Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Once upon a time.......

.......there was a runner called CJ who trained and trained and trained for the Canberra marathon and on the day managed to run a personal best. CJ was very happy. As to be expected, CJ was feeling a little sore after this massive effort and the little holiday on the coast was very therapeutic, though the left calf was still being bothersome (some smart alec pointed out that her left calf was over-compensating for the hardware CJ was wearing on her left arm ie the Garmin and the ipod).

The self imposed 2-week chocolate denial had also come to an end and with Easter just around the corner, CJ went slightly overboard with chocolate consumption (this is a huge understatement). Combined with very little exercise, apart from the occasional stroll, this was beginning to create havoc with CJ's waistline. The expanding waistline, in turn, was making running even more difficult than it already was. Poor CJ - what to do? Fit CJ was rapidly morphing into Fat CJ.

Then the fairy godmother of lost causes came to CJ's rescue. With a wave of her wand she........

Damn, time to get out of bed. And the dream was getting interesting too. Mind you, it was mostly true except for the bit about the fairy godmother of lost causes. This means that I actually have to put the work in myself and so since Sunday I have run three times.

Sunday's run
The left calf and ball of foot complained from about the first kilometre and I was tempted to call it quits at this point. However pigheadedness kicked in and I persevered and gradually things improved. Mind you it was difficult to believe that this shuffling jogger was the same person who ran a marathon PB the week before. Ran for 27mins.

Monday's run
A little better today and I managed 31mins, looking much more respectable. I even managed to stay ahead of someone who looked like an original resident of Turner, complete with walking frame. Calf was still sore.

Today's run

Distance - 5.9km
Time - 35min
Av pace - 5.55min/km
AHR - 132; MHR - 150

Bit of a doddle but enjoyable, even for an early morning run (it was daylight). Still finding my way around the suburbs of Turner, O'Connor and Lyneham but it is a very pleasant area to run.

The chocolate consumption is continuing but I do have a little project in store for myself beginning next month aptly titled "Mayday, Mayday!" More news on this closer to the time.

14 comments:

Katie said...

I hope you enjoyed evry sweet easter egg!!! I did!
I hope you are recovering well!

2P said...

As long as you don't turn into a pumpkin at midnight CJ it sounds like everything is starting to come back on track.

Tesso said...

It would take more than a few days of chocolate eating to turn Fit CJ into Fat CJ.

You are being so smart, easing back into the running. That's how people DON'T get injured :-)

Is it too soon to ask what the next big race is? And the next marathon?

strewth said...

Love that post! You are one run ahead of me now and I still have choccie to finish too! Look forward to reading about your little "Mayday" project!!

speedygeoff said...

Gee, you tell them (CJ & Strewth) to keep running if at all possible after the marathon, and to take advantage of having gone cold turkey on chocolate by not getting addicted again, and look at what they do? Well, best wishes starting up training again.

Jon (was) in Michigan said...

Fortunately I now can eat all the chocolate I want and not gain a bit. Nope. And even though I'm not running AT ALL I haven't gotten any bigger, or more sluggish. Apparently, I'm able to maintain my complete level of fitness indefinately.

Oddly enough though, all my pants seem to be shrinking.

Hilda said...

That sounds like too much chocolate, but will you ever say it is??

Nice your calves are recovering!

Cirque said...

LOL - I was just starting to enjoy that fairytale too!

Cliff said...

Good job on the marathon..i have to catch up on your blog :)

U deserve the massive chocolate consumption.

I just had some nice dark chocolate from mom over the weekend..your blog header reminds me of those sweet stuff.. :0...*drools*

BuckeyeRunner said...

Chocolate consumption is a necessary part of recovery of any marathon...


Hmmm...a Mayday project??

Friar said...

Hi CJ

Now you're back to MY race pace.

But not for long as you keep up the training runs.

Clairie said...

Hi CJ,

Am going to be in Canberra next weekend.

Are you interested in a 20km slow run on Saturday. We seem to be at the same pace so it will be just a long run.

BTW - I have had two small runs since Canberra and have been having kit kats for dinner. Not too happy with that but oh well.

So I need some motivation of running with someone to get me started again.....

let me know if you are keen
claire.bellenger@computercorp.com.au

Toasty said...

Rumor has it you could be lining up at the Gold Coast ...... I hope so!

Ewen said...

You failed to write the whole post in the third person. Ewen is less than impressed.

If CJ is running on Saturday, Ewen might like to join her and Clairie for a few kilometres.