Workout #2...Tempo Run

Program for today:
Tempo Run:
1.5km easy
3.5km @ MT pace (6:25m/k)
1.5km easy
3.5km @ MT pace
1.5km easy.

A perfectly beautiful day : clear blue sky, sunny and warmish!  I was feeling a lack of energy for the second 3.5km and thought I'd be slower than I actually was.  Still, a little off pace for both 3.5km.

1st 3.5km

3.5km in 22:57.2
Avg. pace 6:31m/k
Splits : 6:33;  6:28;  6:32 (0.5k in 3:23)

2nd 3.5km

3.5km in 23:07.4
Avg. pace 6:33m/k
Splits :  6:44;  6:34;  6:40 (0.5k in 3:07)

Total : 11.5km 

I like this kind of tempo run because there's a break in the middle!  Hee Hee!

An Easy Day.....

Nothing much doing today, so I can't truly call it cross-raining :  I did the DVD Pilates for Runners and the half dozen or so strength exercises in the FIRST program.

Spent a few hours over coffee with a friend in the afternoon.

Around the Block....

This block...not that other 'Block!

Each side of this street block at Renwick is 80m which made it easy to use for a 400m track....one round plus one extra street!

Program....10-20 min warm-up
2 x (6x400m) (2:17)... 1:30 RI
2:30 RI between sets
 10 min cool-down. 


I did 2km warm-up + 4 strides ...incl. high knees & butt kicks!

Set 1, 6x400m  :  2:11.5;  2:11.8;  2:20.0;  2:17.7;  2:17.8;  2:16.5.....walk back to start between.
Set 2, 6x400m  :  2:20.8;  2:15.8;  2:16.1;  2:13.0;  2:09.0;  2:09.7.....walk back to start between.

1km cool-down + few stretches

TOTAL :  7.8km

 Apart from the headwind on 3rd and 4th streets.....Ah, NYC!, the workout went quite well according to the pace of 2:17 (5:42m/k) on the program, but I had to work hard on every single repeat.  The block worked very well as a track, with a slight rise on 3rd street and an ever so slight 'down' on first street.  A worthwhile effort, I think!
 

Cross-training ...and another photo from the past!...

......but not a lot of it!   Super morning to be out though :  sunny and only a headwind when running in a north to south direction, which was every time I ran back across the Renwick streets; up and down was great!

I started with couple of drills and strides over 100m - particularly to practise lifting my feet and then ran easily for 5km, finishing with the same drills and strides.

A comfortable start to the week.

What  about this early SMH HM..No idea I was being followed!

The Day Off....found a precious photo!

Even though today is sunny, it's also very windy, which makes me pleased I did my long run on Range Road yesterday where strong wind is a real pain!

Looking through old photos.....wonder how many remember this one!  2006??

Workout #3...Long Run....Without mishap!

Range Road Long Run

Just imagine!   20km run without tripping over something....or someone!  The only fright was when dozens of motor bikes roared past and one of them backfired - if that's the right word - and I thought I'd been shot!  My hand straight away went to my heart....100% adrenal rush!   Other than that it was without mishap.  I liked the weather : very overcast, cold but not freezing, breezy without being windy and light rain for the last 5km.   I also enjoyed the fact that what was all uphill on the way out, became downhill on the return, so I suppose that more or less evens things out.  The first 5km was the hardest.

I wore my light, very bright yellow wind jacket to make sure I was quite visible to any drivers, but still had to move quickly onto the verge a few times.  There were only a few cars but they use Range Road like a speedway roller-coaster.  Best be aware and careful all the time.....an awful thought went through my head of a fall at the same time as a car sped around one of the many bends...fatal.....and perish the thought!

20km in 2:39:48
Avg. Pace 7:49m/k; Best Pace 5:45m/k
5km splits....45:17 (avg 9:03m/k); 38:15 (avg 7:39m/k); 39:38 (avg 7:56m/k); 36:34 (avg 7:19m/k)

Only 2 key workouts (30km) this week and two cross-training days with drills and some easy running.

Nothing Doing!

I decided to do nothing today!  Could, I suppose, have done some easy cross-training but didn't feel like it at all.  I did take Amy and Oscar for a longer than usual ramble through the water-logged paddocks, which they thought was fun but I didn't;  not enjoyable walking in soaked shoes and socks. 

Tomorrow still looks like being wet, but whatever it is, the long run will have to go ahead.....20km in the rain on the hills of Range Road seems like more than flesh and blood can bear at the moment!

Glum!    This will never do!

All Good Today!

Workout #2....Tempo Run...8km

2km warm-up
5km @ 6:25m/k
1km cool-down.

I was pleased with today's 5km.....had it been a bad day, I was getting ready to move to Chittagong!

5km......31:23

5km in 31:23
Avg. Pace 6:22 m/k;  Best 5:29

I ran safely through Renwick streets, out onto Scarlet Street and Inkerman Road.....all bitumen and less chance of falling over!  I was pleased with the 5km time and felt it a quite comfortable pace...in spite of recent disaster!

Hoping for a fine day on Saturday for a long run on Range Road, though I think rain is forecast;  might have to wait till Sunday if it's too bad.

Total 8km today. 

Easy cross-training... And a New Look!

Renwick streets again for some cross-training which, luckily, is on my program for a Wednesday.

1km jog to warm-up
1 set Magill drills & strides
3km easy running. 
About 45minutes altogether.

This was all fine and an easy way to restart the program.  All should be good for tomorrow's tempo run, some more light cross-training on Friday and a long, hilly run up on Range Road for Saturday.  That means I've only missed one key workout since "the fall"

Talking of which............for a change, a not unpleasant surprise this morning when I looked in the mirror -  nevertheless, I'm thinking of smashing  the lot  -  to see a yellowish bruise across the bridge of my nose and stretching half way across under each eye.  I quite like the look actually!  Together with 'the lip', it gives an unusual and weirdly exotic appearance that I've never had before!  A quick Google tells me the next range of colours I can expect to see is a bluish-purple or black, then green or yellow and finally yellow-brown or light brown all of which should make for fascinating viewing, unless I smash the mirrors first!

The Google description has a disappointing conclusion, however, by adding : finally after two weeks it should fade away.  Sadly then, in a short space of time, I will lose my strangely unusual appearance!

What next, I might ask?

Out of the Woods.......

As well as leaving pride and skin on the trail when I had my most spectacular fall on Saturday, I think I left a little bit of confidence behind as well.  All weekend I felt jittery and mistrustful going up and down steps and a few qualms were setting in about going out running again.....running anywhere, let alone back to Diamond Fields Road. 

I'll be hanged if was I going to allow that suspicion take hold, so I put on my rain jacket this morning and set out to walk to Renwick, about ten minutes from home.  Of course, once there I couldn't help but go into a slow fox-trot just to see if all the limbs were doing what limbs should be doing....and they were!  No sign of sore bits, not even stiffness.  I'm realizing now, after seeing my GP, just how fortunate I was not to have done serious damage to lip, life and limbs!  My GP checked my mouth inside and out and all is healing remarkably well in just the two days since I bit the dust.  I was very fortunate not to have broken something; whiplash being common in that type of sudden fall.  The lip, by the way, has reduced from XL to L to Medium and expected to be Normal by tomorrow!

For today  :   45 minutes incl. a little jogging!

I'll probably do easy  runs each day this week until the weekend......by then I should be able to take on Range Road and the thrill of its hills! No spills!  Pfft!  Easy!

Stay fit everyone, keep running, bones strong....it all pays off when misfortune strikes....... especially when you're not a youngster anymore!

After the Fall!

Two days have passed since 'the fall' that left me flat on my face on the dirt and rocks in Diamond Fields Road!  I was having such a pleasant long run; the day was perfect and only 5km to go to finish 16km, when I planted myself face first in the dirt...top lip first actually! To say I was stunned is to underestimate the shock by a long way : I'd gone from vertical to horizontal before I knew it : nose bleeding, lip bleeding, mouthful of dirt and gravel, but luckily no teeth missing or broken.

With tissues held to my face, I had to walk at first and then jog 5km to get back to the car as quickly as possible, drive home and take a look at the damage....and that's the second time lately that I've been looking at a face that I couldn't recognize as my own!  'Planet of the Apes' is a scene of beauty by comparison! It's been a very painful couple of days trying to eat and drink...straws would have been the way to go but I didn't have any. 

Tomorrow, I have a long-standing appointment with my GP...I can't imagine what she'll say when my lip enters the room first with the rest of me following! Argh!  And I'd been trying very hard to lift my feet knowing the surface was so rocky!  Arghhhh!

The Crime Scene!

16km.......in spite of everything!
Time :  2: 13:09
5km splits :   41:07;  39:01;  41:30; ( last 1km walk uphill!)

3 workouts total 36.1km

Before......

....and before!

Long Run.....the cost.

I'll write a report in full tomorrow on today's long run.  I don't want to think about it yet.  I tripped over a rock and landed on my upper lip and it's a mess....lots of blood, terribly sore and swollen and I look more like a chimp than ever!

Cross-training

Another glorious, sunny and windless day!  For today, nothing difficult ahead of a long run tomorrow so I parked in one of Renwick's quiet, sunny, windless streets and used the time and space for some drills.  These sure help keep the legs nimble and agile...or, hopefully less like a lame duck! 

I used an 80m section of road, one corner to the next :

80m drills parade!

Jog around the block to start
10 drills ...80m each:
Jog back to start
1 stride after each drill, walk back to start
Jog around the block to finish.

45 minutes altogether.

Tempo Run....Workout #2

I ran all of today's program in a continuous anti-clockwise direction around the streets that mark the perimeter of Renwick.  Absolutely fantastic area for running, undisturbed by anything and anyone : just me and the road!

2 x 3.5km

The program was :  Tempo Run
1.5km easy
3.5km @ MT pace (6:25m/k)
1.5km easy
3.5km @ MT pace
1.5km easy.

Running round and round in the same direction today meant facing : headwinds, tailwinds, no winds, uphills, downhills and everything in between!


Results for 2 x 3.5km : 
 (1)  22:35, 6:27m/k, AHR 87%
 (2)  22:52, 6:32m/k, AHR 80%

The 2x3.5km were manageable, not easy but not too difficult either; bit of a struggle uphills and into a cold headwind on each round, but no complaints from me today because the splendid sun was shining!  Glory Be!

Today's total .....11.5km

Staying Inside!

Though it's not quite as cold as yesterday, it's still cold at 7 degrees and misty but, thankfully, no wind.  Just the same, I decided not to go out for some cross-training; instead I put on a Pilates for Runners DVD that I haven't done in ages, so not surprisingly what used be easy, today I found quite difficult :  every body part stiff and inflexible!  I will make more use of this session in future, especially when the weather is so forbidding for anything outdoors.  Also, a few FIRST strength exercises, all of which could be done inside.

I took Amy and Oscar for their walk ....bad weather doesn't worry them at all and they scurried off on their usual tracks in the Renwick paddock while I reluctantly followed.  I was surprised at how wet we became in a light mist which meant they both had a rub down with heated towels when back home.  I think they go out in bad weather knowing what luxury awaits them on return!

Tomorrow, no matter what, I have a tempo run to do, so here's hoping it warms up and fines up.  If not.......the run is still on!

I've decided against travelling to Sydney for the Suncorp 10km.  I intended catching the 4:00am train, but find that on line 'early bird' entries close this Friday;  too soon for me, so I'll let it go and continue training for the ACTVAC Half Marathon in August.

 HUH!  The sun just came through for a second....but now it's gone again...hmm!  At least it's trying!

Workout #1...Freezing @ Track!

Now, at 2:00pm it's 4.9 degrees outside!  This has to be one of the coldest days here :  as well as freezing it's also windy and wet, but the show must go on, as they say in show business!  So off to Renwick I went and jogged out a 1200m course on the lonely, windy, wretched, wet streets!

Program  :  10-20 min warm-up
2x1200m in 7:04
4x800m in 4:39
10 min cool-down.

That was the program... this is what I did :

1.5km warm-up...incl measuring a 1200m course around the streets

2x1200m :  7::34, Avg 6:19m/k, AHR 79%;    7:23, Avg 6:07m/k, AHR 75%.

4x 800m  :  4:58, Avg 6:08m/k, AHR 74%;    4:54, Avg 6:09m/k, AHR 74%

                       5:00, Avg 6:16m/k, AHR 74%;     4:52, Avg 6:05m/k, AHR 75%

1.5k freeze-down!

I didn't use VP for any repeats....for one thing, visibility was poor trying to see the watch face and besides that.....I didn't want to see him ahead of me on such a horrible day....too depressing!  All things considered though, I wasn't disappointed with the session; in fact I was thrilled that I'd made it outside at all!



Total 8.6km on a miserable Mittagong day!

 Whenever I type 'Mittagong', the spell-check wants to change it to 'Chittagong'!  There might be such a place; I'll Google it and find out.  Might be warmer there than it is here today!

1200m & 800m Street Course.

OMG!  There is a place called Chittagong, in  Bangladesh, and it most certainly would be warmer than Mittagong....and more crowded!

Chittagong Metropolis

Cross-Training.....

A windy old day! Hoping for better tomorrow for a track session.  Today, just a little bit of cross-training using the road alongside the school :  Drills, finishing with 4 x 100m strides.....about 35 minutes.

A Day Off!

Sunday......my program gives me a rest day for today and I took it!  All good after yesterday's 20km....quads a little stiff from the hills.  The right kind of day to stay indoors here....very cold at 10 degrees.

Workout #3...Long Run

10km turn back at the top!

For as long as I can remember, I can't recall a time when I did my long run on Range Road without having to walk many times up some of the steepest hills.......except for today.  I didn't take a walk break from start to finish.  I smashed and bashed those hills!  I'm truly surprised  that I was able to complete the entire run without feeling the need to walk any hills or even any parts of them!  I stopped for a second to take a photo of the 10km turnaround at the top.

The first 3.6km is steep uphill all the way, without a break and, though I slowed down on this and others, I didn't feel any need to take a walk break at any time and it's up hills and down hills of one sort or another from start to finish.  I know 'Pride Comes Before a Fall', but I am so pleased with myself today for doing something I haven't been able to do for some time....zoom up those hills and fly down the other side!

 20km on Range Road
Time 2:37:00
Avg. Pace 7:51m/k.....Furman pace should have been 7:00m/k
5km splits :  44:31 (the really tough start!);  37:45;  38:29:  36:12

42.8km for the week.
 

Cross-Training....

I don't know if I can honestly call it a cross-training session, but for the want of another more suitable word, 'cross-training' will have to do.

In My Own Backyard:

Drills :   lunges, walking lunges, high knees, butt kicks, squats.....1-legged squats, tragic!; fast feet.

It's essential that I do these without any observation......not a pretty sight!

Amy - a very pretty sight - settling down to watch TV!

Tomorrow's weather says 'late showers';  I'm hoping they're very late.  Long run on the program and I want to run the hills on Range Road.  That should be a good romp to finish off the week!