The Good follows the Ugly

running/ramblings

I was going to start my runs again tonight hoping to get to the R4K Port Melbourne training run but I had a window of opportunity last night so I seized the moment!  It was a fabulous run at Princes Park!  I was really nervous about doing it as I was still unsure whether my mojo was completely back and also whether I could actually still run!  It’s amazing what a bad run does to your confidence.  I ended up deciding if I could do one lap I would be happy with that.  I have been really diligent with the fluids during the day, water that is I am definitely not going to make that mistake again!

So I did a 5min brisk walk before start line and off I went.  I completed 3km, had small drink of water, stretched the calves and then decided to walk to start line (182m) and head of again.  I finished at the 2km mark so all up it was 5kms.  I was tossing up whether to run to start line again but decided as this was the first run back, 5km was ok.  The funny thing is, I struggle to take walks breaks as it makes me feel like a wuzz but I have to say had I not done it, I don’t know if I could have done anymore than the initial 3km.  I then walked 1km to cool down and stretched really well.  There were heaps of people at Princes Park last night, it was abuzz with activity.  Really pleasant

It has made me feel quite optimistic about R4K in terms of having to take walk breaks if I am not quite there for whatever reason.  I noticed on the map the drink stations are every 3kms, so if I run the first 6 or 9km and walk through that drink staion and then maybe do the same at the 12km mark if needed, I reckon thats a good plan.  It has made me relax about the whole thing.  Of course I am hoping to run the whole event and I will know in the last couple of weeks what I can expect from myself.  If my training stays on track with no obstacles and the feet/orthotics sort themselves with no more issues, I will do it but if things don’t go to plan I am through beating myself up.  In fact, I think I am damn well excited again

I went to gym today and did 45mins cardio, core and upper body resistance, so I am pretty pleased with the last two days exercise.  I will run tomorrow if not too sore otherwise it will be Friday. 

And whats with all the Carlton supporters coming out of the closet!  I am  an avid West Coast supporter, woohoo, and I was only tagging along with the rest of the family on Sunday (Carlton family day), who are die hard Carlton supporters.  According to the boys in this family, the consensus is that Carlton are on their way back.  Yeah we will see

Is that my Mojo??

running/ramblings

We went down the Princes Park for the Carlton Football Club Family Day and I do believe I spotted my mojo :)  So I am really relieved about that as I was getting a little worried.  Although I didn’t run down there today, I was dressed just in case but decided in the end I should stick with the family as it was after all a family day.  Although I am still not feeling 100% I think I could have done at least 3-4km but I am not sure how great it would have been??  I am hoping to bounce back completely tomorrow and maybe do 4km group at Federation Square if they are still doing that distance

Andrew, I have taken on board what you said about “don’t sweat the training”.  You are absolutely right I am getting way to caught up in it all and not enjoying the journey.  So I am going to lighten up and whatever happens, happens.  I can only do what I can do and it will be a blast no matter what on the day

Having said that I do have a plan

Monday - run at Federation Square for 4km run if feeling ok and they are in fact still doing that measley distance.

Tuesday - Spin class at the gym

Wednesday - maybe the Port Melbourne run if Monday run doesn’t pan out otherwise just run wherever.

Thursday - cardio and weights at gym.

Friday - run if I don’t run on the Monday.

Saturday or Sunday - Long run although not sure of distance yet and I will choose day accordingly.  I will know distance once I get a couple of runs under my belt.  I have got the building up distance mapped out for weeks leading up to R4K but like I said, I ain’t sweating it

I am such a sooky la la when it comes to this running caper and I really appreciate all the encouraging comments :)  Also, thanks Punch for your comment in my blog re:  kids/time of run.  It is nice to know I am not the only one

Floundering

ramblings

If you are not in the mood for a bit of negativity, do not read any further as this going to be a whinging whiney post

 I basically have not done a decent run since the 8km Melbourne Zoo run on the 7th February.  I did go to the gym a couple of days ago and did a tready run of 4kms split into two runs with x-training and bike in between but I can’t really count that I feel.  I have been unwell and am now on anti-biotics which have made me feel so much better.  I feel as though I am getting a cold now just to add more assault to the injury

I thought I would start fresh next week but I don’t know where to start off now.  I was doing two 5km runs plus increasing my long run and had I stayed on track I would have been at 10kms this week.  My foot is still niggly even though I haven’t really ran and the instep is tight.  I have been icing and massaging which doesn’t feel as though it is doing anything.  I am so over the whole injury scenario as well as this weather with its relentless humidity.  The last time I ran was the ugly, ugly run  (I don’t know how to link that post) and it has left me slightly apprehensive about running in heat but if I don’t get out there I am losing more time before R4K.  Believe me if I could run early in the morning I would be doing it but there is no way I can and in the evening that humidity seems to be hanging around.

So to get back on track I need to find a plan to not only get back on track but to find my mojo because I can’t find him at the moment either.  I don’t know how far back in training I need to go with long run and quite honestly at this stage I feel as though I am going to be walking the R4K!!  I would love to get down to some R4K training runs because I think this would really help me but with my pain in the butt demanding family (sorry, I do love them all dearly ), I can’t see it happening.

So there you have it!  I really hope by next week the weather is a little kinder and I can find some kinda mojo to get me started again.  I also think I need to go back to Pod although the last time I was there he mentioned something about an operation on foot which quite frankly I let the comment go right over my head as I ain’t going to that party!!!!  Obstacles, obstacles and more bloody obstacles!!  Sorry about that but I did warn you it was a negative whinging whiney post

Resurfaced

ramblings

Today is the first day where I have resurfaced and ventured out into the world.  I woke up still with the headache but no nausea thankfully.  I only had to pop one lot of Nurofen so that was a step in the right direction

So I have done absolutely no exercise since that last ugly, ugly run and my plan is to run on Sunday if not to hot, otherwise it will have to be on the Monday.  I guess I will have to start back at 4kms and go from there.  I hate it when you lose momentum in your training and you have to find your feet again :lol:  I received my race pack for R4K yesterday and I was initially overjoyed and happy but still nervous about the distance.  I know I can get there but it really depends on my feet issues.  It’s all about the achilles and calves at the moment so I have been icing achilles, self massaging calves and stretching.  Not sure if it is really helping but I will perservere.  I have a sneaky feeling my new Gel Nimbus runners aren’t helping.  This has me completely baffled as they are suppose to be exactly the same as my last ones just the colour changed.  It does seem though everytime I wear those I get more tightness in the calves.  How can this be?

We have a family Birthday party tomorrow which I am so not looking forward too. It is going to be 38 degress and quite frankly this family of ours has way to many get togethers to get excited about!

Guess I should really get off the computer and feed the noisy troops, take away is looking real good at the moment.  Have a great week-end everyone!! 

Ugly Ugly Run

running

I went for a run last night after finally escaping the clutches of evil family, hadn’t ran since the zoo run and I wished I had stayed home!  I was feeling a little tired but thought once I got out there I would be fine.  I knew even when I was doing my walking warm-up I was definitely not in the mood.  When I started to run I had sharp pain in achilles area and after a few minutes I stopped and stretched the calves.  When I actually think back over past week I have done absolutely no stretching whatsoever!  I have had a bit of a niggle in achilles but nothing like last night, it hurt.  Anyway, it seemed to settle eventually after a few more stops for stretching.  Mr Polar was also being a pain in the butt as he was all over the place again.  He misbehaved badly at the Zoo run with the pace and when I checked my watch at end of run, according to him I had only run 7kms (8km event) though the time seemed ok with a reading of 50:31m.  I obviously need to calibrate him again!

I had planned to do a 5km run but because I wasn’t sure if the distance would be correct I decided to run for 30minutes.  It was so warm/humid and my heart was thumping as though it was going to burst out of my chest.  I usually like this street course that I do as it has hills in it but last night as I was approaching each one, I could have cried.  I should have just walked home, that would have been the sensible thing to do but I am afraid I seem to lose all sense when I go out running with a plan :roll:  I have been stressing because of missing out on two runs last week and with R4K looming, my mind is definitely one track at the moment.  Anyway, managed 40minutes and made sure I stretched really well when I got home. 

As the night progressed I started feeling nauseus and headachey and today I have been more or less flat on my back until about an hour ago.  I know I definitely didn’t drink enough fluid when I got home last night so that wouldn’t have helped.  I think in this warm weather it would be wise to have some Powerade at home in the fridge. 

ramblings

All day, between the nausea and headache bouts, I have been thinking why am I doing this again?  I was heading out to Geelong on Sunday and spotted R4K banners, and have realised that 15.2km is a bloody long way to run.  I am starting to have serious doubts as to whether I can do it.  It felt great doing 8km’s but 15.2???????

To accomplish this: 

1)  I need to get more sleep.  I think I average about 5-6hrs a night.

2)  I need to definitely do three runs a week.  Now, I could use the tready at gym if it looks as though I can’t escape and put 3yr old in creche.  It is better than nothing I guess but I obviously would prefer all outdoor runs. 

3)  I need to get my bloody feet sorted.  It feels as though this has been going on for an eternity!

Running with the Animals

Last night I did the 1st of the Sunset Twilight Series.  It was the 8km Melbourne Zoo run and it was totally awesome.  I would have to say this has been by far one of the most enjoyable “fun runs” I have ever done.  I loved every minute of it!  I found the course challenging and running through the actual zoo was an absolute highlight for me.  I found myself on the 2nd lap totally by myself as I ran through all the winding paths and just taking in my surroundings.  When I passed the monkeys I had to laugh as one of them was sitting watching with his chin resting in his hand :lol:  It was a hoot.  I actually got a little lost a couple of times and had to get my bearings to try and work out which way to go!!

My time on the finish line clock was 50:10secs and then as we ran through we had to rip of a tag on the bottom of our numbers and they put that onto a long stick.  I am assuming in order as you run through??  Bit bizarre really but never mind I am really happy with that time for my first 8km run.  I felt great.  I did feel like a bit of a doofus wearing my long skins though but because of my sore calves I think it had to be done.  I am sure they helped.  No problems at all during run and today I feel great  :)  I will definitely try and make this a regular run each year it’s on.  It was really great having a chat to all the ausrunner’s before and after the race, and I am really happy to report the house had not been turned completely upside down by my boys!!

*Edit*  “Official time” was 50:43 so I guess I will have to go by that!  My time looked so much better when it was closer to 50m, I must have been hallucinating

Pre Zoo Run

I thought I would write one more post before tomorrow.  I have done absolutely nothing since my last run on Sunday.  Rested exactly as planned.  Then why have I got these really sore calves??  I don’t know what’s going on but they are so stiff and sore, especially today.  I am thinking maybe its the new runners as I have been wearing them in but surely it can’t be those.  Then I am thinking maybe it is the massages I have been giveing myself on the feet, achilles and insteps.  Anway as long as it all settles by tomorrow I will be happy.  I might jump on the bike latter just to turn the legs over. 

I am slightly apprehensive about the 8km Zoo Run tomorrow as I have never done an 8km distance before.  I have done a 7km distance with RJ and we chatted while doing that which seemed to make it easier but that was before all my niggles returned.  As I have said before I am going to treat this purely as training long run in lead up to R4K.  I have been thinking about splits but I don’t want to get too carried away.  I also want to wear my new runner’s but am thinking that may not be a wise decision to wear them for such a long run on the first time, so I will probably wear my other pair.

Anyway with all that said I am really looking forward to tomorrow night and am trying not to get to stressed about parking!  I am also hoping to catch up with some more ausrunners

Slogging it out

running

I absolutely slogged it last night while running.  I think the main reason was because I was really tired.  I managed to finally complete 5km around Princes Park but jeez, it was a grind.  I thought once I got out there I would be right but it just didn’t happen for me.  Everything was aching and even cardiowise I was struggling.  I also felt really hot although I have definitely ran in hotter conditions than last night.  I also had one of those moments when I made a complete ass of myself and accidently spat at a fellow runner while trying to respond to his “hello”.  How bloody embarassing!!  Anyway to the chappy, if by any remote chance you may be reading this, I wasn’t being rude I was just in the process of dying

I guess once again it is one of those classic moments of listening to the bod and forget about trying to fill in the training diary with a few more km’s because that is exactly what I was trying to do!  I was trying to get two 5km runs in as well as having two days recovery before Zoo run on Wednesday 

ramblings

Now, for some good news.  I picked up my new runners today.  I was going to try and post a piccy but I have accidently jammed the multimedia card into lap top, don’t ask!  I will have to take lap to brother-in-law to get it out because I just know I will do some serious damage if I keep trying!!  I have to say, even though my other shoes are only almost 8 weeks old, I can feel the difference between the two.  So I will now alternate the two pairs and I will also have to get something to wear around the house that are suitable for my feet.  Pod has told me not to walk bare foot

5km and all is well

running

I ran 5km at the Tan last night and I think I can safely say all is well.  It was a little warm but I managed to have enough zoom left for last 200m for a quick sprint (5.10 pace).

The Tan trials were finishing up when I got down there.  It was when they were on last year, I think a little later in month, that I did my very first run/walk.  I didn’t even know what the Tan was back then let alone run on it.  I actually went down with RJ as support for her because her personal trainer wanted her to do it.  Needless to say, I have never looked back, thanks RJ

I am going to try and get out for one more run either tomorrow or Monday before the Melbourne Zoo run on Wednesday.  They have forecast 38 degrees for the next couple of days so I will see what happens.  If I don’t get out I will definitely do some bike.

Melt down over

running/rambling

My meltdown is over!  The old bod has returned to “normal” just a very, very slight knee niggle.  So I am going to probably do some bike today, must admit I am a bit tired today probably from all the thinking that has been going around in this head of my mine!

I may go for a run tomorrow if all is well otherwise it will definitely be Saturday.  Just have to get a few runs in before the Melbourne Zoo run on Wednesday evening.  I am going to treat that run as a “training” run so it will be slow.  It is going to have to count as my long run for the week and then I can get back on track with new “tweaked” program.  I swear if I could put as much effort into the actual running and not the planning, I would be running like Benita Johnson!

My tweaked plan is: I am going to try and incorporate a Coburg Harriers session and a R4K training session on alternate weeks into my training regime.  I will continue with other two runs as before, probably one 5km and the long run that is increasing each week by 1km.  I am thinking if I can get to these sessions it will spice it up a bit and keep me motivated.

It is only 59 days to R4K 

P.S  Andrew, I can’t believe you wrote that about the shoes!!  I popped into Leo’s (Asics shop) just this morning and looked at another pair and left thinking should I, is it really necessary because I have just bought a new pair in December!  I am going to talk hubby into it and go back.  New model of Nimbus very spangly, not that it is about the looks