I wanted to do a speed work session today, but I baulked when I felt very tired as I warmed up, even after an easy day yesterday. I can tell when I’m over trained, as I start avoiding hills. Normally I love hills.

Anyhow, I ended up settling on a lap of Centennial Park at a reasonable pace. I did the same two years ago at this time of year. I checked my log book and found I ran the Park in 18:32 on Jan 16, 2015, feeling comfortable throughout. Today I felt very comfortable throughout as well, particularly in the lungs. No issues at all. And I managed the lap in 17:26, more than a minute faster. It’s still not fast – around 4:30 per km – but it was a solid effort and a good start to the year. Of course, I could have run a lot faster, but it was all about seeing how I went while remaining in a pleasant comfort zone.

Many will have seen the news items about the mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale Airport in Florida. This was the same airport I arrived at and departed from just over a year ago when I was there for the Icarus 12 hour race. It’s only a small airport and I recall much of it quite well. I was waiting for my bag in the very area where the shooting took place. I guess some people are just unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, although there’s a much higher probability of that being the case in the US.

Another photo here of me running on the highway in the Big Sur region of California. How could anyone not enjoy running in such a place. Although there are two cars behind, one overtaking, there was remarkably little traffic on this road most of the time.

On This Day

Jan 9, 2012

Distance today = 59.05 km; Total distance = 451.03 km; Location = Oamaru, NZ –  45 06′ 19.66″′ S, 170 57′ 20.84″ E; Start time = 0838, Finish time = 1705.

Another day at the office, and if only the whole world could have this sort of office experience on a daily basis. Superb scenery and running conditions. I’m being spoiled, and I’m sure it won’t always be this good throughout the run around the world. I’m going to enjoy it while I can.

The only negative was that I missed a turn in town when I arrived and ran 440 metres which I can’t count in my mileage distance. I have subtracted the 220 metres the Garmin logged before I realised my mistake and turned off the watch. Oh well, it could have been a lot worse. I’m sure I will make many more mistakes and have to discount a lot more distance than that somewhere along the way in this adventure.

That’s the nature of this sort of run. Too many people have cheated in the past when doing ultra runs of this magnitude. It’s my intention to be as squeaky clean as is humanly and technologically possible, and will be only counting distance that qualifies strictly under the rules. I’d rather miss out on a few hundred metres here or a few kilometres there, than know in myself that I counted distance that I shouldn’t have.

A big thank you to the Pen-y-Bryn Lodge in Oamaru for putting us up tonight. It’s a magnificent establishment, and I’d recommend anyone travelling in the region to stay here. Check it out on www.penybryn.co.nz.