Intervals, a wet and windy tempo run and 1000 miles
On Tuesday I gave intervals a go for the first time. I did an easy warm up followed by 5 x 1k intervals: 4:32, 4:37, 4:55, 4:46, 4:52 And then a nice 2k cool down. This is the first time I’ve ever done intervals and they were good! The idea is that they will help me build a little more speed so we’ll have to see if they work.
This morning (Thursday here in NZ) I had to drop my father in law off at the airport. I was up at 4am and then straight out to drop him off and then I headed out for my run. It was pouring down with rain and there was quite a strong wind so it was a tough workout but I came in under my target goal off 55 minutes (5:30 pace) by doing the run in 54:34 (5:24 pace). I’m quite chuffed that I did so well in such atrocious conditions.
I hit a milestone for the year when I clicked by 1000 miles for the year so far this morning. I’m quite happy with that just quietly. I’m ahead of my goal of 2010 km in 2010 by quite a long way. I might switch my goal to 1500 miles. We’ll see. 
Thinking of marathon training
My long run (20km) yesterday was pretty good. I chose quite a hilly route and just enjoyed it. Here’s a snapshot from the run:
It’s definitely getting warmer here in NZ. I think winter is just about done. The days are getting noticeably longer now and it is not painful to get out of the door predawn. 
I did a total of 58 km last week.
I’m about 21 weeks away from the Taipei Marathon now so it’s time to start thinking about marathon training programs. Earlier in the year I mentioned I was thinking about the Brooks Hanson Marathon Training plan and I’ve decided to go with it. There’s a good write up about it here.
Tuesday morning speed blast
My running buddy is off overseas for a few weeks so I’m back to running on my own. It’s been really great running with him as he’s pushed the pace somewhat and much to my surprise I’ve been enjoying running a bit faster than i normally would.
As such, I decided that my Tuesday and Thursday runs are going to be faster runs. On Tuesdays I’m going to run a 5K as fast as I comfortably can (i.e. no puking!) and on Thursdays I’ll do a 10K as fast as I comfortably can.
My aim with the 5Ks is to try and break my 5K PR and probably the same with the 10Ks I guess!
This morning’s run was great. It was quite nippy (probably about 6 degrees C) which is pretty much perfect for running.
I did just over 3 laps of the Auckland Domain mile loop:
I managed to set a new 5K PR of 24:19 which is 4:52 min/km pace. I could have gone slightly faster but I’m happy with that. There was no danger of puking!
I’m really enjoying my running again and I guess I’m getting my mojo back!
Running at 5am
The seasons are changing here in New Zealand. May is normally the month where the temperature starts to drop and this May has been no exception. I’ve had to get out my blankets and yesterday morning I got my long sleeve running top out for the first time.
The other major difference is that it is dark out when I’m running!
I’ve had a few emails asking why I haven’t been posting as many photos lately and as you can see from the photo to the left it is because it is slightly hard to get good photos on my cell phone camera when it’s dark out!
Running in the dark is quite nice as the temperature is quite cool. All my normal running routes are quite well lit except for Cornwall Park which is extremely dark as there are no street lamps inside it. I ran through it on an overcast morning recently and I could literally not see the road. I had to use my cellphone as a flashlight. 
Anyway, this week I’ve run 19 km on Monday, 16.2 km on Thursday and 16.1 km yesterday for a total of 51 km (32 miles) so far. I’m planning on doing a 32km run tomorrow morning (20 miler). I think that will be my last long long run before the Christchurch Marathon.
My best long run yet
I’ve mentioned before that one of my running dreams goals is to break 4 hours in a marathon. My current marathon PR is 4:54:53 so that goal is fairly ambitious at this stage. This year I’ve made the resolution to give Low Heart Rate training a proper go so I’ve been running long and slow most of the time. However, my first marathon of the year is 6 weeks away today so I thought that this week I’d better try a few tempo runs.
- On Monday I did a 5K in 26 minutes.
- Tuesday I did 16.1 km in a very easy 1:42.
- Wednesday I did 16.1 km in 1:30 which was a full 12 minutes faster than my Tuesday run and also (more importantly) was at sub 4 hour marathon pace.
- Friday I did an easy 13.1 in 1:23.
- Saturday I did a brilliant (by my standards) 32 km in 3:12:00.
I want to talk a bit more about my Saturday run. I headed out bright and early and the conditions were just perfect. We’re in a bit of a drought situation which has meant that I’ve only been rained on about twice in the last 5 months or so which is great for me but not so great for our farmers.
I set my virtual partner to run at a 6:15 min/km pace (like I did last week) as I wanted to practice keeping my pace steady (or hopefully negative splitting). I have to admit I haven’t used the virtual partner much but I’m starting to like running with him.
The first km from my house is all uphill and I like to ease into my long runs so he pulled ahead quite quickly. But I slowly reeled him in and by the 6 km mark I was a few metres ahead. The aim of a long run is to run easy so I was keeping my average heart rate under 148 beats which is what I’ve been using for my low heart rate training.
I got to 16km in 1:37:43. I just felt very good and for the rest of the run I managed to keep pulling away from my virtual partner without unduly extending myself. I did the second 16km in 1:34:17. I was extremely pleased with that 2nd half as it was more uphill than the 1st half and it was faster! I also managed to keep my average HR for the run to 146 so it was a good day all round.
Here’s the map of the run:
Last Minute Marathon Tips
I saw this on Ted’s blog and had to share:
Last Minute Marathon Tips: shot with Nikon D90 from Mike Kobal on Vimeo.
A bad week and a bad run
It’s been a pretty busy week at work and I’ve also had the manflu so I skipped a few of the midweek runs. It also hasn’t helped that my little girl has been having sleep issues so my wife and I have been getting very little sleep.
Anyway, today we wanted to do a half marathon but when my alarm woke us up at 5 we were both rather bleary eyed. There was also a rather ominous howl of wind and the sound of torrential rain so my wife turned around and went back to bed! I was sorely tempted to follow her but I was wide awake so I decided to have breakfast and catch up on the news instead.
We eventually managed to get out at about 1:30pm and the conditions didn’t appear to be too bad at first. The rain had reduced to sporadic showers but it was still rather windy.
The first 9 km were with the wind so we were going quite well. Unfortunately as soon as we turned around we both groaned and it just seemed a bit too hard today. We’ve both been sick this week, combine this with the lack of sleep and I just don’t think we were in the running groove to be honest.
Anyway, we ran where we could and walked when the wind got especially strong and in the end we only did 18km rather than our planned 21.1. I’m praying that the Marathon day is not a windy one! I had my fill of that at Christchurch.
Anyway 18.5km in a depressing 2:05:47.
In happier news, we managed to get a walk in at the Orakei Domain. My little monkey enjoyed it very much as you can see!
I have to admit that I’m so glad I decided to get fit. It means a lot to be able to be able to chase my daughter (and the wife!).
At last…the taper!
I completed my last 20 miler yesterday and now I’m really glad it’s tapering time!
We’ve had lots and lots of spring rain for the last two weeks or so so it was really great to wake up and see blue sky for once. My wife and I left home at about 6:30 AM and did a nice gentle loop through Cornwall Park and then headed towards the Auckland Domain. As you can see it was a beautiful morning running through the park:
We then ran along the coast until my wife reached her turnoff towards home. She did her longest run yet (very exciting) at 21.5km which is her first run that is longer than her half marathon distance. I’m very proud of her accomplishment. I’m also more than a little worried that she’s going to smoke my inaugral half marathon time!
I took quite a while to get into my groove on this run. It was only after about 5km that I felt comfortable and running became effortless. I suspect this is because I had to skip two of my midweek runs this week so the legs needed a bit more warming up than usual. On Tuesday I was at work bright and early and didn’t get home till about 9:30 pm due to having to attend Graduation (as a staff member not a graduand) at The University of Auckland where I work. On Wednesday I was at work bright and early as well and once more didn’t get home till about 9:30 pm as I was MCing a competition finals. So work has been pretty full on and running has had to take a backseat.
The next 20 or so km of the run were quite nice but I have to admit that I struggled somewhat with the last 5-6 km. My pace slowed somewhat and I stopped for a few water breaks along the way. It was one of those runs where you start to question why you want to run a marathon but I think this is normal. I seem to recall thinking this before my last marathon as well. Nevertheless, I was very glad to see this sign which I normally see at the end of every long run:
Overall, just over 32km in just over 3:23:00. I could have done it faster if Ihad focused a bit more but it’s supposed to be a long slow run so I took it slow!
One of the things that I’ve quite enjoyed is that I’ve sort of built up a cameraderie with a whole bunch of fellow runners. Every Sunday morning I tend to bump into the same folks at different spots and we’ve all started to recognise each other. That little nod you give to your fellow runners as you go by has that little bit more meaning and tends to be followed by a cheery smile.
That’s my last 20 miler of this training cycle and I’m now officially into the taper. I thought it would never get here. 20 days to go to the marathon!
Record month
Just a short post today.
I couldn’t help but notice on my running log that so far in September I’ve run 251.8 km in 25 hours 48 minutes 36 seconds. I’ve still got a run to do today so that will extend it even more. That’s the most I’ve run in a month ever!
20 miles and liquids gone wrong
My marathon training plan had the 1st of it’s two 20 milers this past week and I’m pleased to report that I completed it without collapsing. As a matter of fact I felt pretty good muscular wise, but I did have a few issues during the run.
The first problem was that I was not particularly well rested. Daylight saving kicked in this weekend so when my alarm went off at the new 5AM it was actually the old 4AM. And to compound this my daughter had a rather restless night and called for me many a time so it was a rather bleary eyed dad that went for his run.
The second issue is that I had a few internal rumblings and had to visit quite a few of the bathrooms along my route. I suspect it is caused by the energy type drink I used this week. I’ve found that these drinks don’t work well for me and for my next long run I’ll stick to a gel or two as they don’t seem to cause me any grief.
Other than that the run was great. My wife did the first 12.5 km with me and that is always nice.
We saw this family at Mission Bay enjoying an early morning out:
I followed a route that took in most of the second half of the marathon course. During the actual marathon we’ll be running across the harbour bridge:
It is always nice running through the Viaduct area as you get to see all the expensive toys of the rich and famous. I was hoping to grab a picture of a super yacht as there are normally one or two but there were none in the harbour:
I saw these suspicious looking characters as well:
Speaking of suspicious looking characters, I saw a guy get arrested by the police which was a bit of fun. I think he’d been trying to break into a house as the police were wrestling him to the ground and putting handcuffs on. That was a bit unusual to say the least!
I felt pretty good after the run. I thought I would be wiped out but it wasn’t too bad.
I did 32 km in 3:19:12 which was just what my training plan called for. A nice gentle 32km run.
This coming week is now a rest week so the mileage is dramatically reduced. Next week I’ll have another 20 miler and then we’re into the taper! Not long now.
Daily Mile
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RoadID
