Strewth's Training Blog

I have been tagged .....

Actually, I was tagged several days ago but it's taken a while to get around to this. It requires pulling things out of my memory bank, some of which I prefer to leave there. However I'll do my best:

What was I doing Ten Years Ago?
Hmmm -

• I had just started running and started training with the inspirational CJ who has long since left me for dead! I joined Veterans' Athletics and I also joined a group at the AIS for people starting out on a fitness regime (John Millers' Fun and Fitness). I ran my first Canberra Times 10km Fun Run.

• My children were 18, 16 and 12 so all at home and two still at school.
  

• I was working in the front office of a high school and home by 4pm each day - gee, that sounds like heaven now!

• Mr B and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary that year and went to Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef - had a fantastic time and made some good friends there with whom we still keep in touch.

Five Snacks I enjoy

• anything chocolate
• icecream
• cashews
• yoghurt
• bananas

Five Songs I Know all the Words to

Oh dear, I can remember verses of songs - heaps of them, but all the words is a bit more difficult. My siblings and I used to sing loudly in the back seat of the car when we went on long holidays with my parents every summer when we were very small growing up in NZ. It's funny how I can remember the words of songs I knew more than 40 years ago and yet I don't know all the words of all the songs I love to listen to now! I also remember the words of the songs my mum used to sing to me when I was very small to help me sleep, probably because I sang the same songs to my children. The following songs are the first that come to mind and are all very old (like me):

• Ten Green Bottles (who doesn't remember that one?)
• The Blackboard of My Heart
• Go to Sleep My Baby
• You'll Never Walk Alone
  
• Stoop John B - my brother and I used to sing this while washing up when I was just a teenager and I can still remember the words - we used to sing it in parts!!
  

Five Things I would do as a Millionaire
This is sooooo difficult - if I was being pc I would give it all to a good cause but.....

• Upgrade our house - landscape the back yard, including an enclosed deck and a swimming pool and have air conditioning installed
  
• Buy my children a house and safe reliable car each
  
• Travel all round Australia to the places I haven't been and then return to France and Italy, perhaps staying in Italy for six months so that I can learn the language
• Take my staff on a cruise for a week to reward them for their hard work then retire!
• Buy my friend an aeroplane

Five Things I Like Doing

• travelling
• keeping fit
• yoga
• spending quality time with my children and grand-daughter
• swimming in the sea
  

I also love having coffee with friends, having a massage and reading a good book but I'm only allowed to say five things!!

Five Favourite Toys

• Garmin
• Ipod
• Digital Camera
• Mobile phone
• Swiss ball
  

Phew! That was quite difficult really - took me longer than entering my daily blog!! I tag Luckylegs, Flashduck, Aki, Ewen and Friar.

Now back to the real stuff!

Wednesday

Morning Activity: Swim
Distance: 1.2km
Location: Civic Pool

Comments: I swam 3 x 400m. It was actually quite pleasant and although I started a bit late I just swam the distance as I hadn't organised to meet anyone for brekkie today. Instead I bought a coffee on the way to work and cooked raisin toast in the office - not quite the same but still worked ok. The swim felt good.

Afternoon Activity: Run 6.10pm
Distance: 10.70km
Location: To and past Lake G and home via cycle track through Giralang and Kaleen
Time: 63:14
AHR: 163bpm
MHR: 224bpm
Calories burned: 664
Average pace per km: 5:54

Comments: Ran without ipod today. Very conscious of the fact that we were heading off for the Australia Day concert in the evening and had to fit this run in first. Felt a bit sick when I arrived home - very hungry and although I took water with me I was very dehydrated. I quickly showered, ate some pasta in the car on the way to the concert and whizzed off to Parliament House to join the throngs listening to the concert. It was a great atmosphere but where we were sitting the speakers kept dropping in and out which was pretty annoying. It was fun though and the evening was quite cool later as the temperature dropped.

Thursday - Happy Australia Day

When I rose this morning my foot was quite sore and I was a bit headachy so made a decision to do my run tomorrow and have my rest day today instead. Mr B and I met up with CJ and Mr CJ in Kingston for a lazy lunch then in the late afternoon Mr B and I went to Yarralumla Bay and swam in the lake. It was so refreshing and although murky was really pleasant on such a hot day. Later P & J with grand-daughter Talia called round for a light tea before we all drove into Civic to watch the fireworks. We parked at Blundells Cottage and sat on the bank where we had a great view. It was fun.

Friday - a day away from the office
Activity: Run - fartlek session - 8.50am
Distance: 10:01km
Location: To Giralang oval for fartlek and on to tunnel and home
Calories: 609
AHR: 155bpm
MHR: 197bpm

Comments: This was a fartlek session but I left it far too late to run. It was soooo hot. I don't envy those running in the Customs Run today. I ran 15mins then went to Giralang Oval where I did a fartlek session as follows:

2 x 60secs/60secs float
2 x 30 secs/30secs float
2 x 60 secs/60secs float
2 x 30 secs/30 secs float

Not sure that I actually floated - more like a slow jog but I tried! It was hot, tough and I was not running well at all. I feel a bit discouraged actually. I don't seem to be improving! Ah well, tomorrow is the triathlon and Sunday is the Vets' Run.
When I arrived home from today's run I did 3 reps of 15 bench press with 5kg weights on my swiss ball and 20 sit-ups. I thought I shouldn't waste the warm-up!!