Even on Holidays

Last weekend I went away for a long weekend in Victoria with Ash. I took my running gear determined to fit in a few runs and I ended up going out twice over the 5 days.

The first one was along Corio Bay in Geelong, I intended to do 10, ended with 11.5ks as I ran along the bay, into the Botanical Gardens and back.

We then spent a few days staying with his family in Wye River on the Great Ocean Road. What a beautiful part of the world – for those that haven’t been, add it to your list! The highlight was definitely seeing koalas in the wild, right off our verandah. We had a lovely time and though I found it a bit fresh to swim, it was perfect conditions for running. Thanks David for getting me out early one morning for a lazy 10k along the famous coastline. Thoroughly enjoyable.

While holidays interupt my training, they aren't enough to stop the km's from racking up but this Friday I have a small surgery scheduled on my claw of a finger. Trying to get this old basketball injury corrected for good is going to halt my training for the period that the stitches are in - up to 10 days says the good surgeon.

This is far from ideal but I am learning that in any journey to a marathon there are hick-ups along the way and so I am looking at this postively to give my body a rest and then will hit the road hard as soon as possible after. At the moment though, those time goals I've talked about previously are seeming somewhat out of reach.

Just finish Trace, I hear myself saying... and get out and do those 8ks at lunch tomorrow!

Ps. Thanks so much for the incredibly generous donations so far, your support has been overwhelming.

Running in Paris for Harry

Harry is the son of a good friend of mine who was born with an extremely rare genetic brain disorder. As you can see from my pic, he is a beautiful, happy little boy and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI) has set up a 3 year, donation-funded, research program into his condition. They need to raise $300,000 over 3 years to complete the project that aims to learn more about Harry to benefit him along with other children in the future.

Harry is one of only a handful of children worldwide (no other in Australia) living with the condition called microcephaly with simplified gyration pattern, which slows his physical and mental development. Since birth Harry has astounded doctors with his progress, he is the first child with the condition to walk and talk. At 4 years old, he still wears 00 clothes, weighs only 8.9kg and stands at a tiny 85cm.

I have dedicated my run in Paris to Harry and am fundraising for the MCRI Genetics of Brain Development Research Program.

If you would like to sponsor me, please click here. All donations are tax deductible and will receive a receipt by email.

For more information on the work of MCRI you can visit their website - www.mcri.edu.au.

Thanks in advance for your support, I’ll be sure to be thinking of you as I run the course.

Ps. I have random readers of my blog! I received a comment from Wazza in Victoria who is also running in Paris – Wazza, thanks for the comment, hope you enjoy the read and good luck in the race.

Lady Carrington Drive

This was the route for my 20k test yesterday. It is a 10k fire trail in the Royal National Park south of Sydney. A great place to run in the summer as it is shady and cool. It is an 'undulating' run with some testing hills both out and back. I was actually looking forward to getting there as I had spent some time training here 12 months ago and remembered it being a good run.

Early goals were:
Finish in 2 hours
Attack the up hills ie, don't slow to a shuffle but run with power to the top.

I was going great, on track, ran the first 10 in 1hour 2 mins. Next 5, still strong and timing was good, I was even planning to up my speed for the last 5. But I lost momentum and focus at around the 15k mark when I couldn't find my water bottle that I had left against a tree on the way out. For about 500m I was looking back at every tree. Once found and some consumed I found it difficult to get going again. There was some walking :( Another challenge for the morning was the constant need to blow my nose as the sinus hasn't improved.

Reassessing my goals, talking to myself all the time, now they were:
To finish
Continue to attack hills
Not to trip up as I get tired on the uneven surface and
I didn't get out of bed at 6am on a Saturday morning to walk!

Mark came back and pushed me for the last 1.5ks so it was a strong finish. Final time was 2h12min. Lady Carrington you got me this time, but I'll be back!

Positives from yesterdays run:
I feel ok today, actually ready to go out for a beach run this arvo.
I did attack the up hills strongly
And I didn't need a bush stop! yey.

39 954 - Gris (objectif 4h15)

I printed my race entry confirmation today. Interestingly back in September I was feeling very confident of smashing my Canberra time. Seemed simple in theory even though I hadn't run much for many months.

Gris = Grey. I'll be wearing a Grey Bib for the race, starting with others who, when they registered, thought they would achieve a finish time of 4 hours and 15 minutes. When you work through this, that still seems almost reasonable, just need to average 6 minutes per km.

Easy, I say to myself. But really, still possible with 86 days to go? I'll let you know after my 20k on the weekend. (Mark, needs to be sub 2 hours!)

Maybe 39 954 will be my lucky number.

Help - Avoiding public toilets in Paris

Ok, so now its time to be completely honest.

I have a problem. (Just 1 I hear you say??!!)

Running makes me need to go to the toilet, and I am not talking about number 1's. Apparently it is quite common for runners, however I am yet to find a solution.

This became an issue when training for the last marathon and I put it down to the energy gels I was using. I have had more than one bush stop in training but can't seem to stop my body needing to expel, anywhere between 5-15ks. I even took imodium on race day in Canberra but when I saw the public toilet sign at 16k, I knew I was headed straight there.

It's not the gels, it is still happening. Problem is, I don't think that Paris toilets are going to be as user friendly as Canberra (ie clean). Also, I was reminded on the weekend that I would probably need to carry a coin to even get into one.

The answer - not need a toilet when I run.

One suggestion I am still to try is a shot of coffee in the morning before I run, as I am not a coffee drinker, this will apparently get 'everything' moving.

Any other ideas?? Please??

For the Record

Last week I ran approx 52k's - not bad. Stuck to the plan.... Well pretty much ;)

Wed 8k (followed by a nice 1.8 in the evening with Ash)
Thurs run swim run
Friday in Brisbane 9.5k around Manly
Saturday the Tamborine Mountain one didn't happen, the morning after a wedding, who was I kidding??!!
Made up for it on Sunday though with a 14k in sweltering Brisbane heat. Fi kept me inspired as I knew she was running the 1/2 mara in similar heat in Hobart at the same time - Congrats Fi, you did it!

I have hit a new hurdle though, can't really call it a cold or flu, just very blocked head, sneezing and coughing not very pleasant green stuff. I have felt ok though, so, after 2 days off, plan to test myself with a run in the morning.

Here is this week's plan:
Wednesday 10k - Bondi to Work via Centennial Park.
Thursday - lunch 8k
Friday Lunch - lazy 6k
Saturday morning, meeting marathon mentor Mark at the Nationaal Park for a nice cool 20k along a fire trail. Good way to avoid the sun at this time of year.

The Party is Over

HAPPY NEW YEAR :)

The festive season has come and gone - a time for family, cheer, food, friends, presies, sun, bbq's, reading, cards, nephew's nintendo DSi, chocolate. Hmmm where is running on that list?

Actually I was pretty good and didn't abandon my training altogether. 2 x 8ks around the cliffs, blow holes and beaches of Kiama, one of them with my brother Warren, and brother in law Mike in tow. (or towing me??)

But back in Sydney and on 3 Jan the party is over.

I know I am having some minor surgery on my claw finger on 29th Jan (less than ideal with 10 weeks until race day) so between now and surgery I plan to train 6 days a week. Really push my legs so that the week i need off will be a useful recovery week. That is the plan.

So far so good.
Sunday night - 11.5 ks
Monday lunch - 6ks
Tuesday am - 3k light jog

Proposed
Wednesday am - 10k
Thursday lunch - run 3k / swim 1k / run 3k
Friday am - 6k
Saturday am - Long - >15kms. Am going to be in unknown territory on Tambourine Mountain in QLD so will need to plan my route.
Sunday - REST

Will let you know how I go. Anyone feel like joining me for a run??