Running with Dingo 2

Ran yesterday morning (6ks/39.54 mins). Glad that I went early as it was a stinker here (44 degrees max - thank goodness I was at work where it was marginally cooler). I saw another dingo, this time much closer to home. Fortunately this one only appeared once then disappeared. Yoga in the afternoon. It's not fair that some people take up yoga and are good at it straight away!

This morning I was up early again for a walk this time. Pleasant walk, lots of wallabies, no dingoes.

Edit: Just in case anybody thinks I live in some crazy Saharan Desert I think the positioning of our thermometer must be giving inaccurate readings. Apparently it was 46 today! Yes it was hot, but maybe not quite that hot. Thankfully it has cooled down now to a nice 23 thanks to the Southerly.

Walking Walking

A couple of rest days, with some walking. Walked on the beach with the whole family yesterday, then walked Pip with J.

A 5k walk this morning with Pip. The weather is getting hotter - it was 41 here yesterday (luckily we escaped to Scotts Head for the worst part of the day) but a late storm cooled things down a little.

The plan is to run in the morning tomorrow.

Misty Mountain

It was beautiful out running at 6 this morning. The tops of the trees were all shrouded in mist and you couldn't really see across to the mountains.

I finally fot a longish run in (10ks in 70 mins). the time was still slowish but i took it easy again for the first few to warm the chilles up. I took the advice and used some voltaren and it did feel better. I even iced it briefly when I got home - in the short amount of time available before cricket.

The running felt ok. I got into a nice rhythm once I was warmed up. Pip came part of the way - dragged on the leash after I caught him heading back home twice, then he stopped and waited for me to come back.

Cricket was fun and J got 13 runs so he was happy. G and D are still at it.

Warm Morning

Just a 4k walk this morning. I was glad that I wasn't going running as it was 22 degrees at 6.ooam. I am enjoying walking at the moment, maybe because my running has been a bit dismal of late.

The plan is still for a longish run in the morning before cricket, but we'll see how early I wake up. I have not really set an alarm clock in years now - I just get up with the sun (I am an early riser) so it often depends just what time it is when I wake up. The down side to not setting an alarm is that I have a lot of trouble sleeping in, even when I want to. Still I read somewhere that you should get up at the same time each day as it makes you sleep better.

As you can probably tell from this rambling about sleep I am a bit of an insomniac. I go to sleep very easily but usually wake during the night and have trouble getting back to sleep. It doesn't help that J still likes to get in our bed in the middle of the night most nights.

All this talk about sleep is making me tired!

Another slowish 7 ks (47 mins). Idecided to take it easy for the first 2 ks (16 mins!!) to warm up the achilles - the pain seemed to alternate between there and the underside of my foot. Obviously the time did get better or I would have been late for work.

I sort of did a fartlek but am still finding that I slow right down on the floats. It also felt quite warm up in the bush. It is amazing how much warmer it is up there than here at home at that time of day. Overall I was just glad that I got out there and ran this morning.

The plan for the weekend is to do a long run, the first in weeks, not sure when as I will have to work around 'boys' and their cricket and fishing plus social commitments. Maybe 10 ks on Saturday early before the cricket.

Pip and I enjoyed a pleasant but hot walk (5ks/43mins) this afternoon, I was glad that I hadn't planned on running as it was still 32 degrees at 5.00 pm.

My legs are a bit sore from yoga yesterday. I always seem to feel it in the groin area, obviously running does not stretch this area at all. In fact I think that running does not help with stretchability at all. I came to the conclusion in the class that I am not very good at yoga. Most of the women who go are a lot older than me and a lot more flexible. We have all been doing it for about the same time, but they have improved much more than I have. This is also probably because they practice yoga in between classes. It is always my plan to do this but some weeks it is hard enough to find the time to go running, let alone do yoga. Still I would like to be more flexible so I think that I will just have to try and find time.

Tomorrow morning I plan to be up early for a run. If the achilles is okay I will try a fartlek session - otherwise it will just be an easy run.

Slow Seven

A slow seven kilometres this morning. I woke a little late and thought about not going, but dragged myself out of bed at 5.30. My right achilles was very tight for the first few ks and a little niggly throughout the whole run - which explains the slow time of 48 minutes. I'm not sure if it is the shoes, running on bitumen or what, but I want it to go away. It's not as though I have been clocking up a lot of ks over the last few weeks.

Off to yoga this afternoon for the first time in 3 weeks. I have missed it and I am sure that I will be feeling it.

Wow I just worked out how to set time and date - what a slow learner! Some of you must have thought I was an insomniac :)

Walking

Just a walk today, but a nice brisk one. 5ks in 43 mins. The plan is to run in the morning but it will depend on what time I wake up. I want to try to get back to some longer runs this week as the work routine settles back into the normal pattern. It would also be nice to lose the couple of kilos that have crept on over the last little while - too many lollies, chocolates etc at work functions, but I am not going to dwell on that one. I just need to be more aware of what I am eating. It is so easy to eat without really thinking about it, especially sweet things.

Running in the Suburbs

Managed a quick 5k run around Wahroonga this morning. It was very pleasant, not too many people out (only 2 other runners spotted), nice and cool. It was fun to look at all the huge old houses and lovely gardens.

It was also a good weekend of catching up with family. We took the boys to the Aquarium which is always great and had a quick look at the Maritime Museum where we got into trouble for trying to sneak in without getting our free tickets - go figure! Played a few sets of tennis and did okay considering I don't play too often these days.

J is over the moon as he now has a Nintendo DS - every boy's dream!

Nowhere Without You

The title is the Bob Evans song I am listening to at the moment - I have figured out a good way to think up blog titles. Pity it does not really relate to today's run, although Pip did come along without complaint (and my runs are so much nicer with him for company :)

Did 7kms (44 mins) up the road for the first time all week. The achilles was complaining a bit which may be because I only ran yesterday morning (I usually like to leave 48 hrs between runs to avoid the niggles - which generally works for me). Still it was good to get it in before the busy weekend which starts today for me. The people at work are starting to forget who I am but at least my colleagues seem to be coping without me!

Running on bitumen

You can tell that I'm a little tired by the imaginative title of this blog. How do other people always come up with interesting ones?

This morning I managed a quick run around the housing development next to the resort (unfortunately the beach wasn's suitable due to a very steep camber). I was a little seedy due to lack of sleep which is was always happens when I drink more than a glass of wine! I probably covered about 6ks in about 36 mins. It was fun running past all the magnificent houses and stunning views and the resort was pretty nice.

Not sure when my next long run will be as I'm off to Sydney for the weekend for D's appointment and to catch up with family. I'll probably get in a quick one at some stage.

I'm only at work 2 days this week. Added to last week I can feel the work piling up - oh well it will still be there next week.

Morning became afternoon

The morning run didn't eventuate as I slept in till 6 (not the planned 5.15 start) as I never set an alarm clock. I obviously needed the extra sleep as I'm still recovering from my 1 day weekends of the last few weeks.

It was still pretty warm when I got home but cooled down enough by 5.45pm to run. I chose the creek so that I could just come back up if I got too hot. Pippi started to head out to the road for the run and turned up his nose in disgust when I was only going down the creek - he went straight back into his yard. I would love to know what that dog thinks.

The run was fine - 6kms in 36 mins.

Just a walk this morning as I am leaving late for a 2 day conference. It should be good as I get to stay in a nice resort, meals provided, etc.

Feels Like Summer

A hot one today. It was still 30 degrees at 6.00pm so I decided that a walk would have to do (plus I've had the most shocking hayfever all day and generally feel blah).

It was still pretty warm but Pip decided to come with no hassles (usually he hates it when it's hot, but I swear that he knows the difference between my running and walking clothes). The walk was worth it as I saw a regent bowerbird about 1/2k from home. It was just a flash of stunning yellow as it flew across in front of me and then it was gone into the bushes. For anyone who has never seen one of these amazing birds (I've only seen one twice) they are black with the most incredible yellow - the most yellow yellow.

My plan is to get up early and run before work and before the heat tomorrow.

Busy Busy

One more day to go of my ultra busy week. My brain is hurting!

I've managed 2 runs this week which has been pretty good considering. Wednesday I had a quick 5ks (31 mins) and this morning I did 7 kms (tried doing a fartlek type thing) in 44 mins (the time was pretty normal - I think I slowed right down after the faster bursts. Is that usual?)

Tonight I am having a glass of wine and an early night. I still have to leave home at 7.30 in morning and will miss the boys' cricket.

Long Slow Sunday

This describes both my day and the run. I worked all day yesterday (as well as 2 1/2 hours driving) and I have not felt like doing too much today.

I did my 14k run this afternoon. It was still fairly humid and rained a little, so not the most comfortable running conditions. But it was really beautiful in the bush today. the rain of the past few days has made everything nice and green and the creek was flowing well.

No wildlife of note but lots of things are in flower at the moment including what looked like the native hibiscuc that we used to get in the Territory. Part of where I run is a rainforest remnant (the part that hasn't been logged to death) and it is pretty gorgeous. I saw lots of staghorns that I hadn't noticed before (it was nicer looking around than thinking about my running!) On the way back I bumped into the boys out taking Pip for a walk and walked the last 1/2k with them.

2P had a good question on my last entry about why I want to get faster. Basically I want to feel that I am still imrpoving. I know that I can run longer than a year ago but I am not that much faster/. I thought that if I kept running that I would simply get faster, that is not true. I think that I have a pace that is really comfortable to run at (between 6-7 min/kms) and in order to get faster I will have to work at it.

My plan is to do the half marathon at the Macleay River Marathon in June next year. This is a long way off and I think I could actually run the distance now so I guess I would like to do it in a respectable time (under 2 hours wuold be nice). It would be good to do another race but I am pretty flat out most of the time - working full time + traveling 90 minutes a day, kids sport, etc. I might try to find another race to do next year as it is good motivation.

Busy week ahead! Hope I can squeeze in a few quick runs.

Creek Work

Thanks to some good advice in regard to my speedwork I have just completed a good session. i decided to use the creek flat again as we have just had it slashed, which means no more runnign past stinging nettles and thistles that were taller than me.

I ran 3 laps slow (1.8km) then 400m fast, followed by a 200m walk and a slow lap (600m) X 4, then 3 laps of slow.

It was a bit hot and humid to begin with and the ground is pretty rough due to it being a creek flat (not exactly lawn!), the recent slashing and a bit of rain earlier this arvo. But it felt a lot better than last time - I think the walks really helped me to push that last bit and I had plenty of recovery time in between. I also borrowed a decent stop watch from work.

I'm not sure whether I should do this session next week or alternate with a fartlek. Any ideas?

Times: 2.09, 2: 2.18, 2.12, 2.17. All up 7.8 kms: 47 mins (av pace: 6 mins). Certainly a good improvement on the last attempt, it felt better anyway!