Saturday, January 31, 2015

Bowral Parkrun #19 ~~~~~

Volunteered this morning at Parkrun....my job, handing out the tokens to finishers. I like this; it gives me a chance to encourage others to sprint to the finish as I see them coming in!  First male finisher this morning was a Canberra runner, Scott Imhoff, in 17:49. 73 runners/walkers today and what a glorious morning it was too.

After my job was done, another volunteer and I jogged the 5km together.

I   LOVE   BOWRAL   PARKRUN ............   
In My Hoka "Cliftons"!!

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Tempo Run ~~~~~

Crazy weather!  This morning, more like autumn than mid summer : cool to cold wind but plenty of sunshine.  I was glad of the cool change because I had to do the longest tempo run in my program:

1.5km easy
3.5km @ ST pace
1.5km easy
1.5km @ ST pace
1.5km easy
3.5km @ ST pace 
1.5km easy.

14.5km

I don't know at what pace I was running the short tempo sections :  the automatic 1km laps, which I should have cancelled but didn't, were overlapping the tempo laps, so I just ran those sections at what felt like a fairly hard effort.  I think the session was a good one :  ran hard when I had to but felt OK while doing so.  I felt quite pleased when I finished, not tired, and three strides towards the end made for what I felt was a worthwhile training session.   Total : 14.5km

 I talk to my tomatoes! This one is called "Beefsteak"....true!
Ripe for the picking!

Monday, January 26, 2015

Longer Run ~~~~~ Australia Day!

What a perfect day for a run!  Very cool and overcast in the Southern Highlands.  I enjoyed every kilometer from the Highlands School along Diamond Fields Road and back stopping only to take a few photos.






Diamond Fields Road Run


Today :   11.3km
T.E.  2.5  =  Maintaining!

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Bowral Parkrun #17 ~~~~~ 34:58

I don't know why my official times at Bowral Parkrun are sometimes not correct!  Today. 35:05, only 6 seconds slower than my Garmin 620 of 34:58, so I won't worry about it.  But, rightly or wrongly, 'my time' being right means a lot to me so I'm taking my GPS time as being the correct one in future.  It's not that I take seconds to start; I'm in the front line of a small group of runners, press start when RD says "Go" and press 'Finish' as I cross the finish line and go immediately to have bar code etc scanned.  I know I can notify RD when there are errors  and I did so last Saturday when Garmin time was 34:45 and a PB whereas published time was 35:01 It was later corrected in results but I don't like making a regular fuss about timing.

Whinge Over!!

I was running really well this morning and well in line for another PB....until the finish hill when I began to violently dry retch;  couldn't run and barely walk the 500m to the end; collapsed on the ground and thanks to Christine RD and others who either fanned me or gave me water to drink...what a mess I was in!  A local doctor who runs every Saturday assured me I wasn't about to have a heart attack which cheered me up no end! I owe all who helped me a huge thanks!

Googled "the heaves/retching" and it seems to be because of insufficient fluids and pushing too hard...sounds right!

My time according to Garmin 620 : 34:58

Take a look at the splits!  6:35;     6:42;     6:44;     6:46......and.....8:09!!!!!!  Tells its own story!

Avg. Pace 7:01 

TE (Training Effect) :  4.5 = Highly Improving (5 is 'overreaching!)



I wasn't the only one affected by the weather today.  All to whom I spoke found it very much as I did :  wickedly hot and atrociously humid!


Next Saturday I'm a volunteer so I have time to recover and go after that lost PB!!



Friday, January 23, 2015

Easy Jog/Walk ~~~~~

Having done no running this wet week, time to see if the legs would move.  They did, but awfully slowly! As usual, a too late start and it was too hot and humid to do much more than jog/walk, but I wanted to do something before Parkrun tomorrow.  Clouds coming across now so the forecast for storms might turn out to be correct.

Today :

6km jog/walk

 


Thursday, January 22, 2015

The Local Rag ~~~~~ and Bowral Parkrun!


Good to see Parkrun receiving some publicity in the local press!  I don't get this particular paper and had no idea a local identity had been featured until I had a call from a neighbour who said she was glad this person hadn't been referred to as a 'legend' again! Some months ago when Bowral parkrun started up, 'legend' had been used.

I didn't know how to get the information onto my blog except to take a photo of the article and then transfer it here.  I'm sure there is a better way of doing it, but this will suffice.

The pressure is on for those points now!
                                                                                    
                                                                                        
















Monday, January 19, 2015

Hill Repeats ~~~~~

Bong Bong Road
Surprisingly cool morning!

Parked in Highlands School (top left), short jog around school grounds, downhill on Bong Bong Road to where it meets Old South Road.

6 x 90 seconds long hill repeats
Jog down. Wait few minutes & Repeat.
Jog back to school where I moved the 6 goats into another paddock and then home.

 I was too tired to do a long run yesterday.  Thought it more gainful to rest and today do something short, but requiring some effort.  Hill repeats did the job!

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Bowral Parkrun #16 ~~~~~

A new PB at last!!  It was Parkrun #12, December 13, that I ran a recent PB in 34:59. Today, it happened again and I had a feeling before I started that today was going to be be the day for another one!

I was at 'Briars Inn' around 7:15am for the usual warm-up of an easy jog and a few drills, a drink and a toilet stop!  67 runners/walkers this morning which is good for a small Parkrun such as ours.  Weather good : warm, very warm running but a welcome breeze kept conditions pleasant and the course has to be one of the prettiest Parkruns...a downhill grassy start (muddy in one section after rain), along the cycle/walk path which runs parallel to the Wingecarribee River on one side and open fields on the other.  Country-life at its best!

Bowral Parkrun 5km


For all of the 5km I felt quite confident I was in line for a PB ...funny how you just seem to know it on a particular day, right from the start!  Wasn't easy though and I had to stop once to retie a shoelace...there goes 5 seconds, I thought, and then put on a spurt to catch up 5 seconds!  No stopping on the hill climb to the finish either and finally a sprint, well I call it a sprint, to the finish. I must be mad.....I give this run everything I've got; you'd think there was a million dollar prize waiting for me...I try so hard!  Can't help it; it's the way I am! VP set to run 6:59m/k and I won!

5km in 34:45
Avg. Pace 6:59m/k  ...same as VP!
Splits : 6:45;    6:51;    6:58;    6:58;    7:10

**TE   3.7   =  Improving! 

Age Graded Score ...88.78%   WooHoo!!  Can I get to 90%??

I should give some credit to the new shoes I wore for the first time today...Here they are :

Hoka One One "Clifton"

A light, well cushioned runner...thanks Ruth for the thumbs up!  I wasn't disappointed.
 
**TE stands for 'Training Effect'.  One of the many features of the new Garmin 620.  It uses heart rate to measure accumulated intensity of exercise on your aerobic fitness and indicates if you are maintaining your current fitness or improving it.
1.0  -  Minor
2.0  -  Maintaining
3.0  -  Improving
4.0  -  Highly Improving
5.0  -  Over-reaching.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Tempo Run ~~~~~

5 of 8km
 

 




Lovely morning!  Warm, cool breeze...just right!

Tempo Run : 1.5k warm-up from home to Renwick.

5km @ 7:11m/k based on 35 min 5km time.

1.5km cool-down ..Renwick to home.

Time : 36:12
7:33;  6:58;  7:10;  7:20;  7:10
TE 3.1 = Improving!!

VP was set to run 7:00m/k so I finished about a minute behind him..... BLAH!!
 

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Track........On Road ~~~~~

Unable to get across to Chev College today.  I walked from home to Highlands School and ran up and down Radio Road, which is at the side of the Highlands School.
Radio Road 300m + 100m on BongBong Road



2km walk to Highlands School.
 
6 x 400m...program time .. 2:39 based on 35min 5km time F.I.R.S.T. 5k training.

My times:  2:35;    2:32;    2:30;   2:31;   2:33;    2:31

2km walk home. 

I didn't leave as much recovery time between each repeat as I usually do and, strangely, I felt I ran better with less recovery!  Maybe not time for momentum to lapse?  I don't know!

Rest tomorrow!

Monday, January 12, 2015

I Did a Couple of Short Hill Sprints!

I don't usually do any running on Mondays and I'm without my car for a couple of days this week, today being one of those days.  Tomorrow, I won't be able to get to Chev track either but 'the show must go on' regardless and so I'm having to make a few adjustments for the week but still keep today fairly easy.

I decided on the following :

2km walk to Highlands School warm-up.
4 x 8 seconds sprints up grassy slope near basketball stadium.
1 set Pete Magill Drills with strides in quadrangle.
2km walk home cool-down.

...and that's what I did!  I don't think the slope was steep enough and barely 8 seconds; the grass was almost knee high and wet but I felt "good" when I finished because I'd made an effort to do something constructive after being worried for days about not having my car available every day.  It's been tragic how I've dreaded not having a car; couldn't sleep last night just thinking about it!  I've never, ever been without my car in all my life for anything more than a service, never had an accident until now when a careless driver put a dent in the front and which I'm now having to get repaired.  As I said, it's tragic how dependent I am on a car and it's been like preparing for major surgery leading up to this morning when I had to part with it...like an amputation really!
The best 'hill' I could find!

 Tomorrow, I have a plan for my track session : walk to school again and use the quadrangle for a track.  Checked the soccer field but the grass is too long and too soggy.  I'll have to measure the quadrangle first with the Garmin and probably change the program to suit the confined space.... ..something like 400m repeats instead of the 1200m that I should be doing.  I'm hoping the forced changes don't set me back too far...Ha Ha!!  Anyhow, I'm determined not to let it stop me altogether; besides, it should make good viewing on the CCT scanners!

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Bowral Parkrun #15 ~~~~~

Bowral Parkrun 5km
What a day for surprises!  I knew Ewen and Jim were driving from Canberra to try out our course, but had no idea that Barry, Ruth and Margaret were also coming.  Such a thrill to see these lovely ACT friends again....made me realize that I really do miss them.

Ewen was placed 4th overall and Margaret took out the 65-69 record..great runs for both!

I was quietly pleased that all found the course more difficult than the ones they run in Canberra!  That made me feel a whole lot better about my own times.

Today's 5km in 35:16.  Age Grade Score 87.31%.....still can't get past my PB of 34:59 Age Grade Score 88.18%.   So, the challenge to speed up on the final hill continues!

 
Running 'that hill' I was scared the little girl with her dad might catch me!  She was a great little runner...did the whole 5km without a stop!


6:45,  6:56;  6:58;  7:15;  7:20
Avg. Pace 7:05m/k
TE  4 = Highly Improving!    That cheered me up no end!

 Actually, I was quite happy with that time for today.....a very humid morning; heavy fog over Mittagong; grassy slope/hill (depending on which direction one is running!) wet grass but I've seen it worse.

Breakfast at McDonalds, Mittagong, finished off a perfectly lovely morning! 

...and here we all are!

Thursday, January 08, 2015

Easy Run with Leah ~~~~~

It just was too darned hot this morning to do the planned tempo run, so it turned into a pleasant jog along the Bowral Parkrun course with Leah for company.  Started at 9:00am and it was already very humid; grass hill wet..hope it's been mowed before Saturday!  With Leah charged with seeing that I didn't stop on the uphill to the finish, I managed to keep away the demons that had made me walk last Saturday!

8km Bowral Parkrun Course

Tuesday, January 06, 2015

Track ~~~~~ at Chevalier College.

The faintest sign of the 400m lane visible with longish, wet grass and high humidity.  That's what the oval at Chevalier College was like this morning at around 10.00am.

The program :
10-20 min warm-up......I did about 8-10min.
6 x 800m in 5:22.....based on my 5km time of 35min. in the F.I.R.S.T. 5km training program.
Cool-down.

And the results were.....a little disappointing, but considering the heat and humidity, I was satisfied.

5:34;     5:44;     5:44;     5:30;     5:26;     5:25 

For Thursday's tempo run, I think I'll use the Parkrun course ...and hill....again!

 





Saturday, January 03, 2015

Resolution for 2015 ~~~~~

....and it is never,ever, ever again for as long I shall live, ever run in the heat again!  I've been lying down all day feeling sick as a dog.  I was badly effected by the sun and especially the humidity right from the start, taking more walk breaks than I care to count and completely walked the final hill where I felt that I'd throw up if I didn't soon finish, then sat under a tree in the shade till I felt well enough to drive home where I showered, put on light clothing and collapsed on the bed till now at 4:00pm!

The course felt like a steam bath!  Temperature 30 degrees here today, maybe less at 8:00am but felt more like 130 on the cycle/walking track surrounded  by acres of wet grass in the surrounding low lying paddocks.  Until now, I haven't been able to stomach even a drink of water, let alone my much loved cuppa!  From hereon, I have to accept that I cannot risk running on days with high temperatures and humidity.  Just can't do it!

So here is this morning's awful attempt at Bowral Parkrun #15 ~~~~~

Time : 37:21
Splits :  6:39;  7:14;  7:24;  7:34;  8:28!!
T.E.  3.8  'Improving'.......could have fooled me there!
Running Dynamics :  160 spm;  Avg. Cadence 201 spm;   Avg. stride length 0.83m.

Parkrun 5km on a very hot day!
 



Friday, January 02, 2015

Bowral Parkrun Tomorrow! ~~~~

Rest today; ready for Bowral Parkrun tomorrow....my favourite run of the week!




Briars Inn, 1893.  Major J.J. Walters and two of his sons!


Briars Country Inn,  Now!  .... Start/Finish for Parkrun.

Thursday, January 01, 2015

2015 STARTS!! ~~~~~

A New Year begins and long may it run!

 I met Leah at the Highlands School at 10:00am and it was already steaming ...nearly said stinking ... hot! What would have been a tempo run became an easy, social and very hot run.  Called in at her parents' house for a drink of water after 2km.  Even though we tried to keep to shady streets, it wasn't the most pleasant way or time of day to run at all.  Nevertheless, it does for a start to 2015. And it was extremely hot!  We did approx. 8km including warm-up and cool-down walk.

Stepping Out for 2015!