Where we went part 20b: Crathes Castle morning of 2 June

After passing through Aberdeen we drove on and arrived at Crathes Castle and Gardens. I have 120 superb photos and it was difficult to cull them. This 16th-century castle is renowned for its 240 hectares of incredible landscaped grounds and formal gardens.

More PBs for Julia

There is an interesting set of times from the Gungahlin Parkrun this morning:



Julia's 5k PB was by 54 seconds; this follows a 36 second PB for 3k on Thursday night. The training is working!

Another performance of note this morning: at the Tuggeranong Parkrun, W65 Sue Archer ran a new PB of 22.29. I wonder if Ruth is still keen to enter the W65s soon?

Full speedygeese results will appear on this blog on Tuesday as usual.

31 January

#GMJanuaryChallenge2015 Day 31
Aerobic 20 minutes
Done! An easy 5k was my run today.

28, 29 & 30 January

28 January
I decided on a rest day - I hadn't had one for a while.

29 January
#GMJanuaryChallenge2015 Day 29: Aerobic 20 minutes
Done.
I ran a 10k, actually. 45:58. Splits:
2ks were 9:10, 9:16, 9:11, 9:14, 9:07
5ks were 22:59, 22:59.
Approximately

30 January
#GMJanuaryChallenge2015 Day 28: 2x{Plank 2 minutes, Crunches x 10, Leg Extensions x 10}, Superman x 10, Pushups x 25
Done!
Earlier in the day I did a circuit class; just for interest the intense part of the class was 3 x {1 minute each of sprints; plank; squats with weights; punches with weights; burpees; pushups, stepping; TrX} and after the circuit class, a 10k run along Ginninderra Creek. A good recovery after the previous night's 10k.

I will be doing day 31 of the challenge on 1 February and then that's it.

Where we went part 20a - Aberdeen, 2 June

We disembarked at Aberdeen, our penultimate port



Hopped on a coach to drive through the city















On our way to Crathes Castle for the morning (to be continued...)

Announcing the February Challenge

MY challenge in February will be - no alcohol for a month.

There is no spreadsheet for this one.

All the same, in February I will have my own detailed training program to follow; there will be more aerobic work and speed-endurance intervals and races/time trials; more gym sessions and core exercises and strength work. I am sure you will all continue your core work, strength work, and aerobic sessions. Join me if you wish for the February challenge. Don’t be dismayed if "no alcohol" is not your plan! You could always give up coffee instead. I can’t give up coffee: I don’t drink coffee any more. The last time I drank a cup of coffee was 6 months ago: 3rd August 2014. Big mistake then; haven’t done it since. I highly recommend "no coffee" as a lifestyle. So you could decide something equally important to you and see how it goes. "No chocolate"? Whatever.

Or you could give up watching the news. This would be good for your mental health.

Official opening of Mt Kosciomlo

The Stromlo cross country circuit now takes in Mt Kosciomlo, as named by Ewen, as his selfie shows; see the cones leading to the new peak. Our 5k times will never be the same again. You may join us for training there this Sunday, if you can, for 200m intervals taking in the hill!!
[Edit: Oops! It is closed for "another two or three weeks"!]

Meanwhile last Sunday it was just me running 10 x 400m intervals around the 1k and 2k circuits there. A few people were away for the long weekend. Must say it was my best interval session this year so far.

Australia Day on Monday meant fewer runners again, and because of events around Parliament House we departed from our usual pattern and met at Yarralumla Dog Park where I had the group run about six 400m intervals, with handicap starts, up on the CSIRO cricket/footy oval. Thommo, Julia and I ran 8.4k early; then joining us for the intervals were Andy, Azrianne, Dan, Ewen, Garry, Jen and Warrick.

27 January

#GMJanuaryChallenge2015 Day 27
Aerobic 20 minutes
Done! jogged to the gym and back (4k)
plus one hour of circuit training while there
plus whatever intervals I do later in the day.

Recent Races/Major Events coming up

Race results speedygeese:
Monday 19 January ACTVAC Track
3000m
M55 David Clarke 13:01.26 67.7%
M55 Roger Pilkington 13:23.14 65.8
W60 Kathy Sims 13:24.08 87.7
W30 Thea Zimpel 14:55.11 56.2
W70 Caroline Campbell 15:57.76 85.3

1500m
M55 David Clarke 5:34.59 75.9%

Spiral 4
3 David Clarke M55 6:19
12 Ruth Baussmann W60 8:19
15 finishers

Tuesday 20 January AMRA Black Mountain Run-Up 2.6k
37 Peter Thomson 19.14
40 Bron Sparkes 20.46
44 Caroline Campbell 24.23
45 finishers.

Friday 23 January Customs 5k
Peter Thomson 22:55
Bill Arthur 28:28
Caroline Campbell 33:07

Saturday 24 January Orroral 20k women
3 Jen Bright 39 1.39.06
11 Catherine Montalto 62 2.09.22
Orroral 10k men
5 Clint Zirk 33 58.47

Saturday 24 January 5k Ginninderra Parkrun #144
72 Helen Northey 25:44 W35 New PB!
111 Thea Zimpel 28:28 W30
236 finishers

Saturday 24 January 5k Tuggeranong Parkrun #101
18 David Clarke 20:11 M55
29 Peter Thomson 21:09 M50
63 Ewen Thompson 23:47 M55
324 finishers

Saturday 24 January 5k Gungahlin Parkrun #67
28 Geoff Moore 23:11 M65
89 Margaret McSpadden 31:01 W65
187 finishers

Margaret McSpadden W65 recent interstate parkruns
Fingal Bay parkrun 20/12/2014 30:06
Tamworth parkrun 17/01/2015 29:26

Julia Anderson W40 recent interstate parkruns
Blackbutt parkrun 17/01/2015 27:31
Penrith Lakes parkrun 24/01/2015 23:24

Sunday 25 January ACTVAC 6k handicap Campbell Park
6 Amanda Ruffin W55 32:00 69.4%
15 Nadine Morrison W45 31:29 62.5
19 Peter Thomson M50 27:38 69.1
26 Mick Charlton M60 34:45 59.2
28 Mick Horan M55 30:18 63.5
33 Andrew Matthews M55 31:44 60.6
40 David Clarke M55 26:54 72.2
42 Rae Palmer W65 37:13 69.2
48 Marilyn Banfield W65 40:49 61.3
76 Ruth Baussmann W60 39:08 63.1
78 Caroline Campbell W70 41:18 67.9
82 Roger Pilkington M55 33:44 57.6
85 finishers

Sunday 25 January ACTVAC 3k handicap Campbell Park
5 Jill Pearson W55 16:13 67.2%
39 finishers


I set off in the Gungahlin parkrun


Margaret looks like she is enjoying the Gungahlin parkrun

Major events: I have added a new tab to the top of this blog, where I link to major local events, such as the Weston Creek Half Marathon, the Relay For Life, and more.

26 January

#GMJanuaryChallenge2015 Day 26
2x{Plank 2 minutes, Crunches x 10, Leg Extensions x 10}
Superman x 10
Done!
Chinups x 10 will do tomorrow.



And training at the Dog Park will do this afternoon!

Happy 40th Birthday Triple J

Song of the week: "Sultans of Swing", by Dire Straits
From http://youtu.be/8Pa9x9fZBtY

.

I plan to be listening to Triple J, from midday or so, to see if there are any good songs amongst their top 100 that I haven’t come across before! If past experience is anything to go by, there may be one. Just one.

But good on Triple J for bringing Dire Straits to the attention of the world, via this song.

25 January. Ups and downs.

#GMJanuaryChallenge2015 Day 25
Aerobic 20 minutes
Balance practice
Done!

Ran 10 x 400m at Stromlo in the morning, plus a little extra. A good session. Varying the start points made for maximum variety and undulations!