Dead MP3 Player

Tonight I have found out that you should always check your batteries on your mp3 player before setting off on your run. I had planned on running 8km tonight and about 1km into my run the music stopped - I had to run the next 7km without any tunes just staring at the treadmill monitor watching the km's tick by. No wonder this was one of my toughest runs! Its amazing what difference music makes - especially on the treadmill. Its not like you can watch the pretty scenery pass by.

I was pretty fired up for my run tonight. The new series of 'The Contender' has started on PayTV. I'm not normally a boxing fan but for some reason this show really appeals to me. It might be that whole 'eye of the tiger' thing that motivates us all. After I had watched the episode tonight I was itching to do my run. Its funny how you think you're going to do your run easy but after 5mins you feel like you're ready to collapse. The body is a mysterious machine.

Train Smarter, Not Harder

I read somewhere once that any training you do today benefits you in 2 weeks time. Keeping that in mind I ran a hard 60minutes tonight - any training I do from now until C2S is just going to be easy sessions aimed at keeping whatever fitness level I now have. Its great having a treadmill at home - I spent the whole day just putting off my run until finally at 10pm tonight I bit the bullet and got myself motivated enough to jump on and just do it. Hard to believe but after 60mins on the treadmill at 10pm at night, on my back patio, in the middle of winter I was covered in sweat like you can't imagine. Surely thats going to have to be of some benefit to me come C2S.

I was reading the Brisbane Sunday Mail today and really wish I was still living in Toowoomba. I never got to run the Bridge to Brisbane and would love to do it one year - its just a shame its so close to C2S. Unfortunately living in Cairns now means that travelling for a fun run can get pretty pricey. I think the staff of Jetstar might get to know me pretty well in the next few years!

Speaking of Toowoomba, I am glad that I managed to get out of there before I needed to vote on the drinking of sewerage. This idea was getting thrown around even before I left - at the time I thought it was a good idea, but the more I've thought about it the more I've realised I don't think I could do it. Its a lot to get your head around and I don't think I'd enjoy my cold glass of water near as much if I was thinking about where it came from just before I took a big mouthful.

First Decent Long Run

I did my first decent long run in over 3mths tonight and much to my surprise and delight it didn't kill me and I felt pretty strong at the end of it. Thats given me a real boost to my confidence - at least now I know I can actually finish C2S and maybe sub 75 is a realistic target. I did 75:44 last year with just 6 weeks training and that 6 weeks training was the first and only training I had done since the previous years C2S. This year I'm only going to have 4/5 weeks training but at least I've got all the hard yakka I did late last year and early on in the year behind me.

Its nice reading everyones blogs again and its a great motivational tool for me. In my 3month hiatus I didn't even read blogs - I was tempted to come and read them but because I was sitting on my backside doing nothing I thought I'd torture myself with guilt reading how well everyone was doing. I'm not a competitive person but back early on in the year it was great measuring and comparing my results with everyone - now its a case of everyone having taken 2 steps forward and I've taken one back. I was slowly crawling my way from novice to intermediate and now I'm back to where I started once more - its nothing to beat myself up over but it still frustrates me like you can't believe.

Starting To Get Excited

I got my C2S race bib in the mail today - Green 12222. I missed out on red because my time last year was 75:44. I've set my goal this year to sub 75 which may be a little ambitious but who really knows- heartbeak hill will have the final say in my time I dare say. I've been doing a 30min run on a 5 incline on the treadmill each week so hopefully I'll at least be a litte prepared. I'm a big kid when it comes to C2S - I was all excited when I got home and saw the envelope in the mailbox and I've read the brochure about 4 times. I can't wait for the run but I'd give anything to have another 6 weeks prep for it. I feel like I'm back at Uni and trying to cram for an exam. You know you should have been doing the work months before so you were prepared but now you're trying to fit everything into the shortest amount of time available.

I'm off to Best and Less tomorrow after work. Going to go and buy the cheapest and daggiest Tracksuit available so I can sit and be a tragic fashion victim before the race. It was absolutely freezing last year!

I Continue To Prepare

I'm giving serious thought to heading up to Townsville next weekend and running the 10.5K for the Running Festival. The last competitive run that I did was back in early April - Cairns Road Runners 10K and I was a bit disappointed with the time 46:14. Back at that stage I was going great guns and was confident that I could crack 45mins - especially given that my three 5K's had all been well under 21mins. As usual though I had gone out too hard and was really knocked up by the 8K mark. I think if I go and do the run in Townsville I will have a fair idea of just how well I will go in C2S. Not sure if thats a good thing or bad thing though!

Its a great time in the year for Running. So many events all over the place. A week after the C2S there is the Pyramid Race in Gordonvale (just south of Cairns) http://www.pyramidrace.com.au I actually grew up in Gordonvale and always said I'd love to do the race one year. Well not this year - maybe next. I'm struggling to run on the flat at the moment so can't imagine how it would be running up a 900metre mountain. There is a Cross Country race that day though so depending on how I pull up from C2S I might attempt that.

The training is going steady. I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things and not gasping for air after 5mins of continuous running. I've had a couple of rounds of golf the last few weeks as well which I've found is giving me aches and pains in strange parts of the body. Its funny the longer I go without playing golf the better I play - why can't it be like that with running?

On a totally unrelated running topic - I've made it half way through Series 3 of my 24 DVD Box Set. I watched the very first series of 24 when it was on TV and really enjoyed it but never watched any other series - not sure why. I started watching the current series on TV a few weeks ago and absolutely loved it and since have gone out and bought Series 2, 3 and 4. I watched Series 4 already (yes I am working backwards) and find it very difficult to limit myself to watching just one episode a night.

Return From Being AWOL

Well I've neglected this place for the last 3 mths - a couple of reasons why: A. I had moved house which turned out to be a bigger ordeal then I had thought B. I had 4 weeks of being quite sick (thyroid problem) C. Little to no running done in the last 3mths due to A and B.

Its hard to believe but since mid April I've managed to put on a couple of kilos - I dont know how because its not like I ate junk food in that time. I never really needed to lose weight before I started running but it was nice to trim down. Obviously because I didn't get to train very much I've lost all my condition and aerobic capacity. In a matter of 3mths I am right back to where I started - so strange and incredibly disappointing. Its been such a struggle to try and get back into running now that I realise I have to work so hard to get back to where I was before all this.

I missed out on going to Sydney for the Half-Marathon because of my illness. The next big goal was the Gold Coast Half Marathon but I wasn't in any sort of shape to even attempt that. I was recovered from my illness by about the first or second week of June but by then I was really struggling with motivation. I think I was doing a 40/50min run once a week if I was lucky and maybe 3 or 4 quick 15min runs with the dog around the block.

I was in a real running rut and even contemplated giving it away alltogther. But two of my mates reminded me a couple of weeks ago that we had commited to City 2 Surf earlier on in the year and that we had to honour that. Its no secret that I love the City 2 Surf so I decided I needed to really smarten up my act and pull it together so I could run a respectable time.

One of the things I've found really hard since I moved into the house is that its tough going for a run when I get home from work. I'm not the type of person who can go straight from work to gym to do a run on the treadmill - I need to come home and chill for half an hour before attempting any sort of physical exertion. Unfortunately for me my house is about 15mins from the city - so when I come home from work to go back into the city to gym thats another 30minute round trip and before you know it the night is over. So that leaves doing a road run - which I'm afraid I just don't enjoy. I dont care much for it (sorry running purists) - all that fresh air, feeling one with nature is just a big load of crap to me. But I understand it has its appeal to the majority of people.

So all this time that I was trying to work out how to get back into some sort of regime the clock was counting down to City 2 Surf and I still hadn't started any serious training. So I finally bit the bullet - I bought a treadmill. $3000 later I'm the proud owner of a snazzy new Tready. It didnt arrive until 2 weeks ago - so I've got 4 weeks to train for City 2 Surf! Not exactly ideal preparation.

The first night I got it I thought I'd have a crack at running 10kms in 52.30 which I thought was a realistic goal (only 3mths ago I ran a 10k PB of 46.14) how wrong was I. I was knocked up at 6.5kms and conceded defeat and quit. So its been a battle since then. But I've been consistent with my training and seen quite an improvement over the last week or so. I'm just so shocked that a 3mths break can result in such dramatic consequences.

Anyway, City 2 Surf here I come.