Last year my BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) was to complete the Queenstown marathon, which I ticked off not necessarily in style, or in the time that I was aiming for, but got the job done anyway. For anyone who is contemplating doing this run – do it! Not only is it a beautiful scenic run, it has enough undulations and a wee hill towards the end to keep the run interesting and the mind focused. So, what’s been happening since then? I have to admit that after the marathon I was on a bit of a high for a few weeks and when I spoke to Richard to de-brief, I was all about ‘yeah lets do that again!’. I was busy searching around the Internet trying to find another marathon event I could do before Christmas. His advice was to see how I felt in a few weeks…. In reality what happened was the euphoria wore off and the body and mind remembered the physical and mental effort it took to achieve that goal. I was quite happy to toddle off on holiday and have a break from training and I enjoyed just running for fun without having to meet targets and also not ‘having’ to run for an end goal.

While on holiday I went about planning what my next goal would be. I decided to see whether or not I could do a half marathon under 2 hours – my previous best was 2:19. I always lament about how slow I am and get frustrated with constantly being passed by other runners so, armed with a training programme from Richard I did the St Clair half and managed to improve on my time – or maybe it was the free bottle of wine at the end that spurred me on…

St. Clair Run completed

I also joined the CP Tuesday morning run group which has been a very steep learning curve for me. I am in awe of the athletes in that group (they are my run heroes) and I have gotten quicker just from trying to keep up with their warm-up pace! Christchurch half rolled round in early June and I surprised myself with a new PB. About 16km into the run I decided that flat, asphalt running did not put me in my happy place, so the mental challenge was to suck it up and appreciate the fact that the sun was shining and there was coffee at the finish line. At this point my achilles was pretty sore and if someone had offered me a ride to the finish, I think I may have been tempted.

My goal for a long time has been to run an ultra (will start with 50km!) and I have decided to aim for completing the Tarawera 50km trail run in November. As I write this, I am 117 days away from achieving this goal. Watch this space to see how the plan and journey unfolds….

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That may be an obvious statement, but it is really hard and I think that there are few experiences in adult life that require such a sustained force of will. How do I know this…..

Saturday 21 November saw me lining up with 2000+ runners for the Queenstown marathon. I had been nervous all week in the lead up to the run but felt surprisingly calm and abuzz with nervous excitement as I thought about my plan and what lay ahead.  The run went well, a bit slower than I would have liked but I achieved my goal of starting the race uninjured, and better still, completed the race with no major injuries.  The worse I have to show for running 42.2km is two matching black toenails.

I enjoyed most of the run, and was surprised at how my body coped with that distance.  There were aid stations every 4-5km which mentally made the job easier.  I thought about the next distance to the aid station, rather than about how far it was to the finish.  The most enjoyable parts for me was the track around Lake Hayes and the last 10km along Frankton track.  There were a few little hills along the way which made it more interesting – although marathon hill at 30km had the potential to make one doubt what the heck they were doing…..  Needless to say I was glad I had incorporated hill training into my training programme.  Overall it was a great run to do and I enjoyed the challenge of the marathon distance.  Was such a buzz to have completed it and I cant wait to do it again.

So what happened on the day….

The first 25km went by quite quickly; partly due to running with someone I knew which led to chatting and just enjoying the scenery and the run.  Weariness and some achy niggles settled in around the 26 km mark and it was between the 26 and 32km mark where I had a few struggles mentally as it was awhile since I had set off, and I knew, it would be awhile until I saw the finish line. Psychologically though I knew if I could make it to the 32km mark (which I had done in training) I could walk the rest of the way.  My mind started to have its own way for a while though and the little naggy voice kept telling me, but you only did 32km in training….  The other part of me was like yeah well I did Mission Mt Somers and that was four hours on my feet so you will be FINE!  Mental bargaining started to play a factor as I ran through the km’s.

After a while I started to notice the parts of my body that hurt.

— “What the… what is that going on with my knee?  Haven’t had that before. I hope my knee holds together until the end”

— “OMG I just want to sit down, my feet are so tired!”

— “Why is my arm sore?”

— “Ugh my laces are too tight but I don’t have the energy to bend down”

At the 35-40km there is now absolutely no talking – just the odd check in with my run partner that she is still there, breathing and moving. I felt completely focussed at this point on keeping up my pace and trying to have some semblance of form.  From some of the photos I have seen, the form bit wasn’t actually going so well but it gave me something to think about and concentrate on.  Being fatigued, mentally and physically, there are a myriad of thoughts that go through your mind and running long distances for me, becomes an argument between my body and my mind.

— “Stop, slow down.”

— “No.”

— “Stop.”

— “No.”

— “Slow down!”

— “No.”

—Your legs hurt don’t they? Go on just walk for a bit”

— “No.”

— “Feel that ache in your hips, what about that pain in your calves? Stop.”

— “No.”

And so on.

Then suddenly this thing, the end, that I could only imagine many hours earlier, was suddenly in reach.

So how does it feel at the finish – amazing! It was a surge of emotions crossing the finish line – relief, fatigue, exhausting exhilaration.

My immediate thoughts, after hugs and congratulations from my husband and friends, were to find a drink that wasn’t water, and a patch of grass to lie down on and take my shoes off.  They say it’s the small things in life that matter – on marathon day it was heaven to remove my shoes and ecstasy to have something other than warm water and sticky super sweet gels. It took a few days for the reality to set in that I had completed my BHAG – while still on the ‘high’ I compiled a list of want to do runs for 2016.  We will see how many are still on the list once training resumes!

The biggest thing I have gained from this adventure is self-belief – my longest distance in training was only 32km, and there’s only so much that you think you can do. But when you go past that barrier and keep going, you’ve entered the world of the impossible.

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I am fortunate that another CP member, Charlene is also doing the Queenstown marathon and we met up last week to discuss progress and how our runs are going. We talked about not taking any run for granted and respect what each runs gives to the overall training plan. I did my last long run (22km) last Sunday and I have to admit I neglected a lot of my usual preparation. Just 22kms I thought, I’ll be fine (seemed much easier than having to do 30 or 35km…) Usually before a long run I would have a quiet night at home making sure I was rested and prepared for the run the next day. However last weekend I went out the night before, consumed a smorgasbord of bbq food (including copious amounts of dessert!), then, being tired from the festivities the night before, I slept later than I planned and didn’t allow enough time between breakfast and running. Needless to say my run was a very looong one and the most of my run was spent lamenting about what I should have done for preparation. In hind sight I would never go and do a half a marathon without good mental and physical preparation, including being conscious of my nutrition, so I am not sure why I thought I could get away doing a training run of similar distance with the preparation that I did on Saturday!

So, back to the business of trusting the process – even though I am nervous about race day, I have every intention of enjoying the day as much as I have the journey of training for a run of this distance.   There is something a little bit exciting about doing something out of your comfort zone….

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My goal for a long time has been to do a half marathon under two hours, it has always been in the back of my head. The aim for my half marathon yesterday was to get to as close to 2 hours as I could – considering the amount of running and distance I have been doing recently in the lead up to the marathon I thought I could do it. I knew it would be tough but I really thought that I would be able to crack that 2 hour mark. And plus…isn’t 21.1km like nothing compared to the 35km run the weekend before?!

Note: Let me premise my next paragraphs by saying that I did actually run a personal best time yesterday, it just wasn’t as fast as I was hoping it would be. I ran it in 2:04:41.

Before the run Pauline and I were talking about respecting each and every run, because no matter how much you have trained things don’t always go to plan.

Honestly, the first 4km sucked, plain and simple, they were not fun at all. Especially km 4 – my legs felt like lead and I thought that my run was shot! I thought how the heck am I going to continue for the entire 21.1km if I was feeling like this this early in! I was thirsty and was dying for the first water station. Just after 5km the water station appeared, I was so happy to see it and all I could think was, I wonder if I can stop now? Water downed and off I went.

It was like a miracle, I instantly felt better, felt on top of the world. The next 5km went so well, I was in a good head and running space, maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all?!

I have been training with gels, sports drinks and everything I will need for the marathon and learnt that it is so important to make sure you take your gels with water. At about the 15km mark I decided that I would take my last gel (my favourite GU mint chocolate) in the hope that the drink station wasn’t too far away, it felt like eternity! After the 17km drink station I felt like I was going to be sick, I had to walk for about 50m. I thought are you actually joking me?! Why is this so hard today?!

Despite all of my “slip ups” during the run I did do a personal best and improved my time by more than 10min from the Christchurch half marathon in June and I know that I can do under 2 hours which I plan to do soon! Maybe a few months or after the marathon….

Respect the run and make sure you hydrate sufficiently, something I am going to do for the marathon.

The final stretch on the run!

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The Queenstown Marathon has been my focus for nearly a year and it is pretty exciting to think that this massive goal is going to be completed very soon.

My runs have been long as of late – this past weekend I completed the longest run of my training, 35km, it was tough but it was so good to have this run done! Note to self: make sure you put on sunscreen before you set out on your run, even if it is cloudy, because the next day your skin will be as sore as your muscles…..whoops.

I even tried out an ice bath (Richard’s suggestion) after the 35km run – it was very tough getting into the bath, sheesh it was freezing (guess that is the point), but once I was in it wasn’t too bad! I think it has helped my muscles in their recovery. Only time will tell. I do take my hat off to all those professional athletes who do this on a regular basis!

I am now into the taper phase of my running programme – I do have the Selwyn Half Marathon to do this weekend which I am looking forward to, I am aiming to do as close to a 2 hour half as I can! I am hoping that all my training will help in in being able to do this.

The funniest thing is that once upon a time I used to really struggle with running 21km the last 3 was always the hardest, now I can run 21km without even thinking about it and its only when my watch beeps to tell me I have run 21km that I realise that I have! I know weird.

I am looking at my race plan as well as making sure I have everything that I need for the race day! The culmination of 11 months of training and hard work is coming to an end in a few short weeks and I am pretty excited and pumped to do it! I know its going to be hard but I also know that I have done all the work and preparation that I can do to be able to do my best on the morning of the 21st of November in the scenic setting of Queenstown.

Plus I have been waiting all year to get my Ferg Burger…..

And I also have a strange feeling that I might want to run another marathon after this one….something I never thought I would say!

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I’ve found with subsequent runs that I really have trained myself to start taking on nutrition and liquid early on. I headed out on a 15km run last weekend and left my fuel filled drinks bottles on the sink where I had filled them up before I left – blonde moment! It really made a difference to my run. I’ve found taking a sip every kilometre is a good way to get the fluids in. I’m not great at taking on lots of fluids but this is a good way to tip away at it. My watch beeps at every kilometre so it is a handy reminder. Eating wise, I find Nakd bars work best for me when running but have recently discovered a recipe online to make your own and they are great. I can now start eating 30 minutes into a run – something I never thought I’d be able to do.

So here I am 287 hours and 30 minutes away from the start line and the official tapering has begun. This is the part I’m usually really bad at. When training for previous races, I tend to peak too early and taper wwaaaayyy too soon. I see this whole experience as reaching a goal but also a very personal journey where I get to test my body, my motivation and dedication. I’ve learned so many new and wonderful skills, met a lot of interesting inspiring people along the way and have really challenged myself. The last month has been quite busy and it has made fitting in training a challenge but also it has given me a great excuse to explore new places. I spent 1 week in Brisbane at a conference. I took the opportunity run along the river. Even at 5.30am it was 20 degrees and warm unlike warm Christchurch which is 20 degrees with a southerly. The river front at 5.30am was as busy as the Port Hills on a Sunday morning with runners and cyclists. There was the added bonus of watching the rowing crews too. The picture inset is me post run in Brisbane flying the TeamCP flag. It seems that CPers took over Aussie that week with a great showing in Adelaide. I also spent a few days in Wellington at another conference and got one of “those” days in Wellington and got to enjoy running around the waterfront without having to battle a tornado style wind. The taper plan over the next two week is reducing the long runs at the weekend to one medium run and just keeping up some speed work and hill work during the week. I am enjoying this time and haven’t got ants in my pants just yet. For me, it is great knowing that I already have my next challenge lined up with coast to coast and I am looking forward to adding road biking into the training mix.

I look forward to reporting the result of the fruits of my labour in a few weeks.

Thanks to everyone at both Tuesday and Thursday run group who have kept me honest!

Big shout out to Simon – none of this would be possible without your careful planning and rocket jumps

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Several things have happened in the past couple of weeks that has reminded me that running/training isn’t always fun and sometimes we need the negative from which to grow and improve. Training recently has become a bit of a struggle as all the important factors like sleep, nutrition, positive mental awareness haven’t been aligned.  Last week I had a recovery week and when it was first scheduled in, I thought ”Nah I don’t need a recovery week!” as everything was going well and I felt good mentally and physically.  How quickly things can change. I thought that on a recovery week I would feel fantastic as the mileage was less, and not so much mental pressure to get out and do a long run.  However it turns out I felt tired the entire week, my legs felt like they had been dipped in lead when I did run, and mentally I was beginning to doubt that I should have ever entered a marathon in the first place!

Another contributing factor to my negative self-talk was comparing myself to others.  I lost sight of why I was doing the marathon distance and ruminated too much about how others were doing.  I asked others who are doing the Queenstown marathon how their long runs were going.  Transpires my 30km time was the slowest.  This freaked me out a little and I started if I had done enough to get myself to the start line. So, this week I have been working on just enjoying being out running and have been managing the negative self talk.

So as it turns out running is not always rainbows and unicorns and that actually training for a big event is hard work mentally and physically. Another wee learning curve for this novice runner!

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So this time next week I will have drank a few glasses of champagne and will be feeling fabulous!! I hope!! The post race nutrition kind of goes out the door and I will eat what ever I fancy. Hot chips are always good. French fries and Moët are meant to go together!

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I still have to run 42.2 k’s first. I have already started my prep. My hair was cut and coloured last week – not going to Melbourne looking shabby! You may ask what has that got to do with race preparation. Well a lot actually. Whilst at the salon the very first article I read was about Geoffrey Mutai the fastest man to run a marathon. He ran the Boston Marathon in 2 hours 3 minutes. I do a half marathon in that time on a good day! Ok so we may be on different levels but I did get some good tips from him, the most important one was to be brave.

Running is all about being brave. Right from the very first time you put on that sports bra or sign up for your first race you are being brave. Running on the road, instead of hiding inside on the treadmill, going for a run up on Summit Road, trying to swallow energy gels without throwing up all require me to be brave. And guess what, I’m actually doing it! Last week I become a member of a very exclusive club – the Ellesmere Road Runners 100 Club, which means I have run around the streets of Leeston on a Wednesday evening for at least 100 weeks. I am very proud of this, as I never, ever would have thought I would run one kilometre let along join a running club. If you had asked me a few years ago or any of my friends if this would happen we would have laughed in your face. Not Pauline, she wont run, they don’t make sports bras big enough, she has massive feet and an inkling for alcohol!

But like my mate Geoffrey I have been brave without really knowing it

I will be thinking of Geoffrey Mutai when I run on Sunday, I know I won’t be breaking any records but I do hope to make new friends on the course and be grateful that I finish without incident (thanks Imodium my new best friend)!

Thanks Geoffrey for reminding me to be brave, sometimes we need to acknowledge that we are doing better than ok. Although, I am glad you are not part of our Moët Club because by the time I finish my race you will have eaten all the chips and drank all the champagne!!

The post Melbourne and Moët – Pauline Lay appeared first on TeamCP.

I was recently made redundant and finished working last week. I said to Richard until I manage to get myself another job that I would become a professional runner – perfect timing considering I have just over 6 weeks till my first marathon run! Just a shame I am not getting paid to professionally run….I need to find myself a sponsor or two (funny thing is I went into Shoe Clinic earlier in the week and brought a heap of Clif bars and gels and the lady said are you running one of their events? I said no I just like their products….so if you are from Clif I would love to get stuff for free and run with your logo…that is if you are looking for a semi-professional first time marathon runner….? No? damn)

In my first week as a professional runner I have actually read a book about a professional runner, Paula Radcliffe. Paula: my story so far. It was a great read and really put into perspective that no matter how professional you are or not so professional you are (like me) that we all experience the same sort of emotions, problems, injuries, lows and highs that other runners do. She is one incredibly lady, so many injuries that the average person would have no idea about! Recommend the book to anyone!

As I said, I am just over 6 weeks out from the marathon and I am feeling pretty good. I completed my first really long run on Sunday. I did my first every 30km run, it was tough, but I survived! Thanks in large part to Pauline who encouraged me the whole way, she was doing her last long run (21km) before her marathon in Melbourne next weekend and I am just starting the first of many long runs in the next few weeks before I taper.

The advantage of being a professional runner is that you can literally run whenever you like, no need for getting up super early to run before work and no need to leave your runs till the late afternoon after work. So far I am enjoying this flexibility and the ability to run whenever I like! Is this what it is like for the real professional runners? I have a feeling that their regimes could be slightly more hard out than mine!

We will see how my life as a professional runner goes over the next few weeks…..I do have some pretty long runs coming up (35km…ekkkk) wonder how real professional runners feel when they have to do these sort of runs…guess I will find out soon!

Below are some pics of my recent runs….incase you wanted to see!

The post Charlene Smart: The life of a professional runner appeared first on TeamCP.

It has been a really, really REALLY busy time which has made for interesting training times and locations over the last month.

August

We had Spring Challenge on 30^th August at the Raspberry Cafe in Tai Tapu which was a really fun way to get together and meet fellow CPers and the other bloggers. It was interesting and inspirational to catch up with fellow bloggers Pauline, Jennifer and Isobel and learn more about their training and goals in the coming months. We all agreed it is useful not only being accountable to a CP coach but also to the wider community. I think the main highlight of the day was having cake for breakfast and trying out my very fancy new Sunnto Ambit 3R GPS watch. It has been a really good investment and has helped me quantify what I’m capable of doing.

September

Spring time arrived along with a sneaky half marathon and visiting family and friends for three weeks. Simon plotted for me to partake in the Kaikoura half marathon on 12^th September. I wasn’t the only CP face in the crowd – Pauline, Tom, Lauren and Cathy all ran too. I ran the Christchurch half marathon in June and clocked up a personal best of 1.59.09. The pressure was on to beat this time but there was the added challenge of the “slope” (Simon’s words not mine!) at the 15km mark. At that stage of the race a ramp would have felt like Everest! I crossed the finish line in 1.54.24. The new watch was helpful in letting me track distance and speed during the race. For the first time after finishing a half marathon I didn’t get the dreaded cramps and general sick feeling but actually felt well. This race taught me the importance of race preparation and making good decisions. For the first time I ran the race with both water and electrolytes. I sipped both throughout and it really made a huge difference to how I felt during the race and at the end. Preparation nutritionally for the race included eating nothing spicy or herby and to start hydrating two days beforehand. My new PB has definitely put a spring in my step.

Two days later family arrived for a three week visit. Our first weekend away was in Te Anau and Doubtful Sounds. Running in a new place is always fun and a great way to get to know somewhere in a different way. I took the opportunity to run part of the Kepler track and of course it was totally amazing. I look forward to running the whole thing one day. The following weekend we were based in Christchurch and I ran in Halswell Quarry along C2, Crocodile Track and Kennedy’s Bush. It was my first “proper” uphill trail run in quite some time and it was fantastic…especially the downhill part. Last weekend we travelled to Tekapo and ran along Lilybank Road taking in the breathtaking views of the lake and mountains. During this run I also took on nutrition for the first time. I have a delicate disposition and usually have to eat 1.5 to 2 hours before a run and sometimes that even isn’t enough. I gingerly bit off a morsel of a Rhuburb and Crumble Nakd bar and it sat well. I’m keen to try some other flavours too. It was my longest run to date 25km. Another milestone on the get Emma to 50km journey. On Sunday I ran up Mount John when the winds were in full swing. I reached the steps before the top and thought it was OK, not too windy then got to the top and the wind almost stripped me of my clothing…prime example of a bad decision!

October

The month ahead brings all sorts of fun and adventures. Now that daylight savings has arrived it means longer runs during the week are on the cards. Simon has scheduled some sandwich sessions. I initially thought this might involve taking a sandwich on the runs however that would be a no. Sandwich sessions involve doing the race distance over three days For example, Saturday can be 15km, Sunday 25km and Monday 10km. Just to make things interesting I am travelling to Brisbane and Wellington with work for two weeks, so again lots of discipline will be required to ensure I fit in all sessions, get lots of sleep, eat the right food and drink the right drinks!! Race day is 14^th November and I am feeling that with the end goal in sight, I will be prepared on the day and will be able to enjoy the race 100% in the knowledge that I have adequately and sensibly prepared for it. And of course, I have already set sights on my next race!! I have signed up to be one half of a whole for the Coast to Coast. My team mate Anna will complete the 55km bike on day one and the 67km kayak on day two. I will complete the 33km run on day one and the 70km bike on day two. So after the 14^th November it will be time to pull the bike out of the shed and get ready for the next adventure.

Until next time…

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