So, I'm feeling a bit tired and sorry for myself today. My legs aren't sore, apart from the stingy sunburn (in the RAIN, people... the RAIN!!)
Why am I sore? Because yesterday I climbed a mountain. And why did I climb a mountain? To celebrate my grandfather's 80th birthday. And yes- despite the pouring rain (a menace for the glasses, and muddier of the track), my dear and wonderful Granddad climbed right to the top, and right back down again.'
Something to aspire to, I think.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
How much can I say in 12 minutes?
OK, so I promised myself and my fitday a run tonight (plus, I want to play with my Nike +... yay new toy) but I want to post too. So I have twelve minutes. Eleven now!
First, bootcamp: Rocks. I love it and I'm really going to miss it. Monday was stair sprints. Ow! By far and away the hardest thing we've ever done. Today was Mt Vic again- running an undulating circuit including two decent sets of stairs. I started off further back than I wanted to, and spent the next half hour trying to catch up to the fitties in the front. It took the whole time, but I did it- just. Unfortunately, my punishment was being grouped with the fast kids for our hill sprints (which is fair enough) and told to do four. FOUR! Ow! By the time we were done I was completely pooped but felt SO strong. By the end of each session my endurance is really showing, but it's making less and less of a difference as everyone else gets fitter.
Secondly, my next races: The Kapiti Womens Tri on 2 March. Now I have a hens night to organise the night before, and I'm not letting my bride down by piking on her, so I don't hold out much hope for my performance, but should be fun, I hope.
More excitingly, today I entered my first proper offroad race. It's a loop of Lake Rotoiti in Nelson with a bunch of Scottish and related folks, hopefully staying in my family's bach (Mum's parents and sister...) I'm SO amped to get into training (although it's a 100% For Fun race), and I'm glad I'll have this to look forward to after bootcamp. Morning commutes for backpack practice, hilly afternoons and offroad weekends... But I'll keep up with the swimming. Oh yeah, and the cycling (ugh).
My minutes are up- gotta dash :-)
First, bootcamp: Rocks. I love it and I'm really going to miss it. Monday was stair sprints. Ow! By far and away the hardest thing we've ever done. Today was Mt Vic again- running an undulating circuit including two decent sets of stairs. I started off further back than I wanted to, and spent the next half hour trying to catch up to the fitties in the front. It took the whole time, but I did it- just. Unfortunately, my punishment was being grouped with the fast kids for our hill sprints (which is fair enough) and told to do four. FOUR! Ow! By the time we were done I was completely pooped but felt SO strong. By the end of each session my endurance is really showing, but it's making less and less of a difference as everyone else gets fitter.
Secondly, my next races: The Kapiti Womens Tri on 2 March. Now I have a hens night to organise the night before, and I'm not letting my bride down by piking on her, so I don't hold out much hope for my performance, but should be fun, I hope.
More excitingly, today I entered my first proper offroad race. It's a loop of Lake Rotoiti in Nelson with a bunch of Scottish and related folks, hopefully staying in my family's bach (Mum's parents and sister...) I'm SO amped to get into training (although it's a 100% For Fun race), and I'm glad I'll have this to look forward to after bootcamp. Morning commutes for backpack practice, hilly afternoons and offroad weekends... But I'll keep up with the swimming. Oh yeah, and the cycling (ugh).
My minutes are up- gotta dash :-)
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Saddle time
I spent more time in the saddle this weekend than I have for a long time. It wasn't much, but it was more! Unfortunately, I've neglected running and swimming. I miss chlorine!
On Saturday I went easy mountain biking with P, sister J and J's boy, D. We'd planned to go out Karapoti way again, but logistics and wheels got the better of us, and eventually we decided just to do Redrocks. There was a bit of a southerly, and Red Rocks is on the exposed and rugged south coast of Wellington, so we headed out with a wee bit of trepidation! Our little sister was once blown off the edge of the path by a big gust, so we knew we'd need to be careful.
Luckily neither the southerly nor the rain was too terrible, and we had a blast. J had some mad skills (my definition of "mad" may be open to debate), and I was really impressed by the way she stayed on the bike so much. More than me, anyway! It was (obviously) very different terrain to the Akas, and I think riding a lumpier, bumpier path will help me out next time we head out there.
The hardest bits were the deep loose rocks. The funniest part was when a huge wave came in as J was riding past. The best bit was deciding to really hit it on the way back- I love 'flying' along- the little obstacles lose so much of their significance, and it helps me learn to trust the bike a bit more.
Today I had a lazy morning. Laundry, TV, coffee, a little bit of work on an article I'm writing. I was planning to meet a local "sub" (Sarah Ulmer Brand) pod at 4pm, and it felt weird not to be getting an early workout in (though I definitely could have made it a 2-a-day, it was nice to be lazy...again). I was the only one who showed up, apart from the leader, and we headed out to Eastbourne for a nice easy ride. Lovely tail wind on the way there, and hideous on the way back. My computer was broken (telling me my cadence was 0 and my speed was maxing out at 16km/h....), which was quite refreshing into the wind. I had a couple of not-so-great moments, including getting myself lost and stuck trying to change lanes on a 2 lane roundabout. I hate traffic.
I'm looking forward to bootcamp tomorrow. I can't believe there are only two weeks to go- I'm going to miss it! We've figured out a good incentive to keep it up- every time I pike on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, I have to pay P the cost of a bootcamp session. Ouch!
On Saturday I went easy mountain biking with P, sister J and J's boy, D. We'd planned to go out Karapoti way again, but logistics and wheels got the better of us, and eventually we decided just to do Redrocks. There was a bit of a southerly, and Red Rocks is on the exposed and rugged south coast of Wellington, so we headed out with a wee bit of trepidation! Our little sister was once blown off the edge of the path by a big gust, so we knew we'd need to be careful.
Luckily neither the southerly nor the rain was too terrible, and we had a blast. J had some mad skills (my definition of "mad" may be open to debate), and I was really impressed by the way she stayed on the bike so much. More than me, anyway! It was (obviously) very different terrain to the Akas, and I think riding a lumpier, bumpier path will help me out next time we head out there.
The hardest bits were the deep loose rocks. The funniest part was when a huge wave came in as J was riding past. The best bit was deciding to really hit it on the way back- I love 'flying' along- the little obstacles lose so much of their significance, and it helps me learn to trust the bike a bit more.
Today I had a lazy morning. Laundry, TV, coffee, a little bit of work on an article I'm writing. I was planning to meet a local "sub" (Sarah Ulmer Brand) pod at 4pm, and it felt weird not to be getting an early workout in (though I definitely could have made it a 2-a-day, it was nice to be lazy...again). I was the only one who showed up, apart from the leader, and we headed out to Eastbourne for a nice easy ride. Lovely tail wind on the way there, and hideous on the way back. My computer was broken (telling me my cadence was 0 and my speed was maxing out at 16km/h....), which was quite refreshing into the wind. I had a couple of not-so-great moments, including getting myself lost and stuck trying to change lanes on a 2 lane roundabout. I hate traffic.
I'm looking forward to bootcamp tomorrow. I can't believe there are only two weeks to go- I'm going to miss it! We've figured out a good incentive to keep it up- every time I pike on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, I have to pay P the cost of a bootcamp session. Ouch!
Sunday, February 03, 2008
An "and then I did this" post
Summer.
Ahhh.
It's bliss.
I didn't make the most of summer for a long time. Not during high school and certainly not during uni. I've gradually worked on doing more with my time, without burning myself out, of course. P's really come on board with this this year particularly, which is SO cool. I don't think I tried to effect these changes in him, but I never would have thought the man I fell in love with 2 1/2 years ago would be looking forward to a climbing Mt Arthur for my Grandfather's 80th, or kayaking in Abel Tasman for our next years holiday, or doing Xterra for his stag-do!
This weekend was a good 'un. Felt like a "proper" weekend, apart from the fact that we need to do some serious spring cleaning. Hmm.. Next Sunday? Mebbe.
Friday started with a 6am Boot Camp (beach drills.. I kicked some serious butt, and was happy to see 650 calories burned in the hour-long workout). I tucked into my current breakfast fave (Naturlea plain yoghurt with blueberries, almonds and runny honey- SOOOOO good), dressed in a sweet new outfit (being a size 12 is SO much better when you have size 12 clothes), and enjoyed a semi-productive but not too busy day at work. We decided to skip the pool after work, and instead grabbed some takeaways (accounted for in my calorie-count.. thank you Wisconsin for the "petite" option). After chilling at home for awhile, we saw Juno, with my sister and her boyfriend.
Saturday started early. Well, early for this lazy tri-girl, anyway. I met up with the Scottish crew at Khandallah pool at 8am and we headed out. I soon realised that I was not going to be keeping up with the pack (they were speeeeedy!), but fortunately Bel was also hanging back. We ran down to J'Ville, up Ohariu Rd, down to Rifle Range road, then up RR and up the Old Coach Road to the Skyline walkway entrance. It was a nice climb, not as hard as Belmont, but not easy. Running at Bel's pace rather than trying to keep up with the main pack meant I kept my average HR around 154, which was OK with me. We ended up doing about 1:40, so about what I wanted to do. I love 90-100 minute runs. Long enough to go to a lot of places/have an adventure, but short enough that you can do two in a weekend (unlike the 3-4 hour runs of marathon training season). P and I had brunch at Sweet Mothers (not as good as expected...) then headed home to get prettied up.
My baby sister's 21st was out in Kaitoke, which I LOVE. I had my 21st there, and my Dad got married there. The weather wasn't ideal, but it wasn't wet, and everyone had a great time. I was reasonably restrained, both food and alcohol-wise, although I didn't actually count calories. Too hard, too not fun. My speech was pretty lame, but R loved the (lame) short story I wrote for her (family tradition), and immediately picked up that I was channelling Ann M Martin. P, D and I went for a quick swim in the river after dinner. Lovely.
We camped overnight ($5 each-sweet!). Haven't slept in a tent for years, and it wasn't too bad. Woke up early, went for another river swim, enjoyed cereal and tinned fruit for breakfast (camping nostalgia moment), then helped pack up for a bit before heading out for my run. I ran the Kaitoke ridge track, from one entrance to the park to the other. The run was great. Hard uphill (I walked most of it, with my heart rate in the 170s), a nice run along the ridge, and a not-too-technical downhill. All up I was out for about 90-100 minutes. Met the family at the blueberry farm/mexican cafe, where I got a couple of birthday presents, ate some fabulous Chillequiles, picked a ton of blueberries, and went back into the river. Lovely!
Back to work tomorrow, and boot camp. Turns out tomorrow's a Tinakori hill day. Ow!
Ahhh.
It's bliss.
I didn't make the most of summer for a long time. Not during high school and certainly not during uni. I've gradually worked on doing more with my time, without burning myself out, of course. P's really come on board with this this year particularly, which is SO cool. I don't think I tried to effect these changes in him, but I never would have thought the man I fell in love with 2 1/2 years ago would be looking forward to a climbing Mt Arthur for my Grandfather's 80th, or kayaking in Abel Tasman for our next years holiday, or doing Xterra for his stag-do!
This weekend was a good 'un. Felt like a "proper" weekend, apart from the fact that we need to do some serious spring cleaning. Hmm.. Next Sunday? Mebbe.
Friday started with a 6am Boot Camp (beach drills.. I kicked some serious butt, and was happy to see 650 calories burned in the hour-long workout). I tucked into my current breakfast fave (Naturlea plain yoghurt with blueberries, almonds and runny honey- SOOOOO good), dressed in a sweet new outfit (being a size 12 is SO much better when you have size 12 clothes), and enjoyed a semi-productive but not too busy day at work. We decided to skip the pool after work, and instead grabbed some takeaways (accounted for in my calorie-count.. thank you Wisconsin for the "petite" option). After chilling at home for awhile, we saw Juno, with my sister and her boyfriend.
Saturday started early. Well, early for this lazy tri-girl, anyway. I met up with the Scottish crew at Khandallah pool at 8am and we headed out. I soon realised that I was not going to be keeping up with the pack (they were speeeeedy!), but fortunately Bel was also hanging back. We ran down to J'Ville, up Ohariu Rd, down to Rifle Range road, then up RR and up the Old Coach Road to the Skyline walkway entrance. It was a nice climb, not as hard as Belmont, but not easy. Running at Bel's pace rather than trying to keep up with the main pack meant I kept my average HR around 154, which was OK with me. We ended up doing about 1:40, so about what I wanted to do. I love 90-100 minute runs. Long enough to go to a lot of places/have an adventure, but short enough that you can do two in a weekend (unlike the 3-4 hour runs of marathon training season). P and I had brunch at Sweet Mothers (not as good as expected...) then headed home to get prettied up.
My baby sister's 21st was out in Kaitoke, which I LOVE. I had my 21st there, and my Dad got married there. The weather wasn't ideal, but it wasn't wet, and everyone had a great time. I was reasonably restrained, both food and alcohol-wise, although I didn't actually count calories. Too hard, too not fun. My speech was pretty lame, but R loved the (lame) short story I wrote for her (family tradition), and immediately picked up that I was channelling Ann M Martin. P, D and I went for a quick swim in the river after dinner. Lovely.
We camped overnight ($5 each-sweet!). Haven't slept in a tent for years, and it wasn't too bad. Woke up early, went for another river swim, enjoyed cereal and tinned fruit for breakfast (camping nostalgia moment), then helped pack up for a bit before heading out for my run. I ran the Kaitoke ridge track, from one entrance to the park to the other. The run was great. Hard uphill (I walked most of it, with my heart rate in the 170s), a nice run along the ridge, and a not-too-technical downhill. All up I was out for about 90-100 minutes. Met the family at the blueberry farm/mexican cafe, where I got a couple of birthday presents, ate some fabulous Chillequiles, picked a ton of blueberries, and went back into the river. Lovely!
Back to work tomorrow, and boot camp. Turns out tomorrow's a Tinakori hill day. Ow!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Give me an A...
Give me a T! Give me an H! E! N! A! What's that spell?! ATHENA!!!
Whew! Well, I've always had a HUGE amount of admiration for all you Athenas out there, but now that I'm in the club, even if I'm barely there, all I can say is WOW. It's a crap load harder to haul 150+lb around the hills than it was to haul 130!
Operation "Hand Back the Athena Card" is going OK. I can say that today. Yesterday wasn't such a great one. But I am counting calories, working out, creating decent but not OTT deficits and slooowly losing. It's hard in summer- there's always a bbq somewhere, and it doesn't take long for bbq food, even the healthy stuff, to add up.
Bootcamp started this week, and so far I likie. My insecurity got the better of me on Monday, testing day. I was the second longest prone-holder, but the girl who beat me was miles better, and the second overall female beep tester, but the girl who beat me was miles better (same girl). How is coming "second" in what's NOT A COMPETITION a bad thing?? I think the constant sight of my red-faced sweaty self in my too small gym gear in the humungous mirror was a bit too much for me.
Wednesday was better. No mirrors, and running a hilly circuit round the top of Mt Vic. I was happy to be clearly in the "fit group", and my endurance was paying off by the time we got to circuit 4. I pushed a little too hard on the way back to the carpark and learned my lesson when we were treated to some hella hill reps.
Am really looking forward to this weekend! I'm runnning with Scottish on Saturday morning, hitting the trails for 90ish minutes around Kaukau/Northern Burbs, then going to my baby sister's 21st out in Kaitoke. We're camping out, and then going to the Blueberry Farm/Mexican Cafe for MY birthday (26-argh). Neither blueberry pancakes nor mexican food are conducive to weight loss, so I'm going to make my way to the farm on foot, over the Kaitoke ridge track. I can't wait!!!
Oh- and one more thing- Happy Negative Oneth Anniversary to me!
Whew! Well, I've always had a HUGE amount of admiration for all you Athenas out there, but now that I'm in the club, even if I'm barely there, all I can say is WOW. It's a crap load harder to haul 150+lb around the hills than it was to haul 130!
Operation "Hand Back the Athena Card" is going OK. I can say that today. Yesterday wasn't such a great one. But I am counting calories, working out, creating decent but not OTT deficits and slooowly losing. It's hard in summer- there's always a bbq somewhere, and it doesn't take long for bbq food, even the healthy stuff, to add up.
Bootcamp started this week, and so far I likie. My insecurity got the better of me on Monday, testing day. I was the second longest prone-holder, but the girl who beat me was miles better, and the second overall female beep tester, but the girl who beat me was miles better (same girl). How is coming "second" in what's NOT A COMPETITION a bad thing?? I think the constant sight of my red-faced sweaty self in my too small gym gear in the humungous mirror was a bit too much for me.
Wednesday was better. No mirrors, and running a hilly circuit round the top of Mt Vic. I was happy to be clearly in the "fit group", and my endurance was paying off by the time we got to circuit 4. I pushed a little too hard on the way back to the carpark and learned my lesson when we were treated to some hella hill reps.
Am really looking forward to this weekend! I'm runnning with Scottish on Saturday morning, hitting the trails for 90ish minutes around Kaukau/Northern Burbs, then going to my baby sister's 21st out in Kaitoke. We're camping out, and then going to the Blueberry Farm/Mexican Cafe for MY birthday (26-argh). Neither blueberry pancakes nor mexican food are conducive to weight loss, so I'm going to make my way to the farm on foot, over the Kaitoke ridge track. I can't wait!!!
Oh- and one more thing- Happy Negative Oneth Anniversary to me!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Phew!
What a weekend!
Nothing like a 3-day weekend to reinvigorate a stufy-headed, sleepy brained, tired-bodied lawyer after her first week back (which was OK, but busier than I have planned and, coupled with a calorie "controlled" diet, wore me out a bit).
We spent a "day" out in the Wairarapa, with a short, flat ride in Featherston. My head was congested, and I just wanted some saddle time without upping the HR too much. The road was pretty poor, and the headwind was a touch frustrating, but with no ego to worry about, I was happy to get my hour in, and to pop into lovely Greytown for a hearty bowl of lentil soup. Yum!
Sunday was quiet, a real "weekend" day. We got up late, pottered around, made desserts (ambrosia and fruit salad) for a BBQ, then P went into town to go to a movie with a friend, and I set the trainer up in the sun to work on some skills. The ride on Saturday had showed me that I really will need trainer time as well as road time to get in shape for Rotorua. My cadence was shot! Plus, as I mentioned to Pip, riding down a steep hill to turn right onto a busy highway is not my ideal start to an outdoor ride...I suffered through half an hour on the bike, then put a top on and headed out for what I expected to be a short run-off. Uphill for 10 minutes, then down through the bush, back up a different bush path (a lot of walking/climbing here...), then took a wrong turn and had to go up about half the first hill again. I ended up spending about an hour out, but with the walking and climbing only probably covered about 8km. We went to the BBQ out in Tawa, which was lovely, but I just couldn't eat the way I used to. Has my tum shrunk already?!
Today (Wgtn anniversary day, wahoo!), I did the Haywards/Korokoro (or Puke Ariki) traverse, a 22km hike that takes in almost all of Belmont Park. I've loving being so close to these awesome trails, and can't wait to run some more of them! Due to an unplanned detour early on, we ended up doing the Waterfall track as well, which added about 45 minutes, and an equal number of stream crossings, to our journey. I'm pretty beat now, which is hardly surprising as we spent 7 hours in total walking today (including the walk back home from the Cornish Ave exit), a good bit of that was in the sun, and it included around 2500ft of ascent..
So, all in all, a good weekend. I wish I could say I'm raring to go back to work tomorrow, but I'm not quite switched on to this year yet. I am looking forward to paying my deposit for Bootcamp tomorrow though!
Nothing like a 3-day weekend to reinvigorate a stufy-headed, sleepy brained, tired-bodied lawyer after her first week back (which was OK, but busier than I have planned and, coupled with a calorie "controlled" diet, wore me out a bit).
We spent a "day" out in the Wairarapa, with a short, flat ride in Featherston. My head was congested, and I just wanted some saddle time without upping the HR too much. The road was pretty poor, and the headwind was a touch frustrating, but with no ego to worry about, I was happy to get my hour in, and to pop into lovely Greytown for a hearty bowl of lentil soup. Yum!
Sunday was quiet, a real "weekend" day. We got up late, pottered around, made desserts (ambrosia and fruit salad) for a BBQ, then P went into town to go to a movie with a friend, and I set the trainer up in the sun to work on some skills. The ride on Saturday had showed me that I really will need trainer time as well as road time to get in shape for Rotorua. My cadence was shot! Plus, as I mentioned to Pip, riding down a steep hill to turn right onto a busy highway is not my ideal start to an outdoor ride...I suffered through half an hour on the bike, then put a top on and headed out for what I expected to be a short run-off. Uphill for 10 minutes, then down through the bush, back up a different bush path (a lot of walking/climbing here...), then took a wrong turn and had to go up about half the first hill again. I ended up spending about an hour out, but with the walking and climbing only probably covered about 8km. We went to the BBQ out in Tawa, which was lovely, but I just couldn't eat the way I used to. Has my tum shrunk already?!
Today (Wgtn anniversary day, wahoo!), I did the Haywards/Korokoro (or Puke Ariki) traverse, a 22km hike that takes in almost all of Belmont Park. I've loving being so close to these awesome trails, and can't wait to run some more of them! Due to an unplanned detour early on, we ended up doing the Waterfall track as well, which added about 45 minutes, and an equal number of stream crossings, to our journey. I'm pretty beat now, which is hardly surprising as we spent 7 hours in total walking today (including the walk back home from the Cornish Ave exit), a good bit of that was in the sun, and it included around 2500ft of ascent..
So, all in all, a good weekend. I wish I could say I'm raring to go back to work tomorrow, but I'm not quite switched on to this year yet. I am looking forward to paying my deposit for Bootcamp tomorrow though!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Team Rotorua...
My online-shopping-nerd fiance has found a site where we can custom make tri-gear at reasonable rates. All we need is 5 people. Any takers?
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
To 2008 and beyond...
On one of my last posts, Mike asked about my race plans for 2008.
Originally my plans for 2008 involved focussing on tone, shape and size rather than endurance or even "fun" racing. The weight I've gained and the fitness I've lost has put me right off running a BQ, and, frankly, I've got another 9 years or so before my qualifying time goes up, so I don't need to do that now. But something about just going to the gym, pumping weights, run commuting and the odd spin wasn't quite doing it for me, especially when I hit the pool yesterday and thought about how well I might be able to crank through 2100 yards if I got to working on swimming again.
The exciting thing was, P is keen to expand his endurance horizons and to start swimming, so we've decided to train together (/alongside each other...) for our first Half Ironman! Tauranga is out, as it's likely to be my hen's weekend (which wouldn't, in itself disqualify it, except that my hen's weekend will be a joint one with my best friend who's wedding is two weeks before ours), but Rotorua 08 and Auckland 09 are both possibilities. We're both inclined to the prettier, but harder, Rotorua course, but it's also earlier, which is a bit frightening!
So, here's to hitting the weights room, moving semi-permanently onto my bike, cranking out the 100s, and, most importantly, training with my Husband to Be!!
Originally my plans for 2008 involved focussing on tone, shape and size rather than endurance or even "fun" racing. The weight I've gained and the fitness I've lost has put me right off running a BQ, and, frankly, I've got another 9 years or so before my qualifying time goes up, so I don't need to do that now. But something about just going to the gym, pumping weights, run commuting and the odd spin wasn't quite doing it for me, especially when I hit the pool yesterday and thought about how well I might be able to crank through 2100 yards if I got to working on swimming again.
The exciting thing was, P is keen to expand his endurance horizons and to start swimming, so we've decided to train together (/alongside each other...) for our first Half Ironman! Tauranga is out, as it's likely to be my hen's weekend (which wouldn't, in itself disqualify it, except that my hen's weekend will be a joint one with my best friend who's wedding is two weeks before ours), but Rotorua 08 and Auckland 09 are both possibilities. We're both inclined to the prettier, but harder, Rotorua course, but it's also earlier, which is a bit frightening!
So, here's to hitting the weights room, moving semi-permanently onto my bike, cranking out the 100s, and, most importantly, training with my Husband to Be!!
Monday, January 07, 2008
Cleansing swim
I went back to the pool today in a bit of a funk. After a holiday that, while wonderful, generally did not go as planned (from not being able to take our bikes, to spending only 3 days on the road, and waaay too much time in malls), we spent three days of glorious sunshine running errands and trying to finally finish moving, taking solace from the fact that we had seven more days of holiday to enjoy each other, our bikes and our new home turf.
Today was the first day of our "second" holiday and it dawned grey. P woke up with a scratchy throat and a bad mood. I woke up to a trapped bird, a messy house, ten kilos gained, and a big heap of grouchy self pity. A "new" Jodi Piccoult to read didn't help, and doing some housework (grudgingly) wasn't at all satisfying. I finally decided to hit the pool (nowhere near as easy from here as it was from our old place), and arranged to kill two birds with one stone by meeting a friend for coffee at the same time.
It took 100 yards to wash away the funk. It helped that that first 100 was a 1:37, which is probably one of my better efforts (I'm used to meters, so it's hard to say). Or that the water is so forgiving. Running on vacation involved heavy legs, chaffed thights and the disconcerting feeling of 20lb of extra belly fat jiggling. Cycling meant hauling my heavy ass up little rises in my granny chain ring, too tight shorts, and a jersey that rode up, exposing my back to the high-UV Kiwi sun. But in the pool it didn't matter if my suit was a little snugger than it was 12 months ago, or that I haven't swum regularly in months. I churned out 2100 yards without feeling waterlogged, bored, or sore.
Now, after failing to realise that my train was an express that didn't stop until three stops after my stop and having to cab it home from the station because it was raining and our car battery had gone flat, the funk has returned a little. But I am already looking forward to swimming, baking and a matinee movie tomorrow if the weather stays like this, and to a swim, a long ride and a big fruity frozen yoghurt if summer returns!!
Today was the first day of our "second" holiday and it dawned grey. P woke up with a scratchy throat and a bad mood. I woke up to a trapped bird, a messy house, ten kilos gained, and a big heap of grouchy self pity. A "new" Jodi Piccoult to read didn't help, and doing some housework (grudgingly) wasn't at all satisfying. I finally decided to hit the pool (nowhere near as easy from here as it was from our old place), and arranged to kill two birds with one stone by meeting a friend for coffee at the same time.
It took 100 yards to wash away the funk. It helped that that first 100 was a 1:37, which is probably one of my better efforts (I'm used to meters, so it's hard to say). Or that the water is so forgiving. Running on vacation involved heavy legs, chaffed thights and the disconcerting feeling of 20lb of extra belly fat jiggling. Cycling meant hauling my heavy ass up little rises in my granny chain ring, too tight shorts, and a jersey that rode up, exposing my back to the high-UV Kiwi sun. But in the pool it didn't matter if my suit was a little snugger than it was 12 months ago, or that I haven't swum regularly in months. I churned out 2100 yards without feeling waterlogged, bored, or sore.
Now, after failing to realise that my train was an express that didn't stop until three stops after my stop and having to cab it home from the station because it was raining and our car battery had gone flat, the funk has returned a little. But I am already looking forward to swimming, baking and a matinee movie tomorrow if the weather stays like this, and to a swim, a long ride and a big fruity frozen yoghurt if summer returns!!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Baby steps
Today I took the first, tentative steps towards becoming myself again. Or, more accurately, towards becoming the latest version of me, who I think I'll call Kate the Great Balancer.
Since my sub-4 "victory" in October, I have neglected my fitness and my training. Instead, I've thrown myself into work (by necessity) and my social life (a mixture of Christmas, engagement...). It was great to take one item of stress off the list, and, unfortunately, when I'm not getting a breathing break until 8/9pm, that's what exercise was- just pure stress. I tried a run commute one morning (humid, backpack-ed, highway 8-miler) and felt good until about 10am, fine until 8pm, and absolutely shattered for the rest of the week. Oh, and some random DOMS kept me awake until I had to resort to ibuprofen.
So, here I am, nearly 2 months post race, feeling like a spotty blimp. My skin is terrible, and I've never felt less inclined to try bridesmaid dresses or bikinis on. My fat clothes are tight, and my skinny clothes are a distant dream. But I don't regret a thing. Well, not really. I've had a pretty impressive year at work, and feel good about performance, and about the recognition I'm getting. I had a fantastic time enjoying the Christmas season, and showing my ring off time and time again.
So, no regrets, but with a venue booked and a date set, I'm ready to commit again, and today I set out for my first outdoor ride in probably 6 months. It was slow, the hills hurt more than they should have, and the headwind on the way back just about broke my spirit, but it was great to be on the bike again. My bike computer hit 500km during the ride, and my first "Kate the Great Balancer" goal is to hit 1000 by March.
Merry Christmas folks!
Since my sub-4 "victory" in October, I have neglected my fitness and my training. Instead, I've thrown myself into work (by necessity) and my social life (a mixture of Christmas, engagement...). It was great to take one item of stress off the list, and, unfortunately, when I'm not getting a breathing break until 8/9pm, that's what exercise was- just pure stress. I tried a run commute one morning (humid, backpack-ed, highway 8-miler) and felt good until about 10am, fine until 8pm, and absolutely shattered for the rest of the week. Oh, and some random DOMS kept me awake until I had to resort to ibuprofen.
So, here I am, nearly 2 months post race, feeling like a spotty blimp. My skin is terrible, and I've never felt less inclined to try bridesmaid dresses or bikinis on. My fat clothes are tight, and my skinny clothes are a distant dream. But I don't regret a thing. Well, not really. I've had a pretty impressive year at work, and feel good about performance, and about the recognition I'm getting. I had a fantastic time enjoying the Christmas season, and showing my ring off time and time again.
So, no regrets, but with a venue booked and a date set, I'm ready to commit again, and today I set out for my first outdoor ride in probably 6 months. It was slow, the hills hurt more than they should have, and the headwind on the way back just about broke my spirit, but it was great to be on the bike again. My bike computer hit 500km during the ride, and my first "Kate the Great Balancer" goal is to hit 1000 by March.
Merry Christmas folks!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Prayer solicitation
Last night, during my sister's work Christmas function, one of her good friends and colleagues was hit by a car. He is, I think, in critical but "stable" condition, but will be undergoing more extensive brain surgery as the week progresses. He's only 23, and on the cusp of an exciting grown-up life.
Please send your prayers this way.
Please send your prayers this way.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Absolutely!
As you all know, work's been crazy busy recently, and although I suspected a proposal was in the pipeline, with moving*, work, engagement parties, christmas dos and general busy-ness, and my Dad leaving the country, I was starting to wonder whether there was any real chance of it happening this year :-)
But, when P started suggesting we set aside time to go for a run up Tinakori hill, I started to get suspicious. He just doesn't ordinarily show such initiative ;-) I tried not to be too cocky- there've been some near misses recently, like the time we stopped halfway home, he looked into my eyes with SUCH intensity and suggested we detour past the lookout. But when we decided to bring the run forward from Monday to Sunday, I was pretty sure it was going to be It. So, I got him to bring in my cute pink running skirt and pale pink tank top, I made sure I held onto my camera, applied plenty of anti-perspirant (my WORD it's been humid here), and I asked him to bring my handbag in (which contained a special secret).
We met at work at 4, and I got changed. I love the pink skirt, and even with the extra 10-15lb on me, it makes me feel sooo cute :-) I knew I was right when I saw that he was wearing his favourite, not-really-appropriate-for-running, top and carrying a back pack. So not needed for a short run, with the car parked in town :-)
When he pulled the bag of gummi snakes out, I was certain, and wishing I wasn't!
There were a few awkward points on the way up the hill, with both of us eager to get to the top, both of us nervous, and both of us struggling against a combination of hangovers (me) sore legs (him) and humidity (both of us).
I was the leader of the run, as I know the hill better than him.. Unfortunately, I don;t know it well, and had forgotten that the "view" of fabulous, amazing Wellington harbour is obscured by the pine trees on the side of the hill. Ooops.
As we looked for a place to stop and admire the non-view, I chattered incessantly, and Boy got progressively quieter. Eventually, we found a spot, and I sat down nd fiddled with the camera. He walked behind me, feeding me gummi snakes, and then said "darling, I have a present for you." Lamely, I replied "is it a gummi snake?", and then turned around (it involved a complete and very odd 360) as he said all the required lovely things, dropped to one knee and said those 4 special words. I squeaked, then jumped and said absolutely, enveloping him in a sweaty hug.
We spent the walk down the hill being excited in a content sort of way. I loved hearing about asking my dad for my hand, getting advice from his friends, and the process of designing and making the ring. I have to say, the proposal felt so natural that I postponed the teary sentimentality for quite awhile. If that sounds like I'm not rapt, its coming out wrong. But hearing that he loves me, and knowing it, is nothing new.
Sometimes (ok, very very frequently) a special moment hits me with an overwhelming wave of love when I look at P, or when I see the pictures of us on Facebook, or when I talk to him, or when he tells me he loves me. Other times, the love is playful, it's in the tickles, the nicknames and the goodnight routines. The proposal was amazing, the ring was amazing, but they didn't quite hit my "overwhelming wave of love nerve." But then later, thinking about what the ring represents to us, the new family we're creating and the fact that I get to spend forever with my darling bear, my best friend and the cutest guy ever- THAT's when I got the teary feeling.
It's hard to know what to say- I wish I'd been able to blog every day this week, as every day has held something new. The excitement of the Day 1 squeals and constant calls/texts and emails, the amazing messages of love and celebration we've received from friends and family, my dad's inadequate response to my news, signing up to The Knot for real, taking those first serious steps to setting a date (31 January 2009, almost certainly), realising my finger feels naked without my ring already, working til 1am and nearly crying at missing my fiance so much, hearing about Boy referring casually to me as fiance the first time. My god a lot can happen in a couple of days!
*Oh yeah, we moved last week!
Sunday, December 09, 2007
BIIIG news :-)
During a run up the Tinakori hill this afternoon, P dropped to one knee and popped The Question. I'm hazy on the details, but my answer was, of course, "absolutely!!!"
Saturday, November 10, 2007
What next?
To be honest, I'm not sure what comes next. I don't know if I have the energy to go for a fast(er) race in Rotorua (or Chch) 08, then try for the BQ in October. I can stomach the thought of a marathon in a year, but to do Rotorua well next year I'd have to start training in January. I'm unlikely to suddenly start working 9-5, or 8-6. I want to keep exercising, but maybe just to have fun or work out for awhile, not to train. Plus, I'm going to be involved in planning some fairly large events next year- do I want more stress?
But then the emails start coming in- those ones saying "come race with us next year!" and oh boy it's hard not to get excited. Remembering those climbs in Rotorua, the first sight of the lake. The view from the top of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Seeing my wonderboy's face on the course.
And then there's these whole other goals. Trail races and eventually ultras. There's a 70k I'm dying to do, and I absolutely 100% swear I am going to be hitting the trails on a regular basis. I'm trying to figure out how Rogaine races work- P and I figure that with my cryptic crossword skills and his memory and sense of direction, we'll still be last, but maybe not by much.
Then there's weightlifting, bikram yoga, the new combat class at the gym, getting proficieint on my bike before we hit the hills of the South Island over Christmas. Open water swim season, the summer pool now open in Thorndon. Bridesmaids dresses to tone my arms for.
What's a girl to do?!
But then the emails start coming in- those ones saying "come race with us next year!" and oh boy it's hard not to get excited. Remembering those climbs in Rotorua, the first sight of the lake. The view from the top of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Seeing my wonderboy's face on the course.
And then there's these whole other goals. Trail races and eventually ultras. There's a 70k I'm dying to do, and I absolutely 100% swear I am going to be hitting the trails on a regular basis. I'm trying to figure out how Rogaine races work- P and I figure that with my cryptic crossword skills and his memory and sense of direction, we'll still be last, but maybe not by much.
Then there's weightlifting, bikram yoga, the new combat class at the gym, getting proficieint on my bike before we hit the hills of the South Island over Christmas. Open water swim season, the summer pool now open in Thorndon. Bridesmaids dresses to tone my arms for.
What's a girl to do?!
Friday, November 02, 2007
THANK YOU!!!!!
Well, the race is over and our fundraising has just about wrapped up (though there's always time for last minute donations). I am pleased to announce that we raised an amazing $1790, $790 higher than our goal of $1000!
So a HUGE public thanks to my bloggie buddies Lana, Mike and Jen C for their generous donations. Knowing I was accountable to the Refuge and my sponsors as well as myself and my blog definitely helped me to snap out of it during my "marathon" moment.
Of course, I have to thank everyone else as well- my fellow newbies who make me feel like I might know something, the others in the "shooting for sub-4" club who know what it's like, the kiwis who get what I'm talking about (and share my time zone), the experienced marathoners who always make me feel confident in my abilities and my preparation. You guys have been awesome, and I can't wait to share the next challenge with you!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Yes. I ordered all thirteen digital files!
(yes, there are some there I would not willingly pay for. But at a fixed price of $60ish, when ONE print costs around $20, it was hard to resist these!)
Monday, October 29, 2007
Auckland Marathon Race Report Part 4: The aftermath- She can't walk but she's trying
Part 1
Part
2
Part 3
If anyone's in need of explanation, all of my report titles relate to songs in my playlist. Parts 1 and 2 are titles, and 3 and 4 are lines (Run, by Collective Soul and Another Day in Paradise by Phil Collins).
As I sat, my sister came over to the fence. We couldn't see a way for her to reach me, but I wanted her and let her know that, so she snuck through a gap. Thank you sis. I needed it! I hugged her, told her it was the hardest thing ever and (I think) managed to find the decency to ask her how she did and, most importantly, whether she had run over the Bridge. Hmm. Rather late in the piece, I should say that running over the Bridge is particularly special, because it's only 2 hours a year that people can! She did. SHE was there and over by 8:30. GO J!!!! Then Ed came over and gave me a massive high 5. I was excited that he'd managed a sub 4 GUN time. YAY Ed. That's got to be my next goal 3:xx on the CLOCK (as Phil said in a comment on my mini report post).
Jenn shared some powerade with me (from a bottle she'd been given), and eventually I got up to wander through the finishing formalities. I couldn't believe they were out of powerade in cups. It was fine with me, I just wanted some water. This wasn't a big deal, but combined with a couple of other things, it was annoying. Got my chip taken, thankfully I know it worked (mine didn't work last Auckland, and have no official half PB!!!), got a big clunky medal. I like marathoners only medals, and things that make us feel more special than those doing other events :-) Unfortunately, by the time we got to where the powerade truck had been, it had gone. Great. So, the 5k walkers drank it all. Poor things must have been parched. This annoyed me. It's the Auckland MARATHON, and has some easier options. It's NOT the Auckland Half, or Quarter, or 5k with a super-extended option for insance people. Again, no big deal, but it doesn't feel very good when the race feels "over" when a sub-4 marathoner finished. In Rotorua I felt amazing. I was a leader, and I was royalty. Here I felt superfluous. The gear bags were no longer lined up, and the worst thing was that the firm's corporate tent was PACKED UP when I got there!!!!
We saw an army tent, with a whiteboard displaying a press up competition. Ed (or his Mum?) wondered what sort of masochist would run a marathon and then do push ups. That's a challenge if I ever heard one! I dropped (by "dropped" I mean inched, wincing) and gave them 5 (full- could have gone on, didn't particularly want to though). Then Ed had to drop and give us 6, or 5 1/2 as his mum said! Getting up was interesting. Very strategic, and I tried a few different ways of getting there. Talked to my honey briefly, told some stories, texted some peeps, heard about my sister's day (my poor girl had no-one at the end.. i hated doing that to her. I wish I'd given her a full days cheer squad, as by the time I was there, it was my turn to be centre of attention).
Found A eventually, and decided the joint was dead and not worth staying around. We needed a pub, as J and I wanted (hot) chips and beer and A wanted bubbly and chocolate cake. Hehe- we have such different post marathon cravings!! After walking in the vague direction of home for awhile we happened upon a Denny's! AWESOME!!! I am absolutely addicted to Denny's grilled cheese. It's just not kiwi food and it reminds me of growing up CO. Sandwiches, fries, beer and bubbly (11am...), followed by oreo sundaes for me and A and pancakes a la mode for J. OMG so perfect.
My urge to nap returned as we made our way back up goddamned Queen Street to the hostel. I swear, they stretched that street overnight. Just like the stretch the k markers after 25k... Our cousin picked me and J up to meet the family for afternoon tea, we had a nice afternoon with family, then rushed to the airport to go home.
Plane ride was painful, but we made it. Showered and met baby sister and her man for mexican. Best meal ever. And plenty of frozen margaritas. Party time.. Excellent. Everyone came back to ours for donuts and singstar ROCK BALLADS. So fun! We love us our singstar, and rock ballads is like K&P's dream compilation (minus all the stuff that's already been put on 80s or Legends...) Meatloaf, Cutting Crew, Duran Duran, Mr Mister. What a game! Girls kicked Boys butt in a party game, and all of a sudden it was quarter to 12, and J and I had been up for 20 hours!! And I'd spent 1/5 of them running!
So, now I'm all up to date, I might peel myself off the couch and go to work. It's taken me all morning!
Part
2
Part 3
If anyone's in need of explanation, all of my report titles relate to songs in my playlist. Parts 1 and 2 are titles, and 3 and 4 are lines (Run, by Collective Soul and Another Day in Paradise by Phil Collins).
As I sat, my sister came over to the fence. We couldn't see a way for her to reach me, but I wanted her and let her know that, so she snuck through a gap. Thank you sis. I needed it! I hugged her, told her it was the hardest thing ever and (I think) managed to find the decency to ask her how she did and, most importantly, whether she had run over the Bridge. Hmm. Rather late in the piece, I should say that running over the Bridge is particularly special, because it's only 2 hours a year that people can! She did. SHE was there and over by 8:30. GO J!!!! Then Ed came over and gave me a massive high 5. I was excited that he'd managed a sub 4 GUN time. YAY Ed. That's got to be my next goal 3:xx on the CLOCK (as Phil said in a comment on my mini report post).
Jenn shared some powerade with me (from a bottle she'd been given), and eventually I got up to wander through the finishing formalities. I couldn't believe they were out of powerade in cups. It was fine with me, I just wanted some water. This wasn't a big deal, but combined with a couple of other things, it was annoying. Got my chip taken, thankfully I know it worked (mine didn't work last Auckland, and have no official half PB!!!), got a big clunky medal. I like marathoners only medals, and things that make us feel more special than those doing other events :-) Unfortunately, by the time we got to where the powerade truck had been, it had gone. Great. So, the 5k walkers drank it all. Poor things must have been parched. This annoyed me. It's the Auckland MARATHON, and has some easier options. It's NOT the Auckland Half, or Quarter, or 5k with a super-extended option for insance people. Again, no big deal, but it doesn't feel very good when the race feels "over" when a sub-4 marathoner finished. In Rotorua I felt amazing. I was a leader, and I was royalty. Here I felt superfluous. The gear bags were no longer lined up, and the worst thing was that the firm's corporate tent was PACKED UP when I got there!!!!
We saw an army tent, with a whiteboard displaying a press up competition. Ed (or his Mum?) wondered what sort of masochist would run a marathon and then do push ups. That's a challenge if I ever heard one! I dropped (by "dropped" I mean inched, wincing) and gave them 5 (full- could have gone on, didn't particularly want to though). Then Ed had to drop and give us 6, or 5 1/2 as his mum said! Getting up was interesting. Very strategic, and I tried a few different ways of getting there. Talked to my honey briefly, told some stories, texted some peeps, heard about my sister's day (my poor girl had no-one at the end.. i hated doing that to her. I wish I'd given her a full days cheer squad, as by the time I was there, it was my turn to be centre of attention).
Found A eventually, and decided the joint was dead and not worth staying around. We needed a pub, as J and I wanted (hot) chips and beer and A wanted bubbly and chocolate cake. Hehe- we have such different post marathon cravings!! After walking in the vague direction of home for awhile we happened upon a Denny's! AWESOME!!! I am absolutely addicted to Denny's grilled cheese. It's just not kiwi food and it reminds me of growing up CO. Sandwiches, fries, beer and bubbly (11am...), followed by oreo sundaes for me and A and pancakes a la mode for J. OMG so perfect.
My urge to nap returned as we made our way back up goddamned Queen Street to the hostel. I swear, they stretched that street overnight. Just like the stretch the k markers after 25k... Our cousin picked me and J up to meet the family for afternoon tea, we had a nice afternoon with family, then rushed to the airport to go home.
Plane ride was painful, but we made it. Showered and met baby sister and her man for mexican. Best meal ever. And plenty of frozen margaritas. Party time.. Excellent. Everyone came back to ours for donuts and singstar ROCK BALLADS. So fun! We love us our singstar, and rock ballads is like K&P's dream compilation (minus all the stuff that's already been put on 80s or Legends...) Meatloaf, Cutting Crew, Duran Duran, Mr Mister. What a game! Girls kicked Boys butt in a party game, and all of a sudden it was quarter to 12, and J and I had been up for 20 hours!! And I'd spent 1/5 of them running!
So, now I'm all up to date, I might peel myself off the couch and go to work. It's taken me all morning!
Auckland Marathon Race Report Part 3: Yeah, I run (have I got a long way to run)
Part 1
Part 2
Leaving Ed helped me to focus. This was MY race, and if tiredness was the problem, I wans't going to let my job, my job I love, get in the way of the race I love. I opted for the magic music box to pull me through again, which was the best thing for me. I've really liked starting with company, then using music when it comes time for me to stop chattering. I'm not great at running in silence- like the sound of my own voice too darn much, and can never resist the chance to point out silly t-shirts (my fave: "42,195 metres to the next real drink station"; J's face: "you're the run that I want")
The first song on today was Sweet Caroline. Cheese is what works best for me. It makes me happy, swells my heart and that's what I need more than any beat, any tempo. Neil never fails. How can you not feel happy when the strings swell, the beat crescendos and "Reaching out, touching me, touching you" builds to "boom, boom, boom SWEEEEET Caroline"?? LOL. I can't believe I'm sharing my appalling taste with the internet at large. Please don't stop liking me!!! I really am very nice! I kept on at my slowish pace, pottering along slowly, but surely. Ed was a yellow blob in the distance, moving further and further away, but I was keeping up with my own new group. The problem with huge starts is you can never be quite sure whether people "should" be passing or not. I hurt quite a lot already, but I was smiling again.
The support was great along this part- you run around the bays to St Heliers, and by this time it was getting towards 9. People are up, having breakfast, enjoying coffees. [Actually, Auckland did well with crowd support this year- from the blearly eyed dressing-gowners on the Shore, to the capris and lattes crowd of Mission Bay, and then the exhausted but elated finishers and supporters who cheer us in as we complete the last 1-2ks.] hey're non-discrimination cheerers, everyone gets a clap, everyone gets a smile. My mind was fixed now. I felt like me again, even if a slow, sore, somewhat shuffly version of me.
Watching the male leaders coming to the end of their race when I wasn't even at 25k was awesome (in the literal sense ("awe inspiring"), and the more modern sense ("cool") too). Then seeing the female winner, who did not look like a marathoner, beaming behind her motorbike escort. It was disheartening to see the people in front of me without seeing the people behind me. I felt close to last, even though logically I knew I wasn't (even on gun time, I placed 48/118 in my grade, 108/? female, and 554/1000ish? overall- only preliminary results are up at the moment, so I can only see me, not the whole field). Fortunately, although I'd come off pace, I knew I was still running along nicely and was keeping under 6:00/k, which was the only maths I could handle at that point. Saw A when I was at 2:40, I guess 2.5kish from the turn around, so at 29-30k for me and 34-35k for her, and knew she was kicking butt. By my calculations she had an hour to do 7-8k and come in in a BQ time!* She looked happy and relieved to see me- I can't have been that far behind Ed, but she definitely expected me to have pulled ahead, not vice versa (Ed had a couple of bad-luck marathon attempts before today, and although he's a 21-22 5ker, his marathon pb was 4:23 or so, on the Auckland course). I also saw a colleague and waved at him excitedly (he was before A, actually, and did around 3:30).
Saw Ed on his way back and gave a big wave. He looked focussed. Or grumpy. I couldn't tell which at the time, and hoped he was not struggling. I know now it was focus, as if anything, he picked up pace on the way back. He couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes ahead of me at halfway, and he finished 5 minutes ahead. I am SOOOO pleased for him- he earned it! I got smily and tearyish as I crossed the turnaround. On the way home. I think Auckland is VERY well designed in this regard. The best way to conquer the 20-mile blues has got to be to put a turn around there. It turns it from the scary site of the ever-feared wall to the marker of the home stretch. Only 10k to go (it was actually a bit before 20- I hit it in 2:55, hit 32k in 2:58- fastest ever, just barely).
The last 10k is best described as "k-counting pain and trying not to pee my pants, deciding whether to take a pit stop, and considering peeing my pants.. would the tri shammy be like a nappy?". Oh, and hunger. I plodded along, trying to make sure I could go sub-4 even with 6 minute ks. At most markers I had 1-2 minutes fat, and I wanted to keep it that way. The soreness had long since moved from my calves and shins to my quads, glutes and hips. I was really "pleased" about this, as calf pain says "scary scary danger injury territory" to me, while quads say "running". J and I had Womens Refuge labels (like race numbers, but numberless- what would you use to describe these??) on our backs, and only one person commented in the whole race. It was an old dude, 60s-70s, wearing marathoner-speedos, with a matching singlet top, frizzy haired and toothless, but obviously pretty durn good. I passed him on the way back, and he said "hurh hurh, women's refuge- does that mean you're a refugee". I wasn't particularly impressed by this, but couldn't tell if it was a dumb joke, or a sexist anti-refuge comment, so I just said "just a fundraiser" and tuned back in. I ate some clif bar (OMG, I love clif bars), some jelly beans, and took in some powerade. I was hungry at halfway, which suggests I should have worked harder on eating the second bagel half. Or had lunch on Sat, or something.
I also passed my old friend Mr 4:15, walking on the way back. Would you believe he had no-one with him? Who'd a thought? (hmm.. is my sarcasm glaringly obvious enough to span the seven seas of the internet?). OOOH that man made me MAD.
Eventually, I plodded back into town, for the last 2ks. I knew I had it kinda in the bag, but that I couldn't relax. So I plodded on. There was no 42k marker, which is fine, but I was kinda expecting one, and it's nice to know when there really is 200m to go. As I mentioned, the support was great, so part way through Air Supply's "Every woman in the world" (both that song and Neil come from my days in department store retail... We weren't big on top 40...), I took my earplugs out and tried to get them into my pocket as I finally approached the finish! I saw my sister screaming for me and waved and smiled. Then a few paces along Ed called out. I was SO happy. I gave him a massive wave, then realised it was time to smile for the camera, and crossed the line. I stopped my watch (hopefully after the photographers had got me) and was relieved to be sub 3:59. That's a truly sub-4 time!
I walked over to the ambulance area, the only place I could see to sit and I sat.
**the oddest thing, she didn't- she came it at around 3:42, but said she'd had the best last 10k ever. I do not get it- I specifically remember it being 2:40, and even if I'm about where it was, which is not super likely, she MUST have been past 32k, so she can't have had more than 10k to go. That would make her final 10k slower than mine. SO weird....)
Part 2
Leaving Ed helped me to focus. This was MY race, and if tiredness was the problem, I wans't going to let my job, my job I love, get in the way of the race I love. I opted for the magic music box to pull me through again, which was the best thing for me. I've really liked starting with company, then using music when it comes time for me to stop chattering. I'm not great at running in silence- like the sound of my own voice too darn much, and can never resist the chance to point out silly t-shirts (my fave: "42,195 metres to the next real drink station"; J's face: "you're the run that I want")
The first song on today was Sweet Caroline. Cheese is what works best for me. It makes me happy, swells my heart and that's what I need more than any beat, any tempo. Neil never fails. How can you not feel happy when the strings swell, the beat crescendos and "Reaching out, touching me, touching you" builds to "boom, boom, boom SWEEEEET Caroline"?? LOL. I can't believe I'm sharing my appalling taste with the internet at large. Please don't stop liking me!!! I really am very nice! I kept on at my slowish pace, pottering along slowly, but surely. Ed was a yellow blob in the distance, moving further and further away, but I was keeping up with my own new group. The problem with huge starts is you can never be quite sure whether people "should" be passing or not. I hurt quite a lot already, but I was smiling again.
The support was great along this part- you run around the bays to St Heliers, and by this time it was getting towards 9. People are up, having breakfast, enjoying coffees. [Actually, Auckland did well with crowd support this year- from the blearly eyed dressing-gowners on the Shore, to the capris and lattes crowd of Mission Bay, and then the exhausted but elated finishers and supporters who cheer us in as we complete the last 1-2ks.] hey're non-discrimination cheerers, everyone gets a clap, everyone gets a smile. My mind was fixed now. I felt like me again, even if a slow, sore, somewhat shuffly version of me.
Watching the male leaders coming to the end of their race when I wasn't even at 25k was awesome (in the literal sense ("awe inspiring"), and the more modern sense ("cool") too). Then seeing the female winner, who did not look like a marathoner, beaming behind her motorbike escort. It was disheartening to see the people in front of me without seeing the people behind me. I felt close to last, even though logically I knew I wasn't (even on gun time, I placed 48/118 in my grade, 108/? female, and 554/1000ish? overall- only preliminary results are up at the moment, so I can only see me, not the whole field). Fortunately, although I'd come off pace, I knew I was still running along nicely and was keeping under 6:00/k, which was the only maths I could handle at that point. Saw A when I was at 2:40, I guess 2.5kish from the turn around, so at 29-30k for me and 34-35k for her, and knew she was kicking butt. By my calculations she had an hour to do 7-8k and come in in a BQ time!* She looked happy and relieved to see me- I can't have been that far behind Ed, but she definitely expected me to have pulled ahead, not vice versa (Ed had a couple of bad-luck marathon attempts before today, and although he's a 21-22 5ker, his marathon pb was 4:23 or so, on the Auckland course). I also saw a colleague and waved at him excitedly (he was before A, actually, and did around 3:30).
Saw Ed on his way back and gave a big wave. He looked focussed. Or grumpy. I couldn't tell which at the time, and hoped he was not struggling. I know now it was focus, as if anything, he picked up pace on the way back. He couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes ahead of me at halfway, and he finished 5 minutes ahead. I am SOOOO pleased for him- he earned it! I got smily and tearyish as I crossed the turnaround. On the way home. I think Auckland is VERY well designed in this regard. The best way to conquer the 20-mile blues has got to be to put a turn around there. It turns it from the scary site of the ever-feared wall to the marker of the home stretch. Only 10k to go (it was actually a bit before 20- I hit it in 2:55, hit 32k in 2:58- fastest ever, just barely).
The last 10k is best described as "k-counting pain and trying not to pee my pants, deciding whether to take a pit stop, and considering peeing my pants.. would the tri shammy be like a nappy?". Oh, and hunger. I plodded along, trying to make sure I could go sub-4 even with 6 minute ks. At most markers I had 1-2 minutes fat, and I wanted to keep it that way. The soreness had long since moved from my calves and shins to my quads, glutes and hips. I was really "pleased" about this, as calf pain says "scary scary danger injury territory" to me, while quads say "running". J and I had Womens Refuge labels (like race numbers, but numberless- what would you use to describe these??) on our backs, and only one person commented in the whole race. It was an old dude, 60s-70s, wearing marathoner-speedos, with a matching singlet top, frizzy haired and toothless, but obviously pretty durn good. I passed him on the way back, and he said "hurh hurh, women's refuge- does that mean you're a refugee". I wasn't particularly impressed by this, but couldn't tell if it was a dumb joke, or a sexist anti-refuge comment, so I just said "just a fundraiser" and tuned back in. I ate some clif bar (OMG, I love clif bars), some jelly beans, and took in some powerade. I was hungry at halfway, which suggests I should have worked harder on eating the second bagel half. Or had lunch on Sat, or something.
I also passed my old friend Mr 4:15, walking on the way back. Would you believe he had no-one with him? Who'd a thought? (hmm.. is my sarcasm glaringly obvious enough to span the seven seas of the internet?). OOOH that man made me MAD.
Eventually, I plodded back into town, for the last 2ks. I knew I had it kinda in the bag, but that I couldn't relax. So I plodded on. There was no 42k marker, which is fine, but I was kinda expecting one, and it's nice to know when there really is 200m to go. As I mentioned, the support was great, so part way through Air Supply's "Every woman in the world" (both that song and Neil come from my days in department store retail... We weren't big on top 40...), I took my earplugs out and tried to get them into my pocket as I finally approached the finish! I saw my sister screaming for me and waved and smiled. Then a few paces along Ed called out. I was SO happy. I gave him a massive wave, then realised it was time to smile for the camera, and crossed the line. I stopped my watch (hopefully after the photographers had got me) and was relieved to be sub 3:59. That's a truly sub-4 time!
I walked over to the ambulance area, the only place I could see to sit and I sat.
**the oddest thing, she didn't- she came it at around 3:42, but said she'd had the best last 10k ever. I do not get it- I specifically remember it being 2:40, and even if I'm about where it was, which is not super likely, she MUST have been past 32k, so she can't have had more than 10k to go. That would make her final 10k slower than mine. SO weird....)
Auckland Marathon Race Report Part 2: Golden Slumbers
Part 1: The Final Countdown
The first half of the marathon course is hilly. Slightly hillier than I remembered, but nothing like the training I do here. Ed and I navigated a slow course through the throngs of ill-seeded people. SERIOUSLY LADY- THERE ARE 7500 PEOPLE IN THIS RACE. Did you REALLY think you were in the top 20% or so????? (this rant seems to be a fact of marathoning life, but it never ceases to amaze me). I m was surprised to see Mr 4:15 sticking with us. Uhh hello dude- we're on 3:50 pace here...? (we were pretty much on pace from about the third k). We overheard him saying he wanted to come in halfway at 2:00, which I didn't think was a sensible strategy for a hilly first half! Pacer Liz/experts out there.. any comments before I defame the pacers yesterday throughout the remainder of this report?? Also, if this guy was going for 4:15 GUN time, I think he needed to make that clear, as he would have crossed the line at 5+ minutes. What's the normal rule for such things??
The course was pretty congested to 10kish, and wasn't exactly sparse after that, as we ran to nearly 21k with the halfers. After one drinks station the guy in front of me completely cut me off and I nearly crashed into a van. I was pretty frustrated, and semi-jokingly shook my cup at him. Unfortunately, I misjudged the amount of pressure needed to make a joke, and ended up chucking a cup of water over his back. Not deliberate, but not entirely accidental either. Feel pretty bratty and embarrassed, though it was quite funny, and he laughed too. He was with Mr 4:15, which irritated me, as he should not have been in front of me. As I type this, I realise how irritable I was. I really was having a good time, commenting to Ed that it was so much more fun to be marathoning instead of half-marathoning. But the fact that I was getting so irritable suggests that my hypothesis may be correct. I was not well rested enough to do my best.
I was feeling OK over the hills, even if they were bigger than I thought! I worried about J, even though I knew her H***-power legs would see her through. She needed to get to the Bridge by 8:30 to avoid being bussed, and although we knew she would, I wasn't sure how long it took her to cross the start line, so I kept her in my mind a lot. I knew I wasn't feeling as good as Ed though, and tried to remember this time in Rotorua. I think it felt easy there, but it was hard to imagine speeding up at all, if that makes sense. So, I think my effort levels were roughly equivalent, though I may have worked a little harder, since the first half of Auckland is on balance harder- if only because the hills go down a lot more.
The Bridge was also harder than last time. I think the reason for this is that last time, a half in 2005, I was powering up hills. I expected to be tired, and I got to pass others who are less strong on hills than I am. This time, I'm trying to keep it conservative, trying not to power, so it feels harder, because when we try to pull back, we expect to feel easy. But hills rarely feel easy. They're hills.
After the Bridge, there's some random corner turning to make up distance. Also some overlap, so you can see those who are a bit in front of you. Mr 4:15 was there, sure enough. And, rather surprisingly, Ms 2:20 half. WTF????????? I'll tell you know, we ran into her at 18km, and passed her there. This would have been at about 1:40ish. So 1:45ish, gun time, to be fair. 3k left, and 35 minutes. Hmmm. We said something to her at 18, and she seemed PLEASED to be 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Umm. RIGHT! This woman was supposed to be MY BABY SISTER'S PACER! I was SO glad J didn't find her, because she could have completely ruined her race!
Around 18-19, I started fading. E saw it immediately, and started giving me a pep talk. Technique, shoulders back, watch your gait etc. I know he meant well, but it just upset me. I didn't WANT a pep talk at halfway. I wanted my pep talk to be getting me over the finish line in 3:54:xx, or 3:49.xx, or talking me through the tough ks from 28-33 (those are my worst- bored and sore, but nowehere near done)! But all I wanted at 18k was to nap. My calf was a little tight, and my foot a little uncertain, but if I';d felt strong they'd have been mere niggles. But the thought of turning off the half-M finish, running through, catnapping for half an hour, then cheering my sister in was pulling me strong. I bitched inside. Goddamn work. Goddamnit. Goddamn tired. Too much goddamn walking yesterday. Then I reminded myself that this is a mental game- I remembered one of my super readers (Lana? was it you?) feeling she's lost the mental fight when she first saw a sub-4 hour goal disappear, and I knew I didn't need to lose sub-4, just because I didn't have enough juice to haul way-too-many-pounds of me around 13 more miles at sub-9 pace (sorry for the km/mile changes.. I change the way I think at different times, since I'm basically bilingual now!). And I decided to flip a mental switch. I told Ed, "I was home by 7 every night last week, where I ate sensible, nutritious dinners. I'm not tired, I'm well rested. I slept well last night, and I've had a textbook taper." It didn't work. I was amazed by what a conscious process "mental strength" was for me. I've never called on it before, not in the way I did yesterday. Usually I either go, or give up.
So at half way, when Ed suggested trying to get to 25k by 2:xx (I don't think I ever heard or computed the goal), I told him it was time for him to leave. I knew the only way I could turn myself around was to be with myself, and think only of me. It was hard, and hard for him to do it guilt free, but that was the deal. He looked sceptical when I told him I was still going to be coming under 3:59:59, and said "well, this is pace!" and bounded off. I was irritated (I know he didn't mean it badly, but I didn't need him to lose faith in me too!), and decided I would stick to myself and prove him wrong!
OMG- my computer just CRASHED 2 minutes before pre-sales to BON JOVI went on sale!!! But a frantic call to P and we were in. Thankfully, as by the time I got my baby up and running again, the site was pretty much closed! I'm LIVING ON A PRAYER BABY!
The first half of the marathon course is hilly. Slightly hillier than I remembered, but nothing like the training I do here. Ed and I navigated a slow course through the throngs of ill-seeded people. SERIOUSLY LADY- THERE ARE 7500 PEOPLE IN THIS RACE. Did you REALLY think you were in the top 20% or so????? (this rant seems to be a fact of marathoning life, but it never ceases to amaze me). I m was surprised to see Mr 4:15 sticking with us. Uhh hello dude- we're on 3:50 pace here...? (we were pretty much on pace from about the third k). We overheard him saying he wanted to come in halfway at 2:00, which I didn't think was a sensible strategy for a hilly first half! Pacer Liz/experts out there.. any comments before I defame the pacers yesterday throughout the remainder of this report?? Also, if this guy was going for 4:15 GUN time, I think he needed to make that clear, as he would have crossed the line at 5+ minutes. What's the normal rule for such things??
The course was pretty congested to 10kish, and wasn't exactly sparse after that, as we ran to nearly 21k with the halfers. After one drinks station the guy in front of me completely cut me off and I nearly crashed into a van. I was pretty frustrated, and semi-jokingly shook my cup at him. Unfortunately, I misjudged the amount of pressure needed to make a joke, and ended up chucking a cup of water over his back. Not deliberate, but not entirely accidental either. Feel pretty bratty and embarrassed, though it was quite funny, and he laughed too. He was with Mr 4:15, which irritated me, as he should not have been in front of me. As I type this, I realise how irritable I was. I really was having a good time, commenting to Ed that it was so much more fun to be marathoning instead of half-marathoning. But the fact that I was getting so irritable suggests that my hypothesis may be correct. I was not well rested enough to do my best.
I was feeling OK over the hills, even if they were bigger than I thought! I worried about J, even though I knew her H***-power legs would see her through. She needed to get to the Bridge by 8:30 to avoid being bussed, and although we knew she would, I wasn't sure how long it took her to cross the start line, so I kept her in my mind a lot. I knew I wasn't feeling as good as Ed though, and tried to remember this time in Rotorua. I think it felt easy there, but it was hard to imagine speeding up at all, if that makes sense. So, I think my effort levels were roughly equivalent, though I may have worked a little harder, since the first half of Auckland is on balance harder- if only because the hills go down a lot more.
The Bridge was also harder than last time. I think the reason for this is that last time, a half in 2005, I was powering up hills. I expected to be tired, and I got to pass others who are less strong on hills than I am. This time, I'm trying to keep it conservative, trying not to power, so it feels harder, because when we try to pull back, we expect to feel easy. But hills rarely feel easy. They're hills.
After the Bridge, there's some random corner turning to make up distance. Also some overlap, so you can see those who are a bit in front of you. Mr 4:15 was there, sure enough. And, rather surprisingly, Ms 2:20 half. WTF????????? I'll tell you know, we ran into her at 18km, and passed her there. This would have been at about 1:40ish. So 1:45ish, gun time, to be fair. 3k left, and 35 minutes. Hmmm. We said something to her at 18, and she seemed PLEASED to be 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Umm. RIGHT! This woman was supposed to be MY BABY SISTER'S PACER! I was SO glad J didn't find her, because she could have completely ruined her race!
Around 18-19, I started fading. E saw it immediately, and started giving me a pep talk. Technique, shoulders back, watch your gait etc. I know he meant well, but it just upset me. I didn't WANT a pep talk at halfway. I wanted my pep talk to be getting me over the finish line in 3:54:xx, or 3:49.xx, or talking me through the tough ks from 28-33 (those are my worst- bored and sore, but nowehere near done)! But all I wanted at 18k was to nap. My calf was a little tight, and my foot a little uncertain, but if I';d felt strong they'd have been mere niggles. But the thought of turning off the half-M finish, running through, catnapping for half an hour, then cheering my sister in was pulling me strong. I bitched inside. Goddamn work. Goddamnit. Goddamn tired. Too much goddamn walking yesterday. Then I reminded myself that this is a mental game- I remembered one of my super readers (Lana? was it you?) feeling she's lost the mental fight when she first saw a sub-4 hour goal disappear, and I knew I didn't need to lose sub-4, just because I didn't have enough juice to haul way-too-many-pounds of me around 13 more miles at sub-9 pace (sorry for the km/mile changes.. I change the way I think at different times, since I'm basically bilingual now!). And I decided to flip a mental switch. I told Ed, "I was home by 7 every night last week, where I ate sensible, nutritious dinners. I'm not tired, I'm well rested. I slept well last night, and I've had a textbook taper." It didn't work. I was amazed by what a conscious process "mental strength" was for me. I've never called on it before, not in the way I did yesterday. Usually I either go, or give up.
So at half way, when Ed suggested trying to get to 25k by 2:xx (I don't think I ever heard or computed the goal), I told him it was time for him to leave. I knew the only way I could turn myself around was to be with myself, and think only of me. It was hard, and hard for him to do it guilt free, but that was the deal. He looked sceptical when I told him I was still going to be coming under 3:59:59, and said "well, this is pace!" and bounded off. I was irritated (I know he didn't mean it badly, but I didn't need him to lose faith in me too!), and decided I would stick to myself and prove him wrong!
OMG- my computer just CRASHED 2 minutes before pre-sales to BON JOVI went on sale!!! But a frantic call to P and we were in. Thankfully, as by the time I got my baby up and running again, the site was pretty much closed! I'm LIVING ON A PRAYER BABY!
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