Auckland City Quarter Marathon

Champions!  We completed the Auckland Quarter Marathon (10.5Km) this morning.  Jason and I both had a personal best for this distance.  I finished in 49 minutes!!  There was a small drama before the race.  We get to the start line and my running chip was nowhere to be found.  great. Basically I ran the race without being officially timed.  Which is really annoying-I finished in the top 10 for females but there's no record of that.  Oh well.  

Now I've got 21 days to bunker down and get some long runs in before the Kerikeri 1/2 marathon.  

Cheers!

Dear Santa,

Dear Santa,

Will you please get this for me?

 I figure if I tell you now, it will allow the elves plenty of time to craft it just for me.  This will make my life complete for all of the following reasons:

• Tracks distance, pace, time and calories burned
• Memory captures and stores 30 hours' worth of running data
• Removable Nike+ Link for quick connection to nikeplus.com
• Doubles as a watch with time display
• Enhanced display for increased readability and improved water resistance
• Automatic battery recharge when Nike+ Link is plugged into your computer
• Stainless steel popper closure to hold band in place and provide an adjustable fit
• Durable polycarbonate case 
• Pre-curved polyurethane band for lightweight comfort
• Includes Nike+ sensor to be placed in your Nike+ ready shoes

Love, 

Larissa

welcome summer

Oh Summer. It's back.

Which means I can run day or night and it will be HOT.  I love it I love it I love it. I'm signed up to do a 1/2 marathon in one month, a 10K tomorrow, and a 5K series every Tuesday night all summer.  Should be productive.  

After a whole winter of nothing but 2-a-day workouts at the gym mixed with running, I'm so ready to hit the many beaches of Auckland and run forever. 

Last weekend I ran on the beach 2 days in the row.  It was so glorious to wear my swimming suit and run barefoot on beautiful white sand for miles.  I'm in Heaven. 

Sometimes I wonder how I can honestly go back to weeds and desert runs after I've been so spoiled here?? 

Today I'm going to try a beach I've never ran on before!  I love Auckland.  

the weather

I am not very resilient when it comes to bad weather.  I don't often venture out on to run on the many rainy days in Auckland. I can't explain why I do this but think may have something to do with the climate change of my new home.  Living in a temperate and mile climate leaves me feeling wet, soggy, and on the cold side pretty much all the time.  Coming from a very, very extreme boiling hot or freezing cold climate, I just accept the weather and realize it just has to be that way. But in New Zealand, the weather changes by the minute.  A hot sunny day can quickly fade to a drizzly and balmy afternoon.  It throws me off and my running.  I think it's because I'm not waterproof.  On the rainy days, I run indoors.  Today was another one of those days. I've come to love the tredmill which is a huge thing for me.
It's almost summer though and you bet your boots I'm anxiously awaiting the sunny beach runs that make the rain  so worth it.

Cheers!

6 Weeks & Counting

For a solid 6 weeks I have put in 2 workouts, Monday to Friday.  I wake up at 5:30am and hit the gym for 1 hour, and sometimes 1 1/2 hours.  My gym workout consists of the following:
-minimum 15 minute warm up on Tredmill
-15 minutes abs daily
-Focus group each day: e.g. Legs or shoulders/back
-cardio:  e.g. jumprope, plyometrics 


I've been loving the gym workouts. I try to avoid maximum weight and focus more on repetitions and super sets with light weight.  Really, I just want to avoid getting a huge muscle butt.  


On my lunch break I run.  Oh how I love my lunch time runs.  The beach is literally 2 minutes from the office and I run there most days.  The coastline goes forever and you can choose a "rocky" route with legit hiking or the flat beach sand route.  Either way, I'm able to get in a 45 minute-1 hour run 5 days a week.  


Now that it's mid September the feeling of summer is oh so close.  By late October it will be legitimately hot and humid again. I look forward to those runs very much!


Besides my 2-a-day routine, I've also started listening to audiobooks while I run.  I thought I'd try it out after using the same 4 running playlists for the past 3 years.  The change has been great and there's been a few occasions where I've purposely kept running just to hear to the end of a chapter. I know, I know, I'm a total nerd.  


With Jason exercising twice a day as well, I don't see myself slowing down any time soon.  Amazingly, I haven't felt the burn out and look forward to the next 6 weeks!  

Rotorua Next Week? Good Luck!!

I ran my last huge run just a few days ago. It was by far, the best long run I've had during this long uphill battle to train for a marathon.  Jason dropped me off right at the start of the turnoff to Mangawhai beach.  Bascially it's a long, windy, and uphill rural road to one of the most beautiful beaches I've seen in New Zealand.  I ran 18Km which is roughly over a half marathon.  I'm ready for this marathon.  I may not have quite the amount of training behind me that would be best but mentally, I'm ready. 
I could have done so much more training but I struggled!  It's boring to train for a marathon by yourself.  Someday my running buddy...aka husband... will run and train for a marathon with me.  For now, I'm the lone ranger. 
Back to my long run... Just as I started get really discouraged, legit ready to walk, a biker passed me out of nowhere.  As he passed, all he said was Rotorua next Saturday??  I excitedly said yes and he wished me good luck.  I love that this would only happen in New Zealand.  It made my day and got me through the last grueling miles of the run. 
Cheers!

Protein Bars/Energy Gels

Down to 2 weeks.  I'll attempt my last ridiculously long run next weekend and complete a semi-long run tomorrow afternoon.  I still don't feel that I'm entirely ready.  It's going to be what it is.  I'll run smart and that's that.  We're looking forward to a weekend away in Rotorua and I'm glad Jason will be there to support for me.  I always said I would compete in a marathon before the first year of marriage was over and I'm living up to it!  Hey, it's better than gaining weight and not being as active as before. 
One thing I'm nervous about is what I'll eat during the run. I know that around the 15 mile mark onward my body will need some fuel.  I've heard from various sources to try out some protein bars or gels so that my body is used to digesting it during a run.  I have yet to do that so I probably should before the race so that I don't dry heave during. 
and other funny thing... I was looking at my registration form and I accidentally wrote expected time:  2:00 hr.  oops.  If that was my time I'd be world class.  So now I'm nervous that i'll end up in the front of the pack and get ran over.  My prospective time should be somewhere around 3:30.  Oh well, it's New Zealand-everything is a bit more laid back anyways...

marathon so close

it's getting so close! I'm super nervous about it too.  I'm mostly nervous because it's legit autumn now and I don't love running in the cold. As long as it doesn't rain for the whole race I'll be all good! 
traning is going....okay.  I've adjusted quite a few workouts to accommodate to my ridiculous work schedule lately and jason's transplant.  I sure hope my body is ready. 

Pre Run -15 mile

I get off work in 27 minutes... The plan is to go home and immediatley lace up and get running.  My goal for this long race?  no blisters, no cramps, and a consistent pace
wish me luck

Monster Month

I'm now in the monster month.  The month before the big race.  It's a make or break time really.  If I injure myself now I'm legit screwed.  If I don't complete the really really long beast runs I'm screwed.  This is where the real committment is tested.  I've got a 15 miler this weekend...This is unchartered territory for me.  I'm getting into the distance where you need to fuel up and get some source of energy during the run.  Experts say that the human body can run continuously for about 2 hours before it becomes majorly deprived of adequate food and energy storage.  Last week was the first week I hit the continuous 2 hour mark. With  that in mind I'm going to have to learn how to fuel during a run-something I've never done.  I'm the person that never ever stops at the water station. 

Something weird is going on with me since I've started training... I have cravings for crap food more than I ever have.  I guess it may be explained by the natural need for my food intake to increase along with blood sugar levels being slightly different than usual.  Either way, I'm trying to not give in but sometimes I do. 

Round the Bays 8K - 70,000 runners!!

Jason signed us up for the Round the Bays 8K race in Auckland a few weeks ago.  I was super happy about it since it's one of the biggest races in New Zealand.  There were over 70,000 runners participating.  The prime minister even made an appearance before the start of the race!!  It was super weird to be so up close to a high profile government official.  You just don't see that kind of thing in the US of A.
I ran it the day after running 14 miles so let's be honest, I took it easy.  It was a beautiful route along the various bays in down town Auckland.  I was legit loving life.  My time was quite average but a very strong finish.  I'm still recovering and tomorrow is my very last North Shore city Beach run series 5K.  sad day.

The 14 Mile Run

I finally got over that brick wall that was holding me back.  Yesterday I completed my 14 mile run.  It was officially the longest I've ever run!  Previously 12 miles, but here on out the mileage really climbs.  Before the race I'll actually run for 20 miles.  The blue line below shows a rough outline of where I ran.  It's so close to the ocean that you can feel legit ocean breezes.  It's times like that when I think-yep, New Zealand is a great place to train for a marathon.
I have one complaint to make about my run... Why do I always get blisters?  I'm plagued by them I think.  How do you not get blisters?

The Wall

This sums up how my running has gone this week

So it's been a struggle. I guess you could say I hit that plateau, brick wall, mental struggle that is common with anything that is harder than normal and takes extra dilligence and dedication.  My head really was not in the game this week.  It wasn't a horrible week-nothing traumatic happend-I can't even  blame it on the weather.  It's just a bit of burn out.  Today I've got a 5 miler and tomorrow it's 14 miles. 
Can I please get back into my usual hard core self like immediatley?  I HATE this feeling.  I'm also running an 8Km race with Jason this weekend.  If I can accomplish these 3 tasks in a good pace and happy attitude I'll be golden. 
The race is getting closer and I honestly don't feel ready.  I don't know if that's normal or what but I'll keep trekkin. 

4 seasons in one day

Saturdays=the really really long run.  Yesterday was my 13 mile run for the week.   By 10am I was mentally ready to complete the beast of a run.  I get dressed, lace up and what do ya know, big huge raindrops pouring from the sky.  Welcome to Auckland my friends.  It can be sunny as can be and change with a blink to rain.  By the look of the sky I was doubtful the rain would clear at all that day. Determined to get my long run in, I went to a gym nearby and pretended to be interested in joining.  I went through the tour, the paperwork, the speech, all to get this beast in.  I have never been on a tredmill for more than 40 minutes.  2 hours on a tredmill was more than a struggle.  That was beyond tough, and boring.  The best part about all of this is that within 20 minutes into my run the sun is shining so bright outside.  They say Auckland has 4 seasons in one day, and I can confirm this. 

Still running and still loving it! 
I met an old lady that ran the Rotorua marathon in the past and that totally pumped me up. 
Bring it on

Early Morning 5 Miler

On Thursday morning I usually get up very early to run before work.  Before 6 I kiss my hubby goodbye and find a really hard core playlist to get me going.  Those early morning runs always seem to be my best quality runs maybe because my mind is totally void from stress and fatigue.
 Somewhere into the first mile I had this bad feeling that I should've reminded Jason to keep the door unlocked.  I brushed it aside and continued on, much to my regret, that was a bad decision!  After looping through the industrial area on Rosedale Rd for 5 miles I get back to find myself locked out!  I had no choice but to sit on the doorstep and wait for the property manager to help me out.  An hour later I beg for his help and all he could offer me was a ladder to climb to our second story balcony door.  Which meant I had to balance along a fence no wider than 6 inches and jump onto my balcony, swing my body over, and break in through the back window.  The day got even weirder after that but I'll leave the story at that since this is a running blog. 
All in all, I am a huge fan of early morning workouts.  The sun comes up halfway into my run and there are zero cars out-it's great.  wish me luck, today is a 12 miler!!

Week 1 Training complete

1 week down, 14 more to go.  I did 400M repeats this week and really struggled trying to find the right pace.  I felt like it was way too easy for me.  Next time they come up I'll make sure I map out a 400M loop precisely and get my pace exact.  The long run was 10 miles and it was quite enjoyable actually. New Zealand is so dang hilly that you can't avoid it but by now I'm used to that even on long runs.  My tempo run (3 miles) was easy because I got to count the 5K beach series I've been racing every Tuesday night.  Currently my overall ranking is 7th for my age group but there's about 5 more races to go! 

This map is where all the magic happens! We live here, I work here, and all my runs go down somewhere along the beach. 

North Shore Beach Series

Tonight I finished my 3rd 5K in the Beach Series.  It's worked out nicely with my marathon training and I very much enjoy walking to the beach from work, running a race, and going home feel totally awesome.  I could get used to this daily routine. I ran the 5K obviously much faster than what a 10K training pace for a marathon would be but how can you not when you're racing?  My time was consistent from last week's race at 24.40.  Not the best time ever but not bad for a normal everyday race.

And so it begins...

After several serious consideration and attempts at running the whole enchilada I've finally buckled down and signed up for a marathon.  Rotorua Marathon on May 1, 2010.  That's roughly 13 weeks away. Training starts NOW and I feel totally up for the challenge. I always said I would run a martathon before my first year of marriage and I'm sticking to my word.  New Zealand is quite ideal for training with the rather mild climate year around. I'll need to adjust to the unpredictable rainy days but that's a small trial compared to snow, wind, and nasty cold weather.  I'm training with the help of the FIRST marathon training program, which Kimmy introduced to me.  The program consists of running only 3 days a week with cross training at least 2 other days.  I like the makeup since it will allow me to continue on with P90X since Jason and I are half way through the training program. It's easy for me to type away about my training and the excitment of running a huge race but let's be honest, somedays it's going to be really hard.  I know my body is strong enough-I just have to get my mind to be there with it too.  I feel like I know the ins and outs of running after doing it competively, collegiatley, and now consistently for 10 years of my life. A marathon is unchartered territory though.  It's exciting and it's putting some spice in my everyday workout!   I'm going to complete it and I'm going to Love it.