Easy Run ~~

Rather than make up for the lost day Tuesday, I'm letting it go.  Instead of tempo run and because of heavy rain today, I managed an easy 5km in one of the few fine breaks.  Weather permitting, back to my program tomorrow, if not...will continue with 5km easy runs until Saturday by which time we've been promised fine days for the weekend.

Usual 5km route through Renwick.


Today   ~~ 5km  ~~

A good laugh does the world of good!

 

I Didn't Make It Today ~~

That means, I missed today's hill training session!  A couple of 'things' I had to attend to took up the entire morning  - had to be done 'things' - and now at 1:00pm, it's too darned cold, windy and horrible to even contemplate going out and besides that, there are already large drops of rain on the window pane and masses of lumpy black clouds above waiting to dump their load.

"I Agree!"

I think I've just convinced myself it would be madness to venture out in such conditions!

Easy ~~~

Brisk walk today and strength exercises from F.I.R.S.T. training programs....
...and that's it!  Cold and windy, hoping for less wind tomorrow for some hill work.

~Strength Exercising~

Today....5km

Long Run ~~~

What a freezing, cold day it's been...still is now at 4:30p.m. and an even colder night ahead...but I won't be out in that!  Plenty of sunshine about but the wind must be straight off the snow fields.  I waited until 11:00a.m before setting off in the hope of it warming up, but not so!

Program :  90min or 15km

 

From Highlands School/Diamond Fields Road and back.

Higdon's program uses 'time on feet' for long runs but being a slow runner, I prefer 'distance' and so I returned to the F.I.R.S.T. training program I'd been using prior to switching to Hal Higdon's.  I just wouldn't get far enough in 90 minutes as Higdon imagines!

15km 
2 hours 2 minutes
5km splits  ~~  41:10;    41:58;    38:55 ....
Walk breaks
Stretches 

I ran the first and last kilometres around the school.  I chose Diamond Fields Road for a change to the lovely bush scenery as well as for its hills...of which there are plenty!  Going out was fine but when I turned around at the end of DF Road, I was hit by a blast of cold wind that stayed with me all the way back to the school...nasty!  But DF Road is such a pretty bush setting with open fields all around, it was worth the unpleasant conditions.

I have to admit to being all tuckered out at the finish; felt dreadfully tired, so in quick succession I did the following :  drove home, showered, cup of tea and an Anzac biscuit, flopped on the bed and slept for 2 hours!  I always feel worse after sleeping during the day, so I moaned and groaned about that until I had a cup of hot pumpkin soup which I drank greedily and now, sitting down to bring my blog up to date, I feel almost human, but not quite!

Today....15km

For the Week....39km

At "Pace" Run ~~~

Higdon's "Pace" runs are meant to be run at the pace you wish to run the half marathon; in other words 'race pace'.  To finish in 2:20 - and I'd like to do better than that  - I'd need to run 6:36m/k.  Easy?  Not today!!
Big improvement in the weather : strong winds lessened to cold but not so strong as for the past few days this week.

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
― Albert Camus

~~~ Lovely old maple in school grounds ~~~

I started at the Highlands School, to Bong Bong Road and Renwick streets where I chose to run back and forth on all the hilly streets just to make it more difficult!  Running in one direction down hills I had the wind behind me; returning uphill not so good into the cold wind and this gave V.P. the lead which he never lost, returning to the school more than 100m ahead of me!  Still....there's time for me to improve!

......through the branches ~~

Program:
5km at 'Pace'

 

5km @ Pace

Few drills
5km in 34:10
6:38;  7:00;  6:43;  6:59;  6:49
Stretches
Avg. pace 6:50
AHR 82%

Today ~~~ 5km

The Day Off ~~~

Friday is the one rest day during the week on the Higdon program I'm following, and pleased I am not to be out on another horribly windy day!  Tomorrow, no matter what the weather, I have to be out for a 5km run @ Pace and Sunday, a long run... hopefully with fewer gales blowing across the Southern Highlands than there have been lately.





 

Tempo Run ~~~

I hope this is true!!

Shocker of a day here :  not just windy, gales blowing; not just cold, but freezing!  I was no match for the force of the wind this morning and hated just about every minute of the session!  I took some walk breaks when it was too hard to run and stopped altogether when it was too difficult to walk.

Program  :
45 min Tempo Run

5 freezing kilometres

2km warm-up
5km in 36:21
Avg. Pace 7:16
AHR 77%;  MHR 96%?
7:07;  7:07;  6:55;  7:30;  7:41
1km walk to school.

Easy Day ~~

Just a 5km brisk walk today; legs a bit stiff from yesterday's track, so decided on a brisk walk instead of an easy run.  Weather very cold and very windy....very unpleasant.  I didn't bother with Garmin, just walked the same route I usually run for 5km.

Tomorrow tempo run.   Less cold and wind I hope!

Not such a bad idea!!