This really is my first 10km.
the last one on 2 December was around 5-600 metres short of 10km. The cloudy, thundery day affected the reading.
Today is Bajram, a holiday in Albania, so I managed to get out in the morning for a run.
Checked my watch at a half mile and I was at 8.30 pace. Too fast.
Slowed down, but it was till 8.40 pace.
Slowed down again, and tried to run 9.30 pace.
I was trying to run in 9.00 pace for the 10km and to finish in 56 minutes.
I felt reasonably well during the run.
A slight feeling of cramp at the back of my right leg, from 3 miles onwards.
Feeling tired in general having had a late night, staying up to watch the Steelers-Cowboys game which had been on TV.
Didn't try to up my pace until the last few hundred metres and it was then that the satellite reception gave in.
Kept running and stopped at 56 minutes.
In fact 56 minutes 01 seconds....right at the 10km mark according to GMAPS.
here are my splits...
1- 8.55
2- 8.59
3- 9.18
4- 9.16
5- 9.13
6- 8.45
final - 7.30
My run started off in Zone 5 for the first mile but then dropped to Zone 4 for almost the whole run. I just didn't push myself at all.
Slight blister on my middle right toe, and chaffing on my left inside thigh. ( Man that is a pain. I should have wore my running tights - under my trackie bottoms of course! - I just don;t know what the Albanians would make of my running tights. I get enough strange loos without my tighter than tight running tights! But, today a woman did say to me as I ran by, "Oh ti, të lumtë" which roughly translated would be, "Good for you!")
Monday, 8 December 2008
Saturday, 6 December 2008
5km - unofficial PR
Slightly disappointed again that I ran 5km quicker than ever before, but am unsure of my times. the Garmin misread the distance again. I double around the route, but it appears to be somewhere at the beginning that disrupts the Garmin.
however i knew where the 5km marker was and ran until then, and stopped the watch, only to find that it had registered until i got back to the house.
Around 3 km was 24 minutes 45 seconds.
So i reckon the time must have been around 26 minutes.
Bit disappointed that I have no way of knowing the actual reading.
Last weigh in was last Wednesday which was 79.4 kg.
Again surprised by that, as it was the lowest reading for the week, and I have ben over 80kg twice since then, so I think 80kg would be a truer reading.
Still I am encouraged and in all the rain that has fallen, and it was thunder and lightning a minute ago, I am glad that i have run more this wee than any other week.
Splits
1 - 8.24
2 - 8.14
3 - 8.32
however i knew where the 5km marker was and ran until then, and stopped the watch, only to find that it had registered until i got back to the house.
Around 3 km was 24 minutes 45 seconds.
So i reckon the time must have been around 26 minutes.
Bit disappointed that I have no way of knowing the actual reading.
Last weigh in was last Wednesday which was 79.4 kg.
Again surprised by that, as it was the lowest reading for the week, and I have ben over 80kg twice since then, so I think 80kg would be a truer reading.
Still I am encouraged and in all the rain that has fallen, and it was thunder and lightning a minute ago, I am glad that i have run more this wee than any other week.
Splits
1 - 8.24
2 - 8.14
3 - 8.32
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Day 76 - 5km
( I have left this post as I first wrote it. having written it, I remembered a funny read out from my Garmin including an area that I did not run. Strange - so I checked it on GMAPS ... and I realise that I only ran 4.7km. So, that is the reason for the super-fast time. I am annoyed now...not that I did not run the time below...but that I did not get my TRUE personal record. With only less than 300 metres to go I would have still had a PR and blasted my last time. Still the next PR may only be one run away.)
After running 10km last Sunday, and with rain forecast, I was thinking of a run towards the end of the week - give me a chance to rest, and also a chance for the weather to improve.
However, I suddenly realised that if the rain stayed off, I could get out for a quick run this evening - so I headed off for a 5km.
To start with, I just felt good. I felt strong, no pain in the legs and I decided on a different route.
there were a number of things in my favour tonight.
- the weather was warm
- new trousers, not cotton
- an unexpected run, always feels better
- a new route
Well, it was not exactly a new route....
It started off just outside my house and quickly cut into my usual last 500 metres...then I ran an old route - even doubling part of it to get up to 5km. Anyway, it always feel good running close to the house.
As I say, I just felt good the whole run.
I used the trainer on my garmin and could see I was ahead.
Having set the 5km to 25 minutes I was surprised but kept kicking on. Checked again and could see that I was still up....
I had to change the screen to see the distance, to make sure I was running 5km, and also to know when I could think on raising the pace.
It worked out really well and as I came to the home stretch of approximately 500 metres I felt I was kicking on at a good pace.
the only problem was the watch still had me under 3 miles. I saw I was on a really good time so I just tried to keep going. I suddenly realised that to keep going would mean crossing a busy street....but just as I got there the cars flew by and left me a clear way across.
Quick check of the watch...
It was touch and go to break 25 minutes....
So I sprinted.
Man that felt good.
I run 3 miles and I still can sprint full out.( This must be my first real sprint in years!)
Looked at my watch and it had stopped at 5km.
24 minutes 54 seconds! - a new PR. ( Wow just checked and that is 103 seconds quicker than my previous PR for 5km)
Splits:
1 - 8.04
2 - 8.14
3 - 8.04
The last stretch, my Garmin had me at 5.34 pace
That is 8.00 minute pace.
Now you would think I would be pleased...but I sit here thinking that 7.59 pace would have sounded a whole lot better, and had I not been delayed a millisecond by a cyclist at a blind corner, then it may have made all the difference.
Still, I am really pleased with my progress.
After running 10km last Sunday, and with rain forecast, I was thinking of a run towards the end of the week - give me a chance to rest, and also a chance for the weather to improve.
However, I suddenly realised that if the rain stayed off, I could get out for a quick run this evening - so I headed off for a 5km.
To start with, I just felt good. I felt strong, no pain in the legs and I decided on a different route.
there were a number of things in my favour tonight.
- the weather was warm
- new trousers, not cotton
- an unexpected run, always feels better
- a new route
Well, it was not exactly a new route....
It started off just outside my house and quickly cut into my usual last 500 metres...then I ran an old route - even doubling part of it to get up to 5km. Anyway, it always feel good running close to the house.
As I say, I just felt good the whole run.
I used the trainer on my garmin and could see I was ahead.
Having set the 5km to 25 minutes I was surprised but kept kicking on. Checked again and could see that I was still up....
I had to change the screen to see the distance, to make sure I was running 5km, and also to know when I could think on raising the pace.
It worked out really well and as I came to the home stretch of approximately 500 metres I felt I was kicking on at a good pace.
the only problem was the watch still had me under 3 miles. I saw I was on a really good time so I just tried to keep going. I suddenly realised that to keep going would mean crossing a busy street....but just as I got there the cars flew by and left me a clear way across.
Quick check of the watch...
It was touch and go to break 25 minutes....
So I sprinted.
Man that felt good.
I run 3 miles and I still can sprint full out.( This must be my first real sprint in years!)
Looked at my watch and it had stopped at 5km.
24 minutes 54 seconds! - a new PR. ( Wow just checked and that is 103 seconds quicker than my previous PR for 5km)
Splits:
1 - 8.04
2 - 8.14
3 - 8.04
The last stretch, my Garmin had me at 5.34 pace
That is 8.00 minute pace.
Now you would think I would be pleased...but I sit here thinking that 7.59 pace would have sounded a whole lot better, and had I not been delayed a millisecond by a cyclist at a blind corner, then it may have made all the difference.
Still, I am really pleased with my progress.
Sunday, 30 November 2008
Day 75 - My first 10km
( Just checked on GMAPS and this appears to be 5-600 metres short of 10km. The cloudy rainy day I think affects the satellite reading. It was only today 8th December that I realised that I had run further and still the 10km mark was the same spot. Still a good run all the same. ) Yes, my first 10km, and it felt good!
I am really surprised because this week has been forecast cold and very rainy with thunder showers - Not the weather for running - especially as I have not and don't plan running in the (heavy) rain.
Therefore, I have been feeling really good at running back to back 5km at the tail end of last week.
Today was cloudy (it is now raining very heavy) and it is very warm. After church I decided I might squeeze another 5km in before lunch.
Got ready, was feeling very good, and decided 5 miles would be better than 5km. I started off and just felt good, no aches, no pains - it felt quite fast , but I decided just to keep going and not to look at times.
At 1 mile I checked and saw it was 8.40 pace that I was running at that moment, so tried to keep the rhythm going. At just over 1 mile I headed out on a new route. I have planned this route but did not want to run it in the dark. I am glad about that decision, as it was far longer than I thought, and it turned back on to my old route. I told myself I should cut the distance to 4 miles...but at the turn off point to head home for the shorter route I just kept going. I decided I could still cut it short to 5 miles, but in the end I kept going and had to extend the run slightly to get the last 0.2 miles for the 10km.
I had to run through a building site, over some very rough road especially between mile 5 and 6 which probably accounts for the slow time.
Here are the splits.
1- 8.27
2- 8.50
3- 8.51
4- 8.58
5- 9.08
6- 8.50
last - 8.46
10 km in 55 minutes 10 seconds.
Feeling really good at running 10km!
I am really surprised because this week has been forecast cold and very rainy with thunder showers - Not the weather for running - especially as I have not and don't plan running in the (heavy) rain.
Therefore, I have been feeling really good at running back to back 5km at the tail end of last week.
Today was cloudy (it is now raining very heavy) and it is very warm. After church I decided I might squeeze another 5km in before lunch.
Got ready, was feeling very good, and decided 5 miles would be better than 5km. I started off and just felt good, no aches, no pains - it felt quite fast , but I decided just to keep going and not to look at times.
At 1 mile I checked and saw it was 8.40 pace that I was running at that moment, so tried to keep the rhythm going. At just over 1 mile I headed out on a new route. I have planned this route but did not want to run it in the dark. I am glad about that decision, as it was far longer than I thought, and it turned back on to my old route. I told myself I should cut the distance to 4 miles...but at the turn off point to head home for the shorter route I just kept going. I decided I could still cut it short to 5 miles, but in the end I kept going and had to extend the run slightly to get the last 0.2 miles for the 10km.
I had to run through a building site, over some very rough road especially between mile 5 and 6 which probably accounts for the slow time.
Here are the splits.
1- 8.27
2- 8.50
3- 8.51
4- 8.58
5- 9.08
6- 8.50
last - 8.46
10 km in 55 minutes 10 seconds.
Feeling really good at running 10km!
Friday, 28 November 2008
Day 73 - 3miles
Was not expecting to get back out for a run until probably Sunday...and I arrived home tonight and realised that I had forgotten to pick up my son's medicine from my mother-in-law.
What a great excuse.
"I'll just run down and get it!"
Extended the run a bit and ran just over 3 miles.
Time was 26 minutes 13 seconds.
That is 8.38 pace, and to be honest I felt i was running easy and quite fast, but not that fast.
the surprising thing is that BIM has me under 3 miles and with some strange readings that has me over 28 minutes....so unless it included my stops to pick up the medicine and buy bread...then I can't understand what happened!
Still pleased that I was out running, but heavy eating today and am sure breaking 80.5kg for this week will be good! :-(
What a great excuse.
"I'll just run down and get it!"
Extended the run a bit and ran just over 3 miles.
Time was 26 minutes 13 seconds.
That is 8.38 pace, and to be honest I felt i was running easy and quite fast, but not that fast.
the surprising thing is that BIM has me under 3 miles and with some strange readings that has me over 28 minutes....so unless it included my stops to pick up the medicine and buy bread...then I can't understand what happened!
Still pleased that I was out running, but heavy eating today and am sure breaking 80.5kg for this week will be good! :-(
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Day 72 5km - slow progress
Was in Tirana all day and got back at 5pm. had a meeting at 6.30pm, so decided I could squeeze in a quick 5km, but then found we had no water - so a shower afterwards was out of the question.
Just when I thought a run was off - the water came back on, and so I headed out.
The Garmin is picking reception up really quickly which is BIG bonus and so I headed off.
At first I thought I was running really quick. the humming or numbness or heaviness in my feet was gone which was good and so I glanced at my watch. It told me 9.30 pace, which was a lot slower than I felt I was running.
I had a tight feeling across my chest, and knowing that the last run had been 98% in Zone 5, I decided to take it easy. Half way round I looked at my watch and saw the heart rate was 168, so that was good. Still a bit tight across the chest, but I put it down to tiredness and wrong diet/lack of fluids. I looked at the watch and my heart rate was up to 178...a few seconds later it was up to 190...then 200...then 210. Something was seriously wrong, so I stopped running and checked my stats...I then realised I was on the wrong page of the Garmin and I was reading my calorie burnt count.
DOH!
Off running again, and back at 9.30 pace.
Didn't push myself, didn't feel tried...just always a little out of breath.
A slow finish in 29 mins 18 seconds.
Probably one of my slowest 5km...but still any 5km is good, surely!
the other strange thing is my weigh in.
Usually Wednesday is a non-running day, and yesterday was no different.
Usually I am teaching at church in the evening and come home famished.
No different yesterday.
usually my weigh in, gives a result of the highest reading of the week.
Not so yesterday.
I weighed in yesterday at 79.9kg.
That has broken the 80kg barrier.
I am a little worried as I have not been under 80kg all week, and I stuffed my face last night, and still the reading was low. I think it may be a false weight, so anything around the 80kg next Wednesday will be my target.
Still, it is encouraging!
Just when I thought a run was off - the water came back on, and so I headed out.
The Garmin is picking reception up really quickly which is BIG bonus and so I headed off.
At first I thought I was running really quick. the humming or numbness or heaviness in my feet was gone which was good and so I glanced at my watch. It told me 9.30 pace, which was a lot slower than I felt I was running.
I had a tight feeling across my chest, and knowing that the last run had been 98% in Zone 5, I decided to take it easy. Half way round I looked at my watch and saw the heart rate was 168, so that was good. Still a bit tight across the chest, but I put it down to tiredness and wrong diet/lack of fluids. I looked at the watch and my heart rate was up to 178...a few seconds later it was up to 190...then 200...then 210. Something was seriously wrong, so I stopped running and checked my stats...I then realised I was on the wrong page of the Garmin and I was reading my calorie burnt count.
DOH!
Off running again, and back at 9.30 pace.
Didn't push myself, didn't feel tried...just always a little out of breath.
A slow finish in 29 mins 18 seconds.
Probably one of my slowest 5km...but still any 5km is good, surely!
the other strange thing is my weigh in.
Usually Wednesday is a non-running day, and yesterday was no different.
Usually I am teaching at church in the evening and come home famished.
No different yesterday.
usually my weigh in, gives a result of the highest reading of the week.
Not so yesterday.
I weighed in yesterday at 79.9kg.
That has broken the 80kg barrier.
I am a little worried as I have not been under 80kg all week, and I stuffed my face last night, and still the reading was low. I think it may be a false weight, so anything around the 80kg next Wednesday will be my target.
Still, it is encouraging!
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Day 68 - 4 mile shuffle
Weather forecast is for rain for the next few days, and although my legs still seem to be a little sore, I decided to go out for a run in the afternoon.
Decided for 5 miles but again as soon as I started I realised that 4 miles would be better - even went through my mind 3 miles, but I kept on for 4.
I had to change the route slightly, but the whole run just felt clumsy, laboured and slow.
I checked my watch at about a mile and saw I was 9.35 pace...and thought that was aboutt right. The final half mile, I felt I was running on the spot - but checked my watch and saw i was under 9 minutes...
Strange.
Splits...
1 - 8.55
2 - 9.09
3 - 9.28
4 - 9.10
The final mile I took easy, and except for stepping up the pace when i saw my neighbours ( Ah...pride, it lives in us all!)....I just kept running at my "normal" pace for the day.
Surprised to see a time of 36 minutes 38 seconds.( BIM 36m 32 sec)
That is no PR, but it is not too far away from my usual runs - except they all felt good, fast and comfortable....this felt the opposite.
What was surprising is that my heart rate was 97% in Zone 5.
Can't figure out why that should be.
The last 2 runs, my heart rate was high for the first half mile before settling down to Zone 4, until I stepped it up for the last mile.
Tonight it was just high all the time.
Don;t know if that is the reason why I felt so bad...or if in general I was tired and unwell and that made the run more difficult.
Still - I am pleased to have got out and run again.
Running can be difficult sometimes!
Decided for 5 miles but again as soon as I started I realised that 4 miles would be better - even went through my mind 3 miles, but I kept on for 4.
I had to change the route slightly, but the whole run just felt clumsy, laboured and slow.
I checked my watch at about a mile and saw I was 9.35 pace...and thought that was aboutt right. The final half mile, I felt I was running on the spot - but checked my watch and saw i was under 9 minutes...
Strange.
Splits...
1 - 8.55
2 - 9.09
3 - 9.28
4 - 9.10
The final mile I took easy, and except for stepping up the pace when i saw my neighbours ( Ah...pride, it lives in us all!)....I just kept running at my "normal" pace for the day.
Surprised to see a time of 36 minutes 38 seconds.( BIM 36m 32 sec)
That is no PR, but it is not too far away from my usual runs - except they all felt good, fast and comfortable....this felt the opposite.
What was surprising is that my heart rate was 97% in Zone 5.
Can't figure out why that should be.
The last 2 runs, my heart rate was high for the first half mile before settling down to Zone 4, until I stepped it up for the last mile.
Tonight it was just high all the time.
Don;t know if that is the reason why I felt so bad...or if in general I was tired and unwell and that made the run more difficult.
Still - I am pleased to have got out and run again.
Running can be difficult sometimes!
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