Great Australian Run 15km.

Race report.

• Hubby drove me to the venue, the dog came in the car with us. She started sooking when we got to Albert Park lake, seeing all the other dogs out on walkies. I had some oat clusters as brekky on the way there, they seem to agree with me.
• It was drizzling a bit when I got there. I checked in my bag with the help of a very cheerful volunteer.
• Met up with Shells and Jay. Shells ran her own race, but Jay (thankfully) stuck with me.
• Shells broke off early on.
• Fairly uneventful first 4 km, trying to lose the run-walkers. There was a particularly annoying skinny blonde girl who we thankfully lost early.
• Some random walkers chose to yell out “pick up your pace, you’re so lazy” to us. To which I very maturely replied “Faaark off’
• At 5km it began to bucket it down. The rainfall and the strains of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers were very helpful.
• 5-10km was ok, I felt every degree of the slow incline around the back of the Tan. Wombat was waiting near the top of the incline and I gave him a sweaty hug – thanks Wombat.
• The run down Anderson Street hill was nice, a good chance to let go.
• From 10km onwards it really started to hurt….my butt, my lateral hammies and my feet. My form started to really go to hell and every kilometre seemed longer than the last.
• At about 13.5km, I jumped up onto a kerb and nearly hit the wall. Some major whimpering was taking place. A marshall asked me if I was alright. Jay got me back on track and I ran the rest.
• Finished in a smidge under 2 hours. Which is slooooow.

I am not proud of:

• my time.
• The fact that I did not train appropriately for this event; the longest run I did before was 8km. I used the fact that I had already previously run this distance as an excuse.
• I felt I held Jay back.

I am proud of:

• The fact that I did not take a walk break outside of my little hissy fit (and  then it was only about 10 metres) and the drinks stops.
• The fact that I fronted up and did it.
• The fact that, though I whimpered a lot, I did not complain.

What I have learned

• I can’t fake it…this distance needs proper training.
• I am not as fit as I want to be, and as fit as I once was.
• I now have a new resolve to get fitter and healthier. To not be the slow one, the weak link or somesuch.
• The power of positive thinking through the hard bits of a race – I thought about hard times in my life and how I had overcome them, and that this was nothing in comparison. I have been getting down on myself again recently and I need to think more positively about things. Think more positively about myself.

And now for more deep and meaningful insights…..my arse hurts!!!

Quack, quack.

My, ’tis good weather for the ducks.

• Busy and stressful week at work. Diagnosed somebody young with a metastatic (widespread), aggressive cancer. Upsetting for all.
• Hubby in a bit of a morose mood, me in a foul one (they tend to feed off each other). We are working it out.
• we had a bit of an argument yesterday and, luckily or unluckily, we were at Highpoint. Rather than saying a lot of hurtful stuff to each other, we went in different directions by ourselves. Had a (single) scoop of icecream (toffee walnut yummmm), not very good but much more substantial damage could have been done. I then went and shopped. I bought a pair of uber cute flats from Mimco which would be good for schlepping about in Paris. I also bought a shirt n skirt from Trenery, kind of like the older, pudgier sister of Country road (they go up to size 20). But nice stuff was bought.
• Hence, mollified, hubby and I have been at peace.
• We have been doing Spanish for travel lessons together, and there is some talk afoot of doing Salsa classes.
• Shells and I had grand plans for 3 laps around Albert Park lake (approx 15km) but got rained out. We then had grand plans to do 90 minutes on the tready but about 23 minutes in, after all the internal “you can do it’s”, I cracked the shits and slammed the stop button. I then got us some tickets for body step. Shells held up admirably, despite the fact that it was a new release and she had not done step since circa 1996.
• After, went for brekky at red box. After some good exercise, I decided to sod the poached eggs and have the french toast with marscapone, macadamias and bacon. It slid down a treat.
• I don’t know if I blogged about my haircut and dye, but I have recently had a fab job done. The only issue is that, when I sweat, the dye leaks. Not good. So now my exercise tops have an orangey tinge, which hopefully the omo will remove.
• Have decided that Ian and I need a nice weekend together on the 5th and 6th of december. Some ideas that have been bandied about are thus: Trip to Vue grande at Queenscliff (expensive), trip to Canberra to see the works from the Musee D’orsay (will be there in the flesh come January), holiday with the hound, stay at home but go for a massage and then take the dog for a swim at the beach (which beach will accept dogs?). Ideas would be invited.
• Left hammy/butt still giving me some jip, not enough to stop me. Have been stretching very religiously.
• Am cooking mum, hubby and sis a lamb roast tonight.
• will sign off now.

lazee daze

I am getting in practice for Spain by having a siesta.

Unfortunately, we found out last night that Ian failed his exam….he will have to re-sit the exam in May next year. Plus all the after hours tutes he needs to go to and the dinners I need to cook for him…..have told him that I will support him.

Oh, well..

Today, went for Pilates class. Then wandered around my mate Brunswick. Found myself a nice pair of strappy silver sandals, down from $199 to to $69 – yeh!

Have been spending most of my time arranging stuff for Spain trip. Booking hotels, etc….very exciting. Spain hotels are very cheap, whereas Parisian hotels are very expensive. We will be staying near Boulevard St. Germain, on the Rive Gauche.

Did my first good going interval session on the tready on Weds, felt really good about it. Nice, short, sharp and shiny. Think I will start doing some pool running also, now the weather is a bit hotter.

I think I said previously that I have been reading a book called weight loss for food lovers? Well I have been following what is in there (mostly the bits about eating stuff when you really feel like it) and have been quite afraid of gaining weight….got on the scales this morning and appear to have lost about a kilo…..could be all fluid…..but encouraging.

Went for spanish lesson on weds evening, kind of easy given that I have studied Italian.

Hubby on call today…hoping to be able to get out to dinner tonight….fingers crossed.

Tomorrow, off for a run with Shells, the first in a while.

It’s on, It’s off, Now it’s back on!

Well the Spain holidays were looking a bit shaky at one stage, hubby was not going to be able to get leave and we could not change the flights. So after a few arguments, with hubby being put in the doghouse once or twice, we thought laterally and cancelled our flights with Singapore and got flights with Emirates….

Hopefully nothing else happens.

Did all my christmas shopping yesterday…I felt very proud of myself. So proud, in fact, that I bought myself a new pair of brooks adrenaline runners, thorlo socks, YSL mascara and clinique lippy. Plus I got some pressies for some other peeps! And great ones for hubby (his birthday is pretty close to christmas).

Today, went for TW training with Shells and Jay. We did the last sector of the trail, very steep and tough in the heat. What a workout! Silly me, I only bought a 350 mL bottle of gatorade to consume en route 😳 so I had to swig from the ladies camelbaks. So dutifully I went and got myself a camelbak from Kathmandu. Not particularly cheap but what price hydration?

Tonight, a dinner at Baba Levantine in Brunny, amazing food. Lovely dessert.

Melbn Kyup

I was just reading a wordpress blog, thingsboganslike.wordpress.com. There are a few bogans, or cubs (cashed up bogans) there at Melbourne Cup. Spending 2 months wages. Tres chic. Had a giggle.

Am enjoying the day off, have been working on my paper to submit to a journal. Have cooked a moussaka for dinner and am thinking about baking some cookies. Have not made cookies in a while. Actually since I was about 13 in home eco classes.

Spent last weekend in Sydney (hence the subtitle of this blog is Sydney weekend 2 of 2). Was support crew for hubby at the second of his exams. We stayed in Coogee, the Syd homebase for the BTB (Beautiful tanned bogan). It was Halloween, so all the boganettes took the opportunity to dress up in their tightest, shortest dresses and highest heels, and then don a sailor hat (sailor tart), devils horns (devil tart) or bunny ears (bunny tart). We went to the Beach Palace hotel for dinner, because hubby didn’t want anything too upmarket for dinner. It would appear we overshot, because there was a fight/near glassing at 9:30pm! We then picked up and left to more salubrious premises.

I did something that I should not have done, that is Sunbake. I have horrible burns to my front calves. Yeow. I am stoopid. On the upside, my upper thighs saw the light of day for the first time since circa 1987.

The supersheilas (that is all one word lower case) have registered for Trailwalker. We need moolah and we need it now. It is for a good cause blahblahblah you all know that…… And we are planning on going on all night. I am still shuddering at the thought.

Am going to do a step class this evening. Unfortunately the intervals didn’t make prime time last week……but I have my hubby back to look after me so now excuses.

I am reading a book called weight loss for food lovers, by a psychiatrist called George Blair-West. It is quite good. Quite interesting. At the end of the day, it is much more about Calories in vs Calories out, but I am learning that the food bit is much more important than the exercise bit.

Am going for a haircut next week, what I would like is a shortish but flattering hairstyle that looks fabulous with minimum effort. Yeah, right.

I think that our neighbours don’t think we are looking after our dog properly, they think she is bored and think we are evil because we leave her while we go to work. This has stirred up a bit of guilt in me but seriously, I have grown up with hounds, so has hubby, and all of them were left at home during the day. As long as they don’t trash everything, they are probably ok. The dog certainly seems happy.

Shells, Rugers, where art thou?