Injuries!

Well the official marathon build up started this week with 12 weeks to go till the Singapore marathon on 1 December.  

So its not a good start when I wake up on Monday and can't even put my foot on the floor following the 10km race on Sunday.  It seems I pulled my calf muscle rather badly.  

In hindsight I probably shouldn't have started the race as I noticed something pull behind my knee when I got off the plane last Friday - but anyone who is a runner knows the dilemma of being ready to race and wanting to find a way to make it happen despite being aware of a niggling injury emerging.  

Now that the damage is done I have a two pronged approach - my mothers wonderful massage skills....with ice and heat treatments...

and a bottle of anti inflammatorys.  The two go hand in hand brilliantly.

Fortunately, I am staying with my mum and dad this week and each morning when I wake up I move slowly from the bed to mum's massage table.  Each day the pain lessens and I am now walking much more comfortably and am very excited to be able to enjoy the gorgeous Milford Beach scenery at a more leisurely pace.

Hardly a soul in sight - what a beautiful country we live in.

Anyway baby steps in the recovery journey - the aim is to be out for a long slow run on Sunday morning.  Will keep you posted.

Auckland - Here I am

I finally arrived in Auckland at 2.40pm on Friday 30 August - and what a welcome sight this was  as I got off the plane....

It is always so exiting to get home and especially as my gorgeous girl, Soph, was waiting for me.  Needless to say by the time we got home and ate an early dinner I was very happy to put my head on the pillow and sleep for the next 13 hours.

Saturday 31 August and woke up to a gorgeous breakfast - 

And then it was time to head down the road to begin the big celebrations - my Dad was celebrating his 80th birthday - and an even bigger surprise was to realise that this was the first birthday party he had ever had.

There were 26 guests including all our immediate family (9 in total), and very close family friends - caterers dropped off the most beautiful seafood and champagne flowed.

It was a wonderful day of celebrations.  After the party, Soph and I headed to Milford Beach to meet a friend I hadn't seen in person since we left school in 1980 - 33 years ago, although we are Facebook friends.  Melody takes the most beautiful photos and I often comment on them on FB as her pictures often include her little dogs running along Milford Beach.  She had very kindly offered to take a photos of Soph and I......here is my favourite:

After the photos we enjoyed a wine together along with another of our school friends, Kim-Juan Fisher:

Then once again after a long day it was time to time to lay my head to rest in readiness for another big day today.....

Sunday 1 September

The day dawned clearly and we had another great breakfast of bacon and eggs and Soph and I headed down to Takapuna Beach for the start of the 10km race which started at a civilised time of 10.10am.  It was so great to see so many friends - Olivia, Sue, Helen and Kim and that was before we started the run.  Once we started I ran in to so many others - Sheryl, Chris and Christine before being joined on the bike by another dear friend, Carron.  I said to Carron  that  I wasn't going to be the best company as I was breathing pretty fast at this point but she replied never mind she would talk and I could listen - she proceeded to tell me the funniest story about her gorgeous wee cat, Turbo, who had just been to the vet to have a tooth removed and the vet suggested wee Turbo needs braces.  Carron then told me that there is an orthodontist for cats.  One can only imagine the cost.  I need to hear later whether Carron is going to pursue this option.  Anyway as the run was veering off along the beach Carron left me with clear instructions to run harder as Soph was now less than 100 metres in front of me and I wasn't to let a 20 year old beat me. (She also told Soph not to let her mother beat her) - so the race was on -   Soph and I were both running as hard as we could and I wasn't quite able to catch her and for the first time ever, Soph crossed the finish line about 10 seconds before me - we still need to check the actual race results to determine just how close the gap was.

Then it was back to Mum and Dad's for another seafood lunch - nothing like a good protein lunch to recharge the aching muscles - actually I can barely move as I pulled a muscle behind my knee as I got off the plane and thankfully my mother massaged the knots out this morning - I probably shouldn't have run but I was too tempted and had to start.

Then it was down to the Commons in Takapuna for a catch up with Carron, Chris, Liza, Christine, Julie and Soph

and to hear about the Coast to Coast Challenge for 2015 - that sounds very exciting!  Chris and Christine are all signed up for Ironman 2014 so I will follow that race as I did last year from the couch - I might add that its actually exhausting watching from the couch as strange as that may seem.

Then onto dinner with Clara and Jason - so awesome to catch up on all their news - Clara kindly lent me some togs to join the swimming training at Takapuna pool on Wednesday - given I can now barely walk as the muscle strain worsens -  I may be better off in the pool this week.  

So another busy but wonderful day catching up with so many friends.  Off to bed - its 11 pm:)

Winging my way to Auckland

Its 1.49 am on Friday 30 August - I am sitting in my rather comfortable seat in Premium Economy on a Qantas flight from Singapore to Brisbane and we must be an hour or so away from landing. The breakfast trolley is making its way towards me and my eyes are feeling rather gritty from the very brief sleep that I have managed to get since departing Singapore less than 6 hours ago. I have another flight connection to make once I land in Brisbane.  I am heading home to Auckland to celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday and am very excited to be seeing many wonderful family members and friends whilst in town for the week as well as take part in a 10 km race starting on Takapuna Beach on Sunday morning with my gorgeous girl Soph.

I seem to have deviated from my low carb high fat diet and eaten nothing but high carbs and high sugar since I left home yesterday morning having left my lunch in the fridge which resulted in bought food from a cafe close to the office followed by airplane food - a sample you can see here from the breakfast tray which has just been put in front of me.

  

I decided to try Premium Economy on Qantas to Auckland via Australia when I found it was the same cost as flying economy direct from Singapore - its 10 hours flying time and having extra leg room was very appealing.  So far its been a great decision - Premium Economy feels much like business class (having had my first ever experience of that recently on a work trip to Tokyo) although the seats don't go completely flat but they do recline a lot more than economy.  I also enjoyed a wonderful movie selection along with a glass of merlot (in a glass rather than plastic cup).

Then to add to the pleasures a few chocolates were delivered....

So you can see where the high sugars have come in. 

The other good news about flying via Australia is that it breaks up the 10 hour journey and there is benefit in that as being claustrophobic I really try and avoid the airplane bathrooms.  7 hours is more manageable than 10 hours. So this trip could become a very viable option.  The only downside is the flight from Brisbane to Auckland is back in economy but its only 3 hours.

Anyway, the flight is about to land - next blog update will come from Auckland - see you there :)

New beginnings

As I come to the end of my first 12 months in Singapore I had begun to think about the future.  Should I go home to NZ or should I stay longer?  Decisions, decisions.  Then unexpectedly I was approached by a friend I had met through Triathlon Club here in Singapore, Chester Sullivan-Manders.  

Unbeknown to me Chester was an Executive Search Professional and he was about to talk with me about a new opportunity that would prove too exciting to ignore.  As a result of that discussion I have now accepted a wonderful new opportunity in Organisational Change Management which starts on 23 September and goes through to June 2014. So I guess I will be staying a bit longer in Singapore.

It is amazing how many wonderful friends I have met through triathlon circles and the opportunities that have come from those wonderful friendships - I bought my dream home in Takapuna from my dear friend, Clara Budd, who I met at the North Harbour Triathlon Club - and she has supported me in my half ironman and marathon events - even walking the last 17 Kms of the 2012 North Shore Marathon with me after I blew up from going out to fast (rookie mistake).  Its amazing how many of life's problems you can solve walking alongside a wonderful friend over a 17 km distance - just ask Clara.

My dream home is currently rented out to the awesome Kilding family who I met through Clara as the Kilding's are building their dream home across the road from mine and needed somewhere to rent - this was just as I was leaving Auckland and heading to Singapore - timing is everything.   

And then Chester pops up and surprises me with his profession and an unexpected opportunity - you just never know who you are training alongside in the Triathlon world and where that new relationship may take you.

I have such a lot to be thankful for and that includes thanks to Helen O'Toole who hired me at ASB in Auckland and introduced me to Triathlon and the North Harbour Triathlon Club where Steve Farrell is the coach who introduced me to Michael Lyons, the coach of Tri Edge Singapore, where Chester was a member.  What a small and wonderful world.  Thank you to all of you for the part you have played in my journey - I am truly grateful.

I wonder what will happen next ?

Massage - an essential part of any marathon build up

Leaving my drink bottle on the dining table along with my sunglasses was not a good start to my long run this morning -

although the upside was I did start at 8 am before the blazing sun was up unlike yesterday's midday run.  I think 60-70 minutes is about the longest I would want to run without water in this humidity as dehydration can have a significant effect on your performance. So 70 minutes run time it was today.

Speaking of performance, I highly recommend a good massage as often as you can afford it - time wise and cost wise.  Massage is great to stretch out those tired muscles and some well deserved relaxation.  When I am home in NZ I am lucky enough to enjoy the benefits of having a mother who is a great masseuse and has her own clinic at home.  Fortunately for me whilst I am in Singapore, there is a wonderful new massage clinic less than 5 minutes walk from the front door. Nimble and Knead.  They do an amazing massage and I usually book it for 90 minutes - absolute bliss.

The fascinating thing about Singapore is the 'packages' that every nail salon and massage clinic offer to ensure your repeat business.  For about $500 upfront you can secure yourself some great deals - the more you pay upfront the better the deal.   Needless to say I do get caught up in the hype and I have a package at Nimble and Knead.

So with all the running I have been doing I thought that today was a good day to head down and enjoy a massage.    They start with a foot bath soaking your feet in warm water, limes and then a foot scrub....

Then its on to the table for an amazing massage.

What an amazing way to spend a Sunday afternoon - and all going well I am now ready for another week of training :)

A night at Sentosa

It is the last week of the school holidays and Morag decided to take the family (which fortunately includes me) to the Shangrila Hotel at Sentosa.  Wow - what a place and so close to home. 

We sat out in the balmy evening with a bottle of New Zealand wine and enjoyed the absolutely gorgeous view - this was taken from our room as the sun was going down - how lucky are we.

This morning we were up early and down to the buffet - that was an adventure in itself - there was food for every culture and taste bud.  There were also some interesting sights wondering around the restaurant - how beautiful.

Anyway once breakfast was over we wanted to make the most of our morning so we readied ourselves for a morning by the pool.  The kids all had a great time on the water slides while Morag, Kirsty and I lay in the recliners enjoying the lime juice and sunshine.....and some other interesting sights....what was that walking by?

However, there is a marathon to run in a few months and given we were checking out of this gorgeous hotel at lunchtime I thought it would be a good idea to run home.  I checked out the temperature

and realised it was pretty hot especially given it was the middle of the day and the sun was blazing - so I put my cap and sun glasses on, grabbed my water bottle and headed off.  It was a gorgeous run out of Sentosa although I hadn't realised the pedestrian walkway would literally stop halfway out of resort park  and so I had to run down the freeway which was a fairly freaky feeling.  A policeman on a motor bike took a double take but thankfully couldn't stop as I am sure he wouldn't have been impressed.  Once I found my way out of the area and halfway home, Kirsty and the children flew by me in the taxi and waved - perhaps an air conditioned ride home might have been better than heading home on foot in this heat.....Anyway, I arrived safely home in just under an hour, saturated from the humidity and very pleased I was able to include some training as part of an amazing 24 hours such a short distance from home.

If you ever get to Singapore a to Sentosa is a must - thanks so much Morag for including me in such a wonderful treat.  I loved every minute.

Training

The good news is that my alarm went off this morning - unlike yesterday morning.  I had set a second alarm for this morning in case the first one didn't go off and sure enough the first one didn't make a sound.  Anyway as a result of the second alarm going off, I was able to head out the door for my morning run.

At 6 am its still dark here in Singapore - so every morning all year round I head off in the dark - the good thing about it being dark is that the blazing sun isn't up yet - although at 6 am it was still 27 degrees with high humidity.

As I had missed my run yesterday I thought I had better make up for it and run for an hour - its only about 14 weeks until the marathon and I should really be able to run comfortably for about 90 minutes when the real training starts on the 1st September - 12 weeks out from the Race Day.

My run took me along the river and back through the Tiong Bahru Park - I took a few photos to show you the sights....It's amazing to see so many people up and exercising so early in the morning.....

Here is one group of people working out - there are pockets of groups like this all over the park.

Here is the path that takes me through the park - it really is pretty in the morning.

Anyway, whilst out for my morning run enjoying the sights I was reflecting on the diet debate - Mikki (nutritionist) has suggested I only eat food that hasn't been processed until I see her in a few weeks and not to mix the Dukan diet and LCHF as I am likely to pick the foods from each diet that I like the most and avoid those I don't like as much - you know me so well Mikki :). So there are a few foods that I will remove altogether and just try eating 'real' food and see what happens.  I will keep you posted.

After I finished my hours run I arrived home, had a good stretch and then enjoyed replacing all the fluid lost from training in the humidity - I have been using Nuun tablets to replace the salt.

There is nothing like starting the day with a run - it really sets you up well- but now its time to head off to work - hope you have a great day - see you tomorrow.