Back from a 14k run and still dark
It’s only 5 weeks to go to the Run Melbourne event and I thought it was time for an update. I have been training hard and putting in some bigger kilometres to try to get as race ready as I can. It’s interesting how this year has been quite different to last year. I feel stronger and fitter and I believe I am feeling the benefit of being one year older (in running years) which is the opposite to actual years. They say as a runner you take years to build your base. Another year of base building is something I can see helping a lot, this time around. I guess it’s not too dissimilar to working life, in that the more years of experience you gain, the more efficient and skilled you become and tasks get easier.
It’s also encouraging to see some milestones occur as I progress. This month I have achieved two and there is still time to expand on these. The first milestone I reached last week, when I looked at my stats and found I had my biggest mileage week ever at 64kms in one week. Not a lot by some people’s standards but for me it’s a good breakthrough because I am also feeling fit and have no signs of injury or fatigue. The second milestone is the most kms I have run in one month. Previously my biggest month was 202kms in one month. Today after my 14km 5.30am run I clocked in at 209.64kms for the month, again more delighted that I feel strong and full of energy. Tomorrow I plan to do a bigger run with a 15km warmup run then an all out track session, looking to break my personal best in the 5km (while on tired legs). It could be a complete disaster but my philosophy in running is much like my philosophy in life – prepare, test, analyse and improve. Tomorrow is one of those test and analysis sessions to assess my progress to ensure I am on track.
I get asked a lot about the cold and running at this time of year. The coldest run I have had in the past few months is the run I did while in Canberra on a year six school camp. That morning it was minus 2 degrees! But as I’m sure you know, Melbourne can also turn on the cold. I have run quite often in 1 or 2 degrees over the past month. I tell people I don’t mind the cold because it is easier to put the right clothes on to stay warm; long pants, long sleeves and my trusty beanie. But when it’s very hot, you just melt. Even running with only shorts on you can’t get away from the heat. So the cold is better than the heat and 10 degrees is a perfect temperature (although some will not agree with that).
Looking at my fundraising page https://runmelbourne2017.everydayhero.com/au/ebs I note that since I started my fundraising I have now completed 908.3k’s of training. Not a bad effort and by the day of the run, I’m sure it will be much more. I am working hard to help raise awareness and funds for the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI also known as ‘Jeans for Genes’). I really appreciate the support from everyone. Not only have people been fantastic in providing donations, but I am also getting a lot of moral support and words of encouragement and that means a lot. It helps me get out of the door at 5.30am when I would rather roll over and go back to sleep. It helps me to push through and get that training block completed or make sure I get the extra 2 or 3 kms done when I feel like stopping. So thank you to everyone, thank you for helping me and EBS hold true to our values, helping the community which is very important to us, thank you for your donations and most of all thank you for your friendship and encouragement to help me stay the course. You should all be very proud of what we are doing together.
If you have not yet got behind me and wish to show your support, please feel free to send me an email with words of encouragement or even better put your money where your mouth is and drop me a donation on the page here. Donations can be made here, thank you.
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This post was written by Jonathan Martin, COO at Evolution Business Systems.
His expertise extends to software development, support, implementations and project management, he can envisage potential problems and identify them to improve the client experience and outcomes, like a mad scientist, behaviour, statistics and data are where he gets his insights from and lives by a golden rule to always start at the beginning as there are no shortcuts. Jonathan’s passion is to make a difference by assisting clients with their business problems.