Step 2...

Step 2 of my journey back into training. Again nothing special (7.27km in 42:23 at 5:49/km pace), but just trying to get back into the habit.

I have a plan to give me extra incentive! My in-laws are visiting relatives in San Francisco in the next few weeks, so I'm searching for a bargain price on the new Forerunner 305... I've seen it for $499.95 plus $17 shipping in Australia, but even on Amazon (which may not be the cheapest) it's only $370 plus $8 shipping. Hopefully I can offload my 201 too!

I'm interested to use the training programmes available on the 305.

Next run due on Friday...

One Month Later...

Something must have sparked me back into action, because I made a decision last night to get out for a run this morning - the first since my 'recovery run' after the 9km Bridge Run. Obviously I took a long time to recover!

Nothing special - 6.98km in 39:02 at 5:35/km pace.

I spent most of the time trying to dodge out of shadows into the early morning sunshine - a bit too cold otherwise.

Hopefully this'll be the start of a regular routine again!

Bridge Run & Recovery

Last Sunday was the Bridge Run. 9km over the Harbour Bridge, around Mrs Macquarie's Point and back to the Opera House. A good advert for the tourist sights of Sydney.

And a great day for running too.

There were many more people than I expected, so there was a fair bit of weaving in and out of slower runners and walkers. But that was OK - it was probably a useful way to slow us down a bit to make sure we finished without stopping!

I ran again with my City to Surf partner, and we had a guess at a target time of 50 minutes. There wasn't too much confidence that we'd meet that as we hadn't done anything since C2S.

We started out probably a bit quicker than I intended so by the time we got to about 5km at Mrs Mac's point it was a struggle back up the incline through 6 and 7km. I reckon if either one of us would have mentioned the idea of a '30 second' walk - we'd have both taken the chance and struggled to get started again! But thankfully we kept going.

The 8km marker seemed to take ages to appear but then it was all down hill to the Opera House and we put a bit of a sprint on to finish the last km in about 4 minutes for a total time on my watch of 47:48. So we were stoked about that.

Based on the euphoria of that good run, we've set our goal on the SMH Half Marathon in May next year.

I started on the long road to that event this morning by having an Easy run of 7km, but I have to work on slowing down a bit as I finished in 37:44 which was about 30 seconds per km faster than I should be doing. Naughty, naughty.

Perhaps some new shoes will add to this new found enthusiasm... The warmer mornings help as well!

I am Crap...

I haven't done any running at all since City to Surf!

There were some excuses - like recovery from the run and the cold I had, but now I'm just out of the habit! Oh, and I guess there is the small matter of torential rain that Sydney has been experiencing lately.

I intend to do the 9km Bridge Run this Sunday, so that may remind me how I enjoy running.

Until next week...

City to Surf Wrap Up...

Having felt crap for the last couple of weeks and losing my voice in the last few days before the big day, I was pleased to finish the race at all.

But to finish in 1:23:41 (on my watch) was excellent - especially as I ran the whole way with a good mate of mine.

KM splits were:

1st km 6:21 0:06:21
2nd km 6:18 0:12:39
3rd km 6:18 0:18:57
4th km 6:06 0:25:03
5th km 5:41 0:30:44
6th km 6:09 0:36:52
7th km 6:35 0:43:28
8th km 5:54 0:49:22
9th km 5:25 0:54:47
10th km 6:17 1:01:04
11th km 6:05 1:07:10
12th km 5:27 1:12:36
13th km 5:21 1:17:57
14th km 5:44 1:23:41

It was a very hot day (by Sydney winter standards) so I had a big problem with staying hydrated. It was apparently a record field too so that made it difficult to get close to the drink stations. I ducked into my company tent for a bite to eat and some more fluids afterwards, but didn't hang around too long.

I didn't bother with the bus queue - preferring to walk back up Bondi Road to the train station.

Another good day. I really enjoy this event and will definitely be back next year - assuming no injuries etc.

Maybe I'll aim to beat my PB set in 1991 of 1:11:48!

Final Training Run, Now Rest...

As it turned out, Sunday's run will be the last training run I do before City to Surf.

I've been hit with a cold. And I've lost my voice. So I'll be dosing up on Cold & Flu tablets and throat lozenges for the next week. No running, just rest and recuperation.

Thankfully, Sunday was a good run. I planned on running for an hour at about 6:20 pace. A nice steady paced run. As it turned out, I felt stronger the further I ran. It must have been the freshly home baked apple and carrot muffin I stuffed down about half an hour before I headed out!

I think I needed to run at a decent pace to get my head straight for next week. It's fine training at 6:00 - 6:20 pace, but as I hope to run further and faster than any training run I've managed so far - that's where I needed a run like I finished.

So 10.93km in 1:00:16 at 5:30 pace. I felt strong even as I finished, but I'd promised to only run for an hour so I could get back and help with some chores. So I'd be confident to run at a similar pace for the full 14km next week. Perhaps the adrenaline may spur me onto something even faster!

Back to the Hill...

Another hill session this morning.

A 1 km warm up in 6:09, then seven repetitions again, this time 'ups' averaged 1:17, 'downs' averaged 2:14. So a bit quicker on the 'ups' today. A 1.59km run home in 8:17 at 5:13/km pace.

It's still very cold and a real struggle to get out of bed. I'll do a long run on Sunday, then ease down next week to rest the old body before City to Surf next Sunday.

I think I'll deserve a bit of a rest after that, so hopefully that'll give the weather some time to warm up!

More Hill Reps...

That was a real struggle to get out of bed this morning.

The alarm went off and my first thought was to reset it and go back to sleep, my second thought was guilt, my third thought was that whether I went out or not wouldn't make any difference to my City to Surf performance, my fourth thought was guilt (again), at which point I stopped thinking and got out of bed!

I headed to the same hill that I did last week. I was a bit slower this time but I did manage one more rep. I tried to concentrate on good breathing, falling up hill and being pulled up hill.

I had a 1km warm-up in 6:39, then seven 'ups' averaged 1:26, 'downs' averaged 2:11. A 1.82km run home in 10:54 at about 6:00/km to finish off.

No problems with the left hamstring... yet.

Disappointing...

Yep, disappointing that I haven't been out for a run since Friday. With City to Surf less than 2 weeks away, I really need to take every opportunity.

I do have a bit of a niggle in my left hamstring. I'm not sure if that's something to do with the hill reps on Friday or whether it was some innocuous event over the weekend (nothing too strenuous but plenty of bending and stretching whilst stripping paint off a screen door).

I didn't think it would prevent me going out this morning, but the temperature did! I just reset the alarm and went back to sleep.

Maybe I need to try lunchtime runs while the weather is still so cold...

Hill Reps...

I had a bit more time yesterday morning as I had a later start in the City. So I thought I'd make an effort to try some hill reps.

I identified a long hill which increases in gradient closer to the top. It turned out it was about 250m. My results were: 1km warm-up in 6:14, then 6 reps of 1:22 uphill with 2:00 walk downhill, and then 2.04km in 11:28 to finish. Total of 5.74 km in 37:45.

I can certainly feel some sore muscles today, which I don't normally experience - so that must be good, right?

I need to do a few more of these sessions in the next 2 weeks to prepare as much as I can for City to Surf.

Running in the Rain...

It wasn't too cold this morning, but shortly after I set out - it started to rain. Not too heavy, but it still took some effort not to turn back and head home. So an achievement that I did finish the intended run.

Which was : 7.25km in 40:32 at 5:35/km pace.

I still find it difficult to stick to the 6:00/km pace as prescribed by my training plan for an Easy run. Surely it should be as easy as... just slow down, but it feels bio-mechanically odd to run so slow.

Maybe with a bit of consistent training over the spring months I can improve my fitness and speed so that an Easy run pace will be 5:30/km. That'd put my Half Marathon target time back to what I did in 1994 - sub 1:40!

Anyway, what I was also pleased about was that I kept the pace up on the final stretch up a long hill. Not quite Heartbreak Hill proportions, but every bit of training helps.

My number came through for City to Surf today... 19023.

1 Year On...

I just checked my Blog from 19th July 2005.

Coincidentally, I ran the same route this morning as I did on that day a year ago.

Last year I used Google Earth to estimate 7.32km in 38:00 so that's 5:11/km pace. This year my Imaginary Friend reported 7.10km in 37:03 at 5:13/km pace.

So the only significant difference that the year has made is that now I have my Imaginary Friend!

I'd planned to run this years' City to Surf with two friends from Singapore. So rather than enter into Group A based on my sub 100 minute finish last year, I entered into Group B so that we could run together.

I should have known better. They just advised me that work commitments will prevent them coming over. So I've given up my Group A opportunity for nothing!

It probably won't make too much difference. Starting from Group B last year gave me a good chance to run from the gun at my own pace. It was just at drink stations that it got a bit congested. Perhaps an advanced start may have eased that situation slightly.

Oh well, I should be able to beat 100 minutes again this year (despite my disrupted training) so I'll look forward to joining Group A next year.

4 Weeks to Go...

I've got a couple more runs in since I last blogged.

On Friday I did an Easy paced 6.36km in 35:54 at 5:38/km. That's even a bit faster than my prescribed pace of 6:00/km. But it felt easy enough!

Then I went for a longer run on Sunday, finishing 10.42km in 1 hour at 5:45/km pace. Again, it's a bit faster than I need to go but I just kept to a comfortable pace.

The weather has been a bit warmer in the mornings - probably due to the overnight cloud cover. Thankfully it hasn't been too wet as a result either.

It's about time I got a few of those different sessions in (hills / speed etc) to make the most of these last few weeks.

I keep seeing the entry form at home for the Half Marathon. I should probably give that a go again this year. But I just don't think I've got enough training in to improve on my time from last year. Maybe I'm missing the point...?

One Week On...

Now that the World Cup is completely over, I can get my life back to normal and start running consistently again.

It was a week since my last run - so plenty of time for my body to rest, ha ha! I set out on my usual 6+km route with no particular strategy in mind - apart from just to get round. Thankfully I was successful at that and managed a fairly quick time (for me) - although I was completely knackered afterwards. 6.28km in 33:02 at 5:15/km pace.

I need to continue for the next 4 weeks and 5 days, for that is all that's left until City to Surf (gulp)! Perhaps some good quality hill sessions as well as some long weekend runs would be in order.

I think given the disruption this year to my training, I should be happy with a time under 80 minutes.

Back to Reality...

The fantasy was obviously thinking that England had any chance of winning the World Cup!

What a disappointment. Even the matches they won / drew weren't exactly high class opposition.

So now that's all over, I can get back to running.

I got out this morning with no great ambition, bearing in mind it was almost 3 weeks since I'd last run.

I thought 6km would be OK. But what I didn't anticipate was how quickly last nights dinner would have worked its way through my system... at the most inconvenient location... public toilets were locked, so I had to make use of another council facility - an isolated spot in the council offices car park. That'll teach them!

So I only made about 5km. And now I'm aching a bit. It could be the shock to the unused muscles or it could be more seriously due to the drizzly rain giving me a chill. Nothing too serious I hope!

It's less than 6 weeks to go until City to Surf, so I better make a final push and get in some quality sessions if I have any chance of a successful finish.

Missed Opportunities...

You could think that the title refers to England's performance so far in the World Cup. Lot's of missed opportunities, but thankfully 2 wins from 2 matches. The game against Sweden should be the biggest test and a good performance should set them up for the knock-out phase.

But actually the title refers to a run that I did last Friday but missed noting here, as well as lots of days in between where I just missed running.

Last Friday's effort was 7.4km in 39:50 at a fairly quick pace of 5:23/km.

Then there's been a week of disrupted sleep due to trying to catch the World Cup games and some very cold mornings which didn't help either.

However, this morning I was out running at 4am! I had an early night last night so that I could wake up at 2am to watch England v Trinidad & Tobago. After the match, I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep to make it worthwhile bearing in mind I'd need to be up at 6.30 to go to work. So I went for a run.

It's amazing how little life there is on the streets at that time in the morning. I'm not just talking about local streets around where I live. I'm talking about being able to run down the middle of a major road heading to and from the City which is usually chock-a-block with vehicles.

Another first - this morning I knew that I wasn't tight for time, so I headed out on a 10km route, which I finished (10.41km) in 1:02:46 at 6:02/km pace.

Even though I was wearing a hat - my ears were painfully cold. I'm looking forward to the days warming up...

Hopefully I can get a run in whenever I get a chance. Perhaps another 4am start on Monday morning after the Brazil v Australia game!

Tempo Run...

I took note of my Training Programme for the first time in a long time this morning. I saw a Tempo run described. 4 x 1.5km at 5:00/km with 2 minute recovery jogs in between.

Well I almost made it! I actually completed three repeats instead of four. I think I was making too fast a pace. I tried to keep an eye on where my Imaginary Friend was, but I don't think I was very consistent.

So 6.32km completed in 32:36 was good enough for a first try. My legs do feel as if they've worked harder than usual. So that should be a good thing.

I'll try and vary these 'harder' mid-week runs in future and hopefully my stamina and fitness will improve. I also have "Max O2", "Speed" and "Yasso" on the list.

I just looked back on where I was this time last year. Clearly I had no clue what I was doing! The distances I was estimating were a bit optimistic - now that I've got my Imaginary Friend to give his expert opinion. So hopefully, if I can keep going with the current plan, I should be on course to beat last year's City to Surf time.

Getting Carried Away...

I almost binned the idea of a run on Sunday. I was tired, it was cold and there was easy Sunday afternoon TV.

But I did make an attempt, with an intention to do the minimum possible, just to put a tick in the box.

As it turned out, I felt really good as I got into the run. I ended up with 8.98km in 51:18 at 5:42/km pace. I felt strong for the whole run. I was able to kick on up the hills and really put some pace on down hills. Strange though - I thought I'd completed a round 9km according to my Imaginary Friend.

It should have been a Longer, Slower, Distance run but that pace was faster than my Easy runs. So I better make sure I get some good rest before heading out again tomorrow.

I also need to take more care of my hydration. Even though it's cold here, I still must lose a fair amount of sweat on those longer runs. I woke up with a bit of a sore head this morning. Seems like a no-alcohol hangover! What a waste!

No More Excuses...

Our HR department at work have recently organised for some of us to take part in the Energy4Life programme.

Basically they assess your body age (as opposed to birth age) taking into account things like blood pressure, cholesterol, fitness, nutrition and lifestyle. They then put you on a 12 week programme and assess your body age again. Obviously the intention is to show a marked improvement based on more exercise, better nutrition etc.

My initial assessment identified my body age as 37 - which I'm fairly pleased with since I am in fact 39! There was no surprises. The assessment identified that whilst I have a reasonable fitness level, my lung capacity is poor. I also need to eat more plant food and fish.

So I certainly realise that one way to improve my lung capacity is with continued aerobic fitness (breath deeper).

Also, it's only 10 weeks this weekend to City to Surf.

So I thought I'd better make sure that over the next 10 to 12 weeks, I get stuck into the fitness and hope that the good habits can be continued.

I figured I'd better address all the little excuses I've had recently for missing training. The main one that I can actually do something about is to get my left heel pain sorted (there's not much I can do about the cold weather).

I went to see a Sports Physician. He advised me that I've bruised my Achilles tendon where it joins the heel bone. The solution is to wear an orthotic insert in my shoes to take some tension out of my Achilles tendon while it heals. No need to stop running - we've caught the problem early.

So, I need to search around for this particular product (Tuli's Heel Cup).

I did get out for a run this morning too. 7.43km in 43:02 at 5:47/km. It does feel good, and with all these little incentives, I'm confident that there'll be more achieved sessions than missed sessions in future!

Start, Stop, Brrr....

I thought I was back into a good routine with the running, but the cold weather as well as a cold I've picked up is hampering progress.

I did get out on Sunday for a good run. 10.82km in 1:07:05 at 6:11/km pace was very pleasing. An undulating route run at a fairly steady pace for over an hour.

I was then intending to go out again this morning, but I thought I'd better give myself chance to recover from this cold. Pity the cold weather is unlikely to disappear so quickly!

I noticed that the entries for City to Surf will open this weekend.

A Welcome Distraction...

Two runs to report on.

I managed to slot in a slightly longer run than usual on Sunday.

It was another busy weekend. We'd headed over to the beach for lunch. Lian was captured on video peddling her tricycle. She usually comes out with an annoying: "push me daddy, push me" - but the promise of an ice cream somehow miraculously got her legs pumping those little pedals!

Then I had to fit a new floodlight. After all the recent effort to get the pool back to a clear blue colour, I thought it was worthwhile fixing the floodlight so that we can see it even when it's dark!

Then I got out for a run. I intended to do 10km in about an hour, but it would appear that fish and chips is not in fact a lunch of champions! So I settled for 8.26km in 51:15 at a pace of 6:12/km. So that was OK.

This morning I woke up at 4:00am. There were a few things on my mind which I knew wouldn't allow me to go back to sleep. So I got up at about 4:30, had a slice of bread and honey with some water, checked a few things on the internet (allowing for the bread to make it to my stomach), then headed out.

It was actually a great opportunity to mull over those things on my mind, and in fact within a few km I'd sorted out my conclusion. 7.67km later - in 44:37 at 5:47/km pace, with an uphill finish, I was happy!

Another run planned on Thursday, then a longer run on Sunday - I hope!

Bad Day = Good Run...

Yesterday was a bad day in the office. Having to deal with dick-heads brings out a degree of frustration in me!

So having missed yesterday as a running day (I felt pretty dead at 5:45am when the alarm went off, so I reset it for 6:45am in time for work) I was determined to get out this morning.

No problems getting the bed off my back today! I headed up the hill with no real plan, but kind of assumed I'd cover about 6km at about 6:00/km pace. I didn't take too much notice of my watch, but this mornings run turned into a good way to unload the frustration from yesterday.

I pushed on a fairly fast pace (for me!). Ended up finishing 6.09km in 33:08 at 5:25/km pace. Nothing fantastic and I did feel knackered by the end of the run, but good to have a) got out for a run; b) kept a fairly even pace; and c) ended with no soreness, strains etc.

Must get a longer run in at the weekend.

Can Only Get Better...

I'll have to put last week down as a rest week in preparation for a big step up (hopefully).

I think I only ran on Tuesday. I was just too tired yesterday to get out and up to Brisbane twice during the week took it's toll too.

But I did feel good about getting up and out this morning - especially as it was miserable drizzly weather.

So 6.07km in 34:54 at 5:44/km pace was a pleasing result. Hopefully I can have a couple more runs like that before a longer effort next weekend. Then I should start introducing some harder sessions.

I can probably predict a bit of disruption to training during the World Cup. A few late nights / early mornings should see me exhausted for most of those 4 weeks.

What Running...

No running since Tuesday, which is frustrating as I had a feeling I was starting to get into the groove again.

I was on a course on Wednesday and Thursday which had an early start and then I was in Brisbane on Friday. So I'm sitting here today picking a good time this weekend to get out.

Hopefully something to report on Monday morning...

14 Weeks to go...

...until City to Surf.

I did a longer run on Sunday - 10.09km in 1:05:10 @ 6:25/km pace. As usual, I went out a bit quicker than I should have done, then paid for it in the last couple of km... dropping down to over 7:00/km by the end. But good to have run 10km and good to have run for more than an hour - some psychological achievements there! I must concentrate on keeping an even pace next time.

I was in Brisbane yesterday, so a 4.30am start just to get to the airport, so thankful it was a rest day from running.

I got out for a run this morning. I usually easily fall into an Easy run pace (about 6:00/km). About 6km is the typical distance. This morning, I just ran without worrying about the watch too much. I ended up finishing 6km in 33:17 - so that's 5:33/km pace. That felt pretty good!

So I'm feeling like I've slotted back into the running groove fairly well. I'll brush the dust off all my good ideas for training routines from last year - and actually put them into practice!

3 out of 3 This Week...

Another run this morning, with the weather getting colder.

According to my Imaginary Friend, we did 5.89km in about 35 minutes. But when I uploaded the result to MotionBased, it reported 6.22km in 35:02.

I think I'll go with my Imaginary Friend. It felt like a much more comfortable rate than 5:38/km - which a distance of 6.22km would have required.

Not too bad a reaction from my heel. I'm still popping the anti-inflammatory tablets!

I might try for a longer run on Sunday, if I get time in the morning. We're meeting friends in the afternoon so no chance then.

So far so good...

Another... ouch!... Day... ouch!... Another... ouch!... 6km...

I just got up to walk around the office and my left heel is killing me! Not sure if it's bruised or strained. Either way, I've popped a couple of anti-inflammatory tablets and I'll continue to do so until the pack runs out or the pain disappears. Hopefully that'll be before Friday morning when I'd intended to run again.

I uploaded my runs from Monday and this morning and I can see that Monday's run was 5.43km in 31:17 at 5:45/km pace. That was fairly comfortable and I'd be happy to keep those Easy sessions around the 6:00/km pace.

But this mornings results were a bit skewed by the GPS signal dropping out occasionally. The data told me I'd done 6.73km in 34:40 at 5:05/km pace. I doubt I went out that fast. I think the pace was similar to Monday.

I'm a bit puzzled by the GPS signal drop out because the route I took was the same as usual and I've never had drop outs before. The differences were that a) I 'updated' my Forerunner firmware (actually I already had the latest version but I wanted to check out the Webupdater) and b) I stretched out (when the signal seems to lock on) in a different place, so I wonder if I locked onto a different satellite and that became blocked more easily than the usual?

Anyway, I got the timing a bit better than Monday. I had to rise at 5:45 which was a bit of a struggle, but I'm sure I can get into the habit. I then got a chance to cool down while eating breakfast and uploading my Forerunner to MotionBased.

Hopefully my heel settles down in the next couple of days.

Here We Go Again...

Well there you go... I'm officially running again!

It took a bit of effort to sort myself out to get out there - I was frantically searching for my Imaginary Friend last night. Isn't it weird how we put things in the strangest places for safe keeping? Shoes, socks, long sleeved top, shorts, hat(!) - all arranged for easy access.

I set the alarm for 6:00 this morning and was out the door before I got a chance to argue! I set out to do 5km at an easy pace. Back to a familiar route: walked up the hill to warm up, bit of a stretch, had a brief chat with my Imaginary Friend to work out the plan and set off at 6:00/km pace.

No real dramas - in fact I was a little ahead of schedule. I think I finished at about 5:50/km pace, but I didn't have time to check the results after I finished. I'll have to get up a bit earlier in future if I want to be a bit more organised. It was 7:10 by the time I'd showered and changed, so I had to head out the door without breakfast (or cooling down). By the time I got to the station, grabbed some breakfast and got on the train - I was still sweating. Not pleasant for my fellow passengers!

So in future the plan will have to be to get up earlier and allow time to cool down while having breakfast and uploading my results from my Imaginary Friend to the computer.

On that subject. I thought about putting my current Imaginary friend on eBay and upgrading to the new model! I wonder if they're available in Australia yet?
Anyway, we're off. Only 15 weeks to go until City to Surf...

Welcome back!

One Week To Go...

One week from today I should be blogging about a successful return to running. That's still the plan - and I'm confident I'll succeed.

One concern is that, since I was in Blackwater I've felt a niggling pain in my left heel. I thought it was something to do with my running shoes, but since I haven't worn them for a few weeks and the pain is still there - perhaps it's something a bit more serious. I'll just have to see how I go.

So until next week...

The Plan...2006!

OK, OK, enough abuse.

I have a plan. It may be easy for some just to wake up one morning, pull on the runners and get going. For me, it needs a bit more thought...

1st of May is my target to start running again. That'll give me time to finish off a couple of exhausting jobs I have around the house (laying pavers) and for my parents to head off back to UK.

That'll give me 15 weeks until City to Surf 2006. With a bit more idea about a structured training programme and my Imaginary Friend to help me along, I should be able to improve on last years' time of 1:16:34.

So I should be looking forward to some cold dark mornings over the next 3 months!

A New Beginning...

So today has been my first day in my new job. And the first Blog for sometime...

But nothing to report on the exercise front. Still waiting for some stability in my routine in order to get back into that.

I've inadvertently proved that one of my original intentions in starting this Blog has failed. I believe I had the idea that if I publish my training notes - then when I start to waiver on the achievement of my goals - I would receive abuse and encouragement from my ex-training partners.

Well, where are you now?

So it looks like I'll just have to press on myself.

Anyway, the new job is based in the city so it's a bit more of a trek to get here than my old location. I'm relying on public transport and that's so far proved to be not too reliable (is 1h20 usual and/or acceptable for a 40 minute timetabled journey? I think not).

So until I figure out what time I need to leave to get here by an acceptable hour - I'm unlikely to restart the exercise campaign.

Excuses, excuses...

Dust Settling...

So I'm now finished in Blackwater. Yeah!

It's great to be home every night now but I've got to relearn how to pay attention to the girls. I got into the habit in Blackwater of being very lazy in the evenings.

I got back into the office in Pymble on Monday 30th January, but from Tuesday 31st till now I've been spending a lot of time on another problem project which is 1.5 hours drive South West of Sydney. So I don't feel settled back into a routine quite yet - which has prolonged the disruption to any running which I should be doing. It's also kept me away from the internet, which is another reason why I haven't Blogged for a while.

It also made it difficult to find time to speak to my boss... to hand in my resignation! But I finally did that last Friday 10th February. I suppose it was a compliment that they tried to persuade me to stay - but I explained the reasons behind the decision and thankfully they were able to understand and reluctantly accept the decision.

Basically I told them that I felt that my own growth had been stunted for the last 18 months since I've been trying to bring the projects up to a level of management which I'm familiar with. It's accepted that that situation would continue for some considerable time since there's still a long way to go until the company reach an acceptable level. Therefore I wouldn't be learning new skills in the direction that I want to go with my career. Whilst I accepted that there's always something to learn from any situation - I didn't feel that the available lessons were enough to challenge me.

So a bit selfish I guess, but it is my career, my security and my happiness.

So I start with the new company on 20th March. It turns out that my old boss from my current company will be my new boss with the new company. So that'll make the transition a lot easier. There are a few more familiar faces there too! Kind of like a takeover by stealth!

Who knows, it may well be that the same problems I faced here will be present there too. But I've been able to leave this organisation without burning any bridges and they've said if things don't work out - just give them a call! So that's as best a parting as I could have hoped for.

I'm sure it'll take a few months for things to settle down with that job. I'm supposed to be in head office for a while (in Pyrmont) before heading off to a project on site (in Manly). So I'll just have to be patient until life settles down to allow me to start doing things that I want to do - like running and relaxing at home.

My parents are staying with us at the moment too. They arrived at the beginning of February and they'll be here until end April. So plenty of opportunity for them to spend time with Lian - there only grand-daughter!

I hope to update this more regularly in future!

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

That means only 3 more days here in Blackwater. Then I'll be heading back to Sydney to start back in Pymble office on Monday 30th - at least for the time being...

I'm still considering whether to jump ship and accept another offer that I've had. Lots of things to consider and I hate making these kind of decisions. Either way, I'll be in Sydney!

No exercise to report. And I'm not sure if I'll do much in the next 3 days either. I'm just looking forward to getting back home.

My mum & dad arrive early February for 3 months (gulp!) and my sister for the first week too, so we'll no doubt be busy with them for a while.

No more working on Sundays...

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

Only 11 more working days to go in Blackwater! I'll be home this weekend then back here for one more rotation before finally departing with a smile on my face on 25th January!

It's been an experience! There have been some good lessons learnt from a work point of view and I've met some great people - some of whom I hope will remain long term friends, but I hope I never have to go through this again!

Anyway, I got out last night for another run. I was a bit more realistic in our plan when talking to my Imaginary Friend. We set out to do 6km at 6:10/km pace. We finished 6.04km in 36:48 at 6:05/km pace.

I was conscious to drink water regularly, but I only took one bottle and I probably needed more. Because I struggled to rehydrate again and ended up with a bit of a hangover type headache again.

But I feel good today. I'm looking forward to getting back home and getting back into a regular programme.

The question that remains is: where will I be working? Will it be back in my current company's head office in Pymble or will it be working in the Public Service in the City or for another Contractor on site in Manly? I really don't know the answer or even where my preference lies. Hopefully I'll have time to consider the options over the next couple of weeks.

Maybe another run tonight...?

Imaginary Friend = Johnny No Mates...

My Imaginary Friend took me out for a run last night. 6km at 6:00/km pace he said. I thought it was a bit ambitious given the lack of activity since before Christmas, as well as all the usual over-eating and over-drinking.

But obviously my Imaginary Friend has no mates to eat or drink with as he hasn't lost any of his previous fitness. No problem for him to keep the 6:00/km pace - but I really struggled, particularly after the first 2km.

I ended up binning it after 5km. I completed 5.16km in 31:51 at 6:10/km pace. Never the less, I was pleased to get out for a run.

It was still very warm, even at 6pm in the evening, so even though I took a bottle of water with me - the sweat lost was probably not replaced. I tried to re-hydrate after the run too, but still ended up with a bit of a hangover type headache this morning.

On another subject, I have an audience with my boss today to talk about my future role. So we'll see whether he can convince me that there is something worth sticking around for.

Happy New Year 2006

27 days since my last Blog. A record!

So there should be lots to update right?

Well there has been absolutely no exercise in that time - unless you can call splashing around in the pool with Lian - exercise. I am back in Blackwater now for the final 4 weeks - and I have brought my running gear back with me, so hopefully I can slowly get back into some sort of regular activity. Then once I get back home to Sydney - I can hopefully commit to some goals for 2006.

I've had almost 3 weeks off work - which has been excellent. Plenty of time spent with my girls, a bit of time to consider where I'm going workwise this year (I've already said too much about this so I won't put anything more in writing until there's anything confirmed), and generally enjoying the festive season.

Christmas Day was a huge feast - with traditional ham and turkey, beer and wine. Lian was much more aware this year of what it's all about - paying a bit more attention to the content of presents rather than the wrapping paper.

We had our 7th Wedding Anniversary on the 29th December. It didn't take anything too special to celebrate - just spending the day together (with Lian at my in-laws) was a big enough treat.

New Years Eve was spent at home, with a BBQ dinner with friends, then watching the fireworks on TV.

A couple of excellent BBQ sessions and eating out with friends filled in the days between.

We've also arranged for air-conditioning to be installed at home - which is maybe a month too late considering that we've just experienced some of the hottest days on record - but I expect there'll be some more hot days to come, and we did get a good price having waited for the post Christmas / New Year sales.

My parents arrive early February - for 3 months. So that'll be excellent. Plenty of quality time for Lian and her Grandparents. I'll have to think of a few jobs for my dad to get stuck into around the house so that he doesn't get bored!

So that's about it. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and wish you all well for 2006.