Team Wobbly TdF support vehicle

November Niggles

Hmm - let's just say it has had it's ups and downs shall we?

I'm unable to run at the moment due to a minor calf tear I have been trying to ignore that has got worse - you know, when you don't even have to try, you just know you can't hop on one leg? I don't think it is too bad so a couple of weeks (or so) off will do me along with some good massage I hope.

In the meantime I have been cycling to week each Friday 45- 50 mins each way so that has been great.

October - more fun than a barrel full of monkeys!

Yep - this month was tough, slack, rewarding and surprising and fun!

Due to some ongoing niggly things my training has been limited so I went into the Melbourne Half really under-done and just for the fun of completing the the course. I ran without a watch and I enjoyed this race probably the more than most of those I have done! I cruised around in a comfy pace and had probably way too much gas to spare at the end, but hey - who cares! I ran 2:03:xx which was a little faster than I thought I would and enjoyed a few German beers at Transport with some of the other very cool runners.

A five day work convention up at the Gold Coast was umm...tough. Ok, not really tough, hard...ok, it was fun! I drank way too much, did naf-all running and ate like I was training the house down! Ah well life is short - no point being responsible all the time is there? A little bit of ink on my rear surprised Mrs W and the wobblettes when I got home too!

Around the Bay in a Day - was on the weekend I got home and was great fun. My (now) annual 210k cycle was so much better than last year - I enjoyed pretty much the whole trip (except Reynolds Hill). I was 15 mins quicker than last year and the tough hill work I had done in September really paid off. So did eating about three times as much as last year. I learn Mr Falty, I learn... :)

Enough rambling - here is a peak at one of the CR cap prototypes I had made up (standard old one is on the right) recently. It has reflective piping down the seams. Fully breathable material in centre panel. It also has a reflective rear velcro tab. It's in user testing at the moment. I love it, and it's all mine I tell you! Mine! Mine!! Mine!!!

Sept - 7.5/10 effort

I ran a little bit - even slipped in two 2hr+ runs but then followed those with excuses the following weekends like "it's too windy, I'll run later" or "It looks like it might rain - I'll do a catch up run tomorrow after work" Hehe - god I'm pathetic! Mostly I am protecting a calf problem (does that sound plausible)

With a half marathon to run on Sunday I am feeling underdone but am not looking at any time target apart from running the first 10k in 60 mins. After that it may be a looong walk home!

Oh and then there is this small bike ride - the 210km around the bay in a day! I have managed about half the planned rides but they all went well so I should be fine right? Right???

Stay tuned for next month's damage report - this 'aint going to be pretty!

Augustus excusus

I had plenty of them! The Winter blues? The "lack of a goal", Poor motivation, Work, Injuries. In fact, you name them, and I've used them all recently! I'm a shocker!

Some people work better with deadlines. I confess I am one of those folk. I have two new goals - Melbourne Half Marathon (7 October) and Around the Bay in a Day - 210km cycle (21 October). Eeek! October is going to be exhausting!!

The whole miserable tale of the kms run (or rather NOT run) is over there -------> (me bad).

Let's not even start to talk about weight gains!

A jubilant June

Well almost jubilant anyway. 150kms run and 3 good hard cycles completed.

It's now 6 months post injuries and I feel like my body is slowly getting closer to where it was pre-injury.

By necessity I'm staying away from back-to-back running days (mostly) and not running long distances. My endurance is down but I can rebuild that (I hope) once I have a good base built up without trying (poorly) to "manage" injuries.

The last three weeks I have been cycling 45kms a few times and then throwing on my runners and slipping out for a 10k+ run. While the actual running seems ok (although I really should down a gel or something before the run) the after effect is that my legs feel soooo depleted the rest of the day - I'm hoping this effect reduces with time.

BTW, I have no intentions of doing a triathlon - I am doing this to keep my running going and lessen my chance of injury. Besides, cycling I have decided, is the ultimate sport for someone like me - endless accessories to buy/drool over. I bought myself one of these babies
this week off ebay. Almost half the price of those in the shops and delivered to my door (brand new). I luurve ebay! Ain't nobody not going to see me when I am out in the morning or evening! Bought purely for safety reasons... :) All I need now is a new bike helmet and..... a few spokey dokes...and....

The merry month of May :)

Does anyone read this anymore? I wonder...(perhaps more importantly, I wondey why) Maybe just a few spammers and a few blogging buddies from when I used to complete this blog and have forgotten to remove me from their Bloglines.

I'm glad you are still there anyway (except you scumbag spammers).

The same shin woes and guess what? I have a new injury too - that one is a permanent thing though, so no point discussing that. Despite those little things, I have managed to build up a good (albeit smallish) base and am beginning to think about doing something silly (and long) again.

I planned to run 140kms this month and ran 139kms - very happy with that. I also slipped onto the bike for a serious cycle last weekend. Around the Bay in October is the plan. I wonder if my backside can stand it again...

See y'all a little while (maybe)..

The last post

This is the last post for this blog.

Thankyou to everyone who has offered their very kind support, friendship and humour over the past couple of years. It's been a really fun ride and is time now for this wobbly character to wobble off and have a long, long break from blogging.

So long and thanks for all the fish :)

Edit to add I am not giving up running or anything silly like that. I'll still be very much around the Cool Running Aust community and will continue to log my monthly kms. If anything remarkable happens and I get the urge I will post about it.

Comfort zone break out

A three day break at the start of the month has helped my shins a lot and Sunday morning saw me out with Holly (the ever happy lab) for a long run. On my own, I decided a 6:00/km pace was the fastest I wanted to go and after about 4kms Holly and I settled into a 6:07/km pace very comfortably. I had my fuelbelt loaded with an electrolyte replacement drink, the weather was cool and just a bit windy - no need for any walk breaks and the return trip of 17.7kms was very, very enjoyable. Holly and I just love running our coastal trail.

To push myself out of my comfort zone I put in some hill intervals today. Nothing too serious, but as I could only afford a short break at lunch today, I figured some speed work would do me good and have me back in the office inside 50 mins. Puuurrrfect. I ran 6 x 400m - not timed, but at a very uncomfortable pace up a grassy hill that left me unable to talk while I walked back down the hill to start again. It's funny how I hate doing intervals but love having done them afterwards. I'm going to try and put in a session like this each week for a while. Importantly, the shin aggravation feels much less doing these than my usual plodding style.

Good luck to everyone doing the 6 foot track on the weekend. I hope it's rewarding for all of you and it completes the training/personal journeys that so many of you have been on for the last few months! I wish I could be there to cheers my friends on but the household finances are a bit stuffed at the moment - maybe next year.

Most people I know

In memory of Billy Thorpe, one of Australia's best hard rock singers who tragically died of a heat attack over night aged 60. A true Aussie rock music legend. I'll be playing some of his music nice and loud tonight!

With the end of month today, I slipped in a 8k run to just reach my target for the month of 100kms. I'm finding that every second day is still a bit much so I am going to try for 3 days a week only and try to get in a cycle session.

While my shins are a little sore they are calming down a little and will get a rest day tomorrow.

Man it's humid here in Melbourne this summer - 60% humidity when I ran today and even though it was only 25 degrees - it was a struggle.

Oh, that's right, Summer is officially over tomorrow. Autumn (insert audible sigh) my favourite time of year - crisp mornings and warm days. :)