Weeks 46-47
Here, practically at the end of the year, the wheels have well and truly come off. As you can imagine, being sick has hampered my running. I haven’t hit the road in nearly two weeks. I’m meant to begin marathon training on December 1st, so I’m really hoping to get over this in the next few days.

Nov. 12: 2.19km (walking)
Nov. 13: 10.58km
Nov. 14: 2.88km (walking)
Nov. 14: 2.97km (walking)
Nov. 15: 5.75km
Total this week: 0! The dreaded donut!
Total in 2011: 969.96km (606.2mi)

To meet my goal of running 1100km in 2011, I should be at 994km right now. Ouch. A full 24km behind pace. It’s moving beyond my grasp…

Weeks 44-45
I need to catch up a bit! It’s not too difficult, considering that I took all of week 44 off running. It seems to have done me some good too! The tiredness and aches that I was feeling in my lower legs has mostly dissipated. I got in a couple good runs in Victoria last weekend, and I got in a good one on Friday. Amazing what a little rest can do…

Oct. 31: 3.25km (walking)
Nov. 2: 2.70km (walking)
Nov. 5: 6.22km
Nov. 6: 10.30km
Nov. 9: 2.79km (walking)
Nov. 11: 6.01km
Total this week: 22.53km (14mi)
Total in 2011: 953.63km (596mi)

To meet my original goal of running 1100km in 2011, I should be at 951.9km right now. So I’m pretty much right on pace now! Just have to hold on for the next month and a half…

The Once and Future Way to Run – NYTimes.com – A long article from Christopher McDougall on barefoot running. I’m very interested in the “100-Up” exercise he mentions towards the end. If I’m going to train for another marathon, I need to do everything I can to remain injury free.

Week 43
The work stress has relented, but my legs haven’t figured it out yet. They feel tired and creaky and worn out. My left Achilles has been bothering me a little, and my chronic right lower back issue has been flaring up. It’s annoying. I’m not doing nearly as much mileage as I was in the early part of the year, so why am I having all these issues now? Ugh. Anyway, on Saturday the Snook and I went for a long, slow 9km run around Blackwattle Bay. Monday I was feeling too crappy to go to Spudds but I did manage to walk home from work. Tuesday I went for a lunchtime run in the rain. Wednesday I walked to work and then went to a Spudds class at lunchtime. And today I did an easy solo run in the Domain by myself.

Oct. 22: 9.08km
Oct. 24: 2.70km (walking)
Oct. 25: 4.40km
Oct. 26: 2.82km (walking)
Oct. 28: 5.27km
Total this week: 18.75km (11.7mi)
Total in 2011: 931.1km (581.9mi)

To meet my (adjusted) goal of running 1100km in 2011, I should be at 909.6km. Still on track!

On Thanksgiving Day, Dr. Julia Chase-Brand will run the Manchester Road Race fifty years after being one of the first women to run it. Such a cool story. Makes me proud to carry on the tradition!

Week 42
Work’s been stressful the past couple of weeks. I’ve got some new responsibilities, and I’ve been trying to get a big project off the ground. This has meant some late nights and working lunches. It’s made fitting in my workouts more difficult – but boy, have I needed them. On Sunday, the Snook and I did our longest speed workout yet: TEN 400m intervals at race pace with 250m walking recovery. I was dreading it, but we pretty much kicked its ass! Monday I walked to work. Tuesday I went for a 4:1 run/walk at lunchtime and then walked home in the evening. Wednesday I had my first Spudds class in weeks, and it was pretty tough! And Friday I went for a run at lunch with Kunaal and Raj, and I SWEAR TO GOD WE RAN RIGHT PAST RUSSELL CROWE. (But nobody else believes me.) Good week! Sunny weather runs make life worth living.

Oct. 16: 6.81km
Oct. 17: 2.65km (walking)
Oct. 18: 5.17km
Oct. 18: 2.59km (walking)
Oct. 21: 4.66km
Total this week: 16.64km (10.4mi)
Total in 2011: 912.35km (570.2mi)

To meet my original goal of running 1100km in 2011, I should be at 888.5km. Still on track there! But I think the 1200km goal is well and truly gone at this point.

Week 41
Up and down and up again! On Saturday we got up early and headed to Sydney Park. I had heard from a friend on dailymile that some guys are starting up a Parkrun event in Sydney. It’s basically a free, weekly, timed 5K run at a set location. It won’t officially start til next year, but we joined Paul and Aaron on a test run of the course. The guys were must faster than me but they were great about letting me set the pace. I think we’ll definitely be taking part in this one next year!

After the run we walked home (another 4km). I also walked home from Surry Hills that afternoon from my Knitters Guild meeting. We didn’t have a long run this week, just a one-mile time trial. I did that on Monday at lunchtime, but I didn’t feel very well. I ended up staying home Tuesday with some sort of virus. Wednesday I walked to and from work but skipped the Spudds session as I was still woozy. I wasn’t sure if I was up to running on Thursday, but then my new shoes arrived! I had to break them in. They felt SO GREAT. I was such an idiot for not replacing my old ones sooner. I wore them again to walk to work this morning.

Oct. 8: 5km
Oct. 8: 5.69km (walking)
Oct. 10: 2.72km (with 9:48 Magic Mile)
Oct. 12: 5.61km (walking)
Oct. 13: 4.37km
Oct. 14: 2.50km (walking)
Total this week: 12.09km (7.5mi)
Total in 2011: 895.71km (560mi)

To meet my original goal of running 1100km in 2011, I should be at 867km. So I’m still ahead on that one. But my revised goal of running 1200km? I’d need to be at 946km. Yep, still slipping away from me. HOWEVER – last night I mapped out a training schedule for the 2012 Gold Coast Marathon. Training starts December 1st. There’s always another goal!

Sidenote: BEST OF LUCK to my Mom and Step-Dad who are running their first half-marathon this weekend! You guys are gonna be AWESOME.

Week 40
This was a better week. I really needed that long weekend. We got a lot of stuff done around the house, and I felt more relaxed and ready to tackle the week. On Sunday we did our strength workout with weights at home. (Spudds is on vacation all this week so no classes.) On Monday we went for our four mile “long run” around Glebe and Sydney Uni. Tuesday I walked to and from work, and then I convinced the Snook to go for a run with me that night. Thursday I walked home from work. Today Snookums and I did our speed interval workout before work, and then I walked in to the office.

Oct. 3: 6.72km
Oct. 4: 5.32km (walking)
Oct. 4: 4.2km
Oct. 6: 3.23km (walking)
Oct. 7: 5.84km
Oct. 7: 2.65km (walking)
Total this week: 16.75km (10.5mi)
Total in 2011: 883.62km (552.2mi)

To meet my original goal of running 1100km in 2011, I should be at 846km. So I’m still ahead on that one. But my revised goal of running 1200km? I’d need to be at 923km. I think that one’s slipping away from me…

Week 39
I felt weird this week. I had bad sleep, but I’m not sure if that’s a cause or a symptom. Maybe it was the crappy weather and the changing daylight. Maybe it was some added stress at work. Maybe it was just the inevitable comedown after a goal race. At any rate, it was hard to get motivated. On Sunday the Snook and I did our three mile “long run” through Newtown at night. Monday night I went to Spudds where I became the FIRST GIRL EVER to score three back-to-back 100m+/20s on the rower! I did a short walk afterwards to cool down. Tuesday I walked to and from work. Wednesday I did my scheduled 25 minute run and then walked to work afterwards. And on Friday I did speed intervals at lunchtime with my friend Raj.

Sep. 25: 4.85km
Sep. 26: 1.07km (walking)
Sep. 27: 5.01km (walking)
Sep. 28: 3.82km
Sep. 28: 2.51km (walking)
Sep. 30: 4.89km
Total this week: 13.57km (8.5mi)
Total in 2011: 866.86km (541.8mi)

My Galloway class is going well and we’ve now completed the first two weeks. I was a little worried about my ability to do the speed workout this week: SIX 400m repeats at race pace with 250m walk breaks in between. (We only had to do four last week.) It was difficult, but I made it! I keep trying to focus on running more smoothly and efficiently in these intervals rather than making it an all-out sprint. I think it’s working. I can’t wait to do a time trial and test my progress…

Week 38
Woo! My first decent distance week in ages. On Sunday I ran the Half-Marathon. I was sore Monday, but not too bad considering the cramping. I actually did a Spudds class Monday night and kicked some butt on the rower. Tuesday I walked to work in the morning. Wednesday I started my new Fitness Class (more on that in a minute) and consequently ran 2.88km before work. That afternoon I walked another couple of km’s across Sydney while lugging a heavy suitcase. Today I did my second Fitness Class before work, and then I walked to my office. Hooray for lots of exercise! It really, really helps my mood.

Sep. 18: 21.6km
Sep. 20: 2.72km (walking)
Sep. 21: 2.88km
Sep. 21: 1.99km (walking)
Sep. 23: 3.54km
Sep: 23: 2.63km (walking)
Total this week: 28.02km (17.5mi)
Total in 2011: 853.29km (533.3mi)

So, the Fitness Class. This is a thing that RunKeeper does. Ailsa and I were talking after the Half-Marathon about our plans, and I said that my goal for the summer was to cut back my distance per week but work on building up some speed. A couple days later, she suggested this Jeff Galloway class which trains you to run a 30:00 5K. There are three runs per week: a tempo run, an interval session, and a long run. The long runs actually build up to 7 miles, which is perfect considering our next race is the 10K Run4Fun in November. The Snook joined me for today’s interval workout, which involved 4 x 400m repeats at faster than goal pace. We managed it, but man, it was tough. I’m looking forward to seeing my progress and hopefully I’ll score a PR at my next event!