My weekends are typically so busy that I need to go to work to recover! Today has been no different. With a chilly walk with FD#1 at 6.30am (30 mins sleep in, yeah!) I got back just in time to wake up CBoy and take him to work by 8am. Back home and picked up MGirl for an appointment at the travel agent. Our “holiday of a lifetime” has been evolving in the background over the last couple of months, and today was the day to sign off on the flights and make it a reality!!
By 11am it was time to drop MGirl to her best friend’s house as they were all going to the Brightside Festival! What perfect weather they had today. She is still to get home, but I’ve had a few text messages, and it’s smiles all around. After dropping MGirl it was off to food shop. Home, unpack, of for a haircut...back home to put away the rest of the groceries and hang out more washing. By 3pm it was time to pick up CBoy from work, and the rest of the afternoon has been just as busy with more of the same. After switching to off-peak electricity, all of our washing gets done on weekends, and thankfully this one is sunny! It cuts down on power bills, but usually leaves me with between 6-8 loads of washing!
I look back on a day like today, which is normal in our house (and probably loads of others!) and I wonder how on earth I will fit in more running and more training! I know at some point I’ll have to be running 100km a week, which is about 10 hours at my pace! I know that life will bend and move and accommodate anything it needs to, there is always a way to do it...but today I am pooped! And I didn’t even run, just a walk with the dog!!
I got my polar heart rate watch back today with a new battery. It’s not a fancy GPS, but at least I can now run to heart rates and keep an eye on my time. That, along with my program, means I should be able to record a bit more statistical data...along with all my thoughts! As a woman I am supposed to “talk” about 15,000 words a day (I think)! As I’ve got no partner to talk to, I’ve got to get the words out somewhere; and here is as good a place as any!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
July 23rd – TGIF...
Starting the day with my favourite slobbering girl, it was absolutely freezing when we walked. But that is a small price to pay when we get days as gorgeous as they are! 20 degrees and sunshine in the middle of winter is reason enough to freeze my way through 30 minutes with FD#1 at 6am!
I was lucky enough to get my car today! Yeah. MGirl had to bus it as I needed the car to take CBoy to another check-up at hospital. It was a quick trip in at lunch time to wait 50 minutes for our appointment. I find it so frustrating to have to wait when you’ve made an appointment, but it seems to happen more and more these days as time become a commodity that people have less of every day. CBoy wasn’t bothered as he’d signed out of school for the afternoon and was already in weekend mode! Finally getting in to see the dental surgeon, a few turns of a screwdriver later, and CBoys head weighed a little less! The four screws that had held the banding in place post-surgery had been removed. CBoy didn’t seem to be interested in keeping them as a trophy, but I did. I am sure he will look back on them and remember how lucky he was! The screws were about 1cm long each and had been screwed into his jaw bone outside of the gum line; two top and two bottom. Apparently the four of them were worth about $500!
On the way back to work (via home dropping off CBoy) I contemplated how nice it would be to be out riding my bike at the moment. A nice long ride, something I’d not done in a long time. But, it wasn’t to be and I headed back to work, 3 hours later. Hopefully CBoy is able to put all of this behind him, and with his positive attitude it shouldn’t take long!
I ended the day with mum very much on my mind. With a 30 minute hard run on the program (yes I finally got it and forgot to mention it!) MGirl agreed to head out with me on our 6km loop. My plan whenever I run with MGirl is to start out with her and see how far I get. At her fittest I think she runs about a 4.20 minute km, where I am somewhere between a 5.30 and 6.00 minute km at the moment (I think). So with her running a little slower and me flogging myself, we managed to get around the 6km in 30 minutes! Mostly I could talk all the way around, but there were a couple of times I stopped talking mid-sentence to catch my breath. I think that qualifies as “running hard”. MGirl was really happy, saying this is the first run she’d enjoyed in a long while. Conceding that maybe not going flat stick all the way around, actually lets you enjoy yourself. And she said I didn’t run that slowly. No, because I did 5.00min km’s....yeah! Afterwards I was buggered. Stretching felt really good, especially as now I had the cleared carpet floor in the “theatre” room.
I was lucky enough to get my car today! Yeah. MGirl had to bus it as I needed the car to take CBoy to another check-up at hospital. It was a quick trip in at lunch time to wait 50 minutes for our appointment. I find it so frustrating to have to wait when you’ve made an appointment, but it seems to happen more and more these days as time become a commodity that people have less of every day. CBoy wasn’t bothered as he’d signed out of school for the afternoon and was already in weekend mode! Finally getting in to see the dental surgeon, a few turns of a screwdriver later, and CBoys head weighed a little less! The four screws that had held the banding in place post-surgery had been removed. CBoy didn’t seem to be interested in keeping them as a trophy, but I did. I am sure he will look back on them and remember how lucky he was! The screws were about 1cm long each and had been screwed into his jaw bone outside of the gum line; two top and two bottom. Apparently the four of them were worth about $500!
On the way back to work (via home dropping off CBoy) I contemplated how nice it would be to be out riding my bike at the moment. A nice long ride, something I’d not done in a long time. But, it wasn’t to be and I headed back to work, 3 hours later. Hopefully CBoy is able to put all of this behind him, and with his positive attitude it shouldn’t take long!
I ended the day with mum very much on my mind. With a 30 minute hard run on the program (yes I finally got it and forgot to mention it!) MGirl agreed to head out with me on our 6km loop. My plan whenever I run with MGirl is to start out with her and see how far I get. At her fittest I think she runs about a 4.20 minute km, where I am somewhere between a 5.30 and 6.00 minute km at the moment (I think). So with her running a little slower and me flogging myself, we managed to get around the 6km in 30 minutes! Mostly I could talk all the way around, but there were a couple of times I stopped talking mid-sentence to catch my breath. I think that qualifies as “running hard”. MGirl was really happy, saying this is the first run she’d enjoyed in a long while. Conceding that maybe not going flat stick all the way around, actually lets you enjoy yourself. And she said I didn’t run that slowly. No, because I did 5.00min km’s....yeah! Afterwards I was buggered. Stretching felt really good, especially as now I had the cleared carpet floor in the “theatre” room.
Friday, July 23, 2010
July 22nd – Death by Wii…
At this rate of ageing I will be gone in a few days! I decided to tackle the Wii again tonight and it told me I was 63!!! I think I will stop asking its opinion from now on. Unlike my Wii yoga instructor, he thinks my balance is great and I am doing a good job. I didn’t ask him, but maybe the Wii told him I was 63 and that’s why he was so damn encouraging! Maybe he meant my balance is great…for my age!
Still it was fun to do more of the yoga, 30 minutes was just the stretching session I needed; even though I find it a bit frustrating about how “slow” all the commentary between poses and exercises is. Get on with it! I was feeling a bit tight and stiff from my “hard” gym session, resplendent in ugg boots and drinking peppermint tea. I had to do something; as this morning I had hit the snooze button, or was it FD#1’s head in my face, when the alarm went off and slept for another hour. It was just too cold and I did feel tired. I felt naughty about her not getting her walk in, but I really needed more sleep. But by 5.30pm I was feeling guilty!!
For the last week I’ve been riding my scooter to work as the clutch cable on MGirl’s car bit it – twang – and her car isn’t going. As she had work 3 nights in a row, which involved her being there at 4pm right after getting home from school, I kindly offered her my car so she could make it to work. After all, work was the only thing that was helping her save the money to buy the little car from me, and who was I to stand in the way of her quest to earn money to pay me!!
I never intended on ending up with 2 cars; it happened out of necessity really. When mum was first diagnosed with cancer in August 2008 (on Daffodil Day ironically), I determined I was going to take some months off work and drive over with FD#1 (who was only a 4 month old puppy by then) and just enjoy the time I had left with mum. It took some organizing, and I finally headed over on October 13 with dog and 2 kids in tow. My car at the time was our Daewoo Matiz “Tizzy” (all grunting .8 litres of 3 cylinder engine!) Now in the past we’d done some miraculous stuffing to fit all manner of things into that car when holidaying, but there was no way known I was going to drive the thing across the continent! So I began hunting for a bigger car. I ended up buying a Ford Falcon station wagon, running on LPG, who has never missed a beat. I dubbed him “Ernie” as he was such an earnest car in taking us across Australia twice in 6 months! CBoy still doesn’t understand why I feel the need to name my vehicles. Maybe it’s a girl thing!!
I did try to sell Tizzy at the time, but with the market low the only enquiry I got for the car was when I was on the east coast, and by then it was all too hard. So I decided to keep both; knowing that MGirl was soon to be roadworthy! She’s ended up with a safe and economical car; even though she claims Tizzy has no personality! Too bad, so sad; my first car was a 1976 lemon yellow Mazda 323. I remember I was so excited when I found out (by accident) that it had intermittent wipers! Something I might add that the Matiz does not have!!
So to work on the scooter “Pepe” (yes another name!) for the whole week. Thankfully I am lucky enough to work only 4km from home, so the moment of being frozen in the mornings only lasts about 10 minutes in the traffic! I’d bought the scooter about 8 months after mum died. It was something I had recently fancied and I decided I would preempt my mid-life crisis by sliding into it sideways on a black Italian scooter; closest thing I’ve ever come to an Italian Stallion! I just don’t like the way the helmet mushes my curls, so I am cutting all my hair off on Saturday…going for a pixie look, or as I prefer to call it the Annie Lennox haircut (which I had for most of the 80’s!)
None of this has much to do with training!! I did find that 2 days between training is a little boring as I want to keep going! I’m planning on running tomorrow night, and I’ve entered into a 10K race on Sunday; not because I fancy I’m in with a chance…quite the opposite. I just want to get a base time for a 10K so I’ve got a marker to move forward from. If I can run it as close to 55 minutes as possible, I’ll be more than happy! MGirl has entered too, but she will leave me in her dust after about 3kms I think. She once told me it is too painful and hard on her muscles to run as slowly as I do! The nerve!! But she is good to pace with and I will try to hang with her for as long as I can. Who knows I might surprise myself!
Still it was fun to do more of the yoga, 30 minutes was just the stretching session I needed; even though I find it a bit frustrating about how “slow” all the commentary between poses and exercises is. Get on with it! I was feeling a bit tight and stiff from my “hard” gym session, resplendent in ugg boots and drinking peppermint tea. I had to do something; as this morning I had hit the snooze button, or was it FD#1’s head in my face, when the alarm went off and slept for another hour. It was just too cold and I did feel tired. I felt naughty about her not getting her walk in, but I really needed more sleep. But by 5.30pm I was feeling guilty!!
For the last week I’ve been riding my scooter to work as the clutch cable on MGirl’s car bit it – twang – and her car isn’t going. As she had work 3 nights in a row, which involved her being there at 4pm right after getting home from school, I kindly offered her my car so she could make it to work. After all, work was the only thing that was helping her save the money to buy the little car from me, and who was I to stand in the way of her quest to earn money to pay me!!
I never intended on ending up with 2 cars; it happened out of necessity really. When mum was first diagnosed with cancer in August 2008 (on Daffodil Day ironically), I determined I was going to take some months off work and drive over with FD#1 (who was only a 4 month old puppy by then) and just enjoy the time I had left with mum. It took some organizing, and I finally headed over on October 13 with dog and 2 kids in tow. My car at the time was our Daewoo Matiz “Tizzy” (all grunting .8 litres of 3 cylinder engine!) Now in the past we’d done some miraculous stuffing to fit all manner of things into that car when holidaying, but there was no way known I was going to drive the thing across the continent! So I began hunting for a bigger car. I ended up buying a Ford Falcon station wagon, running on LPG, who has never missed a beat. I dubbed him “Ernie” as he was such an earnest car in taking us across Australia twice in 6 months! CBoy still doesn’t understand why I feel the need to name my vehicles. Maybe it’s a girl thing!!
I did try to sell Tizzy at the time, but with the market low the only enquiry I got for the car was when I was on the east coast, and by then it was all too hard. So I decided to keep both; knowing that MGirl was soon to be roadworthy! She’s ended up with a safe and economical car; even though she claims Tizzy has no personality! Too bad, so sad; my first car was a 1976 lemon yellow Mazda 323. I remember I was so excited when I found out (by accident) that it had intermittent wipers! Something I might add that the Matiz does not have!!
So to work on the scooter “Pepe” (yes another name!) for the whole week. Thankfully I am lucky enough to work only 4km from home, so the moment of being frozen in the mornings only lasts about 10 minutes in the traffic! I’d bought the scooter about 8 months after mum died. It was something I had recently fancied and I decided I would preempt my mid-life crisis by sliding into it sideways on a black Italian scooter; closest thing I’ve ever come to an Italian Stallion! I just don’t like the way the helmet mushes my curls, so I am cutting all my hair off on Saturday…going for a pixie look, or as I prefer to call it the Annie Lennox haircut (which I had for most of the 80’s!)
None of this has much to do with training!! I did find that 2 days between training is a little boring as I want to keep going! I’m planning on running tomorrow night, and I’ve entered into a 10K race on Sunday; not because I fancy I’m in with a chance…quite the opposite. I just want to get a base time for a 10K so I’ve got a marker to move forward from. If I can run it as close to 55 minutes as possible, I’ll be more than happy! MGirl has entered too, but she will leave me in her dust after about 3kms I think. She once told me it is too painful and hard on her muscles to run as slowly as I do! The nerve!! But she is good to pace with and I will try to hang with her for as long as I can. Who knows I might surprise myself!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
July 21 – Breathe deeply…it’s only a commitment!
Well, after being “rejected” by Women’s Health magazine, I decided it was onwards and upwards and time to push on without them. I think part of me was hoping to gain a cult following…hahaha…but I was truly disappointed that running 125km over 3 mountains to raise funds for charity was of no interest to them. It was time to make this venture interesting.
I emailed The Lung Foundation of Australia with an outline of my plans and they were immediately on board. Of course they would be as I want to give them money, but they did sound genuinely interested as opposed to “yawn, boring, not enough room for your idea”. I’ve had to sign all a fundraising agreement, protects both of us I guess!! Whenever I feel like I am laboring under my training, I will be able to think about all those people that labour just to breathe and I will know my efforts are worthwhile!!
After walking FD#1 this morning, I wanted to back the day up with something other than running. I recently purchased a 2nd hand home gym and am stoked about it. The local gym is offering a 3 month membership for $150, that’s what I paid for my gym. I can use mine whenever I want! I know I may not have any company, but I can play my own music, as loudly as I want and I can plaster pictures of the Death Race trail all around me as inspiration. The added bonus tonight is that I went to the gym with my ugg boots on and a nice cup of peppermint tea. It was getting pretty cold outside at 6pm!
I’ve decided to work on long and lean muscles. I just want my body to be a bit stronger to carry me for the 24hours (hopefully less than that). So I am focusing on lighter weights and lots of reps. My right leg has been aching a little around the knee, nothing major but I want to keep it to nothing major, so I only did the upper body. The only downside with a one-size-fits-all gym (which it doesn’t!) is that for me to do leg extensions and quad exercises on this gym, my body proportion is wrong. I am not overly tall, or short at 167cm…but I have a longer body and shorter legs so my leg length is too short to fit the leg exercising part of the gym. It isn’t too bad, it only means I can’t do two exercises; but I can do other cable exercises with the legs. I figure my legs will be getting plenty of working out, so I’m not too bothered. MGirl has the opposite problem; at 173cm, her legs are too long to fit that part of the one-size-fits-all gym! The convenience of having the gym at home well outweighs the drawback of the machine not being too adjustable for size.
After about 30 minutes on the gym, with the FD#1 and FD#2 running rings around me and playing the whole time, I headed inside to tackle the Wii! I’d purchased a Wii some time ago, and the kids bought me a Wii Fit for Mother’s Day. With the renovations going on at home, and most clear spaces being used for storage, it had been pointless to set it up. Last weekend I’d managed to clean out the theatre room and now had space. It isn’t as posh as it sounds, theatre room…it used to be my bedroom. I got selfish and decided to turn the sunken lounge into my bedroom and my bedroom into the theatre room. It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but me, and now I have this lovely roomy and light bedroom…I love it!
So, with Wii poised and space a plenty I began. Following all the steps is really time consuming (read - slow) and after nearly 30 minutes on the thing I’d only accrued 10 actual minutes exercise time into my “piggy bank”! And what’s more it told me I had the fitness age of a 48 year old (I’m only 42…43 in 3 weeks)! What the hell does it know anyway? It determined this after I entered my height, and it weighed me and I balanced for a minute! Of course my balance will be rubbish…especially on the Wii board! The only good thing is that it told me I had a BMI of about 24%. After I turned it off I realised at least it has given me a starting point. While I don’t intend to use it a lot, maybe for the yoga poses for stretching a couple of times a week, at least I will dazzle it with my improvement in my fitness away from the Wii! Here’s hoping anyway.
I emailed The Lung Foundation of Australia with an outline of my plans and they were immediately on board. Of course they would be as I want to give them money, but they did sound genuinely interested as opposed to “yawn, boring, not enough room for your idea”. I’ve had to sign all a fundraising agreement, protects both of us I guess!! Whenever I feel like I am laboring under my training, I will be able to think about all those people that labour just to breathe and I will know my efforts are worthwhile!!
After walking FD#1 this morning, I wanted to back the day up with something other than running. I recently purchased a 2nd hand home gym and am stoked about it. The local gym is offering a 3 month membership for $150, that’s what I paid for my gym. I can use mine whenever I want! I know I may not have any company, but I can play my own music, as loudly as I want and I can plaster pictures of the Death Race trail all around me as inspiration. The added bonus tonight is that I went to the gym with my ugg boots on and a nice cup of peppermint tea. It was getting pretty cold outside at 6pm!
I’ve decided to work on long and lean muscles. I just want my body to be a bit stronger to carry me for the 24hours (hopefully less than that). So I am focusing on lighter weights and lots of reps. My right leg has been aching a little around the knee, nothing major but I want to keep it to nothing major, so I only did the upper body. The only downside with a one-size-fits-all gym (which it doesn’t!) is that for me to do leg extensions and quad exercises on this gym, my body proportion is wrong. I am not overly tall, or short at 167cm…but I have a longer body and shorter legs so my leg length is too short to fit the leg exercising part of the gym. It isn’t too bad, it only means I can’t do two exercises; but I can do other cable exercises with the legs. I figure my legs will be getting plenty of working out, so I’m not too bothered. MGirl has the opposite problem; at 173cm, her legs are too long to fit that part of the one-size-fits-all gym! The convenience of having the gym at home well outweighs the drawback of the machine not being too adjustable for size.
After about 30 minutes on the gym, with the FD#1 and FD#2 running rings around me and playing the whole time, I headed inside to tackle the Wii! I’d purchased a Wii some time ago, and the kids bought me a Wii Fit for Mother’s Day. With the renovations going on at home, and most clear spaces being used for storage, it had been pointless to set it up. Last weekend I’d managed to clean out the theatre room and now had space. It isn’t as posh as it sounds, theatre room…it used to be my bedroom. I got selfish and decided to turn the sunken lounge into my bedroom and my bedroom into the theatre room. It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but me, and now I have this lovely roomy and light bedroom…I love it!
So, with Wii poised and space a plenty I began. Following all the steps is really time consuming (read - slow) and after nearly 30 minutes on the thing I’d only accrued 10 actual minutes exercise time into my “piggy bank”! And what’s more it told me I had the fitness age of a 48 year old (I’m only 42…43 in 3 weeks)! What the hell does it know anyway? It determined this after I entered my height, and it weighed me and I balanced for a minute! Of course my balance will be rubbish…especially on the Wii board! The only good thing is that it told me I had a BMI of about 24%. After I turned it off I realised at least it has given me a starting point. While I don’t intend to use it a lot, maybe for the yoga poses for stretching a couple of times a week, at least I will dazzle it with my improvement in my fitness away from the Wii! Here’s hoping anyway.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
July 20th 2010 – Disappointment, & moving on...
I decided to telephone Women’s Health Magazine today. It had been 3 weeks since mum’s 70th birthday, the day I originally emailed them about my plans. It is with real disappointment that I was told “we get people all the time saying they are doing this and doing that....and we just don’t have enough room in the magazine for your story”. That was it...no “let me read your proposal”, or “that sounds interesting, tell me more about it”; I couldn’t even entice them, not even a little!!
So after that I decided now or never! My plan was still a great one and there is no reason I can’t succeed, with them or without them. I spent some time today talking to my brother about a blog, and how I go about setting one up. So with that I did it! I also emailed the Lung Foundation about my plans and I’m waiting to hear from them.
With no kids tonight, they are both at work; I took the opportunity to run. After Sunday’s 14km I wasn’t going to run until tomorrow – but in my effort for this endeavour not to impact too much on our family, tonight it was! I did walk FD#1 this morning, and yesterday, and I’d been really pleased at how well my body has held up after that run. I had a reasonable stretch before the run tonight and went 7kms. By the last km my legs were feeling it but I did manage to push for the last bit – again the time on my phone/radio didn’t reflect the effort I felt I’d put in. I must borrow MGal’s watch that calculates pace/distance to see if I’m really running over a minute slower that we did on the weekend. I did put my heart rate monitor in for a new battery, but I am thinking I should buy one of these watches instead...though I really, really want a GPS/heart rate monitor!!
So after that I decided now or never! My plan was still a great one and there is no reason I can’t succeed, with them or without them. I spent some time today talking to my brother about a blog, and how I go about setting one up. So with that I did it! I also emailed the Lung Foundation about my plans and I’m waiting to hear from them.
With no kids tonight, they are both at work; I took the opportunity to run. After Sunday’s 14km I wasn’t going to run until tomorrow – but in my effort for this endeavour not to impact too much on our family, tonight it was! I did walk FD#1 this morning, and yesterday, and I’d been really pleased at how well my body has held up after that run. I had a reasonable stretch before the run tonight and went 7kms. By the last km my legs were feeling it but I did manage to push for the last bit – again the time on my phone/radio didn’t reflect the effort I felt I’d put in. I must borrow MGal’s watch that calculates pace/distance to see if I’m really running over a minute slower that we did on the weekend. I did put my heart rate monitor in for a new battery, but I am thinking I should buy one of these watches instead...though I really, really want a GPS/heart rate monitor!!
July 18th 2010 – Life is getting back to normal...
It has been about 2 weeks since I last made the time to write. Many things have happened in that time. CBoy had surgery to plate his broken jaw, followed by 2 weeks of school holidays. Enough time for him to complain of being bored, so he must be feeling better.
With Dr’s appointments, police interviews and a counselling session behind him now; all that is left is to step foot on school grounds on Tuesday. CBoy has been out a couple of times during the holidays, and has commented that he felt spooked being in crowds and around people he didn’t know. All to be expected really when someone jumps you from behind and belts the living daylights out of you; taking away your dignity and self-confidence. Hopefully, in time, CBoy will put this behind him. I am sure part of that will involve following the judicial system to see how the perpetrator is punished. Court is on July 29th, and we are yet to know if he pleads guilty. Fingers crossed, he realises his error and does the right thing. I am still concerned about how this will impact CBoy when he actually goes back to school. Word is lots of people, he didn’t even know are his friends, are behind him. Hopefully that support will bolster him.
In all this time, I’ve still been running. Truth be told I didn’t for the week around the attack, but have been since. Each run I find myself enjoying it more and more. I’ve been reading another book, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, about the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico. Such an interesting book, a good story and full of useful information. With all this reading I can begin to see myself out on the “Death March”....running well and running smart.
With building my 5 kms into 7/8km runs, I was ready for a challenge this morning. It was time to head to the hills! I figured I had to make a start, especially as hills in Perth aren’t going to be anywhere near the size of the ones in Canada, now was not too early in my reckoning. I managed to “con” my girlfriend MGal into coming with me. Her own plans of NZ IM in March 2011 were weighing on her mind and as she’d not run in 2 weeks, and we were well overdue for a catch up; she was also up for a test. It worked out really well, as we seemed to pace well off each other, while pushing a little too. I find I run faster with others, and the chatter takes your mind of the fact that you’re working a little harder.
We headed out to the Zig Zag in Kalamunda. Originally a railway line, it was now a one-way road (down) that was a favourite amongst runners and cyclists alike. We only saw one cyclist going up, and two other women running, other than that it was downhill traffic. It is one way and down only, but we figured how much trouble can we cause running up as well. So we parked at the top which was just the thing to do. This meant our first cruise downhill was like a warm-up, with each trip (down or up) about 3km. As we started from the car park we ended up locking 4.2km to the turn around. Averaging about 5.05min pace on the way down, I was pleased as is showed me I am capable of running the speeds I used to run! (I still can’t see why I’d been running so slowly around home in the last weeks!!) Even on the uphills we were around 5.30min pace, so after one down/up I was feeling really proud of myself. Over the 2nd down/up we walked, briefly and occasionally, as MGal is still nursing a repairing calf muscle tear. She suggested I go on ahead, but I told her I’d invited her so I could “run with her, not away from” her. I could’ve easily kept going...but that wasn’t what it was about. So after adding another descent/ascent we ended up running over 14km in 1 hour 25mins. This also included venturing off the road a couple of times on the last run up as I was busting to run on dirt!
When we reached top and I still had more energy to spare, I finally realised I am enjoying my running. When I’ve run I want to run the next day; but sensibility tells me to pace myself! I’ve got time to spare, and soon enough I’ll be running 100km or more a week. For this week, I was happy with my 14km hit-out and my other 2 runs, totalling 29km for the week. A start, but I am feeling quietly confident that my body will hold up, and my spirit is rising all the while!!
In the time since I’ve last written, I also purchased a 2nd hand home gym. I’ve used it twice and its fun too. I don’t want big muscles, just lean and chiselled ones! MGirl has also had a turn, hoping to get strength for her pitching arm for the summer baseball season.
Life is good...after the hiccup of CBoy’s horrible assault...we are back to us! I am so thankful he was only left with a broken jaw; I try not to dwell on how wrong it could’ve gone. He is truly lucky, and I feel blessed...and relieved.
(On a side note – the boy involved was arrested and charged with grievous bodily harm. Be interesting to see how justice is served. I’m not holding my breath!! Besides, I can’t run if I’m holding my breath.)
With Dr’s appointments, police interviews and a counselling session behind him now; all that is left is to step foot on school grounds on Tuesday. CBoy has been out a couple of times during the holidays, and has commented that he felt spooked being in crowds and around people he didn’t know. All to be expected really when someone jumps you from behind and belts the living daylights out of you; taking away your dignity and self-confidence. Hopefully, in time, CBoy will put this behind him. I am sure part of that will involve following the judicial system to see how the perpetrator is punished. Court is on July 29th, and we are yet to know if he pleads guilty. Fingers crossed, he realises his error and does the right thing. I am still concerned about how this will impact CBoy when he actually goes back to school. Word is lots of people, he didn’t even know are his friends, are behind him. Hopefully that support will bolster him.
In all this time, I’ve still been running. Truth be told I didn’t for the week around the attack, but have been since. Each run I find myself enjoying it more and more. I’ve been reading another book, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, about the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico. Such an interesting book, a good story and full of useful information. With all this reading I can begin to see myself out on the “Death March”....running well and running smart.
With building my 5 kms into 7/8km runs, I was ready for a challenge this morning. It was time to head to the hills! I figured I had to make a start, especially as hills in Perth aren’t going to be anywhere near the size of the ones in Canada, now was not too early in my reckoning. I managed to “con” my girlfriend MGal into coming with me. Her own plans of NZ IM in March 2011 were weighing on her mind and as she’d not run in 2 weeks, and we were well overdue for a catch up; she was also up for a test. It worked out really well, as we seemed to pace well off each other, while pushing a little too. I find I run faster with others, and the chatter takes your mind of the fact that you’re working a little harder.
We headed out to the Zig Zag in Kalamunda. Originally a railway line, it was now a one-way road (down) that was a favourite amongst runners and cyclists alike. We only saw one cyclist going up, and two other women running, other than that it was downhill traffic. It is one way and down only, but we figured how much trouble can we cause running up as well. So we parked at the top which was just the thing to do. This meant our first cruise downhill was like a warm-up, with each trip (down or up) about 3km. As we started from the car park we ended up locking 4.2km to the turn around. Averaging about 5.05min pace on the way down, I was pleased as is showed me I am capable of running the speeds I used to run! (I still can’t see why I’d been running so slowly around home in the last weeks!!) Even on the uphills we were around 5.30min pace, so after one down/up I was feeling really proud of myself. Over the 2nd down/up we walked, briefly and occasionally, as MGal is still nursing a repairing calf muscle tear. She suggested I go on ahead, but I told her I’d invited her so I could “run with her, not away from” her. I could’ve easily kept going...but that wasn’t what it was about. So after adding another descent/ascent we ended up running over 14km in 1 hour 25mins. This also included venturing off the road a couple of times on the last run up as I was busting to run on dirt!
When we reached top and I still had more energy to spare, I finally realised I am enjoying my running. When I’ve run I want to run the next day; but sensibility tells me to pace myself! I’ve got time to spare, and soon enough I’ll be running 100km or more a week. For this week, I was happy with my 14km hit-out and my other 2 runs, totalling 29km for the week. A start, but I am feeling quietly confident that my body will hold up, and my spirit is rising all the while!!
In the time since I’ve last written, I also purchased a 2nd hand home gym. I’ve used it twice and its fun too. I don’t want big muscles, just lean and chiselled ones! MGirl has also had a turn, hoping to get strength for her pitching arm for the summer baseball season.
Life is good...after the hiccup of CBoy’s horrible assault...we are back to us! I am so thankful he was only left with a broken jaw; I try not to dwell on how wrong it could’ve gone. He is truly lucky, and I feel blessed...and relieved.
(On a side note – the boy involved was arrested and charged with grievous bodily harm. Be interesting to see how justice is served. I’m not holding my breath!! Besides, I can’t run if I’m holding my breath.)
July 2nd 2010 – It’s 4.30am...
And I’ve been awake since 3am. I’d planned on running after work yesterday, provided I could work it around grocery shopping and getting FD#1 walked; if not I would run today. Now none of that will be happening; things are on hold for a few days. I got a call from my children’s school yesterday saying they had CBoy (and MGirl) in the sick room. Things whir through you head all at once, like he must be feeling unwell, but why is his sister there also? Then the nurse said CBoy had been involved in a fight and I needed to come down to the school to collect him.
It took me about 20 minutes to get organised at work and get to the school; luckily I work 1km from the school!! When I got to school I found out the “fight” had been an assault with CBoy being jumped from behind in an unprovoked manner and throw to the ground to then have his head repeatedly belted into the concrete by a kid he hardly knew. We are still yet to find out why.
After many hours at the hospital, and filing reports and complaints with the police, we found out that the missing tooth (read “gap”) in CBoy’s mouth was not a missing tooth but the amount of distance that a double displaced fracture to the jaw can cause. Imagine a hole the size of a missing tooth, gum ripped apart (won’t go into more gory detail)...that is close to a 1cm fracture in my baby boys head!!! Now you know why I am not asleep.
I will head back into the hospital early this morning as he have to have surgery to put multiple plates in his head to screw his jaw back together!! The surgeon mentioned something about nerve damage, facial paralysis...I don’t think I’ve begun to get angry. Picture a mother lion (I’m a Leo) protecting her cub and you’ll get an idea!!
I think this sufficient excuse to be offline and off training for a few days while I get things sorted out!!! Grrrrr.......
It took me about 20 minutes to get organised at work and get to the school; luckily I work 1km from the school!! When I got to school I found out the “fight” had been an assault with CBoy being jumped from behind in an unprovoked manner and throw to the ground to then have his head repeatedly belted into the concrete by a kid he hardly knew. We are still yet to find out why.
After many hours at the hospital, and filing reports and complaints with the police, we found out that the missing tooth (read “gap”) in CBoy’s mouth was not a missing tooth but the amount of distance that a double displaced fracture to the jaw can cause. Imagine a hole the size of a missing tooth, gum ripped apart (won’t go into more gory detail)...that is close to a 1cm fracture in my baby boys head!!! Now you know why I am not asleep.
I will head back into the hospital early this morning as he have to have surgery to put multiple plates in his head to screw his jaw back together!! The surgeon mentioned something about nerve damage, facial paralysis...I don’t think I’ve begun to get angry. Picture a mother lion (I’m a Leo) protecting her cub and you’ll get an idea!!
I think this sufficient excuse to be offline and off training for a few days while I get things sorted out!!! Grrrrr.......
June 29th 2010 – Frozen in time!!
It is so cold in the morning this last week it is really hard to get out of bed. So hitting the snooze button a couple of times doesn’t seem unreasonable. Even FD#1 is sleeping through the alarm which normally has her up and sticking her face in mine insisting I get up and we go walking. So the fact that she is even sleeping in, makes it easier to justify being slack in the morning. I reconcile in my head that DR 2011 is still over 12 months away and I don’t need to get too excited, just yet.
I’ve just finished reading “50 Marathons, 50 Days” by Dean Karnazes and he says you have to be flexible with your training and not allow last minute changes to get you down, and always have a back-up plan on how to get that session into the day. So back-up plan for today is to squash it into tonight. The bonus also is that I found out the planets have aligned today and both CBoy and MGirl are working (roughly the same times) tonight. That means 2 things; it’s just me tonight to do whatever I want and have dinner whenever I can, and that MGirl can drive them both home. Yeah, I get to wait up for them to get safely home...in bed!!
So after work I fed the dogs and headed out for a run. I was searching the internet today and ended up on the WA Marathon Club website and found a list of lots of runs coming up. The Women’s Classic is on Sunday, a 10km run which I thought would make a good training on run. So, I needed a longer run tonight and drop back to a 5km run for Thursday. I headed out on the 5km loop and added another street into it before I turned a corner. (I really want to get a GPS/heart rate monitor, so I don’t have to keep clocking these runs in the car afterwards!). By the time I cut back into the original 5km loop and “push-it” roundabout I was feeling pretty good. I call it push-it roundabout as I know it’s 2kms from home, and if I’m feeling good at that point I try to crank it up a little as I know I’m close to home. So crank it up I did and ended up back at home after 43 minutes. I still am not timing my runs, and don’t want to, but I deep down wanted to know where I was starting at with a km/min time just so I had something to work from and towards better times. So I cheated and looked at the time on the phone that had been my radio for the run. (I still have to buy another Ipod as CBoy managed to destroy the one I’d leant him, he has a habit of things just falling apart in his hands!)
Getting home and having a quick stretch, I headed out again with FD#1 for a 3km walk. Home again and dinner done, I am going to sink into the tub...which is no mean feat in this house as it’s only 2/3 the size of a full tub! I’m the smallest in my house and I only just fit in it now! (OK, I had to clock this run before getting in the tub...it was only 6.5kms, so I’m kind of bummed now as it means I am slower than slow; no wonder why I’m feeling good on the run...I’m not even pushing hard and it means my kms are 6+ minutes! That isn’t fun to admit!!)
I’ve just finished reading “50 Marathons, 50 Days” by Dean Karnazes and he says you have to be flexible with your training and not allow last minute changes to get you down, and always have a back-up plan on how to get that session into the day. So back-up plan for today is to squash it into tonight. The bonus also is that I found out the planets have aligned today and both CBoy and MGirl are working (roughly the same times) tonight. That means 2 things; it’s just me tonight to do whatever I want and have dinner whenever I can, and that MGirl can drive them both home. Yeah, I get to wait up for them to get safely home...in bed!!
So after work I fed the dogs and headed out for a run. I was searching the internet today and ended up on the WA Marathon Club website and found a list of lots of runs coming up. The Women’s Classic is on Sunday, a 10km run which I thought would make a good training on run. So, I needed a longer run tonight and drop back to a 5km run for Thursday. I headed out on the 5km loop and added another street into it before I turned a corner. (I really want to get a GPS/heart rate monitor, so I don’t have to keep clocking these runs in the car afterwards!). By the time I cut back into the original 5km loop and “push-it” roundabout I was feeling pretty good. I call it push-it roundabout as I know it’s 2kms from home, and if I’m feeling good at that point I try to crank it up a little as I know I’m close to home. So crank it up I did and ended up back at home after 43 minutes. I still am not timing my runs, and don’t want to, but I deep down wanted to know where I was starting at with a km/min time just so I had something to work from and towards better times. So I cheated and looked at the time on the phone that had been my radio for the run. (I still have to buy another Ipod as CBoy managed to destroy the one I’d leant him, he has a habit of things just falling apart in his hands!)
Getting home and having a quick stretch, I headed out again with FD#1 for a 3km walk. Home again and dinner done, I am going to sink into the tub...which is no mean feat in this house as it’s only 2/3 the size of a full tub! I’m the smallest in my house and I only just fit in it now! (OK, I had to clock this run before getting in the tub...it was only 6.5kms, so I’m kind of bummed now as it means I am slower than slow; no wonder why I’m feeling good on the run...I’m not even pushing hard and it means my kms are 6+ minutes! That isn’t fun to admit!!)
June 28th 2010 – Being accountable...
Today is mum’s 70th birthday. Her life wasn’t to make it this far, but her memory lives on in everyone who knew her. In fact, her memory is more present for me now as I run towards my goal. I know she would enthusiastically be behind me if she were here, and in some ways...she is.
So far I have only spoken out loud of my plans to a few select people, and I know
now is the time to become more accountable. To irrevocably put it out there in the universe and today I have turned a corner and my goal is becoming more cemented in my mind and in reality every day. Today I have emailed Women’s Health Magazine giving them a run-down of my plan...now for the wait. I think my ideas for a training blog, a complete stripping bear of my armour, are good. I hope they think the same and take on my ideas and make them reality!!
Tonight is baseball, and because I didn’t get up early for the dog the trick is to fit both of them in, CBoy and FD#1 that is. I dropped CBoy off at the gate and headed off on foot with the dog, leaving the car at baseball. The baseball ground is a 6km round trip from home, so going the long way around it is 4kms to home. I dropped FD#1 off at home, and walked the other 2kms back to baseball. An hour after dropping CBoy I got back for the last hour of training. There really isn’t much to see from the seats, but CBoy knows I’m there and I love watching. I then found out that the dog walk meant I missed him pitching...can’t win them all in your attempt to consolidate your time!!
So far I have only spoken out loud of my plans to a few select people, and I know
now is the time to become more accountable. To irrevocably put it out there in the universe and today I have turned a corner and my goal is becoming more cemented in my mind and in reality every day. Today I have emailed Women’s Health Magazine giving them a run-down of my plan...now for the wait. I think my ideas for a training blog, a complete stripping bear of my armour, are good. I hope they think the same and take on my ideas and make them reality!!
Tonight is baseball, and because I didn’t get up early for the dog the trick is to fit both of them in, CBoy and FD#1 that is. I dropped CBoy off at the gate and headed off on foot with the dog, leaving the car at baseball. The baseball ground is a 6km round trip from home, so going the long way around it is 4kms to home. I dropped FD#1 off at home, and walked the other 2kms back to baseball. An hour after dropping CBoy I got back for the last hour of training. There really isn’t much to see from the seats, but CBoy knows I’m there and I love watching. I then found out that the dog walk meant I missed him pitching...can’t win them all in your attempt to consolidate your time!!
June 27th 2010 – Where did the week go?
I wanted to write a daily update and the week went by like that!! I pulled up ok on Wednesday after running much longer than I should have (still not clocked it yet, about 12+ kms). With the coldest week we’ve had in Perth for a couple of years, it was easy to make excuses at -0.06 degrees and to hit snooze on the alarm and curl back up under the doona. Walking Favourite Dog #1 has to be enjoyable...and as she didn’t even want to get out of her bed on Wednesday...it seemed as good an excuse to not go. Thursday morning passed the same way...but with two days of no dog walking I had to run on Thursday night. Another 5kms easy enough. I found myself coming home from work and getting ready as quickly as I could...looking forward to my run.
I can remember back to when I started training for my first triathlon in 2000/01 season I couldn’t even run around the block without stopping for breath!! Even when I was racing regularly, I wouldn’t say I enjoyed running; it was something I had to do finish a race...swim, bike RUN! Now I was really looking forward to my next run, even though it’s only baby distances now. I finally have a reason to run, not just about getting to a finish line – it’s a bigger purpose now. I used to have a long-held aversion to running, lack of fitness aside. I used to run cross country in primary school...until my family told me I looked like a “spastic chook”. That was enough to shut down any aspirations I ever had to run for a long time.
I took FD#1 on a walk for an hour on Saturday morning, another cold one, but with the sun shining on my back it was perfect! Walking along the shoulder of the railway line, I imagined it to be the trail of the race, and decided I’d be running along there sometime soon! With the walk done, the rest of the day turned out to be really busy. I have always thought I’d been good at making the most efficient use of my time. Now that will be even more critical. I figure the more low resistance exercise I can fit into my day, it will add to my fitness level without taxing my time any more than it will be.
With food shopping done, about 10 loads of washing done...it was time for MGirl’s netball game. A fantastic afternoon of sitting in the sun with FD#1 as MGirl did her thing on the court. The team lost, they seem to be doing a lot of that this season...but I was proud of her just the same. She always puts in 110% all the time, I hope she gets this work ethic from me...or hers will rub off on me. I could use such dedication.
Today, Sunday, started with a sleep in...a real one until 8.30am. Two in two weekends... wow! I am lucky. A meeting at 9.30am, dropping CBoy at work at 11am, clothes to fold and dishes to do while MGirl did her homework. Off to another netball game as 1.30pm and then home again and that was the day pretty much over. As we were driving home down the freeway, I could feel another run coming on. Again I was looking forward to it and punched out another 5kms feeling great. I know this will be a gradual build over a long time; but another week of 5kms runs and I feel ready to up it a little.
I am still to get my program from Stu (must give him a call) and I’m not sure how he will start me off...but I told him I’m doing 3 x 5kms runs a week, and that my first goal is the City to Surf at the end of August. I can already mentally picture the time when my long run in the week will be a marathon itself, and I am excited by it. I like being able to do things everyday people think is over the top! I like pushing myself, and I will no doubt find out all too soon that I’ve picked a doozie of a test! Having the program will be great, it’s a no brainer...you read it, then you do it! Bring it on.
I can remember back to when I started training for my first triathlon in 2000/01 season I couldn’t even run around the block without stopping for breath!! Even when I was racing regularly, I wouldn’t say I enjoyed running; it was something I had to do finish a race...swim, bike RUN! Now I was really looking forward to my next run, even though it’s only baby distances now. I finally have a reason to run, not just about getting to a finish line – it’s a bigger purpose now. I used to have a long-held aversion to running, lack of fitness aside. I used to run cross country in primary school...until my family told me I looked like a “spastic chook”. That was enough to shut down any aspirations I ever had to run for a long time.
I took FD#1 on a walk for an hour on Saturday morning, another cold one, but with the sun shining on my back it was perfect! Walking along the shoulder of the railway line, I imagined it to be the trail of the race, and decided I’d be running along there sometime soon! With the walk done, the rest of the day turned out to be really busy. I have always thought I’d been good at making the most efficient use of my time. Now that will be even more critical. I figure the more low resistance exercise I can fit into my day, it will add to my fitness level without taxing my time any more than it will be.
With food shopping done, about 10 loads of washing done...it was time for MGirl’s netball game. A fantastic afternoon of sitting in the sun with FD#1 as MGirl did her thing on the court. The team lost, they seem to be doing a lot of that this season...but I was proud of her just the same. She always puts in 110% all the time, I hope she gets this work ethic from me...or hers will rub off on me. I could use such dedication.
Today, Sunday, started with a sleep in...a real one until 8.30am. Two in two weekends... wow! I am lucky. A meeting at 9.30am, dropping CBoy at work at 11am, clothes to fold and dishes to do while MGirl did her homework. Off to another netball game as 1.30pm and then home again and that was the day pretty much over. As we were driving home down the freeway, I could feel another run coming on. Again I was looking forward to it and punched out another 5kms feeling great. I know this will be a gradual build over a long time; but another week of 5kms runs and I feel ready to up it a little.
I am still to get my program from Stu (must give him a call) and I’m not sure how he will start me off...but I told him I’m doing 3 x 5kms runs a week, and that my first goal is the City to Surf at the end of August. I can already mentally picture the time when my long run in the week will be a marathon itself, and I am excited by it. I like being able to do things everyday people think is over the top! I like pushing myself, and I will no doubt find out all too soon that I’ve picked a doozie of a test! Having the program will be great, it’s a no brainer...you read it, then you do it! Bring it on.
June 22nd 2010 – Small bites, and chew well until you swallow!
I walked FD#1 yesterday morning. I managed to “bounce” out of bed a little more easily as I realise the importance of these walks even more, as recovery and another reason to move my body. All the km’s will add up, eventually.
With an appointment at the chiropractor that night, to crunch an uncooperative rib back into line, I decided it was better to have an easy night, to let my back “settle”. So it was a chilly evening at the baseball with friends watching our sons do their thing! Both MGirl and CBoy play baseball, and for the last two winters CBoy has been involved with a winter development squad.
This morning I woke up and the relief I’d felt in the upper back seemed to have disappeared, I don’t think the rib area is very stable!! The one thing about being a client of chiropractic is that I am so aware of my skeleton and where and when it is out, that I don’t do well putting up with bad alignment when I know a quick visit will fix it. I’ve been having occasional problems with the rib area ever since I drove across Australia twice between October 2008 and January 2009 when we went and spent time with Mum before she died. I will just have to persevere with it and get on with it.
Another walk with FD#1; it is so dark in the mornings and the sun only seems to be waking up when I get back home at 7am. Morning routines are generally the same. When I get in and make coffee (aaahhhh) then I wake up the kids. Before I know it we are all out the door for the day!! I imagined having to get up even earlier to squeeze in a run before the dog walk, or perhaps a swim or ride when it warms up a bit, and wondered how I wouldn’t fall asleep on the keyboard at work!! So many things to consider, but the best way to face them is to just let it all evolve; and follow my program!
Having not run yesterday, I knew tonight was a must. So when I found out that both the kids were rostered on to work this afternoon what else was I to do but run! I found myself leaving work feeling excited about the prospect of running. The clouds were looming and some spots of rain on the ground didn’t put me off, and I set off with the Library in mind. I’d thrown out a particular piece of paper that CBoy has collected from the Library. I swear he said it was rubbish after he looked into, and of course he wanted it after I’d decided to bin it! So I promised him I’d go to the Library and get another for him; it was just an advertisement for an online tutoring website for his schoolwork! I had to support him in his quest to do his homework as it had only evolved about 3 months ago.
I have to clock it in the car, but I think it turned into a longer run than I’d wanted, probably somewhere close to 10km... with stopping for trains and traffic and to give my knees a rest I managed in a slow 1 hour 20 minutes! Not fast, but all the while I was thinking of the things I’d learned on the internet today. That ultra-distance runners do run slowly, and solo runners of the Death Race actually advocate walking parts of the race. In fact parts of the mountains as so steep, up and down, you can only physically walk them. So what better a race where you are encouraged to walk? Everything about triathlons teaches you speed, cutting seconds off you time and beating the next person in front of you. (29/6/10 – I’ve just jumped in the car and clocked this run; 12.5kms...now I’m feeling a little better about the time).
With an appointment at the chiropractor that night, to crunch an uncooperative rib back into line, I decided it was better to have an easy night, to let my back “settle”. So it was a chilly evening at the baseball with friends watching our sons do their thing! Both MGirl and CBoy play baseball, and for the last two winters CBoy has been involved with a winter development squad.
This morning I woke up and the relief I’d felt in the upper back seemed to have disappeared, I don’t think the rib area is very stable!! The one thing about being a client of chiropractic is that I am so aware of my skeleton and where and when it is out, that I don’t do well putting up with bad alignment when I know a quick visit will fix it. I’ve been having occasional problems with the rib area ever since I drove across Australia twice between October 2008 and January 2009 when we went and spent time with Mum before she died. I will just have to persevere with it and get on with it.
Another walk with FD#1; it is so dark in the mornings and the sun only seems to be waking up when I get back home at 7am. Morning routines are generally the same. When I get in and make coffee (aaahhhh) then I wake up the kids. Before I know it we are all out the door for the day!! I imagined having to get up even earlier to squeeze in a run before the dog walk, or perhaps a swim or ride when it warms up a bit, and wondered how I wouldn’t fall asleep on the keyboard at work!! So many things to consider, but the best way to face them is to just let it all evolve; and follow my program!
Having not run yesterday, I knew tonight was a must. So when I found out that both the kids were rostered on to work this afternoon what else was I to do but run! I found myself leaving work feeling excited about the prospect of running. The clouds were looming and some spots of rain on the ground didn’t put me off, and I set off with the Library in mind. I’d thrown out a particular piece of paper that CBoy has collected from the Library. I swear he said it was rubbish after he looked into, and of course he wanted it after I’d decided to bin it! So I promised him I’d go to the Library and get another for him; it was just an advertisement for an online tutoring website for his schoolwork! I had to support him in his quest to do his homework as it had only evolved about 3 months ago.
I have to clock it in the car, but I think it turned into a longer run than I’d wanted, probably somewhere close to 10km... with stopping for trains and traffic and to give my knees a rest I managed in a slow 1 hour 20 minutes! Not fast, but all the while I was thinking of the things I’d learned on the internet today. That ultra-distance runners do run slowly, and solo runners of the Death Race actually advocate walking parts of the race. In fact parts of the mountains as so steep, up and down, you can only physically walk them. So what better a race where you are encouraged to walk? Everything about triathlons teaches you speed, cutting seconds off you time and beating the next person in front of you. (29/6/10 – I’ve just jumped in the car and clocked this run; 12.5kms...now I’m feeling a little better about the time).
June 19th 2010 – Enormity looming...
I woke at 3.30am...wide awake. It would be true to say I’ve lost sleep over the last few nights since hatching this plan. Having previously done an ironman, I am not concerned about the day; though I know it will be the most physical thing I have ever undertaken. The experience of the ironman has taught me that, given the right training, my body can do extraordinary things. I moved continuously for 12 ½ hours in the race in 2004...I know I can push myself for a 24 hour race.
The lack of sleep is due to a combination of excitement and dread. I remember how taxing the 7 months of training I did for the ironman and the toll it took on my life. Physically I was ok, of course tired, but the logistics of fitting in 25 hours per week training at the time was a mammoth task. The kids were only 8 and 10 at the time, and I remember dragging them everywhere. I look back on it and they were so patient; playing in the park during interval training, swimming while I lapped it, early morning starts, and lots of takeaway dinners (for them).
All of that was when I only worked about 10 hours per week; now I work full time! How on earth will I fit this all in? Working and lack of time has always been my excuse for not going back to racing post-ironman. I’ve run on and off, swum on and off, and occasionally dusted off the bike for a spin – but nothing consistently. And now I wanted to go further and longer than that day in 2004...am I insane?
I met with my old friends last night Max(ine) and Stu(art) last night to tell them of my plan. Stuart had been my coach throughout my short lived triathlon “career” and he’d always given me programs that worked well. Now I needed him again. I was even more excited to learn that he himself had spent the last couple of years doing adventure races (and less triathlons), so my confidence soared a little. He knew what I had been capable of in the past, he was confident I (we) could do it. He was full of so much information, and we talked about things I’d not considered...even the bear spray came up again!
We discussed what time I had available and the ideas I’d been tossing around in my head. Kids are uppermost, and though they are older (and more supportive and understanding), time with them is crucial. Work is important as I can’t survive without an income. I asked did he think it was possible to train once daily during the week, with double sessions left for the weekends? Yes. I told him that walking FD#1 would be my recovery and I had to incorporate 5 walks a week with her. Easy. The only tough part with that is that we walk mornings, as Danes don’t do well in afternoon heat; so if I want to train in the mornings I’ll be up much earlier!!! I told him that I don’t believe in backing up running day after day (he agreed) and I wanted to train for this race in a cross-training manner. Done. I think the key to avoiding injury is to not use the same muscle group day in day out, which is where cross training is perfect. I want to incorporate gym work, swimming, cycling...I suddenly feel like I’m triathlon training again! I told him I knew at some point I’d have to be running daily...he said about 4 months out. The bonus Stuart said with my training is that I am not doing it to build speed, so there would be less focus on short sharp and more on long and longer. And I also walked away with a free pair of socks...some whiz bang merino wool ones especially designed for trail running!!
I am hoping to achieve all of this in about 15 hours a week...for the next 6 months at least. There will be a time when I am running a 4-5 hour long run a week/fortnight after the new year. Things will begin in earnest then...a marathon distance will be my short run!! We also discussed a 100km race in Melbourne around May or June 2011, and determined that would be a good test as it is about 6 weeks out from the Death Race. I know Stuart will also incorporate other ultra-distance races and I will probably do some triathlon racing just to mix it up.
It is now 6am...I’ve got the slow cooker going with a beef and vegetable stew, and the rice cooker going with a mince and tomato rice dish. No good lying in bed when you aren’t actually sleeping. I know it will catch up with me later today, but at least I’ve got cooking done for the week; at least for the nights I don’t have time to cook. Now for a load of washing...
After the cooking was finished and I took FD#1 for a 3km walk...I decided I’d try to get the many hours sleep I’d missed out on. I went to bed again at 7.30am and woke at 10am...thankfully. The rest of the morning was spent shifting the last of the pavers. I’ve bought 40sqm of 2nd hand pavers and needed them as close as possible to the area to be paved. When they get put down on Wednesday I can go and collect the 2nd hand home gym I’m buying...everything is coming together!
I’ve spent some time tonight looking through the pages of photos on the Canadian Death Race page on Facebook. It gave me confidence to see that the people at a training camp were just like me...and some even looked less fit than I am, and I’ve not even begun training. The terrain in the photos looks amazing...good to see at least a little of it as I will be starting blind, with no real knowledge of the track. I hope to get there a week before the race to get some running in on the course.
I am starting to see myself really doing this!! And visualisation is key!!
The lack of sleep is due to a combination of excitement and dread. I remember how taxing the 7 months of training I did for the ironman and the toll it took on my life. Physically I was ok, of course tired, but the logistics of fitting in 25 hours per week training at the time was a mammoth task. The kids were only 8 and 10 at the time, and I remember dragging them everywhere. I look back on it and they were so patient; playing in the park during interval training, swimming while I lapped it, early morning starts, and lots of takeaway dinners (for them).
All of that was when I only worked about 10 hours per week; now I work full time! How on earth will I fit this all in? Working and lack of time has always been my excuse for not going back to racing post-ironman. I’ve run on and off, swum on and off, and occasionally dusted off the bike for a spin – but nothing consistently. And now I wanted to go further and longer than that day in 2004...am I insane?
I met with my old friends last night Max(ine) and Stu(art) last night to tell them of my plan. Stuart had been my coach throughout my short lived triathlon “career” and he’d always given me programs that worked well. Now I needed him again. I was even more excited to learn that he himself had spent the last couple of years doing adventure races (and less triathlons), so my confidence soared a little. He knew what I had been capable of in the past, he was confident I (we) could do it. He was full of so much information, and we talked about things I’d not considered...even the bear spray came up again!
We discussed what time I had available and the ideas I’d been tossing around in my head. Kids are uppermost, and though they are older (and more supportive and understanding), time with them is crucial. Work is important as I can’t survive without an income. I asked did he think it was possible to train once daily during the week, with double sessions left for the weekends? Yes. I told him that walking FD#1 would be my recovery and I had to incorporate 5 walks a week with her. Easy. The only tough part with that is that we walk mornings, as Danes don’t do well in afternoon heat; so if I want to train in the mornings I’ll be up much earlier!!! I told him that I don’t believe in backing up running day after day (he agreed) and I wanted to train for this race in a cross-training manner. Done. I think the key to avoiding injury is to not use the same muscle group day in day out, which is where cross training is perfect. I want to incorporate gym work, swimming, cycling...I suddenly feel like I’m triathlon training again! I told him I knew at some point I’d have to be running daily...he said about 4 months out. The bonus Stuart said with my training is that I am not doing it to build speed, so there would be less focus on short sharp and more on long and longer. And I also walked away with a free pair of socks...some whiz bang merino wool ones especially designed for trail running!!
I am hoping to achieve all of this in about 15 hours a week...for the next 6 months at least. There will be a time when I am running a 4-5 hour long run a week/fortnight after the new year. Things will begin in earnest then...a marathon distance will be my short run!! We also discussed a 100km race in Melbourne around May or June 2011, and determined that would be a good test as it is about 6 weeks out from the Death Race. I know Stuart will also incorporate other ultra-distance races and I will probably do some triathlon racing just to mix it up.
It is now 6am...I’ve got the slow cooker going with a beef and vegetable stew, and the rice cooker going with a mince and tomato rice dish. No good lying in bed when you aren’t actually sleeping. I know it will catch up with me later today, but at least I’ve got cooking done for the week; at least for the nights I don’t have time to cook. Now for a load of washing...
After the cooking was finished and I took FD#1 for a 3km walk...I decided I’d try to get the many hours sleep I’d missed out on. I went to bed again at 7.30am and woke at 10am...thankfully. The rest of the morning was spent shifting the last of the pavers. I’ve bought 40sqm of 2nd hand pavers and needed them as close as possible to the area to be paved. When they get put down on Wednesday I can go and collect the 2nd hand home gym I’m buying...everything is coming together!
I’ve spent some time tonight looking through the pages of photos on the Canadian Death Race page on Facebook. It gave me confidence to see that the people at a training camp were just like me...and some even looked less fit than I am, and I’ve not even begun training. The terrain in the photos looks amazing...good to see at least a little of it as I will be starting blind, with no real knowledge of the track. I hope to get there a week before the race to get some running in on the course.
I am starting to see myself really doing this!! And visualisation is key!!
June 19th 2010 – The sweet sleep in.
I don’t often get to sleep in, and when I do my body has forgotten how to. Anything after 7am is a luxury, my body conditioned to years of being a parent and a part-time athlete. I use the word athlete loosely, I haven’t ever considered myself one but I guess I have been in the past. So this morning when nothing and no one woke me until 8.23am I couldn’t believe my luck. Not even the dog had stirred, which was really unusual as she is normally looming over my head waiting to go out for a wee at about 6am. She “looms” because she is a great dane! So with her still sleeping soundly in her bed, I stretched selfishly from corner to corner of the bed remembering I’d promised myself to run this morning. It felt so easy to say no, not today.
I started thinking about what I intended to do with this race, and parts of my mind were already playing sabotage tricks. After all, it isn’t really a real thing yet is it? Just this plan I have in my head and so far I’m committed to no one. The few people I’ve told bits of my dream to would understand; I could see their head nodding in agreement with me when I tell them I never got started, after all it is such a huge undertaking. I would never be able to live with myself for giving in that easy, and it wasn’t really a consideration, but it surprised me how easily we can attempt to talk ourselves out of stuff.
So I headed out for my 5km run this morning, not 125km, breaking the next 14 months down into daily goals and weekly goals will be key. If I continually think about what I intend to do, and how far I have to run it might become overwhelming. Of course it is important to focus on the ultimate goal, but that won’t be achieved without reaching all the little milestones I will have to set for myself along the way.
The first of which is to build a base, having come from not really doing much hard exercise over the last few years. I have, in fits and starts, but never with a goal in mind and I found it hard to develop any consistency. I’m not much good at exercise for the sake of it, it bores me. Having said that, I’ve not been sedentary. I bought a bouncing bundle of Great Dane puppy in July 2008, Favourite Dog #1 (FD#1). Part of my pre-puppy research told me that Danes didn’t need much exercise, which was good I thought. In fact their bodies aren’t really built for running and long, long walks.
What my research didn’t tell me is that it didn’t apply to my puppy! She was very attached to me and whenever I left her alone too long, even though we have another much smaller dog (who is now called Favourite Dog #2 or FD#2) for her to play with, she would sulk. Digging enormous holes in the ground helped her vent her disgust at being left behind!! Sometimes I threatened to put her in the holes and cover them over, they were large enough. I discovered the only way to combat the trench warfare was to take her walking every morning. So every morning, usually without fail and opting out for bad weather, we head out at 6.15am for a 3km walk. That’s the sum total of my exercising of the last couple of years.
Back to my run... another 5kms down this morning. Even though I refuse to wear a watch at the moment, I don’t need it to tell me I am SLOW, it was quite hard this morning. I highly suspect this had something to do with the 3 cans of bourbon and dry I drank last night. I can see I will need to give up this vice if I want to be able to train effectively on any morning. I am a morning person, I just feel so good for the day when I’ve gotten up and done something in the morning. I feel unmotivated to exercise after work; there is always something in the way, kid’s sports, dinner, and a rare night where I get to sit and do nothing. This is a luxury, and I know even that will disappear in time when training steps up.
The rest of the morning was spent shifting a pile of pavers into another pile of pavers!! It wasn’t senseless; I am trying to get the pile closer to the area to be paved, so I don’t have to pay the paver to move the pavers, just to lay them. It was a really good workout actually, making sure I “bent ze knees”! With about 1/3 of the original pile to move tomorrow and it forecast to be sunny...should be a nice morning! I must walk the dog, she got neglected today and is bouncing around like a helium balloon...or in her case, a zepher!
I started thinking about what I intended to do with this race, and parts of my mind were already playing sabotage tricks. After all, it isn’t really a real thing yet is it? Just this plan I have in my head and so far I’m committed to no one. The few people I’ve told bits of my dream to would understand; I could see their head nodding in agreement with me when I tell them I never got started, after all it is such a huge undertaking. I would never be able to live with myself for giving in that easy, and it wasn’t really a consideration, but it surprised me how easily we can attempt to talk ourselves out of stuff.
So I headed out for my 5km run this morning, not 125km, breaking the next 14 months down into daily goals and weekly goals will be key. If I continually think about what I intend to do, and how far I have to run it might become overwhelming. Of course it is important to focus on the ultimate goal, but that won’t be achieved without reaching all the little milestones I will have to set for myself along the way.
The first of which is to build a base, having come from not really doing much hard exercise over the last few years. I have, in fits and starts, but never with a goal in mind and I found it hard to develop any consistency. I’m not much good at exercise for the sake of it, it bores me. Having said that, I’ve not been sedentary. I bought a bouncing bundle of Great Dane puppy in July 2008, Favourite Dog #1 (FD#1). Part of my pre-puppy research told me that Danes didn’t need much exercise, which was good I thought. In fact their bodies aren’t really built for running and long, long walks.
What my research didn’t tell me is that it didn’t apply to my puppy! She was very attached to me and whenever I left her alone too long, even though we have another much smaller dog (who is now called Favourite Dog #2 or FD#2) for her to play with, she would sulk. Digging enormous holes in the ground helped her vent her disgust at being left behind!! Sometimes I threatened to put her in the holes and cover them over, they were large enough. I discovered the only way to combat the trench warfare was to take her walking every morning. So every morning, usually without fail and opting out for bad weather, we head out at 6.15am for a 3km walk. That’s the sum total of my exercising of the last couple of years.
Back to my run... another 5kms down this morning. Even though I refuse to wear a watch at the moment, I don’t need it to tell me I am SLOW, it was quite hard this morning. I highly suspect this had something to do with the 3 cans of bourbon and dry I drank last night. I can see I will need to give up this vice if I want to be able to train effectively on any morning. I am a morning person, I just feel so good for the day when I’ve gotten up and done something in the morning. I feel unmotivated to exercise after work; there is always something in the way, kid’s sports, dinner, and a rare night where I get to sit and do nothing. This is a luxury, and I know even that will disappear in time when training steps up.
The rest of the morning was spent shifting a pile of pavers into another pile of pavers!! It wasn’t senseless; I am trying to get the pile closer to the area to be paved, so I don’t have to pay the paver to move the pavers, just to lay them. It was a really good workout actually, making sure I “bent ze knees”! With about 1/3 of the original pile to move tomorrow and it forecast to be sunny...should be a nice morning! I must walk the dog, she got neglected today and is bouncing around like a helium balloon...or in her case, a zepher!
June 18th, 2010 – Is this really just a foot race?
After going to bed reading the first 6 chapters of “50 Marathons, 50 Days” by Dean Karnazes I slept like a log last night. When I woke at 4.30am I felt like I’d had a full night’s sleep and lay there wide awake. My mind wandered back to the race and my choice to enter, and thinking of what Dean had done. After only 6 chapters, he’d inspired me to do more than run further than I’d ever run before. Over breakfast and coffee, my mind was starting to think of so many possibilities in how to make this thing bigger than just me running a day through the Rockies!
Another teenage ambition I’d always had was to ride my horse across Australia and raise money for a worthy cause. I haven’t really owned a horse since my MGirl was born (except for one short lived attempt in 2005), so it wasn’t likely that dream would come true any time soon. But maybe I could use this race to achieve that same end! My charity of choice, well that’s a no-brainer...the Lung Foundation of Australia and the national Quit Program. Having lost my mother in November 2008 to lung cancer I feel quite passionate about getting anti-smoking message out there, especially to the young.
My mother Kerry quit smoking after about a 30 year habit, when my daughter was born. Her first grandchild, mum decided she wanted to be around a long time to enjoy her family and her grandchildren. So that was it, she quit cold turkey! Such determination, like a light switched on in her head...she understood what she had to do. Then nearly 16 years later, mum was diagnosed with lung cancer, and all too late. The cancer has already metastasised into her skeleton into 14 places; she didn’t stand a chance and never had the opportunity to fight it.
Now when I look at young people smoking, I am sure if you suggested to them they should quit...they would say “I’m young, I’ve got plenty of time to quit”. Well, if mum could quit and 16 years later die of a cancer she’d hoped to avoid...my message to people would be that you should quit now! You will never be clear of the chance of cancer developing, but embrace your youth and your health and your life and stop smoking!
That’s all the preaching I want to do, I just wanted to share with you why I felt I need to raise funds for the Lung Foundation of Australia. Mum’s struggle, and my efforts, should make a difference and leave behind a legacy of sorts. So I have set myself a goal of $125,000. I feel it isn’t illogical that I could raise $1000 per kilometre of torture effort for a worthy cause. That’s only 100 people donating $10...could I reach that many people?
Where do I start...so many ideas bouncing around in my head! Surely I will need sponsors, a trainer, a program, equipment, and have to find hills to run in the relatively flat Perth...how and where to start. Drinking my coffee and thinking absent-mindedly, I was thumbing through the latest issue of “Women’s Health”. I’d subscribed a year ago when I was trying to make my life more about me in order to prepare myself for “empty-nest syndrome”, and this was my “last issue”... or so the wrapping of the magazine said. Only days ago, when it arrived, I thought “oh that’s good“ as I was thinking of ending it as I never really had time to more than flick through it and thought I was wasting my money. It is a fantastic magazine; easy to read, informative and aimed at people just like me. Just people with more time to read!!
Now I was looking at the magazine differently...perhaps they could help me?! What if I put together a submission to them to show them that this woman with a crazy idea to run a crazy race and raise funds for charity would make good reading fodder for their reader group? I thought it would, as I’ve always thought I had a book in me somewhere, but never sure of how to get started on it; and being involved in someone preparing to tackle something so monstrous...surely that’s inspiring? I feel inspired just thinking about it! How about a monthly article tracking my progress? What about an online blog with daily diary updates, tips on training, nutrition, emotional ups and downs and how to embrace them not avoid them? What about sponsors advertising on this website? I could approach Brookes, the maker’s of my favourite running shoe (which happens to be have the same name as my grandmother, Ariel) and see if they can supply me with shoes and running gear. I would need access to a chiropractor, physio and massage therapist; maybe they could sponsor me for advertising on my website? I’ve always trained and raced on a budget, and never had much money for luxuries like looking after my muscles and body. What about inviting women around Perth to come on training runs with me? (I’m a bit slow, hope I can keep up with them!!)
The ideas were spinning this morning, so I knew I had to get them on paper. Paper + writing = commitment? Is this how it works?! MGirl commented, as I was prattling it all out loud this morning, that if I got other people involved then I could never back out! “Good” I said, “that will make it real”. This afternoon I made an appointment to catch up with my old trainer (he’s not old, I mean old as in when I used to follow his programs years ago) tomorrow afternoon, and bounce the ideas off him.
I am still very motivated...and I’ve only run two 5 km runs this week, with another slotted for tomorrow morning. Today, based on previous racing results, I figured that (if fit) I could run that distance on the flat in 12 hours, conservatively in 14. But this race was so much more than flat!! With a time limit of 24 hours, I reasoned that surely another 12 hours on top of physical running time was enough to account for the hills and terrain, the weather and the shear enormity of running for that long. I hope my calculations are right.
Having done an ironman (one) before...I know I’m capable of moving non-stop for 12 ½ hours...how different could this be?
Another teenage ambition I’d always had was to ride my horse across Australia and raise money for a worthy cause. I haven’t really owned a horse since my MGirl was born (except for one short lived attempt in 2005), so it wasn’t likely that dream would come true any time soon. But maybe I could use this race to achieve that same end! My charity of choice, well that’s a no-brainer...the Lung Foundation of Australia and the national Quit Program. Having lost my mother in November 2008 to lung cancer I feel quite passionate about getting anti-smoking message out there, especially to the young.
My mother Kerry quit smoking after about a 30 year habit, when my daughter was born. Her first grandchild, mum decided she wanted to be around a long time to enjoy her family and her grandchildren. So that was it, she quit cold turkey! Such determination, like a light switched on in her head...she understood what she had to do. Then nearly 16 years later, mum was diagnosed with lung cancer, and all too late. The cancer has already metastasised into her skeleton into 14 places; she didn’t stand a chance and never had the opportunity to fight it.
Now when I look at young people smoking, I am sure if you suggested to them they should quit...they would say “I’m young, I’ve got plenty of time to quit”. Well, if mum could quit and 16 years later die of a cancer she’d hoped to avoid...my message to people would be that you should quit now! You will never be clear of the chance of cancer developing, but embrace your youth and your health and your life and stop smoking!
That’s all the preaching I want to do, I just wanted to share with you why I felt I need to raise funds for the Lung Foundation of Australia. Mum’s struggle, and my efforts, should make a difference and leave behind a legacy of sorts. So I have set myself a goal of $125,000. I feel it isn’t illogical that I could raise $1000 per kilometre of torture effort for a worthy cause. That’s only 100 people donating $10...could I reach that many people?
Where do I start...so many ideas bouncing around in my head! Surely I will need sponsors, a trainer, a program, equipment, and have to find hills to run in the relatively flat Perth...how and where to start. Drinking my coffee and thinking absent-mindedly, I was thumbing through the latest issue of “Women’s Health”. I’d subscribed a year ago when I was trying to make my life more about me in order to prepare myself for “empty-nest syndrome”, and this was my “last issue”... or so the wrapping of the magazine said. Only days ago, when it arrived, I thought “oh that’s good“ as I was thinking of ending it as I never really had time to more than flick through it and thought I was wasting my money. It is a fantastic magazine; easy to read, informative and aimed at people just like me. Just people with more time to read!!
Now I was looking at the magazine differently...perhaps they could help me?! What if I put together a submission to them to show them that this woman with a crazy idea to run a crazy race and raise funds for charity would make good reading fodder for their reader group? I thought it would, as I’ve always thought I had a book in me somewhere, but never sure of how to get started on it; and being involved in someone preparing to tackle something so monstrous...surely that’s inspiring? I feel inspired just thinking about it! How about a monthly article tracking my progress? What about an online blog with daily diary updates, tips on training, nutrition, emotional ups and downs and how to embrace them not avoid them? What about sponsors advertising on this website? I could approach Brookes, the maker’s of my favourite running shoe (which happens to be have the same name as my grandmother, Ariel) and see if they can supply me with shoes and running gear. I would need access to a chiropractor, physio and massage therapist; maybe they could sponsor me for advertising on my website? I’ve always trained and raced on a budget, and never had much money for luxuries like looking after my muscles and body. What about inviting women around Perth to come on training runs with me? (I’m a bit slow, hope I can keep up with them!!)
The ideas were spinning this morning, so I knew I had to get them on paper. Paper + writing = commitment? Is this how it works?! MGirl commented, as I was prattling it all out loud this morning, that if I got other people involved then I could never back out! “Good” I said, “that will make it real”. This afternoon I made an appointment to catch up with my old trainer (he’s not old, I mean old as in when I used to follow his programs years ago) tomorrow afternoon, and bounce the ideas off him.
I am still very motivated...and I’ve only run two 5 km runs this week, with another slotted for tomorrow morning. Today, based on previous racing results, I figured that (if fit) I could run that distance on the flat in 12 hours, conservatively in 14. But this race was so much more than flat!! With a time limit of 24 hours, I reasoned that surely another 12 hours on top of physical running time was enough to account for the hills and terrain, the weather and the shear enormity of running for that long. I hope my calculations are right.
Having done an ironman (one) before...I know I’m capable of moving non-stop for 12 ½ hours...how different could this be?
June 17th 2010 – When in doubt...
Decision day! It always feels good to make a choice about something that’s been on your mind for some time. I spent the rest of the afternoon on a high...excited by possibilities that lay ahead and psyching myself into my decision.
It’s not every day you choose to run non-stop for 125km!! Welcome to the Canadian Death Race. It is not a device of torture, just a day’s run off road, up hills and over dales, avoiding bears and fording creeks! There is actually an item on the “recommended requirements” list that states “bear bangers and/or bear spray”. Is “bear spray” like mace?! Do I spray it on myself like a repellent, or spray it at the bear? It conjures up images I’d prefer not to face. I know I can’t out-run a bear, so let’s hope they are at elsewhere on that day!
At the end of each July, on the August long weekend in the Canadian Rockies at a place called Grande Cache, a small group of 1500 braves souls all equipped with bear repellent (if they’ve followed race suggestions carefully), charge off into the mountains to cover 125km over a 17,000ft terrain change over a 24 hour time period. The bonus is they claim no one has died (yet) and the joy at finishing is like nothing else you will experience. I heard about this race about 5 years ago from an internet friend in Canada. He’d actually competed in a team a couple of times, once not able to finish.
Once the seed was planted, I decided I wanted to do it alone. It’s not that don’t like people, but having come from a triathlon background (a brief one)...the thought of challenging me alone was what drew me to the idea of the race. I also have an internal list of “cool things to do before I die” and they are all individual tests of stamina, determination and courage; like the Rottnest Ocean Swim and perhaps the Avon Descent. I’ve already done an ironman, so this was an extension of that thinking.
Of course life gets in the way, and when you find yourself out of excuses...it becomes decision day! Recently I’ve been feeling at a loss with my life; searching for another job, thinking of university, looking for something to challenge me. I am still not sure what direction my life should be going in, but at least with the decision to enter the Death Race, I will be distracted for the next 14 months!!
My life has always seemed to be in response to the things that happen to me, not me happening to my life. My working life evolved as a consequence of part time jobs and gaining administration experience. It was not because of me following a long held passion or desire to a natural end; it happened to me, not me to it. When I was 19 I always had this romantic notion that somehow I would touch people’s lives on a grander scale and make them happy. Maybe that was actually the drive to succeed, and I let it drive right on by.
Don’t get me wrong, I have no regrets in my life, even the difficult parts. I am but the sum of all of those things, change something and you change me; and I am proud of who I am. Does that mean I am pleased with where I’m at? Of this I am not sure. And this is where I am at this point in time; after months of looking externally for change and purpose, I have now realised it is time to look inwards again.
When I told the kids about this race a week ago, my daughter said I was crazy. But as the idea grew in my own mind, and I knew I really wanted to tackle this challenge, both of the kids came around to the idea and are excited for me. They don’t quite understand when I start to cry when I talk about finding purpose in my life...but they are at least a little enthused, which is fine by me! It has suddenly dawned on me...is this my mid-life crisis? I am 42 and my kids (at 17 MGirl and 15 CBoy) are evolving wonderfully into young adults and continually I question what of me when they are gone? I know I have to reinvent myself, rediscover what it is that made me Karen long before they came along and became the centre of my world.
It’s not every day you choose to run non-stop for 125km!! Welcome to the Canadian Death Race. It is not a device of torture, just a day’s run off road, up hills and over dales, avoiding bears and fording creeks! There is actually an item on the “recommended requirements” list that states “bear bangers and/or bear spray”. Is “bear spray” like mace?! Do I spray it on myself like a repellent, or spray it at the bear? It conjures up images I’d prefer not to face. I know I can’t out-run a bear, so let’s hope they are at elsewhere on that day!
At the end of each July, on the August long weekend in the Canadian Rockies at a place called Grande Cache, a small group of 1500 braves souls all equipped with bear repellent (if they’ve followed race suggestions carefully), charge off into the mountains to cover 125km over a 17,000ft terrain change over a 24 hour time period. The bonus is they claim no one has died (yet) and the joy at finishing is like nothing else you will experience. I heard about this race about 5 years ago from an internet friend in Canada. He’d actually competed in a team a couple of times, once not able to finish.
Once the seed was planted, I decided I wanted to do it alone. It’s not that don’t like people, but having come from a triathlon background (a brief one)...the thought of challenging me alone was what drew me to the idea of the race. I also have an internal list of “cool things to do before I die” and they are all individual tests of stamina, determination and courage; like the Rottnest Ocean Swim and perhaps the Avon Descent. I’ve already done an ironman, so this was an extension of that thinking.
Of course life gets in the way, and when you find yourself out of excuses...it becomes decision day! Recently I’ve been feeling at a loss with my life; searching for another job, thinking of university, looking for something to challenge me. I am still not sure what direction my life should be going in, but at least with the decision to enter the Death Race, I will be distracted for the next 14 months!!
My life has always seemed to be in response to the things that happen to me, not me happening to my life. My working life evolved as a consequence of part time jobs and gaining administration experience. It was not because of me following a long held passion or desire to a natural end; it happened to me, not me to it. When I was 19 I always had this romantic notion that somehow I would touch people’s lives on a grander scale and make them happy. Maybe that was actually the drive to succeed, and I let it drive right on by.
Don’t get me wrong, I have no regrets in my life, even the difficult parts. I am but the sum of all of those things, change something and you change me; and I am proud of who I am. Does that mean I am pleased with where I’m at? Of this I am not sure. And this is where I am at this point in time; after months of looking externally for change and purpose, I have now realised it is time to look inwards again.
When I told the kids about this race a week ago, my daughter said I was crazy. But as the idea grew in my own mind, and I knew I really wanted to tackle this challenge, both of the kids came around to the idea and are excited for me. They don’t quite understand when I start to cry when I talk about finding purpose in my life...but they are at least a little enthused, which is fine by me! It has suddenly dawned on me...is this my mid-life crisis? I am 42 and my kids (at 17 MGirl and 15 CBoy) are evolving wonderfully into young adults and continually I question what of me when they are gone? I know I have to reinvent myself, rediscover what it is that made me Karen long before they came along and became the centre of my world.
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