Top 5 reasons to run on your birthday

This year I had the joy of keeping up with my yearly tradition of a birthday run. Okay, three years does not a tradition make, but it could be the beginning of one!

Two years ago I ran my favourite 8k loop along the Brisbane river with a beautiful friend for company.

One year ago I ran a 5k race in Rockhampton.

And this year I did my Tuesday morning training session.

Not everyone thinks getting up at 4.30am to run sprints is a great way to celebrate their birthday, but I beg to differ! So I've decided to list my top 5 reasons for running on your birthday.

5. Lung capacity - the candles on the birthday cake grow in number every year, but our lung capacity is at risk of diminishing as we age. Don't fall to the fear of not being able to blow out all the birthday candles on your cake! Running improves lung capacity so you'll be able to blow them all out in one go, whether you are turning 27 or 97! (Spit also works in extinguishing candles, but is not the preferred method when sharing a cake).

 4. Stress reliever - birthdays aren't all roses and balloons. If the thought of turning another year older makes you feel clammy, or if you've planned the party of a century and are seriously hoping that nobody inserts the adjective 'worst' in there, you may be stressed.

A run is a great way to work off that stress so you can sit back and enjoy the actual day.

3. No planning required - if you're like me and don't like planning parties at all, then a run is a great alternative. Both you and your fellow runners are sure to enjoy it, and they're dedicated/crazy enough that chances are they'll show up rain, hail, or shine. (Note: only works for people who enjoy running to begin with).

  

2. Birthday cake - this is the obvious one. Chances are your birthday will involve eating lots of birthday cake. Not only will a run help you avoid the dreaded next day bloat, but you can fully enjoy that third slice of cake and second glass of wine because you know that you've already burnt off the calories. Or so you can keep telling yourself.

1. Friends - because a birthday is only as awesome as the people you spend it with. When you've been running with a running group consistently for a long time, you become very close with a lot of people. Your other runners get you. They understand why you go to bed before 9pm on a Friday night, and why you say "I'm just running the half marathon" without irony. They may be a diverse group of people from every walk of life, but they all share two things: a love of running, and a heart of gold.

Cake Run

This morning there was a running joke (pun intended) by our resident baker. She suggested that she could get us all to run faster simply by holding out a cupcake and running in front. Honestly, she wasn't that far off the mark! Everyone knows Char makes the most amazing cupcakes... and she'll always bake a special one on your birthday.

Which is way I have been looking forward to my birthday cupcake since last year's birthday cupcake! Actually, I can't call it a cupcake so much as a four layered miniature vanilla cake. Yum! It was well worth the year-long wait. :)

Cupcake? Work of art? Hand me a fork and I'll get to the bottom of this!

But work before pleasure; a 12k run was on the menu first up. As has become usual, I started off well enough with the group. I even managed to stick with them until the turn around point (even though I drifted to the back). But at around the 7k mark I just could not keep the pace any more. I encouraged everyone to go ahead because I was fading fast.
But not everyone did. A most loyal and amazing runner (who is, I should point out, MUCH faster than I even on my good days!) chose to fall back with me. It pushed me on when I might otherwise have run. And while I can't say I particularly had a fantastic time struggling every step to fight fatigue and gasp in the hot, muggy air, having the company was great. She always ran just that little bit ahead to keep me pushing.
At times I felt encouraged and inspired to keep up.
And other times I just wanted her to leave me to my suffering. "You go ahead", I would pant out, "I don't mind, really!"
But on I went, one foot before the other. And after lots of drink breaks (also called "Laura gasping for breath" breaks) we finally reached theend. I even managed a small burst of speed at the end just to finish it off that much faster.
It is getting so hot at 5.30am and it is not even full summer yet!

Total time: 1.13.02min
Total distance: 12.32km
Total elevation: 187m
Average pace: 5.56min/km


And then this afternoon I caught up with another friend for birthday cake #2 - chocolate mud cupcakes with fudge icing. Yes, please!

Cupcakes make me happy!



While today may not have been a "cake walk", it was certainly a "cake run".

There's Always Another Race

I always thought I believed that. I didn't want to be that runner that would be running in a race when I break eight bones, tear through three muscles, dislocate both hips and develop blisters the size of my head and yet continue running because "I trained really hard for this race!"
I always told myself: if I get injured, I want to be brave enough to stop. Because stopping can take more courage than fighting through the pain.
Since my Whitsunday Race I've been planning on doing the Hobart Marathon in January. Because (as I put it) "the stars have aligned".
1. I'm already pre-conditioned for marathon training
2. It works perfectly into my work schedule
3. A destination marathon!
But fate chuckled at my tunnel vision and twisted things around these past few weeks.
When the realization hit last week that I likely wouldn't be running the marathon, I was gutted. But as my mind has readjusted to this new way of thinking, it's become a bit of a relief. After all, there's always another race.
On Tuesday I did another speed session. And you know what? I let myself struggle without going into a mental panic. I let myself be slow without berating myself for...well, for being slow.
I even stopped looking at my watch obsessively to see what pace I was at!
Maybe it's life's way of reminding me what time of the year it is. Yes sir, the days are getting warmer, the magpies are swooping in all their territorial glory, and the humidity gage is rising steadily. It all adds up to mean one thing: off season.
I have one more race planned - the most awesome 500k relay! Woohoo!! - and then nothing. But maybe I should leave it that way.
It's been a pretty darn good season after all.

Summit Run

On Sunday I had a fantastic run with one of my most awesome friends, Bec! We got up to Mt Coot-tha in the early-ish morning (about 6.30am when we started) and ran from base to summit along a lovely, well-marked trail.

It is so wonderful to have friends with whom you can share your passions. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to support my friend's soccer team through the finals to win the Grand Final in their division. And now here we were on a trail at Mt Coot-tha Sunday morning...unfortunately, not much room for a sideline cheering squad on a trail run! It was all about participation on Sunday. I picked the trail carefully, with a finish line at the summit look-out of Mt Coot-tha for maximum feeling of achievement. Somehow, climbing a big long hill without a view point can feel just a little bit less exhilarating.

Total distance: 4.08km
Total time: 35.48min
Total elevation: 153m
Average pace: 8.46min/km

Sure, we could have gone faster, but we didn't want a little run to get in the way of our talking!

Marathon Pipe Dream

Running is simple. Sure, you can make it more complex by adding in fancy split times and specific training goals and pace levels and different pairs of shoes for different terrains and events. But at the bottom of it, it really is a simple sport. There are few rules, although most runners will agree on certain runner's etiquette (e.g. if/when spitting, make sure you don't do so on the person near you).

But while running is simple, life sometimes isn't. I don't much dwell on these "other factors" in my blog, because I don't want them to dominate my focus on running. Running is simple, after all. It often takes me away from all of life's complexities and is a breath of fresh air! Or rather, many deep gasping breaths of fresh air.

However, I find that after my most fabulous race, I've been struggling with multiple factors that have all impacted on my running. In fact, it is safe to say that my motivation to run is the lowest it's been in 4 years. While there are many little things happening in my life (isn't this the way of everyone?) I can say that there are two big causes affecting my running:

1. Health - I have been very fatigued post-race but have surprisingly not bounced back despite the time I've given myself to do so. My heart has said yes but within 2k of running my body very clearly is saying no. It was pointed out to me that after running in long events (such as a 28.5km trail run through the Whitsundays) it is common for the body chemistry to become out of whack and depleted of many important vitamins, minerals, etc that keep us going. I was told by a friend in the know that my pasty complexion (gee, thanks!) and low energy are signs that I could be anaemic. So I have made myself a large spinach salad and am eating my way reluctantly through it all. For anyone who knows me, you will appreciate what a sacrifice that is for someone who doesn't much like raw vegetables.

2. Marathon pipe dream - in the back of my mind, I had set the goal to run my first marathon - YES! MARATHON!!! - in Hobart in January. I held back on announcing this dream, as I wanted first to pull through the Whitsundays alright. When I did, I felt the stars aligning to run my first marathon: first, it was a destination marathon, and I've always wanted my first marathon to be in a place I've never been. Second, I was already in peak condition from training for the Whitsundays, so why not keep that fitness level up for another few months rather than having to let it flicker out and then have to start from scratch once again? Third, it was the weekend after my current contract ended. What better timing!

But earlier this week my contract was cancelled due to public funding cuts. Word on the street is work in my field is pretty scarce all around now. And suddenly this balloon dream of running my first marathon in January has come dangerously close to popping. In terms of race goals, I'm a lost sheep at the moment. And combined with my ongoing fatigue, my motivation for running goals is at it's lowest in years.

At such times, it is best for me to go back to basics: the simplicity of running, if you will.

So for the next few weeks, I will make no goals in running. It is a time to simply run and remind myself why I love it; why I sacrifice sleep to wake up at 4.45am on the weekdays, and why I skip Friday nights out in favour of a Saturday morning run. 

Running - like life -is about putting one foot in front of the other. Perhaps I've been making it too complex in an already complex world. Perhaps I've been too focused on the destination and not the journey.

Recovery

Do you know that feeling when you are just getting over a really nasty [insert virus here]? You've been staying home from work with a box of tissues watching bad daytime t.v. and after a short time you start to feel better. You convince yourself that your energy has picked up and besides, you couldn't possibly stay inside your house for another minute, as you are convinced the walls are starting to shrink and you're going a little stir-crazy. So you pick yourself off the couch and go back to work.
And then you feel like you've been run over by a truck.
Because what you didn't realize while lounging around on the couch moving nothing more than your thumb when flicking channels on the t.v. remote is that you still really are sick. All energy is being spent fighting off your nasty illness and there is nothing left for other activities.
So while you feel not-sick-enough to stay home and do nothing, you are also too-sick to go in to work. It's a bit frustrating.
That has been my week of running. Now, I know I'm not recovering from any illness (thank goodness!). But I underestimated exactly how much the Whitsunday Race would take out of me. Having not run for a week, I showed up at Tuesday's speed session all smiling and ready to go.
Until I started running.
I felt great, I felt keen...but my legs would just not work. So instead of doing "sprints" per se, I participated in "very fast jogs" as that's all I could handle.
Even though the sprints were shorter this session - 400m rep with a 100m recovery - it was still about 350m too long for me! I managed in the end, but it was hard. I wasn't sore, I just couldn't get my legs to move, simple as that.

Total time: 58.35
Total distance: 9.30km
Average pace: 6.31min/km

Given how I pulled up on Tuesday, I took Thursday as another rest day. I didn't think I could walk up hills, let alone run them!
And so here I was today doing an "easy" 12k with the group. But it didn't exactly feel easy!
I mistakenly ran the first 4k with some faster people and struggled to keep up with the 5.15/5.30 pace. Wisely, I dropped back to the slower group who were running at a more reasonable speed for me!
It was great being back among friends and sharing in excitement over achievements (my Whitsunday race) and goals (Melbourne event next weekend for many!). And then we waffled on about work, life, news headlines and the likes. I can't say it made those 12k go faster, but it certainly made them more enjoyable.
After the run, we had a lovely sending off breakfast to celebrate those who have trained for Melbourne. Perfect timing for me that the squad training is winding down a bit over the next week to prepare for Melbourne, as apparently my legs are still recovering! But then really, it hasn't even been two weeks yet. I guess I'll just have to take this journey nice and slow. I'm good at that!

Total time:  1.13.13
Total distance: 12.3km
Average pace: 5.58min/km

ps - one more picture of the Whitsunday race! We came up from the right along the ridge (yes, the top one) before coming down into Airlie Beach out front.