Thursday 2 January 2014

January 2014

Monthly total (rounded down to the nearest whole): 124km over 12 runs.
Yearly total: 124km over 12 runs (2013 total:799 km)

29th January - last run of the month
I'm sure it's me, but I've no idea what I'm doing - both Endo and Runkeeper failed again - they both stopped at the 5 minute mark leaving me to guess at the time. So I'm going to claim the 7km in 1 hour. It was also the last run of the week. My fourth run in a row and I was shattered. My knees were pounding and my shins were pretty painful so I've decided to not push things too hard. Four on, three off might just be a workable plan anyway so that's what I'm going to try next.

And that's the end of the month. I'm reasonably happy with the distances I'm doing but speed is still a concern. The VCM is in just over 9 weeks.

27th & 28th January
One entry, two runs - As per plan I ran Monday and Tuesday and, hopefully, will run the rest of the week up to, and including, Friday. I'll take Saturday off and aim for a longer run on Sunday.
7km each day (Endo reports a wee bit more). Monday's run was completed in 47 minutes and I managed today's run (Tuesday) in 45 minutes. I'm getting a wee bit frustrated at my seeming inability to run quicker - after all, I've done 5km in 25 minutes, I should be able to do 7 in 35 but instead I'm taking another 10 minutes! Grrr...

26th January
Another day, a short run though. I set out to run 18km with the usual Sunday morning group but they didn't turn up so I've decided to turn things around this week and plan to run every day, but only 7km each time. Anyway, today - Endo did its usual job of over-estimating the distance so whilst it reported 8.15km I'm gonna claim 7km in 49 minutes. Hardly a spectacular time. I was tempted to keep running towards the end, it was, after all, a beautiful day (albeit a tad chilly at minus 9) but I'm gonna stick to the daily short runs this week so next run tomorrow.

Oh, and I hit a landmark today - it was my 100th run since I started to run back in September of 2012.

24th January
Amazingly, because I thought I wouldn't make it, I found the necessary motivation and went for a run today. It wasn't quick, it wasn't pretty but it was 9.46km in 58,37. Miles (or KMs) are miles. Next run is on Sunday so I've a day to work out the aches and pains. I've also started the 30 day plank challenge and am doing some squats to strengthen my core and thighs and I need to, at some point, get back to hills again. Maybe I'll do a Grinzing run next week...maybe.

22nd January
Motivation's becoming a real issue right now. Despite the fact that the marathon is in 11 weeks I find myself running only twice a week compared to four or five times a week in earlier days. Anyway, I managed to haul my lazy arse out of my apartment and went for a run - Endo reported 9.56km run in 56.09 minutes (or 9km in 57 mins) which works out to a pace of 6.20 mins per KM - I've got to get that down to a consistent sub 6 mins (over 10km) or I'm in trouble. Post run knees and shins are in, well, not pain, but close to it. Throbbing? Aching with intensity? The joy of running eh?

I'm meant to go out on Friday (the 22nd) but honestly I'll be surprised if I do....who knows...fingers crossed for me please.

Oh, and I re-installed Runkeeper - the Endo voice alerts are terrible and it's not as easy to configure so I'll keep Endo for the main timing but use Runkeeper for the 20 minute updates.

19th January
17.96km ran in 1 hour 58 mins and 52 seconds (but you have to take both distance and time with a rather large pinch of salt due to the vagaries of GPS). As usual, being a Sunday, I ran with the internations group and they helped me run further and faster - faster being the important thing. As of late I've been rather lax going out mid-week so I'm determined to run at least twice between now and next Sunday. Oh, and for what it's worth, I can actually feel my body becoming more acclimatised to the speed and distance - it's still really hard work and I'm still fading towards the end of the run but I'm feeling, and seeing, some real progress.

15th January
Tuesday's slow run turned into Wednesday's fast run but it went well. Very well. Endo reported 10.38km ran in 55.31 but since I ran it over the 9km course I have my doubts about the distance - the time, however, is accurate which means I've managed to knock off 2 minutes off of the course PB. I'm pretty sure that's down to the Sunday runs with the internations group.
I've got a couple of blisters now, one on each foot, both on the sole of my feet which are vexing me. And my knees are pounding. What joy.

12th January
And another tough run. I met up with the internations crew at 09:30 Sunday morning and a 1 hour 10km run turned into a 2 hour 17km (17.85 in 2 hour, 4, 28). The time doesn't reflect the 20 minutes or so of wait time at the meeting point but I didn't stop the clock so that's tough (on me). The pace was certainly higher than I'm used to, so that's a pretty positive thing but my shins and knees took a pounding and I'm certainly aware that I ran. Still, miles are miles and the speed was good. Next run, probably a slow one, on Tuesday.

10th January
Wow! that was a tough run for me. Wasn't  all that far - Endo tells me 8.86 - and it wasn't all that fast - 1 hour 2 minutes but. for whatever reason, I was huffing and a puffing for most of it. I think it's cos I waited one day too long to run so I'm gonna have to be a wee bit more motivated to get out more regularly. Next run is the Sunday morning group run and then, all things being equal, I'll go out again on Tuesday and thereafter every other day.

Sunday, 5th January
I was meant to run with internations, the "professional" expat group, however, I incorrectly read the date and, whilst I was exactly on time, I was also, exactly, a week early. So was someone else - Lara, so instead of being a group of 4 running 10km, we were a group of 2 who ran 18
Oh, and Lara? Very very quick! She's aiming for a 4 hour marathon, way above my level but she was kind took pity on my untrained legs and paced me.

FWIW my 10km PB was 58.10 ran on the 14th July, 2013....this was no where near it ).

I last ran this course back in June of 2013 (albeit in reverse) and then I posted a time of 1 hour 40. This was slower for a few reasons - I had to wait for Lara at the meeting point (and didn't stop the clock) and then she required a bio at Spittalau (which required a detour and a wait) during which I again didn't stop the clock. So whilst I ran quicker than normal that's not reflected in the time...ces't la vie,.

Still, a good run and I'm glad to have done it, kinda restored my confidence in my ability to do the slightly longer runs.

93rd run 18km 2 hours 5 mins 6.57mins per KM

2nd January, 2014.
And that's my first run of the year done. Endo reported 9.62km run in 57.60 (aka 9km in 58 minutes). That's 2 minutes off my previous PB but still 7 minutes away from my target time.

I've also take a decision to do away with Runkeeper. Whilst I prefer the Runkeeper interface, I feel there's a larger social interface available on Endomondo - that and I've a feeling that the two just weren't working together that well.

Oh, and I've caught a cold.