Ou Voedpad 10 Miler

OK so the link is in Afrikaans, sorry to those of you who can't read it. You'll have to read my interpretation. The 10 mile run started at TUT ( Tswane University of Technology) heading west and within three miles we were led onto an old footpath, heading north over the Magaliesberg. I stupidly sprinted down most of the north face of the mountain, and I think it's a miracle that I didn't twist my ankle, but I really do enjoy running down mountains :)

Then we headed west over the entrance to the Daspoort tunnel and then a little further on we headed straight up the mountain to head back south and finally east back to TUT. I think my description is useless...

It was a pretty tough but I never felt REALLY tired at any point. I guess a lot had to do with the necessity to walk single file up much of the track. The scenery was magnificent, being able to see the whole of Pretoria, North and South of the Magaliesberg.

So far this is the furthest I've run and even though it was at quite a slow pace, I think that had it been on a flatter surface, and not hampered by other walkers I'd have been able to do it in atleast 20mins less. Which is encouraging for a 21km.

Week 37 (07/09/08 - 13/09/08)

Once again I have only the data in my log book (which I am once again very grateful for keeping) to add to this blog.

Monday morning 8/09/08
Nadda: I think I was lazy after too good a weekend

Monday evening 8/09/08
Distance run: 7km
Route: Clarke
Walked to and from running: 2km

Wednesday morning 10/09/08
Distance run: 2km
Time: 14:19

Wednesday evening 10/09/08
Distance run: 7.5km
Route: Spiral
Walked to and from running: 2km

Friday morning 12/09/08
Nadda: I have no excuse except laziness and resting for the 16km run that I did the on Saturday

Friday evening 12/09/08
Distance run: 4km

Saturday morning 13/08/08
Distance run: 16km
Route: Ou Voedpad 10 Miler!!
Time: 2:21

Total distance this week: 38.5km

Week 36

Ok so it's high time for a new post, well this will be the first of a few so I'll keep it short. Unfortunately my laptop with all my polar HR data on it was stolen from my office at work, so the data will be a little sparse. Serves me right for not posting regularly, or backing up personal data :(

Monday morning 1/09/08
Distance run: 2km
Time: 14:26
Pace: 7:13

Monday evening 1/09/08
Distance run: 6km
Time: 45:32

Wednesday morning 3/09/08
Distance run: 2km
Time: 14 ish

Wednesday evening 3/09/08
Distance run: 6km
Walked to and from running: 2km

Friday morning 5/09/08
Nadda: I think this had something to do with a running friends birthday

Friday evening 29/08/08
Distance run: 4km

Saturday afternoon 30/08/08
Nadda:

Total distance this week: 22km

Realisations

I meantioned in an earlier post that I'd realised something, that being the fact that I'm pretty limited in the output I can produce. So trying to get a little bit faster by running slightly longer is kindof in vane. Thing is, I can consistently complete a longer run in less than 8min/km, which is fine to achieve my goal. Whats more, sometimes walking for longer actually leaves my overall pace unchanged, if not improved. So I'm going to stop trying to run for longer, and make sure my "rest" intervals are long enough for me to really rest.

Granted I did run 6km yesterday in 42:30 with the intervals set to 75/90 and I think that was my fasted 6km time trial time. But still I think it's probably better for me to be at a comfortable pace, but doing more distance, than going any faster at this stage. So that's what I intend to do. Possibly, tomorrow, possibly next week I'll start doing 7km in the evenings, after having walked 1km to the club, and 1km home, that is 9km in total that evening, add to that the 2km run I do in the morning on the same day and I'll be doing 11km a day!! 33km a week, and thats if theres no race on Saturday!

On another note...in response to Romy's comment... I am quite aware that on Saturday I dressed up like a woman, however...I'm pretty sure I'm not one! :P The fact that they are all the rage for your half of the gene pool makes no difference to me! Me and a turquoise top... I'm sorry! Glad you guys are getting to the gym... watch this space for news about my lastest toy... Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Spar Ladies Race 2008

I've done blonde(maybe I'll dig the photo's out sometime), and redhead, this year a black afro ddin't seem like a bad idea! Unfotunately my faithful sidekick Davina wasn't there this year :(

However the socks against my chest got really itchy...not to mention moist and manky!

Here are some pics of the other palooka's that decided to run the race :PBelieve it or not thats a pic of my sexy behind!! :P
And this is a pic of me, with a sagging chest, and my running partner, Melodie, she is patient enough to run when I can run, and walk when I need to walk. I say... whats wrong with her :P
And here is a pic of me looking rather tired, but happy to be out of my gimp suit..
The race itself was hot and there was a lot more walking done than I normally do. Add to the heat a pair of sox on my chest and a wig, and it makes for a VERY hot mark...excuse the pun...it was never going to be fast so the 81 minutes was quite alright for me :) Not sure about the turquoise T-Shirt though.

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.