P & O Cruise - Holiday over

Arrived in Sydney about 8 am and a few hours later we were disembarking. We arrived home in Melbourne about 3 pm and that was it, holiday over. (photos to follow)

Pacific Sun - Cruise Ship - Day 10 - Treadmill

Date/Time of Run	Wednesday 29 March 2006 - 4.40 pm
Location	Pacific Sun Cruise Ship, Treadmill
Distance	4.00 km (approx)
Time	20:00
Pace	5:00 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	No idea
Weather	No idea (inside).
More data
Exercises	100 Sit-ups
Equipment
Weight	No idea

Stats as of 29 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	4.0
Prev 7 Days	44.8
Prev 28 Days	212.7
Mar 2006	228.2
YTD	758.8
Month Average 2006	252.9
Weekly Average 2006	54.2
Total (2001 – to date)	8499.9

Day 10 of P & O Cruise onboard Pacific Sun (heading back to Sydney)

Another treadmill session for 20 mins. As per yesterday I got bored after 20 mins and pulled the pin.

Nice spa afterwards though.

Right calf still infected..

(photos and charts to follow)

Pacific Sun - Cruise Ship - Day 9 - Treadmill

Date/Time of Run	Tuesday 28 March 2006, 4.40 pm
Location	Pacific Sun Cruise Ship, Treadmill
Distance	4.00 km (approx)
Time	20:00
Pace	5:00 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	No idea
Weather	No idea (inside).
More data
Exercises	100 Sit-ups
Equipment
Weight	No idea

Stats as of 28 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	4.0
Prev 7 Days	46.7
Prev 28 Days	224.2
Mar 2006	224.2
YTD	754.8
Month Average 2006	251.6
Weekly Average 2006	53.9
Total (2001 – to date)	8495.9

Day 9 of P & O Cruise onboard Pacific Sun (heading back to Sydney)

Another treadmill session for 20 mins. I’m not really a bit fan of treadmills, I really would have liked to train for 40 mins or thereabouts but I got bored and pulled the pin after 20 mins.

My right calf infection was sore and as I type this I know I’m repeating myself but I really should have seen the doctor there and then.

(photos and charts to follow)

Pacific Sun - Cruise Ship - Day 8 - Heading back to Sydney

Back on the high seas heading back to Sydney. Will arrive in Sydney on Thursday morning.

No training today. Right calf, initial scratch now infected. I really should have seen the ship’s doctor but I didn’t thinking it would clear itself. Also had a mild sore throat.

Still having a great time though.

(Photos and charts to follow)

Pacific Sun - Cruise Ship - Day 7 - Port Vila

No training today, slight sore throat and scratch from yesterday a little infected. Also still extremely tired from the 14 km run two days ago.

Great day in Port Vila though.

(Photos and charts to follow)

Pacific Sun - Cruise Ship - Day 6 - Lamin Bay

Arrived at Lamin Bay, an island of Vanuatu. No training today as I was extremely tired and stuffed from yesterday's effort at Ouvea Bay. Whilst stepping down the gangway to board a tender (small boat) I scratched my right calf on a steel step. On the island I couldn't get any bandaids to cover it. Well, anyway, this was the start of an infection which was later to give me some grief.

Pacific Sun - Cruise Ship - Day 5 - Ouvea 14 km

Date/Time of Run	Friday 24 March 2006, 11.11 am
Location	Pacific Sun Cruise Ship – Ouvea (on land)
Distance	14.15 km
Time	1:30:47
Pace	6:25 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	151 / 129
Weather	Very hot & humid, overcast, slight rain towards end of run.
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Post Run – Swim in ocean
Equipment	Forerunner 301
Weight	No idea

Stats as of 24 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	20.2
Prev 7 Days	52.7
Prev 28 Days	251.4
Mar 2006	220.2
YTD	750.8
Month Average 2006	250.3
Weekly Average 2006	57.8
Total (2001 – to date)	8491.9

Day 5 of P & O Cruise –Ouvea Bay (2^nd Session).

Arrived at Ouvea Bay and don’t ask me why but in hot humid conditions I decided to go for a run around 11 am. One of those ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’ runs.

I ran an out and back course. The initial plan was to turn around after 45 mins thus making for 1.5 hr run. I carried with me a 600 ml bottle of water and thank god I did. Did I mention the condtions were very, very humid.

After 35 mins the plan of turning around at 45 mins went out the window. I was energy sapped and so turned around. At this point I walked whilst drinking some water and I just couldn’t get myself to run again. I walked for about 4 km and remember running in for the last 2 km. I was stuffed.

When I finished it was off with the socks and runners and straight into the ocean. I was in there for a good 20 mins or so before Cherie wanted to head back to the ship.

Okay, this run was not the smartest move I’ve ever made and I was paying the price the whole day and the following day; just really tired.

(Photos and charts to follow)

Pacific Sun - Cruise Ship - Day 5 - Deck Running

Date/Time of Run	Friday 24 March 2006, 6.05 am
Location	Pacific Sun Cruise Ship, Deck Running)
Distance	6.00 km (approx)
Time	30:31
Pace	5:05 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	138 / 127
Weather
More data
Exercises	Post Run – 100 Sit-ups
Equipment	Forerunner 301
Weight	No idea

Day 5 of P & O Cruise – Deck Running (1^st Session).

Another early morning deck running activity around the Pacific Sun. Mr. Garmin indicated a distance of 12.33 km after 30 mins. I’d love to be able to really claim it but I think the ship did most of the work. I’ll claim 6 km. I didn’t record the laps, just too many, 43 laps the other day.

As I was running the deck, Sarah was running on the treadmill in the gym.

(Photos and charts to follow)

Pacific Sun - Cruise Ship - Day 4 - Noumea 10 km

Date/Time of Run	Thursday 23 March 2006, 3.58 pm
Location	Pacific Sun Cruise Ship, Noumea (on land)
Distance	10.63 km
Time	51:37
Pace	4:52 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	166 / 148
Weather	Drizzly, humid, warm.
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	None
Equipment	Forerunner 301
Weight	No idea

Stats as of 23 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	16.7
Prev 7 Days	32.6
Prev 28 Days	240.5
Mar 2006	200.1
YTD	730.6
Month Average 2006	243.5
Weekly Average 2006	56.2
Total (2001 – to date)	8471.7

Day 4 of P & O Cruise - Noumea.

Spent most of the day in Noumea and after doing all the touristy things with the family at 3.30 pm most were back on the ship. All passengers had to be back onboard by 5 pm and so I decided I’ll get a proper run in.

I rushed to my cabin, got my gear on and back out onto the main street. I had no idea where I was running to, just that I had just on an hour to do it. I headed off and as it turned out it was a semi type of hill training run in the drizzly warm rain. Basically, great conditions; maybe a tad on the warm side. I was running along footpaths until I couldn’t go any further and then back tracked and turned off and took other routes. My main concern was not getting lost as I had to be back on board by 5 pm.

Overall I was quite happy with this run and was back at the ship with about 15 mins to spare.

(Photos and charts to follow)

Pacific Sun - Cruise Ship - Day 4 - Deck Running

Date/Time of Run	Thursday 23 March 2006, 6.07 am
Location	Pacific Sun Cruise Ship, Deck Running
Distance	6.00 km (approx)
Time	30:44
Pace	5:07 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	160 / 140
Weather	Not bad
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	100 Sit-ups
Equipment	Forerunner 301
Weight	No idea

Day 4 of P & O Cruise onboard Pacific Sun.

Got up early today, decided to run around the deck rather than a boring treadmill session. At this time in the morning there are no deckchairs in the way, only other walkers and some runners.

Each lap I was told by another passenger is 100 metres but I tend not to believe that, I reckon it’s more like 150 metres. Having said that I really don’t know for sure.

I wore my Garmin today and after 30 mins and 43 laps the Garmin indicated 10.23 km (I wish). I’ll log this one at 6 km.

The chart of the course is nothing spectacular, it’s just a straight line in the middle of the ocean.

(Photos and charts to follow)

Pacific Sun - Cruise Ship - Day 3 - Treadmill

Date/Time of Run	Wednesday 22 March 2006, 4.00 pm
Location	Pacific Sun Cruise Ship, Treadmill
Distance	6.00 km (approx)
Time	30 mins
Pace	5:00 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	No idea
Weather	No idea (inside).
More data
Exercises	100 Sit-ups
Equipment
Weight	No idea

Stats as of 22 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	6.0
Prev 7 Days	16.0
Prev 28 Days	231.8
Mar 2006	183.4
YTD	714.0
Month Average 2006	238.0
Weekly Average 2006	54.9
Total (2001 – to date)	8455.1

Day 3 of P & O Cruise onboard Pacific Sun.

Another treadmill session, running, rolling with the waves. Dad and Phil reckon they can hear me a mile away on the treadmill, reckon I’m very heavy on my feet. That might be the case, touch wood, I’ve been running like that for years and no joint problems to speak of.

Finished off with a spa.

Pacific Sun - Cruise Ship - Day 2 - Treadmill

Date/Time of Run	Tuesday 21 March 2006, 11.00 am & 4.30 pm
Location	Pacific Sun Cruise Ship, Treadmill
Distance	4.00 km (approx) and 6.00 km (approx)
Time	20 mins & 30 mins
Pace	5:00 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	No idea
Weather	No idea (inside).
More data
Exercises	Bike 10 mins, Skier 10 mins
Equipment
Weight	No idea

Stats as of 21 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	10.0
Prev 7 Days	26.2
Prev 28 Days	225.8
Mar 2006	177.4
YTD	708.0
Month Average 2006	236.0
Weekly Average 2006	54.5
Total (2001 – to date)	8449.1

Day 2 of P & O Cruise onboard Pacific Sun.

A treadmill workout with a difference. As the ship sways from side to side, running on a treadmill on a ship replicates real running more so that usual treadmill running. Every now and then swaying either left or right I had to brace myself on the treadmill handles simply to stay on the running belt. Rather disconcerting to start with but after a while it’s something I got use to.

Today I did two sessions one in the morning and another later in the afternoon. I got rather bored just running on the same spot but the view of the pool deck was not bad. (photos will follow).

Nice spa had after the second session.

The Week that Was

Week commencing: Monday 13 March 2006

Day	Distance (km)	Time	Pace	Weight (kg)	Notes & Keywords
Monday	18.8	1:30:48	4:50	77.2	Yarra out and back
Tuesday	15.6	1:18:37	5:02	76.7	Yarra, New Runners (Loco Mojo)
Wednesday	16.2	1:24:38	5:13	76.4	Werribee River, Shoe, Loco
Thursday				76.4	Sore, feet, tired
Friday				75.8	Sore, feet, tired
Saturday				75.4
Sunday				75.9
Totals	50.6	4:14:03	5:01

Problem this week was buying new shoes, running in them straight away and copping blisters. Then followed up with another run the following day, Wednesday, padding up my feet where required.

Thursday and Friday were forced rest days due to the shoe/feet problem.

I wanted to get 200 km accrued by the end of this week because as of Sunday I’m heading off with the family on a 10 day P & O Cruise. No real training will be possible during this time. As it stands now I’ve only run 167 km for the month.

I’m posting this on Saturday as I won’t have time to post on Sunday. Who knows I might even get a run in tonight. If I do, I’ll edit this when I get back from the cruise.

Stats as of 17 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	0.0
Prev 7 Days	76.8
Prev 28 Days	215.8
Mar 2006	167.4
YTD	698.0
Month Average 2006	232.7
Weekly Average 2006	58.2
Total (2001 – to date)	8439.1

Another rest day and sore feet

Another forced rest day due to sore feet. Well, that’s one excuse and the other is that I’m extremely tired. I really think the k’s I ran from Sunday through to Wednesday were excessive. Maybe I need to eat more to account for the energy drain.

Hopefully I’ll get a run in tomorrow. I was planning earlier in the week a 20 k’er but now, if my feet are right, I might just do 10 or so k’s.

Rest day - just plain tired and sore feet

I was planning a 15 km run around the Yarra. I’ve done a heap of k’s this week, about 50 km from Monday and now it’s starting to take its toll. All day at work I was tired and energy sapped plus add in the fact that my feet were still a little sore from two days ago (breaking in new shoes) so I decided at the last moment to make it a rest day.

Wed 15 Mar 2006 - Werribee River 16 km (blistered feet)

Date/Time of Run	Wednesday 15 March 2006, 5.13 pm
Location	Werribee River (Virgillia, Tarneit, Hogans, Thames, Werribee River, Shaws and return)
Distance	16.22 km
Time	1:24:38
Pace	5:13 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	142 / 132
Weather	20.6 C. Wind SE 7/11 kts. RH 61%. QNH 1009
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Post run : 100 Sit-ups
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301, mobile phone.
Weight	76.4 kg (-0.3 kg from yesterday)

Stats as of 15 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	16.2
Prev 7 Days	89.9
Prev 28 Days	228.2
Mar 2006	167.4
YTD	698.0
Month Average 2006	232.7
Weekly Average 2006	58.2
Total (2001 – to date)	8439.1

This morning my feet were still a little sore, well very tender with all the blisters. I thought that maybe a run today was out of the question but later in the afternoon I went to the chemist and got some patch-up stuff. Applied water-proof bandage to affected areas, then on top of that some padded gauze material and further on top of that wore thicker socks. Tried my new Loco Mojo’s on and they felt ok and at this point, “yep, I’m going for a run”.

Headed off from home to run along the Werribee River to Shaws Rd and return, all up around 16.2 km. No problems with the shoes and I think they’ll be ok for future runs. In the meantime I’ll just have to pad-up until the blisters are well and truly gone.

I started a thread on Runners World forum regarding ‘Breaking in New Shoes’. There are some interesting replies.

The run itself, I didn’t really push it, just ambled around at a pace of 5:13 /km. I’m happy with the heart rate not exceeding 142 and averaging 132 for nearly 90 mins effort. I’m putting this down to improving fitness.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits
Heart Rate
Weather

Tue 14 Mar 2006 - Yarra 15 km (New Loco Runners)

Date/Time of Run	Tuesday 14 March 2006, 4.43 pm
Location	Yarra (Fawkner Park, Hope, Domain, Anderson, Yarra, Mac Robertson Bridge, Yarra, Princess Bridge, Yarra, Anderson, Domain, Hope, Fawkner Park)
Distance	15.61 km
Time	1:18:37
Pace	5:02 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	149 / 135
Weather	20.4 deg Celsius. Wind WNW 3/8 kts. RH 46%. QNH 1020.
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Post run : 100 Sit-ups
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301, mobile phone.
Weight	76.7 kg (-0.5 kg from yesterday)

Stats as of 14 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	15.6
Prev 7 Days	86.0
Prev 28 Days	212.0
Mar 2006	151.2
YTD	681.8
Month Average 2006	227.3
Weekly Average 2006	56.8
Total (2001 – to date)	8422.9

Yesterday’s run was suppose to be a relaxed and easy run, which didn’t turn out to be. Tonight’s run was different; it was a slower paced run, averaging 5:02 /km. There are reasons though which I had no control over because otherwise I think I would have run it slightly quicker.

I purchased new runners today from Runners World in Kew. I decided to try the Loco brand, tried on a few pairs and went with the Mojo model. When I asked the retailer about the deal for this month, buying a second pair, get $50 off, he was none the wiser. I mentioned to him that is the reason I was buying them. He made a phone call to the supplier (Kevin Tiller, I think) and left a message. I purchased the runners anyway and am trusting that he will honour the deal when he gets it confirmed. I told him I’d be back in 3 or 4 weeks.

On getting new runners I just had to try them out. For a first up run of 15 km not a very good start. I ended up with a severe blood blister on my left little toe, a not so severe blister on my right little toe and heal rubbing on both heals (bloodied heels). I was certainly feeling the pain half way through the run. When I finished in Fawkner Park, the walk back to the office was a killer.

For my next run I’ll tape up the tender bits on my feet and wear some thicker socks (non low-ankle type). I’ve experienced this sort of stuff previously with other brands on first wearing so I’ll at least give them a decent workout before any legitimate assessment can be made.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits
Heart Rate
Weather

Mon 13 Mar 2006 - Yarra (out'n'back 18.8 km)

Date/Time of Run	Monday 13 March 2006, 3.53 pm
Location	Yarra out and back (Fawkner Park, Anderson, Yarra (east) and return)
Distance	18.8 km
Time	1:30:48
Pace	4:49 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	160 / 140
Weather	23.4 C. Wind ENE 5/10 kts. RH 49%. QNH 1014.
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Post run : 100 Sit-ups
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301, mobile phone.
Weight	77.2 kg (+0.5 kg from yesterday)

Stats as of 13 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	18.8
Prev 7 Days	86.0
Prev 28 Days	208.7
Mar 2006	135.6
YTD	666.1
Month Average 2006	222.0
Weekly Average 2006	55.5
Total (2001 – to date)	8407.2

Today’s run was supposed to be a relaxed and easy longish sort of run. Why a longish sort of run, I’ve got no idea, just felt like running a longish run on flat after yesterday’s hill effort at the You Yangs. All day today, whilst at work (was a public holiday here in Melbourne) I felt energy sapped and yet still wanting to run.

Early on in the day I decided that I’d do an out’n’back course along the Yarra and the turn-around point would be at the 45 min mark. Well, this is what I did and started off at slower than 5 min pace but eventually ‘pace creep’ kicked in and before I knew it I was subbing 5 min pace and late on for a 2 km stretch the pace was around the 4:30 something per min.

Even though I averaged at 4:49 /km I felt very comfortable with myself, that I hadn’t really exerted myself, though I was glad when I was at the top of Anderson St Hill (I maintained pace up the hill) as then there was only 1.5 km to go.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits
Heart Rate
Weather

The Week That Was

The Week that Was

Week commencing: Monday 6 March 2006

Day	Distance (km)	Time	Pace	Weight (kg)	Notes
Monday				76.5
Tuesday	15.6	1:13:38	4:43	76.7	Yarra
Wednesday	12.3	1:01:03	4:57	76.4	Werribee River
Thursday				76.5
Friday	13.1	1:08:00	5:12	76.8	Skeleton Creek
Saturday				75.8
Sunday	26.2	2:25:21	5:33	76.7	You Yangs 2 laps
Totals	67.2	5:48:02	5:11

Sun 12 Mar 2006 - Group Run You Yangs 26 km

Date/Time of Run	Sunday 12 March 2006, 8.17 am
Location	You Yangs (Great Circle Drive, Anti-clockwise then clockwise)
Distance	26.21 km
Time	2:25:21
Pace	5:32 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	164 / 142
Weather	14.7 deg C. Wind ENE 7/10 kts. RH 86%. QNH 1011. At end of run temp was 33.6 deg C.
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Nil
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301, fuel belt, mobile phone, energy gel.
Weight	76.7 kg (+0.9 kg from yesterday)

Stats as of 12 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	26.2
Prev 7 Days	67.2
Prev 28 Days	198.4
Mar 2006	116.8
YTD	647.3
Month Average 2006	215.8
Weekly Average 2006	58.8
Total (2001 – to date)	8388.4

Another group run at the You Yangs. During the week there were seven possible starters but most dropped like flies when the forecast for today was a hot one. That left three of us, Shane (Wilco), Morley and me. My first time running with Wilco. He traveled all the way from Burwood and actually arrived heaps early. He miscalculated how long it would take him. Anyway he got a 4 km run in before we arrived.

As we were about to head off, just after the obligatory photo shoot, Repoman wandered over having just finished one lap and a small trail. He started at 7 am.

At 8.15 am when we started the weather wasn’t that warm and actually some cool breezes. The first lap wasn’t that bad as far as the heat was concerned and I more or less ran it quite comfortably. Not as fast as Wilco though. He knows how to run and run fast.

Between laps we stopped at the car park for water intake and for me it was about a 2:00 min stop (according to Mr. Garmin) but it actually felt a little longer than that.

The second lap was a little different. We ran it in a clockwise direction, reverse of the first lap. I stayed with Wilco for only about 2 or so km before he kicked on or I slowed down, maybe a little of both. I did slow down though and just let Wilco forge on. At this point I was not that far in front of Morley.

I negotiated the hills and they were really taking there toll. It was getting warmer. I ended up walking for a little distance near the top of the hill when two kids came screaming down the other way. The second one stopped and asked for some water, I couldn’t say no, I had heaps and he drank half of one of my flasks. No mouth contact with the flask, he just squirted the water into his mouth. I told him he could drink all of it, he just thanked me and got on his way.

On the downhill’s I was stuffed and couldn’t even get a decent pace going. About 4 km to go I was taking a drink stop or rather a drink walk when out of the blue Morley jogged by and we ran to the finish together.

Wilco finished in a time of just over 2 hours and we came home 25 mins later. Thanks for waiting Wilco.

Regarding the weather at 11 am it reached 33.6 deg Celsius.

For the rest of the day I was energy sapped (stuffed) and couldn’t even be bothered writing this blog.

(No photos or graphs just yet - blogger.com not wanting to play the game - will upload during the week)

Sat 11 Mar 2006 - No run - must be social

I had planned to run today but our visitors (Andrew & Michelle) arrived earlier than I expected for a BBQ. So my run was put on hold knowing that I'd get a decent long run in tomorrow at the You Yangs.

Fri 10 Mar 2006 - Leisurely 13 km

Date/Time of Run	Friday 10 March 2006, 5.49 pm
Location	Skeleton Creek (Virgillia, Derrimut, Sayers, Skeleton Creek, Heaths, Morris, Hogans, Derrimut, Virgillia)
Distance	13.07 km
Time	1:08:00
Pace	5:12 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	150 / 136
Weather	21.4 Deg Celsius Clear. Wind S 14/18 kts. RH 66%. QNH 1019
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Post run 100 Sit-ups.
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301
Weight	76.8 kg (+0.3 kg from yesterday)

Stats as of 10 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	13.1
Prev 7 Days	75.1
Prev 28 Days	214.9
Mar 2006	90.6
YTD	621.1
Month Average 2006	207.0
Weekly Average 2006	56.5
Total (2001 – to date)	8362.2

Just an easy, relaxed and leisurely 13 km tonight. No thoughts of little speed sessions along the way. Come to think about it, no thoughts of any nature, oops forgot about the cruise. I was thinking how the hell can I maintain my training whilst on the cruise (a week on Sunday heading off for 10 days). Apparently there is a running track around the ship and a gym. I’ll probably do some ‘mickey mouse’ type training.

SportTracks update.

With the latest update of SportTracks it’s now possible to save chart images directly from SportTracks. So today’s images are directly from SportTracks with some additional editing comments from me, via the ‘SnagIt’ program.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits
Heart Rate
Weather

Comment Replies - Muka & Tesso

Replies to comments from Muka & Tesso Muka said...

Hey Steve, also very impressed with your graphs. I just finished my first run with the Garmin 205 and ofcourse played with both motion based and Sporttracks. Why do you use both? Sporttrack seems more userfriendly but I love your Motionbase Map with the mileage in it.Did you create that in Google Earth? Regards from cold NYC

9/3/06 05:57

I've uploaded all my runs to Motionbased since purchasing my 301. I wasn't aware of SportTracks until a couple of months later. I suppose it's just habit now. I still maintain my own logbook which has got all my runs recorded since 2001, just a MS Access database. The beauty of this is that I can retrieve stats any which way I want. I like to dabble in programming code. The maps produced are via SportTracks to Google Earth. - Thanks for dropping by.

Tesso said...

Must be getting so exciting there right now. Are you going to any events? Do you have a good vantage point planned to watch the marathon?

8/3/06 22:28

Tesso is referring to the Commonwealth Games here in Melbourne. I'll be watching the Games on TV - oh, the TV will be on a P&O Cruise Ship the Pacific Sun. A week on Sunday we're all off on a 10 day cruise. I believe the ship has a running track. What I want to do is record the run on my Garmin, it should make for an interesting course, I envisage either a straight line maybe with a slight spiralling effect..

Wed 8 Mar 2006 - Werribee River 12 km

Date/Time of Run	Wednesday 8 March 2006, 6.23 pm
Location	Werribee River (Virgillia, Tarneit, Hogans, Thames, River, River Bend, Heaths, Tarneit, Hogans, Derrimut, Virgillia)
Distance	12.31 km
Time	1:01:03
Pace	4:57 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	143 / 134
Weather	21.4 Deg Celsius Clear. Wind SE 8/11 kts. RH 57%. QNH 1017
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Post run 100 Sit-ups.
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301, mobile phone.
Weight	76.4 kg (-0.3 kg from yesterday)

Stats as of 8 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	12.3
Prev 7 Days	62.0
Prev 28 Days	223.5
Mar 2006	77.5
YTD	608.1
Month Average 2006	202.7
Weekly Average 2006	55.3
Total (2001 – to date)	8349.2

Tonight’s run was a forced run, well sort of. During the afternoon I was tossing up whether to go for a run from work and run around the Yarra or do it from home. Late in the day I decided it would be a run from home job. I was feeling a little tired and in essence was putting off the run.

The train trip home (45-50 mins) doesn’t help if one has a dose of the tireds (I know, it’s not correct use of the word – but you know what I mean). The clickety clack is very hypnotic and I reckon I dosed for half the trip, thank god for the PA system announcing the upcoming stations.

Anyway, I got home, really tired but decided to run anyway. I felt flat for the whole run but not energy sapped. I think it was just one of those runs.

It makes me wonder at times how I survive whist running around the streets. As per usual I passed many people and most times pleasantries are exchanged. I just turned into Tarneit Rd about 8 km into the run where I saw a couple of runners’ 30 or 40 metres apart running towards me. As I was approaching the first one I came out with a, “G’day mate” as I was looking directly at him. As we crossed each other I then realized it was my brother, Philip. We didn’t stop and chat. On the one hand I was aware of my surroundings and yet a simple recognition went out the window. Is this normal; I hope so.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits
Heart Rate
Weather

Comment Reply - The Shuffler

My Runs: Tue 7 Mar 2006 - Yarra 15 km I received this comment from Mandy, from Cananda.

Anonymous said...

Wow, now that is a write up. I would share my info like that, but I'm too slow and it's embarrassing! I take it you used Motion Based for the Heart Rate graph, and weather. Well done, very interesting...will be stopping by your page alot to see how it should be done. Mandy aka "The Shuffler"

8/3/06 07:39

Thanks for dropping by and your vote of confidence, much appreciated. I do upload my data to Motionbased but all the graphs are produced by SportTracks. The weather is obtained from Weatherzone.

Tue 7 Mar 2006 - Yarra 15 km

Date/Time of Run	Tuesday 7 March 2006, 3.24 pm
Location	Yarra Run (Fawkner Park, Hope, Domain, Anderson, Yarra, Mac. Robertson Bridge, Yarra, Princess Bridge, Yarra, Anderson, Domain, Hope, Fawkner Park)
Distance	15.61 km
Time	1:13:38
Pace	4:43 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	160 / 144
Weather	19.9 deg Celsius Clear. Wind N 3/6 kts. RH 56%. QNH 1015.
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Post run 100 Sit-ups.
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301, mobile phone.
Weight	76.7 kg (+0.2 kg from yesterday)

Stats as of 7 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	15.6
Prev 7 Days	65.2
Prev 28 Days	219.7
Mar 2006	65.2
YTD	595.8
Month Average 2006	198.6
Weekly Average 2006	54.2
Total (2001 – to date)	8336.9

I had a rest day yesterday from running. It was a rest day simply because I couldn’t be bothered running by the time I got home. So I justified it to myself by saying “oh well, I did a really big run yesterday (Sunday 29 km) and I need the rest”.

Today I started work earlier than normal, at 7 am, which meant I was finishing at 3 pm. I worked this in my favour, meaning that I could get a semi-long run in reasonably early between 3 and 3.30 pm.

I’ve run this route a few times before and so decided to reverse the direction. This time I ran east along the Yarra to Mac Robertson Bridge (Grange Road), crossed over and headed west along the Yarra to Princess Bridge (Flinders Street). Starting and finishing in Fawkner Park.

In Melbourne at the moment there’s quite a buzz going around, a little thing called the Commonwealth Games. I’m going off topic here, hang-on, back to my run.

After crossing Mac Robertson Bridge (Grange Rd) to track west along the banks of the Yarra I spied the first of the ‘Track closure signs’. This particular sign said that access could only be got to the Burnley something or other (can’t remember) and after that the track was closed to the public due to the Games. I made an executive decision to continue on and if I had to back-track so be it.

I continued on and then came across the first of a number of barricades, those temporary red and white big water filled leggo blocks. I really didn’t want to turn around and back-track as I had this route planned all day. Approaching the barricade I felt like a mischievous kid, looked around, no one around, bugger it, I jump the barricade and continue running. I was expecting someone to stop me a little bit further on and be forced to backtrack. As it turned out that wasn’t to be and I forget how many barricades I jumped, about 3 or 4 and when I was passing Anderson St on my left I was in the clear.

Heading towards Princess Bridge (Flinders St) there’s that much activity going on because of the Games. Fish displays (heaps of them – all in a line) on the water, workers making what appear to be last minute adjustments to everything and anything around the Yarra, people just looking on and chuck in the boat clubs on the other side getting ready for the nights training. I really need a photo of all this.

Anyway, back to the run. Looks like Mr. Garmin played up a bit towards the end. One lap came in at the low 3 min /km which clearly wasn’t correct and then the next lap it was 6 mins something /km which also wasn’t correct. I’ve checked this out using SportTracks. I still can’t make head nor tail of it. It’s just one of those things.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits
Heart Rate
Weather

Comment Reply - Rumanjo - SportTracks

I received this comment earlier today.

Rumanjo said...

Did you check out the SportTracks update this weekend with the save charts addition. Nice.

6/3/06 15:15

Yes, I downloaded the latest version yesterday (Sunday) and the ability to directly save charts is certainly a plus. For yesterday's blog I still reverted to using SnagIt to screen capture the relevant charts. When using SnagIt the captured screen section is then opened up in the editor for instant editing. I like to add some additional comments or draw in an 'average' line where appropriate. Rumanjo's comment was posted against this entry - My Runs: Wed 1 Mar 2006 - Yarra River 15 km

Sun 5 Mar 2006 - Williamstown 29 km

Date/Time of Run	Sunday 5 March 2006, 8.03 am
Location	Williamstown Foreshore (Newport Aths Track, West along Foreshore and return, then to Westgate Bridge and return)
Distance	28.80 km
Time	2:36:10
Pace	5:25 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	161 / 130
Weather	19.7 deg Celsius, low cloud cover, Wind Variable 0/4 kts. RH 77%. QNH 1021.
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Nil
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301, Fuel Belt, Homemade gel, mobile phone.
Weight	76.2 kg (+0.3 kg from yesterday)

Stats as of 5 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	28.8
Prev 7 Days	58.3
Prev 28 Days	212.6
Mar 2006	59.6
YTD	580.1
Month Average 2006	193.4
Weekly Average 2006	58.0
Total (2001 – to date)	8321.2

Another NW Suburbs group run, today running along the Williamstown Foreshore starting from the Newport Athletics Track. Five of us turned up and we waited a few more minutes after 8 am for anybody else. Well no one else turned up, I thought maybe Buzzy & Wilco from Aus Run as they had left messages at the forum during the week. We waited and eventually had to say, “No appearance your worship” and we were off. I hope you guys were not running just a tad late, if so, I’m apologising for not waiting longer.

Photo 1 L-R : Martin, Mike, Morley & Yours Truly

Photo 2 L-R : Martin, Mike, Yours Truly & Smokey (Darren)

Weather wise we couldn’t complain. A nice low temperature with low cloud cover, perfect conditions for a long run; well any run.

The planned route works out to be about 23 or 24 km when finishing at the starting point. Morley mentioned that he was going to continue on for another 5 or so kilometres heading towards the Westgate Bridge and return to make his long run 29 km. Early in the run this was crossing my mind, should I run with him for this extra little bit or not. I decided I’d only mention it towards the end of the run depending upon how I felt.

About 8 or so k’s I had to have a pit stop and the group continued on. I really didn’t expect them to stop and told them I’d catch up. After the pit stop, according to Mr. Garmin it took me about 600 metres, running a sub 4 min pace to catch them and then settle back to long slow distance mode. That particular split worked out to be 4:08 /km. This was my speed session for the day.

About 9 or 9.5 km that was Darren’s halfway point and turned around. He had to collect his daughter from a sleep over. Morley mentioned that his daughter is having a few friends over for a sleep over as well. Morley, do you know what you’re in for? Rather you than me.

We got to the, I’m not sure what it’s called, but the old racetrack; I’ll call it the Altona Loop. At this point last time Mike and Martin turned around and headed back, this time they were with us for this, about 2 km, loop and then return.

On the return leg for a few kilometres we split into two groups and Martin and I increased the pace somewhat. I recall seeing pace readings of around the 4:40 /km mark. From the rear I heard, “We’re stopping at the next water station”, so we kept up the pace until arriving at the water station and waited for Mike and Morley.

I really didn’t need the water stations as I was wearing my fuel belt and on this occasion I had pre-mixed my homemade gel with water. Whether I take the gel as a gel and then follow up with drinking water or mixing it with water to start with, it should be the same. I don’t know. It just feels more substantial taking the gel in gel form and flushing it down with water afterwards.

After this water stop we kept together as a group. Mike was starting to feel the conditions a bit; actually he looked very stuffed and was dropping off a bit. I stayed with him at this point, all the time he insisting that I didn’t have to wait. Well, within a few minutes he found some energy and kicked off a bit and at one point was leading the pack.

As we were running along The Strand nearing the finish we passed a young girl and I didn’t recognise her but couldn’t place where from. I found out later it was Cazz from the Aus Run forum as she mentioned she spotted us. In Cazz’s post she wanted to thank the guy in the black tank top – that was Mike. Apparently he gave her heaps of encouragement when she passed him.

At the last water stop Mike decided to walk a bit and the three of us paced on. It was at this point I mentioned to Morley that I’d keep him company for those extra 5 km.

At the start/finish point, Newport Athletics Track, we had a quick water intake – water from our cars and headed off towards the Westgate Bridge and return. Morley wanted to get 29 km done and as we were getting close the finish, back at the track, it wasn’t quite 29 and so decided to run around a loop track thinking that would be it. It wasn’t, Mr. Garmin was still indicating 28 point something and so we ran the loop track again and finished when the Garmin said 29 km. (after GPS correction it’s 28.8 km)

Overall I’m quite happy with today’s long run. It’s the longest run I’ve been on for quite some time.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits
Heart Rate
Weather

Sat 4 Mar 2006 - A quick fire five

Date/Time of Run	Saturday 4 March 2006, 6.40 pm.
Location	Hoppers Crossing (Virgillia, Tarneit, Hogans, Derrimut, Virgillia)
Distance	5.30 km
Time	21:42
Pace	4:05 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	158 / 150
Weather	24.8 deg Celsius Clear. Wind S 12/16 kts. RH 58%. QNH 1023.
More data	Motionbased
Exercises	Post run 100 sit-ups
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301.
Weight	75.9 kg (down 0.4 kg from yesterday)

Stats as of 4 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	5.3
Prev 7 Days	39.5
Prev 28 Days	207.1
Mar 2006	20.8
YTD	551.3
Month Average 2006	183.8
Weekly Average 2006	55.1
Total (2001 – to date)	8292.4

Haven’t run since Wednesday. On Thursday I was going to go for a run before work, in the morning but elected to catch an extra hour’s sleep. I couldn’t run after work as I was tied up with a legal seminar in town. By the time I got home I just couldn’t be bothered.

I didn’t run on Friday (yesterday) just too hot.

So along comes Saturday and wouldn’t you just know, hot all day. I suppose I could have gone for an early morning run but I really wanted a good long sleep-in and woke up at10 am. I’m getting up early tomorrow for a group run at Williamstown.

Well I was still deciding at 6 pm whether to go for a run or not. I really wanted to put 12 k’s in but since it was getting late I decided to at least do something. So I decided on a short, sharp and hopefully fast 5 km. I hit the road at 6.40 pm and the weather had cooled a little and really wasn’t that bad, heat wise.

A little goal upon heading out was to try and have a sub 4:00 /km pace overall. I know to do this properly I should have warmed up a little, a few sprints, lazy km etc, but I didn’t. It didn’t work out that way and overall the pace was 4:05 /km with two km splits under 4 mins. The graphs should clearly show this.

As I’ve got fitter over the years or stronger at long distance running I’ve noticed that my max heart rate is lower, a lot lower, than it use to be years ago. I think, I hope, this is normal and a sign of fitness, maybe even age, maybe both.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s group run at Williamstown. Looks like there maybe about six of us.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits
Heart Rate
Weather

Wed 1 Mar 2006 - Yarra River 15 km

Date/Time of Run	Wednesday 1 March 2006, 4.09 pm.
Location	Yarra River (Fawkner Park, Hope, Domain, Anderson, Yarra River, Flinders, Yarra, Grange, Yarra, Anderson, Domain, Hope, Fawkner Park)
Distance	15.51 km
Time	1:14:16
Pace	4:47 /km
Heart Rate Max/Avg	159 / 142
Weather	24.1 C Clear. Wind W 4/9 kts. RH 48%. QNH 1025
More data	Motionbased (notice gps errors – SportTracks corrects them)
Exercises	Post run 100 sit-ups
Equipment	Garmin Forerunner 301, mobile phone.
Weight	76.0 kg ( down 0.6 kg)

Stats as of 1 Mar 2006	km’s
Today	15.5
Prev 7 Days	63.9
Prev 28 Days	222.3
Mar 2006	15.5
YTD	546.0
Month Average 2006	182.0
Weekly Average 2006	54.6
Total (2001 – to date)	8287.1

Rest day yesterday and wanted to get a medium long run in tonight; which I did. Followed the same course I ran on Monday night but extending the Yarra River part all the way to Grange Road Bridge and returned on the opposite side of the Yarra.

Not a bad run and kept up a reasonably fast pace at 4:47 /km. Wasn’t really intending to run that fast, it was just going to be a ‘just run the distance run’ if you know what I mean. Well anyway I just got into a rhythm and felt very comfortable at this pace.

I noticed during the last 2 or 3 k’s my quads were tightening but not to the extent of slowing me down.

Mr. Garmin let me down a little today. I noticed when tracking up Anderson Street Hill about 2 km to go the unit wasn’t receiving any heart rate info. I was really peeved with this as I was really pushing it. I couldn’t help myself, as I turned into Anderson Street there was a group of young runners running up the hill. I said to myself, “self; beat them”. That group split into two and as I passed the front markers I just had to keep going, which I did.

I also lost the GPS signal in a few areas along the run. This particular area, The Tan, is not GPS friendly. Thank god for SportTracks, this enables me to edit the GPS track afterwards. If only I could upload that data to Motionbased.

	Graphs and Charts
Route
Splits
Heart Rate
Weather