Week 35

I think monday morning was just too much this week and got left out. The intention was to keep pushing the running time up, but it never happened. I've come to a realisation, but I'll talk about that in my next post.

Monday evening 25/08/08
Distance run: 6km
Time: 48:00
Pace: 8:00
Interval (w/r): 80/55

Wednesday morning 27/08/08
Distance run: 2km
Time: 14:11
Pace: 7:05
Interval (w/r): 60/75

Wednesday evening 27/08/08
Distance run: 6km
Time: 45:34
Pace: 7:35
Interval (w/r): 80/60

Friday morning 29/08/08
Distance run: 2km
Time: 14:09
Pace: 7:04
Interval (w/r): 60/75

Friday evening 29/08/08
Distance run: 4km
Time: 34:36
Pace: 8:39
Interval (w/r): Walked

Saturday afternoon 30/08/08
Distance run: 10km
Time: 1:21:21
Pace: 8:08
Interval (w/r): 2:00/1:00

Total distance this week: 30km

The walk on Friday was because I knew I'd be doing the Spar Ladies Race on Saturday afternoon. It was good fun, but damn hot!! Nothing like a bunch of sweaty guys in girls clothing for a good laugh... especially when you are one of them...see my next post

Week 34

This week, I started increasing the running time in my early morning runs by 5 seconds every day. I think I'm going to go back to my old style of putting every exercise seperately, I think it's clearer to see whats been happening.

Monday morning 18/08/08
Distance run: 2km
Time: 14:52
Pace: 7:28
Interval (w/r): 60/65

Monday evening 18/08/08
Distance run: 6km
Time: 46:21
Pace: 7:43
Interval (w/r): 70/50

Wednesday morning 20/08/08
Distance run: 2km
Time: 14:06
Pace: 7:03
Interval (w/r): 60/70

Wednesday evening 20/08/08
Distance run: 6km
Time: 45:28
Pace: 7:34
Interval (w/r): 70/50

Friday evening 22/08/08
Distance run: 5.5km
Time: 50:26
Pace: 9:10
Interval (w/r): Walked

Total distance this week: 21.5km

I was trying to increase the running time rapidly, and it seemed to work fine until a little bit of wine for a friends birthday on Thursday night spoilt the party :P

900km!!

Just a quicky to note that yesterday I went over 900km! Check out the "RUNNING (and walking) TOTAL" in the left panel. Ok so it's taken more than a year, but I think by the end of September I'll probably be over 1000km! And thats almost an average of 60km a month for 15 straight months... I think I must be nuts!

Week 33 - the rest

I started the 2 runs a day this week, as mentioned in my previous post. So in total I ran 22km this week, which is not too shabby I guess, it's just that I've run faster and I'm not feeling particularly strong. The morning runs are great, and it's quite nice to just do a short run in the morning. It wakes you up for the day! I haven't been running them particularly fast. Wednesday was 7:19 and Friday 7:15, but that should improve as the running time goes up. As for next week, my running partner has suggested that we increase the running time by 5 seconds a day. I'm a bit skeptical but I'll give it a go.

Yesterday while running I was thinking that there must be an optimal resting time for me. That is clearly demonstrated by a 10km run we did a few weeks ago. I'd wanted to do an easy run, so I set the rest interval at 2mins and the running time to 45 seconds. But the result was a very satisfying 79mins for 10km. OK it's not fast, but it just demonstrated to me that if I rest enough I could complete a run faster.

So that set me thinking... wouldn't it be cool if someone interested in this kind of thing (people with chronic illnesses) could help me work out an optimal program? I spoke to my club manager about a training program, but I really don't think he understood what my problem is, and he didn't seem to be interested in taking the time to find out. So what I am seriously thinking of doing is offering myself as a study subject to the biokinetics department at the University of Pretoria. Perhaps there would be a student who would be interested in working with me, and perhaps my cardiologist, to get the most out of me? Because, if I'm honest with myself, even though I'm listening to my body, I'm also kindof clutching in the dark at this thing. It would be great to have someone really interested in researching exercise options for someone like me.


Anyone have any comments? Suggestions?

Week 33 - Atleast the first half of it

What I learned from the 15km and the 30km is that I need to get more distance under my belt, I need to do more 10km+ runs. At the same time though, I really want to get a little faster. Add to that what I learned from last years summer - I don't run well in the heat and humidity. All this adds up to one thing. I need to some morning training.

I can't follow any of the traditional training plans, for obvious reasons. I can't follow the pace goals that those programs set you, and I'm not sure if I can follow the distance goals just yet either. However any morning run adds to my distance and I've read that you can gain from splitting your training into shorter session split between the morning and evening. So basically, to get to the distance goals the traditional programs suggest I will just run more short runs in the mornings.

I also want to work on my pace and endurance, extending the time I spend running while maintaining my resting time. My goal pace is currently 6min/km. What I decided to do was to measure out a straight km. So there and back would give me 2km. On this course I can change my running/walking times until I am comfortable running at 6min/km. Once I've done that I'll increase the distance to 3km and so on.

In the evenings for now I will probably try to get my pace to about 7:30 a km and keep it there, while increasing the distance I run. I think until the end of August I'll continue to run 6's and then start running 7's in September. However when summer comes I will probably try to run more in the mornings and less in the hot afterrnoons.

So I started this disjointed training this morning, running the 2km stretch in 14:38 (7:19/km), and not feeling particularly uncomfortable about it. I will change the times every Monday, hopefully I'll get to the 6min/km mark quite quickly over this short distance. I've yet to see what I feel like this afternoon, but it is a great way to start the day!

Week 32 - Sortof back into it (3-9Aug)

What incredibly frustrating about being me is that I work really hard to get to a level of fitness, for months at a time, and all of that seems to vanish in a few moments when I get sick. That not only makes going for a run less fun, but also destroys my motivation! So I went for a walk on Sunday 3 Aug, did what I assume was about 5km in 50mins, which was fine. It was when I went for my first run on Monday evening that I realised my fitness was seriously compromised.

The route was Spiral which is 5.5km and it took a dismal 51 mins to complete, because I simply couldn't run, there was nothing there when I tried to turn it on :( . The running club was doing a VO2 Max test on Wednesday, so I skipped that and went for another 60min walk, which I assume was about 6km. Friday was a little better, I did 4km in 33min, but still far off the pace of the 15km I'd done 3 weeks before.

There is a possible added reason for my feeling a bit flat. I was taking some supplements, Co-Enzyme Q10, which I haven't actually run past my doctor...so don't tell him :P. But when I got some symptoms that my INR was too high, bruising etc, I stopped taking them and went for a long overdue blood test...yes I hate them! My blood was pretty much fine, but I don't really want to start taking them again and have them change my INR. Next time I see my Cardiologist I will ask him about Co-Q10, I've done a little research and there seems to be some strong indications that this stuff may be of some help. If coming off it has contributed to my feeling less fit then thats a clear indication in my book... however, the eternal skeptic says, it could also just be psychosomatic!

Anyway, whats the moral of the story? Firstly, don't over do it Mark! Duh! And second, don't try things without talking to a doctor (in my defence I started on a very small dose)

Week 31 - Straight after Walk the Talk

To say that 30km was over doing it is an understatement I guess. I was finished! I think that probably contributed wit what happened later in the week. I got to work on Wednesday and all was fine, however by about 10am my hands were really cold. I got a cup of coffee and put my hands under the hot tap, when I got back to my office I put the aircon on hot, which I very seldom do (energy use, carbon footprint etc). Nothing worked and half an hour later I was shivering like I was outside in subzero temperatures in my undies.

Needless to say I went home, which was interesting considering I ride a motorcycle (energy use, carbon footprint, financially sensible). I got home and went to bed. I then sent SA Doc what must have been a really annoying sms, but considering my other close doc friend was in SCOTLAND at the time, she was my only option. She told me my symptoms were pretty broad and that, considering my condition, I should see a doctor. I knew she would say that, so I went to the doctor, because at this stage I was pretty alarmed.

The doctor was unimpressed by my "alarming" symptoms and sent me home with a letter booking me off till the weekend. He said I had "viremia", which is short for "I have no idea what you have but you will live", and told me it would pass in 48 hours, which it did! I had fever and a headache all of Wednesday night, read a book most of Thursday, slept like a log on Thursday night and went back to work on Friday.

Needless to say the only exercise I did was 2.8 VERY slow km's on monday.

30km 702 Walk the Talk

OH MY WORD!! So I thought, ah, it'll be fine, I ran 15km last weekend, what can a measly 30km walk do to me?! WRONG!! It was tough, the last 10km, as predicted by one of the guys at the club, was really hard.

I had organised park and ride tickets, which I had hoped would get us close to the start/finish. They, unfortunately weren't included in the race pack, and because I got someone else to fetch the packs, on Saturday, there was no time to query it. So we drove to the venue and parked where the parking attendant said was as close as we could get, which was like 3kms walk from the start!

In an attempt to keep down the weight of the backpack I was carrying (for snacks :P ) I left my beanie behind, which made me quite miserable for the first 3/4km while I warmed up. It's unbelievable how hilly Johannesburg is. One thinks that Cape Town has all the mountains, but theres the Flats inbetween! It seemed like we were always on an incline, either up or down.

All was good for most of the way and when the 15km walkers peeled off there was a very mild desire to go with them, but everything was still working fine, so we continued. I remember going passed the 21 in 3,5hrs, which had us pegged on 10min/km. It's not bad, but it does mean that there is no way I could walk a half marathon. Some running will definitely be needed.

After that I was desperately counting the kms down, my feet were burning and the tops of my quads were aching. The only thing that gave some relief was actually to run a little! Which we did down some of the downhills and sometimes on the few flats that there were.

Then once you have finally got to the finish line... in just under 5hrs...you have to walk back to the car!!! Through a throng of 40/50 thousand people!! I collapsed for a few minutes on the grass after the finish for a few minutes, but decided if the body cools down it will me much more difficult to get back to the car. It was a LONG way.

Anyway all said and done, I enjoyed it mostly. Lessons learned - more than 20km worth of walking is nuts! - from last week and this week, many more 15km+ runs must be completed before I attempt a 21, even if my heart can cope with it, my body (muscles and joints) still needs to get used to the longer distances.

I got home had a wonderful shower, climbed into bed for a well deserved nap. Then again went to bed at 9pm and slept through till 6, gotta love it! Only thing is the sore muscles and tendons this morning, i think this afternoon's run will end up being a 2km stretch session.

Week 30 2008

Last week's 15km is well behind me and now the 30km walk which I signed up for looms ahead. I've done a 20km walk 3 or 4 years ago and can't remember anything particularly bad about it. Except that we took pretty long, but an hour of that was spent by a good friends girlfriend bursting to go to the loo... so get it out before you start the race, it seems that there will be 1000 other people making the same mistake if you forget!

This weel I did 17.2 km, we took it very easy, because I don't think the body was quite happy by Monday, and on Wednesday and Friday we decided to take it easy aswell, because of the large distance to be covered tomorrow. I'm more worried about muscles getting stiff and feet getting sore than any cardiovascular problems. 5hrs on your feet is a long time. Then again I have done long hikes before, but thats different I think, the varying terrain gives your muscles and feet a break every now and then, whereas tar road for 5/6hrs is going to be tough.

A friend contacted me on Facebook about a walk she did not too long ago, but this was insane... 100km! 29hrs! I'm sure that must include rest breaks and meal breaks, but still thats more than a day spent on the same goal. Kudo's to her! I think I'll give that kind of distance a miss for now. I think 30km is about the limit. I think the big thing in something that long would be boredom! Perhaps I should have invested in an iPod before this one... oh well.

So it's a 5am start for me tomorrow morning and then a whole mission in and around Joburg. Wish me luck.

Week 29 2008 and my first 15km

The past week was a big week, although I didn't get a run in on Monday because I was in Cape Town, I did get a 6 in on Wednesday and a 4 in on Friday, but a four, only because I was planning on doing a 15 on Saturday morning.

I also managed, as promised to get a 6km run in on the previous Friday, in Cape Town with my old Run Walk For Life club. I didn't recognise anyone there and the manager had changed, but it was nice, and strange to be running around a familiar old route. It was a comfortable run although the girl I was running with took some time to get used to my "fartlek" "style".

Back to Saturday's 15km, it was the Marcel van't Slot Memorial race and took us on a 2 lap course around a quite hilly part of Pretoria. What was really nice was that the start was within a km of where I live so we cycled to the start, no looking for parking, no fighting traffic to get home.

This was the first time I tried running more than 10km so I changed the intervals to 50 seconds running and 2 minutes walking. In the beginning this was frustrating as everyone passes you rather quickly while you are on a walking interval, and often I gave in to the the temptation to run for a bit longer. Mostly I followed the intervals and pointed out to someone, who told me to run to the top of a hill, that it was all about pacing yourself. We left him behind somewhere around the 9km mark.

However, on the second lap I did push down a very long downhill section, continuing through two running intervals and the rest interval inbetween. What is really cool about this race is that I lapped the 10th km at 1hr14:33 which is my fastest time since moving to Pretoria, and it was in a 15km race, running slower intervals that I usually do! Just show's how much fitter I really am getting!

Around about the 13km mark however, the wheels started to wobble, I could feel that my legs weren't used to the longer time on the road and the faster finish, on a mostly downhill course to the end, didn't materialise. I also remember at that stage that the top of my quads, where I assume they join my hips, got quite tired. But I also remember not feeling short of breath or like I was pushing particularly hard, my muscles were just tired, perhaps I had the same problem of not taking in enough sugar on route.

In the end I completed the 15km in 1hr52:22 which I think is fantastic, it's just under 7:30min/km and I need to be under 8min/km to comfortably finish a half marathon. Slowly, it seems like this thing might be coming together.

After the race, when everything had cooled down I found that, not only where my muscles tired, but my knees hurt and so did the outside of my right foot, not quite sure what that means. I think that my body needs to get used to longer times on the road, I guess an added 40mins is quite significant. I was pretty exhausted on Saturday and spent most of the rest of the day relaxing in bed. I couldn't sleep very much though, I guess I was over tired. The knee and foot pain went away but the muscle stiffness remains, but I think I'll be fine to run a 6km again this afternoon.

This coming weekend should be interesting, I'm doing the 30km 702 Walk the Talk around Joburg. After this weekend I'm not sure it was a great idea. Especially considering that I'm likely to spend 5hrs walking!! Oh well it's too late to pull out now! Wish me luck

Week 28

I'm writing an early post this week because I'm going to be Cape Town over the weekend and won't get to a PC.

Yesterday I ran a route that I previously called "Hell on tar" ...it doesn't really seem like hell anymore. We have even added some extra distance to it, to make up 6km. In the spirit of saving the planet a kilometer at a time I also cycled to and from the club in the not so cold weather. I'll see if it's ok to continue when it is really cold.

Afterwards, in the shower I was thinking that I haven't had any real cardiac symptoms for a long time. Sure I watch what I eat, make sure I get enough rest and exercise regularly, but in my day to day life I don't experience any symptoms, which is awesome.

This week, I will have run 18km if I run tomorrow. I'm planning on running at my old Run Walk For Life club in Bergvliet. Hopefully the Cape Town weather stays away!

Week 27 2008

I'm gonna try do a weekly thing again, see how far I get. Rand 16km this week. It should have been 18 but I ate wrong yesterday. I'm still really amazed at what a difference diet makes to how you feel while training. I usually eat my own lunch that I bring from home. Something like a sandwich on low GI bread or wholewheat pasta with whatever sauce I have leftover.

Yesterday we had a braai for lunch so I had two boerewors rolls for lunch. Also having spent very little time in my office I hadn't had a chance to eat the fruit I normally eat daily either. This all conspired, i think to make me very miserable in yesterdays run, amd I settled for just doing 4km, while feeling the wors bouncing around in my tummy. I can't help but wonder if you get used to eating healthy, and if your body protests when you take a day off.

It's all good though, I'm gonna do a 15km in two weeks time and then walk 30km in the 702 the weekend after. So I'll make up the mileage.

A few months ago I decided I didn't feel like paying too much for petrol, driving an old car, so I bought myself a 250cc motorcycle. I was asked to help out in a race this morning, hosted by our running club. I led the lead runner around the course. Other than the fact that my hands nearly fell off because it was so cold, it was quite fun.

I'm going to Cape Town this coming Friday and I hope to go for a run at my old club, Bergvliet Run Walk For Life. I'm hoping the weather down there is good enough to go out for a 6. Will be nice to see all the old crowd that I used to run with.