Ahhh, there is something SO refreshing, calming and peaceful about running in the summer rain. It's awesome. An added bonus is that the usually crowded riverside pathways are pretty much empty when there are the frequent Yiwu downpours. Which was the case this morning, while I went for a slow, easy paced 15km run in the rain. No music, not much people traffic, and no set pace to try to keep to: just running at the pace that I felt like through the drizzle to slightly heavyish rain. I have mentioned my dislike on here for running on the track in the rain, but out on the pavements and by the river is a different story.

Good morning!

 

So, these things happened this morning:

 

1)      First full 22.5km run on the track. (I usually run the warm-up or cool down out on the streets.)

 

2)      First track workout spent during the RAIN and WIND (yes, the weather tricked me. No rain when I left home to go to the track. Two-ish laps in and the drizzle started, building up to a fairly heavy downpour for most of the run. And guess what? No tripping or slipping over after all! So, have banished and conquered that particular track downer and fear for now.)

 

3)      First track workout where I was listening to music whilst looking at Garmin and keeping a set pace (threshold pace for most of it, between 4:07 and 4:18). Yes, when it got hard, the usual suspects (Bon Jovi, Santana, Prince, Roxette, The Killers, Daft Punk etc) were there to spur me on and keep me company.

 

4)      First half marathon time of 1:31!!! Yay! A PB for me!!! (Please give me a definitive answer – does a PB count if it’s just in training and not in an official, chip-timed race??) SOOO stoked and excited by this! That is a whole 3 minutes off my last time at Shanghai. Hmm, yes, there were no other runners to dodge around, but then I had the monotony of the track plus the wind and rain working against me, so I am pretty chuffed with my result. I know, I know, it’s not super speedy, not like some who can run one in 1:20 or 1:15 (I can only dream of ever getting there) but it is my own PB and I am thrilled. It goes to show that I am slowly getting faster due to this training. Here’s what I did this morning: 3.22km easy pace, 4.8km threshold pace, 1.6km easy, 4.8km threshold, 1.6km easy, 5.1km threshold (to get to 21.1!), then an easy/recovery pace for the last 1.4km.

 

5)      First post-run Sunday selfie for this blog. Haha, I was so happy I took TWO. Don’t judge me!

J

So, tell me, what are your thoughts? DOES a PB/PR count if only in training?? Yay or nay?

Once the rain subsided I made it (at last) to the track for the following run: 3.22 easy pace, 6.44 threshold pace, 3.22 easy. My threshold pace is supposed to be between 4.07 and 4.15, and I stuck to this range, sometimes going up to 4.15 but sometimes going too low to 4.00 or 4.05. When I remembered to take note when Garmin beeped at my kilometre marks, my average times were 4.07, 4.07, 4.08, 4.09, and then 4.03 (oops, the last one was a little fast then). Total time of 58:07.  Fastest 5 km was 20:38. Felt great. LOVED leaving the track, haha…

So, come on people, HOW do I change my trackitude and learn to LOVE going there for a run, rather than having to psych myself up to even get there? It is definitely a love/hate relationship. Ok, let’s look at the positive aspects of running at the school’s track:

• It is accurate in terms of distance and speed (now that I’ve got my trusty Garmin)
  
  
• There is no traffic or lights to have to stop at
  
  
• No pedestrians to avoid (or motorbikes on the pavement coming straight at you)
  
  
• Most of the time I have got it all to myself
  
  
• It is 300 metres from my apartment
  
  
• I feel amazing at the end of a workout at the track
  
  

Ok, a couple of those pesky (but substantial) negative aspects:

• It is kind of (ok, sometimes, very) monotonous. Akin to an outside treadmill?
  
  
• It is synonymous with speedwork (or attempting speedwork on some days)
  
  
• Sometimes there are some awkward moments when others are on the track and I attempt some ‘excellent’, mid-running Chinglish.
  
  

So, you see, lots more good than bad going on down at the track, so I hope this helps me next week to bound on out there full of enthusiasm and genuine excitement for my speed session. Ahem. Watch this space.

Went for a nice, easy recovery pace run/jog/trot this morning. Listened to your excellent advice and tried to listen to my body and not push the pace anywhere near my normal running pace. Not that I had any choice though - my legs felt like I was set on slow-motion, kind of like where you're trying to run in a dream to get away from something but you can't. Hmm, sounds fun yes? Haha. But am glad I went. It was good to get out in the slightly fresher than yesterday air, after a bit of rain, and to see the mountains again.

Also got to properly test out my new toy (as it ran out of charge when I used it during the marathon), and although the figures aren't my best (like I said I took it very easy! had to....) it's still great to get an accurate pace and distance, rather than my usual guess work. So here it is: 49.27 minutes to run 6.4kms with an average pace of 7.44/km.

Pissing down rain here at the moment, so had a wet/slippery, but awesome, run this morning. One of my usual routes down by the riverside. Just under an hour's bliss to start the day. The weather forecast said it was going to snow, so I was looking forward to a white, picturesque run, but no such luck yet. It's cold enough to though, so if it's going to be this cold then it may as well be beautiful and festive feeling!

So, bit apartment-bound at the moment, which is such a shame as we want to be showing my mum all the beautiful parts of our city, rather than just the school grounds. Hey-ho, only day 2 of her trip to this city, so fingers crossed the weather sorts itself out this arvo.

Got a question to pick your brains with this morning: Husband and I have to perform a 'program' soon (get up on a stage and make 'laowei' fools out of ourselves for the amusement of the government people hosting an end of year party). Something like this:

Last year we performed that Aussie classic 'Waltzing Matilda', and when I say 'we' performed it, it was really Husband singing and me waving the Australian flag. But, they have said we cannot do the same program this year! Nuts. So, any ideas for songs we could sing? I am thinking some kind of duet - I like the idea of Human League's 'Don't You Want Me', as it's kinda more spoken than sung and we both have our definitive man/woman part to sing.

Any good duets that you can recommend? Cheers!