I've moved!

Again...

ellieboyd.wordpress.com

I like writing. I like my computer. Blogging seems like a good forum for such things :)

i feel like I've left some people behind!

If you haven't come to visit at the new blog please do!

here: http://ellieboyd.typepad.com

we are very hospitable over there :)

my bloglines seems to be a bit stuffed too - sorry if I haven't commented lately!

it is time...

we have lift off!

The new blog is up and running so please come and visit and update your bloglines etc. The first post is a bit wordy... :) But don't worry - there will be a running related post just as soon as I go for my run today! Please come along for the ride!

Thanks old blog for the good times xxxx

(Must work out how to back it up - I don't have to cut and paste into word do I???)

running as panacaea?

I had a lovely night last night at the Striders awards dinner where there were some excellent awards for some well know coolrunner/striders. Good work to everyone who won and it was nice to see so many familiar faces. It was also really cool to hear Kerryn McCann speak and also to give a commentary on the last kilometre or so the Commonwealth Games 2006 marathon in Melbourne which many of us remember. I remember it as the first time I had watched a running race with the interest of a runner. I had tears in my eyes that day and was jumping around like a lunatic. So it was very cool to hear from kerryn's perspective!

Then I thought that it was a great idea to head out for some drinking and dancing. It definitely was, but when the alarm went off at an obscene hour of the morning, and in fact 2 hrs and 45 mins after I went to bed, it was not very pleasant. I nearly stayed in bed and I could have but something just dragged me out. I think it was catching up with Lulu and the fact that it is always a really enjoyable morning of running. Lulu didn't end up coming but it was still gorgeous out there.

I really surprised myself with my run. I went out at the 32 minute mark as I wasn't sure how I'd hold up or whether I would need a pit stop. In the end I felt pretty comfortable and stuck at 5.20ish pace which bought me home in 26.57. If you'd told me that I could (reasonably) comfortably do 5 k in that time a year ago I would have thought you were nuts. Now it turns out that is simply the case.

A few highlights of the day included seeing Gnome looking so strong in his first hard hit out back from injury, meeting MissZ and having a good chat on the run back, breakfast with the crew and delicious avocado and mushroom on toast. Mmmm.

All up 10k with first 5k in 26.57 and second just under 5k in 30.13.

Any I think that running is now officially a good hangover cure because I feel great now! Although I suspect that it is all a matter of degree...

EDIT - thanks to Lulu the list of performance related fundraising measures is increasing! Like I don't have enough KPI's at work!!!! The latest is a km related donation for Gold Coast with a double-up if I do sub 2hrs....

Sweat and bribery

So people (you know who you are :) )are coming up with some very creative ways of donating to my NY fundraising drive. In particular, one lovely coolrunner has committed to donating $10 for each Sweat session that I attend between now and then (40ish I think) and $100 when I break 2 hours for the 1/2 marathon.

All very good incentives (although as I believe someone may have said - surely having to run a marathon is enough incentive to go to training!!!!).

And having attended the first Sweat since that deal, $10 is in the bank :)

Actually I had a great session this morning. I was feeling good. I had 5 x 400's on the program, and for once Sean didn't increase my reps or distances! not everyone fared so well though, I think it was because of the 1/2 on Sunday.

The garmin measured the courses slightly long at 420m but I trust Sean's roller and I was happy with the times anyway. Its practically cross country so I am always interested in how much difference it would make to run on the track. Up at Jindabyne I was running them (at least one!) 10 seconds quicker on the measured track.

Anyway - my times were: 1.49, 1.48, 1.49, 1.53, 1.48. I was really happy with that effort. When I add my 3.85k warm up and 2.3k cooldown it was a good day and 8.2ish km.

Sweet!

All recovered

After the half I was feeling a bit of DOMS - but not too much so I can't complain. Monday was a rest day and I just walked in to work which was a good stretch of the legs (4k). Yesterday I had a massage with Easy Tiger which was great. my quads feel heaps better now. I was supposed to run for 29 mins but instead I walked to and from work which is about 8k for the day.

This morning I was keen to get out again and do my 28 minutes as scheduled. I did so - the garmin was playing up though. It wouldn't lock to a satellite and was having me at 15min k's for a while. Then suddenly it clicked through 4k and I was doing 4.47. Doesn't really matter but it felt like 6.20's...ish :)


I am looking out my window and there is a little white cockatoo have an absolute ball. We are at about 10 stories here and he has found a little light fitting attached to a building that he can perch on. He sits there and every now and then jumps off and freefalls and then comes up and does it again. Having a grand old time I think!

Sub 2 hour goal lives to see another half marathon...

ok - no sub 2 hour today - but I have never been this happy to get a personal worst!!

My time was 2.06.xx - definitely no land speed record - but I have to say that I am pretty happy. It is a very solid long run and I think I have only run for 2 hours about twice this year so it was also a good lesson in 'why long runs are important if you want to run half or full marathons'. Lesson learned :)

I started out too slow today which is a new place for me to be!! I never felt like I got in a rhythm either. I started right at the back. It took 4 1/2 mins to get across the starting mats which is fine in terms of time but worked out badly because the crowd was a little slower than I wanted to be and it was only after a couple of k of cruising that I realised this and made an effort to speed up. By that time I was well down on my goal splits and no matter how hard I pushed (and it felt like I was pushing hard!!!!) I kept slipping back on those splits.

But i still took a lot out of the run. I can run a half marathon! Just as there is too fast there is also too slow. Make sure I think about how I am going to anchor the gels I am carrying before I leave the house. I think with the longer runs I run better with no music... (doh!!). I have lots of lovely friends such as Sam who ran up the footpath on hunter st on my second lap just to keep me company despite a near stress fracture, and Lulu and WTR who ferried me to and from the venue and ensured I was fed and watered :)

I also got to meet some other people who will be running in New York with me - and I proudly ran in my new Heart Foundation top!

shameless plug below :)

heartchallengesny.kintera.org/ellieboyd