Chev Track....

A hot & windy morning & not at all pleasant on the track at Chev College.

Nevertheless, the show must go on!

2km warm-up; stretches, light drills & strides....all done!

Then 12 laps (400m lane), sitting on 85%. First 2 laps gradually raise HR, then 'sit on 85%'. Time each 2 laps.

Laps (about 5km) = 5:15; 5:29; 5:23; 5:29; 5:23; 5:54.

AHR = 86%; MHR =91%.

I needed to slow down after the first few laps as my heart rate was increasing alarmingly with the heat & wind.

I stretched out on the grass in the shade after finishing, got my HR down, did a few stretches & Pilates movements.

It certainly was very hard work for me anyhow, but there was satisfaction in knowing that a tough session had turned out well & Ewen was pleased with my effort, and that's very important!

Distance = 7km

Lower Aerobic 10km

This morning was wet & windy; this afternoon sunny & calm. I did this morning's session on the gym treadmill, listening to a tape of Barbra Streisand songs to pass the time more quickly.

Lower Aerobic 10km @ AHR 75%.

This was OK, I suppose, but it was terribly hot in the gym with the air-conditioning off. I had sweat dripping everywhere by the finish. Showered & did the horrid supermarket shopping!

Distance = 10km

AHR = 72%
MHR = 86%......stepped up the pace to finish off quickly!

Track tomorrow. I hope it's a fine morning & the grass not too wet.

Rest & Movie....

I should have run today, but I didn't! Instead we went to see the movie "Burn After Reading". Darkly hilarious & perhaps not to everyone's liking. We loved it!

Nothing in it relevant to running except to me! A comment by "Linda" (Frances McDormond) a gym instructor with a life plan for cosmetic surgery, when she says: "I've gone just as far as I can go with this body."

I know the feeling & don't we all!!

"Upper Aerobic" Run...Hard!

The run was 'hard' on the road, but this yellow climbing rose on the trellis was 'easy' on the eyes at home!

7km @ AHR 85%....Upper Aerobic.

Before starting - at 10:45am - I did the usual "body looseners" & then set off at a creepy slow pace to begin with, gradually warming up for the first 2km & then into the "hard" stuff for 5km.

I ran 3.5km out & back on Old South Road and, though there was some huffing & puffing on the return, I felt OK keeping heart rate around 126bpm. A few longish inclines & a couple of steeper hills.

Total of 7km in 51 minutes (last 5k in 35 mins.)

AHR for 7km = 78%; MHR = 88%

Longish run

A few pics from the top of Range Road...


Medium Aerobic Run (79%), 14km. Run a negative split.

For the first time in a long while I decided to run out/back along Range Road, and I was glad I did. The views from the top are wonderful & overlook all the surrounding countryside. I parked the car near a gate outside one of the properties to look as if it belonged there should someone decided to break in!

Lots of cloud cover on the run out, but hot sun on the return. Nevertheless, it was my best run (going by how I felt) for this week which hasn't been too bright! Forgot to wear a cap & was sunburned in spite of wearing sunscreen.

7km out in 54 minutes. AHR 66%; MHR 79%
7km return in 51 min utes. AHR 78%; MHR 86%

Negative split? YES SIR!

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow...

Yesterday's Upper Aerobic (supposedly) 12k Run : One of the worst ever! I felt motionless, slothful, lazy, slack, dull, leaden , lumpish, listless, rusty, inert, indolent, heavy. That's about every synonym I can find in Roget's Thesaurus to describe how I felt for the entire 12km! No need to say more!

Today's Lower Aerobic 6km : Less comatose....just a little half-hearted & stupified!

Tomorrow : Medium Aerobic 14km & Negative Split : Tomorrow is another day & thank God for that!!

Yesterday & Today...

Cold & showers all morning, so I took myself off to the gym for today's 'easy' training run.........

6km @ AHR 75%.

A few warm-up drills in the large area where classes are normally held & then 6km on the treddy. AHR = 74%; MHR = 84%. All OK!

There's A Track......

Not the best day to be out : windy, some rain and...cold! Nevertheless, to arms & on the track!

2km warm-up. stretches, light drills and...

16 x 100m strides with 100m jogging recoveries between.

Despite the weather, this session, though fairly tough, seemed to go well...as far as I know anyhow. No one else around to judge!

All up....6km for today. Entry for Fishers Ghost 5km in. Ah yes! The fly spray!!

Since Melbourne Half Marathon.....

Nil running until today! That's a full week & probably the longest break ever..... just took the doggies for their long walk each afternoon.

Today : an easy 6km lower aerobic run. Felt really rested; a cool/cold morning...perfect for a comeback.

AHR = 64%; MHR = 85%.

I'm thinking of Fishers Ghost run on November 9, but might cut back this year from the 10km to 5km...thinking! I might even wear the running skirt I've ordered from the States....another thought!

Call Me 'Calamity Jane'!!

Why Me? Unwanted & unexpected near-death experiences follow me to every race! It's true!

This time, having finished the Melbourne Half Marathon (more of that later), showered & with an hour or so before leaving the apartment, I sood in front of the bathroom mirror (but not for too long!), when I heard a roaring, rushing sound of wind and/or fire in the apartment; ran out into the main room, nothing to be seen but still a thundering roar surrounding me. Terrified at what I thought might be happening (the place on fire?), I ran back to the bathroom & then hurtling down right beside me came the cover of the man-hole, missing my head by inches & cracking the floor tiles!!

I flew to the phone & screamed for help with what breath I had left! The 'Duty Manager' duly arrived & said "Oh dear! How awful! So sorry!", picked up the slab & staggered out with it. Later, after Jim phoned through a complaint from Sydney that no one had checked to see if I had died from a heart attack, Duty Manager arrived with apologies & a bottle of red wine as compensation, adding that a report would be sent to Mantra Head Office. I'll follow that up for sure!

The roaring, rushing sound I'd heard had been a huge blast of wind travelling up through vents to the 8th floor & exiting into my bathroom by blowing the man-hole out! When I thought about it later, I'd had a lucky escape.

Now I know how Chicken Little felt when the sky fell down!

The Half Marathon ...... I had another "goof" one! Everything, simply everything, worked out brilliantly...if that can still be said at 79! After a slow walk to the starting mats & as soon as the crowd spread out, I was once more on a mission.....to run under 2.5 hours!

I thought the course & weather were great. Cloud cover the entire time, the course flat & scenic, an abundance of water, sports drinks, great volunteers & enthusiastic crowds along the course.

I started out very slowly......in retrospect, I think too slowly because I felt very comfortable from the start running around 6:30 to 6:45 pace, but stayed with 7mpk as planned for the first half. Always a conundrum, but better to play it safe & have plenty left towards the finish...and I did!

I made it to the finish in 2:29:51....still feeling great.....which is why I think I could have gone out faster, earlier, but who's to know for sure?

First half in 1:19:10; second half in 1:11:37. Very happy!

Next Stop Melbourne!

A 10:15 flight to Melbourne tomorrow morning!

Tapering...

and finished!

.......A few drills (alongside the soccer field), 10 minutes jog warm-up, a short rest for stretching, then 30 minutes run at or around half marathon pace. 10 minutes warm-down jog back to the start.

4.23km : 1km splits 6:49; 6:50; 7:07 (uphill!); 6:52; & 2:19 (0.31)

Avg. Pace = 6:55

That was all very comfortable pacing on a glorious mid-morning of 17 degrees.

Taper Week....

....So it was just some drills in the street alongside the soccer field, then a few laps of the field including 4 x 100m strides. All easy!

Longish Run....

Last one before Melbourne Half Marathon next weekend.

A rainy moring; waited till 11:45 when it fined up & ran 14km 'easy'...& that's it!

Reminder to put clocks forward 1 hour before bed tonight!

Running at last!

...A section of Diamond Fields Road where I ran today for two whole hours! One hour each way. It went well apart from tripping on a rock & taking the skin off one knee!

I think the days of just walking have been beneficial.

A few drills in the soccer field first. Late start around mid-day...a very warm day but with a cool breeze. I made only 2 stops : one to drink from a tap on the way out & one to fall over! The first was far more welcome than the second!