Sugar Freaks, they’re everywhere

Running
11.4Km in 1:00:02, average pace 5:16

It’s not a coincidence that this run took spot on 60 minutes. I was just needing a recovery run and stood in Birrarung Marr wondering what I was going to do tonight. I changed the display on my watch so I couldn’t see the my pace or distance and decided to run for time, 30 minutes out and 30 minutes back and what you see above is the result. I just cruised along at an easy pace and didn’t break much of a sweat, stopped for some streches and headed home.

I have had some good workouts this week but strangely am feeling a bit blah, I think I am just consolidating a few big weeks and am also battling against a cold this week that just doesn’t seem to quite take hold. I may have to take another rest day tomorrow, will see how I feel when I wake up.

Someone call ASADA
Hmmm, seems my post yesterday has uncovered the secret vice of Australia’s distance running community, hordes of jittery skinny types lurking around the confectionary aisle at the supermaket hiding their fix underneath the brown rice, tins of tuna, spinach leaves and whole grain bread. And no, I didn’t succumb, but the night is young and the Safeway is a mere 5 minute walk up the road, and I DO need to get some milk for my breakfast tomorrow

Signing off, I really must get that milk

Manners?
I am disturbed to note that of late, everytime I walk up to the counter in a shop to make a purchase I am greeted with a blank stare and “you right?” Excuse me, am I what? It’s not even a sentence, is it a statement, is it a question, I don’t know? I even got this today from the Prue and Trude type in Country Road. Call me a snob but when forking over $79.95 for a belt at the very least I expect a “Can I help you?”

Now I wasn’t exactly whisked away to a Swiss Finishing School after finishing Uni, but I do know how to address people and “you right” certainly isn’t they way

Shudder
This is my plea to all cyclists who wear bike shorts, for the love of god, I am begging you, please, when the bike shorts start wearing out in the arse, please buy a new pair. I do alot of running on bike paths and as a result I see alot of cyclist’s butts, it’s far easier on my eyes if they are adequately covered.

Thanks in advance

Every now and then…..

Running
Tempo run today, warmed up for 1km with a gentle jog, did some strides and then set out to run 10km at something between 5Km and 10Km race pace.

Ended up with 10Km in 47:20, average pace 4:46, pretty happy with this as a training run as it is almost a minute quicker than my (widely regarded as soft) 10Km PB. Don’t get too excited though, it wasn’t a continuos effort with a few brief stops to cross the road and also run down some stairs to get off the Chapel St Bridge, still a great run though.

It didn’t bode well at the start as I actually set out to do a TT around The Tan. Unfortunately today I was not in the right frame of mind for a TT, perhaps with some company I would have managed it but not on my own today, also had a rotten nights sleep. I went out too fast and flagged up Anderson St and mentally gave up. So to salvage the workout I turned into a tempo run, finishing with a lap and a bit of The Tan then jumping on to the bike path up to Chapel St, over the bridge and back to Fed Square up the other side. For anyone who is interested the lap came out at about 18:40, nothing to write home about.

Aghhh, just a bit tired and cranky, work has been busy this week and I am looking forward to 5 lovely days to myself as I have booked Monday and Tuesday before ANZAC day as Annual Leave

……something happens to restore my faith in humanity
Last night I caught the end of the 730 Report and there was a story about an old hall in Albert Park owned by Victoria’s Rats of Tobruk. The old guys were having trouble maintaining the building, due to old age and the expense, so they had taken the difficult decision to sell the place, planning to donate the proceeds to the Royal Children’s Hospital. Today, I read in The Age online that the auction netted $1.7 million! And on top of that the guy who bought the place didn’t even know they place was up for sale until seeing the news last night. He turns up today, outbids a phone bidder from Sydney (presumably a developer) and then tells the Rats he has no plans for the place and they can stay as long as they like AND the kiddies Hospital gets a cool $1.7 Million.

It’s enough to melt that cynical lump of ice I call a heart

Is there any such thing as a Wizz Fizz deficiency? For some reason I have an insatiable craving for Wizz Fizz, so much so that I looked up the ingredients on the Web. For anyone who is interested, you never know when you may need to know this vital tidbit, they are, icing sugar, magnesium carbonate and bicarbonate soda. The first is a no brainer, I am a sugar freak, the second 2, well perhaps it is a salt thing? Anyway, there is no way I am buying it, I will eat the whole lot in one go and make myself sick.

God I am weird sometimes
(and anyone who suggests I may be having weird pregnant cravings will be banned from this site )

What a Pratt!

Running
Run 1
Recovery run, but not feeling too bad at all after yesterday’s hill work
10Km in 51:39, average pace 5:10

Run 2
5Km slow as run leader for Start to Finish
Actually 5.4Km if we are splitting hairs, in 33:18

Quite a few questions along the way and at the end, which I love. I had a long chat with a lady who is aiming for the 10Km event, just about training, long runs and diet. One of the other runners was a physio and commented on my gait, she could tell just by my style that I have high arches, pretty clever huh!

Tool of the Week
Check this guy out, ACT Pollie Steve Pratt’s little stunt this week, in making a point about the scourge of graffiti he half paints over a commissioned “graffiti” mural, Steve, mate, you are my tool of the week.

I finished reading Footprints on the Water over easter, the book leant to me by fellow blogger Vicky. My critique, I enjoyed the spirit of the story, but I really was itching for the author to dig deeper into the issues of doping by the DDR Authorities and get closer to his subject, I think in the hands of a more skilled author the story could have been alot better. Having said that, looking beyond the “simple” story telling you can really feel for Katya and your heart breaks for her. I have decided that Celeste would probably benefit most for this book at the moment as she is fighting her own battle agains injury, so it will be crossing the Nullabour to WA.

10/10

Running
9km including hill reps and warm up/cool down.

The session was hill reps again at Airle Street, which is about 220 metres long and quite a sharp gradient (don’t have a GPS so can’t give the techo details, but for those who know Anderson St this hill is shorter but steeper).

Normally I get away with 8 reps but tonight I stepped up to 10

I was stunned with fear for about 5 seconds, got over it, dealt with the fact that I would be last and knuckled down to get on with it.

I forgot to take splits last time but I took them tonight and here they are (in seconds)
75
82
82
82
83
82
84 (had to get out of the way of a car)
81
79
75 (hey, same as the first!)

You know what, I couldn’t really be happier with that. Even though I didn’t time my reps last time I just know in my gut that I did better today, and an extra 2 reps as well. I have been incorporating quite a few rolling hills into my longer training runs lately, particularly over the Easter Long weekend, looks like it paid off.

And on my run back to the car I was positively flying along, probably because the nice flat ground felt so good after Airle St

Sitting here now I feel great and very pleased with myself.

Other Stuff
Goodness, thanks for all the comments on yesterday’s post. It only came about because I had to clear a few things out the cupboard to make way for the new clothes. I had mostly got rid of the old stuff so I was surprised to find a pair of old pants still hanging about in there. They were a “transition” pair (anyone who has lost weight will be familiar with the transition clothes) and to answer Jay’s question they were a size 14, though at one stage I had crept into the 16 bracket but refused to buy size 16 clothes so persisted with busting out of the size 14s (did someone say Muffin Top?).

Now PLEASE don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t necessarily consider size 14 overweight, but it wasn’t right on my frame. My best mate is a size 14, but she is all Va Va Voom and curvy in the right places, the kind of girl that makes boys hearts pound out of their chests like the in the cartoons (but settle down boys she is married with 2 lovely kiddies). However on me I was puffy, frumpy and very miserable and also terribly unhealthy as I was carrying it around the middle and had almost 40% body fat. It was not about trying to fit some “ideal”, I just didn’t want to find myself even more overweight at 40 and facing things like high BP, diabetes and any of those other ghastly Lifestyle Diseases. If I had have kept going on the same track I would have just kept going downhill.

There was no secret to how I did it, I am just stubborn and frankly had become sick to death of hearing myself make excuses. I used to have a boss who ran every day, can you believe these words actually came out of my mouth one day “Oh, I would run, but……….” TRUE, I said that It’s just about respecting your body and making the decision to enjoy a fit and healthy life and not be an excuse maker, few things compare to how good I feel right now after running up that hill 10 times this evening, sure beat a night on the couch eating garbage.

And here’s the rub, I still enjoy the good things, I love a glass of wine at night, after abstaining while I was injured and rebuilding I am back to this nightly ritual and I pretty much never deny myself the things I enjoy, I just enjoy them in moderation.

Also, everyone out there, all my Ausrun and blog mates, your effort, dedication and desire to get out there, go for a run and take charge of your lives everyday is a continual inspiration to me, never give up on yourselves and as I always say, most importantly KEEP HAVING FUN

JH, I did consider for a moment that maybe Eddie was moonlighting, however a quick look at the “actor’s” photo on Wikipedia I can safely say that the waxed, tanned and toned “actor” bares very little resemblance to the rather grizzled rough-head Ex-SAS Scot, but you never know, maybe he just cleans up nice!

Oh dear, please don’t check my google history

Running
Rest day today.

A day or two before a rest day I think “phew, rest in a couple of days”, then the rest day rolls around and I think “Awww, but I wanna run”

No, I am not that obsessed, I was quite happy to take a day off today with another killer hill set due tomorrow afternoon.

Eeeeep
Tooling around on the net last night I was googling my latest obsession SAS: Are You Tough Enough? (seems that I am getting a few hits to this blog as a result of similar searches), so I tried goggling “Eddie Stone” who is the retired Staff Sergeant who runs the show. Well, boy did I blush when the first option I am offered is the site belonging to “Eddie Stone, A g%y p0rn0graph1c actor discovered while go-go dancing in Los Angles” Hmmm, could anyone be more different from the good Staff Sergeant who once shouted “Are you a poof or what?” at a hapless contestant who dared bring dental floss along.

(and if you are wondering about the weird spelling of the most important bit, well not being coy, just don’t want the wrong kinda visitors here)

News Hot off the Press, Wills (inbred heir to the throne) and Kate (fresh faced “middle class” girl AKA fresh genes) have split up after 4 years together. After seeing an interview with Wills on the news just now I can say she is better off without him. He was asked if marriage was on the cards and he scoffed, laughed, rolled his eyes and said No. OK mate, fair cop, but have the class and respect for your girlfriend to just deflect the question like a gentleman and not answer it. This Kate girl appears to me to be reasonably intelligent and very attractive, looks like she dodged a bullet and can now find herself a nice boy without the requisite regal damaged chromosomes.

Now off on a complete tangent (well if you are looking for 6 degrees of separation the pants I am wearing in the photo’s to follow were from Jigsaw, the clothing shop the ex-princess in waiting works for ), because I lost weight gradually people who met me afterwards, as well as people who knew me before are sometimes skeptical that I was ever any size other than what I am now.

Well, I don’t have any before photos so the best I can do is a photo of me in an old pair of pants I found in the cupboard today, I could put them on today without undoing the zip and button -

OK, I admit not as extreme as some before and after shots, but I used to have to take a breath before doing them up, they were snug.

Alright, this next bit may sound a tad self congratulatory but here goes. Over the last couple of weeks I have been buying a new winter wardrobe, because even last years stuff (which was mostly the year before stuff held in with safety pins and belts) no longer fits. Just quietly I have been having a ball shopping, it’s nice for a once to not enter a change room filled with dread and self loathing. I was very good too, making sure I purchased the correct size and resisting my usual urge to get a size up “just in case”. But no matter how confident I feel I still don’t parade for the shop assistants, you can never trust what they say

Bike Ride
AJH wants to know how long it takes me to ride 44Km. Well, frankly I am a bit embarrassed to say, it’s just a gentle tootle along a trail on a mountain bike, not a hard effort on a road bike. So caveats in place it generally takes me between 2 hours and 2 and a quarter hours I treat it as recovery, just keeping the legs moving but not really working too hard.

Weekly Wrap Up

Running
After a good night sleep and eating well yesterday I have the spring back in my step today.

6Km in 30:51, average pace 5:08

Just a quick easy one this afternoon, after yesterday I just needed re-assurance that my legs still worked

Prior to that I did a 44Km bike ride along Warby Trail, nothing special, just an easy roll and enjoying the scenery. I had to stop on the way back to administer some first aid to some poor guy who had been stung between the eyes by a bee, ouch! I was the worst person to ask for help though, first aid is not my forte, couldn’t find the stinger but he seemed OK (or was being brave) and I was on my way again.

Weekly Summary
Mon - 12Km (1:01:02)
Tue - Track, 2 by 1Km 3 by 600 mtres, with warm up/cool down 10Km
Wed - 10Km recovery and 5Km as run leader (15Km)
Thurs - 15km (1:13:12), avg pace 4:52, great run
Fri - 9km recovery
Sat - 22Km long run, 2 hours
Sun - 44Km bike ride and 6km run (30:51)

Total - 89 Kms

I ran every day this week so tomorrow will be a rest day, and I’ll need it with Hill Reps on the agenda again for Tuesday night.

Forgot to mention yesterday, I have passed 1000Km for the year, up to 1007 today!

Now the housework fairy seems to have deserted me again so I have some chores to get stuck into, particularly the washing, I always have to do a full load of just running gear before I even get to the normal stuff

I should know better

Running
22km in 2:00:05, average pace 5:27

Absolutely dreadful and it was all my own fault, I really should know better by now

I did a pretty easy run last night, but I didn’t eat much for dinner. Then I was up again at about 7am, a couple of weet-bix for breakfast and an hour later out for my long run, aiming for about 2.5 hours. At about 13Km and 70 minutes in I stopped for a loo break and a Gel, but it was too late, I had crashed big time. Every now and then, probably about once or twice a month I’ll neglect my recovery nutrition and end up having a sugar crash, last time was a few weeks ago after a Saturday morning run leader session.

So another one today, it just hits suddenly, total and utter depletion of energy and the will to live, I feel totally empty, even my stomach feels hollow and I start to feel jittery and panicky. So I sucked it down, took a slight short cut and dragged my sorry butt home for 22Kms in almost exactly 2 hours, there was no way I was managing that extra 30 minutes, I had full on stomach cramps by the end. I guess that’s what the call The Wall, not sure about this drawing on fat reserves for energy, mine didn’t seem to want to come to the party

Anyway, like I said, my own fault, I didn’t get enough food into me last night so was pretty much running on empty from the outset, I do know better. Last week I did a pretty hard session on Thursday night and still backed up for 27Kms the next day, but I ate better that night and I didn’t start the run until later having had a pretty good feed before I got going.

Lesson learned.

As a result I have spent the rest of the day re-loading because tomorrow I have a bike ride and still also want to get out for a 10ker.

You should see the shopping I got this afternoon, clearly under the influence of a sugar crash -

1 loaf of wholegrain bread

1 loaf of fruit bread (I never buy this!)

1 4 pack of 300ml lemonade bottles

2 tins pineapple rings (OK, I’d buy these anyway)

1 mini Twirl bar

And just the stuff I need for dinner

I think over the last 5Kms I was actually having fantasies of eating sugar straight from the bag

Venting my Spleen
I love how you all enjoy my little Tanty’s, I do know how to crack it when I get pissed off. Better out than in I say, no point bottling up all that anger, who knows what might happen

Though as I told a mate last night, I do have a habit of engaging my mouth first, I have chucked some great wobbly’s in my time, only to realise that I am completely wrong every time swearing to be more measured in future, until the next time!

Let’s just put it down to Celtic Hotheadedness, and as long as I continue to amuse it can’t be all bad

Clarkey’s idea of closing the Eastern Freeway every now and then and just letting the hoons go for it, in the hope that Natural Selection will take care of the rest is right up my alley, I love it. Perhaps we can do the same with the Smokers by sticking them all in a locked room with no ventilation. And don’t give me this “it’s my body and my right to do what I want with it shite”, I aint buying what you’re selling. First of all, I have to smell the second hand smoke, second of all my damn taxes will be paying for your palliative care when you are dying from cancer, I could go on…………

Oh dear, there I go again.

Ok, trying to end on a positive, I met a gorgeous little 15 week old Staffy pup today, her name was Maggie May and even though I am not really a dog person she was pretty endearing, very friendly and the cutest little face you will ever see. Bugger, I should have got a photo.

Running
9Km in 46:46, average pace 5:12

A nice easy recovery run this afternoon. Quite enjoyable, a relaxed cruise around The Tan and along the Yarra, for the first time this week I ran with music and was loving just being out there on a warm afternoon singing along quietly to myself and letting my mind wander (not too far though, it might not come back )

One of the things I was thinking about was how in the last couple of weeks I have sensed just the tiniest shift in my fitness. Nothing specific, just a sense that certain paces are getting easier, recovery is good and the the notion that the gears have shifted.

As for the other things I think about, well, that would be telling

I got all the AV registration forms last night, they have all been filled out and are ready to be lodged, the winter season starts in a couple of weeks. After a frustrating summer having to rebuild after the injury I am champing at the bit for some racing now, can’t wait

Musings and Ramblings
My mother always told me that Hate is a strong word and that it is not healthy to Hate, she is pretty smart. So while I don’t hate Alan Jones, let’s just say next time I am in Sydney I am not exactly going to hook up with him for a latte either. Reading all about the latest carry on in the paper today just left me feeling totally disgusted, could little Johnny, the man whom surely should be awarded a gold plated McDonalds straw on retirement, possibly get his nose any further up Herr Jones’ behind? I won’t waste any further blog space on this specimen, suffice to say Michelle Grattan’s article in today’s Age pretty much summed up my feelings on the issue.

Glad my “motorists wot shit me” post amused yesterday, glad to be of service. I can report that tonight’s journey was hassle free, maybe they all read the post as well.

This afternoon I had a rare face to face meeting, most of mine tend to be teleconferences. To make matters worse it was at 3pm when my mind was starting to shut down, the to further compound the issue the dude was a heavy smoker and absolutely REEKED, seriously I could not wait to get out of the room, it was making me ill. Then I had to show him something on my computer so he was sitting next to me at my desk, he kept leaning in and touching my knee with his. Aghhhhh, Euowwwww, Ick, it was making my skin crawl, he was a stinky gross reptile, hopefully I won’t have to deal with him too often.

Sheesh, I really should try to end on a positive note…….

It was a gorgeous afternoon today, after my run I did some stretching in Birrarung Marr and laid on a park bench for a while starting at the sky through the trees, I love those moments of quiet tranquility.

Poke ‘em with sticks

Running
15Km in 1:13:07, average pace 4:52

Tuesdays and Thursdays are my “tough” days. Thursdays I vary the session, nothing is really set in stone I just do what I am in the mood for. Last week it was 4 by 1km intervals, today I decided to go for a long run and try to aim for mostly sub 5 minute Kms with 12 of the 15 being sub 5:00

I headed out from Fed Square in the direction of Docklands and picked up the Capital City Trail again. This time I kept going as far as Royal Park, at which point I thought “shit, I am lost, this is gonna be a long run”, but then just past a railway station I recognised a part of the path from a Sri Chinmoy race I did last year and I felt secure again. I skirted Princes Park and headed back into the city via Royal Parade and Elizabeth St. My journey into the city was quite smooth today, I seemed to catch most of the green lights.

A very good run today, thoroughly satisfying and I am really pleased with the pace as by in large it felt pretty comfortable. In fact I was pretty surprised to finish with 4:47, 4:38, 4:31 and 5:00 (slowed down by having to dodge pedestrians) in the closing 4Kms, demonstrating a good strong finish.

Grrrr
Yes I am a dirty, filthy, one occupant car driving despicable environmental bandit because I drive to work almost every day. Maybe once a week I have an attack of goodwill and catch the train. My morning trip is a total breeze as I leave at about 6:30. In the evenings I have a nice little rat run to take me to the Eastern Freeway and even on a “bad” day I am usually home within 40 minutes, much quicker than if I caught the train. Tonight I drove out of the car park at 5:59 and walked in my front door at 6:37, not bad at all.

This is mostly due to the fact that even at peak hour the Eastern Freeway is mostly a breeze. But tonight, although it was still a quick trip all manner of dickhead seemed to be out with the express purpose of pissing me off. I am mostly a pretty chilled motorist, you pretty much have to run into me or do something mind blowingly dangerous or stupid before I crack it.

However on my trip home this evening I decided that the following people all need to be locked in a small cage and poked with sharp sticks -

People who do 80Kph on the freeway, go on, be a devil try 100Kph

People who drive so far up my arse I can’t see their headlights. Guess what? Tailgating me won’t make the 100 people in front of me drive any faster you dumb shit

People who slot themselves in front of me when there is barely room, causing me to brake heavily, especially when there was plenty of space behind me

People who think that somehow we are in Germany and the Eastern Freeway is the Autobahn and crack it with me when I don’t want to drive at 130Kph

People who drive immaculate V8 Utes, no reason, they just shit me

Fight for the Dole
I head talk on the radio news today of the Government encouraging the unemployed to consider the Armed Forces as a career option. “No, we have no plans to force the unemployed into the Armed Forces, we are merely letting people know that some criteria have been relaxed and people who may have thought they were ineligible will find they are in fact eligible”

Hmmmm, we’ve had Work for the Dole, stay tuned for Fight for the Dole

Nothing makes me feel safer than a bunch of people with weapons who don’t wanna be doing what they are doing.

It’s just the running

Wednesday night is Start to Finish run leader night, so another late arrival home, meaning just a quick running update post.

Run 1
10km recovery run, 52:58, average pace 5:18
This was spot on, after last nights session I was just aiming for a recovery pace of around 5:20

Then about 30 minutes recovery, got changed into the Adidas gear then off to lead the 5Km slow group.

Run 2
5Km in 30:02, average pace 6:00

These groups are supposed to be about 6 minute pace so pretty happy with that time

After last nights track work I pulled up pretty well today and both runs this afternoon were easy and comfortable. I am finding lately that my recovery from hard sessions is improving, probably a good combo of diet, increased fitness and the fact that sleeping is something I NEVER have trouble with.

Also during a teleconference this morning I decided to look at last nights split times and work out the 400 mtre equivalents, why? Because I am a sad arsed obsessive that’s why

3:55 = 94
4:11 = 100
2:24 = 96
2:22 = 95
2:20 = 93

How’s that, I was putting alot of effort into these and the first and last are pretty much the same, nice one Em