Clara Edwards

Fundraising success!

On Sunday I organised a Bunnings BBQ fundraiser and it was a great success! We sold over 600 sausage sizzles to happy customers on a rainy day and had great feedback from those who tried our wares. Huge thanks must go to my husband Alex and to the other Can Too girls, Nicole, Liz and Alaina, who all played an enormous role in making the day a fundraising success. I have now reached my goal and there is more to come. On Thursday I was also immensely helped out by my fabulous friend and dancer through a special Can Too performance night. The performers were all generous enough to donate their takings from the show to donate to my campaign for curing cancer and I could not be more grateful. I am also incredibly appreciative of the friends who came along to the Dusk Till Dawn movie night last Sunday and even though the weather kept many away it was still a fantastic night. 

Now it is time for the last two weeks of preparation before the race on 17 May. We are starting to taper our runs to allow our bodies to adjust and recover after some big distances in the last few months. On Saturday we did a 10km run around Centennial Park and surrounds with plenty of talk and scenery along the way. It was an interesting mental challenge after all of the long distance (18km!) runs we had been doing. I find it hard to believe that a month ago I had never run 10km and that now it seems almost a short distance. This type of thinking of course is tricky because 10km is still a big run and so I found myself huffing and puffing on Saturday after 5km. It was a lesson in being prepared no matter the distance to keep up the energy and plan for a tough race. It's been a tremendous experience over the whole program to learn the "mind games" to play when energy is low and to also push myself to the limit to reach a goal. 

Thanks Can Too and well done to everyone! Best of luck on race day!

xx

10km - furthest run ever!

On Saturday we had a brilliant but taxing run all the way from Centennial Park to Rose Bay. This might not sound like much if you say, run 100km every day. But to me it was massive. It was super trying because there were a few hills at the start and then a huge effort was needed to make it back up New South Head Rd and then Ocean St. It felt like such an achievement to make it back to the park within the 1hr 10min target time and it was so awesome to have the support and to cheer on my fellow ladies and gents in the "back of the pack" group. We are gonna do this! 

First Time Trial

Woohoo! Time trial run today at the athletic track. It was a 3km run with a split time at 1km and then at the end. My first effort was a slow start at 7:40 mins for the 1km ending at 21:38 mins, which is definitely a time to improve upon! It was really fun though and I got "in the zone" about half way through. I am looking forward to smashing that time in future! 

First Centennial Park run - 4km non stop!

Yesterday was the beginning of our long distance and endurance training at Centennial Park. The Wednesday and Thursday groups arrived at the foggy parklands with the sun glimmering and the sound of cyclists whizzing along the road. We followed our coaches Andy and John in a series of stretches as we all tried to wipe the sleep from our eyes and jolt our bodies into consciousness. I speak in the collective but it may have just been me wrestling with my protesting limbs that just wanted to sleep for "5 more minutes". I am looking forward to this Saturday morning ritual becoming easier over the course of the next 14 weeks! 

Our running route was along the Queens Park side of Centennial Park and out onto the surrounding roads for 2km there and 2km back, a total of 4km running non-stop or half an hour maximum. The coaches assured us that we were starting off easy and that we would be gradually improving our endurance. The aim in a few weeks is to make it to 10km, which at this point seems like a finish line far in the distance, let alone only half of the half marathon distance!

I was inspired running with people who had been to the New York marathon and who had completed runs around the world. One day that could be me! It was also great to complete the 4km without stopping to walk, a great feat after travelling in Mexico and the US over the Christmas break. 

I am looking forward to the next training session on Wednesday!

I'm training with Can Too for the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon!

I am training for an event with Can Too, a health promotion organisation that engages and inspires individuals and the community to achieve personal health, wellbeing and altruistic goals. 
 
Beginners and experienced athletes alike are given professional coaching as part of a team to run or swim in endurance events- including 10km, half-marathon and marathon runs; as well as ocean swims and triathlons.
 
In return, I am raising valuable funds that go towards innovation in the prevention, care and control of cancer. In 2014, our Can Too community has supported 19 early career researchers through Cure Cancer Australia.

Thank you for supporting me!
 
‘It’s so much fun and I can’t believe I’m going to achieve this goal that I never thought possible. A great program and team support is making it possible. You Can Too!’