A few good form guide runs since the last post.
Friday afternoon headed back out on my local tempo course (just over 10km) and managed to slice a further 37 seconds off my best time, from May. This "tempo" run is now at 4:30 min/km pace and I have taken off 5 minutes since first running this route.
Saturday was taken up with kids sport end of season stuff.
Today, the wind was blowing hard but the Striders "Sneak Preview" course, which is essentially the first 32km of the Sydney Marathon route was on the menu. Due to the longer route (35km) an earlier start was scheduled and at 5:45 I headed out with the nominal 6:10 group. At many times the howling wind was a challenge for maintaining pace but we had a decent group of 5 that hung together through most of the run which helped. The climb back up to the start at North Sydney was a drain, thankfully it is not part of the course on race day. Now, for the biggest good news, I managed to stick to a pretty even pace, even with the wind and only faded right at the end. So the stats are, 35km in 2:51, which is an average pace of 4:54 (it was sitting at 4:52 before some of the climbs after we left the course proper).
To say that I am stoked to punch out a pace like this on a tough windy day would be an understatement and now I am having second thoughts about my goal time for Sydney. If I can run with gale force winds, in training gear, on footpaths and traffic lights etc etc for 35km at that pace surely I can not only go faster on race day, but still also be able to hold for the full 42.2km???
Anyway, no thoughts of easing up or starting a taper as GNW is the real goal, Sydney is just a (now interesting) stepping stone on the way.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Time off/on!
Wow, life has been hectic!!
My days have centred around generally a 7am start at the new house to convene with the builders and then either going for a run or immediately starting work hoping for an evening run.
As Seagull points out, the Turkey Trot was a mixed success event for me, ran pretty well in warm conditions, navigated pretty well but finished in a clump of 4 runners (first was a long way in front) and due to some of the timing associated with the event (major road crossings) even though I crossed the line 3rd probably 2 seconds behind 2nd place, I ended up 4th after time adjustments. Yes in reviewing my routes (and nav mistakes) I could and should have covered this difference but I am sure the others could say the same as the 4 of us leapfrogged throughout the race. End result was pretty much a half marathon distance, with navigation and bush running challenges in just over 2 hours, not too bad! (bring on Summer Series!!!)
Backed up for a tempo run last night (close to a PB) and then a MLR run this morning so am mostly still on track despite temporarily being a builders labourer!!
The new house has already had a massive transformation with more to come, but as always a few unexpected surprises lurk to challenge you....
So, the campaign summary is day 14, 11 days of running for a total of 166km
My days have centred around generally a 7am start at the new house to convene with the builders and then either going for a run or immediately starting work hoping for an evening run.
As Seagull points out, the Turkey Trot was a mixed success event for me, ran pretty well in warm conditions, navigated pretty well but finished in a clump of 4 runners (first was a long way in front) and due to some of the timing associated with the event (major road crossings) even though I crossed the line 3rd probably 2 seconds behind 2nd place, I ended up 4th after time adjustments. Yes in reviewing my routes (and nav mistakes) I could and should have covered this difference but I am sure the others could say the same as the 4 of us leapfrogged throughout the race. End result was pretty much a half marathon distance, with navigation and bush running challenges in just over 2 hours, not too bad! (bring on Summer Series!!!)
Backed up for a tempo run last night (close to a PB) and then a MLR run this morning so am mostly still on track despite temporarily being a builders labourer!!
The new house has already had a massive transformation with more to come, but as always a few unexpected surprises lurk to challenge you....
So, the campaign summary is day 14, 11 days of running for a total of 166km
Friday, August 21, 2009
Days 8 and 9
A full on day at the new house (yes Miners still on the North side) and the lure of a beer at 6pm was stronger than a recovery run so day 8 turned into a rest day....
This morning, up early and drove over to the new digs with a change of clothes. Headed out for a different version of the Castle Cove run I did on Wednesday but with the option of about 7km of bush trails and an extra 100m climb for just an extra 1.5km total distance!
8 days from 9 and 116km for the campaign.
A recovery day tomorrow and then a 20km park orienteering event on Sunday called the Turkey Trot, should be fun!!!
This morning, up early and drove over to the new digs with a change of clothes. Headed out for a different version of the Castle Cove run I did on Wednesday but with the option of about 7km of bush trails and an extra 100m climb for just an extra 1.5km total distance!
8 days from 9 and 116km for the campaign.
A recovery day tomorrow and then a 20km park orienteering event on Sunday called the Turkey Trot, should be fun!!!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Off topic
A very timely question from Louise yesterday! When it came about that we were coming back our old house was under lease and so we took the opportunity to look at Sydney with fresh eyes for our new house. This afternoon we settle on our dream home, some renovating to do but we fell in love with the position and views which you can see below!
In other more regular updates, a 17km run today through Castle Cove in 1:25, avg pace of 4:57.
This makes it 7 days from 7 and 97km for the GNW campaign. One blister popped, while the other got worse so I'll try and fix that this afternoon. Legs felt a little dead on the longer climbs but I suppose that is to be expected when you suddenly launch into roughly 100km per week!
In other more regular updates, a 17km run today through Castle Cove in 1:25, avg pace of 4:57.
This makes it 7 days from 7 and 97km for the GNW campaign. One blister popped, while the other got worse so I'll try and fix that this afternoon. Legs felt a little dead on the longer climbs but I suppose that is to be expected when you suddenly launch into roughly 100km per week!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Day 6
Thanks for the comments, it is good to be back, but I didn't really lose the password, just got slack :)
Tempo run this morning around my circuit near home, just over 10km in around 48 min. the course is slightly hilly and this time is not far from my best. Legs felt a little heavy but seemed to lighten up a little towards the end. A poor sock selection saw 2 blisters, which is a pain, first in quite a while. Needless to say, said socks are now in the rubbish bin. Will also make an appointment to get the orthotics tuned and maybe get a second pair as I shuffle shoes.
6 days of 6 of training and 80km under the belt.
Tempo run this morning around my circuit near home, just over 10km in around 48 min. the course is slightly hilly and this time is not far from my best. Legs felt a little heavy but seemed to lighten up a little towards the end. A poor sock selection saw 2 blisters, which is a pain, first in quite a while. Needless to say, said socks are now in the rubbish bin. Will also make an appointment to get the orthotics tuned and maybe get a second pair as I shuffle shoes.
6 days of 6 of training and 80km under the belt.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Raiders of the lost blog!
The camera pans in on a jungle clearing with a heavily bearded and bedragled looking explorer who seems to look a little like Harrison Ford. Dodging poisonous blow darts our intrepid adventurer who gasps
"finally after searching since the start of May, I have managed to locate the secret key (password) to enable the blog to be updated!"
Yes, a long time between posts but not a reflection on actual activity. Now is not the time to rehash the various activities but the executive summary is
- missed NF100 due to work committments
- reasonably steady training but not too over the top
- posted a 3 year 10km PB
But now down to tin tacks and the real reason for the re-activation. For the non bloglines readers you'll notice some references to the GNW100 have sprouted up on the blog page.
Yes, time for some big audacious hairy goals and GNW is the end game, with retribution the plan after the diastriously hot and failed attempt in 2006. So the campaign officially started last Thursday with 93 days to go until fronting the start line and what better way to keep me on the straight and narrow than a daily blog update of my activity.
So today is day 5 of 93, 5 days of running for a total of 70km.
An intermediate step, decided at the same time is to do both Sydney and Fitzroy Falls Marathons. Up until Sydney I'll focus on mostly road running and speed/endurance but then will switch to a much more trail based (and longer time on the legs) program, knowing the different muscles that get a workout on the trail vs normal road work.
The first big decision is what time to aim for at Sydney and so I fronted up at what is probably the flatest Striders STaR, the Western Wanderer to try and get a benchmark since most of my long runs have been on "hilly" routes. the end result was 2:37 for just under 32km for a 4:57 average pace. This was not racing and did include stops but there was probably not a lot left in the tank. By my estimates, with another 5 weeks to go for some more endurance, along with race day atmosphere along with racing shoes it seems that 3:30 might be a realistic ambition???
Anyway enough blathering for the first post back, more I promise!!
"finally after searching since the start of May, I have managed to locate the secret key (password) to enable the blog to be updated!"
Yes, a long time between posts but not a reflection on actual activity. Now is not the time to rehash the various activities but the executive summary is
- missed NF100 due to work committments
- reasonably steady training but not too over the top
- posted a 3 year 10km PB
But now down to tin tacks and the real reason for the re-activation. For the non bloglines readers you'll notice some references to the GNW100 have sprouted up on the blog page.
Yes, time for some big audacious hairy goals and GNW is the end game, with retribution the plan after the diastriously hot and failed attempt in 2006. So the campaign officially started last Thursday with 93 days to go until fronting the start line and what better way to keep me on the straight and narrow than a daily blog update of my activity.
So today is day 5 of 93, 5 days of running for a total of 70km.
An intermediate step, decided at the same time is to do both Sydney and Fitzroy Falls Marathons. Up until Sydney I'll focus on mostly road running and speed/endurance but then will switch to a much more trail based (and longer time on the legs) program, knowing the different muscles that get a workout on the trail vs normal road work.
The first big decision is what time to aim for at Sydney and so I fronted up at what is probably the flatest Striders STaR, the Western Wanderer to try and get a benchmark since most of my long runs have been on "hilly" routes. the end result was 2:37 for just under 32km for a 4:57 average pace. This was not racing and did include stops but there was probably not a lot left in the tank. By my estimates, with another 5 weeks to go for some more endurance, along with race day atmosphere along with racing shoes it seems that 3:30 might be a realistic ambition???
Anyway enough blathering for the first post back, more I promise!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)