Day 6 - Running on Empty.......

Very late to bed last night - late getting up this morning - very late starting today's

Program : Medium Long Run
55 to 75 minutes at an easy pace.

Start Time.... around 12:30 p.m. (no brekky!).

Distance = 9.29km

Time = 72:46; 7:49 Pace

HR = 78% of MHR

Avg. speed 7.7; Max 11.4

Very hot & windy day; felt like snail pace rather than easy pace, especially on hilly sections of Diamond Fields Road!


Home...showered & "brunch" at 2:00 p.m.
I must start getting to bed before midnight!

Day 4 - Good, Bad & Plain Ugly!

Chev. Track.......with Ewen observing the session!

Program: Warm-up, form drills, stretches & 4x100m strides.

8 x 400m (2 Sets of 4)

Warm-down.

Lesson 1 - Learned today : Never try to impress your coach by showing how fast you can run! He is not going to tell you that you have the makings of another Cathy Freeman, especially when you've already reached the age of 77. He is not going to tell you that fame & fortune await you both, right after your next race. It isn't, of course, but he insists on perfection nevertheless.

Lesson 2 - : No matter how tired you feel, don't let your backside hang out!

Lesson 3 - : Never incur the wrath of your coach by doing sloppy drills! I was in trouble for this & quite severely reprimanded with : "Do you want to be good or not?"

Lesson 4 - : When you think you've done a truly magnificent run, don't expect your coach to sweep you up into his arms & tell you you're the best runner he's ever coached. Be satisfied with little things like : "That's alright" or "That'll do" & just an occasional "Good".

Lesson 5 - : Don't be a smart arse & think to yourself: "Bet he's never
seen anyone run track using a digital metronome!" He has, of course, heard of these things & all you end up doing is looking very, very ugly tripping & changing pace trying to stay with the rhythm of the damned thing & running the slowest 400s of all time! Doesn't impress anyone!

Lesson 6 - learned before today - If you are ever fortunate enough to be helped with your running by someone with an unselfish & generous heart & a sharp mind & eye that sees everything & misses nothing & knows exactly what you should be doing....count yourself amongst the "Truly Blessed"! ........like I do!



At Chev. track 11:00a.m. Did the warm-up etc. while waiting for Ewen to arrive from Canberra....... he was a little directionally challenged!

Thought I'd save time & get the first set of 4x400m out of the way too, but unfortunately (no, fortunately) for me, Ewen arrived for the last 2 worst, slowest & ugliest 400s I've ever run & he's ever witnessed.....stopping dead in my 'tracks' about 50m from the finish with a lactic build up in both legs....painful & ugly. I wouldn't have been surprised had Ewen said something like : "Is this the standard you've got to show me? Is this the best you can do after months of training & after 2 hours driving from Canberra?" But he didn't; he just called it quits for 400s for the day!

.......so Plan 2 sprang into action!

The Alternative Program (devised on the spot for an idiot athlete!)

........after measuring the correct distance with one of those wheels that real runners & coaches use(!)

11 x 150m Repeats with 2:20 walk recovery.

Results: 43.9; 43.1; 43.7; 43.0; 41.7; 43.1; 42.1; 42.5; 41.8; 43.0; 44.2

The last 2 of these is where, as Ewen said, my backside started to "hang out"!

So....another break of 7 minutes this time for full recovery (& a butt tuck-in) then ......

1 extra 150m as fast as possible!

Result = 39.9!!!!!!!!!!!!! ......with backside well tucked in!

In total, the session was : 4x400 ( bad!); 12 x 150m (good!). I very much liked this distance.

Warm-down, which I suggested we skip, but no! : jog 1 lap around the fence of the oval.

By this time it was 2:00 p.m. & nothing to eat all day for me, so we called it "Lunch Break" time & went into Gilberts Cafe in Mittagong, where we had a mushroom & polenta slice served with salad...it was very good, anything would have tasted good to me by this time!

Still not finished! After driving back into Bowral, Ewen, armed with the measuring wheel, walked ( me making a lame effort to keep up), the 1500m course I had previously measured with Mr G-armin on a fairly flat stretch of road in East Bowral. The wheel was more accurate, but Mr G-armin had done a fairly good job too. Now all I have to do is covertly drop some more paint marks
on the accurate distances of this course & a few more on Chev. track where the white lines are beginning to disappear....all this done without being picked up by police for defacing public areas with unsightly graffiti!


...and so we could say "Amen" to the day!

Day 3 - An Easy Day.

Program : 40 minutes run at a 'comfortable' pace; include 4x 100m strides.

At the soccer field I did some stretches & the strides.

'Comfortable' pace run down Bong Bong Road, into Diamond Fields Road for 20 minutes; stopped for a minute or two to take in the views & then run back to the soccer field. Windy & cold again. Wore 'Frees'. A few stretches after.

Elevation Profile....

Time = 39:58 minutes.
Distance = 5.24km
Avg. = 7.38; Max. 4.49
Avg. HR = 75%; Max HR = 88%

Chev. track tomorrow, 11:30 a.m. Ewen coming to watch my amazingly unique style of running 400's!!

Day 2 - ......"Whatever Day".....

.....Tulip Time in the Southern Highlands...worth a visit by the city folk!

"Whatever Day" .....walked the 1500m course twice with Mr G-armin, double checking on markers before Ewen gets a chance to treble-check my double-check!

Day 1 - Running Against the Wind

Program : Run for 80 to 105 minutes an average of 75 to 85% of MHR.

By far, the worst experience with gale force wind that I've ever experienced & never wish to encounter again. As a tail wind on the way out - on Range Road - it wasn't too bad, but after 45 minutes I'd had enough & decided to turn back and that was when I was hit with the fiercest winds I've ever been out in. Running impossible, walking...more like a drunken stagger; several times I was almost blown over; terrified of the fallen trees & branches, I was actually saying out loud : "God, don't let me be killed; don't let anything fall on me"...it might be the first time I've ever prayed to survive when out on a run! I really thought I'd never safely make the distance back to the car.

About 1-2km from where I'd parked the car, I could see the sky filled with thick smoke, so I started praying again : "Dear God, don't let the car be on fire!" The nearer I was to the car, the thicker the smoke became...but it wasn't there that the fire was...thank you God! About 300m down the hill, but on the same side, the grass alongside the road had caught fire & had spread to the wooden fencing surrounding a paddock. I could see parked cars ahead with lights on & immediately thought there was no way through. I couldn't get away quickly enough & drove slowly through ... To my complete surprise as I came out of the smoke, there were about 6 cars pulled up, not caught there, but just stopped to watch the fire! I can't imagine, in my wildest dreams, why anyone would want to get so close to fire simply to look at it!

No damage at home; a few potted plants tipped over and no power for the rest of the day; came back on about 6:00p.m. Never again will I venture far from home on such a day...lesson learned! In fact, I shouldn't have been out in that weather at all.

RESULTS FROM MOTION BASED:
Run Time = 1:44
Moving Time = 1:38 (6mins. trying to shelter from the gale!)
Distance = 11.7km (!!)
Moving Speed= 7.1 avg. 12.3 max.
Avg HR 74% of Max.
Temperature = 31.9 avg.; 34C high

Wind = N 44.6 avg.; N 51.8 Max. whatever that means...all I know about winds is that I could barely stay on my feet today & I was really terrified!!

Day 14 - What.....

......I finally managed to get it right.....measuring 1500m on a stretch of road in East Bowral. No idea how or why I couldn't do it yesterday, but there you go! Nothing wrong with Mr G-armin after all!

Firstly, I walked 750m out & back....even getting the 500m mark correct. Then, to put it all to the test, I set Mr G-armin for 1500m & jogged the full distance.....and all the markers lined up as they should! I managed to do this without dropping any more dollops of paint, but need to remember that 500m is just short of where I left a splash yesterday. I'll put a dot of something next time I'm in the area.

....I must have left Mr G-armin on while driving home...the long straight line!! How could he do that??

Day 13 - An Easy Day

.....a planned easy day that became anything but easy!

Program: 35 - 55 minutes at a comfortable pace.

Thinking I'd kill 2 birds with one stone........I decided to start where Ewen had chosen a stretch of road flat enough for 1500m training & mark 500m & 750m distances, & continue on from there.

So.... armed with my spray can of white paint hidden under one arm, I set off on what I thought was a fairly easy thing to do : let Mr G-armin do the measuring & I'd just walk/jog along with him.

I'm sure this doesn't require a degree in engineering or any of the physical sciences. I walked &jogged along the road, up & down for an hour - on just 750m of the same section of road, never once getting any distances to agree with the previous one! Trouble was that by now I'd left an erratic range of white polka dots on the side of the road! Frustration - and fear of being picked up by the police for loitering & vandalising a public place - forced me to give up & drive home in a not so good mood.

Tomorrow, armed with another colour of paint (was thinking yellow would look attractive beside the white...fitting in with Tulip Time in Bowral) & seek to achieve what for today became the impossible!

Day 12 - Short Speed

.....whistle a happy tune! Computer back in business!

Program: Short Speed ( a moderate day).

Warm-up, stretches, drills.

Run 12 diagonals of the soccer field (at Renwick); rest & stretch for 3-5 minutes after 4 diagonals; repeat twice. Concentrate on 'goof' form!

Warm-down : 2 laps of the soccer field.

...proof that it was done!

A Mad Computer Day.....

The original plan was for Flashduck to spend a day in Mittagong, with some training & relaxation, but lo & behold, she devoted practically the whole day to reassembling my crashed computer!

The night before Carolyne's expected visit to the Southern Highlands, my computer crashed with a loud bang!!

FD arrived with all the necessary 'tools' &, except for a break when we went out to lunch, by day's end I had a brand new computer! Everything working perfectly & updated in the 'flash of an eye'.......almost! Thank you, FD...I don't know how you work such magic so quickly!

Days 9 & 10 - Easy Days.

Today would normally be a "Hills Session", but I took an 'Easy' day instead.

An easy jog, East Bowral, along a sealed road part of which Ewen has selected for 15oom training sessions.. ...did about 40 minutes easy jogging.

Official results Blackmore's 9k Bridge Run :

Finish time = 59:01
Net Time = 58:08
Age Category 70+ = 1st Place!

1,640 placing from 9,105 Entrants & 7,824 Finishers!!!

Day 8 - ........

Nothing planned for today....did some Pilates exercises to see if I could remember what Ewen had shown me yesterday!

Blackmore's Running Festival Weekend

Ewen left Canberra around 9:a.m. Saturday & we both left Mittagong for Sydney at around mid-day. First stop, Martin Place for registration & then the Vibe Hotel, Milson's Point...a few paces from the start!

Saturday night, (with Bruce as well ) a long, long wait for a meal at an Italian restaurant, followed by a walk down memory lane for me.....a visit to Luna Park!

Sunday at 7:15 a.m. sharp I was sent off to do a warm-up & some strides, before returning to the Hotel for a cup of coffee & then with Ewen...off to the start of the 9km Bridge run.

Enjoyed the run a lot; bit crowded when catching up with the tail end of the Family Walk with the barriers for that race still in place which meant darting to either side to avoid a mid-run collision. I still don't understand why the Family Walk started before the 9km in spite of some of the reasons I've read on the CR message board. I know, that even at my slow pace, I had to dodge walkers, children, prams, strollers etc...some of whom had been lined up for the 9km Bridge Run.

Anyhow...not much to complain about, but I like to tell it as I see it!

Weather was perfect & the CR cheer squad was at its best & loudest! Thank you for spotting me! I thought the Recovery Area was bedlam....I asked about a dozen people where to go for the medals & they were all wondering the same thing! I couldn't face lining up for a Blackmore's bag...must have been 40 deep when I got there....just gave up & got out of there far quicker than I got in!

Ewen & I couldn't find each other in the crowd, so after looking around for about 1.5 hours, I gave up on that too & began the walk back via the Harbour Bridge to the Vibe Hotel , which was where we finally met up again.

Time to leave at mid-day, after showering etc. Neither of us had eaten anything all day, so we pulled in at the cafe, Mobil petrol station, Pheasants Nest, where we had the world's biggest hamburger! YUM!

Back in Mittagong, we scouted around a few areas until we found what Ewen had in mind for 1500m on a staight stretch of road. Lastly, before continuing on to Canberra, he put me through some Pilates exercises to see if I had been doing them correctly....and I wasn't, of course! I don't think that any coach, even one for elite runners, could do any more for them than what Ewen does for me....I'll always be in his debt.

Now the 9km run : Mr G-armin said 57:51 from start mat to finish mat! A minute at least will be added on getting to the start & I caught a glimpse 58:59 on the finishing clock above, as I shot through the finish line at the Opera House! Isn't racing downhill in Macquarie Street the best feeling? Just relaxing & letting gravity do all the work!

I was pleased with my time ...... OK, for now! It had to be a PB....first 9km race!

I had a fabulous weekend!

Day 6 - "Talking to the Cows"!

The blossoms on the Crab Apple tree are beginning to fall, so before that happens, I stood under it to take this photo, making sure not to annoy the busy bees!

Program for today: Short run 20 - 40 minutes at "talking to the cows" pace.


















A few stretches first, then out along Old South Road, past the airstrip, for 20 minutes & back in 19 minutes!


The first 4 flowers on the "Star Magnolia"............

Day 5 .........Whatever...

......Pilates Class....took the dogs for their walk.......and that's it for today!

Easy day tomorrow.

Leave for Sydney with Ewen, Saturday morning. Vibe Hotel, Milson's Point.


Blackmore's 9km Bridge Run, Sunday. Looking forward to it!

Day 4 - A Hard Day.

....at Chev. Track, Bowral.

Program: Warm-up, stretches, 4x100m strides.

8 x 400m in 2 Sets of 4; 1:45 recoveries; 6:00 between Sets; aim for 2:20 per 400m.

Warm-down & Stretching.

Unfortunately the track was a bog & I had on my lovely "Magic Racers" and I had to scrub the mud off them & myself in the shower!

Warm-up, stretches & strides.....done!

8 x 400m (as above).

Lap results : Set 1. 2:16.8; 2:17.9; 2:18.7; 2:18.8

Set 2. 2:17.1; 2:15.6; 2:19.8; 2:17.4

Warm-down: walk 1 lap of Lane 1; stretches.

I didn't have another 400m left in me at the end of this session, even if a gun had been held at my head!

Ewen's report says : Spreading effort over the 8 400's...excellent!

All were under the suggested 2:20...good sign!

Would have run a couple of seconds faster for each

lap if the track had not been soaked.....another good sign!

CB very pleased!

Day 3 - An Easy Day.

I know it's impossible to work out what this photo is about!

When I took the 2 dogs for their walk in the paddocks behind Renwick soccer field (all this eventually to be for housing), I noticed that the new mother cows had separated themselves from the main herd & had set up their own nursery here for their newly born calves. They are the few tiny, barely visible, black specks three-quarters of the way back!

I didn't go closer for fear of disturbing them, but I watched fascinated as the new mothers nuzzled their babies, watched over them, lay down to sleep with them, fed them & moved them across the paddock teaching them how to graze. For me, there was something very heart-warming - & almost brought a tear -to witness the nurturing & love these new mums gave their little calves.

But....... on to today's training : Program : 40 minutes at a "comfortble" pace.

Renwick soccer field for stretches & a few strides.

Started there on Bong Bong Road, left into Old South Road & kept going for 20 minutes, turn around & back to the start. Details from Motion Based are:

Time = 40 minutes.

Distance = 5.75km

Avg HR = 83%

Avg. Pace = 7:00; Max. = 6:39; Best = 5:33

Stretches in the soccer field.

I felt I should have been faster as I put a little more effort into the 40 minutes than usual. I don't think I'm ready to run out of sight yet! We'll see what Ewen thinks!

Day 2 - "Whatever Day"

A very wet 'Whatever' day, though not nearly as wild as yesterday. Exercise for today : Pilates DVD as usual & take a couple of photos of the blossoms on the trees in the backyard.

The Crab Apple isn't fully out yet.......

...another weeping cherry.....and still more to come into blossom.

Day 1 - Long Run.

Elevation Profile.



Program : Run for 80 to 105 minutes maximum. Generally 'easy' pace; avg. of 75-85% of MHR.

...and what a morning it was....rain pelting down, freezing cold & fierce wind!

I ran out along Range Road for 52 minutes; turn around & back to the start.

Distance = 13.29km

Time = 1:42; negative split 3 minutes.
Avg. HR = 77%; Max. HR = 88%;
Avg. Pace = 7:44; Max = 4:47; Best = 6:28

A good run, in spite of the terrible conditions...hands so cold I had difficulty tying a loose shoe lace!

Best part was meeting another Cool Runner for a first sighting of another CR in this area : "Brightshoes". Hope he liked all the seasons that the Highlands turned on, all in 1 day!

Day 14 - "Whatever" Day....

.....DVD Pilates & watched a tape of the Women's Semi-finals US Open...good tennis! Bad weather : cold (top 10 degrees), wet & windy.

Day 13 - An Easy Day.

Program : 35 - 55 minutes run at 75 - 85% of MHR.

A mixture of weather today : some sun then heavy cloud cover...no rain or wind yet.

I began today's session by doing some stretches at Renwick soccer field & then started the run from there : along Bong Bong road into Old South Road, into Diamond Fields Road (in pic). Turn around.

Ran out for 30 minutes, which meant I had to be back in 25 minutes (30+25=55!), or I'd be in trouble for going over 55 minutes! I made it back in 55 minutes, short of about 200m from the start! That's still a negative split of 5 minutes in my books! Stopped at the soccer field & did a few minutes of sretching.

There were no problems with this run; enjoyed it.

Avg. % of MHR = 73 -92%

Avg. Moving Speed in kph = 7.8 to Max. 12.2. Overall speed = 6.1

Day 12 - "Whatever".....

....I can do whatever I like - but NOT a hard run. The weather was perfect for a "Whatever" day.....cold, wet & windy.

I did the 8:30 a.m. Pilates class at the gym.

Day 11 - A Moderate Day

I'm sure one of my main motivators for training is that, when I'm finished, I can come home & play with gadgets to my heart's content!

The red speck in the centre is Renwick Soccer Field! I like this view because it shows the lighter colour of cleared spaces for housing & farms & the dark colour marking where the ranges are.

The Program: Warm-up, stretches, strides.

Run 'hard' 12 diagonals of the soccer field in 3 Sets of 4; very slow jog on the short sides & 2-3 minutes rest between sets.

Warm-down : Slow jog twice around the soccer field & more stretching.

I did all of the above, with Mr G-armin, not too fast so as to keep it a "moderate" training session & not another "hard" one after yesterday.

I spend ages looking at all the charts, maps & satellite images...brings to mind the saying : "Small things amuse......etc.....etc"! But the best fun is the MB Player where I can watch myself, as either a red dot or a red teardrop, doing the session ad infinitum!

Day 10 - Hills....A Hard Day.

Ironmines Oval for the "Grassy Knoll" Session.

Program : Warm-up, Stretches, Strides.

10 x 40m hill. 2 Sets of 5

7 minutes Rest then:

3 x long hill (1.5 minutes to the top)

Warm-down & stretches.

Day 9 - Whatever!

Nothing planned for today. I can do 'whatever' I like, which will be a Pilates DVD & take the dogs for their walk late afternoon.

Tomorrow, Day 10 of the 14 day program Ewen has so kindly formulated for me, I begin a revised program, with just a little more volume plus different hill and track sessions.

The thought of trying something new is always stimulating....and I wouldn't be able to do any of this if it wasn't for Ewen's help and direction. I will always owe him....... cappuccinos will do he says!

Day 8 - Tempo Run

........Just as I got out of the car at Renwick soccer field, a God Almighty awful wind blew in, bringing black clouds & a fall of sleet!

I ran for shelter to one of the buildings & waited for the worst... like 'Dorothy' in "The Wizard of Oz".....expecting at any second to be taken "Over the Rainbow" into the land of OZ!

It didn't happen, but it did look threatening!

As soon as it passed, after about 20 minutes, I started The Program for A Hard Day :

4km Tempo Run.

I stayed at the soccer field to do a few stretches & even fewer drills & walked just under 1km to where I start...at a wattle tree on Old South Road..then run 2km out past the airstrip & 2km back with Mr G-armin set to show "Distance & Pace" which he dutifully did. No mess-ups today!

I had in mind to start off slower than usual & then make each km a little faster than the previous one...this was successful for the first 3km...slowed a bit in the last one.

Time = 27:34.......I was pleased with the time; the last 4km Tempo Run on August 20th was 28:06. Not a lot faster, but faster is faster is faster & I'll take it! I have yet to hear what Ewen thinks of this run!

Laps = 7:17; 6:46; 6:39; 6:50

I felt this was a worthwhile training session, focusing on 2 issues - (1) 'goof' form and (2) even pacing. Best of all is looking at the download on MotionBased...interesting as well as being a fun toy that I love to play with!

The storm, or whatever it was, has gone; it's sunny but very windy this afternoon. I thought there might have been some snow in those clouds this morning; we occasionally get some falls in September. The wind will blow away some of the lovely blossoms......a weeping cheery at home while the red Peach blossom & Crab Apples are about to burst into bloom.

Day 7 ......"Whatever"

.....Nothing on the Program.

Very warm, more like Summer than Spring...put some mulch around the roses.


................................................Hyacinths that I've grown in a bowl.

Day 6 - Medium Long Run.

Program : 60 -75 minutes (increase of 10 minutes) at an easy pace. "Talk to the cows" pace!

I started at Renwick soccer field so that I could do a few stretches & drills (not on the program) on the grass. I had Mr G-armin all set this time for a "Quick Workout" showing 'Time and Pace', and with 'Virtul Partner' to keep me on pace.

After having run 2.5km I took a look at Mr G-armin's face...it hadn't changed since starting out! Bloody Hell! What is it this time? Well, I'd forgotten to press "Start"!! What a loony!

Totally disgusted with myself , I decided to completely dismiss what I'd run so far & started the 75 minutes from where I was. I'll not be overruled by my stupid mistakes with Mr G-armin no matter the consequences!

From there, we got on famously & only once did my 'Virtual Partner' show that I was lagging behind him..... I soon fixed him!

Having been told by Ewen before that whatever time to run is in the program - neither more nor less - is when I stop. I daren't incur his wrath more than once, so it was a relief when Mr G-armin told me to "Slow Down! Exercise Finished" at exactly 75 minutes, which meant, however, that I then had to walk another 2.5km back to the soccer field, where I finished off the session with stretching & a few minutes sitting in the sun.

A warm day & windy, but I enjoyed the run.....just over 9km on Mr G, but another 5km by mistake! Elevation Profile of the section on Diamond Fields Road... not flat by any means, but a very pleasant, scenic, quiet, dirt road.