Even better

I was contemplating a run this morning, but I am still a bit blocked up so maybe tomorrow after a really early night tonight. I need to get Addi running again. She is getting bored in our small back yard as evidenced by her pulling all of the washing off the line yesterday and eating a few pairs of RunCarly's undies (yes that's right, she ate them!).

Improvement

The nagging sore throat has gone away, I feel a lot better, now all I have to do is get rid of this runny nose and I'll be back on the road. NO, I didn't go to the doctor, and I'm not going to now unless I get worse again.
Must be the therapeutic effect of the nice meal and wine I had yesterday at the Star of Greece Cafe. Quick mini review.
Food: very good but not many options for vegetarians. We had the roast pumpkin and almond ravioli on bed of spinach with creamy sauce (not sure of name).
Wine: Excellent wine list, very expensive but a lot of 'older' vintages. We had the 2001 Rosemount GSM which was beautiful.
Service: Disappointing. For the price (mains $25-35) and reputation of this place, it could be a lot better.
Views: Possibly the best seaside views of any restaurant/cafe in SA.
Score: 3.5 out of 5

:(

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Say no more.

Why am I feeling worse today?

Woke up this morning and felt worse than I have for almost a week. I've been sick for almost two weeks now and I haven't been running. I've been taking it easy and having fairly early nights, and still no improvement. I think I'll have a really early night tonight (wife and kids are away) and see how I feel tomorrow. If no improvement, I guess I'll have to get myself off to the doc. Good thing I pulled out of the Pichi Richi Marathon, there's no way I would be ready for it now, in fact Adelaide is looking a bit shaky too.

Not yet

Still no running, still feeling a little sick and starting to get rather pissed off. When will this thing go away?

Runner's World Photo

I was just flicking through Runner's World today and RunDave has made it into the results pages, albeit for an event that I walked in with my wife. We are pictured on page 68 (if you look it up you will reveal my secret identity). We were 35km through when the photo was taken so we look a bit knackered!

The article in RW on sleep was an eye-opener for me . I scored -1 in the sleep deprivation quiz, which may explain my run of illnesses. I will definitely be following some of the recommendations from the article.

Feeling even better today. I think I may even be able to go for a bit of a run on Sunday or Monday.

A little better

Still sick today. Took yesterday off work which was probably a good thing. Now I have to catch up with work. I'm itching to go for a run but I must resist the urge until I'm better. Otherwise I will just prolong the illness.

Fully sick!

I am sick today. It was inevitable I guess. I'll be taking it easy for a few days to see how it goes. I'm glad I didn't run on the weekend, it could have got really ugly.

You are an idiot RunDave!

After identifying that I might be a bit run down and taking it easy, I went and started this last week pretty hard. 16km on Monday, 6km on Tuesday, 10km on Thursday, then couldn't find time on Friday and Saturday. But then I decided to stay up all Saturday night watching trash on TV, the result: woke up Sunday morning feeling shit with a sore throat and slightly productive chest - nothing too bad. So I didn't do my long run again and I won't be running today either. Hopefully after some early nights and good food, I will be back up again later in the week. I am not going to make the same mistake as last year trying to run too early and getting sicker.

In other bad news, I definitely won't be running in the Pichi Richi Marathon. There is a writing workshop that I want to go to on that day in Darwin and I have changed my flights to accomodate it. Besides which, my plan to run the marathon, drive 3-4 hours back to Adelaide and catch a 630pm flight to Darwin was a bit shaky to start off with. Also, RunCarly (aka Mrs RunDave) was a bit worried about the lack of funds at the moment since we are renting and paying a mortgage until we sell our land.

Easy does it!

Ran 10k on Tuesday and Wednesday, then felt a bit run down on Thursday. Unlike in the past, I took this as a warning and had a couple of days off. I then ran 10k on Saturday with the dog and felt much better. Slept in this morning and then came in to uni so I will be doing my long run (ca 30k) tonight before going home.

Edit: Didn't do the long run. I'll have to try and fit it in later in the week.

Looong run

Went on a long run yesterday and it ended up being a lot longer than I intended (ie 29-30km). First I took the dog out for a run (sorry, still no photos) for 1hr 5min (probably 12km) then I dropped her at home and ran into uni and back (20ish km), stopping to talk to my mum (who I saw watching a hockey game so I went and had a chat for 10min) and to get some books from uni. I went home via our old house to see how some friends were going pulling up some floorboards which added another 2 km to the distance. So I ended up running 34-35 km (35 for the training diary!). The good news is that I feel really good today. This may be because of the recovery session that I did afterward ie. alternating hot shower to 1 minute in cold bath x3 finishing with a hot shower. The bad news is that I didn't get as much done at home as I had intended, oh well there's always another day.

Moving house sucks! II

This is how much it sucks. I haven't had time to update my blog due to: 1) too much work at the moment; 2) PC wasn't set up for a while at home; and 3), no time with all the moving and unpacking. I have been able to run however, and this is feeling pretty good.

I ran 28km on the weekend and will do another 30km this weekend. I have run home from work three times this week (still 10km from uni). I won't be able to run in the Barossa half marathon due to a big 30th birthday party on Saturday night, but this may actually help me get a few extra km up instead.

Mrs RunDave has cast some doubt over my participation in the Pichi Richi marathon due to lack of funds. I hope to win her over by entering a few less events as a compromise.

Moving house sucks!

Well we finished moving house yesterday. Now we can't find anything and we are trying to work out the idiosyncrasies of the new house. I managed to stay uninjured from the moving process although very sore muscles. I didn't get to run over the weekend though. I might try and get a long run in early tomorrow morning. I hope everyone went well in the GO marathon. I saw some photos on the web and I am very envious.

In another blow to my marathon running plans, my mate who lived in Port Augusta has moved up to Leigh Creek, so I won't be able to stay with them now. Hopefully I'll still be able to go and stay in the Quorn Caravan Park.

Race Envy

Ran home last night and ran into uni this morning. Feeling pretty good. Missed my run on Wednesday due to moving house issues. Don't know how much I'll be able to do over the long weekend since we are moving and clearing a lot of stuff out of the house. Hopefully I'll be able to do a long run on Sunday morning (very early). A lot of SARRC people are going over to the Great Ocean Road Marathon this weekend. Good luck to anyone going in this event. I wish I was there. Fingers crossed that I don't injure my back over the weekend (Must remember to stretch!).

Getting a bit lazy with the blog, but we are in the process of moving at the moment. Missed my long run on Sunday due to some GI problems, so I moved it to Monday night. Found it pretty hard going in the darkness even though I had my head torch, but clocked up around 24km which was my long run goal for this week. Ran a few hills too. Including last night, I ran 51km last week and I hope to increase that to 55-56km this week. Legs have finally recovered from the half marathon although I did feel the soreness creeping back in towards the end of my long run.

Still sore

Went for a 6-7km run with Addi (a 4 yo female GSP) this morning and found it really tough. Legs are still very sore and heavy from the weekend but I think the run may have helped. We will be packing all our stuff and moving to a rental property over the next few weeks. We'll be staying there for about 12 months. I should be able to keep the running up over the next week or two provided I'm not too sore from moving furniture (Note to self: warmup and stretch before lifting heavy objects). The house is closer to West beach and about the same distance from Uni so if my runs decrease in length I may be able to get in one more session a week. We'll have to take Addi out running more often now anyway because the house has a smaller yard.

Race plan, what raceplan?

Yesterday I ran in my second Greenbelt half marathon. I was hoping for a time of under 1:30. My time last year was 1:22.37, but this year in the lead up I haven't been doing any long runs, just long walks in preparation for the 61k SCC last weekend. I had a race plan and pace wristband printed out and everything, but as soon as the gun went off, I bolted and forgot about tactics totally. Before I knew it, I was running 1:20 pace! Anyway, by about 12-13km I was really feeling it, my pace dropped back and I was just running to finish. I was overtaken by a couple of guys, but I did overtake a couple myself, so my pace couldn't have been too bad. Finished in 1: 28.06. I'm fairly happy with this given my recent training, but I will have to up the mileage (especially on the long runs) if I want to make it to the Pichi Richi marathon in July.

 

Also, I lost my dog tag during the race (stupid, I know). I'm hoping someone will find it and call me.

--
"No, try not. Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

Email Blog

We'll see how this goes. Ran home from West Beach last night for an 8k tempo run. Did a pretty good time but it was hard work. I just entered the Greenbelt half marathon for sunday. I'll start out at 1:30 pace then push it harder if I feel better. That's 4:15 min/km and my 5k splits should be 21:15, 42:30, 1:03:45 and 1:25:00.

--
"No, try not. Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

Running keeps me regular

Warning: Do not read if you are offended by bodily functions!

Hadn't run for four days not including the walk on the weekend until last night when I ran home the 8Km from West Beach. I know I had been feeling a bit "bound up" over that time, so it was no surprise that as I was about half way home, I suddenly needed to go quite badly. I made it home and made a b-line for the loo. What a relief!

Anyway, legs felt a bit heavy still from the walk, but the blisters and other soreness were OK, so I think I might make it to the start of the Greenbelt Half Marathon on the weekend. I've put on a few kilos and I haven't been logging huge miles lately, so I think I might aim for 1:30 and reassess as I'm running.

Southern Charity Challenge

Yesterday Mrs RunDave and I walked 61km in the southern charity challenge, an event to raise money for oxfam. The course started at Goolwa, followed a bike track all the way to the bluff at Encounter Bay, over the bluff and around Petrel Cove, inland to Back Valley, and around a 23km loop to Mt Robinson and back to Back Valley hall. We started at 9am and finished 10 hours 15 minutes later. We somehow finished first, although there were only five other teams doing the 61km event and I'm not sure how many of those teams actually finished.

Other teams or individuals chose to do 15, 21 or 35 km events, with a total of around 180 people taking part. At the start, all of those running the 15 and half marathon, and one couple who were aiming to run the 61km took off into the distance, while we kept pace with most of the other walkers. At 15 and 21 km we walked past many walkers who had just finished who showed great surprise that we were continuing on to 60km at that pace.

The day was really warming up, and as we reached the 35km checkpoint, we found out that the couple who were running the 60 had to pull out due to the heat. With 25km to go we were feeling very good, but that changed as our feet started to get sore from walking over the rough roads on the 23km loop around Back Valley. A couple of Neurofens and the realisation that we were near the finish helped us to get through the last 12 or so km. We walked the last 3km along bitumen to the finish in 24 minutes! So happy were we to be just about to finish.

I must say how proud I am of Mrs RunDave to not only finish this event, but also how she powered through it oblivious to the pain in her legs and feet. Being more accustomed to running long distances, I found walking 61km very tough, and my legs were extremely sore at the end (plus a few blisters in odd places). I can't wait to do some more long distance events with her - maybe with some running next time!

Finally, thanks to the organiser of the event, Brad Butler. He does a great job putting this event together largely by himself. The run/walk has a fairly casual feel to it but it is extremely well organised. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to participate in this type of event, and I reckon it would be even better with a larger field. I think it will be on April 8 next year (to coincide with the full moon).