A memorable month

Today marks the end of the month and it's memorable in a few ways.

Firstly, after taking a break of about three years, in September of 2009, I started running again.
Prior to my break, I'd been running about 20kms a week (on a good week). Sometimes it could have been as low as 12kms...

When I started again last September, I was only managing a couple of kms four and five times a week. I slowly started building kms as my endurance and stamina improved until in January 2010, I ran 21kms for the first time. You couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I finished that run!

At that time I started to think a marathon could be vaguely possible... I just kept the thought in the back of my mind as I kept running...
At the end of March hubby and I went overseas for a month and I didn't run that whole time. I was devastated but knew that I could just start again when I got back...

It didn't take as long as I'd imagined to be back to where I was before we left for overseas and then... in June... I heard about the Adelaide marathon, to be held in August.
Crazily, I thought I'd have a shot at this and signed up right away!
The whole time I was thinking "on my god what have I done" but I started training for it with the few weeks I had left.

I ran distances I'd never run before and in August, completed the marathon.

I'd told myself that after the marathon, I was going to have a month break but within days I was running again... I'm enjoying my running more than ever!

I know I want to run another marathon and will probably do so next year, but just don't know which one I'll do yet. Would be nice to do it on a new course but I think Adelaide will always be special to me being my first.

Did I mention how much I love running??

Total kms for August, marathon month, 250kms

Waterfall Gully

Last night my mum, brother, sister and our kids decided we were going to do the Waterfall Gully to Mt Lofty Walk.

My brother and son did it lost week. My brother hadn't done it in about 10 years and struggled up. My son and I did it fairly easily and I'd run 12kms prior to the trail walk.

We all loved it though and encouraged the rest of the family to join us this week.

This week I'm really looking forward to it as the slow ones can go up together and my son and I can race up. Can't wait!

I just love it there. Love the smells, love the feel of nature, love being up high, love the sound of the waterfall, LOVE IT!

I ran another 12kms this morning in my Thorlos and my god I am kicking myself for not having these earlier!!! I wore the shoes that had given me such blisters in the past and there was absolutely no discomfort with my run this morning!! Just love it!

And now it's time to jump into the shower before I sweat it up again!!

Total kms for August, 212kms

Training goes on...

Yesterday I bought a new balance running skirt. I'd always said I'd never wear one and thought they looked kinda silly but you know what, after seeing those pictures and video of me running the Adelaide marathon, I wished I'd been wearing one!!!
It would have hidden my gigantic flabby ass.

No getting around that!

So this morning I ran with it and it felt pretty good. I have to wear skins underneath it though but that didn't seem to bother me.

I'm also wearing my asics... the ones that had given me those bad blisters in January. Although I have a bit of tenderness in that area, I don't think I'll blister again and I was way overdue for new shoes.
I like the way these feel.
I'm sure the last pair of shoes I wore were bad for my running form and perhaps contributed to my current hip injury... but it's all going to come good!

I've got to put in an extra .8kms somewhere to give myself a whole number of total kms for the month!

Total kms for August 186.2

A few reflections since running my first marathon

I've had this week or so to think about different things.

I was so nervous leading up to the day but on the morning I was well prepared and just did everything I had planned to do and before I knew it, I was standing at that start line.

I had such a welling up of emotions as I heard the count down. "Three, Two, One, Go."

Wow.

And my first thought after that was "I'm running a marathon!"

I had been so worried about the weather and it really was goddam awful but once I was running, it didn't seem to be as important. Sure it was awful. Sure it was hard, but I just ran anyway!

Being part of a group of runners was great too. I was passed and I passed others. I ran with one guy for the last 22kms. We must have just had the same pace.

When there were 8kms to go and I hit my wall and had to walk, he left me but I caught back up to him with less than 2kms to go and I can't tell you how good that felt! He was annoyed to see me I think!

My cyclist companion called this man "my frog" as I kept bouncing back to him but at that point the man turned around and talked to me for the first time saying "I'm not a frog I'm a tortoise""What does that make me?" I called out and he replied "the hare"

Hmmm!!!

But we ran into Adelaide Oval together and I was sprinting too but he out sprinted me and got me by a few seconds. Not that I cared about that at that moment.

I've learnt that doing most of my running on a treadmill during the winter months is still beneficial. I don't have to be afraid of it as it seemed to hold me in good stead during the marathon. I'll continue to do that next Winter. Although I will still do runs of over 20kms out on the road.18kms on the treadmill has been my max to date.

I've learnt that I can take water from the water stations and don't need to carry my own water (I didn't carry any during the marathon but had been worried about it)

I've learnt that I don't want music playing while running in an event like that. That people talking to you here and there and volunteers cheering you on makes such a difference.

When talking to people about it this week, I've called it "one of the best days of my life" and it would seriously be in the top three!! Not going to mention what the other days are or what order they're in! :)

I'm surprised at how I feel about wanting to run another one. I need to beat my time. I'm almost embarrassed about it. Strange though, because when I first wrote about running a marathon, I just wanted to finish.. then I said I'd be happy with anything under 4 and 1/2 hours... Then after doing a couple of runs over 30kms and seeing my times for those, I was hoping for a 4 hour marathon... so I was disappointed with 4 hour 18 but at least it gives me an easy mark to beat next time...

My plan now is to take it "easy" for the rest of the year and start running harder start of next year. I'll probably be running 40-50kms weeks till then.

Don't know whether to go for Gold Coast Marathon or just do Adelaide again next August. Don't know if my body could handle the two even though they're 5 or 6 weeks apart.Don't know if I'd like the crowds of the Gold Coast Marathon but running in qld appeals to me as I used to run along part of that marathon route and I love QLD.

But all these things don't have to be set in stone now.. just gives me more to think about!

I've had this week or so to think about different things. I was so nervous leading up to the day but on the morning I was well prepared and just did everything I had planned to do and before I knew it, I was standing at that start line.I had such a welling up of emotions as I heard the count down. "Three, Two, One, Go."Wow.And my first thought after that was "I'm running a marathon!" I had been so worried about the weather and it really was goddam awful but once I was running, it didn't seem to be as important. Sure it was awful. Sure it was hard, but I just ran anyway! Being part of a group of runners was great too. I was passed and I passed others. I ran with one guy for the last 22kms. We must have just had the same pace. When there were 8kms to go and I hit my wall and had to walk, he left me but I caught back up to him with less than 2kms to go and I can't tell you how good that felt! He was annoyed to see me I think!My cyclist companion called this man "my frog" as I kept bouncing back to him but at that point the man turned around and talked to me for the first time saying "I'm not a frog I'm a tortoise""What does that make me?" I called out and he replied "the hare"Hmmm!!!But we ran into Adelaide Oval together and I was sprinting too but he out sprinted me and got me by a few seconds. Not that I cared about that at that moment.I've learnt that doing most of my running on a treadmill during the winter months is still beneficial. I don't have to be afraid of it as it seemed to hold me in good stead during the marathon. I'll continue to do that next Winter. Although I will still do runs of over 20kms out on the road.18kms on the treadmill has been my max to date.I've learnt that I can take water from the water stations and don't need to carry my own water (I didn't carry any during the marathon but had been worried about it) I've learnt that I don't want music playing while running in an event like that. That people talking to you here and there and volunteers cheering you on makes such a difference. When talking to people about it this week, I've called it "one of the best days of my life" and it would seriously be in the top three!! Not going to mention what the other days are or what order they're in! :) I'm surprised at how I feel about wanting to run another one. I need to beat my time. I'm almost embarrassed about it. Strange though, because when I first wrote about running a marathon, I just wanted to finish.. then I said I'd be happy with anything under 4 and 1/2 hours... Then after doing a couple of runs over 30kms and seeing my times for those, I was hoping for a 4 hour marathon... so I was disappointed with 4 hour 18 but at least it gives me an easy mark to beat next time... My plan now is to take it "easy" for the rest of the year and start running harder start of next year. I'll probably be running 40-50kms weeks till then.Don't know whether to go for Gold Coast Marathon or just do Adelaide again next August. Don't know if my body could handle the two even though they're 5 or 6 weeks apart.Don't know if I'd like the crowds of the Gold Coast Marathon but running in qld appeals to me as I used to run along part of that marathon route and I love QLD. But all these things don't have to be set in stone now.. just gives me more to think about!

I've had this week or so to think about different things. I was so nervous leading up to the day but on the morning I was well prepared and just did everything I had planned to do and before I knew it, I was standing at that start line.I had such a welling up of emotions as I heard the count down. "Three, Two, One, Go."Wow.And my first thought after that was "I'm running a marathon!" I had been so worried about the weather and it really was goddam awful but once I was running, it didn't seem to be as important. Sure it was awful. Sure it was hard, but I just ran anyway! Being part of a group of runners was great too. I was passed and I passed others. I ran with one guy for the last 22kms. We must have just had the same pace. When there were 8kms to go and I hit my wall and had to walk, he left me but I caught back up to him with less than 2kms to go and I can't tell you how good that felt! He was annoyed to see me I think!My cyclist companion called this man "my frog" as I kept bouncing back to him but at that point the man turned around and talked to me for the first time saying "I'm not a frog I'm a tortoise""What does that make me?" I called out and he replied "the hare"Hmmm!!!But we ran into Adelaide Oval together and I was sprinting too but he out sprinted me and got me by a few seconds. Not that I cared about that at that moment.I've learnt that doing most of my running on a treadmill during the winter months is still beneficial. I don't have to be afraid of it as it seemed to hold me in good stead during the marathon. I'll continue to do that next Winter. Although I will still do runs of over 20kms out on the road.18kms on the treadmill has been my max to date.I've learnt that I can take water from the water stations and don't need to carry my own water (I didn't carry any during the marathon but had been worried about it) I've learnt that I don't want music playing while running in an event like that. That people talking to you here and there and volunteers cheering you on makes such a difference. When talking to people about it this week, I've called it "one of the best days of my life" and it would seriously be in the top three!! Not going to mention what the other days are or what order they're in! :) I'm surprised at how I feel about wanting to run another one. I need to beat my time. I'm almost embarrassed about it. Strange though, because when I first wrote about running a marathon, I just wanted to finish.. then I said I'd be happy with anything under 4 and 1/2 hours... Then after doing a couple of runs over 30kms and seeing my times for those, I was hoping for a 4 hour marathon... so I was disappointed with 4 hour 18 but at least it gives me an easy mark to beat next time... My plan now is to take it "easy" for the rest of the year and start running harder start of next year. I'll probably be running 40-50kms weeks till then.Don't know whether to go for Gold Coast Marathon or just do Adelaide again next August. Don't know if my body could handle the two even though they're 5 or 6 weeks apart.Don't know if I'd like the crowds of the Gold Coast Marathon but running in qld appeals to me as I used to run along part of that marathon route and I love QLD. But all these things don't have to be set in stone now.. just gives me more to think about!

I Did It

So, where do I start?

I guess at the finish. I completed the marathon in 4 hours and 18 minutes. At least, that's the time my Garmin gave me. Have to wait for official results but that's about it.

The weather was against us but by race day I was resigned to it and it didn't phase me before the race although I'm sure it affect my time along with everyone else.


It was tough to say the least...

And the westerly drove the water from the ocean up onto the path for that part of the course. It was brutal!


Sure was an experience for my first marathon and everyone says it will make my 2nd a piece of cake. I hope so because I can't tell you I didn't want to quit.
I had hip problems, cramps and a goddam stitch that wouldn't quit.
I hit the wall at 34kms and started walking... I ran again after about 500mtrs but walked a few more times after that. All in all, I don't think I walked more than a km but my time was so bad.
Based on my 30 and 32km run, I was hoping to get around 4 hours so I was really really disappointed with my time and disappointed that I stopped to walk.

My husband followed me on his bike the whole way and another friend joined him for the last 10kms or so. I'm not sure if that was a help or hindrance as I think I got a bit sooky when there were others to hear of my plight...

And I don't work well with encouragement!! the more they told me I was doing great, the more I wanted to put less effort in (well if I'm doing great, I've got room to slow down right?)

Anyhow, it was an experience.

I was so excited this morning. When the alarm went off I jumped out of bed and said "it's time" which kind of reminded me of a woman who feels the first stirs of labour during sleep and wakes her husband with the same words...

But with everything considered, I still can say I have run a marathon and regardless of how bad I thought I did, I have that achievement and I've left myself a lot of room for improvement for the next one!!!

Photos will be on facebook as I find it too hard to post them here...

End of the training Road...

End of the training road... at least for now. At least until I've recovered from this upcoming marathon.

The way my nerves have been, I can't imagine doing another. I feel like more of a fake than I've ever done. I don't know if my training has been enough and on top of that, I don't know if it's my shoes wearing out or what, but I'm so sore. My left hip is sore and I just lie in bed at night with aches in my legs and feet.
I'm completely overwhelmed. Everyone seems to have done more training than me.

I want this experience so badly because I don't know if I'll ever have another shot at it. Mostly because of how nervous I am! I can't stand this feeling!
But if I want the achievement I have no choice....

And I've completely let go of any times... whatever time I do it in, I do it in... But I'm deathly afraid of being the lone one out there that everyone is waiting for.

I won't care about how awful I look with no make up and my hair pulled back... I just wish I wasn't meeting those other runners from the message boards in that state!
I also won't care about how bad I look when I have those photos taken with my medal.
Yeah I know the medal is nothing to seasoned marathoners but this is my first and it will always be special if only for that reason....

So now I have 4 days to go.

Just wish I could look into the future and see my report from the race...
Sigh..

Total kms for August.. 102kms