Sunday is my fun day

            
           "Sunday is my fun day, my 'I dont have to run' day..."

For me, the lyrics from the Bangles 1980 pop hit are only partially right-  Sunday is my fun day but that's because it is my run day. I look forward to Sunday every week - It's my day for either completing events or for doing a 'long' run or ride. Its my fun day.

I love the 'long' sessions. Yes, the weekday training sessions are good for improving my fitness and are tiring and satisfying, but its the Sunday long sessions that are fun. It's the day I find out how my endurance fitness is progressing and it's the day I'm reminded of how much I love going long.

2010 will be remembered as the year I also discovered I actually like doing 'events' on Sundays. I used to think the fun was in the training, and the events were just there to establish a fitness level. But not so. I like 'doing' events  - the anticipation, the preperation, the early morning starts in the dark, the social aspects of waiting at the start and during the event itself, the great feeling of finishing, and the after-glow of the following week and sometimes months. I've done quite a few events this year, and I've enjoyed all of them. Each one is a strong memory in my mind.

True, I've been dissappointed after each one - happy to have completed the challenge, dissappointed I wasn't competitive. Its now time to build a training plan that will make me competitive in 2011. This seems like a natural progression for the 'Improbable Dream' journey and its getting me excited. I'll tell you more later (when I work it out!!)

The last two Sundays have been 'event' days - the last for the year. A fortnight ago I rode the 'Brisbane to the Gold Coast' challenge. Despite a headwind, I rode strongly. I was happy with my riding technique- I used a high cadence, was strong up the hills, and needed only a few 'rests'. I wanted to be faster but was happy I felt strong the whole way.  Did the 100kms non stop in under four hours, an average of over 25kph which was good considering the headwind. I also haven't done much riding since Melbourne so I was happy with the results. I'm sure I will do better in my riding events next year.

Last Sunday I ran the 'Movember Mousdash' 10.5km Mt Coot-tha Challenge. I still can't run strongly up hills so I fast hiked up the hill and ran most of the rest. Finished in 1hr 16minutes which isn't too bad considering I did the 10km Bridge to Brisbane in 1hr 4min earlier in the year. Lots of people did it much faster - including people in my own age - but again  I learnt a lot, and I'm sure I will do better next year. Funny thing - I hiked past a lot of people who were supposedly 'running'. Bet they weren't happy! The other pleasing thing is the photos of the event show me running with good form - a lot different from the early  2010 photos.

For both events my average heart rate was in the 120-130 range, indicating my 'long' fitness is getting better.

These last two events have reinforced what I started to learn earlier in the year. They taught me how to compete, and they will help me to do better next time. I learnt there's a right mental attitude to approaching an event, to selecting the right pace during the event, to understanding how to address motivation, and in how to deal with the dissappointment of not doing as strong as expected. I haven't learnt how to do this, just what I need to do.

Soon, I will work out my events for next year, then train specifically for them. I will look forward to each event, and make sure I am prepared. I will look forward to my 'fun' event days in 2011.

And in the meantime, over the summer, I will enjoy my Sunday training days, my long days, my weekly 'fun days'. Yep, my 'I want to run day'.

More later, journey on

James