A Sunday Run to Report...

At last, I finally managed a run on Sunday.

As suggested, I went out while the girls were at church. I ran for 40 minutes - haven't worked out the distance, although I hope it was 7 to 8km.

It was just a plod really. I just wanted to get the time and the first tick in the Sunday column.

Yesterday was a Public Holiday here, so we enjoyed a lie-in till 8.30, then out for breakfast and a picnic in the park for lunch. Certainly no chance of a run.

I went for a run this morning though. Another 5.5km I think - about half an hour. It felt good for most of the run, but the last km or so was the usual effort.

So as I missed Monday, I now have to add Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to this morning's run before another long(?) run on Sunday.

The weather was unseasonably warm this morning. Hope that continues...

65 days to go...

Another 6km this morning, but a bit slower than Wednesday's run.

The last 1km of this route passes the end of our road, goes away and loops back. This is a real mental challenge since it would be soooo easy just to stop as I reach the end of our road and walk home to cool down. So I'm pleased that I can resist that temptation.

I am feeling a bit sore though. My left heel aches and my hammies are a bit tight. I'll review our weekend schedule and either do the long run on Sunday or Monday (Queen's birthday public holiday) morning.

67 days to go...

Another good session this morning. I reckon it must've been close to 6km in less than 30 minutes.

This is exactly what I need to do. Slowly increase the time (and hopefully the distance) of my runs during the week. The next step is to slot in those longer runs. I should really try and do a 45 minute run this weekend.

It's a long weekend with a public holiday on Monday, so likely we'll try and get out and about to enjoy some quality family time. I just hope that still leaves time (and energy) for a run!

Again, bloody cold this morning!

Back on Track, Again...

I know I've used that title before, but it certainly seems apt to use it today - I hope.

There was no doubt in my mind that I'd be up this morning for a run, despite the recent failures. And what a good run it was. I finished via a slightly different route, obviously still finishing at the same point (home) but taking a little bit of a detour to decrease the gradient encountered in the usual last 500m or so.

I reckon it probably added another 600m to the run, so 5.6km in all.

I should definitely look to vary the route in future. Even if it's just to prevent the onset of boredom!

Still it was bloody cold though. The wooly hat is certainly proving useful.

Not a Good Start...

Entries to the 2005 City to Surf opened yesterday.

I got my entry in on-line first thing yesterday morning. So now I'm committed. 10 weeks to go.

So imagine my frustration when I had another sleepless Sunday night - just like 2 weeks ago (see my Revenge of the... entry). Except I did make it in to work this time. But I did fail to get out for a run this morning. So I must go for a run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday this week... without fail!

A Week to Forget...

With only a run on Tuesday and this morning for this week - I should hang my head in shame.

Even this morning's run was a huge effort to get out of bed, so I am at least pleased I got around.

I really hope that the opening for entries to the City to Surf on Sunday will give me the boost I clearly need, although I suspect a sudden increase in temperature would have a more significant effect.

There is one piece of positive news from this week - last night I became an Australian Citizen. Despite a comment made in a speech given by some old bat representing the state government, I haven't had to "give up my identity", in fact the Australian Government actively encourage people like me to hold dual citizenship. I guess they recognise that the biggest reason for people not to do it is the resistance to break any historical ties.

The pros and cons for me were: Pros = don't have to keep reapplying for Permanent Residency every 5 years; and a stronger link to the country where we expect to live. Cons = I now have a legal obligation to vote, i.e. it's mandatory here! I will still support England in cricket and football is still played with round shaped balls.

So, like Lian - I am now a Citizen of the United Kingdom and of the Commonwealth of Australia.

75 days to go...

I was determined to go for a run this morning. I missed Friday (no excuse) and yesterday (I was in Brisbane). It was so cold though. I reckon 7 deg C.

I finished the 5km route with my ears ringing - they were soooo cold. Then the hot shower felt like it was going to burst my ears. Should I really wear a hat, and gloves? I think so.

At least the air feels clean and crisp and good to get into the lungs.

Squash has been put on hold for a few weeks. My squash partner is on stand-by to become a father. Maybe I can use Wednesday evenings for my long run... Hopefully it'll be a bit warmer in the evenings having had the sun shining all day. Better pass that one by the wife first though!

The entries open this Sunday for the City-to Surf, so I must remember to buy the Sun-Herald rather than the Sunday Telegraph this week! Or perhaps I can enter online...

No excuse...

I missed the run this morning for the first time with no excuse. As I recall, my previous misses have been for good reason - illness being the only one I can remember.

I must admit that on poking my nose out of bed this morning, the feel of the cold air did put me off. I heard on the radio that it was only 9 degrees. Unfortunately it's likely to get even colder in the next few months.

I'll miss next Monday morning too as I'm flying up to Brisbane for a day of work.

I should get plenty of exercise over the weekend though as we're due to lay the concrete slab at my father-in law's starting tomorrow morning.

I just need to check that the cement mixer will be there!

More on Star Wars...

Shirley suggested last night that we watch Return of the Jedi. She wanted to see the scene where Darth Vader dies.

What an excellent idea that proved to be. Even Lian was getting into it - she loved the Ewoks and Chewbacca. My family sitting together, enjoying Star Wars - that made me very happy!

I've read a load of reviews of Revenge of the Sith - of course some good and some not so good. My opinion of it, as I said earlier, is that it's a great introduction to the original movies. Return of the Jedi has much more meaning for me now. The climactic scene involving The Emperor, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker are excellent.

And when Princess Leia tells Han Solo that Luke is her brother... Classic!!

82 days to go...

This morning's run proved that there were no after effects from my mystery illness yesterday. I felt just the same whilst plodding around the 5km route. I didn't bother to check the time. I guess it would have been a bit slower than usual though.

I'm pleased that I didn't use yesterday as an excuse to skip the whole week. I would have been so easy.

I managed to recover sufficiently by mid afternoon yesterday to finish off most of the sunroom floor. I just have to fix the moulding round the edges and that's another job done.

The big one is this weekend - my father-in-law's floor slab. We discovered yesterday that the supposedly redundant pipe which he was going to dig out is in fact a groundwater drainage pipe. So we'll have to divert that before the weekend too. He's also decided to put some reinforcement into the slab - just as I suggested 2 weeks ago. So I have to organise that too.

I'll be glad when it's all done.

Revenge of the...

We saw Revenge of the Site last night.

Not that great a film in itself, but as a link or more to the point, as an introduction to the original Star Wars movie - fantastic. I kept going... "aaah that's why" and "oh that's who they are".

Usual excellent effects that you'd expect from a Star Wars movie.

However, I think I was taken over by the Dark Side overnight. I couldn't sleep, had a massive headache, felt sick. So didn't go for a run this morning and didn't go to work either.

Thankfully, a bit of sleep this morning and a cup of tea, and the balance has returned.

It'll give me a chance to finish off the sunroom floor.

Later...

Star Wars, Citizenship...

Another 5km this morning in about 25 minutes.

No noticeable improvement but I'm pleased I'm keeping going during the week as the weather gets colder.

The entry will open for City to Surf in 2 weekends time, so I'm hoping that will give me the final burst of encouragement to get stuck into those longer weekend runs.

Shirl and I are off to see Revenge of the Sith this Sunday. Most of you will know what a big fan of the Star Wars movies I am. The original Star Wars was the first film I ever saw at the cinema without my parents.

The cinema tickets (La Premiere cinema - with sofa seats) are a gift from my sister-in-law and her husband to celebrate the approval of my Australian Citizenship which will be confirmed at a ceremony at our local Town Hall next Thursday.

So that concludes the news this week.

89 days to go...

Another dose of glucose before the 5km run this morning.

I don't know whether it's making any difference or whether it's psychological. I am feeling stronger these last few days. No improvement in time though.

Actually, this morning I felt like crap as I got out of bed. I think I may have a bit of a cold coming on. I can feel a sore throat now. I'll pop a few cold & flu tablets and hopefully that'll prevent any disruption.

The depressing thing is that it's only going to get colder heading towards the City to Surf. Those of you who know how I whinged about the winter in UK will realise I hate the cold. Even though we're unlikely to dip below 5 deg C in the early morning - that's bad enough! Lucky I bought the Helly Hanson shirts!!

I've been planning the DIY activities due to be tackled over the next few days.

The concrete slab at my father-in-laws place is a bit of a challenge as I've never done it before. But I'm hoping the thought I'm putting into it up front will pay off. I just hope we have time to prepare the area as my f-in-law wants to finish it this weekend.

I need to check his measurements to ensure we get enough material. He's also talking about digging out an old (I hope) earthenware pipe before we concrete - which is probably the right way to go, but it may mean we need to cover that area with sand so that the broken fragments of pipe don't pierce the Damp Proof sheet.

Then after we lay the sheet we'll have to set in some formwork to break the job in two and as guides to get the slab level.

Shirley's family think I'm fussy, whereas I think they charge into a job without any thought and bungle on through any problems they come across.

This is the reason why I'll be doing whatever jobs I can at my place on my own.

Time for lunch.

13 Weeks to go...

I have been a busy boy. I missed posting Friday because I didn't have spare time at work. Unfortunate really because I'd thought of a different title to these defaults...

It was going to be Abort, Abort!!!

The first Abort was in reference to Thursday night's dinner being aborted in a public toilet on my route. An urgent Number Two rather than a Barf!

The second Abort was in reference to not being able to get my legs going after the first Abort so I walked up the hill to home from there.

I'd slurped down some Lucozade before the run in attempt to give me some energy. I thought it may have been that that caused the urgent sit down.

I tried some Glucose powder this morning, continuing the attempt for an energy boost. This did seem to give the required boost with no consequential effect on my bowels, so I now guess it was just the massive meal I'd had.

Again, no run to talk about over the weekend. So much for my strategy of inviting ridicule / encouragement from readers of this when I slipped from my plan!!!

It was another active weekend though. I finished the mortar rendering on the sunroom wall. It's ready to paint (when Shirley picks the colour). Then I can put down the floor.

I had a bit of practice at the floor laying because Shirley's brother is also laying the similar product. I'm glad that I've seen some problems to avoid and I realise that my nice, uniform, rectangular room will be easier than the cut-outs and 45 degree angles that Thomas and co. had to deal with.

I've also been roped in to help my father-in-law lay a floor slab. It's a fully enclosed basement so I just have to work out whether to cast it in sections or how to level and float it off in one go - as we can't walk round the sides.

Again this is practice for a similar but easier job at our place.

Another couple of busy weekends ahead...

96 days to go...

Oh I missed noting 100 days to go to City to Surf last Friday.

I can't say I'm on schedule, because I should have been well into the longer Sunday runs by now.

I wonder whether there's another way to get it in? Maybe get up even earlier one day during the week (say Friday) and go for a longer run then. But that would mean my fuel problem would be even worse. I need to try the dextrose drink first to see what effect that has. I'd also have to add an extra run during the week.

So that'd be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday run, Wednesday night squash, Thursday rest day and the long run on Fridays.

We'll see how that plan goes. Need to visit the home brew shop first.

I did the same old 5km route this morning in about 25 minutes - again.

I'm starting to feel stronger up that last rise. Obviously the 'magnet' theory works as well as 'falling up-hill'.

14 Weeks to go...

Did I say cold last week? Well this morning plunged to new depths!

I'm impressed with myself that I even made it out for a run this morning, considering another hectic weekend and the temperature differential between under and out of the covers.

But I did. I even had flashes of an idea to buy a pair of gloves for future runs, but now I realise that would be a bit silly. I warmed up pretty quickly and there's plenty of sunshine on my route.

The 5km (again) was fairly straight forward. I feel as though I've conquered the last few hundred meters up the hill - with the aid of an imaginary magnet situated at the top of said hill exerting it's force and pulling me up. Isn't it bizarre how the mind can trick the body?

I borrowed a book on sports nutrition from a bloke at work. I was particularly interested in a trick to solve my problem of running first thing in the morning and not having any time for a normal snack to get into my system to give me some much needed fuel.

Well apparently my solution is dextrose - a type of sugar which has a very high glycaemic index (i.e. it converts into something usable very quickly) and if taken in liquid will be absorbed very quickly too. It's used in brewing (which is nice) so I'll pay a visit to the local home brew shop and purchase a bag.

I'm hoping that it'll give me some extra zip and start to see some improvement in my week morning runs. I then hope that'll give me the momentum I need to finally start the Sunday longer runs. This weekend was another failure in that department. I just can't get out of the pit early enough and Shirl and Lian are going through a non-church phase so no opportunity to go then either.

I also picked up a local contour map to try to figure out some flat routes. Haven't had a chance to study it yet though.

On other news, I started my next mini-project at home. We have a sunroom off the kitchen which is basically stuck on the original external wall of the house, therefore the bare bricks are visible. So we had the idea to render the brick-work. However, being a perfectionist I realistically doubted my ability to get an even finish with a trowel - so we went for the next option, which over here is called 'bagging'. It's the application of a creamy consistency mortar with a piece of hessian sacking (hence the name) or more commonly these days a sponge is used. It just means that getting a flat finish is not necessary - in fact it's designed to give a rough finish.
So I first decided to fill in the (quite deep) gaps between the bricks with mortar to bring that out to the level of the brick face. The reason for this is because I figured that if I try to 'bag' it in one operation, the deeper mortar at the brick joints will dry slower than the mortar on the face and cause cracks. So that first step was finished on Saturday.

Next weekend will give me a chance to finish the 'bagging'. Then we'll paint it with a bright, light colour. We'll finish the room off with a laminate (wood look) floor to get rid of the old tatty carpet. Should be finished by end of May - easy!

Life goes on...

Starting to Get Colder...

I tried the run this morning without the accompanying music, just to see whether it makes a difference to my concentration / boredom balance.

The fact is that the only difference using the MD player makes is that the headphones keep my ears warm!

It felt sooo cold this morning. I guess it's just the relative drop in temperature rather than the actual temperature because it was probably still about 15 degrees.

It's likely to get colder as we get further into winter. I remember last year when I was getting in the car to drive to work at 6.15am, the temperature often got down to 5 degrees, which for Sydney is bloody cold. Remember we don't have central heating here either.

Anyway, another 5km this morning. No different to any other day really. Still struggle to finish off up that last hill. And my hamstrings really felt tight. Perhaps a massage is in order!

I've also ordered a contour map of our area so I can study it in detail and pick some flatter routes.

Squash tomorrow so no run in the morning.

15 Weeks to go...

Another failure to get up on Sunday and go for a run! Very disappointing!

What have I said all along about forming the habit? Well Sunday is a prime example of that. Running before work during the week is one thing (and a habit that is thankfully set) but that apparently has no effect on the Sunday attempt.

I have to get that longer run started.

So starting this week with a clean slate, I put in the 5km run this morning. It's still a struggle. My mind wanders and I lose a bit of rhythm (what little I had in the first place). Perhaps I need to ditch the MD player. I'll give it a try to see if that makes things easier or harder.

I also need to get hold of a contour map to see if I can find some flat routes! I hate hills!!! My guess is that I've got to run 3km down to the river to get to the flat river bank. But then 3km back up-hill will kill me.


Another 5km tomorrow, squash Wednesday and another 5km Friday. Hopefully finish the week off on Sunday with another run.

107 days to go...

After the apparent improvements I'd made in the previous couple of weeks (following the purchase of new shoes) this week has been a big disappointment.

I'm putting it down to the long weekend. I have to blame it on something otherwise I'll struggle to carry on with a positive attitude.

I did do the 5km route this morning, but I must have pushed a bit too hard in the first 3-4km as I had to walk for 100m or so up the last rise. I finished at a run though - but my legs felt like lead when I tried to get back up to pace. 24:30 wasn't too bad a time - all things considered.

I'll be scouring the map today to try to pick out a flatish route to do my longer run on Sunday. Then hopefully next week will be back on track.

Until then...

Recent Disruption...

I feel that I haven't been so committed to the running lately.

I think I need to confess my sins in order to be forgiven and to stand a chance of getting back into the routine:

1. Last Sunday's run was downhill and not a long run as required,
2. I missed Monday as it was a Public Holiday,
3. I made some half-hearted suggestion that I'd run this morning, but didn't.

Rather than performing self-flagellation, I'm prepared to rip into the squash tonight as a penance. Then another 5km run on Friday.

I will try to get out on Sunday but I really must figure out a decent route. Those hills are a killer!

Am I forgiven?