Thursday this week introduced me to the true awesomeness of trail running on Mt Coot-tha. Unlike last week's running on grass boringness, I really loved the trails this week offered. It may be the last trail run until winter is over, as it is too dark and dangerous to run trails in winter. Boo! That's a shame. As always with Thursday, it was tough. You know it will be tough when you start by running down...and down...and down some more.
Total distance: 5.80km
Total running time: 48.08min
Total elevation: 232m
Average pace: 8.18min/km
It was a bit embarrassing when the rest of the group had to stop and wait for me. I was keeping the second last person in sight, but the leaders were concerned when they couldn't see me. I'm touched that they waited for me but sad I couldn't keep up on my own! Something to work towards - keeping up with the Galeforcers.
Here is a breakdown of the km laps (with pace, elevation)
km 1: 8.54 pace, -83m loss (+11m gain)
km 2: 7.11 pace, -47m loss (+16m gain)
km 3: 6.03 pace, -45m loss (0m gain)
km 4: 7.18 pace, +29m gain (-12m loss)
km 5: 10.46 pace, +111m gain (0m loss)
km 6 (800m): 9.53 pace, +64m gain (-12m loss)
Anyone notice the pattern of elevation difference affecting pace? As an experiment, I've tried to link my fancy pants watch data page to this blog. Check out Mt Coot-tha Trail Run Loop by loraly9 at Garmin Connect - Details. If you see this and immediately panic over my heart rate - don't.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Awesomeness!
I started this blog as a way of updating friends and family on my running ventures and misadventures. Then a friend pointed me out to the stats page and I found I have international readership (outside of Canada, Australia, and the U.S.A. where said friends & family reside). Awesome! I don't know if it was by Internet navigation error or not, but you all rock!
To deflate my ego, I guess it's time to talk about today's sprint session. This consisted of the following:
200m rep/recovery
400m rep/recovery
Total distance: 7.79km (including warm up and cool down)
Total time: 49.21
Avg pace: 6.22min/km
My average pace in the sprints varied between 4.59-5.37. I had one fantastic 4.30 on my last 200m rep where I tricked my brain by focusing on moving my arms rather than my legs. It is an old trick, but I always seem to forget it when I'm actually running. How frustrating! If only there was a way to remember to apply all the smart running tricks I learn in my actual training.
The recoveries were meant to be at 60-70% effort but by the end of the first 400m rep I was maxed out and had to walk a bit during recoveries.
Finally, I know this is slow (still). I can see all this fitness I've lost and the road to recover it just keeps stretching out before me. But then I see how far I've come since the beginning of the season.
FYI, the photo above is one of me from Sunday's run with bicycles. I always love running by the rowers. Unbeknownst to them, I sometimes try to race them. But only when they're resting. And even then I'll keep these races short - just so I can win. Well, I almost always win.
I'm being encouraged to include more photos and whatnot in my blog, so here is my attempt to do so. It's kinda hard to take photos of me training, as usually it is dark and I'm too exhausted/focussed to carry a camera.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Running with Bicycles
Off we went on out adventure! Me and my awesome bicycle escorts. We negotiated a later start time than I'm used to (7.30am). It was hot, but lots of fun. My legs started feeling it after 9kms and I realized how much fitness I've actually lost!It was a lovely slow run. At times I ran beside my cycling friends and we talked. At times they buzzed ahead to take photos of me as I approached, or paused at a water fountain for a drink. I kept chugging along at a not-too-fast pace.
Total distance: 12km
Total time: 1.18.38
Total elevation: 95m
Average pace: 6.33min/km
I managed to keep a fair pace despite the heat until km 9, when my lack of conditioning began to show. At this point, my quads started to fatigue. This is unusual for me, as usually it is my heart/lungs that hold me back. I guess my pace was slow enough and my legs weak enough that they were the first to give in.
By the 11th km, everything hurt - except my knee! I was happy that my knee didn't hurt. But my legs were all but shaking from effort. It is so sad how much fitness I've lost in my...well, my ~6 months of being either slack training or in off-season. Sad, but perhaps not too surprising.
Only 12 weeks to go until the very special Gold Coast Half Marathon!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
"I could be talked into it"
Six innoculous words that often mean the start of an adventure. Today was no different! But to get to that, I need to backtrack a little.
I need to backtrack to Thursday's hill session, where I wrote of having a little niggle in my knee towards the end of the session.
That little niggle returned on Friday's session of hills/stairs (and running in between) and returned with a vengeance. So Friday night I wound up debating the merits of doing Saturday's long slow run of 12k with friends. It boiled down to this:
Reasons to go - I'm in the final 12weeks of training before the Gold Coast, and have a very poor fitness base. Every run counts from here on out.
Reasons to not go - that little niggle could easily turn into something much worse, and then I'd miss many sessions as I'd be injured and unable to run.
One of my friends suggested that I run on Sunday instead. A great idea, but I am no longer that person who can self-motivate to run long distances on my own, and the only people I know who could run 12k with me are in my running group and would be running on Saturday instead. Hmmm. I jokingly told my friends, "I'd go Sunday if you would ride beside me". To my surprise, one answered, "I could be talked into it."
And so the idea was born! We planned a route that would not coincidentally map out my route to my new place of work, as I am hoping to start riding to work this week. And as an added bonus, they would take pictures of me training along the way. Let the adventures begin!
...to be continued...
I need to backtrack to Thursday's hill session, where I wrote of having a little niggle in my knee towards the end of the session.
That little niggle returned on Friday's session of hills/stairs (and running in between) and returned with a vengeance. So Friday night I wound up debating the merits of doing Saturday's long slow run of 12k with friends. It boiled down to this:
Reasons to go - I'm in the final 12weeks of training before the Gold Coast, and have a very poor fitness base. Every run counts from here on out.
Reasons to not go - that little niggle could easily turn into something much worse, and then I'd miss many sessions as I'd be injured and unable to run.
One of my friends suggested that I run on Sunday instead. A great idea, but I am no longer that person who can self-motivate to run long distances on my own, and the only people I know who could run 12k with me are in my running group and would be running on Saturday instead. Hmmm. I jokingly told my friends, "I'd go Sunday if you would ride beside me". To my surprise, one answered, "I could be talked into it."
And so the idea was born! We planned a route that would not coincidentally map out my route to my new place of work, as I am hoping to start riding to work this week. And as an added bonus, they would take pictures of me training along the way. Let the adventures begin!
...to be continued...
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The Most Wonderful Run of the Week
Okay, the title might be semi-sarcastic. In truth I have a strong love/hate relationship with my runs. The harder they are, the more I love/hate them. My coach put my on hills my first week back. What was he thinking?!
I'm happy because I'll regain my fitness that much faster with the challenging hill session every week. I'm unhappy because it's hard. I was super nervous coming into this run. Would I keep up? How would I manage?
It all blurred together. We started by having a long run uphill to get to a spot where our coach gave us another safety briefing. Then we did laps along some grass. By the time we got through half a lap, my shoes were soaking and my feet squelching with every step. It was uncomfortable for the next lap and a half or so and then I sort of got used to it. The grass was not steep. We went uphill and downhill and sidehill and then back to do it all again.
As always with these runs, there is a mini inner battle: the lazy half of me wishes for some excuse to not run (nothing major like a sprained ankle, but minor like a bee sting or a scrape) and the more practical side of me says that the more I put off til tomorrow the slower my return to fitness will be. The practical side usually wins out. Except today, when my knee started to really hurt. I'm not sure if it was because I was still stiff from Tuesday's run (what a novel feeling! Running while stiff from a previous run!) or because I'm simply not accustomed to trail running.
Whatever the reason, I cut things short because I didn't like the niggling feeling in my knee. I can only hope tomorrow it will get better!
I'm happy because I'll regain my fitness that much faster with the challenging hill session every week. I'm unhappy because it's hard. I was super nervous coming into this run. Would I keep up? How would I manage?
It all blurred together. We started by having a long run uphill to get to a spot where our coach gave us another safety briefing. Then we did laps along some grass. By the time we got through half a lap, my shoes were soaking and my feet squelching with every step. It was uncomfortable for the next lap and a half or so and then I sort of got used to it. The grass was not steep. We went uphill and downhill and sidehill and then back to do it all again.
As always with these runs, there is a mini inner battle: the lazy half of me wishes for some excuse to not run (nothing major like a sprained ankle, but minor like a bee sting or a scrape) and the more practical side of me says that the more I put off til tomorrow the slower my return to fitness will be. The practical side usually wins out. Except today, when my knee started to really hurt. I'm not sure if it was because I was still stiff from Tuesday's run (what a novel feeling! Running while stiff from a previous run!) or because I'm simply not accustomed to trail running.
Whatever the reason, I cut things short because I didn't like the niggling feeling in my knee. I can only hope tomorrow it will get better!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Return to Brisbane
I was reminded today that I haven't been keeping up with my running blog faithfully these past few weeks. I've done a few haphazard runs, but these deteriorated quickly as life craziness built up around me.
Well, today was my first time back with the training group. Hoo boy! I was nervous! Tuesdays are speed sessions, which mostly consists of fartleks. The one thing I've always liked about fartleks is they're short. Except today felt really long. I guess because while I knew the reps, I didn't know the number of sets to expect, so I couldn't mentally coach myself through this.
The reps were as follows (for rep/recovery)
90-30
60-30
45-30
30-30
15-30
We repeated this three times around a 300m circuit. Apparently variations of the fartlek have become a Tuesday morning special ever since the training weekend. The run was actually lots of fun, even if my legs felt like jello on the 1k cool down jog (aka stagger) back to the car.
But all this paled in comparison to the joy of being back where I belong. Running with friends! There are few greater things than this. As one girl pointed out, I slipped back in as if I'd never left. It was fantastic that the group still held so many familiar faces. Okay, we couldn't talk so much during the reps, but there was plenty of chances in between all that.
It's good to be home!
Well, today was my first time back with the training group. Hoo boy! I was nervous! Tuesdays are speed sessions, which mostly consists of fartleks. The one thing I've always liked about fartleks is they're short. Except today felt really long. I guess because while I knew the reps, I didn't know the number of sets to expect, so I couldn't mentally coach myself through this.
The reps were as follows (for rep/recovery)
90-30
60-30
45-30
30-30
15-30
We repeated this three times around a 300m circuit. Apparently variations of the fartlek have become a Tuesday morning special ever since the training weekend. The run was actually lots of fun, even if my legs felt like jello on the 1k cool down jog (aka stagger) back to the car.
But all this paled in comparison to the joy of being back where I belong. Running with friends! There are few greater things than this. As one girl pointed out, I slipped back in as if I'd never left. It was fantastic that the group still held so many familiar faces. Okay, we couldn't talk so much during the reps, but there was plenty of chances in between all that.
It's good to be home!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The Non-Tempo Alternative
On the weekend I planned to go for a tempo run. But those little niggling excuses got in the way. You know the ones - it's storming outside, my body is exhausted, I need a rest day...
So then I made a plan to go for a tempo run yesterday. But the thought of doing a tempo run made me shudder. Tempo runs are not my friend! So - can you believe it? - I ran hills instead. Hills. I prefer hills over a tempo run! I must be nuts! I guess what I like about hills is that you get a recovery on the way down. Whereas a tempo run...no breaks, just running.
My intention was to do 5 reps, but I started running short on time so I only did 4. The first hill was a 'test hill'. After running up it I decided it was too rolly for a decent hill session. I needed something that went straight up. So I ran back to the street where I first lived in Rocky. That has a hill. And I mean a hill.
I won't get into my heart rate, because that would scare people who believe in the "max HR = 220-age". (I don't.) Let's just say I was working hard!
My "warm-up" including the first hill took 10min, so technically I only did 3 hill reps.
Total distance: 4.64km
Total time: 32.57min
Avg pace: 7.06 (including recoveries. There may have been some walking involved.)
Total elevation: 128m
1st rep: 2.54min, avg pace 7.08
2nd rep: 3.07min, avg pace 7.33
3rd rep: 3.15, avg pace 7.54
As you can see, this hill absolutely wiped me! I got progressively slower every time. I maybe could have fit in a fourth rep, but I was soooo exhausted I just couldn't find the motivation. Still, it was fantastic.
So then I made a plan to go for a tempo run yesterday. But the thought of doing a tempo run made me shudder. Tempo runs are not my friend! So - can you believe it? - I ran hills instead. Hills. I prefer hills over a tempo run! I must be nuts! I guess what I like about hills is that you get a recovery on the way down. Whereas a tempo run...no breaks, just running.
My intention was to do 5 reps, but I started running short on time so I only did 4. The first hill was a 'test hill'. After running up it I decided it was too rolly for a decent hill session. I needed something that went straight up. So I ran back to the street where I first lived in Rocky. That has a hill. And I mean a hill.
I won't get into my heart rate, because that would scare people who believe in the "max HR = 220-age". (I don't.) Let's just say I was working hard!
My "warm-up" including the first hill took 10min, so technically I only did 3 hill reps.
Total distance: 4.64km
Total time: 32.57min
Avg pace: 7.06 (including recoveries. There may have been some walking involved.)
Total elevation: 128m
1st rep: 2.54min, avg pace 7.08
2nd rep: 3.07min, avg pace 7.33
3rd rep: 3.15, avg pace 7.54
As you can see, this hill absolutely wiped me! I got progressively slower every time. I maybe could have fit in a fourth rep, but I was soooo exhausted I just couldn't find the motivation. Still, it was fantastic.
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