AM: Back to the oval which is slowly drying out for an easy 20mins - 2.96kms in 20:02mins (aver 6:45min/kms). Tried to focus on changing my technique as suggested by ET to land on my forefoot rather than my heel as I currently do. A few niggles here & there despite the week off. The arch of my left foot in particular was pretty tight during the course of the day.
PM: Back to the gym for a quick upper body weights session - circuit of:
* reverse dumbell flyes
* single arm cable rows
* barbell bicep curls
* single arm supine tricep extensions
* lat pulldowns,
repeated twice followed by 20mins stretching by lower body.
Total for July is 123.87kms. Off to see ET for a massage tomorrow. I've still got some "discomfort" in my lower legs. This is supposed to be my last week of building before slowly tapering for W2B but we'll see....
BTW, I forgot to mention yesterday. I cut most of my hair off on Saturday. Well, I didn't. My hairdresser did. I had been growing it for the big "W". So instead I decided to cut it off. Glad I did. Let's just say the back of my neck is seeing the light of day for the first time in about 20 years...Happy days.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Sunday, July 30, 2006
But why is the rum gone?
Thanks to the PG for checking up on me :-) I've just been feeling sick, tired & rundown this week...
Gronk asked about my "tib-ants" the other day. For anyone interested, this is what I'm referring to. It's primarily responsible (as I understand it) for dorsal flexion - flexing your foot (toes) up towards your body.
Friday morning I went to a breakfast where the speaker was Dr Fiona Wood. An incredible, passionate & inspiring woman.
Today (Sunday) in lieu of my long run, I spent 3 hours sitting on my windtrainer in my loungeroom at 65%-75% of my max HR for the first 2.5 hours, before increasing the workload up to 80% for the last 30mins. Distracted myself from my ever increasing sore butt by watching the first Pirates movie & then a DVD on the 99 TdF. Someone remind me to get a women's seat for my bike before doing that again...
Fingers crossed, the week ahead should look like this:
Mon: run (20mins easy on the oval) & upper body weights
Tues: rest (massage)
Wed: run
Thur: pilates & spin
Fri: run
Sat: yoga
Sun: run - hopefully if my tib-ants come to the party - 27kms at the Royal National Park with Nando, Rags, Go Girl, Owly et al...
Gronk asked about my "tib-ants" the other day. For anyone interested, this is what I'm referring to. It's primarily responsible (as I understand it) for dorsal flexion - flexing your foot (toes) up towards your body.
Friday morning I went to a breakfast where the speaker was Dr Fiona Wood. An incredible, passionate & inspiring woman.
Today (Sunday) in lieu of my long run, I spent 3 hours sitting on my windtrainer in my loungeroom at 65%-75% of my max HR for the first 2.5 hours, before increasing the workload up to 80% for the last 30mins. Distracted myself from my ever increasing sore butt by watching the first Pirates movie & then a DVD on the 99 TdF. Someone remind me to get a women's seat for my bike before doing that again...
Fingers crossed, the week ahead should look like this:
Mon: run (20mins easy on the oval) & upper body weights
Tues: rest (massage)
Wed: run
Thur: pilates & spin
Fri: run
Sat: yoga
Sun: run - hopefully if my tib-ants come to the party - 27kms at the Royal National Park with Nando, Rags, Go Girl, Owly et al...
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Blah
Feeling tired & flat at the moment - fighting off a cold. Another 60mins on the bike this morning in the gym - 25.46kms. Resting before Sunday's long freaking ride...
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Ring my bell
Monday 23 July
Rest day – 30mins stretching.
Tuesday 24 July
Spent a delightful hour with ET at lunch today. I’m sure he is as sick of my freaking tib-ants as I am.
After work, I headed to the gym for 60mins on the bike (25.64kms) watching, of all things, Max’s “Loving the 80’s” music clips – including Collette’s "Ring my Bell" and the Stone’s video clip for “Start Me Up” featuring Keith R actually looking human and bad lip synching from Mick wearing bad tight white pants. Oh dear. I think I need therapy now.... Finished with 30mins of stretching.
Another session on the bike in the gym on Thursday before spending 3 freaking hours on the windtrainer in lieu of an LSD run on Sunday.
I have more news - this time it's good!
1. I have (finally) entered City 2 Surf. Looking forward to running my C2S no.2 with Owly again.
2. I have booked myself a not-so-little holiday! It's not until April next year (so I will miss Warwick next year - my re-match with that little “hill” will have to wait until 2008). Where am I off to I hear you ask? Oh I’m just ducking over to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras :-) :-)
Rest day – 30mins stretching.
Tuesday 24 July
Spent a delightful hour with ET at lunch today. I’m sure he is as sick of my freaking tib-ants as I am.
After work, I headed to the gym for 60mins on the bike (25.64kms) watching, of all things, Max’s “Loving the 80’s” music clips – including Collette’s "Ring my Bell" and the Stone’s video clip for “Start Me Up” featuring Keith R actually looking human and bad lip synching from Mick wearing bad tight white pants. Oh dear. I think I need therapy now.... Finished with 30mins of stretching.
Another session on the bike in the gym on Thursday before spending 3 freaking hours on the windtrainer in lieu of an LSD run on Sunday.
I have more news - this time it's good!
1. I have (finally) entered City 2 Surf. Looking forward to running my C2S no.2 with Owly again.
2. I have booked myself a not-so-little holiday! It's not until April next year (so I will miss Warwick next year - my re-match with that little “hill” will have to wait until 2008). Where am I off to I hear you ask? Oh I’m just ducking over to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras :-) :-)
Red red wine...
Sunday 23 July
After toast at 6am I crawled back into bed & Go Girl and I chatted for another 45mins before it was time to get up & get ready before meeting Rags to walk down to the start. There were 2 hot air balloons firing up in the paddock not far from our front door which had just taken off & were floating overhead as we walked down to the start. I had expected the weather to be rather chilly but Sunday morning was beautiful and mild.
It was about this time that the ‘disorder’ of the day started. Much has been written on CR about this race so I won’t repeat it here – suffice to say that for a maiden event, problems were to be expected but some of the problems (for example, the Half being 2kms short & the full marathon 4kms short) were simply unacceptable. This race has great potential – the HV Gardens is a perfect venue for race HQ and the start/finish; the course was beautiful but tough and then there are the wineries in the area! I felt very sorry for anyone who had picked this race as a target event. Luckily for GG and I, we had decided to relax, cruise & enjoy the marathon relay.
I took the first leg while GG was on child sitting duties. The plan for me was to treat it as a LSD run, meaning my usual LSD pace – 7min/kms. Of course, everyone took off and soon I was at the back of the pack (read: last) and that was even before my tib-ants started to complain. I had to stop and stretch them several times in the first 3kms. At about the 5kms mark, I stopped to walk and found that I actually had no control over my foot. I couldn’t flex it. Mmmm. At this point I started to contemplate a Strategic Withdrawal (read: Doing Nothing Fatal) but with GG relying on me, there was no choice but to continue. Ultimately I decided that I was going to finish the freaking race if I had to walk the whole freaking way.
Thankfully my tib-ants started to shut-up (or they became so numb I couldn’t feel them anymore….) at about the 8kms mark, just before the climb up the “hill” to the Audrey Willkinson vineyard. That was one nasty hill. Check out the spike in the elevation thingy below. The signs “We’re really sorry” and (closer to the top) “See, it wasn’t really that bad” lightened the mood a touch. Up until this point, there was a woman in front of me who I had been keeping an eye on – at each turn around we gave each other a cheer as we went past each other. My hill sessions on L'alpe d'Huez are clearly paying off – she had a good lead on me as I reached the bottom of the hill but I managed to overtake her powerwalking up the hill! Unfortunately I had to stop at the top of the hill for a toilet break so she took the lead again. Thanks to the Audrey Willkinson winery who let me use their facilities inside the cellardoor. And no, I didn’t stop to sample any vino while I was there.
From there on, I was able to run quite comfortably – well, apart from the short, sharp hills which I walked. It really was a beautiful & tough course which I enjoyed once my legs decided to co-operate. I finally caught my "prey" & passed her for the final time at about the 14kms mark. As I came down towards the finishline I was directed towards the finishline, despite the fact that Garmin Elektra was only showing 19kms. I was a bit worried as I’d got caught up with people in the walk but after checking with every official I came across, I was directed towards the finishline where Rags was waiting for me. I found GG, gave her a cuddle, warned her about the hills in the second half of the run & she was off. GG had her own troubles with the course it seems but notwithstanding that, the hills & running her maiden marathon only 3 weeks ago, GG ran a blistering 1:45 – given us a team total of 3:58mins for the marathon. My first sub-4 marathon finish ;-)
What I love about running is the camaraderie. My "prey" during the race tracked me down afterwards; we had a cuddle & thanked each other for the company & support out there during the race (we were a long way behind anyone else).
Accordingly to Garmin Elektra I did 19.25kms in 2:13:13 – average pace of 6:55min/kms. Given I stopped to stretch my tib-ants about 6 or 7 times, walked all of the steeper hills & made not 1 but 2 toilet stops, that average pace isn’t quite accurate…
Here is the elevation thingy for the run:
Told you there were some short sharp hills!
After heading back to our hotel to shower & pack (thank you late check out), GG & I met Rags & M again for lunch – not to mention a glass of a very nice 2000 Shiraz that GG & I won (thankfully we stuck around for the v. disorganised presentation ceremony) before moving onto another café for afternoon tea (yes, food was up there with running as the theme of the weekend) before heading home (via Tempus Two….) ;-)
I pulled up very well from my run. No muscle soreness whatsoever; my tib-ants however are a problem. Notwithstanding that I’ve only got 2 weeks of base work before I start tapering for W2B, I’m taking a week off running. Yes, they are that bad. I haven’t been enjoying my running for weeks because of them. I’ll do all my cardio sessions this week on the bike instead before (hopefully) getting back into the running next week. Fingers crossed….
Total for July: 120.91kms
Edit: the results are in. Go Girl & I won the 2 person women's marathon relay in 3:59:33. My first bling!
After toast at 6am I crawled back into bed & Go Girl and I chatted for another 45mins before it was time to get up & get ready before meeting Rags to walk down to the start. There were 2 hot air balloons firing up in the paddock not far from our front door which had just taken off & were floating overhead as we walked down to the start. I had expected the weather to be rather chilly but Sunday morning was beautiful and mild.
It was about this time that the ‘disorder’ of the day started. Much has been written on CR about this race so I won’t repeat it here – suffice to say that for a maiden event, problems were to be expected but some of the problems (for example, the Half being 2kms short & the full marathon 4kms short) were simply unacceptable. This race has great potential – the HV Gardens is a perfect venue for race HQ and the start/finish; the course was beautiful but tough and then there are the wineries in the area! I felt very sorry for anyone who had picked this race as a target event. Luckily for GG and I, we had decided to relax, cruise & enjoy the marathon relay.
I took the first leg while GG was on child sitting duties. The plan for me was to treat it as a LSD run, meaning my usual LSD pace – 7min/kms. Of course, everyone took off and soon I was at the back of the pack (read: last) and that was even before my tib-ants started to complain. I had to stop and stretch them several times in the first 3kms. At about the 5kms mark, I stopped to walk and found that I actually had no control over my foot. I couldn’t flex it. Mmmm. At this point I started to contemplate a Strategic Withdrawal (read: Doing Nothing Fatal) but with GG relying on me, there was no choice but to continue. Ultimately I decided that I was going to finish the freaking race if I had to walk the whole freaking way.
Thankfully my tib-ants started to shut-up (or they became so numb I couldn’t feel them anymore….) at about the 8kms mark, just before the climb up the “hill” to the Audrey Willkinson vineyard. That was one nasty hill. Check out the spike in the elevation thingy below. The signs “We’re really sorry” and (closer to the top) “See, it wasn’t really that bad” lightened the mood a touch. Up until this point, there was a woman in front of me who I had been keeping an eye on – at each turn around we gave each other a cheer as we went past each other. My hill sessions on L'alpe d'Huez are clearly paying off – she had a good lead on me as I reached the bottom of the hill but I managed to overtake her powerwalking up the hill! Unfortunately I had to stop at the top of the hill for a toilet break so she took the lead again. Thanks to the Audrey Willkinson winery who let me use their facilities inside the cellardoor. And no, I didn’t stop to sample any vino while I was there.
From there on, I was able to run quite comfortably – well, apart from the short, sharp hills which I walked. It really was a beautiful & tough course which I enjoyed once my legs decided to co-operate. I finally caught my "prey" & passed her for the final time at about the 14kms mark. As I came down towards the finishline I was directed towards the finishline, despite the fact that Garmin Elektra was only showing 19kms. I was a bit worried as I’d got caught up with people in the walk but after checking with every official I came across, I was directed towards the finishline where Rags was waiting for me. I found GG, gave her a cuddle, warned her about the hills in the second half of the run & she was off. GG had her own troubles with the course it seems but notwithstanding that, the hills & running her maiden marathon only 3 weeks ago, GG ran a blistering 1:45 – given us a team total of 3:58mins for the marathon. My first sub-4 marathon finish ;-)
What I love about running is the camaraderie. My "prey" during the race tracked me down afterwards; we had a cuddle & thanked each other for the company & support out there during the race (we were a long way behind anyone else).
Accordingly to Garmin Elektra I did 19.25kms in 2:13:13 – average pace of 6:55min/kms. Given I stopped to stretch my tib-ants about 6 or 7 times, walked all of the steeper hills & made not 1 but 2 toilet stops, that average pace isn’t quite accurate…
Here is the elevation thingy for the run:
Told you there were some short sharp hills!
After heading back to our hotel to shower & pack (thank you late check out), GG & I met Rags & M again for lunch – not to mention a glass of a very nice 2000 Shiraz that GG & I won (thankfully we stuck around for the v. disorganised presentation ceremony) before moving onto another café for afternoon tea (yes, food was up there with running as the theme of the weekend) before heading home (via Tempus Two….) ;-)
I pulled up very well from my run. No muscle soreness whatsoever; my tib-ants however are a problem. Notwithstanding that I’ve only got 2 weeks of base work before I start tapering for W2B, I’m taking a week off running. Yes, they are that bad. I haven’t been enjoying my running for weeks because of them. I’ll do all my cardio sessions this week on the bike instead before (hopefully) getting back into the running next week. Fingers crossed….
Total for July: 120.91kms
Edit: the results are in. Go Girl & I won the 2 person women's marathon relay in 3:59:33. My first bling!
Monday, July 24, 2006
But it's the best I can do...
Friday 21 July
Ran to work again this morning, this time taking a slightly longer route through North Sydney. My tibs-ants continue to complain loudly - so much so that at one point early in the run I was stopping almost every 500m to stretch them. Not happy Jan. Once the numbness set in, I continued on my not-so-merry way; my legs felt really heavy & unco today. Finished with 9.45kms in 58:49mins (aver pace 6:13min/kms).
MTD: 101.66kms - my biggest month ever!
Saturday 22 July
After a rather long Friday afternoon - I had a client lunch until 7pm and then headed off to dinner for my best friend's birthday - I woke up Saturday morning feeling rather, um, dehydrated, tired, emotional and disorganised given that I had to be at Pennant Hills to meet Go Girl for our road trip to the Hunter Valley at 12.30 & hadn't even thought about what I needed for the weekend. Somehow I got my butt organised and to Pennant Hills just before Go Girl arrived.
After a stop or two on the drive up, we arrived at the Hunter Valley Gardens, race HQ, just before 3.30pm to pick up our race kit. We bumped briefly into Miners for a quick chat before joining Rags and his lovely wife M for afternoon tea. After a wander around & checking in to our hotel, GG and I joined Rags and M again for dinner at the pub and a glass (yes Miners, just one) of wine before an early night.
Ran to work again this morning, this time taking a slightly longer route through North Sydney. My tibs-ants continue to complain loudly - so much so that at one point early in the run I was stopping almost every 500m to stretch them. Not happy Jan. Once the numbness set in, I continued on my not-so-merry way; my legs felt really heavy & unco today. Finished with 9.45kms in 58:49mins (aver pace 6:13min/kms).
MTD: 101.66kms - my biggest month ever!
Saturday 22 July
After a rather long Friday afternoon - I had a client lunch until 7pm and then headed off to dinner for my best friend's birthday - I woke up Saturday morning feeling rather, um, dehydrated, tired, emotional and disorganised given that I had to be at Pennant Hills to meet Go Girl for our road trip to the Hunter Valley at 12.30 & hadn't even thought about what I needed for the weekend. Somehow I got my butt organised and to Pennant Hills just before Go Girl arrived.
After a stop or two on the drive up, we arrived at the Hunter Valley Gardens, race HQ, just before 3.30pm to pick up our race kit. We bumped briefly into Miners for a quick chat before joining Rags and his lovely wife M for afternoon tea. After a wander around & checking in to our hotel, GG and I joined Rags and M again for dinner at the pub and a glass (yes Miners, just one) of wine before an early night.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Non-taper club
No taper for me either (following on from Miner's lead). I'm treating Sunday's marathon relay - and my first Half - as an LSD run (with an emphasis on the "S"). I just hope Go Girl has a blinder to make up for my v-e-r-y s-l-o-w contribution to our team. It's funny how things change - late last year I was building up for my first Half. That didn't happen - it will on Sunday - but I won't be tapering for it because I have bigger fish to fry...
AM: My body is starting to complain about the increase in mileage. My tibs ants in particular are not enjoying my sessions at the moment. But I've only got 3 (4 max) long runs before I start tapering for W2B so I'm going to continue to (try &) ignore it and pay for Easy Tiger's children's private school education in the meantime...
If it's Wednesday, it's hills day - Alpe d'Huez to be precise. A 20mins warm-up followed by 3 reps up & down Alpe d'Huez and then a few more local hills before heading home. I haven't gotten around to timing my reps on Alpe d'Huez yet but it's about 6 mins uphill & 4mins-ish coming back down. Finished with 10.64kms in 69:33mins (6:32mins/kms).
MTD: 92.21kms
PM: Headed to the gym tonight for a weights session with Satan. I'm shifting these sessions to Monday - I think the quality of these session is starting to suffer as my Wed run gets tougher & longer. Tonight an unusual combination:
* superset of bent-over rows, bicep curls & squats, all with a 15kms barbell - 3 x sets with 30 star jumps in between each (*phew*);
* superset of push-ups, oblique exercise & crunches - 2 sets.
Off to see Saint Andrew tomorrow - hopefully he can work some magic on my tib ants before Friday's run...
AM: My body is starting to complain about the increase in mileage. My tibs ants in particular are not enjoying my sessions at the moment. But I've only got 3 (4 max) long runs before I start tapering for W2B so I'm going to continue to (try &) ignore it and pay for Easy Tiger's children's private school education in the meantime...
If it's Wednesday, it's hills day - Alpe d'Huez to be precise. A 20mins warm-up followed by 3 reps up & down Alpe d'Huez and then a few more local hills before heading home. I haven't gotten around to timing my reps on Alpe d'Huez yet but it's about 6 mins uphill & 4mins-ish coming back down. Finished with 10.64kms in 69:33mins (6:32mins/kms).
MTD: 92.21kms
PM: Headed to the gym tonight for a weights session with Satan. I'm shifting these sessions to Monday - I think the quality of these session is starting to suffer as my Wed run gets tougher & longer. Tonight an unusual combination:
* superset of bent-over rows, bicep curls & squats, all with a 15kms barbell - 3 x sets with 30 star jumps in between each (*phew*);
* superset of push-ups, oblique exercise & crunches - 2 sets.
Off to see Saint Andrew tomorrow - hopefully he can work some magic on my tib ants before Friday's run...
Monday, July 17, 2006
Easy does it
Feeling pretty beaten up after yesterday's run. A v. rusty 20mins (2.73kms) around the swamp that is my local oval at the moment, followed by an extra 10mins stretches (ie 40mins in total).
MTD: 81.57kms
Didn't make it out of the office in time for yoga :-(
MTD: 81.57kms
Didn't make it out of the office in time for yoga :-(
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Buns of steel
Saturday 15 July
A sleep-in this morning followed by probably the toughest GRC Pilates class I've ever done (using the Reformer machines). Bloody hell, my glutes continued to complain about it hours after the event. Luckily the rest of my day was spent seated at a l-o-n-g & slightly boozy lunch with 2 of my favourite (female) clients who I have known & lunched with for years.
Sunday 16 July
I have never had glutes as sore as they are this morning. After another sleep-in, I finally set out for my long run at about 9.30am. The plan was to do 21kms incorporating heading out & back along the trail from Middle Head to Sirius Cove (including running up & back down Athol Wharf Rd to the zoo car park not once but twice just for fun - elevation gain of something like 50mins in just over a km).
Well that was the plan. The first 35mins were quite simply hell with both of my tib-ants & my left arch complaining loudly. Once they settled down, 2 sections of the trail were closed. And then Garmin Elektra starting having a tantie (she is a redhead after all) or maybe it was PMS. The signal dropped out and then started producing km splits like 17mins, then 30mins then (wait for it) 48sec! In the end I decided to ignore her & just run for 2hr 30mins.
According to SportsTracks, I did 20.36kms but looking at it in Gmaps, it was probably closer to 22.79kms so I'm going to take that (in 2:33:16).
Still got some lower leg "issues" to sort out but there was no sign of my piriformis (which I've been ignoring lately). Or maybe it was just masked by the pain coming from my glutes...
WTD: 43.94kms (my biggest so far!)
MTD: 78.84kms
Week ahead:
Mon: easy/recovery 30mins around the oval + Yoga
Tues: massage
Wed: 70mins run (hills) + weights session with Satan
Thur: Saint Andrew
Fri: 60mins run
Sat: GRC Pilates class then a road trip to the Hunter Valley with Go Girl!
Sun: my first kind-of-official Half as part of a marathon relay with Go Girl at the Hunter Valley running festival!
A sleep-in this morning followed by probably the toughest GRC Pilates class I've ever done (using the Reformer machines). Bloody hell, my glutes continued to complain about it hours after the event. Luckily the rest of my day was spent seated at a l-o-n-g & slightly boozy lunch with 2 of my favourite (female) clients who I have known & lunched with for years.
Sunday 16 July
I have never had glutes as sore as they are this morning. After another sleep-in, I finally set out for my long run at about 9.30am. The plan was to do 21kms incorporating heading out & back along the trail from Middle Head to Sirius Cove (including running up & back down Athol Wharf Rd to the zoo car park not once but twice just for fun - elevation gain of something like 50mins in just over a km).
Well that was the plan. The first 35mins were quite simply hell with both of my tib-ants & my left arch complaining loudly. Once they settled down, 2 sections of the trail were closed. And then Garmin Elektra starting having a tantie (she is a redhead after all) or maybe it was PMS. The signal dropped out and then started producing km splits like 17mins, then 30mins then (wait for it) 48sec! In the end I decided to ignore her & just run for 2hr 30mins.
According to SportsTracks, I did 20.36kms but looking at it in Gmaps, it was probably closer to 22.79kms so I'm going to take that (in 2:33:16).
Still got some lower leg "issues" to sort out but there was no sign of my piriformis (which I've been ignoring lately). Or maybe it was just masked by the pain coming from my glutes...
WTD: 43.94kms (my biggest so far!)
MTD: 78.84kms
Week ahead:
Mon: easy/recovery 30mins around the oval + Yoga
Tues: massage
Wed: 70mins run (hills) + weights session with Satan
Thur: Saint Andrew
Fri: 60mins run
Sat: GRC Pilates class then a road trip to the Hunter Valley with Go Girl!
Sun: my first kind-of-official Half as part of a marathon relay with Go Girl at the Hunter Valley running festival!
Friday, July 14, 2006
TdM
Thanks guys :-)
Wednesday 12 July - a date with L'alpe d'Huez...
AM: I have never not wanted to run as much as I did this morning. Long days, late nights & a stressful couple of weeks has left me feeling very tired at the moment. Crawling into bed at midnight after dinner & movies with my girlfriends did not help either. But a recent email from a friend came to mind & while I did think "damn W2B" at some point in time, I still dragged my tired arse out of bed. I'm glad I did. Finished with 9.2kms in 61mins (aver pace: 6:37mins/km) including 2 reps up & down Jen's Hill or L'alpe d'Huez as I decided to call it this morning. It felt like a carnival with the bootcamp group & cyclists I had to share "my" hill with this morning. I only had to ignore my hip for the last few minutes; otherwise no niggles. It was a stunning morning and so mild that I ended up taking off my long sleeve t-shirt off within about 10mins. First time I've ever run in July in a crop top. Bring on spring. I'm so sick of being cold.
PM - back to see Satan for a glute/hammies + upper body weights session with Satan at 7.30. She (thankfully) has decided to minimise the amount of work we do on my legs over the next few weeks as the mileage jumps ahead of W2B and FF. Lack of sleep & recent stresses were really starting to take their toll today. I probably didn't eat enough this afternoon which didn't help.
Thursday 13 July - rest
A bit of a sleep-in (I love it when 6am is considered a sleep-in) & a session with Saint Andrew after work but otherwise a rest day.
Friday 14 July - another sleep-in
I have been so bloody tired this week so on Wednesday night I decided to run to work this morning (as it would give me a bit more sleep). It turned out that I had an extra hours sleep & didn't end up leaving the house to head to work until 6.40am. Nice, not to mention much needed. I felt really flat & beaten up today but felt better as the session went on. The run to work is largely downhill with 3 short climbs. I finished with 8.45kms in 52:01mins (aver pace: 6:09min/km).
Massage later this afternoon with Easy Tiger to iron out a few issues in my lower legs. Still I've done more kms in the last 6 days than I ever have in a week so it's to be expected I suppose.
MTD: 56.05kms
Pilates class & long boozy lunch with clients tomorrow (yes, on a Saturday!) before my long run (21kms) run on Sunday
Wednesday 12 July - a date with L'alpe d'Huez...
AM: I have never not wanted to run as much as I did this morning. Long days, late nights & a stressful couple of weeks has left me feeling very tired at the moment. Crawling into bed at midnight after dinner & movies with my girlfriends did not help either. But a recent email from a friend came to mind & while I did think "damn W2B" at some point in time, I still dragged my tired arse out of bed. I'm glad I did. Finished with 9.2kms in 61mins (aver pace: 6:37mins/km) including 2 reps up & down Jen's Hill or L'alpe d'Huez as I decided to call it this morning. It felt like a carnival with the bootcamp group & cyclists I had to share "my" hill with this morning. I only had to ignore my hip for the last few minutes; otherwise no niggles. It was a stunning morning and so mild that I ended up taking off my long sleeve t-shirt off within about 10mins. First time I've ever run in July in a crop top. Bring on spring. I'm so sick of being cold.
PM - back to see Satan for a glute/hammies + upper body weights session with Satan at 7.30. She (thankfully) has decided to minimise the amount of work we do on my legs over the next few weeks as the mileage jumps ahead of W2B and FF. Lack of sleep & recent stresses were really starting to take their toll today. I probably didn't eat enough this afternoon which didn't help.
Thursday 13 July - rest
A bit of a sleep-in (I love it when 6am is considered a sleep-in) & a session with Saint Andrew after work but otherwise a rest day.
Friday 14 July - another sleep-in
I have been so bloody tired this week so on Wednesday night I decided to run to work this morning (as it would give me a bit more sleep). It turned out that I had an extra hours sleep & didn't end up leaving the house to head to work until 6.40am. Nice, not to mention much needed. I felt really flat & beaten up today but felt better as the session went on. The run to work is largely downhill with 3 short climbs. I finished with 8.45kms in 52:01mins (aver pace: 6:09min/km).
Massage later this afternoon with Easy Tiger to iron out a few issues in my lower legs. Still I've done more kms in the last 6 days than I ever have in a week so it's to be expected I suppose.
MTD: 56.05kms
Pilates class & long boozy lunch with clients tomorrow (yes, on a Saturday!) before my long run (21kms) run on Sunday
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Livestrong
Life has been a rollercoaster, both personally and professionally, over the last week or so.
My trip to the Gold Coast for the GCM was fantastic. Was that really only 10 days ago? Thanks so much to Cirque for her company, advice, transportation to and from the airport & alcohol. Someone remind me to drink less wine & get more sleep next year ;-) It was lovely to catch up with so many people and cheer on all my friends. Congrats to Go Girl in particular for running a sensational debut marathon in 3.44 I think. Must have been the hat ;-) I will write a "cheering" report at some stage but today is not the day.
Professionally work is horrendous with several partners in our team on leave at the moment. Even my usually unflappable, calm & relaxed boss asked me the day if I realised just how bad work was going to be over the next few weeks ("murder" was actually the word he used). Looking forward to it. Not.
My training has been going well – let’s see:
Saturday 1 July
An easy 3.66kms (aver pace 6:35min/km) up & down the beach near our hotel at the Gold Coast. My tib-ants were still rather unhappy after W2G the week before
Wednesday 5 July
AM: 5.98kms near home in 37:24mins (aver pace 6:15mins/km). Let’s see – I rolled my ankle, broke the zipper on my jacket & pulled up earlier than the 40mins I had planned because I felt like I was about to throw my non-existent stomach contents up. Apart from that, my tib-ants were fine & there were no niggles.
PM: a (largely) upper body session with Satan. Really bloody tough.
Friday 7 July
I decided I pull my finger out & spend some quality time on the hills near home. Did 5.61kms near home in 37:23mins (aver pace 6:39min/km). Included one rep up & down what is now called “Jen’s Hill” which has a nasty elevation gain of close to 100m in just under a km. A surprising session given how little I’d eaten this week & how little hill work I’ve done, I felt pretty good – but needless to say, I’ve got lots of work to do before W2B
Sunday 9 July
Home to my folks place at Penriff for some TLC. Headed out Sunday morning with the plan of doing 18kms but ended up doing 19.63kms in 2:15:12 (aver pace 6:53min/kms). My longest run by myself to date. A pretty good run; very easy from a cardio perspective. Unfortunately my hip right started playing up at the 11kms mark. But I managed to ignore it for the last 15kms of W2G so I’m sure I can ignore it for another 7 weeks ;-)
Monday 10 July
An easy/recovery 3.5kms in 25mins (aver pace 7:11min/kms) around the very soggy oval near home this morning. Still ignoring my hip.
MTD: 38.40kms
In other (personal) news, Mr Jen_runs & I broke up last week. Thanks to the PG for their unconditional love & support - you guys rock. And yes 2P, my chin is fine ;-)
My trip to the Gold Coast for the GCM was fantastic. Was that really only 10 days ago? Thanks so much to Cirque for her company, advice, transportation to and from the airport & alcohol. Someone remind me to drink less wine & get more sleep next year ;-) It was lovely to catch up with so many people and cheer on all my friends. Congrats to Go Girl in particular for running a sensational debut marathon in 3.44 I think. Must have been the hat ;-) I will write a "cheering" report at some stage but today is not the day.
Professionally work is horrendous with several partners in our team on leave at the moment. Even my usually unflappable, calm & relaxed boss asked me the day if I realised just how bad work was going to be over the next few weeks ("murder" was actually the word he used). Looking forward to it. Not.
My training has been going well – let’s see:
Saturday 1 July
An easy 3.66kms (aver pace 6:35min/km) up & down the beach near our hotel at the Gold Coast. My tib-ants were still rather unhappy after W2G the week before
Wednesday 5 July
AM: 5.98kms near home in 37:24mins (aver pace 6:15mins/km). Let’s see – I rolled my ankle, broke the zipper on my jacket & pulled up earlier than the 40mins I had planned because I felt like I was about to throw my non-existent stomach contents up. Apart from that, my tib-ants were fine & there were no niggles.
PM: a (largely) upper body session with Satan. Really bloody tough.
Friday 7 July
I decided I pull my finger out & spend some quality time on the hills near home. Did 5.61kms near home in 37:23mins (aver pace 6:39min/km). Included one rep up & down what is now called “Jen’s Hill” which has a nasty elevation gain of close to 100m in just under a km. A surprising session given how little I’d eaten this week & how little hill work I’ve done, I felt pretty good – but needless to say, I’ve got lots of work to do before W2B
Sunday 9 July
Home to my folks place at Penriff for some TLC. Headed out Sunday morning with the plan of doing 18kms but ended up doing 19.63kms in 2:15:12 (aver pace 6:53min/kms). My longest run by myself to date. A pretty good run; very easy from a cardio perspective. Unfortunately my hip right started playing up at the 11kms mark. But I managed to ignore it for the last 15kms of W2G so I’m sure I can ignore it for another 7 weeks ;-)
Monday 10 July
An easy/recovery 3.5kms in 25mins (aver pace 7:11min/kms) around the very soggy oval near home this morning. Still ignoring my hip.
MTD: 38.40kms
In other (personal) news, Mr Jen_runs & I broke up last week. Thanks to the PG for their unconditional love & support - you guys rock. And yes 2P, my chin is fine ;-)
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