Mon 27 Feb 2006 - Yarra River 8.5 km

Date/Time of Run	Monday 27 February 2006, 4.32 pm.
Location	Yarra River (Fawkner Park, Hope, Domain, Anderson, Yarra River, Flinders, Yarra, Anderson, Domain, Hope, Fawkner Park)
Distance	8.67 km
Time	42:52
Pace	4:56 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	158 / 138
Weather	21.7 deg Celsius Clear. Wind SW 4/6 kts. RH 52%. QNH 1023.
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Post run 100 sit-ups
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301, mobile phone.
Weight	76.6 kg ( up 0.6)

Stats as of 27 Feb 2006	km’s
Today	8.7
Prev 7 Days	48.4
Prev 28 Days	227.2
Feb 2006	219.2
YTD	530.5
Month Average 2006	265.3
Weekly Average 2006	53.1
Total (2001 – to date)	8271.6

Nice and easy 8 or so km from work around the Yarra. Nothing really to report other than it’s very festive down along the Yarra with all the preparations going on for the Commonwealth Games.

First time I've run straight from work in a couple of weeks. Reason being is that the shower was under repair, took them ages to fix it. Well, fixed today.

No charts and graphs tonight, simply not enough time.

Thanks everybody for your kind comments both here at my blog and at the forums in relation to yesterday’s PB.

Sun 26 Feb 2006 - Scr Chinmoy 10 km - New PB

Date/Time of Run	Sunday 26 February 2006, 8.03 am.
Location	Princess Park ( 2 x 5 km laps)
Distance	10.0 km
Time	40:43
Pace	4:04 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	169 / 159
Weather	17.1 Deg Celsius Overcast. Wind W 3/5 kts. RH 83%. QNH 1016
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Nil.
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301
Weight	76.0 kg (up 0.8 kg from yesterday)

Stats as of 26 Feb 2006	km’s
Today	10.0
Prev 7 Days	39.7
Prev 28 Days	218.6
Feb 2006	210.5
YTD	521.9
Month Average 2006	261.0
Weekly Average 2006	58.0
Total (2001 – to date)	8263.0

Names Left to Right: Yours truly, Slowaz (Warren), Tiger Boy (Tony), RunningOnEmpty (Chris), Lostboy & Mrs. Lostboy (Sue), Blueboy (Mick) & Morley Sorry AWiseman and Pink Lady you'd already left by this time. Names Left to Right: Cazz, AlisonJC & Mrs Lostboy (Sue)

Another Sri Chinmoy fun run event at Princess Park. I arrived early as I hadn’t registered online and I didn’t want to be rushing things at the start. $17 later I received my number “C414” and had heaps of time. The usual suspects from Cool Running and Aus Runners were there plus a few new faces I haven’t seen before.

Weather wise it was a great morning for a hard fought 10 km. Definitely not hot, maybe a bit on the muggy side but all in all one cannot complain about the conditions.

For today’s event I was right up there near the start line and when the “GO” was shouted that’s when I started Mr. Garmin. The start was very hectic with everybody jostling for position but after about 200 – 300 metres it wasn’t as crowed and I was able to run at my pace and rhythm.

The course itself was a 5 km lap and therefore two laps to be run for 10 km. For the first lap and passing through the 5 km start/finish point I recall seeing the split time as 19:49 and thought for a second or two that sub 40 minutes might be on the go. Unfortunately Mr. Garmin doesn’t show this as the particular course is not GPS friendly. Apart from the tree coverage there is an underpass about 100 metres long which we pass through on four occasions. This plays havoc with Mr. Garmin.

I’m not sure what percentage is the mental component of running but if it’s a high percentage figure I may have talked myself out of it. After the first 5 km I was tired and my calves were tightening but I tried to keep a good pace going all be it slightly slower than my first lap splits.

Overall though I am satisfied with this run finishing with a time of 40:43 which is a new PB. My previous PB for 10 km was the Sri Chinmoy event held at Williamstown late last year on Sun 11 Dec 2005 there I ran a time of 41:40. I also take heart with this attempt as I don’t train specifically for this. I suspect, if I want a sub 40 I’ll have to hit the track and do some proper interval and speed sessions.

One of the attractions of these events are that pancakes are provided afterwards. On this occasion I didn’t have any and only realised that whilst driving home. I think I was too busy talking to the crew.

Of the crew two got placing medals in their age groups. Pink Lady and RunningOnEmpty (Chris). Chris certainly knows how to run. He finished in a time of 37 mins something seconds; if the police were out he’d be booked for speeding. Well he came third in his age group (41-50 or is that 40-49, one or the other) which happens to be my age group.

I can’t recall exactly but a few of the others, I believe, set PB’s as well. I was at the finish watching Slowaz power home and a short time later Morley. Morley still searching for his sub 45 coming home today in 46:02 (by his watch – I’d buy a watch that runs slow Morley). I’m sure he’ll achieve his sub 45.

Grasshopper (Diane), where were you. After the 10 k run there were 9 of us ready to head out for a long run. Actually only Chris asked the question “who wants to run another 10 – slow”. I considered it but had to decline.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits Not a true representation, but close enough.
Heart Rate
Weather

CoolRunning Messageboards: POLL - Long Run Days

CoolRunning Messageboards: POLL - Long Run Days I'm merely curious whether most people prefer long runs on the Sunday as opposed to other days. Three questions asked: 1. Weekend or Midweek 2. Day of week 3. Non running day after Long Run.

Sat 25 Feb 2006 - Werribee River 12 km

Date/Time of Run	Saturday 25 February 2006, 5.00 pm.
Location	Werribee River (Virgillia, Tarneit, Hogans, Thames, Werribee River, Riverbend Park, Heaths, Tarneit, Hogans, Derrimut, Virgillia)
Distance	12.46 km
Time	58:56
Pace	4:43 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	158 / 147
Weather	21.7 deg Celsius. Overcast. Wind NNE 7/9 kts. RH 88%. QNH 1010.
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Post run – 100 Sit-ups.
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301
Weight	75.2 kg (down 1.9 kg from yesterday)

Stats as of 25 Feb 2006	km’s
Today	12.5
Prev 7 Days	29.7
Prev 28 Days	229.3
Feb 2006	200.5
YTD	511.9
Month Average 2006	256.0
Weekly Average 2006	56.9
Total (2001 – to date)	8253.0

I wasn’t really sure whether I was going for a run today. Had a lousy sleep last night, if it can be called that. My mind was into overdrive, couldn’t stop thinking about things. Consequently I got up about 3 am, watched a little TV, surfed the net and then back to bed an hour later.

About mid afternoon I decided why not and planned for a 4 pm kick-off. Well at 4 it was bucketing down, I mean raining cats and dogs. I don’t mind running in the rain but not torrential rain.

At 5 pm the rain had cleared and I hit the road. Nothing special about the run other than a quickened pace compared to my last two runs. Having said that I didn’t really entirely exert myself. During the run I was contemplating putting in a fast km split and as the k’s rolled by I thought better of it. I’m running a 10 km race tomorrow and thought a super fast one today might not be the best preparation.

Overall I’m reasonably happy with tonight’s run as there was no lethargy felt as there was for yesterday’s effort.

As it turned out I picked the best time to run. As I mentioned it was bucketing down prior to and more or less straight away the rains picked up again. Now I’m hoping they’ll subside for tomorrows 10 km Sri Chinmoy event at Princess Park.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits
Heart Rate
Weather

Fri 24 Feb 2006 - Pick the car up 9 km

Date/Time of Run	Friday 24 February 2006, 4.33 pm.
Location	Hoppers Crossing (Derrimut, Sayers, Skeleton Creek, Heaths, Hoppers Crossing Railway Station Car Park)
Distance	9.25 km
Time	49:58
Pace	5:24 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	162 / 146
Weather	35.9 deg Celsius Clear. Wind N 17/25 kts. RH 22%. QNH 1011
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Nil
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301, mobile phone.
Weight	77.1 kg

Stats as of 24 Feb 2006	km’s
Today	9.3
Prev 7 Days	17.3
Prev 28 Days	229.2
Feb 2006	188.1
YTD	499.4
Month Average 2006	249.7
Weekly Average 2006	55.5
Total (2001 – to date)	8240.5

Second run back after 6 day layoff. Health wise; not really feeling great, still with a little niggling headache. I think I might also be developing a gastro thing. Despite this I decided to go for a run anyway. I more or less had to (well not really) as my car was parked at the Hoppers Crossing Railway Station. Somehow I had to get there and pick it up.

Upon heading out my headache disappeared more or less straight away, which was a relief. It was a very hot at 35 deg with a strong northerly and early in the run I was doing it comfortably. At this point I was thinking about how I would blog this run. I was thinking along the lines of using one of my standard comments, “Another easy [insert number here] k’s”.

I’m not sure about everybody else but when I run I don’t necessarily think about running, I usually think about other things, even fantasise (daydream). Before I know it a few km’s has passed and I’m closer to the finish. This usually occurs when I am running comfortably within myself. Tonight though with about 2-3 km left all of a sudden I was doing it hard, very hard and thoughts turned to “how much longer to go” or “are we there yet”. I realised that this particular run was not going to be “another easy [insert number here] km’s”.

The splits and heart rate graphs clearly show a slower pace and higher heart rate for the last 2-3 km.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits
Heart Rate
Weather

Thu 23 Feb 2006 - First run after 6 days rest

Date/Time of Run	Thursday 23 February 2006, 6.27 pm.
Location	Hoppers Crossing (Virgillia, Derrimut, Heaths, Morris, Hogans, Derrimut, Virgillia)
Distance	8.01 km
Time	41:09
Pace	5:08 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	155 / 139
Weather	28.6 deg Celsius, Clear. Wind ESE 15/22 kts. RH 53%. QNH 1014.
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Post run Nil ( I forgot )
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301, mobile phone.
Weight	77.1 kg

Stats as of 23 Feb 2006	km’s
Today	8.0
Prev 7 Days	8.0
Prev 28 Days	228.0
Feb 2006	178.8
YTD	490.2
Month Average 2006	245.1
Weekly Average 2006	54.5
Total (2001 – to date)	8231.3

Six clear days from running. That’s my longest non-running stint for quite a while. My logbook would answer that but I couldn’t be bothered looking it up right now.

During the six days off I continued to have headaches and even today was forced to take some tablets to ease the pain. Today’s headache not as severe as earlier in the week and thought “stuff it – got to get back into running”, so I did.

As it turned out just did an easy 8 km’s and felt very refreshed. Legs were great; felt I could have run all night. It’s amazing what a little rest can do, all be it forced.

Does It Matter

The username ‘DoesItMatter’ or variation of, I won’t use because in text it will be abbreviated to DIM. I might be a little dim but I don’t want to openly promote it or at the end of the day, does it matter?

Does running make you smarter - Poll Update

Poll Results from Fri 23 Dec 2005 Smart Running AND my post to CR thread as of 21/02/06. 37 replies. Yes smarter 57% (21) Not smarter 24% (9) Don't know 19% (7) Another article relating to correlation between fitness and intelligence. Physical exercise improves cognitive function, memory and intelligence

Mon 20 Feb 2006 - Visit to Doctor

Visited my local doctor today re - headache. She did all the basic checks - blood pressure, heart beat, urine. These are all normal (thank god). Blood to be tested:

• FBE (Red/White blood cells)
• U&E (Kidney)
• RBS (Sugar)
• TFT (Thyroid)
• LFT (Liver)

I'll be notified of these results later in the week. I explained to her my training regime and my thoughts that it may be over-training but she didn't seem overly convinced that was the cause of it. She suggested maybe other issues (I won't go into that). All I can do is wait and see. I got the all important Doctor's Certificate for two days.

Stats as of 20 Feb 2006	km’s
Today	0.0
Prev 7 Days	24.7
Prev 28 Days	249.4
Feb 2006	170.8
YTD	482.1
Month Average 2006	241.1
Weekly Average 2006	53.6
Total (2001 – to date)	8223.2

User name(s) - Does It Matter

My username at CR and AusRun is just my first name 'Steven'. Others have much catchier names pertinent to running and fitness. So for the last few weeks I've been writing down different names and any name I decide upon I want to make sure that it's relatively unique and can be used elsewhere. I'm not going to mention the names I've considered but one I thought was ok and looking like a pretty good candidate was 'Does it Matter' or in camel notation 'DoesItMatter'. Any guesses why I won't use this one?

Sun 19 Feb 2006 - Illness update

Firstly, thanks everybody for your kind comments (email and blog). Thankfully the flu (cold) didn't really kick in and develop, well not yet anyway. It's this bloody headache which in itself is a draining energy. As of now (Sunday afternoon) it's still with me. I've had this problem for years and I haven't been able to nut it out (what causes it). I've just searched on 'headache' in this blog and my last espisode of this problem was on 27 Dec 2005. Back then I thought it was a dehydration thing. As I mentioned on Friday I've tried to analyse what things I've done or not done which are out of the ordinary. A number of factors I mentioned were:

• My runs on Tuesday & Thursday were lethargic just before the Friday.
• Ross at work had the flu (bad) on Wednesday (he went sick Thu & Fri).
• Water intake - not as much as previous weeks - but enough, so I think.

One other factor I didn't consider was my diet. About 3 or 4 weeks ago I started eating yogurt, one small tub a day (maybe two) . Usually in the afternoon at work as a snack and sometimes in mid evening, again as a snack. I'm wondering if this could this be a factor. I'm tending to think that maybe this whole headache thing might just be over-training. Prior to the Tuesday (my lethargic run) I ran 26 km on the Saturday at the You Yangs and followed up the following day with 16 km along the Werribee River. Along came Tuesday and no wonder I was lethargic. There were signs all over the place which I ignored and now I'm paying for it. Surely an element of over-training is a dehydration and maybe, just maybe, I wasn't drinking enough water afterall. I'll see the doctor tomorrow. The times I've seen my GP about this the only advice is 'rest and fluids' and no real preventative measures suggested. I'll ask the doctor for advice re - specialist sports doctors/nutritionalists.

Stats as of 19 Feb 2006	km’s
Today	0.0
Prev 7 Days	33.2
Prev 28 Days	263.9
Feb 2006	170.8
YTD	482.1
Month Average 2006	241.1
Weekly Average 2006	60.3
Total (2001 – to date)	8223.2

Fri 17 Feb 2006 - Not looking good

I've not had any illness (flu and the like) for quite a while now and knew it couldn't last. This morning I woke up with a mild headache (eyestrain behind and directly above left eye). Initially I thought maybe it was dehydration related and tried to analyse my last few days water intake. As far as I can remember I've been drinking heaps of water, maybe not as much as previous weeks, but enough all the same. I held off taking any Panadol and elected to drink heaps of water and even made up a litre of Gatorade during the morning at work. I was half hoping this may help. It didn't. Just after lunch I couldn't take it any more, took some Panadol and about 30 mins later the pain eased somewhat. At this point I felt cold shivers on my back and the nasal thing started. Bloody flu (cold) and all I thought about is how long this is going to hold me up. My experience is that it will last for 4 to 5 days which means most likely I won't be able to run the 'Maroondah Dam Trail' run this Sunday. I've also realised now that my lethargic run on Tuesday (12 km) and not so crash hot run yesterday (12 km) may have been the catalyst for this flu. Having said that, Ross from work had the flu on Wednesday which I may have picked up from him, thanks Ross. Who knows, most likely a combination of both factors. The upshot of all this is that I'm not running tonight and will just have to wait it out.

Stats as of 17 Feb 2006	km’s
Today	0.0
Prev 7 Days	76.0
Prev 28 Days	287.5
Feb 2006	170.8
YTD	482.1
Month Average 2006	241.1
Weekly Average 2006	60.3
Total (2001 – to date)	8223.2

Weight	76.4 kg
Body Fat	16.5%