Monday - designated rest day
Tuesday - still quite fatigued and tight after Sunday, opted from running in the morning hoping to run in the afternoon but no dice.
Monthly summary for January
Distance : 323km
Avg pace : 5:39 min/km
Total climb : 3,803m
An increase of close to 100km against January 2005 which is a good sign. Some good sessions in the month but still lacking some consistency.
Highlights - All time 2nd fastest half time, hard hit outs at Black Stump and 6 ft
Lowlights - Still some inconsistency, struggling with Summer Series somewhat, more hill work required
In a non running related area it looks like I have sorted out some work related stuff which has been weighing very heavily on the mind for the last 2 months! (thank goodness)
Tesso's question - I used a diluted Endura raspberry mix (about half of the recommended mixture), but had no "plain " water available other than at the car, or the water tank at Coxs River.
Also for gnscon (or is that Fake Plastic Trees?) - Yes I am sure I have seen some discussion somewhere that talks about the idea that gu/powerbars are not a good idea with an electrolyte solution, I'll have a dig and see if I can find the link.
[Edit] - found what I was looking for here time to re-read it.....
[Edit #2] just realised this was my second all time biggest month in terms of distance yeehaa!
The next 28 days are key for Six Foot lets see how it goes :)
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
Six foot post run ponderings
Thanks to all that commented some answers to the various questions.
Horrie - very unlikely I'll do the rogaine given it is only 2 weeks out from the big show, likewise for Blue Dog's proposed Orchard run. Colin and I had along talk about tapering etc and I think such long runs/efforts 2 weeks out will do more harm than good.
Electrolytes - About 30 min before I started I drank and Endura Opti and actually I had an Endura electrolyte replacement in the camelbak, slightly diluted. I think this made a big difference against when I raced as yesterday I did not even get a twinge of a cramp where as in the race I started cramping up Mini Mini and then all the way to the finish. Thinking about it more I think the powerbar I had at the river caused some of the problem, I should have washed it down with more water from the tank while we were stopped. Potentially this caused part of the digestion of fluid problems.
Condition of track - Spud, given this was only my second time through here and the first time I was pretty smashed by the top of Pluvi I did not notice much. Colin did not that he felt the track was rockier and his feet/toes are a bit beat up today. I was very happy with my shoes etc, no blisters whatsoever and that is with running right through all teh creek crossings.
I have pulled up pretty well, plenty of fluids and a massage today. Interesting to note, after all the rehydration and dinner last night I lost more weight (73.8kg this morning and 74.2kg when I got home yesterday). Seems the body was buring energy/fat while I slept!
Plan for a steady medium distance run tomorrow before Summer Series Wednesday, probably back to hill reps Thursday with a recovery run on Friday as taper for the first Striders 10km at Lane Cove Saturday morning.
Horrie - very unlikely I'll do the rogaine given it is only 2 weeks out from the big show, likewise for Blue Dog's proposed Orchard run. Colin and I had along talk about tapering etc and I think such long runs/efforts 2 weeks out will do more harm than good.
Electrolytes - About 30 min before I started I drank and Endura Opti and actually I had an Endura electrolyte replacement in the camelbak, slightly diluted. I think this made a big difference against when I raced as yesterday I did not even get a twinge of a cramp where as in the race I started cramping up Mini Mini and then all the way to the finish. Thinking about it more I think the powerbar I had at the river caused some of the problem, I should have washed it down with more water from the tank while we were stopped. Potentially this caused part of the digestion of fluid problems.
Condition of track - Spud, given this was only my second time through here and the first time I was pretty smashed by the top of Pluvi I did not notice much. Colin did not that he felt the track was rockier and his feet/toes are a bit beat up today. I was very happy with my shoes etc, no blisters whatsoever and that is with running right through all teh creek crossings.
I have pulled up pretty well, plenty of fluids and a massage today. Interesting to note, after all the rehydration and dinner last night I lost more weight (73.8kg this morning and 74.2kg when I got home yesterday). Seems the body was buring energy/fat while I slept!
Plan for a steady medium distance run tomorrow before Summer Series Wednesday, probably back to hill reps Thursday with a recovery run on Friday as taper for the first Striders 10km at Lane Cove Saturday morning.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Six Foot Track Dry Run
As planned up early for the drive up to the Blue Mountains. Pretty uneventful with little traffic, swapped calls with Colin a couple of times as he was parking at Megalong Rd with the goal of meeting up at the river and running back to my car, then me dropping him back at his car. Managed to miss the turnoff to Black Range but eventually realised this and turned back, but this meant I was running a little late.
Loaded the gear up, using the 3L Camelbak but also included the mobile, a camera and first aid kit (just in case!) along with a few powerbars. The descent along Black Range was great, no one else around and only a few kangaroos to keep me company. Just as I arrived at Pluviometer I got the phone out to check how Colin was going, just as I got found it, it started ringing! So he was just leaving Megalong Rd while I was just about to begin my descent. Early on in the run down I started seeing hikers coming up and out, which was a little intriguing as it was still pretty early, much too early for anyone walking the whole way. By the time I got to the bottom it was warming up and I enjoyed the cool water of the number of creek crossings, opting to just charge across.
As I neared the start of the Mini Mini climb I saw where all the hikers were coming from as a fairly large tent was being pulled down, along with several support vehicles. I decided to take it pretty easy up to Mini Mini saddle with the large climbs back home very clear in my mind. Downwards again, spotting another runner heading up near the cattleyards and looking strong!
About 500m from the river I saw Colin coming up the hill, so we joined up and returned to the river for some water, a quick clean of the feet/shoes in the river while munching a power bar and then ready to climb!
My aim was to walk the steep sections and run when possible which seemed to be going ok. During one of these steep sections the runner I saw previously was returning obviously knew Colin so we stopped for a quick chat. It turns out it was fellow Cool Runner Chonky also out for some "sekret" training! The ascent continued, with the real steep pinches requiring a bit of effort as the sun was blazing now, with continuous sweat pouring from me. As a result the camelbak was getting a good workout. Through here we also saw a few motorbikes. A nice refreshing run down the other side of the saddle and past the now empty camping area.
At the first major creek crossing Colin stopped to clean out his shoes and I was very happy just to stand in the middle of the water enjoying the cool water. Finally we got going again and started the Pluvi climb. About halfway up I started to struggle a little and was feeling a little nauseous. Closer to the top I told Colin to go on faster if he wanted and regroup at the top. A real struggle to get there and I sat down with Colin to top up the supplies, still feeling a bit crook. He gave me a few gummi bears but when I tried to stand up I felt quite dizzy. My HR was a little high for having rested and also was getting some pins & needles in my hands.
Eventually after standing up and sitting down a few times with no change I decided we should get going again and see how I reacted. Amazingly after about 500m the sensations had gone and Colin and I ran on although a little slower. After a few km I was starting to struggle again on the uphill bits and so again I told Colin to go on as we were only about 4km from the car. Clearly I was dehydrated but it seemed the body was struggling to process the liquid I was trying to replace fast enough, thus the nausea feeling.
A bit of a shuffle with run/walk combo and eventually I hit the slight downhill to get back to the car. I immediately focussed on trying to rehydrate now that the stomach would not have to absorb and run at the same time. Fairly quickly downed about 1.5 litres, comprised of a solo, along with some remaining camelbak fluid and some cool water from the large water bottle I had packed. I also took a powerade to drink on the drive back to Colin's car. By the time we got to the highway the powerade was empty and I was getting very dry in the mouth.
Once we got back to Colins car we had a quick dip in the creek to cool down before heading home. I packed more fluid to drink on the drive home and doned the sportskins as well, also eventually stopping to get a bite to eat as I was ravenous!
By my calculation I drank about 5 litres before/during/after the run but obviously still not enough as I was till about 1.5kg under my current trend weight when I got home. I will need to think about this as while I was drinking regularly it was not enough to replace what I was sweating, but too much for the stomach to deal with. Hopefully it will not be as warm on the race day!
Important stats
Distance : 38.13km
Running time : 4:31:24
Total time : 5:22
Avg running pace : 7:07 min/km
Avg HR : 151
Climb : 1252m
Comparison to race data this year
Cox's to Pluvio - Race 1:46:02, today 1:34:33
Summary - again a lesson learned never under estimate Six Foot, I was feeling decidedly dodgy at the top of Pluviometer. I did run more of Black Range on tired legs but still need further improvement. Current thinking is to ease up a little further on the run to the river and up Mini Mini which should see me at the top of Pluviometer a bit healthier for the run home to the line. Of course not lugging a 3-4kg camelbak, a proper taper and more focussed training hill also help! Well worth the effort in retrospect and will help in making sure race day will be successful.
Despite the extra driving involved I also think this might be the best way to train on 6ft in trying to replicate race conditions. The descent to the river is a good replica of the run from the start and then all you have left is the run from deviation to the finish which is (mostly) downhill....
Loaded the gear up, using the 3L Camelbak but also included the mobile, a camera and first aid kit (just in case!) along with a few powerbars. The descent along Black Range was great, no one else around and only a few kangaroos to keep me company. Just as I arrived at Pluviometer I got the phone out to check how Colin was going, just as I got found it, it started ringing! So he was just leaving Megalong Rd while I was just about to begin my descent. Early on in the run down I started seeing hikers coming up and out, which was a little intriguing as it was still pretty early, much too early for anyone walking the whole way. By the time I got to the bottom it was warming up and I enjoyed the cool water of the number of creek crossings, opting to just charge across.
As I neared the start of the Mini Mini climb I saw where all the hikers were coming from as a fairly large tent was being pulled down, along with several support vehicles. I decided to take it pretty easy up to Mini Mini saddle with the large climbs back home very clear in my mind. Downwards again, spotting another runner heading up near the cattleyards and looking strong!
About 500m from the river I saw Colin coming up the hill, so we joined up and returned to the river for some water, a quick clean of the feet/shoes in the river while munching a power bar and then ready to climb!
My aim was to walk the steep sections and run when possible which seemed to be going ok. During one of these steep sections the runner I saw previously was returning obviously knew Colin so we stopped for a quick chat. It turns out it was fellow Cool Runner Chonky also out for some "sekret" training! The ascent continued, with the real steep pinches requiring a bit of effort as the sun was blazing now, with continuous sweat pouring from me. As a result the camelbak was getting a good workout. Through here we also saw a few motorbikes. A nice refreshing run down the other side of the saddle and past the now empty camping area.
At the first major creek crossing Colin stopped to clean out his shoes and I was very happy just to stand in the middle of the water enjoying the cool water. Finally we got going again and started the Pluvi climb. About halfway up I started to struggle a little and was feeling a little nauseous. Closer to the top I told Colin to go on faster if he wanted and regroup at the top. A real struggle to get there and I sat down with Colin to top up the supplies, still feeling a bit crook. He gave me a few gummi bears but when I tried to stand up I felt quite dizzy. My HR was a little high for having rested and also was getting some pins & needles in my hands.
Eventually after standing up and sitting down a few times with no change I decided we should get going again and see how I reacted. Amazingly after about 500m the sensations had gone and Colin and I ran on although a little slower. After a few km I was starting to struggle again on the uphill bits and so again I told Colin to go on as we were only about 4km from the car. Clearly I was dehydrated but it seemed the body was struggling to process the liquid I was trying to replace fast enough, thus the nausea feeling.
A bit of a shuffle with run/walk combo and eventually I hit the slight downhill to get back to the car. I immediately focussed on trying to rehydrate now that the stomach would not have to absorb and run at the same time. Fairly quickly downed about 1.5 litres, comprised of a solo, along with some remaining camelbak fluid and some cool water from the large water bottle I had packed. I also took a powerade to drink on the drive back to Colin's car. By the time we got to the highway the powerade was empty and I was getting very dry in the mouth.
Once we got back to Colins car we had a quick dip in the creek to cool down before heading home. I packed more fluid to drink on the drive home and doned the sportskins as well, also eventually stopping to get a bite to eat as I was ravenous!
By my calculation I drank about 5 litres before/during/after the run but obviously still not enough as I was till about 1.5kg under my current trend weight when I got home. I will need to think about this as while I was drinking regularly it was not enough to replace what I was sweating, but too much for the stomach to deal with. Hopefully it will not be as warm on the race day!
Important stats
Distance : 38.13km
Running time : 4:31:24
Total time : 5:22
Avg running pace : 7:07 min/km
Avg HR : 151
Climb : 1252m
Comparison to race data this year
Cox's to Pluvio - Race 1:46:02, today 1:34:33
Summary - again a lesson learned never under estimate Six Foot, I was feeling decidedly dodgy at the top of Pluviometer. I did run more of Black Range on tired legs but still need further improvement. Current thinking is to ease up a little further on the run to the river and up Mini Mini which should see me at the top of Pluviometer a bit healthier for the run home to the line. Of course not lugging a 3-4kg camelbak, a proper taper and more focussed training hill also help! Well worth the effort in retrospect and will help in making sure race day will be successful.
Despite the extra driving involved I also think this might be the best way to train on 6ft in trying to replicate race conditions. The descent to the river is a good replica of the run from the start and then all you have left is the run from deviation to the finish which is (mostly) downhill....
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Weekly recap
Monday - a scheduled rest day and made so by work with an early flight to Melbourne, followed by a late flight home
Tuesday - My wife's birthday and so with personal health and safety in mind I did not run :) Pressies in the morning and the now traditional chinese meal at the RSL around the corner.
Wednesday - Summer Series time, this week at West Lindfield, based at Fiddens Wharf Oval. The course layout gave no option other than to run one side of the track along Lane Cove River with the skill being in how much time there was to collect extra points running back through the streets before the rest of the track in returning.
I immediately stuffed up at the first control (24) running past the minor track that it was located. Then it was slow and steady along the river for 10,21,17,25 and 14 before dropping down to 22. I was considerably behind the planned schedule so picked up 1, bypassed 12 and then faster street running with 15,29,7,30,8,23 and 13. Now for some downhill with 3 and then another slip up going too low for 19, then having to bash up through the bush. Quickly to 16 and 27 then more lost time locating 11. By now I had already hit 45 minutes and the time penalty was ticking. Ran straight past 28, never seeing it and realised when I hit the small creek a little further on. By now I was frustrated and so just kept going getting 20 and then 2 to finish just under 6 minutes late.
Net score of 400 and with Andrew Hill posting 560 this is not going to count in my best 12 scores of the year. I am now in overall second spot but only have a slender 8 point lead over seagull who for a change in recent times I beat this week!
8.3km in 50:56 (avg HR of 171)
Thursday
Decided to do a longer run in preference to a recovery and knocked out 14.5km from one of my standard routes. I really attacked the hills and did not have much left in the tank by the time I got home.
14.5km in 1:9:39 (2nd fastest ever over this route) gives an average of 4:48 min/km and an average HR of 165. Quite pleasing after a hard run last night.
Friday
Missed the chance to get out in the morning so fitted in a quick run down to the weir and back in the afternoon heat which knocked me around a bit.
11km in 54:02 for avg of 4:55 (HR of 163)
Saturday
I wanted to get another run in and got out early before the girls head off to Little A's. Same run as yesterday in pretty much the same time but lower avg HR of 156.
Summary
82km for the week
Avg pace of 5:14
Climb of 597m
A big day tomorrow with a punishing hit out planned over the toughest bits of 6 foot track. Starting at deviation and running back along the course towards the start, down the 2 big climbs to Cox's river. Then climbing back up and running Black Range Rd on tired legs.
Tuesday - My wife's birthday and so with personal health and safety in mind I did not run :) Pressies in the morning and the now traditional chinese meal at the RSL around the corner.
Wednesday - Summer Series time, this week at West Lindfield, based at Fiddens Wharf Oval. The course layout gave no option other than to run one side of the track along Lane Cove River with the skill being in how much time there was to collect extra points running back through the streets before the rest of the track in returning.
I immediately stuffed up at the first control (24) running past the minor track that it was located. Then it was slow and steady along the river for 10,21,17,25 and 14 before dropping down to 22. I was considerably behind the planned schedule so picked up 1, bypassed 12 and then faster street running with 15,29,7,30,8,23 and 13. Now for some downhill with 3 and then another slip up going too low for 19, then having to bash up through the bush. Quickly to 16 and 27 then more lost time locating 11. By now I had already hit 45 minutes and the time penalty was ticking. Ran straight past 28, never seeing it and realised when I hit the small creek a little further on. By now I was frustrated and so just kept going getting 20 and then 2 to finish just under 6 minutes late.
Net score of 400 and with Andrew Hill posting 560 this is not going to count in my best 12 scores of the year. I am now in overall second spot but only have a slender 8 point lead over seagull who for a change in recent times I beat this week!
8.3km in 50:56 (avg HR of 171)
Thursday
Decided to do a longer run in preference to a recovery and knocked out 14.5km from one of my standard routes. I really attacked the hills and did not have much left in the tank by the time I got home.
14.5km in 1:9:39 (2nd fastest ever over this route) gives an average of 4:48 min/km and an average HR of 165. Quite pleasing after a hard run last night.
Friday
Missed the chance to get out in the morning so fitted in a quick run down to the weir and back in the afternoon heat which knocked me around a bit.
11km in 54:02 for avg of 4:55 (HR of 163)
Saturday
I wanted to get another run in and got out early before the girls head off to Little A's. Same run as yesterday in pretty much the same time but lower avg HR of 156.
Summary
82km for the week
Avg pace of 5:14
Climb of 597m
A big day tomorrow with a punishing hit out planned over the toughest bits of 6 foot track. Starting at deviation and running back along the course towards the start, down the 2 big climbs to Cox's river. Then climbing back up and running Black Range Rd on tired legs.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Chatswood Chase STaR & extras
7 weeks to go to Six Foot
After the somewhat disappointing week last week I decided to start this week with a bang. This Sunday's STaR was the Chatswood Chase and I have done portions of this run several times, given it pretty much goes past my front door and also starts at the LCNP weir, where most of my runs take me!
Today I decided to try and get some extra time on the legs and opted to run to the start than driving, this was a nice downhill warmup of 3.5km. Another massive 6am group headed off and as 6:10 rolled around some familiar (Action, Redback, MikeF, Gefjam, Professor, Blue Dog) and new faces (sfGnome) headed out up the 10km course. At the top of the hill we meandered back through North Ryde, past home and then across Lane Cove River, climbing Mowbray Rd to Chatswood. Followed some of the sub arterial roads to eventually end up running next to the railway line headed north. The roller coaster hills from Lindfield to Gordon really sapped the legs as they appeared with monotonous regularity. Finally a break as we cruised down a pleasant downhill bush track all the way to Lady Game Drive, a final climb and another nice descent back to Lane Cove National Park.
A bit of a top up on drinks and some jelly beans, a quick chat with a few people and then I headed off to run home, now remembering that the pleasant 3.5km downhill warmup was now a 3.5km uphill slog in the intensifying sun! Finally home and I did some stretches etc on the verandah, absolutely dripping sweat for at least 20 minutes. Hopped on the scales and was 73.2kg, certainly dehydrated. A cold shower finally fixed the sweat and heat as I then drove the family up to the Central Coast for a combined birthday lunch (excellent Nasi Goreng!) and then over to Wamberal for a great refreshing swim before heading home.
Somewhat perplexing to me is the fact that the various niggles I had been experiencing while evident at the start of the run have now gone away! I have had this happen a few times now and cannot provide a good reason as to why it happens....
Stats
Distance : 37km
Time : 3:21:21
Avg Pace : 5:26 min/km
Avg HR : 164
A very pleasing "time on the legs" run and already more climb in this one run than all of last week. Also in other news the Six Foot entry form has been submitted and I have also booked the accommodation. I'm really looking forward to this, more so know as my dad is joining me for the entire weekend to spectate etc etc.
After the somewhat disappointing week last week I decided to start this week with a bang. This Sunday's STaR was the Chatswood Chase and I have done portions of this run several times, given it pretty much goes past my front door and also starts at the LCNP weir, where most of my runs take me!
Today I decided to try and get some extra time on the legs and opted to run to the start than driving, this was a nice downhill warmup of 3.5km. Another massive 6am group headed off and as 6:10 rolled around some familiar (Action, Redback, MikeF, Gefjam, Professor, Blue Dog) and new faces (sfGnome) headed out up the 10km course. At the top of the hill we meandered back through North Ryde, past home and then across Lane Cove River, climbing Mowbray Rd to Chatswood. Followed some of the sub arterial roads to eventually end up running next to the railway line headed north. The roller coaster hills from Lindfield to Gordon really sapped the legs as they appeared with monotonous regularity. Finally a break as we cruised down a pleasant downhill bush track all the way to Lady Game Drive, a final climb and another nice descent back to Lane Cove National Park.
A bit of a top up on drinks and some jelly beans, a quick chat with a few people and then I headed off to run home, now remembering that the pleasant 3.5km downhill warmup was now a 3.5km uphill slog in the intensifying sun! Finally home and I did some stretches etc on the verandah, absolutely dripping sweat for at least 20 minutes. Hopped on the scales and was 73.2kg, certainly dehydrated. A cold shower finally fixed the sweat and heat as I then drove the family up to the Central Coast for a combined birthday lunch (excellent Nasi Goreng!) and then over to Wamberal for a great refreshing swim before heading home.
Somewhat perplexing to me is the fact that the various niggles I had been experiencing while evident at the start of the run have now gone away! I have had this happen a few times now and cannot provide a good reason as to why it happens....
Stats
Distance : 37km
Time : 3:21:21
Avg Pace : 5:26 min/km
Avg HR : 164
A very pleasing "time on the legs" run and already more climb in this one run than all of last week. Also in other news the Six Foot entry form has been submitted and I have also booked the accommodation. I'm really looking forward to this, more so know as my dad is joining me for the entire weekend to spectate etc etc.
Weekly wrap
Again missed running on Saturday which capped off a disappointing week. Several distractions this week have kept me occupied. Still concerned about the rise in niggles all of a sudden. As such cracked the ice and also nurofen gel and wore the sportsskins to bed on Friday night. Maybe the half last Sunday took a little more out of me than first thought....
Stats
Distance : 62.2km
Avg Pace : 4:58 min/km
Climb : 203m
Parrot Marathon Predictor time : 3:15:40
Stats
Distance : 62.2km
Avg Pace : 4:58 min/km
Climb : 203m
Parrot Marathon Predictor time : 3:15:40
Friday, January 20, 2006
Shuffling the schedule
Thursday
Nothing in the morning so got the guilts and headed out after work, originally scheduled as a recovery run I decided to extend it a little :)
Down to the Lane Cove Weir and back, but at a pretty good clip, upping the tempo a couple of times in the park to catch other runners ahead. When I got back close to home I decided to do some strides on the oval opposite our house and knocked out 6 x 100m on slightly tired legs.
Stats
Distance : 12.6km
Time : 1:00:31
Avg Pace : 4:48 min/km
Avg HR : 158
Friday
Originally scheduled for 2 laps of Quarry Rd but other committments meant that I had to run from home so I went out for a hilly tempo/fartlek session. Initially felt quite tight, especially in LH hammie/glut but eventually warmed up. The run was one of my stock runs down to the weir, then along the Striders 10km course taking the bike path under Lane Cove Rd. Weaving through to Macquarie Centre and then up along the Shrimptons Creek bike path to Quarry Rd, downhill back to East Ryde and then tacking on a trip down to Pittwater Rd so I can *enjoy* the 1km climb back home.
I really seemed to struggle a little, even after the glute eased up I also had a niggle in the usual rh top of ankle. Probably also as a result of last nights effort. Anyway I finished hard up the hill and did extra stretches etc.
Stats
Distance : 20.9km
Time : 1:44:46
Avg Pace : 5:00 min/km :)
Avg HR : 157
I was really soaked when I finished (from sweat) so it must have been humid. Also I did a post run weigh in and I was 73.9kg, about 1.5kg below my current median weight so some fluid loss for sure!
Nothing in the morning so got the guilts and headed out after work, originally scheduled as a recovery run I decided to extend it a little :)
Down to the Lane Cove Weir and back, but at a pretty good clip, upping the tempo a couple of times in the park to catch other runners ahead. When I got back close to home I decided to do some strides on the oval opposite our house and knocked out 6 x 100m on slightly tired legs.
Stats
Distance : 12.6km
Time : 1:00:31
Avg Pace : 4:48 min/km
Avg HR : 158
Friday
Originally scheduled for 2 laps of Quarry Rd but other committments meant that I had to run from home so I went out for a hilly tempo/fartlek session. Initially felt quite tight, especially in LH hammie/glut but eventually warmed up. The run was one of my stock runs down to the weir, then along the Striders 10km course taking the bike path under Lane Cove Rd. Weaving through to Macquarie Centre and then up along the Shrimptons Creek bike path to Quarry Rd, downhill back to East Ryde and then tacking on a trip down to Pittwater Rd so I can *enjoy* the 1km climb back home.
I really seemed to struggle a little, even after the glute eased up I also had a niggle in the usual rh top of ankle. Probably also as a result of last nights effort. Anyway I finished hard up the hill and did extra stretches etc.
Stats
Distance : 20.9km
Time : 1:44:46
Avg Pace : 5:00 min/km :)
Avg HR : 157
I was really soaked when I finished (from sweat) so it must have been humid. Also I did a post run weigh in and I was 73.9kg, about 1.5kg below my current median weight so some fluid loss for sure!
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Summer Series Vineyard Creek
Flying back into Sydney it seemed nothing had changed with again pretty consistent rain, great for the dams and water supply but a little challenging while trying to run with a paper map and control card. Today's map included a greater percentage of bush and trails than most of the prior events.
I decided to head south-east first and clear the bottom of the map and leave the faster street running to take short cuts depending on how the bush sections went. So down along the creek, following a bit of a conga line through 5,26,6,18 and 8 with some street running to 29 and then sweeping through 19,9,20,10,30 and 28 with a lucky break shortcut across the creek.
Now for the more technical section with 17 after again crossing the creek a little hard to find in a network of tracks. Up towards 7 and 27 but got a little offput by Mel who was clearly looking a bit early for 27, but still made me recheck my position. 14,24,16 and 4 were all pretty easy to locate from the track and then back out for some open running to 21 (leaving out 11). With time running short I picked up the pace getting 12,2 and 22 (bypassing 13). A slight route choice error here going to 23 via 3 and then back again and then with the penalty clock already clicking a nav error running past 15 before going back and then clearing 25 on the run home.
A tougher run than expected, no doubt due to slippery underfooting in the bush (read lots of mud) and more technical running and controls in the green stuff. Legs felt very fresh, a good thing since they had 2 days off!
Stats
Distance : 7.6km
Time : 50:45
I decided to head south-east first and clear the bottom of the map and leave the faster street running to take short cuts depending on how the bush sections went. So down along the creek, following a bit of a conga line through 5,26,6,18 and 8 with some street running to 29 and then sweeping through 19,9,20,10,30 and 28 with a lucky break shortcut across the creek.
Now for the more technical section with 17 after again crossing the creek a little hard to find in a network of tracks. Up towards 7 and 27 but got a little offput by Mel who was clearly looking a bit early for 27, but still made me recheck my position. 14,24,16 and 4 were all pretty easy to locate from the track and then back out for some open running to 21 (leaving out 11). With time running short I picked up the pace getting 12,2 and 22 (bypassing 13). A slight route choice error here going to 23 via 3 and then back again and then with the penalty clock already clicking a nav error running past 15 before going back and then clearing 25 on the run home.
A tougher run than expected, no doubt due to slippery underfooting in the bush (read lots of mud) and more technical running and controls in the green stuff. Legs felt very fresh, a good thing since they had 2 days off!
Stats
Distance : 7.6km
Time : 50:45
Off topic short interlude
Some pretty heavy work committments saw a late night Sunday, followed by an early start on Monday and another full day so pretty much impossible to get out for a run. Tuesday was not much better with the sound of heavy rain easing the guilt somewhat as I drove to the airport to fly to Melbourne.
The good news is I got a gig to go to the Australian Open Tennis, which involved drinks and dinner in a corporate marquee, a behind the scenes tour of Rod Laver arena and then prime seats at the night session. We got to watch Martina Hingis pretty effectively demolish a russian girl. I was a little taken aback as Hingis was a lot smaller than I had imagined from TV shots.
From there it was Phillippousis vs Grosjean and again I was amazed at how big Scud was, he towered over the frenchman. Unfortunately scud's game was very eratic, some absolute booming serves but very inconsistent and lots of unforced errors. Anyway lots of fun, but not much running on my behalf!
The good news is I got a gig to go to the Australian Open Tennis, which involved drinks and dinner in a corporate marquee, a behind the scenes tour of Rod Laver arena and then prime seats at the night session. We got to watch Martina Hingis pretty effectively demolish a russian girl. I was a little taken aback as Hingis was a lot smaller than I had imagined from TV shots.
From there it was Phillippousis vs Grosjean and again I was amazed at how big Scud was, he towered over the frenchman. Unfortunately scud's game was very eratic, some absolute booming serves but very inconsistent and lots of unforced errors. Anyway lots of fun, but not much running on my behalf!
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Race Report SMC Half
Back out to Smithfield for a benchmark test over a good testing half course. My parents joined me today, after staying overnight and thy went for a walk on the course while we raced.
Another good turnout, and while still humid, it was overcast and thankfully not much wind. Out at a decent pace, taking advantage of the water bags to keep hydrated in a controlled fashion. I started to haul a few people in from in front, one was fellow Strider, running incognito (and also less his former flowing hair) David Martin. I caught him near the 5km mark and we then tussled for the next 10km. As I caught him he put in a surge like a startled rabbit and then I had another grind of a km or so before the same happened again.
Going up through "the loop hill" just after 10km Barry caught me (as per our usual race form) but this time I held with him, dropping David and catching and dropping another in the process. Near the final turnaround for the final time Barry had slowly stretched away to about a 20m gap but we had caught another runner by here as well.
On the way back up the hill I noticed that my right shoe suddenly became loose (shoelace undone!). Persevering for about 100m I decided I had to stop as it was becoming very loose and I did not want to self inflict an injury! The previously passed runner went by as I quickly tightened and tied the offending lace and set off in pursuit of the 2 guys in front.
Despite giving my all, I was not able to haul them back in but made good inroads finishing strongly and semi sprinting across teh line.
Distance : 21.1km (of course!)
Time : 1:32:48
Avg Pace : 4:25
Avg HR : 168
This was a 35 second improvement over similar conditions in December and probably another 10 seconds lost in the shoe lace debacle. A pleasing run after a one day taper :) and now my second all time best half time. It seemed that I held the pace better in the back half, not as far as negative splitting but less of a decline and the stats below confirm this.
Splits against last month
5km 21:48 21:37 (a little slower!)
10km 22:14 21:21 (slower still!)
15km 22:17 22:49 (thats better)
20km 22:32 22:56 (and that includes the lace retie)
Another good turnout, and while still humid, it was overcast and thankfully not much wind. Out at a decent pace, taking advantage of the water bags to keep hydrated in a controlled fashion. I started to haul a few people in from in front, one was fellow Strider, running incognito (and also less his former flowing hair) David Martin. I caught him near the 5km mark and we then tussled for the next 10km. As I caught him he put in a surge like a startled rabbit and then I had another grind of a km or so before the same happened again.
Going up through "the loop hill" just after 10km Barry caught me (as per our usual race form) but this time I held with him, dropping David and catching and dropping another in the process. Near the final turnaround for the final time Barry had slowly stretched away to about a 20m gap but we had caught another runner by here as well.
On the way back up the hill I noticed that my right shoe suddenly became loose (shoelace undone!). Persevering for about 100m I decided I had to stop as it was becoming very loose and I did not want to self inflict an injury! The previously passed runner went by as I quickly tightened and tied the offending lace and set off in pursuit of the 2 guys in front.
Despite giving my all, I was not able to haul them back in but made good inroads finishing strongly and semi sprinting across teh line.
Distance : 21.1km (of course!)
Time : 1:32:48
Avg Pace : 4:25
Avg HR : 168
This was a 35 second improvement over similar conditions in December and probably another 10 seconds lost in the shoe lace debacle. A pleasing run after a one day taper :) and now my second all time best half time. It seemed that I held the pace better in the back half, not as far as negative splitting but less of a decline and the stats below confirm this.
Splits against last month
5km 21:48 21:37 (a little slower!)
10km 22:14 21:21 (slower still!)
15km 22:17 22:49 (thats better)
20km 22:32 22:56 (and that includes the lace retie)
End of week
Despite best intentions I did not get out for that run on Saturday. So that ended the week.
Total Distance : 69km
Avg Pace : 5:23
Avg HR : 161
Vertical Climb : 717m (a nice feature from Sportstracks)
Little disappointed that the distance was not a little more, but very few junk miles in this lot!
The plan for this week
Sunday - SMC Half Marathon
Monday - Recovery
Tuesday - Hill reps
Wednesday - Summer Series Telopea (a little flatter!)
Thursday - Recovery
Friday - Long Hills (Quarry Rd)
Saturday - Recovery
Total Distance : 69km
Avg Pace : 5:23
Avg HR : 161
Vertical Climb : 717m (a nice feature from Sportstracks)
Little disappointed that the distance was not a little more, but very few junk miles in this lot!
The plan for this week
Sunday - SMC Half Marathon
Monday - Recovery
Tuesday - Hill reps
Wednesday - Summer Series Telopea (a little flatter!)
Thursday - Recovery
Friday - Long Hills (Quarry Rd)
Saturday - Recovery
Friday, January 13, 2006
Smashed
A common school of thought is if you want to get better then train with better runners. I kept on repeating that to myself today as I joined MPHaz and Fats for a hilly tempo run. There were supposed to be a couple of others there a little more my speed but they withdrew and so here I am heading out with 2 sub 3 hr marathoners on a hilly tempo run with already semi dead legs!
Quite an overcast morning and seemingly high humidity as a light drizzle accompanied us. MPHaz has a nice route laid out from his place with a bit of everything as we wheeled around West Lindfield, crossing Lady Game Drive and getting in some trail running on the Eastern Side of Lane Cove National Park. The guys were cruising while I was making an effort to keep the pace and so they were chatting away madly while all I could do was heavy breathing!
Then we turned back from the park and ran up an absolute bugger of a hill, which stretched on for about a km all the way from Lady Game Drive up to the Pacific Highway. I don't know about these faster guys, they seemed to want to rest at the top while I just pressed on!
Then after a more gentle continuing climb a nice downhill stretch to open the lungs before a couple of nasty pinches, the final one being very demoralising as you actually run past where you started and keep on going up the hill and around the corner!
End stats
Distance : 13km
Time : 1:06:50
Avg pace : 5:07
Avg HR : 172 (yes it was a tough run!)
Looking back through the log for this week I'm close to 70km and other than the recovery run yesterday it has been all pretty hard stuff (with lots of hills). I'm sitting at work trying to complete a big document but am pretty knackered, the glutes are certainly not used to this sort of punishment. Well I hope the old saying about what doesn't kill you makes you stronger is true.
So a "recovery" run tomorrow to round out the week, I doubt that I will include any strides now and then the half out at SMC before another big week.
Oh and just in case anyone did not read between the lines, the reason why they wanted to rest at the top of the big hill was because I was dragging the chain. Pretty hard going though, they get some respite/recovery but then start running as soon as I catch up :)
Quite an overcast morning and seemingly high humidity as a light drizzle accompanied us. MPHaz has a nice route laid out from his place with a bit of everything as we wheeled around West Lindfield, crossing Lady Game Drive and getting in some trail running on the Eastern Side of Lane Cove National Park. The guys were cruising while I was making an effort to keep the pace and so they were chatting away madly while all I could do was heavy breathing!
Then we turned back from the park and ran up an absolute bugger of a hill, which stretched on for about a km all the way from Lady Game Drive up to the Pacific Highway. I don't know about these faster guys, they seemed to want to rest at the top while I just pressed on!
Then after a more gentle continuing climb a nice downhill stretch to open the lungs before a couple of nasty pinches, the final one being very demoralising as you actually run past where you started and keep on going up the hill and around the corner!
End stats
Distance : 13km
Time : 1:06:50
Avg pace : 5:07
Avg HR : 172 (yes it was a tough run!)
Looking back through the log for this week I'm close to 70km and other than the recovery run yesterday it has been all pretty hard stuff (with lots of hills). I'm sitting at work trying to complete a big document but am pretty knackered, the glutes are certainly not used to this sort of punishment. Well I hope the old saying about what doesn't kill you makes you stronger is true.
So a "recovery" run tomorrow to round out the week, I doubt that I will include any strides now and then the half out at SMC before another big week.
Oh and just in case anyone did not read between the lines, the reason why they wanted to rest at the top of the big hill was because I was dragging the chain. Pretty hard going though, they get some respite/recovery but then start running as soon as I catch up :)
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Summer Series & Recovery
Wednesday morning at the moment I have off given the hard run I will be doing that night. The body certainly was still feeling the effects of yesterdays hill rep session with again the glutes and lower back both exhibiting signs of DOM's which is actually probably a good sign!
To answer Kit's question from yesterday I would say that Cox's Rd hill is certainly steeper than Lilyfield Rd, it is also a more even grade. In terms of length it is a bit longer as well, about 10-20m longer but I am going to ask Action if I can borrow his measuring wheel to get a more exact length.
Anyway onto Summer Series which was at East Lindfield this week. A well set out course (more even control distribution than last week) with some good route options. I decided not to head down onto the bush track, given the climb back out and number of available points down there. Instead sticking to more of the streetscape and cherry picking some controls at the edge of the bush when possible.
Not having my map with me the run route is better viewed below, with the running in a counter clockwise direstion.
Notice the overlapping tracks up near the right hand area, where despite knowing this area would be a challenge I still came unstuck going on a wrong track and having to climb back up to the right one, I lost more than 2 minutes here (this was control 18). Then I fell into trap of losing concentration and proceeded to run straight past the planned entry point to a 30 pointer, so in the space of 3 minutes I cost myself at least 50 points!!
A sharp run back which included some more lung/leg busting climbs and I really started to feel the effects of the hill reps in the legs finally getting back just under 2 minutes late. End score was about 430 I think with the top being 500. But Seagull had my measure again with a great run posting 480, he is on fire at the moment!!
Stats:
Distance : 8.42km
Time : 46:45
Avg pace : 5:33
Avg HR : 171
Thursday
Back to my gentle recovery run of 2 laps of North Ryde common, shins feel a bit beat up but once I got going felt sort of ok. 6.7km in 35 minutes and avg HR of 149 so just right for a recovery run.
Tomorrow I am planning to head over to MPHaz's place for a hard hill based fartlek style run trying to keep up with him and Fats should be loads of fun (read pain!). Saturday another recovery run, probably with a few strides thrown in for good measure and then out to scenic Smithfield on Sunday for the SMC series and a hit out over the half marathon, for another benchmark measurement.
To answer Kit's question from yesterday I would say that Cox's Rd hill is certainly steeper than Lilyfield Rd, it is also a more even grade. In terms of length it is a bit longer as well, about 10-20m longer but I am going to ask Action if I can borrow his measuring wheel to get a more exact length.
Anyway onto Summer Series which was at East Lindfield this week. A well set out course (more even control distribution than last week) with some good route options. I decided not to head down onto the bush track, given the climb back out and number of available points down there. Instead sticking to more of the streetscape and cherry picking some controls at the edge of the bush when possible.
Not having my map with me the run route is better viewed below, with the running in a counter clockwise direstion.
Notice the overlapping tracks up near the right hand area, where despite knowing this area would be a challenge I still came unstuck going on a wrong track and having to climb back up to the right one, I lost more than 2 minutes here (this was control 18). Then I fell into trap of losing concentration and proceeded to run straight past the planned entry point to a 30 pointer, so in the space of 3 minutes I cost myself at least 50 points!!
A sharp run back which included some more lung/leg busting climbs and I really started to feel the effects of the hill reps in the legs finally getting back just under 2 minutes late. End score was about 430 I think with the top being 500. But Seagull had my measure again with a great run posting 480, he is on fire at the moment!!
Stats:
Distance : 8.42km
Time : 46:45
Avg pace : 5:33
Avg HR : 171
Thursday
Back to my gentle recovery run of 2 laps of North Ryde common, shins feel a bit beat up but once I got going felt sort of ok. 6.7km in 35 minutes and avg HR of 149 so just right for a recovery run.
Tomorrow I am planning to head over to MPHaz's place for a hard hill based fartlek style run trying to keep up with him and Fats should be loads of fun (read pain!). Saturday another recovery run, probably with a few strides thrown in for good measure and then out to scenic Smithfield on Sunday for the SMC series and a hit out over the half marathon, for another benchmark measurement.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Back to the hills
A little surprising that it has been a month since my last lot of hill reps, very slack! To recap, this last session saw 17 reps of Cox's Rd Hill (which I think is around 310 metres) at an average rep time of 1:42 and average recovery of 1:53. Today consciously I wanted to run each rep hopefully under 1:40. Added to that I was going to focus more on form as suggested by Fats in a post to Cool Running.
Have to call the session a success, knocking out the standard 17 reps but at a new average of 1:39, although the average recovery drifted a little as well to 1:57.
A good indicator that things seem to be going in the right direction as there was no real blowout on any rep. A rest tomorrow moring and them some faster running with Summer Series at East Lindfield.
Have to call the session a success, knocking out the standard 17 reps but at a new average of 1:39, although the average recovery drifted a little as well to 1:57.
A good indicator that things seem to be going in the right direction as there was no real blowout on any rep. A rest tomorrow moring and them some faster running with Summer Series at East Lindfield.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Ten Bridges STaR
What a difference a week makes, last week there were 12 of us in total at the STaR at Mona Vale, this week the number was close to 100!
A huge 6:00 headed off, just as I arrived at the start and the 6:10 group would have been around 15 as well. Great to see quite a few fellow Cool Runners stepping up into the 6:10 group with a roll call of FakePlasticTrees, Johnny Dark, Professor, Seagull, Gefjam and Action lurking in the pack. A pretty steady pace until Lavender Bay where we caught the MTG, that always seems to spur our pack on a little and after a quick drink at the steps up to teh harbour bridge things went silly for a little while. At the next drink stop Rob (FPT) had a bit of a dig and then things got a little more civilised. After the Anzac Bridge most of the "faster" guys peeled off on the shortcut and things settled down a little as we cruised through the back of Glebe.
Climbing up the back of Leichhardt the 6:20 group caught us and Rob disappeared to get a drink at a shop, the pace was now a bit quicker again as we kept the 6:20'ers in sight for a while. After Iron Cove Bridge the group splintered a little and once we were over the Gladesville bridge climb there were 5 of us left. Taking the little diversion through Hunters Hill and I was now consciously having to increase my effort to stay with the others. The back end of this run is pretty punishing and as usual the steep climb near Riverview was a good test. From there downhill back to the water and some nice bushtrack running before another nasty little hill right at the end.
I stuffed up the Garmin on this, forgetting to restart after waiting at a traffic light but after looking back through my notes from previous runs on this route I think I ran more consistently today without having a massive fade at the end. Last time was back in July where I struggled home, short cutting Hunters Hill and in much cooler weather for 27.3km @ 5:24 pace. This time it was around 29.1km (after fiddling with the Garmin for a while) in about 2:35 which equates to about 5:20 pace. Also pleasing not to have the fade despite not having a gu, following the philosophy a few others have been adopting to run the energy stores completely dry and get the body used to doing this so when a race comes along the boost from a gu is more pronounced.
Seems like things are on track but the next 6 weeks should be pretty brutal as they will be key to getting to the start line at Six Foot in the right shape.
Oh and to answer Tesso's question, my "extra exercises" are a set that I have put together of core muscle stretching and strengthening exercises and seem to be making a big difference to my previous problems in this area.
A huge 6:00 headed off, just as I arrived at the start and the 6:10 group would have been around 15 as well. Great to see quite a few fellow Cool Runners stepping up into the 6:10 group with a roll call of FakePlasticTrees, Johnny Dark, Professor, Seagull, Gefjam and Action lurking in the pack. A pretty steady pace until Lavender Bay where we caught the MTG, that always seems to spur our pack on a little and after a quick drink at the steps up to teh harbour bridge things went silly for a little while. At the next drink stop Rob (FPT) had a bit of a dig and then things got a little more civilised. After the Anzac Bridge most of the "faster" guys peeled off on the shortcut and things settled down a little as we cruised through the back of Glebe.
Climbing up the back of Leichhardt the 6:20 group caught us and Rob disappeared to get a drink at a shop, the pace was now a bit quicker again as we kept the 6:20'ers in sight for a while. After Iron Cove Bridge the group splintered a little and once we were over the Gladesville bridge climb there were 5 of us left. Taking the little diversion through Hunters Hill and I was now consciously having to increase my effort to stay with the others. The back end of this run is pretty punishing and as usual the steep climb near Riverview was a good test. From there downhill back to the water and some nice bushtrack running before another nasty little hill right at the end.
I stuffed up the Garmin on this, forgetting to restart after waiting at a traffic light but after looking back through my notes from previous runs on this route I think I ran more consistently today without having a massive fade at the end. Last time was back in July where I struggled home, short cutting Hunters Hill and in much cooler weather for 27.3km @ 5:24 pace. This time it was around 29.1km (after fiddling with the Garmin for a while) in about 2:35 which equates to about 5:20 pace. Also pleasing not to have the fade despite not having a gu, following the philosophy a few others have been adopting to run the energy stores completely dry and get the body used to doing this so when a race comes along the boost from a gu is more pronounced.
Seems like things are on track but the next 6 weeks should be pretty brutal as they will be key to getting to the start line at Six Foot in the right shape.
Oh and to answer Tesso's question, my "extra exercises" are a set that I have put together of core muscle stretching and strengthening exercises and seem to be making a big difference to my previous problems in this area.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Wet run
Thursday - rolled over and ignored the alarm, the sound of rain extinguishing any motivation to get out the door *bad*
Friday - A lateish night but stumbled out of bed and then the door. Seemed to be very humid and for some reason I really struggled to get into a good rhythm. The lower shins seemed a little tender, even after a day off, but I ground my way down to the weir, which was flowing for a change, thus giving my shoes a quick bath.
Back up through the 10km course and near the rangers hut was awarded with my second boof sighting of the morning as he cruised down the hill. I picked the pace up a little on the downhill towards home but today was not an attractive run in terms of form. It is funny how on Wednesday I felt very smooth after a day off backing up from 3 hard days, today, even though the pace was ok everything seemed to be a lot harder.....
Stats
Distance : 14.5km
Time : 1:10:59
Avg Pace : 4:54
Avg HR : 156
Maybe it was the humidity? I was absolutely saturated in sweat at the end of the run and it took some time to stop sweating after my usual "extra" exercises.
Friday - A lateish night but stumbled out of bed and then the door. Seemed to be very humid and for some reason I really struggled to get into a good rhythm. The lower shins seemed a little tender, even after a day off, but I ground my way down to the weir, which was flowing for a change, thus giving my shoes a quick bath.
Back up through the 10km course and near the rangers hut was awarded with my second boof sighting of the morning as he cruised down the hill. I picked the pace up a little on the downhill towards home but today was not an attractive run in terms of form. It is funny how on Wednesday I felt very smooth after a day off backing up from 3 hard days, today, even though the pace was ok everything seemed to be a lot harder.....
Stats
Distance : 14.5km
Time : 1:10:59
Avg Pace : 4:54
Avg HR : 156
Maybe it was the humidity? I was absolutely saturated in sweat at the end of the run and it took some time to stop sweating after my usual "extra" exercises.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Summer Series Dee Why
Thankfully another slightly cooler evening after trekking up the penninsula to Dee Why. This map is always interesting with the lagoon to the north and some killer hills to the south and a hard to navigate trail east along the cliff faces on the coast. To also make life interesting the setter had followed recent trends with clusters of controls which meant challenging route selection to minimise some of the gaps between these clusters.
It's always a good measure as to how difficult the course has been set by the time it takes to try and determine optimum routes. I discarded the controls to the north as there was no easy loop. Headed off westwards picking up 2 and 22 and then quite a long cruise uphill to the cluster of 9, 17, 18, 30 and 7. Back down hill to the other lagoon for 10 and 27. Bypassing 26 and straight to 16, then a tough climb up through the bush and straight back down again for 25, back up for 14 and then along the bush track to pop back out on the streets, a slight downhill for 28 and then in and out to 29. I had decided not to run the tricky trail along the coast, prefering the faster street running and hoping to make up more points at the other end.
Down into Dee Why for 15 and 5, then along the beachfront for some tough sand running. Time was running out but I opted for 4 and 20 to then return via 1 to thr finish. Believe it or not but the only control I stumbled on was 1.... cost me about 30 seconds which hurt as I was tripped over into just over 4 minutes late.
Stats
Distance : 9km
Time : 48:04
Avg Pace : 5:20
Avg HR : 171
Fairly happy with route selection and the way that I ran. The legs have pulled up well with the rest day after the three tough days in a row.
It's always a good measure as to how difficult the course has been set by the time it takes to try and determine optimum routes. I discarded the controls to the north as there was no easy loop. Headed off westwards picking up 2 and 22 and then quite a long cruise uphill to the cluster of 9, 17, 18, 30 and 7. Back down hill to the other lagoon for 10 and 27. Bypassing 26 and straight to 16, then a tough climb up through the bush and straight back down again for 25, back up for 14 and then along the bush track to pop back out on the streets, a slight downhill for 28 and then in and out to 29. I had decided not to run the tricky trail along the coast, prefering the faster street running and hoping to make up more points at the other end.
Down into Dee Why for 15 and 5, then along the beachfront for some tough sand running. Time was running out but I opted for 4 and 20 to then return via 1 to thr finish. Believe it or not but the only control I stumbled on was 1.... cost me about 30 seconds which hurt as I was tripped over into just over 4 minutes late.
Stats
Distance : 9km
Time : 48:04
Avg Pace : 5:20
Avg HR : 171
Fairly happy with route selection and the way that I ran. The legs have pulled up well with the rest day after the three tough days in a row.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Beyond The Black Stump
After the horrendous heat of New Years Day it was very gratifying to wake up to the sound of rain and much cooler temperatures. Bolted down some breakfast and then drove up to Berowra, drinking an Endura Opti to finalise the fuel tank top up. Quite a crowd assembled and after the usual group photo opportunity we were off. Running through the streets of Berowra was fun, on the way to the start of the bush. As we were climbing up a smallish hill I noticed fluid running down my legs, Jan who was running just behind me pointed out that my Camelbak (not the new one, but the older and bigger backpack) seemed to have sprung a major leak! I quickly pulled the pack off trying to determine what was wrong but by then it was obvious that most of the fluid was already gone. Up ahead was a concealed but easy to find hiding place so I got my keys, cash and Gu from the pack and then abandoned it. Now I was to rely upon the water stops, especially the ones that Kevin the organiser had put out in the bush.
Quickly recovered from that and settled into a steady pace on the downhill into the bush, catching up to Dawn and running with her and another guy (also called Dave?). Near the first up hill stretch another guy caught us and I let the three of them stretch away from me a little here. On the downhill I quickly caught Dawn again and went past but the 2 other guys were clear. Made a bit of a nav slip up which saw Dawn go back past and so I again caught and overtook her. Running along Berowra Creek now towards the ferry and I saw that we would not make it and so stopped to tie my lace that had just come undone and ran to the ferry load point with Dawn, stopping to have a good drink of water. It had taken 51 minutes to get to the ferry.
Twelve and a half minutes later we were on the other side of the creek, accompanied by Jim Cryer and Jan Herman who had caught us while waiting to board the ferry. Immediately our group stretched out on the 3km climb up towards Arcadia, with Dawn flying up the hill and myself just managing to keep her in sight. I caught her at the top of the hill, as she was not sure on the right turnoff, and we ran together to Kevin's first drink drop, which was very welcome now given the circumstances. On the downhill run to the castle ruins I pulled away from Dawn and we started to see the runners from the first ferry, returning up the hill on their journey back. I got to the ruins, had a quick look at the view, touched the wall and logged my time as 1:53, turning to climb back.
The climb was actually not too bad and saw the third ferry load of runners near the steepest section as they still heaeded out. Another refreshing stop at teh drinks station and then accelerated down the hill. I picked up the pace a little harder when I saw a wave of cars from the ferry which helped me to calculate that it would be a close thing for me arriving when the ferry was next back. A good thing too, as I rounded the corner it had just docked and was unloading cars. Dave, the guy I had run with quite a deal earlier was also waiting. As the ferry was just about to depart Dawn sprinted down the hill and just made it on. So this time it was only a five minute break as the ferry crossed back over, so I took the opportunity to have my Gu.
The others took off when we landed but I needed to drink some water to accompany the gu and so by the time I was running they were out of sight. This section of the run turned out to be the hardest of the lot. A very steep climb up from the creek, with some small ladders drilled into the sandstone and lots of steps. A bit of a shock for the legs after the downhill sprint I had just finished! It was also necessary to concentrate as the path was difficult to determine in places. Finally I got to the top, only to be rewarded with a descent down to a creek and then another climb! This one more brutal seemingly than the last. Through here I twice had to stop and relocate the path as it weaved it's way sometimes between rock faces and without that many markings.
Finally I made it to the top again and was rewarded with some flat terrain and shortly after the turnoff back to civilisation. Once again Kevin's drink drop was a very welcome sight and just as I was finishing another runner (from the next ferry) loomed into view so I headed off. The trail to the road was pretty good and then it was bitumen all the way back. A couple of small rises early on and the efforts of the previous climbs started to show and the guy that I saw at he drinks drop went past. Once on level ground it was time to grind it out to the finish, through the streets of Berowra and I eventually arrived back at the start in 3:53:07!
Had a good chat with the others already there as it started to drizzle with rain again. Got changed into some dry (and non smelly clothes) and drank another Endura Opti while cheering in some of the other runners. Eventually leaving to go and retrieve the leaing Camelbak. Upon examination there was no tear, the hose had simply become detached from the bladder, will have to see how to avoid that in the future. I clearly felt dehydrated and stopped at a servo for a couple of bottles of Powerade to drink during the drive home.
Stats
Total Distance : 32.8km
Running Distance : 32.1km (less ferry crossings)
Total Time : 3:57:07
Running Time : 3:35:23 (again less ferry waiting/crossing)
Average pace : 6:43 min/km
The last couple of days caught up with me and I crashed for an hour or 2 when I got home and even after all the drinking to rehydrate was about 1kg lighter than normal. Wore the skins through the rest of the day and overnight and the legs have pulled up pretty well, although today is now designated a rest day.
Summer Series tomorrow night at Dee Why, time to renew my duel with Seagull over what is usually a tough course with lots of route options.
Quickly recovered from that and settled into a steady pace on the downhill into the bush, catching up to Dawn and running with her and another guy (also called Dave?). Near the first up hill stretch another guy caught us and I let the three of them stretch away from me a little here. On the downhill I quickly caught Dawn again and went past but the 2 other guys were clear. Made a bit of a nav slip up which saw Dawn go back past and so I again caught and overtook her. Running along Berowra Creek now towards the ferry and I saw that we would not make it and so stopped to tie my lace that had just come undone and ran to the ferry load point with Dawn, stopping to have a good drink of water. It had taken 51 minutes to get to the ferry.
Twelve and a half minutes later we were on the other side of the creek, accompanied by Jim Cryer and Jan Herman who had caught us while waiting to board the ferry. Immediately our group stretched out on the 3km climb up towards Arcadia, with Dawn flying up the hill and myself just managing to keep her in sight. I caught her at the top of the hill, as she was not sure on the right turnoff, and we ran together to Kevin's first drink drop, which was very welcome now given the circumstances. On the downhill run to the castle ruins I pulled away from Dawn and we started to see the runners from the first ferry, returning up the hill on their journey back. I got to the ruins, had a quick look at the view, touched the wall and logged my time as 1:53, turning to climb back.
The climb was actually not too bad and saw the third ferry load of runners near the steepest section as they still heaeded out. Another refreshing stop at teh drinks station and then accelerated down the hill. I picked up the pace a little harder when I saw a wave of cars from the ferry which helped me to calculate that it would be a close thing for me arriving when the ferry was next back. A good thing too, as I rounded the corner it had just docked and was unloading cars. Dave, the guy I had run with quite a deal earlier was also waiting. As the ferry was just about to depart Dawn sprinted down the hill and just made it on. So this time it was only a five minute break as the ferry crossed back over, so I took the opportunity to have my Gu.
The others took off when we landed but I needed to drink some water to accompany the gu and so by the time I was running they were out of sight. This section of the run turned out to be the hardest of the lot. A very steep climb up from the creek, with some small ladders drilled into the sandstone and lots of steps. A bit of a shock for the legs after the downhill sprint I had just finished! It was also necessary to concentrate as the path was difficult to determine in places. Finally I got to the top, only to be rewarded with a descent down to a creek and then another climb! This one more brutal seemingly than the last. Through here I twice had to stop and relocate the path as it weaved it's way sometimes between rock faces and without that many markings.
Finally I made it to the top again and was rewarded with some flat terrain and shortly after the turnoff back to civilisation. Once again Kevin's drink drop was a very welcome sight and just as I was finishing another runner (from the next ferry) loomed into view so I headed off. The trail to the road was pretty good and then it was bitumen all the way back. A couple of small rises early on and the efforts of the previous climbs started to show and the guy that I saw at he drinks drop went past. Once on level ground it was time to grind it out to the finish, through the streets of Berowra and I eventually arrived back at the start in 3:53:07!
Had a good chat with the others already there as it started to drizzle with rain again. Got changed into some dry (and non smelly clothes) and drank another Endura Opti while cheering in some of the other runners. Eventually leaving to go and retrieve the leaing Camelbak. Upon examination there was no tear, the hose had simply become detached from the bladder, will have to see how to avoid that in the future. I clearly felt dehydrated and stopped at a servo for a couple of bottles of Powerade to drink during the drive home.
Stats
Total Distance : 32.8km
Running Distance : 32.1km (less ferry crossings)
Total Time : 3:57:07
Running Time : 3:35:23 (again less ferry waiting/crossing)
Average pace : 6:43 min/km
The last couple of days caught up with me and I crashed for an hour or 2 when I got home and even after all the drinking to rehydrate was about 1kg lighter than normal. Wore the skins through the rest of the day and overnight and the legs have pulled up pretty well, although today is now designated a rest day.
Summer Series tomorrow night at Dee Why, time to renew my duel with Seagull over what is usually a tough course with lots of route options.
Monday, January 02, 2006
New Years Day STaR
Despite evetually getting to bed at 2am I stumbled back out at 5am to drive up to Mona Vale for the STaR, appropriately named Barrenjoey Bash. Today was forecast to be very very hot and there was a bush fire alert which had closed the National Parks where the Fat Ass run was going to be held so it got postponed to Monday.
A very small contingent with around 12 of us and there was a magnificent sunrise that greeted us. The air was already quite warm as we set out, a nasty hill immediately on the agenda. Some great ups and downs as we followed the coast North. I had decided to turn around at Avalon to make around 15km with tomorrow in mind. Virtual Runner, up from Melbourne, joined me for the return trip as the others pressed on. The heat was really starting to take effect and to add to the fun we had an even nastier hill to climb on the way back. At least it rewarded us with some magnificent views. Finally got back to base, a slowish run time but a tough course in tough conditions, sets the tone nicely for 2006. Followed up with a great refreshing swim in the ocean, very tempted just to stay in the water for quite a while...
For the non Sydney based readers the temperature eventually ended up at around 44 degrees celcius.
A very small contingent with around 12 of us and there was a magnificent sunrise that greeted us. The air was already quite warm as we set out, a nasty hill immediately on the agenda. Some great ups and downs as we followed the coast North. I had decided to turn around at Avalon to make around 15km with tomorrow in mind. Virtual Runner, up from Melbourne, joined me for the return trip as the others pressed on. The heat was really starting to take effect and to add to the fun we had an even nastier hill to climb on the way back. At least it rewarded us with some magnificent views. Finally got back to base, a slowish run time but a tough course in tough conditions, sets the tone nicely for 2006. Followed up with a great refreshing swim in the ocean, very tempted just to stay in the water for quite a while...
For the non Sydney based readers the temperature eventually ended up at around 44 degrees celcius.
2005 review and 2006 preview
Time to get retrospective and then look to the future!
2005 started off pretty well, on the build up after injury in late 2004. A great race in the Arizona Rock n Roll Half saw a nice new half PB, along with a few others picked up along the way as splits. From there the build up for Canberra continued with the intention of running Six Foot Track as a long "training run". Well things did not go to plan, entering Six Foot with no taper and the racing the first section, causing me to blow up pretty spectactularly on the climb up Pluviometer.
However the recovery from Six Foot seemed good and the build up for the Canberra Marathon seemed to have fallen into place. On ths day things did not go to plan, went out probably a little too fast for the conditions and then experienced tummy problems that then extended to cramps etc. Finally dragged myself home but it was very ugly :(
Then replicated my post Canberra slump from last year, still running, but much lower training which resulted in an appropriate performance in the SMH half. This time however I decided to renew focus on a build up for Sydney and commenced this by running the first 40km or so of the Poor Mans Comrades Ultra. The focus on Sydney resulted in some good lowering of times for the City to Surf and Willy to Billy. A more conservative plan for Sydney which was working until again the condiitons on the day made it difficult to stick to the original goal. Am still quite happy with my actual run on the day, even though it was not a PB.
Once again a post marathon slump before turning the corner late Nov on a schedule for the 2006 Six Foot Track.
So to summarise (the above looks a little too negative!)
Highlights - PB's for 5km, 10km, Half Marathon and also a number of individual races over different distances courses
Lowlights - Lack of success in longer races and the continuing slump on focus after these longer races
Total distance - 2660km, an increase of around 25% over 2004, impressive in itself even though I was hoping for 3000!
2006 is currently a bit of an enigma for me at the moment. The start of the year is in place with plans for Six Foot, Canberra and the the SMH Half. The middle of the year is undecided, a full Poor Mans Comrades or another Marathon at Gold Coast are options. From there I would say City to Surf, Willy to Billy and probably the Sydney Marathon will round out the year. Other events to think about are some of the Rogaines scheduled for this year, maybe an Ultra (or 2) and possibly some bush Orienteering. A goal this year is to try and break the post marathon slump I have had so far. One way to do this will be to try an break that 3000km total running in 2006.
Certainly there is also the prospect of non running related events (family/work etc) taking precedence over any plans. Bring on 2006, lets see what happens!
2005 started off pretty well, on the build up after injury in late 2004. A great race in the Arizona Rock n Roll Half saw a nice new half PB, along with a few others picked up along the way as splits. From there the build up for Canberra continued with the intention of running Six Foot Track as a long "training run". Well things did not go to plan, entering Six Foot with no taper and the racing the first section, causing me to blow up pretty spectactularly on the climb up Pluviometer.
However the recovery from Six Foot seemed good and the build up for the Canberra Marathon seemed to have fallen into place. On ths day things did not go to plan, went out probably a little too fast for the conditions and then experienced tummy problems that then extended to cramps etc. Finally dragged myself home but it was very ugly :(
Then replicated my post Canberra slump from last year, still running, but much lower training which resulted in an appropriate performance in the SMH half. This time however I decided to renew focus on a build up for Sydney and commenced this by running the first 40km or so of the Poor Mans Comrades Ultra. The focus on Sydney resulted in some good lowering of times for the City to Surf and Willy to Billy. A more conservative plan for Sydney which was working until again the condiitons on the day made it difficult to stick to the original goal. Am still quite happy with my actual run on the day, even though it was not a PB.
Once again a post marathon slump before turning the corner late Nov on a schedule for the 2006 Six Foot Track.
So to summarise (the above looks a little too negative!)
Highlights - PB's for 5km, 10km, Half Marathon and also a number of individual races over different distances courses
Lowlights - Lack of success in longer races and the continuing slump on focus after these longer races
Total distance - 2660km, an increase of around 25% over 2004, impressive in itself even though I was hoping for 3000!
2006 is currently a bit of an enigma for me at the moment. The start of the year is in place with plans for Six Foot, Canberra and the the SMH Half. The middle of the year is undecided, a full Poor Mans Comrades or another Marathon at Gold Coast are options. From there I would say City to Surf, Willy to Billy and probably the Sydney Marathon will round out the year. Other events to think about are some of the Rogaines scheduled for this year, maybe an Ultra (or 2) and possibly some bush Orienteering. A goal this year is to try and break the post marathon slump I have had so far. One way to do this will be to try an break that 3000km total running in 2006.
Certainly there is also the prospect of non running related events (family/work etc) taking precedence over any plans. Bring on 2006, lets see what happens!
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