I get knocked down...

"...but I get up again, you ain't never gonna keep me down!"


Ahh, Tubthumping! Love that song.

I gotta get up earlier! It's January, it's hot - it ain't pretty. I should have worn the tank, not the tee. Live and learn.

Liquid awesome!

The scenery was pretty though - I love where I run (you can smell the sea air!)

Calves were stiff and sore this morning. This could be because I did 20 minutes of pool walking/running yesterday (have you ever tried to run in the pool - it's hysterical!). Also could have been because I was actually running a bit faster (who knew?).

On the brighter side, my hips didn't bother me. Yay!

"We'll be singing, when we're winning..."

Get ready....

So, I decided after last week's run that I would "upgrade" my entry at the Sydney Running Festival from the 4km Family Fun Run (/walk) to the "proper run" - the 9km Bridge Run. Eeek! But I figure if I'm going to drive 3 hours to Sydney and run, then bugger it - I'm going to really run! And I'm running in memory of Sophie, my friend's 12 year old daughter, who died earlier this year from a brain tumour. Every day I'm out there running, I'm glad I'm able to. You can help by donating at my page:  http://bsrf2011.gofundraise.com.au/page/McCarthyI

My calves were sore after my one hour triumph last week. But I did some "intervals" on Tuesday anyway - 3 min running "fast" and 2 min recovery. Felt pretty good! But my calves were pretty sore after that. So, on Thursday I just ran for half an hour - 3.82km in 32 min (8:23min/km av pace). Not fast, not long, but still out there. And I saw wildlife:

It's a heron...

On Sunday, I was torn between seeing if I could run close to 9km (or at least make 8km) and taking it a bit easier seeing how I've increased my mileage the last two weeks and I should be "tapering" (LOL - can't believe I'm using those words in a sentence about me!!) and taking it easy.

Well, I've decided I'm hopeless at setting my pace (even with Runkeeper telling me every km what it is) because I obviously went out fast (7:15 min/km for the first two km). But I had nothing left in the tank after about 5.5km. It was a bit warmer, sun was out, my mouth was a desert and to be really honest, I was feeling a little dizzy. So I maxed out at 6.6km, 52 min (7:53 min/km). I need to learn to take it slow on low runs, or they aren't going to be very long!!

Been reading Run Like a Mother - fabulous writing, wonderful tips and great for keeping me up late at night as I read "just another chapter".

Less than a week until race day!!!

Short little bursts

Back to the ocean this morning. But man, I thought it was supposed to be winter!! It has been quite warm these last few days and this morning was around 16 degrees!

What I did:
10 minute warm-up of steady jogging, 30 seconds of "sprinting", then 1 min 30 sec of jogging (or if things got real bad, a short walk, then jogging!). 10 minutes of steady jogging.

3.76km in 30:05 minutes, average pace of 8:00min/km.

How I felt:
This felt really hard. Because of the intervals? I've really only been running (sporadically, at best) for a few months - but I still need to walk occasionally. Is this bad? I do try to push myself and only walk for as long as it takes to get my breath back.

Playlist highlights:
Whip It - Devo
Hitchhike - Marvin Gaye

Inspiration:
Dealing with muscle soreness article - I needed that!!!

Intervals

Actual running location! Pretty nice, hey?

10 degrees at 7:45am this morning - a perfect temperature for running!

What I did:

Warmed up with 10 minutes of steady jogging.  Tried a few "fast" intervals of 20 seconds this morning, interspersed with 2 minutes of jogging. 5 minute slower cooldown. 30 min, 46 seconds; 3.77km, average pace 8.09 min/km (getting closer to that magical 7...pace!).

How I felt:

I felt better than Sunday! Got into a nice rhythm. Tried to focus on keeping my upper body relaxed, arms not crossing over and keeping past my hips. Tried to push it a bit for the intervals, but not too much.

Playlist highlights:

Let's Get It Started - Black-eyed Peas (and the beat keeps running, running...)

Supermassive Black Hole - Muse

Inspiration:

Blackmores Sydney Running Festival Videos - have a look at Peter Brett's Correct Running Technique

Ease Into 10K - Week 3 Day 1

Not a bad place for a Saturday morning run!

What I did:

5 minute walking warmup, 5 minutes running/1 minute walking x5, 5 minute walking cooldown.

How I felt:

I tried to take it a bit slower than last workout where I really pushed the running pace. I think the GPS goes a bit haywire, because it says my running pace (8.12min/km) was slower than my walking pace (8.09min/km)! I kept running up the big hill, so I know that was pretty slow, but seriously my walking was NOT faster!

After watching Chi Running videos on YouTube, I focussed on landing midfoot and keeping my stride short. Definitely feels better.

Playlist highlights:

All Fired Up - Pat Benetar

Rock This Party - Bob Sinclar

How far I went:

A total of 4.79km today!

Inspiration: