Time for a Vacation

Ahh, Tuesday morning reps. My running schedule this year is all over the place, but I love my Tuesday speed session. If nothing else, it keeps me honest. Especially when I'm always having to write down my times!
Today we did 500m reps with 500m recovery. I love 500m reps. Anything less than 1k is pretty exciting for me.
My goal time was a 4.38 pace, translating to a 2.19min rep. I went out on the first one with the plan of going at a hard pace but not my hardest - my aim was consistency over speed today. We had 7 reps and I knew that if I went my hardest I wouldn't be able to keep the same pace. My split times were as follows:
2.12 / 2.13 / 2.14 / 2.12 / 2.17 / 2.15
A little too much variation for my liking. Just shows I should have slowed the first one down by a bit and kept to that time. But I did focus on my form a little bit. And maybe it's just me...but I think my form is improving a little bit.
I was tired at the end of the session (too much junk food eating has made me much more sluggish this week!). It wasn't long before I realized I'd fallen behind the group, so I picked it up a bit and chatted with one of the girls on the way back. I cut short a corner through the long grass and...

Yep. I hit a hidden stump and over I went. The grass was slick from morning dew and it felt a bit like one of those slip & slides I played on as a kid. Fortunately, I stopped just short of the solid rocky trail. I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and finished the last few hundred metres. I noticed a few grass burns and as the morning is progressing my knee is getting a little stiff, but overall, no harm done. Score!
In over 4 years of running I've had such a clean record when it comes to clumsiness. And now I've fallen twice in just over a week! It can only mean one thing... time for a vacation!
Good thing I'm going on a nice long trip to the States this Saturday. Perfect timing, really.

Matching Outfits

Any athlete would tell you that the rules of fashion etiquette don't always (or even often) apply to sports. For example, if I walked into a party and saw another girl in the exact same outfit as me, I would have three socially appropriate responses to this calamity:

1. Walk away and never set foot in that household again. Delete all friends who saw me at said party from all social media accounts, change my phone number, move house, and hermit myself away in shame.

2. Cat-fight with the other gal and scratch her eyes out until she leaves the party and never reigns on my supremacy again.

3. Laugh it off awkwardly and pretend it's not a big deal. Less extreme, but pffft! 

But in sport, matching doesn't really matter. You'll never see two people on the same soccer team cat-fight it out when they arrive in matching outfits. Could you imagine?

Flashback to high school basketball: Even our poses matched.

Running has a similar feel. I don't duck my head in embarrassment whenever I see someone wearing the same race shirt as myself.  And yeesh, if I pulled out of a race every time I saw someone wearing the same shirt as me, I would have run very, very few races in my life! ... Because showing up to a race in the same shirt is like showing up to a match on the basketball court wearing your team uniform - it's a mark of community. In a race, it gives you an instant connection with the other runner and is a time-honoured way of saying "we're in this together".

I think it's for that reason - and for ease of spotting one person in a crowd of hundreds - that most running groups encourage wearing the same outfit, as in any other team sport. 

It's...it's...no, it can't be! But it is! Matching outfits at a race!

So the other day when I went running with Chris she discovered that - oops! - we had the same shirt on (courtesy of the Twilight Running Festival 2013!). Chris immediately asked if she should change her shirt to another.

My first reaction...

Actually, no. I just laughed. Because - like any other team sport - we runners are all in this together.

Do we want to kick your butt and beat you across the finish line? Absolutely! But we'll still be there cheering you on when you finish and encouraging you if you fail to meet your goal. And even if you finish before us, we'll offer our warmest congratulations, even if we're tinged a little green as we do so.

Oh, and as for Saturday morning's run - Chris and I ran a lovely loop around hilly Anzac Park. And yes, we wore matching shirts.

Down From the High

1k sprints this morning. I could feel the lingering bruises from my nose dive on Sunday's run (hello, hip!), but everything was in working order. At first I thought I could use it as an excuse to ease back on my pace, but it was evident during the warm-up that I wasn't really that injured.
There's not much exciting I can say about today. But hey, after such an action packed weekend I think it's time things settled down for me.
We were meant to start off 5sec slower than our 5k race pace and get progressively faster.
My set times as per my coach were 4.53 / 4.48 / 4.43 / 4.38.
My actual split times were as follows: 4.48 / 4.41 / 4.37 /4.50.
Yes, I admit I rather gave up in the last rep. I should've pushed it out...I could've pushed it out. But in my mind I was finished and my legs followed my mind. And looking at it, if you tweak the order of the reps just a little you can see that I really followed the program quite closely.
I'm still trying to focus on my form which I'm hoping is getting less disastrous with every run. I received a few kind comments from my coach along the lines of, "do you remember what I said last time about your arms?" so I guess most of my improvement was in my mind.

Stacked It!

Today marks the day where I have - like a lemur - followed in the footsteps of many a trail runner before me. That's right, I stacked it! Years of running has brought me close to the edge many times. I've tripped, skidded, stumbled, slid, and lurched my way along uneven (or even) surfaces. I've rolled ankles, and had the occasional contact of hand or butt to ground. But I have never before well and truly stacked it.

We started off as a group on Daisy Hill. The first 6k were going beautifully. I felt strong, felt good. Despite the much faster pace than last week I managed to keep up with the crowd. The day was cool, the sun was shining, and everyone was smiling.

You can't see the smiles from this angle, but they were there as we all started out fresh on the trail in the morning.

We turned off on a "single-wide" track designed for mountain bikes. I am slow on natural hazards - and hills, and flat surfaces, and long distances - so today I thought I'd push myself just to the edge of my comfort zone with speed. As I wound my way along the narrow, hazardous trail, I remember my foot hitting a tree root. Next thing I know, I was body surfing along the dirt. Luckily, my forward momentum was stopped short by a tree hitting my shoulder (or was it the other way around?)

I admit I got a bit teary - more from the shock than anything else. But before I could blink twice or register that I was planking in the middle of the trail, my fellow trail runners had surrounded me, helped me to my feet, and were using their water bottles to wash off the worst of the grime. I wasn't sure at first where blood ended and dirt began, but as the stinging lessened I realized the damage was not as bad as I thought. Everything was moving properly, so I set off again - more cautiously! - along the trail.

Innocent looking photos of the single-wide track, which bested two of our number today.

The best thing about trail runners is that almost everyone has stacked it at one point or another. So while they were quick to offer sympathy and anecdotes of their own misadventures, they also understood the importance of standing on your own two feet (so to speak) and didn't try to baby me.

We were only halfway through the trail and the quickest way back was forward, so onward I went! At about 8.5k into the trail I felt like a tire that had suddenly hit a nail: all the energy leaked out of me. When the group split into two, I opted to join the "return straight to carpark" group and left the 15k+ loop to other hardy souls. By the end of the run (~10.75km seemed to be the general consensus regarding distance), I was well and truly exhausted. But hey, everything was still working properly so  it could have been worse.

I wasn't the only one to eat dirt today. Two of my fellow trail runners came back from that trail with misadventures of their own - but that would be their tale to tell, not mine.

Showing off one of my "trophy's" at the end of the run.

Almost Watchless: A Tale of a PB

I received a challenge this past week: run my next race sans watch, and instead only focus on running the whole thing as hard as I can. The theory is that my race strategizing - in other words, how fast I think I should be able to run - is slowing me down. I admit, for my next 5k I had a plan: run the first 3k at a 5-min pace, then pick it up as much as I can the last 2k to finish with a sub-25min (my goal was to get around the 24.50 mark).
But I couldn't not accept this challenge, especially since I was so curious as to how it would turn out.
I rejoined New Farm Park Run, because it's flat and I like the course. The start was narrow but the volunteers facilitated this as much as they could by having sub-start groups. I wormed my way into the sub-25 running group, feeling a bit like a pinball as I bounced around my fellow runners politely jockeying for a good position.
I had decided to run this event sans watch, but in the end I just couldn't do it. The thought of finishing my race and not knowing how I did for hours (when the results were emailed out) was just too much. So I just made sure that my watch screen was set in such a way that even if I did look at it, I wouldn't see how I was going.
Off we went! I had made it my goal to run past "comfortable" and into "uncomfortable" for the duration of the race to see how I went. I know that this made my first km waaaaay too quickly, which I suffered for as my breathing soon caught up with me.
So I settled into a pace that pushed myself but that I felt was maintainable for the next 4k.
At the 3k mark I was dying. There was a little bit of a headwind that I would have rather had on the way out than the way back. Plus, I normally plot my race strategy as I go, but without the data I normally use I didn't know what to think about! How could I keep pushing myself hard but take my mind off the discomfort of doing so? The not knowing was frustrating. Should I be picking it up more? Could I pick it up more? Was I going to make it with a pb???
I tried mantra'ing to myself. But that got old really fast.
So I started singing "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" to myself. I had gotten to 92 when I remembered one of my coaches instructing me on singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" to control my breathing.
Alright, Mary. You and me, let's go!
At the same time, I also tried to focus a bit on my form. Not so much to correct it (I was racing, after all!) but I wanted to increase my awareness of how my running technique is during a race. Head up, back straight... arms moving across the body wildly and shoulders too engaged. Check, check, check, and double check!
At about 1k to go I accidentally sneaked a peek at my watch - habit. It was more of a am I sure this race isn't over yet when will this pain end disbelieving sort of look than a time-checking look. Luckily I had pre-empted the strike by changing screens at the start, to avoid accidentally seeing my time. But despite this, I still felt strongly I wasn't going to make my sub-25min goal.  I was deflated. After going so hard I wasn't going to make it! I saw all these fit young runners - and old runners - breeze past me, I was very demoralized. I felt slow and unfit. How could everyone else make it look so easy when I had been struggling almost every step of the way?
But then I decided that - as much as I wanted to - I couldn't quit now when I was so close to the finish! At the very least, I wanted to get in the ball-park range of my last pb (25.23). And who knows, maybe I would finish in 25.22 or something. How could I slow down if it would make the difference of a new pb or not?
Around the corner, to the finish line, stop the watch...

24.40min
What??? Had I just nailed a new pb by nearly 45seconds? Did I just run 9seconds faster per km than any other 5k I've done??? 
Apparently, yes. Woohoo! Mission accomplished. And hey, I even got a Top 10 finish for my category. Success! Special thanks to my coach for setting me this challenge, and for Mary and her little lambs.

Pride Goeth Before the Fall

I used to think running was a dumb, boring sport. Seriously - how hard is it to put on a pair of shoes and run? Some people trained harder and had better running genes and therefore were faster than others. It seemed so simple in my mind. Running form? What was that? Lots of runners use different forms and it doesn't matter, right?

Well, today we focussed on running form during 200m sprints. I had thought my running form was "near perfect", but I quickly learned how wrong I was! We were given a goal pace (mine was 54sec) and told not to run it much faster than what we were told.

As the focus was on form rather than speed, I did the sprints at...okay, at too fast a pace (around 45-50sec rather than 54sec). But I did focus on my form! I kept my head up and my shoulders back and my feet in perfect rhythm. At least, in my mind I did. For all I know I looked like Igor running after the Monster. But I admit I rather thought my coach would take one look at me and use me as "the example" for all the other runners. (Not that I thought they were worse, I just thought myself to be need nothing that needed readjusting). I know, I know, arrogance is unbecoming and pride goeth before the fall and all that.

But back to the story.

So, my coach ran along beside me as I pushed hard during a 200m sprint. After gently rebuking me for going too fast (oops!), he showed me how when I push myself really hard or when I fatigue, my shoulders do a lot of lateral movement as I move my arms across my body, rather than straight out and back. Huh. I had never really thought about it, but now I know why my shoulders & upper back are often stiff after a long run or race!

Deflated, I asked him if that was my only problem, to which he responded, "I want you to focus only on one thing at a time." Not the most encouraging answer for my ego (maybe I look more like Igor than I thought...). But fortunately I am never too proud to take on good advice - especially when I know it will benefit my running.

So for the next few weeks, I am going to focus on my arm & shoulder movement until it is near perfect at every speed! ... And then I might hustle back to my coach to get some more readjustments and helpful tips.

We finished the session off with a 1k time trial. After 10x 200m sprints, I was beat. I had nothing left! So I focused on keeping my arms as perfect as I could manage, and finished in 4.57min. Not too shabby.

Healing Mantras

This morning it was high time for me to return to the Brisbane Trail Runners group. I had fallen off the wagon with my attendance...first there was vacation, and then "off season", and then I feared I was too unfit to participate appropriately.
But what I failed to remember is how much this group has exploded in numbers since I first started with them! Suddenly, I have a much greater chance of running with fellow runners who are around the same fitness & confidence level as me.
There were 3 groups: the walking group set off first, while the 6k and 10k "run/walkers" banned together for the first 4k, then we'd split into the 6k and 10k groups.

The Brisbane Trail Runners group! I'm in the back on the left, wearing a red cap.

At 2k I was feeling good, feeling strong, and ready to conquer the hill.
At 3k we reached the top of a big hill and I was exhausted. I told my good running pal Barry that I couldn't possibly do 10k - I was going to call it a day at 6k.
At 4k we reached the bottom of a big hill where the 6k runners were splitting off, and I was torn as to what to do. Barry encouraged me, "do the 10k. You'll feel better for it after." Another day, he would have been right.
At 7k I was feeling good - more or less. I was slow and steady. My muscles protested me going any faster than slow, but I still had energy to run up the hills. I was glad it was only 3k to go!
At 9k I stepped funny on my left ankle, and it started twinging. Not horribly - but not great, either. I took slow, short steps and mantra'd to myself, stronger, stronger, stronger. At the same time, I mentally channelled strength and healing energy into my left ankle. It worked! I gingerly finished the last few hundred metres, but with no further mishaps or twinging.
My muscles were as fatigued as if I'd run for two hours rather than 70min, but I still had to bolt to make it to my 2 hour yoga workshop. I had been worried that the 10k would have taken too much out of me right before my workshop - and I would have been wrong if I'd fueled properly post-run.
Alas, the results of poor post-run fueling were not pretty! If I had been thinking more clearly, I would have used my stronger mantra. Instead, my mantra became don't pass out, don't pass out, don't pass out. And hey, I didn't pass out! So maybe I should put more thought into my mantras, as they seem to be working pretty okay.