Category: Geek Girl Runner

As of today, I am officially FOUR WEEKS away from the Sydney Half-Marathon. I’ve already run three times this week, so I’m going to cut back the distance on my long run today and go for a timed 10K just to see where I’m at. Then I’m hoping to do my first 10-miler on Sunday the 27th, and my longest pre-race run, an 11-miler, on Sunday the 4th of May. (I’m hoping that race day adrenaline will be enough to push me through the final two miles.) For the last weekend pre-race, I’ve just signed up to do the Mother’s Day Classic (8K fun run) on the 11th. I figure that should be a nice easy way to get fired up before the big day on the 18th.

As for my goals, first and foremost I want make the 11km 75:00 cutoff point. Once I do that, my goal is just to finish. If pressed to set a time goal, I’d have to say that finishing in less than 2.5 hours would be fantastic. That would bring me in just before Norma Wallett’s time of 152:52 from last year, when she was the oldest competitor (at 78!) to finish the race. So yeah, I’d like to match Norma’s pace. 🙂

The Need for Speed
In spite of my ongoing ulcer issues, I’ve still managed a couple good runs this week. I went out Tuesday morning for a “recovery” run, aiming to run at a nice slow pace for 40 minutes without stopping. I ended up doing over 6km, and it felt surprisingly easy the whole way. I didn’t even start to get winded til the very last bit. To my utter astonishment, I averaged 6:46 per kilometer, which works out to a 34:00 5K time! And I wasn’t even trying! This is well within the pace I need to keep for the half-marathon next month. I decided to build upon this with some “cadence drills” this morning. I got these from Jeff Galloway, and it’s basically an easy form of interval training. I started by walking and jogging 10 minutes to warm up. Then I ran at a normal pace and timed myself for 30 seconds, counting each time my left foot touched the ground. I think it was 34 this first time. Then each subsequent repetition, you try to increase that number a bit. So I alternated with 30 seconds of sprinting (and counting my steps) with a minute or so of walking to recover. I did this for about a mile and managed to get my count up to 50! I felt a bit silly, like the Road Runner with my legs flying in a blur. But I also felt pretty fast! Then I finished by jogging the last fifteen minutes home.

Also – I got a shoutout on the latest episode of the Brandon’s Marathon podcast! That was fun.

I had a great long run today. I set the iPod workout to 100 minutes and headed off towards Centennial Park. I was doing 4 minutes running / 1 minute walking, and that seemed to work pretty well. I managed two full laps around the park before heading home, which ended up being nearly 14km in total. (Hey, that’s 2/3 of the distance of the half-marathon! I’m nearly there.) The real improvement was in my hydration level. I started drinking water the night before and kept it up throughout the morning today, and on the run I hit every water fountain in the park. It was GREAT! I really only felt dry and thirsty in the last twenty minutes (when I was farthest from a fountain). My legs felt pretty good while I was running – no injuries to report – but by the end, I could tell I’d be sore and hurting afterwards. I’ll take a day or two to rest and recover…

Exer-ma-cise
Now that I have a slightly longer commute to work (about 40 minutes, 15-20 of which is on the train), I’ve been exploring the fun world of running podcasts. I first found the guys over at Running With the Pack, who are both experienced runners training for a marathon. Through them, I found Brandon of Brandon’s Marathon, who is also training for a marathon but is much closer to my fitness level. These guys are honestly really inspiring to me. They all give great general information and advice for running, but it’s hearing about their training that gives me fuel for those long weekend runs. Thanks, guys!

So anyway, I went for a deliberately short run today with a goal of pushing my speed a bit. I walked and jogged a mile to warm up, then I pushed it for a full mile as best I could. (Not a full-on sprint, but a pace that I felt I could still manage.) Then I jogged the rest of the way home. I ended up getting a new PB for the mile… by one second! Since I’m pretty sure the previous time was from the City 2 Surf (ie race conditions), I’ll take this as a win. Then tonight I went for my swimming lesson, and I have to say, I’m getting a lot better! I still have a tendency to lift my head too much when I breathe, but my stroke is starting to feel more natural. I still have to rest after each length of the pool, but at least I’m not thrashing like a washing machine anymore. 🙂

Huh. I think those (enforced) few days off this week might have done me some good! I went out for my long run today and I felt pretty great. I set the Nike+ for 90 minutes and headed up Glebe Point Road towards Blackwattle Bay. I went all around Blackwattle and Rozelle Bays and then headed up towards the ANZAC Bridge (which I’d never crossed on foot before). Once I was back down to street level near the Fish Markets, I turned left and ran up the hill into Pyrmont, then up Harris Street a few blocks before turning into Darling Harbour. I went from Darling Harbour into Chinatown, then back up George Street all the way to home. I’d only gone 70 minutes at this point, so after a quick drink at home, it was back for a lap around Victoria Park. Then I staggered back home for a Gatorade and a shower. All in all, I ran 12km (about 7.5mi) at a better than 12min/mi pace. Pretty good! I’m not too far off the pace I need for the half-marathon next month. My biggest problem seems to be dehydration. As my runs get longer, I find that my mouth gets really dry and I’m gasping for water at the end. (This despite me hitting every drinking fountain I can find on the route.) I’m going to try chewing some gum and see if that helps (in addition to drinking more water, of course).

Also, a product review! I got running tights!I ducked into Kmart tonight to see if they had any proper running tights (since RebelSport want, like, sixty bucks for theirs). They had loads of track pants, but they were all knit and seemed more fashionable than practical. But A-HA! I found a single rack of women’s “performance” 3/4-length running tights. The brand is called “Sports Limited” and they appear to be an in-house line. They were only $30 a pair(!) so I tried some on. They purport to be “anti-microbial,” and they boast of reverse seams and dri-fit fabric. They’ve even got a small pocket! They seemed to fit, so I bought two pairs. I wore them on my run tonight. Sydney running chicks, get thee to Kmart. These rock! I had absolutely no chafing or bunching. They did want to roll up a bit in front (like the running skirt), but the rise is longer so they only rolled once and didn’t constantly threaten to expose my underpants. My only minor complaint is that they’re fitted for shorter people, so the “3/4-length” actually ended right at my knees. They’ve put some grippy stuff at the edge though, and I’m happy to report that they didn’t creep up too much. All in all, I’m really happy with these! This is what I’ll be wearing at the race, I’m pretty sure.

I am perhaps not as hard core as I thought. Today is my third day without a run. My duodenitis has flared up again. (For those who don’t know, this is basically a stomach ulcer.) It started bothering me last weekend, and I figured it was just the stress of changing jobs. I saw my doctor Monday night though, and he’s running tests to make sure I don’t have an underlying infection. It’s been manageable, and I was able to run and swim on Tuesday. On Wednesday though… it got bad. I was in meetings all afternoon and by 4:30 I was wincing in pain. I nearly cancelled our outing to see Margaret and David. The only thing I can trace it to was possibly a green apple that I had as a snack that afternoon. That was the only unusual thing I had. Eating dinner seemed to help, but I had a pretty sleepless night. I skipped my Thursday run, of course, and I didn’t feel up to swimming either. I meant to run this morning, but it was still bothering me when I woke up. Hopefully I’ll still be able to do my long run this weekend…

How to feel like a real runner
When I went out for my run this morning, it was so dark the street lights were still on. I felt hard core.

Running Skirt Review: “GymGirl” from SkirtSports.com
A month or so ago I read about running skirts in one of the groups over at Ravelry and decided I’d give ’em a try. I ended up ordering a GymGirl from SkirtSports.com (mostly because they were on clearance and they’d ship to Australia). The skirt came on Friday, so I wore it out for my “long” run today. While I’m definitely sold on the idea of a running skirt, I’d only rate this particular one a 7 out of 10. Read on to see the pros and cons.First, the pros: The fabric was really great at wicking away sweat, and I felt like I was much cooler than I usually am (in normal gym shorts). There was no bunching between my legs – which rules – and definitely no chafing. My bum looked very cute, if I do say so myself.

Now, the negatives: I pretty much hated the waistband. It’s wide and flat, which is fine if you’ve got a nice flat stomach. Me, my belly sticks out a bit. It looks great when you’re standing in front of the mirror, but as soon as you actually start to move, the waistband promptly rolls up and heads towards your hips like a cheap pair of pantyhose. (And I HATE pantyhose.) I kept trying to either hike it up over my belly (in which case the shorts and skirt didn’t offer a lot of, ahem, coverage) or trying to get it to sit below my belly (in which case I felt like it was going to roll even farther and expose my bumcrack). The waistband issue also meant that the skirt rode up in front, so I was tugging on it fairly frequently throughout the run. The only other problem I had was the single pocket, which I carried my iPod in. Somehow part of the stitching on the side came undone and I now have a hole in my pocket. I’ll have to re-stitch it once I’ve washed it.

So overall, I’ve decided that while I definitely like the idea of a running skirt, this particular one isn’t a perfect match for me. (Luckily I bought it on clearance so I don’t feel too bad about it.)

Milestones. Today officially marks one month of giving up Diet Coke. Today was also the first time I had two workouts in one day, running in the morning and swimming in the evening.

I would’ve killed for a Diet Coke afterwards.

Earlier this week I managed to catch my friend Nat (husband to Staci) on IM, and we chatted briefly about our training programs. (He’s doing a half-marathon about the same time as I am.) After hearing about his most recent “long run,” I felt inspired to push even farther myself. Yesterday I headed out on my longest run since last year’s City to Surf. I headed up Cleveland Street all the way to the end, then past Fox Studios, down to Centennial Park, around an entire lap of the park, then all the way home again. It was just over 10K (about six miles). I was feeling a little achy in my lower back (I saw my physio again on Thursday) so I decided to take it easy. I started doing 5:1 intervals (five minutes running, 1 minute walking), but switched to 4:1 about halfway through. The interesting thing is, I still managed to keep a really good average pace. I’m not far off what I need to do to make the time cutoff in the race. I did the 10K in 77 minutes, and for the race I need to do 11K in that time. That includes probably ten minutes of warm up and cool down walking too, so without those I’d have been even faster. And what’s even more remarkable: I didn’t get any side stitches! I think the run-walk breaks are helping with that a lot. My friend Susi lent me a copy of John Bingham’s No Need for Speed, and I love the idea that you don’t need to go fast to be a “real runner.” I’m starting to feel more confident about this race!

Of course, I’m pretty sore today. I think we might head over to the pool later for a recovery swim…