MELBOURNE HALF MARATHON TRAINING: WEEK 9 DAY 7 - LOFTY

So this week was really a total right off. I gave myself a couple of impromptu rest days after last Sunday's mini marathon. That turned into a rest week. Far too tired from work and just wanted to beat one with my couch. So this morning was lofty with Katie. Ignore the time, it said we got up there in 34 mins and it was only 2.8 kms (yet we had parked about 500 m away from the start), so who knows.
In any case with was a ripper morning (all be it hideously fresh at the bottom). Great view from the top and obligatory summit photo with my buddy :)
Back down and home by 10 am which was great.
Let's see how this weekend pans out. Tuesday will be the best day for a long run and the target is 14km (so waking up early on my first double days off in weeks).  7 weeks to go.

02/06/15 LOFTY followed by DRY NEEDLING

Chilly but sunny day here in the Rads. Lofty was the event for today with Sami and Ev. We ran part of the way up and ran some of the way down. With more practice, and an unaggravated hamstring I am sure I can run more. Running down was good and it was nice because I ran between the girls (one in front and one behind) so keeping up was not a problem and considering their average time on the road is about 5:10/km on the trail there were points where we were running at 6:00-6:45/km pace.  I am just baffled at how my asthma has literally disappeared. Was just a fabulous afternoon and it was my fastest ever up and down by I reckon at least 8-10 minutes. Glutes absolutely caned so there was a few stops on the way up but I was so happy with a 56 minutes up time.
We ate at a local cafe for lunch (entertainment book) which was nice and I got to treat myself to a burger.
Got dry needled again this afternoon and am quite sore. 8 cm needles lodged in my flutes, hamstrings and thighs and wiggled around until they twitch and release. It certainly showed in my glutes this week with them not reacting so much to the needles. The right hamstring however went nuts and my quad well, it could barely be touched before needling. Both muscles like rocks. Another session next week and then I will have a rest to see how it goes.