Disaster!

I guess I didn't wrap myself in enough bubble-wrap this week. I've been careful with my running, doing my best to taper down properly for the half marathon on Sunday, and yet I may have come undone from something as simple and silly as wearing socks while going down a flight of varnished wooden stairs.

It was 4:45am, I was all dressed and ready for my 5am personal training client, I put my socks on to keep my feet warm as I trotted downstairs to put my shoes on. Well, wasn't that just a bad idea? A couple of steps down my foot slipped from under me, my butt hit the ground, my back hit the sharp edge of the step behind me, and I ended up at the bottom of the stairs in a manner very different to what I had anticipated.

After a quick "Oh my god, the half is on Sunday!" moment and checking to ensure all limbs were attached and working correctly, I stood up, and promptly had to sit down again. I was so dizzy it felt like I was going to pass out and hit the ground in an ungainly manner for the second time that morning. Nauseous, faint, cold sweat, the lot. I hadn't hit my head so concussion wasn't an issue, I figure I just jarred my brain or something along those lines. I somehow managed to text my client to cancel our session, half staggered, half crawled up the stairs and collapsed on my bed. Woke up a couple of hours later feeling much more capable of remaining conscious, had a shower and went to work.

Seems to be no major damage, however my back feels somewhat bruised and a bit stiff. The bruise is right on the spine, which is worrying me quite a bit. Hopefully it won't cause any issues for Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Splish splash!

Run - 6.04km (00:37:03)

Oh boy, how hard was it to motivate myself out the door today? It's been dark, dreary and pouring with rain all morning, but I really wanted to get in a run today with the GCM coming up on Sunday. So, on with the jacket and out I went!

Its actually kind of fun running in the rain, dodging puddles and avoiding car up-splashing, but not something I would do on a regular basis. I was pretty concerned (okay, paranoid) about coming a cropper on the wet ground and injuring myself before the weekend, so I took it very easy.

Thankfully, temperature-wise it was pretty comfortable. Running in cold rain would be a very different, and horribly unpleasant, experience I'm sure! Though I gotta tell ya, a hot shower never felt so good as it did after today's run :).

I've been tagged...

... By Sarah. So I guess its my turn to share the love ;) Lawrie, consider yourself tagged!

1. Where is your cell phone? Charging
2. Relationship? Non-existent
3. Your hair? Ponytail
4. Work? Challenging
5. Your sister? Wonderful
6. Your favourite thing? Food
7. Your dream last night? Bizarre
8. Your favourite drink? Starbucks
9. Your dream car? WRX
10. The room you’re in? Study
11. Your shoes? Adrenalines
12. Your fears? Failure
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? Successful
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? Friends
15. What are you not good at? Decisions
16. Muffin? Anything!
17. Wish list item? Laptop
18. Where you grew up? Brisbane
19. The last thing you did? PT
20. What are you wearing? Trackies
21. What are you not wearing? Hat
22. Your pet? Rock
23. Your computer? Acer
24. Your life? Hectic
25. Your mood? Indecisive
26. Missing? Cat
27. What are you thinking about? Running
28. Your car? Lancer
29. Your kitchen? Messy
30. Your summer? Awesome
31. Your favourite colour? Purple
32. Last time you laughed? Now
33. Last time you cried? May
34. School? QUT
35. Love? Please!

I'm not getting the hang of this "taper" business.

Run - 6.04km (00:36:29)

Today was supposed to be an "easy run" on my usual Story Bridge - Goodwill Bridge 6km loop. And it started out that way, I was holding about a 6:10/km pace fairly comfortably, right up until coming through the Riverside Centre. Then I started getting passed by other runners, they looked like they were running as part of a group. Well, I didn't want to look like a little plodding blob now did I? So I ended up speeding up a bit. Not too much, so that was okay, at least until just after the Goodwill Bridge.

I was obviously feeling reasonably competitive at that point, so when I spotted a group of runners trotting along at a fairly slow pace, I guess I felt the need to redeem myself and reclaim my pride. I sped up some more, and in an effort to catch and pass them, I ended up doing 5:30/km for the last 1-2km of the run. And damn but it was hard! Oops.

Oh well, I will probably only be running a couple of times this week, 6-8km on Tuesday and possibly an easy 5km on Wednesday, then nothing at all until the half on Sunday. I find I run my best with about 3-4 days of complete rest beforehand, so this week is going to be very quiet running-wise. With that in mind, I guess I can forgive myself if I overdid it a little today :).

Bring on breakfast!

Run - 9.86km (01:04:07)

I am STARVING this morning... Got back from my run with Sarah ready for a full-on frontal assault on the kitchen. Eek. I hate being so hungry, I always end up hoovering up far too much food and feel like a pig. Yeesh.

Was a good run this morning, did a few faster intervals during the 6km I did with Sarah, between 5:40/km and 6:00/km. Unfortunately she was fighting some glute pain which doesn't bode very well for the GCM in a week's time :( Fingers crossed it works itself out! It was cold, but not as bad as I was expecting. I'm so very glad I bought a pair of gloves to wear though, my fingers would have been icicles otherwise.

I'm feeling great after the run. There's something about running so early in the morning, before the sun is even up, that sets your spirits soaring for the day. I wish I could do it more often.

Just added up my mileage for the week... I'm supposed to be on taper, but I still did 35km which is actually an average week for me. Whoops. Obviously great planning there Nikki. Oh well, next week really will be wound down, I promise.

I don't like having blue fingers.

Run - 6.04km (00:35:11)

Why did I have blue fingers? That freakin' freezing cold wind grabbing at me with icy hands of death! Excuse the melodrama, but I just don't seem to have the cold tolerance I used to have. We're only just into winter, and already I'm on my knees begging for summer to return. My legs don't like the cold any more than my fingers do, they feel all heavy and sluggish and it seems to take me forever to find my stride.

That being said, I had a great run this morning once I finally got going. Maintained about 5:50/km pace for 6km without feeling like I was going to die. Nice! Its funny how I automatically seem to run faster in the couple of weeks preceding a race, without making any conscious decision to do so. I swear my legs are taking orders from something other than my brain. I'm not complaining of course! I wish all runs could be this good. Thank goodness I headed out with my jacket on though, or I would have frozen into a solid lump before I even got going. Sarah, I hope you've got a jacket for Saturday morning, it may be another chilly one!

Piker!

Run - 6.01km (00:36:55)

Yes, piker, that's me today. And for the most pathetic reason... I headed out planning on a moderate 9-10km, but at about the 3km mark, my ipod died on me. Damn. Did I just suck it up and continue? Nope. Lack of music became a good enough reason for me to take the 6km turnoff at the Goodwill and cut the run short. Slack, slack I say! I have to admit, I was struggling a fair bit, my legs felt like someone had cunningly replaced them with blocks of reinforced concrete and I just couldn't seem to find my stride, so perhaps the music thing was just a convenient excuse.

I was also running in new shoes (same model as always, just a new pair), plus I was trying out a pair of Skins capri tights for the first time. I've never run in them before, and I have to say it was an interesting experience. Some people say they feel like they're wearing nothing at all, but perhaps I'm just more conscious of tactile sensation because I could feel the restriction of them the whole run. It was quite strange, but I also felt my shirt twisting on my upper body with every stride, if that makes sense? It was a shirt I wear regularly, but it doesn't usually feel like that. I'm not sure whether the shirt was catching on the different material of the Skins, or the Skins themselves were keeping my lower body more stable so my upper body moved more, but either way it was quite an odd sensation! I suppose I'll just keep running in them and see if I adjust.

Ooh, and my new Adrenalines are the spiffy ones with the shiny aqua colours... About time they brought out a women's running shoe that looks cool! And no, I don't care in the least that I'm being superficial ;). I just hope I can wear them in properly before the GCM.

Funny how your legs find their own pace...

Run - 12.8km (01:21:29)

It was beautiful weather for running this morning. Brisk, but not cold, with bright, warm sunshine creating sparkles on the river. Enough of a breeze to cool the sweat on my face but not enough to create a painful headwind. Plenty of other runners and cyclists about to give me a friendly nod or cheery "Morning!". I went out with no particular plan other than to just run as far as I felt like running in whatever direction took my fancy.

With the Gold Coast Half Marathon only two weeks away its time to start winding down my training a bit, so my long run today was far short of the 21km I've been doing lately. And y'know, I'm glad it was shorter. I struggled even on the distance I did. Despite my best intentions, my legs had this idea they didn't want to sit at long run pace. Oh no, they wanted to go faster! Perhaps it was a subconscious reaction to my concerns about being too slow for my goal time in the half, or maybe I was just selecting fast songs on my ipod, but either way I constantly had to pull myself up and slow down or risk not even making 10km.

I did feel a few hip niggles on the way back through the cliffs which worried me a bit. I'm going to put it down to my shoes though. With 820km of ground-pounding behind them, they're definitely in need of replacement. I got a good 6 months out of them though, so I'm not too worried about shelling out another $200.

After chowing my way through a huge gluten-free hamburger (and was I ever excited to find a place that makes these!), hot chips and a serve of Cold Rock icecream, I'm glad I ran as long as I did today. Now I don't have to feel like so porky ;)

Well, blow me down with a feather...

Run - 1km warmup
8.5km tempo (00:48:56)
1km warmdown

... I can run faster after all! I was feeling rather down about the speeds of most of my training runs, it felt like I was running my hardest and still plodding along slower than I was a few months ago. And so, I went out there today with something to prove! I originally planned on a tempo run across my usual 6k Story Bridge - Goodwill Bridge loop, but figured since I'm trying to focus on the half marathon distance I should go further. And I did. 8.5km in fact.

Don't get me wrong, it was damn hard, and a far cry from the comfortable pace I did last week during that 20km with Lis. But the thing is, at least now I know I can do it. I can maintain a faster pace across a distance, though it remains to be seen just how long I can hold onto that pace. I'd love to do the half in 2 hours or under, but that would mean running even faster than I did today, and in reality I just don't think I'm capable of that. I guess we'll see. Adrenaline works wonders, but exactly how much magic it can work on my legs during the race is subject to limitations. Ah well, I will be proud of myself just to finish the half, because at least then I have a time to improve upon.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

Run - 8.41km - 00:53:57

I decided to run to work for my 5pm personal training client rather than driving today, since taking 40minutes to drive 3.5km isn't exactly my idea of fun. And what do you know but partway there, my phone rings. My client has cancelled. Hmph. Considering the second State of Origin game is on tonight I shouldn't have been surprised, but that wasn't much comfort to me standing on the Story Bridge wondering whether I should just turn around and go home. Well, I figured "What the hell...", I was out there all ready to run, I might as well make the most of it. So, I continued on, and ended up doing my usual Story Bridge - Victoria Bridge loop. And y'know what? I wasn't going fast, but it still felt hard.

Maybe I wasn't fully recovered from my 20km on Sunday, or maybe I was just tired from only getting about 4 hours sleep last night, but either way it was a bit of a plod tonight. Up until Southbank anyway. I got overtaken by a short, chunky, elderly lady that looked like she was more race-walking than running. Well, my ego just wasn't going to take that sort of abuse now was it? I tried to overtake her, but she must have seen me coming up the inside as she sped up too, and we ended up battling it out for about half a kilometre. At the Goodwill Bridge I managed to power past her and kept just in front the rest of the way at a much faster pace than the first half of my run. To that lady, if you're out there, kudos to a worthy opponent, and thankyou! I would never have pushed as hard through that last couple of kilometres if you hadn't been there chasing my tail.

As birds migrate for the winter...

I migrate for the technology. Yes, this is my third blog change in about four years. I'm not flighty, I just get frustrated with the limitations or deteriorating usability of certain sites and decide to pick up stakes and transplant myself. No biggie. I think I'll settle here for a while. Anyone that's bored (and disturbed) enough to want to read backwards through my life can check out my old blog here.

Now on with the show...

With the Gold Coast Half-Marathon approaching at the speed of light (I'd really like to know how three months became three weeks seemingly overnight), I do admit to getting mighty nervous. The wonderful 20km I did yesterday morning with Lis (Vege-girl) did much to allay my worries, but still there's that niggling doubt in my mind. People seem to be expecting me to get under 2 hours and as much as I hate to disappoint them, I just can't see it happening! Truth be told, I will be ecstatic with anything under 2:15:00. Hell, I'll be happy just to finish! I know I can cover the distance, but I also know myself and I have a horrible habit of pushing too hard at the beginning of a race. In a 5k that might not be such a problem, but across 21.1km it could get ugly. Oh well, I'll never know if I don't try eh? I just hope I don't freeze into a popsicle at the start line!

Yes, I have a feeling that 6:30am on the 1st of July is going to be freezing. I'm not looking forward to that part at all. I don't deal well with the cold at the best of times, so the mere thought of standing at the start line in thin running clothes is enough to set me shivering even in my currently air-conditioned comfort. Brr! Come back summer! Maybe I should migrate with the birds.