Running on a high

A week has passed since the start of the Olympics. I've been watching most of the swimming - somehow doing laps of staring at the blue line in the pool during my teens made me relate most to this sport. But I've been only watching the delayed telecast online of course, as getting up at 3am every morning just doesn't go well with my training. I did catch the women's triathlon yesterday too. What a finish! It was a pity Erin Densham couldn't quite respond the sprint at the last few metres to clinch the gold. Now the athletics are on the way, and I think what's on most people's mind is who's to be fastest man at the Olympics this year.

Maybe it's from watching the Olympics but I find myself putting in some good efforts at the sessions this week. Also, probably because I've just signed up for Desaru 116 tri as well, in late September, so I derive some motivation from there. It'll be something to look forward to in the middle stages of preparation towards Ironman WA, as a test for myself and what I'm capable of. As some of you may recall, I had a disappointing race last year, where I did not finish due to mechanical problems. So I'm back again this year for unfinished business!

The Pancake Run this morning rounded up week 4 of my training program. Don't be misled by the name of the race. The course, being in King's Park is nowhere near as flat as a pancake. But we do get pancakes after the race! The sore achilles that I had few weeks ago is almost non existent now, so I thought having a 15km race would be a good idea as some hard but fun training. Also, it would serve as a good test before I do the Perth Half marathon next week.

My longest run since being back on the program was just over 11kms, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But I had an aim of holding about 4:30 per km average, as that's roughly what I've been holding for my training runs. Well, I did surprise myself, as midway through, 1:05 (average 4:20 pace) seem very possible... and I crossed the finish line in 1:03:10 in the end, an average of 4:11, very happy with that! I did slow down a bit on the 2nd lap but I caught up with a few people in front. Still, a good sign for the half marathon next week, looking forward to it!