Training for the ‘goat’…December the 5th

Having enjoyed a week of rest, I am about to embark on training the the goat. It is now less than one month till I am once again shimiying up rock faces,falling off outcrops, and doing a river crossing or two. From memory, there is only one major river crossing so I will begin praying for a drought around Tongariro national park. Selfish I know. We have talked Reuben, into doing it with us. He is young and strong and fit, an arborist by trade, so I have no doubt he will whip my arse completely. (I will never tell him this though…I have already started taunting him with me beating him..hahaha! whipped by an old lady huh Reubs?!!)
I will begin with an easy run around Karori sanctuary tomorow.
Anyone else up for it?

no longer a marathon virgin….

How lucky am I?
The top pic is me (in black) 1minute after finishing, and the bottom one is an hour before the start!
A friend looked after the kids at home while Deane and I flew to Auckland on Saturday..(still hate flying..). We hired a car at the Auckland airport and drove directly to the marathon registration center which I flew through…(after spending ‘a couple of bucks’ in the adidas shop…which you had to walk through after registering..good stuff adidas). We then drove to the Westin, our hotel, which, I must say..was absolutely fabulous. My goal for Saturday was to relax and eat carbs…which is just what I did. Knowing that I would not sleep much at night, from about 11am I lazed around in my white dressing gown on the white kingsize bed after having a white bubbly bath, and snoozed in between popping grapes into my mouth….I’m sure that’s what all elite athletes do?. I started getting a tad hungry at about 5pm, so we found the hotel restaurant and dined on pumpkin ravioli and wild bread with dip…
I was in bed by about 8pm, and slept fitfilly till 1am, at which time I was wide awake..hyped and hungry. In between the hours of 1 to 3 am, I drank coffee, ate a power bar, porridge, sustagen, annoyed Mr Drew, and figured out (repeatedly) what I was going to wear, I settled on my black skirt, black icebreaker t shirt, white adidas cap and of course mizuno’s. Whew!…I looked cool… which is very important. I forced Deane out of bed at 3.30am. We were out the door by 4.05am and walking along the waterfront to the ferry terminal. We were met by an old guy (70+) wearing tiny old guy shorts, tiny tshirt emblazoned with ‘THAMES’ and he was wrapped (sort of) in an old green transparent plastic jacket. He was clutching a can of coke and started chatting. Man! could he talk! (Tell ya what! I love the old guys and gals…down to earth..real). He had been running marathons since he was 42, had run them all over the world. He said he drank a can of coke just before a race and that was it. He talked to us till I was in the starters shute a few hours later.(The hype at the start was almost too much for me..I was nearly an emotional mess..gulped it all back..wiped away tears…). I was joking around that I was an elite 4.30hour athlete…he told me I should therefore start of in the front with the elites. I didnt quite start in the front but very close to it so it is the best start I have ever had in a race. I just breezed over the start mat and kept running-no crush, no hassell. I pulled myself together as I started the run, I felt comfortable and happy. The k’s seemed to melt away and although I was attempting to save myself-i did break my 5k record and my 10k record by 3minutes each which of course was fun but not a great thing to do on ones first marathon!
I again was a tad emotional as I started running up the Auckland harbour bridge. It didn’t seem that big actually. As I was running up it the elite half marathon men sprinted past following a loud beeping motor bike telling us to make way for them. I applauded them as they went. I wish…I wish…..
I started feeling the run from about 20k. Body bits started being a tad grumpy. I felt a blister forming on my small toe (weird) and a few ks later, under the ball of my foot..(weird #2). I kept running. Deane surprised me at 20something k by calling my name and jumping onto the road with a handful of gu and a bottle of powerade…lovely man! I really needed the gu too as my other four had dropped somewhere on the road about 10k back. The most depressing part of the run came at about 30k (surprise surprise) when I knew the turn around must be close but all I could see were runners snaking up ahead of me for miles and miles and miles. Well, thats what it seemed like.at that point, the fast marathoners began passing me on their way back..(more sad applause from me…).
After descending the bridge, the course was as flat…(I like hills). The sun was hot and the streets were shadeless. I grabbed 2 waters and one powerade at every station which were about every 4k. They were the best support stations also having port-a-loos…(usually with a small queue..luckily I did not need to use them..). I hydrated as best as I could and was consistant with gu. But still-I really started to struggle at about the 36k mark. I kept running..I never walked which I am very happy about. I kept my head mostly ‘where it should be’. The people along the way were very encouraging, clapping, urging us forward. I thought I was running fast enough, but every so often my gps told me I was running at 8.6k…so I would speed up, try and lift my feet higher, hold my core, shoulders up…It worked but I did not run at a consistant speed. I think this is why I am rather sssllllooooowwwwww.
At about 38k, I got nearly uncontrollably emotional..I couldn’t take in enough air..I was gulping back waves of emotion…tears. The realisation I was nearly finished my first marathon, that I was going to make my time, I had done it! Luckily, I had glasses on, a cap so all anyone could see was a trembling chin…
However, 38k is a long way from 42.2, which I also realised. So before patting myself emotionally on the back too much, I had a hell of a lot of work to do. The k’s from 38 to the end are a big journey…I was in pain, I was so close but..ya know..so far away. So-I just kept running. I choked back tears on and off, the best comment from a bystander woman was…keep going…you only have to find 400meters! (Thankyou lady!).
I ran into the finish shute, I saw the clock tick over..4:29:20, 4:29:21 etc..so I gave it my all and hit the finishing mat at 4:29:30. (My goal was 4:30).
Then Deane jumped the fence, and helped me walk. He took off my timing chip, handed me pretzels and more powerade. Medal in hand, I limped back to the hotel.
I spent the rest of the day limping around…
Today I am still limping..my legs are very sore…but I am thinking about my next race.

Marathon anxiety…

I have one week to go and already my stomach holds butterflies..big fat tumbly butterflies…blerk!
I want to be…ZEN! I want to breeze through this week and the morning of the marathon like a zen warrior, nonplussed and focused on my task.
Instead, I feel like throwing up, and sobbing.
God help me.
(Is there a god out there?..gosh…that’s a rather big question to end this post on isn’t it!)

whats with this cold?…

yeah..the first official day of the taper, and I woke up with a fuzzy sore head, sore throat, aching limbs and snot for Africa.
Now, the question is: should I go and run my little taper runs..or should I not? Will running improve my chances on being fit and well for the marathon, thirteen days away (gulp), or not?
I should have guessed I was coming down with something, my last long run was a sell out..I was meant to run 22, which should not have been a problem, but I only made it to 15, I couldn’t shake myself awake and lively, I couldn’t shake the black mood….
Hmmmm… I sound like a flippin’ marathon virgin…
I am trying to be confident with the training I have already accomplished. This will get me through….

totally sick of training..

hmm..I SO am!. I hope this is ‘normal’. Anyhoo, I enjoyed last nights 10k in the rain. Ya know the sort of rain that totally drenches you? I squelched in the door and didn’t even bother to have a shower…I had been in one for an hour…no rain jacket, there was no point!. An added bonus; no wind! I am eating too much, so having only lost about 2kg in 2 months..I don’t think my racing weight will be 60kg as wished for! I feel good anyway, I was just hoping I would not have to lug extra kilo’s for 42kilometers!

Last push before taper…

I met Dave (pt) this week, in Les Mills extreme cafe, because it was school holidays, and I had six kids in with me. They drank sugar water (blerk) which gave me time to chat with wonder boy. I have my new (and last) programme for the next few weeks till the actual marathon. I have about 2 and a half weeks of hard-out running to do, although it just does not seem enough! After that, I am tapering. Monday saw me hitting the road for a 9k, Tuesday I burned the road for a 12k, Wednesday saw me hitting the pillow early. Thursday I ran 15k in a storm. The sideways rain was whipped up good and proper by Mistress Gale…she drovethe rain, needle like-straight into my face….Tell ya what! I was soaked through and frozen. I arrived home a sodden mess about 9.30pm. Mr Drew had left a towel on the bannister and I had to strip before I got in the door. I stumbled into the shower, but had to turn the temperature to luke-warm;anything warmer was too painful.
Wild times!
The 15k storm-run, was not enough however, so Friday I went for a little 7k around the bay which once again threw teeny sharp bullets into my face. The wind stopped me in my tracks a few times throwing me back…
Running in wind like that is like running with a rope pulling a couple of car tyres. Good training huh!?
Tomorow I am going for a 30k, and then out to lunch.
It all feels not enough! How weird is that?

errr…the slug lives again…

This week (just gone) was meant to be an ‘easy’ week and, god damnit! It was! I had looked at my programme at the beginning of the week, promised myself that I wouldn’t do such a namby-pamby week…too soft.
So, after my triumphant 39k run on Sunday, I planned to do a 10k on Monday, but didn’t. I had a rest day. Tuesday I ran a 9k, which I followed up on Weds with a ‘rest’. Thursday I ran a 10k. Friday saw me running my speed workout around the 4k block with Harry. I did not go to my track, because a school holiday programme was being run there. That is, the track was swarmin’ with short people.
Saturday I was meant to do a very easy 8k. I didn’t. And Sunday (yesterday) I was meant to do an easy 20k. I did not. Deane had to work, he was meant to be home by 3 but rocked home at about 9pm by which time I was feelin’ too lazy, apathetic, and it was too cold-yeah! I know it’s spring, but there is snow on the Rimutaka’s, the desert road is closed due to snow, and the baby lambs down south are freezin. (It’s just a big fat excuse for me isn’t it…I’m so transparent!).

How to run 39.2 kilometers….(yes…I did it…my longest run to date…)

After a week of clocking only 37k, I ran/limped in yesterday after a 39.2k! Yay me! I woke at 4am, (really 5am as daylight saving started) and then I had to wait for daylight to start breaking. I waited by eating a banana, drinking a coffee and swallowing 750mls of sports drink. I left the house feeling slightly unenthusiastic. I had a Gu in my pocket but decided to take my luck with water. I ran with gadgets, which, even though I would love to try a ‘free’ run, I simply cannot bare the idea of running out the door without them….yet.
My legs felt okay, I did not fly, but did not run ‘through mud’ at any stage. At the 9 k mark, I needed to pee, but my favourite toilet doors were locked…Whats with that Wellington City council!?!!. I wasn’t particulary busting (thank the gods!) so ran on thinking the loo’s at 17k mark would do….errrr…unfortunately, they also were locked ( what the!!??) .I continued on, thanking god for dehydration. At about 23k, and feeling like an unlocked loo would be a great thing, and a water tap so I could swallow gu would also be pretty fantastic, I found just the thing. Yay. I took my time, scooping tap water, swallowing gu (strawberry/banana) and walked/ran till my stomach told me it was okay to run again. From this point I had to fight the ‘blues’, ya know, the ‘midway-no mans land’ blues. It was funny though, because I could see objectively where my head was, why the black/blue thoughts were there. (The thoughts come and go, but I keep running.) For me, the half way point is hard.
Maybe that is not unusual. Anyhoo, I was joined by quite a lot of runners from that point who I think were coming off the mirimar circut…ummm…well I was joined with them for maybe a minute at a time as they passed me. Some had camelpaks, most had ipods. Twins sprinted past, with exactly the same caps and legs. It looked like they were drafting off one another…if I had the energy, I would have tagged on for the ride. Once at cobham drive, feeling really sad for myself, who should drive up beside me?…Yes! It was Mr Drew. He stopped the car, and offered me a seat, water, and a banana. Bliss! Just what I needed…I set off again, a much happier postive woman. I continued up back around Evans bay and up Carlton Gore road. It’s easier to run up hill after such a long time running on the flat. I cruised home and stopped the garmin at 39.2. Then I walked up the 135 stairs. Then I ate a bowl of ricebubbles and soy milk, a 750ml bottle of sports drink, a pita bread with banana and honey followed by a shower. (I stretched in the shower).
This morning I feel good, my legs feel like they have done a bit of work, but they are not stiff, my toenails are still intact and I have an 8k run to do tonight. In the rain.

as for breaking two hours…

Getting under 2 hours for a half marathon seems to be my own personal Everest. Sundays half marathon,( yet another perfect day for running, and a perfectly measured course) saw me rock to the finish in 2 hours and 1minute. Hmmmmm…
What the!!?
I was running with stacy in mind who was running a 100k at about the same time. I felt like a wimp. What’s 21k compared with 100? (Read about her here)
Anyhoo, I finished it, I felt okay. I ate my banana determined to do better next time. What sort of optimist am I? (a boat?…)

rest, run, hop.

I am ’slightly’ tapering for the pelourus trust half marathon on Sunday. I ran a 8k last night. It felt just ‘okay’, not flyin’ or anything spectacular. Unfortunately, I had a enforced rest, the day before as I was on surprise taxi duty for the 13 year old. When is she going to get her liscence! ?By the time I was through with taxi duty it was 9.30pm, and I was only thinking of bed…getting up at 5am does that to me.
The week started okay with a planned rest (after the 35k) and another 8k. Today, I will be at the track with only 6×400 at 1.55. I have only done one weights/strength session as I had to stay at kindergarten, (again, unplanned) on Thursday morning instead of heading off for the gym. God! I need to plan my days better, or get my lovely family to not surprise me…(well, I may let the 4 year old continue surprising me…4 is a bit young to write in the diary i guess…)
By the way, the four year old is learning to write and her favourite word is ‘hop’. She writes it everywhere. Hop. LOve it. It doesn’t help with my training plan though.
Hop on avids!