Williamstown Group Run (10 km) 30 km all up

I was up nice an early for this morning's group run.   Had to be at Williamstown for 8 am and so was up at 6 am merely so I could get some breakfast in to me.   When running for 30 odd km's I've got to fuel up.

It was the sort of morning where it's all too easy to let the weather put you off running.   It was miserable.   Drizzly rain and it looked as if it was only to get worse.   This morning though, with the Williamstown Marathon only four weeks away I couldn't afford not to run.   I had to get a decent 30 k'er in.

Arrived just outside the Newport Athletics track and as usual Morley was already there.   A few others turned up, Martin, Repoman, MickeyMelb and two first timers Brad and Kylie.

Weather wise the morning remained drizzly and as it turned out it wasn't that bad after all.   The temperature was about 14 degrees virtually no wind to speak of and as you can guess the relative humdity was way up there at 91%.

My plan today was to run 30 km and decided that I would continue on at the usual turn-around point to somewhere in Altona.   I was relying on Mr. Garmin to indicate 15 clicks and that would be the que to return back to Newport, thus 30 km.   I considered turning around at the usual turn-around point (about 10 - 11 km mark) with the group and then leaving the group at the finish, continue on for another 5 km towards the Westgate Bridge and return.   I discounted that as I know that on passing the Newport Athletics track it would be all too easy to finish there for whatever reason I could think of.

I suppose I could classify today's run in sections of three, broken down into 10 km sections.   The first 10 km, running with the group I paced at 5:08 /km and feeling good.   The second 10 km, now by myself, I paced at 4:47 /km and feeling really good.   The last 10 km was a kick in the guts and I wasn't as strong as I thought I was.   I paced this at 5:24 /km.

Normally on these longish runs I like to take energy gel with me but as things turned out I had none.   I'd run out of home-made stuff and last night I couldn't find any PB Sports Gel at the local supermarket (they usually have it).   I ended up just filling my fuel belt with Gatorade.

The only injury or problem from today's run, NIPPLE RASH.   Yes, I forgot to Vase-up my nipples and I knew this problem would occur.   I only noticed it in the shower at home.   It stung like hell.

Overall I ran 30.16 km in a time of 2:34:06 which works out to a pace of 5:06 /km.   My heart rate max and avg was 149/139.   As per yesterday's run my heart rate seems to be settling down to my normal readings.

Stats as of 30 Apr 2006

Today  :     30.2
Prev 7 Days  :     72.5
Prev 28 Days  :   169.1
MTD :   169.1
YTD :   927.8
Month Avg :   232.0
Week Avg :     51.5
Total : 8668.9

Saturday night 14 km run

Late on Saturday I decided to get a run in. At 5.09 pm (according to Mr. Garmin) I headed out the front door and made my way around the streets of Hoppers Crossing also incorporating the Werribee River. It was dusk upon leaving and definitely night time on return. Weather wise, not much to speak of other than it was 15.3 degrees and very little wind. All up I ran 14.56 km in a time of 1:09:34 which works out to a pace of 4:46 /km. My heart rate max and avg was 155/144. Probably because of my increased running over the last two weeks my heart rate figures are starting to settle back to normal readings. I felt I had to get a run in tonight as my last was on Thursday and I’ve got a big one tomorrow at Williamstown. I’m planning about a 30 k’er. This is because the Williamstown Marathon is in four weeks so I want to up the ante and get at least three strong 30 km runs in.

Stats as of 29 Apr 2006

Today : 14.5 km

Prev 7 Days : 63.5 km

Prev 28 Days : 138.9 km

MTD : 138.9 km

YTD : 897.6 km

Month Avg : 224.4 km

Week Avg : 49.9 km

Total : 8638.7 km

Fartlek around the Yarra 11.6 km

Finally, I got a run in today. The run that was meant to be done yesterday. Straight after work at 4.30 pm I was stretching in Fawkner Park. I still hadn't made my mind up about how far, I was tossing up betwen an 8 k'er or 15 k'er fartlek style. I headed off and more or less decided whilst still in Fawkner Park that I'd split the difference and run about 11 km along the Yarra. I was quite happy with the run. The plan was to run the first km easy followed by a quickish km and continue that pattern all the way around. The splits for the easy k's were around 4:50 - 5:00 /km and the fast k's were around the 4:10 /km mark. As it turned out the last fast km (#9) incorporated the Anderson Street Hill (the going up bit), even so that particular split came in at 4:35 /km so I was happy with that. It's been a while since I last ran a proper fartlek session. On the one hand they are hard and gruelling and yet on the other hand I really appreciate the slow/easy laps as they help me gather my thoughts and prepare for the next fast lap. My mental approach with the fast laps (km's) is that I must maintain the pace which means I get to the slow km quicker and then be recovering earlier for the next fast lap. I'm wondering if that makes sense, well it does to me. Overall I ran 11.6 km in a time of 55:13 for an average pace of 4:45 /km. As expected my max/avg heart rates were 171/150 higher than a normal even paced run. Details of tonight's run can be found here at Motionbased.

Stats as of 27 Apr 2006 Today : 11:6 Prev 7 Days : 48.9 Prev 28 Days : 124.3 April 2006 : 124.3 YTD : 883.1 Monthly Avg : 220.8 Weekly Avg : 49.1 Total (since 2001) : 8624.2

Well, so much for a run.

I had it all planned out today. Headed off for work, my bag packed with all intentions of running a good hard fartlek session straight after work starting at Fawkner Park. Bloody work. It was one of those days, relying on others to work on a task before I could complete it. The task itself was relatively simple, so I thought, and yet they dilly dallied until about 2 pm when I took over. At this point I knew my run was a no-goer and internally had a crap attitude all afternoon. I was peeved with a captial 'P'. The task was one of those tasks that had to be completed today so I couldn't put it on the back-burner. If I could have I certainly would have and my run would have remained the priority. I finished work at 7 pm and at this point I wasn't in the right frame of mind for a run. I just wanted to get home. There's always tomorrow.

Nice and easy 16 km (sort of)

Tonight was my first training run since Sunday's Geelong Half Marathon. I intended running last night after work but one thing led to another and well, I didn't. Took an annual leave day today, for Anzac Day, as I don't get public holidays as such. Don't worry, we get enough holidays to make up for it, though I wouldn't mind an extra couple of weeks. Headed out the door about 4.30 pm wearing my new running shirt, the prize from Sunday's event. Weather was ok, about 16 degs and not much wind to speak of. Ran my usual 16 km course incorporating the Werribee River to Shaws Rd and return. I was thinking about a fartlek session and that went out the window as soon as I was running. Decided it would be an easy run. At the turn-around point, just after the 8 km mark I changed my mind again and put a fast one in until 9 km clicked over on the Garmin. That particular lap or km was 3:52 and then I returned to slow and easy running. I was stuffed after that effort. Overall I ran 16.2 km in 1:20:57 which is a pace of 4:59 /km. My heart rate max/avg was 168/144. I've been thinking about my stomach problems which occurred during the Geelong Half Marathon. I believe it only occurred because I was probably not ready to run at a faster pace for an extended period of time. This was probably due to the fact that I hadn't really put in any decent speed work or fartlek type sessions. The Williamstown Marathon is in 5 weeks and if I want to crack the 3:30 barrier I think I will have to include some solid speed sessions in training.

Stats as of 25 Apr 2006	km’s
Today	16.2
Prev 7 Days	45.8
Prev 28 Days	116.7
Apr 2006	112.7
YTD	871.5
Month Average 2006	217.9
Weekly Average 2006	48.4
Total (2001 – to date)	8612.6

Geelong Half Marathon (26 seconds off PB)

What a great day for a half marathon. The weather was perfect at 12 deg rising to 14 deg at the end. It was overcast and wanting to rain but didn't, wind was from the west at 8/11 kts and relative humidity around 91%. To top off the weather report the pressure was 1022.

Arrived there about 8.15 am and the registration process went through relatively smoothly. $35 later I had my race number (219) and a T-Shirt.

Met quite a few CR's prior to the race, Kelvin, Wilco, Slowaz, Stu-Mac (and Chrissy), Whippet Man, Shuffeupagus, Repoman, MikeyMelb & Martin.

Ok, I'll get to the point. For 21.1 km I ran it in 1:37:16 which works out to a pace of 4:35 /km. I missed out on a PB by 26 seconds.

I was hoping for a sub 90 min but unfortunately that wasn't to be today. My plan was to go out hard and see if I could maintain the pace at around 4:10 - 4:15 /km. The plan was all good and well until about the 5 km mark and it all fell in a heap. I was then pacing at around the 4:40 - 4:50 mark for the rest of the race. Oh well, I gave it a shot.

At the 4 km Lee Troup and Steve Moneghetti, would you believe, from behind me strolled up. They were having a good old chat with everyone, even me. I was surprised by a comment from Lee that he saw the photos on the web of our group runs at the You Yangs. He mentioned that he trains there all the time. Anyway I had to let them go, they were travelling a little faster than me.

Also for the first 4 km or thereabouts I was tracking and keeping about 20 metres distance behind Wilco and that was the last I saw of him until the finish, after the finish that is.

About the 5 km mark, on my slowdown (I was stuffed and feelig it), this is where Shuffeupagus and Whippet Man passed me. As per Wilco, I didn't see them until after the finish.

Between the 5 and 15 km mark I had a queasy, unsettling, feeling in my stomach. This is basically why I slowed my pace, my legs were ok, just my bloody stomach. I felt that if I tried to maintain a faster pace I would have puked (watched a Seinfeld episode last night - George reckons - puked - is a funny word), vomitted. Maybe it was the big bag of chips (cheese & onion flavour) I had last night watching the English Premier League. I know of recent times, since returning from my cruise, I haven't really eaten properly or for that matter been drinking enough water. Who knows, I suppose it could be anything or then maybe it was just one of those days.

With about 5 km to go I was running with a little group, an older man with a weird or very awkward running style and a female runner. At this point there were quite a lot of undulations, nothing excessive but there all the same. On the straight portions this man was passing me, move in front of me and slow down a little. I was always on his heels. I had to move to oneside to avoid colliding. This was done a number of times and peeved me a little but thought better of saying anything. I really don't think he meant it. On the slight up hills the group I was running with would fall back and catch me again on the straights or downhills.

For this last 5 km my uneasiness in my stomach had subsided somewhat or was a little more bearable. As mentioned I came home in 1:37:16 (or 97 mins) and ahead of the little group I was running with.

After the run I stayed for a few snags and chatted with the CR crew. Not very often do I win anything but today I was one who won a spot prize, consisting of a sports bag, training jacket and running shirt. Probably over a $100 in value. Not bad for a $35 entry fee, I think I got my moneys worth. Wilco picked up a $100 skins voucher. Slowaz, who was with us at this point, missed out.

Stats as of 23 Apr 2006	km’s
Today	21.1
Prev 7 Days	61.1
Prev 28 Days	104.5
Apr 2006	96.5
YTD	855.3
Month Average 2006	213.8
Weekly Average 2006	50.3
Total (2001 – to date)	8596.4

A forced 8.5 km

The last couple of runs is starting to catch up with me and was feeling a little tired towards the end of the work day. I had planned to run another 12-15 km and then as the day progressed I was having thoughts of resting. Anyway, I thought, "bugger it, I'll at least get an 8 k'er in". As per usual once I was out at the park (Fawkner Park) stretching I was feeling alright and no thoughts of being tired crossed my mind. If anything, I was thinking of upping the distance back to a 15 k'er and then decided, "nope - I'll stick with 8 or so". So at 4.27 pm (that's what the Garmin recorded) I headed off from Fawkner Park, dodging all the kids doing there soccer training. Tonight's run took me down Anderson St Hill (both up and down), along the Yarra River to Flinders St and return. All up I ran 8.54 km in a time of 40:18 which works out to a pace of 4:43 /km. My heart rate max was 165 bpm and average was 149 bpm. Back in the office, just after the run I churned out 100 sit-ups. Not completely injury free tonight. Blisters appearing on both my little toes. Well, not really an injury more a pain in the a.... aggravation. Details of tonight's run can also be found here at Motionbased.

Stats as of 19 Apr 2006	km’s
Today	8.5
Prev 7 Days	66.9
Prev 28 Days	120.2
Apr 2006	75.4
YTD	834.2
Month Average 2006	208.6
Weekly Average 2006	49.1
Total (2001 – to date)	8575.3

A lazy 15 around the Yarra

After last night's effort (16 km) I was at it again, this time from work. About 3.50 pm I was in Fawkner Park, just off Commercial Rd, waiting for the Garmin to kick in (the satelites). While this occurring it gave me some proper time to stretch out. Tonight's run incorporated the Yarra River (the banks of) from Mac. Robertson Bridge to Flinders St. Also incorporated a part of the Tan, Anderson St hill both up and down it. Weather wise the conditions were perfect, about 20 deg and not much wind to speak of. Overall I ran 15.3 km in a time of 1:13:23 which calculates out to a pace of 4:47 /km. My heart rate max was 166 bpm and the average was 151 bpm. As per my previous runs this last 10 days or so my heart rate readings are a little higher than normal. Most likely due to my holiday and then a layoff because of illness/injury. Further details about this run can be found here at Motionbased. Afterwards I ended up doing 100 sit-ups in the company gym.

Stats as of 18 Apr 2006	km’s
Today	15.3
Prev 7 Days	58.4
Prev 28 Days	117.7
Apr 2006	66.9
YTD	825.6
Month Average 2006	206.4
Weekly Average 2006	48.6
Total (2001 – to date)	8566.7

Longish run for Monday (16 km)

About 4.10 pm headed out the door and ran an out and back course along the Werribee River. Tonight I was determined not to run fast and just do it nice an easy around the 5:00 /km pace for 16 km. The turn-around point was at Shaws Rd in which it took me 40:55 to get there. The outbound leg felt quite easy and no wonder I was running with the wind. It was clearly noticeable on the return leg. I maintained the same pace which resulted in my heart rate beating slightly faster due to the increased effort to maintain pace.

The upshot is that I ran 16.2 km for a time of 1:22:56 which resulted in a pace of 5:07 /km. The return leg was only slightly slower than the outboud leg. My heart rate maxed out at 207 bpm just as I was turning into my street (100 metres to go), I know this as the heart rate max alarm went off. I’m not sure if this is an accurate figure or not as upon casual monitoring throughout the run I only noticed heart rates in the high 150’s. The average worked out at 146 bpm.

All in all I ran this quite comfortably and yet afterwards my legs were (are) a little tight, a nice tightness all the same (a sign of doing something).

Further details of this run can be found here at Motionbased.

Stats as of 17 Apr 2006	km’s
Today	16.2
Prev 7 Days	43.1
Prev 28 Days	112.4
Apr 2006	51.6
YTD	810.3
Month Average 2006	202.6
Weekly Average 2006	47.7
Total (2001 – to date)	8551.4

Steve out.

The week that was

This week was rather a lean week as far as the number of runs. I only ran on three days, starting on Monday, then Thursday and lastly on Saturday for a total of 35.4 km or a time of 2:46:39. What I lacked in distance or time this week I certainly made up for it in the quality of the runs. I seemed to run each run with a sense of purpose and effort, hard to explain but there certainly was no dawdling involved.

A reason for not running on Tuesday, Wednesday and early Thursday is that my headaches returned.

On Friday I had a weight milestone, weighed in at 75.0 kg, the lightest I’ve been for quite a while. This morning (Sunday) I weighed in at 75.6 kg.

This coming week

I plan to increase the number of runs and therefore increase the mileage, starting with tomorrow (Monday). I’m hoping to top the week off with running the Geelong Half-Marathon event at, well er, Geelong, on the Sunday. Not sure if I’ll run for a pb just yet, I’ll figure that out closer to the day.

Steve out.

Runs are getting longer - 14.5 km

I wasn’t going out tonight so at 6 pm I thought I’d go for a run. I was going to run yesterday but as things worked out I didn’t.

I headed out the door at 6.21 pm (that’s what the Garmin said) only intending for an easier run than the one’s I ran this week.   Low and behold I ran to my plan, running for 14.5 km in a time of 1:09:31 which worked out to a pace of 4:47 /km.   Tonight’s run incorporated the banks of the Werribee River.   On heading out I wasn’t too sure what the lighting would be like down there and as it worked out I could at least see the footpath in front of me.   There’s no street lighting around there.

As per the other night my heart rate was higher than normal For tonight’s run the max was 167 bpm and the avg was 157 bpm. These figures are higher than normal and at this stage I’m putting it down to the fact that I haven’t done that much running over the last three weeks. In any event I didn’t feel like I worked at an increased effort level.

Weather wise it was a little chilly and so I decided to wear my puma tights and a long sleeve shirt. Well, this kept me warm and I had no chill factor whatsoever to contend with.

Mr. Garmin played the game tonight, no problems whatsoever. I replaced the battery in the heart monitor chest strap and that did the trick. The old battery was absolutely cactus, so the local watch repairer told me.

Futher details about this run can be found here at Motionbased.

Reply to Tesso - Bloglines

Tesso said...

So with this new blogging software will we still be able to use bloglines to check if you've updated?

That should not be a problem. What I'll do when I eventually convert is post a last message on Blogger with a link to the new site. In Bloglines, or whatever anybody uses, it's just a matter of editing my particular entry.

Best 12 km time for Werribee River Course

My last run was on Monday just gone and I was looking forward to getting heaps of k's in this week. That wasn't to be. On Tuesday, after work, at home I was simply too tired, more so than usual and decided a run was probably not the thing to do. That wasn't such a hard decision to make but then late Tuesday night my headaches returned which lasted all day Wednesday and late into Thursday.

Late Thursday my headaches had subsided and subsequently felt great again. About 4.55 pm I hit the streets of Hoppers Crossing intending to do 8 k's and as I was about a km into my run I changed my mind. I thought I'd visit the Werribee River since it's been quite a while. My intention was just to do an easy run and as per Monday nights run it didn't work out like that. I covered 12.39 km in 57:26 which paces out at 4:38 /km which I'm quite happy with. As it works out, it's my fastest time for this particular course. I've run it 13 times now.

I had my Garmin tonight and this time the heart rate monitor wasn't working. I think it may have been a flat battery in the heart rate strap.

Again, as per Monday nights run I felt quite strong and just kept up the pace. Strangely though I felt my quads working, it seemed like they were in overdrive. Those quads sore all night, a nice sore if you know what I mean. I don't normally feel muscle aches whilst I'm running, that usually kicks in later, after the run.

During the run I was tooted at twice and I've got no idea who they were. I let on anyway. One was a silver car in Heaths Rd and the other was a truck in Tarneit Rd. As the truck tooted I was passing an attractive blonde walking her dog, so maybe the toot was for her.

Further details of this run can be found here at Motionbased.

Steve out.

I'm back - 8 km around Hoppers

Back into it today after about 10 days forced rest. I just wanted to run a lazy 8 k’s and late in the afternoon I headed out around the streets of Hoppers Crossing. As it turned out I ran an 8.5 km course in 39:42 which equates to a pace of 4:40 /km, so a little faster than I expected. I felt great though, legs were really refreshed and it felt like I could have gone for longer or maybe a little quicker. What I did notice though is what a difference a few days makes regarding heart rates. During this run I maxed out at 175 bpm and averaged 154 bpm. Slightly, well a lot, higher than normal but I think this is to be expected after a layoff.

Just prior to heading out I was preparing Mr. Garmin and wouldn’t you know there was no battery charge. This is my first run since getting the Garmin back in September last year where I haven’t worn it. Lucky I still have my Polar S620 and HRM, wore that and it still works. Without the Garmin it felt strange not being able to check my pace and attempt some mental arithmetic with times etc. I did know though that I was travelling faster than normal.

Wearing my new-ish Loco runners with doubled-up socks and not a problem (as opposed to my first few runs prior to my cruise).

I’d been inside all day and it just felt very cold outside and consequently I decided to wear a long sleeve shirt. On getting out the front door it wasn’t as cold as I thought but I couldn’t be bothered changing.

Stats as of 10 Apr 2006	km’s
Today	8.5
Prev 7 Days	8.5
Prev 28 Days	101.1
Apr 2006	8.5
YTD	767.3
Month Average 2006	191.8
Weekly Average 2006	48.0
Total (2001 – to date)	8508.4

The week that wasn't (and Blogging Software)

Did absolutely nothing this week. I gave my infected right leg some time to heal, which it did by Thursday and I was all ready for a run on Friday. Wouldn't you know it since Friday my headaches returned and only subsided late today (Sunday). So tomorrow I'm hoping to get an 8 k'er in. And now for something completely different. On a completely different topic, this week I purchased my own hosting space and will be transferring my blog. Also I've been checking out different blog software and at the moment it looks like I might be going with Wordpress and using an external editor (BlogJet) to post and publish articles. The reason I've considered other blogging software is that with the default posting of Blogger.com articles it was a 2 or 3 step process when dealing with tables and photos. I would first have a templated Word document with a table or two already created. The textual article would be edited via Word. One little problem was that I couldn't incorporate the images at this point, a Blogger.com limitation. At Blogger.com I'd create a new post, copy the Word document into the compose screen, transfer to the HTML screen and then upload all the relevant images (between 4-6 usually). The images uploaded would then have to be moved into their right places, usually a table cell. As you can see a very cumbersome approach. If anybody has any good ideas about blogging, easy ways to manipulate tables and photos I'd certainly appreciate your comments. In particular, external blogging editors. I've come across BlogJet and RocketPost, are there any others out there? Google search for free blogging software is here. For what it's worth I've purchased web space from Unlimited-Space.com for $47 (au) and the name says it all, unlimited space. My domain name is superjacent.net which I've had for a while now.

Sun 2 Apr 2006 - Over the worst

Daylight savings ended this morning and all clocks back one hour. My infection is not as sore and so I must have seen the worst of it. Cherie claims it's the poultice that did the trick. It's really hard to say as I also started taking the tablets that the doctor prescribed. In any event the worst is over. I'll probably not go for a run today. The doctor yesterday advised to have a few days off from running.

Sat 1 Apr 2006 - Doctor visit - Tetanus shot

I couldn't take it any more. The infection to my right calf was ugly and painful and so off to the doctor I went. I explained the circumstances to the doctor afterwhich she asked when did I last have a tetanus shot, to which I replied, "can't remember". Before I knew it she was sticking a needle in my left arm, telling me it that it will hurt. Well it really didn't hurt that much. She looked at the infection, prescribed some tablets, told me to keep it clean as best as I can, use some Salvo and that was it. Here's some info regarding Tetanus. Later Cherie mixed a poultice, simply using bread, water & sugar. I'd never heard of this before and thought she was taking the micky. Anyway, the poultice was appied to my infection and held in place by wrapping grad wrap around it a few times. Glad wrap making sure there are no leaks. Then bandaged over the glad wrap. I'm told that a poultice drains or assists with the removal of crap from the infection, in effect speeding the healing process. Here's some info regarding Poultice. Only time will tell if the above have an effect.