A little something today

So I haven't been writing much... sorry to all my loyal fans out there, all 3 of you :)

But I have had time to set up my RSS feeds so I can track all the fantastic bloggers out there... Vanessa - if you're there, thanks for mentioning RSS at the weekend...

so just leaving you with a little inspiration today - read about Bela and hope that it makes you feel that sad and yet triumphant strength that comes from having faith in our human-ness.

For all the crazies out there...

On running and yoga, on moving and then, stopping, just for one moment, on the flip side of the physical to the spiritual, on figuring out where you go from here, on breathing in and breathing out until you can finally take another step, on grace and faith and love, on what to do if what you love is lost, on living and learning and growing... read about it on this fantastic piece on the New York Times.

(PS i nicked this photo off a yoga website on the internet... am I allowed to do that?)

The streak continues...

Howsabout that huh? :)

Keeping up with the streak of records, this week I NAILED all of the following:

Toughest speedwork session - 14.5 km with 5 mile repeats (8:50- 9 minutes each)
Longest Long Run - 2"03! or approximately 16.5-17km
Highest weekly mileage - 45km

2 more 40+km weeks and then taper, leading up to the Unicef Run for Charity Half Marathon being held at the Hong Kong Disneyland at the end of November. Trying to rest lots, foam roll and stretch, do my core/strength work at least twice a week (would be ideal if I could get it up to three times!), eat really well…

The weather has been on my side too! It’s in the low 20’s in Celsius, with humidity in the 30’s-40’s… the sun was shining all weekend with a good but not too stiff breeze. Somewhat hazy but that’s just Hong Kong. I have a slightly irritated throat now and I think it’s related to running outdoors with the pollution, but again, that’s Hong Kong. I only hope this doesn’t do any long term damage to me…

Feeling good. Trusting time and the effort that’s being put in. Believing that I will do as well as I can. Happy about that.

No better reason...

Coming off my record long run on Sunday, this week has looked like this so far:

Monday - 2 hours tennis
Tuesday - 6km easy run and light core work
Wednesday - 20 min cycle and core/strength work

i can't quite decide what this week is supposed to be. I haven't followed the 3 weeks hard, 1 week easy rule as closely as I had originally intended (it's been more like alternating weeks - Will that affect my HM performance?!?!!), so I can do pretty much anything I like. Having said that, this will likely be an 'easy' given the Super Typhoon (yes, officially, Super) coming our way this weekend which does not bode well for outdoor activities of any kind.

I'll keep this short. I mainly wanted to share a fantastic article that Kristen Armstrong has written. If you ever wonder what it's all about, why you bother, what joyfulness truly is - you'll find some answers here.

Personal Bests...

In life and in running, you would like to think that we will touch PBs every now and again. After all, motivation is about making progress... and progress is about stretching to reach those goals, whatever they may be in our lives today.

So I have a couple to share:
1) Long run PB
Yesterday I ran for 1 hour and 52 minutes. I didn't cover too much distance (probably around 14km) but as 'time on feet' goes, I did well. I eventually need to get myself up to 2hrs 15 mins in the next few weeks before tapering down in November. So lucky girl, I will be PB'ing quite a bit in the next few weeks! :)

2) 10km race PB
New Balance Tai Mei Tuk 10k on 10th Oct 2010
I made it in 53:51 (official chip time)/53:57 (personal Garmin time)! 9 minutes faster than my 10k race time in November last year.
How's that for progress - 2008 10k race (slept in and didn't even bother turning up), 2009 10k race (1:03) and 2010 10k race (under 54 mins)!!! What about 2011?!!

I was so nervous and I wanted so much to do well. I did everything 'right' - had pasta for dinner, slept reasonably well, packed and prepared the day before etc. But my nerves made me a bit of a grump on race morning and I found it hard to enjoy myself. It turned out a very 'serious' race... my breathing was harsh, I was pushing quite hard, I felt mildly sick at times... but I made it and surpassed my own expectations!
It's a journey of discovery - learning to toe the fine balance between being focused and goal-oriented, and being relaxed and accepting. While my nerves did not (as far as I can tell) adversely affect my performance, it did not help my enjoyment of my day or of the achievement. It is not wise to get sucked into the spiral of goals and expectations if it leads into performance anxiety and fear.
So Big Pat on the Back, Gen! Carry that confidence over the next few weeks as training ramps up for that final peak before taper. Six and a half weeks to go! I want to be happy on the morning of my first HM, I want to feel excited and open to the day's joys. In fact, I want to have, no, live that attitude more than I need to do a 2 or 2:10 HM.

I love running and racing so much because it's like life. Every PB is backed by hour upon hour of training, by daily decisions ( go for a run or just take a nap?), by the extra core/strength work, by giving up that night out or greasy meal. But every PB takes you a little further than you ever thought you could, teaches you of your potential and all the possibility that lies in store for you. It's about choices, daily dedication, patience, about having a long term plan and trusting the process to get you there even though you cannot quite see the end.

And this is the great equaliser - it's all the same, for you and for me and for every person in this world. No matter how it looks or what the end goal might be, to be a better person (physically, emotionally, spiritually), the power is in your hands. But have faith, be patient and make your choice in every moment of every day. If you want to have an open relationship with a difficult parent, then don't change the subject when a touchy topic comes up but sit with your discomfort and answer with grace. If you want to stop smoking, just focus on saying no to the next cigarette and don't worry about what comes after that. If you want to run your own business, then figure out What and How and take the first step in front of you. If you want to run an ultra marathon, then get out and do your first 10 minute run right now. We live now and the choice is now, so make the right decision and the future will take care of itself. The 2 things that ever stopped people from getting to where they want to is (1) not moving, (2) choosing to go in a different direction!

The Engine that won't start...

how do you go from "I just don't feel like it... boo :( " (my facebook update a half hour ago) to absolutely raring to go?

It's been a really hard last week to ten days... extended PMS I reckon, because I can't see any other reason. I'm so exhausted every night my head hits the pillow, but I wake up in the early hours and sleep poorly till the morning. So most days I'm sleepy all day and simply not up to any of my workouts. Yes, even my easy runs are a trial, a test of my willpower, a routine 5km turned into a mental tug of war. And... have I mentioned this already - I just keep EATING! This is crazy PMS, definitely not my usual.

So I'm trying now to get properly psyched up for my tempo run after work. It's mid afternoon and my eyelids are drooping. In my head, I'm walking through all the reasons I'm such a lucky girl - I'm young, healthy, free... I get to go and run... I have a dream to accomplish... I do because I can! I try to focus on my goal of hitting the high 30's in mileage this week... I think about my races coming up.

... but I'd still prefer to curl up in bed right now... seriously, I cannot be bothered.

So the usual tact won't work...
Instead thoughts running through my head are much shorter-term - finish this tempo run and I won't need to do any strength and core work... (chomp chomp, chocolate is good! mmm...)... get through today and I get 2 days off/easy... finish up at the gym and I can go home and go to sleep.

I feel ever so slightly better now... the chocolate especially helps.

Here's the tough thing...

So I had a great day. Went out plant shopping and came home with a number of new orchids and various other houseplants. Also got myself a new pair of Mizuno LSD 3 - I wanted a lighter shoe with a thinner heel that would facilitate more of a mid foot rather than heel strike, and also one that would give me that extra buzz I need for the races coming up. So in bold black and purple, I found it. I chose this over the Asics Skysensor, which probably would have been the more 'serious' racer but was just a little tight in the toebox area so would not have provided the space required for more 'natural' foot action. It was super comfortable though, but I'm keen to test out the whole minimalist running trend.

And then I went out to test my new shoes and was thrilled. They felt very much like my old Wave precisions - so easy to like... much less clunky and 'stable' than my other runners (which are Kayano's and NB1225's at the moment). I ran about 7.5km in just over 53 mins, a respectable 7 min/km pace. It felt so good... days like these, I feel like I'm running for the pure joy and ease of it! for every day like this, I have at least 2 that I drag myself through and another 3 that I just do for the sake of it. But for every day like this, I would do it all again :)

And then I come home to a lovely bean pasta and roasted squash. Yum.

So my challenge tonight is forgetting the 1 hour I spent hunting around EVERYWHERE for my Garmin ANT+ USB stick... which I am now convinced I have dropped at the gym or hidden away in some corner so obscure it is effectively lost. I hate losing things... and I especially despise myself when I recall having that premonitory feeling (while I was putting it away wherever it ended up going) that I quite possibly going to lose it because I was being lazy.

but so there you go... that's the tough thing... not letting a minor annoyance like that ruin my wonderful day and long weekend. After all, to put it into perspective, I haven't even been syncing my data onto my computer. I'm really an old school type of girl who prefers to still have my training log down in black and white. So what's the big bloody deal about that dang thing? You know exactly what I'm talking about...

at least I feel better reading on Amazon (I can buy a replacement stick if i want one!) that others have complained about the USB stick being small and easy to lose...