One foot in front of the other

We got up.
We got dressed.
We drove to South Yarra.
We ran hills for 70 minutes.
We were both tired.
We did not talk much.
We got back into the car.
We arrived home.

The End :)

Doing a dump

Wretched migraine that wiped out my entire weekend.......woke with it on Saturday and my magic migraine pills that normally make them disappear quickly had little impact and I spent the weekend shrouded in darkness and quiet..........................and Monday is Migraine hangover day..................joy! I was supposed to run in a Sri Chinmoy event (15kms) yesterday.................all part of the marathon preparation...........................am feeling pretty flat about not running that, as well as feeling like I am letting my IronMan team down...........................I know I need to put some stress management in place because feeling like a tight rubberband is not living at all...............................Cue Coach Tippett pep talk...........................he talked me through how I was feeling and gave me some strategies to help change the way stress affects me.............................one of them is dumping (or maybe it was bumping but I going to stick with dumping).....................and not in that way! It's about having a visual (and for me it is a tennis racquet) and as the things that stress me come up (which is far too much too often), allow myself to see me dumping it behind me with a hit of my tennis racquet.............he said that initially I may need to move my body to do the action but over time I will be able to 'see' myself doing it and it will be just as effective............so if you see me throwing myself around with an air racquet and grunting, grab a front row seat and feel free to cheer me on!

Mantra

And as if by magic, this quote lands in my lap.........................Lacking Confidence? Remember the most successful run you had. It could be a race or in training, but remember how you felt. Repeat this mantra, 'I've done this before, I can do it again. I'm strong, I can finish'.

Success

This morning's 1hr 45minute interval session was a success......................as far as toe pain is concerned. Today I did not need to stop to take my foot out of my runner and massage it before continuing my run..........this is fantastic progress.However in terms of my thinking and head space, I am not convinced that I can do this (even though I have run 2 marathons already), I am exhausted and down on myself............................my triathlete gently reminded me that thinking this way about myself is usually my default position......................so whislt my body has been training for this marathon for about 8 weeks my thinking really needs to be spoken to!

PS today I was at a leadership summit and one of my colleagues came up and asked me why I had such sensible shoes on............I love that people notice my shoes :)

Pre dawn observations

Nothing cerebral or profound but these thoughts were thunk when my triathlete and I were running hills in South Yarra @ 4.30 this morning.......................

• Fancy houses still have smelly rubbish
• It is not OK to leave your pooch in your car overnight - even if your car is a Mercedes
• You can sneak up on possums, even in a vehicle
• Window shopping is enjoyable at anytime of the day.....shiny shoes catch my eye anytime, anywhere
• Older women have unique ways of wearing an afro
• People in the shower need to be aware that you can be seen through the transluscent bathroom window, particularly when it is open
• Habits die hard, even if it is before the sun comes up - man spotted in his sleek sports car checking for small change in every parking meter
• A man sitting in his van listening to loud opera music @ 4.30am is usually included in a crime movie plot
• Bananas give you legs
• There are more bats in Melbourne than in Gothic City 

What have you seen today?

Size really does matter

It appears that the root of my little toe issues has been my shoes....................running shoes to be exact! The shoe mode,l that has been fit for my foot, has been superseded and so I upgraded to the new version a couple of weeks ago (check out the sales line.............The 18th version of ASICS’ flagship Structured Cushioning model continues to offer top of the line technology while maintaining the classic ride and comfort that has made the series an icon)..........after the painful run yesterday, I spoke with the Coach and he theorised that the issue sounded like my toes were under pressure............................my triathlete took some measurements of my new runners and compared them to my worn out superseded runners.................the new runners have a difference of 4mm less area across the top of the shoe and owuld be squishing my toes...................this morning's run was a bit of an experiment............................I wore my old model runners and VOILA..........................I ran relatively pain free..................now the mission is to find some of the 'run out' model shoes in time for me to break them in for the marathon..................5 weeks and counting!

Toe Squared

I found a pair of shoes in my collection that I was able to get my foot into yesterday........I was able to walk without so much as a limp as there was no pressure on my little toe..........the saviour was a pair of square toe loafers with a small heel. However putting my foot into runners this morning was not easy, even with encasing all toes in lube......my two hour run was interrupted with frequent stops to undo my shoes, massage my toes and slip them back in again. At one point the pain was so excruciating that I had some tears but figured I needed to get back to the car somehow and running was quicker than walking. I thought about whether I need to go shopping today to find another pair of square-toed shoes because I know that somewhere there is a law that states wearing the same pair of shoes several times in a week is likely to cause widespread devastation in the natural world........and I wouldn't want to be knowingly responsible for that. Tomorrow's run session may need to take on the form of deep water running.....

Nude man walking

Running along Port Melbourne on a 90 minute interval session @ 4.30 this morning my triathlete asked me if the man walking on the beach was naked. "Nah" I said "he has speedos on". A few more steps and what I thought was a pair of speedos was actually a mass of pubic hair.....another couple of steps closer as he bent over to pick up his clothes and it was as though everything turned into s.....l......o.............m...........o............he bent over and I could have sworn his member touched the sand forming a tripod fit for a camera......................his mouth gaped open as his eyes met ours.....................as we ran by I said to my triathlete "Yep..........................................he was naked".
I had some issues with my little toe and when I pulled off my socks and shoes back at home I could see (and feel) that some rubbing had occurred (not sure how because I wear individual toe socks and I had put barrier cream all over  them)............this resulted in me having a meltdown before work trying to find a pair of shoes that didn't cause me excruciating pain.......................I ended up swallowing painkillers to get me out the door..............my little toe is already thanking me that tomorrow is a rest day.

Holy Bat Girl

Can you tell I am back at work? I know I am back at the chalkface because I am extremely time poor and if you have read my recent blog entries you might have noticed that I have written about several run sessions in one entry.......................and today's entry is no different.................early morning runs with low flying bats and pouncing possums is the way I have started my work days this week.........last week was a crappy week for running - bloody exhausted and struggled getting out of bed so I am doing my best to make sure that I get my saggy butt out on the road for all my run sessions this week.....................the marathon is looming!

Oh no

The run session this morning didn't really even get off the ground......................arrived at the Tan bleary eyed and yawning and I felt that familiar ache in my groin area but I dismissed it blaming my active imagination...........................mmmm.....................managed about 4 minutes of running before reassessing the situation and walking back to the car with what would have looked like a giant carrot wedged up my butt! Tomorrow's 2 hour run will be interesting. Oh great!

Charging elephant using a snorkel whilst fending off a rat attack

It became apparent to me this morning when we were out on the run session was just how noisy I am! Running under the cover of pre-dawn starting off at The Tan (which is a soft surface of gravel/aggregate) each step is crunchy as your foot touches the gravel.........crunch, crunch, crunch..........however a strapping young man was running towards us and you couldn't even hear his strides..........he just glided by.......................meanwhile listening to my breathing was like listening to an elephant breathe through a snorkel......ok maybe a slight exaggeration but you get the idea...............there was no hope of me sneaking up and surprising anyone!
We had almost finished the first lap of The Tan when a horse sized animal charged towards us........as we got closer we realised that it wasn't a horse but a RAT! It's glassy beady eyes stared us down and it picked up its pace altering its direction ever so slightly to ensure that it was in line to run up my leg................I suddenly became an elite hurdler and brought my knees higher than my head and took a sideways leap pushing my triathlete out of danger's way in a single leap! Ok................................maybe the rat wasn't as large as a horse but it definitely ran at us...................true!

Hamstrung

Did an early 2 hour run along the bay yesterday and at about the 1.5hour mark I commented to my triathlete that it was amazing that it all just felt so easy and certainly not like we had been running for 90 minutes.......................spoke too soon.............................I am guessing that in the very next minute an ongoing ache in my groin region decided to speak up and remind me that it was very much still there................. I haven't mentioned this ongoing groin-age issue - I mean, some things are just between you and..........................well............................you! Anyways the next 30 minutes felt very much like 60 minutes and reaching the car felt like I had crossed the finish line........................moving in and out of the car wasn't that easy and following up the run with an hour in the gym meant that some exercises were excluded so eliminate any further strain.................................had an appointment with He Who Works Magic @ Melbourne Muscular Therapy.....................my maxi dress was hitched up to my waist, I was laying prone on the therapy bed and He Who Works Magic was using his elbows to release the knot in my hamstring (which led to referred ache in my groin!)

Today's jaunt was described in my program as " 60mins tempo run Note: try and relax today and just enjoy the set please"........................mmmmmmm..........................with my hamstring feeling every treatment poke and kneeding, on top of feeling tired and throw in the 26 degree starting temp and I can assure you that enjoyment was not how I was thinking about the run.....................thought about giving in about 20 minutes into the set but figured 2 more lots of 20 minutes and I would be done. I finihsed it, not well but I finished it and look forward to knowing that tomorrow's run is only 40 minutes! Happy to report that the groin-age ache appears to have been sent packing! YAY!

SHOCK! HORROR!

Imagine my surprise yesterday afternoon (after being in heels and on my feet all day presenting to staff) of having aching legs and sore feet......................this is not something I have necessarily experienced before and I can only put it down to the fact that my holidays have been super relaxed, wearing flat shoes pretty much all the time and the simple act of being in heels and doing what I normally do sent shock waves (and subsequent aches) to my legs and feet! So just as in my running program I do specific run sets to build endurance, it appears that I will need to adopt a similar approach to be in heels on a daily basis........................of the SHOCK of it all :)

That aside the couple of run sessions that I have done since my last entry have been long and constant and it is the HORROR of getting up around 4am to get the runs done before work that has me mourning the end of holidays when I wasn't so much of a slave to the alarm clock :(