#27 - Off to the Zoo - longest run every, so far

Today Lacjy & I ran to the zoo. Another f'in beautiful day in Sydney! Took us 1 hour and 33 minutes to do the approx 18kms. Lots of steps and small winding hilly bits as we followed the northern edge of the Harbour around to the zoo.

I survived intact, though obviously my legs a feeling like they've done a good run at the moment. Hopefully stepping up to 25km in the next few days.

Here's the rough route of the run to the zoo. About 18kms return. Beautiful, with stunning views of the harbour and the small bays along the way. And the odd flight of steps!

#26 - I also dabble in cycling...

Today was another run/swim to North Sydney pool. 14 laps. Feeling good after this bout of exercise - I went to yoga again last night which stretched me out a bit. Prior to that I was as stiff as I've been - the yoga instructor was horrified at my inability to do the most basic of movements. Just planning a bike ride for the weekend and came across this quote which I think is good:

"The model... male spends more than 1500 hours per year on his car; driving or sitting in it, parking or searching for it; earning enough to pay for the vehicle, the tolls, the tyres, the insurance or the highway taxes. These four hours per day for gathering his resources for it do not include his transport-related dally-ing in hospitals, traffic courts, and garages, his sitting time before the TV to be sold a new model, or the time needed to earn or enjoy the travelling on his vacation. In terms of lifetime invested, the average (driver) attains four miles per hour. In countries without any transport industry, people walk at this rate wherever they want to go.

Man, unaided by any tool, is quite efficient when he moves. He carries one gram of his weight over a kilometre in 10 minutes by expending 0.75 calories, which makes him thermodynamically more efficient than any motorized vehicle and most animals, such as rats or oxen. He is still less efficient than horses or sturgeon

A century ago, however, the bicycle appeared. It lifted man's self-powered mobility into a new order, beyond which there can be no further progress. On flat ground he can travel faster than on foot and do so using only one-fifth of the calories he would have expended walking. He can now carry one gram of his weight over one kilometre expending only 0.15 calories. Equipped with a bicycle, man does better not only than any machine but also than any animal." - Ivan Illich

This pic popped up in my inbox today... One of those pictures that says a thousand words that I was having trouble expressing myself [London Underground Service Information]

#25 - Back into the training - by swimming

6km run and 20 lengths at 50m a pop, adding up to a whopping 1km. Lachy and I ran over the bridge from the CBD to North Sydney pool. A great idea if I do say so... Bit o' fitness, but with less pounding on the knees and the weary joints than pure running.

It's $4.90 (2 quid) to swim in the open air on a fine 23 degrees sunny day. The water was plenty warm enough though not great to taste (salty and heavy chlorine). No crowds and plenty of space. Excellent.

Last week was poor but I'm right back into it this bright cheery Monday. Kt was back today as well which feels good, lovely to see her. I surprised her by meeting her at the airport. I had to wait an hour as there were 3 planes arriving from Bangkok at "6ish" and I wasn't sure which one she was on. It's not a cheap decision - the people who make the Australian Tax Office look charitable charged me 18 dollars to park for 70 minutes. B'stards.

I'm gonna start focusing on food and yoga as well as just the running. So no more big greasy creamy meaty pastas for lunch! And no more lashings of butter with my raisin toast/full fat cappuccino brekkie. That'd be a good start. See what's disappointing in a vain kinda way is that despite having run 216km in the last 9 weeks my belly still looks very beery, and I haven't even been drinking that many beers...

Had the 'flu - - the plan is really collapsing

Had the "flu" or a cold for the whole weekend. Typical. Felt really crappy a few hrs after Friday's big run then deteriorated. So no running for the whole weekend. This is a disaster as I really needed to get a big weekend run under my belt. Only 7 weeks to go and I still haven't done one.

Until last week the gap between The Plan and The Reality was narrowing. But now there's gonna have to be a big pick-up for me to reach the peak before I have to wind-down...

#24 - Wow Sydney's awesome. But feeling sad about London

Just back from a really great lunch-time run over to the other side of the harbour. Lachy and I ran over the bridge and out to Cremorne Point.

Stunning views out there. Really stunning - makes me appreciate living in this stunning city. Perfect blue sky, not a cloud to be seen. Still, clear, crisp views over the calm water back to the Opera House, the city, enjoyed best from the path around the Cremorne Point and to Mosman Bay down those neat little lanes through the trees.

I was also well over the pain and discomfort by then and enjoying the running - "jogging" I think I should really call it given the pace. Or maybe trotting! The first few kms as we went over the bridge were not fun. I had come into work this morning with a cold. It being a Friday morning a few people asked me if I'd been "out on the turps" last night - one of the quainter colloquialisms of this fine land. I hadn't but I was dribbling snot, my sinuses grieving and shopping bags hanging under my eyes. But a couple of coffees, a Lemsip and a chicken & cheese jaffel [that's Aussie for toasted sandwich]...I was ready for action.

We were originally planning to run to the zoo but had settled on a shorter one cos of my weakness. In the end we ran just as far, maybe further and up and down a bit. I really started to feel weak at about the 10km mark. And the last km the pain kicked in at my hip. The same grating that I was getting a few weeks back that got me going to the physio. My ITB problem is far from over, and I really think it might even be worse by the time I get to the big day.

I went to "Yoga for runners & cyclists" on Wed. Which I've been thinking about for a while but I was a bit shy and had been putting it off thinking I should master some of the yoga basics first. Well - as is often the case with these things - I now wish I'd gone earlier. It was excellent. 1.5hrs including some great relaxation time at the end. We did some of those ITB roll things where you roll your body over the roller on its side, and other good leg-unstiffening stuff.

But the bad news today of course is on the other side of the world. I woke in the night to a text from my mum "3 bombs in tube stations and one on a bus" it said. I deleted and resumed my sleep - thinking it was one of those occasional SMSes that gets wedged in cyberspace for a while then gets dislodged and lands in your inbox an age after it was sent, ie one that she would have sent only 2 weeks ago.

Well I was wrong. In my email inbox when I got to work was a message from Malarky (who I've mentioned before - he ran the London for the first time this year)....

"Various tube scares in London today the nature of which is not known at time of writing. Victoria and Northern Lines have both been suspended at the time I was trying to get on them.
Police everywhere etc.

I just hope it is just a false alarm............................

The atmosphere here is a worried one. Being in Sydney must be safe and given England are currently kicking the Aussies in the first test 97 for 5, British morale must be good with you."

Well it's clearly awful. And I have had many thoughts about all this stuff lately, which are probably for another forum. Or at least another time. It's 4:30pm Friday at my desk and the beer trolley has just trundled by.

Also been missin m'Katie this week. Three sleeps til she's back. Distance and fondness and hearts.
Keep on movin'

#22 & 23 with 60kms on the bike in between

Friday was a big big lunchtime run. The usual ports stuff with Goo & Laka, including all the wharves. Then Goo left it at the edge of the city while the two of us went over the Harbour Bridge, under it on the other side and back again. In true Aussie rules-enforcement stylee - the bored-shitless-security guard stopped us in our stride as we running on the cycle lane. Clearly we were a big danger to the integrity of the bridge structure - either that or the sole cyclist who crossed the bridge as we did. Or maybe I should be kinder - he was probably just after conversation, bored looking out for Al Queda.

This 13kms run was painful. The most painful yet. I got back and my legs hurt lots. Odd given I had run the same distance once before on hillier terrain (yet slower last time). I;ve just looked up an old blog-entry to see me promising a 2.5hr run a few weekends back. Still not near that target. But I've just signed Laka up to run to the zoo with me on Friday lunch - that's about 18kms total I think.

The chart's looking a bit better - if I include the 60km cycle (at quarter of the distance to convert to running), then I managed 42kms last week. The "plan" line and the "reality" line are at least now starting to move closer together, even if they're still 20km apart!

Then there was the cycling on Sat am - me & J, Bellevue Hill, La Perouse along the Anzac and back to do a couple of laps in Centennial. I was tired - remember I'd done that painful 13kms only the day before. But it was nice - the best bit being vegemite (I do long for the real thing though) and toast and coffee at miserable-ladies' cafe at La Perouse.

Then I made up for all my good work with a UK-stylee big night out. A 30th followed by a party in a pub and a late night. So no gentle Sunday jogs - but a massage instead. Which got my sinuses going crazy - felt good on the bones - but I spent the next 2 hours sneezing and sniffling.

So that brings me onto today - not feeling exactly on top of the world. Missing K as well - she's been away now for 4 days. But A dragged me out for 6.5kms of the usual. In the sun - it's mid-winter now - but beautiful weather

#21 - I'm way behind against my plan

A nicer run yesterday round the ports with AM and AR. About 8-9km, flat, no funny stuff on steps. though we did stop for a few push-up breaks which are surprisingly good to do as it at least gives the legs a break for 30 secs. Felt OK fitness-wise at the end of it.

I've just had a look at THE PLAN. Back in the beginning I took a suggested programme for a first timer, the easiest one there was, and stuck the numbers in a spreadsheet.

I've really got to step up the distance I'm doing...on course for a half-marathon at the moment...

The red line in the chart shows where I should be (km per week). The black line shows what I have done to date. I've really got to step up the pace, or at the least the distance! In my black line I also include bike rides (I take a quarter of the distance though to convert from cycling to running-equivalent). As AM just said - looks like I'm on track for a half-marathon. But that's just not gonna be good enough...

#21 - Ouch that hurt

Only did 5 or 6kms with B and M from the office. M put me through my paces. We did the Domain/Woolloomooloo steps/Opera House route but fast.

Started off OK, but M gradually sped up. I decided to keep with him not realising that he would go faster and faster and faster. "Like Darth Vader was breathing down my neck" was how he described it afterwards. I was determined and stuck with him but was breathing heavily and certainly struggling.

Just as we were getting to the Opera House I was really contemplating letting him get away and walking for a few minutes. So I was more than glad for M to stop and wait for B to catch up! A welcome minute's break, some water and the final sprint to the finish.

A poor effort on the weekend though - prior to Monday the last run I did was the Wednesday before. Though we did a great bike ride on Saturday. The forecast was rain but we decided we'd touch base at 5:45am. I looked outside and annoyingly the rain had stopped so there was no excuse to snuggle back up in bed. Having gone to bed at 1:30am I wasn't feeling that inspired. But I was driver and organiser so I could hardly drop out. Picked up J and Z on the way up to Kurungai National Park (1hr north of Sydney). Was starting to get light as we got there.

Fortunately the first few kms are down hill - from the entrance of the park heading in the direction of West Head. I came round gradually as the sun rose and a beautiful, stunning morning was upon us. The ride was short (50kms) but its reasonably tough because of the hills. The first highlight is the views from West Head over to Palm Beach - just beautiful, especially on a still early morning with the sun rising and not a soul or car around.

The second highlight is the breakfast at Akuna Bay Marina. The cafe's apparently just changed hands and they did us an awesome chicken/avocado etc open sandwich. Just enough fill to contemplate the never-ending ascent past the turn off to Cottage Point and back to the van.

I was dreaming of a snooze in the sun on the drive back, but got a call from "On the Cusp Rich" who was off to Kurnell for a bit of kite-in-gale-action. So I obediently made my way down there...but that's for another blog.

I'm generally feeling fit. If my knee gets better (I'm now taking my exercises a bit more seriously) then I should be good for the big day, though my confidence did get a bit of a bashing on yesterday's run. Today I'm gonna go out with AM again to bolster my ego!

#20 - Feeling fit

Went for an 8km lunchtimer with AM. Now running with him (he'll agree I'm sure) makes me realise that my fitness has moved on leaps and bounds. AM dictated the pace and by the end I was barely panting, though I did get a very slight twinge in the right knee, and a few hours later I can still feel that. He on the other hand was red faced and making lots of funny noises down the last km straight down by the Tassie ferry terminal. Planning a decent bike ride for Sat am, up to West Head, assuming it doesn't piss it down.

#18 & 19 - Wow! 1.5hrs of running...I think the marathon's gonna be possible

After a lame week last week I decided I was gonna do a long run on the weekend and settled on 1.5hrs.

It took all of Saturday to build up the courage, waste time in Westfields, and to get hold of a left and a right trainer...? Eh?... Well I bought some new ones a week ago. I opened the box on Wednesday to find that they'd given me two left feet. By the time I returned to the Athlete's Foot shop in Westfield Centrepoint on Saturday, they'd sold two right feet to someone else! And had no more in that model.

They tried to fob me off with some ugly looking uncomfortable cheap pair as the last hours of daylight were being eaten into. I almost caved in but at the last minute decided I was gonna get what I wanted and told them to ring their other store over in Bondi Junction. They had the trainers I needed and some better ones as well.

So for the second time that day I went to Bondi Westfield (I was there before going to Centrepoint). Ahgggrhh...awful places to spend the few hours of free daylight of the week. I got the trainers - some Brooks Glycerin 4, for a whopping $270, very comfy. And I lost the van in the car park.

It was dark by the time I got out to run so I stuck my flashing red cycle light on the back of my cap. Does it get more nerdy than this?

I ran for the full 1.5hrs, and started getting pain in my right knee after about 45mins. It was a hilly route which didn't help with the problem. But it did give me a confidence boost. Even after the full 90mins I felt like I could've gone on for another hour, I was not exhausted. But I was getting bothered by the knee.

I'd run from Tamarama south along the coast to Coogee, then back through Randwick to Bondi Rd and across Bondi Beach and back to Tama. A great route. I even enjoyed myself! I think I've made a big leap in fitness this week and am no longer scared of going on big runs. This weekend it's gonna be 2.5hrs! Bring it on!

The following morning I woke stiff (no sniggering!) but went for a 10min run down to Bronte Beach. K joined me which was a treat. And to my surprise she suggested a few lengths in the freezing cold seawater pool to cool off. After that my body was buzzing and I spent the next few hours high on my sporting achievements! I was getting carried away and when J asked me if I wanted to do a few laps of Centennial Park on the bike I jumped straight in. Off I went and got 29kms under my belt before night fall. A top weekend was then concluded with a top dinner with N&G.