Tuesday, August 7, 2007

So much news!

It's been a busy week or so since my last entry ... There's lots of stuff I want to touch on, but before I get too distracted, let me give you the "by the numbers" breakdown of the last few running workouts:
  • Sunday July 29th - 13 km, HR avg 136, avg pace 5'32"
  • Monday July 30th - rest day
  • Tuesday July 31st - 11 km, HR avg 138, avg pace 5'37"
  • Wednesday August 1st - 13 km "Farklet" (alternating slow/fast km's), HR avg 150, avg pace 4'50"
  • Thursday August 2nd - golf day, shot 109 (see note below)
  • Friday August 3rd - 13 km, HR avg 139, avg pace 5'19"
  • Saturday August 4th - 10 km tempo run, HR avg 162, avg pace 4'20" (10 sec faster than marathon pace)
  • Sunday (of this week) - rest day
  • Monday - 32 km long run, HR avg 142, avg pace 5'13" <-- for the record, neg split every 10K, neg halfway split, kicked last 2 km in 4'26", followed by 4'08"
  • Today - easy 9 km recovery, HR avg 138, avg pace 5'16"
Further to my previous post, it seems that I owe Mr. Finlayson a HUGE thank you - at your leisure Jim, the Guiness is on me - just lemme know when! Even in a short 10-day training span, I can see my average HR starting to drop in relation to my pacing. In addition, the shorter stride length is feeling less forced than it did for the first couple of workouts. Admittedly, I'm still struggling to maintain a consistent pace for the duration of the workout, but it is getting easier. I found that during the second half of the long run on Monday, I felt more relaxed and fluid than I did for the first half. I still need to learn how to "listen" to my body, rather than rely on my HR monitor to tell me that I'm running too hard. As always, a work in progress...

If you happen to have tuned in just for running stuff, then you can safely skip the remainder of this post. (Thanks for stopping by! Check back soon!) As I mentioned above, I hit the links for the first time in a long time last Thursday. My friend (and former employer at Pharmasave) Darren invited me out to Ardmore Golf Course on the Saanich peninsula. So as not to completely embarrass myself, Michelle and I paid a visit to the driving range a few days beforehand, just so I could refresh my memory of how to completely screw up a golf shot without swearing out loud. As it turns out, a 3 year hiatus from the sport did nothing to improve my game - I know, I know, truly shocking - yet three years off didn't make me any worse, either. It seems to me that the last time I played Ardmore with Darren, I shot somewhere around the same score. In any case, he and I shuffled around Ardmore twice along with our friend Susan, also of Pharmasave fame. The three of us had a blast, we all made at least one amazing shot (Darren, of course, had many amazing shots - he has a handicap of about 21, I think), and we enjoyed a nice lunch and good-natured ribbing after the game. A day well spent, to say the least - I'm already looking forward to the next round!

Just this past Sunday, I (finally) had the chance to head down the Inner Harbour for Symphony Splash! I've lived here in Victoria for almost 20 years, and have never been before. Michelle and I were lucky enough to get a great view of the performance, although we did have to stand for the entire 2 and 1/2 hour show (ouch! my back is still sore). Next year, I'm putting out chairs! Speaking of chairs, I had a chat with a lady who was riding my bus the day before the event. She told me that she has never missed a "Splash" performance, and this year, she put her chair out on Thursday evening! Do ya think I've still got time to get my spot reserved for next year?

On a final note, let me officially proclaim that I'm tired of working spareboard. Thankfully, I've only got 4 more weeks to go. Last Tuesday, I chose my work for the fall sign-up period - I picked regular pieces of work, starting/finishing at the same time, week in, week out, right up until Christmas eve. Let's hope that I like the work, 'cause now I'm stuck with it for 16 weeks!

Folks, I'm running out of steam ... it's gettin' late, and I'm starting to see double. G'night, and thank you, as always, for dropping in. Until next time...