Easy & Relaxed

....that just about describes this morning's run, the last before Sunday's CRRF Half Marathon.

5km including 6 x 100m surges in 38:04
Avg. pace 7:36 min/km
AHR 112 ( 70%);  MHR 139 (87%) 

Leaving for Canberra mid-morning tomorrow; returning Sunday afternoon.  Should be another good fun weekend!

Against the Wind, Virtual Partner & the Grass Cutting Machine!

A short session at Chev track today :  6 x 400m @ 5:42 min/km (2:17 lap).

2km warm-up; few drills & strides.

1) 2:17.  Avg. pace 5:42; AHR 78%;  MHR 86%.
2) 2:13.  Avg. pace 5:33; AHR 77%;  MHR 83%.
3) 2:15.  Avg. pace 5:36; AHR  76%; MHR 84%.
4) 2:15.  Avg.pace 5:36;  AHR 77%;  MHR 84%.
5) 2:13.  Avg. pace 5:31; AHR 78%;  MHR 86%.
6) 2:16.  Avg. pace 5:39; AHR 77%;  MHR 87%.

1.6km warm-down.  


Except for the wind, this was a good session I think.  I managed to stay ahead of Virtual Partner easily but a huge grass cutting machine was another matter, hence the zig-zag up, down and across the lines of the soccer field for a warm-down!

Anzac Day....

Just a short, easy 13km this Anzac Day in the lead up to next Sunday's Canberra RRF Half Marathon.

A Change of Program...

Instead of a Tempo Run today, I changed to doing just an easy run.  My legs and I didn't feel 'fresh' enough for a good tempo run.


9km :  Radio Road, Bong Bong Road to Inkerman Road and return.

Chev Track....

As soon as I started running I knew I was tired but  I got through what I had to do; a surprisingly warm day but the grass was damp and cool on my bare feet.

1.5k warm-up; drills & strides.


5 x 1000m @ 5:52 min/km
 (1) 5:48;  (2) 5:50;  (3) 5:49;  (4) 5:48;  (5) 5:46...ahead of VP who was staying with 5:52.

Forgot to wear HR monitor strap!

1.25k warm-down & pleased to finish!

Time to Smell the Roses.....

Two easy days after SMC last Sunday  :  Monday...nothing, except cutting a few "Mr Lincoln" roses for indoors.....large blooms and a divine fragrance!

Today, Tuesday  :  Cross-Training.   The car was booked in for service and, after leaving it at the garage, I walked 30 minutes home.

Mid-morning, 15 minutes walk to the soccer field for 25 minutes of drills & strides; 15 minutes walk home.

Mid-afternoon, 30 minutes walk to pick up the car.

....I'm calling all that walking as 1 hour 55 minutes of cross-training!

SMC Half Marathon

This is what I said to myself yesterday when I finished the SMC Half Marathon in 2 hours 21 minutes and 58 seconds!!   My fastest time in  the past two years!.

I had decided on a pace of 6:50 min/km as a last long run before Canberra RRF weekend after next.  I didn't ease up in the days prior to the run, in fact I had a fairly tough track session two days previously.  I said to myself  :  just get out there and do it!.  The results are :

Time 2:21:58
 Avg. Pace 6:42min/km
AHR 133 (84%;  MHR 153 (96%) 

1km splits:   7:01;  6:58;  6:59;  6:46;  6:54
                     6:38;  6:43;  6:32;  6:34;  6:30
                     7:04;  6:16;  6:32;  7:03;  6:26
                     7:07;  7:00;  6:24;  6:45;  6:14
                     (0.59) 

I enjoyed the run; even the hills where each one was identified by a sign with a smiley face and an encouraging "HTFU"!!!

I Was Nearly Beaten!

I made a slight variation today in the course I usually use for tempo runs by including a couple of long hills. To my horror Virtual Partner was ahead of me just about all of the way by anything up to 16m. I pushed on the hills but couldn't seem to make any progress or get any nearer, so when I started on the downhill sections I set off in hot pursuit! Into the last flat kilometre, I flashed past VP who had put on his skates in the hope of winning, and touched base 18m in front! Poor old thing!

Program : 8km.

2km warm-up
4km @ 6:21min/km
2km warm-down

Results: 4km in 25 :17
AVG Pace 6:19

AHR 131 (82%); MHR 140 (88%)
Splits 6:21; 6:39; 6:07; 6:09

This was a little harder than I usually have to run on Friday's tempo run! Nothing more until Sunday's SMC Half Marathon.

Track at Chev.

Today's program was :

warm-up & drills
2 x 3200m @ 6:08 min/km (i.e.19:38 time)
warm- down.

3200m warm-up (to measure distance)

1st 3200m @ 6:02 min/km (19:20 time) + 400m walk recovery.

2nd 3200m @ 6:00 min/km (19:16 time)

1km warm-down.

I thought this was going to be a much harder session than it turned out to be! It was fairly comfortable. Another beauty of a day......actually very warm. Forgot to wear heart rate monitor; ran in bare feet on the cool damp grass.

Both repeats were well ahead of VP's 6:08 min/km pace!

Cross-Training ...Monday & Tuesday

Monday....after WAG 5km run in Canberra on Sunday I took today off running.


Tuesday : I went to the soccer field at Renwick, a couple of minutes up the road, and did 10 minutes jog warm-up; 35 minutes of drills and 10 minutes warm-down.....on a glorious Autumn day!

ACT Women's & Girls' 5km Run

I left home at 5:30am so as to have plenty of time to drive carefully, put in a late entry form and do a 10 minute warm-up. I was about 2km onto the freeway heading towards Canberra when....... BANG! A tyre blew, split in half & lay shredded on the road! It also happened to be pitch dark and not a light in sight. In the breakdown lane I put the hazard lights on & waited for a dirty big truck to roar along, plough into the back of me and send me into oblivion! Such was the panic I was in and I really had my heart set on running this particular 5km race.

Several dirty big semi-trailers did pass but eventually one giantic one with a million lights shining trough the blackness, stopped and out hopped a small but chivalrous driver to come to my assistance! I had already phoned the NRMA person who, it turns out, was given the wrong directions & sent off to the Old Hume Highway instead of the Freeway! He phoned to see where I was & soon was on the spot to put some air into the tyre; the semi-trailer driver wasn't able to do this. God bless him for stopping though & saving me some time!

Meanwhile panic was rising fast; nearly 45 minutes had elapsed & I could see myself having to turn around & go back to bed. After the NRMA technician put air into the tyre; I looked at my watch & had an hour and a bit to get to Canberra before registrations closed at 8:30am. For a few seconds thoughts flashed through my mind : will I go home? will I make it in time? No use arriving after entries had closed. The freeway was empty at that hour even though the sun was now up and, without further thinking, I took off like Dr Who in his flying machine!

I made it to Canberra at 8:10am; Ewen queued up for me to register while I went off and tried to cool down & at the same time do a warm-up! No problem! I was in the first row at the start line of over 1000 women & girl runners!

A great day! I loved it! I didn't run a PB but I was happy with 31:25 in a crowd where it was impossible to get ahead on the way out & then a mighty wind coming across the lake on the return leg.

The results are already up on the website. I got 1st in my age category & had to go up onto the stage to receive my medal and shake hands with the attending dignitaries. Second place in my category was 42:18 and third 1:02:13. So, why wouldn't I be as pleased as Punch!

After sitting on the grass on a sunny, Sunday morning, Ewen, Strewth & I walked over to Regatta Place restaurant & partook of pancakes with caramelised bananas & cream!

The drive home was surprisingly uneventful but I was tensed up the whole time thinking a wheel might fly off any minute & send me into eternity....wherever that is! Anyhow, it wasn't meant to happen and it didn't!

All things dramatic considered, I had a really great day & thoroughly enjoyed the 5km race.

A Change of Pace....

Friday is normally a tempo run day but today it wasn't! Instead, it was another track session brought about by the fact that I decided last night that I would do the "Women's & Girls' 5km Fun Run" in Canberra on Sunday, so an easier session today.

2 Sets of 4 x 300m in 1:35 each (5:17 min/km)
300m jog between each repeat. 300m walk between sets.

1.5km warm-up & a couple of drills & strides.
Set 1 : 1:30 (5:01); 1:30 (5:00): 1:29 (4:57); 1:25 (4:42)
Set 2 : 1:28 (4:50); 1:28 (4:52); 1:25 (4:44); 1:25 (4:44)

All OK I thought!

I'm looking forward to the run on Sunday....starts at 9:00am....my previous 5km in 30:35 was at Fisher's Ghost about 6 months ago; Sunday should be an interesting & fun day!

Workout #1.....Track

Not having run 2000m repeats before and following on from Sunday's hilly long run, I was a bit in awe of today's track training and expecting the legs not to want to work.

Needless fear! In fact, after the warm-up and a couple of drills & strides, the actual session was relatively easy.

Program : 10-20 minutes warm-up
3 x 2000m in 12:05 (6:03min/km).
400m recoveries
10-20 minutes warm-down.


2000m in 12:03. Avg. pace 6:01. AHR 79% MHR 82%.

2000m in 12:02. Avg. Pace 6:01. AHR 80% MHR 83%.

2000m in 11:34. Avg. Pace 5:47. AHR 80% MHR 86%.

Virtual Partner was running along quite happily, as was I, with this pace for the first two, just staying almost together, so I decided we both needed a bit of a shake up for the last 2000m. I ran faster....faster than VP & finished about 60m in front!

I was quite surprised and happy with the outcome of the training session! VP somewhat peeved at the finish of the last 2000m!

The Hills Were Alive.....

Driving back over Range Road after Easter Sunday lunch with friends at Robertson, I decided to do my long run over this course which I hadn't ventured on for months...too many, too steep hills! However, I wanted to do a long, continuous run instead of the shorter loops I've been doing of late and this was going to be it.

At 7:00a.m it was raining, so back to bed for another hour ...or two! At 11:00a.m it was very overcast, plenty of black clouds but no rain so I set off for a run of anything up to 24km...if the legs held out on the hills! The pace was to be 7:06min/km but doubted that I'd keep that on the hills...and I didn't.

From kilometre 3 to 8 was a hill so steep that the surrounding ridges resounded with the sound of my groaning! From there on, it's one rolling hill after the other, the surrounding countryside so beautiful it more than makes up for the pain in getting there. I took some photos but they're not the best because of the heavy cloud and no sunlight. None of the Autumn colour changes have begun yet, so I'll return - when I recover in a few weeks - when all the trees and hedges will be dressed in their finery of red, orange and gold.

Tonight, I can hardly walk; my poor old legs are stiff and sore, telling me to get out there more often and harden up! So for today, Easter Monday:

23km in 2 hours 40 minutes.
Avg. Pace 7:45
AHR 111 (70%); MHR 128 (81%)
5km Splits 40:44; 42:22; 39:28; 3:52 (3km in 7:10).

A great day out on the ranges and I will return!

Powered by GoodWidgets.com

Out For Lunch!

Good Friday

A late start, 11:30 a.m, for today's tempo run. A super Autumn morning!

The program : 8km total running including 4.8k @ 6:21 min/km.

1.6km warm-up.
4.8km @6:14min/km.
1.6km warm-down.

By staying just ahead of Virtual Partner all the time, I knew I was running at the correct pace, actually finishing about 20m ahead of him! A very enjoyable run for both of us!