I need more hours in the day

And I am supposed to be on leave!!

Today was very busy, though I did still manage a nana nap, I am going to miss my naps when I go back to work.

It’s late and I am only just home and fed, no time to post much today. I am off to the Gold Coast at midday tomorrow, can’t wait to see my sister again. I am hoping to squeeze in a 13km run tomorrow before I head off and then a couple of 8km runs ahead of a rest day on Sunday.

17km today in bits and pieces, 9km very easy early this morning, 5.5km as run leader as well as running to and from my car parked at the tan. I have a bit of exciting news about some more part time work that is going to start at the end of February, it will be supervising structured running programs. It will be a bit of step up from the run leading that I have been doing and will be more involved than just taking groups for runs as it will include drills and strength work, I am quite excited about it. As part of this I have been asked to look at completing the level 1 coaching course so I will have to suss that out soon. I was unsure about taking this on board at first as I don’t want to disrupt my own training, as it turns out I will be needed for early morning sessions twice a week so it fits in nicely.

Anyway time to kick back and relax with my glass of red, back online in 4 days or so.

Thursday Morning Update
Hang on, just checked my diary, I have run 5 days straight, including the big 25km run/walk though the hills. If I push through to Saturday that is 7 days without a break!!

No wonder I have woken up feeling so tired today and I stretched in the night and woke up with a cramp in my hammy. So a rest day today and running the week out from tomorrow. Fortunately there is rain forecast every day up north which may make it easier for me.

Besides I could do with a leisurely morning before I fly out.

daggy draws

I went to Chadstone today in the hope of finding my Bridesmaid dress for my sisters wedding.

No such luck and I am a major pain in the arse to go shopping with, hence I usually go alone. I tend to crack it after about and hour, worse still when I get hungry and crash like I did today because I refused to eat junk in the food court

I am a stubborn cow and if something looks ugly on the hanger I refuse to be cajoled into trying it on. I spent about 90 minutes and looked in a heap of shops and didn’t try one thing on. You would think it would be easy to find a stylish black dress wouldn’t you? Anything I even vaguely liked was in every colour but black. And what the hell is it with these bloody smock dresses, they even make the mannequins look pregnant!

Ughh, maybe I will try Bridge Road tomorrow, if I have the strength.

Training
I had a top session tonight, 500, 800, 1km, 1km, 800, 500 on the tan with 90 second recoveries.

I was halfway in when I realised I had forgotten my watch, because I am not at work I wasn’t wearing it like I usually would. Of course I had a brief panic attack, the thought of having to do a session with no data to pick over afterwards, Quelle Horreur! However it turned out for the best, I just relaxed, enjoyed the session and ran by feel. I was a little nervous because I last did this session about 2 months ago and it was dreadful. I struggled very badly and had to pull out of the 1km reps, it was one of the only sessions I have every done that frustrated me so much I almost cried

Today was the complete opposite, sure it was tough but there was never any doubt I would get though it and I felt fluid, light on my feet and confident. Obviously I can’t post times but I managed to hang on to the back of the second group tonight and was coming in about 10 to 15 seconds behind a girl who normally blows me off the track (I am sincerely hoping she just wasn’t having a bad day) and I was on the shoulder of another lady who is normally ahead of me. I had a chat with her and she assured me she was having a good day, so I must have been as well

I did have a slight handicap though, seems that I might have lost a bit of weight around the hips (not complaining!) because my shorts kept falling down they are kind of tight fitting (not any more) gym style shorts, sadly without a draw string, so I had to keep hitching them up Thankfully I wore black undies today! It was a tad distracting though, probably more so for any poor soul running behind me.

PS - thanks for the translation John, you beat me to the punch, I was going to google it today.

What’s Swedish for Blister?

I don’t feel like I ran and walked 25km in the hills yesterday, I fully expected to wake up feeling all stiff and sore but I sprang out of bed this morning. The only reminder I had of my workout was a seriously rumbling stomach and a slight headache from not drinking enough. When I went to empty the bladder from my hydration pack this morning I discovered that I had only drunk 1 litre, not enough considering how hard I was working.

Here is the best part, I even went for a run just now, an easy 6km, but it was comfortable and no heaviness or protesting from my legs! Because I am in Queensland for 4 days from Thursday I need to do the bulk of my quality running in the early part of the week, including my long run on Thursday morning before I fly out. I do plan on a couple of easy 8km runs up north but at this time of year they won’t be anything special and will certainly end with me jumping in my sisters pool

Pass me the Alan Key
Actually funnily enough my flat pack furniture didn’t require an Alan Key which would have to be a first, I pretty much have a whole draw at home devoted to cast of Ikea Alan Keys.

I have decided to take control of the clutter and try to regain some usable space in my house. My dining room is lovely and sunny and chock a block full of mess, everytime I try to tackle it I just end up rearranging it because there is no where for it to go. So, where else would I be this morning, Ikea of course, McFurniture for the masses and I am now the proud owner of a Traby shelving system

I jest, all put together it looks quite flash and a darn sight better than the mess that was there before it. Mine doesn’t look like the one in the link, it is a modular thing so you build your own design, a bit like Lego. Also the key to visiting Ikea without walking out with armfuls of wacky ice cube trays, tea towels, vases and funky lamps is to look at the catalog, decide what you need and go directly to the warehouse to grab what you need, thus avoiding the show room altogether. Once they get you into the show room with all the beguiling little mini rooms you find yourself deciding you need all this stuff that thus far you have managed to survive without, it is hypnotic, you have to be strong.

I am a dab hand at flat pack and managed to whip it all up in a couple of hours, though I have a couple of great big blisters on my right hand from the screwdriver, I am so soft

Now my dining room is in order next stop is my study/library, now in need of a new shelving unit, a few more book shelves and most important of all a comfy chair and a lamp, this will have to wait until my next break from work (so I can save the money, today cost enough $$)

Just don’t look up

Trailwalker training run/wallk to day. We covered probably the toughest section of the course, checkpoints 2 through to 4 which took us from Lysterfield Lake then up and over the hills via Belgrave and into Olinda.

It was 25kms in total and off and on I probably ran about 8Km, I wasn’t really tracking it.

We started at an elevation of about 50 metres and finished at about 580 metres after peaking at 600. It pretty much went up and up and up and then kept going up a little bit more

The most brutal was towards the end where we were forced to take a detour past the Piriander Gardens where for some reason the Yarra Ranges Shire has closed the access. As a result we had to walk about an absolutely brutal hill which was simply marked as “steep” on the map, steep, kind of like Britany Spears is a “bit” messed up. I took a photo but even that didn’t do it justice. I must also say at this point that Mark who had joined us for most of our journey decided at this point to take off as he had to get home. We expected to see him sprawled out on the track at any moment, but no, we didn’t see him again. I am now convinced that should we peel back his skin this is what we will find, he is clearly not human (I love ya Mark, you know it’s a compliment - BTW just saw an advert on TV GNW is starting on channel 10, spooky huh!)

We tried out some food today, jelly babies and my home made blueberry scones as well as the standard Gels, all went down a treat and there were no tummy troubles. I am a little concerned by the fact that I did not need the loo and think perhaps I should be drinking more. My new trail shoes were fantastic, very comfortable and felt much better on the rough stuff than my normal sneakers. I also bought myself some special sports undies, sounds very frivolous I know but damn they were comfortable, money well spent. Seriously think about it, I wear socks, shorts, T-shirt and crop top all made from special wicky fabric to keep me comfortable and under all that cotton Bonds kickers which get soaked in sweat and chafe.

We passed though some beautiful places today, this part of the trail may be tough but it is just a breathtaking part of Victoria and as tired as I am now it has whetted my appetite for spending more time on the trails.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to join the team next week as I will be flying home from the Gold Coast. The following week we will start a little bit before checkpoint 7 and run/walk to the finish line as there is a tough hill in the closing stages. We will cover about 28km and will be able to run much more than today because it is flatter.

Running wise this week was a bit poor for me, finishing with only 40kms

I am feeling heaps better though and even with the long weekend in Queensland I should be right for another 60km week.

r e l a x

G’day Cobber having a true blue dinky di ridgy didge day? Been chuckin any prawns on the barbie and sinking some coldies?

Alright, that is the best ’strine I can manage, though I would like it on record that I have never called anyone Cobber or uttered the words True Blue or Ridgy Didge in anything other than jest, though I have been known to say Fair Dinkum

Yeah, it’s Australia Day and as is recent tradition for me I have been lazing about listening to JJJs Hottest 100 countdown, can’t say I have a definite tip for number 1 this year either. Alright, who the hell voted for Kanye West? He just came in at number 20, come on hands up, show yourselves!!!

It took a few glasses of wine, a good night sleep and a decent early morning run but finally my jaw unclenched, my shoulders dropped and I have started to relax

As is pretty typical of any first day of annual leave I have spent the day doing very little other than having a nap and reading a book. Do you have any idea how luxurious it is for me just to spend hours reading and not fretting that there are a million other things I should be cramming into my 2 days off each week? It’s bloody brilliant!

I had a great run this morning, if not a little warm. I didn’t pay any attention to the weather report last night and didn’t realise we were in for a warm start to the day, it was in the high 20s by the time I finished my 11Km at 8am. Regardless it was still a good run and it was great to get some Mojo back.

Distance - 11km
Time - 56:12
Avg pace - 5:07
Avg HR - 81%

I started off with some 5:25s but quickly settled into a comfortable rhythm in the low 5s. My HR was sitting quite nicely at about 76% for the first 7Kms or so but it started to get very warm with the sun beating down on me and it crept up to around 80% and wouldn’t settle again.

Tomorrow the Trailwalker girls will be covering just over 25kms from checkpoint 2 though to 4. This will take us into the Dandenongs via Belgrave, hopefully a bit of running over the flattish opening stage, but then it will get pretty hilly. We haven’t been eating on our training run/walks so time to start experimenting. I am going to get up early and make a batch of blueberry scones for the team, pure delicious carbs, Mmmmmm.

F%@kwit of the Week
Fred Phelps and his congregation make Fred Nile look like a cross dressing tree hugging condom using paid up member of the Socialist Alliance. How can one person be so hate filled, so full of bile and viscousness? Was he beaten as a child? Was he not breast fed? Did his mummy force him to eat Brussels Sprouts?

Who the hell knows, but he seems to think that Heath Ledger dying is a good thing because -

“The bottom line is that guy went out of his way to spend his time and make a little money, and glamorise and glorify that filthy, deadly sin of sodomy.

It gets better, apparently, in case you didn’t get the memo

“Australia, the land of the sodomite-damned. Australia, which passes draconian laws to put Bible preachers in jail if they peach the proof about fags”

Ok then, right, no problem.

I guess we can be thankful for the fact that the sum total of the congregation of the Westboro Baptist Church is about 70.

Imagine living your life so full of hate, how depressing.

Personally I really enjoyed Brokeback Mountain.

Then again I am probably a wee bit more enlightened and secure than Freddie and his mates.

Guess that means I am going to Hell.

Lucky for me I don’t believe in Hell so I guess I am dodging a bullet there.

5 hours and counting

Whole body right down to the core all consuming tiredness is what I am feeling right now and have been feeling more and more over the last week.

I even caught the train to work today because I was all muddle headed this morning and I thought it best that I don’t drive. It has been a while since I have had a decent break from work, I haven’t had 2 weeks off in a row since last June. Although I am only taking a week this time it should be enough to recharge. Work has not been busier than usual, however I think the daily grind has been slowly getting on top of me and I am now at cracking point, I have been having trouble sleeping and that is really most unlike me. I even spent a frantic 5 minutes looking for my wallet this morning only to realise I had already transferred it from my handbag to my backpack (it was hiding under a book)

It has also been impacting my running, the spirit is extremely willing but the body just wants to curl up and have a nap. So again, obsessive compulsion is taking a back seat and I am allowing myself to rest. I still got up early this morning but I decided not to run. Instead I grabbed the iPod and walked to Surrey Hills station (about 5km) and then got off at Richmond and walked the rest of the way to the city (about 2km). How about that, likely to only be a 4 day running week and for once I am not obsessing and beating myself up over it (much).

I am looking forward to next week, I can run anytime of the day I feel like, try out some new trails, have a nana nap and take each day as it comes. Last night I had the Parks Victoria maps out for the Dandenongs and started working out some new trails to try out. When I did my short run from Olinda last weekend I noticed heaps of gravel roads and trails coming off them and am keen to get back there and explore some more. I am reasonably familiar with the area and as long as I have a rough idea of my bearings I am happy to just hit the trail and see where it takes me. I have decided to spend more time trail running and in the hills over the coming months, it can only hold me in good stead for the XC season and I am determined to become a strong hill runner. I am never going to be miss speedy pants but if I can work on my hill strength and endurance that should give me an edge. Providing Trailwalker doesn’t break me I think I would like to enter some trail events next summer as well.

I have just entered the Run for the Kids too, the long event this year is 14.1km and like a kid falling off a bicycle I need to jump back in and conquer my fear of running fast over longer distances. Since the injury I have only done a handful of races of 5km and under and am starting to doubt my ability to manage sub 5 minute Kms at anything over the 10km distance ever again. Total and utter nonsense of course however my confidence has been dented somewhat having not been able to run a half marathon since October 2006 and running a totally messy and appalling 10km PW in October 2007.

So, yep, a bit of a shitty running week with tiredness getting the better of me, but plenty of good stuff to look forward to and of course hoping my body hurries up and catches back up with my enthusiasm.

Now, how terribly selfish of me not to share my US running gear supplier with you all, I buy my shoes and bits and pieces from www.runningwarehouse.com and have always found them to be fantastic. Without exception my orders arrive about 4 days after I place them, this is generally on a weekend so my goods arrive on a Thursday, you can’t ask for better than that (well you can but apart from some good work with little dots of light I don’t think the boffins have figured out large scale teleportation quite yet). Postage is quite a bit as you would expect, USD$48 via Fedex, however if you are ordering a few things it is worth it. When you are looking at the site they initially display RRP, when you click on the item you will get their special price with is almost always lower, I don’t think I have paid more than USD$100 for my shoes. Clothing prices tend to be on par with what we pay here but they often have sales where you can pick things up cheap.

Finally, I can’t post a piccie of my trophy, it is one of those heavy glass (plastic maybe?) thingies with the etching, I tried putting it front of something dark but the picture doesn’t come out showing any detail.

Almost There

Almost There

You know I was going to have a good old fashioned belly ache, but really, you don’t need to read that do you?

Do you?

Naaaaa, of course you don’t

Thankfully my addled desperately in need of a break brain remembered that I have a massage this afternoon and therefore I had to drive to work. I still did my planned 16kms; I parked at the tan at about 5:40 and headed out into the dark wilds. I ended up making up a big 8km loop which I dragged myself around twice in 1:24:14 which was my fastest 16km effort since I made it back this distance.

It wasn’t pretty though, very humid morning and I was dripping in sweat. Somehow I also felt like I had gained about 50kgs overnight and I felt decidedly heavy footed and graceless, Frankenstein’s Monster would have cut a more dashing and athletic figure than me out there today.

Really just not at my best at this time of the month, also I suspect that the tiredness is getting on top of me, only one more day to go and I am off for a week.

My trusty US running gear supplier came though again today, only 4 days after placing an order my goodies arrived. I have had a little stomp around the office in my new trail shoes and they are very comfortable (Ahh Brooks, how I love thee, let me count the ways); I also picked up a few little extras as well, a long sleeved tech top that was on sale, some shorts and more Thorlos (come on, at AU$14 a pair how could I resist?)

Who you gonna call?
It would appear that on discovering Heath Ledger’s lifeless body on Tuesday that the masseuses’ first instinct was to call Mary-Kate Olsen, rather then the emergency services. I know that when I was in primary school we were always taught to call anorexic ingénues in case of fire, heart attack or bank robbery, it is heartening to see this lesson reinforced for the kids of today.

An obsessive compulsive runner trying to relax

Oh how I yearned to rise at 5am this morning and run 10km, just to make up for yesterday and thus ensure another 60km week.

However despite a solid night sleep I was still feeling pretty wiped out after my ordeal yesterday so I mustered my will power and made myself sleep in until 6am. I am not being facetious, it really does take more will power for me to sleep in that it does for me to get up and run early.

A 5 day week will not kill me, especially when I have a tough 25km Trailwalker training run/walk planned in the hills this Sunday.

It still makes me feel like a failure to have missed a session though, clearly I am an idiot who needs to get a grip and let go every now and then.

I am planning on another run into work tomorrow morning so I can get my 90 minute run for the week in. I have a massage tomorrow night so gotta get the run done in the AM.

5.6Km easy run as a run leader this afternoon. I am trying to give the group a bit more value add at the moment and am teaching them all a new core exercise each week, it is a shame that we only have the hard surface at Federation Square so we can’t do the exercises as a group.

I wasn’t going to comment, but I am - The Australian actor Heath Ledger died in New York overnight. It is obviously terribly sad news for his family and loved ones and I sympathise, but all the media hype leaves me feeling slightly nauseous. I am sure countless 1000s of people who were equally loved also died today as well and this near canonisation of dead celebrities is terribly unnecessary. The worst headline was on Ninemsn just now “A Nation Mourns”, really! the whole nation? The worst I think was the ghastly shots of the body bag being wheeled from the building, what a disgusting invasion of privacy and what a horrible thing for his parents to have to see, the people filming that scene should be ashamed of themselves (but they won’t be).

Ughhh

Frustratingly an unscheduled rest day, I am consoling myself with 2 good 6 days weeks so far this month so a 5 day week this week is no great loss.

When I was woken up at 4am with monster cramps I knew it was going to be one of those days. I ended up on the couch with a hot water bottle and Inspector Frost on the TV, waiting for the Supermarket to open so I could buy Nurofen and Bread.

Not much excitement really, just sleeping alot, clutching a hot water bottle and eating toast. Normally on these days I am good for a run in the afternoon but not a chance today, I have felt rubbish all day and there is no way I could get though the scheduled interval session this afternoon

I bought some Brooks Adrenaline Trail shoes online yesterday, after my run on Sunday morning trashed my normal trainers. They are still wearable but caked in dried mud and I also fell over and slipped a few times. I got them for USD$75 which is pretty damn good, hopefully they will be here by the end of the week so I can wear them for a TW training session on Sunday. I have used this particular US site a few times now and I have always had my order within 5 days.

Oh yeah, nice surprise in the mail yesterday, my age group trophy from last year turned up, that’s going straight to the Pool Room

4 days and counting

4 more days and then I have a week off work

I can’t wait

No running, today is a rest day

It is that time of the month, healthy servings of self loathing abound

I am sure I will go to my grave still trying to lose 2kgs, I need to learn to accept those 2kgs they clearly don’t want to leave me