Track at Chevalier College ~~~~

Windy morning everywhere in the Southern Highlands!  However, someone had mowed a narrow lane at Chev. which I measured as exactly 400m.  I think it might have been done by the nice grounds keeper...just for me!  If not, I was still grateful that there was an accurate lane to use.

My program was :
10 min warm up + srtides
200, 400m, 600m, 800, 600m 400m, 200m.
Cool-down.

My times were :
1:16;   2:38;   4:29;   6:10;        4:25;   2:47;   1:14  

Longish Run ~~~~

Can hardly call any run I do as "long" these days, so "longish" or "longer" seems more accurate.  A warm and windy morning.  I used Diamond Fields Road again, but ran the hills and long inclines only once, not twice as I did last week; walked quite a bit where the road was strewn with rocks and stones, making sure that my none too fresh feet didn't trip and find myself doing a 'face-plant'!

I turned off  D.F. Road when I got to about 4km and went straight uphill to Diamond Creek Wines Estate....not for a tasting which would have been very nice, but because it added another hill and it was years since I'd been there.  That added another 500m until I came to the gate of a private property.  I took a couple of pics of this section and began the return run.

Diamond Fields Rd to the left.  Straight ahead to Diamond Creek Wines!

Today : 9km
Worked on the hills
Some walking
AHR 77%;   MHR  94%
TE 4 =  'Maintaining'

9km..Diamond Fields Road.

Bowral Parkrun #5,,,,,,,,, and another PB!

Last Saturday my time was 36:38, so I set VP at 7:18m/k to get me to the finish in 36:30 hopefully and with that improvement I would be satisfied.....for now!  At right on 8:00am, 71 runners set off down the 500m grassy hill....the same one we run UP at the finish!

The morning was very hot and I really didn't expect to stay ahead of VP at all......but I did and no one was more surprised then I was!  Here are the results :

Time : 36:16
Avg. Pace : 7:14
AHR 129 (90%);   MHR 141 (99%)!
TE 4 =  Highly Improving!
Splits :  6:54;     7:03;     7:13;     7:14;     7:45...uphill!
Place : 42 out of 71;  18th female.

....and.....Age Graded  .......85.06%...was I thrilled or was I thrilled?   You bet I was!

Now, if I can just nibble away, bit by bit, at that 16 seconds!

Tempo Run ~~~ VP Won!

I started with VP (set to run 7:11m/k), but finished 1min 45sec behind, so I was a little disappointed.  Truthfully, I was more than a little disappointed ..... I was furious!  With myself!  Couldn't get ahead.  The closest was 15sec behind and after that, well, the results speak for themselves!

Tempo Run
1.5km warm-up
5km @ 7:11m/k
1.5k cool-down.

5km including 2 long hills!

5km in 37:35
Avg. Pace 7:26
7:41;   7:07;    7:38;    7:34;    7:33
 TE 3.8......improving! 
AHR 120 (84%);  MHR 136 (95%).

Very warm when I started at 10:00am;  very hot when I finished! 

Today :  8km 

Track at Chev. ~~~~~

I can't believe how cold it is here today!   Cold and windy at Chev track at 11:00am.  Still only 11 degrees now at 3:00pm, so it'll be on with the electric blanket tonight for sure!

 I was very pleased to see a narrow, exact 200m lane had been mowed in the oval.
 
The session was :

10-20 min warm-up ( including 4 strides + drills)
3 x 800m in 5:32....based on 36min 5k time.
10 min cool-down (plus stretches)


Before I began, I thought I'd do 4x800m but I found 3 were enough! 


Results :  5:28;  5:27;   5:27..........Just ahead of VP!! 

Long Run ~~~~~

A very warm day with plenty of sunshine and slight breeze, so the only way to spend such a beautiful morning was with an easy run along shady Diamond Fields Road.  As usual, there was no one but me on the road, which was, for the most part, in good condition.

I think Bowral parkrun could become an obsession of mine!  I look forward to it from one Saturday to the next and, keeping in mind how the last 500m is a slow uphill struggle for me anyhow, I decided this morning to do something about it.  Diamond Fields Road has some very nice steep hills and long inclines and my decision was that I would run each hill twice on the way out and again on the return!

And I did!  As I approached a hill, I took a deep breath into my big beautiful lungs (as I've recently had them called!) and charged to the top!  Jog/walk down, another big breath into the same big beautiful lungs and another recharge up!  I did this three times on the way out and three times on the return.

Marvelous what you can do when your mind is made up to do something!  Usually I moan and groan, head down, shoulders slumped as I jog and walk these very same hills, but not today :  head up, knees high, arms pumping .......parkrun is only six days away and I'm going to kill that 500m hill towards the finish!  I will NOT let it beat me next Saturday!  See what I mean by "obsessive" about this parkrun thing?

Today:  9.5km (didn't worry about time or pace, just distance and hills)

 

 

Parkrun...Bowral & a NEW PB!

I ran and I ran, determined to improve my Bowral parkrun times of  37:27, 37:34 and 39:29 the one where I missed the start!  I didn't miss it this morning!

After a short warm-up and a couple of strides, I got myself to the start line somewhere in the middle of the other 75 runners.  I didn't stop once, the only thing slowing me down was that darned 500m hill at the finish!

Time :   36:38
Splits : 7:12;  7:17;  7:19;  6:54;  7:42
Avg. Pace : 7:17.......had VP at 7:15m/k!

57th of 76 runners;  22nd female;  79 points, making a total of 276

and.........

Age Graded  84.21%!  (from 82.38%)

Parkrun Bowral 18/10/14

 


 

 

This Is Becoming Embarrassing! ~~~~~

For about an hour today I had a lung capacity test and I nearly blew the machine and nurse/technician out of the room!!  I've never had this test before, just like the stress test on Tuesday..a first for both.

So.... I had to breathe in and out; pant with air passage blocked, hold my breath for ? seconds; blow hard and fast; slow and normal and every which way into a machine with tubes all over the place and......with a peg on my nose! And do every test 3 times sitting in a closed cubicle!

Well, I blew and I blew till I almost blew the hospital down!  The scales went way off the radar for every test and I think the technician was getting worried that the equipment might have to be replaced after I'd finished!  I can't remember what each different test was for, but one was for lung capacity; oxygen, carbon dioxide; measuring how much air is still left in the lungs after a hard expulsion; signs of asthma and others too technical for me to understand.

To say the nurse was gobsmacked is an understatement! She said she hadn't seen lungs like mine or such results in anyone even near my age, and brought another technician in to show the results,   In fact she said I had the lungs of an extremely fit 20 year old! She checked and rechecked telling me they were well satisfied if patients got to 80-100%. Mine 'blew' off the scale to somewhere at 170%!  The nurse told me she was 34 and my results were far better than hers!

I left there with a very big smile on my face and that's the last of the tests my GP wanted done.  All these good results make me think maybe I'm going to be the first person to escape mortality!

And now, for parkrun tomorrow!

Treadmill Stress Test & Tempo ~~~~

I had a treadmill stress test on Tuesday at the Cardiac Unit of Bowral Hospital to see if there was any reason for increasing breathlessness while running.  Never had one before.  All wired up, started walking, told to slow down (!), no jogging (!!), speed and incline increased every 3 minutes, I asked if I could jog (reply yes!) and off I went.....easy!  Dr asked if I could keep going longer than their usual time...reply, sure!  Off I go again....easy!  Dr and nurse ask can I keep going if they increase speed dramatically and put in a steep hill...reply, sure!  And off I go again!  By this time, Dr and nurse ready to collapse with surprise while I just kept on running until they stopped the treadmill when heart rate got to 142bpm.  I could have kept going but was starting to puff!

The nurses and Dr couldn't hide their surprise and told me I was 'disgustingly fit', and going by the looks of the people who were there before me -  I was last on the list  -  I can understand why they were so surprised!  I was pleased to get an updated MHR of 142bpm as I'd been using 132.  It probably is higher than 142 but that's where the test stopped so that's what I'll use for training in future.  On Friday, I have a lung capacity test just to make sure there's no problems in that area.  Have already had blood tests (no results yet) and chest x-ray (no results yet).

I didn't like the Dr much when, commenting on my breathlessness while running, he added, "Well, you're not getting any younger, you know."  To which I replied, "Really?  I hadn't noticed!"  And after that, our feelings for each I'm sure were mutual!

5km

Now for today's run:  Tempo Run
1.5km warm-up
5km @ 7:11m/k
1.5km cool-down.

 5km in 36:23....improving!
Avg. pace 7:16m/k

Weather back to normal after wind and rain for past two days.  Today : sunny, cool and breezy.

Total today  :  8km

Chev Track ~~~~~

I could see the storm approaching which is why I got out really, really, really early this morning and was at Chevalier College track by 9:00am!  I did all but the last two repeats before the rain poured down, leaving me soaked (but happy!) after the morning's session.

10-20 min warm-up + 4 strides with drills

6 x 400m in 2:41 ...(6:42m/k based on 35 min 5km time)

3:00;      2:59;      2:54;      2:50;      2:46;      2:31

No cool-down!

Bowral Parkrun #3 ~~~~~

What a mess I made of this one!  Got to "The Briars" in good time to do a warm-up only to find that I'd left my bar code at home!!  About turn, roared home 'real fast' (!) and roared back 'really, really fast'! Ran to the start, no one in sight, just a blur of colour in the far distance of the walkers and mums with strollers.  Undaunted, and swearing like a trooper, I clicked the Garmin and set off in hot pursuit.  The only runners I met were those on the return leg!

I was, still am, absolutely furious with myself!  It was the first of these three park runs that I didn't  feel I needed a walk break and even ran the 500m hill at the finish! As as result I have two times : the Garmin and the official :  37:25 and 39:29 respectively!  The official, of course, stands but I can't wait till next Saturday to remedy this!

Parkrun Bowral #3:

Time : 39:29;    78.13%;  72 Points...making a total of 197 points.

Tempo Run ~~~~~

7:15am with Leah, from Highlands School. With daylight saving, it was a bit chilly to start with, but a lovely morning nevertheless. We did the warm-up together, then Leah did 4km to my 3km in the same time space!  Met up for the cool-down.

Program :
1.5km warm-up
3km @ ST pace ....... 4km @ ST pace for Leah!
1.5km cool-down.

Virtual Partner ahead of me this morning!

 3km in 23:33.....not good!

3km

 
 

Track ~~~~~

Beautiful morning all over the Southern Highlands! 

Track Session.... Chevalier College :

10-20 min warm-up......+ 4 drills & strides

2 x 1000m in 7:13 based on 5k time of 37:20
7:23;    6:58

Cool-down + stretches. 

I enjoyed this session :  perfect weather with breeze and sunshine; easy session....maybe that's why I felt good!

Chev College Track

ParkRun #2 ~~~~~

Another brilliant day....warm and slightly windy on the way out.

I struggled again on that last 500m.....called an 'incline' but I say it's a steep hill and had to walk most of it.  I was feeling like dry reaching at the finish so I must have tried!!  Anyhow, it's something to chip away at in the next weeks.

Today  :  37:34;     82.12%;  53rd of 66 finishers;  22nd female....and 79 points!

I love the idea of this parkrun every Saturday in Bowral!  Good to see so many children, mums and dads, runners and non-runners taking part.



5km out & back on BongBong Common

Tempo Run ~~~~

Met Leah at Highlands School, 7:15am for today's run.

3.6km @ tempo pace

I lagged behind badly this morning! Leah ran at her own pace after the warm-up and left me struggling in  her wake.  Struggling and puffing are becoming the norm lately.  Check-up with GP next week.  Or....can this be age?!

Program :
1.5km warm-up
3.6k @ ST pace......supposedly!
1.5km cool-down

Today:  6.6km