I took a couple of days off running - Tuesday and Wednesday, hitting the steam room and a 1km swim on Tuesday and a 5km walk on Wednesday (work not allowing me to get to a pilates class as I'd hoped). This morning, I headed out for my first slightly longer run - 9.5km. It was great to run again with Shannon - it's been so long. We did it nice and easy, though the far side was like running on the spot with the wind. We started out with a big group and ended up with Shannon, Delia and myself, going around at a pleasant 6 min KM. Aside from a slightly tight right calf, I felt pretty good (though I think if we'd tried to run faster my body would have protested). It's a great first step, gives me confidence that I'm coming back from Perth without too many problems and can potentially aim for a decent Rottnest. I'm taking it slowly, though, and will aim for 12km in the hills on Saturday.

The great part of the run was being able to really catch up with Shannon and hear how she has been going. She was nervous about pace, but she managed it so easily that I think it won't be long before I'm pushing to keep up with her. But we'll be rebuilding at the same time, which is great. And Trish and Kate and Viv will also be rebuilding now, so we'll have a wonderful running group again. The joy of running returns!

This running stuff is hard! Trish and I went for a little 5.3km trot in King's Park. In our collective wisdom we decided to run the Wally Cairns circuit - as in soft dirt and long hill. Just 8 days after the marathon and it felt like a way longer, tougher run. We were giving it all we had and we averaged 5.57 min KMs! You have to laugh; we looked like a couple of newbie runners out there. My calves are tight as, but otherwise I must say I did recover from the strenuousness of it fairly quickly. Tomorrow, we plan on a really tough session - steam room and pool saunter :)

A new dawning

Perth is now done and I need to put that one behind me (and probably avoid boisterous, fast dogs) and get on with the next one. All being equal, I've set myself Rotto as my next goal. It's hard at this stage to know for sure what time to aim for, but conservatively speaking I really think it makes sense to aim for a sub 4.15. If the training goes brilliantly and all feels right to bump it up a bit, I'll do so, but baby steps to start ...

I began with my first run yesterday, a very, very slow and gentle 5km. I bumped into Tim early in the run and had a lovely run with him, completely taking my mind off the fact that this was the first run back. I felt pretty good, though was glad to keep it short. The TAs are quite sore today, but they do seem to warm up as the day progresses. Today, I'll meet Trish for a gentle 6km or so in the park so I'll get more of a feel for how the TA is holding up. Then a couple of days off and another run on Thursday. For once I want to be really sensible about the return; plenty of time to start ramping things up a bit more from next week

The marathon is now done and some disappointment left out there. I had a struggle from the start - pain in my TAs after 1km. This has happened before, but usually sorts itself out after 3 or 4km. This time it was 7km before it eased. By the time I got to 5km, the tightening had caused me to start dragging my right leg. I was not sure how I could keep going for 42km. Luckily by 7.5km it began to ease, but by then I'd lost momentum and a lot of energy just trying to work through it. I kept going okay until 23km and then began to struggle. I did manage to keep myself reasonably focused and to keep running until 33km, then I just had nothing left. Too hard to struggle from the start. David (Sugar) was waiting for me at 33km and he walked with me as I battled pain, exhaustion and mental demons. Then Gary and Geraldine came past and buoyed me up with a, come along, we're just shuffling back. I kept going with them for 2 1/2km more, then had to stop for another short break (2 minutes of walking), then more running, walking, running, walking. I finished running getting up to a cracking 6.30 min KM in the last KM! It was a terribly tough day, but I'm pleased I persevered. Sugar was a champ, I don't know how I would have done it without him. The supporters were amazing. A special thanks to Wendy and co. who yelled and cajouled me at Mends Street. They got me going to the finish!

A few things went wrong. The biggest was the dog accident - once my back got injured I just couldn't keep the speed training going. I could no longer do tempos, intervals, etc. and I lost a lot of momentum with that. The other is I think I'm really a less is more girl when it comes to distance running. I must remember this for the future and stick to 3 or 4 longer runs and keep them to 34km maximum. Much though I loved the 38km it took way too much out of me, and if I really want to do something like that again, it has to be 6 weeks or more out, with an easy 25km to follow the week after. Rest is as important as training. I will worry about more quality and less quantity. I think I need to go back to Monday tempos, which I was doing before my last marathon. That meant I could do a marathon-pace long run during the week (14-16km), which I think worked to get me used to the pace. It's all a learning experience and I don't regret anything about the training (dog accident aside). The best part was preparing with my friends for this and watching them do so well at the marathon.

I'm so happy Trish got her sub 4 hour. She so deserved this and has worked so hard for it. Kate will be next, I know. Whether I do a sub 4 or not, who knows; it doesn't really matter that much. I just want to make sure I cope better with future marathons, and next time aim for a more conservative goal - maybe a sub 4.15 :)