old lady running

The really long run (getting ready to go the distance) This week I am preparing for the long run. 28 kms of it, to be exact. Which is a thoroughly epic distance for me. In honour of the occasion I have been preparing all week. Actually, the main thing I have been doing to prepare is NOTHING. I have prescribed myself ‘rest and relaxation’. The injured toe has given me the perfect excuse to do not very much.   But this weekend all that will change. If I want to run this marathon the long run is crucial. There is no escaping it.   During the week my toe has been iced to near extinction, bound in bandaides, and dowsed with anti inflammatories. After such intense treatment   I am hoping it won’t let me down. This practice run will be crucial in determining how my body will cope help with the 42 km challenge in October. Most importantly, it will help me sort out what I need to eat and drink to go the distance. So today I am shopping for supplies.   First on the list is a

What to do with a broken toe! It’s week 11 of training. But it’s has been ‘one of those weeks’. It all started with an unexpected head cold. A running nose. A pounding head. A barking cough. Throat on fire. The works.   Then the hubby went off to China for a week, which meant I had to keep the home fires burning on my own. (We have a very labour-intensive fire that requires much hauling of wood -)   I also had lots of extra tutoring to do, which meant long hours at the workplace.   It was all getting bit knackering. Then. . . To top it all off. . .   I think I broke my toe. I know! Careless! Stupid!   Unlucky! It was one of those ridiculous accidents involving a bare right foot, a chair leg and a very innocent little ‘clip’. I didn’t think much of it at the time. A slight shriek, some mad hopping, a few swear words, and that was it. Because it was 8:30 on a Saturday morning and I had a two hour run to complete. There was no time for fuss. This run was har

It’s the Dunedin half marathon. Here we are, all lined up, at the start line. And its all arms and legs, shoulders and   elbows, knees and shins. Nervous breathing and jogging on the spot, frantic last minute gulps of sports drink.   Calf stretches and hamstring strapping. Heavy sighs and nervous chatter. On your marks Get set   Go! The race is jammed packed and at the start it’s all ‘jostle, jostle, jostle’. It’s a case of finding your pace, calming the nerves and settling in for the race. For me ‘race’ is too strong a word. I don’t actually want to beat anyone here. (Not that I could. LOL) All I want is to go the distance. And going the distance, for me, will require a very long slow plod.   Although I am ready for this, the nerves are firing. My inner coach has leapt to the fore to wave her pointy stick about. As usual, she’s giving me a lecture. Like. . . . “What the heck are you doing, girl??!” “OMG - there are a thousand hills in this race.”   “

Ready to race (Blogpost 10, in which I learn that there is a whole lot more to running a race than actually running a race) Having just completed the Dunedin half-marathon on Sunday I have learned a few things about running events. The first thing is   -   I will never be able to run as fast as my daughter (not in a million years!) and the second is, I will never be one of those really organised people who are good at preparing for races! Who knew that entering a half marathon would require so much organisation? Aside from the training there are a million things to think about -   like, registration and transport and what to wear and what to eat and how to get to the start line and where to park and what to take and what to drink and how to stretch and when to poo and whether to run the day before and what to do afterwards. And, of course, there’s the stretching. . .   Always the stretching. . .   If you thought running was just running you are wrong. ‘Running’ is ac