Lost and Longest Run of the year

As of this week, Steven and I have lived here in North Sydney for 4 months. I've done countless runs around our neighbourhood, often venturing outside my regular run routes and discovering new parks. 

Still, my favourite run is my "same old same old" route. It is essentially a bush-walk / trail-run route that goes through Berry's Reserve, through Oyster's Bay, and a loop around Ball's Head Reserve. 

Yet, as I set out today to do this run, somehow my brain managed to turn itself "off" (as if it's ever "on"!) and....

I got lost, and somehow managed the longest run ever to record on my Garmin, which means it's the longest run I've done this year. HUZZAH! 

I've also discovered some new MEAN hills on this route, and I loved it! I went out feeling really strong and ran my energy all out. 

I'm probably not going to qualify for any crazy races with these speeds, but I'm definitely improving, both in speed and distance.

You can see where I got my water / walk break at Mile 3. The water fountain is at the bottom of a hill, which was scary to speed down; it's like at 90 degrees. I decided to walk back up for fear of killing my glutes / puking up all the water I just drank. 

Do you know that feeling of coming home, hot, sweaty, tired, thirsty, and taking that first gulp of icy cold Gatorade? Cue angels singing "Hallelujah"! I might have to seriously begin thinking about bringing water/gatorade on my runs with me; if only I didn't hate carrying things while I run.

After a sweet, hot shower, I got on my new Pro Compression socks. I got the extra smalls this time, and they still fit perfectly.

Lunch was an omlette with all the random odds and ends in the fridge (eggplant, tomatoes, haloumi cheese, and thai basil that I'll be using forever; why can't they sell smaller bunches of herbs?!).

Now I'm hankering for an afternoon snack of some sort, like a Chocolate Cake or cookie or something. I might go out for some later, but Lazy has got a tight grip on me right now, so I absolutely cannot leave the couch. 

Running is helping my Ashtanga backbends?!

Woah, woah, woooaahh, something crazy happened this morning.

I woke up, had a coffee, and was about to start my Ashtanga home practice when I decided that my brain was way too BUSY and I needed to exhaust it so I could concentrate.

So I got my gear on and ran.

I hit the hills as hard as I could, and ran my heart out. 

My stats:

I came home and rolled out my yoga mat.

Instead of the classic series of standing poses (uttanasana, trikonasana, pari trik, parsvo, etc. etc.) I did a strong standing posture sequence on Yogaglo. Forty-five minutes later, I turned off the computer and settled down for some seated postures. 

By this time, I was pretty tired. My rambling brain had finally shut up.

I did Janushirsasana variations, visited Marichiyasana and its friends, trembled my way through Navasana, Bhujapidasana, Kurmasana, and then back bends. 

I stood up and dropped back. And stood up.

And did it again, and again. 

And it was surprisingly easy. 

Harnessing the power in the quads, the forward pull of the pelvis, the "Stand Up!" feeling--all of that was EASY. I believe the hill running beforehand fired up those fast-twitch muscles in my quads that give that really strong, abrupt pull. You don't get powerful movements like that from the slow-twitch, oxidative muscles that is built by mid to long distance runs, or long holds in Warrior 2.

For most of last year, running and Ashtanga were enemies fighting for control of my body. 

I feel like finally, today, I got them to be friends!

Pepper burns, milk hands, run scars

Last night was one of the more eventful nights in our humble household in North Sydney.

It started off really well.

I had a good day at work. I found some beautiful mushrooms at the local grocer's near work, and I came home to make this beautiful, healthful and delicious meal:

A giant mushroom cap was our "burger". Steven and I split the burger bun, because we're not so much into the carbs, and we topped it with cheese, thinly sliced red onions, lettuce, and avocados.

I made green bean fries on the side.

I also decided to make that beautiful red tomato salsa, bottom right. We had fresh baby tomatoes, so I wanted to do them in a way that brought out their sweetness.

Just for kicks, I cut up a little chili pepper to add some heat.

Halfway through dinner, my left hand is tingling and I don't know why. I do the dishes, return to the table, and before I know it, I've got full out burning in my left hand.

It felt like I was being pierced with flaming hot machetes, and that my hand would at any moment fall off.

Google told me to try a bunch of things: ketchup, milk, lime, hand lotion, soap.

Milk hands worked for a bit, but the burning came back.

I think I really sealed my fate by washing my hands in warm water after making dinner. The water probably opened my pores, let in all those capsacin devils, and they drilled deep down in the layers of my epidermis like microscopic hedge-hogs from hell.

Eventually, I got too tired to try any more goop on my poor macerated hand and fell asleep.

About 3 AM, I woke to no pain, and thought, "Huh. Guess it went away." And went back to sleep.

The next morning was hard.

Running low on sleep, my eyes burning from contact with my hands and my contact lenses, I had zero focus and barely got through the sun salutations that start off every Ashtanga practice.

Eventually, I crawled back into bed and slept in.

It was just one of those days.

Luckily, today is a Wednesday. That means Bay Run. I was looking forward to this all day long.

This is how we get pumped up for 7K of awesomeness: Harlem shake (or epileptic fit)?

I put in a really decent run, especially with all the hills I've been training on in my 'hood.

Plus, we had this guy join our group today. Great energy, but the collapsing half-way is something he really needs to work on with his coach.

Incidentally, this also happened:

My second official running war wound!! (My first is a sports bra chafe that you don't need to see or know about.)

I tripped on a dark patch of pavement and fell!

I THINK I'M OFFICIALLY A RUNNER NOW!

Stats:
32:24 min
3.18 miles
10:11 min/mile

Am I running too fast?

I have a pain in my bum.

Again.

I've done a better job tracking my pace since starting this Half-Mary training thing, and also thanks to my sister's handy excel document-tationing.

Today I ran a 6.38 pace up two hills.

And on Monday, when the pain started, I ran a 5.97 pace.

I was in a hurry because I had to do this:

When I left for my run she was already whining and begging. So I hurried back to walk her.

During our walk, we scared a hawk out of a tree.

Or, it thought my dog was a squirrel, and decided to attack.

I begged it not to eat my squirrel-dog and it flew away.

Then, I blew a rainbow out of my magic hands.

I'm a care bear.

This post totally makes sense.

Energizer Night Race

10 K in 1:01:58

5K split 29:22

6:09/K pace

I placed 531 overall, and 65 in my age group!

Not bad for my first race.

The day started rainy and miserable, and I wondered if it were possible to run at all. Considering Energizer is a night race...

Rain + Dark = I'm Not Doing It.

Then, by mid-afternoon the skies cleared and we even got some blue!

So I grabbed the race shirt and got ready:

I was prancing around quite excited, and quite early, and Two-Two thought I was taking her out.

Instead I sat on the couch, waiting for my friend to pick me up.

There was no parking close to the race site, so we parked at the furthest lot and took a shuttle.

I figured out the head gear the day before.

Thoughts while running:

(no photos because, well, I was a bit busy, and I don't have a small camera or one of those nifty packs to carry things)

"I've never seen so many bums moving in unison in front of me!"

"How does anyone run when you're packed like a sardine? This isn't running--it's shuffling."

"That girl thinks this is a HILL? She hasn't seen a hill."  <--- I run in a valley, so I'm going uphill all. the. time.

"That old guy is going at a good pace! Imma catch him."

It turns out the old guy went at EXACTLY my pace. It was perfect. He sped down the downhills, kept his leg turnover rate high on the uphills, and pushed through the flat parts. I kept pace behind him for the last half of the race, and I owe  him a lot of my success!

I'm super happy with my 1:01 for a first race, and how easy it felt. I was hardly out of breath by the end, so the last 500 meters was a mad dash so I could get panting.

Overall, I loved the enthusiasm and general hype of a race, but I hate running like a sardine.



The next day, a bunch of friends and I went out for breakfast at my new favorite place. Over breakfast, Jen and I decided to do a half-marathon training plan, but not sign up for a race.

We're going to try a nice steady increase in mileage over the weeks, and stay accountable for our runs with our blogs and the fact that we live together cuz she can smell it when I don't run because it doesn't stank of Sandy in the house.

Completely unrelated note:

Everyone saw him put strawberry jam on his potatoes, so now you know I'm not exaggerating!

What a loveable weirdo.