Merry Christmas

( think 12 days of Christmas tune) On this very day of Christmas Coach Tippett gave to me, a slow run along a sandy beach.........Merry Christmas everyone :)
After fending off 2 migraines in 3 days with the help of the magical imigran tablets, we arrived in Ballina yesterday afternoon both exhausted for different reasons (me because I was a migraine warrior and my beloved had been a superhero coastal driver) we had a magnificently looooonnnngggggg sleep we headed out along the beach for today's run........the water was choppy and wild, some may even say treacherous, the sun was out, it was warm and the easy run was hard! We certainly felt alive! I am starting to feel like relaxation is not too far away!

Have a sensational day wherever you are, whatever you are doing

PS I unwrapped a funky pair of sneakers this morning........cool!

Coastal climb-ax

Hill session from Coogee to Bronte and back again this morning in humid conditions with the sun peeking through the clouds every now and again. Spectacular coastal scenery with challenging inclines and steep declines, past craggy rocky outcrops and a cemetery with prime views all followed by breakfast at Bronte. Great way to start the day.......made a shoe purchase yesterday and am thinking that perhaps I did not set my shoe challenge high enough!! Only time will tell :)

Change of scenery

Ran along Botany Bay this morning. Wonderful to see to Sydney skyline for a change. Can't wait for my legs to feel a little less tired and exhausted....managed almost 12kms of intervals so can't really complain...............maybe my legs will know they are on holidays when we reach Ballina in a few days........

Quickie

Had a quickie 60 min hill run this morning as we are heading off to Sydney today for a funeral. So my holidays have started sooner than I expected...watch this space as I cross many state borders over the next couple of weeks on holiday! Aiming to add to my shoe collection (shall I challenge myself to a new pair in every place I stay???) as well as take in new scenes running.

Little Red Caboose

Surely everyone knows the story of the Little Red Caboose with the line "I think I can, I think I can".......keep that in mind as I share my morning run.............when I got up this morning my legs were screaming at me - achy and tired -I thought I would just see how I went before making a decision about whether to stay home or go...........although I am exhausted, once I am awake there is pretty much no chance of me being able to fall back asleep and I wanted to get the run done before the predicted strong winds hit so I took myself to Port Melbourne and just got on with it..................I think I can, I think I can......................about 15 minutes into the 100 minute run I couldn't recall whether I had locked the car or not so I ran back to the car. Yep I had locked it! I started running again and this 'dressed in customary black' caboose stopped..............my legs ached and I stopped my watch (tracking pace/distacne etc) and said to myself...........'right that's it. This isn't happening today"......................but I was stopped in my tracks looking at the bay and those wretched good cop/bad cop voices started to talk to me..........'toughen up princess - tired legs never killed anyone. You've run a couple of marathons and you need to push through this" "You are exhausted you poor thing. Work has been super busy. You have a lot on your plate. You can try this tomorrow. Go easy on yourself"
I remember putting my hands on my head to listen to the debate raging in my head and then gave myself a virtual bitch slap across the face and told myself to get moving and to think of how I would feel after completing it. And off I went "I think I can, I think I can, I know I can"
Between you and me it was a mongrel of a run but it is done and yes I feel good that I kept on with it.

Bananas are da bomb!

Today's run is done...............fabulous morning to be out running..............legs and body really tired but I pushed myself as hard as I could in the interval sets and made the most of the 1 minute walks in between! Fueling my body for the long sessions has been a bit of trial and error but this morning's banana was a winner :)
Saw a huge red balloon (and its passengers) land on the beach at St Kilda.....................in the light of dawn it looked like a massive ruby tear drop floating to the ground..............
Enjoy the sunshine everyone :)

TGIF

I am not only thankful that it is Friday for the very fact that Friday is followed by 2 days not at work but it is also the last Friday I will have to get up to go to work for a number of weeks......YAY for school holidays!
I was sent a message yesterday asking me about how I stay motivated to get up and run...........................I replied that the best motivator is having a running partner....................so when the alarm went off @ 4 this morning I had to dig deep to find the motivation to just get up because slumber was feeling pretty good! I did get up and out the door but about 15 minutes into the session my partner in crime wasn't feeling up for the run and headed back to the car...................the good cop/bad cop sitting on each of my shoulders tried hard to put their case across "ok you can do this" "just do half the session" "let's get moving. It will be over before you know it" "you're tired-head back to the car too"...............I had to dig deeper to find the motivation to push the negative thoughts out of my head................................motivated to feel good after the session I kept on with the interval session and before I knew it I had completed the session and 15.46km :)
Have a fabulous Friday