88.6kg this morning. Not too bad given I did no exercise last week.

Tipped the scales at 88.3kg this morning.

My new plan seems to be working. Rather than cycling in to/out of work every day I’ve decided to try and do three longer rides a week, aiming to exceed 100km in total. The first of those was on Monday, and I’ve just done the second. On the way home from work I did five laps of Centennial Park, which was quite good fun because it was pitch black and there were very few other cyclists around. I was a little worried that the park would be locked up after dark, so I checked after 2 laps before continuing on for the remainder. I cycled down to Rose Bay expecting to see Jacqui doing her Step Into Life class, but apparently she does it on Thursday night instead. Oh well, it counts for a couple of extra kms.

B: 94km – R: 3.8km

Did another 3.3km run this evening which went a little better than Sunday. Made a concious decision to try and slow down even more, and went through 2.3km in 11:25 (12.1kmh) which is about right. My HR was down to 144 from 160 or so, and the run felt quite good, so I think I’ll try and stick to this pace in future.

500m easy
D: 3.3km – T: 17:00 – HR: 144

B: 56.6km – R: 3.8km

I thought that Grand Drive in Centennial Park was 3.6kms long, but it’s actually 3.8kms. That means my total ride yesterday gets boosted to 56.6kms, a bonus of 6.6km.

I was supposed to bet up for a swim this morning, but I was bloody exhausted and fell straight back to sleep after the alarm.

B: 56.6km

Weighed in at 87.6kg this morning. Still progressing in the right direction.

Just back from a cycle around Centennial Park. There were loads of people up there relaxing and enjoying the day off work for the Queen’s Birthday. Plenty of kids on rollerblade and rented bikes. I did 50km in total, including to and from my house, which now pushes me over 1000km on the bike since Feb 1st. I’m pretty happy with that, though I’m also pretty tired now ;-)

B: 50km

Went for a slightly longer run this afternoon, trying to maintain a slower pace. Felt reasonably OK, and managed to complete 2.3km in 11mins, almost 1min slower than the last time. That still works out at 12.5kmh, which I reckon is still too fast. I think I should be training at less than 12 at least, though it starts to feel more like shuffling at that stage. I continued on for a total of approximately 3.25km, the furthest I’ve run so far. I can feel the extra distance in my calves though ;-)

500m easy
D: 3.25 – T: ? – HR: 162bpm

B: 30km – R:6.8km

I’m a bit late starting this week’s running program, but so be it. I was supposed to get a 2.8km run in this evening, but I had to give up after 2.4km. The first half felt pretty good, but I was suffering a bit on the way home. I reckon too many beers & too much good food at the weekend was taking its toll. I also think I’m running too fast (13.5kmh), for someone who’s never run anywhere, so in future I’ll have to slow down and just focus on getting the distance done.

500m easy
D: 2.3km – T: 10:10

B: 15km – R: 2.8km

Life is settling down again now that all the visitors left. Bevin departed for New Zealand yesterday morning, ready for a couple of months snowboarding. It’s well for some.

Got back on the bike this morning and tried out my new cycling tights, to see if they worked as advertised. I’m happy to report that my legs were nice and warm, even speeding downhill, so it was money well spent.

B: 5km

Weighed-in at 88.1kg this morning. I celebrated my 32nd birthday yesterday, so 88.1 is not too bad after a hectic weekend of drinking and eating.

We’re all off to see Warren Miller’s Journey this evening, so rather than cycle in and leave the bike in work, I decided to take a day off. I also got a voucher for a 5-day lift pass at Mount Hotham on the way in to work, so boarding season is almost here again! Yee haw!

Went for another run this evening. My calves were a tiny bit sore, but once I got going all was well. Same route, approx. 2.4km, though I’ll have to take my bike out and measure it just to be sure.

500m easy
D: 2.4km – T: 10:50 – HR: 156bpm

Got some weights in afterwards as well.

B: 45km – R: 5.8km – W: 2 sessions

Well got up bright and early in order to go for a swim, but only realised on the ferry in to work that I’d left my bike lock at home! Couldn’t lock my bike at the pool, so had to skip the swim and ended up at my desk at 7.30!

On the plus side, my legs feel reasonably good today so I should be OK for another run this evening.

B: 35km – R: 3km – W: 1 session

Today is the day that my 10km training program starts. Cycled home from work, which served as a nice warm-up. Had a bit of a stretch at home then headed out. The program called for a 2.4km run, which is the longest run I’ve done in a while, given that I’d previously been doing 3 * 1km. I did a 500m warm-up run, then stopped for more stretching before getting started.

Surprisingly enough, the run was easy enough. Once I got into a rhythm the distance was not an issue, but that was always going to be the case. I’ll see how the legs are tomorrow. That will be the true indicator.

D: 2.3km – T: 10:45 – HR: 160bpm

B: 15km – R: 2.3km – W: 1 session

Back to the exercise after a nice relaxing week in Canberra. Bevin has also arrived, so I’ve been showing here around a bit. She’s off to get a surfing lesson today – brrrr! It was bloody freezing this morning, so I think I’ll have to get tights for the bike after all. I thought I’d be able to get away with shorts, but not any more.

Weighed in at 88.6kg this morning, which is a little heavy. I seem to be fluctuating around 87-88kg, so I’ll have to start eating lettuce or something to lose the rest of the flab.

B: 5km

Just got back from a bike ride with Greg, Niall and Tom and am feeling nice and refreshed, though I’ll probably be exhausted later on! We started from Hornsby and took the Old Pacific Highway to the turn-around at Brooklyn on the Hawkesbury River. We’d enjoyed a couple of downhill kms to the turn-around, and now it was time to work hard for a while. I thought that there was a cafe at the bottom, and that we’d have a rest, but it turned out that the cafe in question was at the top of the hill.

As is usually the case, once I got to the top the hill seemed a bit easier than I’d expected. It was a 4km climb, at roughly a 6% grade and I averaged 13.5kmh which I was pretty happy with. I stopped to lower my seat, as my lower back was a bit sore and I thought my saddle might be too high. Once at the top, Greg told me that it’s usually a sign of tight hamstrings and a bit of stretching should sort it out, so I needn’t have stopped at all.

After a pie and a coffee we got back on the bikes for the 20km back to the cars. I was feeling pretty good, so I tried to keep the pace over 30kmh (apart from the hills) for a while. I got away from the others for 10km or so, but Niall hunted me down. All in all it was good fun and a decent workout. The total distance was 46km, so I missed out on the ton for the week by 2km. I suppose I could cycle up the road a little, but that doesn’t really count.

B: 98km – R: 9km – W: 2 sessions

Went for my third run of the week this morning. I think that may be the first time I’ve run three times in a week. It was pretty uneventful, though my calves are feeling it now. Maybe I should have waited until this evening.

I’m off on a bike ride with Niall, Tom and Greg tomorrow. On-road this time, for 50km apparently, so that should loosen out the legs ready for some treadmill work in Canberra.

B: 52km – R: 9km – W: 2 sessions

My calves weren’t sore this morning, unlike after my run last week, so I hit the road again this evening. At the end of my cycle home I did a little measuring of the route I normally run using my bike computer, so at least I’d have some idea of how far I’m running. Turns out it’s around 3km in total.

This evening’s run felt good. Aerobically I’m fine, but my legs can’t really handle much more distance at this stage. I’ll have to ccontinue building up gradually to avoid injury. So far so good (says me after 3 runs ;-)

B: 35km – R: 6km – W: 2 sessions

Well I’ve gone and done it now. I entered The Sunday Telegraph 10k Bridge Run today & am bib number 10166. It’s being run on the same day as the Sydney Marathon and Half-Marathon. The course starts in North Sydney, crosses the Harbour Bridge, does an out-and-back loop through the Royal Botanic Gardens to Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair, and then finishes on the steps of the Opera House. At least this way if I get too knackered I’ll have a good view!