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This week I was supposed to take it easy. It is going to be a recovery week for me.

So Monday, I went to the Minoru Track to try to just jog laps but gave up after 3 laps. I stopped because I felt so lethargic and tired. Little did I know I had the same old intestinal blockage I get every now and then. I fell quite ill and spent the next couple of days recovering.

I am better now, and I decided to start running again today.  I started off cautiously, after all, my belly is still quite sore and I had not been eating well.  I tried the same 3.36 mile circuit around the neighborhood block and came away with another best time.  It was over 1 minute better than my previous best.

Frankly I could have gone faster but reminded myself that this is supposed to be a recovery week!  Next week, I push … this week, I take it easy.

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Arkensen is still sore from the run two days ago and he decided not to join me today. He has a sore ankle and he’s complaining that his head hurt. I think it’s from the constant jolts which he was not used to. Key thing about running is not to push oneself too much until there are pain!

So, I ran by myself today and decided to do a slightly longer run. It was not very far but as far as distance is concerned, I am past half way mark to 10km. I did 44 minutes over a distance of 5.4 km (3.3 miles).

I am encouraged from the run today. There are still work ahead for sure and am not near the 60 minute 10K run I am working towards. But from my fitness level, it is a far cry from what I was capable of just two months ago.

I think I better take it easy next week and take a step back from running longer distances. It’s about time I take it easy and before forging on again.

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Did I tell you that already? My two boys, Arkensen and Nanzaro, had also signed up for the Vancouver Sun Run. Yup, they are going to do 10K too, like their dad. Frankly, I am not sure if they will have the determination to train for it but time will tell.

I want to encourage them to run too and I think I am getting successful in coming along with me and going for it. I will only ask if they are interested to run with me … if they want to great, if not, I let it go. I think my determination is rubbing on to them.

Today, Arkensen ran with me on a 3 mile course around the neighborhood. Actually, this is the second time that he had ran with me. I remember the first time a month ago, he outran me over 2 miles. But hey, today, he had a hard time keeping up that he had to walk the last 1/4 mile.

Despite having to walk with him the last 1/4 mile, we managed to do it in 42 minutes 45 seconds. That is an improvement for me. I felt really good after the ran and could have gone a bit further. I won’t push it. At this stage I am still ahead of the training program and I still have time.

I enjoyed the run more so because it is a good bonding time with him. On the run, we talked about some stuff … like setting goals and going for it. I told him about my goal next week to go under 40 minutes (preferably 38 minutes) next week … I hope he will be running with me then.

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I was really glad it’s the end of the week. It was a really hectic week with lots of meetings and hardly anytime at all to do real work. Good thing is that I had managed to pared down my unopened email list from 16 pages (pages, not emails!) to 3 pages. That took a while.

It is Friday and was supposed to be the last day of sunshine. Despite the sun the past few days the air had been very chilly with temperature below zero at night. The weather forecast did say that it will snow on the weekends and the sun will go into hiding for at least a week.

So, I got home and feeling weary from the day in the office, had dinner (yummy, rice and pork chop!) and then promptly put on my running shoes for a run around the neighborhood.

I know, I said I will run what the physiotherapist prescribed. But halfway into the run, I felt good and went on a longer route. Man, running is great. In all, I had run 3.06 miles in 45 minutes. OK, I know, the time is lousy and way below my aim to do 10K in 60 minutes. I still have time to catch up … the Sun Run is not until April.

The right knee are still pretty good … not great, but good. I can still feel tension after the run but it’s alright after I rested it.

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I really felt good today. It had been another long day at work but yet when I got home, I got this itch to go out for a run. This is despite that I ran yesterday and it was freezing tonight — 1 Celsius.

The cold had never bothered me when I run because I wear warmly and does heat up quite fast. I used to cycle over 40 km to and from work in winter in colder temperature but it was OK even though the wind could get very cold.

It’s not that I ran very far as far as other runners go, but for me 2.15 miles around the neighborhood was pretty far for me. It took me 30 mins 42 secs which was pretty good. The fastest I had done on this route was 27+ mins. I just need another run or two to get down to that time.

But … my right knee does feel the strain. It was quite OK when I ran but when I stopped, I can feel that wobbliness on the knees. First thing I did when I got home was to quickly apply an ice pack. It felt OK now but I’ll see how it’ll feel tomorrow.

No run tomorrow for me. Suanne and I have a dinner date. We reserved a table on Grouse Mountain’s Observatory.

Maybe I should follow my physiotherapist’s advice … I think I’ll just do what was prescribed on Friday: Run 5 mins, walk 1 min x 30 minutes.

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