Week: 27km
Month: 130km
Year: 842km
Slept in on Saturday and then went to the gym and did a spin class and lots of stretching. It is such a nice feeling to do wahtever you want and not worry about gettign that run in! We also saw the movie SCOOP with Woody Allen... very funny and he stole the show. Not a huge plot, but he just cracked me up!
Sunday I dropped Ray at Queens Park for the Strider Star for his long run and then I chatted for a while before trotting into the park to meet Allison for a lovely relaxed run.....lots of catching up and hearing about her new little baby. I got back to the star to get Ray and then a yummy breakfast with the girls (Ray included!)
My birthday is on Wednesday next week so I had a lovely afternoon with my family.... my sister baked me an awesome vegan chocolate cake which was very yummy!!! A few nice presents too :-)
Monday, March 19, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
Recovery...
Week:18km
Month: 123km
Year:833km
Well I am still floating on cloud nine and it really feels like someone elses race time! I have pulled up really well. Sunday and Monday my quads were so sore I could barely walk down the stairs but Tuesday I was feeling a lot better. No injuries or niggles... woo hoo! Now I just need to let the body recover. The legs are feeling back to normal today but I am still feeling quite tired. I have had a heap of sleep this week, getting to bed really early and sleeping like a log. I am officially running goaless at the moment and just enjoying getting out there for fun, rather than an big scary goal! I will just do some shorter stuff for a while, 10km in Canberra and the cross country runs. I am undecided about the half marathon.... I am a bit of a cheap skate and with two of us running- Ouch!
Sunday- swim and stretch
Monday- spin
Tuesday- 5km run at Centenial Park, 5:35/km average.
Wednesday- Spin
Thursday- 6km run, relaxed 5:35/km average
Friday- 7km run, relaxed 5:35/km average. Feeling better today, although breathing still quite puffy.
Month: 123km
Year:833km
Well I am still floating on cloud nine and it really feels like someone elses race time! I have pulled up really well. Sunday and Monday my quads were so sore I could barely walk down the stairs but Tuesday I was feeling a lot better. No injuries or niggles... woo hoo! Now I just need to let the body recover. The legs are feeling back to normal today but I am still feeling quite tired. I have had a heap of sleep this week, getting to bed really early and sleeping like a log. I am officially running goaless at the moment and just enjoying getting out there for fun, rather than an big scary goal! I will just do some shorter stuff for a while, 10km in Canberra and the cross country runs. I am undecided about the half marathon.... I am a bit of a cheap skate and with two of us running- Ouch!
Sunday- swim and stretch
Monday- spin
Tuesday- 5km run at Centenial Park, 5:35/km average.
Wednesday- Spin
Thursday- 6km run, relaxed 5:35/km average
Friday- 7km run, relaxed 5:35/km average. Feeling better today, although breathing still quite puffy.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Some self indulgence.....
When I finished Canberra last year I remember thinking I would never be able to run the 6ft track. It seemed too big and too long! I had another goal in mind post Sydney Marathon but that had to go on hold for another 6 months.... so on a run with Bernie and Deanne the plan was hatched to aim for 6ft to keep me occupied. I will be the first to admit that the prospect of such a big race scared me and I was not convinced of my ability to even do the training let alone line up and finish. So my plan was to just focus on training really hard and consistantly and not think too much about the big day..... I would cross that bridge when I got there. I am so thankful to have trained with Bernie and Wayne. They have been so incredibly generous with their knowledge of 6ft and ultras and I felt like they took me under their wing. They played such a big part in me getting to the start line feeling confident and prepared! I was so dissapointed to have not shared the expereince with Bernie but she will be back fitter and stronger. I know how hard she trainied and the dedication she puts into her running.... this will be a small blip on her 2007 screen.
The few days before race day dragged and I felt like I was waiting for Christmas. I went up to The Edge on Friday morning and helped out with setting up and giving out numbers for a few hours..... this helped to settle my nerves and gave me something else to think about. Now in the lead up to race day I had adjusted my inital race goal of sub 6hrs to 5:45. I then spoke to Sean about my race plan and he had told me I was in 5:30 shape and to not underself myself. He gave me instructions to start out steadily, to get to the top of Pluvi with the goal to run strongly the final 19kms. Haha he also told me to not walk the hills.... "you are a runner not a walker, I do not care if they are dolly steps...." So I adjusted my mind set to a 5:30 time. Now I was feeling really nervous. I had no excuses. So Friday night I bit the bullet and put it on paper and committed myself to 5:28 splits.
I learnt a few things from my crappy Sydney expereince.... so I had made sure I had properly carbo loaded, I was well hydrated, had my plan fixed in my mind and was 100% committed to not starting to quickly and to run my own race. I told Bec to not tell anyone my time and when people asked responded "sub 6hrs".
On race day I was so nervous I felt really sick. I get nervous even before a 10km race so I knew it was all nerves and once we were in the car I would settle down. I had my trusty crumpets, jam and sport drink for breakfast and we were on our way. My lovely sister and husband were great at keeping me calm and telling me how well I would run. We pulled up and I almost exploded with excitment! I was jumping out of my skin.... lets roll!!
It was a brilliant atmosphere and I was so excited getting to watch the earlier waves go first. I had a great little spot to the left of the start line and I was reafy to jump in the front of wave 4. Now we has run down Nellies Glen twice in training and I felt really confident on the steps. So my plan was to get a good start down the stairs so I could then just settle into a really relaxed pace and not feel any pressure to make up time.
So 8:35am.... Kevin counted us down an we were off. I had lined up with Will and it was great to have someone I knew to be silly with, but he was off like a stunned rabbit! It was really slippery on the steps and I was thankful to get to the bottom unscathed. So now I had to be patient. This was where I needed to be smart. I settled into my pace but felt like I was going so slow and people were flying past me. I commented to another guy to have a good look at them as we would pass them on Pluvi. I kept telling myself to be patient. I was feeliong full of energy and was itching to speed up but am happy to report I stuck to plan. At megalong road we passed The third wave sweepers and started to catch third wave runners. I ran up pinnacle Hill and was feleing really relaxed. By now my nerves were going and I was starting to really enjoy the run.
I was running with Sue, another strider and it was great to have someone to chat to. Sean had instructed me to make sure I drank enough and had carbs early in the race.... avoid running out of energy after pluvi. So my plan was to have a gu and sports drink evry 5km and a salt tablet evry 30mins. It helped to have the race broken up into little 5km chunks.
At about the 12km mark as we were running down to Cox's river I had my first ever running stack! I put my foot onto a granite rock and it just slipped straight from under me. I landed on my left knee and took most of the brunt through my arms and shoulders.... my new gloves just paid for themselves!!! I got straight uop and kept running and then notice I had blood running down my leg. Ray will be proud of this stack. My elbow was also feeling really sore and I got a little worried.... but it just stayed at a dull ache.
You could here the Cox's river rushing along side us as we ran down and I realised that I was going ot have to get wet! In training the river was low and we just scampered across rocks. Sure enough the river was high and it was waist deep on me. It was quite cold and really refreshing....but also washed away my blodd! No dramatic photos for me!! I reached Cox's river in 1:38, 4 mins earlier than my plan. I really did not feel I had run to quickly and started to get a little excited.
I had some dried pinneapple and sports drink at the aid station and had a quick chat with Stephen Jackson. Now for the fun stuff. I decided to not worry about my shoes and socks as they would dry quick enough in the sun on Mini Mini. So I geared myself up for the 4.5km climb up Mini Mini. I decided to run/walk as I was feeling really good. I had been practicing my climbing at the gym and knew I was pretty strong even if I was walking. I passed Plu here and gave him a quick hello. I ran anything that looked runable, even if it was 50ms. I was passing a lot of people here and I started to really work on relling people in. At the lemon tree yard aid station I had some Coke and was a new convert to the joys of warm coke! I could not believe the lift it gave me and took off to knock the rest of the hill over. I was pretty happy to reach the top and wasted no time and got straight into running again.
The downhills here are pretty steep heading down to Allums creek and I could feel a stitch from the previous aid station. Once I had crossed over Allums creek I continued to run up the beginning of Pluvi. I knew I would be doing more walking than running so I was taking advantage while I could. It was a really odd site making my way up Pluvi. People were already looking really tired and some were in obvious pain. I decided to just really focus on getting to the top as quickly as possible. I stated to fous on strider singlets and reel them in. About 3/4 of the way up there were some bike riders that were standing cheering. This really fit female gave me a big cheer and said I looked really strong.... this gave me a huge lift. I started to think about what lay ahead and was preparing myself for a tough final 19kms. We reached the top of Pluvi finally and I crossed the mats at 3:09:36. At this point I had a rush of excitment and butterflies..... I was aiming for 3:14 so had 5mins in the bank.
Now I was feeling tired and the legs were definately feeling the effect of a 3km climb up the mountain but I was straight into running and started repeating to myself "I am a runner not a walker, dolly steps, just keep going". The black ranges are a bit of a blur....at some point I passed 2P and Sebastian who gave me a really encouraging cheer. I just felt like a woman possessed! I started thinking.... this is possible. If you just hold it together you can do this! At each aid station I just how far to the next one and then told myself...ok only 2km to run.
A psychological advantage of starting in the final wave is the sheer number of runners that I passed along the way. I really used this to motivate myself. As I would pass I was thinking not only are you passing this person, but they started 20min ahead of you. Now I did this not in a malicious way but I needed to do anything to keep my positive vibe going. I knew that the hardest part of the final 19km was that it appears to just keep going and going. There is also a lot more up hill on that final 19kms than people expect. The other runners were really great I was thankful for all the " hey your going great, keep it up". I just gave people a nod and kept going. I was feeling really strong and others were doing it really tough.... hard to know what to say to people. That is what is so amaxing about the race. Evry one is in there own persoal battle to keep going.
I reached Deviation in 4:09.... 7 mins ahead of schedule. Now I started to feel confident. I was also in a bit of disbelief. Maby my watch is wrong....did I accidently stop it somewhere????
I said to another runner.... 10km to go, time to reel them all in. He laughed and said you have been doing that since Pluvi, then he peeled away. I wanted to go with him but flet a little unsure if I could maitain that pace for 1okms! I remebered Seans words..... nothing silly her, no surges, keep it constant and consistant. I did some math and thought if I do 7mins kms I will get there in about 5:20. I started to grin like a mad woman and took off. I knew I had more than enough left for that!
I was determined to run te whole 19kms but the final sharp nasty hill before the road made me walk. I felt tingling in my hands and I knew I needed some more sugar.... thankfully I also knew that the road crossing aid station was less than 1km away. I was so happy to see the road, have some more coke and was suprised to se Don Juan there!! It was lovely to see his happy face but can not remeber what he said to me.
7km to go.... or a lap of the bay! Woo Hoo! I could sniff the finish. I picked it up a bit here and passed a few more people and realised a 5:15 was a definate if I held it together and if I could really run hard on the down hills maby even less. WTF!!!! I could not believe this was me running!
I was haniging out for that final 3km but once it arrive I was wishing it was over. that final descent was a killer! My abs were really hurting from all the bracing I was doing because of how steep it was. I kicked a huge rock and felt both legs threaten to cramp, so I backed off the pace a bit as I really wanted to finih running and not limp home. I could here the crowd and I was starting to get really overwhelmed. I was crying and laughing and felt so happy. I passed an early started and just as I did that both calfs started to cramp! No way.... not in this life time. There was a fair bit of swearing... sorry to all those around and I just started doing little dolly steps until I was off the rocky stuff onto the pavers.Then I heard my sister yelling my name and you would have had to cut my legs off to stop me!!! I knew Ray was about 200ms away and I was now beyond excited! I saw him and he was yelling for me to go, go, go! I just smile and said check out the time!!!!
The finish chute is amazing!!! So many people and they were all yelling my name.... or it sounded that way! I heard the announcer say "wow shes happy!!" I was high fiving and having a ball! I stopped my watch and it said 5:15:34. Then I had Bernie, Deanne, Bec and Amanda there giving me a hug. Wow! Hahaha then I kept thinking I must have turned my watch off accidently at some point. Surely that is not my time! So I waited patiently until Kevin had the results up and I could confirm that yes I had finished in 5:15:34, 6th in my age group and 34th female!!! Now I was surprsied but so was evryone else. There were quite a few people who were almost speechless... I have decided to take it as a compliment :-)
I am still reeling about it! I loved that whole experience. It was tough physically and mentally and too hard to really describe or do justice to! I take my hat off to all those who completed the run..... what a mamouth effort!
Thank you to my lovely sister, husband and mum! They had so much faith in me and were not surprised by the result. Ray never doubted me and knew I would do it. I am so lucky to have such an amazing family.
A special mention to Tony who obviously took my advice literally and blasted his way up Pluvi and along the range..... nice way to break a record!!! Seriously what an awesome run!!! To all my favourite people, you know who you are and I let you all know regularly how much I love you all! So I am not going to drag this ridiculously long post out any longer!!
Let me just say, there is fire in the belly and I know I can do a lot more than I give myself credit for. I am looking forward to alot more exciting stuff to come this year.... bring it on!!!!!!
sorry I can not be bothered to do a spell check....I have had enough!!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Oh what feeling......
Saturday 10th March
Today 45km
Week: 67km
Month: 105km
Year: 815km
I am not sure how to put into words such an unbeleviable experience. I am still processing my thoughts and will blog in detail tommorow.
Lets just say I am ecstatic with my race and result. It all went like clock work and I loved it from start to finish. I was openly aiming at 5:45, secretly aiming at 5:30 and I shocked myself with a 5:15:34. I came 6th in my age category and 34th in my gender. I had a fall, crossed the river waist deep, caught and passed the sweepers, walked/ran Mini Mini and Pluvi and ran strongly almost all of the final 19km.
I am not sure if I am flattered or offended at the shock many expressed at my result..... but I know I feel incredibly satisfied and proud. I have worked so hard for this event and knew I had left nothing to chance. I lined up yesterday feeling sick with nerves.....not beause I was feeling unprepared or injured but I knew if I mucked it up there were no excuses.
I want to thank my sister and Ray so much for all there support and faith. They both knew my goal and believed I would do it. They reassured me pre race and reminded me how hard I have worked. I appreciate them soo much!!! My family are always there for me and I am not sure they realise how much they mean to me. I also want to mention a few of my favourite people who have supported, listened to my complaining, put up with my crazy ideas and bring the best out in me.... Deanne, Kerry, Bernie, Helen, Amanda- you girls are the best and I am so thankful to have you as friends. Ray and Bec took some great photos I will put up tommorow with my race report.
So operation Fairy Floss complete..... time for stage two!!
Stats:
Result
Cox's River : 1:38:13
Pluvi: 1:31 (3:09:36)
Deviation: 60mins (4:09)
Finish: 66mins (5:15:34)
Planned:
cox's 1:42
Pluvi 1:33 (3:14)
Deviation 62min (4:16)
Finish 72mins (5:28)
Today 45km
Week: 67km
Month: 105km
Year: 815km
I am not sure how to put into words such an unbeleviable experience. I am still processing my thoughts and will blog in detail tommorow.
Lets just say I am ecstatic with my race and result. It all went like clock work and I loved it from start to finish. I was openly aiming at 5:45, secretly aiming at 5:30 and I shocked myself with a 5:15:34. I came 6th in my age category and 34th in my gender. I had a fall, crossed the river waist deep, caught and passed the sweepers, walked/ran Mini Mini and Pluvi and ran strongly almost all of the final 19km.
I am not sure if I am flattered or offended at the shock many expressed at my result..... but I know I feel incredibly satisfied and proud. I have worked so hard for this event and knew I had left nothing to chance. I lined up yesterday feeling sick with nerves.....not beause I was feeling unprepared or injured but I knew if I mucked it up there were no excuses.
I want to thank my sister and Ray so much for all there support and faith. They both knew my goal and believed I would do it. They reassured me pre race and reminded me how hard I have worked. I appreciate them soo much!!! My family are always there for me and I am not sure they realise how much they mean to me. I also want to mention a few of my favourite people who have supported, listened to my complaining, put up with my crazy ideas and bring the best out in me.... Deanne, Kerry, Bernie, Helen, Amanda- you girls are the best and I am so thankful to have you as friends. Ray and Bec took some great photos I will put up tommorow with my race report.
So operation Fairy Floss complete..... time for stage two!!
Stats:
Result
Cox's River : 1:38:13
Pluvi: 1:31 (3:09:36)
Deviation: 60mins (4:09)
Finish: 66mins (5:15:34)
Planned:
cox's 1:42
Pluvi 1:33 (3:14)
Deviation 62min (4:16)
Finish 72mins (5:28)
update
Wed 7th
Today: 7km
Week: 18km
Month: 56km
Year: 766km
Easy lap of the bay.... very relaxed.
Thursday 8th March
Today: 4km
Week: 22km
Month: 60km
Year: 770km
relaxed run at training. Evry one else had speed reps... Bernie and I ran and chatted!
Friday 9th
REST DAY...... VERY NERVOUS!!!!
Feeling fat and full of carbs.... all looking good!
Today: 7km
Week: 18km
Month: 56km
Year: 766km
Easy lap of the bay.... very relaxed.
Thursday 8th March
Today: 4km
Week: 22km
Month: 60km
Year: 770km
relaxed run at training. Evry one else had speed reps... Bernie and I ran and chatted!
Friday 9th
REST DAY...... VERY NERVOUS!!!!
Feeling fat and full of carbs.... all looking good!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Feeling Great!
Tuesday 6th March
Today: 8km
Week: 11km
Month:49km
Year:759km
I slept like a log last night and woke this morning feeling great.... apart from an imagined sore throat that disapeared very quickly! Went to training this morning and the rest of the group had 10 laps of Big Bertha and we had 6 relaxed. It is so nice being able to just run without any pressure to run hard. I felt really great this morning and averaged 2:05 per lap. Again these times are about my quickest but happened without a lot of effort this morning- exciting!! Then once I finised I was encouraging some of the others.... I felt like I was jumping out of my skin a little. I am going to have a massage tonight and have one more day at work.... woo hoo! I am having Thursday and Friday off to relax at home. I can't wait...... it was the perfect excuse for a break from work ( much needed!!)
Today: 8km
Week: 11km
Month:49km
Year:759km
I slept like a log last night and woke this morning feeling great.... apart from an imagined sore throat that disapeared very quickly! Went to training this morning and the rest of the group had 10 laps of Big Bertha and we had 6 relaxed. It is so nice being able to just run without any pressure to run hard. I felt really great this morning and averaged 2:05 per lap. Again these times are about my quickest but happened without a lot of effort this morning- exciting!! Then once I finised I was encouraging some of the others.... I felt like I was jumping out of my skin a little. I am going to have a massage tonight and have one more day at work.... woo hoo! I am having Thursday and Friday off to relax at home. I can't wait...... it was the perfect excuse for a break from work ( much needed!!)
Monday, March 05, 2007
3rd times a charm....
Thursday 1st March
Today: 10km
Week: 25km
Month: 10km
Year: 720km
We had fartlek this morning.... consists of 1km loops sith surges and floats. I felt great after the warm up so decided to put in a hard effort but as Sean says "hold back"a little bit. I did 3 loops (3km) and finished and evry one else did 4km. Ooops! Turns out I misread my program. Sean laughed and said I have been trainign really well so it was a reward! Then followed it up with "I want you to race saturday.... you are running well and will recover fine"..... what happened to my reward??? So he told me to aim for 46:30.... that would be a 40sec pb- too fast. I will just run as I feel. If it happens it happens if I am tired I will just back off. I felt great today.... I finished feeling like I had not done a session.
3km- 13:55 ( average pace 4:38/km)
Friday 2nd March
Today: 5km
Week: 30km
Month: 15km
Year: 725km
Easy 5km run tonight. I felt like crap the whole way.... too hot and humid. Today was just a few extra ugly kms.
Saturday 3rd March
Today: 12km
Week: 42km
Month: 27km
Year: 737km
Striders 10km this morning. Ray and I were hosting.... so we had lots of things to do pre run to keep me occuped! Thanks to Deanne and Karin who were life savers and helped out with all the chopping. We went with an easter theme.... eggs, hotcross buns, marshmellow bunnies and all the usuall stuff.
I was busy chatting with Lorraine and missed the start! Ray was laughing at me saying "oh are we going" hehe so had to remember the watch was 4 secs off :-) Typical!!
I felt really great today. People were complaining about the heat and humidity but I felt pretty good. Which is unusall because I usually hate the humidity! Once out of the inital squash I just focused on running consistant kms. I was smack bang on 4:38/km most of the run..... give or take one or two faster/slower kms. I went through 5km at 23:30 and still felt really relaxed. At the 8km mark I had a tossle with myself about whether to aim for sub 47 for a pb.... but thought NO think of the big picture. So finished with 47:26 and felt over the moon! That is only 12 secs slower than my PB, it felt really comfortable and is the third 47:?? 10km in a row......... 3rd time's a charm! It gave me a huge confidence boost for next week. No niggles, no injuiries and hit of confidence.... what more could you need!
Sunday 4th March
Today: 11km
Week: 53km
Month: 38km
Year: 748km
Met the girls (and Ray) at the park for an easy 1hr run. Happy to report no soreness or stiffness from yesterday! I was pleasantly surprised at how I was feeling.... as I had a late night, lots of food and not a lot of water. We cruised around chatting and Bernie and I finished and let the others finish their long run. It was very hot and humid this morning...I was a mobile sprinkler :-) I finished the week doing not a lot, just lots of violin practice and a snooze.... very nice!!!!
Monday 5th March
Today: 3k
Week: 3km
Month:41km
Year: 751km
A very nice and easy run this morning! Instructions were to do all runs very slow! I think it took me longer to get dressed and put my shoes on. It was sprinkling and cool, although still really humid. I did my 3km in just under 18mins.... average pace 5:55/km.
5 sleeps to go :-) I am getting really excited! I can not really believe it is March already!! So this week will be nice and easy and lots of slow running and eating! Not a lot of sleep last night .... I have had a phobia of thunder since I was 3 yrs old ( not just a bit scared.... I mean shit scared!!) I was bragging to mum the other day how I am almost over it! Well last nights 3 hour epic thunder storm managed to see me wake Ray 3 times because I almost flew out of bed in fear, a few tears and a lot of counting to 10! Talk about fight or flight!! I know thunder can not hurt you, but it all comes from a very traumatic event when I was 3yrs old!! I was then so wired I could hardly sleep. Lots of 6ft day (night) dreaming :-)
Today: 10km
Week: 25km
Month: 10km
Year: 720km
We had fartlek this morning.... consists of 1km loops sith surges and floats. I felt great after the warm up so decided to put in a hard effort but as Sean says "hold back"a little bit. I did 3 loops (3km) and finished and evry one else did 4km. Ooops! Turns out I misread my program. Sean laughed and said I have been trainign really well so it was a reward! Then followed it up with "I want you to race saturday.... you are running well and will recover fine"..... what happened to my reward??? So he told me to aim for 46:30.... that would be a 40sec pb- too fast. I will just run as I feel. If it happens it happens if I am tired I will just back off. I felt great today.... I finished feeling like I had not done a session.
3km- 13:55 ( average pace 4:38/km)
Friday 2nd March
Today: 5km
Week: 30km
Month: 15km
Year: 725km
Easy 5km run tonight. I felt like crap the whole way.... too hot and humid. Today was just a few extra ugly kms.
Saturday 3rd March
Today: 12km
Week: 42km
Month: 27km
Year: 737km
Striders 10km this morning. Ray and I were hosting.... so we had lots of things to do pre run to keep me occuped! Thanks to Deanne and Karin who were life savers and helped out with all the chopping. We went with an easter theme.... eggs, hotcross buns, marshmellow bunnies and all the usuall stuff.
I was busy chatting with Lorraine and missed the start! Ray was laughing at me saying "oh are we going" hehe so had to remember the watch was 4 secs off :-) Typical!!
I felt really great today. People were complaining about the heat and humidity but I felt pretty good. Which is unusall because I usually hate the humidity! Once out of the inital squash I just focused on running consistant kms. I was smack bang on 4:38/km most of the run..... give or take one or two faster/slower kms. I went through 5km at 23:30 and still felt really relaxed. At the 8km mark I had a tossle with myself about whether to aim for sub 47 for a pb.... but thought NO think of the big picture. So finished with 47:26 and felt over the moon! That is only 12 secs slower than my PB, it felt really comfortable and is the third 47:?? 10km in a row......... 3rd time's a charm! It gave me a huge confidence boost for next week. No niggles, no injuiries and hit of confidence.... what more could you need!
Sunday 4th March
Today: 11km
Week: 53km
Month: 38km
Year: 748km
Met the girls (and Ray) at the park for an easy 1hr run. Happy to report no soreness or stiffness from yesterday! I was pleasantly surprised at how I was feeling.... as I had a late night, lots of food and not a lot of water. We cruised around chatting and Bernie and I finished and let the others finish their long run. It was very hot and humid this morning...I was a mobile sprinkler :-) I finished the week doing not a lot, just lots of violin practice and a snooze.... very nice!!!!
Monday 5th March
Today: 3k
Week: 3km
Month:41km
Year: 751km
A very nice and easy run this morning! Instructions were to do all runs very slow! I think it took me longer to get dressed and put my shoes on. It was sprinkling and cool, although still really humid. I did my 3km in just under 18mins.... average pace 5:55/km.
5 sleeps to go :-) I am getting really excited! I can not really believe it is March already!! So this week will be nice and easy and lots of slow running and eating! Not a lot of sleep last night .... I have had a phobia of thunder since I was 3 yrs old ( not just a bit scared.... I mean shit scared!!) I was bragging to mum the other day how I am almost over it! Well last nights 3 hour epic thunder storm managed to see me wake Ray 3 times because I almost flew out of bed in fear, a few tears and a lot of counting to 10! Talk about fight or flight!! I know thunder can not hurt you, but it all comes from a very traumatic event when I was 3yrs old!! I was then so wired I could hardly sleep. Lots of 6ft day (night) dreaming :-)
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
10 to go......
Wednesday 28th February
Today: 8km
Week:25km
Month: 340km
Year:710km
Well it is the last day of Feb and only 10 days til the big event! I am feeling a mixture of excitment and fear! My strategy until last night was to just focus on my training and not really think about race day. Last night I started to think about goal times, race plan, gu's splits etc. I am going to stay at my sister's the night before so it will not take as long to get to the mountains and I am going to pick my stuff up on Friday and then spend the rest of the day with my mum relaxing. I have worked out my race day shorts, undies and sock routine and need to get some more gu and dried pinneapple for race day. I feel really prepared....I can visualise the whole course and have been rehersing in my mind how I want to feel at different spots. I actually really enjoy visualising running the race well.... I don't know if it helps or not but I like it :-) I figure if I think about it going well and to plan it will help me feel relaxed and confident on race day.
Todays run was a bit of a grind. I felt tired and had heavy legs. We ran for 8kms average pace about 5:50/km..... this felt ridiculously hard today! Great company though and a great way to start the day.
Today: 8km
Week:25km
Month: 340km
Year:710km
Well it is the last day of Feb and only 10 days til the big event! I am feeling a mixture of excitment and fear! My strategy until last night was to just focus on my training and not really think about race day. Last night I started to think about goal times, race plan, gu's splits etc. I am going to stay at my sister's the night before so it will not take as long to get to the mountains and I am going to pick my stuff up on Friday and then spend the rest of the day with my mum relaxing. I have worked out my race day shorts, undies and sock routine and need to get some more gu and dried pinneapple for race day. I feel really prepared....I can visualise the whole course and have been rehersing in my mind how I want to feel at different spots. I actually really enjoy visualising running the race well.... I don't know if it helps or not but I like it :-) I figure if I think about it going well and to plan it will help me feel relaxed and confident on race day.
Todays run was a bit of a grind. I felt tired and had heavy legs. We ran for 8kms average pace about 5:50/km..... this felt ridiculously hard today! Great company though and a great way to start the day.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday 26th Feb
Today: 6km
Week: 6km
Month: 329km
Year:691km
I had an hour on the program today but All Hail King Taper.... so I did 6kms nice and relaxed. When I left the gym tonight it was raining and I had the urge to run again. We have had hardly any rain and it feels so fantastic to be out in the rain....dinner won out :-)
Tuesday 27th Feb
Today: 11km
Week: 17km
Month: 340km
Year: 702km
Arrived nice and early and did about 3km warm up....took a while to warm this morning. We had laps of the lake this morning and I had 1 lap with an active break and then two laps. Sean instructed to put in a good effort on the first lap as there would be enough recovry for a good second lap. So we took off and I felt really good and managed to maintian the pace for the whole lap. I finished in 6:09 (1 km split was 4:13) which I could not believe. My best time around the lake has been 6:35. Bernie and I then kept jogging until the second rep. I started the second rep with Ray and he encouraged me to run with him, but after 400ms he was slowly leaving me in his dust :-) As I passes Sean for the first lap he was telling me to reel Ray and Dean and Sheena in.... I was able to keep them at a consistant distance :-) Second Rep was 13:05. I felt great running this morning and in a much better frame of mind! I talked to Sean and he instructed me to not race the 10kms on Saturday and to aim for 50mins. I think I will be feeling to excited and toey to do what I am told so I might run my run before the race and then I can focus on just hosting the run and cheering Ray :-) We had another Celebrity appearance this morning ;-)
Today: 6km
Week: 6km
Month: 329km
Year:691km
I had an hour on the program today but All Hail King Taper.... so I did 6kms nice and relaxed. When I left the gym tonight it was raining and I had the urge to run again. We have had hardly any rain and it feels so fantastic to be out in the rain....dinner won out :-)
Tuesday 27th Feb
Today: 11km
Week: 17km
Month: 340km
Year: 702km
Arrived nice and early and did about 3km warm up....took a while to warm this morning. We had laps of the lake this morning and I had 1 lap with an active break and then two laps. Sean instructed to put in a good effort on the first lap as there would be enough recovry for a good second lap. So we took off and I felt really good and managed to maintian the pace for the whole lap. I finished in 6:09 (1 km split was 4:13) which I could not believe. My best time around the lake has been 6:35. Bernie and I then kept jogging until the second rep. I started the second rep with Ray and he encouraged me to run with him, but after 400ms he was slowly leaving me in his dust :-) As I passes Sean for the first lap he was telling me to reel Ray and Dean and Sheena in.... I was able to keep them at a consistant distance :-) Second Rep was 13:05. I felt great running this morning and in a much better frame of mind! I talked to Sean and he instructed me to not race the 10kms on Saturday and to aim for 50mins. I think I will be feeling to excited and toey to do what I am told so I might run my run before the race and then I can focus on just hosting the run and cheering Ray :-) We had another Celebrity appearance this morning ;-)
Sunday, February 25, 2007
update.....
Friday 23rd Feb
Today: 6km
Week: 49km
Month: 282km
Year: 650km
I ran this afternoon after a really late night..... we saw Damien rice at the Enmore theatre. He was Brilliant!!! it was a fantastic concert and they all were amazing musicians. The girls had such beautiful voices and one of the girls was playing the Cello, which just sounded unbelievable with the Guitar and Piano! I just ache to be able to play that well!!! The run was a lot less ordinary.... 6km around home. I had a crappy day and spent the whole run feeling like a hippopttomus in disguise! Lets just say slightly fragile! Average pace 5:20/km
Saturday 24th Feb
Today: 12km
Week: 61km
Month: 300km
Year: 662km
CR 5km today. I had grand and ambitious plans of making an attack on 22mins today. It never ceases to amaze me the impact your mental state can have on how you run. Now I will not bore you with the details.... lets just say I was obsessing about some bosy issues and my head was from being in PB form! I lined up with Professor, Tess, Johnny Dark and someone else. I was freaking aout a bit at this stage "what are you doing these guys are heaps faster than you!!!!". So we started and I was feeling pretty good and went through the first 2km in 4:21, 4:23. I then ran past Gnome taking phots and all I could think about was "GREAT photos of you looking fat for all teh CR world to see". It was at this point my head was all over the place and I had to work really hard to just keep running let alone run at my best. NUTS... yes I know! I have been working really hard to deal with body stuff but it does rear its ugly head from time to time. Ironically I had emailed a great article to friends written by Lisa Corriden and Buster talking about the pressure of running and body image for females and prevelance of eating disorders within our sport. So like a neourotic female I spent the next 3km being particularly negative. Poor professor had no idea and was doing his best to encourage me to run faster.... all I wanted to do was cry. Now it is actually hard to run and fight off tears.... so my breathing was a little all over the place. So I just put a stupid smile on my face and thought lets just get this finished. SO I finished in 22:37.... I am happy with my time, but annoyed at myself for letting such negative crap get in the way. I proceeded to have a good whinge to Bernie and Ray on the way back and felt much better in time for breakfast. I decided to post the details because I am sure I am not the only female who suffers with body image and self esteem stuff. Just to reassure you all I know I am not fat blah blah.... just negative thoughts thats all! The even funnier thing was that the photos are not that bad!!! Typical :-) Finished the day with my mum, sister and little neice- they are so good for the soul! I can never have too much of them.... always make me feel so good!!!!
5km: 4:21, 4:23, 4:30, 4:38, 4:39
Sunday 25th Feb
Today: 23km
Week: 84km
Month: 323km
Year:685km
Today felt like the last day of school! It was our last long run and we were all feeling tired and a bit over it. We decided to do a shorter version of the 10 bridge strider run. We strted at the civilised time of 7am and headed off from Brett Park, through Drummoyne, over the ? Figtree Bridge, through Hunters Hill, through the Reserve at Lane Cove, up a nasty hill, into the bush at Lane Cove, then down and up River Rd, through Woolstencraft and North Sydney, onto the Harbour Bridge where we bumped into Rags. Then we ran past Observatory hill where I had flashbacks to the marathon and nice memories of Rays marriage proposal! We ran through the city and over the bridge at Darling Harbour. We stopped here for a few minutes to cheer on the Dragon Boat races! I was slightly slow and about 10 mins later announced very wisely that the races were obviously for the Chinese New Year..... that had already been discussed about 15mins earlier!! I am pretty sharp :-). We then continued over Anzac bridge and back along Victoria rd. I was so hungry by the time we got back to the finsih and was soooo happy for my soy hot choc and fruit toast from Bowen Island. Today we were all a bit tired and there was no concern given to stoping to sniff the roses so to speak! I love that run!!! I love when your in Woolstencraft you can see both the Anzac and Harbour Brdge in the distance and it spins you out that you will cross both of them!
So that about it for the long stuff! Two weeks to go and the plan for the week is to do some faster sessions at training and then eat and sleep well and run relaxed for the rest of the time. Sounds very nice!
I am getting Big Kev Excited!!!!!!!!
Today: 6km
Week: 49km
Month: 282km
Year: 650km
I ran this afternoon after a really late night..... we saw Damien rice at the Enmore theatre. He was Brilliant!!! it was a fantastic concert and they all were amazing musicians. The girls had such beautiful voices and one of the girls was playing the Cello, which just sounded unbelievable with the Guitar and Piano! I just ache to be able to play that well!!! The run was a lot less ordinary.... 6km around home. I had a crappy day and spent the whole run feeling like a hippopttomus in disguise! Lets just say slightly fragile! Average pace 5:20/km
Saturday 24th Feb
Today: 12km
Week: 61km
Month: 300km
Year: 662km
CR 5km today. I had grand and ambitious plans of making an attack on 22mins today. It never ceases to amaze me the impact your mental state can have on how you run. Now I will not bore you with the details.... lets just say I was obsessing about some bosy issues and my head was from being in PB form! I lined up with Professor, Tess, Johnny Dark and someone else. I was freaking aout a bit at this stage "what are you doing these guys are heaps faster than you!!!!". So we started and I was feeling pretty good and went through the first 2km in 4:21, 4:23. I then ran past Gnome taking phots and all I could think about was "GREAT photos of you looking fat for all teh CR world to see". It was at this point my head was all over the place and I had to work really hard to just keep running let alone run at my best. NUTS... yes I know! I have been working really hard to deal with body stuff but it does rear its ugly head from time to time. Ironically I had emailed a great article to friends written by Lisa Corriden and Buster talking about the pressure of running and body image for females and prevelance of eating disorders within our sport. So like a neourotic female I spent the next 3km being particularly negative. Poor professor had no idea and was doing his best to encourage me to run faster.... all I wanted to do was cry. Now it is actually hard to run and fight off tears.... so my breathing was a little all over the place. So I just put a stupid smile on my face and thought lets just get this finished. SO I finished in 22:37.... I am happy with my time, but annoyed at myself for letting such negative crap get in the way. I proceeded to have a good whinge to Bernie and Ray on the way back and felt much better in time for breakfast. I decided to post the details because I am sure I am not the only female who suffers with body image and self esteem stuff. Just to reassure you all I know I am not fat blah blah.... just negative thoughts thats all! The even funnier thing was that the photos are not that bad!!! Typical :-) Finished the day with my mum, sister and little neice- they are so good for the soul! I can never have too much of them.... always make me feel so good!!!!
5km: 4:21, 4:23, 4:30, 4:38, 4:39
Sunday 25th Feb
Today: 23km
Week: 84km
Month: 323km
Year:685km
Today felt like the last day of school! It was our last long run and we were all feeling tired and a bit over it. We decided to do a shorter version of the 10 bridge strider run. We strted at the civilised time of 7am and headed off from Brett Park, through Drummoyne, over the ? Figtree Bridge, through Hunters Hill, through the Reserve at Lane Cove, up a nasty hill, into the bush at Lane Cove, then down and up River Rd, through Woolstencraft and North Sydney, onto the Harbour Bridge where we bumped into Rags. Then we ran past Observatory hill where I had flashbacks to the marathon and nice memories of Rays marriage proposal! We ran through the city and over the bridge at Darling Harbour. We stopped here for a few minutes to cheer on the Dragon Boat races! I was slightly slow and about 10 mins later announced very wisely that the races were obviously for the Chinese New Year..... that had already been discussed about 15mins earlier!! I am pretty sharp :-). We then continued over Anzac bridge and back along Victoria rd. I was so hungry by the time we got back to the finsih and was soooo happy for my soy hot choc and fruit toast from Bowen Island. Today we were all a bit tired and there was no concern given to stoping to sniff the roses so to speak! I love that run!!! I love when your in Woolstencraft you can see both the Anzac and Harbour Brdge in the distance and it spins you out that you will cross both of them!
So that about it for the long stuff! Two weeks to go and the plan for the week is to do some faster sessions at training and then eat and sleep well and run relaxed for the rest of the time. Sounds very nice!
I am getting Big Kev Excited!!!!!!!!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Today's session brought to you by the number 3...
Today: 10km
Week: 43km
Month: 276km
Year: 644km
We had hills this morning...700m hill loop with a 2min active recovery. I like this session.... you get to work really hard but the recovery makes it feel bearable. Sean had instructed that he wanted us to try and do each rep a little quicker than the one before. We started and I made sure I did not go too quick on the first rep and did 3:10. Billy Idol was back this morning and I heard him say to Sean "I will just stand and watch the first few to see how they are done"....??? hmmm just run and follow the fast guys! My second rep was a little quicker at 3:04. My best times on WW is 2:55, but I only managed one of them and then the rest of my reps were much slower and I think I stopped at 5 instead of doing the 7. so my aim today was to be consistant and do the 7 and try to get under 3mins. Well it was just like the movie ground hog day! I felt like I was stuck in the same rep for the next 5!!! It did not matter how hard I did or di not try as I crossed the line sean would call out 3 mins! 3 mins on the nose each time.... talk about consistant :-) I was getting irritated and trying desparately to get in under 3 mins. On the last one Sean was laughing as he was counting down the secs. the only way I was going to crack it was to do a base ball styl slide across the line. Hahaha with 6ft so close I figured that was not the smartest thing to do so had to put up with another 3 mins! The great thing was that I managed to do the 7, 5 of those were 3mins.... average pace for each rep was 4:20/km. So I am really happy with the session.... just need to find a second here or there!!!
I am feeling good and looking forward to the 5km challenge on Saturday. I have decided to try and get under 22mins. December I ran 22:13 and I am feeling good at the moment so I am hoping I can do it! I love the 5k challenge... it is relaxed nand a great way to check how you are going from month to month. Plus the breakfast is always nice!!!
Off to See Damien Rice tonight at the enmore.... I can't wait! I have been listening to his cd's non-stop in the care!
Wild Wally- 3:10, 3:04, 3:00, 3:00, 3:00, 3:00, 3:00
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
A morning with the queen...
Today: 16km
Week: 33km
Month: 266km
Year: 634km
We had a great run this morning!!! We met at 5:15am at Centenial Park and ran through the park, down Oxford st ( where we found Ray and Wayne some nice new speedos for Marti Gra weekend) and then through the city to the international terminal and had a sticky beak at the QEII. It was a spectacular morning with the sun rising and the Opera house and Bridge as a back drop. We then made out way back to the park where we finished off with our strides. We covered 16km in 90mins, average pace 5:32/km. I felt initially tired this morning but after the first few kms felt great.... also helped when the sun was up- makes it feel more normal to be running! Wednesday's are such an early get up.... when the alarm goes off at 4:30am I always wonder why I am doing this! But what a great way to start the day.... I am sitting at my desk eating my musile feeling on top of the world, watching the rest of the office drag themselves in :-)
Week: 33km
Month: 266km
Year: 634km
We had a great run this morning!!! We met at 5:15am at Centenial Park and ran through the park, down Oxford st ( where we found Ray and Wayne some nice new speedos for Marti Gra weekend) and then through the city to the international terminal and had a sticky beak at the QEII. It was a spectacular morning with the sun rising and the Opera house and Bridge as a back drop. We then made out way back to the park where we finished off with our strides. We covered 16km in 90mins, average pace 5:32/km. I felt initially tired this morning but after the first few kms felt great.... also helped when the sun was up- makes it feel more normal to be running! Wednesday's are such an early get up.... when the alarm goes off at 4:30am I always wonder why I am doing this! But what a great way to start the day.... I am sitting at my desk eating my musile feeling on top of the world, watching the rest of the office drag themselves in :-)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
"If you can smile like that your legs are feeling heavy...."
Today 12km
Week: 17km
Month: 250km
Year:618km
We had long reps this morning and I had 3 x 1200m reps on the program. Ray and I arrived a little early, just as the sun was getting up and did a good warm up (4km at 5:30/km pace..... a little quicker than planned). Then instead of listening to Sean I was too busy talking to Linda and completely missed what he was instructing us. So we took off and I thought I was doing a 1km rep followed by two 1200m reps. when I got to the 500m mark Sean said to me I was running well and I should do 2km.... crap- too fast, time to slow down a little! So I did my fist rep in 8:48 which is the fastest time I have run a 2km rep. Then Sean said to me that I was running well and felt I could manage the longer reps and said I should do a second 2km rep and finish with a 1400m rep. So on one hand I was excited he felt I was running well enough to stick with the faster group.... but completely intimidated and unsettled about running with the faster runners. In my second 2km rep I was a little more conservative ( insert pooped ) and finished with 9:09. Apart form being out of your comfort zone, the problem with being "promoted" is that you then get hardly any recovery (when you are last) ..... so I had 45 secs to jog about 150ms from the finish spot to the 1400m start. I am a little dissapointed to say that I put minimal effort in my last rep. I had already decided that with such a short recovery I would run like crap.... so I did. I decided to just keep it under 5 min pace.... finished 6:40 (4:47/km average). When I finished I said to Sean I was dissapointed with the effort I put into my last lap..... he said that I had worked really hard in the first two and to be happy with my times and not worry. Then he said "Yes... when you smile like that your legs are feeling heavy".... in other words the legs are so pooped your not working aerobically. So I am really happy with my fisrt two reps but annoyed that I slacked off in the final one! Mental note do not let Sean see you smiling and looking at the birds while running a speed session!
2km- 8:48 (4:25, 4:23)
2km- 9:09 (4:35, 4:34)
1.4km- 6:40 (1:50 (400m)4:50 1km)- crap!!
Week: 17km
Month: 250km
Year:618km
We had long reps this morning and I had 3 x 1200m reps on the program. Ray and I arrived a little early, just as the sun was getting up and did a good warm up (4km at 5:30/km pace..... a little quicker than planned). Then instead of listening to Sean I was too busy talking to Linda and completely missed what he was instructing us. So we took off and I thought I was doing a 1km rep followed by two 1200m reps. when I got to the 500m mark Sean said to me I was running well and I should do 2km.... crap- too fast, time to slow down a little! So I did my fist rep in 8:48 which is the fastest time I have run a 2km rep. Then Sean said to me that I was running well and felt I could manage the longer reps and said I should do a second 2km rep and finish with a 1400m rep. So on one hand I was excited he felt I was running well enough to stick with the faster group.... but completely intimidated and unsettled about running with the faster runners. In my second 2km rep I was a little more conservative ( insert pooped ) and finished with 9:09. Apart form being out of your comfort zone, the problem with being "promoted" is that you then get hardly any recovery (when you are last) ..... so I had 45 secs to jog about 150ms from the finish spot to the 1400m start. I am a little dissapointed to say that I put minimal effort in my last rep. I had already decided that with such a short recovery I would run like crap.... so I did. I decided to just keep it under 5 min pace.... finished 6:40 (4:47/km average). When I finished I said to Sean I was dissapointed with the effort I put into my last lap..... he said that I had worked really hard in the first two and to be happy with my times and not worry. Then he said "Yes... when you smile like that your legs are feeling heavy".... in other words the legs are so pooped your not working aerobically. So I am really happy with my fisrt two reps but annoyed that I slacked off in the final one! Mental note do not let Sean see you smiling and looking at the birds while running a speed session!
2km- 8:48 (4:25, 4:23)
2km- 9:09 (4:35, 4:34)
1.4km- 6:40 (1:50 (400m)4:50 1km)- crap!!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Recovery run....
Today: 5.5km
Week: 5.5km
Month: 238km
Year: 606km
Ray and I ran with Bernie this morning for a nice easy 5km (average pace 5:45/km). We ran a loop through Scarborough Park in Ramsgate which is always really pretty. There is a nice track that runs through trees and is really soft underfoot..... I always feel like a Hobbit- I fantasise that I am elf like....but definately a Hobbit :-)
A picture of the two principal violinist from the concert.
Some info on the concerto.... if any one else is interested????
http://cnx.org/content/m13404/latest/
Week: 5.5km
Month: 238km
Year: 606km
Ray and I ran with Bernie this morning for a nice easy 5km (average pace 5:45/km). We ran a loop through Scarborough Park in Ramsgate which is always really pretty. There is a nice track that runs through trees and is really soft underfoot..... I always feel like a Hobbit- I fantasise that I am elf like....but definately a Hobbit :-)
A picture of the two principal violinist from the concert.
Some info on the concerto.... if any one else is interested????
http://cnx.org/content/m13404/latest/
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Stage three of Operation Fairy Floss....
Friday 16th
Today: 6km
Week:45km
Month:197km
Year:565km
Had a nice sleep in this morning and ran this afterrnoon. It was a bit humid..... but fekt great after a busy day at work! 6 km- 32 mins (5:20/km average pace). Then I spent the night with my mum, sister and spectacular ittle neice.... who has some mighty impressive dance moves for a 15month old!!!!
Saturday 17th Feb
Today: 12km
Week:57km
Month: 209km
Year: 577km
Met the girls (and ray) at the bay and did 12km around the bay. We did the dog loop (woof) and then threw the extra bit along Balmain shores and up the hill.... never miss a chance to throw in a hill!! Finished with a yummy breakfast and attempted my best impression of a tuppawares sales girls ;-)
12km- 68mins ( 5:40/km average pace). We thne went to the athletics in the evening.... I have a crush on Craig Mottram :-)
Sunday 18th Feb
Today: 23km
Week:80km
Month:232km
Year:600km
The final stage of operation fairy floss is all about the icing! Today I had 30km on the program but but decided to do the 10km at SMC for some speedy stuff. I did a 4km warm up with Ray and he then ran with me to do a 10sec pb crossing the lin in 47:30. I was initially dissapointed (typical) but then was convinced by others wiser than me that a 10sec pb is pretty good and to take it! So take it I will. It felt harder than it should have today, I felt really hot and tired. But my breathing was a heap better woo hoo! There was this annoying guy who just could not cope with being passed by a girl... so he would speed up for 30ms and then slow again. He did this for the last 2km and I have to admit it was really distrcting! Just run buddy or piss off! Ray was great to run with and just maintained a good pace and let me run with out too much talk. Haha when he tried to get me to go faster in the final km I almost bit his head off " what do you think I am doing relaxing??" Poor ray!!! Then we ran out onto the course to find Bernie and Tim doing the 25km. We finaly found them and Bernie was running really well despite the sun!! She slowly picked up the pace and put on a really good surge in the last 2km! So finished with 22km and decided that that was enough.... the extra kms were just going to make me tired and not add any benefit!(thanks Bernie).
10km- 47:22 ( 4:43, 4:34, 4:45, 4:44, 4:49, 4:41, 4:52, 4:38, 4:52, 4:28, 1o secs) Average pace: 4:42/km
So overall a successfull day in Camp Fairy Floss! With 20 days to go we are done with distance.... all in the bank! No point in trying to fit any extra in now..... whats not done we can not make up. We have run lots of 30km plus runs with two trips to the track.... one of those the full course. So no stone is left unturned.... a bit daunting as there are no excuses now! It is such a good feeling to aproach a big race like 6ft knowing we are both prepared and injury free :-) Touch wood!!
So the next 3 weeks are all about eating well, sleeping well and doing some faster stuff to be toeing the start line knowing we have done as much as we can do! Bring it on!!!!!
Finished the day with a spectacular concert at The Opera House listeing to the Sydney Chamber Orchestra play Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D. It is my all time favourite peice of music!!! My nana used to play this peice and she gave me a tape of it when I was little and I used to play it over and over going to bed. I feel like I know each note in the 42 min concerto and I had to fight back tears through out the performance. They were amazing and inspiring!!! I was either closing my eyes and being transported away by the music or absolutely awe struck by their skills and abilty to make their instruments sing. The lead Celloist was amazing.... he was in another world and it was hard to see where he finished and the instrument began. Ray surprised me with these tickets on Friday and I am so thankful to have heard them play.... still getting emotional thinking about it! I feel close to my nana when I play my violin and when I listen to that music.... she was definately there today!!!
Today: 6km
Week:45km
Month:197km
Year:565km
Had a nice sleep in this morning and ran this afterrnoon. It was a bit humid..... but fekt great after a busy day at work! 6 km- 32 mins (5:20/km average pace). Then I spent the night with my mum, sister and spectacular ittle neice.... who has some mighty impressive dance moves for a 15month old!!!!
Saturday 17th Feb
Today: 12km
Week:57km
Month: 209km
Year: 577km
Met the girls (and ray) at the bay and did 12km around the bay. We did the dog loop (woof) and then threw the extra bit along Balmain shores and up the hill.... never miss a chance to throw in a hill!! Finished with a yummy breakfast and attempted my best impression of a tuppawares sales girls ;-)
12km- 68mins ( 5:40/km average pace). We thne went to the athletics in the evening.... I have a crush on Craig Mottram :-)
Sunday 18th Feb
Today: 23km
Week:80km
Month:232km
Year:600km
The final stage of operation fairy floss is all about the icing! Today I had 30km on the program but but decided to do the 10km at SMC for some speedy stuff. I did a 4km warm up with Ray and he then ran with me to do a 10sec pb crossing the lin in 47:30. I was initially dissapointed (typical) but then was convinced by others wiser than me that a 10sec pb is pretty good and to take it! So take it I will. It felt harder than it should have today, I felt really hot and tired. But my breathing was a heap better woo hoo! There was this annoying guy who just could not cope with being passed by a girl... so he would speed up for 30ms and then slow again. He did this for the last 2km and I have to admit it was really distrcting! Just run buddy or piss off! Ray was great to run with and just maintained a good pace and let me run with out too much talk. Haha when he tried to get me to go faster in the final km I almost bit his head off " what do you think I am doing relaxing??" Poor ray!!! Then we ran out onto the course to find Bernie and Tim doing the 25km. We finaly found them and Bernie was running really well despite the sun!! She slowly picked up the pace and put on a really good surge in the last 2km! So finished with 22km and decided that that was enough.... the extra kms were just going to make me tired and not add any benefit!(thanks Bernie).
10km- 47:22 ( 4:43, 4:34, 4:45, 4:44, 4:49, 4:41, 4:52, 4:38, 4:52, 4:28, 1o secs) Average pace: 4:42/km
So overall a successfull day in Camp Fairy Floss! With 20 days to go we are done with distance.... all in the bank! No point in trying to fit any extra in now..... whats not done we can not make up. We have run lots of 30km plus runs with two trips to the track.... one of those the full course. So no stone is left unturned.... a bit daunting as there are no excuses now! It is such a good feeling to aproach a big race like 6ft knowing we are both prepared and injury free :-) Touch wood!!
So the next 3 weeks are all about eating well, sleeping well and doing some faster stuff to be toeing the start line knowing we have done as much as we can do! Bring it on!!!!!
Finished the day with a spectacular concert at The Opera House listeing to the Sydney Chamber Orchestra play Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D. It is my all time favourite peice of music!!! My nana used to play this peice and she gave me a tape of it when I was little and I used to play it over and over going to bed. I feel like I know each note in the 42 min concerto and I had to fight back tears through out the performance. They were amazing and inspiring!!! I was either closing my eyes and being transported away by the music or absolutely awe struck by their skills and abilty to make their instruments sing. The lead Celloist was amazing.... he was in another world and it was hard to see where he finished and the instrument began. Ray surprised me with these tickets on Friday and I am so thankful to have heard them play.... still getting emotional thinking about it! I feel close to my nana when I play my violin and when I listen to that music.... she was definately there today!!!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
The many moods of Katie.....
Today: 10km
Week: 39km
Month: 191km
Year:559km
How many moods do you think you can fit into a day before 8am??? Well this morning I managed
* Disbelief that the alarm had gone off
* Annoyance that I forgot to hang out running stuff from yesterday... therefore fav hat still wet
* Irritable at the sunday drivers out on a thursday morning
* Beligerant and bithchy in the car for trivial reasons
* Guilt for being a cow
* Fear of Big Bertha
* Contentment from running
* Joy from Deanne and Bernie making me laugh
* Pleasure from not collapsing on the hills
* Quiet enjoyment from lapping some people on the hills
* Joy from a 13 sec pb on big bertha
* Finished feeling content and happy and over my childish moods :-) Gotta love hormoanes!
More moods than a baskin Robins ice cream shop.... mmmmm ice cream!
Definately worth getting up at 5am!!!
Seriously.... 10 laps Big Bertha (430m hill- up & down) 21:29.... 13 secs pb! I felt really comfortable and ran consistant laps. Not as hard on the uphill this week which was nice. I ran an extra two laps with Frank.... he is such a ledgend!!!
Dinner with the girls tonight.... can't wait!
Week: 39km
Month: 191km
Year:559km
How many moods do you think you can fit into a day before 8am??? Well this morning I managed
* Disbelief that the alarm had gone off
* Annoyance that I forgot to hang out running stuff from yesterday... therefore fav hat still wet
* Irritable at the sunday drivers out on a thursday morning
* Beligerant and bithchy in the car for trivial reasons
* Guilt for being a cow
* Fear of Big Bertha
* Contentment from running
* Joy from Deanne and Bernie making me laugh
* Pleasure from not collapsing on the hills
* Quiet enjoyment from lapping some people on the hills
* Joy from a 13 sec pb on big bertha
* Finished feeling content and happy and over my childish moods :-) Gotta love hormoanes!
More moods than a baskin Robins ice cream shop.... mmmmm ice cream!
Definately worth getting up at 5am!!!
Seriously.... 10 laps Big Bertha (430m hill- up & down) 21:29.... 13 secs pb! I felt really comfortable and ran consistant laps. Not as hard on the uphill this week which was nice. I ran an extra two laps with Frank.... he is such a ledgend!!!
Dinner with the girls tonight.... can't wait!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
A Wicked Web we weave....
Today: 11km
Week: 29km
Month: 181km
Year: 549km
We had such a lovely run this morning! We met at the park and it was still dark, with the sun just starting to rise. We ran outside the park initially because of the dark and then headed into run on the grass. We had a short run today which was bliss..... I was no in the mood for a really long one like last week! I felt a bit tired this morning and enjoyed the nice slow pace. I think Ray has missed his calling.... he has **Kapow** reflexes and acrobatic moves which were demonstrated as he ran straight into a huge spiderweb with Deanne telling him there were two big spiders in there. As rough and tough as he looks he is petrified of spiders!!! We were all as supportive as usual and stood around laughing.... after checking there were no spiders in his hair :-) I think I will laugh every time I think about it!
Hills tommorow and then I will have a couple of easy days before SMC on sunday. I am gaing to do the 10km race as part of my 30km run. He he so it will be a long warm up and cool down.... I checked with Sean yesterday and he thought it was a great idea ( can't say I am that enthusiastic!)
11km-62mins 5:40/km
**Happy Hallmark day!**
Week: 29km
Month: 181km
Year: 549km
We had such a lovely run this morning! We met at the park and it was still dark, with the sun just starting to rise. We ran outside the park initially because of the dark and then headed into run on the grass. We had a short run today which was bliss..... I was no in the mood for a really long one like last week! I felt a bit tired this morning and enjoyed the nice slow pace. I think Ray has missed his calling.... he has **Kapow** reflexes and acrobatic moves which were demonstrated as he ran straight into a huge spiderweb with Deanne telling him there were two big spiders in there. As rough and tough as he looks he is petrified of spiders!!! We were all as supportive as usual and stood around laughing.... after checking there were no spiders in his hair :-) I think I will laugh every time I think about it!
Hills tommorow and then I will have a couple of easy days before SMC on sunday. I am gaing to do the 10km race as part of my 30km run. He he so it will be a long warm up and cool down.... I checked with Sean yesterday and he thought it was a great idea ( can't say I am that enthusiastic!)
11km-62mins 5:40/km
**Happy Hallmark day!**
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
What goes up must come down.....
Friday 9th Feb 2007
Today: 6km
Week: 52km
Month: 128km
Year: 490km
Easy 6km run today... nothing exciting :-) Covered the distance in 33:30
saturday 10th Feb
Today: 12km
Week: 64km
Month: 134km
Year: 502km
Met Deanne, Bernie, Wayne and ran at Sydney park for a few hills. We did some loops around the park and then finished the 10km running on a spectacular cricket field.... so nice and green and soft. 10km - 58mins
Then I met my sister and Mum and little Alex at Centenial Park and took Bec for a run. It was like running in a steam room- very humid. Overall we did 5km ran 3km and waled to warm up and cool down.
Sunday 11th Feb
Today: 18km
Week: 82km
Month: 152km
Year: 520km
Today we headed to the Equaliser, the Striders internal Cross country race. It was pouring with rain onn the way.... so heavy that I almost had to stop the car. Once we arrived it cleared.... thankfully we did not have to stand around in the rain. This runn works off the theory of what goes down must come up again! The first 3kms are down hill and then it works its way back up, then flattens out for a bit, back down again before working its way back up the final steep 3kms to the finish. I loved this run! It was off raod and through some spectacular scenary. The rain had caused a few parts of the run to be under water and was a little hairy crossing at a few points. Sean had instructed me to not "race" the run but to put in a solid effort....mainly because we had such a long run the week before and in his words "you have to get to the start line in one peice!"- wise words. I find these instructions a little hard to work out sometimes so decided to just run feeling relaxed and if I was getting too tired to back off a little bit. I felt great the whole run. I loved the hills and bush and felt great on the down hill! On the second last km I walked a bit of the hill and used it to practice moving from walking to running. With 2.5km to go I spied Ray up ahead and tried really hard to reel him in....I am going to get him a running shirt with a target on :-) I think I finished 10th female and was really happy with my time. I was aiming at running under 85mins feeling relaxed and I finished in 79:05. I finished feeling I could have gone a bit quicker which was a great feeling. I am feeling a bit over hills though ;-)
Monday: 12th Feb
Today: 6km
Week: 6km
Month: 158km
Year:526km
Easy 6km run tonight. I really wanted to get caught in the rain... but it stopped just long enough for me to run Dóh! With the drought I really miss the runs in the heavy rain... always feels so nice :-) 6km 33mins
Tuesday 13th Feb 2007
Today: 12km
Week: 18km
Month: 170km
Year: 538km
We had a 4 lap of the lake time trial today. I have done two of these sessions, both times hovered around 27 mins. Today did 26:31. I did a good 3km warm up and strides/ drills and then into the laps. This one is tough mentally because it is hard and hurts and you can see Sean standing there at the finish almost all the way around. I headed out and felt great.... I caught Ray and Dean and tried to stick with them. they were obviously taking the first lap easy as they pulled away in the next 3 laps. I maintained 4:39/km pace (average) and it felt great. It was hard work but not 100%.... I am never too sure if time trials are meant to be a hard effort or 100% effort like racing. I am erring on the side of caution.... I would be a tad cranky if I got an injury 26 days out from the race. The first split was 6:30, then 13:10, 19:50, 26:30 (6:30, 6:40, 6:40, 6:40). The laps are about 1.4km. Pretty happy with that.... I need to traul back and look but about 20 secs faster than my best. I loved chasing Ray today.... really kept me going!It was a pleasure to watch Bernie Fly home for a strong finish!!!
Edit: I just looked at the equaliser results! 79:06 Finished 8th female and 6th in catregory.....BIG KEV EXCITED!!! (Lots of usual suspects not running.... but who cares!!)
Today: 6km
Week: 52km
Month: 128km
Year: 490km
Easy 6km run today... nothing exciting :-) Covered the distance in 33:30
saturday 10th Feb
Today: 12km
Week: 64km
Month: 134km
Year: 502km
Met Deanne, Bernie, Wayne and ran at Sydney park for a few hills. We did some loops around the park and then finished the 10km running on a spectacular cricket field.... so nice and green and soft. 10km - 58mins
Then I met my sister and Mum and little Alex at Centenial Park and took Bec for a run. It was like running in a steam room- very humid. Overall we did 5km ran 3km and waled to warm up and cool down.
Sunday 11th Feb
Today: 18km
Week: 82km
Month: 152km
Year: 520km
Today we headed to the Equaliser, the Striders internal Cross country race. It was pouring with rain onn the way.... so heavy that I almost had to stop the car. Once we arrived it cleared.... thankfully we did not have to stand around in the rain. This runn works off the theory of what goes down must come up again! The first 3kms are down hill and then it works its way back up, then flattens out for a bit, back down again before working its way back up the final steep 3kms to the finish. I loved this run! It was off raod and through some spectacular scenary. The rain had caused a few parts of the run to be under water and was a little hairy crossing at a few points. Sean had instructed me to not "race" the run but to put in a solid effort....mainly because we had such a long run the week before and in his words "you have to get to the start line in one peice!"- wise words. I find these instructions a little hard to work out sometimes so decided to just run feeling relaxed and if I was getting too tired to back off a little bit. I felt great the whole run. I loved the hills and bush and felt great on the down hill! On the second last km I walked a bit of the hill and used it to practice moving from walking to running. With 2.5km to go I spied Ray up ahead and tried really hard to reel him in....I am going to get him a running shirt with a target on :-) I think I finished 10th female and was really happy with my time. I was aiming at running under 85mins feeling relaxed and I finished in 79:05. I finished feeling I could have gone a bit quicker which was a great feeling. I am feeling a bit over hills though ;-)
Monday: 12th Feb
Today: 6km
Week: 6km
Month: 158km
Year:526km
Easy 6km run tonight. I really wanted to get caught in the rain... but it stopped just long enough for me to run Dóh! With the drought I really miss the runs in the heavy rain... always feels so nice :-) 6km 33mins
Tuesday 13th Feb 2007
Today: 12km
Week: 18km
Month: 170km
Year: 538km
We had a 4 lap of the lake time trial today. I have done two of these sessions, both times hovered around 27 mins. Today did 26:31. I did a good 3km warm up and strides/ drills and then into the laps. This one is tough mentally because it is hard and hurts and you can see Sean standing there at the finish almost all the way around. I headed out and felt great.... I caught Ray and Dean and tried to stick with them. they were obviously taking the first lap easy as they pulled away in the next 3 laps. I maintained 4:39/km pace (average) and it felt great. It was hard work but not 100%.... I am never too sure if time trials are meant to be a hard effort or 100% effort like racing. I am erring on the side of caution.... I would be a tad cranky if I got an injury 26 days out from the race. The first split was 6:30, then 13:10, 19:50, 26:30 (6:30, 6:40, 6:40, 6:40). The laps are about 1.4km. Pretty happy with that.... I need to traul back and look but about 20 secs faster than my best. I loved chasing Ray today.... really kept me going!It was a pleasure to watch Bernie Fly home for a strong finish!!!
Edit: I just looked at the equaliser results! 79:06 Finished 8th female and 6th in catregory.....BIG KEV EXCITED!!! (Lots of usual suspects not running.... but who cares!!)
Friday, February 09, 2007
Someone order hills????
Wednesday 7th Feb
Today: 21km
Week:36km
Month:112km
Year:474km
Met at the park for our mid week long run. For something different we decided to run down to Rushcutters Bay, Double Bay and then onto the city to surf course. Just for fun we ran up heartbreak hill ;-) and down to Bondi. Now just to make sure we are getting enough hills in, we ran back up Bondi rd and through Queens park and back to the car. We covered the 21km in 2hrs. We picked the pace up in the second half and finished the last few kms at 5min pace. It was a great run this morining and it was a nice surprise to find that Heart break hill was not such a heartbreak! Haha anything after Pluvi seems a walk in the park ;-)
Finished with spectacular massage this afternoon to loosen the legs up. I was surprised after the weekend what good shape they were in.... no major sore bits to complain of! Bliss!!!
Thursday 8th Feb
Today: 10km
Week:46km
Month:122km
Year:484km
Today was Wild Walter.... which is aproximately 400m hill session at the park. We have to attack the up hill, and then run hard along a flat section with a final 150m down hill finish. Sean was giving us about 45sec active recocvery before we launched straight into the next rep. I had to do 10 and I had miss counted so I was sooo happy to realise we had already done 8 ( I thought it was number 7). We had run the first 4 reps around the wrong tree so they were a bit short... so we then went around the correct way which added about 5 secs on the times- dóh!!!
I really enjoyed this session. It was tough but over quickly! I was pretty happy as my times stayed pretty constant.
1:49, 1:47, 1:46, 1:45, 1:50, 1:50, 1:48, 1:48, 1:48, 1:46
Today: 21km
Week:36km
Month:112km
Year:474km
Met at the park for our mid week long run. For something different we decided to run down to Rushcutters Bay, Double Bay and then onto the city to surf course. Just for fun we ran up heartbreak hill ;-) and down to Bondi. Now just to make sure we are getting enough hills in, we ran back up Bondi rd and through Queens park and back to the car. We covered the 21km in 2hrs. We picked the pace up in the second half and finished the last few kms at 5min pace. It was a great run this morining and it was a nice surprise to find that Heart break hill was not such a heartbreak! Haha anything after Pluvi seems a walk in the park ;-)
Finished with spectacular massage this afternoon to loosen the legs up. I was surprised after the weekend what good shape they were in.... no major sore bits to complain of! Bliss!!!
Thursday 8th Feb
Today: 10km
Week:46km
Month:122km
Year:484km
Today was Wild Walter.... which is aproximately 400m hill session at the park. We have to attack the up hill, and then run hard along a flat section with a final 150m down hill finish. Sean was giving us about 45sec active recocvery before we launched straight into the next rep. I had to do 10 and I had miss counted so I was sooo happy to realise we had already done 8 ( I thought it was number 7). We had run the first 4 reps around the wrong tree so they were a bit short... so we then went around the correct way which added about 5 secs on the times- dóh!!!
I really enjoyed this session. It was tough but over quickly! I was pretty happy as my times stayed pretty constant.
1:49, 1:47, 1:46, 1:45, 1:50, 1:50, 1:48, 1:48, 1:48, 1:46
Monday, February 05, 2007
The full monty.... "ultra style"
Sunday 4th Feb 2007
Today: 45km
Week:92km
Month:76km
Year:438km
Today we decided to swap next weeks long run for today so that we can do the striders equaliser on Sunday. So we headed to The track for our full monty version. We decided to do the whole 45kms so I could get a clear idea of the track and what to expect. We were lead out by our fearless team leader Wayne, who reassured us we were doing it "ultra style". This turned out to be fun, relaxed, with lots of breaks and LOTS of food. The plan was to cover the distance and get a good idea of how to run the race on the day. I am so thankful for the experience! Apart from being a brilliant way to spend my day.... with two of my favourite people BUT I feel so relaxed and confident about the race. I am firm in my belief this will be one of the toughest and challenging runs I will do and am ready for the test. .... what ever happens on the day happens! I think the trick will be to run smart! Which is why experiencing that final 19km after Mini Mini and Pluvi was worth its weight in gold!!! I am going to tatoo in my brain that I must reach the top of Pluvi with enough left to run a half marathon distance. I also learnt that despite what I have been told, that final 19kms is just as tough- I can imagine it must claim quite a few scalps along that stretch. When I sit and think about where we ran and what we saw.... I just get stuck on how long it is!! That sounds a stupid comment, but it really is a long way! When we popped out at the last little bit Wayne said to me...."you can hear the crowd from here" I got butterflies and thought Bring it on!!!! I felt really happy how I pulled up, tired but no sore bits to report!! The day was made even more exciting when we got to the end and Deanne and Ray were no where to be seen!! Needless to say I wnet into meltdown mode thinking they were injured on the track or lost or kidnapped by aliens ( ok I was very tired!!). So we lay around on the steps at the front of Caves house waiting for them to appear! I can only imagine what we looked like and how bad we must have smelt!!! Just as I was taking my panic up a notch and getting ready to force wayne to run and find them they appeared! They got a little navigationally challenged found new parts of the track and covered 30km instead of the orginal 15km!! Ray was grinning from ear to ear.... I think he enjoyed himself ;-)
Monday 5th Feb
Today: 5km
Week: 5km
Month: 81km
Year: 443km
Easy 30 mins today. I ran at the gym so I could stop if I felt too sore. Surprisingly I felt only a little sore in my calfs and quads from the hills. The rest of me feels pretty good :-) I covered the 5km in 5:43/km pace and then finished with a pillates class. I left feeling nice and relaxed and stretched!
Tuesday 6th Feb
Today: 10km
Week: 15km
Month:91km
Year: 453km
We had speed work today and we had pre warned Sean to not expect "any record breaking times". I arrived a little earlier than usual to do a longer warm up given the beating I have given the legs it only seemed fair ;-)
By the end of the strides I was actually feeling really good, but not looking forward to two 2km reps and 1 1km rep. Once we got going I tucked in behind a couple of the girls I usually run with and tried to jut keep them a little in front of me. I went through the first km in 4:33 only 5 secs worse than the last time we did this session. The second lap was 4:30.... 9:03 for the rep. My best 2km rep so far was 8:55 so I was pretty happy! The second rep I took off with the girls again and kept with them. The first lap was 4:33 again and the second was 4:36. Then for the stinger... the final 1km rep. My legs were now feeling tired from the weekend but what the hell how bad could it be. Pretty bad :-) I managed to stick with them for almost 800ms and was running at 4min/km pace then I struggled and had to really bully myself to keep it up. I finished with 4:17 which I was very happy with after the little loss of plot at the willow tree :-) It is really good mentally to do these session.... makes your mind know that you can do it even when yuor feeling tired! I think I will need that on race day!!
9:03 (2km), 9:06 (2km), 4:17 (1km)
Today: 45km
Week:92km
Month:76km
Year:438km
Today we decided to swap next weeks long run for today so that we can do the striders equaliser on Sunday. So we headed to The track for our full monty version. We decided to do the whole 45kms so I could get a clear idea of the track and what to expect. We were lead out by our fearless team leader Wayne, who reassured us we were doing it "ultra style". This turned out to be fun, relaxed, with lots of breaks and LOTS of food. The plan was to cover the distance and get a good idea of how to run the race on the day. I am so thankful for the experience! Apart from being a brilliant way to spend my day.... with two of my favourite people BUT I feel so relaxed and confident about the race. I am firm in my belief this will be one of the toughest and challenging runs I will do and am ready for the test. .... what ever happens on the day happens! I think the trick will be to run smart! Which is why experiencing that final 19km after Mini Mini and Pluvi was worth its weight in gold!!! I am going to tatoo in my brain that I must reach the top of Pluvi with enough left to run a half marathon distance. I also learnt that despite what I have been told, that final 19kms is just as tough- I can imagine it must claim quite a few scalps along that stretch. When I sit and think about where we ran and what we saw.... I just get stuck on how long it is!! That sounds a stupid comment, but it really is a long way! When we popped out at the last little bit Wayne said to me...."you can hear the crowd from here" I got butterflies and thought Bring it on!!!! I felt really happy how I pulled up, tired but no sore bits to report!! The day was made even more exciting when we got to the end and Deanne and Ray were no where to be seen!! Needless to say I wnet into meltdown mode thinking they were injured on the track or lost or kidnapped by aliens ( ok I was very tired!!). So we lay around on the steps at the front of Caves house waiting for them to appear! I can only imagine what we looked like and how bad we must have smelt!!! Just as I was taking my panic up a notch and getting ready to force wayne to run and find them they appeared! They got a little navigationally challenged found new parts of the track and covered 30km instead of the orginal 15km!! Ray was grinning from ear to ear.... I think he enjoyed himself ;-)
Monday 5th Feb
Today: 5km
Week: 5km
Month: 81km
Year: 443km
Easy 30 mins today. I ran at the gym so I could stop if I felt too sore. Surprisingly I felt only a little sore in my calfs and quads from the hills. The rest of me feels pretty good :-) I covered the 5km in 5:43/km pace and then finished with a pillates class. I left feeling nice and relaxed and stretched!
Tuesday 6th Feb
Today: 10km
Week: 15km
Month:91km
Year: 453km
We had speed work today and we had pre warned Sean to not expect "any record breaking times". I arrived a little earlier than usual to do a longer warm up given the beating I have given the legs it only seemed fair ;-)
By the end of the strides I was actually feeling really good, but not looking forward to two 2km reps and 1 1km rep. Once we got going I tucked in behind a couple of the girls I usually run with and tried to jut keep them a little in front of me. I went through the first km in 4:33 only 5 secs worse than the last time we did this session. The second lap was 4:30.... 9:03 for the rep. My best 2km rep so far was 8:55 so I was pretty happy! The second rep I took off with the girls again and kept with them. The first lap was 4:33 again and the second was 4:36. Then for the stinger... the final 1km rep. My legs were now feeling tired from the weekend but what the hell how bad could it be. Pretty bad :-) I managed to stick with them for almost 800ms and was running at 4min/km pace then I struggled and had to really bully myself to keep it up. I finished with 4:17 which I was very happy with after the little loss of plot at the willow tree :-) It is really good mentally to do these session.... makes your mind know that you can do it even when yuor feeling tired! I think I will need that on race day!!
9:03 (2km), 9:06 (2km), 4:17 (1km)
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