Where do I begin? It's so easy to fall behind in blogging when life gets in the way! However I will briefly summarise the last few days for an update.
Thursday 12 October - Swim
I swam a km at CISAC before work. I actually quite enjoyed it in spite of the long time between swims! Of course I was slow which is normal for me but I felt comfortable and didn't struggle to swim the distance. I really must try to swim more often.
Evening - Training was not held tonight as a number of us attended the farewell dinner for one of our long-standing veteran athletes who is heading off for Wollongong in a few weeks. There was an enormous turn-out for a gentleman who has contributed an enormous amount to vets atheletics in a number of capacities and who will be difficult to replace.
Saturday 14 October - Long hilly sloooooooooow run - Mt Majura
I met up with Marg at the base of Mt Ainslie - just the two of us this time. We took a different direction and aimed for Mt Majura. This time we started on an uphill and didn't do much else but run in a more or less vertical direction. We found a stile, climbed over it and ran a very narrow track up, up, and up. Now I use the term "run" very loosely as we did have to walk in a number of places where there were wide uneven steps, loose gravelly uneven ground and VERY steep slippery spots. It was so tough I wasn't even confident we would make it to the top but I really really wanted to be able to achieve the top of Mt Majura this week to match the top of Mt Ainslie last week. We spotted a stumpy-tailed lizard (large and gorgeous) - quite different from the frill-tailed lizard we saw last week. It looked like snake territory to me and near the top when we felt as though we could go no further a young girl came whizzing past us saying she was running fast because she was scared of snakes! However, although she had often run to this spot the last steep gravelly hill was even her undoing. She had never managed to conquer that hill and we took it very gingerly as it was definitely slippery. I cannot remember ever running this distance so slowly. It was one tough run - even tougher and definitely more uneven and scary than last week!
However I have to admit it was a glorious feeling reaching the peak at last and admiring that stunning view at the top and knowing that we had actually finally managed it. The downhill was much quicker! It did occur to me that maybe another time it would not seem so bad. We were just very unsure of our footing and that definitely takes practice. I'm sure even walking all those steep steps must have been good for the leg strength!!
As we neared our starting point we spotted Will just returning from his run and he made some comment about how fit we are - ha - if he had seen the way we struggled up those hills he might not have been so complimentary. Here's hoping we can struggle successfully through the Brindabella Classic Relay next Sunday!
Distance: 16km
Time taken: 2hours (oh dear me!!)
Calories burned: 1062
Monday morning - today
Gym - Bodypump
Gee I found those lunges really difficult today. My legs burnt. However it was an excellent session and gave my muscles a good work-out!
Afternoon - PH Running - speedygeoff has returned
Yes, our fearless leader was back at Parliament House tonight and we had a good session. It was great to welcome him back.
Session:
Warm-up of 2 loops of PH
1km hilly lap fast
30 sit ups!
6 x 200m with 100m easy jog between each 200m
practice of sprint starts for track season
Cool-down loop of PH
Total distance: 7.6km
Calories burned: 579
Thursday 12 October - Swim
I swam a km at CISAC before work. I actually quite enjoyed it in spite of the long time between swims! Of course I was slow which is normal for me but I felt comfortable and didn't struggle to swim the distance. I really must try to swim more often.
Evening - Training was not held tonight as a number of us attended the farewell dinner for one of our long-standing veteran athletes who is heading off for Wollongong in a few weeks. There was an enormous turn-out for a gentleman who has contributed an enormous amount to vets atheletics in a number of capacities and who will be difficult to replace.
Saturday 14 October - Long hilly sloooooooooow run - Mt Majura
I met up with Marg at the base of Mt Ainslie - just the two of us this time. We took a different direction and aimed for Mt Majura. This time we started on an uphill and didn't do much else but run in a more or less vertical direction. We found a stile, climbed over it and ran a very narrow track up, up, and up. Now I use the term "run" very loosely as we did have to walk in a number of places where there were wide uneven steps, loose gravelly uneven ground and VERY steep slippery spots. It was so tough I wasn't even confident we would make it to the top but I really really wanted to be able to achieve the top of Mt Majura this week to match the top of Mt Ainslie last week. We spotted a stumpy-tailed lizard (large and gorgeous) - quite different from the frill-tailed lizard we saw last week. It looked like snake territory to me and near the top when we felt as though we could go no further a young girl came whizzing past us saying she was running fast because she was scared of snakes! However, although she had often run to this spot the last steep gravelly hill was even her undoing. She had never managed to conquer that hill and we took it very gingerly as it was definitely slippery. I cannot remember ever running this distance so slowly. It was one tough run - even tougher and definitely more uneven and scary than last week!
However I have to admit it was a glorious feeling reaching the peak at last and admiring that stunning view at the top and knowing that we had actually finally managed it. The downhill was much quicker! It did occur to me that maybe another time it would not seem so bad. We were just very unsure of our footing and that definitely takes practice. I'm sure even walking all those steep steps must have been good for the leg strength!!
As we neared our starting point we spotted Will just returning from his run and he made some comment about how fit we are - ha - if he had seen the way we struggled up those hills he might not have been so complimentary. Here's hoping we can struggle successfully through the Brindabella Classic Relay next Sunday!
Distance: 16km
Time taken: 2hours (oh dear me!!)
Calories burned: 1062
Monday morning - today
Gym - Bodypump
Gee I found those lunges really difficult today. My legs burnt. However it was an excellent session and gave my muscles a good work-out!
Afternoon - PH Running - speedygeoff has returned
Yes, our fearless leader was back at Parliament House tonight and we had a good session. It was great to welcome him back.
Session:
Warm-up of 2 loops of PH
1km hilly lap fast
30 sit ups!
6 x 200m with 100m easy jog between each 200m
practice of sprint starts for track season
Cool-down loop of PH
Total distance: 7.6km
Calories burned: 579
Wow. That sounds like a really tough run - but wonderful - run
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing you very soon!
Sounds like some of the paths we were on when we were on holiday. Going down is hard too as you have to watch every step. I'm sure it makes us stronger though!
ReplyDelete30 sit-ups! Now, how did I miss that?
ReplyDeleteI love that view from Majura - well worth a 2 hour run ;)
strewth: my little publicity machine. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteCongratulation on making it to the top of another mountain.It's a satisfying feeling isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI am going to do the same in my morning run tomorrow!