A Few "Sharpeners" to Finish With!

Short warm up: 4 x 1km @ marathon pace (I hope!); short cool down & finito! Walking at the GC, to & from the Expo, will do; maybe 15mins. jog sometime. Early start tomorrow.....7:10am train right to the Domestic Terminal & flight out around midday....1 more sleep!

Rest & a Movie

Went to the "pictures" this afternoon & saw "Downfall" (Germany/English sub-titles) 2 & half hours depicting how Adolf Hitler lived out his last days in an underground bunker in Berlin...depressing & horrifying & relentlessly grim! I'm trying not to think about it anymore. I do not want to see another depressing movie for a long time..... they're too hard to throw off afterwards.

Turning the Legs Over!

20 mins. this morning easy jog along. 3 more sleeps then Chickybabe flies north!

Sunday Rest

No running today & mostly rest in the week ahead; turning the legs over so that they don't forget what to do next Sunday! Just 'being alive'!

Sunday Run on Saturday

Couldn't call it a 'long' run : 10km total with the middle 4km starting at 'marthon pace' & gradually increasing to 5:42min/km; and that's just about the end of preparation for GC marathon, 2005. A couple of 20min. jogs next week or I might go surfboard riding when I get to the GC.!

Rest Day

Nothing to report today; it's still raining...good & not so cold....even better!

Mid-Week Run

This morning's 15km is the last of the 'longish' runs before GC, except for about 9-12km on Sunday, which I'll do on Saturday!

It's wet (good) & terribly cold (bad) today (max 7C), so the treadmill was the way to go; I'm getting to dislike the winter...getting old? But then again, I can't stand humid, hot days either; that makes me a "grumpy old lady"! Much like the TV series of "Grumpy Old Men" which I liked a lot. On the treadmill, kept HR at 73% of Max., but put on a spurt for the last 3km @ 'marathon pace' & a little faster.

This time next week I'll be at the Gold Coast....can hardly believe it's that close & already itching to go the 42.2km distance once again!

Rest & a Movie

The movie was "The Sea Inside", a Spanish movie based on a true story. It was disturbing & distressing, but beautifully directed & beautifully acted. Might not be for everyone.

Race Pace Practice...for the marathon

Only 6km again this morning, but all of it at 'marathon pace'. Short warm up & cool down. Began at 8.5km/hour (i.e. 7:05 min/km) & finished last 2km with 10.5km/hour (i.e. 5:42min/km). I'm liking the feel of yesterday's & today's sessions - short distances but fast (?) pace!

No running tomorrow, so we'll probably go to the "flicks"!

A Bit of Marathon Pace

Yes, the treadmill again! I simply cannot, repeat cannot, go out in this windy & cold weather; I must be getting old!

Anyhow, just 6km this morning with the middle 4km at my marathon pace & a little faster.. i.e. set treadmill at varying from 1 - 3 incline & took the pace up to 9km/hr; at that pace Chickybabe is nearly flying off & up into the air! Did some stretches, showered & waiting for me at home was a bowl of hot soup & a toasted muffin! Yummie on such a cold day.

2 weeks today!

This time 2 weeks it'll be all over.....unless I get lost of course! After yesterday, just sitting around & resting.....phew!

Sunday's Long Run on Saturday!

That's the last of the long runs before GC marathon! 20km.... & all of it on the gym treadmill! I had to find somewhere 'flatish' and that was it, without having to drive somewhere looking for a flat course. I listened to the whole of "Show Boat" 2 discs.

The middle 8kms I pushed 'harder than usual'...whatever that means! Avg. HR for that section was around 80% of max.; the rest of the time, kept to between 70-75% of max. It did get bloody tiresome, but I just kept listening to the music, slogging away & pretending that it was the GC marathon. Oh, Chickybabe is so tired & will now have a wee kip!


Much later...much better!

Recovery Run

Once again I couldn't bring myself to face the cold & nasty wind; having to go out in it on Sunday will be bad enough.

Today was an 'easy' 6km recovery run on the gym treadmill....watching a cooking class on TV! And talking of eating........

Last night's 'duck dinner' - never tasted duck before & it was a superb meal with a scrummy dessert to finish. It was only slightly spoiled by the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about the duck when it was alive! I don't know why it bothered me so much (couldn't tell anyone!); it might be that I see so many ducks in the area : floating around in dams, eating in the paddocks, flying overhead etc.. & sometimes a mum & dad duck stopping the traffic to cross the road with a squad of little duckies trailing behind them. So, as good as it was, I won't be able to have it again....maybe this kind of thinking is part of senility! Who knows?

Mid-Week Long Run

It was too cold, too windy & too hilly to run outdoors this morning, so to the gym I went & did 16km on a treadmill to the tunes of "Show Boat"......"that ol' man river, he jes' keeps rollin' along".....as did I, keeping Avg. HR at 70 - 73% of Max.

Tonight, having dinner at the Bowral Country Club where Jimbo plays piano on Friday & Saturday nights & Sunday afternoons. I'm told 'duck' is the chef's speciality, so will be giving it a try (sorry to all other ducks especially the flash Canberra one!).

Rest & a Movie

Being a rest day, we took the opportunity to see a movie : "Being Julia"....liked it very much!

A Short Run

I used the gym treadmill for this morning's 6km; before starting I thought :"I could do 10km easily, feeling recovered from Sunday's long run." I didn't realize that I was still a bit stiff & weary until after a few seconds of jogging. So I kept to what was the planned distance for today i.e. 6km. After 1km warm up, I stepped up the pace to a 7min/km followed by a short cool down.

Sunday's Long Run

I was too tired after yesterday's long run to post about it! Unfortunately FlashDuck had to pull out due to a heavy cold. However, Ewen & Tim came...the poor darlings had a hard time slowing down to my pace; in fact, they walked up the winding hills section of the Pass to keep me in sight on a beautifully clear cool day. It's quite embarrassing being so slow & probably a very good reason to run by myself most other times, but for yesterday, it was wonderful to have their company.

I didn't take any of the usual planned walk breaks, stopping only at the 2 watering holes; took 2 gels, sports drink & chewed a few glucodin tablets; taste good & I think they give something of an energy boost; will use them again or snakes, jelly beans etc. Heart monitor said my avg. HR was 80+% so I must have been working hard; Ewen is going to work out the avg pace for the distance.

Lunch was at the Sturt Gallery cafe, except that by the time we got there, around 2:00pm, lunch had stopped being served and just about everything else we asked for was no longer available! We did manage to get some nice cake with icecream & huge mugs of coffee.

I was truly done in after the 34km; as Ewen said, I looked like an old man....excuse me, Ewen!
and that's how I felt for the rest of the day & night. Hit the bed around 4:00pm, couldn't sleep at all; soup & muffin (brought in by Jimbo) at 6:00pm & then slumped onto a very hot electric blanket at around 11:00pm....sheer bloody bliss feeling the heat get to my aching bones & muscles! Feel fine though today, just a little stiff in the legs.

That's the last long run before Gold Coast marathon & I'm pleased I had to put so much into it & again become familiar, at least for some of the time, with the pace of a race day. I'll look back on yesterday as a very special day because of the 2 cool runners I had to keep me company & see that I didn't take a wrong turn somewhere!

Rest

Just watching the rain today! It hasn't stopped all day, raining lovely rain! Have to be up with the cows tomorrow, so an early night for the Chickybabe blogger!

A Non-Running Day

It can't be called a 'rest' day; I should have run 5-6km easy, but there was just too much to do outside Mr. LL ( or Jimbo" as I & most others call him), is unable to do much until after knee replacement surgery. I've taken a break to update my blog & check the CR message board; in my mind anyhow, the outdoor work (some heavy stuff too) is more than enough to replace an easy run.

Well, that's it for today; beautiful day, but must get out to dig, replant a couple of small trees, (right time of year when they've stopped growing), rose bushes, (should see how Chickybabe can swing an mattock!), rake up leaves, etc. I'll be 'stuffed' by tonight; rest tomorrow for the run on Sunday with FlashDuck, Wombatface & Tim...our newest 1000th poster! Yea for Tim!

Mid-Week Longer Run + Marathon Pace

14km this morning with middle 4km at/near/faster than marathon pace....whichever I could manage to do!

Results of middle 4km were 6:38; 6:39; 7:03; 5:41. This was OK & I enjoyed the session; not in pain/tired/stiff/ afterwards. Easy, short run tomorrow. Rest Saturday; long run Sunday with FlashDuck, Wombatface & Tim.......looking forward to that one, but feel sorry for the others if they keep my pace....Yikes!! Will suggest that they run ahead & keep returning to where I am!

Rest

No running today; not going anywhere today....no car! Still haven't heard from the Service Centre, so can only conclude they haven't found the cause of the problem.

However, the weekend is looking like a very exciting one for me : not only is FlashDuck coming from Canberra for a 30km run with me, we now have Wombatface (Ewen) also coming! We'll do the Range Road & down Macquarie Pass course, where they'll not only view the best of the Southern Highlands scenery but also view the wreck I'll be at the finish....from the sublime to the ridiculous! Cool Runners are getting together in this part of the world now. I thought a better idea than running would be to race down the Pass on his beautiful motor bike (like the ride I had in Canberra).....whoopee going down the Pass! However he's offered to dink me back the last 5km if I'm in really bad shape!

"Easy" Run

10km this morning, put some 'marathon pace' into the middle 6km; nothing too long now, but keeping up some intensity during shorter runs.

"Easy" Run or Rest

It's now mid-day & I still can't decide whether to do a 5/6km session today or take a day's rest. Recovered from yesterday's effort, (actually felt good by last night), but a bit tired & just a little stiff in the quads. I think a day off might be the way to go. Taking the dogs for their walk later will be enough for the day.

A Long Run & How I Feel After it!

Poor blog, you're going to have to listen to a litany of whinges first, but that's part of what you're there for...the good, the bad & the ugly. Let's start with the ugly : me right now, trying to walk upright instead of on all fours where I'd be far more agile; the bad : from the waist, down to the tip of my toes, I ache something awful; the worst parts are the lower back (terrible), left hip (not quite 'terrible'), glutes (smashed), quads (screaming); the only word to describe the lower half of me is good & properly "stuffed"! I'll have to find a less hilly course..this one is 'killing' me!

The good : top half seems relatively unharmed (not sure about the brain though); I didn't give in on any of the hills etc. ; ran the last 4km without a walk break (prior to that jog 8mins/walk 1min); did the full 28km as planned i.e. 8a.m. start after a cup of coffee; swallowed 2 gels on the way (1 at half way, the other with 10km to go); took a bottle of water & refreshed it at Glenquarry, just before going down the Macquarie Pass; time = 3hrs48mins. (a negative split of 5mins.); finding that I don't need to carry "provisions" (other than gels) on long runs this year, as I did last year.......I must tell Plu.

Also in the good category is that Flash Duck is coming from Canberra next Sunday to do 30km with me! Can't imagine what she'll think of my pace & the total wreck that she'll see at the finish! Oh well, having her company will be worth it for me! Anyone else care to join us?

And now, to bed for an hour or two; but first a couple of pain killers!

Rest Day

No running today; instead I cut down 2 old fruit trees & sawed them up into little bits. As a result I will not need to do any upper body work for the next several months or I'll become a Chickybabe with big muscles!

"Easy" Run

Just back from an afternoon run of 6km on another wonderful, warm, sunny day...if only the whole year was like the last few days! I thought I ran this 6km well (bit slow though @ 7.5mins/km) & felt really good & not at all tired after yesterday's harder run of 10km. Tomorrow off, in preparation for the looooong run on Sunday (28km). Then only 4 Sundays till GC marathon!

No wonder then that I dreamed last night about the GC marathon....... On my shoulder I had pinned the pompom that Wildthing gave me as a souvenir after the SMH half marathon; problem was that it hung from my shoulder to the ground & my feet got caught at every step & I kept tripping on the blasted thing! Now, I wonder what that dream is telling me.

Throw in Some Marathon "Pace"

What a day! What another glorious day! Out fairly early, 11:00am!! Well, I have to proactise in the warmer part of the day! The run was 12km, starting slow (as if I could do anything else!) and gradually increasing the pace to marathon 'pace' or faster if possible for the 8th, 9th & 10th km. then 2km cool down. Well, I was rather pleased with myself this morning....careful Chickybabe, pride comes before a fall. However, the results of those 3kms I thought were not too bad for someone who can't run out of sight on a dark night!

Results : 8th km in 7:04mins @ 75-80% of max; 9th km in 6:41 @ 80-83%; 10th km in 5:55mins @ 85-90%.

I'll just sit here a minute & look at those numbers..........that's one of the many reasons I love my blog : I can sit here & gloat & slap myself on the back & tell myself what a smart Chickybabe I am, & no one need know anything about it.

Rest Day

No running today; might do a spin class this evening, but depends on how keen I am by 6:30 pm.
Beauty of a day to be out running though......or just being alive!