Happy Easter!

Disclaimer:  No dog was harmed in the taking of this photo!! Bwahaha although he did look over his shoulder to ensure the cute dog over the road wasn't looking!!  Oh the indignity!!

Sufferfest - smiles and suffering all rolled into one !

Saturday could probably not have gotten any better. Warrnambool Sufferfest - mainly a triathlon weekend but this year there was a Saturday morning of purely running events also.    Running with friends (so much fun in itself) and I was down for the 10km.  After Friday raining and windy all day I was almost scared to wake up on Saturday. Yep still rainy in town where I live.  Headed to Warrnie way too early but eh. Rain had cleared but the wind!  It was a tad fresh to say the least.

Picked up bib and a very nice tshirt as part of the entry and decided to wear the tshirt so I did a public strip/shirt swap but discreetly behind a van.  Goodness knows if anyone saw.

Met up with the posse of our Runners Connect girls and a couple of other friends for some pre race pics.   Mel, Sarah and me - don't let the blue sky and obvious sun confuse you - it clouded right over and was flipping cold!!

The HM set off at 9 and it was great to cheer Kellie and Leah. 

The 10k started at 9.30 and off we went.  Most of this was my usual after work training route so it was good knowing the bends, the rises, the dips, comforting having that familiarity.  This was by no means a big field, but still enough to make it competitive and the field spread out.  The HM (after an initial 1km) would be doing 2 lots of the out and back of what the 10 were doing.  So it was a great course to see our mates out there, calling out to each other as we passed and high fiving on the run.

Photographers seemed to be placed at inopportune spots like at the top of hills. I called out to one as I was struggling up Granny's Grave hill "not fair!!" And he laughed back "we want to see you suffer" ha!   Honestly some of the expressions on the photos that have come back for me are cringeworthy.  But for the sake of transparency so that you realise I'm not always a glamazon ~~uncontrolled delirious laughter~~ here are some of the dodgy ones.

Quick smile for the camera, take a pic and he's done!

Oh flip, didn't he just take a pic, what's he still clicking for

This wasn't meant to happen, I can't look confident and come down hill at the same time.

Stop clicking will ya!

Really??!!??  Enough already

 Didn't see this one coming, where was he hiding, in the bush??!! 

Was I really crying? It looks like it.  It was a hill after all.

Oh whoops, spot the photographer, smile! (through gritted teeth)

Got past Granny's Grave and I was checking my Garmin and thinking how far I had to go, I was on track to beating my best 10k if I kept it up, if that wasn't enough to spur me on, heck. There's a great downhill area near the bridge at the end and I seemed to fly down it. Along the bridge and around the track and through the end. 10km PB by 48 seconds!!!!! (according to Garmin and I'll happily take it). 1:08:01.   Can't even begin to tell you how rapt I am with my average pace in the 6's!!

Got to see Sara and Kellie and Leah over the line (Mel had already blitzed the 10k) and we became a personal cheer squad to them. So much fun. A kick ass medal, it's really quite big and has a bottle opener inbuilt into the design.   Had to take a multitude of victory shots!  Sara was hanging up her runners, this was her swan song (although I hope like John Farnham she makes multiple comeback tours!!

Presentations and there was a mix up, they got to the veteran 10k and called the three place getters and when the third place getter was announced I thought OMG, we had actually cheered her across the line, I knew I was ahead of her so got a bit excited.  But my name wasn't called when they announced second or first. Oh well. Well not good enough for Mel she was going to have a word to the organisers and made them check their records. I saw a lot of paper flying about on a clipboard and a bit of finger pointing by Mel with Sara in tow and then the Race Director announced that I was first in the veterans 10km and they had a sufferbell presentation for me. Thanks Mel. I probably would have just ended up going home and then stewed about it.

Such a great day. Smallish numbers but everyone belting it out out there.  Great to support a local event.  Love my running friends, such a top group, they all rock.  What a great morning.

If it's on Garmin it must be true!!

Came home with all the intentions of the world to put PLAN (what was I up to?) C, D or whatever into action, and it fell in a heap.  I was so cold I crawled into bed and my little Lucky dog came and crawled on the bed and snuggled with me and I napped for a couple of hours.  After which there was no way I was getting out there, the mind may have been willing but the body was not.

Do I feel guilty that I didn't get my planned 17-18 in?  After all it's meant to be my longest run before the Geelong Half?  Yep a little bit.  But it's happened now, you can't cram for a Half.  I know I can do the distance.  So just continue on with the plan for the next two weeks.  My taper has just come early, right?

All clear for landing!

Tee hee.  I was out running in the dark this morning and I tell you I could have landed a jet plane down the main street I was that brightly decked out.  Probably could have seen me from the moon!  

Okay I'll back up and not get too carried away.  I have really miscalculated this weekend.  It is 2 weeks until the Geelong Half so this weekend was to be my longest run before taper.  Hmmm but somewhere along the line without looking at the calendar I've entered the 10km at Sufferfest on Saturday.  Right slap bang in the middle of my weekend.  

Hmmmm what to do, because naturally I'm wonder woman and want to fit it all in.  

So after consulting with my friend D and her coaching knowledge and good sense I might add, she suggested my PLAN A - if I could get my 18k run in on Thursday perhaps, a day to recover, then the 10km on Saturday, sweet.  Only problem, I was working on Thursday and not long home before I had CWA.   Not going to happen.

Over to PLAN B - I could do my 18km run on Friday with the 10km on Saturday as a slow recovery run.  I was good with that.  So diligently went to bed early Thursday and set my alarm for 5.15am, let's get this sucker out of the way.   I woke at 5.15am to the sound of torrential rain, so loud on the roof I could barely hear my phone alarm.  Nope, not going to happen.  Yes of course it could rain on race day, but I would experience that if it happened.  Back to sleep.  

Woke again at 6.30am and what was that I could hear - nothing - so I bound out of bed and get into my gear and I was out the door before 7 and it was daaaaaark!  I haven't run in the dark since last winter, but I was ready for it - my puma cat disco shirt (I love to call it my disco shirt), my new balance fluro top (I bought it with a voucher in a sale at Rebel a year ago even though it didn't fit, doh!  But I now fit into it yay for me!) added bonus it has a glow in the dark panel at the back so I made sure I stretched inside under the light before I hit out.  Oh and I had my 2XU with the big reflective X on the side and my Kathmandu headlamp.  I coulda landed a plane with that gear on.  Go me!  The plan was to run four x 4km laps of town with 2 blockies at the end for 18.  I set my GU up in our letterbox along with my water bottle so I could pass by my letterbox drink station (haha!!) on each lap.  

Off I went.  It felt great, the morning was cool and I was flying.  But 3km the heavens opened and in my haste to get across a corner I went ankle deep into a puddle and both runnres were saturated as was my socks.  I kept running squelch squelch squelch and the rain got harder and harder and I was wet through and the wind was cold and I was shivering, no amount of running was going to get me warm and I called it at 4km and slunk home for a hot shower.  All day the rain would stop then it would rain hard again at intervals and with the 10km looming tomorrow it's getting too late now to do my 18, I'm precious remember!  

So in my head I've formed PLAN C - I'll do the 10km hard in the morning, try my very very best and then back it up with 2 x 4km laps of town Saturday arvo on tired legs.  And even though in my head I really wanted to do 18km all in one hit, I do know with a push I do have it in me to do the half marathon, so it's only mind games at the moment.  Plus my goal race is 5 weeks later at GOR, so this is what it is and I need to just go with it.   As long as there's no PLAN D when PLAN C prospectively falls in a heap tomorrow I'll be okay.

So did you follow all that?   Back with a race review tomorrow arvo some time.  x

Big breath

Big breath alright, silly title of the post, but this morning was fantastic.  I hit the road early and left Mike in bed.  He's suffering with a sore achilles at the moment ... too much too soon perhaps?   And of course the Scot that he is all I get is "eh, I don't need to pay to go see a physio, I just need to take it easy a few days" (rolling my eyes here).  So I have strapped it with rock tape which helped a bit, but he's still limping, doesn't help that he works on his feed in steel capped boots either I guess.  Anyone got any ideas for achilles problems and relief, I'm all ears.

So yes, back to big breath.  It's been so humid lately.  On Friday I popped into Warrnie and met up with my friend Mel, both on a day off to make it a long-long-weekend so we donned our Run Downunder tops (twinsies!!!) and hit the road.  I had 13km on my plan as a drop back week and Mel had 17km on her plan to run.  So she ran 2km to meet me at a pre-arranged carpark and off we went.  Talk about a lather of sweat, we were like puddles by the end, I'd done my 13km and Mel still wanted to run the 2km home.  It wasn't pretty, the air was thick and hard to breathe, only a short respite around the water front, but done, pretty proud we both could tick off what we planned to achieve.

So are you still with me, the reason I titled this post 'Big Breath' is this morning and getting back to me going out early leaving Mike in bed.  I took a look out the back door and it was misty drizzly rain and it was grey but it wasn't cold.  And oh THE AIR WAS BEAUTIFULLY CLEAR.  I popped on my cap, grabbed a plastic bag to put my phone in, in my spibelt, and off I went.  I felt almost drunk gulping in the lovely clear air.  No heaviness or thickness, which is my way of describing what the air has been like lately running.   It was sensational.  I got wet.  I didn't care.  The cows weren't bothered by the drizzle, why should I be.

I ticked 8km off and this was the long road back to town.   Early Sunday morning, there was only one car which passed me, so I didn't have to jump off the road and into the grass.  No trucks at that time.  Well it was either go back on the main road, or head up the flipping big hill I'd just come down and go home the long way.  That lane with the hill in it, my nemesis Cairnlea Lane, and I ran it the full length again without stopping.  I think I can call Cairnlea Lane well and truly conquered now.

More zucchinis are springing from the garden, it's doing my head in.  Mike comes in all proud "look honey, more!!" and I just think what on earth more I can do with them.  More zucchini slices, jars of pickled zucchini, zucchini soup, zucchini chocolate cake...

And what's this, a new recipe - zucchini lemon cake.  Still yet to be tried, we will have a slice for dessert tonight with a dollop of yoghurt on it, will review it tomorrow, but all indications it will be lemony delicious.  I'll once again cut up the remainder for the freezer.  I've linked the recipe here.  American glazed icing looks so much nicer doesn't it, maybe because their butter is whiter.   Thanks to Trina for putting me onto this recipe.

And last bit of news, last Thursday I had a hair appointment and I said the words to my gorgeous hairdresser who I love with all my heart ... "chop it all off, do what you want".   Oh heck Nadine Scissorhands took to my hair with such gusto, I called her turbo.   She said she was getting as much off before I had a chance to change my mind.  Then she set about doing what she does best, and I love it.  Nads knew exactly what I needed, something that would run well, hahaha yes it all goes back to that.  Well I've run with Nadine here in my first year of running you may recall, so she knows how crazy I am about running.   So easy to maintain, it doesn't get in my face or my eyes.  I truly love my rock star hairdresser.

And with that I'm off to make yet another zucchini slice, which we shall have for dinner with a side salad.  I'm about to turn into a zucchini I think.

Scrapbooking + Running = Immense Satisfaction

Sooooo I'm a scrapbooker, a digital scrapbooker, memory keeper, keeper of our stories in our family, chief photo taker, you name it.  I want us to make a mark on the world and so the future generations never have to wonder about us, or find a stack of photos in an old shoebox under the bed and wonder who we were, what we did, how we lived, did we love them.  Yeah yeah, it's what I do and gives me a lot of satisfaction.

So last year, well I've done it ages ago too as a Project 365, but last year I did Project Life, my way, I documented every week of the year, words and pictures.  Yep a year long project takes a lot out of you, but recently I got my beautiful BEAUTIFUL book back and I'm in love with it.  Every single page, every picture, every silly-fun-exceptional-boring-crazy-and-everything-in-between thing we did for the year.

So whilst I wanted to do another Project Life this year, it's so rewarding, I wanted to do it with a difference.  And I decided to do a Project Running Life!!  Woo hoo.  My year of running, which has now turned into OUR year of running being that Mike is well and truly on the beandwagon now.

Without further ado, because I'm always behind with these projects, I've merely done the cover of the book (which I think I will slightly rejig) and our Goals Page.   Stand by for others as the year goes on.   And this year instead of the sleek look, I'm going for a scrappy paper look.

And as always, products used for these pages come from Designer Digitals.