Friday - very early run

15.3k 1:23:03. HR Avg 148 Max 161
Course: Along Ashgrove Bike Path.
Start Time: 5:15 am Temp 22C.
Session Type: Easy Run

I woke up about 4:00am this morning and couldn't seem to get back to sleep. So instead of tossing and turning any longer I decided to get up a go for a run. So by 5:15 am I was off. It was nice and cool to start but by the end it seemed to be getting very humid. Out in 40:18 (145) and back in 42:45 (152). I was home in enough time to be see My Wife rise for her 50th birthday. According to my son Kewell, at fifty you are officially old.


Starting Monday I will be on four weeks annual leave. So may try to get into this early morning running, and have the rest of the day free to do things with the family. Next week it is camping at the Bunya Mountains. Then after Christmas it is up to Caloundra for a couple of weeks.

Wednesday - Goodwill Hunting

18.3k 1:41:58. HR Avg 142 Max 152
Course: Work to Goodwill Bridge and Back.
Start Time: 5:10 pm Temp 27C.
Session Type: Easy Run

I was feeling so strong after Monday's run that I decided to make this a little longer tonight and went all the way to the Goodwill Bridge. Out in 49:19 and back in 52:39 which included a long delay fiddling with my Music Player when I pressed the stop button while trying to turn the volume down.

Monday - Back into the Groove

14.6k 1:16:53. HR Avg 142 Max 155
Course: Work to Riverside and Back.
Start Time: 5:10 pm Temp 26C.
Session Type: Easy Run

It has been over a month since I have done this run from work. A nice easy run. The only priority in the next couple of months is to build up the distance.

Tonight out in 37:33 (HR 140) and back in 39:20 (144).

Sunday - No News is Good News

6.5k 32:40. Avg Pace 5:01
Course: Gap Cycle Path.
Start Time: 7:35 am Temp 24C.
Session Type: Easy Run

After the doctor operated on Wednesday, he said he would be in touch if there was anything nasty found in the biopsy. So I have heard nothing, so all must be OK. The scars have had enough time to heal and so I went for a run this morning. No heart rate monitor belt as it was a little to close to the wounds. Out in 16:50 and back in 15:50.

Wednesday - They got a message from the action man

25.0k 2:23:11. HR Avg 144 Max 162 Avg Pace 5:38
Course: Home to Bowen Bridge.
Start Time: 5:40 am Temp 17 - 23C.
Session Type: Long Run

I was going to do my long run last night but the last hour of the Test cricket was on the big screen at work and I just couldn't drag myself away. It was absorbing stuff and one of the great Test victories of all time. The Ashes must surely be ours now.

So it was up at 5:00 this morning and I hit the road to Bowen Bridge some forty minutes later. It was refreshingly cool at this time which made for pleasent running. Made the 12.5K to the turn around in 71:09 (HR 139) which include a couple of minutes for a toilet break. The body is not quite used to this early morning start.

On the return journey I was passed twice by two policeman on mountain bikes. The path I take has been one where there has been multiple attacks on women over the last year. Hopefully ther presence does some good.

By the time I finished, the coolness had disappeared and it was warming up. Came back in 72:01 (HR 148). I was pleased with my first long run since 26th August. I did the same course that day in a very similiar time. It is all up from here.

I had a mid-morning appointment at the doctors and had moles cut from my back and chest as well as various sun spots zapped. The doctor seemed to be OK with me starting running again on Saturday. So I only may miss one or two sessions at most if all goes well.

Monday - Windy run

9.5k 50:18. HR Avg 139 Max 151 Avg Pace 5:17
Course: Work to Sydney St and Back.
Start Time: 5:30 pm Temp 24C.
Session Type: Easy Run

Boy was it windy out today. Struggled into the head wind most of the way out. Out in 25:51 (138) and back in 25:27 (139). In reality it was a pretty easy run as I am planning a long run tomorrow.

Sunday - Shove it brother just keep walking

15.3k 1:20:17. HR Avg 155 Max 170 Avg Pace 5:14
Course: Ashgrove Cycle Path.
Start Time: 7:25 pm Temp 24C.
Session Type: Easy Run

After telling myself that I should get up earlier for my Sunday run after last weekend's scorcher, today I again set off relatively late. I knew it was going to be somewhat cooler so didn't think it would be a problem. And it wasn't. Managed to run the same course 4min 12 sec faster today. I also felt very comfortable with my form. My stride seemed smooth and I felt a lot of power in my legs.

After another week of walking 40 minutes a day on top of my running, I am even more convinced that it has been doing me a lot of good. The other thing that has been different over the last two weeks is that I have done no gym weight sessions and I almost no stretching. Now I know, you are supposed to do your stretching but it is odd that after two weeks of not doing them I feel the most comfortable running that I have felt for six months. Mmmmm.

It is back to normal work routine from tomorrow.

Friday - Gonna knock you off your feet

6.5k 31:36. HR Avg 148 Max 160 Avg Pace 4:51
Course: Gap Cycle Path.
Start Time: 5:30 pm Temp 26C.
Session Type: Tempo Run

It was rather prophetic that IhateToast mentioned dance shoes earlier this week. The household is currently in Dance Concert season. All the girls (Ducky, Dory and Delta) do ballet, jazz, hip-hop etc classes which culminate in an end of year concert over thre nights at the Schonell theatre. The first was Thursday night and I went to watch, so there was no time for a run last night.

Tonight I only had time to fit in a 6.5K run, so it turned into a tempo run by circumstance rather than design. It was nice to stretch out a little. Out in 15:52 and back in 15:44.

My Wife was a dancer in her youth and has always been interested in dance and when we were younger I used to go with her to performances. I didn't mind some of the contemporarry stuff but the classical ballet left me a little bored. I got to the point where all I was waiting for was for one of the dancers to slip or fall. I can remember one performance where a small bit of one of the dancer's costume had fallen on the stage and I waited eagerly all night for a dancer to land on that spot and see their leg go slipping from underneath them. Well I have been going to the kid's Dance Concerts for ten years now and certainly with children in the six and under category there is always a good chance of seeing some spills. But last night there was only a few wobbles.

Of course, there is a certain karma to my dance views. In 1988, My Wife and I had tickets to see a Graeme Murphy / Australian Ballet production that was part of Expo 88. I actually found Murphy's work very good so was happy to be going along. It was a Friday night and I always used to do my long runs after work on Friday. So I did my 32k run and with not much time to spare, quickly made my way to the Concert Hall and arrived just in time. In hind sight now, I know I didn't have enough to eat and drink after the run and found myself feeling a bit funny in the head. I had to get up and go outside during the performance but only managed to collapse. I was whisked outside and cared for very well by the Concert Hall staff but "dance" had it's revenge.