The Cookie Dough Diet

Food is a funny topic, especially among women. Everyone has different rituals and taboos.

Ritual:: don't eat before a run.

Argument: they'll be sick.

Me: If I don't eat before a run, I'll crash and burn within 2k - and then I'll get sick.

Taboo: don't eat chocolate before X (e.g. 11am, lunch, etc.)

Argument: because chocolate is bad for you?

Me: I'm more loose on this one... Lately, my post-run "second breakfast" has included cookie dough.

Yep, I joke not. I made a batch of cookie dough on the weekend to bake cookies fresh for a dinner I'm attending tonight. In a flash of insight I even made a double-batch, for extra extra cookie dough goodness to kick me off before work. All this week after training I found myself grabbing a bite of it on my way to work...or maybe two bites.

And it doesn't stop at the cookie dough. My training has become so intense that I find myself eating two of everything in sight. I try to keep the healthy foods at eye-level, but at the end of the day I need calories and more calories to fight the lethargy and exhaustion (so I tell myself). What a great feeling!

A more serious athlete than I sees food as fuel for the body and eats appropriately - why fill up on diesel petrol when the engine needs premium? I instead see exercise as a "get in free" pass to any food I want. It's not often I get this guilt-free pass to the buffet table, so I'm taking advantage as much as I can. Is it impeding on my running? Sure. Is it worth it? Absolutely!

Today was a tough day. We did a few reps (a few being 4) up a steep, steep hill to begin. The sign on the hill said 30% grade - that's steep! Then we looped up and around and down and back up. That's a summary. Actually, we wound our way around my home running grounds, which was kind of nice. Sadly, this morning I was absolutely lethargic. I could bring up the energy to run, but it was slow. Even on the reps, it was all I could do to get up the hill - speed was not an option. One foot in front of the other, mouth shut to prevent any whining. Some days that's the best I can do.

Total time: 52.29

Total distance: 6.99km

Average pace: 7.30min/km

Total elevation: lots!

Obsessing over Numbers

I had a rough start to the morning. It began at 3.45am with a random phone call - an hour before my alarm. Since I couldn't get back to sleep, I dragged myself out of bed to get ready for the morning's run. When I arrived at training I realize that in my brain fog I forgot to bring my Garmin watch. My Garmin watch! What to do if I can't see all those numbers before me?
I like the numbers that tell me exactly how far I've gone, so I know exactly how far I have to go. (720m down in a 1k rep? Only 280m left - time to push it!).
I like the numbers that tell me my pace, so I know how fast I'm going (a 5.40 pace on a 2k rep? I can go faster!).
So the prospect of running without numbers made me feel a little forlorn. How would I know if I was not pushing it enough? How would I know if I could go faster? I decided to suck it up - since I had no choice. Today we had 1k reps with a 500m recovery. As it turned out, if I ran just as fast as I could go for that 1k rep, I wound up right alongside a friend. And guess who was wearing his stopwatch?
This made it fantastic in two ways. First, I couldn't see how fast I was actually going so I just had to push myself as hard & fast as I could for the 1k rep. This was easy, as keeping up with my friend was really pushing me to my limit! Second, I got to hear my time at the end of the rep, just so that little self-analysing part of me could mentally compare my times.
My friend & I played well off each other - some reps he "won", and others I "won". I struggled to match his pace and at other times managed to squeeze out in front. But we always recovered together.
5 reps, 1k each. And every single one of those reps I was under the magic 5.00minutes. Yep, the worst time I ran it in (approximately) was 4min 54sec and the best time 4min 38 sec. A 10-second pb down from last week! ... okay, so I really do like those numbers! If every effort is my best effort, how else can I track any improvement?
I wonder - if I'd used my watch - if I would have gone as fast, or if I would have mentally told myself that a 4.50 was the fastest I could manage, and thus not pushed any harder.
But I know it's also about more than the numbers. Today I did well not because I forgot my watch with all its fancy stats, but because I had an awesome runner to train beside, who pushed me all the way.

Moderation

Everyone has heard that famous saying, "the key to life is moderation". I think it's a favourite among dieters - no food is 'bad' food, you just might have too much of the 'not as good for you' food.
I remember the good old days of running, where I didn't treat my legs to an ice massage after a run...where the burning sensation of blisters forming was something that happened to other people. When I didn't have to psyche myself up the night before a 3-hour run...when I would finish a run and feel energized for the day, rather than stiff and lethargic.
Today I ran 13k on the Mt Coot-tha trails with some awesome fellow runners and a couple of energetic dogs to spice things up. 42k in two days! That's a marathon! Kudos to people who manage it in just ONE day.  I took today as a "this is what my legs will feel like after running 15k of trails, and now I have to push myself through the second half of the race" type training day.
The first 3k was painful as my muscles protested too much too soon. Fortunately, after that first 20-odd minutes they started to relax and - don't ask me why - but I felt soooo much better. I felt as if I could keep running, and running some more! Fortunately I was with sensible runners who cautioned me against doing too much after yesterday's hard run.
Today we wound our way up and down trails that were more technical and less steep...except the super steep Kokoda Track near the end.
Yep, for the first time, I hit a part of the infamous Kokoda trail! People had kept telling me how steep it was, but I never really thought about it. Certainly, I found I was much happier going up than down. It was so steep that I struggled to keep my footing as I went up it, sliding on the gravel. I did the same thing I do every time I hit a super steep section; run/walk, but never stop (except when the gravel slid out from under me and I lost my balance).

Total time: 1.57.20
Total distance: 13.04km
Total elevation: 464m
Average pace: 9.00min/km

So why do it? If it chews into my day, gives me little niggling pains and causes me to have constant stiff joints and sore muscles, what's the point? Because when I reached the top of the Kokoda Track I realized two things.

1) I will be able to do the Whitsunday Trail Race. I may not be able to do it fast, or well, but I will be able to finish it.
2) I am the most fit I have ever been in my life (to date). At no other time would I have been capable of doing what I did this weekend.

It's a wonderful feeling. And I guess that's why athletes put up with crazy training schedules and aches and pains that the rest of the world thinks is crazy. Because after all the struggles, you realize that some goals are worth reaching for - even if it means a little pain, sweat, and tears on the way. Because there are some goals in life that can never be achieved with moderation.

"28k"

My first 28k! Only it wasn't quite that distance, because I hit 28k and thought weeeelll, my race is 28.7k, so why don't I just go 28.7k so I can say I've done the race distance - even if only on the pavement. And then I hit 28.7k and thought weeeellll, I'm really almost at 29k, so I might as well make it an even 29k.
And then I hit 29k and thought weeeellll, I really could just round it to an even 30k. Such a nice round number!
But in the end I kept it to 29k. I am, after all, running again tomorrow! No sense pushing it. Besides, I noticed a big difference when I hit 26k. My legs started to get tremors. Nothing serious, but enough that I slowed my pace down considerably (to a 7min pace) as I worried that if I pushed it faster my poor legs might completely give out on me. I knew if I fell at this stage, I wouldn't move the rest of the day.
My shins, in their steadfast loyalty, didn't even flicker at all the pounding they took. Good, shins! Good! I treated them to a nice ice massage at the end as a reward.
And I think my head is starting to swell. The squad has been so kind to me and have had so much to say about my improvement I may have started blushing. Thanks, guys! Your support is overwhelming!
So on today's run I started at 5am and did a fast-paced 5k with those running 28-37k, and those who had a time limit to get to work. I was looking forward to joining up with the group and going at a nice easy 6min to 6.30min pace.
Only we didn't. Somehow the fast people got in front and did what they do best, which is going fast. The rest of us struggled to keep up. We stuck together as a group until the 6k water stop (11k for me!) and then decided to split off a little bit, so us slow people could settle in to a nice 6.10min pace. Ahhh, relief!
I went out 10k with those doing 20k. I could have gone on to do a turn-around with the 24k people, but knowing how fast they would be, I decided I was happier to go slow and easy for the entire way back and tack on a bit extra at the end, as I did last week. When you have a Garmin watch and know exactly how many km you've gone, it's not exactly a hard thing to mentally go those few k's further after everyone else has stopped.
For a change of scenery and a bit of added challenge (because why not?) I kept going straight at the end instead of turning around. This meant that instead of a nice flat riverside run my final 4k was up and down hills. But that was okay, because my pace was slowing considerably without the group, even before I added hills into the mix.

Total time: 3.01.28
Total distance: 29.00k
Total elevation: unknown. Hey, technology isn't perfect!
Average pace: 6.15min/km

Now it's time to break out the chocolate, a good book, and eat, read, and sleep the day away!

Round & round Mt Coot-tha

Round & round Mt Coot-tha like a teddy bear.
A one-step, a two-step, no shin pain anywhere!

As you may have guessed, today was another Mt Coot-tha loop. I was a bit nervous how my shin would hold up but (apart from some minor calf muscle complaints on the flat) I was laughing my way around the loop. And when I say laughing, I mean gasping.

Total time: 59.36min
Total distance: 9.30km
Total elevation: ~268m
Average pace: 6.23min/km

For those curious,  last time when I ran this loop with a friend my average pace was 6.34min/km.

To breakdown the comparison (because I can) of the paces between last time and this time, I've charted it below. Interesting that I'm not consistently faster when I'm on my own...except on the downhill!

KM	June 21st	August 23rd
1	7.39	7.26
2	8.27	8.26
3	8.07	8.32
4	5.46	6.10
5	6.15	6.20
6	6.26	6.02
7	5.48	5.14
8	5.39	4.55
9	5.30	4.55

Runner's High

This morning I did NOT want to train. I had a late night last night, my shins have been sending me strong warnings of "listen to me, idiot!" on two of last week's runs, and the thought of going out there to smash out my speed session as promised made me wince. All I could think was I don't want to go!

But up I got and out I went, hoping for an easier speed session. When I found out we had the the challenging 3k/2k/1k set, I just wanted to crawl back into bed! Ugghhhh!!!

I told myself I couldn't do it. Not with tight calves, sore shins, and lack of sleep. And then like any disciplined runner, I decided to go out at my hardest anyway...if only to see how long I lasted.

And I SMASHED it. 

My personal best in a 1k rep is around 5.05 or 5.10 minutes. I would love to drop below that magic 5.00min kilometre, but it has remained elusive thus far.

Until today, of course!

Not only did I run my fastest 1k time, but it was in my final rep - after I had completed my 3k and 2k reps. As it so happened, I started the last km rep with a friend who is notably much faster than me. I was expecting to be fully left behind, which pushed me all the harder to keep up. Okay, he might have been having an off day while I was running like I had eaten awesomeness for breakfast, but it was about having someone there to push me through this final rep, not about who was faster that day.

In the last 200m or so, the beautiful Bec (who was running in the opposite direction) turned around early to run with me, pushing me harder and telling me to go, go, go, faster, faster, faster. I couldn't say thank you at the time as my whole focus was on breathing and reaching that finish line. But I was so, so grateful. It was exactly what I needed to keep me from fading at the end. I finished at exactly a 4.00min/km pace. Which for me is SUPER DUPER FAST.

I wish I could say I kept up that SUPER DUPER fast pace for the whole km, but I didn't. Still, I managed to break well into the sub-5min km, running that last km at a total time of 4 minutes 48 seconds. 

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to run a personal best in a race. Well, today I may not have run a race, but let me say that a pb - any pb - is such a runner's high!

Reflections on a Run

**WARNING. This blog update may contain images which are not suitable for all readers. Please detain from scrolling to bottom of message if wishing to avoid said images.**

Disclaimer out of the way, yesterday I went to the Gold Coast for a 24k run. We met at Broadbeach and went south to Surfer's Paradise (6k) then looped back to drop off the 12k-ers before continuing north for another 6k. A rough breakdown of my thoughts while I ran went like this...
at km #2: My shin hurts. Yikes! I think I'm getting shin splints. Should I turn around and go back? Should I keep going?
at km #3: It's not getting better. I should go back. But I drove all this way to get here and there's only six of us running. Maybe I'll just go for a bit longer and see who else is turning back early.
at km #4: don't think about the shin. Keep the gait even and focus on how nice it is to run with such a small group. Imagine every breath you take is healing the pain in that shin.
at km #6: turning around! ... we all are. I'll just do 12k and call it quits. 12k is good.
at km #8: isn't it my luck that my arms are chaffing? I normally can go at least two hours before I start to chafe. Must be the humidity by the beach. Ugh, now I have to run like a gorilla to avoid the sting.

at km #9: eesh. I wish I could keep up with the group. I should be able to, but I'm so sore from yesterday and that darn shin...  Focus on keeping the group in sight. Keep up enough to not lose the group!
at km #10.5: Lost the group. On the plus side, my shin is feeling much better. Perfect, even. And double lucky that I know my way back from here.
at km #12: hmm. To stop or not to stop? A friend says she'll go for another 2k and turn around. That's 16k. Maybe I'll turn around there. (But as it turns out, my friend stops at the 12k mark and calls it a day. My shin is feeing so good I keep going). We dropped from 6 runners to 4. How could I leave them with an uneven group of 3?
at km #13: second wind has come on. Try and keep up, people! Ha ha, just teasing. But it's refreshing to be feeling strong at the front of the group rather than straggling at the back.
at km #18: final turn-around. 6k to go! Woohoo! Still feeling strong. It's amazing how much better I run when I don't hurt. For once I am the one pushing the group to keep going as I don't want to stop for too long - it's too hard to get started again! Okay, maybe I'm not exactly the one pushing the group, but I'm keeping up with the gal who is!
at km #20: I'm a bit over it. Ready to call it a day.
at km #21: okay, this is hard. My body doesn't want to go any more. I don't want to go any more! I'm done.
at km #22: I've been tricking myself for the past few km's by doing a countdown to the next km marker rather than the finish. So instead of "2k to go" it's "another 800m and then I'll be done another km". Sometimes, you need to trick yourself in those little ways. The awesome gal I run with is good at keeping me in check. Whenever my footsteps falter, whenever I start drifting behind she calls me back forward with a "how are you doing, Laura?" or a "keep doing your countdown for the next km marker and don't think of anything else". How awesome to have my own personal motivator!
at km #23.6: Woohoo! I start celebrating, to which my friend Cass cautions, "it's not over yet.". But it is. 24k down.

And afterwards, the awesome Cass and I walked into the ocean to cool off our leg muscles. What a great day to be alive! How lucky we are to have the ocean at our doorstep. Notice how I'm holding my poor chaffed arms away from me. Oooh, do they sting!

This wasn't a new distance, wasn't a new crowning achievement. But some days it's all I can do to finish, and finish I did! And before I hear any comments, yes I do take my shin soreness very seriously. Yes, I do try to follow my body's limitations and warning signals whenever possible. This is not a red light signal for running; this is a warning sign. I'm taking it as such.






Total distance: 24.00km
Total time: 2.29.45
Total elevation: 195m
Average pace:  6.14min/km





And when I got home and took off my shoes, I noticed something pretty cool. A blister on a blister! I've never had one before. Big blisters, small blisters, painful blisters, annoying blisters, and super swollen blisters. But never a blister on a blister! I thought this warranted a final picture.

Calf raises

Before I start, I encourage everyone reading this to stand up and start doing calf raises. Not the lazy halfway up kind, but the ones where you are full on pushing up onto your tippy toes. Keep doing them as you read this.

Yesterday I ran Mt Coot-tha to get some trail running in. I went with a fantastic trail running friend, which was such an encouragement. I don't know if I could have faced those hills alone. We started off running across a gentle field (see below)

But not long after we hit the Powerful Owl trail. Which goes straight up. I tried to take a picture of it (below) but it ends up looking more like a flat cruisy trail rather than the steep nightmare it is. On the way up my calves started to burn. Every step felt like flames running up the backs of my legs. Walking provided no relief...I just needed to get to the top! I can't remember the last time I've had so much intense muscle burn. Poor little calves. I thought it would never end. When we got to the top and the ground levelled out I felt an enormous sense of relief...and we were only 2k in! To give you an idea, according to my Garmin watch we ran uphill 123m in the first km and 55m in the second. Well, when I say "run" I mean "run/walk".

... still doing those calf raises? How are those calves feeling, by the way?
The rest of the trail wasn't so bad. We made it to the top - hooray! My friend told me we were a quarter of the way there, as we headed down to the bottom of the other side of the trail. I called it halfway, because running down the mountain doesn't really count.
We got down to the bottom and took a bit of a rest in the beautiful Gap Creek Reserve before heading back up to the top. Fortunately, unlike Powerful Owl this trail was more windy and less steep than that first hill climb we did. While my calves were feeling the burn, it was nothing compared with before.

Total time (including all rests):
Total distance: 10.78km
Total elevation: 438m
Average pace: 8.59min/km

Now, set the timer for another 10minutes or so and keep up with those calf raises until then. I'm sure you will be able to sympathize with the calf burn I felt!

Smash Hits

Speed session. The session - according to a friend - that I absolutely need to smash to see improvements of speed.
I can't say I was exactly thrilled that I had reached the day to "smash it". Every lazy bone in my body argued that I was already doing enough, running fast enough, pushing myself far enough...but peer pressure is a wonderful thing. And plus, that little inner question where I couldn't help but ask myself can I?
Can I go faster? Can I push myself harder? And what will happen if I do?
When I found out we were doing 2k reps with a 1min recovery, I just groaned. Run as hard as I possibly can for 2k? And then do it all over again?
With our extended speed sessions, I estimated I would do 3-4 of these reps. I hoped it was 3!
So out I went. As per the rules given (to me) no talking, no hanging back to run with friends. This was all focussed on push, push, push.

Rep #1: 1k/2k: 5.22/5.14. I felt good. Kept up with a faster group than I'm used to and pushed it through to the end. I was pretty tired at the end, and 1min rest didn't feel like enough. I worried I was going to be a 1-rep wonder and fade out in the following.
As a trick, I made my footfalls into mental drumbeats and tried to think of a song that matched that drumbeat. The song I picked? Carol of the Bells. Yep. Middle of August and I'm singing Christmas songs.

Rep #2: 3k/4k: 5.14/5.09. No, I didn't know I was running faster. I set my sights on a gal ahead and told myself not to fall behind. My goal was to push it really hard for the first 1400m...and then pick up the pace for the final 600m. I was beat at the end of this rep!

Rep #3: 5k/6k: 5.21/5.14. Looking at these times, I'm impressed with my consistency. It wasn't intentional. But I guess what helped was good ole Carol of the Bells. When I thought I couldn't take another step without stopping, I started singing the song in my head and picked up my feet to match the rhythm playing in my mind.

Rep #4: 7k/8k. 5.35/5.17. I was really hoping to skip this rep. Really, REALLY hoping to skip this rep. I had nothing left. Nothing, zilch, nada. I told myself I couldn't possibly run all this distance. And as I started out, I began reciting all the excuses why I should stop there. And until I hit the turn-around, I kept on with those mental excuses. But I also kept my eyes focused on those slightly-faster-than-me fellow runners who (at last session) were the so-much-faster-than-me-that-I'll-never-come-close-to-catching-them runners.

Even at the end, I was surprised I kept up a relatively similar pace for those 8k. I thought I'd fade much more quickly than that. But it was also awesome that I could hold my head up high and tell myself, yep, I smashed it.

Total time: 57.15min
Total distance: 10.4km
Average pace: 5.30min/km

Willpower

Running is awesome. Trail running even more so. But for every fantastic step through trails, it feels like twice the effort!

On Sunday I had a 12k trail run on my program. I figured I should at least do 10k, and hopefully a bit more. I managed to convince a woman I had just met to join up with me. She mentioned she was a runner and within minutes I was sidling up to her like a cat eyeing a mouse. "So, you're a runner? Have you ever run on trails? Interested in a short run on Sunday morning before church?"

Since no one from my running group was willing or able to join me, I was feeling a little desperate to find someone. Ever since I started running with people, I've realized how much - for me - it sucks to run alone. As in, all motivation flies out the window and I'm lucky if I get past the doorway for a slooooowww jog.

But fortunately said woman was keen and we made plans to meet up Sunday morning.

If I hadn't felt stiff on Saturday post-run, I certainly wasn't feeling limber enough to want to run 12k of trails on Sunday!

We started off at an easy pace. Unfortunately, as Mt Coot-tha parking lots can be tricky to find for those not certain where they're going, the best landmark to find is the summit parking lot. Which means we started our running by going down, down, down. And down some more. Personally, I always prefer to start by going up!

We went down to the bottom of the mountain and back to the summit in just under 5k. Being the runner that she is, my friend insisted she run a bit more with me just to make it an even 5k.

After about 45min we hit the 5k and she took off to get her family up and out of bed (as previously planned) while I turned around and hit a different trail.

Oooh, this one was hard! Going down that second time was just depressing. Especially with no one to run with. And, as luck would have it, the second time down I haphazardly picked a trail sooo steep that I had to walk slowly going down else risk sliding on my butt down the dirt track.

I got to the bottom and when I looked back up I saw...

Okay, maybe nothing that bad, but it sure felt like it! I jogged on a flat trail for a few minutes to gather my willpower to climb back up the hill. This time, I had only gone halfway down Mt Coot-tha rather than back to the bottom. I know I should've gone back down to make it a full 10k.

But I had no willpower left. It was all I could do to get back up that one steep hill. I couldn't even run it the whole way. I instead picked evenly distanced landmarks to do a 1:1 walk:run ratio going back up.

I made it.

7.5k down, 2.5k to go to hit my 10k mark.

But I just couldn't do it. I was so tired, so alone, and so lacking willpower. That is something I will have to work on.

No statistics on this run. Let's just say I did 7.5k, it took me about 75min (including rest breaks and view point breaks) and that it was an elevation gain of +300m.

28.7k race coming up on September 23rd! In six weeks I need to get strong enough to go almost 4x the distance as I did yesterday.

Yikes.

Loop the Loop

Today was one of those long run days that most people would really, really not like. It started at 5am - yes, that is 0500 hours. I ran a very fast 5k out and back at 5am. I should have expected it, really, as the four other people in this little group of hardcore marathon trainers (or weekend workers) were much, much faster than me.
So out we go at a 5.43min/km pace. Keep in mind my last 10k race wasn't that fast!
We get back just as the other slackers show up to start their run at 5.30am. How I envied that extra half hour sleep in! And yet, there is something so nice about starting with a group having already clocked 5k on my feet.
But as we went out with the bigger group, it was not the nice slow pace I had come to expect on slow runs. No, no. Because the group was small as many fellow runners are in Sydney doing a Fun Run this weekend, there were only a few of us who had shown up this morning. To put it in perspective, when I say 'few', there were probably about 15-20 runners total, while normal Saturday morning crowds could easily be twice that.
On my schedule was 24k and I had planned to do 20k with the group (having already done 5k). But everyone else doing my distance bolted into the sunrise, leaving me behind with my trusty back possee group. So we cruised at our own long slow run pace, thank you! And since everyone was turning at the 8k mark to do a 16k, I decided to do the same.
Initially, my intentions were good. I would run the 15-16k with the group, then do another 3-4k mini-loop at the end to round it off at 24k. (Remembering that I had done 5k earlier that morning
But then on the way back fatigue started setting in, and that thought of going all the way back just to turn around again and run 4k on my own didn't seem so smart. I thought, 20k ought to be good enough.
Thankfully, I had a couple of friends running at a bit slower pace (shocking, I know), which gave me the motivation to turn around at the end and run back to them. Just to them, I told myself.
But they weren't as far back as I had thought, so I decided to go a little bit further - 1k, actually - then turn back around to make a nice even 22k.
Only I had miscalculated. It wasn't 22k. It was 21.6k!
So another little loop of 400m (getting slower and slower with each loop, I might add) and I was done. 22k!
Not quite the 24k I was aiming for...but at least it was in the ballpark.

Total distance: 22.0k
Total time: 2.16.41min
Total elevation: 304m
Average pace: 6.05min/km

And the best part? When my housemate saw me later this morning she told me I was glowing (this was after I had showered). And since she has seen me after most of my Saturday runs, I take this as a good sign. I'm glad I don't feel wrecked or - even worse - injured.

Running Pains

These cemetery runs are going to be the death of me. This is my second time running through the cemetery to do hills. The first time, I twisted an ankle and had to hobble back to the car. Today, I was doing fine until the 3rd km when I felt what I can only describe as a squeeze on the muscle. An uncomfortable squeeze that could be preluding a muscle spasm, or shin splints. And thus ended hill run through the cemetery #2. Another dead end in my training.

So here's hoping a day's rest will make all the difference in tomorrow's 24k long run...

Friendly Advice

I am stocking up on advice for this big Whitsunday Run. Because when I naively signed up for it months ago, I thought "28.7k trail run. That's not bad...Just a bit longer than my half marathon runs. I can do this."
And then a friend told me to expect to run it in 4 hours. After all, it is essentially a marathon in its own rights. Yikes! So I've been soaking up knowledge from my running pals as the clock ticks down. But as with any advice, different runners have different opinions.
Advice #1: "maximize the long slow runs on Saturday. You don't need to run those fast, but you need to worry about spending the time on your feet. That will help you get through the race."
Advice #2: "the most important session of the week is the hills session. Running trails is essentially running hills non-stop. If you're only going to attend one session a week, it's all about the hills on Thursday."
Advice #3: "to get more power in your legs & more speed under you for the race, you need to smash the sprint sessions on Tuesday as if there is no tomorrow. You should be so exhausted afterwards your muscles are vibrating."

Okay, so that means I have three "most important" sessions a week. Bring it!

Tuesday - sprints. (Before the friendly advice). But - although my legs didn't vibrate after the session - I still worked my butt off. Sprint sessions have become now 70min (rather than 60min), making the sprint part itself 45min (rather than 35min). What a difference that makes! We did two sets of 1/2/3/4/5min reps with a 1min recovery in between, and finishing off with a final 5min rep. We ran it in a 500m loop. I didn't try to record the details, but the summary says it all.

Time: 1.02.16min
Distance: 9.80km!
Average pace: 6.07min/km

Wednesday - pace run? Tempo run? I'm not sure what to call this. I think I'll call it "hard core Wednesday morning run for people training for a marathon" run. Which is what it is. Four of us met at 5am - 5AM!!! - and took off together for a quick-paced jog into the city. I ended up running 12k. I was meant to do 16k, but unfortunately 16k would be more realistic for a person not having to rush home, eat breakfast, shower, and leave the house for work at 7am. Sure, I could do an extra 4k at 4.30am on my own before meeting the others, but even I have my limits.

Time: 1.09.56min
Distance: 11.64km
Average pace: 5.55min/km

Keep in mind my 10k race pace from last weekend was 5.54min/km, so - for me - it certainly was a fast moving run!

Brisbane Marathon Festival - 10k

Another week, another race. After last week's Ipswich disaster, I was not confident at how I would go this week. My goal time was 1.05min. Afterall, if I can run a super hilly course in 1.06min, surely I can do 1min better?
I knew I wouldn't do well this race. At least, not a pb, so I planned to jog to the start line to get in a bit of distance, at the least.
But yesterday morning I woke up and felt just a little bit stiff after yesterday's double run (triple run, if you count the break I had while at the markets before running on). So I took transit instead.
I have a pattern for races. The important races I like to arrive about 1hour before the start time. I know that seems early for some, but 1hour gives me "running late" time, "bathroom line-up" time, and "warm-up" time without feeling any stress or pressure. For the smaller races? Anytime around 30min before is fine with me.
I started with my Galeforce Running Squad friends. It's always encouraging to start with people you know!
As we wound our way through the city, I kept an easy pace. I was worried that - as has happened the past two 10k races I've run - I would start fast, burn out around the 4k mark, and flail my way through the next 5k to finish at a not-so-good time.
At the 4k mark I was feeling good, but still held back. I started passing fellow squad members who were out marshalling the course. None of them offered to let me cheat by cutting the course short, but that's okay. It was still awesome to have people I knew cheering me on through that back half of the course.
At the 5k mark I decided I might as well go for it, so I picked up the pace - just a little - with the intention to pick it up a little bit more each km.
And thus I started out at around a 6.00 pace and finished off at a 5.20 pace. Awesome!

Total time: 58.44
Total distance: 9.90km (it might have been 10km. The garmin watches aren't perfect, afterall)
Total elevation: 429m
Average pace: 5.54min/km


Interestingly, I see that this race had more elevation gain than Ipswich did last week. Unreliable watch, or a ridiculously massive increase in fitness after 1 week of training? Who knows!

Post-race breakfast was on the menu with my fellow runners. It was delightful that almost everyone was pretty happy with their times - especially one friend who posted a 10min pb on his half marathon time. 10 MINUTES. That's running 30sec faster on every single km!
After breakfast I decided to jog home. It was along the marathon track, too! So, although I felt a bit silly, I ran the whole way shouting encouragement to passing marathoners. After all, if it were me running 42.195km, any encouragement would be appreciated. I was surprised at how many responded with a kind word and a smile or thumbs up considering they were going on 37km at the time.

Total time: 28.02
Total distance: 4.34km
Elevation: 202m
Average pace: 6.27min/km

ps - photos are at the finish line of fellow Galeforce Squad members and inspiring runners.

Active Living

My Mom is a fan of "incidental exercise" or "active living". Like where you park the car at the back of the parking lot to walk a little bit further, or ride your bike to the shops instead of driving. Small changes.
This morning I had a trail run! I haven't run trails for ages. I went with a couple Galeforce friends - two of us are training for upcoming trail races. Naively, I told the most experienced of the group that I was hoping to run about 12k. He laughed, and said that - since this first run together we were only doing 1 hour - we would be lucky to "run" 6k up the trails! I thought he was exaggerating.
I thought wrong.
It became evident that trails are a lot trickier in reality than they were in my mind. Steep uphills with rocky ground made for slow progress! We wound our way around, stopping for short walking breaks when I was no longer keeping up. The focus was intense. Instead of letting my mind wander, every spot of my attention was focussed on watching where that next step should be all the while keeping half an eye out for tree branches. I didn't get a total distance or complete stats, as I forgot to start my watch at the beginning.

Approximate distance: 6.3km
Approximate elevation gain: 198m
Approximate time: 55min
Average pace: 7.49min/km

Done and done! I was wiped at the end.
And then a friend cancelled plans at the last minute, and I was invited out for a bike ride to the markets. So we got all set up on our bikes...and then a friend's bike wasn't working properly. We had a few choices before us.

a) my other two friends carry on ahead and I chill back at home for a cruisy morning
b) we spend the morning fixing the bike and miss the markets
c) pile into my car and drive out
d) I run beside the bikes

Surprise! Option D). The ultimate active living. I'll just run out to the markets...and hence today I had a second run and it was even Run With Bikes Part II!! Fantastic.

Distance: 7.5km
Time: 51.09 (okay, so I was really tired by this point!)
Average pace: 6.48min/km

Foot Jinx

Before Gold Coast a blister was something other people got. If I had blisters, they were unpainful and unobtrusive...settled on the side of my toe without a further thought or bother.
But at Gold Coast I made the error of tying a shoe too tight and (not wanting to stop and fix it) ended up with a massive blister of red hot fire on my right foot. And weeks later, after that blister has fully healed and peachy-keen, yet another blister pops up! And ouch, it is bothersome. Interestingly, it is in the same spot as the Gold Coast blister - though only about 1/5 the size. Hmmm. Have I developed a weak spot in my foot for blisters? Have I jinxed my 4-year reign of blister-free bliss?
In any case, as we ran down to the bottom of the "mountain" and slogged our way back to the top, it was yet another thing to grumble about. My main concern was that my friend of a similar speed was not at this session, so I fell in dead last position right away. And as the road twisted and turned, I lost sight of my fellow runners altogether. Sigh. I am so tired of being dead last in running.
Some people have encouraged me that I'm really not that slow. Well, you train for 5-6 hours a week  and tell me how it feels when your 10k personal best remains a race you ran 3 years ago!!! You'd think some improvement would be in order. But it feels that for every gain in running I make, there is some event that sets me two steps back. I think I've averaged out my running pace from slow to slow.

Distance: 6.66km
Time: 50.24min
Elevation gain: 214m
Avg pace: 7.34min/km