Day 16 - Blue Monday

Raining and cold again this morning - what a disaster.  But it was a glorious evening so, as Ash had decided he wanted to skip taekwon-do and Gillian had to go to gymnastics, I decided to go for a run instead.  I just did the 3km but it was lovely - such lovely smells of jasmine and other flowers, birds singing and just a nice feel in the air.  An old man must have wondered if he was going senile when I ran past with a cheery "Good Morning" but I am so used to running in the mornings that it just came out like that.  Mmmm, maybe I'll try running in the evenings for a few days?

Weather: Cool but clear
Distance: 3km
Comments: Really enjoyed the run - definitely getting back into my stride.
Weight: 61-  eeeek is that what 3 days of does to one?????  This is the heaviest I've been since I was pregnant!

Day 15 - Rain!

Oh no!  Pouring with rain this morning and I don't do rain.  I don't mind if it starts raining while I'm out there but I do not willingly go out in the rain to run.  So I curled up and had another rest day.  Definitely felt a bit bad about it but, well, what can you do?

Weather: Raining and cold
Weight: 59.6
Distance: 0 km
Comments:  I suppose the fact that I feel guilty is a good sign :-)

Day 14 - Rest

Despite it being a lovely morning I decided to have a rest today.  The plan is to have a long run - 10km - tomorrow.  Felt a bit guilty lying in bed - but nice guilty :-)

Day 13 - Endorphins are kicking in!

Don't know if it was the unexpected rest day yesterday but I woke this morning really feeling like a run!  As I missed yesterday I decided to give 6km another try and it went beautifully.  Still walked a bit - believe me the hills here are killers - but ran smoothly and easily and really enjoyed it.  I don't know if it's the endorphins kicking in or just that I am in a good mood having finally decided to chuck out all my old mismatched furniture and redecorate :-)

Weather: Lovely and sunny when I ran but looks like it could be a rainy afternoon
Weight: 59.8 - woo-hoo!
Distance: 6km
Comments: Starting to remember why I used to run so much!

Day 12 - Ooops!

Overslept this morning.  My phone battery went flat so my alarm didn't go off.  Woke at 6:36 so too late for a run.  Felt much better after a good night's sleep though :-)

Day 11 - A bad night

I almost didn't go this morning.  I woke at 2am to discover the dogs were, once again, gone.  Ash had put them both out last night, forgetting our new policy of locking Bouncy up.  I could NOT get back to sleep I was so worried.  I don't know what to do with these dogs.  They need more space to run around in.  Anyway, I eventually dragged myself up for another 3km.  It was still quite cold - so much for summer - but the running is getting a bit easier.  I will have to up my distance next week I think.

Weather: cloudy and cold
Weight; Forgot to weigh myself this morning
Distance: 3km
Comments: Both dogs are safely back but I am going to have to do something!

Day 10 - Dogs do not make good running partners

This morning I took Bandit along again.  Poor little Bouncy was locked in the laundry to prevent her running off again during the night so we sneaked off without letting her know.  Bandit did not behave nearly as well this time - he seemed to want to mark his territory against every second tree or lamp post so it was a bit of a stop-start event for me.  Still, we did it,  Another 3km clocked up.

Weather: Cold - started drizzling towards the end of the run - I thought Australia was supposed to be a HOT country?
Weight: 59.7kg - Oh yeah!
Distance: 3km
Comments:  Maybe I will have to run alone again - or teach Bandit to run off the leash.

Day 9 - On the road again...

It is getting easier - I think I was almost looking forward to running this morning.  And this time I had a running partner - my dog, Bandit!  I have 2 dogs, a very naughty Jack Russel called Bouncy and a cross between something large (Rhodesian Ridgeback?) and a staffie called Bandit.  Both dogs are used to having lots of space to run around in and have not adapted well to my teeny garden here in Sydney so every now and then they do a runner.  I have tried everything - I fenced the garden and even bought an electric containment system, but they still get out and on Saturday night they  were off.  Bandit was back on the doorstep when I got up on Sunday morning but Bouncy was nowhere to be seen.  Eventually I got a phone call from a nearby vet that some kind soul had brought her in but, as I was in Newcastle, I couldn't fetch her until today.  Anyway, Bandit is MUCH better behaved without her bad influence and he stayed put in his kennel last night.  He is also a lot easier to run with so, this morning, I took him with me.  He really enjoyed it and so did I.  It is a bit awkward running while holding a lead but he stayed next to me most of the time and we had only two emergency halts when he almost pulled my arm out of its socket in order to sniff something interesting at the side of the road.   I can't say I minded the stops :-)  Anyway, I think I am going to have to try and re-home Bouncy as I think Bandit will be easier to manage on his own - and then I can have a full time running partner!

Weather: Sunny but still chilly
Weight: 60.1 - oh noooooo
Distance: 3km
Running Partners: Bandit
Comments: A nice run - still need to walk occasionally though

Day 8 - Rest Day

No run today as Gillian and I had to be off at 6am to go to a taekwon-do tournament in Newcastle.  It was a lovely 1½ hour drive and we arrived in plenty of  time.  The competition went well and I won my one and only sparring match against another lady of approximately the same age.  I was knackered after 4 mins in the ring, however, so my fitness still leaves a lot to be desired.  Gillian came 2nd in sparring - really good seeing as she has only recently made her comeback to tkd.

Weather: Sunny but cold (is this supposed to be summer????)
Distance: 0km
Weight: gave myself a day off from checking :-)
Comments: a nice break

Day 7 - SIX kilometers

Today I decided to give 6 kays another go.  It was a lovely clear morning with quite a cold breeze blowing - perfect for a jog.  This time I saw an improvement.  I have taken Lisa's advice on not worrying about the time I take - just doing the distance - so I am still running (and walking :-) ) without a watch but I felt a lot less exhausted and sore than I did last Sunday so something must be working.  It was probably the best run I have had all week and made it all start to feel worthwhile.

Weather: Clear but with a cold wind
Distance: 6kms
Weight: 60.1 - omigod!
Comments: Almost enjoyable - I could get back into this :-)

Day 6 - TGIF

The weather report promised rain today so I was hoping for a day off but no such luck.  Motivation is still low and it was a supreme effort to drag myself out at a late 6:15am.  I went the usual 3km because that involved no thinking at all.  It doesn't seem to be getting any easier and I still walk a bit but I am feeling better.  After such a short time I definitely feel more toned.  The scale doesn't think so - today it read a whopping 60.3kg!!!! Horrors!  Maybe it was the large mug of tea I had beforehand???

Weather: Cloudy but not raining :-(
Distance: 3km
Weight: 60.3kg
Comments: I am looking forward to a day off on Sunday

Day 5 - Hill Training

Really didn't want to do this today so motivated myself by not doing much :-) .  I live in a roller-coaster suburb so today I ran down the hill from behind my house (about 150m?) round the corner and back up the hill past the front of my house (about 50m).  And then I turned around and went the other way.  I manage to do this 3 times but I have to admit I didn't manage to run the whole 150m uphill.  Both hills are seriously steep and the long one is tiring to walk up so I don't feel too bad.  Then I went for a soak in the jacuzzi - life isn't too bad after all.

Weather: Cloudy but warm
Distance 600m?
Weight: 59.6 - YAY it's actually gone down
Comments:  Motivation is still very low.

Day 4 - is this getting better?

Felt really depressed this morning but the run actually seemed to help.  Ran the 3km in the opposite direction to alleviate the boredom.  Still had to walk up some of the hills but didn't feel as tired as yesterday.  Tomorrow I'll do something different - maybe some hill repeats?

Weather: Overcast again - about 16 degrees C
Weight: 59.7 - well at least it's gone down a bit!
Distance: 3km
Comments: Still not sure I want to do this!

Day 3 - Urrrrrr

Did NOT feel like getting up and running - particularly as it had to be slightly earlier today due to an 8:30 meeting in the city.  Felt stiff and sore and tired.  Walked up some of the hills.  What am I doing????

Weather: Overcast but not cold
Weight: 59.85 - this is definitely going the wrong way
Distance: 3km
Comments:  ......

Day 2 - Omigod!

What have I done?  I wasn't even drunk when I committed to this!  I managed to drag myself out of bed at 6am and staggered onto the road at about ten past.  My legs were stiff from yesterday's effort which was not helped at all by the fact that it's all uphill from my house.  I've decided to do only 3km for now - don't want to go and injure myself by doing too much too soon.  So it was a 1km slog up the hill where I stretched my stiff and aching calf muscles, an undulating kilometer followed by another 500m of uphill before emerging back on the road to my house, but in the right direction this time.  The plan was to run those last 500m fast seeing as they are downhill.  The reality was that my legs felt like jelly and it's hard to run on jelly, even downhill.

There was a time when I wouldn't have bothered to put my running shoes on for 3km - but it's a start.

Weight: 59.8kg - it's going the wrong way!
Weather: Cloudy but pleasant - about 16 degrees C
Distance: 3km
Comments: Legs a bit stiff from yesterday

Day 1 - the begining

Today I tried to run 5km around my neighbourhood and nearly passed out.  The first kilometer was okay but after that it was downhill all the way.  Figuratively speaking of course.  Literally there was actually quite a lot of uphill which might explain why it hurt so much.

I used to be a runner.  I used to be quite fit.  I've run 8 Comrades Marathons and I have my Black Belt in Taekwon-do, for goodness sake!   I've run the London and New York Marathons, I even came 6th in the marathon in Wroclaw in Poland.  But that was then - back in the days when I used to get out of bed at 4:45 every morning to run.  Now if I drag myself up at 6:30am for a cup of tea I call that an early start.

My problem is motivation.  I used to live in a town where running was very popular and running clubs abounded.  There was never a shortage of someone to train with, or a goal to prepare for.  Now I seem to have lost that.  Although running is popular in Australia it doesn't seem to have the same following and my motivation has dwindled.  Running is, for me, a social activity.  So drastic measures are called for.  I invite anyone who wants to train with me to join me - talk to me - tell me about your training and harangue me about mine.

I hereby undertake to publish my weight, my training and my general thoughts every day in a (possibly feeble) attempt to motivate myself to once again don those trainers and get out there again.

My first goal will be the Canberra Marathon in April 2011.  I have been living in Australia for 3 years now and am yet to run a marathon here so that will be my first.  Then the Sydney Marathon in Septermber and finally, my ninth Comrades Marathon in South Africa 2012

Now for the embarressing part:
Weight: 59.7kg
Distance: 5km
Weather: Glorious - sun shining, birds squawking, smells of spring in the air.
Comments: slow, painful.  Left knee hurt.  Walked a lot.

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