Weekly wrap

Three runs last week for a total of 25 km (16 miles). One swim session of 1000 in 32 minutes.

For the month of April I ran a total of 85 km (52 miles). That's my biggest month so far this year.

The aim for the next few months is to continue building up the mileage peaking for the Run Auckland Half marathon in mid July.

After that the next big event on the local calender is the Auckland Marathon(& Half) on 28 October. I always just thought I would do the Half again this year but just now I was just thinking "why not the full? it's still six months away after all". Plenty of time to prepare for my first full marathon right.

I guess I'm not ready to commit to the marathon just yet as I still don't have total confidence in my body to hold up to the stresses of training for a marathon. I still get regular shin pain in one leg particularly. I have been able to manage it so far with regular icing and by limiting myself to three runs a week. I wonder though how the shin would stand up to the increase in mileage?

A bigger concern for me at the moment is the problem with the numb foot which often strikes at the around the six km stage of a run. It is worrying and I need to get on top of that before I set my sights on a marathon (or the half in July come to think of it).

So at this stage I'll take it one month at a time and build to the July half and we'll reassess the future at that point.

Watching the weight

Ended the month at 85 kg. No loss during the month.

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Run Auckland, Waiatarua Reserve 5km

Today was Race One of a new series of running races being held in Auckland over the next three months called Run Auckland. The series has been put together to offer recreational and semi competitive runners the opportunity to take part in some regular challenging racing and also gives recreational runners a goal to aim for to assist with meeting their fitness goals. That's what appealed to me about the series. Being mainly a recreational runner who started this about two years ago when I decided that I unhappy with my weight, I find that I need a goal or purpose to keep me interested. This series offers just that.

Today's race is a 5km run around the Auckland suburb of St Johns. There was also a 10k race starting at the same time, obviously doing two laps. I've never run a 5 k before so was keen to start the series with the 5. Click here for the map.

The weather this morning was poor, and rain was threatening. I arrived at the race start around 45 minutes prior to the scheduled 8:00 am start for the pre race registration, the main purpose of which was to just get the timing chip. Unfortunately being a new series there were some organisational problems with the registration procedures and the organisers found themselves caught short with too few registration desks available to cater for the approx 500 runners who had turned up (most like me I would gather had pre entered online so no excuses here really). Eventually they got through the ques of people and the race got underway about 15 minutes late.

My calf was not feeling as bad today, still a bit sore but it wasn't being to be a factor today. My left shin was bothering me more than normal however during my little warm up jogs around the park waiting for the start. I wasn't going to let this stop me today however either.

I started reasonably near the front of the bunch and got off to a quick start to clear away from the bunch as quickly as I could before settling down at a steady pace. I had planned to do the first k in about 4:40 but this was probably around 4:20 - 4:30. The calf was felling good and the shin was soon forgotten.

The second k was just about maintaining a comfortable pace. I was happy with my position and was feeling okay. The course climbs a little over the third k and I had planned to ease off a bit at this stage to save myself for the last two k's. The persistent drizzle which had been around since registration was becoming heavier and I'm pretty wet by this stage.

Down the other side of the hill and I was able to pick up the pace somewhat on the run to the finish. The last k was all pretty flat. I was digging deep and was keen for a strong finish. I was able to maintain the pace right to the end. I'd held nothing back, I was spent.

I finished in a race time of 23:18 (net time 23:06), just over three minutes behind the winner, Sam Morreau who finished the race in a time of 20:05. I'm stoked with my time as it was at the right end of my goal time of 23 - 24 minutes.

I was the 8th male to cross line and 6th in the males 30-39 category. I'm also stoked with that placing for a first time 5 k'er. On plotting the run into Map My Run, I also found the run actually measured 5.25k. Who knows what time I might have achieved for an actual 5k?

The results are interesting though. Of 174 finishers in the 5k race there were only 42 men. In the 10k race there were 242 finishers including 103 men. Why are then men staying away? Also interesting to note were the 5k split times for the 10k runners. The first 25 men all had a faster split time at 5k than my race time, with the first four all registering a quicker split than the 5k winner. Clearly the longer distances attract a greater number and quality of athletes




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Strained calf again or just some soreness?

My right calf has been sore for the last two days since Thursday's training run.

I'm not 100% sure whether I have re injured it or whether the pain is just general muscle soreness from Thursday's hard session. The soreness seems to be lower than where the strain occurred and I'm thinking that as I didn't pull up lame on Thursday after the run then it is more than likely just soreness.

I have my 5 km race tomorrow morning which I'm still really keen on completing. I went for a 2 km run this afternoon just to test the calf out and though it was a little uncomfortable and tight I was able to complete it without the discomfort getting any worse.

I really have no idea how I will go as I have never run a 5 km race before but the plan tomorrow is to start at at around 4:40 pace for the first k. The next k or so is uphill so I will probably look to ease back a bit to around 5:00 pace. The last 2k is all down hill to the finish to hopefully I will have enough in reserve to run the last two at around 4:30 pace to finish around 23 -24 minutes.



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What a workout

After a few problems with Internet access this week due to changing our ISP I'm back up and running.

As you might have guessed if you read my last post I was a little down after the weekends run, but isn't it amazing what a couple of good runs can do to lift your confidence!

Tuesday was a nice and easy 8 km (5 miles)at a comfortable slow pace. I just wanted to get through it with no problems. Due to the issues I had been having with the numb foot, I switched from the hard orthotic, which I thought might be compressing a nerve, to a soft & thin cushioning insole. I also decided to try the Pose Method again given that when I had been experimenting with this last month I didn't suffer from the dreaded numb foot.

I got through the run with only slight numbness towards the end of the run but nothing like Sunday's discomfort. The Pose style does place more stress on the calf though so I will have to keep a watch on this.

Distance - 8.16 km (5.07 miles)
Time - 42:40
Pace - 5:13 min km's (8.25 min miles)
No HR data


Today's work out was was a real blow out. It was my first real attempt at a structured up tempo run. With my first ever 5 km race coming up on Sunday, I wanted to pick things up a bit today and really test my self with some speed work. With some help from Map My Run, I measured out a 1 km section along Tamaki Drive with the idea of running each kilometer at 5 km race pace before turning and jogging back to the start point again. I did four repeats and these were the times;

1 - 4:10
2 - 4:30
3 - 4:28
4 - 4:25

Tamaki Drive is about 2 km from my office all downhill to the water so it allowed a good warm up before the repeats. Obviously it's a 2 km climb back to work but if anything that just added to the intensity of the workout. Check out the side bar where I've placed a link to a Map of the run.

I got through the whole workout with no numb foot. The calf was starting to tighten midway through the run so I reverted to my natural style which places less stress on the calfs. The calf has been a bit tight this afternoon so hopefully no repeat of last months strain. I think it will be okay.

As you can see after the first one I settled into a nice consistent pace. If I can maintain a pace of around 4:45 on Sunday for a time of 23 to 24 minutes then I will be happy with the result.

Distance - 12.6 (7.8 Miles)
Time - 1:05:40
Average pace - 5:13 min kms (8:23 min miles)
Ave HR - 154
Max HR - 175


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Weekly Wrap

Just the three runs this week;

- Tue, 6 km (3.8 miles) 33:00 No HR data
- Thu, 6.9km (4.3miles) 36:30 No HR data
- Sun, 10.2 km (6.3 miles)52:30 Max HR 165 Ave HR 145

Today's run felt a bit awful, with the numb foot again frustrating me. Stopped and stretched after 20 minutes. Played around with the orthotic. Lasted another 15 minutes, stopped, adjusted orthotic, lasted another 5, stopped walked 5, adjusted orthotic, ran the last 12 minutes home. On top of that the shins are still sore.

I've just googled 'numb feet when running' and it brings up all sorts of issues from laces being too tight, worn out running shoes, through a problem in the back? Most likely cause would seem to be some pressure being applied to a nerve in the foot which results in the numbess after 20-30 minutes of running. I'll keep up my stretches but I'll probably have to get off my butt some time and see a specialist or a podiatrist as this has been hanging around for some time and is getting to be a real pain the --- as I can't run the distances that I want to.

Update on the Pose method. Given the calf strain I had which I'm guessing was probably a result of the extra load I was placing on my calfs, I'm not running Pose at present though I am still trying to be aware of my foot position on landing and not heel striking too much. Oddly when I was attempting to run Pose I was not getting the numb foot as much.



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Reflections of an amateur Soccer Coach

On a slightly different subject today - Soccer - Midgets Soccer.

 

We have just joined Jack up with the local Soccer club. It's his first ever involvement in sport and today was our first of no doubt many trips over coming years to the local sports fields for Saturday morning kids sport.

As if that is not enough, somehow I have managed to land the job of Coach. Now I'm hardly and expert on the fine game and in fact I do not even watch it that much. One night however when the club phoned the house enquiring as to whether we would have any interest in coaching Jack's team, Michelle somehow volunteered my services.

It soon dawned on me that people were not exactly people queuing up to take on the job and that if it wasn't to be me then there was every chance the team would be coach less. Thus that was my first experience of children's sporting teams, without parents taking a key interest in the team and taking responsibility for some tasks including team management and coaching then nothing will happen. The club can only offer so much support but at the end of the day our success will be determined by the effort we put in. I should say that I have appointed Michelle as Manager of all off field matters a job which she is performing splendidly.

Flash back to Wednesday evening and it was the much anticipated first practice where Jack would get to meet his team mates and the Coach would get to meet the parents. We have a squad of eight players (six boys and two girls) all aged about five or six. After meeting all the parents and delivering a bit of hurriedly put together introduction of myself we got under way. The Internet is indeed a fine thing and I was able to find a number of practice drills specifically for under 8 years olds. I chose three of these which seemed to go quite well. I wrapped the practice up with a four on four mock game which was a little chaotic (if you can imagine half a dozen kids all trying to kick a ball at once).

In general everyone seemed happy with the way it went. As with most teams there are a couple of players who stand out and appear to have some obvious skill for their age so with any luck we might have a good season ahead.

Onto this mornings game... it a bright and early start and we were out of the house at 7.30am for the 8.00am kick off. In Jack's grade we play five a side for 12 minute halves and with no goal keepers and unlimited substitutions. As well as Coach I also double as referee for one half. Jack's team, which is named 'The Scorers' opens the scoring with a well taken goal midway through the first half. The opposition, Puhoi, responded with a fine goal of their own right on the half time hooter. The Scorers had the better of the run of play in the second half but just could not finish off any of the attacks they mounted on Puhoi's goal, putting several shots just wide of the posts. Unfortunately for The Scorers, Puhoi took their one and only goal scoring chance of the half and finished up the victors by 2-1.
 

Some thoughts on the first game;

- all the kids enjoyed themselves
- there were some good touches and ball control evident and the players were not as bunched as I thought they might have been.
- managing the substitutions can get a little confusing. I need a systems to ensure everyone gets a fair amount of game time. Another parent was helping out with this from the sideline which was a great help.
- if nothing else, Jack is wrapped that I'm the coach of his team. He often tells me that he loves me being his soccer coach which is nice to hear.

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Xterra 11 km - Race Report

 

 

Sorry for the delay in posting a report about the Xterra Trail run. It's been a bit of a hectic week. Monday week ago after my last post the family headed down to Hastings to visit family but particularly to visit my grandmother who had been unwell and in hospital for a week or so. She had been unwell for the last few years and was in and out of hospital on several occasions in recent months. She passed away peacefully last Friday. In the end her quality of life was not what she would have wanted and in some ways it is a blessing that she is no longer suffering. I am glad that we were able to get down there and visit her and that she got to see the boys.

We got the news of her passing while we were on the road to Rotorua which is where I was to run in the Xterra and I decided that I would continue on and complete this race before heading back to Hastings for the Funeral which was held on Tuesday.

Race day dawned fine and clear but COLD. It was an 8.00 am start with the run set to take us twice around the picturesque Blue Lake near Rotorua but with the sun yet to reach above the surrounding bush covered hills it certainly made for a brisk morning (still nothing compared to what you North American and Canadian readers have experienced over your winter though). I had my support crew with me being Michelle and the two boys.

I started out slowly with the pace largely being dictated by the large bunch for the first 500 meters or so. The first mile and a half took us halfway around the lake via the road and was slightly uphill. The bunch gradually spread out and I just settled into a steady but not too fast pace. At the south end of the lake we went off road and ventured into the bush trails which took us back to the start. Ground conditions were soft but not too slippery though with many small rocks and roots to watch out for. I'm glad I purchased some Trail shoes especially for the race though as my road shoes would have had me sliding all over the place.

I completed the first lap in about 33 minutes feeling in pretty good condition but for my left foot which I could sense was starting to go a bit numb as it often does at after 30 minutes or so. I was worried that I might have to stop and stretch. My calfs and shins were holding up well though.

Almost the entire second lap took us around the trail encircling the lake. The first part of the trail was narrow and with little or no room to pass. After making my way past several runners I found myself behind a female runner who was maintaining a steady pace that I was comfortable with so I just hung in behind her. This trail was also strewn with rocks and roots and near the southern end of the lake I sprained my ankle. For a few seconds I was unsure how serious this was and it slowed me, but fortunately I was able to work through that and before long I was back up to full pace. Man did I have a sore ankle by then end of the day though!!.

Once we had turned for home the trail widened significantly for the next mile before narrowing again however I was able to keep the pace up and neither the numbing foot, which had not worsened much, nor the ankle slowed me any. I'm sure that during the second lap I was not passed by a single runner though I managed to pass perhaps 15-20 runners.

I came out on to the beach at the finish and after briefly taking the wrong line (keen to do another lap) and also briefly stopping to say Hi to the family, I crossed the line in 1:02:57.

The official results confirmed that I was placed 23rd in the open men's in a field of 72 or 29th man overall (including masters) in a field of 115. Given this was my first Trail run I'm pretty pleased with that result. The time seems a little slow on the face of it but I guess that can be expected in this type of terrain plus I would have been a minute or so crossing the start line.

Click here to see some more photos from the event including of the Xterra Triathlon.


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Monday Morning Run

A quick post on this morning run before we leave for Hastings.

I was out the door by 6.30 this morning. It was a crisp and clear morning, perfect running conditions. I set out a little uncertain about how I would go with my calfs still being a little tight and my shins playing up recently.

I just took it nice and slow right from the start, the idea being that I would make this run a slightly longer distance to what I have been running lately to partly make up for Saturdays missed run plus looking ahead to next weekends 11 km Xterra, I felt I needed at least one run of around that distance.

I ran my usual loop and felt good at the halfway point so ended up running for almost an hour.

- Distance - 10.6 km (6.58 miles)
- Time - 58:06
- Pace - 5:29 k's (8:50 miles)
- Max HR 139
- Ave HR 132

Not sure about that HR. Seems a bit low. Maybe the machine has malfunctioned? What should my HR be for a long slow run?

That's all for now, we're off. Have good week.



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Weekly Wrap

It was a light week this week with only two runs and one swim. Cancelled Saturdays planned run as the shins were feeling a little tender. Shin splints is one injury that I've had the misfoutune to suffer a bit from since a took up regular running almost a year ago. I've learned now that it doesn't pay to ignore them too often, chances are they will just get worse. So I opted for a Swim instead.

- Ran a total of 14.8 km (9.2 miles)in 1 hr 15
- Swam 1,000 meters in 30 minutes.

Also played a round of Golf today. Shot a 91, five over my handicap. A little disappointed with that but as I only play once or twice a month it's hard to achieve the level of consistency needed to shoot low scores. As usual too many blow outs with four triple bogies costing me dearly today.

The Plan this Week

Tomorrow morning we are heading down to Hastings (on NZ's east coast and a good seven hour drive from Auckland) to catch up with family. We have four nights there and then two in Rotorua on the way home. On Saturday in Rotorua I'm running in the Xterra 11 km Trail Run which I've entered. Training this week will be 7 km tomorrow morning before we leave and then one run down in Hastings of what ever distance I can fit in.

Happy running.

Another Step towards full Recovery

Today's run was a regular route for me, three laps of the Auckland Domain.

It's a pretty easy route with just once small hill/incline of about 500 meters. The elevation drops away again before remaining relatively flat for the remainder of the loop. It measures 2.7 km or almost 5.1 miles. Half of each loop takes takes you through the Domain with the other half along busy streets.

The stats;

- Distance - 8.1 km (5 miles)
- Time - 41:40
- Ave pace - 5:06 km (8:12 miles)
- Max HR 168
- Ave Hr 150

Today I kept a split time for each lap and the laps looked like this;

- Lap 1 13:30, pace 4:58/7:58
- Lap 2 13:15, Pace 4:52/7:50
- Lap 3 14:55, pace 5:29/8:49

I found this interesting because I have never kept a close eye on split/lap times before. I only run with basic HR monitor and not a GPS which seems to be popular with most other bloggers. I therefore have to remember these numbers as I go, which was okay.

What the above figures tell me is that I really need to think about starting out slower not only to ensure I get a proper warm up but to also keep from running out of gas too early. I was telling myself tonight to take it slow and easy from the start as my calfs are still not a 100%, but as the above stats show I could really have been about 20-30 seconds slower per k for that first lap.

In the second lap I attempted my version of a mile repeat (well it was more of a one off effort mile). As I've got no GPS I had to do my best to estimate a mile. I figured I could probably run a mile in about seven minutes at a push so I just went hard for seven minutes over the flat section of the loop before easing off when I came to the hill. The calf was starting to tighten as well but this seemed to come and go as I tinkered slightly with my foot position. I was a little surprised that the lap time was only 15 seconds faster than my supposed slow warm up lap. I guess I did ease off a fair bit after the mile.

Over the last lap I didn't want to risk further injury so I just took it real slow, which is shown out in the timings. The calf actually got a bit better over the last lap which was a relief. I am wondering whether it is just a cramp rather than the strain. This is probably related to the Pose Method as if I switch my landing position more toward the heel the cramp is not so noticeable. Maybe I need to find a happy medium between Pose and my own natural style.




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A Run too Fast, too Soon?

Today's run was another test to see how far the strained calf has come along. Rather than the slow and easy I have been running over the last week today I stepped it up a notch.

- Distance - 6.6 km (4.1 miles)
- Time - 33:45
- Pace - 5:05 mpk (7:32 mpm)
- Max HR 169
- Ave HR 140

The physio said I should aim to increase my runs by about 5 minutes per week. With the Xterra 11 km Trail Run coming up in Rotorua on Saturday week, I have been trying to up the distance by about 1 km or 5 minutes on each run. Hopefully that will get me to Rotorua in some sort of shape to have a good run. Today that meant I needed to run for about 35 minutes.

I also decided that I needed to up the speed work a bit. After about 15 minutes I was still moving along at I guess about 5:20 pace (K's) but the HR was still way short of 150.

I lifted the pace for a K then eased back for the next K. The calf was beginning to tighten and say "enough". I wanted to try one more faster K but delayed it until the calf had settled. I again lifted the pace but before long the calf was tightening again. I stopped, stretched and then just jogged the last K back to work.

I was a little worried that I may have gone too hard and done some damage but the calfs seem to have settled down okay this afternoon and I'm sure they're okay. Sometimes I wonder whether the other calf has a slight strain also but then it could just be the calfs still adjusting to the Pose Method.

I'm heading down to Christchurch tommorrow on a business trip. Will be spending Tuesday night down there so will take the opportunity for a rest from training for two days before hitting the road again on Thursday where I'll aim for 7-8 K.

Have a great week & happy running.


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Weekly wrap up

Went for a pretty uninspiring buke ride today. Lacking is motivation and energy to push my self. The calf was aching a bit too. Ended up cutting the circuit short by about 5 km.

- Distance - 14.3 km (8.9 miles)
- Time - 45:50
- Pace - 18.7 kph (11.6 mph)
- Max HR 126
- Ave HR 112

Weekly Wrap

- Ran 13.2 km (8.2 miles) in 73 minutes.
- Swam 1200 meters in 37 minutes
- Biked 14.3 km (8.9 miles) in 46 minutes

Watching the Weight

Steady at 85 kilo's (187 pounds).