Time flies

Hi folks
It has been a couple of weeks since I last posted a blog, Christmas is almost here. It has been very hot and humid in Auckland and I am not good in these conditions. Thankfully New York will be in winter...
I have gone back to 3 maintenance runs a week and have not really done any longer distances. On Sunday our club captain draged us over many many hills in the heat and I felt like dying!
I will carry on on a low level over the Christmas and New Year period, then I will try to find a coach to start properly on the Marathon!
This morning's run was drenched in sweat first (the humidity again) then in pouring rain - so I got thoroughly wet :-)
This just proves the exception to my rule that it never rains at 6am or so my husband says...
Ciao
Pia

PS: had to make the first payment for NY this week - it is beginning to get real!

Back to earth

Hi folks
Kerikeri an almost distant memory, the blisters healed and I feel slightly lost this week. I have been running, but only maintenance distance (9-10km) as there is no pressing need to run long distances. I am tired and very frustrated with my inability to loose some weight. So if you can send some motivation my way it'd be much appreciated :-)
Also the first chunk of money will be due in December which makes this enterprise feel suddenly very real.
I really have to find someone to help me plan the training for New York soon, otherwise the time will fly and I will live happily in denial...
On a positive note we have registered for the Lake Taupo relay which will be lots of fun. 160km around the lake in a maximum of 18 hours. We are a team of 8 adults and 4 kids who will takle this event - looking forward to it.
Ciao
pia

Bad Run - Good Result

Hi Folks
Back from Kerikeri and still alive :-)
I did what I set out to do, to run the Kerikeri Half Marathon in under 2 hours - just (1.58.54). I had hoped to get in a bit more under the 2 hour mark. But it was an incredibly hard run (not the course) because I felt bad all the way. Every kilometer was a fight, I can only hope that this will help me get through a Marathon.
The Kids had the tummy bug last week and I think I might have had a bit of that too, the humidity was huge (88%) and on top of that I developped a big blister early on in the race. Anyway it is over now and I know that I can run 21 km under tough circumstances which is probably a good thing considering I will have to do double that in less than a year!
Other than that the weekend was great and the street party on Saturday a lot of fun.
Next weekend we are meeting our team for the Lake Taupo Relay in February. That is my next big event, a team of 10 people run a relay around Lake taupo (160km).
Have a good week.
ciao
pia

Countdown to Kerikeri

Hi Folks

It is only a few more days to Kerikeri!!! I did my last run today and now I am resting for Saturday. There are still a million and one things to organise for the weekend with kids, gear, the dog and so on.
One half of me is excited, the other half is a bit scared. I have not managed to lose any weight and I know a few kilos less would make a big difference. Anyway I will just have to drag the whole me along :-)
Generally I feel pretty good apart from a tight calf but I think I should be OK.
My fundraising for New York is another matter altogether. I have not had a lot of response yet and I am a bit worried. So if you have any good ideas please email me! Please!
Have a good week

Ciao
Pia

On Track

Hi Folks

After my recent struggle with enthusiasm I have finally had a really good 17km run this past Sunday! It felt easy and I was not sore afterwards. Yeah!
This exactly a year out from New York makes me feel positive about my running. By the way the CatWalk team did great on the 7th - they all crossed the finish line. Congratulations to all!
Kerikeri Half is fast approaching and I am running my normal training until tomorrow and then start tapering.
So let me finish for today with a quote from Paul Tergat (a famous marathon runner):

“Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?'. The answer is usually: 'Yes'.”

Ciao
Pia

Looks can be deceiving

I have a very funny story to tell (well at least I think it is funny), because I do not exactly look like a runner. Last weekend Rebel Sport had 25% off everything and my husband suggested I go and buy a pair of running shoes since I will be using many more pairs in the next year. Now I could have gone and picked up my usual Asics but I love a bargain! So when I happend to walk past an Adidas stability shoe that was half price I just had to try it. I grabed a young good looking shop assistant and asked his opinion about the durability and performance of the Adidas versus the Asics. He seemed relatively competent and we discussed pros and cons then I mentioned that my usual Asics seemed to only last me about half a year and that I was going to increase mileage next year and was a bit worried about durability. The very nice young assistant asked me what mileage I was doing and when I told him "oh roughly about 50km a week" his jaw literally dropped :-)
He then immediately ushered me over to the more expensive high mileage Asics and said "in this case you need those". He must have taken one look at me and put me in the jogging around the block category, I had to laugh!
That is going a long way towards lifting my mood about my running and all its setbacks :-)
In that sense don't let yourselves be deceived by looks

Ciao

Setbacks

Last week has been very upsetting for me. On top of a bout of PMS and a craving for chocolate that was very hard (impossible) to resist, I damaged a toenail on a 16km run and running has been painful since then. A silly little thing like a toenail can alter everything as I have found out. On what was supposed to be my longest run yet on wednesday (18km up and down hill) I had to give up after 15km as the sore toe altered my gait and my knees and back just gave up on me :-(  My pride hurt more than my toe!
I have spent the weekend feeling sorry for myself and having a little temper tantrum (I was never meant to run in the first place, why is it easy for everybody else but not for me; and so forth :-))
I am sure you know the feeling.
Now my toe is slowly calming down, albeit blue in color, and I hope the next few days I can run normally again.
Onwards and Upwards or as Anita Weyermann (Swiss Runner) said: "Gring ache u seckle"
which means as much as "head down and run on"
In that sense

Ciao

Building up - hopefully enthusiasm too

Hi Folks
I did 15km on the weekend! Although I can feel my quads a little bit, it went all right. I have to say that I did wonder a few times, why the h*** I was doing this but New York is waiting and I think CatWalk is a worthy cause. Hey why don't you have a look at my fundraise online page (hint hint) :-)
5 and a bit weeks to Kerikeri Half Marathon - the countdown is running.
I wish you a wonderful week out there.
Ciao

We don't know how lucky we are

Hi folks

Back from a fantastic holiday in Samoa. And yes I did do a run in the humid heat :-)
Have a look at the picture from Lalomanu beach where the Tsunami hit a year ago. We drove by the coast and the pictures are still heartbreaking! It is very different seeing it with your own eyes and it made us appreciate everything we have. We really don't know how lucky we are.
If you plan to go to the islands, why not choose Samoa and go to Lalomanu beach - a few resorts/fales are open again and they can use every tourist dollar!
Now I am back full throttle after a lazy few weeks of holidays and visitors. Sunday I did a 14.5 km run - I am still a bit sore from it :-)

Have fun and appreciate your life out there

Ciao

pia

Holidays are waiting

Hi Folks

Me going off to Samoa on Friday is nicely covering up everything else :-)
I can't wait to get away from this rain and sit on a beach all day! Yes I will be taking my running gear and keep on running. Fotos will follow!
At the moment I have a pulled hamstring which causes grief. But if you think it is from running hard you are wrong. No, I had to go and show off to some 8 year olds that I can still do splits and wheels (LOL). Serves me right, I am getting old :-)
Last Saturday I went to another one of the drills classes and we looked at our running prints in sand. You can check out your symmetry and all sorts of other things like pronation and supination. It was very interesting to see how I put my feet on the ground and what that potentially means in terms of injury.
OK, stay safe and dry and I will catch up in a bit more than a week.

ciao

And the earth shakes

Hi out there

All the running, training, fundraising and other little trouble has paled in comparison to the huge earthquake in Christchurch. Although I am an Aucklander and not directly hit by the devastation I am shocked at the unleashed power of mother nature and amazed that no lives were lost in this 7.1 magnitude quake!
Also it has only been three weeks that I happily ran around Hagley Park in Christchurch and that is a sobering thought indeed.
Just goes to show how reliant we are on our routine and infrastructure. I certainly don't have water for 3 days for the whole family stored somewhere.
I did do my normal runs this past week and I am struggling to find enough time to make them longer. Sorry but I can't face the thought of getting up even earlier.
But I am going to run the Half marathon in Kerikeri in November, so that will force me to push those kilometers :-)
check it out on http://www.kerikerihalfmarathon.co.nz/

Ciao

Fundraising online

Hi Folks

My fundraising page for CatWalk is NOW online! You can access it via the link on the right or here:

http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/PiaWittwer/

If you want to support my efforts but do not like the physical exertion yourself, you can now do this through me!
Needless to say that I would love for you to help me out.
For all my Friends and Relatives in Switzerland I will have something special planned with regards to supporting me, so wait for my email guys - it will come your way soon.

I have been running a lot this past week and even managed a 16km run on Sunday.
Yes my hamstrings were a bit sore today :-)
And you would not believe it but coming back from my run, some youngsters had stolen my handbag and a few gear bags from our clubrooms!!! The B***** cheek of them.
Fortunately we found most of the stuff dumped behind some bushes close by later, but I had already cancelled all my cards. Ah well at least I did not have to change all the locks on the house.

Ciao

More than left foot - right foot

Hi again
I had a very busy week in terms of running but also in terms of ideas for fundraising. Because the weather was shocking and wet the first half of the week was a no-go for running. I did do my early morning run on Friday and on Saturday I went along to a great drill class. A friend of mine who is an Ironman (!) draged me along and I had to overcome my embarassment but I am so glad I did. After a fast 20 minute warm-up we looked at the mechanics of running and did drills for every phase of the stride-cycle. Sounds very technical I know but made total sense to me (I am an Osteopath after all). I learnt heaps and I will definitely go again. Maybe I can run faster than I do at the moment. I will keep you posted!

Then I have been putting together a proposal for companies to exchange my skills as an Osteopath for their donation to CatWalk. I am kind of excited and a bit scared to go out there and promote myself - but hey that was part of the reason for embarking on this journey - to push my comfort zone on every level.

Unfortunately I have been less successful on the weight side of things. I really need to lose some to spare my joints and the last 2 weeks have been filled with baking and food (Arrggghh)

Ah well a new week has started.

Check out these links that show that running is more than just left foot - right foot.

cheers

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-To-Run-Lower-Body-Position--Stride-Mechanics-5150199

http://bobbysez.blogspot.com/2010/08/5-lean-your-way-to-great-running.html

Early Morning Runs

Hi out there

As promised here is a photo of one of my early, early morning runs. It was cold and wet that morning but me and my running buddy still managed to do about 9km.
I know I will have to do longer ones soon. I hope that doesn't mean I have to get up even earlier ;-)

Over the last four days I have been in Christchurch doing a course on Visceral Manipulation. You can find more info here: http://www.barralinstitute.com/
It was very interesting and I have learnt a lot for my practice but man it was hard on the body!
I did manage do get in a run around Hagley Park and that felt really good. Although it got dark half-way in and I did feel a wee bit exposed around the botanical gardens, where it was very dark.
Ok, that is me for the time being. Back into normal routine. I will let you know when my fundraising page for CatWalk is up, which will be soon.

Ciao

A non-training weekend

Well, the weekend was a bit of a write-off in terms of Marathon Training. My Sunday morning run did not happen as the group was away in Whitianga for the weekend and I could not join them. You might want to check out where they were staying. http://www.admiraltylodge.co.nz/Location.html
I normally run on Monday mornings at 5.30 (yes you read right!) with my running buddy but today it was bucketting down so we chickened out. I am not very good in the pouring rain.
But we will run tomorrow early morning, I will post some photos soon :-)

by for now

All Things New

I have really done it! Yikes!!! I am going to run the New York Marathon! (only in 2011 so plenty of time or so I am told)
I am doing this for a charity called CatWalk which raises money to get people back on their feet after spinal injuries - a worthwhile cause. You can find them on http://www.catwalk.org.nz/
This blog is going to be my companion for the journey so please be patient with me as I am learning :-)
Any help with the blog, the fundraising, the training or anything else is much appreciated.
I will link to my website soon where you can find some background information about me and what I do.

Bye for now