Yesterday, Tuesday....

I went across to Chev College track yesterday knowing it was going to be windy, but having no idea of the gales that awaited me!  For the past 24 hours we've been battered by terrifying gales which only worsened as the day wore on; no power all day until 9:30 pm last night. Sirens have been blaring around the area for more than 24 hours now.  I felt quite scared for myself until I thought of the poor buggers working all day and all night in horrendous conditions  -  SES, Fire Brigade, etc  - trying to restore power, remove fallen trees, open roads etc to the entire Southern Highlands.  At least I have a gas stove and was able to heat water and cook a meal at night.  I also had two very large torches that provided sufficient light.  No damage around the house.

Today, Wednesday, a slight improvement but not much and nothing, absolutely nothing would have me out training today!  People have been advised to stay indoors so that's what I'll be doing.  However, since it's a cross training day, I might make the short 5 min drive to Henley Brae and stretch my legs in the warm water later this afternoon.  Now, back to yesterday's Chev track :

Program:  10-20 in warm-up
1km in 6:06,  2km in 12:37, 1km, 1km (400m RI)
10 min cool-down.

I did 2km warm-up + 2 strides...without warming up at all and the gales of wind bringing me to a halt in some sections while in others, sending me flying ahead and/or across the still muddy lane!


1k in 6:31; avg. pace 6:24 m/k
2km in 12:50; avg. pace 6:25 m/k
1km in 6:32; avg. pace 6:22 m/k
1km in 6:21; avg. pace 6:17 m/k


Not even a thought of a cool-down; not needed since I ran this session in 3 layers of clothing, gloves, goggles,  a beanie buff and a hood on my head!

Today, later.......
30 min pool running.

Long Run....

I started late at around 10:00 a.m.  Perfect sunny morning; clouds rolling in towards the finish. 

Program :    16km @ 7:28 - 7:42 m/k

Starting as usual at Renwick school, then to Old South Road, Diamond Fields Road and back.  This road is somewhat less hilly than Range Road so less difficult than last Sunday's long run.  For now, I'll alternate between the two for Sunday runs.

16km in 2 hours 04 min
Avg. pace 7:47 m/k
AHR 110 (69%)  MHR 125 (79%)
5km splits = 39:18;  37:39;  39:38;  (1k 7:58)

Cross Training, #2

10 min warm-up + 2 strides
1 Set Pete Magill drills
20 min easy jogging.

  I used Radio Road beside the school for the drills and then into the soccer field to finish with some easy jogging.  Not much of a day at all here; cold and sunless; light drizzle towards the finish of the session.

Cross Training.... Day #1

In the pool:  Running

5 min warm-up & stretches.
1 min hard 1 min  easy; 2 min hard 1 min easy; 3 min hard 1 min easy: 4 min hard 1 min easy; 5 min hard 1 min easy; 4 min hard 1 min easy; 3 min hard 1 min easy; 2 min hard 1 min easy; 1 min hard.
5 min cool-down & stretches.

Total 43 min

A Bad Track Day!

As usual I went to Chev. College track this morning to do the program :

10 to 20min warm-up
3 x (2 x 1200m) 
10 min cool-down.

I did the warm-up + a few strides and even then, my legs were feeling like jelly, but once I started the first 1200m they really turned to jelly!

I think they might not have been completely recovered from Sunday's long, hard run;  I don't really know, but when I fell flat on my chest, not my face,  during the second 1200m and expelled every last bit of breath, I took it as time to stop!

I maybe should have gone to the pool today instead of the track; anyhow, I'll be at the pool tomorrow for sure.  I feel certain I'd not recovered properly to do the track program today.

 

Long Hilly Run

First 5km around Renwick school for warm-up; then down Bong Bong, up Old South and Range Roads.  From thereon rolling hills.  To my surprise it was also very windy and cold.  I felt this was a hard run and took many walk breaks on the hills....on the way  up and even coming down.  I was extremely tired when I finished and felt like I'd run a marathon!  However, in spite of the wind, hills, walking and generally feeling battered and bruised, my pace was just about right as per program!   Big surprise!  Started at 9:53 a.m.

Program :  21km @ avg. 7:47 m/k

Time = 2 hours 43 min.
Avg. Pace = 7:48 m/k
AHR 116 (70%)  MHR 132 (83%)
5km splits :  40:21;  40:39;  37:09;  37:15: (last 1k in 8:20)

 As I said, I felt terribly worn out after this run so, after a shower and something to eat and drink, I made for bed and an hour's rest; surprised I didn't sleep though, just rested.

Total 21km

Tempo Run

Perfect morning, sunny and warm with hardly any wind.  I did this run on the roads around the school area because it's flatter than anywhere else.  I felt good for the entire run, for a change!

Program : 
2km warm-up
5k @ 6:44 m/k
1k cool-down.
 
Warm-up ..OK
5km  @  avg. pace 6:55  (best were last 3k times : 6:34;  6:32; 5:47)
Cool-down...OK, followed by usual stretches in the soccer field...in the sun!


Total = 8km

Cross-Training #2

Drills or Hills?  I chose hills; short ones!

Iron Mines Oval:   The road leading down to the ovals.




10 min warm-up + 2 strides

12 short hill repeats; walk down.
13 - 20 seconds up.

I don't know if the hill was steep enough.   I ran hard but I didn't want a cross-training day to be too strenuous!

Cross -Training

At the pool :  Henley Brae

15 min including warm-up and stretches
30 min steady running.


Total 45 minutes in sparkling warm water on a freezing, windy day!

Mud and Wind!

And that just about sums up what it was like on the track at Chev. College this morning!  I changed the program to an easier one because of the terrible conditions :  the track was muddy and slippery; the weather foul!


Program : 10 - 20 min warm-up
2 x (1200m, 800m, 400m)  1 min RI & 3 min RI btw. sets
10 min cool-down

1.6k warm-up + 4 drills & strides
Avg. pace for Set 1 = 6:28 m/k;  6:08 m/k;  5:50 m/k
Avg. pace for Set 2 = 6:18 m/k;  6:07 m/k;  5:49 m/k


The 400m repeats were the only ones better than the pace in the program; others, a bit slower!

I ran without shoes; the muddy track was cold and slippery; my feet covered in mud up to the ankles! I took off for home without doing any cool-down or stretches.

Proof!

Diving in the Deep End!

Or bouncing back!  I felt like a "new woman" today  -  compared with three or four days ago  -  so I started the week off with a session in the pool at Henley Brae.

45 minutes including :  warm-up, funny Magill drills, leg stretches, water running and a cool-down.

Tomorrow, I'll test myself out on the track at Chevalier College but I don't much like the look of the program.  A tough one!

The Lost Week.....

Completely; lost to all training!  On Tuesday evening, I came down with the worst gastric attack in living memory!

I continued violent vomiting through Tuesday night, all day Wednesday, Wednesday night and most of Thursday by which time I knew I was in big trouble from dehydration; couldn't stand without feeling faint and had been sipping on water only for the past three days.

I knew it was time to do something about all this.  I rang my local GP to find out what I should do.  "Get an ambulance and get to the hospital for hydration on a drip:"   I argued that I couldn't do that with two little dogs left with no one to look after them.  This didn't go down too well and I was told the only alternative was to take a taxi to the medical centre and they would assess me from there, which they did, but  after an injection to stop the vomiting they rang an ambulance and off I went to Bowral Private Hospital and put on a drip for 24 hours.  I returned home feeling almost  a new woman on Friday afternoon.

What a difference a drip makes!  I was feeling about 90% by mid day today, Friday., My GP came in and gave me the OK to go home with a lecture about never letting dehydration get so bad over three or more days because the next stage is for the kidneys to shut down and then you're in big trouble!  Apparently I'd just about reached that stage.

Anyhow, I'll be resting up over this weekend and then hopefully be able to get back on the road next week.  I'll just have to write off the week's running and start back up when I feel 100%.

Long Run 20km

 

Diamond Fields Road offered some shelter from the wind for this morning's long run.

 There were still plenty of hills to run up and down but the change of scenery and shelter made for a good long run which I very much enjoyed.

Program:  20km @ 7:35 m/k

20km in 2:36:30
Avg Pace 7:49
AHR 108 (74%);  MHR 133 (84%)
5km splits  42:12;  39:17;  37:52:  37:07 

Tempo Run .....supposedly!

Too cold, too windy, too wet and too slow!  Bit of a waste of time really.  I ran mindlessly up and down Radio Road to get some protection from the wind.  Not a good session at all!

2k warm-up
4k @ 6:44m/k
2k cool-down

2k easy......ok
4k @ 7:50.....not ok!
2k easy...ok!


Total  8km

Cross Training #2

Renwick soccer field, freezing wind!  Awful conditions but I got it done! 

10 min easy jog
1 set Magill drills & strides
10 min easy jog.

Cross Training....

In the Pool : Water Running

Time 70 minutes. 

Lovely in the warm water when it's only 3.3 degrees outside!

I Hate 800s!

I really do hate running 800m repeats!  I can't do them; they're too hard!  Besides that, the conditions at Chev track this morning were the worst I can recall: zero degrees,  freezing wind and a muddy, slippery, grass track.  I cut the session short by doing 4 instead of 6 x 800m.  The grass was too cold to run barefoot so my socks very soon became water-logged and my shoes heavily laden with mud. Somewhat handicapped I thought!


Program:
10-20 min warm-up
6x800m @ 6:06m/k
10min cool-down. 

2k warm-up + some drills & strides 
4 x 800m (each one slower than the other!)
No cool-down;  I was still freezing!

6:13m/k (4:57);  6:26m/k (5:03);  6:25m/k (5:04);  6:28m/k (5:13)

After the 4th repeat I'd had enough and took off for home & a hot shower!

Long Run

Same route as the last three Sundays :  From Renwick school, Radio, Bong Bong, Old South and Range Roads.  Today I ran out of puff and had to take three short, very short, walk breaks between the 6th and 8th Km to catch my breath.  Nevertheless, I think this course is good practice for the hills in the City-to-Surf.

18km in 2 hours 21 min.
Avg. pace 7:52 m/k
5k splits = 40:13;  42:50;  37:52;  and 3k in 20:53
AHR 111 (70%);  MHR 136 (86%)

Cold & windy but the views were fantastic!

Tempo Run

I ran bare foot on the wet, but not boggy, grass in the soccer field today.  The session was:

1.5km easy
3.5km @ MT (mid-tempo) pace
1.5km easy
3.5km @ MT pace
1.5km easy

Changing my 5k time from 31:38 (last year's time) to 32 min. (I must be at least that much slower by now!) and basing all paces on that time, MT pace is 6:44m/k.

3.5km @ 7:07
3.5km @ 6:49 ....both a bit slow, but the  puddles didn't help!

 

A Track Full of Mud!

What a quagmire the track at Chev was this morning after days of rain!  I thought it was probably a waste of time when I saw the state of the track but having driven there, I decided to give it a go.  It felt dreadful having to plough through water and mud splashed right up to my knees, so I was surprised when I looked at the results on Garmin Connect to see that I was pretty close to the set paces.

Program:
10-20 min warm-up
2 x 1200m @ 6:10m/k (7:25)
200m RI 
4 x 800m @ 6:00m/k (4:53)
10 min cool-down


1.2k warm-up + few drills & strides
2x1200
1.  7:33 (6:16m/k)
2.  7:30 (6:12m/k)  (400m RI between)


4x800m
1.  4:54 (6:12m/k);
2. 4:53 (6:10m/k);  
3. 4:53 (6:10m/k)
4. 4:53 (6:10m/k)  (400m RI between.)

No cool down or stretching, the rain had returned.  I was glad to get home and into a shower to wash off all the mud that I'd accumulated from the water-logged track.

A Late Long Run

I  didn't start today's run until 2:30pm, the latest ever for me, I think, and it was just getting towards dusk when I finished.

14km
Time = 1 hour 55min
Avg. Pace 8:11m/k
Forgot HR monitor
5k splits 45:10;  38:50 & 4k in 30:51

I ran my hard and hilly Range Road course again and it wasn't any easier than last Sunday!

A Tempo Run

A sunny but very cold morning.  The warm-up in Radio Road, the rest on Old South Road;a  few inclines along the way but flatter than anywhere else I could find.  Windy after turnaround.



Program:

2 km easy
 5km @ 6:35m/k
2km easy.


2k on Radio Road & school grounds
 5km in 33:51 
 Avg. Pace 6:46m/k; best 5:50
 AHR 120 (75%);  MHR 133 (84%)
 2k easy + stretches

Total 9km

At the Pool

Cross-training today:

1 hour at Henley Brae pool including: warm-up, very bizarre looking Magill drills, deep water running and cool-down.   Once again I had the pool all to myself.

On Track

I had another "good feeling" running session today!  The program  :

Chev Track
10-20 min warm-up
3 x 1600m @ 6:16 m/k (10:02)
400m RI
10 min cool-down

I did 1.6k Warm-up
1 set each of Pete Magill's drills

1600m @ avg pace  6:06m/k (9:45); AHR 130 (82%); MHR 140 (88%).
400m walking recovery

1600m @ avg pace  6:02m/k (9:40);  AHR 129 (81%)  MHR 138 (87%).
400m walking recovery


1600m @ avg pace 6:00m/k (9:36);  AHR 129 (81%)  MHR 140 (88%).
1km cool-down & stretches


Total 7.4km


None of these 1600m repeats were difficult; a solid effort, and I enjoyed the training even though the morning was cold, overcast and windy.
 

A Shorter Long Run

Today's long run was a bit on the short side   - Program 14 km at 7:40m/k  -  so I made it a hilly one by running up, up and up Old South Road and then  up and down the rolling hills along Range Road for 15:27km.  It was a perfect Autumn morning, sunny, a light breeze, hardly any traffic.  I figure if I run these hills often enough, they must begin to feel easier......eventually!  So....


15.27km 
Time 2 hours
Avg. pace 7:58m/k; best 5:49m/k
AHR 118 (74%)  MHR 135 (84%)
5km splits 43:52;  38:41;  37:11


Back at the start  -  Renwick school  -   I finished off by drinking lots of icy water and then the usual stretches. 

A Better Tempo Run.....

.....better than  last week!  I was actually able to better the program's pace:

Program : 2km easy warm-up
4km @ 6:44m/k
2km easy cool-down.

2k warm-up on Radio Road beside the school

4km at avg. pace 6:39m/k (Radio & Bong Bong Roads)
Best pace 6:19
1km laps  6:49;  6:38;  6:28;  6:42

2km cool-down on grass in soccer field, barefoot.   The usual stretches.


Finished the morning with a chat and some hugs from teachers and kids from the school who were playing soccer at one end of the field;  they had heard and were all very sorry about Jim's recent death.  All these seemingly little things help more than anyone can possibly realize.

Total 8km.

A Cross-Training Day.....

Henley Brae pool at 1:30pm for a water running workout:


5min warm-up
1 min hard 1 min easy; 2 min hard 1 min easy; 3 min hard 1 min easy; 4 min hard 1 min easy; 5 min hard 1 min easy; 4 min hard 1 min easy; 3 min hard 1 min easy; 2 min hard 1 min easy; 1 min hard;
5 min cool-down


Total 43 min.


I enjoyed getting back into the pool again!

A Not So Good Track Day..

.....In fact, it was so bad that I didn't complete the session. I've changed the track session from Wednesday to Tuesday so as to be able to do pool running as cross training on a Wednesday.

10-20 min warm-up
5 x 800m in 4:34 (5:47m/k)
10 min cool-down

I did 3 x 800m badly and took off for home without any cool-down.

 1.6km warm-up + few strides
(1)  800m in 5:02 (6:17m/k);  AHR 136 (86%)  MHR 151 (95%)
(2)  800m in 4:47 (6:00m/k);  AHR 132 (83%)  MHR 146 (92%)
(3)  800m in 4:59 (6:16m/k);  AHR 127 (80%)  MHR 141 (89%)

And that, thank goodness, was the end of that track session!

Running Long...

My program said : 15km at no specific pace, easy and relaxed effort.  And that's what I did!

15km in 2 hours 3 min.
Avg Pace 8:12...easy & relaxed!
AHR 119 (75%);  MHR 138 (87%)

I stayed around the Renwick school area and surrounding roads so as to avoid hills;  my legs were sore, especially the calves, after Friday's hilly tempo run.  Today, about 50/50 road/grass.

 

Yesterday

Yesterday was a Tempo Run...of sorts.  Once again it was very windy; I chose Diamond Fields Road because it's a dirt road, no traffic and plenty of hills which I'm going to need if I aim for this year's City to Surf in August and then see if another goal might turn up after that.

Program;
3km easy
5k @ short tempo pace (6:31m/k)
2k easy


Of course it didn't quite go that way:

3k easy in 22 min

5km in 35 min 
Avg Pace = 6:59
1k laps =  7:27;  6:42;  6:48;  6:39;  7:18 (first & last km all uphill!)
AHR 139 (87%);  MHR 145 (91%)

2k easy in 16:55

Total = 10km

I really tried hard for this session, but can see there's lots of room  - and time I hope -  for improvement !

I dearly miss Jim's usual comment, without fail, when I returned from a run : "Well, how did that go?"  Now, silence except for the joyful yapping of my two dogs.  It's the absence of little things like this, the cup of tea waiting for me after showering, the silence especially, the absence of another human being in the house and also the thousands of other little things and comments during an ordinary day that make the days so hard and lonely now.

However, the sun will come up again tomorrow and I will do my long run.

Nil Running Today.....

.....but lots of other things still to get done.  Tempo run tomorrow and very likely to be a slow one.  Today is warmer, sunnier and less windy than yesterday, so not a bad sort of day really but will still have to rug up when walking the dogs later.

Giving Myself a Push....

Reluctantly, because it was so cold and windy, I forced myself back to a running session this morning, the first since Jim passed away, a little over four weeks ago.  Since then I've been walking with my two little dogs twice each day, and today I felt it was time to try and get myself back on track.  And track it was at Chev. where I did my first session.  I've started with the FIRST 15km program, three running sessions each week (Track, Tempo Run & Long Run) and two days  cross training.

It was miserable at Chev with a strong cold wind blowing across the field so I made some changes to shorten the session which was also miserably slow.

Program:  10-20 min warm-up
10 x  400m @ 5:37m/k
10 min cool-down

What I did:
10 min warm-up and couple of strides
5 x 400m in a very slow  6:01;  5:54;  6:00; 5:53;  5:57
No cool-down;  I was  freezing.

If I achieved nothing else, a start has been made.