Experimental Run.

Did I say that I went for a run with the PT on Friday? Hilly 10.5km before brekky? I was BUZZING all day after that!

Despite having a cold and having had not a great sleep, I went out for a run today.

My aims:

• explore the west side of the capital city trail.
• give the new shoes a spin
• give the new sports bra (lululemon Tata Tamer, for those girls/men with moobs interested) and technical undies and lululemon socks a spin
• see how far I could go in my current less than 100% condition.
• do a slow endurance run – aim for 70% of MHR (for me, about 135), which apparently accustoms the body to burning fat. I wanted to see what this would represent in terms of pace.

me, at home, excuse the funny expression, it was a bit glary outside.

Just after I started, my PT ran past and said hello.

I got a bit lost after royal park, and couldn’t find the CCT, then I found it and started again. It was undulating.

The stretch near citylink was grey and concretey and much less pretty than the east side, but there were lots of riders around. I had a lot of trouble finding a toilet or a drinking tap; I was about to squat (I had brought tissues with me) but alas there was no place appropriate.

Then, before I knew it, I was near Costco. I continued past the Icehouse, made a stop for a powerade and a pizzle, and made my way to NewQuay, then past Polly Woodside.

Polly wanna cracker?

I then went past Jeff’s shed and Crown casino. I cursed all the smokers out there 😦 Grrr.

It all got a bit quieter after the bridge over the yarra near Flinders st station.

I was feeling fine, didn’t have much need for snotrags at all, but the glute meds and soles of feet were a bit sore, so I stopped. I found an appealing patch of grass (sans dog poo) to have a breather on.

Me having a breather on the grass. Note smile and sweat, the two go hand in hand.

Having packed my debit card and some cash, I trotted over to 7-11 at fed square to get some coffee big m (protein to ward off doms) and a tram ticket. On the way there, I saw this:

Random Goose.

I wore my stink proudly in the tram. The lululemon t-shirt I had on contains compounds that apparently “eat your stink”. I took a photo of the new shoes.

legs of steel with good shoes.

The verdict:

• Shoes: brilliant. My soles were sore/burny, but that may be due to the fact that I walked around yesterday all day in sandals. Does anyone have any hints on dealing with sore feet? Or is it just acclimatising to the distance?
• Bra: Brilliant. No under-boob chafe, shower was not excruciating.
• Undies, Socks: Ditto
• My “fat burning pace” on the flat, is about 7:20 or 7:30 min kms. But this was not actually a comfortable pace, it felt a bit slow, and I was happy running at 150bpm (bearing in mind that my cold might have had my pulse running a bit higher).

Here is my run. – 11km

After, I met some girlfriends for lunch. My friend, melgazelle, who has been battling with IVF. She was crying when I got there. My other friend had just revealed she was pregnant. Mel is taking it all really hard, baby kegs are exploding everywhere.

It was nice to catch up with my mates. I told them about my recent exercise escapades and they were very proud of me.

I caught up with another friend for afternoon tea, had a good yap.

Now I am a bit spent, the cold has hit and I feel….coldy. Snotty nose, achy. But happy.

Any hints about sore feet will be appreciated. Need to work on this, and get the glutes a bit stronger.

BTW: tips for winners of TBL? I hope Sarah wins. I like her 🙂