Crunch Time

Phew. I've really been too busy to post anything this week, which is a real pity, because it's been a pretty good one. Most of it involved running, so here's quick summary:

Monday: One hour run from the Taranaki Street gym, along Jervois Quay, down Thorndon Quay and the Old Hutt Rd to Placemakers and back again. Allie couldn't make it, so I ended up running with some of the faster girls until Capital Gateway, when I finally had to slow down a little. I ran a LOT faster than I did when we did our hour-long run last week. I really enjoyed myself. I didn't have a watch to time myself, so had no idea when to turn around. The target was to run to Spotlight, so when the girls ahead of me got there and kept going I just kept running after them. Well, we seemed to just keep going and going and going and going. It was such a relief to see them finally turn around and start running back towards me. When I turned around there was a domino effect as all the other women behind me did the same. I managed to overtake several of them on the way back. I've found it really helps to have a target. If I push myself to overtake someone I can.

That run did a lot for my self-confidence as a runner. I got that 'could keep on going' groove on. I even managed to sprint the last couple of hundred metres.

Once back at the gym a group of us took part in a strength training session focusing on legs and core. It was rather difficult to go from run to weights, so none of us were really up to much. Then I missed my bus home, and ended up having to walk from Brooklyn in the dark and the cold. I got home rather grumpy!

Tuesday: Beautiful running weather. I spent all day hanging out to get out there, but work and duty called. Dot on 5pm I was out the door. I ran what was supposed to be a fast half-hour, but turned into a fast 15 minutes and medium 15 minutes. My legs were pretty shot. On the way back I ran past the Loaded Hog runners on their way out. Boy they are fast - Allie and I are going to have to leave with the walkers if we want to get back in time for our complementary drink! The slowest runner did the race in a time that for me would really be pushing it!

A quick shower and I met up with Hamish and Andreas for dinner at Little India. Fantastic food and great conversation with Andreas. I really love the guy, and he seems particularly contended and well at the moment.

Wednesday: The dreaded Mt Victoria run. We left from the Taranaki Street gym and basically ran for 20 minutes straight up. We didn't quite make it to the summit, but weren't that far from the final turnoff. I ran slowly, because my legs REALLY were shot, but I never felt like I had to stop. Turning around my calves felt like they were going to kill me. However as I recovered I picked the pace up and overtook a large number of women. Seratonin overload kicked in, and suddenly I loved everyone and everything. The views on the way down were stunning. It was a clear still night, and the Wellington harbour lights shone out over the water. Funnily enough, on the way up I hadn't noticed the views, only the gradient in front of me!

Once back at the gym we did a half-hour stretching session and I managed to get my aching butt and ITB to loosen up a bit. At least today it's really only my quads that are sore, and that's not really surprising. I'm pushing my recovery to the limits alright, but I think I can keep the damage at an acceptable level. My physio has given me a number of ab exercises to do, and I'm looking at going to a physio in Karori who specialises in remedying poor running technique.

Today: Weights with Duck. Thankfully there were no treadmills free for my warmup, so I got to wimp out of the 2km warmup run, and stuck to a bike. We stayed away from my legs, but did lots of upper body and core. My core is really getting a lot stronger, and my arms are starting to muscle up.

Tomorrow: Duck and I were in consensus on this one - no RPM in the morning! I've got to run for 75 minutes on Saturday and my legs really need the break. In fact next week may well be my last Friday morning RPM for a while. We've agreed that I need to learn to swim, and Friday's going to be my swimming day. So I actually have to take some action, and I am, to put it bluntly, shit-scared. But I'm still going to do it, so stay tuned for Pip's adventures in trying not to drown!