Workouts - Week Commencing 2 May 2011

Monday: (May bank holiday)

• 6.3km Run ( summary / map )
• 100 Push Ups (10x10)

Tuesday:

• Gym - Chest / Back / Core

Wednesday:

• 6km Treadmill Run (Intervals) Fast at 15.5kmph - 16kmph (3.45 - 3.52 min per km)

Thursday:

• 3.3km Commute Run ( summary / map )
• Gym - Chest. Back, Core, Biceps, Triceps

Friday: (Day Off)

• 5.42km Run ( summary / map )
• 12.4km Hike to Sevenoaks ( map )

Saturday:

• 100 Pushups (10x10) and a bit of foam rolling / stretching
  

Sunday:

• Long Run 10.6km ( summary / map )
  

I made an effort to spend a bit more time using the weights in the gym this week. Also managed to clock up 31.6km's worth of running plus another 12.4km hiking. I think it's been a pretty good week.

During our hike on Friday we passed through Knole Park (where I raced my first 10km, in March) and came across some deer that seemed quite happy for us to get close enough for a quick photo!



7t.

Workouts - Week Commencing 18 April 2011

Monday: Chest and Core. Run.

• Push-ups with feet on stability ball (5x10)
• Machines Flyes
• Crunches with 5kg Ball (5x10)
• 3.1km Treadmill Run ( summary ) - IT Band feeling tender. Slight burning pain at times.
• Foam rolling and stretching. (home)

Tuesday: Back and Run

• 3.1km Treadmill Run ( summary ) - Followed by quick roll on gym foam roller.
• Pull-ups (6 sets of 4 reps)
• Foam Rolling Session (home)
  

Wednesday: Rest (from running)

• I did the sensible thing and took a rest day from running
• Home DB Workout (Shoulders) - Possibly strained my back during this. (rested - now ok)
  
• Foam Rolling Session (home)
  

Thursday: Run

• 5.56km Run [London] ( summary / map ) No ITBS pain. Good warmup (inc. pigeon pose)
  
• Foam Roller Session / Pigeon Pose
  

(Good) Friday:

• 4.53km Run ( summary / map ) No ITBS pain. Same warm up as previous day.
• Foam Rolling Session / Pigeon Pose

Saturday:

• 4.53km Run ( summary / map ) No ITBS pain. Same warm up as previous days.
• Foam Rolling session(s) / Pigeon Pose

(Easter) Sunday:

• 8.05km Run ( summary / map ). No ITBS pain but could feel it possibly creeping up on me towards the end.
• Foam Rolling / Pigeon Pose / Stretches
  

I'm really happy with my running this week. I seem to be making progress on my ITBS issue. I haven't been lifting as many weights though. I'm at a point where I feel that the running has taken over, which isn't a problem because I love it, but I also love to lift weights so I have some work to do to get a better balance in the next few weeks. Also, once I feel completely free of the ITBS demon I want to get some key workouts back into my training, the midweek interval session and the Sunday long run to be specific.

7t.

Workouts - week commencing 11 April 2011

I had a week off of work this week. That meant no access to the gym but an opportunity to do very short runs each day (which shouldn't aggravate my right IT band), and also to use my foam roller throughout each day.


Monday: 4.11km Run ( summary / map ). Foam Roller. IT band tender after run and PM.

Tuesday: 3.84km Run ( summary / map ). Foam Roller. IT band tender at end of run.

Wednesday: 5.05km Run ( summary / map ). Foam Roller. IT band tender but ok.

Thursday: 5.05km Run ( summary / map ). Foam Roller. IT band hurting, reduced to mostly walking after 4.5km. Also threw in about 20 metres of backwards running!

Friday: (Right IT Band felt weird still) No Running, but did a 5 minute session on the foam roller.

Saturday: 4.05km Run ( summary / map ). 15 minutes of foam rolling / Pigeon Pose (yoga). IT Band feeling slightly tender but not really painful.

Sunday: 4.04km Run ( summary / map ). Foam Rolling / Pigeon Pose (yoga). IT band ok.


In retrospect I shouldn't have done two 5k runs back-to-back as the ITBS flared up enough to make me cancel my planned Friday morning run.

Next week I'll be back at work so I'm not sure how the running will work. It would be nice to get 5 x 4km runs done, but I also want to get back to the gym for some weight training.

7t.

Workouts - Week Commencing 4 April 2011

• Monday: DB Workout - Shoulders/Back/Arms
• Tuesday: Chest and Triceps ( Push-ups feet on ball / Machine Flyes / DB Chest Press )
• Wednesday: Back, Biceps, Shoulders (Home with DB) and some Foam Rolling.
  
• Thursday: Bodyweight Leg Workout
  
• Friday: Chest, Back, Core, Legs and Foam Rolling in the gym. Plus more foam rolling in the evening.
  
• Saturday: 4.79km Run - ( summary / map ) - IT band is slightly sore. Foam rolling throughout the day.
  
• Sunday: 5.1km Run - ( summary / map ) - IT Band still tender. Foam Rolling before run, after run and throughout the day.

I had full week break from running in an attempt to give my right IT band a break.

I started foam rolling this week (my foam roller was delivered on Wednesday), I like it. It seems to help quite a bit after I have run but I'll talk about this more in my next it band update.


7t.

Workouts - Week Commencing 28 March 2011

• Monday: Legs bodyweight (focus on hips)
  
• Tuesday: 5km treadmill run (Right IT Band sore after 3.5km) ( summary )
  
• Wednesday: Chest and Triceps
• Thursday: Legs bodyweight (morning / lunch / evening)
  
• Friday: Back and Biceps / Bodyweight legs (lunch) / Legs with ankle weights (evening)
  
• Saturday: 3.9km run (IT band ok) ( summary / map )
  
• Sunday: 8km country walk (knee/it band felt strange, with a slight wave of pain every now and then) ( summary / map )
  

Due to the IT band issue I reduced my mileage this week. At the end of the week it didn't really feel any better so I'm taking a complete break from running until at least next weekend.

7t

Workouts - w/c 21 March, plus new IT band Issue.

I was sick for the first half of the week, and although I still managed to run 22km in total I didn't get to the gym at all.

• Mon - Sick
• Tue - Sick
• Wed - Sick
• Thurs - 10.5k (right knee/IT band really sore)
• Fri - Rest (right knee still in pain)
  
• Sat - 5.5k (mild knee/IT band pain)
• Sun - 6.5k (mild knee/IT band pain)

The worst thing is that my right knee/IT band has flared up. I'm having trouble with anything over 4km. This is really frustrating especially as the trouble I've always had with the IT band has previously been in my left leg/knee. I don't know if this is caused by the surfaces I run on, shoes, weak/imbalanced muscles, or something else.

So for the next few weeks I'm going to cut back the length of my runs (after an initial rest I'll start with a 3km limit and build slowly from there) and focus on a combination of resting, strength training (especially the hips) and stretching.

I'm working towards a 10km race in May, so it would be brilliant to have this under control by then. The thing is I have no idea exactly what I did to 'fix' the left leg - It just stopped hurting towards the end of last year and has been fine ever since.

7t.

Workouts - Week Commencing 14 March 2011

Monday

A combination of my train running late and a sore knee from the previous day's race turned this into a rest day.


Tuesday

Chest, Triceps, Shoulders and Legs

• Push ups
• Machine Flyes
• Machine Chest Press
• Machine Shoulder Press
• Machine Leg Press (single legs and calf raises)

Wednesday

Interval Run (7.3km) on treadmill ( summary / no map )

1km Warm up
1 Minute Intervals
1km cool down

• Fast at 3.45 - 4.00 min per km.
• Recovery at 5.00 - 6.00 min per km.

• Crunches (with 5kg Ball)

Thursday

Back, Biceps and Legs

• Machine Rows
• Machine Pull Downs (both grips)
• Barbell Curls
• Machine Leg Press (Single Leg)
• Machine Calf Raises
• Crunches with 5kg Ball
  

Friday

Easy Run (5.4km) on treadmill ( summary / no map )


Saturday

I had planned to take part in my first ParkRun but my daughter came down with gastroenteritis so we stayed in bed with her all day at my parents' house.


Sunday

We were still away from home but as I had some of my gym clothes with me I thought I'd do 10k or so along the Thames. Sadly I screwed it up. Below is the list of things that either I did wrong or went wrong along the way.

- too fast at start (without a warm up jog) first two km splits were 3.45 / 4.10
- was too cold (only had my short shorts and short sleeved tech top)
- hurt right knee - IT Band, I think. (probably due to first point)
- uncomfortable holding phone in my hand (couldn't get a good arm swing going)
- earphones kept falling out
- accidentally turned off my GPS just after the 2km mark.
- was dizzy after run. Had swirly / fuzzy lines etc..

Hopefully I've learned some lessons. from that.

Anyway, I did approx 5.7km on the Thames Boomerang route. ( summary / map )

Music: Radiohead - The King of Limbs.

------------

Overall, the week was good until I reached the weekend and screwed up the Sunday run. For the last few weeks my right IT band has been giving me grief. The left leg was originally the one with that problem, I have no idea what's going on. I'll keep the leg strengthening exercises going, make sure I stretch daily and always make sure I warm up PROPERLY for my runs. Then we'll see if things get any better.

7t.

Workouts - Week Commencing 7 March 2011

Monday

Back and Biceps

2km on the treadmill - I was testing the possibility of starting recovery runs on Mondays after my long Sunday run. 2km is really long enough to bother. For now I'll probably stick with Monday being devoted to some kind of strength training.


Tuesday

I had a sudden urge to curl up into a ball just before my planned gym session - So I did just that. But then I had another urge to do something so did some bodyweight squats, walking lunges, pushups and a few things with my dumb-bells - Triceps and shoulders.

Wednesday

Interval Training on the treadmill

7km in total - This week I did intervals of 1 minute (with a couple of 2 minutes thrown in for variation) using 5 min per km as my recovery pace and 4 min per km as my fast pace.


Thursday

Rest Day

Friday

5.1km treadmill run at fairly easy-moderate pace.

Then some strength work

• Dumb-bell chest press
• Skull Crushers

Saturday

Rest Day - Although we did go for a walk, approx 6km. Also played a little bit of football with my niece and nephew.


Sunday

Knole Park 10km Race - Details here


7t

A workout that I fancy trying....

Here is a workout from the Men's Health website that I fancy trying.

They call it.... *drum roll* ..... THE ULTIMATE FAT BURNING WORKOUT - I don't care about headline grabbing names, but I do like the description of the workout.

I will add it to my to-do list (not that I actually have one).


7t

Workouts - Week Commencing 28 February 2011

Monday 28 Feb

- Chest and Triceps (and core)

• Push-ups (10/10/10/10/10)
• Chest Flye Machine
• Chest Press Machine
• Tricep Dumbell Extensions
• Tricep Barbell Extensions
• Skull Crushers
• Crunches (10 x 4 with a 5kg Ball)

Tuesday 1 March

- Back, Biceps and Shoulders.

• Pullups
• Machine Rows
• Machine Pulldowns (various grips)
• Dumbell Hammer Curl and Press
• Barbell Curls (Various grips)
• Bent Over Reverse Flyes

Just as I reached the end of my session the fire alarm went off, so we were all ushered out onto the pavement. I dived into the changing room to collect my belongings to avoid being late for work. Luckily I had an alternative place to shower.


Wednesday 2 March

- Interval Run on Treadmill (6.5km / 34.02) ( Summary )

• 1km Warm up
• 0.5km at 5.00 min per km (12kmph)
• 0.5km at 4.17 min per km (14kmph)
• 0.5km at 5.00 min per km
• 0.5km at 4.17 min per km
• 0.5km at 5.15 min per km
• 0.5km at 4.00 min per km (15kmph)
• 0.5km at 5.15 min per km
• 1km at 3.56 min per km (15.1kmph)
• 1km Cool Down

The recovery intervals may not be completely accurate, but the speed intervals are correct - I had to try to remember everything between fininshing the workout and typing this post.

Music: Gym background music.


Thursday 3 March

- Rest Day

Unintended - Didn't get to bed in time the night before so spent an extra hour in bed.


Friday 4 March

- Easy Run on Treadmill - 6.46km ( Summary )

• overall pace 5.26 min per km

Saturday 5 March

- Rest (Planned)


Sunday 6 March

- Long Run: 12.15km ( Summary / Map )

Music: None (I fancied a silent run)

Headed for the trail again but I left home too late and there were too many dogs out. I'm a bit paranoid about being chased or attacked so I cut the trail part short and continued on the roads. The good news is that my trail shoes feel great so I am happy to wear them for next Sunday's 10km race in Knole Park.

-------

7t

Workouts - Week Commencing 21 February 2011

Monday 21 Feb:

- Chest and Triceps

• Push-ups (warm up) (10/10)
• Machine Flyes
• Machine Press
• Machine Pull-downs (triceps)
• Barbell Extensions (triceps)

Tuesday 22 Feb:

- Back and Biceps

• Pull-ups/Chin-ups
• Machine Row
• Machine Pull-down
• Dumbell Curls
• Barbell Curls

Wednesday 23 Feb:

- Interval Run (6.1km) - Summary

• 1km - 6.00 mins per km pace
• 1km - 5.00 mins per km pace
• 1km - 4.17 mins per km pace
• 1km - 4.17 mins per km pace
• 0.3km - 5.00 mins per km pace
• 0.7km - 4.17 mins per km pace
• 1.1km - Gradual cool down - 5.00 / 6.00 / walk

Was supposed to be a pyramid but didn't quite work out as planned. I wanted to keep running fast.


Thursday 24 Feb:

Missing my train by a few seconds actually meant that I arrived in London over 20 minutes later than planned. I had to scrap my gym session and squeeze in some body-weight leg workouts throughout the day.

• Squats
• Walking Lunges
• Leg lifts (Backwards / Sidewards etc)

I am loving the walking lunges!


Friday 25 Feb:

- Easy Run ( 6.8km ) - Summary / Map

Music: Radiohead - The King of Limbs


Saturday 26 Feb:

- Quick body-weight session (but overall it's a rest day)

• Push-ups
• Crunches

Sunday 27 Feb:

- Long Run (Split into two halves so I could test my new trail shoes)

• Trail Run - 6.28km ( Summary / Map ) - Also see my 'First Trail Run' post.
  

Changed into my road running shoes and continued....

• (Long) Run - 7.19km ( Summary / Map )

Music: Radiohead - The King of Limbs

-------

The highlight of the week was the trail run. Also, all three weight sessions resulted in some nice DOMS.. - I love having DOMS!

I guess next week will be roughly the same, give or take.


7t.

Workouts - Week Commencing 14 February 2011

Monday 14 February:

- 101 Push-ups

• Work commitments left no time for the gym. I was only able to squeeze in these push-ups when I got home.

Tuesday 15 February:

- Side Raises
- Shoulder Press
- Leaning Chest Press
- Arm Curls
- Tricep Extensions

• Again, no time to get to the gym. Equipment used was two 6kg dumb-bells, which I keep at home.

Wednesday 16 February:

- 6.6km Fartlek Run ( Summary / Map )

• Music: Empire of The Sun - Walking on a Dream

Thursday 17 February

- Rest (unless you count hoovering, I did break a sweat!)


Friday 18 February:

- Run - 5.66km ( Summary / Map )

• Music: Muse - The Resistance (Only got through half of the album)

Saturday 19 February:

- Rest


Sunday 20 February:

- Run - 12.69km ( Summary / Map )

• Quite a difficult run, my route took me round in two separate loops. The first was fine, but the mental strain of knowing I was running away from home while over half-way through the second loop was tough - I definitely think it's good to develop some mental strength, especially if I am to successfully complete a half-marathon. (Don't mention a full marathon... yet!)
• Music: Radiohead - The King of Limbs (I had my music player on repeat, so I listened to it 1.5 times)

- Push-ups (about 40 in total, 3 sets - I wasn't really counting)


A bit of a strange week, had some time off work, so the gym sessions suffered. But did manage to maintain my running mileage.

After the long run I had a strange feeling in/on/around my left knee, it feels like my clothes were rubbing against the inside of my knee, it's a mild burning type of sensation, the weird thing is that I wore exactly the same tights and shorts as I have worn for every (outdoor) run for the last three months or so. In addition to that it just feels odd, I can't put my finger on it (not literally). I have iced the knee (bag of frozen sweetcorn), I'll just have to sleep on it and see what tomorrow brings.

Until I know what the knee is up to I'll resist making plans for next week's workouts, obviously upper body should be fine, as long as the knee doesn't prevent me from walking.

7t.

Workouts - Week Commencing 7 Feb 2011

Monday 7 February:

- Chest and Triceps


Tuesday 8 February:

- Back and Arms


Wednesday 9 February:

- Interval Run

• One minute Intervals - Fast at 15.1kmph (3.56 per km pace) / Slow at 11.9kmph (5.02 per km pace)

Thursday 10 February:

- 5.47km Run - Summary / Map


Friday 11 February:

- Legs + Chest and Back

• Chest and back was all body-weight, alternating between pull-ups and push-ups. Generally it was 5 pull-ups, then 10 push-ups each set, but on some sets I could only manage 4 pull-ups.

Saturday 12 February:

- Rest


Sunday 13 February:

- 12.06km Run - Summary / Map

• The outside of my right knee was a bit sore for most of the early stages of the run but somehow it felt better after 9km, so I did the full 12km.

--------------

The main concern this week has been the pain on the outside of my right knee, feels like the ITBS pain that I was having in the left knee until recently. The difference is that I seem to be able to run-it-off eventually, which was never possible on the other side.

Next week's plan will be slightly different as I have a few days annual leave (so no access to the gym, which is at work, from Wednesday).

7t

Workouts - Week Commencing 31 January 2011

Monday 31 January 2011: Chest and Triceps

- Push-ups (15/15/10/10)
- Machine Flyes
- Machine Press
- Tricep Cable Pull Down
- Lying Tricep Extensions with Barbell
- Push-ups (10/10)


Tuesday 1 February 2011: Back, Biceps and Core

- Pull-ups (8/7/6)
- Machine Row
- Machine Pull Down (both grips)
- Barbell Curls
- Crunches (with medicine ball)


Wednesday 2 February 2011: Running

- Interval Run on the Treadmill (5.4km). 8 Intervals in total (as below) Summary

• Warmup
  
• Fast for 1 minute at 3.50-4.00 minutes per km pace (15kmph)
• Recover for 1 minute at 5.30-6.00 minutes per km pace (10-11kmph)
• Last fast interval for 2minutes
• Cool down

- Crunches with 5kg medicine ball (15/10/10)


Thursday 3 February 2011: Legs

- Machine Leg Push
- Machine Leg Push (1 leg)
- Machine Calf Raises
- Extensions
- Curls


Friday 4 February 2011: Running

- Easy Run (5.2km at 5:31 pace) Summary / Map


Saturday 5 February 2011: REST

- Rest


Sunday 6 February 2011: Long Run

- Long Run (12.2km at 5.22 minutes per km pace) Summary / Map

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Overall I had a good training week, I was glad that I ran intervals on Wednesday; they are really enjoyable! Using the treadmill makes it so easy to get the timings and paces spot on.

Next week:

Weights: I'll probably keep the same body parts on the same days but maybe increase the weights to put me in the 5-8 rep zone.

Running: I'll stick to the same running formula, I might have time to take part in a ParkRun race on Saturday. If I do I might make some adjustments to the schedule.

Workouts - Week Commencing 24 Jan 2011

Monday 24 Jan 2011: Chest, Triceps and Shoulders

- Machine Press
- Machine Flyes
- Push Ups
- Tricep Extensions
- Rear Deltoid Machine

Ran out of time in the gym so continued the workout at home with my dumbbells.

- Side Raises (DB)
- Shoulder Press (DB)

Tuesday 25 Jan 2011: Back and Biceps

- Pull Ups
- Machine Row
- Machine Pull Down (underhand)
- Barbell Curls
- Dumbbell Curls


Wednesday 26 Jan 2011: Cardio

- Treadmill Run, 6km (at 4.55 minutes per km pace) - Summary


Thursday 27 Jan 2011: Legs

Today my train to London was delayed so I had to scrap the planned gym workout, but I still managed to squeeze in a body weight session before starting work.

- Squats
- Walking Lunges
- Standing Hamstring Curls
- Leg Extensions
- Inside, Outside and Rear Leg Raises (names may be incorrect)


Friday 28 Jan 2011: Cardio+

I took an earlier train *yawn* to work today, which meant that I had a tiny amount of spare time to throw in a few push ups and pull ups.

- 5km Treadmill Run - Summary
- 50 Push Ups (15/15/10/10)
- 20 Pull Ups (6/4/3/4/3)


Saturday 29 Jan 2011: PLANNED REST

REST


Sunday 30 Jan 2011: Long Run

- 12.4km Run (at 5.10 minutes per km pace) - Summary / Map
- Leg Lifts (core)
- Leg upside-down pendulum things, I don't know the name! (core)

---------

Next week I think I'll stick with a similar plan to this week. I'll fit the core workout in somewhere.

Monday - Push Day: Chest, Triceps and Shoulders (front and side)
Tuesday - Pull Day: Back, Biceps and Shoulders (Rear)
Wednesday - Short Treadmill Run (interval training - 25-30 minutes)
Thursday - Legs
Friday - Short Treadmill Run (approx 6km)
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Long Run (1 hour - approx 10-12km)

7t

Workouts - Week Commencing 17 Jan 2011

Monday 17 Jan 2011: UNPLANNED REST DAY

After being caught in heavy rain on the way to work I had to spend my gym time drying my socks for work. Did a few reps with some dumbbells but not a full workout.


Tuesday 18 Jan 2011: Chest and Triceps

Machine Flyes
Press-ups
Machine Press
Tricep Extensions
Tricep Pull Downs


Wednesday 19 Jan 2011: Back and Biceps

This was supposed to be a 5km treadmill run day but all five treadmills were in use so I had to change the workout - Not happy! Anyway, I dropped the weight for the back exercises because I had trouble hitting the muscle properly last week, it worked a treat.

Pull-ups
Seated Row
Underhand Machine Pull Downs
Barbell Curls
Dumbbell Curls


Thursday 20 Jan 2011: UNPLANNED REST DAY

I took the opportunity to spend some extra time with my wife and daughter.


Friday 21 Jan 2011:

5km Treadmill Run (at 5 min per km pace)


Saturday 22 Jan 2011:

6.25km Run - Summary / Map


Sunday 23 Jan 2011:

10.1km Run - Summary / Map


-----

Overall I'm disappointed that I didn't plan my runs better this week, and I also dropped my weight session for legs completely. All I can do is try to get back on track next week. I might even write down the weights and reps that I do (probably a good idea).

The plan for next week is:

Mon - Chest, Triceps and Shoulders
Tues - Back and Biceps
Wed - 5km on Treadmill
Thurs - Legs and Core
Fri - 5km on Treadmill
Sat - REST
Sun - 10km

Workouts - Week Commencing 10 January 2011

Monday 10 Jan: Chest and Triceps

Push Ups: 4 sets
Machine Flyes: 3 sets
Machine Press: 3 sets
Smith Machine Press: 3 sets
Tricep Extension (lying down): 3 sets
Tricep Pull downs: 3 sets


Tuesday 11 Jan: Back, Biceps and Shoulders

Pull Ups: 3 sets
Chin Ups: 3 sets
Seated Row: 3 sets
Cable Pull Downs: 3 sets
Dumbbell Curl-Press: 3 sets
Shoulder Press: 3 sets


Wednesday 12 Jan: Legs and Core

One Legged Machine Press: 3 sets
Calf Raises: 3 sets
Leg Curls: 3 sets
Leg Extension: 3 sets
Crunches: 3 sets


Thursday 13 Jan:

5km Treadmill Run (4.42 per km pace)


Friday 14 Jan:

5km Treadmill Run (5.02 per km pace)


Saturday 15 Jan:

REST DAY


Sunday 16 Jan:

10.39km Run (5.02 pace) Split Times - Map

I was aiming to run this at my 'easy' pace (5.19 - 5.38 per km) but I find it difficult to stay at that pace. I actually thought I was running a lot slower than my splits suggest.

--------

A bit of tweaking needed here and there; move the weekday runs to non-consecutive days, the core workout was pretty poor, etc etc..


c7t

One run, two countries - in the snow

I'm posting from Germany, which just 48 hours ago I never would have thought possible (snow + eurostar = chaos), anyway, it turns out that having a 4 month old baby gets you fast-tracked when arriving to chaotic scenes at St. Pancras Station - Thanks Matilda.

There was a moment when I considered leaving my running gear at home - I am glad I pushed that silly thought out of my head.

My first run - An 'easy' run through a combination of cleared pavements (apparently the law says you must clear a path through the snow on the pavement outside your house in Germany), ice, deep snow, slushy snow, roads with no pavements where I had to jump into even deeper snow in order to avoid the traffic, and so on.....

As far as the weather goes, it must have been a degree or two above freezing but with no wind - It was amazing!

I've never been to this small town on the outskirts of Aachen before so I decided to head west along the main road that leads into Belgium. I knew that the border was only 1km from my start point, after 23 minutes or so I checked my GPS and I had done 4km - I was well inside Belgium. At this point I thought I'd turn back and retrace my steps and round off with a nice 8km run. As I was nearing my finish point I decided that I could easily squeeze in another 2km so I took a detour and managed to finish with a distance of 10.3km, the total time was 1 hour and 1 minute.

It was my first ever run in the snow, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and intend to do it again as soon as possible. In a few days we'll be moving on to the town of Mücka (on the other side of Germany), I hope to do some runs over there. There is no way of me connecting to the internet once I am there so I'll post an update when the opportunity presents itself.

The photo above was taken by my wife, of me running along the road outside her Mum's house - Thanks bby.

Sunday 12 December 2010 10k Run

Due to a breakout of shingles and then a nasty infection under a wisdom tooth I've had a 2 week break from all things fitness.

This morning I felt well enough to go out and put in a few miles so I left home with the intention of doing maybe 5 or 6km, well, 10k later I arrived back at home.

According to the Macmillan training calculator my 'easy' runs should be paced between 5.19 - 5.38 per km. I almost managed to stick to the pace, in the end I ran at an overall 5.14 per km pace.

7t