So, yesterday I did 5km on a tready and then did some weights, stretched. This morning I went to the BRRC meet at the West End and did the 10km.... and somehow took 2:10 off my previous time, to come in at a PB of 57:20 - felt all bouncy from that alone - and then, bugger me backwards - turns out it was the 10km championships and I came second in my age group! So I got a medal!
I'm having this sneaky suspicion there may only have been two of us *in* our age group, but still - I scored my first official bling bling. I couldnt get the grin off my face. Ha! I can't wait to tell my trainer tomorrow ;) I think this little confidence boost was exactly what I needed in preparation for the half on sunday. Can't believe it's a week away. Argh!
Anyway, went and had coffee with Tesso, Clairie and other lovely CRs and caught up on the latest goss... it is a lovely little running community here in Bris :) After that, I went and had a sauna and steam and chilled out at the gym.
*bounce bounce bounce* Still grinning.
Happy Me :)
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Thursday, May 26, 2005
5km on the Bikeway
Thanks for the support you lovely bloggers Tesso and Miners :) I'm still terrified about pacing but I shall do my best :)
Did 5km on the road tonight, with a few walks because I'm feeling a bit tired after last nights effort. Add to which, my knees are feeling a bit sore - nothing serious; I think it's just from the continuous pounding of feet on road. Might have a non running day tomorrow and give them a rest.
I did however, find where the south brisbane suburbs running community has been hiding - I finally got round to running the start of the bikeway from my suburb, which leads to the city and there were *loads* of runners out. It was getting dark, so I only did a small section of it. That said, it's now my new ambition and purpose in life to run from my house to the city along the entire bikeway. I've got a map of it but there's no scale on it - will have to go through the UBD and do a guestimate. I think it's doable though. Maybe after I get this half out of the way.
Right, shall see some of you on sunday at the West End no doubt!
Did 5km on the road tonight, with a few walks because I'm feeling a bit tired after last nights effort. Add to which, my knees are feeling a bit sore - nothing serious; I think it's just from the continuous pounding of feet on road. Might have a non running day tomorrow and give them a rest.
I did however, find where the south brisbane suburbs running community has been hiding - I finally got round to running the start of the bikeway from my suburb, which leads to the city and there were *loads* of runners out. It was getting dark, so I only did a small section of it. That said, it's now my new ambition and purpose in life to run from my house to the city along the entire bikeway. I've got a map of it but there's no scale on it - will have to go through the UBD and do a guestimate. I think it's doable though. Maybe after I get this half out of the way.
Right, shall see some of you on sunday at the West End no doubt!
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Oh...My.... God......
Yesterday I ran 5km at the gym on a treadmill, which said I was going slower than my usual 6:00 minute k plod. I think treadmills must be calibrated differently because the ones at the new gym are really hard and I was doing speed intervals in that too. It took me about 34 minutes! I did the west end 5km on sunday in 27:33 so 34 minutes is so not right. I was sweating like hell too. Bah!
Long run tonight was 15km because people wanted to watch the football... it was a nice run - beautiful clear cool night - not too cold and the moon was just stunning - heavy and low and gold. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but I'm Pagan and so the moon has a sort of religious significance to me, so to have her right there as I ran was pretty special. I found a bit of a rhythym tonight in my footfalls and tuned into the repeat of five beats, over and over. Worked really well and kept me going, so I think I'll try and utilise that at Doomben. The Jasmin was out in full force too and made for a lovely waft of scent as we passed by houses. I also lost count of the number of times I jumped sideways as people's dogs threw themselves at the fence.... I just can't help myself but scream expletives at the same time!
Speaking of the Queensland Half... now, don't fall off your seats laughing here....
you know how I said I was going to take it really slow and walk where I need, not put any pressure on myself? Well, muggins here has been roped into being a BLOODY PACER *snorks* for the 2:30 group. Thankfully not on my own but with Tracey who runs at the same speed as me and has been running for a longer time, but still... here's me not even knowing if I can do the whole thing, now pacing other people... LOL. The gods have an interesting sense of humour, that's for sure! At least 2:30 is a little bit slower than I thought I'd do, so maybe it's good to have that sense of structure there. Did I mention I'm terrified?
Anyway, tonight re-motivated me to sort myself out a bit. I think I'll go back to track next week... start anew, work on my speed, build up my distances and endurance for the long term... may even attempt to run mount cootha at some point - if only I knew where the best track for running up it is - should ask around (and will, no doubt)
Long run tonight was 15km because people wanted to watch the football... it was a nice run - beautiful clear cool night - not too cold and the moon was just stunning - heavy and low and gold. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but I'm Pagan and so the moon has a sort of religious significance to me, so to have her right there as I ran was pretty special. I found a bit of a rhythym tonight in my footfalls and tuned into the repeat of five beats, over and over. Worked really well and kept me going, so I think I'll try and utilise that at Doomben. The Jasmin was out in full force too and made for a lovely waft of scent as we passed by houses. I also lost count of the number of times I jumped sideways as people's dogs threw themselves at the fence.... I just can't help myself but scream expletives at the same time!
Speaking of the Queensland Half... now, don't fall off your seats laughing here....
you know how I said I was going to take it really slow and walk where I need, not put any pressure on myself? Well, muggins here has been roped into being a BLOODY PACER *snorks* for the 2:30 group. Thankfully not on my own but with Tracey who runs at the same speed as me and has been running for a longer time, but still... here's me not even knowing if I can do the whole thing, now pacing other people... LOL. The gods have an interesting sense of humour, that's for sure! At least 2:30 is a little bit slower than I thought I'd do, so maybe it's good to have that sense of structure there. Did I mention I'm terrified?
Anyway, tonight re-motivated me to sort myself out a bit. I think I'll go back to track next week... start anew, work on my speed, build up my distances and endurance for the long term... may even attempt to run mount cootha at some point - if only I knew where the best track for running up it is - should ask around (and will, no doubt)
Sunday, May 22, 2005
5km PB + tales from the sauna...
Thursday: Went out for a run, got half an hour in or so and it started to hale, so I decided to abort my run and went to the gym instead to do weights. Turned out to be a wise decision because the hale stones got quite scary by all accounts!
Friday: Felt down about job-prospects (still havent heard!) and ate too much. I hate it when I do that! Anyway, to go some way towards counteracting my moment of weakness, I hit the gym again but felt sick trying to run with a full stomach, so I got on the bike for a hour. My rear end is soooo never going to forgive me *winces* must go get one of those gel bike seats that Luckylegs uses, once I have spare funds again!
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday (Today): Went to the West End, eventually decided to just do the 5km and see if I could beat my time. Which, according to my watch, I did, getting another PB by at least 10 seconds but have to wait for official times to be sure. It definitely felt faster, considering the fact that I thought I was going to combust by the time I crossed the line. I felt like I was holding my breath while breathing! And, for some reason, my calves are really crampy lately.
I'm playing some serious mind games with myself at the moment on whether I can actually physically run a half. I know I said I wasn't going to put any pressure on myself to expect to run the entire thing, but I still desparately want to surprise myself and find I can do it. I keep asking myself if I've worked hard enough, done enough training behind me to succeed. I was thinking about doing the 20km this morning instead of the 5km but I piked out on the longer run because I didn't want to find I couldn't do it, before I got to the Half. Twisted kind of a logic there, somewhere. Bah! I keep thinking maybe I can only do 19km on a wednesday long run because we stop to cross lights/get a drink every five km or so. I dunno. Half the battle in all this running lark seems to be psychological!
I also missed catching up with Clairie, Tesso and co this morning, who I think were all down doing the Warwick Pent. Hope they went well. No doubt they'll all be upset to hear they missed the beautiful policemen out in force on the 10km this morning (unfortunately not in uniform! sighs!) It was freezing by the river, that's for sure. So much so, after the run I decamped to the sauna at the gym and got chatted up by a very sweet japanese boy. Can't think of a time that I've looked less attractive really, than bleary eyed, sweaty, red in the face and hair plastered to my head whilst wearing daggy old swimmers *L* He definitely got points for effort though - nothing like being told you're more beautiful than all the stick thin gym junkies to make a girl feel good on a sunday morning! *L*
Friday: Felt down about job-prospects (still havent heard!) and ate too much. I hate it when I do that! Anyway, to go some way towards counteracting my moment of weakness, I hit the gym again but felt sick trying to run with a full stomach, so I got on the bike for a hour. My rear end is soooo never going to forgive me *winces* must go get one of those gel bike seats that Luckylegs uses, once I have spare funds again!
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday (Today): Went to the West End, eventually decided to just do the 5km and see if I could beat my time. Which, according to my watch, I did, getting another PB by at least 10 seconds but have to wait for official times to be sure. It definitely felt faster, considering the fact that I thought I was going to combust by the time I crossed the line. I felt like I was holding my breath while breathing! And, for some reason, my calves are really crampy lately.
I'm playing some serious mind games with myself at the moment on whether I can actually physically run a half. I know I said I wasn't going to put any pressure on myself to expect to run the entire thing, but I still desparately want to surprise myself and find I can do it. I keep asking myself if I've worked hard enough, done enough training behind me to succeed. I was thinking about doing the 20km this morning instead of the 5km but I piked out on the longer run because I didn't want to find I couldn't do it, before I got to the Half. Twisted kind of a logic there, somewhere. Bah! I keep thinking maybe I can only do 19km on a wednesday long run because we stop to cross lights/get a drink every five km or so. I dunno. Half the battle in all this running lark seems to be psychological!
I also missed catching up with Clairie, Tesso and co this morning, who I think were all down doing the Warwick Pent. Hope they went well. No doubt they'll all be upset to hear they missed the beautiful policemen out in force on the 10km this morning (unfortunately not in uniform! sighs!) It was freezing by the river, that's for sure. So much so, after the run I decamped to the sauna at the gym and got chatted up by a very sweet japanese boy. Can't think of a time that I've looked less attractive really, than bleary eyed, sweaty, red in the face and hair plastered to my head whilst wearing daggy old swimmers *L* He definitely got points for effort though - nothing like being told you're more beautiful than all the stick thin gym junkies to make a girl feel good on a sunday morning! *L*
Thursday, May 19, 2005
17km
17km last night. It was only supposed to be 15km, but somehow we went a bit long. Found it a bit easier than last week's 18k - maybe because I didn't fall over and bleed everywhere LOL! Felt pretty comfortable and had to work a bit to get up the hills which was good. My legs were sore from PT when I started, but today they feel pretty good. Still tired, but not painful.
I've not managed to do any of the classes I was going to do this week. I'm going to try very hard to do yoga on saturday. Am already stretching a lot more now I'm back at the gym. They got some fabulous contraption that you strap your hands into and lean back into various positions to stretch your hammys, glutes, back etc. Lovely thing, it is!
Gym for me tonight/today. Time to do some weights and then have a run.
I've not managed to do any of the classes I was going to do this week. I'm going to try very hard to do yoga on saturday. Am already stretching a lot more now I'm back at the gym. They got some fabulous contraption that you strap your hands into and lean back into various positions to stretch your hammys, glutes, back etc. Lovely thing, it is!
Gym for me tonight/today. Time to do some weights and then have a run.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
5/10/15/20...
Sunday I did 5km on the treadmill in an effort to offset my disgusting weekend of eating *L* Yesterday, I had PT and my trainer decided that it would be lots of fun to get me replacing my rest periods between sets with high intensity cardio intervals. So I would basically do a set of exercises and then have to sprint the length of the building as fast as I could, eight times. By the third or fourth time I'd done it, I was definitely huffing and puffing but for some reason, I'd barely broken a sweat (though I felt tired!) I showed my 'cellular analysis' sheet thing to him too and he thought that the whole 13kg weight loss thing was a little extreme... we're going to do skin folds testing next time for a comparison. I guess if that comes up with similar results then I'll admit defeat and start trying to lose it *wails* if I don't like what I look like along the way, I can stop.
After my training, I went to the gym for a bit of a double whammy. Was going to run but was too tired from intervals and weights so instead I walked up an incline (5%, not very much) for half an hour and watched Big Brother. Then I got into the sauna and steam again. I'm hoping it will clear my skin a bit and it feels soooo good when it's cold outside.
Today my muscles are sore but not crippled (but takes 24 hours for that to happen!) and I've got a massage this afternoon, so I might try and make it to the gym again this morning - or alternatively, go for a run on the street (much nicer and hopefully not too hot!)
Contemplating whether to run the 5km, 10km or even try to do 20km at the West End on sunday. I'm a little tempted towards the 5km because it's been a while since I've done it and I'd love to see if I've gotten any quicker. I might try and get out there during the week and run it for practice. I guess the 10km would be just as good for checking progress. 20km would be interesting to see how long it takes me and to get a feel for where I stand with endurance but I think I'd be holding everyone up because I'm predicting it would currently take me 2 hours something.
Still waiting to hear about the job!
After my training, I went to the gym for a bit of a double whammy. Was going to run but was too tired from intervals and weights so instead I walked up an incline (5%, not very much) for half an hour and watched Big Brother. Then I got into the sauna and steam again. I'm hoping it will clear my skin a bit and it feels soooo good when it's cold outside.
Today my muscles are sore but not crippled (but takes 24 hours for that to happen!) and I've got a massage this afternoon, so I might try and make it to the gym again this morning - or alternatively, go for a run on the street (much nicer and hopefully not too hot!)
Contemplating whether to run the 5km, 10km or even try to do 20km at the West End on sunday. I'm a little tempted towards the 5km because it's been a while since I've done it and I'd love to see if I've gotten any quicker. I might try and get out there during the week and run it for practice. I guess the 10km would be just as good for checking progress. 20km would be interesting to see how long it takes me and to get a feel for where I stand with endurance but I think I'd be holding everyone up because I'm predicting it would currently take me 2 hours something.
Still waiting to hear about the job!
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Plan for the Week
I had the biggest food blow out yesterday in ages. But I'm unrepentant! The super supreme was entirely worth it ;) My chin has finally closed over so I took the dressing off this morning, hurrah! So I can go back to the gym/running today! Working out a plan for next week. So far:
Monday:
am: treadmill/run 10km
pm: Personal Training (Weights) 4.30pm
Tuesday:
am: treadmill/run easy 5km
pm: Massage 4.45pm
Wednesday:
am: latin fiesta dance class?
pm: Long Slow Run @ Run Group - 15km
Thursday:
am: 5km
pm: weights session
Friday:
am:
pm: speedwork (total 5km)
Saturday:
am: Yoga 10.30am
pm: weights
Sunday:
am: West End Run - 10km?
pm: nothing
This may change as I've just realised this gets me up to doing 50km a week, when I've been averaging 30km a week til now. Oops. May have to rework it a bit!
Having another massage on tuesday because turns out the knot that feels like a 'stitch' in my shoulder is pretty huge and needs fixing or it'll just get worse. Oh well, I'm not complaining... at least it gives me a somewhat valid excuse for having regular massage! (she predicts 5-7 treatments to fix it) It's not my most favourite sort of massage - deep tissue and hurts like hell, but feels better for it later.
Right - I'm going to the gym! Yaaaaahoooo !!!!
Monday:
am: treadmill/run 10km
pm: Personal Training (Weights) 4.30pm
Tuesday:
am: treadmill/run easy 5km
pm: Massage 4.45pm
Wednesday:
am: latin fiesta dance class?
pm: Long Slow Run @ Run Group - 15km
Thursday:
am: 5km
pm: weights session
Friday:
am:
pm: speedwork (total 5km)
Saturday:
am: Yoga 10.30am
pm: weights
Sunday:
am: West End Run - 10km?
pm: nothing
This may change as I've just realised this gets me up to doing 50km a week, when I've been averaging 30km a week til now. Oops. May have to rework it a bit!
Having another massage on tuesday because turns out the knot that feels like a 'stitch' in my shoulder is pretty huge and needs fixing or it'll just get worse. Oh well, I'm not complaining... at least it gives me a somewhat valid excuse for having regular massage! (she predicts 5-7 treatments to fix it) It's not my most favourite sort of massage - deep tissue and hurts like hell, but feels better for it later.
Right - I'm going to the gym! Yaaaaahoooo !!!!
Friday, May 13, 2005
No Run and a bit grumpy!
I want to run... go to the gym...*humph*
Got the dressing changed on my chin this morning. The nurse gave me a mirror to have a look at it while the dressing was off. No bruising as yet (which is good) but it looks quite revolting - basically I appear to have taken a slight chunk out of it. As long as I take the antibiotics they gave me, it should stop bleeding, dry up and start to heal soon.... then I can take these bloody steri strips and gauze off it and go for a run/to the gym. It's so annoying! argh!
I suppose it is nearly the weekend and everything, so I'm planning to be back running on monday, maybe even sunday. Hopefully should hear whether I got the job or not by then, too!
Got the dressing changed on my chin this morning. The nurse gave me a mirror to have a look at it while the dressing was off. No bruising as yet (which is good) but it looks quite revolting - basically I appear to have taken a slight chunk out of it. As long as I take the antibiotics they gave me, it should stop bleeding, dry up and start to heal soon.... then I can take these bloody steri strips and gauze off it and go for a run/to the gym. It's so annoying! argh!
I suppose it is nearly the weekend and everything, so I'm planning to be back running on monday, maybe even sunday. Hopefully should hear whether I got the job or not by then, too!
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Taking it on the Chun!
Slight trip to the GP this morning for the chun (adopting NZ accent there, not quite sure why!) - woke up and it was all weepy and digusting. Have to take some antibiotics and go back tomorrow to have the dressing changed and get a tetanus shot (can't remember if I had one when I went travelling or not - if I did, I won't need one now!) It's all good though - no permanent damage - my teeth still hurt, but the GP checked my jaw and said it was fine - even if I did crack it, they can't do anything about it!
Having a rest day today. It's cold and rainy and I'd really like to go and do weights and then climb into the sauna at the gym, but I can't get this bloody dressing wet (argh! can you tell I'm not a good patient? frustrated! LOL) so instead, I've booked myself in for a half hour massage at Zenergy (where I do my PT). Yummm... definitely looking forward to that!
All I have to do is get through my interview this arvo and then I can relax. You never know, I might even be employed shortly as a result. That'd be really relaxing!
Oh, and I forgot to mention... talk of doing a trifecta of halfs.... Queensland Half, Gold Coast Half and the Noosa Half. My thought is - let's see how we go through number one, first! LOL
Having a rest day today. It's cold and rainy and I'd really like to go and do weights and then climb into the sauna at the gym, but I can't get this bloody dressing wet (argh! can you tell I'm not a good patient? frustrated! LOL) so instead, I've booked myself in for a half hour massage at Zenergy (where I do my PT). Yummm... definitely looking forward to that!
All I have to do is get through my interview this arvo and then I can relax. You never know, I might even be employed shortly as a result. That'd be really relaxing!
Oh, and I forgot to mention... talk of doing a trifecta of halfs.... Queensland Half, Gold Coast Half and the Noosa Half. My thought is - let's see how we go through number one, first! LOL
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
18kms (and eating gravel!)
Ladies and Gentlmen - first the good news. I ran 18kms tonight! Happy, happy me - especially considering what happened during the run!
The not-so-good news is that I took my first major swan dive tonight. I got to about 10kms and didn't lift my foot high enough to clear an uneven cement slab on the pavement... consequently, I fell flat on my face and was going too fast to get both hands out infront of me. Managed to get one hand out which I promptly skinned, before landing squarely on my chin and splitting it open. It was all quite spectacular there for a moment - chins must be like head wounds - they bleed spectacularly even when it's a minor wound because there was blood down my face, my chest and through my hand. Anyway, after a brief ten minute stop and much mopping up of chinny chin chin I was more annoyed at the fact that I thought I'd ruined our 18km effort than the fact that not only did I take a chunk out of my face, I have a job interview tomorrow and I'm now going to have to go to that with steri-strips on my face and no doubt some fantastic bruising that has yet to appear.
I'm okay now, but the jarring of it means that I can feel the roots of all my bottom teeth and the whole area is quietly throbbing to itself. Lucky for me, my mother is a nurse and so I got her to pick all the gravel out of it. Luckily it didnt need stitches, so she just pulled it closed and fixed it there.
I got back to the shop and after making sure I was okay, we had a nice round of amusing I-remember-when stories about falling arse over tit while running. Made me feel better anyway (and less like a giant klutz for not picking my feet up more!) I'm still no where near competing with Schultzy's 18 stitches at the Lest We Forget Run - and at least I was running at the time ;)
I went and had my 'cellular analysis' done today - interesting stuff - apparently, my muscle mass is the best she's seen in ages... 97.2% active or something.... the down side is that apparently, I still need to lose 13kgs! 13kgs! Quite where I'm going to lose 13 kgs from, I don't know... five or six, fair enough. But 13 seems a little excessive! I think I'll just carry on with the healthy eating and see where I end up. I'm sooo not going to starve myself just to hit a certain number. Bah!
Anyway, I'm going to bed. My chin is throbbing.
18kms! Woo!
Night.
The not-so-good news is that I took my first major swan dive tonight. I got to about 10kms and didn't lift my foot high enough to clear an uneven cement slab on the pavement... consequently, I fell flat on my face and was going too fast to get both hands out infront of me. Managed to get one hand out which I promptly skinned, before landing squarely on my chin and splitting it open. It was all quite spectacular there for a moment - chins must be like head wounds - they bleed spectacularly even when it's a minor wound because there was blood down my face, my chest and through my hand. Anyway, after a brief ten minute stop and much mopping up of chinny chin chin I was more annoyed at the fact that I thought I'd ruined our 18km effort than the fact that not only did I take a chunk out of my face, I have a job interview tomorrow and I'm now going to have to go to that with steri-strips on my face and no doubt some fantastic bruising that has yet to appear.
I'm okay now, but the jarring of it means that I can feel the roots of all my bottom teeth and the whole area is quietly throbbing to itself. Lucky for me, my mother is a nurse and so I got her to pick all the gravel out of it. Luckily it didnt need stitches, so she just pulled it closed and fixed it there.
I got back to the shop and after making sure I was okay, we had a nice round of amusing I-remember-when stories about falling arse over tit while running. Made me feel better anyway (and less like a giant klutz for not picking my feet up more!) I'm still no where near competing with Schultzy's 18 stitches at the Lest We Forget Run - and at least I was running at the time ;)
I went and had my 'cellular analysis' done today - interesting stuff - apparently, my muscle mass is the best she's seen in ages... 97.2% active or something.... the down side is that apparently, I still need to lose 13kgs! 13kgs! Quite where I'm going to lose 13 kgs from, I don't know... five or six, fair enough. But 13 seems a little excessive! I think I'll just carry on with the healthy eating and see where I end up. I'm sooo not going to starve myself just to hit a certain number. Bah!
Anyway, I'm going to bed. My chin is throbbing.
18kms! Woo!
Night.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
5km, Sauna, Steam and sore shoulder
So I went and rejoined the gym this morning, went tonight for the first time and it was bloody lovely! I realised how basic my last gym was - this one has an aromatherapy chill out room heated to 35 degrees with relaxing music and amber lights, a sauna, solarium, steam room and a 'monsoon' shower thing which spits massaging jets of water all over your body, either hot or very-very-cold... and, it's got an ice machine for sore muscles too. Also has stretch cages (new one on me!) and a spin studio lit entirely by UV lights. They've got salsa funk dancing, yoga and pilates. Already thinking rejoining was a fantastic idea - feeling very, very relaxed...
Tomorrow I've got some strange sort of 'cellular analysis' thing where they measure fat, hydration etc etc... part of the joining package so that's all good. Did I mention they also have a free DVD rental service and a juice bar? *L*
I did run 5km on the tready while I was there tonight, inbetween playing with all the tv channels, music and the aromatherapy room. Can't believe the difference between treadmills - must be something to do with the calibration or something, because I set the incline to 1% and 6:00 pace as usual and it was really really hard... also realised I have a knot the size of a tennis ball under my left shoulder blade which has been cramping up to a scary degree while I run. Must get it fixed - feels just like a stitch!
All set to start cross training like a banshee now :) No excuses! Long run tomorrow. Aiming at 1:45 or at least 17km (whichever comes first!)
Tomorrow I've got some strange sort of 'cellular analysis' thing where they measure fat, hydration etc etc... part of the joining package so that's all good. Did I mention they also have a free DVD rental service and a juice bar? *L*
I did run 5km on the tready while I was there tonight, inbetween playing with all the tv channels, music and the aromatherapy room. Can't believe the difference between treadmills - must be something to do with the calibration or something, because I set the incline to 1% and 6:00 pace as usual and it was really really hard... also realised I have a knot the size of a tennis ball under my left shoulder blade which has been cramping up to a scary degree while I run. Must get it fixed - feels just like a stitch!
All set to start cross training like a banshee now :) No excuses! Long run tomorrow. Aiming at 1:45 or at least 17km (whichever comes first!)
Monday, May 09, 2005
Inspired - NEW GOAL!
After much umming and ahhing, I have decided that I'm going to do the Doomben Half Marathon on 5th June. That's earlier than I'd planned to do a half (the GC was going to be my first) but I'm feeling a bit restless and needing a closer training target to aim for. I don't know if I'm up to being able to run the entire 21kms yet (closest I've gotten is the long runs I've done at about 15kms) but I'm approaching it without feeling stressed or pressured. I'm literally just going to attempt to get from A to B, start to finish. Bugger times and everything else and if I have to walk at points along the way, I will.
I think it will be good psychologically for me to know I can cover the distance before the GC half, anyway. I've also decided to rejoin the gym and start cross training every day. I miss the gym and the effects of doing regular weights sessions. I'm going back to track and I'm going to work my arse off to get better at running.
Not sure where this latest stream of motivation has come from - I think it was partly watching the lovely Skiz doing her 8km race and all the runners at the West End on sunday doing their races too. I didn't run on the weekend (swapped shifts and my glute was still killing me but is better now) and marshalled instead - fascinating watching how differently everyone runs... some are more bouncy, some have big steps, little steps, high arms, low arms, elbows out/in.... made me think more consciously about how I run, that's for sure :)
I think it will be good psychologically for me to know I can cover the distance before the GC half, anyway. I've also decided to rejoin the gym and start cross training every day. I miss the gym and the effects of doing regular weights sessions. I'm going back to track and I'm going to work my arse off to get better at running.
Not sure where this latest stream of motivation has come from - I think it was partly watching the lovely Skiz doing her 8km race and all the runners at the West End on sunday doing their races too. I didn't run on the weekend (swapped shifts and my glute was still killing me but is better now) and marshalled instead - fascinating watching how differently everyone runs... some are more bouncy, some have big steps, little steps, high arms, low arms, elbows out/in.... made me think more consciously about how I run, that's for sure :)
Saturday, May 07, 2005
CR drinks and
Got the stats for the last week of my blog - 209 visits in a week! That's almost as scary as looking at the number of hits my website gets (scary in a good way, but still... scary!)
The night out with CR crew was great fun... I didn't get there until 7.30pm or so because I had to go to my exhibition opening first. Caught up with Tesso, Karisma, Clairie, Bellthorpe, Kato, Einstein, Lady Jove and many more... and, I got to meet my fellow kindergarten corner'ers which was lovely. So nice to put names to faces and there were talks about the possibility of dinner one day soon. Seems half of CR was also watching via the pub webcam. So you were all there in spirit, if not indulging in spirits! I also took my camera, but left it in the bloody car *smacks head with hand* How stupid am I? *L*
On mentioning my art exhibition at drinks, I also managed to 'out' myself to CR as an artist who makes (how shall we say?) fairly controversial artworks.... normally when I first meet people, I tell them I make artwork about people. Which I do, but that's a very basic way of putting it. I guess partly I say that because it takes ages to explain what I do and sometimes, it's nice just not to worry about whether people think you're psychotic or not. To be more specific, I make work about the imperfect or 'grotesque' female body. I use my own body for a lot of the images and they're generally quite sexually explicit or charged works. I guess it springs partly from my own history of obesity, but it's really about exploring and subverting the notion of the 'ideal' female body - making work that makes us think about why we think the things we do about issues of identity, sexuality, the body and difference. It's not the sort of artwork everyone is going to like and that's cool :) you can check out my website (www.hannahbroom.com) if you're curious, but either way, now you know!
Anyway, back to running type conversations!
The night out with CR crew was great fun... I didn't get there until 7.30pm or so because I had to go to my exhibition opening first. Caught up with Tesso, Karisma, Clairie, Bellthorpe, Kato, Einstein, Lady Jove and many more... and, I got to meet my fellow kindergarten corner'ers which was lovely. So nice to put names to faces and there were talks about the possibility of dinner one day soon. Seems half of CR was also watching via the pub webcam. So you were all there in spirit, if not indulging in spirits! I also took my camera, but left it in the bloody car *smacks head with hand* How stupid am I? *L*
On mentioning my art exhibition at drinks, I also managed to 'out' myself to CR as an artist who makes (how shall we say?) fairly controversial artworks.... normally when I first meet people, I tell them I make artwork about people. Which I do, but that's a very basic way of putting it. I guess partly I say that because it takes ages to explain what I do and sometimes, it's nice just not to worry about whether people think you're psychotic or not. To be more specific, I make work about the imperfect or 'grotesque' female body. I use my own body for a lot of the images and they're generally quite sexually explicit or charged works. I guess it springs partly from my own history of obesity, but it's really about exploring and subverting the notion of the 'ideal' female body - making work that makes us think about why we think the things we do about issues of identity, sexuality, the body and difference. It's not the sort of artwork everyone is going to like and that's cool :) you can check out my website (www.hannahbroom.com) if you're curious, but either way, now you know!
Anyway, back to running type conversations!
Friday, May 06, 2005
3k run, 2k walk
Slept in today and decided at 11.30am to go for a run. Not a particularly intelligent thing to do because it's quite hot out - but after the very, very bad 8k at LWF, thought it'd do me good to try to run in different conditions.
Got about 3km down the road and got another dose of that stomach pain I had this time last month. At least now I know it's entirely related to my hormones etc, so I can work around that for future runs. I did make an effort to walk up my hill twice instead (pain goes off when I slow down) and I think I may have pulled a muscle in my butt-tock (as Forest Gump would say) so, Ow.
CR drinks training tonight. Hope I'm up to the task!
Got about 3km down the road and got another dose of that stomach pain I had this time last month. At least now I know it's entirely related to my hormones etc, so I can work around that for future runs. I did make an effort to walk up my hill twice instead (pain goes off when I slow down) and I think I may have pulled a muscle in my butt-tock (as Forest Gump would say) so, Ow.
CR drinks training tonight. Hope I'm up to the task!
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
13k
The beautiful new boy at running didn't come back this week :( we must have scared him off! Oh well, perhaps he'll be back!
Did 13km tonight... we ran from Enoggera to the City which was interesting... really felt like we'd run a long way, although the run was a bit shorter because we were all a bit tired/achy and in my case stitch-ridden... ate too much for lunch, obviously. Went to Park Road and looked at running gear, then oggled the running gear at The Run Inn tonight... still no decision about shorts, but I'll get there eventually! Am half of a mind to go down to the Nike factory outlet on the coast and see if that's any good. I do love nike clothes (not too mad about their shoes, but the driweave is fab!)
Did 13km tonight... we ran from Enoggera to the City which was interesting... really felt like we'd run a long way, although the run was a bit shorter because we were all a bit tired/achy and in my case stitch-ridden... ate too much for lunch, obviously. Went to Park Road and looked at running gear, then oggled the running gear at The Run Inn tonight... still no decision about shorts, but I'll get there eventually! Am half of a mind to go down to the Nike factory outlet on the coast and see if that's any good. I do love nike clothes (not too mad about their shoes, but the driweave is fab!)
5km, Running Undies and Talkback!
Decided not to do tuesday night track (may do thursday instead) and went for a run by myself. Again, it seems to have gotten a bit easier to run alone these days - as long as I take a watch and time my actual running time, I can do the distance I'd planned. Tonight I did 5km because I'm sort of saving myself up for tomorrow nights long run which will probably be 1:30, or perhaps even a bit longer (we shall see!) Listening to talk back on the radio rather than music also seems to be a good distraction from wanting to stop! Am actually enjoying the challenge of making myself run alone (though I still much prefer company). You certainly can't beat the convenience factor of starting a run from your front door! Also tried to put in a few short speed intervals in the run (how brilliant is Runners World for diet and training tips? loving the latest issue!)
Checked out running gear in Rebel today but gave up in disgust - will plan to go a bit early to run club tomorrow night and check out their gear instead which is probably heaps better and possibly cheaper. I may be a bit slow on the uptake but the one thing I did learn today was that running shorts have liners! I've been wearing normal cotton underwear under shorts for ages and it drives me nuts because like horrible cotton lycra shorts, they soak up moisture and that's soooo not a good thing on a longer run. Meh. I wonder if they actually make dri-weave (or similar!) pants! Am a bit loath to post that question on CR - might get a few raised eyebrows, what runners underpants are like! LOL!
Looking forward to friday CR drinks. Even dragging a friend along who has just started to learn to run and is up to ten minutes on a treadmill! We will corrupt her with the evil goodness of the moving-at-speed *muahahahaha* there is no escape!
Checked out running gear in Rebel today but gave up in disgust - will plan to go a bit early to run club tomorrow night and check out their gear instead which is probably heaps better and possibly cheaper. I may be a bit slow on the uptake but the one thing I did learn today was that running shorts have liners! I've been wearing normal cotton underwear under shorts for ages and it drives me nuts because like horrible cotton lycra shorts, they soak up moisture and that's soooo not a good thing on a longer run. Meh. I wonder if they actually make dri-weave (or similar!) pants! Am a bit loath to post that question on CR - might get a few raised eyebrows, what runners underpants are like! LOL!
Looking forward to friday CR drinks. Even dragging a friend along who has just started to learn to run and is up to ten minutes on a treadmill! We will corrupt her with the evil goodness of the moving-at-speed *muahahahaha* there is no escape!
Sunday, May 01, 2005
8k
Well, I managed to do an exceptional job of not making it to running events this weekend *L* missed the 5k time trial on saturday morning, then missed the 7k race this morning with BRRC. Oh well! To compensate I went out for a run tonight, did about 8km I think and on my own too! I seem to be able to make myself go further on my own now, although I still walked more than I would've if I'd been running with people! Them there are the breaks, I guess!
Not much else to report except for the fact that I ate and drank wayyyy too much this weekend and feel a bit of a minimalist food week coming on to detox! *grins*
Not much else to report except for the fact that I ate and drank wayyyy too much this weekend and feel a bit of a minimalist food week coming on to detox! *grins*
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