Comfort Zone here, Me, waaaaaay over there!

Running
Tonights session was as follows, 1x800 mtre, 5x400 mtre with 2 minute recovery (5 minute recovery before last set). Splits as follows:
800 mtre - 3:22 (better than last weeks 3:29)
Now before the 400 mtre sets started I was asked to try and stick to the back of the leaders of our particular group and challenge myself, gulp, OK
1st - 90
2nd - 91
3rd - 91
4th - 98 (alright, it was taking it's toll)
5th - 93
Someone asked me how I felt after the first 3 sets, well, am I supposed to feel like throwing up?? I will get better at this, just another bridge to cross that's all, damn hard though, sprinting (yes, those times are sprinting for me, don't mock) is not my forte, but hey, I love a challenge :-) I really concentrated on how it felt and what my body was doing tonight, I start off well, but the form drops as I fatigue and I become quite tense. So the goal for next week is to try to relax into it and hold my form throughout. In summary, it hurt, I was challenged and I am pretty pleased with the set.

Samhain
For my northern hemisphere bretheren today is Samhain (pronounced sowen). For the Celts it was not even a remotely sinister affair, it marked the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn, in essence it is the Harvest Festival. There would be 3 days of celebrations and feasting, a place would be set for the dead and tales about the ancestors would be told and animals would be slaughtered for the winter. Halloween on the otherhand is the secular derivation of the Christian celebration of All Hallows Eve and All Souls Day.

Thus ends the incredibly brief history lesson for today.

Time to start running smarter

Running
Recovery Run
10Km in 56:02, average pace 5:35. Felt very comfortable and was breathing easy and relaxed, I may start wearing the HRM again for these runs.

Well, after last weeks mini melt down I have had a good think about things. I believe one of my issues is that I have been undisciplined in my training, instead of doing my recovery runs at the appropriate pace I have become stupidly competitive within myself, that is, I ran this course in X time last week, so this week I have to do better. As a result I have pretty much been doing speedwork on Tuesday nights, tempo runs the rest of the time and a long run on Sundays. So the new schedule starting from today is as follows:
Monday - Recovery Run between 8 and 12 Km at 5:30
Tuesday - Speed work (thanks ewen!)
Wednesday - Midweek long run between 12 and 16 Km between 5:15 and 5:30
Thursday - Temp session, 10Km including 30 minutes at 10Km pace
Friday - Recovery Run betwen 8 and 12 Km at 5:30
Saturday - Rest Day
Sunday - Long run, at this stage no more than 90 minutes, will start building these again next year

This will give me weekly totals between 65 and 80 Km, generally about 3 weeks on and 1 week slighty easier. This is pretty much thrown together from some books I have been reading lately and seems reasonable to me, happy to take any advice to the contrary. So my new mantra is to run the run that is scheduled for the day, pay heed to recovery runs which will allow be to give more to the faster sessions and to not let stooopid pride get in the way of running "slowly" when it is best to.

BIG Congrats to Vicky for her fantastic run in the Auckland (Half) Marathon on the weeked, top time of 94:50 and 9th in her category, I am incredibly impressed, well done chicky!

Rambling
Today I saw a guy today wearing a brown suit with a yellow shirt, I guess he got dressed in the dark because the dude looked like a Crunchie!!

As I type this my cat, Asterix is tearing around the place, skidding all over the floor boards and messing up the rug because he is chasing a plastic ring thingie from a milk bottle, very easily amused :-)

Ready to run again

Running and Riding
None today either. In fact this is the first Sunday I have not run since 22 January this year and it will be the first weekend since before I started keeping a training log in January with no running. So really, there is no need for excuses here, I deserved a break! I did get up at 06:30 today with every intention of heading out to Coburg, but once I was up I just didn't have the heart and headed straight back to bed. This would be the first Sunday in a very long time when I have slept in until 8am. So as a result of 3 days off running now (again can't remember the last time I went 3 days without a run) I am feeling pretty refreshed, it has done me a world on good.

We went for a bike ride at Lysterfield Lake this afternoon, I don't rate it as exercise though there was alot of stopping and starting finding tracks and stuff and I was never particularly taxed. I am keen to get back and explore some more though, the tracks are pretty well marked and they include the grade, from 1 to 10, we kept to under 6. I loved working the hills, putting the bike in a low gear and going hard until the legs give way. Not so hot on the down hills though, trees kept jumping out in my path :-)

Unfortunately alot of the really great looking running tracks were marked for Bikes Only, I was definitely a runner on a bike because I know what I would have preferred to have been doing. Not having a whinge though, it was a gorgeous afternoon and an amazing place to ride, not one metre of sealed bike path to be seen. The Comm Games mountain bike course is there as well, but as it is a grade 10 and there were lot's of serious looking lycra clad types with obscenely expensive looking bikes lurking around we definitely gave that one a miss.

Then as we were packing up the bikes to leave I saw a couple running out onto the path and I got a pang, I wanna be doing that............I take that as a very good sign that the rest has been good but I am ready to go again tomorrow, no doubt about it. Though tomorrow I'll check out some different routes, I am thinking I'll head along the tan along the river then head over the bridge, past the MCG and work my way up and around Fitzroy Gardens, just for a change.

Wrong Planet

Running
None, rest day. Exercise consisted of shopping and housework, YAWN.

So what is Asberger's Syndrome
Beakus mentioned a book on her blog the other day called Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet. Daniel is a savant but he also suffers from Asberger's Syndrome, he is unique in that most savants are severely autistic and can not lead independent lives, his gift is believed to have been acquired when he had a serious epileptic fit as a child.

So, what is Asberger's Syndrome and why am I writing a post on it? I went out and bought Daniels book and it has got me thinking over the last couple of days. My younger brother, Rhys, who turned 16 this year was diagnosed with Asberger's about 7 years ago. Asberger's has been known about for a while, but was only categorised as a form of high functioning autism in 1994. I won't go into all the details, the link above takes you to the Wikipedia entry which is pretty informative.

Unlike most autistics Asberger's suffers generally can lead independent lives. Aspies have some very quirky personality traits and when my brother was first diagnosed and we learned more about it we all started thinking Aha, yes, that explains alot. For example, AS is often categorised by
Limited interests or preoccupation with a subject to the exclusion of other activities
Repetitive behaviors or rituals
Peculiarities in speech and language
Socially and emotionally inappropriate behavior and interpersonal interaction
Problems with nonverbal communication
Clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements.

So you can see from this list that sufferers often find themselves isolated and on the fringes of social groups. Have a think back to school, maybe the "weird" kid that you all teased was an Aspie. Then think about the torment of a young boy, only about 8 or 9 who feels so confused and isolated by what he feels that he attempts suicide. This happened to my gorgeous little brother and not just once either, he was constantly teased and bullied at school and he simply did not understand what made him feel so different. No one should ever feel like suicide is the only option, but especially not a child.

Now to the positives, Aspies tend to be high achievers within their particular field of interest, perhaps partly due to the preoccupation described above. It has been suggested that Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton and Stanley Kubrick were sufferers. My brothers area of preoccupation is music, he has played guitar for years and is very good, he learns mostly by ear. He has also been playing double bass for 18 months, both classical and jazz. His tutor is a bassist for the MSO and his biggest challenge is getting Rhys to learn to sight read music because he has been learning by ear for so long. A few weeks ago Rhys successfully audtioned for the Percy Grainger junior orchestra, obviously I am pretty damn proud!

Now, we have never thought of Rhys as being in anyway disadvantaged, in fact many aspects of his Asbergers make for a very unique and likeable personality. One particularly quickly trait is his tendency to take things literally. Last Xmas I was putting together a cheese plate and I gave him a box of mixed crackers and asked him to arrange them on a plate for me, when I checked on his progress he had taken them out of the box and put them on the plate exactly as they were in the box. When he had his first bass tutorial his tutor told him to "toss his bow over there", poor Rhys was mortified, bows to a bass player are like sneakers to a runner, very personal and very expensive and this guy was telling him to toss it!!! Lucky mum was there to reassure him that the tutor just wanted him to put it down. Now he has a habit when meeting new people to say "I have Asbergers, sometimes I take things literally", a little disarming I know but it helps him to set expectations.

Finally, many AS sufferers often say that life for them is like landing on another planet and not knowing the language, customers or social rights and wrongs, the support website is www.wrongplanet.com

So if you got to the end of this post just remember, it takes many different personalities to make up the human race, next time you encounter someone you think is a bit left of the middle, cut them some slack, they might think you are just as weird, perhaps even from another planet.

Attack of the soy sauce fish

Running
Well first up, thanks for all the suportive comments guys, very much appreciated. It was a hard post to write, I am an expert at lying to myself in the belief that if I don't admit my weakness it's not really there!

Today I didn't even bother bringing my gear to work, that way I wouldn't even be tempted. But let's face it, the weather sucked this afternoon so probably for the best. Though of course by the time I got home I was restless as anything so I jumped on our recumbent exercise bike, which thus far I had refused to go any where near! I managed half an hour before I was bored out of my skull, it just does not work you as hard. Rode for 13Km in 30 minutes, I did a hill seat, climbed a hill and rode down the otherside, heart rate barely nudged 60% for most of it, still, it took the edge off.

Now here is the rub, mojo very much present and making itself known, like a hyper kid on too much red cordial it is constantly jumping up and down in the back of my mind "come on, let's go, get into it, get moving come on come on!!!!". Unfortunately the legs not quite so willing to come to the party and this is the root of my frustration, I have not lost my drive, just can't get the damn body to co-operate. Therefore I stubbornly kept plugging away in the hope that the body will just comply. This resulted in me just cracking it with myself yesterday and wallowing in a mire of self pity. Anyway, will cut back to 5 days a week for the next 3 weeks, keep long runs under 90 minutes and probably keep weekly mileage around 55 to 60 Km a week and most importantly without freaking out about not "doing enough". Also will try not to stress about gaining weight which means no jumping on the scales and adjusting the eating to accomodate lower mileage for a few weeks.

I'll still do the 6Km run in Coburg on Sunday, today's extra rest should see me feeling pretty fresh by then, not pinning too much on it though, but would like to finish in around 27:30.

Rambling
For the last couple of months I keep noticing these little red plastic things on the ground in the city. I'll forget about them, then looking down there they are again. Mostly I don't give them a second thought, then I get obesesed, what the hell are these things, they are everywhere, I am laying awake in bed trying to figure it out. Then a few days ago I am enjoying some salmon sushi for lunch and there you have it, the little red screw cap in the soy sauce fish!!! Mystery solved. Now come on people, do the right thing, throw your little red plastic cap in the bin with the other stuff, not on the ground.

Warning, sook alert.....

Running
Only 7.5Km today, 38:00, average pace 5:03

Well, I confess, I've been a tad disingenuous this week. I realised today that there is no point putting brave face on things and continuing to push though. This is essentially a training log and I need to be more honest in what I am documenting in order to asses my progress.

I have been feeling pretty ordinary this week, for example, I have been very tired, even though I sleep well, I have been anxious and overly emotional, I have had annoying mild headaches all week (I rarely get headaches) and my head has been really fuzzy and I have been light headed. In fact this afternoon as I was finishing my run I was waiting to cross Flinders St on the corner of Swanston when the lights went green for the traffic and I nearly bloody ran out onto the road thinking I had the green light!! This is difficult for me to document because I am generally pretty stoic, I hate to appear to not be "coping". I once played a whole game of baseball with a dislocated thumb because I didn't want to be a bother, pigheaded I know!

So what's up I wonder? Well, please don't suggest I am pregnant, that is certainly not the case. Overtraining perhaps, I don't know, the 2 weeks since the half marathon were 44km and 56km, that does not seem excessive. Perhaps I am putting too much pressure on myself to return to pre HM mileage and more as quickly as possible. I am nervous that if I back off I will gain weight and lose fitness, this fear causes me to push through when mind and body perhaps need a rest. I am also a bit lost as to what I should be doing, since the start of the year I have had key runs to train for, Run 4 the Kids, Gold Coast Half Marathon and Melbourne Marathon. Now all of a sudden NOTHING, I don't know what I am supposed to be doing every day. Should I be having an "off season" for a month? Or is this just silly because it is not like I run high elite level mileage. I want to position myself for continual improvement but rationally I know that I can't/shouldn't train at the same level all the time.

So what's a girl to do? Stop over analysing for a start. Stop being so tough on myself. Perhaps cut back to 5 days a week for the next couple of weeks, I have only had 3 rest days since the HM. Through Dec/Jan concentrate on racing shorter distances and keep the long runs under 90 minutes. Did I mention stop being so tough on myself?

Oh, sorry for the belly aching, just feeling a bit sorry for myself today I suppose. I guess I just need a pat on the shoulder and a "there there, it will be OK, every runner goes though this at some stage". Now best I hit publish before I delete the lot and replace it with an everything is OK post.

Pictures from the sky

Running
11Km in 57:56, average pace 5:15. Quite comfortable today, certainly much better than this time last week, should have run more of a 5:25 pace for a recovery run though. Work got really frustrating today, thank goodness all that was forgotten about 2Km into the run.

Rambling

How cool is this, it was spotted on Google Earth, it is a rock formation about 255 meters across in Canada



On the topic of really cool things that can only be seen from high up, this gives me an excuse to post this, it is in Uffington in Wiltshire in the UK.



And this seemingly innocuous rocky outcrop is the site of Tintagel Castle in Cornwell, this is where King Arthur lived. Underneath is Merlins Cave, Merlin dreamed of a white dragon and a red dragon fighting, this was a premonition of the Saxon invasion of England. The red dragon will be familiar now as it appears on the Welsh flag. No prizes for guessing that I have Cornish ancestory.

Good days, bad days

Running
Speed session tonight, 1000 mtre, 800 mtre, 600 mtre, 400 mtre and 200 mtre with 2 minute recover, splits as follows -

1000 - 4:26 (ughh, not happy with that, 4:10 to 4:15 would have been more reasonable)
800 - 3:29
600 - 2:30
400 - 92 (better)
200 - 43 (the short stuff 'aint my bag baby)

I rate this session about 85%, I should have had some better splits but just was not totally on top of it today. It was a warm night, but not oppressive, the air was really dry though which made breathing difficult, anyway just making excuses, just one of those days and regardless it still makes me stronger.

A few people have suggested I try some AV summer stuff as an invite, specifically 3000mtre on the track. Not real sure I have the confidence for that at the moment, I don't know the etiquette of track running, it intimidates me. I don't want to get out there and have people going off at me because I am doing the wrong thing, probably best to just go down and have a look.

I can't believe I didn't mention this yesterday, but I got caught up in my Xmas rant. We got a new Australian women's marathon record on the weekend, Benita Johnson came 3rd in the Chicago Marathon in 2:22:36. A fantastic run on what was supposed to be a crap day weather wise, I hear she is contemplating the marathon at the Beijing Olympics. After the Comm Games it looks like she is having a pretty good return to form which is great to see.

I feel the earth move under my feet

Running
The sort of afternoon that would move me to stand on top of a hill somewhere and burst into song, not withstanding the fact that I have a worse singing voice than Jordan pre auto tune (alright, the link won't freakin work, type in Jordan whole new world into the You tube search engine and if you want your ears to bleed choose the pre auto tune version, if there are young kids in the room I suggest you make sure they leave). I had a perfect easy breazy run, just cruising around the tan and along the yarra, listening to my shuffle, concentrating on stride and form and just loving being out there.

The cold hard facts - 10Km, 51:48, average pace 5:10.

Ramblings
Still working on my mental fitness, today's tip Think about all the times in the past when you couldn't quite believe that your present level of fitness and running would eventually be possible. Use those instances as reference points to remind yourself that your present limited beliefs are no different than those you had in your past; those changed and so will these. Trust.....and believe it. Point in fact there is an old post from me on the Ausrun forum asking for advice on getting my long runs up over 12Km and lamenting whether or not I would be capabale of completing the Run for the Kids 14.7Km last April. Now I did finish the run in 75 minutes and will be back again next April hoping to finish in around 70 minutes.

Is anyone else desperate for a return to the traditional 12 days of Christmas, instead of the insane 85 bloody days of Christmas we now have to endure??? Can you believe that the Xmas tree has gone up in the City Square already!!!! MADNESS I tell you! And they have decorations and crap in David Jones already. I am afraid I am not one of those full of the joy of Xmas people, it is all I can handle in Decemeber, please don't inflict it on me in October. In my family we are all grown up now so we do Kris Kringle to save the buying a gift for everyone stupidity. For the last couple of years I have instructed my KK to buy something from the World Vision smiles catalog in my name. It's quite a cool idea, they have items varying from $25 to over $1000 that provide things like pens and rulers for school kids, a hen and rooster, goats, pigs, vaccinations, blankets, seed, emergency kits for natural disasters etc. You can get something similar from the Oxfam shop, you buy a "card" varying in price from about $25 upwards and the card will have a picture of the item and something like, "A bicycle has been purchased in your name for........". The way I see it I am an adult, I earn a good living and if I need something I'll buy it, I don't need a gift.

Sunshine!!!

Running
An easy one today, 2Km warm up while waiting for friends then 10.5Km around The Tan and along the Yarra.

Vicki was visiting from NZ so I met her, Tony and Angel for an easy 60 minutes. After a slight mix up in the interpretation of what exactly constitutes a pillar ;-) we all eventually found each other and set off on a rather gorgeous Melbourne spring morning. We did a lap of the tan, I went strangly quiet up Anderson St, but found my voice again soon afterwards. After a lap of The Tan I took everyone along the Yarra over Morell Bridge and up through Birrarung Marr and past Federation Square. Back up along The Tan to the bridge again, then double back down to the Pillars to the cars to collect some cash and head off for breakfast with rumbling tummy's. A plate of pancakes and a flat white never tastes quite as good as it does after a run!

Once again always great to catch up with another Ausrunner and it is always funny after getting to know someone via the net that when you meet them in person it is more like catching up with a buddy you haven't seen in a while rather than meeting a stranger. Anyway, Vicki has a half marathon in Auckland next Sunday and won't have the benefit of the Ausrun army to cheer her on in person so at 04:30 ESST (if you put your clock forward before going to bed) try to dream good vibes and send them her way.

I managed more distance this week, clocking up 55.6 Km, the second week back last time was 48Km so ahead by a wee bit. Emotions a bit up and down, especially on Wednesday when I struggled with a less than comfortable 12Km. But after getting into my new book and as anyone who read yesterday's post will notice I have a handle on that now. I think the issue is just to get back to being comfortable running more than 10Kms. At the moment I am looking forward to tackling a shorter race next Sunday morning at Coburg.

Free your mind and the rest will follow

A good run after work last night before heading out for dinner with some of the girls from my training group.

It was a bit cool yesterday and I must have looked weird standing out the front of my office waiting to cross the road clapping my hands and psyching myself up. In all though it was perfect running weather and I got a steady 8Km in, 41:32, average pace 5:11

I am about a quarter of the way into my new book at the moment and it is a great read, I am going to quote from it so had better credit the source:
Running Within - A guide to mastering the mind-body-spirit connection for ultimate training and racing by Jerry Lynch and Warren Scott

I marked one page in particular because I reckon it pretty much sums me up
Persistence
....deliberate, slow cultivation is the path to success and good fortune. Realising your goals and attaining success are the by products of persistence and perspiration. Talent accounts for a mere 5 percent of most achievements. Those runners who appear to have much talent were once struggling beginners. It was persistence and hard work that led them to achievement and excellence.

.....Becoming proficient as a runner requires years of training and persistence through setbacks. It usually takes about 5 years of consistent training before you come into your own as a runner. However ,know that you continue to improve for at least 10 years from the moment you initiate a running program, no matter how hold you are when you start (unless you are 80 LOL, my words here) Naturally this assumes you are committed to a seasonally and yearly progressive training program. Every dog has his day; you just need to keep at it. The problem with many good athletes is that they are willing to give up just as the palm trees of the oasis begin to appear on the horizon. Giving up is not part of the warrior's lexicon; persistence and consistency in training are.

Ok, the warrior stuff is a bit OTT, in fact the whole chapter is called Exhibiting the Warrior Within, a wee bit daggy, but some excellent advice in the whole chapter. Though I don't completely agree with the talent accounting for only 5%, there is no disputing that at the elite level talent is an enormous factor. Having said that there is also no doubting that to rely on talent alone is a fools errand and that those guys and gals work damn hard. Now back to me, who's to say that I can't have my own piece of personal glory if I work hard. I was going through a brief period where I was starting to feel like a bit of a doofus, maybe taking it all a bit too seriously, started telling myself "it's not like you will ever be any good". I checked myself pretty quickly though, why would I bother spending over 6 hours a week training if I was going to take that shit attitude, what a waste of time!

So I think the positive thinking is stating to take hold, I had one of those vivid dreams this morning that really stick, you know the ones you have in that semi awake state in the early morning before you are fully awake. I'll keep it brief, hearing about other people's dreams can be tedious - I was lined up for race, the gun went off and I was running very comfortably, next thing I knew we were working up a huge hill and I found myself lugging a big heavy bag, then the hill turned downwards and I felt free again, I rounded a corner and there were 2 girls waiting for me dressed in normal clothes who started running with me. We got to the finish line and they backed off. I said something about how they should kick on, they had been way ahead of me. I can't remember what was said but one the girls spoke and the intimation was that it was my race to run and I should take it, so I crossed the line and I had won.

Some pretty transparent and obvious symbolism there I think, my subconscious must have decided not to bother being subtle and just bash me about the head with it instead ;-)

Anyway, I think I have rambled on enough here, well done to anyone who saw it through to the end.

No running today, it is my rest day, will be catching up with some Ausrunners for a run tomorrow morning, we have a NZ visitor so looking forward to showing off one of my regular haunts around The Tan and along the Yarra.

Running
I took my running gear to work today not really knowing if I would run this afternoon, I was feeling a bit wobbly this morning. I felt sick last night and didn't sleep well after a pretty stressful day at work and I am generally pretty robust so you can take that as a sign that it was a VERY stressful day at the office. Anyway, today turned out to be much better than yesterday and I did not have to strangle anyone.

Anyway, by the time 4pm rolled around I felt up to a run, not really sure of the plan so just headed out the door to see what the legs would give me. Turned out to be short and sweet but reasonably sharp -
6Km in 30:26, average pace 5:03.

It does feel a bit odd to be running without a plan, some would say that I should just relax and go with it, but you know what I am like, I love the structure! I'll be ready for a race next weekend so I'll probably turn up to the Coburg Harriers H.A.T run on Sunday 29th. I think they are offering 4, 6 and 12Km so I'll decide on the day, 4km or 6km looks likely, and it helps raise money for charity.

SLLLLOOOOOWWWWWW

Running
12Km in 1:06:31, that's bloody slow for me. Perhaps the return to speedwork took more out of me than I expected. Quite warm this afternoon too, for some stupid reason this morning I packed 3/4 tights instead of shorts which didn't help matters.

Life
In a vile mood today, but that is nothing to do with the running. Work is just a bit frustrating at the moment and I am afraid that I am ruled my by emotions and perhaps are not as effective as I could be as a result. I can't help it, I wear my heart on my sleeve and I speak my mind, I'd love to be cool and calm but it just aint me. I won't bore you with the details but needless to say I get very frustrated when people needlessly turn a very simple task into something incredibly difficult, there is nothing that peeves me more than red tape. I am very much a "just get it done" personality and the blood pressure shoots way up when people start messing me around. Anyway, try to relax tonight and deal with it again tomorrow and resist the urge to put my hands around someone's neck and shake very hard :-)

Speed Work

Running
Back to the fast stuff today, session as follows
1000mtre, 750mtre, 500mtre, 500mtre, 250mtre, 250mtre

I was a tad aprehensive in spite of the fact that I seem to be recovering well, anyway it turned out to be a fairly decent session for me, not my quickest but better than I expected, splits as follows

1000 - 4:08 (that was very good considering it felt like 5:08)
750 - 3:09
500 - 2:05
500 - 2:08
250 - 0:57
250 - 0:53 (pretty strong finish)

Very warm night and alot of dust being kicked up on The Tan, does not seem like that long ago when I would struggle to do up the zip on my tracksuit because my hands were so cold.

Contemplating the Marathon (thanks Steve!), Hmmmm, I am not afraid to admit that it is a pretty scary thought. I may try for the Melbourne Marathon next year but am not prepared to commit right now, I am more interested in getting my 5Km, 10Km and HM times down at the moment. I don't want to tackle 42.2 until I am confident I can do it well (and am less terrified by the thought of it!)

What half marathon?

Running
Pressed for time this afternoon, I was in training all day and it didn't finish until after 5. I wanted to get home at a reasonable hour so I could cook a decent dinner so I only had about 40 minutes to run. Thought I'd just head out for about 20 minutes then turn around, just running on feel. 41:29 later I ran 8Km at an average pace of 5:10, there were even 3 sub 5 minute splits in there. I can safely say that I am just about recovered and certainly much quicker than last time. I do have speed work tomorrow night though and probably won't be as sharp as usual but that's to be expected.

Some books I ordered on Amazon turned up today, one is Running Within - A Guide to Mastering the Body-Mind-Spirit Connection for Ultimate Training and Racing. I am looking forward to getting into it, I spend enough time training my body but I think the mind definitely needs some attention.

Life
There has been a bit in the news lately about Muslim women and the veil in Britain, specifically about whether or not they should be wearing them. Personally I can't see what all the fuss is about, if they feel they want to wear the veil I could not be the least bit concerned. It certainly wouldn't bother me if I were talking to a woman with a full veil. But then again I was brought up to respect differences and appreciate all cultures, and when I am talking to someone I am far more interested than what they have to say than what they look like and what they are wearing. One of the arguments I have heard is that some people find it "confronting", what the? Isn't that the individuals issue, not that of the veiled woman? Personally I am not a big fan of beards, but I don't expect every man with a beard to be clean saven just because I am not a fan. Anyway, I know I am simplfing the issue and I could probably write an essay on the topic, but get over it people, veil, no veil, deal with the person underneath, not the covering. A few years ago I flew Emirates and on the flight home from the UK on the London to Dubai leg the plane was full of veiled woman, some had some pretty elaborate get ups with little gold eye masks and everything. Far from being bothered I was more curious, I am fascinated by other cultures and am deeply interested in the history and motivations behind certain practices. But like I said I was fortunate enough to be brought up pretty open minded and was encouraged to be curious about the world around me, not fearful.

PS - spell checker is playing up and frankly I am too lazy to proof read, dinner is ready. So please forgive any mistakes.

As a mountain bike rider........

Running
........I make a fantastic runner :-) Quite a few Ausrunners were heading off for the second Spring int Shape series. I would have loved to have joined in but I was being Miss Goody Two Shoes and continuing my recovery runs. Today I was hoping to manage 15Km and that is what I ended up with, took me 1:20:06 with an average pace of 5:20. The week finished on 44.4Km (bugger, should I pop out now and run to the end of the street and back!!). I am pretty pleased with how the week has progressed, certainly contuning to recover better than last time. Oh yeah, my new shoes, fantastic, very comfy and they had heaps of room for my poor battered brusied toe.

Life
This afternoon we went for a bike ride, I took us to Westerfolds Park this time. Headed out of the park and down to the Yarra Trail, a spot that I have run on a few times over the last couple of months, however we mostly rode down all the off path sections, we even spotted a snake. By mountain biking standards it was not particularly challenging, but I am certianly a much beter runner than mountain biker. The problem stems primarily from the fact that I am now old enough to know that if I go wheel first into a pot hole at speed and fly over the handle bars it is going to fecking hurt, therefore I proceed with caution. While it was stacks of fun I couldn't help thinking, hmmm, gotta get back here soon and run these off path sections.

Shoes, then and now

No Running today, off for a longish run tomorrow morning, hopefully about 15Km

I was doing a spot of spring cleaning today and I found a single lonely sneaker in the back of the cupboard. It was one half of my old pair of Reeboks from HIGH SCHOOL!!! God only knows how they managed to survive the 8 times I moved between leaving home and buying my house. Anyway, the lonely sneaker is now in the bin but before I chucked it I took a photo. They saw many a 3Km cross country run between year 9 and 12 when I graduated from Dunlop Volleys to "proper" running shoes. Not that these had much more support or cushioning than the old volleys and they were a size 8.5, I now wear a 9.5 to 10!!





So in contrast here are the new ones I picked up today. A brand spanking new pair of Nike Air Equalon, just out, so new that they were not even laced so no one else had tried them on. My Brooks Trance 5 have about 750Km on them so they will be good for another 300Km, I'll just rotate them with the Nike's. I did try the new Trance 6's, and there was a damn fine and comfortable pair of shoes right there, they felt amazing. Unfortunately for me though Brooks have tweeked the support and they are no longer the shoe for me, not enough mid foot support according to the Pod. Shame, I really wanted them to be right, great forefoot flexibility and they are supposed to wear well for longer as well. The Pod. wanted to sell me Saucony's Omni Grids again but I have had them before and I just wasn't that happy with them. They were quite stiff and I felt like they robbed me of my natural style a bit too much. To the credit of the chick fitting my shoes for me she accepted that and made a real effort to find something else that provided the right support that I was happy with. Anyway, that is an awfully long post about shoes!!



Water update - Some guys came today and tore up my driveway as the burst was under the pavement not the nature strip. So they tore up the driveway, filled the hole in again and nicked off. Presumably at some stage someone is going to turn up and actually fix the pipe. So in summary, 2 guys came and installed the sign, a few hours later 2 more guys came, looked at the water leaking, wiggled the sign and left, then today another 2 guys come and dug a hole and fill it in again. Apparently I now have to call Yarra Valley Water and say the pipe can be fixed now (because they can't do that, being that they work for YVW and all??) - if I didn't know any better I'd say I was caught in a Monty Python skit!

Free Water

Running
I was pressed for time this morning, got the 06:08 train and hit the road at 06:50. 7Km in 38:37, a 5:30 pace so still keeping it very slow. Tomorrow I'll go for a bike ride then on Sunday I am hoping the legs will let me do 15Km. I have been reading a great book on running called Run Strong, contains some great advice on recovery runs and building our mileage sensibly.

Here is my certificate from Sunday's half marathon, how generous of them to use my age category placing rather than my gender placing (246/1515), I did a spot of editing because they printed my surname first and it looked daft.



Life
Well, the water main has been bust for 72 hours now and the fact is it was probably bust for at least a week before the water seeped to the surface as we have rather heavy clay here. More disturbingly there is a little bubble of water constantly flowing out of a crack in my driveway, so I am now worried about the damage it is doing as well as the waste. Not, I have to say, that Yarra Valley water seem all the fussed by it. They assure me they will be fixing it tomorrow morning, hmmm, we'll see. In the meantime, if you want some free water for your garden just pop by my place, BYO bucket!

Music Quiz
And the answer to yesterday's quiz, it was Hot! Hot! Hot! by The Cure from Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (I guess they were going through a "3" period).

More Summer than Spring

Running
Another early start this morning, making the most of the very light mornings before daylight savings begins. I decided to drive to work today, mainly so I could get home in air conditioned comfort. I got to the office, dumped my bag and hit the road at 06:29. Again I was just going out without much of a plan, just to run what my body felt like. I got to Morrell Bridge and checked out the Nylex clock, it was already 22 degrees.

The run today was 9.3 km in 50:23, an average pace of 5:23. It tuned out to be 37 degrees this afternoon at the time I would normally run, thank god I went this morning and it will be another early one tomorrow.

I am starting to get back to normal, probably about 90% there. It is helping to keep these recovery runs at an easy pace.

Music Quiz

This one reflects the day, there is a big fat hint, could be a wee bit obscure though, if you are not a fan of the band you probably won't get it. The damn song has been in my head all day

"Yes I'm jumping like a jumping jack. Dancing Screaming Itching Squealing Fevered..........."

Other Stuff

With the weather heating up water conservation and drought is the hot topic. So it really pisses me off when running back past the City Square yesterday morning I am splashing through water, the run off from he sprinklers watering the little bit of lawn in the square. Melbourne City Council has alot to answer for right there. And this morning I notice the nature strip in front of my house is soggy, yep, a burst water main, again, I have now had one on either side of my driveway. In hindsight it had been going all night, I noticed some run off in the gutter when I put the bin out but thought it came from the neighbours sprinkler. So the burst water main reported at about 0730 this morning, has it been fixed yet? No, but Yarra Valley water, bless them, have popped up a sign saying "Burst Water Main Reported. Repair Prioritiesed". It is now 19:20, wonder how much more water is going down the drain before they take care of it?

At least this time it is just seeping. Last time I had a rather attractive water feature/fountain on the nature strip for about 8 hours. to make matter worse people kept knocking on my door "hey did you realise........",

Not "just", Not "only"

I have decided that the best thing to do is to chuck out all notion of a training plan for this week and next week and just do what my body is capable of and more importantly, enjoy running for the sake of it. I decided to run this morning because it was such a lovely start to the day. I got into my gear and caught a super early train (06:08) and was off and running at 06:50. I ended up with 8Km in 43:34, so an nice easy 5:26 pace. The morning was stunning, about 16 degrees and a little bit of a wind. The legs felt reasonably good considering, just a little muscle tightness but still no dead leg feeling, thank goodness.

Mucking around with my watch this morning on the train trip in I discovered that I had set up a pacing zone for my half marathon (probably mucking around on another train trip). The zone was set at 4:44 to 5:00 minute Kms, however I had the sound turned off so didn't notice. In hindsight I do remember when glancing at the watch during the race that the display was flashing occasionally to indicate that I was out of zone, at the time I assume it was cross talk from another HRM (I don't wear my chest strap when racing, in fact I rarely wear it in training these days). So I have some extra stats from that to share.
Time In Zone - 60:33
Time Above Zone (greater than 5 minute Km) - 39:11
Time Below Zone (better than 4:44 Km) - 4:57
So from that I reckon I was reasonably disciplined, however perhaps should have remembered that I had set the zones and adjusted it to 4:50 to 5:00 minute Kms and paid attention. I wouldn't turn the beeper on though because it gives me the shits when racing. Maybe I should use it on some Tempo runs to help develop better pacing discipline.

I was back at work today and found my self saying this alot as colleagues asked me how my Marathon went on the weekend, "oh it was just a half marathon" or it was "oh it was only a half marathon". Hold on there Em, it is still bloody hard to race that distance and there is no only or just about it, stop apologising. Peoples reactions are funny though, lot's of Oh my god, you ran HOW far? :-)

The weather is looking the same for the rest of the working week so I'll be catching the super early train and running in the mornings again tomorrow and Friday. Hopefully the legs will give me 10Km tomorrow.

The race photo's came out today, as I suspected mine is fecking ordinary, ughhh, classic Run Yourself Ugly right there, still, PBs don't come easy. On a more positive note I compared it to my Gold Coast finishers photo and my legs look heaps better, really starting to look like a runner now!

Favorite Album
The ABC are polling "My Favorite Album" for a show later in the year. I have been mulling this over for a couple of weeks, so many to choose from. I finally made my decision, Jeff Buckley's Grace. Why?? Well I LOVE Nick Cave, but he has been prolific and is still around to keep recording. But Jeff Buckley put out one brilliant album that still moves me everytime I listen to it, then he drowned so that is all we get. Sure there was some stuff released posthumously, but Grace was well, perfect. Plenty won't agree with me, but this is my choice.

I guess I am an addict

Running
The results came up today, my official half time was 1:44:38. I finished 246 out of 1515 females, that is an improvement on the Gold Coast where I was in the top 21% of female finishers, this time around top 16%. I don't have an overall placing as they have not really organised the results very well. For my category (F 30-34) I finished 63rd, also an improvement on the Gold Coast where I was 75th. Again I don't know how many were in my category as they results aren't organised that way.

I managed a 5Km run today, took it easy and finished in 27:24 with a nice easy pace. The legs felt reasonably good considering, only real issue was a protesting right quad. Calves, hips and hammy's all felt fine and I had a great massage this afternoon which will help loosen me up as well. After the last half I did not run until the Wednesday afterwards and it was damn painful, this time around I am pleased to be getting back into it a day earlier and without the leaden dead leg feeling I experienced previously. Perhaps this is a result of improved fitness?! My feet are a bit of a mess though, I have a bruised toe and some blisters (have been popped, ughhh), I think my next pair of race shoes may have to go up to a whopping size 10 because I could feel my toes bashing against the end.

I am giving my usual Tuesday night session a miss today though, an easy 5Km run yes, speedwork NO! I'll get back into that next week.

This week I'll continue with the recovery pace runs, probably 8Km tomorrow, 10Km on Thursday and Friday and then the "long" run this week of about 15Km. This week and next week will be lighter but I want to start getting the mileage up again, though there will be some lower mileage weeks with a bit of racing planned between now and Xmas. I guess January can be considered my down time before picking it up again in February in preparation for winter. This is all "seems logical" planning and may be completely off mark so will talk to those in the know.

Life
The title alludes to the fact that I am a bit restless at the moment, apart from the HM there has not been much running over the last 6 days so I am on edge. The other half tells me that I am hooked on endorphins, it could be true I suppose.

What Next?

Running
I am happy to report that I have not suffered the same spiriling high and subsequent crash that I experienced after the Gold Coast Half Marathon, my emotions are on a much more even keel. Though I think the highs and lows last time were probably exaggerated by the bottle of Champagne and several glasses of white wine that were my "rehydration" strategy after the event! This time I was a bit more sensible and put away a bottle of gatorade, several cups of endura and water before moving onto the Guiness and that was one measly Pint as I had to drive home.

It has been a big year since starting the run seriously in January with lot's of fun runs and 2 half marathons, watching my times improve with each event. I am going to see out the year with some shorter events to see if my speed has improved and to just have some fun with it (which I am hoping will help with the "nerves" issue). I have spent some time on the internet looking for some events that look interesting and at this point the tentative plan to see out the year is as follows -
29 October - Run for Tanzania which is put on by the Coburg Harriers I'll do the 6Km event
12 November - Sri Chinmoy Yarra River, 7Km
26 November - Spring into Shape, either 4Km or 8Km, I'll decide closer to the date
14 December - Albert Park Xmas run, 5Km or 10Km, again, I'll decide closer to the date (maybe give 10Km a go and have a crack at a new PB)

January and February, not sure, I'll probably keep an eye on the race calendars and do the odd event if it looks interesting. Maybe go watch some of the AV summer track stuff and marvel at all the super quick sprinters

I'll also work on improving the mental side of things, in particular try to deal with those pesky nerves in the closing stages of an event. I reckon that will stem from developing some maturity as a "racer" and learning more about race strategy and being more calculated. That is, to go into the event knowing what I want to achieve and how to go about it and sticking to the plan. Also not building up an event so much will probably help. It's been a discovery year, it's been a hell of lot of fun but I guess what I am saying is I'd like to lose some of the hype. God, that sounds fecking boring doesn't it?? Don't get me wrong, this is in no way a detractor from my enthusiasm, in fact come winter next year most people will probably want to sick me in a box as I bounce around in the rain and mud with a grin on my face :-) Anyway, enough rambling thoughts, probably not making much sense but I have it straight in my mind.

This brings me to my next point, I am looking forward to 2007 and running for an Aths Club, I have missed being part of a team since I stopped playing baseball, and call me weird but I love wearing a sports uniform.

Life
My brother called today to let me know that he has already organised my birthday present, a few months in advance but he wanted to make sure I kept the day free. Now as a rule I avoid my birthday. However my brother will be in Melbourne for Christmas and has organised his MCC members tickets for the boxing day test, so he is going to take me along to day 3, so hoping it is a good match and still all on by day 3. A bit of history there, my brother is 2 years younger than me and was put on the MCC waiting list at birth by my paternal grandparents, as where all the male grandkids, meanwhile the girls didn't have that honour bestowed on them. So my brother who has lived in the UK for the best part of the last 9 years and now lives on the Gold Coast has an MCC membership and I have squat.

Last word, Peter Norman, who died last week, had his funeral today. I was pretty impressed to see John Carlos and Tommie Smith had flown over and were even pall bearers. I don't need to tell the story, everyone know this picture, even those of us who were not born then and that Peter supported John and Tommie's stand. Incidently I found out today that the Australian 200 mtre record Peter set that day in 1968 in Mexico still stands

Melbourne (half) Marathon - 1:44:41

Running
Where to start? The vital information first, the time, by my watch was 1:44:41 which is a PB by 3:19 which is nothing to sniff at!

Here are my splits, though I missed the first Km marker because they only marked the course for the full marathon, obviously us halfers don't count, we only got 5, 10 and 15 Km markers.
9:38 (2km)
5:17(3Km)
4:47 (4Km)
4:42 (5Km in 24:25)
4:50 (6Km)
4:44 (7Km)
4:52 (8Km)
4:56 (9Km)
4:56 (10Km in 48:47)
4:56 (11km)
4:58 (12Km)
5:03 (13Km and starting to pay for the quick start)
5:13 (14Km)
4:57 (15Km in 1:13:56)
5:04 (16Km)
9:51 (17 and 18Km)
5:01 (19Km)
5:08 (20Km in 1:39:01)
5:40(21.1Km)
The average pace was 4:58, so pretty stoked to have finished a half marathon with a sub 5 minute pace (by a bees dick)

I had the following splits written on my arm 5km - 25:24, 10Km - 50:20, 15Km - 1:14:47 and 20Km 1:38:47, so I was pretty close to the mark, it was the last 4 Km really that let me down.

I am 98% happy, the 2% unhappy is because I was hoping to get closer to 1:44:00 and I reckon I could have if the usual panic attack didn't set in during the last kilometer, I had the legs for a strong quick finish over the last 500 metres, but it is pretty hard to do when your stomach is having a spasm. It's gotta be a mental thing and it is something I have to work on, I suspect it may be a fear of failure. Though god knows why, once you are under a Km from the finish what's to fear??

I felt pretty strong right from the off, despite the fecking wind, rain and general coldness, fortunately the rain lasted only a few minutes and as if by some miracle the wind was a tail wind, with some cross winds for most of the way. Fitzroy street was tough because the tail wind left and I rounded the top with pretty heavy legs, though my split times show I did not let off too much after the 17Km mark. Then St Kilda road seemed to go on FOREVER, despite it being only 4Km, to make matters worse this is when the head wind kicked in, and a nasty cross wind in parts too, one nearly blew me over. Also the total morons trying to DRIVE out of the service road didn't help, literally pulling out right in front of runners, seriously, I wish I was kidding!!

Anyway, I was just praying for the Domain Interchange because I knew it would be about 1300 mtres from there, but the damn thing was a mirage, to more I ran towards it the more it moved away :-) Finally the Arts Centre Spire came into view and I was into the finish chute and the last 400 mtres or so, which is when I was having stomach problems. I was pretty relieved to get over the finish line, and the first face I see is Tim as the marshall was registering my timing chip. A bit dazed and confused and for the first 20 seconds or so I was thinking, "who is this guy, he seems particularly interested in how I went, that's pretty friendly", Doh, it was fantastic to see a friendly face so soon after finishing, though I pretty sure I was babbling and making very little sense, and I may have looked like I was going to chuck, but I couldn't have, nothing in my stomach. And I certainly don't want to see my finishers photo, I can tell you now, it aint gunna be pretty.

I limped back to my car to get my skins and tracksuit then headed back to watch the marathoners finish, some really happy with their times, others not so. But to all the Marathoners you have my never ending respect and admiration. Michelle, you legend, I knew you could get under 4 hours and I had a tear in my eye seeing you finish looking so strong!!

Again I have learned so valuable lessons today, I think my pacing at the start was a bit off and I went out a touch to fast, a slightly more conservative start could have yielded a better result. Well, bored you all enough now, looking forward to fish and chips for dinner, a day or 2 recovery then back into it and on to the next challenge.

Tomorrow Melb HM

Running
That's what it says on my Polar watch! 99 days ago, the day after I finished my first half marathon I set the count down feature on my watch, and here we are again. See, even the day after finishing the first one I was planning the next, and despite the umming and ahhing I had already decided in my heart that this October was going to be too soon for a full marathon, a decision I am very glad I took!

The race kit is all laid out, I am wearing the exact same thing I wore last time, rain hail or shine. I had made myself a pacing band with split times, but I don't think it will be very comfortable so I am just going to write the 5Km splits on my inner arm with permanent marker.

I didn't go for a full on run today, I did some gardening this morning, including taming a very over grown potato vine. So this afternoon I went for a brisk walk/run, pretty much just did some slow jogging and some strides just to remind myself what fast feels like.

Dinner tonite will be early and will be home made Nasi Goering, which will be lots of rice, some veg and egg, seasoning, an egg and the way I cook it, no oil (thanks mum for the non stick electric wok last christmas). Tomorrow night I am looking forward to my favorite indulgence, Fish and Chips, Mmmmmmm and there is a Darrel Lee Rocky Road out there with my name on it as well :-)

Here is a little sample of my diet staples over the last 3 days. Never thought I'd say it but I am a little carbed out right now, and I don't even like pasta that much at the best of times.



Best Wishes to everyone running tomorrow!

Aghh, restless

Running
Rest day and getting restless, in fact I have sat down to blog because I have been pacing the house. I took a drive along the half marathon course this morning at about 930. It was a perfect morning for a run (no don't worry, I didn't) unfortunately it won't be so perfect on Sunday, but so be it, I have run in far nastier weather than what is being predicted.

Back to the course, not as hilly as I feared it would be, more gently undulating with some lovely downhill stretches to help make up some speed. Also Fitzroy Street was no where near as bad as I thought, I am familiar with this street but obviously had not looked at it from the point of view of a runner before. To put it in perspective I reckon the haul up Swanston Street during the Run for the Kids was more of a challenge.

So now I have had a good look and I have been able to build up a bit of a race strategy. Early on the road is a bit curvy so I'll stick to the inside/middle of the road for the first 6 Km or so. The critical 16Km mark (5Km to go) is around Lunar Park and then Vic Barracks is about 1Km (maybe slightly less) to go, it is about this point that I start trying to talk myself out of throwing up. Yep, you heard right, after over 10 fun runs now I still have not found a way of managing the over whelming anxiety that strikes me in the closing Km. I come over all panicky and the dry heaves start. Sorry, gross I know, if anyone knows any tricks to over come this I'd love to know, getting a bit tired of crossing the finish line the doubling over.

And don't stress about my hydration strategy (or lack there of) on race morning, it is tried and true. As most of my runs are done in the afternoons, after I have been drinking water all day, even if I go to the loo before hand about a Km in I always need to pee again. I have experimented with running though it but I end up with a stitch. However on morning long runs I only have some toast and jam and nothing to drink, subsequently I am not troubled, even though I do drink during the run. I certainly plan on drinking during the half, I'll do that same as last time, take 20 seconds to slow down around the half way aid station and have a proper drink of sport drink. Fortunately they are using Endura which I have been drinking since the start of the year.

Here is a pic I took on the course today at about the 15Km mark, I got some funny looks standing there on the nature strip taking the photo.

Running
8Km easy, boring little trot 'round the streets near home. Well, I shouldn't say that, the route I took used to be my long run back in January when I'd take a deep breath on a Sunday morning and head out for 8Km which would take me about 50 minutes of slow running and a bit of walking.

Life
I took myself of to a chick flick this afternoon (my love of trashy chick flicks did appear on my 100 things about me list remember), I went to see The Devil Wears Prada. Not bad, Meryl Streep was fantastic, love her, oh to have such amazing bone structure, she still looks gorgeous. I did struggle to relate in parts though, the boyfriend and best friend got all snippy with the protagonist because she "changed". This gave me this irrites, sorry, but we can't stay the same forever, who'd want too, how boring!!

I popped into Dimmy's before the movie to buy myself a cheap top to wear on Sunday morning, something to keep me warm on the start line that can be chucked. So I found a top for $7 and was quite pleased with myself, then looked around at all the people who were shopping in there and buying clothes because for them it wasn't cheap it was what they could afford. Then I felt a bit ashamed of myself because the top I bought will be worn for an hour or so then discarded. Perhaps I dwell on things too much.

I have been following the AIS carb load program, starting from today. Unlike the bad old days there is no depletion phase, apart from a depletion of activity of course. I never, never thought I would say this, but it is quite difficult to get enough carbs in, so I am relying a bit on the endura and gatorade. For anyone who is interested check it out here. Also I am sticking to the refined carbohydrates so I don't get an upset stomach. Which is a change for me as I usually eat heaps of wholegrains, lentils, beans etc, typical vegetarian fare. I did this last time too, also I stop taking any fluids after about 6pm the night before and nothing but some toast and jam on the morning. Certainly made sure I had no unpleasant digestive issues on race morning, saves constant trips to the portaloo.

Ready and raring to go

Running
An easy paced 10Km this afternoon. I forgot my watch (not something I do very often), fortunately I have some tried and true routes mapped out at 6Km, 10Km, 12Km, 13Km and 16Km so it wasn't a problem. To be honest during this taper period it is a nice change to just head out for a run without worrying about time, it probably helped keep my pace a bit slower.

It was a very warm afternoon at about 16:30 when I headed out, 28 degrees by the Nylex clock. I ran up to The Tan from the office, a lap and a bit then back along the Yarra to the office. Despite the weather it was quite a pleasent run, not too humid. Also the added advantage of the warm weather means lot's of lovely lads running around The Tan with their tops off, honestly, the hardships I must endure for my sport ;-)

Not so nervous today, I have managed to put things in perspective. I think the reason I get nervous is because I know I have worked hard to this point, I am pretty much 98% happy with my prep this time. So I get a bit edgy because I would be disappointed in myself if I did not perform to my expectations on the day and I think that is fair. But on the other hand, I have only been running seriously since January, it is only my second half marathon and let's face it I have many, many half marathons ahead of me. By the way this is not defeatist talk, I am merely gaining some perspective, trust me, I'll be running my heart out on Sunday.

Now the Ausrun Forum has been down for over 24 hours now, I am suffering withdrawals, hope it is back up soon. Think I saw one of the Ausrunners passing me just after Anderson St this afternoon, but I have only met him once so wasn't 100% and too shy to shout out in case I was wrong.

Running
Last session before the half marathon. Just an easy 4 by 500 metres, not flat out, a good tempo session concentrating on form. I think that my actual performance was better than my perceived performance. My legs felt a touch jelly like and my heart rate more elevated than usual. I am putting it down to some nerves because I am physically well. I have my taper under control now, plan is as follows
Wed - 10Km
Thur - 8Km
Fri - Rest
Sat - 4 or 5 Km easy.

I have Thursday and Friday off work so I am looking forward to getting some rest in as well. I am also planning on driving the course, probably on Friday, it really helps me to identify the landmarks and know what is ahead of me.

Taper begins

It's taper time. After an ill timed 7 days straight today is a rest day and it feels really weird to be home before dark I have to tell you. Heading out this morning without my kit I couldn't shake the feeling that I had forgotten something. It was such a lovely afternoon too, perfect for a run. I am also nervous as hell and fighting the urge to eat everything in sight. Oh well, of to make the most of my early return home and cook a nice healthy dinner, dahl and rice.

Dahl and rice turned out lovely. I bought myself a rice maker on the weekend because I can never get rice quite right, what a great little machine, only cost $30 and it made perfect rice.

Now why do I feel so damn nervous, it is not like anything is riding on this event, except my pride of course. I always have this terrible notion that my legs are going to seize up and refuse to work, weird hey. This is why I could never be a sprinter (apart from a woeful lack of talent in that area, I am sure I have no fast twitch muscles), I couldn't stand the pressure on the start line, if you blow it, it's all over. I feel sick with nerves just watching sprint events.

In fact elite athletes of all kinds amaze me, where on earth do they find the mental resolve to do what they do?? Imagine performing in front of those crowds, god, I'd freeze to the spot.

One week to go.....

Running
Well, actually this time next week it will all be over and I'll be standing (hopefully) near the finish waiting for my marathon running mates to come across the line. Today was a shorter long run, just and easy(ish) 14 Km on the Warby trail with Tony and Peter. Despite my constant exclamations of "OK guys, I am going to slow it down a bit now", I never really did. 14Km took us 1:12:28, average pace 5:11, so really not much more than race pace, not to worry, it was only 14Km. The plan for next week will probably go like this
Mon - Rest
Tue - Session
Wed - 12 Km (pace ?)
Thu - 10Km (pace ?)
Friday and Saturday, not too sure, maybe rest Friday and an easy 5Km on Saturday just to work out the nerves, I'll play this by ear.

Keeping up the positive thoughts for next Sunday. Still aiming for 1:44, though I believe if all the conditions are right on the day I may manage 1:42. To go under 1:40 would mean stringing 2 10Km PBs together, might be too big an ask, that is not being negative, that is being realistic.

Afterwards I am looking forward to racing some shorter stuff through Nov/Dec just to see if I have gotten quicker and just for fun.

Life
Next weeks race will be special to me for another reason, other than it being a home town race. It will the day after someone very special to me died 4 years ago. My best friends father, Ahmed, was in his native South Africa settling on a retirement property he had bought in Cape Town. He was crossing the road and was knocked over my a speeding motor cyclist, he was in a coma for 10 days but his wife and daughter (my best friend) had to make the decision to turn of life support. It was a dreadful, painful time, made worse by the fact that I couldn't be there to support my friend. Ahmed was an amazing man who I first met as a very quiet insecure 13 year old when my parents were going though their divorce. He was warm, friendly, loving, very funny and along with Lorraine made me feel comfortable and safe in their home at a time in my life when I really needed that sort of support. His death left a big hole in his family's life, my best friend was pregnant with his first grandchild at the time, at least he got to see her married though. But his death also left a huge hole in my life because he was such a strong father figure and a great role model.

So when I am running down that road next Sunday and it's really hurting me and I get a second wind, guess when it is coming from :-)