Sydney Half Marathon Update

Welcome to my very overdue post on the Sydney half marathon!!! It was the least painful long run I have ever done. The weather was very cool…..even “cold” at the start and the course was just perfect……very flat with only a few short inclines. I just kept on making sure that I reached each kilometre marker within 7 minutes, or better. At the 5km mark, I had a big drink of water and got a bad stitch, which I thought was going to force me to stop but I pushed through it and by 7km it was gone. The run was so scenic and it was awesome watching the half marathon leaders running back past me.

At the 16km mark I was expecting my lower back pain to kick in but it never came. I was so happy to not be hurting. At the 19km mark I had to stop and stretch for about 30 seconds but that was my only stop of the whole run. I came in at 2hrs 15 minutes, which is 12 minutes better than my Bankstown half time. I was so happy with myself, although I was upset J had not watched me come through the finish line. J finished in 99 minutes so he was very impressed with his time.

After the run, I did not even have to rest all day as I wasn’t feeling sore or sick, which was great. We stayed around to watch the Marathon runners come in. What absolute legends those people are!!!!! The winner won by about 8 minutes!!!! “One day” I will attempt a marathon!!

My next run is an 8km run near my Mum’s house. It is a pretty cool course but a little hilly. I did a time of 50 minutes last year, which is a good time for me. I am not sure if I will do this again this year as I am carrying a bit of extra “padding” and I am running less regularly now. After this, I will do the Central Coast half marathon in Dec, as this is meant to be a very flat course and I just love flat!!!!

The hotel that we stayed in at St Leonards was so nice and modern. It had a plasma TV, beautiful king bed, Aveda toiletries and a fantastic shower. The Gym there was just like a mini Fitness First Gym (same equipment)…..not that I used it though! The hotel also had a regular checkout time of 12pm, which is so generous. This meant we got to go back to the hotel after the race and have a nice shower before heading home.

I was so impressed by this hotel that J and I are staying there again this Saturday night for his birthday. I think we will have a nice picnic on Saturday, then check into the hotel and go out for dinner and drinks. It will just be the two of us, which will be nice. I love hotels!!! J already has his birthday present from me. I got him a Polar running watch. I notice he wears it every day but I don’t think he has calibrated it properly yet to work out his stats.

J has gone away on a work conference today, which means I am alone for 2 nights. I am going to stay at my Mum’s as I get freaked out in the big old house by myself and it will give me a chance to spend a bit of time with my Mum and sister. I can also run around her house, which is my favourite place to run.

Work is still good but has been very busy. I spent a few hours over the weekend catching up on work, which was not good but it was basically my own fault for taking it easy throughout the month. At least I have “learnt my lesson” for next time!

Food is going very, very bad. All I do is eat junk and heaps of it! Hopefully now that the weather is getting warmer I will ease back a bit. I really want to join Jenny Craig for a few months but I honestly can’t afford it at the moment. J and I are going to Bali for Christmas and need to save for this. I am so psyched to go away!!!! I love being in warm places and just shopping and eating and doing whatever I like…..Bliss!!!!

Till Next Time
Miss Pinky