Last week of training before T42

Feeling really sore today and that is not a good sign just before the T42.

had a great week of trainig last week and didn't quite manage the 100km but did get up to 82kms including a nice breezy 22kms on Saturday morning. Felt awesome afterwards and so felt good heading away for the weekedn. Ended up at a place called Maraetai (whcih is a beach I love) and stayed at an awesome B and B out there. Ended up heading into the Waitemata Harbour for some sea kayaking in the late afternoon and finsihed off the day watching the sun go down over the sea..not a bad finish

The picture above is the view from the bed at the B and B...woke up the next morning and sat and watched the sun come back up over the beach then read my paper from cover to cover (a treat as I never get to do that unninterrupted by kids etc)

then went down to Beachhaven for coffee and got a pic of me with Rangitoto in the background. Was a very cruisy Sunday morning.

This week started with a lie in and then last night a 15km run. Got round in 1hour 22 mins. Felt really good on the run but when I headed out at 5am this morning, i felt like rubbish. Legs were aching, I had a bad stitch and basically everything just felt wrong. So I stopped running and decided to just walk it out and see if things would resolve. The short of it is that they didn't so I got home (feeling very djected) and have rubbed a lot of deep heat cream into my quads to try and get them relief. Good long stretching session and they are feeling a little better. Will hopefully get out for another 15kms tonight but will have to check on how they feel.

Very very frustrating tuesday

Training update for T42

I have been working pretty hard since the Orewa half in preparation for the T42 which is looming large next weekend. The week after the half marathon I had a really full on week at work including being on a leadership course in the city which meant my commute was over an hour each way and the course was 10 hour days. This left very little time for exercise so it wasn’t until the weekend that I got out there for a leisurely, untimed, 8km jog.

Monday I woke with the sinking feeling that it is only 2 weeks till the T42 and I am woefully underprepared so have decidede to try and run 100km this week to get some good solid miles in prior to the mountain run.

Monday night I did 10kms, Tues am went out at 5:30 for a really nice morning run in light drizzle. Got round in 53 minutdes and then after work that night I did another 10km ( again in drizzle) and did 52 minutes so pace was similar.

Wednesday morning I gave my quads a rest and then Wednesday night busted out another 10km at dusk after work. Work has been crazy lately so it has been awesome to get home, get my shoes on and go and blow out the cobwebs from the day. Ebs is being really supportive of my running at present which is great having the flexibility to run when I need to.

Thursday was a rest day (enforced) as I had to fly to Christchurch for the day for work. I was trying to figure out how to get a run in but I was up at 4:15 am to catch an early flight down and didn’t get home till after 8:30pm. Just had to resign myself to a rest day.

Up this morning for another 10km though and once out there it felt good. Was a slow run though and only got round in 54 minutes...will head out again tonight and the plan is to get a couple of long runs in over the weekend

HALF MARATHON NUMBER 2

Ran my second half Marathon yesterday at the Orewa Beach half Marathon and got home in 2hours and 3 minutes. Was a particularly hard run and I think I was a little under prepared for it so was happy to cross the finish line.

the course was two laps of the Orewa township including a 3 km run along the beach itself. the Start finish line was directly outside the local surf club so we set off along the sand. About 1km into the run there was a fairly steep climb into the streets around the bay and then the course dropped down across the causeway and out the back of Orewa. A long stretch around the back of town and we hit the beach again at about the 8km mark to run the length of the beach (approx 3km) and then back around.

the first lap (10.5km) felt great and I passed the timing clock at 52 minutes. The second lap was a lot harder and i was kicking myself for not having got some longer runs in prior to the race. I found the hills particularly hard going second time around and also walked the drinks stations on the second lap to ensure I was getting plenty of hydration in. Finally turned onto the beach and ran with a beautiful cross wind down the final stretch to get home in 2hours and 3 minutes.

My sister also ran the race and got home in 2hrs 26 which is a great effort for her first race ( seeing as she couldn't run 3 kms 6 months ago).

Lessons learnt from the race were that I need to get more hill work in for the upcoming T42 and that longer runs are a must do prior to a half. Generally the legs held up OK but I did get some cramping in my right calf which I had to stop and stretch out a couple of times.

Day off today as a reward and then off to the long runs again from tomorrow as it is now only three weeks till the 24km off road run...woohooo

5 sleeps till half marathon

Back home after having an awesome weekend away in Tauranga. The wedding went great and was so nice to have a few days at the beach. Made the most of it by getting in some reasonably good runs but did eat relatively poorly while down there (the curse of the holiday right). Caught up with the bride and Groom yesterday for lunch at the Naked Grape on the Strand and was so nice sitting in the sunshine

Went for a walk around Mt Maunganui yesterday and it was such a beautifuul day but there were amazing waves crashing up over the rocks and almost reaching the path. was worth a photo.

So back to Auckland last night and back to work tomorrow and it is now only 5 sleeps till the next half marathon in Orewa this Sunday. And murphy's law means that the weather has turned and the Autumn rain seems to be setting in. Really drab and grey out today and will mean it will probably be my first wet run this year tonight when I get home. Will do a quick 5km tonight as not wanting to do too much this week until after the half.

Tauranga

This morning we packed up and headed out of Auckland (with what seemed like the rest of the population) and headed to the beach for the long weekend. One of Ebony's best friends is getting married tomorrow so we have headed down for a few days., They have a gorgeous little apartment just back from the water at Pilot Bay and we are happily ensconced here for the next few days. Georgia is with a girlfriend and Baylee is with Mum and dad so we only have Charlia with us. One kid instead of 3...this really is a holiday :-)

(THE VIEW FROM THE BALCONY AT AVALON AND DAN'S APARTMENT)

So having driven down we decided to go for a walk down the mount. Stopped and grabbed some lunch and sat in the sunshine and confided in Ebony about how my motivation for going for an afternoon run was disappearing as I tucked into a grilled chicken breast and salad and one of the best coffees I have had in a long time (Real runner food huh??) Ebs, being a pragmatic as ever, said that he thought i should maybe just chuck my shoes on and my gear and go for a walk. Of course i knew that If I did that I would go for a run, so having finished lunch and meandered back to the apartment, I took the car and mapped out a 12 km route. Well is 12ish cause part of the route involved running around Mt Maunganui which is no car access so I had to guess. Eb and Charlia have gone over to see her dad on the other side of town so I put my gear on and headed out and.....

I loved it

Running along the boardwalk on a pristine day, a light headwind to cool me down, bright sunshine and a brilliant podcast on ACL repairs (everyone has their vices..mine happens to be medical podcasts). It reminded me why I love running and made up for all the bad runs I have been moaning about lately.

(Happy boy after my run...out on the balcony rehydrating and stretching)

So now I m sitting here enjoying the post run endorphin rush and at one with the world...it going to be a great weekend.