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.