9 more Sleeps

Yes, just nine more sleeps and I am off to the US on my big adventure. I have been taking the training pretty easy, which means I have hardly done any in the last week. Yesterday I did 16k from Park Road with Tigger. We averaged 4:57 which was OK. However while I was running I was thinking how am I ever going to maintain this pace for 42.2K. It never fails to astound me that I am able to run the actual marathon at a faster pace. I do have to be careful though, and regulate my pace well in order to run the whole three.

Yesterday Tigger introduced me to friend of hers who has lived in New York and run the marathon twice. He was able to share some of his experience which was very helpful e.g because the race finishes in Centarl Park be mentally prepared for the fact that once you first enter Cenral Park you still have about 3.5 miles to the finish line.

Ghicago in 3 Weeks

Whow! I can't believe it, only three weeks until the Chicago Marathon. My bib # is 2039. I guess I had better start tapering.

Tigger and I did 31K this morning. Craig is away on holidays with his family. We ran from Park Road and did the circuit via tha Goodwill bridge, Highgate Hill, Brisbane Corso, Tennyson, Chelmer, Indooroopilly, UQ and Coronation Drive. The storm season has started early this year. We had storms last night so it was fairly humid this morning, though not too bad. As I am typng I can hear another storm rolling in. The thunder sounds almost continuous so it is hard to judge how far away it is. We don't usually get the storms until October.

I was having a look at photos of the 2007 Niagara Falls Marathon. I can't believe the amount of cloths the runners were wearing. I must have been quite cold. That makes me a be nervous. I haven't had much cold weather running experience really. It did get down to -2 here early in August so I wore a long sleeve top and cotton gloves, However the runners in the photos are wearing long pants, jackets, beanies, thick gloves etc. That's scarey! Singlet, shorts, and a cap may be a little underdone I think.

Twice over the Mountain

Tigger has decided to enter and a 62K ultra which is to be held on 5 October. This ultra marathon inlcudes running up Tambourine Mountain. Tigger did warn Craig and I that she was keen to do hills today, so when we met at Park Road this morning it was decided that we should do a double loop around Mt Coot-tha. I didn't exactly feel in the frame of mind to tackle such a tough run but had suspected that it might be on the program.

It was a terrific morning for running, and except for the long hall up the hill on each loop it was a very enjoyable run. I was concerned whether or not it was the right thing for Craig to be doing since he didn't have a very good run last Sunday, however, he had rested all week and assured us that he would be OK. As it turned out he was, and made it back to Park Road without taking any shortcuts.

Having run the mountain, I am pleased to say that my legs feel good. There is no stiffness or soreness so it would seem that my training is on track and going well. As I have said to my travelling buddies, Darryl and Gidget, the training isn't just about getting you across the finish line, it is also about how quickly you recover after the race. When you have places to go and things to see, as we will on our trip, the recovery time will be very important.

Ah! That's better!

After last Sunday's crazy run I took it fairly steady during the week. I rested on Monday and ran my 14K circuit Tuesday to Friday with Thursday being my quickest with an average pace of 5 minutes. On Saturday morning Craig and I met Tigger at her place and we ran a circuit through Tennyson, Fairfield, West End, Southbank, Toowong and Indooroopilly to get Tigger and I home in 2:48 for a 32K run. Craig didn't fair too well and after dropping behind at Highgate Hill, took a shortcut back where he was waiting for us when we arrived. Tigger's husband once again treated us to espresso cofffee which is always good. I finished a very pleasant Father's day with a 7K run bringing my total for the week to 95K.

We, that is my my friends Darryl and Gidget, and I, leave for the US on the 8th October. We fly from Sydney direct to San Francisco where we spend a couple of days before heading to Chichago. The excitement is building.

You Don't have to be Crazy

You don't have to be crazy but it sure does help. I wasn't able to run early on Sunday and was determined to get my long run in somehow. So I decided to drive with Robyn to her workplace at the Carindale Shopping centre which is about 45 minutes form our home on the Brisbane side of Ipswich. I set out from Carindale at 1:00 pm, the hottest part of the day, to run home. I didn't realise just how hot it was. Considering that August was our coldest August in 8 years, I just couldn't believe that the heat would take such a toll on me.

I ran along Old Cleveland Road to Stones Corner, then along Logan Rd, Stanley St, Southbank, Victoria bridge, Coronation Drv, Sylvan Rd, Western Freeway bike path, Centenary Highway bike path, through the back blocks of Wacol to Gailes and Goodna then up the hill to Bellbird Park where home is. 39K in 3:46 and it nearly killed me. It was a very tough run. As Tigger would say, "plenty of character".

I hope I am not crazy enough to try anything like that again.

That bought my total K's for the week to 102 which is the most in a very long time.