For the last few weeks, I accidentally got promoted again at work and have been known as 'the boss'. I will soon hand over back to my old boss, and I have been frantically counting down the days. The requirement behind being the boss is huge, and I had a 14 hour day yesterday, so of course I haven't run this week, even though jogalong is this Sunday...
Ha ha! Fooled you! I knew it would work too.
I managed to scrape in a 38 minute run Monday evening, in the dim twilight. There was no opportunity to run after work on Tuesday and Wednesday and I was exhausted! However, today, after a meeting and everything, and seeing as I won't be home tomorrow until 8pm.
So, the sun had already set, and the last fingers of light gripped the horizon, while a beautiful moon was low in the sky. I had thought about the speedy geese, but then thought 1. not up to speed training and 2. they had already been going for some time anyway. So I decided to play a game: Get to a point and back before it was too dark to see tree roots.
I never describe the kangaroos I see on my runs. They are a common feature. Often I will run along with my ipod on and then suddenly pull up and go 'whoa, kangaroo 1 meter away'. They aren't little guys, either. The ones that are closest to me are always taller than me, and often don't look so gentle. A runner got attacked in this area last year, so it's silly to have an ipod on.
This time I mention them because as soon as I went through the gate, I found the look out kangaroo. Had to run past her, too, in order to get to the trail. I couldn't see the trail, there must have been 40 or 50 young kangaroos all gathered in a pile and no male dominant kangaroo in sight (unless that was the look out one, she was smaller than the males, as tall as me, but may have been a young male.
Anyway, they all stopped and became a captive audience, watching me as I sped along.
I ran faster than I have all year. The darkness was catching me the whole time so I had to move. If I run like that at the jogalong on Sunday I will be proud of my effort. Almost felt like old times again! Almost, not quite.
In my haste to get out and run, I didn't bother with a watch so I can't prove that I was actually faster, lol. We shall see.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Take the right house keys!!!
I ruined my Sunday.
Well sort of. I was ahead of schedule this morning, heading out at 10.15 for a 'shortish run' to the War Memorial back. That all changed very quickly when I shut the front door and then looked down, just to realise that I had the security door key, but had screwed up with the main key, taking my bedroom door key instead. :( After trying very unsuccessfully to break into my house (it is near the city and is all security locked) I realised that my only hope was my fiance, who has a spare set of keys, but works in a place that is like Get Smart's offices to get into. I knew he got out at 2pm, but that left me 4 hours to kill.
I killed them alright. I did my run to the War Memorial, without the return jog, and then had a think about a nice place to spend a few hours. Well, it didn't take much of a brainstorm to look behind me to Mount Ainslie. I decided to walk up to the top and enjoy the cold but sunny morning.
It hurts a lot to walk up Mount Ainslie, so I decided to lessen my pain by jogging, so I jogged through the steep bits. Really weird, but it hurts less than walking! And I managed to run up all of the stairs without stopping. Everyone was really happy and said hello as I ran past. I did think about calling my fiance's mobile, except I couldn't remember his phone number, augh!
The view from Mount Ainslie reminded me about why I used to love coming up the path so often. Ah, if I only I was that fit again to do it all running! Not quite, but at least I 'jogged' my memory about how awesome the track is! I spent a good amount of time stretching, and coughing after those stairs (I'm not fully well just yet, and this was my first run back!) That, and talking to dog owners, other people, and someone else struggling through the stairs.
I then ran down the path, passing a lot of people in a big group on the way up who were just walking. One kid looked at me and then said 'could you imagine what it would be like if she stacked it' which amused me quite a bit, I was moving pretty quick on the downhill, but no where near as fast as some runners! I was more amused when the 2nd last kid yelled out 'hey, miss!' I seriously can't go anywhere...
I then jogged into the city and to my fiance's work place, where I waited quite a bit, still stretching, and I got to see a rat! That was really exciting, lol.
My poor fiance came out from work to find me looking quite sheepish as I explained my stupidity of not really looking at my keys as I left this morning. Once I made it home (walking), I fell asleep. Such an exhausting four hours, but now I am reconsidering going in CT 10k, maybe I can make the distance. As long as it doesn't clash with the jogalong. I missed August.
Well sort of. I was ahead of schedule this morning, heading out at 10.15 for a 'shortish run' to the War Memorial back. That all changed very quickly when I shut the front door and then looked down, just to realise that I had the security door key, but had screwed up with the main key, taking my bedroom door key instead. :( After trying very unsuccessfully to break into my house (it is near the city and is all security locked) I realised that my only hope was my fiance, who has a spare set of keys, but works in a place that is like Get Smart's offices to get into. I knew he got out at 2pm, but that left me 4 hours to kill.
I killed them alright. I did my run to the War Memorial, without the return jog, and then had a think about a nice place to spend a few hours. Well, it didn't take much of a brainstorm to look behind me to Mount Ainslie. I decided to walk up to the top and enjoy the cold but sunny morning.
It hurts a lot to walk up Mount Ainslie, so I decided to lessen my pain by jogging, so I jogged through the steep bits. Really weird, but it hurts less than walking! And I managed to run up all of the stairs without stopping. Everyone was really happy and said hello as I ran past. I did think about calling my fiance's mobile, except I couldn't remember his phone number, augh!
The view from Mount Ainslie reminded me about why I used to love coming up the path so often. Ah, if I only I was that fit again to do it all running! Not quite, but at least I 'jogged' my memory about how awesome the track is! I spent a good amount of time stretching, and coughing after those stairs (I'm not fully well just yet, and this was my first run back!) That, and talking to dog owners, other people, and someone else struggling through the stairs.
I then ran down the path, passing a lot of people in a big group on the way up who were just walking. One kid looked at me and then said 'could you imagine what it would be like if she stacked it' which amused me quite a bit, I was moving pretty quick on the downhill, but no where near as fast as some runners! I was more amused when the 2nd last kid yelled out 'hey, miss!' I seriously can't go anywhere...
I then jogged into the city and to my fiance's work place, where I waited quite a bit, still stretching, and I got to see a rat! That was really exciting, lol.
My poor fiance came out from work to find me looking quite sheepish as I explained my stupidity of not really looking at my keys as I left this morning. Once I made it home (walking), I fell asleep. Such an exhausting four hours, but now I am reconsidering going in CT 10k, maybe I can make the distance. As long as it doesn't clash with the jogalong. I missed August.
Sunday, August 05, 2012
A memory of trees
I am so glad I am not an olympic athlete. The pressure on them to achieve is so strong it is crazy! The pressure and competition wasn't what got me into athletics. I actually got into athletics because it was what my sister did.
My earliest memory of my sister competing comes from when I was around 5, my sister 15. She was a club champion with a huge training schedule and a coach who would ride beside her on a bike while she trained on the hills of Launnie. Believe me, they were hills! I remember being excited to see her run at the St Leonards athletic track, and asking her after her races, like the journalists on tele, 'why didn't you win?' when she didn't.
I missed a lot of her races, however, because of a group of hills near the outer fence that were covered in trees. I, with a small group of other little sisters and brothers, would run around that area, sporadically pretending we were winning 'the zillion kilometer race' and then making the trees into our 'houses' that would have 'upper stories' being the strong branches at about a metre or two off the ground. There was also sap on those trees that would glint in the sunlight, and it tasted a bit like honey, so we would pretend there were bears around. I didn't realise until that playtime that bears ate honey, so there you are. That's where I learnt about that!
We also tried to race the runners in the 100 meter sprints, we would work out a 'handicap' system where we would have twenty meters to run, against the racers. Invariably, we would always lose, despite being so generous to ourselves. Then there was the mandatory lolly shop visit, where we would refuel on heaps of sugar, but it really wasn't an issue because of how active we were.
I guess running became such a great part of my life as a young child, and therefore, after my sister quit the sport at seventeen and moved out, it still stayed with me. When I had a really bad time with my lungs, my parents were told to get me involved with swimming, but I couldn't swim, so Dad would endure hours of boredom by driving me to little athletics.
Little Athletics has a wonderful system. There are badges that you earn that I first thought were weird, but then I got one. A green award meant that you had improved your times for your events, the blue award was given out if you had improved again for a minimum of 10 events, I think, and the much sought after red award was if you improved again. Their was only three days per season where it mattered what place you got, I went home sad for the U10 and U11 championship events, but the funniest race happened in the U11. I was known for being a slow poke, averaging 4.30 or so for the 800m, so not good, but that day I was gunning for it, I think I'd jogged around the park a few days before. One of the girls who wasn't that nice to me sniggered as I ran past her at 200m, saying 'you'd better slow down or you'll die.' Fair enough tip, from a young runner. I kept ahead of her, though, and quite a few others until midway through the second lap (of course!) where I suddenly really felt it, and she along with many others raced part. I didn't get a finalist ribbon and was sad to get ninth place. It was my best LA result ever, running 800m in 3.10, and almost being a finalist contender.
I didn't realise at the time how good I had run, and didn't understand my dad's excitement at the shock, one of improvement.
I remember how much my lungs hurt! I had to go home because I couldn't run again that day!
I had to pike the W and G jogalong today because in the last 3 days, my lungs are hurting like that day just from walking. I am devastated, because I really wanted to see if I had improved from last month, and on Wednesday I felt like I was regaining some of my lost speed!
I am so annoyed at being sick! I really am sick, as weird as it may seem. I need winter to be over so I can emerge faster and stronger and more well in the spring.
I am so upset about a DNS today, the weekend feels incomplete. :(
My earliest memory of my sister competing comes from when I was around 5, my sister 15. She was a club champion with a huge training schedule and a coach who would ride beside her on a bike while she trained on the hills of Launnie. Believe me, they were hills! I remember being excited to see her run at the St Leonards athletic track, and asking her after her races, like the journalists on tele, 'why didn't you win?' when she didn't.
I missed a lot of her races, however, because of a group of hills near the outer fence that were covered in trees. I, with a small group of other little sisters and brothers, would run around that area, sporadically pretending we were winning 'the zillion kilometer race' and then making the trees into our 'houses' that would have 'upper stories' being the strong branches at about a metre or two off the ground. There was also sap on those trees that would glint in the sunlight, and it tasted a bit like honey, so we would pretend there were bears around. I didn't realise until that playtime that bears ate honey, so there you are. That's where I learnt about that!
We also tried to race the runners in the 100 meter sprints, we would work out a 'handicap' system where we would have twenty meters to run, against the racers. Invariably, we would always lose, despite being so generous to ourselves. Then there was the mandatory lolly shop visit, where we would refuel on heaps of sugar, but it really wasn't an issue because of how active we were.
I guess running became such a great part of my life as a young child, and therefore, after my sister quit the sport at seventeen and moved out, it still stayed with me. When I had a really bad time with my lungs, my parents were told to get me involved with swimming, but I couldn't swim, so Dad would endure hours of boredom by driving me to little athletics.
Little Athletics has a wonderful system. There are badges that you earn that I first thought were weird, but then I got one. A green award meant that you had improved your times for your events, the blue award was given out if you had improved again for a minimum of 10 events, I think, and the much sought after red award was if you improved again. Their was only three days per season where it mattered what place you got, I went home sad for the U10 and U11 championship events, but the funniest race happened in the U11. I was known for being a slow poke, averaging 4.30 or so for the 800m, so not good, but that day I was gunning for it, I think I'd jogged around the park a few days before. One of the girls who wasn't that nice to me sniggered as I ran past her at 200m, saying 'you'd better slow down or you'll die.' Fair enough tip, from a young runner. I kept ahead of her, though, and quite a few others until midway through the second lap (of course!) where I suddenly really felt it, and she along with many others raced part. I didn't get a finalist ribbon and was sad to get ninth place. It was my best LA result ever, running 800m in 3.10, and almost being a finalist contender.
I didn't realise at the time how good I had run, and didn't understand my dad's excitement at the shock, one of improvement.
I remember how much my lungs hurt! I had to go home because I couldn't run again that day!
I had to pike the W and G jogalong today because in the last 3 days, my lungs are hurting like that day just from walking. I am devastated, because I really wanted to see if I had improved from last month, and on Wednesday I felt like I was regaining some of my lost speed!
I am so annoyed at being sick! I really am sick, as weird as it may seem. I need winter to be over so I can emerge faster and stronger and more well in the spring.
I am so upset about a DNS today, the weekend feels incomplete. :(
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