The week has been incredibly busy punctuated with driving in torrential down pours! I'm not much liking all this dampness. My Ironman running buddy and I discovered this sweet little running path around the water treatment station about half a mile from work.....excellent (if a lil stinky at times). Lots of birds and a pretty outlook and no traffic to worry about. Concurrently she has stepped it up and I found myself doing speed work......so running ridiculously fast for half a mile, slowing then off again......it's kinda painful but all the experts say that speed work makes a huge difference when you go out for your longer runs. I'll let you know!
Also delighted to hear back from the race I have volunteered to help with in July. It's a 50miler and they've asked if I can be at an aide station from 640am (very precise) to when the last runner comes through....around sunset! So of course I have said yes as I will get a real insight into what it really means to run that far...it's a loop track so I'll see them all in the first half then as they come through again closer to the finish. I'm really looking forward to it!
Other than the runs it's all been about work. All the work we have been doing is hitting prime time now and there are, of course, lots of politics as we roll it out, also lots of "performance" as we meet with the various stakeholders. Some days I feel like I know what I'm doing, some days not - maybe that's just working life.
Also been in planning mode for Xmas/NY in NZ. I know it sounds along way out but it's a bitch of a time to randomly travel to NZ so have to get organized so I can get the flights I want and meet the pals for adventures. It's not the best time I know as everyone has family stuff (including me) but once I have it figured I'll check out what folks are doing.
Also got to get on to Berlin, book the accommodation and figure out the flights from here. Going to Europe from the West Coast of the US can be a bit of a trial - well connecting flights, so shouldn't moan that much! Just need to get some idea of what it takes.
Going to be a rainy rainy weekend but I'm planning at least one long run ....
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Upping the stakes
.....or really lost my mind! I've been researching the Ultra's and have decided that I need to do a 50miler/80k rather than the 50k/31 miler. Just seems to me that I am giving myself a whole year to train for this thing and adding 5 miles to the marathon doesn't seen like it quite fits the bill! I'm still reading up on things but have volunteered to help at two Ultras this year....one of which I think is the one I might like to do next year. I'm madly excited about the whole thing. It seems like such a grand goal and so exciting. Reading some of the blogs and advice that's out there I had to laugh when someone mentioned that marathons will become a "training run"...... Sobering moment too when Irene mentioned imagining getting to the marathon distance and thinking "wow gotta do about that whole distance again....". Still it's all becoming a done deal in my mind and now it's just about planning how to get from here to there!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Daily life and ultra marathons
I know I keep saying it, but good grief the weeks are flying by. It’s now Thursday and I can’t quite figure where the week went.
Sunday got up mega early (well daylight saving started so felt even earlier) and headed out to Golden Gate park to do a 4 miler with Kayley. As weary as I was from Saturday’s efforts I was surprised at how invigorating the run was…..although I was very grateful it was short. It really did loosen up the muscles and continues to be a very scenic place to run. After the run we headed off to watch some of Kayley’s friends play touch football. Which is American football but players wear a belt with ribbons on each hip – to “tackle” someone you have to pull off a ribbon (not allowed to physically make contact). Other than that, similar rules to football with four turnovers allowed and two teams (offense and defense) playing. Although “we” didn’t win it was fun to watch and it was their first game so I thought they put in a very credible game.
In my typical fashion I have been pondering my running goals for next year (not even having completed my three marathons yet…….but ya gotta plan ahead!). Running with Katy last night we got onto Ultra marathons and yep, by midday I had decided THAT was my goal for 2012. An Ultra Marathon is anything more than a marathon but typically 50m or 50k, 100m or 100k. I am going to try for a 50k which is 31miles, a mere 5 miles more than a marathon (OMG, yeah that’s a big 5 miles and they are typically trail runs so quite different running from the road races). Anyway, formulating the plan – choose a race first, join a running club (most likely in San Jose so I can do the evening workouts and Katy is keen to join too, she is so used to having training buddies, this is all new to me) and get back to a personal trainer at the gym. Ultra’s are a lot more complex to run and I’ll have to really understand nutrition, gear (you can find yourself high in the hills, depending on the race you choose, but no matter, it all has to be thought out) and the mindset. I am as excited about this as I was when I took on the NY Marathon. I really will have to lose weight etc etc etc. Craziness but awesomely fun, exciting and scary to think about actually becoming an ultra marathoner!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
21m/33k.....kick arse day
Yeah well that title makes it sound like it didn't actually hurt like hell at the end. Cripes those last few miles were tough. Still I am in better shape than I was for New Orleans (bless my new running buddies who are keeping me totally honest about clocking miles). I gotta say to that as I hit the last four and felt less than delighted to be slogging it out I pondered on Japan and the chaos and how privileged I was to be able to do this at all!
Tomorrow I am off for a shorter run in Golden Gate (not kidding, my program really does say run 21m then the next day run 6....although I think we are doing 5....I can't remember and I am not in charge of the Golden Gate park runs, which is a total delight).
Work was variously challenging this week with one person being downright mean (I hate meanness and all the energy it takes to slap back....because if you don't they just get to think that behaving that way is okay.....when it's not). Wasn't my team btw, they are a delight.
Daylight saving starts this weekend - yippee, Spring forward and enjoy the longer daylight hours as I am tired of leaving home in the dark and arriving home in the dark and it means I no longer have to run in the dark, which is kind of yuck and a little bit scary if I think too much about it.
Tomorrow I am off for a shorter run in Golden Gate (not kidding, my program really does say run 21m then the next day run 6....although I think we are doing 5....I can't remember and I am not in charge of the Golden Gate park runs, which is a total delight).
Work was variously challenging this week with one person being downright mean (I hate meanness and all the energy it takes to slap back....because if you don't they just get to think that behaving that way is okay.....when it's not). Wasn't my team btw, they are a delight.
Daylight saving starts this weekend - yippee, Spring forward and enjoy the longer daylight hours as I am tired of leaving home in the dark and arriving home in the dark and it means I no longer have to run in the dark, which is kind of yuck and a little bit scary if I think too much about it.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Freaky week
I just gotta say that I had a lot of complaint this week about my job, while I may have bitched about my week.....Japan......I'm very grateful for my life.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Kick start'n the week
The week has started out busy. Although maybe I should give that up as a starting line as it seems all weeks are busy!
Really enjoyed my run in Golden Gate Park on Saturday. Kayley (who is the new running pal) also very cleverly mapped our run so that we finished back at the car at exactly the moment we reached our target distance…….excellent. I was glad she was in charge as I haven’t spent a lot of time in GG Park so mostly had no idea where I was! Afterwards we went out to lunch to a cute local café that is just around the corner from home – seems I need other people to show me these places as I spend too much time running past and not stopping.
Sunday it was rainy and yuck and between the 13 mile run on Friday and 4 miles on Saturday I hurt my knee, so no charity run on Sunday (although they did still get the donation). I lounged around and fretted a little about my knee (not running because I am slack is one thing, not running because I am injured is quite different!). In the evening Irene and I headed out to dinner in Japan Town then off to see Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Interesting movie with great visuals. We went to a local eatery before the movie. Japan Town is excellent as it really does cater to the local Japanese community so there are lots of hidden little treasures to be found – really does remind me of the places I saw in Japan, albeit on a smaller scale. Post the movie we met Kayley at a local bar and enjoyed a Sunday night beer serenaded by a Mexican guy on a guitar (actually these guys rove around the local bars, sing a little, ask for donations and move on). I am so out of touch with bar life here that I was more than a little amazed at the number of folk having a drink on a Sunday night (all very civilized but still a little startling). Latish night so wasn’t overly excited to wake to the alarm on Monday morning!
Tonight I had my first run with “Ironman girl”. Katie was determined to have us go running (she likes to run with pals as she finds it hard to motivate herself without someone else with her) so I took my running gear to Sunnyvale and we headed out after work. It was fun, we chatted and randomly ran around the streets of Sunnyvale. Given it's flat it wasn't overly challenging and she didn't run hellishly fast so worked out fine for me. We are going again tomorrow night (remembering too that she gets up in the morning and either swims or bikes so she's certainly committed to what she does).
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Turtles and Bison in Golden Gate Park
Seriously, there are turtles (sunning themselves) and Bison (eating endlessly) in Golden Gate park! How do I know this, today I ran past the turtles (way more than in this pic that I totally stole from goggle images) and the Bison (totally stole this pic too)......but I saw them, honest!
Awesome random luck!
Yesterday Gwenda did her Ironman and I was following her on the race tracker i.e. shows her progress based on split times through the swim, bike and run (btw for those that don't know an Ironman is: 2.4m/3.86k swim, 112m/180.25 bike and 26.2m/42.2 run). Eventually I figured she was in the last 6 miles and based on the time she must be close to finishing. I went back on line and looked at the site, they had a live feed of the finish line! Seriously up-close and personal I watched as various competitors were channeled down the single finishers lane across the finish line, where you watched them get bundled up by officials. 15mins in there was Gwenda! I spotted her before they called her name and then watched her run across the finish with this huge grin, it was totally awe inspiring to watch. Weather in Taupo was seriously yuck yesterday so everyone was sodden, albeit elated. Random luck, what are the chances of logging on at just the right time. It was a delight to see!
On a slightly less awe inspiring note it's a gorgeous day here and I am waiting for my new running buddy to come pick me up so we can go running in Golden Gate park, not an Ironman, but comes with it's own little inspiration along the way.
On a slightly less awe inspiring note it's a gorgeous day here and I am waiting for my new running buddy to come pick me up so we can go running in Golden Gate park, not an Ironman, but comes with it's own little inspiration along the way.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
March!!!!
The year seems to be screaming by and I can’t believe it is already March!
This week I’ve scored two new running buddies (well two running buddies, as I don’t actually have any right now so they aren’t exactly new). One of the consultants on my project (who flies in from San Diego every Monday, leaves Thursday) is an Ironman/Tri-athlete. We are going to start running in Sunnyvale after work one or two nights a week. She assures me she isn’t fast and just needs someone to get out there with her, so starting next Tuesday we are going to run together. Another friend is relatively new to running having run her first half in February and now training for another one. She runs regularly in Golden Gate so I’m going to start to join her for some of her runs (assuming our schedules can actually be co-ordinated). Having regular running buddies will be new for me as I’m pretty much used to getting out there alone. This weekend I’m doing the charity run with another work colleague (that is the 5k). She’s really really new to running but wants to run a half in the future, it seems running is proving to be an easy access to meeting people (okay now I’m willing to actually run with someone else). Oh and speaking of obsessions….Gwenda is doing her Ironman this Saturday (NZT). It’s been awesome to hear about her build up and I am totally awed by the commitment it takes to become an Ironman. It takes 10 to 12+ hours to finish these events, and while I could imagine slogging it out for that long (shades of Army training) I can’t imagine doing it across three events. I keep encountering people doing amazing physical things (one guy at work does “mud busters”, which involves some crazed series of trail races including “obstacles” to negotiate along the way and another who does road cycling…….crazy mad distances, to name but two). The one thing we all have in common is we completely animate about it all and are one another’s greatest champions.
I’ve just had my mid-year performance review and things seem to be going okay. I need to shift my focus for myself though and figure a path to Senior Manager (or not if that’s the case). Talking to my career counselor about it and trying to do things that demonstrate “over and above” expectations. Meanwhile continuing to enjoy myself and feel challenged.
Also been planning adventures and thinking about next Xmas – I think I might come back to NZ over the Xmas/New Year. Irene has family in Aussie so may also jump the ditch and come visiting too (she’s never been to NZ, it would be great fun to show her around). The nice thing about coming at Xmas/NY is that it would actually be summer. Last two times I’ve been back it’s rained the whole time…….which has a certain charm but does get a little tedious and I miss out on some of summer here. Anyway, plans are bubbling away – it may seem along way off but it’s not……..measuring life in races May isn’t far away, then Sept and there Xmas is…….
This week I’ve scored two new running buddies (well two running buddies, as I don’t actually have any right now so they aren’t exactly new). One of the consultants on my project (who flies in from San Diego every Monday, leaves Thursday) is an Ironman/Tri-athlete. We are going to start running in Sunnyvale after work one or two nights a week. She assures me she isn’t fast and just needs someone to get out there with her, so starting next Tuesday we are going to run together. Another friend is relatively new to running having run her first half in February and now training for another one. She runs regularly in Golden Gate so I’m going to start to join her for some of her runs (assuming our schedules can actually be co-ordinated). Having regular running buddies will be new for me as I’m pretty much used to getting out there alone. This weekend I’m doing the charity run with another work colleague (that is the 5k). She’s really really new to running but wants to run a half in the future, it seems running is proving to be an easy access to meeting people (okay now I’m willing to actually run with someone else). Oh and speaking of obsessions….Gwenda is doing her Ironman this Saturday (NZT). It’s been awesome to hear about her build up and I am totally awed by the commitment it takes to become an Ironman. It takes 10 to 12+ hours to finish these events, and while I could imagine slogging it out for that long (shades of Army training) I can’t imagine doing it across three events. I keep encountering people doing amazing physical things (one guy at work does “mud busters”, which involves some crazed series of trail races including “obstacles” to negotiate along the way and another who does road cycling…….crazy mad distances, to name but two). The one thing we all have in common is we completely animate about it all and are one another’s greatest champions.
I’ve just had my mid-year performance review and things seem to be going okay. I need to shift my focus for myself though and figure a path to Senior Manager (or not if that’s the case). Talking to my career counselor about it and trying to do things that demonstrate “over and above” expectations. Meanwhile continuing to enjoy myself and feel challenged.
Also been planning adventures and thinking about next Xmas – I think I might come back to NZ over the Xmas/New Year. Irene has family in Aussie so may also jump the ditch and come visiting too (she’s never been to NZ, it would be great fun to show her around). The nice thing about coming at Xmas/NY is that it would actually be summer. Last two times I’ve been back it’s rained the whole time…….which has a certain charm but does get a little tedious and I miss out on some of summer here. Anyway, plans are bubbling away – it may seem along way off but it’s not……..measuring life in races May isn’t far away, then Sept and there Xmas is…….
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