SOMETHING SURPRISING!

How do I spend this $50 for Half Marathon Masters W80 winner?


In today's mail a gift voucher that can be redeemable only at "The Runners Shop", Canberra!


Guess I'll have to make a trip to the ACT or perhaps I can use it on line or keep it till next year.

...Yes, almost ran a 10km PB at SMC 10km this morning....but not quite!

Best 10km at SMC was in January when I ran 1:02:46.  Today, I ran 1:02:49!  Where did those few seconds escape to?  Must have been when I grabbed a few jelly beans on the way back!

In any case, I was very pleased with my time : I had run only two very easy 5k runs since the SMH Half Marathon last Sunday and the CRRF Half Maraton a couple of weeks before that, so I was expecting around 65 minutes this morning ....those are my excuses and I'm stcking to them!

Perfect running conditions : very cool, slight breeze and completely overcast.

10km in 1:02:49.
Avg. Pace 6:15
AHR 135 (85%);  MHR 150 (94%)...that was a stampede to the finish line heart rate with a young man who was finishing the 25k race!  We had a good laugh about who got there first.

5km Splits 32:36; 30:06....the hills on the way out are what slow me down.  I'll have to conquer them!

Age Category results for SMH Half Marathon are out!  I got first place in W70 to 99!!


There was another runner in my age category but, from the results page, she was a non-starter.  I can only hope the results would have been the same  .... cool and funny!

Something Exciting!

....so it's worth blogging about!

I ran the SMH Half Marathon yesterday through the streets of Sydney.  It was a perfect morning, even quite cool when I got out for a warm-up at 6:30am and Hyde Park was already abuzz with hundreds of runners going about their pre-race rituals!


I came to Sydney on Saturday, stayed overnight and returned home on Sunday afternoon.  I love this SMH run!  Probably my favourite run.

There's something special about runners having the city roads to themselves for those few hours.  I always get a thrill running down Hunter Street  - and any other downhills for that matter - when I think about how they're crammed during the week with people, cars, buses, etc.  Even running up Hunter Street  - and the Argyle Cut too  - has something for me to enjoy including the encouragement from other Cool Runners  - CR Thomo especially, who all but stopped the run when he bellowed while running down Pitt Street: "Go Norma!"  Sook54 caught up near the Art Gallery and ran a couple of kilometres with me until she headed off at a faster pace.

I didn't expect to run faster than at the CRRF HM....and I didn't!  In fact, 4 minutes slower.  I set a pace on the Garmin to get me in by 2hours 25 minutes allowing for a tough, hilly course, but for the first time the Garmin must have cut out for about 7 minutes in the high rise areas and I didn't bother too much  about looking at it during the second loop.

So...............
I was astonished to see the finishing clock at the Archibald Fountain say 2:21:16.....5 minutes faster than last year's time of 2:26:09....and that for me was exciting and worth blogging about!

Updating My Blog....

I've decided to update my blog in future only after having taken part in a race or some special event or if something really exciting, funny or interesting happens.  Training will remain the same i.e. 3 days running, 2 days cross training.

Typing the same training week after week has become boring for both myself and Virtual Partner!!

Longish Run

A shorter 'long' run this morning before SMH Half Marathon next Sunday.  Another perfect Autumn day and a joy to be out running.

I chose running around to Inkerman Road and back to get more hills in before meeting Hunter Street next  weekend!  I kept the hardest and steepest hill - on Old South Road -  till last when I was feeling tired, just as I will be during the second time running up Hunter Street or out of the Domain at the finish of the SMH Half, though I hope not feeling as leg weary as I was at the finish of today's run.

Program: 13km.... slower than half marathon pace @ 6:35 to 6:50 min/km.

13km in 1 hour 35 minutes.
Avg. Pace 7:18 slow on the hills!
AHR 124 (78%);  MHR 141 (89%)...effort on the hills!

Thrashed by Virtual Partner!

What a perfect Autumn day!  Just sheer pleasure to be out today : no wind, warm sun and Autumn colours everywhere and VP took advantage of the conditions to give me a good thrashing!

 10km Tempo Run.

3.5km easy.
5km with VP set to run 6:12min/km.
1.5km easy.

It didn't quite turn out like that though!  Where I'd been doing most runs on flattish roads in the lead up to CRRF, it was time now to attack the hills before SMH Half Marathon on May 16th.  With that in mind I set off, after the warm-up, to Diamond Fields Road where there are hills aplenty and it was there VP had his 34 minutes of glory!

The flat and downhills were OK, but I couldn't keep up with Virtual Partner running up the hills.  He sprinted away keeping the same pace throughout and, to add insult to injury, finished the 5km nearly 600m in front of me!

5km in 34:30
Avg. Pace 6:54! 
AHR 129 (81%);  MHR 138 (87%) 

 

A Bit of This and That.....

I skipped, as in didn't do, today's track session; I also took Monday and Tuesday as rest days after my Canberra RRF Half Marathon effort which is in the process of being recorded as an Australian age category record and 3rd fastest world same age category!

Today I did 4.5km which included :  some drills & strides, jogging, walking and a few sprints uphill...keeping in mind that the SMH Half Sunday week is a hilly course.  All easy!

It wasn't very nice out either; rain to start with, then wind and finally some sun.  Autumn is here!

I'll do some cross training tomorrow, stationary bike if the weather stays bad, and a tempo run on Friday by which time I should be back to normal 3-day running program.

Canberra Road Running Festival Half Marathon

Well.....I had a very happy run today!  The weather was absolutely perfect;  I didn't feel it at all cold as I walked less than 10 minutes to the oval and did a short wam-up at 6:30am and then lined up for the start of both the marathon and half marathon runners at 7:00am.

My plan was to start at 6:38 min/km which would have me finish in 2 hours 20 minutes......one minute faster that my recent best half marathon of 2 hours 21 minutes at SMC on April 18th!  I kept at this pace in the early stages despite the urge to go faster, telling myself that if I did, I'd slow down towards the finish.  Experience is a great teacher!

The plan was a good one, because I had plenty of energy in the second half and was able to draw on the very last of my reserves to finish 4 minutes faster than the SMC half  last month!

Time 2:17:25(official).
Avg. Pace 6:28 min/km
AHR 133 (84%);  MHR 153 (96%)
5km splits     33:57;    32:33;    32:51;    30:40;    (7:25 for 1.1km)

The day was a tremendous success for the ACTCCC who put on a brilliant day, a fast course, great volunteers everywhere encouraging each runner often by name and  finishing,  where again each runner was called by name wherever possible, by doing a round of Manuka Oval.  This was a very special thrill!  Was I the only one whose age was also announced as I ran down the finish chute?  That was another special thrill!!    


While talking of thrills....another was 1st place in age category,  a kiss from & photo taken with Rob de Castella!  I'll put the photo here when it comes up on the website.

Altogether, a great weekend catching up with friends and spending up at the Expo! Now, to get ready for the SMH Half Marathon in two weeks' time!

Enquiries are being made to see if this is a W80 age-category Australian Record for the half marathon  & the likihood of it also being  the world's third fastest of all time W80 half marathon!  Will update when I find out how to do all this and what the results are.