6.19km Easy...

It felt like I'd had about 30 seconds sleep last night. We were watching My Favourite Album on the ABC. A bit of an anti-climax to see Dark Side of the Moon as number 1, but some excellent albums which I was happy to be reminded are in my collection...

3 - Radiohead - OK Computer
6 - Nirvana - Nevermind
7 - Led Zeppelin - Four
8 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
10 - U2 - Joshua Tree

I guess you have to take into account what sort of people actually voted but come on... who the f*** is Jeff Buckley?

Anyway, I was up at 5.30am and out for a run. Nothing special, just my standard route.

I think I've realised part of the problem behind my inability to run at a slower pace. I generally start very slow, probably don't warm up properly before I start running. But then I guess I over-compensate for that later in the run.

So 6.19km in 34:05 at 5:30/km pace.

10.2km LSD... Skip 2 Hit 1...

I missed a run on Friday - well it was a Public Holiday and I figured I've been doing well enough lately to earn a day off.

So Sunday came around and I was determined to get in that much-awaited longer run.

I agreed with my Imaginary Friend to set out for a 1 hour run at 6:20/km pace. So at about 9.5 km, that would have been my longest run since City to Surf back in August! I also planned to round that up and go for 10km.

I knew there were a few challenging undulations (I could hardly call them hills!) along the route so I was conscious of keeping a steady pace for the first few Ks.

The first 3 Ks were knocked off at 5:35, 5:48 and 5:42/km pace, so I already had doubts about being able to achieve the target. I really do struggle to comfortably run slowly. But then I slowed it down to closer to the target pace and got into a nice rhythm.

It was getting a bit hot towards the end so that created another challenge, but I'd taken some water with me so I didn't feel too uncomfortable.

I ended up with 10.2km in 1:01:16 at 6:00/km pace. So that's classed as "Easy" run pace for me. I really do need to work on maintaining a steady pace for the whole run.

We had the neighbours over for dinner last night so a few beers forced a sleep in this morning and another missed run. I probably needed the rest because yesterday's run was a bit harder than it should have been!

I might try and get an extra run in tomorrow as well as my usual Wednesday and Friday sessions because we're heading away for a boozy weekend next Saturday!

7.69km Easy...

A bit of a weird run this morning.

My legs felt like lead for the first part of the run... perhaps I didn't take time to warm up and get my blood flowing. I did pretty much fall out of bed and plod down the street.

But even so I was surprised how slow my Imaginary Friend reported our first km. Well over 7 minutes! Surely I wasn't running so slow?! The next km was back on pace and I kept that going throughout the run.

The early impression stuck in my mind and I kept thinking... "I'll bin it after 6km". But I started to feel good coming up to that point so I carried on and finished 7.69km in 43:32 at 5:39/km pace.

So it turned into a useful run. A bit longer distance.

I need to make sure my legs are awake in future though!

6.49km Easy...

No chance of a longer run yesterday as the temperatures were up in the high thirties. I probably should have taken the chance to go earlier. I was awake at 6.30am but I was conscious of having to eat something before doing what I hoped would have been an hour of running. So all too difficult - I had a long splash in the pool instead!

Last night we all 'camped' out in the lounge room with the air-con on. Thankfully, I woke this morning to find that a southerly change had blown through and dropped the temperature significantly.

So the run this morning was bearable, though I'm still sweating now some 2 hours after finishing. I think that's partly due to the temperature getting up again as I was walking from the station to the office. Perhaps another dip in the pool when I get home tonight...

7.12km Easy...

I should probably not refer to these runs as 'Easy'. The pace is 'Easy' based on where my fitness was maybe 6 months ago, but now the pace is more like 'Challenging'. I'm sure a Heart Rate Monitor would help me to see what is an 'Easy' pace but the budget is a bit tight at the moment so I'll just have to go by how I feel.

I do however hope that I am building my base fitness back up, so that I can start to follow a more structured training programme.

And I'll chase up my mate about getting back into our weekly squash sessions to add Cross Training too.

6.43km Easy...

A little bit longer route this morning, and more challenging too as there was a steady hill after the first km. But I recovered well after that and got back to a comfortable pace to finish at an average pace of 5:36/km. A bit faster than I should be going at this stage.

Another run planned for Friday and then we'll see if I can get a longer run in on Sunday.

6.25km Medium...

I thought I might struggle to get out of bed this morning considering another busy weekend, but I felt a bit guilty about not going for a run on Sunday so I was determined to start this week well.

I guess the rest (from running) over the weekend did help because I felt pretty good this morning. It almost felt like I was floating along.

So I think I can now be sure that the habit has reformed.

Next run due on Wednesday.

My weekend activities did include a long pool session with Lian. She's now very pleased with herself that she can launch herself off the top step into the pool. She has an aversion to getting her face wet so that is quite an achievement.

It looks like I might get back into the squash too as my partner has settled into being a father and into his new job too. So that'll be good cross-training for me.

6.18km Easy... Playing Away from Home...

I'm trying to run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with a longer run on Sundays too. This week I had a potential disruption to the Friday session by being up on the Gold Coast for work.

I took my gear up on the off chance that I would go for a run. Then I continued the good preparation by having an early night on Thursday (I was shattered anyway... an early start from Sydney in the morning and a busy day). And I set my alarm for 5am.

The alarm went off and I did have a brief thought to hit snooze and go back to sleep, but I fought that thought and rolled out of bed.

I didn't break any records on my 6+km run in about 35 minutes. But it certainly was a big achievement not to let a small disruption put me off my training plan.

A totally flat route as I a ran along through Broadbeach. I'd planned on about 40 minutes, so I turned around to head back at a convenient spot after about 17 minutes. I could see the hotel in the distance after a while but it looked way further than I thought I could manage. I ended up one block short and hence didn't quite get to 40 minutes.

I stood under a cold shower for about 15 minutes so that I wouldn't be sweating too much in the company of colleagues. I did feel a bit guilty using all that water given the serious restrictions they have up there, but the reason I was there was to assist in the building of their Desalination Plant, so I felt I was doing my bit in return!

A useful session though, both mentally and physically.

6.03km Easy...

Nothing spectacular, a bit over 6km in a bit over 35 minutes. But at least I'm getting back into the routine.

Unfortunately, my next scheduled run should have been Friday morning, but I'm away on site Thursday / Friday and it tends to be an early start so I don't know whether it's worthwhile taking my gear up on the off chance I can go for a run before work.

Perhaps this could be a test of my commitment...

5.24km Easy...

It looks like being a long, hard road back to even the level of fitness I had last year. My legs felt a bit sore this morning after Friday's session and it was a challenge to finish the 5 and a bit km this morning.

I woke up at 5.30am, which is about 3 hours earlier than I've been getting out of bed over the last couple of weeks. So quite a challenge in itself! It was very comfortable weather - a good time of day to run.

I'm confident now that I'll quickly get back into the habit of running. My next session will be Wednesday, then Friday and perhaps a longer run on Sunday. Just ease myself back into it.

6.49km Slow... A New Beginning (Hope)...

This is not a 30 year old review of Star Wars, rather a statement of my intent to start the New Year with a new beginning, hopefully a long middle and a far distant end.

It was a very tough 6 and a bit km - evident of the fact I haven't run or done any real exercise in over 2 months. Shameful really.

I have a Half Marathon in May in mind, so a lot of hard work to be done between now and then.

I toyed with the idea of giving up alcohol for 6 months, using the Half Marathon as some kind of event to use as an incentive. This was following a couple of binges before Christmas.

So New Years Eve came around and I thought I better go out in style. I got stuck into a case of Becks. During the evening I was reminded that it's my 40th in March. So I started to have second thoughts about the resolution. The next morning I realised that I don't need to give up beer - I need to give up crap beer!

So that did it. Becks will return to be my drink of choice. It's not as though I drink a lot!

As for this mornings run... I feel as though I'm starting from scratch again. Lots and lots of Easy paced runs ahead of me I think.