Slightly smashed...

Saturday - I need to get some strength sessions in, so today's fun was 11k of rolling (big) hills. There's a road near us which is 1.5k of roller-coaster, so out and back on it was as good a place as any to start (following a 2k warm up). Then it was down into the valley for 1.5k of recovery, before 2 more k of rollercoaster along the valley floor, and then the 1.5k constantly rising killer hill up out of the valley again. I defy anyone to run it and not be busting a gut by the time they reach the top. What a shame that I had to pause a moment for a car to cross a drive way just after the top. Of course, I wouldn't have stopped if it hadn't been for the car... :-)

Average pace for the run was 5:15, and for that hill it was a bit under 6:00. Mood after run? Tired, but pretty happy. The one concern was the effect it may have on Sunday's long run.

Sunday - and it didn't take long to find out! I left home at about 5:50am to run down through Castle Hill & Baulkham Hills to Parramatta, one lap around Parramatta Park, and then home via Carlingford. Right from the first steps my legs just felt tired. They settled into rhythm before too long, but there was never any 'floating' feeling - just hard slog. I really started to feel the hills from about 25k onwards. To add insult to injury, the route home was about 4k shorter than the route out, so having reached within spitting distance of home, I had to continue on and find another 4k, and in my addled state managed to pick another one of the local rollercoasters. Still, that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I ain't dead yet! :-)

Total distance - 32.5k at 5:45 (including a couple of gel-and-drink stops).
Total for the week - 73k (both new distance records for me).
I'm feeling OK now, but geez I'm glad that tomorrow's a rest day. 8 weeks to go, and then I've told TA that I'm not going to run anywhere for a month (she doesn't believe me).

sfG