Once every 28 years!

I went to the gym this morning for an upper body workout. My membership runs out at Club Pink in a week and I have joined Club Lime where there's a wider choice of gym locations and classes. That will start from next Wednesday and there will not be a fixed contract so I can give it a try without the commitment. The big benefit is that the cost will include entry to the pool which means I can swim when I like. 

At lunchtime I headed for Woden in the rain to take part in the BBQ Stakes. Today, being 29 February, the decision was to run it a little differently and we ran an out and back course as a turkey run ie no watches allowed. We had to choose our own handicap and the winner was the person who finished nearest to 40 minutes. One person finished at exactly 40 minutes, Kerrie finished in 39:59 and someone else finished in 40:01 so a few people knew exactly how fast they run even in inclement weather with mud underfoot. Running out and back was a good option as we missed some of the hills in the second half and also avoided some of the mud. It was also quite a good temperature with a few raindrops to keep us cool. Apparently the opportunity to run on Wednesday 29 February only occurs once every 28 years. Next time I run this course I may be using a zimmer frame. It would be absolutely wonderful, in fact a miracle, if I were still running at almost 90 years of age especially on those hills - tee hee!

Jen and I ran a 3km warm up before the race and a 3km warm down in the rain.

Total distance: 12km (but no idea how long the 6km race took - I'm quite lost when I can't wear my garmin)

A Wet Wet Start to the Week

Monday

As I had an Avon sales meeting to attend in the evening on the other side of town I decided to run first thing in the morning inbetween the raindrops. The rain was just a steady light drizzle and actually felt quite pleasant and relieved the humidity a little. I timed the run quite well as by the time I reached home the rain had become heavier and it would have been quite unpleasant a little later in the day. It did clear enough for the speedygeese to have a good session, however, which sadly I had to miss.

Total distance: 8km

Tuesday 

It was drizzling again as we started our run from Black Mountain Peninsula at 8.30am. The plan was to run past the museum on to the world statue but Marg and I went a slightly different route incorporating the old hospital hill instead of running round the museum on the way out and going on past the statue towards the carillon. We turned at 4.5km and returned via the museum route. During our last few kms the rain fell more heavily and we were very wet by the time we finished.

Total distance: 11km

I was called on to babysit later in the day but wasn't too upset to miss the summer series run at Weston Park as the rain did not ease off all afternoon and in fact it is still bucketing down outside now! Tomorrow's BBQ stakes run is looking to be extremely soggy:(

Postscript
There are now less than seven weeks to go before the Canberra marathon. It would be nice if we could finally receive our Griffin singlets which we have been waiting for and chasing up since last April. Liz and I would like to run the Canberra marathon wearing our Griffin singlets as we consider running ten Canberra marathons an achievement to wear with pride!

Over 100km week!

Chicken, avocado, rocket & prosciutto salad at TwoB4Ten

On Thursday I had a lovely lunch with CJ and Mr B before heading off to the hairdresser. Then later it was off to track to meet up with Ewen and his friend Bruce who was here for a visit from Sydney. We ran a very short warm up before taking part in the mile run. This is an event I would never normally race but Bruce had a strong desire to beat me so run it I did, not very fast but I still came across the finish line just a few seconds ahead of him.
Then on tired legs Ewen and I took part in the 1200m walk which started at the same time as the 10,000m walk. Ouch, it really hurt as the mile had been short and sharp. Usually I do the walk after the 3000m and manage ok but this was really really hard work. I could never have completed the 10,000m walk that night.
Next Ewen, Bruce and I ran out on Bruce Ridge - a good trail run to make up the appropriate distance for the day.
Distance: 1mile (1.6km): 8:02
Distance: 1200m walk: 8:38
Total distance for day including warm up and warm down: 10km

Saturday - long run
My first part of the long run was with Jen. I parked my car at the war memorial and ran down to the ferry terminal to meet her and when my garmin hit 4km it stopped dead with a flat battery. Yikes! Fortunately Jen had a running app on her iphone and could measure the distance of my run with her. We ran round the West Basin end of the lake and by the time we met Ewen running down from the war memorial I had clocked up 20.6km. Jen left us here and Ewen ran with me round the East Basin of the lake and back along Anzac Parade when Ewen's garmin told me I had completed my schedule for the day.
It was perfect for running at 6.50am when I started running down to the lake, with hot air balloons floating above Parliament House (plenty of hot air going on there at the moment), but once the cloud cover lifted it was quite hot.
After our run we had a most enjoyable coffee and lunch at the war memorial cafe with Liz, Jeni G, Marg, Peter, CJ and Ewen - by far the best way to end a long run.
Later it was off to do the supermarket shopping - oh joy. This weekend Mr B is in Melbourne competing in a triathlon there - very hot and windy conditions I am told.
Total distance: 34km
Time taken: 3hrs 42mins

Running along Anzac Parade - hot air balloons in the distance

Average pace per km: Approx 6:30per km

Parliament House

Sunday - Vets' handicap
No sleep in today. Instead it was off to the veteran's handicap run which was held at North Curtin. I was a bit nervous as the run started on a hill which went upwards on a rough trail for about 2km and I wondered how I would cope after the long run yesterday. However, I felt surprisingly comfortable and there were lots of downhills to compensate for the uphills. It was really hot and sunny during our little warm up run but during the race there was cloud cover and it was a very pleasant run although humid. Later in the day there was some rain but it held off for the baby celebrations for our friend in the botanical gardens where CJ and I went in the afternoon.
Distance of vets' run: 6.2km
Time taken: 36:11
Average pace per km: 5:50
Handicap group: 18
Finish place: 23rd (out of 107)
Age percentage: 69.4%
Total distance for day with warm up: 8km
Total distance for week: 101km

Jon's baby Billie 10weeks old - photo borrowed from Cathy's blog

Running Alone

There were misty clouds over the lake this morning as I ran from home and I spotted two hot air balloons floating above me. I left home at 7.30am as I needed to be home in time to look after Master 5 for the day. Considering my running yesterday and the fact that I was running without music, I felt surprisingly ok. I do enjoy running with music though and unfortunately I think my shuffle fell out of my pocket at the coast last weekend. The worst part, apart from buying a new one, is having to download a whole lot of music on to it again - rats!

There were lots of joggers, walkers, cyclists and mothers walking with prams going round the lake. It was quite busy at that time of day. After running round the lake I headed out towards Gungahlin to make up the extra distance before returning home in time to take Master 5 to The Muppet Movie - lots of fun!

Total distance: 20km
Time taken: 2:08
Average pace per km: 6:24
Calories burned: 1108

Eight Weeks to Marathon

Something strange has happened to the print on my computer and I need my computer savvy son to rectify the situation. The trouble is with IT people they never have time to help their own family so I won't hold my breath! In the meantime I'll just put up with it but I have no idea how it turns out as all I can see is HUGE type and all the icons at the bottom have disappeared so I can't adjust my overall font!

Anyway back to the training.

Monday - I went to the gym for an upper body workout in the morning - shoulders, biceps, triceps and abs followed by a swim.

Later it was the speedygeese session at Parliament House. I took Yelena and we arrived a little early and managed just over 3km before joining the others for the warm up lap of PH. At this stage the rain had started and we began the session already wet. There were only 12 of us tonight - a drop in numbers because of the rain I imagine. We ran the warm up between shelters like an interval session but as the rain eased off we headed for the oval by the rose garden for the main session. This was a long undulating loop incorporating a 200m sprint on the flat by the road and a couple of slow/fast intervals by the tennis courts. We ran the last loop in the reverse direction as a handicap. I started first cos I'm the slowest and everyone else ran from their desired handicap behind me. It didn't take most of them long to overtake me - it was a hard session especially after my long run yesterday. It was quite good to have a little shower to keep us hydrated and Ewen and I had a big surprise when Mr Apples tooted and called out to hurry us up as he drove round Parliament House on his bus route.

At the end of the session Jen, speedycoach and I ran an extra loop round PH to give us a few more kms.

Total distance: 12km

Tuesday

Morning - Tuesday group Black Mountain peninsula

The run today was over Scrivener Dam. I ran 5km from the peninsula and over the bridge on to the 5km point and back the same way - lots of undulations, a good course. I passed lots of people walking and several runners on the way. It was quite warm but pleasant. We celebrated Marg's 65th birthday which was on Sat and the other Margaret who turned 80 yesterday but didn't look a day over 65! Celebrating included champagne and lots of cake. I whipped up a choc cake (found a quick easy recipe online)at 6am before leaving for the run and it was surprisingly delicious. There was also a choc marble cake for the 80th birthday and of course lots of other delicious goodies. Now this is not a good way to start the day or indeed a good way to run again in the afternoon! Oh dear!

I took my car in for two new tyres to be fitted this afternoon - it feels so good having nice new tyres - bit like wearing new shoes when running!

Total distance: 10km

Calories burned: 553

YCRC Summer Series Run

The run this evening started at Barrenjoey Drive. This was a bit tricky to find as I headed for the old start of Barrenjoey Drive and it was gated off. Someone else, a new runner, pulled up at the same time as me and we decided to head back to the main road and find the other end of the road. There we found plenty of parking spots and lots of runners, much more like it.

Today's run was a three looped course and a bit rough. I had to watch my footing all the time because of tree routes and rocks and stones. However I felt better the further I ran although I was running a little tired which was obvious by the time I took. I treated it like a tempo interval session and ran 7mins fast with 1min slow three times. Taking into account the degree of difficulty one would expect it to be slower than last time though. I ran back to the car afterwards with Janene and Cathy - lovely to catch up with them both.

Total distance for run: 5km plus 1.8km warm up and down

Time taken: 28mins

Average pace per km: 5:38

Calories burned: 272

Total distance for day: 16.8km

A busy few days with a medal for us both!

Thursday - track night

I arrived at track in time for a short warm up before heading for the 800m 4 person walk relay - something a little different!  It was a good warm up for the 10,000m event and actually quite hard work! I ran a couple of km inbetween races and decided, as I needed extra kilometres anyway, to run in the 10,000m race. It was not necessarily a wise decision because I am not really race ready and running 25 laps of a 400m track is not very exciting. However, there were about 26 competitors and Val lap scored for me and Caroline. I was almost last, lucky that Lachie entered and I came in well ahead of him. Caroline took off in the second half and was a minute faster than me. My legs felt a bit tired from yesterday's 18km but I knew I wasn't fresh. I just had to use it as a training run therefore it was a very pleasant surprise to receive a gold medal for my age group (being the only W60 entrant - tee hee) as it was the championship race. Caroline won the W65 age group - yay, how exciting! 

Total distance for night: 12km

Glowing with a gold medal in W60  for 10,000m on track

On Friday Mr B and I drove to Nowra to stay the night as Mr B competed in the sprint triathlon next morning at Huskisson. That evening we shared a lovely meal at a Thai restaurant with our great friends from Goulburn and Canberra who were also competing. That night it rained and rained and we felt a bit dubious about the weather for the event. We need not have worried. Saturday was lovely - no sign of rain, some cloud cover to start and lots of sunshine later. In fact by the time the run had started it was very hot. Mr B had a good race and it was very exciting when he achieved a gold medal for his age group out of 8 finishers. Fortunately Bob was competing the next morning in the long distance tri so he did not have him for competition. 

Mr B wins gold in Huskisson sprint triathlon

After the event I managed to fit in a short run before returning to Canberra. It was already after 1pm and the sun was extremely hot by this stage. I just ran along the run route of the triathlon with some extra kilometres added.

Total distance: 8km

Sunday - long run

This morning I met Richard at the ferry terminal and he cycled beside me as I ran round the West Basin of the lake. We included the museum and Black Mountain peninsula to increase the distance. Margaret met us just after we reached the yacht club and cycled with me for the remainder of my run when Richard had to leave. We then headed for the East basin and through Kingston and round the wetlands before heading back to the ferry terminal. It was a great morning for a run, some cloud cover but very warm as the clouds lifted and the sun shone through.

Total distance: 32km

Time taken: 3hr 30mins

Average pace per km: 6:36

Calories burned: 1774

Total distance for week: 91km

I pulled off my shoes and socks after the run and stood knee deep in the cool lake water - not quite like the sea water yesterday but it felt very refreshing and soothing anyway. Next we walked over the bridge and enjoyed pancakes and great coffee at Urban Foods.

I was just about to back my car out from the carpark later when Marg pointed out that my front tyre looked very flat. Sure enough I had a puncture. I found the appropriate tools and temporary spare in the boot and rang Dave to rescue me. In the meantime we tried to lever those wheel nuts off - good grief, even with extra leverage they would not budge. I even tried jumping on the brace, no movement, and as for the jack, it just would not sit properly where it was supposed to. After some time a lovely grandad came to help. He offered to show me an easy way to loosen those wheel nuts. He jumped on the spanner brace and they moved immediately. Nothing happened when I did that! With his family urging him on the job was nearly done by the time Mr B arrived! Now I have to drive very slowly on a temporary tyre until we buy new front tyres, which are obviously well overdue!

My knight in shining armour has just arrived to show me how it's done!

Midweek Run

I couldn't go to the BBQ Stakes run today as I was on grandma role. As Sam has just started school this year he only has four days full time for a couple of weeks before he goes to full days. I'm therefore looking after him for a couple of Weds. It was a great outside day today, perfect for fun at the park and for giving Teddy a bath. Sam also had fun hosing down the slippery dip, swings, tables etc and of course the garden had a good water too!

I did however fit in a middle distance run before Sam was dropped off. I plugged in my music and ran from home down to Lake G, round the lake and on through the tunnel towards Gungahlin before turning back and heading for home. My ankle gave me a bit of a twinge but I could run through it today.

Total distance: 18.5km

Time taken: 1hr 54mins
Average pace per km: 6:22
Calories burned: 1035

Fun with Sam at Lake Ginninderra

Tuesday run on Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day today. 

This morning at Tuesday group we ran from the peninsula past the museum and on to the world globe. I ran a bit ahead of Margaret and after running "round the world" once I ran back for her then ran "round the world" a second time with Margaret. Then we ran back to the start to eat some lovely honey joys made by Rae and choccie bikkies. Oops!
Total distance: 12km

During the run my left ankle gave a big twinge and I had to stop and walk. It seemed ok after a minute so I continued to run for a few kms when it happened again. Ouch! Later I iced it and went for an hour's walk with Teddy but it was still aching a bit so I decided against going to the summer series run tonight. Instead I cooked a nice dinner for Mr B for Valentine's Day including dark chocolate coated strawberries for dessert. Mmmm, yummy:)

Quick Recap and Nine weeks to marathon!

Thursday

As we were going to see Ronan Keating in concert on Thursday night I couldn't run at track that evening so instead I followed the marathon program and ran out past the AIS track and on to the undulating track beside Bruce Ridge where I ran as follows:

2 x 60secs fast/60secs float

4 x 30secs/30 float

2 x 60secs/60 float

4 x 30secs/30 float

2 x 60secs/60 float

Then I ran back home.

Total distance: 10km

The concert was amazing. Ronan sang a lot of newer songs as well as some of the ones I know and love. The support act was Sharon Corr (from The Corrs) who played the violin brilliantly. It made me want to resurrect my childhood violin but I wouldn't subject others to that pain. I remember my cat used to love me practising and climb up and curl itself around my neck to get closer to the screeching!!

Saturday - long run

I met Ewen and Jen at the War Memorial carpark and ran over the base of Mt Ainslie trails to Stirling Ave, Watson & back, all on dirt trails, before returning to the carpark where Jen and Ewen left me and I ran down Anzac Parade and on to the lake where I turned left heading towards Molonglo. Richard caught up with me on his bike and rode the last 12km near me. It was great to have company for nearly all my run.

Total distance: 28km

Time taken: 3:09:30

Average pace per km: 6:45

Calories burned: 1534

That evening Mr B and I were happy to join lots of running mates at very speedy Bruce's 50th birthday party. Everybody took a plate of food and the spread was amazing. We didn't stay late as I had an early start next morning but it was lovely to see so many friends and enjoy the comraderie and music.

Sunday - sprint marathon relay

Margaret and I headed to the start by just after 7.15am where we were given our relay team details.  There were eight teams of six runners each competing this year. I was runner number 5 in my relay team with speedygeoff as our team captain. Every runner completed four legs of 1k and one leg of 2k, or in the case of the slowest runner in each team six legs of 1k, and faster runners had to catch up to slower runners at the end so that team members crossed the finish line together. Being Runner No 5 I ran my second last km sprint up the hill to meet runner number 6 where the rest of the team caught up and we all ran back to the end where we ran together over the finish line holding hands. At one stage our team was coming seventh; at another stage it was last but we ended up coming fourth (exactly in the middle) with lots of hard running from everyone so we were happy with that result. It was lots of fun in ideal conditions - no rain but some cloud cover. 

In between sprints I was lucky to have the company of Ewen, who was runner 5 in another team, to jog 1-2km with me while we waited to be tagged by the next runner. This kept our legs moving as well as giving us some more distance.

After the relay I ran a warm down with Ewen and Geoff and later Margaret and I enjoyed a pleasant coffee at the Farmers' Daughter cafe in Yarralumla. It was really busy but the coffee was good.

Total distance for day: 17.4km

In the early evening Mr B and I went to a 65th birthday celebration at a cycling friend's home. It was quite a weekend of parties. I took chocolate truffles and mini frittatas to each so inbetween running I was baking!

Total distance for week: 95.4km

Monday speedygeese training at Parliament House - A New Week - Nine Weeks to Blast Off!
warm up: 1.56k
Main Session

Something a little different tonight. Speedychief organised a circuit after our warm up. We headed for the grassy oval where he had set up four stations. After a quick run round the oval we did the following circuit:

crunches; squats; push ups; lunges marked with cones approximately 10m apart. We progressed from 1 rep at each station to 2 at each station, then 3 etc. We had to run back to the start between each set. 

I managed 11 repeats of each set by the time the whistle blew. It was lots of fun and totally exhausting. 

Next we headed up to the edge of the road where we ran intervals on the grass using the light posts as markers. We ran 1 hard/1 easy; 2  hard/1 easy. 3 hard/1 easy out & back with a pause in between (so two lengths) then we repeated this. The last return was by far the hardest as there was a very slight rise heading to the finish which by that stage felt like a mountain. After our warm down we had still only run a total of 6km, although it felt like more, so speedygeoff and I ran a further 2km to give me a better total for the day. 

Total distance: 8km 
I almost forgot to mention that I had been to the gym in the morning to work on abs and some upper body strength work where I wasn't too successful as my wrist still bothers me. I also went to the pool for a swim after that session and of course a Teddy walk so it was a big day of exercise!

Total di

BBQ Stakes on an overcast day

I started the day with a 1km swim before heading to Woden for the BBQ Stakes run, this time run in the right direction. I always find I can run it better when I run the opposite direction and this was no exception. My legs felt heavy and I found the hills tough work today. I ran a 1.5km warm up with Jen and then headed for my start group of 5mins15secs. It was overcast and not too hot, in fact great conditions, so I have no excuse but it definitely wasn't one of my better runs today!

Distance of race: 6km
Time taken: 36:26
Average pace per km: 6:05
Calories: 331
Jen and I ran a warm down of 2.5km before heading off for a coffee and sandwich.
Total distance for day: 10km

A Good Start to Week 5

Monday
Morning - 1km swim

Afternoon - speedygeese session at Parliament House

After the warm up loop we headed for the lower grass rectangle for our main session. As there was an odd number for the relay teams of 3 Ewen and I just ran round and round and up and down the course until the second half of the session when we were divided into teams of two. This time we could take part in the speedy session and run fast down the diagonals and up the straight to tag our team member. While the other person was running we jogged across the straights. At the end of the session I needed a few more kms so Jill and Jen ran with me down to the lake and beside it for a few kms before turning to face the wind and run back to the carpark.

Total distance: 13km

Calories burned: 708

My two grandchildren on the first school day. Sam's very first day of school and Talia going into Year 4. He's nearly as tall as her!!

Tuesday

Morning - Tuesday Group

Margaret and I ran more or less together from Black Mountain Peninsula and along past Scrivener Dam until we reached 5.5km where we turned and ran the undulating path back again. It was a slow run but I needed to save something for the YCRC Summer series later in the day.

Total distance: 11km

Calories burned: 598

In the afternoon I did some more Avon and took Teddy for a walk before driving to the Boathouse to run the second run in the summer series. 

6.15pm - Summer Series

There was a large number of starters in the run in ideal conditions, some cloud cover, some sun and a pleasant temperature. There were loads of people I knew and it is always good to see them. I ran a short 1.3km warm up with Cathy M and during the run just tried to catch the person in front of me. I felt ok and I quite like that course running past the Hospice and on towards Molonglo Reach, turning at the markers and running back the same way. Later I had a pleasant chat with CJ and Janene and also caught up with Roy. I did however cool down very quickly and I really enjoyed the hot shower later at home.

Time taken: 26:35

Distance: 4.86km (it measured a bit short unfortunately) plus 1.3km warm up

Average pace per km: 5:28

Calories burned: 267

Total distance for Tuesday: 17km

Ten Weeks to the Marathon!

At the Aranda monthly handicap 28 Jan

I had a little sleep in this morning. It was so lovely. The trouble is this meant I was hungry when I rose and needed brekkie which meant I had to wait an hour or so to digest it before I could run. I only had a short run on the schedule today which is why I didn't need to start early. However, for once the sun was shining and it was quite hot when I ran out the door. Because I was just running a few kms I took Teddy with me which meant there was a bit of stopping and starting involved when there was a tree to sniff or a drain to splash in.

It was lovely when we reached the oval to let Teddy off the lead and to run on the spongy grass for a while. I tried to stay in the shade of the trees whenever possible on the track.

Total distance: 7km
Total distance for week: 67km (required 50-57km as it was my easy week, so happy with that)
Next week I will be building up the distance again.

One of my local "Teddy" runs

That's an interesting tree - let me stop!

Doggy trails!

That's what we could have called our run this morning because everywhere we ran there were dogs, small, big but all friendly happy dogs, probably due to lots of exercise. 

When I looked out the door this morning very early there was a low mist and the ground was very wet due to overnight rain. However, there was no rain all day. We were in luck. As I drove to the war memorial there was a heavy misty fog which required headlights and the cloud cover remained for an hour or so as we ran. When the sun finally broke through it was near the end of the run and there was quite a bite to it. 

I met Jen at the war memorial carpark and we ran an extremely slow 2.65km warm up on Mt Ainslie trails before Ewen arrived to run with us at 8am.

Ewen led us over the trails of Mt Ainslie. We turned left and ran past the water tank and on through the pretty leafy suburbs of Ainslie and Dickson enjoying the oval, which is very green and spongy currently and along Limestone Ave back to the war memorial.On the way we ran over some lovely trails and along some gorgeous tree lined flat trails where the surface was fantastic. It just didn't last long enough.

I only had to run a short run today as this is my easy week but after 15km I was hanging out to finish. It's weird how the mind works. Normally I feel like that at about 26km so psychologically I obviously knew I only had to run 20km. I had company for the majority of the run only having to run 3km on my own. In fact I had 1.2km to go when Richard turned up on his bike and rode beside me to finish off the run. 

Total distance: 20km

Time taken: 2hrs 15mins (oh boy, must have been the hills, or maybe it was that slow warm up)

Average pace per km: 6:50

Calories burned: 1079

Later in the day Mr B walked Teddy with me for 5km while I delivered Avon. The sun was shining and it was a lovely day at last.

Ewen and Jen on our run

Jen and Strewth on our lovely flat trail after coming off Mt Ainslie

Ewen and Strewth

Wet, wet, wet!

These past couple of days have been dreary weather-wise and not at all summer-like! We needed the rain but did we need the bleak cold days to go with it? I don't think so. However, as far as running goes it is probably far better to run in the cool than the heat.

Last night at track there were not many hardy souls who braved the elements and competed in the program. I turned up with Yelena just in time to run the first 3000m with no warm up at all - not a good start. It was cold and difficult to remove the spray jacket to run in constant drizzle but we soon warmed up and found the conditions actually quite pleasant if a bit sloshy underfoot. It took me a couple of laps to get into my swing which proves I had needed that warm up. As a result I was way below par with my time while Bruce, on the other hand, whizzed past me several times and finished in a long standing record time for M50's of  9:30:33 taking 16 secs off the old record of 9:46.9 set in 1991.

Distance: 3000m

Time taken: 15:54

Average pace per km: 5:21

Calories burned: 161

The only other event I entered was the 2000m fitness walk. Margaret, Sherryl and I were having fun talking and giggling on the first lap until we decided we should make a real effort. I do enjoy fitness walking as it's definitely non threatening and race walkers are so friendly and encouraging. It's not nearly as intimidating as lining up with some super fast runners in the other events.

Total fitness walk distance: 2000m

Time taken: 14:34

After this Margaret and I went for a run in the drizzle outside the gates and on through the track past the Bruce Ridge and on to the turn off to the city. Then we turned and ran back to the track.

Total: 4.5km

We left before the final event although by then the rain had stopped and the conditions were ideal.
Total distance for night: 10km

Today is my weekly rest day. Instead I swam 1km in the pool in the morning and had fun with my grandchildren in the afternoon, making lots of mess including cupcakes. Later we all went out for pizza and pasta making the most of the last week day of the school holidays. It's hard to believe that our little Mr Five starts school on Monday!

BBQ Stakes in Reverse

Conditions were perfect today for the BBQ Stakes run. As it was the first run for the month it was done in reverse which meant lots of hills to start and a lovely downhill finish. The temperature was quite cool although it felt warm running up those hills but there was cloud cover and no wind at all so absolutely ideal. I think a few people ran PBs. Even I ran nearly a minute than last week although it was a minute more than my PB. I was happy though as I expected to run much more slowly after yesterday's efforts. My legs even felt quite springy during parts of the run and I was so glad I had run this event as I had been sorely tempted just to run from home! After the run I ran a short warm down with Jen's boys who thoroughly enjoyed racing past me!

Total distance: 6km (plus 1km warm down)

Time taken: 35:42

Average pace per km: 5:58

Calories burned: 326