The weekend of running....

Friday 15/09/06:
Rest day - the only one of the week for the next few weeks at least!
Felt well deserved after previous nights effort, even though I pulled up well from the increased pace.

Saturday 16/09/06:
Raring to go and out the door by 7am. Plan called for 75mins steady. I was aiming for 75-80mins, depending on where I turned on a large, flat loop that I'd decided on. Weather conditions were perfect for a long run as far as I was concerned - overcast, little wind and a mild 14 deg C.

Brisk walk warmup: 5mins
Steady paced run: 90mins (18kms)
Brisk walk cooldown: 5mins

In the end I was feeling so good and was enjoying the run so much, that I went even further than planned and ended up covering approx 18kms. The pace was steady and comfortable thru out, my mindset was much better than it has been and it was easy to just keep going in the pleasant conditions. Have to say that over the last couple of kms my legs were feeling a bit tired, but that is to be expected as this is my longest run this year! Wore the Skins to run in and kept them on for about an hour afterwards, which was as long as I could afford. Really should have eaten first too, or at least taken the Fuelbelt - will start using it on Sat runs again now. So I've jumped ahead of the plan distance wise for my long runs, but figure provided the body is handling it and I don't get too carried away, thats OK. The plan does include a lot of runs done at a "jog" which concerns me a bit, but I guess provided I am getting a long run and a fast run in once a week, the rest is really just maintainence anyway...

Got the PC fixed today, turns out it wasn't terminal luckily and downloaded photos from my camera this evening. Managed to find something semi-acceptable for my profile, but when it came down to adding pics to previous posts, Blogger didn't want to play. Will try again later.

Sunday 17/09/06:
By the time I got into bed last night, the legs were feeling rather fatigued and were much the same way this morning! Would have slept in the Skins if they weren't wet! But at least it is an all-over "tired but satisfied" feeling, rather than any one spot playing up. Best of all, the hamstring handled the extra distance no problem.
The plan called for a 35min jog today and this I knew I could handle. In fact as predicted I felt better when running than when not!

V. easy paced run: 40mins (approx 5kms)

I ran very slowly today, due to having Courtney with me on her bike and having to wait for her and give her a push along several times (I thought I was meant to be the one with sore legs!)
We were battling quite a strong headwind a few times though and with a few slight hills, she did find it hard going! However for me it was good just to be turning the legs over, loosened them up a bit and I did plenty of stretching afterwards.

The afternoon was spent planting half a dozen shrubs down one boundary of our section. For the first time I was thankful for how much rain we've had lately, as made digging the holes on my own much easier. Still have a blister or two on my hands to show for it though, but very satisfying work. We can now get our lawn laid next week - finally! Had been putting this off till the new house next door was finished. Doubt it helped my tired legs any, but at least I have an excuse if they're still sore tomorrow!

Finished out the week on 55kms of running, which I am more than happy with at this point. More important is that I have no injury worries, other than looking after the hamstring, oh and a sore baby toenail on left foot, but that was caused by a pair of heels I was wearing to work last week! Think it has lifted slightly and is now rather sore!