The first race of the year is under my belt! Sunday was the Mother’s Day Classic 8K, and you’ve probably already read my race report. This is my taper period for the Half-Marathon, so I’m taking things easy. I’ve done two other runs: an easy 5K through the neighbourhood, and a treadmill 5K at race pace. Feeling good. Only three days to go…

May 8: 5.67km
May 9: 8.09km
May 12: 5.62km
Total this week: 19.38km (12.1mi)
Total in 2010: 404.72km (253mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 365km. Plenty of cushion.

The big decision, of course, is what’s next. Oh, there’s the Bay Run in August, of course, and the City 2 Surf a week after. But what about the spring? Could I do… the big one? I’d been thinking about Melbourne, which will be 21 weeks after the Half. But then today the website for Sydney launched, and they’ve changed the course in a good way. So I’m torn. But Sydney is only 18 weeks away, and I’m not sure I’ll be ready to start training right away. Melbourne is safer… right?

Yesterday was my fourth running of the Mother’s Day Classic 8K in Sydney’s Domain. (Previously: 2006, 2008, 2009.) The weather was bright and sunny, but not as cool as in previous years. The Snook and I caught a bus into the city and headed over to pick up my timing chip. That’s when I walked into CHAOS. The course was changed this year to start on Hospital Road and extend out into the city streets. The problem is that just about all of us were trying to get into the Domain VIA Hospital Road, so you had thousands of people streaming in while others were actually lining up for the start. It was crazy. It took me ages to get over to pick up my chip through the crowd. Eventually I got it and headed back to Hyde Park to meet up with my friends. We left the Snook laden with our bags and headed to the starting line. On the way, we discussed our race plans. Issy had been training like a champion and figured she’d do 6:30 kilometers. Miss Fee had had a rough couple of months and hadn’t been able to train as much as she’d like, so she was planning to go slow. Me, I was somewhere in the middle. After all, my real goal event isn’t til next Sunday. I was torn between wanting to test my speed and not wanting to push too hard during my taper. Then Miss Fee mentioned that she’d never run 8km without walking before. That settled it. “How about I run with you, and I’ll make sure you do the whole thing without stopping?” She accepted. It was a staggered start, and pretty soon we were off. Issy ran with us for a bit then we waved goodbye as she pulled ahead. Fiona and I chugged along happily, enjoying the day and chatting the whole way. We got lapped by the winner and cheered him on. We talked about the house she’d just bought; we talked about my kitchen renovation; we talked about our fitness plans. I kept her going up and over the hills of the Domain. We passed my friend Venks at one point going the other direction. (The course was two laps of an out-and-back.) We slowed a bit on the second lap, but I picked up the pace in the last 2km. Fee was puffing, but we passed the 7km mark and she knew she was going to do it. “When we get to the final turn,” I said, “we’re going to sprint in to the finish. Whatever you got, all right?” To my utter surprise, when we rounded that corner she was OFF LIKE A BULLET. Seriously! I was so surprised I nearly forgot to sprint myself. There was no chance of catching her, and I crossed the line about five seconds behind. We had a big hug at the finish.We collected our goodie bags and medals and headed back to the park. There we met up with Venks, Issy, and Issy’s friend Mel. Issy had had a fantastic race, and she ended up breaking the 50 minute mark! Venks finished around 54 minutes, which is just about his goal pace for the Half-Marathon next weekend. Fiona and I crossed the line at about 58 minutes. We took some more photos.

So, how do I feel going into my final week before the Half? A little scared, to tell you the truth. I’m not scared of the distance. I know I can do the distance. I’m worried about my speed. I’m worried about not making the halfway cutoff. I’m worried about not matching my previous attempts. I’m worried about being the slowest of all my friends and fellow runners. It’s so silly, right? Because the truth is that my run with Fiona was the most fun I’ve had on a run in my whole training. I wasn’t focused on myself; I was focused on enjoying the day, being with my friend, and feeling good. If the choice was between getting a PB on Sunday and having it be torture, or getting a slow time but feeling like I did yesterday… I’m not sure I wouldn’t choose the latter.

Anyway, thanks to all the GGR team runners (including the still-mysterious Other Kris!). I really did have a wonderful time, and I’m so glad I was able to help Fee meet her goal. Any one of you want to do the same for me on Sunday? 🙂

Well, I did it. On Sunday I went out for the longest run I’ve ever done: 22km. It was hot and sunny, and I had to take walk breaks and suck down a lot of water. But I got it done. Afterwards I had an ice bath and a massage to help with the soreness, and I think I pulled up pretty well. I had Monday and Tuesday as rest days, then went for a short easy run Wednesday morning. My legs felt tired. On that basis, I decided to skip Spudds on Wednesday in favor of resting up as much as possible before Sunday’s Mother’s Day Classic 8K. (The Geek Girl Runner team will be meeting up before the race from 7:30 at the fountain in Hyde Park.) While I’d love to set a PR for this one – last year’s time was 57:37 – I don’t want to push too hard before the big race next weekend.

May 2: 22.03km
May 5: 5.32km
Total this week: 27.35km (17mi)
Total in 2010: 385.34km (240.8mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 346km right now. So I’ve still got a nice cushion!

Welcome to another installment in my increasingly sporadic running podcast! Sorry for that whole month-long delay. Oops. Life caught up to me in April, as you’re about to hear. Thanks again to everyone who’s been in contact in the past weeks; it’s really meant a lot. This episode features: what I’ve been up to when I haven’t been podcasting; my training update; emails, comments, and shoutouts; and a couple random bits at the end. Look, it’s really more important that I finally RECORDED THE THING than it is to have a perfect three-act structure, right? Right. 🙂

Show links:
Our trip to Canberra
Masterpieces from Paris Exhibition
Knitting Camp 2010
Sydney Half-Marathon
Mother’s Day Classic
You Don’t Have to Run Alone – podcast by Ted Beveridge (with Chloe’s Corner!)
Running With the Pack
Iron Brandon
Running the Narrow Path
CORSO LA META – podcast and blog by Jimbo_W
Triathlon Mind Training – podcast and blog by Ironmanjay
The Secret Life of Kris – blog of the Other Kris

Still NOT SICK. Yeah, I feel crummy occasionally and there’s more than the average amount of mucus, but I’m NOT SICK. My powers of denial are strong. While I was at knitting camp last weekend, Fiona and I went out for a run that instead became more of a hike. We followed a steep and narrow trail up to Robertson’s Lookout at Mount Keira, stopping every ten minutes to pick the leeches off our shoes. (Yes, really.) The view was fantastic though. We ran the rest of the way back down the mountain to camp. On Sunday I got in my long run for the week, a 16km jog through Newtown, Enmore, Marrickville, Tempe, and Sydenham. (It’s really, really weird now that a ten-miler doesn’t feel like that big a deal!) I did 3:1 run/walk and still managed a 7:30/km pace, which is 45s faster than the 19km run I did a few weeks ago. Yay for cooler weather! Yesterday I did a nice easy morning run and then had a session at Spudds in the afternoon. I am BEAT.

April 25: 6.70km
April 26: 16.02km
April 28: 5.35km
Total this week: 28.07km (17.5mi)
Total in 2010: 357.99km (223.7mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 327km right now. So I’m maintaining my nice cushion.

We’re only 2.5 weeks out from the Sydney Half Marathon! This week will be the longest run of my training: 22km. Yes, I’ll actually be going slightly farther than the actual race distance. I’m looking forward to it, actually! Then the following weekend will be the Mother’s Day Classic 8K. I’ll be in my taper period here, so I’m not going to push it too hard. I’d just like to run the whole thing comfortably so I can feel confident leading up to the big race.

A nice easy week to follow that long run. Sunday was meant to be a 5km time trial, but my speed let me down miserably. I decided not to beat myself up too much over it though; as much as I keep telling myself I’M NOT SICK, I think my immune system has been fending off something. I feel okay right now though, and I’m actually looking forward picking up my distance/speed again. Maybe the funk is finally clearing?

April 16: 6.91km
April 18: 5.16km
April 21: 5.37km
Total this week: 17.44km (10.9mi)
Total in 2010: 329.92km (206.2mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 307.6km. So I’ve still got a healthy cushion there.

Of course, you’re probably asking (as Ted did this week): Where’s the next episode of Geek Girl Runner? Yeah, sorry about my increasingly erratic podcasting schedule! I’ve just had a lot of balls in the air lately, and the podcast has been the easiest one to drop. I’ll try to get one out soon, I promise. 🙂

Less than five weeks til the Half Marathon! I received my bib number (#3516) and timing chip in the mail this week. EXCITEMENT. My training has been going well. I mentioned last week that I had a slight speed increase, and that seems to have stuck around. On Sunday I did my longest run in nearly two years: 19km (12 miles)! That one was slow and steady, but it was also on a very warm and sunny day. Yesterday’s run was on a much cooler morning, and I found my pace naturally picked up a bit. I also managed two workouts at Spudds this week that have left my abs feeling beat-up. In terms of actual injuries, my right arch continues to improve. I had some foot stiffness and pain after the long run, but it was actually towards the outside of my foot (where the bone scan had previously shown some inflammation). I’ve been putting anti-inflammatory gel on that and I’ll probably ice it too. I’ve still got one long run to go two weeks before the race: 22.5km (14 miles). That will actually be my longest run EVER! But I’ve got two recovery/speed weeks in the meantime…

April 9: 6.02km
April 11: 19.02km
April 14: 5.83km
Total this week: 30.87km (19.3mi)
Total in 2010: 312.48km (195.3mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 288.5km right now. So I’ve built up another cushion!

One thing that’s worrying me is that I’ve entered the Sickness Danger Zone. With both of my previous half-marathons, I’ve caught colds a few weeks out from the race. It’s been really frustrating. I’d speculate that the training is causing me to become a little immuno-compromised. So here I am once again, and this morning the Snook tells me he’s got a sore throat. ACK. How do I keep from getting sick? Obviously sleep and being hydrated are important, so I’m working on those. Is it worth taking any extra vitamins? (I’m guessing it’ll probably only be a placebo at best.) Our office flu shot is coming up. Should I get it? I know it’s not supposed to make you sick, but maybe I’m a little more vulnerable than usual right now? And this paranoia isn’t helping…

How to Run the Boston Marathon (PDF). Great tips for any distance race about finding the sweet spot that will allow you to finish with power and speed.

“Controlling Competitive Running Instincts.” Interesting. I don’t really have that problem; I don’t mind at all if somebody passes me on a training run. Any men want to weigh in?

One of my friends lives on my regular morning run route, and I ran into her this morning (as I often do). She said she was so impressed with how I’m always out there. I laughed it off, but it sort of resonated with me the rest of the run. I don’t think I’m doing anything amazing. I go on two runs a week before work, and I do one long run a weekend. I also try to do at least one cross-training class a week (which is convenient since my work sponsors them). How do I do all that? I just put on my shoes and do it. There’s nothing really magical or admirable about it. I really can’t put it any better than the other Kris did yesterday: “It’s just a decision.” So if you’ve been tempted to get out there, just do it. Don’t procrastinate, and don’t overthink. Just decide and do it.

That said, I will give one big tip that helps a LOT with not skipping workouts: have plenty of workout clothes. When I started out, I only had a couple sports bras and shorts to run in. It was easy to slip up on laundry and think, “Whoops! Guess I can’t run today.” I made a concerted effort to build up my store of running gear, and now I can’t use that as an excuse anymore.