Thanks for the comments on the last post! I do seem to have this natural ability to maybe bite off a little more than I can chew in one sitting :) That combined with my other habit of "all or nothing" does make life interesting. I like the saying that Plu has, ie "the mind writing cheques that the body cannot cash". That is a pretty good summary of my running, sometimes I do have enough training in the bank but even if I don't I'll still have a crack :)
Anyway, immediate running goal #1 was to get some endurance in the legs and so I lobbed up for the 6am Bobbin Head Revisited STaR on Sunday. Felt pretty good rolling along with the group but as we neared North Turramurra I had quite an urgent need and so dashed ahead of the group at a water stop, just as the 6:10 group steamed through (way ahead of pace....) in search of a toilet. After making good use of a tree in the bush at the entrance to the Bobbin Head National Park it seemed I had been passed by not only the bulk of the 6am group but also the backmarkers of the 6:10 group. So from here it was sort of solo running as I went past Bandana, just about caught up to the 6:10 rear group at the top of Bobbin Head and then swapped around with another Strider and Bandana who caught up to us at a water stop while I was downing a gu.
Anyway mission accomplished with about 31km down in around 2:55, somewhat slower than my last excurion through here but an enjoyable run on a great day!
Monday, May 28, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
The week that wasn't
Ok quite a deal going/gone on since the last post, but I try to avoid the title "update" for my intermittent blogs!
After the West Met success I had decent intentions of a long run on Sunday, but given it was Mothers Day (and I was flying out in the afternoon!) I judged that the DTI was in much more need of focus than 30km in the legs....
A nice Mothers Day family lunch saw me then dropped off at the airport for a whirlwind few days. A few days in Singapore and then a quick stopover in Bangkok for some more meetings eventually saw me back in Sydney early Thursday morning, just before the fog closed the airport! I actually got home around 6am and was tempted to go for a head clearing run but instead slept for around 3 hours before going off for a 3 hour customer presentation.
So this then brings me to the SMH, I had subscribed to the whole 90 min bus thread on cool running and even though I knew I had no chance, I thought I'd go out and see what happens. Started a bit further back in teh field than normal but was running in the clear after about 30 seconds and slotted in just ahead of Eagle and Greg. The pace felt ok but as I hit each hill I could sense the effort and on the way back out of Lady Macquaries chair I slid off the back of the back of the bus. I held them in sight until Argyle hill where I slowed a bit further. At the finish line I judge that I was on around 92 minute pace however at each climb the legs complained more and more. At the drinks stop at Lady Macquaries chair I did a walk break and by now the heart rate was down from around 175 when I was doing the 4:15 pace to 145 at god knows what pace! There was absolutely nothing left in the legs and for sure it was no a good sight as I ground my way back to the finish.
Popped up to the Striders HQ and chatted for a while and then walked with Horrie towards the CR watering hole. We had a good chat and I fessed up that for me at the moment that I am finding running frustrating. This is really as a result of what else is going on in real life.
Work has become even busier, with more responsibility and probably more travel, a growing family is obviously number one focus and we are spinning into a whole lot of after school committments, my extra curricular activities such as the Striders stuff is always still there and at the moment, despite the best intentions running and especially training is coming last.
Hopefully I can get over this hump of extra work and Striders stuff (annual presentation night) but the biggest problem with my running has been the lack of long runs, it seems ages since I did a full 30km star and it is now dawning as to the way these runs have helped me in the past.
Anyway, such is life and I'll squeeze in what I can, when I can, I just need to enjoy what I can do rather than hoping to achieve what I might be able to do if I was training properly.
After the West Met success I had decent intentions of a long run on Sunday, but given it was Mothers Day (and I was flying out in the afternoon!) I judged that the DTI was in much more need of focus than 30km in the legs....
A nice Mothers Day family lunch saw me then dropped off at the airport for a whirlwind few days. A few days in Singapore and then a quick stopover in Bangkok for some more meetings eventually saw me back in Sydney early Thursday morning, just before the fog closed the airport! I actually got home around 6am and was tempted to go for a head clearing run but instead slept for around 3 hours before going off for a 3 hour customer presentation.
So this then brings me to the SMH, I had subscribed to the whole 90 min bus thread on cool running and even though I knew I had no chance, I thought I'd go out and see what happens. Started a bit further back in teh field than normal but was running in the clear after about 30 seconds and slotted in just ahead of Eagle and Greg. The pace felt ok but as I hit each hill I could sense the effort and on the way back out of Lady Macquaries chair I slid off the back of the back of the bus. I held them in sight until Argyle hill where I slowed a bit further. At the finish line I judge that I was on around 92 minute pace however at each climb the legs complained more and more. At the drinks stop at Lady Macquaries chair I did a walk break and by now the heart rate was down from around 175 when I was doing the 4:15 pace to 145 at god knows what pace! There was absolutely nothing left in the legs and for sure it was no a good sight as I ground my way back to the finish.
Popped up to the Striders HQ and chatted for a while and then walked with Horrie towards the CR watering hole. We had a good chat and I fessed up that for me at the moment that I am finding running frustrating. This is really as a result of what else is going on in real life.
Work has become even busier, with more responsibility and probably more travel, a growing family is obviously number one focus and we are spinning into a whole lot of after school committments, my extra curricular activities such as the Striders stuff is always still there and at the moment, despite the best intentions running and especially training is coming last.
Hopefully I can get over this hump of extra work and Striders stuff (annual presentation night) but the biggest problem with my running has been the lack of long runs, it seems ages since I did a full 30km star and it is now dawning as to the way these runs have helped me in the past.
Anyway, such is life and I'll squeeze in what I can, when I can, I just need to enjoy what I can do rather than hoping to achieve what I might be able to do if I was training properly.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Another step forward
Back to West Met today for a 10km rather than the usual 8km on offer. This was promised as a flat course and you's be hard pressed to get much flatter other than running 25 laps around a track!
Saw Kev and entourage at the start waiting for Dawn and also caught up with superflake, seagull and Rod from Striders, also seeing Graham and Geoff from Striders.
The usual casual send off and I quickly slotted into the goove lurking behind Graham and Richard, the goal to stay with them as long as possible! Better effort than the last West Met, this time I held on until around 6km and even then they only slowly pulled away. The only negative feature of this course was the headwind on the outward leg, which seemingly increased on our second lap!
Despite some attrition in pace I held up sort of ok, posting a 41:51 which is a 1:39 improvement over the Domain Striders race 5 weeks ago!
Splits were
1km 3:55 3:55 (a little hot!)
2km 4:01 7:56
3km 4:03 11:59
4km 4:02 16:01
5km 4:08 20:09
6km 4:10 24:19
7km 4:25 28:44 (headwind/fitness takes it's toll)
8km 4:24 33:08
9km 4:23 37:31 (looks like I'm in the slower groove)
10km 4:20 41:51
Garmin said 9.99km which is close enough for me :)
Superflake took advantage and posted a good PB, for me I'm still climbing slowly back.
Saw Kev and entourage at the start waiting for Dawn and also caught up with superflake, seagull and Rod from Striders, also seeing Graham and Geoff from Striders.
The usual casual send off and I quickly slotted into the goove lurking behind Graham and Richard, the goal to stay with them as long as possible! Better effort than the last West Met, this time I held on until around 6km and even then they only slowly pulled away. The only negative feature of this course was the headwind on the outward leg, which seemingly increased on our second lap!
Despite some attrition in pace I held up sort of ok, posting a 41:51 which is a 1:39 improvement over the Domain Striders race 5 weeks ago!
Splits were
1km 3:55 3:55 (a little hot!)
2km 4:01 7:56
3km 4:03 11:59
4km 4:02 16:01
5km 4:08 20:09
6km 4:10 24:19
7km 4:25 28:44 (headwind/fitness takes it's toll)
8km 4:24 33:08
9km 4:23 37:31 (looks like I'm in the slower groove)
10km 4:20 41:51
Garmin said 9.99km which is close enough for me :)
Superflake took advantage and posted a good PB, for me I'm still climbing slowly back.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Crazy Cox's
Back to the hill for more solo reps. For reference last session (2 weeks ago) the 10 reps averaged out at 1:37.4 with 1:50.2 recovery (the length is approx 300 metres).
So some improvement with posting 1:33.4 and 1:43.6 respectively. Really focussed on lifting the intensity in the last few reps and despite going pretty lactic managed to hold the splits and even pull in a 1:32 as the last rep.
Interestingly this is pretty close to a session back in September as I was building up back then, although the recovery reps are this time quite a bit faster.
Funny about 3/4 up the hill towards the end of my session there was a disabled lady in a wheelchair, probably waiting for a maxi-taxi who was quite amused with me grinding my way up and then gasping my way down :)
So some improvement with posting 1:33.4 and 1:43.6 respectively. Really focussed on lifting the intensity in the last few reps and despite going pretty lactic managed to hold the splits and even pull in a 1:32 as the last rep.
Interestingly this is pretty close to a session back in September as I was building up back then, although the recovery reps are this time quite a bit faster.
Funny about 3/4 up the hill towards the end of my session there was a disabled lady in a wheelchair, probably waiting for a maxi-taxi who was quite amused with me grinding my way up and then gasping my way down :)
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Tracking on
Friday - Out for the standard weir run at tempo pace, held it pretty well on the way down but coming back it was obvious that the 1km reps yesterday had taken some sting out of the legs. Still 10.9km in 51 minutes for averages of 4:42 min/km and 166 bpm
Saturday - Not able to race the 10km at North Head as I had the 2 youngest in tow as our eldest and my wife were at a band weekend. So I headed over to setup and operate the timing system, with my 2 new assistants. A superb morning for running and PB's tumbling all over the place, especially for a number of runners I have crossed swords with who nailed the somewhat holy grail of the midpack runner, the sub 40 minute 10km. Congrats to Horrie, Hamburgler, langswm and Professor!!! Hopefully if I can pull the finger out for the next few weeks I might have half a chance of getting close at Lane Cove in June.
Sunday - Finally the rest of the family returned from the band thingo and I slipped out for my patented C2S prep route for another tempo run. The legs felt fresh after a day off and I pounded the stretch down to the weir! From here it was a push to keep that pace going with the hilly back end of this run. Anyway I really gritted the teeth to try and keep it going. Fairly happy with the 14.25km in 1:05:23 which averages out at 4:35 min/km and 170 bpm, good evidence that I pushed hard.
Rest day tomorrow as work sees me bouncing down to Melbourne and back with one of our senior execs, then back into it on Tuesday.
Saturday - Not able to race the 10km at North Head as I had the 2 youngest in tow as our eldest and my wife were at a band weekend. So I headed over to setup and operate the timing system, with my 2 new assistants. A superb morning for running and PB's tumbling all over the place, especially for a number of runners I have crossed swords with who nailed the somewhat holy grail of the midpack runner, the sub 40 minute 10km. Congrats to Horrie, Hamburgler, langswm and Professor!!! Hopefully if I can pull the finger out for the next few weeks I might have half a chance of getting close at Lane Cove in June.
Sunday - Finally the rest of the family returned from the band thingo and I slipped out for my patented C2S prep route for another tempo run. The legs felt fresh after a day off and I pounded the stretch down to the weir! From here it was a push to keep that pace going with the hilly back end of this run. Anyway I really gritted the teeth to try and keep it going. Fairly happy with the 14.25km in 1:05:23 which averages out at 4:35 min/km and 170 bpm, good evidence that I pushed hard.
Rest day tomorrow as work sees me bouncing down to Melbourne and back with one of our senior execs, then back into it on Tuesday.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Slowly but surely
A few days rest to let the blisters settle down and also seek some advice on the lingering piriformis/hammie/sciatic issue I have been having without the analysis being complicated by fatigued muscles.
A bit of a struggle to get out of bed, but the thought of Horrie and Professor regularly knocking over PB's somehow had a strange influence on seeing me headed out the door :)
Back down to my favorite spot in LCNP for some serious 1km intervals and assess if there was any improvement since the last set a month ago (average of 6 @ 4:01 with 2:00 standing rest).
The first rep is always a challenge and I just slipped under 4:00. I decided to abbreviate the standing rest back to 90 seconds and really hammered out the 2nd rep, no doubt enthused by having to chase another runner who had run past while I was gasping for air/recovering. To my amazement I posted a 3:45!
The subsequent reps were pretty consistent and so the whole session looked like
3:59, 3:45, 3:53, 3:51, 3:54 and 3:53
This equated to an average of 3:52.5 with average recovery of 1:30.5 so a reasonable improvement, but more to come.....
A bit of a struggle to get out of bed, but the thought of Horrie and Professor regularly knocking over PB's somehow had a strange influence on seeing me headed out the door :)
Back down to my favorite spot in LCNP for some serious 1km intervals and assess if there was any improvement since the last set a month ago (average of 6 @ 4:01 with 2:00 standing rest).
The first rep is always a challenge and I just slipped under 4:00. I decided to abbreviate the standing rest back to 90 seconds and really hammered out the 2nd rep, no doubt enthused by having to chase another runner who had run past while I was gasping for air/recovering. To my amazement I posted a 3:45!
The subsequent reps were pretty consistent and so the whole session looked like
3:59, 3:45, 3:53, 3:51, 3:54 and 3:53
This equated to an average of 3:52.5 with average recovery of 1:30.5 so a reasonable improvement, but more to come.....
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Going loooong!
Race report for Turon 24 hour Rogaine.
Firstly for the uninitiated a Rogaine is a long distance orienteering style event. Teams are given a pre-printed map with around 50 controls marked, each control having a points value and description to help locate. Generally the descriptions are terms like "the gully" or "the spur". You then need to plan a rough route to achieve the highest points yield for time/distance, also taking into account locations of water drops etc etc.
Picked Mr G up at around 7am and we got to Turon, with steady rain falling around 9:30. We spent time (in retrospect too much) trying to pitch the tent only to realise there was a bag of pegs missing, so we used some large stones to hold down the main part of the tent, which was a contingency anyway as the plan was to stay out for 24 hours.
The time lost in messing around with the tent then saw us rushing to prepare, ie getting changed, sorting out what to pack into the backpacks and very importantly plan our route!
We joined the masses at the start point for a final briefing which was pretty impossible to hear and then we were off! We had decided to do a northerly sweep first and then down the west side of the map before doing a full loop across to the east and north back home.
Through the northerly sweep navigation was good and we moved along pretty well. Mr G and I fell into a pretty standard pattern of me mostly leading and especially on the steep up or down hills where I would try and pick the best route, if possible taking advantage of tracks made by various animals etc. If I hit a tougher section then I could double back and lookm for a better option while he caught up. Certainly I took advantage of my lighter weight on the uphills, to the point that Mr G postulated that Dave in Chinese means calves of steel :)
We arrived at the first water drop just after dark and topped up camelbaks etc and had a more serious bite to eat than the nibbles consumed so far. Two controls later we had a significant nav challenge as we found ourselves headed east along a fence when we were supposed to be going south! A little teeth gnashing and eventually we righted ourselves. As we headed to the next water drop we came across a competitor rugged up sitting by the side of the track. Seems he had twisted his ankle and his partner had headed up to the water drop to flag down the sag wagon.
It was still quite a hike, including another steep uphill, to the water drop, which was located at a house. As we arrived there were some other competitors there trying to get a fire going. One of these was the teammate of the guy with the ankle while the others had had enough and were waiting to get a lift out. This was around midnight and so a logical point to have some more substanial food and also change socks etc. We did 2 loops out of the water drop to some nearby controls and still no sag wagon as we eventually left them at around 2am headed east towards the all night cafe.
As we headed towards #48 we finally saw some lights headed towards us, the first time we saw other teams on the course since about 5pm. One of these teams were 2 females who asked us if we had seen #48. I replied that I believed it was still about a km ahead of us, ie they had seriously gone past it! They then just asked if there was a road to the water drop which we confirmed and they kept going, rather than follow us back.
Our major mistake of the night now occured, after we got #48 and headed to #92, which was always going to be tricky a spur off a spur, we located the first spur, on very steep terrain but obviously dropped too early looking for the next spur and spent some time on the very steep slope before opting to move on rather than try and locate. We then spent a large amount of time negotiating our way down the steep slope in the dark to the creek bed below. Previous creek beds we had used were very navigable but this one was a nightmare and we lost a lot of time working our way down to the next major waterway which also had a proper track on it.
From here we had to adjust our plans based upon the lost time and head directly towards the all night cafe rather than taking a much more points rewarding option. Along this track Mr G was noticeably slowing down and becoming less lucid. Eventually he requested that we stop for a quick snooze and so we simply sat down on the grass next to the track, took off the back packs and he went to sleep! I tried but could not sleep and started to get cold. After about 10 minutes I made a bit of noise and suggested that if we were going to stay any longer I'd need to get out my space blanket to stay warm! He felt better after the break and so we decided to get going, finally getting in to the all night cafe just after 6am, only to find most of the food gone and only options were apples, bananas and cake, which we wolfed down.
We resolved to do a fast march back north as quickly as possoble, spurning points options on immediate offer in order to be closer to the finish and pick up points as available without worrying about time constraints. Eventually we hit the more open grazing land which was easier to navigate on and dropped back down through another creek bed to get back to the river. Unfortunately through here the blisters on my feet started to worsen and in the end when we hit the river we had to abandon plans to go a bit further south to pick up a pretty easy 100 pointer on offer as it would be touch and go if we would get back in time. As it happens we got back with about 30 minutes up our sleeve, bypassing a few more controls on steep terrain as mutually between my feet and Mr G's legs on hills we would have struggled.
Overall I was very happy with how things went. The only limiting factor for me turned out to be the blisters and the legs felt if they could keep on going for quite a while. This is a very good confidence builder for some future plans, granted we did not run, but just to stay mobile for around 24 hours and still being able to move is a considerable lift over my last tilt at a 24 hour event. Mr G also noted that I seemed to have a reasonable endurance base to operate from. Navigation wise we did ok, really only 2 significant errors which together cost us 90 points, but also I would say over 2 hours, which in itself is a large points penalty!
I have mapped out our rough route on GMap, with a link here. According to GMap we did around 56km but that is point to point and does not take into account vertical climb, which there was a lot! So the quandry is do I include this in the training log, ie is/was it beneficial to my running? I am inclined to say yes....
Have had 2 days off to sort out the blisters, should be back running tomorrow. Cheers to Mr G for being a great partner with all sorts of interesting facts, stories and jokes up his sleeve for use at appropriate times, I'm sure he must have gotten a little tired of me continually haring up the steep slopes like a mountain goat!
Firstly for the uninitiated a Rogaine is a long distance orienteering style event. Teams are given a pre-printed map with around 50 controls marked, each control having a points value and description to help locate. Generally the descriptions are terms like "the gully" or "the spur". You then need to plan a rough route to achieve the highest points yield for time/distance, also taking into account locations of water drops etc etc.
Picked Mr G up at around 7am and we got to Turon, with steady rain falling around 9:30. We spent time (in retrospect too much) trying to pitch the tent only to realise there was a bag of pegs missing, so we used some large stones to hold down the main part of the tent, which was a contingency anyway as the plan was to stay out for 24 hours.
The time lost in messing around with the tent then saw us rushing to prepare, ie getting changed, sorting out what to pack into the backpacks and very importantly plan our route!
We joined the masses at the start point for a final briefing which was pretty impossible to hear and then we were off! We had decided to do a northerly sweep first and then down the west side of the map before doing a full loop across to the east and north back home.
Through the northerly sweep navigation was good and we moved along pretty well. Mr G and I fell into a pretty standard pattern of me mostly leading and especially on the steep up or down hills where I would try and pick the best route, if possible taking advantage of tracks made by various animals etc. If I hit a tougher section then I could double back and lookm for a better option while he caught up. Certainly I took advantage of my lighter weight on the uphills, to the point that Mr G postulated that Dave in Chinese means calves of steel :)
We arrived at the first water drop just after dark and topped up camelbaks etc and had a more serious bite to eat than the nibbles consumed so far. Two controls later we had a significant nav challenge as we found ourselves headed east along a fence when we were supposed to be going south! A little teeth gnashing and eventually we righted ourselves. As we headed to the next water drop we came across a competitor rugged up sitting by the side of the track. Seems he had twisted his ankle and his partner had headed up to the water drop to flag down the sag wagon.
It was still quite a hike, including another steep uphill, to the water drop, which was located at a house. As we arrived there were some other competitors there trying to get a fire going. One of these was the teammate of the guy with the ankle while the others had had enough and were waiting to get a lift out. This was around midnight and so a logical point to have some more substanial food and also change socks etc. We did 2 loops out of the water drop to some nearby controls and still no sag wagon as we eventually left them at around 2am headed east towards the all night cafe.
As we headed towards #48 we finally saw some lights headed towards us, the first time we saw other teams on the course since about 5pm. One of these teams were 2 females who asked us if we had seen #48. I replied that I believed it was still about a km ahead of us, ie they had seriously gone past it! They then just asked if there was a road to the water drop which we confirmed and they kept going, rather than follow us back.
Our major mistake of the night now occured, after we got #48 and headed to #92, which was always going to be tricky a spur off a spur, we located the first spur, on very steep terrain but obviously dropped too early looking for the next spur and spent some time on the very steep slope before opting to move on rather than try and locate. We then spent a large amount of time negotiating our way down the steep slope in the dark to the creek bed below. Previous creek beds we had used were very navigable but this one was a nightmare and we lost a lot of time working our way down to the next major waterway which also had a proper track on it.
From here we had to adjust our plans based upon the lost time and head directly towards the all night cafe rather than taking a much more points rewarding option. Along this track Mr G was noticeably slowing down and becoming less lucid. Eventually he requested that we stop for a quick snooze and so we simply sat down on the grass next to the track, took off the back packs and he went to sleep! I tried but could not sleep and started to get cold. After about 10 minutes I made a bit of noise and suggested that if we were going to stay any longer I'd need to get out my space blanket to stay warm! He felt better after the break and so we decided to get going, finally getting in to the all night cafe just after 6am, only to find most of the food gone and only options were apples, bananas and cake, which we wolfed down.
We resolved to do a fast march back north as quickly as possoble, spurning points options on immediate offer in order to be closer to the finish and pick up points as available without worrying about time constraints. Eventually we hit the more open grazing land which was easier to navigate on and dropped back down through another creek bed to get back to the river. Unfortunately through here the blisters on my feet started to worsen and in the end when we hit the river we had to abandon plans to go a bit further south to pick up a pretty easy 100 pointer on offer as it would be touch and go if we would get back in time. As it happens we got back with about 30 minutes up our sleeve, bypassing a few more controls on steep terrain as mutually between my feet and Mr G's legs on hills we would have struggled.
Overall I was very happy with how things went. The only limiting factor for me turned out to be the blisters and the legs felt if they could keep on going for quite a while. This is a very good confidence builder for some future plans, granted we did not run, but just to stay mobile for around 24 hours and still being able to move is a considerable lift over my last tilt at a 24 hour event. Mr G also noted that I seemed to have a reasonable endurance base to operate from. Navigation wise we did ok, really only 2 significant errors which together cost us 90 points, but also I would say over 2 hours, which in itself is a large points penalty!
I have mapped out our rough route on GMap, with a link here. According to GMap we did around 56km but that is point to point and does not take into account vertical climb, which there was a lot! So the quandry is do I include this in the training log, ie is/was it beneficial to my running? I am inclined to say yes....
Have had 2 days off to sort out the blisters, should be back running tomorrow. Cheers to Mr G for being a great partner with all sorts of interesting facts, stories and jokes up his sleeve for use at appropriate times, I'm sure he must have gotten a little tired of me continually haring up the steep slopes like a mountain goat!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Staple diet
Thursday I woke up with a dodgy gut and opted not to run, this continued through most of the day but improved in the evening.
Friday, the gut seemed a bit better so I ventured out for my staple tempo run down to the weir and back. Noticeably a little cooler this morning but fairly good running, pushed it hard coming home.
Distance 10.9, time 50:11 avg pace 4:36, avg HR 164
My next little adventure is on tomorrow as I head out to Capertree (between Lithgow and Mudgee), picking up Mr G on the way for a tilt at the Turon 24 hour Rogaine, should be heaps of fun!
Friday, the gut seemed a bit better so I ventured out for my staple tempo run down to the weir and back. Noticeably a little cooler this morning but fairly good running, pushed it hard coming home.
Distance 10.9, time 50:11 avg pace 4:36, avg HR 164
My next little adventure is on tomorrow as I head out to Capertree (between Lithgow and Mudgee), picking up Mr G on the way for a tilt at the Turon 24 hour Rogaine, should be heaps of fun!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Night running
Took the opportunity of the last autumn night series orienteering event which was close to home, being at Macquarie Park. Felt pretty comfortable about the map layout and route selection leaving lots of options on the way home.
Everything went pretty smoothly, no issues with any of the controls and in some sections with a bigger gap between controls I got a decent pace going.
Finished up just over a minute late :( for a 20 point penalty but when my tally went up on the leaderboard I earned 470 points net which was sitting in second place just behind veteran speedster Michael Burton with 490!
More importantly the stats were 9.07km in 46:09 for an average of 5:05 min/km and avg HR of 177. Interestingly we ran the same map (with different controls) back in December, where running in the daylight I knocked out 9.56km in 46:27!
Pity I won't be able to run the Orienteering Night Championships on Saturday night but have prior plans....
Everything went pretty smoothly, no issues with any of the controls and in some sections with a bigger gap between controls I got a decent pace going.
Finished up just over a minute late :( for a 20 point penalty but when my tally went up on the leaderboard I earned 470 points net which was sitting in second place just behind veteran speedster Michael Burton with 490!
More importantly the stats were 9.07km in 46:09 for an average of 5:05 min/km and avg HR of 177. Interestingly we ran the same map (with different controls) back in December, where running in the daylight I knocked out 9.56km in 46:27!
Pity I won't be able to run the Orienteering Night Championships on Saturday night but have prior plans....
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Sweet home....
Sydney, not Alabama!
Yes I'm back in Oz thank goodness. So a quick summary of recent events.
Another run in New Orleans, this being my annual run with my French colleague from work who just ran a 2:57 at New York last year. A nice tempo style run along most of the course from the day before, pretty toasted at the end. That completed my US runnign shenanigans with post conference drinks etc wiping out any chance for another dig.
Back in Sydney late Friday night with a full day planned for Saturday so I headed off to Waverton on Sunday for the STaR. Actually quite pleased with the run as the Harbourside Hike is a little under-rated, seems every corner you go around there is another up or down slope to deal with. Also quite amusing to see the guys that I berated a few weeks ago for running too fast for the 6am group, now at the front of the 6:10 group, and still running too fast, sigh. Ended up knocking out 24km which on the jet lagged body was adequate.
Today - another session for penance for the sins of recent past with hill reps. I have decided to call this session Crazy Cox's since the SWEAT guys have Wild Wally etc. Today was certainly a challenge and eye opener as I struggled. Ended up with 10 reps @ 1:37, a fair cry from last October with an average of 1:28, still I suppose I know where I am coming from and get get to......
Yes I'm back in Oz thank goodness. So a quick summary of recent events.
Another run in New Orleans, this being my annual run with my French colleague from work who just ran a 2:57 at New York last year. A nice tempo style run along most of the course from the day before, pretty toasted at the end. That completed my US runnign shenanigans with post conference drinks etc wiping out any chance for another dig.
Back in Sydney late Friday night with a full day planned for Saturday so I headed off to Waverton on Sunday for the STaR. Actually quite pleased with the run as the Harbourside Hike is a little under-rated, seems every corner you go around there is another up or down slope to deal with. Also quite amusing to see the guys that I berated a few weeks ago for running too fast for the 6am group, now at the front of the 6:10 group, and still running too fast, sigh. Ended up knocking out 24km which on the jet lagged body was adequate.
Today - another session for penance for the sins of recent past with hill reps. I have decided to call this session Crazy Cox's since the SWEAT guys have Wild Wally etc. Today was certainly a challenge and eye opener as I struggled. Ended up with 10 reps @ 1:37, a fair cry from last October with an average of 1:28, still I suppose I know where I am coming from and get get to......
Monday, April 16, 2007
Running in "The Big Easy"
Some more flights, with a quick stop over in Dallas/Fort Worth and I lobbed into New Orleans. Headed out for a cobweb clearing run and to check out some sights. A pretty cruisy recovery style run with just over 8km in 45 minutes
Sunday - before the work kicks back in I aimed to go out for a longer run. It was quite a deal cooler than yesterday afternoon and a cold wind blowing. Some research online had turned up a potential run route so off I went. After a few minutes running through downtown from the hotel I got to my first destination which is a tramway (now not used) that runs down the middle of a major road, but in a separate traffic island. The best thing is that the surface was pretty even, no gutters to traverse and it was all grass/dirt so low impact. This went for around 7km to reach a park which then went all the way down to the river and is New Orleans version of Hyde/Central Park. One lap of the park, stopping for a quick drink and then back along the tramway, consciously upping the pace to around 4:50 min/km all the way home.
Very pleased to knock out just under 20km in 1:40:33 for an average pace of 5:07 and average HR of 155. Here is a map of the route.
Sunday - before the work kicks back in I aimed to go out for a longer run. It was quite a deal cooler than yesterday afternoon and a cold wind blowing. Some research online had turned up a potential run route so off I went. After a few minutes running through downtown from the hotel I got to my first destination which is a tramway (now not used) that runs down the middle of a major road, but in a separate traffic island. The best thing is that the surface was pretty even, no gutters to traverse and it was all grass/dirt so low impact. This went for around 7km to reach a park which then went all the way down to the river and is New Orleans version of Hyde/Central Park. One lap of the park, stopping for a quick drink and then back along the tramway, consciously upping the pace to around 4:50 min/km all the way home.
Very pleased to knock out just under 20km in 1:40:33 for an average pace of 5:07 and average HR of 155. Here is a map of the route.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Where's Dave (Wally)
As forecast a frantic week since my long run on Sunday. I have mostly seen the interior of either hotel rooms or aircraft cabins, but have had some success in trying to keep running!
A brief sojourn back to Seoul but I had a little free time and so headed to the hotel gym for some treadmill therapy. The gym is a room in the middle of the hotel, no windows to the outside and as I found out quickly not a lot of ventilation or air conditioning. After determining the set up of the treadmill and the fact that they were reading in km and not miles I set the dial for 4 min/km with the aim to replicate my LCNP session with 2 min standing rest. After about my third rep the little Korean gym attendant came and had a look and immediately dashed away to get extra towels as the sweat was certainly starting to flow.
Ended up with 7 reps, but was pretty taxed at the end. Then went out with one of our business partners and proceeded to drink my body weight in beer and whisky (again), bloody hell these Koreans drink! This of course left me in no state to do my planned session the following morning....
More long flights and now I am in Los Angeles on my way to New Orleans. Desperate to stretch the legs after the long flights I headed out with the goal of hitting the Pacific on the Eastern edge. As you will see from the image below I got close but the whole area between the airport and sea is blocked off for obvious security reasons. A good stretch out with 16.7km done in 1:22 for avg pace of 4:56.
Am desperately not happy about missing Canberra and catching up with people and teh malaise of time zone changes, flying and meetings has meant not a lot of chance to wish all those running the best, so now I have at least done it, even though no one will probably read this until after their race.
A brief sojourn back to Seoul but I had a little free time and so headed to the hotel gym for some treadmill therapy. The gym is a room in the middle of the hotel, no windows to the outside and as I found out quickly not a lot of ventilation or air conditioning. After determining the set up of the treadmill and the fact that they were reading in km and not miles I set the dial for 4 min/km with the aim to replicate my LCNP session with 2 min standing rest. After about my third rep the little Korean gym attendant came and had a look and immediately dashed away to get extra towels as the sweat was certainly starting to flow.
Ended up with 7 reps, but was pretty taxed at the end. Then went out with one of our business partners and proceeded to drink my body weight in beer and whisky (again), bloody hell these Koreans drink! This of course left me in no state to do my planned session the following morning....
More long flights and now I am in Los Angeles on my way to New Orleans. Desperate to stretch the legs after the long flights I headed out with the goal of hitting the Pacific on the Eastern edge. As you will see from the image below I got close but the whole area between the airport and sea is blocked off for obvious security reasons. A good stretch out with 16.7km done in 1:22 for avg pace of 4:56.
Am desperately not happy about missing Canberra and catching up with people and teh malaise of time zone changes, flying and meetings has meant not a lot of chance to wish all those running the best, so now I have at least done it, even though no one will probably read this until after their race.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Wet Weekend Wanderings
Saturday - up at sparrows to head into The Domain to set up for the 10km. As per previous post I was unsure whether I'd run the 10km, West Met or both but after setting up and giving Bernie G, Kit and Razor a briefing on the timing system and associated programs I did a quick warmup and headed down to the start line.
This course is trying, jammed pack running for the first 2km, uphill no less and dodging puddles then a downill back to the point of Lady Macquaries chair before doing it again another 2 times!
I felt a little tight all over but just kept on trying to stay smooth and economical, also missed a few km markers. The last km is a bit of a lung buster with a downhill kick to get the legs cycling over and then about 400m to try and hold (or increase) that pace.
Actually quite happy with the end result posting 43:30 a 47 second improvement over Homebush with not a lot done in between.
After I finished teh slight drizzle that had been threatening evolved into a torrential downpour so no chance to catch up an talk with anyone as they were already all up at presentations and then naturally scarpered while I sorted out packing up the timing gear.
Sunday - Given the STaR today was a DIY rocket around the bay area I opted for something a little different that I had been planning to do for a while. There was a family do at my mother-in-law's place at Hornsby and so I decided to run up the GNW to Hornsby to get some time on the legs over trails and also to give the new camelbak another trial.
Got up to Browns Waterhole in about an hour and then it was into unknown territory as I followed the GNW up to Thornleigh. There was considerable groundwater on the trail and also some good stream crossings. The run down the other side of Thornleigh was really nice and then the trail turned a little more technical as it followed Berowra Creek (?) up to the back of Hornsby. Just as I finally popped out of the bush it started raining (again) and I got soaked as I climbed up quite a steep section on Pretoria Parade to Hornsby.
Stats - 26.75km in 3:17:00 which included 500m of climb for a net climb of about 150m. The legs while tired were not smashed and this is exactly what I was looking for.
Last week - Pretty pleased with the start of April with 71km under the belt and a couple of good runs. The next 2 weeks will be challenging to say the least to try and keep things going under what I know will be difficult conditions with a long work trip.
This course is trying, jammed pack running for the first 2km, uphill no less and dodging puddles then a downill back to the point of Lady Macquaries chair before doing it again another 2 times!
I felt a little tight all over but just kept on trying to stay smooth and economical, also missed a few km markers. The last km is a bit of a lung buster with a downhill kick to get the legs cycling over and then about 400m to try and hold (or increase) that pace.
Actually quite happy with the end result posting 43:30 a 47 second improvement over Homebush with not a lot done in between.
After I finished teh slight drizzle that had been threatening evolved into a torrential downpour so no chance to catch up an talk with anyone as they were already all up at presentations and then naturally scarpered while I sorted out packing up the timing gear.
Sunday - Given the STaR today was a DIY rocket around the bay area I opted for something a little different that I had been planning to do for a while. There was a family do at my mother-in-law's place at Hornsby and so I decided to run up the GNW to Hornsby to get some time on the legs over trails and also to give the new camelbak another trial.
Got up to Browns Waterhole in about an hour and then it was into unknown territory as I followed the GNW up to Thornleigh. There was considerable groundwater on the trail and also some good stream crossings. The run down the other side of Thornleigh was really nice and then the trail turned a little more technical as it followed Berowra Creek (?) up to the back of Hornsby. Just as I finally popped out of the bush it started raining (again) and I got soaked as I climbed up quite a steep section on Pretoria Parade to Hornsby.
Stats - 26.75km in 3:17:00 which included 500m of climb for a net climb of about 150m. The legs while tired were not smashed and this is exactly what I was looking for.
Last week - Pretty pleased with the start of April with 71km under the belt and a couple of good runs. The next 2 weeks will be challenging to say the least to try and keep things going under what I know will be difficult conditions with a long work trip.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Circlework 101
A great way to start the day, a sleep in followed by a controlled 30 minute recovery run under a certain HR. This was made even more enjoyable by the cooler weather, my shuffle going in the background and the personal trainer looking after her student on one corner of the oval :)
It has been ages since I actually did a recovery run, having opted mostly for rest days. felt fairly good but lower legs, especially shins are still coming to grips with what I have been doing to them.
A few different options tomorrow with Striders 10km at The Domain in the morning and West Met XC in the afternoon at Concord, or both.....
It has been ages since I actually did a recovery run, having opted mostly for rest days. felt fairly good but lower legs, especially shins are still coming to grips with what I have been doing to them.
A few different options tomorrow with Striders 10km at The Domain in the morning and West Met XC in the afternoon at Concord, or both.....
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Momentum
is a wonderful thing!
Wednesday - Autumn night series at Ermington, I have had reasonable success on this map during the daytime. Certainly a little more difficult than last week with a lot more running not on roads and thus also much less available street lights.
I reckon if the people in the suburbs are a little intrigued by summer series then the night running stuff must really grab their attention as various bodies charge in and out of the dark with head lamps and torches clutching a map, running like a mad man!
Was pretty happy with the course selection and my run, some others commented that they struggle running at pace over uneven terrain in the dark but I don't find it too bad. Might have something to do with my headlamp :)
Stats - 9km in just under 50 minutes for avg pace of 5:33, not bad for night running and navigating (well I think so)
Thursday - Tempo run, the staple down to the weir and back to see what is left in the legs after the last 2 days and having not done much for a while before that. Again pretty pleased but also was stuffed when I finished.
Stats - just under 11km in 51:10 so avg pace of 4:42, not my best but far from my worst...
So three hard days in a row, that means recovery/rest tomorrow!
Wednesday - Autumn night series at Ermington, I have had reasonable success on this map during the daytime. Certainly a little more difficult than last week with a lot more running not on roads and thus also much less available street lights.
I reckon if the people in the suburbs are a little intrigued by summer series then the night running stuff must really grab their attention as various bodies charge in and out of the dark with head lamps and torches clutching a map, running like a mad man!
Was pretty happy with the course selection and my run, some others commented that they struggle running at pace over uneven terrain in the dark but I don't find it too bad. Might have something to do with my headlamp :)
Stats - 9km in just under 50 minutes for avg pace of 5:33, not bad for night running and navigating (well I think so)
Thursday - Tempo run, the staple down to the weir and back to see what is left in the legs after the last 2 days and having not done much for a while before that. Again pretty pleased but also was stuffed when I finished.
Stats - just under 11km in 51:10 so avg pace of 4:42, not my best but far from my worst...
So three hard days in a row, that means recovery/rest tomorrow!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Do not fall off the chair!
Yes two blog posts in 2 days, which obviously means I did get out for another run.
Nothing like serving some penance for the sins of no running so off down to LCNP for some 1km reps. Legs certainly felt clunky on the way down and some residual tightness in the lower legs from the weekend. Anyway I hit out with 6 1km reps with standing 2 min rest. Saw Spud cruise by twice so my sekrit training cover has already been blown!
Pretty ugly reps and time, have had for a while what I believe deferred sciatia/piriformis pain for a while in the top of my LH hammie and this was again noticeable when I tried to stretch out.
Reps were 4:04, 4:00, 4:04, 4:01, 4:00 and 3:58
Always interesting running home after a rep session, subconsciously the pace feels slow but I actually ran quite a bit faster than my warm up on the way down....
Back home for some stretching and I was sweating buckets. A good thing happend while stretching my SI joint cracked twice and the deferred hammie tightness seems to have decreased significantly! Lower legs are tender, which in some ways is good, I have my shin high skins on today under the work clobber.
Oh and for Gnome's benefit I am still on CR, now known simply as Dave, to coincide with my 1000th post :) and I can only dream of being as fast as some of the vets around the place.....
Nothing like serving some penance for the sins of no running so off down to LCNP for some 1km reps. Legs certainly felt clunky on the way down and some residual tightness in the lower legs from the weekend. Anyway I hit out with 6 1km reps with standing 2 min rest. Saw Spud cruise by twice so my sekrit training cover has already been blown!
Pretty ugly reps and time, have had for a while what I believe deferred sciatia/piriformis pain for a while in the top of my LH hammie and this was again noticeable when I tried to stretch out.
Reps were 4:04, 4:00, 4:04, 4:01, 4:00 and 3:58
Always interesting running home after a rep session, subconsciously the pace feels slow but I actually ran quite a bit faster than my warm up on the way down....
Back home for some stretching and I was sweating buckets. A good thing happend while stretching my SI joint cracked twice and the deferred hammie tightness seems to have decreased significantly! Lower legs are tender, which in some ways is good, I have my shin high skins on today under the work clobber.
Oh and for Gnome's benefit I am still on CR, now known simply as Dave, to coincide with my 1000th post :) and I can only dream of being as fast as some of the vets around the place.....
Monday, April 02, 2007
Helllllllloooooooooooooooo
Yep, that sounds like an echo, understandable given my recent blogging slackness!
So not a heap of anything going on unfortunately, I have done a "little" running. Mostly some more orienteering which in itself is funny given I just gave up the O Runner tag on Cool Running.
Socially life has been a bit hectic, as some may be aware I turned 40 a few weeks ago and given circumstances the celebrations drifted on for a while, culminating in a large BBQ party.
The first quarter is gone and according to my trusty SportTracks I have clocked up 345km in 3 months...
Some of the recent runs,
Last summer series event at Hunters Hill, a pretty good route selection saw me pretty ragged at the end. A decent score lifted me up the ladder, thankfully next season I am in the vet category, no more racing against speedsters like Andrew Hill!!
First autumn night series, last Wed night, same as summer series but now with headlamps and night navigation to make it interesting. Went a bit too far down and out from North Sydney oval to Neutral Bay which proved my downfall on the way home. Another hard run though!
Saturday - first of the West Met series at Haberfield, which I hope to have as a regular staple through winter. Aimed to hold onto a couple of benchmark runners I had from last year, which I did for around 4km and then had a good duel with a Hills runner, shedding him with about a km to go, only to have another Hills runner try and put a burst on me with 500 to go, I held him until about 200m but faded. He told me after the finish that he was just about to clag out as well when I dropped off :( A decent benchmark hitout with around 7.7km in 32:39
Sunday - Again something different, running from home to test out my new camelbak octane I did a loop through Putney, Gladesville and Hunters Hill before arriving at Boronia Park for (believe it or not) another orienteering event. Pretty much baked myself before running home, very trashed at the end....
Also for Ewen/Wombatface the gaiters I wore at Six Foot were Dirty Girl gaiters. I found them through a few Ultra heads and ordered some for myself. The great thing is that the lady who makes them turns all the profits back into trail maintenance and she is also an Ultra runner!
Anyway enough dribble for an infrequent post, aiming for more running related stuff, hoping I can translate the motivation from watching the Iron Man live web feed last night into geting up when the alarm goes off!
So not a heap of anything going on unfortunately, I have done a "little" running. Mostly some more orienteering which in itself is funny given I just gave up the O Runner tag on Cool Running.
Socially life has been a bit hectic, as some may be aware I turned 40 a few weeks ago and given circumstances the celebrations drifted on for a while, culminating in a large BBQ party.
The first quarter is gone and according to my trusty SportTracks I have clocked up 345km in 3 months...
Some of the recent runs,
Last summer series event at Hunters Hill, a pretty good route selection saw me pretty ragged at the end. A decent score lifted me up the ladder, thankfully next season I am in the vet category, no more racing against speedsters like Andrew Hill!!
First autumn night series, last Wed night, same as summer series but now with headlamps and night navigation to make it interesting. Went a bit too far down and out from North Sydney oval to Neutral Bay which proved my downfall on the way home. Another hard run though!
Saturday - first of the West Met series at Haberfield, which I hope to have as a regular staple through winter. Aimed to hold onto a couple of benchmark runners I had from last year, which I did for around 4km and then had a good duel with a Hills runner, shedding him with about a km to go, only to have another Hills runner try and put a burst on me with 500 to go, I held him until about 200m but faded. He told me after the finish that he was just about to clag out as well when I dropped off :( A decent benchmark hitout with around 7.7km in 32:39
Sunday - Again something different, running from home to test out my new camelbak octane I did a loop through Putney, Gladesville and Hunters Hill before arriving at Boronia Park for (believe it or not) another orienteering event. Pretty much baked myself before running home, very trashed at the end....
Also for Ewen/Wombatface the gaiters I wore at Six Foot were Dirty Girl gaiters. I found them through a few Ultra heads and ordered some for myself. The great thing is that the lady who makes them turns all the profits back into trail maintenance and she is also an Ultra runner!
Anyway enough dribble for an infrequent post, aiming for more running related stuff, hoping I can translate the motivation from watching the Iron Man live web feed last night into geting up when the alarm goes off!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Post Six Foot
Legs pulled up pretty well from Saturday, once again a noticeable case of doms in lower outside hammies which I always seem to get on longer runs involve walking.
Last night Summer Series was literally just around the corner so I did a cobweb clearing blast and was pretty happy with the result. As usual I ran "long" and was back a bit late but happy with the run and mostly the route. Certainly a lot better score than my last couple of outings.
Time to think about what next, main goal is to try and do a sub 40 while 40 (recent birthday, thanks Tesso!) But bottom line is that I (still/again) need to be more consistent with training and somehow blend real life against that requirement better! Not much point in setting lofty goals if I never do enough groundwork to succeed....
Last night Summer Series was literally just around the corner so I did a cobweb clearing blast and was pretty happy with the result. As usual I ran "long" and was back a bit late but happy with the run and mostly the route. Certainly a lot better score than my last couple of outings.
Time to think about what next, main goal is to try and do a sub 40 while 40 (recent birthday, thanks Tesso!) But bottom line is that I (still/again) need to be more consistent with training and somehow blend real life against that requirement better! Not much point in setting lofty goals if I never do enough groundwork to succeed....
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Six Foot 2007
As posted on CR, more (maybe) to come....
After an encouraging start to my 6 ft program real life stepped in and a while ago it became apparent that any serious assault on my dodgy PB and last year's DNF would be underdone. In the end I offered my services as a 7 hour sweep for wave 3, given the extra wave and potential for the back markers in this wave to potentially struggle to hit the 7 hour cutoff.
So a somewhat very relaxed pre-race prep saw me at the start line with broom in hand, but the pre-race nerves were still somewhat lurking....
The start was not the usual anxious affair, much more casual as I strolled down to the stairs behind the blue wave. I was surprised at the actual good progress we made down before the first wave 4 runner came through. Also surprising was the gap from him to the next wave 4 runner..... At the road proper I focussed on the planned splits and let everyone head off down the road. Every so often I blew my whistle, usually in recognition of being passed by a Strider or CR from wave 4 more than anything else.
About halfway from Megalong to Cox's I came up to my first wave 3 tail ender, who I shall call the NRG runner. She was moving ok and given by my reckoning we were ahead of 7hr schedule I held back to leave her to her own devices while a number of wave 4 runners went through. After the river crossing as we climbed Mini Mini I stayed intouch with her, along with Koala 1 who had caught us. After the cattle yard aid station I moved ahead of the NRG runner but I also stopped to pause at the aid station between Mini Mini and Pluviometer for a "nature" stop where she caught up. Unbenown to me Go Girl was also at this aid station being treated .
On Pluviometer I had to keep a pretty good pace going to keep in step with the schedule and I was actually repassing a number of wave 4 runners who had passed me earlier! Right at the top of Pluviometer I caught Wombatface and was pretty much bang on pace at 4 hours.... Ewen immediately cruised ahead as I got out the shepheards crook for Black Range. There were a number of runners that I continually swapped positions with as I adjusted my pace based upon splits and the km markers that I was searching for. This continued along deviation, especially on the short "unexpected" climbs before the road crossing. At this point I was at the end of a stream of around 20 runners from both wave 3 & 4.
I paused at the crossing for a quick chat with the spectators and firies before heading off. Along here Martin Dugdale and I ran in the same pace while most of the others cruised ahead. For me this was the most difficult (mentally) section of the run, most of the people I had been with since Pluviometer cruised ahead and only the occasional runner catching me while I was holding the prescribed pace.
Finally we hit the downhill and this (for me) was the most gratifying piece of the whole race. Firstly I caught up to an early wave starter who I now believe to be David Newborn, we had a good chat about how he was going and I did my "on the run" diagnosis of a case of ITB It was only about 1.5km to go and the downhill was on, I was continually looking over my shoulder in the hope that a blue wave runner would be catching back up to me. To my absolute surprise the NRG runner that I had very reluctantly run away from re-appeared out of the blue, running strongly! I let her past and while she was obviously on her last legs it seemed she was on to break the 7 hours! While I had snakes, power bars and gu's she needed water So we cruised on with only about a km to go. From here it was a done deal, confirmed by seeing Don Juan at the start of the paved section. I let the NRG runner go ahead and slowed in the hope that maybe someone else might be trying to catch me. Alas, that was it, although Koala 1 (wave 4) did also go past while I was lurking near the finish!
So ended my most recent Six Foot experience. Post finish I got a chance to digest some of the extraordinary performances that various fellow runners and friends achieved, which was a humbling experience. After the horrors of last year this was somewhat of a redemptive/soul cleansing experience.
Way too much to try and include in this post, apologies for the rambling....
To all the runners who aimed and strived to run 6 ft, well done!
THANK YOU!
To Kevin Tiller and the assorted people who are the backbone of this event
To the firies and others on the day out there to enable this race to continue
To the runners out there on the track that I had the opportuntity of sharing the experience.
I am humbled by those who I spent quite a deal of time with out on the day. I was pacing/running within my limits while you were going 100%. To those who fell short of their own expectationsor DNF'd I commiserate, can't say much more, but I know you are disappointed and have been there.
Highlights of the day
- having the NRG runner catch me at the death
- seeing Jen crack 7 hrs
- Fats' win and race record, a superb result for such an unassuming guy
- Max's 24 runs, absolutely mind boggling, a great way of recognising an extradorinary achievement.
To the others that are too many to mention, but ring in my mind
- Kit, dividends reaped
- MPH, sensible training
- Amjan, yet another PB at 6 ft!
- Superflake, solid effort.
Finally thanks to Action and Luke SR for the sweeper/pacing stuff and Action and Megan for the lift up/back.
Will I be back next year, you bet!!!!!!!
EDIT- 2 fav photos from yesterday.
After an encouraging start to my 6 ft program real life stepped in and a while ago it became apparent that any serious assault on my dodgy PB and last year's DNF would be underdone. In the end I offered my services as a 7 hour sweep for wave 3, given the extra wave and potential for the back markers in this wave to potentially struggle to hit the 7 hour cutoff.
So a somewhat very relaxed pre-race prep saw me at the start line with broom in hand, but the pre-race nerves were still somewhat lurking....
The start was not the usual anxious affair, much more casual as I strolled down to the stairs behind the blue wave. I was surprised at the actual good progress we made down before the first wave 4 runner came through. Also surprising was the gap from him to the next wave 4 runner..... At the road proper I focussed on the planned splits and let everyone head off down the road. Every so often I blew my whistle, usually in recognition of being passed by a Strider or CR from wave 4 more than anything else.
About halfway from Megalong to Cox's I came up to my first wave 3 tail ender, who I shall call the NRG runner. She was moving ok and given by my reckoning we were ahead of 7hr schedule I held back to leave her to her own devices while a number of wave 4 runners went through. After the river crossing as we climbed Mini Mini I stayed intouch with her, along with Koala 1 who had caught us. After the cattle yard aid station I moved ahead of the NRG runner but I also stopped to pause at the aid station between Mini Mini and Pluviometer for a "nature" stop where she caught up. Unbenown to me Go Girl was also at this aid station being treated .
On Pluviometer I had to keep a pretty good pace going to keep in step with the schedule and I was actually repassing a number of wave 4 runners who had passed me earlier! Right at the top of Pluviometer I caught Wombatface and was pretty much bang on pace at 4 hours.... Ewen immediately cruised ahead as I got out the shepheards crook for Black Range. There were a number of runners that I continually swapped positions with as I adjusted my pace based upon splits and the km markers that I was searching for. This continued along deviation, especially on the short "unexpected" climbs before the road crossing. At this point I was at the end of a stream of around 20 runners from both wave 3 & 4.
I paused at the crossing for a quick chat with the spectators and firies before heading off. Along here Martin Dugdale and I ran in the same pace while most of the others cruised ahead. For me this was the most difficult (mentally) section of the run, most of the people I had been with since Pluviometer cruised ahead and only the occasional runner catching me while I was holding the prescribed pace.
Finally we hit the downhill and this (for me) was the most gratifying piece of the whole race. Firstly I caught up to an early wave starter who I now believe to be David Newborn, we had a good chat about how he was going and I did my "on the run" diagnosis of a case of ITB It was only about 1.5km to go and the downhill was on, I was continually looking over my shoulder in the hope that a blue wave runner would be catching back up to me. To my absolute surprise the NRG runner that I had very reluctantly run away from re-appeared out of the blue, running strongly! I let her past and while she was obviously on her last legs it seemed she was on to break the 7 hours! While I had snakes, power bars and gu's she needed water So we cruised on with only about a km to go. From here it was a done deal, confirmed by seeing Don Juan at the start of the paved section. I let the NRG runner go ahead and slowed in the hope that maybe someone else might be trying to catch me. Alas, that was it, although Koala 1 (wave 4) did also go past while I was lurking near the finish!
So ended my most recent Six Foot experience. Post finish I got a chance to digest some of the extraordinary performances that various fellow runners and friends achieved, which was a humbling experience. After the horrors of last year this was somewhat of a redemptive/soul cleansing experience.
Way too much to try and include in this post, apologies for the rambling....
To all the runners who aimed and strived to run 6 ft, well done!
THANK YOU!
To Kevin Tiller and the assorted people who are the backbone of this event
To the firies and others on the day out there to enable this race to continue
To the runners out there on the track that I had the opportuntity of sharing the experience.
I am humbled by those who I spent quite a deal of time with out on the day. I was pacing/running within my limits while you were going 100%. To those who fell short of their own expectationsor DNF'd I commiserate, can't say much more, but I know you are disappointed and have been there.
Highlights of the day
- having the NRG runner catch me at the death
- seeing Jen crack 7 hrs
- Fats' win and race record, a superb result for such an unassuming guy
- Max's 24 runs, absolutely mind boggling, a great way of recognising an extradorinary achievement.
To the others that are too many to mention, but ring in my mind
- Kit, dividends reaped
- MPH, sensible training
- Amjan, yet another PB at 6 ft!
- Superflake, solid effort.
Finally thanks to Action and Luke SR for the sweeper/pacing stuff and Action and Megan for the lift up/back.
Will I be back next year, you bet!!!!!!!
EDIT- 2 fav photos from yesterday.
Monday, March 05, 2007
tick tock....
More disrupted running plans, last week saw me in Seoul for most of the week for work. This also seemed to entail drinking my body weight in beer and whisky as part of "bonding" with my potential new business partners and their customers.....
However, I did manage to pull on the racing shoes for Saturday morning at Homebush and went out at a semi-sensible pace that I managed to hold for a while before fading a little. In the last km I did try and up the tempo with success hauling in a few people on the surge to the line which was somewhat pleasing as usually I am the haulee. Ended up with 44:17 a little higher than expected but pleasing anyway.
Sunday saw the Balmain Bungle STaR and with the legs a little done from the 10km I opted to run with the 6am group, first time in ages and a bit of an eye opener. The front pace was floating around 5:30 or below and got involved in quite a heated "discussion" with the ring leader who insisted on walking on ahead after he had first use of the tap at water stations and not waiting for others to have their drink. Did the 25km short cut which turned out to be about 23km but I actually walked in the last 2km or so with another Strider who had a knee injury.
As some will have seen my plans for Six Foot are falling into place with me acting as one of the 7 hour pacer/sweepers. My job is to run at 7 hour pace which is the cutoff for people to qualify for a medal and being officially recorded as having finished. Some mechanics still to work out but at this point it seems likely I will be at the back of wave 3.
However, I did manage to pull on the racing shoes for Saturday morning at Homebush and went out at a semi-sensible pace that I managed to hold for a while before fading a little. In the last km I did try and up the tempo with success hauling in a few people on the surge to the line which was somewhat pleasing as usually I am the haulee. Ended up with 44:17 a little higher than expected but pleasing anyway.
Sunday saw the Balmain Bungle STaR and with the legs a little done from the 10km I opted to run with the 6am group, first time in ages and a bit of an eye opener. The front pace was floating around 5:30 or below and got involved in quite a heated "discussion" with the ring leader who insisted on walking on ahead after he had first use of the tap at water stations and not waiting for others to have their drink. Did the 25km short cut which turned out to be about 23km but I actually walked in the last 2km or so with another Strider who had a knee injury.
As some will have seen my plans for Six Foot are falling into place with me acting as one of the 7 hour pacer/sweepers. My job is to run at 7 hour pace which is the cutoff for people to qualify for a medal and being officially recorded as having finished. Some mechanics still to work out but at this point it seems likely I will be at the back of wave 3.
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