My Runs

I'm retiring this blogger and going with b2evolution

2006-05-17T20:22:00.000+10:00

Over the past few months I’ve been playing around with blogging systems and external purpose built editors. I’ve now made a decision on which system and editor to use. It was a confusing process as when all is said and done there were pros and cons in all systems I analysed. Within this post I’m not going into all the factors I considered, I’ll leave that for my other blog relating to programming and coding, which I’m yet to start. Ok, so for me this is my last post to blogger.com. My new blog address, which is powered by b2evolution, is:-

My New Blog Address is here.

For Bloglines users: (25 Jul 2006 - update Bloglines info)

Click here - Subscribe to - Latest Comments.

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For other aggregators the feed addresses are:

Comments : http://www.bloglines.com/sub/http://www.superjacent.net/blog/index.php?tempskin=_rss2
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It’s possible to have two entries recorded within say, Bloglines, one for posts and one for comments. How often have you left a comment against a post, anybody’s post, and the author of the post replies to the comment by adding another comment. When comments are added against the blog it’s now possible to see those updates within Bloglines (or whatever reader/aggregator is used). My new blog will be sort of basic to start with but I have a heap more control over it. I’m now in the process of learning PHP, MySQL, RubyOnRails and HTML. That’s when I’m not running..

Feeling fresh - 11 k'er

2006-05-16T21:34:00.000+10:00

As I mentioned in my previous post I haven't run since Tuesday last week. I was hoping to get out yesterday but a niggling headache just wouldn’t subside. Had the same niggling headache this morning but by lunchtime everything was right.

Straight after work about 4 pm I was in Fawkner Park warming up and waiting for the satelites to lock-on. Ran my usual Yarra route, a distance of 11.58 km in a time of 58:46 (5:04 /km). Heart rate figures (max/avg) were 165/136. I didn’t really push during this run, just a nice easy pace except for Anderson Street Hill towards the end. I couldn’t help myself, just had to push a little bit, hence the max heart rate at 165.

What a difference a rest makes. Very hard to explain or describe but I felt very, very fresh through out the run.

Details of this run can be found here at Motionbased.

Stats as of 16 May 2006.

Today : 11.6

Prev 7 Days : 11.6

Prev 28 Days : 234.2

MTD : 132.0

YTD : 1059.8

Month Avg : 212.0

Week Avg : 50.5

Total (2001) : 8800.9

Well the last week didn't go according to plan

2006-05-15T12:14:00.000+10:00

My last run was on Tuesday (9th May) and was wanting to run a semi-long one on either the Wednesday or Thursday. That wasn’t to be as I developed a stomach bug and just felt lousy. So that left me with the weekend. Well, hosting a 21st on Saturday night involves a lot of preparation and so no running over the weekend. Great party though and I paid the price on Sunday. Weight Milestone Checked my weight on Sunday morning and it’s the lowest reading for at least the last 6 years at 74.9 kg. I check my weight everyday and find it very strange that with no running since Tuesday that my weight should actually head south. Williamstown Marathon 28 May 2006 So the last week has thrown out my training somewhat. I was hoping to have run one last 30 k’er before the Williamstown Marathon but with less that 14 days left that is not going to be. Probably Wednesday or Thursday I’ll try and dig out a 20 - 23 km run and then into taper mode.

Another Yarra Run (15 km)

2006-05-09T22:04:00.000+10:00

Just another Yarra run today straight after work. Well, a little bit before work finished at 3.50 pm, only because I worked through lunch. I'm starting to pack more items in my bag now due to the weather. I packed two shirts, one a t-shirt and the other a long sleeved shirt. I elected to wear the long sleeved shirt as it looked a tad cold from the office window. Nothing really special about the run, the usual starting in Fawkner Park and tracking on both banks of the Yarra from Flinders St to Mac. Robertson Bridge. All up a 15.41 km in a time of 1:15:08 at a pace of 4:52 /km. Heart rate info, max & avg, 157/138. Felt OK considering the long 30 km on Sunday. If anything I'm a little tired during the day but during the run I felt comfortable and strong. After the run I knocked out 100 sit-ups and for some reason they have dropped off recently. Message to self, just do them. I'm glad I got the run out of the way when I did. Only a couple of hours later it was bucketing down and I certainly wouldn't have started a run in those conditions.

Stats as of 9 May 2006 Today : 15.4 Prev 7 Days : 96.4 Prev 28 Days : 281.0 MTD : 120.4 YTD : 1048.2 Month Avg : 209.6 Week Avg : 52.4 Total (2001) : 8789.3

Another Yarra Run (post long run run)

2006-05-08T22:30:00.000+10:00

Another Yarra run after work, starting in Fawkner Park. This run nearly didn't happen as I forgot to pack socks. Whilst still at my desk checking my bag is when I noticed I hadn't packed socks. It was at this point that a few choice words, expletives, were yelled. My wife calls them 'hissy fits'. Anyway, a colleague offered his and everything turned out alright in the end. I suppose I'll have to wash and return them. He told me that that would be a good idea. My usual Yarra River run. All up 11.61 km in a time of 56:27 at a pace of 4:51 /km. It could have been 50 seconds quicker if I didn't have to stop and wait for traffic at Toorak Rd on the return. My heart rate maximum and average was 161 and 137 respectively. Considering an effort of a run yesterday I pulled up ok for tonight's run.

Stats as of 8 May 2006 Today : 11.61 km Prev 7 Days : 93.4 Prev 28 Days : 265.6 MTD : 105.0 YTD : 1032.8 Month Avg : 206.6 Week Avg : 51.6 Total (2001) : 8773.9

A long 30 km (and a grand for the year)

2006-05-07T22:02:00.000+10:00

The alarm went off at 6 am, well my mobile phone went off at 6 am and all I could hear was teeming rain, it was pouring, belting down. My plan was to get up early have some brekky two hours before running and hit the road at 8 am. It nearly didn't happen. With the belting rain I decided to stay in bed hitting the snooze function numerous times. At 7 am the rain had eased somewhat and I started feeling guilty and so I got up, had brekky and I was out the door at 8.17 am. It was a cold, wet and all round miserable morning. I donned my Puma tights and long sleaved shirt and wished I'd worn my gloves. It rained hard and drizzled and towards the end of the run the sun broke through. I don't recall the wind easing one bit. I didn't have a pre-planned course to run just a general idea and knew it would be around the 30 km mark. Ultimately though I was relying on the Garmin for overall distance. From home I ran south down Derrimut Rd to Princess Hwy and then left (east) crossing the railway line and continued to Skeleton Creek. Along the creek to Sayers Rd back to close to home. At this point it was 17 or so km on the Garmin so I just continued on running my usual Werribee River 12 km run. The run itself was a lot slower than last week's long run by a long shot. Towards the end it really was an effort and I was starting to doubt my ability to run 42 km which is only three weeks away. As last weeks 30 km was evenly divided into three sets of 10 today's run was just one long 30 km. Overall I ran 30.63 km in a time of 2:52:09 at a pace of 5:37 /km. My maximum and average heart rates were 145 and 132 respectively. Today's run was an effort and I would have thought the heart rate figures would have been higher, it felt like it. YTD Milestone 1000 km At the completion of today's run I've clocked up 1021.2 km for the year. This is more k's than in some previous years as a whole.

Stats as of 7 May 2006 Today : 30.6 Prev 7 Days : 93.4 Prev 28 Days : 262.5 MTD : 93.4 YTD : 1021.2 Month Avg : 204.2 Week Avg : 53.7 Total (2001) : 8762.3

Easy 14 km

2006-05-06T21:59:00.000+10:00

I would have preferred to have run a little earlier in the day. But you know what it's like when other things must be done. So at 4.50 pm I was out the door and running my usual route which incoporated the Werribee River. I noticed upon starting out that my right thigh was a little tight but was ok as the run progressed. All I could think of was, "please no injury, Willi Marathon is only three weeks away". The only highlight of the run was passing a young couple walking their dog, Gerry, who was off his leash and seemed to be out of control.A big dog by the way and I've got no idea what brand (or should that be breed). As I was running towards them I was thinking, "here we go". They were yelling at Gerry and explained to me that he won't bite. I took their word for it, well I had no option anyway. As it turned out he didn't. I passed this couple about 10 minutes later, this time Gerry was on his leash. As I ran past I said, "oh no, not Gerry...." Well, it got a laugh from the couple. All up I ran 14.41 km in a time of 1:12:46 which works out to a pace of 5:03 /km. My maximum and average heart rates were 151 and 138 respectively. My YTD figures puts me at 990.6 km so I reckon I'll crack the grand tomorrow (Sunday - my long run). Stats as of 6 May 2006

Today : 14.4 Prev 7 Days : 92.9 Prev 28 Days : 231.8 MTD : 62.8 YTD : 990.6 Month Avg : 198.1 Week Avg : 52.1 Total (2001) : 8731.7

Just a normal 8.5 km Yarra Run

2006-05-04T22:31:00.000+10:00

Just a normal jogging type run tonight, no quick sections to speak of. The only unusal aspect of tonight's run is that it was relatively short at 8.5 km. Of recent days all runs have been over 11 km. I started from Fawkner Park at 3.50 pm and made my way to the Yarra, along the Yarra to Flinders St returning back to Fawkner Park along the opposite side of the Yarra. All up it was 8.50 km in a time of 40:29 which was a pace of 4:45 /km. My maimum and average heart rates were 159 and 142 bpm respectivlely. Over the last two to three weeks I've not been doing any core exercises and so tonight I addressed that and did 100 sit-ups.

Stats as of 4 May 2006 Today : 8.5 Prev 7 Days : 93.1 Prev 28 Days : 217.4 MTD : 48.4 YTD : 976.2 Month Avg : 195.2 Week Avg : 51.4 Total (2001) : 8717.3

Three Five's (slow, quick, slow)

2006-05-03T23:34:00.000+10:00

Another run straight from work starting in Fawkner Park, just off Commercial Rd. Tonight I wanted to get a reasonable distance in and a little bit of speed work. What I decided in the end was a longer type of fartlek session. Either way I was going to get at least 15 km in and so I divided that into 5 km sections (using the Garmin). The plan was to run the first 5 km easy, the second 5 km hard and the last 5 km used as a recovery type run. I’ve never done this type of run before, such long sections between pace change. My thinking was, and I’m not sure if it’s valid, after completing the second 5 km at a quickish pace (for me that is) that should replicate my energy levels as if I had run a normal 20 km or longer run. I wanted to be stuffed but keep going. Surely this should help with long distance running. Well at 3.40 pm I was off running through Fawkner Park heading towards the Yarra River. At this time the rain started and only lasted for not more than five minutes. My session went according to plan. After the first 5 km I was well and truly warmed up and floored it, well not really sprinting but a heaps quicker pace at around 4.10 /km mark. I was surprised with my last 5 km. Initially just after the completion of the quickish 5, yeah I was stuffed, panting but shortly after I got back into my rythm and coasted home, all be it at a slower pace. All up I ran 15.88 km in a time of 1:15:30 for an average pace of 4:45 /km. Overall my maximum heart rate was 163 bpm and the average was 143 bpm. These figures alone don’t really tell the whole storey. The 5 km splits are as per the following:-

Split	Time	Pace	H/R
0-5	25:10	5:01	146 / 133
5-10	21:00	4:12	163 / 153
10-15	24:38	4:55	160 / 144
15 - 15.88	4:42	5:19	145 / 138

Further details can be found here at Motionbased.

Stats as of 3 May 2006

Today : 15.9

Prev 7 Days : 96.2

Prev 28 Days : 208.9

MTD : 39.9

YTD : 967.7

Month Avg : 193.5

Week Avg : 50.9

Total (2001) : 8708.8

Blogger Note The above table, I know, is all out of whack. Trialling different editors etc and even within Blogger.com the formatting of tables is one big pain in the a.... It's late now and I couldn't be bothered tinkering with this post any more.

An easy, slow 12 km around Hoppers

2006-05-02T23:56:00.000+10:00

Just lately I’ve been feeling really tired during the day and today was no exception. I had, sort of planned, a hard fartlek session tonight but changed my mind later in the day to just an easy, slow, just do the k’s, type run. Tonight I decided to get home first and then hit the streets, which I did. Again it was one of my usual runs around Hoppers which incorporated the Werribee River. When I say and easy and slow run, it was an easy and slow run. All up I travelled 12.38 km (according to Mr. Garmin) in a time of 1:07:31 at a pace of 5:27 /km. Did I mention it was a slow run, quite effortless really, well some effort but ran it quite comfortably. My heart rate readings also indicate an easy run at a maximum of 141 bpm and an average at 131 bpm. The weather tonight was not an issue as it was yesterday. A coolish temperature of around 15 degrees and a little wind from the north.

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

Stats as of 2 May 2006 Today : 12.4 Prev 7 Days : 80.3 Prev 28 Days : 193.0 MTD : 24.0 YTD : 951.8 Month Avg : 190.4 Week Avg : 50.1 Total (2001) : 8692.9

I’m nearly at the 1000 km for the year mark and am expecting to crack it by the end of the week.

A wet Yarra run, really wet 11 km.

2006-05-01T22:21:00.000+10:00

After yesterday's effort (30 km) I was really energy sapped all last night and during the afternoon today. Wasn't so much this morning as I was on the go and really didn't have time to think about it.

I had planned to get a run in today and had my bag packed and with me at work. This morning I was as keen as mustard and in the afternoon I was having second thoughts. I was considering going home first and then hitting the streets. This option, for today, was fraught with danger in that having to catch a train home (40 - 45 mins) and in my already tired state is not very conducive to eventually hitting the streets a few hours later. Even though I was tired I eventually decided, "bugger it - just go and do it". So I did.

I'd been inside all afternoon and didn't notice the weather deteriorate, if I had I probably would have cancelled the whole deal. So, I was out in Fawkner Park just off Commercial Rd doing my stretching whilst the Garmin was locking on the satelites. It pelted down and I was off passing the rugby training group. I was out now and surely the rain wasn't going to last. Well it did. For the entire run barring about 10-15 mins it was torrential. The 10 - 15 mins when it wasn't it was that misty, drizzly, I'm getting ready to bucket down again type rain.

The run was one of my now usual runs from Fawkner Park. To Anderson St, crossed the Yarra and followed it to Mac. Robertson Bridge, crossed the Yarra again and returned up Anderson St and back to Fawkner Park. The overall distance was 11.61 km (Mr. Garmin said so) for a time of 54:37 which works out to a pace of 4:42 /km. My heart rate max and avg readings were 162 / 145.

Considering I was really tired to start with I was quite happy with tonight's run. I felt strong and in no way energy sapped. I'm now starting to think this whole sense of being tired might just be in my mind.

I've check my splits using SportTracks and the 5 km splits indicate that I was getting stronger as the run progressed. The first 5 km my average pace was 4:49 /km (avg hr 141 bpm) and for the econd 5 km my average pace was 4:34 /km (avg hr 148 bpm).

I've since found out that Stu Mac spotted me running up Anderson St about 5.20 pm. Yes Stu, that was me. Apparently he was about 50 metres behind running to his plan. We should make a date and have a decent run together either around the Tan/Yarra area or back home in Hoppers.

Stats as of 1 May 2006 Today : 11.6 Prev 7 Days : 84.1 Prev 28 Days : 180.7 MTD : 11.6 YTD : 939.4 Month Avg : 187.9 Week Avg : 49.4 Total : 8680.5

Williamstown Group Run (10 km) 30 km all up

2006-04-30T17:16:00.000+10:00

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

2006-04-30T16:37:00.000+10:00

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

2006-04-27T23:14:00.000+10:00

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.

2006-04-26T22:04:00.000+10:00

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)

2006-04-25T22:15:00.001+10:00

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)

2006-04-23T20:13:00.000+10:00

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

2006-04-19T20:26:00.000+10:00

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

2006-04-18T21:43:00.000+10:00

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)

2006-04-17T23:36:00.000+10:00

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

2006-04-16T20:14:00.000+10:00

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

2006-04-15T22:30:00.000+10:00

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

2006-04-14T21:57:00.000+10:00

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

2006-04-13T21:39:00.000+10:00

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

2006-04-10T23:21:00.000+10:00

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)

2006-04-09T23:08:00.000+10:00

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

2006-04-02T20:23:00.000+10:00

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

2006-04-01T23:03:00.000+11:00

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.

P & O Cruise - Holiday over

2006-03-30T20:55:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-29T20:26:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-28T20:21:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-27T20:10:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-26T20:00:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-25T23:38:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-24T23:15:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-24T23:13:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-23T20:17:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-23T20:00:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-22T19:47:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-21T18:48:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-18T17:50:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-17T23:43:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-16T18:43:00.000+11:00

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)

2006-03-15T23:22:00.000+11:00

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.

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

2006-03-14T23:09:00.000+11:00

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.

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

2006-03-13T23:03:00.000+11:00

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.

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The Week That Was

2006-03-12T23:10:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-12T18:43:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-11T23:54:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-10T23:45:00.000+11:00

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.

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Comment Replies - Muka & Tesso

2006-03-09T19:59:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-08T22:33:00.000+11:00

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.

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Comment Reply - The Shuffler

2006-03-08T20:55:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-07T22:04:00.000+11:00

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.

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Comment Reply - Rumanjo - SportTracks

2006-03-06T22:34:00.000+11:00

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

2006-03-05T17:32:00.000+11:00

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.

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Sat 4 Mar 2006 - A quick fire five

2006-03-04T23:11:00.000+11:00

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.

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Weather