Essential Marathon Preparation - The Long Run: Part 7

This morning, I got up at 6 am and did a 19 km long run. I managed to finish in 111 mins, a 3 minute improvement on the same course a few weeks back. Hopefully it will set me up for longer distances in future.

Something of concern, I should probably refrain from running in the dark, because of all the horrible things that have been happening to people in the news lately. Sometimes I might encounter a drunken idiot along the way. But I find that there isn't much time in the day to schedule these long runs, due to work or other activities. I'll figure something out.

The run went very well. I didn't have any trouble breathing and I kept a good pace and rhythm, keeping within my 6 mins/km splits. However a few hours after the run I'm feeling a little sore in my legs, particularly the thigh area. Might need to do some strecthing, methinks.

Essential Marathon Preparation - The Long Run: Part 6

I have been feeling very slack with regards to running. There have been days where I just did not feel like going out for a run. Perhaps it was because last week I missed three important long run sessions. Yesterday I decided to sleep in. Today I thought I might sleep in but after a lot of trying I managed to pull myself out of my warm bed.

This week was recovery week, so I thought I should just do an hour or so. And once I was 2 mins into the run it felt fantastic to actually get out and finally do it after all that procrastinating, which I seem to be very good in doing.

I managed to run 11 km in 66 minutes, exactly 6 mins/km. I didn't feel any pain in my legs or stomach region and I kept a good rhythm and didn't even need to stop for a walk!

It's also good to note that with the recovery week over this completes my first cycle of training. The next cycle will, of course, be tougher than the first as I brought forward the training intensities of the second cycle a week earlier so I could squeeze in an extra 100% week near the end of the second cycle. This is to make up for the missed long runs earlier last week, which happened to be my 80% week.

Oh well, this will also be a test of how well I can stick to my programme. I also need to find a way to motivate myself to run especially since I find it hard to get up in the mornings to run.

Essential Marathon Preparation - The Long Run: Part 5

Again not one of the best long runs I had. I only managed 16 km in 97 mins, approximately 6 mins/km. The shorter distance was influenced by the bad weather, again. This time it was actually raining but it wasn't heavy to stop me running the full 22 km or longer.

The good news was that I managed to pace myself evenly within 6 mins/km splits, even when going uphill. And I didn't need to walk either. Unfortunately I kept feeling some discomfort in my tummy region and I don't think it's a stitch that runners often experience. I think if I feel this, then I should break into a walk until the pain goes away. Next time, maybe.....

Also my calves are very tight, since I did some calf raises in the gym yesterday. I'll get used to it someday.

Trip to Hamilton

I got a call from James who required my indoor cricketing talents for the Mens 5 Superleague competition. Apparently half the team had pulled out, meaning that if there isn't at least 6 players present, the game cannot go ahead and 8 competition points will be deducted. I said yes to help them out. The catch was that the games were to played in Hamilton.

I got a ride with Glen and his brother, who play for Mens 5. I was a bit nervous at the level of competition in Superleague level, but apparently, as I'll explain later, it was not much different than Monday nights, in fact it was probably easier.

Unfortunately we could only muster 5 players plus 3 outside ringers. This meant that the team will get 8 competition points deducted, but at least the team didn't have to pay a fine that would involve them paying for the other team. That meant that our opposition won by default! Since we drove all the way from Auckland, and not wanting to feel shortchanged, we decided to play a non-serious game with the opposition, which game us license to play around a bit.

We batted first and only scored around 90 runs I think. The very first ball that my partnership faced, I got run out at the keeper's end since the ball bounced so far from the net that it virtually ended up in the keepers gloves! Those nets are very bouncy unlike the ones in St Lukes where the ball virtually drops dead to the ground. That was the only time I got out. Then I played some watchful batting and managed lots of 1's and 2's. Nothing fancy, play it safe. The opposition put up a good bowling effort.

But their batting went to crap. Literally. Instead of playing it safe they decided to go out and slog. In the best of times, this tactic can win matches in quick time. But the risk factor also increases. When I was brought on to bowl some slow offspin, the opposition saw that I could be slogable, and I got hit for a couple of 7's. That was inevitable. But the nets can also be your friend as a couple of my balls bounced off the nets in the back and went to the safe hands of the top-sticks fielder. Another delivery got hit very straight over my head, but the top-sticks fielder took a brilliant jumping catch over his head preventing the ball from going for 7. He later mentioned that the ball went in slow motion, which was amusing since any ball that goes for 7 always goes at a rate of knots. To round up my list of dismissals I bowled someone off a full toss after he charged, misread the huge flight, plays a hook shot while the ball was still above his read and then drops like a stone onto his stumps. Not the prettiest dismissal, but still it was worth -5 runs to the team.

Even though we officially lost the match on default, we still murdered that team. I may even try out for the Superleague competition next year as I had an enjoyable time. Ah that was a great outing.

Essential Marathon Preparation - The Long Run: Part 4

Not one of my best runs I'm afraid. I intended to repeat the same course last week and possibly cut 5 mins of my time. This time I could only do a 19 km run, though my decision not to do the full 22 km run was based on whether it was going to rain. Sure enough it did not rain, even though the clouds were looking very ominous. Bad call.

In the latter half of the run I bought some Powerade from the service station for drinking, with some interesting effects. Although it tasted better than water, I started experiencing something of a cramp in my abdominal region. Initially I thought it was a runners stitch, so I slowed down but the feeling didn't go away. This forced me to run very slowly throughout the course, and it had an effect on my mental state as well. For no reason I'd stop and reduce to a walk and find it very hard to get back to a slow jog.

Eventually I completed the 19 km run in a time of 114 mins, exactly 6 mins/km. Next week I will try and get in 25 km and see how that goes.

So What Have I Done This Year?

So it's been 6 months into 2006, and I thought to myself, what have I done this year? I read one of my past posts and I'll refer to it while writing what I've been doing the past 6 months. Have I done anything useful or is 2006 turning out to be one of those not-so-great years?

For me, I set myself a handful of goals to achieve this year.

And yes I have done the same this year after I was quite surprised at how many goals I achieved in 2005. Unfortunately this year I have only achieved 3 or 4 out of I-cant-remember-how-many.

I hope to further my running next year, and maybe run a half-marathon or marathon soon when I have a few more races under my belt.

Good news on that front. I made a commitment in late May to run the Auckland Marathon in October. So far the training has gone well and I hope to be better off because of it. I also did the Round the Bays run in March, but only improved by 5 seconds from last year!

Orion coincedently gave me a BodyTech gym membership ..... and I hope to continue going to achieve my fitness goals, that is to get fitter, get stronger, build muscle mass and gain weight.

I have reached a goal weight of around 70 kgs, and have already progressed to heavier weights through a strict superslow programme. Unfortunately with marathon training my gym visits are becoming less frequent, around once or twice a week. I can just see myself getting smaller and weaker again. To counteract this, I have started drinking protein shakes, which serves two purposes. The first is to speed up recovery after marathon training, and second is to maintain muscle mass so I won't lose weight drastically during my marathon period.

I have taken up indoor cricket again. I haven't played indoor since 2000 and my friend James decided to get the same team together this year and play in social games every Monday evenings.

Still play every Monday nights with the same group of guys. And we're getting better as the team becomes a better unit. We even made the final, only to lose it in a very tightly contested affair. It was a good experience and there will be many more finals to come for this team.

Unfortunately, I haven't been dancing since April ..... Hopefully I'll start taking it up next year.

This is a bit unfortunate. I got back into dancing at the beginning of the year till March when a friend wanted to learn Ceroc for her wedding dance. This was a chance to get back into it, but since the wedding I have not attended classes at all, and I can't see myself going to dance class with my current commitments. The Cerocstar is not back yet! But watch this space for a comeback!

Mentally, or academically should I say, I've gotten back into reading now, long lost from my days in high school.

Argh, not really great on this one also, I'm afraid. Since the start of the year, I've managed to read zero books. I did get out one book from the library but I abandoned it after 5 pages. It was Lord of the Flies as well, something I should have read in high school. The books I've been reading lately are books on how to run a marathon. Helpful I know, but not the sort of books I set out to read in the first place. Hopefully this will change in the latter half of this year.

I finally earned my Sun Certified Java Programmer certification ..... Now I have started studying for the Web Component Developer certificate. I hope to get this certification next year, as well as other Java certifications. And I hope to stay committed to the task, because it wasn't easy to stay motivated to study, especially when there isn't really a time limit.

Yet again, not going so well. I resolved to do this by March, then got slack. Then I decided on May, and got slack again. Finally I decided for July, and again I got slack. The good news is that Orion is going to pay for it, and now I have a voucher, which expires in October. The bad news is that the Auckland Marathon is at that time, so I have to sit it before October and during a time when training isn't so intense. And again I've been very slack with studying for the exam.

I have managed to learn several new Chopin works and hope to learn many more as well as improve myself.

Yes I've put in some crazy hours in front of the piano. I've outlined a desired repertoire list and chosen some songs that I want to learn. Unfortunately these songs require a lot of virtuosity, so in the meantime I've scaled back the piece difficulty so that I can pick up the technique which is a prerequisite for the more virtuosic works. This has allowed me to expand on my current piano repertoire. I've included many Chopin, but have expanded to Schumann, Schubert, Rachmaninov, and *cough cough* Mozart. Unfortunately I don't see myself learning from a teacher as I don't have the time. So I have taken it upon myself to learn by myself which is more difficult.

Financially, I think I'm pretty well off, considering my current situation. Instead of buying my lunches, I've took the time to prepare my lunches which has saved me a ton of money. With the rising cost of petrol, I've managed to spread out my petrol spending to around $120 a month.

I am still bringing lunches, which has saved me a great deal of money. Unfortunately petrol has risen to $1.70, which costs me around $70 each time. Now I'm spending around $150 a month on petrol. I've started out in investing in property, and started a Loss Attributing Qualifying Company (LAQC) to do this. The name of the company is A J Capital, which I share with my brother. I hope that it will be a good move, especially long term, as I start to learn the in's and out's of investment, and get rich in the process. I know it's not a get-rich-quick scheme; it takes a long time and some luck as well. And I got a pay rise too, so I guess I'm financially well off. Woohoo!

I am still attending church, and I still play piano week in week out for the service of the Lord. I imagine that I'll have to hand in my piano service in the forseeable future after having played for nearly 11 years.

Still going to church. The elders kind of reacted negatively to the news that I quit the church band. Not really a part of the church band anymore; I still play for them, but have excused myself from practice, which was great, and still is. Means that I don't waste 2 hours of my day doing something I already know how to do. It frees up my precious time for other pursuits.

Relationships haven't been the focal point for 2005, ..... I'm not sure whether 2006 will allow me to focus on relationships since there are so many things that I want to do. Cutting back on social activity, e.g. Ceroc, also inhibited this as I devoted my energies into other aspects of life.

Sigh this can be quite frustrating as I go through life without a companion. I have cut back so much on social activity, and indulged in activity which can be quite, ahem, detached. Running is predominately a solo effort as I run by myself. I should probably join a club but I can just see the picture clearly: multitudes of elderly people wanting to get a new lease in life by jogging. Indoor cricket is for the boys only. Though I did say that there are so many things that I want to do this year; I just chose the ones which doesn't involve girls!

As always I will train for running events and go to the gym.

Yep, I'm currently training for the Auckland Marathon, but not going to the gym so much to pump weights. Hopefully this will change if my marathon training becomes easier, and when the marathon finishes.

I will continue to work hard and try to gain two or three Java certificates next year.

I'm still struggling trying to prepare for the Web Component Developer exam. I don't think I will go for any other certificates this year, which is a shame since I said earlier that I would.

I'll continue practicing the piano as there are so many Chopin works that I want to learn and get under my belt.

Yeah, as I stated before I'm still doing this. It's going slowly unfortunately, but that's what it's all about really. Slow practice and do it right.

I'd like to read more serious mind enriching literature and learn new things, like cooking, DIY, and take part in new activities and sports.

D'oh, haven't read a single book that qualifies as serious mind enriching literature. And I haven't learnt new things like cooking or DIY. The only new activities that I can say I am attempting is the Auckland Marathon (and that itself is a big undertaking), investing in property and joining the Toastmasters club at work. I think that is one of the best things I have decided to involve myself in, as it is designed to improve public speaking, confidence and leadership, essential life skills for everyone!

I'll also be going on holiday to Malaysia and Singapore, which will definitely be exciting; so far April is the target month. While doing the travel, I'll consider the OE.

Best holiday in a long time. Had a blast in Malaysia and Singapore, and wanted it to be longer. Definitely good to be away from NZ, family and work, and just experience life in a different environment, by myself as well. A real life experience. As for the potential OE, I'm still not sure when that's going to happen, but I reckon I'll probably end up in Europe as I've always wanted to go there.

And then I'll try and get back into dancing, which I must admit has made me a happier person back then. Hopefully I can find some special lady to share my interests next year.

Well that didn't really last long. I think dancing has made me happier, but I really can't fit it in this year. Unless that special lady comes my way, then we could enjoy it together.......

So that sums up what I've done in 6 months. Overall I've done well in some areas and abysmal in others. Running, piano and sports are going well, reading, dancing and relationships are not. There's still 6 months left in this year and hopefully I can use that remaining time to do all the stuff that I set out to do at the start of the year. I've done some useful stuff, and hopefully will continue to do so, in order that 2006 won't turn out to be one of those not-so-great years.

Essential Marathon Preparation - The Long Run: Part 3

This time I embarked on a 22 km run around Massey, Hobsonville and West Harbour, an extension of the course I did last week. This time it took 133 mins, with some walking in between. So if I ever ran the half marathon, I'd expect to complete it within that time. That is around and over 6 mins/km. Hopefully I can cut it down to 120 mins, though not any time soon though.

And I went very slowly. The calves were definitely hurting, and I started fatiguing near the end of the run, forcing me to long bouts of walking. At one time, I was talking to myself to complete the course. "C'mon you can do it, nearly there, just a few hundred more metres", something along those lines.

Put it simply, it was a very hard session. I wonder if I can last 3 hours.