Week 6 & 7

“It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.”
― Terry Pratchett, The Last Continent

View from Reabold trails on a hot Monday 

More limestone trails 

The past 2 weeks have been a little bit of a roller coaster physically and emotionally. After 5 weeks of training in somewhat hot and humid conditions ,week 6 was an easy week which allowed the body to recover.

I chose not to run on Monday and Thursday as the programme had DOC or Distance of Choice.On Tuesday and Wednesday just easy 1 hour runs with cross fit as well .I ran 8 km on Tuesday with a very easy slow pace  at Midday and on the Wednesday did 11 km with a 15 minute  warm up at 6.30 to 7 min per km pace and 30 min at 5.30 to 5.44 pace .The rest was an easy pace .I did just under 11 km with stops at traffic lights all on the footpath.

Friday I ran around the river with the opening of Elizabeth Quay underway and ran 13km in under 90 minutes.Kept the HR at about 130 and it was hot and humid.

Saturday , I ran 30 minutes and did 4km  and had cross fit in the afternoon.Unfortunately ,I did not ruin on Sunday . My mother in law passed away suddenly on Saturday night .

The renaming week end was realising how sudden and fleeting life can be and enjoying each moment is precious is probably the most valuable lesson one can learn.

The next week was the start of another build in time on the feet and was going to be a hot week.Perth had a 4 day stretch of temperatures above 40 C or 104 Fahrenheit. On Monday I ran on a tread mill for 7.5 km in 45 minutes and then in the evening at 5 pm I ran for 75 minutes at Reabold Hill and covered 11.5 km

Tuesday I did  10 KM SESSION on a tread mill because of the heat . I did a 2 km warm up and then ran 8 x 4 minute segments at 5.15 pace with 2 minutes between each segment for recovery .Then in the evening rode to cross fit but because of the heat just rested and rode home .

Wednesday , I ran an easy 75 minutes covering 11 km

Thursday , I ran an easy 45 minutes covering about 6.5 km.

Friday , I ran  in the evening along the coast with a 3km warm up at about 6.30 minutes per km pace and then between 5.30 and 5.45 minutes per km pace for the next 7 km and finished with a 2  km cool down .Run time 75 minutes

Saturday's WOD  ...sore arms

Saturday , rode around the river in an easy pace with some hard efforts along the way .Rode 45 km and then ran 4.6 km in 26 minutes.In the afternoon cross fit .

Kalamunda Trails on Sunday

Michelle running up a hill

Railway Road in Kalamunda Town ..Start and end of the run

Sunday morning started with a 6am run up at Kalamunda for a 3 hour run. I got lost with Michelle for the next 3 hours doing a big loop and getting as far as the Zig Zag Road and Stratham Quarry and then back through Gooseberry and the final 2 km up Kalamunda Road into the town site. Ran a total of 22kms in 3.15 hr approximately.

For the week I did about 84.5kms in 10.5  hours of running 2 bikes rides and cross fit for about 15 hours of training . I have also started to sort out my running equipment and have all the items in the list . Just need to test out the lights again with some night running.

All the gear for the Ultra-Trails Run Checklist sorted

Getting back into the Swing

Sunday Morning Sorrento beach

This week started out with great weather and a public Holiday .

Exceed were swimming at Sorento at 8 am .I decided to do my run .Got out at 7am and it was hard.I did get warmed up and started a block of 40minutes at Marathon pace after the first 2 easy kilometres. It was hard going but managed to keep the pace at about 5.20 minutes per kilometre. I then had a 6 -8 minute break and did the second block of 40 minutes .The first 3kms were good but I then started to tire and struggle.main reason no fluids and carbohydrates.I was really struggling .Silly mistake to think I could do a 2 hours run without any energy or fluids. I managed to find a tap in the Park and struggled on but with no food after 1hr 20 minutes I just had to struggle and finish the run. I had two stops and then ran slowly back home.Did 20.5km in 2 hours.

Tuesday , I had 1.5 hrs hard at Nedlands. I was out there just after 5.30 which meant a 4.30 start  from home to the Office and then riding out to Nedlands.  Claire and Ruari were just starting out and overtook me and we did a lap before  the main Exceed group were starting out.I managed 4 and a bit laps in the 1.5 hours and rode for just over 2 hours. Definite improvement but still fair way behind from my 2010/11 fitness.  In the evening , I had run training and Ross was back . Good to have a coach back to talk to. I did a 3km warm up and then 2km , 2 x 1km at threshold and 4 x 400m fast.Cool down was a further 2.5km . That made for a long day and very tired legs.

Wednesday , up early again for swim training. 700m warm up and then 3 x600m at medium , sub threshold and medium. I tagged behind Glenda and managed the session .The left arm was still weak and makes for an awkward stroke. Finished off with 200m Cool down .Total 2700m.

In the evening , I had work so I did my bike session at Kings Park in the late afternoon . It was overcast and there was a slight drizzle. It was hill repeats for 1 hour with a warm up and cool down for a total of 1.12. A couple of cyclist were sprinting up the incline making my efforts look pretty weak. It was a relatively good location to do hill repeats with the whole city skyline as a view .One of the better work out locations .

Thursday: Another , early start , getting to the office and then riding out to Nedlands.It was a brick session. i started out before the main pack and I did a lap of Nedlands circuit and a 2km run followed by another circuit ( about 10km ) and then a 2km run. the second run leg was hard . My throat was tickling and I kept coughing to the point of dry retching which made running hard. it was a hard session .

In the evening , had a 50 minute easy slow run .My legs did not thank me.

Friday : I made it . Morning swim was a 500m warm up and then 300m threshold , 500m medium , 300m threshold , 500m medium and 300m threshold with a 300m cool down with 200m kick. A total of 2.7km.



Saturday : A late start at 6.10am and it was a little chilly and the wind was getting up a bit. I had my usual Hills ride of 5 hours . There were 2 groups of cyclist at the start and they passed me pretty quick till Darlington Road when I rode passed them as they waited for stragglers. The wind was pretty hard in the hills especially whilst trying to climb .I Did not see a cyclist again till Mundaring Weir Road . As I climbed up to Kalamunda I caught 3 cyclist a guy and 2 girls and managed to pass them , a first for me before they caught up just as we reached Kalamunda. I had a short stop at the petrol station and got a chocolate Bar , not exactly nutrition but just needed it. Then rode the loop at Pickering Brook before climbing Mundaring Weir Road again . Coming down from Kalamunda is always fun with cars whizzing by as I sped down at 60 kph. I had a tail wind on the home stretch and that helped. i ran off the bike for 35 minutes and it was hot .

Sunday was a rest day but I was meaning on doing a swim at Sorrento . With the rain decided to skip it .Did make it for Yoga though.