Blog Archives

May Day

4/30/2014

It is the May Day holiday here in China, which means it's a holiday today, tomorrow, AND Saturday (which is usually a 'holiday' for us anyway). So, in true Chinese fashion, we're working the Sunday to compensate for having a holiday fall on a weekday. Hmm, I think someone in charge must have got confused re: what constitutes a holiday! Hey-ho... I kicked mine off with a speed session at the lovely track this morning which saw me doing the following: 1.6km warm-up, 5x 1.6km at VO2max pace (around 3.55 for me) with 3 minute rests in between each 1.6, then 4.8km easy pace run/cool down/recover. My calves were still a little tight but overall it was a good session. Then Husband and I went on a cycle/explore around town, drank some coffee, and we will soon be drinking beer and meeting our friends to go shopping. BUT, it's a beautiful, sunny, HOT day today, so maybe too nice to spend indoors doing our least favourite activity of shopping? Hmm, needs to be done though (Husband needs new clothes).

As for the rest of our holiday? Not sure. I have a long run scheduled for Saturday morning: I'm aiming to do around 25kms and include LOTS of steps and mountain trails. I paid the entry fee for the 50km race this morning, so this trail race business just got real.

Think we'll also be doing lots of planning of our itinerary for our upcoming amazing caravan adventure, and I'd love to do some writing and general chilling and resting. Hopefully this beautiful weather lasts all three days of it!

Last year today, I was HERE undertaking this extremely difficult, crazy adventure 'running' race on the beautiful Great Wall of China:

All the best to those runners who have gone back for a second year running - you guys are amazing! Once was enough for me, haha.

0 Comments

Virgin

4/29/2014

4 Comments

Ouch. Tight calves and tired legs this morning. I have been using a colour coded system for keeping track of my training and progress etc, and today’s was an orange kind of run. (It is: yellow for a good, easy run, legs feeling great etc, orange for tired or achey or not quite feeling up to it, and blue – in place of red, as that was all the shops had – for, painful, bad, needed to stop kind of run.)

I think, probably the culprit for my achey legs this morning was my run last night. Instead of the 9.66km easy pace run I had on the schedule, I decided to start training for the trail race that is coming up, and switched my flat, easy, outside run, to that of an indoor stair climbing run. Namely up and down our seven stories for thirty reps. It took 48 minutes in total, and was very intense. It can’t have helped that I haven’t done any stairs for ages, as I wanted to focus on speed and follow the half marathon advanced training plan as much to the letter as possible, but now that my event has changed, my training will be adapted to suit the new course. Or I will attempt to train right for it anyway.

I was doing some research on how to train properly for a 50km trail race yesterday and it came as news to me that this is, yes, an ‘ULTRA’ event! I must have been having a completely blond moment when I was registering and booking it, as I was very excited about the race being on a trail, and up and down beautiful mountains and streams etc, but I think I neglected to really look at the distance. Yes, 50km is a f*&ken long way! I know, it’s not in the same league as a 100 miler event or even 100km, but it is still a very long way, and yes, is classed as an ultra. One of those races I swore to never take part in, haha…

So, the jury is still out on what is the best way to train for it. Some talk about just logging lots and lots of miles. Others suggest focusing on tempo runs and short hard runs, along with regular moderate distance runs, to build up strong leg muscles. Most talk about the importance of running on similar terrain to the event. I will do a mixture of the training plan I was currently doing, and will keep most of the speedwork sessions that I have left, plus the long runs. But I will also mix in some stair workouts in our apartment building and some runs that take me up and down the mountain at the Southern edge of our city, as this is the only place I can think of where the terrain might be similar to that of the beautiful, mountainous national park I’ll be running through on 7th June.

On my schedule for today is a second run of the day (later after work), but only a 4km easy paced run. I think I will still do this one, despite the achey legs, and will use it to stretch out and try to loosen up my tight calf muscles . Will also use it as transport to the supermarket and back. Win.

Ok, any ultra runners reading this with some advice for an Ultra-Virgin?? This will be my first ultra race, a 50km trail race, and any training tips or advice would be very welcome!

4 Comments

Runner's World Fifty Kilometre Trail Race

4/28/2014

2 Comments

I thought I'd post some more re: this trail race coming up on 7th June. I will really need to step my training up for this one, quite literally, and may soon be visiting my old friends the hundreds of steps up the mountain at the Southern edge of town. (Yes, will definitely keep you posted re: my training for this race Kristina!). Re: this training. Hmm, now I'm not too sure what to do for it exactly. I am aiming to alter my current 'advanced half marathon training plan' and add in a couple of stair/mountain sessions each week, and try to add in a few extra kms to the long run each weekend, as currently the training plan goes up to 28.8km but no higher. Watch this space. Did some excellent work for this training plan this morning by choosing to sleep in and get a little bit more rest before a long day of teaching begins, but hopefully I will get out there this arvo for that 9.66km one I had planned.

Ok, so on to the info for this race. This is on the website I found when researching events in China:

"Runner’s World China 50KM Trail Race – Registration Open!

Hey!

Spring HeyRunning Camp Chinese Media Partner, Runner’s World China, is organising The Ultimate 50KM Trail Running Grand Prix for the second year and we can help you register if you want to run!

The race is set to take place on Saturday 7th June in the Wuyuezhai National Forest Park, Hebei Province! This is an off-road trail race so expect wild trails, mountains, steep climbs, streams, technical downhills and some amazing views. There are no shorter race distance options, but if you’re looking for an extra challenge then this is it! A bunch of HeyRunners, including Head Coaches Linus & Neil, raced last year and had a really FUN (exhausting) time!

More info available via the race website HERE and below:

What: The Ultimate 50KM Trail Running Grand Prix (Male & Female races)

When: Saturday 7th June 2014

Who: 300-500 Chinese and international runners

Schedule: Leave Beijing at 13.00 on Friday 6th June by coach to reach race destination (est. 5 hours). Race starts at 6AM on Saturday 7th June. Return to Beijing either late Saturday afternoon/early evening or Sunday morning.

Registration: Email heyrunning@heyrobics.com titled ‘RWC 50KM Registration (Name)‘ and we’ll send over the registration form.

Cost: RMB700 (includes hotel accommodation, transport, meals, race registration and race prize)

Contact: Email heyrunning@heyrobics.com for questions a full schedule and more info or say Hey at one of our weekly sessions!"

So, I'm all registered, just need to finalise a few travel and logistical details, and soon I'll be running/scrambling through here:

2 Comments

The Joy of Prince

4/27/2014

1 Comment

More internet troubles here, so have had no internet all weekend. This will be very brief as not sure how long we’ll be up and running online again. Hey-ho.

Yesterday morning was my long run of the week – about 22.5kms (neglected to wear Garmin due to the rain, but Husband later pointed out that there’s a good chance the Garmin is waterproof yes? Good point, hmmm). Anyway, I think it was the 22.5km that was planned on my training plan, but I added in some trails and steps through a riverside park that is basically one giant wooded cliff, i.e. many stairs to train on. I did this because I have registered to run a FIFTY km trail race on 7th June! Very excited! But need to change up my training somewhat now, as will need to focus on endurance and strength (akin to the Great Wall last year I suppose) rather than trying to get faster. (I have postponed the Gold Coast race until next year, sadly, so this trail race about 5 hours out of Beijing in a mountainous national park, should be a good substitute.) This will be the longest race I’ve ever done, and maybe the hardest too? I’ll find out I guess.

I had the excellent company of this dirty-talking/singing dude on my run:

Yep, finally cracked my old ipod out of hiding and ran with music yesterday. It has been well over a year since I’ve ran with music, and it was a welcome change. Bon Jovi, The Eagles, Santana and many others also joined me and spurred me on. I had forgotten the joy of running with Prince singing filthy songs in my ear.

Unbelievably it’s another Monday again. So: a Happy Monday to you wherever you may be.

1 Comment

Marathon in The Hunter Valley, Australia, July 2009

4/24/2014

0 Comments

So, this race recap is just a little belated, but when trawling through some old photos the other day, when I got to the photos from my first ever full marathon in the Hunter Valley, Australia, I was taken back there and was caught up in my memories from this race. So, I thought it would be fun to go through more of the photos for this race and talk about that awesome (but painful!) weekend, as this race was way back in the day, way before I had this blog (yes, I know this blog is only about 6months old haha).

I went with my good friend Ruth (who sadly, we have kind of lost touch since then, but I hope we’ll meet up again in the future). She was running her first half marathon and I was running my first full. It was an exciting weekend for us both.

We went up the day before and stayed at the Irish pub and accommodation (Harrigan’s) that was about 500metres from the event venue, and spent the afternoon before the race, exploring the grounds, taking photos, drinking lots of tea, and eating dinner at the pub (although I wished later on I had eaten a lot more the day before).

The morning of the race was FREEZING! The photos do not show how cold it was, as it looks beautiful and sunny, but trust me: it was COLD.

It is a great course: it takes you through and around various vinyards, and it truly beautiful. I had run the half marathon there the year before, so I was pumped to be back to do the full the next year. The full is two laps of the same half marathon course, and I think there is 10km race section too, if you are so inclined.

Now, I must have forgotten about how undulating this beautiful scenery was, as it was a surprise to me about those hills, one in particular, where it was quicker to try to walk/stride up rather than run, due to its incline. This hill you had to do twice if you were doing the full. Ouch indeed.

The race started off well, perhaps too well? I kept trying to tell myself to slow down, as I’d feel my pace picking up. I had my dad’s advice ringing in my ears about try to run the first half slowly and then you’ll do fine in the second half. He ran the London marathon back in the day and got a time of 4:11! So, I think I was definitely aiming for matching his time, or trying to get close to there anyhow.

The first half took me 1:46, so much too fast I think, on reflection, if I was aiming to run the first half slower than the second one. Oops. Hey-ho, on with the race. In the second half I was still feeling pretty good and was keeping pace with a couple of women who were incredible! One was running something like 6 marathons in 6 weeks and the other was using this marathon as a mere training run for another event. So, obviously I felt like a ‘proper’ runner as I ran and chatted with them.

Until about kilometre 36 or 37, that is. Hmm, here is where things went wrong. Very wrong. Or perhaps, they actually went wrong a lot earlier, but here is where I felt the effects. My legs kind of stoped working. What the?? Is this that famed ‘wall’ I’d heard so much about? Yup. It is a real thing. Was very frustrated. Had to sort of limp/shuffle/walk for the most of the rest of the way, and people who were running with me at the end where like ‘what happened to you? You were doing so well! Etc.’. Oh well. Wasn’t my day. I finished in 4:35, so if my legs had not given up the fight with just 6 little kilometres to go, I might just have got the time I was aiming for.

I gratefully limped/ran in slow motion across the finish line and Ruth and I found each other and hugged and celebrated, and I then got stuck into the post-race bananas and drinks on offer.

My legs were wrecked for ages hey. Had extremely slow, elderly ladies overtaking me on pavements as I limped along over the next few days. I remember going in to work (I worked in a pathology lab in a busy hospital) the next day and my boss congratulating me but laughing at me, kind of like ‘what are you doing here today?!’

I think a major lesson I learnt from this marathon is this: FUEL. Pre-fuel, and my fuel during the race were completely inadequate for a full marathon. I had run a few half marathons and one ten km race prior to this marathon, where I didn’t use any extra fuel during the race, so I think I wasn’t prepared enough on the fuel side of things. I think I drank mainly water at the aid stations for the first half of the race, and then would alternate water and sports drinks. However, by the time my legs had problems, and I was stuffing in jellybeans like there was no tomorrow, it seemed it was too late. Lesson learnt: re- fuel before you run out.

Apart from the pain and the slight disappointment of not actually having ran the whole way, as I had to walk for a few kilometres at the end, I was still euphoric and ecstatic at the end of the race. I had just ran a full marathon! And then promptly vowed never to do so again. Haha…

0 Comments

For The Love of Track

4/23/2014

2 Comments

Once the rain subsided I made it (at last) to the track for the following run: 3.22 easy pace, 6.44 threshold pace, 3.22 easy. My threshold pace is supposed to be between 4.07 and 4.15, and I stuck to this range, sometimes going up to 4.15 but sometimes going too low to 4.00 or 4.05. When I remembered to take note when Garmin beeped at my kilometre marks, my average times were 4.07, 4.07, 4.08, 4.09, and then 4.03 (oops, the last one was a little fast then). Total time of 58:07. Fastest 5 km was 20:38. Felt great. LOVED leaving the track, haha…

So, come on people, HOW do I change my trackitude and learn to LOVE going there for a run, rather than having to psych myself up to even get there? It is definitely a love/hate relationship. Ok, let’s look at the positive aspects of running at the school’s track:

It is accurate in terms of distance and speed (now that I’ve got my trusty Garmin)
There is no traffic or lights to have to stop at
No pedestrians to avoid (or motorbikes on the pavement coming straight at you)
Most of the time I have got it all to myself
It is 300 metres from my apartment
I feel amazing at the end of a workout at the track

Ok, a couple of those pesky (but substantial) negative aspects:

It is kind of (ok, sometimes, very) monotonous. Akin to an outside treadmill?
It is synonymous with speedwork (or attempting speedwork on some days)
Sometimes there are some awkward moments when others are on the track and I attempt some ‘excellent’, mid-running Chinglish.

So, you see, lots more good than bad going on down at the track, so I hope this helps me next week to bound on out there full of enthusiasm and genuine excitement for my speed session. Ahem. Watch this space.

2 Comments

WHY Does It Always Rain...

4/21/2014

0 Comments

…when I have plans to go to the track?? Not keen to sprint in the wet, so opted to change up for my tomorrow run and this morning I did an easy paced 12.8kms instead. Fingers crossed this rain pisses off in time for tomorrow’s run at the infamous track!

Not much else to report: gloomy, drizzly weather and lessons as usual (we think). Surely they are due for some more exams or some sort of outing day, or any other reason why we will not be required, haha, come on Universe!

Have a trippy Tuesday everyone!

0 Comments

Sickness and Health, and Happy Monday Everyone!

4/20/2014

4 Comments

Today’s run is an easy paced 9.66kms. The air is pretty filthy at the moment and it’s turned cold again overnight, wtf? But hey-ho. Got to just do it yes? Will be out there soon. Just having some much needed coffee first.

A thought struck me over the weekend, actually, at some point during my long run on Saturday morning, to be precise. If you continually worry about someone else’s health (and you regularly voice your concern), it has no effect on their health but has every detrimental effect on your own health instead. So, that phrase about being 'worried sick'? Pretty spot on. You can’t get someone to look after their own health or admit there is a health concern – they have to do this themselves, and any worrying on your part will only affect YOU, not them. Sure, you will still care and hope for the best for them, but stop worrying and stop taking other people’s problems onboard. Look after YOU.

No long weekend for us here in China, which means back to work as usual today. Should be pretty cruisy though as only have the one lesson in the afternoon. So, I may finally catch up on some of that SLEEP I was yearning for at the start of the weekend.

Happy Monday Folks! J

4 Comments

Blasts From The Past, and My Hot Date

4/19/2014

4 Comments

Yesterday’s run was an AWESOME run! Smashed it! Or, felt like I did anyway. It was as follows: 1.6kms easy, 4.8kms threshold pace, 1.6kms easy, 4.8kms threshold, 6.2kms easy. I stopped running 500m early, as I wanted to buy a drink and some breads on the way home and happened to be coming up to the amazing-crusty-bread stall, and then walked about 1km home from there. Altogether it took 1:27, and my legs felt great. My fastest 5kms from this run was 21:17 and my fastest 10kms was 43:42.

I was pretty nervous about running threshold pace for those two distances (threshold pace being between 4:07 – 4:18 for me and the time I’m aiming for in the big race) but it went fine, and no dramas at all. So, now I’m thinking, what if I do something similar to this on the day of the race? Just do a third extra of what I did this morning plus an extra kilometerish at threshold pace? I.e. 1.6kms easy, 4.8kms threshold, 1.6kms easy, 4.8kms threshold, 1.6kms easy, 6.7kms threshold. So, perhaps I will don Garmin on race day after all.

This run left me feeling pretty confident and kind of on top of the world, and it just goes to show, that you CAN do hard things! Or things that you find the idea of quite daunting at first. I think most things, before you try them for the first time, can seem daunting and a lot harder than they actually turn out to be. Case in point (recent examples):

-          Speaking loudly/teaching/aiming to keep control of 50 kids at a time = pretty daunting before we began this job here. Now = piece of cake (haha, although ‘control’ isn’t a word I’d use in this case).

-          Giving a speech to hundreds or thousands of people = super daunting and ‘scary’ before. After having done it = not so bad, and I can do it.

-         Running/climbing/crawling up and down the Great Wall of China = extremely daunting at first look. After the race = exhilarated and ecstatic at having done it.

-         Speaking Chinese = very hard and a challenge. Now = very hard and a challenge. (Haha, ok, this one will be a work in progress…)

I was inspired the other day (thanks Kristina!) to rifle through all my old photos (ones on the computer anyway) for a good ole’ nostalgia session. Didn’t think I had any digital ones from 2003 but surprised myself and found some (shockingly bad) photos from my days at University down in Brighton, England. Here’s a not too bad one from then, this is me with my old housemate Matt and lovely friend Sarah:

Is it weird that I can pinpoint which year (and probably which month too) by my hair at the time? Other than the hair occasionally changing colour, I don’t think I’ve changed too much? What do you think? This is me in 2004 in Hastings, England. Arrghh – used to love this skirt way too much. Haha, must have loved the way it made my legs glow luminously white or something:

Fast forward to 2007 to Australian life where I was going through a platinum/bleached blond coupled with a spray tan look. Winning yes? Haha. This was when I had a mobile spray tanning business, so, hazard of the job?

Aaaand, then I chose to dye my hair super dark brown for a change in late 2008. Hmm, interesting thing, when you dye your hair: complete strangers think it’s acceptable to weigh in on if they preferred your hair blond or brown. The same thing happened when I changed it to red back when I was 17/18 – complete strangers telling me that they preferred it before. Creepy much? Oh, and pretty sure boyfriend at the time told me instantly it was horrible and he also preferred the blond hair I had before the change. Thanks for that!

And another one of my dark hair, complete with my favourite lady! (Also sporting dark hair, Annie! Remember this?)
LOVE Australia Day!

Then, this is where I’m in between brown and blond, attempting to dye it back to ‘normal’ (much prefer having lighter hair, so it seems those strangers were right!). This was my very first full marathon! In 2009 in the Hunter Valley Australia:

Another one from that marathon weekend. I went with my friend Ruth, who was running her first half marathon, and I was pretty pumped – can you tell?

This is one from a triathlon I took part in, in Newcastle, Australia in I think 2007 maybe? Or late 2006? Hard to tell as I can’t see my hair colour, lol… I only did the run portion while my excellent friend Joe did both the swim and the hardcore cycle section (which was up and down some very steep hills). I think I ran the 4km stretch along the harbour and back in 17 minutes, which isn’t too bad considering I wasn’t really a ‘runner’ back then (yet). I look just a little bit nervous, haha.

Me and my favourite again. Both of us back to blond again (mine still with a hint of brown though, so this must have been mid 2009? Or August 2009 to be precise - was this your birthday drinks Annie?):

Here is Husband and I! Back when we had not long gotten together. This is early 2010, in Newcastle, Australia. I love this photo so much. We used it as postcards for details for our wedding when we got married in 2012. Look at his beautiful blue eyes!

Speaking of Husband, he is away this weekend visiting a friend about an hour’s train ride away from here. I suggested he may want a ‘manly’ weekend away to catch up with his friend (who used to live and work here, but now we don’t get to see him so often). This has given me a whole weekend to myself to: catch up on some writing (yep, the trashy ‘novel’ is getting one-step closer to being finished), rest and SLEEP (hopefully), see a friend and her daughter for jiaozi (dumplings) and pijiu (beer), watch chick-flicks while drinking white wine and eating dark chocolate (yes, I realize how clichéd this sounds), and do whatever else I fancy. Oh, and I might have had a hot date with this little beauty:

Ok, no running today – it is a day of rest, lol. Long run done and dusted yesterday, and NO achey legs this morning, awesome. Oh, and I think it’s Easter today? So, enjoy that if you are celebrating. Am guessing lots of lovely long weekends for you folks back in Australia and England? Enjoy!

4 Comments

Question Time

4/18/2014

4 Comments

We are having severe internet problems here at the moment, so I hope this gets through!

Thank you for the nomination for the Liebster Award Kristina! (http://www.blogaboutrunning.com/lets-play-10-questions//). This seems a great way to find out more about each other and about different bloggers. Thanks for nominating me! The rules state that if nominated you have to name 10 other bloggers, then post your own 10 questions, after having answered the 10 questions posed to you by the blogger who nominated you. (Then notify YOUR 10 bloggers you have nominated.)

(The Liebster Award Rules

1.) You must link back to the person who nominated you

2.) You must answer the 10 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you.

3.) You must pick 10 bloggers to be nominated for the award (with a small following)

4.) You must create 10 questions for your nominees

5.) You must go to their blogs and notify the nominees)

So, here goes. Here are my answers to Kristina’s questions:

1. If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and who would you bring with you?

Bali! And I would take the gorgeous Anne-Marie Molloy.

2. What was the name of your first pet, and how did you come up with it?

Amber. It was a guinea pig. I think the name arose from me having a Care Bear called Princess Amber.

3. If you could run with any one person at your next race, who would it be and why?

My Dad, as we never got to run in a race together.

4. If the fire alarm in your house goes off, which three things do you take with you as you run out of the house?

Husband, Puppy, handbag (filled with passports and wallet – I carry it kind of OCD-ly over here, lol).

5. Where did you go on your honeymoon (or where did you go on your favorite vacation)?

We had TWO weddings so we had TWO honeymoons! The first was in Melbourne, Australia, just after New Year’s Day in 2012, and the second was in beautiful Bali and Malaysia, in May and June 2012.

6. What is your favorite beverage? Alcoholic or nonalcoholic.

Nonalcoholic: Coffee. Alcoholic: WINE! J

7. What is your absolute favorite TV show of all time?

Hmm, tough one. Don’t really watch TV these days. But, back in the day (a long time ago), I LOVED Friends, haha. Oh, and Neighbours, of course. Who am I kidding?! Neighbours (that classic Aussie soap) is the answer to this, hands down.

8. What is your favorite cross training activity?

Cycling or hiking outside. Used to be Bodypump classes or a spinning class but haven’t done one of these since coming to China. I miss them!

9. Are you hoping to PR at any distances this year? Which ones?

Yes, I am hoping to PR at the Gold Coast half marathon on 6th July. My last half I ran in 1:35, so I am aiming to get closer to 1:30 (not sure I can do it, and that’s ok if I don’t.)

10. If you had to give up one of your senses (hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, feeling) which would it be and why?

Good, hard question! Hmmm, that is really hard! I like all of them, haha… Maybe hearing? As I could learn to communicate in other ways and music I could still ‘hear’ vibrationally if I turned it up really loud (saw a film about a DJ who went deaf but could still DJ by doing this, hope it’s true). Definitely couldn’t give up tasting/smelling, seeing or touching! (And hope I never have to…)

So, without further ado, here are the 10 bloggers who I nominate for the Liebster Award:

1) Kristina at http://www.blogaboutrunning.com/ (back at ya Kristina!)

2) Michelle at http://www.ahealthymrs.com/

3) David at http://captainspeedypants.blogspot.fr/

4) Amy at http://runwritehike.com/

5) Karen at http://runnergirleats.com/

6) Amanda at http://www.runningwithspoons.com/

7) Sara at http://www.lovingontherun.com/

8) Aimee at http://www.funfitgirl.com/

9) Gina at http://fitnessista.com/

10) Richard at http://runningschlub.blogspot.com/

Your questions are:

Do you remember why you started running, and when this was?
What’s your favourite post workout meal or snack?
If you could rewind to any age or point in time right now, what would it be?
Do you have a favourite song? Or top 3?
Party drugs in your youth – yay or nay?
What is your biggest fitness motivation?
Ever not quite feel real?
What 3 things bring you the most joy in life?
Ever try any crazy 'fad' diet, such as Atkins, the baby food diet etc.?
What’s your biggest goal that you are working on right now?

Enjoy your questions fellow bloggers, and feel free to answer them even if I you’re not nominated – I would love to hear your responses!

4 Comments

<<Previous

May Day

Virgin

Runner's World Fifty Kilometre Trail Race

The Joy of Prince

Marathon in The Hunter Valley, Australia, July 2009

For The Love of Track

WHY Does It Always Rain...

Sickness and Health, and Happy Monday Everyone!

Blasts From The Past, and My Hot Date

Question Time

Author

Archives

Categories