Hemerodromos

One of the tricky things about running longer distances is that it takes up quite a lot of time, which can be a pain in the backside when you've even only a moderately demanding job, a family and running is really your second-string sport. So it has proved this week; however there is hope. I typically use Monday as a rest day and then run at least five of the next six days of the week, but this Tuesday I started work at about 07:30 and didn't leave until about 19:45 so running home felt a bit much and I canned it. Similarly, I decided that a quick 10k round the village probably wouldn't be a fantastic idea on Christmas Day after fresh Manukau scallops, turkey, ham, white burgundy and port (the trip out onto the Manukau to get the scallops scuppered the idea of a morning run!) On the other hand, I'm now a free agent for ten days or so, and will have plenty of opportunities to go and get some miles in. I'm still building back up to the kind of mileage I was doing f

Well, I managed to get a sensible distance in this week over the course of five runs - four on the road and one on the trails - despite work being pretty busy in the lead up to the holidays. The trick of it for me is managing to get the distance in despite work, and to do that I try and run during my commute as much as possible. Given my work commitments, it can be quite hard for me to make it out as often as I would like but I still feel the need to have a plan to allow me to at least monitor my progress. I tend to make my own plans up based on a few rules I've picked up from my tragic addiction to running books: Run 80% easy and about 20% quality Have at least one long run each week, preferably two if you're doing an ultra Add strides to your easy runs to keep your leg turnover Make up your quality runs with a mixture of tempo runs, fartlek, hills, intervals etc.. Increase your top end by 10% per week Cut back every fourth or fifth week Start tapering 3 weeks out fo

Sir Edmund Hillary said a lot of good things, but probably my favourite is this... " In some ways I believe I epitomise the average New Zealander: I have modest abilities, I combine these with a good deal of determination, and I rather like to succeed ." I'm not a New Zealander (yet) and I'm certainly not going to win any races; although I do live in Waitakere and run on the trails, as did the great man himself in preparation for the Everest expedition of 1953. I like the idea that underlies the quotation; that normal people can through a good attitude and hard work achieve great things. I'm hoping that with a little hard work I'll be able to complete The Hillary Trail Run in a sensible time by the end of February 2016. For those who aren't familiar with the Hillary Trail, it is a 77km long trail in Waitakere just outside Auckland. It runs from the Arataki Visitors' Centre on Scenic Drive down to Huia, along the fringes of the Manukau Harbour to