Karen writes: Time to change gear

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After what turned out to be a couple of light training weeks...ha ha...I am ready to get moving again with a view to doing a better job of the Rotorua Marathon which is in just under 7 weeks time.  I plan on bringing my time down, wanting under 4 1/2 hours for the 42km if that is physically possible.  The photos also came back from Taupo, I am not in the least bit tempted to buy them, partly because it wasn't the looked forward to real event, but also there is nothing like unflattering shots in lycra AND neoprene to make you think seriously about how losing a few kgs might be a worthwhile investment if you want to stride it out in public again...weight loss is not sensible in the latter stages of a serious training programme, no excuse right now however, except for an ongoing case of the impossible hungries.

So I had a short run on Saturday evening to see if the legs were going to work, and then a lovely 16km run on Sunday which reinforced the fact...that yes the legs do still work (why did I think they wouldn't?).  I now feel like I am over the unplanned rest period, and am ready to go.

I dug out the programme Grant put together for Perth way back in...July 2011...and there seemed to be lots of days off (at least 2 a week, that is a luxury) and I had forgotten that you only do ONE session a day on a marathon programme!. I remember now though all those nasty hill thingys, intervals, tempo plus runs which I have to admit to being a bit, actually, a lot slack on.   Hmmm, I really didn't like them all those months ago, perhaps they will mean more now that I have different goals and am looking from a different perspective.

So while before I went to Taupo I was told not to ask for a programme until I had had a couple of weeks off after Ironman, I figure since it wasn't Ironman at all but actually just an abnormally short training week, its time to get back on the metaphorical training horse and say "please, I now want to go FASTER".  Who would have thought the original plodder would say that?

Hopefully I will get over it soon.

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