On Reflection

This afternoon I burnt my half-marathon training plan. Let's call it closure.

That was after I had been for a run. I didn’t wear a watch or plan the route I just stepped out the door and ran. About 35 to 45 minutes, or possibly only 25 minutes, later I arrived back at the door a little tired and a lot warmer. It was satisfying. Whatever part of my will that broke last weekend has recovered. If that is what running is going to be like outside a half marathon program then I’ll probably go again.

Will I run another half-marathon? Not at the moment. I do have unfinished business at that distance but I’m choosing to focus on something else for now.
That something has yet to be defined but in the short term getting out on the road bike and mountain bike are high on the list. Variety will be my motivation.


I need to exercise, my winter running may have improved fitness and prevented hibernation but I’ve retained most of the excess baggage. Bulges can not be attributed to multi layers of jumpers once summer takes hold. I hope the spring will shift my appetite from carbo rich comfort food to crisp salads. I’m investing heavily in this theory and have planted a lettuce patch, nurturing waves of green to feed the anticipated demand.

Half Marathon Blog 10: RACE REPORT

I made it.

2hrs 31min 42 sec, from beginning to end, a week ago I was hoping for 2hrs 15mins. On the day it didn’t happen but I finished and emerged unscathed.

So what did happen? After training in Dunedin’s finest winter conditions including sleet, snow and consistent cold I wasn’t prepared for the rapid progression from spring to high summer. Less than two weeks ago I put off an early morning run to allow frost to melt. I didn’t find out the temperature on Sunday but it was still 20C at 5am on Monday morning. That’s warm for this town.

Before the race I ran my warm up wearing trackpants, a fleece and a thermal top. For the start I pared down to shorts and a vest (“singlet” in NZ speak) and my custom made visor. The race started at 9.30am, about 2000 runners and walkers, a banana, a panda, a gorilla and a collection of fairies set off along the Dunedin waterfront.

For 5km I was comfortable, the second 5km was OK, I began to feel like I was working a little harder, Pete set a good steady pace and things were under control.

After about 1hr 15mins things weren’t going so well. The experience between 12km to 17km was part of my life I’d prefer not to repeat. I was hot, tired and miserable. The miserable mindset probably didn’t help in dealing with the heat and fatigue. Even after using the 15km water station for a cup by cup shower I was still too hot. I walked and ran and walked and grew despondent. Pete stuck with me and managed to conceal any frustration. I never considered giving up. I did wish it was over or easier or cooler or all three.

Oddly I managed to summon energy to run up the hill at the end but couldn’t run all the way down the other side.

Pete and I crossed the finish line hand in hand, aah… I made a bee-line through the crowd to a shady patch of grass by the medical tent. A cup of water later and I was all smiles again.

While I changed out of my soaking wet running gear, Pete had a sausage sandwich and found the ice-cream van. I ate the Magnum Classic I had been looking forward to for the past week so quickly I can’t recall how good it was.

The half marathon mission accomplished we headed home and I spent the afternoon sitting in the sunshine drinking pink champagne.

The End…

… except it isn’t. I set out to run a half marathon faster than before. I ran a half marathon but didn’t improve. I was a minute slower than my first attempt in Auckland. I could blame the weather or claim it was a more difficult course or that I’m 2 years older this time. None of that really counts.

So now what? Do I gracefully retire, or try again?

I’m not making any decisions today, or even this week.

Half Marathon Blog 9: Headgear Update

A brief update on the headgear:

Before breakfast I attacked one of my hat collection with the kitchen scissors and modeled my creation for Pete. He made a fair but uncomplimentary comment and left.

Before investing any more effort I did some rigorous comfort testing. (Wearing the hat while pottering around the house.) I deemed the prototype a success when I almost went to my physio appointment still wearing it. Thank God for a vain glance in the mirror.


This afternoon I dusted off the sewing machine and refined my creation.






I now present to you...

The Visor.




I concede that my standard of finish in not quite up to that of the Asian sweatshop workers employed by major sportswear brands. But I’ll take full marks for functionally. This stylish addition to my running attire will keep the sun off while now allowing my head to breathe.

I have 3 more white caps available for customisation if anyone is interested…

Half Marathon Blog 8: The Taper

This week I am less busy preparing for the big race than the previous 10 or more weeks. I'm in the taper phase so runs are shorter. Today I set out to run for the longest of the week, just half an hour. Fifteen minutes in I met a friend in the street and chatted for ten minutes. Out of guilt I ended up running an extra 10 minutes. Striking a balance between resting and slacking is tricky.

I am doing better at the eating aspect of preparation. The goal is to boost energy stores in my body ready for extended effort on Sunday. I acknowledge that there is a difference between this and just eating for the sake of it. I have no idea which side of the line I'm on.

The weather is warm here at the moment. This worries me. I get overheated in the middle of winter while running. I'm hoping this fine spell will be replaced by overcast skies, fine drizzle and the very lightest of breeze. I'll probably get a howling gale and hailstones.

The warmer weather brings my biggest dilemma, my outfit for the day. Hats. I have been wearing a baseball cap. I have a collection of very un-cool ones all of which were free. For those who care I wash them each time they are worn - does anybody else do this?




The hats keep the sun or rain out of my eyes and stop some perspiration (there is a lot, hence regular laundering) from running into my eyes. Now that it has warmed up I'm finding the hats too hot. I checked out a super light mesh running cap in the shop - $30. I would invest but I may only wear it once. Should I attempt to modify one of my collection?

Half Marathon Blog 7: Fun Run

10 sleeps to go before I line up to charge around Dunedin Harbour for the half-marathon. With just five training runs left, preparations are going well.

I have selected my outfit and have a corresponding list of body parts that I must remember to bandage or apply Vaseline to protect from rubbing clothing. My pacemaker (Pete) is fired up and ready to go and the secret weapon to get me through the last 5km has been organised.

Last Sunday was the official pre-marathon ‘Fun Run’. I shan’t dwell on how poorly named an event this was for me. What I did gain (in addition to the finish line chocolate bar) was a real understanding of just how effective negative thinking can be in sabotaging my efforts. About two thirds of the way through I had become so focused on all the bad things about running that I almost came to a complete halt. I managed to refrain from a full-blown tantrum but I was ready to give up. In hindsight it was silly. I have been training for months, running in a race, even a ‘Fun Run’ supposed to be hard, that’s the point. I was well able to finish the run, I even managed to pick up the pace towards the end passing a couple of people I’d let slip by in my slump.

Since then I have put some effort in to mental preparation, trying to learn from the ‘Fun Run’. This may sound OTT but I believe that my legs, heart and lungs are pretty well prepared to get around the course however I have allowed my head to slob out on the sofa and its ‘race fitness’ is more Homer Simpson than Paula Radcliffe.

I am going to celebrate my half-marathon efforts and as part of my motivation package I have decided what I want at the finish line. First I’ll be looking for a clear patch of grass to lie down for a couple of minutes then I will be heading up the road to the supermarket to get a Magnum Classic ice-cream. Some time after that a glass of bubbly, feel free to use me as an excuse to drink champagne on Sunday 13 September.

Combining brain and body training I forced myself to go out in the rain yesterday, I had to put up with being dive bombed by sea gulls during my strides workout. A week ago I’d have called it quits early but I put Hitchcock style images out of my mind and ran on.

I believe my mind is toning up quite well and most importantly of all I’ve stopped planning my retirement from running.

Half Marathon Blog 6: A month to go.

There has been a lull in writing. If anyone lost faith I can reassure you that even though I wasn’t sharing I have been running. Only this morning I ran 15 km.

I admit that three weeks ago I went through a period of sustained hatred, when every step was a drain on will power as well as leg, heart and lung power. I’d like to say that I’ve been diligent and maintained my training intensity, stuck to the plan and all round been an obedient trainee but that simply isn’t the case.

Not long after my last missive I ditched my plan, took several days off then ran a few half-hearted laps of the reservoir. I put more energy into thinking of reasons not to run than I would have used just getting on with it. I was ready to give up. Luckily, I had already paid the race entry fee and worse, told people I was running the thing.

At the bottom of my motivational low two of those people came to my rescue, Melissa supplied her half-marathon training plan and Pete offered to be my running buddy. Pete has been intermittent in his attendance at training but still manages to out pace me every time. This should be disheartening but I have simply accepted that he is part mountain goat; has natural ability and I suspect he actually enjoys running.

The training plan Melissa provided is easy to follow and strikes a balance between stretching me to run further each week and being achievable. I printed it out and I smile as I tick off each run as I do it.

I must admit the training it isn’t all bad. I get to spend time in nice places, the bush trails around Ross Creek reservoir are some of my staple routes. Once all this is over and I’m not on a ‘programme’ I will visit again Ross Creek. Instead of pausing only long enough to get a drink from the water fountain and on warmer days fill my baseball cap with water, I will find a bench in the sun and sit down to watch the world and its dogs walk by.

Half Marathon Blog 5: Nutrition

On Tuesday afternoon I had a timetable clash. I was supposed to go for a run but I also had to get ready for visitors. They were expected at afternoon tea time. Weary from their five hour car journey and I wanted to bake something good to revive them.

I thought I’d share the recipe for what turned out to be a delicious pudding.


Self Saucing Lemon Sponge Pudding

½ cup self raising flour
1 cup castor sugar
75g mixed peel
½ cup orange juice
½ cup lemon juice – about 4 juicy lemons, depending on your lemons.
Zest from lemons
125g butter
1 cup milk
3 eggs (separated)
icing sugar to dust

Find an oven proof dish that will hold 6 cups of liquid. Then find a roasting dish that the oven proof dish will fit into. (I had some issues with this but only after I’d already got the mixture into the dish.)

Pre-heat oven to 180. Lightly grease a 6 cup capacity oven proof dish. Mix flour, sugar and mixed peel and lemon zest in a large bowl. (If you have orange zest then add that too)

Melt butter and mix with orange & lemon juice, egg yolk, and milk. Beat into the flour mixture.

Whisk egg whites until stiff and then fold gently into the sloppy batter mix.

At this point you have a sloppy mess, pour it into the ovenproof dish and put it into the roasting dish, half fill with water and put it in the oven.

Bake for about an hour or until the mixture feels firm in the centre.

Serve with a light dusting of icing sugar and some whipped cream.


You would be highly unlikely to find this recipe on the nutrition page of runners world website but personally I think it fits well into a runners life, it’s a high carbohydrate (sugar) food which is quick to prepare and with that hour in the oven allows time for a run.

Sorry, I don’t have a photo – the pudding was eaten far too quickly .

Half Marathon Blog 4: Research

[photo: looking back towards the start from the finish line]

After a lethargic Saturday, glued to the sofa only occasionally looking up from a book to confirm the sky was still flat grey. I knew I needed serious motivation to get going for a run.
Sunday morning was a repeat of Saturday until I finished the book I was reading. Then I noticed a vaguely familiar glowing yellow ball in the sky – the prodigal sun? It was a sign. I headed out in the car, not the environmentally friendly form of running but during my sofa time I’d done some research which needed a follow up visit.
I drove to Port Chalmers, it is a real port town near the mouth of the Dunedin Harbour and the finish point of the Marathon and Half Marathon. The route takes in a 5km lap around the town and I’d heard rumours of a hill somewhere near the end.
I started at the finish and ran as far out of town as I could in the opposite direction of the half marathon route, the pavement ran out after about a mile then I turned back and ran less than the final third of the half-marathon course. After about 18km of paved road the route heads up a dirt road right on the water’s edge, it felt authentically New Zealand.



[photo: dirt at about 18 km]

This outing was supposed to get me psyched up for the big day, 10 weeks away. I think I had forgotten to inform my body that I had only run the last bit not the full 21k around the harbour.
In the car on the way home I convinced myself that having a bad run was a useful wake up call. Excellent motivator, blah, blah, blah. Not sure its had the desired effect but at least I remembered to take my camera so I can share the picturesque setting of my future suffering.

Half Marathon - Blog 3: Running Not Jogging

Something has changed. It was deliberate but I am surprised by the effect.

On Sunday afternoon Pete offered to join me for my long run. I explained I was planning an outing of 100 minutes. [I prefer to say the time in number of minutes rather than '1hr 40mins'. It feels less daunting.] We agreed that since he hasn’t been training he’d come for an hour or so and then I’d carry on alone.

Pete has some natural ability as a runner, unlike me, so without 13 weeks of build up he’d probably survive a 100 minute run. I wasn’t solely concerned about him. On the one hand, it’s good for me to have him along breathing easy bouncing along while I’m feeling energised, but I know that towards the end of my long haul mission I prefer to suffer alone.

As on previous runs he let me set the pace. Several times he commented on how much faster I was since we last ran together, about 6 weeks ago. I could claim that all the hours and miles I have put have delivered this transformation, but no. What I have done is take bigger strides.

Last week, for variety, I consciously started taking longer steps while keeping the same pace. I discovered my body mostly measures effort in steps per minute (and gradient of hills). It is far less concerned about how long my stride is. If only I’d know it was so simple, I would have done this ages ago. I feel I have finally graduated from jogging to running.

After over an hour I was flagging, my body obviously had figured out my trick. During a brief water stop at home Pete bowed out gracefully offering to make dinner while I completed another short loop. Alone for those last 20 minutes I was distinctly slower than with his company but I finished happy knowing that I have moved up a gear.

It's good for me.

Last week’s blog post did the trick, the following two days I was out running and I surprised myself with a new fastest time for my monthly benchmark run. Every four weeks I run the same route and see how my time compares, on Thursday it took 60 minutes 13 seconds, a full minute faster than before.

The blog effect was short lived. A bit of drizzle on Saturday morning was enough deterrent. I could blame being away from home for the weekend but since I had a running buddy lined up there really is no justification. I was just being lazy, so was the running buddy who didn’t drag me out of bed.

Luckily Monday is a mini motivator. Every new week, I allow myself to turn over a new leaf and re-set the ‘number of runs missed’ counter back to zero. Determined to keep it that way I ran today. I also had a reminder of why sometimes doing what’s good for you isn’t always good.

Eating oily fish is supposed to be good for me. It should help my brain function and is good for my joints so it’s important for running. A can of sardines in olive oil were part of my lunch at around 12.30, or perhaps today it was later maybe 1.30. Anyway the slightly fishy smell that lingered in the office afterwards was long forgotten when I set out to run at 3pm. My stomach was still working on the fish oil and provided a gentle reminder every time I tried to pick up the pace or push up a hill. – Fishy repeats, yuck.

I say ‘every time’ as though I’m persistently trying to push myself harder. It’s a nice image I hold in fantasy world I sometimes allow my mind to inhabit. In reality after a couple of sardine repeats today I moved comfortably into cruise gear and even gave myself permission to walk a few times.

Regardless of effort I was out there in the sunshine putting my well oiled joints to work and haven’t missed a run this week.

The Perfect Excuse.

11 Weeks into my half marathon training program and I’m in need of new motivation to get me through the next 13 weeks.

Yesterday I paid my entrance fee for the Dunedin Half-Marathon (13th September). I know every training run I miss will make the half marathon harder. For that reason I have decided to go public with regular progress updates by blogging. It doesn’t matter if no one reads them. I am hoping that the though of someone reading them will be another motivator to get me away from the fire and running this winter.

This morning there were no “if’s” or “maybe’s” on going for a run. With a generous coating of snow, the streets of Dunedin were no place for running. It would have been perfect if the cancelled run meant a lie-in but with no chance of the car leaving the drive until a thaw I had to walk to work.
Normal activities of the town were derailed on the same scale as in London when a few flakes settle. Most people stayed home the office was deserted, all the schools were closed and the highways out of town in both directions were closed until mid afternoon.

[Stuart St - Rush Hour - Photo by Pete]



Bored in the empty office, I came home at lunchtime. At sea level, in town the snow had turned to mush. I even saw a couple of runners out, probably taking advantage of their unexpected day off to get a long run in. I dispelled my guilt knowing that further up the hill at home it was still snowing. It arrived home with a nice covering of snow.
After some warming tea and toast I went out again in the afternoon to get supplies incase tomorrow is the same. I meant to take a few photos but before I managed to get my camera out I had been drawn into the local bar by promises of mulled wine.

[Off to work - Photo by Pete]

Time to get serious

I really have run out of excuses for not blogging. I have no job and am not studying anymore so really time isn't a problem. There are lots of interesting things I've done and not yet mentioned as well as general life going on around me. I spent most of last year improving my creative writing skills. I have internet. It's not yet too cold to type. I am alive.

I spent time this afternoon doing one of those lists about me things on facebook, I included the fact that I have a blog. I even included a link to it. It was enough to make me act.

So here I am. Is anyone there?