Monday Speedygeese relays backing up on Tuesday

Monday - speedygeese

Last night CJ and I arranged to meet at Parliament House to run a short warm up before the main session. We managed to squeeze in 5km by the time we returned to PH to join the other speedygeese. I was really happy to see Marg had made it back to SG after about a two year break. CJ one week, Marg the next. I am so delighted to have my buddies back training on a Monday night.

We started the main session by running a warm up loop of PH and then headed for the rose garden. Here we were divided into teams of three. I was put in a team with Sophie and Marg. We ran a similar session to last week except our loop this week was 550m and it was very hot. At least we had some shade where we were running. Inbetween being tagged by our team members we managed an easy jog of the same 550m loop.

After our warm down CJ and I ran another loop of PH to make up our required distance. It felt hard but at least we had each other's company to keep us going.

Total distance including our early warm up: 14.3km

Tuesday

This morning before my work shift I ran 11.17km. I started the run too late in the morning to safely run any more kms before preparing for work so there were a few kms to be done later as my schedule said 14km easy.

I ran my morning run from home, past the AIS towards the city, turned left at Macarthur Ave and crossed at Miller Street to continue on the track to O'Connor and on through Lyneham and back to the cycle track to lead me up the hilly track to home again. It was humid, overcast and I was very hot by the time I finished.

Then this afternoon after work I changed and took Teddy with me to run for the remaining 3km that I required to make up my distance. We managed to avoid the storm that was brewing although it was starting to drizzle and there was rolling thunder in the distance.

Total distance for day: 14.17km

Calories burned: 824
Time taken: 1hr 35mins
Average pace per km: 6:44

My First Parkrun!

My first Parkrun with Marg and CJ (I'm in the middle with the sick smile!) Thanks to Gary B for the photoshoot:)

Running on the wet path in the Parkrun

Aranda Bushlands January Vets' Handicap

Today the rain has been steadily pouring down quenching the thirst of the grass and garden. It was lovely and great timing as this morning it stopped just long enough for everyone to finish the monthly handicap without the deluge. There was a steady drizzle as I drove to the southside early this morning to record the starters and finishers in part of the Thomas series or longer course runners. I was on roster duty which worked out well as I had another rest day scheduled today.

Yesterday I had a shorter long run scheduled and decided to run from home to Lake Ginninderra to take part in the 5km Ginninderra Parkrun. Parkruns are free timed 5km runs which are held all over the world and it was quite exciting to finally take part in one. My training schedule was just to run a gentle 16km run so I ran the 5km to the start of the run where I arrived at the same time as CJ who had also run from her home in the opposite direction. Marg arrived shortly afterwards and we also saw lots of other people we knew. It was a fun non threatening run and although it was drizzly the conditions were really great for running.

Time for 5km run: 28:56 

Place in age group: 1st

After a little chat at the end of the run I ran home again, quickly collected Teddy and continued on for another 5km with him running and stopping to check out the lamp posts!

Total distance for morning run: 20km 

That was a fun way to run the required distance.

A Slow Run at Track:(

Yesterday I headed for track in time for a short warm up before the 2000m fitness walk. I didn't feel very wonderful and was feeling a bit tired but decided I should at least build up a few kms as I hadn't run earlier in the day when I was working. It took a while to warm up but I felt ok about the walk.

Total distance: 2000m

Time taken: 14:42

After this event Marg and I ran outside the AIS track for just over 4km before entering in the 3000m run. We were the only two females and I still felt pretty ordinary. In fact I debated not running but decided as I was already there I may as well run a few more kms. I felt sluggish and slow the entire way as reflected in my results but at least the temperature was mild although there was quite a head wind each time we ran on the home straight. I was glad to finish!

Total distance: 3000m

Time taken: 16:46
Average pace per km: 5:40
Age percentage: 69%
Total distance for night including warm ups: 10km

Today, Friday, I had a rest day from work and running. Instead I went to a great Body Balance class in the morning, visited a sick friend in hospital, collected Avon orders and visited customers, met a friend for coffee, bought clear contact to cover my barcode for the Parkrun tomorrow and took Teddy for a walk. Now it's time for bed as tomorrow I am running to the Parkrun, then taking part in it for the first time, before running home again as this is my shorter running week.

At lunchtime I'm going to view an auction at a neighbour's house so that I can check out my potential new neighbours! I'm also hoping to go to a housewarming party later in the day.

A drizzle to cool me down!

I managed a very slow run in the middle of the afternoon after work today. My legs were tired and I wasn't sure I would make the distance but the clouds came over and there was a light rain which felt great and woke me up. I ran from home past the AIS to the city and from there I ran through Lyneham and back to Kaleen where I found some nice off road trails before returning home stopping on the way to check out an ex- neighbour's deceased estate which is going up for auction on Saturday.

Total distance: 12.5km

Time taken: 1:26
Average pace per km: 6:57
Calories burned: 706
And tomorrow morning it's back to work again!

Where did the week go?

Sprint Marathon Relay team with our wooden spoons

Running in the relay

Tori, Elle, Peter, Strewth, Bryan

Finishing together

Mr B with gold medal after the Huskisson tri

So much running since my last blog update and so little time. This working business takes up so much of my spare time but I'm enjoying it. The only trouble is I had forgotten how tiring it is to do marathon training and work two jobs, one being Avon!

Last Friday after I finished work we drove to Huskisson for Mr B's tri on the Sat. It was a very early start as we were staying in Nowra which is about 20 mins drive from the start. This meant we set the alarm for 4.15am to give time to get to transition with the bike before it closed at 6.30am, check everything and be ready for a 7am start. It started to rain and was quite cool as I was waiting for the start. I needed a coat with a hood to keep me warm and dry and a lovely young lady shared her large umbrella with me while she was there.

However the rain cleared by the start of the race and the water was smooth. Although the road was slightly wet the conditions were pretty good for the bike. There were a few hitches as Mr B forgot his goggles and his race belt and worse still he was pinged for drafting and lost three minutes standing in the penalty box. In spite of all these mishaps he still managed to win his age group and was ahead of the next person in his age group by 3 minutes. We waited until he was presented with his medal before we drove back to Canberra, such a proud moment.

Next morning (Sunday) I had to set the alarm for 4.30am this time in order to eat breakfast and get ready for my long run. I ran from home to the ferry terminal where Marg was meeting me on her bike. There I had a big surprise as my Tuesday group friend Marilyn turned up to run round west basin so I had company running as well as a cyclist with me. It was fantastic. What a difference it makes to have company. Marilyn stopped after the 16km loop but I still had 8km to run. I ran with Marg cycling near me, past the carillon before turning to run the last few kms. I found the last 4km really hard and struggled to keep running. However, I made it and we rewarded ourselves with coffee and a toasted bagel with honey and ricotta.

Total distance: 32km

Time taken: 3:40

Average pace per km: 6:53

Calories burned: 1852

Monday

Today I met CJ at Parliament House in time for us to run a 3km warm up before the main session of speedygeese. It was great to have her company as she hasn't been to our training for about 2 years. We all ran a warm up loop before heading for the rose gardens where we ran 200m intervals for 30mins non-stop. We were told to run it as we felt and after the first few laps which I ran steadily I picked up pace in the 100m straights at the top and ran those faster. It was a tough session and everyone worked really hard. The warm down at the end was hard and CJ and I ran an extra loop of PH afterwards to make up our respective distances.

Total distance: 13.5km

Calories burned: 781

Tuesday

It was quite hard running again this morning after yesterday afternoon's session. However I needed to fit in my run before work. I ran from home and down through the tunnel towards Gungahlin for 6.5km before turning and returning home. The weather was ideal at that time of day but my legs were tired from yesterday so it was a bit of a struggle.

Total distance: 13km

Time taken: 1:31

Average pace per km: 6:57

Calories burned: 786

Tomorrow morning I have another work shift and as I'm going to bed very late I think I will need to run in the evening.

Winning the Wooden Spoon!

Yesterday (Sunday) I took part in the annual sprint marathon relay. We met near Goverment House and were sent to our team captains. There were nine teams of six people in each team so it was a good turnout on an excellent running day weather-wise.

Unfortunately I didn't run as well as I would have liked as my cold was limiting my breathing ability and I'm sure I was the reason that our team won the Wooden Spoon trophy. It was all good fun though.

I was team member number five and started with a 2km sprint before tagging the next team member number 6 who tagged team member 1 etc. My next three sprints were 1km in length but the last one was another 2km half of it uphill and at the top of that undulation all the team members had to catch up to each other and run together for the last 1km back to the start holding hands over the finish line. The first team crossed the line in 2:36:24 and our team took 2:45:39 with the other teams spread inbetween.

It was a fun event. I was just cross to be suffering fron this silly cold and to not be able to run my best.

Total distance with warm up: 8km

Monday speedygeese

I managed to squeeze in 4km before the start of the session which was a repeat of last week's session. After the warm-up we were divided into teams of 3 and ran relays round the 350m undulatiing loop - downhill then a grassy uphill slope and a race to tag our next team member. In between fast runs the waiting team members ran a slow loop of the same course to keep the legs moving.

Then it was a warm down loop of Parliament House.

Total distance with warm up: 12.5km

Fabulous Fifty!

This morning I woke to the alarm just before 5am feeling a little better. My throat wasn't quite as sore and although I needed a couple of tablets to clear my headache I was operational. There was also a text from CJ saying she had decided not to run. At one stage she thought she might run with me but it was probably just as well she had a rest day as my run was extremely slow. I still don't have much energy and of course my running is affected by my cold. However, I was very pleased to be able to complete my schedule. Although I started running from the War Memorial at 7.20am I still found it quite warm (ie hot) but maybe it was because I had a slight temperature. I didn't cough too much though and although the last few kms felt very very long I made it and the best part was yet to come! I didn't have time to go home for a shower so it was a quick freshen up and a change of running top before joining Liz' running friends.

Total distance: 26km

Time taken: 3:01:25

Average pace per km: 6:59

Calories burned: 1483

We celebrated Liz' 50th birthday with coffee and an amazing cake at the War Memorial cafe. There were 22 of us there and it was so good to see so many running friends, some of whom I had not officially met before although they are well known in running circles. It was loads of fun, a really lovely morning and my goodness Liz really is a fabulous fifty!  Officially she turns 50 on Tuesday but tomorrow she and her hubby are off to NZ to celebrate in style. She really does look so much younger than almost 50 - must be all those incredible speedy kms she runs.

CJ, Strewth and Liz

speedygeoff, Steve & Ewen

Kerry, Liz and Elle

Liz and her amazing 50th birthday cake

Not a Happy Goose!

My throat is still dry and sore. I have a nasty cough and have almost lost my voice - not good:( Yesterday morning I ran from home loaded with jelly snakes to leave in the corner of my mouth to stop me coughing. I was scheduled to run an easy run so that is exactly what I did. I ran at a slow pace out and back for the required distance and it was definitely less than ordinary!

Total distance: 13km
Calories burned: 764
Time taken: 1hr 30mins (slow as!)

I ran in the morning as I was on roster duty at track in the evening and I'm very glad I was as I couldn't have run fast to save myself. It was also extremely hot at 6pm. Instead I was on the registration desk and had loads of sympathy sent my way as I had such a croaky voice!

This morning I went to Body Balance class and did enjoy the stretching although now I think I might have overstretched my right hamstring. I can't win at the moment!

Tomorrow's long run might be interesting. I hope I have some energy and don't cough my way through it!  I'll be hanging out for Liz' birthday coffee afterwards!

Running Tired!

Yesterday (Tuesday) I had a shift at The Runners' Shop in the morning and later in the day Mr B and I headed off to The Boathouse for the second of the summer series 5km runs. I  arrived early deliberately so that I could run the course beforehand to give me a few more kms. It was extremely hot at that time of day which was not pleasant. I saw lots of familiar faces and ran part of the warm up with Ewen. 

I found the race hard but it felt as though I ran faster than I actually did so I was a bit disappointed that it was actually 5secs slower than last week. There were a couple of undulations and it was very hot but that is not a very good excuse.

After the race I ran a cool down with speedygeoff, Andy, Susan and Ewen. 

Distance for race: 5km

Time taken: 29:43
Average pace per km: 5:56
Total distance for day including warm up and cool down: 14km
Calories burned:  815

Today (Wednesday)I went for an early run at the start of the day before the weather turned too hot.

I ran from home and to the lovely grassy oval in the next suburb. Here I ran 1600m (4 x 400m laps) in 9 minutes. I was scheduled to do this three times but after just once I  didn't have anything in my legs to go fast. My throat has been sore and it feels like razor blades. It's been like this for several days now and it is starting to affect my oomph! I will take some medication tonight to help me sleep better at least.  I need a whole lot more energy!

Total distance: 11km

Time taken: 1:15

Average pace per km: 6:53

Calories burned: 640
As soon as I arrived home I collected Teddy and took him for a brisk 7km walk including two big runs at the oval. He was a tired happy puppy and I was a tired mummy:) 
I watched Notting Hill tonight on telly. I've seen it so many times and count it as one of my favourite movies. It still has the ability to bring tears to my eyes! So much for an early night! It's now 11.30pm!

Speedygeese Relays in my Adizeros

Today was my second training day at The Runners' Shop and I really am enjoying it. I also bought myself another pair of running shoes,this time specifically to wear with my uniform to work. They are Nike Frees and are so comfortable!

At Parliament House tonight I wore my other new pair of running shoes, my Adidas Adizeros and they felt fine for the entire session. I arrived in time to run 4.2km before the start and joined speedygeoff, Ewen and Miranda for the last 2km and we ran back to PH together. From there everyone ran a warm up loop of PH before heading to the rose garden for our main session Here we were divided into relay teams of three and took turns to run a 360m loop starting on a grassy downhill but including a grassy uphill just to make it challenging. I was in a team with Miranda and Bronwyn. While waiting to be tagged I kept running and ran back past the tennis courts and round the rose garden a few times after the initial lap when I ran the same course slowly. We finished with a warm down loop and then Andy ran round PH with me for another 1.6km loop to give me my distance for the day.

Total distance: 14.5km

Calories burned: 840

A Long Run for a Working Girl!

On Thursday I opted not to enter the 10,000m on the track and decided to do something a little different. I ran from home to the AIS Track for the first time and arrived just in time to take part in the 2000m walking race.  It was a handicapped event and I started on 6minutes 45seconds.

Time taken: 14:38

Average pace: 7:33

I ran a 1km warm down and then stayed to lap score for Caroline who was running as a W70 in the 10,000m. It was very exciting and she ended up beating the current W70 record by 2 minutes and finished in a time of 56minutes - fantastic! Rad established a new M85 record and it was great to watch him finish nearly 2 laps ahead of the M75 runner. I was so glad I stayed to lapscore. The overall winner was Bruce who finished in a time of 34:15 as an M50 - pretty impressive!

My total distance with the warm up and cool down and the run to the track: 9km

Friday - First Day at Work

After my Body Balance class which included some much needed stretching I organised myself for my first day in training at The Runners' Shop. I have heaps to learn but I'm sure I will enjoy the work once I feel more competent and confident! There's so much to know about all the different types of running shoes.

Saturday - Long Run

This morning I set the alarm for 5am to allow time to digest breakfast and I headed out the door at 6.45am. It was quite cold and I battled a head wind on the way to the cycle track at Lyneham which leads down to Lake Burley Griffin. It's almost exactly 8km to the ferry terminal and from there I ran the 16km West Basin loop of the lake. When I returned to the ferry terminal I ran back to and around the Museum before heading back the way I had come and this time running to the carillon and then back along Anzac Parade to the War Memorial where I met Ewen at the cafe. This gave me my required distance. 

During my run I passed Sue running in the opposite direction. She's training for Canberra Marathon too. There were a lot of cyclists about but not a huge number of runners although there were several walkers. The temperature was much cooler today which is far more pleasant for running but when I was approaching the carilllon the head wind was very strong and I was hardly moving at times. I did wear my spray jacket tied around my waist for the majority of the run as when I started off it was very chilly and after the run I cooled down very quickly.

Total distance: 32km

Time taken: 3:37:50

Average pace per km: 6:48

Calories burned: 1867

As well as my  coffee I enjoyed a piece of yummy sticky date pudding with icecream at the war memorial replacing quite a few of those 'burned' calories!

Back to Back Running

It was quite difficult to drag myself out of bed at 6am and go for a run before our grandchildren arrived for the day. I was surprised that I actually didn't feel too bad after last night's undulating run. I ran to and round Lake Ginninderra stopping briefly for a chat with Roger A who was about to walk round the lake as I reached it. I didn't have to stop for any nature breaks and could run the entire way just listening to music and drifting into my own space. The temperature at that time of day was very pleasant although I still managed to arrive home dripping wet! It was a good way to start the day.

Total distance: 15km

Time taken: 1:43

Average pace per km: 6:54

Calories burned:879

YMCA Canberra Runners Club Summer Series Starts

This evening, after a fun day with the grandchildren,  Mr B and I drove to Stromlo Forest Park for the first of the YCRC summer series. This is a 5km run in various spots around Canberra. The first and last one of the season is usually at Stromlo. Tonight the grass was spongy and felt quite good. I was expecting potholes and puddles but the surface was beautiful. I'm not used to running on grass but I found it surprisingly pleasant - pity I can't pick up speed. There was a bit of wind but we were lucky with the weather. It would have been good to have had some light rain but that occurred about an hour earlier and the sun was out again by the time we ran. Fortunately it wasn't too hot at 27deg as it's very exposed at Stromlo and can be quite unpleasant when it's too hot.

The course today was two 2.5km undulating loops. I arrived in time to run one of the loops for a warm up plus an extra 500m. After the event I ran a gently 1km cool down with Cathy.

Total distance for race: 5km

Time taken: 29:35

Average pace per km: 5:53

Calories burned: 291

Total distance including warm up and cool down: 9km

It was great to catch up with Janene, speedygeoff and Cathy and to see lots of other running friends out there. That's the best part of running events - the social interaction:)

New York! New York!

It was a cloudy overcast day today but the humidity was high. Even my walk with Teddy felt very humid. I enjoyed a lovely coffee in the late morning with good friend Cathy and discussed our forthcoming adventure for today we booked our flights for New York at the end of October in time for the marathon on 4 November. There's no going back now! It is very exciting.

I arrived at speedygeese this evening about 10 minutes early which allowed me just enough time to run a 1.6km loop of Parliament House before the start of the session.

We all ran another loop incorporating the inner trails before jogging to the start of our main session which was held near the tennis courts by the oval. We firstly ran a 600m very undulating loop to test the course and after that we ran the same 600m another 5 times each time on 6 minutes which gave enough time to jog inbetween until speedycoach blew the whistle to run fast again. On the last loop we started at the bottom of two hills just to add a bit more of a challenge in case we needed it!

It was a perfect evening for running. There was a gentle light rain for the entire session and it was really refreshing and pleasant after the humidity before the rain started. We warmed down with another 'in and out' loop around PH.

Total distance: 10km

First Monthly Handicap for 2013

 I haven't yet christened my new running shoes. Today I wore my trusty old Asics as I knew there would be mud and puddles involved! 

New Adidas running shoes

When I drove from home I noticed lots of damage from the violent storm last night. In fact I had to detour as the road I had intended to take was blocked due to debris.

The Vets' Monthly Handicap run was held at Aranda Bushland and the longer run was only 6km. However it was quite tough in that there were lots of undulations and the surface was a bit rough and very uneven and I had to watch my footing all the time so that I didn't face plant! Although there was cloud cover it was still very muggy, sticky weather. The run was 3km out and back on really pretty trails. I enjoyed it in spite of running with caution and splashing through muddy sloshy puddles. There were so many familiar faces and friends I only see once a month, in this case since November as we don't have a handicap run in December. Unfortunately I was unable to linger after the run as I wanted to say goodbye to my daughter before she and her fiance returned to Sydney this morning.

Total distance: 7km (including 1km warm up)

Time taken:  38:13 (for 6km)

Average pace per km: 6:22

Mr B competed in a national championship sprint triathlon early this morning.He came 4th in his age group this time but it was a very competitive field and he certainly appears to have gained enough points to qualify for the London triathlon world championships in September.

Later in the afternoon Mr B and I went to a friend's housewarming party to catch up with more friends we don't see  often. It was lovely.

A Shorter Pull-Back Week!

On Thursday evening I went to track but in the 35degree heat I did NOT take part in the 3000m although Mr B ran very well in it as did all the other amazing entrants - far too hot for me at that time. Instead I jogged around the outside of the track inbetween events. At 6.30pm I took part in the 1500m WALK. That was quite hot enough.

Total distance of walk: 1500m
Time taken: 10:27
Average pace per km: 7:10
The only other event I entered on this hot night was the 5 lap spiral which took place just after 8pm. I finished about 2nd last as my handicap is still too high.
Total distance: 2:02
Time taken: 11:49
Average pace per km: 5:51

Although the sun had gone down I still found it hot at that time of night. I don't seem to have any "get up and go" in my legs at all lately!

This morning (Saturday) I only had an 11km easy  run scheduled, a bit different from running 30km last week. However I did round it up by a km as I prefer even numbers! I left home before 7am and ran past Giralang on through the tunnel along Gundaroo Drive and to Crace before turning and running home. There was cloud cover but it was extremely muggy and I was dripping by the time I arrived home and it had nothing to do with speed! Later this afternoon however Teddy and I were caught in the rain and had to make a quick unexpected run home before becoming too soaked!

Total distance of morning run: 12km
Time taken: 1:23
Average pace per km: 6:56
Calories burned: 713

Tonight we had an unexpected thunderstorm and an absolute deluge of much needed rain. It could be a soggy triathlon for Mr B in the early hours of tomorrow and a very soggy bush run for the Veterans Athletics Monthly Handicap!

I took a trip out to the Runners' Shop this afternoon and bought some new running shoes which I won't be testing tomorrow in the mud. I found an Adidas pair the most comfortable as Asics appears to  have changed the shape of my favourite DS Trainers and they felt a bit snug. It will be quite strange running in a different brand for the first time in years.

I also collected my uniform as next Friday I am starting work there in a casual position. Woo hoo, I feel quite excited!

A Short Mid-week Run

I started the day with a short run under cloud cover but it still felt very humid. I arrived home just in time to have a shower and be ready for the grandchildren as Mr B had left for his morning bike ride by then.  I just ran from home along the cycle path through Giralang and down through the tunnel and on the road towards Gungahlin turning at the 5km point and returning home.

Total distance: 10km
Calories burned: 555
Later in the day we took the children to Weston Park and they had a train ride and fun at the park. We were really seeking the Maze but apparently that closed six years ago. Oops, it's obviously been a while since we visited!

Weston Park

A Gentle Lake Run and Swim

This morning I met my Tuesday group friend Marilyn at Black Mountain Peninsula at 8am to run round the West Basin of the lake with her before it became too hot. I also had babysitting duties at home so was unable to stay for cake and champagne afterwards. Our run was very social and pleasant and deifnitely gentle. However although the temperature was only in the early 20s at that stage it still felt very humid and we stopped at every single drinking fountain. We were both dripping by the time we had run the lake. It was just that sort of day. We saw a few of our fellow Tuesday groupers and cyclists during the run, obviously with the same idea of avoiding the intense heat of the day.

Total distance: 16km

Time taken: 1:52:34

Average pace per km: 7:02

Calories burned: 909

It felt quite hard after last night's speedygeese session but we were both happy to run slowly this morning. 

Later we took the grandchildren to the pool where they had lots of fun on the waterslide and Mr B and I alternated in swimming while the other supervised.

Total distance swiim: 1km

Lizard Spotting and Speedygeese Relays

It was another scorcher in the nation's capital today. This afternoon we took our grandchildren to the Botanical Gardens to do some lizard spotting. It was lovely in the rainforest and walking through the shady forest with tiny streams below us and little wooden bridges to cross. What is more we saw lots of lizards and some quite big ones! I'm not sure who was more excited, the children or me!

A large lizard in the Botanical Gardens

This evening it was back to the speedygeese session at Parliament House. I managed to squeeze in 1km before the start of the session joining Speedygeoff as he was finishing a much longer early run. Tonight after our warm up loop of PH (and as it was still 35deg it certainly was warm) we were divided into teams for relays on the lower grassy hill below PH. The top half was blocked off in preparation for the Australian Day concert in the weekend.

I was put in a group of four and had to run the uphill straights every time inbetween running across the top short straight and down the hill diagonally and across the bottom straight in a zigzag to be tagged by my next team member (Cookie) who was running really fast so I couldn't have too much rest! It was very hot and hard work running the uphills but at least they were reasonably short. We had to repeat this for 24minutes and this was followed by a cool down which felt almost toughest of all.

Total distance: 9km (including warm up)