Two weeks ago I got an email from someone at SKINS asking if I’d be interested in testing out their new A400 Active range. “Uh, sure!” I said. They also invited me to create a Landmark Challenge on their new Facebook app. The idea is that you post photos or a video of yourself attempting some sort of fitness feat and then everyone else is challenged to try it and post their scores. I immediately thought of my weekly attempts at Spudds to get 100m in 20s on the rowing machine. So what the hell! I had Spudds record a video of my attempt on Monday night:

I honestly had NO IDEA that I make those grimaces when I’m rowing. GRRRR! Fierce Kris is FIERCE! 🙂

Anyway, my Challenge went live on the Facebook app and you can see it by scrolling down on the “Featured Challenges” list to “Rowing Machine Challenge.” So far I think mine is the only Challenge submitted by the public. I can’t wait to see if anybody else has a go. I’m going to see if I can get my double-hundreds tonight.

Oh! And they sent me a pair of Women’s 3/4 Compression Tights today, so I’ll be testing and reporting on those very shortly… Thanks SKINS!

Update: I got my double hundreds today! New Challenge score is officially 200m. 🙂

I met my distance goal for the week! Of course, that 10K run on Sunday helped. Just need to keep this momentum going for a few more weeks…

Nov. 7: 10km
Nov. 9: 6.07km
Nov. 11: 6.21km
Total this week: 22.28km (13.9mi)
Total in 2010: 844.51km (527.8mi)

Only 155.49km left to my goal of running 1000km in 2010, and I’ve got seven more weeks to do it. I need to keep hitting 22km per week!

This was my second year running this race (last year’s race report) and my first with the Snook beside me. A bunch of guys from my office were also signed up as well. We met Kunaal at Central Station at 7:15 and enjoyed an uneventful trip to Olympic Park. Once we got there, I dropped off my backpack and made a toilet stop. I had been hoping for cool rainy weather like last year, but instead it was turning out sunny and warm. The Snook and I lined up in the Purple group (the other guys were all in the Red) and waited for the gun to go off.

I had my iPhone safely strapped to my arm – no chance of losing it this time – and I started RunKeeper as we inched towards the starting mats. I made a quick mental decision to not worry about checking my pace during the actual race. It was going to be more fun to just enjoy myself with the Snook. The first couple KMs were relatively easy, except for the excessive crush of people. (I think they need to stagger the start even more next year.) I felt good so I skipped the first water stop. The sun was getting stronger all the time though. We doubled back and headed towards the back half of the course.

Sidenote: I have to say, I was really disappointed by how many people I saw jumping the curb and cutting corners. I probably could have shaved another minute off my time if we’d done what most of the crowd was doing. Bah.

Anyhoo, I could feel my pace starting to slow in the second half. They’d changed the course from last year so it had less turnarounds, but it was also a bit more hilly too. I walked briefly as I had a drink at the second water stop. At the 7K mark, the Snook announced that he was “finally warmed up” and that he was feeling good. I announced that I was falling apart and that I hated him. We persevered. My friend Tytana ran past and said hello. The 8K mark was right at the top of a small hill, and I had to walk for 30s to catch my breath. Then it was the final push to the finish. My friend Raj shouted a greeting as he sprinted past us. At the 9K mark, I told the Snook to go on ahead and finish strong. I had a sudden side stitch and it was all I could do to just keep going. He pulled ahead a bit. We rounded the stadium and entered the tunnel. I had nothing left to sprint, but I did my best to hold on until the end. The stitch was hurting so bad. RunKeeper recorded a time of 70:21, but my official adjusted time was 70:00 exactly. So I only missed last year’s PR of 69:06 by a little bit! I’m happy with that. (Snookums finished in 69:22.) Up in the stands we reunited with our friends…

The MobileActive running team: Me, Raj, Venks, Josh, and Kunaal

It was a fun day. Thanks to my best friend for running with me!

I missed last week’s report, but it would have been depressing anyway. I’ve been having increased pain in my right foot (the one that’s been bothering me all year), and then last weekend I got knocked out by a virus. So my totals for the past two weeks are fairly low.

Oct. 26: 6.01km
Oct. 27: 5.87km
Nov. 3: 6.32km
Nov. 5: 6.01km
Total this week: 12.33km (7.7mi)
Total in 2010: 822.23km (513.89mi)

It is now exactly eight weeks til the end of 2010. I am still 177.77km shy of meeting my goal of running 1000km this year. I’ll need to average 22.2km per week to hit the target. Given the state of my foot, this isn’t going to be easy. I’ve got one more race scheduled: the 10K Run 4 Fun this Sunday. After that, I’m thinking I may need to incorporate some walking and give my foot a chance to rest up. I’m going to do my best to reach the goal, whatever it takes.

The deadline crunch at work this week meant that I missed both my Monday yoga class and my Wednesday Spudds workout. I did get in all my runs though, and I think it really helped with my stress levels.

Oct. 17: 10.02km
Oct. 19: 6.00km
Oct. 21: 6.09km
Total this week: 22.04km (13.8mi)
Total in 2010: 798.02km (498.7mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 807.6km. Less than 10km behind pace now! I’m making it up…

Huh. I just realised that I trained on five out of the last seven days! That may be a personal record. Sunday was the WWFoR, of course, where I ran the Zen Run 10K. Monday I went to yoga class. Tuesday I was laid up all day with a killer headache, but Wednesday I went back to work and did my usual Spudds circuit. Thursday I went for an easy run, and then this morning I did speed intervals. I guess my energy is starting to bounce back a bit!

Oct. 10: 10.01km
Oct. 14: 6.00km
Oct. 15: 5.44km
Total this week: 21.45km (13.4mi)
Total in 2010: 775.91km (484.9mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 788.4km. I’m slowly gaining ground again…

Today was the much anticipated Sydney get-together for the Worldwide Festival of Races. We had six runners turn out for our event in Centennial Park: Kunaal, me, Andrew, JayDub, Eoin, and Jo. It was a glorious spring day and we had a great time running together.

That’s the post-race photo though. We all started turning up at the Park prior to 10am to make camp and get ready for our events. At 10:10, the Snook fired the starter’s pistol (an iPhone app, of course) and we hit the track. Kunaal and JayDub ran with me for the first few km’s, and JayDub ended up pacing me for the whole first 5K. We finished the first lap in under 35 minutes and stopped back at camp for a quick drink of water.

That’s me, mid-race. I told JayDub to go on ahead, as I knew I’d be slowing down in the second half. The park was packed with picknickers, cyclists, pony riders, and other runners. I headed out for my second lap hoping to keep my pace as consistent as possible. While climbing the only big hill, I started to get some sharp pains high up on my right thigh. It feels like I’ve got a small strain or tear there. I took a few walk breaks on the hill and tried not to push it too hard. Once I got back down to the flat track, the pain eased up a bit. At the 8.5km mark, I realised that I was still holding steady at 7:00/km and that I had some gas left in the tank. So I started to push. My last kilometer ended up being my fastest of the whole race! I finished my 10K at 69:22 and spent a few wild minutes thinking I’d set a PR for the distance. (Turns out I missed last year’s 69:09 by only a few seconds.) Eoin and Kunaal had already finished their 10K and 5K, so I joined them and the Snook while we waited for the half-marathoners to finish.

The Snook really is the best support staff a girl could have!

Andrew and JayDub both finished their half-marathons in just under two hours, which was fantastic. Once they got back to camp, the celebrations began! JayDub had somehow managed to find the only bottle shop in Sydney that imported Sam Adams beer. Here’s the four of us toasting to our patron saint and Bostonian Steve Runner.

We sat together for a couple hours enjoying the sunshine and each other’s company. Jo and his wife turned up, having missed us for the start. (Jo ran his 10K and spotted some of our group on the course.)

Such a great day! Thanks to JayDub for coming up with the idea, and to everyone else for participating. Next year will be even bigger and better, I’m sure. 🙂

Kind of an up-and-down week. I was just so TIRED at the start. It may have been related to Daylight Savings, or to all the physical work we did on Monday on the house. At any rate, Tuesday and Wednesday I just felt like a giant slug. This morning I had a great run though, and I’m starting to feel a little energy return. I’m really looking forward to our Sydney Worldwide Festival of Races event on Sunday!

Oct. 3: 7.01km
Oct. 5: 2km
Oct. 6: 5.92km
Oct. 8: 6.56km
Total this week: 21.49km (13.4mi)
Total in 2010: 754.46km (471.5mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 769km. So I’ve got about 15km to make up yet…

A light week this week, as I got in two cross-training sessions (yoga and Spudds). I should’ve done another run today, but I just didn’t feel like it. I’ll make up the slack on this coming long weekend. 🙂

Sept. 26: 8.16km run
Sept. 28: 5.58km run
Total this week: 13.74km (8.5mi)
Total in 2010: 732.97km (458mi)

We’re 3/4 of the way through the year! To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 750km right now. So I’m a little behind…

Geek Girl Runner Episode 010
We’ve hit double digits folks! Episode 10 of the GGR podcast includes an ode to my Mom, my Blackmore’s Half-Marathon race report, a training update, emails and shout-outs (including a race report from John Minter, as read by Special Guest Star Snook), a little bit more about sports bras, and information about the Sydney get-together for the Worldwide Festival of Races. I hope you like it!

Show links:
My half-marathon race report
Photos of my 13.1 medal from Dan Clark and me on the race course
Running the Golden Years – Dan Clark’s podcast
Corso La Meta – home of JayDub’s B-HAG Running podcast
Run4Fun 10K on November 10
Lululemon Sports Bras including the Ta Ta Tamer
Sydney WWFoR Unofficial Get-Together
Worldwide Festival of Races
Runners Round Table podcast

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