Back to Track ~~~~~

After more than a week off and still with a nasty cough I made a start this morning, albeit a very slow one! The grass track was wet and muddy so I moved to a footie field further up but it turned out to be almost as bad as the lower oval. Did the best I could; all reps were slow but at least it's another start.

10 min easy jog
5 x 1000m. VP set to run 7:00m/k

Results .... slower than expected!
7:41;   7:35;   6:58;   7:31;   7:40

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Nothing for Me This Weekend ~~~~~

I've a doozy of a sore throat and cold taking over! Nothing doing outdoors this weekend at least!

Tempo Run/Jog/Walk! ~~~~~

Woke this morning with a sore throat so I'm going to blame that, and whatever it's leading up to, for such an awful run today.  I was out of breath, constantly stopping and generally feeling miserable in spite of the beautiful scenery.

5km of total 10km

 I left the cycle path into Sullivan Road (see pics), turned into Osborne Road and followed it to where it ended and then retraced my steps back to The Briars Inn.

Over the past two days, we've had two sets of twin baby goats born - 3 sets altogether now!  Two girls, boy and girl and 2 boys.  The girl in the middle set has had to be cared for by the hour for several days and nights which meant I didn't get to bed until early morning hours on a couple of occasions, taking turns to see that she was fed since she couldn't stand on her back legs, now in splints, damaged at birth. Today, one of the new twins has needed help also, so it's been in and out of the rain, disrupted sleep all week and now, a sore throat to top it off! I took some pics this afternoon :

Just a few hours old! Weaker one still unable to stand!

1st set of twins: Coconut and Goldilocks! Camera shy!

 Little girl with splints and now doing well!

Today's Tempo Run:
3.5km easy
5km in 36:11
1.5km easy ...

Parkrun Course; muddy. and wet, grassy slope. Felt terribly cross with myself for stopping so often ... I'm my own worst enemy, whatever that means!  I think it means I'm hard on myself and accept no excuses for poor performance.

Road Track ~~~~~

Chev College would have been too wet so I used a flat stretch of road on Scarlet Street.  Program was supposed to be 6x800m but I was too tired for that and intended instead to do 8x400m.  Seems I wasn't up for that either and after #4 I'd had enough.  Late night and lack of sleep is to blame!

20 mins warm-up + strides/drills
4 x 400m ~~~~~ 2:36;  2:40;  2:29;  2:38
 

Long Run Missed ~~~~~

That's my excuse too!

A Tempo Run ~~~~~

Bowral Parkrun course and beyond for today's run.

1.5km easy
10km @ 8:05m/k
1.5km easy.

Because I find recovery takes longer these days, I had a decision to make about this longer tempo run.  One way was to shorten the distance and keep the required pace OR run the longer distance at a slower pace. For today, I chose the latter and pleased I did as I felt good for the whole distance without feeling out of breath or in need of a walk break.  Next week I might do the first option.

Beautiful day, sunny and warm; crossed over the railway lines out of curiosity as to what lay beyond, only to find the road led to a horse stud and wasn't going anywhere else.  A loop uphill took me back to the cycle path and finally up the grassy slope which I tried to run fast (!) and finished with a short lap round the trees at the top...  13km done!

1.5km warm-up
10km @ 8:00 m/k
1.5km cool-down + few stretches.

I slipped, slid and sat in this puddle today just as I got to the car!  I have left the shape of my 'seat' in the mud!!

Track at Chevalier College ~~~~~

I wasn't pleased with the results of today's track session.  I found it very difficult to run at the specified pace: 7:05m/k isn't fast by any means, its damned slow.  I'm cross and disappointed with myself!  If I don't speed up soon I might as well not do the half marathon in September! Let's see how many excuses I can come up with for such poor results :  it was cold; it was windy, very windy in fact; there were no lanes marked; running around the edge of the oval was rough paddock surface; and lastly, I ate too much chocolate last night! In the first 2 repeats I had to stop several times because I was out of breath; I didn't stop, but ran slower, in the last rep and the time for that says it all about how I was feeling!

10-20 min warm-up .. I did 16 min + Magill drills/strides
3 x 1600m in 11:20 (based on 36min 5km)
10 min cool-down ... I did a walk around oval + stretches.

11:10 (7:00m/k);     11:29(7:07m/k);     12:01 (7:41m/k!!!!)

Chev. College Track

This was not a good session by any stretch of the imagination!

Long Run ~~~~~

I had Leah with me for company this morning. As well as having someone to run with, I always ask Leah to see that I run all the hills without stopping and this she does with a vengeance, staying just close enough to keep an eye on me! Lovely winter's morning on Diamond Fields Road with plenty of sunshine to balance a strong, cool breeze.

Started as usual from the school and went as far as the river crossing; same as last Sunday when I was on my own and from there back to the school.  We each carried a 600ml bottle of water and got through the lot!

From School to the Nepean Crossing and back 14.25km

 

My quad and glute muscles especially are giving me strife now, several hours later; proof that I ran those damned hills! It's 2:30pm and I'm so tired I think I'll have a 'nanna nap'!  Another thing .... For 2 days now I've had a desperate longing for some chocolate!  Tomorrow, I'll have to buy some ... the craving is driving me nuts!

Long Run:
14.25km
TE 1.5 ... Minor!!



The Nepean Crossing

 



At the Crossing this morning.

Bowral Parkrun #36 ~~~~ in 36:36!

(36:40 official); 36:36 Garmin time for Parkrun #36! Has to be something lucky about 3 lots of 36!  Certainly it wasn't that I was lucky enough to be getting faster; the opposite, in fact.  I can only hope that by chipping a few seconds off each Saturday, as opposed to adding them on like I did today, eventually I might get somewhere near my best time for this course ..33:43.  Like last Saturday, it felt as if I was running well, only to end up seeing I'd run slower than last Saturday and even slower than Thursday's tempo run.  Oh well .....hang in there, I tell myself!  Still a way to go before Blackmores Half Marathon in September but still, I'll soon need to pick up the pace a bit.  I'd hate to be removed from the course for not meeting each cut-off point!

5km in 36:40 (official)
7:35;     7:27;     7:17;     7:03;     7:13
Avg. 7:21m/k
HR 76%-86% of Max.
TE 2.0 ..... Maintaining!

Sunny morning; not as cold as expected but I wore my new thermal top, long tights, beanie and gloves.  Rain on Thursday night turned some sections on the grass slope into a bit of a mess again, but the cycle path was dry.

Finished!



Bowral Parkrun #36
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Tempo Run on Parkrun Course ~~~~~

... on Bowral Parkrun course and it was dry all the way, even the 500m grassy slope has dried out so, unless there's rain in the next 24 hours, it's all looking good for Saturday.

5k of 8.0km

Tempo Run:
1.5km easy
5km @ MT pace (7:32m/k based on a 5k time of 36 min.)
1.5km easy... incl. jog up 500m grassy slope.

5km in 35:53 .. small improvement of last Sat. Parkrun
Avg. Pace 7:11 m/k
HR 76%-82% of Max.
TE 2.0 = Maintaining!!  WooHoo!

Total Today:  8.0km

Gorgeous day on Bowral Parkrun course : chilly, but plenty of sunshine.  Wore new thermal top and beanie and I was as warm as a bug in a rug!  Gloves as well on Saturday!

Missed Tuesday Track ~~~~~

That's two weeks in a row!  Spent Monday and Tuesday in Sydney catching up with friends; missed track, but had a lovely time!  Tempo run tomorrow for sure.

Memories!  With Carolyne AIS Track, 19??