My Blog

Blogs

Date	Message
28/10/2012	Marathon done! 4,59:26. A bit slower than I hoped, but stoked to skim under 5 hours. Felt really good the first half, and the second half/last third was really tough. Had to walk a bit (too much), but ran across the finish line. And I didn't have to crawl! Thanks everyone - your support means so much, and really helped when I had to dig deep in the last 15km…
27/10/2012	It's been an amazing last few days, even though the training had come to an end, in terms of runs, mid week. The way that so many people have come on board to support me and this fundraising for the Heart Foundation is quite overwhelming. I am filled with gratitude, and have been starkly reminded of how very, very fortunate I have been in my life to cross paths with so many amazing people, from all around the world. Much aroha, from the bottom of my (now healthier) heart.
23/10/2012	Another good week - tapering down now, but did my quickest-ever 5km run last week, then a 13.3km run in the rain and wind and a 12.3km run (first part of the marathon - taking ferry over to the 'Shore) on the weekend. I've now run the entire course other than from just before to just after the Harbour Bridge - so at least I'll know my way around on the day! Thanks so much to everyone for all your wonderful support. You'll never know how much it means to me.
14/10/2012	Big last few days. Wednesday night was an 18km run/walk - running up a big hill, walking down, running up, etc - so 9km of hard hills. Then 25.5km run on Thursday night, and today (Sunday) 32km - biggest run ever, ran the whole way (3.5hours). Two weeks until the big day. Have to do that, plus another 10km. Will be a long day, but we'll get there. Thanks for all the continued support. It really helps.
9/10/2012	Well, the running continues to pick up. I did another half marathon (21.1km) after work last Wednesday, and then last night did a 16.3km run, with hills over the first 9-10km. Lots more to do over the next three weeks, but progress keeps being made. Thanks for all the support everyone. It means a lot.
27/9/2012	Well, the last three weeks or so has been great on the running front. I really feel that I've kicked things up a gear. I've been running regularly (4-5 times a week), and have increased the distance etc consistently. Last week I ran 34km in 36 hours at one point (three runs), and then capped that on Sunday with my first-ever half marathon - run through the backblocks of Brightwater, past vineyards and country fields, by myself… 21.6km. Still a long way to go, and only a month or so to do it, but tracking well. Thanks for all your ongoing support everyone - the sponsorship, messages, and more all mean so much to me. :-)
9/9/2012	Well, September has been going great so far. Really kicking things up a notch, which is good - because I will need to do that a lot more over the next 50 days. This week I went for a 12.5km run with a friend on Monday, a 6.5km run following a gym session on Thursday, a 5.5km run on Friday, and then a 14km run (new PB) today. My first-ever actual running event: Race 4 of the Unitec Run & Walk Series, out in Henderson. Of course in 50 days I need to do three times that much in one go, but hey, the curve is heading in the right direction again :-)
30/8/2012	Went for a run with a friend tonight - first time I've run with someone else. Was different, but good. No music to listen to, but conversation (some of the time). A good run too - 11km - we did a warm up walk and a warm down walk so the actual running circuit was 9.6km. With hills. Biggest run yet, ran the whole way too, non-stop, so that was great. Definite improvement. A long way to go, but feel I'm getting back on track. Thanks for all the support! :-)
28/8/2012	6km run after work tonight. Ran the whole way and felt pretty good. Easing back into it. Need to really kick things up a notch in the coming weeks. Two months exactly to go until the big day.
21/8/2012	Well, it's been a challenging last couple of months - shortly after my last blog post I hurt my calf doing the Powerade 9km circuit, which was a shame because I'd really been building up the running nicely, feeling good, and was on the cusp of kicking things up a gear to 12-15km and 20km type runs. Coupled with a trip to the UK (fun, lots of walking but no running), a jet-lagged week back, then another week battling a nasty flu virus, the past several weeks have flown by, and I don't feel I've made anywhere near as much progress as I would have wanted. The good news is I started running again last week, just some short 5km jogs, have been going to the gym too, and I'm raring to go, champing at the bit to really get back into it. Need to get the diet sorted to keep dropping weight (I'd like to lose another 10-15kgs over the next 10 weeks before the marathon). Thanks for all the support - I feel like I've had my little 'plateau' period now (which I knew would happen at some point, starting as I did six-plus months before the marathon), and it's really time now to dig in and make some more progress. Will keep you all posted on progress.
20/6/2012	Well, I've started running regularly, which is progress. I've done four runs in the past week (Wed, Thurs, Sun, Tues nights), each in tehe 53-58mins range for 9km. The 58mins one included some walking. Feeling better about the running, but still a long way to go.
14/6/2012	Did my first Powerade Challenge run last night. 9km set course along Auckland waterfront. First proper run in a month (ankle injury - have done lots of walking instead), and I was just hoping to do it in about an hour to an hour 10mins (with some walking). Set a bar for myself to better inh the coming weeks. End result, on a freezing night: 54mins 31secs. Not blazing by any stretch, but not bad for a 118kg-ish person who hasn't run that far in years. Managed to run the whole way (which I'm stoked about), and even passed a couple of much fitter-looking-than-me people… oh, and although I thought I'd slow down heaps on the way back, I was actually 3 secs faster on the return - so kept a nice slow and steady pace the whole way, which is good practice for marathon etc…
8/6/2012	Well, I've got to the end of another week, and it's lead to a personal best on the weekly walking/running total: 173.5km between last Friday morning and Thurs night this week. So unlike the Proclaimers I didn't walk 500 miles, but I did walk more than 100! Weighed in at 117.3kg this week too - so that's 15kg lost since the first week of April. Everything is heading in the right direction - there have been plenty of challenges already, and I'm sure many more to come, but everything is heading in the right direction overall. Thanks for all the support everyone. It means a lot.
28/5/2012	Well, did a new PB on the long walk front over the weekend - 43.1km on Saturday morning (and afternoon) - just under eight hours of walking in one go. So I've now unofficially walked a marathon! So I know I can do the distance now - just got to get faster. Looking forward to a great week ahead. I'm now under 120kg for the first time in two years too; nice to have an '11' at the start of the weight. Soon it will be a '10', then a '9'…
22/5/2012	Back on track after a couple of tough weeks. Ankle and shin seem almost fine, and have been putting in some big walks the past few days. In fact, have walked 98km since Friday morning (Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon and early Tues). Will crack past the 100km mark tonight - first 100km+ week (Week is Wed to Wed). Have had biggest single walk (25km on Sat morning) and biggest single day (33km on Sunday - a 19km in the morning and a 14km in the evening). So, rounding back into some form. Thanks for all the ongoing support :-)
11/5/2012	Slight hiccup in the training this week - ankle sprain/shin injury has stopped me running this week, and cut the walking back too. Still, it's a long road ahead, and a good lesson not to get impatient. Recover, and get back into it asap…
6/5/2012	First hour-plus, and 10km+, run today. To Okahu Bay and back (10.3km) in 73 mins. Not a scorching time, but ran most of the way (a few short walks). Progress is definitely being made, as this was my 'big walk' just last month, and now I'm running (most of) it. Thanks for all the continued support everyone, it means a lot!
30/4/2012	Did my longest run so far yesterday, 8.4km (to Akarana Yacht Club and back). Took me 56 mins, and managed to run almost all of it (about 10mins walking in total, 45 mins running), so progressing nicely. Six months to go - on the day will want to do that in about 50 minutes, five times over. A long way to go, but progress is being made.
27/4/2012	Just a quick update almost four weeks into the marathon training. Doing a lot of walking early one, with three short runs per week, building up in time and distance each week. I'm now walking around 10km on average each day. I've done the St Heliers return loop (basically the second part of the marathon course - 19km+) twice, walking. Weight loss so far approx 7kgs in three and a half weeks. Improvements in attitude and outlook, immeasurable :-)