More Road Running

So much for the 'longish' run on Sunday. I used the course around my home and thought I'd make a few changes thinking that it would add quite a few kilometres . It was about 4-30pm when I was running and surprisingly hot and humid and I didn't take any water. When I turned and started running on the bike path next to the Bruce Highway I was in the shade of the trees - this helped me so much as I wasn't able to find a tap anywhere to get a drink. I felt like I was running at fairly decent pace but nothing spectacular. When I got to the turn-off for home I had still only run the same time as the normal route which is a bit of a mystery. I didn't want to finish yet but at the same time I was so thirsty - so I agreed with myself I'd run another block around the house near my place. In the end I ran for 53.59 A bit disappointed as I still am yet to do a decent long run since my 18 kms a few weeks ago. I supposed it doesn't matter too much at the moment since I'm not specifically aiming for a race.

Monday afternoon after work I was feeling fresh and energetic so I decided to try and run the course around home again at a fairly quick pace. About half way I needed a toilet break (never happened to me EVER before) which annoyed me because I was feeling great and had a good rhythm going. Not sure how much time I took - never thought to time it! But my unadjusted time was 47.48 which I was fairly happy with. My knee was a little sore afterwards so I iced it last night which I think helped because apart from being a little stiff today it wasn't too bad.

Today I did the same thing but just took it easy. It was pretty windy today which made running difficult but at the same time made it nice and cool. Usually when I finish my runs I take Lara for a small run as a bit of a cool down - its not much of a cool down really because Lara is so excited she practically sprints the whole time. But I noticed this afternoon when running with Lara that the wind on my sweaty shirt was cold - not a clever thing to do, especially when still recovering from the flu. Todays run was done in 48.41

Did a fair bit of thinking on the weekend about what I want to achieve with my running in the future and set myself some goals for next year which I will share at a later date. I find that I need to set myself goals, not just with running but with life in general as I'm the sort of person who can easily lose direction and focus if there isn't a goal to be aimed for.

Catch Up

I'm almost fully recovered from my bout of the flu. I still am a little bit stuffy in the head and croaky voiced but I feel 100% better then what I did this time a week ago. I can't recall having had the flu this bad in a long time. Normally I get the flu at some stage during the year but it never knocks me the way it did this time.

No running done until Wednesday afternoon. I was feeling guilty every single day I didn't run but resisted the temptation. I'm glad I felt guilty though as this means that I've got the running bug again and have the motivation to get out there and do it. I went to jump on the treadmill on Wednesday afternoon but realised its on the blink - so it cant be used until it gets serviced (not happy) This meant if I wanted to do a run I would have to hit the open roads! I don't actually live in Cairns itself I live in one of the newer southern suburbs thats not far from the mountains. So I decided to run around the back of the suburbs towards the mountains and all the rich peoples houses - nice views! I've actually done this run before when I first moved into the house. I like it because its like a mini City to Surf. I think its only a bit over 10km but its got a gradual incline from the start of the run, a mean hill half way, downhill for about 3km and then a steady incline again home. Its a testy run but its a nice mix of crossy country, bitumen and lovely views. Just after you start off from my house you run alongside the Cane headlands for about 500metres - very scary as this is where you see snakes (dead or alive) all the time. In fact, you can hear rustling in the Cane while your running but usually this is just bandicoots scurrying when they hear your footsteps but still you have to keep your wits about you or you're likely to almost step on a snake coiled up in the grass. The first thing I noticed when running was how much my ankles and knees were hurting - especially on the uneven surfaces of grass and gravel. I ended up appreciating when I finally got onto bitumen and bike paths. I ran at a pretty steady pace the whole time and didn't feel like I was going very fast at all. The last 1.5kms is so nasty - its the slightest incline home but just enough to make it hurt and very uncomfortable. I did the run in 48.16 which was very surprising.

On Thursday I decided to take my running gear with me to work and would run along the Cairns Esplanade in the afternoon. For those who have never been to Cairns, the esplanade is not beach its mudflats! Its still pretty but not the picture I think most people have in their minds. There is some nice pics here http://www.cairnsesplanade.com/gallery.html I'm not sure how long the esplanade itself is but after running along there I ran up towards Cairns Centenary Lakes and through the botanical gardens. I really enjoyed this run, not only for the scenery and change in location but the fact there was quite a few other runners out and about as well. It makes you feel good when there are other people out doing it as well - plus the fact it makes you run that little bit faster and ensure that you're not breathing like a racing horse. Definitely a very enjoyable run and one that I'm going to try and do once a week from now on - its a great perve for a guy as well with lots of female tourists in bikinis sunning themselves. Not sure of the distance run but it took me 44.14

Yesterday I just did the run around home again. I felt much better and not even exhausted after the run. I put this down to the fact that I had recovered more from my flu and that I ran it more then a minute slower 49.29

I'm going to have a rest today and tomorrow attempt a longish run. Not sure of the location yet, but there are so many great places around the Cairns area to run - I'm sure I'll find a tough, picturesque place.

Sydney Half Marathon - No Show

I really wanted to go Sydney in a few weeks and do the Half-Marathon and I had every intention of doing it. But I made the decision this morning that I wont be going. I've come down with a bad bout of the flu and its really knocked me at the moment. I felt it coming on Thursday when I had a bit of a sore throat and just didn't feel 100% - stupid me still did a run on Thursday night when I probably should have just rugged up and took some Codral Cold and Flu and lathered myself in Vicks. I woke up Friday morning feeling very ordinary and went to work and could just feel myself getting worse and worse by the hour. By the end of the day I was like a zombie and I came home and collapsed into bed. Yesterday I just spent laying in bed slipping in and out of a comatose like state. Today I feel a little bit better - hence I've even been able to drag myself out of bed onto the computer.

I'm so disappointed that I wont go to Sydney. I was really looking forward to it - but realistically I definitely know now that I'm not ready to run a half-marathon. I've done one decent long run since I've come back to training and I wanted to do another one this weekend. Right now I don't even know when I will be able to get back into training - which is a worry because I've felt like I've got right back into the training groove again. My focus now turns to finding another half-marathon somewhere before the end 0f the year as its one of the goals I set myself at the start of the year.

Thursday.
Kms: 10.4
Time: 50.00