Not Drowning, Training

I have been feeling a touch despondent about my lack of progress lately. There's been a lot of, well, let's just call it carbo-loading going on and, in terms of training, it's been two steps forward and one step back. It's either the heatwave, work, school assemblies or [insert excuse that seems totally reasonable at the time] getting in the way of a full training week or, as was the case with last week, illness, when the gastroenteritis fairy paid us a visit. (She's sort of like the tooth fairy except her gift is not money).

I thought I would be a lean, strong, running powerhouse by now and that is not quite the case. And the 10km Around the Bridges run is on April 10th - less than two weeks away. Aargh! I'm under-prepared! While I'm tempted to switch to the 5km course, I will stick to running the 10km that I've committed (and paid) to do. On D-Day (or should that be M-Day) on November 6th, I am sure I will be worrying that I am under-prepared and wonder if it's not to late to switch to 21km. I may as well get used to feeling those panicky feelings and running despite them.

Speaking of carbo-loading, this guy took it to somewhat of an extreme. Chicago-based Joe D'Amico ran the  Los Angeles Marathon on March 20th and only ate McDonalds in the 30 day lead-up to the race. Mr McRunner said  “I love McDonald’s and I love running, and this was a great way to combine the two.”  Really. You know Joe, I love houseboats and Hugh Jackman but I don't try and combine those ... wait, I am seeing a way that could actually work.

Thinking of Hugh Jackman on my houseboat has improved my mood. So, we will end on an upbeat kind of note and think about what has been achieved in the last three and a half months. When this project began, I could only walk, not run. When I did walk, it was a real achievement to get under 10 minutes a kilometre. Now, I can run/walk (still in the Couch Potato app) at an average of about 9 minutes a kilometre. And training is for an hour (when I get to it, of course) alternating 5 minutes of running with only 1 minute of walking in between. I cover about twice the distance I used to - and a 6km walk to work from school doesn't seem like a big deal anymore.  It's easy to focus on what I can't do yet but at the same time, I am not quite the unfit Lazy McLazyPants of the not-too-distant past. And the other major goal is the fundraising which is also ticking along well. The one-third mark was passed a few weeks ago and the SEE ProjectO'Meter is now at $3540.00 (thanks!) with plans underway for another fundraiser in June or July. So, that's all good! And thanks, Hugh. You really cheered me up.

The One With a Long Walk, Kylie Minogue & a Snickers Bar

This week (and last week, in all honesty) have been major non-events in training terms. The heatwave got me out of the habit of running and then with everything else going on, training became a sadly neglected priority. That has to change - the marathon is still 8 months away but I am starting from about as low as base as it is possible to imagine.

I have promised myself that Sunday will mark getting back into training with the Couch Potato to 10K app. To kick off my rededication to task, today I walked from home in Fremantle to my office at UWA.  

It was a  total distance of 12.8km.  I started off in great spirits and even ran across the Stirling Bridge but I started to hurt a bit by the time I got to the Grove Plaza in Cottesloe (about halfway). Playing some upbeat music helped and I actually ran again once 'What I Like About You' by The Romantics came on. Aaah, such an 80's moment! By the time I got to Nedlands, not even Kylie Minogue and the Glee soundtrack could mitigate the soreness in my lower limbs. (And yes, I do actually know these are some of the SADDEST power songs in the history of running).

My two and a half hour mini marathon ended at 10am and after a shower, a coffee and a scone (in that order), recovery was a happening thing and I managed to get some good work done. Come end of the working day, it was either bus, taxi or walk to pick up my kids - so I walked. 6km. That wasn't such a big deal last week but then I hadn't already walked 12km the same day.

I was absolutely fine until I got to the Narrows Bridge when I started to feel a bit dizzy and nauseous and remembered I (stupidly) hadn't actually eaten any lunch. I got to a nearby service station and bought a Snickers. (It was the closest I could get to liquid sugar). Feeling spent, no sooner had the words 'Hey, maybe someone will drive past and give me a lift for the last 2km' formed in my head when the lovely Jane appeared in her comfortable car right in front of me. I was sorely tempted to throw myself at her leather-seated mercy but this was Jane. Jane - who runs and cycles ridiculous distances. And she told me she'd give me a lift if I wanted one but I would feel much better if I completed the entire distance. And she was absolutely right. And I absolutely did.

I burned 850 calories today in my 19.1km jaunt, according to my Nike + app. And I am about to replace every single one of them and more with some delicious Indian takeaway. (It's probably just as well this marathon isn't about losing weight...)

The One Where I Swim in Chlorinated Nectar

The Heatwave of Hades has finally ended and training is back on track. Hoorah!

Number One addition  to the training programme - I got started on the swimming again. And consequently, my love for the UWA pool has reached a new level. UWA pool, you are a chlorinated repository of floaty bliss - if my arms were 25m long I'd wrap them around you and give you a big hug. Because that's how much I love you. 

This most excellent pool (and I know I'm going on about it - but it's soooo lovely) is 25m long, outdoors and heated. The 25m length means I can get easily to the other end. The outdoor part means it doesn't reek of chlorine and the heated bit .... oooh, the heated bit means I can get straight in without doing the 'cold water polka'. (This dance-like manouevre, which basically involves jumping up and down whilst going into the water in three centimetre increments, is my system of necessity at the beach). The weather has been quite warm when I've swam and the pool has been beautifully cool to get into but not a huge shock to the system. Aaaaaaah. And, as I said to the two ladies in the changeroom on Wednesday, whose conversation I totally joined uninvited (a bad habit) the pool doesn't stay the same temperature all year round. So no need to worry about they would do for exercise in winter - the water is even warmer when it's cold or rainy!

One of the best things I did last week was walk to uni after dropping my babies off at school.  I managed the 6.3km walk in 1hour and 1minute. And, as luck would have it, on my way out of the classroom, the lovely Maria asked what I was doing and offered to pick me up at 3pm on her way back to school. So I didn't even need to catch the bus. Hoorah!



The  question I'm most frequently asked at the moment is 'So, how far can you run now?' Because I'm doing Couch Potato to 10kms and am still on the running/walking part, I'm not actually sure how far I can go without stopping. Each training session generally covers 7 - 8kms, but I'm not running continuously the whole distance. I've booked my spots in the 10km Bridges Run on April 10th and the 8km Mother's Day run on May 8th so as an experiment, I thought this week I would give an unbroken run a try and see how far I get. I'm not optimistic I can go much beyond 3 or 4 kms, especially after a less than optimal few weeks of training, but I shall report in the next post. Feel free to place bets.