Strategies

Last night Blue Dog and I were joined by fellow "Team Dog" crew member Sarge for a discussion on tactics and strategies for the C2K. The three of us then lined up for SWEAT this morning with one member feeling a little under the weather. We did an extended warm up and then joined the squad for the usual drills, strides etc. I did three fartlek laps of the lake which is roughly 4.4km, just taking a little easier than usual. We finished the session discussing our race plans for the Central Coast Half on the weekend.

Edit: I spoke to Sean about my visit to the dietician so there now expectations of bigger and better things. This is includes a revised program and some new expectations regarding pace etc. Now I am definitely going to have to do be very committed.

Monday, 27 November 2006

Blue Dog and I headed out for our recovery run taking it out at a nice easy pace. It really took me a long time to get into a rhythm and I felt my stride was very restricted. After a couple of k's my body loosened up. I left Blue Dog to continue his run as I turned around and headed for home. I did a total of 6km with an average pace of 5.46/km.

Tuesday, 28 November 2006

When the alarm went off I really had to drag myself out of bed, after making a coffee for Blue Dog and myself I decided to pull the pin on SWEAT and went back to bed and slept solidly for another 2 hours. Today was an unplanned but necessary rest day.

I had an appointment in the afternoon with my dietician. After a good chat and review of my food my diary we have found the answer to my lack of energy. I was really quite surprised at what I was doing to myself. I now have some homework and a plan to put my lessons into action.

Wednesday, 29 November 2006

Katie come over to my house this morning for a run. We were accompanied by Blue Dog who rode his bike along side of us. We only had 45 minutes on the program today so we started a little later so it was nice to get a couple more zzz's. By the time we got back to my house Blue Dog was there to great ice with an icy cold drink.

What the ....



Thursday, 23 November 2006

This morning I arrived at SWEAT feeling light headed and questioning why I was even there. I found the answer on the hill reps. I had 7 reps on my program but after 3 I was extremely lightheaded and my legs felt like jelly, I had nothing. I decided to sit out one of the reps and then lined up for my fourth, which was a little quicker but still tragic. I pulled the pin on the session, trying to piece everything together.

Friday, 24 November 2006

MY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!!!

Blue Dog and I both had the day off work to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. We had a beautiful lunch planned so I did the right thing and went for my run in the morning. I just ran my local route and did 6km with an average pace of 5.20/km and felt quite good, which was a nice surprise.

Saturday, 25 November 2006

I went the CR 5K Challenge with the goal of just running the 5k slowly and enjoying the run back with everybody. I did a warm up with Blue Dog, and tried to decide what pace group to run with. I ran with the 28 minute group, which was only me. I felt okay, so I decided to just run comfortable and concentrate on my form and surprised myself with a 24:35 minute finish. This was a nice surprise given how I have been feeling the past week or more. Enjoyed a nice breakfast.

Sunday, 26 November 2006

With the Central Coast Half next weekend Katie, Ray, Kerry, and Belinda came to our house for a nice flat run. We did a total of 18.3km with average pace of 5:44/km which felt pretty good. Blue Dog cut this run a little short and come home and cooked us all a nice breakfast.

One Foot in Front of the Other

Monday, 20 November 2006

After a late night on Sunday with the girls, I suggested to Blue Dog we go over to centennial Park after work for a nice easy run. We a nice run just taking various paths and directions, we included a loop of Queens Park. It was a really nice way to end a hectic day at work. I have been pretty stressed with a lot of matters at work lately so it was nice to arrive home relaxed for a change.We did a total of 7.5km with a nice average pace of 5:45/km.

Tuesday, 21 November 2006

After a good night sleep I arrived at SWEAT feeling pretty good but during the strides I felt completely flat and felt like I had no energy or strength in my legs. I had 5 x 800 on my program but I really struggled to get through the reps. I figured rather than pull the pin on the session put in the best possible effort. I again felt really disappointed.

Wednesday, 22 November 2006

I woke up the smell of smoke, so I knew I would be in for another busy day work, so I enjoy my 90 minutes of me time. The usual group decided to just stick to the park today due to the heat to ensure we were close to water. Again it was another run taking various paths to ensure we reach our training goal. After a very quick stretch I had to get away, but I paid for this during the day. Everytime I got off my chair during the day I was walking like a little old lady. Everyone just shakes their head and ashes, "Have you been running again"?

Taking in the Sights at SMC

After finally catching up on some sleep and a day of relaxation on Saturday, I was looking forward to heading out to SMC. I had planned to run the half marathon as my weekly LSD, so I teamed up Kerry who had the same plan. We had a set pace in mind, but we were a little faster than planned, it reminded us of our run together in the '05 Canberra Marathon. We enjoyed a great run, and took in all the sights that SMC has to offer, and girls you would be surprised what is out there ;-).

After a nice relaxing day, I was then off to dinner with the CR/SWEAT/STRIDER girls for "Baby Shower" dinner. It was a great way to finish the weekend.

Checking In

Life has been pretty hectic over the last week, so I haven't had any spare time to sit down and update the blog. My week has included crewing for Blue Dog at the GNW 100mile (I am very proud to say he finished second), a HR conference, headcold, Squad dinner, Vat's wedding, and I have managed to fit some running in as well. It really has been an exhausting week and I am looking forward to a couple weeks at a slower pace.

Here's some photos from the GNW, I will load all my photos on CR when I get a moment.

Long Run

I drove over the Centennial Park this morning in my beautiful new car. I ran through the Park and headed towards Oxford Street and was shocked to find the number of people sitting in the pub drinking at 6.00am. I then headed towards Darling Harbour and after a particular incident realised it was probably not a good idea to be running in this area on my own early in the morning. I then ran to the King Street Wharf, Sussex Street into the Hungry Mile and then through the Rocks to the Opera House. I had stopped there for a couple of minutes so see if I could spot my father who knew I would be in that area at that time, no luck. Then into the Gardens and past my favourite spot "Lawn 32", the lawn where Blue Dog and I got married. Made my way back to Oxford Street, into Darlinghurst and then back to the Park to finish a shorten lap of the inside loop. In total I ran just 21.6km with an average pace of 5.26/km. I was really happy with my run, given I had a hard hill session yesterday and no company to keep me honest.

What am I Wringing About?

Katie, Ray, Blue Dog and I arrived nice and early, so Blue Dog suggested we do a warm up through the "woods" today to get him in the zone for GNW. I was lagging behind in the beginning feeling pretty ordinary again today, and was a little apprehensive about the 10 laps of Wild Wally on the program. By the time we on the start line, I was a little worried. By the time I had finished the third lap I felt like crap, Sean asked me how I was going, I just shook my head. I kept going and trying to remind myself to lift my knees higher on the up hill, something Sean always reminds me of. Towards the last few laps I lost count, so I had to keep an eye on Katie to know when to finish. I finsihed the 10 laps in exactly 24:00 minutes. Now the big shock of the day, after checking the stats, this is a 27 second PB for Wild Wally. Now I'm smiling.

In effort to address my issues with my diet and weight, I visited a Sports Dietician on Tuesday, who has given me some great advice, structure and a new focus.

As for the next few days my training is going to be a little scattered, I will be crewing for Blue Dog in GNW so I will have to try to fit the training in around my crewing commitments.

Captain Cranky Pants

Tuesday, 7 November 2006

When I arrived at SWEAT this morning poor Katie and Ray asked me how I was so I let them know; it's all work stuff that shouldn't get to me but everyone has their limits. I had 4 x 1km reps this morning, and my usual shocking form was still present, again I had no energy and my times reflected this. I even forgot to write them in the squad training book, maybe I just wanted to forget them. I had a bit of chat to Sean about my current form and he made some good suggestions and comments. I still walked away from the session feeling disappointed.

Midweek fun with the Girls

Wednesday, 8 November 2006

This morning I met Katie, Kerry and Becky for a mid-week run. After some discussion we decided upon an alternative route for our midweek run, as you can only do so many ks around Centennial Park. We ran down to Rose Bay through Double Bay and back to the Park, founding a nasty hill. It was enjoyable and the variety was great. Today's run was a little shorter than usual, only 13km.

Wind Warriors

This morning I woke up the sound of the wind and rain, and thankfully had arranged for Katie to meet me my house nice and early otherwise I may have hit the snooze button a few times. Monday’s are usual my rest day, but I won’t to speak to Sean about increasing my training to 7 days a week.

Katie and I headed down to Botany Bay. Katie pointed out the rain in the horizon which ended on top of before too long. After 5ks we turned around and were confronted by a strong head wind, we were very thankful to turn into my street that provided protection from the wind. We ran just over 10km with an average speed of 5.36km/hr.

Saturday, 4 November 2006

Getting ready for the Striders 10k I was pretty excited thinking it was the last race of the 2006 season. I had no real expectations of time, just to run the best I could (as usual). Blue Dog and arrived nice and early to meet the SWEAT clan for our warm-up, drills and strides. By the time I got the start line I was drenched with perspiration, I found the conditions quite humid. It was again another huge crowd which took a bit of negotiating to get through at the start but after about 500 metres I found a clear running path. I kept focused on Katie’s hot pink hat throughout the race. I felt pretty flat through the race, but ran as hard as I could and finished in 50:17, which is way off what I have been running lately, but it was the best I could do on the day so I have to be happy with that.

I then enjoyed a very nice post race breakfast, which unfortunately I had to cut short. I then headed off to my parents place. While I was doing their house work, my father was conducting some research for a shopping trip, a new car. He found a couple advertisements, made a couple of phone calls and we headed off to do some serious negotiations. He did very well; I pick up a brand new Hyundai Getz on Thursday for an amazing price. We phoned Blue Dog (who was at work) to let him know what his hard earned had bought. Blue Dog was very appreciative of my father's negotiations skills and happy with the purchase.

Sunday, 5 November 2006

I met Katie, Ray, Kerry and Deanne at Bronte for our long run. We choose this location for something different and a good excuse to view the “Sculptures by the Sea”, that were really good. However, I don't always understand the artist's impression but I can appreciate their hard work. Speaking of hard work, I think we did manage to find every hill in the area (groan), and then the journey home was in a strong head wind. Overall it was a really great run, but one I was happy to finish. My energy levels just don't seem to be at their usual standard at the moment. In total we did 20kms in a little over 2hrs, slightly slower than our usual pace, but we had to soak up some culture for the day.

My Local

For something different Katie and Deanne met me at my house this morning for our run. We ran down to Botany Bay (approx 1.3km) and along the waters edge. It was a nice comfortable run, we almost forgot we had to turn around. I felt really good this morning, but did notice the humidity is starting to creep up. We we arrived back at my house and were greeted by Blue Dog with some ice cold drinks. In total we ran 6km with an average pace of 5:52/km. Definitely feeling nice and fresh with the easy week so far.

I'll be running the Striders' last 10k for the 2006 season tomorrow. I haven't got any big plans but to just enjoy the run.

Wednesday, 1 November 2006

Both Blue Dog and I had the day off work, so I convinced him to come and join me and the girls for our mid-week run at Centennial. We all have an easy programs this week, so it was just a a leisurely run throughout the different paths and fields. We stopped to inspect the new plants in the garden beds around the lake, and I discovered a statue that I have never actually looked up to see before. We did a total of 7km with an average pace of 5:52/km. It was nice to go home and have a nice breakfast together and share the day together. Blue Dog did tell the girls we were going to have a romantic day together; but buying a lawn mower, housework and gardening is not my idea of romance ;-).

Thursday, 2 November 2006

Again the program called for a relaxed session. I had 2 x laps, 1 x lap of the lake. I went around the first lap in 7:06, Sean then instructed me to pick up the pace in the second. Becky and I worked together on both laps, and finished both laps in 14:01. After a short recovery run it was then time to start the last lap. Again, we were reminded to take it easy if racing on the weekend, I just kept the form good and focused on Katie's cap (still no ribbons) ahead. I finished in 6:56. Finished off with a nice cool down.

Inspired by Katie and after many months of consideration I have finally decided it's time to get a new(er) car. I've had my little car for 13yrs now. Finances are all sorted, I've got my father ready and we are off shopping on the weekend.