Half Way There

Good grief, I'd forgotten how far and hard 21.1km is. I did three laps of the Bay Run today, mostly in stray dog mode, but every now and then I'd measure my pace for a km to get a feel. I started at 4m30ish for the first few then slipped it out to 4m45s which felt comfortable. I finished the first lap in 35min which wasn't too bad but I knew there was no way I was going to negative split anything today!

My GPS started talking to someone's HRM resulting in my screen on the Forerunner telling me my resting HR was 153 bpm despite the fact I wasn't wearing a HRM. This obviously confused my GPS because the message stayed there for the next 3km annoying me enormously. So I turned the damned thing off and went stray dog - just ran for the pleasure of it, enjoyed the sights and let the head wander. Felt good.

Stiffening up a bit now but no injuries and a big tick in my list of things I need to do before I get back to being able to confidently tackle a marathon sometime soon.

Kettle Bells

Great workout with George this morning (George Hynec MA Training). I was still dehydrated from my run yesterday but performed really well despite not feeling terribly healthy at all.
I went ahead with the renegade rows, floor presses and stayed constant with the squat and press.
I'm toying with the idea of getting another session with the Bioptron light but will see how I recover from today's session.
I'm going to have to get Sarah Key's back block out again to loosen up the sacro-iliac joint later on tonight. Such a simple tool for such a great result.

While The Wife's Away...

I don't think she reads my blog so I can write without measuring my words here.

My training has been going great guns since she departed for work reasons to the Old Dart.I can train during the "sociable hours" when I'm meant to be rehashing the day's events and helping with the evening dinner.Coming home sweaty and exhausted at 10pm could be seen as being mightily suspicious if it weren't for the unflattering running tights and the inarguable evidence on my wrist in the form of my Forerunner.


Time: 00:40:47
Distance: 6.79 km
Elevation Gain: 38 m
Calories: 507 C
Timing
Time: 00:40:47
Moving Time: 00:34:45
Elapsed Time: 00:57:18
Avg Speed: 10.0 km/h
Avg Moving Speed: 11.7 km/h
Max Speed: 17.3 km/h
Avg Pace: 06:00 min/km
Avg Moving Pace: 05:07 min/km
Best Pace: 03:27 min/km
Speed
Pace
Elevation
Elevation Gain: 38 m
Elevation Loss: 30 m
Min Elevation: 115 m
Max Elevation: 125 m
Heart Rate
Avg HR: 156 bpm
Max HR: 183 bpm
Avg HR: 84 % of Max
Max HR: 99 % of Max
Avg HR: 4.4 z
Max HR: 5.9 z


Minutes per KilometerAvg Pace
Summary 00:40:47 6.79 06:00
1 00:05:30 0.80 06:52 Warm up
2 00:02:00 0.18 11:06 ''
3 00:04:16 1.00 04:16 Lap 1
4 00:02:00 0.06 20:00
5 00:04:15 1.00 04:15 2
6 00:02:00 0.05 20:00
7 00:04:16 1.00 04:16 3
8 00:01:45 0.03 20:00
9 00:03:20 0.80 04:09 4
10 00:01:35 0.05 20:00
11 00:03:18 0.80 04:08 5
12 00:01:35 0.05 20:00
13 00:03:16 0.80 04:05 6
14 00:01:35 0.16 10:11

The above workout is my speed interval session I do once a week. 3x1km then 3x800m. I purposely made it fairly tough as I thought I'd need a few weeks to accomplish it especially after failing miserably on the first attempt. I cracked it today and am feeling quite chuffed about it too.

My problem now is how to advance it for the next session; more reps or quicker times?

Nepean River Tempo Run

Finish

Tue, Jun 1, 2010 5:34 PM Eastern Time - NSW (Australia)

By flashrip

Activity Type: Uncategorized Running Street Running Track Running Trail Running Treadmill Running Cycling Cyclocross Downhill Biking Indoor Cycling Mountain Biking Recumbent Cycling Road Cycling Track Cycling Fitness Equipment Elliptical Indoor Cardio Indoor Rowing Stair Climbing Strength Training Hiking Swimming Lap Swimming Open Water Swimming Walking Casual Walking Speed Walking Transition Swim to Bike Transition Bike to Run Transition Run to Bike Transition Motorcycling Other Backcountry Skiing/Snowboarding Boating Cross Country Skiing Driving Flying Horseback Riding Inline Skating Mountaineering Paddling Resort Skiing/Snowboarding Rowing Sailing Skate Skiing Skating Snowmobiling Snowshoeing Whitewater Kayaking/Rafting Wind/Kite Surfing

Event Type: Geocaching Fitness Recreation Race Special Event Training Transportation Touring Uncategorized

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Player Splits Details

Summary

Overall

Time:	00:26:38
Distance:	6.00 km
Elevation Gain:	30 m
Calories:	521 C

Timing

Time:	00:26:38
Moving Time:	00:26:31
Elapsed Time:	00:26:38

Avg Speed:	13.5 km/h
Avg Moving Speed:	13.6 km/h
Max Speed:	16.4 km/h

Avg Pace:	04:26 min/km
Avg Moving Pace:	04:24 min/km
Best Pace:	03:39 min/km

Speed

Pace

Elevation

Elevation Gain:	30 m
Elevation Loss:	27 m
Min Elevation:	15 m
Max Elevation:	32 m

Laps 7

View Splits

SplitSplit Hour:Minute:SecondTime KilometersDistance Minutes per KilometerAvg Pace Summary 00:26:38 6.00 04:26 1 00:04:22 1.00 04:22 2 00:04:26 1.00 04:26 3 00:04:28 1.00 04:28 4 00:04:23 1.00 04:23 5 00:04:24 1.00 04:24 6 00:04:30 1.00 04:30 7 00:00:01 0.00 06:52

The above run was an attempt to do 6k in sub 4m30s/km. Weather was perfect but the first part of the run was extremely dark and twice I ran straight off the path. Good result though.

Cold Fish

I just got my full blood lab results back from my doc. As I suspected I am healthier now than I've been for about 5 years. I really feel great and it's showing in my running.

I've sold fish oil supplements for years and advocated ice treatment for better rehab after training.Of course, I've rarely followed my own advice when it comes to my own supplementation and training regime. However, since I've started taking 4000 to 6000mg fish oil per day because the large tub of the stuff on the kitchen bench was nearing expiry date I've been feeling noticeably great. The joint niggles are absent which means fewer excuses to be active which means I am training more which has everything spiralling up toward this inevitable return to running.

I've also started sitting in my freezing bloody cold pool up to my waist after every training session. Now the well meaning sod who built my pool has placed it so that it sees almost no sun at all in an obvious attempt to protect us from melanoma. The result is a rarely used pool for recreational purposes and a perfectly situated ice bath for looking out over the Pennant Hills bushland. Back in '04 I was filling my bathtub up with trays of ice and thawing the meat for the evening's dinner to create an ice bath - it worked but the view was never much good.

My long run was today. 19.4km from home through the bush along Great North Walk from Boundary Rd to Bellamy St with a shocking 1.6km detour up the firetrail to Stringybark Ridge park in a little under 2 hrs. The highlight was clocking 2xsub 5 min kms between 15k and 19k. It felt controlled and comfortable and suspiciously easy.I'll post the Garmin report to this page this weekend technology willing.


Sat, Jun 12, 2010 12:06 PM Eastern Time - NSW (Australia)

Summary
Overall
Time: 01:54:23
Distance: 19.46 km
Elevation Gain: 266 m
Calories: 1,657 C
Timing
Time: 01:54:23
Moving Time: 01:54:03
Elapsed Time: 01:54:30
Avg Speed: 10.2 km/h
Avg Moving Speed: 10.2 km/h
Max Speed: 15.4 km/h
Avg Pace: 05:52 min/km
Avg Moving Pace: 05:51 min/km
Best Pace: 03:53 min/km
Speed
Pace
Elevation
Elevation Gain: 266 m
Elevation Loss: 260 m
Min Elevation: 112 m
Max Elevation: 187 m


Minutes per KilometerAvg Pace
Summary 01:54:23 19.46 05:52
1 00:05:19 1.00 05:19
2 00:05:16 1.00 05:16
3 00:06:06 1.00 06:06
4 00:05:11 1.00 05:11
5 00:04:52 1.00 04:52
6 00:05:48 1.00 05:48
7 00:06:35 1.00 06:35
8 00:07:16 0.79 09:14
9 00:07:06 1.00 07:06
10 00:05:47 1.00 05:47
11 00:04:24 0.65 06:49
12 00:07:06 1.00 07:06
13 00:05:09 1.00 05:09
14 00:06:25 1.00 06:25
15 00:06:08 1.00 06:08
16 00:05:33 1.00 05:33
17 00:05:09 1.00 05:09
18 00:04:42 1.00 04:42
19 00:04:59 1.00 04:59
20 00:05:15 1.00 05:15
21 00:00:08 0.03 04:27

Time Travel

Wow it's been a long time since the last post. I reckon I've exposed my arse to 9 physios since the last post and I'm really chuffed to say I'm getting somewhere. My problem vame about because I have a sizable chunk missing in my right glute compared to my left AND my left leg is about 2.5cm longer than my right. You would have to wonder why the feck am I a runner then - simple answer is that it's one of the few things I can do better than most other people. It also helps that I enjoy it - not sure what characteristic is more important here.

I ran my first race in about 5 years at the Blacktown 10k fun run last weekend and despite not being able to break 52min for 10 k the week before I finished in 46m30s with my fastest laps being the first (a tad too excited) and the last (I didn't want to leave anything in the tank).I was initially pleased with the result but then the competitive nature kicked in and I began regretting setting too slow a pace for the race. I had my breath back within 3min of finishing and more importantly, NO PAIN.

I'm going to get back into some training but will ignore junk kilometres and instead focus on quality interval,longrun and tempo workouts with some tough core workouts. Next workout is a 16km bush run in the Hills area regardless of the tempest that is threatening to keep most of Sydney indoors again. It's only water and you can only get wet once!

Finally Figured Photoloading

Well, it's been a month since my last entry here so I thought I'd do something a little different to get myself back into the blog habit.
My first run in a month and I managed to load a photo from the Melbourne half in 2004.My most fond memory of that race was that I went hammer and tong with a racewalker that had his own bloody support crew that wore blinkers when it came to supplying him with info,drinks,you name it...heaven help you if you got in their way.
This racewalker was really giving me the irrits, I mean he was WALKING and I was busting my arse doing 5min kms.We must have swapped places 8 or 9 times over the last 10 or 12km and it was the only thing I was really concentrating on - the scenery was ho hum and the terrain was very flat so a little head to head racing was just what I needed.
With about 2km to go he stretched his lead to about 50 or 60m and I was struggling a bit mentally.The heat was starting to get uncomfortable and I just couldn't see how the hell I was going to get back on his shoulder.Then we turned a corner and there was an avenue of big shady trees - the small respites I got from the canopies gave me a bit of encouragement and I decided to give it a do or die effort in the hope that I was just tired between the ears.
I started to pass a few runners now and some seemed to take objection to the Sydney on my singlet and would come back at me when I passed them.A few of these little tusles and the gap Mr.Walker had halved!
This just gave me more encouragement and when we came to a little decline I noticed something I should have realised ages ago - walkers go down hills at the same speed they go along the flats whereas runners go faster!I was right on his shoulder now and knew that even the slightest downhill would have me past him with no extra effort - I actually felt a little disappointed here, as though I was cheating (I have a real intolerance for shortcuts and cheats).
Anyway, while I was thinking this he skipped away a bit and I knew that with only 500m to go I'd have to stay with him to make sure I didn't have to make my finishing 'sprint' too far or fast.Another little decline and I went past him and just enjoyed the finish with a good loud crowd lining both sides - silently relieved that I could run faster than the walker.

Anyway, enough reminiscing.....first run in a month tonight.
10km in 5m50s, ave pace 5m04s, ave hr of 167bpm.Much much better than I would have thought after a month of excesses.Too much wine , work and sleeping in.Only my diet has been in good nick - you gotta practise what you preach.

Getting Back To A Long Run

Is 15k a long run?It didn't used to be for me but these days I guess it qualifies.It took me a glorious hour and 22min to complete at an ave. pace of 5m22s and ave. hr of 170bpm.The 170 hr was a bit surprising really, if I had to take a guess at it I would have opted for about 10bpm less.I was never out of breath and only pushed a bit during the latter half of the run - just to see if I could - and that particular km was 4m53s so hardly rushing.Bottom line is that it was a wonderful day weatherwise, no dogs, no pain, no better way to spend 80min on a Sunday.

I have been slacking a bit on the Pilates exercises lately, work again dictates far too much of my time these days.Our weight loss program tv commercial hit the air last week and the phones went into meltdown for about 4 hours, reminiscent of the Today Tonight coverage late last year.Same schedule again this week has meant that it's been almost a week since I made those slackarse core muscles earn their keep.As soon as I finish this blog entry I'm going to hit them hard!

Downloaded the MotionBased and Keyhole softwear for my forerunner and was just amazed at the clarity.The MB was definitely useful but the Keyhole was just a bit of fun really - incredible but still just fun.

I definitely need to have a speed interval session before next 10k race and Sat seems to be the best choice.Only problem is I have to spend some work time in Campbelltown early and depending on the customer traffic, leave around lunchtime, then there is a McLaren Vale wine tasting in Balmain between early afternoon and 7pm to attend - apparently it's one of the best shows of the year too.Even if it's just 20-30min I absolutely,positively have to run fast on Sat - preferably without a bottle of McLaren Vale's finest coursing through my veins!