Tempo Run ~~~ Bowral Parkrun cycle path ~~~~~

Cold, windy and bleak describes what it was like this morning on Parkrun cycle path. Nevertheless, I write a report on the course for the coming weekend at parkrun so that everyone knows where to go on Saturday: the initial course or the alternate course depending on the water and mud present!

Tempo Run:
1.5km easy
8.0km @ MT pace (7:20m/k at the moment based on 35min 5km time)
1.5km easy.

Out and Back Course

8km in exactly 1 hour!
HR 71-77% of max.
7:30;  7:21,  7:22;  7:48;  7:41;  7:33;  7:33;  7:44
TE 1.8 =  MINOR!!

Total 11km.

Track at Chev.~~~~~

The oval was wet and muddy near the fence area, so once again I had to make do with running where the soccer field markings were, but even there it was slippery mud on one of the longer sides.  Once again, it was not the session it should have been and I cut it short rather than push on and get even slower and muddier than I already was to start with.

10-20 min warm-up ... I did 10 min + few strides/drills
6 X 800m in 5:22 (6:42m/k) ..  I did 4

5:35;    5:34;    5:30;    5:44

Few stretches to finish ..... with mud caked almost knee high on both legs!

Long Run ~~~Didn't Happen!

Too Darned Cold!  2 degrees at 10:00am, cold winds blowing .... Run?  Not Today!

Bowral Parkrun # 41 ~~~~~

Let's talk about a frustrating week!

 

Second thoughts : let's NOT talk about frustration!

The week ended, except for tomorrow's longer run which will surely be a disaster like all other sessions this week, with the worst Parkrun time EVER, and that's all I'm going to say about it!

37:31 ... Incredible!!

Tempo Run ~~~~

Not good again today!  Not a good week so far really.  I was slower than my program's pace of  a 7:00m/k for 3km and if I can't do that for 21.1 km in Blackmores Half Marathon in September, I'm going to be pulled off the course.  This is becoming a worry!

Tempo Run:
1.5km easy
3.0km @ 7:00m/k
1.5km easy
3:0km @ pace
1.5km easy.

By mistake, I ran 3.5km each time instead of 3km, but the times below are for 3km:

22:32;     22:39

I used Bowral Parkrun course again plus another loop, and the last 1.5km included jogging up the grassy hill.  Happy to hear we are returning to our initial course this Saturday, with only one puddle to manoeuvre. 

Track Abandonned!

No idea why!  Track was dry but I just couldn't breathe! I thought the session would be OK when I finished the warm-up but it was so bleak and cold I couldn't get moving at all.  Hoping it's just the cold day responsible. I did 1x1200m instead of 2; then I should have done 4x800m but after 1x800m I was gasping for breath, stopping and starting and gave up!

I know how it feels!

Now that I'm nice and warm at home, after a hot shower, the heating on and brunch with 2 poached eggs on toast, I feel good and wonder if I should have pushed on?  At the time though, I couldn't!  Hopefully, I'll do better with Thursday's tempo run.

Longer Run ~~~~~

For today :  10km on Diamond Fields Road.  Intended to do 14km but felt tired and turned back after 5k.

Bowral Parkrun #40 ~~~~~

Alternate 5km Course

 

It's not just me! Everyone was doing everything and anything to get warm this morning while waiting for our run to start and the heavy frost did nothing to help either.  I tried warming up for about 1km but it was just plain, mean cold and left me gasping for breath.

5km in 34:32
HR 79%-89%
TE 2.2 Maintaining!
6:51; 7:01;  7:11;  7:02;  6:21

Looking forward to getting back to our initial course; doubling back half way today, I didn't much like; prefer the old course even with its hilly finish!

Not a PB today, but getting closer (to 33:34) and a better time today than in some recent Parkruns.

Tempo Run on Bowral Parkrun Course ~~~~~

I nearly froze to death! Thermal top, beanie, gloves, woolly jacket, long tights did little to keep out the bitterly cold wind this morning ... and that was at 10:00am!  I wanted to check out the initial Bowral Parkrun course to see if it would be fit to run this Saturday, but the grassy hill was still muddy in patches and what I'd call a small lake was blocking the cycle path.  Undaunted, (or demented), I tried to warm-up (1.5km) from Briars to the start of the cycle path under the Moss Vale Bridge; run cycle path from start to finish and splash through "lake"; detour at end of path up Sullivan Street; back on path, splash through "lake" again, back to start of cycle path; cool-down (1.5km) back to Briars Inn.

It was a bitterly cold, windy morning ... almost blew me off course in places!

10 of 13km

Freezing water in this 'lake' came up over the top of my shoes!

Tempo Run
1.5k warm-up
10km @ 7:40m/k ...based on 36min 5km
1.5km cool-down.

10km in 1 hr 18 min.
Avg. pace 7:57m/k
HR 71-79% of Max.
TE 2.1 'Maintaining' ....Just!!

Total :13km

Knowing how cold and windy it was going to be, I had a choice of cutting the distance short and running faster (hmmm!) OR doing the distance and running at a slower pace.  It's obvious I chose the latter!

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

Add caption

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??