Category: Geek Girl Runner

Week 24
Apologies for missing last week’s update. It’s just kinda depressing, you know? My distance is only half what it should be, and my foot is still bothering me. That said, I am loving my weekly run with the Snook. It makes me happy that he’s getting some exercise, and I like that we get to spend that time together outdoors.

June 12: 5.31km
June 14: 6.79km
Total this week: 12.1km (7.5mi)
Total in 2010: 461.45km (288.4mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 461.5km. Folks, that’s pretty much exactly where I am. My entire cushion is gone. Unless I can pick up my mileage, I’m going to start falling behind. *sigh* It may be time to start putting in some long walks if that’s the best I can do…

Hip Stretches from Sara and Ryan Hall. These are exactly the type of hip and glute stretches I do for my stiff right hip. (Well, it’s the type I do when I remember to do them.) (Link courtesy of Running to Disney.)

Geek Girl Runner Episode 008
Here it is! My long-awaited EPIC next episode. Hey, only 2.5 weeks between shows! I think that’s some sort of record. This is also probably the longest show I’ve done so far. This episode features: what’s been keeping me busy lately (both running and otherwise); a training update; emails, comments, and shout-outs; and a weighty (HAR HAR) discussion on the topic of sports bras. Thank you especially to all of the women who gave me interviews at WWKIP Day and to those who contributed to the online discussion. I hope you like the episode!

Show links:
World Wide Knit in Public Day
Elkhart County Fair 5K Road Run
You Don’t Have to Run Alone – blog and podcast of Ted
Blackmore’s Half-Marathon – part of Sydney Running Festival
Kelly in Motion – blog of Kelly
Marathon Woman Returns! – blog of Elma
Wikipedia entry on Sports Bras
7 Rules of Sports Bras
Sports bras: the lowdown
Australian Institute of Sport: Berlei sports bra testing results
Biomechanics of Breast Health

Thanks as usual to Nick Arthur for the use of his song “Little Donut Party”!

Sports Bras
The topic of the next GGR episode (to be recorded today or tomorrow) is sports bras. I managed to get several interviews yesterday at WWKIP Day with women who participate in a range of sporting activities. If you’d like to contribute, just drop me an email or leave a comment on this post. I’m interested in hearing which type of sports bras you prefer, problems you’ve had with them in the past, features you particularly like; etc. If anyone has ever undergone a breast reduction, I’d love to hear about that too.

Week 22
Another light week of running, mostly because the weather has been so completely miserable. It’s rainy and horrible and I just haven’t been able to drag myself out of bed in the morning. I did manage two workouts at Spudds though, where I am still kicking some major ass. (I’ve had double 100’s on the rower at my last four sessions now.) I also went for two easy runs around the neighbourhood on the weekend. The really amazing part is that the Snook came with me for Sunday’s run! He’s agreed to run the Elkhart 5K Race with me and Mom in July, so he needs to train a bit. It was so fun being out there with him.

May 29: 5.36km
May 30: 5.36km
Total this week: 10.72km (6.7mi)
Total in 2010: 437.84km (273.65mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 423km. So I’m still ahead. I’ll ramp it back up slowly.

The other amazing news of the week is that Ted (of You Don’t Have to Run Alone) and Dan are both going to be running the Elkhart 5K too! It’ll be an International Running Buddy Meet-up of Epic Proportions. 🙂

Geek Girl Runner Episode 007
While those of you in the U.S. are celebrating Memorial Day weekend, Down Under we’re counting down the last two days of Autumn before Winter begins in earnest. It’s been cold, windy, and rainy in Sydney; the kind of week where you prefer to curl up under a blanket rather than drag yourself out of bed to exercise. I recorded the long-awaited Episode 7 of the Geek Girl Runner podcast tonight – IN A SINGLE TAKE! – huddled in my cosy closet. This episode features: what’s been keeping me busy lately (both running and otherwise); recaps of the two races I ran this past month; a training update; emails, comments, and shout-outs; and ruminations on running for goals versus running for fun. I hope you like it!

Show links:
Mother’s Day Classic race report
Sydney Half-Marathon race report
The Secret Life of Kris – blog of The Other Kris
Corso La Meta – podcast and blog by JayDub
Elkhart County Fair 5K Road Run
Fun Run Pink 10K
Blackmore’s Half-Marathon – part of Sydney Running Festival
Runners Round Table
“Mixed Media: Podcasts you can run with” from The Buffalo News
Marathon Woman Returns! – blog of Elma
Chacos on the Run – blog of Shayna
One Girl Running – blog of Heidi
You Don’t Have to Run Alone – blog and podcast of Ted

Thanks as usual to Nick Arthur for the use of his song “Little Donut Party”!

Fun Run Pink
I just learned over at Other Kris’s site that the women-only Fun Run Pink will be happening a week after we get back from the States. Perfect! So even though I’m missing the Bay Run and City 2 Surf, I can still do a 5K on my trip and a 10K when I get home.

Week 21
A very light week for running! I’ve only done one short run since the DNF at the Half-Marathon: a slow and easy run/walk around the neighbourhood on Tuesday. I could tell that my foot was still sore, so I didn’t push it. I’ve done four classes at Spudds since the big race though, so I’m still keeping up my fitness level. (Oddly, running for a couple minutes during a gym interval is okay. The soreness only appears past a certain distance/time threshold.) I managed double-hundreds on the rower twice this week, which was very gratifying. It’s starting to happen more frequently than not. (I’m tearing up my hands though.)

In terms of my running schedule for the winter, my Mom is registering us (her, me, and the Snook!) for the Elkhart County Fair 5K Road Run while we’re there visiting. That’ll be fun! I’m also thinking of training for the Blackmores Half Marathon in September. If I do Higdon’s 12 week program, I’ve still got a few more weeks before I have to start. That will give me more time to rest this blasted foot and hopefully start the program injury-free!

May 25: 4.83km
Total this week: 4.83km (3mi)
Total in 2010: 427.12km (267mi)

The rest week has eaten into my cushion a bit for my 1000km in 2010 challenge. I should be at 403.8km, so I’m still ahead a bit.

GGR Podcast Review
I have to say, Elma’s review of my podcast made me laugh and laugh. “It’s great, she warbles on about knitting and her contraceptive implant and leeches before getting around to any running talk…” Just about sums it up, really!

Which reminds me – Elma also emailed to say she was having trouble seeing my previous episodes in iTunes. So I did some investigating and found out that my RSS feed was only showing episodes for the past 30 days. Whoops! I’ve fixed it up now. So if you need to get any back episodes, you should be able to find them in iTunes. If it doesn’t auto-update, just right-click on the podcast title and tell it to “Update podcast” or “Show all episodes.” You’ll see ’em.

And hey, maybe I could even, you know, record a new show this week? I’ll give it a shot. 🙂

Week 20
It’s turned out to be an eventful week for my running non-career. After a last gentle 5K run in the taper, there was the debacle of the Half-Marathon DNF. That forced me to re-assess my race plans for the rest of the year. There’s no way I can think about a marathon right now, and I’d even put a half-marathon on hold until I can finally get my right foot back to 100%. Then, last night we booked our plane tickets home to visit my family in July/August… and I only just realised I am going to miss both the Bay Run AND the City 2 Surf. Those two are pretty much the highlight of winter running in Sydney. I’m going to have to motivate myself without the pressure of an event for the next few months, it seems. On the plus side, I’ve done two training sessions at Spudds this week and I’m kicking some ass. I think this cross-training is going to become a much more important part of my fitness plan now that I know I need to give my foot a rest.

May 14: 5.09km
May 16: 12.48km
Total this week: 17.57km (11mi)
Total in 2010: 422.29km (264mi)

I’m still ahead of the pace I need to meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010…