Mena over at the Sew Weekly talks about Vintage Running Clothes:

Thinking about my options, I decided to see if there were any photographs of Dita Von Teese (someone who famously maintains a vintage look at all times) doing the exericse thing. It turns out that even when Dita Von Teese is exercising, she keeps her look. But that’s at the gym. And, she’s barefoot. I want to know what she would wear going for a jog!

I guess the answer to that is: DITA VON TEESE DOES NOT JOG!

Heh. I bet not.

Week 21
Taper Madness has ensued. My low-carb diet has totally gone off the rails this week, I’m sorry to say. Training was good though. Sunday I went for a night run after our cheese class, and I managed 8.5K before the CHEESE BABY in my belly demanded that I stop. Monday I went to Spudds and had a particularly hard workout. Tuesday I went for a lunchtime run with some work buddies. Wednesday was Spudds again, but thankfully easier this time. Today I went for a solo run at lunchtime, pushing the pace a bit. Not bad for taper week 2 of 4!

May 22: 8.56km
May 24: 6.11km
May 27: 6.31km
Total this week: 20.98km (13mi)
Total in 2011: 540.25km (337.65mi)

To meet my goal of running 1100km in 2011, I should be at 444km. Holy crap, I’ve got nearly 100km of cushion!

The rest of the winter running season is falling into place. On August 7 I’ll be running the Bay Run (7K) with the Snook and three buddies from work. The following weekend the Snook and I will be running the City 2 Surf (14K) as part of the DailyMile Sydney team. My big goal race for the 2nd half of the year will be the Blackmores Half Marathon on September 18.

Week 20
I am very, very happy to be recording my highest distance week EVER, and the first over THIRTY MILES! I had my marathon run on Sunday, then I took Monday off to recover. I went for a very gentle run/walk at lunch on Tuesday, and I could tell my legs felt better. Wednesday I had a session at Spudds where I recorded DOUBLE HUNDREDS on the rower! Surprised the heck out of me. Thursday was another rest day. Today I went for a 3:1 run/walk at lunch with some guys from the office. I think overall recovery is going extremely well, and so far there’s been no sign of taper madness. Only 3 weeks to go! CAN YOU TELL I’M EXCITED?

May 15: 42.25km
May 17: 4.32km
May: 20: 5.68km
Total this week: 52.25km (32.6 miles)
Total in 2011: 519.27km (324.5mi)

Goodness! My goal is to run 1100km in 2011, and I’m nearly at the halfway point way ahead of schedule. Maybe I should revise my goal to 1200km?

I ran a marathon today.
Seriously. I DID IT. This was my last training run before next month’s Macleay River Marathon. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet. I did 1:1 intervals the whole way. And I did this one all on my own, without any running partners (other than the Snook for the last 3K). BABY I’M A FIREWORK! (Run data: part 1 / part 2)

I was pretty well-prepared for this one. You should see the checklist I made the day before! Everything was ready. As I’ve done on all my long ones, I used a mix of Endura and Hammer gels and took one every 45 minutes along the way. I also used Endurolytes to mitigate cramping; 2 at the start and then 2 every hour. I put Body Glide everywhere I thought I might chafe, and I slathered Neurofen gel everywhere that felt sore. I also made sure to take a Zyrtec the night before, and I had some paracetamol and Tums before I started. (Stress gives me acid reflux.)

Okay! So that’s the OCD stuff out of the way. I got up at 5am (only a few hours’ sleep, of course) and had a coffee and some oatmeal for breakfast. I was dressed and out on the road exactly at 6am. The sun wasn’t even up yet, and it was COLD. I headed up Broadway to Glebe, passing runners headed to the SMH Half. I wished all of them good luck as I ran by. I was deliberately going really slowly, trying to keep my pace down while I warmed up. My fingers were like ice. I ran around Blackwattle Bay and then headed up Victoria Road. I became aware of needing to pee. This is unusual; I rarely need to make pitstops on my runs. But I guess I overhydrated, so I had to stop at a gas station and use the facilities. I got to Iron Cove Bridge at about 6:45, just as the sun was finally coming up over the city. My pace started to pick up.

I did two laps around the Bay Run. It was quiet at first, but gradually the number of runners started to increase. I became aware that there was actually a race on that day (“The Memory Run/Walk” to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s, I think) but it didn’t start til 9am. I felt good! My pace was picking up. My right foot was hurting – I’d taped it since my injury isn’t quite 100% yet – but I told myself that dealing with pain is part of the marathon challenge. I had to pee AGAIN, so I used the toilet near the Leichhardt Oval. I was doing well with my nutrition, but I wasn’t drinking much. (I was so cold that it took a good hour before I started sweating noticeably.)

I stopped to fill my water bottles a final time before heading towards home. Unfortunately I fumbled with the iPhone and somehow managed to stop my run. D’oh! So I had to start a new one. I headed back up Victoria Road. My pace dropped a little on the uphill sections, but I picked it up on the downhills. When I got to the fish markets, I realised I was actually a little ahead of my mental schedule so I added an extra bit by running up Bridge Road to Glebe.

I was feeling good when I got to the house. The Snook helped refill my water, Endurolytes, and gels while I used the bathroom and changed my shirt. I took a couple more paracetamol and slathered on some more Neurofen gel. I was smiling, but I could tell my legs were feeling tired. But 20-30K is when I get my second wind, and I knew I was going to enjoy heading to Centennial Park.

I had a big smile on my face when I got to Centennial. My pace was still great! I did 2.5 laps, staying mostly on the inner track (which is grass and dirt – I thought it would be easier on my legs). The day had turned absolutely beautiful by that point, and the park was full of families, sporting teams, and picnickers. My feet were still sore, but they’d passed through pain into comfortable numbness, to be honest.

Once I hit the 30K mark, things started to SUCK. My left calf suddenly started hurting. I’ve never had pain there before! (I think maybe because I was compensating for my sore right foot by pushing off more with my left?) Then both of my quads started feeling quaky and tentative. I took an extra walk break and tried to regroup. I kept looking at my WWBD? bracelet and telling myself “Keep it together.” I suddenly remembered that Galloway recommends going into a “shuffle” when your legs are tired or hurting. I tried it out. It worked! The less I lifted my feet, the less it hurt. I morphed into a new superhero: THE AMAZING SHUFFLER, whose ability is to skim the ground while barely touching it. The idea of it made me laugh.

By that point all the podcasts I’d queued up were finished, so I switched over to music. At the 23 mile mark, Katy Perry’s “Firework” came on and I NEARLY LOST IT. I’d been too preoccupied with the pain and my nutrition and just all the logistics to really deal with the emotional side of what I was doing, but the music just opened me right up. (Seriously? That is a REALLY GOOD song to listen to when you’re doing something difficult.) I actually had to tell myself to calm down, to not start celebrating the accomplishment when I still had 5K to go! The music did help me focus on the fun rather than the pain and tiredness though.

I left the park and headed towards home. I knew the Snook was heading towards me. I met him near the tennis courts on Cleveland Street, and he ran with me the last 3K to home. The nicest part of these runs has been being with him when I meet my goals! We abandoned the strict intervals then, just running/shuffling as much as I could and walking when I needed a break. (He thought my superhero idea was pretty funny, referring to me as “Captain Shuffle” at one point.) We had to add on a little extra around Prince Alfred Park to meet the distance. And then suddenly… we were done! It was actually pretty anticlimactic. Surprisingly, I didn’t have an emotional freakout like I thought I would. I guess I got that out of my system 5K earlier, huh? 🙂

Clock time was 6:36, but that included a couple toilet breaks, water refills, stop lights, etc. My actual “chip time” was 5:55:36, so I actually met my goal of breaking 6 hours! (I just hope I can do it on the day.) I never hit the glycogen wall. Yeah, my legs got real sore in the last 6 miles, but my pace remained pretty consistent and I never felt like I lacked the energy to run. (I LOVE the 1:1 intervals.) Back at home, I had a couple protein drinks and sat in an ice bath while the Snook cooked me a monster steak with fries. BEST POST-RUN TREATMENT EVER. My lower legs are still really sore, especially that left calf. But I’ve got 4 weeks of taper now to heal everything up before my big run.

YOU GUYS, I CAN TOTALLY RUN A MARATHON!

Week 19
This was a fairly intense week! Sunday I had the Mother’s Day Classic, where the Snook and I actually extended the distance to about 12K. Monday I went to an after-work session at Spudds. Tuesday I did a morning run of about 6K, and I froze my butt off! (Winter is coming.) Wednesday was another Spudds session, this time at lunch. Thursday was a much needed rest day! Then I did another 5K run today at lunchtime.

May 8: 11.8km
May 10: 6.01km
May 13: 5.14km
Total this week: 22.96km (14.4mi)
Total in 2011: 467.02km (291.9mi)

In order to meet my goal of running 1100km in 2011, I should be at 402km. Yep, still heaps of cushion.

Of course, that last five months of training have all led up to this Sunday. I will be running a full marathon as a training run. That’s 42.2km. That’s 26.2mi. Then I’ll have four weeks of taper before my actual race. This is it. I can do it.

And major shout-outs to the Slow Runners Club Coaching Team. The encouragement has been flowing on our Facebook page!

Mother’s Day Classic 2011
This morning marked my 5th year running the Mother’s Day Classic 8K in Sydney’s Domain. (Previously: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010.) This year I was joined by the Snook and by my friend Kunaal. I actually had 7 miles on the schedule for today, so the Snook and I decided to run the 2 miles to the start of the race. We did 3:1 intervals the whole way. It was pretty cold out there at first, but eventually we warmed up. We met up with Kunaal at the Cathedral and then headed to the starting line. As usual, it was a complete and utter circus. I’ve run this race many times and I like the vibe and the cause, but the organisation is just a MESS. There are too many people running on a course that is far too small for them. We had to run all the way to the Art Gallery just to get across the course to the starting line (since they had it all fenced off). Luckily we made it to the start with a few minutes to spare. They seemed to be releasing the group in waves. We were towards the back, which was fine with us. It probably took us 10 minutes to get across the line, but eventually we were off!

Kunaal ran with us and we kept up our 3:1 intervals. It was hard at the start because of the immense crush of people. We’d only just completed the 1st km and were heading back down Art Gallery Road when we heard sirens behind us. The lead runners had already completed 4K and were lapping us! It was utter confusion. Art Gallery Road is fairly narrow there, and you had lanes of people running in both directions with a crowd of people watching at the fence on either side. We moved out of the way to let the motorcycle and the lead runners past. Up ahead though, I could see that NO ONE was moving aside! The motorcycle siren was whooping, but people just didn’t get out of the way. The lead runner actually caught up to the motorcycle and passed it (while shoulder-charging some woman out of the way). It was madness. I bet the elite runners were pretty pissed about it.

Anyway, once we got past the Art Gallery things opened up and it was fun again. The Snook and I chatted the whole way. Kunaal kept up with us for the first 5K or so but then dropped back a little bit as his shins were hurting him. My legs felt a little tight, but I knew we were nearly done. The Snook and I decided to skip the walk breaks on the last kilometer and run it in. We finished in 60:10, which is pretty good! Definitely not my PB, but the goal was just to have fun and not injure myself, so I’m happy. (Plus I did run an extra 3.8km before the start!) Here’s my RunKeeper data.

Happy Mother’s Day! Read on to see some photos. Me and Snookums waiting at the Cathedral for Kunaal before the race.

As we were slowly moving towards the starting line, I noticed Mario and Luigi entertaining the crowd on the sidelines. I immediately handed my phone to Rodd and told him to take my photo with them! Luigi’s face CRACKS ME UP.

More serious now. I’m showing off my red WWBD? bracelet. B stands for Barb, and she’s the toughest, nicest person I know. I wrote WWBD? on my hand for one of my long runs a few weeks ago and posted a photo on dailymile. Another amazing local runner named Kirsten decided to get actual bracelets produced and sent me one! How cool is that?

And lastly, here’s me and the boys after the race. Such a great day!

Week 17-18
I wasn’t able to post last week’s RunningBlog because I was stuck on a mountain in Wollongong with no electricity at Knitting Camp! But on the plus side, I also got in a great run while I was there. So there’s that. Okay, let’s recap the past fortnight. First there was my 23 mile long run, which was AWESOME. I actually didn’t pull up too sore from that, but the effort of running with a virus really wiped me out. I took a few days off to recover. I did manage a 5K at work on Thursday though. Friday through Sunday was Knitting Camp, and I did a 10K run down and up the mountain on Saturday. It was actually quite a technical (and dangerous) run, given that I was running on the road along switchbacks without much visibility on a rainy and foggy day. Yeah, I had to jump in the ditch a few times to let cars pass, but I felt great when I finished. On Tuesday I went for another easy lunchtime run, and on Thursday I had a brutal workout at Spudds that left me sore for days. I just had another easy run around the neighbourhood to hopefully shake out the stiffness before tomorrow’s Mother’s Day Classic 8K.

Apr. 24: 37.91km
Apr. 28: 5.03km
Apr. 30: 10.08km
May 3: 5.46km
May 7: 5.37km
Total in week 17: 42.94km (26.8mi)
Total in week 18: 20.91km (13mi)
Total in 2011: 444.06km (277.5mi)

To meet my goal of running 1100km in 2011, I should be at 380.7km right now. Yeah. Big cushion. 🙂

In other fun running news, I just had my first official call with the Adam Tinkoff (aka the Zen Runner) as part of the Slow Runners Club Coaching Program. Adam and Eddie are providing online coaching for a group of 11 runners (including myself) for the next three months. We have a private Facebook group where we share workouts and encourage each other, as well as a weekly Skype call to check in. I’m really looking forward to it! I think this is going to be just the encouragement I need to rock the winter running season.

Achievement unlocked!
This was week 23 on my marathon training schedule, and that means it was my second-to-last long run: 23 miles. That’s 37K!

For those who’ve never trained for a distance running event – most training plans max out at less than the actual race distance. So for a marathon, you top out at 20 miles in training and trust to adrenaline to get you the rest of the way on race day. But Galloway’s plans have you run the actual race distance a month before the event. That means in three weeks I’ll be running the full 26.2 miles / 42.2 kilometers. It’s daunting to contemplate, but I remember that JayDub said he regretted not running the whole distance before his first marathon. I don’t want to toe the line on race day without 100% confidence that I can last the distance.

So without further ado… I ran 23 miles yesterday! It was even more of an accomplishment considering that I started coming down with a cold the day before. But I got it done, and I’m so, so happy. It took me five-and-a-half hours, and I finished with a big smile on my face. Read on for the detailed run report.Cross-posted from dailymile:

What an amazing run. I’m so glad I went. There was serious doubt yesterday that I’d get it done. I came down with a sore throat in the afternoon, and I felt crappy all evening. Consensus on DM and elsewhere seemed to be that as long as I wasn’t running a fever, as long as all my symptoms were “above the neck,” as long as I was well-hydrated and ran slowly, as long as I LISTENED TO MY BODY – then I was okay to run. My alarm went off at 5:15 this morning and the first thing I did was take my temperature. “36.4,” I said to the Snook. “Am I allowed to go?” “You’re allowed,” he said. I was actually thrilled. 🙂

The sore throat was still there, but excitement and adrenaline were masking it. The Snook made me a coffee and I had a bagel with peanut butter. Then he went back to bed while I finished my preparations. I had laid everything out the night before so there was no chance of forgetting anything. I had my Endurolytes; I had my gels; I had my BodyGlide; I had my anti-inflammatory gel; I had my charged battery case; I had my sunscreen and hat. I hit the road at 6am just as the sun was starting to come up.

The first couple K’s through Glebe were uneventful. I knew my right glute and hammy would be an issue, but so far they were behaving. I was feeling good. At the 3.5K mark, I got an SMS from my friend Fiona that she was waiting for me at the start of the Bay Run. Awesome. I climbed the hill of Victoria Road and met her walking towards me at about 5K. With that, we headed off for two loops of the Bay Run.

I did 1:1 run/walk the entire way. I was having 2 Endurolyte capsules every hour, and an energy gel every 45 minutes. I drank and refilled my water bottles as needed. Again, this nutrition and hydration strategy worked brilliantly. My stomach wasn’t upset and I never hit the wall. Fiona and I were having a great time chatting about life and everything else. (I think I convinced her to do a half-marathon with me in September!) It was quiet out there at first, but the number of runners and cyclists steadily increased as the morning wore on.

Halfway around our second lap, I received an SMS from the Snook that my run wasn’t actually updating online. Turns out that Fiona’s message at 3.5K had caused Runkeeper to crash, and even though it was still recording the distance for me it wasn’t uploading it to the web. So I stopped the workout at 16K and restarted the app, which fixed it. That first part of the run is here.

I left Fiona at the base of the Iron Cove Bridge and headed back up Victoria Road towards home. I still felt good overall. My right glute was becoming more painful, but it wasn’t hindering me too much. My time per km had slowed by about 20s though. Eventually I made it back to the house, only about 15 minutes later than I’d planned.

Pit stop! The Snook set to work refilling all my water bottles, energy gels, and Endurolytes while I used the toilet and changed my shirt. I liberally slathered anti-inflammatory gel all over that right leg. I also popped a couple paracetamol. And then I was off for Centennial Park to meet up with Kunaal.

This is the second run in a row where I have actually become EUPHORIC once I hit the 25km mark. Seriously, I don’t know what it is. But instead of hitting a wall, I started to feel STRONG. I felt like I was having fun! I had a big stupid grin on my face! I got to the park and only had to wait a few minutes before Kunaal arrived. He and I then set off for two laps around the Grand Drive together.
The gel I’d put on my leg at home seemed to be helping. My pace actually started to pick up again! (Maybe it was just our fun, gossipy conversation.) Eventually Runkeeper announced that I’d reached the 33K mark, so I knew that I was once again in uncharted territory. Kunaal gave me a big high-five.

By the time he headed off to catch a bus and I headed home, I only needed one more km to reach my goal. And there running to meet me was the Snook! He gave me a big hug as we ran up Cleveland Street together. I was drenched with sweat, and my legs were filthy with dirt, and everywhere below the waist as aching and tired. But I had a massive smile on my face. I did it! Once we reached 37K, we walked the rest of the way back to the house where I had a hard-earned chocolate milk. Second half of the run is here.

Thanks to everybody who offered advice last night. I’m so glad I got the run in. YOU GUYS, ONLY 5K MORE AND IT’S A MARATHON. And my training program has me doing that in 3 weeks! (And then 4 more til the actual event.) EEEEEK!

Week 16
The week started out crappy – what with my mystery cheek infection and being on antibiotics and all – but slowly got better. Sunday I went out for a six-miler with the Snook, with a planned “Magic Mile” time trial for the second mile. We pushed hard and I felt like I was going to barf or explode by the end of it. I was thrilled to see our time was 9:46! Using Galloway’s Race Predictor and our average times for the past 3 MMs, that gives me a predicted marathon finish time of 5:39:28. Sweet! Monday I was wiped out so I rested. Tuesday I went out for an easy lunchtime run, and Wednesday I did a Spudds workout. Now we’re on a 5-day Easter/ANZAC day holiday long weekend, so the Snook went with me today for a run to Glebe. My hamstring still isn’t great, but I’m hoping it’ll hold up for Sunday’s long, long one!

Apr. 17: 9.67km
Apr. 19: 5.52km
Apr. 22: 5.80km
Total this week: 20.99km (13.1mi)
Total in 2011: 380.21km (237.6mi)

In order to meet my goal of running 1100km in 2011, I should be at 338.5km right now. So I’ve still got more than 40km worth of cushion. Only 7 weeks to go!

Marathon Thoughts

This made me laugh and laugh. That’s pretty much what I expect it to be like! (Link courtesy of This Running Life.)