10km Run Melbourne 2014

I thought I better write a post about the 10km Run Melbourne I completed last Sunday 27th July 2014, I find it useful in the lead up to an event to reflect back on these entries and remind myself of the struggles and triumphs that running brings. Also I'm sure my 1 and only reader is desperate to hear the account of the event. Hi Monica.

I had a good lead up to the run. I'd attended the Tuesday night training sessions for the last 10 weeks provided by Run Melbourne. I am still very much a beginner runner, but definitely had some improvement over the 10 weeks. Better endurance, better cardio fitness and most importantly a better mindset.

Race day was great. Woke up feeling great and pumped my body full of water, berocca, banana and peanut butter toast. There was a buzz in the air as I walked from my car park in the city down to Federation Square where the half marathon was already taking place. I watched lots of runners speed past me, all looking in great form - I wondered if I looked that good when I ran? Unlikely. After meeting up with Running Lemming and dropping our bags off, we headed down towards the start line.

It was a gorgeous sunny day but cool at around 12 degrees. Perfect running weather. We were both amped up and had been looking forward to this moment for so long. As we approached the start line we high fived and set off.

The usual start line weaving around walkers (why?!) began and continued for around 2km. I didn't feel too bad at the start but I didn't feel confident pushing too hard at this point as I still had a long way ahead of me, and in honesty, I hadn't actually run 10kms all at once since the Melb Marathon last year.

This race wasn't about speed. It wasn't about breaking personal bests. It wasn't about beating my friends time. For me, this race was about getting out there and moving. If I felt I had to stop and walk for a bit, that would be fine. All I wanted was to run (for the most part) and finish.

I was super proud that I did in fact run the entire way, and finished in a time of 1 hour, 10 minutes and 28 seconds. Absolutely not a personal best, but I was very glad to complete it this fast - I had imagined it would be longer. Especially as I had a very sore glute muscle which I felt every step of the 10kms!!

Looking forward to continuing training and entering the next event! Maybe an obstacle race... maybe time to step up to a half marathon?!

10km Melbourne Marathon 2013

I'm happy to have completed the 10km MM last Sunday (13/10/13).

Having had quite a few little niggling injuries in the lead up to this race my training had been almost non existent for several weeks. Sore ankle, sore shins, sore knees, sore hips, sore back, sore shoulders, sore neck.

Despite feeling like an 80 year old woman at times, I didn't let those little voices running through my head telling me to give up or pull out of the race get to me. I signed up for this thing, so I was going to do it. It didn't matter if I had to crawl across the finish line, I was going to finish. Confidence. CONFIDENCE.

The weather conditions were perfect on the morning of the race albeit a little early for a 7.30am start. Cool, light breeze and a little sun.

I'm not going to lie, I struggled through the entire 10kms of the track. Around the 3km mark I'm not quite sure what happened but my legs just stopped running. I walked for about 500 meters and reached the drink station. After a good talking to myself and a quick drink I proceeded to run (read shuffle) to the finish line.

Plenty of times I wanted to stop. But I didn't. Every day I'm shuffling.

I pushed all those thoughts out of my head. I concentrated on positive things. Our beautiful city Melbourne, it really is a lovely course to run on. Smiled at the spectators yelling out positive comments as I went past. Waved to the tram driver who gave me a 'ding ding'. I thought about my family and friends, even though they weren't there in person, I knew they were thinking about me from the warmth of their beds which kept spurring me on. I thought about my teenage self and wish that I could have told her what she was doing now. Tell her that she CAN do anything she sets her mind to. I kept picturing the finish line.

It seemed to take a bloody long time, but I eventually got to the finish line. I had nothing left in the tank. Nothing left to pull out a last minute sprint to the finish. Nothing. I shuffled across the line in 1 hour 10 minutes and 24 seconds, managing only a smile for the camera.

5km Run Melbourne 2013

After having an 18 month break from running, I've decided to give it another crack and start off in the 5km Run Melbourne 2013.

I joined in on the 12 week training sessions in the lead up to the Run Melbourne at Fed Square to help get me up to speed and back in shape for race day. The sessions were so great, and whilst I found myself struggling to keep up with the beginners group for the most part of the sessions, by the final week I really had improved in speed, endurance and general cardiovascular fitness.

I was very happy with my time of 32mins 45seconds for the 5km. I feel I may have even gone slightly faster but there were a couple of tight bottle necks on the course that really slowed me down, in addition there were many walkers on the field that I spent the entire course weaving around. Hence, it was difficult to get a stride going and find my robot legs. The race however felt like it was over before it even started as I seemed to reach the finish line in no time. All the 7kms sessions I had clocked up at the training sessions really made a big difference, so 5kms felt relatively short in comparison.

Next goal is the 2013, 10km Melbourne Marathon. It's just under 12 weeks away and I've already upped my training levels and am looking forward to not only completing the race, but hopefully improving my time too. Best time to date is just over an hour and 5 mins, so perhaps somewhere between an hour and an hour 5 would be great.

Very determined so hopefully I stay injury free and continue with forward momentum!

Michelle Bridges and the 12WBT

Summer has arrived and with it has come motivation in overdrive!

I'm pretty happy with how my training at the gym has gone this year but the two things giving me the most trouble are consistency and ensuring I am working out my body evenly.

So often I have a really good few days / weeks where I get to the gym frequently and have great workouts and feel fantastic. And then something comes up (usually work) and I don't make it to the gym for a few days, and because I'm busy I start eating take away because it's convenient and I can't be bothered going to the shops, start drinking red bull or coffee because it gives me a buzz when I'm tired, and then because of all the sugar I've consumed my energy plummets and the last thing I feel like doing is going to the gym at all. So I don't, and then all of a sudden a couple of weeks have flown by, I haven't done any exercise at all and the nice muscles that were starting to build go all wobbly and I feel like I can't fit into my own skin anymore, let alone my clothes.

It's usually at this point after a bit of moping around that I manage to rustle up some motivation and haul myself off to gym. I always feel heaps better afterwards. I try doing work outs that I've pulled out of magazines or read in books, they always wear me out, make me sweat like a pig and for the most part I go as hard as I can. However I can't help but feel that I'm not working my whole body. I find some exercises far easier than others and tend to go hardcore with the easy ones, and struggle my way through a set of the difficult ones. The cycle starts all over again and I train well for a few days, and then I get busy.

This is where Michelle Bridges comes into it.

I'd seen an add for the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation a couple of weeks ago. I clicked on the link and had a bit of a read through the site and it sounded fabulous. I don't see myself as fat, but I'd certainly like to shift a couple of kg's and tone up all over. This program sounded like it could help me to do just that in a really straight forward format and more importantly in a healthy way. So long story short I'm all signed up and ready to start the 12WBT www.12wbt.com on 16th January 2012. What appealed most about the program is that thousands of others are doing it so there is plenty of support, lots of emails relating to weekly nutrition plans, exercise plans and motivational plans. I think the stream of incoming information will give me the push I need to remain consistent and am less likely to give up after a couple of weeks.

Anyway, since signing up for the 12wbt I've been super pumped about getting fit and having a toned bikini ready body for the summer. I've decided to give myself a head start and do what I can prior to starting the program to get into the best shape I can be in. I've been going to the gym or utilising the environment available to me to do some form of exercise every day, even when I feel tired and would rather crash on the couch. Sometimes it can be hard to force yourself to do it, but once you get going its much easier, and I do love that feeling afterwards knowing that I took the time to do something good for me.

Michelle has already set one challenge, and that is to take 1 step towards a healthier lifestyle. She listed lots of different suggestions, but the thing I have decided to do is eliminate soft drink from my diet. I'm not a huge soft drink person normally but I am certainly very partial to drinking coke zero a few times a week, red bull when I get tired and on a really hot day lemonade.

So yes, I'm off to a great start.

And an even better start, when I happened to be in the right spot at the right time and met Michelle Bridges and got a personally signed copy of her Crunch Time Recipe Book. She was so lovely and had the most amazing body. Meeting her has spurred me on even more to really give this whole thing a go and come out at the other end looking FABULOUS!!





So over the next few weeks I will be reporting on how I am going with the pre season of the 12wbt. I think by writing about my experiences will also help to embed what I learn along the way and down the track help me to define my areas of weakness. I will be loosely basing my training on the principles of Bikini Bootcamp and also Loosing the last 5kgs by Michelle Bridges.

So here's to the new me! A lean and strong Running Cat.

Merry Christmas.

RC.

Melbourne Marathon Completed!!

Goal achieved. Run the whole 10kms without stopping.

While at times, walking may well have been faster than my running, I still kept going.

Despite the gloomy start to the day, the weather conditions were pretty much perfect for a long run. Cool, not raining, not too sunny and a light breeze. Unfortunately for all the other competitors in the other races they would have copped a down pour at some stage, but lucky for me I'd already crossed the finished line and had gone inside the MCG to pick up my bag.

The first couple of kilometers went well - A little frustrating that so many of the competitors decided after only a few hundred meters that running was just too hard and decided to walk.... with their friends.... in a long line.... and block the path of all other people behind them... who were running... which was the point. ANYWAY!! After zig zagging around these people, I was feeling good, just easing myself into it knowing I still had a long way to go. I'd miss-timed my pace slightly and was travelling at 7min 30 secs per km, instead of 7min p/km.

The 3- 6km part went well, slight uphill but mostly flat. I caught up the time I'd lost in the first part of the race and upped my pace to around 6min 40 per km. Still slowish, but I was happy with this pace - comfortable, legs not too sore and good steady controlled breathing.

I'd started to fall into a good stride (I call it my robot legs), where I feel like my legs are on rotating hinges and whip around in circles like clockwork with limited effort. Unfortunately due to more people slowing down / walking and so many people on the course, it was difficult to maintain my stride as I couldn't go in a straight line the whole time. However, this was the part of the race I felt the most comfortable in.

It was around the 7km mark that I started to struggle. I could feel my hips really stiffening up. I tried to counteract it by speeding up, but I wasn't able to maintain the speed. I was spurred on knowing I only had 3kms left. With a drink station at the 7.5km mark I decided to try and get ahead of the people getting in my way - I knew they would stop for a drink, so I just kept running straight through the drink stop which worked a treat. From this point on, those bloody walkers were behind me and fortunately I found myself at the top of a hill which I took full advantage of and tried to pick up full speed to get to the bottom of.

After this, there was a lot of uphill. A lot. Ugh.

Everything hurt and everything was stiff. It took all the strength I had just to keep running. "Just keep going" was my mantra - I kept repeating it over and over in my head. I think in my exhaustion I even said it out loud at one point. Then all I could see was a huge long straight that just seemed to go on and on and on forever - Hundreds of runners in front of me - wishing I was one of the ones further up in the distance I could do nothing except keep running. Finally I reached the turnpike at the end, and had to run this forever stretch again, only the opposite way. It was somewhat comforting that though all those people were ahead of me, there were plenty more behind me too.

After that I heard one of the volunteers yell out, "you only have 300 meters left". That was music to my ears. Despite seeing another uphill stint ahead, faintly in the distance I could see the giant blow up finish arch way. I have no idea where it came from but somewhere deep within my robotic legs kicked in. All of a sudden I could feel myself propelling forward toward the finish line. I could hear people cheering - "Go go go".... so I did. And then all of a sudden I was there. Finished.

And then after giving it absolutley everything I had, all I could do to keep myself from vomiting in front of all those spectators was to stagger the 100 meters to the drink table to replenish my energy. And I did, and I felt so much better.

I'd done it!

Total time 1 hour, 8 minutes and 41 seconds!

Melbourne Marathon 2011

So, like many other things, blogging was not something that I have been very consistent at, hence why it is nearly 12 months since my last post! However, I am proud to say, despite some lull's in my enthusiasm (mostly in line with crappy weather), I have managed to maintain my interest in running. Go me.

On Sunday I will again be a part of the 10km Coffee Club race in the 2011 Melbourne Marathon. I can't say I'm at my peak, but I'm doing ok considering my wavering enthusiasm for the sport! In fact I'm actually super proud of my efforts - I think I've been doing this for around 18 months now and it feels great!

Well done me.

I'm not betting on beating my time from last year, but something close to would be great!

Oh Dear...

Well, Merry Christmas - It's the 21st December 2010 today, 4 more sleeps till Santa comes. I wonder if he will bring me some motivation, or a new hip even.

After, actually during, the second spring into shape 8.5km race my running has taken a turn for the worst. After running one of the best runs of my life at the Melbourne Marathon, I struggled my way through the 8.5km of Spring Into Shape a week later, which turned out to be one of worst runs of my life. I don't think I left adequate time to rest and recover from the 10kms and shortly after the 3km mark my right hip started to give me grief.

Long story short, here we are 2 months later, my hip still giving me trouble and I've only managed a very short 1km run (in Papua New Guinea which came with it's own set of challenges - see pics above - very hilly, altitude and prickles!!) since dragging myself accross the finish line.

So where to from here? Good question.

I guess I need to get my hip looked at for starters, it is deffinetely something more than tight muscles causing me such intense pain. I've had plenty of deep tissue massage and my massage therapist ensures me everything is loose and the muscles are all in order. My mum said an x-ray should be able to give a lot of information, so after christmas I'll get myself to the vet and see what they say.

I think I lost my motivation somewhere along the way too, so I probably need to get that back. I guess part of me was secretly glad that I had hurt myself - it meant less washing, more time to sit and bludge, not feeling so wrecked and exhausted and I could keep dry with all the rain we have experienced lately. My running partner Running Lemming also left for her overseas jaunt so it has been difficult to make myself get up into action.

The laziness part of it has been good for a while, but now my muscles are starting to turn into fat and my previously tonned bits and pieces are becoming all a bit to jiggly for my liking. My bum which grew in size (from the muscle I gained) has unfortunately stayed the same size, it's just become saggier. In all I've lost 2kgs in 2 months, so the muscle tone has deffinetely decreased.

Ok - So clearly my hip problem isn't going away any time soon. And clearly I am not about to wake up and all my jiggly bits will be gone. I need to take some action.

Steps - In no particular order:

1. Get hip looked at.
2. Look at alternative exercise options - Gym membership?
3. At least try and go for short walks or runs before I feel my hip flare up.
4. Make time to take any of these steps.
5. Stretch more.

Ok... feeling a little better I have admitted some things to the general public. Denial is great for a while, but I'm getting sick of that nagging voice in the back of my head and more importantly I don't want to feel self consious in the summer sun if I don't have to.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

The Melbourne Marathon Aftermath

YES! I did it, and ticked off one of my dreams/goals in the process. 10kms non stop - and what a great race it was. Apart from being a little late starting because I couldn't find a place to park, the race couldn't have gone any better.

The conditions were perfect, cool with no wind and no sun. The track was perfect because I was so late starting there were barely any people to dodge - except for the ones I eventually caught up with who were walking. My body felt great - no aches or pains, no breathing troubles, nothing. And to top it all off I had my lovely supporters come down and cheer me on around the 8km mark - just what I needed to boost my spirits for the remainder of the race. And then again, as I did the last lap and crossing over the finish line in the MCG.

Thanks again girls - you have no idea what a difference it made having you all there. And Running Lemming, it wasn't the same not having you running alongside - hopefully we can fit in a couple more training runs before you head off on your adventure.

It's taken me a good 4 days to recover from the race - living on coffee and red bull. Feeling much more revitalised to get back out there once again - although might be a little difficult in this downpour we are currently experiencing.

Spring Into Shape Race 2 next weekend - thinking I may downgrade to the 8.5km again, so I can compare my improvement from last time and also that 10kms really took it out of me, not sure I am quite ready to tack the 12.5km just yet.

The black line was the very pretty and scenic Melbourne Marathon 10km course.

Race 1 - Spring Into Shape

After a late night at a concert, only a few hours sleep and a bruised ankle - I managed to romp it home in the 8.5km in the first of three in the series. I think I got just about on 55mins, which is great. Kept my pace of 6.30mins p/km up the whole time which really is a great improvement.

I'm so wrecked now I can barely type - they just don't make keyboards for tired paws.

Off for a cat nap. Stay tuned for the official time a little later on.

R.C

Spring Into Shape

Spring is finally here! After a long, freezing cold and wet winter the days are getting longer and the sun is making an appearance.

So after a bout of sickness, lack of motivation and a whole lot of rain - it's time to get my cat butt into full gear. The Spring Into Shape series commences this coming Sunday 12th September.

I would have liked to be a little more advanced in my training by this point but no point dwelling on that now. I've reduced my original distance of 12km down to the 8.5km race. Myself and Running Lemming have never actually completed that distance to date, however the 7km training runs at Hobo's have been a great help towards achieving this goal.

So it's all systems go for Sunday. I've done 2 x 7km runs this week and feeling good to go. I just need to pace myself and try not to drop off too much. And of course I will be having my pre race banana, coffee and in addition my new found friend Berocca.

Wish me luck!!

Running Cat seeks vet

So due to being extremely busy, heavy rain and now coming down with a chest cold I haven't been able to run for nearly 2 weeks!!! Ugh, hopefully I come good soon and getting back into it won't be so bad - wishful thinking.

I just hope it doesn't put me too off track to be unable to complete the 12km race I have scheduled in september.

Running Lemming, sorry for piking on sunday, but I think the sleep in did me good - even though I am still unwell. I am hoping to make it to Hobo's tomorrow night as I won't be there Thursday.

Seeing some improvement

Headed out with Hobo's last night. 7km along the Strand in Williamstown from the Athletics track to the Timeball and back. This is the second time I have completed this run, and while it is still hard work and a decent run, it was a little easier this time. I even managed to complete it with a steady faster pace of 6.18mins p/km and didn't stop. Recovery was very quick and I held a conversation for the most part - which was great as it made the time go quicker and less time to think about the excruiation you are putting your body through. I'm feeling pretty good today, with the exception of sore knees, but I think a bit of rest will sort that out.

I'm pleased I can now do 7kms straight. Granted it's a flat run, at night (no sun wearing you down) and in a group. But 7kms is 7kms. I've just realised it's only just over 6 weeks until I've signed up for a 12km run for Spring Into Shape!! Oh boy, I still have a lot of work to do between now and then. Hopefull my strength and energy levels continue to improve so I can start fitting in 3 training sessions a week to get the results I want!

Running Lemming - I wish you lived closer, Hobo's is exactly the kind of group to get us where we need to be!!!!

Sunday 25th July 2010 - Solo Run 34 mins

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2 more sleeps!

That's right. 2 more sleeps before the Run Melbourne 5km. I'm pretty excited about it. Excited about a new PB, excited about following through with my goal, excited to give this race everything I have! Running Lemming and I have been putting in the hard yards with consistent training - so fingers crossed for a great result on Sunday!

I was a bit worried about my knees as they have been giving me some grief the last couple of days, but I think a bit of rest has done them good and hopefully they hold out for Sunday.

My last training session on Tuesday night was great! It sure was a killer of a run and plenty of hills - but what made it great was the rain. Wow, it sure bucketed down and I was completely saturated. I felt like I was on the Biggest Looser and they were hosing me down while I desperately ran for my life. I've managed to get my runners dry, I just hope they don't stink now - that would be annoying.

Anyway, looking forward to sunday. Best of luck to Running Lemming too!!

13/7/10 5km Suunto Training Run - Last session

6km in 34mins, average pace 5.34

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First time at Hobo's Running Club - tonight

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I have my first training session with Hobo's Running Club (Hobson's Bay) tonight. By the sounds of it, they are much faster and run much further than my ability to date. The guy I contacted assures me that someone will run with me the whole way - hopefully I'm not holding up someone elses training because of it. Anyway, I'm a newbie, but hopefully this solves my problem of not having to run alone in the dark. I run much better in a group anyhow so I'm looking forward to seeing how I perform tonight. This is the course I will be running tonight. Should be pretty running along the foreshore, the city lights are visable from Williamstown. I forgot to mention it's a 7km run, and the "slower runners" usually pace around 5.30mins per km. Oh boy, this will be interesting!!

5km 31mins average pace 6.10

Had a great session last night and was able to get into a good rhythm. Feeling really good this morning and pumped for Run Melbourne. Last night was the second last Suunto Training session so I really amped it up. We ran about 6.20min p/km for the first few kms and then the last couple about 5.45min p/km. Great effort!!

6.1kms 45.50mins average pace 7.30

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Second post... the afterthought...

Hmm, so after going to bed last night and being quite chuffed about my new blog, I realised that in fact I have had a blog before. Several years ago, I set out on an amazing adventure. Travelling solo around the globe, seeing far away places that I'd only ever dreamed about. My dream became a reality, and so too will my dream of completing a marathon!

Heading out this afternoon for a run, aiming for 6kms non stop including one steady hill. This will be the first run I have done solo in several weeks, I hope I have the stamina and persistance to go all the way and get a good time.