Vital Signs

Just back from a 5am run this morning. Best time to get out and about with only a few other nutcases pounding the streets :)

7.53km / 35:28 / 4:43 min/km.

Not going crazy with the pace calf felt good today less tightness. Next run scheduled for Thursday and will up the distance a bit more.

Stretch afterwards.

Bruce in answer to your question a while ago yes I've been looking into heart rate monitors for a while and think I have decided on getting a Polar RS100. Seems to be the best fit for what I need. Just need to convince my accountant (aka wife) now...

In terms of vital signs my resting heart rate is 49 bpm but here is my dirty secret - blood pressure 151/83. Those readings of a week ago were mid afternoon but still. The systolic number is pretty high. Diet and excercise is one thing but i suspect work related stress is another. I'm trialing cutting out coffee and trying a few other things. Will try and get another reading in a month or so to see if there is any change.

I wonder if there is any correlation between a relatively low resting heart rate and high systolic blood pressure?

Back in the Asics

Went for a couple of gentle runs this weekend. Everything felt pretty good, some tightness so didn't push things. Felt really good to be out and about again. Glad I didn't aggrevate the calf and look like I'll be fine for Run Auckland 3 - its a dead flat course.

Lots of stretching afterward my run today, also took the opportunity of being stuck at traffic lights to stretch. I think this helped.

Saturday - mostly flat : 5.51km / 27:04 / 4:55 min/km
Sunday - slight hill but mostly flat : 6.98km / 33:32 / 4:47 min/km

Took some more kiwi music on my run today. This is quite a nice song called Symmetry. Great to chill out to. Maybe I'm mellowing but I'm putting more or this type of stuff on my running playlist as opposed to the trance. Getting old? ;)

Small world I used to work with his brother here in Auckland a few years ago.



Rest, or rather stretch day, tomorrow.

Hope training is going well for everyone!

Talk nerdy to me

Given the calf strain I have been suprisingly disciplined and not gone running* this week. I've instead created the start of a training log (spreadsheet) to record progress.

My day job is as an Engineer - this means my training log is overdone in terms of calculations and graphs.

One big detail sheet

- day
- date
- week number
- days to go till marathon
- weight
- BMI
- resting heart rate (measured manually at present!)
- distance run in the day
- cumulative distance
- time taken
- speed
- comment
- route name, stored in mapmyrun.com
- total ascent (m), by route from mapmyrun.com
- total descent (m), by route from mapmyrun.com

Might be more to come.

Any number of graphs once the detail table is set up.

The idea being is on marathon-eve to look back at the training log and having a good nights sleep knowing the hard work in training has been done. Yeah right - I'm sure I'll be a bundle of nerves - but it sounds good.

* I have done a fair amount of walking on it and I think thats helped. The leg is feeling much better - not hobbling any more - its still a little tight but no pain. The plan is to try a very gentle slow short run tomorrow morning to see where things are at. Have to remember that my new favourite word is "stretch".

Run Auckland 2 - Injury Strikes

In my last post I mentioned the plan for Run Auckland 2 was to line up near the 45:00 pacers and "give it a nudge". Pretty simple and for the first 3km or so it was looking good. Glancing at my watch at I think it was just on 12 minutes so close to 4 min/km pace. Going through my mind was this hey this is pretty fast might be a challenge to hold this pace till the end.

Shortly after that though felt my left achilles twinge a little enough for me to ease up and then a pretty bad pain in my calf. I think its a pulled muscle. I can't recall excatly but it may have happened on one of the uphill bits or on gravel.After turning the air blue with a naughty word (bad form in public!) hobbled along at a walk. Lots of people blasted past including Andrew and an old friend I hadn't seen for a while. Maybe getting injured is a perhaps a good way to meet new people?

It also gave me a sudden shift in perspective for the race goal rather that trying to get a PB (under 42:47) or even clock in a solid sub 50:00 time I was now just going to try and finish.

Got to the 5km mark in just over 30 minutes and seriously thought about pulling out there and then. However the pain was subsiding a bit and thought at the very least could walk the second loop to finish. Found adjusting my running gait to slow shuffle running on the flats and downhills was possible with only slight discomfort. Had to walk the uphills. Got a comment from someone near the back of the pack when walking up an incline that I was "as bad as they were" walking up a hill. No shame in that I said and we a brief chat about how everyone starts out walk/running.

Finished in 1:01:49 which is a lot slower than I set out to do but I'm glad managed to get to the end.

Met Andrew again at the finish - turns out he had got a personal best on this distance which was awesome for him. Congratulations!

My little sister T came in at 1:16 and change shaving 5 minutes off Race 1. Great stuff! T runs with an ipod and she puts her improved performance down to a better play list. The first race all she had on the ipod was a podcast about Israel and the middle east. Sure it's interesting but would you run to it? :)

Here are positives and negatives.

Positives:
- finishing the race
- finally meeting blogger Andrew after attending a number of races
- seeing an old friend in the same race
- not letting my sister beat me - ha

Negatives:
- injury. :( At 34 not getting any younger so need to pay special attention to better stretching. Actually I'm trying to be circumspect about it all and trying to learn from the experience. Got to have a positive attitude about it all

I'm not running again for at least a week. If I'm pain free then will try and ease back into things. If not will rest more. My next run is scheduled on the 10 May on a dead flat course. At the very least I'll be OK to walk it.

This week I plan to: rest; do some walking; and some core excerices. I also have a couple of books from the local library on marathons and marathon training. Might even post a review or two here for something a bit different.

Passive Motivation

Set the course map for Auckland as the desktop for my PC. Can't hurt can it? The run is not till 1 Nov but having the big goal has really remotivated my training.



Ran home after work Wednesday but went a different route - this one along Mt Eden road. Slightly longer way home that normal but an easier pace. 7.39km / 35:23 / 4:46 min/km. Run Auckland 2, 10km, tomorrow. should be good.

P.S. My little sister T has also entered the marathon which I think is great. Will keep me honest!

Easter Recap

I was pretty good this easter and ran Friday, Sunday, Monday. All on the "off-peak" times (either early or late) so I could spend some quality time with my wife and son.

Friday: Along the Grange / 7.63km / 34:25 / 4:31min/km

Sunday: Mt Eden Hill Climb / 10.27km / 48:55 / 4:46min/km. Needed to do some calf stretching at the top - tight - but finished it strong.

Monday: View Road Loop / 6.98km / 31:08 / 4:28min/km. A bit tight but felt good.

Looking to do a gentle run home from work tomorrow and then rest up for Run Auckland 2 this Sunday. Looking back on my blog last year I did this in 49:07 although I understand the course is a bit different this year. Apparently for 2009 the organisers are going to seed the start area and I might try and slot in with the 45:00 runners, put the foot down and give it a nudge.

Haven't thought too much about a marathon training plan but its definitely on the cards. Actually developing somewhat of an obsession and am reading up on training, nutrition and so on. Will be posting on what I learn, what is working for me, how training is going. All the good stuff.

My Everest

I remember when the idea of running a 10km race seemed crazy. Then running a half marathon sounded a bit mad - it was tough but finishing it was an awesome feeling. Halves two and three were better - fun even!

The idea of running a full marathon this year scares me quite a bit but I think it, and the journey to get there, is going to be character building.



Now I'm all inspired to go for my 10km training run tomorrow morning. :)

Better

First half of this week was a bit snotty but feeling better now.

Went for a good run in my "Run Auckland" limited edition T-shirt.

6.98km / 30:57 / 4:26min/km. Reasonably hard effort. Need to get some good consistent training in before Run Auckland 2 (19 April).