Magic run! Cool(er) weather. Started off a bit sluggish and had a Shoelace Stop at the 4th control, which let Ian get away from me. Started to run well after that, after I realised that my legs were actually strong enough to go for a run on their own. I just tagged along for the ride.
6.8 km in 6:07 pace (so close!). Average heartrate 154 (just crusin'), max 173 right at the end.
FRI PM: in an attempt to kill the headache, I decided on pizza for dinner. Only my local pizzaria was closed, with the owners off for a month getting married (how inconsiderate!). The next closest was also closed, so ended up in Mooroolbark in a traffic jam, before seeing a "Pizza" sign pointing down a side road. Cardigan Road Pizzas (I think they're called). Delicious, and well worth the 16km drive. And garlic bread, and coke, and chocolate. :-D
SAT: detox day! Fruit for breakfast, green salad for lunch, mixed citrus juice after a nana nap, and leftover pizza at 5pm. Headache has subsided.
Planted some Penstemon cuttings that my grandmother had given me a few weeks ago, and had been quietly wilting in their pots in the 40-degree weather. Cooler today: stormy, occasional rain, muggy, and ~25 degrees.
Went out for a ride after tea - a short out-and-back along the Warburton Trail to Woori Yallock. Still pretty warm and sweaty, but it blew out the cobwebs. 17.3 km.
SUN: it was meant to be a long run. Temperature was in the mid-20s, and the Dandenongs were in the clouds - so about 90% humidity. After about 2kms, sweat was pouring off me, and my legs were empty. So I walked the next 2km (all uphill) and trotted back to the car by the shortest route. Nothing in the tank. 6.4 km.
Saw two lyrebirds, one kangaroo, and one freshwater shrimp(??) waving frantically at me from the path! It was about 5cm from pincer to pincer, and making a very brave attempt to divert me from its patch.
| Weight | 71.4 kgs ▼ |
| Walking | 21.6 kms |
| Running | 25.9 kms |
| Cycling | 17.3 kms |
MON: 5.2 km. After a restless sleep because of the heat, I really didn't want to get up this morning. Nice cool walk (comparatively!).
TUE: 5.9 km. Cool and misty. Walking along some of the back roads, I could feel tiny water droplets brush my face, even though the air looked clear (ie, not foggy)
WED: 5.1 km. Cool and crisp. ~12°.
I have one of my headaches. It started off yesterday as a dehydration headache after Monday night (user error - didn't have my usual sports drink afterwards), and it's now crept down behind my left eye and into my upper jaw. My teeth hurt. Urgh.
THU: 5.5 km. Left a bit later this morning (Australia Day) and it was starting to heat up already. Pretty sweaty by the time I got back home at 8:45.
FRI: Massage with the Masochist. He kneaded out my lower back, butt, and calves, then flipped me over and dug around in my somach to release something in the hip flexors.
Still have this headache - it's moved over to the right side of my face down behind my eye socket. Took some Sudafed this morning - it's starting to feel more and more like a sinus pain. I wish it would just piss off.
Another slow, drippy night. 6.2 km in 7:07 pace.
Four Seasons in one Drive on the way out to Greensborough: it was 40+ degrees and sunny when I left home; driving through Wandin the sky turned overcast and gloomy from the smoke from the Kinglake bushfires; the heavens opened around Ringwood and we got lightning and torrential rain all the way through to the Eastern Fwy; and by Greensborough it was clear, hot and muggy.
NE had promised us a BBQ for Australia Day after the event, but with a total fire ban in place, this turned into fruit salad and a few biscuits.
Hot, slow plod. Didn't push it at all, just let my legs carry me as they chose. 6.12 km in 6:48 pace. Average HR 161, max 173. Beat Ian.
One funny incident to share with you: a group of people were on the roadside saying goodbye to another group of people in a car, and supervising from the footpath was a large ginger cat. As I ran up, I expected the cat to take fright and run off, but no, it stood (sat) its ground and just watched as I passed within a foot of it. One of the roadside people suggested to the cat that it might be a good idea for it to move out of the way of these "crazy people."
Not a bad description.
Food-wise, I tried a different tack this afternoon. Usually, I try and have something to eat around 4-ish to give me energy through to 7pm. Today, I had a "power salad" for lunch (last of the organic veges, plus pinenuts and almonds), and nothing else all afternoon - figuring that if my stomach was empty, all my energy could be diverted to my legs instead of my gut. Well, I felt fine, I didn't get stomach cramps like on Monday, and my energy level was okay, although I wasn't going to attempt anything in this heat.
29.8 degrees as I type this at 9:30pm.
Much cooler tonight. Running felt okay, although I had another bout of stomach cramps for a bit, and I made a terrible navigation decision (or two!) leaving me short by one control which meant I had to double-back past the start to pick up one more.
Came in about 20m behind Ian :-( and a lot of others also had long runs.
7.2 km. Average pace 6:40, average heartrate 152 bpm, max 167 (never really got up much at all)
Post-mortem of Saturday's MTB event (the one I didn't go to): very hot, people vomiting everywhere, glad I didn't go. They got a reasonable crowd though, which is good, because it'd be disappointing to set an event that no one comes to. This Thursday's cycle (Aust Day) has been cancelled because of the forecasted 40 degree heat.
And in health news, I bought a stack of organic veges at lunchtime, and have just spent some quality time in the kitchen chopping them all into tiny pieces for a salad which should last me a few days. And some organic chocolate... :-))
SAT: That's what it got to on my deck this afternoon. I hibernated inside all day, resorting to the aircon when it reached 30 degrees inside.
Way too hot to go to the first mountainbike event of the year, and with a forecasted MINIMUM of 27 overnight, I don't think I'll be running anywhere tomorrow either.
SUN: 48.0 degrees. Woke up pre-dawn and thought about heading out for a run, but I was expecting the plumber to turn up between 7:30 and 8am (yep - had domestic problems yesterday, as well as the heat) so spent another day hibernating. Thank god there's a cool change forecast for tomorrow.
Have also realised that I've fallen off the wagon (again) with regard to my diet since I've been back running. A wake-up call to get back to basics - salads and juices instead of coke and chips.
| Weight | 73.1 kgs ▲ |
| Walking | 13.1 kms (3) |
| Running | 12.1 kms (2) |
| Cycling | 37.6 kms (1) |
Without you my life's gonna be... forever Tuesday morning
(The Mockers)
TUE: 5.8 kms. More energetic this morning, went down to the Warby Trail to find a level 1 km to do a TT on Friday. Ha ha...
Lots of rabbits out this morning, with their little white arses bobbing away in front of me. I'd think they were "cute" if I didn't come from a farming family, and know what devastation they cause.
WED: 4.8 kms. Rolled out of bed late. Forgot to press the Start button on that expensive hunk of plastic that sits on my wrist. *sigh*
THU: cycled to work! 19.0 km in 1:13. I must be mad...
Residual sore bum from Saturday, and slight tiredness in the quads. Oh, and my sunburned limbs have gone brown except for one tiny strip on my arms between my cycle sleeve and my normal t-shirt sleeve. And it started peeling last night. Great look. :-(
pm: and home again in 1:22 - in 35 degree heat and a head wind. Definitely mad. Total 37.6 kms
FRI: nah. After a very hot, sleepless night, I wasn't interested in running (or walking) anywhere this morning.
Nothing to see here folks. Score course tonight (time limit). Lousy route choice, lethargic run, and got back 3 minutes late.
Didn't ever feel comfortable during the run, but with no real reason why. Not particularly hot tonight, and every time I checked my heartrate (usually when I was feeling stuffed), it only ever read in the 160s (so not pushing it at all).
6.6 km, average pace 6:38 (felt much slower than this, so can't have been doing too badly). Average heartrate 154, max 175.
No contours, no excuses. Hot and drippy, but tried not to walk between controls. Whenever I looked at the Gizmo while running, my pace was between 5:15 and 5:45.
5.5 kms, average pace 6:19, average heartrate 160 (max 174)
Hot, happy run.
... I was just in the middle of a dream.
(The Bangles)
MON: 2.4 km. Very tired, lethargic, little Womble this morning. I think the weekend has just caught up with me, and I have a dose of Mondayitis.
Sunday run from Monbulk to Avard Picnic Ground. 15.7 kms. I did this exact run on Christmas Day, and in the interval someone has gone along with a slasher and tidied up much of the overgrown grass and blackberry, making the trip a lot more enjoyable. To illustrate, the outward journey today took 1:13, whereas last time it took 1:28 - the difference being not having to look for the trail (I only lost it once today) because I knew where it was, and easier travelling. Only one small section on the road (~500m) where it was very overgrown. Still plenty of tree ferns to duck under and around, and untold spider webs to brush through.
Took the small Camelback in preference to the Fuel Belt, in order to carry more water. I like the convenience of having a drink "on tap" rather than having to fiddle around with bottles. But I wish it didn't jiggle around on my back so much. Had a gel at the turnaround point.
No apparent residual soreness from yesterday's ride to exhaustion. I really like the way we have two sets of muscles - one for riding, and one for running. Although I was starting to stumble on things in the final few kms, and jarring my lower back as I landed heavily.
| Weight | 73.0 kgs ▼ |
| Walking | 20.9 kms |
| Running | 33.9 kms |
| Cycling | 39.1 kms |
Yes, it's Saturday, and yes, I rode to work. Why? To prove that I could. I'd put the new road tyres on the mountainbike (they're called a Trekking/City tyre: basically a slick across the centre, with a row of knobbles just up on the sidewall) and arrived in Mt Evelyn in better shape than on my last attempt. Cut down across Lillydale Lake (dam) and through to unsealed Taylor St. This street will be the measure of my fitness, as it's the only really nasty uphill. I got about 10m before getting off to walk. Then along a walking track beside Maroondah Hwy and a final grunt along the road to the top of the hill, before freewheeling all the way down again until I hit the office. Where I celebrated with a gel and a drink, before heading home again.
The freewheeling bit wasn't as nice going uphill, but I could use a service road all the way back to the walking track, staying off the Hwy completely. Passed a dad and his son on the way back up to Mt Evelyn who asked me how much further uphill it was. Only 2-3kms to Mt Evelyn, but they were heading all the way to Warburton (~40kms)! My legs were pretty tired by this stage, and enjoyed the long downhill almost all the way back to Seville. At one point, during a short uphill, I was so knackered that I sat in a rest area and had a couple of barley sugars from my emergency stash. They didn't really help much, and it was a slow final few kms home.
39 kms. 18km to the office, plus a short detour to measure out my footy field loop. Over three hours in the saddle, including breaks.
elevation: the graph should be symmetrical!
Was a bit careless in not putting sunscreen on my arms and legs, and am now sporting lobster limbs. Hopefully my idiot-proof kiwi skin will recover overnight and not show too much damage.
MON: 5.8 km. Went to bed late last night (too hot to sleep), so let myself wake up without the alarm this morning. Warming up already as I headed out the door at 7am. Nice refreshing cold patches of air alternating with hot patches of flies.
TUE: 5.6 km. Still warm. No cool patches today.
WED: Nah. Raining. Actually, pissing down. Wasn't worried about walking in the rain, in fact, I quite enjoy it. But decided instead to have a leisurely breakfast and finish reading Sunday's paper and a periodical that's been on my table since before Christmas.
THU: 4.5 kms. Nice cool morning. Did a shorter loop because I needed to call into the supermarket on the way around (bananas and OJ).
FRI: 5.0 kms. Slow amble.
Morning visit to Courtlylove's myotherapist for a torture session. He pummelled bits of my back, butt, and calves, and told me to take it easy for a few days. Can do. :-)
Swapped tomorrow's speed session with a Street-O tonight. Fair swap, I thought, and in hindsight it worked well, because I had new shoes to try, and I've booked a massage for tomorrow morning with Courtlylove's myotherapist.
Not a very good test for the shoes though, because half the terrain was in the parkland, across grass, hills, and the odd pine tree. Slow run, average pace 7:02, and not really one of my better efforts. Still enjoyable though, and a lovely area to run in.
Beat Ian :-). But still nowhere near to beating a powerwalker-turned-runner who's only been running a few months. Not fair! But her fitness level is amazing, so I can't complain too much.
5.3 kms
Following on from a CR post about Walking vs Running shoes, I took feet, orthotics and membership card down to Active Feet with the plan to buy some Fitness Walking shoes. The podiatrist checked my biomechanics for both running and walking and said that I might as well downgrade my current runners to walk in, and buy a new pair of runners.
So, I got a new pair of the Asics Nimbus. The 2006 model, which is a yummy royal blue and silver. (I would have argued against the 2005 model which was a horrible shiny pale blue.)
Will wear them tonight if I get time to re-thread the laces.
Not so hot tonight. Started off slow, and didn't ever speed up much, but actually, I enjoyed it! Nice quick leg turnover, maintained my pace on the hills, and had minimal walking breaks.
Was talking to Ian afterwards (he beat me home tonight - slightly better route choice, I think) and thinking that my 2-month enforced break has renewed my enthusiasm for running. I had a pretty crap, blah sort of winter; this major (for me) injury; and now I feel like I'm coming back stronger and ready for more. Bring it on!
6.8 kms. Average pace 6:42, average heartrate 159 bpm.
In cycling news, I bought some street tyres for my MTB, so I can cycle to work once a week. Got back to work to an email from Deb about a club cycle on the trails on Australia Day. And the MTB-O season kicks off in a few weeks too (will need to put the knoblies back on). Hopefully, 2006 will be a cycling year, as well as a running year.
Hot and sweaty. Had a stomach cramp most of the way around, which the "experts" decided might have been caused by holding my abs tight as I ran the first hill. I'm sure dehydration added to the mix as well - I had several meetings today which meant I didn't drink as much as usual.
Absolutely dripping. I walked a bit more than I would have liked - partly due to the heat, and partly because of this cramp. Overall though, a good smooth run. Beat Ian (again); first woman home for C (again). *happy*
6.1 kms. Average pace 6:36.
Was considering a trail run today, but by the time I woke up and projected forward three hours, it was too hot. So I had a "do nothing" day.
| Weight | 74.1 kgs ▲ |
| Walking | 14.4 kms |
| Running | 23.6 kms |
6.75 kms, 42 minutes.
Ran with Courtlylove for most of the way, although she would surge ahead passing people, and I would get stuck behind some slower object. I would catch her on hills and on the sand, she would race away on the downhills and during our final sprint (ha ha) to the finish. Nice to actually run *with* someone, as I normally run alone, even within a big group.
Happy with the way I ran. Only a couple of very short walking breaks, and I did the hills and sand easily. High tide was at 17:30, so by 19:00 we were still on soft sand, although 1000 pairs of feet before me had packed it down nicely at the water's edge.
However, I think there's room for a PB next year. I alternated between feeling held-back and oh-god-I-want-to-stop, and would have liked to crack 40 minutes. Still plenty of gas in the legs - when I put the foot down to pass people, I could surge easily (except for that final mad sprint!); and I was breathing easily the whole way. Average pace 6:19.
Lots of Cool Runners at the run; and Chilliman, the Lost Boys, and I had drinks and fish'n'chips in Sorrento afterwards. Got kicked out of the pub(!)... because Little Lostboy was under-age, NOT because we were misbehaving. Home by the stroke of midnight.
Elevation
Total elevation change: +256m. Interesting to see that we actually went below sea level at one stage. No wonder some runners got wet feet. :-)
Some interesting stats from MB:
| Total | Ascent | Descent | Flat | |
| Distance | 6.75 | 2.81 | 2.57 | 1.36 |
| Time | 42:40 | 18:48 | 15:48 | 8:13 |
| Pace | 6:19 | 6:41 | 6:05 | 6:02 |
After Wombat's comment last Friday (before Xmas) about going out fast, I decided to add a bit more structure into my only structured run for the week. Ventured into the Training Center Workouts menu and dialed up a workout that sees me do three laps at 5:30, 4:30 and 5:00 pace. Headed off on the first one, and after the Gizmatic kept bleeping at me to speed up and slow down over the first 100m, I relied on the sound of the bleep to stay at the right speed. Didn't work... at one point I looked down and was doing 4:15! Although I don't think it's particularly accurate over such short distances.
| lap | distance (m) | time (min) | pace (/km) |
| 1: "medium" | 511 | 2:22 | 4:39 |
| 2: "fast" | 306 | *BOMBED OUT* | 4:28 |
| 3: "medium fast" | 500 | 2:16 | 4:32 |
MON: nah. Enjoyed my sleep in.
TUE: 4.3 kms. Got up within a few minutes of the alarm, but seriously considered not doing so. Did a regular route with the plan to extend it to make up the hour, but my feet were on autopilot and led me home early. Passed under a tree making funny crunching sounds, and saw a small flock of Gang-gang Cockatoos, which I haven't seen in the town before. Completely unfazed by me coming within a few metres of them.
WED: 5.1 kms. Took the camera in the hope of seeing the Gang-gangs again. I did, but also in another smaller tree where they were much more easily photographed:
Seville has a lot of plum trees on the road nature strips. I don't know what variety they are, but they're small and fairly tasteless. The birds love them, and some creative person has decorated a barbed wire fence with them:
THU: 5.0 kms. More Gang-gangs on the other side of town. It must be the same flock because they weren't on their original tree when I went past.
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Cool evening. Had a good run - but oh, it takes so long for me to warm up. The engine was finally ticking over nicely after about 20 minutes. Gave it a good workout tonight - with my average heartrate at 166 bpm, max 182. Average pace 6:38 (slowly coming down!), although whenever I checked it while I was running, it was always in the 5:15-5:40 range, which is good. The slow spots would have been THREE creek crossings, across wet, slippery rocks (and wet feet), and a nasty overgrown hill toward the end.
Ended up running with Ian all the way around. I'm faster than him, but he's more consistent. When he "disappeared" near that nasty hill, I assumed he was doing Course B and off to get 3 more controls. But apparently he got disoriented and ran up the hill in the wrong direction. So I beat him in. :-)
6.4 kms.
Great to see Tiger Boy and Eat'Em turn up, plus the whole Eat'Em clan - who had obviously been bribed with McDonalds for tea. I hope they all enjoyed themselves.
Hot and hilly, but strangely enough not as hot nor as hilly as Jindabyne. Also my first run since Christmas, and it was nice to get the legs turning over again.
Tonight's course was a Score event - 45 minute time limit for C Course. Foolishly went for #9 down a back road that looped behind the main road. By the time I'd got back to the main road, I knew I was going to be late back. The nature of the map meant there were no short-cuts back to the finish, so I stuck to my plan to loop around the top of the map and come back down a dotted line (gravel track) picking up a couple of controls on the way through. Well... my gravel track turned into a narrow trail which lead across the creek and back to #2, which I'd already done. Somehow I'd got myself onto an unmarked track and travelled through an out-of-bounds area. At least I recognised the bush near #2, so I knew where I'd come out - it could have been very messy if I didn't know where I was. Ran back to the finish, past #15 and #3 which I'd also already got, was 4 minutes late and missing the controls which I'd planned to get. Urgh. We'll see how near to last I get when the scores are tallied up.
Felt like I was running nicely though. Good turnover, and pulling myself up the hills quite nicely. Heartrate was up - average 167, max 181 - and a few walking breaks to recover. 6.5 kms.
