PMS

Pre Marathon Stress

I think I have had the start of the flu, 3 times in the last week. Every twinge of a muscle is the sign of an injury. I feel like I have forgotten something important like registering properly or confirming my accommodation reservation.

In 1 week I'll be running the Gold Coast Marathon.

In 1 day the auction will be over and has done much better than I had hoped for.

In 1 hour Katy will have made Dutch Apple Pancakes for breakfast.

mmmmm ... yum!

The Croutons (Clare and Andrew) have landed and already I have asserted my dominance in a game called Abalone as well as Jenga. Last night I made "the seaplane" from Andrew's book of folding paper airplanes .... it was quite a challenge ... but persistence paid off late into the night .... I won't be beaten although I think they should work on the instructions.

Katy finished her last long run and is looking good for the marathon. Did I mention she is making Dutch Apple Pancakes?

Auction Update and Warning

What to wear under running tights ......

Maybe that will stiffle the bidding .... what do you think?

3 days to go!

Goals

Runner Susan's post on her ambitions to run a Boston Qualifier struck a nerve with many. You can read the comments about taking small steps to reach a goal, the encouragement and people wondering if they have the desire to reach such achievements. Is it ever enough, will we always want to run faster than our best time and when it doesn't happen will we be disappointed? I ask myself these questions and then I come back to why I run. The answer, for me, is because it feels good. Not always, but often and in many different ways. Sometimes it feels good to be in the "zone" during a run, sometimes it is to finish, sometimes it is the ability to think and enjoy my own special thinking time alone.

On another note ..... WOW!!! ... the auction is so exciting to watch .... it's a feeding frenzy, woohoo!

Charity Auction

Ladies and gentleman welcome to this auction. Below you will find a link to Ebay where I have put one pair of (not so ordinary) running tights and the clock is now ticking away. Whatever the final bid ends up as being, will go to support the Queensland Cancer Fund. Why, you ask? Because I wanted to help Elaine with her fund raising and this is what I can do.

I'm sure all of you who have had the opportunity to see the goods on offer, can appreciate the quality and unique nature of these running tights.

Shall I start the bidding at $1 .... one dollar, on dollar, one dollar, do I have two?

>>>>>> Ebay Link <<<<<<

More to life than running

With a holiday weekend and the long run behind me, there is something else I love to do. Besides, my calf decided that I was not going to walk properly for a day or two. Sooooooo, given a little extra time, I like to try new culinary dishes. Here is the honey soy pork stir fry ... wasn't bad, but hardly popping bulbs on the yummy metre.

I'm also a fan of the Iron Chef and enjoy the play at home version. That's where you look into the fridge for the feature ingredient. Last night it was "peanuts" so I chose to make satay sauce ........ once again didn't pop the bulbs on the yummy metre. Katy likes to eat peanuts still in the shell. I left a few in the shell when I crushed the nuts into tiny pieces, for that added fibre. For some reason, Katy didn't find picking grit from between her teeth the same level of fun.

On another note, you can see our hot sauce collection. For a reason that will remain a mystery until the day I die, one time Katy splashed her eggs with the "Scorned Woman". Not even I would perform such a "laugh in the face of danger" stunt. Suffice as to say, it ended in Katy chugging milk by the gallon whilst standing in the middle of the kitchen floor. Not the first time this has happened in our house and I fear it won't be the last.

On to something different ........ Katy has this thing called a "personal massage device". It is about this long ..... says me holding my hands slightly apart. When she uses it, she makes loud sounds and I can't work out if she is in pain or not. I've tried it when she wasn't looking but figure I wasn't doing it right cause it doesn't do it for me. Do you use one of these things?

P.S. Thanks for the wonderful comments about Pacing, I'll be putting them into practice for sure.

Next marathon goal

I'm excited!

..... and feel honored and privileged that my application was accepted to "Pace" the Gold Coast Marathon 4 hour group.

The job of a "Pacer" is to run even splits and offer encouragement to the marathoners aiming to achieve that goal time.

Last Wednesday I did my mid-week run at the 5:40 min/K pace for about 2 hours. It felt pretty easy at first, but after an hour I was working. I started visualizing my "encouragements". I like to split my race in thirds so will try to keep the group relaxed and breathing easy to start with. The middle section will be more of a coast and my aim is to try to keep the groups mind occupied whilst their bodies go into auto-pilot. Around 28-30K is where is starts to get interesting.

28K ... "You have all you training behind you, this is where is starts"
32K ... "I was doing my mime of hitting "the wall" .... just run through the next 5 minutes and you will feel better"
38K ... "Tell yourself you WILL make it ... no mater what, you are soon to be a marathoner" (I find that there is relief for me around this time and I lose the uncertainty of finishing).
40K ... Practice your finish line pose .... I plan to give examples like Two arms up, the twirl and the simple "4 fingers up" for the sub four. (This is a good time be thinking about finishing).

Please share a comment on something a pacer did that has help you in the past.

Nooooooooo

Something bad is about to happen and everything goes into slow motion ...... Nooooooooooo ..... your mind wants to back out and avert the tragedy but it's too late!

And so it was the night before the Queensland Half-Marathon ... this sensation of "Nooooooo" went through my mind, as I downed the second spoonful of the Indian Curry, I foolishly requested and that Katy had made. The Weekend Warrior Athletics Commission has its owned banned substances list:

1. Curry
2. Spicy Thai Food
3. Chilli
4. Red Wine
5. German Beer (but strangely not Guinness)
6. Yogurt (just because I don't like it)

My race started well and was a paradox of comfort ... I was very easy in my pace around 4:25 min/K. The source of my discomfort was the part of the body they DON'T mean when they say "dig deep". Details? ....... I'll spare you. Suffice is to say I spent some time here .....


I was building my run through the second half, whilst the thunder down-under was brewing at the same time. My unplanned stop was around the 15K mark. From then on, I was a traveling percolator (a steam engine with the value holding tight, whilst disturbing rumblings announced that at any moment my ass might explode). My time was a little over 1 hour:35 min or 1:33 PA (poo adjusted).

Do times still count in a half-marathon if they are wind assisted?

Congratulations to Hannah brilliantly beating the 2 hour barrier, Nick blistering under 90 minutes, Robert Song and Liz announcing they are ready for the Gold Coast marathon through performances beyond expectation and to Tesso whose smile crossing the line said it all.

The way to a woman's heart

Katy is very good at telling the story of how we met ..... to let you in on a secret, I have stumbled upon the way to win a girl's heart ....

1. Show up a day late for your first date (builds anticipation)
2. Tell em "you're gunnna be my woif" (women really don't want to be kept guessing about your intentions)
3. Forget flowers when a Bertie Beetle showbag is what she really wants.
4. Leave an impression

Read her blog and it will all make sense.