Many thanks to Jeff and Allan for the huge shout-out they gave me on the latest episode of Running with the Pack. They had some great advice for my training, and it was reassuring to know that they’re on my side with regards to the time cut-off. Thanks guys!

I’m asking MetaFilter for advice about energy gels and running shoes…

(Actually, it’s more like “StomachBlog” at this point.) After a series of some pretty good runs last week, I went out for my 10K on Sunday and it completely SUCKED. Within five minutes, the right side of my lower back was seizing up and throbbing with every step. I still managed to do 9K, but only by stopping every five minutes to attempt to stretch it out. It killed. I immediately fired off an email to my physio, who scheduled me in for an appointment Wednesday night. When I got there, I gave him an update about my stomach ulcer and he immediately tied the two together. According to him, my body is probably “in a state of inflammation,” and he didn’t want do any serious massage for fear of making it worse. He did work into my sides a bit (above my hips), which was incredibly tense and painful. Oddly, releasing that tension made me feel better (in my stomach) almost immediately. He says they’re my “worry” muscles, and tensing them (from stress or from pain) might be contributing to the lower back pain. I went out for a slow 5K this morning, and the change was really noticeable. I did feel a bit sluggish through the last mile, but at least I didn’t have to stop and stretch at every light pole. Two steps forward, one step back…

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. 🙂

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…

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…

When I went out for my run this morning, it was so dark the street lights were still on. I felt hard core.