretty tired at the end of the day though.

Wednesday 5th

Met up with the miner for an early morning jog along the beach. First run after the Marathon! My leg felt a little bit sore in the beginning and then the pain got worse as I went along. Luckily I had one of my favourite CR's to keep me company because I probably would have just turned around and gone back to my hotel room otherwise. So it was a bit of a slow jog/walk/talk session.

I tried running again once we hit the harder road but it was still really painful so I had to stop and walk again. Not sure exactly how far we ran, but it wasn't very far. I was grateful for the opportunity to get out and get moving again and I couldn't resist the invitation to go running with the lovely miner ; ) Thanks for getting me back into it.

One last special thanks to Jen_runs. Jen - Thankyou so, so much for your support. You are an amazing supporter and a great cheerleader. I can't wait to cheer you along in your first Marathon : )

GC Marathon Report Pt 1....

Pre race - I flew up to Queensland with the kids on Friday afternoon. This was a little stressfull but we managed to all get there in one piece. Trying to hydrate and eat all of the right things was almost impossible but I did manage a pasta dish for dinner.

Saturday morning I went into the Expo to pick up my race kit and also went to check into my Hotel. I had Go Baby with me so we had a little diversion to the park along the way to keep him occupied. Caught up with heaps of CR's at the Expo but I still wasn't feeling nervous just excited more than anything. I love how this event is so well run and very organised. Many other events could learn a thing or two from the way that the Gold Coast do things, it's really impressive.

I had pre arranged for my mother- in- law to have the kids Saturday night so I waited until she came and picked up Go Baby (Go Boy was already with her) and went out for dinner with the Crew. No surprises with the pasta dinner choice but Rags had the best dinner by far...he .. he..

With all of the rushing around with the kids I had managed to lose my CR cap and forgot to pack my Bodyglide... Luckily Jen runs lent me her cap (Thanks Jen!) and I bought some Bodyglide from the Expo..

Race Morning - I had a great nights sleep and woke up feeling refreshed and ready for action. I think that truthfully I really hadn't had time to think that much about the race but as I was getting dressed I really started to get nervous. I had a bowl of Nutri-Grain and some sports drink for breakfast. Then headed on down to the Hotel foyer where I shared a taxi with some other runners who were doing the Half.

I had arranged to meet up with some CR's at the Pat Carroll tent and I left my bag there as well. I watched the start of the Half on the big screen, seemed like a big crowd. I moseyed on up to the start and soon met up with other CR's and lined up with cassig as we had simular goals in mind. I put my Mp3 player on and waited for the gun to go off , I couldn't believe I was finally running my first Marathon.

The first part was a bit of a dodge game but I slipped in behind the 3:30 pacers. I quickly realised that they were running way too fast (4:40's) and I dropped off the back of the group at about 5k. I managed to sit behind a group of 3 guys who were just running at the perfect pace (5min km's) and they didn't seem mind me tagging along. I made it to the 10km mark (48mins) feeling really good and was happy with the pace and effort so far.

I managed to stay with the same guys for quite a way and at the 15km mark I took a gel and somehow lost them at the drinks station. At around the 16km mark I felt a twinge in my left calf, almost like a cramping feeling. The pain started to get progressively worse with each km and it felt like a pulling sort of tightness feeling in the calf. This was starting to worry me and as I passed through the next aid station I stopped off to the side to stretch it out for a few seconds. This helped a little but it was only temporary. I was soon at the 21km mark and I passed through there in 1:43 which was still on track but I was worried about my leg and how it would hold up for the rest of the race.

I started to think about possibly pulling out of the race at the 25km mark I didn't want to really injure myself but I really didn't want to have a "dnf" for my first Marathon either. I then reasoned with myself deciding that if I made it to each aid station and stretched for a bit then I could continue until the pain became too bad or unbearable. Just after making that decision my left knee started aching and pulling under my knee cap. From here I had to change my goal to just finishing in one piece. My pace dropped off to 5:30 for a couple of km's and I just pressed on still stopping and stretching at each aid station.

It was sore/lonely run out the back to Runaway Bay before the final turn for home. When I had reached the 36km mark I knew that I didn't have that long to go so I told myself that I could either put up with the pain and finish this race sooner or put up with the pain and take a lot longer by walking the rest of the way. I chose to keep running but still had to stop regularly to stretch. At the 38km mark I knew that I had plenty left in the tank and the only thing stopping me was the knee pain. I really dug deep and the cheer from the cheersquad (thanks guys) was enough to get me through the last few km's. If anyone had seen me in the finishing chute, I was grimacing as I ran in the final 300m. The grimace wasn't from exhaustion but from the pain in my leg.

I didn't feel sad that I hadn't met my goal, I was just elated to have finished and I was happy with my result all factors aside. A huge thanks to all of the cheerers and especially Jen_runs, Cirque, Miners, Tesso, JD, Plu and everyone else who cheered me along, I really appreciate the support.

Some special mentions:
Easy Tiger - Couldn't have made it to the start without your magical massages.
Eagle and 26miles - Thanks for your words of wisdom and advice.
PG - You guys are the best. You all have helped me to get to this point and I cherish your support and friendship. Big hugs and kisses to you all.
Pat Carroll - Fantastic program and coaching.
My family - For supporting me.

To be continued.......

Official Result - GC Marathon..

3:46:05


Full details later.