Sydney Rocks!

City2Surf - What a Day!!

Mr B, CJ and Mr CJ decided to make a real weekend of this run. We had a ball. We booked the Avillion Hotel in Pitt Street into a special "Winter Warmer" package which included a room upgrade, valet parking, a late check-out and a full breakfast each day. It was also situated in a very convenient location near the shops and very near the start of the run.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny - cool to start but very pleasant. More than 63,000 people competed in the run and the atmosphere was amazing. Mr B and I ran in the Green Group which was the second start. We were fairly near the back of the group as we didn't want to be standing round waiting for the start for too long. This way we avoided the loo queue as we could leave it to the last minute before walking from the hotel. CJ started from the red group which started on the starters' gun at the correct time. Our start was about 10 minutes later.

To start with it was a shuffle and very difficult to weave through the crowds. It took a while before it was possible to break into a jog and finally a run. There were bands playing and the usual cry of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oy oy oy" echoing through the tunnel. There were also quite a few people dressed in fancy dress. One lady I passed was sporting a large hat covered completely in flowers matched up with flowers hung round her neck and on her top. There were quite a few interesting sights on the way and many interesting t-shirts to read!

The best part of the City2Surf is the atmosphere and the discovery of so many happy chatty people and the amazing CR community including a great cheer squad calling our names during that last tough kilometre which seems to go on forever. It certainly helped push me on hearing the encouraging cheers of our CR cheer squads. Thanks guys. It really is appreciated.

I really enjoyed the race and felt very strong - must be all that hill training. Gandalf told me my time was 78:16. However the official results in the paper state that my time was 79:47. I was placed 9638th out of over 63,000 starters. At least I came in under 80minutes which pleased me! I felt comfortable throughout the entire run stopping for water at nearly all the drink stations on the way. I didn't find Heartbreak Hill difficult but I was frustrated trying to weave my way through all the crowds. I did find this year that there seemed to be more people than usual and it was more difficult to find a space to run my own race. However, the people are what make this particular race so special. It may be difficult to achieve a great time in these groups but it is amazing fun. I loved every minute of it. I also passed a number of people I knew from Canberra. I saw Marco, Roy and Marg on the way which was exciting.

After running through the finishing chute and receiving my finishers' medal I found PRB (or he found me) walking to our meeting place. This was his last run before major surgery and he was very happy with his time. We came in virtually together. It was so good to see him and be able to wish him well. We walked to the meeting spot and sure enough there were so many people there we knew. I had seen The Owl on the run and called out to her where we were meeting afterwards and several CRs turned up there including Jen, Lulu and Tuggeranong Don who came over to talk to us while we were waiting for others. It was great to chat with all these lovely CRs and yummo to Owl who had made the most beautiful apricot slice which I did not resist after buring all those calories. We also caught up with Roy, Graeme and JS from Canberra - lots of Canberra friends turned up at the City2Surf. It really is a great day.

My stats according to Gandalf:
Distance: 14:31
Calories burned: 812
Average pace per km: 5:28
Fastest km: 4:18 (must have been a downhill!)

We were joined by Barb, Mark and Marg and we all took the free bus back to the city where we found a nice spot for lunch and coffee. After a quick shower back at the hotel we went to Darling Harbour where the boys visited a Ferrari display while CJ and I managed some retail therapy and also managed to bump into Ewen and Gordon who were "loitering with intent"! In the evening we enjoyed a beautiful meal back at the hotel before finally going to bed tired but still on a high from the wonderful day we had all enjoyed.

Monday 14 August
Today Mr B and I have been married 35 years! We're celebrating the occasion in style at the end of August when we're flying to the Whitsundays for 5 nights and staying on Daydream Island which sounds pretty idyllic. It sounds like heaven to me! CJ and I managed some very satisfactory retail therapy this morning. We both bought gorgeous shoes. Mine are red, pointy, high heeled and just beautiful. I also bought a flat pair to wear with jeans. They are Italian and were half price and are soooo comfortable - green, navy and white and soft soft leather.

We took advantage of the late check-out and finally left Sydney in the early afternoon stopping at our favourite spot in Berrima on the way home. Then straight to visit our son with pressies as he turned 29 on Saturday. We also detoured to the CISAC gym in Belconnen where I had organised to collect a special membership which includes both gyms and the pool. I'm starting it on 5 September and having an assessment and program done for me that morning. This will be a very different experience from my current gym. Club Pink is the ladies' part of the gym and it's just so pretty and looks fabulous with lots of classes and great modern equipment, treadmills, bikes, weights, breakfast every day etc. Club Blue is for the pool and includes the solarium, sauna and spa pool. Club Lime is the main gym with lots more classes and weights etc. My membership covers all three gym memberships - should be fantastic.

Tuesday
This morning I went for a run and oh boy, my calves hurt, my hamstrings hurt and I ran slowly in the freezing cold with long sleeves, ear warmers, leggings - very different from Sydney. However although the nights and mornings are so cold I have to add that we are experiencing delightful Spring weather right now with today's temps reaching 18deg.

Stats as follows:
Distance: 6km
Calories: 350
Time taken: 36:18
Pace per km: 6:04

Oh dear, this was a tad slow - I think my legs are suffering!!

Wednesday
This morning I went to the gym and did my chest/shoulders/back program. It felt hard and I felt tired. However I managed to cover all the appropriate program including my abs. However I was a bit late for work!

Today was another stunner once the fog cleared in the morning. Tonight I went to yoga. There were fewer people in the class this evening so a bit more personal attention. CJ was caught up in meetings at work so couldn't make it tonight. As it turned out I was very glad I had attended as I will miss one session when we're in the Whitsundays.

Something else I have noticed lately is that the days are starting to get longer. It's becoming light earlier in the mornings and staying light later in the evening. Spring is just around the corner!

One More Sleep til Sydney!

It was a lovely sunny Spring day today but it was still jolly cold at 5.30am this morning when I ran out the door. I decided I should do one last run before City to Surf on Sunday as I had to miss speedygeoff's session last night due to a Board Meeting - oh joy!

Wednesday morning
Gym - Legs/Arms/Abs

Evening
Yoga - stretches, stretches, shoulder stands and more stretches
Great to have the company of CJ.

Thursday morning - 5.30am - Run
Session: Hill repeats
Calories burned: 542
Distance: 6.12km

I reluctantly rolled out of bed and ran out the door at 5.30am (it was absolutely freezing and I wore lots of layers) . Session as follows:

9 minute warm up run to a good hill which was just under 400m to the top.

Run slowly to the top of the hill twice, jogging back to the start
Run fast to the top of the hill twice, jogging back to the start
Sprint to the top of the hill twice jogging back to the start
Slow run to the top of the hill twice, jogging back to the start

Cool down back home for about 9 minutes.

This morning there was a full moon which helped light the way as I ran on the cycle track where lots of roadworks are currently taking place and there's a few obstacles on the way to the start of the hill.

After a shower I quickly drove into the city to meet CJ for brekkie (scrambled egg whites and toast and a skinny flat white) - a great way to start the working day.

Friday morning - 5.30am - Run
Session: Interval training
Calories burned: 362
Distance: 6km

I ran for 5 minutes then sprinted for 3 minutes, jogged at an easy pace for 1 1/2 minutes and repeated the sprint and easy jog six times before doing an easy jog home. It didn't take long to warm up with my brightly coloured vest over a long sleeved CR top, my headlight showing the way, a band to keep my ears warm and a cap to cover my light and head. Under all that headgear I wore my ipod and the music kept me going! I am currently almost asleep as I write this so need to go and pack for the morning.

Good luck to all those friends out there who are competing at the C2S on Sunday. It should be a fun day with lots of familiar faces. I will definitely wear my CR gear!!

Census Day - Interval Training

I rose early to complete an interval session on my indoor windtrainer before meeting a couple of friends for breakfast at Red Belly Black.

5 mins warm up
27 mins intervals - 1 min easy/2 1/2 mins hard (repeated 6 times)
5 mins cool down
Total time: 37 minutes

And oh boy it was hard work! I rode the "hard" sections in a difficult gear and really pushed through it. Thank goodness for my ipod. It helps make that 2 1/2 mins go faster! Now we must fill in our census forms - on the net I think.

And so another week begins - And Spring is coming!

Before Work - Gym Session
Chest/Back/Shoulders
10mins warm up on treadmill
Later Pullodwn - 3 x 12 (25kg)
Cable seated row - 3 x 12 (50kg)
DB Bench Press - 3 x 10 (20lb)
Pec Dec Fly - 3 x 12 (25kg)
Upright row - 3 x 12 (10lb)
DB Shoulder Press - 3 x 12 (10lb)
Stretches for all parts of body
Abs/Core - Back extension - 2 x 15; modified plank - 3 x 60secs;
bicycle crunches - 3 x 15; crunches - 2 x 15

After Work - speedygeoff's running at Parliament House
Distance: 8.46km
Calories burned: 529

Session: Two warm up laps of Parliament House then off to the grassy hill for another hill repeats session of 20 uphill sprints x 20 repeats on 90secs including the downhill jogs back to the start at the bottom of the hill. There was a large turnout tonight - could be something to do with the balmy weather today. There were lots of running friends there and it was fun catching up with them on the warm-up and cool-down but everyone was working hard on those grassy hills with very little breathing space between each repeat! The forecast overnight is for minus 6 degrees (!!) but tomorrow the temp is supposed to reach 17deg - positively spring-like. How lovely!

I think I'm finally shaking my cough. It was much better tonight after the running session - I could even breathe properly for once - woo hoo! And it was so nice today to meet Mr B for lunch.

I have now lost 5.7kg in weight and believe me I'm eating heaps - lots and lots of veges and salads and protein. It seems to be working!

My Man Has Returned to Moi!

Mr B managed to miss his flight on Friday and as a consequence flew in on Saturday instead. However he is now back safe and sound with lots of goodies to distribute and it's lovely to have him home again. This morning we even went for a run together and he has certainly not lost any fitness!

I haven't had a very good week with this lingering cough but time still seems to have disappeared rapidly leaving me behind with my blogging! I took Monday and Tuesday off work at the recommendation of the doctor and apart from doing a few weights at home I did very little in exercise for those two days.

On Wed I returned to the gym and worked on chest/back/shoulders but I did struggle with the weights as I didn't have much energy. I coughed so much during the day and my tummy reacted badly to the antibiotics and I ended up missing yoga which was frustrating.

Thursday - interval training
This was done on my windtrainer (bike) at home before work as follows:
5 min warm up followed by 27mins intervals - 1 1/2min easy, 3 mins hard (repeated 6 times)
5 mins cool down - total of 37 mins.

5.30pm - speedygeoff's training session - Dickson Oval
I arrived a little late and missed the first warm up loop. However I made it to the second warm up loop. In spite of coughing lots I really enjoyed the session. It was just good to be running again for the first time since Sunday.

We divided into groups of 3 or 4 again and ran 3 x 1200metre loops changing leaders each time speedygeoff blew his whistle. It was tough but fun and challenging. We finished with another cool down loop.

Total distance: 6.11km
Calories burned: 390

Friday - Gym - Working on legs/arms.
Warm up on treadmill for 6 mins
Leg press - 3 x 15 (55kg)
DB lunges - 1 x 15, 2 x 112 (20lb)
Seated leg curl - 3 x 12 (30lb)
DB standing calf raise - 2 x 15 (20lb)
DB Biceps Curl - 12 x 10lb, 10 x 15lb, 8 x 15lb
DB triceps kickback - I only did 1 x 12 of this as I think this is where I hurt my shoulder and it's been hurting ever since
Abs/core and stretches
Back extension 2 x 15
Bicycle crunches - 3 x 15
Crunches - 3 x 15

Sunday - Medium Distance Run
Mr B and I went for a run from home to and round Lake Ginninderra and home again. It was a stunningly sunny day with a clear blue sky and it was lovely to be running although Mr B definitely didn't let me slack off. Next weekend is, after all, the City to Surf in Sydney - not long now. It is so cool to have my man back home again!

Distance: 15km
Time taken: 1hr 24mins (84mins)
Average pace per km: 5:37
Calories burned: 866
Fastest km: 5:24

Later in the day we visited CJ and Mr CJ in their beautifully renovated home. It's just fantastic. Then later still we visited our little grand-daughter who has just turned 4. All our family came too and we had lots of fun. It was a lovely weekend. I wish it didn't have to end.

Some Things You May Not Know About Me!

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Librarian
2. Insurance endorsements officer
3. Media assistant in Advertising Agency
4. Co-Manager for Apprenticeships Centre

B) Four movies I would watch over and over
1. Four Weddings and a Funeral
2. Bridget Jones Diary
3. Notting Hill
4. Under the Tuscan Sun

C) Four places I have lived
1. Dunedin, NZ
2. Wellington, NZ
3. West Kensington, London
4. Canberra, ACT

D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. House
2. Inspector Rex
3. NYPD
4. Cold Case

E) Four places I have been on holidays:
1. London, Southern Ireland, France, Italy
2. Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Canary Islands
3. San Francisco, Los Angeles
4. Noosa

F) Websites visited daily:
1. Hotmail
2 Blogspot
3. Cool Running Site
4. Idealbodiesonline

G) Four of my favourite foods/drinks:
1. Chocolate
2. Coffee
3. Strawberries with Balsamic vinegar and unsw maple syrup
4. Bananas

H) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In France with Mr B
2. Italy
3. Having a massage
4. In bed reading a good book

I) Four people I think will respond
1. Hilda
2. Aki
3. Susan
4. Tuggeranong Don

I took up CJ's challenge and responded accordingly. Now it's your turn! Today I'm home from work sick and the doctor says to stay home tomorrow too. So it was a compulsory rest day from running today and I had to miss speedygeoff's training group unfortunately. I also have some nasty antibiotics to take - hope all is ok for City to Surf - don't want last year's history to repeat itself when I had to be a reluctant spectator!

Mt Taylor Vets' Handicap

Distance: 6.8km
Time taken: 41.20mins
Handicap Group: 14
Place: 50th
Average pace per km: 6:05 (oh dear - now that really is slow!!)

I woke up a few times during the night coughing and when I struggled out of bed at 6.30am I seriously contemplated contacting CJ and saying I would give today's run a miss but after my rolled oats and banana (yes, I bought a banana and it was soooo good) I felt much better and at that stage the sky was blue and this convinced me that Mt Taylor was waiting and so were lots of friends I wanted to see. So on went the running gear and off I drove to collect CJ and head for the south side to join the vetrunners at our monthly handicap run.

Mt Taylor is called MOUNT Taylor for a reason. It's a very undulating course and some of those hills are very steep indeed. However, it's also very pretty and another of those off-road runs where the views and the surface is wonderful. I did find the run, although far shorter, almost harder in parts than yesterday simply because I kept coughing. I had to remember not to talk to people, just raise a hand because every time I opened my mouth I started coughing. However, the downhill parts of the run were great. I felt like I was flying in the last downhill stretch. This course used to be run in the opposite direction a few years ago and I found that much harder. This direction is really very pleasant and certainly scenic.

After the run and lots of catching up with people a few of us went to Babars for a great coffee and more chatting. I caught up with Barb who has just returned from a week in her native NZ. It was great to catch up and laugh over the different expressions we use even though our countries are so close. Being an ex-kiwi it's always fun to catch up with recent travellers.

It's been quite a busy weekend. This evening I went to the movies to see The Lake House. It was quite delightful.

I have stocked up on throat lozenges and vitamins but think that tomorrow (which is now today) I will sleep in and take a sicky from work. I need to work on shaking this cold so that I can bounce back properly.

Bush Capital Run

Distance: 16km
Time taken: 1hr 36mins
Average pace per km: 6mins
Calories burned: 889
Fastest km: 5:15

What an absolutely stunning day for the Bush Capital Runs. It was frosty and cold but the sky was a clear blue and the sun was shining brightly. There was a choice of distances and I entered the 16km run. I'm very glad I didn't decide on the 25km although it had crossed my mind a few times that I should. As it was I felt very fortunate that I even managed the 16km as my cold has developed into a real humdinger and I sound like a steam train when I breathe and have a very croaky voice! There were so many people out there who I knew and I managed to catch up with quite a few after the race - Aki, Tuggeranong Don, Flashduck, Vicky, speedygeoff and all the usual suspects. I was so impressed with FD selecting the 25km run and managing to complete it in spite of not feeling 100% healthy. She is truly an inspiration the way she bounces back.

The 16km run start was at 9am. I collected CJ who ran in the 25km and did a fantastic time finishing as 4th female only missing out on 3rd by a few seconds. I, on the other hand, ran rather slowly. For the first 8km I struggled with my breathing and every time I chatted to someone I started coughing so I concentrated instead on putting one foot in front of the other and trying to breathe! I was very stuffed up but I felt much better on the second half of the run. It was very hilly but being off-road the surface was lovely and it was a really pleasant run. I will definitely run this again next year and may even opt for the 25km with more training and no cold bugs hopefully! The fantastic thing about Canberra is that you can be in the city one minute and then a few kilometres away be in the the peace and quiet of the bush with only the sounds of the birds singing in the trees. Yes, there were lots of birds up there keeping us company and even a rider on a large white horse came trotting past. A couple of cyclists rode downhill quickly as we struggled upwards and it was so pretty out there. Some of the downhills were a bit uneven and rough but on the whole the surface was pretty good - just a little muddy in patches from our recent rainfall.

My time was slow and speedygeoff had to redirect me at the finish line as for some bizarre reason I completely lost the plot and veered off from the finish line but I only lost a couple of seconds I'm sure. I was very happy I did it feeling the way I did. I felt so sick last night that I did have serious doubts at one stage. Tomorrow the intention is to run the Vets' Handicap at Mt Taylor - could be another slow run but that's ok, it's all about the wonderful company and the great feeling at the end! That's what running is all about.

Is Spring Approaching?

Morning Run - 5.40am

It was a very foggy frosty start to the morning as I set off at 5.40am with my headlight showing the way and my music keeping me company. This morning my session was hill repeats. Now the very last thing I felt like doing was rolling out of bed and going out in that cold dark morning but I'm so glad I did it. It always feel so good to know you have achieved the session you had planned, especially after missing Monday's hill training.

Session - Hill Repeats - Hill just under 400m
Warm up run to start of hill - approx 1.5km
slow jog to top of hill and slow jog down (x 2)
fast jog to top of hill and slow jog down (x 2)
sprint to top of hill and slow jog down (x 2)
slow jog to top of hill and slow jog down (x2)
Cool down run home

Total distance: 8:11km
Calories burned: 509

After a very foggy start to the day by lunchtime the sky was blue and it was warm enough to walk outside with only a light jacket on. Maybe Spring is just around the corner. In the weekend I noticed a few magpies eyeing me up as I ran. Pretty soon they'll be building their nests and swooping me. They definitely have that meaningful look in their eyes!

Session after work - 5.30pm - speedygeoff's group - Dickson

Total distance: 8:05km
Calories burned: 495 (yes, definitely more gentle than this morning)

We did a large warm up loop of the full oval then a smaller loop of the oval. The oval was officially closed and as there was no lighting we decided to take to the cycle paths and go for a 5km run out around the suburbs. It made a very pleasant change to run and talk at the same time especially as too much exertion set me coughing. It was a lovely session with only a select few of us participating. It gave me an opportunity to chat with Marg and speedygeoff and it was fun. Am I ready for Saturday's run? I'm a bit unsure as this cough has held me back from running very much this week so hope I at least finish the run. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone there.

Total distance for the day: 16:16km

Yoga Resumes

Tonight I returned to yoga after a couple of weeks' semester break. CJ is in the same class as me which is really cool. I haven't had a friend for company in these classes before. It makes it more fun! It was a good session with lots of excellent stretches and an extra long time in the shoulder stand. It's so good for my body to stretch like this. Unfortunately my cough and sore throat are not easing off but I'm still hanging in there!

The Saga of my Gym

Firstly thanks for the comments guys. I'm hanging in there! CJ had a few days off work this week and has moved into her newly renovated home (it's just beautiful). She met me for a coffee in the city at lunchtime today. It was great to relax and catch up. She has just finished her 12 week program and looks absolutely amazing. So I'm definitely hanging in there - less than five weeks to go and in the meantime I'll fight this sore throat and keep going if I can.

As I also met a few ex work colleagues for brekkie this morning and I have another early morning meeting tomorrow I did my gym session after work today. At that time of day the clientele is quite different from the early morning. The gym I attend has an average age of about 70 and is predominately male. There has been a radio in the gym for avery large number of years and in the mornings the venerable gentlemen like to listen to the BBC and classical music or news programs. Recently the radio decided to just stop and there was lots of discussion about how to replace it. The Board was approached and on Friday a new radio appeared to the accompaniment of loud cheering. It was immediately switched to their favourite station and the news! Tonight as some of the clientele were at least 30 years younger one guy decided to change to a commercial radio station. What courage! For the first time I can ever remember we actually had lively music playing to our workout and it was the best workout I had for ages - lol!!

Some of the gentlemen who attend the gym in the mornings have been going there for more than 20 years. They are all very friendly and all have their stories to tell. There is a small swimming pool there and often they wander through in their speedos and barefeet (I should add that there is a sign there saying "no barefeet" but these gentlemen are the backbone of the club and I don't think anyone will argue with them) to the change rooms. There is one man (he would only be about 50) who always wanders through after his swim, towel over one arm and book in his hand, who climbs on one of the bikes (in his speedos and bare feet) and spends the next 20mins or so gently cycling as he reads his book. He's never read a novel in his life - all his books are history or war sagas. In the many years that I have come in and out of that gym that same man has always just gently done his workout (never working up a sweat) and his rolls of fat have never diminished in the slightest! It is rather fun actually listening to their conversations. They always say 'hello', unlike most trendy gyms you attend and I know all their names and their golf handicaps!!

The "after work" crowd is different but it's still interesting and I did enjoy my workout this afternoon. It was a legs/arms session today and I felt quite comfortable for once.

Warm up on treadmill - 10 mins
Leg Press - 1 x 12, 1 x 15 (50kg); 1 x 15 (55kg)
DB Lunges - 1 x 15, 2 x 12 (20lb)
Seated Leg Curl - 1 x 15 (20lb), 2 x 12 (30lb) - yay, I finally increased the weight
DB Standing Calf Raise - 2 x 15 (20lb)
DB Biceps Curl - 12 x 8lb, 10 x 15lb, 8 x 17.6lb (and I actually increased this as well)
DB Triceps Kickback - 3 x 12 (10lb) - I've finally figured this one out
Stretches

Abs/Core
Back Extension - 2 x 15
Modified Plank - 2 x 60secs, 1 x 80secs
Bicycle Crunches - 3 x 15
Crunches - 3 x 15

I really felt good tonight although my cough has worsened now it's the evening and I can hear my daughter's "barking"cough in her bedroom. Tomorrow yoga resumes and CJ will be attending my class at the same time which will be great company.

Just another Manic Monday

Today was not an especially good start to the week. My throat is very sore and raw and I feel very tired. However I still struggled out of bed early and went to the gym.

Chest/Back/Shoulders
Lateral pulldown - 1 x 6 (30kg), 1 x 6 (25kg); 2 x 12 (25kg)
Cable seated row - 3 x 12 (45kg)
DB Bench Press = 3 x 10 (20lb)
Pec Dec Fly - 3 x 10 (20kg)
DB Upright row - 3 x 12 (30kg)
DB Shoulder Press - 1 x 12, 2 x 10 (10lb)

Abs/Core
Back extension - 2 x 15
Modified Plank - 3 x 60secs
Bicycle Crunches - 3 x 15
Crunches - 3 x 15

The rain poured down all day and after work I just didn't feel up to going to speedygeoff's session. My throat was hurting heaps and I knew we would be training in the underground carpark so instead I wussed out and drove home and climbed on my windtrainer (stationary bike) in the comfort of my lounge! There I did a hard intervals session as follows:

5 mins warm up followed by 21mins intervals - 1 min easy/2 1/2 mins hard (x 6 repeats), 5 mins cool down - total of 31 mins.

I worked really hard to make up for the guilts and was so wet when I finished I had to have a shower before preparing dinner. I did a load of washing, ironed a couple of shirts, wrote my blog and now I'm ready for bed! And my throat still hurts!! Waaaaah!

Family Day Sunday

On Friday I went to the gym and did my usual legs and arms workout. However, I did find it tough although I managed to increase the weights which is always encouraging.

Saturday - Mid-distance Run - 10am
Distance: 16km
Time: 1hr 33mins
Average pace per km: 5:52
Calories burned: 929

I ran from home and along the cycle track to Nicholls and back. The only problem with this course was that there were roadworks on the cycle track and I had to run a bit of a detour through dirt and uneven grassy surfaces. This slowed me down a bit as I had to watch my footing. The weather started off very overcast and cool. However as I returned the sun came out and it was really quite warm. I ran with my music playing loudly in my ears and although I was tired and have been all weekend I still enjoyed a pleasant run all on my own with my music for company.

Sunday (today) I had a "rest" day. I have a sore dry throat which I sincerely hope doesn't develop into anything as there's a lot of nasty viruses out there - STAY AWAY BUGS! I joined Lyn and Barb for a coffee this morning at Yarralumla and this afternoon the family came over and I could spend quality time with my beautiful children and grandchildren. Only three weeks until Mr B returns! I've stuck to my nutrition plan and tomorrow I will be in Week 8. I've lost just over 4kg and over 4% bodyfat. I feel better for it although this weekend I have been tired so it was good to have a rest day today. I've prepared all my lunches for the week so that it's easier to pack my bags each day. I can't believe how quickly weekends disappear!

Two Tough Training Runs Today!

Morning Run - 5.45am

This morning as I rose to an ice box of a house the frost was glistening on the white grass and all the ungaraged cars were covered in a layer of white. Yes, it was jolly cold inside and outside.

Session - Hill repeats - distance of hill 380m
Warm up of 9 mins to reach the hill from home. Next I ran the hill session as follows:

Jog slow to top, slow jog down x 2
Jog fast to top, slow jog down x 2
Sprint to top, slow jog down x 2
Jog slow to top, slow jog down x 2

Cool down run home.
Total distance: 7.21km
Calories burned: 444

Afternoon Training - 5.30pm

speedygeoff's training session at Dickson Oval was similar to last week except for the distance. After two warm-up laps of the full oval we were split into groups of 3-6 and ran one behind the other again with the last person in each group running to the front when Geoff blew the whistle.

2 x warm-up loops of full oval
1 x 1200m (3 x 400m laps of oval) swapping leaders on the whistle
1 x 800m (2 x 400m laps of oval)
1 x 1200m
1 x cool down loop of full oval

Total distance: 6.53km
Calories burned: 398

The shorter interval of 800m was the toughest. We really worked on the 800m lap which was evidenced by the fact that during that time I ran my best km time of 4:50. It was tough especially during the bursts to reach the front before the whistle blew!

When I arrived home I was expecting to open the door to a freezing cold house. During the day I had rung the ducted heating people and they couldn't come out until next week. The receptionist suggested I turned the power off at the wall and at the mains, wait 5 minutes then reset the metre. I had explained this to my younger daughter over the telephone and she and her boyfriend had come home for a while and managed to fix it. How happy I am to have a lovely warm welcoming home again. What a difference a warm house makes!

The Heating has gone on Strike!

My house is absolutely freezing. The ducted heating has decided to stop working. The pilot light is working but no matter what I do I cannot make the thermostat rise above 14deg and I AM COLD! I'm currently wearing a jumper, sweatshirt and Kathmandu fleecy jacket and I'm about to go to bed where it's warm. It's a nice warm water bed. I've tried ringing the ACTEWAGL emergency number but that's only if there's a gas leak - nope, not the case. In fact I can't find anything wrong. Maybe during office hours tomorrow I'll try to seek other help. Mr B, where are you when I need you? I know the answer to that - wallowing in 30deg sunshine in France - grrrr!

This morning I went to the gym again and worked on my chest/back/shoulders as follows:

Lateral pulldown - 3 x 12 (25kg)
Cable seated row - 3 x 12 (45kg)
DB Chest press - 1 x 12; 1 x 11; 2 x 6 (20lb) - yes, I was having problems lifting weights this morning. Where did all my strength go?
Pec Dec Fly - 3 x 12 (15kg)
DB Shoulder Press - 1 x 12; 2 x 10 (10lb)
Abs/Core
Back Extension - 2 x 15
Modified Plank - 1 x 45 secs; 2 x 50secs
Bicycle crunches - 3 x 15
Crunches - 3 x 15
Stretches

Of course I was late for work again!

And Tuggeranong Don, in response to your question, a windtrainer is actually an indoor piece of equipment that I mount my bike on to hold it in place . The rear wheel is locked in position and you climb on the bike and pedal madly in one spot and still have the ability to change the front gears to make it tougher. It's a bit like the stationary bikes in the gym except you use your own bike. It's great when you don't want to cycle outdoors early on cold mornings!

Early start tomorrow for hill runs so off to my nice warm bed. Goodnight!

Intervals

This morning I did interval training on my windtrainer at home with my ipod attached to my ear to keep me at it!

5 mins warm up followed by 21 mins intervals as follows:

1 min easy / 2 1/2 mins hard - repeated 6 times
5 mins cool down
total of 31mins

The hard intervals were very intense and I was dripping when I finally finished and very thirsty!

A New Week Dawns and I'm Half Way Through my Program!

Friday - Gym session - 7am
Chest/Back/Shoulders

Back
Lateral Pulldown - 3 x 12 (25kg)
Cable Seated Row - 3 x 12 (35kg)
Chest
DB Bench Press - 1 x 12 (20lb), 2 x 10 (20lb)
Pec Dec Fly - 3 x 12 (15kg)
Shoulders
DB Upright Row
DB Shoulder Press - 1 x 10, 2 x 8 (10lb)
Abs
Back Extension 2 x 15
Modified plank - 2 x 60secs
Bicycle crunches - 2 x 60

Sunday - Cross Country 10-miler!
Location: Black Mountain Peninsula and round Lake Burley Griffin
Distance: 16km
Time taken: 1hour 30min:20
Average pace per km: 5:37
Calories: 933
Fastest km: 5:01

The conditions were perfect. The rain cleared and although it was overcast and threatening more rain it held off for the duration of the run and in fact the temperature was plus 7deg which was unusual after our zero and below temps lately. We could comfortably run in singlets and shorts. I ran with Marg some of the way and Pam some of the way. Pam took off later in the run and managed to beat me by 1 minute but I caught up with Marg and managed to sprint to the finish line 2secs ahead of her. It was lovely to see PRB out there cheering us on. It was a comfortable run with lots of familiar faces en route. After rushing home for a quick shower and change I met up with CJ, Mr CJ and a group of our triathlon friends for a great lunch at Carlo's - a lovely day altogether.

Monday
Morning - Gym Session - 7am
Legs/Arms
Leg Press - 1 x 15 (35kg); 1 x 15 (40kg); 1 x 15 (45kg)
DB Lunges - 1 x 12 on each leg, 2 x 15 on each leg (20lb)
Seated leg curl - 1 x 12, 2 x 10 (20lb) - ouch, big ouch, ouch, ouch!!
DB standing calf raise - 2 x 15 on each leg (15lb)
DB Biceps Curl - 12 x 8lb (DB), 10 x 10lb (DB), 8 x 12lb (BB) - the last one seated!
DB Triceps Kickback - 2 x 12 (15lb), 1 x 12 (17.6lb)
Abs
Back extension - 2 x 15
Modified Plank - 2 x 40secs
Bicycle Crunches - 3 x 15
Crunches - 15

Hill repeats at Parliament House with speedygeoff - 5.30pm
Session
Two loops of Parliament House warm-up
20 hill reps (100metres steep) - fast up, slow jog down on 90secs
Cool down loop of Parliament House.
Total Distance: 9km

This was the same session as last Monday and maybe it felt a tad easier? However, my hamstring has been quite sore today after yesterday's run and I did notice it on all those hills! Great to have Ewen back to join us after his trip.

Hilda sent us Much Needed Rain!

Thanks Hilda! It is certainly raining this morning which may make Tuggeranong Don's run sloshy but we do need the rain and I think it may be easing off now after raining steadily during the night. I can't believe I haven't blogged since Tuesday. Every time I sat at the computer to write up my blog I fell asleep!! Today is my rest day from exercise and a chance to catch up at last.

Back to Wednesday
Gym - Legs/Arm

Leg Press - 3 x 15 reps (35kg)
DB lunges - 2 x 15reps on each leg (20lb)
- 1 x 12 reps on each leg (20lb)
Seated Leg Curl - 3 x 12 reps (20lb) - that still hurts!
DB standing calf raise - 2 x 12 (15lb)
DB Biceps Curl - 12 x 8lb, 10 x 5kg, 8 x 10lb
One arm DB Row - 2 x 12 (15lb), 1 x 12 (17.6lb)
Abs - Back extension - 2 x 15
Modified plank - 2 x 30secs holding
Bicycle crunches - 2 x 60
Stretches

Thursday
Before work - 5.45am
Hill Repeats

Warm up run to a hill on the cycle track between Nth Lyneham and Kaleen. This is quite a good hill of about 400m and perfect for hill repeats.

Session:
Warm up
Jog slow to top, slow jog down x 2
Jog fast to top, slow jog down x 2
Sprint to top, slow jog down x 2
Jog slow to top, slow jog down x 2
Jog home to cool down.

Total distance: 7.82km
Calories burned: 519

Then I quickly showered, prepared for work and drove in to meet CJ for brekkie, my favourite time of the week. She hasn't been well and it was lovely to catch up. For the benefit of susan brekkie is an Aussie abbreviation for breakfast! And pretty damn good it is too!!

Thursday evening - speedygeoff's session
Dickson Oval
This was an interesting session tonight and quite challenging but fun. We ran two warm-up loops of the oval. Next we ran a trial 800m to establish our level after which we were put into teams of three according to our approximate ability. I was with Pam and two sprinters who alternated so they just ran 400m each instead of the 800m which meant of course that they didn't run out of puff! The idea was to run one behind the other and whenever speedygeoff blew his whistle the back person had to run to the front of the group. At one stage we had five people running in our group and that made it very hard to pass all the runners and become the leader before the whistle blew. We ran 3 x 800m laps doing this and it felt like a very good workout! To finish we ran another full loop of the oval.

Total distance: 6.58km
Time taken: 38mins (including warm up and cool down)
Calories: 395

Friday - Another Gym Session
Chest/Back/Shoulders

Lateral pulldown 3 x 12 (25kg) - ouch!
Cable seated row - 3 x 12 (35kg)
DB bench press - 1 x 12, 2 x 10 (20lb)
Pec Dec Fly - 3 x 12 (15kg)
DB upright row - 3 x 12
DB Shoulder press - 1 x 10, 2 x 8 (10lb) - I find this really hard!
Abs - Back Extension - 2 x 15
Modified plank - 2 x 60secs hold
Bicycle crunches - 2 x 60
Stretches

And now I'm up-to-date again. Tomorrow weather permitting I will run in the Cross Country run/race round Lake Burley Griffin - 16km. Later in the afternoon I'm going to kiwi Barb's house for a BBQ get together and to meet her daughter and grandson who are over from NZ for a week. And after the run tomorrow I'm going to brunch with another group of friends including CJ. This group of us used to train in a triathlon squad which folded about 2 years ago and it's always fantastic when we catch up. Mr B is in sunny Paris this weekend and having a wonderful time. I've been so busy I haven't missed him too much so that's a good thing. He'll be back in just over 3 weeks.

Interval Training

This morning at 5.30am I did interval training on my windtrainer as follows:

5 mins warm up followed by 21 mins intervals - 1 min easy/2 1/2 mins hard. This was repeated 6 times, 5 mins cool down - total of 31 mins.

I pushed as hard as possible on the hard intervals and pulled right back on the easy intervals. After my shower etc I rushed in to town to meet three friends for brekkie.

When I emerged from the office this evening it was pouring with rain. Good thing I didn't have a run planned! We definitely need the rain in Canberra. We don't see it very often!

Monday Madness!

Morning Gym Session

This morning's session was chest/back/shoulders. I had to rise at 5.15am in order to eat brekkie and organise all the appropriate gear for the day even though I had packed my bags the night before. It's unreal how much organisation it takes to take the work clothes and running gear and gym gear, make-up, lunches for the week etc. I spend more than an hour every Sunday making my lunches and measuring my portions, chopping up veges, carrot sticks etc. It's quite a performance but I'm now in Week 6 of my program and have lost nearly 4kg and 4% of body fat so I have to be happy with that!

Session
Warm up 5 mins of stationary bike
Lateral pulldown - 2 x 12, 1 x 10 (25kg)
Cable seated row - 3 x 12 (45kg)
DB Chest Press - 3 x 12 (17.6lb)
Pec Dec Fly - 1 x 10, 2 x 12 (15kg)
DB Upright row - 1 x 12 (30kg); 2 x 12 (25kg)
DB Shoulder Press - 2 x 12 (10kg)

Abs/Core
Back Extension - 2 x 15
Modified Plank - 2 x 45secs
Bicycle Crunches - 2 x 60

Stretches

Evening - speedygeoff's group at Parliament House
It was lovely to welcome speedygeoff back tonight after a week in Sydney. At the start of the session he made some announcements and in them included some lovely comments about me and gave me three Marathon photos and they're beauties. I'm delighted! What a lovely surprise. I'm glad I was there!!

Session:
Hill Runs!
Warm up of two loops of Parliament House
20 hill repeats sprinting (or running as fast as possible) from the bottom of the grassy bit in front of PH which goes down to the road and right up to the top then we jogged back to the start and ran each repeat at 90secs.
Cool down loop of PH
Total distance: 9.16km

My times for the hill repeats varied between 32secs and 36secs but I mainly seemed to achieve 34secs and I WASN'T LAST!! Woo hoo! Perhaps I'm finally getting stronger.

This was a tough hill session but I found the hardest part jogging that final warm-down loop of PH. My glutes and legs objected violently! The good part about this session is that I now don't have to run hill repeats in the morning. I can just jump on my windtrainer and do an interval session instead. Thank you speedygeoff!

I Love Weekends! There should be more of them!

Friday 7 July
Gym Session

I now have two different sessions, one concentrating on legs/arms and the other concentrating on chest/back/shoulders. Today's session was legs and arms as follows:

Warm up on stationary bike - 8 mins
Leg press - 3 x 15 (30kg) - this is my first time so will obviously need to increase weights
DB Lunges - 3 x 15 (8kg)
Seated Leg Curl - 3 x 12 (20lb) - OUCH!
DB Standing Calf Raise - 2 x 15 (15lb) - I was a bit uncertain as to whether I was doing this correctly so will need to be shown this I think
Biceps - DB Biceps Curt - 12, 10, 8 (I was supposed to increase weight as repetitions decreased but I only increased it by about 2lb - will improve next time!)
DB Triceps Kickback - 1 x 12 (8kg); 2 x 12 (10kg)

Abs/Core
2 x 15 Back Extension
2 x 10 bicycle crunches
2 modified plank (holding 60secs) - again will have to increase these but ran out of time

Saturday - Run

Distance: 9.50km
Time taken: 59mins
Calories burned: 519

I met up with kiwi Barb and Marg at the Hackett side of Mt Ainslie and we ran the same undulating course as the Vets' run starting and finishing at a slightly different spot. It was freezing this morning and very bleak. By lunch time the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous winter's day but at 9am it was sooooo cold. I borrowed gloves but they were fingerless and my fingers and nose felt blue with cold! We wore shorts but the legs were ok, it was just the rest of us. It's quite a tough undulating run but great with company and off-road on that surface is lovely. We chatted apart from when we were concentrating on the biggest hill! Although this is a relatively short run it's great training on those hills for the Bush Capital Run and the City to Surf which are coming up soon. After the run we adjourned to Hudsons in Dickson for a lovely coffee and good company.

How can the week go so fast??

I can't believe it's Thursday already. This week has just flown.

Tuesday - Intervals on Windtrainer
Session:
5 mins warm-up
1 min easy/2.5mins hard ) x 6 times
5 mins cool down
Total time: 31mins

Wednesday - Resistance Training - Gym
Session:
8 mins warm-up on stationary bike
Back:
Lateral pulldown - 3 x 12 reps (20kg)
Cable seated Row - 3 x 12 (30kg)
Chest:
DB Bench Press - 1 x 15; 2 x 12 (17.6kg)
Pec Dec Fly - 3 x 12
Shoulders:
DB Upright Row - 3 x 12
DB Shoulder Press - 3 x 12

Evening - Yoga - Final session for term. Next term I progress to Level 1 - sounds scary to me!

Thursday Morning
Hill repeats
I found a hill in Kaleen which was reasonable but I think I need a higher hill so will look for one for next time!
Session:
Warm up of 8 minutes to the hill.
Jog slow to the top and gently back down x 2
Jog fast to the top and slow jog down x 2
Sprint to top, slow jog down x 2
Jog slow to top, slow jog down x 2
Warm down run further along the road then turned to run home.

Distance: 7.20km
Calories burned: 428

Thursday evening - interval running at Dickson Oval

I was caught up at work and in traffic and arrived about 15mins late which meant I missed the first lap of the warm-up. However I did manage the next full loop warm-up which was good. Carolyn was there tonight and it was good to catch up.

Session:

Warm-up of full loop of oval
5 x 600m on 5mins which meant that some people had a big rest and some people (not mentioning any names - lol) had only about 45 secs rest time after our jog back to the start.
Warm down of full loop of oval

Total distance: 6.1km
Calories burned: 370

Tomorrow morning I have another gym session concentrating on my poor legs!

Another Week and a difficult start!

This morning I rose at 5am to do my gym session and gee, I felt every weight. I found it really tough this morning especially those shoulder lateral raises! I have just received my updated program for the next 8 weeks and oh boy, I should never have complained before. It is pretty damn tough!

Anyway tonight was speedygeoff's training session at Parliament House. Speedygeoff is currently interstate so Neil took our group. He knew some of us had competed at Googong so we did the bottom loop of the lawns in the front of PH instead of both loops which was a little easier than last week fortunately but the uphills still felt a bit uncomfortable.

Distance: 9.1km
Calories burned: 433
Weight loss since 5 June: 3kilos

Session: warm-up of 2 loops of Parliament House (each 1.7km)
Main set: 5 x 400m loops of the front lawn of PH - fast on the uphill slopes and steady on the other three sides
5 x 400m loops in reverse
Warm down: full loop of PH

I certainly felt those hills but I was very happy to complete the entire session. I did however have to run very quickly to the loo at the end before even saying goodbye to anyone. I have had a decidedly dodgy tummy ever since Googong on Saturday and interestingly Pam, who also competed, tells me she had the same problem in the weekend as did CJ. Perhaps there was something in the water?? I am now in Week 5 of my 12 week program and yes, I've lost 3 kilos in weight and an inch off my waist so that's encouraging!

Half of a Half!

Friday - Gym session - 5.30am
Single Arm DB Row - 3 x 15 (8kg)
Chest press on Swiss ball - 2 x 15; 1 x 12 (8kg)
Body weight squat against Swiss ball - 2 x 20 (5kg)
DB Static Lunge - 2 x 15 (5kg)
DB Side Lateral Raise - 2 x 12 (4kg)
DB Biceps Curl - 2 x 15 (5kg)
Triceps pull ups against chair - 3 x 15
Abs: 3 x 15 crunches; 3 x 15 reverse crunches

Found it quite hard today. Arms felt tired and I had trouble lifting the weights especially the shoulder side lateral raise. I improvised by doing the session at home before work as I had a brekkie date at 7.30am and the gym I go to doesn't open until 6.45am!

Saturday - Googong Dam Half Marathon

Marg and I decided to enter this at the last minute as a two person team. I ran the first half of 11.1km and Marg ran the second half of 10km. It was a tough off road mountain run - in other words very very hilly but I really enjoyed it. Apart from a bit of a head wind in parts the cool conditions were perfect for a tough run. The link to the map and route details is here.

Distance: 11.27km (so says Gandalf)
Time: 68mins (I said it was tough)
Average pace per km: 6:05
Calories: 669
Fastest km: 5:14

The turnaround point was at 11.1km where teams changed runners and the others turned. Both "halves" were almost a mirror image of the other and equally difficult by the look of the course map.

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!!