Eureka Stair Climb 2009

Sunday 22nd November we headed to the city very early on a VERY wet day.  It had rained all the past night, and it was still going in the morning.  I was very glad that I was doing the Eureka stair climb… and not the Olympic Dream run!!!

Though it wasn’t the best day to be climbing the tower… at first we couldn’t even find the building… it was hidden in the clouds!

 

We picked up our race kits and team “Are we there yet?” were ready to go!  Looks like Carli didn’t get the message about the white top and black shorts! lol  Actually it just happened by co-incidence.

We raced through the first part of the hallway and up the first flight of stairs… until we were out of sight and then decided to stick to the game plan!  The stairwell was very hot, and there was hardly any air in there.

There were a couple of drink stops along the way up… and the time seemed to go quicker because each floor was one flight of stairs… not like when we trained and each floor we went up half a floor, turned, then up again… it made the numbers seem to go by quicker each floor.

While we were hard at work climbing up the stairs… Kel and the boys were outside taking some photos… during the short time when it wasn’t raining!

Some weird gold bees on the side of the building?!?!?

 

 

 

A nice shot of the city across the Yarra.  Notice the clouds at the top of the buildings!

The boys posing for some nice brotherly photos!

The best part of the stair climb was when the concrete stairs turned into red carpeted stairs! We knew we were close to the top.

Then the finally step out across the finish line into the very nice cool air!!!

We did it in 16 minutes and 33 seconds. (Don’t mention that the winner did it in 9 minutes!!!)

And our team came 7th! Not bad hey!!!

When we first got to the top, I thought that they had frosted glass up there!  I thought it was a bit of a waste of the view! lol but then realised it was because we were in the cloud!  It did part a bit so we could see a bit of the views from up there.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention my moment of fame (? maybe ?).  While we were up the top of Eureka and got to spend a bit of time trying to enjoy the scenery (pretty hard when you are surrounded by cloud) there were some fire-fighters being interviewed for the fire brigade channel (some tv station that gets shown in all the fire stations).  We were hanging around behind them while the interview took place.  Then Sunday Sunrise did a weather cross up there and I was standing behind the weather guy while he read out the weather.  (It was at 9:30am, for anyone who was watching).  Only problem was that none of us had phones with us, and it was shot live, so there wasn’t even time to get someone to tape it for us!

So, that is one more thing I can cross off my list… and I can probably say that I wouldn’t be entering Eureka next year… I think its best as a once in a lifetime experience!

Corporate Games 2009

Saturday 21st November was the Australian Corporate Games.  This year I entered the 5km running event.  Last year I did the 10km and managed to set a new pb of under 50 min.. but this year I wanted to focus on the shorter distance…especially since I haven’t done any distance since the marathon, and the Eureka stair climb was on the next day.

It was a humid morning for the race, which was one lap of Albert Park Lake.  I could see one girl in front of me, who was in 2nd place so I tried to keep with her.  I hardly even saw the girl who came first.  The 2nd place girl slowly started to get away from me, but luckily nobody else came to overtake me.

It was a hard race, and I ended up with a pb of 21:56.  There was a lot of motivating myself with talk like “if I can do a marathon I can do this”, and “think of all the stair training, must have helped heaps”, and just “keep going, its soon over!”.

Here is a photo from the medal presentation…

and here is the medal…

50 flights at 55

For the last couple of weeks we have started our training for the Eureka stair climb by using the stair well at my work – at 55 Collins St.  There are 50 flights of stairs there, so it is a pretty good place to train.

We did it in 10 minutes today.  It is such hard work… according to my heart rate monitor my heart was beating at 90% of it’s maximum!

Flashes of Tom and Carli on the stairs.

Try not to get dizzy as you look down 50 flights of stairs!

And here is the building were we will attempt to climb up 89 flights of stairs! Only 17 more days until we do it.

Race Day Wrap Up

Saturday night me and Carli stayed in Melbourne so we wouldn’t have to get up so early on race day.  I didn’t think I would get much sleep, but I must have fallen asleep at some stage because I woke up after having this horrible dream.  It was so lifelike!  It was about us getting ready for the marathon, and going out for breakfast and then looking at the time and it was 7:30am and the race was supposed to start at 7am so we rushed back to the hotel and had to quickly get changed.  Then I woke up, and was so disoriented! I looked at the time and it was only 2:30am!!! It seemed like that dream went for ages.

Our wake up call was for 5:30am.  We were out the door by 6am and we got a cab to take us to the MCG.  Check in our bags and a last minute toilet stop and we were on our way to the start line where we met up with Tom and Aggie who very kindly came an hour early for their race so they could see us off at the start.

Before we knew it we were jogging along past the start line and getting a nice rhythm by the time we made it to Flinders St station.  The first half of the race we kept a very nice pace at 6 minute kilometres.  We stopped for a drink at each drink station, and even got some gels later on in the race.

It was the most beautiful day you could ask for to go for a run, especially when running along Beaconsfield pde in St Kilda, with the blue skies, the perfectly flat water, and a gentle sea breeze.

I loved meeting and chatting with some of the runners… there was the group who flew out from NZ just to do the marathon and were going back the next day… the ladies with Chinese writing on their backs who told us it said “Fast Wives Club”, a running group they started in Shanghai (this was their 9th marathon).  The Spartans are a group of people who have run 10 or more Melbourne Marathons.  One guy I chatted to was running his 31st marathon!!! 

We would pass people, then have a drink stop and end up passing these people again later on.

The volunteers at the drink stands were fantastic.  The crowds who gave us a clap and a cheer really spurred us on.  At one point we ran past a group of builders who were sitting there on a break just watching the race.  I revved them up, saying “Aren’t you going to cheer for us??”

I was on such a high for the last 8km or so… knowing that we were close to the finish.  I just had a really fun time. 

Somewhere along St Kilda road I saw Will (my uncle) and Norma.  They thought they had missed us, but we were still plodding along!

We had to stop a bit at the end to stretch the legs out.  But that meant we were able to finish with out any injury, and to finish strong, with a smile on our faces :)

Heading up Flinders st toward the MCG we saw Tom and Aggie again, who had finished their half marathon.

Turning toward the MCG I gave a quick phone call to Kel to say that we were nearly there.  They had been starting to think they had missed us!  Coming around the corner and we could hear the music getting louder.  The crowds were bigger and we were amongst the 5km walkers as well now.  We headed up the ramp to get onto the MCG into the bright sun and green, green grass. 

 

We ran the home straight, past our family and friends who came to see us cross the finish line. 

And then we did it!  We crossed the line, in a time of 4 hours, 41 minutes.

It feels fantastic to have achieved that goal that we have been working toward all year… to do something that not many people can say they have done.  I feel like we can do anything that we set our minds to.

(See more ‘official’ race photos and video here: http://www4.marathon-photos.com/)

 

Stay tuned for the next instalment…

Racey Trace climbs Eureka!

Last minute jitters

Not long to go now!

Bags are packed, all the training has been done, all that is left now is to run the race!!!

I am excited, nervous, slightly worried about my still sore calf, hoping that I haven’t forgotten to pack something.

I went for a run around the MCG and past the start line on Thursday.  They had already started setting up.

 

I heard Rob de castella talk yesterday at the expo at the MCG.  It was good to see all the runners, and get a bit of last minute advice.

OK, time to go now… next update it will all be finished!

One Week To Go!!!

This week I did a nice Tan run at lunch time, which I haven’t done in ages.  I was a bit unsure how my calf would pull up… its been sore all week.  I did a long warm up walk to start with, and started of with a slow jog before getting to the Tan and having a bit of a stretch.  Then I set my watch and started running.  About half way around I started thinking how I was going at a pretty good pace… and when I crossed the finish line, I stopped my watch looked down… and … nothing! My watch was dead!  Crap!  So I walked around for about 10 seconds trying to get my breath back and then looked at my watch again and it was going again, and the time was still ticking over! I quickly pressed stop, and it said 17: 41… and my pb is 17:30! So I was very close to a pb.  Not bad considering I haven’t done any speed work for ages.  Probably shouldn’t have gone so hard with a sore calf though…

Saturday morning we did our last ‘long’ run… just a nice 9km run around Eynesbury.  It was nice to go back to somewhere we started our really long runs (1st time we ran more than a half marathon, back in July).  We took it easy, had a good time, but did have to watch out for those pesky swooping magpies!  -Don’t worry Carli, I’ll protect you :p

I think we are ready for anything now!!!

We finished the run with a stop in at the Eynesbury club house for a celebratory brunch. Nice!

This week I will be taking it easy, eating very healthy food (especially after pigging out at Sam’s birthday party), doing lots of stretching, getting a massage on Wednesday night, and icing my leg to make sure everything is in tip top shape.  I will start loading up on the calves during the week too!  Not hard for me to do though… I love my potato, rice and pasta!!!

And I must try very hard not to go racing for trains or trams, or running around with my boots on!

Here is a sneak peak at what we will be wearing during the race – a bit of a dress rehearsal for me to try out my new top.  Plus it will help anybody out who is going to go down and cheer us on… look at for a green top and black pants.

 

[Photo taken by Josh… oh and yes, I will be wearing shoes for the marathon!!!]

And here is what Carli will be wearing…[taken from our adventure run to the great unknown!]

Fundraising

Help me raise $2,200 to purchase a walker for a child with Cerebral Palsy... we are almost half way to our target!!!

Andrew Wilson, a good friend from work, is a very talented photographer and has made the following offer:

If you buy any photo from his portfolio for $50, he will donate $40 to the Cerebral Palsy Education Centre.
 
Photos will be printed up to A3+ size high quality Ilford Smooth Pearl Photographic paper with Archival ink.

Select anything from http://www.redbubble.com/people/andrewwilson/art
But order direct through me, not website. (This way the web site doesn't get any of the profit)

Thank-you Andrew for your very generous offer!

Two weeks and counting!

Yesterday we did a 20km run… the start of our taper. 

I haven’t had any photos lately… just been running around Melton… I think we have probably covered the whole town by now!

I didn’t post anything last week, but we did a 32km run then, and I must say, I felt a lot better about it the second time around!

The new shoes are going great!  They even have mud on them now… well and truly worn in!!!

Here is a photo from last week, taken by Tom.

Note to self: don’t run from one end of Collins st to the other with boots on… I ended up hurting my calf.  Luckily I was booked in for a massage on Saturday anyway… got a good working over – painful – but good!

I think we’ve got almost everything the weather can throw at us covered now!  We have trained in wind (and practiced our drafting), the cold (so numb I couldn’t feel my hands), the rain (we worked out it’s not so bad, its just hard to get started!), and the sun (most weekends I have gotten sunburnt… I really need to find a good sports sunscreen).

We are feeling ready for the marathon… and just want the day to arrive!  We have been training for this day pretty much all year.

Bring it on!!!

One month to go!

We are getting close to the end now. One month to go, four weekend training runs until the big day! This weekend we are doing a 10km run, then another 32km next weekend.

Then we begin the taper with a 20km run, then a 9km run, then the marathon.
I'm starting to doubt whether we have done enough... should we fit in another 32km run? Should we have gone up to 34km? or 36km?But I have to just trust the training plan that we started with, and be happy that we have stuck to it, and so far (touch wood) we have come through it injury free.

We are so close now that I can imagine the race and I am sure that we can do it. I can't wait to be lining up at the start line with the atmosphere and excitement in the air. And then to look forward to seeing the MCG getting closer and closer and knowing that we are almost finished. And the best bit... running onto the MCG and crossing the finish line!

I thought I might take this opportunity to answer a few commonly asked questions:
Q. How far is this marathon?
A. This marathon (and all standard marathons) are 42.195km long (or 26.22 miles).

Q. Where does it start?
A. Batman Avenue (150m north of Rod Laver Arena entrance); You can find the entire course here. http://www.melbournemarathon.com.au/

Q. Where does it finish?
A. We finish by running onto the MCG

Q. How long will it take to finish?
A. We are guessing that it will take around 4.5 hours.

Q. What do you do all that time?
A. We chat, I listen to music, look at the scenary, try to maintain good running form

If you have any other questions, let me know and I will add them in.

Our other goal of the marathon is to raise $2,200 for Cerebral Palsy,
to purchase a walker for a child to help them be mobile. So far we have raised close to $500, but we have a long way to go.

If you can help out, we would appreciate any donations, big or small. They will really help us keep going when we are out there running the marathon - especially in that last 10km!!!

To donate, you can click on the link on the right. Or if you prefer to deal in cash, just see me or Carli.

New Shoes!!!

I finally got myself some new runners yesterday.  My last pair have gone through about 600km… maybe more.  I was tracking how far, but kind of lost track when I stopped using the Nike Plus all the time.

I got entry to the Adidas Centre in Mulgrave with a 40% off voucher.

I got a pair of Adidas SuperNova Glides.  They felt so comfortable as soon as I put them on.  A key feature was that they had a wider toe section, so I’m hoping that will stop the blisters that I have had continuously for as long as I can remember!  It will be good to see if my knees feel better too.  They have started to feel sore after the long runs.

32km! A new record

Firstly a catch-up… Wednesday night running group we did 14km again.  Something we noticed… at the start of the run we are at the back of the pack, always feeling like we might be left behind.  But when we get to the last 5km or so, we are still going strong and steady while the others seem to be flaking.  By the last km we are overtaking people and end up near the front! 

Saturday morning -  we went for our long run (yes I said Saturday!).  Since it was Father’s Day on Sunday and I would be required to help out with breakfast in bed and all that sort of thing, we did our long run on Saturday.  It felt really weird – there was a whole different vibe!  So many more people around, more cars around and it felt like a rush the night before to get ready.

I planned half of the run, Carli worked out the other half.  We parked the car at the swimming pool and did three courses from there, the first was 7km – up near Navan Park, then 5km around Kurunjang, then 5km around West Melton.  Each time we got to stop at the car for a quick drink.  We also had a gel (this time we had the choc flavoured one… have to say that banana strawberry is still the favourite).

Next we headed down Melton South for Carli’s 15km loop down to my place and back.  It felt really strange running toward my house but knowing that we weren’t on the home stretch yet.

We did really good time – and finished in 3:48! Much better than our 30km run a couple of weeks earlier! 

World Wide Festival of Races

I have just registered for the World Wide Festival of Races. It is a virtual race with people from all over the world, on the 10-11th October. Since this lines up perfectly with the Melbourne Marathon, I thought ‘Why Not’? (Though there is only an option for 5km, 10km or half marathon – can I register for the half twice???).

It’s interesting to see how many people from Australia have registered (12)… it is mainly made up of people from the US or UK. I am the 599th person to register.

We even get a virtual goody bag at the end of the run!

I heard about it on the Running from the Reaper podcast which I listen to (a guy from the UK who ran in the London Marathon). After seeing a couple of photos that he took of the canals that he runs along, I got inspired to create this blog.

Fundraising – Hand made cards

My second idea for fundraising is selling hand made cards.  Originally I planned on selling muffins, but our oven had other ideas (the glass in the oven door exploded, so the insurance company is organising a replacement).

I have made a heap of Father’s Day cards to sell, after getting an idea from Leah’s Kaszazz card party.  The card is based on a black apron idea, with two themes… one for the home handyman, and the other for the BBQ lover.

I have taken them to work and to Josh’s school to sell, and just ask for a donation of what people would normally spend on a card.

I also have a birthday card and new baby card.  I even got an order for a custom card!

So far we have raised $474.19.  I really liked the person who donated $42.19 (ie $1 for every km we run!)

I also made 20c so far from adSense ads lol! Guess that idea didn’t exactly work! It was worth a try though.

We have a long way to go to reach our goal.. anybody got some other ideas we could use???

22km loop the loop

Our Sunday run this week was quite a loop the loop… check out the map:

If you follow the numbers like a dot to dot you will see what I mean!  It was a good idea though coz we could leave the drinks at one stop and come back there a couple of different times.  I have an idea of doing a four leaf clover type run one week (drop all the drinks at a central location and do four loops in different directions from that place).

I didn’t get any photos from this run… and there wasn’t really anything that stood out as exciting or interesting… it was a relief though to be having a step back week, because my legs felt really heavy.

I was a bit of a smart alec this week though when talking to people and saying that we ran 30km the week before and we were taking it easy this week and ONLY running 22km! lol Oh how far we have come in three months!

The countdown is on, with only 5 Sunday training runs to go before the big day.

Flower Power

Another weekly wrap up…

Start off with Wednesday night running group – we joined the 14km slow group.  It was a hard run, and I don’t think I would call it a slow group exactly!  We really got to push ourselves though and felt great afterwards.

Friday lunch time I went for a short run.  I was feeling a bit sore from Wednesday and a bit yuk from hanging around so many germy people (Josh and Sam were both home sick during the week with some kind of head cold / stomach bug combo.) so I took it easy.  I ran around the inside of the Botanic Gardens and got lots of nice photos of the few flowers that are out at the moment.  So I will call this the Flower Fartlek… which basically means run until you find a nice flower, take a photo and run to the next nice flower!

            

Dirty Thirty

We reached a huge milestone on Sunday when we completed the THIRTY KILOMETRE run!  I made up a route that took us all around Melton, the highlight being the run down Harkness Road… which is a long country road, most of it being a dirt road.

 

 

We turned at Hardy Rd and made our way to the end… I had been down here during the week to check out where we were going to go.  It was night time, and with high beams on, there were rabbits jumping all over the place!  I got to a bit that I thought I had better turn around, since we don’t own a 4WD!!! 

It was really exciting for me to see what was beyond the bend (I love seeing new sites and going on little adventures!).  It was amazing… there were huge rocks and a bit of a gorge that went down beyond the trees.  It was really beautiful and I couldn’t believe that this kind of place existed so close to home and we had never seen it before.

Looking down to the gorge…

The rocks…

A photo of Carli stretching while I stand on the rocks…

Some cactus…

The tree stump that Carli would like to turn into a table… she just needs a glass table top to put on the top… oh and somebody to go all the way down there, pick  it up and take it home… any takers? lol

We saw sheep, we saw tractors, we saw horses, we saw…. a high heel shoe!  What the?!?

This lonely shoe was found on the outskirts of Melton… and yes, there was only one of them.  Does anyone know where the owner of this shoe might be?  Cinderella?

We struggled home with Carli nursing a sore knee, which sounds like it might be ITB syndrome.  I had this last year before I did the Half for the first time.  It’s not nice.  Hopefully ice, massage and stretching will do the trick.

Our final time was 3 hours 54 minutes… of which 2 hours 56 minutes was spent running.  I was a little bit shocked to see that we had used an hour on breaks!  Though I must admit we did spend a bit of time at the gorge – it was just so pretty.