Guess What I've Done Now????

R U sick of hearing about my running yet? If so - then skip this post!

I put my new strategies into place yesterday - and guess how far I managed to run? 17 kms I hear you say? 18 maybe..19.... Nope

I ran the full 21kms on the actual 1/2 marathon course! Yep - I managed to cover the full course. I actually only ran 20.25 because I walked the first 750m as my warm up - concentrating more on covering the whole trail, rather than running the full 21, but having done 99.9% of it now, I have no doubts I can run the whole thing. I'm still in shock actually, can't really believe I managed it especially after my difficult run last week. My time was 2: 19, including the walking, so when I run the first 750 m it should bring my time in to 2:15 which is what I am aiming for. And I managed to shop all day afterwards, and am only stiff in my quads now, 24 hrs later. Not bad hey!

The course was absolutely beautiful, and I'm so glad I've covered it ahead of time so that I know what to expect. For the most part it is part of the Linear Park trail, and starting in the suburb of Athelstone, it is very green and lush and shady, following the Torrens River all the way. It is all paved (bitumen or concrete) and at about the 16km mark you hit the city and feels quite exciting to know that you've travelled so far. I didn't realise that it would take me right past the Adelaide Festival Center, and I got to watch people feeding the ducks, taking out the paddle boats (very beautiful area) and then continues on to Bonython Park and almost all the way out to Port Road before looping back and finishing by Adelaide Oval.

I followed my game plan and stopped almost every 5 kms, walking just long enough to drink the energy gel, some water, dry off my face/glasses and catch my breath, before heading off again. It didn't quite have the effect of fooling me into thinking I had fresh legs again, and I still experienced the stiffness from lactic acid build up , but I think not nearly as much as last week. Although I did think at one point about not entering the race after all, I didn't experience as much exhaustion as last time. But it also had a very positive mental effect, as it broke the run into segments, and no matter how far along I was, it was always only another few kms until I could stop again. Breaking it into smaller goals works well for me, I do this all the time in the gym, and took away the anxiety I experience when thinking about the sheer distance ahead of me. I mean what do you say to yourself when you feel tired after 4 kms and you have 17 to go??? Agghh - I find that really overwhelming, but with this game plan I can say, just one more Km and you can walk and have a drink! I think I only walked about 50 metres or so, and it really hasn't affected my time, I'm right on target for my goal before adding in the breaks - and now I can go much further than I thought possible! Yeah me, I'm so excited!

I learnt a few more things - have recorded them here so I dont forget.

• Hills - Going up - there are some on the course, but lots of small steep ones as you go under very frequent bridges. Initially these are ok, but after a while you are so tired that they take too much out of you. Walk the 10 m's upwards, when you are tired. There is barely a difference time wise because you have to run up them so slowly due to fatigue, and if you walk you're not exhausted at the top and the change in leg movements is a release
  


• Hills - Going down - let loose and fly - allowing the momentum to release the tension in your legs -almost as good as a rest break

• Toes - my toes get numb after a while but I've discovered that if I'm running on the flat - I can actually wiggle them as I run, help to pump blood back into them, and hopefully reduce any swelling and the numbness! (who would have thought that was possible!)

• Lean forward - now this is amazing. I read in Fit Australia ( I love the technical stuff in this mag) that its important that your heel strike is not in front of your centre of gravity (cog) otherwise it is like putting the breaks on your forward motion. So this week when I've been running I've tried to work out where my cog is, following their instructions, and have decided that I run in too upright a position. So I have been trying to remember to lean forward slightly and with amazing results. When I lean forward, my speed substantially increases without any extra effort! How cool is that! Its also really helpful to remember when you are tired as it almost feels like running downhill - there is a certain amount of momentum being produced by my body weight and it makes the run so much less effort intensive!

• Mental Pictures - the power of positive thinking. I 've been reading a bit about the benefits of mentally rehearsing the race in your mind - and how powerful this can be. I read a story of someone who came out of nowhere to win a race, because the situation ahead of him near the finish line unfolded just as he had been dreaming about, and it gave him the energy to fulfill it. I'm going to mentally rehearse all the aspects as best I can. But I've also been thinking about how anxious I get before the long runs (its going to hurt/what if I can't do it) and have decided that I need to trick my mind into more positive thinking. So whilst running the trail I kept telling myself - "I love this", "Its so beautiful" over and over "go slow and enjoy it. I'm hoping if I tell myself often enough how much I enjoy it, I will start looking forward to it, rather than worrying about it.

• Mantra's - ". Mantra's are very useful for distracting the brain, and I've been using - " Power, glide, power, glide" and "think of the calories" (! LOL) and lastly "you can do anything" If you've been watching the Biggest Loser you may have heard a few of them talk about feeling invincible - I really relate to this after having been through similar weight loss experiences and regaining fitness, and I just keep telling myself this as I run "I can do anthing" "I CAN do this"

By the way - in thinking about the calories (LOL x 2), I've been battling between should I weigh myself daily to ensure the weight doesn't get away from me, or should I stop being obsessive about the scales, just eat healthily and exercise, and let my clothes be the judge. Well I hadn't weighed myself for a few weeks, and was a bit worried as the eating hadn't been great (sometimes awful!). But the clothes were no tighter, and then this morning I put on a pair of trousers that I thought were still to small to wear - but they fitted! Hopped on the scale, and thankfully I'm still as close to goal weight as I've ever been. HUGE relief - but it really must be the exercise keeping me on track, as I know that there have been many days that I have been well over my calorie allowance. I still need to try harder on the nutrition, but the exercise effect is quite cool hey!

Well here's an updated photo of me - had to take one for the gym as they want to profile my successes! Oh and by the way - I'm not blonde anymore- needed to get a bit smarter!