Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow....

.... finishing Blackmores Half Marathon, Sept. 23rd.!!

........and that's just about all the training done before leaving for Melbourne on Friday!

Program for yesterday, Tuesday :

Walk & easy drills & strides.

I changed this to 4km with the last 2km at 7:15mpk pace + drills & strides.

Program for today, Wednesday :

45 minutes with middle 15 minutes at 7:15mpk pace.

I didn't change ths one!

I went to Ironmines Oval both days to run on grass & avoid hills.....5.6km today.

Count down......

6 days to Melbourne Marathon!

Program : 8 - 10km at a comfortable pace...finish stronger.

A very windy day & into a headwind on the return, but still finished strongly in spite of the wind & hills on which I tried not to slow down!

AHR 115; MHR 138. Avg Pace = 7:19; Max. Pace =5:12

Km Splits : (out) 7:06; 11:08; 7:51; 8:34
(back) 7:38; 6:24; 6:26; 7:20
Negative split of almost 10 minutes! WOW!

Total = 8km

Chev Track....

Program : 2km warm-up.

2 Sets 8 laps : First 8 laps @ AHR 112

Second 8 laps @ AHR 120.

Record splits each 4 laps.

I used lane 8 (417m) because it's the only lane where the grass is kept short.

Set 1. (@ 112bpm) 4 laps = 12:04 + 4 laps 11:52 = 23:56

AHR = 112...spot on!

Avg. Pace = 7:10

Then I 'stuffed up'! I lost 'track' of the lap count & did 9 laps instead of 8! With great difficulty I made some adjustments to the time & I've been told to use my fingers for counting in future!

Set 2. (@120bpm) 4 laps 10:28 + 4 laps 10:46 = 21:14

AHR = 119..very close!

Avg. Pace = 6:22

I took a couple of photos of the sky while lying on the grass, legs resting up on the fence, after training.........

Short Run Including Some Marathon Pacing....

Program : 5 - 8km low heart rate.

I chose Old South Road for this run because I wanted to a flatter section of road. After 2km as a warm-up, I wanted to run 5km at 7:00 - 7:08m/k. 2km warm-down.

Total 9km.

1km splits : 6:54; 7:33; 7:01; 7:04; 7:17

AHR = 117 (79%).

I decided to do the middle 5km something at or near marathon pace. I will need to start out much slower though...I don't think this is a pace I could hold for 42.2km......how sad!!!

There were a few long inclines on the return section plus a fairly strong headwind.

Low Heart Rate Run.....

It was such a wonderful mid-day when I started & I felt so good...... I did the full distance when I had a choice of 8 - 12km!

Program : 8 - 12km low heart rate run.....105 - 113.

Not a sound on Diamond Fields Road except for the chirping of birds & the tapping of my feet on the dirt road and, though I view this scene almost every day of the week, I'm always taken by surprise with its quiet beauty.

Total = 12km. AHR = 104 (70%)

Recovery Run.....

Program: A few Drills + 5-8km low heart rate run.

I stayed in Renwick Soccer Field for the entire session so as to avoid hills & run on the grass even though I feel quite recovered from Sunday's half marathon.


A few drills, then 5km going around, across, diagonally & every which way for 5km...couldn't cope mentally with any more!


Total of 5km. AHR 105 (71%).

"Everybody Ought To Have A Ewen....."

....how else would I have been able to shake of this youngster & pass him & a few others to the finish line? It might have something to do with what Mae West said to Cary Grant in the movie "She Done Him Wrong", something like : Is that a gun you're carrying or are you just pleased to see me?

...on Motion Based.........

Program : Special Event..Blackmores 21.1km.

I suggested & had Ewen's approval to use this race as pacing practice that I would be able to run for Melbourne Marathon on October 7th. We fixed on a 7:35 minute km but, more importantly... staying with an AHR of 115 (76%)....not worrying about finishing time, etc...

A brilliant 6:20a.m. start (after a not so brilliant wake up call at 4:00a.m.!) & I knew from the very first step that I was going to have a good run & enjoy every minute of it!

I deliberately made a slow start to 'get into the swing' of things but after the first 3-4km found that with heart rate around 115bpm & 7:35m/k I was barely jogging ....this was just far too easy....so I decided to get a move on & shifted up a gear and ran the rest of the half marathon around 7:08m/k with heart rate still ranging between 115 - 120. I think this is what the mysterious Mr Hadd would have liked to hear : running faster than expected but at the same low heart rate... I'll check out that assumption with Ewen!

To sum up : It wasn't my fastest half marathon : that would have been my first one back in the "long ago" when I was 65+ when I ran 1 hour 56 minutes. But yesterday, I ran the easiest, most comfortable at all times, almost effortless half marathon of any! At the same time - though I realize they're different courses & therefore don't make for an accurate comparison - I was able to run 7 minutes faster than the SMH Half Marathon in May....& even if it isn't an honest comparison....I'm taking the victory!!

Septuagenerians are entitled!

And so...I'll say it again & again : "Everyone Ought To Have A Ewen"!

Time = 2:29:10. AHR = 120* (81%). Avg. Pace = 7:01m/k

*....what interests me about this AHR of 120 - which was so comfortable - is that it's exactly the heart rate I have been running during the upper aerobic track training sessions I've been doing for several weeks at Chev.

Back home in Mittagong, Ewen took an extra hour or so before driving on to Canberra, to get me started with "Sportstrack" which I've never been able to work out how it works! Should I thank or curse him for the extra hours I'm now going to be at the computer playing with this new toy!!!???

Fabulous weekend.....thanks to CR TazDevil for a tour of the beautiful northern foreshores on Saturday afternoon...lunch at a sidewalk cafe.

Coming Up : Melbourne Marathon!





Blackmores Half on Sporttracks........

Leaving for Blackmores Half Marathon....

After a rest day yesterday, driving to Sydney with Ewen this morning (no trains running). Sydney around lunch time, pick up registration numbers, over the Bridge to the Vibe Hotel.

I hope we all have a great day. My run will be a pacing practice for the Melbourne Marathon.

Track at Chev - Mini-taper cont....

Program : 2.5km warm-up
2 sets of 6 laps, Lane 7 @ HR 120. Time each 3 laps.
2 laps warm-down.

Results: First Set of 6 laps : AHR - 118 MHR = 122.
2x3 laps = 8:15; 8:06
Time = 16:22

Second set of 6 laps : AHR = 118; MHR = 147? glitch!
2x3 laps = 7:57; 8:42
Time = 16:39

Total Distance = 8km

Not ideal conditions : the grass is getting longer each week - only lane 8 seems to be mowed regularly. Showers at start. Fine for most of the laps. Fairly heavy rain for last lap, second set.
This was an OK session & was able to keep heart rate fairly regular, except for a rising 'glitch' in second set....otherwise "No Problemo!"

Another Lower Aerobic Run....

Program : 9km 'easy' Run....Mini-taper for Blackmores Half Marathon.

AHR 104; MHR 122....... a good 9k run - beautiful Spring morning.

Mini-Taper Week....for Blackmores Half Marathon

Program : Lower Aerobic Run ...6km

6km with HR between 105 - 113....Okay! Another wonderful Spring day!

Oh What a Beautiful Morning.......

....under the crab apple tree before the last long run leading to Blackmore's Half Marathon next Sunday.

Program : 20km very easy...AHR 105-113.

Range Road : from the car to Glenquarry & downhill Tourist Road, 10km...a perfect morning for a run. The return not so easy..mostly uphill. AHR 103, MHR 118. One hour 16 minutes out; 1 hour 27 minutes return....walking some of the hills to keep HR low.

Mini-taper this week!

A Rest Day...

...and some gardening. The Crab Apple Tree not fully in bloom yet.

Chev Track....

It looks clearer when enlarged but .....way down there on planet earth, I'm running around a track & being spied upon!

Program : 16 laps of lane 7 in 2 sets of 8 laps. 3 - 5 minutes rest between sets.
Heart Rate gradually to 120 -122 (81-82%)and stay there! Time each 4 laps.

Yesterday I had an awful 14km run trying to keep HR at 113. Today I had no trouble at all in running at 120-122! In fact, it was so comfortable that I'd call it a fairly easy session! Please explain!

After a few drills & Strides & watching for the approaching storm...that didn't come:

Set 1. First 4 laps in 10:58; Second 4 laps in 11:12. AHR = 121.

Set 2. First 4 laps in 11:03; Second 4 laps in 11:16. AHR = 121.

Total 6.4km.

Low Heart Rate Run - 14km

Why would a low heart rate run feel like a frustratingly exhausting, all stops out, thumping great effort?!

Program : 14km with heart rate @ 113 (76%) after 2km warm-up.

I did the 2km warm-up on the grass in Renwick Soccer Field & decided to stay there - for as long as I could stand it! - going round & round to see if I could keep HR at 113 on a flat surface. Even there, it was all hard work & I felt I was having to make too much of an effort for what I assumed should be a fairly comfortable pace.

At the end of 7km, I went out onto the road where I thought it would be easier with some downhills thrown in! The downhills were OK, but the rest of the run just kept getting tougher & tougher. It felt like running flat out to stay with a low heart rate! This doesn't sound right to me, but then obviously, I know very little about HR running & I've asked Ewen to tell me where I'm at or going!.... Track tomorrow.

Upper Aerobic Run 10km

Program : 2 km warm-up...I did 3km!

7km with HR @ 120bpm.

1km warm-down.

At the gym, on the tready, no HR monitor strap! As for last week, I set the speed at 9.8kph & hoped that HR would be much the same as last week i.e. 120bpm after the warm-up of 3k.

I found today's session all hard work & put the speed up to 10kph for the last 2 km just to finish the session quickly.

Total = 11km

Low Heart Run.....

Program : 12km with low heart rate @ 110 (73%)

Even with a low heart rate, I found this a hard session. Maybe not recovered from Sunday's long run..who knows? It was cold, very windy & just got back to the car as a storm broke. I wasn't expecting this session to be hard at all...surprise, surprise!


MotionBased Analyzer shows heart rates were within the limits & gives km splits.

Sunday Long Run...last one for a while!

For a change of scenery, I decided on Range Road for the last of the very long runs leading up to Melbourne Marathon.. Perfect morning, cool, slight breeze, otherwise calm & quiet.

Google Earth is showing the first of 3 x 10km loops that I ran out from & back to the car. Lastly 1 x 2km loop (the hardest!) to make a total of 32km. As usual, I had gels, water & sports drink - and a few other bits & pieces - in the car for each return loop.

I think this run was quite a bit easier than any of the other long runs (up to 34km) that I've been doing on Sundays.

The aim was to keep heart rate between 105 and 113 all the time - though up a bit on hills of which there were plenty........

1st 10km in 1:18.31...AHR = 109 (73%)

2nd 10km in 1:19.24...AHR = 107 (72%)

3rd 10km in 1:18.55...AHR = 112 (75.%)

1 x 2km in 15:38... AHR = 108 (73%)

My legs were very tired & I was sorely tempted not to set out on that final 2km...but I couldn't let it beat me! I thought it was a good, last, long effort.

Total for the Week = 78.5km

Track on the Tready...

Pouring rain this morning, so the decision was made for me, though I had wanted to get outside after 2 days' training in the gym.

Program : Warm-up 2.5km.

6.4km with HR 124 (84%)...take HR after each 1km.

1.5km warm-down.

Treadmill set on 9.8 -10kph. After 4km heart rate had reached 124bpm. Tready on 9.9kph

Heart Rates data: 1k 125; 2k 126; 3k 126; 4k 128; 5k 130; 6k 132; 0.4k 130.

At some future stage I can repeat this session at the same kph & compare HR data. How exciting is that!!

PS. Thanks so much for birthday wishes! After training, Jim & I with some friends had lunch at the "Centennial Winery" located on the hills between Bowral & Berrima. Fabulous location, food, company....and wines!

Upper & Lower Aerobic Runs.....

Missed blogging yesterday, my 78th birthday! OMG...I still can't believe it!

Program : Wednesday, 5th.

10km upper aerobic run......2k warm-up. 7k with heart rate 120 (81%).

1k warm-down.

Thursday, 6th.

14km lower aerobic run.......keeping heart rate at 113 (76%).

Because it was cold, sprinkling rain & I have a bit of a head cold, I did both sessions on the gym treadmill....I thought 14km would never end but, as with life itself & much sweat, it eventually did!