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Two Weeks To Go!

6/23/2015

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I’m writing this on Sunday 21st June 2015. This last week has been horrendous, training wise.

I should have seen it coming: Start of the taper? Tick. Lots of things I’m HUGELY looking forward to? Tick. Tired from not getting quite enough sleep due to marathon training combined with ‘normal’ living? Tick. Oh, and don’t forget: working in an office full of people taking turns in sickness? Tick. That’s right, you guessed it – I got sick. It all started, or had the inklings of starting, last Sunday, after that kinda-rubbish attempt of a long-run. Come to think of it, that should’ve been a tell-tale sign of things to come, but hey-ho, I persevered with the day. Until that late afternoon, when those dreaded swollen glands in my neck surfaced and my first thought was: ‘f*ck no! Not tonsillitis, not when I’ve got so much happening right now!’

Arrghhh, this always seems to happen when I’m either really looking forward to something, or about 2-3 weeks out from a race, or both, come to think of it (be it that I’m usually really looking forward to a big race!). So, I shouldn’t have been surprised. But still, it’s been a shocker of a ‘surprise’ illness. Due to me being so prone to tonsillitis (and after a particularly nightmarish case of this one Bali holiday back in 2010/2011 ish I am more than a little paranoid now) I got to the doctor’s quick-smart only to be reassured that antibiotics were not needed (phew) but that REST would fix me. Oh joy. Just what every runner wants to hear. Anyway, I’ve given my all to said resting this week, along with consuming copious raw garlic, turmeric and honey concoctions (recipe below!), and bucketloads of vitamin C via fresh fruit and veggies. But am I fixed yet??? Well…. kind of. But it’s STILL hanging around. Not cool ‘random virus’, not cool at all… It’s just so, very, frustrating…..

As for the foods and concoctions just mentioned - I probably say or think this every time I get sick, but I must, must, MUST continue with them after I’m 100% better too, that way I am less likely to even get sick next time. Just like everything, this will be a habit, but will be a habit well worth cultivating if it stops me getting ill before a race or an event I’m looking forward to.

And what is the thing I’m really looking forward to?!?? There are a few things at the moment, the main ones (that I can write about on here anyway) are that: 1) Husband is actually coming over for a visit!!!!! He will be here in one weeks’ time (and I’m kinda ridiculously, giddily happy about this. A lot.); 2) my book launch party is all set to go ahead next Sunday (with said Husband making it, just in time, woohoo!!); and: 3) the Gold Coast Marathon is in just TWO weeks’ time!!!

So many good things are happening, and I’m generally feeling that old cliché ‘high on life’ or ‘drunk on life’, take your pick. If it weren’t for this annoying (and at times, debilitating) random virus, everything would be a-ok and so beautiful. Maybe I shouldn’t have actively committed to ‘the taper’, in my mind? Then I could have somehow tricked my mind and body into not launching me into a full-fledged mainly-taper-induced illness (I googled it. Apparently its  thing. Loads of people get sick when they enter the ‘taper’). Anyway, the theory now is that a week or so off your overall training, at this point, won’t make any difference to your strength and stamina and running on race day (providing the cold or bug is gone by then), but that doesn’t stop the frustration at not being able to get out there for your usual runs.

Ohwell. The night before last, I at least got to feel like I was heading out for a run, even though that’s not at all what went down: it was my beautiful friend’s 21st birthday party and the theme was ‘Alter Egos’, hmmm… what to go as? (once I’d managed to get out of my sickbed and get some much needed Panadol into me that is). Alter egos could be your opposite self, yes? OR, who you would like to be if you could snap your fingers and swap lives with someone? Anyway, whichever the answer to that one is: I decided MY alter ego would be….. wait for it…… a runner! But hold on, not just ANY runner (coz that wouldn’t be an alter ego yes? That’d just be me….), no no, my costume was that of a Champion Professional Ultra Runner! This meant I could basically wear my winter running gear (it was cold last) plus my medals from the two ultra events I have completed before, plus my TRAINERS, to a party – great plan for me, as it was one of the comfiest of comfiest party outfits. Here is a shot from the night, so you can see this extremely innovative ‘costume’ of mine.

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I actually got to go for a (much-needed) run this morning, when my body finally felt fine, even though I still have disgusting head-cold symptoms. Really felt like some salty ocean air coupled with those running endorphins would help, and it did. I’m almost back to feeling 100% now. No doubt helped by my new favourite drink: Golden Milk (AKA, turmeric + coconut milk + honey). Turmeric is one of nature’s best medicines and has been used for centuries as a potent medicine. It is a strong antioxidant, a powerful anti-inflammatory, it improves endothelial function, prevents/slows Alzheimers’s, helps arthritis sufferers, and even prevents cancer from both forming and spreading and can destroy cancerous cells, amongst many other things. However, the key active compound in turmeric is its curcumin, which the body does not absorb readily, and to make this more readily bioactive and therefore to reap the many benefits of this vibrant, wonderful spice/medicine, there are a few things you can commonly do to it: 1) eat it with black pepper, 2) heat it, or 3) add some kind of fat to it. By making Golden Milk, you are essentially opting to make the curcumin more readily available to be being absorbed into your bloodstream, as you are satisfying number 2 and 3 there. (You could even crack in some black peppercorns to the finished product for maximum curcumin absorption, but I don’t reckon this would be to everyone’s taste.)

This is my basic recipe for making this amazing healing (and delicious) drink:

-          Coconut milk (either a full cup or half a cup, depending on how creamy you would like your hot beverage to be – I generally make mine with half&half: half coconut milk and half water).

-          1 tsp ground turmeric

-          1 tsp honey

Super easy – combine all the ingredients in a pan and bring to boil; then simmer for a few minutes while stirring the bright yellow concoction thinking happy thoughts. Sip and enjoy! (Whilst thinking about how much GOOD the drink is doing to you.)

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Now, all I’ve got to do, is keep drinking the above drink, keep getting enough rest/sleep, and hopefully there will be NO remnants of this nasty illness by next Sunday (28th June), which is the day of my book launch party. Of which I am SO excited about! No kidding. This is actually one of my dreams coming true hey, so I hope I’ll be able to hold it all together and not be a nervous mess on the day. Public speaking being not exactly my forte, I think I’m going to have to remember my ‘teacher voice’ from China to get me through, as I am hoping to give a short speech/intro about the book, and then read a couple of short passages out from the book (bearing mind that most of the book is pretty debauched and filthy, so I’m still deciding exactly which bits would be ‘safe’ to read out, hmmm…). But, everything seems to be coming together and is on track and all organised for next week, so now I just need to wait patiently (hah) for a week’s time, and pray that everyone who said they can come will show up to this book launch party of mine! Oh, and that I don’t get so nervous that I faint or anything.

If you’re in the Newcastle area next Sunday, please come along! There will be raffle prizes, music by Ryan Patrick Daley (which I am STOKED about!!!! This is perhaps the part I’m most looking forward to!), delicious platters of food, $2 beers and wines, and you’ll be able to pick-up your own exclusive, signed/personalised copy of Bacon Sleep Sex. It should be a great afternoon. It starts promptly at 2pm, at the Albion Hotel, Wickham. Hope to see you there!!

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Everyday I'm Shuffling

6/13/2015

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This morning's long run was distinctly 'meh'. It started off slow. It continued to be slow. It ended suuuper slow. Almost felt like I'd encountered that infamous 'wall' again. But how could that be? I'd fuelled enough the night before (sushi rolls and stuff-on-toast being my go to carby/pre-long-run fuel the night before), and had done nothing out of the ordinary before setting off: same old same old: black coffee, water along the way, then sugary iced tea, and more water until I got back and could cook brekkie. But something was off. The whole run a massive struggle, and what took me 2:10 on this same route a few weeks back took me a good 2:30 today. I was extremely glad it was over today (not the usual pumped/runner's high I've come to expect! Boo...) and I'm still feeling worn out now - almost like I'd ran a full marathon this morning and not just a tapering version of a long run. What gives?? Maybe I was slightly dehydrated? Maybe I had gone to bed too late and was just tired? Maybe I was just having an off morning? Whatever the reason, there's no better way to describe it as 'meh'. Well, perhaps, 'shithouse' but that's putting a bit too much of a negative spin on it. It was only ONE bad run, out of many many awesome ones. And, sure, it may have been more long-shuffle than long-run, but I completed it, got my kilometres in, and hopefully its my body getting the shitty run out of its system before the actual marathon in just 3 weeks time. Hope so.

So, yes, in just THREE weeks' time, I'll be here, getting extremely pumped about this race and then hopefully smashing my previous pb for a full marathon (although not based on this morning's efforts, clearly). Such a beautiful and flat course. Can't wait!


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I. Am. Excited.

Ever feel excitement's contagious? I've been feeling really pumped and excited for some new clients of mine lately (
www.lousweight.com.au). I get SO pumped for them, especially after seeing their commitment, their excitement and their dedication to making awesome changes to their diet and lifestyle. They are truly inspiring and I love getting to come along for the ride and witness their transformations!! Just like I love meeting my own goals (and ticking them off various lists, of course), I love seeing others reaching their goals, and through their own hard work and determination - it's awesome!!

This one's a short (and sweetish) one from me this week. That run has wrecked me hey, not gonna lie. Off to take it very very easy now... I hope you're all having fantastic weekends one and all, and smashing your own goals and targets, whatever they may be too. :)

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My First DNS...

6/10/2015

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Welcome back! It’s been a while hey! I hope you’re all happy and well. There have been quite a few changes since my last blog post on here. Yes, I’m still running though, phew…. Nothing quite that dramatic. However, I’m temporarily not in China anymore, so perhaps I should work on changing the name of this blog to something more apt? Long story short: I’m currently back in Australia working on two main exciting projects that I hold very dear to my heart: first and foremost, and the reason I needed to actually be in the country is this: my novel, Bacon Sleep Sex is about to be released as a paperback edition!! Not just digital/e-book! I am hugely excited about this and therefore will be hosting a book launch party here in beautiful Newcastle, NSW, later in the month to celebrate and help promote the book (get the word out!). Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Bacon-Sleep-Sex-Lois-Wood-ebook/dp/B00PR4B9E0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433130215&sr=8-1&keywords=bacon+sleep+sex



The other exciting news (for me anyway) is that I’ve taken up my online nutrition business (circa 2011) once again. Have a gander at: www.lousweight.com.au if you’re interested in having your own personal nutritionist (that’s me!) who can help you to either lose weight or plan your healthiest diet and lifestyle yet using your favourite foods and specifically designed for you. I give my clients a super unique, personalised service and am there to support and encourage them every step of the way on their journeys, implementing real advice and recommendations that really work. I also do one-off nutritional analyses, so if you’ve ever wondered about your own diet and if you’re meeting all the daily recommended values of vitamins and minerals, for example, then shoot me an email. I’d love to hear from you.



 



The other main thing that is occupying my time (other than trying to finish my second trashy novel, full-time work, and catching up with friends, phew…) is, wait for it…: marathon training! Yep, that’s a shocker isn’t it. I am all set to take part in the Gold Coast Airport Marathon 2015 in just under 5 weeks’ time, so my early morning and weekends have been (happily) taken up by regular runs and long runs in preparation.



Some of you may remember that last year I also ran in this event, however I ran the half marathon, aiming to beat my previous half marathon pb (which I did! By a whole 8 seconds, lol… A pb is a pb, right?). This time around I will be running the full distance and again aiming for a pb. My pb for a full marathon is currently 4:04, so this is the time I’ve set myself to beat. Watch this space!



So, I should tell you about what I considered to be a major fail the other day (but one that I’m totally at peace with now). As part of my marathon training, I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be fun to run in at least one proper/official race before the big race in July?’ As luck would have it, there was (conveniently enough) a half marathon the very next weekend down in Sydney (about 3 hours away by train). Perfect. I registered just in time, and found a cheap(ish) hotel right near the start and finish line (as the starting time was 6:45am and they said to get there at 6:15. Yeesh). So far, so good. I then enlisted my Girl-Besty Annie to come and be my substitute Coach/husband/cheer squad for the race (you may remember her from such times as: the Gold Coast half last year, and copious other blog posts! She is just awesome. I love her to bits). We would get the added bonus of a fun outta town trip together too (Annie: if you’re reading this, I’m so sorry again about the robe fiasco!).

Jump to the weekend in question: I’d picked up my race gear (read = just a bib, not even a flyer or a t-shirt; what the?!) and we’d checked in to the hotel and then went in search of one of our favourite things to do together: food-on-a-plate (= awesomely tasty food served to us in a restaurant, i.e. on a plate and not a handheld burger or sandwich, for example. FYI: a halloumi burger and chips if on a plate in a restaurant definitely counts as food-on-a-plate! A delicious time indeed). All was going swimmingly. That is, until I awoke bright and early the next morning and hobbled, yes, hobbled, to the bathroom to start getting ready. What was going on?!? What was this extremely painful stabbing sensation in my right heel?!

I limped around getting dressed and making coffee for a while before it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, I shouldn’t actually go ahead and run the race that morning. I weighed up my options:

1)      I could run the race and the pain could dissipate and I’d be fine, or just a bit slower than usual.

2)      I could run the race and the pain could either get worse or I might fuck my foot up for a long while afterwards, who knew…

3)      I could forfeit the race and go back to bed and ‘rest’ my heel/foot until it was better.

Panicking slightly at the prospect of having a bonafide running injury for weeks potentially, if I say, ran on it that morning anyway and then it could get worse and I could be out of action for weeks while recovering; I ‘sensibly’ chose option 3. I went back to bed (in my full running outfit no less: an ode to the race I’d be missing).

So, consequently, I got my first DNS (did not start): much worse than a DNF (did not finish) – I didn’t even start!

Although I think I chose wisely at the time, you can imagine my annoyance (with myself) when later that day, probably by ten o’clock that night, my heel was miraculously better and I was walking fine again, no trace of the limp from early that morning. However, I suppose that’s life: sometimes we’ll get a DNF or DNS, and sometimes an unexpected random heel pain can appear and fuck up your well-crafted plans. A good analogy for life in general, but the take home message is this: you may suffer unexpected annoyances/injuries that seem pretty rubbish at the time (shit happens) but soon you’ll be up, up and away again, and there’s always another race (or opportunity). Roll on the Gold Coast Marathon in July then! My chance to acquire an acronym of an entirely different sort (specifically: PB or PR).

I’ll be thinking of my beautiful, wonderful coach and husband while running this next race, and wishing he was there too (he’ll still be in China by then I think, although there’s always my hope that he’ll be able to make it back here. He’s busy building Earthship-esque houses for some friends in the countryside near the uni, planting seeds and demonstrating permaculture concepts to some of the villagers there, teaching hundreds of students each week and looking after our dog. I am so proud of him and happy for him, despite missing him every day. If you’re reading this Husband: I love you and miss you and can’t wait to see you in July for your birsday. Also, really wishing you could come to my book launch party, but to unimaginatively quote the Stones here: you can’t always get what you want. Hey-ho. Life is beautiful and full of surprises for us.

Thanks for reading, everyone, and I’ll be back soon! Happy running and living. xxx










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    A 30-something's running and travelling experience around the world.

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