Chris is Running (Finding the Runner, in there...somewhere)

The day I did a two hour RPM class

2012-01-26T15:36:00.003+11:00

And now desperately want to sleep. It's 3.00pm, so not really a sleeping time.

This could be me...if I were a kitten...you know what I mean though

"How was the class?", I hear you ask.

It was massively sweaty. I was massively sweaty. The guy next to me was massively, massively sweaty. I'm talking HUGE puddle on the floor sweaty. Puddle so big it was running under my bike and onto the girl on the other side. Sorry, that's fairly gross, but I gotta report the facts.

The first part of the class was just a standard sort of RPM class - warm up, hills, intervals, racing, etc. After the first hour we moved onto a hard track, recovery track, repeat mode. I'm here to tell you that recovery tracks are still ridiculously hard and even more so the more you do. I will admit to not using as much resistance as I possibly could have throughout the class but I was focussed on making it to the end and worried I might burn out if I went too hard, too early.

Turns out it was a good call because I nearly died. I would have been just a little dead, however, dead none the less.

I made it to the end though (a few people pulled out early - is it wrong to thing I'm so much better than them?). I was so happy (and so tired) when it finished I did nearly have a little cry. Weird, right? I am a cryer though, so probably not so much. Crying is my body's way of expressing emotion. I channelled my crying into clapping, which we all did.

I am now enjoying an afternoon of listening to the Triple J Hottest 100 - it's practically compulsory if you're Australian - soon to be followed by a nanna nap and then some work (boo!). The sensible part of me is saying I need to do a pretty significant foam rolling session too (double boo!).

It's Wednesday and I ran

2012-01-25T21:04:00.002+11:00

First run group was tonight and thankfully it was a little cooler today than it has been because I still nearly died. Yes, nearly died. I'm not exaggerating...much.

Tonight's session was intervals plus some technique drills. Reassuringly, I felt ill during the warm up! I pushed through, took walk breaks when I thought I was about to throw up (fabulous side effect of the heat for me) and ended up covering just over 5km for the night.

It's so frustrating that I struggled so much tonight when Sunday's run was longer and faster and nowhere near as hard.

Luckily, to detract from tonight's failure (because that's what it feels like), I have tomorrow's epic RPM session to look forward to.

Too much of a good thing?

2012-01-24T21:19:00.000+11:00

Back to the gym today for RPM. Good class with lots of sweating involved - always ideal for a RPM class.

Tomorrow is running group - I can't wait!!

Then, I have signed up for RPM on Thursday too. But this is no ordinary class, it's an Australia Day special that goes for 2 hours. I seriously think it's too much but I'm doing it anyway. I can spend the rest of the day sleeping to recover if required - hooray for holidays!

What do you think? Crazy?

I don't like summer

2012-01-22T15:38:00.000+11:00

Controversial, I know.

I don't like being sweaty when I've done nothing to warrant it. Sure, if I work out, sweat is perfect. If I'm doing nothing, sweat is wrong.

But, it's summer, so I really just have to suck it up.

And, on a completely unrelated note: I had lovely Maribyrnong River run this morning - hooray for not being in PNG anymore! I ended up doing a bridge to bridge loop with an end of run hairpin - 6km in total. Without paying any attention to my pace (which was super slow) I managed five very consistent kilometer splits, only 4 seconds difference between them. I'm pretty stoked about that.

I start running group again on Wednesday. The means 10 weeks until my nemesis run "Run for the Kids" is on. I drove the Domain Tunnel and Bolte Bridge section of the run today and reminded myself how long, steep and unshaded it is. Yay?

Sad Monday

2012-01-09T21:36:00.001+11:00

Headed back to work today after a glorious two week break. Although today was a bit of a cheat as I spent the day flying and not really working. What's more, the internet wasn't working when we arrived so I couldn't even check my emails.

While the day was fairly cruisy, I did have to get up at 3.30 in the morning to catch my first flight.

As predicted, there was no exercise today. This makes me sad. Tomorrow is a new day and I hope will be more successful.

In addition to the lack of sleep and exercise, today is sad Monday as it marks the return of "professional hair". I am not ashamed to admit that over the holiday period, and despite the hot weather, I implemented a no brush/no wash system for my gym sweaty hair. I found that sweat worked as a sort of natural hairspray and assisted in keeping my hair out of my face and in a secure ponytail (please note, secure does not necessarily equal tidy). I feel this may be frowned upon in my professional services office.

I'm also sad that I can no longer go to midday classes and that I've had to create a schedule to fit in my running and gymming once I return to normality.

To avoid this post being a total whinge session, I will finish on a positive note and be happy about the Internet coming back on while we were out getting dinner AND be happy because there were six different vegetables being served at dinner, which is awesome! I love lots of vegetables, especially when two of them are brussell sprouts and yellow squash.

Two for Sunday

2012-01-08T16:49:00.001+11:00

100 days challengeDay 8 of the 100 days challenge is completed with a Body Pump class. I swear I'm going to be in some serious pain tomorrow. I really liked today's instructor - she did a lot of position demonstrations to make sure everyone was doing the moves correctly. Plus we did triceps and shoulders (unlike the other classes I've done where it's been either or).

I'm not sure how I'm going to go with exercise tomorrow though. My first flight is at 6.00am and I don't arrive until 5.30pm. I won't have time to fit anything in before the club closes and therefore any chance of food and I'm not sure that it's safe to go out after. I might see about doing a few rounds of the airport in-between flights. 30 minutes of intentional movement is all I need to meet the challenge.

The risks of living room dance parties
I was feeling a bit flat yesterday so I put my living room dance party mix on to pick me up. On the train on my way to the gym this morning I put on my iPod (mostly to distract me from the very drunk guys in the carriage) and the living room dance party mix was still playing. The distraction method worked quite well and two songs in I caught myself mid-dance...still on the train. I'm sure I impressed the non-drunk passengers with my amazing moves.

Lesson learned - the living room dance party mix is for at home only and should not be used in public. I think the very drunk guys probably kept most of the attention off me so it's unlikely that I need to move house due to the humiliation.

And she ran!

2012-01-07T10:16:00.000+11:00

The alarm went of at 5.30am. I got up at 8.00am and felt sure it was too late to go out. There's a forecast of 31 degrees today and that's 20 degrees warmer than I like.

Plus, when it's later there's more people and as I feel like a fraud when I run, I don't really like being out with others.

Bet I said yesterday I'd run. And, let's be honest, I've been slack for far too long and the longer I go without running the less likely I am to run (don't ask me why it works that way, it just does).

So, before the doubting voice in my head could take control I threw on some running gear and headed out the door.

I suggest that you ensure that you're sitting down before you read the next bit...ready?

I was fine.

Yes, it was hot and I resemble a cartoon character with how red my face is. Yes, there were lots of other people out. Yes, I struggled a lot and ran exceptionally slow. But nobody pointed and laughed and I didn't die from heatstroke.

I did 6km (3km out and back), with some walk breaks, mostly on the way back. After uploading my Garmin data I can see why - it's pretty much downhill on the way out and therefore uphill on the way back.

It's nice to see I wasn't just imagining it

I'm booked in for Body Pump tomorrow and then I head to PNG for 12 days. I'm hopeful of keeping moving on the non-travel days. Given the limited amount of room I have in my bag, I'd better make sure I use my running gear!! I'm getting much better at packing but it still takes me a couple of goes to get everything in and the suitcase closed!

Late night living room dance party

2012-01-06T19:44:00.001+11:00

That was Thursday.

RPM today. Not quite as exciting but definitely more sweaty.

Days 5 & 6 - done.

Tomorrow is think a run will be on the cards.

Trying new things

2012-01-04T16:18:00.000+11:00

The hot spell in Melbourne has finally broken and I can return to my regular routine. After four hot nights in a row I am feeling seriously sleep deprived.

Weather whinging now over.

Today I tried my first pilates reformer class.

This is something I've wanted to do for a while but was always too scared to try. I mean, if you look at that thing, it's certainly got a look of medieval torture instrument to it.

I enjoyed the class and suspect I will feel it tomorrow. I don't think I got all the moves down right (I'm pretty sure that my hip joints are not suposed to make the noises that they did) and I felt how weak I am in a number of areas. Looks like I've got another class to add to the list.

Hooray for day 4 of the 100 days challenge being done too!

12 goals for 2012

2012-01-03T16:08:00.000+11:00

Before I get into the goals for 2012, today marked a successful day 3 of the 100 days challenge. I made it to RPM, with only a brief consideration of skipping it. So glad, as always, that I didn't. Great class with a different instructor tonight. She usually takes the Monday night class, so once I get past the crazy busy season at work I might add that class to my gym repertoire.

Now, onto the plans for the year ahead.

I've gone with 12 goals, which semi-equates to one goal per month. Some goals will take longer than one month or won't fit easily into a one a month but I think that makes it more manageable. Plus 12 for 2012 sort of fit (not that I think I'll be going 13 for 2013, etc).

1. Exercise every day for 100 days (100 days challenge)
I've already mentioned this one. Keep moving for at least 30 minutes for 100 days. Three days down, 97 to go!

2. Stretch & Strengthen
This goal is a continuation of something I tried to work on in 2011. To keep running and keep moving injury free, I need to stretch and do my physio exercises. I will start work on this on my return from my work trip later this month.

3. Complete three half marathons
2011 was the year of 10kms. 2012 will be the year of half marathons. First one is scheduled for July - Run Melbourne here I come.

4. Stay connected
With all my moving around the countryside, I've got friends scattered left, right and centre. And I don't keep in touch with them quite as much as I could. I will work on changing this.

5. No waste month
For a single gal who lives alone, I manage to generate a lot of rubbish. So for one month (probably May) I will work towards generating as little waste as possible.

6. Compliment someone and myself every day for a month
June will be my compliment month. This goal is about recognising my strengths and increasing positivity (is that actually a word?) in my world.

7. Nutrition revision
I am the first one to admit, my diet is RUBBISH. This will take a major effort to fix, so to start off I will choose one area to improve each month, starting in March. I'm realistic enough to know that the work hours and travel in January and February won't be conducive to success.

8. Declutter and keep tidy
I have too much stuff and not enough room to store it all. When my home is disorganised, I can't concentrate and have insufficient room to do the things I want to do (for example, goal 2). In 2012 I will ensure I completely tidy once a week and will declutter one "storage area" a month.

9. Climb the 1000 steps
This is an easy one to do. There's a walk in Melbourne called the 1000 steps. The name essentially says what it is. It's a bit of hike from my house but worth the effort. A great work out in beautiful scenery.

10. Superannuation
Because I don't want to have to live on rice and beans when I'm old.
Part one - consolidate super
Part two - any payrise for the year (fingers crossed!) goes directly to superannuation

11. Go to the ballet
I said I wanted to do this I don't know how many times last year. This year, it will happen.

12. Pay out car loan
This goal is likely to be a challenge. I bought a new car last year and borrowed pretty much the full amount. I don't like being in debt for something that doesn't hold its value so I would love to get this paid off.

There you go. It's a lot on my plate and the majority will be a challenge for me. Plus they all need some work to be SMART (and thereby increase they're liklihood of success). But what are goals if they don't push against the status quo?

Chris is...

2012-01-02T19:26:00.000+11:00

RPMing
Body Pumping
walking

not running :(

Absolutely loving having leave. The freedom I have with my time has been a welcome break and given me the opportunity to get back into regular movement. Over the past week I've been doing plenty of things but not actually running.

As much as getting in some hot weather running is one of my goals, our current temps have just been too much for me. Thursday is looking good with a minimum of 13, which is a distinct improvement on today's max of 40. Phew.

To keep myself on track for keeping moving, I've registered for a 100 days challenge. This will be a real test when I'm back in Papua New Guinea next week. My goal is to get up around sunrise and do a couple of laps of the residential loop where we stay. It may not be interesting but it's safe.

Yesterday, on another ridiculously hot day, I went to see sand sculptures down on the Bay. They were pretty cool.

The theme is toy based and all of the usual suspects were there. The best part was that when you took a second look you discovered so much more than you saw the first time.

Coming soon, my list of things to do in 2012.

Chris has not been Running

2011-12-20T20:42:00.002+11:00

Yes, my silence has been an indication of my inactivity.

As a result, I currently feel pretty average. Unfit, stiff (must. do.exercises.), unhealthy.

Good news though. I have a goal.

Run for the Kids on 1 April 2012. This run nearly broke me last time I did it.

14.38km in the glacial time of 1:52. Yes, that time is right.

I'm feeling confident that 2012 will be a better result than 2010. The main killer for me was the run through the Domain Tunnel and then the Bolte Bridge with no cover - the two main reasons for doing the run were reason that I sucked.

This may not have become obvious, despite my constant bleating, but I don't run well in the heat and that tunnel was HOT and that bridge was uphill, uncovered and HOT.

Back to the point though - Run for the Kids is in approximately 15 weeks. I've now got 15 weeks to do some running in the unpredictable Melbourne summer heat/cold/hail/snow. 15 weeks to get some kilometers back in my legs. 15 weeks to run, run, run.

Rock n Roll New York 10km

2011-10-24T00:25:00.001+11:00

Summary: Good race coming off two weeks of no running. Fast start with poor finish. Happy overall but the slightly competitive part of me really wanted to do better. LOVE the finisher's medal.

5.00am: Up and getting ready. Not quite as organized as I'd like but make it out the door by 5.45.

5.50am: At subway station waiting for the train. The only people I've seen so far are on their way home after a night out or are sleeping at the station. Catch train uptown to change to Brooklyn train.

6.10am: Catch second train, which is full of other runners. Discover because of construction it won't be stopping at the station I want to get off at. Hop off with everyone else one stop earlier and then just follow the crowd because I have no idea where we are.

7.30am: Race start. The description of the course was "beautiful, tree-lined...flat, fast and festive". And it was...if by flat they actually meant rolling hills. And the worst part was because the course did two laps, I knew they were coming the second time. Despite my lack of interim running, I felt good and was sub 7.00 min/km until about 8km in when my stomach turned against me. This is definitely something I have to work out because I would really like to be able to improve my times. My legs are OK and my breathing is OK but my insides are certainly not. The end result was a finish time of 1:10:xx by my watch. And I am happy with that.

8.50am: Go to bag pick up area. Encounter first serious negative at this race. It is chaos. There are bags laid out on the ground, under people's feet, no one can find their stuff. At this stage I'm feeling very thankful that I kept all of the must have items on me. Eventually manage to get my bag and escape the chaos.

Where did the time go?

2011-10-20T11:25:00.001+11:00

Wow, I've got three days until the Rock n Roll New York and I've done nothing since Melbourne.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I've spent the past eight days doing a huge amount of sight seeing and being touristy in Canada. I think I've easily covered 10km every day on foot, just not running.

Let's hope that's enough.

Melbourne Marathon 10km recap

2011-10-13T08:35:00.001+11:00

The race now seems so long ago as since then I have spent 32 or so hours travelling half way across the world.

Sunday was nearly perfect for me for running. Nice and cool with virtually no wind and a little overcast. I arrived nice and early to avoid the panic of not being able to find the bag drop off area, toilets, start line and the other 10km runners from my run group.

The plan worked and everything went off without a hitch. I watched the marathoners set off - including an 83 year old dude (way to go!) and then got started on my warm up with my group.

This was not great.

My calves were sore. The small amount of slow jogging I did was really uncomfortable so I dropped back to a fast walk. I told myself it was just because I was running on uneven ground and once I got onto the road it would be better.

Before I knew it, it was race time. As always, I made way up the back of the pack and then stood around for 10 minutes while the faster runners got their start and the sea of people in front of me got across the start line.

Thankfully, my thoughts on the uneven surface appeared to be right. The first couple of kms, my calves were a little sore but after they warmed up it was all good. I started out slow (about 7.10 pace) and then settled into around 6.45 for the the next eight kms. Well, except for km 4 which was really slow at 7.30 and I can't for the life of me remember why.

I'd set my hopes on finishing in about 70 minutes, based on how my training runs had gone. Secretly, I really wanted to beat my 2010 time (OK, so it wasn't really a secret) but didn't think my injury prone lead up was going to allow that. By the eight km mark though, I was feeling good and was on track for about a 68:45 finish.

So I pushed myself a little bit more.

This part of the course was the worst. At just before 8km we went over this foot bridge = hill = unhappy legs. I just kept repeating to myself, "if there's an up then there's going to be a down". That worked pretty well. The end of the bridge takes you within 200m of the finish line but obviously, there's still another 1.8km or so left. This bit of the course is an out and back hair pin next to the MCG. It is boring and I find it demotivating.

However, all complaining aside, those last two kms were my fastest for the day and I crossed the finish line in 68:19. Totally faster than 2010. Not much faster but still...

I can quite happily say this was close to my best possible effort for the day, as after crossing the finish line I proceeded to throw up from the effort of pushing myself those last two kms. It was kind of embarrassing.

Overall, I'm very happy with my run and look forward to the next one in New York. Yay New York!

Rest time

2011-10-05T22:51:00.000+11:00

Three days to go until Melbourne Marathon. My legs are very happy to only be doing 10km because they are TIRED.

Could be that last night's RPM class wore them out a little more than I anticipated. The fact that I had to cling to the railing to walk down the stairs post-class may have been indication that they'd worked pretty hard.

I ran just short of 6km tonight in what was an uncomfortable temperature for me. I think one of the things I'd like to work on is getting my body used to running in higher temperatures. Basically, anything over 10 degrees is unpleasant and over 20 degrees is just too much. Clearly that hampers any decent running between November and April - not ideal.

No running or other exercise is planned for between now and Sunday. Hopefully just lots of sleep so I can at least make an effort toward beating last year's time, and as an added bonus get rid of the end of this cold.

This guy's got the right idea

Sweating it out

2011-10-04T22:12:00.000+11:00

The change to daylight savings, while only an hour's difference, always knocks me for six. Add it to this stupid cold I've got and I have really been struggling. I slept in pretty late this morning! Whoops!

As it turned out, I got to work about an hour and half later than normal. Why is it, when you're running late, Metro decides to cancel the next train? Clearly I think I'm very important and the train schedule revolves around me.

Despite my lethargy and generally snottiness (yes, I realise that's gross), I've been sticking with the running and RPMing. I figure I'll just sweat the cold right out of me.

Final running group is on tomorrow. I'm sad to finish. Of course, there's always the next one!

One More Week

2011-10-02T22:26:00.000+11:00

One more week until Melbourne Marathon. Here's hoping it's a nice cool day without rain (although, I'm pretty confident I'll be fine even if it is a bit rainy - having run in the storm that stopped Melbourne).

One more week until holidays. While not looking forward to 24 hours on a plane, I am very much looking forward to new cities, new sights and catching up with old friends.

One more week to get over this stupid cold I've picked up (no no no no, now is NOT the time for being sick).

One more week to cement my current runnings times. During this morning's 6km, I ran 5 of those kilometers in under 6:30min/km. I am so massively excited and happy that my running program is actually demonstrating an improvement in my running.

Progress and puddles

2011-09-28T22:04:00.002+10:00

Woo hoo for Wednesday!

Only two more days and then it's the weekend. And what could be better than a weekend...oh, yes...holidays!! Only 12 more sleeps!!

But before then, I've got the Melbourne Marathon 10km. And in tonight's run group we were repeating our Tan time trial. Eight (?) weeks ago I did the same course and the great news is, tonight I did it a bit over a minute faster.

Here's tonight's effort:

Please note: Average pace of 6:43. That, my friends, is progress. I am stoked to be below 7:00 average after the ongoing leg problems I've been having. The Very Slow second kilometer is due to Anderson Street aka The Long Hill of Calf Pain.

And, what's more, because I am totally hard core, this is what I was running in tonight.

This storm shut the Melbourne Show early and caused Metro chaos (but let's face it, Metro chaos is not difficult to create).

And I ran in it.

Soooo many puddles.

The storm and rain also meant that of our usual running group of 20, two of us turned up. Yep, there was just me and one other guy. He very sweetly looped back to pick me up after he'd done his lap and finished with me.

In other running news, I entered this today.

I can't wait.

Monday is a good day for running

2011-09-26T21:40:00.000+10:00

I'm multi-tasking tonight, writing this post whilst rolling out my very tight calves. This may end up being a case of too little attention to each task results in a poor effort for both but I'm pretty tired and very keen for bed.

After yesterday's effort, I nearly talked myself out of running group tonight. However, I decided that it was a shame to waste the money I've paid when I don't really have a good reason not to go.

As always, running was definitely the right choice. We did another interval session tonight, which went well. This was followed by some sprints alternated with push ups.

By the end I had no control over my legs (hardly surprising as I don't think they were quite recovered from yesterday's effort) and I pretty good burn going in my shouldery chest area (yep, anatomy is clearly my area of expertise).

At the risk of completely frying myself, I'm RPMing again tomorrow night before Wednesday night's time trial session. I'm looking forward to that because I'm keen to see what kind of progress I've made, other than the ability to run 10km very slowly.

Seeking replacement legs

2011-09-25T13:10:00.003+10:00

Oh man! Am I sore today.

On Friday I tried another class at the gym. I naively thought because it was beginner class that I wouldn't really feel anything. Turns out I know nothing. There were a lot of squats in the class. And let's face it, when you do a lot of squats, you're likely to have sore quads. So I have sore quads.

To back up my class, I had a night on my feet at some work drinks. Hmm, a night on my feet plus alcohol = not a great recovery.

Saturday night I went to watch Storm v Warriors (boo, Storm lost) and to try and loosen things up, I walked the 20 minutes to the stadium from the train station. I wouldn't call it a success but I'm sure it helped.

Skip to this morning and my 10km run. It wasn't quite as good as I had hoped. I left too late which meant it was hotter than I would have liked. When I was running, I was running well. But I couldn't (hmm, it maybe that couldn't was actually more didn't want to) run the whole distance. I had planned to put in some walk breaks because I haven't had a consistent enough lead in to this distance. But with my shot quads, those walk breaks were pathetic.

These legs don't look as tired as mine

Not to dwell on the negative, I'm going to focus on the fact that I covered the 10km. And I'm pretty confident that with better prep (ie. avoiding excessive squats for the next two weeks) and the earlier start (no burning sun), I can do much better come race day. Whether I can manage the consistency and pace to beat last year's time, I'm not sure. But I will give it a go.

Now, here's the question that I'm currently debating. Do I sign up for a 10km race in New York for when I'm there on holidays? I think it would be cool to have a bib (and medal!) for a New York race. Is it crazy to think of running a race when I'm holidays? I'd like to stress, I do not mean race a race. I'm just talking about turning up and being a part of it. I know most of my friends will just think I'm weird for even considering it.

Tired

2011-09-22T21:43:00.000+10:00

I am an eight hours of sleep kind of girl. This means today's experiment where I ran last night, got to bed around 10.30 and then got up this morning at 4.50 (after waking up at least hourly and having horrid dreams the rest of the time) and then going to RPM before work did not go well.

Getting in my morning exercise was, however, a massive success. I was on a high all day (well, until 3.45 when the lack of sleep caught up with me).

Awesome.

What a difference a run can make

2011-09-21T21:59:00.000+10:00

Yay for Wednesday!

At the risk of appearing completely up myself, I totally rocked tonight!!

Tonight's running was repetitions. We started off with a warm up jog to the oval which was to be our running ground for the night. Once there we did eight 60 second repetitions with the aim of running the same distance each time. Two minute recovery walk back to the start between reps. The goal was to run at about 85-90%. I think I managed about 70% (which is excellent for me). And, even better, I was pretty close to spot on for each rep.

So, that's all pretty good, I hear you say (at which point I recommend you stop talking to your computer). But that's not even the best part. The best part is, on the run back to where my bag was safely stored, I ran all the way up Anderson Street hill AND I kept around an average 7:20min/km pace for the run back. Obviously, as I am not powering up those hills, that meant I was sub 7:00min pace on the flat.

I am aware that for most runners that's pretty slow, but I am the Queen of 7:30min/km pace.

So I rock.

I was so stoked with tonight's effort that I actually danced at the train station on the way home (there's so many crazy people there I pretty much just blended in). The absolutely horrid afternoon I had was completely blown away.

And this is why I love running.

Monday night stairs

2011-09-19T22:02:00.000+10:00

It's Monday, so you know the drill - running group tonight.

Tonight's session was stairs and tabata. Two things that are not particularly ideal for my poor tight calves and generally dodgy knees. But if I live my life pandering to my various leg discomforts I'd never get out there. Which meant, I ran up and down stairs and tabata-ed for about 30 minutes in the quite warm and windy weather.

I'm not pandering to my legs...

You can bet I worked that foam roller to within an inch of its life when I got home...ow!!! but totally worth it.

I've signed up to try out a gym and do an RPM class on Thursday morning. While I do enjoy the running, I'm thinking some sort of cross training/alternate activity will not go astray. I had a bit of a tour of the facilities during my lunch break and I have to admit I was pretty impressed. There are quite a few other classes I'm interested in (which is crazy because I am so not a class person) at the moment. It's a bit pricey though so I need to work out how well I can fit going to classes into my schedule. I know it's totally worth making time for exercise and that I reap extensive benefits from it but... Well, I'll try the class on Thursday and then we'll take it from there.

Unexpected

2011-09-18T10:52:00.000+10:00

Happy Sunday!

Today has thrown up a couple of unexpected things and reminded me that although things don't always go the way that you want, getting something different can be just as good.

Before I get into that, a quick recap of my Saturday morning - massage day. I booked myself in to a local business as all the recommendations I had found were a bit too far away for my liking. I'm prepared to travel for quality but will avoid it if I can. The girl who was performing the massage seemed nice enough, looked at how I was moving and then got stuck into it.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I knew it would hurt. But I forgot just how much it hurts. By the time she had finished I was covered in sweat and had developed a huge knot in my shoulders from tensing up from the pain in my legs. It was awesome! I have real issues with my calves - that's where the pain has most recently been - so I had directed her to focus on my glutes and ITBs. I was worried that I had some kind of tear or bruising and therefore, having my calves massaged might make it worse. The masseuse ended up working on them (and this was most definintely the worst part of the ~~torture~~ massage session) but I am so glad she did. The pain I had when walking - gone! The pain I had when shuffling - gone! Hooray!!

Because I was feeling so much better, I headed off for a run this morning. As it turns out, running is still a bit beyond me - first running session after my shuffling warm up left me with the same calf pain. I wasn't going to let that stop me from being out there though. I shifted to a walk/shuffle combination and smashed (ahem) that out for an hour. While this was pretty disappointing - I want to run, dammit! - I did get to see a couple of unexpected things.

Unexpected thing 1:
Books in the wild

Someone had left a number of books tied to fences, on posts and on the ground for people to read. The bags they were in were for a website called bookcrossing.com which I know nothing about but looks like a book swapping site. As I am a MASSIVE book fan, I think it's a great idea.

Unexpected thing 2:
Peacock!!

Seriously, who would expect to see a peacock during a Sunday morning ~~run~~ shuffle?

Had I been actually running, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had noticed these things. So, today, I'm happy to have dodgy calves. Because I got to smile at the unexpected.

Thinking positive

2011-09-15T21:52:00.000+10:00

I am very nervous about my still quite sore legs. This morning I got up and they felt good. I was pretty happy. But by the time I left home and headed for the train station they were not happy. By the time I had climbed the stairs on the rail overpass, they were even less happy. I've got an appointment for a massage on Saturday morning in the hope that releasing my ITB and glutes (and quite possibly my lower back) will take some pressure off. I'll put off my long run until Sunday.

And in non-running news, only 25 sleeps until...

OK, technically there's about 35 sleeps until New York but I don't have any pictures of Canada.
I. Can't. Wait.

Oh no!

2011-09-14T22:11:00.001+10:00

Tonight I discovered that perhaps I went out a bit (a lot) too hard on Monday. Our session tonight was hill repeats, which I opted to not do and instead aimed for some steady pace laps with short recoveries between each lap. From lap one both legs were hurting. I knocked out three more in the hope that maybe I was mistaking muscle soreness for actual injury. No. Both legs are suffering from a relapse of shin splints with the left one waaaay sorer than the right.

I have had the ice packs out and quite possibly given myself frostbite on at least the left leg (hey, it doesn't hurt anymore!...and I can't feel anything). I'm praying that continued icing and no heels and some focussed stretching sorts this out pretty quickly. I can tell you right now that there's no way I'm managing 10km without a significant improvement. There's no way I'm managing more than 1km at the moment and that 1km would hurt like hell.

Monday night lactate stackers

2011-09-12T21:43:00.001+10:00

At the risk of sounding very conceited, I totally ROCKED tonight! I finally got through a session completing the program as intended and more than that, I exceeded my expectations.

Lactate stackers involved a bit of a warm up then 6 sets of 1 minute at full pace, followed by 2 minutes recovery jogging with a 2 minute rest between sets. I so wanted to quit on the last set but punched it out and kept running on the recovery after the rest of the group had dropped to a walk. My goal is to improve on my 10km time and that's going to require running when I want to walk, so the more I practice the better.

I elevated myself from second slowest to third slowest of the group and was pretty close to keeping pace with a couple more people. This is even more exciting for me as I easily would have 15kg over the rest of the group. Imagine what I could do if my running recovery didn't include a bit too much ice cream?!

Weekend homework

2011-09-11T20:27:00.000+10:00

I managed to drag out 8km this morning. I was supposed to go yesterday but 1) I didn't want to and 2) my legs were feeling not ready for it and 3) I didn't want to. I paid the price this morning by having to run in the rain - it wasn't really that bad and I felt so much more hardcore for doing it.
The run ended up being at an average of 7:30/km which put me at a total time of 1 hour. While dismally slow, this better than last week's effort so I'm happy about that.

Terrible traffic and tabata

2011-09-07T22:38:00.000+10:00

Made it to running group late tonight which is annoying. For reasons I don't understand, traffic coming off the Monash was appalling. I skipped the Toorak Rd exit because it was banked so far back only to get stuck anyway. But, I made it eventually, and even though I missed the first couple of sets I still got to do at least half the workout. And something is surely better than nothing.
Our tabata workout was: 20 secs at 90%, 10 secs off, repeat 8 times. 3 minute recovery between sets.
Unfortunately, due to the dodgy legs I didn't really manage 90%. I did push myself for the first couple of sets but then started feelin twingy so pulled it right back for the remaining time. After I got home I made sure to pull out the foam roller and give both legs a good stretch. ow ow ow!
Feeling pretty good with the running still. Looking forward to a nice 8km long run on Saturday but even more, I'm looking forward to the two days rest before then!

Monday night intervals

2011-09-05T22:15:00.000+10:00

Phew, am I tired.

I'm the second slowest in my Monday night group but I think I could almost be third slowest if I wasn't so worried about injuring myself. At least, that's what I tell myself.

Tonight was 5 x 150m intervals in three sets with 2 min recovery between sets. First set at 60%, second set at 70% and third set at 80%. I think I did three sets at about 65 - 70% pace. It was enough that I was feeling a bit nauseous by the end of both the second and third sets. Add the run to and from the oval and I think I covered about 6km tonight with just a little bit of hill shuffling included.

Looking forward to Wednesday to see if I can manage three runs in one week without injury! How exciting will that be?

New discoveries

2011-09-03T15:00:00.000+10:00

I tried a new path for today's run and was rewarded for my efforts. Despite the fact that there were a few too many hills for my liking, I've discovered a reasonably peaceful run along the creek that looks like it's got quite a few more kms on it than the 3km out and back I did today.

It was a very slow 6kms. Certainly not fast enough to beat last year's effort for the 10km but it was my first long run in the new orthotics, post-plague like cold and shin splint diagnosis. So, really, I've got nothing to complain about. For the record, it was a tortoise-like 46:58. Well, that tortoise won in the end, didn't it?

Wednesday night intervals

2011-08-31T22:03:00.000+10:00

Good run with my running group tonight and my first run in my new orthotics. I've pulled up with emerging blisters from the change in foot position which I hope go away before the weekend's long run. I've also engaged in some precautionary shin splint icing to deal with the almost imperceptible hill on the loop we ran. My right leg just does not like any sort of incline - hopefully these orthotics will take care of that. Tonight's exercise was 500m intervals - about 400m at 70% and 100m at 90% effort. I did the whole thing at somewhere around 70% because trying to run fast is not a good idea for me right now. Plus I walked the hill more often than running it (or even more accurately, shuffling it). Which I guess puts me at 400m at 70% and 100m at walking pace. Well, it's all running.

I'm not sure whether I'm a better or worse position than I was last year before the 10km run. I know I didn't have quite the same leg pain but I'm not sure how many runs I had under my belt before I started. It's certainly getting close now but I think I can fit enough in before hand so that I don't have to curl up and die on the side of the road.

Counting down

2011-08-29T21:59:00.000+10:00

41 days until Melbourne Marathon 2011 and the return of the 10km run. That's about 6 weeks.

So, how am I doing?

Physio and podiatrist this week - trying to deal with the ITB and shin splints I currently have.

Yes, that's how well I'm doing.

Note to self: actually doing the physio and podiatrist endorsed exercises will help more than merely thinking about doing physio and podiatrist endorsed exercises.

Panic stations

2010-12-07T21:14:00.000+11:00

So much to do, so little time.

- T minus 9 days and counting until holidays!! I am soooo looking forward to it even if it is going to be below zero the whole time.

- Last run for the 2010 calendar is on tomorrow night - Christmas run at Albert Park. They're forecasting dreadful weather so it will be an interesting evening.

- Frocking up for the annual Christmas Ball this week. Not feeling any better about it this year than I was last year. Surprise, surprise, 12 months and I've learned nothing.
2011 - here's to getting my act together (assuming I don't burn myself out before I get there).

- Jetting off interstate next week for work, jetting back home and then jetting off again o/s.

Phew!

Melbourne Marathon 10/10/10

2010-10-10T14:48:00.000+11:00

It's Melbourne Marathon day today and I didn't make it to the half. My haunted leg was giving me all sorts of grief, so I downgraded my entry to the 10km.

It was the perfect morning for a run - overcast and cool. And I don't know whether it was just the atmosphere on the day or if I've actually managed to improve my fitness/pace with my haphazard training but I finished in my fastest 10km time yet. True, it was twice the time of the race winner but my 1:08:36 was a real winner for me.

Well there's only so much drama I can stand

2010-08-05T21:17:00.000+10:00

Thanks to We Are Scientists for providing today's title. I saw them last night co-headlining with Ash. Excellent, excellent night. And great to get away from the grind of work, despite some feelings of guilt for 'deserting' my team.

But unfortunately, combining a late night with early morning PT and a series of long days at work made for a very tired and cranky girl this morning.

Big plans for the weekend. I'm going to get my shit in order, so that I can set myself up for a great run to Melbourne Marathon (apologies for the bad pun!). I can do this half marathon. I can do it well. But I need to set myself up for success and establish where I need put the boundaries in place with work to get there.

OK, so this is rambling, and I'm pretty tired.

Over and out.

Shuffle for the Kids

2010-03-14T17:20:00.000+11:00

Today was the day of the big run.

I did not train enough. It was much hotter at 9.30am than it is when I usually run. I was very slow.

I'm happy that I finished the distance and there were some periods where I ran even though all I really wanted to do was walk.

And it was for charity. So my lacklustre performance is irrelevant.

But I will do better next time.

Oh yeah!

2010-01-25T06:58:00.000+11:00

Just a quickie because I really should be getting ready for work. But I'm pretty excited.
Check it out...over 30 minutes!

And...

that equals 5K! Or close enough to it that I'm calling it.
And it's just as well. I've got to do three times that in seven weeks from now!!!
*gulp*

It's about time

2010-01-23T10:50:00.001+11:00

I finally got my act together and went for a run this morning. About 25 minutes running, which is a current best. Hooray!

The head's in the right space and things are going well.

Yay me!

Curse my haunted leg

2010-01-06T22:53:00.000+11:00

I really should be heading off to bed in order to get up early for a long delayed run tomorrow but thought I'd put in a quick post.

Firstly, the long delayed running is due a persistent ache in my right leg. The ache in and of itself doesn't stop me running but I'm assuming that running on an aching leg may not be the best idea. Given that this ache comes and goes, not always being easily related to something that I've done, I have come to the conclusion that my leg is haunted. Surely there's no other rational explanation.

Now, onto my evening. Tonight I went and saw Sherlock Holmes with a couple of friends. The movie was alright. I'm glad to have seen it but I'm not going to rave about it.

One of the friends I saw the movie with is my previously mentioned 'crush' friend. It's so distracting when you're sitting in a dark theatre. But I made it through the night without having a restraining order issued against me.

The past month (or so)

2009-11-02T21:35:00.003+11:00

Has been pretty interesting.

I have achieved one of my major goals for 2009 - get a new job and move back to Melbourne. Yep, it's done. I drove down today and am camping with the parental until Wednesday when my furniture arrives and I can move into my new place.

It's been a hectic few weeks - I've driven the Hume more times than I care to attend interviews and house hunt. But it was worth it with two job offers in a matter of weeks, one of which is a job I've been wanting for many years (and not surprisingly is the job I took) and a nice big flat in a good area (fingers crossed). I've been keeping this under my hat because I developed a huge case of the superstitions once things looked like they might be coming together. I'm still having reservations about posting this now.

So, I'm waiting for the excitement to kick in because it is really exciting. I'm pretty sure it will happen once the moving is finished and I've started work and everyting is settled. Yay!

Excellent week

2009-07-25T09:45:00.005+10:00

After a week of just putting my head down and trudging along the path I've come back out into the light.

I have, for the first time in a REALLY long time, managed to get through seven consecutive days where I've stayed on track with my food and it wasn't even a struggle. This gave me a massive boost of confidence. I then had two days of not quite so great tracking but as I went up to Brisbane on a flying visit for the majority of those two days, I'm actually quite OK with that.

My flying visit to Brisbane was at the request of my sister, who bought two tickets to Pink many, many months ago (as she is a massive fan). Unfortunately, her friends in Brisbane also had bought their own tickets, so she was left with a spare and really wanted to go with someone who would appreciate the show. She asked me, despite the fact that I am not a big Pink follower. But I do love music in general, especially live music, and the opportunity to spend a 'sister' day was too good to pass up. So off I flew to a lovely 26 degree Brisbane day on Thursday. It was fabulous! Sis and I hung out, shopped and had a great time; I had lunch with my grandma; and I must concede that the Pink show was good. I enjoyed myself, sang along with whatever bits of songs I knew, made up the words for the bits I didn't and most importantly, my sister absolutely loved the show and really enjoyed her experience. As an added bonus for me, seeing Pink strutting around on stage wearing next to nothing was fairly good motivation to stay on the path of good choices.

Flying back to Canberra on Friday morning to be greeted by my car fully encased in a block of ice at the airport was less enjoyable. And rude shock after the balmy Brisbane weather.

But overall, I had an excellent week and I'm looking forward to the next seven days being even better.

Fake it

2009-07-17T17:48:00.000+10:00

'til you make it.

Taking it one step at a time

2009-07-09T08:46:00.005+10:00

I'm breaking my six week challenge into smaller chunks.

It's about time I realised (or maybe just owned up to) that I have the attention span of a goldfish and am driven by immediate gratification. I will always choose the short term 'pay off' over a longer term gain. Six weeks is waaaay too long for me.

While this concept is not new to me, it was during this morning's run that I thought to myself I needed to change things. A 5km run for me is essentially 25 200m runs. Sure, I think about the 5km but to get me around the course I am having this sort of dialogue:

"OK, start running. Let's just get to the end of this row of trees."

"Good, now remember to keep your shoulders relaxed and let's make it to the bottom of the hill there."

"OK, hill, it's alright, you only have to make it to the top."

"Hill is done. Can't stop now so let's just get to the end of the bridge."

"It's all downhill now, easy! Focus on your breathing."

"And to the bottom of the next hill. I wonder how much longer it will take for them to finish fixing the path so I don't have to do this hill anymore?"

"Right, up this hill. It's an easy one and then there's only one more until the end."

"That wasn't that bad. Onto the flower beds."

And so on. I'm sure you have no interest in hearing the rest of my run because, trust me, it doesn't get any more interesting.

So, six weeks is now three lots of two weeks. And the first two weeks (which is nearly half way over already!!) I'm now taking one hour at a time. I'm hoping if I manage two really good weeks then the next two can be eased back a bit.

This is the two weeks:

Today has not quite gone to plan - I didn't do the 40 minutes on Tuesday (only did 34) so had wanted to do a 6km run this morning (which would take me to 40mins) but I got out of bed a little bit too late for that. If I get to work just 5 minutes too late, getting a shower is hell. But I pushed myself on the 5km and took off another minute (there were some happy dances once I'd got my breath back) and I'm happy with something over nothing. Breakfast was a success - oats - I love 'em! And now I'm on my daily coffee. Oh, and I've done one bottle of water - three more to go today.

I apologise in advance if this gets tedious for anyone who bothers to read - but as I've said before, it's all about me and getting what I want.

2009-07-07T08:45:00.004+10:00

Now, I know I tend to bang on about it a fair bit, but I really do love winter in Canberra!

It is true that leaving the warm cocoon of my bed was an epic struggle. And it is also true that the cold air does terrible things to my asthma. And the cold and dry leaves my skin looking horrible and red and flakey.

But I don't care. I love scarves. I love coats. I love gloves. I love rosy cheeks. I love that everything looks clearer. I love trees changing colour. I love the contrast of bare branches against a clear sky at dawn. And I love that on my lovely cold frosty run this morning and I took another minute off my 5km-ish lake lap time.

Now I remember

2009-05-31T17:07:00.001+10:00

Twelve boxes packed and it still looks like I've done nothing!

*cries*

I hate packing.

Running haiku

2009-04-29T07:35:00.008+10:00

Ran with my running buddy K today. It always seems to go faster when you're chatting away to someone (even if you are gasping for air). Part of our usual path is closed at the moment so we had an added hill on the run. Yuck!!

I was inspired to write a haiku about this morning's run (don't worry, I won't give up my day job).

Two degrees this morn

Perfect running autumn day

Oh, I love it so!!

Random running ruminations

2009-04-28T08:48:00.005+10:00

My past three weeks of relative inactivity showed themselves this morning. I was in struggletown for most of my run. But I finished the distance, albeit slowly.
It was cool this morning, but not really too bad. The Bureau of Meteorology are forecasting some zero degree days though for the rest of the week, so might have to find the old running gloves to complement my new headband – no cold ears for me today!
As you can see, I have decided to track my running – it’s really satisfying to see the time and distance add up (not that April is going to be that flash). I’m an instant gratification type girl. I don’t like waiting for my results. So by tracking my runs I’ve got something to hang onto until I get to my races. Not to mention it stops me from obsessing quite so much about my weight. Which has really been bugging me – I’ve been thinking about it so much but not getting anywhere (my own fault), which has led me into the negative thought cycle, which leads to destructive behaviour, and so on. But running makes me feel good, motivates me to eat better (so I run better) and I like doing it (even when I’m hating it). For some reason I forget that every now and then.
And before I sign off for today, one thing I saw this morning was three little bunnies nibbling away on the grass as I shuffled past them. I’m pretty sure rabbits are a feral pest that we don’t like (or is that just in farming areas?) but they were pretty cute.

Aw, shucks

2009-03-17T18:49:00.002+11:00

I'm not sure if this fits in the definition of compliments, but I'm putting it there anyway.
A friend of mine told me this morning that the thing that gets her out of bed in the morning to jump on her treadmill is the knowledge that, at that particular moment, I will be out exercising too, and that my exercise may include running around a body of water in the dark (and soon to be cold).
While it's a little weird to think that I'm the first person she thinks of in the morning, it's a nice feeling to know that my early morning 'craziness' is an inspiration to others.
It made me all smiley all day.

Saturday morning running high

2009-03-14T08:50:00.003+11:00

Did the Saturday morning run around Lake Ginninderra today and knocked over two minutes off the last run time! I am so happy! It's great to make such a big improvement and also to know that the pain I was feeling was justified.
It was an interesting run today also because we had a bit of fog today so for most of the run where we were alongside the lake it was if there was just nothing else but the bit of path we were on. You could see nothing but the 10 meters ahead of you and where the lake should have been was just white.

Chris gets her running groove back

2009-02-14T08:53:00.005+11:00

I had a fantastic run this morning. For the first time in a long time I felt good during the whole run. OK, maybe when I first started it wasn't so good because my legs are still killing, but once everything warmed up it was fantastic.
My breathing was regular, I was relaxed and I felt like I could have just kept on running. Did the 7km run in 49 minutes this morning. Sure, it was a slow pace, but it was totally worth it. Because I know I'm getting my groove back.
Look out Melbourne Marathon.
I am so totally stoked.

Panic stations!

2009-02-11T13:07:00.003+11:00

I had a running date this morning, and I had to pick up my running friend at 6.00am.

I woke up at 5.50am.

All I can say is thank goodness I got myself completely organised last night: My running clothes were all laid out on the lounge ready to be put on; my food for the day was packed; my work clothes and shower stuff was all packed in the work bag; and my gym clothes for this afternoon were all pack in their bag.

You have never seen anyone move as fast as I did this morning!

The good news is I got to my friend's house at 6.02am. Not bad.

It's all in my head

2009-02-04T12:55:00.003+11:00

I had a mini psychological breakthrough this morning.

I have been running for quite some time now, and completed the Melbourne Half Marathon last year. So deep down inside I know that I have the ability to run (shuffle) at least 21.1kms. But after said half marathon I hurt myself and then didn't run for a few months. When I resumed running I started small - partly because I was still recovering from my injury and partly because I thought that was all I could do.
Here in Canberra we have a lake called Lake Burleigh Griffin that's in the middle of Canberra near Parliament House and all of that. It's a popular running spot and there's a loop you can do that includes the two bridges that span the lake. Once upon a time I used to run that loop regularly, but post-injury I've just thought that I couldn't. Well, guess what? I can! I did it this morning and it wasn't hard at all. I've just had it in my head that I couldn't do it.
My next task now is Lake Ginninderra - another lovely lake in Canberra which is a bit bigger than 'the loop'. It's down for Valentine's Day - my gift to myself!

My rainbow is what?!

2009-01-20T18:06:00.002+11:00

So, I broke my rule of always updating my blog first and had a read of what was going on with everyone else. Why this rule? Because I'm an unconscious copier. I'll hear or see something and take it for my own. An absolutely appalling habit when spending time with people from overseas with non-Aussie accents because I start copying! I don't mean to and I really have to fight myself to stop it. It's embarrassing. Plus I've been accused of paying out on people and that is not my intention. Anyway, I'm worried I'll do the same thing here and all of a sudden start talking about thoughts, feelings and problems that I've just picked up from somewhere else.

And the point you were making?

I noticed on three blogs I read today this 'what colour is your rainbow' thing, and of course I gave it a go. And my rainbow is brown. BROWN!!!! Who on earth wants a freaking brown rainbow? Sure, there was some kind explanatory drivel after this declaration - but who cares about that when your rainbow is BROWN. I don't want a brown rainbow. Maybe if I take it again I can change it...

Crap. I'm still brown.

Cranky pants

2009-01-13T18:03:00.002+11:00

Had physio this afternoon and I was hoping for an all clear on my knee, but I didn't get it. The short story is I stuffed my knee whilst undertaking the 'not to be underestimated' climb and descent of Mt Kinabalu in Borneo in November. It's an amazing experience but not to be taken lightly - and perhaps I did. But anyway, there's no point in crying over spilt milk (or something like that). I did it and am now suffering the consequences - I just wish the consequences would hurry up and get over their gloating so I can do the stuff that I want to do. The positive is I'm now down for a visit in 2-3 weeks which is an improvement on every week - take what you can get missy!

Did some nice intervals on the bike at the gym this morning - really must remember to bring my iPod next time. My music tastes and the gym's music tastes don't necessarily align.

Other than that, it's all boring, boring, boring. A Tuesday like any other.