Running on empty

Coming close to a year end, it is surprising to see so many people out and about running on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. I did not feel compelled to run on these two days as I have developed flu like sneezes, sore legs and overall lethargy which I figured may have been brought on by the stress of Christmas. Making sure Christmas lunch goes well for family took its toll and I am enjoying a glass or three of French champagne. Now that the hurly burly of Christmas is over my thoughts again turn to the training program. Since the last post I have run in some new and interesting places.

Tuesday December 16 - Church Point Challenge (LSD 20 km)
Started predawn at 5.00 am with Mike and Stan from home, ran to Bayview, Church Point, Mona Vale and back home. The moon was still shining bright as I was lacing up my running shoes. I think I was up before the birds this morning. View from my porch this morning.

Great scenic run one where you are never too far from water. It is one of my favourites. I love getting to the Pittwater side with the moored boats and stunning houses such a contrast to the start - ocean beach and ordinary houses in my suburb. Ran 20km in 2 hours – developed sore shin which was too painful to put weight on towards the end.

Thursday December 18 – Rainbow Beach, Port Macquarie (Easy -9km)
Visiting family at Port Macquarie, ran with Mike to Rainbow Beach and back to the family farm. Great to run in a new place, although in sections of the run there was not much shoulder on the road. Quite scary with cars whizzing past. Obviously the local through road was designed for cars only. Rainbow Beach seems to stretch for miles and with so few people around early in the morning it looked stunning.

Easy run just to get out and stretch the legs. Loosened the shoe laces seemed to relieve the stress on the lower shin and I did not feel a thing. Great way to start the day. After the run we went blueberry picking, visited a winery and had a leisurely lunch at Lake Cathie. The weather turned nasty very suddenly and by the time we got back to the house you could barely see out of the car. Trees were down and power was out for a few hours.

Saturday December 20 – Quarry Road (Hills - 25 km)
Back home in Sydney for two loops of the Quarry Road at Hornsby. Tough hilly run which I also ran last week and the memory of the discomfort I felt was a bit daunting this morning. It was perfect conditions for running – cool and overcast. I felt terrific on the first lap and ran strong to the end. I am very pleased with the effort today - finished 15 minutes quicker then last week. The profile of the run makes the hills look very steep. Certainly felt steeper on the return of the 2nd lap.


Sunday December 21 – Dee Why Dash (LSD - 20km)
Another great day for running – cool morning and sunny by the time we finished. A group of about 10 runners set out from Dee Why Beach and by 7 km we were disassembled into smaller and smaller clusters. Finished running the last 5 km with Leonor on an average pace of 5.45min/km for the whole run. Very happy with the pace and how I felt throughout. The run was followed by a lovely breakfast with Matt and Brig at Dee Why.


Wednesday December 24 – North Head (21km)
Wow - what a great scenic course. Started at 5.30 am with Mike and Matt from Shelly Beach to North Head then out on the Manly to Seaforth trail. Found a trail around the Artillery School at North Head which takes you off the road. Incredible to have such stunning views across the harbour and yet you are in a natural bush setting. I did not run all the way to Seaforth Bridge – part of the way I turned around and came back. Certainly felt my glutes towards the end of this run. The swim in the ocean at Bower Street stairs was great at the end to cool the legs but pretty soon I was shivering and could not get warm for ages. Food preparation for family Christmas for the rest of the day.