Sunday's Run on Monday

I didn't make it out yesterday because it became just too hot to bother by the time I dragged myself out of bed!  This morning I was on the road by 6:15am.  I thought that was early enough but by the time I'd finished I was wishing I'd started at 5:30.

Program :

16km easy & relaxed; at no set pace.

I took that as gospel and found myself so relaxed I was walking instead of running!  I must have walked well over a kilometre in bits and pieces, on hills, on the flat; in fact whenever I felt like it which was probably quite a bit more than I should have.  It was so hot that I ditched the shoes and socks and ran the last 3km on the wet grass in the soccer field and what a relief for the feet that was!

16km jog/walk
2hours 19 min.
AHR 113  (71%);  MHR 127 (80%)

Workout #2...Time Trial

Program:

3.5km easy
5km @ 6:23 (on road);  6:59 (on grass).
1.5km easy.

Renwick Soccer Field:

3.5km easy on grass, bare feet.
5km @ Avg. pace 7:03 min/km wearing shoes, on road!  No wonder VP was laughing!
1.5km easy on grass, bare feet.
1km laps:  7:15; 7:21; 6:57; 6:52; 6:49
5km Time = 35:23

Total = 10km


I couldn't run @ 6:23 min/km, try as I might!  Are the days gone when I used beat Virtual Partner every session?  February and March should have the answer to that!

Surprisingly cool day in Mittagong after the temperature reached 34 degrees yesterday.  Sunday seems to be a return to the hot weather; luckily my long run says to run an easy, relaxed effort at no set pace!...that's at least more civilized!

Cross Training #3

Today, 50 minutes steady pool running including a few drills and stretching.....very nice on another hot day!

No Training!

Cross-training #2....Easy Running.

Since I won't be training tomorrow  - Australia Day and out to an all-day lunch!  -  I'll have to miss this week's track session unless I can fit it in later in the week; not worried about missing it at this stage though.

Today, at 1:00pm when the temperature was 30 degrees (felt like 40) I drove to the school and ran in some shade on Radio Road alongside the soccer field.  There was a breeze, but it was a hot one, and so was the day and so was the run...HOT!  I took it very easy and it served as a few more kilometres on a hard surface.

Funny how I've become so used to running on the grass in bare feet!  Shoes felt so heavy & sweaty by comparison.  Something I'll have to get used to again no doubt; also running in heat because it's always hot by the time I finish a marathon or even a half marathon for that matter!

5km easy running.
41 min.
AHR 70%

Cross-training #1.....Pooling

This afternoon I drove across to Henley Brae for some water running.  My quads were very stiff after yesterday's road running.  I did 35 minutes including flat-foot marching, high knees, butt kicks ( all a sight for sore eyes!) and then running all around the pool....good fun, no one else there, and quads feel much less stiff.

First Long Run in a Long While.

The thought of running 15km barefoot on grass, as I've been doing for two weeks, was more than I could cope with this morning.  Going round and round the soccer field for that distance seemed to paralyse my brain as well as my legs!  So, when getting my gear ready on Saturday night I brought out my running shoes and set them alongside singlet and skirt for this morning's first run on the road.  I wanted to see how my knee held up, or rather held me up, for 15km on a hard surface.  I wasn't concerned with what pace I should have been running;  the idea was to test my knee on the road with an easy run.

I can happily report it gave me no problems at all!  Starting at 8:00am was more like the time I should have been finishing!  7.5km out on Old South and Aylmerton Roads was fine, but I found the last few kilometres on the return were very tiring; so not all fitness back yet I have to assume from that.

To make sure my knee didn't have any added stress other than running, I walked the very steep hill leading into Aylmerton village and also the one on Bong Bong Road just before the school where I started and finished.  So, all good on the knee front!  However, I'll still continue to do track and tempo runs barefoot on grass and pool running twice each week as cross-training.  Two weeks of my program done!

Program:
15km @ 7:58 min/km

I did 2 x 7.5km
7.5k out in 62 min  7.5k return in 64 min 
Avg HR 72%

Total = 15km ( and the longest run since September last year!)

Not So Much Like An Elephant!

Today was the first day I didn't feel like I was a plodding elephant; didn't feel like a gazelle either, but definitely a little easier and lighter than during the past two weeks, so I'll settle for more like a donkey!

Program:  Tempo Run 8km

1km warm-up
6km @ 7:08 min/km (adjusted slower to allow for grass running)
1km cool-down

I did 1.5km warm-up
6km @ Avg. pace 7:22;  Best pace 5:06
AHR 127 (80%);  MHR 155 (98%)?
1km cool down walking

1km laps:  7:35;  7:17;  7:16; 7:08;  7:33;  7:24

As usual, a late start at 10:00am but, even though the sun was quite hot, there was also a pleasant, cooling breeze.  After the cool-down I did some stretching then packed my bag, slapped myself on the back and drove home feeling better about my running than I have been of late!

8.5km

Thrashed Again.....

This is becoming a regular Wednesday punishment for me!  Well, it's happened twice now.


I decided to use the track recently mowed for me at Renwick soccer field with its easy access to water and toilets!  The grass was still very wet and soggy; the day was hot and humid; I was not in my best form at all, but I'm still making some allowance for the fact that this was only my second track workout since September 2010.  I'll take any excuse I can think of!


This is what the program wanted....up and down a ladder of all things! 

Before starting I had to measure all distances with Mr G-armin and then found some yellow potplants to place as markers!


10 - 20 min warm-up
400, 600, 800, 1200, 800, 600, 400 (400m recoveries)
Times,  corresponding to the above distances = 2:20; 3:31; 4:43;7:11; 4:43; 3:31; 2:20


BUT these are the times I ran:


2:27; 3:53; 5:00; 7:49; 5:22; 4:14; 2:44

Need I say more?  Except I think I'll have to readjust my best 2010 5km time of 31 min to around 40!


Virtual Partner has, of today, become my nemesis!

Cross Training .....Pooling Again

Today's session at Henley Brae pool:-

5 min warm-up + drills
7 x 5min hard
1 min recoveries
5 min cool-down + Stretches.

For track tomorrow, for a change, I'll probably use the one that the nice grounds people mowed for me in the Renwick soccer field - my own personal track! -  instead of going across to Chev in Bowral.  I'll also have easier access to water and toilets if needed!

Taking Strewth's Advice

Which means that this is a rest day today!  Not at all displeased with the idea : it's hot, humid and with a storm promised for later this afternoon.  In any case I have to take all three of my lovely dogs to the vet this afternoon for vaccinations and health checks, so I'll have more time to get that done by taking a free day.

I'm very pleased that I have no knee pain at all after yesterday's long run.  Tomorrow might be pool running, though I have Tuesdays planned as short hills cross-training on my program, but feel it would be safer to leave hills alone for at least another week.  Even I can apply more common sense after injury and setbacks from two too early returns!

Disclaimer:  The above picture in no way resembles or is any way connected to my very attractive and good friend, Strewth!!

Something 'Funny' Happened on My

 Certainly something strange happened.to my Garmin during today's run!  I was dying on my feet at 11.5km and every time I looked at the watch face it still showed the distance as 11.5k; it never seemed to move on! I didn't give it much thought; either I was in a worse state than I felt....very likely, or time was standing still...sure seemed like it  - or something weird was going on with the Mr G-armin...well, someone has to take the blame!  I was more dead than alive by 11km so I decided to finish at 11.5k and not push ahead for 13km as per program.

The strange/funny thing was that after transferring the run to the computer at home, it showed I'd run 13.4km....0.4 more than I should have!  I'll take it for sure!  I started at 9:20am and the day just got hotter and more humid especially on the wet grass with hardly any shade and I got quite sunburned; hence an early finish...or so I thought!  I hope Mr G-armin recovers more quickly than I probably will!

I ran 10km barefoot on the nicely mowed track in the soccer field and have to say that by the time I stopped I felt pretty much like I do after completing a marathon!  For the last 3km I put socks and Newtons on and tried out on the road....no knee problems there either!  Wee Hee!  However, it was such a hard and mostly difficult run that I wonder if I'll ever get to the stage of running even a half marathon again;  I have so much to make up for if today's run is any measure of my fitness...or more like lack of it!  Anyhow, now that I've got all that off my chest:

This is what I should have done:

13km @7:13 min/km.

BUT 

This is what I did:

13.4km @ avg. pace 7:55 min/km....see what I mean?  So slow!
AHR 79%; MHR..off the scale @ over 100%!  Wouldn't surprise me if that was correct!

Well, that's Week One completed and only seventeen more to do!

I'm so exhausted, wrung out, weary - in other words, just plain tired! - that I'm taking my book to bed and resting for.......I won't say how long!

Plodding Along

It was a not a good Time Trial this morning... not very successful I'm afraid.  I drove to the soccer field knowing the grass was long and the field bogged with water, but I wasn't expecting the jungle that had grown in two days!  Nevertheless, I decided to give it a go rather than run on the road at this stage especially as my knee seems to be going well on the grass surfaces.

I was about half way through the warm-up when a teacher and a groundsman arrived to mow the field.  Knowing me as well as they do, they offered to cut a track around the field first for me to use.  Now, wasn't that a thoughtful thing to do! So much better than ploughing through the watery jungle. After that, all I had to do was manoeuvre where there were bogs and small lakes!

This is what I should have done:

3.5km warm-up
5km @ 6:23 pace
1.5km cool-down.

BUT

This what I did:

3.5km warm-up
3km @7:09 pace
1 lap walking cool-down

By 3km in the Time Trial I'd 'had it' and I couldn't see any advantage in continuing getting slower and slower and achieving nothing more than wearing myself out more than I already was!  First TT since September last year!  Heat, humidity, bogs and grass had 'done me in'!

I began the workout wearing water running shoes with socks but removed them after the warm-up by which time they'd become choked with grass and water-logged.  I was moving slowly enough without the extra weight!.

Hopefully, I'll do better next Friday's Time Trial.  Sunday's long run is 13km....can I run round and round and round for that distance?  We'll see!

For now, I'm OK with the result.

Pool.....Cross-Training.

Back to Henley Brae this afternoon for some water running.  The ladder looked like this:

5 min warm-up...incl. drills

1min  hard, 1 min easy; 2min hard, 1 min easy; 3 min hard, 1 min easy; 4 min hard, 1 min easy;  5 min hard, 1 min easy; 4 min hard, 1 min easy; 3 min hard, 1 min easy; 2 min hard, 1 min easy; 1 min hard.

5 min cool-down...incl. stretches.

Time = 43 min

I always enjoy deep water running; I'm sure it's had a lot to do with knee rehab and my recent return to running; I'll use it for cross-training one or two days each week.

Looks Like a Fresh Start!

 The Shoes and The Track!

The track at Chev was in a miserable condition after days of rain, but not daunted too much by that, I started Workout #1, worried more by how or if my knee was going to take to a fairly hard session, especially since it's the first since September 2010!


Well, my knee was so good I could have hugged it at the finish except it was too far to bend down! Here then is due a huge thanks to the comments left on my blog when I was really down, down in the dumps, not seeing a way to run again.  Now, I think I'm on the way back!


The rain held off while I did the session but it was humid, fairly windy and the grounds like a quagmire.   Here is how the workout went...the only thing that hurt was having Virtual Partner win every 400m repeat, but let him have his day of glory while he can!


Workout #1 Track: 
10-20 min warm-up
12 x 400m each in 2:20  (5:50 pace) 90 sec recoveries.
10 min cool-down.

I did 15 min easy jog warm-up
12 x 400m
10 min cool-down walking.
A few stretches.

  Time/Pace; HR Min & Max

2:32/6:18;    129/142 (81-89%)
2:31/6:15;    123/139 (77-88%)
2:37/6:28;    123/140 (77-88%)
2:33/6:15;    123/138 (77-87%)
2:29/6:06;    123/138 (77-87%)
2:34/6:21;    122/141 (77-87%)
2:31/6:13;    126/141 (79-89%)
2:27/6:00;    129/148 (81-93%)
2:27/6:00;    127/147 (80-93%)
2:30/6:11;    125/146 (79-93%)
2:28/6:00;    127/148 (80-93%)
2:28/6:02;    128/147 (81-93%)


Not the best times but who cares today?  Not me!  That I completed the workout as best I could and with no knee trouble is more than enough...for now!  These cheap BigW aqua shoes are great for running on grass as well as in the pool!  Today though, after two repeats they were so clogged with grass and water, I removed them and ran barefoot.

I'm so pleased this evening and feel that I just might get back to competing again.  I'd love it to be in time for the new Canberra Marathon in April, though I'd only be running the Half, if I can make up for four months of lost time and with no more setbacks!   Today was a good day!

Tomorrow, cross-training will be more pool running.

What a long post!
Edit: Have just seen the floods in Q'ld on TV.  I feel so sad for those affected.

A Last Attempt.....OR

This week I'll make what is very likely my last attempt to restart my 3-day running program.  If my knee misbehaves again I'm calling it quits.  The reason for this is pretty obvious, to me anyhow : it's almost too late to be ready/trained for any decent attempt at any of the races I would have liked to take part in this year....certainly in the first half anyhow.....and motivation is steadily going downhill.  It's been so long since September last year!

So, come Wednesday, I'll head off for Chev track in Bowral and do the first of three workouts for the week.  If my times for the 400m repeats are slower than they should be, I won't mind, but if my knee forces me to abandon the session or is painful afterwards....THAT'S IT!

I'll continue daily walking and pool running for fitness but with no intention of competing in  events I'd hoped to do before this disaster struck!

I hope I have a 'run' of luck!

Birds Gonna Fly......

FlamingText.com

......but I'm gonna run!!  Deep water running again.

Henley Brae Pool:

5 min warm-up....incl. drills!
70 min steady running
5 min cool down....with stretches
TOTAL 80 min.

As always no one else at the pool, so I can look stupid and funny doing my drills and not have to worry that someone might think I was more than just a little crazy!  I wore my aqua shoes today for a harder workout and used foam dumbells (belonging to Henley Brae pool) one in each hand just under the surface as one might do if running on dry land.

Gosh!  This made for a much tougher session as I had to punch arms and work legs at the same time...good upper body workout as well as running!

To all.......

First Walk/Jog for 2011....Dog Gone Beautiful!

It is a thirsty sort of day here: humid with darkening skies threatening another late storm.

 It's been several long weeks since I managed a jog/walk but I did it today with a happy knee!


20 min easy walk to  Renwick soccer field
20 min jog/walk on grass : walking the short sides, jogging the long sides.
20 min easy walk home.

5.7km  in 60 min.

I am so happy my knee was good!

One More Week.....

....before I can run; last physio session yesterday.  I can include fast walking this week!  Today.....




Pool Session:

5 min warm-up ...water drills..good that no one else is there to see this!
3 sets of 9 x 1:30 hard
(30 sec easy recovery) 
(2 min easy btw sets)
5 min cool-down...water stretches!

Total workout 68 min. 

This workout is really tough!! 

Made It! Here's to many more!