Tri-hard.

Traveller has come to the realisation that she may be, well, just a little crazy.

Scratch that.

She's definitely a little crazy.

You see, she has signed up for a sprint-triathlon; a race which requires her to swim, cycle and run one after the other.

The run is definitely manageable; at only 5k, it's much less than the half-marathon she completed last year. She's trying not to think about the fact that this will mean that people will be running quickly, leaving Traveller for dust.

The swim's distance (750m) is not too bad; T is a little nervous, however, about drowning at the hands of crazed triathletes who may swim over her, dunk her or pull her little ankles. T's watched women's water polo - she knows what girls can be like in the water!

The ride, however, is a major cause for concern. Problem number one being that Traveller doesn't even own a bike! Problem number two: at twenty kilometers, it is the longest leg of the competition and T's least-experienced-area.

Other matters keeping Traveller up at night:

sports bras under a swim suit - yes or no?
{she's thinking yes}

dry off or start cycling wet?
{brr!}

bike pants over swimmers in water?
{remember afore mentioned drowning concerns...}

and

How will T's little legs even be able to run after riding for twenty kilometers?!

It should be interesting.

Luckily, T has a few months to prepare (the race isn't until May 22nd) and she's already thinking about how bikini ready she'll be by summer...
there has to be some benefit to all these hours of training, right?

Anyone out there crazy enough to have completed one of these races before? Do tell!

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The Hardest Part.

Now, it may seem like a daft thing to declare (not that that's ever stopped T before) but the hardest part of the half-marathon is running the race. Traveller can handle the months of training, the intervals, the really long training runs but phew - when it comes to actually running the competition - it's quite tough, no?
It's all about the head space. You really need a certain level of mental strength to get you through when you don't want to run anymore. Traveller was astounded that even crowds of cheering bystanders, whooping family members and eager friends who were photographing at every mile or so were not enough to propel her towards the finishing line. To put it simply, by the tenth mile, she was tired. She did not want to run anymore. Of course she did, albeit intermittently.
So, long story short - Traveller finished the race at 201:21 - about 1 1/2 minutes longer than last year! She was on track to finish at about 1:52, but hey, who's counting?!
And, there is always next year.
RF and T did declare that they were finished with half-marathons mere seconds after the race. You do, however, always feel differently about these things once you've had time to recover...right RF? It needs to be said that RF beat her time from last year by five minutes! Winner!
Anyway, T will stand by the fact that the Royal Parks is one of the most beautiful runs you can experience. It has a fantastic atmosphere, is really well organised and passes all of the most memorable and beautiful of London's iconic buildings and landmarks.
So, minus the aches and pains, the anxiety, the interminable mile marks that just keep coming, the long queues for the port-a-loos and the strange dreams that inevitably happen the night before - the halfie is really a tremendous experience!






One of T's mates who ran the race on his 30th birthday. He came in at 1:39 - champion!


Love this photo - RF's expression is priceless!



One of the best parts?

Riding home on Boris's bikes through the beautifully autumnal Hyde Park
{even though T's legs were barely able to cooperate with the pedals!}


For those of you wondering about the strange dream..

T woke up gasping with fright (and unequivocal relief that it wasn't reality) from a dream that involved her and RF running the half-marathon. This half-marathon, however, wound through a dark and eerie city where escalators rose up to the heavens and indian buffets were on the sidelines and well, T just couldn't get RF to concentrate. RF was standing still on the escalators and worst of all, eating indian food whilst the race was still going. Needless to say, they ended up getting lost and missing the finishing line.
Disaster!

Keep on Running?

Traveller has not really mentioned that she is running for the Royal Park's Half-Marathon this year.

Well, she is.

Next Sunday, in fact.

Except, today she is laying in bed with a yucky flu whilst resting a sore foot.

Oh dear!

And, things were going so well!

Traveller and running friend had completed four really long runs (a 16k and three 18ks!) and were on track to finish the race at least a little faster than last year. Traveller has really loved training this year and has been looking forward to running for her chosen charity.

But now, T's not so sure...

Somewhere in last week's 18k, T's foot started hurting and it hasn't really stopped.Traveller will run regardless of her sore foot but would like to do it in a reasonable time!

T is thankful for Running Friend who, risking germs and potential disease-catching, brought lovely flowers, company and fruit to her today.

Thanks, RF!

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Hyde Park Horses.

Even though she hasn't blogged about in a while, Traveller is still running.

She's actually preparing herself for another half-marathon.

{silly girl}

Having run miles and miles through London, T is almost unaffected by the iconic landscape. She can run through Regent's Park without a second glance at the beautiful swans. She can do hill runs up Primrose and barely look at St. Pauls or the London Eye in the distance. And she can run through Hyde Park without noticing the Wellington Arch or Kensington Palace.

However, when running with RF in Hyde Park on Saturday, T came across a multitude of horses with riders in the official royal uniform. Instantly, T's breath was taken away. They were such an intensely beautiful sight.

Wishing she had a camera and wondering along with RF if the Queen was in tow, Traveller's daze was broken by another runner in front of her.

The runner {whilst still running at quite an admirable pace} proceeded to yell obscenities at the poor unsuspecting horses and in between the various types of colourful language, words like 'tax payers' money' and 'waste' were heard at full volume.

In London there will forever be a juxtaposition between the fairytale and the reality.

It was still pretty, though.

{image}

3:22.

This past weekend, Traveller's brother ran the London Marathon.

Amongst 36, 000 runners, he ran with speed, consistency and strengh; T
was very proud!

The London Marathon is one of those amazing events which really brings the city together - there are about 2-3 supporters to every runner, so each inch of the 26 and a bit miles was sidelined by supporters. The atmosphere was palpable; the city was filled with jovial, passionate aficionados clapping and cheering on the runners. It was brilliant!

The other lovely part of the marathon {aside from it being run for many, many charities} is that so many people dress up in crazy, colourful costumes, whilst still managing to achieve admirable timings. Here are a few of T's favourites...

A juggler

A bride and groom {seriously}

A rhino

Hamlet
22 ft giraffe!
Camel

A whoopee cushion!
and a tiger!

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the 3:22 is my brother's time - 18 minutes faster than last year!

Go, Dan!
{costume images}

Thankful.

Traveller is feeling thankful for her boys.

Today was the first day back at school for summer term and it was just so fun to be back in the classroom. T really is blessed with boys who want to learn, who have dreams and want to do the right thing. They are respectful, chivalrous and bright.

T was reminded of her luck in teaching her boys whilst running with RF today. We were running back from Regent's Park when we had a brief encounter with some young boys. Barelyteenagers, they were so tough and confident for their age. They began to cheer us on, yelling 'Run faster!' Then, as RF passed them, one hit her over the head!

T could not believe it.

When and how did things like that begin to happen?

You hear horror stories of children in the classrooms here throwing chairs, hitting teachers and swearing at anyone who will listen.

T is ever-so-thankful for her lovely boys.

Running friend is fine and even was brave enough to confront them and their minder

{unbelievably they had a minder!}

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Here's to another year.

Recently, running friend celebrated her birthday.

We helped her enjoy this special occasion by joining her at the Smithfield Bar & Grill in London's meatpacking district.

It was a lovely night filled with delicious food, friends and good conversation.

RF: London simply wouldn't be the same without you.

Everything hurts. But it was worth it.

It's done!

Traveller has run the Royal Park's Half-Marathon and survived!

Even though Traveller was so nervous on Saturday, she must admit that she really didn't think it was going to be that hard. After all, she and running friend had almost run the distance a few times already.

Let's just say, she was a little wrong.

A half-marathon is 13.1 miles and at 6 miles
Traveller was spent. She (foolishly) went out way too quickly and ran out of steam! The big warning sign was that at the three mile mark, she was 6 minutes ahead of her target time, and then at 6 miles she was 9 minutes ahead!

Oh dear!

At 6 miles she wasn't hurting, and she wasn't puffed... she just had nothing left. Her stomach was growling for food and she was in trouble! A nervous stomach meant that T wasn't quite able to carb-load as much as she should have, and subsequently, she ran out of fuel!

T hates to admit it, but she had to walk a few times between the 7th and 11th mile, and was feeling so weak that she almost fell over.

Then, like manna from heaven, the lucozade table appeared at the 10th mile, and Traveller (ignoring all advice) guzzled the whole bottle and headed for the finishing line.

T was desperate to finish under the two hour mark, and managed it at 1:59:55!

That last mile felt like three!

During the race, Traveller was seriously considering her sanity in signing up for challenge; however, minutes after finishing, she must admit that she felt differently.

It was a serious rush crossing that finishing line.

Perhaps she'll sign up for another...

Who's up for it?

BTW: Everything hurts. Traveller can barely walk down the stairs at school.
T couldn't resist posting some pictures of brother and gorgeous Mimi. Brother was his speedy self in the half-marathon; he came in at just over an hour and a half with little training.

Running friend and T feeling very relieved!

The Last Supper.

Perhaps Traveller is being a touch over-dramatic, but she is ever so excited and nervous about tomorrow!

This evening, Traveller and hubbie had a 'last supper' of sorts with running friend and her husband. The meal was tomato and basil pasta (T has been carb-loading like mad), with fruit and yoghurt for dessert. It was delicious! T has been trying to eat really healthily in preparation for the big run, and she must say that fruit is really sweet and delicious once you take chocolate out of your diet!

Today was a funny day. Traveller has been known to have a nervous stomach. Without being too specific (don't want to make you squeamish whilst blog reading), T, while studying Drama at university would be so nervous during production week that she would have no food left in her at all. And, in regards to today, let's just say that T had her first Imodium pill at 4pm this afternoon!

Today has been full of many last minute errands, like: creating a half-marathon playlist; a neck and shoulder massage (T really needed it, honest); the procurement of mid-race lollies (Barrett's jelly babies) and packing the race bag.

And, in regards to the previous post, T's tiny poem worked! The cold left and T is feeling great. Not all of T's friends who are running were so lucky, she thinks that one will have to pull out, and running friend herself has been sick all week, and won't be at her best. The dreaded London flu is wreaking havoc due to the change in weather.

Well, Traveller is off to (hopefully) catch some ZZZ's before the race. Wish her luck!

Cough. Splutter. Sneeze.

With just over four days until the big event,

Traveller can feel herself coming down

with some sort of dreaded sickness.

Noooo!

She is also racing her fellow teachers

in the 'beep test' tomorrow...

The beep test is a fitness test which many would regard

as horrible and unnecessary, but nerdy T is a little excited.

Please cold
go away.
Traveller does not want you to stay.
Leave at once - without delay!


photo via flickr

Fall arrives in a flurry.

It seems that fall has arrived in London overnight.

Sidewalks that were once clear, are now covered in burnt orange leaves.

A breezy wind has arrived, and the leaves are swirling about in the air.

It is so pretty.

Traveller went for a run in Hampstead Heath, and could barely see the heath floor, for all the scattered leaves.

As her fellow Australian friends grumble and feel somewhat dejected at the darker afternoons and cooler weather - Traveller is secretly excited for all the activities and clothes that fall encompasses.

She is ready for the scarves, the coats, the tights, the many cups of tea, the apple crumble and custard, the boeuf bourguignon, the red wine and the reading under the covers.

She is even ready for the fight against the winter pounds; yes, running will continue after the halfie.

Fall is here!

photo via flickr

The Colour Purple.

The race shirt arrived in the post today, along with T's number and chip.

Traveller loves it; it matches her feminine sensibilities perfectly.

However, running friend's husband is quite adamant he isn't going to wear it.

It's too 'purple'!

What do you think?

Two weeks to go!

Lucky we ran.

Running friend and Traveller have a frequent discussion that includes questions of why they aren't stick thin, with all the running that they do.

T thinks that the answer lies in the above pictures.

They ran for two hours on the weekend {without stopping!} and, after stretching, promptly decided that the weather was too nice, not to enjoy some yummies at the park.

Yes, the sun was shining in London {shocking!}

So, following a salad sandwich, we headed to the park with a bag filled with gorgonzola piccante {delicious}, champagne, strawberries, timtams {an import from mother} and toblerone!

Yum.

Traveller on the Run.

On the weekend, Traveller, along with running friend and brother, ran the Richmond River Run; a 10k race in, you guessed it, Richmond.

While the weather was chilly and we had to get up at a ridiculously early 6:30am on a Sunday morning, it was quite the fun warm-up race for the Royal Parks Half Marathon.

Traveller really wanted to run the 10k in 50 mins, however she was silly enough not to wear a watch...and couldn't really monitor herself. Alas, she came in at 53mins on the nose. Running friend, who is still running whilst feeling (and unfortunately, being) sick - impressed us all with her gutsy determination. We celebrated with a much deserved full English breakfast with our husbands, who so graciously came and cheered us on!

The countdown is now on for the half-marathon - less than four weeks to go!

Cutesy Camera

Yes, that camera really is as small as it looks! On a recent trip to the National Portrait Gallery, Traveller and a friend came across these little re-usable cameras that come on a keyring. We had to have them!

They take 110 film and are developed into 4 x 4s. Traveller's first finished film is being processed at the moment so we'll soon see how they finish up in terms of photo quality. T hasn't got super high expectations for her thumb-sized plastic camera, but is still excited at what she can capture with it.

She can't wait to take it on her 10k race next weekend. T wants to capture the race from the point of a runner, and what better way to do it, then with a teeny-tiny camera!

Water in my shoes.

This evening, Traveller, along with running friend, ran her longest ever distance - just over 17k! We made it in just over an hour and a half. The biggest set-back was that it was absolutely bucketing down with rain. Every inch of T's clothes were wet, her shoes were filled with water, her hair was dripping and she was even having to blink at a more rapid pace to stop her eyes filling with so much water! That's a lot of rain.

And before you think T is really hardcore (who could blame you?), just take a minute to hear about T's running friend. Running friend is a particularly extreme runner. She will run in any physical conditition. Today, after running for around 20 minutes, she began to feel quite ill. She kept going. About an hour into the run, she stopped, vomited by a tree, and then kept running again! T doesn't think she could be quite so hardcore!

Besides the brief hiccup by the tree, it was the most beautiful run. We ran through Hyde Park which is probably T's favourite park at the moment; there is something magical about running past the statue of Queen Victoria which is just outside Kensington Palace. You being to imagine all the feet that have walked or ran those very paths. T's mind goes wild as she envisages horse-drawn carriages, public hangings, ladies ambling in pretty dresses, and princes and their horses going hunting.

Another wonderful thing about the run was that despite the weather, there were many runners about and they were quite jolly as well. Lots of chatting and laughing at the lovely British weather!

Traveller is now feeling more confident about her half-marathon, having made 17k without too much effort (okay, her muscles are pretty sore and she hasn't stopped eating for the last 2 hours!). Neverthless, T is starting to really look forward to the challenge.

Traveller knows it's a little crass, but...

...today she experienced her first trip to the loo, in the middle of a race!

Having expressed her concern for this particular moment, Traveller knew that it would have to happen eventually.

One thing that she learnt from the experience is: as soon as you need to go (or even think you need to go), go to the first bathroom you see!

The Nike Running Club has three courses: a 3, 4 and 7 mile course that each run through or around Regent's Park. The 7 mile course is two laps around the park and running around the outer circle means that there aren't many loos around. So, running past one (because she thought she could make it) was a very silly decision indeed! Two miles later (and in much discomfort), T remembered the position of another loo, and made her way inside the park.

The good news was that it only took about 3-4 minutes off her time, and it wouldn't have taken that if it wasn't so far off course!

The morale of this awkward tale: sometimes you just need to go and if you do, go as soon as you can - otherwise it can all end in tears (or stomach pains!).

photo via flickr

Run Traveller Run!

Over 30K in the last five days. 13K planned for Saturday. Sprints tomorrow night.

Running is slowly taking over T's life.

T, along with a few friends, is booked in to run the Royal Parks Half-Marathon in October. The Royal Parks is one of the best running events in London - it's route goes past some of the most memorable London icons, such as Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Palace and it goes all through Hyde Park.

Now this all sounds lovely, except the furthest T has run previously in a race is 10k. Now, she knows that lots and lots of people have run half-marathons before and it's not really that big a deal - but T is a little bit scared. In fact, she is practically shaking in her running shoes, so to speak. T has many worrying questions racing through her mind, like, 'What if I run out of steam after 10K?', or 'What if I get a really sore knee or shin and simply can't run anymore?', or, perhaps even more embarrassingly, 'What if I have to take an emergency bathroom break in the middle of the race?'.

In order to get over the shakiness and the silly questions, T and one London friend have created a very strict schedule to make sure that they are ready. They have approximately 12 weeks until the starting gun sounds. The schedule has involved hill runs, intervals, long runs and a bit of swimming to give the knees a rest. One of the best things that T has discovered while preparing for the race is all of the running clubs that are around. One that she and her friend are now visiting on a Monday night is the Niketown Running Club.

The running club is seriously motivating. There are many people to race against on the night and there are a few freebies thrown in as well; you receive a free chip (so you can sign in easily), a free shirt after 3 runs and a bottle of water after each race - bargain! Each Monday night you can choose to run 3, 4 or 7 miles. We have been signing up to do the 7 mile run, which is led by a lovely grey-haired woman who is at least in her late 50's. Oh and the most humbling thing is that she absolutely whips us! She is so fast!

Each time we run it is different, sometimes we can sail through 7 miles without too much discomfort, but other times, particular this week for T, it can be absolute struggle-town! She was hurting about a quarter of the way into the race. Now even though this was tough, T secretly likes it better when it hurts like this. It seems to make finishing so much sweeter.

So that is where T is at with her running. Twelve weeks of serious training to go before her first half-marathon.

And...just between you and her, she absolutely loves it!

If anyone has any running or half-marathon tips (like what to do if you need to go to the loo!) - feel free to share in the comments section below. T would love to hear any advice!

photo by flickr

A Weekend in London

Typically, T and hubbie's favourite weekends have been those that have been spent away in an exciting location such as Barcelona or Paris, or even close by in Bath or York - nevertheless T has had a lovely weekend simply spent here, with friends, in London.

It started with a Friday night burger ....

Hubbie has spoken about these burgers for months, and T has to admit, they were pretty darn good!

Then brunch with family and the new addition...

Brunch saw brother meeting with cousin for the first time in eight years! A happy occasion enjoyed over hot croissants, pain au chocolat and pancakes!

Following the brunch, we then met up with some Aussie friends, and took cousin, her fiance and our friends to see 'As you like it' at The Globe. The performance was wonderful - so beautiful in the moon light and such great actors and musicians. The Globe is one of T's favourite places to see Shakespeare, as they really try to recreate the performance as to how it would have been 400 years ago.

Then, on Sunday, flattie and T had a super girly day in Selfridges on Oxford Street, followed by a movie and nails night in our little flat! The day in Selfridges consisted of lipstick, sushi and cupcakes and the evening consisted of indie chick flick 'Rachel Getting Married' and Ben & Jerry's Choc Fudge Brownie...bliss! Isn't flattie pretty in her new red lipstick? The cupcakes are from Lola's in Selfridges; they were key lime flavour and...delicious!

As the weekend has drawn to a close, it is lucky that T has Nike Running Club on Monday night! A mere 7 miles to burn off all those croissants, cupcakes, icecream, the burger and everything else that she didn't mention!