Running Journal June 30th - July 13th

On Long Island it is the summer and many high school and college runners are involved in the base training for next years seasons. It is known as the 100 days of running, and the goal is to run 1000 miles for that time period, which is 10 miles a day. I have partaken in the annual SJB summer mileage challenge, you watch the progress of the SJB athletes as the run miles over the summer each with a different goal at hand.

Last year I set my goal at 1000 miles and I got there for the first time ever. This year I am taken part in it again and have set my standards a little higher 1100 miles. This will also be added difficulty because I am here in NZ and it is winter and we are currently in XC season and shortly will be in Road season, so I will be logging miles amongst the races that I run.

To check out SJB progress go to http://www.coachwood.org/

Monday June 30th - AM 4 PM 8 felt good on both runs, a little sore in my calves, that is from my workout on saturday.

Tuesday July 1st - 10 plus 6 strides, legs are coming right feeling good for tomorrows WO

Wednesday July 2nd - 3 wu/cd 25 minute tempo at goal half marathon race pace(520) ran out on the roads and felt pretty good. the loop had some solid ups and downs that helped me concentrate and broke it up. took 3 min rest then ran 5x100 in 15 seconds. felt really good getting the legs moving at the end of a long hard effort. 12 miles total

Thursday July 3rd - AM 4 PM 11 felt good on both runs, no complaining here.

Friday July 4th - 10 and 3x strides hip starting to act up a little, stretched it and iced it really well.

Saturday July 5th - 3 wu/cd 4xmile with 230 rest. hip was feeling good so I decided to go and do the workout. 501, 500, 459, 501 felt pretty good real stiff head wind that I had to fight. 11 miles total

Sunday July 6th - 15 mile long run at Huka Falls in Taupo, it was an awesome go to run with the boys from Scottish it was cool.

Week Miles - 85 miles

Summer Mileage - 501 in week 6

Monday July 7th - AM 4 PM 8 felt good on both runs, no complaints again

Tuesday July 8th - 8 miles, cut run a little short was feeling real weak and tired, trip away might be hitting. deciding to take a little bit of a mileage step back to get legs under me again.

Wednesday July 9th - 3 wu/cd 6x800 and 1x200 all out. Goal was to run 224-227 but the weather was just not nice and I ran 230 230 231 225 230 226 had 2 min rest which worked out well, felt pretty heavy the whole way fighting to keep pace.

Thursday July 10th - 11 miles no AM run, felt alright nothing flash, just trying to get the legs back under me.

Friday July 11th - 8 miles felt real heavy, hopefully the legs will come back under me for tomorrows workout.

Saturday July 12th - Another crap day for a workout 3wu/4cd felt real heavy did 25 min tempo at 522 average, but i was fighting it the whole way, made the pace seem so much faster than it was. 11 miles total

Sunday July 13th - 14 miles felt better as the run went on. still feeling pretty crap but the legs are starting to come back under me.

Total Week Miles - 75

Summer Miles Week 7 - 576

Now we are over half way through and I am ahead of my goal of 1100 miles for the summer. Just keep up the good work and I will see the goal fly by soon. Got some 5ks coming up and then the real road season kicks off with Auckland Road Champs, a 10k and then after that the races keep coming, all culminating at the NZ Half Marathon Champs in November.

Here is that video from Taupo that I promised everyone. The full length feature called Taupo 2008: Put Your Gloves On Hope you enjoy.

Recapping the Birthday Mayhem

Now that the 40 hour birthday is over and the birthday bash weekend is over where do I begin to recap. Shall I just go in order from the start of the weekend till the end? That sounds like it would be the best option and easiset for everyone to follow the activities.
-Day One Friday 11 July 2008-
I had to work so I did that I got done as quickly as I could. Then I rushed home to go online and talk to the family. Had a brief chat with them, then went for a run. Leo came home from work early so we could go and do something. Leo's neice and sister are here visiting at the moment. We planned to go luge-ing, however it is raining like it always does in the winter in Auckland. So we bagged that idea and went to ten-pin bowling aka bowling.
The bowling alley was tiny and consisted of 12 lanes and some arcade games. With that being said the place was still empty. There was a birthday party going on in the corner of the alley and that was about it. We decided that we would bowl two games. That runs you 17 bucks for adults not too pricey and the show rental is included in that price so it makes it even better. The crew that decided to go bowling was Kaylee (Leo's Neice) Eveline (Leo's sister) Nat (Leo's brother) Leo and I. The one problem was that the bumpers had to be put up to help the neice. No worries for me, that doesnt affect me.
I cant remember the last time that I went bowling, Wii bowling doesnt count. After playing Wii bowling you forget how hard actual bowling is. The first game was used as a semi serious semi warm up that I won with a 121 bowling score. Nat was the only other to break 100 points, a milestone for amatuers like us! The second was full on serious and everyone (- Kaylee) came out guns a blazing. In the end it was down to Nat and I again... I rolled a 142 to win the second game and once again other than Nat and I no one else broke the milestone mark of a hundy.
Standings Wins Loses
Mike Petrina 2 0
Joy Family 0 2
After the bowling we headed to the Joy house for some dinner and some dessert. We had a great big meal and then had heaps of dessert, My favorite! They had a cake for me, which was yummy, they sang Happy Birthday and I received a gifts from Eveline, Kaylee and the rest of the Roberts family and a gift from Mr. and Mrs Joy. That was greatly appreciated. I also received a parcel that my family sent me with tons of things that reminded me of home. 3 Musketeers, Gatorade, Circus Peanuts, Granola, Candy, and a few other things. That was the best of all, and I enjoy the luxurious found in America in New Zealand.
After filling up we headed back to our flat. We were having a sleepover with Kaylee. The next morning we are planning to get up and go to Rainbows End, New Zealands primetime amusement park (Adventureland...pretty much), of course we also have to watch the weather.
--Day Two Saturday 12 July 2008--
We woke up and we made some pancakes, the girls made the batter and I cooked it up. The request was for some Mickey pancakes. After years of practice and an Aunt whom is overly obsessed with Mickey it comes easy to me. The pancakes we enjoyed with lemon and sugar, something that I never heard of until that. I tried it and was quit suprised at how yummy the pancakes tasted. So if you ever get the chance try the pancakes with lemon and sugar.
After brekkie we got dressed and headed out. We decided against Rainbows End as the weather looked like rain at any moment. We decided to try the luge again. We got to the luge early did five rides of the track. There are three different tracks, scenic, moderate and fast. All get you up to decent speed some have more turns than others. Scenic is the most curvy and you need to take your time in and out of the turns. Moderate starts you with a wicked slope building up heaps of speed and brings you into some nice turns. The fast track was closed for the day but it is pretty much a steep down hill run with minimal turns.It did start to drizzle while we were at the luge but the track was still open, just a little more slick than normal. We will have to go back when grip is at the best to race down at full speed to get the real feel for the track. We also had Kaylee with us who was tall and big enough to go by herself for the first time. So we had to make sure she was safe at all times. On our last run we all started together and we were being trailed by some little punk that was trying to get around us. Now we didnt know how Kaylee would handle the pressure of someone next to them. I tried to block the little punk out by riding next to Leo and try and take up as much of the track as possible. Not only was the kid a punk he was also a dirty driver. For god shake we are there to have fun, not end up in the hospital. The punk bumped and nosed his way past Leo and I and then he crusised past Kaylee. Towards the end of the track we were coming around a sharp turn and there was the little punk facing the wroung way because he spun out on the wet track. Kaylee laughed as the three of us passed him. He was out of his cart pushing it to face the right way. We got our last run in just in time as the rain started to pour down.
After the Luge we met up with Eveline to drop off Kaylee with them. Leo and I then went for our runs and then headed back to our flat. We had the Opshop concert to head to that night. Those are the tickets that I won in that contest from work that I may have told you about a few blog posts ago.
The doors opened at 7:30 for the concert, and it was located about a mile from our flat. The Bruce Mason Thearte is a small theatre used for a variety of things. I dont know how many people can fit into the theatre but it is a nice intimite setting. We had pretty good seats, I dont think there is a bad seat in that place, Row K right on the aisle, Seats 1 & 2. The show was being opend by Luke Thompson a Kiwi musical artist. I never heard any of his music but it was pretty good and he was pretty entertaining. Making several jokes and getting the crowd involved with him. He kept saying "Opshop is sorry but they are not going to be able to make it." A few people yelled out in disgust but he eventually told us that he was joking.
Luke played a nice 40 minute set that was enjoyable. He had some songs that sounded like Southern Plantation music and he kept referencing the American South for these songs. Yes he was playing a harmonica (Just like the one that Christian Rojas played for Hurricane Petrina at Cross Country meets). After he played there was a intermission and then Opshop was to come on the stage.
The theatre darkened and Opshop exploded onto the stage opening with a high engergy song properly named "Big Energy, Little Space". They played everyone of their songs with high energy! Opshop interacted with the crowd and did a sweet as cover of the Police's "Message in a Bottle". Right before their "last song" the lead singer did exactly that, put up quote symbols as he said "Last Song". Which ment they we coming back out for an encore, which is awesome because they hadnt played a few on my favorite songs. They finished that "last song" and ran off stage.
The crowded stood and clapped for a solid two minutes and then Opshop explode back on stage. When the lights on the stage came up, Opshop were in black suits and singing "One Day", their extremely popular and awesome song. This was a big to do as they had a female back up singer come on stage and they aslo had a full wind instument section appear on stage to accompany the band. As the song ended and the stage cleared the band members asked eachother what they were going to play next and then they broke out into a random frenzy of Billie Jean, and after the chores they cut the song short. After the next song they invited Luke Thompson onto the stage to sing a song with them. They have been writing songs about the cities that they have been playing and they did the same for the Bruce Mason crowd. They sang the East Coast Bays song that they had written only minutes before the show. It was awesome as. They then played three more songs and left on a high energy note rocking out hardcore before they ran off stage.
The concert was "Wicked Awesome" and I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a great concert. Opshop is the name of the band, look them up, download their music and enjoy!
---Day Three 13 July 2008---Woke up on Sunday to a beautiful morning. We went for our long run, had some brunch and headed out towards the Joy's. On the way we stopped to take some photos of Auckland city from a pedestrian over pass of the motorway. The view of the city from this location is prime and wanted some shots of it. After that we arrived at the Joy's where the Air Riffle was out and we were shooting at a target. It turned into a little competetion, best out of three shots, closet to the bulls eye wins. We were laying down while shooting and I easily won this competition. I calculated that I hadnt picked up a riffle in almost seven years but it was no issue as I was quick to get the touch back. Then we did one shot standing up, closest to the center wins. I lost this competition by 3 millimeters. Then the 22 riffle was taken out and we had a first to hit a bulls eye wins, and AGAIN I won that competition as I hit the center like a true marksmen.
Score after Five contests
Wins Loses
Mike Petrina 4 1
Joy Family 1 4Leo had been telling me that some of the sheep had lambs, and we should go and have a look for some. So we went out into the property and found the lambs straight away, I took some video and pics of them from a distance. If you get too close they run away and you dont get to see them. We were out in the property for a bit and then headed back to the house.
We then dined on nibbles, whcich are snack foods.We enjoyed BurgerRings, Rashuns, Twisties, TrailMix, FairyBread, Pebbles, Jaffas, PartyMix, PineappleLumps, Cheese and Pineapple, MallowPuffs, CheesCornChips, Chips and dips(Capsicum and Spinach Feta Cheese) Nuts, Ginger Beer and Orange Lemon Schwepps.
It was a grand feast, and they we had dessert which was Brandy Snaps, Jelly and a cake that I cannot think of the name right now so I will get back to you on that. After dessert we played an intense and frustratting game of Chinese Checkers. I did not win, after helping a few of the opponents I was hung out to dry when push came to shove. Which is fine be me and I understand. My awesomeness needed to be crushed and the only way was to play a game of Chinese Checkers. I am also okay with the defeat because I won at pretty much everything else. Leaving the final tally at.
Wins Loses
Mike Petrina 4 2
Joy Family 2 4
I opened more gifts, another from the Joy's, Bart and Cindy, Nat and Rebecca and another from Leo. It was a great birthday, minus the shit weather. I had a great time. However it doesn't beat the summer birthdays back on good ole LI.
Thank You to everyone that sent me emails, e-cards, Facebook messages, etc. Thanks for all the gifts and the thoughts of happiness for me on my birthday, it was all greatly appreciated!

Keep a look out for a movie that shows my doings on my birthday weekend.

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