7.30km Medium...

Another one of those "intended to do an Easy run, but ended up with a Medium" sessions this morning. Perhaps something to do with the lighter schedule this week.

7.30km in 39:15 at 5:22/km pace.

It's good to run now that the mornings are lighter and cooler. But it'll only be a few weeks before I'm complaining that it's too cold!

I want to check out a different long run route for Sunday...

No Exercise But...

No Exercise this morning but I did want to note that I'm feeling sore in my Gluteus Maxima and strangely - my Biceps.

That'll be from the Hills I did yesterday. I was pumping my arms fairly violently up the hills, but I didn't think I was working them so hard!

No pain, no gain as they say!

5.42km 10 x Hills...

I originally intended to run on Tuesday, but I had to go to a conference which meant an earlier start than usual. So I went this morning instead.

I should pin my 'Hard' run options to the notice board at home, because my brain doesn't work too well at 5.30am so I tend to go for the simple option of Hills.

So 1km to warm up, stretch, then 10 x Hills... 30 seconds up and about 1:10 down to recover. Then about 2.5km Easy run to finish.

The Hills seemed really hard today. My head was starting to spin a bit by the 7th or 8th rep. So I was pleased to finish 10 without falling over!

One significant birthday present which I forgot to mention... a new pair of Asics Gel Empire II...

And another less significant (from a running perspective) but still exciting present... an ASUS MyPal A639...

13.07km LSD...

What a week that was!

Thursday was my 40th birthday and I don't think I've ever eaten so much as I did between Thursday and Saturday. And there were a few beers thrown in for good measure too.

The carbo-loading obviously paid some benefits, because I was able to get out for a long run on Sunday morning.

I only intended to do about 10km. I'd had a couple of weeks off and hadn't done much last week either, so I thought I'd just ease myself back into the habit.

But I felt really good the whole way around and finished up with 13.07km in 1:17:26 at 5:55/km pace.

There was a light drizzle of rain coming down for most of the run and that helped to keep me feeling comfortable.

So all in all, a good week and hopefully a springboard to dive back into regular training.

7.09km Easy... Happy Birthday to me...

I had the desire to prove that ticking over from 39 to 40 hadn't affected my ability to run.

Whilst I did feel particularly knackered after finishing 7.09km in 41:27 at 5:50/km pace, I put that down to the lingering fatigue from last week's trip to Hong Kong.

Today I'll also test whether my metabolism has suddenly slowed - by going out to lunch with my colleagues and then dinner tonight with Shirley and Lian - and seeing if any extra weight sticks!

6.58km Medium... A Rest is as Good as a Rest...

18 days between runs. In the meantime I've recovered from the Cold I had, spent a week in Hong Kong and given my almost 40 year old (on Thursday) body a rest.

So back into it this morning, with the intention of just turning the legs over for about 6km. As it turned out, I finished 6.58km in 35:51 at 5:26/km pace. It just felt like an Easy, relaxed run.

I'm still knackered from the week in Hong Kong and the flight back on Sunday. My body still hasn't adjusted to the 3 hour time difference. But hopefully by forcing myself back into the routine of waking early for a run, I can quickly get back to normal.

I'll see how I feel tonight / tomorrow morning to decide whether I'll run tomorrow or Thursday.

Too Hot, Feeling Crap...

I missed my long run yesterday. I couldn't find time in the morning and as the day got hotter the chance of going out later became less likely. Then I started to feel like crap - probably something to do with the cold I've been battling with all week.

I set my alarm for 5.30am with half an intention to run this morning, but as it turned out, I woke up feeling even worse - so it's a good job I did give it a miss yesterday.

I'll dose up on cold & flu tablets this week and try to keep the legs moving.

7.68km Easy...

An Easy run this morning. 7.68km in 43:24 at 5:39/km pace.

I did feel a bit sore from the Hills yesterday - which I see as a good thing. It proves that I was working harder than usual.

It's still tough to get out of bed at 5.30am, and it's going to start getting colder. So I have to keep the momentum going.

A longer run planned for Sunday.

5.08km 10 x Hills...

I tried some Hill training this morning. Back to an old favourite hill... very steep, but quite short... it rises about 13m in 100m.

I had a warm-up of about 700m, a stretch, then I did 10 reps at 35 seconds up and 1:10 walking down, followed by 2.3km for a total of 5.08km in 35:01.

I'll have a bit of a read up on Hill training to make sure I'm using the session efficiently.

An Easy run tomorrow then a longer run planned for Sunday.

A good start to the month.