06:59:59 and 76.1 Km

Well this was my biggest week yet, 76.1 Km, even though I am looking at it right in front of me, I still can not believe what I am seeing! Gee, you think I could have run that extra 1 second to bring it up to 7 hours though. Finished the week with a 24 Km slow run at an average pace of 5:40 in about 2hrs 14min, so I guess that 2 hour half marathon is looking very doable (is that a word?) I still think I should be doing the long run at a more conservative pace, but damn it if Tiger Boy just doesn't keep pushing me and pushing me (just kidding buddy). Was another great run with some good company, Tony, Michele, Jay, Paul, Beki, Diana who I had not met before and Super Rob surprised us and caught up with the group when we were about 6 Kms in - Funny how my fastest Km split was right after he joined us as I raced ahead with him and Tony, typical Em trying to keep up with the boys, it has been the same since I was 5! I have been thinking about ways to manage the pre-race anxiety I go though. Music always helps centre me so I might by an el-cheapo MP3 player, I saw a 128 Mb one at Harvey Norman for $50. Just something small enough to shove into my shorts pocket before the race starts. Weigh in today (before running), have lost half a kilo this week, something I attribute almost entirely to Kinglake last week ;-). Have made no change to the eating habits, which are generally quite good anyway, it is all down to the extra distance. Well, rest up tomorrow and an even bigger week next week!

Zoom Zoom Zoom

My new shoes! Now I have my old Adidas for trail running, my Saucony Omni's for training and long runs and my shiny new Nike Zoom Elites for speedwork and racing. Today - 10.1 Km This week - 52.1 Km Training Plan - 10 Km at 6:00 Actual - 10.1 Km at 5:35 Nothing special, just the boring plod in the streets around home, a few hills in there as well. I don't love the Saturday run, on my own around the streets, at least on the tan there are lot's of other runners providing some sort of company, running around home is just a bit blah. Still all my racing will be on roads so a bit of pounding the pavement is probably not a bad thing. Long run with the ESRG tomorrow, haven't seen some of them for a few weeks so looking forward to it. Milestone - just realised that yesterday I clocked up 800 Km for the year, 1000 Km not far away now, back in January I didn't think it would take me less than 6 months.

Ever seen Marathon Man?

I hate going to the dentist, nothing fills me with more horror (apart from the spider scene in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark) than my 6 monthly check up. Of course it always ends up no where near as bad as the images conjured up by my over active imagination. 30 minutes in the surgery, a couple of X-Rays (hey, why do you guys get to leave the room?) and a teeth clean later and it is all over, no cavities again. Mind you I don't even like having my teeth cleaned, I always end up clenching my hands together so hard I draw blood, the dentist thinks I am nuts. Now for the running - Today 10.2 Km This week 42 Km Training Plan - 10 Km at 6:00 Actual - 10.2 Km at 5:34. Basically a medium paced run, 2 laps of the tan from Fed Square. The first lap up Anderson St was the steady plod, but on the second lap I thought I would try something different, I sprinted up in 3 blocks with 2 30 second standing recoveries. Now the mileage is starting to build. It used to be that my standard hit out was 5Km with maybe 1 or 2 8Km runs in the week. Then the standard was 8Km with a 10Km at least once. Now 10Km has become the standard distance, that means with 4 runs already this week I am up over 42 Km for the week. This week will end up being my highest mileage week ever. Fortunately I have managed to find a massage therapist and I am very very much looking forward to my first appointment next Wednesday, I think I will need it by then. Getting serious now! Hungry all the time as well.

Today I made pain my friend :-)

First of all the picture. This was before the start of our run in Kinglake last Sunday. From left to right, Super Rob (Rogo), Beki and me. There are others taken during the run but let's just say vanity prevents me from posting them, Nike knew what they were on about with their Run Yourself Ugly campaign, I do!!!!

Now Today -

11 Km today - 31.8 Km this week

Training Plan - 2 Km warm up at 5:30, 3 X 1600 metres at 4:50 with 800 metre recovery and cool down to bring distance to 11 Km

Actual - 2 Km warm up at 5:30, 3 X 1000 metre at 4:30 to 4:50, standing recovery to bring heart rate to under 80% then 800 metre floating recovery between reps. Then back around the tan anti clockwise just for a change (and I was pretty buggered after the reps, thought I deserved a break from Anderson st), at about 5:10 pace.

So I met pain, shook his hand and said, Hey, let's be mates, because as I have said before, speed and me don't get along. Maybe in a couple of weeks I will be able to handle the 1600 metre reps.

Feeling in a more positive mood today, just a brief blip yesterday. I looked back on my split times from the last 10Km race and realised that most of them were sub 5:00, so I don't know what was going thru my head yesterday???!!!

I spoke to my sister today, I really miss not having her around and can't wait to get up to the Gold Coast to visit her again, we joked about setting up her black lab Charlie as a mobile support station for my half marathon. It will be great to have my brother and sister there at the finish line for me and I wil probably need to be carried back to the car :-)

10.7 Km today - 20.8 Km this week

Training Plan - 10 Km at 6:00 pace Actual - 10.7 Km at 5:30 pace I think 6:00/Km pace is too slow for me, 5:30 is a comfortable slow training pace for me. Unless I am running one of Rogo's "slightly undulating" hill courses, then the pace per Km does tend to be higher ;-). 20.8 Km over 2 days, that used to be my weekly distance on the tready (5Km over 4 days). I was unsure on whether or not entering a 10Km at the end of May would be a good idea or if it would set back the half marathon training. So I sought the endless wisdom of the Ausrunner forum and the response was overwhelmingly positive, and there was some great advice in there as well, as per. So 28 May in Williamstown will be my 2nd crack at 10Km in under 50 minutes (oh such modest goals), I am excited and nervous now, especially as everyone knows what my goal is, yikes! A little bit of negativity crept into my mind today on my run - "who do you think you are?", "you will never be able to maintain a sub 5:00 pace for any decent distance", "just stick to jogging for exercise, bugger this racing caper" - Grrrrrrrr, shut up little negativity demon, I am not interested in anything you have to say. Guess I can't be Pollyanna all the time. Time for a shower and good long chat with myself. Oh yeah, another Pilates class at lunch time, I think I am getting the hang of it now and no cramping the legs today. PS - thanks for the kind comments on yesterday's post, I just need to learn to ignore the negative comments. Or maybe start throwing some back, "oh gee, you're looking a bit porky these day" ;-)

ANZAC Day and 10.1 Km run

Big day today. Training Plan - 10Km at 6:00 pace Actual - 10.1 Km at 5:25 pace, included some hills, up Middleborough Road and Eley Road. It was an extended version of the 7Km course I used to run when I first started running outside. Was very happy to note that I was very strong up the 2 hills that I used to have to stop on a few times. Then it was on to my Godson's 3rd birthday. So ANZAC day means a few things to me, it is a day to reflect and remember on the lives of so many young men's lives lost and on the sacrifices still being made today and to sound a bit cliched, quite frankly the sheer madness of it all. On the other hand it was this day 3 years ago that my gorgeous little godson, Aden (seen in the picture with his little sister Zhara) was born 6 weeks premature. I'll never forget the day I saw the poor little mite the day he was born, so tiny and helpless in his humidicrib, he stayed in hospital for 5 weeks before he was allowed to come home. His mum and I have been best friends since we started high school together 19 years ago!!! The party was at one of those indoor play centres so I was run ragged as "Aunty Em" chased them around the equipment and went on trips down the slide, carrying a 2 year old girl up and down a set of stairs to a slide over and over is one heck of a workout, as is bouncing around a jumping castle. Then it was off to the Dandenongs for a bushwalk, just a 2 hour one. All the way down the valley then up and out again. Gotta admit I was holding myself back, part of me wished I was wearing my sneakers so I could just take off and have a run, WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME. But then I got into a spot of trouble at the end for racing ahead of the group, so if I had have run ahead I would have been well in the doghouse :-(. Also getting a bit sick of the endless daily digs at my weight, mainly from family and other half. Mum saw be today and went on a bit about "make sure you eat enough", "what do you weigh?", "you are too thin", to the charming "you look Anorexic" from the other half, no I don't actually, I look healthy, an Anorexic would not have the energy to run like I do. The fact of the matter is I would actually like to lose another 4 Kgs, I am probably just a touch on the heavy side for distance running, I would prefer to be dragging a little less around in races. But I won't be mentioning that around the house. But here it is, 172cm, 59.5 Kgs and 22% BF does not = Anorexic thankyou very bloody much.

Rest Day

Monday is rest day. I headed off to Yoga at lunch time, being that I am very slack with the stretching Yoga was great after a hard run yesterday. I also walked home from the station just to keep the legs moving as well. As you can see on the right, it was pretty much straight up and down, the first 8.5 Km, aghhhhh, the final Kms, Yeeeeee Haaaaaa.

I am determined to conquer the hills, I KNOW that it is doing me good, the more I run them, the less I will fear them. The training plan has me down for a 10Km tomorrow, I have mapped out a good hilly course in my head. Normally when I am forced to run around my home I will stick to the same course but hills it is tomorrow morning.

Also the half marathon I am entering will pretty much be a flat course which, as was pointed out to me on Sunday will seem like a breeze compared to the likes of Kinglake.

Phew, it is going to be a long 11 weeks, which will probably end up passing in a flash, I should probably try not to spend every waking hour thinking about it.

I got my race number for the Mothers Day Classic today, that will mark 1 year since I entered my first fun run, back when all the running was indoors and only about 20 Kms a week. I can't really remember my time, it was the 4Km and I think I finished in about 25 minutes. This year I have entered the 8Km and I am tentatively hoping for 40 minutes, but with 2 goes up the anderson st hill that may be difficult. But this really is just a "fun" run for me, my best buddy is doing the 4Km and then the plan is for a big cafe breakie and a good goss afterwards. Also my grandmother died of breast cancer so I am running in her memory as well.

12.75 Km today - 58.9 Km for the week

Well the training plan had me scheduled for a 20Km run today, however one thing I have learned is that training programs need to be adaptable and the quality of the workout needs to be considered. And in my book 12.75 Kms, where probably a good 7 Km was a steady climb counts as a high quality workout. I almost feel like a beginner again, well I am still a beginner but I remembered what it was like 4 months ago when I could barely get thru a 5Km run. There was alot of stopping to walk up the hills, I set myself very mini goals, just to the next big tree there, then I can walk a bit, OK, start up again and so on. I decided at the start of this month that one of my goals was to get some variety into the training and get out of the comfort zone I had found, that is, to let it hurt a bit!!! It was a daunting run because I didn't know what was going to be around the next corner (apart from more bloody hills) I believe next time will be easier (easier, not easy, and note next time, I have not been put off). Also there were some abdominal cramps early on - women's issues as my mother used to say ;-), which were quite nasty, however, hand me the Nobel Prize for science as I have discovered that the cure for cramping is not Nurofen, it is running up hills on bush tracks, why, because it bloody hurts more!!! Once that was sorted I was fine, though just quietly there was an unpleasant 10 minutes there were I thought I would break down. The old me would have just sooked off back to the car, but even after only 4 months I have become not just physically stronger but mentally as well. A rather pleasant surprise too was when we got back to the car I wasn't hanging out to stop. Of course Rogo was bounding up the track like he had springs in his legs and Roy & Rogo probably covered a further 2 Kms at least as they would hit the top of a hill and double back to the rest of us and tackle the hill again. I saw a few lyrebirds on the track too which was kinda cool, and there was lots of mist through the trees, we are so lucky to have such amazing places to run so close to where we live, I am a bit of a sucker for the aussie bush. There was a bush walk planned for this afternoon but J had a tension headache. He was in a bad car accident in the Navy and the injuries he received still haunt him from time to time. Not to worry we have organised to meet some friends in Olinda on Tuesday afternoon instead, the weather will be much nicer then as well. 70 days to the GC half marathon, I close my eyes and imagine crossing the line and the clock says 1:59:00 or less ;-) Every time I tackle one of these long runs, no matter how painful it is instead of being put off it just makes me more determined, I wonder where the hell this determination and stubbornness has come from, I used to give up so easily when I was younger. Rest day tomorrow, then back into it Tuesday with a big day, 10Km in the morning, off to a 3 year olds birthday then the bushwalk.

8Km today - 46.3 Km this week - How hard is it to find running gear for Women?

The plan for today was for an easy 8KM, so that is what I did. It was one of those rare mornings when I couldn't be stuffed, but I got thru it. It was a combination of factors, I hate running from home because it is not very interesting and the cupboard was bare so my pre-run meal was the 1/4 of a left over Naan bread from last nights curry takeway. Pretty damn dodgy and nowhere near enough to fuel me. I need a new pair of 3/4 leggings, the Nike ones I bought in January are a bit baggy now and they chafe. GOD, how bloody hard is it to find women's running gear, you go to Rebel and there is nothing but stupid J-Lo tracksuits and crap yoga gear all garbage that is totally useless should you need to break a sweat or do anything outdoors. Aghhhhhh, meanwhile the men's section is nothing but good functional running gear. I went to Sports Depot and the men's rack said "Men's Running", the women's said "Women's Sporting Apparel" ie, useless terry toweling crap that you can not run in. I will have to go to Melbourne Sports Depot on Monday and get another pair of my favorite Adidas leggings. There was not even anything decent in Nike town. These people need to focus less on fashion and more on function/practicality. Then it was off to K-mart, which as they were having a sale was madness. It is my godson's 3rd birthday on ANZAC day, I have been hanging out for him to turn 3 so I can buy him Play-Doh!!! hey, I don't have to clean it up :-). I got this way cool Dinosaur Adventure Park, it has dino moulds that grow Play-Doh claws and teeth and stuff and little moulds that make fossils, and really it is all I can do not to rip into it and have a play myself. Big rest tonight before another hilly run tomorrow morning.

11.4 today - 38.1 Km this week & good to see Angel back

10 Km planned for today, ended up with 11.4 Km. I have taken to running after work this week, just for some variety and to avoid the coldest part of the day. I drove in the last 2 days and parked at Fed Square so instead of running from the office to The Tan I took a different route. Out from Fed Square, right into Flinders St, the right into Batman ave and thru Birrarung Marr and up to Morrel Bridge and on to The Tan. I was happy to see yesterday that Angel has come out of storage after over 6 years and found a home again. I managed to find a picture to post, but it does not show the whole sculpture which is a shame. It looks lovely by the Yarra, better than outside the Gallery because you can see it all the way around. I really enjoyed my run this afternoon and truly the running gods were smiling on me because I started off at about 16:15 after chucking my bags in the car and went for just over an hour, perfect clear sky the whole way. I stopped short of the car park by about 500 meters to cool down, paid for the car park, hopped in the car and the heavens opened and it just chucked it down all the way home. I suppose I better talk about the run. I had an easy 10Km scheduled for today, went for 11.4 Km in about 62 minutes. Generally kept to about 5:30 pace with a couple of sub 5:00 Ks as well. Felt very comfortable and relaxed, again paying attention to form and keeping the stride long. I am trying to break my little cliff young shuffle run habit, which was born out of my early days when it was just easier for me to get through a run that way.

10.1 Km today - 26.7 Km this week - Bit of a turning point today

Today's plan was for a 10Km run as follows: 1.5 Km warm up at 5:45 pace 6.5 Km at 5:10 pace 2 Km cool down at 5:45 pace What happened 1.5 Km warm up at 5:25 pace 6.5 Km at roughly 5:00 pace (twice up Anderson St sapped some time) 2 Km cool down at 5:10 pace (was cruising comfortably and was having trouble slowing down, naughty!!!) All up 10.1 Km in 52:25 It was a great run tonight, the weather was looking a bit grim but that was not stopping me, there was some light rain which soon went away and it turned into perfect conditions for a run. I have now run along the Yarra on warm summer mornings and cool Autumn evenings and it is just as beautiful either way. Now for the best part, Tiger Boy and Rogo you will both be very pleased with me. I decided to concentrate on my form and stride today. I always feel like I am working twice as hard as everyone else, people are always over taking me but look like they are barely working. So today I lengthened my stride and before I knew it I was hitting a 4:50 pace (hey that is good for me!) but felt completely relaxed and in control. It was like all of a sudden today everything just fell into place and I felt more graceful, though I probably looked as unco as ever ;-) I have to make sure I have something to eat in the car though, it took me almost an hour to get home tonight and I was absolutely starving all the way. Oh and something weird happened today when I was walking to my car to stash my stuff before the run, I saw a flash and looked around and someone had just taken my photo, Damn paparazzi, always mistaking me for Nicole Kidman, LOL. Still was a bit odd, I will probably turn up in some art students photography project.

10.4 Km today - 16.9 Km this week

I was going to join a S2F training session this afternoon, but I did some speed work last night (not much by most peoples standards but a good start for this slow poke!) and with daylight savings over I am not thrilled about having to catch the train home after dark. So I did a run by myself straight afterwork. I started work at 7 today so I took off at 16:00 today to run from the office, do 2 laps of the tan then back to Collins St, all up about 10.4 Km. Kept to a good disciplined, consistent slow pace today, about 5:36 per Km. I was a little sore after a faster session last night and a Pilates mat class at lunch time. I have done 3 Pilates sessions now and are really enjoying it, I am still trying to master the technique but it is worth it to get it right. I love the studio, the intstructors are great and the classes are small enough so you get plenty of help if you need it. This next bit is just for the girls (not to discriminate against you fellas, but seriously you won't be interested, you have been warned) I call this "it's all just in the head really". It is PMS time so naturally no one can do anything right and I feel like a pregnant elephant (in so far as I can empathise with how a pregnant elephant feels, I don't want to eat a pregnant elephant, this is not PMS cravings gone mad!), so this morning I weigh myself, then tonight, just to prove a point I weigh myself again, and hey presto no change from this morning. Therefore I feel like a disgusting fat beast, but I am in fact not at all resembling a giant pregnant mammal. Like I said, it's all just in the head really. God I really am a headcase sometimes :-)

Some speed work and a 5Km track run

Headed out for a 10Km this morning, lasted 50m and I couldn't go on, this has never happened before, the legs felt like lead. So I turned around and had a shower and started work early. I put it down to a bad night sleep (was a windy night and the windows were rattling) and 3 intense days, that is, a long run in the hills, a quick 10K and a long hilly bushwalk on Monday. Due to the early start I was able to nick off at about 4 which made for an easy drive home. Then it was off to the Croydon Aths track to do some runs with the masters, many of whom completely kicked my butt :-). Met up with Rogo and Tiger Boy and did a bit of a warm up and a few 100 metre pick ups and then I did an 800M run, which confirmed my resolve that I am not a sprinter. Give me 10,000 M over 100 anyday of the week. Then there was a 5000m, it was really weird running a track, I was worried I would lose count. Just took it as a tempo training run and finished in 25:25, so 5:05 pace. Certainly worked up a sweat but the opening laps were quite easy, I picked up a bit over the last 4 laps and even managed a bit of kick at the end (thanks to the long legs inherited from dad!) so I am sure I will get to that 22 minutes eventually. Oh and thanks to TB and Rogo for joining me on the last 2 laps - and lapping me a few times ;-)

Death by Deep Heat :-( & Silvan run Pictures

Here are some pictures from the Mt Evelyn to Silvan run on Saturday, courtesy of Rogo OUCH, I had a very weird reaction to Deep Heat this afternoon. I have used it for years with no problems. Today after a nice soak in a Radox bath (a rare treat given our water issues here in Melbourne) I put some Deep Heat on my calves and quads which are a bit sore after quite a bit of running and a bush walk today. Within about 60 seconds I felt like my legs were on fire. Now I have a very high pain threshold (it's a chick thing) but I was in agony, I threw myself into a full on all cold water shower for about 5 minutes and barely even felt the water, my heart was beating like mad. Now my legs feel really cold and I look like I have been scalded with hot water. Weird, I didn't do anything that I wouldn't normally do when putting deep heat on. Not to worry, all is OK now, I'll live to run another day. Sigh, back to work tomorrow, long weekends are never long enough ;-) LATER About 20:00, legs feel fine now, funny Deep Heat reaction a distant memory now. Possibly helped by surprise visit from lovely freinds with wine! I hardly drink these days so I have become a very cheap date, one glass and I go all wobbly :-)

Ok - I have been tagged, didn't know about this little game

Ok - here are my answers Here are my answers to 11 running questions: 1. What time of day do you run? Generally the morning. Up at 5am to get dressed and eat, pack the bag and head to the city to run before work. On the weekends or days off I try to run during the day to vary the conditions 2. What are your favorite runs? I like to go off road, X-Country is definitely more of a challenge but you can't beat the experience. 3. What is your favorite song to run to? I don't run with music outdoors, too security conscious. When I ran on the treadmill the following had a pretty high rotation - Chicken Playback, Hey Boy Hey Girl, galvanism, Beautiful People, Take me out, Breath (Ministry), Love Cats, I Ran, Alright, Mobscene, Paco Don't love me, and many others. 4. What book are you reading at the moment? Marathon Training - Hal Higdon The Trial - Franz Kafka Too many blogs 5. When did you start running? 2 Years ago on the tready 3 and a half months ago outdoors 6. What's your post-race/post-run ritual? Rarely do I stretch (terrible habit I know) Lot's of fluids, maybe some sweeties If a race or long run I try to eat something small, generally not up for a meal for several hours. 7. What do you eat before you run? 2 and a half weet-bix with Physical Milk mixed with chocolate sustagen 8. What's your favorite running accessory? My Polar RSD200 9. What's your motivation for running? (or why you first started running) I was overweight and tired of making excuses about it I keep doing it because now I have set some goals, I love it and I am stubbornly persistent 10. What are your running shoes? Adidas SuperNova control Saucony Omni Grid Next week I plan to head back to Active Feet and invest in a lighter pair for speed work and racing (my fetish for ridiculous high heels has been replaced by one for running shoes) 11. What is your next running goal? To add variety to my training, time goals are in the sidebar on this blog I think Beki has tagged most of the people I would have, so just a tag to mr nerdbox and alsoran

10 Km today - weekly total 58.2 Km

10 Km today to round out the week to just over 58 Km. I was feeling a bit tender after yesterday afternoon but I held off until about 15:30 before heading out for a run. I took it easy and kept to a nice 5:30 pace. I am looking forward to my rest day tomorrow though, I think I have earned it this week. I met mum for a coffee and a quick bite to eat which got me moving for the afternoon, so after that I was quite happy to head out for a run. Mum gave me a choccie Lindt bunny for easter, it is quite cute, even at 32 my Mum still gives me something every easter, then again she still introduces me to people as her "baby girl" even though I am the oldest! Looking forward to the Comedy Festival tonight, I really love long weekends, nothing like a sleep in on a Monday.

Almost to tired to Blog -18 Km today - 48.1 Km this week

Wow really tired tonight. A fantastic run through the bush from Mount Evelyn to Silvan Dam and back, all up about 18Km. Lots of ups and downs, I even had to resort to walking once or twice, which is unheard of for me and hard to admit :-( The last one was "a hill too far", but I did finish running, always a bonus. A well earned hot chocolate then off home, quick shower, whipped up some dinner (Vegetarian Burritos) and now about to crash on the couch to no doubt fall alseep in front of The Bill, woo hoo, what a wild Saturday Night. I hope to round out the week with a 10Km tomorrow, then a bushwalk. Off to see Arj Barker at 10pm tomorrow, God I hope I can stay awake for it. One thing to say for all this running, I love an early night these days. Half Marathon training starts next week Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

5.1 K - 29.8K this week

Nothing impressive today, just a quick 5 Km to get the blood flowing. Down to Video Ezy to return some DVDs, Nightwatch and The Proposition, then around the park and back home. Nightwatch wasn't too bad, though I watched it last night and as per fell asleep, also it was dubbed into English from Russian and you always lose a bit of the nuance with dubbing, I would have preferred subtitles. The Propositon was just as good the second time around. So good to see an excellent Aussie film without all that cringey "G'day cobber, chuck another prawn on the barbie, she'll be right, eccentric Ocker character" crap. The Proposition was just amazing I don't think it did as well at the AFI's as it deserved too. Then again I happen to think Nick Cave is a genius storyteller so I may be a touch biased ;-)

You may be wondering about the Merc in the top right there. No it isn't mine, but being a generally nasty day out there I have been prone to a spot of whimsy and have been thinking about getting a new (old) car. I don't drive much so I don't need anything fancy and you can pick up these old 350s for between 7 and 15 grand. I thought this one in particular looked gorgeous, but it is a '74 and if I am indulging in whimsy I would like to find a '73 because that is when I was born, so naturally it was a good year. I am not a car nut though so a bit more research will be needed to see if they are mechanically sound, etc, then again, they are Merc's. I found a really tricked out one that have been turned into a convertable and had a fancy sound system and all the mod cons for $30,000 but why do that to a classic car, also it was orange, ugh???

I am off to meet some of the ESRG crew tomorrow afternoon for a spot of running in the hills which I am looking forward too. I absolutely love cross country running, we are looking at about 15 K, but as I want to make it my long run I will probably push on to another 5 to 8 at the end.

I also had a good look at the Box Hill Athletic Club site. Looks like the only have a small field of women, about 5 or 6, but all of greater ability than me. The fixture for winter looks great though, quite a bit of X-Country as well. I will keep building the endurance this year with a view to signing up April 2007. The half and full marathon will keep me busy enough this year as well as quite a few 10 K events in between.

10.1 K today - 24.7 K this week - 80 days to GC half

The soreness is starting to leave the legs, managed a zippier 10K today. Though, dear reader, as I have repeated over and over I MUST TRAIN AT TRAINING PACE!!!!!! I ran today at about 15 seconds over race pace, waaaaaay to fast for a training run. 4 day weekend, Woo Hoo, this means sleeping in, which for me still means an early start but I love the luxury of getting up when I want to, not when the alarm goes off. Will probably just head out for 8K tomorrow morning then I am going to cook a big pancake pigout, complete with stewed berries and maple syrup. Then off to Mt Evelyn on Saturday afternoon for a long run in the hills. Comedy Festival time. Off to see Arj Barker on Sunday night, LOVE HIM, totally cracks me up (and easy on the eye too, funny and good looking, dangerous) - found all the Arj and Poopy episodes on the net today - check it out if you want a laugh http://arjandpoopy.com/eps.html Will probably go see the Lano and Woodley farewell show as well, beyond that I haven't put much more thought into it, maybe Judith Lucy as well.

8.1 K - 14.5 K this week

I really am taking it easy this week. Just an cruisey 8.1 today in about 43 minutes. I start the half marathon training plan next week, so I don't want to do anything fancy this week apart from keeping the legs moving. I must have put in a fair effort on Sunday because I am still a little sore, nothing serious, perhaps I should be treating myself to a massage after races. The Start to Finish training groups kicked off tonite, but given that I am taking it easy(ish) this week I gave it a miss. I will join in next Wednesday and maybe even this Saturday in Jells Park, at 5 bucks a session it looks like good value to me. I am glad they are continuing, I felt a bit lonely around the tan on Monday afternoon all by my lonesome. I love running on my own most mornings because frankly I am a bit of a bitch queen at that time of day, but in the afternoon I have warmed up and like to have someone to chat with. Caught a total icky creep leering at me this morning, he was just staring at me as I ran towards him, and then I turned to check the traffic before crossing the road and he was still leering, ughh. I have a massive gripe today, I like to keep it positive, generally, but I really would like to see all smokers rounded up and forced to live in little room together all breathing their own vile fumes. Every morning I get out there and move my butt around that running track only to hit the city again and have to run in the wake of some jerks foul smoke. And now that winter is coming I will have to put up with the idiots standing right outside the doors of my building right in front of the "No Smoking" signs getting their fix - Buy an umbrella you selfish dicks and go kill yourself somewhere else!

No Running - Pilates!

A well earned rest day, I will admit that I was feeling a bit or soreness in the legs today so it was nice to have a day off running. I had my introductory Pilates session during my lunch break today. So far I am very impressed, it is clearly going to take some dedication and persistance on my part to get it right, but luckily I am stubborn about getting things right. The instructor was lovely, she is a remedial physiotherapist so she really knew her stuff, she could tell just by watching me walk towards her what my issues were. Apparently I have quite well developed muscles in my lower back down into my glutes, but not so strong though the Abs and the core to compensate, so this explains my "scoped" lower back and "ducks" bum (you know, bum sticks out like a waddling duck!). Also the outer muscles on my thighs are much stronger than the inner - it has been a while since year 11 PE so I can't remember the correct names so I won't embarrass myself my trying. She taught me the basics that I need to start Mat Work which I can do for about a month before giving the reformer a go. I learned how to breath properly and how to engage all the core muscles before executing a movement. It was amazing how much concentration it involved just to get the smallest movement correct, like extending your leg using the core to control the movement, rather than arching my back and using the hips. I was surprised that I managed to get a bit of a sweat going by the end. The instructor also told me that after a couple of months I will notice improvements in my running style and that it will also do wonders for my breathing. I am aware that my breathing is quite shallow and I think this is what is bringing me down in the closing stages of a race as I start to become anxious. It was really relaxing laying there breathing deeply and correctly, I have been told to practice this at night before bed, it will probably help me get to sleep as well. So all up, very impressed and looking forward to mastering the technique and noticing the changes. On a totally vain and shallow side after a few months of this I will probably be happier about wearing the Bikini on the beach up north in June - now I don't think I look too shabby now, but some of those Qld beach babes can certainly shatter the confidence, eeeeek, I shall have to break out the fake tan though, somehow I don't think the freckles are going to join up after all ;-) Finally, as my fitness anniversary snuck up on me I didn't get a chance to celebrate last night, so tonight I had one of my favorite treats for dinner, Spanikopita, yumm, filo, spinach, feta cheese, now picture me drooling like Homer!

A bit over 6K - 1st run for the week

I just did an easy 6 and bit Ks today after work, up to the tan from the office in Collins St, once around and back to the office. And I mean an easy 6 and bit, the pace was about 5:40 which felt like walking, but I need to learn to stick to training paces rather than having just 2 paces, Stopping and Going! Tomorrow will be a no running day and I will be starting Pilates, so of course I needed to buy a new pair of leggings today :-) I printed a Half Marathon training plan today from www.runnersworld.com, had to do a bit of work to convert all the distances and pacing from miles to Kms, but it looks like a good solid plan. So the serious training starts next Monday, no more mucking about, eeeek, I will be clocking some good distance in the next 11 weeks, I am both excited and nervous, but mainly excited about the challenge, I love having something to focus my energy on. Another milestone reached - this week represents 2 years since I started on this journey. A very sad little (well not so little really) Em walks into Fernwood and says, "Help". I was not sure if I would stick with it and still look back to the early days. Almost crying when I was weighed and had BF% taken for the first time, 3 days a week, 45 minute walks on the treadmill, strength training, my first spin class. Then 4 days a week, the first time I could run for 5 minutes flat, 5 days a week, the first 5K run, the first 5Kgs lost, the odd dark moment where I thought screw it this is too much trouble. Then bidding a fond fairwell to the gym and hitting the roads and setting some scary goals for myself. Now 2 years later, 15 Kg lighter, 14% less body fat and aiming for the first half and full marathon this year. Talk about a whole new lease on life, I shudder to think the state I would be in if I had not stopped making excuses. So this is my "Happy Anniversary" to me :-)

Run for the Kids - 14.7 Km

Had a great race today, finished in almost exactly 75 minutes. This is the longest distance I have raced so far. I had a conservative goal of 80 minutes so I am totally stoked with my time. There were no timers on the finish line so I didn't check my watch until I was thru the chute and out the other side, I was by myself but I still did a little happy dance when I saw 75 minutes on my watch. I won't post my split times because the footpod on my polar was about 600 metres over by the end and I was using autolap at 1K intervals. Regardless of that though they were all good even splits so I am happy to see that I had good disciplined pacing. I was planning on kicking it up at 14Km but I misread the marker and actually stepped up the pace about 1K from the finish. Not a good idea and I almost blew it. The heaving started again about 500m from the end and this time I am confident that it was not related to what I ate. I had 2 weet-bix with sustegen milk at 06:00, I really believe that it is down to nerves and effort. I see the finish line and I just lose it & it almost feels like a panic attack, as soon as I cross the line I am OK again. Perhaps after I have done Pilates for a month or so I might gain better control of my breathing, I really hope so because I don't want this happening every time, it is the one thing that let's me down. On the upside I did not stop this time, I just ran through it (as if i was going to stop in front of all those spectators!) and am embarrassed to admit that I crossed the finish line with a few tears because I knew I had run a pretty good one. Also I was pleased to note that I was overtaking a few runners in club colours as well, so I really think I will look into signing up somewhere next year, probably Box Hill as it is closest to home. The only bum note was the reaction when I called home afterwards, I was in such a good mood about my time and the response was, "75 minutes, well it is 1:30 now, were have you been? we are out of coffee", Not "Hey good job well done" Who cares, my Ausrunner buddies were happy to hear how I went. On that note, it looks like everyone had a great run too. JK and MD come over the line together only about 5 minutes after me. 'Potamus and Beki finished together and were both very pleased with their times, they should both be very proud of themselves as I think it was their first time at the distance. Clarkey, Stu and TB all had great runs in under 63 minutes, which I think is just awesome. Eat 'em also finished in an excellent 66 minutes. Not sure about CJ but I was eating his dust after I caught him briefly at the 10 K mark so I am sure he finished well. I hope I have covered everyone here, well done to all :-) Finally, don't have a report yet but I hope Schtumpy ran a blinder in the Canberra Marathon today, I was certainly sending him good vibes. The schdule for the next 2 months will be the Mothers Day Classic (8K) and another Sri Chinmoy 10K on 28 May. Then the big one the Gold Coast half and I am starting to think I may have to revise down my goal of 120 minutes, but I won't get too ahead of myself. I won't race anything over 10K until after the GC half, I don't want to distract my focus from trying to achieve a great time there with my brother and sister the cheer for me.

Ughhh, nasty weather

I was going to do a quick 5K today, but the weather sucks and I have the R4K tomorrow so it is probably a good idea to rest. I am just getting all the chores out of the way so I can take it easy tomorrow after the race. I have my best buddy's 32nd tonite so I will have to go easy on the drink. I was going thru my iPod this morning and discovered that I have played Hallelujah a ridiculous amount of times (the Jeff Buckley version, full credit to Leonard Cohen, but Jeff just bought something inexplicable to that song.). My heart almost breaks in two every time I hear him sing that song - this weather always brings out the melancholia........ Now I've heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this The fourth, the fifth The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew her She tied you To a kitchen chair She broke your throne, and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah You say I took the name in vain I don't even know the name But if I did, well really, what's it to you? There's a blaze of light In every word It doesn't matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah I did my best, it wasn't much I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you And even though It all went wrong I'll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah

10 K today - 33.9 K this week

10 Km today, once around the tan then back up along the yarra, quite a quick pace today, I was feeling great after a very good night sleep. I think I have determined my cold tolerance, it was 8 degrees yesterday and I needed long sleeves and gloves. It was 12 degrees today and I was fine with short sleeves but I needed the gloves until I reached Anderson st, then I took them off and shoved them down the front of my leggings, for the rest of the run I was waving to people with my freaky little second hands :-) I have a feeling that 12 degrees with wind and rain might be far less tolerable though, this morning was nice and still. I felt a bit more revived today. I had Sustagen milk with 2 weet-bix before running, a flat white, a pumpkin soup with a half size tuna salad wrap which I had at 15:00 and I have had another sustengen just now. Oh yeah and a few mini easter eggs, well, the guy at the next desk was handing them around, would have been rude say no! It is cold and nasty so tonite I will get a takeaway dhal from the curry place, YUMMY! Sustegen seems to some sort of magic potion so I will stick with it, 2 serves with Physical add an extra 1000 Kj which is just about what I needed. I signed up with a Pilates studio today, I was getting sick of promising myself I would do it and I am no longer paying for a gym membership. It is a bit expensive (twice per month what I was paying for the gym, Yikes), but I am only committed for 3 months then I can pay by the month only. Still, I think I will see great benefits from it and what they heck, I don't have kids so it is just all about ME really. I have a 1 on 1 session next Tuesday to get me going and I really looking forward to it. A recent article in Runners World finally convinced me to give it a go, bit worried about the equipment though, looks like something from a torture chamber.

Today, 10.7 Km - this week 23.9 Km

A very lazy 10.7 Km today, 2 laps around the usual spot, took 56 minutes. Feeling very depleted at the moment, lightheaded and no energy and very tired. But, I survived my first morning below 10 degrees (it was 8), and it was not too bad. Not looking forwad to the first cold and wet morning, or worse, the triple treat of cold, wind and rain, ughhh, will cross that bridge when I get to it. What doesn't kill me will make me stronger, blah blah blah..... I did a quick assessment of intake for the last couple of days and had a good look at my typical diet and I don't think I have compensated for my increase in mileage with an increased intake of Kjs. Shock horror, I never thought the day would come when I did not eat enough! Based on my approximate BMR (obtained from a website calculator, therefore probably not too accurate) and my average daily activity from running and the fact that I walk alot I should be taking in about 9000 Kj. I am probably falling short by 1000 to 2000 a day and it has started to catch up. I have lost almost 3 Kg in the last 5 weeks, yikes. Now no one is going to accuse me of being too thin and I do want to drop some body fat, but slowly is the key. Also it is no use if I feel like crap and can't do quality workouts. I was very bad on Sunday and did not refuel properly after the 24 Kms, I didn't eat a proper meal until dinner time. Problems - I can't eat too much in one sitting I can't eat a high carb lunch because I will want to nap in the afternoon I can't be stuffed cooking a proper dinner at night and I also don't feel very hungry in the evenings Solutions I need to be more organised and have more healthy snacks on hand and break the daily intake into smaller meals. Can't do much about not having a high carb lunch, but a roll to have with my usual lunch of tuna salad or veggie soup should help I have bought a tin of Sustegen powder. 2 serves of that a day with milk will boost the protein and give me most of the iron and Vit B I need. The 2 Weet-bix I eat before the morning run will take care of the rest. Refuel properly after a workout, especially the long run. I have been thinking about visiting a nutritionist so I may still do that. I have found one at a Sports Medicine clinic in the city that is reasonably priced. I must look after myself better, otherwise I will get colds all winter as well, and that is the last thing I need, I am usually the only person in the office that does not get sick.

8 Km today - this week 13Km

Wow, I was getting so used to dark mornings I kept getting the feeling today that I was hideously late because the sun was already up when I got started. That probably contributed to me running a pretty fast 8K this morning, faster than I should for a training run anyhow, so I will redeem myself and call it a tempo run. God it is cold this afternoon, I have a feeling that tomorrow morning is going to be a real test of my mettle, Brrrrrrrr. Got the Sri Chinmoy results from the 26th today. There were 46 girlies in the 10Km and I came 19th, pretty happy with that. My official time was 50:43 and I am confident I can come in under that on 28.05 in Williamstown as it is another flat course (though as for the weather on the day, who knows). The good thing about being a beginner is that it is easy to improve. Have been feeling a bit lightheaded of late, was particularly bad on the run this morning. Might have to head back to the Doc for another blood pressure reading, though it was normal last time and the GP I see is next to useless. I don't think I am eating enough either, I am tired alot, the biggest problem is dinner, I get home from work and just can not be stuffed and end up with baked beans on toast more often than not, VERY BAD and I always wake up absolutely starving. Ughhh, no ranting today, am going to retire to the couch under a big warm blanket.

Ahhh, the rest day - warning contains another rant ;-)

Like the title says, today was a rest day, so of course, I feel restless and ripped off. I just keep repeating, you need to rest, it is good for you. I am going to start Pilates next week, that will give me something to look forward to on the rest day. Daylight savings is over now, so that means the possums will be tucked up in bed when I hit the road tomorrow, and no more tripping over tree roots. I saw the DUMBEST thing in priceline the other day, but I kept forgetting to rant about it. Just remembered as I sit here scoffing a bowl of rice and stir fry. You can get pills that reduce carbohydrate absorption, yes folks, you heard right, reduce carb absorption. Well, it is my blog and I'll swear if I want to, why the fuck would anyone want to do that!!! I'm sorry, and where do these muscle wasted, ketone overloaded, no carb eating Atkins freaks plan on getting their energy from??? The air that they breath?? I think not. I could almost rename this blog "Why Em thinks Atkins was a raving lunatic", have you ever seen someone on a low carb diet smile? To me they just have they hungry haunted look, when ever I look at those Atkins freak celebrities I just want to tie them to a chair and force feed them fettuchini. God give me strength, I for one do not fear the carbohydrate, the carb in my friend and anyone who knows me could hardly accuse me of looking the worse for it. And don't even get me started on the Diet book section of the book shop, makes me want to bring back good old fashioned book burning, no wonder people get so confused. God knows I tried and was tortured by enough of that madness in my 20s. There is only one "diet" book anyone should own, it is called Nutrition for Life by Catherine Saxelby, I swear by it. Back to Supersize me, which I was watching on the weekend. The guy that was having the gastric banding, who incidently discovered he had type 2 diabetes when he went blind one day! used to drink almost 4 litres of soft drink a day, A DAY, I'd be lucky to drink that in a year. Aghhhhhhhh, nuff said really, rant over.

5Km today - first run for the week

Oh dear, once again I should have made today a rest day after 23 Km yesterday, but I really wanted to go to my last R4K session. Just did an easy 5Km today, quite the adventure as it was dark by the time we got started. I went out with the medium group looking for a 5:30 pace but soon left them behind, I think they were doing a slow medium today. I picked up another runner from my group who got a bit lost and we headed back together and had a nice chat. Ended up finishing comfortably in about 27 minutes. Saw Stu Mac at the end, he lead the 5Km fast and they came in at about 26 minutes so I probably could have managed that. I need to have more confidence in myself. I have just improved so much in the last 2 months, feeling very strong and I know if I keep dedicating myself I will be able to achieve my goals I don't even hurt after a long run, I am very very tired and sleep like a log that night, but no sore bits. Now, I know pride comes before a fall so I will shut up now before I tempt fate any further. I am going to start Pilates next week, it can be something for me to do on my rest day, quite looking forward to it. I won't really taper this week before the R4K, I am not expecting much from this run as it will be a very slow start. I am going to enter another 10Km on 28 May (Sri Chinmoy, keep feeding me pancakes and they will have a friend for life) and have another crack at getting in under that 50 minutes. Apart from that I only have the 8KM mothers day classic on 14 May, I won't do any more races ahead of the Gold Cost half in July. Feeling as I do tonite I am very confident of getting that half marathon in under 120 minutes. !!!!!!!! feeling good today !!!!!!!!!!! PS - if you read this, thanks again for the lift home TB, the train can be a bit feral at this time of night, I really appreciated it.

23.5 Km today!!!! - weekly total 63.8 Km

Check it out, that is 23.5 Km, in one go, the longest time on my feet yet and the highest mileage week yet as well. Feeling pretty good, just generally achey and tired but nothing serious. I have been traveling along so nicely since I started running seriously 4 months ago I keep waiting for the wheels to fall off (touch wood). I seem to have a pretty functional build so here's hoping the body keeps holding up. Had a great run today, Tony, Michelle and JayKay picked me up and we headed down to meet some Coolrunners in Williamstown for a change of scenery. Was a nice flat course but was all on pavement so I will probably feel it a bit more today, it was also a bit windy in parts. But if I am to run races they will all be on pavement so may as well get used to it. I had wheatbix before the run and had no tummy issues, so that could be a good bet before racing, I'll give the porridge a go before the next long run (I LOVE porridge so that will be no hardship). I have put a picture up on my blog now. I ummed and ahed about it for a while for a couple of reasons, one being I hate having my photo taken & I can count the number of recent photo's taken of me on one hand and the other being, I hate having my photo taken :-(. But the other day I happened upon the one I put up, it was taken last year at one of my favorite places in Oz, Trinity Beach in Cairns and I remember being very relaxed and happy at the time & I had finally figured out how to use the self timer on the camera. I absolutely love far north queensland, it is my "find a happy place" place. My baby brother is turning 16 in a couple of days so we are having a family dinner out tonight at our favorite Vietnamese place. I have already mentally ordered my meal!! It is a special birthday because Rhys is turning 16 and he is 16 years younger than me. I guess I should stop calling him baby brother though, now that he is close to 6 feet tall and can pick me up when he hugs me! But to me he will always be the little rug rat in a pram that everyone thought was mine, my poor mother got so sick of telling people that she was not his grandmother as much I got sick of the disapproving looks.

Easy 5Km today - 40.3 Km for the week and a bit of a Rant

Just an easy 5Km today, about 5:20 pace, took about 27 minutes. It occurred to me that after a slower week last week I should have rested today ahead of a long run tomorrow so I just headed out for an easy one. Will hopefully manage about 25Km tomorrow which will give me about 65Km for the week, the longest yet. I have a 30th this afternoon (the birthday girl has 2 small kids so her days of long nights out are over), I am looking forward to treating myself to a glass or 2 of red, especially after last weeks abstinence. Weigh in this morning has me at 59.7 Kg and 22.7% body fat, I am aiming to get the BF below 20%, it was 24% 2 months ago so I am getting there, slowly. I have been more diligent with what I eat over the last month or so. Almost no alcohol, only occasional choccie treats, no cheese at all, low fat dairy products, no butter, etc etc, just sensible eating. But right now I could murder a packet of tasty jacks potato chips!!! As I type this I am watching Supersize Me. The dazzling array of garbage those americans have at their disposal is INSANE!!!! I am stunned, amazed, gobsmacked, etc etc that a person could get themself to a point where gastric banding surgery is the only option for weight loss. I understand that in many circumstances there are serious socio economic reasons for these problems and I don't intend to write an essay here. But on the whole I find this obesity epidemic we are having here in the west deeply deeply disturbing, for most people, there really is no excuse. What the hell happened to personal accountability. I was subjected to just as much pressured advertising from the likes of Maccca's as a child, but my parents just used to say NO. Simple as that really, "no you can't have McDonalds", no argument, end of story, off home for a salad roll. Mum even used to pack a lunch when Dad took us to the football (ahh, good old Waverly Park), but grandad used to buy my brother and I a bucket of chips while he had a pot at the bar :-) and of course we loved him for that. Well, that was a nice little rant wasn't it.