Andrew is getting fit » fun

Les Mills Britomart

Andrew — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:17:37 +0000

I got contacted by Les Mills Britomart on the weekend and they asked me if I would be keen to give their gym a whirl. I decided that I would even though I suspected I wouldn’t be joining long term.

I’ve been a member of the gym at my work (I work at the University of Auckland) for years and it’s ok. It’s got everything I need but it is a student gym so it’s not particularly flash. However, it is extremely convenient as it takes me bugger all time to get to before or after work.

This gym is about 2 and a bit km away so it’s about a 15 minute walk each way. This is quite nice as it is a good warm up and cool down but I could imagine if it was raining then it would be rather annoying.

The gym itself was very nice. It’s quite a different demographic to the Uni one as it is what I would consider rather pricey. Just for comparison purposes its about 3-4 times the price of my current gym.

The equipment is very nice however. The cardio machines are fantastic as they have touchscreen tvs, ipod docks, pretty graphs and games built in. I didn’t use the TV but I did enjoy seeing my heart rate, speed and incline graphs while running on the treadmill.

My physio has ordered me to cycle (and I hate indoor cycling!) but the 30 minutes I did today flew by as I discovered some maths games and was quite happily doing those and was actually annoyed when the half hour on the bike was up.

Overall I enjoyed my visit and I’ll be going back a few more times but I don’t think I could justify the price for a full membership. The gear and stuff at my current gym is not quite as nice or advanced but it gets the job done for a lot less money. It is also really hard to beat the convenience factor.

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Intervals are good for the soul

Andrew — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:22:17 +0000

Well, maybe they are and maybe they aren’t but I had a lot of fun doing them today.

Peter and I did 8 repeats of ~~400~~ 250 metres. Our aim was to do them all in under 60 seconds and we achieved that reasonably comfortably. We both showed quite a bit of improvement from our last session two weeks ago when we did 6 repeats and 2 of them strayed uncomfortably above 60 seconds.

There is a real joy in doing a targeted exercise workout well.

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Icebreaker & Authentic Runners…

Andrew — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:44:35 +0000

I saw this note about Icebreaker posted on Cool Running NZ’s facebook feed and it made me give a wry “Heh!”

I am looking for a male running model to participate in Icebreaker’s upcoming photoshoot to model our latest range of running clothing. We are looking for an authentic runner to be a model (instead of a model posing as a runner).

I am looking for a male who has an authentic runner’s body…

I know what they mean and I guess no one will buy their gear if it’s modelled by real people but “Heh!” I have a body that gets used for running lots and lots (see my ultra marathon report!) but I guess it’s not authentic.

In other news Peter (my running buddy) and I went to the Auckland Domain today to try out intervals.

I have to say it was a bit of a blast. We did about 250m at close to full blast and then recovered for a bit then did it all again. It took us about a minute for each sprint and I must admit they were pretty hard work!

Having said that it was really good and I’m looking forward to next week’s interval session. I know it will be good for my running! Maybe it will help me to get that authentic runner’s body eh!

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Something completely different

Andrew — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:19:55 +0000

I don’t mention my job very often but it is a pretty cool one I think. I work at the University of Auckland and as such I get to meet some of the best and brightest folks in New Zealand.

The Microsoft Imagine Cup is a global student technology competition that encourages students to tackle the toughest problems facing the world today whilst applying the latest technologies.

Some of my students have entered and are in the New Zealand finals. This is their entry:

Team Thought-Wired Nous

I’m very proud of them and their efforts to make the world a better place. If you are on Facebook it would be fantastic if you could go to Team Thought-Wired’s Facebook page and show your support by liking them!

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Tarawera Ultra-marathon 2011 Race Report

Andrew — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 07:57:23 +0000

I entered my first ultra marathon in a moment of madness. I wanted a new challenge and it seemed like a good idea at the time.

My training went reasonably well. The only thing I think I could have done better was eat better. Unfortunately I was about 6kg heavier going into the Ultra than I was for the Auckland Marathon last year.

The weather turned atrocious just as I went to pick up my racepack the day before the event. We had real monsoonlike torrential rain and it totally washed out the registration. Having said that, I managed to get my race number and chip and I was good to go. I couldn’t help but notice how superfit and athletic most of the folks who were there seemed. GULP!

I was up at 4am the next day to get ready in time for the start. Fortunately the weather had cleared up and it looked to be a beautiful day.

The event started in the dark in the middle of a Redwood Forest and I decided to start right at the back. I was literally 2nd last at the start. I figured I wouldn’t get in anyone’s way and I never regretted that decision.

The first 4k or so was done in the dark and it was actually very slow as it was on a narrow track, steep uphill and 300 or so people. My aim the whole day was to be conservative as I knew I’d feel great in the beginning but that by the 50k or so mark I’d probably be feeling rather different!

One of the big differences between a marathon and an ultra marathon is the type of aid station:

There was so much food! I had a hot cross bun at just about every station and they were great! The volunteers were awesome and so very helpful. I had someone grab my hydration pack and fill it, someone else make me a sandwich and someone else ask if there was anything else they could do for me at most points! Loved the volunteers.

Here I am at about the 30km mark. I still have my trademark running smile on and that never really left me during the whole event.

I found the whole event quite joyous in a way. It was really nice to be out in the bush just running and doing something that almost no one else would ever consider doing. I think that aspect of the ultra marathon really attracts me.

It got really tough from about the 42km mark as the track turned very technical. I was totally unprepared for how technical the course was in parts. The off road aspect really threw me. Some of the uphills and (even more so) the downhills were quite intense. I had never run on trails beforehand and it is totally different to anything I had imagined. I really loved it but boy it was tough at times. As you can see the elevation chart shows that there were a lot of up and downs and very little flats.

The shoes I got from Saucony were a life saver. I’ve got two bruised toes but I haven’t lost any toenails unlike after my first half marathon! I guess the feet have toughened up after all the running I’ve done since then.

It was fantastic to see my wife, daughter and the rest of the family at the end. It really was a great way to finish the event. We went straight from the finish to the Kawerau Hot Pools and had a great soak in the pools. The pizza afterwards really hit the spot too!

The stats: I finished in 9:31:11 which was well below my target time of ten hours so that was a big plus for me. More importantly for me I finished in the top half of the field. 25th out of 51 men in the 60km event. I was convinced I was going to finish dead last when I started so that was an outstanding result. My splits:

Most importantly of all I had a blast. I’ve gone over everything I did during the race and I don’t think I could have done anything better to be honest. It was a great event and something I will probably look at doing again.

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Happy Chinese New Year

Andrew — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:55:38 +0000

It’s Chinese New Year today and I would like to wish all my readers a happy CNY! We had a great family feast last night and I’m well stuffed.

In other news it’s just over 6 weeks to my first ultra marathon and I’m starting to get rather worried!

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Best Running Song Ever?

Andrew — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:56:09 +0000

Enough said.

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Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone

Andrew — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 07:38:34 +0000

Shauna (Dietgirl) and Carla (Mizfit) published episode 11 of their “Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone” podcast today. The episode title is “Let’s Hear It For The Boys.” It’s all about men and blogging and they were particularly interested in why there appears to be fewer men than women participating in fitness/healthy living blogs.

I was lucky enough to be invited to participate and I think my contribution is enough to reinforce my opinion that I’ll never be a podcaster! Have a listen as I think it’s pretty interesting overall.

I listened to it while out on a run this morning. I did 15.4km on a bright sunny autumn morning and it was great!

In other news I’m changing my half marathon entry in the Christchurch Marathon to the full marathon!

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Smiling on the run

Andrew — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:37:00 +0000

Michelle over at Just trying to figure it all out did a great post on smiling the other day:

It may be 7am, you may be one of those cars stuck in traffic as I run by you, you might have a horrible day coming up, but the sight of a happy, bouncy, running person with two spotty trotting dogs beside her happily smiling as you go by is bound to make you smile too, whether you like it or not.
Thus, I have passed the smile on, and hopefully made your day a little bit better, if only for a second.

I’ve seen her once or twice and she does smile a lot.

But the part of her post that resonates is this:

What is nice is that the regular walkers see me coming, and are now ready with a big smile for me when I come running by. They know the drill, they know I am chirpy in the morning and will smile and say something to them, and so they prepare themselves with a big smile too, and a quick “Lovely morning today” or “I’ll catch up with you one day” response.

I’ve got my regulars too! And it’s great to give them a cheery smile and get that cheery smile back.

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A run with the Queen

Andrew — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:22:39 +0000

I ran into work with the Queen this morning. The Queen Mary 2 that is! Apparently it is the world’s biggest and most luxurious ocean liner and it’s in Auckland today.

The only photos that I could get of it were actually from quite far away:

You can see it on the right. It is huge when you compare it to the size of the city!

I ran out on this little (200 metre long) jetty to get that shot above:

I’d hoped to get a better photo once I got closer to the city but unfortunately the container terminal blocked the view! The QM2 is so big that it had to go berth at the container terminal rather than the passenger terminal.

Overall, it was quite nice to see glimpses of it but it was even nicer to be out for a run this morning. 14.3km and conditions were absolutely perfect for running.

I was listening to Burning 2010 this morning and one of the points Adam was making is that no matter where you live there are beautiful places to run. Well in my city that is the rule rather than the exception I think!

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Never run alone – running with virtual friends

Andrew — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:57:22 +0000

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.

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Santa Run 2009

Andrew — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:43:43 +0000

I did the 2009 Santa Run last night and it was great! The Santa run is a 3km fun run where all the participants dress in Santa suits. It was for charity so it was fun and also for a good cause.

Conditions were beautiful:

My wife and daughter came along to cheer me on which was very nice. My little girl loves seeing Santa from about 10 metres away. As soon as a santa gets close she gets scared so it was a bit traumatic to have Dad dressed up as Santa!

The run itself was fun and can be summed up in one word: “HOT!” It is summer here in the Southern Hemisphere.

All in all there were about 800 or so Santas so it was a very red event.

I even managed to get my photo into the local paper which resulted in a bit of notoriety at work! That’s me number 691!

It was a fantastic event and I was very happy that I did it. The atmosphere was wonderful as everyone was happy and the weather was great. We took heaps of photos which you can see here if you like.

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