Andrew is getting fit

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It was a great day for a run today.  Conditions were almost perfect. I did a long run through suburbia to my old house and back.  My wife and I moved in with our inlaws after our daughter was born last year so it was good to see the old place.  I realised afterwards that I managed to run past every house I’ve lived in while I’ve been in NZ today.  It wasn’t on purpose but it was interesting.  It was only after I got home that I remembered that I’d been carrying my camera in my waist pack the whole time and hadn’t taken any photos!

It was a really good run in the sense that I enjoyed it tremendously.  However, it was quite a slow run too.  For some reason I just had no pace today but I decided fairly early on that that didn’t matter.  I was out for a long run not a fast run so I just put it out of my mind and kept going.  I did 23.46 km in 2:23:44 for an overall pace of 6:08/km.  I’m afraid the map is a bit boring this week as my link to Google Earth wasn’t working.

I had Pheddipations by Steve Runner on my ipod and during the podcast I heard something that really surprised me.  Guess who was the Featured blog of the week - Andrew is getting fit.com!  I feel quite honoured that a runner like Steve would find my journey worthy of a mention.

I hit some major milestones in my run today.  Firstly, it was my longest run yet (by a whopping .4 km) and secondly, it takes me to over 500 miles (800ish km) for the year.  I reckon that is quite an achievement even if I say so myself. ;)

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Tags: running // 16 Comments »

I managed to win a copy of 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days by Dean Karanazes from Steve over at www.runbulldogrun.com.  Basically it’s the story of how Dean ran 50 marathons in 50 days!  I can’t imagine doing that much running but he did.

It arrived in the mail this week and I’ve just started reading it. I can tell it’s going to be a good read already as this quote is on page 7:

Running is much more than a good way to lose weight.  It’s a cure for depression and a potential path to personal growth and self-fulfillment.  It’s my recipe for making this world a more harmonious home to the human species.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. I’m hoping to be able to finish the rest of the book over the weekend.

In other news I did a 10K run this morning and everything was fine. So I guess my weird experience yesterday was just that - a weird experience.

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Tags: fitness // 19 Comments »

I went for a run on the treadmill at the gym before work this morning and unfortunately it was one of those runs that is just not good.

The first kilometer was great.  I was in the groove and pounding along.  After that though things went downhill rather quickly.  I started to feel nauseous at about the 4km mark and decided to cut the run short at the 5K mark.  I had to go have a sit down as I felt dizzy and wanted to throw up.

I’ve got no idea why this happened but I guess it’s just one of those things that happen every so often.    I wasn’t trying to go particularly fast.  I hadn’t eaten anything dodgy.  I was well hydrated.  Weird.

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Tags: fitness // 22 Comments »

Will @ 4XLT asked me in the comments of my last post what I enjoy about running (and in particular distance running).  I’ve given this some serious thought and here are a few of the main reasons I love running.

The first reason is a bit silly but it is the most important one to me.  I run because I can.  Up until this year I’ve had a strong belief that I could never be a runner.  Runners were mythical creatures who were blessed with running genes and I was a born couch potato.  You have no idea how shocked and stunned I still am that I am a runner.  I still get a great sense of joy just from knowing that I am a runner.

Running gives me time to think.  Sometimes life can get rather busy.  I find that on my long runs I have time to destress, think and have some time just for me.  It’s rather good.  There is a certain joy in just being one with the road at times.

Running has given me a deeper appreciation of the beauty of my city.  I live in one of the top 5 cities in the world (in terms of quality of living) and getting outside and running around it has opened my eyes to how blessed I am to live here.

Running has let me experience new things.  I’ve entered running races.  Me, an overweight couch potato!

Running has made me fitter.  That is a bit of a no brainer.  I’ve been fortunate and have had no injuries as a result of my running.  I’m fitter and in better shape than ever before in my life I think!

Anyway, I could go on but those are the things that immediately spring to mind.  If you are thinking about learning to run  then I strongly encourage you to do it.  I was a good 75 pounds heavier than I am now when I started running so don’t let the weight thing put you off.  Visit www.c25k.com and start running today!

For those of you who run, maybe you could share some of the things you love about running in the comments or on your blogs?

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Tags: running // 33 Comments »

Well, I’m up another pound this week. It really sucks seeing my counter go the wrong way but I’m not too disheartened. Good things take time and I will get there. I’m 203 pounds for now but I’m still determined to get it down.  I keep telling myself that every pound lost will make me that little bit quicker on the road!

Weight loss is simple in many ways.  Eat less, move more.  Preferably both at the same time.  Unfortunately in practice it’s a bit more complex.  Moving more makes you want to eat more so it’s a bit of a bugger.  Fortunately I’m back into my normal routine now so things should be a bit easier.  I’ve had way too many unusual events (work functions, overseas visitors, launch parties, lack of sleep due to teething baby etc.) over the last few weeks that have derailed my healthy eating somewhat.

One thing I’ve realised is that my mental attitude is a hell of a lot better.  In the past if my weight went up for two weeks in a row it might have derailed me completely for a few months.  That is definitely not going to happen to me now.

I’m eating healthy again.  One day at a time.

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Tags: Weigh in // 13 Comments »

I had to get up at 4 am today to drop off my brother in law at the airport.  It was rather cold!  I got back home around about 5:30ish and had a bite to eat.  I briefly considered going back to bed but decided a long run would be a better use of my time.

The weather played along today.  It was brilliant! There were a lot of runners out and about enjoying the conditions.  I suspect a lot of the people I saw out running were training for the Auckland marathon as well.  8 weeks to go.

I did a similar route to the long run I did two weeks ago but incorporated the final leg of my half marathon course as well.

It was a relatively hilly run but that’s Auckland for you.

I did 23 km in 2:12:53 which is my longest run yet.  I had a nice peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich to celebrate. :)

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Tags: running // 14 Comments »

My wife had to be in to work early for a conference call so I had to stay at home and sort out our baby daughter until her grandmother got up.  Grandma looks after little Emma on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. :)  What this means is that I had the chance to run into work.  I haven’t done this for a long time as the weather has been bad and I haven’t really had the opportunity.

I wanted to get about 10 - 12 km in so I initially headed away from work and headed out towards Mission Bay.  And then headed back in towards the city.  I took this photo with my cellphone just to show you the torrid conditions I had to labour in:

It’s really tough but someone has to do it!

11.5km in 1:03:34 for an average pace of 5:32 min/km.  I’ve noticed that my normal pace is getting faster which is great.

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Tags: fitness // 22 Comments »

There is a great guest post over at Get Fit Slowly.

One paragraph from it really resonated with me:

I am reminded that Fitness is a series of peaks and valleys. You can try to  be on your “A-game” all the time, but some days you just don’t have it. Even elite athletes have their ups and downs.  People strive for peak performances, but this may lead to a down slide which defines the peak.    The valleys aren’t exciting like the peaks, but they are part of the journey. We can only strive to make the next peak a little higher and work to keep the current valley from being as low as the last.

This so applies to weightloss as well so I found it a really good analogy.   Head over and read the whole thing.

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In other news I did an 8k tempo run yesterday and am going to do a 10k easy run later today.  I’m hoping to get outside today as the weather looks promising.  It’s Spring already!

I’ve also been contacted by the Heart Foundation as they want to do a profile on me for their newsletter.  I thought that was rather cool myself!  I’ll put up a link to the newsletter if I make the cut! As you may recall I’m raising funds for them.  Thanks to the many people who have donated so generously.

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Tags: fitness // 17 Comments »

I’ve been wondering how people read my blog. I know I personally read most blogs I frequent via RSS subscription in Google Reader.

Poll Answers
Note that if you are reading this in a Reader you’ll need to click through to the site to answer the poll.

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Tags: Interesting // 19 Comments »

As you can see from the graph the weight has been a bit all over the place this week.  I’ve gone up a pound which is a little frustrating not ideal but it’s also not too surprising as I haven’t run as much this last week and I’ve been eating a bit too freely.  I’m planning on working hard to try and trim down a bit more before my half marathon.  Every pound lost will make me that little bit faster I reckon!

One of my favourite tv shows is restarting this week.  Downsize me takes some folks and sets them on the path to healthy living through a good diet and exercise.  It’s stupid and patronising at times but overall the message is good.

I find it rather motivating to see what people can do in 8 short weeks - and all sumarised in a 30 minute show.  Coincidentally it happens to be 8 and a bit weeks to my half marathon! ;)  I think this is why I love reading people’s blogs as well.  I always tend to come away inspired when I read about how other normal folks have managed to get fit and healthy.

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Tags: fitness // 12 Comments »