Sunday, January 31, 2010

Pinged by the Handicapper!

In the last run for 2009 in November I won a bronze medal at the Vets' Handicap. As a result of this the handicapper made me suffer accordingly and put me back NINE groups from Group 18 to Group 27. Now that's a pretty tough call. We ran the Campbell Park course at 8.30am in warm to hot conditions - an undulating out and back course, a bit rough in parts but at least I knew what to expect and where I was going having incorporated it in our long run yesterday. I enjoy catching up with everyone at the monthly handicaps - people we only see once a month and others returning to running like CJ - so good to see her out there again.
I ran a short warm-up with the usual suspects round the flat carpark then headed for the portaloo and from there to the start.
Total distance of run: 6km (plus 1km warm-up)
Time taken: 33:37
Average pace per km: 5:36
Handicap group: 27 (in the same start group as Jen; Ewen and Chris ran off Group 25 - how does that work??)
Finish place: 112 (a little different from last handicap - wonder if that qualifies for a new group next month?)
Number of finishers in Thomas course: 132
The really great part of the results is that our speedygeese won the first three places in the Thomas series. Andy won Gold, Craig Silver and Brett Bronze. What a fantastic result!
After the run I joined Jen, Andy, Ewen, Heidi, Janene, Ken, Noeline and Garry for a very civilized coffee and brunch at Carlo's - if fact I indulged in two coffees, they were so good!!

Total distance for week: 71km

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Catch up time!

Oh dear, this has been another fly-by week without any posts since Sunday so here goes with the catch-up!
Monday - run training with speedygeese at Weston Park
4.30pm - early warm-up of 5.33km with Jen, Ewen, Andy and speedycoach - a run around the jogalong course - some shady bits which was important in the intense heat!
5.30pm - main session with 18 speedygeese attendees
It was fun and a pleasant change training at Weston Park tonight. There was a big concert in the grounds of Parliament House celebrating Australia Day which made parking there at a premium.
It was a very hot evening and after a warm-up again on the jogalong course we headed for a hill which was not as steep as last week's hill but still a challenge in the heat.
We ran 20 x 80m hill repeats in 30minutes before our cool down.
Total distance including early warm-up: 13km
Calories burned: 745
Tuesday - Run
Today was a holiday being Australia Day and I had a sleep in! It was another scorcher and I left my run until 7.20pm when the intense heat had lessened. I ran from home towards Gungahlin along the cycle track and back again listening to my music.
Total distance: 8km
Time taken: 48mins
Average pace per km: 6mins
Calories burned: 470
Wednesday
6.15am - RPM/spin class at gym
7am - Abs class
6pm - Run with Jen, Andy and started with Ewen and Chris
On another hot night we ran from Parliament House to the lake and as we were running over the bridge somehow Jen, Andy and I were separated from Ewen and Chris. We did pass them going in the opposite direction as we neared the wetlands but that was the last time we saw each other. There was a bit of confusion about directions but at least we all had a good run!
Total distance: 12.3km
Calories: 722
Thursday
6.15am - Strength training at the gym
5.30pm - Track
Tonight at the AIS it was "come and try it" night which attracted quite a few extra people. In fact 89 people took part in various distances tonight. I didn't feel 100% but I did want to enter a few events. I ran in the 1500m at 6pm and it was dreadfully hot and dry at that time. At the end of the run I had a coughing fit just like after the 800m.
Distance: 1500m
Time taken: 7:21:21
I was still struggling with the cough and sucking on peppermints when I started the next event of the 2000m walk. I enjoy the fitness walking. This time it was a Turkey race and we had to guess the time we thought we would do. We were not allowed to wear watches and they covered the clocks. Margaret won the event as she estimated her time within 3secs - pretty good estimate!
On the other hand I was miles out with my estimate.
Distance for walk: 2000m
Time taken: 14:11
Estimate: 15:50
The last event I competed in at track was the 3000m handicap race. This was handicapped according to age.
Distance: 3000m
Time taken: 15:16
Average pace per km: 5:05 (almost there!)
Margaret and I ran a few laps to warm up at the start and ran out of the AIS for a short cool down after our 3000m.
Total distance for evening: 8.07km
Friday - Rest Day
6.15am - Gym - Body balance class (including stretching and abs)
Saturday - long run
This morning I met up with the Molonglo group at 7am and ran with Chris, Ewen and Andy along the Campbell Park course which we will be running in tomorrow's handicap run. We ran round the undulating base of Mt Ainslie in an anti-clockwise direction and turned off towards the War Memorial where we ran down to the lake over Commonwealth Bridge and along to and through the wetlands and back to Molonglo Reach where we met up with the rest of the group for a short catch up before Ewen, Andy and I headed for the Portrait Gallery for coffee and cake - defnitely a good way to finish a good morning's run.
Total distance: 23km
Time taken: 2hrs 32mins
Average pace per km: 6:36
Calories burned: 1350
The temperature was pleasantly cool to start this morning and it just started to warm up as we neared the finish - perfect timing!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

What a difference a day makes!

Overnight the temperature dropped considerably and this morning it was only 13deg when I drove to Parliament House to meet Ewen at 7.30am. Wow, it felt positively chilly! Great weather for a warm-up followed by drills and hill sprints. We headed for the shady grass opposite the portrait gallery where we ran 3 x 60m strides before our drills as follows:
3 x 50m schoolyard skipping
2 x 50m of high skips, flat foot marching, high knees, butt kicks and carioca
50-60m strides between each set.
We then ran to a grassy bank on the roof of PH and ran 8 x 10sec hill sprints with a good recovery between each run.

Total distance: 8km

Total distance for week: 70km

After all this we drove over to the triathlon site and joined the cheer squad for Jen_Runs and Mango who were racing the Olympic distance as a team. It was exciting to watch and of course we incorporated coffee while Mango was out on his run. We saw lots of familiar faces and caught up with friends - some from many moons ago - another good day. Mr B was a technical official on the back of a motorbike pinging those who were drafting on their bikes and sending them off to the penalty box where they had to wait 3 minutes - quite a number of culprits as it happened! There were six motorbikes with technical officials on the bike course!

Later in the afternoon the temperature warmed up to another hot sunny day of 32degrees but fortunately the triathletes experienced perfect cool calm conditions early in the morning.
To top off a lovely weekend Mr B and I went to the movies tonight to see 'It's Complicated' starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. We really enjoyed it - good fun. About 3/4 of the way through the movie suddenly died and we sat in silence. We had to wait about ten minutes before the movie was brought back to life and because of the inconvenience every person in the theatre was given a free ticket for a movie another night. Considering we saw the rest of the movie AND enjoyed it thoroughly, we thought that was a pretty good deal! We now get to see another movie free - woo hoo!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Second hottest January night ever in Canberra!

This meant that at 6.44am when I finally managed to run out the door it was already 27deg. At 1am it was still 31deg - that is so hot for the middle of the night!
Anyway, my run was less than ordinary. I left from home because I was on a time frame and ran to Lake Ginninderra, round the lake and back via the road to Gungahlin before turning and running home via the cycle tracks. I definitely prefer the trails to all that concrete and grassy verges. After a quick shower it was time to take the children to swimming lessons on their final day with us. It's been fun having the grandchildren stay and we will miss all those daily cuddles!
Total distance: 21.8km
Time taken: 2:18:18
Average pace per km: 6:20
Calories burned: 1283
Later in the afternoon I collected CJ and we drove into town where we met Ewen for coffee before heading to the triathlon site to meet up with Jen_Runs here from Sydney with Mango and Mini Mango for a triathlon weekend. We joined the cheersquad for Mini Mango in the enticer tri. She had an awesome sprint to the finish - great to watch and fantastic to catch up with Jen_Runs and family - a hot, but good day.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

4 lap Spiral

I didn't even have time for a decent warm-up before the spiral handicap at 6pm tonight - just a few laps with speedycoach right before the start. I went off in Group 32 and Bronwyn still managed to whizz past me on the home straight off Group 43. I really tried my best but it was 33deg at that time of day and although a little breeze had started I still felt extremely dehydrated. I couldn't stay for the 1500m tonight unfortunately as I had to dash home to relieve my friend from her babysitting duties but it was great to have the opportunity to participate even in just one event. I did race past Sheryl who was coming 2nd in the pointscore but I have a feeling that Bron will be ahead of me now as she finished 6th and I finished 8th! I have some work to do! :)
4 lap spiral (1.6km)
Time taken: 8:02 (tbc)
Average pace per km: 4:58
Handicap group: 32
Finish place: 8th

Total distance with warm-up: 3km (hardly worth recording)!

Friends make running fun!

Wednesday
6.15am - RPM
7am - Abs
6pm - Run with Jen, Ewen, Andy and Richard from Parliament House. We ran down to the lake and through the wetlands aiming for as much shade as possible. It was good to catch up with Jen again as she has been out of action for a few sessions. There was a bit of wind but it was generally quite a pleasant run apart from the persistent twinges in my left hammie!
Total distance: 12km
Time taken: 1:15:35
Average pace per km: 6:18
Calories burned: 700
And later today a friend is coming over to watch the grancchildren for a short while for me so that I can defend my pointscore position in the 4 lap spiral at the track. Fingers crossed cos it will be very hot. Currently at 3.25pm it is 36deg which has already surpassed the expected high of 33deg! Ouch!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Drills in the afternoon

I managed to fit my drills session in this afternoon while the children were at their various activities (this babysitting business takes some organisation but it's lots of fun). It was a pleasant 25deg at 3.30pm and I headed for the oval with my hamstring taped so that I wasn't in too much discomfort.
It was about 2.6km to the starting spot and I ran my 3 x 60m strides in the semi shade of trees and did the following drills jogging back to the start each time.
3 x schoolyard skipping (60m)
3 x high skips (60m)
3 x flat foot marching (60m)
3 x carioca (left and right) (60m)
3 x high knees (50m)
3 x butt kicks (50m)
I ran 60m strides between each set.
Then I ran home again.
Total distance: 8.6km

Monday, January 18, 2010

Hill Repeats on a much cooler evening

The weather was positively cool today. I couldn't believe the huge drop in temperature. It was a lot better for training although there was a bit of wind out there. I arrived in time for the 4.30pm early run and was surprised at the number of early starters tonight - seven of us; usually there are only three or four. We ran 8km and returned to collect the rest of the group starting again at 5.30pm. There was a good turn out for this session and a lot of newbies. We ran a warm-up loop of Parliament House before heading for the southside grassy slope of the roof of PH. It was very plush and spongy. Our goal was to run as many 80m steep hill repeats on 80secs as possible for 30minutes. I managed to run the full 24 but it was tough and I was slow as usual although I didn't get left behind and some people didn't do all the repeats.
Total distance for evening: 16km
Calories burned: 922
After training had finished Bronwyn and Jodie produced chocolate caramello koalas from the Cadbury Factory in Tassie for us all - yummo - what a great way to end a tough session! Thanks girls - mmmmm!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Juggling the Training

I struggled a bit with my hamstring in today's run from Molonglo which was a shame as apart from the nagging pain I felt fine and I'm sure I could have gone faster in normal circumstances - grrrr! The conditions were still quite humid but not unpleasant and of course the company was good. I ran mainly with Andy and Ewen. I was under a time frame as I had to take Talia to a birthday party at the bowling alley. There is a bit of deja vue in having little children in the house again. We are looking after our two grandchildren (aged 7 and 3) for just over a week while their parents are holidaying in Hong Kong so Mr B and I need to fit in with each other with training times which requires a bit of tricky juggling sometimes.
This morning we ran from Molonglo over the base of Mt Ainslie anti-clockwise down past the War Memorial across Commonwealth Ave Bridge, through the Wetlands and back to the start. On our return trip we stopped for water and Liz (aka known as Jog or Superwoman) came running up with her 4kg backpack looking very strong and probably already having run about 40km. She is in deep training for the Cradle Mountain 84km which is coming up soon.

Total distance: 22.5km
Time taken: 2:31
Average pace per km: 6:43 (oh dear)
Calories burned: 1,316 (and I didn't stop eating all day!)

Total distance for week: 65km

Friday, January 15, 2010

Back on Track!

Yesterday (Thursday) morning I went for a fitness assessment at the gym and was pleased to learn I have a resting heartrate of 49. I was also shown a few more exercises which will make a bit of a change to my usual regime. A change is always good.

It was also good that the temperature was much less extreme today and almost cool when I ventured out to track to run the 3000m. I warmed up with Marg, Ewen and speedygeoff for a few laps and then headed for the start line. There was a bit of a breeze but apart from that the conditions were pretty good as it's so much easier to run when it's not too hot.

The final results have now been posted and I ran the 3000m in 15:23 which is slightly better than last time but not a PB. My goal is still to go under 15mins. I am a bit disappointed with the official time as I thought I ran in 15:16. Oh well, keep on running strewth!!

Total distance including warm-up and cool down: 8km
Calories burned: 412

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Woo hoo - a cool change!

Wednesday is always a big day for me and the morning was very warm as overnight we had the hottest overnight temperature in Canberra for about 40 years. At midnight last night it was still 31deg! I started my day with an RPM class at 6.15am. The fans in the room were just not enough cooling and it was dreadfully hot. At 7am I dripped my way into the bigger room for the abs class and the air conditioning felt wonderful after our hot steamy little cycling room!

Late in the afternoon the temperature dropped by about 10deg and by 6pm when I ran with Chris, Ewen, Richard and Andy it was a comfortable 23deg with an easterly wind. We ran a pleasant course from Parliament House down to the lake and on through the wetlands in the opposite direction to what we run on Saturdays. In parts the wind was a bit strong but it was just so good not to be fighting the intense heat. Unfortunately my hamstring is still being a bit of a pain and there were no records set for my pace!
Total distance: 13km
Time taken: 1:24:14
Average pace per km: 6:26

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Drills and no reprieve from the heat!

It was another scorcher today. I started it by going to the gym early in the morning before a day at work. I spent about 40mins on upper body strength, abs and stretching.
After work I drove home first and left at 6.45pm thinking it might have cooled down. It still felt really hot so I ran to the furthest part of the oval to find a spot of shade on the flat and measured a 50m and 60m course. I only go 50m for high knees and butt kicks as they are very tough!
It was a 3km gentle run to the start.
3 x strides to start then 1 x 60m strides between each set of 3 of the following:
schoolyard skipping
high skips
flat foot marching
Carioca (left and right)
high knees
butt kicks
I finished with a 3km run home again.
Total distance: 9.2km
Calories burned: 500
And oh, I do wish there was a cold pool or lake to stand in after I finished. It was sooooo hot even at that time.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Hot Start to a New Week

At almost 40deg I joined Ewen and speedygeoff for the 4.30pm start for our training session. It was far too hot to run at any speed and we tried to find shady spots as we ran only 6km for our first warm up. We joined the others at Parliament House at 5.30pm when we ran another warm up before the main session which was 17 x 100m sharp hill sprints every 90secs. The hills were on the east side of PH and tougher than last week even though there was a little shade. We had a short break half way for a drink and cool face splash before resuming the session. My legs felt heavy, I was slow and it was really hot and tough. This evening I have just not been able to drink enough. I am so dehydrated.
Total distance with warm up: 13km
Calories burned: 700

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Back to the Heat Wave

.....and the hills! This morning I met up with the Molonglo group at 7am for our run, this time round the very undulating base of Mt Ainslie before heading off from the War Memorial and on to the lake and through the wetlands. It was hot even at 7am although much hotter later in the morning. It was great to catch up with Nadine and Brett, not long back from their honeymoon in Nepal - sounded so amazing. Michelle was also there running ahead keeping Ewen honest. Andy had problems with his knee at the 17km point so left us to take a short cut back and just Ewen and I completed the 24km giving us a chance to catch up on all the news.
Total distance: 24km

Time taken: 2:34
Average pace per km: 6:24
Calories burned: 1,395

Total distance for week: 63km

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Strewth - I'm Tardy!

I was a little late arriving at Parliament House for our mid-week run today and we didn't start until 6pm instead of the scheduled 5.45pm. Ewen was cranky and ran ahead of Richard, Andy and me to make up time for half the distance! He starts work very early in the mornings and needs lots of beauty sleep! But running is a good cure for crankiness and soon we were all chatting happily and hopefully all is forgiven!
It was hot tonight but the advantage of running that little bit later is that for the last 20 mins the breeze picked up and cooled the temperature down a little. We ran through the wetlands where there are some lovely shady spots which helped.
Total distance: 13.4km
Time taken: 1:24:12
Average pace per km: 6:16
Calories burned: 783
Mr B and I have decided on the spur of the moment to drive to Sydney tomorrow to take our daughter out for dinner for her 30th birthday - just stay the one night then home again. We might even make it to Bondi Beach with her. It will be fun. I'll miss the first track session for this year but will be back for the long run on Sat!

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Catching up on the Drills!

This morning before breakfast I ran to the oval in the next suburb for a drills session on a flat semi shaded area near the school. It was quiet and I felt quite comfortable looking like an idiot. One lone cyclist gave a double take but apart from a few young cyclists in the distance I was pretty much alone. I missed out the skip kicks as my hammie has been troubling me a bit but after 3 x 60m strides I did 3 each of the following Peter Magill drills with 60m strides between each set including at the finish.
  • schoolyard skipping
  • high skips
  • flat foot marching
  • carioca (left and right with the third one half of each)
  • high knees
  • butt kicks

After that I ran the 2.6km home again. It was hot but there was a little head wind on the gentle run back to the start after each drill. At least the wind was going in the right direction to benefit me.

Total distance including drills: 10km

Monday, January 04, 2010

First speedygeese session for 2010 - in the heat!

This morning I went to the gym to work on upper body strength and abs. Both areas need lots of work! Then at 4.30pm I joined Miranda, Craig, Ewen and Geoff for the early warm-up run down to the lake and to Manuka and back. It was really really hot and we cut the distance short by a km making a total of 7km for the warm-up.
We joined the other speedygeese including one new starter and a couple who haven't run with us for some time. It was good to see them again looking strong.
Our main session after our warm-up laps round Parliament House, consisted of 20 x 100m hill sprints with a jog back down to the start and restarting on 90secs. It was very hot and very hard but a great feeling to finish. I tried to be conscious of my form, concentrating on my abs and running on my toes and as tall as possible. It seemed to help a little.
Total distance for day: 15km

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Girl Sweat with the Boys!

This morning I joined Andy and Ewen at 7.30am for a run from Molonglo Reach. Although it was cloudy to start it was still humid and sticky. We ran part of Mt Ainslie and down to the War Memorial then on to the lake via the city before heading for the wetlands and back to Molonglo. Ewen and I ran an extra 3km towards the airport but Andy stopped at 17km. It was hot and we were slow but the company and conversation were good. We were just in time to catch up with Michelle, Cathy and the two Graemes before they left. A decision was made to head for the Portrait Gallery for coffee and something to eat where the three of us continued with good conversation and lots of fluids. It was fun!

Total distance: 21km
Time taken: 2:19:35
Average pace per km: 6:38
Calories burned: 1220

Total distance for week: 66km

Friday, January 01, 2010

Roll out the old year - bring on the new!

Thursday 31 December
For my last run for 2009 I ran from home with Mr B. We were expecting it to be cool as there had just been a refreshing shower of rain. However, it was really humid and we were both dripping on our return. I sweated "like a man" - eeeew!
Total distance: 10km
Time taken: 59:04
Average pace per km: 5:54
Calories burned: 584
Total distance for 2009: 2520km (I think I missed a few but pretty close)
In 2010 I will aim for a bigger total!

I wish you all a happy, healthy, injury-free 2010 with all your goals achieved and your dreams fulfilled! May good fortune, wonderful friends and exciting new adventures be part of an amazing year. Thank you for your friendship.