Wed,31 May- Speed - 7km+-

What a freezing cold morning! But boy, did it turn out to be a beautiful day or what? Drove down to the park just after 2.30pm. Started off with 12mins of w/u jog. Then stretched.
3 x 30m knee lifts,
3 x 30m heel to bum,
2 x 30m sideways stepping. ( i do this as a jumping motion. Is that correct?)
3 x 60m strides (at the right pace this time!)
Then 4 x 1km reps. with 3.30mins recovery time between.
1st rep: 4.31 mins. ( was pretty happy with this)
2nd rep: 4.27mins. (was amazed! yet very happy)
3rd rep: 4.42mins (not surprised as i was getting knackered)
4th rep: 11.26mins (mental game got me. completely gave up after half a lap which was at a good time too, but decided to just do the c/d jog instead.)
If i was pushed i may have completed the last rep but felt too puffed. And i was in control of whether or not i completed. I was so pissed at myself for not doing all four. Still am disapointed now. I sooooo strugle with wednesdays and even had the thoughts of, 'why am i doing this etc'. Why do i run. Blah blah blah.
So, to try and stop all these stupid thoughts, i took my camera down to oval to take some pics and plan on printing them along with other great running spots and have them displayed about my house.
The good thing about today was that i had NO pain what so ever in shins! Woo hoo.
Took approx 1hr to complete todays session. Max hr 91%-174, Av hr 77%-147. Which tells me i could have pushed harder although i felt like my hr was sitting a little lower than normal. Maybe due to new battery. Dunno.

Well, i'd better get back to drinking my red that a secret admirer left at my door tonight! Lol.
i am booked in for blood test tmw and have to fast from 11 tonight. Argh.. not much drinking time left!!

Tues 30 May, Swim & Gym

Finally got to swim today!
Freestyle with flippers for 30mins. I normally do a few faster laps but wanted to just keep it steady after yesterdays scare. Also had start of cramp in arch of right foot which seems to be a regular thing when it comes to using the flippers. Others have mentioned the same prob. All i do to relieve prob is stand on floor to stretch for a few seconds and that usually helps. legs still feel a little sore when flexing the muscles. Crossed fingers for tmw.
After pool, went next door to do some weights and core work. Various ex. Approx 1hrs worth. Stretched at end.
OMG! It has been over a month since i was last at the gym! Which is a shame as it is quite motivating being in there.
Fri used to be my other day using the weights. I will try and get back into the reg routine of it. Esp as Fri is only 6km atm.

mon, 29 May 3km

Argh!!!!!
Put all the gear on etc even the half charged i pod. Left home at a very slow w/u jog. Got to start point after a few mins then started run at a little faster than HM pace. After a couple of mins, noticed my shin area was becoming sore. Warm kind of sensation. Tried to run through it but after another min or so, it became quite clear that this little black duck was not going to get her 10k run in today.. AT ALL!
Stopped to try and stretch. even rubbed the prob area, but as soon as i started to walk... Wholly crap, it hurt even more!
Kept walking. then even tried to do a very slow jog, but knew it was over. Turned around after 10mins and headed back home. was wishing i had my mobile. (mental note.... take the bloody thing next time)
took just over 25mins to get back home walking/very very slow jogging. Not many nice words were said during this time.
Rang stu as soon as i got in the door. "ice, nurofen and rub" he said.
So this i did.
I am about to do some more stretching and rubbing with nurofen. I think this is due to not letting my legs recover from sat hill run. I dunno, stu will prob think diff but that is the only thing i have done diff lately. Anyway, will be swimming tmw and hopefully that will help. And i am going to stay off bike tmw too.
Thankfully this is just a very minor set back, but still a pain in the ass.

Sun, 28 May- Bike

Yer baby.. now i feel it in the legs! Was thinking that perhaps i should sit todays bike session out. But felt too guilty at the thought of not doing it. Jumped on just after 9am, but decided to only do 30 mins plus 10 cool and warm down. Had the normal load. Hopefully wont be a prob later on today. Got to watch Strawberrie Shortcake movie. Gotta re-charge my i pod.
Had Pizza for tea as i ran out of time for preparation. More laziness really. Had a glass of wine as i watched my brand new dvd of the Black keys that my x bought me! My kids father must have thought i needed cheering up. Anyway, am now sitting here drinking a bucket load of water due to dehydration from that yummy pepperoni pizza.
Water intake has been a little crap over the last few days.
Will try and get on top of it tmw.
Oh, went to the doc on fri to see if me being a severe sweet tooth lately has anything to with my health. I will be getting some blood tests done next week when i find time. As for my big fat arse.....i am 74.5kg's. In docs i was 73. But i will stick to 74.5 as i have been using the chemists for a few weeks. Plus.... it's right next door to my work.
I would like to use Thurs as my 'weigh in' day. but i will see how i go.
Toodles

Sat, 27 May- Long run 10km+-

No Hangover! Yay. (actually only had half a bottle of wine. And was asleep by 1.30am)
Hmmm.... sign of old age approaching!!!
Arrived at Arthurs Seat around 10am. Parked up the top. What a magnificent view. Took a few morning pics on my phone. Did a little warm up jog. then set off. Had to return to car 5mins afterwards 'cos my bloody i pod went flat on me. Decided to run on the other side of hill at Sea Winds. Lovely little goat tracks. I only had a vague idea of where i was going so the run became even more fun. There was a fair bit of down hill running, which after a while i noticed i was slapping my feet. i slowed it down a little and that seemed to help a bit. Was enjoying the downhill very much until my watch said 30 mins. (i thought i would add 10 mins to allow for up hill running) Turned around and realised that all that down hill running was now about to bite me in the bum! Pumped the arms as much as i could (without killing myself' as i was instructed) tried to work through it and even said that out loud! Eventually had to walk a fair few meters of it in sections. Heaps of puffing, but was able to recover as the hills weren't constant. Some relief here and there.
Got back to the car a little early so headed off in another direction. Ended up doing 68mins. 2 mins shy of goal.
Put skins on immediately. Ate Pria bar, drank some water and did lots of stretches. Legs were feeling ok at this stage.
Kept skins on until 5pm. By that stage, i was hanging for a shower!
Felt buggered from today and last night so went to bed just after 8. OMG!

Fri 26 May- Pelican 6km

Dropped girls off nice and early at day care. Arrived at pelican park just after 8am. Didn't have breakfast as i wanted to have early run. (i always like to wait 2.5-3hrs before running) anyway, did a warm up jog of around 4mins. Then set off at an easy pace. I tried to keep pace consistent once i was warm. Prob after 5mins or so. Felt comfy. Puffing, but not hard. After 2nd lap, i headed over to the loo's to find that there was not even a skeric of toot paper to be seen. Had to keep on running and wait 'til i got home. Argh! Approx 100m from finish, i ran hard. Stretched. Enjoyed soaking up the gorgeous morning. Sent a text to another runner to brag that i was out in it whilst they were at work!
Nice enjoyable run. I am feeling a difference already. Like i am back in my groove and able to run properly again.
38mins. Incl unsatisfying toilet stop.

Thur 25 May- Ex Bike

House inspection at 9.45am. Lovely little ticks in all the right boxes. Yay. Lucky i left the blinds closed in my kids room as it was dark enough to not notice the zinc powder still all over the carpet!
Bike after real estate left. 30 mins plus 10 w/u & c/d. Stretch, then 50 s/u, 15 p/u, 25 s/u, 15 p/u. (push ups are now done leaning against the sink. 45 degree angle) Plank x 1min, plus side plank of 30secs.

Wed,24 May-Speed 8km+-

Speed work day again. *cringe*
Put the i pod on hoping that it would give me a little more motivation. (Ministry of Sound) Decided on no Magic Dirt as it makes me think too much.
Got to the oval just after 2pm. Gorgeous day! Also no one about.
Started of with 10 min w.u jog. Stretched, then 5 x 60m strides. I did these a little slower than i normally do as i read recently that it shouldn't be an all out sprint. Which is what i had been trying to do. LOL.
Anyway, tried to pump myself up for the reps. Started off at a little slower than last Wed's pace. Which seemed to help. Felt like i was prob pushing a little too hard though as i was nearing my 'almost dying' breathing pattern. I backed off ever so slightly for the last lap and could actually work through the breathing difficulties. Was very satisfied at the end of that one but was wondering if i could repeat the process 3 more times. Walked to car to record time of 4.28 mins. (2.5laps) Also, don't forget that 2.5 laps isn't quite 1km, so yes... the time looks even worse now. Anyway,
After a couple of mins ( which i know stu is going to make me shorten recovery time) i started on 2nd one. I noticed i couldn't hold the same pace as last one and ended up doing 4.34mins. 3rd one felt reeeeally slow. 4.45mins. My breathing just wouldn't let me go any harder. (perhaps me not having the whip again let me slow too) Last one i really tried to get somewhere between 1st and 3rd time but ended up with 4.47. Was disappointed as i felt like i ran faster! BUT.... i actually did all my reps. OMG! No cheating today (well except for distance, just a smidge). Did c/d jog of 5 laps which took me 11.20mins. Did some more stretching esp as my right calf felt a little tight. (actually is still tight now. will do some more stretching tonight)
Total approx time was 1hr. Although i felt a little disappointed with my last rep, i am extremely happy that i completed my training for today! Wednesdays are my least favourite days but am trying to be positive and work through them as i know they will make me run real fast baby!
Also, i noticed that i usually always run in an anti c/w direction. Why is this? I tried alternating direction but kept forgeting after a while and stuck to the norm. Can anyone give me an insight??

I am looking forward to Sat run at Arthurs Seat. I love traveling to run!

Tues 24 May, Ex Bike

Training was abborted due to family reasons beyond my control. So i made sure i got the kids to bed on time and jumped on the Ex Bike. 50 mins this time. (5 w/u & 5 c/d) Sat for 20mins on 90-95 rpms at load of 4. Enjoyed it as i got to watch All Saints! haven't watched that for many months.
Oh well, Next week should be exciting. I think Nelson is in some sort of trouble. LOL

Mon, 22 May-8km

Woolleys loop today. (clockwise)
Left at 3.15pm. Started off with 5mins w/u jog. Then continued on at HM pace. (i didn't realise until afterwards that Stu wanted me to go slightly faster than Hm pace. Woops)
After 20 mins i increased speed to 10km pace. I really have no idea what mine is as i am no good at judging pace etc. Only one i know well is my HM pace. Anyway, basically i ran a little faster for 10 mins. My breathing was kind of ok. i had to keep trying to jam air into my lungs every 3-4 breaths. Almost like just under my 1km rep pace. (is this too fast ?)
10 mins had past, so then i returned to HM pace. Breathing was fast but controlled. A conversation would have been difficult, just to give you an idea.
Noticed my right arch was getting a little sore ish. I really think i need some new shoes. (gotta return my Kayano's as they were no good for me what so ever. Only ran approx 15km's in them.) Have to get some more 2100's.
Finished in 46.20mins. My pb of this course (Anti C W) is 44.09 Approx 3months ago. I felt like i ran quite well and stuck to the program for a change. Am happy with my effort and hopefuly i get a gold star from Stui!
As for my hr, my watch is stuffed and i will be sending it to Polar tomorrow to be fixed. Prob take a week or so.

Just wondering if it's best to eat something straight after short runs too? If so, do grapes qualify?

Sun, 21 May- Bike

Got to have a sleep in today... 8:30am. fantastic!
Jumped on bike at 10am.The usual, 5 min each w/u and c/d with 30 mins of increasing intervals.
After yesterday's run, i felt a little fatigued. my whole body esp legs were feeling almost siezed. I prob could have done more stretching yesterday.
Anyway, did more than normal amount of stretching after bike. Then headed out to mow my lawn. Takes approx 1.5 hrs to complete. My right hammy was feeling very tight the entire time. Spoke to Stu, he suggested some particular stretches which seemed to help. My kids were laughing at me trying to be a contortionist on the floor. lol
Perhaps i need a massage. Hmmmm.... just need to find a taker!
I am excited about next weeks prog that i received today. I feel more confidant about completing perhaps all of wednesday's plan. Anyway, we will see.

Sat, 20 May- Long run 10km+-

Headed off around 11am from home to Hast boardwalk return. w/u jog of 5mins. Then started by easing into run. bpm were sitting around 140 for first few mins. I felt quite awkward and didn't feel i was running properly. It took around 20mins before i was relieved to find my 'sweet spot'. Ah.... rhythm!
Got to J.Beach turn off around 17mins into run. (Sections of dirt and boardwalk.) Such a nice place to run, as it is scenic yet isolated. A few small rises here and there, enough to raise the hr by a couple or so. 30mins on watch, (wasn't far from Hast) so turned around and headed back.
After 40mins i decided to try the Gel i was given many months ago. Ripped it open and tried to eat/drink the stuff. OMG! the stuff was revolting. Pasty, squishy, cough medicine flavoured goop! I noticed it had slowed me down due to the shock factor. I just couldn't believe that this 'apparently fantastic for the body', gel was sooooo yuk! Anyway, i think u get the picture. (thank god i didn't take it to Geelong!)
Got to the entrance of J. Beach and noticed time was perfect. 17mins to go! Not long after that, i noticed my heart rate wasn't dropping. Was sitting around 162 and the rise had long gone. Bloody watch was jammed! Again. (Was prob around 4-5months ago when it happened first time.) By this stage i was beginning to wonder if it was Karma. Hmmm.....
This had thrown me a little too. Although i felt i kept a consistent pace. Even up the slight hill of approx 500m. Took the last turn and headed home. Time was approx 1hr. max hr... got no idea as i sprinted to finish. av was prob around 160 i guess.
Apart from the muck ups, i had a great run overall. This was the first real long run i have done since the half and it felt great to get back into it.

My least favourite thought throughout the run,- '2 of my closest friends are soaking up the qld rays!!'

My favourite thought throughout the run,"cool baby!". My 2.5yr old said this to me when i told her i was going for a run.

Fri 19 May- Bike.

Ex bike this morn. Total time of 35mins, with 10mins being w/u & c/d. Stayed at a constant pace this time. didn't increase the load as normal as i want to run this arvo. Am interested how the legs will feel.
Plan is for 6km easyish run.

Added latter: No run. wasn't feeling the best.

Thur 18 May- Ex Bike

Jumped on ex bike for approx 35mins. 5min w/u and c/d and 25 of hard yakka.
I am really starting to enjoy using the bike. it's great for when i can't get out of the house. I am wondering if my lack of motivation and energy is due to using the bike too much. I plan on using it as much as possible over the next week or so, then if i am still feeling a little 'slow' i will drop off a day here and there.

Wed,17 May- Speed 5km +-

Went to the Oval instead of Pelican. Drove to oval and started off with 9min w/u jog. Light stretches, then did 3 x 30mtr knee lifts, 3 x 30 mtr bum slaps, 3 x 30 mtr side steps (which felt like i was doing wrong) , 3 x 60 mtr strides. I feel like such a twit doing this stuff as it is making my running more technical and i don't feel worthy of it. Anyway, next i did (well planned on) 3 x 1km reps. I did the first one, which was actually 2.5 laps of oval in around 4:50 mins. hr sat around 174bpm. I felt i was finally consistent throughout those laps but am not sure what the distance was. ( am thinking somewhere around900-950mtrs) Need to measure as i like going down there. I walked for half a lap then proceeded with the next one. Lost faith and puff half way around first lap. So i decided to just run. i kept pace up to ok position but was feeling a little disappointed with myself. Motivation is pretty low at the moment and i'm not quite sure why. apart from a small complication in my life at the moment,(which will soon fade) i feel pretty good about things. Guess i am just in a lull.
Ended up running for another 10mins or so, then did some more stretches and went to pick up my gorgeous girls.
You know, it's amazing how they can make you re-assess your priority's.... looking through such innocent eyes..... i have such beautiful kids and healthy ones too. How lucky am i!

Boo Hoo- Sore knee- 0km's

I have had to ditch todays training due to a little pain in my left knee. I have taken some anti-inflam's which seemed to help a bit but am still walking a little favoured. I plan on taking a HUGE hot bath tonight and keeping fingers crossed for tomorrow. I was wondering if my glass of lemon water in the morning has anything to do with it.? A health food shop suggested that excluding caffeine and anything acidic helps with arthitic pain. Hmmm. We will see.

2 more days until house inspection. and i still can't get the bloody powder out of my carpet!

Added later: Was feeling a little guilty about not doing anything today, also, knee had eased off a bit, so once girls went to bed, i jumped on Ex Bike for a 40min w/u (was on the phone) then did 25min's at increasing intervals then 5min c/d. Stretch, then 2 x 20 crunches, 2 x 20 elbow to knee crunches, 2 x 20 girlie push-ups, then stretch.
So now i have missed out on my bath. Oh well, perhaps a reeeeally long hot shower will suffice.
(Tomorrow i will try and remember to put the date in the title. Sorry guys.)

Mothers Day Classic - Melb 4km

Alarm went off at 4.30am. Really wanted to push the snooze button. But Karina would arrive around 5am. Had my shower to wake myself up. Got dressed, did the very difficult ponnies with pink ribbon and waited for K to arrive. We left my place around 5.15am. Arrived around 6.30am at Gosh's Padock. We were extremely early! Oh well. we ammused ourselves fixing hair, going back to the car several times, buying merchandise etc. Met up with ausrunners around 8am. Finally got to meet some of the clan. Ejm, Michelle, Marty and family, Jaykay, Beki & Hm (sorry, can't remember your name), CjW and of course Stui, who ended up being chief commander of baggage. (Thanks again) And we all know that you really did enjoy carrying that AstroBoy bag!
After cathching up with everyone, K and i headed to the start of the 4km run. Heaps of people. We squeezed into the crowd prob 2/3ds of the way down. and before we knew it the gun went off. But hey, you wouldn't have thought we were in a fun run..... 'cos no one was bloody moving! After 30secs or so we started walking with the crowd. Kept walking/very slow jogging for approx 200metres. The congestion was amazing. 17,000 people entered. so i suppose it wasn't too bad. Anyway, we plodded up Anderson St, which to my amazement wasn't as big as last year. Hmmm.
We jogged for the best part of 3km's then finally got to stretch the legs for the last k. Karina was doing some great breathing through the nose. We did a lot of zig-zagging and almost used our elbows at some stages. We could see the finish line, then K was off. Almost took out a marshall just before the finish line. All i could see were her pink ponnies bobbing around. lol.
Hr 95% (181), av 85% (162)
We finished after 23.48mins (my watch). Although there were crap loads of runners, we had a great time and i think it was a great run for K to have as her Maiden voyage. She did a great job and i was very happy to have joined her for it.
We then went approx 100metres before finish to cheer on the 8kers. Stu, K and i screaming from the side line. was heaps of fun.
Once everyone had finished, we then collected our goodies bag and met up again to drink champa's. Had an absolute ball of a day. Although i think K and i may have scared Marty with our boisterous behaviour. I think he thought we were drunk lol. One day he will realise that we are always that noisy/crazy etc.

Around 11ish we headed back to Boogsville, picked up M and went for lunch at a cafe. Little more drinking, then i was removed and taken home. (no-one wanted to play) lol
Anyway, had a fantastic day, and perhaps next year, K and i will do the 8k run with the rest of the ausrunners.

Ex Bike- home work out.

Started with 5 min w/u (slowly turning legs over), then L1 5mins 80 rpm, 5mins L2 85 rpm, 5mins L3 90 rpm, 5mins L4 95 rpm, etc until L6 110 rpm. Then 5 min c/d. Fair bit of sweating. Rode without shoes. ( won't be bloody doing that again!)
Hr max 84% (160), Av 70% (133) Total tome on bike 45mins.
Did some stretches.

Then 2 x 20 sit-ups, 2 x 20 diagonal sit-ups (not sure of correct name), 2 x 1 min plank. 2 x 20 girlie push-ups. Then some more stretches. (am so crappy at push-ups that my arms are now shaking)
Diet today was so terrible that i dare not breath a word about it!

Story for you that has nothing to do with exercise:
Went to check on my girls around 8.30pm to find my little one looking at me saying "big one did it mummy'. Her face was completely white. Covered with powder. I looked down at the floor to find that they had decided to have a party with the powder container. Puffed a whole bottle of curash powder over carpet, beds and drawers. Oh and their bodies too! Meantime, big one is sound asleep in bed. Oblivious to mummys fury. Argh!!

Pelican Park, Speed - 5km+-

3.30pm- Started off with a 10 min w/u jog. (Bpm sat around 150)
Did some stretches, then 4 x 60m strides (walked back to start point) bpm got to 155 i think.
Then did the 3 x 1km reps (aim for 5.10 Stu said) These are extremely hard for me to do. I still can't run at a consistent pace. After approx 1 min i am struggling with the breathing. By the time i got to 3.5 mins, i just couldn't get enough air in. My legs were feeling tingly and i wanted to stop. I only ended up running 4 mins each rep (sorry stu). I finished at start of gym equiptment. (just before tennis courts) I have no idea what my pace was but it felt quite slow. Prob even slower then half marathon pace. Bpm max was 92% (175). Av 80% (152). I can see that these are going to be my biggest hurdle but suspect that after more cardio work, i will improve.
Recovery was direct route back to start point. (walking each time)
Then finished with an 8 min, very slow c/d jog.
Then some stretches.

Stu- an in depth stretch routine would help me out a bit as i feel i am not really stretching to the best of my ability. Do you know of a good book etc?

Rain, Rain, go away...& Sydney 8km+-

Was woken around 4.30am to rain.... and lots of it. hopefully it stops as i can't wait to read all the puffing billy reports! I also have a close friend running it, but i am tipping that he will change his mind due to the down pour.
Good luck to all of you!

I'll be back Monday night. Then Tues is appt with surgeon.

(Added later) - Well, he did end up doing the run and getting extremely muddy at the same time. Time was around 62mins. Well done M. Also, well done to all the other Ausrunners who competed. Loved reading all your stories. And from some, even hearing about every moment throughout the race too! ;-)

Well a couple of hours after having Japanese for lunch in Sydney, i set off for a run around 5pm. Left Ultimo and then headed north through, Haymarket, Hyde Park, Royal Botanic Gardens (Ran up the stairs of the Opera House and had a very overwhelming 'Isn't it great to be alive'feeling) then headed back. There were people everywhere and plenty of weddings too. Even got to watch some break dancers!
I ran for approx 70mins but a lot of it was stopping due to traffic and lights etc.
Today was one of my most enjoyable runs. And like i have recently told some friends.... i enjoyed it not for the fact that it is a great form of exercise, but because it is such a great experience. Wow, i just can't find the words to explain it. Basically i am really glad i started running a year ago!
Map is for those of you who aren't familliar with Sydney. I started from bottom left hand corner and headed north basically. (Pink texta)
Other pic is of Hyde Park. Magnificent!

Bike Track - 6km

am- Rode the ex bike this morning. 5min warm up, 20 medium to hard, then 5 cool down.

pm- Ran one of the local bike tracks tonight. Left at 5:15pm. Has a few rises here and there. I didn't wear the HRM. but felt i was prob around the 160 bpm for most. I started off with a 5 min warm up of slow jogging then soon settled in to the run. I have really enjoyed running without being monitored (ie the hrm) it makes me realise why i enjoy running so much!
After approx 3-4km's i started to slow it down a bit as it was becoming dark quite quickly and there are lots of tree roots protruding on the bike track. Ended with a 5 min slow jog. Running time was approx40-45 mins. (monday onwards, i will wear the hrm, so will then have times etc)
Loved the run though, and it is nice running in the misty rain too!

Am i capable?

As this is my first go at using my brand new blog, just wanted to give it a test drive.
This pic is of a fantastic resort i stayed at last year in Port Douglas.