A Hard Task Master!

speedygeoff's training session at Dickson Oval

Warm up loop of full oval (only one loop for me as I arrived late, the others ran the loop twice) then we did the following session:

2km time trial - my time 10:36
a couple of gentle 400m
1km time trial - my time 5:04
cool down full loop of oval

Total km: 5.5km

Now Gandalf tells me I ran my kms faster than those recorded. I read two of my kms as 4:55 and 4:47. Wish I could use those instead!!

Keep these eyes open!

Tuesday - Intervals

Another early start yesterday in order to go on my windtrainer before meeting a couple of friends for brekkie.

Session:
5 mins warm-up
30 mins intervals - 1 min moderate/2 mins hard
5 mins cool down

Boy, this felt hard. I am so glad I have an ipod to plug into my ear so that I can listen to fast music to keep me motivated!

Wednesday morning
Gym session
Another resistance session.
10 mins warm up on treadmill
Single Arm DB Row - 3 x 15 (17.6lb)
Bench chest press - 3 x 15 (17.6lb)
Body weight squat with Swiss ball - 2 x 20 (10lb)
DB Static Lunge - 2 x 15 (10lb)
DB Side Lateral Raise - 1 x 12; 1 x 15 (8lb)
DB Biceps Curl - 2 x 15 (10lb)
Triceps Cable pushdown - 2 x 15 (25kg)
Abs - 3 x 15 crunches; 3 x 15 reverse crunches
Stretches

Yoga Session

We had a lot of "active rest" poses tonight at yoga in the attempt to teach us to concentrate only on our breath and not allow outside stimuli to interfere. I had a hectic day at work and am so tired and during the rest poses I had to concentrate on not falling asleep. Only three people turned up for the class and it was very embarrassing when my stomach rumbled loudly in the deathly silence. It was difficult to pretend it wasn't me when there were so few of us! I was obviously very hungry! When I emerged into the freezing night it was to discover that some smart idiot had taken a couple of odd shoes, mine being one of them. It was so cold in bare feet but some kind person investigated the road and found my shoe and one other belonging to the other person so that saved hopping to the car in the freezing conditions!

Tomorrow I'm meeting CJ for brekkie and after work is speedygeoff's training session. I need sleep right now!

Week 4 Day 1

Tonight I can hardly keep my eyes open as I write this. I'm just so tired. This morning I rose at 5.30am so that I could prepare everything for work and pack all my different bags and food.

Gym session:
Warm up on treadmill - 8mins
Single Arm DB Row - 3 x 15 (17.6lb)
Chest bench press - 3 x 15 (17.6lb)
Body Squat against Swiss Ball with 10lb weights - 2 x 20
DB Static Lunge - 2 x 15 (5kg)
DB Side Lateral Raise - 3 x 15 (10lb)
DB Biceps Curl - 2 x 15 (10lb)
Triceps Cable pushdown - 2 x 15 (25kg)
Abs - 3 x 15 crunches; 3 x 15 reverse crunches

After work I drove to Parliament House for speedygeoff's session at 5.30pm

Session:
2 x warm up loops of PH in opposite directions
long loop in front of PH - fast on the uphill between the flags
gentle at the ends
moderate pace on the downhill
5 x repeats but I managed 4 repeats
warm down loop of PH

Total distance: 9km
Calories: 529

It was jolly cold with a definite need for long sleeves and gloves, especially in the warm-up. Great to see CJ there tonight.

Are all Runners Crazy??

Vetrunners' Handicap Run

Distance: 9.3km
Time taken: 53.09
Average pace per km: 5:45
Calories burned: 514
Fastest km: 5:16
Place: 27th

Hmmm - today I decided the Vetrunners are definitely crazy and loving it! As I drove to CJ's place to collect her for the Mt Ainslie handicap run this morning the radio announced that it was minus 2degrees - brrrr and this was heading to 9am when the handicap started. I have never seen so many pairs of gloves and long sleeved tops in a vets' run before. While the mist was low the sun wasn't appearing and it remained cold throughout the run. However it was very undulating and we did warm up after a few of those hills. The Mt Ainslie run is made up of several hills and one very long steep hill in particular in the last few kms. It's a tough run, in fact it is known as one of the toughest runs on the Vetrunners' calendar. However, I don't mind it too much as although it's off-road the ground isn't too uneven and the last km is downhill and fast.

As usual it is always great to catch up with heaps of running friends at the monthly handicap. We also had news of PRB who has just had surgery for bladder cancer. He is recovering well in hospital but unfortunately has to return for more surgery in a couple of weeks. It makes us all very sad to realise what he must be going through but we are all wishing him lots of good health bugs and get well wishes. He is such a lovely man.

After the run and presentations where kiwi Barb won a gold medal for the long course (woo hoo - good on you Barb) I met up with JS, CJ & Mr CJ and speedygeoff for a lovely coffee and chat.

Friday
Gym Session:
5 mins warm-up on stationary bike
Single arm DB row - 3 x 15 (15lb)
Chest press - 3 x 15 (15lb)
Body wieght squat against Swiss ball - 2 x 20
DB side lateral raise - 2 x 15 (10lb)
DB Biceps Curl - 2 x 15 (10lb)
Triceps Cable Pushdown - 1 x 12; 1 x 15 (25kg)
Abs - 3 x 15 crunches; 3 x 15 reverse crunches

Tomorrow is another gym session and speedygeoff's training at Parliament House.

20 second repeats

speedygeoff's running session
Location: Dickson Oval
Distance: 8km approx
Time: 42mins

I accidentally pressed the start button on Gandalf tonight before I had recorded the session and suddenly I heard "beep beep beep" and a signal appeared saying "distance alert". This has never happened before. Gandalf was going crazy. I pressed the stop button which recorded 21km - oops! From memory we ran about 8km tonight or just over.

Session as follows:
Warm up of 2 loops of the entire oval
Main set: 20secs fast, 20secs jog repeated for 20mins.
Warm down loop of oval

speedygeoff blew his whistle after every 20secs. Fortunately 20secs doesn't take long, either fast or slow, but gee the 20mins seemed a long time. When he called out "7 minutes left" I wondered how I would make it to the end but I did and I really pushed myself on the fast bits. Marg was there tonight so it was great to have the company and the competition at about my pace which makes me try really hard especially as I'm usually lapped by everyone else! I was seriously stuffed at the end but it felt good. I thought it was a really good session.

Rewarding myself with a Banana!

Morning Activity - Gym

Session:
5 minutes warm up on stationary bike
Chest Press - 3 x 15
Body Weight Squat with Swiss Ball - 2 x 20
DB Static Lunge - 2 x 15
DB Side Lateral Raise - 1 x 15, 1 x 12
DB Biceps Curl - 2 x 15
Triceps Cable pushdown - 2 x 15
Abs - 3 x 15 crunches; 3 x 15 reverse crunches
Stretches between each set.

I used the increased weights today for all sets. I find the Side Lateral Raise (similar to Flies only not on a bench) the hardest and I have only increased the weights a little bit for this one. I always feel good after a gym session and look forward to increasing the weights more next session if possible. I allowed myself the luxury of buying one banana to eat after I had finished. I haven't eaten a banana for ages - at $12 a kilo that's not surprising. It was very yummy!

Evening activity
Yoga

Tonight we learnt a few new movements as we have just 2 more weeks before the end of the term and are now preparing for Level 1, next term. We spent some time doing hand stands resting our legs on the wall and ages in our shoulder stand.

Mr B has left the country!

Photo from Terry Fox Run - note the CR outfits. You can see Allrounder in her CR gear on the right near the front and I'm in my CR singlet and cap near the front on the left.

This morning I took Mr B to the airport to catch his plane to Sydney then on to Paris. His flight was supposed to leave at 9.40am but it was 2pm before he finally arrived in Sydney as the flight was delayed several times. Fortunately his connecting flight in Sydney didn't leave until 3.30pm. So now he's somewhere up there in the sky flying to Paris and I miss him already! Seven weeks is a long time!

After work I climbed on my windtrainer and did the following session which just about had me falling over in a ball of perspiration. My legs were very wobbly when I climbed off that bike.



Session:
5 mins warm up
30 mins intervals - 1 min moderate/2 mins hard (repeated 10 times)
5 min cool down

I miscounted and did an extra interval so my total time was 45 mins when it should have been 40mins. It was such hard work! Tomorrow morning I have a gym session and tomorrow night it's yoga. I hope all this is doing something productive!

Week 3 of my 12-week Program

Today I took a day off work so that I could spend time with Mr B on his last day before his overseas trip. It was great to have a bit of a sleep-in as I did stay up until 3.30am to watch the soccer - a very unusual scenario for me. We had all the family over for a birthday/farewell dinner last night and it was such a great night. I think I was on a bit of a high and quite wide awake until about 2.30am when I was starting to nod off a bit but I did manage to watch til the end of the game even though we lost! While Mr B had some last minute business to do in the city this morning I went to the gym. I managed to increase my weights.

10 mins warm-up on stationery bike
Single Arm DB Row - 3 x 15
Chest Press - 4 x 15 (I used a heavier weight for the last rep - I will normally do 3 x 15)
Body Weight Squat with Swiss ball - 2 x 20
DB Static Lunge - 2 x 15
DB Side Lateral Raise 1 x 15 then increased weight and managed 1 x 10 (ouch)
DB Biceps Curl - 2 x 15
Triceps Cable pushdown - 2 x 15
Abs - 3 x 15 crunches; 3 x 15 reverse crunches
Stretches between each set

This session took well over an hour and after a shower I met up with Mr B for lunch (a yummy chicken salad).

Evening - Running at Parliament House with speedygeoff's group
Distance: 9km
Calories: 533

Session: Warm-up of two loops of PH and stretches then we ran to the lower part of the grassy bank in front of PH where we ran 5 laps one way and then 5 laps in reverse running at 60% on the downhill, 70% on the cross slope, 85% on the uphill slope and back to 40% on the short cross straight back to the start - approximately! It was a solid session and I tried very hard to run as fast as I could on the uphills. We ran mainly on the grass which is a bit easier for the legs but tougher to get the speed. After the main set we ran another warm down loop of PH. Of course it was lovely to have a chat to Griffin later. He hasn't been to training for a while so it was good to catch up again.

Terry Fox Fun Run

Today was a stunner - blue sky and sunshine but freezing cold of course. The ground was white with frost early but the run was not held until 10am which was a civilized hour. I ran in a singlet top but wore gloves to keep my hands warm! Terry Fox, a Canadian, was 18 when diagnosed with cancer and lost one leg to the disease. In 1981, at age 21, he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He managed to run 5,000km before the cancer reached his lungs and he was unable to continue. He died soon afterwards but he managed to raise more than $24 million through his "Marathon of Hope". Now annually in 58 countries throughout the world the Terry Fox Run is held to raise money for cancer research. This year Canberra had its best turn-out yet with over 2,000 people running and a record amount of money raised. It was very successful. The run starts from the Canadian Embassy and travels to a turnaround point at Weston Park. Certainly it was freezing cold but because the sun was out and there was little wind the conditions were excellent.

I was up until nearly 1am this morning cooking for tonight and was not at my best for this run due to some extent to the run yesterday or perhaps just due to lack of training! However, I enjoyed very pleasant company running with FlashDuck for about 5km when she took off to the loo but still managed to fly past me at the 7km mark, looking strong.

Distance: 10km (10.21km according to Gandalf)
Time taken: 55mins
Average pace per km: 5:29
Calories: 586
Fastest km: 4:55

After the run there was an opportunity to catch up with lots of running buddies. So many people turn up for this run who you might not see from one year to the next. The winner of the 10km run ran it in 30mins and the winner of the 5km in 15:05 - totally impressive! It is quite a tough course with lots of undulations! CJ was amazing coming in as 16th woman in a time of 45mins ahead of Mr B by 1 minute!

Friday - Mr B's Birthday

I didn't go to the gym yesterday morning but left it until the evening so that I could spend a bit more time with Mr B on his birthday. I gave him an ipod nano for his overseas trip and when the kids come over for dinner on Sunday night they have promised to download lots of music on to it for him to listen to on his travels.

Full Body Workout
Warm up of 5 minutes on windtrainer
Single Arm DB Row - 3 x 15 (I used two chairs for this as we don't have a bench)
Chest press - 3 x 15
Body Weight Squat with Swiss ball against wall - 2 x 20
DB Static Lunge - 2 x 15
DB Side Lateral Raise - 2 x 15
DB Biceps Curl - 2 x 15

Abs:
Crunches - 3 x 15
Reverse Crunches - 3 x 15

Today
Activity: Long run at 9am
Distance: 15.07km
Time taken: 1hr 35mins
Calories burned: 640
Average pace per km: 6:20

Comments: A slow steady run with Marg and the two Barbs from the yacht club and around Lake Burley Griffin. It was very very cold but the sun was out and that makes all the difference. I wore a long sleeved top, ear warmers, shorts and gloves and I rolled up my sleeves and took off my gloves about 3/4 of the way round. Later we had a coffee at Yarralumla. We deliberately ran gently as tomorrow is the Terry Fox Fun Run and that's another 10km to run. Hope the sun is out for that one too! I'm planning to run in a singlet!

Brrrrr - it's soooo cold!

It was minus 7 degrees as I drove to the gym yesterday (Wednesday). I was glad I was going to a gym session and not out there running but I would rather have been snuggled up in bed.

Session:
5 mins warm-up on bike
3 x 15 Single Arm DB Row
3 x 15 chest press
2 x 20 body squats with Swiss ball
2 x 15 static lunges with DumbBells
2 x 15 DB side lateral raises (I find this one really hard and have to use light weights)
2 x 15 DB Biceps Curl
2 x 15 Triceps Cable pushdown
Stretches between each set

Evening

Yoga - This session was really good as we did heaps and heaps of stretches and held them for ages - painful, yes, but felt great anyway. Just as I'm getting the hang of this and feeling comfortable our instructor is suggesting moving up a level next term as I've been in the Beginner Classes long enough now!

Thursday
Morning
Activity: Swim
Distance: 700m

A very short swim due to the fact that I arrived at the pool later than planned. It was a bleak foggy morning and not conducive to swimming but the water was like a warm bath and I was sorry I hadn't started earlier. I felt really comfortable and if time had permitted feel confident I could have swum much further. The brekkie later with CJ was lovely, as was the company of course.

After Work
Activity: Running with speedygeoff's training group
Locality: Dickson Oval
Distance: Approx 7.5km
Calories: 430

Warm-up of two long loops of entire oval then we ran 3 x 1km on 10mins. There were only 11 of us at the session braving the freezing conditions. The grass had that glistening look of frost about to happen and it was slightly slippery. However, it didn't stop those fast runners from making good times on their 1km sprints.

My 1km times were very slow compared with everyone else. They were 5:19, 5:22, 5:23. Mr B's times were much better - 4:27, 4:17 and 4:06. I have been easing off the running lately and it shows!

Gee, I wish the weather would warm up!!

Intervals

After a hard day at the office I jumped on to my windtrainer and performed the following intervals:

5 min warm up followed by 21 min intervals as follows:
1 min moderate/2 mins hard repeated 7 times
5 min cool down - total time of 31 mins.

The hard intervals were very intense and even the carpet under the bike was wet by the time I was finished from me dripping on it!! I increased the resistance on the hard intervals and made the moderate intervals easier. It was a hard session and next week I have to repeat the intervals 10 times - help!!

Monday Manic Monday!

Talk about filling every minute of the day! Yesterday we spent the day with Talia and had a wonderful time spoiling her rotten - movies, Maccas, rides, toyshop, playing at our house - a full-on day which we made specially for her and we all had a ball!

Today was a "fitness" day. This morning I did my full-body workout at home as my gym wasn't open on a public holiday. The only exercise I can't do at home is the Triceps pull-down curl. Everything else is possible with a few improvisations.

10 mins warm-up on windtrainer
Single Arm Dumb-bell (DB) Row - 3 x 15
(I used two chairs for this and my own weights)
Chest Press on the Swiss ball - 3 x 15
Body Weight Squat on Swiss ball - 2 x 20
DB Static Lunge - 2 x 15
DB Side Lateral Raise - 2 x 15
DB Biceps Curl 2 x 15
3 x 15 crunches
3 x 15 reverse crunches

I followed this with brekkie then Mr B and I decided to go for a bike ride as it was a sunny day - damn cold but sunny! I dusted off the cobwebs on the bike and Mr B had to use pliers on the valve on the front wheel as it wouldn't pump up. However he solved the problem, at least temporarily and wearing all the appropriate warm cycle gear we set off on a gentle ride down round Lake Ginninderra. On the way we said "hi" to a very friendly couple on their bikes cycling in the opposite direction and it wasn't until we were past them that Mr B realised it was FlashDuck and FlashDrake! Happy Birthday to FD today and what a gorgeous day to have a birthday. It took ages to warm-up but the sun was shining and you have to feel good out there under that blue sunny sky! I enjoyed the ride and decided I really must get back into this on sunny days.

Activity: Cycle
Distance: 17.17km
Time taken: 56 mins (definitely gentle)
Fastest pace: 30kph
Calories: 264

Next activity was the running session at Parliament House at 5.30pm. There were only 7 of us at training tonight probably because it was a public holiday. Lovely to have speedygeoff safely back with us from Queensland. Brrrr, it was cold. Tonight the weather prediction is minus 3 and I'm sure we were feeling the start of it out there running. Tonight's session was a sort of fartlek session. We ran a warm-up loop of PH, stretched then ran in the opposite direction half way round where we proceeded to do fast stretches randomly throughout the session, fast stretches, a slow recovery run, fast then slow intermingled with a couple of sharp grassy hill runs up the side of PH to the roof and back. We finished the session with a gentle large loop. I so enjoyed my hot shower when I arrived home tonight!

Activity: Run
Distance: 9km
Calories: 554
Location: Parliament House

Long Run Just Before the Rain!

Yes, it's been raining all afternoon - beautiful, steady rain which we need so desperately. Maybe it will green the place up a bit.

Activity: Run
Distance: 15:56km
Time Taken: 1:37:38
Calories: 897
Average pace per km: 6:17

Comments: I met up with the two Barbs and Marg at 8.30am at the yacht club and from there we ran the loop of Lake Burley Griffin. It was a cool cloudy morning but not freezing and in fact perfect conditions for a long slow chatty run. I ran the first half with kiwi Barb and the second half with Marg. We saw a number of cyclists but not many runners out there but the rain held off until we went for coffee afterwards at Yarralumla. We spent nearly two hours over that coffee just talking. It was so relaxing and pleasant.

Later Mr B and I went shopping and bought lots of goodies before visiting Sam and his very happy family. Tomorrow we're taking Talia to the movies to see the animated movie "Cars". That should be fun! It was a good day.

Woo hoo it's Friday!

Yay, the long weekend is here. How lovely to have a little break. Sam and his mum went home from the hospital today and all is well.

Activity - Windtrainer
Session: 5 mins warm up
7 x [1 min moderate/2 mins hard]
5 mins cool down
Total: 31 mins.

Stretches. Happy Queen's Birthday weekend everybody!! Stay safe.

Intervals and Weights

I couldn't make it to sprint training at the oval tonight as I had to attend a Board Meeting. I really don't like missing my running sessions.

Wednesday
Morning - Windtrainer

Session: Intervals

5 min warm up
1 min moderate/2 mins hard repeated 7 times
5 min cool down

total of 32 mins

It was hard work and I was dripping wet literally when I dismounted that bike. I then followed this with several stretches.

Evening

Yoga - lots and lots of great stretches. We also spent an extra long time on the shoulder stand doing all sorts of variations upside down. I always love the feeling after completing the shoulder stand as I know that last beautiful ten minutes is coming up when I almost fall asleep!!

Thursday - 7am
Resistance Training

I met up with a personal trainer at the gym just to ensure that I was using the machines and doing the exercises correctly. He was really helpful. Mr B had me on the right track but I was shown a variation of the chest press which is easier for me with my bad wrists.

Session
10 mins warm-up on stationery bike

Back:
single arm DB Row - 2 x 15reps
Chest:
Bench chest press - 2 x 15reps
Legs:
Body squat with Swiss ball - 2 x 15 reps
Shoulders:
DB Side Lateral raises - 2 x 15reps
Biceps:
DB Biceps Curl - 2 x 15reps
Triceps:
Triceps Cable pushdown - 2 x 15reps

Stretches after each complete exercise

Evening (after Board Meeting)

Abdominals
3 x 15 crunches
3 x 15 reverse crunches

Tomorrow morning I have another interval training session scheduled and on Sat I plan a long run.

We have a Grandson!

Yes, we are proud grandparents again. This time we have a grandson, born on Monday to my son Peter and his wife Jocaine, little brother to Talia. His name is Samuel David and he came into the world at 9lb 6oz two weeks early! He's just beautiful and I'm not in the least biased of course!!

Everybody is well and very happy!

Monday Training

Morning:
5mins on windtrainer as a warm-up
Abdominals exercises
3 x 15 crunches
3 x 15 reverse crunches

Evening - 5.30pm
Running at Parliament House
Distance: 8.45km
Calories: 473
Fastest km: 5:23

Yes, I went to training even after hearing the news of Sam's arrival but my heart wasn't in it and my legs objected violently! Such dedication!! Straight after the training I raced home to shower and go to cuddle our new grandson.

Session: Warm-up lap of PH with all the in and out bits - 1.62km
3 x 1.5km loops with the long sides solid and the short sides slow
Cool down loop of PH
Stretches

For me there wasn't a lot of difference! I did push myself on the long sides but it still didn't work for me. Fortunately I had company at the back of the pack although my buddies weren't there tonight. Neil took the session as speedygeoff is still away so the majority ruled that we stayed where it was lit which meant the session was not hilly for once!

Tuesday
Gym session

Back:
Single arm dumb-bell row - 3 x 15 reps
Chest:
Machine Chest Press - 3 x 15 reps
Legs:
Body Weight Squat - 2 x 15 reps (I used a swiss ball against the wall)
Dumb-bell Static Lunge - 2 x 15 reps
Shoulders:
Dumb-bell Side Lateral Raise - 2 x 15 reps
Biceps:
Dumb-bell Biceps Curl - 2 x 15 reps
Triceps:
Triceps Cable pushdown - 2 x 15 reps

Stretches

Mr B met me at the gym and showed me how some of the machines worked and went through the basic exercises with me. It was such a help as this is my first time doing these resistance training exercises. It took over an hour to get through all this and I'll probably be sore tomorrow!

Great Company, Great Friendship!

On Friday I rose a little early and spent about 20mins on the wind trainer. Gosh, it felt weird getting on my bike again after so long. I worked up a sweat pretty quickly! Later in the day I had a physio appointment and have my leg strapped a new way. It seems to help.

Saturday Run at 8.30am
Distance: 15km
Time taken: 1hour 32mins
Calories burned: 921
Average pace per km: 6:11

Comments: I drove over to Palmerston to Marg's home where I met up with kiwi Barbara and Marg for a medium distance run. We ran from her place past the Golf Club and round both the Gungahlin lakes. It was a great morning for a run - cold but sunny and although I found out that evening that the Cross Country runners met with very cold winds we seemed to be lucky where we ran as it seemed to be more sheltered. It was very enjoyable as we ran at a comfortable place and caught up on all the news at the same time!

In the evening a number of us went to Griffin's home for a curry night/pot luck dinner. It was a fantastic evening held in an absolutely beautiful home and of course the company was great.

Tomorrow is the first day of my new program and I'm more than a little nervous. I hope I can stick to it and make it work for me. I will faithfully report on my progress!

It's Raining Cats and Dogs!

Well, not literally, but it is very wet out there. In fact I turned up at Dickson Oval early (yes, ten minutes early in spite of the rain) to find one other car there with Neil inside. As speedygeoff is interstate Neil had been nominated to take our training group and I had been nominated to take the roll! We sat in our respective cars and talked through the windows as we watched the rain come down in buckets and the oval become muddier and muddier. Then Ken arrived followed by Mr B but that was all and so it was easy to make an executive decision to cancel training. In fact we were very surprised that the oval hadn't been closed in this weather. There was not a single person on it so obviously everybody's training had been cancelled. I do know that if it had been an event the rain would not have stopped those vetrunners but I must admit I was relieved that I was off the hook and didn't have to stand out in the rain ticking off names!!

Fortunately I did go for a short swim this morning with CJ and I felt I could swim further but time was an issue. Next week I'll have to start earlier. CJ is in the shower before I'm out of the pool!

Activity: Swim
Distance: 700metres
Time: Slow!

Followed by, you guessed it, brekkie with CJ and Mr B!

Last night at my yoga class my teacher, Polly, asked me if I used to be a swimmer (lol - she obviously has never seen the way I swim). I responded that I swim but this is recent and I would never class myself as a "swimmer". The question was asked because I have a bit of discomfort round my neck when I do shoulder stands and it could be because of swimming apparently - not so in my case I can guarantee that. I imagine it's just old age!!

More Hills at Parliament House

Distance: 8km
Calories: 424
Time of session: 46mins

Session: Warm-up loop of Parliament House, stretching, more warm-up to Rose Garden where we ran a practice loop of the 800m hill course.

Main set: 3 x 800m hilly sprints
3 x 400m hilly sprints

Warm down loop of Parliament House

Comments: It was barely 3deg tonight - brrrr! This morning it was minus 3 so I guess the plus was better than the minus! It was cold but with all those hills we soon warmed up and stripped off the long sleeved tops! It was a good training session - lots of hills sure, but this time most of us had torches, in fact lots of us had torches on our heads, like the miners wear. They are very effective and it helped considerably to light the way in the dark. It certainly helps to see where you are going! Those hill sprints sure are killers but I'm sure they build stamina and leg strength! There were about 20 people at speedygeoff's training in spite of the cold weather. Hardy people, these runners!

Vets' Handicap Run at Oakey Hill - The Real Thing!

Distance: 7.52km
Time taken: 44:34
Average pace per km: 5:57
Place: 57th with a handicap of 14
Calories burned: 477
Best km: 5:26

Comments: As expected it was a tough run. It started on a hill and kept on going. However, I have to admit that I was very glad that I had gone out and run the course last weekend so at least I knew what to expect and actually it didn't seem as bad the second time around! The sun was out and although the air was cold it was still and pleasant. There were lots of friends to chat with afterwards and I finally met Tuggeranong Don as he raced past me on the event and also stopped to talk to me afterwards. Mr B ran a great time and our friend Ian won the bronze medal in the long course. A group of us went for a very welcome coffee later at Babars in Woden where we met more of the runners and enjoyed quite a social get-together.
In the evening we had my family birthday dinner at Belluci's in Dickson. The service was lousy, the food lovely and the company fantastic. Nothing quite like having all the family together for a meal and lots of fun. And the best part was when little Talia aged 3 said as she was leaving our place after cake (oh dear) later, "That was the best party ever grandma"! I'll drink to that!

Too Much Birthday!!

And boy did I feel it at training tonight! I felt sluggish and blobby and oh so slow! I arrived 15 minutes late as I was caught in that wretched peak hour traffic again and missed the first warm-up lap. However I was on time for the 2nd warm-up lap and after stretching it was onto the track for relay teams of two - a fast runner teamed with a slow runner. In my case I was partnered with the fastest runner in our group and I am probably the slowest runner so it meant not a lot of rest break for little old me! There were about 25 people at the session and I caught up with quite a few runners who I hadn't seen for ages which was great.

Distance: 6:21km
Calories burned: 393

Session: Relay teams of two with a baton. First runner ran 600metres anti-clockwise while the second runner ran slowly for 200m to meet up on the other side of the track to have the baton passed to them.

5 x [600m fast; 200m slow]

I felt like a slow slug although I ran as fast as my poor little legs would go. The first 400m in each loop felt ok but then I slowed down for the last 200m and found it really hard. I'm sure I'll run faster when I'm not carrying all this cake and chocolate inside me! However the company was good and the evening was really quite pleasant, not as cold as it has been lately.

YES! YES! YES! Thank you Susan!!

How exciting - my title works. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now I have a title and can be like everyone else. I'm really excited!
Thank you for my birthday wishes CJ and Ewen. I just thought I would check my blog, emails etc before I go to bed. Yes, I did go to yoga tonight and as it's such a small class (only 7 of us tonight) really enjoyed it. My oldest daughter visited me at home with a birthday cake after my class and we have just pigged out on Baileys, dark Lindt choccie balls and cake! I went out for brekkie with a girlfriend and lunch with two other friends and this morning had another birthday cake at work. Mr B is playing squash tonight so we will have our family dinner on Sunday night. I now feel like a big fat lazy blob - could be a sluggish run at training tomorrow night. Next week I will aim to become a new woman starting my new program. In the meantime I am writing off this week as a general pig-out week of gluttony!!

Back to the Swimming Pool

First of all, Ewen, I checked out the link you sent me in your comment but my blog doesn't have a separate title box. It's just the main box. How do I get one of those??

Today I met CJ at the pool and went for a swim for the first time for months. It was a really really cold day today and it was great that the water was actually quite warm. It was hard work swimming with leaden arms and legs and I only managed 600 metres but hey, we're back in the pool and that means brekkie - yay - and the brekkie was sooooo good!

What's with all these hills??

Okay, first of all Ewen tells me I should have a title on my posts entered in a separate box. Nowhere can I find a spot to put a title. There's just this space as far as I can see so being technologically challenged no doubt somebody like CJ or Ewen will point me in the right direction. In the meantime I'll just plod on the way I always have. No doubt all will be revealed to me soon!

Anyway back to tonight's session!
Location: Parliament House (PH) at 5.30pm
Distance: 7.5km
Calories: 396
Session: Warm-up loop of PH followed by 6 x (2 x 330m) hilly loops in the dark (glad I took my torch)
Warm down loop of PH

Comments: It was a lovely surprise when I pulled up into the carpark under Parliament House to find CJ walking towards me all ready to join in the training session. Great to have her back there again. It started off really freezing but after a few hilly runs we soon warmed up and I took off my long-sleeved top and wrapped it round my waist. After yesterday's hilly run I found the hills quite tough but yes, speedygeoff, it's good for me and great for leg strengthening!!

Hills, Hills and More Hills!!

Distance: 11.22km
Time taken: 1hour 12minutes
Calories burned: 723
Location: Oakey Hill, Weston

This morning Mr B and I decided to go to the familiarisation run for a new course for the Vets' Handicap next Sunday. It started at 9am under clouds but turned out to be a lovely sunny day. The course was very very hilly (surprise surprise) and the ground was uneven and stony - off-road of course but definitely a case of watching the footing. Quite a large group of us turned up including the two Barbaras. After the 7.5km actual race course a few hardy stayers decided to run another 4km. I joined them. Big mistake! The start of that extra bit was the steepest hill of the lot. Admittedly at the top the view was magnificent and I was sorry I didn't have a camera! This was only a practise run so Kiwi Barbara and I ran it slowly - not that I felt capable of running it fast! Gee it was so steep and rough - will be interesting next weekend when we attempt it again at the actual event.

After our run the two Barbaras, GS, Mr B and I went for coffee in Babars in Woden. Now that was definitely well-earned!

Thursday - speedygeoff's Training at Dickson Oval

Distance: 8km
Calories: 487
Interval training

Session: Tonight I was almost on time and could sight the runners in the distance. Fortunately I had company and Pam and I ran as fast as possible to catch the others still managing to complete the correct distance for the warm-up. After meeting the others and stretching we took off for another loop of the oval before our main set:

9 x 400m (200m fast, 100m slow x 12 times).

3 x 400m (100m fast, 200m slow x 4).

After this we ran another warm-down full loop of the oval. My only problem was that I had to run to the loo as I had a dodgy tummy so I missed one of the 400m loops in the first set.

Lack of Motivation, a Sore Leg, Lovely Dinner and a Great Yoga Class!

I don't have much to say tonight. It's already Wednesday and I have done very little since Sunday in the way of training. My left leg has really been sore and this morning I visited the physio for some intensive treatment. It hurt heaps but helped loosen it up for a while although later in the day it started hurting again. She worked on the glutes, hamstrings and ITB area in the left side as she is trying to pinpoint the problem. I have another appointment next week.

Dinner on Monday night with speedygeoff's training groups was a lot of fun. We dined at a Thai restaurant and the company and food was lovely. More than 30 of us turned up. It was a very pleasant alternative to training!

Tonight I had a really good yoga session, the best part being we had some very intensive hamstring stretches - very appropriate timing! Tomorrow I will attempt speedygeoff's Dickson oval training session after work. I'm a bit worried about my leg but I'm also worried that I'm having too long a break! I need some more motivation. I really don't like this blobby feeling so I may just start a new approach next week. I will work on the "new me"!!

Mr B is my Hero!



Event: Canberra Half Marathon
Distance: 21.1km
Time taken: 2hours and 36seconds
Average pace per km: 5:41
Calories burned: 1237

Photo Two: John S, Strewth, Mr B and CJ

Comments: It was a superb morning in Canberra today - ideal conditions for running a Half Marathon by the lake. I ran most of the run with Flashduck. She was great company and kept me going. Trouble is I wasn't at my best and at the 17km mark I just couldn't keep up the pace and had to let her go. I came in just over a minute behind her not quite making the 2 hour mark which was a bit disappointing. However this was more than compensated by the fact that Mr B ran an awesome time for his first half marathon of 1hour 43mins. He was really happy and so was I. To think that he started running at age 55 and has been running for less than a year. He used to consider running was a terrible idea - now he's well and truly hooked. Running has that effect on people!! Aki ran an 8 minute PB - her improvement is amazing.

Today, being Mothers' Day, we joined the rest of the family at the Botanical Gardens for lunch including a glass or two of wine. It was just lovely - still sunny and pleasant so we sat outside which meant that Talia (age 3) could run around happily. It has been such a lovely relaxing afternoon. We were there until 5pm and Mr B managed to squeeze in a nap before a light tea. Now we're watching "Love Actually" on telly - a really feel-good movie. We also had a Baileys and a tim tam - ho hum! Tomorrow night is the dinner with speedygeoff's training group - a lovely alternative to running at Parliament House!

Last Little Run Before the Half

I just ran a gentle 3km at 9am this morning to stretch my legs and oh boy if it's that cold at the same time tomorrow for the Half I will turn blue! I wore leggings and a long sleeve top with a sleeveless windbreaker on top and it took me most of the session before I could feel my fingers! I think I may wear gloves tomorrow as the overnight forecast is for zero!! I am not hoping for a great time but it's all about doing it. Mr B will be running his first ever half marathon and I hope it will be a great experience for him.

I realise I forgot to say I went to yoga on Wed night and we had the teacher who I had in my very first Beginners' class - Polly. There are only 8 of us registered in this class and 5 of us turned up on Wed. It's good having such individual attention. This intensive stretching is very good for me as I am not very good when it comes to stretching after training.

Mothers' Day tomorrow and after the Half Marathon all our family is going to lunch at the restaurant at the Botanical Gardens. It will be lovely and hopefully we will have sunshine like today. Happy Mothers' Day to all those who celebrate Mothers' Day tomorrow.

Training on the Oval

Distance: 7.11km
Calories burned: 425

Session: I was running a bit late after work and was caught in the traffic on the way to speedygeoff's Dickson Oval session. Every traffic light was against me and I missed the first warm-up loop. However Mr B had just arrived on his bike and we were on time for the next warm-up loop before starting the session.

Warm-up: - 1 large loop of full oval
Main set: 7 x [80secs fast: 160secs slow]
Warm down: 1 large loop of full oval

It was hard trying to run my fastest for the 7 x 80secs part not helped by the fact that I still have a very sore left hamstring. I can start fast but have difficulty maintaining the pace and by the 7th time I was running out of puff! I'm sure the speed sessions are good for me however! It was a good long break between each 80secs. I stayed with Marg and Jenny (who lives in Sydney during the week as she goes to Uni there). The three of us ran at a similar pace for that distance and it was good motivation to push myself.

Tonight I keep nodding off every time I sit down. It's taken me ages to write this blog as I keep falling asleep in the middle of a sentence. I must go to bed!

Short and Sweet!

Distance: 5.8km
Time taken: 33:52
Location: Kaleen block at 6pm
Average pace per km: 5:51
Calories burned: 344

Comments: I have a brekkie first thing tomorrow morning so I had to run tonight instead. I ran from home after work and just ran the block. It was a bit uneven under foot and a bit dark but not too bad temperature wise although I did wear leggings and a long sleeved top. I had a lot of trouble with my ipod. The ear plugs kept falling out of my ears and I kept losing the sound - most frustrating! I think winter has come to Canberra early - gee it's cold!

Speedygeoff takes it easy!

Distance: 6.76km
Calories: 378

Session: Two warm-up loops of Parliament House then we ran down to the fitness track where we split up and those who chose ran some more loops at different paces and four of us ran with speedygeoff round the fitness track three times carrying out all the instructions on the way - stopping to do sit ups, chin-ups (attempts), push ups, leg stretches etc. We also ran a couple of loops of the oval afterwards before running a warm-down loop round Parliament House again. It was a very cold night after a very cold day (only reaching 12degrees maximum during the day and much cooler at night with a wind chill factor making it seem much colder) and although we warmed up I still wore gloves, leggings and a long sleeved top for the entire session! It was a comfortably easy session as speedygeoff was suffering from an injury so took it gently - no complaints from me!

A Long Slow Run on a Beautiful Autumn Morning (emphasis on the "slow")

Distance: 20:14
Time: 2hrs 5mins
Calories burned: 1151
Average speed per km: 6:13

Comments: John S, Marg, Mr B and I met at CJ's place in Turner at 9am from where we ran to Lake BG and round the lake and back to her place in Turner. CJ and Mr B ran ahead while JS, Marg and I ran at a much slower pace having a good chat on the way. It was a lovely sunny autumn morning with no wind and perfect conditions for a run with the still lake and the orange and brown leaves, but I still felt slow and found the distance quite challenging. This is my longest run since the ultra and my left hamstring hurt and I really didn't run my best. However, the company was great and after the run we went to Black Pepper for coffee and brekkie - yum. After that we went to the markets for fruit and veges and bumped into CJ again with Mr CJ so that meant more coffee - good too!

We were lucky to run when we did as the wind picked up in the early afternoon and it was quite cool in the shade.

Dickson Oval Training with the Birthday Boy and The Need for Speed!

Tonight Mr B and I decided to attend speedygeoff's Thursday training group session. There were about 20 of us meeting together at Dickson Oval with speedygeoff taking the group in spite of the fact that today is his birthday! He never lets his training groups down.

Distance: 8.64km
Calories burned: 514

Session: We did two full loops of the oval and then we divided into teams of three with speedygeoff and Colin running separately as a back-up in case of drop-outs which of course there weren't! He chose 6 team captains and gave them a baton each (I was one of the lucky chosen ones!) and we selected two other team members. I chose Caroline and Marg.

The captain with the baton had to run 400m on the marked course in the fourth lane as fast as possible while the other team members jogged gently round the sixth lane or up and down in the case of team member two until it was their turn. The goal was to each run fast for a 400m lap passing the baton to the next runner then slow for a 400m lap repeating this six times but our team only managed it five times before the whistle was blown as the leaders had finished. We then ran another warm down loop of the full oval. It was good to be back training on a marked course. This is the first time I have run in the Thursday group and I would like to continue providing I can leave work on time. I do enjoy running with company and speed sessions are necessary if I am to become faster. Thanks speedygeoff for giving up valuable birthday time to take our group. We hope you thoroughly enjoyed your well-deserved birthday dinner.

I will survive!

Morning Activity: Slow run
Distance: 6km
Time taken: 36:26
Calories: 342

Comments: I set the alarm for 5.30am and dragged myself out of bed and out the door with arm warmers, leggings, cycle top, gloves and a bright yellow sleeveless windbreaker on top to run round the block. The wind chill factor was bitter although the temperature was well above zero. I think it was about 6deg this morning but it felt so much colder. I was warm by the time I reached home but I wasn't warm enough to take off any layers, surprisingly, throughout the run. As I approached my street the sun was rising and the light was shining through the autumn leaves on the trees and it looked really beautiful. Autumn in Canberra is so very picturesque, scrunching pretty leaves underfoot and glorious colours everywhere and it is peaceful at that time of day even if I didn't want to roll out of bed and out the door!! My throat is still sore but I'm managing it although I know my running is suffering. It could be an extremely slow half marathon in a couple of weeks.

Evening Activity - Yoga (eventually)
I had a dreadful day at work, not helped by the fact that our IT technician turned up at 5pm trying to sort out a massive problem we are having with emails at the moment. He took over my office and of course I had no access to the computer so nothing left to do but file while I waited for him to finish. At 6.45pm I was starting to panic. My new yoga term started at 7.30pm and of course my gear was at home because I had expected to leave the office by 5.30pm, go home, change, have something to eat - yeah sure! No such luck. I managed to lock up just before 7pm after running back up the stairs to collect my car keys from my desk then I had trouble finding my car which someone had borrowed and reparked in a different spot.

Finally I arrived home, changed and drove back to town in a mad rush and made it spot on 7.30pm - not a good way to start a new yoga term with a new teacher! Actually at the end of the class she said the usual teacher would be back next week - a pity really as I really liked this one. I have no idea of her name but I assume she introduced herself before I arrived? Anyway there were only six in the class and it was really cosy and I enjoyed it. I've decided next week I'll take my yoga clothes with me to work in case I'm held up at the office again. It's good to be back to yoga. After a frustrating day I felt much better after the session in spite of the fact that my tummy was rumbling loudly all the way through the quiet time in the last ten minutes! At least I didn't cough!!

speedygeoff's session - Monday

Location: Parliament House
Distance: 9.2km
Calories burned: 333 for the first 6km before Gandalf lost the satellite!
Fastest km: 5mins

Session: I nearly missed it! I was held up at work and arrived about 5 minutes after the start and there was not a runner in sight. I grabbed my little torch, forgot my cap and took off in the usual direction and ran straight round Parliament House without the little side detours as I wanted to catch the group. It took a whole loop then there they were at the top of the stairs stretching. Woo hoo - I was so pleased as I didn't much fancy running on my own up there. We ran another loop of Parliament House then it started to drizzle and speedygeoff hesitated but decided to risk the onslaught of rain and we ran the stretch down to the road and up the grass facing Parliament House. We managed this about 4 times before we trotted down the steps to the underground carpark. That was 6km and at that stage Gandalf went on strike as we were underground and he lost the satelite! However speedygeoff assures me that our next loops were 350m. We sprinted the 100m uphill bit then ran the rest of the loop a little more gently repeating this 5 times. We then did a cool-down run in the opposite direction 4 times. It was a good session although I'm still struggling with this cold.

I must tell a little story about what "almost" happened to me today. I belong to a schoolfriends site on the web and recently had email contact with somebody in the same class as me in Year 4 (age 10) in NZ at Primary School. Mr B went to high school with him so was interested when he sent me an email on Sunday to say he would be in Canberra for a few hours only for a board meeting today. He telephoned me from Sydney last night to confirm the arrangement of meeting briefly for lunch after his meeting at 11.30am. He had to be at the airport for his return flight to NZ at 2pm so there was a small window of opportunity there. I found an old school photo (now we are talking 46 years ago here I might add) and I realised we were only in the same class for that one year (1960). That little dark haired boy in the back row and the little girl in the front row with long plaits might look slightly different since then!! Mr B was going to come and join us for lunch. We were really quite excited. At 11.15am I had a phone call to say that H was still sitting on the plane as Canberra Airport was closed all morning as there was a long queue of planes arriving as this morning we had a very foggy start to the day. So the meeting never did eventuate as time ran out! Maybe next time? In the meantime there is a school reunion over there next Easter - maybe we should go if it doesn't clash with the marathon!! The world is becoming smaller every day.

Tonight (Tuesday) I have such a sore throat. It's been gradually feeling worse all day - not encouraging! Tomorrow night I return to yoga.

Kill or Cure!

My cold is back with a vengeance! Yesterday morning it rained and it rained. We dressed in our running gear, went to the car to set off for our run at the lake but the rain was not slowing down and after a few telephone calls to CJ and JS we decided to give it a miss. Instead we changed into warm clothes and did the shopping and other sundry household tasks. I was very dosed up with cold and flu tablets and was quite glad of the reprieve. Trouble is that's two days in a row without running. Later in the day Mr B and I went to the movies to see World's Fastest Indian. It was a great movie. We just loved it and would strongly recommend it for a feel-good movie. Anthony Hopkins was superb as Burt Munro, a New Zealander who set a number of motorcycle speed records in the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in the late '60s when he himself was in his late 60s.

Anyway on to Sunday and the Vets' Monthly Handicap Run

Location: Mt Majura Nature Park
Distance: 10km
Time taken: 58:28
Place: 56th
Average pace per km: 5:55
Calories burned: 594

Comments: "It's getting harder and harder to breathe......" Yes, I found it difficult to breathe in parts mainly cos I'm all stuffed up and have to breathe through my mouth. I was pretty dosed up on echinacea and cold and flu tablets and it wasn't helped by the fact that the start of the run was uphill. In normal circumstances I think I would have enjoyed the run. It was all off-road on a dirt track and a lot of it was uphill but there was also a fair amount of downhill and it was interesting through the hills. Trouble was I was feeling pretty ordinary. However I did manage a little sprint at the end so that I could finish just before Marg M which made me feel better. It was great to chat to everyone and we were so pleased to be there when our good friend Ian won the gold for the short course on his birthday - great pressie to take home - a big trophy and a medal. Good on you Ian! Mr B and CJ ran to the finish almost neck and neck, Mr B sprinting through to the finish just 15secs ahead of CJ who, I might add, decided to run yesterday afternoon when the rain cleared, unlike us! Later CJ, Mr B and I went for a relaxing coffee and a blueberry friand each at Carlo's in Watson - yummo!

I think the run did me good as tonight I feel marginally better. Here's hoping I have a better night's sleep. Tomorrow I will start to be good, lose the extra couple of kilos I've put on and get back into it. Yoga starts up again on Wed and tomorrow is speedygeoff's group.

Maybe I should have stayed in Bed!

Distance: 6km
Time: 36mins
Calories burned: 351
Location: Kaleen block

Comments: It was an effort to force myself out of bed cos I had a bit of a disturbed night's sleep. It was 1deg and felt very cold. In fact I didn't warm up until the 4km mark.I didn't feel very wonderful on the run. In fact as I reached my door I thought I was going to throw up - must have been too many Anzac biscuits last night - they're so more-ish!! I feel like a blob. I think this Sat warrants a long run and on Sunday is the Vets' Handicap run. That should work off those extra kilos!

Crunching the Autumn Leaves!

What an absolutely perfect day in Canberra today. The sun shone down and the sky was blue, blue, blue. Mr B and I went to see the Rennie Ellis 'Aussies All' photography exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery by the lake. It was really interesting and of course necessitated a cappuccino afterwards followed by a walk beside the lake to look at all the plaques celebrating the Australians of the Year since 1960. I notice that initially there was just one Aussie of the Year then this increased to two Aussies of the Year which in the 1990s included a Junior and Senior Aussie of the Year and in the last three years has also included a Local Hero of the Year. I have run past these many times but never stopped to look. Walking slowly studying them gives a whole different perspective! It was quite seriously a glorious day and I knew it required a run. We were home by 3pm and I telephoned CJ to suggest a coffee at Tilleys later. Mr B and I ran to her house in Turner and then ran to Tilleys where she joined us for coffee and an Anzac bikkie (yum) and from there she took us home. It was a lovely day.

Distance: 9km
Time taken: 49:53
Average pace per km: 5:32
Calories burned: 526
Fastest km: 5:16

Comments: I so enjoyed this run. We ran along the cycle track to Lyneham and on past O'Connor to Turner crunching and playing in the autumn leaves which were everywhere. There were still plenty of orange and gold leaves on the trees as well as the crunchy leaves which we ran through. There was a little breeze blowing them around and it was such a lovely run. I had to run at a reasonable pace to keep up with Mr B but I enjoyed it and although I had initially intended to run a longer run I felt that this was a quality run and I did enjoy that coffee and bikkie at Tilleys.

Hill Runs at Parliament House - 5.30pm

Distance: 8.61km
Calories: 491

Session: Warm up loop of Parliament House followed by 8 hill runs down and up the grass verges around each side of Parliament House. Some were steeper than others and as it was dark and we could see virtually nothing underneath or in front of us it was a case of running with caution avoiding uneven potholes and rough grassy bits. The second last hill was the steepest - oh boy, after going steeply down, down, down it was up, up, up and boy was it steep. Then the instructions were to run back to the last runners and repeat the hills and run on to the start. As the majority of people did not run back (Ewen and I did the right thing - tee hee) they had to run a steep grassy hill at the finish to the top of Parliament House grassy roof. Then we all went round to the other side of the roof and ran up the top of that side - another very steep hill. We then finished off with a warm down loop of Parliament House again. It was a good session. I chatted to two Barbaras - one a kiwi and the other a Q'lander "with attitude" who has just moved here. It was fun but next week I'll take a torch!

I had just finished my shower after arriving home when I receive a telephone call from the office. A couple of staff had worked overtime and forgotten their key so I had to drive back into work to lock up - oh joy! By the time I arrived home the second time I didn't feel like cooking a proper meal so I picked all night - bad girl. I need to return to my good pre-marathon habits. I may try a long run tomorrow some time as no need to go to work on Anzac Day. These Autumn days in Canberra are very beautiful.

A Perfect Day for a Run

Distance: 11km
Time taken: 65mins
Average pace per km: 5:54
Calories burned: 641

Comments: I drove to the lake and met up with Mr B and Lorraine and Elaine from his squash group. We ran a gentle 11km from the yacht club to Scrivener Dam and back to the yacht club with a few noticeable hills where we pushed ourselves. It was a stunning autumn day. The sky was clear and blue with not a breath of wind but I have to add it was freezing. There had been a frost and parts of the pedestrian bridge over the water had ice on it as the sun hadn't reached that spot so we had to watch our footing. My fingers were very very cold and didn't warm up until about the 7km mark. The overnight temperature had been minus 6degrees!! However later it reached 17deg which still isn't particularly warm but the sun was lovely. The colours of the autumn leaves on the trees were gorgeous - all oranges, browns and golds. There were hot air balloons floating above us and it really was a glorious day to be alive. It was also great to run with company and I really enjoyed my run.

Later, after my nail appointment, I drove into the mall and met up with CJ and Kezza who has just returned from Alice Springs. It was great to catch up with her again. At night we went to a surprise 50th birthday party for The Hare and that too was a great night catching up with friends.

EASING back into it!!

Distance: 6km at 6.15am
Time taken: 36mins!
Calories: 363

Oh well, consistency prevails - consistently slow! The first 3km felt positively awful. My throat is very sore and dry and I was struggling although it was quite light for 6.15am and really quite pleasant out there. On the return loop I found a bit more rhythm and started to enjoy myself. In the weekend I must do a longer run. Time is running out for the Canberra Half and I need to reassure myself I can still run the distance!! I hope this niggly throat improves soon.

Easter at the Beach!

I hope everybody had a lovely Easter break and enjoyed some sunshine. We drove to Vincentia in Jervis Bay at the South Coast and stayed in a lovely little B & B for three nights. It was such a lovely relaxing break and we even went for two swims at the beach. Yes, we had glorious weather - a bit windy in parts but mainly warm, sunny and very pleasant. We found a sheltered beach and enjoyed the blue blue water and the surf and the very white soft sand. We had a fantastic meal out on our first night with a dessert to die for (chocolate basket with mousse, cream & strawberries) - absolute heaven! Yes, Jen, chocolate has been tasting far too good this week and I'm now suffering from chocolate overload (if that's possible)! We did manage two runs so slowly I am returning to the training. We do have a half marathon to run in four weeks time after all. We drove back to Canberra via Berry today and visited a lovely gallery where we bought a beautiful framed photo of Vincentia to put on our wall so that we can drool over it in the middle of winter!

Friday 14 April (Good Friday) at 5.15pm - First run post-marathon

Distance: 7km
Time: 42:46
Average pace per km: 6:06
Calories: 414

Comments: It hurt. I can't pretend it was comfortable. I ran slowly and with caution. My legs felt heavy and I felt odd twinges in all sorts of places. It took about 5km before I finally felt a bit better. I ran with Mr B or should I say I kept him in sight. I couldn't run at his pace, my legs did not cooperate. However at least I have started and it was a pleasant time of day to run. We just made it back to our b & b as the bright red full moon moved into the horizon. It was very beautiful.

Sunday 16 April - Happy Easter and a longer run!

Distance: 12.35km at 4.30pm

Time taken: approx 69mins (52mins for 9km - Gandalf time)

Average pace per km: 5:49

Fastest km: 5:36

Comments: It took more than 3km before Gandalf found a satellite but fortunately Mr B had his watch with him so we could estimate the total distance. We ran from Vincentia to Huskisson Beach along varying degrees of undulating cycle tracks. Again it took me a fair while to reach my comfort zone but 12km is pretty good and I was happy to have done it. We left earlier so reached our b & b before it was too dark to see. We also managed to stretch on a tree while we could still see! It's so nice running near the beach and viewing that beautiful blue water and surf. Gee I love the beach.

A Few Marathon Photos

Running with JS

Two out of Three Aint Bad!!


Canberra Ultra Marathon

Goal 1: To finish the ultra 50km marathon with a smile on my face - achieved
Goal 2: To complete marathon in under 4 hours - not quite!
Goal 3: To complete Ultra marathon in under 5 hours - achieved

Distance: 50km
Time taken: 4hours 56minutes

Comments: It was a stunning day in Canberra, ideal conditions to run a marathon. I set the alarm for 4.30am, ate my toast, honey and banana, showered, dressed and organised myself for a chilly start. I chose not to wear gloves as I knew I would heat up quickly. I ran a very short warm-up and at the start saw lots of CRs including CJ, Griffin, Speedygeoff and Ewen and managed to see Lucky Legs for a quick hug. She looked amazing. Speedygeoff was the pacer for the 4 hour group but I kept a bit behind him as I didn't want to start out too fast. My ultimate goal was to achieve the 50km. I ran with JS and we all chatted happily and nervously to those beside us before the start was called.

It was about 2deg at the start of the run but reached 20deg by mid-day. There was not a breath of wind and it was a clear crisp day with a blue sky. There were hot air balloons floating above us and the lake looked stunning. In fact it made me feel very lucky to live in such a beautiful city and know that all those interstate people were sharing its beauty on such a stunning day. We took off to a fairly slow start as it was quite congested with a great turn-out of about 1000 entrants. We reached the 5km point in 27mins which was pretty much on schedule and 10km at 53mins which was probably a tad too fast. We had obviously speeded up quite a bit as we got into our stride and in fact Gandalf records that our 8th km was run in 4:59. We were still on schedule at 21km at 1hr 56mins but at the 32km mark I felt really queasy. My tummy was feeling decidedly dodgy and I felt like throwing up. Somehow the thought of guu or even sports drinks just made me feel worse and I appreciated the water on the way. There were heaps of drinks stations and the volunteers were fantastic. In fact the supporters on the way were just amazing. There were CR cheer squads loudly cheering us on and people calling our names along the way. It was a great atmosphere. Our pace slowed down from about this point. Up to then we had managed to keep Speedygeoff in sight but at that stage I think we made a decision that the important goal was to achieve the ultra in under 5 hours and unfortunately not make the 4 hour goal for the marathon. Certainly my average pace dropped considerably at that point and we ran through the marathon finish point at 4hrs 5mins. The tricky bit was running right through that finish point without stopping and focussing on keeping on going up that little incline and round the bend and out of sight of the cheering people. After we had rounded that corner we slowed down even more but determination then set in. We were going to do this no matter what!

It was actually quite exciting crossing the road past the marathon finishers coming in and going on to the cycle track and out again under the bridge and on. There we saw our friend Jon cheering us on from under the bridge. He joined us on the cycle track and ran beside us urging us on. We also saw Mr B cycling on the grass calling out encouragement and a work colleague on roller blades calling our names too. It was so good having such support and it kept us pushing on to that turnaround point where there were jellybeans on the table (oh so appreciated) and then that last gruelling 4km. I could feel the sense of achievement inside me, the feeling that I was going to make this under 5 hours. Yes WE were going to do it. The excitement was building and as I rounded that last bend I saw two runners ahead of me and I took off on my own on a last effort sprint passing the two runners and sprinting home at 4hours 56mins with a SMILE on my face. I was just so happy that I had done it under 5 hours. The medal was placed round my neck and I felt fantastic!

There were so many people out there cheering me on and I was one very happy person. My family all came out to see me and it felt wonderful being surrounded by family and friends - that warm fuzzy feeling just made me want to cry. CJ was there looking fresh and amazing. She had achieved her goal and then some - 3hours 26mins - wow, what a woman! She's a legend. We were both very happy. Then Roy came out of the hall with another medal for each of us, CJ was 2nd in her age group and I was 2nd in mine - yippee!!

Later we went to the after party at Rydges and met up with lots of CRs. I had a long chat with Robert Song and met up with Lucky Legs again. What an achievement for her setting the W75 record for the 50km. She is one amazing and inspirational lady. Everyone looked so happy. I also spent time getting to know Lorna (The Owl) who turns out to be a fellow kiwi. She's just delightful. It was lovely to meet so many CRs who we read about - the lovely Tesso, Courtleylove and her daughter, Plu, Wobbly, Cato, Ta and The Gnome and I saw Clairie and many other CRs there too.

That evening CJ, Mr CJ, JS, Mr B and I went out for dinner with our other friends and had a lovely night. Every one at that table who had run in the marathon or ultra had achieved a PB of some sort! It was a fantastic day altogether. Thank you JS for running with me and to everyone out there for being part of this wonderful community of runners. Will post some photos later.

Brrrr - I should have worn gloves! 3 sleeps left!

Distance: 5:03km
Time taken: 30:07mins
Average pace per km: 5:59
Calories burned: 290

Comments: I had to force myself out of bed and run an "easy" 30minute run. I wore leggings and arm warmers (yes Ewen I also wore the rest of my clothes so no smart comments please!). It was absolutely FREEZING out there! I should have worn gloves. My hands didn't warm up at all and they were like little blocks of ice. I had forgotten how cold Canberra can be in the mornings. It definitely felt like winter today. It didn't warm up to more than 14deg all day although the sun was shining. The wind was really bitter. Stay away on Sunday Mr Wind! I only ran for 30mins and felt all the niggles one expects during a taper and just before a big run - heel pain, ankle pain, back pain - not good. However at lunchtime I had a massage and he concentrated on my feet, legs and glutes. It felt so good. The hour went far too fast. I have run 8 runs of more than 30km in training for the ultra this year. That's a lot more than previous years for marathon training. Hope it takes me through the 50km. Tomorrow I have a rest day.

Thank you to all those lovely people who have wished me good luck on Sunday. It is fantastic to have your support and good wishes. I will give a full race report as soon as I can.

I can't believe it's only 4 sleeps left! An Easy Run at 6.15am.

Translate "easy" to "slow" run.

Distance: 7.56km
Time taken: 46:38
Average pace per km: 6:10 (yes, I said "slow")
Calories burned: 430

Comments: The session called for an easy 45min run and I took this as gospel. To start my legs felt very heavy. I wore arm warmers this morning as it was rather cool but the sun was coming out after the turnaround point. I ran past Giralang just before the tunnel heading for Gungahlin, turned and ran back home. It was light by 6.15am and I ran a little later than usual but it was good to be able to see! Tomorrow I have a 30min run, an easy 20mins on Saturday and then that's it before the big one! Today I drove out to the Runners' Shop at lunchtime and bought new Asics socks. Last night I stuck labels on my special drink bottles. I just have to write on them now!

Yoga this evening
Had to stay in the shoulder stand for ages. We had some trainee teachers present taking notes and assisting us in our poses. This meant we had a tough session. Those dog poses and long stretches can be quite nasty but of course the last ten minutes makes up for everything. Tomorrow I have a massage - bliss!

5 Sleeps Left! A Run after Work

Distance: 8.46km
Time taken: 49:46
Calories burned: 478
Average pace per km: 5:53
Fastest km: 5:16

Comments: Ran at 5.30pm from the office over the bridge to the ferry terminal and on round the museum and out along the lake edge to about 4.50km then turned round and ran back to the carpark near the office. It took me about 4km before all the twinges settled down. The legs felt like lumps of lead to start and it took quite a while to get into my stride. The session was to run 10mins at marathon pace but I actually ran about 4km at marathon pace as I felt much stronger in the second half of the run. By the time I returned to the carpark near work it was becoming quite dark which made it seem much later than it was. The mornings are lighter earlier however which is good. It was a much warmer morning today than yesterday. I noticed this at 7am when I left home for brekkie with friends. It would have been a good temperature for the marathon start!

Last Taper Week - 6 sleeps to take-off!

Stats for Marathon Training

Total km for week ending 2 April = 55.13 (2nd week of taper)
Total km in training for ultra marathon = 1,165km
Total km in 2006 = 1,004km

Today I drove out to Mitchell and had my CR singlet and cap embroidered with my blog name. They turned out really well and I'm feeling quite excited now the ultra is so close. I now have to label my special drink bottles and buy some new socks. Then I'll be ready! Today was a rest day and tomorrow I have a 9km run after work. The temperature has definitely dropped and the mornings are quite chilly. I wore long sleeves to work for the first time today. Sunday forecast is for 2deg overnight but looks like it might be quite a pleasant day. I have my fingers, toes and everything else crossed that the conditions will be just right - no wind or rain preferably!

One Week to Ultra (7 more night sleeps - no more day sleeps!) - Daylight saving ends!

Last longish run - Sunday
Distance: 17km
Time taken: 1hour 36mins 58secs
Average pace per km: 5:42
Calories burned: 975
Fastest km: 4:59

Comments: Daylight saving has ended and all our clocks had to put back one hour. It was freezing this morning. In fact there were signs of frost outside. Be warned interstate people coming to compete next weekend, be prepared for a cold start. Mind you it will be appreciated at the 30km mark to have that cool air. The sun was shining and actually it would have been perfect marathon conditions today.

I met JS at the yacht club and we ran to Telopea Park School which is the start and finish spot of the marathon and ultra marathon. Then we ran round NSW Crescent and back to turnaround point of ultra from where we ran back to Telopea and turned again visualising the finish and the feeling of running past the finish and on for that last 8km. Yes it will be difficult but WE WILL DO IT even if we walk some of that last 8km. I really really want to achieve that goal. We stopped Gandalf at the 17km mark and walked the remaining bit back to the yacht club where we had a shower and drove to meet CJ, Mr CJ, The Hare and H for brekkie. Mr B is currently in Melbourne watching the Grand Prix as he had a last minute opportunity for a grandstand seat - too tempting to refuse as he's a mad car racing fiend. It was a good run and we ran several kms at approximately marathon pace.

Saturday' short run at 8am

Distance: 8.05km

Location: From home to tunnel heading towards Gungahlin and back

Time taken: 46:38

Average pace per km: 5:42

Fastest km: 5:14

Calories burned: 465

Comments: Ran with Mr B before he headed off to Melbourne. It was a cold morning with a high wind chill factor. In fact I would not like this to be the weather for marathon day - the wind was bitter. It was cold, grey and generally bleak at this time of the morning. I wore a cycle top which has short sleeves and that worked well. We ran fairly conservatively but picked up the pace in the last 2km.