Friday, August 17, 2007

The long and winding (and hilly and lonely) road

Friday Total: 34k
Week total: 75.4k
Month total: 202k
Year total: 1,584.5k

Time: 3hr 19.42min
Av pace: 5.52min/km
Av Temp: 11.7*c (10.36am)
Rel. Humidity Av: 72.4%
Wind Spd Avg: 27kph (NW)
Started with: Knights of Cydonia - Muse
Finished with: Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance

There were many ups and downs today - both literally and mentally. The plan had been to start the run early in the morning but this never eventuated because I had to take son #1 into Civic for an interview (he was successful and starts work on Monday - yay!). The weather wasn't looking great either - black clouds, stormy looking, with a brisk wind (which I seemed to run into when running up hills).

I mentally split the run into 3 stages and only focused on the stage I was running, rather than think too much about what was still ahead of me. The first stage took me from Black Mt peninsula, along the cycle path to Aranda bushland and then into Black Mt nature park. This was my favourite run and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Everything was damp and fresh from the overnight thunderstorm,and it was soft underfoot.

Stage 2 was through the Cork plantation, up Gunbarrel Hill (and I did walk a bit of this), and then up a couple of other hills including Dairy Farmers hill(?) (more walking) before heading back down again. This was hard work and took a lot out of me. The wind wasn't helping either. I headed off down towards the river, across Clo's Crossing (?) and then ran the old jogalong course in reverse. It was bleak out there - the wind blasted across the exposed land and it was threatening to rain - there was some sprinkles but that's about it.

Stage 3 was the run down by the river (part of a Vets course) towards the zoo, then cross the road and run along the cycle path back to Black Mt peninsula. I passed Helen L coming the other way at a cracking pace - the only other person I saw the entire time I was out. By now I was in a black mood and very very tired. I was like !@#$%^&* whenever I came to a hill! I thought a lot about the banana smoothie I was going to have when I got home. I came up with different headings for today's blog entry but a lot of them I couldn't print! My Chemical Romance's song Welcome to the Black Parade came on when I was close to finishing and it was exactly how I was feeling, especially when it spoke about the "broken, the beaten and the damned"!

Finally the Garmin said 34km and that was it - I was stopping. I had run long and far enough. Too bad that I wasn't back at my car, too bad that I still had to get up the hill at Black Mt peninsula - I was walking!

Tomorrow I am off to Noosa to SPECTATE, peoples! Its not a case of being able to do the distance, I know I can. But I'm in the building phase of my program and so its a case of consistency and increasing the distances. Speedwork won't happen for a few weeks yet and I don't plan on doing anything that could jeopardise my training, ie injury. I have had 3 weeks of building so its an easy week and I intend to enjoy it! Besides I make a very good spectator! :-)

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Nothing ventured, nothing gained......

Wednesday Total: 18.7k
Week total: 41.4k
Month total: 168k
Year total: 1,550.5k

Time: 1hr 52.52min
Av pace: 6.01min/km
Av Temp: 10.2*c (9.24am)
Rel. Humidity Av: 68.3%
Wind Spd Avg: 15.7kph (E)
Started with: Henrietta - The Fratellis
Finished with: Good People - Jack Jones

I have often run past the gateway into the Pinnacle nature park, on my way to Black Mountain nature park. I have sometimes wondered what it would be like for running but that was about it, just wondered, never bothered looking. Well, as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained, so this morning I decided to explore this particular nature park, which is located at the top of Springvale Dve.

Its about a 2.5km run up Chewings St and then up Springvale Dve, from home, and before I can hit the trails. I wonder if there is another way of getting there? Then I crossed a wooden style, followed a gavel path, climbed through a gap in a gate and I was in the nature park. I followed the path to the right, ignoring the sign pointing to the Pinnacle, and instead followed a meandering gravel path. The surface is a little uneven and before long I was heading downhill and then uphill. Actually this was to happen a few times, each time the downhills and uphills getting steeper!

I passed some kangaroos who sat back on their haunches looking at me, some looked very young. Who knows what they made of this human huffing and puffing her way up another hill! I think I ended up running a figure of eight, following different trails before ending up on a trail behind houses. Aside from a short sharp ascent (again) the rest of this trail was very pleasant and relatively flat. Then I continued on down Springvale Dve, across at the roundabout, and down the trail that leads into Mt Painter nature park. However, I was not planning on running up the hill towards Mt Painter today but instead followed a loop that took me through a street in Cook and then out on the trails again, heading back towards the way I came.

All in all, an interesting run and at times very challenging. There were more hills than I had anticipated! But its another off-road run close to home.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Untitled (imagination has gone on holidays...will return early September)

Monday Total: 14.7k
Week total: 14.7k
Month total: 141.3k
Year total: 1,523.8k

Time: 1hr 28.22min
Av pace: 6min/km
Av Temp: 10*c (10.42am)
Rel. Humidity Av: 50.8%
Wind Spd Avg: 15.3kph (S)

Coffee next to the laptop, today's running stats in the organiser on the other side of the laptop, flex the fingers, crack the knuckles (actually no, I have never been able to master that; makes my skin crawl), read a handful of favourite blogs for inspiration, google a couple of ideas, and........nothing. This is going to be a really boring but thankfully short entry because I don't have anything interesting to write about.

Other than, it was a great run this morning, on one of my favourite routes through the bush. Mr B came along for company. The sky was blue, the wind was cool, there were some hills but also some downhills. I didn't take my ipod but that didn't matter because I had company and it wasn't a really long run. Initially I thought it would be a hard run because my legs still felt tired from Saturday's effort (31km) but after 5km things improved.

5 sleeps until Noosa.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Looooong run

Saturday Total: 31.2k
Week total: 82.9k
Month total: 126.6k
Year total: 1,509.1k

Time: 3hr 04.32min
Av pace: 5.54min/km
Av Temp: 14.3*c (8.08am)
Rel. Humidity Av: 47.3%
Wind Spd Avg: 33.3kph (WNW)
Started with: About a girl - Nirvana
Finished with: The angry mob - Kaiser Chiefs

This morning Two Fruits and I ran parts of the Campbell Park offices course, Majura Vets handicap course, Two Peaks course, and Bush Capital marathon course, thankfully avoiding Mt Majura and Mt Ainslie. I know I have to eventually tackle the hills but just not yet! Even today, in the last 6km or so, the little hills (no exaggeration, they were little) were looming up ahead.

I felt fine for about the first 25km but struggled a bit over the last 6km, but I didn't walk. The wind wasn't helping either, especially in the last few kms when it seemed hellbent on making running really difficult.

It always helps to run long runs with company. You can at least then share the pain, even if the other person doesn't seem to be suffering! Generally in the latter stages of a long run my conversational skills take a nosedive as I operate on autopilot so my responses are usually confined to one syllable.

Last week I ran a total of 70.2km for the week. This week the total is 82.9km. Last week's long run was 27.1km; today it was 31.2km.

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Things I think about when running........
Gelato from Dolce Vita gelateria, Cortona

Cappuccino from Caffe San'Eustachio - best in Rome

Friday, August 10, 2007

Putt! putt! putt! (instead of vroom! vroom! vroom!)

Thursday Total: 14k
Week total: 51.7k
Month total: 95.4k
Year total: 1,477.9k

Time: 1hr 26.14min
Av pace: 6.09min/km
Av Temp: 12.6*c (9.30am)
Rel. Humidity Av: 57.8%
Wind Spd Avg: 24.4kph (NW)
Started with: Reflections of a sound - Silverchair
Finished with: Funky tonight - John Butler Trio

Today (Friday) is a rest day hence I'm typing this from bed (9.30am) - the benefits of being on holidays! However I did run Wednesday (7.4km) and yesterday, around Black Mountain nature park (14km). Normally I run this one from home but it means running up Chewings St and Springvale Dve before I can get off-road. Yesterday I drove the car to the top of Springvale Dve (Pinnacle carpark) and started the run from there. All well and good, but I never realised before that little uphill section there before heading down to Coulter Rd, which I cross before heading across the back of Cook and Aranda suburbs.

This is a tough run and yesterday I struggled up some of the hills, one in particular that heads up towards Mt Painter (not quite a mountain, more of a biggish hill though yesterday I would beg to differ). So I stopped to admire the view once I reached the top (ok so I stopped to get my breath back and wait for the wobble in the legs to subside before heading down the other side!). After the initial hills it settles down to a fairly flattish gravel trail (with gentle ups and downs) and so the rest of the run through the nature park went well. But then there was the return trip - it meant I had hills or trails that just head steadily upwards, on the way back to the car. So I plodded - that's the best way of describing my running style at this point.

It can only get better!

Currently running more like an Ape (arp-pay).......

...than a ferrari!

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Not so sunny morning

(Taken at 10.12am )

Tuesday Total: 17.5k
Week total: 30.3k
Month total: 74k
Year total: 1,456.5k

Time: 1hr 43.57min
Av pace: 5.54min/km
Av Temp: 6.8*c (10.42am)
Rel. Humidity Av: 88.4%
Wind Spd Avg: 5.6kph (W)

It was a foggy and cold morning and the fog didn't lift until close to lunchtime. Mr B and I ran a similar route to what I ran last week with Two Fruits (ie through the cork plantation, up Gunbarrel Hill and those other hills, down by the river, past the aquarium, and along the cycle path back to Black Mt peninsula) - certainly those hills were the same; they hadn't changed! Compared to last Tuesday, when at the 13km mark I would've been happy to hitch a ride with anyone offering a lift!, I felt much stronger today. Yay!

Monday, August 06, 2007

Sunny morning

Monday Total: 12.8k
Week total: 12.8k
Month total: 56.5k
Year total: 1,439k

Time: 1hr 13.03min
Av pace: 5.40min/km
Av Temp: 9.9*c (9.30am)
Rel. Humidity Av: 66.7%
Wind Spd Avg: 11.9kph (NW)
Started with: Pieces - Hoobastank
Finished with: Rock the Casbah - The Clash

The start of another week. Week 2 of BC training. So far, so good. This morning was a glorious winter morning and it wasn't difficult to get outside and run. Clear blue skies, no chilly breeze that I could feel, plenty of sunshine, no frost. I've got a good feeling - its going to be a great week.

Tomorrow I won't be running with the Tuesday group as planned, due to an early commitment. However I have planned to meet up with Mr B later in the morning for a run that might take us through Stromlo or around Black Mountain nature park. I'll decide in the morning.

And there's a little rumour that I might be heading up to Noosa in a couple of weeks time for a holiday. Not to run the half marathon mind, but to spectate and cheer on everyone else. I'll have my own training to do - no rest for the wicked!
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Some photos from the Amalfi Coast

These very kind policemen changed our tyre, just outside of Naples

Boats on Praia beach, not far from where we were staying

Our apartment, in Praiano. It was gorgeous!

Capri

Caution: Donkeys at work, Praiano






Saturday, August 04, 2007

What 10% rule?!

Saturday Total: 27.1k
Week total: 59.2k
Month total: 43.7k
Year total: 1,426.2k

Time: 2hr 51.14min
Av pace: 6.18min/km
Av Temp: 6.2*c (8.09am)
Rel. Humidity Av: 59.1%
Wind Spd Avg: 19.9kph (NW)
Started with: Joey - Concrete Blonde
Finished with: Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve

Last week I ran 28.1km for the week. Today I ran 27.1km in one session and finished with 59.2km for the week (nearly the total for the month of July). So much for increasing by only 10%!

It was a great run today though I did spend a lot of time watching my footing rather than the surrounding environment. For a description of the run, read Two Fruits report. There was some hills to start with, but it could have been a lot worse so for that I was grateful. The middle part of the run was great - manageable undulations alongside the river, coming across, at times, kangaroos, cows, a goat, and some kookaburras.

After about 20km everything started to feel tired and/or sore but I refused to give in and walk. I just ran slower. Poor Two Fruits - he must've been wondering how much slower I was going to go by that stage, or if, in fact, I was going to start walking. And then running alongside the lake, we were running into a stiff and chilly breeze - not fun.

Well that was officially my first long run post-holiday. It can only get better, and longer, and faster.....oh,and hillier!

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Dead legs

Thursday Total: 11k
Week total: 32.1k
Month total: 16.6k
Year total: 1,399.1k

Time: 64.43min
Av pace: 5.52min/km
Av Temp: 6.7*c (6.47am)
Rel. Humidity Av: 82.5%
Wind Spd Avg: 11.1kph (SSW)
Started with: Daddy I'm Fine - Sinead O'Connor
Finished with: can't remember!

It was inevitable that after Tuesday's effort that I would experience some tiredness. That would have to be an understatement! Yesterday's unmentionable run (so bad that I haven't written about it) was testament to that. Today's run was marginally better....actually, it was much better but still slow and my legs are still tired. However its a rest day tomorrow and then I have a long run on Saturday. I'm sure I'll be feeling much better.....

It can only get better!