Andrew is getting fit

I got up bright and early this morning and while I didn’t actually get out of the door by 5am it was still dark. It’s been really hot and humid here in Auckland the last week or so, so it’s definitely a good idea to get the running done earlier rather than later.

I headed out and decided that I would incorporate my next half marathon’s route in my long run today. As such, I first headed up Paratai Drive. This street has some of the most expensive properties in Auckland on it and it was quite nice having a nosey at how the other half live as I ran along. This is the view from the top of the cliff:

I then ran along through suburbia until I got back to the coastline. By this time the sun had just come up and the view out towards Rangitoto Island was rather nice:

This is the view along the running track I was using:

I’m really fortunate to have such a great place to run along. It really helps to keep the motivation up I reckon.  I then ran along Tamaki Drive all the way to the Hilton Hotel in the actual city itself.  I then turned around and ran back.

It was a great run:

I’m definitely not going to be breaking any speed records anytime soon but I did do my longest run ever (only just) at 26.17 km in 2:51:17.  That works out to about a 6:35 min/km pace which is definitely my easy pace.  My average heart rate was only 132 so I probably could have pushed it a lot more and still kept my heart rate low but to be honest I’m just out there running to enjoy myself and build my distance so speed be damned.  I’ll save speed for my races.

A great start to the day indeed.

In other news I’m busy reading What I talk about when I talk about running : a memoir by Haruki Murakami and although I’m only about 2 chapters in I’m finding that what he writes really resonates with me.

I heard about this book on Andrew’s blog as one of his favourite quotes

“In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be.”

is actually from the book.  I’ve always loved that quote and so I’m very pleased that I’ve finally managed to get my hands on a copy of the book.

One of the thoughts he expressed in the first chapter is that sometimes to other people his runs may be boring and everyday type of things but they are all special to him.  I feel like that a lot actually.  I’ve stopped reporting on every run I do as I’m running 5 times a week now and sometimes there is nothing particularly wondrous about my runs but they are still extremely special to me.

I’m sure I’ll find other gems in the book as I progress through it.

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Another relatively green week on PhysicsDiet. Scale weight was down to 88.1 kgs this morning and PhysicsDiet weight is down to 89.05 kgs. I am very happy with those results. My goal is slowly ticking closer.

One thing that has changed this year is that I’m eating slightly more than I did when I was plateauing last year. I think maybe I wasn’t eating enough. Anyway I’m not complaining. More food and more weightloss is all good to me.

I bumped into someone who hasn’t seen me for about 2 years at work yesterday and it’s always fun to see how flabbergasted people are.

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It’s been a while since my last butter shot so while in the supermarket on the weekend I snapped a quick photo:

There are 100 half kg blocks of butter (50kgs/110 pounds worth) in that pile under my hand. I can’t imagine carrying that much weight around with me every day now. It boggles the mind really.

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My daughter was awake from 3:30 AM – 4:30 AM and so when my alarm went off at 5 AM I gave some serious consideration to just turning it off and going back to sleep. Fortunately I didn’t. I got up and got ready for my long run.

I’m still not 100% with regard to my lungs. It’s rather annoying. Whenever I get sick it always hits my lungs and I take forever and a day to get full lung capacity back. To make matters worse I forgot to take my prerun puff of my asthma medication (I only use it when I’m sick) and so I felt a bit short of breath for most of the run.

Having said that I did 20.5K in about 2 and a quarter hours. It was a good run along my favourite coastal route.

For some reason there were a lot more runners out and about than is normally the case.  The YMCA training groups were out in force.  I passed about 6 groups (heading the other way – I’m not that fast!).  I think they must be training for the Rotorua Marathon as that is not too far away.

My cousin and her family emigrated to NZ last week so they came and visited us today.  We had a great day showing them some of Auckland’s nicer parks and whatnot.  It’s really nice to have some more family in Auckland.

It’s 3 weeks today to my next half marathon.  I must admit I’m really looking forward to it as 80% of the route is my normal running loop.  Coincidentally my parents are coming to visit that weekend so my dad has said he is keen to do the half marathon as well.  It was nice having him there for my first one and it will be great that he is there for my second one.  He’s hoping to break 2 hours for the first time and I’m thinking he should be able to do it.

In other news I had a battle with a packet of cookies this evening and I’m afraid they won.  Such is life I guess.

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