I have been sick with a virus, and no its not a man cold like every female I know seems to tell me.
Anyway what this means is that I have not run since last Sunday. Its odd how things like not running can effect you mentally. I feel this constant pulling in the back of my mind to get my shoes on and go for a run, but the last time my energy levels felt like this was, when I slept for 3 days a week after the marathon when I attempted a 10k too early.
I probably could have run last night but I'm scared that I will end up sicker if I push it too early.
Another upside of not running is that my ankle is feeling better than it has in a long time, its no where near as stiff in the mornings and it has regained a lot of its flexibility.
So I will run tonight, 5k and hopefully this will help to clear some of the snot out of my system, and help remove some of the anxiety that I have accumulated over the week.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Did I fail
I got up this morning intending to run. It's been so long since I have gone on a long run I decided after a week on holidays with the kids it would be a perfect chance to clear my head.
I also decided to take up a very kind offer of a ride from Woori Yallock (in the Yarra valley) back to mt.Evelyn. Which makes for a beautiful 15k run along the Warburton trail, which is an old disused train line running from Lilydale to Warburton.
This one of my favorite places to run. Gravel path, lots of bush and some open spaces, and long graded hills.
15k from Mt.Evelyn to Woori and I decided I would tack on an extra 3k out and back to make it a nice half marathon.
I started running at 11:30am and the outside temp according to the suby was 23deg. All was going well, I think subconsciously I had decided today was the day to nail the sub 2 hour 1/2 as I was watching the clock and working hard to stay under 5:30min/k. This all went well for about 5k, at which point the temp rose by about 5deg.
At 6k I was struggling to keep running but I pushed on.
At 7k there is a cafe which was tempting me to stop for a sports drink. 8
At 8k I stopped at a tap and soaked my self and filled my bottle.
From 8-10k I ran in the sun and walked in the shade, I could feel myself roasting, and my HR was going nuts, I decided that today was not a PB run, then I decided it wasn't going to be a 1/2 either, I would run the 15k.
As I reached the 10k mark I was running between shady bits and long sunny bits. At this stage I decided that it was silly to go on this way, it was simply too hot (for me) to be running. So I called my ride and he picked me up from the 10.38k mark.
When I returned the outside temp at the car was 31deg. It had risen 8deg while I was running, and it's really no wonder I was roasting.
Today's run left me asking however, did I fail or was this a smart thing to do given the circumstances.
I think after much contemplation that it wasn't a failure but a tactical retreat :)
I also decided to take up a very kind offer of a ride from Woori Yallock (in the Yarra valley) back to mt.Evelyn. Which makes for a beautiful 15k run along the Warburton trail, which is an old disused train line running from Lilydale to Warburton.
This one of my favorite places to run. Gravel path, lots of bush and some open spaces, and long graded hills.
15k from Mt.Evelyn to Woori and I decided I would tack on an extra 3k out and back to make it a nice half marathon.
I started running at 11:30am and the outside temp according to the suby was 23deg. All was going well, I think subconsciously I had decided today was the day to nail the sub 2 hour 1/2 as I was watching the clock and working hard to stay under 5:30min/k. This all went well for about 5k, at which point the temp rose by about 5deg.
At 6k I was struggling to keep running but I pushed on.
At 7k there is a cafe which was tempting me to stop for a sports drink. 8
At 8k I stopped at a tap and soaked my self and filled my bottle.
From 8-10k I ran in the sun and walked in the shade, I could feel myself roasting, and my HR was going nuts, I decided that today was not a PB run, then I decided it wasn't going to be a 1/2 either, I would run the 15k.
As I reached the 10k mark I was running between shady bits and long sunny bits. At this stage I decided that it was silly to go on this way, it was simply too hot (for me) to be running. So I called my ride and he picked me up from the 10.38k mark.
When I returned the outside temp at the car was 31deg. It had risen 8deg while I was running, and it's really no wonder I was roasting.
Today's run left me asking however, did I fail or was this a smart thing to do given the circumstances.
I think after much contemplation that it wasn't a failure but a tactical retreat :)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
All years resolutions
After the past 18 months becoming a runner, dropping 20kg and basically turning my whole life upside down, I have decided that I don't get why anyone would wait unti new years to make a resolution. I wonder If anyone has studied the ratio of made resolutions vs broken/kept ones.
Anyway that aside I have a new goal which is to get my weight under 80kg. This would put me at a healthy weight according to a BMI index.
I also find it curious that BMI is so widely used. Personally I think it's a load of crap. It's a system that was developed over 100 years ago which plots height against weight to come up with (generally) 4 ranges. They are obese, overweight, healthy weight, underweight. I guess as a general rule of thumb this works.
My goal is a little different though, I don't really care what my BMI is, I just want for the first time in my adult life to be in the 70s for my weight.
The other oddity about this goal is that I started running because I was sick of trying to lose weight. Dieting and all that crap takes it's toll on you after a long time. The difference now is that I am healthy eating because it will ultimately help my running.
The other great motivator is the fact that around christmas my wife and I were looking at some old photos from Christmas last year, and some older ones.
I cannot believe the difference 20kgs makes to me. Even at this time last year when I had been running for about 6 months I was still big. My mental image of myself still sees the big belly I had. However after seeing these photos it's clear that my mental image has it's clock set about 2 years in the past.
I guess I notice the lack of bulk the most when I am doing active stuff. For example, riding my bike to the station doesn't make me sweat heaps anymore, when I play with the kids in the pool I can swim really fast, and I feel like I am swimming on top of the water not dragging through it. Also while on holidays I played golf, and the difference my weight loss made to my golf was huge (not in my score unfortunately) I was able to walk around 9 holes and not feel like I needed a sleep which is always a bonus :)
Seeing the old photos made me feel sick, that I had let myself go that far, that I had not made the right descisions earlier. But mostly it made me glad that my kids will have their daddy as they grow up, because I have made the right descisions now.
So I guesss what I'm trying to say is, don't wait for new years to make resolutions. Resolve to make positive change when it's needed.
Anyway that aside I have a new goal which is to get my weight under 80kg. This would put me at a healthy weight according to a BMI index.
I also find it curious that BMI is so widely used. Personally I think it's a load of crap. It's a system that was developed over 100 years ago which plots height against weight to come up with (generally) 4 ranges. They are obese, overweight, healthy weight, underweight. I guess as a general rule of thumb this works.
My goal is a little different though, I don't really care what my BMI is, I just want for the first time in my adult life to be in the 70s for my weight.
The other oddity about this goal is that I started running because I was sick of trying to lose weight. Dieting and all that crap takes it's toll on you after a long time. The difference now is that I am healthy eating because it will ultimately help my running.
The other great motivator is the fact that around christmas my wife and I were looking at some old photos from Christmas last year, and some older ones.
I cannot believe the difference 20kgs makes to me. Even at this time last year when I had been running for about 6 months I was still big. My mental image of myself still sees the big belly I had. However after seeing these photos it's clear that my mental image has it's clock set about 2 years in the past.
I guess I notice the lack of bulk the most when I am doing active stuff. For example, riding my bike to the station doesn't make me sweat heaps anymore, when I play with the kids in the pool I can swim really fast, and I feel like I am swimming on top of the water not dragging through it. Also while on holidays I played golf, and the difference my weight loss made to my golf was huge (not in my score unfortunately) I was able to walk around 9 holes and not feel like I needed a sleep which is always a bonus :)
Seeing the old photos made me feel sick, that I had let myself go that far, that I had not made the right descisions earlier. But mostly it made me glad that my kids will have their daddy as they grow up, because I have made the right descisions now.
So I guesss what I'm trying to say is, don't wait for new years to make resolutions. Resolve to make positive change when it's needed.
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