Not much to say really.
been running about once a week - due to heavy rain for the last month.
Mostly 10kms but also some 5 km.
Weight went back up over 80kg over the Christmas period, but it is down again to roughly 79.5kg.
Need to keep working on the running.
Wasn't helped yesterday, having completed the 10km, I got back home and the water had been turned off!
had a shower at 6a.m.
Wednesday 4 February 2009
Saturday 10 January 2009
Day 115 - 10 Km on the 10th
Well not much has been happening recently.
I started the year with a 5km on 1st January.
Good start to the year - but I think I was dressed too lightly and it was fairly cold, and i took my hat off when i was sweating, and I ended up catching the cold...and the cold weather then really put me off going outside at ALL! - let alone think about running.
Again, i was still not feeling too good yesterday so postponed a run till Monday as the forecast was rain today and tomorrow. that would have been the first week without a run since i started.
I was pleasantly surprised today to see the sun out and find it was much warmer and no rain. So I headed out at lunch time for a 10km.
No real difficulty and a slightly new route closer to home which made it a little more enjoyable.
10km - 56 mins 54 secs.
1 - 9.10
2 - 8.54
3 - 9.07
4 - 9.03
5 - 9.17
6 - 9.16
last - 9.21
I started the year with a 5km on 1st January.
Good start to the year - but I think I was dressed too lightly and it was fairly cold, and i took my hat off when i was sweating, and I ended up catching the cold...and the cold weather then really put me off going outside at ALL! - let alone think about running.
Again, i was still not feeling too good yesterday so postponed a run till Monday as the forecast was rain today and tomorrow. that would have been the first week without a run since i started.
I was pleasantly surprised today to see the sun out and find it was much warmer and no rain. So I headed out at lunch time for a 10km.
No real difficulty and a slightly new route closer to home which made it a little more enjoyable.
10km - 56 mins 54 secs.
1 - 9.10
2 - 8.54
3 - 9.07
4 - 9.03
5 - 9.17
6 - 9.16
last - 9.21
Monday 29 December 2008
10km Final run of 2008
Decided to make this my final run of 2008 - so i was determined for it to be 10km, which is the furthest that i am running at the moment.
I haven't been feeling too good the last few days, so I was not interested in a quick time, just in getting round.
It was very cold and I was glad the Garmin found the satellite quite quickly. As i started I checked the time and was under 9.00, so I slowed down to 9.00 pace and tried to stay as near to that as I could.
The run felt uncomfortable, difficult, slow, long and cold.
However, in the end I finished off with a 56 minutes 23 seconds which is just over 9.00 pace. So i was pleased with that.
Splits
1 - 9.05
2 - 9.17
3 - 9.18
4 - 9.14
5 - 9.06
6 - 8.57
So that is it for 2008. Hoping to keep going in 2009, although the thought of running in cold weather does not inspire me at all!
I haven't been feeling too good the last few days, so I was not interested in a quick time, just in getting round.
It was very cold and I was glad the Garmin found the satellite quite quickly. As i started I checked the time and was under 9.00, so I slowed down to 9.00 pace and tried to stay as near to that as I could.
The run felt uncomfortable, difficult, slow, long and cold.
However, in the end I finished off with a 56 minutes 23 seconds which is just over 9.00 pace. So i was pleased with that.
Splits
1 - 9.05
2 - 9.17
3 - 9.18
4 - 9.14
5 - 9.06
6 - 8.57
So that is it for 2008. Hoping to keep going in 2009, although the thought of running in cold weather does not inspire me at all!
Thursday 25 December 2008
5km Christmas Day
Christmas is not celebrated by everyone in Albania. In fact my mother-in-law went to the Post Office today and said that it was a normal working day.
I decided I would have time, with the boys off school to get a run in before lunch.
Unfortunately, I haven't been well this week and have a virus, so i decided that 5km should be the maximum for this run.
Decided not to time it nor do my heart rate, but at the last minute I took my Garmin with me.
As i started to run I saw a friend and I think that made me run a little quicker. I saw I was under 8.00 pace.
Too quick!
I don't know what it is about this course but the Garmin that is usually very accurate does not pick it up.It is about 200metres out...so all the other runs over this course have to be unofficial , including my under 26 minutes PR for 5km.
There were far too many people on the roads, and a number of times I had to either take a slight detour rather than the shortest route possible. At one point I got squeezed between 2 card and had to run back and round them.
Still I felt good all the run.
As I came towards the end I felt I should up the pace, but was totally unaware of the 5km spot. I added a little onto the run, rather than my usual stop and checked the time at different spots.
I make it that i ran about 100 metres more than 5km.
My last check point was 26 minutes, so I reckon the time to be about 26 minutes 15 seconds.
I am making this my official record time for 5km.
I still feel I could have upped that and beaten it, but still it felt good.
I am a little cold now...which is not good. That was how I was feeling earlier in the week.
My chest was also bright red after the run. I was hoping it was the dri-fit shirt and the cold weather and not a rash. I am not convinced as yet what it is.
Here are the splits.
1 - 8.00
2 - 8.27
3 - 8.09
last - 7.27
I decided I would have time, with the boys off school to get a run in before lunch.
Unfortunately, I haven't been well this week and have a virus, so i decided that 5km should be the maximum for this run.
Decided not to time it nor do my heart rate, but at the last minute I took my Garmin with me.
As i started to run I saw a friend and I think that made me run a little quicker. I saw I was under 8.00 pace.
Too quick!
I don't know what it is about this course but the Garmin that is usually very accurate does not pick it up.It is about 200metres out...so all the other runs over this course have to be unofficial , including my under 26 minutes PR for 5km.
There were far too many people on the roads, and a number of times I had to either take a slight detour rather than the shortest route possible. At one point I got squeezed between 2 card and had to run back and round them.
Still I felt good all the run.
As I came towards the end I felt I should up the pace, but was totally unaware of the 5km spot. I added a little onto the run, rather than my usual stop and checked the time at different spots.
I make it that i ran about 100 metres more than 5km.
My last check point was 26 minutes, so I reckon the time to be about 26 minutes 15 seconds.
I am making this my official record time for 5km.
I still feel I could have upped that and beaten it, but still it felt good.
I am a little cold now...which is not good. That was how I was feeling earlier in the week.
My chest was also bright red after the run. I was hoping it was the dri-fit shirt and the cold weather and not a rash. I am not convinced as yet what it is.
Here are the splits.
1 - 8.00
2 - 8.27
3 - 8.09
last - 7.27
Tuesday 23 December 2008
Day 97 - 3 month review
Time for a review.
It has passed 3 months since I started to run.
There are a lot of good things that have happened since then, and I am really pleased at the progress.
I did a 5km last Friday and that kept my goal of 15km a week through the winter period.
yesterday , I think, was the shortest day of daylight, so the nights should be getting lighter and spring should be on its way.
Not much chance of that, for a while.
I always feel that February is the coldest month in Albania....so I reckon we have some cold weather to deal with, and I will see how things go.
Positives.
Have been keeping the running going - so far so good.
Weight loss till now has been encouraging. The 3 month weight was 79.6kg
No injuries.
The desire to run is still there.
Negatives
Just been at 2 weddings over the weekend, and with New Year coming up I can see the weight going back on. I am already back up over 80kg.
Not looking forward to running in the (very) cold weather.
4 weeks of almost non-stop rain have hindered me slightly.
Longer runs are more boring. I don't know if I should start using the i-pod. Unfortunately my ipod is too big and bulky for running and my wife is away today with her i-pod - which I would have tried. The other problem, is that running in Albania, you need to watch the cars, and with an i-pod, you sometimes can;t hear them speeding up behind you!
Told my wife to keep an eye on the New year sales for a new pair of running shoes when she is in the UK.
that may inspire me to get out running in the cold!
It has passed 3 months since I started to run.
There are a lot of good things that have happened since then, and I am really pleased at the progress.
I did a 5km last Friday and that kept my goal of 15km a week through the winter period.
yesterday , I think, was the shortest day of daylight, so the nights should be getting lighter and spring should be on its way.
Not much chance of that, for a while.
I always feel that February is the coldest month in Albania....so I reckon we have some cold weather to deal with, and I will see how things go.
Positives.
Have been keeping the running going - so far so good.
Weight loss till now has been encouraging. The 3 month weight was 79.6kg
No injuries.
The desire to run is still there.
Negatives
Just been at 2 weddings over the weekend, and with New Year coming up I can see the weight going back on. I am already back up over 80kg.
Not looking forward to running in the (very) cold weather.
4 weeks of almost non-stop rain have hindered me slightly.
Longer runs are more boring. I don't know if I should start using the i-pod. Unfortunately my ipod is too big and bulky for running and my wife is away today with her i-pod - which I would have tried. The other problem, is that running in Albania, you need to watch the cars, and with an i-pod, you sometimes can;t hear them speeding up behind you!
Told my wife to keep an eye on the New year sales for a new pair of running shoes when she is in the UK.
that may inspire me to get out running in the cold!
Monday 15 December 2008
Day 89 - slow 10km
Not having run for a few days, I was determined to get a run in today - especially as the forecast is more rain.
As it was dry, I went out as soon as I picked the boys up from school.
I programmed 10km on the Garmin and started to run.
the whole run just felt uncomfortable, slow, lethargic, heavy legs...nothing about it was very good.
Ran a reverse route, and that it made it slightly more interesting, but this is one of those days that running is not much fun!
10km in 1 hour 24 seconds.
Splits
1 - 9.06
2 - 9.38
3 - 10.25
4 - 9.58
5 - 9.56
6 - 10.04
end 6.45
As it was dry, I went out as soon as I picked the boys up from school.
I programmed 10km on the Garmin and started to run.
the whole run just felt uncomfortable, slow, lethargic, heavy legs...nothing about it was very good.
Ran a reverse route, and that it made it slightly more interesting, but this is one of those days that running is not much fun!
10km in 1 hour 24 seconds.
Splits
1 - 9.06
2 - 9.38
3 - 10.25
4 - 9.58
5 - 9.56
6 - 10.04
end 6.45
Thursday 11 December 2008
Day 85 - Running in the rain
My boys were out of school early for a parents meeting, so after hearing the report on my eldest son, I thought I would get out for a quick 5km.
However, the rain started. Undeterred, I got ready, took off my glasses and headed out. It was raining lightly and I really thought it would go off, but it actually got heavier as I went round the course.
Never mind, it kept me cool.
I started off, and I knew I was running quickly - well quicker than normal.
I started to slow down a little as I convinced myself that I could up the pace nearer home rather than in the beginning.
At approx. 2 miles I checked my watch to find how far I had run, and saw that it was exactly 2 miles and the time a little over 17 minutes.
Immediately, psychologically I felt out of breath...
But, I decided that if I ran that pace it would be a PR - so I kept going.
As I came along the last 1km I felt out of breath, but could see I was running an easy pace, but quickly. As I turned onto the last 500 metres I managed to up the pace but without sprinting.
The final time was 25 minutes 58 seeconds.
8.20 pace
Splits
1- 8.35
2- 8.27
3- 8.04
final - 7.24
65% heart rate in Zone 5, so I was running a little faster than I should, or what is comfortable.
39 seconds quicker than my best 5km up till now.
Weigh In yesterday
79.9kg
Glad to still be under 80kg - but it seems to be itching to get back up over 80kg and New Year is approaching...
However, the rain started. Undeterred, I got ready, took off my glasses and headed out. It was raining lightly and I really thought it would go off, but it actually got heavier as I went round the course.
Never mind, it kept me cool.
I started off, and I knew I was running quickly - well quicker than normal.
I started to slow down a little as I convinced myself that I could up the pace nearer home rather than in the beginning.
At approx. 2 miles I checked my watch to find how far I had run, and saw that it was exactly 2 miles and the time a little over 17 minutes.
Immediately, psychologically I felt out of breath...
But, I decided that if I ran that pace it would be a PR - so I kept going.
As I came along the last 1km I felt out of breath, but could see I was running an easy pace, but quickly. As I turned onto the last 500 metres I managed to up the pace but without sprinting.
The final time was 25 minutes 58 seeconds.
8.20 pace
Splits
1- 8.35
2- 8.27
3- 8.04
final - 7.24
65% heart rate in Zone 5, so I was running a little faster than I should, or what is comfortable.
39 seconds quicker than my best 5km up till now.
Weigh In yesterday
79.9kg
Glad to still be under 80kg - but it seems to be itching to get back up over 80kg and New Year is approaching...
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