Rainy Sunday Edition...

Wet, cold and quiet... one of those perfect Sunday afternoons to just catch up on random computer activities such as downloading photos and updating my Garmin Training Center.

So I did my 20km yesterday at a 6:51 pace, but chose a slightly easier one way route with a mean elevation of around -95m. Was a fantastic run, ending along this promenade at Sai Kung town center where I promptly popped into a popular bakery for some goodies before heading home!

And to keep with the theme of photos and scenery on my running trips, here's a glimpse of a other shots I took during my previous 2 long runs... aren't I lucky to live in this part of Hong Kong! These trails make for some killer, but very rewarding running...

What are you doing this cold winter Sunday? :)

(P/S annoying bug alert - if you have a Garmin, do NOT download the latest ANT Agent update, v 2.2.13 I believe it is... it's just totally messed up my data - it somehow includes stopped time so that your total times and pace in the TC end up different from what's on your watch... argh, how annoying is that! and I am not techie enough to fix it, so will just have to wait for the next update. Be warned!)

Not quite sure what I feel...

It looks like I won't be in LA the week of the marathon itself... my plans may have to take a big shift towards the Sundown Marathon in Singapore at the end of May instead.

Good news is that I've gained another 10 weeks of training time, so I have a total of 15 weeks from now.

Not so good news is that this comes just after I had made up my mind to give it my all for LA (including psyching myself up for a 3.5-4hour long run this weekend and also making my hotel booking)... and the Sundown is an overnight marathon in hot weather...

But hey, what the heck right? If I'm going to do it, what's the big deal about a bit more sweating, a few swear words and potentially more challenges with hydration and chafing... REAL runners aren't put off by anything of these minor annoyances! Gotta remember my goals from the start of this year and that Singular Resounding Yes!

This week has looked like this -
Monday - 2 hours tennis
Tuesday - 30 minute spin interval, plus core/arms
Weds - 9.5km with 6x800m intervals
Thursday - easy 4.5km, plus core/arms
Today - rest/light yoga

Plan is for a 'quicker' long run tomorrow (will challenge myself to 20km @ 7-7.30 pace) since I don't have to do my 4 hour long run now. Weather forecast is for spitting drizzle and temps in the low teens... nothing to those in truly cold climes, but this is the real Hong Kong winter!

Back on the seat again...

It was tough going getting back to running again mid last week... easy runs were tough, and yesterday's long run was also trying. However, I'm glad to say that my legs are feeling surprisingly sprightly today, so I'm recovering well from a combined 35km over 3 consecutive days (the full week's tally was 42km). Bodes well. I need to squeeze in 2 30km runs in the next 3 weeks before taper... I say I haven't decided whether or not to run LA, but I am still maniacally working in that direction. Maybe I should just save myself the stress and just throw my heart and mind into it fully now!

A question from the #Reverb10 team:

One month into 2011, what question(s) are you living? Are you living new questions?

My questions...

- Why is it so hard to be a decent human being towards my mother? (ancient and never ending)
- Can I run my first marathon in 6 weeks when my longest run so far has only been 25km? (new and very real)
- Am I allowed so much chocolate and snacking just because I'm training for a marathon and not particularly obsessed about losing any more weight? (kind of but not entirely new ha!)
- Am I lucky or just plain lazy to be blogging while I'm at work? Do I really even care? (not new)
- How am I doing with my 2011 plans? (ongoing... for now, I'm doing ok - most of my running related ones are on track, most of the others are patchy at best so this is a great reminder!)
- Isn't it nice to have already done a PB in the 10km? (new... *smiles*)
- I hate PMS, why won't it go away forever? (another ancient and unanswerable one)
- I'm having PMS, so don't I deserve to have a chocolate bar after lunch? (monthly)
- How far will I go this year? (new)

Some thoughts as we launch into another new week! It's going to be a 45+km week... watch this space!

Sniffle sniffle cough... cough!

Yes, still sick, but not too sick that I can't run! :) I'm dying to head out there today but don't think I'll get a chance before the sun heads down (and it turns chilly...), so it may still need to wait yet one more day. Feeling more optimistic though... I just need to get back out there quickly so my confidence will return.

So here's a thought for you...

"It's not about dedicating your life to your training, but about dedicating your training to your life." - Dan Millman

Isn't that something to carry with you this week? My life isn't about the training... instead my training is about life - it is celebrating life, it is embracing life, it is thanking life, it is loving life, it is wringing all I can out of life!

Out of Commission...

So sometimes life throws you a curveball and there isn't a thing that you can do about it. And along with only the mildest annoyance, I can only shrug my shoulders and go "Ah well...."

At what is probably the most critical stage of training for a first marathon (and tell me if i'm wrong, but I was just heading into the 2-3 weeks of highest mileage and longest Long Runs prior to taper), I've fallen sick. And not just blow your nose, feel sorry for yourself sick. It's the worst flu of my adult life, 3 days of unrelenting fever and continuing phlegmy cough sick. And while I think i'm on the mend, I have a feeling it's one of those that I want to send off with caution and respect - I don't think I'm going to running for a couple of days yet, at least.

7 days off running in the middle of an already short marathon training plan (I decided about LA on a whim, so only had about 12-13 weeks)... my longest Long Run so far was about 24-25km. I'm ambivalent - I know I could still go out there and finish it, but I don't know that I will be in form to do my best at my first marathon. I'd like to go out there and do a good solid run... yes, it is about fun but I also want it to be a fight and a victory.

And so, I calm myself down... one step at a time, one day at a time... I just need to focus on getting better... then I start running again... and then I can reassess whether I run LA.

I think I could still do it... what do you think? Any advice?

Happy Day Race Report...

Can I just say again (with a mix of disbelief and amazement!) - What a long way I've come...
2 years ago, I refused to get out of bed and gave my race bib to someone else for a 10km race.
In November of 2009, I ran my first 10km race and just 3 months ago in October, I ran my 10km PB.
This morning, I joined the Clearwater Bay Chase 10km (photo above taken by a random spectator at around the 9km mark), which is my 'neighbourhood' race taking place along some gorgeous coastal scenery, but with some killer up and downhill stretches. I wasn't aiming for a particular time but thought it would be a lovely variation during a 'easy' week and I would then tag on another 5km or so to round out my week's mileage. I ended up finishing a pretty tough course in 53:37 (setting yet another PB by 20 seconds, which I did not realise until I stopped my Garmin! What a lovely surprise...) and then ran that extra 5km home, along the same hilly route!

Limits and possibility are relative, and are set by the horizons of your mind and heart. I am so glad to have learnt this precious lesson... blessed that this has been shown to me. Today, I also ran without expectation, I simply wanted to do a good solid run and enjoy myself... that may well be the best way to race, don't you agree?

Thought for today...

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."

I have no idea who wrote this, but wow...

Fear does not change anything or protect us in the way we imagine it does. I am letting go of my fears, of my desire for security... I'm scared of running 42.2km, I'm scared of being alone, I'm scared of wasting my life and precious time... these do not help me, so I'm going to release them because "...there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful..."

Instead, "... for in movement there is life, and in change there is power". Bring on the challenges and all the daring new things I haven't tried before! Bring on the not needing to know, bring on the release of control... bring on discovery of life and joy today!