Replay (subtitle: effin exponents!)

Yesterday I finished my first trail half-marathon. I've never run on trails before, so I wasn't really prepared for the difference it would make to my time. I'm happy to have at least finished in less than 2 hours, even if 1:59:05 is cutting it pretty fine, and is 5 minutes slower than my first (and, until now, slowest) half.

The trails out in the Waitarere forest are gorgeous, and the running is mostly easyish- it's hard to go fast, but they aren't insanely hilly like the trails nearer to home. At one point we emerged from the edge of the forest to overlook the Manawatu river, which was breathtaking (it's actually pretty bog standard as rivers go, but something about the light catching on it made me forget about running for a moment and to be thankful).

I spent the remainder of the day lounging at a bach (kiwi for beach house) that friends of a friend were staying in. They were incredibly friendly, and made me feel so welcome! I enjoyed a free ice cream from the local dairy (the BEST thing in a race pack EVER!), a walk on the beach, and hours reading books and chatting in the sun. All this on the last day of March! Absolute bliss.

Those last two words bring me to my next topic. Being a kiwi. It doesn't only mean I can use the word knackered without sounding tri-hard (at least, I hope I don't sound try-hard--guys?). This evening, I decided Masters was not what I wanted to be doing. I knew my legs would let me down and that I'd leave feeling demoralised, yet again, so I pulled the plug (well, not literally.. though when I went to meet my little sis at the pool today, that's exactly what had happened- there had been a "faecal accident"... eww)

So instead I decided to do an easy run. Although I am loving a lot of what FIRST is doing for me, it has led to me taking a lot of the joy and spontaneity of my running. My "runner's high" posts have always been about how fast I am, not about how good I feel (actually, there was one of the latter, I think). So tonight, I headed out into the headwind to find my absolute bliss.*

I ran for about an hour, unplugged from numbers, but plugged into my music. I ran down the hill chilling to some mellowish rock (Weezer, Alanis, Foo Fighters) and then decided that this NZ and Kate Appeciation Run needed a Classic Happy to be a Kiwi Soundtrack. Our trip started with Fourmyula's "Nature", continued through Crowded House's "Don't dream, it's over", had a brief stop off at Bic Runga's simply beautiful "Sway", and cruised along with "Slice of Heaven." I love Kiwi music- all you yanks and poms just don't know what you're missing out on!



Well, now you do.. Sorta. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Then "Victoria" finished and I knew that for the rest of the run I'd be a one-band girl. I love love LOVE the Exponents. Unfortunately, I love them too much! With the help of "Airway Spies" I'd literally bounded up the first bit of hill and started the next bit (a bit I'd planned to bypass) without realising it. Before I knew it, "All I can do" and "I'll say goodbye" had pushed me up the next bit, and I'd crossed the Rubicon*** Alea jacta est- it was time to head up to The Lookout. That involves running the hard way home and an EXTRA bit of hill at the top. Insane. Those effin exponents! I'd planned an easy half hour with a walk up the "easy" hill at the end. But I couldn't stop my feet. It was a real Forrest Gump, Fascinating Rhythm moment. I bounced up the steps(rather awkwardly- they're a bit wide/long/whatever to really run up- too small for two steps, two big for one) and reached the top, gasping and filled with happiness. Rather appropriately, the song playing for this last triumph was "Why does love do this to me?" I love living in Wellington! It's amazing to look over the whole city at night- truly spectacular.

The good thing about running in the dark and when no-one else is around? If you happen to bust a few moves mid-run, NO-ONE SEES.



*"Absolute Bliss" is also the title of one of P's compilation kiwi music albums, (actually not the one I listened to, I like Nature's Best better).
** I heart footnotes.
*** Wow- a classical reference and a NZ pun for the TWO of you who'll get it.

Only running...

Running has a special magic for me. I can have a great swim and come out of the water feeling like I belong there, rejuvenated and exhausted at once. Being on my bike can make me the king of the world- hitting the pedals hard after a downhill, watching my cadence and speed soaring, climbing to the top and rushing down. But only running hits me really deep inside. Only running can make me cry. Last night I went to bed not knowing what the morning had in store for me. I couldn't open my training plan and couldn't decide between speed and tempo. I woke abruptly before my alarm went off and realised I was pretty much wide awake, so made a cup of coffee and switched my laptop on to see what FIRST had in mind. 4 x 800 just wasn't that tempting, so I decided to start the week with key run #2. As you may know, my tempo runs have been my slackest area throughout this training programme- I tend to fit them in where I can, and they have often ended up being turned into easy runs or cut short for reasons sometimes beyond and sometimes within my control. So what better time than a Monday morning to hit a 5 mile tempo run on the head? It was still very dark when I left (at about 6am- I really dawdled over that coffee!). Although I loved the summer mornings when the sun was rising at 5:15, I really relished being out in the dark again. I warmed up slowly down the hill. I've measured the distance now, and it's not much over a mile, yet it usually takes me over 10 minutes, even when I'm not running super slow- I think it's the down hill, and that fact that I don't measure the corners very carefully on mapmyrun. I ran with P's music again, so warmed up to some Bowie, thehn switched to Elton John's greatest for the tempo part. I figured Sir E would be good for a tempo run- nothing too motivating, so I'd be able to keep a steady pace, and catchy enough tunes to keep me from clock watching too badly (I set myself a goal of checking only every k, not every 500m as I am wont to do). I hit the first km in 5:03, feeling awesome. Can't remember my exact splits, but the I got to the turn around (2.5mi) at 20:20 (8:08 pace). I was feeling happy- my HR was sitting in the high 160s, so I think I can honestly call it an "easy tempo" pace- maybe a little faster than steady state, but I have absolutely done harder "tempo" runs before. On the way back, I got a glimpse of runners' high. That little zing that I had almost forgotten, until Thursday's run last week. Wind rushing through my hair, once again I was flying. I was taken back to the start of my running career, and to the first time I flew back then. Wow. I have really been enjoying my training runs, as you will all know, but not like this. I had forgotten how running can make me feel. Again, wow. I kept a good pace on the way back, and was on track at 7.5km for a very solid 5-mile time. Then the runnings gods intervened, and instead of playing "Cherish" the MP3 player flicked to Europe's "The Final Countdown." What else could I do when that riff started up? I cranked the tunes up, kicked my leg out and knocked that last 500m out at 6:54 pace (not very impressive for the level of effort, but I'll take it). It was amazing. Breathtaking (figuratively too!). Once more, wow. I reached my starting point at 51:32, 40 minutes and 13 seconds after I started the 5 miles. That's 8:03 pace. And in typing this entry, I've realised that that means I did the second half of my workout in 19:53 (7:57 pace). Woo! Something hit me as I crossed the finish marker, and headed up the hill back home. I was overwhelmed, by the still, sunrise beauty of the morning; by the last 2 minutes of effort; by 40 minutes of running at a good, solid, doable pace; by reaching in and finding my old self again. I realised with some confusion that my eyes were watering and that my thoat was all choked up. Realising that this race is ahead of me and there for the taking gave me that feeling I only usually get after a race. Maybe one day swimming or cycling will do this too. But for now, only running can make me cry.

Week 11 to go

11 weeks seems like such a short amount of time. Counting in weeks is something we athletes do to make our goals seem closer. A 20 week training programme- well, that's manageable. 20 weeks? Nothing. A 5 month training programme for a single event? Nearly half a year? 150-odd days? For some reason all of those sound much bigger. So, weeks it is.

11 weeks seems soon. But with some perspective, I realise that running my first marathon in 11 weeks is not THAT scary. I started my 18-week programme just over a month at week 15-to-go. This makes me about 1/3 of the way through, and that's nothing! My first official long run in this programme seems a world away, and 11 weeks ago- well, that was New Years and it was seriously aaages ago.

Key runs for this week were a bit of a mess. My first run was key run #2- 1 w/up and 7 tempo (8:15-8:30). I decided to run this with my friend A- my thinking being that my tempo would be her comfortable/easyish and that it would be a good way to spend some time together. Unfortunately, A didn't feel like running fast, at ALL, so instead of me puffing along beside her, I was pretty much pulling, and we did 8.75 mi (I think) in about 1:18, for about an 8:54 pace. Not bad, for not too much effort, but not exactly "tempo" either. Oh well- there's more to training for my first marathon than hitting my FIRST pace targets and I'm not going to forget that!

Key run #1 was Thursday morning. I debated sleeping in when the alarm went off- we'd had a late night the night before (Valentines) after getting home late, walking 3 miles to the zoo, walking around the zoo, walking 3 miles back and eating burgers at 9:30pm. I saw my first baby joey in a kangaroo's pouch, as well as some other adorable baby animals! Aww. Anyway, something inside realised that although I had good excuses for being tired, I wasn't, and reminded me how much better I'd feel if I got up. It was a short run today- 5 x 2 mins fast/2 mins slow. I'm not sure how fast I was- not very! I think I covered just under 4km in 20 minutes of workout time- some of which was steep uphill, but the rest of which was flat. But when I got near to home, I didn't want to stop at all. I'd been out for about 40 minutes, including w/up and cool, but that just wasn't cutting it! Unfortunately, I was running late and P was flying out for work, so I needed to scoot up that hill. But it was great to feel that tingle of addiction again! I think part of this can be attributed to skiving off with P's walkman in the morning instead of my ipod. Although it's a bit more cumbersome (though we're talking walkman MP3, not walkman 80s styles here), his tunes are way funner than mine, and also, not the same old tuns I always have. Although the walkman is a creature of the new millenium, the tunes are pure 80s (and some older). Way fun! Highlights were Take on Me during a fast interval, plenty of Michael Jackson, and cruising up the hill during my cool down to Elton John, David Bowie and a current favourite cheesy 80s song, Nik Kershaw's "Wouldn't it be good." Sah-weet. I have got to sort my own tunes out!

I did my long run with C today. I was down for 13 miles at 9:24 pace and it was pretty clear that that wasn't going to happen, so I was able to go with the flow and enjoy our slower pace- nice doing a long run with an average HR of 152! (actually, I really wasnt in the mood for speed- I think I averaged only a little under 10min/mi for the 4 miles I did before meeting C). We had a good chat, ran a nice loop. Including the 4 miles (haha- just typed "hours" for "miles" there) that I did by myself, my run was about 15miles, run in about 2:33 (10:12/mile). That's the longest I've spent on my feet for awhile! After the run, we met the boys and enjoyed shakes and scones. Yum!

I know that pace is fundamental to doing FIRST right, and that I shouldn't be taking off-pace weeks like this too often. However, I have very carefully set aside some key long runs to do to the letter, including a "fast" 13 miler, and my 20-miler. My 20 miler is over Easter, so both my long run buds are away. I'll have P pulling me along for the last 10ks though. It's scary how much I can't wait for these big runs! It's still a whole 3 weeks before I even get to run 16!

I'm in two minds about whether to run the marathon with C. I know it would be a nice thing to do, but how much do I sacrifice me for her? I know I would enjoy some of it, but I also know that I don't want to be running for 5 hours if I don't have to, and that I although I can be patient during a half or a long run, I don't know how patient and supportive I'll be feeling at mile 22! I think it's awesome that Jess has done so many races with her friends, but I am honestly torn. I want to know what I can do. Then again, a slow marathon would leave the Harbour Capital Marathon in late June wide-open for a killer PB! But running the full there would remove the possibility of doing a fast, new-Kate pb (or maybe even old Kate pb) half! Dilemmas. So, vote:

a) Run with C. Do 26.2 in June
b) Run alone, do 13,1 in June
c) Run with C, do 13.1 in June (and 26.2 in October)

Is 2 months between marathons long enough to run a decent time at the second? Will I get that "2nd marathon 20-minute PB" if there's only 2 months between?

In other news, my cycling technique has absolutely improved- P noticed it in Martinborough, and I absolutely felt it during my easy spin during Desperate Housewives on Monday (that show is going downhill fast, but for now it makes for a good weekly trainer date). Cadence is lifting, I can do one leg drills sort of well, I can stand for ages on the trainer, and stand and drink a little on the road. Yay! I am going to keep this weekly ride up so I don't have to start from scratch when I start base training for my half IM (race undecided). I've also discovered that Masters has wrecked me for individual training- my god it's boring! I went for a swim on Weds am and the pool was so packed I couldn't do a structured workout. I got SO bored. Unbelievably bored. I ended up moving down a lane and doing some slower drills, including some work on my IM.