Late afternoon last Friday I got some shocking news. One of my corporate colleagues rang to say she was leaving the cheesemine for good to study full-time. Her last day was Monday. I was gobsmacked and didn’t see it coming. I’m in a very small team so a loss of such an amazing team-mate was off the richter terrible news. My boss rang and asked me to pack my bags and head to the head office in Sydney for the week to help keep the corporate wheels in motion while we try to find someone equally as awesome. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse (literally) so I cleared my diary, packed my gear and trundled off to the big smoke.
I’m truly committed to this training program and I’m determined to stick with it no matter how many curveballs life throws at me in the interim. I’m proud to say my training didn’t skip a beat.
Here’s how I ran it.
Monday 24/8/15
Today was the day I flew to the big cheesemine on the big island. I had an 8:40 flight so figured I would just do my morning run as per usual. I was due to run my “easy 40”. I had my alarm set for 5:15 and was ready to roll. Looked at the temperature on my phone …2 degrees feels like -2… I rolled over and went back to sleep. Motivation failed me today. I think I was still recovering from my 20km effort on Sunday.
I arrived to a blast of 20 degree heat when I stepped off the plane in Sydney. What a contrast! I vowed to run that night after I finished work. It turned out to be a very long and challenging day. I left the office late and there was a torrential tropical downpour (apparently there was hail in some places). I foraged for food and a tub of Ben and Jerry’s Icecream and settled in for the night. Running was not going to happen today.
Tuesday 25/8/15
Today was meant to be a rest day, however since the cold and the corporate defeated me yesterday I needed to do my “easy 40” today. I was staying on Castlereagh Street in the CBD next to Central Station. I didn’t get a good night’s sleep but that wasn’t going to stop me. I headed out of my hotel and and ran through Hyde Park and after a few wrong turns made it onto Art Gallery Road to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair and then back again.
Stunning View from Mrs Macquarie’s Chair Lookout
Finally! I actually really did an “easy 40”. I’ve been battling to keep my pace slower for these runs for ages and I’ve finally cracked it. I did 6 min kms. I’m not sure if it was the lack of sleep, the corporate exhaustion or the fact I was running in unfamiliar turf that slowed me down but I’m glad it did.
The run itself was awesome. I felt really good and enjoyed taking in the spectacular Sydney scenery. What I loved most is the fact that it was WARM. I noticed a real difference in my breathing – it was easier. Hopefully it will be warm when I run Cadbury.
Wednesday 26/8/15
ANZAC War Memorial, Hyde Park
Interval day today. Now that I was familiar with my surroundings I was able to leap out of bed and get into my speed session. Today’s task was to run 4 x 2km @ 10km pace with 90 sec rest. I opted to do this in Hyde Park so I didn’t have to stop for traffic. Hyde Park is a beautiful park bookended by the ANZAC War Memorial and the Archibald Fountain. The Park is so big it is actually cut in half by Park Street. I did laps of the ANZAC Memorial side of the park.
I was flying today and averaged about 15 seconds faster than my 10km pace. I even ran a leg of my session at sub 5 min km pace with my best km at 4’30”! If you don’t already know, one of my goals is to run sub 5 min kms. Not for the marathon obviously but hoping to sustain this for a 10km distance one day…
The running is certainly helping me cope with the corporate!
Friday 28/8/15
After having a rest day and hanging with my icy cold mates Ben & Jerry it was time to have my final run in Sydney. It was a balmy 15 degrees as I headed out the door. I planned to run to Mrs Macquarie’s chair, around the foreshore to the Opera House and then over the bridge and back for my “easy 55”.
The Iconic Opera House
I followed a pack of runners and took a bit of a detour/wrong turn/scenic route and ended up running to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Oops! I didn’t want to run through the city to get over the bridge so I started running back the way I came. On my way back I noticed the gates to the Botanical Gardens were open so I ran in. The gardens are absolutely stunning and I was the only one there. I thought that was weird but I kept running anyway. I popped out the end of the gardens and ran along the foreshore to the Opera House. I thought great! I’ll make it across the bridge as planned. I got to the Opera House only to find out that I was locked in the Botanical Gardens. Oops! Oh well. I ran back along the foreshore towards Mrs Macquaries Chair and noticed some runners up there. All was not lost and I bumbled back via Mrs Macquaries Chair and ran my 55 minutes. With all the twists, turns and photo ops I actually did run it easy and averaged 5’54” per km and finished up on 9.3km.
I really loved running in Sydney. The change of scenery was great and so was the weather. However, I was also very happy to get back out of the madness of the Sydney cheesemine and back home to beautiful Tassie.
Inscription at the end of Mrs Macquarie’s road.
Saturday 29/8/15
Parkrun wasn’t going to happen today for me. The weather was foul and I felt a bit precious after being spoiled by sunshine and warmth. I was going to run 5km out on the road but I wussed out and opted for the treadmill. BORING! I never regret running but I always regret running on a treadmill. I found it hard to get used to and ended up running too fast for it sometimes. I ran fast because I wanted to get it over with. 5km at 25:11 which is 5’01” per km. Tick.
Sunday 30/8/15
Long run today (14km) but shorter than what I’ve been running on my long runs recently. I was joined by my husband who is walking the Point to Pinnacle this year. He walked and I ran so we didn’t really see each other on the trail. We did the Pipeline Track.
This is fast becoming my favourite route. It is very popular and I ran into Shelley and Peter G on the trail. It was great to see them and grab a quick high 5 for support. As much as I love this trail the first 3km kill me! I don’t get my groove until 5km. I’m sure it will get better with time!
Despite the significant temperature difference to Sydney I ran well and did my 14km in 1:22:46 which is a 5’55” per km pace. I was definitely faster on the downhill and I did a “sprint” finish.
I’d love to run the whole trail one day!
Next week is the Ross Half-Marathon. I think I’m feeling ready for it. It will be weird having an extra rest day this week and not running so many kms…hopefully this will give my body the break it needs to finish Ross in under 2 hours! Stay tuned!
