So I’m following this MarathonGuru training plan in the lead-up to the Cadbury Half in January. Thoughts so far? It’s pretty hardcore. Not the distances or the expected speeds, because they’re fairly average so far. It’s just the training load in general. It’s asking me to run five times this week. A combo of short runs, speed sessions, long slow runs, and I’m sure there’ll be hill repeats coming up, maybe even some fartlek. It kinda makes sense given the time goal I’m aiming for, but I’m really not used to running so often. I’m too lazy for this sort of discipline. Especially at this time of year.
We were actually discussing this at my dance class this morning. As it gets closer to the end of the year, people just feel more tired. It’s not the heat, so much. Heat is good for the muscles. You just feel a bit more blah. It’s interesting to get the perspective of others on this. At least I’m not the only one.
So anyways, I went for a 10k stagger yesterday. The weather was gorgeous. Overcast, occasionally spitting a bit of cold rain. It wasn’t full-on bucketing down, which I felt was a little bit of a shame, but it wasn’t windy. I enjoyed it. I approached the water fountain and this old lady in a bright pink see-through plastic raincoat starts laughing. “Ahahaha!” She says. “You’re thirsty!”
I wasn’t quite sure what to say in response to that.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Variation on a theme: You make me feel like dancin'!
When I signed up for the Cadbury Half Marathon, one of the interesting bonuses on the website was a link to a free interactive training program at MarathonGuru, which helps you to train for a particular time, and adjusts your predicted time based upon the progress you’re making in the training runs. I don’t know how good the results are going to be, but I’m giving it a shot.
Today, it’s 11 weeks away from the race. The training plan also started today, and being the good starter that I am (let’s not mention the ‘mediocre finisher’ aspect at this point. I’m working on it) I went out there and dutifully ran the 6km that was expected of me. Perhaps a little faster than the program told me to run. At this point, my predicted finish time for the half is 2 hours and about 4 minutes. Which would be pretty awesome. Those numbers will probably get a little skewed as time goes on.
I’ve also booked my flights and accommodation for the trip. So it’s definitely happening now. I’m about a grand poorer than I was this morning. Hoping it’s going to be worth it.
I haven’t really been running (apart from faffing around on the treadmill at the gym. I don’t really consider that running) for the last week or two, but I’m happy to get back into it. I’ve been a little preoccupied with other things, fitness-wise. Mostly Zumba. I know I’ve mentioned before that I got my instructor certification for Zumba Fitness back in January, and on Friday night, I finally had the opportunity to teach my first class. I realised that you sweat so much more when you’re teaching, because you have to give so much more energy to get the class to follow you. I tried to steer clear of the cardio-heavy songs, but I was still completely exhausted afterward. I’m teaching next Friday night’s class as well. Then, I’m done for the time being. I have a race coming up, and as fun as it was to teach, it was also unnatural and terrifying to me.
Today, it’s 11 weeks away from the race. The training plan also started today, and being the good starter that I am (let’s not mention the ‘mediocre finisher’ aspect at this point. I’m working on it) I went out there and dutifully ran the 6km that was expected of me. Perhaps a little faster than the program told me to run. At this point, my predicted finish time for the half is 2 hours and about 4 minutes. Which would be pretty awesome. Those numbers will probably get a little skewed as time goes on.
I’ve also booked my flights and accommodation for the trip. So it’s definitely happening now. I’m about a grand poorer than I was this morning. Hoping it’s going to be worth it.
I haven’t really been running (apart from faffing around on the treadmill at the gym. I don’t really consider that running) for the last week or two, but I’m happy to get back into it. I’ve been a little preoccupied with other things, fitness-wise. Mostly Zumba. I know I’ve mentioned before that I got my instructor certification for Zumba Fitness back in January, and on Friday night, I finally had the opportunity to teach my first class. I realised that you sweat so much more when you’re teaching, because you have to give so much more energy to get the class to follow you. I tried to steer clear of the cardio-heavy songs, but I was still completely exhausted afterward. I’m teaching next Friday night’s class as well. Then, I’m done for the time being. I have a race coming up, and as fun as it was to teach, it was also unnatural and terrifying to me.
Monday, October 10, 2011
I'm being chased by bees! Halp!
One thing I love about long weekends is how long they are. Wow, that sentence was remarkably redundant. I’ve missed the point I was trying to make, somehow. So anyway, long weekends are great, aren’t they? I’ve been feeling odd today. Jumpy. Energetic. Kinda distracted. I just can’t concentrate on anything. So I went for a run at about midday, just chucked my Garmin on a charge (it was flat) and did the same with my iPod touch because I can’t find my Nano. Then I just ran.
Ridiculously fast, it would seem. I went ten kilometres, and all in under an hour. I didn’t feel like I was running at race pace, just running. So maybe I am getting faster after all. My theory is that I was going faster to try to keep myself focused, in some subconscious way. Whatever, it worked. Feeling good, folks. Apart from, well... there were a few things.
Children on freaking bicycles, and those stupid scooter things. What goes through their minds? Oh, there’s a girl running in this direction. She seems to be wearing a skirt. How strange. Maybe I should stay on the same side of the path that I have previously found quite suitable for my purposes up until now. Maybe... No. I’m going to swerve onto her side of the path. And just stop. Because I am a douchebag.
I didn’t want to say this, but children are such dickheads when they want to be. I’m not talking about teenagers here. No. I’m talking four year olds, six year olds. Maybe a few of them were seven or eight. Every single one of them singlemindedly determined to make me run straight into them and topple ass over tit. Who would be the bad guy in this scenario? That’s right. I would be. How dare I knock over little Ethan on his brand new razor scooter that he got for his fifth birthday? I’m some sort of monster. Why couldn’t I just run on the grass and leave the path for these assholes and their asshole children?
</rant>
Yeah, running in the park at midday was fun, but a little more crowded with inconsiderate dicks than usual.
And that’s not to mention the bees.
I’m going to mention the bees now.
Across the road from my apartment building is the CIT Bruce campus. They’ve been doing it up, prettifying the joint, with cool educational TAFE-y things like greenhouses. Agriculture stuff. And, unfortunately, a big long row of beehives. You wouldn’t think it’d be a problem to have that many beehives right next to the fence, would you?
I think the bees went out for walkies this morning. I was running along, adjusting my iPod because I’d already heard the podcast that it was playing. And then I saw a bee. I was all like ‘agh! bee!’ and I ran a bit faster to outrun the bee. In doing so, I ran right into A GIANT MOTHERFRICKIN SWARM OF BEES. I’m talking dozens of the little bastards. Maybe a hundred. Maybe two hundred. A whole lotta bees. They don’t like people running through their midst. Especially people who are in the process of freaking out because they just ran into a swarm of bees. So yeah. The bees chased me. I may have yelped, I wouldn’t say I screamed, but I’ll accept that there could have been a yelp there. I ran out onto the road to escape the bees. A car almost hit me. I think I had a pretty good excuse. I hope the guy saw the bees and didn’t just think I was an asshole runner who ignores road rules.
I don’t like bees.
But I didn’t get stung, so it’s all good.
Ridiculously fast, it would seem. I went ten kilometres, and all in under an hour. I didn’t feel like I was running at race pace, just running. So maybe I am getting faster after all. My theory is that I was going faster to try to keep myself focused, in some subconscious way. Whatever, it worked. Feeling good, folks. Apart from, well... there were a few things.
Children on freaking bicycles, and those stupid scooter things. What goes through their minds? Oh, there’s a girl running in this direction. She seems to be wearing a skirt. How strange. Maybe I should stay on the same side of the path that I have previously found quite suitable for my purposes up until now. Maybe... No. I’m going to swerve onto her side of the path. And just stop. Because I am a douchebag.
I didn’t want to say this, but children are such dickheads when they want to be. I’m not talking about teenagers here. No. I’m talking four year olds, six year olds. Maybe a few of them were seven or eight. Every single one of them singlemindedly determined to make me run straight into them and topple ass over tit. Who would be the bad guy in this scenario? That’s right. I would be. How dare I knock over little Ethan on his brand new razor scooter that he got for his fifth birthday? I’m some sort of monster. Why couldn’t I just run on the grass and leave the path for these assholes and their asshole children?
</rant>
Yeah, running in the park at midday was fun, but a little more crowded with inconsiderate dicks than usual.
And that’s not to mention the bees.
I’m going to mention the bees now.
Across the road from my apartment building is the CIT Bruce campus. They’ve been doing it up, prettifying the joint, with cool educational TAFE-y things like greenhouses. Agriculture stuff. And, unfortunately, a big long row of beehives. You wouldn’t think it’d be a problem to have that many beehives right next to the fence, would you?
I think the bees went out for walkies this morning. I was running along, adjusting my iPod because I’d already heard the podcast that it was playing. And then I saw a bee. I was all like ‘agh! bee!’ and I ran a bit faster to outrun the bee. In doing so, I ran right into A GIANT MOTHERFRICKIN SWARM OF BEES. I’m talking dozens of the little bastards. Maybe a hundred. Maybe two hundred. A whole lotta bees. They don’t like people running through their midst. Especially people who are in the process of freaking out because they just ran into a swarm of bees. So yeah. The bees chased me. I may have yelped, I wouldn’t say I screamed, but I’ll accept that there could have been a yelp there. I ran out onto the road to escape the bees. A car almost hit me. I think I had a pretty good excuse. I hope the guy saw the bees and didn’t just think I was an asshole runner who ignores road rules.
I don’t like bees.
But I didn’t get stung, so it’s all good.
Friday, October 7, 2011
A more updatey update
I ran a Sri Chimnoy 10k on Monday. A great way to spend a public holiday, and I got a good workout. I showed up at the start about an hour before the race was going to happen, which was only a problem because it was FRIGGING FREEZING. I thought I was going to lose a thumb from frostbite. I didn’t, but I thought I might.
I’m not tough or hardcore. I ran in a tank top in the end, but with gloves on. I think my hands have bad circulation, because my arms are usually fine when my hands are screaming in pain from the cold.
Finished in a time of about 60 minutes, 12 seconds. Not bad.
Now, I’ve been looking into what I want to do next, race-wise. I have decided to do this:
The 2012 Cadbury Half Marathon!!!
It’s such a sweet deal. You get race entry at a discounted rate if you sign up with irun.org.au, which is free. When you finish, they give you a medal (which I always like. I should take a photo of my medal board), a t-shirt, a goody bag that just has to contain chocolate (amiright?) and a free bbq at the finish. And then you get a year’s subscription to R4YL magazine. And there’s a training program. And it’s in Tasmania. I’ve never been to Tasmania. Anyways, I just registered. I got the leave approved at work. Now I’ve just got to book the accommodation. I’ll probably spend like a week there and see all the sights. Assuming there are sights, aren’t there?
I’m not tough or hardcore. I ran in a tank top in the end, but with gloves on. I think my hands have bad circulation, because my arms are usually fine when my hands are screaming in pain from the cold.
Finished in a time of about 60 minutes, 12 seconds. Not bad.
Now, I’ve been looking into what I want to do next, race-wise. I have decided to do this:
The 2012 Cadbury Half Marathon!!!
It’s such a sweet deal. You get race entry at a discounted rate if you sign up with irun.org.au, which is free. When you finish, they give you a medal (which I always like. I should take a photo of my medal board), a t-shirt, a goody bag that just has to contain chocolate (amiright?) and a free bbq at the finish. And then you get a year’s subscription to R4YL magazine. And there’s a training program. And it’s in Tasmania. I’ve never been to Tasmania. Anyways, I just registered. I got the leave approved at work. Now I’ve just got to book the accommodation. I’ll probably spend like a week there and see all the sights. Assuming there are sights, aren’t there?
Monday, October 3, 2011
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