I could happily not work, I would have no trouble filling my days, shame about the need to earn a living and all

I am easing back the mileage this week and giving myself a little rest. My aim was to run the previous 7 weeks at 70km or more, which I have, 71.5, 70, 74, 71.3, 77.4, 74.5 and 74.8 to be exact, have a rest week and only run 4 days and let the mileage be what it is and then to start a 6 week block of high 70s low 80s.

Although I am a little agitated I know it is for the best, it is a novelty to just do what I feel and not structure my day around running. I took Monday as a rest day, it was cold, wet and bloody windy and frankly was much happier curled up indoors reading a book, that is the beauty of scheduling a rest week, no guilt. Monday morning was spent looking at outdoor settings, bloody hell there is alot to choose from but surprisingly hard to find a small setting, I only wanted a 4 seater. Some of the settings were positively baronial, massive stone topped 12 seater jobbies that wouldn’t even fit in my house. I eventually found exactly what I was looking for AND the store honoured the sale price, even though the sale ended the day before so I saved $300

Yesterday I was extremely agitated and stressed, this usually happens a day or two into my break I can’t shake the feeling that I should be somewhere else (like work). I was up early to take my running group for their interval session, it was very windy and we got drenched during the warm up so it was a cold session, though I ended up running about 7km with the group.

Last night I was back at The Tan for my own training, it was my favourite session where we run for time, not distance, this time around it was 2 by 6 minutes, 2 by 5 minutes, 2 by 4 minutes and 2 by 2 minutes with 90 second recovery. We would turn around halfway and run back from whence we came, we started near the statue (King Someone or another, can never remember who) so one rep would start down hill and the other up hill.

All up it was 34 minutes of pretty hard running where I covered 7.94km, interestingly a similar session run on March 25 was 36 minutes (finished with 2 by 3 instead of 2 by 2) were I also covered 7.94km so I am stoked to see that improvement over those 3 months.

Today I headed over to Latrobe Uni in Bundoora to take part in a research project being run by a couple of podiatrists, there were 2 of them and they were collecting data for various studies. I had to run on a treadmill in dunlop volley style shoes because they have no support and almost no cushioning. I had to run with just the shoes and then 2 different types of off the shelf orthotic, there was a sensor placed in each shoe that recorded my foot strike pattern. It was pretty cool to see the results on the computer, my footprint was shaded from dark blue for low impact zones though to red for high impact. One thing I learnt about myself today is that I appear to be a wee bit lopsided, even to my untrained eye I could see it. My left foot tends towards a forefoot strike but my right foot has a definite heel strike, very weird. The podiatrist reckons that it is likely that I have a slight leg length discrepancy and this would explain the bout of Plantar Fasiciitis I had 18 months ago and the ongoing niggly heel on my right foot. I have been meaning to go see an Osteopath for ages for a posture assessment so this has given me the incentive, I just need to get my Aunty to recommend someone in Melbourne. Interestingly they also told me that I have a fairly neutral foot, which is strange as I have also been put into a very supportive shoe. Running in my own shoes and orthotics it was noted that I am supinating a little bit, but they say that as I am not experiencing any pain from this and have been injury free for the last year then I should stick with the shoes I am wearing. They are still looking for runners to be involved in the research, it took less than an hour, so if you are in Melbourne, can spare the time and want to learn a few things about yourself have a look here for more information.

Now tomorrow morning I am off on a jet plane to sunny Queensland, yay! because I am sick of freezing my butt off here in Melbourne. I stocked up at Haigh’s for treats for the family and now all I have to do is chuck some clothes in a bag and I am ready to go.

Conferrin’ with the flowers
Consultin’ with the rain
And my head, I’d be scratchin’
While my thoughts were busy hatchin’
If I only had a brain.

Rather than the head full of stuffin’ that I had yesterday which lead me to position myself at the END of stage 3 rather than the START, thus not being there for the changeover, aghhhhhh, I felt like such an idiot.

It gets better though, I was jogging around gently keeping warm and anticipating my team mate to come around about an hour after I got there. The following events did not set off even the remotest spark in my dim mind that I was in the wrong place -

Are you getting the picture? I had pretty much taken complete leave of me senses yesterday.

FINALLY, I saw the runner I was expecting to take over from walking towards me from the opposite direction to the changeover chute, “hey, aren’t I supposed to be taking over from you?”

“Yes, if you were in the right place Em”

Cue realisation of my stupid mistake hitting me like a 10 tonne truck

Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck

“It’s OK, Pres is running your leg, just calm down”

Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck

The Ekiden Relay is a heap of fun but really is a logistical nightmare, I know how hard it was for the team managers to get everything organised and I just had to go and do my bit to make their day just that little bit harder. The only consolation is that the Men’s Div 5 team I was running in was one runner down at the 11th hour so with 4 runners we could only get 1 point, therefore time was never going to be a factor. What really made me feel bad though was that the poor bugger who ended up running my 8.4km hilly and rocky leg was not originally going to run at all and only filled in at the last minute when our team of 5 was down 2 runner, he is on the come back trail after a long injury lay off, and I go and make him run the tough one, nice one Em!

Well, fortunately my team mates know that it was out of character for me to be so dim and let me off pretty lightly, hopefully me organising a lift for Pres to the next changeover and shouting Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry as he approached the changeover helped

Ok, enough of my dim wittery, how did I run?

My eventual leg was 7.9km on an undulating mix of dirt and sealed road and I ran 37:47 which I was pretty happy with. While I didn’t have anyone to run with I was certainly not alone, several runners were using that section to get in some mileage and were taking an easy run through to the finish so I was given some encouragement as I ran past them, the marshals were great and also gave me a gee up and finally about 2km from the end I started to encounter runners coming in the opposite direction doing their cool downs, again, all smiled and cheered me on as well. I wasn’t fussed being out there on my own, I train alone most of the time and am used to being disciplined enough to do long tempo runs alone. Sure it helps to have a pack to run with but I am far from freaking out having to deal with race conditions with no company, whether I am surrounded by other runners or all alone it still comes back to me and the work I am prepared to put in.

Sunday
I got up at about 630am and had some toast with every intention of getting out the door by 730am to knock out 17km (decided not to do 20km today), however something strange happened to me, I was rooted to the couch. I started watching Southpark and they were all these episodes that I had not seen before, next thing I knew I was dozing and watching TV and it was 10am

Then I had to go meet my mate to help her make some decisions on a fridge and stuff for her new house and then I had to high tail it back home to help Mum and Dad who were doing some more work on the garden. It is looking good now too, I’ll take some more photo’s tomorrow, we put some Bamboo in the trough, filled in the retaining wall with good soil and planted a miniature nectarine tree and a mandarin tree, I also finished putting stones between the paving. While this was going on Dad and the OH put some screening up to provide some privacy from the street.

After all this it was almost 430pm and I desperately needed to get my run in, time was against me with the light starting to fade so I simply ran around the block twice, not exactly picturesque but functional and I managed 17.5km in exactly 91 minutes. Despite the route sounding a bit dire and boring it wasn’t a bad run, these repetitive runs are great for developing mental toughness as well as physical fitness, I can find purpose in most things.

That’s your lot, the new series of Dr Who is on now.

and relax, 2 weeks all to myself, I managed to wrap everything up and hand over to my colleagues and was outta there by 330pm.

What a shame it is a rest day hey! I was home by 5pm for a change, after a stop by the green grocer to buy fancy mushrooms for my risotto (it was delicious, thanks for asking) and the bottlo for the white wine to drink and add to aforementioned risotto.

So what the hell do I do with myself when I get home from work so early? Wander around the house in a slightly dazed state that’s what. I could have done some housework but I couldn’t be stuffed so I kind of just bounced around full of excess energy until it was time to start cooking dinner.

Big day tomorrow, by all accounts I have drawn the tough leg in the relay, I am looking forward to the challenge. I run a regular route around home that is slightly longer and has some good hills so I’ll just draw on that experience.

and then I have 2 whole weeks off work, 2 weeks that will no doubt pass in the blink of an eye but right now I don’t care, I just need my break.

Turns out I had an 11km run on the plan for today, not 12, as it happens I only ended up with an easy 8km or so at about 5:20 pace, looking at what I had to run on Saturday played a part in my decision to peg the run back to 8km. Another AV round on Saturday and we are running the Ekiden Relay, of course I was a spectator last year so I am very much looking forward to being a participant this year. We didn’t have enough girls our club for 2 teams (5 per team) so a couple of us are filling out the Men’s Division 5, including me. It is cool that this is allowed as most clubs have far less women than men and we all deserve to feel like we are contributing.

It’s a shame more women don’t get involved, I have been trying to think of ways to spread the word, I have a few ideas but can’t be stuffed going into it right now.

I am running the 3rd leg on Saturday, the longest one never let it be said I don’t pull my weight hey! It looks a bit hairy but after a steep climb around the 2.5km mark the rest of it is pretty much on a decline and over all the route falls rather than rises. It’s all trail and apparently a bit rocky so I am thinking of wearing my trail runners.

Usually pretty stuffed by Thursdays so signing out and getting some rest.

Even if it was deviating from the plan, that is 14km at a relaxed pace, about 5:15 Kms, instead it was 14kms at a tempo pace.

Should have known better when I headed out along the Yarra trail, I ran up past MacRobertson’s bridge and along the Blvd to where the Gardiner’s Creek trail starts, then back along the other side of the river to Federation Square. I hadn’t run here for a while, due to run leading I was breaking up my mid week run into two parts so it has been ages since I have been able to to a continuos mid week long run.

For some reason every time I run this route I have a blinder, it is just a great path to run fast on. I was listening to music and just cruising along, I knew I had picked up the pace so I would try to peg it back but it kept picking up so I just went with the flow. What the hell, the pace felt comfortable and despite some wicked wind picking me up and blowing me about the place like a rag doll I was enjoying myself, especially with some newly downloaded songs on the iPod.

So I ended up with a good tempo run, finishing in 68 minutes flat, started of with a 5:36 and 5:06 and then sub 5 the rest of the way, felt great, finished with a big smile on my face and feeling all warm and fuzzy and generous so scampered off to my car after a quick stretch before I started dolling out hugs to strangers.

I guess tomorrow’s planned 12km tempo had better now be a 12km easy run.

Comments on Comments

Jay - Hmmm, no, definitely no crop top on the Gold Coast next week, my fledgling six pack is currently hibernating for winter and I shan’t be inflicting my current squishy middle on the world at large.

JH - “get with” now there is a charming phrase I have not heard for many a year, now bringing back uncomfortable memories of underage disco’s and youths pointing at some awkward soul in the near distance and enquiring as to whether me or one of my friends would like to, a-hem, “get with” said awkward youth and god help us, we usually did I am probably going to wake up screaming tonight, I am not even going to tell you what the underage disco was called, it is simply too mortifying.

is a really cool song by Faith No More, if it comes on the radio and you are in the car with me be warned, I will sing along, very loudly.

Never let it be said that I don’t give my public what they want

It’s also a good description of this evenings session, 4 by 1km with 90 second recovery may not seem like much, but it is tough if you do it right, that is steady, strong and even paced without slacking off at the end. This is also done on the tan too so half the reps are on a slight incline and the other half a decline so you have to adjust your pace accordingly and try to hit every second rep on target.

It felt right today, it is hard to find the right words to describe the feeling but I do have a sense that I am getting stronger. Looking back over the previous two versions of this session I can see an improvement -

Today
4:24 (up) 4:07 (down) 4:24 (up) 4:07 (down) - how good was that

06-05-08
4:29 (up) 4:02 (down) 4:27 (up) 4:00 (down)

01-04-08
4:32 (up) 4:08 (down) 4:32 (down) 4:07 (up)

Not much improvement on the down rep, in fact a small step backwards today, however I am really pleased with the improvement shown on the up reps. The ups are tough and you really pay the price if you start too hard because it is a grind to the finish so today I am very pleased to have hit all reps evenly and to see an 8 second improvement on the uphill over the last couple of months. The main problem with the downhills today is that it is dark and I feel a bit iffy on the uneven ground as my pace picks up, basically I am a total unco and am worried about falling on my face

Feeling a bit pleased with myself tonight, I am going to run a 5km race at the end of July and I am looking forward to testing myself, a PB should be a given. It will be a Sri Chinmoy race at Princes Park, I set my current 5km PB at the same event 2 YEARS ago, time to finish that one off I say.

I weighed myself this morning, for the first time in ages, generally something I avoid doing because it messes with my head and if my clothes fit fine then I don’t have anything to stress about. So my clothes do fit fine, in fact I have been comfortably wearing my “skinny” pants, based on this you can imagine my surprise when I weighed in at 62kg, especially with the extra mileage I have been running That is 2kg over my fighting weight so I am not bloody happy, I blame winter! Stupid miserable dreary season always drives me to the arms of comfort food, red wine, chocolate, mashed potato, cheese, Gahhhhhhhh, it’s these long dark days they depress they hell out of me, I need a crutch to get me though! Oh well, clothes still fit fine and maybe a bit soft around the middle but I can’t honestly say it is noticeable and it ‘aint crop top weather anyway, will just keep an eye on it and make sure it does not creep up any more, still 1kg below my “this is getting out of control, really need to take action” weight.

Ok, I know most people will think I am over reacting, but these things are important to us runners, that’s an extra 2kg I have to carry in a race and 60kg is a good healthy weight for my height and build and well, I like to be honest about things here.

Whinge over, all things considered feeling very good at the moment am quite pleased with where my running is right now

No, not me, sheesh, my run

A little bit over 8km in 42 minutes, was quite pleasant actually, cool afternoon and some quiet time alone with my thoughts (best not to spend too much time alone with them though they do have a habit of getting a bit out of control, planting sneaky little ideas in my mind, giving me strange notions and such, sure it happens to everyone, doesn’t it?).

One more week to go and I have 2 whole weeks off work, well only 4 days to go now. Finding it rather challenging to keep myself focussed on work though, I just can’t be stuffed

is the only word I could think of to describe my long run this morning. Sure it was a bit cool and very dreary but that doesn’t bother me I just didn’t have my mojo working today. I did a 2km loop first and then had to swing by my house for another visit to the loo, it took a bit of willpower to push out the door again and not just flop on the couch for a snooze with Inspector Morse on the TV

Anyway, blah blah blah, just trotted around at 5:30 pace, got rained on which was fine because it wasn’t windy and listened to my iPod. Speaking of which, I went though an elaborate ritual of wrapping the iPod in a zip lock bag to protect it from the rain, it wasn’t until I was about half way around when I realised that I am a stupid idiot because I own a water proof case for my iPod that was sitting at home on my desk, right in front of my bloody eyes while I was mucking about with the plastic bag. Clearly not on my game today.

I added a bit extra at the end to run down to the service station to buy a bottle of protein drink because I didn’t have any left at home so I ended up with 20km not 19km, probably time to increase the long run by a bit anyway.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a state of slovenly slothfulness on the couch, interrupted by a brief but uninspired burst of weeding out the back when the rain cleared briefly, fortunately it started raining again and I was saved

Hmm, really a bit flat today, a case of the mid-winter blues I think. Really very much looking forward to my small trip to the Gold Coast in just over a week, I want to feel the sun on my face and I miss my family, I want to have a drink with my sister and sister-in-law and see the Sex and the City film with them, play with my niece, go for a run with my brother and have a laugh with my brother-in-law and then somehow find a way to make them all move back to Melbourne.

So went my session this afternoon, the group I train with do a Saturday session on the tan so I like to try and do that session myself on a Friday if I am not doing a tempo run.

Today’s plan was for 3km, 2km and 1km reps with 800 metre recovery starting at the 0km mark on the tan and run as a continuos session. Yep, those familiar with this track will realise straight away that this means that the 3km and the 2km include a trip up the Anderson Street hill. The 3km and 2km were to be run at 10km race pace (again, a challenge to manage this with a bloody hill in the middle) and the 1km at a bit faster than 5km race pace.

Results
3km - 14:04
2km - 9:31
1km - 4:20

I was warned that the 2km would be a bitch, I knew the 2km would be a bitch and guess what? The 2km was a bitch so before the 800 mtre recovery I did stop for about 30 seconds, just to make sure lunch didn’t come up for an encore performance.

With my warm up and recovery it was a bit over 13km for the day.

So, what did I think of this session?

It was a toughie and obviously would have been much easier to do on a flat surface where it would be a great tempo session and a good way to learn pacing. However my assessment is that it is a great endurance and strength session when you have to deal with the hill twice. You have to suck it up and push when it gets hard so it is good for mental toughness as well, especially when you do it on your own and it would be so easy to just stop.

And bloody hell it feels good when you stop

I am going to be a Guinea Pig again, a Podiatrist at Latrobe uni is looking for runners who do more than 20km a week (think I fit the bill there) for research into the effect of foot orthotics and injury history on running biomechanics. I only have to go in for an hour for a musculoskeletal foot and ankle assessment and an electronic impression of my running style. I love doing stuff like this, it’s cool to learn more about yourself. My appointment is on the 2nd of July, during my annual leave so I’ll let you know how it goes in a couple of weeks.

Yikes, just did 9 days straight, my rest day last week was a Monday and this week it was today, should probably try to arrange my rest days a little better.

Quick sleep update - I have had 2 really good nights, I have been taking 2 valerian about an hour before bed and they seem to be doing the trick, I am going to keep taking them until my holidays start in about 10 days and then see if I can settle when I am not stressed about having to get up early for work.

Wednesday
9km recovery run and I could tell I was needing today’s rest, the pace felt glacial and HR was low enough (74%), but I just felt fatigued and was glad to finish. Then it was on to run leading about 30 minutes later when I backed up for another 5.3km.

This was my last evening run leading session and although I will miss some aspects of it but I am not too upset. I need to concentrate on my own running for a while and working late on Wednesday then backing up for coaching on Thursday morning was getting pretty tiring.

Thursday
A rest day! Though I did clock up about 4.5km warming up with my hardy band of Thursday morning runners. So I suppose I am being a bit cheeky calling it a rest day so I will make sure I have a full no running day next Monday so I am fresh for the session on Tuesday afternoon.

I had a massage this afternoon and it was noted that while there were no obvious problem areas that my legs did feel “tired”, a legacy of a full 9 days I suppose.

I wandered into a book shop during my lunch break today and while I was aimlessly browsing something caught the corner of my eye. I saw a nice looking lad with a lovely smile and did a little double take, then I realised that I knew him, he worked at the same supermarket as me when we were in high school and uni. He hadn’t changed much, was a little pudgier (but in a nice way if that makes any kind of sense), still had that same lovely smile, did I mention I used to have a massive crush on him

I didn’t say Hi, I came over all 16 years old again, paid for my running magazine (would have been Dolly magazine when I was 16) and got out of there before I fell over my feet or walked into a display or something as equally mortifying. Honestly, 18 years down the track you think I would have moved beyond such carry on…..

…Sara, please no mention of the “Buster” episode

I always was a bit of a nuff nuff around boys I like.

Funny
I am not completely on the Flight of the Conchords bus, mostly because their show is on Channel 10 after my bedtime and it’s a miracle that I remember to breathe let alone set the video to record a show.

So last weekend I was feeling a bit mopey, down in the dumps and in need of cheering up, something which usually leads me to hours on You Tube looking for stuff to make me laugh. I reckon I spent a good hour or so on Saturday watching FotC clips, anyone who is around my age will piss themselves when they watch this one