Bike Project Part XII - Final

Finally! Finished!!
I fitted the new stem adaptor and stem, refixed the handlebars and fitted the new bar tape. I also polished the Saddle with black shoe polish.
I decided to remove the black pedal platforms and just go with the double sided SPDs.
I'm really happy with the way it's turned out.

I'll put it (and my legs) to the test tomorrow on the ride to work.

Bike Project Part XI

The wheel hubs have now been regreased and rebuilt. And they're spinning smoothly!

I fitted new pedals too. They've got double sided SPDs but a clip in black platform on one side. I'm not sure whether to keep these on this bike or swap my commuter bike pedals - which have silver coloured platforms on one side. Or maybe just unclip the black platform and have double sided cleats on my Single Speed.

Here's a picture so far:

Choices, choices.

I took it out for a spin! It feels OK. I think I need to slacken off the chain tension! I'm a bit conscious of putting too much force through the chain to wrestle the gear up some of the short steep hills. Am I likely to snap anything? It's not like I have track sprinter's legs!

I have made one decision! I've ordered a quill stem adaptor and new stem from eBay, so that I can get rid of that ugly white, scratched and rusty quill stem.

Then I can fit the bar tape and that'll be it!

So the next post should be a final picture with all that fitted!

Bike Project Part X

Finally, some action!


The Surly 42T Chainring, the Single Speed Chain and some new tyres and tubes arrived on Friday. So now I've got two combinations:

• 46T Chainring with Single Speed Chain and 16T Cog or,
• 42T Chainring with 8 Speed Chain and 16T Cog.

I'm setting up the 42T combo first.


I had a quick look on Saturday to check if I had enough adjustment on my dropouts to get the correct chain tension. It seemed like I'd need a half link connector - so more time to wait for more parts!


But as it turned out, I fixed it all up today and the tension is fine. Here's the setup:

It looks very tidy! Very happy with that!!

I also fitted the new tyres and tubes. The tyres are 700 x 28 (replacing 700 x 20) - and they were a bit of struggle to fit. But I got there eventually. So here's the bike as it looks now:

Finally for today, I've dismantled both wheel hubs and bearings - ready for a degrease, clean, regrease and reassembly.

I'm still contemplating whether to buy an alloy handlebar stem. The existing stem is painted white and a bit scratched and rusty. I need to decide that before fixing the bar tape.

Maybe I'll take it for a spin with the existing stem and no bar tape.

Later...

Bike Project Part IX

There's Good news and Bad news.

First the Bad news:

The 46T chainring I bought is not compatible with my 8 speed chain! Doh!! I made the mistake of buying a track chainring which requires a wider 1 speed chain.

Also, I'm doubting my ability to turn over a 46x16 gear.

The Good news is that I can buy a 42T chainring suitable for the 8 speed chain. And I can buy a 1 speed chain so that when (if) I get to the stage where the 42x16 gearing is too slow, I'm ready to swap over to the 46T chainring and fit the other chain to suit the bigger circumference.

I'm still hoping that I have enough horizontal adjustment at my rear dropout to get the correct tension in both of these setups!

So off to Wiggle! I think I'll take the opportunity to get some spare tyres and tubes too!

Oh, in addition to all that, I realised that my mathematical calculation of spacer setup was way out. Not sure why. I didn't spend too much time worrying about it because I found that line-of-sight setup got me close enough.

Bike Project Part VIII

Finally got the spacers and cog.

Just spent a few hours today trying to figure out how I'm going to set them up to get a good chainline.

I measured the chainring position, rear dropout spacing and splined freewheel mechanism dimensions last night. The spacer kit recommendation is to suit new style 135mm MTB or 130mm Road bike dropout spacing, but mine's a late '80s 126mm with a narrower freewheel mechanism, so I drew up the measurements and calculated the spacer and cog positions.

And I think I've sussed it!

So I'll maybe have a go at that tonight.

Next challenge will be to set the chain length so I don't need half links or tension devices to mess things up.

Then finally to rebuild the wheel bearings.

Bike Project Part VII

Still waiting for the cog and spacers to be delivered.

Today I had a go at cleaning up the ferrule around the handlebars where they clamp into the old quill style stem. It was painted white and I'd scratched it when I did the 'Chop n Flop'.

I started with a strip of glass paper, but that was too slow - so I got out the electric sander. That cleaned it up a treat. Still I'll have to be careful when I finally position the bars because it's so easy to scratch them with the stem clamp.

Problem is, it now highlights how ugly the scratched stem is, so I should probably replace that with a new alloy stem. I'll check in my LBS or I saw one on eBay for $9.95 plus $6 postage.

Bike Project Part VI

So now - onto the new parts.

I've ordered:

• TA 46 Tooth Chainring
• Shimano 5mm Chainring Bolts
• Surly 16 Tooth Rear Cog
• Surly Spacers for Rear Hub
• Wippermann Nickel Plated Chain

I've also bought a Bottom Bracket Lockring to hold the Spacers and Cog onto the Hub.

Everything's arrived apart form the Surly Cog and Spacers. They should arrive early October.

Bike Project Part V

Next, I removed the other old components:

First the rear derailleur:

Notice that the dropout axle position screws are bent (they must have got damaged whilst the bike was in transit). I'll see if I can find replacements for those.

Then the front derailleur:



Notice that I've also removed the chainrings.

Finally the gear shifters:



If I ever get around to respraying the frame, I'll grind off the old gear lever bosses.

Bike Project Part IV

The next step is to remove all the components that I don't need.

My cassette fits on an old style Shimano Uniglide hub. The freewheel hub has equal spaced splines where the first five cogs slide on, then the smallest cog screws onto the hub to lock the whole thing in position.

I figured that to remove the cassette I'd need two chain whips. One to hold the cassette and one to turn the smallest cog. Rather than buy these - I decided to make them out of a couple of pieces of old angle bracket that I found lying around and some pieces of my old chain.

Here's what they look like:

And in action:

And the final result:

You can see the external thread on the hub.

Bike Project Part III

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I hadn't considered this bike to commute to work on due to the uncomfortable riding position with the drop bars.

So the first part of the project is to address that. Again, a little bit of reading identified a process called 'Chop n Flop'. That's basically to chop the drop bars on the curve and flop them over.

Here's the result:

I just need to clean up the bars and put on new bar tape. I'll wait until I've finished the whole thing before I do that so I don't damage the tape.

Bike Project Part II

So here's a picture of the bike as I just pulled it out of storage:

It's very dirty, got two flat tires, loads of rust spots on the frame and chrome fittings.

I've done some reading on the subject and one of the key issues is the orientation of the rear dropouts (where the rear wheel fixes into the frame). With a vertical dropout, there's no room to move the rear wheel to adjust the chain tension. In my case, the dropouts are more horizontal than vertical:

So hopefully there should be enough room for adjustment - otherwise I might get away with a half size chain link. I really want to avoid a chain tensioner because they just look ugly!

Bike Project Part I

After finishing City to Surf with what I think is a respectable time, I was keen to get back into cycling to work. I reckon the cycling did make a contribution to my fitness level for C2S.

So I've had an idea to bring a bit more interest and variation into my cycling, by hopping onto a bit of a craze that seems to have hit the cycling world. I've decided to Single Speed my old Raleigh Strada!

I bought that bike in about 1988. It had a lot of good use when I was in the UK, but basically hadn't been used since I went to Hong Kong in 1995. It's been hanging in my basement since we arrived in Australia in 2002 - gathering dust and slowly rusting.

I can't bring myself to sell it - too much sentimental value / not enough actual value, and I can't imagine using it as a road bike - not enough time and too uncomfortable to commute to work. But I've had some inspiration from seeing various articles on Single Speed Bike conversions.

More to follow...

City to Surf 2009 Review

Wow! My offical time of 1:17:01 was a pleasant surprise.

My target of 90 minutes was smashed (and clearly very conservative).

There are a few factors worth noting that I think contributed to the success:

• Starting from the Green group enabled me to get up to pace (but not too quick) straight away.
• Carrying a water bottle the whole way meant that I didn't get held up at drink stations.
• Being more aware of where the uphills and downhills are so that I could be prepared to adjust pace accordingly.

But one thing I think I have to work on if I'm going to do this again is to adjust my posture. I always suffer with a sore neck after any run longer than about 40 minutes, which generally turns into a bad headache later in the day. So perhaps some problem with my head leaning forward too much...?

So based on that - perhaps next year I should have a crack at my all time record of 1:11:48 set in 1991. I just need to train properly with some solid hill work.

For the moment, I'm just waiting for the weather to get a bit warmer in the mornings so that I can get back on the bike.

City to Surf 2009 Preview

The plan was to take a break from cycling to work, partly to avoid the cold mornings, but also so that I could focus on training for this year's City to Surf.

Well the break from cycling was easy(!) but I've only managed to get in about 2 x 5km runs per week with a couple of weekend 'longer' runs since the end of May.

In theory, running at lunchtime is a great option... the temperature's close to perfect, the route is fantastic around the Pyrmont waterfront, there's a couple of guys in the office who are keen too. In practice... there are lunchtimes at the pub and work distractions to get in the way.

However, I feel as though I have enough base fitness to get me around in less than 90 minutes - which is no great shakes but it will keep me in the Green group for next year - and maybe a chance to train properly then!!!

So... we'll see how we go with this year's and next year's targets.

Still here?

I'm glad to report that exercise has proven to be an easier habit to get back into than Blogging.

Since my last post in January, I've been cycling fairly regularly - 2 to 3 days per week, at least up until the last few weeks.

A combination of rain, cold and rediscovering another form of exercise have been the reasons that the cycling has dropped off a bit lately.

Actually, the rain isn't too bad, and I have some winter gear to protect against the cold, so I can happily focus the story on the 'new' exercise.

The excitement surrounding City to Surf starts about this time of year and I figured I'd give it a go again. So recognising how precious my sleep is in the mornings, I realised I'd struggle to run before coming to work. I briefly considered running to work, but at 15km -it's just a bit out of my range!

So, the solution... run at lunchtimes!

I thought I'd better test my running legs closer to home first, so I headed out for a 5k run a couple of Sundays back.

What a disaster! It felt like my quads were being hammered (literally) with every step. I think I only ran for about 2k in total and walked the rest of the 5k route. I thought (hoped) it was just that I don't stretch very much, so I spent the next few days stretching at every opportunity.

I then tried the lunchtime run with a colleague - and thankfully managed a bit over 5k in a bit over 30 minutes. No pain. A great route - fairly flat and next to the water.

Now I've done 5 of those sessions in the last couple of weeks, with a 7k run at the weekend. So I'm hoping to build up from there. There's a couple of colleagues who make up the lunchtime training group, so that helps us all to stick at it.

I'm not prepared to commit to any target time just yet for C2S this year. But we'll see how the training goes...

New PB...

I had a day off (work) yesterday, so perhaps the extra days' rest paid dividends this morning with a new PB of 23.2km/h.

I seem to be settling around that 23km/h mark in both directions.

Or it could have been that I was lucky with the traffic lights. A minute makes more than 0.6km/h difference.

I'm just happy that I'm sticking at it and not suffering any injuries (touch wood).

The challenge will come as we get into winter here. Darker mornings and evenings and colder too! I can buy cold weather gear and I have lights, but will that be enough??

Benchmarks...

Happy New Year!

I've certainly had no problem feeling motivated to keep cycling to work after the Christmas and New Year break.

I came in by bike on Tuesday and Thursday of last week (the first week back).

I did have a small concern on the ride home on the Tuesday. I felt a twinge in my right knee. I got a bit worried about that, because I've never had that kind of problem before. That's why I missed Wednesday, but I couldn't contain my enthusiasm anymore than that, so I rode in on Thursday. The twinge re-occurred on both journeys to and from work.

But I did set a benchmark time for the homeward journey with an average speed of 20.8km/h. So quite pleased with that!

I had brief thoughts of a knee reconstruction - but more rationally I figured it was just a case of the strength of my body catching up with my enthusiasm. So I rested over the weekend.

I came in this morning and set another benchmark - 22.7km/h for the journey to work. And no twinges. So hopefully that's a good sign. Balancing the exercise with rest should enable me to improve my strength and fitness without incurring any injuries (touch wood).

Cycling Week Two...

So after cycling to work Monday and Tuesday of last week, my legs enjoyed the rest for the remainder of the week.

I cycled again on Monday this week. The journey home was the hardest leg so far. There was a hot wind blowing straight into my face virtually all the way home. So not only was I working against the resistance - I was also constantly thirsty.

Tuesday we had something on at Lian's school so I didn't cycle, but I did today. That days rest yesterday must have helped my legs to recover because I improved my time by a couple of minutes and I'm starting to feel like I can push the pace a bit more.

So now I'm kicking myself that I didn't start cycling to work much earlier, because I really enjoy it now.

Hopefully I can get back into it straight after the Christmas break and start to see some big improvement in strength and fitness.

An Annual Report...?

I didn't intend this to become an annual update, but apart from a few runs and related blog entries in January - it was September 2007 since I was keeping a regular update.

I don't know how easy it will be to get some momentum back with this, or even if blogging is still popular these days. Is Facebook the new blog, I ask???

So, since January... what has happened?

Well Robert Thomas Parkes was born on 14th March, so he's 8 months old now. He's starting to crawl (more of a drag really), but the big milestone we're waiting for is him sleeping through the night!

I bought a rowing machine around that time too. The intention was to make a form of exercise available which was even more convenient than running. However, shortly after buying that we started a bathroom renovation which used the 'rowing area' as a storage space. So that put a block on rowing, and even after the bathroom was finished in about August, it took a while to start to get back into that.

So another idea came up... cycling to work!

I've had my road bike for 20 years and my mountain bike for 12 years - neither of which have been used much since leaving the UK in 1995 (the mountain bike was bought in Hong Kong, but rarely used there).

The obvious journey to work is via a very busy road (Victoria Road). So even though the journey is only about 15km, that had put me off the idea for so long. But having spoken to a few work colleagues who cycle around Sydney - they pointed out the cycle routes that criss-cross the city.

So I figured out a route, got my mountain bike serviced and fitted with new inner tubes and slick, Kevlar lined tyres (and new peddles since one peddle got lost in transit from Singapore) and was ready to go.

But the wife took a bit of convincing, then it was rainy on and off for a few weeks. So I just managed to start yesterday.

And what a success. Despite my lack of bike fitness, it is still a quicker journey from bed to office than the train. Bike takes 1:15 -which includes 10 mins getting up and ready, 45 mins cycling and 20 minutes showering & changing at work. Whereas the train takes 1:30!!

I cycled in today too. But I think I'll have to get into it slowly as I could feel that my legs were a bit more tired today. So perhaps start with a couple of days a week, a couple of days rest, a couple of days rowing and I'm sure that I'll get the strength and fitness back fairly quickly.

I think I'll stick to the mountain bike, because the route is a bit uneven and skinny tires may be a bit of a challenge. But it would be interesting to see how much quicker the road bike would be!

I'll see how the mood takes me to keep updating here...

7.??km (Approx) Easy...

I think my Imaginary Friend had trouble getting out of bed this morning. It logged my start point but then didn't record the next 2km or so.

I wonder whether it was the dense cloud cover? A good excuse to upgrade to the latest Forerunner. Actually I just saw they are about to release the 405. A GPS training device that looks like a watch (rather than a brick)!

So anyway, I guess it was just over 7km in 40:49.

I felt really good today. Perhaps the cooler temperature.

Little by little, I'm getting back on track.

6.20km Easy...

I had a late start at work this morning, so a good chance to get a run in today.

Another of my old routes. Flatter than the route I've taken in the few runs since New Year (i.e. not so down hill!) and I pushed the distance out to a whopping 6km too!!!

So 6.20km in 38:27 at 6:12/km.

Slowly, slowly!

5.58km Easy...

A bit of a battle to get out of bed this morning to go for a run. Proves that there's a fair way to go before the habit has re-formed.

It was still 20 deg C despite a hint of cooling rain. Nice to have a dip in the pool when I'd finished.

5.31km Easy...

I had intended to run yesterday as well as today, but I just felt too tired when I woke up. I could feel the run on Tuesday in my legs too - which was quite a good feeling!

Anyway, nothing special today - 5.31km in 31:12 at 5:52/km pace.

So far so good.

5.38km Easy...

Did anybody miss me?

It was 2nd September when I last had a run! So let's see how this New Year Resolution goes...

So far, so good - with an Easy 5.38km in 32:59 at 6:07/km pace.

Even at 7:45am it was 22 deg C, so the earlier starts when I start back to work next week should be a bit cooler.

I won't even attempt to note what's been happening since September!

10.78km LSD...

I've been too busy to post in the last few days, but now here's a mention of my run last Sunday.


I set out a bit later than usual and ended up running in unseasonably hot conditions (about 22 deg C).


I just wanted to get an hour's worth of running into my legs and managed to plod around 10.78km in 1:01:35 at a reasonable 5:42/km pace.


It was tough to finish. I was trying to run to finish as close to home as possible so that I could walk to cool down and get some fluids inside me. But finished with about 1.5km to walk.


No running since then as work's been a bit mad and I feel myself coming down with a cold!


Bugger!!

7.31km Easy...

It makes a huge difference getting out of bed for a run when the temperature is 5 deg C or so higher than it was a month ago.

So an Easy run today. 7.31km in 40:03 at 5:28/km pace.

Probably a bit too fast in places. I think my Imaginary Friend gets a bit confused running under cover of trees, so he speeds up and slows down a fair bit.

I noticed on the Half Marathon website that there'll be pacers to achieve a specific time. Now I just need to figure out what time I think I can achieve.

8.59km Medium...

I've been feeling increasingly guilty over the last few days about not running - even though I had a 'strength' session on Sunday (mixing 200kg of concrete)!

So I said to myself last night - must run in the morning.

And I did! I'm not sure what I should call that run - it doesn't fit into any standard description. I suppose it was close to a Tempo run - fairly hard up hills with recovery patches in between.

So 8.59km in 44:37 at 5:11/km pace. It felt good... to finish!

I've got to try to keep it up now to have any chance of putting in a decent effort at the Half Marathon.

7.34km Easy...

I did think about having a Hard session this morning, but I felt a bit sore after yesterday - so I decided on a nice and easy run. 7.34km in 41:46 at 5:41/km pace.

And a good job I did. My left knee is feeling especially sore now. I don't intend to run again before Sunday, so hopefully that'll give it time to rest and recover.

I don't want to lose any momentum with the return to regular training. There are already too many obstacles - mainly the wet and cold weather!

So I'll hopefully be back here on Monday.

7.16km Medium...

It's been a struggle to get out of bed to go for a run lately. A struggle that I've been losing. But today, I made the effort - despite the miserable conditions (rain).

And I was pleasantly reminded of one of the benefits of running... It really did feel good out there! Not an especially fantastic performance - 7.16km in 35:51 at 5:00/km pace - but it seemed like a big achievement anyway.

Hopefully, I can get out regularly to get a bit of extra stamina for the Half Marathon on 23rd September.

7.4km Easy...

I was able to finish work a bit early yesterday and get in the fabled "Recovery Run".

Actually, I didn't feel any aches & pains at all after Sunday's City to Surf. Maybe I didn't try hard enough!

So 7.40km in 40:50 at 5:30/km at a constant pace, all the way to the end was very satisfying.

5 weeks to go until the Half Marathon. Maybe I need to focus on leg strength...

14.37km City to Surf 2007...

Lessons learnt for next year...

Enter into the sub-100 minute group, to avoid the 5-abreast walkers and pram pushers!

That is just getting dangerous. We also arrived a bit late too, so we started way back in the pack of the HSBC Group. I didn't even hear the gun for our start so I started my watch as we crossed the start line.

For the first time I was held up more by the people in front of me than I was by my own ability!

So line to line time was 1:16:54, card time was 1:31:20. Official time was 1:21:21.

A great day never-the-less. No major dramas up the hills. I felt strong still heading down into Bondi. And had a bit of a burst left to get over the line.

Next event is the Half Marathon on 23 September. So hopefully the weather gets warmer in the mornings so I can get back into training for that.

6.99km (7km TT)...

The last bash before Sunday.

An attempt at a Time Trial over 7km. I thought that if I could get down to about 33 minutes (I did the 7km Bay Run in 33:27, two weeks ago) then I'd be on target for below 75 minutes for City to Surf.

However, I started off too fast. First 2kms were 4:24 and 4:25 (each km should have been about 4:43). I paid for that after half way. Ended up with 34:45! The lesson is...

I find it difficult to pace myself for City to Surf. The terrain is so uneven and the crowds can have an affect for the first few km. I think I'll try to hit 5:00 - 5:20 per km to start with, then see how it goes.

Plenty of rest now, plenty of carbs and plenty of water.

See you on Monday for the conclusion!

9.05km 8 x 400m...

Another desperate attempt to get some last minute training in before Sunday. This time it was a huge success. Not necessarily from the physical side (though it certainly wouldn't be any harm) but definitely from the mental side.

I set out to do 8 x 400m after a bit of a warm-up and a stretch. My programme calls for each 400m to be run at 3:58/km pace, i.e. 1:35/400m with 3 to 4 minute recovery jogs in between.

I realise now that I'm only recovering for 2 to 3 minutes between each rep, hence I'm not pushing quite as hard as I should. Point to note for the future.

The actual reps were:

1. 1:32
2. 1:37
3. 1:36
4. 1:39
5. 1:42
6. 1:42
7. 1:34
8. 1:36

So a bit slow through 4, 5 & 6 but an average of 1:37 isn't too far off the mark.

Hence the positive mental result. I know I'm not where I could have been in preparation for Sunday, but I'm not doing too bad either.

4.54km 10 x Hills...

Another desperate attempt to get a bit of strength back before C2S.

I was able to finish the session this time, and my average times for the reps haven't dropped since I last did this workout: 0:31 up, 1:11 down. So that's a positive!

Now I'm thinking about my final couple of sessions... should I keep working on the strength or stick to the usual (though not lately) long run on Sunday?

6.11km 5 x 400m...

I thought I'd better try to get a few speed / strength sessions in before City to Surf. I've probably left it too late, but no harm in trying (unless I get injured)!

So I intended to do 8 x 400m with recovery jogs in between.

After a 1km warm up and a stretch, I got into the first set. It felt tough! And the second felt tougher and so on... slowing down on each set. I couldn't finish eight, in fact the fifth set was almost down to an Easy run pace, so I cut my losses and made that the last.

I've probably only got 2 or 3 more chances for a 'Hard' session before easing up before C2S, so I better try to make the most of them.

7.08km Bay Run...

Well I failed to get out for a training run since last Sunday, but I had no problem getting out to take part in the Bay Run.

What an excellent event! A bit crowded at the start, but that gave me a chance to warm up.

I'd set my target at 33:00 and I'll have to wait for the official time. I thought my watch told me 33:34, but when I download that to Motionbased - that says 32:36. Either way, I'm happy with that sort of time. Edit: Official time was 33:27.

Lots of room for improvement too. I felt very little strength in my legs towards the end and every little rise was tough!

I don't think I'll solve that by City to Surf time, but I'll try to pace myself with that weakness in mind.

My legs are a bit sore today, but I want to try to get out this week and next to keep as sharp as possible!

12.36km LSD...

Now, how does this work again? 19 days since the last run! I blame the weather and a bit of cold & flu.

I'd intended to run the Sutherland to Surf 11km yesterday, but trying to fit that around a load of other plans for the day just didn't work. My hope was that that would kick-start my training again. So I HAD to get out and do something.

I was pleased with the way I felt on the run. No mental or physical barriers appeared to divert me from my plan to run about 10km in an hour. In fact I ran 12.36km in 1:09:09 at 5:35/km pace.

I made a big effort to rehydrate after the run, but I probably didn't eat soon enough. I actually got stuck into one of my tasks - digging out a tree!

So by the end of the day, I was shattered! And today my hips feel a bit sore. Perhaps tomorrow there may be some muscle soreness too from the digging and lifting!

A couple of sessions this week should set me up well for the Bay Run next Sunday. No excuses there because I'm running as part of a team.

7.09km (7km TT)...

I took the chance this morning to test myself over 7km - the same distance as the Bay Run on 29th July.

I asked my Imaginary Friend to set a time of 5:00/km - which I expected to be able to beat, but I wasn't sure by how much.

In the end I managed 32:49 so that's 4:41/km.

The route today was certainly more undulating than the Bay Run will be, and I did struggle to maintain pace up the hills. The last km was a real struggle and my pace dropped to 5:20 for that km. The first 5km were knocked out at an average of 4:32/km, the 6th dropped to 4:50.

So maybe if I keep the pace at 4:35/km for the whole route - I should be able to aim for a finish time of about 32 minutes.

16.00km LSD...

A chose a bit more of a challenging route for my long run yesterday. Rather than the flat(ish) river route I headed out through to Macquarie Park, to Epping and back through Eastwood to home.

So 16km in 1:30:12 at 5:38/km pace. My legs did feel a bit dead at various stages and my lungs were busting up a few of the hills, but I was pleased to recover quickly from those challenges as the course flattened out a bit.

I also seem to have solved my post long run headache problem. I guessed that it's not just about drinking water following the run, it's about getting water into your body within a couple of hours of the run. I heard that sports drinks are generally absorbed quicker too - so I tried a couple of bottles of Gatorade straight after the run. That worked a treat. No headache last night and feel good today!

I should have a good chance of getting some good runs in this week... and the weather doesn't look too bad either.

7.76km Easy...

I ran the longer loop this morning which has a 1km flat warm-up before 2.5km of uphill. Thankfully what goes up - in this case does come down.

So 7.76km in 40:02 at 5:09/km pace.

A total of 112.9km for June (I doubt very much I'll run tomorrow). Still not quite up to the level I was hoping for, which is more like 140km - but the cold and rain are proving to much of a battle!

Hopefully about 130km planned for July - which includes the 11km Sutherland to Surf on 22nd and the 7km Bay Run on 29th.

7.06km 5 x 400m...

I've struggled to get out so far this week... too cold and too wet. But I took the advantage of a later start at work this morning. At least I got to run in a bit of daylight!

So I thought I'd better put in a Hard session. 8 x 400m seemed like a good idea.

So after a 1.1km warm-up I launched into the first rep.

However, the desperate need to find a toilet (which ended up being back at home) cut short the session. So I only completed 5 reps at an average of 1:30 / 400m with about a 3:00 jog recovery in between. A bit of a sprint home(!) to round off 7.06km in total.

I should be able to get another session in tomorrow morning, but I better be prepared!!!

17.11km LSD...

Just about perfect running weather yesterday. Cool and just a hint of rain in the air.

Down to the river again and out to a circuit of Morrisons Bay Park then back through to Meadowbank and home. 17.11km in 1:29:52 at 5:15/km. I was sure my Imaginary Friend told me it was 1:30+? A bit too fast for an LSD but I just wanted to keep up the pace in the last few km.

I made a bit more of an effort to rehydrate, but maybe I'm still not doing enough. Again I got a headache in the evening and feel a bit sluggish this morning. I wonder if there's some other reason???

9.19km Medium...

The same old story... it was meant to be an Easy paced run, but I pushed the pace on a bit to test my stamina.

It's been too cold or wet in the mornings lately to get my usual sessions in, so I had the chance to run after work yesterday. I was conscious of not getting as much mileage into my legs as I'd hoped so the usual 7km route stretched into 9km.

So 9.19km in 48:31 at 5:16/km pace was very satisfying, particularly as there's a bit of a drag uphill between 6 and 7km - which I was able to keep the pace up on.

But again, running in the dark is not my preference!

I should try to get another run in either tonight or tomorrow morning before a Long run on Sunday.

16.18km LSD...

It felt like a big mental battle was won on Sunday's run. Usually I'm fighting with my mind to keep going to finish the target I set myself, but this week I easily finished the intended session and a bit more too!

I'd planned 15km in about 1:30 - that would have been 6:00/km. I actually achieved 16.18km in 1:32:38 at 5:43/km - and felt good afterwards.

I wish I could find a magic answer now to the question of nutrition and hydration. I always think that I run out of fuel on these longer runs, but running in the mornings only gives me so much time to have breakfast and let that settle.

And then there's re-hydration... I started to feel another headache coming on later in the day. I'd made sure I got a Powerade in me and some more water (perhaps not enough) but I really didn't feel that great yesterday evening and I still feel a bit of after effect now.

Perhaps I'll do some reading on that subject later...

Did I mention I'm planning on doing:

• Sutherland to Surf (11km) on 22nd July
• Bayrun (7km) on 29th July
• City to Surf (14km) on 12th August
• Sydney Half Marathon (21.1km) on 23rd September

Hopefully my body holds up. There'll be at least 2 PBs in there (I've never run a 7km or 11km event before)!

8.55km 8 x 400m...

This was a new session for me, and I've got a perfect stretch which is fairly flat, dead straight and far enough from home for a warm-up / cool-down.

My Training Pace Calculator identified 8 x 400m at 3:58/km (1:35/400m) with 3 to 4 minute recovery jogs between reps. I had a 1km warm up at 6:00/km then the 8 reps were achieved in 1:31, 1:30, 1:32, 1:30, 1:33, 1:36, 1:35, 1:28 so an average of 3:49/km (1:31/400m).

So very happy with that!

It's strange how my mind works... I mentioned the mental image of turning a bicycle pedal over imagining my foot like a hand to get power through the full rotation. Well the mental image that formed in my head to get through this mornings reps was of some kind of mythical beast who's clawed feet were reaching forward to rip up the tarmac and throwing it out the back! Bizarre!!!

I expect to feel some after effects from that session, but I don't have anything planned until Sunday.

7.65km Easy...

I reckon that was the coldest day of the year so far. Even at 8.30 I saw it was 6 deg C, so at 7am - when I headed out for the run it was probably a degree or two colder.

Consequently, it took a while to get to a comfortable pace. Ended up with 7.65km in 41:07 at 5:22/km pace.

I could see where the heavy rains and flood water had flattened the vegetation along the creek. I hope nobody was walking around there when all that was going off!

I'll see if I can get out tomorrow and Friday too. That'll make today an extra session this week due to not having to head to work as early as usual.

7.17km Tempo...

It was tough getting out of bed this morning. Cold. Thinking about resting my ankle. But I did force myself to get up and out.

Another session where I intended about 7km Easy, but ended up with 7.17km in 34:53 at 4:51/km pace - so that was more like a Tempo run.

I choose the street route - just because there are street lights... I didn't want to run into more debris on the creek route left over from the weekend storms.

I felt good and strong through the middle section, where I picked up the pace but then struggled a bit to keep going for the final km uphill.

Very pleased to have got in another decent run.

15.13km LSD...

There was a fair bit of disruption and destruction along the route of Sunday's long run. I ran down to the river and along to Putney. Plenty of trees down from the storms, a few of which had brought down power lines. Lots of debris on the roads and standing water all over the place.

I hadn't been out since Tuesday - it was just to wet! So I wanted to make sure I got a decent run in.

I was joined on the run by some fella who was running from Chatswood to Parramatta then back to Homebush. Very impressive. I certainly couldn't keep up all that way. I stuck with him from Meadowbank to Rydalmere before turning back at about 12km and heading home.

So 15.13km in 1:29:51 at 5:56/km pace.

I'm still getting the soreness in my left ankle - I think it's bruising where my achilles joins my heel bone. The orthotic is helping by taking the strain off my achilles, but it does feel sore after I've sat for too long. Must make sure I try to stretch it a bit when I am sitting (most of the day at work).

9.21km Easy...

I missed a run on Sunday. Just too busy with kids birthday parties!

But I did get out this morning for 9.21km in 49:05 at 5:19/km pace. A bit more of a testing route with the first half basically uphill and the second half basically downhill.

Temperature was about 9 deg C, so my gloves as well as the rest of my winter gear did a good job of keeping me comfortable. I'm not a big fan of running in the dark though!

My left heel soreness has returned so I guess I'll have to go back to the orthotic heel support...

7.89km Easy...

Another cold morning, but after I'd warmed up, it felt really good to run with very few people around, hardly any cars and the air feeling clean and crisp!

Since my 5km Time Trial has allowed me to readjust my training times, I feel like I'm running with much more purpose. Knowing that the science tells me that Easy runs should be at 5:43/km and with my Imaginary Friend helping me to keep (roughly) to that pace gives me the confidence that each session is doing me good.

So 7.89km in 43:16 at 5:29 ended up a little faster than it should have been, but still felt very comfortable.

I got thinking about the mechanics of how my legs move and that reminded me of when I was doing a lot of cycling back in the UK... visualising my feet turning the pedals like hands would - not just pushing and pulling but forcing the rotation all the way around.

Anything to pass the time...

8.93km Tempo...

Started with about a 1km warm-up then 4 x 1.5km at 4:40/km pace with 2 minute recovery jogs in between.

Very cold this morning - apparently about 8 deg C! Should have worn an extra layer up top and gloves!!

The overall route is generally downhill, so I thought I'd double back on the 3rd rep to get a bit of uphill. That was tough! I got to about 1km then turned round and headed back downhill to finish the 1.5km split.

I suppose that kind of workout should be performed on a fairly flat route, but it did feel like a good hard session anyway.

I'm considering doing the Sutherland to Surf in July. Hopefully that'll indicate how I'm going on the path to City to Surf and Sydney Half Marathon!

Total 0f 109km for May. Must try harder!

7.65km Easy...

9 days have passed since SMH Half Marathon - adequate time by anyones standards to recover.

Unfortunately, the weather's getting much colder in the mornings. I really don't want any excuses to miss out on some decent training between now and City to Surf / Sydney Half Marathon. I'm determined to step up a level over the next few weeks... I'm even thinking whether it's possible to beat my all-time C2S record of 1:11:48 in 1991.

So, this morning had me completing 7.65km in 39:53 at 5:12/km pace. That is quicker than my prescribed Easy pace but I still found it an Easy run... it was mainly a gradual downhill route. After such a long rest - I did feel really strong during the run.

Next session due on Thursday.

21.1km Easy...

I was hoping that would have been a slightly more positive title.

A bit of a disappointing day yesterday, at the end of a disappointing week.

I came down with a bit of a cold last weekend, which forced a much longer taper than was necessary. Then, on Friday I started feeling a bit dodgy at work. I ended up leaving the office a bit early with a pounding headache. I went straight to bed, got up to eat some dinner - but that didn't go down to well. Woke up Saturday morning feeling even worse, but tried to get some brekky down... which didn't stay down too long. The alarm bells started to ring and I was considering binning the Half Marathon. I spent most of the day in bed, still the headache wouldn't shift. I did manage to keep some food down later in the day. I spoke to my running buddy and decided to give it a go at an easy pace.

So I woke up on Sunday, feeling remarkably fine - if a bit dull. Met up with my mate in the City and made our way down to the start.

I was still secretly hoping for a sub 2 hour time, but it was my mate's first Half Marathon, and I didn't know how I'd feel, so we would have been heading into the unknown.

So we just kept a nice Easy pace - probably around 6:00/km (my Imaginary Friend had an off day with all the tall buildings etc). I think we passed 10km in just under an hour and still felt pretty good. Although we were quite apprehensive about the hills on the second lap.

We just stuck to the steady pace up the Hunter Street hill then along to Mrs Macquaries Chair and back up the hill to Hyde Park. As we came back to Hunter Street downhill, we were 'flying'... probably a bit too quick because my buddy just about emptied his tank by the turn into Pitt Street. So I just hung back with him trying to encourage him up Argyle Street and back to the finish.

Official time was 2:07:04.

I don't feel too bad today and I'm just taking the positive of a good long training run for City to Surf and the next Half Marathon - probably in September.

8.24km Easy...

I thought the running gods were trying to give me a message yesterday.

I felt absolutely knackered for most of the day, so I put off the run until late in the afternoon. I was supposed to be out for 1:20 but I really couldn't see me achieving that, so I cut my losses and aimed for about 45 minutes.

So down to the river and back for what I now know was 8.24km in 47:58 at 5:49/km pace. And that's only thanks to www.mapmyrun.com, because my Imaginary Friend appears to be experiencing it's mid life crisis!

First, I couldn't turn it on. I was sure the battery had 3 or 4 hours left in it last time I used it. Anyway, I stuck it on charge and managed to get enough juice in to turn it on and last the run.

Then, when I started recording, I noticed that the time and pace were being displayed but distance wasn't increasing. I carried on regardless.

When I got home and plugged it into the computer to load up the route, the PC wouldn't recognise the device. I've experienced this before and that time I solved it by changing COM ports. All I could do was switch it back to the original port and try again. No luck! I tried rebooting everything, but still no success. I tried it on my laptop at work this morning - with some small success... the device was recognised, the session information was transferred to the laptop, but there was a problem sending it to Motionbased - I guess that's due to a Firewall. I tried the transfer again to see if the device was still recognised and now that fails too.

I did actually drop the device last week, but there didn't seem to be any damage to the case, so I didn't think anything of it. But perhaps there's some component inside that's busted. Bugger!

I don't know anyone else with a Forerunner that I could try and I'm not quite geeky enough to be able to test the serial cable or port... so, what to do?

Hopefully that doesn't disrupt my plans for the Half Marathon next week.

8.69km Tempo...

After my 22:29 5km Time Trial on Tuesday, I took the opportunity to recalculate my Training Pace Calculator.

All my recent comments about aiming for an 'Easy' run and ending up with a 'Medium' pace can now be fixed. They were probably all within my newly revised 'Easy' run pace.

This morning will most likely be my last Hard session before the Half Marathon. So I decided on a Tempo run - 4 x 1.5km at 4:46/km pace (to be precise) with 2 minutes recovery jogs in between.

I asked my Imaginary Friend to do his thing, had a warm up then set off on the first rep. I didn't intend to look at my watch to ensure the correct pace but I was very accurate never the less. 1.5km reps were: 7:00 (4:40/km), 7:05 (4:43/km), 7:07 (4:44/km) and 7:15 (4:50/km) so an average of 4:44/km which is amazingly close to pace.

That felt like a really good work-out. And that 5km TT seems to have given me a big confidence boost.

9.70km Medium...

I'm bouncing between the 'Beginners' and 'Advanced' training programmes for the Half Marathon. This morning was from the 'Advanced' version. A 50 minute run.

Actually 9.7km in 53:09 at 5:28/km pace. I think the average pace was improved within the last 2 downhill kms.

Just over a week to go now. Starting to think about the last few training sessions, the taper and carbo loading. A bit of research required!

7.15km (WU, 5km TT, CD)...

The programme that I'm sort of following for the Half Marathon called for a 5km Time Trial today - to judge fitness and perhaps come up with a HM target time.

I picked a flat-ish route with as few road crossings as possible. I was aiming for about 23 minutes, so asked my Imaginary Friend to pace me at 4:30/km. After a bit of a warm-up I set off.

I saw that I'd set off a bit too quick as I was getting ahead of my Imaginary Friend, so slowed it down a little bit.

I could see I was maintaining the gap I'd created in that first km and was even moving slowly further ahead, so I expected the last couple of km to be hard to maintain pace. I ended up finishing in 22:29, which I'm very pleased with. Splits were:

1. 4:20
2. 4:32 (8:52)
3. 4:11 (13:03)
4. 4:40 (17:43)
5. 4:46 (22:29)

So according to the race pace calculator - I should be capable of a 1:43:26 Half Marathon, which would be 4:54/km pace... for 21.1km!!! I don't think I'll be attempting anything like that. I'd be pleased with 1:50, but I'd be even more happy to run all the way with my mate. I'll see if I can get him to do a Time Trial and see what we can do.

13.35km LSD...

We headed down to Stanwell Park yesterday to meet my Half Marathon running mate for a Long Steady Distance.

We didn't start until 11:40am so it was getting hot (23 deg C) and it's fairly hilly down there too. So 13.35km in 1:20:57 at 6:03/km was a fine effort.

Good too to be able to chat as we ran along - a sure way of knowing that we were running at a comfortable pace.

Some amazing views down there. The new Sea Cliff Bridge (which I indirectly helped to build) is amazing and there's generally a view out to sea all the way down.

I'm still not prepared to commit to a specific finish time for the Half Marathon. I'm happy to run all the way with my mate, so we'll just see how we go.

11.00km Easy...

I wanted to get an hours run in this morning, so I had to rise even earlier! Bit of a rush to get the train to work too!

Actually covered 11.00km in 1:02:17 at 5:39/km pace, but there's a flat spot in the distance over time graph where I had to pay a visit to the McToilet! So total time was 1:05:55.

My bib number (1469) has arrived for the Half Marathon. I have to pick up the race pack during the week before the race.

5.10km 10 x Hills...

I headed for the Hills this morning. Trying to get a bit of preparation in my legs for the dreaded hills on the SMH Half Marathon course.

The Hill I chose is actually very steep and a bit uneven too, so in the darkness of the early morning it's often difficult to see the undulations and if I'm not careful it can really affect my momentum. I have to concentrate on keeping my arms swinging to set the rhythm.

Finished off with a 2.40km Easy run home.

8.25km Medium...

So having rested my hip for a few days after my ANZAC day run, I was forced to rest even more by a busy weekend getting in the way of any other intentions.

So back to it this morning with 8.25km in 43:50 at 5:18/km pace.

I was really relaxed for the first half - felt really easy, but then it went a bit ragged for a while on the return leg. I did manage to push on for an extra km which was a good sign that I was able to get back under control.

Long tights and long sleeve top were much appreciated!

And a summary for April gives a total of 126.7km.

7.58km Fast...

I missed posting this run after the ANZAC day holiday.

I don't remember purposefully intending a Fast paced run, but the results of 7.58km in 38:30 at 5:04/km clearly indicate that it was.

However, I do remember feeling a pain in my right hip which got me a bit worried (so long without injury... touch wood). So I intended to rest for the remainder of that week.

More in the next post...

15.91km LSD...

Pretty much the same post as last week.

I tried the earlier breakfast, Ribena and jelly babies routine again.

I felt really strong the whole way around. I tried not to start out too fast, and that enabled me to keep going up and down the mini hills at the end.

15.91km in 1:30:11 at 5:40/km pace. Faster than my training plan tells me to go, but I figure that if it feels good - it must be OK!

I think I'll stick in a Hills session this week...

7.43km Easy...

7.43km in 41:52 at 5:37/km.

A successful Easy run this morning. Not too fast and a pleasant 17 deg C.

I think I have to take a close look at the next 4 weeks before the Half Marathon, to make sure I maximise my training but allow time to taper in the last week or so.

6.26km Fast...

Bizarre!

I had it in my mind to have an easy week this week, just to have a bit of a recovery before stepping up over the next few weeks before the Half Marathon.

I left my Imaginary Friend tucked up in bed at home. I just used the stopwatch so I could record the distance and time. I thought an Easy 6km would be just fine today.

I took it easy for the first km, just thought I'd get my legs warm and then pretty much stick to that pace all the way. First km ended up at 5:40. A bit fast, but that should be OK, right?

The next km splits were... wait for it... 4:45, 4:55, 4:53, 4:33, 4:19!

What the...?

I was flying... felt so good I didn't want to slow down. The route is overall slightly downhill, but there a few ups and it's a route I run regularly.

So ended up with 6.26km in 30:00 at 4:47/km pace. That's the fastest run I've recorded since I started in July 2005!

Perhaps the easy week will be next week!

13.19km LSD...

I'll start off with: 13.19km in 1:15:45 at 5:44/km pace.

That felt like a great run on Sunday. A bit hot but not too uncomfortable.

I had breakfast a bit longer before I ran, as well as drinking Ribena on the run instead of just water, as well as stealing a few of Lian's jelly babies to snack on. I'm not sure which, if any affected my performance the most, but I'll try to include that plan in future.

So 5 weeks to go before the Half Marathon...

7.38km Easy...

Wow it was a fair bit colder this morning than it has been so far this season. I wore the compression tights, but I didn't bother with the long sleeve top or a hat. I will not be making that mistake again!

I really was determined to run at a steady 6:00/km this morning, so that I would be sure of making it a recovery run. It started out fine and I thought I'd settled at a good pace, but at each km split I was getting faster and faster - so I just ran at a pace that felt comfortable.

It actually ended up at an almost Medium pace. By the way, for me I call anything slower than 5:30/km Easy and anything faster Medium. At this rate I might have to define the limit between Medium and Fast!

So 7.38km in 41:19 at 5:35/km pace.

5.35km 10 x Hills...

Even though it was relatively warm this morning, I thought I'd give the Compression Tights a go up and down the hill. I didn't expect any noticeable difference, but hopefully my recovery will be better and the long term advantage will start to show.

So 10 reps up (0:31) and down (1:07) the 100m hill. Then a 2.5km Easy run home.

I tried to focus on using my arms to drive up the hill, pushing off the balls of my feet and getting my knees high. It felt a bit awkward, but hopefully it'll pay dividends for those hills on the SMH Half and City to Surf as well as general leg strength.

7.35km Medium...

And the third catch up post brings me up to date this morning.

Another started 'Easy' finished 'Medium'. But felt really good the whole way. And no magic tights (I don't want to just rely on their magic powers)!

The stock standard route resulted in 7.35km in 38:54 at a 'Fast' 5:17/km. I know this route is mostly downhill, but it's still a good comparison against what I've done on that route previously.

So that concludes the story on three good runs for me over the last few days.

As well as all that, Lian's 4th birthday was yesterday. We took her to the zoo - which is also a big treat for me (although I do wonder how bored some of those poor animals looked!).

15.58km LSD...

The second of three catch up posts.

Actually the longest run I've achieved since the Half Marathon in September 2005!

I bought some compression tights on Saturday. Partly to help a little bit with the colder mornings and hopefully also the added bonus of injury prevention. I tried all three brands... Skins, Canterbury and Line Break. In my opinion, there is only one thing to pick between the different brands... the price. Skins obviously need to recover the cost of advertising, but it's quite ironic that their advertising leads you to all three brands in Rebel Sport. So I choose the Line Break brand and saved $40, which I then spent on a new pair of Nike DriFit shorts.

So I pulled them on Sunday morning and headed out. They did feel good. Not too hot even when the sun hits the black colour and just enough to keep any cold wind off. That'll be tested more over the next few weeks. They also feel very comfortable and the tightness does feel good.

And so to the run. 15.58km in 1:30:07 at 5:46/km. Again, I followed the river out to Putney and then back towards Parramatta, and back again to Meadowbank and home.

I felt good during and after the run, but later in the day I ended up with a pounding headache. Not sure if that's something to do with the run, not enough rehydration, or perhaps something to with the lunchtime beer!

I just need to make sure that I build on these long runs with some decent Hard sessions during the week.

11.31km Easy...

The first of three posts I need to catch up with after the long weekend.

Even though Friday was a holiday, I was pleased to still get out for a run. I had a bit more time than my usual weekday runs, heading off in the afternoon down to the river.

I felt really good the whole way round. The weather was not too hot with even a bit of rain if I remember correctly.

So I ended up with 11.31km in 1:03:55 at 5:39/km pace.

And so to Sunday...

8.58km Tempo...

I forgot to note the summary for March - probably because it was so poor. Although having a 2 week holiday and my 40th birthday should be considered as mitigating circumstances!

Total km = 52.22

And so to April... there's no reason why I shouldn't be aiming for 150km this month. So we'll see how we go.

This morning, I was able to refer to my Training Plan and chose a Tempo run, which should consist of 4 x 1.5km at 5:00/km pace with 2:00 recovery jogs in between.

This really should be run on a flat route, because I struggled on the last rep and was desperately searching for whatever flat or downhill I could find.

I had about a 1km warm-up then got stuck into the first rep. I wasn't sure how I'd go with pacing at 5:00/km so I referred to my Imaginary Friend for advise fairly often on that first rep. We worked very well together because each 1.5km rep was actually completed at an average of exactly 5:00/km pace.

Apparently Tempo runs are designed to help you improve your running economy and your running form. So we'll see what effect that has as I work through the next few weeks before the Half Marathon in May.

8.15km Easy...

I had a crap night's sleep on Monday, so I skipped the Tuesday run. Therefore I knew I had to get out today... and tomorrow and Friday.

I dug out the long sleeve top this morning, but it's probably still not quite cold enough to warrant it. I'm planning on getting some long legged Skins before it does get much colder. I don't know whether the claimed Bio Acceleration Technology is quite what it literally means, but at least it'll keep my legs warm!

So this morning ended up as 8.15km in 45:05 at 5:31/km pace. So I must have been pushing a little bit harder than usual, but it felt OK.

I'll try to remember to take my Hard runs plan home tonight so that I can try something different to Hills tomorrow.

12.63km LSD...

Even though the statistics look OK... 12.63km in 1:15:04 at 5:56/km pace, yesterday's run felt far from OK!

I adopted the idea of not relying too much on my watch. I just set off at what felt like a comfortable pace. As the first few km splits were displayed, I realised that I was going a bit too quick, but I obviously didn't slow down enough.

I had the idea to do about 15km... should have got me up around a 1:30:00 time, but as I got to 6km I really wasn't feeling too great and then it became a battle just to keep running... a battle which I lost as I ended up walking 2 or 3 times!

So, the lesson is: unless I can control my pace - use the watch!

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.

8.49km Medium...

It was touch and go whether I'd get out for a run this morning. It was pouring with rain as I went to bed last night and I wouldn't have gone if it was like that this morning. But I set my alarm anyway and couldn't hear any rain when I woke up.

So off I went. And what a great run it was! Felt strong through the middle part of the run, tired a bit on some uphills towards the end, but finished an extra loop to end up with 8.49km in 45:46 at 5:24/km pace.

That must be one of the longest mid-week runs I've done. I'm usually a bit tight for time but I was feeling so good this morning that the extra 5 minutes was made up by getting ready for work and walking to the station quicker.

That probably concludes my running for February. I don't intend to get out again until Thursday. So I can record 114.8km for the month.

14.26km LSD...

A really good run on Sunday. Out and back runs are always a bit of a balance as you need to turn around with enough left in the tank to get hoome or suffer a long walk.

I only had an idea of 'more than 10km' on Sunday, but the more I got into it, the more comfortable I felt. So 14.26km in 1:24:22 at 5:55/km pace.

No adverse after-effects either, so I must have got the hydration right.

And then there was Saturday night. Good old SBS... showing Live Forever. The story of Britpop in the 90's. It filled in a lot of gaps for me from that period... let's not go too far into the reasons why those gaps occurred, but in my defence, I left the UK to go to Hong Kong in August 1995, right in the middle of when everyone was 'avin' it'. I remember catching up on the coming and goings when editions of Loaded arrived in HK about 2 months later!

For me it was all about visiting the record shops in Reading every lunchtime and general coming home with 2 or 3 CDs. And music festivals too. Living in Reading gave us easy access to Reading Festival... and daily showers - unlike the majority of festival goers. I also experienced the great unwashed festival culture over in Denmark at Roskilde.

Just fantastic!

7.28km Medium...

I felt good this morning. It was only supposed to be an Easy run but even though I was trying to hold back on the downhill between about 2 and 6km, it still ended up as a Medium paced run - 7.28km in 39:42 at 5:27/km pace.

I think I need to get back onto the idea of renewing my shoes. They're a bit battered after nearly 2 years, but at $230 a pop - I struggle to justify renewing every 6 months as is recommended.

So the list of presents for my 40th now includes:

Garmin Forerunner 305 - unlikely
Asics Gel Empire II - necessary
Asus MyPal 639 - awaiting delivery
Holiday in Hong Kong - redeemed frequent flyer points

7.13km 8 x 400m...

Again I was debating Speed / Hills as I woke up and got myself together this morning. I ended up choosing Speed.

I tried to go a bit slower than last time so that I could finish the full set of 8 reps. I had a couple of drop outs with the GPS signal which missed a few auto-lap beeps, but I finished 8 x 400m at about 4:27/km pace. So a little bit slower than my target pace of 4:10/km but I reckon it was close enough at this stage. Once I get used to this type of session, I should be a bit more accurate with my pacing.

An Easy run tomorrow before a Longer run on Sunday.

7.12km Medium...

Another one of those days when my legs felt dead for the first couple of km's. And another session when the first km was surprisingly slow. The strange thing is that the first km is fairly flat and then it rises for the next couple of km.

I suspect my Imaginary Friend is measuring the first km a bit long. Looking at the MotionBased route plot - it looks like it's cutting a few corners.

Anyway, I ended up overcompensating for the apparent slow start - trying to get back to an overall 'Easy' 6:00/km pace and ended up finishing at more of a 'Medium' pace (5:29/km). 7.12km in 39:07.

It's still good to know that I'm getting the mileage in with regular sessions. Probably try a harder session on Thursday - either Hills or a Speed session.

10.43km LSD...

Down to the river on Sunday afternoon for a nice, steady paced run.

I would have gone for the run in the morning, but I woke up feeling less than ordinary. We got on with the days activities but all the time in the back of mind I kept thinking of how I could slot in the run. Obsessed perhaps?

Ended up finishing 10.43km in 1:02:48 at 6:01/km. But that felt comfortable for that distance. I would have gone for longer but it was getting late and I didn't want to disrupt too much our evening.

It was a good route along the river from Meadowbank to Rydalmere and back. A couple of wrong turns were easily recovered. Next time I'll try to remember where I should be going and that should take me further along towards Silverwater Road and maybe beyond.

Definitely a route for long runs in future!

Gung Hei Fat Choy!!

7.59km Easy...

A remarkably steady paced run this morning. Pretty much on target pace all the way through. Strangely, it was the last full km that was a bit quicker than the rest - even though it was uphill. Perhaps a bit more effort was put in there to make sure I didn't roll back down!

Even though I didn't feel too bad after yesterdays Speed session, I want to get into the pattern of following it with an Easy recovery run.

So 7.59km in 44:05 at 5:48/km pace. 5:57/km for the first 6km.

Next, a longer run on Sunday.

5.84km 6 x 400m...

I decided on something a bit different this morning, rather than my usual 6 to 7km at an 'Easy' pace.

I first thought of doing Hill Reps, but as I was setting off I changed my mind to do some Speed work.

It's the first time I've ever done anything like this, and whilst I'd read some theory on the subject, I couldn't remember the detail. So I decided on: a warm-up, then 400m at a fast pace but not flat-out, then jog recovery for 400m, repeated 6 times then a warm-down.

I just checked my Runners World - Training Pace Calculator, and it says I should have done 8 x 400m at 4:10/km pace with recovery jogs in between. I actually did 6 x 400m at 3:30/km pace. So quite a bit faster than I was supposed to go but not as many reps.

It didn't feel too bad running at that pace and I don't feel any discomfort now.

Next time I'll try to do the full 8 reps at a slightly slower pace than I did today. I'll have to make sure I choose a good route where there aren't too many obstacles, hills etc... perhaps down to the river?

7.17km Easy...

A good run this morning. Very even pace - 7.17km in 40:40 at 5:40/km.

I ran along Shrimptons Creek and I was amazed to see how much water has flowed through there during the recent rains. There was debris caught up against any prominent object. At one point there is a footbridge handrail which has been knocked over by the weight of water pushing against the debris caught against it. And there are large stretches where the vegetation has been flattened by the flowing water.

I almost got caught up in some of the debris but thankfully managed to avoid going arse over tit.

So a good start to the week. Perhaps a speed or hill session on Thursday!

10.61km LSD...

I tried a new route on Sunday. I thought I'd go in search of a nice flat route along the river. So down to the river at Meadowbank and along to Putney.

There were a couple of difficult spots along the foreshore where access was restricted by boat ramps and fences - so I'll know to avoid those in future. The idea was to turn around in Putney Park and head back along past Meadowbank. But I was conscious of having either a long walk home or a run up the hill back away from the river. So I turned off in Meadowbank Park and finished just before Victoria Road.

10.61km in 1:04:43 at 6:05/km pace.

Next time I try this route I'll try to maintain a more even pace and avoid those difficult spots. That way I should be able to slowly increase the distance up to where I should be at for a Half Marathon.

6.65km Medium...

Another run this morning.

I only intended to run an Easy pace for about 6km. I asked my Imaginary Friend to lead me around 6km at 6:00/km pace.

I didn't pay too much attention to the watch. It was dark anyway and I didn't bother with the backlight. I just ran as I felt comfortable.

So when I heard the beep for 6km and checked the time, I realised I was about 5 minutes quicker than I'd planned. So I carried on until I was in sight of home - giving me a bit of time to warm down before reaching home.

So I finished 6.65km in 35:27 at 5:19/km pace. That's the fastest I've run since the 9km Bridge Run back in September.

It didn't feel particularly uncomfortable, so I hope that's a sign of my fitness returning.

I intend to do a long run on Sunday.

7.50km Medium...

It's still tough getting out of bed at 5.30am, when it's still dark, to go for a run. But after a brief pause over the snooze button, I achieved that feat again today!

I chose my slightly more challenging route option - the one with the steady climb up to the half way point. I was very conscious of keeping a steady pace for the first few Ks so as not to blow out in the second half. I obviously did that very well, because I felt very strong towards the end of the run.

I ended up completing the 7.50km in 40:26 at 5:23/km pace, which is a faster average than I intended.

Another thing that I was aware of this morning was that my mind was distracted (work stuff) which in some ways seemed to make the run a bit easier. Perhaps a confirmation of the good advice I received earlier from a regular reader that I shouldn't focus so much on the watch - just enjoy the run. So thanks for that (but I still like to take my Imaginary Friend with me)!

7.07km Easy...

I missed a long run on Sunday and a run yesterday due to a great weekend up on the Central Coast. Plenty of exercise running around and swimming with Lian and her friends though. But also an excess of beer and food too!

So a much needed run along Shrimpton's Creek this morning. 7.07km in 39:55 at 5:38/km pace.

I need to step it up if I'm going to hit my target of 120km for the month!

7.66km Medium...

A bit faster than Easy this morning, and I think that was because I just kept an even pace all the way through.

I had some trouble with my home internet connection this morning (I was on hold for 1 Hour and 15 minutes waiting to speak to the Optus helpdesk before hanging up) so I couldn't upload my results to MotionBased and check the corrected distance and pace. I've now uploaded it and can confirm that it was 7.66km in 41:45 at 5:27/km pace.

My legs did feel a bit dead again for the first couple of Ks but after 4 or 5 Ks I was feeling good.

I clocked up a total of 74.31km in January which is very ordinary considering I'm trying to get in 3 x 6-7km runs and a longer 10km+ each week. I guess I should be aiming for at least 120km in future.

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.