2007 – the year that wasn’t

I didn’t end up running this morning; I wasn’t free to leave the office until about 9am so I missed the VRR Tan run. So I have finished up my year of running and will start 2008 with what will no doubt be a slog of a 10Km first thing tomorrow, our overnight “low” is going to be 25 degrees

As I entered 2007 I was recovering from my first runners’ injury, a painful bout of Plantar Fasciitis that kept me off for about 3 weeks in December. I recall being pretty damn frustrated at the time, I mean 3 whole weeks, how on earth was I supposed to cope with that? Considering what was in store for me in May this year 3 weeks was a mere long weekend.

It was looking positive at the start of the year; I was looking forward to training well and competing in my first winter season for Sandringham Athletics. I had even made the tentative decision to run the Melbourne Marathon in October; this I suspect was my undoing. I did share this with my coach and we decided just to stay the course until July and make the decision then, depending on how my training was going. As a result I started stepping up my training; I was aiming to run 90Km a week consistently so that if I made the decision to run the Marathon all I would have to do is start increasing the length of my long run.

By around the second week of April it started to become apparent to me that something was wrong, shin niggles were becoming more common and I needed to ice both shins after every run. Eventually I started to feel pain just starting a run, kind of like someone was stabbing me in the calves with a knitting needle, with every step! This started just after I ran my first AV event, the XC relay at Jells Park. In hindsight I should have stopped running in early April when it was likely that all I had was a nasty case of shin splints, but I didn’t know any better. By the time I was booked in to see a doctor at the start of May I couldn’t even walk down a flight of stairs properly

Of course the rest is history and regular readers will know that from that point this become the pool running/rehab blog. There were some pretty shit and depressing days but at no time did I ever consider giving up on it. It was bloody hard to go along to AV races week in week out and watch my team mates competing while I sat on the side line; on the other hand it was still preferable to sulking at home. In just over 7 weeks I was given the all clear to start the rehab run/walk program and this was when I discovered that all the pool running was worth the slog. Fitness had definitely taken a slide but I was constantly surprised at how much fitness I had maintained and I only put on 2Kgs as well.

Now I have just managed my biggest running month since I was injured, a big fat 209 Kms, one 6 day week, 2 5Km races, a Tan TT and I made a return to speed work in November. I even managed an age group placing for one of those 5km races (which reminds me, I have to hassle the organisers about my trophy, they have been a bit slack on that front).

While I am obviously hoping not to go down the injury path again I don’t look back on this year with any regret. Being injured taught me a lot about myself and I have no doubt it has made me a stronger and smarter runner. I also found out that I have a tendency to become iron deficient, something which has really been hampering my performance. Had I not been injured I probably would never have bothered to go to the doctor myself and be tested.

I am looking forward to 2008, I have set myself some challenging goals and I can’t wait to get stuck in.

I am planning on spending NYE lolling about on the grass at Jells Park with some champers and good friends for company, far more enticing that braving the maddening crowds in the city on what is promising to be a stinking hot 42 degree day.

What ever you are doing tonight have a fantastic time and stay safe.

Mad about the boy(s)

It would rather seem at times that this blog is written by an overly hormonal teenager, I assure you I am not, but I am a chick and I have my fair share of red blood coursing though my veins and I like the boys

Or perhaps I should say men lest I get myself in trouble, but you know what I mean and I am loathe to be too PC about it.

So Jo, this is just for you, this here is Evan Dando, indie rock god extraordinaire who made all our hearts beat a little faster back in the early 90s. Without boring you all too much about the nature of our conversation in the car this morning, I was describing a boy from way back in my youth who bared more than a passing resemblance to his royal loveliness Evan and Jo didn’t know who I was talking about.

*sigh*

OK, back to the Running

Michelle, Jo and I decided on a nice flat 16Km along the Warburton Trail, starting all the way out in Warburton. Fortunately this morning was a whole lot cooler than yesterday and we made it though very comfortably. On the way back we were passed by a pack of riders and the last guy though clipped a branch and stacked right at our feet. Poor bugger was so embarrassed he couldn’t possibly have jumped back on the bike and got out of there fast enough, Jo even tried to help him up but he wasn’t having it, Michelle and I were too busy checking him out

Distance - 16Km (well, 16.37Km by my stride sensor, Garmains gave 16Km)
Time - 90 minutes
Avg Pace - 5:33
Avg HR - 79%
Avg Cadence - 182

And with this run I manage to sneak over 200Km for the month! I ran just over 55Kms this week, about 2Km more than last week on one less day, mainly because instead of speedwork I did lots of long slow running.

Someone reminded me this afternoon that the Victorian Road Runners (VRR) have a New Years Eve morning run around the Tan tomorrow, 4km or 8Km. I had tentatively pencilled this in just for fun but had forgotten all about it. I do actually have to be at work quite early tomorrow to get something done before 730 so I will play it by ear. I was planning on getting to the office at 6am, if I wear the running gear and can get what I need to do done by 7am I should be able to make it. I’d only have to run about 2Km from the office and I wouldn’t be racing the event, just in it for the champagne breakfast really

I was going to to the year in review today but have prattled on enough, I am sure I will find myself at a loose end at work sometime tomorrow and bash out a paragraph or two.

Hotter than Hell

Well it is!

I really didn’t want to get out of bed early this morning and had a rare motivational crisis. I managed to talk myself into it knowing that if I didn’t run first thing it wasn’t going to happen, not with the hot weather forecast for today.

I was on the Dandy Creek Trail just shy of 7am and there were a heap of other runners out there today, obviously everyone had the same idea. My aim was to do a shorter version of Wednesday’s 75% heart rate run, it started off well but I just couldn’t keep it low enough, despite being almost 14 seconds slower per Km. Even at that time of day the sun was beating down and although I felt very comfortable the average HR was still 79%.

Distance - 9Km
Time - 52:11
Avg Pace - 5:47
Avg HR - 79%
Avg Cadence - 182

Thanks for the Birthday wishes yesterday, for once I faced it front on and ended up having a pretty decent day. My sister sent me a great pressie in the mail, it was a mineral make-up kit. Boys won’t get it but girls probably will, we had been checking it out together when we got our spray tans in November and she remembered.

It warmed the cockles of my heart to discover that I was not alone in my love of the Pancake Parlour, I really thought it had become a trashy suburban anachronism, Ok, it probably is a trashy suburban anachronism, but at least it is a delicious one. Though after a lime spider, a shared plate of country fries and the Jamacian Banana pancake I think I left with a couple of extra kilos

I enjoyed The Darjeeling Limited, although The Royal Tenenbaums is still my favourite Wes Anderson film. You just can’t beat that scene where Owen Wilson is slowly losing it, staring off into the distance muttering “wildcat, wildcat….”. Still, this latest one was worth the price of the ticket and I wasn’t checking my watch every 10 minutes hanging out for the end like I often do. Adrien Brody was simply divine (I have a thing for quirky looking men) and you just wanted to hug him. Though I couldn’t help noticing he has terrible running form, in the opening scene he is running for a train and heel striking terribly

Tomorrow, an early run with Michelle and Jo and the year in review, not that there is much to review.

Here you go Sara, just for you, wet bad guy Sean Bean, if I keep this up the AVO should be in the mail real soon.

Quick, hand me the Botox!

I don’t look or smell like a monkey and I definitely don’t live in a Zoo.

That’s right; the milk in my fridge expired today.

According to Astronomers the Capricorn person is prudent, responsible, realistic, very wise, formal, patient, methodical, disciplined, traditional, cautious, conventional, hard-working, persevering, ambitious, dedicated, focused, honest, dependable, serious, self-reliant, businesslike, career-oriented, authoritative, conscientious, and competent.

All admirable qualities I am sure but for fecks sake could we be any more boring?

Normally I let my birthday pass without mention; it is not uncommon for me to behave like a total brat, not least of all the tendency for irrational crying fits to spring forth with no warning. A couple of years ago all it took was for my mother to ring me and say “so what do you want to do today?”

“Waddya mean what do I want to do? You should all be here pouring champagne down my neck and telling me how fabulous I am”

This year I have tried to approach both Xmas and my birthday with a greater degree of maturity and try to get through the season without crying, ignoring phone calls or drowning in a vat of wine. Though it doesn’t help that traditionally by the time my birthday rolls around no one gives a stuff because they are too shattered after Xmas, most people are generally away on holidays and I am always at work because all the people with Kids got priority when choosing annual leave at this time of the year.

I did have a couple of presents to open this morning. My darling Aunty (and Godmother) has never ever forgotten my birthday and always gives me gift on Xmas day with a proper card and birthday wrapping paper. As is tradition I always put it aside and it will be the first present I open in the morning. She outdid herself this year and bought me a Nike crop top and a way funky one at that, I think it came from their Dance collection but will be just as good for running. A couple of the girls at work also surprised me at morning tea with a beautiful iced pink cupcake, that didn’t last too long, was very yummy. My best buddy gave me a very elegant and grown up looking dressy watch which will look much nicer when I am all gussied up for a night out than my chunky running watch.

I am also thinking about buying myself this as a present for me from me, I am still undecided, I keep pressing my nose against the Jewellers’ window I suppose I should go and try it on.

Being an old 34 year old woman now I don’t have anything outrageous planned for tonight. I have a birthday tradition of going to a movie and indulging in my favourite, trashy, almost too embarrassed to admit it, only do this once a year I promise dinner treat – The Pancake Parlour

So me and the other half will be shoving off to the salubrious Eastland Hoyts cinema to catch The Darjeeling Ltd, after stuffing ourselves stupid with short stacks and those disgustingly yummo country fried potatoes and maybe even a lime spider to make it a truly sugar and carb filled overload.

I have decided to spend January on the middle 4 weeks of the Liver Cleansing Diet, which is essentially a Vegan diet, so I figure there is little point doing this unless I actually give my liver something to cleanse itself from, I have put in a sterling effort these last 2 weeks I can assure you.

PS - I just bought the necklace and it is very me

In a coma?

One thing I haven’t done consistently since I started running is take my resting heart rate every morning, something so basic and so easy has thus far alluded me in my generally dazed early morning state. My new running watch has a nifty feature that tracks and trends variations over time. According to the manual it is -

a modification of a traditional orthostatic overtraining test. This feature is based on heart rate and heart rate variability measurements taken during an orthostatic test (standing up from relaxed resting). OwnOptimizer helps you to optimize your training load during a training program so that you experience an increase in performance and do not undertrain or overtrain in the long run. Polar OwnOptimizer is based on regular long-term measurements of five heart rate parameters. Two of these five values are calculated at rest, one while standing up, and two while standing

The test will then give you one of 9 results, the explanations are pretty detailed so I won’t go into them here, Andrew has one of these watches too, he knows what I mean.

Anyway, I spent about 2 weeks doing the test every 2 days to get a baseline and now I try to retest myself every second day, though sometimes it blows out to every 3 days. I was surprised to see a relatively low resting heart rate that tends to sit between 47 and 50 BPM, so far so good, it hasn’t jumped up dramatically in the last month so I must be well and not over training (no danger there at the moment). So this morning I was stunned to see a resting heart rate reading of 44 BPM, seems that I am not that stressed over Xmas after all, this was also after a last minute dash to the kerb with the bins that I had forgot to put out last night

I was back at work today and not a heck of a lot was happening around the office so I slipped out at 11am for a 8Km run. I ran an easy 2Km from the office up to the Tan, once there I did a 500 on 500 off session for one lap. I was aiming for 5Km pace for the on’s and while I didn’t bother taking splits I reckon I was pretty consistent. I finished with 250 off and then an extra 250 on to round out the session before heading back to the office.

Distance - 8Km
Time - 40:54
Avg Pace - 5:07
Avg HR - 82%
Avg Cadence - 182

I had a massage tonight, not as ouchie today because it had only been 2 weeks since the last one. My hips have been a bit tight so I need to be more diligent with my stretching.

After a 6 day week last week I am now thinking I will stick to 5 days again this week and take another rest day tomorrow. I have done 9km, 13km and 8km so far this week and if I run out the rest of the week I will go over 60km which is too big a jump, it would see me going from 45km, 53km to 60+km in the last 3 weeks and I don’t want to push my luck. As it stands I can comfortably finish this week with 55Km on 5 days, I would rather stick to 5 this week and then do 6 again next week.

Gratuitous Sean Bean picture of the day, oh, mean topless Sean, noice

Tomorrow night I have decided I want to see The Darjeeling Ltd, I hope it’s good, I don’t go to the movies that often.

An exercise in restraint

I slept in until 730 this morning!

Unless I am on my deathbed or seriously hungover I am never in bed beyond 7am. Today I just wanted to loll about and enjoy a mid week Sunday lie in, a treat as I am generally up at 6am on a normal Sunday so I can get ready for a long run. After getting up I found Father Ted on TV, despite having seen each episode a heap of times it is a bit like Fawlty Towers and I can happily sit there and watch it again and again.

After much sitting about and eating of toast I figured I had better head out for my mid-week mini long run, especially after eating a prodigious amount of shortbread and ferrero rocher (does anyone eat these at anytime other than Xmas) yesterday.

I planned on 12Km but ended up with 13Km after extending a wee bit (boom boom) to get to a toilet stop. I also decided to run at whatever pace was required to keep my average heart rate around 75%, it made for a slow but an enjoyable run, I could have easily kept at that pace for alot longer. With today’s run I have also managed my biggest month since the comeback, yay for me

Distance - 13Km
Time - 1:12:01
Avg Pace - 5:32
Avg HR - 75%
Avg Cadence - 180

I am sleeping a bit these days, after my sleep in this morning I also had a nap this afternoon, I was tuckered out after taking my Mum’s dog for a walk. Patch is a dog of indeterminate bread who looks like the result of a corgi, a wombat, too much liquor and a lost weekend. He is also completely mental and is on doggie prozac, he has been banned from the kennel so he stays with me when Mum goes away. The wee fella, with his hairy hobbit feet loves staying with me, despite the presence of 3 cats, however I have not been able to get his drugs into him for 2 days and need to get some squishy little doggie treats to push the tablet into.

JH, yes, Sean Bean, Dawn French and I have something in common. I am pretty sure I have devoted the odd post to his rugged loveliness and maybe even indulged in the odd gratuitous posting of random picture -

Like this looking a bit Mills and Boon as Richard Sharpe

The sun shines again

All the rain recently has been fantastic, but what a glorious sunny day we had today, I just wanted to sit outside all day and bask.

I started the day with a lovely run along the Dandy Creek Trail. I met Jo at about 8am, the sun was shinning and it was cool and perfect for a run, apart from waking up next to Sean Bean I couldn’t think of a better way to start my day.

Distance - 9Km (9.16Km to be precise)
Time - 47:11
Avg Pace - 5:09
Avg HR - 79%
Avg Cadence - 186

It was supposed to be a bit more relaxed than that but when I get chatting I tend to forget and up the pace, still, I could chat at that pace so that must be a good thing.

Shall I have another glass of wine?

Yeah, think so.

Happy Festivus folks

Stepping Up

Ouch, I just cut my finger on a tin of coconut milk, making it a bit tricky to type properly. I am making Dhal for dinner and if I might be allowed to brag for a moment I make a damn fine Dhal. A small tin of coconut milk was a recent inspired addition, it really works.

Having just run 6 days straight today was a rest day. The training squad is on a break for the next 2 weeks and I was thinking of doing my own session down at the Croydon track tomorrow morning. I have decided however that I would rather take a short break and use the next two weeks to further build my base. With this in mind I now have my week planned out as follows -

Mon - Rest
Tue - 10Km easy pace, finishing with some strides
Wed - 12Km easy
Thur - 8Km on the Tan, 500 on/500 off (also have a massage booked)
Fri - 5Km easy
Sat - 5Km easy
Sun - 16Km long run

As you can see an emphasis on easy running so help me rebuild the Kms without too much shock to the legs.

And it isn’t even xmas yet

Totally buggered, family Xmas get together last night and BBQ at a mates place today, as well as running both mornings and battling the shops yesterday I am a wee tired little munchkin today.

And no bloody house work has been done so the place looks like a tip, Mum is coming to drop the dog off tomorrow and despite being a grown woman I still like to make sure the house is in order when Mum pops over

I do have my priorities in order however and my running gear for the week is all freshly washed and ready to go.

This morning I had my longest run since my comeback, 16Km along the Yarra River with Jo and Michelle, with Tony and Mark shooting off out front. I was up early this morning with cramps, but due to the planned run I didn’t want to take any neurofen because it would make me sick

Definitely a good morning to be meeting someone for a run, otherwise it would have been too easy to stay in bed with the hot water bottle. Of course by the time I had finished I was glad I fronted up, though there were some rough moments out there today. Jo put in a pretty good effort to cheer my up with some very very very bad jokes which worked a treat while pushing up the last hill. I honestly don’t know how the elite women race if they are unlucky enough to have their period on the day, you can’t always plan events around it. I am a bit unlucky that I have a rough time of it though. It can be managed (by taking the pill non-stop) but I don’t like to mess with nature, so I guess I just have to put up with it.

Distance - 16Km
Time - 1:29:20
Avg Pace - 5:35
Avg HR - 77%
Avg Cadence - 182

I have finished up with a 6 day week, 2 fast sessions and just over 53Kms. Yep, finally turning a corner here, if I look over my shoulder I can’t see past the bend to the injury.

Touching wood now

Flat as a tack, the couch calls.

Does this mean I have a problem?

Running
Damn, isn’t the weather just a little bit wild in Melbourne at the moment? We have been in drought for so long I had almost forgotten what it was like to have rain several days in a row. The last couple of days have been humid and stormy, today is just cool and wet. Once upon a time we would all be complaining about all this wet weather in Summer but now it is a blessing.

After my early morning trek to the bakery in Richmond this morning, to pick up my sourdough bread, I headed over to the Tan to meet Jo. She had two laps planned, but a structured session with more pace than I had in mind, I was just after an easy 8Km. It was nice to see a friendly face and have a chat before setting off though, especially on such a wild morning. It was wet but still quite warm when I set off, but the wind was kicking up and a few big sticks were falling out of the trees, one was quite big and just missed me

I got though the first lap in 20:19, but the second was slower. It is that time of the month and I got hit with a monster abdominal cramp at about 2Km around on the first lap, really quite painful. For anyone who has not experienced this kind of pain it is tricky to describe, very sudden and almost blindingly painful, you can see the point it happened because my heart rate shot up to 90% for about 2 minutes. However I have always found exercise quite therapeutic at this time, I just have to force myself to run though the first wave of cramping. I stopped for a minute or two after the first lap to collect myself and then headed off again and felt fine. On the second lap there was a big dump of rain, but again still not cold and it was exhilarating to run though. A bit like last night when the rain was pelting down and I danced around on my driveway, splashed in puddles and generally got soaking wet

The wash up

Distance - 8Km
Time - 42:38
Avg. Pace - 5:19
Avg. HR - 81% (felt easier, elevated by cramping)
Avg. Cadence - 180

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable run, I have had a few good runs this week, dare I say it’s all starting to fall into place again?

Be Afraid
My Mum, Dad and Brother are heading up to the Gold Coast to spend Xmas with my Brother and Sister this year. I have spent way to much time on airplanes this year so opted to stay home, so this evening we are having a get together with my Aunt, Uncle, Cousins and respective partners to make up for not spending Xmas day together.

We have divided the tasks up amongst each other and my job is cheese, dips and stuff to dip in the the dip and put the cheese on. This necessitated a trip to the local shopping centre this afternoon, YIKES! Sure I could have just walked up the road to Safeway but as I have alluded to before I think life is too short to eat second rate food so I wanted to go to the Deli.

Gawd, what a nightmare, I just kept muttering to myself “stay calm, stay calm, stay calm” and probably ended up looking like a total psycho. Luckily I found a car park pretty easily but once inside the adventure begins, mostly me protecting my shins from lunatics who drive trollies even worse than they drive their cars in car parks (only witnessed two near misses today). It was a blitzkrieg operation on my behalf, I got in and got out in about 30 minutes, great for my bank balance because I had no desire to browse.

I got home, packed the goodies away and promptly poured a glass of red, it was after midday, that doesn’t mean I have a problem does it?