Speedygeese at Dickson Oval - a first for me this season.

I seem to have recovered quickly from any after effects of the marathon. I went on a gentle run on Wednesday of just 24mins and on Thursday had a recovery massage before running another gentle run on Friday for 25mins with Teddy. On Saturday I was on duty at the Parkrun and it was great to be able to cheer on so many people I knew. CJ was on roster too so after the run we headed for coffee to join our friends. It was fun on a very cold windy morning. It would have been hard to run a PB in that wind.

On Sunday I headed from home for a slightly longer run but still at a very slow pace. I felt a bit sluggish as it was first run of any distance. The first half was really slow but I felt better after that 5km was done.

Total distance: 10.12km

Autumn colours on one of my runs

This afternoon I returned to my first speedygeese session since the marathon. It was the Tuesday session at Dickson Oval - another first for me this season. There had been a few early starters who left before the main session but Miranda stayed to run a few warm up loops of the oval with us before only four of us (Clint, Colin, Susan and I) ran a pyramid session like an 'M' ie we ran 200m fast/200m slow, 300m fast/slow, 400m fast/slow, 300m fast/slow, 200m fast/slow and then back up and down again the same way. That was 5km or 30mins of pyramids. Those 400m sprints were the hardest but the thought that the distance would reduce in the next one kept me going. Colin outsprinted everyone but I ran my best and didn't feel too bad. It was a cool evening but there was no wind and we had lights as the Bilbys were out there training in large numbers so it was all good!

Total distance: 9.2km

Canberra Marathon Number 12

Post marathon dinner with friends at Ellacure

Pre-marathon tweet up with friends from interstate and locally

In the final stretch

Canberra Marathon

With  Mr B (who ran the Half) and our son Peter after his first marathon

Mr B's brand new Alfa Giulietta

Another Canberra Marathon has come and gone. It was my slowest time yet and the last few kms were very slow and painful but I finished with the encouragement and support of very good friends on the way.

The weather on Sunday was perfect. Early in the morning it was cool and crisp and it warmed up gradually to a very pleasant morning. There were thousands of starters as the half marathon and marathon runners all started from the same place at the same time. Of course this meant there were also lots of familiar faces. For the first 4km I ran and chatted to CJ and it was great. As we reached the slight rise towards Parliament House she ran ahead and I listened to my music with only one earplug as I wanted to be aware of the all the interesting conversations going on around me. 

At one stage Jen, Kerry and her dog came running along near me to give me encouragement and it was great to have their company. I felt fine until my stomach started to feel a bit strange at about the 30km mark. I tried to have a drink at every drink station but did find the water at a few of the stations tasted disgusting. I'm not sure why as at other times the water tasted fine. I wanted to keep hydrated but could only take small sips as it really made my stomach feel worse. 

I was really struggling when there was about 6km left to run and it was great to see speedygeoff and Ewen out there to keep me going. I have never been more glad and relieved to see the finish line. I truly thought I might not make it. Maria and Charley were so lovely when I really felt quite ill at the finish. They made sure I was ok before leaving. So many people kept me going and made it all worth it.

Soon after I crossed the line I spotted my son who had completed his very first marathon in 4:08. He had been in pain for the last 10km with plantar fasciitis. However, he too was very happy to finish and I felt so proud of him. There's nothing quite like the feeling of finishing your very first marathon. 

Mr B finished the half marathon in 99:06 finally reaching his goal of beating 100mins. Later that evening, after a relaxing bath in our brand new bathroom we had a lovely dinner in a restaurant with very good friends celebrating birthdays and a big day out and discussing plans for our next big event in New York City!

Total distance: 42.2km
Time taken: 4:31:11
Average pace per km: 6:25
Calories burned: 2443

Postscript: Since I wrote this we have heard the devastating news of the bombings at the Boston Marathon. It is such a sad, senseless and tragic thing to happen. My heart goes out to all those poor people who took part in the marathon and the supporters and spectators. What an abhorrent act!

Carbo loading with two sleeps to go!

I had a morning shift at work this morning so decided to do my short run early. I left the house by 6.30am and ran from home. It felt really pleasant even at that hour and as daylight saving has finished for now it was light outside. In fact I wore sunglasses and a sleeveless top.

Total distance: 6.1km

Time taken: 38:29

Average pace per km: 6:18

Calories burned: 359

That is my last run before the Canberra Marathon on Sunday. There's nothing more I can do so I will just hope for good weather, no wind, an injury free run and a good day out! 

Later in the afternoon Mr B drove me out to Telopea Park in his brand new bright red Alfa Giulietta which he picked up this morning. It is fabulous! The expo hadn't started but I did meet up with Liz and we walked to Manuka for a great coffee and chat before I met up with Mr B who had been doing the supermarket shopping - lovely man. We drove into Woden and ended up eating a 'healthy' burger for dinner - carbo loading indeed!

I now feel very full of water, gatorade and lots of white starchy carbs which I have been consuming throughout the day. I hope to burn a few off on Sunday!

A Tempo Run at BBQ Stakes on a stunning Autumn Day

Today was a stunner. It was cool and foggy early as I drove into the city to meet up with Liz and CJ for a very pleasant breakfast. It was such a lovely catch up. Later in the morning I headed out to run in the BBQ Stakes handicap run in Woden. By this time it had reached 25deg and felt very warm indeed in the gorgeous sunshine. I had only managed to run 800m before the race and then I accidentally started in the wrong group which means my place won't be counted anyway. However I expect I will find out my official time eventually. My calculations indicate it was almost the same time as last week.

I forgot to take my garmin today, one of the problems of packing your bag the night before a run, trying to remember everything. At least I wasn't as bad as Jen who had to whizz to Rebel and buy a crop top before she could run, having forgotten to pack it in her bag!

After the run I ran a warm down of 3.3km with Gary (for half of it), Helen and Jen. This gave me a total distance of 10km which is what I needed.

After the run Jen and I headed to one of our favourite cafes for a light lunch and coffee. Then it was home to bring in the washing and take Teddy for a very enjoyable walk on a very balmy evening. Part of our walk was on trails which meant Teddy could run freely without his lead and he does enjoy that so much. It was a good day.
On the bathroom front, the plumber came today and installed the vanity unit, taps, towel rail, hooks and toilet. It's definitely starting to take shape. Tomorrow I think the man is coming to resurface the bath.

Massage Time

This morning I took Teddy with me for my run as it was only a short easy run scheduled. I decided not to go to Speedygeese training in the evening as I had a massage in the morning and wanted to make the most of it. 

Teddy and I ran from home to the oval and here I let him off the lead so that he could run and have fun. I did end up with wet grassy shoes though. We ran on past the shops before returning home.

Total distance: 6.3km

Time taken: 41mins

Average pace per km: 6:30

Calories burned: 348

The massage was great. He managed to find all the sore bits which I didn't know I had and ease out the pain.

Today the plasterer came and fixed the cornices in the ceiling and patched up a few holes. The bathroom is progressing.

Parkrun Number 3

Gindy Parkrun today

This morning I rose very early yet again in order to fit in my longish run before starting work for the day. Today's long run was my last before the marathon next weekend and of course was a taper run so much shorter than usaul. I ran down to the lake from home at 7.10am and found Marg and CJ at the start of the Parkrun which I had decided to incorporate in my run. Conditions were perfect; it was cool but the sun was starting to shine and there was no wind. The mist was swirling over the lake making it quite eerie and picturesque. 

After the Parkrun I ran the 5km back home again before showering and heading off to The Runners' Shop for work. My goodness, I now know what it is like to work there on a Saturday. It was really busy today. I think everybody is stocking up on shoes and guus for the Canberra Running Festival next weekend and the Canberra Running Club's half marathon a few weeks later.

Distance of Parkrun: 5km

Time taken: 27:50 (32sec PB)
Average pace per km: 5:35
Age percentage: 70.72%
Total distance of run including warm up and cool down: 15km

An "Easy" run with Teddy!

This afternoon after work I decided to incorporate Teddy's outing with my run as I only had an 8km easy run scheduled. I use the word "easy" loosely. It was actually anything but easy to keep an excitable dog focussed on the track ahead.

Teddy  wanted to check out the lamp posts, trees and every passing dog and would suddenly pull across my path when he spotted something of interest. This is a bit disconcerting when trying to stay upright and run in a straight line! However we managed to get into a reasonable rhythm eventually and completed the required distance without too much drama. It turned out to be a bit slow due to a few doggy detours!

Total distance: 8km

Time taken: 51:32

Average pace per km: 6:26

Calories burned: 456

Tomorrow I have a rest day scheduled (at least from running)! Unfortunately I will miss out on Body Balance as I'm working in the morning. I'm looking forward to meeting a friend for coffee after my shift.

Tempo Time with less than two weeks to go!

And so it was! Work until 2pm, followed by collection of Avon orders, followed by a chat to the tiler after admiring his handiwork (the wall tiles are looking great), followed by changing into running clothes and heading off for a run. I followed the cycle track from home and headed towards Gungahlin for 5.5km before returning. I ran a warm up for 2km before picking up the pace and running a tempo run for 8km and a warm down for 1km. 

The temperature was cool to start (our top temperature was only 17deg today) but the sun was out and I warmed up fairly quickly.

Total distance: 11km
Total time taken: 1:06:50
Average pace per km: 6:04
Best pace at the 10km mark: 5:42

Calories burned: 642

And after all that I quickly changed into something much warmer and took Teddy for a walk until the sun was too low in the sky and I headed home to hang out washing and cook some dinner.

I'm not sure about all this working business. It doesn't leave many spare hours in the day and as Mr B is doing a 3 month stint working too I don't have a magic fairy to make the housework disappear!

Tomorrow morning the carpenter comes followed by the electrician so there should be even more progress on the bathroom when I arrive home from work tomorrow afternoon before my next run.

A Stunning Autumn Day in Canberra

I ran a short run this morning as per my schedule. It was just a run from home and out towards Gungahlin turning at the 4km point and heading home again. I ran slowly but the conditions were ideal - a gorgeous Autumn day. It was very fresh but the sky was gradually becoming bluer and by the time I was on my last few kms the sun was bright in the sky. I love mornings like this.

Total distance: 8km

Then it was off to work after a quick chat with the bathroom tiler. The bathroom is progressing and looking good. By the time I arrived home from work in the evening the floor tiles had been laid.

Tomorrow morning and in fact every morning this week I am working until 2pm so it looks like afternoon runs may need to happen. The forecast for tomorrow is also for much cooler temperatures than we have been having.

Easter Weekend

This has been quite a weekend! On Good Friday I spent the day volunteering at the Australian Masters Athletics Championships at the AIS track. In the morning this meant lapscoring for the 10,000m events for all age groups. It was very exciting and some amazing times were achieved. This took most of the morning and then Margaret and I headed for the lower track where we assisted with the discus and later returned to the East field of the track where we assisted with the javelin throwing. It was a busy but fun day and we witnessed some very exciting records and PBs inbetween our duties.

Caroline wins Gold in W70 10,000m

Kelley Silver and Debbie Gold in W50 10,000m

Sue Archer wins Gold in W60 10,000m

Thea wins Gold in W30 10,000m

I only managed to take a few photos before duty called but it was great to have the opportunity to see a few presentations. Everyone was so happy with their great results.

On Saturday morning I ran from home to Lake Ginninderra and managed to incorporate the Parkrun into my long run. This was my first taper run so obviously the distance was much less than the previous Saturday. I managed to beat my last time for this run by 34 seconds and was placed 53rd (17th woman) in a field of 74 winning my age group which probably meant I was the only one in it lol! 

My time for the 5km was 28.22 which was an average pace of 5:40 per km.

I continued my run with CJ for company for the next few kms before running back home to make a total of 22.3km for the day.

Later I delivered Avon and had a great coffee and lunch with CJ and Mr B at one of our favourite cafes.

On Sunday it was back to the track for more lap scoring, this time at the 5000m events. In the first race I had three people to lapscore for and that makes for a lot of concentration as we don't choose our competitors and are often given people we don't know, from interstate. The first time they run past us we are all seeking out our people, checking their numbers and colours and ensuring we recognise them as they pass us next time. I was lucky when it came to the women as I was able to lapscore for Kathy and that made it very exciting.

Being Easter Sunday we had our Canberra part of the family over for dinner and a little Easter egg hunt for the grandchildren later in the day. As we are currently having bathroom renovations done there is a lot of dust and debris about so a fair bit of cleaning was involved before our guests arrived for roast lamb and chocolate dessert followed by Easter eggs!

Today I headed out for an easy 10km run. The first half was anything but easy. Whether it was an overload of chocolate I'm not sure but my legs felt heavy and I felt very sluggish. However, I ran past the AIS and down towards the city before returning and felt a lot better on the return trip. Later in the day I took Teddy for an undulating 7km walk. Maybe tomorrow I will be able to eat more cleanly as the chocolate has finally been consumed! I will be working the afternoon shift so a morning run will be a necessity and just a short run is scheduled.

A Very Brief Overview of the past few weeks!

Team MamaMoves after Women's and Girls Fun Run CJ and strewth top right and Marg kneeling in front of us.

Coffee after the Parkrun with Ewen, CJ, Norma and Marg

A curious goose in Centennial Park

I have started this blog several times and deleted many drafts. The time has come to return to frequent blog updates. It has been such a busy few weeks with trips to Sydney to see Ronan Keating (fantastic) and to Wollongong for an Olympic distance triathlon for Mr B where he scored a bronze medal. Mr B also scored a Bronze at the Olympic distance tri at Mooloolaba in Queensland.

More recently we returned to Sydney to see Bruce Springsteen (The Boss) and that has to be one of the best concerts we have ever seen. He sang non-stop for over 3 hours and really played to the audience with his amazing personality.

While in Sydney I ran several times to and round Centennial Park for enough laps to complete 18km each time. The Canberra Marathon is now only two weeks away and my final really long run before the marathon was last Saturday when I ran 36km with CJ keeping me company for 26km. Company makes such a difference and of course the coffee afterwards with Ewen, CJ and Mr CJ made it all worthwhile. 

Currently we are having our bathroom renovated and there has been a lot of time spent selecting tiles, vanity, taps, colours etc. Mr B returned to work on Monday for four days a week. Life is definitely busy and full.

This weekend Canberra is hosting the Australian Masters Athletics Championships. We had stunning conditions for Day 1 today. I was out there from 7.45am until nearly 5pm volunteering. It was surprisingly exhausting but great to be able to give something back to all those inspiring athletes. I will be back there on Sunday but tomorrow I have my first taper run of 20km and will include the Parkrun for a bit of a tempo run. I also have Avon to deliver!

Friends are so important:)

On Wednesday I didn't have a work shift so I decided to go to BBQ Stakes in Woden. I haven't made it there for nearly 12months so it was a big adventure! The course has changed a little, for the better! I decided to run with Caroline and it was such fun to have her company and know I was going the right way. We had a lot of catching up (ie talking) to do so it was a great opportunity and the hills were far less noticeable that way! I ran about 3km with Jen before the event and afterwards Jen and I ran another 4km as I had 13km on my schedule. Ah, it's good to have accommodating friends who love to run!

Total distance of BBQ Stakes: 6km
Time taken: 37:59
Average pace per km: 6:16
Total distance for day: 13km (including warm up and cool down)

Thursday

On Thursday it rained nearly all day but just before I drove to track the rain stopped and the conditions were ideal for running. I met Marg in the carpark where we were informed that track session had been cancelled. It seemed a shame to waste the trip so we decided to go for a run anyway, outisde the track.

We headed out towards the city where we ran past Lyneham and down towards the lake. We turned and headed back supposedly the way we came but managed to lose the original track and ran a detour around O'Connor. We eventually found our way and surprisingly arrived back at our cars just at the exact distance that I required for my schedule. We also timed it perfectly in that the heavens opened just as we reached our two lonely cars in the carpark. Good luck or was that good management? I'm not sure Marg had intended to run that far but I was very happy to have her company and we were so lucky to avoid the rain and enjoy the cooler weather

Total distance: 14km
Time taken: 1:35:48
Average pace per km: 6:50
Calories burned: 802

Friday was a rest day although I worked the late shift. I enjoyed my Body Balance class in the morning. It really is the only way I do a decent stretch session and I really need it with my very inflexible body!

Saturday

The alarm was set far too early in order for me to digest breakfast and run out the door at 6.45am. I ran to Lake Burley Griffin and detoured on the way before meeting CJ at the ferry terminal at 8am after she had also run from home. The trouble is her distance from home was 2.5km further than mine which meant she was kind enough to run the extra kms at the end of her run so that I still had company. We tucked our ipods in our pockets and talked almost the entire way. When I arrived at the ferry terminal there was speedygeoff about to run too. We spotted him running in the opposite direction a couple of times on our run. We also spotted Liz and Pam out there later in our run and organised to meet Liz for coffee afterwards.

I have to say that was the most comfortable long run I have had for ages. It made such a difference having someone to talk to for the majority of the run and to share our pain. We did have to struggle over the last few kms as we battled a head wind running towards the carillon. There wasn't a lot of chatting going on at that stage as we were concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other but it was much better when we turned around and headed back to the ferry terminal. There Liz was waiting and we all headed off for coffee. The wait was too long, the coffee was mediocre but the company was fantastic. Friends are the best and I am so lucky with mine!

Total distance: 32.54km

Time taken: 3:39:47

Average pace per km: 6:45

Calories burned: 1903

Later after a quick shower I collected CJ and we drove back to the ferry terminal to watch Mr B compete in his first Olympic distance triathlon this season. The conditions were dreadful, choppy water in the lake and blustery cold weather. In spite of this he still finished first in his age group against several others. While he was out on his run CJ and I walked over to Stage 88 to collect our numbers for the Women's and Girls Fun Run in the morning. I think we may be running a little slowly after today!

 

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!