The First Half

Weeks to Go: 6
Money raised: $15 498.00!

Woohoo for my first ever 21km run, my very own half marathon!! Witness below photgraphic evidence of the route taken in yesterday's longest ever long run. And the BEST bit was the excellent behaviour of my knee. Gold stars all round!

The run certainly did not start out looking as though it was going to be such a good one. My shins, which always take a few kilometres to stop hurting, were worse than usual and I almost had a tantrum on the Causeway Bridge when a pedestrian dared to walk faster than I was running. *Sigh*. I KNOW it's not about speed but at that stage I was doing my best with the sore shins and running into such a strong wind that it was almost too much. In fact, I stopped dead in my tracks shortly thereafter and said something that  cannot be written down. And whilst I didn't actually stamp my feet and scream, I'm pretty sure I felt a decent-ish sized pout form.

My Assistant Coach came to my rescue at that point and was full of encouraging words, such as the head wind was slowing me down and how he bet that pedestrian couldn't keep that pace up for a full marathon, etc, etc. I'm not sure whether that was actually true or not, the pedestrian seemed to be positively strolling along.  But the encouragement worked and stopped me spitting the proverbial dummy. And, most importantly, kept me running and pushing through when it didn't feel easy.

We made it around to the 7km mark where I 'reward walked'. Which funnily enough was FASTER than I had been running. (Maybe he was right about that headwind). Pushing through the bad bits and coming out the other side gave me a huge psychological boost. I felt ready to run again just before the 10km mark and, with the exception of a 1km walk after 15km and a walk over the Narrows Bridge so as not to irritate my temperamental left knee, I just Did. Not. Stop. And I got faster and faster each kilometre. I felt relaxed and strong, truly in the 'zone'. What a grand and wonderful feeling!! And I've gotten over a HUGE psychological barrier.

It took me 3 hours and 25 minutes to complete 21km yesterday which I guess means a marathon time of 6:50:00. Behind the Bus of Shame! Oh no!! But I can live with that. The 'Non-Runners Marathon Trainer' is emphatic that first timers should not set a time goal. The ONLY goal is to complete it. I just have to keep reminding myself of that fact. (Though, I can definitely feel a Personal Best coming on. As long as there's no head wind.)

Hitting the Bonk

Weeks to go: 7
Money raised: $15 398.00!!

I have to be honest and say that the last couple of weeks have been the worst couple of training weeks I can remember. I'm not sure whether it was physical or psychological or both but there was heel-dragging of epic proportions and every run was lacklustre in the extreme. I was starting to wonder whether it was possible to 'hit the wall' (that point in a long race where a runner experiences sudden fatigue and loss of energy, caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the body) without even starting the actual marathon.

And then as mysteriously as it arrived, the slump disappeared. My energy levels returned and my marathon mojo was back. I saw some people running along Mounts Bay Road and all of a sudden got a Pang. As in 'Ooooh, I wish I was out there too' rather than 'Sigh, I better do another one of those'. 

So being out there on the long run today was great but it was pretty wild and stormy and my Assistant Coach and I got quite wet.

Getting quite wet




The storm coming in.   

 
 
 Not good weather for runners, then but excellent weather for ducks.

  

See what I mean?


I managed 6kms today before the left knee started to play up so had to walk the last 6kms home. I've been a little more diligent with the leg exercises too. So it might just be time for another trip to see lovely Gerard the sports physio.

And speaking of 'hitting the wall', I was OH SO happy to find out that in the US it's also called 'bonking' [*suppressed giggle*]. And I am NOT even making that up. Behold this wonderful line from the Runners World website  "If you have run a distance race, chances are you have already become an aficionado of the bonk." Indeed.

Once I managed to contain my hilarity and stop reading every sentence out loud to my Assistant Coach, the website was full of interesting and useful information.  Like how 'hitting the wall' is not actually inevitable. If you take in enough carbohydrates before the race, keep hydrated, maintain electrolytes and keep at your target pace (rather than speed up with the excitement of it all), there is a good chance that you can avoid it altogether. Which would be jolly nice.

And donations are almost at $15 400! While the fundraising has surpassed my wildest hopes, if you were thinking of donating and haven't yet, please feel free to contribute! Even $20 can make a massive difference. The more money raised, the more money goes to WorldVision's SEE Solutions project to assist people create their own sustainable futures in developing countries. Every donation really inspires me to keep going so if you had been thinking about contributing now is a great time as the marathon gets closer and closer (and the training gets harder and harder!). You can donate online at http://www.everydayhero.com.au/kate_offer . Thank you so much!







Happy Feet

Weeks to Go to the Marathon:  9 (as in 'chill going up my spine')
Money raised: $15 328.00!!

This week's training was, I'm sorry to say, derailed by a Category 2 migraine.  I don't really have any other health issues, fortunately, but when those babies hit I am quite useless for a good few days. The medication takes care of the pain and the visual disturbances but not the nausea and fatigue so I only managed to complete ONE mid-week run and my long run. The challenge this week was not getting anxious about it. As luck would have it, this quote popped up on my Facebook news feed from the New York Marathon people, just when I needed it.

"Feeling a little bummed about your progress? A word of advice from Coach John: "If you can complete 80% of your plan, you are ahead of most runners. Take one day a time and only concern yourself with what you can control." Good advice. (And I think Coach John might have been watching 'Bull Durham').

The long run was 13km this week and it went well, although I certainly felt the lack of mid-week training. And my left illio-tibial band started to niggle at the 11.5 km mark so I walked the last little bit. At this point I may as well cut and paste my post from a few weeks ago because yes, you guessed it, I had slacked off AGAIN with the thigh strengthening exercises. *Sigh* Will I NEVER learn?? This week I'm going to find a regular trigger, something I do every day. My 9am lecture is probably not the place, though but where...? 

And it wasn't only my ITB that was sore after the long run. My poor old feet took a hammering as well and they were quite swollen by the end. Ouch. But that's where my new favourite appliance comes in. Behold, the beauty that is my foot spa! 

I don't know how long is too long to keep your feet in one of these things but I suspect I pushed the boundaries of both common sense and decency this evening 

The people across the road had a garage sale yesterday. They don't know me at all so I feel I can say with absolute impunity that most of what they had was rubbish. Except for this. This is genius. It's got heat. And massage. And bubbles. I can't believe I've never had one before. I've been in it for HOURS. I want to attach motorised wheels to the bottom so I can go about my day to day business and never take my feet out. This is the best $8.00 I have spent IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. Ever. EVER.

Oh, and time to report on the running song of the week(s). It's truly shameful, of course - 'I Hate the Music' by John Paul Young. Much like the Guy Sebastian song, I am justifying it on the basis that the beat is perfect for my pace. So I really have no choice but to listen to it. Really. REALLY.