Coming soon

My post marathon blog is coming...............soon.....................I know it is 2 days since the run but I have hit the ground (running!!) since then at work......................

Carb loading

Carb loading started at 10am this morning and will continue until about 3 hours before I set off on the marathon. This regime is different to other carb loading preparation that I have done for previous marathons. The measured carbs that I have had on the hour every hour today are from a different food world from the one I normally exist in..........so today's intake has consisted of rice cakes, k time bars, staminade, pasta and bananas. Anyway I have been told that this regime will give me energy to burn........ I am part of a team for this event- our team name is How Good Is This #1....if you want to follow us ( Zoe, Stu and I) you will see the action between the start at Frankston and the finish line at St Kilda or online @ http://ironmanmelbourne.com/ See you out there :) ( PS to my favourite triathlete, go get 'em tiger)

Just saying..............

All the best to everyone competing in Ironman Melbourne on Sunday

What if..............

This morning was about the 'what if'.....when the alarm went off, I wanted another 10 minutes and then when it went off for the second time, I stayed under the covers for another 10. The third time the alarm sounded, I decided I really just wanted to stay in the warmth of the bed.......all the while I was visualising myself doing the hill run..............the 'what if' question got the better of me........I took myself to the Tan to run around the steets of South Yarra and as I ran I pondered the 'what if' questions....what if I had done all of my training sessions, would my run on Sunday be any better? What if I don't fuel properly for Sunday? What if it rains on Sunday and I slip? What if I don't sleep well in the days leading up to Ironman? What if I had managed my stress better? What if? What if? What if? WHAT IF??????????
Seriously it almost tipped me over until I decided to forget trying to second guess everything and just run............and that worked for me!

Team mates

Just wanted to thank my Ironman team mates for generating as much positivity as possible to combat my anxiety.............I have just been reminded that we are in it for fun and it will be fun!

Almost there

Yesterday's training session was relatively short (70 minutes) compared to the length of some of my recent jaunts...................the countdown to Melbourne Ironman is now in single digits..................in fact it is 4 more sleeps or 4 more get ups................mmmmm..............................however I haven't made this morning's effort of 40 minutes of hills.................let's see what tomorrow morning delivers.............I know 40 minutes isn't long but with this morning's headache and feeling a bit drowsy from last night's sleeping tab and the hamstring niggle, staying in seemed the most supportive option.
To all those swimming, riding and/or running in the Ironman event - see you there and may everything come together just as you have trained and planned for :)

The hare and the tortoise

Heading into taper week, today's run was important to me for 2 reasons - 1 as a confidence builder just to prove to myself that I can do it and 2 just for continuing to have my legs move seeing as my run efforts this past week have not been extraordinary! So out we went, the hare and the tortoise. The hare was a fine thoroughbred and had a mighty fine gait and pace and the tortoise just wanted to finish the session. The hare had a much longer run session than the tortoise and about 30 minutes into the run, the tortoise was not sure whether she had locked her vehicle so the hare and the tortoise turned and ran back to the car. (BTW the car was locked). Off the two went again. Soon it was time for the tortoise to head back as her session was almost completed. The hare continued beyond to St Kilda. The tortoise finished the session and was happy......slow and steady wins the race!

Not a nun's habit

 6: The number of months it takes for a routine to become second nature. BUT it takes just 3 weeks of sticking with a new activity, like daily stretching or core work, to make it a habit.........running therefore is second nature (as is buying and loving shoes)................................but based on these stats, my recent lousy headspace could be considered a habit so best I turn it around ASAP...........it is amazing how insular you can become even when you are surrounded by love and positivity..................I am almost back!

Baby Steps

This morning was a little test for me.....................thankfully my favourite person was happy to run with me to support me after my weekend meltdown......................Coach Tippett said just to run easy, so we traipsed through the city for 80 minutes at an easy pace...................and I survived!

Walkies

Sheesh.......................................after cooking myself on Sunday, I was thankful more than ever that yesterday was a public holiday......................didn't move far from being on my back and when I did, I was told that I looked like a little old person shuffling......................needless to say I didn't do my 30 minute recovery run yesterday and instead of trying an 80 minute tempo run this morning, I walked the pooch at The Tan whilst my favourite person did 1km sprint efforts.......................let's see what I can manage tomorrow morning :)

Overcooked

Yesterday started as any other day but ended quite differently to anything I had previously experienced.......the run was a 2hr and 40 minute session and it needed to be run mid afternoon to mimic my marathon start time. My triathlete and I had spent some relaxing time in the morning just hanging out on the day bed fueling for the run and getting the head ready for the session. However my head struggled to be positive about the run from the beginning...........anyway we headed over near Port Melbourne as our starting point...........it seemed that everyone was out enjoying the gorgeous day..........after a while I started to feel what is best described as "murky" in my gut but onwards I pushed. I drank at every water bubbler and after an hour 20 I turned around to head back to the car (my triathlete was doing interval sets so we weren't running with each other). My thoughts weren't positive at all about my efforts and I was beating myself up to the point where I had to stop running because I was quite upset and struggled to inhale deeply enough......once I had settled myself down enough to continue, off we went again only to get a few kms further along before I had to stop and pull myself together again. At that stage my triathlete's legs were aching and we decided to walk for a little bit. It was about now that I started to spiral down..........we tried a run/walk/sit on bench routine to get closer to the car. Oh and the wind......it was rather chilly and it was then that my favourite person arranged a meeting point and continued the run to the car. It was about now that I was making audible pained sounds and trying really hard to stay upright as I made my way to get picked up. I sat on the ground because I was feeling very faint and once my triathlete collected me I burst into tears because I felt so poorly :( arriving home, my teeth were chattering and walking proved to be difficult. I lay on the bed and asked to be wrapped in a blanket......my lips were turning blue and I lost all colour in my face.........my triathlete ran a bath for me which helped warm me..........no sooner was I out of the bath, my inner mermaid vomited stuff that looked like seaweed (what the hell?).........I was what is known as "cooked" in as much as I had completely depleted my body in every possible way.......I have lived to see another day but geez I feel like crap today!

An hour 40 minutes

That was my run this morning..........I left my sick triathlete asleep and headed out to The Tan....I kind of felt like a mouse on an exercise wheel, running around on the track almost 5 times.......this is what it might have looked like................ Can you spot me?

Hot whore

My blog title is so called because I was called both this week.......a crazy week in which I was really unmotivated and tired and essentially couldn't be bothered..........running took a backseat to my wallowing but by the end of the week and the name calling I was ready to put the runners on again and get on with it........I was called an effing whore earlier in the week by a neighbour of the school, who screamed obsentities over the school fence like a banshee. Am pretty sure that her rage was enhanced by chemicals and rational she was not. The image of her hanging onto the wooden fence with her angry eyes popping over the top is etched into my memory and her screeching only stopped when police intervened. By the end of the week, another parent had decided that she would take a photo of me that was up in the front office and hang it in a frame in her lounge! When I called to speak to her about it, she told me that I looked hot in it! Mmmmmmm, odd. It is due to be returned tomorrow.......... So back to my running - headed out on a 60 minute tempo run yesterday and today's effort was a 2 hour 20 minute session covering a total of about 37kms this weekend. Am wondering what this week has in store for me...........