1 min efforts x 8

31st January 2006

Activity: run / Speedwork
Today: 8.5km
Week: 16.1km
Month: 186.1km

For some reason I have been waking up exactly on the dot at 5:45am every morning for the past week. Sometimes I will go back to sleep but this morning I decided to get out of bed and head off for my run. I did the usual 20 mins warm up run and it was lovely to run in the fresh air after the rain had fallen over night. This mornings program called for 8 x 1 min efforts with 45 secs walk recovery. I took it relatively easy on the first few efforts but I used every second of the 45second recovery time allowed. I felt a bit faster today although I'm not sure how much faster because I haven't had time to download the data yet.

*Update on Gary* I haven't sent him off tho the US yet but I have e-mailed the supplier and I am waiting for them to get back to me. He is working again but I suspect only temporarily. I will keep using him in the mean time.

I felt very fresh this morning and my patch of fatigue seems to have passed. I made it through the 8 x 1 min efforts feeling like I could do a few more but I wasn't about to anything silly so I did a few stretches and headed on home to join the back to school brigade.

My eldest son started in Year 3 (4th year primary) today and for the first time he didn't want to hold his mummy's hand going into the school ground : ( He also became very embarassed when I gave him a big kiss on the cheek. He then said to me, "Ok, you can go now Mum" : ( Ok, I get the hint, but to me, he's still my little baby!


30th January 2006

I did a 40 min recovery run yesterday, not much to report really just felt very good after a solid nights sleep.

Total: 8.1km

I received my new program yesterday and in preparation for the GC Marathon I have added a countdown clock to my Blog. Some scary loooong runs coming up on the program soon. Plus some extra hard speedwork to get to that sub 45 min 10km Goal for Canberra. Very exciting!

A New Track....

Sunday 29th January

Activity: Run
Today: 21.0km
Week: 63.6km
Month: 161.4km

This morning I had arranged to meet up with Blues Buffett and he was going to show me a few other tracks in the area that he runs on during the week and for his long runs on Sundays.

I made sure I was on time and headed off to the bus stop where I did a few stretches and only had to wait a few minutes before BB arrived.

We headed off on which was at first familiar ground, until we turned into Quakers Hill and ran along the back streets for a while. It was already rather warm out there so I knew it was going to be tough one for the planned 2hr session for me today. The pace was perfect and the scenery much more interesting than I usually see during my Sunday long runs.

BB lead me along the back of the new Estate and on to some softer dirt trails where we met up with the new road development. The softer ground is much easier to run on and so far, not as harsh on the legs. We ended up close to Schofields Road at about the 10km mark in 54:47 mins. At which point we turned around and ventured back on the original track. Both of us were feeling the the heat at this stage and decided that we would head on back to the park that we had passed earlier to have a drink and wash some mud off our shoes from a not so dried up creek bed that we had to cross on the way back.

We had a short stop and headed off again back onto the streets and in more familiar territory. BB made an exit stage left for home and I continued on for 10 more mins to finish off with a neat 21.0km in 1hr 57mins. The program did say 2hrs, but hey, close enough and I was totally stuffed at the end. Thanks BB for the run!

Tomorrow: Easy 40 mins.

Aus Day Run...

26th January

Activity: Race
Distance: 8km
Time: 38:34 mins
Avg Pace: 4:45 / km
Feeling: Lethargic/ Sluggish


I drove into town early on the new M7 and wandered around for a while once I checked my bag in. A few other CR's turned up and we congregated (around the portaloos) and chatted for a while. I did a warm up with Tesso and lined up for the start. It took a good 30sec's before we ran over the start line. I tried my hardest to stay with Tesso but she was heaps better than me at weaving and dodging the crowd. I managed to stay with Johnny Dark for a little while before he and Tesso streaked off ahead of me.

I saw Gronk during the race and he was going great guns. I pretty much felt sluggish and lethargic through the entire race and especially from the 6-7km mark. I wasn't too disappointed with the result but just wasn't feeling myself at all. Horrie did mention to me that I didn't look as strong as I had been in my previous 10km SMC runs. All was not lost and I had a great time cheering on the Owl and Horrie and Tim in the 4km race. What a great run by Tim!! A big *thanks* to the Cheersquad too which included DonJuan who stopped by for a chat. I didn't really like the layout of the course and the hairpin turns were a bit off putting. The scenery was good though.

We headed off for Brunch afterwards accompanied by Rags, Blue Dog, Bernie G, Belinda, Horrie, Tim, 26 miles, The Owl, Tesso and Johnny Dark. Very nice Day!

27th January

Activity: Run / Recovery
Today: 8.0km
Week :42.6km
Month: 140.4km


This mornings run was an 40mins. I spotted Mrs Blues Buffet twice this morning and one other runner who told me he was really hungry for breakfast. Yeah, me too mate! I felt really good today. Go figure, yesterday I felt crappy and today I felt like I could have run forever.

I have some very sad news to report. Gary (Garmin) my training partner and companion of 6 months has suddenly fallen ill. I will be sending him back to the US for repairs and possibly having to replace him if he can't be fixed.

I'm not sure if I can make it to the CR 5km challenge tomorrow but I will try to get there to catch up with Tesso again before she goes back home.

Speeeedwork!

Activity: Run / Speedwork

Today: 9.5km

Week: 26.8km

Year: 124.6km


I set out early for my speedwork session this morning. Completed the usual 20mins warmup run to the baseball field then had 15 mins of 30sec sprints and 30 sec jog recovery. Boy, that was a tough one! Followed it up with 20 mins jog back home and some stretches.

I have been tagged by Cirque.

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was living not far from where I am now. I was posted to Richmond AFB. I had just completed 10years of service in the Air Force and I was thinking about taking some Long Service Leave to go travelling. This never happened because work became too busy. I was in charge of the training, recruiting and selection of the new FA's.

Five snacks I enjoy?
Magnum Ice creams, peanut butter and banana on toast, peanuts, apricots and protein bars.


Five songs I know all the words to:
The theme song to Gilligan's Island, Short Memory, With or without you, Dreamweaver, Romp and stomp.

Five things I’d do as a millionaire:
Buy more houses x 5.

Five things I like doing:
Running, reading, drinking a good bottle of red, playing with my kids and scrapbooking.

Now I tag: Run Dave, Blues Buffett, En4cer, Shane and Crackers.

These pictures were taken at Christmas time in Perth. This was a day when the bush fires were burning and it seemed as if the whole sky was on fire.. Just a couple of the many shots that I have of the beautiful sunsets in WA.

Feeling better now!!

Activity: Run

Today: 17.3km

Week: 17.3km

Month: 115.1km

Thankyou all for the advice on taking some time out and having a few days rest. You will all be happy to know that I did just that and now I feel heaps better for it. I rested, ate ice-cream and chocolate at least once a day. I had a spa bath with bubbles and relaxed and caught up with some friends. Very nice!

Because I missed out on my Sunday long run, I had to get up really early this morning to get my scheduled 1hr 30mins in before work.

After feeling particulary fatigued over the last 3-4 days I knew that I had to make a big effort to get up and get back into it. I'm really glad that I did because I feel great today! Other activities and things that just poped up over the weekend had prevented me from getting out for a run. I think that this actually worked in my favour by forcing me to rest.

I set off at 5:15am this morning for my long run. I felt very fresh and surprisingly strong all of the way through the entire run. It was dark and cool this morning and I constantly reminded myself just "why" it is so nice to get up and run that early.

The run went well overall and I finally got to meet Blues Buffet this morning whom I ran into in the final stages of my run. After a quick introduction and a chat we both headed off in different directions to finish our run.

Today
Time: 1hr 30 mins
Avg pace: 5:20mins / km
Distance: 17.3km


Friday 20th
20 mins warmup, 4 mins at 80%, 30 sec jog recovery, 2 mins at 80%, 30 secs walk recovery.
Repeat.

Tired and over it!!

Had another 50 mins easy on the program today. I dragged my sorry butt out of bed and ran the 50 mins.

That's it! I'm tired!

Easy listening.....

Tuesday 17th

Activity: Run / Easy pace

Today: 9.5km

Week: 9.5km

Year: 69.1km

An easy run was on offer on the program for today, so easy run it was. A total of 54 mins all up with a 500m walk break at the 8km mark. I just felt like My breathing could not get in sync with my body this afternoon. It was all over the shop like a mad woman at the christmas sales! I am going to start wearing the heartrate monitor again too.

What is up with this weather? I started the run and it looked like rain but 5mins later the sun was out and I actually came home sunburnt on my shoulders, again!**another smack**

Anyway the biggest surprise was; I took my Mp3player with me on my run and I realised that my son had changed some of the songs on the playlist. Including the uncensored versions of some Eminem songs that I am not very happy about. He has been listening to this thing all school holidays too!! Grrrrrrrrrr!!

Monday 16th

Rest day!

SMC 10K Report

This morning I didn't feel too well. I went to a 30th Birthday party last night, ate some really dodgy curry, drank some beer, got home really late and was totally unprepared for today's run.

I almost slept in and if it had of been raining, I might have just done that. But I didn't, I made it just in time to register, have a quick chat to Bennyr and Horrie and wander over to the start line.

The conditions were much more pleasant this morning which was a good sign. After the start I found it rather difficult to settle in. I was running with Horrie for a while and then I checked my watch just to see that I wasn't going too fast because he's usually way ahead of me. (I think he was actually adjusting his watch or fuel belt or something) No, my pace was fine but sure enough before long he took off and all that I could see was his yellow and blue hat bobing up in down in the distance.

I felt ok after the 2nd km and settled in for the ride. I saw some other CR's doing the HALF including JD, Sailaway, Orunner, Professor, Kanser, Plu, Belinda and SfGnome. By the turnaround I felt pretty good and grabbed a waterbag on the way past.

Coming back on the final 5k, I felt much better than my last 10k on this course and I knew that I was ahead of pace because I was much closer to the pack that are normally way ahead of me. One of the regular Joggers guys (from Saturday morning groups) was there and I noticed that I was slowly gaining ground on him. With 2 km to go I had nearly caught him and I put in a big surge before the last hill to finally over take him just before the 1km to go sign.

I really pushed the last km and when I looked at my watch I knew that I was going to make it in a good time. I ended up crossing in 46:39mins. For what was a 1min 22sec PB! Woohoo!! My Joggers friend came up and congratulated me straight away. What a lovely person!

I chatted with some other CR's for a while (Vat_man and Andrew) then waited to see Benny finish the 10 and SfGnome come in, in the Half. He had an AWESOME run but I won't advertise his time here, I will let him tell his own story. Unforunately I had to head off so I missed out on catching up with Plu and a few others, but maybe next time!

As for me doing the Canberra Marathon, the short answer is "No" I won't be. A few people have been asking me about Canberra and why I'm just doing the 10k and not the Marathon. I think I'm mentally and physically not prepared for it yet. Not only that, I have not done anything that resembles any form of Marathon training. With the Gold Coast only 23 weeks away I'm already getting very nervous in anticipation of that. Not to mention some other major events that I will be focusing on this year including Willy 2 Billy.

Activity: Race / Run
Distance:10km
Time:46:39
Avg Pace: 4:38/ km
Feeling: Fantastic!

New Activity

Wednesday 11th

Activity: Swim/Rest Day

I was not a happy girl on Wednesday! In the space of three hours I had been told; I'm too skinny, I run funny (flicking leg thing) and my hair is too short! All by one family member who I don't really see that often and is now off my Christmas card list.

I took full advantage of my rest day up until about 5pm when the urge to jump into the pool was too overwhelming. I swam for about 25 mins, mostly breast stroke then I did some kicking exercises on my back. I felt good afterwards and it was a nice way to finish off my rest day. I felt like Esther Williams, floating around on the pink noodle.

Thursday 12th

Activity: Run / Speedwork

Today: 10.6km

Week: 29.2km

Year: 59.6km

Because I failed to get my lazy butt out of bed in the morning, I had to re-arrange my schedule and I didn't end up getting out for my run until 8pm last night! It was still rather humid and warm but it wasn't unbearable. I really didn't want to miss this session as I had such a lazy / slack week last week and I hate having gaps in my program, especially due to laziness.

Did the usual warmup of 20 mins and down to the field of pain I went. Once I arrived I was glad to see so many people around. The tennis courts were all alight and Barbie was there again. Except this time she was by herself, no Action Man to been seen anywhere.

I did a few stretches and had a little drink before checking that Gary was set up ready for my 6x 500's. I was thinking to myself, This is going to be a tough one! Then Gary tells me his battery is low. No Gary, not now! Gary has been so good lately he couldn't fail me now. I decided to just keep going and if Gary shut down then it wouldn't really be such a big deal. I could just keep on doing the 500's without him anyway.

I set off on the first one trying hard not to go too fast but also remembering that I was allowed as much recovery time that I wanted. As always the first one felt really good and I took 2 mins recovery before starting on the 2nd. The 3rd one finished and I took 3 mins recovery and had a little drink and a bit of a hamstring stretch before launching into the final 3. On the last one I really pushed myself hard giving it everything that I had. The splits went like this:

6 x 500"s
1:53
1:50
1:52
2:00
1:55
1:38

I was pretty happy with my results because it really was a tough session! I was most impressed that Gary even lasted until I returned home. He's such a good Boy. By the time I made it home , stretched then did my weights and abs it was close to 10pm. I ended up not going to bed until 12:30am so I'm sitting here now with my skins on almost falling asleep. I neeeeeeeed a coffee!

What a great day!!

This morning I woke up unusually early and was out the door by 5:50am. My energy levels had returned to normal and my legs were feeling soooo much better. I did my normal 20mins warmup run and headed down to the baseball field where I was to do my 3ktt. My last 3ktt was 13:14mins so of course I wanted to beat that time, even if only by a few sec's.

When I arrived at the field there was Barbie and Action Man having a personal training session. Good on you Barbie, about time you left that pink mansion and did some exercise. It was good to see so many people out this morning even though it was so humid. The old man in his Crown Casino hat, the old lady walking her dog, it was a cast of thousands. Just what I didn't want really, a big crowd on my running track!

I set my watch up ready for the 3ktt and had a small drink and did a few stretches. I started off reasonably slower than usual but picked up and managed to maintain my pace relatively comfortable through the first 1km. The second was a bit harder but I felt I maintained pace quiet well. The last was tough but I really pushed hard to make it a consistant effort.

The splits went like this:

4:16
4:18
4:16

Total of: 12:55 (woohoo!)

Another PB! I am really happy about this run, moreso because of the consistency of my splits and how I just felt like something really clicked this morning and if I never run a consistent race again, I will still be happy with what I have achieved today. Feeling very positive about this year and what I have planned, should be fun!

Abandoned Long run...

Sunday 8th

Run/walk: 10.3km

Time: 1hr 3mins

After my return to running on much firmer surfaces and the return to some real speedwork on Friday, I suffered some DOMS on Sunday. I stretched really well before setting out on what was to be a 2hr run. My legs just didn't get any better at all and the heat and humidity was really affecting me more than usual.

I stopped at the baseball field (7.5kms) to have a big drink and a glucodin tablet. I also stretched my legs again. I took off hoping that things would improve but I just felt worse. In fact I just got 2kms further and had to walk the rest of the way home. I had a very nauseaus dizzy feeling and I decided to call it quits before I fell down in a heap.

I managed 10km all up with walking the last 2km. By the afternoon I had recovered pretty well, but I had a massive headache, even after drinking heaps of water. I later discoved that my neck and shoulders were very sunburnt and sore. I had forgotten to apply sunscreen (big smack) and paid the price. I am really disappointed that I didn't get to do the full 2hr run, but I may have done much more damage had I continued, especially the sunburn!


Monday 9th

Run: 8.1km

Time: 43mins

I felt much better this morning and the conditions were a stark contrast to yesterday's effort. It was actually raining and much cooler. Very quiet on the road this morning. My legs felt better today and the run went well.

Plu kicks my butt.....

This google earth map is from my Big run that I did while in Perth. It captures the Hills really well, I think.

I had a very weird dream last night. After totally slacking off and not running for two days in a row to make it three days this week, I was feeling really slack last night and I was very determined to get out of bed early and go for a run this morning.

Last night I had a dream about me lying in the gutter and standing over me shouting "get up, get up and go, come on you can do it" was Plu! Fully clad in his finest CR gear and a whistle around his neck. That scared me enough to wakre up before the alarm and get out on the road.

I wore my new shoes today which I bought in Perth at the after Christmas sales. I couldn't get the green one's that I was after so I had to settle for the new purpley coloured one's. They are ok I guess, but they are not green!

Today's session was 20 mins warmup run followed by 2km, 500m, 2km with 1 min SR. 20 mins warmdown run.

2km = 8:46
500m= 2:06
2km=8:52

I was reasonably happy with that concidering I have been a bit out of whack since coming home from Perth and I have had some neck / shoulder problems which I am going to visit the chiro for next week.

Run: Speedwork 11.5kms

New Years Eve Run

Turned up for the WAMC New Years Eve run. A huge turnout for this run and we had lovely conditions except for a slight breeze blowing along the river. Met up with Mr and Mrs Tuttle before hand and chatted for a while before the very informal start to the 7.5km run.

The course was an out and back track which was mostly on a bike path and around a small lake including a little wooden bridge then back along the river side. It was rather strange having such a large crowd which were in town for the New Years celebrations and not to spectate the run.

I started out with the group which was a little congested at first then thinned out once we were on the bike track. I felt really good from the beginning of this run right to the end. My Mum took this photo of me just before the finish.


Time: 34:55 mins

Distance: 7.5km.

Splits were: 4:42, 4:34. 4:30, 4:28, 4:41, 4:48, 4:43, 2:25 for the last 545meters.

Average pace: 4:38/km.