Running Doldrums

Lately I've been in the running doldrums - life has been a bit hectic and it can be hard to find the energy to lace up.

I didn't run for four whole days one week.  Plus I've skipped or downgraded a few runs in the last 2-3 weeks.  Feeling tired, tense and agitated, I would pace the house thinking how I really should go for run, but also thinking how many other things were more important to do.  When I did run, I felt weak, lethargic, and that my arms and legs were out of sync.  My body was not in the mood.

Anyway, this week I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Dominion Road underpass, on my Mt Eden running route

I'm back to working part time, and the night classes I teach are almost complete for this term.  It is amazing how some extra time makes life feel more in control!  I'm sleeping better, and I've had a couple of great runs where I felt faster and stronger. Plus, I'm really looking forward to my long run on Sunday.

(Fast Forward - it is Sunday night and I have had an awesome long run that I can't wait to tell you about - tomorrow!)

Does LIFE get in the way of your running sometimes?

Round The Bays 2013

It was a perfect morning for Round The Bays today - clear and sunny, and thank goodness the humidity had dropped a bit because it felt claustrophobic enough amongst all these people!

Look at that crowd stretching way into the distance!  I managed to get into position about 500m before the starting line before it became too crowded to move, after the starting cannon it was a mere shuffle to the start line, and I took this photo a few hundred metres further on at 9:44am - just as we broke into a slow jog! 

A lot of businesses enter their staff/families/friends into these events, so there are always a lot of T-shirts to read to keep you entertained while you wait:

My goal was to basically enjoy myself and run at 6:00 pace and speed it up toward the end if I felt good, and this was exactly what I did.  I think.  Whenever I looked at my Sportwatch it read 5:55-6:10 pace, and 5:30-5:45 around the last bay, but when I look at my uploaded splits they read about 6:15-6:20, and 6:00 for the last km.  I have noticed this difference before and wonder if my watch is calibrated correctly or something! 

At the finish line

It is hard to know what my real time was - according to the announcer I crossed the line just on 60mins, but considering it was about 10 mins shuffle to the start line and there was no chip timing I think that's a bit unfair!  My watch reads 59:47 but I actually forgot to stop it until after I had taken all these photos about 10 mins later at 10:40am - so I guess I ran it in around 50 mins.

Also Nike+ tells me I ran my fastest 5k (31:04) without even trying.  I must run a proper 5k race at some stage.

Some runners rinsing off after the race!

I tried not to get annoyed at the people walking three abreast in the runners lane, the people who stop suddenly in front of you, and the people who swerve across in front of you to get to a drink station - this is a fun run after all!   I think it is great that these people are participating in the event, and don't blame them for being unfamiliar with usual race etiquette.  But... if I run next year I will try to arrive earlier and get closer to the start line in an attempt to avoid all of that!

Runners coming around the bend into St Heliers Bay
(that coastline in the far distance is the North Shore, where I ran my last race!)

Runners approach the finish line 

Would I run it again?  I'm sure I will - it is such an iconic Auckland event, and it's big, cheap ($15) scenic, flat and fun.  Plus, now I have a time to beat, and who can resist that?!

Does your city or town have a big local fun run that you always enter?

I'm Running Round The Bays!

This week I stopped procrastinating and finally entered Auckland's Round The Bays!  This iconic run was on my list of goals for the year but I sort of went off the idea after remembering the crowded start and being confined to walking the first few hundred metres until the field spread out!  Once I got over the fact that my race time will be a joke I signed up and went downtown to pick up my race number this morning - yay!

It is great to see the Auckland Jogger's Club still runs the event too - this club was founded by Arthur Lydiard and friends in 1962 with the aim of encouraging everyday people to jog for health, and helped start the jogging revolution - especially once Bill Bowerman took the idea back to USA!  The club welcomes  people of all abilities from walkers to marathoners, sounds friendly, and I'd consider joining if I lived near Cornwall Park!  They started Round the Bays in 1972 with over 1000 runners and that number escalated over the years to become one of the largest running events in the country.  I admire the story and motive behind the event, and it is one of the major deciding factors for me to enter - anything that encourages people to start running is great!

So it's official - come 9:30 tomorrow morning I will be one of the 70,000 participants running the 8.4km from Downtown to St Heliers - it should be lots of fun as the course is incredibly scenic and the weather this weekend is magic!

Race Report: The Coastal Challenge

Today I ran the Coastal Challenge along the beaches and coastline of the North Shore.  There are several distances to choose from, and I did the 11km version from the north end of Milford Beach to Windsor Reserve in Devonport.  Here I am at the start looking fresh and raring to go!

This is the start - I'm in there somewhere!  If you look closely you can see some runners from the longer distances rock hopping and wading through the water around the coast north of us - maybe that will be me next year!

It was a bit cloudy to start with, but that soon burnt off and we had sunshine the rest of the way.  Look at the cute kids sprinting off to the side, you can see them in the previous shot too - I wonder how long they lasted!

It wasn't all beaches - there was quite a bit of rock hopping around the bays.  I love those parts and somehow manage to overtake people there, although there were a couple of narrow parts that created a traffic jam and we had to queue up - frustrating!  Sometimes that little rest was welcome though ;)

Here's Narrow Neck beach - I had already gone through when Steven and Luke took this photo.  The 33km race starts way off at that distant peninsula:

This is what the coast is like between each beach - it was so much fun.  These runners are approaching Cheltenham Beach:

Cheltenham was the last beach but the hardest to run - with soft cushy sand that really slowed you down.  Halfway along I ventured up to the top edge to seek out some harder ground but that wasn't very successful, so I stopped a little longer than intended at the drink station which was ideally located at the south end of the beach.

Then it was about 1k or so on the streets to the finish, where I gave it everything trying to keep up with 'the girl in the blue top'.  Some kids in Mackay Ave had the garden hoses out which was wonderful - I made sure I got well showered!

I felt I ran really well at the end - around 5:15 pace for the last km - I didn't know if I could keep it up or not  but I was determined 'the girl in the blue top' was not going to get away, and I managed to keep going to finish strongly.  Unfortunately Steven and Luke were probably still at Narrow Neck beach waiting for me and they missed my finish, but they snapped this shot where you can see more runners coming along the final stretch, if you squint:

At least that meant I got to eat the Jacks Links beef jerky and the Pop'n'Good Popcorn that was hiding in my race bag all by myself!  Here I am proud-ish and but tired when we finally found each other:

OK - official results are in now - I ran in 1:11:08 - 10/36 in my age group, 52/145 female overall.   28% and  36% respectively.  

Next year it's going to be 25% :)

Next Up: The Coastal Challenge

The last three weeks of my training have almost been a repeat of a couple of months ago, and as I mentioned in the last post they felt relatively easy.  But I've been really good and resisted the temptation to jump ahead, as it is all part of base building, and it does increase slightly next month.  Patience, patience!

I've signed up for the Coastal Challenge next weekend - an adventure run around the North Shore beaches. (Click the link to check out the amazing pictures!)  I did this race a few years ago and loved it immensely - it follows the coastal track around the Shore, running along white sandy beaches and clambering over black volcanic rocks, combined with a bit of water interaction if you are lucky.  I'm doing the same 11km race as last time, from Milford Beach to Devonport, but there are other distances (6, 17, 23 and the 33km Full Monty all the way from Whangaparoa Peninsula).

This similar route is actually part of the Te Araroa Trail
The Coastal Challenge clings even closer to the coastline!

In 2005 the course finished at Cheltenham Beach and was about 1km shorter, and I finished it in 1:06 - it will be interesting to see how I go this weekend.  One resounding memory from that last race was when I stopped to walk about a kilometre from the finish, and I remember some rapidly gaining footsteps behind me saying:  "Come on, you can do it, not far to go now!"  It was one of the longer distance runners coming through, and as he powered past me I started running again and thanked him, and I actually ran all the way to the finish - that bit of encouragement was just what I needed!

Oh, and I remember I got my first and only running blister on that race.  Sand + Water = Blisters!  I plan to stick some Vaseline on any potential blister spots prior to the race, but I notice the aid stations have Vaseline for any blister emergencies.  I will be wearing my trusty Supernova's as I haven't managed to buy trail shoes yet.  They are starting to feel well worn in, so I decided to tally up the distance I've run in them so far and it is 440km - time to start looking for a back-up pair already.

OK - I'm starting to get excited about this race now!

• Have you ever done an off-road coastal race before?  Tell me about it!  
• What about encouragement from other runners - have you ever been a receiver, or do you give it?  I came across a tweet from Women's Running that said the best running gift you could give was encouragement - it worked for me!
• Blisters - what are your magic tricks for preventing them?

Heeding Alberto's Advice

The lead up to the Tussock Traverse race coincided with a 10k training plan in my book where the mileage and intensity gradually increased, but now for the next two months the schedule cuts back to shorter distances, and to be honest it is all feeling a bit easy.

I've been toying with jumping ahead to the next stage of the training cycle as I'm a little impatient and have a few races on my calendar where I'd like to do the best I can.  But something this week has convinced me to stick to the plan, and resist the urge to skip ahead.

That something was in the book I'm reading at the moment - Alberto Salazar's Guide to Road Racing.  I'm enjoying it a lot - it covers a lot of the usual stuff but explains it in a way that gels, and there are a lot of additional pointers that I haven't read in other books.  I've learnt a lot and I'm only up to Chapter 5!

But let me share with you the bit that convinced me to stick to my plan.  We all know that an increase in training volume should be done gradually, and Salazar does mention the popular 10% per week rule, however he "prefers a slower buildup of no more than 10% per month" followed by a plateau period.  He states "it is unwise to increase your weekly mileage by more than about 25% in any given 6 month period.  Even at that rate, you could go from 20 to 50 miles per week in two years - an enormous change".

Conservative eh?  Are you tempted to speed up your progress faster than that?  I know a lot of runner's definitely do! Here is Salazar's reasoning why not to:

"If you're tempted to accelerate the process, the risk you run is a succession of nagging injuries.  There are several parts of the body that have to adapt to the stress of increased mileage, and they do so at different rates.  Aerobic conditioning comes first, with muscle strength following closely behind.  That's why so many people try to proceed too quickly: once your muscles and cardiovascular system have adapted, workouts feel deceptively easy.  What you need to remember is that tendons, ligaments, and bones also need to adapt - something they do fairly slowly.  Bones are the slowest, and the potential injury, a stress fracture, is the one I most fear in beginning racers."

So your heart and legs feel strong relatively quickly when you step up your running, but the connective tissues and bone take longer to increase in strength. Muscles have a rich blood supply allowing them to grow and repair at a faster rate, compared to ligaments and tendons that have a relatively limited blood supply.  Since these are what keep our joints and muscles working in alignment, they can be the weakest link when it comes to injury (remember my knee niggle...).  Obviously this fact is even more important for beginner runners (me!), and with age (me again!).

So - no more thoughts of jumping ahead in my training plan!  It might take a bit longer to reach my goals, but I want to run for the rest of my life - so I've got all the time in the world!

How rapidly do you allow yourself to increase your training volume?
Have you suffered any injury because of increasing too fast?

Read any books by Alberto Salazar?  I remember him being a rock star runner when I was at school!

How To Find The Perfect Running Bra (IMO):

We all know how difficult it is to find the perfect running bra, but I'm going to make it easy for you!  Just follow the steps below:

1. Go to Elliott Street* in downtown Auckland.
2. Enter the Rebel Sport store at ground level.
3. Go past the counters on your right and turn right.
4. Proceed about halfway up the long aisle and then turn right.
5. Straight ahead of you hanging on the wall, you will discover the perfect running bra - that is, the Under Armour 'Armour Bra'
6. Pick your size off the rack, try it on to double check, then go buy it.
7. Warning: DO NOT buy the 34B whatever you do.  Those are all mine.  You can buy any other size you like!
8. Second Warning:  DO NOT look at the price.  Just fork out the $120 and know you are doing the right thing! 

Honestly - I am so happy with my new Armour Bra - after running in it today and I didn't want to take it off!  I suppose it is going to have to be washed at some stage...

Even the ladybird on my shoulder likes it!

My quest for the perfect running bra has been going on since I started running (again) in Jan last year.  When I used to run the compression tops were enough support for me.  In your mid-forties they certainly are not!

Spot the difference!

At first I started out with this Bendon Sports Bra:

Although it is supportive, economical and I like the "underwire" ventilation, the cup doesn't fit me well, nipples show through, and it is just generally ugly.  Currently it is reserved strictly for emergencies.  No photo of me wearing it will ever be available.

Then I bought Lululemon's Ta-Ta-Tamer 2 - this has been my go-to sports bra for the last few months:

I bought the 34C, but due to all the running I've been doing I have gone down to a B cup.  Guess what?  Lululemon don't stock Ta-Ta-Tamers in B cups in New Zealand.  I would have bought one for every day of the week.  The only disadvantage I can think of about this bra is that the contoured straps don't convert to a racer-back style that comfortably, otherwise it is lovely.  I tried all their other bras and they either don't fit me as well or are not supportive enough for me for running. (I still love you though Lululemon!)

Recently I tried a Shock Absorber bra from Shoe Clinic - it looks really good but I couldn't find my size.  I am also interested in trying Moving Comfort's sports bras but haven't found a New Zealand stockist yet.

Meanwhile, while I was out shopping the other day I thought I'd take a quick innocent browse in Rebel Sport, and the rest is history.  My new Armour Bra is ultra comfortable while still being supportive, shapely, uplifting, compressing, immobilising and modest.  Plus it is a racer back style like most of my summer running tops - no more of this!:

  

Being a clothing designer type I always check out the construction and this bra has some clever design details:

a) satin faced elastic - so smooth next to the skin, and
b) anti chafe seam tape - also satiny and smooth:

c) underarm mesh insert to increase evaporation/prevent chafing.  It also conceals any unsightly overhanging skin - genius!  All bra designers please take note!

d) I love it's futuristic sporty style - charcoal with a splash of colour (each cup size is a different colour - B=blue), metallic flatlocking, coloured hooks and eyes - so cool it can be worn alone:

e) it is beautifully made - look at all that nice neat stitching, super flat and anti chafe:

And the negatives?  Well, I'll try to think of something...

? hard to do up hook and eye - it was tricky the first time, but I've got the hang of it now.

? cost - if it does the job well, I'm prepared to pay whatever!

? no fancy colours or patterns... 

As you can see I'm really pushing for negatives here - there really aren't any!  This is just a great running bra full stop.
And I'm a very happy customer.
Well done Under Armour!

Have you found your perfect running bra yet?  Have you tried this one, or is another brand your favourite?

* Any Rebel Sport or Under Armour retailer will do :)

The Tussock Traverse - Race Report

On Friday afternoon we drove down to National Park in the central North Island where the pre-race registration was being held.  Here's a few road trip shots for fun:

1, 2 and 4 - Somewhere between Te Kuiti and Taumarunui
3 -  Progress being made in the knitting department!
5- Tussock Traverse signboard outside Taumarunui
6 - Latitude 39 South sign, Owhango
7 - Sunset on Mt Ruapehu

I picked up my race pack and went through a gear check on Friday night.  Even though the forecast was fine and warm, we were still in a a mountain environment and had to carry water, a thermal top, beanie and a wind/rainproof jacket - just in case you get stranded out on the course for a while with a broken ankle or something.  And we received a cute tussock seedling in our race pack to plant at home as a memoir!

I counted my Icebreaker Tech T as the thermal top and actually wore it on the day - it was perfect for the warm-but-not-humid conditions.  I rolled the jacket and beanie up tightly and tucked it into the bungee cord on my Camelbak belt where I never even noticed them during the race.  The belt however, jiggled and bounced around, and caused my Tshirt to keep riding up and I kept having to pull it down and I even heard a race bib safety pin rip it at one stage - despite this sort of thing not happening in training.  After a kilometre or so of hitching and adjusting I thought this was not going to work for thirteen kilometres, and I was tempted to ditch it until I realised that it just needed tightening a notch... ;)

Apart from fiddling with my fuel belt, the first kilometre was a long queue with everyone juggling for position until a natural hierarchy formed and the line gradually spread out.  The run pretty much involved ascending ridges and descending to mountain streams the whole way, on a packed gravel track with a few steps, rocky areas, scrub and bridges thrown in for good measure.

Around the 9km mark we descended steeply through some native bush to the Taranaki Falls where I think I was so run-happy hopping around like a mountain goat that I may even have yelled out WOO-HOO while jumping off a rock at one stage!

Can I tell you a secret?  I love picking people off as you run the last half of the race! (I try to emphasise this to myself as runners usually pass me during the first half of the race!)  The best places are 'technical' areas where many runners are concentrating on preserving their ankles, but if you concentrate at rock hopping you can overtake with relative ease. I overtook three runners close to the finish just by going through the puddle instead of around it!

This of course, was before I tripped.  Yes.  In the shady bush my shoe clipped a root and in spectacular fashion I hit the ground horizontal skidding forwards with both arms outstretched, and I have grazes on both palms and knees to prove it.  All minor, but it tweaked my back a bit and shook my confidence for a while.  It happened so suddenly the girl running behind me gasped "OMG, are you alright?" I assured her I was fine and replied that maybe this was a good excuse for me to splash out on some new trail shoes ;)  She laughed and agreed, and I know you all definitely agree too, so I am going trail shoe shopping next weekend.

There was some unwelcome uphill before the finish which I power walked as I was starting to feel it, and I didn't feel too guilty because everyone else was too.  Then it was a narrow rocky track and a hop skip and jump through thigh-high scrub down to the finish where.....

Steven was waiting camera in hand for a finishing line photo!

I finished in 1:42:01 - 42nd female out of 113, just sneaking into the top 36%.  My current aim is to finish in the top third so I wasn't far off - maybe I could push myself a bit more especially at the start where I am always afraid of going out too fast.

We stayed around for the awards and spot prizes, and watched the first few runners arrive in from the 26km event.

Then we headed up the road towards Taupo, and I devoured a delicious Em's Power Cookie Bar on the way:

...then stopped to photograph the steam escaping from the crater that erupted recently on Tongariro:

...had a nice post-run ice bath in Lake Taupo to ease my shattered legs:

...ate a hearty meal while enjoying the view south to the volcanic plateau:

... then retired to nether nether land dreaming I was Anna Frost the second...

... and awoke to sore quads and dirty shoes!