So October is done, or at least I won't be doing anymore runs so time for a recap.
But first I've laid low the last 2 days, Sunday night I developed a scratchy throat which has extended itself somewhat so I have canned both Monday and Tuesday's sessions. Feeling somewhat ok at the moment but with less than 2 weeks to go the cotton wool is out and I am contemplating buying a big plastic bubble to live in for the next 10 days, certainly do not want to have another episode like I did at 6 foot so heaps of Garlic and vitamin C etc etc etc.
In non running related news I also spent last night at the Opera House watching our eldest participate in a schools extravaganza, great stuff and the talent of some of the kids on the night was mind boggling.
Summary for October
Distance 321km
Avg Pace 5:39
Total climb 2,700m
Only missed 7 days of running (2 of those being the last 2 of the month!) so certainly getting more consistent. The avg pace is skewed somewhat by Saturday's effort. Interestingly enough these stats are almost identical to January when I was prepping for 6 foot but only climbed 2000m
November will be a big one for obvious reasons but I'll also have (yet) another crack at the 10km PB on Saturday if the lurgy continues to fade away.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Intensity = right up there :)
With designated tasks this morning to optimise the DTI I had to bypass the flatish STaR but with daylight saving now in effect I slipped out this afternoon for a run to determine how much was really left in the legs after my bush sojourn yesterday.
So the course was my tempo route which I think I'll rename the "C2S prep" course given it's 14km distance and inclusion of some nice inclines. The legs in general felt quite good, with a bit of DOMs in areas not normally felt but also seemingly not normally used in "regular" running.
A little bit slower than my recent best effort over this route on fresh legs but right up there with other runs.
Distance 14.25
Time 1:06:25
Avg Pace 4:39
Avg HR 161
So I'll ease back a little this week with the 10km at Lane Cove and starting a taper for GNW. Speaking of which I did not do any practice mobile blogging but at different points there was enough of a signal so I'll be looking to pound out a few choice thoights as I do some of the climbs and when the signal is strong enough they will hopefully float through to the blog.
So the course was my tempo route which I think I'll rename the "C2S prep" course given it's 14km distance and inclusion of some nice inclines. The legs in general felt quite good, with a bit of DOMs in areas not normally felt but also seemingly not normally used in "regular" running.
A little bit slower than my recent best effort over this route on fresh legs but right up there with other runs.
Distance 14.25
Time 1:06:25
Avg Pace 4:39
Avg HR 161
So I'll ease back a little this week with the 10km at Lane Cove and starting a taper for GNW. Speaking of which I did not do any practice mobile blogging but at different points there was enough of a signal so I'll be looking to pound out a few choice thoights as I do some of the climbs and when the signal is strong enough they will hopefully float through to the blog.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
A walk with the dog
No sekrit about this training run as I was joined by Blue Dog for a recon run of part of the Great North Walk course, opting to tackle the section between CP#2 and CP#4. Last year this was the area where most people became navigationally challenged and also I will be doing at least part of this in fading light or complete darkness.
Thanks to my brother in law who dropped us off at Congewai so we could avoid prolonged car shuffling after the run. Straight away we were into it with a significant climb out of the valley up to the ridgeline, just under a 400m ascent!
From here it was some quite level running along the ridge, although a potentially
serious problem was averted when my camelbak sprouted a leak. Remembering what happened in January at the Black Stump I very quickly pulled the back pack off and held it upside down while extracting the bladder. Sure enough the hose had come undone, after a quick reattachment and the loss of thankfully only about half a litre all was fixed and we were off again. (note to self, secure hose with cable tie)
Eventually we got back to some singletrack for the winding descent down to Watagan Creek and said hello to a few cows as we crossed the creek and farmlands before tackling the climb back out of the valley. This one was more technical with very steep bits and serious ruts. As we contoured around the mountain we hit some more singletrack which was very scenic. Through here we saw our first goanna, eventually seeing seven, but thankfully none of their reptilian cousins that slither :)
One feature I noticed along a lot of these tracks was how soft underfoot they were, with a lot of leaf litter and sandy soil the impact on the legs was certainly diminished. The descent down towards the basin was certainly a bit trickier and the trail was hard to identify in places, certainly I would want to be through here before the light got too bad. Also identified the track intersection that a lot of people had problems with last year and you could see why, another great reason for the recon.
A joint decision between Blue Dog and myself to not do the in and out section to The Basin and so we started the climb out, again the trail was hard to follow in places. A short refueling stop at the top at the road junction before running along another ridgeline and then descending into Yarramalong Valley. This was more technical than I expected and than the map showed. Our final goanna spotting also through here and finally we popped out at the trail head with the cars waiting for us.
Stats
Distance 32.5km
Time 5:34
Total Climb 1300m
For interest here is the google earth view of the run
And here is the elevation profile
Thoughts
Very pleased to have done this run, it was a great way to get a good feel for the type of terrain that we will be racing across as well as the nature of at least 3 of the major climbs, which had a bit of mystique associated with them after last year. Also mentally tucked away a few areas for focus required in navigation. The legs have pulled up quite well which is pleasing since I really only did about a third of the course, however I calculate that around another 30 odd km will be run on flatter dirt roads etc, the unknown is the steeper stuff in the first 2 stages.....
Weekly Summary
Distance 95km
Time 10:33
Avg Pace 6:40 (was 4:48 before today!)
Thanks to my brother in law who dropped us off at Congewai so we could avoid prolonged car shuffling after the run. Straight away we were into it with a significant climb out of the valley up to the ridgeline, just under a 400m ascent!
From here it was some quite level running along the ridge, although a potentially
serious problem was averted when my camelbak sprouted a leak. Remembering what happened in January at the Black Stump I very quickly pulled the back pack off and held it upside down while extracting the bladder. Sure enough the hose had come undone, after a quick reattachment and the loss of thankfully only about half a litre all was fixed and we were off again. (note to self, secure hose with cable tie)
Eventually we got back to some singletrack for the winding descent down to Watagan Creek and said hello to a few cows as we crossed the creek and farmlands before tackling the climb back out of the valley. This one was more technical with very steep bits and serious ruts. As we contoured around the mountain we hit some more singletrack which was very scenic. Through here we saw our first goanna, eventually seeing seven, but thankfully none of their reptilian cousins that slither :)
One feature I noticed along a lot of these tracks was how soft underfoot they were, with a lot of leaf litter and sandy soil the impact on the legs was certainly diminished. The descent down towards the basin was certainly a bit trickier and the trail was hard to identify in places, certainly I would want to be through here before the light got too bad. Also identified the track intersection that a lot of people had problems with last year and you could see why, another great reason for the recon.
A joint decision between Blue Dog and myself to not do the in and out section to The Basin and so we started the climb out, again the trail was hard to follow in places. A short refueling stop at the top at the road junction before running along another ridgeline and then descending into Yarramalong Valley. This was more technical than I expected and than the map showed. Our final goanna spotting also through here and finally we popped out at the trail head with the cars waiting for us.
Stats
Distance 32.5km
Time 5:34
Total Climb 1300m
For interest here is the google earth view of the run
And here is the elevation profile
Thoughts
Very pleased to have done this run, it was a great way to get a good feel for the type of terrain that we will be racing across as well as the nature of at least 3 of the major climbs, which had a bit of mystique associated with them after last year. Also mentally tucked away a few areas for focus required in navigation. The legs have pulled up quite well which is pleasing since I really only did about a third of the course, however I calculate that around another 30 odd km will be run on flatter dirt roads etc, the unknown is the steeper stuff in the first 2 stages.....
Weekly Summary
Distance 95km
Time 10:33
Avg Pace 6:40 (was 4:48 before today!)
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Triple treat!
So after the hill session on Tuesday a recovery run around the oval Wednesday morning. Some work related delays saw me arrive at the Summer Series venue quite late and it was literally pay your money and start so no detailed course planning etc.
From the look of the map (once running) the lot did seem gettable but main concern was darkness rapidly descending. Accordingly I opted to drop the 2 outermost controls (near Timbrell) even though I was probably able to pick them up within 2-3 minutes. A couple of little oops' as I hurried along but was keeping a good pace and seemingly had some time up my sleeve. Thankfully I did as the last 10 minutes of running were pretty much dark and I spent a bit of time at a couple of controls that would have been very visible in daylight but more of a challenge in lower light levels.
Finally screamed back down the hill to the start with 570 points but my time up the sleeve had evaporated due to the light and I ended up being late by 15 seconds so ended up with 560 points. Alas the faster young guys were there tonight and Andrew Hill did collect the lot in just over 40 minutes which will drag down my actual points earned a little more :(
Stats
Distance 9.3km
Time 45:15
Avg Pace 4:52
Avg HR 169
Thursday morning
The legs felt a bit beat up but I headed down to the weir to see how fast I could knock out the 11km anyway. Once I was moving along it was not too bad but still a tad slowish. Saw Spud out on his bike again and caught up with him where he had parked near the caravan park on the way home where we had a bit of a chat re GNW strategy etc.
Stats
Distance 10.9 km
Time 51:26
Avg Pace 4:44
Avg HR 157
So thus ends three hard days in a row with the tempoish run today certainly a challenge on legs that I thrashed less than 12 hours earlier! A nice recovery run tomorrow and then a longer slower effort on Saturday with a recon run/walk over a good section of the GNW course that I will be probably covering in the afternoon/night during the actual race itself.
From the look of the map (once running) the lot did seem gettable but main concern was darkness rapidly descending. Accordingly I opted to drop the 2 outermost controls (near Timbrell) even though I was probably able to pick them up within 2-3 minutes. A couple of little oops' as I hurried along but was keeping a good pace and seemingly had some time up my sleeve. Thankfully I did as the last 10 minutes of running were pretty much dark and I spent a bit of time at a couple of controls that would have been very visible in daylight but more of a challenge in lower light levels.
Finally screamed back down the hill to the start with 570 points but my time up the sleeve had evaporated due to the light and I ended up being late by 15 seconds so ended up with 560 points. Alas the faster young guys were there tonight and Andrew Hill did collect the lot in just over 40 minutes which will drag down my actual points earned a little more :(
Stats
Distance 9.3km
Time 45:15
Avg Pace 4:52
Avg HR 169
Thursday morning
The legs felt a bit beat up but I headed down to the weir to see how fast I could knock out the 11km anyway. Once I was moving along it was not too bad but still a tad slowish. Saw Spud out on his bike again and caught up with him where he had parked near the caravan park on the way home where we had a bit of a chat re GNW strategy etc.
Stats
Distance 10.9 km
Time 51:26
Avg Pace 4:44
Avg HR 157
So thus ends three hard days in a row with the tempoish run today certainly a challenge on legs that I thrashed less than 12 hours earlier! A nice recovery run tomorrow and then a longer slower effort on Saturday with a recon run/walk over a good section of the GNW course that I will be probably covering in the afternoon/night during the actual race itself.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Internal Half and more
A very early start for Sunday due to a few things I had to do as part of organising the race. Gloomy skies, on and off drizzle and cooler temperatures were the go, an amazing difference from the furnace like conditions a week ago at Fitzroy Falls.
This Striders only race is a Half Marathon but with a handicap start with the goal (for me as handicaper) to have everyone finish at exactly the same time. But there are always people either faster or slower than documented form.
I had a handicap of 94, mainly based upon my SMH time with a difficulty scaling factor for the "tougher" Lane Cove course. As it turned out my only start line companion was Silver Fox but he was running with the pram. My initial goal was to go out fairly hard and see how long I could hold the tempo. I started hauling in the 95 group and had caught them all by halfway up the rangers hut hill the first time.
5km split of 22:03 (4:25 min/km)
Anthony W stayed with me up the hill but then I kept the pressure going on the downhill and he drifted back a little. The run back to the start area was pretty fast and I picked up quite a few more runners along here.
10km time of 43:24 which gives a 5km split of 21:21 (4:16 min/km)
Back up the course and Scribbly's felt a little harder the second time, caught quite a few people on the climb up to the rangers hut again but the legs were certainly hurting a bit now and still had Anthony W lurking back about 20-30m
15km time of 1:04:45 which gives a 5km split of 21:21 again (very consistent!)
Now the downhill run home and I just focussed on form and trying to hold off anyone who might be catching me. Hauled in Johnny Dark and a strong Redback along here.
20km time of 1:26:47 which gives 5km split of 22:02 (4:24 min/km)
As you can see the legs started to fade and Anthony and another runner I passed at about 19km hauled me in at 1km to go. I tried to hang on to them but just could not hold the pace.
Finish time was 91:31 which gives an average pace of 4:20 with an average HR of 174.
Very happy to post this time, just outside my SMH run, but I did not run a marathon the week before SMH! The legs pulled up pretty well Sunday afternoon and I was contemplating heading out for another run but stayed on the lounge until the thought passed!
Tuesday
Probably 2-3 too many glasses of red last night celebrating my sister in law's birthday and so I felt a bit ordinary in mind, spirit and even the legs were not that keen to get going this morning. So in my wisdom I trotted around to my hill rep route, surprisingly it has been about a month since my last hill rep session.
The first rep was maybe just a tad too fast but I ground out the 10 reps and was also pleasantly surprised once I downloaded the splits to see today's average was actually marginally quicker than my last session as I felt pretty rough through the run, not helped but what seemed a warmer day as well! Also sliced quite a bit (ie 5 seconds on average) off my recovery run back down the hill between reps!
Stats
10 reps, average 1:28.9 with average recovery of 1:44
Summer Series tomorrow night at Drummoyne so should be a pretty fast course, but I'll also slip in a recovery run tomorrow morning. In aother news my GNW 100k entry has been accepted so no backing out now, in fact will do a recon session on Saturday over part of the course.
This Striders only race is a Half Marathon but with a handicap start with the goal (for me as handicaper) to have everyone finish at exactly the same time. But there are always people either faster or slower than documented form.
I had a handicap of 94, mainly based upon my SMH time with a difficulty scaling factor for the "tougher" Lane Cove course. As it turned out my only start line companion was Silver Fox but he was running with the pram. My initial goal was to go out fairly hard and see how long I could hold the tempo. I started hauling in the 95 group and had caught them all by halfway up the rangers hut hill the first time.
5km split of 22:03 (4:25 min/km)
Anthony W stayed with me up the hill but then I kept the pressure going on the downhill and he drifted back a little. The run back to the start area was pretty fast and I picked up quite a few more runners along here.
10km time of 43:24 which gives a 5km split of 21:21 (4:16 min/km)
Back up the course and Scribbly's felt a little harder the second time, caught quite a few people on the climb up to the rangers hut again but the legs were certainly hurting a bit now and still had Anthony W lurking back about 20-30m
15km time of 1:04:45 which gives a 5km split of 21:21 again (very consistent!)
Now the downhill run home and I just focussed on form and trying to hold off anyone who might be catching me. Hauled in Johnny Dark and a strong Redback along here.
20km time of 1:26:47 which gives 5km split of 22:02 (4:24 min/km)
As you can see the legs started to fade and Anthony and another runner I passed at about 19km hauled me in at 1km to go. I tried to hang on to them but just could not hold the pace.
Finish time was 91:31 which gives an average pace of 4:20 with an average HR of 174.
Very happy to post this time, just outside my SMH run, but I did not run a marathon the week before SMH! The legs pulled up pretty well Sunday afternoon and I was contemplating heading out for another run but stayed on the lounge until the thought passed!
Tuesday
Probably 2-3 too many glasses of red last night celebrating my sister in law's birthday and so I felt a bit ordinary in mind, spirit and even the legs were not that keen to get going this morning. So in my wisdom I trotted around to my hill rep route, surprisingly it has been about a month since my last hill rep session.
The first rep was maybe just a tad too fast but I ground out the 10 reps and was also pleasantly surprised once I downloaded the splits to see today's average was actually marginally quicker than my last session as I felt pretty rough through the run, not helped but what seemed a warmer day as well! Also sliced quite a bit (ie 5 seconds on average) off my recovery run back down the hill between reps!
Stats
10 reps, average 1:28.9 with average recovery of 1:44
Summer Series tomorrow night at Drummoyne so should be a pretty fast course, but I'll also slip in a recovery run tomorrow morning. In aother news my GNW 100k entry has been accepted so no backing out now, in fact will do a recon session on Saturday over part of the course.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Friday Free for All
A different run today, wanted to knock out some intervals but also wanted a little bit of distance. So I opted to do a longish warm up (lets call it 8km!) through LCNP to Rotary Park and then some short sharp quick stuff.
By the time I got to Rotary it was quite warm but a breeze was blowing, only problem was that it seemed to be blowing straight into my face along the back straight!
In deference to the half marathon on Sunday I decided to do only 6 400m reps and after a slowish first rep got into the swing of things.
6 x 400m reps in average of 1:24.5 with 1:30 standing recovery.
Home up the hill which is always a bit of a challenge on somewhat lactic legs.....
Somewhat surprising today to see that I seem to have lost another kg. Gee a chunk of flesh out of the forehead seems to be a bit extreme for weight loss but somewhat effective :)
So now to the questions/comments
DTI - this anacronym is very important to many runners. The better the DTI the easier it is to stick with a training and race schedule. If the DTI starts to fall then things are seriously in trouble and it needs some focus otherwise your running can suffer some serious setbacks when least expected. So what is the DTI and why have you not heard of it before?
The Domestic Tranquility Index is directly proportional to your significant other's tolerance level of any planned running committment. While runnning with an injury is risky, continuing to maintain training/racing levels with a low DTI can be VERY detrimental to your health :)
I devoted an entire day today to ensure my DTI is in tip top shape with the planned demand for GNW looming!
For R2B, no results back yet from the biopsy and yes I am deadly serious about a weekly 30km run. Luckily with Striders we have a 30km on offer every Sunday and it is a very important factor in many people's Six Foot Prep!
By the time I got to Rotary it was quite warm but a breeze was blowing, only problem was that it seemed to be blowing straight into my face along the back straight!
In deference to the half marathon on Sunday I decided to do only 6 400m reps and after a slowish first rep got into the swing of things.
6 x 400m reps in average of 1:24.5 with 1:30 standing recovery.
Home up the hill which is always a bit of a challenge on somewhat lactic legs.....
Somewhat surprising today to see that I seem to have lost another kg. Gee a chunk of flesh out of the forehead seems to be a bit extreme for weight loss but somewhat effective :)
So now to the questions/comments
DTI - this anacronym is very important to many runners. The better the DTI the easier it is to stick with a training and race schedule. If the DTI starts to fall then things are seriously in trouble and it needs some focus otherwise your running can suffer some serious setbacks when least expected. So what is the DTI and why have you not heard of it before?
The Domestic Tranquility Index is directly proportional to your significant other's tolerance level of any planned running committment. While runnning with an injury is risky, continuing to maintain training/racing levels with a low DTI can be VERY detrimental to your health :)
I devoted an entire day today to ensure my DTI is in tip top shape with the planned demand for GNW looming!
For R2B, no results back yet from the biopsy and yes I am deadly serious about a weekly 30km run. Luckily with Striders we have a 30km on offer every Sunday and it is a very important factor in many people's Six Foot Prep!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Welcome back legs!
To paraphrase from that TV ad welcome back legs!
After yesterday's schmozzle I was very keen to get out for a real thrashing today and so opted for a tempo run over my 14km course. I popped a cap over the bandage so I did not look too wierd!
The legs felt very fresh as I headed off and as such the pace was pretty good. On the way down to the weir I thought I saw Spud on his bike and sure enough as I started running up along the 10km course he came back and said he'd catch up to me. He only just made it as I was at the gates at the top of the hill. We both briefly stopped and chatted about C2K and also maintaining our respective DTI's, good to see you mate!
The legs did feel a little heavy on the rises but the speed was still pretty good. By the time I got to Cox's Rd and the downhill I was still running well so I kept the momentum going all the way home.
Stats
Distance 14.2km
Time 1:02:58
Avg Pace 4:25
Avg HR 168
Very pleased with this run, again on a rolling course. This is another 2.5 minutes off the recent fastest time. This is getting close to 26miles guideline of 14km tempo in an hour, which I reckon I could certainly do on a flatter route right now!
Body wise, the legs now seem to have recovered fully from FFFTM and no niggles seemingly. The head was throbbing a little but the bandage is gone and I'm feeling a little more normal again!
Thanks for the comments and feedback on both my little misadventure yesterday as well as my decision to take a walk on the dark side!
After yesterday's schmozzle I was very keen to get out for a real thrashing today and so opted for a tempo run over my 14km course. I popped a cap over the bandage so I did not look too wierd!
The legs felt very fresh as I headed off and as such the pace was pretty good. On the way down to the weir I thought I saw Spud on his bike and sure enough as I started running up along the 10km course he came back and said he'd catch up to me. He only just made it as I was at the gates at the top of the hill. We both briefly stopped and chatted about C2K and also maintaining our respective DTI's, good to see you mate!
The legs did feel a little heavy on the rises but the speed was still pretty good. By the time I got to Cox's Rd and the downhill I was still running well so I kept the momentum going all the way home.
Stats
Distance 14.2km
Time 1:02:58
Avg Pace 4:25
Avg HR 168
Very pleased with this run, again on a rolling course. This is another 2.5 minutes off the recent fastest time. This is getting close to 26miles guideline of 14km tempo in an hour, which I reckon I could certainly do on a flatter route right now!
Body wise, the legs now seem to have recovered fully from FFFTM and no niggles seemingly. The head was throbbing a little but the bandage is gone and I'm feeling a little more normal again!
Thanks for the comments and feedback on both my little misadventure yesterday as well as my decision to take a walk on the dark side!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Code Blue - Sith Apprentice down!
A day to forget.....
With Summer Series on this afternoon I skipped the morning run. However I had a follow appointment with the skin specialist. I had some spots frozen off a couple of weeks ago and he was worried about one so took a small biopsy. I assumed that given the routine nature of their follow up request that all was ok and he was now going to freeze the offending mark off as well.
However I was mistaken, he informed me it was actually a BCC and was going to remove it now, with a knife no less. No trauma I thought, it's only the size of a match head so shouldn't be too bad. After some local he went to work but seemed to take forever to stitch up what I assumed was a small wound. When finished I asked him how many stitches and it was 14 stitches and I had a quick look at the sample bottle and in it was a chunk from my forehead the size of freakin Tasmania!!!
So not too bad, but $470 bucks later my hip pocket was hurting more than the head. Anyway quite handily next door to the clinic is a Medicare so I wandered in with this huge bandage around my head to get partially reimbursed. While the clerk was sorting out the paperwork I went from feeling jim dandy to lying on the ground with some very concerned medicare staff peering down at me..... As Effie says, how embarassment! Seems I fainted in a repeat of my experience in having blood samples taken a little while ago. I might need to start borrowing Miners' blouse collection.
About 10 minutes later after sitting down and assuring them I was now ok I scuttled out the door as quickly as possible, making a mental note to avoid that branch in the future.
Of course the first thing I asked the doc after he sliced me up was could I run this afternoon, he of course said no and I promptly decided to ignore his advice :) However as the afternoon wore on I developed a nice throbbing headache, accompanied by very sore elbows (seemed I landed on them as I fell on the tiled floor, managing to miss the carpet naturally!). So that and terse instructions from the wife now see me at home indulging in medicinal wine consumption rather than attempting another Summer Series win :(
Anyway, I'll head out tomorrow for a stretcher session to make up.
Now to the GNW, thanks for all the comments!!!
I am "only" going to the 100km, more than enough to chew upon in my first dark side outing. If you have been paying attention I have been trying to build up and the FF run was designated as a good prep run. No doubt it will be the toughest run I have ever done. But on the postitive side I:
- have done a few rogaines, including about 16 hours in Wollomi National Park last years, a few 6 hour events, including one 6 hour in the Watagans so I have some idea on terrain
- have decent navigation skills, both in daylight and night time
- am somewhat used to sleep deprivation
Prep is pretty advanced with a support team already organised, some kit already organised (including some dirty girl gaiters) and also a trial run (that was going to be sekrit) next weekend.
One goal I will also try to do is actually blog via the blackberry as my mood, phone signal and the run permits.
So should be heaps of fun :)
Back at it tomorrow!
With Summer Series on this afternoon I skipped the morning run. However I had a follow appointment with the skin specialist. I had some spots frozen off a couple of weeks ago and he was worried about one so took a small biopsy. I assumed that given the routine nature of their follow up request that all was ok and he was now going to freeze the offending mark off as well.
However I was mistaken, he informed me it was actually a BCC and was going to remove it now, with a knife no less. No trauma I thought, it's only the size of a match head so shouldn't be too bad. After some local he went to work but seemed to take forever to stitch up what I assumed was a small wound. When finished I asked him how many stitches and it was 14 stitches and I had a quick look at the sample bottle and in it was a chunk from my forehead the size of freakin Tasmania!!!
So not too bad, but $470 bucks later my hip pocket was hurting more than the head. Anyway quite handily next door to the clinic is a Medicare so I wandered in with this huge bandage around my head to get partially reimbursed. While the clerk was sorting out the paperwork I went from feeling jim dandy to lying on the ground with some very concerned medicare staff peering down at me..... As Effie says, how embarassment! Seems I fainted in a repeat of my experience in having blood samples taken a little while ago. I might need to start borrowing Miners' blouse collection.
About 10 minutes later after sitting down and assuring them I was now ok I scuttled out the door as quickly as possible, making a mental note to avoid that branch in the future.
Of course the first thing I asked the doc after he sliced me up was could I run this afternoon, he of course said no and I promptly decided to ignore his advice :) However as the afternoon wore on I developed a nice throbbing headache, accompanied by very sore elbows (seemed I landed on them as I fell on the tiled floor, managing to miss the carpet naturally!). So that and terse instructions from the wife now see me at home indulging in medicinal wine consumption rather than attempting another Summer Series win :(
Anyway, I'll head out tomorrow for a stretcher session to make up.
Now to the GNW, thanks for all the comments!!!
I am "only" going to the 100km, more than enough to chew upon in my first dark side outing. If you have been paying attention I have been trying to build up and the FF run was designated as a good prep run. No doubt it will be the toughest run I have ever done. But on the postitive side I:
- have done a few rogaines, including about 16 hours in Wollomi National Park last years, a few 6 hour events, including one 6 hour in the Watagans so I have some idea on terrain
- have decent navigation skills, both in daylight and night time
- am somewhat used to sleep deprivation
Prep is pretty advanced with a support team already organised, some kit already organised (including some dirty girl gaiters) and also a trial run (that was going to be sekrit) next weekend.
One goal I will also try to do is actually blog via the blackberry as my mood, phone signal and the run permits.
So should be heaps of fun :)
Back at it tomorrow!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
Inverse run
The goal was a tempo run today to see what happened. Adopted the weir run and headed out in slight drizzle.
It certainly was an effort to get the pace going, the legs do not feel too badly chopped up, just slow!
Stats
Distance 11km
Time 55:38
Avg pace 5:07
Avg HR 150
Very interesting the avg HR shows the cardio was certainly fine, just teh legs would not go any faster. As the title says I'll call this an inverse run, the opposite of my long fast run last week, a shorter slower run!
Another recovery session tomorrow.
It certainly was an effort to get the pace going, the legs do not feel too badly chopped up, just slow!
Stats
Distance 11km
Time 55:38
Avg pace 5:07
Avg HR 150
Very interesting the avg HR shows the cardio was certainly fine, just teh legs would not go any faster. As the title says I'll call this an inverse run, the opposite of my long fast run last week, a shorter slower run!
Another recovery session tomorrow.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Stop the press!
Just got the Summer Series results from Wednesday night.
An absolute first I was equal top score (over all entrants). A good thing my navigation skills have not diminished as the equal winner was Gary MacGregor (six foot track winner) and a slew of faster runners behind me.
And there I was after the run a bit bummed out about my stuff up around 30 and taking a walk break up a couple of the steeper pinches...
Certainly a good course to know when to turn for home rather than chase more points!
This will have to go down in the history books, a good thing a few more of the faster runners did not show up :)
Edit : for interest here is my route on google earth
An absolute first I was equal top score (over all entrants). A good thing my navigation skills have not diminished as the equal winner was Gary MacGregor (six foot track winner) and a slew of faster runners behind me.
And there I was after the run a bit bummed out about my stuff up around 30 and taking a walk break up a couple of the steeper pinches...
Certainly a good course to know when to turn for home rather than chase more points!
This will have to go down in the history books, a good thing a few more of the faster runners did not show up :)
Edit : for interest here is my route on google earth
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Fitzroy Falls Fire Trail Marathon
First the rest of the week. Wednesday saw the first event in Summer Series and I did a warmup run down to Lavender Bay where the start was. Great to see all the familiar faces, not so great to see the map, no matter what way I looked at it there was going to be some short sharp hills!
Have not seen the results yet, I posted 420 but messed up around control 30 losing a couple of minutes.
Work then went feral and so I did a mini taper with Thursday and Friday off!
The Race
An early start to cruise over to Langswm's place and then pick up Fats and Amjan for the drive down the M5. Got there with plenty of time to register and sort out all the kit etc. Not a lot of an idea as to the course, just knowing it was pretty much all fire trail with some hills and also the very important extra factor, it was bloody hot!
The first few km were all pretty much downhill (not a good sign on an out and back!) I tucked in just behind Blue Dog for a while. Just after the 4km marker, my first and only snake spotting with a red bellied black scuttling off away from the road as Blue Dog went past him (Bluey did not even see it!)
The 5km split looked a little fast so I eased back a little and then the same for 10km. At the 20km mark the mercury was really rising and I spent a minute or 2 at the aid station loading up on water and tipping a few cups over the head. At the 25km station a similar story also popping a gu and grabbing a few jelly beans.
From here it was an out and back section so you get a chance to see how everyone is going. This had a nasty little climb in it as well! Back to the 25km station which is now the 30km station for more hydration.
The next section was the hardest, seemingly contstantly climbing, it reminded me quite a bit of Black Range Rd at 6 foot. Looking at the GPS track it is certainly the case. I was certainly quite toasty now, incorporating walk/run on the steeper sections and suffered on the last steep section quite badly.
Finally to the finish and the CR cheer squad as vocal as usual!
Stats
Distance 42.195
Time 4:11:15
Avg Pace 5:57
Avg HR 163
Total climb 540 metres
A great race on a tough course made tougher by the temperature on the day, anyway that's my 3rd marathon this year from 4 starts with 1 dnf @ 6 foot.
Weekly stats
Total distance 78.5km
Still consistent, although a marathon always helps top up the distance! Back to some speed work this coming week and next Sunday the Striders Handicap Half Marathon. A decision looming shortly on my next major endeavour as well.......
Have not seen the results yet, I posted 420 but messed up around control 30 losing a couple of minutes.
Work then went feral and so I did a mini taper with Thursday and Friday off!
The Race
An early start to cruise over to Langswm's place and then pick up Fats and Amjan for the drive down the M5. Got there with plenty of time to register and sort out all the kit etc. Not a lot of an idea as to the course, just knowing it was pretty much all fire trail with some hills and also the very important extra factor, it was bloody hot!
The first few km were all pretty much downhill (not a good sign on an out and back!) I tucked in just behind Blue Dog for a while. Just after the 4km marker, my first and only snake spotting with a red bellied black scuttling off away from the road as Blue Dog went past him (Bluey did not even see it!)
The 5km split looked a little fast so I eased back a little and then the same for 10km. At the 20km mark the mercury was really rising and I spent a minute or 2 at the aid station loading up on water and tipping a few cups over the head. At the 25km station a similar story also popping a gu and grabbing a few jelly beans.
From here it was an out and back section so you get a chance to see how everyone is going. This had a nasty little climb in it as well! Back to the 25km station which is now the 30km station for more hydration.
The next section was the hardest, seemingly contstantly climbing, it reminded me quite a bit of Black Range Rd at 6 foot. Looking at the GPS track it is certainly the case. I was certainly quite toasty now, incorporating walk/run on the steeper sections and suffered on the last steep section quite badly.
Finally to the finish and the CR cheer squad as vocal as usual!
Stats
Distance 42.195
Time 4:11:15
Avg Pace 5:57
Avg HR 163
Total climb 540 metres
A great race on a tough course made tougher by the temperature on the day, anyway that's my 3rd marathon this year from 4 starts with 1 dnf @ 6 foot.
Weekly stats
Total distance 78.5km
Still consistent, although a marathon always helps top up the distance! Back to some speed work this coming week and next Sunday the Striders Handicap Half Marathon. A decision looming shortly on my next major endeavour as well.......
Monday, October 09, 2006
Is it tempo or is it long?
After slacking off yesterday the alarm was set for an earlier start this morning with a longer run planned.
Another variant of my weir run, but then all the way up to Macquarie Centre, across along along the bike path to Quarry Road then downhill to Pittwater Road for a nasty climb back home.
Was determined to make this a hard session, which with all the hills in the route and trying to run sub 5 min/km it was!
The last climb up Pittwater Road to home is a bugger but a good exercise on legs that have already done about 20km.
Stats
Distance 20.8
Time 1:36:44
Avg pace 4:39
Avg HR 162
Certainly a little faster than my last journey on this route back in Six Foot training in January (about 1:44)
I think I'll call it a fast long run :)
Another variant of my weir run, but then all the way up to Macquarie Centre, across along along the bike path to Quarry Road then downhill to Pittwater Road for a nasty climb back home.
Was determined to make this a hard session, which with all the hills in the route and trying to run sub 5 min/km it was!
The last climb up Pittwater Road to home is a bugger but a good exercise on legs that have already done about 20km.
Stats
Distance 20.8
Time 1:36:44
Avg pace 4:39
Avg HR 162
Certainly a little faster than my last journey on this route back in Six Foot training in January (about 1:44)
I think I'll call it a fast long run :)
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Homebush and beyond!
Despite all the prophecies the much awaited sub 40 did not eventuate. In my usual manner I certainly would not die wondering heading out right on pace, but by around 4km the legs felt very heavy and then indeed I did feel like I was dieing on the second lap. The legs felt like I was running through treacle but the HR was right up there. Seems I probably went lactic as I lapped Wentworth Common the first time trying to stay on pace.
Any way while I was always going to have a crack I knew that my prep would not help and as previously stated sub 40 this week is not a "target". After reviewing the results it seems quite a few people also struggled against what I would suggest normal form/times so well done to anyone who PB'd (especially Belinda!)
This ended the week which totalled 80km (avg pace 5:04, including recovery runs). So am building up quite nicely.
Saturday afternoon and Sunday were spent catching up with my cycling buddies from the past down in the Southern Highlands as part of a christening. We only get to catch up once a year or so but always great fun, especially going through all teh old cycling war stories and funny happenings on the many road trips we went on. This meant no running on Sunday, but I'll top that up tomorrow morning.
So no wrist slashing here folks about Saturday, I gave it a go but the situation was not right, I am encouraged by my training times and will keep the focus going, next step Fitzroy Falls next weekend.
Any way while I was always going to have a crack I knew that my prep would not help and as previously stated sub 40 this week is not a "target". After reviewing the results it seems quite a few people also struggled against what I would suggest normal form/times so well done to anyone who PB'd (especially Belinda!)
This ended the week which totalled 80km (avg pace 5:04, including recovery runs). So am building up quite nicely.
Saturday afternoon and Sunday were spent catching up with my cycling buddies from the past down in the Southern Highlands as part of a christening. We only get to catch up once a year or so but always great fun, especially going through all teh old cycling war stories and funny happenings on the many road trips we went on. This meant no running on Sunday, but I'll top that up tomorrow morning.
So no wrist slashing here folks about Saturday, I gave it a go but the situation was not right, I am encouraged by my training times and will keep the focus going, next step Fitzroy Falls next weekend.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Sharpening up!
Wednesday
A gentle recovery run around the oval in the evening with the girls keeping me company via lap counting and or pacing on the bike. A little windy which was interesting as the HR crept up each time I turned into the wind and maintained the effort.
Thursday
With an eye to Saturday I scheduled some shorter faster reps on grass today and so down the hill and across Epping Road to Rotary field. Wanted to run 400m reps to get higher leg speed but not completely smash things up for the 10km.
Stats
9 reps @ average of 1:22.3 with standing recovery of 1:30
This stacks up very well against the last 400m session (the Thursday before Willy to Billy). Then I did 8 reps averaging 1:26.4, all the reps today were under that time and the second one I went a little crazy with a 1:18!! I also did the 9th by mistake (lost count) and it was a 1:25 which blew the average out a little.
So another great indicator that the training is paying off with an average 4 secs coming off 400m. Given my obsessive nature re stats this also equates to going from 3:36 min/km pace to 3:26 min/km for these reps!!
Then a quick visit to the witch doctor to have a squiz at my complaining shins with the diagnosis being that with the increase in training/speed and the recovery of my achilles/calves the tib ants are now playing catch up. As usual after the needle session everything feels a little tighter but that seems to fade by the end of the day with positive results.
Recovery day tomorrow and then we'll see what transpires at the 10km!
A gentle recovery run around the oval in the evening with the girls keeping me company via lap counting and or pacing on the bike. A little windy which was interesting as the HR crept up each time I turned into the wind and maintained the effort.
Thursday
With an eye to Saturday I scheduled some shorter faster reps on grass today and so down the hill and across Epping Road to Rotary field. Wanted to run 400m reps to get higher leg speed but not completely smash things up for the 10km.
Stats
9 reps @ average of 1:22.3 with standing recovery of 1:30
This stacks up very well against the last 400m session (the Thursday before Willy to Billy). Then I did 8 reps averaging 1:26.4, all the reps today were under that time and the second one I went a little crazy with a 1:18!! I also did the 9th by mistake (lost count) and it was a 1:25 which blew the average out a little.
So another great indicator that the training is paying off with an average 4 secs coming off 400m. Given my obsessive nature re stats this also equates to going from 3:36 min/km pace to 3:26 min/km for these reps!!
Then a quick visit to the witch doctor to have a squiz at my complaining shins with the diagnosis being that with the increase in training/speed and the recovery of my achilles/calves the tib ants are now playing catch up. As usual after the needle session everything feels a little tighter but that seems to fade by the end of the day with positive results.
Recovery day tomorrow and then we'll see what transpires at the 10km!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Tougher session
Another tempo session this morning (just to mix things up!) but the weather was certainly different with seemingly high humidity and drizzling rain greeting me as I walked out the front door. I decided to experiment with the course feature on the Garmin. This is where you can download an actual run back to the watch and then compete against your previous run. In theory this is good as it actually adjusts your relative position against the actual terrain/distance so if you run the same route you will always slow down at the same hill.
In practice however there was enough variance between the GPS readings through Lane Cove park for it to go a little out. So the unit claimed I beat my run from last Friday (using time over distance), however, it also measured shorter than last week and so I actually ended up a bit slower.
Certainly tougher going today with a bit of Sunday's effort still in the legs and I also did not feel as smooth while I was running. The lower legs are a bit chopped up now but anyway still a good session.
Stats
Distance 14.24
Time 1:06:55
Avgt Pace 4:41
Avg HR 162
Thanks for the comments re Sunday's run however it seems I am painting a bleak picture for those thinking about running a STaR. It is not all crawling under barbed wire with machine guns firing over your head! Ellie, there is a much more comfortable group that heads out earlier and we always include shortcut options on the course maps. Certainly though Cherrybrook does rank up there as one of the harder runs that Striders do, mainly due to the consistent ups and downs, out of interest according to the garmin we climbed approx 330 metres over the course on Sunday.
In practice however there was enough variance between the GPS readings through Lane Cove park for it to go a little out. So the unit claimed I beat my run from last Friday (using time over distance), however, it also measured shorter than last week and so I actually ended up a bit slower.
Certainly tougher going today with a bit of Sunday's effort still in the legs and I also did not feel as smooth while I was running. The lower legs are a bit chopped up now but anyway still a good session.
Stats
Distance 14.24
Time 1:06:55
Avgt Pace 4:41
Avg HR 162
Thanks for the comments re Sunday's run however it seems I am painting a bleak picture for those thinking about running a STaR. It is not all crawling under barbed wire with machine guns firing over your head! Ellie, there is a much more comfortable group that heads out earlier and we always include shortcut options on the course maps. Certainly though Cherrybrook does rank up there as one of the harder runs that Striders do, mainly due to the consistent ups and downs, out of interest according to the garmin we climbed approx 330 metres over the course on Sunday.
Monday, October 02, 2006
The Long and Short
Sunday
An early start to drive up to Cherrybrook for "The Circuit". This route is a tough one, rated a H4 there is very little "flat" running, but lots of up and downs!
A great crowd for the 6:10 group with a who's who of Cool Running with a special guest appearance from Tesso. Also great to see Redback out and about with Spud, Amjan, sawdust SFGnome and Johnny Dark, along with Warwick (who I ran the socialgaine last year) and Tom.
Straight off we head downhill to the bottom of Cumberland forest for the first of many climbs for the day. As usual EJ was burning things up on the front, but he had a few new "victims" who got sucked in by his tendancy to run off the front. Despite the pace the group did stay together, regrouping at the top before doing what I suppose is a mini circuit within the overall run with a big loop. Had to try and calm things down on the front a few times through here but again we regrouped at the entry to the bush and I sat on the front through the single track to try and modulate the pace a little. The second major climb up to the Pony Club was as brutal as usual but the track seemed a lot looser underfoot than usual.
Another regroup before crossing another creek valley (and another climb) to take us to Westleigh, as the 6:20 group cruised past. Here was the first major short cut opportunity and the group split in 2. Pretty much straight away the "long" group upped the pace which saw EJ immediately depart from the back, if only he'd run a little easier through the first half of these runs he'd have a chance to stay with the group the whole way. After a few more undulating km around Westleigh at a pretty steady pace I was starting to feel the pinch and loitered at the back of the group with Spud. We regrouped a few times with either water stops or navigation mistakes by the leaders helping.
By the time we did yet another downhill to Comenarra Parkway and the resultant climb back out the legs were feeling a little toasty. Another regroup for water at the railway station and then it was every runner for themselves all the way home. Spud came good and also darted off while I tagged just behind Tom Silk all the way to the finish.
Stats
Distance 31km
Time 2:43
Avg Pace 5:14
Avg HR 159
Monday
Out in the afternoon for a change for more laps around the oval. Had my own lap counter accompany me and she even ran a couple of laps with me :) The legs felt pretty good after the bashing I gave them yesterday.
A pretty busy schedule planned for the week as I try to consolidate on some of the recent good training.
An early start to drive up to Cherrybrook for "The Circuit". This route is a tough one, rated a H4 there is very little "flat" running, but lots of up and downs!
A great crowd for the 6:10 group with a who's who of Cool Running with a special guest appearance from Tesso. Also great to see Redback out and about with Spud, Amjan, sawdust SFGnome and Johnny Dark, along with Warwick (who I ran the socialgaine last year) and Tom.
Straight off we head downhill to the bottom of Cumberland forest for the first of many climbs for the day. As usual EJ was burning things up on the front, but he had a few new "victims" who got sucked in by his tendancy to run off the front. Despite the pace the group did stay together, regrouping at the top before doing what I suppose is a mini circuit within the overall run with a big loop. Had to try and calm things down on the front a few times through here but again we regrouped at the entry to the bush and I sat on the front through the single track to try and modulate the pace a little. The second major climb up to the Pony Club was as brutal as usual but the track seemed a lot looser underfoot than usual.
Another regroup before crossing another creek valley (and another climb) to take us to Westleigh, as the 6:20 group cruised past. Here was the first major short cut opportunity and the group split in 2. Pretty much straight away the "long" group upped the pace which saw EJ immediately depart from the back, if only he'd run a little easier through the first half of these runs he'd have a chance to stay with the group the whole way. After a few more undulating km around Westleigh at a pretty steady pace I was starting to feel the pinch and loitered at the back of the group with Spud. We regrouped a few times with either water stops or navigation mistakes by the leaders helping.
By the time we did yet another downhill to Comenarra Parkway and the resultant climb back out the legs were feeling a little toasty. Another regroup for water at the railway station and then it was every runner for themselves all the way home. Spud came good and also darted off while I tagged just behind Tom Silk all the way to the finish.
Stats
Distance 31km
Time 2:43
Avg Pace 5:14
Avg HR 159
Monday
Out in the afternoon for a change for more laps around the oval. Had my own lap counter accompany me and she even ran a couple of laps with me :) The legs felt pretty good after the bashing I gave them yesterday.
A pretty busy schedule planned for the week as I try to consolidate on some of the recent good training.
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