Andrew is getting fit

My long run yesterday morning was most enjoyable.  I got up at 5am as I suspected it would get rather hot rather quickly as that has been the pattern the last few days.  It turns out that was a good move!

I headed out towards Cornwall Park.  The picture to the left is from the path that runs alongside the road through the park.  It’s a beautiful area to run through and was suprisingly quiet.  I guess they don’t unlock the gates for cars till 7 but I thought there would be more runners and walkers about.

I then headed down to the coast via Newmarket and Parnell and did my normal run along Tamaki Drive.

I finished off in the Orakei Basin which is a couple of hundred meters away from my home:

Overall just over 20km. A most enjoyable loop.

I went to a wedding later in the day and this was most enjoyable:

A hazelnut and bitter chocolate torte with truffle.  Rather nice!

In other news I was recently contacted by an organisation working along side the running music producer AudioFuel and the Virgin London Marathon. They are looking for people to vote for their favourite running tracks. These votes will help build this years soundtrack for the London Marathon which will later be available on iTunes. If you are interested in helping Music and Motivation create this soundtrack you can stop by and vote. If you are interested in what this soundtrack is like you can listen to a free fuel sampler which can be downloaded here.

Tags: running by Andrew
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I’ve had 3 days of running before work in a row this week.  Monday I did 11 km, Tuesday 11.5 and Wednesday 12 km.  Every day this week the forecast has been for rain but as you can see from the photo below the “rainy conditions” have been pretty fantastic.  I’m looking out my window now at 6:30 AM and the rain for today is looking like another day of glorious sunshine.

Yesterday I ran through our local Viaduct Harbour and it was quite nice seeing all the yachts.  I was looking enviously at some folks having a big fry up of a breakfast in one of the many cafes in the area.

Here’s my routemap:

On Saturday afternoon I had a blogger meetup with Kepa, Mary and Mandy.  It was quite nice meeting folks from the blogging world.  My little monkey did not want to be in the photo but the price of using me as a chair is that you have to go where I go.

Tags: fitness by Andrew
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I’m still going strong which is great. 1.31 kg (2.9 pounds) down this week which is quite nice if I say so myself.  I like a chart with a lot of green in it:

This is the chart for the year so far:

Trending downwards quite nicely.

My eating has been pretty good and disciplined.  I’ve even managed the weekends quite well lately.  If I have an event or two coming up then I compensate by eating slightly smaller portions etc. at my other meals so that I can still indulge somewhat but not overdo it overall.  That approach definitely seems to be paying dividends.  I still credit most of my losses to my running as I’m eating very well overall.

Speaking of which, I ran into work this morning and it was one of those perfect still mornings with clear blue skies.  Very nice.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home so you’ll have to take my word for it.

Tags: Weigh in by Andrew
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As I mentioned last week I’ve shifted my long run to Saturday so Sally (my wife) can do her long run on Sunday morning.  That way we always have someone available to look after Emma (our monkey).

Well, my long run was wet and windy and just great.  I’ve been really enjoying my running lately.  I’m not too sure why but I’m going to just enjoy it while it lasts.  Hopefully it lasts a long time!

There were a few periods where the rain died down for a bit.  So I got in a few pictures.  I always wrap up my ipod and camera in gladwrap before heading out on a wet day.  There’s the city in the background:

It was a bit more sheltered by the marina:

Overall a great 20.6km run around Auckland City.

That brings my total mileage this week to 65.6 km (40.7 miles) which I’ll happily take.  If I can get another few months of these easy running weeks in I’m going to have a great aerobic base for my half marathons and marathon this year.

I’ve got a blogger meet up this afternoon. More about that tomorrow!

Tags: running by Andrew
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My fitness routine is going well.

I restarted the hundred push-ups challenge for the 7th time after I got derailed again in December by going on holiday and getting lazy.  I’ve completed week 02.  At the end of each two weeks you have to do a test to see which level you start in for week 03.  I needed to get more than 25 and easily got out 40.  I probably could have gone past 50 (my previous record) if I had done them in the evening as I can always do more push-ups in the evening for some reason.

I’ve also started the two hundred squats challenge (for the 1st time!).  On my initial test I could do 25 squats before thinking that’s enough for now.  I’ve just completed week 02 of that as well and to get in to the highest level for week 03 I needed to get above 40.  I did 50 with relative ease and probably could have done a lot more.  I’m a lot more confident of getting to 200 squats as compared to 100 push-ups!  I think the running helps with the leg strength.

My low heart rate training has been going well.  I’ve bumped my runs up by 1km so I’m doing 11km every morning before work now instead of 10.  The runs are so slow (6:30 min/km pace+) that my legs don’t feel tired.  I’m getting in a really good aerobic base I think.  I can tell it’s working as my resting heart rate (taken in the evenings while reading my book) has dropped from mid 50s to mid 40s.

My run this morning was great.  It was a bit windier than it has been which was a blessing as it has been starting to get quite hot.  I ran from the city out to the end of the Jetty below:

For a total of 11.5 happy km.

Tags: Pushups, running by Andrew
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It’s been a pretty good week eating wise. I’ve had the odd treat but very much in moderation. I’ve managed to stick to eating very healthy food 95% of the time without feeling particularly deprived so that is great. This week’s chart:

All green which is great.

This is the chart for the year so far:

I’m still eating quite a lot but it’s good healthy food. When you combine that with all the running and exercise I’m doing then you get these nice green charts.

Speaking of running, I got in a good 11km when I ran into work this morning.  It was a beautiful morning and a fantastic run.  I’ve been really enjoying my running lately which is just great.

Tags: Weigh in by Andrew
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I did my long run this morning (Saturday) rather than my normal Sunday as I was out and it was a beautiful day and I felt good.

As you can see conditions were absolutely perfect:

There was an ocean swim clinic setting up.  Ocean swimming is not something I’m a big fan of as I am always imagining rather large creatures coming up from below to have a nibble on me.

I found a few things quite inspirational on the run.

The first of these was a running goddess.  A beautiful woman who zoomed past me.  She had the perfect running build and her motion was just poetry in motion.  She inspired me because she just reinforced in my mind that we are meant to run.  Sorry – no photo of her.

The second was another woman who was running along on the sand.  She looked like she was struggling but she was very determined:

She inspired me because she just wasn’t giving up.  By the way, I wasn’t checking out all the women on my run although it may seem like that!

Steve Runner from Phedippidations was also talking about inspiration on his latest podcast that I was listening to this morning.  One of the things he mentioned was that he finds the emails and so forth that he gets very inspirational and he urged us all to try and inspire others to run.  I’m a strong believer in getting people out running and I’d like to do more to help others in this regard.  I haven’t quite figured out how yet but I’ll think of something.

One thing I do love is when I receive emails from folks saying how me writing about my fitness and weight-loss journey has helped them get started on their own.  You’d be amazed at how many of these I’ve received.

I also find each and every comment from you folks inspiring and motivational.  Thank you all.

Anyway, I did 16km this morning and it was great.  Here’s my running map:

52km for the week and I may or may not go out tomorrow morning with my wife.  I find her especially inspiring.

Tags: fitness by Andrew
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The lovely Erin from Erin takes control tagged me to list out ten things that make me happy. I don’t normally bother with these things but I think happiness is important so I thought I would have a go. It’s things not people so I won’t list my lovely wife and daughter although they are #1!

1.  My iPod Touch.

I love this device.  I carry it almost everywhere I go.  It carries my books, my music, my podcasts, my twitter and all sorts of other apps. Love it, love it, love it.

2.  My Garmin Forerunner 305

I love knowing how far, how fast, how high, and how hard I’ve worked out.  This GPS watch gives me all that and more.

3.  My Sennheiser MX75 running headphones

These headphones are brilliant.  Water resistant, fit great and sound brilliant while letting in ambient sound so that mack truck doesn’t run me over!

4.  My iPod Shuffle

My brother got this for me for Christmas and I love it for those days that it is a bit wet and I don’t want to risk getting my iPod Touch wet.

5.  My internet connection

I love being connected and having access to so many great things/people/ideas. I especially love that my internet connection gives me access to you folks. The ever supportive blogging community. I’ve received so much support, advice and encouragement – it’s truely a blessing.

6.  My city

I love living in Auckland, New Zealand.  Consistently ranked in the top 5 places to live in the world and I can testify that it is great.

7.  Peanuts

I love peanuts and they love me. Enough said.

8.  Mowing the lawn.

I really like mowing the lawn for some reason.  It’s almost like therapy.

9.  Reading books

I read a lot.  Way too much according to some.  I normally go through at least 2-3 books a week and I can’t imagine not having access to a book.  My first paying job was in a bookshop but it didn’t pay enough for me to make a career of it.

10.  Running

Last but not least.  I love running which I think you’ve guessed by now.

Speaking of which I did a beautiful 10K this morning.  Conditions were great:

Auckland is definitely lovely.

Tags: Inspirational Bloggers, Interesting, Life, running by Andrew
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I love my running time but on most days I don’t want to just run.  I want something to listen to as well.  The sounds of my breathing puts my stride off or something.  I’m not that keen on listening to music unless I want something quiet in the background while I ponder some problem or suchlike.  Normally though, I listen to a podcast.  I’ve just had a quick look in my itunes podcast directory and these are the podcasts I’m currently subscribed to:

Phedippidations is my favourite running podcast.  Steve is a middle aged, back of the pack runner who talks about many interesting running topics such as famous runners, races, his training and other rambling diatribes. 

Burning 2010 is a new podcast by the Zenrunner.  This podcast is nominally about his aim to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks this year but he talks about all sorts of weird and interesting stuff.  The naked weigh-ins are not to be missed!

Two fit chicks and a microphone is hosted by everyone’s favourite Mizfit and Shauna the Amazing Dietgirl!

The Runners Round Table is where runners from around the world share tips, tell stories, and keep each other motivated. Sometimes this is great, sometimes it’s just good.

Running with Ghosts is another podcast about a runner but this one is following a lower carb lifestyle and doing crossfit.

4 Feet Running is a biweekly podcast with Nik and Dan! She’s a marathon runner training for her 6th. He’s a beginning runner who finished the C25K program and just ran his first half-marathon.  I find it very entertaining.

Run Run Live is a podcast that I have loaded up but I haven’t actually listened to yet.  Still working my way through the others!  I have heard good things about it though.

WNYC’s Radio Lab is a science podcast that I absolutely love.  They cover all sorts of interesting topics and I always feel smarter after listening to it.

I’ve also got a bunch of language lesson podcasts that I’m going to listen to (someday I’m sure) as I would like to learn a bit more Mandarin.

This morning I did a great 10.2K run in the Auckland Domain and I was listening to Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone. I got caught in a very wet shower for about ten minutes but the sun came out and dried me off very quickly.

Tags: Inspirational Bloggers, fun, running by Andrew
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Well, it’s been a relatively good week weightloss wise:

All green which is great. I went to a barbeque at a friend’s place on Saturday and the spread was so delicious that I had one too many helpings of salad. I figure that if I’m going to overindulge then overindulging in the healthy stuff is the way to go.

This is the chart for the year so far:

I’m at 97.26 kg (214 pounds) so I’m making progress in the right direction.  I’m hoping to keep myself in the green for a good while yet.

I actually find it reasonably easy to lose weight as long as I’m disciplined and eat only healthy food.  So no processed junk for me at all wherever reasonable.  Add that to my running and it seems to be coming off nicely.

Speaking of running, I got in two good runs on the weekend.  I did 10.1 km on Saturday morning and 14.7 on Sunday morning.  Conditions were absolutely perfect for both runs with low humidity and the gentlest of breezes.

I think it is getting close to retirement time for my Brookes shoes as they’ve got almost 750km on them already and I’m starting to feel my ankles a bit after the runs.  That’s normally my indicator.  Fortunately I’ve got two more pairs already lined up. Running tends to get reasonably pricey when you start doing higher milage as you churn through shoes rather quickly.

Tags: Weigh in by Andrew
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