Gosh! Feeling Upbeat

Today: 7 kms

This week: 23 kms

I ran four times this week, thus being an exceptional week, given my work/life schedule. Invariably things will change in coming weeks but I will start building up mileage early in the year so it shall be not long when I get out on a Sunday morning (circumstances permitting) and run 20+ kms.

I would like to remain optimistic that this year I will consolidate running long distances relatively early leading to a race/competition. My particular interest resides in one long distance run per week, which I propose to use as a mechanism to review the week and sort out my thoughts and action plan.

For this week the territory I covered in my runs was pretty much the Brighton-St Kilda area. URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=620309.

This evening I started my run at 9pm from North Road and the temperature was 33 degrees Celsius! As I passed the Elwood beach, there were so many people having picnics and playing in the beach. It was as if there was a festival. Fortunately there were no many people with dogs obstructing the paths…! (by now it should be pretty clear that I am not a pet lover). Paradoxically as I progressed to St Kilda, the crowd changed… more couples and less family-oriented like in the Elwood area. On my return I stopped at Ormond Point to drink water and to stretch for five minutes. As I am returning to running after suffering from shin splints I have introduced a ‘stretch stop’ to minimise any potential injury. I have also become more disciplined in having ice pack on both of my legs for ten minutes after a run.

One thing I noticed this evening was that I did not start running so eagerly as I usually do and I think this helped me to stay really upbeat all the way to the finish. This is rather unusual because I frequently think of quitting running half way through. I also felt I was running more at ease than previous occasions – but it could mean that I have stayed away from having unnecessary biscuits and cakes when having coffee / tea in the office and drinking very little alcohol (although today I had a Bombay sapphire gin and tonic!).

I continue to walk five minutes prior and after the run. I am also doing religiously a set of stretches. Hope this is going to be a regular practice for weeks to come.

Depending on my activities this weekend I may have opportunity to go to The Tan for a run.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Today: 6 kms
This week: 16 kms

There was a miracle… I was not expecting to go out for a run today but it happened. I ran 6kms, starting at 6.30AM and it felt hot already. I felt suffocated and had to stop regularly to drink water. One thing that I have noticed is that there is not a visible water fountain between Ormond Point and St Kilda (unless these are hidden between the bushes). Anyone who runs regularly between Brighton to Ricketts Point will notice water fountain at different points, there are not many around St Kilda.

USA Politics: Democrats in Control of Congress

Following on the mid term elections in the USA last November 2006, the Democrats are now in control of the USA Congress. This means that there is going to be a shift in the USA foreign policy, with the most obvious change occurring in coming week, it is the way the USA will tackle the worsening situation in Iraq.

The new 110^th Congress convened on this date and the new democratic leadership has vowed to introduce a bill to raise the minimum wage to US$7.25 per hour. Why do I mention this…? It is because those dishwashers, fast food cooks, and other unskilled workers will benefit. Those people are usually migrants and they often use a fair amount of their meagre income to send remittances to their home countries. Republicans are expected to block the bill increasing minimum wages.

And another thing… John Negroponte (the Director of Intelligence and former Ambassador to Honduras during the years of conflict in Central America in the 1980s) has been appointed Deputy to Dr Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State.

John Negroponte was the USA Ambassador in Honduras between the years of 1981 and 1985. During one year of that period I lived in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras. I do remember that Negroponte was a name given to a number of a few new babies born during that period. The USA Ambassador usually plays an important role in the life of any small country. It is argued that John Negroponte down played human rights abuses in Honduras.

More information about the USA Congress:

http://www.house.gov/