Words from a negatron

It's not been a great week. I have struggled to get up every morning. I've had a back ache for most the week and can't figure out why. Due to this I cancelled my sprint baby. I also slept really badly and missed my alarm to get me up to volunteer at the kurnell triathlon. I'm sorry to the organisers if they happen to read this.   I went for a run in my tri suit today and have decided it's too small! It gives me a bit of a wedgie which isn't going to look great in a triathlon.   I did pretty much ever thing wrong for my run today. It was about 28c. I had two coffees in the morning and no water! I wore clothes over my tri suit so I over heated. And to top it off I decided to run at noon. All in all it was a terrible run and I came home feeling terrible.  I've drunken too much and eaten badly and it has to stop.  That is all negative chubby Katie has to say. I'll be back when I am more positive. X

Oh lovely sleep

As you know well I struggle to get out of bed in the mornings, I generally consider myself a morning person and rarely sleep longer than 8:30. But I really struggle to get up at 6am. The other day I found an iPhone app that claims to wake you up when you are in the lightest stage of sleep, and hence more gently and leave you feeling
fresher and less tired. It works by monitoring your movement, I think the more you move the less deep sleep you are in. You then set a 1/2 hour window and it will choose when to wake you up. Well I set it last night. I can't say I woke up much easier but the graph it plotted was very interesting!
Although I'm not sure its wise to sleep with your phone next to your head so I don't think I'll make it a regular thing.

Sprint baby is less than a week away and I feel very unprepared. I went for a run on Saturday and it was tough. I still plan to give it go but don't fancy my chances of a good time. I'm considering swimming in a pool just so I have somewhere safer to leave my bike. So it's either 19 laps of the ocean pool or 75 of the regular pool. I will also aim to start quite early, maybe 6ish. Not only does it mean there will be less traffic on the road but also I can do other
things during the day and maybe even go back to bed after ;)


I still haven't heard back about volunteering at the Kurnell triathlon. If your reading this organisers your slack! I will still go and watch on sunday but I'm not going to chase them up, at least it will mean I don't have to get up at 4:30am!


Chubby Katie. X

Fun run

I went on a great run on Sunday! Michael-clease and I often run on Cronulla beach on Sunday afternoon. This Sunday the sand felt firmer than normal so we were able to go a little further.

Michael-clease was listening to his ipod but my headphones have broken so I had to run oh naturale, some might say that was the advantage?! 

Anyway we ran for 15min before Michael-clease checked on the time and I was forced to head back. The sun was setting and it was beautiful!

I have decided on my next marathon! Despite vowing after my first one never to do it again! I have decided on the Sydney runnning festival one on 16th September, 7 days after my 20th birthday! It will be a challenge to do it so close to my birthday but I think as long I as I train plenty before hand it should be ok. Eeeee I'm excited!!! http://www.sydneyrunningfestival.com.au/ 

Chubb chubb.

Happy Halloween

We went to a Halloween party on Saturday night. Lots of fun in fancy dress, Michael-clease and I went as Batman and Robin! We were asked to take a carved pumpkin (prizes for the best).

After a couple of grueling hours heres the result, mines on the right:

Sadly I didn't win the prize but I was left with lots of pumpkin flesh. I decided to make myself a pumpkin smoothie ready for a post run snack. I took my inspiration from the wonderful Tri Marni http://tinyurl.com/6dmewcs

Unfortuntely I had no whey powder, ice, celery, cashews, flaxseed oil or chocolate. Instead I added a few sunflower seeds and a teaspoon of honey. I cooked the pumpkin in the microwave for about 5mins and then blended it all together.

I reckon its either an acquired taste or better the way Marni suggests but it wasn't that tasty! I'm sure it was quite good for me but I struggled to finish the whole thing.

Luckily Marni has posted another smoothie receipe with pumpkin puree http://tinyurl.com/6jgbas5 This one has apple and peanut butter in as well so I think that'll be a bit tastier!

Phew Lew

Recently I've been feeling pretty old, I think it might be because I turn 30 next year! I keep thinking of all the thinks I am too old to do. I am too old to become a doctor, I am too old to wear tops that show my stomach (although I don't have a flat enough stomach anyway), i'm too old to become a professional sports woman and I'm too old to go to raves (without looking like one of thoughts crazy people).

But then the other day I heard something about the oldest guy to complete this years Kona (apparently another guy just a few months older has completed it in the past). He's called Lew Hollander and is 81! How crazy is that. He didn't do it in any recorded breaking time but the fact his he had to be pretty fast even to qualify. I really hope I am that fit when I am his age, of course being retired must help. You wouldn't have to compete with hundreds of other people running by the beach before work and you could run at the warmest part of the day in winter. Hmm maybe I have just convinced myself I want to be older rather than younger! Heres an article about him written before his latest Kona http://ironman.com/columns/ironmanlife/matthew-dale-profiles-the-amazing-80-year-old-ironman-finisher#axzz1bvqrUmuC

Anyway inspired by Lew I have signed myself up to a nutrition course at the local community college, I can still work towards a career in health even it's not a doctor. I'm pretty excited about it. It's  a distance course so I can fit it in with work and it has a section on sports nutrition which should come in handy. I am conscious about what I eat and often look at the little table on the back of products but i'm excited to really be able to take the information and make informed decisions. Hopefully I'll be able to give my readers some handy tips too.

I actually got up for a run this morning. I would like to thank michael clease for encouraging me. He put his running clothes next to the bed and set his alarm for 6am. I very nearly tried to convince him to stay in bed but then something click and I sprung out of bed!   It was only a 20min one but I felt so much better for it and treated myself with a slice of toast after my bircher. Now let's keep our fingers crossed that I can get up for a bike ride tomorrow.

Chubby Katie.x

Sprint Baby

Ok ok i've had a great idea, well I was inspired by Brett on the Zen Tri podcast. I was out running and listen to his podcast, as I often do, and he was talking about his Iron baby. Its a self supported Iron man that he has done about 6 times for charity.
It made me think, maybe I should do a self supported sprint triathlon. I would do it instead of the Kurnell triathlon and then go and watch the Kurnell one and see how I would compare.

So a Sprint tri is a 750m swim, 20km bike and a 5km run. I will aim to do it on 19th Nov on the day before Kurnell, early in the morning to avoid too much traffic and heat.

I still need to plan the route but I think ideally i'd like to do it in the ocean rather a swimming pool. Maybe an ocean pool would be okay. Only probably is that I would need to lock my bike up and leave my bike shoes somewhere.

I might try and rope my dad into doing one in England at the same time. Let me know if you've done anything similar or are keen to give it a try.

Chubby Katie

Chubby chubby Katie

I'm back! Hi everybody. I had a really lovely and relaxing time but I am keen to put some of the things i've been thinking about into practice.

The main one being my diet. In Fiji I made sure I had veggies with every meal but it was often accompanied with chips and usually followed by ice cream!
Now I want to really start planning my meals, making sure I eat plenty of fresh ingredients and try harder with my vegetarianism which has been a little slack recently.

The most exciting thing that I have discovered since being back is that bananas are back down to a decent price!!! I can't wait to start having them with my muesli again.

I was reading tri marni's (Kona triathlon recent finisher!) blog today and she talked about a pre meal snack. Initially I thought this sounded a bit piggy and only for the super elite until I started thinking about what to have for lunch. I decided on a salmon and salad wrap with a little tomato salsa and then I realised that it would take a while to make the salsa.
I knew if I was going to be making my wrap when I was super hungry I was going to be more tempted to put unhealthy things in. Things like dressings full of sugar and sticking some crisps on the side.
Instead I made myself a super quick smoothing with milk, banana, coffee and cinnamon. Stuff that would help to fuel my run later today. I sipped it while knocking up my salsa feeling very happy with myself!

Since being away my big toe nail is looking looser than ever. Its the one that hasn't been the same since my marathon. I think its only a matter of time before it comes off, i'm just hoping that the new one is growing nicely underneath. I don't think I would like to see my bald toe!

Chubby Katie

Sun, sea and Pina Coladas

Tomorrow I am off on holiday! 6 fantastic nights in sunny (I hope) Fiji. I really cannot wait and it seems like so long since i've had a proper holiday.
To commemorate I thought I would write a little tip list to remind myself as much as anyone else how to enjoy yourself without wasting all the good work you've been doing leading up.

1. Get some exercise. As you are on holiday why not try something different. Depending on where you are you could sign up for roller blade lessons, play some tennis, go water skiing. Going away doesn't mean you have to lie by the swimming pool the whole day.
2. Explore on your feet. Get to know the local area by going for a run. Check first about best routes, especially safety wise and avoid going after dark.
3. Take it easy on the alcohol. I'm a big fan of a beer with lunch while i'm on holiday but don't go too crazy, remember alcohol has lots of calories.
4. Take advantage of the healthy foods. Many holiday destination, especially tropical countries, have lots of cheap fresh fruit. Try new types, drink juices, salads. Things like water melon always taste lovely and refreshing in the hot weather.
5. Be prepared right packing lists and make sure you remember the important things. Stree is no good for your health.
   
   Well that's all I can think of. I'm at Sydney airport and just about to check in so I will see you in a week.
   Chubby katie.x
   
6. Drink lots of water, it will help keep you hydrated in the hot weather, is better to sip by the pool than alcohol and keep you looking fresh and healthy for your return.


7. Get some rest. If you train hard and work hard take this time to chill out and catch up on sleep

I heart rates

I've been getting to grips with my heart rate monitor. I like just wearing it round the house, finding out what my resting heart rate is and seeing how it changes when I move around, jump up and down etc.
But I think I need to start using it as a tool to improve my running and hopefully make me a little faster! 
 
My resting heart rate is around 65bpm I think that's pretty good isn't it? 
An easy way to work out your maximum is to minus your age from 220. The is seen as a slightly crude measurement. In fact I went for a run today at got my hr up to 190, using the calculation my max should be 191 and I definitely felt I could go faster. The book I'm reading (the complete book of running for women) suggests you run as fast as you can round a 800m track, walk for 1 min and then do it again. As soon as you stop measure your hr, this should be your max. 
I'm pretty excited to give that a try. 
You can start using hr to control different types of runs. For example an easy run should be 60-70% of your max hr and fast intervals should be at 90-95%.

I tried out my hrm on the beach today. Most of the time it was up around 135-145 but then I did a fast run (which was tough in the sand!) and got my heart rate up to about 195. So I think I will set that as my max.
Next time I am going to give myself a goal heart rate to try and stick to.

Chubby katie  

Inspirational stuff

I have had an exciting day tracking the competitors in the Ironman world champions in Kona, Hawaii.
I am so pleased to say that Chrissie Wellington won (yet again) especially as she had a bike crash a week ago and seemed to be in some pain still. She was still in about 5th place by the end of the bike course but then managed to pass all the others to win the race!

Craig Alexander from Cronulla (although the Ironman website kept saying he was American!) won the men's which is pretty exciting too. Apparently his run wasn't the fastest and it was his bike ride that won it for him.

All this activity inspired me and so Michael Clease and I went on a run along the beach. The beach in Cronulla is pretty long and by sunset its quite quiet.
I struggled a bit, the sand was less firm than usual. It was tough on my calfs and I was quite slow. It was a beautiful sky as we were finishing though, hopefully that means a nice day tomorrow :)

I still haven't entered the Kurnell Triathlon, i'm scared that i'm not fast enough, that my bikes not good enough and that I come will come last by a big margin. Can't decide whether to just go for it or go and watch the first one and then enter the second?!

Off to bed, good night all.
Chubby Katie.x

To do list

I'm going to try this...not everyday but occasionally when I think I could do with a boost. Doesn't necessarily have to be triathlon related, just anything that will make me more productive.

5 Things I want to achieve tomorrow:

Get up for a cycle, even if its a little one.
Drink only one coffee, have a green tea in place of a second one.
Go to yoga class
Make a salad for dinner
Get an early night

Killing time

As if I needed more things to kill time! I've recently discovered this magazine http://trailrunnermag.files.wordpress.com currently in it's first issue it contains all things train running related. I am not much of trail runner yet, having only done one so far! But I love the idea of it and totally see the appeal and can while away many an hour ready about the tracks, footwear reviews and fuel!

Birthdays

I forgot to mention that as to treat myself after the marathon I bought myself a trisuit. It was only about $60 so not the best on the Market but a good starter I reckon. Its an orca one so should be desent enough but probably a few seasons old. It's the one of the far right in the elite(scary!) section http://www.triathlonshots.com/triathlonOrcaWomen.html I won't post an pics yet as they're not the most flattering things unless your super skinny. I finally tried it out today in the little pool in our apartment block and it was good, a little strange when your used to a bikini but still comfortable. I just need the ocean temperature to warm up a few degrees!
It was my birthday on Friday! I took it off work and just relaxed. I was very lucky though and got lots of presents, they seemed to have a definite sporty theme to them. I got a running vest top, a running long sleeve top (from a brand called lululemon, i haven't heard of them before but they do some nice stuff) and a book on running for women. From my sister I got a book on cycling and a heart rate monitor, see what I mean!
I'm trying to use them as motivation, yesterday I tried out the long sleeve top. It was much easier to get out into the cold when you have something warm to put on. 
I've never worn a heart rate monitor before, it will be interesting to start monitoring my training rate. I might test it out tomorrow if I can figure out how to work it!

Ok I'm off to bed. Good night
Chubby Katie.x

Little Race Report

This will be a baby race report mainly because I am quite busy but also because there isn't much to say.
On Sunday Michael-Clease and I did the Lake Macquarie running festival 10km run. There was also a 1/2 marathon but with very little training I didn't think that was wise. 
We drove up again the night before to Newcastle and stayed with Michael-cleases lovely Grandma. Got up early has we hadn't yet registered.
Everything was pretty smooth, no problems parking, registered easily and went and bought a cheese roll and powerade while we waited for our race. The start was little crowded and there was the usual issue of people not self seeding very well. Especially the walkers who for some reason thought it was fine to start right at the front and stroll along in rows of 4. 
The only thing problem was Michael-cleases shin splints. They started causing him problems at just under half way and never really eased up. We slowed down a fair bit and took extra long walks at the drinks stations. We crossed the finish line at about 1hr 1min which was no PB but I am happy to have taken this one easy.
I think I will do a post soon on shin splints, do a little research into the causes and possible solutions, if there are any.


Chubby Katie.x

Hunter valley marathon

Race report:

Michael-Clease has family in Newcastle so on Saturday we drove up to the Hunter Valley with plans to stay in Newcastle for the night. We drove straight to the Hunter Valley Gardens. All went well, collected my pace pack, got a free t-shirt that disappointingly only mentioned the running festival. When I run a marathon I like to advertise the fact by wearing the t-shirt!

We drove back to Michael-cleases grandmas house (got lost on the way) and she very kindly put us up for the night, thank you grandma!

I had a dinner of soup and rolls which in hindsight probably wasn’t the best pre race dinner. I did have lots of noodles the night before but maybe a few more carbs would have been good.

After not a great night’s sleep Michael-clease and I rose at 5:30 to quickly eat our porridge and banana (breakfast of champions) and were out of the house by 6am.

When I was lining up I took a look around and realised there were only about 100 people doing the marathon, that scared me a bit. I was sure I would come last.


The route was two laps, quite near the beginning I started chatting to a lady, we came up to a humongous hill and she told me she always runs half way and walks the rest. I reckon that if she hadn't told me that I would have been ok but in the end I walked a little of it. Then I had to do it on the second lap and again struggled.


I'm not a big fan of gels, I struggle to get them down. Some people can't stomach then I know but with me its fine once they are down its just getting them past my taste buds. I had one gel before I started and another at 15km. I planned to take the last one at 30km but annoyingly they water station had run out of cups and I had to go to 35km before having the final one. I also ate some jelly babies which I think was more of a placebo and a distraction than anything else. 


There isn't really to much to report about the race, towards 35km I started to struggle a little and the gel didn't really seem to help - I guess it would have been worse though if I hadn't eaten it. 35k to 40km I started doing a little run walking but managed to run the last two ks.


The 6km fun run started at about 10am so by the time I came up to the finish line I had lots of, shall we say, less fit runners along side me. In one particular photo I am running next to a 10yr old girl! It was nice when one volunteer cheered "well done marathon lady"!


At the end we were herded into a pen to remove our timing chips and get our medals. Unfortunately all of seats were taken up by chubby kids who were waiting for their parents so I had to stand while Michael-clease helped remove my timing chip. Then there were no medals left :( although the organisers kindly sent mine in the mail a few days later.


Over all it was a good run, nice countryside (saw a few kangeroos!) and well organised. I don't think I would do the marathon there again due to the double loop but can imagine doing the half.


I took the next day off work and was pleased I had. Nothing to major but my legs were very stiff. 

A couple of photos of me not looking too bad, buy photos from marathon-photos.com folks!

Hi!

Hi everyone, I am back! I’m sorry it has been so long, I have been uninspired and lazy. But now I am getting back into my updating in a real attempt to get some exercise structure into my life.

What with summer coming up I need to sort my bikini body and am really keen to get into some more ocean swims and bike rides.

So I think I need some aims and goals….

1.       Get up early at least twice a week to run
2.       Join the local run club to run on Thursday mornings
3.       Improve my diet, in general I am a healthy eater but I am letting the evening beer and dessert take over a little
4.       Train for the MS Gong ride
5.       Train for Manly open water swim and the Shark island swim
6.       Train for the Kurnell triathlons
7.       Do some weight training once a week

Well that should keep me busy for a while.

“Whats been happening while you have been away” I hear you ask! Well I have completed the Sutherland to Surf and the Hunter Valley Marathon, I will write a separate race report.

Other than not too much really, the dark mornings and nights and the chilly weather have kept me snuggled up inside. I feel like a bear slowly coming out of hibernation searching for spring!

xx

The only way is up!

I have just been rock climbing. Not the scary up cliff faces, one little finger away from certain death type. The inside, under a crash mat, with tried and tested ropes kind. And it was great fun! I have been twice before so I knew what to expect but I am still always nervous that my weak little arms are not going to support my chubby little body, and while I did struggle on some of the harder routes I think my other training must definitely help, my legs seem quite strong and I reckon my stomach muscles were hard at work. Now I know it's not triathlon training but I am believer that doing a range of different activities can help with your end goal. For example I like to think that climbing might help with my swimming, although maybe that's an excuse to allow me to sign up for climbing lessons.....which is what I have just done! :)
Plus climbers have good bodies don't they?
Ciao.x   

Well this is embarressing

Well this is embarrassing! I can't believe I have been away for nearly three weeks. The only excuse I have is that I've been pretty busy. I am still quite busy the only change has been that I've recently got an iPhone so now I can post from the train and when I am travelling. 
Well what's new I hear you ask. Just over a week ago I successfully completed the Sydney half marathon! I'm pretty proud of my effort and pleased that it went without a hiccup. Let me give you a small race report. 
The race started at 6:45 we don't live that near the city any more so we had a pretty early start. I planned to get up at 5, at 5:20 I just managed to drag my reluctant body out of bed. We cancelled plans of taking public transport half the way and decided to shell out the $15 for parking. With our bowls so porridge in our laps we drove down the black highway to the city. Now I am always reluctant to use the bag drop as they usual have huge queues and often are not very well organised (although I shouldn't knock the volunteers, they do a great job). So we left our jumpers in the car and made the chilly walk to the start. Michael clease stopped for a toilet break, after seeing the queue I decided not to bother. By the time we got to the start I decided I did need to. By the time I was done most people had started and we were near the back. This wasn't too much of a problem, there was a cut off time which I think kept away most of the real beginners so I was one of the slower runners anyway. I ran along pretty happily most the way, foregoing the first drink station. The were a few hold ups and congested areas and I've seen this commented on in a few forums. Around 17k I started to struggle a little, michael clease seemed to be doing fine. I managed to keep going at roughly the same pace and ended up crossing the finish line at 2:04:17. I was hoping for under 2 hours so this was a little disappointing but I blame the congestin and having to stop to tie my shoe laces. 
I am rethinking my sub 4 marathon plan, maybe sub 4:20 with a bit of training. 
I have found myself a running group that I think I'll try out on Thursday morning. The have a track morning too but that's a little scary for me at the moment!

Weekly total = about 22km

Despite not racking up a lot of mileage this week I am quite pleased. The reason being that yesterday I did a 15km run and felt goooood! As seems to be a bit of a theme these days I started off running with Michael-clease with the intention of doing about 17km. After about 5km he was struggling a lot with Shin splints and had to give up (some might be suspicious that he then managed to go out for a surf, but not me I am only sympathetic!)

I was intending on doing my loop which finished at home, then going back out and doing another 5km but 1/2 though I realised it would be too hard to go out again so I just extended the loop I was doing. I think I could have easily done 20km if I had preplanned a good route and had a few more podcasts to listen to.

I have recently been experimenting with crystalised ginger while running, I first spotted it in the super market as it was advertised as fast energy releasing. To be honest I am not sure how much is placebo effect but it seems to be working. I put a few pieces in my little running pouch and then pop one in my mouth every 30mins or so.

Its only two weeks till my 1/2 marathon now, I am more excited than nervous especially after yesterdays success. I haven't decided how far to run next Sunday, I might make it a little shorter and make sure I get in some little runs as well.

Chubby Katie.x

Dream triathlons

Ok I have been very slack posting recently. Michael-clease thinks we should get an Ipad and all my issues will be solved! hmmm i'm not convinced.

Anyway in the mean time I came across this triathlon and it made me think I should start a list of beautiful triathlons where you would not even think about the hard work because you were to busy looking at the scenery!  http://uk.indianoceantriathlon.com/

Chubby Katie.x

Marathon tips part 1

I was just reading my latest email from www.realbuzz.com and handily enough it had some marathon tips on it! The London marathon was last weekend but with my marathon training in full swing it seemed perfect. I have pulled off their tips and then given my opinion which may or may not be correct! Part 2 to follow shortly.

Don't overdress for your race
This is a good one. Even in December in England I was wearing shorts to races. As long as you do some stretches and warm ups before hand you should be fine. I hate carrying stuff with me so the fewer things I have the better. Of course you should dress warmly for the journey there. The city2surf do a good thing where you can throw your jumpers to the side just before they start and they get people to go round and collect them to give to charity. 

Think while you run

What they are saying here is to concentrate on your race and plan. Don't let your mind wonder and forget to drink or take gels.
But I also think part of the fun is to take in the atmosphere around you and hopefully take your mind off slightly the huge mileage you are undertaking. 

Manageable race chunks
Oh yes I like this one. I saw something on a forum about someone breaking down the last few miles into people. You know mile 24 for Mum, 25 for Dad etc etc. I thought about doing it with Jelly Babies, naming each one after a person you care about. 

Keep your head up while running
This is a definite. Looking at the ground means you'll probably run into people, maybe trip over your feet and 

Follow the shortest course
Hmm not sure how much I agree with this. Sure you don't want to running 45km when everyone else is only doing 42km but I think you could really get hung up on trying to find the smallest corner. In the end unless it is one huge circle chances are it will all equal out in the end.

Get some race support

Yes good one, in theory. Its always nice to have friends and family there to cheer you on but in reality asking some to take 4 or so hours out of their day, probably more if you include travel, is a big ask. I'm sure most people will get a few supporters for their first marathon but when you start doing your 4th or 5th they probably start to thin out. I reckon support should come as a pleasant extra rather than a necessity. 


Chubby Katie.x

Weekly total = 25.6km

Good Morning everybody! I am quite pleased with my weekly total this week, its still a bit shorter than I should be doing but last night I did a 12km run and I felt really good.

I started off running with Micheal-clease but after around 5km he was suffering a lot with shin splints. It is something that has just started, he didn't use to get them. He has recently been doing a lot of skateboarding plus he has a habit of doing no running and then attempting a 10km. I think he has been over doing things!

I did a little research into shin splints on the Victoria health website and they say the causes can be:

• Overuse – exercising too hard or trying to exercise beyond your current level of fitness can strain muscles, tendons, bones and joints. Overuse is one of the most common causes of shin splints.
• Flat feet – the shin muscles are involved in maintaining the instep or arch of the foot. Flat feet can pull at the shin tendons and cause slight tearing.
• Incorrect technique – poor running form, such as ‘rolling’ the feet inwards (pronation), can strain the muscles and tendons.
• High impact activities – the impact of running on hard or uneven surfaces can injure the shin muscles and tendons.
• Running shoes – wearing the wrong type of shoe while running can contribute to shin splints.

I don't think Michael-clease has flat feet or incorrect technique as he hasn't suffered from shin splints before. It might be worth looking into new running shoes, I suspect he has had his for over two years now. 

They suggest the following could help with prevention:

• Thoroughly warm up before exercising and include plenty of slow, sustained stretches in your cool down.
• Incorporate a regular routine of stretching into your fitness program.
• Strengthen the muscles of your lower legs with specific exercises.
• Choose flat, softer surfaces to run on, such as running tracks or grassy ovals.
• Reduce the intensity of your training.
• Place shock-absorbing insoles in your running shoes.
• Make sure you wear proper running shoes and replace them before they wear out.
• Cross-train with low impact activities such as cycling, swimming or walking.

Unfortunately we both have the 1/2 marathon in under a month so we really need to resolve the problem. Let me know if you have any thoughts on this subject!

Chubby Katie

Weekly total = not a lot

Well this week has been a lost cause! In truth it has been a pretty busy one. Michael-cleases brother got married at the weekend so there were all kinds of relatives coming in from out of town and overseas. Lots of family dinners after work and helping set up and clear up after.
Unfortunately it meant my training really suffered. I have done a few short runs but not my long run. Also my diet has not been its best, too many profiter roles and wine!

I will attempt to get back on the wagon tomorrow though, healthy eating, long run, strength exercises, the works. With only just over a month till the 1/2 marathon I better get my trainers on.
Here is the route I plan to do tomorrow morning.

Wish me luck!

CK Virtual run

Just received my virtual medal and certificate for the 1st of the CK Virtual runs so I thought I would share them with you. I am in 3rd I think, I wasn't feeling my healthiest so hopefully I will get a little faster on my next one.

Weekly total = 23km ish

Sorry loyal followers it has been quite a busy time of year! I did manage 23km this week although I think I really should be aiming for a little more that this stage of my training.

Yesterday I took part in the first race of the CK Virtual Run. It was 2.5km so I mapped out a route and ended up doing it twice to up my mileage. The first I did in 14:09 and after a sprint finish the second was 14:06, I was really hoping the sprint would know me down to under 14:00 but I am told I am in 2nd place at the moment so thats not so bad!

I think i'm going to need to start looking into body glide! I am getting a few sore areas on my longer runs. Are there any you recommend?

I've also been taking the rest day/cross training days as just rest days, which is a little naughty! My swimming and cycling are suffering.

Short post today, i reckon thats the way to go..short and often!
Chubby Katie.x

One of those rare creatures

Part the bushes of centennial park on a sunny day between the hours of 1pm and 2pm and you may just be lucky enough to spot the rarest of creatures, a runner without a Garmin!

Its me! I admit I have no Garmin :( Now I hear good things about them and I'm sure I would find it very handy but one of the reasons I got into running is that its meant to be a cheap sport and as far as I know they are $300 +. I say this because today I attempted a speed training session and it was a bit of a disaster. I set off thinking I would run fast for 2 minutes and then walk for 2, I managed this about 3 times before I was done in!
So I really need to look into how to do speed work, if you don't have a garmin how do you know how fast to go? I don't have a heart rate monitor either, thats probably quite poor for someone training for a marathon, maybe I will look into buying one.

So this weeks total 24 kms. I slightly cheated and did my long run today instead of yesterday. It was pouring most the day plus I had been kayaking and quad biking on Saturday which I was aching from.

Gosh I really need to put aside some quality blogging time, two posts a week is very slack! I promise to try harder.

Chubby Katie

Brentwood 1/2

I would like to congratulate my dad on his 2nd 1/2 marathon. He did it in a pretty respectable time of 1hr 52, although he was a little disappointed to only equal his pb not beat it. I might do a little Q & A with him to see how it compared to others and also get some pointers for me.

In other exciting news it looks like I might be ok to do my half marathon in May, the other thing I had planned looks like it might move!


I stole this photo from the official site and then clicked a couple of their ad links to make up for it!

Weekly total - 18km

I know I know a shockingly low total last week! I am embarrassed! I would like to say that life got in the way but really my lazyness and inability to get out of bed early got in the way. I promise to make up for it this week and actually brought my running stuff into work and dodged the rain at lunch time to do 5kms.

I was up at Port Macquarie over the weekend and I managed to get Michael-clease out for a run, we did about 8km which I classed as my long run. We also did some bush walking so I might count that, it included some hills.

Michael-clease and I entered a 1/2 marathon on Friday and straight after entering I realised I have other plans! It cost $89 and they don't do refunds without a doctors note. I am hoping either my plans move or I manage to sell my entry. That or I am going to have to injure myself somehow without damaging my marathon training. Hmmm maybe a broken arm? or a week long flu?

I'm still planning on doing the 1km shark island swim on Sunday although I think the boys may well pull out. We are out on Saturday night and I think if I register it will mean I am forced to not go too crazy at the weekend.

Chubby Katie.x

Virtual runs

There are so many virtual runs going on at the moment that I can't keep up! Here are a few that I stole from the lovely blogger Feet Dominating Pavement:

All year Run for the Bling of it! (Any distance)
March-April SparkPeople Virtual Run (run/walk any distance)
March 12-13 Run for ChristChurch (Any distance)
March 14 - 26 Cupcake Run (Half Marathon or Full, can be spread out over several days)
March 17-20 Shake your Shamrock Run (7k or 14k)
March 19 Life's a Wheeze 5k

Plus of course the CK Virtual Run

So far I not raced for Run for the bling of it in March and I am running out of time! I nearly signed up for the Shake your Shamrock (that seems like such a cool theme) but I am going up to Port Macquarie for the weekend and even though I intend to run I can't guarantee that I it will be 13km and I might not have internet access to enter my results. I should really do the Lifes a wheeze 5k but as thats what I do most of the week it doesn't seem so much of a challenge. Oh my life is so tough ;)

I didn't feel like getting up early this morning so I am running home from work, unfortunately as I am away for the weekend I need to run tomorrow morning as well.

In exciting news I think Michael-Clease might run the 1/2 marathon when I do my full one! He said he needed some motivation to get him out running and I said he needed to sign up for an event.

I hope to make some pumpkin soup tonight so stay tuned for the results and if successful the recipe.

Chubby Katie.x

10% rule

I've always known about it but since I am properly training now I should really think about the 10% rule. As I mentioned I ran 25kms last week so this week I should only run 27.5km max. Check out this blog for some great running style tips - Becoming an Ironman I didn't run this morning, Michael-clease and I were both a bit tired, him from soccer and me from my 10k yesterday, I might do it when I get home or I may just wait till my rest day tomorrow.
Its a short one today, our veggie box gets delivered though so thats exciting :)

Chubby Katie.x

Weekly km = 25

For the past week I have been struggling on my morning 5k runs, it was beginning to worry me that, even though i still had 18 weeks until my marathon, I shouldn't be struggling so much. I had to keep reminding myself that I still had a fair bit of training time left and also that I tend to run first thing on an empty stomach which is bound to make things harder.

Saying that I am quite a believer that training the body in tough conditions i.e in the heat, without food etc means that when conditions are at their best it should be a piece of cake. I think I read somewhere that Chrissy Wellington (my triathlon hero) does some training session on limited water to get her body used to dehydration!

Anywho today I ran 10k and really enjoyed it and felt good, despite having a few beers last night and a MacDonalds breakfast. I did 10.6km in 1hr 5 which is ok, not my fastest but it was a hot day.

That make 25km this week, not bad but needs upping quite quickly I think.

I have just discovered the mcmillan running calculator you can put in your time over a bunch of different distances and it will calculate you time and pace for other distances. For example I put in my 1 hour 10km and it gave me a marathon time of 4:41 at a pace of 6:41 minute kilometers. I will work on getting my pace quicker as I am hoping to do a sub 4:20 marathon but the calculator is really handy to see what stage you are at and how you are improving.

You might have realised that I have not mentioned the triathlon that I was meant to be doing this week. Well the fact is I didn't do it! It wasn't very near our house so we would have had to stay the night down there, I haven't been out on my bike for ages, it would have cost quite a lot (especially when I haven't really trained) plus I didn't know anyone else doing it so Michael-clease and I would have had to go alone and he would have had to wait around for me, all these excuses added up to me not competiting. In short I would rather do a race that I have trained for and feel confident about.

I do intend to still do the 1km shark island swim in two weeks time despite my swim training suffering a little recently.

Well that is about it for today, early to bed I think so I can get up bright and early for another week of training.
x

Trail running

I have just arrived back from my Sunday long run and it was great! I got up early (well for a Sunday) and got the ferry to Bundeena in the Royal National park. After a bit of a shaky start, where i went the wrong way, I got onto the Jibbon track and ran/walked it round back to Bundeena. I think at one junction I took the wrong option and so ended up doing a 8.7km route although.

The track was mainly sandy paths and in some places was quite soft sand, hence my run/walking. It also got a little warm in the sun so took of my t-shirt and ran in my bra top until I saw hikers then I quickly whipped it back on.

As I was running along the sand and up and down the rocks I started thinking that maybe a doing my long runs on trails is not the best training for a 42km road run. I think I will limit my trail runs and only do about 1/4 of the long run on trails. The good thing is that the Hunter Valley Marathon is not all tarmac roads, there is also some gravel roads and grass trails.

I felt very safe on the run and knew I was very unlikely to get lost. There was enough people around but not too many to ruin the peacefulness. 

I finished off my run with a celebratory coffee before jumping back on the ferry, after running for about 1 hour. If you live in NSW and like running or walking in the national parks I really recommend the Wild Walks website.

In an earlier post I had mentioned that I was on the look out for a crop top. For a while I had been looking on various websites, never too sure if any of them would like what I was after, and checking out shops but not being willing to pay the $50 that they were asking. Yesterday I popped into Target and found these babies!

 There were just what I was looking for and were $20 with 30% off! When I got them to the till they came up as $11 for the purple one and $3 for the orange one, I have no idea why. They are just what I was looking for and I wore the purple one today. I just hope now that it says warm enough for me to get some wear out of them.

Chubby Katie.x

Parks and vegetables

I was planning on giving you an update of my veg box challenge but we ended up eating out last night so the vegetables are still sitting in the box. We will have a little bbq tonight so I will update you with how that goes. While we are on the subject of food I was checking out the tri Marni blog and she had some tips for healthy eating which I thought were very sound advice:


* Take pride in preparing meals and give yourself the proper amount of time to do so.
* Be creative with your meals and snacks
* Purchase useful and fun Tupperware and dishes
* Aim for less than 5 ingredients for at least 75-80% of the foods in your home
* Take time to eat your meal, with little to no distractions (ex. computer, TV, phone)
* Enjoy occasional desserts and sweet-treats, without feelings of guilt
* Spread your calories throughout the day
* Look forward to one item at every meal
* Focus on variety throughout the day
* Bulk up your meals with plant-based foods
* Try to consume at least 3 servings of fruits and veggies before dinner
* Plan for snacks between meals, as well as pre-meal snacks, while preparing your meals
* Plan pre-and-post training snacks
* Drink plenty of water
* Get a restful night of sleep
* Eat for fuel, not for a number on a scale 



I didn't get up early this morning, after a week of 6am starts I really felt like I needed a bit of a lie in. Instead I will run home from work, I have a 5km route planned (even though my training schedule only says 3.2km!). On Sunday I have my long run, we live really near a national park and I am thinking of doing it in there around the Jibbon loop. I can run to the ferry hop on board to the national park, do the loop which will probably be about 6.8km and then hop on the ferry home. I would need to take water, my phone, money and a map but its not too far from civilisation so i'm sure i'll be ok. 


Oh gosh I have just realised this is my 50 post! Happy Anniversary Chubby Katie.


I will tell you how I get on.
Chubby Katie.x

A-z of me!

(A) Age: 28

(B) Bed Size: Double, Michael-clease keeps moaning that we need a bigger one but I think its just fine!

(C) Chore You Hate: Pretty much all of them. 

(D) Dogs? Would love one but can't in our apartment, have to play with the in-laws staffies instead.

(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Shower, plus I can't go the day without a descent breakfast.

(F) Favorite Color: Pink and yellow....but not together

(G) Gold or Silver? Gold.

(H) Height: 5ft 5in ish

(I) Instruments You Play: I am really not very musical! Although I did have brief piano lessons.

(J) Job Title: Production assistant/image co-ordinator.

(K) Kids: Nope.

(L) Live: Cronulla, NSW.

(M) Mom's Name: Linda - hi mum

(N) Nicknames: Haven't really had one since school, I was often called Davie.

(O) Overnight Hospital Stays? Only when I had my adenoids.

(P) Pet Peeve: People who say "thats hilarious" but don't laugh. People who use the word literally incorrectly. People who say they have the flu and its only a cold.

(Q) Quote from a Movie: Mother always taught me: "Never eat singing food" - Muppets Christmas Carol

(R) Right or Left Handed? Right.

(S) Siblings: One younger sister - hi Caroline.

(T) Time You Wake Up? About 6am.

(U) Underwear: Umm pretty standard underwear I think??

(V) Vegetable You Dislike: Parsnips.

(W) What Makes You Run Late: Not getting out of bed earlier enough. 

(X) X-Rays You've Had Done: I forget, none since I was about 8. Maybe one on my chest and one on my wrist.

(Y) Yummy Food You Make: Michael-clease loves my hake in thai sauce and I have been told I make a mean lasagna.

(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: Haven't been to the zoo in ages, lions and tigers are always cool but i'm not sure how I feel about them being kept in a zoo.

A few bits and bobs

For the second day in a row I have managed to get out of bed at 6am, well just past but i'm proud of myself though, i'm sure I can build up to a bit earlier.
Michael-clease and I went for a swim, we should really have jogged to the pool and back as it took about 15mins to get there and back. It was really busy in there, I think maybe as the mornings are getting light later everyone wants to go at sunrise. Anyway that counts as my cross training for today. My legs are aching a fair bit, I think as I haven't run for a while.

I was watching biggest loser the other day (i really love that show) and one of the trainers said "train the mind and the mind will train the body". I was a little inspired by that. I know that people are all ways saying that marathons are 40% physical and 60% mental but I think maybe in my case it is even more mental!

We have just had our first fruit and veg box delivered, it is very exciting! It arrived last night and I was amazed at the amount that was included. There is nothing too exotic in there, bananas, plums, grape, potatoes, beans etc but I think it will be quite a challenge to get them all used before they go off.
Talking of food I have realised that I eat pretty healthy during the week and then it all goes a bit pear shaped at the weekend, or should that be beer bottle shaped!

I think that is all I have for now.
Bye.x

Uh oh

Oh dear, guess what I have done......I have entered the Hunter Valley Marathon. Eep! Its scary but mostly exciting. Its not till 17th July so I have plenty of time to train and I think it will be the challenge I need to make sure I get up in the mornings.

It cost $87 which I think is a little pricey but I am happy to pay it as I think I will be well looked after and get a t-shirt at the end! I was tempted to get a hoodie but it was $49 and I don't really need it.

The website says that the 1/2 marathon is 60% flat, 25% rolling hills and 15% hilly, that doesn't sound too bad does it? I have heard stories about it being a bit hilly but also of others setting pbs on it so I am not scared. I will try and do a little hill training though.

The Hunter Valley is about 2 1/2 hour drive from our house so it is technically possible to drive up in the morning but I would have to leave the house at about 4am. Ideally I would love to stay there and make a weekend of it but that will bump up the price. I know a cute little cottage about 15mins from the start which would be great but it sleeps 4 people so I would like to get two others in on the trip. Well its a long way off yet and if I don't get on with my training the logistics won't matter anyway.

With that said I was out on a run this morning. I came up with the idea in the pub on Saturday night to put all of our names in the house on a white board. The night before we tick if we are going to get up for a run or swim and then the other house members are allowed to do anything they can to get you up. Does that make sense? I think it is the fear of someone barging into your room at 6am that scares you into getting up anyway.
At the moment we don't have the white board so had to make do with a piece of paper, still it worked and Michael-Clease, Neil and I went out for a 5km run.

Training schedule #1

So I found this training schedule on a website, many of them are for 10/12 weeks and I wanted a longer one so I could start training straight away. As you can see this one is for 20 weeks which is perfect. It was in miles and so I have converted it and rounded the numbers as it seemed silly to run 17.7km. It seems pretty do able and the fact there is cross training days means I can fit in cycling and swimming. I'm sure I will not stick to it religiously especially as I have already done 5km today instead of 3.2km. I also need to work in some speed and hill sessions. What do you think? Maybe ever Wednesday can alternate between speed and hill work? Can I handle 5km of hill work? I guess we shall see.
Chubby Katie.x