Another week, another random pain, hmm, what’s going on? Today’s random (and I hope one-off) pain was in my lower right calf, and then another niggling (but more subtle) similar pain occurred in the left calf towards the end of my run too. The pain wasn’t too extreme, just annoying, but in the end it caused me to reduce my last tempo interval by a kilometre, as I decided to listen to my body and call it a day earlier than planned. (Today’s run was as follows: 1.6km warm-up, 2x 4.8kms at threshold pace with 3 mins rest in between, then a final 3.8kms threshold pace instead of a third 4.8kms interval, then the 1.6kms cool-down.)

I have an awful feeling that this week’s random pain may be a shoe related issue. I.e. that my shoes are well overdue for a change. I have read that you should change your running shoes every 800kms or so. Now, I was planning on getting a new pair at the expo during the marathon weekend in the Gold Coast, but now I’m not sure if I should wait and run in the shoes that I’ve got and have been training in, or buy a new pair and hope I can break them in in time for next Saturday’s race, or run in my older, even more worn out but trusty pair of shoes. Hmm, what to do? Or, maybe it has nothing to do with the shoes and is all in my head?? I hope so.

Something that helped immensely today, and not just with the run, but with the actually getting up and out there in the, yes you guessed it, continuous pissing down rain, was a mantra courtesy of Kristen at Glitter and Dust (http://glitteranddust.com/), about not trading what you want most for what you want right now. Thanks Kristen! This actually woke me up, as I was midway through a random dream re: eating a chicken burger (even more random as I have recently gone back to being mostly vegetarian, along with Husband who is newly vegetarian) and was wondering in the dream if I was awake or dreaming this, and if I was awake then why was I eating a chicken burger so close to getting up for my morning run? Then it struck me, oh it must be a dream, and the mantra came in, adapted to suit the occasion, and spurred me on to wake up as I told myself: ‘don’t trade sleeping in again for what you want most Lou!’

I wish I’d remembered this phrase yesterday afternoon though, when I absolutely traded in what I want most (to get a new PB at the Gold Coast half marathon, and thus, sticking to my training schedule, rain or no rain) for what I wanted right then: going for beers and snacks of our favourite marinated cucumber dish and edamame beans, followed by dinner with a nice bottle of red. So, no, yesterday’s run was out the window! Oops…

Another awesome mantra that helped a lot this morning was courtesy of Kristina over at Blog About Running (http://blogaboutrunning.com/) where I reminded myself that ‘I’ve done it before, I can do it again’. Thanks Kristina!!

 

I have written on here before about how sad we will be to say goodbye and how much we have loved working here. We also often say how this is the best job we’ve ever had and that it doesn’t feel like a job. There’s been no criticism (‘constructive’ or otherwise), no dramas, and no stress. We have been able to plan our own lessons and teach what we like and use whatever method we choose to, and have always been praised and appreciated. The working hours are great as are the perks of the job, and the other teachers are very friendly and warm and welcoming. If you like the sound of this teaching job, then read on: there are two vacancies here at the school we are leaving soon! It is a great position for a couple, or for two single teachers. If you are hold a TEFL or TESOL or other teaching certificate, and would like to come and teach in China, then please get in touch and send me your details, and I can pass it on to the woman in charge of hiring foreign teachers. Here are some more details about the job:

- Work just over 10 hours a week. (Sometimes less when there are exams, sports days etc.)

- Accommodation provided (fully furnished, utilities paid for, all mod cons, air con, TV, internet etc)

- Bicycles provided too!

- Airfare reimbursed at the end of the contract.

- Extra expenses reimbursed at the of the contract too. (For telephone, medical, and travel.)

- Medical insurance covered by the school.

- After the initial visa to get in the country, the school pays for your health examination, resident permit and all renewals etc.

- Breakfast and lunch provided 5x a week.

- Work only Monday to Friday, and usually between 10am and 4pm.

- Lots of time off and freedom to explore this and other cities.

- Teach 13 to 15 year olds (depending on which grade you teach), and between 22 and 44 students in a class or half class.

- Must be a native English speaker.

 

I’m sure there are lots more details I could tell you about, but if you like the sound of it so far, then please do get in touch! They are looking for someone (or two people ideally) to arrive in late August, for the beginning of term on September 1st.

 

Here are a few photos to give you an idea of where we live and teach:

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.

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!

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!

Off I went, keen as proverbial mustard to give my 'motivational speech', complete in English and Chinese (Chinglish?) this morning. I first stopped by a class of my former students for a practise run-through. That went surprisingly well, and they could understand most of my Chinese. So, there I was expecting to be marched off towards the sportsground, where I was expecting the whole school to assemble for the flag-raising ceremony that I am to give the speech at. However, due to the terrible weather (wow, even the officials have noticed) all the schools have been told to keep their students inside at the moment, until the awful smog clears up So, that gives me an extra week's preparation, and also means my mother will get to come to the ceremony too as she'll have just arrived from England - if she wants to that is; first day in a new town with a 7:30 ceremony might be a bit of a rough start to a holiday?




So, I believe it was this man, Albert Einstein, who said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?

For some reason I woke up thinking about this quote and its ramifications yesterday morning, and it got me thinking. For example, there's a good friend of mine who is constantly trying to lose weight. They go great-guns for a while: they stop drinking, they do more exercise, and hey-presto, they lose a fair bit of weight. Then without fail, they will have a few days on the drink and the weight comes straight back on, every time. I guess we, as people, are strong creatures of habit. But also creatures of HOPE. We really think or hope it will be different this time, hence the repetition of our 'mistakes' from previous attempts.

It got me thinking about doing the same thing over and over again with regards to running, and expecting different results. I think, in running long distances and endurance terms, that actually this is not the case. If you run the same route over and over, and at first (if it is a longer distance you're not used to, it may seem hard or too difficult). Then, over time, as you repeatedly run this route, it gets easier and easier to do, as the route and distance becomes habitual. However, if you are aiming to change your running speed or style or form etc, then yes, I think you must try different things to see different results. So, I am really happy that I actually followed a training plan for once, before this last half marathon, one that included speedwork, tempo runs, slow/recovery pace runs, and trial 10km races as part of the preparation for aiming to get a faster time at the half marathon. This was my first time using a track, and my first time diligently sticking to a program. And it worked! I didn't 'insanely' follow my usual own advice and same tactics for a race - I didn't repeat what I've been doing over and over and expect a different result - I did different things and got a different result. Yay :)




Now, just need to work out how to transform this 'get-faster-for-a-half-marathon' training I've been doing, into 'train-legs-and-stomach-for-long-distances-and-survive-the-full-marathon' training. Hmmm, watch this space. But any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Yup, THIRTEEN days til the race! Feels pretty close / exciting / scary now. :) Can't wait for 1st December!

Another very cold, early morning training session today. The moon was still very much out, and so half of my run was lit by the powerful, magical bright yellow shine of the (full) moon. Was a bit mesmerising and distracting though as I kept staring at the moon as I completed my loops on the track, and had to remind myself to look where I was running (i.e. not trip and fall in the dark).

Today's training was as follows: 2km warm up, 1600m tempo (half marathon race pace), 400m jog in between, 1600m tempo again, then 2km cool down. Followed by: getting under every blanket/doona/duvet that we own in an attempt to warm back up, breakfast, shower, and a back-into-bed-power-nap. Monday mornings are GREAT, don't you think? :) 

Yesterday was, you guessed it, my REST day, and it was great. Although, turned out to be an actively resting day where we cycled around to do some errands (and drink coffee) for a lot of it, plus the usual dog walking and house work. But no running anyhow.

Did spend a lot of time researching jobs and places we'd like to live in next year - going to be such a hard decision: so many amazing and beautiful places we could go to! Got to choose between: beaches and the coast (really miss the ocean and fresh air), mountains and amazing scenery, and beautiful vast grasslands and completely new cultures. Ahh, decisions decisions, at least we've got a full 7 months or so to make our minds up!

In other exciting news: my mother is coming all the way to China (from UK) for a visit! She's going to be here for Christmas and New Year's - we're very excited! We have to work on Christmas day as it's not a holiday here, but that's ok.

Ok, better go and get ready for teaching and another beautiful day in China. Have a great Monday everyone!