Pain in the butt !

Okay so my sore back has moved itself down to my butt.  Mike really has a good excuse to call me a right royal pain in the arse now, doesn't he! ha.  It's actually feeling heaps better I will admit.  I did the third Flaggy Summer Series race on Wednesday night, but decided to walk it.  Man oh man that was tough watching all the runners fly on by.   I did test myself a bit in the last five minutes and did a very slow run back.  All seemed okay.  I'm making sure I use my roller now after my runs to iron out my butt kinks! ha.

Now that I'm having Friday's off work, it's a nice chance to go out early for a run.   What a prize I got this morning, the sky sure did put a show on for me.  So beautiful.  I did a very easy 3.7km, I don't want to go nuts too soon, I do want to run another day!

So someone who has a slight injury, what would she do, do you think?  Hmmm, enter more races!  You'll see the list on the right hand side of this page has grown just a tad.  Eeeeek two half marathons this year!  How did that happen.  Not to mention I have now entered the Great Rail Run too.  I fear I'll be the last over the line, if there's a field of only 150, but it fits in perfectly with a required 16km run on my half marathon training plan, eh what's another km right?  So being that it's perfect timing I thought why not actually enter an event instead of just running for the sake of running at home.

I want to do the training for this half marathon smarter this time.  There's a podcast I like to listen to put out by Trevor and Angie of Marathon Training Academy.   I like their holistic approach to training for a race and doing so injury free.   So I'm taking their Half Marathon training plan on board this time round.  I had to convert miles to kms but I'm good, I have it typed up on a spreadsheet on the fridge, with week numbers and dates and what I will be doing.   Stay tuned! 

This weekend I'm off to Brisbane to meet up with my bestie.  I'm so excited, I can't believe it's been so long since we were face to face.  Email and texts and facetime will do that to you, time goes by too quickly.   So there will be stories to tell, rest assured.

Waaaah I hurt !

I have a sore lower back, ouch!  I was alright all day yesterday then started feeling twingy late afternoon.  Nothing too bad so thought I might go for a short run to run it out.  Although it was a nice easy run I realized that was a big mistake.  

Not long after getting home I realised my back was so sore.  I made dinner and got to the stage that sitting at the dining table was painful.  Standing was painful.  Walking was painful.  Gaaaaaah.

Ice and rest with doses of Nurofen saw me in bed and I've done bugger all today.  More ice.  Tried a bit of rolling of my hamstrings and whilst that was painfully good I then had to stand back up again.  Ouch.

So a very easy day today.  I haven't done hardly anything, mainly lay on the couch with an icepack on my lower back.  I say icepack loosely. I'm using one of those picnic basket  freezy things wrapped up in s tea towel.

Lucky has stuck with me like glue today.  In fact at one stage I was laying on the couch and he decided to lay full length on top of me and go to sleep.  Who needs compression wear when you have a dog laying on you!!

With a bit of luck this enforced rest will have me feeling much better tomorrow.  Cross fingers.

A wet Flaggy run tonight

Ok so you may be wondering why the first pic here is of the inside of my shoe.  Well a friend of mine, let's call him Bruce shall we, well actually his name is Bruce! Ha, I don't do subtle very well, said to me that on my next run to write down the time I was hoping to achieve and put it in my shoe.  He says that his last three runs he has come within seconds of his written down time.

Pffffft I say, but okay I'll play along.  I wrote down 33 mins and 33 seconds.  Tonight was the second race of the Flaggy Summer Series.

I mentioned it to my friends that I was meeting, not to mention the race organizer when I registered and exchanged the form for my bib.  They had a bit of a laugh but were intrigued.  Runners can be a superstitious lot.

It was nice tonight as we met up with another runner from the Runners Connect group who was holidaying in town, that's the best part of this group, it would almost be hard pressed to run a race now without someone from the group also running at the various races around the country.

So tonight the rain came down.  Not enough to be too annoying but rain it did.  Last week we sweltered, this week we got drenched.  So I had my Runkeeper on and in my Spibelt but no headphones so I was just running, I couldn't hear the stats as they were being relayed so had no idea of my pace and just ran blind.

On the double back I laughed so much, Kellie ran past yelling out "Run to the shooooooooe!!"  Back away from the crazy lady!!

Well as I was coming down the last bit toward the end there was a young lass in front of me who had slowed to a walk.  I called out to her to pick up her feet and get running, as there was no way I was going to go past her as she had been in front of me me the whole way.  I just couldn't do that, so she sprinted to the end.  Good.  As I did too I grabbed my phone out of my belt and checked.  Ready for it...

33 minutes and 26 seconds!!  

Unfreakingbelievable!!  The race organizer and his wife had remembered me and asked how close I got as I came over the finish, I think they were as excited (even a little scared at my enhusiasm) as I told them the outcome.

Here are the girls at the end of the race.  Drenched to the skin!  Cold.  But still smiling.  Pink and black were obviously the colour of the evening!

Kellie wanted to take my photo due to my excitement, so here I am in all my wet-tshirt-mussy-hair-cold-excited-glory.

Not bad huh?  Only the 14th of the month and I've already done three organized races.  What's next?

Another Surf T Surf done !

First major race of the year, the SurfTSurf in Warrnambool.  Another great event.  We anxiously watched the weather forecast as it looked like 90% chance of rain, and although there was misty rain here when we left to go into Warrnambool, it was clear, albeit breezy and cold, when we got in there.

Headed down to Lake Pertobe and met up with some of the girls from the Warrnambool & Surrounds 12wbt group, and it just so happens we are all in the 12wbt Runners Connect group too.  We needed to get a pic for the group.

But firstly my husband and greatest supporter.   Last night he wanted to carb load ready for the big race, cause carrying a big-ass camera all morning was going to be tough work!  Ha.  

And he did great, took loads of photos during the morning, made sure he got pics of my 12wbt friends, what would I do without these girls!  One of the best incidental things of doing 12wbt has been the friendships I have made.  A quick pic when we arrived...

And what's a running event without a selfie!

Thanks to Leah's hubby for taking this pic.  We were heading to the start and saw Leah and the five of us Runners Connect girls were together.  Yay.  Photo opp.  Alison, Melissa, me, Leah and Kellie.  Amazon women I tell ya, how did I get so short?!!

Mike just kept snapping and snapping willy nilly as the race started.  It's fun to look through afterwards to see who I could see.  He mentioned he didn't see me go past at all, and yet when I checked the pics, here I am nice and focussed.  Must have been those carbs!  Not to mention he took a corker of a shot of one of the bosses at work running too, and didn't even know him.  Way to score brownie points for me.

It was tough going with the wind and hills and I certainly didn't do my best time.  Runkeeper has me at 1:15:something, I'm slow I know, but will wait for the official time.   As I crossed the line I heard my name announced on the loudspeaker, woooo hoooo, to the cheers of Kellie and Melissa who were at the finish.  How much I appreciate these girls.

There were two moments on the course where it comes back to you that you are pushing your body sometimes beyond what it is capable of on the day, in two areas there were runners laying in distress on the side of the road and being attended to, one by an ambulance.   

And as we were milling round relaxing and there was an announcement that the last walker was coming down the straight.  An 85 year old man with a walking stick was hobbling down to the finish having completed the 6km walk with his daughter, grand daughter and great grand daughter.  What a special moment, the road was lined on both sides and applause broke out.  As he crossed the finish line they gave him the microphone and he says simply "I'm buggered!!"

I was anxious to catch up with Floss, one of our Warrnie members and new member to the Runners Connect group, after the race, so freaking proud of her, running in her first fun run, and got rid of the fun run fears, she's caught the bug! Talk about seeing elation on someone's face, bloody brilliant!

And then the icing on the cake.  The prize as far as I'm concerned.  I got to get a photo with the great Steve Moneghetti.  Absolutely rapt, third year running I've got a pic (blush).  We had a quick chat and what a genuinely nice man, champion and great ambassador of the sport.  Thrilled.  

And that's it for another year.  I have pulled up great and look forward to the second of the Flaggy Summer Series races on Wednesday night.  This is going to be my year!

Rain rain go away!

So the forecast for tomorrow's Surf T Surf race is 90% chance of rain.  I'm going to go for the 10% certainty of clear skies.  That's my cup's half full mentality at work.   Eh, what will be will be right?

Last night we headed down to Lake Pertobe and took a quick look at the market so I could go and grab my race bag of goodies, and Mike was playing with the pipe band down there.  Somewhere.  We wandered not able to find where he was to go.  As we were wandering beyond the market vicinity a family were walking towards us and Mike looks up and says "G'day Steve!" as if for all the world he knew this man like a long lost friend.  The man said "Hi, how are you going?" as he continued on.  And I did a double take, it was the great Steve Moneghetti !!  

Squeal !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wondered if he would have to pick up his race pack too, but sure enough I saw him later on having to do just that.  I wonder if he had to tell them who he was!!  

Roll on tomorrow.   Race recap happening for sure.   I'm down for the 10km race.


Last Wednesday night I mentioned I went to the first of the four Flaggy Summer Series runs after work.  Although the sun was behind cloud cover it was humid, and there was a good turn out.   I met up with Alison and Kellie from the Warrnie 12wbt (and 12wbt Runners Connect) groups, gosh we are everywhere now!  The 5km run was actually 4.6km but it was good.  From Flagstaff Hill through to the Flume, then onto Granny's Grave and back.  I have no idea of my time, I must have paused my Runkeeper as I started it as it said I had run 1 second!! (bahh, if it isn't on Runkeeper it doesn't count right?) and the times haven't been posted, but I did see a 35 min something as I crossed the finish line.  I actually found it hard to breathe in parts heading out to the turn around point, the air was thick, if that makes sense.    I'm aiming to do the four races each Wednesday night while they are being held.

Excuse the crazy eyes, I was hot and sweaty and had just finished and was grabbing a drink of water!!   Note the hat was worn in the right way this time, just for something completely different.  I am improving! hahaha

Back tomorrow with a Race Recap, no doing rain dances until after the race, okay!!

Project Life

Oh heck, so many projects, so little time.  I've only just dipped my toe in the water of my USA album, midway through my Days of December album, and I got so caught up in the Project Life hype this year at Designer Digitals I've thrown my hat in that ring too.  Who knows how this will end up ... more than likely I'll be curled in a ball in the corner of the room rocking silently !!

So week one (albeit a short week) done !

Products used from Designer Digitals.


So tomorrow night the Flaggy Summer Series of runs commences, run by the Warrnambool Athletics Club.  A series of four 5km runs each Wednesday night after work.  I aim to do the whole four.  I've not done them previous years, but I've hit this year with a passion and drive.  Stay tuned for a recap.

Talking about hitting this year with a vengeance (run wise) what's that I see on the right hand side of this page !!!!!   My race calendar for 2015.  And how on earth did that get there (looking around innocently ~~ blinking eyes).  A half marathon on the calendar!  Yep, I've entered the Geelong Half once again.

The very inspiring Leitchy commented to me "I thought you said after the last one never again" !  Hmmm, the pain does somewhat diminish over time.  Am I up for it?  You betcha.

Happy New Year

And we're off and running, literally.

I finished 2014 with a grand total of 900.29 kilometers.  So happy with that.  Of course I was aiming for 1000 but realised mid way through November that there was no way I was going to make it so readjusted my goal to try to achieve 900.  Complete.

I'm hoping to stay on track this year with Run Downunder.   You upload your runs for the year and track your journey around Australia.  You'll hear a bit more about that in future blog posts.  

Since then the New Year has happened and no rest for the wicked, the SurfTSurf is around the corner.  I was out on New Years Day at 6.30am!  Needless to say I didn't see anyone else out there, ha!

Then this morning I was planning my last 10km run before next week's race.  Up and out the door at 6.30 and it was already 30 degrees (that's Celsius).

Mike surprised me and said he was going to come along too.  Most impressed at his determination.  He gave up last year after being plagued with shin splints and decided he was a fair weathered runner so once the cold weather hit he gave up.  He's off to a flying start this year.  Most proud.

So I did want to go out this morning despite the heat and wind as I figured next week's SurfTSurf might be same conditions.  So I worked an out and back route so I'd be under the Avenue of Honour cypress trees the whole way.  

Horrendous time run in but I'm not nuts, there were walk breaks included, I took it easy.  But so happy to have done it.  Mike did a 4km loop while I did 7.3km.

On the scrapbooking front (mind you I haven't finished my Days of December yet) I've decided to do a combo Project Life/Project 365 in my own fashion.  Not a photo every day but a representation of the week and certainly not all the bits and bobs that people use to create incredible Project Life pages.  I want to keep it simple.  We'll see how it goes.

So many projects, so little time!