Karen writes: Not much
Haven't written much lately, but really haven't felt like I've been achieving much. Except for things which don't bear close scrutiny, such as eating the entire contents of a very large box of chocolates all by myself over the space of a week. I blame the fact that the whanau has been away for the school holidays, this has deactivated the 'set a good example' form of dietary control which I tend to rely on quite heavily. Closely related is the "who ate all my chocolates" phenomenon, also quite useful for minimising dietary excess and also absent in recent times.
The forestry behind Maraetai being open again after the long dry summer has meant that when I have run I have been able to get out on the bush trails I love. I realise though as I slow to a walk to go up hills I used to at least attempt to run, that I am still a bit short on fitness, not sure if that is physical or mental though. Think probably the latter, I just don't feel like putting myself through any discomfort at all...yes, wimpy...do I need to worry about that right now...nope. The excuse of 'recovering' from Ironman has just about worn out though and the spectre of the next Ironman looms on the horizon just 10 months away now.
I am very curious about what the Rotorua marathon experience is going be like having used the 'senior running programme' per Higgins. 3 runs and a total average of somewhere around just 40kms per week, doesn't seem like a lot of effort to get ready for something like a marathon. I guess I will find out in just 2 more days.
I am actually really looking forward to Saturday, quite apart from the absolute treat of a girls weekend away with Kate and 1000's of other potential temporary running 'friends', with the best ever excuse to overeat, it will be good to put my body back under some sort of pressure and see how it copes. My time goal is 5 hours instead of the usual (and never actually achieved) 4 1/2 hours. There may also be a more somber mood this year, the organisers have asked runners to wear black armbands to remember the Boston Marathon bombing.
Anyway, I went for a gentle 5km run last night, my knee started twinging at 3km, so I happily walked. It was a beautiful evening, and I reflected that after this weekend I am going to have to figure out what to do next to keep some sort of momentum going until my next planned big event, the Zaragoza marathon in Spain which isn't until September. I am starting to learn key phrases already...like "estoy perdido" which is "I am lost" and "donde han ido los corredores?" translating roughly to "where did the runners go?".
I LOVE the bunnies with the earphones on the marathon website, not sure quite what message to take out of the picture though, everyone is going to be running like rabbits? Sponsored by the rabbit industry? MP3 players mandatory?
The forestry behind Maraetai being open again after the long dry summer has meant that when I have run I have been able to get out on the bush trails I love. I realise though as I slow to a walk to go up hills I used to at least attempt to run, that I am still a bit short on fitness, not sure if that is physical or mental though. Think probably the latter, I just don't feel like putting myself through any discomfort at all...yes, wimpy...do I need to worry about that right now...nope. The excuse of 'recovering' from Ironman has just about worn out though and the spectre of the next Ironman looms on the horizon just 10 months away now.
I am very curious about what the Rotorua marathon experience is going be like having used the 'senior running programme' per Higgins. 3 runs and a total average of somewhere around just 40kms per week, doesn't seem like a lot of effort to get ready for something like a marathon. I guess I will find out in just 2 more days.
I am actually really looking forward to Saturday, quite apart from the absolute treat of a girls weekend away with Kate and 1000's of other potential temporary running 'friends', with the best ever excuse to overeat, it will be good to put my body back under some sort of pressure and see how it copes. My time goal is 5 hours instead of the usual (and never actually achieved) 4 1/2 hours. There may also be a more somber mood this year, the organisers have asked runners to wear black armbands to remember the Boston Marathon bombing.
Anyway, I went for a gentle 5km run last night, my knee started twinging at 3km, so I happily walked. It was a beautiful evening, and I reflected that after this weekend I am going to have to figure out what to do next to keep some sort of momentum going until my next planned big event, the Zaragoza marathon in Spain which isn't until September. I am starting to learn key phrases already...like "estoy perdido" which is "I am lost" and "donde han ido los corredores?" translating roughly to "where did the runners go?".
I LOVE the bunnies with the earphones on the marathon website, not sure quite what message to take out of the picture though, everyone is going to be running like rabbits? Sponsored by the rabbit industry? MP3 players mandatory?
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