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!