Catch Up

OMG..its been two whole months since I posted..way too long and its been a fantastic period of injury free running..

The last 2 months has been the final nail in the coffin for my overpronation and constant strains with chi-running finally mastered..as predicted by Coach JR it has meant an improvement in my times...my 10km is down to about 52, even on a hilly course which for me is great....our regular Quarry run has also witnessed many PB's, including on the extended 17km version...very happy with this...here's a pic of the Warriors on the day


As far as races go Ive only been in a few 10ks and the recent SMH Half marathon this weekend..went out like the clappers and then fell arse over tit on a curb at 3kms, blood, graises, watch banged up, 10 min in the First Aide tent!






Anyway, pretty proud that I finished despite an arm that was ballooning abit and feeling pretty ordinary....

Plans for the future are Jabulani 23km trail and a few other Halfs....no marathons this year but Coastrek50, my first ultra, early 2013..

see ya!

Running for the Sake of It

January/February has been a fantastic 2 months of running...no PB's, no races, no new longer distances....just running four times a week and loving it...

The focus has still been on chi-running..ive lapsed form a few times and have been reminded by sorer than normal legs, but have also managed to change cadence from 60 to about 75 strikes per minute which feels awkward but much better when your done..

The focus has also been on trying to conquer the famous quarry run in Hornsby, a 13km monster of hills and 6ft track training run...over the past three weeks our times have been 1hr49,1hr42,1hr37 so we will keep on trying until it gets down to as low as we can go? 1h25? maybe...need to run the steep bits more and leg it down the hills faster to achieve this

Ive also broken in some leech proof shoes for the more technical parts of the GNW,

Montrail Fairweather Outdry

Straight out of the box, on the trail, with no problems....beautiful shoes.

As far as the future goes, there is Lindfield 10kms soon, then SMH Half Marathon, Jabulani much later in the year, etc.

Im amazed how ones relationship with running changes over the years...three years ago it was all about power running and times but now its just a pleasure to get out there and be in it.

Peace on the Quarry Run

The Quarry run, from Hornsby to Dural through the bush seems to be hallowed ground as far as bush running goes at least as far as an old bloke we met this Sunday goes who said it was "like a church' to 6Foot Track-ers.....

This bloke, didnt catch his name, was about 65, a 6 time 6foot veteran and smashing it with the best of them up and down the Quarry runs substantial hills..here's Michelle, my running partner, right at the top of one

We also saw at least six very serous runners who must have been training for 6foot....lots of green shoes and calf compression...the Quarry run is 13kms long....2 very steep hills and I know ultra runners do laps! We did one lap which was more than enough until we start training for longer runs later in the year.

Here is the sad sight of police tape from the mum who committed suicide somewhere in the area a few days earlier..this is terribly sad..apparently she suffered from bipolar depression...poor family...one of her kids is in my daughters class

The next photo is for her...if it's 'like a church' lets hope she finally has found some peace...

Rest Makes You Stronger

Decided this week to have a 'rest week' after my legs just felt smashed while running bush on Sunday...Ive put in three weeks trying to increase my speed, forgoing lots of recovery runs and generally breaking my own rules..God, it's addictive...no recovery runs and little stretching for three weeks results in feeling completely knackered.

I have to confess to enjoying a sleep in Tuesday morning and making it up with an avo 2km swim which i thoroughly enjoyed...today my legs are coming back to normal and ill run with the Warriors slower than normal.

Here's a great article on Rest Weeks..basically it says whats the point of training hard if you dont leave a space for your legs to adjust and the muscles to build..this wont happen if your just pounding them into submission all the time..

Three Months of Chi

Im sitting here at my desk after four hours of editing something, taking a break and refelcting happily on last nights 10km tempo run.....5.3mins/km, lots of hills and this morning i only hurt in the right places..

Thats the fastest I have run in about 9 months (slow for many possibly) and it represents the return of my confidence....

It's now been three months since my first chi-running lesson with JR Campion of Vortex Performance.....I remember feeling pretty miserable and burned out at the time, slumping around the field while he videod my terrible form.....last night I felt like i was flying, leaning forward, breathing relaxed, feeling easy but with enough strenght to sprint the last km at the end...

I have toyed with trying minimal shoes given this success but shy away from messing with a good thing...if i did try them it would only be for a km here and there and whats the point of that ?

Either way i can feel a good year coming on, so long as i dont take things for granted and keep it all going...

This Years Races

Been um-ing and ah-ing about what to run this year, especially whether or not to run a marathon...pretty much certain Ill avoid the marathon and focus on some great fun 10-20-30 length races....keen though to make this the year of Chi, the year of enjoying running and the year of going out hard and staying that way...

Here are the races i am planning

1.-April Linfield: 10km: horrible hills

2.-May Sydney SMH Half

3.-June Woodford to Glenbrook 25km: never done this before and it would be my longest trail run

4.-August Jabulani Challenge 23km: my fave run last year

Pub2Pub: never miss

5.-September Sydney Blackmoore's Half: time to beat last years dissapointing time

6.-October SAN Run4Life 10km

7.-November Bare Creek Trail St Ives 10km: short but sweet local run

The highlights will be Woodford to Glenbrook and Jabulani...the low point will be the SAN and Linfield which are horrible hilly courses on the road...

As far as Marathoning goes I hope my one outing will not be the only one i do in my life, lets see.

Cruising

Just a short note to celebrate the fact that I have now been running consistently now for about four weeks with no serious niggles, strains, relapses, tendonitis, sore ankles to speak of and that chi-running in demonstrating the effect I hoped it would have.....the foam roller has cobwebs on it, the rolling pin (called Cyril) in being used in the kitchen not on my legs (yuk!) and i am not spending half my time stretching out knots and strains...

If youd asked me three months ago if this was possible Id have laughed...I really was getting very frustrated and fed up but now feel completely free again.

The current state of affairs also isnt a result of any easing off of running...Ive taken on some major challenges, including Pidgeon House mountain (nearly twice in a row), plenty of 2 hour bush runs, hill running, tempo, etc.

Overall my conclusion is that all my problems were postural...I was smashing my legs and feet into the pavement and The Beast was not helping one bit...

Now Im happy with Brooks Adrenalin but am seriously contemplating taking it down a step further. These beauties look good!

Summer Running

What a fantastic two weeks of summer running I have had down the South Coast in Manyana. Thanks to my chi-running coaching i ran more kms than ever before, on harder terrain, with minimal pains and strains.

The highlight was a run from Manyana Beach to Monument Beach, a run that involves alot of softish sand running, bush tracks, rocks and some road....a 12kms arduous run that was the regular jaunt with my friend Alison.

The second highlight was a run up Pidgeon House Mountain, a steep mountain run with 750metre elevation.....lots of kiddies came too, walking, while I played the hero and tried to beat my record of 1hr7mins return.

I made the top in 38mins (a record) but came down slower than last year, amounting to a 30 second pb in the end of 1hour5mins30secs.

The total for 12 days was around 80kms, most of it off road, amounting to a massive vote of confidence for chi-running and the year to come!!

Plans for 2012

As the year ends i am thinking about what has been achieved this year. Its been a great year of running with the highlights:

1. Finishing my first marathon in Canberra in April
2. Going bush and tackling the Jabulani Challenge 22kms
3. Discovering the Great North Walk and all its pleasures
4. Starting to develop sustainability through chi-running

Next year I will give the Marathon a miss and focus on mainly trail running and consolidating chi-running ....i dont feel the thrill of setting a marathon goal but am very keen on doing more trail runs..

...which runs to aim for next year has a few dilemnas in it....I was keen to run Mt Wilson to Bilpin 34kms in August but it clashes with a few other things, particularly Jabulani and Pub2pub which i really dont want to miss. Here's a tentative list

Linfield Funrun 10k April 3
Sydney Half Marathon May 20
Woodford to Glenbrook June 26 25kms
Jabulani Challenge 7 August 21kms
Pub2pub 13kms August 26
Blackmores Half September 18
Bare Creek Trail Run St Ives 10kms 13 November

The new run for the year will probably be Woodford to Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains rather than Mt Wilson to Bilpin

The key will be to keep enjoying it of course, focusing on form not speed and do as many casual runs with friends in the bush as possible!

Chi's Coming Together

Every now and then Im getting that feeling like all the stars align and i finally understand how the chi-running process is supposed to work...so far ive practiced specific things on each run, mid-foot strike, cadence, pelvis in, relax,but during the past few runs this week it has started to come together as a whole..

Last wednesday night for example i ran 11kms, most of which involved the forward lean and correct posture and felt really at ease and relaxed for the whole run..my pace is still slow (as low as 6mins/km at this distance) but I can feel the petrol still in the tank when Im getting it right.

The biggest benefit seems to be what happens between runs rather than just during runs...the terrible strains and pain in my ankles and abductors has diminished and i am finding that my recovery is much quicker...

Lets hope i have finally found the answer.