6.6 Km Night Run

Tonight, I decided to go for another run. I was a bit sore from yesterday’s run, but I need to train, so I told my wife that I was going out. She said that she would join me. I was surprised, but liked having company.

We took the same riverside route. It was along the Xindian river until the Huajhong bridge. It took me 18:30 to get there and I completed 6.6 km in 35:07. It’s slower than yesterday, but I wasn’t surprised. It was hard keeping accurate time yesterday. Today, it was more focused. We took some breaks, but we did well. I felt that I was dragging more bulk along and that my legs were sore. Not very sore, but slightly sore. Cardio-wise, it’s not a problem. I don’t feel exhausted or winded afterward. That means that my bike training was worth it.

The path was fine. There were a few drops before we started, but it didn’t deter me from going for it. This week, I’ll stick to this distance. It’s fine. The next step is going for 11.4 km runs instead of the 6.6km. I have to be careful not to overdo it. I tend to overdo training and add too many miles. I shouldn’t add more than 10%, however it’s not like I’m a novice runner. I ran all of last year and I know my limits. Towards November of last year, I was having no trouble going out for 10-15 km at a time. My goal has always been to stick to 5min per km. Anything better and I’d be really happy.

Maybe you don’t know this, but I went from 210 lbs to 165 last year. I lost 35 lbs within 2 months and that was just by changing my diet. The rest of the weight melted away while I ran in the sweltering Taiwanese heat last summer. It’s not something hard, but it takes determination to do this by yourself. Which is why I like running with other people. Most of the time, I ran with people who ran faster. This is motivating. It pushes you further.

It’s just a matter of circumstance why I stopped biking. I’ll start again, but I was pushing myself to lose weight. In my opinion, bikers need to be slim so that they can be fast. That’s what I want to do with myself. Anything between the 155-165 lbs range and I’ll be happy. I did it last year, so I know it’s possible. Also, I’ve gotten a lot of experience in endurance training. One of the reasons why I stopped running was because of my right knee. I was really sore after each run. That’s why I started cycling in June. I really got into cycling though, I really like it.

Anyway, the next step is getting a road bike. I’m not sure that it’s feasible to take my bike to school. I am usually running late and I need to get to school fast. I’ve got it down to 10 minutes.

I definitely feel that the runs are more of a workout than my bike rides. I still want to train for cycling, but it puts things in perspective. It’s important to cross train in order to stay fit. On Wednesday, I can have a lunch hour run at the track at school.