Saturday, October 07, 2006

Forget the Undulations; Think HILLS!

Mr B and I met up with CJ, Marg and Barb at the same place we ran last Saturday. We ran exactly the same course and met the same magpie which chose to swoop Mr B and left us girls alone! After we ran over that nasty gravelly hill (which somehow didn't seem quite so bad today) Marg and Barb continued on back to the start and the rest of us decided to keep running (if you can call it that) up, up, up, up to the road leading up, up, up to the very top of Mt Ainslie. It was dusty, it was hot, it was tough but it was a glorious feeling to reach the top and admire that fabulous view on a stunning Spring day. We decided to run back down the road and it was a great feeling just finding a bit of speed at last after struggling up those hills although I found the road surface much tougher on the limbs and my ankle was giving nasty twinges until we reached the off road track again. As we ran in the trails again we spotted an enormous lizard and stopped to watch it for a moment as it rustled through the dry grass. Once we reached the water tower we felt like we were nearly back but gee that last 1.5km seemed very very long. It was a tough course but it did create a nice sense of achievement although CJ kept pointing out more uphill tracks on the way back which may be an even steeper option next weekend. Later we enjoyed muffins and coffee at Hudsons.

Distance: 19.4km
Time taken: 2hours 8mins
Average pace per km: 6:36 (!!) - but it was soooo tough!
Calories burned: 1275 (probably the equivalent of that muffin and the Italian hot chocolate I enjoyed at the markets later that day)!
Fastest km: 5mins exactly (must have been that downhill bit)

I have now officially entered our team in the Brindabella Classic Relay - "Three Slow Geese and a Speedy Gosling" - Marg, Barb, Aki and I are definitely competing in what is known as 'Australia's Toughest Downhill Mountain Race' - scary stuff! My leg is the third one and is 17.4km - should be fun!

Friday - Gym
Yesterday I went to the gym early in the morning and worked out on my upper body as I wanted to save my legs for Saturday's run. I worked on the chest, back, arms, shoulders (ouch) and lots of abs!

Tomorrow (Sunday) we are driving to the coast for the day to give my new Golf a good run. I am so looking forward to my bed tonight!

5 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fantastic run today Strewth. It will set you up very well for the relay at Brindabella. Though I won't wish you luck for that race 'cause I'll see you before then - can't wait :-)

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  2. Well, the 3rd leg is 'fun' because it's mostly downhill. Just don't expect your quads to thank you for it. Give me the 2nd leg any day!

    6:36 per k is much too fast ;) Under 5 hour 6ft pace which is very elite :)

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  3. Sounds like an awesome run that'll give you heaps of prep for the BC. I still think calling yourself a slow goose is a little bit harsh, but we shall see what happens.

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  4. Very nice to be able to read both reports!
    Are you training for SFT too?
    Woow! If they pick you as the thirth legs should be to close fast, how nice!
    Great to have such a nice group of real friends!

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  5. I love the way your write your posts and the exhurberance in them - so refreshing!

    I had a brief stopover in Auckland airport last Monday on the way back from the US and heard all these quaint accents - strange hearing all these 'strewths' walking around.

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