Just the facts tonight, very long day, started work at 7am, run leader duties after work so not home until after 830pm, just want to kick back and relax.

Ran a very quick 6km before leading my group - 28:42, average pace 4:47, a new (unofficial of course) 5Km PB along the way which goes to show that I can often train now at paces I used to race at. *edit* bugger, in my haste and tiredness I messed up there, not quite an unofficial PB but close and done very comfortably.

Rupert and I were leading the 8Km medium pace group today, previously I had only lead the slow groups so it was a nice change. The group was pretty tight and I lead a pack of 5 in to finish in 44:40. They were all happy to get in at quicker than 6 minute per Km pace and I sneakily upped the pace with about 1.5Km to go just to push them a bit. Everyone was pretty cheerful at the end and said they all enjoyed themselves. One participant even assumed that I was a personal trainer and this was what I did for a living

Total for today - 14Km

Monthly wrap up
February Km - 246.5 (’06 19

Year to Date - 519

Injuries - None, still free of Plantar Fasciitis

Excuses - None really, had a slow one last week which kept me from having a 300Km week but not fussed

Races - Super Sunset Series 4Km 17:40, new PB and placed 10th female overall

Goals - Maintain 75Km weeks as a minimum, run a more disciplined 4Km race next Wednesday. Find a way to make Craig Mottram realise that I am the love of his life

OK, maybe that last one isn’t totally serious.

Track Work

Running
Track work at Olympic Park tonight

5×300
63
63
61
62
59

3×200
40
40
38

With warm up and cool down 8Km, pretty happy with the session tonight. Perhaps it should have been a little quicker owing to the pseudoepherdrine in my system courtesy of the Codral’s I am on at the moment, still battling this head cold, but much better than I was yesterday.

Back to Run for the Kids run leader duties at the London Hotel tomorrow night.

Back to work tomorrow, ughhhh, the time, as usual, has passed too quickly and, as usual, I only got about a quarter of the things done that needed doing

Oh for more hours in the day, I still haven’t had a chance to catch up on everyone else’s blogs yet!

Do I know you?

Running
Today, a very enjoyable 11Km in 57:19, average pace 5:13. Looks like the small break has really freshened me up.

Thanks also to everyone for the kind comments about last Wednesday nights race, it wasn’t a bad return to racing.

But the rest of last week was pretty quiet, in fact after having a rest day on Thursday I only ran 8Km while I was up north. On Friday I took my sister for a 4Km run/walk, that is about 3Km running and 1Km walking. While she was walking I did some hill repeats and ran back to her so my distance was probably a bit further, but I wasn’t counting.

On Saturday morning I went for a horrible 5Km slog around my brothers neighborhood, although it was only 6:50am it was hot and humid and it was also a very hilly course.

Sunday, I am afraid, I bailed on the long run. Way too much Sav Blanc and then polishing off the remainder of a bottle of Absinthe with my brother meant that I had a bit of a lie in on Sunday morning meaning I missed the window for a run. OK, I actually passed out fully clothed and with contact lenses still in and remained that way until about 8 the next morning All of the folks out there either on my MSN list or in my mobile phone directory should thank their lucky stars I did flake out because I was definitely in a mood to talk crap after everyone else had gone to bed.

The Glittering Gold Coast
I had a fantastic long weekend up north with my brother and sister. Aunty Em finally got to meet little Katrina, now I may be a touch biased here but she really is a little Angel. Though I was a bit nervous being left alone with her for 45 minutes on Saturday morning when my brother dropped his fiance off for a massage appointment. I felt duty bound to push her musical tastes in the right direction (ie: away from my bother’s penchant for garage and old skool rap) and popped JTV on. She started bawling halfway though Muse, though I think it was more to do with the need for a feed than the top notch musical selection she was being subjected to.

Thankfully I had been left with a bottle and managed to get her to take it, though while I was burping her she also decided to expel most of her previous feed out the other end, Euowwwwww. Aunty duties do not, I am afraid extend to changing poo filled nappies and my options where to pay my sister to change it when she turned up (I am not joking!) or wait for her Daddy, fortunately he got home 5 minutes later and I handed her over and left the room!

As I mentioned earlier I did not get up to much running. Though I have convinced my brother to enter the 10Km at the Gold Coast Marathon with the promise that I would run it with him. He is currently getting around a 9Km hilly loop with a run/walk with more running than walking each time. He reckons his first effort took him 1 hour 45 minutes but has now got it down to about 1:20. Not bad considering he is 96Kg (but losing all the time) and has broken both his ankles at one point over the last 8 years, one still has the screw in it. One look at his shoes though and I have told him to get himself to Athletes Foot for an assessment and let me know what he needs so I can get him some better shoes on the cheap next time I order from the US. He is running in an awful pair of cheap runners with almost no support, I can’t in all good grace let him go on like that!

I have also been informed by my brother than I have “puny Ally McBeal arms” and I look skinner every time he sees me. My sister also wanted to know how many sit-ups I do every day to keep my stomach flat, Ummmm, none, I just run and try to keep up the Pilates (been a bit slack on that front lately)

I spent most of the 4 days between Thursday and Sunday experiencing how that other half lives. That is, I mostly ate terribly, drank waaaaaay too much and did very little exercise and too be honest it was bloody awful and I can’t wait to get back into the routine again this week. Having said that my brother did make a fabulous Toblerone and Kahlua mouse for dessert on Saturday night (it would have been rude not to eat it really), which was proceeded by a very healthy BBQ with Barramundi and Flat Head and some great salads. It really does make a difference when a trained Chef does the cooking, everything just tastes about 100 times better.

Enough rambling now, I seem to be coming down with a summer cold so I am off to the chemist for some cold and flu tablets, always seems to happen when I fly.

Sorry, almost forgot to explain today’s post title. I went for a run this afternoon as soon as I got home, at about midday. What is it with some guys, and by that I don’t mean any readers here, I am sure none of you fine upstanding lads fall into the category of “some guys”. OK, so what is it with some guys who seem to think it is acceptable to either gawk, stare, honk or yell “whoa yeah” at a girl running along the footpath? Do they seriously expect that it is going to get them anywhere? And I guarantee you that should they get a closer look they would be sticking their stupid heads back in the car/truck/van pretty sharpish and getting the hell outta there.

Offical Result

Just a quick update….

My offical result for the Supersunset Series 4km around Princess Park was…..

17:50 (still going by my watch time of 17:40 but happy they were pretty close)

But better still

10th Female over the line

That’s 10th overall folks, not just for my age category

Gotta be happy with that!!

Racing Again

Just a quickie tonight

Turned up for the Super Sunset Series race around Princess Park today. Fortunately by the time the gun went off the temp had come down to about 26 degrees with a bit of a breeze.

I was disgustingly nervous, in fact I was shocked by how nervous I was, it almost crippled me, how stupid is that But a stern talking to and I soon settled in.

I was not wearing my footpod because I want to learn to pace myself with only the watch.

The upshot was, I think I ran well, strongly and with good form, it hurt and I was very pleased with my performance after not racing since last November.

The time by my watch - 17:40, much much better than the injury hampered 18:36 at the last Spring into Shape in November ‘06.

Splits
4:08 (eeek)
4:24
4:43 (head wind and a couple of annoying hairpin turns slowed things up)
4:32

Average pace 4:25.

A mate (Mark) was doing the 8Km and hung back slightly to take me through the last 800 metres when it was really starting to hurt. Much appreciated and I even managed to kick at the end and overtake a pretty fit looking guy just before the finish line.

Glad to get the first post pace injury out of the way and am more than happy with my time, I would have been happy with 18 minutes flat. Hopefully it is a portent of better things to come.

Damn nerves though, really wish I could control them.

Alright, I really need to finish packing now.

Leverage, it’s all about the Leverage!

Running
5Km in 28:02, average pace 5:36

Totally shithouse run this afternoon, it was so damn hot I sweat like a pig and the whole damn thing was a disgusting slog. I just took it easy and chucked in some strides as per Ewen’s advice. I really should have got out there this morning. let’s hope Em’s law plays out and a great run follows a shit one and I can pull of a great 4Km tomorrow afternoon.

I am in two minds about how much running I should do up north, I know the humidity is going to kill me. I may just have to concede a low mileage week and just keep it to under 10Kms per run while I am up there. In typical fashion I am still having trouble unwinding and am a bit strung out still. I may just kick back and really let the batteries recharge between Thursday and Sunday, drink a bit, eat some good food and take it easy.

Daily Adventures
Yes, I got the hair cut, but I can’t post a picture yet. Stupid hairdresser totally disregarded my continued pleas of “don’t give me boofy hair, I hate big hair, I like it straight and sleek, seriously, DO NOT GIVE ME BOOFY HAIR, put down the big round brush and pick up the straightener NOW” Aghhhhhh, she gave me boofy hair and filled it full of crappy “product”, I looked like my mother (not that there is anything wrong with my dear old mum, I just don’t want her hair). This all means that the hair has to be rewashed and straightened before I will let a camera near it, it has been washed now but I’ll finish it in the morning.

A trip to Ikea today as resulted in a nice new TV stand to replace the crappy old one I have had forever.

There is a door that flips up to cover the stuff inside as well, doubt that will get used much though.

It became apparent this afternoon as I tried to maneuver the flat pack from a shoulder height shelf onto the trolley that my upper body strength has well and truly deserted me. It only weighed 27 Kg but I could barely lift it. I managed it by catching it on my knee and getting into the trolley from there.

The car park was another adventure as I stood there trying to figure out how to get it from the trolley into the back of my car, too proud to ask for help, of course! I ended up getting it onto a bollard and swinging it into the back of the car, a little bit of leverage goes a long way.

Perhaps this is something that I should have put on my 100 things about me post, but I have an uncanny knack for putting together flat pack furniture, you just have to be patient and resist the urge to “make things fit”

Ok, that’ll be it from me until Monday next week. If I can I’ll try to squeeze in a quick race report tomorrow evening, otherwise I’ll catch you all next week

But what would you do with it?

Running
8Km in 42:05, average pace 5:16

With a 4Km race on Wednesday evening it was a much shorter run this afternoon. Normally I would have had an 11km recovery run but I kept it to 8Km, but it was a fartlek session, pretty much just chucking in some strides when it felt right.

A bit strange racing on a Wednesday evening and as it is such a short race it does not really seem to warrant much by way of a taper. Hence just cutting today’s run short and not doing an interval session tomorrow, rather I’ll probably just do a slow 5Km tomorrow, sound alright?

Vicky, it is a shame that Ocean gets in the way, you’d be the perfect long run companion, and maybe I could compromise and get out on the odd Saturday

Lazy Days
A very lazy day today, how nice to just flop out and have a nap if you feel like it. Today was just about getting the house in order, there is a hard rubbish collection next week so all the junk is going out on the nature strip. I put it out early, essentially hoping there will be some scavengers which means I can put more stuff out.

Another luxury is having the time to cook a decent dinner. I am just typing this up while waiting for my appetite to come back, then I am cooking up some prawn fajitas, Mmmmmmm, way tasty and pretty much no fat (fortunately I hate sour cream).

Now, the other night I had to yell at the TV, embarrassed to admit that while watching the nightly news this is a pretty common occurrence, usually it is a cry of “That’s not fucking news, this isn’t the E channel!”. The recent outburst was because Brittany Spears had shaved her head. Whoop De Fucking Do, seriously, she could decapitate herself for all I care, actually now there’s an idea.

As if that was not bad enough, on the news today they announce that the Salon is selling the Hair, a half consumed “energy drink” and a cigarette lighter for some outrageous sum, over a million bucks!

Come on, what the hell would you do with it, the mind boggles

On topic, I am off for a hair cut tomorrow, a little less drastic that Brit Brit though. I will be going short but not that short, I have had my hair extremely short in the past, think Annie Lennox in the early days, problem is I ended up getting the wrong kind of attention so I let it grow again. Most people tell me they like my hair long, but most people don’t have to look after it, I just don’t have the time to invest in blow drying and straightening everyday, as a result I end up with a permanent pony tail. Have any of you seen me with my hair down? No, that’s right, too much trouble.

If I am brave enough I’ll post a picture of the result tomorrow.

Weekly Wrap Up

Running
23Km in 2:00:55, average pace 5:15

Owing to the heat I was keen to get going reasonably early today, so it was a 7am start on the Yarra Trail starting in Templestowe. I really didn’t want to fit a bike ride into this weekend (I am not in love with it) I convinced J to go for a ride while I was running, not sure if there will be a repeat performance on that one, we’ll see.

Fortunately I had some company on the run as Clarkey was able to get out for a run and was happy to roll along at my pace, I quite appreciated the company and the chat, anything over 20Km gets a bit lonely on your own.

I wore my fuel belt as I wanted to drink Endura today. Sadly, unlike last time the fecking thing was bloody uncomfortable. It was bouncing around like mad and I could not get it to stay on my hips and I hate wearing it around my waist because it is like running with a corset. In the end I got a pretty nasty chafe to the small of my back and thankgod for J joining us at about 6Km from the end so I could off load it. Instantly I felt much lighter and freer, the search for the optimum hydration solution goes on.

When I got home I had a very enjoyable ice bath because it was so damn hot. Though I was quickly reminded of the chafing on my back as the water hit it and some very rude words followed.

Because I am off work for the next week and a half I have pretty much spent all day lazing around doing very little, it is nice not to have to rush around on the weekend fitting everything in. To top off a really lazy day I have decided that dinner at my fave Vietnamese is in order, who want’s to cook on such a hot night anyway? Besides, thanks to my slovenly house keeping last week the house is a tip and in order to cook I would have to tidy the Kitchen, that is a job for tomorrow.

Weekly Summary
Mon - 11Km tempo
Tue - Session, 300×5, 200×4, with extended warm up and cool down 11Km
Wed - 14.5Km mid week mini long run
Thu - Rest
Fri - 10Km tempo
Sat - 8Km with R4K training group
Sun - 23Km in 2:00:55

Total - 77.5Km

Pretty good week, building to the 80Km base nicely. A bit of an unintentional focus on speed this week, when it felt good I just went with it.

Next week’s mileage will be down, probably around the 60Km mark as I have a 4Km race on Wednesday night and no speed work on Tuesday. Because my average weekly mileage will be greater this year I need to ensure that I do have rest weeks, so I am not fussed or obsessing over a reduced week, that’s a terribly mature approach now isn’t it

Happy running this week people.

Beware the Nachos

Running
8km in 49:46, average pace 6:13

I lead a great group of girls on two laps around The Tan today for a Run for the Kids session. It was good to have a decent sized group today and I ended up with three in a breakaway group. Afterwards we had a great chat, they asked for some advice on what to eat before running and whether or not to run the day before an event. Next week the three of them are competing in a mini-tri, from memory 400mtre swim, 10Km bike and 4Km run. They were lovely chicks and had obviously found something they loved doing together. And they promised me they would keep coming to the sessions

They all mentioned that they were considering entering the half marathon at the Run to the G this year as well. I told them that I thought it would be a manageable goal for them if they are just in it for fun rather than racing, which they said they were. And without giving away too much as details are yet to be confirmed I hope I’ll be in a position to help them on their way to that goal too. Can you tell I am enjoying this?

It was a nice feeling to be thanked for my help and advice too

Quite a few Ausrun mates made it today too. Kathryn was a real trouper, unfortunately I lost her and she did have to complete most of the run on her own, but she did have her iPod and as soon as I finished I went looking for her and she was not that far back after all, phew. With the slow group the pace can vary quite a bit and it would almost be worth having the 4Km run leaders keep going with the longer group to make sure there are no stragglers, I feel bad when someone gets left behind.

It’s going to be hot again tomorrow so the long run will start nice and early.

Dodgy Fast Food
Now come on, seriously, would you eat these?

Some poor bugger did and now he has a charming case of Botulism seriously people, Nacho’s in a box, that is just asking for trouble (here’s hoping I now don’t get sued by the manufacturer).

And I hear a rumor that someone is planning on Milli Vanilli, The Movie, do you suppose the actors will lip synch?

If you need reminding check this out, unfortunately I am too lazy to figure out how to embed the Vid in wordpress. Ahh, those were the days, when are you blokes going to bring back the baggy high wasted ripped jeans? And looking back it is so painfully obvious that it is not them singing. I won’t mock too much, sadly the Vanilli half died of a drug overdose in 1988, it isn’t cool to mock the dead.

And now my mind turns to some other “greats” of the era, Yazz (the only way is up Baby), Bananarama, The chick wot sang “Ring My Bell”, Mel and Kim and various other bike short and chunky shoe cladded songbirds. And who can forget, Bros, Rick Astley and Jason Donovan.

Stock, Aitken and Waterman have a hell of a lot to atone for in the afterlife, let’s hope they have to spend an eternity in the pits with this on repeat.

Donner and Blitzen

Running
10Km in 49:34, average pace 4:57

A beautiful early morning run today around The Tan. Being that it was going to be a stinker today with storms this afternoon I got up at the crack of a sparrows and drove to the city, the car was parked and I was running by 06:30.

There was a stunning sun rise in progress, 21 degrees already and not a breath of wind in the air, it was just one of those perfectly glorious Melbourne summer mornings. I felt good from the off so I decided to throw in another tempo session for the week. I ran a couple of slower Kms (5:13, 5:02, Ok so not that slow) then picked it up and ran the rest at sub 5 with the exception of the Anderson St and just after section (5:18, 5:03). I also finished with a good strong 4:34, just a little tester of the pace I want for the 4Km race next week, well actually I’ll be aiming for 4:30s.

I love that I can now do a 10Km tempo session is less time than first my very painful vomit interrupted 10Km race March last year.

It’s not all Running
This is my air conditioning rant. Alright, is it at all possible that we could perhaps be allowed to aclimatise to the warm weather? I am not a fan (boom boom) of air conditioning. It is so cold in my office that if I have to leave a jumper at the office to wear indoors. Then we you go out side in 38 degree heat, you obviously dress appropriately. But then you go into a shop and it’s freezing again

In fact on some days it is so damn cold in the office I have to use a little heater, which is just stoopid. But I am not kidding, I have goose bumps and my fingernails turn purple.

Can you imagine the obscene level of fossil fuels that are being wasted every day to keep the poor delicate office workers and shoppers in the manner to which they have become accustomed? What’s wrong with us all dressing down a little in Summer and not having the offices and shops cooled to such stupidly low temps? We’ll get used to it, we just aren’t given then chance.

Granted I have evaporative cooling at home, but it is energy efficient and is more like a cool breeze than an Antarctic blast, and I don’t rely that heavily on it.

We have just had the best electrical storm out my way, lot’s of Thunder and Lightening and big fat rain drops. Though it did start during my drive home with a massive clap of Thunder right above the car, lucky I wasn’t moving at the time because I jumped clean out of my skin.

Now another blogger has let me know that his blog stats have registered a search using my full name, this is getting odd. It’s certainly not me, I don’t google myself. Seriously, who ever it is, I gotta tell you, I am just not that interesting.

Ahh, a whole week and a half off work is stretched out ahead of me, think I’ll celebrate with a glass of vino tonight, I have a nice Semillion/Sav Blanc chilling (Four Sisters, not too $$ but very good).