Monday 20th June - I now have a heavy head cold, and I've been coughing for 3 weeks.  This is a little tiresome, I'm afraid.  Still working very hard on my knee - more foam roller work and stretching.

Tuesday - An adjustment at the chiropractor, including a tremendous crack in my left foot (cuboid issue from the slip last week, and my presumed cause of re aggravated knee pain).  Then a run - 4x 4 min pieces.  Slow to start, but improved.  Good speed despite head full of muck.

Wednesday - very much work, so no yoga, but a massage - the bruises were remarked on (from foam rollering), but I think I am making headway here.

Thursday - still not well, so I will do my long run in the morning, and hope I am doing better by the weekend for my sprint session.  I feel like there is little point doing a sprint session (5 x 1000m) today when I am coughing and spluttering all over the place.   Just getting to work has been effort enough, but I seem to be doing better than my younger staff members who have all been off in the last few weeks.    I also realised today that with my extra bits and pieces, I am working 5.5 days this week - no wonder I feel run off my feet and am struggling to fit everything in.  It is also my kid week, so trying not to short change them in the process.

Friday - just some stretching

Saturday - Strong core class

Sunday - 60 min run, 3x 1000m sprints.  I was meant to do 5 reps, but with my cold, and the fact I am getting closer to my 10k TT next sunday, and the fact I was running slower than a snail, I figured 3 was a good effort.  A nasty tummy cramp on the way home that had me walking for longer than I usually do on my warm down.  But then off to yoga.  I was in two minds with my sore tummy, but I went, and I was glad.  A good hard session, much puffing (and coughing and nose blowing - stoopid head cold), but very glad I went.  Then I pulled up half a house of carpet in the afternoon.  I think I'll be sore tomorrow.

Monday 13th June - a public holiday so a chance to go for my run a bit later (instead of on tuesday, where I would have to do it in the dark).  It was terribly cold - the clear sky tricked into thinking it would be warm and I immediately regretted my decision to run in a singlet!  But it was a good session.  A long warm up again, 10 km run with 3x5 minutes pieces at 10k race pace.

Tuesday - myofascial release with the foam roller again.  Much less sore!

Wednesday - I decided to run at lunchtime.  A beautiful and almost warm sunny day, despite a volcanic ash cloud way up high.  6x 600m sprints, around and around Kensington oval.  Worked very hard, very lactatey (it's not a word, but you know how it feels....), and very virtuous.  Stretch out again well tomorrow

Actually, I read this blog today and it resonated.  I have long maintained (years and years) that the hardest part of going for a run was tying your shoes, and I have challenged that belief with a lot of the workload stuff I have done in recent months.  There have been much harder parts of the training than tying my shoes and todays session was proof of that.  But I have never regretted getting out there, never regretted doing a session.  It feels good. It is such a privilege to have a body that can move well (I have never actually watched myself run, you see!!), that is strong, healthy and able.  It is something that I do try to celebrate every day, and be thankful for.  And I am going to get to run in New York - yay!!

Thursday - Well, I jinxed myself a little.  I slept 2 hours last night because my knee was so sore.  I didn't stretch enough after yesterdays run, I was too cold through the afternoon and evening, and the slight left foot sprain on monday that hurt ever so slightly when running yesterday must have changed my mechanics enough that my claf went into overdrive and my knee has ached unremittingly since midnight on wednesday.

Preggie class stretch, along with much other stretching.

Friday - big myofascial release session.  Can't wait for yoga tomorrow.

Saturday - 90 mins yoga - back bends this week.  My least favourite session, but I feel better for it.

I also did my 60 minute run.  My knee hurt.  Not happy - the first time my knee has been sore while I have been running.  I have been doing all I can to settle it down.

Sunday - a day at home with the kids.  No training.  Still knee rehabbing.

Another fundraising event!!

On Sunday 3rd July I will be hosting a family fun day at

Team Trampoline

239 The Parade, Norwood

(cnr Portrush Rd and The Parade)

From 1- 4pm come and have a jump on the competition grade equipment with expert supervision and tips from Brian at Team Trampoline.  Kids and adults can all have a turn - upto 30 people in the room at once.

Charlie will be busy on the sausage sizzle, and we will have soft drinks and gourmet cupcakes available for sale to keep your energy levels up!

Only $5 entry, must wear clean socks to jump.

Please contact me via this page if you would like to come along - this will help us with catering.

All proceeds will go to the Jodi Lee Foundation, contributing towards my $10 000 target to raise awareness for bowel cancer screening.  My marathon training is on track, still working mainly on leg speed and about to start the longer km's to build further endurance.  150 days to go as of today!!

For more information on Team Trampoline, please call Brian on 0458 426 533

We had a fantastic day today at Team Trampoline - over 50 kids jumped through the afternoon, Charlie cooked up a storm on the sausage sizzle which was largely donated by Bakers Delight, Walkerville Meat Store, and Foodland Kensington Park - a big thank you to those businesses for their support!!!

I will try to load some pictures up from the afternoon  :-)

Monday 6th June 2011 - still not feeling well, despite having a quieter weekend.  Busy week with the kids and the running around... but I'm determined to get back on track now.

Tuesday - 5 x 4 mins at race pace with 2.5 minutes recovery.  It was my afternoon gymnastics run and I made sure I did a longer one as part of it - I have tended to do most of my sessions at a minimum total distance, just warming up for 10 minutes, doing the workload, then heading home.   This time, I did 19 mins warm up and 12 mins cool down (30 mins workload) and walked another 10 mins back to the gym.  I felt really good.  It was not hard to maintain a much more consistent race pace of 4.30 /km and although I was coughing up a bit of stuff from my chest, it didn't slow me down too much.  The weather has gotten cold, however - much snow in the East ready for the ski season to start on the weekend (not that that will affect me) but there is a crispness in the air, often all day long.

Wednesday - Yoga, 110 minutes today - she ran overtime!!  And today is 150 days to go - it's moved fast from 200 to go.  Nearly time to get serious about this........

Thursday - sprint session.  Up very early to do 3x300m and 4x1000m 'sprints'.  This is the session I did after the half marathon and really couldn't get my legs to turn at all - it was the one session I didn't complete as programmed.  So this one hung over my head a little.  

I  did an awful lot of talking to myself during it - this is the session that increases lactate tolerance, this is the session that really makes a difference.  These pieces were about a minute for the 300m and 4- 4.20 for the 1000m, with only 90 seconds recovery between pieces - definitely lactate tolerance pushing territory.  And the sort of session I do not want to do in the afternoon.  And I did good.  Because it was dark and slippery on the road (wet) I ran on Park Rd for the 300m sets and then onto the park for the 1000m pieces.  When my pace in the 1000m started to drop toward 4.20, I'd gee up a bit again, keep trying to turn those legs over faster.  To think that real marathoners run the whole thing in better than 4 minute pace!!  The last one was really  hard - slower but I was working hard and pushed through, despite the very uninspiring time.  

Good session.

Friday - myofascial release session.  I have done a bit of this along the way, particularly of my ITB on my outer thigh.  I have not done my calf before.  Perhaps this is why my left knee was sore at night all week.  Given how much it hurt to be rolling around on the floor at work with my foam roller to release some of this, I can't help but feel it must have contributed.  I must now bring one home to do it more regularly.

Saturday - strong core class stretch out.

15 km long slow run.  It felt long and slow.  Ave pace 5.50 / km.  But my longest run in about 6 weeks, I think.  Will need much engaging listening material for my really long runs in the next few months!

Sunday - a night spent in the Barossa Valley at the gorgeous Miner's Cottage with our friends Godfrey and Samantha.  A superlative host, and magnificent dinner bed and breakfast with sparkling conversation and non sparkling wine.  I felt I probably needed to run home from the Barossa, but I didn't bring my shoes.  Wonderful!