Week 8 - Wednesday night

This week's track set this week was 3 x 1600m with a 400m recovery. I have to laugh at the 400m 'recovery' jog. It's not a recovery in my eyes, because I'm still running. I tried a couple of times to do a sneaky recovery walk instead, but was caught out straight away. After each set we were allowed to stop for a quick drink, so I tried to stall a bit during that. The only problem with that tactic is that the faster runners end up finishing way before me!


I still can't say I'm enjoying Wednesday nights. I wonder who sure who is, really. Some people seem to run around the track smiling. Luckily a lot of my anger has gone, or at least gone into my legs. But I don't think I could manage a smile whilst running!! It's hard enough to start off the night with enough PMA - Positive Mental Attitude as Linford Christie used to say! On the recovery jogs, we run in the opposite direction, so Sarah and I have started high-fiving each other to keep the PMA strong (because needless to say she's well ahead of me!). 


On a good note, I'm now able to walk around the apartment after Wednesday night training. I no longer get blisters. I don't need Dave to be waiter for the night! That's as encouraging as my improved 5km time-trial!


"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."
-- Hugh Downs




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Week 7 - Saturday run

This week's long run is still based on time rather than distance. So either run 14km or just run for 80 minutes. This was my first time running the Kirribilli to Taronga Zoo  track - because we had luckily been away the last couple of times the group had run it. They all seemed so comfortable with the hills! Some of the hills from Kirribilli towards Cremorne Point Reserve are shockers. I know I usually drop the car into third gear to get up them. Again the trick was to keep chatting and stay distracted. Taking the hills slowly, little by little. I decided to take the attitude that uphill meant downhill. Simple as that. For every struggle upwards, there was going to be relief at some stage on the downward journey. Unfortunately, the way out was mostly uphill so the big downhills weren't enjoyed until the journey homewards - over 7km later!

The scenery around this area of Sydney is really amazing. It's not a tourist region and almost a hidden secret, enjoyed only by the locals. Small coves with yachts dotted along the way and bushland that would make you think you were miles away from the city. I actually enjoyed most of the run on the way out because I had good company.

I didn't make the 7km turn-around point in 40 minutes. Unfortunately a stitch kicked in about 1km from the turn-around point. I couldn't make it up the last hill - and ended up walking. I was so frustrated with myself. I turned around in the hope that starting off on the downhill would make it go away. It didn't, and it must have last for another 10 minutes. It really messed with my head - so many negative thoughts started sneaking in and running was agony all over again.

My mentor Susannah picked me up, told Dave to run ahead at his own pace, and kept me company the whole way back. Thankfully, breathing through my nose and out through my mouth seemed to be the cure. It was reassuring when I finally got rid of it, because I knew that if it happened on race day that I'd be able to get through it. As expected, most of the return journey was far easier and when it came to a couple of hills at the end, I had the confidence to face them. Running to the top of a hill is the best feeling in the world. Such a sense of achievement! Just like a car, drop to a lower gear and it's possible :-)

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right."
Henry Ford

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Week 7 - Wednesday Time Trial

Our second 5km time trial. Keeping in mind my last 5km record was 40:28,  I was confident that I could do a bit better than this after all the training I had done. It's still horrible running around the track for this distance. 5km is twelve and a half laps of the athletic field. It's also hard being at the back of the pack for these long distances on the track because I get lapped so many times by the faster people in the group - like Dave! I tried to keep my blinkers on and ignore the rest of them - sticking to my own pace.

The last two laps were a huge struggle. Probably because most of the group had already finished their 5km and I had to keep going! As soon as I knew I only had one lap to go, I tried to pick up the pace. I focused on the person in front of me and did my best to catch up with her. I didn't catch her, but it definitely kept me focused. My new record for 5km was 33:28. Over 7 minutes faster and a 18% improvement on my last time trial - 5 weeks earlier. More importantly, I didn't stop to walk this time.

As much as I hated having to do it, it was just the encouragement I needed. I could clearly see how far I had come. The facts were there! Cantoo training had worked for me :-)



"The only person you should ever compete with is yourself. You can't hope for a fairer match."
Todd Ruthman


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Week 6 - Saturday training

I missed Wednesday night's training as I wasn't feeling well. This made me worry about Saturday's run! In hindsight, I think the rest might have helped me. This weekend we were in Launceston. Tasmania for St Patrick's Day celebrations. The good thing about running is that you can do wherever you go. So not being in Sydney was no excuse to pull out for the weekend! 
On Saturday we headed down to Wine Glass Bay in Freycinet National Park. We treated ourselves to a night in the Freycinet Lodge, in the National Park. But we had to earn it first - that is, we had to do our run before we could enjoy the comforts. Despite the stark contrast in temperature ( I think it was 16-18 degrees, compared to Sydney's 27 degrees), we set off in our light running gear. Dave wore a small backpack with some jumpers, water, food, plasters and of course the camera! I ended up thanking our lucky stars that it wasn't hot. We chose the 11km hike, which the guide indicated as a 5-hour medium paced trip. We ran it in 2 and1/2 hours. 

But this wasn't the usual type of running terrain. I think this was more like ultra-marathon terrain. Up hills, jumping over rocks, branches, tree-roots. It was way more fun than any other day's running I'd had so far. I loved it. I didn't even realise how long we'd been going for. In fact we did more that 11km because at one stage we got lost, backtracked because we thought we'd missed a turn, and doubled back on ourselves again when we realised we hadn't gone far enough for our turn-off! We saw one wallaby on the entire trek. No fancy birds, no snakes (apparently there are tons of tiger snakes there), not even a drop-bear! Just us and the wilderness. Well, and a few other brave hikers. The funny thing was that we would have deceptively looked like athletes running through the woods and over hills - little did they realise!

 I really enjoyed the run. I think the forest floor meant that there was less impact on my legs and knees. I definitely noticed the difference for the short distance we had to run along Hazard's Beach (twice because of our confusion....). We finally stopped for a short rest on Wine Glass Bay - long enough for a drink, a snack and a quick photo. It wasn't the nicest of weather at that stage, so we weren't inclined to hang around too long to get cold.

The climb up to the look-out over Wine-Glass Bay was difficult, but by that stage we had been going for over 2 hours! It was worth it though. I'm fully convinced I have enough energy to keep going for this length of time - which is reassuring as I expect it will take me that long to run the half-marathon!

I'll admit that I was hobbling that evening. The Freycinet Lodge was the perfect place to recover and I slept like a baby. A well earned treat! 




"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."
Confucius


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Week 5 - Saturday run

We took a whole new route today. Across the Harbour Bridge again (which I'm beginning to hate), but this time we came down the stairs, under the bridge, through Observatory Park and across towards Darling Harbour. The scenery up there was amazing. We then (walked) down tons of steps onto Hickson Road and ran along the harbour, under the bridge, passing the Opera House. It was such a beautiful morning and it was one of those moments when I thanked myself for getting out of bed so early to see Sydney Harbour like this. The water glistened and the Opera House seemed to glisten. We ran along the rocks, into Circular Quay. I think I ran 9km in total. The goal was to complete 10km, but when I met Sarah on her way back down Pitt Street, it seemed like a good enough time to turn around.

Going back was a bit harder, as usual. The tons of steps back up to Observatory Park killed my legs. There was only about another 500m of recovery before we were back up onto the Harbour Bridge for more pain. Getting to the middle of the bridge is the biggest struggle. After the middle, it starts into a slight decline. Until then, it's all a struggle. It's a mental struggle more than anything else. The only way through it is to pick goals along the way and break it up into smaller, more manageable parts. Again, Dave kept me company the whole way through it and his rambling distracted me from the demons in my head.

For years to come, whenever I see pictures of that damned bridge, I'm going to remember these mornings! The struggle to get across and the relief towards the end is etched in my mind.

"Be like a postage stamp - stick to one thing until you get there." 
Josh Billings


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Week 5 - Wednesday night

Straights and Curves!!

The best thing ever. You quicken up on the straights of the track and slow down around the bend. Suddenly running is so much easier. I can see that  it's all psychological now. When I slow down on the curves, there's an illusion that I'm taking a rest. I've fooled my body into thinking it's a rest too! This has been the most encouraging training night so far. There were no negative thoughts in my head tonight, and I could _almost_ say I enjoyed it.

Apparently 'straights and curves' in interval training is great for helping you tackle the hills on the long runs. Bring on the hills :)

"Illusion is the first of all pleasures."  

Voltaire


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Week 4 - in Melbourne

We went to Melbourne for Dave's 30th birthday celebrations, which means we missed out on the Saturday group run. I was a bit relieved because it was the first weekend trying out the Kirribilli to Taronga Zoo track...which has tons of hills!

Instead, I decided that I'd do something I've always wondered about. What would it be like to run around Albert Park Lake? When we lived in Melbourne, Dave used to run around it frequently. He did tend to complain about it though, because apparently it can appear never-ending.

So, on Sunday morning, after pretty tame celebrations the night before (on  my part), we set out for a run. We had stayed with our friend Louis who conveniently lives beside Albert Park. On the way out the door, Louis opened up one of his musical birthday cards which sang "Kung Fu Fighting". The song stuck in my head for the rest of the day. What a blessing. It turns out that Kung Fu Fighting is a perfect running song for me! As we're not allowed to run with iPods during training, the key is to get a tune in your head to keep your rhythm going. I really noticed the difference after geting a rhythm going. It was a beautiful day, and this song had really put me in the mood for a run.

I can understand why Dave and some other friends complain about running around the lake. As pretty as the setting for the Melbourne Grand Prix is, the lake can be very deceiving. It does seem never-ending.  If I had to guess, I'd estimate that it was 4km around. Turns out it's 5km in length. A nice short distance compared to what the gang in Sydney had done this weekend. I was still glad I made the effort to go out.

Luckily I had my fantastic photographer (Dave) with me. 5km is nothing to him, so he had no problem running ahead to get some good action shots!

"He who sings scares away his woes." 
Cervantes


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Week 4 - Wednesday Training

Not so euphoric tonight. In fact, I went there with a sense of dread and complete lack of enthusiasm. Enough to let myself be defeated before I had even started. The first 3km were ok. And then the little voice in my head started up - and wouldn't pipe down. "I hate running", "this is sh*t", "why did I sign up for this?", "how will I ever run 21km?" and so on and so forth.... 

Then I got angry. Anger + running = tears. Firstly I was on the brink of tears when the coach, Rob, asked me how I was feeling. I shouted "ANGRY". "Put that anger straight back into your run".... that made me angrier! After the next 800m, I caved and wept. I'm not sure if it was frustration, or exhaustion but it was too overwhelming to go on. Luckily my good friend Nat was nearby and gave me a good pep talk. She rallied another mentor in and we took off again slowly to tackle the last few laps. I still don't know how I went from practically lying down in a weeping ball to taking off and running 800km at a good pace (after which I mistakenly thought we'd finished..) to upping the ante in the last 800km and finishing with a "negative split" (Google it). 

All I can say is that this Can Too running journey is full of ups and downs, pains and surprises! This training lark obviously needs to be treated like doing a PhD. Taking every day as it comes, and not focusing on the bigger picture. As long as the work goes in and I am patient with myself, benefits will come out - in some shape or form.

"Patience means self suffering"
Mahatma Gandhi