Tuesday, January 11, 2005
A week in Byron Bay
Have just made it back from a week in Byron Bay. Have tried very hard to stick to the training program. This was even harder than training over Christmas and New Year but succeeded. Here's a brief rundown on what I've done in the last week.
3/1/05
Drove to Byron Bay - no run.
4/1/05
What better way to familiarise yourself with our new surrondings but to run up to the Lighthouse and then around the trail back to the beginning. Ended up covering 7.6km running up some very steep hills. Was not in the good books with Belinda after this run as she found it slightly tough. My response was that she actually chose the run and that it wasn't my fault. This didn't seem to wash with her though.
5/1/05
Warmed up with a slow 2km run, measuring out a 500m stretch along Lawson St and proceeded to knock out 8x500m intervals under 1:50. Couldn't get the timing right on new GPS as set it to go off automatically every 500m. Problem was that it included parts of recovery in it. So didn't have exact splits. Just know that I kept the pace under 3:40/km. I wanted to finish off with a 1km interval but GPS couldn't even give me pace at this point so frustrated with my new toy, I pulled the pin and jogged slowly back to where I was staying.
6/1/05
Did a midweek long run of 14km with Belinda at 6 min/km pace which she handled very well. Got a beep from a passing car at one point and Belinda tells me the driver gave us the thumbs up. Must have been the Cool Running cap I was wearing.
7/1/05
After going out to see The Whitlams the night before and not getting home before 1am, didn't get out that early to do a session that I really struggled with last month. That is the Ball Breaker of an interval session that starts off with a 2km interval followed by a 1km interval then followed by a 500m interval then another 2km interval and a 500m interval to finish off with. As I couldn't get out early enough, I could not do this session on the road as the street where I did my previous intervals on was very busy with traffic. Not bad I thought. Go for a jog until I find some sport fields, track the distance with my GPS and be able to do the session no worries. Well there were plenty of worries. The first was the field I found was being mowed as I ran so was quite lush if you know what I mean. The second was that as it was later, it was a lot warmer and a lot more humid than my previous runs. I was bathed in sweat after completing my warmup. Not a good sign. At least I can now empathise with Eddie. And the drinks I had the night before weren't going to help either.
Managed the first 2km in 7:53 - not too bad considering everything. Rested for 90 seconds before knocking out the 1km in 3:54. Rested another 90 seconds before knocking out 500m in 1:59. Was slowly dying whilst resting for 60 seconds before churning out the second 2km in 8:30 (it was ugly) before resting for 90 seconds and knocking out another 500m in 2:01.
Well at least I managed to finish the session. That was about all I could take from this. It would have been a lot easier to just can the session all together.
Couldn't take any form out of this session but I will put in the bank as one that builds mental toughness.
8/1/05
Ran 10km with Belinda in around 58 minutes on another warm morning. Glad I don't live up in this corner of the world as I certainly don't appreciate the extra heat and humidity.
9/1/05
As Belinda was missing her first MTG run of 25km, we decided to do a 25km run of our own. We decided to get up a bit earlier to try and beat the heat and it certainly helped but it didn't help me finishing as though I had been for a swim in my running gear. Managed the 25km in just a tick over 2 and a half hours. The run was great and included several rolling hills from 7-18 km which Belinda managed well. Her running has entered a new dimension and she is not just interested in clocking up the kms but ensuring she maintains 6 minute kms because that is what she needs to do with the MTG.
10/1/05
Drove back from Byron Bay - no run.
3/1/05
Drove to Byron Bay - no run.
4/1/05
What better way to familiarise yourself with our new surrondings but to run up to the Lighthouse and then around the trail back to the beginning. Ended up covering 7.6km running up some very steep hills. Was not in the good books with Belinda after this run as she found it slightly tough. My response was that she actually chose the run and that it wasn't my fault. This didn't seem to wash with her though.
5/1/05
Warmed up with a slow 2km run, measuring out a 500m stretch along Lawson St and proceeded to knock out 8x500m intervals under 1:50. Couldn't get the timing right on new GPS as set it to go off automatically every 500m. Problem was that it included parts of recovery in it. So didn't have exact splits. Just know that I kept the pace under 3:40/km. I wanted to finish off with a 1km interval but GPS couldn't even give me pace at this point so frustrated with my new toy, I pulled the pin and jogged slowly back to where I was staying.
6/1/05
Did a midweek long run of 14km with Belinda at 6 min/km pace which she handled very well. Got a beep from a passing car at one point and Belinda tells me the driver gave us the thumbs up. Must have been the Cool Running cap I was wearing.
7/1/05
After going out to see The Whitlams the night before and not getting home before 1am, didn't get out that early to do a session that I really struggled with last month. That is the Ball Breaker of an interval session that starts off with a 2km interval followed by a 1km interval then followed by a 500m interval then another 2km interval and a 500m interval to finish off with. As I couldn't get out early enough, I could not do this session on the road as the street where I did my previous intervals on was very busy with traffic. Not bad I thought. Go for a jog until I find some sport fields, track the distance with my GPS and be able to do the session no worries. Well there were plenty of worries. The first was the field I found was being mowed as I ran so was quite lush if you know what I mean. The second was that as it was later, it was a lot warmer and a lot more humid than my previous runs. I was bathed in sweat after completing my warmup. Not a good sign. At least I can now empathise with Eddie. And the drinks I had the night before weren't going to help either.
Managed the first 2km in 7:53 - not too bad considering everything. Rested for 90 seconds before knocking out the 1km in 3:54. Rested another 90 seconds before knocking out 500m in 1:59. Was slowly dying whilst resting for 60 seconds before churning out the second 2km in 8:30 (it was ugly) before resting for 90 seconds and knocking out another 500m in 2:01.
Well at least I managed to finish the session. That was about all I could take from this. It would have been a lot easier to just can the session all together.
Couldn't take any form out of this session but I will put in the bank as one that builds mental toughness.
8/1/05
Ran 10km with Belinda in around 58 minutes on another warm morning. Glad I don't live up in this corner of the world as I certainly don't appreciate the extra heat and humidity.
9/1/05
As Belinda was missing her first MTG run of 25km, we decided to do a 25km run of our own. We decided to get up a bit earlier to try and beat the heat and it certainly helped but it didn't help me finishing as though I had been for a swim in my running gear. Managed the 25km in just a tick over 2 and a half hours. The run was great and included several rolling hills from 7-18 km which Belinda managed well. Her running has entered a new dimension and she is not just interested in clocking up the kms but ensuring she maintains 6 minute kms because that is what she needs to do with the MTG.
10/1/05
Drove back from Byron Bay - no run.
