Some Photographic Things

Sunday's Great Ocean Road half marathon was my 4th.  However, it was the first for which I downloaded the official photos.  And this was mostly due to the great scenery.  This was the first that I'd taken my phone (forgot to mention that yesterday), and stopped at a couple of points to take photos.  My brain being more focused on 'just keep running' rather than lining up camera angles and avoiding sun glare meant that neither of those photos is particularly good.  (One I edited today in Instagram and it looks a little better, but the one I was hoping would be as fabulous as the actual scene was disappointing).  My favourite of the official photos has a very similar scene though, and there is one (yeah, only one!) photo where I don't look like I want to punch the photographer.  If you get more than 1 photo, you get all those in which your bib number is recognisable, so I got the whole lot.  First time. 

I also took advantage of my technology for some music today.  I have been asked to perform a certain piece for a wedding in September.  I am really excited about this.  The piece is not easy.  I tried to get it from imslp, but it won't be available for 'a while' (their words).  So I took a deep breath, and bought the concerto from Sheet Music Plus.  The deep breath was because I know what I'm like when on that site.  Still, I only bought 2 other things, both on sale.  Then I continued to listen to more recordings on Youtube.  And one of them, instead of the actual video of the performance, or still shots of that performer, had the actual solo violin part as its images.  Score!  So I took photos and printed them, so I can start learning the piece now.

As you can probably tell, the actual part will be better, but still... 3-6 weeks?!  I want it now!

Some GORM Firsts

No outfit post today - I decided to keep my germs (mostly) to myself, and slept for most of the day.  Bliss.  But you don't need to see me in my pjs.  After publishing my post on the Great Ocean Road half marathon, I then realised I'd missed a few things that were really Firsts for me, so here we are.

1. I now appreciate the value of hill running as part of training.  In preparation for last year's Gold Coast half marathon, I ignored the hill running recommendation.  However, my half marathon time here was only 2 minutes slower than my Melbourne time, and 4 minutes slower than my Gold Coast time, and this was definitely a much harder course.  Aside from that, the hills I was using to train were quite steep going up and down, so the much gentler hills of the race were much easier for my brain and body.  And, even better, hill running burns energy like nothing I've come across before. 

2. I had never caught a V-Line bus before, or caught a train in regional Victoria.  Every time I've come into Southern Cross Station I've thought that would be nice, but usually I'm in Melbourne to visit Melbourne people, so this hasn't been on the cards.  This might change.

3. Pre-race day nutrition.  This wasn't great.  Carbs, yes, but healthy... Not so.  And I'm half blaming my current unwell state on the lack of vitamins those 2 days.  I was craving apples by Sunday afternoon, if that's any indication.

4. Eating alone.  This might sound weird, and I know (quite) a few of you will not be shy in telling me what an idiot I am, but this is a problem for me.  When I travel - usually alone - the evening meal is a tough one.  I haven't yet managed to eat in a place that is not a cafe or similar.  I realise that, for someone who is not a people person (shall we say), having problems eating out alone is odd, but there you go.  However, I narrowed down my Saturday night dinner choices to 2 - the bistro in the hotel, or a noodle place I'd passed in the afternoon.  The bistro was rather busy, and had nothing that really appealed.  I braved the cold, and went to the noodle place.  And I'm so glad I did!  For less than the price of a bistro meal, I had a massive serving of noodles as well as a glass of wine.  The seating was communal (long tables), the food was great, and I didn't feel like the oddball.

5. Warm running gear.  A few weeks ago, I did a morning run from home.  I was freezing, and it was a toasty 14C.  I knew that I would have problems if I didn't sort out some warmer running clothes - it was forecast for a mere 7C in the morning.  I bought some long core stability pants, and a long-sleeve top with a high collar and zip at the front.  At first I wasn't too keen on the zip, but I realised that I didn't want my neck freezing, and it might get rather warm as I ran, so I went with the zip.  I am so glad I did!  There were a few parts where I thought I might need to make my top less warm (zip, or sleeves) but then we'd come around a bend and it would be chilly again.  I saw some people start the race in shorts and singlet (yes, they looked cold), and others run the whole race in long pants, t-shirt and jumper. 

6. Post-race wind down.  A short stretch on the grass while I drank a coconut water (standard), but then I followed it by a walk along the beach.  Not standard, but the best thing ever.  I even put my toes in the water!  I was not the only one taking advantage of a wide beach and sunlight to do some post-run recovery.  This was especially great as for the last few kilometres all I could think was, I want to be on the beach. 

7. Post-race clean up.  I knew that washing myself afterwards would not be easy.  Not really the weather to rinse off in an outdoor cold shower (at least, not for this Queenslander).  And as it was a one-way race, I wouldn't be able to return to the hotel and use their shower (especially as I finished after 10).  During the week beforehand, though, I saw an ad for the new Libra fresh wipes.  Which sounds pretty awful, but the idea is for a wet wipe type of thing, and just what I needed.  I packed the whole box.  I didn't end up using all 10 - in the end, only 3 - but they made me feel far less grotty and sweaty and smelly.

Last night, I put in my (earlybird) entry for the Gold Coast half marathon - and I'm so excited!

The Great Ocean Road Half Marathon

...aka The Most Beautiful Run of My Life... aka The Longest Run of My Life (So Far)...  aka The Most Painful Run of My Life (ugh... So Far)...  Anyway.

I did it!  My hilly half marathon is done!  I have such a sense of achievement.

Running weekends are, I think, my favourite type of weekend.  And this one was stunning.  In more ways than one!  Oh, and this whole trip I took SO many photos.  I'll only put up my top picks, promise.  Like this first one - I was so excited for the leaves in Jeannie's street.

On Friday I flew to Melbourne, and had dinner with Jeannie at Fire Chief, followed by dessert at Kakao Green (my first time for both).  Saturday morning, I took a small backpack of necessities and headed off to Southern Cross for the train to Geelong, then the (rather delayed express) bus to Lorne.  I played 'Spot the Runner' which kept me entertained while my toes froze.  I did the Great Ocean Road - in a car - a few years ago, and I kept having flashbacks.  The weather, until Saturday afternoon, was about the same in mid-May as it was that January (grey, cold, raining).  I still had a lovely walk along the beach before checking into the hotel, then picking up some of the things I wasn't going to transport all that way.  And a toothbrush.  A short nap, then I went for a walk up to the pier and a bit further before returning as the lights started to twinkle.  Later, DVD Sam arrived - he was there to do the full marathon.  His first.  (CRAZY!!)

Race Day.  Some reflections:
Sights: Amazingly beautiful.  That was a given, really.  And a good thing too, as I look at scenery to keep myself going.  Bonus - I saw more rainbows this weekend than the whole past year (not that I was counting, but there were so many of them!).  And the light.  Also, having such a curvy course was an unexpected plus.  Instead of looking ahead and seeing a hundreds and hundreds of runners as a block in front, you could just catch glimpses here and there, and see how steep an approaching part would be. 
Sounds: Surf. Birds.  Those are my overwhelming impressions - and they're so different from other running experiences.  It was more like having a holiday, a whole lot of time out.  The other stand-out sounds were only 2: one sniffer - I mean, every breath was a sniff.  Thankfully we weren't close by for long.  The other was a really heavy breather, about 2/3 through.  That was actually enough, after about 50m, for me to pick up the pace (so thank you, heavy breather!).  Oh, and one more - on the shuttle to the start line, I was in front of 2 blokes from the same town.  One of them had done both the full and half, and commented that the first hill after Kennett River was just horrible, so steep... I beg to differ.  (Although, if that was half-way through a marathon it would be a killer).
Sensations: For the first 14km or so, I was in that "I love my life!  I love running!" zone.  And then I began to notice my left leg having problems.  This made me walk for a total of about 300m which was a bit disappointing, in some ways.  However, I had to remind myself that I went into this run expecting to walk a bit.  Last year, I felt I was in pretty good shape and well-prepared for my runs.  Having a concert 2 weeks before this one meant that I had far less time to prepare, and had 2 weeks of intense training.  But hills...  I was thinking I might have to walk up the hills and run down, carefully.  These hills were not very much like the ones at home, though, which are short and sharp and steep.  These hills were much more gradual and curvy.  So I didn't have to do any walking up them.  We had to run on the left side, though, and I think that's what did me in - as well as the extended gradual climb of the second hill.  I needed to run downhill sooner!  Oh well.  More gradual hills for me in future.  At this stage I'm still walking funny...
Staff: In contrast to the Melbourne Half, everything was so well done here.  They provided us with plastic bags for clothes (my backpack just fit in), and a friendly woman gave me 2, just in case.  As our shuttles got there about an hour before the start, they had an aerobics instructor to warm us up. Hydration was ready and well-marked, and they also had jellybeans, fruit and toilets.  Crossing the finish line, a medal was immediately around my neck, fluid was ready, and a few people directed me to where my bag would be. 
More Sensations: Because this was a long run, they had a marker for the full marathon and the half marathon, and then the real finish line.  I got to the first of these, and thought it was the half, and had that spurt of 'only 2 more ks'.  And then I got to the half marathon marker.  Oh, now it's only 2 more... And that was really painful.  Looking at the results I actually picked up a lot here, and if I'm reading this right (and I'd like to think that I am) I overtook nearly 200 people.  Once I saw the finish line I was determined, and ran as fast as my left leg allowed.
More Sounds: I overheard some ... interesting... things.  3 women in front of me in the toilet queue were chatting.  One of them runs for the calorie burn (so she can eat chocolate), but her dad is a serious runner.  Her mum disliked him training and would sabotage his efforts, feeding him a huge dinner before he had to sneak out at 11pm to do a long run.  This woman herself had done 2 Tough Mudders, and when she was about to do the second her mum had said "oh you're not doing another one of those motherf***ers are you?" During the race, there were many people from the same team (I won't name them...) and as I overtook one group of them, I heard "So what's your dirty sex story?" - I didn't speed up.  I didn't stick to them the whole way, but was near enough to hear a whole lot of stories and relationship talk.  Very.  Interesting.

For most of the last 7km all I wanted to do was be on the beach.  Once I'd stretched and had a coconut water, I headed to the sand.  There were many people with the same idea.  I even went in the water!  Only up to my ankles, but still.  So nice. 

It was great having Sam there afterwards - although I could have done this on my own, having someone with whom to debrief later was great.  And even though I'm limping a little, it's nothing compared to his post-marathon hobble. 

The trip back to Melbourne felt really long, when all I wanted to do was curl up on a bed.  But Jeannie met me at the station and fed me Panamax and a massive bowl of soup - best friend ever.

Hill Running

Last term, I felt my fitness was not as peak as it was last year.  I did, however, put in an entry for a hilly half marathon, which is fast approaching.  Then, in early March, I had a conversation in my head (yeah, I know - everyone does this, right? right??) in which a Judgmental Other commented on my lack of fitness, a Defensive Me pointed out I would have to get up at quarter to four in the morning if I wanted to run on a school day, and then a more Rational Me piped up to say, Wednesday's could squeeze in a first-thing gym session (now regular), and I could maybe do more than take blog photos and go to trivia on a Tuesday evening... Maybe...?  A short but hilly run?  So, most Tuesdays have involved a hilly 3km loop.  Last week, with very limited time, I really felt like doing it twice.  I didn't.

This hilly half marathon is nearly here, and now that the chamber music concert is done, I feel I can concentrate on training.  Last night, I decided to do my hilly route, with an extended end to include a horrible nearby hill, and then what would normally be my 13km river run.  All up it was about 17km, with 6km of hills.  The last 3km were a bit painful and I had to walk a couple of hundred metres.  However, I'm now far more confident about this upcoming race.  Another really big plus - the slight undulations along the river route were nothing.  Normally the first rise after the end of the detour makes me reconsider how far I'll go, but not last night!

And.... Now I'm going to have another stretch.

The Melbourne Half Marathon

Today, I completed my 3rd official half marathon.  It had its ups and downs (literally). 

Negative:

When I signed up for this (dragging Jeannie along with me), I figured that Melbourne is flat, so this should be a fairly flat marathon.  Wrong.  Straight after the start line - rather significant rise for a bridge over the river.  Everyone was still in the "I'm going to smash this race" zone, and kept running.  Another longish (but, in my Brisbane opinion, fairly gentle) incline was met with groans by most around me, and several people started walking.  Nothing else was that horrible, until we got to near the end.  Horrible.  Quite a steep, extended rise into the MCG.  Most people started walking - understandably! - and because the path was narrower, it was more difficult to overtake.

Positive:

I didn't walk for any, except when hydrating.  There were times when a small part of me thought, maybe just a little bit of a walk... but the rest of me would then shout KEEP RUNNING!!!  Thank you brain.

Negative:

Having to think.  Part of the course was shared with the full marathon, so there were times when I only noticed there was a difference by chance, looking up and seeing a sign for half marathon go left, that sort of thing.  I'd much rather just run and look at the view.  The other thing about the course was the twisty nature of it.  I would look ahead, see the crowd veering right, move to the right side - only to discover it was veering right and then turning left.  A bit annoying.

Positive:

Seeing a new(ish) city a whole new way.  Running along the middle of major roads is always exciting; running along tram tracks - how novel!  Seeing, all in the one morning, a whole array of Melbourne landmarks is a great way to see Melbourne.

Negative:

Hydration organisation.  So, Melbourne, hydration is super important in long running events.  I had worked out beforehand which points I would use for water, and which for Powerade, and those I would just run right past.  The first 2 went to plan.  Then there was one (about 8km) that we were told, water on both sides.  I didn't need water, so I ran down the middle (such a good feeling).  I knew that I'd need water at the next one though.  The next one had no cups with fluid available.  I gritted my teeth and kept running.  The next one also had no cups with fluid available.  I nearly cried.  I could have stopped and waited; some people were picking up cups from the ground that had already been used and holding them out to be filled (really); neither of these were appealing options.  I actually had to tell my brain, Think Happy Thoughts.  Not good.  The next one, I sprinted past the people in front of me (I didn't want anyone getting water before me!) but there was such a bottleneck, volunteers holding out cups but that was forcing us to stop if we wanted anything. 

Positive:

Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous.  The last few days had been rather un-spring-like, quite cold and miserable and wintry.  Today was warm but not hot, clear skies, the sort of day that makes you happy to be alive and healthy and able to run a half marathon.

Negative:

Okay, most people probably didn't have this problem - once inside the MCG, there were 3 arches.  The middle (and largest) was for the full marathon; to the right was the 10km; to the left, half marathon.  So reminiscent were they of the finish line, I thought this was the finish.  Everyone else kept running, so I did too, all the time thinking "Why is everyone still running?  Surely we can stop now?" - until I saw the actual finish line. 

Positive:

Black swans!  In one of the lakeside areas, I saw one of those wildlife signs with a black swan - so I looked further afield, and saw a group of 3, long necks curving into the ground as they hunted for food.  Looking to the other side, another group of about 5 - keep going, and I must have seen about 30 of them all up.  Incredible.

Negative:

So many people.  9, 115 entrants in the half marathon, which is (from what I overheard) capacity.  However, if that's your upper limit, I feel you should be able to deal with that number.  The hydration problems, the narrowing paths, and the exit strategy all needed improvement to deal with that many people.  Getting off the field at the end was poorly organised, the post-race hydration was minimal and brusque (and so crowded), and there was a single escalator to get us all up to the warm clothes drop-off point.  Also, that many people meant we didn't spread out at all (well, not much) so there were no good points to speed up.

Positive:

So many people.  Yes.  I get the same kind of feeling from singing in a choir, or playing in an orchestra.  A situation in which there are many of you, and you might not interact with many, or even any, other people, but you are all engaging in the same activity.  This I find heartening.

Negative:

I feel my brain is getting used to the whole half marathon thing.  I was very excited, but in no way stressed about this.  I am hesitant to try for a full marathon just yet though!

Positive:

My flight home was the fittest ever.  I saw maybe a dozen people who had obviously run this morning, so no doubt there were quite a few more of us.

Negative:

Um, Melbourne - where were you?  I know it felt like most of Melbourne was running, but I know there are more people out there... I really missed the spectators and cheering squads along most of the route.  There were a couple of pockets of supporters, but there would not have been more than about 50 people for the whole route until we got close to the MCG.  This was disappointing.

Positive:

Recovery Food.  Oh yeah.  We had a quick breakfast at Grindhouse on Carlisle St (very yummy, great coffee, and mercifully quick service); and I had Indian for dinner.  I love recovery food.  And I'm looking forward to eating normally again!

The Twilight Half Marathon

Last weekend, Jeannie (who's doing the Melbourne half with me) rang, saying "There's a twilight half marathon on this Saturday by the bay do you want to run it with me?".  Of course I said yes.  However, receiving a confirmation email at lunchtime on Friday pulled it into focus for me.  I promptly started eating toast.

This was only my 2nd half marathon (officially), so for most of the time my brain was comparing the 2 experiences.  The rest of the time, it was thinking the line from Anchorman - you just...run... for an extended period of time... (approximately).  My thoughts, in no particular order:

1.  I was really glad my new running shoes had arrived on Thursday evening.

2.  Starting at 5pm was quite warm.  My face felt like a bursting tomato for the first lap.  However, after that it was just like my normal runs and I was back in my comfort zone.  On the other hand, having us run on poorly lit roads with not great surfaces was not ideal.  I spent some time dodging little potholes.  Oh, and this was flat.  Gold Coast was fairly flat - but had rises for the canal crossings.  This was treadmill flat.  No rises whatsoever.

3.  I was impressed with my brain.  For the Gold Coast run, I knew the route, I'd checked it on the map, I'd run it nearly a week before, I knew where the drink stations were and which ones I planned to use.  For this one, I asked Jeannie on the way there if it was an out-and-back loop, or a circuit we would do twice?  She wasn't sure.  When we came to the first drink station I realised I had no idea where they were going to be, either.  As it turned out, it was a circuit of just over 5km, slightly longer on laps 3 and 4, and the 10 km runners started with us too.  And I just kept running. 

4.  The kilometre markings were just weird.  I have no idea what the logic was - for example, we had 16 and 17 about 10m apart, not too far from the Start/turnaround line.  At least it gave my brain something to think about.  Then I just gave up.

5.  With a shorter circuit, run 4 times by the half-marathoners, I would have hoped for more spectator support along the route.  There wasn't much though, except for around the start area.  It was the first time it had been held there though, so maybe in the future.  That said, some of the support was not great... but the kids offering high fives were enthusiastic (I even returned one! but the sweatiness of my hand prevented me getting too enthusiastic about it).

6.  Powerade is really easy to distinguish from water, even at twilight.  This is good.  Especially if you're having those gel things (not that I do) and need to know what you're having.  I ended up having 2 waters and 2 Powerades. 

7.  I had no knee pain (haven't since July).  I did have some foot pain (want to see a specialist about that soon) in lap 2.  If any runners reading this have any tips for dealing with snot (sorry) - please let me know!  The worst though was my heart.  If I'm not careful with my protein or caffeine or water intake I notice it, and I guess I hadn't had enough water, because it showed.  The whole last lap was painful.  The almost-crying level of painful.  However, this did help me get to the end - 'the faster you run now, the sooner you get to the end and can stop moving and have lots of water'.

8.  I was 5 minutes faster than I was in July!!!  I attribute this to a few things:
(i) I stayed relaxed for the first 2 laps, consciously tried to put the pressure on a bit in lap 3, and lap 4 I just had to get to the end.
(ii) I've been doing treadmill runs because they force me to stick to a pace.  I'll do usually 5km, 900m of each at my normal comfortable running pace, then 100m at a faster sprint pace.  I wasn't sure if this was helping, but I could feel my treadmill brain kick in so I think it's paying off.
(iii) I decided to get to the drink stations faster.  Once I'd decided if I was hydrating at the next stop, as soon as I could see the tables I put on a slight sprint.
(iv) Again, the last quarter I was feeling good - which is even better when you can see other people flagging.  Especially when they're really fit-looking.  The last 200m, with heart straining, all I could focus on was getting to water as quickly as possible.  And the commentator called "really strong finish here from Anna"  - yay!  And then I saw the clock.  Crossed the line grinning, nearly knocked over the photographer, then very nearly cried.
(v) Running with a friend.  We didn't actually run together, Jeannie was ahead of me for the first 3 1/2 laps, but our waves at the turnaround points were such a mood boost.

9.  Compared to the Gold Coast run, I felt far less mentally or physically prepared.  Although I wanted to run the whole thing (except for the walk for hydration coordination purposes) I knew this was not necessarily going to happen.  I've done only a couple of long-ish runs lately, and all have been quite slow even when they've felt good.  My expected run time was 2:20 - 2:30.  When I first saw the clock I thought it read 2:17, so a moment later (yes, I blinked) when I saw it actually read 2:13, I was stoked.

10.  Lots of water, an apple, and freebies later, we had a super warm-down walk.  For about 45 minutes.  Neither of us could remember which street we were parked on, and they all looked pretty much the same.  We did discuss the next runs we want to do though. 

11.  One of the top 10 showers of my life.  Possibly top 3.  I say that because I can only think of 1 other that was in the same category (Singapore airport), but I don't want to close my mind too much.  Trust me, this one was so wonderfully welcome.

12.  Post-run food.  We went to the nearest Mad Mex (it was about 9:30 by now).  I don't think I've ever eaten a whole meal from there and not been stuffed.  Once I got home I had a whole bottle of 'Outback Spirit Rejuvenating Water' and a bit of chocolate, too.  I feel I should have had eggs today.

Running with Purpose

Last night, I had the most amazing run.  I knew I needed a really long run for many reasons, and set out wanting to go further than Ann St (my previous best along the bike path).  I don't know if it was the new running gear, or that I'd had a rest day (instead of running on Saturday I had a Bollywood string quartet night...very fun!), or just that I knew I really needed it, but it felt so good on the way out.  And most of the way back, too, except for a couple of stitches and what felt like my stomach jumping up and down.  So, with Finding Nemo's Dory singing 'just keep running, just keep running' combined with my normal running music (Tico Tico) and themes from Indian quartet music (yes, it was bizarre in my head), I kept running to the Goodwill Bridge and was greeted by an overwhelming endorphin rush. 

After a much-needed shower, I checked Google maps and discovered this was a 13 km return run.  I also had a text from Trainer Dan wanting to change training times for this morning, and I told him what I'd just achieved.  His reply was along the lines of, Are you doing the Gold Coast half marathon?  I'd been thinking about it, and so he sent me a training schedule.  Turns out it's an official training schedule for this specific run.  It starts 20 weeks out, but we're already up to 14 weeks.  As I'm relatively fit, it should be ok to just jump in.  At least, I hope that's the case!

Last time I did an official run (a 10 km in Toowoomba last October), my training consisted of a few runs in the leadup... Not very effective.  So the idea of actually training for a run is a bit new to me.  Not to mention getting my brain around the idea of running that far.  But here goes!