Sunday Run - 90 minutes

It was 'Christopher Robin' who prayed something like : "Thank you, God, for a lovely day; now, what was the other I had to say?" Well, it was the most glorious of mornings to be out doing anything! Of course, "the other thing" is to say inadequate words like ""thank you so much" to some dear CR bloggers for your very kind thoughts for Jimbo! Now all is well again; but what was the other thing I had to say? Think, think, think!

Ah yes! This morning's run!

I think Wombat will be pleased with me today. Time on feet was to be 90 minutes, with the first half at 'talking to the cows' pace & the second half a negative split... i.e. 'hard work'! Trouble with that was....the paddocks were filled with dozens of new calves as well as their mothers & fathers, all of whom had to be talked to, which explains why it took 50 minutes to get to the turn around at 6km! Marvellous, though, how incentive increases when you're answerable to a 'higher authority'! I was back at the start, a lot of uphill, in 38 minutes!! So, all up I only ran 88 minutes! And that is a negative split of 12 minutes!! Can't wait to email Wombat the results!

And now for Week August 1 - August 7..(with some modifications already!)
AUGUST
1 - 30 minutes easy run.
2 - 20 minutes easy run.
3 - TIME TRIAL (Oh Dear!) - 2km hard.
4 - Rest Day (Thank you!)
5 - 50 Minutes 'medium' pace.
6 - Rest or 20 minutes easy run
7 - Long Run 100 minutes easy..(Negative split again!)

MODIFICATIONS :
Previous day to TT, do a very easy run, then stop, stretch & do 4 x 100m strides. (Blimey! I'll soon look like "ROO" hopping along!).

On other easy days, walking, going to the gym, etc. is OK. (Nothing about eating, sleeping, etc. do you notice?...just as well there aren't cows to be milked!)

All jokes aside, I'm loving it & lucky to be doing some training with Wombat's help, in the hope that, one day soon I will not be so slow & may even be able to run out of sight on a dark night!

'Medium' Pace Run

45 minutes "medium' pace; I took "medium" to mean just push a bit harder than an 'easy' run; ran total time of 46.49 so as to round off at total of 6.5km...i.e. 23.04 out & 23.45 back.....avg. 7.1 min/km. I'll have to check this out with 'W' to see if he approves of my interpretation of "medium"! Windy again on the return.

Mr. LL had another fainting spell yesterday; ambulance to High Dependency Unit, Bowral Hospital; I stayed all afternoon; Cardiologist kept him overnight on heart monitor; home today; seems fine again; seeing cardiologist Monday. Main thing...we're together again!

I felt I had to do my runs both yesterday & today (not selfish, I hope) but it does help lift feeling depressed & teary.

I have to go to Sydney tomorrow, so will take that as a rest day.

Rest

According to Wombat : "and on the 4th day Chickybabe rested!" Relieved that unlike the Creator of the world, 'W' didn't designate the 7th day for rest!

Truth be known, immediately yesterday's TT finished, I felt fine...no lingering fatigue at all! Looking forward to tomorrow's run already.....weather is simply great!

3km Time Trial

....but Wombat never told me my very life was on trial here today! God Almighty (not you 'W'!), I felt this an awfully hard session...my life was in danger of ending with one, huge gasp of what I thought was my last breath!

Instructions for today & subsequent Wednesdays assuming I survive this one, were : (1) find a suitable venue...got that bit right ; (2) jog for about 15-20 minutes.... no trouble with that; (3) 4 "strides" over about 80-100m (had to make a typo correction there from 'kms' back to metres! Maybe that's where I went wrong? Did strides over 80-100km!!!); (4) stop, stretch & rest for 10 minutes ....you bet I did! (5) Run 3km hard but evenly as if in a race & don't sprint at the end; just 'evenly hard' the whole way...might just as well have asked Jesse, the elephant, to do that! (6) Take note of time, walk for 10 minutes & than jog home (if you can!)...well, I couldn't, but I did have the car at the finish!

That's who I must have looked like & certainly felt like... as though Jessie might have had a twin who breathed like 'Puff, the Magic Dragon'; running 3km hard wasn't a labour of love at all, but a gruelling, labour-intensive exercise for this Chickybabe who one day hopes to be not so slow!

Anyhow I did it, even if in an elephantine sort of way, 1.5km out & 1.5km back ( return into a headwind). Eternally grateful "W' that you made this a once a week only session!

TIME : 18:27 Mins & Secs. (NOT hrs. & mins.!)
HR Max. : 90%; Avg. 83%

An 'Easy' Run

Same as yesterday...20 minutes run; westerly wind stronger than yesterday. It sounds like a clap of thunder each time it hits the front of the house; not at all nice outside & the gym seems very inviting!

Running the "Wombat Way!"

Programme for Week 1, 25th - 31st July...in order to make Chickybabe less slow & hurtling along!...here it is :

JULY
25 - 20 minutes easy run.
26 - 20 minutes easy run.
27 - TIME TRIAL ** - 3km hard.....strong even running
28 - Rest Day.
29 - 45 minutes, medium pace.
30 - Sat. Rest day or 20 minutes easy run.
31 - Sun. Long Run 90 minutes.

** This is the important (read 'tough'!) session each week & much more about how to do it & all other sessions as they happen.

Monday - 20 minutes easy run - Done! Easy! I keep HR for 'easy' runs 73-83% of Max.

Not very pleasant out today; westerlies starting up.

Sunday "Long" (?) Run Into the Wind.

....... an ugly westerly was blowing Chickybabe's feathers every which-way this morning so I stayed out for 1 hour only & that was enough! An easy jogging pace, keeping HR between 73% & 83% of Max. but didn't get very far.

Programme to be less slow, "according to Wombat, Verse 1 Chapter 1," begins tomorrow!

Another 'Easy' Jog

How long can this brilliant weather last? Hopefully until the start of the August winds! A full week now of sun & warm days of up to 15C. Shorts & short sleeve top was all that I needed for this morning's 40mins easy jog. Hope to double that tomorrow & then commence W's programme on Monday; really looking forward to doing some training to be, not faster, just not so slow!

A Bit of Cross Training

Went to the gym for 40mins. session on elliptical trainer & then some work for the quads on the leg-press....& that's it: another beauty of a day, 14-15degrees & still no winds or clouds.

The Morning After the Day Before!

....and never felt better! No headache! Actually feeling 'really alive' for a change! We had such fun....talking, eating, laughing most of the day, all of which goes well with more than a few very good red wines!

So out early this morning 9:00am (?) for 45 minutes of easy jogging; superb day here (4 in a row) without a breath of wind, not a cloud in the sky...just warm, glorious sun. Hope all the Vic . bloggers are getting some of it too. It's so good to be alive & still enjoying being alive!

A Rest Day...of Sorts!

Calling today a 'rest day' is just another way of saying Chickuybabre didn't run but had a very nice day just the same...... with friends who came from Sydney for lunch & we lucnhed & drqank Glorious red wines all afternoon! That's why I'm leaving ina all the tupo errors, jusdt top show what lots of gloruious reds can do to someone who otherwise would be embarrassed to l; et even one error go uncorrected! I've got a wonderul feeling Chickuybabe might have a headache headache in the morning! Oh waht a beutiful day!

Oh well, next week the serious tuff tarts!

"Easy" Jog

30 minutes this morning just jogging along; another late night to follow with TDF back on. It's frightening just how strong those guys are! Scenically beautiful as well.

A Lazy Monday...20mins. jog.

I'm a very pleased Chickybabe because.......as of next Monday, July 25th, I'll be starting a program give to me by CR Wombatface! I think it's very brave of him to even attempt to do something to make me less slow & if it doesn't work, I'll know who to blame.....ME! He's a very knowledgeable wombat & knows what he's doing, which is more than I do.....still not able to run out of sight on a dark night, taking nearly 6hrs to finish a marathon, continually being directionally challenged (thanks Plu!), etc. etc...

I have the program for the next 2 months & each week consists of 3 'easy' runs; 1 'Time Trial' (a hard session); 1 'medium' pace run and 1 'long' run; 1 rest day + one of the 'easy' runs could be a second rest day if needed. A big change for me will be that each session is 'time on feet', not distance.

Anyhow, I'll continue to post each day's session, starting next Monday, & anyone who wants to pick up hints from our very kind & very wise CR wombat, need look no further!

Watched the Tennis !

I wouldn't get up early enough to run before the start of Davis Cup (stayed up far too late watching TDF), but just in time to see the tennis start at 10:00am! Should have run, but doing no serious training till next Monday; then it's time to get ready for Blackmore's Half marathon on Sept. 11, with C2S in between. A few more days to laze around or jog when and if I feel like it.

Day 2 of 3

Lordie, but it's freezing here today! Cold wind too; had to wear woolly cap, long sleeves & tights. 40 minutes & that's long enough to be outside on such a cold day; don't think we'll get to 10 degrees again. Long (?) run tomorrow.

1st of 3 Days

Jogging along for 30mins. this morning...on the up & up! So cold here today...lucky if we hit 10 degrees max.

3 On...1 Off

For the next 2 - 3 weeks that's what it's going to be : run 3 days, 1 day off. Only 20 mins. each day this week; tomorrow Friday, Saturday & Sunday will be 30 minutes each day & increasing the time gradually in following sets of 3 days.....very soon Chickybabe will be flying out of sight on a dark night!

Just Jogging Along!

Monday, Tuesday & today, Wednesday, got out into the sun! 20mins. easy joggging on Monday & Tuesday; today 25mins.! Wow! Soon hit the big time again! City-to-Surf next.

....memory still coming back

....Oh, and Mr LL presented me with a most beautiful bouquet of flowers when I got home from the Gold Coast!

Very wet & windy here today; so glad I don't have to go out & run, but I'll start to think about it next week......maybe!

As the Brain Starts to Function Again.....

..so does memory slowly return!

I omitted one of the nicest moments of the day. On the Sunday evening I had a call from Wombatface asking how I was & if I wanted to have something to eat. Even though I assured him I couldn't eat a thing, he arrived at my pad with 2 big delicious hamburgers & a box of chocs! It was the best hamburger ever & for someone who wasn't hungry, I have to confess I wolfed it down & finished first!

Then we just sat, ate chocolates, drank several cups of tea & talked for a couple more hours. Now that was so good of a Wombat to take such care of a Chickeybabe, wasn't it? A very pleasant finish to the day too!

5:58:51 !!!!!!!

There it is! Is that the sort of time a runner would take to complete a marathon? Well it did & I'm disappointed with it considering I was allowing a generous 5.30 to finish. Anyhow, can't change it, can probably learn something from it, though can't think what that might be right now except never underestimate what can happen during a marathon no matter how you prepare, how good the first half, etc. etc.

All pre-race preparations were in place, hydration, fuel, etc. slow start & first half all good. During the second half, however, I suffered badly; my quads just about completely seized up, were shot through with pain at every step & I just had to hang in there & keep moving forwards, backwards, sideways, any whichways as long as it took me towards the finish. Strangely, at no stage did I even consider not finishing; it was 'do or die' & I just kept telling myself I was getting stronger with each step (lies!), slower (for sure!), but nearer & nearer to the end. I was never going to give in while there was the slightest chance of finishing & I truly believed that no matter how badly I felt, I could still make it unless someone pulled me off the course!

So when the motor cycle police officer pulled up alongside at about 35km I thought that gruesome moment had arrived! He asked if I was OK! Who? Me? The Chickybare blogger? Sure, I was OK! Just stopping momentarily for some light refreshments! And off I wobbled again trying to look like I was having the time of my life....which I was in another kind of way though!
What this very kind man did was to ride ahead, alert others wearing similar gear that a lady in her (wait for it!) 50's was in trouble out on the course. Every km from there seemed like 10km before reaching the next km point, but with 1.5 km to go, Courtleylove's daughter, CR Eskiemo, came alongside & jogged with me; at the same time straight ahead the entire cheer squad was approaching...I thought I'd died & gone to heaven & here were the cherubim & seraphim coming to take me through the pearly gates!

This wonderful group lined themselves on either side of me & with shouts of encouragement , banner flying & pom poms waving, they saw that I got to the finish chute & still on my own two feet...I think! They didn't leave me there though; they just walked along outside the railings & I'll never, ever, forget the sound of their voices shouting "GO NORMA!" over & over until I crossed that damned line! These, not the run, are the memories I will take with me forever of GC 2005.

Monday I couldn't leave the apartment; my quads were in agony by then & far worse than during the marathon; had I gone out it is quite likely I'd have been arrested for loitering in a public place! I was moving like the Tinman in the "Wizard of Oz" but not nearly as elegantly. Tuesday I found I could cross the road to the beach by avoiding all the curbing & using those sloping bits they have for oldies! Even they felt like going up & down a roller coaster. I had a lovely time wading in the surf ....a wonderful massage for my weary legs. Tuesday I did the same but wore my cossie so I could duck under the waves....sheer bliss; also did a long walk along the sand; so beautiful those beaches.....seemingly endless stretches of white sand, warm water to wade in, mist from the sea breeze, balm for a tired body, soul & mind.

And this was pretty much how Chickybabe finished & sailed off into the sunset of her latest marathon!

I'm Still Here!

The Chickybabe blogger is still here! Back last night; couldn't get damned computer to work all day today! Have just posted a report on the main message board, but will write other thoughts here tomorrow.