Grumpy old woman

Actually I'm not grumpy, well not that grumpy, certainly nothing a good sleep and some decent chocolate wouldn't fix anyway! I watched Grumpy Old Women on ABC TV last night - loved it! There were some feisty women on the program and I could relate to most of what they were saying. Will definitely tune in to it next week.

Yesterday was a rest day (from training) - had lunch with a friend I hadn't seen in months. Also contemplating a job change.

Today - Up at 5am and out the door at 5.15am to run for 70mins before work. It wasn't a really cold morning. Saw one cyclist and nearly bumped into another runner when turning a corner - don't know who got the biggest fright, her or me!!! I'm not the only silly person who runs at ridiculous times of the day, in the dark. Otherwise a very uneventful run - even the hills didn't bother me today (something to do with those 20 hill repeats I wonder?!). Still some twinges in L glute and hammy but calf was fine - maybe its just old age!

Best music to run to this morning - "I ain't the one" - Angels and "Zebra" - John Butler Trio.

Have entered the Bush Capital 25km run on 30 July - looking forward to it.

Will swim tonight and then have plans of going to the (gasp) gym tomorrow lunchtime and then Geoff Moore's running group after work.

20 hill repeats!

"Mia, aka Miss Hissy Fit, doing what she does best - posing!"

This evening at Speedy Geoff's running group we ran 20 hill repeats. I'd like to say that I ran them strongly and that I felt good but I would be lying. Ok, so the first couple of repeats were good and I did feel strong but that was a very fleeting feeling! There came a stage when survival was the name of the game. I think from about the 15th repeat I thought of dropping out but that stubborness I am known for meant that I hung in there until the end, when I felt like throwing up. The other goal was also to run the repeats consistently and for me that meant between 27-30secs per repeat, with a minute to get back down the hill and do it all again. Some tenderness in L hami and calf.

Swam this morning before work - 1km in 21.17min. It was a recovery swim and my stroke was a bit all over the place.

Indulged in a little bit of retail therapy at lunchtime - bought jeans, cami and cardi.

All in all a very productive day!

Next events:

• Thinking about Sri Chinmoy half marathon - 17 July
• Also thinking about Bush Capital 25km run - 30 July

Pink Betty Boop socks and a win!!!!

Event: Mt Ainslie long course, 9.3km
Group - 18
Time - 45.25min
Place - FIRST!!!!!!!!

Woke this morning feeling very stiff and tired from yesterday's efforts. A very overcast morning, about 5*C. Apparently it had rained quite a bit overnight which meant that the surface around Mt Ainslie would more than likely be muddy and slippery. Decided to wear new pink Betty Boop socks that I bought yesterday - they are so cute!!!!

Not surprisingly there was a good turnout for the monthly ACT veterans' athletics handicap run; they show up in all sorts of weather! I was in group 18 and I was eligible for points and a place this month, having run two previous races in April and May. The Mt Ainslie long course is 9.3km off-road, undulating with a huge hill near the end. Not far from the start it was extremely muddy and slippery but I found that the surface improved the further I ran, with only patches of mud to contend with. It was a very still morning, and the bush was glistening from the previous night's rain - it really was a lovely run (I just couldn't get the thought of that big hill out of my mind!).

Passed a friend, Mr B, who was returning in the short course run, and was obviously not feeling the best judging by the fact he was bending over and dry retching. He blamed it on that one drink too many the night before!!!

Was steadily passing people but everytime I looked ahead and seemed to be more groups of runners. However, after passing one guy he informed me that there were only three runners ahead of me - they looked so far away though. Concentrated on relaxing and enjoying the run (I really love running off-road but I don't do enough of it for fear of getting lost!) and before I knew I had passed those 3 runners and was heading toward that big hill with very tired legs. Its a gradual ascent and my quads were burning so much so that about halfway up the hill I gave in and walked for about 30secs, as I thought it would be quicker. Then I was off again and thank goodness the crest of the hill came into sight - it was a long run downhill after that. I had no idea who was behind me, or even how far anyone was behind me, but I was more interested in the finish line ahead of me. My first win in 9 years with the vets - yay!!! It might have something to do with my training but I think my new pink Betty Boop socks had a lot to do with it too!!!! Shame you weren't there Strewth but Roy, SpeedyGeoff, JD, JS and Mr B were there to witness it!!!

Also received a bronze medal for coming 3rd in my age group in the vets' marathon championships - part of the Canberra Marathon. Flash Duck received silver, well done! Strewth, you received gold and I'm holding it for you for when you return.

Exercise tally for the week:
Running - 4hr 51.37 (have no idea of distance)
Swimming - 3km
Cycling - zilch, zero
Gym - likewise
Yoga - Saturday

The long and winding road

Ran my long run this afternoon rather than tomorrow because I have a 9.3km Mt Ainslie race tomorrow morning. Decided to run around Lake Burley Griffin for 2hr 20min. I was a but suss about the weather - it had been threatening to rain most of the day, but it held off for the entire run. The cycle path was quite busy around Commonwealth Park and in front of the National Gallery, etc but once I got past Government House I was usually by myself. I was twice passed by a unicyclist and I marveled at the balance that must be required to stay upright pedalling!

My L hip flexor ws still niggly and near the end of the run my R calf began tightening up. I was also feeling really tired by the 2 hour mark and it took all of my willpower to continue on for another 20mins. The cycle path around the lake just seemed to go and on forever with just enough hills to provide some aggravation. It was a grey and chilly afternoon, not a lot of wind until the very end of the run when I was running into it (naturally), and a beautiful rainbow or two over the lake. Two energy gels and one bottle of sports drink on the run, followed by a fruit bar and water once I'd finished.

Its now two and a half hours since I finished the run and I'm feeling really tired and ready for bed. I'm such a party animal - not!!!!

Went to yoga this morning, as I do on a Saturday morning. I have one more Saturday session to go to then I start Beginners 2 classes later in July, on Tuesday evenings. I was so stiff to start with this morning - everything hurt, my back, my shoulders, my neck, you name it. Flexibility improved however and the class went really quickly. Did some leg variations in the shoulderstand today - I am so impressed with being able to a shoulderstand. I know I will be stiff and achey tomorrow!

Yay, its Friday!

Went swimming this morning - busy lane, and for the first 400m it felt like I was swimming though glue - arms wouldn't work, felt uncoordinated, breathing all out of whack. Then something clicked and I managed to swim well for the remaining 600m. 1km - 20.49min, and that's my exercise for
the day.

Breakfast at Cafe Gaudi (raisin toast and a so-so cappuccino). A coffee or two with a friend at lunchtime (Hi JS!) and shopping to look forward to this evening - not! Bring on the weekend! Have increased my consumption of green tea to compensate for all the coffee I have drunk lately!

Thursday 23/06/05

Up early again, to run 4 x 4min efforts with 1 min RI. Had some tightness in my L hip flexor. Also tried relaxing when running hard - not an easy thing to do when my legs feel like jelly and throwing up has a certain attraction, but I do notice the difference in the quality of my running when I can manage it.

Had lunch with some work colleagues at a cafe next to the lake in Tuggeranong - great view from the window over the lake, shame about the weather. Coffee was so-so, bitter and froth was too bubbly. Company, however, was great.

Miserable, cold day - winter has definitely arrived. Dreaming of white beaches, blue water, palm trees, warm weather, icecream. Drove home after work in the pouring rain, windows all fogged up because the heaters were on - it was about 4*C outside. At least I didn't have to go out again. Drank far too much bad coffee throughout the day (again) and basically veged out in front of the TV before going to bed.

Wednesday evening 22/06/05

Went swimming after work. 1km - 20.11min. Focussed on pulling myself through the water - hard work but I do swim faster. The new waterbed was delivered and set up in the afternoon. Our old waterbed was about 24 years old and had developed a leak. Decided to upgrade to a new 95% waveless type. Was a bit worried that it would be too cold to sleep in it that night but it was actually ok. Mia (aka Miss Hissy Fit) had a flipout because the bed she hides behind had disappeared and a big burly stranger (so I was told - I wasn't home to witness this) put another bed in its place (she's a creature of habit, and doesn't like surprises or strangers).

Another day - another run

Wednesday 22/06/05

Kept waking up during the night to check the time. Finally got up at about 5.10am but for some strange reason thought it was 6.10am. Was worried because I couldn't see any light or hear any movement from the caravan outside, where son no. 2 sleeps and who was being picked up for work at about 6.20am. Hurried outside, after suitably rugging up to face the elements, to wake him up. Repeatedly knocked on the door and called out and eventually got a muffled response from the depths- "I don't get up til 6, its only quarter past 5". Oops, snuck back indoors after apologising profusely through the caravan door! Memo to self - check clock carefully before doing this again, and be especially nice to son no. 2 tonight!

Decided to have an energy gel with my coffee as I had an easy one hour run this morning. Didn't want to feel like I did yesterday, out of energy and feeling flat. Took my ipod for company and for motivation - "You could be mine" by Guns'n'Roses as I'm struggling up a very long incline really does help. Wore leggings, running singlet, long sleeved running top and lightweight jacket, headband, and cap but decided against the gloves. About halfway in my run, rolled up the sleeves of my jacket. An uneventful run in the dark, avoiding known muddy spots, uneven footpaths, oncoming traffic and the occasional ferocious-sounding, salivating dog. Passed a couple of people out walking their dogs and one other jogger. Saw a couple of cyclists and was happy that I was running and not cycling - I did cycle through one Canberra winter, in the early hours of the morning, and bloody well froze. Never again!!! No twinges, niggles or sore spots - touch wood.

Drunk far too much coffee, consumed far too many Fantales (not good for someone who has just gone through root canal treatment) but resisted the sticky date muffins in the cafeteria (alright, I admit, there were none left when I went back at lunchtime). Instead had a feta cheese salad followed by a mandarin, not quite the same though is it! Had a Tim Tam later in the afternoon.

My tooth is not too bad today - a bit achey. I did go running this morning though I would have loved to stay in bed. I listened in vain for the rain or galeforce winds outside our bedroom window but I heard nothing. Damn - I'll have to get up, no excuse. I'm finding it a real struggle to get out of the bed early in the mornings - more than usual anyway. I didn't take my ipod with me this morning as I wasn't sure if it would start raining and I didn't want to spend the entire session worrying about it getting wet. It was certainly wet outside and did start lightly spitting during my session but nothing to the extent of last week when I got soaked. After a slow 10min warmup and some strides, I ran 8 x 1min intervals at 75-80% with 45sec standing rest intervals. By the 4th interval I realised that either I should eat before doing hard intervals or I was going out too fast - methinks its a bit of both! Obviously black coffee is not adequate sustenance. Normally I wouldn't even be doing intervals in the early hours of the morning (ie the sun hasn't even risen) but work commitments mean that it is the only time I have available at the moment. Hopefully from next week I can return to Geoff Moore's group on Mondays and (gasp) Thursdays.Even though I shouldn't, I have had a couple of Fantales at work today - I needed something sweet and chocolatey tasting. I must resist, I must resist.......

Root Canal Treatment....aarrgghh!

I have just returned from the dentists with half my face numb from the anaesthetic, and my wallet a lot lighter. After an xray it was decided that root canal treatment was the way to go to fix the toothache. The problem tooth was one that was reconstructed 5 years ago and so it was only a matter of time before problems started, in fact the dentist was impressed that I lasted this long. So I've had the preliminary work done, a temporary filling applied and another appointment made for a month's time.

I did manage to go swimming this morning before the dentist visit. Swam one kilometre at Civic pool - started a little later than usual and so had the lane to myself. Focussed on pulling through the water and felt I was swimming faster however my time was 21.11min, a little slower than usual.

For now I'll take a couple of pain killers, grab a hot water bottle and hope the after effects of the dentist's visit won't be too bad. Maybe some chocolate later.....? :-(

Duck weather

I woke about 4am and could hear the rain outside. It hadn't changed a great deal when I got up at 7.30am - it was grey, drizzly and cold. And as per usual the day after yoga class, I was feeling stiff all over. Not the way I really want to feel before a 10km race! My husband wussed out of coming down to the race start because of the wet weather, so I headed off by myself just after 9.15am. I was surprised at the turnout and the number actually entering on the day. I went for a longer warm up than I usually do, just to keep warm, and then bumped into a friend with an umbrella - very handy in such inclement weather! I started the race very slowly, partly because I kept getting caught behind groups of walkers and then I caught up with another friend, so just had to have a quick chat before setting off again. For the first 5km I felt really sluggish, lack of races most likely. It wasn't until after the 5km turnaround that I felt I was getting into my stride. I mentally told myself to relax every time I felt myself tense up and I think it worked - I certainly ran better when I didn't tense my neck and shoulders. Passed Flashduck not too far from the finish. She was running really well and is obviously suited to this type of weather! I finished in 46.30min and was 16th woman in so my time was recorded, unfortunately Aki just missed out. I was happy with the run, happy with the time, and very happy with the pancakes afterwards. Then it was home and into a hot shower - I was so cold!

Next run - monthly veteran's handicap at Mt Ainslie, 9.3km, Sunday 26 June.

Om...

I had yoga this morning - it was my 8th Beginners 1 class, two more classes to go and then I can move up to Beginners 2. I'm really enjoying it and I'm sure its helping my flexibility. My balance was much better this week, I was having a few problems with my balance in the last class but that might have had something to do with going out the night before!

Training-wise, I had an interval session yesterday morning that included 4 x 1km efforts, with a 1.30min rest interval. The route I chose meant that the first interval was up a long incline, the second was undulating, the third was on the flat and the final one was on a bit of an uphill followed by a lot of downhill! Made it interesting anyway. Toothache still bothering me - I am now using Nurofen, Panadol and teething gel. I have a dentist's appointment on Monday morning - not a lot to look forward to.

Went for an easy 40min run this afternoon. Its probably not the thing to do before a 10km race the next day but what the heck! There are some days when I just love running, when everything goes well and there are no aches, pains or niggles. Today's' run was one of those - it seemed effortless and I felt I could run for ever. It might have had something to do with going to yoga in the morning - maybe I had stretched all of the week's kinks out?!

Tomorrow its the 10km Terry Fox run, and by the sounds of it its going to be cold and wet. At least there's pancakes to look forward to afterwards! By the way Strewth, thanks for the text message!!!

A bear with a sore head

I have a toothache that won't go away no matter how much I try to ignore it. I have made an appointment to see the dentist but in the meantime its giving me hell, I feel awful and probably acting like a bear with a sore head. I even talked myself out of getting up early this morning for a run. Instead I made a deal with myself that instead of swimming tomorrow morning (Friday) I would run instead, and then snuggled back under the blankets. I did run yesterday morning - an easy 46min run in minus two degrees weather. Then I went swimming last night at Belconnen pool and swam 1km in 20.49sec. I began and finished the session using a board and fins. Its always cold getting in the water but I warmed up fairly quickly and did feel a lot better for going for a swim. Swimming is something I really have to maintain year round because I'm not a great swimmer and its such hard work getting back into it, if I do take a break. If I tell myself often enough that swimming is good for me it might just get easier!

The weather is not sounding promising for the Terry Fox fun run on Sunday - 11 degrees, rain showers. Have no preconceived ideas of how I'll do in the 10km - if I still have the toothache it may not be great but considering I couldn't run this time last year due to a chronically inflamed ITB, just being able to do it will be great.

A dark, wet, windy morning.......

It was an early start this morning to get the run in for today - up at 5.40am, have a fortifying black coffee and then out the door for a fairly short session. The session this morning was to run a 10min warm up, then 6 x 2min efforts with 1min rest interval between each one. Sounded good but I didn't account for the heavy shower of rain that began about 5min after I started and didn't finish until I finished, about 30min later! However I figured I was out there so I may as well keep going - what's a little bit of rain anyway. Then the wind picked up - resistance training! Ok, so I was employing positive thinking tactics but it worked for me. I splashed through puddles, getting absolutely soaked and if anyone was up and about at that hour and saw a crazy woman running in the pouring rain - yep, it was me!

My diet today was a shocker - lots of fantales throughout the day, a muffin for lunch, and too many coffees. Tomorrow is another day.......

A sleep in...at last!

Today I could sleep in - its my rest day, as well a public holiday. It was bliss not having to get out of bed until 9.30am. We went into Civic for a look around at the sales but weren't tempted, very unusual. Had a coffee at Italian Bite - delicious, good creamy froth. Saw there was a comment from Strewth to my first posting! :-)

Upcoming events
19 June, Terry Fox fun run, 10km (entered)
26 June, Mt Ainslie run, 9.3km
14 August, City to Surf fun run, 14km (entered)
11 September, Sydney marathon, 42.2km

A 2 hour run to finish the week!

Today my Sydney marathon training plan had me doing a 2 hour run. I had planned on meeting with Strewth, Dave and Peter down at Lake Ginninderra at 9am so I decided to start my run earlier and then finish with company. It was very grey and foggy when I started at 7.30am and ran one of my regular morning routes around the suburbs. I wore my mini ipod for company. It was great to see puddles for a change. I felt a little sluggish and wasn't relishing the thought of continuing with a run around the lake. Not sure if it was the after effects of yesterday's yoga - though I wasn't as stiff as I usually am the day after my yoga class. I finished back at home after about 52min where I had a drink and a GU, put on my drink bottle holder and headed off to the lake to meet the others. Much to my surprise, and delight, two other friends were also waiting - Helen and Steve. The run around the lake was much slower than last week's run, when we completed the 7.6km in just over 39mins. I don't know how long it took today but it was certainly longer than that! By the time I had finished I had been running for 2hours and 3mins. I had completed my first week of training for the Sydney marathon.

The run was followed by breakfast at Musica e, down by the lake. I had 2 excellent cappuccinos with great company. What more could you ask for?! Tomorrow I can sleep in - yay!