The week in review: March 25 - 31.

Wow.  I'm now up to 6 weeks of documenting my running:
 

Day	Activity	Distance (Total)	Time (Total)	Distance (Run)	Time (Run)	Pace (Run)
Sunday	Rest
Monday	Run	5.94 km	42:40	5 km	32:46	6:33
Tuesday	Rest
Wednesday	Run	8.87 km	1:08:16	8 km	58:11	7:16
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Run	5.95 km	40:37	5.95 km	40:37	6:50
Saturday	Rest

• Total distance: 20.76 km
• Treadmill runs: 0
• Best average pace for an outdoor run: 6:33 (over 5 km)
• Longest outdoor run without a walk break: 8 km
• Total distance run since starting: 594.98 km 

 Another light week due to the 5k being tomorrow.  Plan at this point is to go out chasing 6:10-ish (which I can manage over 4km in training).  Wish me luck...

The week in review: March 18 - 24.

This is now my 5th week of documenting my running:
 

Day	Activity	Distance (Total)	Time (Total)	Distance (Run)	Time (Run)	Pace (Run)
Sunday	Tempo Run	4.01 km	24:42	4.01 km	24:42	6:10
Monday	Run	5.97 km	44:22	5 km	33:57	6:47
Tuesday	Rest
Wednesday	Run	8.88 km	1:10:37	8 km	1:00:59	7:37
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Run	5.95 km	40:41	5.95km	40:41	6:50
Saturday	Rest

• Total distance: 24.81 km
• Treadmill runs: 0
• Best average pace for an outdoor run: 6:10 (over 4 km)
• Longest outdoor run without a walk break: 8 km
• Total distance run since starting: 574.23 km 

Light week due to the weekend away displacing my long run.  5km race in Quirindi is next weekend.  Gulp.  I'd been tossing up the 10km distance, but given I've only trialled at that distance one, I've settled on what I know I can do and am comfortable racing over.

The week in review: March 11 - 17.

This is my fourth week of documenting my running, and I thought I'd try something a little different:
 

Day	Activity	Distance (Total)	Time (Total)	Distance (Run)	Time (Run)	Pace (Run)
Sunday	Tempo Run	4.01 km	24:44	4.01 km	24:44	6:10
Monday	Run	5.97 km	42:41	5 km	32:36	6:31
Tuesday	Rest
Wednesday	Run	7.84 km	1:00:16	6.5 km	46:18	7:07
Thursday	Rest
Friday	Group Run	5.95 km	40:40	5.95 km	40:40	6:50
Saturday	Run	11.43 km	1:32:14	10 km	1:17:07	7:43

• Total distance: 35.2 km
• Treadmill runs: 0
• Best average pace for an outdoor run: 6:10 (over 4 km)
• Longest outdoor run without a walk break: 10 km
• Total distance run since starting: 549.42 km 

Well I survived the full 10 km this morning (albeit at a fairly slow pace).  I even kept running when it started to pour rain.  Says a lot for my commitment level at the moment!

The continued effort to run distance rather than time seems to be working fine, so I'm sticking with it at the moment.

The next week will be a light one due to my having a weekend away.  I'm planning to run a bit longer on Monday and Wednesday to make up some of the deficit, but my next long run is going to be race day in Quiridi...

South America on the Horizon!

Why am I not aiming for running the Marathon this year?  Because I'm booked to spend 4 weeks in South America smack-bang in the middle of what would be a normal marathon preparation!

I've had this trip planned (at least in theory) since before I started running again, so it's taking priority this year.

Due to my total lack of Spanish or Portuguese (thank-you Australian school system) and my dislike for doing everything alone, I've elected to go on a group tour (this one) with Contiki whom I've traveled with on multiple prior occasions.

As of today my tour is officially marked as "guaranteed"!  *Does happy dance*

I'm hoping to start blogging some of my travel experiences as well (thus the flying in the title of this blog), however given my prior attempt at this it may be a bit spotty.

In marathon news, after one of the girls I work with has declared herself for the full marathon in Melbourne this year (now officially October 7), I'm going to do my best to make it (trip not withstanding).

In order to attempt this, I've started marathon training now.  My plan being that I'm going to complete the maximum possible before leaving so that I can (hopefully) pick up at a reasonable (but somewhat earlier) point in the training program.

The downside: I'll have about 1 week after I get back before registering, so I'm going to have to decide fast.

The only thing that makes this seem somewhat achievable - the time limit for Melbourne is usually 7 hours and with my normal (6km/hour) walking speed, I should finish even if I walk almost the whole way.

An unexpectedly good run!

I went out this morning for a 4km shake-down run after my 7kms yesterday. I'd originally been going with someone else, but she woke up with a migraine so I was on my own.

In an effort to achieve something, I sent the Garmin to virtual pace and aimed for 6:40/km - about my best sustainable time to date.

By the end, I'd covered all 4km in 24:40 (6:10/km) - an enormous improvement! I certainly worked hard for it, but never faded:

I'm actually quite proud of that - I might yet break 1 hour for 10km...

The week in review: March 4 - 10.

This is my third week of documenting my running:

• Distance run (including warm-up/cool-down): 29.28 km
• Treadmill runs: 1
• Outdoor runs:4
• Best average pace for an outdoor run: 6:48 (over 4km)
• Longest outdoor run without a walk break: 7 km
• Total distance run since starting: 514.22 km
• Current aim: Improve my outdoor running endurance. 

I'm still improving my endurance.  The total distance run suffered due to my working a locum shift on Sunday and thus being unable to run.

Decided this week to ditch the timed runs for distance, which I completed much more easily than I expected.  I even managed my long run (set to 7km) outside on the riverside track this morning.


The experimentation with the heart rate goal feature has actually worked really well outdoors, as evidence by my completing 7km as a single run.


As the coming week is my last full training week before the race in Quirindi, I'm planning on attempting a full 10km on Saturday.  Let's see how that goes.

New shoes... And group runs.

As promised to myself, I celebrated my 500km by going shopping for a new pair of running shoes.

I've come home with a pair of Asics Gel Kayano 18s which I'm very happy about (and have been not so quietly eying off for about a month).

My new shoes.  In black, because I'm not a girl who wears pink if it's at all avoidable.

I've also jumped in with both feet and am going to join up with a local Friday morning running group.  This is going to require a 6am-ish start time, which is earlier than I usually get out of bed.  Planning on starting tomorrow - IF i can get up in time.

Happy 500km to me...

Today has marked a milestone - I've officially covered 500km since starting my running program in June - as evidenced by Garmin Connect:

I've been promising myself new shoes for the last 2 months - once I passed the 500km mark...  So I'm going shopping tomorrow!

The week in review: February 26 - March 3.

This is my second week of documenting my running, and I'm amazed at the improvement.

• Distance run (including warm-up/cool-down): 30.83 km
• Treadmill runs: 1
• Outdoor runs: 5
• Best average pace for an outdoor run: 6:44 (over 4km)
• Longest outdoor run without a walk break: 4.42 km
• Total distance run since starting: 484.94 km
• Current aim: Improve my outdoor running endurance. 

My endurance is certainly getting better this week - I even managed 2 x 30 minute outdoor runs.

I did my long run (45 minutes) on the treadmill this morning.  I didn't think I could make 45 minutes outside, especially given that I felt like I was dying toward the end of the 30 minute runs.

I had a bit of a play with the Garmin for the treadmill run though and have found that by setting a goal heart rate it's much easier to complete the run without the dying feeling!  I'm planning on putting this to work outdoors this week and seeing how it translates.