Sunday, June 28, 2009

Last Longish Run....

......before Gold Coast Half Marathon next Sunday. I'll take tomorrow off, do a 'Hills" session Tuesday & fly out on Wednesday. Thursday, at the Gold Coast I'll do some 100m strides on the beach, go to the Expo on Friday ( no running) & rest up completely on Saturday.

Today's Program : 12 to 14km 'easy'. Push harder for the last 3km.

14km in 1 hour 48 minutes.

7k out in 56:31....very easy!
7k return in 51:43...the brakes were off & running into a strong head wind. However, a nice little negative split of 4 minutes 48 seconds feeling good all the way!


Distance for the week = 42km

And that's it from me for now.

Good night & good luck everyone!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Another Track Day...

....and a good one at that; at least I thought so!

Program : 2km warm-up.
Drills, stretches, a few strides.
12 laps (5.07km) at AHR 133 (85%); time each 2 laps.
1km warm-down.

So I did the warm-up etc & then got started on the hard part!

12 laps in 31:15
Distance 5.07km
Avg. Pace 6:09
AHR 130 (84%); MHR 138 (89%).

Each 2 laps = 5:21; 5:06; 5:10; 5:14; 5:17; 5:14
1km warm-down jog.

The reason I thought this a good session was that I ran 56 seconds faster than the exact same session 2 weeks ago but AHR was the same, or a little lower.

Distance today 8km.






Thursday, June 25, 2009

Medium Long Run....

Program : 10km @ AHR 75%.

Late start at 1:00p.m. Fairly cold & windy. Old South Road, 6k out & return. Felt OK for 2 extra kilometres.

12km
AHR 74%; MHR 84%.



Tuesday, June 23, 2009

A Good Day at the Track...

I decided to do today's session at Chev track as I had done 3 weeks ago so as to compare times, heart rate, etc.

Program : 7km @ AHR 85%...."Hard".

I did a drills warm-up first & a few stretches, then started on the 7km 'hard'; and I tried to run very hard!

7km in 44:23.
Avg Pace = 6:20
AHR = 137 (88%); MHR = 154 (98%)!
1km Laps =
6:31; 6:25; 6:17; 6:16; 6:19; 6:24; 6:17

1km warm-down & few stretches.

I
was particularly pleased with today's results. I did this same session 3 weeks ago in 47:35; today was 3 minutes 12 seconds faster!

Conclusion to all this : Nothing works better than consistent hard work!


Distance today = 8km



Sunday, June 21, 2009

Long Run Before Gold Coast

I intended to do only 18km this morning, so I set off without brekkie, water or any other supplies. Getting to 9km, I decided I might as well do one more, turn around & make a total of 20km for the day. This would take me as far as the village of Alpine where there are berry farms galore!

I ran along Old South Road (9km) to where it meets the Old Hume Highway. Turning right, the road was all down hill...... down the ranges all the way to Sydney, which I might have reached had I kept running, in about 6 months time!

After 1km down hill & turn around it had to be 1 km up hill! I found this incredibly tough especially having to watch for cars coming round bends. Safely back on Old South Road, light rain falling, it was more up hill & down dale for the run back to the car. The last 5k was really hard : I longed for a drink & something to eat! I walked the last 1km up another hill to the car.

I think it's good to feel that sort of fatigue occasionally! Shades of what's to be expected in the real thing even with aid stations.

20km
Time 2 hours 35 minutes.

10k out with AHR 111 (72%); MHR 129 (83%).
10k back with AHR 121 (78%); MHR 131 (85%).

Distance for this week = 66km


Friday, June 19, 2009

Two in One

Having missed yesterday's 6km but full of energy today, I added it on to today's 12km making a nice longish run of 18km.

12km + 6km = 18km ....spelt out like this so that Ewen, if he looks at this post, will see that my Maths isn't as bad as he says!

I ran on Old South Road. Not much traffic as I was late starting at 11:30 a.m. Run felt good both out & back. Cool; excellent for running!

18km.
AHR 113 (73%); MHR 131 (85%).




Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Fancy That!

No burning pain under my right foot today!

Program : 6km @ AHR 75% ...recovery day.

I wore the DS Trainers again today with the insert from the Podiatrist & ran without any soreness at all! At 6km I thought this was too good to be true so I went on for another 4k to see if the burning would set in. It didn't & was I a happy runner! Light rain in parts. Road a bit muddy.

5km on Diamond Fields Road.
Time 40 minutes.
AHR 109 (70%); MHR 123 (79%).

5km return
Time 37 minutes
AHR 115 (74%); MHR 133 (86%)
Best Lap 6:09 m/k

Distance today 10km...a very 'goof' day!

Monday, June 15, 2009

I Dood It!

.....though the legs were tired from yesterday's tempo run, 'I dood' 12km today. Why? Because the Program said so!

12 km @ AHR 116 (75%) Lower Aerobic. Recovery Day.


I changed shoes for this morning's run from the Asics 2140 (too stiff & heavy when new) to the DS Trainer (also new) but much lighter & more flexible. I also put the original orthotic from the Podiatrist in the right shoe, covered the tender area of my foot with Blister Block & it all seemed to work! The burning in the ball of my right foot was decidedly less than it has been; not completely gone, but I was able to do the run with 'minor discomfort'...or a bit more! So.........

12km on Old South Road.....not too much traffic during the week.
AHR 113 (73%); MHR 130 (84%).

Today's Distance = 12km








Sunday, June 14, 2009

Tempo Run....Hard!

........sure was hard, but it was supposed to be & wasn't more so than I'd expected it to be. Once again no one in sight at Chev track. I'm so lucky to have the use of this venue....and all to myself!

Program : 2km warm-up. Short rest. Then 4km 'hard'.

Did all of the above! Results, I think, were OK & I 'ran like the wind' as I was told to; trouble was there was very little wind today!

Distance = 4km
Time = 24:58
Avg. Pace = 6:14; Max. Pace = 5:09
AHR = 134 (86%); MHR = 149 (96%).
Laps = 6:25; 6:08; 6:13; 6:10

Distance for today = 6km

Distance for this week = 39km


Saturday, June 13, 2009

A Nice Light Run....

....before tomorrow's 4km tempo run.

9km on Old South Road.

I tried a metartarsal pad on my right foot as soon as the ball of foot pain struck after about 2km. Seemed to work....there was somewhat less pain in the area for the remainder of the run.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Yesterday & Today.....

Yesterday, a terrible 10km run!
I felt awful & tired from start to finish. Terribly windy afternoon run & I hate running in the p.m. but shopping had to done first. Traffic on Old South Road was terrifyingly fast, necessitating hopping off the road & standing until speeding cars went by. I wore the new Asics 2140 which I bought in Sydney at the time of the SMH Half Marathon. They felt very restrictive & heavy & the ball of my right foot was screaming all the way! I took several walk breaks because of the pain in this foot. Seeing a Podiatrist but getting nowhere so far.

Today, 16 x 100m strides....a much better day.
I always enjoy this sort of session : short, fast (?), on grass & done with!
After 2km warm-up, a few drills.
16 x 100m : slowest 33 seconds; fastest 25 seconds.
2km warm-down; stretches.

Total both days 16km.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

The Hills Were Alive...

...with the sound of wild wind for a cold & windy hill session this morning.

Program : 3km warm-up
A few drills, etc
2 x 60 seconds + 3 x 40 seconds uphill; jog down.


I've been gradually adding extra uphills to this session, so for today :

3km warm-up & light drills.

6 x 60 seconds + 6 x 40 seconds uphill. Jog down between each.

3km warm-down

This was a successful session : hard but manageable despite the cold & windy conditions. Approx. 7km .



Sunday, June 07, 2009

For a Change...Range Road!



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I hadn't forgotten how hilly Range Road is, but I had forgotten how many there are & how badly I feel coming back up from Glenquarry. There definitely should be a chair lift for that hill in particular! I took a few photos as an excuse to stop!

I'd decided to make this run a long one : 20km : - 10k from Mittagong & the same return.

The first 10km along Range Road to Glenquarry (7k) & then 3km of winding road down Tourist Drive/Macquarie Pass. That was O.k but coming back up I thought I'd just lie down & wait for someone to come to my aid! However, fear of being run down by speeding cars & motor cycles on blind corners soon put that to rest!

So once again : plod/jog/walk back up to Glenquarry, then to be faced with an almost vertical hill from there to the top of the road into Mittagong. I was feeling awfully tired; didn't take water, but found a tap to drink from. Even though it was cold & windy, I had a terrible thirst & I don't think there was much water left in the tank by the time I finished drinking!

Anyhow, it's done now & apart from feeling half dead & new blisters on top of the SMH Half ones, it was an interesting, hilly run....2 hours 52 minutes 38 seconds to do 20km!!!

When I explained to Ewen how dreadfully tired I was, he came up with an excellent suggestion for the tiredness : " don't go to bed tonight in case you don't wake up in the morning!" Cute, isn't he?

For this week 54km.






Saturday, June 06, 2009

Yesterday....

...Friday, yet it seems so far away! But I had a much better day than Thursday. Sunny, clear morning; muddy, wet track in parts. Frees had to be washed under a tap when finished & the mud scraped off them ....and my legs!

Program : 2km warm-up
Stretches, light drills, a few strides.

12 laps (5km); first 2 laps working up to HR 133 then 'sitting on' 133 (86%). Time each 2 laps.

And this time I did NOT stuff up!!

Did the 2km warm-up etc... through Chev grounds...no pupils! They must have taken an extra extra long weekend!

12 laps (5km) in 32:11... 36 secs faster than 2 weeks ago!
Avg Pace 6:20
AHR = 129 (83%); MHR = 140 (90%)

Each 2 laps..... 5:43; 5:12; 5:10; 5:16; 5:20; 5:26

1km warm-down.

Distance = 8km

I was very pleased with this session, especially after feeling like a hippo the day before!


Thursday, June 04, 2009

A Wretched Run!

Not even a run really: plod, walk, plod walk, plod. Some days are just plain bad! And hard! And nightmarish! And painful! In short, I was completely out of fuel!

Program said 6km.

I wanted to do 10km.

I 'did' 8km.


I turned back after 4km mainly because I was stuffed & felt like I was carrying an elephant on my shoulders!

The other reason I cut it short was I have a hard track session tomorrow & heaven help me if I stuff that up!

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Recovery Day...

Program : 6km @ 75% of MHR.

I was feeling good this morning & a light misty rain falling, so I decided to run a couple more kilometres.

10km
AHR 70%; MHR 83%.

Just as I got back to the car....down it came! Not the car, but heavy rain. Just made it in time! A good run on Bong Bong Road & into Diamond Fields Road...far away from any traffic!




Tuesday, June 02, 2009

I took to the Track.....

........for today's session so as to do a 'hard' session on grass & without hills!

Progam : 7km "Hard" 85% of MHR.

First a few drills followed by :

7km in 47:35
Avg. Pace 6:45
AHR 121 (78%); MHR 145 (94%)
Laps: 7:56; 6:57; 6:48; 6:20; 6:28; 6:15; 6:21


It was a "hard" session, but I enjoyed going round & round & round & round for 7km on the wet & muddy track! Warm-down 1km jog.

Distance today = 7 + 1 = 8km (even Ewen won't be able to find anything wrong with that maths!!)