Month: June 2010

Duck Dive


Any breaking wave over approximately two feet requires that you duck under the wave rather than attempt to paddle over it. ” Honestly, duck-diving wasn’t something I learned until I had surfed for a couple of months.

As you approach an oncoming wave while paddling, try to have as much speed as possible. About 4 foot before making contact with the white water, grab both rails (side edges of board) halfway between the nose and midpoint of your board. Push all your upper body weight onto your hands and arms until you feel the nose begin to go under. Point your head down and let your body follow.

Once your body is just below the surface, push down with knee (or foot if a longer board) to push the tail under the water also. Your momentum should thrust you under the quickly passing wave and only require you to be under water for a short time. As the wave passes let the flotation of your board lift you to the surface. If you get it right you pass through the wave – if you get it wrong you feel it sucking you backwards to the beach.

Now you have the skill to paddle to the lineup or to the next wave and duck under it.

Thinking of a race


There’s a 10km race next week the day I fly out of this dustbowl – 6am start and I think I have to leave for airport at 9am so that should give me enough time to travel, run, shower and eat before I leave. 10km run and haven’t done one for a while so this morning I set my alarm for 6am (after a late night watching the USA-Ghana game)

round the lakes

Not so hot today but was already 30 degrees …. never went quickly just put the miles under my belt. Wasn’t really looking at the Garmin HRM as I ran only afterwards – my lap times pretty consistent (after the first one where I was still waking up) so I guess I was definitely  in my cardio zone groove.

consistent split times

Might hit the gym tonight – trying to make sure I do an hour a day on the bike in preperation for my 10hr marathon mtb race relay next week. Should be good fun.

Saturday Run


‘The good news is that it’s a lovely day, the bad news is that the temp is already 94F …’ this was at 6:40am and the race was due to start at 7am. Started my watch 100m in so left it running for 15 sec at the end – prob a bit more on distance.

Heart Rate and Speed

Today was hot and I struggled around the normal 5km course (which included a finish running up the hill – OUCH thats got to hurt)

t-shirt time for the first 300

Apart from a loose shoelace and about 10 seconds lost retying it – the race went well. That last hill was bad passed 3 on that bit alone and came in 19th – one of the chaps that I passed was about to ‘chunky chuckle’ – he didn’t look very happy.

Sportypal has a nice 3D view

Sportypal

RunMonster App Review


Tried out the free version of this software the other day and I must admit I like it
Shows a map of where you are running although in UK this was a bit slow to load (in comparison to maps from google etc) but not slow enough to be a problem for running.
mapping page

What is interesting about the data it feedbacks is that you can swipe the map left or right – which doesnt change the map but rather the stats shown. There are 3 stat screens which overlay ….. here is one showing elapsed time calories and elevation.

showing calories burnt
Or you can skip the map completely
table stat view
Think this may be better than Runkeeper for me but every runner has their pet likes and dislikes.
THEIR   BLURB
RunMonster Pro is the premiere app for recording your workouts using your iPhone’s GPS. RunMonster shows your time, pace, distance, and calories burned as you exercise, all overlaid on a beautiful custom map. The Pro version adds audio feedback, seamless music integration, and interactive visualizations to provide the best exercise experience for iPhone.

RunMonster Pro features:

✭ Hear your workout statistics read aloud during your workouts
✭ Customize the announcement interval and select which stats you would like to hear
✭ See gorgeous, interactive visualizations of your workout data
✭ Control your music library without leaving RunMonster
✭ Use gestures to easily switch between songs as you exercise
✭ See your pace for each song you listened to during your workout

You also get all these great features available in the free version of RunMonster:

✭ Record your runs, walks, and bike rides using your iPhone’s built-in GPS
✭ Check your stats, including distance, pace, time, and calories burned, at any point during your workout
✭ See a live Google Terrain View map of your route
✭ Let RunMonster intelligently name your workouts based on nearby street names
✭ Watch as RunMonster automatically groups together similar workouts
✭ Let RunMonster automatically detect whether you ran, biked, or walked
✭ Examine your splits and other detailed statistics after you’ve finished a workout
✭ View your full workout history on your phone, grouped by week or route
✭ Relax as your workouts are backed up automatically to RunMonster.com
✭ Export your workouts via email

Army Day 7km Run


5am out of bed … why do I do this. Grabbed a small bite to eat and glugged some water then went over to Liberty Base. Today is hot, far hotter than I like. Nearly 7am (the start) and the temp is already mid 30’s C

baghdad army day 7km run

We started and I was leading for all of 500m – very strange for me not to see people in front of me … didn’t last that long and by 2km in I was down to to the 20’s in position. My pace was slowing quick so I started ticking off the things that could be slowing me down …. jetlag … heat …. slight cold hanging on ….. no running for the past 3 weeks …. all bad.

Half way through I took some water at the feed station and threw the rest of the water on my head – that felt a lot better.

Sped up towards the end and passed a few that were burnt out and cramped.

Not the best run but still better than being pistol whipped by the Mujihadeen.

And another t-shirt