A good solid 65k week

Last week was such a good and varied running week for me, I wanted to blog it, even though I am very behind now.

Monday 18th - I did an easy 7k down and back to the Bay. I don't much enjoy running in the dark but its nice when the sun rises while you are out.
Tuesday 19th - I was planning to run in the evening after a slightly boozy work function on Monday night, but it was raining and dark and I had limited time before another work function, so I had a go on the hotel treadmill. I set it to 11.5k, incline of 3 (whatever that means) and slogged it out for 40 mins. It was not esp enjoyable, but it was a run.
Wednesday 20th - Surprise, it was raining and dark again in the morning so I opted for a 1.5k swim and went for my run with Tom in the evening instead. I don't usually run in the evening and I did not have anything to eat before I left. I ended up feeling quite strange. I felt like I was not running and my spatial sense was all screwed up. Tom said this is exactly what happens to him when he runs on an empty stomach - not recommended. But it was was still a nice run with Tom - 10k.
Thursday 21st - I finally got out on the bike for bunch training at SOP. I rode with group 4 and felt pretty good.
Friday 22nd -I did a long-ish run from home around the Bay. It was not raining but it had been and I was surprised how few others were out running. It was very quiet and I enjoyed an easy 14k. In the evening after work I squeezed in another 1.5k swim.

We made a last minute trip to Canberra for the weekend, after the Woodford to Glenbrook run was postponed. I was not very keen to go, but it turned out to be lovely. It was glorious Canberra winter weather, sunny and clear and calm both days.
On Saturday afternoon Tom's marathon program dictated a fast 10k and I went along too. We ran around Lake Ginninderra which is very familiar territory for me. The sun was setting and it was just so beautiful, almost enough to distract me from the pain of trying to run "Fast". In theory we were targeting sub 5 min k pace, but ended up with an average speed of 4.40, and 10k in about 46:45.
On Sunday morning we took advantage of the great opportunity to run off-road in Canberra and ran from Hawker to Black Mt and back. It was quite hilly and I felt pretty tired but it was still a very enjoyable run in PERFECT running conditions. We finished up with almost dot on 20k in 2 hours - average speed 5.59. When we got home we cooked up a massive brunch for the family - bacon, mushroom, tomato, eggs 3 ways and croissants with jam. Tom summed things up when he reached for his second croissant and said "well, I did do a long run this morning". :) In the afternoon we did a lovely "recovery" ride around Mt Ainslie with Ella on the mtbs.

So I finished the week with a massive (for me) 65k running and I felt great about it. I am feeling like a I really need to get some consistency back into my training, so hopefully this is a good start.

Geoquest Adventure Race

Last weekend I spent being support crew for the team Out of Range in the Geoquest Adventure Race. My aims in order of importance were to help the team, have lots of fun and learn a bit about adventure racing.

Unfortunately one team member had to withdraw on the first night with a back injury, but the rest of team went on unranked and completed 3 out of the 4 legs. I know they were all disappointed not to finish, it is a race that requires a big investment of time, money and emotion. But I thought what they did was amazing nonetheless.

The highlights for me were:
- Watching the team do their planning with the maps the night before the race.
- Seeing our team get safely out and back through the waves on the scary ocean kayak leg.
- Being told in the local bakery that they did not sell anything vegetarian because: "we don't get many vegetarians around here." :)
- Meeting my support crew buddies James and Jane.
- Eating yummy gelato in lovely Bellingen

The lowlights were:
- The horrible pizza we ordered for the team from Sawtell on Friday night
- Waiting for our team to call us for a pick-up during the race from 9.30pm until 1AM, literally thinking they were going to call any minute. That was excruciating.

I am still undecided if this race is something I would like to do. It looked like fun, but like very, very hard fun. I think I would like the paddling and the mtb and the team aspect. I think I would struggle with the sleep deprivation. I would have to improve my navigation skills which are currently non-existant.

In adventure racing the 'premier' category is Mixed. Mostly the mixed teams are 1 woman and 3 men and that means in most teams the woman is the slowest, and might get towed on the mtb and helped along by the boys in other ways. This year the woman in the winning team explained that last year she raced in all-female team and they came last! That seemed to sum up the situation rather well. Interesting.

Anyway, I had a really enjoyable weekend and got heaps of insight into 'what it takes'.