Bill’s Training Blog — From Average to Athlete

City to Surf 3 – Completed

by Bill Wallace on August 29, 2010

Before the start

Had a great city to surf this morning. Not a great time but it was good to do the 12km and the weather was fantastic (still is at 3pm!). Even though they had forecast showers.

To the stats:

Time: 1:21:58 (per Garmin 305)

Distance: 12.05km

The run starts in the CBD of Perth and the 1st km is up Mount street, a 1km run that makes you feel like your heart is trying to escape the rib cage. But after that there is about 2km on gentle downhill so you recover in that stretch. Then there a few climbs and long downhills.

I was feeling pretty good after 4kms though the feet were letting me know they we still there (good to know!) but overall, with little preparation I was feeling okay. (I think my shoes are in need of replacement.)

We started at 9:30am today whereas 2008 was 8:00am and 2009 was 9:00am. I think the main aim is to manage the finishes so not everyone scrams through around the same time (marathon, half, 4km walk and 11km wheelchair!) I have to question that late start though as we are finishing around 10:45 – 11:00 and the heat was quite strong. I’d prefer the earlier start. I did notice this year there were around 6 catastrophes where the ambulance was needed toward the end. Last year I only notice one. But no matter what time they start t I’ll be competing!

Just after the 7km mark is Underwood Ave, commonly called “heartbreak hill” it is about the 4th climb in the course and while it isn’t long (300m, 400m?) the incline gets the unwary and the under prepared! I went into it think I’ll give myself some “walk time” when get to the peak. But I misjudged it and started walking about 100m short (yes, that is quite a misjudgement!)

I knew at this point there was no PB waiting for me and my pace was off last year’s as well (I did mention I didn’t train for this! ) so I stopped taking myself so seriously and just got on with it. Walking if I had to and running the last 2kms or so.

With a km to go the FBH was wondering where I was so tried calling me on the phone. I didn’t answer it!

So I got two things from today’s run:

really enjoyed getting out and having a crack. The attitude of just do it regardless of the training was good.
would really love to start aiming for PBs now and my diet and lifestyle needs to change to make sure that happens.

I’ve reviewed the race list I set myself at the beginning of the year and while that has been a catastrophic failure, there are still a few races to go.

So I’ll be signing up for what is left and see how I go.

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Great Quote

by Bill Wallace on August 24, 2010

I was reading Andrew’s blog and catching up on what he’s been doing. Not sure if this quote has been there a while (I said I was catching up ) but it really resonated with me as I read it:

“Sweat = Bliss. There are no shortcuts when it comes to fitness. You have to make an investment and stay committed. Lifelong changes are a series of daily commitments strung together. You must recommit every day and stick with it for the long haul. Exercise is work, and sweat is the sign that you are working. There are few things as physically pleasurable and rewarding as sweat. You should think of exercise as something pleasurable that you want to do. Shift your perspective. Seek exercise, don’t avoid it. Make breaking a sweat most days of the week a goal and feel it transform your life.” – Christopher Bergland

I’m not saying I do this but the key part for me was “You should think …”and that is the key for me. It’s not the exercise itself, it’s the thought of exercise. Andrew and Co just do it every day. I think about it too much and don’t do it.

But I’m inspired by the workload of those I read about.

Thanks to everyone.

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Finally a morning run

by Bill Wallace on August 23, 2010

With the City to Surf just a week away I finally got up at 5am for a run this morning.

(I had asked the FBH to make sure I got up so there I am getting dressed and this murmur for the bed “Honey, go for your run!” Well I guess she kept her part of the deal! )

A bit weird. 3.1C. Dark, clear skies and stars everywhere. Quite amazing at the same time. Anyway the run was good which also took in quite a long, steep hill. The C2S starts off with a 1km climb so the hill today was very intentional. Heart almost broke through the ribs at the top but it felt good.

Overall 6km in around 40mins. (I forget to set the 305 correctly at the start!

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How to Buy a Washing Machine

by Bill Wallace on August 13, 2010

Our good old faithful Fisher & Paykel washer blew up this week and it was time to hit the white goods stores. We did the usual stuff: surf the net, talk to people, forums and then went into the shops. We (I) have been known to be quite anal about these purchases often walking into umpteen different stores just to see if I get a consistent message about a product.

Not this time. Three stores. Three sales people. Washer chosen, but not purchased. That was my job this morning.

The FBH has been getting into riding and as you all know my running has tapered off stopped.

So, even with light showers forecast for today I decided to buy the washer by running to the shops, doing a deal and then running home (washer to be delivered by the shop, not dragging it behind me.)

Stage One – Home to Maccas

Can’t do without my morning coffee so it was a slow run to the Golden Arches just for coffee. A quick short macchiato and then off again.

It was an easy 3.1 k with a few inclines.

Stage Two – Maccas to Good Guys

Then, as I saw a bunch of school kids wander in (not at school then?), I headed out to my first stop … Good Guys, Malaga.

Really short run, just 950 m, but I did manage to find the only pothole in the ground and promptly fell into it while I wasn’t looking where I was going. Must have been a sight. Anyway, Friday the 13th and all but no harm done.

The service at Good Guys had been great and we had decided on a Bosch 6.5kg machine. Vicki the sales lady was great and we were hoping she had the machine we wanted and at a good price.

After a few calls and enquiries alas, she couldn’t do the deal we knew we could get elsewhere. But it meant another run to Kambos.

Stage 3 – Good Guys to Kambos

A pretty straight run down the same road in Malaga (Beach Road) of about 2.06 kms. The “deal” was a floor stock model that was heavily reduced. We’ll know soon enough if it is a genuine reduction or there is a surprise in store for us. Anyway, we have a Bosch dishwasher that is around 10 years old and hasn’t missed a beat so we think we’ll be fine.

Total distance so far, with the obvious break for coffee and negotiation, is around 6+ kms.

Again, pretty flat but a good run and the weather was holding off in terms of rain though the breeze was a bit crisp. Of course, as you run you kind of forget that.

Stage Four – Kambos to Home

All that was required at Kambos was to check the unit, pay the man and run home. Easy! Well, almost. About 500m into the run home I get a call from Kambos. Shudder! What’s wrong? But just a call to say they had under charged me and could I pay the delivery man when he drops off the machine. No worries. Just don’t ask me to turn around run back and pay you now!

I also meant to mention that in Stage 3 my phone had got down to 15% power and I had turned the music off to conserve said battery and allow the GPS to continue.

Well 15% only lasts so long and the poor little SE Xperia X10 gave out at the 3.27k mark, still around 1.5+km from home.

And so …

I am at home waiting for delivery. Pretty happy with the run that was also measured by my Garmin 305 which clocked it all at 10.89km. A good run though hardly at any real pace. The “no music period” being a “5 min run/5 min walk” process. After the lay off and gastro, I didn’t want to over do it.

And the best discovery was that I can now import my Garmin data into Nike+ and compete in Dave’s World Running League without needing an Ipod/Iphone etc.

So, run completed, washing machine purchased and not a car used!

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Lose weight fast … Ask me how

by Bill Wallace on August 13, 2010

This was supposed to be a relaxing week off. Instead I catch a bug which has me living in the smallest room in the house for six hours.

I ran 4+ k’s on Saturday afternoon which wasn’t a bad run considering I am getting back into a routine … of sorts. But then, at precisely 2am in the morning “something” wakes me up and I’m off to the loo. The inevitable takes a while and I am stuck in there for 6 hours! I will never get used to “chucking”.

I felt sorry for the kids and the FBH. My son, to his credit (I think I just ran the other way as a kid) asks me if need some water, but I’m “okay”.

Then two days feeling very queasy, eating dry toast, bland rice and lemonade. A day full of appointments (coffees, a presentation with the new company) all cancelled on Tuesday to allow me enough time to recover.

BUT, in all that I lost 3kgs and got down to 81.5k fully realising this is the wrong kind of weight loss and glad to see it go back up a bit on recovery.

Last day off today, then the weekend and then to new job. Hopefully back to a few runs. City to Surf 3 is two weeks away. Avoiding any other catastrophes I’ll still be doing it but the time will be whatever it is.

Hope YOU are all well!

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New Job and a Week Off

by Bill Wallace on August 7, 2010

So my training for C2S3 is a struggle. No excuses just not happening. But I have this week off due to a change of jobs and a week’s annual leave in between. So I’ll be running and posting. No, seriously!

I’ll also be using the Android based Cardio Trainer as my GPS on the phone, plus the ever faithful Garmin 305.

But the Cardio Trainer has lots of features which I am looking forward to testing out in full. It also comes with a weight loss tracker, running planner and automatic reminders to get out more often. Looking forward to it.

Perth is also having one of its classic winters.

In leaving my current job there have been a few “lunches”, “dinners” and “drinks” so no guessing which directing the weight has been heading.

But all that is behind me now (and in front of me ) so it’s time to get A in to G.

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City to Surf 3

by Bill Wallace on July 26, 2010

Got a great message from Dave and World Running League today asking me where I’ve been.

Well I haven’t been running so no real point in blogging. BUT the next Perth City to Surf is at the end of August (around 5 weeks!) and I need to be in it.

Last year’s CS was 70 minutes and the year before that was 64 minutes so I’m hoping (wishing?) for anywhere between those two scores. Of course if anything is hard to cram, good running times are hard!

This week it’s aslo back into the WRL and I got sent a tube of Lanacane to review. Chafing is such a pain in the … well you know. And prevention is always better than a cure!

Hopefully there’ll be more blogging. Until then please keep blogging yourself so I can enjoy the reads.

Bill

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Oh, and the run …

by Bill Wallace on June 7, 2010

After running on about the new toy (SE Xperia X10 – pardon the pun ) I forgot to update the actual run! Winter in Perth is glorious at the moment. We could do with the rain but I’m not complaining about golden mornings blue sky and no wind.

The run yesterday was around Perth’s two bridges (Narrows and Causeway) which is 10k and it was very busy. The car parks were full and lots of people taking advantage of the weather.

It was great to see the WA and Australian cricket legend Dennis Lillee who said “G’day, how are ya?” as he jogged past. Good to see Dennis recognise me ! He hits 61 this year and he hasn’t missed a beat since retiring from cricket. I hope I’m that fit in 15 years’ time!

Overall a good run, ran most of it but find it interesting that in a race I’ll run 14 – 15k the whole way. While as I jog on my own I feel the need to stop and walk occasionally. Finally found my stride around the 7k mark (sheesh! ) Before the slack lay off I was learning to run slowly and have to get that back. My k’s were around the 6:00/k mark yesterday and even as I tried to run slower, it wasn’t working.

Well, back to the mid week runs this week, no excuses.

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New Toy :)

by Bill Wallace on June 6, 2010

It was time to renew my phone contract so decided to check out the android side of life and picked up a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

So far so good and the number of apps to log my running are numerous. None (so far) are up to Nike+’s smoothness and completeness but none are backed by company’s like Nike and Apple. So I’m happy to play with the apps that are available and test them out.

So I’m using Buddy Runner (as I did today) and there is another one (My Tracks) which I’ll try on my next run.

The GPS seems to be accurate enough and Buddy Runner announces my progress every half k. The funny thing is the voice is very computerised (not sure how Nike+ did theirs) and rather than just saying “seconds” it says “seh-KONDS” – if that makes sense. The emphasis being on the second syllable. Of course this doesn’t affect the distance, just sounds weird. Meh!

It covers all the usual stuff (refer image) and presents the dashboard in quite a simple to understand way. It seems to be attempting to replicate the Nike+ metaphor by showing how many runs have been completed by all users and how many kms they have done. Not necessarily better, just different.

Clearly I need to do a lot more running and the pace is all over the shop. What I do like about it is that it uploads from the phone as soon as the run is over. I don’t have to connect the phone to the Mac at home like I do with Nike+.

Hopefully the Android market continues to grow and develop and will match the iPhone and apps eventually. (though I wonder if it will ever match Apple in the total number of apps available!)

Anyway the phone is good with a lot of positives (like an 8MP camera) though sometimes there is a fair bit of lag between touching an icon and the app launching. With a system upgrade in September, that should be fixed.

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Well, it’s Been 2 Months…

by Bill Wallace on May 31, 2010

I’m still alive and back in training. If you’ve been reading you’ll know my achilles was a problem back in March and it prevented training for a bit. That was part injury, part mental. I didn’t feel comfortable running on it and then training just seemed to fall away.

But I have been running and exercising. Nothing worth writing about (obviously) so I haven’t bored anyone.

On the Race update (great plans for 2010, poor execution) I dd compete in the HBF Run For a Reason on May 23rd. 14ks and set a goal of 90 minutes. Made it in 1:29:54. Nothing like cutting it fine!

June 20 Marathon is out as the training has been non-existent but there is the Rottnest Marathon in October.

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