Almost to plan

I know from past attempts at fitness programs, that the most important factor for my motivation is a training buddy. It just makes it more fun! Going to the gym with Mandy made us more competitive, spurred us on to try different things, and was a great chance to catch up on the week's gossip.

So, I've managed to convince (well, I'd prefer to say inspire) one of the other girls in the office, Sussanah, to pull out her running shoes, and come along for the short runs before work. She lives on the other side of the river, so it's a bit of a logistical effort, but I do get to hang out at her place afterwards for a coffee and be greeted at the door with a giggle and a smile from her 1 year old son, Josh.

Mark is also back from his trip to Australia, so I've been joining him for the longer runs.

Crossing the Tuul River bridge

I did mean that I fitted in a few extra sneaky 30min jogs this week! Otherwise, the first two weeks of the training plan have run almost to schedule.

This morning I completed my second long run of the program. Running is a great reason to discover new places, so today I headed south, across the bridge over the Tuul River then turned right towards Bella Vista. For the past few months I've been intending on heading up to the Zaisan memorial, and after the 30min jog from the Diplomat, it was a good time for a break.

The memorial was a nice surprise! It was a bit of a trek up the stairs, but at the top there is a beautiful circular monument with views over UB and a Russian mosaic commemorating the armed forces. Luckily it was a beautiful clear day, so there were great views looking back to the mountains and Zaisan, then scanning around to the city.

Stairs didn't provide much of a "break"

A bit red faced, but a great detour on my run

I didn't rest for too long and headed back down the stairs to complete the loop back into the city. It looks like I was a bit tired by the end, as I caught an outcrop of pavement and went for a spectacular spill, which was definitely not part of my plan. Was a good test of my first aid kit, but not to worry, I have a good supply of band-aids.

Coming up next week:

Tuesday - speed session 6 x 1min, 1 min rest
Thursday - core
Friday - 40min base
Sunday - 70min base