Training - Done!

Well there we have it, end of training. Didn't finish with a flourish as I had to cancel today's 30 min run due to tendonitis in my ankle and foot which kept me awake half the night! Thought about it this morning and decided that while missing my last 30 mins of training wasn't going to make much difference one way or another on Sunday aggravating an already inflamed tendon may well prove to be a bad move. So that's it until Sunday, iced my ankle and foot this morning then covered it in anti-flamme and have thrown a few anti-inflam pills down my neck for good measure, but I'm guessing that keeping off it pretty much from now until Sunday will also do the job and I'm sure it will be fine come 9am on Sunday -- although not sure what state it will be in after I finish! Ho hum, will report back on Saturday on half-marathon eve. Until then if you feel like having a run on my behalf, please go ahead :-)

So Close

55 minute run at lunch time today and I don't mind admitting that it was a total slog. For the second half my left knee and right foot were complaining constantly and my legs were tired and felt like lumps of lead. This is all a good thing, it's a reminder of how hard the last part of the run on Sunday is going to be and practice for just pushing on through it and carrying on regardless. The weather gods were kind to me again and it failed to pour down on my head which made a nice change from last week's lunch time runs. So, just one more training run tomorrow and then I'm nearly done.

Hurray for Daylight Saving

With the wild and stormy weather we had yesterday I wasn't at all convinced I was going to get out to the marathon clinic for my run last night. At around 3pm we had the most amazing thunder and lightning storm (accompanied by torrential rain) which culminated in a lightning strike on the lightning conductor on top of our building - if you haven't had the pleasure of that experience let me tell you it is LOUD! There was an almighty bang and flash (followed by several exclamations of "f**k" etc from various offices, then a general milling about in the corridor of nervous academics trying to regain their composure before heading back to their desk to back everything up on their computer!!
Anyway, amazingly the rain stopped, I got to the clinic and we had a 70 minute run in the dry in pleasant temperatures. The added bonus was that the clocks went forward last weekend so it was still light when we finished running - it just made it feel so much nicer! I have to confess to struggling through at least 45 mins of the run, but to be fair the route we took was mainly uphill until the last section so I can be forgiven for that.

One Week to Go

Clocks went forward over night, and having had a late night and a little more wine than was strictly necessary (!) there was no danger of me getting out early for my run today. After all the rain we've been having it was a relief to have a dry day. By the time I got out this afternoon it was quite sunny, but there was some cloud and wind about so that kept the temperature reasonably bearable. I went out for an hour and 45 mins and had a fairly good run so feeling pretty much ready for next weekend. My feet are a little sore now, so I'm chilling out on the sofa with my compression tights on looking forward to a relaxing night.

One Week to Go

The end of my penultimate training week. The weather yesterday was so hideous that I gambled on today being better - forecast was for showers - and saved my last run of the week until today. It had been quite clear and bright first thing so I was hopeful of a fairly dry run, however the 'showers' turned out to be short downpours rather than light sprinkles. Just after I set off there was a torrential downpour for about 3 minutes which was so ridiculously heavy I could barely run I was laughing so much, honestly it was insane! It more or less stayed dry for the rest of the run (in fact the sun was out so I was steaming nicely!) until the last 10 minutes when there was another downpour, just in time as I had more or less dried out! So, that's it for another week and just one week to go until the half-marathon. Current plan is a day off tomorrow, a long run (about 1 and a half hours) on Sunday, day off Monday, an hour with the mc on Tuesday, 50 mins on Weds and then maybe a short, slow jog on Thursday to finish off the week and give myself 2 days off before the event on the Sunday. I'm looking forward to the damn training being over, I can't wait to just be able to go out for a run when I want to rather than having my schedule looming over me -- I guess I'm at that point where I'm just a bit over it :-)

Wet, Wet, Wet

After all my raving about the beautiful spring weather we've been having, normal service has now resumed and it's cold and wet! I'm playing catch up again having missed last night's mc run (ha - it wasn' raining then either, that will teach me!) so had to brave the weather for a 70 minute lunch time run. Actually I don't mind running in the rain, although when it gets very heavy (as it did several times) it gets a bit tedious. Also because of the cold wind I'd put my long sleeved running top on, which I was glad of for about 10 minutes and then spent the rest of the run too hot and bemoaning the fact that the amount of water the darn thing was absorbing (proof that it's good at it's job of pulling moisture away from my skin?!) was adding about 1kg of weight per 10 minutes of running! And when I got back I still had a face like a tomato, sigh.

What a Great Day

Despite not getting out for any running yesterday I'm feeling on top of my training and raring to go with just two weeks left. Went out today for two hours and had a great run, could easily have kept going for longer and felt great. A beautifully sunny Spring day with just enough of a breeze to stop it getting too hot. My water belt is a complete god send on days like this, there's no way I could go so far without water and any initial problems I had getting used to wearing it while running are more than outweighed by its usefulness.

Last Run of the Week

It's always a good feeling to reach the end of the training week (tomorrow being a rest day) with all targets hit. Just a short run at lunch time today, had planned to go out first thing but had a late night last night (LSG quiz which our team won - yay!) and so had a sleep in instead. Anyway today's plan was to do some speedwork so just did a no frills interval run with a faster warm up and then varying lengths of fast/slow until I was done. Over on one of the blogs I follow, feedmeimcranky, there has been a discussion about motivation and who or what motivates you. I've been thinking about this a lot (although not enough to get around to posting a comment on the subject - sorry!), I think generally my motivation is based around stubborness, once I've decided to do something I hate to fail so that's mostly what keeps me going. Plan for this weekend is a short hill run on Saturday and then another long run on Sunday, we'll see what eventuates.

The Long and the Short

Last night was marathon clinic and I was hoping for an easy run of around an hour. Four of us went out together (the slow group) and although the first 20-30 were quite hard as my legs were still feeling the effects of Sunday we kept a nice easy pace and the second part of the run felt good. We ended up being out for an hour 20 with probably and hour 10 of running so longer than planned and a good effort. As this week is the last of my easier weeks I was only left with two short runs to do so hopped out at lunch time today for 30 mins which was actually really hard work - a combination of the heat and being tired. Nominally I only have to do 15 mins tomorrow so will do some speed work and stretch it out to 30 mins to make it worthwhile. Then another day off before I hit the weekend with an aim of doing one long run again (probably Sunday) and also a short hill session.

Big Run

I figured I needed to get a long run in this weekend to start getting my stamina up for the big day. So I had the luxury of a Saturday off and then this morning went in to the lake with the aim of doing an hour and 50 minutes of running. This involved four laps of the lake (plus a bit) which is not the most exciting runs but has some advantages - not least that it's totally flat and there are water fountains at several points around so I didn't need to carry water. The downside is that on a sunny day like today it's busy, so the run does involve dodging out of control children on bicycles and dog owners trying to stop an array of varying sized pooches from eating the ducks and the pukekos. Anyway, back to the run, it got done, it was fine, and now my legs are tired. Pretty much as expected. I feel good having got one long one under my belt and will try for another next weekend, once I've done a couple of hour 50 runs then I know that I can do 2 hours, and I already know that if I can do two hours I can finish the half-marathon. Right, sorted then. Oh, and for those of you who are non-Hamiltonians here's a pic of the lake.

Over the Hump?

Well against all odds I've reached the end of another training week and met my target - after last weekend being a wipeout and missing out on Tuesday night's mc run I didn't think I'd get there, but 4 lunch time runs of an hour got me back on track. Actually looking back it's been a good week as it shows that even when everything goes pear-shaped it's possible to get back on track and meet my targets. I think this was the week where I was ready to jack it in, I didn't think I'd done enough training so far and felt that with only 4 weeks to go I wasn't going to be prepared enough, but now I've got through the week and I'm on target hopefully the next 3 weeks will be mentally a bit easier and I can cruise towards the big day.

Tomato Face

The nice thing about running at lunch time at the moment is that we are getting beautifully sunny spring days which aren't too hot, and it's lovely being out and about and getting a break from my desk. The downside is that I spend the afternoon with a face like a tomato! My schedule is still all over the place this week (due to my continuing dodgy tummy). I didn't make it out the marathon clinic for my group run last night, which means I will have to run Friday to meet this week's target, which is ok but does make the weekend much harder. Finished off today's run by heading out round the outside roads of the Uni and up the hill at Edinburgh Street, it's short but steep - a nice mini cardio workout to finish.

Running vs. Swine Flu

My feeling of blearghness on Saturday didn't amount to much more than an attempt at a cold which I decided to pander to for 1 day so instead of trying to work out how to fit a run in on Sunday I went shopping instead. Good thing as it happens as 4 people didn't turn up for BIP's hockey game so I ended up playing a full game against fast young fit Varsity players! That will count as my speedwork training for the week. Today was another beautiful sunny day so went for a lunchtime run. Legs a bit tired from last night, but fine once I'd got into it. My stomach was still a bit dodgy though, so about half way round I dropped into a local medical centre for a 'comfort stop'. While I was availing myself of their facilities I was perusing some of the reading matter on the wall and was alarmed to discover I had 5 of the symptoms listed on their "Do you have Swine Flu?" poster (high temperature, aching limbs, tiredness, rapid heart-rate, clamminess or excessive sweating). At the bottom of the poster it said "If you were experiencing several of these symptoms please advise the receptionist that you may have swine flu" I was tempted to add "or you have just been running in the sun for 40 minutes".

Listen to Your Body

Yesterday was a rest day, but I actually turned into a bit of a crock one way and another. I had a really sore back which I think was the result of lifting a hay bale at a funny angle the day before, and also a mystery pain in my lower abdomen which was so non specific even Google couldn't tell me what it was. This morning I woke up feeling ok and took the dogs for a long walk first thing to try and access how everything was feeling and all seemed ok. My back was fine and the pain gone, although it did niggle a bit while walking. My planned run today was a 16km circuit as it's a good long run that I want to get done at least twice before the big day. I got ready but really wasn't feeling great - I assumed it was just my usual pre-run mind-sabotage attempt so headed out. I got about 20 mins before I realised that actually I was not going to make it any further, obviously I need to learn to tell the difference between general run -avoidance and genuine physical inability to do it some days! To make matters worse I then had to walk home which of course took much longer than the 20 mins it had taken me to run to the point where I stopped. So an unexpected rest day which will mean bigger runs later in the week but that's just how it goes I guess, will see how I get on tomorrow and just not worry too much about it.

Frozen Fingers

Had an early (i.e. pre-work) outdoor run today for the first time in ages. BIP had taken the dogs out first thing and when she came back I though she said "it's really warm outside his morning", so I dressed accordingly. However when I went out to car to drive to the gym it was 2 degrees and there was ice on the windscreen -- turns out what she'd actually said was "it's really not warm outside this morning" ! The sun was up and the sky clear so it was a beautiful time to be outside but blimey my hands were cold. As I only had to do a short run I opted to do some speed work. It's so much harder not on a treadmill, firstly it's hard to guage how fast I'm actually running (slower than on the treadmill that's for sure!) and also much harder to keep going for as long, but I did a warm up lap of the Uni fields and then did the second lap a minute and a half faster so I did at least speed up a bit! I finished off with a faster lap of the small lake and then out onto the road and back into the gym via gate 2, again trying to go faster - my hr when I finished was 167 which is about the same as I get to on the treadmill after a fast section so even if I'm not going as fast I am at least working as hard! Day off tomorrow ready for some big runs at the weekend.

A Little Lunch Run

It was such a beautiful Spring day that I went out at lunch time for today's run and headed out on Ruakura Rd. Not a great road to run on actually - a typical kiwi rural road with a speed limit of 100km and virtually nothing at the side of the road to run on, but despite that it was a pleasant run and there wasn't too much traffic about, so that's another 45 mins ticked off this weeks list. My natural inclination is to worry about the fact that I've had 3 good runs in a row and wonder when the dreaded slump will hit, however I will ignore my inner eyore and just enjoy it for what it is at the moment. I will, however, take the opportunity to moan about my lunch which I picked up from momento on the way back to my office - a lovely vegetable panini totally ruined by the addition of pineapple. Pineapple!!! In a sandwich, tsk, what is the world coming to?

Tuuuuuuueeeeesday

Marathon clinic running day, but first I had to endure the tension of the school hockey semi-final. My girls were playing the team they completely folded against two weeks ago so I was more than a little anxious. Amazingly we won 2-1, it really was amazing as apart from about 15 mins (when we scored the goals) we certainly didn't play any better than last time! Anyway the upshot is we are in the final and all are very excited. Went on to mc for a run afterwards and ended up doing two short runs with an intermission. We ran up to the hospital to visit one of our running mates who had a knee replacement op last week and then complications which landed him in the HDU, so the run included a couple of big hills and 6 flights of stairs. Spent 10 mins visiting and then ran back round the block to base. So did 45 mins in all but that's ok given that I did more than I needed to at the weekend. Still buzzing from the hockey result to be honest.