Don't Be an Idiot: Ten Weeks to Gold Coast HM

I've whinged about it pretty frequently to family and friends, and to some degree on the blog, but I spent a large part of 2014 injured and miserable. Recovery from a stress fracture, then another stress fracture then a labral tear in my hip, all left me wondering if I'd ever run sans-injury again.

I'm not at all a drama queen. 

Well, the answer was not of any great philosphical moment. It was simply that when I got healthy, Id lace up again but this time be smart doing it.

So far, I think I have been. I've almost been reluctant to blog about running again for fear of having to follow up with another whining post about how I'm injured, then the inevitable blogging hiatus, followed by a sarcastic "Hi, I'm Penny" post, having to reintroduce myself all over again.

Well no more! I have designated 2015 as the year of no injury. It even has its own hashtag #noinjury2015.  Unfortunately the meme hasn't really taken off. That is, only I use it. And mainly just in my head and in messages to Kristen. #howdothesocialmediasworkagain?

Anyway. Ok. To get us all back on track, here is the mileage I have done since recovering from my hip labral tear: 

January: 16, 21, 23, 26, 22

February: 23, 25, 25, 30

March: 10, 26, 32, 35

April: 38, 42, 26, 45

As you can see, in both March and April I took cutback weeks, that I think have enabled me to get up to my goal mileage feeling strong. I have also been running all that SLOW. As in, between 8:45-10 min miles, when my easy pace used to be 7:45- 8:30.  Slowness = lower impact = few injuries + better aerobic workout. Learn it, people. At least, learn it faster than I did. 

Anyway, I'd like to keep my mileage between 45-50mpw, in the lead up to *brump-bum-ba-buuuuum* my goal race of Gold Coast half marathon, July 5. That's ten weeks away. And I'll be shooting for sub-1:30.

Posting that publicly is soooo bloody scary these days. Not because I might not be in sub-90 shape come July - that may well be the case. Rather, its because every effing time I've set a goal race in the last 18 months, I've been stymied by injury.

But screw it. I don't believe in juju, or jinxing or touching wood or whatever. Nothing I say on the interwebs and to our 4.8 average weekly readers, is going to change whether or not I get another serious injury.

What will give me another injury is not eating enough, not sleeping enough, jumping up in mileage and/or speed before I'm ready, running in old shoes, and generally being an idiot. 

So in short, my motto in the lead-up to GC half is: don't be an idiot. 

Part of my attempt to lessen my own idiocy has been to do some of my long runs on trails, and undulating terrain (Sydney is quite flat). To wit, below are some pics of a trail run I did in Canberra, through Red Hill Nature Park, with some beautiful rugged bush, and gorgeous views of our nation's capital.

Oh, and one of Lake Burley Griffin and the High Court of Australia, cos lawyer and lawyering lawyeryness.

I was in Canberra for a beautiful wedding - and was able to spend some grand times with my siblings and neices/nephews. Including this stunning little lady.

And my big bro, who professes to not have seen me sober since about the middle of 2004.

Whatevaaaaa. Champagne-induced wedding selfies rock.

Then last weekend I headed down to Victoria for a hensy weekend with my two best friends and their babies. 

Before we go into the running bits, we must first observe: bebe cheeks: 

Mischiefy bebe cheeks!

All the bebe cheeks in bath. HULLO omg.

And my women. Fuck I love these two. 20 years we've been friends and still going strong.

And all this is to say that I did last week's long run (13 miles) along the Great Ocean Road between Anglesea (where we were staying) and Airey's Inlet. 

You are just so spoiled for views along this stunning coast line, it is hard to resist the temptation to stop running and take photos every 5 minutes.

Blessed be my places. So good.

And that's all folks. Until next week's first actual OMG training post in basically forever, woop!

The familiar feeling of sore legs and other mid-week craziness

After nearly three weeks of no exercise, my leg muscles were supple and knot-free. I was long and lean in my first yoga class back and no hot spots. I know the yoga girls' elusive secret of staying so flexible . . . they don’t use their legs to run 40 miles/week.

Now, one week back to running and 38 miles later, and I am experiencing the familiar feeling of sore legs every day. The rocks in my calves are back, nearly every leg muscle is sore. My legs are tender, especially below the knee.

I had a little more spring in my step those first runs back last week, even though I was not at full capacity lung-wise. This must be what post-tapering feels like.

During my cold-induced sojourn from running, I lost strength and fitness. And I am worried that I won’t be able to gain it back in time for Vegas Rock ‘N Roll because my time is short and I am congested and not yet breathing at full capacity. During runs, I still cough and my nose runs. But last week was still a solid week of training. The x-factor is how much fitness I lost versus how much I can get back in one more week of training before tapering.

I also lost confidence. Prior to the cold, I had just begun to feel confident in my ability to run my goal pace at the Silver Strand Half. My legs were strong, and I felt like I was a horse when I was running. No joke. This is what I looked like in my mind (source: GeeAlice via Wikimedia Commons):



I was mentally prepared for the pain and suffering of Silver Strand. I had visualized the race and determined that I would be mentally tough at each and every terrible moment. It was disheartening not to be able to run it.

Now I freak out after every run because it felt harder than I expected or harder than the same sort of run used to feel when I was healthy. I am constantly doing little experiments during my runs to probe how much fitness I lost/regained.

I did a speed workout today for the first time this month. It was the hardest speed workout I have ever done, even though it was one of my shorter sessions, clocking in at just over an hour and 7.2 miles total. The objective was 2 miles warm up, 5 x 1 km at 9.4 (6:22), with 0.5 km active recoveries at 6.0 (10:00), 1 mile cool down. This workout gave Penny a lot of confidence, so I thought I would try it.

Observations: My legs were lead due to (1) 38 miles last week, after three weeks of either zero miles or single digits; and (2) a leg workout yesterday, even then my legs felt dead from the weekend's tempo and long runs. I was still suffering from coughs/runny nose. Running during the rest intervals made the workout much harder than prior speed sessions I have done where I had walked to recover. Even running the recovery at 6.0 (10:00 pace) made a huge difference in difficulty. I completed all 5 fast intervals.

But: Before the 4th, I walked for about half of the recovery, and before the 5th, I walked the entire 0.5 km recovery interval slow, 3.3. I hit pause after the 3rd and 4th intervals because I felt like I could not run one. more. step. Then I hunched over, caught my breath, and carried on. My weak link here was my cardio fitness, not my leg strength. The legs are back, and I was mentally tough, overcoming the temptation to stop after 4 fast intervals. Now I need to rid myself of the last remnants of the cold.

And I need a rest day tomorrow.

Concluding these rambling thoughts, I need to shut up about the cold and stop focusing on it. That’s a promise!

two little runners (Kristen)

Going Half the Distance

Soooo, after being injured for months, I decided that I was going to train for - and run - a marathon. Not just that, I was going to run a marathon and kick it in the pants and BQ that mofo.  About a month ago I began a 16 week training plan, and was aiming for a certain lovely flat course in September.

But wait. Do you even have time to train for a marathon? Oh that's right, you're a full-time lawyer with a daily 3-hour commute, a musician, a wife, maintain two blogs AND you're in the midst of packing your things to move across the country.

Sure you have time. If you also have amphetamines.

In the absence of my access to, or willingness to rely on,, illegal substances, I have quickly realized that as my mileage increased, my ability to fit 26 hours of activity into each 24 hour period was rapidly diminishing, if not non-existent. I just don't have the time to train for a marathon (at least right now). Similar to Kristen's recent change of pace, my life outside of running dictates an adjustment in running goals.

On top of that, I feel like I am only just coming into my own as a runner. When I finally do train for, and run, that marathon, I want to KILL IT. I don't just want to finish, I want to run it fast, and not be injured at the end. Right now, I have the fitness, but my legs need to be stronger - much stronger - to do that. I need a lot more miles, and a lot more slow build-up before I can run the 26.2 the way I want to. And to be honest, I care WAY more about running long-term, on a week-to-week basis, to risk getting injured for the sake of one race, with one arbitrary distance to succeed at.

So I decided to abandon the marathon for now, and focus on the half-marathon. I have some time goals in mind, but then main goal is stay injury-free and running happily. A fast time is to be the icing on the cake - not the main meal.

Penny - LR#1