Just a quick update

Ok, so it’s been a while since my last post (again). I really enjoy writing this blog, the problem is just that writing involved staring at a computer screen and that is what I’m doing about 90% of the time I’m at work which, right now, is the case about 50% of my waking hours. So I’m sure you understand that the rest of the time (when I’m not at work) I prefer doing something that does not involve a computer. Like training for a triathlon, for example. So it’s those rare moments like right now when work is slowing down that I have time to write something during work hours – don’t tell my boss :)

Anyway, let me just give you an overview of what I’ve been up to lately. To say that I’m training for a triathlon right now is actually a bit exaggerated. Yes, I’m walking, biking and swimming several times every week but it doesn’t really feel like ‘training’ at the moment. OK, maybe the swimming but biking and walking feel more like hobbies than serious training. 

Running

Well, technically there is no running. My back if finally getting better and I don’t want to screw it up again right away. So I’m walking. I actually quite enjoy it. While running is very exhausting and sweaty etc. walking is much more relaxing. Especially after a long, busy day at the office I find it very relaxing to go for a walk. I’ll do that about twice a week at the moment. I might start running again in a few weeks but for now I’m good with just walking.

Biking

Another thing that is actually more relaxing that exercising right now. I go for a bike right about twice a week and really enjoy it. Usually I do about 8-10km. I just bought a new car on the weekend and it came with a bike rack so now I might actually take the bike out of the city sometime to go for a ride somewhere nice :)

Swimming

This is where it gets a bit more serious. You might remember from my previous post that I was struggling to find the right swimming style. Well, I have now decided that I’m gonna do breast stroke. It might not be the fastest or most efficient way to do it but it’s what I’m comfortable with. I tried freestyle a couple of times but I have to concentrate a lot to get the coordination right and actually end up being slower than swimming breast stroke. On the other hand, breast stroke just comes natural and I enjoy it much more. Generally I really enjoy swimming. I usually go twice a week and already notice that I’m getting better. At the moment I do a few runs of 200meters with little break in between. I think altogether I do about 700-800 meters ‘serious’ swimming each time I’m at the pool. By the end of March I want to be able to do at least 600m in one go.

Well, that’s about where I am at this stage. Oh, and did I mention that I also do three gym (weights) session per week? So you can see I’m quite active at the moment. And I’m really enjoying it (except for the getting up at 6am three times a week part).

More to come soon ….

The Triathlon Challenge Part I – Swimming

This is probably gonna be the hardest part of the whole triathlon for a number of reasons. First of all it requires walking around in public in a swimsuit which is a bit of a challenge in itself. Most of the time, these days, I generally like what I see when I look into the mirror (especially compared to what I used to see). Sometimes when I’m walking past a reflecting window I even think to myself ‘damn you look good girl’ (it’s a little arrogant, I know. But what the hell …). However, in a swimsuit that is still a completely different story. J

Furthermore, I haven’t done any actual swimming in over 10 year (not counting splashing around in the ocean). So in a way I have to re-learn swimming. I still know the basic techniques but I’m very rusty. I could do the other parts (3km run and 10km biking) separately right now relatively comfortably. But swimming 300meter is a different story. So there is a lot of training required to make sure I’m gonna be able to swim 300meter AND then bike 10km AND run 3km. 

So, how do you train swimming? Well, theoretically it’s easy. You hope in the poll and start swimming. And that’s basically what I did last weekend. But then the question was; what swimming style do I use? Here in NZ most people are swimming freestyle (it seems to be the most common style). And when you watch triathlon swimmers on TV they are all using freestyle as well. There must be a reason for that!? However, I always used to swim breaststroke back in the days so that’s what I feel most comfortable with. But it’s also quite hard and mush slower then freestyle. My favorite style is backstroke (because your head stays over water the whole time = no unwanted water inrushes). However, the problem with backstroke is that you don’t see where you’re going which could be a bit of a problem when you’re swimming together with dozens of other amateur triathletes. And it’s all good when I’m swimming inside because you can use the ceiling as a way of knowing if you’re still going straight but on the open water with nothing but the sky above me I would probably end up swimming in circles (which would look very funny but wouldn’t be very efficient J)

So I tried to swim freestyle (just cause that’s what everyone else was doing) but that was kind of harder than I thought. Couple of issue:

1. Swimming straight: I seem to be drawn to the left and kept getting into oncoming ‘traffic’ (let’s just say I didn’t exactly make a lot of new friends at the pool that day)
2. Breathing: Ideally you breath in while your head is over water to the side and then breath out under water - easier said than done and the consequences of doing it the other way around are quite dramatic (as I have learnt)
3. Coordination: Moving your arm and legs to initiate the ‘forward’ movement while moving your head sideways to breath. Again, easier said than done (took quite a bit of concentration).

So here are my option: (1) Use breaststrokes even thought it seems to be the most exhausting, (2) use backstrokes and risk swimming in circles and being disqualified for knocking out some of the competition due to not seeing them or (3) learn how to swim freestyle. 

I have decided to give the freestyle a chance and if that doesn’t work I’ll figure out something else. I bought swimming goggles so I can keep my eyes open which will hopefully help with the swimming straight issue and the breathing and coordination will hopefully come with practice. 

I will let you know how I get on ….

A 'mini' Triathlon

So I have decided that I need a new challenge. Something to work towards, a goal that motivates me. But what to do? The obvious choice would have been another long running event but there are two issues with that. Firstly, my physio therapist kind of advised against it until all my back and knee issues are really healed and secondly, it seems a little bit boring. I feel like I need something new.

The other day I saw a flyer for the Contract TriWomen Series.

This is series of ‘mini’ triathlons just for fun (there is not 1^st, 2^nd, ... price it’s all just about participating). And as the name already suggests, it’s just for women (probably because men couldn't do something like this just for fun and would turn it into a competition anyway). While triathlon can refer to pretty much any combination of any three sports, this is the most common sequence with swimming, biking, and running. Triathlons vary in distances, the most famous is probably the Ironman (3.86 km swim, 180.25 km bike and 42.195 km run) – no worries, I have no intention to do an Ironman anytime soon ;-)

The contact TriWomen races are much, much shorter. The one I’m looking at right now would be something around 300meter swim, 10km bike and 3km run (the exact distance haven’t been confirmed yet). While I can do the biking and running part (separately) relatively comfortable right now the 300meter swimming is a bit more of a challenge. While I learnt to swim as a kid and did some regular swimming classes when I was younger, I haven’t really done any swimming in more than 10 years. My gym as a small 25meter pool and last weekend I went just to find out if I can still swim at all. Good news is I still know how to do it. The bad news is that I was puffing hard after about 100meter ;-) I might have been able to swim 300meter (in a ‘my life depends on it’ situation) but no way could I’ve done a 10km bike AND a 3km run afterwards.

So a ‘mini’ triathlon seems like a perfect challenge at this time. It’s definitely not gonna be easy but it is totally doable. It’s not a huge challenge like the half marathon last year but it is a goal and it does require regular training.

The event I’m looking at right now is on the 9^th of April which gives me 9 weeks to get ready.

Yeah, so that’s my new challenge ;-)

The next step now is to figure out how to train for a triathlon – will keep you posted.

Oh, and if you want to find out more about the Contact TriWomen Series you can visit their website http://www.tri.co.nz/.

I need a new challenge

The frequent follower of this blog might have noticed that I’m not really writing much lately. I wish I could say people have been complaining but besides my family no one really seems to care whether I’m blogging or not :-)

However, I really enjoy the writing and am quite keen to keep this blog going. I was just kind of lacking inspiration lately. I started this blog to write about my half-marathon experience and really enjoyed that. But now that is over and I don’t really have anything exciting to write about. Which is not good cause basically it means there is nothing exciting going on in my life. It’s pretty much work, eat sleep, gym, work, eat, sleep, gym,…. Not very exciting!

So, I need a new challenge! URGENTLY! It doesn’t have to be something as huge has a half marathon, just something to keep things interesting. Another long running event is not really an option right now. First I sprained my knee while still training for the marathon and then I apparently strained a vertebra as well sometime last year which then healed kind of wrong and caused some significant pain and some sleepless nights. I was having some back pain for a while but just didn’t really take it seriously. But a few weeks ago it got really bad. I would wake up around 4am every morning and could go back to sleep because my back was hurting so much. It was kind of productive for a while (you can get a lot done between 4-6am) but after a while it was just really annoying. So I went back to my favorite Physio Therapist and she told me I had sprained a Vertebra a while back and it healed kind of weird hence the pain. It’s actually not that bad though. When she said sprained vertebra I already saw myself sitting in a wheelchair but turns out a couple of massages and some stretching would fix me.

I’m still having some issues with my back but it’s getting better and I hope after a couple more physio sessions I will be back to normal. These types of injuries are apparently typical for runners, especially those that have a tendency to overdo it a little (like going from fat girl to marathon runner in 12 months). But the good news is, I don’t have to give up running altogether, I just should try to limit it a little and do some lower impact exercising as well. At the moment I’m just walking about 4-5km 3-4 times a week but once the back is alright again I will try to get back into running.

However, I also just bought a bike! Biking is much less stressful for joints etc. so for people who have injuries like sprained knees and vertebra it’s a good alternative to running. Growing up in Germany I always had a bike and used it a lot (before I had a driver’s license that is) and I kind of like the idea of being able to just bike somewhere on the weekend. The only problem is that Auckland is quite hilly (especially compared to the area of Germany where I grew up) so I’m not sure how the biking thing is really gonna work long-term. So I decided for now I’m just gonna buy a cheap used bike of Trademe (NZ’s answer to e-bay – for the none-Kiwis among you). Buying a bike over the internet is not quite that simple, especially getting the size right. And in fact, the bike I bought is a little bit small. But it will do for now and if I really do get into biking I can invest into a better, larger one.

So basically my workouts right now consist of gym session, some walking and now some biking. That’s all good, but also kind of boring. I need a challenge, some sort of goal to work towards.

Truth is, I already have a pretty good idea what that challenge could be. But I’m not gonna tell you yet ;-) Just building up some excitement. Maybe you want to guess….

I will write another post in the next few days to let you know I’m up to and why, but right now I’m running out of time (I’m still at the office and need to get ready for another meeting - and just in case your thinking ‘is she allowed to write blog posts during working hours’, let me just tell you that regular working hours ended about 20 minutes ago and I’m still here because I’ve got a late meeting with some people in India at 6.30). So, got to go now, but will fill you in on my new plans soon…

The ‘tooth brushing’ trick

Today I’m gonna share a funny little trick with you.

It falls more in the ‘diet’ category then in the ‘exercising’ category. See, one of my biggest problems when it comes to healthy eating is to be good in the evenings. Eating healthy during the day is usually relatively easy. I’m busy and have a certain routine. I eat my breakfast, go to work, eat the lunch I have prepared, have some fruit or veggies in the afternoon … I’m not even tempted by the cakes and stuff at the place where I usually go in the afternoons to get a coffee.
After I get home in the evenings, that is when the real challenge starts. That’s when I’m craving chocolate and other unhealthy stuff. I usually try to make a healthy dinner right after I get home, to make sure I’m eating something ‘good’ before my brain really has time to develop any cravings for something else. But that only works to some extent. I might not be hungry anymore after dinner but I still have cravings ;-)

And that is where the ‘tooth brushing’ trick comes into play. If I brush my teeth right after dinner (instead of right before I go to bed as I usually do) it somehow is easier to control the cravings. I think it’s partly due to the taste of tooth paste - which is not exactly suggesting chocolate (-: But I’m thinking it’s also sort of a psychological thing. Kind of like my brain unconsciously knows NO FOOD AFTER BRUSHING TEETH.

I know it sounds silly but you should try it sometime. It doesn’t always work but most of the time it does ;-)

Struggling to get back on track

We’re already almost a whole week into 2011! Unbelievable how fast time is going by. For so long I was looking forward to my Christmas break, to going home to Germany to see my family and to spending New Year’s Eve at the Coromandel with my friends. And now it’s already all over and I’m back in the office, back in ‘real’ life.

But I’m struggling to get back into my routine. Last year I had this really good eating healthy and exercising regularly rhythm. Getting up at 6am 3 times a week to go to the gym before work and then cooking healthy food (or reheating yesterday’s healthy leftovers) in the evenings. It was kind of just routine and I didn’t think much about it, I just did it. Now I have to get back into that routine but that is easier said than done.

I have done so well last year that I decided to reward myself and take it easy over the holidays. Going to Germany for Christmas I knew there would be no way that I can stick to that healthy lifestyle. German food (especially the likes of chocolate and cakes) are just too good and are just everywhere around this time of the year. And right after my return to NZ I went camping with friends for a few days and that also included some chips, drinks and generally not exactly super healthy food. So I never planned to lose any weight during this period. The plan was to maintain but the realist in me already planned for a 1-2 kg weight gain. And that’s about what it ended up being.

Now I have to get rid of those extra 2 kg again as well as another 10-12kg. And as with so many things, getting started is the hardest and I’m really struggling with it right now.

Today is my 5th day back in Auckland and my 3rd day back at work but I still haven’t been back to the gym once. I just can’t get out of bed in the morning. And in the evenings after work it’s just too hot. I’ve been going for walks in the evenings, telling myself that I’m slowly easing back into my workout routine but sooner or later I will just have to get serious about it and get my butt back to the gym.

And the healthy eating thing is also only slowing getting back on track. It’s actually kind of scary how quickly I fall back into old habits. Mainly a habit of eating when I’m not hungry just cause the food is there. And a habit of telling myself that I will start eating healthy again ‘tomorrow’. I’m scarily good at convincing myself that one more day of crappy eating doesn’t make a difference and that I will be ‘good’ again tomorrow. And then tomorrow comes and I tell myself the same thing. For a smart girl it is amazing how stupid I can be sometimes :-).

I think one of the most important things for me in these situations in to keep hopping on the scales every morning and recording the weight. If I stop doing that it gets so much easier to lie to myself and ignore the truth. I also have to drag myself back to my weekly weight watchers meeting next week. I skipped this week but as of next week I will be back, no matter what the scales say.

I’ve come so far last year and I’m sure as hell not gonna give up now. I just need to give myself a bit of a kick in the ass and tackle those remaining 12-14kg.

Still no running ....

It’s been 2 ½ weeks since my half marathon and I’m still not back to running. Why? Well, because me knee is still hurting every now and then and the Physio said I should wait until I have been without pain for at least 5 days before I start running again. She said these kinds of injuries are tricky because once you have them they are really hard to get rid of permanently. And starting training too early after an injury is pretty much the safest way to ensure you will never fully recover ;-)

So right now I’m going to the gym 3 times a week in the mornings. I do strength training (taking it easy with the workouts that put stress on my knee) and I do some cardio on the bike. Apparently riding the bike is good when you have knee injuries because it trains the muscles but because you’re sitting it’s low impact – unlike running! I also try to go for walks at least 2 or 3 times a week which is actually really nice because we have been having absolutely beautiful spring weather and I walk either in One Tree Hill which is a park just a few minutes from where I live or I go somewhere to the waterfront, like Mission Bay, and walk there. So in a way I’m enjoying taking it a bit easier after all the full on marathon training. But at the same time I’m getting a little impatient and nervous.

In a way it is totally stupid. I’m still working out 3 times a week and I’m doing active stuff on weekends like walking so compared to what I used to do most of the past 26 years it’s pretty damn good. And the weight loose has continued to go well, too. I was a bit concerned that when I started reducing the amount of work outs the weight loose would slow down or I would have to change my eating habits but it all worked out really well. I’m eating a little less carbs then I did in the last weeks of marathon training but besides that my diet is still the same and I’m still losing weight at about the same rate than before. So technically it is all going well and there really is no reason to stress or be in a rush to get back to running.

But for some reason I’m very anxious about not running. It’s kind of like I’m scared to fall back into old habits. I had this really good rhythm before the half marathon, it was like a routine I didn’t have to think about. I had my running days and my gym days and a plan for how much I would do each day and all I had to do was follow that plan. Now all the sudden there is so much more flexibility and it’s so easy to trick myself into thinking it doesn’t matter if I don’t work out today, I can just do it tomorrow and what difference makes a day. You’re probably thinking I’m totally overreacting and you’re probably right ;-) I should just relax and take it easy for a while until the knee has recovered and then start running again slowly. Too bad patience is not exactly my strong suit ;-)

so, what's next?

That's the question!

As far as running is concerned I already know what the next challenge will be: Round the Bays 2011. Round the Bays is a 8km fun run that takes place every year in March here in Auckland. You run from the city centre along the water front all the way to St Heliers.
Now you probably think, 8km???? Wait a second, didn't she just do 21km? How can 8km be the next Challenge?
Well, the challenge will be to run the complete 8km. Because, even though I can do a half marathon, I still can't actually RUN more then 2-3 km before I have to walk for a bit. So the next goal is to run more and walk less. And in March I want to run 8km without walking along the way. I know, it's not a huge challenge like a half marathon but I think it is perfect. It means I keep challenging myself to get better but at the same time to training will be less time intensive than training for the half. And given that summer is right around the corner it might actually be nice to have time for some other stuff.

The other challenge for 2011 will be to reach goal weight. I'm still about 15kg way from what I've set as my personal goal so I definitely want to reach that in 2011. I know from many others who have been through the weight loss experience that the last 5-10kg are often the hardest and take a bit longer. So I will try to be patient and set my expectations right but I should definitely be able to get rid of those 15kg sometime during 2011.

The title of this blog is "It's all about the (half marathon) challenge". And there is a reason why 'half marathon' is in brackets. This was never meant to be just a blog about running or exercising , let along weight loss. It was simply about challenging myself and writing about it. Right now I kind of enjoy the feeling of just having successfully complete the half marathon challenge and I feel like I'm taking a well deserved little break from challenging myself. But sooner or later I'm gonna pick a new challenge. And that could really be anything. Maybe it will be another physical challenge, but it could also be something completely different like learning another language. I have a few ideas but kind of need to sort that out with myself before I blog about it.

Right now the challenge is to make it through the next 5 weeks ;-) Everything has been so busy lately and I'm tired and exhausted. I'm really in desperate need of a good break. Just to get away from everything (work mainly) and just relax for a little bit. Luckily I will have exactly that in 5 weeks. Today in 5 weeks I'm flying to Germany so spend Christmas with my family. I so cannot wait, I'm counting the days! It's gonna be a very short trip this time, only 12 days in Germany ;-( But it's better than nothing.

Whatever I end up doing in the end, I'm pretty sure I will keep blogging about it. Maybe not quite as much as in the last months though. It really depends on how much I feel like I have to say, so I guess will just have to wait and see ;-)

just a few more pictures

It's been a long and very busy week which is why I haven't had the time to upload some pictures from my half. But now it's Sunday evening and I already know it's gonna be another long and busy week so I thought I might better get this done.
These are some of the official race photos. There where event photographers at a few points along the course so they took these pictures. You better enjoy them, they were about the most expensive pictures of me you have ever seen ;-) Unbelievable how much they charge for a few photos. First I wanted to boycott is just because the prices seem so unreasonable but then I thought I only get to do one 'first' half marathon and in a few years, when the memories of this day start to get a little fuzzy, I will hopefully be really glad that I did spend this much money for these pictures so they remind me.

So, here I am just on the middle of the Harbor Bridge:

On top of the world, eh Bridge (felt the same in that moment) (-:

Here is me on the last 2km, you can see the bridge in the background. I was pretty much just walking at this stage and as you can see, so was everyone else. You might also notice that I look pretty tired ;-)

This is about 100meters before the finish line. I used the last few energy resources I had at this stage to run the last few 100meters and run across the finish line


And here is me right before the finish line - almost done ;-)

And last but not least, here is my official certificate!

just some reflection...

It’s Wednesday today, 3 days after the half marathon and I’m happy to report that I’m walking normal again ;-) The muscle soreness is mostly gone and I’m feeling much better. I still feel a bit of pain in my right knee and my left ankle but besides that I’m almost back to old strength. I’ve been to the gym this morning and had a good workout. They say that a short recovery time in a sign that training has been good and well balanced so I guess I can give myself a pat on the back :-)

The only thing is, I’m sooooooooooo tired. I slept almost 9 hours last night but felt really tired and exhausted all day. And now it’s just 8.30pm and I could go to sleep (probably will as soon as I’m done writing). I guess it will take some time for my body to really recover. I think I haven’t looked forward to a weekend this much in a while ;-)

Despite all the exhaustion, pain and soreness, Sunday was one of the best days in my life. And who would have ever thought I would say that about a day where I had to get up at 4am and run/walk 21km? But that is exactly what makes it so great. I did something that no one would have ever expected me to do, least of all myself. I’m so not the Athletic type and I have never been good at any sport. Actually, I have never really done any sport or exercising despite horse riding. But now I’ve done a half marathon.

I don’t really believe in things like “you can do anything you want if you try hard enough”. It sounds nice and all but let’s face it, there are some limitations to what we can do. I will never be a famous singer, no matter how much I would want to, I simply don’t have the voice (and yes I know, neither have the likes of Britney Spears but trust me, compare to me Britney has the voice of the century). So I don’t think all the sudden I can do anything I want just because I finished a half marathon. But what I do believe is that I can do a lot more than I often think I can. And I think that is something I share with most people. It’s about comfort zones and getting out of them. It’s about challenging yourself to try something new. Some of the greatest things I’ve done and experienced are things I never thought I would do, like moving to the other side of the world or doing a half marathon. It is a very exciting feeling to achieve something you didn’t even think you could do and often didn’t even consider doing.

You often hear people say something like “the best things in life are for free”. I think it’s more like “the best things in life are the ones you’ve worked for the hardest”. I’ve done and achieved other great things before, like graduating from School and University among the top 10%, being exceptionally good as the Marketing Lead for Spark, being fluent in two languages, travelling to foreign countries all by myself and many other things. But it often felt like these things came natural. Not saying I didn’t work hard to achieve them or make them happen but they are kind of ‘typical Lisa things’. Or I guess you can say they were within my comfort zone :-) Doing a half marathon is definitely not typical and far outside my comfort zone. And that is what makes it so great.

Where am I going with this? Not really sure, just wanted to share some of the things I’ve been thinking about. I don’t really want to give advice on how to live their lives to anyone, I think I’m in no position to do so. I think that everyone needs to figure things out on their own and something that works for one person might not work at all for someone else. But there is one piece of advice I have that I think works for everyone: DO SOMETHING! Just do something, anything. Something you always wanted to do. And it can be anything. It doesn’t have to be a half marathon, it doesn’t have to be any things active at all. Maybe there is a challenging book you want to read, a country you want to visit or something you want to learn.
I’ve been involved in the entrepreneurial community here in Auckland for a few years now and I have heard from a lot of different successful and very inspiring entrepreneurs. They all have different stories and are successful for different reason. But there is one thing a lot of them seem to have in common and I think they also share this with others (non-entrepreneurs) that are successful in life. They have found something they are passionate about and gave it/are giving it their all!

That is what I want! I want to love what I’m doing and really care about it. And for the last 6 months the half marathon has been that something for me. Now I have to find something new and I’m sure I will, sooner or later.

So if I have one piece of advice for other people this is it: Do something! Just get started. Just pick a project and get started. And yes, maybe you’re gonna fail a few times, but trust me, the feeling of achieving something you never thought you could do will be worth the failures in the end!

The official race report

Distance between start and finish line: 21.09km

Time it took to cross the finish line: less than 1 second

Time it took to get there: 26 years and 6 ½ month!

It’s the day after my half marathon. I’m still sore pretty much everywhere and can hardly walk but besides that I’m feeling good. The stomach pain is gone and so is the headache I got last night. I was so tired I went to bed at 8.30 and was asleep in a matter of seconds ;-) My knee is feeling very sore today but I’m sure with a bit of rest that will get better soon.

But now, as promised, the official race report.

So my day started at 4am. I slept relatively well and thanks to the excitement and adrenaline getting up was relatively easy. I had an energy bar and some yoghurt for breakfast and then got ready and made sure I had all my stuff ready. Then I took a taxi to the downtown ferry terminal. The closer we got to the ferry the more people I saw with their running gear and their blue race bags coming from all directions. It was kind of funny seeing all the people walking around in the dark in their sports gear.

At 5.30 I was on the Ferry over to Devonport together with hundreds of others. It was an absolutely amazing mix of people. I’ve noticed this before during the training races I’ve done but it still amazes me. There are people from all walks of live, all ages, all sizes and all fitness levels. Some people looked more like they were going to a Sunday picnic with their friends, with big backpacks and happily doing small talk among each other. Others looked really professional in their running gear and with all sorts of gadgets and they look very concentrated, like they are mentally preparing for the race. And then there are those that look somewhere between intimated and amazed and like they are still trying to figure out what the hell they are actually doing here – just like me.

When we got to the Ferry Terminal in Devonport there were already a lot of people just sitting around waiting. We got there just past 6am and the full marathoners had just started. First I followed the crowed outside but when I realized how cold it was I decided to stay inside a bit longer. I just sat down among all the other runners, had another ½ energy bar and check all my gear. Making sure the number is pined to my shirt and that my timing chip is fixed to my shoe correctly. At about 6.30 everyone started to go outside so I followed. I wanted to make a quick toilet stop before the race so I got in line with hundreds of others who apparently had the same idea. Despite what must have been around 30 porta-loos, the lines where long and it took some time. I used the time to do some stretching and did some small talk with the people around me. By the time I was done with that, I just had enough time to walk over to the start line in time for the start. And then off we went.
Here are some pictures from the start in Devonport.

It took about 5min before I crossed the start line and then another maybe 300meters before the whole field was really running and I started to have a little bit of space around me.

500meters! That’s about how far I got until my knee started to hurt. At that point I just thought “GREAT, this is going to me fun”. But then about 2km later it stopped, or maybe I just stopped feeling it. It all went by kind of quickly then for the next 10km or so. I was still waiting for the 9km sign when the 10km one showed up already. I was feeling good the complete first half of the race and I was really enjoying it. It was really good that I had been running on the course a few time before. That way I knew where I was going and what was coming next. The people around me were all doing pretty much the same as I, run a bit then walk a bit and run a bit again.
Here are some pictures from the first half:

And then before I knew it, I was running on the motorway towards the harbour bridge. I was really good on time and wouldn't have any problems getting across the bridge before the ‘bus of shame’ comes and collects people that don’t make it over in time. This is when I started to walk more. Until this point I hadn’t walked more than 1-2 minutes between running intervals but there was just no way that I could run up the bridge. And besides, I wanted to enjoy it. It was a really beautiful day, A little bit cloudy to make sure it’s not too warm but with some sunny moments and a nice fresh breeze. And everyone around me was walking too. So there wasn’t much motivation to run. Here are some images for the bridge. There were official photographers taking pictures on the bridge and I will put them up as well as soon as I have them.

When I was on top of the bridge it kind of hit me. I was really doing this. This is the day I had been training for for months. Despite the knee pain and no running for the last two weeks and all the mental stress that caused, I was really gonna do it. I knew I would finish my first half marathon. It was still about 6km away from the finish line but I knew the rest would be flat and I could crawl home if I had to. I had made the bridge in time. Actually with plenty of time. It was 8.52am when I reached the top so I could have been almost ½ an hour slower – typical me, all this stressing beforehand for nothing.

I started running again down the bridge but this is when I started to feel the pain in my knee again and started to get really tired. I had pushed myself very hard in the first half to make sure I make it to the bridge and once I had made it motivation to keep running kind of dropped. My legs were hurting and this is also when my stomach started to feel weird. I still don’t know why I was having stomach issues. I mean I was expecting my legs to hurt and my back to feel tense and all that but I never had stomach problems during any of my training runs. Maybe it had something to do with having breakfast so early which I’m not used to or maybe it was just all the excitement and stress and pressure I had put myself under.

Point is; I just wanted it to be over. I walked a lot on the last 4km and only ran very little. I was just too tired and there wasn’t really a reason anymore to keep pushing myself to go faster. And everyone else around me seemed to feel the same. Still, we were walking fast and my legs were hurting more with every step. At km 18.5 we were almost at the finish line, just that we had to do another 2.5km loop before we could actually cross it. I’m telling you walking ‘away’ from the finish line was not easy for any of. Everyone kept glancing over and it was written on everyone’s face that they just wanted to take the short cut and be ‘home’. But we all kept going. About 200meters before the finish line I started running again because I really wanted to run across the finish line. I know, this is cheating a bit but come on, I’m sure most of you would have done the same ;-) I finished in just under three hours, but I so don’t care about the time.

At the finish Tina and Peter (with a blue Powerade) and Sonali met me and it was just great to have some friends there to enjoy the moment with me. Thank you guys so much for coming, you’re the best!!!

Right after the race I actually felt OK. I was exhausted of course but I think the excitement of actually having done it kept me going for a bit. But then it kind of hit me and I had to sit down for a bit. My stomach was feeling really tight, like I had swallowed a brick and I was just tired and overwhelmed. I didn’t even like my coffee – that should tell you all ;-) So Sonali gave me a ride home. Back at home I just took a shower, heated my wheat bag and went straight to bed for a few hours. The rest of the day I pretty much spend in bed and on the couch.

This morning I already felt better and I’m sure in a few days the soreness will disappear as well. As I’m having the day of today, I’m just relaxing, reading, watching TV etc. I went for a little walk earlier just to move the muscles a little bit and will do some stretching tonight but that is about all the activity I’ve got planned for the day.

I’m gonna go to the supermarket now to get some Chocolate ;-) – I feel I have really deserved that after yesterday. But tomorrow I’m gonna be back on the ‘eating healthy’ trip. Still have some kilos to get rid of and also want to keep the running up. Not sure yet what is next for me now, but regular exercising will definitely be a part of it.

I still have a few more things to write about but this should be enough for today ;-)

I did it!!!!!!!!!!!

If someone had told me a year ago that I would do a half marathon, I would have laughed at them. But today I did it, I finished a Half Marathon in just under 3 hours. The knee was alright during most of the run and I made it to the bridge with plenty of time.

I will post a detailed race report tomorrow, with pictures and everything. But right now I'm just to tired and exhausted. Everything is hurting, my legs, my back and even my stomach. I'm not sure what I did to my stomach but for some reason it doesn't feel good. I've finished about 7hours ago and I still haven't eaten more than a Banana and a piece of bread. Normally I should be really hungry now, but somehow I'm just not. Maybe it's just some sort of exhaustion/stress thing. I'm sure it will be better tomorrow.

Taking tomorrow of work pretty much seems like the best idea I've ever had. I'm so looking forward to a lazy day at home.

OK, details will follow tomorrow!

Only one more sleep!

It’s the day before the big day.
Everyone keeps asking “and, are you ready?”. Thing is, I don’t know. I haven’t been running in two weeks and they all say that doesn’t matter. After 5 months of training two weeks break don’t change anything, I should still be as fit as I was two weeks ago. But I guess I won’t know for sure until tomorrow. And then there is the knee situation. I know it’s going to hurt but I don’t know how much because I haven’t been running in two weeks. So lots of uncertainty and I hate uncertainty.

And then there is the pressure factor that makes me kind of nervous. I started this whole blog because I wanted to share the journey and also because I thought it would help with the motivation if everyone knew what I’m up to. It totally worked and all your encouraging messages and words have been really great. However, now it means the pressure is on! Everyone knows I’m doing the half marathon tomorrow and everyone expects me to finish and be just fine. So now I’m thinking it would have been easier if I hadn’t told anyone. Cause I could just relax and try my best tomorrow and if I finish I could have surprised everyone with the news that I just finished a half marathon and if I wouldn’t finish it I could just not say anything at all and no one would ever know that I failed.

But then again, sharing this experience with people has also been a really great experience and I would have missed out on that if I hadn’t told anyone. Not to mentioned that I wouldn’t have gotten all these encouraging messages ;-)

Anyway, tomorrow this time it will all be over so now point thinking about would have and could have now.

But now, as promised a bit more about the actual race course. I’ve put in a map below.

As you can see, it starts on the North Shore, opposite of the Auckland City Centre. That means in the morning I have to take a ferry over to Devonport to the start line. Thinking about it, it actually seems kind of weird to start there. If I were to organize an event in Auckland which would require about 7,000 people to be a location around the same time, I would not pick Devonport. There is only one road going into Devonport or you can take the Ferry from the city. There is like zero parking and the one road going there is also part of the course. So it will be a total mission to get there. The half marathon will start at 7am and I plan to be at the Ferry terminal downtown around 5.30. There will probably be some waiting required at the Ferry and I want to make sure I make it over in time.

The race then starts pretty much next to the Ferry Terminal in Devonport. It then leads towards Narrow Neck Beach and then north towards Takapuna which is where about 1/3 is done. It then turns west towards Northcote and then South towards Auckland city. The Highlight is the Harbour Bridge. The whole approx 14km until the top of the bridge are hilly. They officially call that ‘slightly rolling hills’ but I think that makes it sound much less hilly than it actually is. It’s pretty much up or downhill all the time, there is hardly a bit that is just plain even. Which, by the way, is typical for Auckland – it’s a Volcanic Island after all.
On top of the Bridge about 2/3 are done. Once down the bridge, the rest of the course it flat and leads along the waterfront towards the city. The course ends at Victoria Park, which is pretty much in the middle of the City.

The weather forecast is pretty good. It’s suppose to be a sunny day and it might actually get quite warm in which case it is good that the marathon is so early in the morning. I dehydrate really quickly when it’s warm and sunny and need a lot of fluid. So I prefer a bit colder and a little cloudy.

Tonight I will have a good dinner with pasta and mushrooms (lots of carbs) and then go to bed early so when the alarm goes off at 4am I’ll be rested and fit (or at least as fit as I can possibly be at 4am in the morning).

OK, more tomorrow once it’s done (one way or the other).

who picked the colour of this shirt???????????

Today I went to pick up my race pack which contains my number, timing chip, some event info, lots of flyers and leaflets for all sorts of things, some free samples and my official Auckland half marathon shirt. As soon as I saw the shirt I just had one questions: Who the hell picked that colour? It's about the ugliest colour I can think of. In the past marathon shirts have been red (2009), purple (2008), royal blue (2007). Now, I'm not a fan of red either so I was kind of happy that colour was out. But this year's shirt is some weird mix between neon yellow and neon green. It kind of looks like the road safety clothing just a bit more greenish. Well, point is: It's really ugly! What is wrong with black, white, green, light blue, ...? Couldn't they have picked any of those colours? Oh, and just in case you don't believe me, here is what it looks like:

The good news is I don't have to wear this shirt. I'm gonna be wearing what I'm used to from my training because I know that works for me. But still, I would have liked to wear this shirt maybe to other occasions. And it's from Adidas, so it's good quality it would have made a good running shirt.

Haha, I'm just thinking, imagine all 7,000 people who are doing the full or half marathon on Sunday would actually be wearing this shirt! You could see us coming from the moon - even in the dark ;-)

OK, enough with the bitching now ;-)

Otherwise the last two days have been pretty busy at work which is kind of good cause it didn't leave much time to get nervous. I've done an easy workout at the gym this morning and will do some more stretching tonight and tomorrow. My knee is getting better, so hopefully that will be alright.


Picking up my race pack today was kind of cool. I walked in there and there were all these other runners and everyone was really friendly and smiling at each other and I just felt so weird being a part of this. I'm nervous, especially about me knee, but I'm also really looking forward to doing this.


So much for today, tomorrow I will post a bit more about the race and course.

Only 4 days to go

Just thought I write a quick update now that there are only 4 days to go until the half marathon.
My knee is healing slowly – ways to slow for my liking. Yesterday I made it down the 3 flights of stairs in our office without pain for the first time since the injury. It’s still a long way to a half marathon, but at least it’s getting better.

I’ve been doing everything the Physio told me: Taking anti-inflammatory, stretching, cooling, resting, not wearing heals, etc. The last part is actually easier said than done because I only really had one pair of flat shoes that would qualify as “office appropriate” – red boots. And let me tell you, I do not have a lot of outfits that work with red boots. In fact I have exactly one – black pants and black blouse ;-) But then I thought. I have about 25 pairs of shoes (not counting the other approx 50 pairs in my parents basement in Germany) there has to be something I can wear. And I was right, somewhere in the back of my closet I found a pair of black flats that go with pretty much anything. I bought those a while ago, wore them once and found them uncomfortable and never wore them again. Turns out they actually get a lot more comfortable once I’ve walked in them for a while, guess they just had to stretch a little ;-) I’m still not completely happy because I think dresses and skirts just looks soooooo much better with heals but my friend ensured me it doesn’t look that bad. But then again, when one of your female friends tells you, ‘you don’t look that bad’ it pretty much means you look ridiculous and she is just being nice ;-) Good thing I spend most of my days looked away in the office anyway ;-) OK, but now enough of the fashion drama.

I am starting to get a little nervous now! It’s all happening so fast and before I know it it’s all gonna be over. I still have to sort out a lot of details as well, like who to get to the Ferry in the morning, what time to get there, how much time I will need before the start, etc. I have to go and pick up my race package which will include my number, timing chip and some other stuff. I also have to make a playlist – no way I can do this without some good music ;-)

I’m having (another) super busy week at work so I guess most of that will have to wait until Saturday. I have another appointment with the Physio tomorrow to get one last massage before the race (massage sounds better than it is - I have bruises from the last one). On Friday I will do another easy Gym workout and then rest on Saturday.

OK, so much for now. I plan to write a quick update everyday now until the event so more soon….

There’s good news and bad news

The Good news is: I’m gonna live :-)
I know what you think, ‘of course she’s gonna live no one dies from a little sore knee’. But hey, people went to see their doctors with far minor things and never made it back. So the fact that I’m not gonna die from this qualifies as good news :-)

OK, getting serious now. The actually good news is that there is no permanent damage in my knee. It’s just a little stress fracture from too much running, especially running a lot downhill. The physio recommended to not run at all until the event next weekend to give it as much time to heal as possible. She also showed me some stretches and recommended cooling the knee and taking some anti-inflammatory. She massaged the knee muscles and I’ll be going back next week for some more of that. As far as workout goes she said I should do my normal gym work out just skipped those exercises that put stress on the knee and for cardio I could cycle or swim/aqua jogging. As the later requires a bathing suit and I’m not really comfortable with that yet I think I will go for cycling :-)

The bad news is: I will, most likely feel pain during the half marathon. Even if everything heals exceptionally fast within the next week, the stress of running 21km will make it worth again and will cause pain. I hope I’ll be able to do about 10km before the pain comes back but then I’ll just have to deal with it. The Physio said there is no risk of any permanent damage at this stage so she says it’s OK if I ‘ignore’ the pain and keep running. However, she said I should try to avoid running downhill too much. NOW, that is a problem! I can’t really run uphill because, well I just can’t, and I can’t run downhill because it will hurt! Given that this is Auckland that doesn’t leave much of the course. The last 4.5km are flat, but by then I will probably already be in pain anyway. Not quite sure yet how I’m gonna deal with this. I guess I will just see what happens and how it all goes.

So overall it probably could be much worth and I’m really glad that there is nothing permanently damaged. But at the same time this just really sucks! A half marathon is tough enough on its own, I really didn’t need this to make it even harder. Now I’m gonna spend all week worrying whether my knee will be alright and whether I will be in a lot of pain. I’m gonna try my best to just ignore it but knowing me, that is not really gonna work :-)