Week 4: Monday February 16, 2015 - Nine weeks to Boston (70 run & 10k walk)
Monday - 10k walk. Local coastal walk to Bungan Beach. It has been some time since I have ventured north. Coastline is stunning at this time of the year. Lots of house building activity is evident in most streets I passed.
Tuesday - hills. I got out to my local hilly grassed area just before the dog walkers were out. Brilliant and still morning with a bright quarter moon visible in the pre-dawn light. I ran 15*30 second hill repeats in bare feet on the dewy grass. Hill did not feel as difficult as I remembered. Maybe I did not run hard enough? It felt really good to run in bare feet on the wet grass. It was a strange feeling putting my running shoes back on, to run home. They felt leaden and clumsy on my feet.
Wednesday - pace run, 14km to Long Reef in 1:20. Typical February morning, warm and humid. My run was less than excellent. Really felt like a struggle all the way. My head was bargaining with my legs for a walk break. Both Achilles were painful with niggling bone pain in R foot. Long Reef headland had quite a crowd for a spectacular sunrise. Unfortunately I did not take a camera.
Thursday - intervals at North Head.
I love this time of the year, warm and humid with shortening days reminding me that cool weather is not far off. I want to make the most of the warmth. Ran 2*3min, 1*6min interval with 30 sec standing rest, all at 4.40 pace. Ran in lower profile shoes and had breakfast before the run. Made a huge difference to how I felt. Very happy with the whole session. Followed up with a swim at Fairy Bower with huge swell over topping the pool.
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| Rain at Curly did not hang around for very long |
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| Fairy Bower pool |
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| Fairy Bower walk - wet and over-topping |
Friday - rest. Visit #2 with physio. Troubled with right foot just not behaving normally, on top of the ongoing Achilles niggles. I am worried about another stress fracture. Visited physio and after much painful manipulation and acupuncture, unrestricted foot movement was restored and I was sent off with lot more exercise to do to strengthen my weak and rubbery core.
Saturday - Blue Mountains Trail. I ran from Explorers Tree, Katoomba to Cox's River and back, total distance of 30km in 4 hrs and 20min. So happy to be back in the mountains. Today was absolutely perfect running conditions, noticeably cooler with a light drizzle. A small turnout from the training group with many needed to run closer to home. Anyhow after we started at 7 am I was pretty much on my own until the last 8km where I caught up with Trav and we chatted and enjoyed the trail for a few k's until the purgatory of a Nellies Glen ascent. I tried my race day nutrition and all seemed to work well except for feeling heavy for the first 10km. Achillies were tight and painful from start to finish. Really enjoyed the descent to Cox's River. It was peaceful and quite with only the sound of light rain falling with bellbirds and whipping bird whistles breaking the silence. It cannot get any better. My cup of happiness was overflowing. Misty Blue Mountains were at their very best today. So happy I made the trip.
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| Small group at the start, a few more turned up after. |
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| That is the last I saw of most of the group. |
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| Loved running in the light drizzle with mist hugging the mountains |
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| On the way back. Katoomba is somewhere on the escarpment shrouded in mist. |
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| Wildflowers on the trail going along Cox's River. |
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| looks like it gets cold here in winter. On the way to Cox's River. |
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| In 3 weeks this will be full of runners buzz! |
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| So cold at Govetts Leap where I went to have my lunch after he run, I lost feeling in my fingers. |
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| Love the misty Blue Mountains |
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| Serenity and giving thanks! |
Sunday - recovery road run. Ten Bridges STaR run with Sydney Striders, I ran a very hilly 13.5km from Lane Cove to Kirribilli and back. Very pleased to overcome my inner voice that kept telling me to stay home and do a short local run, which I knew would not happen. I felt great for about the first 10km and then was pleased to be heading back to the start line. I was so exhausted I fell asleep in the car waiting for Hammer to finish his long run.
A great weekend with solid running. So far so good :-).
