Rain

Pouring with rain now but that's ok because in 7 hours I'm about to fly off to Indonesia for a week for work. Will be hectic - I'm taking my running shoes on the off-chance I get sneak a run in.

Yesterday had a couple of vaccination jabs and am on anti-maleria drugs as a precaution. Knocking me about a little - went for a run with James this morning and the run was a bit substandard really.

Bike Maintenance

Small amount of bike maintenance on the weekend. Sick of wearing splash back on the way to work fitted some mudguards ($25) and replaced the rear v brakes ($15).

Another bonus of commuting by bike is the maintenance costs are cheap and you can do a lot of it yourself. Just in time too because its raining hard today.

Fast(ish)

So I did the 1 mile (~1.6km) race challenge on dailymile called outrun the horde:
http://www.dailymile.com/challenges/1266-outrun-the-horde

This morning I mapped out a local course along my road and into the next, quietly wishing it was flat rather than undulating.

Warm-up go was 7:29 (4:32 min/km).

Took a deep breath, opened the taps, and put my foot down.

5:57 for a 3:42min/km pace.

Tough! Really breathing hard at the end and very clearly not used to that pace/effort. Still gives me hope to build up to a sub 20 5km run one day.

Running fast(ish) does make you feel alive - and safe from zombies!

Getting closer

The swimming must be helping, or perhaps it's the fast runs with Claude the Frenchman at work but I'm starting to get close to my short term goal weight of 83kg. For added incentive I have given myself a carrot of new running shoes when my physicsdiet gets to 83. Definitely motivation. Good weighing in daily in the 82-83 range regularly.

My ultimate goal is to get back to my BM (before marriage) weight of 80kg.



Looking back it was only a few years ago that I was up at 100kg. A desk job and not enough exercise did that. Running has fixed that although I am finding the last few kg's are really hard to shed!

In other news my friend J mentioned to me about the "Outrun the Horde" challenge on DailyMile. Basically you run the fastest mile to escape the horde! Someone has been watching too many zombie films but sounds like fun. I have never tried to run a mile flat out before so should be interesting. Will try tomorrow morning along a suburban stretch. Maybe I'll get close to 4min/k pace - 6.4min/mile (if I'm lucky...)

Mean Sign

From my run this morning. Wasn't that bad 4:55min/k for 13.3km

:)

Dance Card

It seems like people want to go running with me at lunchtime. Most of the time I go running alone so this makes a good change.

Last week a run through Parnell with Ray. Ray is from another department at work (we were in the same "team" for the corporate tri). That was a relatively easy pace on an undulating course.

Yesterday the Frenchman and I did a relatively quick out and back along the waterfront (flat). He is a sharp 10km runner and I sweated a bit to keep up - we on about 4:40 pace. Good for me being pushed along. A little embarrassing considering he is 50 but offset that he has been running since he was a kid. I put it down to those 15 years of additional conditioning!

Today my friend J wants to head out as his company has just moved into the area. Should be good.

My dance card of midweek runs is full this week. :)

A sure sign of getting old

On my "long" run yesterday I thought a good idea to help pass the time to listen to the BBC World News podcast. It was actually quite good catching up with current events and I might even do it next week.

I'm a little worried that the next step is writing cranky letters to the editor.

One for the Aussies

Not fitness related but this is a long running advert on New Zealand TV for Mitre 10 a hardware chain.

Winning is Finishing

and finishing is winning!

Video from the Auckland Marathon 2009:



Actually "winning" this year, for me at least, will be going sub 3:30...

YikeBike

This is a pretty clever fold-away penny-farthing type vehicle. Designed here in New Zealand and clever how it folds away for you to carry. http://www.yikebike.com/. Apparently available mid 2010 and will set you back 3000 UK pounds!

Bad luck for the cyclist in this video having both wheels stolen.


I'll stick to my pushbike though for the health benefits and it's a lot lot cheaper. A good lock and common sense will deter most bike thieves.

I have seen the odd pushbike bastardised with a two-stroke motor. I think it's just wrong. The hills in Auckland are not that bad especially with the range of gearing most bikes have.

6km of Everything

Today I did a lunchtime 6km run with a work colleague. Nothing so special in that but this run had a bit of everything.

- Forest
- Coast
- A small historic cemetery
- A rose garden and other parks
- Suburban houses
- Office Buildings

Quite a few steps too!



I really felt like I had been on an adventure on this run. This route is definitely a keeper.

Auckland really is a great place get out for a run.

Starting Point

Swam 2km (80 lengths of 25m pool) in 42:12. Non consecutive and quite slow I suspect but it's a starting point. I aim to improve on this in the coming weeks.

No running today - resting my feet.

Impossible is Nothing

Took the plunge and entered:



This year I'm aiming for sub 3:30 (from last year's inaugural 3:43 effort). I learned quite a lot during the training such as the importance of the long slow run. I didn't always put things into practice as well as I should have though.

On the plus side its a few months away and time enough to start building up the required base. On the negative side I'm now lumped in with the 35-39 "old timer" group.

Have been really getting back into regular running. The novelty of posting via dailymile is helping the motivation.

This Saturday went for a run along Westhaven with my friend J who is a speedy HM running. Managed to hang on for 8.5km run at 4:25min/km pace, hadn't done that for a while and it was good.

Today was more intentionally more circumspect a slower 17.1km at 5:35min/km pace. A bit of off road stuff along the Hobson Bay shoreline. Somewhat of an obstacle course with the pohutukawa's but a fun little running adventure.



Haven't been back swimming since the shambles in the sprint tri but am going to get to the pool this week. Something I definitely want to get better at.

Sprint Tri

So on Sunday I did a "Sprint Tri" in Mission Bay. It was the first time I've tried a triathlon or any sort of multi-sport. This was the People's Tri which consisted of 500m sea swim, 20km bike, and a 5km run all on the flat. Work had organised free entry earlier in the year and I figured it sounded like a good idea at the time.

I finished in 1:20:44 which was well back in the field. But I wasn't last.

Swim:

I found out fairly quickly that swimming 500m in the ocean is not the same as 500m in the pool. There are waves, masses of people, and the water is salty. Actually had a bit of a panic attack after a mouthfull or three of seawater and not being able to touch the bottom. The time for the swim was about 17 mins which including a minute or two run to the beach and putting my shoes on for the bike. About 4-5 minutes slower than it should have been. Quite embarrassing really.

On the plus(?) side I was only one of about 4 or 5 people I saw doing the thing without a wetsuit and just in togs. It wasn't that cold (18 deg C) but the added buoyancy may have helped.

Lesson for next time is to do some open water swimming before the event...

Bike:

Not bad considering it was on my hybrid commuter bike with pannier rack. Not the worst bike of the day but it was close. Averaged 29 km/hr in total including the turnaround points on the laps. Passed a surprising number of people on much flasher bikes than me which was good stuff. That said there a few people of very flash bikes that overtook me like I was standing still. Those guys must have been doing 50+.

Run:

5km run on the flat is nothing really. However coming off a 41 min flat out bike ride the legs were quite tight. Took it easy for the first part of the run - could feel cramp might be an issue, then pushed the pace a bit once the legs felt a bit better. Passed a few more people. The run was probably in the order of 22-23 minutes.

Overall the tri was good fun especially since work paid the entry fee. I didn't train properly for it and it showed. The transition from the bike to the run was a bit ugly. The swim was the worst though and I really need to work on that. Not into triathlon enough to justify a competitive bike but I will enter again next year.

Certainly room for improvement.

An Assault on 83

83kg that is.

Ultimately I want to get to 80 but its turning out to too big a short-term target. So I'm aiming for 83 first.

Easter eating doesn't help but running up hills balances does so overall moving in the right direction.



Run up Big King today a small volcanic cone near my house. Been in quite a positive mood the last few days which has been helping get me out the door to go running.

Easter Challenge

Physical challenge to myself this 4 day Easter Weekend - run 4 volcanoes in 4 days, do a 20km cycle, and do two swims. Could be tough but it wouldn't be a challenge if it was easy :)

Started off the right way with a 14k run up and around Mt Eden at around 5min/km pace. Felt good on what is was a tough route, lots of climbs. Tracking it all on dailymile, which is quite fun to use. It is definitely like facebook for exercise which is quite a good idea really. Nothing like motivation from other people.

Regarding the lunch boxes I actually saw them by chance at Pak n Save here in Auckland. There are quite a few other models available as well. My 5 year old wants one now so it can't be all that sad...but I suspect it is.

We had a crack at making hot cross buns today, passed the taste test. Teaching your kids to cook is great fun.

A Little Sustainable

My day job is at a consultancy. I work in the renewable energy space and predominantly geothermal power projects. I like the sustainable aspects of this work, quite large scale benefits in displacing fossil fuels, making a difference etc.

On a personal level and on a smaller scale I cycle to and from work, mainly for exercise and because its quicker, but a nice side benefit are the environmental aspects. My wife thinks I'm crazy though.

On an even smaller level, and this might sound quite sad, but I've been impressed with the Nude Food Movers range of lunch boxes. The concept is quite simple to avoid the use of lunch wrap and rubbish in lunch. Here is a photo:



What I've found in the week or so I've been using this is I end up being more healthy. Yoghurt in one container, mixed nuts in the other, vege pieces, and 2 x sandwiches. The compartments help being good. Nice side benefit of reducing waste and being a little more sustainable.

DailyMile

I've been trying out DailyMile to track my training. I prefer it to MapMyRun less intrusive in terms of adverts and easier to use. It's a little like facebook for excercise.

Mixed Bag

A bit mixed this week:

- On a course of antibiotics for a skin infection. I get some eczema under my forearms periodically which has been giving some grief lately. It's not much fun to be honest.
- On the positive while getting that checked out got my blood pressure taken. Happy to say it is now 120/80 which is much better than the last time I got checked 3 years ago when it was 140/80. I put that down to running and weight loss.
- The rear hub on my bike went the day before yesterday only after 2 months use. Its back in the shop now. Not a happy camper about that.
- My weight today is 84.3kg. I'm happy with anything under 85 at the moment but would like it down at 80.
- Corporate triathlon is 3 weeks away. The course is short but its a worry. I'm packing my togs and goggles today and am swimming after work. Nerves are pushing me into action. :)

Angry Face

Round the Bays was manic with all those people. The army started the event with a howitzer which was different.

I chatted to a few people along the way mainly in the first part during the congestion and ended up with a 39:55 for the 8.4km course.

The main thing was ended up first to the work tent and BBQ which was the main thing to ensure suitable bragging rights at the office. A beer and a sausage and bread not normally what I have post run but makes for a tasty change.

Andrew I've never thought of it but yeah I probably do have my angry face on when running hard. My training runs are more fun. I ended up catching a bus back to town and the traffic did make me angry. It would have been quicker to jog back!

Race Time

First race of the year this morning. Round the Bays is one of the biggest fun runs in the world with an estimated 50,000 competitors and 20,000 bandits. Not very long at 8.4km. The course itself is along the Auckland water front and takes in the second part of the Auckland marathon course. All those people around I'll be dodging people like a mad thing.

Work have entered a team, paid my $15 entry fee, and provided a running top. The corporate colours are purple - its very 1980s. We are also getting a BBQ at the end - it should be good.

I was a bit worried about the run earlier in the week as my right ankle has been feeling a bit sore for no apparent reason. However a 5.5km yesterday went OK so we should be good to go.

Good Morning Run

Bircher Muesli, Fruit Salad and Yoghurt followed an hour later by a more pacy 7.95km / 37:52 / 4:46min/km at around 8:30am. Started off a little stiff and lethargic from yesterday but soon got into a good rhythm. Hot and sweaty at the end.

Great stuff, all you need for a good start to the morning.

My cycle home from work is a different route from the way in, this is largely to avoid main roads during rush hour but also it serves to give me some variety.

Secret Auckland

One thing about running, or cycling, in the city is you start to learn the secret short-cuts, access ways, and quiet streets to get from A to B. Something that you don't experience driving a car.

Recently on a training run I "discovered" the walkway from the strand in Parnell, Auckland up to Augustus Terrace. A great little shortcut which bypasses a busy section of road. Need to watch out for the tree though.

Hard Work

Made it hard for myself for the group run today with the Kingsland Martial Arts guys today. I thought it would be "good" idea to cycle to the office, park my bike in the secure lockup, jog over to the start area (in Westhaven), do the group run and cycle home again. Of course I ended up running late...

1. Cycle 8.9km to the office cyclepark.
2. Run at 4:57min/km pace from Carlaw Park to the Curran Street motorway onramp (5.7km - longer than I thought it was). Just got there in time as the other guys were arriving.
3. Group run of 8.54km at 5:25min/km pace. Thankfully one of the guys on the run is on the slower side.
4. Slow jog back to the bike, legs a bit tight so stretching and some walking.
5. Bike home 7.4km.

It was all a bit harder than it should have been. More work required getting my fitness back to where it was during my marathon training last year.

Round the Bays fun run next weekend, I've never done this before so it should be great fun. Corporate tri in just over 5 weeks - really need to get some swimming in before that.

Yesterday at work we all got invited to the Nestle wellness expo (Nestle are in the same building, but a floor above us). This was quite good with blood testing, fitness booths, and a neat goodie bag. Got my blood pressure tested and finding it was 130/80 still a little on the high side but down since the last time it was tested.

I even bumped into an old friend who is now running a personal training business. He made a comment about how I've lost weight since the last time I saw him - must have been the running...

Colour Experiment

Same course as yesterday but a different running top.

A full 1 min 20s slower. Either red is quicker or not used getting back to mid week running. Next run will go for early morning for a change, haven't done that for a while.

Conditions were not as hot as yesterday and there was some breeze.


Me in my 2007 Auckland Quarter Marathon top. First running race I entered and basically just ran flat out and struggled at the end. That strategy worked (placed in top 10% of my category) but was lucky not to injure myself...

Yep Andrew have noticed the typo on the back of the 2009 edition. Wonder if someone got in trouble for it ;)

Also a while back I went to the go by bike breakfast that the Auckland City Council put on the 15th Feb. This was quite good with free muesli and espresso.

Domain Lunchtime Run

Out for a run at lunchtime today, along the forest walks and two loops of the Sri Chimnoy Peace mile. 35mins at approx 5min/km pace.

Still fairly hot but it is cooling down a little in Auckland now we are heading into March.


On the way back to work. The forest part of this run was nice and cool.


Sporting a 2009 Auckland Marathon top. I still keep thinking I have more hair until I see photos of myself...

Overall a good run to break up the day. Felt great to get in a mid week run.

Secret Moves

Showing some off at the Auckland Lantern Festival on Sunday.



Was a few hundred people watching this at the time :o

Twice in Two Days

Ran again this morning so looks like I really am back.

This one was shorter, around 8:50am, 5.51km / 24:51 / 4:30min/km and definitely not an "ice-cream Sunday social" pace. However it felt really great to go for a good effort run.

An excellent breakfast a couple of hours before no doubt helped - Bircher muesli, apple, blueberries and yoghurt.


The view down my road looking East with One Tree Hill in the background.

Now onto this demo this evening. Not sure what surface this is on but the throws should be interesting...

Back

Back after a period of relative inactivity, at least on the excercise front. Work still fairly intense but determined to make time to train.

The incidental excercise recieved from cycle commuting has helped kept me sane and the weight has kept about the same around the 85kg mark. In the past when work has got out of control I've become totally sendentary so this is quite positive.

Currently only running once a week which is not really much at all. Normally a group run on Saturday morning with some of the guys from kingsland martial arts, the pace is set to the slowest runner. Today was fairly relaxed but hot 9km around the domain and parnell and in the words my friend J an "ice cream social" pace. Still it was better than nothing.

On the 14th March will be doing Round the Bays with work and then mid April entering a corporate tri (my first): 500m swim, 20km bike, and 5km run. Need to get my A into G and get back to the pool. Not too worried about the bike and the run. Will be rocking it on the hybrid which is slow but not embarrasingly so.

In other fun news am involved in a 10 minutes martial arts demo tomorrow (7:40pm) at the lantern festival. Should be fun. I'll be thinking of ex work colleague N as she is tackling an 100km ultra tomorrow (which is totally mad by the way).

Blur

Work is crazy busy. A few late nights and much of last weekend was a write off.

Went for a run on Saturday morning (8km ish) with some mates but that was about it. Nothing much else to speak of.

I registered my interest for our corporate triathlon in April. 500m swim, 20k bike, 5k run. Nothing too serious but it should be fun. That's if I can find time to train...

A little extra

My morning commute is a bit short so have tacked out a little extra 3ishkm detour near the start - giving 12km on the way in. Nice to have the fall back short course if I'm running short on time.

No running the last three days had soreness in right arch since Sunday so having a small rest. If I have time tomorrow might get out but work has been pretty hectic - bit of a blur really.

BikeWise Challenge

Now this - http://www.bikewisechallenge.co.nz/ - is pretty neat.

The Bike Wise Challenge is a fun and free competition to encourage more people to have a go at cycling!

Organisations across New Zealand are competing from 1 - 28 February 2010 to see who can get the most staff to ride a bike for just 10 minutes or more.

Apparently our work division won it's category in Auckland last year.

For Auckland there is a ride to work separate challenge from 18 Jan through to 9 April. http://www.bikewisetowork.co.nz.

Needless to say have entered :)

Run Auckland 5 Reprise

This morning did the Run Auckland Race 5 Course with fellow hapkido instructor J. J brought along his dog for the run which was something different. The two hill climbs were a bit fierce for a Sunday morning. J is a faster runner than me so it did push me along a bit. We forget to start timing until approx 90s into the run so the time is estimated.

9.9km / 47:00 / 4:43min/km.

My feet a little sore now due to running three days in a row. No running tomorrow rather a rest instead.

Off to the beach today - should be good.

Progress

Some progress...target weight = 80kg.

Lunchtime Running

Really a bit too hot for this (mid 20 deg C). Nice sweaty self portrait after a 8km run round the domain on Friday...



Going to try to do early morning runs it is easier! Bit tired this week, first week back at work and it is pretty hectic but I think it is more the hot weather.

On the exercise front going well - the last two weeks have done 40+ km in running and getting close to the 120km/week on the bike. It is starting to pay off too my weight has dipped back into the 84's.

Still stuck on Week 4/Day 1 of the hundred push up program though but plugging away at it.

A couple of weekend runs

Nothing too exciting but made the most of the weather.

Saturday: 10.97km / 57:55 / 5:16min/km
Sunday: 7.95km / 38:34 / 4:50min/km

Sunday especially was a negative split and I definitely ran the second half faster. No running today but some bike commuting as its my first day back at work.

Auckland City 50k Cycle Route

Yesterday afternoon I finally got my act together to do the 50k cycle route around Auckland. Best intentions of getting up early to do this had failed miserably.

I had always wondered about the little signs on a number of streets around Auckland.



There is one on Shackleton Road which is the next street over from my house. According to the internet this route is around 20 years old and is intermitantly signposted. 50k isn't that far (on a bike)... I figured it would take a couple of hours and change on my hybrid.



The first 1km or so was modified from the signposted route because of holiday roadworks.

Took 2:12:53 for 51.9km (23.4km/hr). The little bit extra was me getting onto the route from my house and probably the detouring. The first half I was averaging about 26km/hr but started to fade at the back end. Not used to longer rides.

The route itself was a mixed bag. The first 15km meandered through Balmoral, Western Springs, Westmere and Herne Bay. Parts of it were quite familiar from running training routes and part of Run Auckland Race 4. The section through Herne Bay was nice and I can see why this is an expensive suburb. Along the waterfront from Westhaven to St Heliers was part of the Auckland marathon course. That sure brought back some memories! I stopped for a water break at the top of Cliff Road at Achilles Point. Great view from here.


Looking back towards the city from Achilles Point.


Achilles Point Boardwalk

The rest of the ride was not all that exciting save for the heart in the mouth stuff through the Panmure roundabout. It did get a bit windy in the second half which made the hills fun. I'm not familiar with this part of Auckland so it was interesting to tiki-tour this way. A mix of industrial and less well heeled suburbs through here.

The last 5km or included Cornwall Park and this was as pleasant as always.

If the route signposting can be refreshed and prominent this route would be more popular and well known.

Bit sore last night but a good little two hour adventure. Now to plan this group run this morning. Hope I can keep up.

Another Short Run

Seems like I've been doing shortish runs in my holiday break but that's OK. A 7.95km round trip to get the mail and then back home again. Got a bit hot and sweaty even at 8am in the morning. It is certainly warm outside.

7.95km / 38:56 / 4:52min/km

I didn't get up early enough for the big bike ride (yet again). Running out of time because I'm back to work next week.

Hot

Hot today. Short run in the morning (5.51km / 26:53 / 4:52min/km) followed up by a cycle in the evening (27.8km @ 23km/hr) and a short home workout. A bit tired now but felt like it was a good day at the "office"

I didn't wake up early enough today to go for the "big" ride. Maybe tomorrow?

Found the trailer for "Spirit of the Marathon" movie I mentioned recently on YouTube. A good summary of the film...

Quiet

Not much today. A short bike ride to the post office and back (14.4km @ 22.8km/hr) and a home workout. If I can get up early enough tomorrow have a longer bike ride planned.

Hapkido starts up on 11 January. I've been chatting with one of the other instructors who is a good Half Marathon runner (PB of 1:32 ish) and we are going to introduce a club group run for Saturday morning. Should be good fun! Our first group run is this Saturday morning.

Like a Bought One

Here is a picture of my holiday painting endeavours.



Difficult to quantify in terms of brownie points but my wife seems happy enough with the results.

Yesterday went for another 13ish km run again the same one to Cornwall Park and back. Run it a bit harder today: 13.74km / 1:08:46 / 5:00min/km. 5min/km pace felt harder than expected. No running today but a bike ride and home workout planned for later.

Two Day Roundup

Raining this morning so here is an opportunity to catch up on logging some exercise and also some thoughts on how to log said exercise.

January 2nd. Spent the morning doing more furniture staining. Put a second coat on the table top and the first coat on three of the four chairs. The chairs are quite fiddly and in typical fashion underestimated the time it would take. Later in the day we headed to the beach to catch up with family. Did a little swimming in the sea probably about 200m worth, only really getting my feet wet. Pretty hard to measure distance, probably going parallel to the shore and marking out a landmark would be the best bet?

In the evening did the first home workout of the year which incorporated Week 1/Day 1 of the two hundred situps and Week 2/Day 3 of the one hundred pushups (I decided to repeat week 2 with better form). I am still tweaking the weight program and will post about that separately.

Just before dinner went out for a short bike ride (12.7km @ 24km/hr avg. pace)

January 3rd. Early morning run (6am) to Cornwall Park and back. Legs were a bit stiff from yesterdays bike which says I should've stretched even after a short ride.

Anyway the run itself was at a pretty easy pace - 13.74km / 1:12:30 / 5:16min/km. Great time to be out and about. One thing I learned from 2009 is not to run too quick during training. Going slower is a good thing.

Later that morning did the second coat on the bottom and legs of the table and the first coat of the fourth chair. Also scrubbed the canvas covers which was an arm workout all on its own. One more session of painting to go when it fines up.

In terms of logging exercise I've been using www.mapmyrun.com and overall it is pretty good if a little unweildy. The big advantage with mapmyrun is you can litterally map out a run (or bike) on a google style map and it will calculate distance. I use the free account you can pay a monthly fee for extra features. At the moment I end up doubling up though by entering activities into a spreadsheet as well. I find this gives more flexibility in terms of tracking weekly goals, best times on a training course, tracking weight etc.

Rain has stopped so about to head out for a run...

New Years Day

A pretty quiet New Year's Day this year. We just had some of my in-laws come round for lunch. Today should be more eventfull we are off to the beach.

Spent a good part of the morning putting the first coat of stain on the outside table. It'll definitely need at least a second coat but I'll probably give the top surface a third.

Even though I'm doing the staining outside I definitely needed some fresh air after that so went for the first run of 2010 immediately after. Just a short one following the same route as our "big" walk the day before.

4.29km / 21:28 / 5:00 min/km

Big King Reserve is a dog exercise area. Plenty of people out with their pets which was good to see. I even had a four legged running companion for a short stretch. Four legs are faster than two.

In the afternoon I tackled the job which I had been putting off. That is cleaning all the crap off the chairs that go with the table. Absolute pig of a job which took a good couple of hours. They have scrubbed up well though and are ready for staining this morning though.

After dinner headed off for a bike ride round Cornwall park, local streets and then down to Onehunga and along the Waikaraka cycle way. Good fun.

27.2km @ average speed of 23.4 km/hr

All in all a good start to the new year.