Not My Fault After All!

....cold & windy at Chev track today, but not to be deterred by any sort of weather, I set out to do the following program:

Program : 6 x 400m each in 1:55. ...3 minutes between repeats.

After the usual 15 minutes warm-up, drills & strides, I set off on the first 400m & all hopes of doing 1:55 were dashed with a time of 2:18, but having put all my trust in Ewen that this was what I could/had to do, I ran the next 5x400m.....but it was all a disastrous, mortal funk & I was left in a wail of woe! I even sent a text message after 3 repeats begging to be allowed to stop, but the reply was short, sharp & direct: "Keep at it!" And of course I did & tried even harder to meet the seemingly impossible deadline of 1:55 for each 400m. I was thinking: "How could this 'old boiler' have gone off the boil so quickly?"

Back home my blood ran cold at the very thought of having to relay the results to Ewen. I was ruined, undone & beyond remedy.... but the mail must go out!

Times for 6 x 400m were :- 2:18; 2:20; 2:16; 2:17; 2:20; 2:17

I waited fearfully for a formidable 'dressing down', only to receive a reply that he - the superlative coach - had made a mistake! The time for each 400m should have been 2:25 not 1:55!! So, after all...I did a very good session!

His days are numbered!!

Wintertime.....

....maybe not officially for another day, but Winter was here today, hopefully not to stay! A biting cold wind straight off the snow is sweeping through the Southern Highlands, which is why I headed for the Renwick soccer field where there was some shelter from the freezing wind.

Program : Easy Short Run.....25-45 minutes including strides & 15 minutes of drills.

I did this session in the relative calm of Renwick soccer field where the tall pine trees blocked some of the freezing wind. However, it meant I just went round & round & round &.....for 35 minutes http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2876850 , including 6 x100m strides & then 15 minutes of drills. 4.5km.

Starting Out All Over.......for GC Half Marathon

....and I got it in the form of a new program from supercoach Ewen to whom I'm always so grateful for the time he spends working on new programs for me....what more could a body need to stay motivated!

Monday : Long Run. 1 hour 45 minutes.

I ran along Diamond Fields Road, brilliant, sunny morning - 53 minutes to where it ended & then 52 minutes back giving a tiny, but neat, negative split!

Avg. HR = 108..70%; 13.5km of ups & downs....mostly ups!

5 Weeks to Gold Coast Half Marathon....

New program starts this week:

Monday : Long Run - 1 hour 45 minutes.

Tuesday : Rest

Wednesday: Easy Short Run.

Thursday : Track.

Friday : Easy Short Run.

Saturday : Rest.

Sunday : Long Run - 2 hours.

A Day or Two Off.......

Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.....rest! Then some serious work - new program - in preparation for the Gold Coast Half Marathon, July 1st.

Against the Wind.........

.........a shocker of a day - 9 degrees & cold wind!

A very easy 6km jog/walk & all I got out of it was a bad headache! Blistered foot was OK though!

6 Weeks to Gold Coast Half Marathon...

Today.....

SMH Half Marathon 20/5/07

First the suffering.....or the worst part of the day! Before 5km I felt the unfamiliar sting of a blister beginning.. Above, is what my left foot looked like back at the motel...pre-0p!
.......and this is what it looked like after 21.1km...post-op using a safety pin, the only medical tool available...not even a scalpel!

Apart from that I had a very enjoyable day! Not having done any 'distance' running to mention since last September, I struggled all through this run. As the pain worsened in my foot, I slowed even more until I came face to face with Horrie somewhere near Circular Quay on the second lap...never has anyone's spirits lifted as quickly as did mine! I just had to hug him! A few steps later, there was the ever faithful Ray (Eagle), both of whom had retraced their steps (not knowing just how far they were going to have to retrace them to find me!).

They both made a great rescue team : Horrie, the enthusiast urging me on, telling me I was 'on fire', 'looking geat' (I felt like shite really!) & the ever quietly patient & wise Eagle using caution that I had nothing to gain by trying to be a heroine racing up the Argyle Cut...as if I could have!

Further on there was Ewen, but by this time I was belting down Napoleon Street hill like a maniac & then all three (from my point of view!) were struggling to keep up with me!!!! From there to the finish, between the three of these most generous souls 'splashing' compliments all over the place & Ewen continually pointing to several lots of "those 2 girls up ahead..I think you could catch them" ....and we did! Then it was time for them to 'let go of my hand' & with Ewen's words; " Now sprint to the finish" in my ear, I raced through the last 100m or so with the speed of one with a demon (not Horrie, or Ewen or Ray!) in hot pursuit!

There was one moment of light relief when a friend who was standing near the Art Gallery stopped me, called out to a St John's Ambulance crew who thought I was in trouble & started to get a chair, only to find that the friend wanted me to stand with them for a photo!!

My time, probably around 2:32, was a few minutes slower than last year but I'm still here....that's the main thing....being here, being alive!

Blame it on the blister - limped to the tune of "Blame it on the Bossa Nova"!!

Almost Time.......

....to march up to the cannon's mouth! Easy jog on Friday & that's it! Sydney on Saturday, travelling with Ewen.

Program : 2km warm-up. Stretches. 3 x Strides.....

2.5km at half marathon pace...hard, but even running.

1.5km warm-down.

1km Splits = 6:31; 6:48; 3:27 (500m)

I used Ironmines Oval again so as to run on the flat.

On the Flat.....

Program : 4km jog on the FLAT + 4 or 5 strides.

Ironmines Oval again 4km jog + 5 Strides...another brilliant day but hoping for a cooler one on Sunday!

Best Foot Forward......

...Ironmines Oval, Mittagong.

Today's session deserves a post all of its own! Now......

I'm the first to admit that I'm as susceptible as anyone to a compliment or flattery...probably more so as I get older & they get fewer! Easy to imagine then how pleased I was this morning, at the very instant I was about to put my best foot forward on Ironmines Oval, to receive the following text message from Ewen!

But first & to put it into its proper context : I know less about computers than I do about running (bought one & struck out on my own from there), so on the rare occasion I have a problem I usually ask Ewen who knows as much about computers as he does about running.................................& he knows a LOT about running! Anyone who reads his blogs will agree with that & that is not flattery , just the truth! Next thing I want to know, Ewen, is how you put a link to someone's blog when you mention their name!

Anyhow, it was obvious I was having a problem with my blog - a vast, empty space below recent posts that I couldn't remove or fix. Straight away I fired off an e-mail to Ewen & just as smartly back came a reply & the solution. ..no need to say what that was because probably everyone else knows the cause except me!

Now, back to the text message which, honestly, came through just as I was about to take the first step of today's run :

"Did you get rid of your blank space? (Not the one in your head)."

How about that? Ain't it the truth!! And that's how I came to have a laugh 3kms long!

......blank space again!! Oh No!!!!

Week 8 (of 8) to SMH Half Marathon

Program: Monday...............3km 'easy' jog. Flat road.

Tuesday..............4km 'easy' jog . Flat road. 4 to 5 Strides.

Wednesday.........2km warm-up. Stretches, 3 strides.

2.5km @ 'solid' pace i.e. half marathon pace...6:42

Run hard but evenly. Flat road. 1.5k warm down.

Thursday.............Rest

Friday.................3km 'easy' on flat road + 4 or 5 strides.

Saturday.............LEAVE FOR SYDNEY

SUNDAY..............21.1 KM HARD!

Week 7 (of 8 ) to SMH Half Marathon

Tapering Off!!!!

Monday : 45 minutes run.......Done: 23 mins. out; 22 mins. back.

Tuesday : 90 Minutes run......Done, but very tired & to make matters worse...... I caught my leg in a blackberry bush!

Wednesday : 45 minutes run......Done! Didn't feel a bit like running this morning but happy I did...turned out to be the most enjoyable run of the week!

Thursday : Walk & strides......took the dogs for about 30 minutes walk + Pilates DVD (without the dogs!)

Friday : Track:....Done! 3km warm-up; drills, strides; 4x150m @42 seconds pace.

40.52; 42.22; 41.19; 38.99. An easy session!

Saturday : Rest.......Done! Took the dogs for a long walk.....a brilliant day.

Sunday : 75-85 minutes run. Speed up last 15 minutes. .........decided to make this 90 minutes - I hate uneven numbers! Out for 45 minutes; return in 44 minutes. It so happened that the last 15 minutes was all up bloody hills, but I pushed & pushed, didn't go very fast, but managed 1 minute negative split. Total time = 1:29.46!! 13.5km.

Now for the last week before SMH Half Marathon....can't wait!

A Long Morning's Run Into Afternoon....

Program : 120 minutes run.

Total Running Time = 2 hours 28 minutes.

I had set out to do 2.5 hours on my feet...just to make sure I could still do it....and then to run the last 30 minutes at a faster pace. Little did I know that my legs would be horribly tired by 2 hours with still 30 minutes to go!

Range Road to Glenquarry plus 15 minutes down Macquarie Pass (& back up again!), then up that awful hill out of Glenquarry (walked that one!), passing a dead snake that wasn't there on the way out, but must have come out to sunbake & got squashed by a car!

I stopped for lots of photos, drinks from taps, looking around & giving directions to two different car drivers who had become lost. One lot took off & by mistake drove onto a "No Through" road before I could stop them. I knew they'd be back in about 10 minutes so I waited & signaled them in the right direction....they were very pleased to see me the second time!

Amazingly, but being a pedantic so-and-so (like Ewen whom I refer jokingly to as a 'pedantic bastard') though my legs felt dead ( & so did the rest of me), I made myself increase the pace for the last 30 minutes, which on those hills got the old heart rate up to 90% of Max. When my car came into sight where I'd parked along the side of a section on Range Road, I imagined it was the SMH Half & sprinted to the finish line at 5.5mpk pace!

Avg. Speed = 7.4; Max = 12.5

Avg. HR = 103 (66%); Max. HR = 140 (90%).

Running Distance = 18.5km

Running Time 2 hrs. 28 minutes. Total Time 2 hrs. 57 mins.

Start 10:00 a.m.
Finish 1:00 p.m. approx.

A shower, something to eat (no brekky), a short nap late afternoon & feel fine again! Taper starting this week.

Chev Track....

Program : 4-5km XC warm up. Drills. Strides.

2 Sets of 4 x 150 m in 40 -42 seconds. Walk to start recoveries.

I didn't use the grounds at Chev for a cross country warm-up. The funeral service for the 15 year old cyclist killed last week was being held in the college chapel. The upper levels of the grounds were packed with cars so I stayed on the oval where the track usually is but no longer has any lanes marked except for one narrow strip of mowed grass...near where lane 8 would be. The rest of the oval is marked out for soccer. I used all of these lines : around, up, over, across & every which way to cover 5km......it looks very weird on Motion Based Map Player! http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2635234

Set 1. 44.9; 42.7; 42.6; 40.9
Set 2. 41.9; 40.0; 39.6; 40.0

Very windy on the oval; ran clockwise for the 150m repeats. Wore Frees.

Another Good One...

Program : 60 minutes Run.

This was a good run today! Beautiful Autumn weather, sunny, slight breeze. I wanted to get back faster than I went out...I tried hard and I did!

Total time = 1:00.12!!

32.x minutes out; 27.x minutes return.

Avg. Pace = 7.3; Max =5.1.

Avg. HR = 114; Max. = 150

...I think Ewen's getting worried I'll pass him at SMH Half!

On the First of May.......It Is Moving Day!

Although I run on Diamond Fields road just about every day, it always seems that I'm seeing it for the first time...it's just so sublimely beautiful. Even having to climb through a barbed wired frence was no deterrent!

"Moving Day"..not as in house, "moving" as in legs!

Program : 120 minutes Run.

Running Time = 125 minutes; 16km...pushing hard after 7km to return at a faster pace. Once again stopped the timer to chat with a local property owner & forgot to turn it back on!

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2611563