My first official 5km race

What a beautiful setting for an event. The North Shore Marathon bills themselves as the most scenic marathon and half marathon in NZ, and I don't think they'd be far wrong.

We stayed at the campground just a few minutes walk away, and this was the view from the bus door:

The view from Takapuna to Rangitoto Island

What a pity, then, they made such a crap job of organising the event. My 1km time splits, taken at their km markers, should give you an idea (remember I was doing 5km).
1km: 6.24
2km: 6.38
3km: 8.26
4km: 4.58
5km: 7.12
6km: 7.25
6km to finish: 2.43

I think the final distance was 6.35km, but it was very hard to tell. You can imagine how grumpy I was by the time I got to the end. And as for the varying distances for the third and fourth kms......

And then I got talking to some of the other runners. One of the women who'd just finished the marathon ended up running 45km because the course marking and number of marshals was so poor. Quite a few of the half marathon folk ended up doing either 29km or 18km.

I have written a long email to the organisers, now that I've calmed down, letting them what I think they could do to improve for next year. I just keep thinking how demoralising it would be for someone in their first long distance event to have this experience.

But on the plus side - my 5km time was 33.38. An improvement of 1 minute and 53 seconds - gotta be happy with that! And it wasn't a dead flat course this time either; total gain was over 18m.

All in all, it was a lovely Sunday run.

And now wanting more...

I've finished my 8 weeks of training with Up&Running and ran my 5km on Monday. This is the longest distance I've ever run at one time.

My time was: 35 minutes and 31 seconds.

Very pleased with that! Especially given the weather. I know lots of the country had terrible storms and snow; we escaped that (in Northland), but it did hail while I was running. Which makes me some sort of properly tough athlete.

And in a move that has surprised even me, I've now signed up to do Up&Running's 10km course in September!

I can't sing the praises of these courses enough. I never imagined I would be running these distances, let alone enjoying it.

Running my way around the country

I've run in so many places in the last few weeks:
Whitianga
Thames
Tanners Point
Omokoroa
Ohope
Matata
Rotorua
Taupo

What a tour!

Feeling the difference

Four weeks into the new plan for exercise and healthier eating and I can really feel the benefits.

I repeated the fitness test on Monday and can see an improvement in all areas - weight down, stamina increased, and a huge improvement in my 1km time. In fact, I'm a bit worried about ever being able to hit that time again!

I'm a copybook example of doing it right really (even if I do say so myself). I've kept to my goals and commitments for exercise and my food intake has improved out of sight.

What the four week results don't show is that my weight actually went up to 91.1kg. That was when I decided enough was enough. I know that, theoretically, I have all the knowledge and tools to eat properly, but sticking to it just doesn't happen. And hasn't happened for the last three years - my weight has wandered up and down between 84kg and 94kg.

So, I've joined up with WW again. And I'm really enjoying the routine - I'm doing it online, which wasn't around when I lost all that weight 5-odd years ago. And they have the cutest iPad app - the geek in me just can't resist.

No doubt I'll get point-counting fatigue again, but hopefully it stays away long enough for me to have made some really good progress.

Such slackness in posting!

Goodness, how time just slips away when you've nothing to do!

Exercise has been going well. The Up & Running course is very well thought out and there is lots of on-line support - which I'm finding incredibly motivating.

There is lots of work on developing the right attitude to running, and I've already run further than I have in over two years.

Weights are also progressing well. My routine is very simple and won't keep me entertained long, but I'm going to stick with it until I finish the running course (although I will keep increasing my weights and reps).

And then I can get back to the world of super-sets and HIITs!

Cool!

Changed my mind

Think I'd rather be motivated by this photo - my first triathlon!

End of week 1

I've had a good week. Not everything went to plan, but I adapted and feel like I've put in a good effort.

I've completed all three Up & Running sessions, done my fitness test, had one weights' workout and a lovely long walk. I wanted to do more weights, but ended up with two days work and couldn't quite fit it in.

I used my long walk this morning to assess how my body was feeling. A few tired muscles, mostly butt and thighs, but nothing that feels strained or injured.

I've just made a point of reading my motivations again - and must remember to do this frequently.

This photo of me 6 years ago at age 40 helps with the motivation too!