To start April is a tough month for training this year. It involved taper for Canberra, the race itself and post race recovery. To add to the mix I spent a week and a bit travelling overseas which also reduced the number of runs.
So summary is 127km for April which interestingly enough was pretty much identical to last year (128km).
Highlight - well I did do a 10km PB at the domain!
Lowlight - Canberra run, enough already said.
The challenge is now to get back on track for May, which I could not do last year with only 114km, be interesting to see what happens and how I do at SMH, hoping for a sub 90 half PB.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
CR 5km Challenge
Actually felt pretty good as I arrived for the monthly CR 5km challenge, this will be a benchmark run for the next few months. The soreness has gone completely from the percieved injury but I was still unsure as to how I would go. Despite posting a 19:15 last month I opted to stay with the 20 minute group believing I would probably be a bit slower.
Only 4 runs in total since Canberra and pretty much all of them involved some sort of pain from various niggles etc so expected the fitness to have dropped slightly as well. Stand in starter Fats did a fine job in sending off a good sized group and we quickly settled into a good pace. Redback darted out about 5-10m off the front but we all ran quite a bit on the road in the first km or so as there were a lot of people out enjoying the excellent weather.
First km split was 3:50 bang on the money, I hung back near the front of the pack, still a few metres behind Redback. Missed the 2km mark and as we neared the 3km mark Redback had come back to the pack and I was tucked just in behind Mike F and 2 other Striders, one being Tim who I have seen around before. The 3km mark was a 7:44 for 2km which averages out at 3:52/km just a tad slower.
Just after the 3km mark you do a sharp left turn and it was here where I slipped off the back of the three in front running the 4th km pretty much by myself, catching a few earlier runners in the last 400m. The 4th km always seems to be the hardest and I went through in 3:56. Just after MPHaz cruised up and encouraged me to run with hime but I struggled a little with the twisty last km and could not keep up. Still passed a few more and came in just ahead of a heap of runners with a 3:56 final km to give me 19:28 all up just over 10 sec slower than last month.
Have to say I was actually pleased with this given the circumstances and enjoyed the recovery run back having a good chat with various people including Miss Skarmel who smashed another PB!! Great dining at the Blue Dog cafe serving up blueberry pancakes.
Also pleasing that this was the first post Canberra run that something was not hurting and this was at a serious pace as well! Tonight the legs are a little tight, to be expected I suppose. Something different tomorrow where I'll be foregoing the STaR and going Orienteering in the first Metro League round at Pennant Hills, should be great fun!!
Only 4 runs in total since Canberra and pretty much all of them involved some sort of pain from various niggles etc so expected the fitness to have dropped slightly as well. Stand in starter Fats did a fine job in sending off a good sized group and we quickly settled into a good pace. Redback darted out about 5-10m off the front but we all ran quite a bit on the road in the first km or so as there were a lot of people out enjoying the excellent weather.
First km split was 3:50 bang on the money, I hung back near the front of the pack, still a few metres behind Redback. Missed the 2km mark and as we neared the 3km mark Redback had come back to the pack and I was tucked just in behind Mike F and 2 other Striders, one being Tim who I have seen around before. The 3km mark was a 7:44 for 2km which averages out at 3:52/km just a tad slower.
Just after the 3km mark you do a sharp left turn and it was here where I slipped off the back of the three in front running the 4th km pretty much by myself, catching a few earlier runners in the last 400m. The 4th km always seems to be the hardest and I went through in 3:56. Just after MPHaz cruised up and encouraged me to run with hime but I struggled a little with the twisty last km and could not keep up. Still passed a few more and came in just ahead of a heap of runners with a 3:56 final km to give me 19:28 all up just over 10 sec slower than last month.
Have to say I was actually pleased with this given the circumstances and enjoyed the recovery run back having a good chat with various people including Miss Skarmel who smashed another PB!! Great dining at the Blue Dog cafe serving up blueberry pancakes.
Also pleasing that this was the first post Canberra run that something was not hurting and this was at a serious pace as well! Tonight the legs are a little tight, to be expected I suppose. Something different tomorrow where I'll be foregoing the STaR and going Orienteering in the first Metro League round at Pennant Hills, should be great fun!!
Friday, April 29, 2005
A couple of no's
No run but also no injury it seems???
After blogging yesterday and feeling very sore the day progressed well, some ice last night and it seems as good as gold this morning. Not wanting to chance anything, especially given I am running the 5km on Saturday I awarded myself a rest day. April is gone in terms of any decent milage but thems the breaks!
No idea what the problem was but it has gone away completely, I am now thinking it was some sort of muscle spasm....
CR 5km challenge tomorrow, no idea what sort of time I'll run but at least I am very fresh!!
After blogging yesterday and feeling very sore the day progressed well, some ice last night and it seems as good as gold this morning. Not wanting to chance anything, especially given I am running the 5km on Saturday I awarded myself a rest day. April is gone in terms of any decent milage but thems the breaks!
No idea what the problem was but it has gone away completely, I am now thinking it was some sort of muscle spasm....
CR 5km challenge tomorrow, no idea what sort of time I'll run but at least I am very fresh!!
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Back to reality!
Yes I am still alive folks. A combination of the post Canberra blahs along with a full on overseas business trip saw me take the easy way out and have a break.
I did some running while away, managing 3 x 10km hit outs in the morning while jet lag had me waking up early and I did not have too late a night the evening before. One of the guys from our office in France is also a runner and did New York last year in 3:15. So we hooked up and went out a couple of times around Disney World near our hotel. There was a pretty safe loop of just over a km around a lake/bay that we ran laps of. Certainly still banged up from Canberra as both the groin/adductor and interestingly enough my rhs ITB were not happy about this running caper again.
Back in Oz now and eventually motivated myself to get out this morning and have a good hit out and try out my new Shuffle. Felt real good on the run down to the LCNP weir and so much so opted to extend the run back through Ryde rather than heading straight home. Not a good move it seems, as I was climbing up to the gates and then along Lane Cove Rd my niggle in the groin area really started complaining. In the end it got so sore I walked the last km and a half. Did a heap of stretches once I got home and I'm pretty sure my hips might be out of alignment as the lower back/hips area "cracked" a couple of times as I really stretched this area out. Still very stiff/sore now, have popped a Naprosen and hopefully will go and see my osteo to check my alignment. This puts some risk into my planned run at the CR 5km challenge on Saturday.
Ignoring present issues from above I have been doing quite a deal of thinking about goals for the rest of the year to strive for. These fall into 2 categories, general and specific.
For the general side I am aiming to train through winter properly this time and will also run as much of the Striders 10km and Super Series events possible as well as others that make sense. Where I have done a particular race before then I will be aiming for a new PB. Through this program I aim to break 40min for 10km and depending upon how I am feeling try to break my PB and 90 @ SMH.
On the specific side I have decided I will run the Sydney Marathon and will go through a structured 12 week program for preparation. In these 12 weeks there will be quite a few races as well such as C2S and W2B for instance and I'll be using these as form guides for the Sydney run. Initial goal is to run a PB and I think 3:10 should be within reach if I train/prepare properly and race with a brain on the day. While it will be very tempting to aim for faster I now need some confidence over the longer races and 3:10 will do me for this year.
I did some running while away, managing 3 x 10km hit outs in the morning while jet lag had me waking up early and I did not have too late a night the evening before. One of the guys from our office in France is also a runner and did New York last year in 3:15. So we hooked up and went out a couple of times around Disney World near our hotel. There was a pretty safe loop of just over a km around a lake/bay that we ran laps of. Certainly still banged up from Canberra as both the groin/adductor and interestingly enough my rhs ITB were not happy about this running caper again.
Back in Oz now and eventually motivated myself to get out this morning and have a good hit out and try out my new Shuffle. Felt real good on the run down to the LCNP weir and so much so opted to extend the run back through Ryde rather than heading straight home. Not a good move it seems, as I was climbing up to the gates and then along Lane Cove Rd my niggle in the groin area really started complaining. In the end it got so sore I walked the last km and a half. Did a heap of stretches once I got home and I'm pretty sure my hips might be out of alignment as the lower back/hips area "cracked" a couple of times as I really stretched this area out. Still very stiff/sore now, have popped a Naprosen and hopefully will go and see my osteo to check my alignment. This puts some risk into my planned run at the CR 5km challenge on Saturday.
Ignoring present issues from above I have been doing quite a deal of thinking about goals for the rest of the year to strive for. These fall into 2 categories, general and specific.
For the general side I am aiming to train through winter properly this time and will also run as much of the Striders 10km and Super Series events possible as well as others that make sense. Where I have done a particular race before then I will be aiming for a new PB. Through this program I aim to break 40min for 10km and depending upon how I am feeling try to break my PB and 90 @ SMH.
On the specific side I have decided I will run the Sydney Marathon and will go through a structured 12 week program for preparation. In these 12 weeks there will be quite a few races as well such as C2S and W2B for instance and I'll be using these as form guides for the Sydney run. Initial goal is to run a PB and I think 3:10 should be within reach if I train/prepare properly and race with a brain on the day. While it will be very tempting to aim for faster I now need some confidence over the longer races and 3:10 will do me for this year.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Race Report Canberra Marathon 2005
All the prep was done, just the actual race now.
Pre Race - Headed down to Canberra on Saturday morning to catch up with a cousin for lunch who I have only met a couple of times. From there it was across to the motel to register, meet and greet and then cheer on the runners in the 5/10km.
Had great fun watching the races as there were a number of laps so we got a good chance to cheer a lot of people. In particular Clairie with her pace escorts Mr G and Spud, but also Aki, Luke Skyrunner and a heap of Striders. Also good to see a couple of supported Cool Runners do real well!
Dinner was a good pasta load at a Italian restaurant in Kingston, I was slightly late as I needed to pick up last minute supplies.
Race Day - Slightly disturbed sleep but up at around 5am ready for action. The great thing about where I was staying was it was a walk out the door to the start! Popped over early to put my drinks in for the drink stops. Finally headed back over around 6:15, trying not to get too tense etc. There was certainly a mood of tension in the air.
Soon enough and we were off. I had decided to run by myself and keep a steady pace. If someone that I knew was around then great! Nice even splits early, ran with sportsman for about a km but he was going a little more conservatively so I pushed on. Back to the Bowen Cres turnaround and 10km just before it in 44:09, bang on my plans. A great lift from the crowd as we went through. From there it was just stay as smooth as possible, not far ahead was Philip B, another strider, and he was running probably only a second slower than me so it took until the tunnel until I caught him, we had a quick chat and I kept the momentum going. Back up the hill and through the tunnel and hit the 20km mark in 1:28:09 so a 2nd 10km of 44:00. This put me through the half way point in about 1:33. About here Philip B caught back up to me and we had another quick chat but he moved away from me pretty quickly mainly due to the fact that my pace was slowing.
Made concerted efforts to step it up again but to no avail so I decided to stay running comfortably and see what happened. As we got closer to the Bowen turnaround I could feel myself struggling more. Steve B, caught me at about the same time as I caught Mohammed just at the turn. Again the crowd was great but I was starting to hurt, the stomach in particular was beginning to spasm. Everytime I had a drink it gotr worse so I (maybe unwisely) started to limited fluid intake. Coming out of the turn Amjan gave me a big cheer and I think I said to her things were starting to hurt. Back out along the bridge and just at the drink station after the bridge things got worse. At the same time Superflake, vat_man and Blue Dog caught up to me. We had a quick chat but there was not a chance I could hold on to them.
Now I'm of the opinion that a blog must be honest and so this next bit is difficult...
About a km after the water station I really started to get bad stomach cramps and felt like chucking. I eased up further and around the same time the legs etc also started cramping, calves first probably due to the reduced fluid and also the increasing heat. The 30km time was 2:17:14 so a 49 minute 10km split. By the time I got to where the runners were coming the other way and turning on the bridge I was down to around 7 min/km pace and in semi tears from the pain/frustration. Really contemplated pulling out right there but did not want a dnf. I kept on going in this manner and now people were starting to stream past me. Finally got to the turnaround and shuffled back up the hill. By then I knew I would finish but it would be ugly.
Finally got back across the lake and not many people moving much faster than I was now, the 40km time was 3:24:36 so a 1:07 10km split. The stomach had eased up a bit by now but the damage was done and no way I could get the legs to turnover faster.
Finish time of 3:40:24. Not aware at the time but Miss Skarmel did a cartwheel about 20 metres behind me, and redback was also not too far back. I caught up with a few people right after the finish, including Tesso who had passed me during my worst section but had also slowed. Rather than sit around feeling sorry fro myself I dragged myself to the Striders tent had a couple of drinks and then went back to the finish line to cheer home the others. What an emotional experience cheering on the runners still finishing. Probably brought more of a tear to the eye yelling for people like Psychoma and Bernie G as they finished their first marathon than my own experience. Eventually I had to sit down as I was starting to feel woozy.
The whole race can be best summarised by the 2 half splits, 1:33 and 2:07 for 21 km. I feel somewhat guilty about being down on my time when many, many other people toughed it out for much longer than me. But I expected a whole lot better and am really at a loss as to what happened. Maybe I just went out too hard and did not factor in the warmer weather, it seems I was not alone as many people I know struggled today and missed what they were aiming for. Given my fluid/stomach problems I only used 1 of the 3 gu's I was carrying as well.
Well done to those that posted PB's on a tough day. I did some quick analysis and for those runners that ran in 2004 and 2005 as a group we were 3.1% slower this year.
Two days later now and while the upper quads and lh adductor are still a little sore I have pulled up pretty well. I'm going to go introspective for another day or so before I decide on the program forward. I do have a few ideas in mind and have already entered the SMH half so will be there for that.
Thanks to all those who posted here on my blog and also who were out on the course, both runners and spectators for the encouragement. I had a great weekend of meeting and socialising with Striders and Cool Runners, it is just that hour and a half or so mid Sunday morning that was certainly not enjoyable.
For posterity 5km splits were
5km 22:12 22:12
10km 21:57 44:09
15km 21:54 1:06:03
20km 22:06 1:28:09
25km 23:10 1:51:19
30km 25:55 2:17:14
35km 34:38 2:51:52
40km 34:44 3:24:36
End 3:40:24
Pre Race - Headed down to Canberra on Saturday morning to catch up with a cousin for lunch who I have only met a couple of times. From there it was across to the motel to register, meet and greet and then cheer on the runners in the 5/10km.
Had great fun watching the races as there were a number of laps so we got a good chance to cheer a lot of people. In particular Clairie with her pace escorts Mr G and Spud, but also Aki, Luke Skyrunner and a heap of Striders. Also good to see a couple of supported Cool Runners do real well!
Dinner was a good pasta load at a Italian restaurant in Kingston, I was slightly late as I needed to pick up last minute supplies.
Race Day - Slightly disturbed sleep but up at around 5am ready for action. The great thing about where I was staying was it was a walk out the door to the start! Popped over early to put my drinks in for the drink stops. Finally headed back over around 6:15, trying not to get too tense etc. There was certainly a mood of tension in the air.
Soon enough and we were off. I had decided to run by myself and keep a steady pace. If someone that I knew was around then great! Nice even splits early, ran with sportsman for about a km but he was going a little more conservatively so I pushed on. Back to the Bowen Cres turnaround and 10km just before it in 44:09, bang on my plans. A great lift from the crowd as we went through. From there it was just stay as smooth as possible, not far ahead was Philip B, another strider, and he was running probably only a second slower than me so it took until the tunnel until I caught him, we had a quick chat and I kept the momentum going. Back up the hill and through the tunnel and hit the 20km mark in 1:28:09 so a 2nd 10km of 44:00. This put me through the half way point in about 1:33. About here Philip B caught back up to me and we had another quick chat but he moved away from me pretty quickly mainly due to the fact that my pace was slowing.
Made concerted efforts to step it up again but to no avail so I decided to stay running comfortably and see what happened. As we got closer to the Bowen turnaround I could feel myself struggling more. Steve B, caught me at about the same time as I caught Mohammed just at the turn. Again the crowd was great but I was starting to hurt, the stomach in particular was beginning to spasm. Everytime I had a drink it gotr worse so I (maybe unwisely) started to limited fluid intake. Coming out of the turn Amjan gave me a big cheer and I think I said to her things were starting to hurt. Back out along the bridge and just at the drink station after the bridge things got worse. At the same time Superflake, vat_man and Blue Dog caught up to me. We had a quick chat but there was not a chance I could hold on to them.
Now I'm of the opinion that a blog must be honest and so this next bit is difficult...
About a km after the water station I really started to get bad stomach cramps and felt like chucking. I eased up further and around the same time the legs etc also started cramping, calves first probably due to the reduced fluid and also the increasing heat. The 30km time was 2:17:14 so a 49 minute 10km split. By the time I got to where the runners were coming the other way and turning on the bridge I was down to around 7 min/km pace and in semi tears from the pain/frustration. Really contemplated pulling out right there but did not want a dnf. I kept on going in this manner and now people were starting to stream past me. Finally got to the turnaround and shuffled back up the hill. By then I knew I would finish but it would be ugly.
Finally got back across the lake and not many people moving much faster than I was now, the 40km time was 3:24:36 so a 1:07 10km split. The stomach had eased up a bit by now but the damage was done and no way I could get the legs to turnover faster.
Finish time of 3:40:24. Not aware at the time but Miss Skarmel did a cartwheel about 20 metres behind me, and redback was also not too far back. I caught up with a few people right after the finish, including Tesso who had passed me during my worst section but had also slowed. Rather than sit around feeling sorry fro myself I dragged myself to the Striders tent had a couple of drinks and then went back to the finish line to cheer home the others. What an emotional experience cheering on the runners still finishing. Probably brought more of a tear to the eye yelling for people like Psychoma and Bernie G as they finished their first marathon than my own experience. Eventually I had to sit down as I was starting to feel woozy.
The whole race can be best summarised by the 2 half splits, 1:33 and 2:07 for 21 km. I feel somewhat guilty about being down on my time when many, many other people toughed it out for much longer than me. But I expected a whole lot better and am really at a loss as to what happened. Maybe I just went out too hard and did not factor in the warmer weather, it seems I was not alone as many people I know struggled today and missed what they were aiming for. Given my fluid/stomach problems I only used 1 of the 3 gu's I was carrying as well.
Well done to those that posted PB's on a tough day. I did some quick analysis and for those runners that ran in 2004 and 2005 as a group we were 3.1% slower this year.
Two days later now and while the upper quads and lh adductor are still a little sore I have pulled up pretty well. I'm going to go introspective for another day or so before I decide on the program forward. I do have a few ideas in mind and have already entered the SMH half so will be there for that.
Thanks to all those who posted here on my blog and also who were out on the course, both runners and spectators for the encouragement. I had a great weekend of meeting and socialising with Striders and Cool Runners, it is just that hour and a half or so mid Sunday morning that was certainly not enjoyable.
For posterity 5km splits were
5km 22:12 22:12
10km 21:57 44:09
15km 21:54 1:06:03
20km 22:06 1:28:09
25km 23:10 1:51:19
30km 25:55 2:17:14
35km 34:38 2:51:52
40km 34:44 3:24:36
End 3:40:24
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Last serious hit out
Getting down to the line now....
Was going to head to the Bay for this session but instead opted for my local run down to the weir and back. A nice 4km warmup and then 3km @ just below target Marathon Pace, a little harder given the undulations and turns @ Lane Cove. Then a warm down on the way home. Felt a little awkward and was a little inconsistent at pacing but in all not too bad.
Just after I finished the MP section I saw Mr G headed down towards the weir.
A minor concern on adductor, a little tender still from Saturday, will focus on ice and NSAID for the next day or so.
That is pretty much it, maybe a 5km lite stretch out on Fri/Sat. Getting ready for loading up on carbos and reducing alcohol intake for the next couple of days.
Was going to head to the Bay for this session but instead opted for my local run down to the weir and back. A nice 4km warmup and then 3km @ just below target Marathon Pace, a little harder given the undulations and turns @ Lane Cove. Then a warm down on the way home. Felt a little awkward and was a little inconsistent at pacing but in all not too bad.
Just after I finished the MP section I saw Mr G headed down towards the weir.
A minor concern on adductor, a little tender still from Saturday, will focus on ice and NSAID for the next day or so.
That is pretty much it, maybe a 5km lite stretch out on Fri/Sat. Getting ready for loading up on carbos and reducing alcohol intake for the next couple of days.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Tapering time
Sunday
The Striders STaR was based at Balmoral this week and has a number of hills and singletrack over the long distance. In the end I decided to show up at 7am and run the shorter option at a gentle pace. Quite a group as the MTG planned to do the same thing and I ran along with Redback and Mohammed near the front most of the time, pausing at water stops to regroup. As we came into Mosman the longer runners were coming the other way and I did a fartlek type run up the long hill from the Mosman Ferry wharf to tag onto the back of the 6:20 group. Left them there though and continued up the hill. As I waited for the group to catch up Luke Skyrunner came through, cutting short his long run and I joined in with him to run back to the start. Probably around 12-13km all up at around 6 min/km pace. Very easy!
Canberra prep
A few things on the checklist this week and the short "racing " hair cut has happened, the legs are waxed and I've booked a massage for towards the end of the week. Missed the run this morning so will pop out this afternoon for a nice "recovery" run.
Am still tossing up my pacing strategy but am leaning towards (in 10km increments)
45/44/44/43/9 which will give 3:05 (some rounding in there). The fall back is to run @ 4:30 pace the whole way which will give around a 3:10. Ultimately at the 30km mark I will be running as hard/fast as I and anything could happen....
The Striders STaR was based at Balmoral this week and has a number of hills and singletrack over the long distance. In the end I decided to show up at 7am and run the shorter option at a gentle pace. Quite a group as the MTG planned to do the same thing and I ran along with Redback and Mohammed near the front most of the time, pausing at water stops to regroup. As we came into Mosman the longer runners were coming the other way and I did a fartlek type run up the long hill from the Mosman Ferry wharf to tag onto the back of the 6:20 group. Left them there though and continued up the hill. As I waited for the group to catch up Luke Skyrunner came through, cutting short his long run and I joined in with him to run back to the start. Probably around 12-13km all up at around 6 min/km pace. Very easy!
Canberra prep
A few things on the checklist this week and the short "racing " hair cut has happened, the legs are waxed and I've booked a massage for towards the end of the week. Missed the run this morning so will pop out this afternoon for a nice "recovery" run.
Am still tossing up my pacing strategy but am leaning towards (in 10km increments)
45/44/44/43/9 which will give 3:05 (some rounding in there). The fall back is to run @ 4:30 pace the whole way which will give around a 3:10. Ultimately at the 30km mark I will be running as hard/fast as I and anything could happen....
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Race report Striders 10km @ The Domain
Not a perfectly scheduled race for a fast 10km time only one week out from Canberra and also a tight twisty udulating course, described as not a PB run!
Anyway, got there early to help setup, next month I am flying solo on the timing/results so this was a dry run while I could have some mentoring as required. I have found one of the good things about being involved in the setup is that is distracts from any pre race nerves.
Next thing you know it I'm with just over 300 runners near the point of Lady Macquarie's Chair opposite the Opera House at the start line. Course is three laps and a little bit around Lady Macquarie's chair and The Domain. Heavy congestion for the first couple of km but I am surprised with the splits I am recording as they are faster than I though I was going.
Settle in at a steady pace which felt real comfortable and it just happens to coincide to being about 15-20 metres behind vat_man. At the same time I am swapping places with a couple of other Striders who are usually a bit quicker than I am. Coming through the final lap I missed the 9km marker and decided just to run the same steady pace to the line and not go crazy, knowing I was close to a PB but not stressing about it.
Ended up across the line just behind the group I had been tailing and with a new PB of 41:14, a ten second improvement. The best thing is I ran within myself and felt relatively composed at the end.
Splits were
1km 4:14 4:14
2km 4:00 8:14
3km 3:44 11:58
4km 4:17 16:15
5km 4:13 20:28
6km 3:58 24:26
7km 4:16 28:43
8km 4:30 33:12
10km 8:02 41:14
This is yet another great positive piece of feedback for Canberra. The week summary is 53km but the real interesting thing is the Parrot Predictor says a 2:59:44!!
With 7 days to go this week is critical in the taper and will have no high intensity or long distance. For tomorrow I'm probably going to do the STaR but run the 7am group at an easy pace with a few mates for about 15km.
Anyway, got there early to help setup, next month I am flying solo on the timing/results so this was a dry run while I could have some mentoring as required. I have found one of the good things about being involved in the setup is that is distracts from any pre race nerves.
Next thing you know it I'm with just over 300 runners near the point of Lady Macquarie's Chair opposite the Opera House at the start line. Course is three laps and a little bit around Lady Macquarie's chair and The Domain. Heavy congestion for the first couple of km but I am surprised with the splits I am recording as they are faster than I though I was going.
Settle in at a steady pace which felt real comfortable and it just happens to coincide to being about 15-20 metres behind vat_man. At the same time I am swapping places with a couple of other Striders who are usually a bit quicker than I am. Coming through the final lap I missed the 9km marker and decided just to run the same steady pace to the line and not go crazy, knowing I was close to a PB but not stressing about it.
Ended up across the line just behind the group I had been tailing and with a new PB of 41:14, a ten second improvement. The best thing is I ran within myself and felt relatively composed at the end.
Splits were
1km 4:14 4:14
2km 4:00 8:14
3km 3:44 11:58
4km 4:17 16:15
5km 4:13 20:28
6km 3:58 24:26
7km 4:16 28:43
8km 4:30 33:12
10km 8:02 41:14
This is yet another great positive piece of feedback for Canberra. The week summary is 53km but the real interesting thing is the Parrot Predictor says a 2:59:44!!
With 7 days to go this week is critical in the taper and will have no high intensity or long distance. For tomorrow I'm probably going to do the STaR but run the 7am group at an easy pace with a few mates for about 15km.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
March review
Hey it's the end of March I just realised!!
A quick review shows
Total for March = 236km, quite a bit below initial plan but that can really be put down to 6ft taking more out of me than planned and thus wiping out pretty much a week of training.
In comparing to March last year where I did 294km!
Interesting also to see that my average pace this year vs last year was actually the same. Again that 6ft influence where the avg pace was 7:51 for 45km.
Highlights for March - completing 6ft and also a 35second PB for 5km
Lowlight for March - struggling on 6ft much more than planned
A quick review shows
Total for March = 236km, quite a bit below initial plan but that can really be put down to 6ft taking more out of me than planned and thus wiping out pretty much a week of training.
In comparing to March last year where I did 294km!
Interesting also to see that my average pace this year vs last year was actually the same. Again that 6ft influence where the avg pace was 7:51 for 45km.
Highlights for March - completing 6ft and also a 35second PB for 5km
Lowlight for March - struggling on 6ft much more than planned
As sharp as it gets
The days continue to tick down and this morning I had scheduled my last "high intensity" pace session. Back to the treadie but this time 500m reps.
I planned to do between 8-10 but slightly slower than I would do normally (3:20) and so set the pace guide for 3:30 and did 8 (with 1:45 standing recovery). Once again could have done more but felt 8 was about right!
I call this high intensity given it is well below my Target Marathon Pace. Next run is on Saturday where we have the Striders 10km in the domain, was tempted to give this a real thrash but I think I'll now run the first 5km at around 4:15 pace and then see what happens.
I planned to do between 8-10 but slightly slower than I would do normally (3:20) and so set the pace guide for 3:30 and did 8 (with 1:45 standing recovery). Once again could have done more but felt 8 was about right!
I call this high intensity given it is well below my Target Marathon Pace. Next run is on Saturday where we have the Striders 10km in the domain, was tempted to give this a real thrash but I think I'll now run the first 5km at around 4:15 pace and then see what happens.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Time to sharpen up!
No more long stuff, time to get the legs used to turning over quicker.
A good session this morning of 6 x 1km @ 3:50 pace with 1:55 standing recovery.
No problems at all with this and really could have done at least another 2 but that is not the program at this point.
Combined with a nice warm up/down another good session to have under the belt and a further confidence booster. Rest tomorrow and then some shorter faster reps on Thursday.
I like this taper business!
A good session this morning of 6 x 1km @ 3:50 pace with 1:55 standing recovery.
No problems at all with this and really could have done at least another 2 but that is not the program at this point.
Combined with a nice warm up/down another good session to have under the belt and a further confidence booster. Rest tomorrow and then some shorter faster reps on Thursday.
I like this taper business!
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Homebush Hustle STaR
Last "long" run on the schedule before Canberra and you could not pick a better STaR to do it with. Starting in Concord you proceed straight through Olympica Park, then along Parramatta River crossing at Silverwater Rd, back along the northern shore and then across to Rhodes on the way home.
I wanted to have a pretty hard/fast hit out today and so decided to go out with the 6:20 group. Pretty much straight away the pace was one and after about 10km the group split into about 3 sub groups. I stayed towards the back and ended up running with Action, Luke Skyrunner and vat_man. We had a great time chatting and joking as the km steadily ticked by and I just started to struggle a little as we headed back through West Ryde/Meadowbank. Popped a gu and held it together as we too the short option "B" and headed back through Rhodes, just hanging on on some of the inclines. The guys knew I was being stretched but thought I should step up the pace on the way home. With a couple of km to go Luke offered to run with me at my actual Marathon Pace and we took off from the others. As it happened we only has about 1.5 km before a overpass to cross the railway line but we really turned it on and actually went a bit faster than MP, and just before the bridge headed up a slight hill I was really going for it!
Got back to the finish a little knackered and sore but very happy with the workout
26.3km in 2:04:06 (avg pace 4:43min/km and avg HR 163)
EDIT : Action dropped me a note saying his calculations make it 27.1km which then makes it an avg pace of 4:35 min/km!! Who am I to argue with a certified course measurer... (makes the run even more pleasing)
After cooling down had some good chats with different people at the finish and on reflection am very happy with this run as a last long hit out, the groin is still a bit sore but some rest and care should sort that out before race day. Some real sharpening this week as the focus shifts to intensity and rest rather than distance.
I wanted to have a pretty hard/fast hit out today and so decided to go out with the 6:20 group. Pretty much straight away the pace was one and after about 10km the group split into about 3 sub groups. I stayed towards the back and ended up running with Action, Luke Skyrunner and vat_man. We had a great time chatting and joking as the km steadily ticked by and I just started to struggle a little as we headed back through West Ryde/Meadowbank. Popped a gu and held it together as we too the short option "B" and headed back through Rhodes, just hanging on on some of the inclines. The guys knew I was being stretched but thought I should step up the pace on the way home. With a couple of km to go Luke offered to run with me at my actual Marathon Pace and we took off from the others. As it happened we only has about 1.5 km before a overpass to cross the railway line but we really turned it on and actually went a bit faster than MP, and just before the bridge headed up a slight hill I was really going for it!
Got back to the finish a little knackered and sore but very happy with the workout
26.3km in 2:04:06 (avg pace 4:43min/km and avg HR 163)
EDIT : Action dropped me a note saying his calculations make it 27.1km which then makes it an avg pace of 4:35 min/km!! Who am I to argue with a certified course measurer... (makes the run even more pleasing)
After cooling down had some good chats with different people at the finish and on reflection am very happy with this run as a last long hit out, the groin is still a bit sore but some rest and care should sort that out before race day. Some real sharpening this week as the focus shifts to intensity and rest rather than distance.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
CR 5km Challenge
A different approach to this week's run, I know I can break the current PB of 19:50 if I sort out my pacing. Decided to use the virtual partner feature on the Garmin 301 and set it for 3:55 pace which would give me a 19:35.
Up in the morning and as I'm eating toast and getting ready it starts to rain. No problems, a mere distraction. Get to the start early and watch/listen to the rain on the car roof. It eases up as 7am approaches and people start to arrive. I also decide to run with 20 minute group rather than 19 minutes so I don't get caught up following someone out too hard.
Action sends us off and while I'm at the front, no heroics and pretty soon Redback and Mr WT ease past into the lead. I'm happy with this as I'm feeling comfortable and this will stop me being silly at the front. Also in our bunch were Horrie and Mr G plus at least one other but really never saw them. At about the 3km mark Mr WT slipped back a little and I moved up next to Redback, we ran next to each other for a couple of hundred metres and then he started to drift back. Still feeling good and merely maintaining my pace we entered the last km and also started catching some of the earlier starters.
That last km is a bugger with a twisting path to keep you honest but I gritted the teeth and kept it going, as I rounded the final curve for the finish straight Luke Skyrunner and pram came up along side and cruised past, not much I could do about that. Crossed the line and immediately attempted to try and recover the oxygen that the lungs seemed to be a little short on.
The end result was a PB of 35 seconds with a new time of 19:15. Splits roughly were
3:43
3:56
3:53
3:49
3:54
Very happy with that and did a return warmdown run back for brekky in the cold and rain but good company!
This is a new benchmark for me and according to various calculators I a on line for a 40 min 10km and also a 3:10 marathon!! Just the tonic needed for the mind with 2 weeks to go.
So ends another week, seemingly a turnaround physically and mentally after 6 foot.
53km for the week and the parrot predictor says a 3:36:47, heavily influenced by last Sunday's struggle in the STaR.
Up in the morning and as I'm eating toast and getting ready it starts to rain. No problems, a mere distraction. Get to the start early and watch/listen to the rain on the car roof. It eases up as 7am approaches and people start to arrive. I also decide to run with 20 minute group rather than 19 minutes so I don't get caught up following someone out too hard.
Action sends us off and while I'm at the front, no heroics and pretty soon Redback and Mr WT ease past into the lead. I'm happy with this as I'm feeling comfortable and this will stop me being silly at the front. Also in our bunch were Horrie and Mr G plus at least one other but really never saw them. At about the 3km mark Mr WT slipped back a little and I moved up next to Redback, we ran next to each other for a couple of hundred metres and then he started to drift back. Still feeling good and merely maintaining my pace we entered the last km and also started catching some of the earlier starters.
That last km is a bugger with a twisting path to keep you honest but I gritted the teeth and kept it going, as I rounded the final curve for the finish straight Luke Skyrunner and pram came up along side and cruised past, not much I could do about that. Crossed the line and immediately attempted to try and recover the oxygen that the lungs seemed to be a little short on.
The end result was a PB of 35 seconds with a new time of 19:15. Splits roughly were
3:43
3:56
3:53
3:49
3:54
Very happy with that and did a return warmdown run back for brekky in the cold and rain but good company!
This is a new benchmark for me and according to various calculators I a on line for a 40 min 10km and also a 3:10 marathon!! Just the tonic needed for the mind with 2 weeks to go.
So ends another week, seemingly a turnaround physically and mentally after 6 foot.
53km for the week and the parrot predictor says a 3:36:47, heavily influenced by last Sunday's struggle in the STaR.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Sharpen up time
A nice sleep in this morning but still wanted to get out today so headed out this afternoon. Wanted to do a pretty hard session but not a full on headbanging interval set. I decided to do my normal run through the park to the weir and back. Main difference being that at 3km I'd shift down to around Half Marathon pace and hold that through the undulations for 5km. As it happened the start and end of the 5km were both halfway down Scribbly so a nice uphill finish to really test things out.
The warm up was pretty good and I was really floating but still running sub 5 min/km pace. When the 3km distance beep went off I immediately upped the effort and then monitored things on the garmin. At the end of the 5km I ended up in a time of 21:04 so slightly sub 4:15 pace, again on a undulating course.
Had a minute break and then warmed down heading home. The final stats were
10.97 km in 49:41, avg pace 4:32 (which is pretty much my new Canberra target MP) and avg HR of 170.
I have had the "blahs" since 6 ft but I think this session has turned the corner for me mentally. Not even that fussed by the blister I managed to pick up on my heel. No niggles from either lower leg and I did plenty of stretching at the end of the run.
A rest day tomorrow and the CR 5km challenge at the bay to round out the week and keep teh sharpening coming!
The warm up was pretty good and I was really floating but still running sub 5 min/km pace. When the 3km distance beep went off I immediately upped the effort and then monitored things on the garmin. At the end of the 5km I ended up in a time of 21:04 so slightly sub 4:15 pace, again on a undulating course.
Had a minute break and then warmed down heading home. The final stats were
10.97 km in 49:41, avg pace 4:32 (which is pretty much my new Canberra target MP) and avg HR of 170.
I have had the "blahs" since 6 ft but I think this session has turned the corner for me mentally. Not even that fussed by the blister I managed to pick up on my heel. No niggles from either lower leg and I did plenty of stretching at the end of the run.
A rest day tomorrow and the CR 5km challenge at the bay to round out the week and keep teh sharpening coming!
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Lets get back on Track!
Ok, time to get serious again.
Summer Series final event at Macquarie Uni. The scene is I am running 4th by 2 points from 5th. If we both run the same score then he goes past me as he gets to drop a lower scoring poor run. So I need to beat him by a bit, hard to do when he is significantly faster than me.
To complicated things further it had been absolutely bucketing down with rain here and when I got to the start part of the course was closed, as it was on sporting grounds (as you will see from the map scan). So a max of 480 up for grabs which means need a perfect score as 480 is gettable!
A route selected I'm off, good thing is I have run this map twice before so have a bit of an idea what to expect. Out to 3, down to 7 and in and out to 22. Around to 2 and another in and out for 13. Running very freely here, quickly past 12 down the hill to 15. First muddle here as I misinterpret the map and stumble for a minute or 2 with another runner. He leaves, I re-establlish map contact and sort out the problem. Back out up the hill for 21 on the way to 1. Continue up the hill and across an overgrown paddock for 25, down the hill to the dam and 14.
Major stuff up here as I completely fumble 26, but it seemed I was not the only one... Lost many minutes here, very frustrating. Finally sorted myself out and then raced across the paddock towards the campus and got 4/23 and 5 very quickly. Around the buildings now and extra complication of people everywhere. Slow down for 23 and then again lose map contact on the way to 6 sucking up at least another minute.
Now on to 23 and it is obvious time is not good and so opt to miss 30/19/20. Through the buildings again for 16 then real open running for 27 and home.
Here is the map and my route
http://www.users.bigpond.com/dmbray/Uni.jpg
End up back in 50:38 so 60 points deducted for lateness. Given I got 410 that gives a net of 350, a terrible score given the fast guys got the lot in under 40 minutes. The only saving grace is 5th place did not show up so I managed to keep 4th place!! Also scored a special award and a bottle of wine for the work I did on the web site.
The run stats, 9.1km in 50:38, avg pace of 5:33 and avg HR of 168.
So the season ends, ended up 4th. Interesting looking at the three guys in front of me. First just finished 6th @ 6ft in 3:43, 2nd also just ran 6ft in 4:30 and 3rd has run a sub 4hr 6ft as well. Pretty esteemed company!!
The other good thing is both lower leg niggles gave no problems, the groin was a little sore but I think that will be the case for a while whenever I am running this type of event with sudden changes in direction etc.
I think next year I'' approach SS a bi differently and always aim to get the lot, just to stretch me out a bit further.
Summer Series final event at Macquarie Uni. The scene is I am running 4th by 2 points from 5th. If we both run the same score then he goes past me as he gets to drop a lower scoring poor run. So I need to beat him by a bit, hard to do when he is significantly faster than me.
To complicated things further it had been absolutely bucketing down with rain here and when I got to the start part of the course was closed, as it was on sporting grounds (as you will see from the map scan). So a max of 480 up for grabs which means need a perfect score as 480 is gettable!
A route selected I'm off, good thing is I have run this map twice before so have a bit of an idea what to expect. Out to 3, down to 7 and in and out to 22. Around to 2 and another in and out for 13. Running very freely here, quickly past 12 down the hill to 15. First muddle here as I misinterpret the map and stumble for a minute or 2 with another runner. He leaves, I re-establlish map contact and sort out the problem. Back out up the hill for 21 on the way to 1. Continue up the hill and across an overgrown paddock for 25, down the hill to the dam and 14.
Major stuff up here as I completely fumble 26, but it seemed I was not the only one... Lost many minutes here, very frustrating. Finally sorted myself out and then raced across the paddock towards the campus and got 4/23 and 5 very quickly. Around the buildings now and extra complication of people everywhere. Slow down for 23 and then again lose map contact on the way to 6 sucking up at least another minute.
Now on to 23 and it is obvious time is not good and so opt to miss 30/19/20. Through the buildings again for 16 then real open running for 27 and home.
Here is the map and my route
http://www.users.bigpond.com/dmbray/Uni.jpg
End up back in 50:38 so 60 points deducted for lateness. Given I got 410 that gives a net of 350, a terrible score given the fast guys got the lot in under 40 minutes. The only saving grace is 5th place did not show up so I managed to keep 4th place!! Also scored a special award and a bottle of wine for the work I did on the web site.
The run stats, 9.1km in 50:38, avg pace of 5:33 and avg HR of 168.
So the season ends, ended up 4th. Interesting looking at the three guys in front of me. First just finished 6th @ 6ft in 3:43, 2nd also just ran 6ft in 4:30 and 3rd has run a sub 4hr 6ft as well. Pretty esteemed company!!
The other good thing is both lower leg niggles gave no problems, the groin was a little sore but I think that will be the case for a while whenever I am running this type of event with sudden changes in direction etc.
I think next year I'' approach SS a bi differently and always aim to get the lot, just to stretch me out a bit further.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Whats been going on??
Yes I have been slack in blogging! Quite strange I seem to have drifted into a mental "blahness" since 6ft, sort of like how I felt after Canberra last year. Maybe subconsciously I am still beating myself up....
Anyway not that much to report so here goes
Wed 16th - Summer Series @ Lane Cove
Not going to do the usual detailed thing here. The map is a good one with challenging climbs on the way home and lots of undualtions and some nice bush sections. Headed out and the legs seemed to turnover ok, however the brain took about 3-4 controls before I was back in the groove navigating. Ended up coming back late, and it was getting dark and cool now as well. Overall a nice fast hit out but as I cooled down the upper quads were getting tight.
Had Thursday and then Friday off which meant after the big night on the beer for Cool Running drinks no running on Saturday either.
Sun 20th - STaR, North Ryde Rambler
Another night out on Saturday night (not big time drinking this time) and a need to be home by 9am so we could take the kids to the show saw me stumble out of bed and get to the STaR to run in the dark with the MTG who were doing a little extra distance. So a nice 5km in just over 30 minutes took me back to the start to head out with the 6:10am group. Just the four of us with Kev, Horrie and Spud and we cruised having a good chat about all sorts of stuff. The 6:20 group screamed past us after only about 5km but I could not be bothered trying to hang on so early. As we headed back towards the start (this star is like a figure 8) I was starting to feel the effects of 6ft but opted to continue into the bush for a little while where I knew there was a logical turn point. As we dropped down I noticed my rh ankle was starting to get sore (just to accompany the already complaining lh calf and groin). Turned around and ran back to the start and I quickly headed off to get ready for the show.
By the time I got home and had cooled down the niggles were all a good deal sorer and in particular the front of the rh ankle (near the tendon) was not good. Washed up and changed and headed to the show and proceeded to limp around for about 5 hours on a painful ankle. That night my wife was laughing.shaking her head as I rotated ice packs between the ankle, calf and groin. I think all three are tendonitis type problems and the ice was working (along with the naprosen).
No way I was running Monday and today I used discretion as well (I am now officially tapering!) but everything was certainly feeling better. The plan for the rest of the week is as follows :
Wed - Last summer series event at Macquarie Uni. I'm defending 4th overall by only 2 points now and due to the way the best 12 runs are calculated actually need to beat the guy in 5th by about 6 points due to the next worst run that we both drop! Needless to say I'll be having a go.
Thursday - recovery of around 10km but will include some MP fartlek pieces in as well.
Friday - rest
Saturday - CR 5km challenge
Sunday - a good paced 25km at the STaR on a nice flat course out at Homebush.
Hopefully this will shake out the "blues" as I get back on track with not that many days before Canberra, I need to get focussed and motivated.
Anyway not that much to report so here goes
Wed 16th - Summer Series @ Lane Cove
Not going to do the usual detailed thing here. The map is a good one with challenging climbs on the way home and lots of undualtions and some nice bush sections. Headed out and the legs seemed to turnover ok, however the brain took about 3-4 controls before I was back in the groove navigating. Ended up coming back late, and it was getting dark and cool now as well. Overall a nice fast hit out but as I cooled down the upper quads were getting tight.
Had Thursday and then Friday off which meant after the big night on the beer for Cool Running drinks no running on Saturday either.
Sun 20th - STaR, North Ryde Rambler
Another night out on Saturday night (not big time drinking this time) and a need to be home by 9am so we could take the kids to the show saw me stumble out of bed and get to the STaR to run in the dark with the MTG who were doing a little extra distance. So a nice 5km in just over 30 minutes took me back to the start to head out with the 6:10am group. Just the four of us with Kev, Horrie and Spud and we cruised having a good chat about all sorts of stuff. The 6:20 group screamed past us after only about 5km but I could not be bothered trying to hang on so early. As we headed back towards the start (this star is like a figure 8) I was starting to feel the effects of 6ft but opted to continue into the bush for a little while where I knew there was a logical turn point. As we dropped down I noticed my rh ankle was starting to get sore (just to accompany the already complaining lh calf and groin). Turned around and ran back to the start and I quickly headed off to get ready for the show.
By the time I got home and had cooled down the niggles were all a good deal sorer and in particular the front of the rh ankle (near the tendon) was not good. Washed up and changed and headed to the show and proceeded to limp around for about 5 hours on a painful ankle. That night my wife was laughing.shaking her head as I rotated ice packs between the ankle, calf and groin. I think all three are tendonitis type problems and the ice was working (along with the naprosen).
No way I was running Monday and today I used discretion as well (I am now officially tapering!) but everything was certainly feeling better. The plan for the rest of the week is as follows :
Wed - Last summer series event at Macquarie Uni. I'm defending 4th overall by only 2 points now and due to the way the best 12 runs are calculated actually need to beat the guy in 5th by about 6 points due to the next worst run that we both drop! Needless to say I'll be having a go.
Thursday - recovery of around 10km but will include some MP fartlek pieces in as well.
Friday - rest
Saturday - CR 5km challenge
Sunday - a good paced 25km at the STaR on a nice flat course out at Homebush.
Hopefully this will shake out the "blues" as I get back on track with not that many days before Canberra, I need to get focussed and motivated.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Six foot Garmin 301 data
Forgot to include the HR/Elevation from the Garmin 301.
Pretty interesting, maybe I did go out a tad too hard looking at the HR.....
Pretty interesting, maybe I did go out a tad too hard looking at the HR.....
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Race Report 6 foot track
I've expanded upon my CR post re 6ft, read on for a more detailed version!
Wow, what an experience!
Running 6ft was the end of an 18 month goal, set when I started running seriously. A slight change in priorities saw a fast run in Canberra take precedence over a fast first 6ft. So the end goal was to do the run at a more leisurely pace and soak up the atmosphere. After a lot of reading and researching I determined that between 5:30-6:00 would be a realistic target given the above goal. In the end I worked out some splits which would keep me on track for a 5:45 finish. Some heavy milage in the weeks before and pretty much no taper were also the lead in for the run.
I had found some great accommodation in the Megalong Valley just off Nellies Glen Road and as we got there the eveing before scanned up the escarpement trying to work out the path of the track. Early morning rise and my brother in law dropped me off. Caught up with a few familiar faces and then boarded the shuttle bus to the start.
At the start the atmosphere was amazing as there was this real feeling of tension in the air as all the runners wanted to get going! Seeded in wave 2 I was a couple of rows back from the front and we were off!
Now I run trails (and downhill ones especially) fairly well and so was already zipping past people in the wide beginning section. Finally get to the "real" descent and form an orderly supermarket queue. Everyone was well behaved but still there were people slipping on the more difficult pieces. Gaps started to form and when we got to a slightly more level area I started going past slower runners when the track allowed. By the time we got to Nellies Glen Road it was pretty open running and I caught up to Spud and Jan. Was feeling great and well within myself so kept going and along the road could see other runners such as coaster and RMC just ahead.
At the first fence crossing (and aid station) my family were there cheering. As it happened it was also my birthday and they had some signs made up. A runner behind me joked as we went over the stile about a wierd way to celebrate a birthday. Along the section to Megalong Road caught up to Mr G and went past him as he stopped at the aid station to refill. Still felt great and ran just behind some Striders (Barry, Stephen, James and Tim) through this section. As we descended from pinnacle towards Cox's on singletrack sections I left them behind as my track running shone through. Caught up to a couple of conga lines and slowly moved my way through when opportunity allowed.
As we approached Cox's I was in the clear by myself for about a km or so and thus was not real sure about the crossing but picked my way over the stones on the right. At this point the time was 1:22 and so I was way ahead of the 1:35 that I had calculated. Knowing the hardest bit was just about to start I felt very comfortable and was planning to walk most of the climbs, only running on any flatter or downhill sections. Had my first gu here.
I could see a Strider in the distance but we seemed to be climbing around the same rate. Not too soon and coaster, Spud and Jan went past. Just as we approached the cattle yards you could see quite a bit ahead as the trail twisted, saw Mohammed (easy with the red cap) and maybe Blue Dog there. I then caught up to the Strider who I had been following and was surprised to see it was MPHaz, had a quick chat at the aid station and then kept going, his calf was not good but there was no way he was not finishing!
Soon after Mr G loomed up next to me and we had a quick talk, during which he commented he thought I was limping! As he moved forward up the climb, I thought bollocks, but then all of a sudden my left calf started to grab. Through here the group of Striders I went past earlier also went past but I was just managing my pace and adjusting my style so the calf did not complain.
A bit disappointed at the top of Mini Mini (no big sign saying you have climbed Mini Mini etc!) and started downhill. Was a little surprised at how much harder it was to stretch out after the walk/climb. Went through the aid station at Alum Creek (2nd gu) and splashed straight through the different crossings.As the pluvio climb progressed the calf complained more and more but I just slowed my walking to alleviate the pain. At that point I was pretty convinced I had pulled the muscle now based upon my previous calf strain last year. MPHaz went back past here, bloody tough bugger. Some of the other muscles in the left leg were now complaining as I am sure I had subconsciously adjusted my gait.Many people walking but I was slower than most. Very happy to get to the top in 3:08, losing a bit of time gained to Cox's but still ahead of original schedule.
The horror that I know now as Black Range immediately commenced. As I tried to shift back into running the legs refused to co-operate and now I was getting intermittent lock up of a muscle I had never even heard of before (which I now know was the Sartorius) crossing from inside the knee to the hip flexor, very hard to move your leg when this locks up!Black Range was much more about walking than running and I contemplated on a number of occasions quitting at the next aid station. Grabbed a banana and it seemed to make a difference so on I went breaking down the remainder of the race into chunks. Around here another Strider Dave King caught up to me and we swapped places about 20 times before the finish, both struggling badly.
I thought after Deviation (final gu) it would improve, and it did until I turned the corner to see the "short steep" section Mr G had written about. Somewhere along here Sarge and Horrie went past. Finally made it to Caves Rd and knew I'd get home, to be honest the downhill was not that bad for me, but I could not stretch out. The progression of runners going past continued and Amjan went past, running really well at this point.Finally made it down and as I turned the last corner both calves locked up as I tried to run to the line so it was more a limp across the line.Many, many lessons learned, ended up close to my original target but not in the style or manner planned. In the end it seems the calf/achilles was just a cramp as the legs have recovered pretty well, which is a relief!
A great day and all of the volunteers were magnificent in encouragement. I certainly appreciated the novelty of seeing the course first up on race day, adding to the whole experience.Some great runs and very definitely some gutsy runs from people I know (or know of). I perhaps treated 6ft with not enough respect first up and it certainly sorted me out. I'm already thinking about next year! Onwards to Canberra....
Stats 5:53:22
Wow, what an experience!
Running 6ft was the end of an 18 month goal, set when I started running seriously. A slight change in priorities saw a fast run in Canberra take precedence over a fast first 6ft. So the end goal was to do the run at a more leisurely pace and soak up the atmosphere. After a lot of reading and researching I determined that between 5:30-6:00 would be a realistic target given the above goal. In the end I worked out some splits which would keep me on track for a 5:45 finish. Some heavy milage in the weeks before and pretty much no taper were also the lead in for the run.
I had found some great accommodation in the Megalong Valley just off Nellies Glen Road and as we got there the eveing before scanned up the escarpement trying to work out the path of the track. Early morning rise and my brother in law dropped me off. Caught up with a few familiar faces and then boarded the shuttle bus to the start.
At the start the atmosphere was amazing as there was this real feeling of tension in the air as all the runners wanted to get going! Seeded in wave 2 I was a couple of rows back from the front and we were off!
Now I run trails (and downhill ones especially) fairly well and so was already zipping past people in the wide beginning section. Finally get to the "real" descent and form an orderly supermarket queue. Everyone was well behaved but still there were people slipping on the more difficult pieces. Gaps started to form and when we got to a slightly more level area I started going past slower runners when the track allowed. By the time we got to Nellies Glen Road it was pretty open running and I caught up to Spud and Jan. Was feeling great and well within myself so kept going and along the road could see other runners such as coaster and RMC just ahead.
At the first fence crossing (and aid station) my family were there cheering. As it happened it was also my birthday and they had some signs made up. A runner behind me joked as we went over the stile about a wierd way to celebrate a birthday. Along the section to Megalong Road caught up to Mr G and went past him as he stopped at the aid station to refill. Still felt great and ran just behind some Striders (Barry, Stephen, James and Tim) through this section. As we descended from pinnacle towards Cox's on singletrack sections I left them behind as my track running shone through. Caught up to a couple of conga lines and slowly moved my way through when opportunity allowed.
As we approached Cox's I was in the clear by myself for about a km or so and thus was not real sure about the crossing but picked my way over the stones on the right. At this point the time was 1:22 and so I was way ahead of the 1:35 that I had calculated. Knowing the hardest bit was just about to start I felt very comfortable and was planning to walk most of the climbs, only running on any flatter or downhill sections. Had my first gu here.
I could see a Strider in the distance but we seemed to be climbing around the same rate. Not too soon and coaster, Spud and Jan went past. Just as we approached the cattle yards you could see quite a bit ahead as the trail twisted, saw Mohammed (easy with the red cap) and maybe Blue Dog there. I then caught up to the Strider who I had been following and was surprised to see it was MPHaz, had a quick chat at the aid station and then kept going, his calf was not good but there was no way he was not finishing!
Soon after Mr G loomed up next to me and we had a quick talk, during which he commented he thought I was limping! As he moved forward up the climb, I thought bollocks, but then all of a sudden my left calf started to grab. Through here the group of Striders I went past earlier also went past but I was just managing my pace and adjusting my style so the calf did not complain.
A bit disappointed at the top of Mini Mini (no big sign saying you have climbed Mini Mini etc!) and started downhill. Was a little surprised at how much harder it was to stretch out after the walk/climb. Went through the aid station at Alum Creek (2nd gu) and splashed straight through the different crossings.As the pluvio climb progressed the calf complained more and more but I just slowed my walking to alleviate the pain. At that point I was pretty convinced I had pulled the muscle now based upon my previous calf strain last year. MPHaz went back past here, bloody tough bugger. Some of the other muscles in the left leg were now complaining as I am sure I had subconsciously adjusted my gait.Many people walking but I was slower than most. Very happy to get to the top in 3:08, losing a bit of time gained to Cox's but still ahead of original schedule.
The horror that I know now as Black Range immediately commenced. As I tried to shift back into running the legs refused to co-operate and now I was getting intermittent lock up of a muscle I had never even heard of before (which I now know was the Sartorius) crossing from inside the knee to the hip flexor, very hard to move your leg when this locks up!Black Range was much more about walking than running and I contemplated on a number of occasions quitting at the next aid station. Grabbed a banana and it seemed to make a difference so on I went breaking down the remainder of the race into chunks. Around here another Strider Dave King caught up to me and we swapped places about 20 times before the finish, both struggling badly.
I thought after Deviation (final gu) it would improve, and it did until I turned the corner to see the "short steep" section Mr G had written about. Somewhere along here Sarge and Horrie went past. Finally made it to Caves Rd and knew I'd get home, to be honest the downhill was not that bad for me, but I could not stretch out. The progression of runners going past continued and Amjan went past, running really well at this point.Finally made it down and as I turned the last corner both calves locked up as I tried to run to the line so it was more a limp across the line.Many, many lessons learned, ended up close to my original target but not in the style or manner planned. In the end it seems the calf/achilles was just a cramp as the legs have recovered pretty well, which is a relief!
A great day and all of the volunteers were magnificent in encouragement. I certainly appreciated the novelty of seeing the course first up on race day, adding to the whole experience.Some great runs and very definitely some gutsy runs from people I know (or know of). I perhaps treated 6ft with not enough respect first up and it certainly sorted me out. I'm already thinking about next year! Onwards to Canberra....
Stats 5:53:22
Summer Series (with a twist!)
Catch up time, craziness at work along with 6 foot have combined to delay my blogging considerably.
First up lets deal with Wednesday, travelled to Melbourne for work meetings and decided to head out to Mullum Mullum (near Ringwood) for a spot of Street Orienteering Melbourne style. Mentioned to fellow CR and chatter Louise that I might do this and she came up and introduced herself at the start.
The style of event is a little different compared to Sydney. The maps are black and white and are "melways" style. There are 20 controls put out and these are 2 x orienteering punches chained and locked to the base of trees, power poles etc. It is a mass start and you nominate a grade, I went for A grade which meant I had to get any 17 of the 20 controls. Ended up 9th in A grade and there were some pretty prominent elite orienteers there!
The distance was 9.1km in 40:57 (avg pace 4:30 and avg hr of 171)
A nice fast hit out and felt good at the end. Missed catching up with Louise afterwards.
First up lets deal with Wednesday, travelled to Melbourne for work meetings and decided to head out to Mullum Mullum (near Ringwood) for a spot of Street Orienteering Melbourne style. Mentioned to fellow CR and chatter Louise that I might do this and she came up and introduced herself at the start.
The style of event is a little different compared to Sydney. The maps are black and white and are "melways" style. There are 20 controls put out and these are 2 x orienteering punches chained and locked to the base of trees, power poles etc. It is a mass start and you nominate a grade, I went for A grade which meant I had to get any 17 of the 20 controls. Ended up 9th in A grade and there were some pretty prominent elite orienteers there!
The distance was 9.1km in 40:57 (avg pace 4:30 and avg hr of 171)
A nice fast hit out and felt good at the end. Missed catching up with Louise afterwards.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Recovery run to weir
A lighter mid week this week to do a "mini taper" for 6foot.
Headed out for the usual weir run in LCNP, a little cooler and less humid this morning. I do like running this time of year.
Nothing extraordinary, 11km in 52:18 (4:47 min/km and avg hr of 154).
Yesterday I went for a massage to iron out the little kinks from the last couple of weeks. I asked the masseur to be pretty firm especially on my calves and lhs ITB. In the end I reckon she was sorer than I was as she went at the legs hammer and tongs with deep elbows etc but could not get me to say that it was a little too much pressure :).
Melbourne bound for the remainder of the week, may try and do a evening orienteering event on Wednesday and then a light run on Friday.
Headed out for the usual weir run in LCNP, a little cooler and less humid this morning. I do like running this time of year.
Nothing extraordinary, 11km in 52:18 (4:47 min/km and avg hr of 154).
Yesterday I went for a massage to iron out the little kinks from the last couple of weeks. I asked the masseur to be pretty firm especially on my calves and lhs ITB. In the end I reckon she was sorer than I was as she went at the legs hammer and tongs with deep elbows etc but could not get me to say that it was a little too much pressure :).
Melbourne bound for the remainder of the week, may try and do a evening orienteering event on Wednesday and then a light run on Friday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)