I overtook a jogger!

Miracle of Miracles - I overtook two joggers today!! Well, maybe they weren't really jogging - they were doing a Cliffy Young shuffle but slower! Two Asian gentlemen, clearly in no hurry and just enjoying the sights of our wonderful river. I could see them in front of me and I was sort of just maintaining the distance between us. Every now and then, I would look up and the distance would be smaller. I'm not sure if they slowed down or if I sped up, but all of a sudden my little "milestone" instinct took over and I decided I would try and overtake them! I pushed hard and knew I would need to maintain the speed (whilst still trying to keep my breath even, so they didn't know what a thrill it was for me!!) and I had to keep going once I'd passed them, because they couldn't see me all puffed and stopping! That'd ruin the whole appearance! It was harder than I thought it would be, I needed to maintain my pace for about 500m (yes, we were going THAT slow!). But I did it!! I wanted to dance a jig but I had to concentrate on getting a lead on them. Shortly afterwards I was overtaken by two very fast ladies, whom I am quite certain were NOT planning their overtaking strategy on me. They were just going fast.

I wasn't expecting any milestones today, so I've had a pleasant bonus! I set out to do 7km and ended up covering 8 with a run/walk. I had another massage yesterday and the MT said I should be trying to run on my toes and leaning forward. So I tried to do that - it's MUCH harder that what I have been doing!! My calves didn't like me at all! I am also now running on the grass beside the path (my new home) because my MT politely suggested I was putting too much strain on my joints/muscles with the extra weight I am carrying. Since I do not want to snap my shins in half, I will do as he suggests.

Running on grass is much slower than bitumen. And it is harder work too! I was slower today than I have been for a while, but I realise that is the grass and not really my speed. There were parts of the path where the grass was not even and I had to run on the path, and I noticed my speed increase. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to run on my toes and not clench my fists, lightly touching my thumbs to my forefingers, letting my arms hang lower, relaxing my shoulders - goodness this running takes lots of concentration!!! Better to get the technique right while I'm a novice.

Club run number 3

I went to another club run tonight. It is a 6km route and I went out very hard with Jenny. Well it was about 7.30 pace so fast for me! I was going to do the same thing as last week - hang onto Jenny for as long as I could. Tonight we were joined by an older lady Margaret. Jenny and Margaret were happy chatting so I sat in just behind them, quite content to focus on staying with them! At about 2 and a half k there is a drink stop and we stopped for about 2 minutes but I kept Percy running. Jenny went off to the loo and asked us not to wait, so Margaret and I kept running. Margaret was being very kind and running to my pace, clearly it was an easy run for her, but I was struggling. She kept me going when I would have stopped had I been by myself. It was much faster than I thought I was capable of, so I was really pleasantly surprised when we passed 4km in 29 minutes. Somehow I managed to keep going and we passed 5km in 36.40!!! I slowed dramatically in the last km (I was stuffed) and we finished 6.4km in 48 minutes - but that includes the two minute stop. I was really pleased!!! It is the first time I have run with someone for the whole distance (I have been getting left behind) and I KNOW that was what made the difference! Amazing!

After my beaut run on Sunday, I woke up Monday with a really stiff neck. I thought I must have slept wrong or something. Because of all the advice recieved on the Ausrun forum, I decided to contact a sports massage therapist instead of the cheapy place I found in the shopping centre. (You know the cheapy place - where you walk past with all your shopping and sit on a chair in full view of everyone and it costs like 10 bucks. I've seen them at the airport too.) So I forked out $70 for a massage (which I can claim on my health insurance - Yay!) and I told the chick about my running. She understood!! Turns out the problem was in my legs and not my neck - my back has been trying to sustain sore legs and that has worked its way up to my neck. I didn't even realise my legs were tight! After the massage I realised immediately that my legs were tight and I hope I never let that happen again! It was just my inexperience and inflexibility - I didn't realise what "full movement" actually meant! No wonder I could only shuffle! Anyway, upshot is that my neck is still really tight but my legs are a bit better. I need another massage in a week and then I should get one every month or so. Since I can claim it on health insurance, I might just do that!

So I didn't sleep wrong but I might also run with clenched fists. Will have to watch that. The sore neck was something that had been building for months. And the massage has certainly not harmed my running!

The things you learn....

From strength to strength!

I went to another fun run this morning - 5km. I made the distance in 38 minutes - 2 minutes faster than anything I had done in training!! There were a few hills and I actually think that helped, believe it or not! I pushed up the uphill (well as best I could) and then recovered on the downhill. There was an older man in front of me and I wanted to keep him in sight. And there was a lady behind me and there was no way I was going to let her overtake me! Between the two of them I stayed focused and motivated all the way! I went up to both of them afterwards and thanked them - they probably thought I was an idiot!! The first 10km runner finished at about the same time (just AFTER me thankyouverymuch) so I congratulated him. He seemed genuinely interested and pleased for me too!!! Runners are so generous, I love this!

The run was at a place called Joondalup in the northern part of Perth. The park is along the banks of a lake which unfortunately has very little water left in it because of this damn drought. I've never been to Joondalup before so that was exciting too!



After just plodding along for what has seemed ages, I'm suddenly having a rush of milestones! 10km without stopping and now 5km in under 8 minutes a k! And I forgot to mention - Percy had me "running" for 217m today!!! What a buzz! I've finally registered a "run"! (Again on a downhill, but so what?!?!) I think a combination of the cooler weather here in Perth and joining a running club has really worked for me. I'll try not to be too disappointed if I "plateau" for a while!!

I lasted 10km this morning

Hubby drove to work this morning, so I hitched a lift with the intention of a run/walk home. It's about 10km and I didn't really have a plan of attack. I just sort of figured I'd run until I wanted to walk and then I'd walk until I wanted to run. It was a lovely morning! It was light but the sun wasn't up, the birds were singing and it was COOL!! I started off steady and just enjoyed myself. There were heaps of people on the path, and every time I thought of walking, I'd see a walker in front of me. I would think to myself - "just pass this person". Then, of course, I couldn't walk because they would SEE me walk so I had to keep going until I was a respectable distance in front of them. (Is that me being competitive??) Meanwhile, I'm being overtaken by lots of other people who I suspect were doing the same thing! Everytime I got a "respectable distance" in front of the person I overtook, there would be another walker in front of me and I'd keep going again.

I deliberately didn't look at Percy until I hit the bell tower. I figured by then I had covered a neat distance without stopping. I was surprised to see it was 4.5km, so then I figured I'd try and run 5 without stopping. I still didn't have a plan for the run. But when I hit 5km there were walkers in front of me so I couldn't stop until I'd passed them! Then I figured I'd try and run for an hour. When I made an hour I was almost at 8km so I decided to keep going to 8km. When I looked at Percy again it was 8.5km so I thought why not try and make 10km!!

So I did!

My pace was wonderfully consistent - certainly not fast but nice and steady. At the 6km mark I had to go under the freeway and I think Percy lost the satellite which is why it looks faster than the others. I'm pretty sure I did NOT pull a 7.15 km out of my hat at that point!!

Ignore the 11km stat - that's just me walking home, stuffed. But I managed the 10km in 1 hour and 22 minutes!!! WOW!!! I am so proud of my self at the moment - and I feel on top of the world!

Running club again

Well I turned up to the running club again last night. It was a bit easier and a new person came and asked ME questions!! I ran with Jenny again - but only for the first 3.5km. I told her that I knew the route and she could run at her normal pace. I tried to keep up with her for as long as I could but at about 3.5km she left me behind. I was really pleased with my pace though. I reached 4km in 31 minutes - faster than my fun run the other day. Then I walked for a km and ran the rest of the route. I'm still the slowest, sigh, but I've just gotta keep plucking away. I actually made the route faster than last week - even with my km walk. So I'm improving. Some of the 10km runners had finished by the time I finished the 6km - they just whizzed past me. One lady gave me an encouraging comment as she raced past well on her way to a sub 50 min 10km!

I would have hung around a bit last night but I was off to see Fiddler on the Roof. It was showing at the same complex where the run was, so I jumped into the shower (reminded me of boarding school) and got changed. It was all a bit rushed and I hadn't finished sweating from my run, so the shower didn't really make me feel refreshed. Then me and hubby toddled across the road and watched the show. It would have been easy to ditch the run because of the time factor but I didn't and I'm proud of myself for that!

A 6.31 k!

Yesterday the plan was to run/walk into the city to meet hubby and then walk home together. I'm still not quite used to running two days in a row so I knew I wasn't out to be a hero or anything. I thought I would run hard for a km - kind of like a time trial and then just do whatever until I reached hubby.

I managed one km in 6.31!!! OMG!!! It was very hard work and I was knackered at the end but - holy cow - it's a move in the right direction. Still, it was only for one km. At least now I know I am capable of it.

I ran/walked for another 4km and then walked almost 5km home. On my feet for a tad under 10km.

I caught the tail end of the Biggest Loser yesterday. I'm actually not a great fan, but there was one chick who was running with a skinny work colleauge. If any of you wondered what I look like - well the sight of the fat chick running is pretty close! I actually noted to myself that she could use an Enell bra.

Karrakatta Cemetary

I decided to go somewhere different today so I headed out to try and find the Karrakatta Cemetary. I rather like cemetaries because they are so peaceful and I figured running through one would be peaceful too. And it was. A nice run, completely different to everything I have done so far, so a pleasant change. The Karrakatta cemetary is very old, and very large. Some of the graves are quite spectacular and it's all divided into different religions. It's very well kept, and was nice to run through.

Only about 6 and a half km today and very slow, even for me. But I'm still out there. I find myself taking walk breaks again, but when I'm running I'm running much faster. I guess it's a trade off until I can improve my cardio fitness. I'm really enjoying the faster running. I looked at Percy on one of the downhills and I had ticked over to 10km/h!!!

(Hannalie, you asked how I measure my runs - well Percy is a Garmin 205, and I don't know how I ever survived without him!! He tells me my speed and the distance I have travelled. AND he makes these pretty pictures!!)