My First Half-Marathon (+2km) !

After months of anticipation, the Great Ocean Road Marathon weekend came and went... just like that!

In the 4 weeks leading up to the big event, James and I faithfully trained every Saturday morning with a long run (with of course shorter runs in the days between each session). By the event day the furthest we'd run was 18km.

5:45am ~ pre-race preparations:

6:15am on Sunday 20 May found Daniela, Rehana, James and I standing at a petrol station in Apollo Bay, near the race finish line, with over 100 other competitors, waiting to catch a bus to the start line, a mere 23km away. Brett had already gone on ahead ~ he had further to travel to get to his start line 45km away.

When asked if I was nervous, I said I wasn't. Perhaps I was feeling too cold to be nervous. But as we boarded the bus and it drove us further and further away from the finish line, the butterflies in my stomach were awakened. 15 minutes later, we were still driving, and I began to wonder if we would ever stop ~ given that the bus was driving along the exact route we were about to run, I knew that the further the bus drove, the further we had to run.

"James... why on earth did you agree to do this with me, and why didn't you talk me out of it?"
He just laughed.

The starting area was filled with hundreds of people, all waiting to do the same thing as us. The pre-race lines to the toilets were devastatingly long... I was about to give up and head to the start line, but decided to give it one last try, and made it in with a mere 2-3 minutes to spare! Mind you, I did end up going in the mens' toilet, as the ladies' line was still at least double the mens'... you gotta do what you gotta do!

Despite fears of possible showers during the race, the weather was lovely - except for the odd strong, bitey "breeze" threatening to freeze my fingers off and blow me back up the hill that I'd just run down.

In the end, I completed the 23km in 2:21:36.2, placing me 672 overall. James placed in at 600 with a race time of 2:13:38.6 - good on you, James!

I am not sure how many people competed overall, but on the results page I am about halfway down page 4 out of 5, so I shall make it my goal to advance a page by next year, or something like that. :)

Immediately after the race, my legs were aching all over. You name it, it was hurting! My feet were complaining about being pounded against the road for so long. I have never felt that sort of pain in my quads before. My glutes were rejoicing because I had finally stopped working them into the ground.

James lovingly offered to stretch the hammies for me ~ what a wonderful guy!

One thing is for sure - if you have a certain base level of endurance fitness, the main thing you need to build is your mental strength, because for most of us average Aussie citizens, a race of this proportion is truly a case of mind over matter.

The victorious runners brandishing their "completion" medals:

Half Marathon? Or 14km?

All this week I was torn between whether to run the half marathon (actually 23km) or 14km event at the Great Ocean Road Marathon weekend.

I have finally made my decision - the half marathon it is.

Why?

1. This week I have been suffering from a mild case of post-race apathy, i.e. the attitude that says, "Fi, you just ran 15.2km! You can take it easy for a week... or two". I have learnt in my recent studies that for every week of training you miss, you need 2 weeks to get back to the same level as before. So in order to avoid this happening, I need that extra challenged to keep me training.

2. On Thursday I found a running partner for the event in Niro.

Running 15.2km for the Kids - report back

9:00 - 10:30am, Sunday 1 April 2007
We had a blast! "We" being Daniela, Pete & Katie, Brett & Rehana and me! Devi ran it too, but unfortunately we did not see her all morning. I am hoping to get some piccys from Pete & Katie to post here... soon!

Run for the Kids is probably one of - if not THE - biggest running events in Victoria. This year, the event boasted an attendance of about 26000 people. Furthermore, $21 out of our $34 race entry free went to The Royal Childrens Hospital Good Friday Appeal. That is an impressive proportion - my commendations to all the race coordinators for managing funds so well to enable such a massive proportion to be given to charity!

For me, the race was yet another stepping-stone in an effort to continue to challenge myself onward and upward in my fitness levels. To achieve this was a milestone! Three years ago I couldn't even run 5 minutes without stopping, and on Sunday 1 April 2007 I ran for 90 minutes! 15.2km is now officially the furthest I have ever run without stopping.

Running with Katie was such a pleasure - Dan & Pete ran with us too, but they could easily have run faster and at different points in the race they were ahead but then would pull back to stay with us. Katie and I run at about the same pace - although I suspect she is faster than I - and we took it at a pretty easy pace, chatting about all sorts of things along the way. Our main goal was to complete the full course without walking; speed was not of concern that day.

This race was quite an amazing experience. The route was one which you would not normally be able to run because it included major roadways such as the Domain Tunnel, a portion of the Westgate Freeway and the Bolte Bridge. All these roads were closed down for several hours to allow us to run them. It was also an amazing sight at particular points along the way to look ahead of myself and see just thousands upon thousands of other people running in the same direction as me.

I will try to post some pictures soon, but they probably will not do justice to the atmosphere and feeling that accompanies those photos.

P.S. HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE

Running to Race

I subscribe to and love reading Ultra-FIT magazine.

My friend Daniela introduced me to it - she cleverly did it only a few weeks before my birthday party last year, which I later discovered was so she could suss out whether or not to get me a subscription for my birthday. Isn't she a star?

Better yet, a part of my personal trainer course is a compulsory membership to FitNation which includes a year subscription to Ultra-FIT, so I am pretty much set until mid-2008! Woo hoo!

Being me, of course I couldn't help but notice that every issue has a "letters" section, and they award a heart rate monitor to the "star letter". Well I have been contemplating what to write for my "star letter" for the last few months, and finally wrote and emailed it off today.

If this doesn't win me the much-desired award, I don't know what will! Save for the fact that this letter is possibly several months too late because I've just been too busy to write it (we're on issue $102 now).

Oh well... if it doesn't, I will just continue to save up for one.

Before I show you the letter I wrote, I also just want to thank Daniela: without you I would never have had the opportunity to read the below-mentioned article. It was also you who encouraged me to act upon my inspiration after I told you about the article, and you who came and ran the race with me (and made me run for my life for the entire last km!). So thank you!

Dear Ultra-FIT,

I want to thank and commend the entire team for the awesome work you do each and every issue. I have been a subscriber and avid reader since August 2006. In particular I want to thank you for your feature article "Running to Race" (issue #99).

As a teenager, I was not very active. I had definitely never run before, couldn't run, and wouldn't ever dream of running. In mid-2005 I decided to give running on the treadmill a go, simply because I'd tried every other cardio machine in the gym except for that dreaded treadmill! One year later, I was regularly running 2-3 times a week. Up to that point I had never run more than about 5km.

Then Issue #99 was released. Your article inspired me to give racing a try. Before reading it, I thought racing was only for professional or amateur athletes, and definitely not for people like me!

I ran - and completed! - my first race in Nov 2006... 8km long! I had never, EVER run that far before! In the short months leading up to that race I ran distances well past 5km, because I had to prepare for an 8km distance!

Since then, it's been nothing but onwards and upwards for me. Next month (April), I will run my second race, a whopping 15.2km long. I am even considering a half marathon in May!

When I first started in 2005, running for more than 5 minutes was a huge challenge! If you had told me back then that I would be contemplating a half-marathon in 2007, there is no way I would have believed you.

Thank you, Ultra-FIT, for the inspiration you gave me through "Running to Race". In it, you wrote that "racing is one of the best ways to help improve your running". I am living proof that you were right!

Running to Race,
Fiona

Pinch and a Punch ... and a 15.2km run

Ah yes, the old "first day of the month" poem.

Well I can't write too much today. I am actually supposed to be finishing off my assignment for my first subject right now ~ Nutrition and Body Fat Management. Shh! Don't tell James ~ he's in the living room with me right now happily playing on his Nintendo Wii. We shall soon learn if he has been diligently reading my blog or not, depending on if he ever reads this. :)

I recently realized that I forgot to blog about something very important: in January I signed up for my second race. It is exactly a month away now ~ Run for the Kids on 1 April 2007. This one is a huge step up from my first ever 8km race. In fact, 8km seems like nothing compared to... wait for it... 15.2km! That's almost double!

Another cool thing about this race - I have at least 7 friends running it too. Half of us regularly train together once a week as a Running Group, and the others have all joined our Running Group at least once.

I am looking forward to this race with a little anticipation and a little more fear. It's kept me running regularly when probably nothing else could. However, I am probably not running enough, currently averaging approx. 3 times a week. The furthest I've run so far is about 9km, so I've got a little work to do to up my km in time for race day.

At least, thanks to what I have learnt on my course so far, I know what I'm supposed to be eating now! Speaking of which, I'd better get back to my assignment.

Running Group

We're now one month into it, and going strong! This week we had 3 new participants.

On Sunday we did Speed Work ~ instead of going on a longer, moderately-paced run, we did a series of short sprints, both on flat ground as well as up a hill. The purpose of Speed Work, according to Brett, is to increase the anaerobic capacity of your muscles. Click here for an explanation of anaerobic exercise.

This training session was difficult! Probably one of the more difficult running sessions I have done since I began running almost 2 years ago. But my sense of satisfaction after completing the speed work was immense. And my muscles boasted evidence of hard work on Monday morning ~ I had sore hamstrings... so did James!

After discussing with Brett, it looks like we may schedule speed work sessions for once a month. Whilst they will only get more and more difficult as each individual in the group seeks to push him/herself further with each session, I think the results will speak for themselves. Even on my run yesterday I felt an improvement since Sunday ~ I was able to push myself to run a bit faster than normal without my need of oxygen giving in on me as soon.

Here are some of photos of our training session from two weeks ago:

I really love this next photo:

Congratulations!

To Devi, for completing your first official race! You can read all about it here.

Report back on Running Group

We had fun! Five people showed up - Brett, James, Daniela, Devi & me. We had a good talk together about what this group means to us and what we want it to be. Personally, I am excited about what this year will bring, specifically within this group.

If you are considering joining us and feeling unsure about whether you can keep up, or feeling intimidated, don't be. Come join us! We want to make this group a warm, friendly environment in which each individual can train at his/her own pace.

I know for sure that I am in a great position to encourage you to join us, because on Sunday we subjected ourselves to a series of fitness tests, and I came out with the smallest numbers for most of the tests. But that doesn't bother me, because whilst some people (James...) were competing with the rest of us, most of us were competing with ourselves.

So take it from the slowest, weakest person to show up on Sunday (that's me, in case you still didn't get that) ~ if you have a New Year's Resolution to get fitter and more active, we are here to work with you to achieve your goals.

If you've never run before, but want to try, then this group is certainly for you - we've got a couple of first timers joining us in the weeks to come so you will not be alone!

Leave a comment if you'd like to be added to our weekly email list. Brett & I will be putting a training schedule together at some point which will be released through the email list too.

Runners' Lingo

I read this completely random guy's blog every week, because it's his running training diary, and an inspiration and motivator for me. Sometimes I have no idea what I'm reading because he appears to be using some sort of code language reserved only for the super serious runner.

People comment on his posts, even on the ones that only contain said language, which confirms to me that such a language does indeed exist.

Random Guy's most recent post has inspired me in several ways:

1. He sure can get a message across in a succinct way - the post has only a title and no body text, and that title only has four characters in it (one of which is a space): E 8K

2. Wow, I must be picking up on "Runner's Lingo" because I actually understand what this means!

3. This year, my main running achievement was completing an 8km race. However, Random Guy ~ whose real name is Martin ~ runs 8km on his easy days ("E 8K" means "Easy 8km") and about 20-25km on a normal day. One day maybe I'll be doing that too...

Martin, you will probably never know I am reading your blog, but thanks for being able to inspire little ol' me with two letters and one number (and a space, of course!).

Running Group

My friend Brett and I are starting a running group. Well, Brett is starting it ~ I'm the one getting the people along... so I guess we make a good team. :)

One day, he and I will compete against one another in the ultimate competition of all time - his Blue Team against my Red Team in the Biggest Loser Australia! I think Bob and Jilian are absolutely awesome, but it would be fantastic to have Aussie trainers on the Aussie show.

Funnily enough, I'm Chinese Australian and Brett is South African... maybe by the time we're Blue and Red Team trainers, Brett will have a more Aussie accent and the Aussie population as a whole will be even more ethnically mixed than it is already.

Of course, before that happens I need to get fitter because Brett could probably complete a marathon and then run backwards from the finish line and meet me halfway.

You'll find us at 4pm every Sunday starting on the first Sunday of 2007. We're meeting in Burwood on that first Sunday and the venue will change from time to time to keep things varied, so email or pop me a comment if you want more details!

Come on, join us and start fulfilling your New Year's resolution from week one!

My First Race!

I did it!

Yesterday, I ran an entire 8km race without stopping once... in fact, I even ran the second lap faster than the first. My time was 48:11.35 ~ so now I've got an official time to work with and improve upon.

According to the official race results, I was in position 571 at the split (halfway) and overall I came in at 523. So somewhere in the second lap we overtook 48 people - some because we picked up the pace, and others because they walked for a bit.

What helped me the most was having Daniela by my side the entire time. The conversation (between breaths) passed the time and she was so encouraging. Dan also pushed me in the last km to run as fast as I could to the finish line ~ when there was about 300m left to go I felt like I couldn't breathe, but she kept telling me I could do it, and I did. It also felt good to overtake the 10-12 people we overtook in that last km. =)

Signing up for this race made a huge difference in my training and exercise regime, just as Daniela told me it would. Because I knew I had to be prepared for yesterday's race, at times when I felt like stopping mid-run, I kept going.

The next race I plan to participate in is a 6.7km race ~ Portsea Twilight 2007. It's just over 5 weeks away, giving me plenty of time to focus on a new goal - improved pace. The last 1.5km of this race is on sand (which is much more difficult to run on than pavement) which will add an additional challenge to the mix.

My husband James and my friend Devi will be joining me. We plan to head to Portsea in the morning and spend the day there prior to the race, which doesn't start til 6.30pm. Fish and chips for dinner after the race, of course! If you are interested in joining us, please get in touch with me.

I leave you with a couple of pre-race photos James took before I left home. It would have been a little difficult to race with my camera, and even more difficult to take pictures of myself whilst racing (I can multi-task, but not THAT well!) so these will have to do.

Pre-race prep run

I know most of my posts lately have been focused on the 'fitness' F. I guess that's what's on my mind most with the race now less than a week away (this time next week I'll have finished it hours ago).

The run yesterday was not bad. I didn't really know how to pace myself and so of the 8km I ran about 7km of it and walked a bit in the middle to work a stitch out of my side.

Afterwards I did a little naughty - I ate McDonald's for lunch. However, it was in support of McHappy day, so it felt nice to see the follow up ad on TV today and know I played my small part in helping to raise $1.7 million. The scary thing is... that means yesterday Australia bought (and therefore probably ate) 1.7 million Big Macs.

It is nice these days to eat McDonald's and not feel guilty about it afterwards. I would never support eating it regularly (even once a month is too much in my opinion) but the odd occasion here and there is okay.

I also went for a run this evening ~ I am getting better at this! Ran my normal route, but usually I would walk the final 1km home to cool down, today I ran all the way home instead and even picked up the pace.

Little by little... before you know it, I might even be going for a half marathon one day!

Running Notebook

You may notice a new link that i have listed in Fy-berworld ~ my Running Notebook.

This Google Notebook, another of my new toys from Google Labs, is where I will be storing any information online that I find with regards to running, including upcoming events, places to run, races I'm doing and those that I'm considering. If you have been inspired to start running, check it out!

My friend Devi asked about doing a race with me the other day. Wow, I haven't even run my first race yet - only one week and one day to go! - and already others are wanting to come along!

That, my friends, is the purpose of the fitness posts in my blog. Regular readers will already know that fitness never came easily for me. 18 months ago I couldn't even run, and next Sunday I am running an actual, real-life race. This is a huge achievement for me.

Trust me ~ if i can do it, YOU most definitely can! Ask anyone who knew me in high school.

Today I'm heading out to the banks of the Yarra River to run around the same track that I'll be running on race day. I want to know what to expect, at least in terms of the run itself. However, there's probably not much that can prepare me for the super-charged butterflies that I know will take up residence in my stomach as the race approaches.

No turning back!

I registered for the 8km run option for the Spring into Shape 2006 race today. I know I already said a few weeks back that I would do it, but now the deed is official... so there's definitely no turning back.

Even though I hadn't officially registered until today, the verbal commitment I made a few weeks ago to my friend Daniela has certainly made a difference in my training since making that commitment. I have had a tangible motivation to push myself - that motivation being a combination of a desire to be prepared as best I can, and a fear of not being prepared enough.

Yesterday I ran 6.5km on the treadmill, the furthest I have ever run on a treadmill. And if that wasn't enough, today I upped the stakes and ran for 7km. This morning, the only thing that kept me going beyond the 5.5km mark was the thought that in less than two weeks I have to run 1km further and on a footpath, not on a treadmill, which is more difficult.

I am pleased that this new level of motivation is already showing through in the results I am getting.

Spring into Shape 2006

It's one thing to declare my readiness to fight a battle and win, it's another thing to be faced with the actual challenge and have to make an actual decision about what to do.

This week, Daniela emailed me about the Spring into Shape race which takes place on Sunday 26 November. There are two race options - 4km and 8km.

So I have a choice to make, and to be perfectly honest, I'm too scared to make it! Argh!

I am able to run 5km on a treadmill. This would suggest that with 3 weeks' training I should be able to complete an 8km run. To choose the 4km run would not really be challenging myself. According to advice I've read, as a beginner, my aim should be to complete the run. However, I know I can finish an 8km run if I push myself, especially with a few weeks' preparation.

I just don't want to finish last! That is my fear. I mean, right now I'm even feeling scared to do the 4km run, let alone the 8km one!

Stepping up to the start line

During my visit to Meal Magic yesterday, I spent well over an hour talking to my friend Daniela, who is the head chef there. It was great because she's been so busy setting up the systems for Meal Magic, which only officially opened to the public this week, and we have a number of common interests.

One of the things we were talked about was my running progress. My fitness is now at a place where I physically can run a good distance, but often it's my mentality that limits me. Thoughts such as "I'm tired" or "I'm in the best shape I've ever been, so I'm already doing good... especially compared to lots of people out there who don't exercise at all, let alone regularly" start to creep into my brain at the 15-20min running mark. My current ideal running goal for a workout session is 30min and these very thoughts quite often keep me from not going the full 30min. I won't even talk about what happens if I start getting a stitch when I'm running!

That's when Dan suggested that I enter a race (as in a running race) - maybe a 5km or 7km one. She said that this would give me a goal to work towards and a solid incentive to increase my workout intensity.

I am scared and yet excited at the thought of entering a race. 18 months ago there is absolutely no way I would have considered entering a running race... I couldn't even run for two minutes back then! And now here I am, not just considering an entry, but actually going for it because tomorrow Dan is going to bring a list of upcoming races for us to look at and choose one together.

New levels, new devils... come get me, because I'm prepared to fight to fight the battle and win! I think... thank God for friends like Dan and a husband like James both of whom I know will play significant roles in encourging and pushing me to (and through) this next step!

How to make a run fun

Today at the gym I went for a run... on the treadmill. Okay, I haven't worked myself up to going on substantial runs in the real world just yet (although I do run for 15-20 minutes around the neighbourhood with James sometimes), but I am able to clock 30 minutes at a decent-paced jog on the treadmill. So I'm getting there. Yay!

Prior to my run today, I decided I would do a full 30 minutes. On a typical day, when I hit the 23-25 minute mark I have to push past a psychological barrier. I know it's purely psychological because if I can run for 23 minutes without stopping then why not go to 30, right?

Today I almost stopped at that barrier. And you know what got me through that last five minutes? A fast, energetic, pumping song came up on my mp3 player. It was inspiring. Two minutes left and the song ended so I backtracked to play the same song again.

I'm telling you, music can make all the difference.