Only three weeks to go, and suddenly everything is harder. My right foot is hurting again (after being great for weeks). My left shin is niggling me a bit. My right quad (just above the knee) feels sore and possibly even a little swollen. I’ve just got to hold it together for a few more weeks.

I cut back my distance a little bit in a failed attempt to rest. My long run on Sunday was a 3:1 run/walk around Blackwattle Bay with the Snook. Monday I had a session at Spudds. On Wednesday I doubled up with a short run in the morning before work (the foot was hurting) and then Spudds again at lunchtime. I ended with a walk/run home from work and around Newtown on Friday.

Nov. 5: 10.37km
Nov. 8: 5.46km
Nov. 10: 7.15km
Total this week: 22.98km (14.3mi)
Total in 2010: 939.11km (586.9mi)

Three weeks left, and just over 60km to go…

This week my energy and strength finally bounced back a little bit. On Sunday I decided to challenge myself on my long run by taking the bus to Iron Cove. I then ran the 7km Bay Run followed by 5km back up Victoria Road to home. I did 3:1 run/walk the whole way. Tuesday was pouring rain all day, so I put my run off til the evening when it finally let up. It was still really humid and the first couple km’s were wearing a heavy backpack, so my speed wasn’t great. Wednesday I had a KILLER workout at Spudds that left me sore for two days after. (Felt awesome though.) Today I ran speed intervals up and down Wilson Street before work. Considering how crazy the weather’s been and how busy this time of year is, I’m really happy to be getting in the workouts.

Nov. 28: 12.69km
Nov. 30: 6.16km
Dec. 3: 6.05km
Total this week: 24.9km (15.5mi)
Total in 2010: 916.13km (572.5mi)

Only four weeks left in my goal to run 1000km in 2010! I have crossed the 900km mark and I’m still on track. I’ve got 4 weeks to do 84km, which means 21km a week. LET’S DO THIS.

The year is winding down! Only five weeks to go. After last week’s fantastic workouts, this week I felt pretty tired and run-down. (It doesn’t help that our cat is sick and he’s been keeping us up at night.) I managed to meet my distance goal but I didn’t feel very swift doing it. I only had one session at Spudds. It was just a worn out kind of week.

Nov. 21: 11.61km
Nov. 23: 5.01km
Nov. 25: 7.25km
Total this week: 23.87km (14.9mi)
Total in 2010: 891.23km (557mi)

I’m 90% of the way to my goal of running 1000km in 2010! I just have to hold it together for a few more weeks…

Another week’s distance goal met! This was actually a really great week for me in terms of training. I managed three runs and two sessions at Spudds, and I even got double-hundreds on the rower! Today’s run was windy but not too cold, and I felt pretty comfortable throughout. I tried out my new SKINS A400 3/4-length tights, which felt nice. (More on those in a minute.) All in all, a great week!

Nov. 14: 10.23km
Nov. 17: 6.07km
Nov. 19: 6.55km
Total this week: 22.85km (14.3mi)
Total in 2010: 867.36km (542.1mi)

Only 132.6km left to meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010! I just need to keep hitting 22km/wk and I’ll get there.

SKINS preliminary review: I’d previously bought myself a pair of SKINS shorts at the Melbourne 2008 Running Festival Expo (where I ran the half-marathon). I still wear them occasionally, but they’re not my favourite running gear. I think this is because I got them too small. I’m tall and I’m right between the L and XL sizes, and in the shorts I got the L. With the new tights, I requested the XL. I like them MUCH BETTER. They still compress (I mean, that’s the point) but they’re not so uncomfortably tight that they leave marks on my skin. I’ve got a couple other pairs of cheap Kmart 3/4-length running tights, so that’s my other basis for comparison here. Unlike those, the SKINS tights don’t have any sticky rubber around the calves to keep them from riding up. I was worried about that at first, but it wasn’t a problem. The calf area actually feels tighter than the rest, and I think that’s probably intentional. They stayed in place throughout the run. I was also worried about the waistband, as on the SKINS shorts I found they wanted to roll downwards over my tummy. Again, this wasn’t a problem with the tights. (That may be more about getting the wrong size in the shorts.) The only negative was the feeling that they were a bit low in the crotch. It took me a few minutes at the start of the run of hitching them up to get them in a comfortable position. (Note: I also have this problem with pantyhose, so it may be more of a personal issue with wearing tights than anything else.)

Okay, so how about performance? Did the magic pants make me run faster? Not really. They didn’t hinder me, but I don’t think they gave me any super boost either. They were just comfy pants. I’ll need a few more trials before I can ascertain whether they provide any real benefit over my cheaper Kmart version.

Two weeks ago I got an email from someone at SKINS asking if I’d be interested in testing out their new A400 Active range. “Uh, sure!” I said. They also invited me to create a Landmark Challenge on their new Facebook app. The idea is that you post photos or a video of yourself attempting some sort of fitness feat and then everyone else is challenged to try it and post their scores. I immediately thought of my weekly attempts at Spudds to get 100m in 20s on the rowing machine. So what the hell! I had Spudds record a video of my attempt on Monday night:

I honestly had NO IDEA that I make those grimaces when I’m rowing. GRRRR! Fierce Kris is FIERCE! 🙂

Anyway, my Challenge went live on the Facebook app and you can see it by scrolling down on the “Featured Challenges” list to “Rowing Machine Challenge.” So far I think mine is the only Challenge submitted by the public. I can’t wait to see if anybody else has a go. I’m going to see if I can get my double-hundreds tonight.

Oh! And they sent me a pair of Women’s 3/4 Compression Tights today, so I’ll be testing and reporting on those very shortly… Thanks SKINS!

Update: I got my double hundreds today! New Challenge score is officially 200m. 🙂

I met my distance goal for the week! Of course, that 10K run on Sunday helped. Just need to keep this momentum going for a few more weeks…

Nov. 7: 10km
Nov. 9: 6.07km
Nov. 11: 6.21km
Total this week: 22.28km (13.9mi)
Total in 2010: 844.51km (527.8mi)

Only 155.49km left to my goal of running 1000km in 2010, and I’ve got seven more weeks to do it. I need to keep hitting 22km per week!

This was my second year running this race (last year’s race report) and my first with the Snook beside me. A bunch of guys from my office were also signed up as well. We met Kunaal at Central Station at 7:15 and enjoyed an uneventful trip to Olympic Park. Once we got there, I dropped off my backpack and made a toilet stop. I had been hoping for cool rainy weather like last year, but instead it was turning out sunny and warm. The Snook and I lined up in the Purple group (the other guys were all in the Red) and waited for the gun to go off.

I had my iPhone safely strapped to my arm – no chance of losing it this time – and I started RunKeeper as we inched towards the starting mats. I made a quick mental decision to not worry about checking my pace during the actual race. It was going to be more fun to just enjoy myself with the Snook. The first couple KMs were relatively easy, except for the excessive crush of people. (I think they need to stagger the start even more next year.) I felt good so I skipped the first water stop. The sun was getting stronger all the time though. We doubled back and headed towards the back half of the course.

Sidenote: I have to say, I was really disappointed by how many people I saw jumping the curb and cutting corners. I probably could have shaved another minute off my time if we’d done what most of the crowd was doing. Bah.

Anyhoo, I could feel my pace starting to slow in the second half. They’d changed the course from last year so it had less turnarounds, but it was also a bit more hilly too. I walked briefly as I had a drink at the second water stop. At the 7K mark, the Snook announced that he was “finally warmed up” and that he was feeling good. I announced that I was falling apart and that I hated him. We persevered. My friend Tytana ran past and said hello. The 8K mark was right at the top of a small hill, and I had to walk for 30s to catch my breath. Then it was the final push to the finish. My friend Raj shouted a greeting as he sprinted past us. At the 9K mark, I told the Snook to go on ahead and finish strong. I had a sudden side stitch and it was all I could do to just keep going. He pulled ahead a bit. We rounded the stadium and entered the tunnel. I had nothing left to sprint, but I did my best to hold on until the end. The stitch was hurting so bad. RunKeeper recorded a time of 70:21, but my official adjusted time was 70:00 exactly. So I only missed last year’s PR of 69:06 by a little bit! I’m happy with that. (Snookums finished in 69:22.) Up in the stands we reunited with our friends…

The MobileActive running team: Me, Raj, Venks, Josh, and Kunaal

It was a fun day. Thanks to my best friend for running with me!

I missed last week’s report, but it would have been depressing anyway. I’ve been having increased pain in my right foot (the one that’s been bothering me all year), and then last weekend I got knocked out by a virus. So my totals for the past two weeks are fairly low.

Oct. 26: 6.01km
Oct. 27: 5.87km
Nov. 3: 6.32km
Nov. 5: 6.01km
Total this week: 12.33km (7.7mi)
Total in 2010: 822.23km (513.89mi)

It is now exactly eight weeks til the end of 2010. I am still 177.77km shy of meeting my goal of running 1000km this year. I’ll need to average 22.2km per week to hit the target. Given the state of my foot, this isn’t going to be easy. I’ve got one more race scheduled: the 10K Run 4 Fun this Sunday. After that, I’m thinking I may need to incorporate some walking and give my foot a chance to rest up. I’m going to do my best to reach the goal, whatever it takes.

The deadline crunch at work this week meant that I missed both my Monday yoga class and my Wednesday Spudds workout. I did get in all my runs though, and I think it really helped with my stress levels.

Oct. 17: 10.02km
Oct. 19: 6.00km
Oct. 21: 6.09km
Total this week: 22.04km (13.8mi)
Total in 2010: 798.02km (498.7mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 807.6km. Less than 10km behind pace now! I’m making it up…

Huh. I just realised that I trained on five out of the last seven days! That may be a personal record. Sunday was the WWFoR, of course, where I ran the Zen Run 10K. Monday I went to yoga class. Tuesday I was laid up all day with a killer headache, but Wednesday I went back to work and did my usual Spudds circuit. Thursday I went for an easy run, and then this morning I did speed intervals. I guess my energy is starting to bounce back a bit!

Oct. 10: 10.01km
Oct. 14: 6.00km
Oct. 15: 5.44km
Total this week: 21.45km (13.4mi)
Total in 2010: 775.91km (484.9mi)

To meet my goal of running 1000km in 2010, I should be at 788.4km. I’m slowly gaining ground again…