All the roads on which I usually run Friday's Tempo Run are either being repaired, widened or in some way dug up.  A change of plans was in order, so after 1.5km warm-up I headed for Old South Road, which wasn't being dug up,  where I ran hill repeats.

Without having any idea of its gradient, I ran 9 x 90 seconds uphill and walked down after each.  Garmin says 200m.  It wasn't too difficult and in fact I enjoyed the change.  Next time I decide to do this I'll go further up the hill where it gets much steeper, but today was OK for starters!  I finished with 1.5km cool-down and some stretches on the grass in the soccer field.

A very satisfying session......for me, I thought!

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A MAGICAL MOMENT!

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 These beautiful twin lambs were born a few minutes before I took these pictures!  I've come to know the staff, students and farm animals at this school very well over the years that I've been running and taking my dogs for their daily walk there and in the surrounding paddocks..  I see new calves arrive, but never on the day they're born.  The two most recent calves I've named "Fred" and "Ginger" (!) and I feed them bread by hand each afternoon.  As soon as they see me or the dogs, they come galloping across the paddock, knowing well what I have for them!

This afternoon, a very happy teacher called to me that twin lambs had just been born.  Well,  I was never so excited and, forgetting about the dogs, rushed to the paddock to see them.  They were so tiny and stumbling to get on their feet, with mum nudging & licking them upwards!  I think that was when I started to cry and didn't stop until the teacher asked me if I'd like to come with him and pick up one of  the lambs and, with their mother following and bleating loudly, carry it to a shed where they would be safe and warm for the night.

I picked up this tiny, still wet little thing and held it close all the way to the shed! It was just one of those beautiful, never-to-be-forgotten moments!

In today's mail!  The certificate for my Canberra Half Marathon Australian Record, 2nd May 2010 at the ACTCCC Road Running Festival.  I am so excited and proud to have achieved this recognition!  My third Australian Record too!

..........finishing with today's long hilly run of  32km in 4 hours 12 minutes.  All going slowly but well so far!

  If there's one single thing that I've felt with every marathon I've ever run,  it's that I feel I've never run enough long runs in training and the long runs have never been long enough.  In other words, not enough kilometres in the legs.

......and that's what I'm especially concentrating on this time round.

So.....36km yesterday!

3 x 12km loop : the first on Old South Road, 7:15am before the traffic started; second, to Inkerman Road and the third loop on Diamond Fields Road.

This took me just about 5 hours.  A gel, water and sports drink at the car after each of the first 2 loops. Lots of hills and quite 'done in' by the finish.  Yes, I did have a nap after that one!  Feel good today though, Monday.

32km today to finish off Week 4 of my marathon training program.  I can't remember when I last ran so far and for so long, so it's worthy of a mention here!

I ran 3 loops of 10km (+2km), all in different directions and on different surfaces : 2 on dirt roads and 1 sealed and  it took me 4 hours 12 minutes to complete!  I then lay on the grass in warm sunshine, did a few stretches and felt very pleased with myself!

Surprisingly, I felt quite good after finishing and didn't need the usual  nap that used follow a long run.  The pace was a bit slower than it should have been, but I hope that will improve as the weeks progress.  50km this week.

My new Garmin 310xt arrived at 8:00am today, less thant 24 hours after ordering it from 'Highly Tuned Athletes' in Melbourne!  Now, I'm putting it together (wish they'd label the bits and pieces for the technology challenged!).  Finally worked out which bit goes where and have it charging the battery right now.  This 'Getting Started' section is quite different from my recently and sadly departed 305.

Hopefully I'll take it with me on Sunday's 21km long run which marks the end of week 1 of 16 towards the Sydney Marathon on September 19th.

For this morning's  tempo run I ran by time using an ordinary watch : 25 minutes warm-up; 20 minutes all uphill and breathing hard!  25 minutes cool down, down hill.  I chose an uphill section  in the middle so as to get some hill training done and it was slower, but much harder than the usual flattish roads I use on Fridays for a tempo run.

 Have entered Blackmores Sydney Running Festival...for the marathon!  Crazy!  My 11th....one each year starting in 2000AD!

....My poor old  much loved Garmin 305 died on Monday.  Died, good and proper! Now I have to get a new one and it's going to be the 310xt as it has pretty much the same features as the 305 plus a few extras.  I bought the 305 from the US when they first became available about 4 or 5 years ago I think. It has been a very close friend and has never let me down.  I will be sad.... until the new one arrives!

SOMETHING SURPRISING!

How do I spend this $50 for Half Marathon Masters W80 winner?


In today's mail a gift voucher that can be redeemable only at "The Runners Shop", Canberra!


Guess I'll have to make a trip to the ACT or perhaps I can use it on line or keep it till next year.

...Yes, almost ran a 10km PB at SMC 10km this morning....but not quite!

Best 10km at SMC was in January when I ran 1:02:46.  Today, I ran 1:02:49!  Where did those few seconds escape to?  Must have been when I grabbed a few jelly beans on the way back!

In any case, I was very pleased with my time : I had run only two very easy 5k runs since the SMH Half Marathon last Sunday and the CRRF Half Maraton a couple of weeks before that, so I was expecting around 65 minutes this morning ....those are my excuses and I'm stcking to them!

Perfect running conditions : very cool, slight breeze and completely overcast.

10km in 1:02:49.
Avg. Pace 6:15
AHR 135 (85%);  MHR 150 (94%)...that was a stampede to the finish line heart rate with a young man who was finishing the 25k race!  We had a good laugh about who got there first.

5km Splits 32:36; 30:06....the hills on the way out are what slow me down.  I'll have to conquer them!

Age Category results for SMH Half Marathon are out!  I got first place in W70 to 99!!


There was another runner in my age category but, from the results page, she was a non-starter.  I can only hope the results would have been the same  .... cool and funny!

Something Exciting!

....so it's worth blogging about!

I ran the SMH Half Marathon yesterday through the streets of Sydney.  It was a perfect morning, even quite cool when I got out for a warm-up at 6:30am and Hyde Park was already abuzz with hundreds of runners going about their pre-race rituals!


I came to Sydney on Saturday, stayed overnight and returned home on Sunday afternoon.  I love this SMH run!  Probably my favourite run.

There's something special about runners having the city roads to themselves for those few hours.  I always get a thrill running down Hunter Street  - and any other downhills for that matter - when I think about how they're crammed during the week with people, cars, buses, etc.  Even running up Hunter Street  - and the Argyle Cut too  - has something for me to enjoy including the encouragement from other Cool Runners  - CR Thomo especially, who all but stopped the run when he bellowed while running down Pitt Street: "Go Norma!"  Sook54 caught up near the Art Gallery and ran a couple of kilometres with me until she headed off at a faster pace.

I didn't expect to run faster than at the CRRF HM....and I didn't!  In fact, 4 minutes slower.  I set a pace on the Garmin to get me in by 2hours 25 minutes allowing for a tough, hilly course, but for the first time the Garmin must have cut out for about 7 minutes in the high rise areas and I didn't bother too much  about looking at it during the second loop.

So...............
I was astonished to see the finishing clock at the Archibald Fountain say 2:21:16.....5 minutes faster than last year's time of 2:26:09....and that for me was exciting and worth blogging about!

Updating My Blog....

I've decided to update my blog in future only after having taken part in a race or some special event or if something really exciting, funny or interesting happens.  Training will remain the same i.e. 3 days running, 2 days cross training.

Typing the same training week after week has become boring for both myself and Virtual Partner!!

Longish Run

A shorter 'long' run this morning before SMH Half Marathon next Sunday.  Another perfect Autumn day and a joy to be out running.

I chose running around to Inkerman Road and back to get more hills in before meeting Hunter Street next  weekend!  I kept the hardest and steepest hill - on Old South Road -  till last when I was feeling tired, just as I will be during the second time running up Hunter Street or out of the Domain at the finish of the SMH Half, though I hope not feeling as leg weary as I was at the finish of today's run.

Program: 13km.... slower than half marathon pace @ 6:35 to 6:50 min/km.

13km in 1 hour 35 minutes.
Avg. Pace 7:18 slow on the hills!
AHR 124 (78%);  MHR 141 (89%)...effort on the hills!

Thrashed by Virtual Partner!

What a perfect Autumn day!  Just sheer pleasure to be out today : no wind, warm sun and Autumn colours everywhere and VP took advantage of the conditions to give me a good thrashing!

 10km Tempo Run.

3.5km easy.
5km with VP set to run 6:12min/km.
1.5km easy.

It didn't quite turn out like that though!  Where I'd been doing most runs on flattish roads in the lead up to CRRF, it was time now to attack the hills before SMH Half Marathon on May 16th.  With that in mind I set off, after the warm-up, to Diamond Fields Road where there are hills aplenty and it was there VP had his 34 minutes of glory!

The flat and downhills were OK, but I couldn't keep up with Virtual Partner running up the hills.  He sprinted away keeping the same pace throughout and, to add insult to injury, finished the 5km nearly 600m in front of me!

5km in 34:30
Avg. Pace 6:54! 
AHR 129 (81%);  MHR 138 (87%) 

 

A Bit of This and That.....

I skipped, as in didn't do, today's track session; I also took Monday and Tuesday as rest days after my Canberra RRF Half Marathon effort which is in the process of being recorded as an Australian age category record and 3rd fastest world same age category!

Today I did 4.5km which included :  some drills & strides, jogging, walking and a few sprints uphill...keeping in mind that the SMH Half Sunday week is a hilly course.  All easy!

It wasn't very nice out either; rain to start with, then wind and finally some sun.  Autumn is here!

I'll do some cross training tomorrow, stationary bike if the weather stays bad, and a tempo run on Friday by which time I should be back to normal 3-day running program.

Canberra Road Running Festival Half Marathon

Well.....I had a very happy run today!  The weather was absolutely perfect;  I didn't feel it at all cold as I walked less than 10 minutes to the oval and did a short wam-up at 6:30am and then lined up for the start of both the marathon and half marathon runners at 7:00am.

My plan was to start at 6:38 min/km which would have me finish in 2 hours 20 minutes......one minute faster that my recent best half marathon of 2 hours 21 minutes at SMC on April 18th!  I kept at this pace in the early stages despite the urge to go faster, telling myself that if I did, I'd slow down towards the finish.  Experience is a great teacher!

The plan was a good one, because I had plenty of energy in the second half and was able to draw on the very last of my reserves to finish 4 minutes faster than the SMC half  last month!

Time 2:17:25(official).
Avg. Pace 6:28 min/km
AHR 133 (84%);  MHR 153 (96%)
5km splits     33:57;    32:33;    32:51;    30:40;    (7:25 for 1.1km)

The day was a tremendous success for the ACTCCC who put on a brilliant day, a fast course, great volunteers everywhere encouraging each runner often by name and  finishing,  where again each runner was called by name wherever possible, by doing a round of Manuka Oval.  This was a very special thrill!  Was I the only one whose age was also announced as I ran down the finish chute?  That was another special thrill!!    


While talking of thrills....another was 1st place in age category,  a kiss from & photo taken with Rob de Castella!  I'll put the photo here when it comes up on the website.

Altogether, a great weekend catching up with friends and spending up at the Expo! Now, to get ready for the SMH Half Marathon in two weeks' time!

Enquiries are being made to see if this is a W80 age-category Australian Record for the half marathon  & the likihood of it also being  the world's third fastest of all time W80 half marathon!  Will update when I find out how to do all this and what the results are.

Easy & Relaxed

....that just about describes this morning's run, the last before Sunday's CRRF Half Marathon.

5km including 6 x 100m surges in 38:04
Avg. pace 7:36 min/km
AHR 112 ( 70%);  MHR 139 (87%) 

Leaving for Canberra mid-morning tomorrow; returning Sunday afternoon.  Should be another good fun weekend!

Against the Wind, Virtual Partner & the Grass Cutting Machine!

A short session at Chev track today :  6 x 400m @ 5:42 min/km (2:17 lap).

2km warm-up; few drills & strides.

1) 2:17.  Avg. pace 5:42; AHR 78%;  MHR 86%.
2) 2:13.  Avg. pace 5:33; AHR 77%;  MHR 83%.
3) 2:15.  Avg. pace 5:36; AHR  76%; MHR 84%.
4) 2:15.  Avg.pace 5:36;  AHR 77%;  MHR 84%.
5) 2:13.  Avg. pace 5:31; AHR 78%;  MHR 86%.
6) 2:16.  Avg. pace 5:39; AHR 77%;  MHR 87%.

1.6km warm-down.  


Except for the wind, this was a good session I think.  I managed to stay ahead of Virtual Partner easily but a huge grass cutting machine was another matter, hence the zig-zag up, down and across the lines of the soccer field for a warm-down!

Anzac Day....

Just a short, easy 13km this Anzac Day in the lead up to next Sunday's Canberra RRF Half Marathon.

A Change of Program...

Instead of a Tempo Run today, I changed to doing just an easy run.  My legs and I didn't feel 'fresh' enough for a good tempo run.


9km :  Radio Road, Bong Bong Road to Inkerman Road and return.

Chev Track....

As soon as I started running I knew I was tired but  I got through what I had to do; a surprisingly warm day but the grass was damp and cool on my bare feet.

1.5k warm-up; drills & strides.


5 x 1000m @ 5:52 min/km
 (1) 5:48;  (2) 5:50;  (3) 5:49;  (4) 5:48;  (5) 5:46...ahead of VP who was staying with 5:52.

Forgot to wear HR monitor strap!

1.25k warm-down & pleased to finish!

Time to Smell the Roses.....

Two easy days after SMC last Sunday  :  Monday...nothing, except cutting a few "Mr Lincoln" roses for indoors.....large blooms and a divine fragrance!

Today, Tuesday  :  Cross-Training.   The car was booked in for service and, after leaving it at the garage, I walked 30 minutes home.

Mid-morning, 15 minutes walk to the soccer field for 25 minutes of drills & strides; 15 minutes walk home.

Mid-afternoon, 30 minutes walk to pick up the car.

....I'm calling all that walking as 1 hour 55 minutes of cross-training!

SMC Half Marathon

This is what I said to myself yesterday when I finished the SMC Half Marathon in 2 hours 21 minutes and 58 seconds!!   My fastest time in  the past two years!.

I had decided on a pace of 6:50 min/km as a last long run before Canberra RRF weekend after next.  I didn't ease up in the days prior to the run, in fact I had a fairly tough track session two days previously.  I said to myself  :  just get out there and do it!.  The results are :

Time 2:21:58
 Avg. Pace 6:42min/km
AHR 133 (84%;  MHR 153 (96%) 

1km splits:   7:01;  6:58;  6:59;  6:46;  6:54
                     6:38;  6:43;  6:32;  6:34;  6:30
                     7:04;  6:16;  6:32;  7:03;  6:26
                     7:07;  7:00;  6:24;  6:45;  6:14
                     (0.59) 

I enjoyed the run; even the hills where each one was identified by a sign with a smiley face and an encouraging "HTFU"!!!

I Was Nearly Beaten!

I made a slight variation today in the course I usually use for tempo runs by including a couple of long hills. To my horror Virtual Partner was ahead of me just about all of the way by anything up to 16m. I pushed on the hills but couldn't seem to make any progress or get any nearer, so when I started on the downhill sections I set off in hot pursuit! Into the last flat kilometre, I flashed past VP who had put on his skates in the hope of winning, and touched base 18m in front! Poor old thing!

Program : 8km.

2km warm-up
4km @ 6:21min/km
2km warm-down

Results: 4km in 25 :17
AVG Pace 6:19

AHR 131 (82%); MHR 140 (88%)
Splits 6:21; 6:39; 6:07; 6:09

This was a little harder than I usually have to run on Friday's tempo run! Nothing more until Sunday's SMC Half Marathon.

Track at Chev.

Today's program was :

warm-up & drills
2 x 3200m @ 6:08 min/km (i.e.19:38 time)
warm- down.

3200m warm-up (to measure distance)

1st 3200m @ 6:02 min/km (19:20 time) + 400m walk recovery.

2nd 3200m @ 6:00 min/km (19:16 time)

1km warm-down.

I thought this was going to be a much harder session than it turned out to be! It was fairly comfortable. Another beauty of a day......actually very warm. Forgot to wear heart rate monitor; ran in bare feet on the cool damp grass.

Both repeats were well ahead of VP's 6:08 min/km pace!

Cross-Training ...Monday & Tuesday

Monday....after WAG 5km run in Canberra on Sunday I took today off running.


Tuesday : I went to the soccer field at Renwick, a couple of minutes up the road, and did 10 minutes jog warm-up; 35 minutes of drills and 10 minutes warm-down.....on a glorious Autumn day!

ACT Women's & Girls' 5km Run

I left home at 5:30am so as to have plenty of time to drive carefully, put in a late entry form and do a 10 minute warm-up. I was about 2km onto the freeway heading towards Canberra when....... BANG! A tyre blew, split in half & lay shredded on the road! It also happened to be pitch dark and not a light in sight. In the breakdown lane I put the hazard lights on & waited for a dirty big truck to roar along, plough into the back of me and send me into oblivion! Such was the panic I was in and I really had my heart set on running this particular 5km race.

Several dirty big semi-trailers did pass but eventually one giantic one with a million lights shining trough the blackness, stopped and out hopped a small but chivalrous driver to come to my assistance! I had already phoned the NRMA person who, it turns out, was given the wrong directions & sent off to the Old Hume Highway instead of the Freeway! He phoned to see where I was & soon was on the spot to put some air into the tyre; the semi-trailer driver wasn't able to do this. God bless him for stopping though & saving me some time!

Meanwhile panic was rising fast; nearly 45 minutes had elapsed & I could see myself having to turn around & go back to bed. After the NRMA technician put air into the tyre; I looked at my watch & had an hour and a bit to get to Canberra before registrations closed at 8:30am. For a few seconds thoughts flashed through my mind : will I go home? will I make it in time? No use arriving after entries had closed. The freeway was empty at that hour even though the sun was now up and, without further thinking, I took off like Dr Who in his flying machine!

I made it to Canberra at 8:10am; Ewen queued up for me to register while I went off and tried to cool down & at the same time do a warm-up! No problem! I was in the first row at the start line of over 1000 women & girl runners!

A great day! I loved it! I didn't run a PB but I was happy with 31:25 in a crowd where it was impossible to get ahead on the way out & then a mighty wind coming across the lake on the return leg.

The results are already up on the website. I got 1st in my age category & had to go up onto the stage to receive my medal and shake hands with the attending dignitaries. Second place in my category was 42:18 and third 1:02:13. So, why wouldn't I be as pleased as Punch!

After sitting on the grass on a sunny, Sunday morning, Ewen, Strewth & I walked over to Regatta Place restaurant & partook of pancakes with caramelised bananas & cream!

The drive home was surprisingly uneventful but I was tensed up the whole time thinking a wheel might fly off any minute & send me into eternity....wherever that is! Anyhow, it wasn't meant to happen and it didn't!

All things dramatic considered, I had a really great day & thoroughly enjoyed the 5km race.

A Change of Pace....

Friday is normally a tempo run day but today it wasn't! Instead, it was another track session brought about by the fact that I decided last night that I would do the "Women's & Girls' 5km Fun Run" in Canberra on Sunday, so an easier session today.

2 Sets of 4 x 300m in 1:35 each (5:17 min/km)
300m jog between each repeat. 300m walk between sets.

1.5km warm-up & a couple of drills & strides.
Set 1 : 1:30 (5:01); 1:30 (5:00): 1:29 (4:57); 1:25 (4:42)
Set 2 : 1:28 (4:50); 1:28 (4:52); 1:25 (4:44); 1:25 (4:44)

All OK I thought!

I'm looking forward to the run on Sunday....starts at 9:00am....my previous 5km in 30:35 was at Fisher's Ghost about 6 months ago; Sunday should be an interesting & fun day!

Workout #1.....Track

Not having run 2000m repeats before and following on from Sunday's hilly long run, I was a bit in awe of today's track training and expecting the legs not to want to work.

Needless fear! In fact, after the warm-up and a couple of drills & strides, the actual session was relatively easy.

Program : 10-20 minutes warm-up
3 x 2000m in 12:05 (6:03min/km).
400m recoveries
10-20 minutes warm-down.


2000m in 12:03. Avg. pace 6:01. AHR 79% MHR 82%.

2000m in 12:02. Avg. Pace 6:01. AHR 80% MHR 83%.

2000m in 11:34. Avg. Pace 5:47. AHR 80% MHR 86%.

Virtual Partner was running along quite happily, as was I, with this pace for the first two, just staying almost together, so I decided we both needed a bit of a shake up for the last 2000m. I ran faster....faster than VP & finished about 60m in front!

I was quite surprised and happy with the outcome of the training session! VP somewhat peeved at the finish of the last 2000m!

The Hills Were Alive.....

Driving back over Range Road after Easter Sunday lunch with friends at Robertson, I decided to do my long run over this course which I hadn't ventured on for months...too many, too steep hills! However, I wanted to do a long, continuous run instead of the shorter loops I've been doing of late and this was going to be it.

At 7:00a.m it was raining, so back to bed for another hour ...or two! At 11:00a.m it was very overcast, plenty of black clouds but no rain so I set off for a run of anything up to 24km...if the legs held out on the hills! The pace was to be 7:06min/km but doubted that I'd keep that on the hills...and I didn't.

From kilometre 3 to 8 was a hill so steep that the surrounding ridges resounded with the sound of my groaning! From there on, it's one rolling hill after the other, the surrounding countryside so beautiful it more than makes up for the pain in getting there. I took some photos but they're not the best because of the heavy cloud and no sunlight. None of the Autumn colour changes have begun yet, so I'll return - when I recover in a few weeks - when all the trees and hedges will be dressed in their finery of red, orange and gold.

Tonight, I can hardly walk; my poor old legs are stiff and sore, telling me to get out there more often and harden up! So for today, Easter Monday:

23km in 2 hours 40 minutes.
Avg. Pace 7:45
AHR 111 (70%); MHR 128 (81%)
5km Splits 40:44; 42:22; 39:28; 3:52 (3km in 7:10).

A great day out on the ranges and I will return!

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Out For Lunch!

Good Friday

A late start, 11:30 a.m, for today's tempo run. A super Autumn morning!

The program : 8km total running including 4.8k @ 6:21 min/km.

1.6km warm-up.
4.8km @6:14min/km.
1.6km warm-down.

By staying just ahead of Virtual Partner all the time, I knew I was running at the correct pace, actually finishing about 20m ahead of him! A very enjoyable run for both of us!

Track at Chev.

Couple of photos from across the field at Chev this morning. Not very exciting, I know, but neither was the training, nevertheless I always enjoy a track session....probably a favourite.

2km warm-up.
Few drills & strides.

10 x 400m @ 5:43min/km (2:17 lap)

2:18; 2:20; 2:15; 2:15; 2:16;
2:18; 2:13; 2:16; 2:15; 2:11

400m easy jog recoveries between each repeat.

2km warm-down jog.

All OK except my legs were getting very tired during the last 3 repeats. Light rain. My car in the background and my gear hanging on the fence!

Two Days Cross Training

It took me 15 seconds to run hard to the top of this grassy slope and that's why I only did four of them today!

Monday : 30 minutes stationary bike.

Today : 10 minutes jog warm-up;
35 minutes drills & strides;
4 x 15 seconds hill sprints.

I did today's cross training at Iron Mines Oval; quite cool, overcast and lots of lovely green grass after 2 days of rain, which should also be good for a track session tomorrow.

Long Run..

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I stopped to take a couple of photos of the "Renwick" housing development whilst on my long run this morning. ...fabulous valley location surrounded by mountain ranges. The clearing seems to be going ahead at quite a pace....which brings me to the morning's long run.

I intended doing 24km, but was all done at 22km! Pace to be 7:06 min/km.

2 x 5km ( 35:31/37:27) on Old South Road.

2 x 5km (36:41/36:22) in Inkerman Road area.

2km in 15:08

Avg. Pace 7:25 min/km.

AHR 112 (70%); MHR 127 (80%)


First 10km : flattish; overcast & cool; started at 7:45 before the day trippers were out and about on Old South Road; saw no more than six cars. Final 12km : to Inkerman Road & back : hilly, sunny & hot.

I was feeling very tired at 22km & I was back at the school where I'd parked the car & decided without any hesitation that 22km in 2 hours 40 minutes was sufficient for the day!

Virtual Partner's Victory!

A massive win for VP this morning!

I started late around 11:30a.m and it was already very hot. Road works were happening on the flattish loop on Bong Bong Road where I usually do a tempo run, so the only alternative was to do the run on a very hilly Diamond Fields Road.

As soon as we hit the first steep hill, VP just kept on going while I died to a plod. He was 30m ahead, then 60, 100m, 200m, until he finished back at the start, more than 600m ahead of me. What a thrashing! He had made good all his previous defeats in one fell swoop and was reading, relaxed and rested, in the shade of a tree when I finally made it to the end walking up the last hill!

1.6km jog warm-up and two drills.

6.8km in 49:53
Avg. Pace 7:20....VP kept slogging away at a 6:36min/km!
AHR 125 (79%); MHR 137 (86%)

1.6km walking warm-down.

I might use the same course on another tempo run and see if I can manage the hills any better than I did today. I don't much like being beaten at all, let alone so convincingly, so another attempt needs to be done...... some other time!

Chev. Track

A fairly easy session today:

2km warm-up; Few drills & strides.

3 x 1600m @ 5:53 to 5:55min/km.

1.6km warm-down.

1st repeat : in 9:25. Avg. Pace 5:53; AHR 128 (81%); MHR 133 (84%).

2nd repeat in 9:05. Avg. Pace 5:40; AHR 132 (83%); MHR 142(89%).

3rd repeat in 9:15. Avg. Pace 5:46; AHR 133 (84%); MHR 140 (88%).

No problem with this session and I was well ahead of Virtual Partner in each of the 1600m repeats!

Cross Training

Monday and Tuesday :

Combination of stationary bike, light jog before drills & strides, couple of 30 second hill sprints & a few strength exercises.

SMC 10km

Six down and three to go! Another 10k this morning and second best time so far, which means I'd very much like to get below January's 62 minutes.

I left home at 5:30 a.m and drove in pitch darkness all the way to Smithfield. If it hadn't been for "TomTom" I'd still be going around roundabouts! I took a wrong exit from one of many and immediately told to "turn around when you can"! A couple of lefts and rights and I was back on track and, without much loss of time, at Rossford Reserve.

The 10km went well and I know I can go out a bit harder in the first 5km next month; I did that today and finished 2 minutes ahead of last month's time of 65 minutes. After a 2km warm-up, a few drills and strides........

10km in 1:03:15

Average pace 6:18 ( which was exactly what I had the Garmin set at!)
Best pace 5:01

AHR 134 (84%); MHR 148 (93%)

5km splits : 32:24 (wanted to run 31:30); and 30:41.

All runners as they cross the timing mat get to pull a number from a hat. Last month I drew #1 which means I have new Nike VomeroIV trainers; today I won a box of 6 Easter Eggs with flavours such as "Toffee Crunch, Pure White, Abstract Heaven, Pure Dark, Strawberries & Cream and Abstract Orange"!

I always believed heaven was real but now I know it's only 'abstract'!

I wore the Nike Lunar Glide Racers for the run this morning and they were so light I felt I might become airborne by just a puff of wind! I very much like these shoes for short, fast runs....might even use them for the CRRF Half Marathon in May.

I have only three more chances to get under that 62 minutes for 10km!

A Change of Pace....

Friday is normally tempo run training but just for today, it became another track session. Nothing hard before SMC 10km race on Sunday for which, I hear, we can expect 33 degrees! So over to Chev. College again for an easy session:

2km warm-up; a few drills and strides.

6 x 300m (in 1:30) @ 5:00m/per km pace. 2 minute recoveries between each.

1:29; avg. pace 4:59 AHR 75%
1:30; avg. pace 5:00 AHR 72%
1:30; avg. pace 5:00 AHR 77%
1:29; avg. pace 4:57 AHR 75%
1:29; avg. pace 4:58 AHR 75%
1:32; avg. pace 5:05 AHR 76%

And that's it till Sunday!

Track Today...at Chevalier College

What I had to do was :

2km warm-up + a few drills & strides.
3 x (2x1200m) @ 5:52 to 5:55 pace (Time 7:04); 2 minutes recovery;
4 minutes recovery between Sets.
Warm-down.

I did all of the above except for changing to 1.6km warm-up and warm-down.

Set 1. (a) 7:02 (5:52 pace); AHR 122 (77%); MHR 134 (84%).
(b) 7:04 (5:52 Pace); AHR 126 (79%); MHR 134 (84%).

Set 2. (a) 7:02 (5:51 Pace); AHR 126 (79%); MHR 137 (86%).
(b) 7:01 (5:51 Pace); AHR 126 (79%); MHR 142 (89%).

Set 3: (a) 7:02 (5:50 Pace); AHR 125 (79%); MHR 137 (86%).
(b) 6:56 ( 5:46 Pace); AHR 128 (81%); MHR 144 (91%).

This session got harder at it went on, I think due to shorter recovery times than I've been used to, but I still managed to finish each repeat in front of Virtual Partner!

Cross-Training Again...Monday & Tuesday

Monday : brisk walk 30 minutes with the dogs.

Tuesday : 2km warm-up; 25 minutes drills; 5 hill sprints of 10 seconds each....flat out.

Two easy days before a hard track session tomorrow.

Long Run..25km

7:30a.m start and it was raining heavily, but by the time I'd run 3km it had stopped and the rest of the morning remained fine and cool. I ran the first 10km loop on Bong Bong and Inkerman Roads; second 10km loop on Old South and Diamond Fields Roads and the last 5km on Radio and Bong Bong Roads.

The plan was 25km at 7:19 min/km.

I ran 25km at exactly 7:19 min/km!

Time 3 hours 3 minutes.

2 x 10km loop
1 x 5km loop.

Avg. Pace 7:19; Best 5:28
AHR 111 (70%); MHR 123 (78%).

5km splits ...37:35; 35:46; 37:35; 36:15; 35:50.

Another long run.....done; felt good and enjoyed!

Tempo Run ..... 10km

1.5km warm-up.

7km in 44:14
Avg. Pace 6:19; Best 5:06.
AHR 123 (78%); MHR 131 (83%)
5k split 31:30; 2km in 12:35

1.5km warm-down.

Virtual Partner was set for 6:20 pace and we were going along comfortably, almost hand in hand until I was stopped for a chat by one of the volunteer hosts who just happened to be leaving the local radio station in Radio Road. In the meantime VP, who stops for no one, raced ahead and by the time I got going again he was 50m in front of me, so the race was on to catch and pass him. I did that by running harder than I'd intended and finished about 15m ahead of him. A good run!

A Different Track Session

I've changed a few things in this track session so as not to repeat the same distances as I've been doing over the past 8 weeks.

2km warm-up + a few drills & strides.

1600m in 9:27
Avg. Pace 5:54
AHR 127 (80%); MHR 135 (85%).
400m walk/jog recovery.

3200m in 18:57
Avg. Pace 5:54
AHR 131 (80%); MHR 151 (95%)
800m walk/jog recovery.

800m in 4:39
Avg. Pace 5:39
AHR 124 (78%); MHR 138 (87%)
400m walk/jog recovery.

800m in 4:31
Avg. Pace 5:38
AHR 126 (79%); MHR 138 (87%)
400m jog/walk recovery.

These were harder repeats than I've done previously, especially the new 3200m where I finished about 1m ahead of VP with a mighty burst of energy! For the others, he was just behind me! It adds more interest to try new distances.

Cross-Training

Two Days: : Monday....30 brisk walk including a steep hill to get HR up.

Tuesday: 1.5km easy jog warm-up then 25 minutes drills.

Long Run 25km

At 7:15am the whole of Mittagong was covered by a thick fog; it was cool & ideal for a long run. I did the first 5km as a warm-up. The pace for this long run was 6:57 to 7:06. I aimed for the latter.

1 x 5km on Radio & Bong Bong Roads
42:12
Avg. pace 8:15; best 6:15
AHR 106 (67%); MHR 121 (76%).

1 x 10km on Bong Bong & Old South Roads
1:10:32
Avg. pace 7:03; best 5:41
AHR 114 (72%); MHR 123 (78%).

1 x 10km on Bong Bong & Inkerman Roads
1:09:33
Avg. pace 6:57; best 5:10
AHR 122 (77%); MHR 135 (85%)

All three loops had their fair share of hills but the cool conditions made the 25km (in 3 hours) easier than last Sunday's 3 hours and 5 minutes!.

A Long Tempo Run

16km! For me, that's a long way to try to run at 6:42m/k.

I didn't quite manage that pace at all! It was a very hilly course but I wanted to see all the work going on over Inkerman Road side of Mittagong and sure enough, clearing has begun for a site where there will eventually be 250 new houses built and gone is my short cut through the bush. That's called progress I suppose!

16km
Time 2 hours exactly!
Avg. Pace 7:32m/k
5k splits 38:50: 38:33; 36:21 (7:04)

A cool morning; overcast and light rain for the last 3km. I'm glad that one is over!

Going Backwards.....

.....with my program!

Having finished the 16 weeks of my program, I returned to Week 8 today so as to line up a taper with the Canberra Running Festival Half Marathon on May 2nd. That took me to Chevalier College track where I ran happily forwards!

2km warm-up
Drills & Strides.

3 x 1600m @ 5:55m/k (9:28)

1st 1600m in 9:28
Avg. pace 5:55
AHR 129 (81%); MHR 138 (87%)

2nd 1600m in 9:21
Avg. pace 5:50
AHR 130 (82%); MHR 142 (89%)

3rd 1600m in 9:27
Avg. pace 5:55
AHR 128 (81%); MHR 139 (87%)

I was surprised that I felt today's three so hard having done six of the same distance two weeks ago. VP was running at 5:55 pace so he had a better day & we're both underway for CRF half marathon!

Cross Training

15 minutes warm-up; 25 minutes drills; a few hill sprints on Monday.