left leg, right leg . . .

Another week

2011-07-21T03:57:00.000-07:00

Hello People

Past couple of days have been really muggy in terms of temperature, almost unreal to walk around in the heat.

I got to bang out 2 miles on Tuesday even though I got in late from work. I think that is the latest I have ever round outside, but it was a little cooler, so I was thankful for that.

Supposed to have leaving drinks at work today which I need to be at (I promise, no drinking folks :)); so decided to do my 4m run this morning, but only managed to stumble out of bed at about5.40am; I blame the alarm clock. It was already sticky and I was drenched by mile 1. Today was the first day I ran with the heart rate monitor, and the stats are interesting to look at. Guess you can see what my problem is - consistency!!! Need to work on that big time, but the training run on Saturday in Central Park with the pacers should help. Plan to run with the 9:30 group just to get a taste, or might hang with the 10:00 squad for the first one - off to work now. Enjoy

Sunday run - 7 miles, wooo hooo . . . . .

2011-07-17T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I really didn't feel like waking up this morning, but I am trying to get myself back on track, so I can actually look forward to my runs

Did today's run in Prospect Park as I wanted to feel the challenge of that nasty hill and see how I coped. Based on the advise of Coach CBD, I tried my longest run to date without music. It is funny how you almost start singing to yourself during the run

I did good until 2.6miles in when I took a sip of Gatorade, but might have taken too much as my stomach felt funny shortly after. The going was good, and there was no cramping at all

I do know that I need to set aside some time for hill training. Hills always knock me out and I need to figure out the best way up them. I am open to ideas people

With the coming week of training, the one thing I will try to do is avoid stopping at all during the runs, unless it is absolutely necessary. Slowing it down to trot as I do what I need to do then pick it up again

Really psyched for this. Not planning to cheat on foods, loads of water and fruits to flush my system - bring it on people - I am fired up

Oh and the Balega socks were good, fit well and didn't give me the usual toe nail pull I get. I had a 9:52 pace and I know some areas I need to work on, so it was a good finish to the week,

Waiting for Tuesday morning so I can go pound some pavement. Comment as you see fit :)

I'm in

2011-07-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

So it is official. I registered for the Philadelphia Rock n Roll half marathon. The Chef is also doing it, so there should be good company for the run, assiming that I can keep up.

Have a 4m run in Central Park tomorrow morning, which should be a nice easy run. Aiming for a 9.30 pace, but curious to see how I tackle the hills and my pacing during mile 2 and mile 4. Noticed this nagging shoulder pain that always happens at the beginning of mile 2, and can't figure out why it keeps happening.

Looking to close out week 3 of my training on a good note and then see really allow this to take off during week 4. Will be posting details of my mileage and pace so you can review and comment as you see fit.

Also got some new Balega socks from Citysports (near Rockerfeller Center), so will be posting a review of them. Race report tomorrow . . . .

getting back into it

2011-07-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

Wasn't able to run on Tuesday as I went for drinks with Lady A after work. It was fun hanging with her and we chatted loads, but I knew that trying to run after a couple of coronas was a bad idea

Planned to go for it on Wednesday, but the heavens opened about 7.30pm, and it was torrential!! I was stuck inside looking out the window, and wishing . . . .

I don't like missing the plan, and need to be more focused on this. Similar to what Coach Alem said, 'train hard, run easy' and that is what I need to do for the marathon, I really want to do well this year.

Was reading on active.com and saw this headset / mp3 player being advertised. What do you think? Looks really cool and it solves the problem of wires dangling everywhere. However just with my luck, based on the advise of Mr CBD (my coach), I have tried running without music for the past two weeks and it is a very different experience, which I think I like. I am more aware of my environment, and I need to dig deep when I am tired, as opposed to depending on a song to pep me up. Let's see how long that lasts for :)

Also looks like I might be doing the Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll half in September. Was speaking with the chef and she mentioned it, and I was thinking to myself, why not? It makes sense and I get to see another city, so get ready Philly, this runner is coming to town

Ran 3 miles this evening at about 9.03 pace; trying to do another tomorrow morning, fingers crossed

Weekend Run

2011-07-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

So I did 6miles today. It was pretty intense and I woke up way too late. The plan was to wake up about 7am and get up before the sun came out, but I overslept and opened my eyes at 9

Stretched a bit and headed out with a bottle of Gatorade, and tried to make it happen. The sun was out in full blast and there was virtually no breeze. I struggled through most of it, but I like the route that I mapped out.

The only thing worrying me now is consistency as I need to be able to maintain a set pace from mile 2 or thereabouts and I seem to be allover the place

Well the plan is to get a running belt tomorrow after work from Citysports, probably something like this. Hopefully the runs during the week are a lot better. Might have to activate the virtual training partner on my Garmin to keep me on track

Wish me luck folks

To run or not to run

2011-07-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

This is supposed to be week 3 of my training plan and it has not gone too well. Was banged up with a cold, so couldn't do any serious running this week. I really need to aim for consistency early so I have a good foundation to build on as I start adding on the miles

The plan is to get out to Prospect Park tomorrow, and aim for two loops - wish me luck.