Category: Training

Evening Running

9/29/2014

I take my hat off to those of you who can go to work all day and then get out there for a run after work. I did this yesterday, but I'm pretty sure it will be a one-off. My body clearly prefers the early early morning time, and later in the day, well, my legs sort of feel a bit, meh... Or perhaps it was being the first run back after a cold (thank you for your lovely messages! I am heaps better now). Anyway, I tried, and a slow, less than perfect run, is still better than no run at all methinks. What I did was, so that I wouldn't talk myself out of it, or convince myself that there are so many other things I'd rather be doing after work (i.e. eating, chilling, eating) I got into my running gear before my double lesson of the arvo (I teach a large group of nursing students from 4:40-6:30pm twice a week). Crazy, yes? Going to 'work' in running gear. (Crazier still would be having work on a weekend to make up and compensate for a holiday that's coming up this week, but let's not go into that again.) Ahh, but there was a method to my madness, namely being that for half of their lesson I wanted to discuss sports, fitness, and exercise equipment. Sooo, I could point talk and then to my trainers, running tights, camelback etc. Yeah, the main reason might have been that I wanted to get out the door and into the balmy evening as quickly as possible, and that I did: 6:30 on the dot and I was out and setting off on my run.

The evening was not too cold, not windy, and felt kind of balmy, as I ran through the dark on one of my usual routes. It is a totally different experience running under streetlights than running as the beautiful, orange orb of sun is just making its presence known, and although the park was lit up beautifully and felt quite romantic (had I not been there all alone!) I just couldn't shake the thought of wishing it was done and over already so I could be eating dinner and relaxing with Husband. I think, perhaps, for me, running in the evening or afternoon time, or any time when I may usually be hanging out with Husband or friends, seems a bit anti-social, or even feels that I could be missing out?? Yesterday I was craving some sort of tasty pancake wrap thing that they make here, and my thoughts were pretty much on: buying dinner, having a shower, eating dinner, and planning lessons for tomorrow. Which makes for a less than thrilling run!

Oh well. The great thing about running, and anything else in life, is there is always tomorrow. A bad run today can lead to an amazeballs one the next time. Hopefully, anyway.

Anyway, now that I'm feeling heaps better and all but completely recovered from this cold (still have just a tiny bit of a manly voice happening) I can get back into training, and hopefully, will remember that I am very much a morning exerciser! (Despite what I tell myself some mornings, when I'm 'too tired' to get up, so then postpone it til later on. Hmmm, note to self: this means you probably won't work out on that day.)

Do you ever run in the dark?? (It seems to be dark already when I come out of lessons at 6:30pm now! Another reason to stick to my early morning runs methinks.)

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ARDs

9/23/2014

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What is an ARD, I hear you ask? An Accidental, or Annoying, Rest Day. Why, accidental? Because you maybe got ill or injured by accident. Why annoying?? Because you REALLY wanted to get some morning kilometres in and instead you stayed in bed with a rotten cold. Yep, story of my life these past couple of days. SO annoying! Felt itching to get out and run, but my body and head told me otherwise this morning and for the first time in a very long time, I slept through my early alarm, and decided to stay put in bed when I did wake up. Yesterday, I just didn't get out of bed either - saw the early time, and just thought 'no, that's not happening today'. Boo to colds and illnesses. They have a tendency to f&*k my training plans up quite royally. Oh well, I suppose I am doing to right thing, and 'listening to my body' etc etc by not training, but to have two unplanned and unwanted rest days bang in the middle of my week, irks me somewhat.

I am contemplating getting a low-effort strength workout in a little bit later today, or even going for a cycle in the now a lot cooler weather, so then I guess it's only one extra ARD so far this week. But I've cancelled three different fitness dates so far! So, that's no good. I'm blaming said weather and it's change, together with a 'hugely busy' (lol) schedule all of a sudden, for my current cold. To combat said cold I'm eating spicy veggie soup filled with all kinds of healing goodies by the bucketful, and water, water, water, of course.

The Beijing half marathon is only three and a half weeks away now! I need to keep this in mind and keep training. I.e. piss off, Cold. Thank you.

How many rest days do you take, roughly, per week? Are your rest days planned or do you take them as and when you need them? (Mine is usually on a Saturday).

Any miracle cold cures?? (Lots of garlic, veggies and water is usually my aim, but would love to hear of any others.)

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Biryani, Back-to-Bed, and Bad Friends

9/20/2014

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Phew! I'm back. Feels like it's been a crazy busy week, well, for us anyhow (I still can't fathom how I used to work a 40 hour week in the past! Not sure I'll ever go back to that either). I've gone from having 7 lessons in a week to having 19, plus four different early-morning exercise dates, and then there was an extra 'English party' event that we went to (actually, I think we were required to go to) on Friday evening (although when there is a 'party', read = performances). But, always good to see some live music and dancing hey). This week also featured the most delicious, and very moreish, homemade biryani; cooked by some lovely medical student dudes from Pakistan. Definitely carb-loaded on that night. (Thanks Watson, if you're reading this! Delicious!)

As for the running bit? Well, I got a decent-ish early morning run on Thursday. I started with half an hour by myself along part of my usual riverside route, and then met a friend at the uni's sports track for the next halfa. Again, it was fun to run with someone and have a chat - sure does make time fly by too. That is one busy track in the mornings (and I suppose all day long?), and various male students told me 'Hi teacher! We are your students!' and then had an impromptu sprint race of about 100m, I think to show me how fast they can run? Haha... Verdict? MUCH faster than I can! Anymore that is...

I realised this morning, on my one longer run of the week, how much my speed has reduced in the past couple of months - paces I was keeping in my half marathon training throughout May and June, I wouldn't have a hope of meeting now. That's ok though. I mean, it's not as if I am doing any kind of speedwork or training to pick my pace back up. Plus, I have to keep reminding myself, that for this next half marathon I am not running with the aim of getting a pb, but just with the aim of enjoying the race (oh, and getting that all important race medal and t-shirt, of course). So, my easy, comfortable pace seems to be usually around 5 minutes per km. This morning I ran 16kms and it took me 1:21 (so, give or take stopping at some crossings and gates etc). It was a great run though, and I was left feeling strong and happy. Result. After shopping/showering etc, we then had a picnic on our bed while watching a documentary and then went back to said bed. Nothing better than going back to bed after a longer run on a Sunday.

Now for something else, something a little bit shit. Did you ever have a friend who, whenever you talk with them or spend time with them, they put you down or insult you or offend you? Yet, you keep on spending time with that person regardless of how they treat you? Why do we do that?? Why do we put ourselves through that and all the negative emotions that comes with it? Life is short and so is our time, so if someone treats you badly or you don't enjoy spending time with them (either virtually or face-to-face) then I think it's way ok to look after yourself and say 'enough is enough - I will no longer give my time and feelings to this friend who treats me like this'. This should be our choice to make as free individuals and we shouldn't feel guilty about doing so. We choose who to have in our lives, for the most part, and some friendships and people, sadly, change over time. Again, life is short - spend it with those who love and respect you and vice versa, and spend it doing things you love (i.e. for me: things I LOVE and do regularly: running, yoga, reading, beers with new friends, drinking tea, eating out, travelling).

Well, that's enough of my rant for today. I hope you're all having f&*ken excellent weekends wherever you may be. On the cards for the rest of my Sunday-Funday is rest/relaxation/more documentaries/peanuts/tea/ice-cream/SLEEP. I can't wait. :)

Do you have a friend in your life who no longer treats you like a good friend?? Did you cut them out of your life completely or confront them or just let that friendship slide?

Do you ever go back to bed after an early morning run? Favourite post-run activity/routine??

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Back Into Training

9/13/2014

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Hello everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend. My weekend hasn't been filled with too much training, or too much of anything at all. Oops.. Yesterday turned into a dedicated rest day after some strong Chinese drinks on Friday night. Yuck, haven't had a hangover like that in years hey. If it had been wine induced, I could have used this excellent phrase I heard the other day:

Clever hey?? Not so clever is drinking a few too many shots of beijiu (Chinese spirit; like their version of vodka). Should just stick to beer, or wine, and I'll be fine.

Anyway, after a full on rest day, copious food and water, and the power of SLEEP, all was fixed this morning and I have finally (it feels) gotten back into the training by going for a slightly longer run: I went for 15km run this morning and it took me exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes. So, not too speedy, but ok for a casual, Sunday morning run.

I have imminent plans to go for a bike ride too. Probably an hour's worth or just under, down by the riverside in the sunshine. Ahhh, feels good to be back! (No drinking for a while for me, going on a bit of a health kick. Just can't take the hangovers anymore it seems!)

Do you suffer hangovers much? What's your favourite thing to drink too much of?

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Message from the Universe

9/8/2014

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I have registered for another running race!! Pretty pumped to report I will now be taking part in the Beijing Half Marathon on Sunday 19th October! I know, I know, you were getting ready for another: 'I didn't do any running but here's what I did instead' blog post, well, that is just not on the agenda for today. I feel like I may finally have gotten my running mojo back this morning, and possibly all down to this new motivation of having another race on the horizon in the not too distant future (as the grasslands race just seems so far away still! So, hard to really focus on any proper training). I think there's nothing more motivating than having an event to plan and work towards, so I'm so glad that I have signed up for this race, and it's in an easily accessible city (from here to Beijing is an hour's flight I think) so Coach/Husband can come with this time (the last two races he has stayed behind), which will be awesome.

And the reason this random registration came about? (As, it wasn't on my mind even a couple of days ago...) Well, a new friend mentioned she will be running the Beijing marathon on 19th October, with her uncle, who she usually cheers on while he runs it. We got chatting about running for a while after that, and training etc, and I asked does she still run in the colder months here (key question for me apparently), to which she answered, to my dismay, NO, it is too cold. Boo.... BUT, she said she does yoga instead, and this then led to a discussion of where she goes for early morning yoga sessions. The result of this little tangent is that I will now be joining her on some early morning yoga classes, woohoo! But, I digress... Back to the subject at hand: the Beijing marathon.

So, later that day, as I'm scrolling aimlessly through the sometimes addictive time-waste that is the newsfeed of Facebook, I noticed a post from another friend putting it out there about it being the last chance to sign up for the Beijing marathon, and to get in by today. I had seen no mention of said race before, so, this mild coincidence I took as my cue from the universe that I am meant to be running in the Beijing half marathon! Haha, why, you may ask? I know, it's only a small coincidence, but hey I'll take it. I read some work by Deepak Chopra lately along the lines of: whenever you notice a coincidence, it is the universe trying to tell you something or pointing you in the direction you are supposed to go in. Therefore, I feel the universe was telling me not only about this race (thanks Universe!) but that I should sign up before it is too late. So, to cut a long ramble short: I have signed up for the half marathon, and Husband and I can go for a fun little weekend away in Beijing as well.

Having this race to look forward to has already improved my running, I'm sure of it, and I was up and out there early and determined today. However, for this particular race, I think I'm going to adopt a very casual training plan this time, and not worry about time, speed, pace, PRs/PBs etc. I just want to run it purely on how I feel (Garmin-free) and take in the Beijing sights along the way. I'll keep you posted with my rough training 'plan' as I go. Today I ran approximately 12kms through one of my usual routes through a park. Legs felt strong and I felt great.

As promised, here's a shot of Husband and our new e-bike! Ahhhh, felt awesome to be flying along (at 30kms/hr) with freedom and the wind blowing through our hair yesterday....

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The Need for Speed and Massage

6/30/2014

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Boom. Legs seem back to 'normal'. Hurrah! All went well at the track this morning, and although it's about half of what I've been doing on previous weeks for my speedwork, this is what the plan called for, as I guess, one last final speed test / shake up before the race this weekend. In a way, it (I hope) emulates what I will be aiming to do at the Gold Coast half, sort of a mini-version of my plan. On the day I'm aiming for this: 3km warm-up/easy pace, 5km at threshold pace, 1.6km easy pace, 4.8km threshold, 1.6km easy, last 5.1km threshold. As long as I stick to my intended threshold pace (between 4:07 and 4:18, but usually 4:10 to 4:15 ish) and run no slower than around 4:45 for the easy paced sections (I hope), and providing my legs continue to do what I'm asking them to, then it should be a successful race. Watch this space.

Something I've read before but never put into practice is this: pre-race massage. Hmm, why haven't I tried this out before? I mean: I love running/racing. I love massages. Why not combine them, i.e. use the massage as a lead up to the race or part of my preparation? Doing some research this morning has informed me that ideally getting one from 3 to 5 days before your event can be very beneficial. I think I'll be getting one when I head up to Hangzhou (the capital of this province, and where I fly out from), which will be 3 days out from raceday. We wonder sometimes, Husband and I, why we haven't gotten more massages while we've been living here. Because we both LOVE getting massages. Hmmm, for me I think it comes down to this: not knowing which 'massage' places or spas are legit (and not brothels, of which there are many in our neighbourhood, ahem...) and the one massage I tried in a local, looked-legit place around the corner ended up being extremely painful and more of a manipulation massage rather than a relaxing, oily type. The BEST massage I've had out of my maybe 4 massages in total since being in China (in other cities), was one at the airport hotel in Shanghai airport. It was a Swedish massage and this will be the type I'll look for on Thursday. Of course, you can't beat a wonderful Balinese massage, but my journey's sadly not taking back to Bali this year (sigh). On this note if you're ever in Bali, get up to North Bali to a place called Bondalem - it's gorgeous, totally natural and beautiful, and far from the maddening crowds of infamous Kuta or Seminyak. Our friends have a villa there, Villa Selina (http://villa-selina-bali.com/), where you can stay and experience whatever's your cup of tea (surfing, hiking to a waterfall, chilling by the pool with copious Bintang beers, or sunrise yoga looking at the ocean). Another highlight of staying there (along with the amazing fresh and delicious food, and wonderful, warm company and hospitality) would be the massages. Seriously, the BEST massage I've ever had was there. Soooooo good. And I've had a lot of massages during holidays in Bali (and other places, but probably the most in Bali), and this was hands down the BEST. Ask for the masseur Firman, and they'll hook you up.

Here are some photos of beautiful Bondalem and Villa Selina from last year. Oh, if only I could fly in and see Matt and Putu and family, and the talented Firman before my race!

That last photo features the gorgeous Annie (soon to be seeing her on Saturday in Oz! Yes!!) and beautiful Selina, on one of our last days of our long (but never long enough!) holiday in Bali last year. Oh Bali how we miss you....

So, in summary, if I can seek out a masseur who is anything like Firman was, then I'll be a happy camper (or even more of a happy camper) and fully fully prepared for the weekend's race.

Do you get a massage before a race? Or regular massages when you are training? (It's something I should do, but haven't incorporated it into my training or routine for some reason, d'oh...)

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Take The Pressure Down...

6/30/2014

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I went for a ‘test’ run this morning, checking to see if my legs were fixed. Well, yes and no. Yes, I ran with no pain and aches and niggles. Phew. But NO – they felt very very slow, and weak, like I’ve lost any sort of power that I had built up?! I hope this is not the case, and that it was perhaps due to it being my first run back after 3 days sans-running, or maybe the humidity was doing its thang again. Hmm, not sure. It was only meant to be a recovery paced run for me to test the waters, so it was successful in that sense, however my legs do not feel their 100% best. At all. Tomorrow I have my last speedwork session of the training plan: 3.22kms easy, then 4x 1200m at threshold pace with 2 minute rests, and then 1.6kms cool down. So, I will be able to see if my speed is still there. I have an awful feeling that all the speed and strength that I feel I built up earlier in the training period, have been jeopardized by the 50km trail race that I plonked in the middle of my half marathon training program. Oops… (Hmm, and I still wouldn’t change doing that race! I just might plan my races and schedule a bit better next time.)

However, hey - what if I can’t keep to the intended pace during the half marathon? What if I don’t get a new PB and beat my time from the Shanghai half last December? So, what?? The only person who will be disappointed is me. I highly doubt anyone else cares if I manage to complete it in 1:30, or 1:31, or even 2:31 (3:31, people may be concerned about however, namely the race organizers, as there is a 3 hour cut-off time). Sure, friends would be very happy for me if I DO complete the race in the time that I want, but I’m sure they’ll be equally happy for me if I don’t and I run it anyway and am happy with the race. It struck me this morning, as I was lamenting my crappy run, that it is only ourselves who pressure us. We are our own worst enemies sometimes, and if I treated my friends the way I treat myself sometimes (i.e. the pressure I put on myself to meet goals and other things) then I’m sure I wouldn’t be their favourite person to hang out with, if at all. Before I left for this morning’s run, I was deliberating about whether or not to go, and was generally procrastinating drink green tea after green tea (shock! We were all out of coffee, nooooo…..), Husband told me to stop pressuring myself – it didn’t matter whether I went now or later in the day. Hmm, he had a point. However, it already being mid-morning (crazy sleep-in this morning until almost 9am!), and hence a hefty amount of traffic and humidity out there, I knew these two factors would only get worse later on, and that if I didn’t go right then and there, that I wouldn’t go at all and the day would simply get away from me. So, yes, I pressured and forced myself out the door! But then, during the run, his words came back to me, and I thought that yes, as runners, I think we tend to pile on the pressure about certain paces, times or distances we think we ‘have’ to run. I know how awesome it feels to tick off certain goals and to achieve training successes, but when things don’t go according to plan, we really shouldn’t take it so seriously or to heart. I mean, no one else does, right? Your friends and family are just happy if you’re happy, and (should) support you whatever your time or place in a race. At the end of the day, it’s just for fun and it’s a form of playing. Like anything in life, we shouldn’t take it so seriously. I will try and heed my own advice!

And so, for something completely unrelated to running paces, fuel, injuries, or any other running related topic, here are some pictures of a beautiful, playful soul, who definitely doesn’t take life too seriously (although she takes begging for egg yolks or peanuts kind of seriously at times) and would never put pressure on herself for anything, she just goes with the flow. I should follow her example:

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What Wonderful Wednesdays Feel Like, and Bloggers' Block

6/3/2014

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Wonderful Wednesdays begin with… a session at the track. Nope, I’m not kidding. Just got back from my final speedy session pre-race on Saturday, and wow, have I turned it around with my attitude towards the track! Was keen as to get out there this morning, and when I got there ran the following: 1.6km warm-up, 9.66km at threshold pace, 1.6km cool down. Had to slow down slightly around 7kms in as the security guard had come to find me and was waving me down with a package that had arrived in the mail for us, how’s that for service?! So, I ran half of my workout holding a small envelope, but anyhoo, a great run nonetheless.

Let me tell you about these friends I’ve made down at the track. They are definitely the silent type, and mostly they like to quietly cheer me on as I pass them, while they sit at the edge of the track in the long grass. One is a redhead and one has black hair, and they are pretty damn cute. Since I don’t take my camera with me when I go for a run, this is a photo I’ve stolen from google images, but you get the idea:

Just call me the Cat Whisperer. (Do you ever wonder if animals that have an affinity with you are maybe past souls/people you have known?) Shhh, don’t tell Puppy. She can be such a jealous bitch when we show love to other dogs, so I’m sure she’d be the same with cute, little cats.

Apparently blogging and writing posts on here are a lot like running for me: if I don’t do it bright and early in the morning, then there’s a good chance I won’t get it done at all, or it becomes a struggle making time for it later in the day, as things crop up and get in the way. For a couple who have just over ten hours of solid “work” per week (it’s in quote marks as it doesn’t really ever feel like work) our day can get surprisingly busy (yes, this always shocks me too). Yesterday was one of those days.

It started out all well and calm enough, and yes, although I was dog-tired, I still dragged myself out of bed early-ish (about half 5 I think) and nursed a couple of green teas for a while before heading out (in the already hot, humid day) for a 12km easy paced run. As soon as I got back from this is was rush, rush, rush, as I was trying to get showered, ready and leave it just long enough so as to hit that magical refueling period of time (refueling nutrition nirvana?? From 30 minutes to an hour after working out) yet still make it to school breakfast on time, or at least before they close for the day (there is a daily cooked breakfast as well as a school lunch here. Like I’ve said before: good gig). I made it (just), then shoveled down a breakfast of champions: vegetable noodles with added chilli and chives, boiled eggs, steamed bread, and some hot soy milk. However, this ‘rush, rush rush’ pace was then set in place for the whole day. Or so it seemed.

A ‘quick’ trip to some shops turned into a longer trip than first anticipated as apparently I had to wait for them to even open (at the, what seems, crazy late time of 10am!) so I killed time by mooching around in Starbucks with a strong, brewed black coffee, rather than cycle home again until nearer the time; it is now too hot for multiple, sweaty bike rides – we’re definitely back to multiple-cold-showers-a-day weather here.

From said (annoyingly longer than planned) shopping trip, the day then escalated into a busy day of organizing various things (offficial things to do with our apartment back in Oz, upcoming travel plans and reservations, and getting yet further red-stamped certificates for Puppy for our upcoming July China tour – and hence, an unforeseen afternoon trip to the vet’s yesterday too) before we had four back-to-back classes where we gave each student (about 44 in each class) their one-on-one final English oral exam. All of these exams took place in the hot, outdoor corridors, adjacent to their classrooms. Phew….

So, to now cut myself off from rambling about this any further: the day got away from me and therefore a new blog post just didn’t eventuate.

Not least because of something (which maybe simply by rambling on and having the written form of verbal diarrhea on here this morning, I have overcome anyway before ever getting to the point and writing about it?) which can only be described as ‘bloggers’ block’. I.e. Not having the foggiest of what to write. No inspiration. No original (or otherwise) thought for the day. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Hmm. Maybe some more sleep was all that was needed (finally got some awesome, quality sleep last night – I think due to having a total technology ban on myself from early in the evening – took myself off to a cool, dark room, and boom: loads of sleep ensued = success).

But, seriously. Anyone else experience this? Writers/bloggers’ block?

Sure, I could probably have dashed out a few sentences of how I went for a run / my legs feel great / I’m tired / It’s only two days until I leave for Beijing / yada yada yada…But to be honest, apart from the weirdly busy day that got away from me, I also just didn’t know where to even start with the blog post. So, umm, I didn’t. I left it. I procrastinated. I did other things. Then I went to bed extremely early with neither internet nor even an air conditioner turned on (I clearly wanted NO electrical lights or sounds at all hey. The only sound was a gentle whirring of the ceiling fan. Ahh, bliss…).

Aaaand, low and behold: you leave it long enough and your blank post turns into this: a sizeable chunk of a blog post (who cares that it’s been quite nonsensical for the most part?!) Ok, ok, sorry – I will reign in the weirdness now. The point is that I was drawing a massive blank in terms of writing, and more to the point, was aware of maybe boring you guys with what I had to write about (my run / the weather / our job etc). Surely, it would have been like every other post I’ve put out there thus far, and surely you guys reading it would be bored of that by now?? Hence you’ve got this weird ramble from me instead, oops… (Maybe I should have kept things simple after all, and short and sweet. Something like: Ran today. Tired. Busy. Started exams with students. Not much else to report. Oh: excited for Thursday….)

So, tell me (if you’ve stuck with me this far!) do you ever get writers’ (bloggers’) block??

Do you procrastinate with things much? (I am a huge procrastinator – very much a list maker and tea-break-er).

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Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

6/2/2014

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Hello Hello from me, Puppy, and Husband (Husband not pictured as he is the resident cameraman)! Gotta love a public holiday courtesy of Dragon Boat Festival. The weather has turned it on for us too - hot and sunny days, with minimal pollution, yay. Got in a fairly challenging stair running workout (30x reps of our building with a few 100m recovery jogs chucked in) this morning followed by about 45 minutes of strength/weights. Great start to the day. Since then, we've been cruising around eating delicious things and drinking some of China's finest red (well, the finest is debatable, but we like it anyway).

Got my final email re: the race on Saturday. Apparently there is a 12 hour cut-off time!!! Shithouse. Hope I make it. Don't know what to expect really. Oh, and no plastic bottles allowed on the course apparently ,so that might be tricky. (I have a camelback but have lost the bladder which I guess is the most important part if you're using it for water! D'oh...)

In other news: this website is being really RUBBISH and not letting me reply to any comments today. So, sorry about that! Will reply as soon as this is fixed. How frustrating!

I hope everyone has had a great Monday!

Do you run with a camelback?? Do you think I should invest in a new one before I depart for Beijing on Thursday?? (My instinct is telling me 'yes', hmmm...)

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That Awesome Moment When...

5/31/2014

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...you realise what was once your long run, is now your shortish/medium run. I tell ya: running a couple of 30kms+ runs recently makes a Sunday 17km run seem like a breeze.

I hope this is a good omen for Saturday's trail race! I feel like I have put in enough training (hopefully), so that's all I can do. I read somewhere the other day re: the importance of being mentally ready as well as physically. So, if you have trained as much as you wanted to and feel physically ready, the only thing that may let you down come race day may be your mental readiness. Apparently, it's a case of mind over matter. If you've trained your body enough, all you have to be is 100% mentally ready and you know you will succeed. So, hmm, the big question is do I feel ready for it? Are we ever really 100% ready? I think we're all as ready as we'll ever be and in every race: the time is NOW.

Come at me 50km trail race! I am ready.

Unbelievably it's somehow gotten to JUNE already. Have a Super Sunday and 1st of June everyone!

Doing any special/fun today? (Think we're off to go to a long lazy lunch now.)

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Evening Running

ARDs

Biryani, Back-to-Bed, and Bad Friends

Back Into Training

Message from the Universe

The Need for Speed and Massage

Take The Pressure Down...

What Wonderful Wednesdays Feel Like, and Bloggers' Block

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

That Awesome Moment When...

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