After watching the whales last night I headed off for an evening run. I decided to head up to Christisson Park and just run for 30mins with the aim of keeping an even pace. I ran anti-clockwise for 15mins, then turned around and ran clockwise for another 15 and tried to cover the same distance. I managed a total of 5.25km quite comfortably without any complaints from my legs.

Laps:
4:39.6 – 142
4:45.4 – 150
4:49.8 – 152
1:20.5
4:47.8 – 152
4:57.3 – 152
4:49.0 – 155
HR @ 1min: 120

My CHO + PRO supplies had arrived, so when I got home I put my plan into action. Mixed up a bottle, drank half immediately then the other half 40mins later. Didn’t feel tired all night, and felt much better when I woke up this morning. It’s too early to tell from one sample, but the potential looks good.

Finally, jumped on the bike for a ride this morning and headed in to City Bike Depot who offer free coffee and croissants to cycle commuters on the second Wednesday of every month. Free breakfast – mmmmm!

S: 2000m – B: 31.1km – R: 5.25km

Met up with Niall this morning for a few laps around Centennial Park on the way into work. Cycled via Military Road, Bondi, Bondi Road and then into the park via Queen’s Park and did a couple of laps before Niall showed up. We rode four laps together then I headed off into work while Niall stayed to do another lap. Total distance was 38.1km, and then another 10.2km on the way home this evening.

My lunchtime swim was OK. I was the only person there, so wasn’t that keen on doing a full session.

400 FS
100/200/300/200/100 FS, 15sec rest
7 * 100 FS on 1:45 (1:30)
Total: 2000m

My legs are still feeling good, so I got another run in after getting home. Did 5 laps this time for a total distance of 4.2km.

4.2km, 22:49.4
4:26.2, 142
4:29.0, 151
4:33.9, 151
4:37.8, 151
4:42.2, 152
HR @ 1min: 118

S: 4700m – B: 49.1km – R: 10.9km

I was supposed to hit the gym this morning, but didn’t bother after having a couple of beers at Hurricane’s last night. Got another good run in this evening though which I’m pretty happy with. No calf issues either which is a bonus.

3.35km, 18:13.8
4:27.8, 137
4:30.8, 148
4:34.5, 150
4:40.7, 151
HR @ 1min: 112

S: 2700m – R: 6.7km

I’ve been reading up a bit more on heart rate training and the general consensus for the aerobic training zone appears to be 60-75% of maximum heart rate. If you stay in that range, you’re working fully aerobically and won’t build up any lactic acid, so it’s ideal for long, slow distance work, which is what I’m doing (execpt I haven’t got to the long part yet).

The most accurate formula for determining heart rates without an actual test is the Karvonen Formula: x% HR = RestingHR + ((MaxHR – RestingHR) * x%), where RestingHR is your heart rate as soon as you wake up in the morning. In my case, my max is 190, my resting is 40, so my 60-75% zone is between 130 and 153.

I stuck those values into my HR monitor last night and went for my usual run around the local park. I’d previously thought that a HR of 145 marked the top of my aerobic zone, and when using that limit my laps averaged around 5:10. Last night I reeled off a 4:30, 4:36, 4:38 and 4:40. Not a bad return for only an extra 8 heart beats!

3.35km, 18:25.5
4:30.0, 141
4:36.5, 150
4:38.5, 151
4:40.5, 152
HR @ 1min: 116

After that it was off to Hurricane’s in Bondi for Joe’s birthday. I keep forgetting just how good their steaks are! Mmmmm! Delicious! Danny & Rachel were there too, and Danny had just proposed earlier that evening. Turns out that they’re getting married in Mount Maunganui the weekend after Graham’s wedding, so we might end up holidaying in NZ a little longer.

S: 2700m – R: 3.35km

Got up yesterday morning and hit the road early, starting my long run at 6:20am. I’ve been reshuffling my program this week, so while I did my long run in Centennial Park the last time, it was just too much hassle to stop off there on the way in to work, so I stayed local. The route comprised a lap of Christisson Park, then down Old South Head Rd. to The Gap and back, then repeat the whole thing for a total distance of 6.9km in 36:58. I ignored the 145bpm HR limit and just cruised along, allowing my to hit 155 on the uphill bits. Felt pretty good throughout, apart from the last kilometre when my left knee was giving me shit. It was just a bit tight and a short stretch after finishing sorted that out. The middle of my calves is bloody sore now though. I’ll have to figure out if this is due to the run itself, or possibly me overstretching the calf/achilles after the run.

Went in to work and then to the gym yesterday evening with the intention of doing a 5000m row for time, then some weights. Myself, Marc, Tom & Dave all do a little bit of rowing on the Concept IIs as part of our various fitness things, so Dave suggested having a mini-competition within Fat Club where we’d all post our best rowing times for 500m, 2000m, 5000m and 10000m. I hadn’t done an effort for time since late-2002 at which point my bests were:

500m: 1:39.6
2000m: 7:35.0
5000m: 21:01.0
10000m: n/a

I had planned to start rowing at 2:00/500m pace and then see how long I could hold on for, but things went better than planned and I soon found myself averaging 1:57/500 and getting faster. I eased off a fraction at 4000m knowing I’d go for the sprint finish, then dropped down to sun-1:50 pace for the last 500m or so to record 19:14.2 and an average page of 1:55.4. I was bloody delighted with that as it was almost 10secs/500m faster than my previous best, and shows I’ve got a lot stronger/fitter over the last two years. My next target is more than 7500m in 30mins. I was bloody knackered after that, so I skipped the weights session.

S: 2600m – R: 10.25km – Row: 5000m

I’ve finished my week off, so it’s time to get back into regular sessions. I had an alright swim at lunchtime. Was still feeling a bit tired after the weddings at the weekend, so I skipped the last 400m of the session, as did everyone else for some reason.

400 FS
4 * 100 IM on 1:45 (1:33)
400 Pull
6 * 50 on 50
4 * 50 on 45
300 FS
8 * 50 as {
    2 on 60,
    2 on 55,
    2 on 50,
    2 on 45 }
200 FS
Total: 2600m

Got home and went out for a run. Couldn’t find my HRM so just decided to run at a comfortable pace and see what happened. I ran the 3.35km in 18:20, which is about 1:40 faster than usual but I still felt reasonably comfortable. I was also supposed to cycle yesterday but left the bike at home so we could go grovery shopping on the way home from work.

S: 2600m – R: 3.35km

Right, just a quick round-up of the oustanding sessions. Cycled home again last night and did a few laps of Centennial Park a little faster than yesterday (7:34, 7:31, 7:29). It was pretty windy again though, so I was getting a fair old push at various stages.

Went for a run after arriving home. 4 laps, 3.3km, 20:33.5. I felt pretty tired throughout the whole run, probably because it’s the end of the week.

Lap1: 5:00.7, 139
Lap2: 5:05.9, 143
Lap3: 5:13.6, 143
Lap4: 5:13.6, 144
@ 1min: 109

Went out for dinner last night and had some vino, then crawled out of bed this morning to go for a 3km run with Jacqui. So, I’ve just finished my biggest week’s training in 11 months, and my third biggest week since I started this fitness thing. However, the two bigger weeks had quite a bit more swimming & cycling, and a lot less running, so I’m happier with this one as my running is pretty weak.

I’ve Micky’s wedding tomorrow so that will be a nice party, Monday is a public holiday, I’m off to Canberra on Tuesday for three days then back up to Sydney for two more weddings. It’s going to be a relatively quiet week training wise. Perfect for a bit of recovery ;-)

S: 6000m – B: 84km – R: 18.2km – W: 1 session

Well I did my long run last night in Centennial Park and it went pretty well. I changed into my run gear in work and left everything there, apart from wallet, phone etc. which I carried in a small backpack. Hopped on the bus out to the park, and started running around 17:30. I was feeling pretty good apart from the usual crap with my right foot, but I decided to stick out the first lap before stopping to adjust my shoelaces.

The lap went by surprisingly quickly in 22:25.7 (AvHR: 142) with the usual HR limit in place. I stopped for about 20secs to fix my laces and then headed off on the second lap. This felt a bit better as I was getting into my stride a bit. Towards the latter half of the lap my legs were starting to feel it a bit, and I was noticing a bit of ITB tightness around my knees which I was expecting. The last 40% of the lap is a slight uphill gradient, and this time I kept bumping up against the 145bpm HR limit which was a bit frustrating, forcing me to slow down a bit, leaving me with a lap time of 24:08.3 (AvHR: 143). Total time: 46:34.0.

At this stage in the game it’s far more important for me to get the distance under my belt rather than tire myself out by going too fast, hence the rigid HR limit. Also, apart from the 10K Bridge Run I did with Jacqui over a year ago, this was the longest ever run I’d done outside (I’d done 7.5km on a treadmill once before) so I was pretty happy with that. My legs are feeling it a bit today, though they’re not too bad and, given it’s my day off training today, they should be fine tomorrow. So, I’m proclaiming Long Run Wednesday a success.

S: 3000m – B: 28.0km – R: 11.9km – W: 1 session

A bit to catch up on here. Yesterday morning saw me hit the gym for another weights session and a short warm-up run, then last night it was off to the local park for another short run. I felt pretty good and ran a consistent pace (4:46, 5:04, 5:06, 5:07), only bumping up against my HR limit once so I was happy with that. It’s hard to know whether I’m adapting to the regular running, or whether it’s just being relatively fresh at the start of the week.

Today’s swim session went pretty well too. I felt great for the second half of the session, so I put on my paddles and managed to get down to 1:17 on the last 100 without too much effort.

400 FS
2 * 8 * 50 FS as {
    2 on 60,
    2 on 55,
    2 on 50,
    2 on 45 }
8 * 100 FS on 1:45 (1:27)
8 * 100 FS on 1:45 (1:25 → 1:17)
200 Pull
Total: 3000m

I’m off to Centennial Park to attempt my first long run this evening. It’s only 7km, but I reckon it’s more interesting to do 2 laps of Centennial Park versus the 9 laps of my local park I’d need to complete the same distance.

S: 3000m – B: 28km – R: 4.9km – W: 1 session

Today I really noticed the effect beer has on training! Went out for dinner and a few beers with the Canberra guys last night. Not too late, home by 10.30 or so. However, I cycled home from work today, and did a couple of laps around Centennial Park too, but I felt bloody sluggish all the way. I had figured that if I drank loads of water during the day then all would be well, but that would have been too easy.

Went for a short run when I got home too, which wasn’t too bad, though I seem to have some issues lacing my left shoe correctly. Obviously I can tie my own laces, but for some reason my left shoe seems to end up too tight and I end up with a sore lower left leg, presumably from irrtating a nerve on the top of my foot, or constricting the blood flow. The problem is that it usually feels fine when I do my laces. It’s only after running for a couple of minutes that I notice something’s amiss. I’ll have to experiment with lacing patterns or something over the next week or so.

S: 2900m – B: 56.4km – R: 13.3km – W: 1 session

Well I rode straight home yesterday and forced myself to go out for a run. It was fully dark by the time I was setting off for the run, so I elected to skip the park and run on the footpath. It’s a bit more impact for the legs to handle, but on the positive side I can see where I’m going so there’s less risk of twisting my ankle. I did 3.4km with the usual HR limit in effect. My legs are bloody tired today, that’s for sure!

On an even better note, I weighed in at 88.2kg this morning: down 1.7kg in three weeks, so the work is paying off.

S: 2900m – B: 33.8km – R: 10km – W: 1 session

I didn’t get back from Melbourne until Monday lunchtime, so I missed out on some sessions there. Made it to the gym yesterday morning for the usual 1.6km warm up run followed by a heavy weight session and am feeling it a bit today.

Ty & Andrew are coming up from Canberra today, and myself and Tom are taking them out to Wasavie since Tom is always raving about it. That means I’ll miss my cycle home and also my run, so I had to make up for it last night. I decided to run for 5km last night, instead of the planned 3.2km and it went OK. I had the usual 145bpm HR limit on the watch, but I started off too fast as my splits show. Still, at this stage in the game time isn’t even remotely important – distance is, so the slow build-up continues.

Lap 1: 4:46.6
Lap 2: 5:01.1
Lap 3: 5:14.8 
Lap 4: 5:24.8 
Lap 5: 5:28.5 *
Lap 6: 5:30.2 *
 = exceeded MaxHR limit of 145bpm & had to slow down
Each lap is 840m

R: 6.6km – W: 1 session

I finished the week off yesterday with a cycle home from work and then a quick run. Felt pretty good on the run too, and even this morning there’s no stiffness or soreness, so maybe I’m getting used to this running lark? Probably not ;-) All in all, it’s been a good week. Didn’t miss any training I had planned to do and I feel ready to continue building more in next week. In the meantime, myself and Jacqui are off to Melbourne for the weekend.

S: 4900m – B: 45km – R: 12.2km – W: 1 session

Went along to the swim session yesterday only to discover that our coach had decided to introduce heart-rate based training. In order for thsi to work we needed to know our maximum HR, so we had to do a 100m sprint and take our pulse afterwards. I managed 190, off a 1:05 100m Free. Only 12 seconds slower than my best ;-)

I’m not going to bother with the HR stuff, as I can swim 1:30/100m pace on a HR around 125bpm, but upping that to 150bpm only takes me to 1:25 pace, so it’s not really worth the extra effort, especially since I’ll be down around 1:25 pace in a couple of weeks anyway.

400 FS warm up
100 Sprint – 1:05 (HR: 190)
4 * 100 FS on 1:50
3 * 200 FS on 3:30
3 * 100 FS on 1:50
2 * 200 FS on 3:30
2 * 100 FS on 1:50
Total: 2400m

I cycled home as well, then went straight out for a run. I was only doing four laps of the park this time, for a total of 3.2km, again at a nice and relaxed pace. I can feel it in my legs this morning though, particularly the bottom of my calves. Still, today’s my day off, so I should be fine tomorrow.

S: 4900m – B: 30km – R: 9km – W: 1 session

Yesterday morning saw me up bright and early and straight into the gym for my only weights session of the week. I finished my weights program before going to NZ, but I’ve decided to do just one session per week for maintenance, so that I don’t lose the gains I made while doing the full program. It’s only one set of between 6 to 10 reps of heavy weights. If I get to 10 reps, then I have to increase the weight and build the reps back up to 10. It means the session is very quick, usually only taking 20mins or so, excluding the 1.6km warm-up run.

In the evening I managed my first outdoor run in a while. I did three runs on the hotel treadmill last week while in Canberra, as I knew I’d have to run outside this week and figured that the treadmill would be a good warm-up. Easier on the knees too. I ran five laps, which is about 4.2km, taking it nice and easy with an average HR around 145. I’m going for the slow and steady option for the moment, running each 840m lap around 5:05, instead of 4:40 last year, hoping it will be easier on my legs until the weight comes down!

S: 2500m – B: 15km – R: 5.8km – W: 1 session

I’m back in Sydney and winter is well and truly over. Myself and Jacqui walked down to Nielsen’s Bay for breakfast and it was roasting. As soon as I got home I changed into shorts, the first short-wearing day post-winter. It only took 10 days!

Anyway, before going for breakfast I did a session on the indoor trainer while watching the Superbikes in Assen. I had also done a 4km run on the hotel treadmill on Thursday evening, rounding up my training for the week.

S: 3000m – B: 15km – R: 12km – W: 1 session

I’m down in Canberra this week and work is pretty busy, so I haven’t been posting much. Nonetheless, the exercise regime has continued as follows:

Monday: 3km run.

Tuesday AM: 1.6km run, Weights + 1km swim.

Tuesday PM: 3.4km run

Thursday AM: 2km swim

My achilles are a bit sore after the running, but I took yesterday off so I’ll be ready to get another run in when I get back to the hotel this evening.

S: 3000m – R: 8km – W: 1 session

Cycled home from work last night and really noticed the fact that I hadn’t been on the bike in a couple of weeks. Decided not to do any laps of the park until I get a couple of weeks under my belt. No point killing myself in the first week and then fading in the second week. As it was I was tired by 10pm anyway.

Jumped out of bed early this morning and hopped on the bus into the gym. After a quick 1.6km warm-up run I hit the weights. Having completed my weights program before heading off to NZ, I’m now doing what’s called a Strength Maintenance program. It’s basically the same exercises as the regular session, with heavy weights, but instead of doing 4 sets of 6 reps, I’m only doing one. Once I can manage 10 reps I’ll up the weight and drop back to 6. I’ll only be doing one session per week, as the general idea is not really to gain strength, but rather not to lose any gains already made. It’s almost like a regular taper, where you can cut out 80% of the work as long as you maintain the intensity.

S: 2000m – B: 15km – R: 1.6km – W: 1 session

Rode home from work last night and did two laps of the park. I forgot to go swimming yesterday lunchtime though; I only remembered at 12.30 by which time it was too late. I could have run over and got 40mins in maybe, but decided to wait until Wednesday instead.

There was a rest day in the Tour so I got to bed at a reasonable hour, but still struggled getting out of bed this morning. Yesterday morning was also bloody freezing, so I decided it was time to take out the windproof fleece bike top today and it worked a treat. I was nice and toasty while whizzing down the hill on Old South Head Road on the way to the ferry.

I got a good weights session in just now. It’s good to see progress being made, and little increments over last week show that I’m getting a bit stronger. Only two weeks to go and then I can relax a bit, enjoy the snowboarding season and then get stuck into aerobic exercise after that. I’m cycling home this evening too, though won’t be doing any laps of the park today.

B: 37.6km – R: 2.5km – W: 1 session

The final part of the weights program, the heavy lifting bit, started this week. I wasn’t able to go to the gym on Monday, so I started on Wednesday instead, and went again today. I’m really noticing the difference now, as my muscles are sore all the time now, especially my quads. Only a couple more weeks to go and I’m done though, so I cam put up with it until then. I’ve also done two 2.5km runs as warm-ups before the weights, but I missed out on the Monday swim session.

I’ve started commuting by bike again as it’s just less hassle than public transport, especially since I’m getting up a bit later due to staying up late to watch the Tour de France live on SBS. I cycle down to Rose Bay and get the ferry in in the morning’s as I’m too tired to deal with climbing the hill up to Bondi Junction. In the evening I cycle all the way home, with a few optional laps around Centennial Park depending on how I feel and how dark it is. I think I’ll just go straight home today ;-)

B: 56.4km – R: 5km – W: 2 sessions