November 12, 2007
Sub Zero
| Week | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Total |
| Km | 0 | 3.01 | 5.23 | 8.24 |
This morning seemed like a good time to start running in the early mornings. Well, it seemed like a good morning last night while I was crawling into my lovely and warm bed and I hadn't seen the weather forecast.
Andy mentioned something about below zero, but I didn't really listen and this morning I woke up to a really cold morning. I mean, REALLY COLD. -3 degrees outside and ready to get colder by the looks of it. Was it not for the lovely, beautiful sun rising at 7am, it probably would've gotten colder too.
No problem, right?
I grabbed my long tights, a long-sleeved shirt another shirt to put on over that, my iPod, my garmin and I was ready. I started running and at first the garmin was a tad shellshocked at my decision to use it. It took roughly 250m to find a signal in the clear skies and then started telling me how slowly I was poodling along.
One thing I noticed this morning was the amount of early-morning dog walkers we have in our neighbourhood. I encountered 4 or 5 owners that could control their canines and another 5 or 6 that couldn't. Thankfully their dogs were small enough for me to not be completely terrified of them and I was able to escape unharmed.
As I finished my run, I started feeling a tad like I was drowning. My lungs had obviously had enough of the freezing air and felt like they were shut. I got home and took a 20 minute shower to heat myself up, but I could feel that I was outside.
Dressing made me feel a bit like the Michelin man. I put on the clothes I was wearing to work, a huge coat and then wrapped myself in a duvet for a good 20 minutes before I felt human enough to get off the couch and out the door and off to work.
But the run is done. The first one for the next 16 weeks.
Posted by karinm at 9:36 AM | Comments (1)
November 11, 2007
We Rode off into the Sunset
Whoever thinks that riding off into the Sunset sounds like a happy ending has obviously never ridden off into the sunset.
This afternoon we drove home from the in-laws and as luck would have it... the sun was setting ... and we were driving into this spectacular bright light that was at the end of the highway. Of course I was in the driver's seat and being a tad blind, the sun's glare was enhanced by my glasses that I was wearing.
Everytime we went underneath a bridge my eyes would burst into song for the relief it was getting, only for me to suffer a temporary 3 second blindness and star spell when we came out from under the bridge.
Needless to say, I mentioned this to Andy and he instantly started to suffer from white-knuckle syndrome I was so thankful when some clouds decided to save the day that I instantly stopped at the nearest Primo Coffee and got something to drink.
Unfortunately the time of day and sub-zero temperatures has kept me inside for most of the day and the only part of my body that's been doing any running since Wednesday has been my nose. Thankfully it decided to start taking a rest since this afternoon and I'm feeling a ton better now.
I'm sitting upstairs, too lazy to go to the lounge, considering getting out the dvd that's been in my bag since Friday and doze off even though it is only 7pm. I've already set my alarm for the new regime that kicks in tomorrow - an early morning swim followed by some work ... followed by a run.
I've run out of excuses, now the work starts.
Posted by karinm at 6:59 PM | Comments (0)
October 7, 2007
A Quiet Weekend?
As the countdown to our trip to the US continues, so does my new-found fondness of training. Indeed. The fact that for the past few weeks I hadn't run an inch over 7 miles during any one run, didn't stop me this weekend. Jeff was in town and with his contagious inspiration and motivation and cheerfulness, I was not going to have a tough time :)
On Friday afternoon I picked Jeff up at his offices and we took the scenic, hilly, green, twist-and-turn-until-you-feel-like-you're-going-in-the-direction-from-whence-you-came route back home. It only took about an hour and a half before we reached the safety of home. A quick walk and some supper later sleep was my calling, but Andy and Jeff stayed up and watched some film - I think it has Star Wars somewhere in the title.
After a leisurely late lie-in, myself and Jeff readied ourself and tried to convince Andy that he WANTED to ride his bike and carry our water. Andy unfortunately didn't feel like playing along, but then again, he was on call and couldn't really leave the area and be more than 20 minutes away from home.
So out to the Cloud trail we went. Never before has 12 miles felt so short. Between various jokes involving various names I tried to catch my breath, but as soon as I did, the next one arrived and I would once again try to control laughter. It had more of a wheezing sound to it than laughter in the end :)
The run reminded me that that trail was there and I seriously do need to get there more often.
For the evening we headed out to a Mexican restaurant and a movie. Run Fatboy Run was a great feel-good movie that made me laugh ... its definitely worth the watch :)
Early this morning we had to say goodbye to Jeff. I was sad to see him go, but we'll catch up with him again in Feb.
Right now, I'm snoozy, sleepy, and in need of a night's rest.
Congrats to Juls that finished the Chicago marathon!
PS. South Africa beat Fiji in the Rugby World Cup earlier! Woo!
Posted by karinm at 6:41 PM | Comments (3)
September 26, 2007
All Set
Visa - Check
Flights - Check
Hotel Booking - Check
LA Marathon Entry - Check
Days to go until the LA Marathon - 159
Days to go until the Comrades Marathon - 264
Can anyone say Crazy? I have everything organised for our trip next year and now I only need to get on that plane and get to LA to have my third continent covered. Yes, I've done marathons on 2 continents. well, almost. Because technically England isn't on a continent and therefor I need to get a European marathon covered at some stage, but it isn't going to happen this year ... or next year. I have far too much on my plate for next year as it is.
And now I'm getting ready to travel to Newcastle on Friday to take part in the Great North Run on Sunday - and maybe catch a glimpse of Paula's great big comeback. I really hope she has a good run. It'd be a pity if she didn't.
Posted by karinm at 1:18 PM | Comments (1)
September 18, 2007
Moody
Time to head to the gym and lose myself.
Written while listening to : Eminem - 8 Mile (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) - Lose Yourself
Posted by karinm at 6:13 PM | Comments (0)
August 23, 2007
1. I ran!
Comrades Training
Training Run No. 1
Distance : 3.01 miles
Total miles : 3.01 miles
I ran! Woohoooo! Andy joined me on my outing as we witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets ever.
Not much else to say right now :)
Posted by karinm at 7:57 PM