Week Four

The most significant change I've noticed this week is that I can now say hello to people as I run. Previously they were lucky if they got some pleading eye contact and a gasp, but these days it's a smile and a "good morning!" without missing a beat.

It's been a busy one, with life once again getting in the way of running. But I'm taking it all in my stride (heh heh) and keeping up the good work, and a variety of other cliches too.


Mon - exam day. Stress, then relief. Celebrated with dinner of vodka and borscht, then retro Batman movie at the Astor. Don't think I've ever laughed so hard. Batman has changed so much over the years.

Tues - This morning began with my jeans needing a belt, which made me very happy indeed. I never wear belts. Went to work at the ASRC and in the morning meeting they talked about Run for Refugees. I was pretty chuffed to see my photo up on the screen, listing me as #1 fundraiser thus far. Gotta enjoy it while it lasts. Then, tuning in to what the speaker was saying I realised that I had missed out on a crucial step of signing up. Registering for the actual race.

Yep, this dummy is at it again. I had signed up to the fundraising site but not the race website. Lucky thing I made that meeting or I may have been very embarrassed come race day. Forked out $100 and signed up for the half marathon, saying I would take 2:30:00 to complete. I have no idea whether that is a reasonable time, but it does seem ample without thinking or calculating. Anyway, it's official now and no backing out. Scary. All that's left to decide is whether I will run in a wedding gown.

Kon running in a wedding gown

Wed - Finally got out for a run and I think the hiatus has done me good. Ran my second-best time yet, feeling in control and confident about my ability. At yesterday's ASRC meeting, Kon gave a talk about his experiences with Run for Refugees saying he always runs the half marathon and has done it twice without any training. "I don't recommend it," he said, "but I just wanted to get out there and prove to myself I could do these things I thought were impossible for me." The combination of this talk, my mum's efforts last week, and my official registration for the run has obliterated the mental obstacles that I had been battling. I now actually believe that I can do this, it's not such a ridiculous and impossible feat.

Meanwhile, I updated my running playlist, adding tonnes more metal (mostly thrash) and punk. Time to up the pace. I also threw in a few amusing songs like 'Can't Touch This' by MC Hammer, 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen, and the theme music to Rocky. When contrasted with all the heavy, angry stuff these additions prove a delightful surprise.

Thurs and Fri - Now is a good time to plug the project I worked on these two days. It's a collaboration between the ASRC and Change Media for presentation on the big screen of Fed Square as part of the Light in Winter exhibition. Any day until the 30th June our video will be screening in Fed Square between 4:30-5pm. Plus, on the 22nd June I'll be there to watch and film a series of performances by various community groups that we've been working with over the past few months. Here is where you can find a series of online only mini-documentaries that we filmed as part of this project. A taste tester of the overall work. I must say that working on this project has been an absolute delight. I've met wonderful people, engaged in fascinating conversations, and learnt so much about Australia and its citizens.

Now, back to running. On Thursday we wrapped up shooting early so I got home in time for a run and made my best pace yet! Huzzah!

Now, back to work. Friday turned out to be an 11 hour day, finishing with filming performances in Fed Square after dark. But, got to see our work up on the big screen for the first time and that made it all worthwhile. Lots of excitement and pride.

Sat and Sun - Saturday I was beat. I'd somehow hurt my foot the night before, had a big sleep in, and when I finally got out on the track the romance was brief. I ran back indoors to the heater and homework rather than face the biting winds of Melbournian autumn.

Sunday saw me out running with my mum again as she is in town on business. I took her out along my usual route and through a Week Three training session. Then, during the free run section, I challenged her to run the same 1km straight that I had conquered in week one and...

Huzzah! This champion ran all the way!

Looks like we have a contender. I'm already hinting that she should sign up for the fun run, even if it's only 5km. Although I bet by then Viv could run an easy ten. In the meantime, I've scrapped the idea of weekly distance goals. I'm just going to focus on regular runs and endurance. The goals only make me disappointed, while there are so many other rewards that I could focus on. Well, here are my times and distances for the week:

Mon - Batman!
Tue - work day
Wed - 6.23km in 00:50:14
Thu - 5.6km in 00:44:17
Fri - big, wonderful work day
Sat -2.5km in 00:17:00
Sun - 5.99km in 00:58:55

Had to include a pic of retro Batman,
and this is him running, so it's relevant.