Because I'm going to do this big cycle ride I've been riding twice a week, more to get my butt used to the saddle more than anything else. But what has become quite clear to me again is that I find cycling a lot easier than running. I don't know why but I suspect that it's because while running you are continually lifting your body of the ground, energy that is expended which doesn't move you forward. Perhaps I run badly. With cycling all your effort goes into forward motion, so perhaps thats why it seems easier to me.
About the Great Mpumalanga Bike Ride that I'm doing early next month, I thought I'd give an over view for those of you who think I'm mad. I know the ride will be quite hilly, but considering we have an entire day to get to the next camp site, I hope I can take it slow enough not to be entirely exhausted at the end of every day. I'm sure the scenery will make up for the effort required to get from site to site. I'm going to try to keep a diary, which I might post when I get back.
The route is as follows:
Day 1 Saturday 5 April - Nelspruit to Sabie 45km
Day 2 Sunday - Sabie to Lydenberg 43km
Day 3 Monday - Lydenberg to Brandraai 62km
Day 4 Tuesday - Brandraai to Pilgrems Rest 77km
Day 5 Wednesday - Rest day at Pilgrims Rest, I think I might need this day!!
Day 6 Thursday - Pilgrims Rest to Hazy View 47km
Day 7 Friday - Hazy View to White River 38km
Day 8 Saturday - White River to Nelspruit 20km
Ok so now that I put it down like that and look at it... and look at it again I'm a bit scared!! But I think I'm pretty fit, if anything I'll just fall into bed every evening and sleep like I've never slept before. Oh and it's a camping trip so no terribly comfy bed... I think I'm going to invest in one of those expensive self inflatinf airmattresses.
I would have liked to take a GPS to record this, alas my GPS willl run out of juice after the first day. Perhaps I can rig up some kind of charger so I can record the route... and especially the contour!!
I'm sure this won't be my last post about this, I'm getting quite excited.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Week 11 Exercise Log
Enjoyed this week a lot, the weather seems to be cooling off and I'm finding I have more energy. Also cycled on Sunday and Tuesday in preparation for the bike ride next month. I put the running interval up by 5 seconds which actually makes a surprising difference to the average pace that I end up running.
Monday 10 March 2008
Distance: 5.5km
Total time: 40:13
Intervals: 35/60
Pace: 7:29 min/km
Average HR:
Route: Spiral
Wednesday 5 March 2008
Distance: 5.1km
Total time: 38:00
Intervals: 35/60
Pace: 7:27 min/km
Average HR:
Route: Nicholson
Friday 29 February 2008
Distance: 5km
Total time: 40
Intervals: Didn't have a watch
Pace: 8 min/km
Average HR:
Route: Lynwood
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Training plans
As it seems to be going better again, I think I must think of how fast I want to be going and then keep it there if possible. The problem is that there are two aims that I have in mind, going a little faster and going a lot further. The question is how to do both?
While running yesterday I think I came up with a plan. At the moment I can comfortably complete 4, 5, 6 and at a push even 10km. Problem is that my ultimate goal, to complete the Two Oceans Half Marathon, means that I need to be able to run at a pace faster than 8.5km for the entire race. At the moment I'm quite close to that, so I think I need to speed up a bit. I would be more comfortable at a pace of about 7min/km. That should have me finishing in about 2hrs 15, with a lot of time left till the three hour cuttoff. Question is how to get there and maintian it for greater distances.
What I'm going to do is stick to my "style" of running, where I run and walk. At the moment my walking time is 1min and my running time is 30s. This allows an average pace of around 8min/km, which in itself will be fast enough to allow me to complete the race in time, but I don't want to cut it too fine. Then at a certain training distance, 5/6km at the moment I will keep the walking time the same and slowly increase my running time till I reach the 7min/km mark. Only once I can comfortably run that distance at 7min/km will I start training to go another km.
It's pretty simple, but it makes sense to me and should allow me to progress without hurting myself. I will try to keep doing a monthly 10km race aswell to keep track of my progress. Once I can run a 10km in under 70 minutes then I will start looking to run slightly longer distances. A great suggestion from one of the Run Walk For Life coaches was that in a race if you can find 2 km markers you can run from one back to the previous one, and then continue running, this immediately adds 2km to your race distance, which is a great way to start moving towards the final goal of 21.1km.
While running yesterday I think I came up with a plan. At the moment I can comfortably complete 4, 5, 6 and at a push even 10km. Problem is that my ultimate goal, to complete the Two Oceans Half Marathon, means that I need to be able to run at a pace faster than 8.5km for the entire race. At the moment I'm quite close to that, so I think I need to speed up a bit. I would be more comfortable at a pace of about 7min/km. That should have me finishing in about 2hrs 15, with a lot of time left till the three hour cuttoff. Question is how to get there and maintian it for greater distances.
What I'm going to do is stick to my "style" of running, where I run and walk. At the moment my walking time is 1min and my running time is 30s. This allows an average pace of around 8min/km, which in itself will be fast enough to allow me to complete the race in time, but I don't want to cut it too fine. Then at a certain training distance, 5/6km at the moment I will keep the walking time the same and slowly increase my running time till I reach the 7min/km mark. Only once I can comfortably run that distance at 7min/km will I start training to go another km.
It's pretty simple, but it makes sense to me and should allow me to progress without hurting myself. I will try to keep doing a monthly 10km race aswell to keep track of my progress. Once I can run a 10km in under 70 minutes then I will start looking to run slightly longer distances. A great suggestion from one of the Run Walk For Life coaches was that in a race if you can find 2 km markers you can run from one back to the previous one, and then continue running, this immediately adds 2km to your race distance, which is a great way to start moving towards the final goal of 21.1km.
Week 10 Exercise Log
Took things very easy this week, except for on Wednesday's time trial which I pushed just a little bit. I think last time I did a 10km I didn't give myself enough rest afterwards, so this week I only did 4kms every day. Although on Sunday I went for an hours ride and on Tuesday I went for another 45min ride, so I guess I had quite a busy week. Work is a little stressful at the moment, so it's probably good to be getting some more exercise. I am reminded that I find cycling a lot easier than running, but the risks of cycling seem to be greater, so I'd rather run for now...besides I have a goal to achieve.
Monday 3 March 2008
Distance: 4km
Total time: 30:28
Intervals: 30/60
Pace: 8:04 min/km
Average HR: 139
Route: Boys High
Wednesday 5 March 2008
Distance: 4km
Total time: 28:14
Intervals: 45/60
Pace: 7:12 min/km
Average HR: 146
Route: Time Trial Clockwise
Friday 29 February 2008
Distance: 4.02km
Total time: 31:59
Intervals: 30/60
Pace: 7:57 min/km
Average HR: 139
Route: Clarke
What's cool for me about this week is that I'm back below the 8min/km mark. I'll try and keep it there
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Deloitte Pretoria 10km race
I wasn't expecting much from this race as I really haven't been feeling strong lately. We decided to do it because we are attempting to do one 10km every month, this is the one for March... I missed February as I was sick and I will miss the April one as I will be away on the bike ride.
For those of you who know that my creative writing sucks scroll down tow paragraphs.
As for the race, as always I hated getting out of bed. It was so warm and comfortable... I pressed the snooze button and rolled over. My conscience pricked me and two minutes later I was out of bed, walking into walls and doors etc. This is where everything got forgotten. I took my meds, took a bight of an energy bar, drank some energade and realised I had no apples... I looked at a very miserable looking banana... when it smiled back, with a gooey grin, I threw it in the bin. I threw some rediculously short shorts on...the slightly less short shorts had been destroyed in a garage walkby... never mind. I was supposed to put my licence number on my shirt the night before but I rather went to bed. Ofcourse that meant I forgot the safety pins. I got fetched by an overly keen and chirpy lady from run walk for life two seconds later, meaning that I forgot my heart rate monitor and GPS.
Then instead of walking to the start, which was literally three hundred meters from my bed, we drove to a secure parking lot... I should have suspected something when the walk to the race start was DOWNHILL all the way, I was still asleep. We got our numbers and they had safety pins! YAY.
Ambled to the start, we were there for not more than five minutes when the gun went off and everyone surged ahead. I felt pretty good most of the way, because I had forgotten my watch I kept a count of how many paces we had run and walked. Depending on how I felt we ran for longer or shorter usually longer on the downhills and shorter on the uphills. All in all it was a good race, I didn't feel particularly tired and we finished in a not too terrible 1:19. Granted it's 2 minutes slower than the last race, but then I was quite sick three weeks ago!
Then came the comical ending, after collecting our goddie bags and taking full advantage of the run walk for life hospitality tent, we began the great trek back to the car. The temptation to rag Melinda about the UPHILL and the distance to her car was impossible to resist. When she couldn't get back to her car because the code on the gate had changed... well living this down will take a LONG time.
But it was all good fun, and whats more is that at the end of the 10km I didn't feel dead tire, I think I could have pushed on for another few km... maybe the 21 is doable afterall.
For those of you who know that my creative writing sucks scroll down tow paragraphs.
As for the race, as always I hated getting out of bed. It was so warm and comfortable... I pressed the snooze button and rolled over. My conscience pricked me and two minutes later I was out of bed, walking into walls and doors etc. This is where everything got forgotten. I took my meds, took a bight of an energy bar, drank some energade and realised I had no apples... I looked at a very miserable looking banana... when it smiled back, with a gooey grin, I threw it in the bin. I threw some rediculously short shorts on...the slightly less short shorts had been destroyed in a garage walkby... never mind. I was supposed to put my licence number on my shirt the night before but I rather went to bed. Ofcourse that meant I forgot the safety pins. I got fetched by an overly keen and chirpy lady from run walk for life two seconds later, meaning that I forgot my heart rate monitor and GPS.
Then instead of walking to the start, which was literally three hundred meters from my bed, we drove to a secure parking lot... I should have suspected something when the walk to the race start was DOWNHILL all the way, I was still asleep. We got our numbers and they had safety pins! YAY.
Ambled to the start, we were there for not more than five minutes when the gun went off and everyone surged ahead. I felt pretty good most of the way, because I had forgotten my watch I kept a count of how many paces we had run and walked. Depending on how I felt we ran for longer or shorter usually longer on the downhills and shorter on the uphills. All in all it was a good race, I didn't feel particularly tired and we finished in a not too terrible 1:19. Granted it's 2 minutes slower than the last race, but then I was quite sick three weeks ago!
Then came the comical ending, after collecting our goddie bags and taking full advantage of the run walk for life hospitality tent, we began the great trek back to the car. The temptation to rag Melinda about the UPHILL and the distance to her car was impossible to resist. When she couldn't get back to her car because the code on the gate had changed... well living this down will take a LONG time.
But it was all good fun, and whats more is that at the end of the 10km I didn't feel dead tire, I think I could have pushed on for another few km... maybe the 21 is doable afterall.
Week 9 Exercise Log
Felt a lot better this week, my lungs were clear and I didn't cough as much. I didn't go any faster but it felt easier, it also feels like it's been cooler the past few days, maybe that's why. I'm not sure if I posted about it yet, but I'm going to do the Great Mpumalanga Bike Ride next month. It is not a race, it's a tour of the countryside at a snails pace. Nevertheless, I feel I should at least get my butt used to sitting in a saddle again, so my alarm time has been changed to 5:30... I'm lucky if I can drag myself out of bed, and even when I do get out of bed and get dressed, it's very lucky if I don't go back to sleep for another "2 minutes". However on Wednesday I did manage to do 20 minutes on an exercise bike, and another 30 minutes on Thursday, and the plan is to do more on Sunday. Oh and I almost forgot this week I did the Deloitte Pretoria 10km Race
Monday 25 February 2008Distance: 6km
Total time: 55:00
Intervals: 30/60
Pace: 8:59
Average HR: 129
Route: Lynwood
Wednesday 27 February 2008
Distance: 5.2km
Total time: 42:12
Intervals: 30/60
Pace: 8:18 min/km
Average HR: 150
Route: Death on tar... I mean Premier
Friday 29 February 2008
Rained out
Saturday 1 March 2008
Distance: 10km
Total time: 1:19
Intervals: Don't know
Pace: just under 8min/km
Average HR: Don't know
Route: Deloitte 10km
Week 8 Exercise Log
Still trying to get over my cold. Got myself a venteze inhaler... ok so it wasn't prescribed but I have used one before, it just allows me to breathe easier and to clear my lungs.
Sunday 17 February 2008Distance: 5km
Total time: 54:00
Intervals: walked
Pace: 10:48
Average HR: 118
Route: Random
Monday 18 February 2008
Distance: 5km
Total time: 42
Intervals:
Pace: 8:24 min/km
Average HR: Don't know
Route: Clarke
Wednesday 20 February 2007
Distance: 4.8km
Total time: 39:00
Intervals: 30/60
Pace: 8:08 min/km
Average HR: 145
Route: Nicholson
Friday 15 February 2007
Rained out
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