Another update

*long post warning, sorry*

Wednesday 26 April
Rest day

As I was bribed, um I mean "persuaded" into doing the CR 5km challenge this Saturday, my program for the rest of the week had to be shuffled a little. Must confess that I was feeling v. nervous about doing it until the lovely Go Girl offered to run with me.

I had a lovely massage at Gary's House of Health & Healing at lunch which is getting a little easier now that things are settling down. However (just for something new), my RH piriformis has been a little tight over the last few days - something I've never had a problem with before. Oh well, how boring would life be without a few dramas ;-)

I had a session with Satan tonight but had to cancel due to work. Bummer dude.

Thursday 27 April
Run

Strange day. My mood was a bit down after a rather ordinary run, lifted slightly after the arrival at work of my Garmin and then I had to cancel a session with Saint Andrew because I wasn't able to escape from work. Grrr.

Headed out at 5.45am for a 30mins run. Took a new course for the 1st half of the loop which I really enjoyed. I had thought that the funkiness in my knee was subsiding after Tuesday's trail run but it came back in the last 10mins of todays run. There is no pain or discomfort but it just isn't tracking properly towards the end of runs on undulating courses. Grrrr. I've booked into see Podrunner for an assessment of my orthotics next week. I think they may be part of the problem. I want to do the 4.8km XC and the 10kms "ascent" at Warwick in 3 weeks so I need to get it sorted out now.

Friday 28 April
Rest day

Saturday 29 April
Run & other stuff

I have to say that I actually became a teary last night when I realised it is 2 weeks short of 6 months since I stopped running in November last year thanks to my ITB. After having 4 months off running, I still can't believe that I am running again.

I work up this morning feeling a little flat/blahish. Having only been running for about 6 weeks since my return to running and having done zero, zip, nada speed work, I honestly had no great expectations about today. Having said that, I've never actually done a 5km "race" before so it was going to be a PB no matter what.

After a quick warm up, Go Girl & I lined up with the 28mins group and set out at a blistering pace. God knows how I hung on after developing a stitich at the start of the 3rd km. I should also apologise to Go Girl for swearing at one stage. It's been over 6 mths since I ran the "dog leg" - the last km of the race - and I had completely forgotten how many turns there were in it!

Interestingly our Garmin's recorded considerably different splits (Go Girl's eg recorded the first km as 4:46!!!) but here are my stats:

Time: 26.56mins
Aver pace: 5:21min/kms
Splits:
5:08
5:17
5:35
5.25
5:21

Once I got my breathe back it was a very relaxed 5kms back to the start with 2P and Bennyr in 31:51. My RH piriformis was making itself known just a touch towards the end of the return (and later on this evening) but otherwise I pulled up really well. No complaints out of my knee(*yippee*). It was then off to Norton Street for breakfast and a catch up with TA & Gnome in particular. Unfortunately I had to leave breakfast early to head into the city to see Satan....

I had thought about cancelling my session with Satan (I had booked it before being "persuaded" to do the challenge) but given I missed a session with her on Wednesday because of work, I was very keen to get into see her today. A largely core session today with a new VMO exercise that she had discovered at a conference last week and I finished with 30mins of stretching. By then, I was one v. tired & happy gal :-)

Sunday 30 April
Rest day

No injuries but one nasty case of DOMS today! I was going to pick up my bike today but I woke up feeling a little tired and run down so I'll do that next weekend and will instead spend the day chilling & stretching.

This week has been huge for me - for both work & personal reasons. I've probably done close to 20kms this week (half of that yesterday!), 1 session with Satan & a massage. I'm looking forward to getting a bit more consistency next week but doubt that is going to happen...

It's a bit hard to predict the week ahead. I've got to sort out my piriformis and my DOMs today will probably mean that I won't run tomorrow. If Podrunner adjusts my orthotics, it could well be Thursday or Friday until I run again...
Monday: gym (upper body + 20mins easy cardio) & session with Saint Andrew
Tuesday: pilates + appointment with Podrunner
Wednesday: run (35mins) + session with Satan
Thursday: gym (40mins cardio session)
Friday: run (37mins)
Saturday: rest day (session with Saint Andrew)
Sunday: run (70mins) + pick up my bike!

Alright, THE goal for 2007....

I've kept you all hanging on for long enough now - and no Clairie, it's not to have a baby ;-)

Horrie & Bernie were close - my goal race for this year is Willy2Billy and yes, the plan is to run sub 4hr 30mins in order to qualify for Six Foot next year. So Six Foot is (and has always been) a (big scary arse) goal for 2007 but it's not THE (big scary arse) goal for 2007 that I've been talking of over the last week (and I have Tesso to thank for putting the idea in my head). Here goes (*glulp):

Glasshouse. 50kms.

And no 2P, I'm not doing the 80kms....yet ;-)

Achievement takes time

How true is this:

"Keep going" is the rule that must be followed if you want to be successful and achieve what you have your sights firmly set on.

Your success will always be connected with your actions. Just keep moving towards your goal.

You'll make mistakes along the way but get up, brush yourself off, focus on what you want and don't quit.

You may even have to hang on after others have let go.

Persistence means taking pains to overcome every obstacle, to do whatever it takes, whatever is necessary to reach your goal.

In the end, only the people who fail are those that aren't prepared to have a go and keep moving.

All great achievement takes time.

The countdown has started...

Garmin update: "Guaranteed Delivery Date: April 27, 2006". 2 sleeps to go :-)

Activity: run
Time: 1pm
Duration: 35mins

After a rather big night last night and a terrible night's sleep, I crawled out of bed at 9.30am. So much for the dawn service. So kind of Mr Jen to sacrifice his sleep to go on my behalf.

After spending most of the morning at the computer doing various work stuff & non-work stuff (including downloading SportTracks - what a great program!) I headed out to do 3 laps of the Middle Head to Chowder Bay trail (each approx. 1kms) with a return trip to the start of the trail via the (flat) road in the reverse order that I normally do the run. It was like peak hour at the Bay on the trail today with lots of people out enjoying the sunshine and getting a bit of exercise on this special day.

A good run. I felt a little flat but I'm very pleased to say that there was very little sign of the funkiness that has plagued my knee recently on undulating courses (*yippee*). And yes Minersrun, "funkiness" is a technical term, defined in the "Flame Headed Goddess' dictionary of Medical Terms for Runners" as a "sensation of a patella not tracking properly but without pain or discomfort' ;-)

At this stage, I'm planning to do Monday's rescheduled 20mins recovery run around the oval tomorrow morning but I'll see how I pull up. Today's run has been the longest time that I've spent on a trail post-injury (*yippee*).

BTW, Clairie gets the award for the funniest guess of my 2007 goal so far. A baby. Hahahahahaha. I must be the least cluckiest woman in the world. LOL.

Lest we forget....

Anzac Day 2006.

For the Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

Lest we forget.

Biker chick...

Saturday 22 April
Rest day

A rest day. Normally I’d have nothing to report but today I bought another toy :-) This, of course, now means that our wedding will be BYO plate & drink – but hey, the bride will be fit ;-)

I met Go Girl, Go Husband & The Owl at the Grace Hotel in the city at 10.30am for brunch before heading off to Clarence Street Cyclery for a shopping expedition. Over 2 hours later, I emerged the proud owner of ANOTHER redhead ;-)



Isn't she beautiful?

She’s a Trek 8000 MTB as I have my eye on doing some off-road (MTB/trail run) duathlons but have also bought some slicks to use on the road (oh yeah, I’ve also bought a camelbak – my first!). I haven’t owned a bike since I was about 12 so I’m pretty excited and admittingly pretty nervous about getting out on the road. The plan initially is to use her twice per week to commute to work on the days I don’t run (once I build up a bit of confidence riding on the (busy) roads around here) combined with a long ride on Saturdays as a compliment to my running. My number 1 prize for 2006 is still a certain race in August and my program to build up to being able to run that distance is pretty heavy so it will be an experiment to see how my body responds to the introduction of the riding. It’s going to be interesting - bring it on!

Oh yeah, and the purchase of the bike is NOT related to the big goal for 2007…Keep those guesses coming people!

Sunday 23 April
LSD run – 50mins!

I joined S today for the last 50mins of her planned 16kms run. A rather fresh morning at the Bay today. Clear but with a cool breeze. Perfect running weather if you ask me. As I waited for S, Silverfox ran past and stopped for a very brief chat. It was lovely to see him again. Anyhoo, yet again this was my longest run – 50mins (7kms) @ 7min pace using S’ 10mins/1min walk regime. Pace felt very slow, perhaps too slow. I don’t think my breathing picked up at any stage but at this stage I suppose I need more time on, and to strengthen, my legs. Nice & easy. Happy days.

I did however brake one of my cardinal rules after the run. I didn’t stretch. Actually I spent about 10mins stretching which is about 20mins less than I would normally do. Opps. Will try & make up for it tonight.

This week – another great week of training: 4 x runs; 1 x weights session with Satan; 1 x yoga; 1 x date with Saint Andrew & 1 x date at Gary’s House of Health & Healing…

The week ahead will be busy thanks to the public holiday (I should have picked up my bike on the weekend so I can use it on Tuesday, bugger…)
Monday – run (20mins)
Tuesday – rest (maybe a walk)
Wednesday – run (37mins) & massage at Gary’s House of Health & Healing
Thursday – Saint Andrew
Friday – run (30mins)
Saturday – weights with Satan
Sunday – run (60mins) & pick up my bike!

Garmin update: my other redhead, the 305 (and the bike sensor) have been shipped today – yippee!!!!

A struggle...

Activity: run
Time: 5.50am
Duration: 30mins

Ha. After setting myself a new HUGE and scary goal next year, I really struggled to get out of bed this morning. Avoiding the large hills near home (there are many), I am getting pretty bored by the few reasonably flat routes near home. Anyway, I got up and ran. My knee was again feeling a little tight towards the end of the session which we haven't been able to solve yet. Thankfully it's not my ITB (woohoo!).

Off to Tiger's House of Pain & Insults this afternoon which will no doubt be fun ;-)

Edit: went to Gary's House of Healing & Health this evening for a lovely massage which my ITB, calves and hip flexors enjoyed immensely :-) "Good work Gary" !

The close encounter of the arachnid kind...

Well it's a good thing that yesterday started so well. It all went downhill from there - briefly:

* by 10am, we had placed an order and paid a deposit for the bridesmaids dresses. By 12pm, the order was cancelled, our deposit refunded & we were back at square one (it's a really long story...)

* a work-related encounter in the early afternoon that I could have done without; and

* one bloody huge huntsman spider crawled up my arm as I got out of the car after dinner last night. And yes I squealed like the girl I am. Completely gross.

Today, Thursday 20 April, I set myself a goal for 2007 which is pretty BIG. I've told a few close friends (*waves*) but don't think I'll "out" myself here just yet.... Feeling terrified and excited at the same time by the thought of it though :-)

Activity: weights with Satan
Time: 3pm
Duration: 30mins

Headed to the gym at the unusual time of 3pm for a session with Satan (let's call it a late lunch...) for a bloody tough upper body circuit, consisting of:

* an inverted row (thanks to Shape magazine)



unfortunately Satan doesn't look like this ;-) - except that Satan lowers the bar so that my body is almost parallel to the ground. Try it. It's bloody tough.
* single arm bent overs row leaning on a swiss ball;
* double arm laying tricep extensions;
* some oblique/core exercise; and
* crunches,
repeated twice. I was pretty stuffed by the end of it.

Garmin update: my order has been delayed because the bike cadence sensor thingy I also ordered is out of stock (d'oh) so I've asked them to ship the 305 now rather than waiting, waiting, waiting for the bike cadence sensor thingy to come in. Impatient? Moi? ;-)

Happiness is...

I can't believe people sleep through mornings like this.

Activity: run
Time: 5.50am
Duration: 30mins

A fantastic run this morning. You may not know this about me but I lurve running on trails ;-) The plan for today was to basically to run from home to the 'start' of the trail, do 2 laps of one section of trail (approx. 1km), heading back to the start of the trail for the second lap via the (flat) road and then running home.

The sun still hadn't past the horizon by the time I started my second lap (don't worry, it was light enough to see what I was doing!) - which means that I've probably only got one or two mid-week trail runs left before it becomes too dark to head out before work *sob*

TPC was a touch funky towards the end of this morning's run - but it was fine by the time I got home. Will ice it tonight just to be sure. I'm sure she's just jealous that she hasn't been the centre of my universe over the last few weeks ;-)

Another blond moment...

Instead of doing a session with Satan tonight, I ended doing a yoga class. Why? Because I wrote the wrong time in my diary. Grrrr.

To make matter's worse, it was a really bad yoga class. I almost got up & left. The instructor wasn't good & I spent most of it looking at my watch which is something I never do. Can't believe they ditched my beloved spin classes for bad yoga classes. Grrrr. Anyhoo, it's done...off for a run on my beloved trail in the morning :-)

Short & sweet (like me!) ;-)

Activity: run
Time: 9am
Duration: 20mins

I'm getting used to these sleep-ins now ;-) Crawled out of bed after heading out for a few drinks after the Brumbies-Tahs match last night (go the Tahs!)

20mins easy/recovery run around the oval today. Nice. Calves & left quad are a bit tight but nothing that some ice & stretching won't fix. Really looking forward to Wednesday's return to the trail again *yippee*

Now, where did I put those chocolate chip hot cross buns?

Did I mention that I'm back?

Activity: LSD run
Time: 8am
Duration: 40mins
Location: the Bay

I met S this morning at the Bay for my long run. S is a work colleague of a friend who took up running in February and is training for her first Half next month. S had 14kms on her program (10min run/1min walk) so I joined her for her first 40mins.

A beautiful morning. Quite cool actually but perfect running weather (once you warmed up). Did a leisurely 40mins around the Bay - once again, my longest run post-injury. At the end of my 40mins, I was feeling great & almost did another 10mins before I realised that this week, I had added a 4th run for the first time post-injury so decided that was not such a wise idea. Did I mention that I'm back & loving it?

This week has been a great (and busy) week of training - 4 x runs; 2 x weight sessions; 2 x sessions with Saint Andrew and 1 x massage at Tiger's House of Pain & Insults.

The week ahead - week 4 of Phase 1 & things are good!
Monday - run (20mins easy)
Tuesday - session with Satan
Wednesday - run (30mins) & Saint Andrew
Thursday - yoga
Friday - run (30mins) & massage
Saturday - rest
Sunday - run (50mins)

I can't begin to describe how happy I am to look at that plan for the week ahead & see all those runs - woohoo!

PS. A wedding update (I know there hasn't been one for a while) - yesterday, we found the bridesmaids dresses. Sexy. Though not as sexy as the bride I hope ;-)

The other flame-headed goddess...

Resuming normal programming after a busy week...

Activity: weights with Satan
Time: 10.15am
Duration: 30mins

After a rather leisurely morning I headed to the gym for a session with Satan to work off some of the chocolate I will no doubt consume today. Luckily for my waistline, she had a really tough core session planned. T'was a circuit, repeated 3 times, of:
* lunges;
* single leg supine thingy (basically laying on a bench lowering one foot to the floor at a time);
* two core exercises using a swiss ball that I can't begin to describe right now,
which I followed up with 2 sets of 2 hammy exercises (as ordered by Saint Andrew) and 30mins of stretching.

Now some of you have been speculating about my new toy - I won't keep you in suspense - here she is:



A Garmin 305. Isn't she beautiful? And she's a red-head too :-) I don't have a due date for her just yet but I'm already v. excited & starting to think for a name for her. Lulu has suggested that she should be named after a goddess and has in fact suggested that she be named after the Greek goddess Artemis (the Goddess of hunting) and I quote

"Artemis seemed to be more comfortable with the companionship of women friends. Often depicted by artists while hunting or bathing with her band of nymphs, the goddess Artemis valued her freedom and personal space and protected them with ferociousness. Indeed, those who restricted her freedom, those who tried to thwart her commitment to reaching her goals, or simply invaded her privacy, paid dearly. When the hunter Actaeon accidentally came upon Artemis while she was bathing, she turned him into a stag, whereupon his own hunting dogs attacked and tore him to pieces."

Hehehe. Up to the point that the dogs tore the poor fella to bits, I liked the sound of this gal. Perhaps I should call her Athena who was an "armed warrior goddess". The Parthenon in Athens was actually built as a shrine to honour her. Not a bad way to honour a gal. Still, I'm not convinced. I think she needs to be named after a woman (or goddess), who is strong both mentally and physically. Any suggestions?

A very scenic week...

My apologies (again) - this week has been so crazy that I haven't had to chance to read everyone's Canberra reports yet, let alone update my own blog...

Tuesday 11 April - a hot date with rock royalty

I pulled up very well after Sunday/Monday's session. Woohoo. Today was another big day. Headed to the gym this morning for an hour before work. Spent 30mins doing various leg exercises - 2 quad exercises & 2 hammy exercises (3 sets each) followed by 30mins of stretching.

Had a v. good excuse to leave work early day. We were given free tickets (for really expensive seats) to the Rolling Stones concert at Telstra Stadium. We were about 25 rows from the stage and 8 seats in from the 'train tracks' that part of the stage rolled along at one point in the show. I've always been a fan of their music but have never seen them in concert before - in fact, I've never owned any of the music - but it was fantastic! Needless to say, I'll be downloading some onto my iPod this weekend. Despite the great seats, I spent most of the show on my feet dancing. It's amazing to think that my mum saw them in concert 40+ years ago!

Wednesday 12 April - simply magic
Run: 30mins

I crawled into bed last night after the Stones concert at 1am and somehow managed to drag my butt out of bed at 5.30am for a run. How dedicated am I? And how glad I am that I did...

This morning's run was simply magic. I ran from home along Middle Head Road to the start of the trail. Just as I arrived at the start of the trail, the sun was just passing through the horizon, framed perfectly by Sydney Heads. Simply spectacular. It was a clear, still morning - simply beautiful. I stopped and watched until the sun had passed through the horizon and then carried on along the trail. Did I mention that I just lurve running trails? A perfect start to the day.

After work I took myself off to Easy Tiger for a massage (now known as Tiger's House of Pain & Insults). My hip flexors are "crap" apparently. Tell me something I don't know ;-) Lulu, I'm sorry to say that v. few paw prints have emerged. He'll have to try harder next time...

Thursday 13 April - a scenic night...
Rest day

A much needed rest day after the last few days. Luckily I was able to rehydrate at CR drinks. I got there at about 7.30pm after heading out to see Saint Andrew. Another fun night with a great group of people. Fortunately (for me) I managed to make it home at a reasonable hour by throwing myself at a taxi when Rob & Marty's backs were turned...

Friday 14 April - a really rusty run...
Run: 25mins

I went to bed last night thinking - woohoo: nothing to do for the next 4 days except eat, sleep and train. Unfortunately after my first sleep-in in about 3 months, I woke up feeling tired, dehydrated, headachy. Crap basically (and no, it was thanks to last night's alcohol consumption). So after some breakfast, a few drugs & lots of water, I dragged myself out for a run around the oval...

After the beating my body took on Wednesday night at Tiger's House of Pain & Insults, I decided to head to the oval for today's run. Another reason is the fact that I'm starting to get really bored by the flat routes around home. After 4 months off, I really do believe that "any run is a good run" but today's session was a v. good impersonation of a crap run. I struggled today. Really struggled. Felt fat, heavy, tired, dehydrated & crap. But it's done. Now someone pass me some chocolate....

Back-to-back baby !

Activity: Yes, you guessed it - another run!
Time: 5.50am
Duration: 20mins
Mood: WOOHOO!

And another first! The first time I've run on consecutive days post-injury.

Up early for another 20mins around the oval for an easy run after yesterday's long run. Today the sprinklers were on when I got to the oval (another first!) so I spent my 20mins side-stepping my way around the sprinklers in a manner that Benji Marshall would have been proud of. My legs felt great during the run though a little more beaten up as the day progressed.

Cancelled my session with Satan at lunch today and instead had lunch with The Owl.

I'm really bummed about the cancellation of spin classes but Mr Jen today has agreed to let me stick a bike rack on the top of the car. Maybe it's time to start shopping for a bike...

Have I mentioned that I'm one happy gal ??

:-)

PS. I have just bought myself a new lil toy. More details to follow once her due date is confirmed.... :-)

An update...

* apologies again - another v. long post*

Sunday 2 April - finally.... on a trail again!
Run: 30mins

I think I was born to run on trails. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it.

Once most of the Ironman field had passed through transition after the swim leg, Lulu, the Owl & I set out to run a small trail/boardwalk path along a canal in Port Macquarie that Minersrun had pointed out to us the day before.

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous before this run because I had run on nothing but dead flat surfaces since my comeback so I wasn't sure how TPC (or any other body part) would respond. I'm absolutely estatic to say that TPC was v. happy to be back on a trail again. It was largely flat with a few small 'rises'. They were really speed humps in the scheme of things but for me, to be able to run (a) on a trail again and (b) up and down these "rises" without a problem was simply the best! Any rumours to the effect that I was running along singing "I'm running on a trail, I'm running on a trail" are denied ;-)

Ended up doing 30mins (my longest run so far!) before the Owl & I found a patch of grass to stretch on while we waited for Lulu to return from her run (she did an extra 20mins). This was also the first time that the 3 of us had run together - not to mention the fact that it was the longest run for each of us - since our various injuries & illnesses; it was wonderful to run with the gals again. Look out - the girls are back. Happy days :-)

Monday 3 April - a date with a Saint
Rest day

Had an appointment with Saint Andrew at 8.15am to go through my x-rays and the results of the various tests. Made for v. interesting reading. I won't go through all the details for fear of attracting blog-porn but will say that I've got a few issues with my lower back & pelvis which no doubt contributed to (and perhaps caused) my problems with TPC. I've got some work to do but it's nice to finally get to the bottom (no pun intended) of the problem.

Too stuffed after our weekend in Port Macquarie to do anything else but lay on the loungeroom floor doing stretches in front of the TV.

Tuesday 4 April - running again!
Run: 20mins

20mins around the oval today. Legs felt heavy & dead to start with but I was able to pick up the pace in the second half. A very satisfying run.

Wednesday 5 April - a date with Satan
30mins weights

As you may remember, I had set myself the goal of returning to spin class on April 19 - 2 weeks away - but you wouldn't guess it: 2 weeks away from returning to spin classes after 6+ months off, I discovered today that my gym has decided to dump spin classes. Grrrrrr. I have been thinking about buying a bike for a while now. Looks like I will have to now. Grrrr.

Saw Satan tonight for a lower body and core/abs session (30mins). Very tough. I haven't done much core work in the last week and I really noticed it.

Thursday 6 April - should have stayed in bed....
Rest day

I had planned a run this morning. Instead it became a rest day when:

(a) I got up, after hitting snooze several times; got changed into my running gear only to discover that the pilot light in the hot water system had gone out in the high winds Sydney experienced overnight so there was no hot water (on Sydney's first cool morning this autumn). Now the idea of a cold shower was bad enough - there was no way on earth I was going to wash my hair in cold water. So I took off my shoes and climbed back into bed.

(b) I should have stayed in bed. I left my backpack on the bus. I think pretty good evidence of the fact that I am a runner was my first thought was "OMG, my orthotics are in there! I can't run until I get it back". LOL.

Thankfully I was able to pick up my bag after work. Also saw Saint Andrew this evening. For a rest day, it was pretty eventful.

Friday 7 April - another run!
Run: 25mins

Sunday's run gave me a lot of confidence so after Tuesday's flat run, I decided it was time to again test myself over a slightly rolling course. Almost 15mins along a road with a few slight rises before heading home via a flat road. TPC was a little bit funky today - it felt like it wasn't tracking properly but not in the way I had problems with her last year. Lots of stretches and ice afterwards.

Saturday 8 April - a dangerous combination: a hangover, dehydration & Satan...
30mins weights

TPC (& the rest of me) pulled up very well after yesterday's run - woohoo!!

Arrived at the gym today with a slight hangover after a rather big night. As always, a tough session, which was not helped by my 'state'. An upper body session consisting of:
* assisted chin-ups
* prone hold with toes on a ball*
* reverse bentover flyes
* single arm shoulder press standing on the opposite leg
* crunches,
repeated 3 times. Nasty.

* BTW, with thanks to RW, this is the exercise I described as a prone hold with toes on a swiss ball - except that Satan makes me hang out in the position for 2+mins! (yikes!)



Sunday 9 April - a return to the Bay...

Geez, this has been a long post. Sorry.

My thoughts this weekend have been with so many of friends competing in various events in Canberra. This is the second year I've missed Canberra - this time last year I was in South America (Santiago, Chile to be precise) and this year I had a close friend's wedding to attend last night & a bridesmaid's dress shopping expedition today!

For a change of scenery, I headed over to the Bay this morning for my long run. The last time I ran at the Bay was not a happy affair. It was the v. last run I did before hanging up my (then) Brooks for 4 months. I literally hobbled to the 2kms mark (stopping several times to stretch) before turning around & walking back to the car. Thankfully today's run was a little less painful!

Ended up running for 37mins with 2 stops - once to stretch my calves & shins which protested for the first half of the run and again to loosen my shoelaces - my (new) longest run since my comeback! Woohoo! A beautiful morning at the Bay though not particularly scenic ;-) It seems my cardio fitness is well ahead of my (running) leg strength at the moment. My legs felt dead the whole way but it wasn't until the last 10mins that my cardio-system felt like it started to work - but those last 10mins were tough. Thankfully there was no sign of the tracking problem from Friday. Really pleased with my run but v. happy to finish :-)

Even with a couple of hours on my feet today whilst bridesmaid dress shopping, my legs are feeling a little tired but not too badly beaten up. I am one happy chicky right now :-)

The week ahead - another v. busy week!
Monday: 20min run & sessions with Satan and Saint Andrew
Tuesday: walk + Rolling Stones concert!
Wednesday: 30min run + massage
Thursday: rest & session with Saint Andrew
Friday: 25mins run
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 40min run

The CR cheersquad hits the road....

Forgive me bloggers for I have sinned - life has been far too busy this week to blog...

* long post warning *

I am really tempted just to put links in to my fellow cheersquader's blogs but I won't...

Saturday 1 April - time for a road trip

What a long day and a fantastic start to the weekend. Was on a train at 6.12am (OMG) in order to get to Pennant Hills station around 7am where Go Girl was waiting to pick The Owl and I up for the start of our road trip up to Port Macquarie for the IM event on Sunday.


Look out Port Macquarie!

A fun trip - 2 stops for food (we are hungry girls!) and lots of laughter & gossip. Sorry, what is said in the car, stays in the car ;-) Just over 4 hours later, we arrived in beautiful Port Macquarie & settled into our room at a lovely B&B. Not long after, the local & soon-to-be-Ironman, Minersrun arrived to show us around town & catch up over lunch. We then headed down to the Expo so Miner's could check his bike in & we could check out the sights ;-) Oh yeah, and do some shopping! I bought a fuel belt - my first. On the way back to our B&B, we stopped to eat a Magnum at a beautiful look-out...


Go Girl, Minersrun & The Owl

and, in the process, interrupted one romantic interlude and a marriage proposal! (she said yes BTW!)


Yours truly, Minersrun & The Owl

It was then back to our B&B to await the arrival of Lulu and Mr Lulu (Wine Trail Runner). A walk down to the very windy (and quite chilly) beach -


Lulu, Go Girl & The Owl - told you it was windy!

- a glass (or two) of vino, and a lovely dinner with great friends, great food & great wine followed. Eventually crawled into bed at about 10pm - daylight savings chose a perfect weekend to end; I really needed the extra sleep!

Sunday 2 April - Ironman Port Macquarie

Despite getting up early for what turned out to be breakfast no.1 of the day, we actually kind of missed the start of the IM. Ok, we saw lots of people in the water before the start & then lots of white-water after the gun went off but we weren't quite in place. Opps.

After that lil stuff-up, we took up position at the end of the transition area and managed to position ourselves just in front of the pros bikes. Bonus points Cheersquad.


The Cheersquad in action: L-R: Me, WTR, Lulu, Go Girl & The Owl...

After we gave Minersrun a cheer, Go Girl and WTR set off on their long run while The Owl & I waited for (amongst others) Queen Bee to get out of transition. The Owl & I then walked back to the car in order to set off on our own run with Lulu (more about that later...)


A photo for Lulu ;-)

Lulu, The Owl & I then headed back to our B&B for a shower & breakfast no.2. The bike leg passed very close to our B&B so we spent an hour or so cheering on the competitors. Managed to see Minersrun here twice. The competitors certainly seemed to appreciate our efforts. We then all bundled into the car and headed into town for lunch. It's v. important when cheering at such a long event to keep your fuel and hydration levels up ;-)


The Owl (with pom-poms) in front of the Hastings Owl Centre :-)

After lunch we moved into position near Flynn's Beach where we spent most of the afternoon cheering the run leg which was so much fun. It is such an incredible event. Several people said to me that after seeing it, I would be inspired to do an IM one day. I left feeling v. inspired but not to do an IM in this life, or the next one baby. Sheer and utter madness if you ask me - but you gotta admire and respect the ones that do!

Once Minersrun passed us heading out on his second and last lap (looking much stronger than on his first lap), the cheersquad bundled into the car once more to head down to the finish to stake out a spot to watch the finish. Once Minersrun had finished just before 7pm, we quickly left the finish & headed into town for dinner. I always feel guilty about leaving people out on the course when I'm cheering. I don't know why.

After a quick dinner, Go Girl, The Owl & I bundled into the car for the long drive home, keeping each other awake by telling all sorts of secrets and stories (again, what's said in the car....). The girls dropped me home about 1am and I crawled (quite literally) into bed not much later.

An exhausting but fantastic & inspiring weekend spent with great friends :-)