Blackwater, Rotation 6 of 10, Day 9 of 11...

Still expecting 10 rotations here - i.e. until end January, but I'm still playing the game by telling everyone there's no need for me to be here beyond Christmas - as long as we all commit to that, which is unlikely!

Anyway, still trying to get a run in whenever I can. Last night was successful with 7.05km in 42:02 at 5:57/km pace. A very even pace with no aches and pains and a good cool down at the end.

I think at best all I'm doing is maintaining whatever fitness I had before I came to Blackwater, rather than actually improving. But I guess I have to be thankful of just that.

I have some doubts over my ability to keep up the exercise over Christmas. But I think I will be kept active by all the jobs I've avoided around the house for the last 3 months.

This weekend we have a good task - putting up the Christmas tree, and a bad task - writing Christmas cards for overseas! I always start with a good intention to write an individual message in each card, but after 2 or 3 cards they're lucky to get a "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year".

Blackwater, Rotation 6 of 10, Day 6 of 11...

I went for a run yesterday out of boredom rather than any positive reason. So I probably wasn't in the right frame of mind to do anything too exceptional.

And that was certainly the result. Whilst I did complete 6.04km in 36:00 at 5:56/km pace, that included about 400m of walking at about the 4.5km mark - something I haven't had to do for a long time.

I'd intended to do 8km at 6:00/km pace, so obviously I started out too quickly as my overall pace was about right despite the walking.

So a pretty disappointing run really. I'll see how my enthusiasm level is before deciding whether to go for a run after work today.

Blackwater, Rotation 6 of 10, Day 4 of 11...

Last night was 11 days since my previous run! My mind is still keen to run, but at the end of a long day on site, my body generally can't be bothered.

But yesterday - I needed to do something to reset the frustration meter! Life here is bad enough without having to deal with arseholes.

Anyway, 7.47km in 43:47 at 5:50/km pace was an excellent way to unwind and remind my body what exercise is. Whilst I was running with my Imaginary Friend, I didn't pay too much attention to where he was. Although he does advise me when we complete each km so that's when I have a drink.

I saw the date for the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon was announced for 21st May 2006. This will probably be the next event that I run. So I should really think about setting a target time for that and make sure I commit to a training programme to achieve that goal.

If I publish 1:45 now - is that a commitment? I guess so.

8km Easy, Tropical Rainstorm...

I almost forgot about going for a run yesterday. After Saturday's effort just to get out for a run - my mind must have thought that that was enough for a few days. Then there was the distraction of watching the cricket on TV (England in Pakistan).

But as I looked at my watch at about 5.45pm, thinking "mmm, I'm getting hungry" - I suddenly decided to get the gear on and go out for a run.

I almost turned around and went back, because it was just starting to rain as I stepped out of the door. I looked at the sky and saw that it was likely to develop into a late afternoon tropical rainstorm.

My Imaginary Friend wasn't fussed. He just set off at his metronomic 6:00/km pace, calling out "see you in 8km".

So I pressed on. And the rain increased, and the wind, and then it started to hail - those little tiny hailstones that feel like pins as they hit your skin. It was hard going as the wind and rain / hail was fierce, but I just pulled down my cap and kept to the easy pace - didn't get too stressed and thankfully avoided increasing the speed to try to get it over and done with.

When I turned with my back to the weather, it became much easier - although by that stage I was drenched and couldn't avoid the puddles, so it was like running with an extra 5 kg (probably good training).

After about 4km, I had thoughts of binning it after 6km and had to battle with my mind to keep going. I was pleased to finish the full 8km in 46:35 - that's 5:46/km pace - so a little faster than intended, but it felt comfortable.

So even with just 2 consecutive days of running, I feel like I'm back into the routine. I plan to get out at least 3 evenings this week, just keeping to the easy paced schedule.

Not quite Easy, not quite Long...

An Easy run for me should be at 6:00/km pace and a Long run should be 10 to 20km. At least that's according to my Runners World - Training Pace Calculator.

So 9.76km last night was a bit short to be Long and the pace of 6:10/km was a bit slow to be Easy.

But who cares? At the moment, I'm just happy to be able to get out for the exercise.

I'd actually talked to my Imaginary Friend and agreed to just run for 1 hour at a comfortable pace (we chose 6:10/km). So we did achieve our target, and crossed the line together for a change. I did get away from him for a while and he caught up and passed me too. Then he really played dirty and didn't wait for me when I had to stop to tie my shoelace. But I managed to catch him up again.

I think I've realised the source of my heel soreness. My shoes seem to press in that area. I made a point of stretching my heels out before I set off, and in doing so I felt that soreness as the shoe pressed against my heel. So perhaps a new pair of shoes from Santa...?

Blackwater, Rotation 5 of 10, Day 5 of 11...

Very poor effort. 11 days since my last entry and therefore 12 days since my last run.

But there was a 4 day weekend on the Gold Coast with the girls within that period, which was excellent. We did however confirm that whilst Lian loves to watch The Wiggles on TV, she is too scared to approach the characters 'in real life' (well you know what I mean). It's the same with Santa. Last year she refused to go and sit on Santa's knee in David Jones. Probably a good defence mechanism against weirdos!

Anyway, an excellent weekend. But it did remind me of the fact that I am desperate to get out of here and return to life in Sydney. Notice I'm keeping the ... of 10 rotations in the title, as I'm more than likely to be here until the end of January.

So, back to running. I do intend to get out this evening and tomorrow as well. It's getting very hot up here, so I'll have to leave it as late in the day as possible. I'll still stick to the easy paced runs - just to work on the base fitness. Hopefully if I can maintain some level of fitness then when I return to Sydney, I can get back into a regular routine and set some goals for 2006.

Blackwater, Rotation 4 of 10, Day 8 of 11...

Well there's a chance that it'll only be 7 rotations now. I'm hoping for a finish here by Christmas! But we shall see...

I'm still getting a run in when I can. I missed my intended run on Sunday - still a bit under the weather with the cold.

But I did get out last night. I spent a bit more time warming up and stretching out my heel and ankle areas, and that seemed to pay off. No pain in the left heel at all. Although it is still sore when I push my finger into it.

I explored a few new streets but ended up running into dead ends, which slowed me down a bit while I tried to work out where to go. But still I finished 7.46km in 45:06 at 6:00/km pace.

I was struggling a bit toward the end. I was trying to pick up the pace a bit to make up for the time lost in finding my way. I probably should have kept it steady and run for longer. Now that I know where I'm going around there I can make that a longer, slower run at some time.