What dreams are made of...

...early hour training (think up at 4AM to get ready), many hours of cross training, sweat, dodgy back, ITBS, Voltaren tablets and emugel, GU, Powerade, grossly enlarged calves, and...finally - that finisher medal!!!! I did it!

 

That medal...

And the T-shirt too, but who cares about the shirt and medal when you have, now on record, done your rookie marathon! I am so proud of myself! It is finally out of the way! It is kind of fun to do something just for the sake of doing it....just because I can. I have massive tree stumps of legs, but still fit for a marathon. And the greatest thing is that - I really enjoyed the run. I really did. I thought I will slog it out but no, it was, just, fun! I was slow, but, you know, when you are running with ITBS, any form of running is a feat.

Here is Lazy's review of the race:

Photo from the Sydney running festival site...no I didn't take this pic...my hands were too sweaty and I didn't bring my camera...

0-5KM - that was the point where I decided to enjoy the race by stay at a slow pace. Slow. 6:10min/k. At this point I didn't feel my ITBS, but deep down I know it will flare up at some stage, probably at the 28KM mark, again. My friend wanted to get a 4:30 finish at this point and we were on track.

5-10KM - we just past the bridge and onto Mrs Macquarie's chair and had a toilet break. I also had a GU at the 7KM mark. GU tasted so bad, but my body was doing well at this point. We pushed to a sub 6min pace at one point, before my friend said to slow down or we will die at the top of Oxford St (10KM).

10-15KM - felt great once again, pushing sub-6min pace....and then my IT band flared up. Ouch! My friend reminds me that, the less you think about it, the less the pain will be. Not sure that work because the pain was killing my form. I was in tears under my sunglasses, but trying hard to laugh it out. I also had my second GU at this point (14KM), and that awful taste somehow masked the pain (well, either that or the Voltaren gel working)…

15-25KM - that was the most, awful, slog of a course. It was ins and outs of the Centennial Park. So awful, as if we were running an endless maze. The heat was also increasing, and every drink station just felt so far away...Actually one of the smartest thing I did at this race was carrying a bag of lollies (chomped them all down by 20KM) and a bottle of Powerade. With a drink in hand means I can take a sip whenever I need to. I was planning to take a GU they offer at the table at 20KM, but turns out we were too far behind the main pack and they were all taken by then. Luckily I had my own stash and held one ready to consume at the next 5KM water station.

25-30KM - once we left that horrid park we sped down to Oxford St. I will never view Centennial Park with the same affection again… It was a lovely downhill run after, and seeing the 30KM has never felt so sweet...

30-35KM - again we kept seeing our friends on the other side (the returning leg). We can see the strain on their faces, but they were going at a crackling pace! I was thinking whether we were going too slow because we were chatting and really, enjoying the run! But thought - eh, stuff it. I don't want to push myself to the point of vomiting. No need. I'm here to participate, and not to race. If I am really racing I will have a name on my bib.

35KM-42.195KM - on the finish leg. I remember doing the half a couple of years ago that this leg was nasty. Today this leg felt really good. Unfortunately my friend had really bad cramps so I was forced to leave him behind (eventually he finished only 7 minutes behind me - how awesomely fast was that catch up?). I slowly trotted away...At this point my IT band was hurting to the point where I feel no pain. Around the 38KM I was in this void of bliss. My pace doubled....towards 41km I was flying, eating up everyone in front of me. I felt amazing! And then I saw the finish line...400m to go...then heard my friends calling out....and I am done!

Waratah Man (left) (courtesy of my friend's FB album). I have no idea how he ran a marathon in that foamy thing under 30C heat...

Anyways - so will I do the marathon again? Yes, most definitely. My aim is to do a 3:30 in Hong Kong (HK) in 2015, and my next goal to realise that aim is to do a sub 100min half marathon in HK in February. I will do some club races in between, but for now, I think we all deserve to have a nice rest and enjoy the festivities.

My dear family and friends came and support and threw me a picnic afterward. The food...bread and salmon roll, muffins...everything is so delicious....the booze was so calming...brrrr……I really had a great time today!

And so ends this period in Lazy's blog....until the next run/paddle/(insert random sport)/ race/adventure.

 

Carbo loading part 3

I weighted myself this morning and boy I am 1.8KG heavier. That's a lot given I am of below average height. I also drank coke at 6am in the morning - which is, mad, because, if I remembered correctly, the last time I drank anything that sweet in the morning was when I was still drunk at the Cross during my partying days...that was seriously long time ago, and I don't miss those party bohemian crazy ra-ra days a bit.

I started the day with a short 3 minute sprint. Unfortunately it only became a minute because I was so out of breath (yes I was supposed to be out of breath) and the last 2 minutes was a slower jog back to the starting point. The sprint was partly for maximum glycogen load, partly to feel what it feels like to run at 7:20AM, and most importantly, to test out my race gear. I decided to stay with my status quo.


Ok I am all set to go...

 

It does take a while to find shorts that don't ride up or give you chaffing during a run (mine are Puma...), and shoes that will allow you to survive a marathon...mines are Saucony Kinvara 4 and I love them. I previously had the Mirage and I love them too but they were a tad heavy.

 

  

 

I also planned to wear 2XU short sleeves compression top, to prevent my armpits chaffing from my club race top. No, compression gear don't make you run faster...

 

Carbo loading part 2

So my growing list of notoriously naughty food continues....

Today I am onto Cherry Ripe. It is the only chocolate bar that I can manage to consume in its entirety. Apparently it contain 32grams of carbohydrate too, so what a beautiful partnership it is with this carb-loading regime.

Not much to report on today except coconut water made me a bit sick....so tomorrow I am swapping that with coke.

I am also onto Sustagen as well. It's slightly more tasty than those whey-sports-powder drinks. Cheaper, too.

Oh and apple is carb too...just not as...palatable as Cherry Ripe...

 

Cherry Ripe and Apple - both high in carb, but varies in palatability...

  

 

Sustagen...made famous for feeding the trapped miners in Beaconfield, Tasmania, Australia in 2006 while they were trapped in the mine shaft for two weeks...fyi...

Carbo loading part 1

Today marks the first day of carb-loading. I started off my day with choc almonds and cakes.....perhaps that is not the ideal way to start the regime as I felt ill by 11am and did not want to eat at all until 2:30pm....I felt sick.

Then after some...unloading....I made myself ate some quinoa and rice, and later a couple of bananas. I feel a bit better. Perhaps it was the over the top chocolate goodness that got into me or the sushi over indulgence from last night? I just felt ill.....and all I crave right now are just plain tasteless food....

 

No no, I didn't eat these cuties - they were just cute so I posted them here... 

It all seem so real now

Today I headed into Town Hall to collect my bib. When I looked at the word "MARATHON" on my bib, suddenly, reality sunk in. It's real.

Then I had a mini anxiety/freak out/arghhhh moment. I had to sit down for 20 minutes to calm myself down.

ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

And then I started thinking about my training since April. All the races and events that I have attempted in the past 4+years. All comes down to this word on my bib. Wow. I am almost there. I am almost there to complete my first marathon.

Good on ya Lazy...

Then a sudden calmness decended upon me...ommmmmmmm...

In the company of men

Lazy decided to keep her promise and went out for a “jog” with the work crew. It was my first run with the boys and boy was I smashed! >,>” Three things I noticed: (a) My Sunday training group runs in a much slower, steadier beginners pace; (b) I run a hell lot slower when I am by myself, and (c) Men run faster than women in general (sorry chickadees…) – assuming both gender are on a similar fitness level. Anyway given I am used to that slow, steady training pace (9km/h), suddenly I am running at 13km/h over 7+Km - so it comes to no surprise that I nearly sh*t myself. The heat also got into me too.

Anyway, so that was my run with the work crew. I will definitely return next week post-marathon. I mean, come on, you don’t run with people who are worse than you to improve right?

Chilled out Sunday

Thanks to ITBS I didn't run today, so instead I went out for a casual paddle on the 6-man - casual in the sense that we paddle over to a cafe for a coffee....hence this session is named - "the Sunday Coffee Run". It’s nice to be out on the water during the day – it helps to maintain my sanity, at the same time, maintaining my cardio fitness through some low impact movements. I enjoyed every minute of it. There is something about looking at water that makes you go ommmmmmm….

After our leisurely paddle, we head over to Marrickville for brunch and marche action. Being a ‘burb Bogan, Lazy has never ventured to that part of town before, and I loved it. I managed to pick up some fresh vegetables and soda bread for my carbo loading from this Thursday. 2 loaves for 10 dollars – bargain! I love soda bread….:)…I also saw where Reverse Garbage is too!

And what a way to end a Lazy Sunday…no running involved muhahaha!

 

Reverse Garbage

Flat Friday

Today I said bye bye to weights until October. I will miss my routine du matin, again, but it is fine...partly because I cannot lift much these days. My deadlift load has almost decreased by 50% since my back strain, which I now suspect is ITBS related.

I was meant to run with the running crew at work but I am too tired, and I am not prepared to do a session when my body clearly needs rest. I guess five days of straight conditioning has worn me down, along with the endless list of erroneous things I do for fun. I might join them next Tuesday for an easy 7km pre-marathon run. But for now, I plan to just rest.

...le chien est d'accord...

 

 

9 days to go...:) 

10 more days...

It’s Thursday – 10 more days till the day. I have already pared back my training. My ITBS is still giving me grief. Imagine this constant mild numbness on the side of your leg - it doesn’t stop me from a gentle jog though (with my dog, say), but it’s annoying and I know I needed to rest more.

Talking about numbness, it is perhaps a good time to start numbing my senses with the course:

http://vimeo.com/42029320

It’s kind of scary looking at this eerily familiar course (aka "Sneak Preview" last Sunday) in fast mode. Ironically it made the course looked slower and longer….

On the 12 days of....

So 12 days to go before my rookie run. I know it’s not big…deal…………I am well aware that tens of thousands of people do marathons annually, so it is not a big deal. But for someone just starting out (both as a runner AND and a marathoner) it's really a big deal.
I always admired people that do marathons on a regular basis. It is a mark of human endurance - both physical and mental endurance. The focus and concentration required is immense. It hard enough to run for that long, let alone concentrating for so so long, and be so motivated to repeat that process over years and years.

And the training behind that...Every Sunday you give up your sleep-ins and crawl out of bed at 4AM to be ready to run at 5:30AM. Every other days you forgo the air conditioned bus, and run home carrying a big fat backpack.

And the constant niggles here and there…you almost forget what it feels like to be pain-free!

But I am glad my training is over for now. These last one to two weeks will be focused on rest and getting my body ready.

On the day we were recommended to follow the 4:15 pacer like ducklings. The reason is that he didn’t want us rookies to go out too hard (from the sheer excitements of the race
) and hit our heads on the concrete at the 10Km mark.

ITB = I Totally Bombed

...well not really...I did ok actually. It was just the last 7 km of the 35/6 km that bombed me. In fact I was doing fine today (blessed with cool weather) and had the perfect rhythm and momentum and was happy with my form: until we turned back from the Harbour Bridge and my knee felt numb.

…as if someone had just Taser my knee. It turns out that awful feeling is Iliotibial Band Syndrome or simply abbreviated as ITBS or THE ITB, a common symptom amongst long distance runners and cyclers. It is an inflamed tendon along the side of your leg, and that seriously hurts. I guess it is the result of Lazy not doing her daily foam roller exercises... I did however manage to crawl my way to the finish at a North Sydney. My coach gave me some Voltaren gel and so the pain somehow was masked in time for the massive hill that greeted us towards the end.

Anyway when I got home I discovered two blisters on each of my foot. One is a bloody pus and the other a clear one. Totally grossed out. I shouldn't have ignored that scratchy pain on my foot earlier today...on a positive note, I know exactly where I need to tape on the day.

Given all the overused injuries that has been appearing the last few weeks of my training program, I won't be completing the 20km next week. I plan to focus on stretching, mobility, and recovery. Hello yoga, gentle gym and swimming.



After today’s run I kicked back to watch Kickass 2. Awesome movie. Violent, but it is good.

And no movie is complete with a hot chocolate. Yum…I totally deserve something decadent today he he.

Saturday at the Polls

I decided to resume my blogging today, since its Election Night and we are getting a new PM, who happened to have done the Iron Man challenge...I think that fact alone is impressive enough. Anyway it’s one of those nights where everybody is an expert on politics. Although I am getting political fatigue from work talks, I do like to know the swings and results so decided to blog with the ABC blasting on the background. It’s nice to learn the names of different electorates…



 

 

Since I haven’t been really training this week I haven't blogged since Monday. I have missed my routine - like - suddenly - I started waking up at 5AM feeling rather purposeless...so sadly, I picked up my notebook and get an early start on work. Sad.

 

On a more positive note, my back is healing well. The pain has not disappeared, but the numbness has disappeared and I no longer feel so debilitated. I know it's there though – for example, when I sneeze I feel that pain pinged in my head. I doubt it will go away in time for the marathon on the 22nd September, but I know it’s not permanent and it is just taking time to heal. Time, baby time. It’s always time, isn’t it?

 

So as per my previous post, during my rest week I have been walking/chin-upping/dog walking. I even managed to do a shuffle-run with my obese dog (I think she might have slimmed down a bit too…). Well recall my earlier post on my work pedometer challenge? Well turns out it was such a motivation for me to go and walk my dog. As this week was a rehab week for me (i.e. no gym means 9600 steps less for me) I forced myself to do at least 5km with her every evening. Today in particular I did 10km with her (morning and evening), so she is looking very tired tonight. I wanted to make sure I achieve at least 20K steps per day.

I thought I will do some stretches on my mat, but my (tired) dog took over it.

 

On a social note, I was invited to a surprise birthday lunch for a dear friend of mine today. The place was Limani’s at Narrabeen. It was so nice to be with my friends again. I felt like work and training has put me out of touch with people since April. I think I will managed it better for the next marathon. It’s just the first time that is and will be a shocker.

Limani's special menu. Bargain.

 

Toblerone Pate slice with ice cream and glace cherry...perfect for carb loading...(sure...)

 

Tomorrow will be the Sneak Preview. i.e. a rehearsal for the marathon. I am confident I can complete the course without any dramas.

Missing routine

I already miss my conditioning class every morning…I miss the routine. But my back still hurts so looking after me is the priority here. So to keep myself in shape I did a 5KM walk at lunch time. Naturally I stopped by at the chin up bar as per usual to keep my muscles in reasonable shape. Seriously - running eats away your hard earned muscles and fats......

On the happier side, since I am not going to class in the morning, I get to go to a leisurely paddling session on Friday morning on the one man.
Paddling is also a low impact workout that won't cause any grief on my back. It’s a nice, leisurely way to slowly get back to paddling too. It is, after all, one of my favourite sport.

Surviving Mondayitis

I decided to take a week off my official conditioning session and treat it as a take it easy week. I mean, since I won’t be able (or allowed) do any oly lifts this week or until my back heals, there is no point of me going to the gym. I will resort to my own programming. If it work out well I might end up taking the entire September off so I will be energised for the run. I want to be in race mode this Sunday for the Sneak Preview. In fact, I am treating this week as a rehearsal to the marathon on the 22 September.
There are some conditionings you can DIY san the main equipment, such as sit ups, lunges, squats, push ups (my favourite) and planks. I also have a 12kg kettlebell and a skip rope. What is missing is a strict discipline. Hopefully I can maintain that...:p
Anyhoo, today is my rest day, and I will make the most out of it :)

Bungled Balmain Run

Today's run is called the Balmain Bungle. It is basically the Bay Run, and some ins and outs making up 30-31km. In theory it is a neat loop of the inner west. In practice it was a tough slog of flat terrain.

It was particularly difficult for me because I am useless on flats (a bit like the Pegasus, if we are talking about canoes...). I usually catch up with the crew when we going up hills but there were not much hills today. It’s good as it forced me to speed up more, but it was tough. And I was also in pain today. Very-bad-pain. I don't exactly know how I ended up getting a lower back pain (some ratio of gym:weight:stepped on a stick while walking dog – the GP ended up saying it’s a strain and it’s inflamed…), but boy I was out of gas today. From the beginning of the run I was feeling it. Not only I got lost around Balmain (because I was lagging behind so much), but I lost the rest of the crew. I ended up tagging along another crew and got out of the Balmain maze. Even then I was struggling with the pain that came with every step. I had to cut my run short of the 30KM target today. Quite unfortunate, but it was the right decision.

Despite the pain I find it to be a "positive" experience, in a sense that I get an idea of what could happen on the day. I could be in this sort of pain. And I know Nurofen doesn't help me dealing with the pain. I have decided that, given Sydney will be my rookie run, I will take it easy. Like this bloke in the crew said, “...when I did my first marathon, rather than aiming for a time, I just aim to enjoy it, because, the next time you do it, you will be chasing a time and you won’t be able to enjoy it.”