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!