Bay's Blog

2010-11-26T18:26:00.003+10:30

Feeling festive!

Not much to report really. I'm enjoying the feeling of starting to crank up into the running after spending so much time traveling. The routine is nice! But, the other thing that I've noticed is that even though life is extremely busy, it's feeling festive. I can almost feel the morning runs followed by the all-day consumption of food that is usually associated with the Christmas to New Years period...... lucky I'm running or it would be very detrimental to my waste line.

Seriously looking forward to the weeks break. Not as in the "I'm going on holidays to Europe" break (because we all know that turns out to be busy as you try to see EVERYTHING), but more in the "Once I've done my morning run, I'll be lucky to move today other than to go to the fridge" break.

Oh, and then there's the Ashes tests to watch. Who could go past 5 days of cricket?

Cooommmme onnnnnn Aussie!

2010-11-11T16:31:00.001+10:30

A well deserved rest? (or possibly just sheer laziness.)

Following the City 2 Surf in Sydney, I mentioned that my C2S time was crazy and I didn’t think I was that fit so it must be a fast course. Well, it seems that the truth is half way between me being fitter and the course being faster than expected. I decided to test the theory by running the City to Bay in Adelaide (12 km) the day before we flew out to Croatia. Based on my C2S time, I was desperately hoping to go 48:00, but didn't think that it was actually realistic......
I got 48:04. (I wonder if I can do the marathon trick and ignore the seconds?). But, I'm certainly very happy with my middle-distance fitness at the moment; anywhere close to 4:00/km is super fast for me!

So, I thought I deserved a bit of a fattening, lazy holiday. Even though I took my running shoes with me to Croatia, I only managed to have 3 runs in 2.5 weeks - two in London and one in Croatia. My two rave runs would have to be along the Thames to the Tower of London, across Tower Bridge and back, and along the foreshore in Porec (northern Croatia). Both stunning for totally different reasons!

Speaking of Croatia, if you want an amazing place to go for a couple of weeks, it's amazing. My big piece of advice would be to make sure you get to the interior of Istria (the northern state) - the scenery is stunning and they harvest truffles and make wine there....... need I say more (other than that I put on 2.5 kg in 2.5 weeks)?

Work has meant that in the 4 weeks after my return I only had about 4 days at home, with work taking me out of the state for the rest of the time. I've found it hard to get in more than 1-2 runs a week during that time, but I'm now back up to 3-4 per week. I'm hoping to hold that and be comfortably running 40-45 km/week again by Christmas, which on current form should be fine.

I'll try to download my trip photos and post a couple soon.......

Until then, run well!

2010-09-09T16:08:00.002+09:30

Slow month.

August was a slow month. After the explosion of a start at C2S, I had a week off to recover, then got back into it expecting to finish the month strongly. Then I got a massive man-flu that had me on the couch unable to move for a week (yes folks, it's true, Bayden actually took time off work!), followed by a few more days where a rest stop was a mandatory requirement for making it up a set of stairs. Pretty garbage month for km's, only making 75 km for the month!

But, all started to come good for September and last Friday I went out to do some intervals. I managed to get out 2 x 1200 and 2 x 800 in reasonable times (~3:45-3:50 pace) for at total or 9 km and only left half a lung on the track.

Then, with the impending City to Bay less than two weeks away, I went out on Monday to see if I would make the distance. So, I set out to hurt myself for 10 km to see what I could do. I was pleasantly surprised to do it @ 4:08, leading me to believe that the 2 weeks off running over the last month hasn't hurt my fitness too much.

So, the plan goes like this:

1. Spend the next 10 days running exactly like I did before C2S (why change a good thing?);
2. Run the City to Bay and aim for a make-or-break PB (48:00 fro 12km) and yes, I'd rather try and break than not try; and
3. The very next day get on a plane for a holiday in Croatia.......

Yes, you heard right, I'm planning on lounging on the shores of the Adriatic Sea drinking beer for a little while.

YAHOOOO!

Oh, and I'll take my running shoes to add another couple of places to my list of "exotic runs" ;-)

2010-08-24T15:47:00.003+09:30

Happiness.

Had a week off after the C2S to let my legs recover. That meant I was super keen to go out running again last week, leading to one of the most pleasant runs I think I've ever had on Saturday afternoon. After all the rain and cold weather we've had of late, it was amazing to run along the beach for a nice 20k in the sun (and I did it @ 4:49, av HR 139!). My spirits were well and truly up and I figured that life is pretty darn good all round.

How can people not love to run?

Oh, and the rest of life is pretty good too ;-)

Now I start to sharpen up once again for the Adelaide City to Bay (12km) in 4 weeks time. I'll put it out there and say that based on my C2S effort I'm going to have a crack at 48:00..... even if it cracks me!

2010-08-09T09:13:00.002+09:30

Ah-hem.... what the?

How the? I'm confused about how THAT happened (but more of that later)!

As you would know, I ran the City 2 Surf in Sydney yesterday, along with 80,000 other people. Being that this was a new race for me, and I was a little concerned about the legendary "Heartbreak Hill", so I drove the course from the half way point on the Saturday with my friend from Sydney. Turned out to be a good thing, because I identified a false summit about 3/4 of the way up so I knew not to push too hard at that point!

I started the day relaxingly early, catching the bus to arrive at the start line 1.5 hours before the gun. It gave me time to have a bit of a warm-up and a good stretch before dropping my gear at the gear-truck and lining up in my start group. I was sincerely glad that I applied for a place in the first starting group, because lining up an hour before the gun I was only 10 rows back from the line, and within half an hour there were about 6,000 people behind me in my group alone!

But, 30 minutes before the race it went a little wrong - I decided that I needed to go to the toilet badly enough that I wasn't going to make it to the end..... So, wasting my good start place I jumped the barrier and bolted to the port-a-loos. What I'd forgotten was that I was in the first start group and that there were 60,000 people starting 30 minutes behind me - they were ALL lining up for the toilet. Then I heard the call over the microphone 15 minutes before the start to "close off" my starting group, so heart racing I bolted back to the line and went back over the barrier into my group. A good warmup, but unfortunately I was now over 1,000 people back from the line.......

But, from there all went really well. The gun went off and I just followed the crowd, concentrating on finding clear space to run in. The first 2 km was predominantly rolling hills and I felt good about the ups and downs evening out for pace. I was pleasantly surprised that the first 2 km went by in 7:50, because my target pace was 4:10/km and I was feeling good at the faster pace. The next 2 km was a bit slower at 8:13, still withing goal time. But then it got strange; a mix of downhill and flat made the following 2 km 7:16. I was stunned, and convinced that the km marker must have been missplaced!

Then came the hill. I stuck to my plan to pace myself up the hill and keep my HR at 170, because I knew that I could hold that for the 1.5 km of the hill without distroying myself. What REALLY surprised me was the pace that this gave me: the first km of the hill was 5:06, next was 3:58!

Then life got REALLY weird. The next 3 km were rolling and included a couple of nasty little hills at the 10 km mark (that I thought were actually harder than heartbreak), but I still pumped them out at 3:32, 3:54, 4:16. Then the downhill began........... making the 12th km 3:20.

Doing some mental maths (which I had the space for because the downhill was letting me rest, even at that pace) I realised that my goal time of 60 minutes was in the bag as long as I didn't break a leg. What I then realised was that if I managed to hold the pace for the last 2 km I'd actually have a shot at the 55 minute cut-off to qualify for preferred entry into next year's race...... So I flogged my guts out.

With 400 m to go you do a 180 degree turn to come along the beach and look at the finishing line - I could see that gun time was in the 54's. Nothing like some incentive! I started to grunt it out while thinking of relaxing and running properly. Tick, tick, tick......

As I crossed the line the gun time ticked over to 55:03...... by my watch that gave me 54:44! Now I'm just waiting on the official time!

So, I'm extatic, but surprised. I was worried about the last 2 kms, because I thought I would fall apart from the earlier pace, but I managed 7:16. Apparently I'm running faster than I expected at the moment.

But, I think it's also a fast course. If you put in the effort to do the hill training that allows you to maintain a reasonable pace up the hills, the downhill stretches more than make up for that loss. The test of this theory will be the City to Bay in Adelaide in 4 weeks - it's a flat 12 km course. If I can't hold a similar pace, the Sydney course must be a fast one.

As for the event itself, I can see why people come back year after year. It was a great course, brilliant weather (which apparently never varies), well organised and a total buzz. I would, however, suggest trying to get into the first start group - the traffic jams of people later was simple stunning!

Besides, who can argue with running a great event and then drinking beer at Bondi?

2010-08-04T11:17:00.002+09:30

Ok to go....

Off to the C2S on Sunday. Looking forward to it because:
1. it's a race I've never done before;
2. I feel like I need a race to make up for the fact I won't be running a marathon this year as planned; and
3. I'm feeling pretty good coming in.

Ran home last night - 14 km @ 4:22. Considering I'd had a hard day at work and was carrying a heavy back pack, I reckon that's pretty good because I want to go somewhere ~4:10 in the race.

The other thing that makes me feel better is that I've thrown off the mental hoodoo of "Heartbreak Hill". I've looked up the course profile and compared it to my local hilly circuit that I do....... and it's worse! Not even Heartbreak is a nasty as the nastiest stretch of hill from home.

Nice.

Good luck to all running the C2S this weekend, but most of all, good luck to Scott breaking 2:40 in Townsville!

2010-07-25T20:41:00.003+09:30

Feeling fine.

Had a good run today. I decided that rather than a traditional long run I should do a practice of my race in 2 weeks. So, I set out for a 13km circuit over hills to see how I'd go. I also wanted to get an idea whether my goal time was realistic.

The course I ran this afternoon includes ~3.5-4 km of steady uphill, with two sections of ~1.4 km. Not sure how consistent Heartbreak Hill is, but I suspect that between these two sections I've now got a rough idea of what it'll be like to run uphill for 1.5 km. And, overall, it felt good!

I was thinking that I would aim for sub-60 minutes for the C2S. I was thinking ~4:10 for the non-hilly 12ish km, ~5:00-5:30 pace for the hill. Today I ran 59:43 for the 13 km, so figure my goal time is about the right mark.

So, this week is some more hills and fast tempo runs plus a slow 20 km on the weekend. Then, next week is an easy week before a fun weekend in Sydney!

Looking forward to it!

2010-07-19T17:37:00.003+09:30

Not much to report.

It's been a good stretch since my last post. Just been plugging away at the k's, adding some pace slowly. Dropped back a few k's last week so that I could finally add some hills back in - I think I need them considering the 1.5km climb up Heartbreak Hill in 3 weeks time!

Hills went pretty well. I did 4 x 200m hill repeats, jogging back down for rest, in the middle of an 8km run. Felt reasonable in the workout, and although my Achilles was a bit tender the following morning 2 days off did the trick.

So, with 3 weeks to go before the race, I'm not going to worry about a traditional "long" run on the weekend, but add a bit more pace to ever session, another hill session for the next 2 weeks, and a faster medium distance (15-18km) run each weekend. Should sharpen things up ok I reckon!

Scott - good luck with the taper!

2010-07-09T11:42:00.003+09:30

Feeling good!

Life has been hectic with work and planning a wedding but my sanity has remained. Why? Running!

Yes, I'm back. It turns out that I managed to catch my Achilles issue really early, so my physio yesterday pronounced me "fully recovered" (with the usual warnings about not increasing mileage too fast and having to visit him again!).

After a light month in June as I slowly built back up (102 km), this month is going really well. Last week was 42 painless km's, this week will be 47 km by the time I finish my 19km long on Sunday. The plan now is to keep running 3-4 days a week, gradually incorporating some speed and hills, while increasing my long run to 25-27km. I'll hold that kind of distance (~50-55 km/ week) until the end of the year then reasess.

On the bright side, having been limited to no more than 10 km in a session until last week meant that I was running 10 km every session and I've noticed that my "comfortable pace" has gone from 4:45 to 4:30 - a bit of good race specific training for C2S!

Scott, I'm doing the City 2 Surf in Sydney (I'll do the City 2 Bay in Adelaide in September). I've never done it before and it's one of "the" races in Aus so figure it's about time! Thankfully my recent 10 km and half marathon times have qualified me for preferred start in the group behind the elites - I'll only be behind 2,000 people instead of 30,000! I'm predicting a PB...... but then it'll be my first ever 14km race ;-)

2010-06-17T18:44:00.003+09:30

A lesson learnt.

I've recently learnt all about the concept of "total load". While I was watching my weekly km's and making sure they were under a controlled rise, I failed to notice that the previous 3-4 months had the cycle of 2-3 weeks of running, 1-2 weeks of no running (forced by time on boats). Therefore, while I was able to run 50+ km in a week, I could only do this for 3 weeks...... enter 5 week straight of 55-65 km/week and an insertional Achilles injury!

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised (in hindsight), because even though I only ran for the first 19 days of June, I still did 168 km - my second biggest month in 2 years! (which would have made it my biggest ever if I'd made it to the end of the month).

With my Achilles history I caught it early and have only lost 3 weeks to non-running. I've still managed to keep some fitness, being able to run (under physio's instructions) up to 40 km/week for the last couple, even if only a maximum of 10 km at a time.

But, I'm back on the rise again. As of this week I can start to build my weekend long run upto 25km, and a weekly load of upto ~45-50km, which will keep me happy. I've decided it's not enough to get me to the Adelaide marathon in 9 weeks, and I don't trust myself to only attempt the half. SO, the new goal race is the City to Surf in 7.5 weeks. A nice 14km run with a big hill in the middle. Sounds like fun!

Now for the long haul (aiming for October next year!).

2010-05-18T14:24:00.002+09:30

Nice and rested.

Having a restful week this week to let my body recover a little. My calves are getting a bit too tight and I'm a little worried about my Achilles, so I'm dropping 10 km off the week just to make sure (it was a planned easy week anyway).

Last week was 65 km, my most ever k's in a single week. I still can't believe that I've ever managed to complete a marathon based on 63 km as the peak week in a program, especially considering I don't feel that I'll be ready any time soon (lucky it's still 13 weeks until my planned race!).

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 6.5 km, including 2 km @ < 4:20
Wednesday: Morning 12 km @ 5:06, afternoon 5 km @ 5:20
Thursday: rest
Friday: Morning 6 x 800 in 3:02-3:03, total 8.5 km, Afternoon 6 km @ 6:10
Saturday: 27 km @ 5:09
Sunday: Rest (ok, so that's the plan!)

Week: 65 km

This week I'm going to do an easy 50 km, then back into it for 68 km next week.

2010-05-08T17:24:00.002+09:30

Tired but good.

A big week. I'm tired, but two rest days in a row (Sunday and Monday) will cure all that ails me.

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 8 km, including 2 km @ < 4:30
Wednesday: Morning 12 km @ 4:50, afternoon 5 km @ 4:53, including 2 km @ <4:30
Thursday: 7 km @ 4:49
Friday: 5 x 800 in 3:01-3:07, total 7.5 km
Saturday: 24 km @ 5:10
Sunday: Rest (ok, so that's the plan!)

Week: 63 km

My legs are feeling a bit beaten up, but still good. 65 km planned for next week - looking forward to it!

2010-05-05T10:51:00.003+09:30

Vindication.

I KNEW IT!

The course from the half marathon a couple of weeks ago has just been re-measured. I knew I couldn't have dropped my bundle so significantly in that 1 km stretch around the detour... they've just re-measured the course to find it was 250 m long, giving me a 21.35 km PB ;-). So, my average pace for the race was actually 4:26.4, which when adjusted for distance would have given me a 4 second PB for the half if it wasn't for the detour.

I was feeling good Feeling better about my preparation, considering that was the week before I started my 16 week lead up to the Adelaide Marathon. Now I just hope my legs can hold up to it......

2010-05-03T14:45:00.002+09:30

Measure of success.

How do you measure success? In my case, reflecting on something that used to be hard and is now a matter of course.

Did a 21 km long run on Sunday and found it remarkably easy and relaxing. At some stage in the middle I had to smile when I realised that I can still remember the immense feeling of success and achievement that I had when I finished my first half marathon. This week it was a gentle and relatively short run!

This week was the first official week of a 16 week attempt to be fit for the Adelaide marathon. Went well (except the PUNISHING massage I had on Saturday - that hurt).

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 6 km, including 2.5 km @ 4:16
Wednesday: Morning 12 km @ 4:57, afternoon 5 km @ 5:08
Thursday: rest
Friday: 8.5 km @ 4:57
Saturday: 6.5 @ 5:03
Sunday: 21 km @ 5:00

Week: 59 km

My weeks will be similar to that until August, but the long will get longer and the interval sessions will start to be added as of next week (in place of one of the 8-9km runs). Looking forward to it!

2010-04-28T17:53:00.002+09:30

The truth of life.

A friend sent this to me last week. I think it sums up humans - we forget to stop and look at what's around us.

Get beneath the waves my friends!

2010-04-22T17:38:00.003+09:30

Time for a comeback?

Not a bad end to a good week. Did the Greenbelt Half on Sunday, and I'm happy. I set out to try for 4:30 pace and see what happened towards the end. I quite comfortably sat at 4:25-4:32 for every km up until about 6 km to go, where there were 2 km of "outliers", followed by sub 4:30 to the line. So, I ended up just making it across the line (yes, I was grunting for the last km) in 1:34:43 - 4:29/km. AND, the bonus is that although I had some sore muscles for a couple of days, I'm totally fit and uninjured. YAHOO!

Now, back to the outliers........ a few days before the race there was a lot of rain that caused an earth bank to collapse on the course, meaning it had to take a detour on some roads. Unfortunately, the officials didn't have time to re-measure the course and adjust the finish line if it was out. So, after running really consistent splits, the 2 km that went along the detour were 4:42 and 5:17..... I didn't feel like anything changed, surely my pace can't have slipped that much! Maybe the course is a bit long? Not that it really matters, because as a fitness test goes, I think it was pretty successful!

And, as an aside, I ended up doing 56 km for the week - my biggest week since October 2007. I reckon it's time for a comeback to form!

A photo of me (in the red shirt) looking like I'm already in pain with ~18 km to go, they only get worse from here:

2010-04-15T14:08:00.002+09:30

Moving along.

Things are coming along. I did have a slight setback with last week, because I was given a nasty little cold that laid me up and stopped me getting more than 20 k for the week. But, I've bounced back pretty well and have done 31 k's already this week, meaning that it will be at least 51 - I'm doing a half on Sunday.

Looking forward to the Greenbelt Half. It'll be a good test of where I'm at, without being too strenuous because the weather's good (~15 degrees) and while the course is up and down, it loses a couple hundred meters of altitude over the 21k. So, I'm going in thinking of it as a fast long run to see what my shape is like. Nice to not have the pressure!

Having said that, I'm going to try to stick around 4:30's and see how I hold up. That pace will still put me within 2 minutes of my PB, so anything in that ball park will be fine (especially because my taper will be 1 day and it's at the end of my longest week in about a year!).

Looking forward, next week will be a bit lighter (fieldwork for 3 days), then I'm starting the 16 week marathon program on Monday 26th. Looking forward to it, but we'll see how it goes..... (ok, this time I WILL post some details on the program next post!).

Enjoy the start of the running season folks!

2010-04-08T14:43:00.002+09:30

Welcomed back in style.

I'm finally back from the field. Thanks to timing of the trip, I've actually managed to maintain some k's in the half-weeks I've been in town. We only just beat the weather back though, and I was welcomed back in style - RAIN! (yes, rain in SA). On my run to work yesterday I had to dodge the flotsam on the multiple bridges I run across. There was even water flowing down the river (a very novel sight over the last few years)!

I digress.

Back to my last few weeks:

15-21 Feb: 35 km (part week)
22-28 Feb: 42 km (full week)
1-7 March: 44 km (full week)
8-14 March: 46 km (full week)
15-21 March: 34 km (part week)
22-28 March: 0 km (on the boat all week)
29-04 April: 31.5 km (2 day week)
5-11 April: Planned 46 km

I'm sore this week from coming back hard to all my activities (so far a 40 km ride, 4 hours of Karate and 11.5 km run) but looking forward to finishing off the week with mid 40's.

Now, a question for the wise. I'm going to start a 16 week program on 2nd May (more details next post). It's longest long run is 32 km. I intend to push this out to 36 km, but wonder if this is enough? In my most pleasant marathon of the 3 (and only 20 seconds off my PB) the lead up included a marathon, a 36 km and a few 32km runs. So, what I want to know is, where is the wisdom in NOT running the full 42 km in training?

It seems to me that the marathon that I have struggled in the most (the most recent, 2008) was the one in which I had the shortest lead up km's (maxed out at 32 km). Incidentally, I also blew out my Achilles in this one.....

So, I was thinking of running at least a couple of 36's in the 16 week program, possibly one 40 km. Or, should I do some weeks where my long is 32 km and I back up with 10 km in the afternoon?

Any ideas?

2010-03-14T20:01:00.002+10:30

Pleasent surprise.

Ran the Carisbook Classic 10 km today. I've had my biggest week in over a year, with 12km last night - not the best taper. I also turned up not knowing what to expect after discovering late in the week that it's a trail run, but thought it'd be some fun. The course turned out to be a gently rolling, well packed trail around a nature reserve, 2 laps of a 5 km loop. All up a very enjoyable course along a lovely treed creek line, with the only drawback a "channeling" of the wind, meaning there was a reasonable head wind for over half the run!

My plan was to go out at a reasonable pace, settle in and then just see what happened. Of course I got caught up with the pace off the line, doing the first km in 4 flat. Splits became difficult from then because of inaccurate markers (apparently km's 2-4 were 5:36, 3:23 & 2:53..... I think not!) but I decided to settle in to my "I can do this for a very long time" HR of 165-167. It went well until the turn at 4km, when the wind was dead into my face, I started to struggle and my HR jumped. So I decided to put in a surge to catch and then draft a group of 4 blokes just in front, only to see them splinter as they found it hard going. But, I slowed a bit and rested behind the fastest guy, but with 300m to the 5k mark (start/finish line) I realised that he was fading and I'd have to pass him soon..... only to see him go for the 5 k finish line!

All alone I struggled into the headwind for the next km before the repreve of a turn. I did bleed a bit of time from 7-9 with HR above comfortable at ~172-175, but did exactly the same time in km 10 as 5.

I finished feeling pretty crappy, but was pleasently surprised - 41:52, my second fastest 10k time ever, and on nothing like perfect preparation. But, I must be doing something right!

A quick word on my training progress. This week was 46km. I'm going to try and push it out to 50km this week because then I've got 2 weeks of fieldwork to NSW for plenty of rest.

Speaking of fieldwork, Scott, I'm happy with the thought of limited fieldwork this year. I'm focussed on getting my marathon mojo back, so am desperate to run one at the end of the year. On a work front, I'm keen to get some papers written this year - a recent count revealed that between my co-authors and I there are 20 papers that need writing up when my career to date has produced 14........ I'm just thankful that I'm only responsible for 7 of the papers waiting!

2010-03-07T20:43:00.002+10:30

All good.

Well, it seems that the only question about that half is what time I can do it in? Slightly bigger week again this week (43.5 km), finished off with 21 km @ 5:09 (av HR143). Now the only question is whether I'll be out of state on field work the week of the race or not.

I'm also happy that I've managed to keep my average HR well below 150 while on my last few long runs - something must be working.....

But, best of all, the worst I'm fighting are a bit of leg tightness and work fatigue. There's a local 10k race this Sunday, so think I'll take the muscle soreness as a clue that I should have a shorter week this week - perfect opportunity to flog myself in a 10k race!

Scott, in response to your question, I don't really know yet what the year holds in the field work stakes. But, I'm pretty sure that there's only going to be one 2 week trip to NSW in April to interrupt my training - the rest should be semi-local stuff.

2010-03-02T16:28:00.004+10:30

Not half bad.

I'm happy.

Did 19.5 km @ 5:22 (avHR 141) on Sunday, the first 3 k's at 7:00 pace with El, then getting progressively faster to have 5k avs of:
6:20,
5:17,
4:51,
4:57 (mostly up-hill gradient).

I'm excited because my as yet unspoken short-term goal is to run a local half in April. Until Sunday I was afraid to voice it because I wasn't sure I'd be up to the distance, but now I'm confident I could run one next week (albeit slowly)! So, all my training from now is just building how fast I can do that half.

My current "broad" plan is to do more k's every month this year than I did in 2007 in the lead up to my first marathon. I figure that if I could run 3:27.19 in my first Mara on those k's, then doing more every month this year, and more intelligently, can only lead to a better time in the long-run.

Now, having said that, I've fallen 9 km short in February....... but I'm not unhappy because in 2007 it took me 4 weeks to do those km's, this Feb I only had 2 weeks of training time. I also think I'm training better - 4 days instead of 3 and twice on one day every second week or so (which I intend to build up to every week). Bodes well for a pattern to give me some good k's, especially because my calves and achilles seem to be adapting well to the steady increase.

Two pictures from my most recent field trip - the Great Australian Bight (everyone should drive the Nullabor - it's amazing) and one of our typical 5-star hotels (wouldn't have it any other way!):

2010-02-21T20:59:00.002+10:30

All I want for Christmas......

is to run like this. Saw this on a friend's facebook site and thought I should share!

Buster Mottram v. Geb over 5000m:

(being that I'm useless with technology, you'll have to click here to see it)

2010-02-17T17:16:00.002+10:30

Mechanical advantage or systemic weakness?

For multiple reasons that I won't go into (just yet), the second half of my field work has been postponed a month. Initially I was annoyed that this stuffs up my training plan because I was mentally prepared to have an enforced month off, but then I realised that instead of a month with no training I'd have 2 weeks off (just completed), followed by a month of solid running, then another 2 weeks off, finally followed by unadulterated training time. I'm now quite happy, because this means that I've got less down-time in one block to get fat and unfit.

So, a slow start to February (2 weeks off!), but I reckon I can get 90-100 km done before the end...... nice.

Now to the topic of the title. I saw in a running magazine I was reading on the weekend that Asics has brought out a range of clothing (tight fitting stuff) that is supposed to support your body while you run, forcing you to activate some important muscle groups (e.g. core). My question is, while this might work when wearing the clothing, what happens when you run without it?

Will this lead to greater weakness in the longrun?

Is this the same as orthodics in shoes?

2010-01-30T21:21:00.002+10:30

Happiness is.....

A good month of training!

I've had a good couple of weeks, culminating in a long run today of 18 km, my longest run since I injured my Achilles in January last year. I've also managed to put in my longest month since March 2008! At 141 km it's not the longest month in history but it's a good building block.

The other thing that's exciting me is that I'm consistenly running 4 days a week to make up the ~40km. My longest runs aren't yet 20km, so I figure that once I build the weekly long run to 30km I'll be consistently running 50km + per week - over 200km per month. Considering I've only ever done one month over 200km (yes, even leading up to my marathon PB of 3:25.xx) I think it's a good spring board for an attempt to do 3:15 late next year.

Yep, I'm excited. I'll take the rest that's offered by my field work over the next 4 weeks (though I'm taking my shoes in case!) and I'll be back into it big time in March!

2010-01-21T22:03:00.004+10:30

Good start, but on borrowed time.

I feel like I've had a good start to the year. Had an enforced rest over December (only 37km for the month!) so tried to crank it up again this month. My weeks have been 28k, 31k, and this week should be 40 km. But, late next week it comes to a grinding hault again. I'm heading off on a field trip that has the daily schedule of:

Boating all day (5:30am - 4:00/5:00pm)
Drive towards the next field site, only stopping for dinner and fuel.
Arrive at the next day's site, usually between midnight-2:00am.
Do it all over again.

We'll be doing this schedule for the next 4-6 weeks (depending on weather) from Adelaide to Perth, back to Sydney then home to Adelaide. I'll have plenty of time to do strengthening exercises on the boat, but not much time to hit the road.

But, always the optimist, I'm taking my shoes just in case there's a day or two of down time because of bad weather.

A photo of the only lady I'll be intimate with for the next few weeks:

2010-01-07T17:56:00.003+10:30

The road ahead.

Nothing is more inspirational than seeing a friend succeed - so thank you Scott, you've inspired me!

The last couple of years look something like this (mostly because of injury in 2008/2009):

I'm determined to avoid injury and make this my biggest year since I started back running in 2006. While I'll have a slowish start to the year because of fieldwork interrupting my program, I intend to make up for it; I hope to do a couple of half's around May and August + a full in October, and an annual km total of above 2,000 km. That should give me a good springboard for my 2012 Boston campaign!

Care to follow the ride?

PS. Scott, the small island was Heron Island, in the central Great Barrier Reef..... I'm working on making it a regular field site!

2009-12-19T21:32:00.002+10:30

A tapering end.

Well, the year is almost done, and it's been a cruise to the line. I've been on a small island for the last 3 weeks for work, so it's been a rest from running. Looking forward to tomorrow and a warm up run for the rest of the year's k's!

So, in case this is my last post that you read for the year, MERRY CHRISTMAS all!

2009-11-17T22:25:00.003+10:30

To hot to handle!

Struggling a bit at the moment - but not because the running's gone bad. It's HOT here. Adelaide has just come out of it's first ever November heat wave; 8 concecutive days above 35 degrees. One day of 28 yesterday, then back up to 39/40 for the next few days.

Even running at 6:00-7:00 am I've been running in 30-35 degree weather. Struggling a little bit, but surviving by running to work in the mornings.

So, last week was a hard won 35km, not bad considering that I didn't get a proper long on the weekend because it was 35+ before 7:30am! 20k under the belt this week already, so can't be all bad!

I just hope that summer cools down some.....

2009-11-02T10:28:00.001+10:30

45 & I feel alive!

Just to clear confusion I haven't just turned 45, I had a 45 km week last week and feel good. A bit tight, but no pain and all seems to be good. I've continued the plan - build up by running more frequently and not too long. Seems to be working. Last week was:

Monday: 5 km @ 4:50
Tuesdy: Rest
Wednesday: 10 km @ 4:56
Thursday: Intervals, alternate 800's & 400's, total 9.5 km
Friday: recovery, 5.5 km @ 6:15
Saturday: 15 km @ 5:20
Week: 45 km

A bit tight and tired from what was my biggest week all year, so thought I'd back it off a bit this week. One less day of running, and a bit longer for my long run:

Monday: recovery, 6 km @ 6:15
Tuesday: intervals, alternate 800's & 400's, total 11.5 km
Wednesday: tempo, 5.5 km @ 4:29
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: 17 km @ 5:08
Sunday: rest
Week: 40 km.

So, the upshot is, I'm happy!

2009-10-28T10:38:00.002+10:30

Keep on keeping on.

Not much to report. Life is busy, but at least it's not boring!

Running is ticking along nicely. I'm now to the point where I can finish a run with all muscles except my calves being sore. A VERY nice situation to be in! In fact, my quads are currently killing me from a great 12km in the hills on Sunday; a good feeling.

While down a little on last months k's, October will be my 3rd month in a row of 100+ kms. I haven't been able to do this since I initially injured my Achilles in the Canberra marathon, April 2008. This leads me to two conclusions:

1. I'm stubborn to the point of stupidity - why didn't I rest and rehab properly from the start, thus not wasting a year?

2. I'm getting it right now, so may not be so stupid again!

With the heat setting in (up to 36 degrees on the weekend) I'll have to change my afternoon runs to the morning, but I'm confident that I can end the year on a high.... I'll even put it out there and say I'll do 150 km in November....

2009-10-08T18:13:00.005+10:30

Australiana.

I've just arrived home from a long weekend (4 days) in the red centre with Ellen (she's on placement in Alice Springs). We did a 3 day tour of Uluru, Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) and Kings Canyon (in order below). I really can't describe it, other than to say AMAZING. Everyone should go.

2009-09-29T18:40:00.003+09:30

Time to relax.

Well, all seems to be going to plan. Basically I'm having fun and getting the k's to build without realising it. The week before last was my biggest in a while (39 km), culminating in the City to Bay, 12 km in 50:13 (official). My goal was sub-51, and I'm extra happy because it's less than 1 minute slower than last year, and we all know how my training has gone since then......

Had a life-enforced (ok, serious work stuff) rest week last week (only 10 km..... oops), but feeling much better as a result. But, I'm not concerned because all seems to be going well and I'm focusing more on the monthly totals than weekly cycles. This is how it goes so far this year:

You can clearly see where I injured my Achilles in January (30 of the 50 km for the month were the run I did the injury on), then how my ability to run steadily declined as I "managed" the injury (i.e. DENIAL!). How clearly the 3 weeks off and proper strength work have helped in July-August! I now expect to plateau at about 120/130 km per month for the rest of the year, then ramp it up a bit in the new year. Not too bad, considering how silly I was......

2009-09-11T12:50:00.004+09:30

September, and all's well.

Well, all seems to be going to plan. It seems that #1 and #2 in my plan has been wonderfully good - the 3 weeks rest while overseas followed by strengthening work has really given my Achilles a boost.

I've now been running 3-4 times a week pain free. I continue to struggle with tight calves, but am managing the situation while increasing km's. Last week was my biggest since April (33 km). I've already done 25 this week and intend to do 15-16 km tomorrow, giving me a 40km week for the first time this year.....

I'M EXCITED!

The other positive of this is that I'm really just enjoying the running (while being amazed that it doesn't hurt) and the km's are just happening. VERY nice feeling.

I'll have a bit of a low km week next week for a rest, and then run City 2 Bay on the Sunday. Looking for sub 51 minute (12 km), which based on my recent 10 km time (42:19) is within reach.

While it's been a pretty hard year, I'm in a mentally good place. I'm feeling good about running, enjoying it immensely, starting to feel stronger again and think I'll be up to easily running 50km/week before the end of the year; a nice positive way to start a new year!

Below is a photo of the World's Most Dangerous road - which we mountain biked down in Bolivia - so named because of the regularity with which buses used to fall off the edge.

2009-08-17T16:41:00.005+09:30

A lesson in humility, and the plan.

First, the lesson. The University is running an inter-faculty race over approx. 800m in a couple of weeks. It's a team event, requiring both student and staff runners, and to be sure that Sciences had a staff member running I offered to be a back-up runner if there was no one else faster. Despite my assurances that ANYONE would be faster over 800m than me, the hierarchy wanted to run trials. There were 5 of us running, the slowest of the rest beating me by 15 seconds (winner by 25 seconds). Seriously, 25 seconds in 800m? Without them I would have been happy with my time (2:35).

Once I (finally) got my breath back I challenged them to a 10 k race - they all declined.

Scott, just so you know, all of them were over 20 years old. ;-)

Now, my plan. It's pretty simple really. I'm taking a 2 year view, which is going to progress in stages:

1. Rest and recover (3 weeks: completed while overseas);
2. Strengthen - I decided on this because my Achilles seemed to progress fastest while doing weights last year, and was re-injured when I stopped;
3. To be running injury free for the rest of the year AND mostly build base, but hopefully be up to half-mara distance by end of October (but not at the expense of injury);
4. To be running a consistent 70 km/ week by July 2010;
5. Run a "trial" marathon mid-late 2010 to judge fitness and progress;
6. Run a Boston Qual time at either Gold Coast or Melbourne in 2011.

When I developed these stages a few weeks ago I was a bit daunted, because I have 2 years to train, but was worried that it was 2 years from when I started running to doing my best time (Canberra) - a time which is not good enough.

BUT, then I realised that I've got different starting points (the value of training diaries!). Last time I started back I couldn't run 4 km in one go, my first run was 2.7 km @ 4:46 and my first month was only 9.3 km (January 2006). Last week I comfortably ran 30 km, with a long of 14.5 km @ 5:02.

Something tells me that I've got a better starting point.......

My first 3 weeks back (I started "the plan" in August) have been: 26 km, 21 km, 30 km, and I should easily make 100 km for the month - the first time since March. AND I'm running totally pain free (fist time since last November/December). Dare I invoke the wisdom of some well placed rest?

My race plan, to keep me motivated:

August: 10 km @ Adelaide Mara festival (next week)
September: City to Bay (12 km)
October: McLaren Vale half marathon

More on the details of the plan next post.......

2009-08-11T12:39:00.005+09:30

The long road ahead.

While the title also pertains to me, I'm actually going to make this post about someone else.

You might remember in April I mentioned a friend of mine who was in a cycling accident and in a rather serious condition. At the time I didn't mention any identifying detail out of respect, but things have changed. I've just found out that she's likely to be in a wheelchair permanently and there is a call for support.

The sad irony in this is that Yvie was one of the top 5 triathletes in South Australia, and making a serious effort for the same in the Australian rankings (she placed 5th in her division in the Geelong Ironman Tri last year). That also doesn't cover "small" achievements like a 3:12 marathon in 2006.

But, in true competitive style, Yvie has decided that this won't beat her. There is a several step action plan in place:

1. Raise money for both research into a cure for spinal injury (the Neil Sachse Foundation);
2. Raise money to move to Queensland to a rehab clinic which has outstanding success in helping people with spinal injury walk again; and
3. Start training for the Para-Olympics!

Now THAT's strength (not to mention competitive spirit).

All the best Yvie, you're an inspiration.

2009-06-10T17:34:00.002+09:30

Adding difficulty

Did a rather difficult 15 k on Sunday. Yes, it was a decent pace (~4:45) and yes it was on a hilly course, but that wasn't the difficulty. How did I make it harder you ask? In an order to touch up my language skills before arriving in Bolivia, I was listening to "Learn Spanish" CD's!

So, a new training regime - run up hill at a good pace AND speak in Spanish at the same time. I'm sure this gives you some extra benefit!

Anyway, both Spanish and running went well.

Scott - a note on the arm swing. I also concentrated in a very good, linear arm swing on the down hill stretches. I felt that it improved my stride and speed both down the hill and for some distance after. I think I'll keep that up.

2009-06-03T17:52:00.002+09:30

Pre-penance.

I'm currently serving pre-penance. El and I are heading overseas for 5 weeks, departing in a mere 16 days time. As a result, I am trying my darndest to cross things off my work list before we go - meaning I'm doing 11-12 hour days. Not fun, but it'll make the trip worth it.

On the running front, the long hours are making it hard to keep up, but that could be a blessing. I'm still getting out 3 times a week, my Achilles seems to be getting better because of the rest (note to self: I should have rested properly from the start) and most importantly, I'm enjoying every run I get! K's are down on what I'd hoped, but the new regime starts when we get home!

As for destinations: Bolivia, 3 weeks; Alaska, 2 weeks.

There won't be any running in Bolivia because walking will be hard enough (um, altitude training anyone?), but I'm looking forward to adding several places in Alaska to my "exotic" runs list - can't wait to be in Denali National Park...... even if it will be speed training to avoid the Grizzly's!

2009-05-19T14:02:00.002+09:30

Shhh, don't mention it....

I'm not going to discuss this in detail for fear of the jinx, but I'm trying some new stuff with my Achilles. I know it's only one run down the track, but I had a blinder this morning and I'm actually moderately fearful - I ran well and there wasn't even a titch of pain during or after, something I haven't experienced since January.

Here's hoping that painless running will continue and combined with the suggested reading (thanks Scott) will give me back the love........

Oh, and the session this morning was what we're calling an hourglass interval session:
1600, 1200, 800, 400, 400, 800. Including warm up and down = 9.2 km. Next month we do the extra 1200, and by the end of July we build up to the full hourglass.

2009-05-11T15:52:00.003+09:30

The road ahead.

I've recently come to realise that my original plans for the year have to be let go. Even though I'm improving, albeit agonisingly slowly, I'm not going to be up to running Melbourne in October. So, I've decided to run some shorter races (8-10 km) and a couple of half's (Adelaide and McLaren Vale) from May through to September. All being well, this should set me up for a good finish to the year and a "run-on" to a marathon mid-late next year. Then, hopefully, on to a Boston qualifying time late in 2011.

The reason for this change in plans is that I pulled up really sore in my Achilles following the 17 km run before my previous post. I've been forced to have a couple of shorter weeks (dropping 15km per week to ~25km) with no speed work. But, it seems to have worked because there's no pain and I can start to crank it up again.

Oh, and Scott, I said I was enjoying hills, let's not ruin that feeling by racing up them!

2009-04-27T17:19:00.002+09:30

The sickness strikes.

But thankfully not illness!

The last month or so I've been doing my long runs on courses that incorporate a fair number of fairly substantial hills. At first I was doing it because I need to get my Achilles strong, and thought it would make me an all round stronger runner. Yesterday, the most bizarre thing happened (as I was powering up a hill) - I realised that I was enjoying running up hills!

This is a real change for me. I used to hate hills. In fact I would avoid running up them at all costs. But I now seem to get some satisfaction from the joy of being able to power up hills. I think this is because over the last 12 months I've improved my stride so that rather than stride long forward with little kick-back (one cause of my long-term shin splints) I now have a shorter stride with a lot of kick back. I find this feels much more powerful and I seem to get more pace for the same effort. Who woulda thought?

Anyway, I ended up getting on a big loop through some pretty decent hills, 17 km, 1:22:01 (4:49), av HR 147. Achilles is a bit tender, but I'll take it a bit easy this week and all will be fine!

Onwards and upwards my friends.

2009-04-23T15:30:00.003+09:30

Rediscovering old wisdom
(subtitle - hills are good!)

The week before Easter was lazy; life got in the way and I only managed to do a single run. Easter was fattening. All this combined to make me a little stir crazy, so when I realised on Easter Monday that I only had an hour spare and I was getting fatter by the minute, I thought to myself:

Q: "I don't have time for a long run, where can I get a good work out"
A: "I know, a trail with some hills"
Q: "But, where"
A: (looking at a map) "Look, Waterfall Gully looks nice"

So, I drove to Waterfall Gully, only 5 k's from my place, and started to run..... not realising that the only decent path from where I started went to the summit of Mt Lofty (300-350 m altitude gain)! I had a great time (even when my "run" became a walk on the really steep sections), 8.4 km return, 31:30 up, 19:30 down. The down was so hard that my quads were jelly!

It wasn't until the day after that I realised how much I was going to hurt! Couldn't move my legs to get out of bed. BUT, the irony is that my Achilles, bane of my existence, wasn't hurting at all. How can this be?

The answer is that I don't know, but I suspect it's because I've been doing some 10km runs on hills recently. Whatever it is, somethings working because I'm just about to finish my second 40 km week in a row, something I haven't been able to do since December, and with only slight tightness in my calves. I still can't run for more than 15 km in one go, but I think we're finally starting to get there.....

And what's the old wisdom I've rediscovered? Hills.

Looking back over my training diary, before Gold Coast and Melbourne I was running on hills at least once a fortnight. Before Canberra, when I destroyed my Achilles, you'd be lucky if there was a hill in my running...... lesson learnt.

2009-04-05T18:59:00.004+09:30

The not so good.

It's been a bit of an up and down week. I was just starting to become happy with my return to running from my latest Achilles event - I've now quite comfortably done 30 km 2 weeks in a row and think I can add a few k's next week. That's the good.

Irony struck earlier in the week. A friend who has a number of race achievements under her belt (including podium finishes in marathons and triathlons) was on a training ride early in the week and had a crash while coming down a hill. A bad crash. The short of it is that we won't know until some time next week if she will ever walk again. It's sent shockwaves through the SA exercise and marine science community.

For me, this hits on two fronts:

1. It's a very sad thing to happen; and
2. It strikes at the heart of irony - why is it that the people who look after themselves with fitness are most likely to have this kind of thing happen?

All our best wishes for a speedy recovery and to her family. All our thoughts are with you.

2009-03-11T18:15:00.003+10:30

The up and down of it.

Had a brilliant run on Monday (public holiday). A group were heading from the beach at Brighton to the summit of Mt Lofty (the highest peak in Adelaide @ 725 ish metres). I didn't think I was up to 26 km's of climbing, so I opted in for the last 12 km. It was fantastic. Had a great time and only pulled up tight in the calves, not sore. All up it was:

12 km @ 5:32, av HR 154.

I was also very happy with the pace, considering that from where I joined we did ~ 450 m total climbing, including a couple of hills that were 20% grade.

Also had a great day at Womad on Sunday - the music was so brilliant that it has re-invigorated my desire to go for the whole weekend next year!

That's the up. The down is that I've been sick as a dog with the flu for the last 2 days - even had the day off work today (for the first time in living memory). Suppose it's not all bad......

2009-03-04T09:25:00.004+10:30

The level's rising.

You may not have heard (I doubt this hit the international media) that a couple of weeks ago the weir creating the Torrens lake (that astonishingly small body of water in the middle of Adelaide) had a malfunction and dumped water out for 3 hours. The result was a drop of 3 m, exposing all the mudflats and bringing the "lake" back closer to what it would look like without engineers.

There has been SUBSTANTIAL talk at the highest levels of SA government on how to fix this - afterall, it's festival season and everyone's coming to town. Unfortunately, there's NO water to be had. Thankfully, yesterday's rain has raised the level 50 cm....... I bet some organisers are praying as hard as the farmers!

For those coming to WomAd - it looks like it'll be the coolest one in years (max temps ~26!).

2009-03-03T16:22:00.004+10:30

The novelty!

It may be only the second day of Autumn, but you'll never guess what happened today...... IT RAINED! This has become a rare event in Adelaide, so it's on the tip of everyone's tongue. And, to celebrate, I went for a run in it. Admittedly I didn't get that wet (ok, so it's not a whole heap of rain), but it was fun nonetheless.

Not much to report running-wise. I've still had to baby my left Achilles a bit, which is keeping my weekly k's quite low. But, it's improving and I can see the k's creeping up again, which makes me happier. Let's see if I can make it to 50 km/week by the end of April......

Happy running my friends!

2009-02-24T16:27:00.003+10:30

Not disastrous, but not good

Not the start to the "season" I was desperately hoping for.

Ran the Glenelg 10km on Sunday. I was secretly hoping for a sub-40 time (based on my September 12 km @ 4:07). Was late to get to registration, so was literally running from the desk to the start line. But, at least that was a warm-up, even if I did feel dehydrated already (uh-oh).

Gun went, and so did the pack. I worked harder than I thought I should have in the first km, but figured that I would just settle for a fast first k split..... until I saw the split at 4:12. Oh-dear.

Second km was much faster @ 3:56. But then I started to get a stitch (Scott - if you found the remedy, can you please tell me?). It gradually intensified over the next couple of k's. By the 6th I was out to 4:23 and in horrible pain. By then I'd changed my B-goal to "survive".

But, at the end of the 7th I noticed a female runner in the distance doing a similar pace to me. I figured that aiming to catch her by the end would be a good distraction from the pain. I caught her by the end of the 8th, as she seemed to be struggling. But she got a burst from me overtaking her so we had a nice little tussle towards the end, with me pulling away in the last 500. Thankfully it increased my pace over the last 3 km so that the last km was 4:03.

Unofficial time: 41:41 (av. 4:10)

At the awards ceremony I discovered that the young lady that I just beat came in 3rd in the women's category. I'd like to think I share in some of that success!

But, the bad of all of this (apart from the slower time) is that now the OTHER Achilles is tender. It's my fault for focusing on one of them (you all have the right to call me an idiot), but it's a frustrating setback in a string of them.

2009-02-02T09:06:00.003+10:30

Chasing PB’s... of sorts.

Today Adelaide runs it’s second marathon in a year. Last March we sweltered through a record heat wave of 15 days above 35 degrees. It was eventually calculated to be a 1 in 3,000 year heat wave. In true Australian spirit, the general feel around town was “we’ve suffered through this many days, let’s get the record!” But, this year we’ve stepped up into a new category. We can see the record line, but energy is lagging. People are starting to not care about a potential PB – it’s just too much to ask.

It’s so hot that life is miserable. Riding home from work in 45 degrees feels like you're in a fan-forced oven. There are rolling power outages because of over-demand. Air-conditioners are failing left-right-and-centre. Power transformers are catching on fire. And, tragically, people are dying from the heat.

But, if we get to a mere 40.1 degrees today, we get 7 consecutive days above 40 and break another record. Longest heat wave (above 40) in Adelaide in a century. Can’t imagine what they did in 1908 without air-con....

Oh, and sorry to anyone in the Middle East – I know it’s hotter there (I know someone who stood at his hotel window and watch people in Saudi Arabia laying bricks in 52 degrees!), but I invoke the Australian right to whinge.

2009-01-31T15:16:00.005+10:30

Slow going

Well, it's been a slow start to the year. Did a 30 km long on 4th Jan and pulled up really, really sore in the Achilles, so I decided to lay off for a week. Then, just as I was thinking it'd be safe to get back to the training, I had to finalise the organisation for, and host, an international conference for 150+ people. Now, you may call me a woos (just like Tesso) and tell me to toughen up, but I just couldn't seem to get out for a run when I was working 16 hour days (with a couple of 18's thrown in) for 2 weeks solid. And, to add insult to injury (thankfully not literally), we're in the middle of a heat wave that has given us the 3rd highest recorded temperature in Adelaide's history (45.7 degrees) and chilly overnight temperatures of 34 degrees!

So, considering I've had the shortest January since I started back running in 2006 (only 55 km), I thought I'd reflect on last year. And it looks like this:

The bit that really annoys me is the rather clear drop off after March when I injured my Achilles. It's frustrating to think it's still troubling me in some ways! But, what is satisfying is the climb back out. With 8 months til Melbourne, I'm hoping to make that climb a little higher, up to about 300 km a month.

We'll see.....

2008-12-29T13:24:00.004+10:30

Climate change denial or generational stupidity?

Last week's long run was along the Torrens "River", and it got me to thinking. So, here's the first of a two-parter that I'm going use to expound on the stupidity of humans. Part 1 takes us to the "Mighty" Murray.

It has now been 6 years since fresh water has flowed the length of the Murray and out the mouth into the ocean. Since 2002, the mouth has had to be dredged to keep it open (yes, they have dredged pretty much non stop since then!) so that the Coorong gets new water coming in from the ocean. A shocking reality is that the lower reaches of the Murray (about 110km or so), which are supposed to be fresh water, are now below sea level (~40 cm!) and the barrages are leaking salt water back upstream!

So, is this the result of climate change or stupidity? I think both - lower rainfall over the last few years and the stupidity of taking too much water. Climate change aside (I've got too much to say on this one to put it here), the numbers speak for themselves:

100 year average inflow to the Murray: 9,100 GL
Av. inflow to the Murray 1997-2007: 4,800 GL
Annual irrigation allocations: 9,000-11,000 GL
(e.g. 2001/2002 year irrigation use was just over 11,000 GL)

You do the maths.....

I have a question, who buys Australian grown rice?

Ok, off the soapbox.

Had a great couple of weeks running:
15-21 Dec: 47.2 km
22-28 Dec: 37 km

Yesterday was my longest long since March - 26 km @ 5:10 (av. HR 145). Felt fantastic, and I really hit my rhythm from about 18km. I think the Mojo is back!

Happy new year all!

2008-12-10T17:18:00.005+10:30

The silly season?

Or just insanity? Things have been crazy around work lately, so it was with great pleasure that I took last week off to head to the Sunshine Coast for my cousins wedding. Of course, I just HAD to stay for a week.

In amongst seriously enjoying swimming in the surf and lapping up the coast lifestyle (yes, I do miss it) I even managed to get in some running. My weeks since the last post look like this:

10-16 Nov: 31 km
17 - 23 Nov: 16.5 km (a life enforced short week, but a good rest)
24 - 30 Nov: 34.25 km
1 - 7 Dec: 40.25 km (my biggest week since my Achilles)

I definitely enjoyed running up the coast (the scenery is fantastic!), but must say I'm not used to the humidity after 7 years in Adelaide - my 20 km long run on Saturday was 5 km shorter than planned because my HR was 35 bpm above what it should have been!

My weekly k's over the last couple of months have been up and down, but steadily climbing (as has my monthly k's since June). This week I'll do about 35 km, then next week 45 - and so on. I intend to keep this alternate shorter-longer pattern, both increasing slowly, for a a while yet until I approach 80 km per week, then I'll reassess. Considering my longest week while training for Melbourne last year was 75km (and most were much shorter) I think that will put me in good stead for Melbourne this year.

Did I mention that I also enjoyed the storms that came across the coast - it's been years since I've had a real Queensland storm. But, they also weren't like some other places....... like The Gap!

2008-11-17T13:49:00.002+10:30

From the ashes.....

The blister tape a-rises! For the first time in living memory (well, since some time last year) my long run was nearlly ruined by a blister on the heel. Cause unknown, disastrous outcome averted.

Out for my long run on Sunday and I was feeling really good and getting into it, only to notice some rubbing on my heel after 3.5km. In the spirit of fun, I ignored it until I could no longer doubt that it was a blister, then headed for home in a foul mood. But, as I'd only done 9 km by the time I got there, I strapped it up (well, actually, El did), changed socks and shoes and headed out to complete a total of 18 blissful km's @ 5:05 (av. HR~140). Then dropped by home again to pick El up and did another 4.5 km to bring up 22.5k, my longest run since Canberra.

I'M EXCITED!!!!!!!

Post-run note: I'm barely even tight today. Bodes well for an increase in kms soon.

PS. Scott, I'm not sure where that puts me on your Drool scale.

2008-11-03T17:22:00.002+10:30

Fatigue or laziness?

I tend to believe that people can be nicely placed into categories, with very few exceptions. Now, I'm not going to get into a debate over those categories, but as an example, I'd have to say that most people would fall into one of (and this isn't meant to be an extensive list):

1. Self motivated;
2. Externally motivated;
3. Tend towards lazy.

Generally, you would think that someone who can train for a marathon would be fairly motivated, but I've decided of late that I tend towards category 3; lazy. There is a recurring theme in my return from injury. I get injured, I seek professional help, they give me exercises to fix the underlying problem, I do the exercises........ until the injury no longer hurts. Then I enter a cycle where the injury starts to come back, I do the exercises for a while, it goes away, I stop exercises, and so on. If only I was motivated enough to keep up with the remedial exercise!

Having said that, running is going pretty well. Did my longest long in quite a while yesterday (17km @ 5:19), and am quite enjoying running to a HR/effort, not pace. Also, something must be going right because I was able to hold proper form for that whole distance. I'm buoyed that this return will be better in the long run because I'm getting things right.

Now, if only I could be more motivated to do those exercises!

2008-10-20T17:19:00.003+10:30

All's quiet on the blogging front.....

If the world of blogs was a war, I'd be seriously worried about what the enemy was going to do next..... they're WAY too quite!

I hope you're all ok and aren't blogging because you're having too much fun!

Not much to report. I've continued my strategy to improve my running by getting the "detail" correct. I've bought (and devoured) a book on the subject ("Run Strong"). The various chapters are written by well known coaches/researchers in the running arena. As of 2 weeks ago I've started to slowly implement some of the things that I've heard thrown around but never really understood (e.g. McMillian's chapter describes strides etc. very well). I'm also slowly adjusting my strength work at the gym to be more targeted and my running program to incorporate a lot of the different aspects without drastically changing the days I have to run. Once it settles down over the next month or so, I'll then see if I can add some more in.

At this stage, I can feel some very big changes in my stride and posture, meaning that I actually feel more comfortable when I'm running. I think this is going to be very positive as I slowly increase the k's.

I've also been concentrating on HR a lot, not pace, unless doing a speed/interval session. It's been very pleasant to note that I'm having a good-old-time keeping my HR below 140 and still running at about 5 minute pace.

All up, I'm excited about getting it right and hopeful for a VERY good year next year!

2008-09-30T15:26:00.004+09:30

Take 2.

First, to answer Tesso. Hamilton (Victoria) is not to be confused with Hamilton Island (Queensland). But, because Hamilton is at the base of the Grampians the running is supburb. Nice rolling hills through lush farm and tree land. Mind you, I do get distracted by the horses and cows - they seem intrigued by me running by while paying no attention to cars and trucks!

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

The map gives you an idea where it is. For some reason the way I've embedded it means that it re-centres. You should be able to move it around to see Melbourne on the right and Adelaide top left. The dark green patch above Hamilton is the Grampians National Park.

Finished off the month on a high today. Did a session of long intervals (0.75, 3.0, 0.75, 1.5, 0.75 km). Really enjoyed it (even if it was kinda random). Including a long warm up and down = 11 km, for a month total of 111km. Very happy.

I've also decided that I'm not happy with my last podiatrist, so I went to another. First session today. Not only did he fit me out for orthodics, but also suggested a bunch of exercises and massage techniques that I can use to get rid of shin and calf problems..... a much better start.

Onwards and upwards!

2008-09-29T11:24:00.002+09:30

The fatigue within.

I realised on Friday that I'm tired. Not sleepy tired, totally and utterly fatigued from the year. It's been a huge year with work accelerating at an astonishing rate, El being 5.5 hours drive away (so I'm away from home every other weekend) and several work trips around the country and overseas.

But, the answer is at hand:

1. Yesterday I re-discovered the sheer joy of doing a long run with no planned pace - I just ran how I felt like running. Ended up doing 15 km in 1:12:28 (av. 4:49). Best part is that I finished strong and my Achilles has not soreness today;

2. I've got a week off work starting next Friday - I'm going to head to Hamilton and spend the week with El. The biggest decision I'll have to make all week is what I feel like cooking for dinner each night.

Hopefully after the week off, and some more long runs like the one I had yesterday, I will feel re-charged enough to make the last run to the finish line of the year.......

2008-09-23T14:06:00.002+09:30

Inspiration and success.

I can't believe that it's been so long since I last posted - life must be busy! But then, maybe it's because I don't have internet at home......

First to the success. Tesso, you were correct in your predictions. Ran the City to Bay on Sunday. I was aiming for 54 minutes (12km). First km was slow because of the crowd (4:21), but then I found some space and started to cruise along at between 4:05-4:10. I actually tried to slow down at one stage, but once again crept up to 4:05. So, I thought "bugger it, I'll just struggle the last couple - I'm having fun feeling strong". Started to heat up at about 7 km and had another slow one (4:20), but a cup of water over the head sorted that out. With 2 km to go I calculated that I "only" had to do 4:05 pace to safely get sub 50, so I cranked it up with the last 2 km being 4:01 and 3:48.

Total time (official): 49:21. SUPER STOKED!

Next year I might even start with the "elite" runners (you need to be able to do sub 50) and try for the elusive 4 minute barrier.....

Even better than that, I'm not overly sore.

All going well I'll post 100+ km this month - the first time I've been able to do that since injuring my Achilles at the end of March.

Now, the "inspiration" part of the title. Sunday made me reflect on the Para Olympics. I have digital TV at home, so watched a fair bit of it on ABC2. I was reminded that the Olympics isn't the inspiration (no offence intended, I do realise how much they work to get there!) when compared to the Para Olympics. The stuff that those people have gone through is incredible and somehow they still manage to succeed, so often beyond what "able bodied" people can!

Remembering their sacrifice and ability to overcome real obstacles makes me whinge just that little less about my niggling injuries and enjoy running that bit more.....

2008-09-09T19:04:00.002+09:30

Not much to report.

Time keeps ticking by, and all goes well. Work is work, running is fun.

I did have a slow couple of weeks because of the nasty lurgy that seems to be going around, but it just let my legs rest a little. K's are gradually increasing and the strength work continues.

One run of note was this morning's speed session with the boys. We did 1200m repeats comprising of 400 m fast, 200 m jog, 400 m fast, 200 m jog, 30 seconds rest, do it all over again 5 times. All I can say is, IT HURT! I was totally buggered at the end, but I probably needed to get the legs ticking over a bit faster for a change.

I'm also looking forward to the City to Bay in 1.5 weeks. At my peak last year I intended to get a preferred start and have a crack at sub-48 minutes for the 12 km, but that obviously went belly-up in March. But, I'm going to be happy just to be out there in a race (can you believe I'm missing doing events?) and to see if I can do sub-54 minute. I've got to be honest and say that I'll be happy no matter what happens considering that only 8 weeks ago my weekly total was limited to 15 km!

Onwards and upwards.

2008-08-28T16:26:00.003+09:30

On the mend.

I'm happy to report that I'm starting to make a decent comeback. I was getting frustrated by my perceived lack of progress, but am comfortably increasing my mileage by about 1-2 k's per week. But, because I had a couple of shocking weeks over the last 2 months, that increase seems to be adding up to an increase of nearlly 20 km a month - go figure (lucky I'm an ecologist not a mathematician!). The nice thing is that I'm really enjoying every session, and my long run is now up to 12 km. I suspect that it will only increase more rapidly from here - YAY!

Of course, the improvement has lead me to start thinking of goals - I'm thinking a slow build to Sydney or Melbourne next year....... surely that gives me plenty of time to crack a big PB?

In reply to Scott's comment about feeling sorry for the Olympians who don't perform up to their best on the day - couldn't agree more. I can't comprehend how soul destroying it would be to train for 4 or 8 years to put in a bad performance.

I also feel for those who achieve and don't get the recognition. For example, Channel 7 had a "special" in which they interviewed all the Aussie swimmers who won medals. That's nice, but what about all the swimmers who swam PB's in the heats, only to swim faster in the finals but didn't medal? I'd say that 4th or 5th with a huge PB is a super-human effort worth some recognition!

2008-08-14T17:25:00.002+09:30

The strength within.

I saw an interview with Leisel Jones' fiance the other day, and it got me to thinking. Apparently Leisel's coach was worried that her strength and power off the starting blocks and out of the turns weren't good enough for a Gold medal. So, he put her on a "seriously intense weights program" and added cycling a couple of days a week - apparently she went so hard in the cycling that a few times she threw up in the front garden at the end. Result - Gold.

This got me to thinking - maybe we could all do with some strength work. I'm doing some low weight, high rep work at the gym (legs, core and upper body) and I've got to say, I am starting to feel "strong" when I'm running. My K's are still down because I'm returning from the Achilles debacle, but I think the strength work will pay off in the long run, when I build up past the 35k mark again.

I also realised that although not all of us can get an Olympic gold (let's face it, they're the minority!) there's a lot of gold in making it to the end of a marathon in PB time. It certainly makes the pain worth it!

Ok, feeling inspired, so off for my Thursday run and gym session now (I think I'll have a hard time going slow tonight thinking about all of that!).

2008-08-12T11:17:00.002+09:30

A good step forward.

Until last week I was getting pretty frustrated with a perceived lack of progress. But, I can report that frustration has started to change back to enjoyment and hope!

My biggest frustration of late has been that my long run 2 weeks ago was supposed to be 10 km, but by the 8 km mark my calves had tightened up to the point that my achilles was threatening, so I made my way home for a total of 9 km. Admittedly, running from home may have been silly because of the hills, but that thought didn't help my mental state.

But, the hope started to creep in on Tuesday when I did a "speed" session that by pure accident ended up being a total of 8 km thanks to chatting in the warm up and down - we didn't realise how far we'd run!

Then, with just a slowish 5 km on Thursday (@ 5:21), I felt good for Sunday. Ended up doing a very nice 11 km run (@ 4:53) along the river - my first run > 10 km since May when I developed Achilles issues. It's also my second week in a row of > 20 km. YAY!!!!!

Even more exciting is that I really enjoyed running and trying to stick to a slower pace - I was constantly reminding myself to slow down rather than trying to maintain a faster pace.

I remember now why we do it.

2008-07-29T08:36:00.002+09:30

I see the light!

I have been trying to post for the last 2 weeks, but must confess that my frustration at my achilles has stopped me. I just couldn't seem to see the light at the end. But now I can.

I've been doing pretty sporadic and small k's (which is probably good) and have been really frustrated at the lack of progress in healing. But, I forced myself out for a run on Sunday, and it was the best thing I could have done. I set out for an undefined distance, making sure I didn't creep below 5:00 pace (it seems to hurt more with speed) and stopping every 1.5 - 2 km to do some really intense stretching......

IT WORKED!

I had a totally pain free run, no soreness afterwards (just a little tightness that night). 8 km, 39:48 (av. 4:58). Extremely happy.

So, on the back of my re-found enthusiasm, I went out for a run with the boys at the "track" this morning - 5 x 800's, 3:14, 3:05, 3:04, 3:00, 3:00. Total 5.5 km. Super happy because even though I was the slowest, it seems they've become faster in my absence (because 3:00's is about what I usually do!).

Anyway, so now to take it slow and easy for the rest of the week - I'd hate to regress just when I'm having fun again!

2008-07-15T15:17:00.003+09:30

Time goes on, and so does the injury.

It’s been 1 month since my last post (why does this feel like confession?). Sorry guys, I’ve been a little out of touch! Life’s been busy and exciting, brought down only a little by the lack of miles.

My physio has removed me from reduced km’s, but was quite stern about not increasing too fast, and ironically my Achilles agrees with him. I’m ever so slowly increasing the k’s, so I’m up to about 20 k’s a week. But, I don’t seem to be able to run at faster than about 5:00 pace and no more than 7 km's in a go. So, I’m keeping my frustration in check by reading about all the fun you guys are having (and success!). Other than that I’ve just been slogging it out at the gym…… when did I become so weak?

One very nice thing is that El has been home for the last week, with another week before she goes back on placement. So, we’ve been running together, which has been very pleasant. And, after hearing all the complaints over the phone about “how slow I am”, I’ve been amazed at how well she’s come back from injuries etc. A couple of examples:

1. Long run last Monday 6.7 km’s @ 6:00 (the longest run she’s been able to do since the bike accident at Christmas and at a pace about the same as before the accident)

2. Intervals this morning, 5 x 800m (4:44, 4:45, 4:32, 4:25, 4:13) + warm up & down = 5.3 km.

Both these runs were much faster than expected and she’s even admitted that they were enjoyable, which is good because she’s aiming for a secret target race (which I might let out of the bag one day)!

Anyway, keep up the posts guys, I’m really enjoying reading them, especially because my Achilles is determined to keep me on a short program!

2008-06-19T18:04:00.002+09:30

Huston, we have a problem.....

But thankfully not a big one. Went to the physio today about my achilles and he told me that we caught it about 3 weeks before it became a HUGE problem (i.e. 3 months of no running). Apparently the my tenderness would lead to lumps and tearing in the next 3 weeks or so. His thoughts are that I did some damage in Canberra (remember my massive cramping and pain?), possibly as a result of the conditions and my lack of strength/hill prep. He also said that my "recovery" runs to get rid of the soreness in the week post race probably consolidated the damage.

Because we caught it in time I'm only on light duties for 3-4 weeks. I'm allowed to run 3 x 5 km per week (up to mid pace only), plus a the exercises and stretches he gave me, to be reassessed weekly.

So, I'm treating this as my R, R & R time. Rest, Recover & Rebuild. My plan is to take it easy until I'm off light duties, while gradually introducing a weights program to build overall strength. Once I'm allowed to run, I intend to slowly build back to 3 decent runs (1-2 hours each) a week until the end of August, culminating in the Adelaide Half for fun. After that I'll re-assess, but at this stage I suspect I'll just start to lay the foundations for an event early/mid next year.

The funny thing is, I'm kinda excited about the plan.

2008-06-12T17:42:00.001+09:30

Now THAT'S a run!

Saw some impressive things while running overseas, but nothing beats the Maroons win last night (yes, for the first time in living memory, they telecast the State of Origin live in SA!)!

Yes, I'm back. I've been at a conference in Spain, followed by a couple of weeks of work (and fun) in Italy. Too much to download, so I'll just say it was fantastic, lots was achieved (both work and fun) and I even took my running gear. There's nothing like a run in a different place to inspire you!

I can't say that I've had the most amazing training weeks (and my kms are way down), but here's the low-down for the last 3 weeks:

Gijon, Spain (a BEAUTIFUL sea side town): 9 km @ 4:37, 5.5 km @ 4:24, 6 km @ 4:29
Livorno, Italy: 10 km @ 5:05
Venice, Italy: 6 km @ 4:58 (and man, did I get lost around the canals!)
Florence, Italy: 8 km @ 4:40 (very pleasant)
Rome, Italy: 8 km @ 4:38 (even did a lap around the Colosseum!).

All were very nice runs, and really reminded me why I love it, but three things stood out:

1. Running around the ruins of Rome made me appreciate the history, especially when I did my lap around the Colosseum. I was staring into the entry arches as I went past, imagining what it would be like to run into that stadium (kinda like the MCG with a whole bunch of nasty guys inside! Come to think about it, I suppose the grand final is like that.....)!

2. While running in Florence, I decided to do a survey of how nice Italian runners are. I was waving to every runner that was heading the opposite direction. Out of about 30 waves I got 3 back. Was it because I was wearing my SA Road Runners Shirt? But, one guy made my day, he was so surprised that I waved to him that he almost tripped before waving and yelling an enthusiastic "Ciao!".

3. My stupidity. For some reason, that's unknown to me, I decided that while running around Rome I should run up and down every set of marble stairs that I passed by......... there are a LOT of marble stairs in Rome.

On the business end, I noticed while running in Rome that I seem to have lost some strength in my legs (and Canberra would support this). So, I was thinking that along with my core exercises (which I've been a little sporadic with, I must admit) I might add a couple of weights sessions a week - what do you all think?

Lastly, it's off to the physio for me. Since Canberra I've been getting steadily worse achilles pain and stretching doesn't seem to be doing anything.

Ok, I'll leave it there. Vague because of jetlag....... what time is it??

2008-05-08T17:30:00.005+09:30

The way forward.

As most of you would be aware, I've been kinda wondering where to next. I was discussing this very issue with the lads at "Track Times" on Tuesday, when we realised that I've done my first 3 marathons in the space of 10 months. I know that this isn't many in that time frame for some people, but for me it has lead to a bit of mental fatigue. So, considering I want to continue to enjoy running marathons for some years yet, what do I do??????

I've decided to get back to the place that I enjoy running the most (but that's not to say I haven't been enjoying it)!

So, I'm not currently aiming for any particular event. Dave's trying to convince me to run Adelaide (August) or the 50 km Trail Blazer (October), or both. I must say that I'm kinda partial, but might not go in trying to get a PB, but just run at what feels good. The reason I say this is that it's only 16 weeks to Adelaide, and I'm going to be away for at least 4-5 weeks in that period (and have diminished training capacity).

So, my new focus is going to be my three biggest weaknesses:

1. Strength. My calves and quads have become weak - I'm pushing smaller gears on my bike, and notice that running up hills is getting harder. So, harder gears, more hills and some strength exercises in front of the TV (I started all this last week).

2. Endurance Base. I'm still going to do speed sessions on Tuesdays (because I enjoy the company), but it won't be my focus. I want to just go out and run some mid-longer distances a couple of times a week.

3. Posture and stride. Matt gave me some advice on avoiding shin splints which lines up very nicely with something I noticed I was doing. I have begun to notice that (especially when I get tired) I tend to stride too far forward, causing me to "hunch" down. When I'm doing this I feel like I'm expending too much energy and Matt tells me that it puts extreme stress on the lower leg. So, I've started to concentrate on running more upright, shortening my stride and kicking up behind more. It feels better when I do this, but I need to get some muscles up to the task (my hammies were quite sore after a 6 km @ 4:15 the other day!).

So, with that in mind, I'm going to duck out for a moderate paced 10 km, standing up straight before coming back to do some more work, then home to do some core strength work in front of the TV.......

2008-04-15T09:39:00.002+09:30

Analyse This.

Ok, so I'm like a dog with a bone and can't let it go; the post race analysis continues.

I've been thinking about what's next, and what I need to do for that "next". My long-term goal is to try for a Boston Qualifying time in 4 years (when I turn 35 and my time goes to 3:15). However, I'm quite wary about head butting the same wall until then, and want to change things up a bit.

A friend of mine, who lives in Canberra and being inspired by the weekend is about to start training for his first half, found a very informative web link about coaching/training . I've only made it part way through, and some of the training seems pretty conventional (see review), but I did find some interesting information on analysing race performance to identify weakness in training.

The "coach" says that you should be able to double the distance for an extra 10-12 sec/km. When I look at my recent race times, it goes like this:

5 km = 3:55/km
10 km = 4:07/km (+12 sec)
Half mara = 4:26/km (+19 sec) (note: 12 months ago, so a smidge slower than I would do now).
Marathon = 4:52/km (+26 sec)

Apparently this type of decay in time is indicative of insufficient long aerobic training. This analysis sounds very much like what I was thinking on Sunday afternoon, but it's nice to have it confirmed.

So, I'm thinking of taking the Lydaird type approach of long (and kinda relaxing!) slow runs for a couple of months before I build up any speed work. I'm also going to try and finish reading Hadd's method to see what I can pick up there.

I'm not sure what event I'm heading for (and no Scott, I'm not going to do Townsville). I was thinking Adelaide (August), but think I would like to push it out to closer to the Melbourne date (October). In the interim I'm going to do a half here in May, and I'm thinking about either Gold Coast or Noosa Half as well.

Soooooo much to choose from!

Oh, and Tesso, I was really bummed not to catch up with you guys as well, but honestly, I was totally shattered. It was all I could do to get to the airport that afternoon!

2008-04-14T16:28:00.002+09:30

Not A, or B, but still a PB!

A goal = 3:20
B goal = 3:25
C goal = PB

The day that dawned was beautiful, for the first hour, and then it turned to weather that only a duck (or possibly a platypus) could love. It wasn’t too cold, but before the gun went off the rain started, and continued for about 2 hours. But, the first 10 k’s weren’t too bad, and I managed to curb my enthusiasm to be only 1 minute ahead of schedule (yes, I know this is 6 sec/km too fast).

I was quite chuffed at keeping my feet dry, until the 12 km mark, where I didn’t see a rather large river of water crossing the road, and from that point my feet were truly wet (SCUBA dive booties come to mind). In spite of this, I continued along happily, chatting with random people doing my pace (Note: Scott, I spoke to a guy from Townsville. He said that they usually get about 90 people doing the marathon). I happily stuck to just faster than my A-goal pace up to the 30 km mark (did av. 4:42), but was a little worried because from about 24 km my calves started to get tight and cramp a little bit (I’ve never had this before).

Then it went south….. At 33 km I struggled a bit on a hill, and my calves cramped, but I managed to run it out. Then, heading up a hill in the 35^th, I cramped up and had to stop to stretch it out (making it a 5:32 km). I was still on target at 35 km (av. 4:45), but had no time to spare and was worried because each step was starting to become quite painful.

From there, my times simply collapsed. I had to push REALLY hard just to keep below 5:20/km, and the hills frequently pushed me to 5:40 pace. Having to stop again at 40 km to stretch my calves, I was on the verge of giving up, but figured it was impossible not to finish from there, so pushed on. At 41 km, I knew I had a PB as long as I put the pedal down, which I did (and you’ll laugh at this…..) meaning I managed to do the last 1.195 km in 6:44 (av. 5:38). Believe me, I had to PUSH to get that pace out of my legs. And, as if to prove the point, I can’t walk today!

So, the 5 k splits went like this:

23:13.4
23:00.3
23:44.7
23:26.9
23:30.1
23:57.1
25:19.7 (note the jump!)
27:01.4 (oh dear, and again!)
12:24.2 (2.195km)

Time = 3:25:37 (official), a PB by 1:07

If only I didn't stop to stretch, I would have got my B-goal (3:25). But, then, I also may not have finished!

Post race wash-up. I’ve been thinking about my performance. It seems that I had plenty of speed in the legs – I held to 4:44 pace (A goal) for 34 km, but then disintegrated. From some other times it seemed to be a hard, slow race (men’s winning time was 2:24), and the hills claimed some time from me, but I can’t go past the “coincidence” that my best recent training run was 33 km @ 4:43. So, I think that it wasn’t the conditions, but rather the pre-conditions, that killed me on the day; I didn’t have the km’s in the legs and no taper km's because of my toe. I needed another 20 km/ week to make it to the end at my A-goal pace. I’m suddenly reminded of Lydiard and the more slow km's theory………

So, now to more, slower km’s and less focus on times/pace. Time to look to what I can do next year, not how fast I can go now.

Lastly, I’m bummed that I missed ALL of the crew in Canberra. I was so totally ruined on Sunday afternoon that all I did was recover on the couch until my plane left that evening (and thanks to El for feeding me on the couch!).

Hope you all had fun!

2008-04-09T10:16:00.004+09:30

Frustrated, but able to run.

I now know I'm a runner. I was complaining to El on Sunday that I was going insane because it's been weeks since I have been able to run (and again cursing my stupidity). She pointed out it had only been a week, and I was seriously surprised. It must be in my blood now!

Even though I think it will take about 4-6 weeks for my toe to heal properly, I can run. How fast I don't know, but it's possible.

In the last week or so I've been for a couple of 30 minute rides on my bike (mega hard rides with some up hill, just to get the legs working) and two 3 km runs with El.

The exciting thing about this is that they are El's first 2 runs back since her accident in December. Although she's lost a fair bit of run fitness she did well, averaging 6:20 and 6:17 (and wasn't wrecked at the end).

As for my toe, it still gives me general discomfort every now and again throughout the day. On the positive side, it seemed fine on the two runs - I just hope it can last the distance! I think I'll go for another short run on Friday, just to keep the legs ticking over, and then see how it goes on the day.

So, my plan is to still set out at 3:20 pace. I think it might be a little ambitious given the last 2 weeks of relative inactivity, but if I can stick even close to this pace I stand to do a good PB. And, at the end of the day, if I don't get a PB I still get a really good learning experience - NO CONTACT SPORTS IN THE 3 MONTHS BEFORE A MARATHON.

Besides, the marathon will be fun!
(note: now I know I'm addicted, because I'm seriously looking forward to Sunday!)

2008-04-02T18:35:00.001+10:30

Bourne Stupid.

A good mate of mine thinks that I'm insane. He can't understand how a sane individual can enjoy either running for 3.5 hours, or doing a sport where the express objective of other people is to hit you. Maybe he's correct, maybe I am insane? But, not for loving these pass times.

Being the indestructable individual that I am, I thought that going into a Karate competion on Sunday (yes, 2 weeks before Canberra) would be ok if I took it easy and made sure that my legs weren't injured. I was correct, things would have been ok. Let me tell you, there is no "easy" in a Karate comp. Aside from the fact that I went really well, I have managed to do the MOST stupid little injury possible - I've dislocated my left little toe. Now, this particluar toe has a habit of doing this at inconvienient times, so it's no surprise, just really bad timing.

But, not all is lost, just any running I was planning to do in taper-town. 3 days on from the injury, ice, strapping and anti-inflammatories have halved the swelling and I can walk with only minor discomfort. Hopefully, by the weekend I should be able to go for a couple of short and slow jogs. I'm trying to convince myself that running in taper is just to stop you getting bored anyway.

So, I'm still going to run Canberra, and I'm hopeful that I can finish - I'm now just not sure if some pain towards the end (because I'm sure there will be!) will slow me down too much. I'm hoping for numb.......

I am kind of bummed though, because I think my lead up has been pretty decent.

What can I say, lesson learnt.

2008-03-27T18:52:00.002+10:30

Competitive Spirit.

Just came back from my tempo run. As I was about to start, this muscle bound, cut, totally shaved (well, the bits I could see anyway) guy ran past me. A quick adjustment of my shoes, and I was off and running at my set pace (4:18). After about 500 m I realised that I could see the guy up in front and subconciously started to speed up. As I drew near, I looked at my pace - yep, only 4:10, not too excessive, I can keep this up for another 6 - 7 km. So, I started to overtake him at a constant pace - and he sped up. At this stage I thought:

"Bugger it, if that's the way you want to play, lets see what you've got".

So, I cranked it up a little to about 4:05 and slowly pulled in front, giving the little "hey mate" wave as I went by. Of course, what did he do? Slot in behind.

"I'll be buggered if I'm slowing down"

Off I went, keeping the pace between 3:58-4:10, depending on hills. At about 4 km he started to slap his feet and breath pretty hard.

"But, he may have a burst of speed left in him yet, and there's still 4 k's to go."

5 km: he sounded in trouble

"I've got him, I can break him yet"

6 km: he's right behind me, then........ nothing!

A quick look over my shoulder revealed that at the turn I went right, he went left. Bugger, now I'll never know if I could break him!

Of course, it's always possible that he was out for his mid-week 25 km run (or some such), which makes all of this a bit pathetic. But, sometimes the competitive spirit gets the better of me!

Oh, the run: 8 km, 32:50 (4:06).

2008-03-26T11:56:00.002+10:30

Confident, or over confident?

Quick post, because I have people clamoring for my time.

10th - 17th: 4 runs, 45.6km. Best run was 23 km around several of the "bays" in Sydney. Had a blast of a time, so thanks Tesso for the hint on the Sydney Strider's website - they had a great map for me (and I only got lost a couple of times). Good run, but a bit slower than expected (av. 5:01), mostly because I was gawking at the sites!

18th - 24th: Short week, 2 runs, 43.5. The excitement from this week is my long run. Before hand I was doubting my prep for Canberra, but now I'm more confident: 33km, 2:35:57 (av. 4:43), av HR 146. This is the fastest average pace I've ever done for a run over 30 km...... and even better, I ENJOYED it!

My original plan for Canberra was to have a crack at 3:20 (av. 4:44). Over the last couple of weeks I'd pretty much given up on this idea. Now, however, I'm feeling more confident having done my goal pace for 33 km. I'll see how I feel over the next couple of weeks (yay, TAPER!) and make a decision later.....

Whether I get the time or not may depend on the limited number of k's I have in my legs.

Stay posted.

2008-03-11T16:26:00.002+10:30

Someone fix the thermostat, please?

Ok, it's official, we're going to smash the Adelaide heat wave record. Today was the 9th consecutive day above 35 degrees (actually got to 37.5), and the forecast is:

Wednesday: Max 38
Thursday: Max 39
Friday: Max 39
Saturday: Max 38
Sunday: Max 38

I think people in Adelaide will be starting to believe in global warming. It's certainly not a PB that I'm happy with. I'd rather it if the tiles in my bathroom weren't uncomfortable to walk on.....

It is conducive to drinking freezing cold beer though!

2008-03-10T11:38:00.000+10:30

Living in an oven.

Following a comment by Scott on Boston Qual times, I had a look at their website to remind myself. No Scott, I’ve got another 4 years before I can claim 3:15 – I still have to get under 3:10. But, I reckon that this is fair enough, because 4 years is about the right time frame for me to get under 3:15!

Anyway, while I was on the official AIMS website, I ran across the world records page. I now feel quite humbled, especially by the 100 km record – 6:13:33. Yes, that is an average of 3:44/km for 100 km. Not sure I can call myself a runner after reading that!

To the week that was. What can I say, it was HOT. Today will equal the longest heat wave in Adelaide’s history – 8 consecutive days above 35ºC. If tomorrow gets above 35º (forecast 34º), it is likely that the record will be smashed, with 36 + forecast until Sunday.

So, running has been, and will continue to be, fun (especially when nightly minimums have been just getting down to 25-26).

Tuesday: Speed/Hill session. 6x100m, jog return; 4x200m hill, jog return; 2x250m hill, jog return. Including warm up total = 6.5 km

Wednesday: Run to work. 5 km, 22:51 (4:36).

Saturday: 30 km, 2:26:59 (4:54). This run totally worked me over. It was 26º when I started, and in the first 2 hours it steadily rose to 30º. I was doing ok with this, drinking every 4 km or so (and making sure I got rather wet as well), but in the last 30 minutes the temperature went from 30º to 35º, and I rapidly started to overheat. I was jumping under the showers along the beach every 2 km and was totally dry within 1 km of the shower! So, rather than kill myself, I cut it 2 km short, which may not have been so silly looking at how my time was slipping:
5 km avs: 4:51, 4:48, 4:49, 4:52, 5:00, 5:01.

I also pulled up with a really tired body, and decided not to push it with a recovery on Sunday (as I had planned). Unfortunately, it means that I missed my weekly target again.

Week: 41.5 km

Sorry Tesso, couldn’t think of a joke this week either – I’ll try hard for next week!

2008-03-05T11:53:00.002+10:30

Ignious intrusions.

An "interesting" week last week that lead to me stacking my running towards the end, so didn't quite make my 50 km. But, had some good quality in there, and should easily make it this week, so not concerned.

Wednesday: Intended to do a tempo/speed session. Did 1.3 km @ 3:50, then 1.9 km @ 4:16. Started the next 1.3 km and my left shin cramped up so much that I couldn't even walk! But, running slow didn't seem to hurt it (this is something I have noticed before) so I finished up with a slow 2.6 km. Total 6.5 km @ 4:36.

I was in Hamilton from Thursday to Monday visiting El, and took the chance to get some running done in a different set of scenery. Quite nice to be running in a rural area - within 2 km of town centre I had cows and horses staring at me like I was an idiot!

Question: where do you find hills?
Answer: In areas of old volcanic activity!

Hamilton is in the area of the most recent (i.e. 10,000 years ago) volcanic activity in Australia - thus it has some decent hills. So, even though I planned a shorter long run, it ended up being a good hill session as well!

Friday: 25 km @ 4:46.

Saturday: Thought I'd mix it up a bit: 5 km @ 4:44 (my hopeful race pace), 2 km @ 5:08, 3 km @ 4:29, 1 km @ 5:06, 1 km @ 4:03, 1 km @ 5:10. Total 13 km @ 4:45.

Week total: 44.5 km.

Finally, I have to mention that last night I had a dream that I did a qualifying time for Boston. Now wouldn't that be nice (if a little unrealistic at the moment!).

2008-02-26T11:01:00.000+10:30

Going mental.

But not in a bad way! It never ceases to amaze me how something that is so physical (i.e. running) can have such a mental aspect. It seems that my little week of soul searching worked, and getting my life back to a bit of balance was the right thing to do. I must confess that I’m not sleeping for any longer than I was 2 weeks ago (because life is still insanely busy), but I feel that I’m sleeping better, I’m less tired, more productive, and ironically, feel like I’ve got more “down” time. All of this has added together to make a happier Bayden!

You know what comes with happiness….. enjoyment of running! (note: which came first?).

Thursday: I had a really good tempo run, even if it was hot enough to be uncomfortable; 7 km, 29:45 (4:15) + 3 x hill efforts. Including warm-up and –down = 10.5 km (av. 4:22).

Friday: Finally managed to go out with a group from work at lunch time. Ran around the outer perimeter of the Clipsal 500 and got to see how much faster the V8’s go than me (about 230 km/hr faster). Nice recovery run and heaps of chatting; 6.5 km, 33:08 (5:09). Also got rained on, which was a bit of a novelty!

Saturday: I didn’t want to get out of bed, so was off the mark a bit late, but thankfully it was only 18 degrees when I started (and 20 when I finished). Thought I’d head out for 32 km, but at about 25 km realised that I felt good and thought I should extend out. Had a bit of a slow period about 27-29 km but was inspired to get on with it by the air force flyovers (Clipsal again; if only I’d had the Top Gun soundtrack on my mp3 player!). 7 of the last 9 km was an up gradient, so it worked me over pretty well, but the last 1.5 km was down hill, letting me stride out and finish strongly (last km in 4:18). I LIKE finishing down hill, makes you feel so strong. But, the best part was that this is the first long run in weeks that I was able to mentally check out and just enjoy! 36 km, 2:58:08 (4:56). Also happy with my av. HR 145.

Weekly total: 53 km.

I was also reading in my Runners World that it can be good to combine training sessions, and thinking back, it seems that people like Pat do just that. For example, intervals followed by hills in the one session. One of the workouts they suggest (that I like the sound of) is intervals and short tempo, so this arv I’m going out to do 1200m @ 3:45ish then 3 km @ 4:05ish all x 2. Sounds fun!

2008-02-21T10:11:00.003+10:30

Where'd the Mojo go?

Intuitively I knew it would happen at some stage, but everyone always thinks "it won't happen to me" - well, it has, I've lost my running Mojo.

Life has been busy - way too busy. I only just realised last night that I'm out of balance - life has been interrupting my running, not running interrupting life (as it should!).

I love running. It provides me with a meditative release, where I sort through things so that life is more centred. Without it, I start to come off balance, and stress starts to take over. The last couple of weeks, life has been so insane that (without realising it was happening) I started to think it was too had to go for a run, and I started to get that release from a quite beer (one or two, I'm not getting hammered!) instead. When I have been running, I haven't been able to focus and lose myself - my mind has been preoccupied. As a result, I've had to try and convince myself that a decent time = a good run. NO, a good run is one you enjoy, regardless of how shagged you are at the end or what time you did!

But, last night I was so out of sorts, that while at Karate I decided that I needed focus. So I did, and you know what, I started to come back to an even keel! I was so focused on the exercises I was given that I forgot there was anything else. I realised that beer gives fuzziness and apathy, while running gives clarity and happiness (and yes Scott, I just read your latest Blog). I also realised that: 1) it's been one whole week since I've been for a run; and 2) I CAN'T WAIT to get out there this afternoon!

So, I'm going to institute a plan:
1) I'm not going to run to a plan. I'm going to go out regularly, but run what I feel like running, not what a piece of paper says I should. I figure that km's in the legs is better than a whole bunch of missed workouts!

2) I'm going to try and run more than 50 km per week, and to keep me honest, I'm going to report my weekly k's on my blog (so you can all give me a hammering if I don't!). This close to Canberra, I simply need k's.

3) I'm going to run because I love it, not because I feel I have to do a run because I've got an event coming up. If I'm not enjoying it, why would I bother?

4) I'm going to stop letting work stop me sleeping. Of late, I've been trying to get up early but have been so tired that I'm hitting the snooze button 4-5 times. NO MORE! I will set the alarm for a reasonable time and get up when it goes off - in the long run I'll be more productive with good sleep than more hours at my desk.

6) I'm going to get back to eating better. I may be time stressed, but takeaway just makes you lethargic!

So that's my Mojo plan, now it's time to put it into action!

2008-02-15T14:55:00.002+10:30

The Good, Bad and down right Sad.

It's been an interesting running fortnight since I last posted.

First, the Bad.

I'm tired, so, so tired. Work has been busy, and life itself is full of a whole bunch of stuff that I just have to get out of the way (including some night and weekend courses that run for another 3 weeks). The moral is that I'm getting very little sleep, can't seem to eat enough to get the energy I require, and this is impacting on some of my runs (but strangely, not all, as you will see). Added to this, I seem to be only just keeping shins and ITB at bay, and have started to develop some new knee pain (off to the physio next week!).

5th: Speed. Went with the Track Times group to Belair National Park for variety, and did 810 m laps around the lake. Total 7 km. But, speed was way down and variable (some up to 4:10 pace).

7th: Intended to go for a moderately paced 10 km run. I started tired, hungry and almost dizzy, but was feeling stubborn..... until I started. By about 2 km, I could barely move my legs, my shins were killing me and life was hell. So, I decided to slow down and bound up the hills and stride down (Lydaird). Total = 5 km, 24:05 (4:49).

9th: Long run. Supposed to be 20 km, but I was running out of time before my course started, so cut it short to 16. Felt good though. 16 km, 1:15:11 (4:41). Interstingly, my av. HR was the same as the 5 k 2 days before (142) even though much longer and faster - shows how tired I was in the short run!

10th: Recovery. Decided to make up some k's. Slow up the hill away from my place, and then just stretched out down, without looking at my watch for pace. 6 km, 30:24 (5:04).

12th: The Good. Twilight Series. Debarcle of a start - I got to the start with 10 minutes spare, only to realise that I forgot my number, so had to run to work and back again. So, my warm up was 1.5 km at 3:40 pace! However, I made the start and it turned out to be a great race. I decided to tuck in behind a group of 3 sitting around 4:00 pace (one had a totally hairless body so thought he'd stay the distance and drag me along). They all gradually dropped off, so I started to leap frog foward to draft other people to stay at about 4:00 pace. With 1.5 km to go, the two guys I was behind started to attack each other, and I couldn't go with them. BUT, it seems they did me a favour, because I kept up a consistent pace and reeled them back in with 1 km to go - I kept going and had 100 m on them by the line. 9 km, 37:07 (4:07). Not sure on my exact place, but I know it was top 10 (out of ~ 90). Total 11 km.

14th: Long. El's home on the weekend, and didn't think she'd appreciate me running for 3 hours, so did a week day long yesterday after work. I think my legs were a bit tired from Tuesday, and used to running fast, because I had heaps of trouble staying to pace. Planned 29 @ 4:53. I wavered between 4:30 and 5:00 for most of it, but the last 5 km my legs felt like I was in the last 3 k's of a marathon. But, I kept them ticking over, and I'm only a little sore today. Happy with my time (if not how much it hurt!).
29 km, 2:22:27 (4:54).

The Sad. Last night I ran along Linear Park, which follows the Torrens River. I could measure the dry patches (so dry that there was nothing but sand) by the kilometer. In the 5 years I've been here, I've never seen it that dry.

Hoping to catch up on some sleep on the weekend so that my energy levels are up again for training next week.

2008-02-04T13:43:00.000+10:30

Nice run.

And what's better, only a little sore!

Thursday, ran to work: 5 km, 23:02 (4:43). Easy down hill run to start the day.

Sunday: Long run Grange to Brighton and back. Very nice morning, just had to dodge the crowds lining the paths for the surf carnival at Brighton! 32 km, 2:40:49 (5:01). Av HR 151. Happy with this run, because it's my longest in a very long time. I had a slow 5 k's in the middle (11-15km @ 5:14), but I figure that was the 2 km along the hard sand. Also happy that my legs are only a little sore today, even though I totally kicked my goal pace (5:10). Starting to restore faith.

Because this is a quick one, another quick photo tour....

Mekong transport, Laos style (this is probably my favourite photo of the whole trip).

Livestock transport (2 goats).

Mekong transport, tourist style.......

Sunset from Laos, overlooking the Mekong to Thailand. Yes, we were drinking beer too.

2008-01-30T15:26:00.000+10:30

Too long.

Ok, so it's been too long since I've posted, and I do apologise. Works been crazy - not an excuse, just a fact. But, I'll try to implement a plan for shorter, more regular posts in future.

I'm happy. It seems that my running is coming together at a decent rate, and I'm starting to feel stronger. I still have some distance to do, but we'll get there.

16th: Tempo. 8 km, 35:13 (4:24), av HR 156, total 10 km
19th: "Long" 18 km, 1:34:43 (5:07), av HR 146
22nd: Track times speed: (5 x 400 m) x 2, total 8 km
24th: Long, 30 km, 2:34:29 (5:09), av HR 144
28th: Tempo. 2 km @ 4:30 + 5 km @ 4:12 + 3 km @ 5:00
29th: Twilight Series Race 1: 4.5 km, 17:38 (3:55), av HR 173, total 7 km

I'm happy with the 30 km, because it wasn't excessively hard, I didn't rock up sore, and my planned pace was 5:02 - 5:12 (I was easily inside that), and my av. HR was down to 144 (much improved over the last couple of weeks). Looks like I'm back on track despite the long break. I'm also very happy with my Twilight Series run yesterday, because I managed to hold on to get an average pace of 3:55, even though I recorded my highest ever heart rate (187 bpm - 99% of my theoretical maximum....). I was working, and couldn't have kept it up for much longer, but I also recovered fast.

Interesting historical note; I did my first 3km time trial on the 6th Feb 2007 in 11:57. Yesterday was 1.5 km longer and 4 seconds/km faster. Seems all this running is doing something!

Lastly, a couple of photos from the trip (got any other songs you want to throw at me Scott?).

Walking in to the Gibbon Experience, Bokeo Reserve.

El watching the sunrise from our tree house and enjoying a hot cup of tea (yep, it was > 30 m off the ground and we could see above the jungle canopy!).

Our jungle view (Bokeo Reserve is a very nice place!).

More photos another day!

2008-01-15T16:40:00.000+10:30

Sabai Dee (Laos greeting).

And a happy new year to all!

First things first – the trip was fantastic. Laos was a fantastic place to visit; the people were friendly, open, and very welcoming (which I attribute to the relatively small number of tourists compared to the rest of SE Asia); the scenery was fabulous, mostly mountainous; and the general feel of the country was awesome. I think that the best part of the trip (though very hard to choose) was 3 days living in a tree house in the Bokeo reserve on the Gibbon Experience. Although we only got to hear the Gibbons, just the feel of the jungle as the sun was rising was amazing and truly reminded me what it’s about to be alive.

Cambodia was a little too touristy for my tastes, but I must confess to having enjoyed eating the freshest seafood at a beach BBQ, all washed down with $0.50 beers……… yep, there’s something about that and living as well! Unfortunately a little accident meant that we had to come home 1.5 weeks early (don’t want to go into detail on a webpage, but happy to talk about it to people individually, but we’re both ok at the end of the day), meaning that we only saw coastal Cambodia and didn’t get up to Ankor. But, I suppose that’s for another trip!

I’ll post some photos over the next couple of posts…..

It was a shock to be home – all of a sudden it was dry and REALLY hot (yep, several days in a row above 40 degrees….). And, then there’s work….

Running.
What a shock. It was exactly 1 month between runs (no Asia-belly jokes, you know what I mean). I was stunned at how hard the first run was, and was seriously stressed that I’d lost all fitness. But, in the last 2.5 weeks I’ve gone from surviving one 10 km run that nearly killed me (I was seriously surprised at how sore I was for the next 3 days!) to doing 24 km in a decent time:

Dec 28th: 10 km, 51:03 (5:06), av HR 158 (yep, this run nearly killed my desire to run again!)
Dec 31st: 12 km, 59:28 (4:57), av HR 160

The only good thing about coming home early: these two runs gave me 1505 km for the year!

Jan 3rd: 15 km, 1:13:56 (4:55), av HR 158 (it hurt, but HR down for the extra distance and effort)

Jan 8th: Speed. 5 x 800m in ~ 3:00, total 6.4 km (the legs felt heavy!)

Jan 9th: 8 km, 36:49 (4:36), av HR 158 (a poor slow cousin to the Corporate Cup times, but HR was lower)

Jan 13th: 24 km, 2:03:03 (5:07), av HR 150 (wanted sub 5:11, and I’m happy with the HR)

Jan 15th: Speed. 1600, 1200, 800, 400. Total 6.8 km. Happy with the pace as well.

The upshot of all of this is that I think I’m getting my form back at a relatively fast rate, even if my legs are a bit sore and sluggish. My goal is to run Canberra (13th April). I did want to get 3:20, but now I’ll be happy with sub-3:30, which I think is possible. I’m running better than this stage in the lead up to Gold Coast last year, with more experience behind me as well.

Plan: to increase km’s in the legs while not getting an injury (yes, my ITB is niggling a little) and leaving the speed until later.

Anyway, time to stop boring you all and start catching up with what you’ve all been up to!

2007-11-24T16:07:00.000+10:30

Final post for 2007.

Well, I'm off to Perth tomorrow, and then Laos next Sunday, so this will be my final post for the year. What a year it's been - 2 half and 2 full marathons! As with all journeys in life, I didn't only run these events, but also made some friends along the way. Thanks all for your support and help throughout the journey. There were times when I think I would have given up without the advice and support, and I certainly wouldn't have done as well!

My running has been a bit on the light side the last couple of weeks:

8th: ~ 4 km with El
11th: 16.5 km, 1:24:01 (5:05), Sunshine Coast (I always forget about the humidity!).
17th: 10 km, 48:31 (4:51). Intended longer, but had a late start, so it was stiflingly hot!
20th: Final Track Times session for the year; 5 x 1km ~3:45, total = 8.2 km
22nd: 11 km, 47:50 (4:21).

I also plan to do 2 or 3 runs in Perth during the week (mega keen to to a long run through Kings Park on Wednesday!), but they will be my last runs for the year. I'm happy with the increase in k's this year (I should get 1500 km for the year), up from 506 last year.

I must also apologise to Tess for bailing on the PCRG run last week - I didn't get home until after 1:00 am, and my first meeting was at 7:30 am. Soft, I know! Next time, I promise!

I hope you all have a great festive season, keep the legs ticking over, and can't wait to speak to and see you all next year!

Bay.

2007-11-07T17:39:00.001+10:30

Excitement!

Did a speed session with the Track Times group yesterday - yes, it has moved to Tuesdays. Did 1600, 1200, 800, 400. Including warm-up and down, it was 6.4 km. Had fun, but am realising that I've been lazy - my legs are sore!

BUT, the excitement is that I'm going to do next Tuesday's session with PCRG! Will be good to run with a fresh bunch of people, in a new place, and have a bit of fun - not to mention catching up with Tess again (so soon after Melbourne too!). Anyone else reading this that will be there (Robert Song, Mat?)? I'm just hoping that the session doesn't "sort me out" (you're scaring me Tess.....).

Scott and Tess, you got the second half of the holiday correct. It was unfair of me not to mention that we'd be visiting two countries! We're heading to Laos and then Cambodia. I CAN'T WAIT! Good fun, great culture and fantastic food! Oh, and did I mention that we're going to head to the far north of Laos to live in a tree house for 3 days with the Gibbons (if they decide to come and visit that is)!

Man, the Dead Kennedy's were serious stoner's! (great clip though).

Bruce. I think the biggest thing that gets me around shin splints (yes, I think I will have them for life) is patience. If they start to get too bad, you have to back off to let them recover a bit. You will get to learn when they're a bit tender vs. when they're getting worse. If they're only tender, then life is fine. But, there are some things that I've found help things along:

1. Hard core massage! When I'm training, I spend 10 - 15 minutes every night massaging up and down the inside of my shins. For the first few weeks it will make you cry (seriously, it hurts that much), but as the muscles loosen up it will get better. If you slacken off even a little with this (i.e. miss 2 nights in a row), you'll find they get worse;

2. Get good advice on the appropriate shoes. Finding someone who can tell you the cause of your shin splints goes a long way here - there are many different causes;

3. Don't skimp on shoes. I'm even rotating mine a bit faster than recommended, because as they wear out, my shins get worse;

4. Don't be afraid to cut a speed session out of a weeks running - I find speed sessions hurt my shins more than slower runs;

5. Shorten your stride a little (if appropriate). I was striding out in front too much, and not kicking up at the back enough. I'm still fixing this up because it requires a total overhaul of style, but I'm getting there (thanks for this tip Tess!). If you have to, run on a treadmill...

6. Strengthen your shin muscles - and never stop doing the exercises. Do a Google search for exercises - there are a lot of sites. My two "favorite" exercises are walking around on my heels keeping my toes pointed to the sky and lifting my coffee table with my toes by flexing at the ankle;

7. Most important, build up running slowly. I built up from two short runs a week to training 3 decent to long sessions a week. Even now, I rarely run more than 3 days a week, and never more than 4 - my shins just aren't strong enough! If I do run 4, one run is a slow, short recovery run.

I'm positive that if you build up over time, get the correct treatment (self or physio), correct shoes, and don't push on when things are getting too sore, you'll get there!

Hmmmm, as I thought this was going to be a short post, I think I'll stop now!

2007-11-05T19:59:00.000+10:30

The days since.

I had decided in the post Melbourne glow to not run for a month. Although I have cut back substantially, I didn’t realise how much I would miss running! But, life has become a bit hectic, so even though I'm keen to go again, I literally can't find the time to run even though I want to! Strange - 3 weeks ago I had mental fatigue, now I'm starting to whimper because I can't get out there. But, here is a synopsis of the last 3 weeks (yes, that's right folks, 3 pathetic runs in the last 3 weeks):

18th October: Speed. 2 x 1km, 800m, 600m, 400m. 5.4 km including warmup and down. Really surprised how fast my legs fatigued.

24th October: Corporate Cup. ~ 7 km, 28:45. Not sure on the average, because my illusion has just been shattered because I've just been told it's not 7.2, but closer to 7.03km. BUGGER! My POD says 7.13 km, which would make av. 4:01. But, I'm really happy about this run, because my "A" goal for the CC was to get under 28:47 (that was when I thought it was 7.2 km, making 28:47 av 4:00). It may not be sub-4's, but close enough for this year!

27th October: Long. Decided to take it as it came and just have fun. Ended up heading to the Torrens and towards the hills to do a REALLY enjoyable 17 km, 1:26:55 (av. 5:06). I think my 5k averages tell it all: 5:17, 5:16, 5:01, 4:27 (2 km). Very nice, but was a bit hot towards the end!

But, life should be heading for a bit more of a routine in amongst the idiocy, so will be getting back into it for the next 3 weeks - before I head over seas with El for a month (with NO possibility of running due to the distinct possibility of land mines - anyone want to guess where we're going?).

Scott and Tess: Yes, my plan is to front up to Canberra next year (I already have the friend accommodation sorted out!). See you both there?

2007-10-29T17:10:00.000+10:30

The run was shorter than the report writing time…

Sorry for the delay – the world (i.e. work) has been CRAZY! I have figured out that I’ve only got 3 weeks left in the office for the rest of the year, which has caused madness. But, here goes….. (it could be a long one….).

My Melbourne Marathon.
What a start to the day, the traffic was insane. As El and I were heading to the start line, we realised that there was only one bridge across the Yarra that lead to the MCG (i.e. start/finish point), and we had to cross it. I was getting more and more nervous as the start time got closer, and then, with about 20 minutes until start time, people started to get out of cars and run. With 15 minutes to go, I decided that we were only 1.5 km from the line, so I did likewise, leaving El to try and get out of the traffic! This wasn’t the perfect start to the day, but at least I got a warm up – only to discover that the race was delayed for 20 minutes!

So, finally we started – well, the people at the front started; it took me quite some time to get across the line. The first km was killer, dodging people, getting kicked and jostled. By now I’d decided that starting the half and full at the same time was STUPID – 8,000 competitors trying to jostle for running space. As a result, I did the first 2 km in 10:26.

Finally things started to thin out, and I got a rhythm going. Good, 3 km water stop coming up….. BUT IT WASN’T SET UP! There was a massive scrum of runners ripping open boxes of water sachets, so I just kept running.

“Calm, calm, don’t let it get to you – next stop at 6 km.” As I rounded the corner at about the 6 km mark, there it was, the same scrum for water. By this stage I was a bit parched, so I decided to get into it. I managed to find a clearish line, and got my water in about 15 seconds by grabbing 2 sachets and getting out. But, another problem was looming – I didn’t have time to go to the toilet at the start line, and my bladder was starting to scream. Thinking that my rhythm was destroyed for this km anyway, I ducked off behind a tree lined fence (which looked deserted), to find about 10 other people there. But, 10 seconds later I was running again….. and I was angry for all the delays!

Now, people say to not run angry, but I think it helped. Even though I’d lost time for these stops, I still managed to do that 3 km block in 14:49 – only 4 seconds slower than my target pace!

By this stage I was running around Lake Albert towards the bay, and life was starting to feel grand. My pace started to sit pretty constantly at about 4:50 – 4:55 and I was in clear running space. There were no more scrums for water, and it was REALLY nice running along with the beach and the bay for scenery (it was a STUNNING day, and the course is fantastic). Just as my mood was really picking up, I saw El waiting on the side of the road, but she didn’t see me, so I ran up, stole a kiss and kept going – she missed the photo opportunity, but I found out later that she was happy anyway (and apparently some of the crowd applauded!). At about the 13 km mark, the half runners turned back, and the marathon runners started a long out and back loop along the beach.

For the next 7 km or so I just hit my groove. Then I saw Tesso in front of me! I sidled up beside her and we had a chat for the next 3 km or so, before she said that she was slowing me, and I should go on – slow, HUH! That 3 km section we did in 14:48 ish. But, off I went, feeling good.

At about 28 km, I started to hit a slump….. “Oh bugger, here it comes…” so, I sucked down a Gu, and tried not to think about it. Contrary to what I thought was going to happen (and what happened at GC), I hit the 32 km mark and was starting to feel better! “Ok”, I thought, “don’t push it, hold back your pace a bit and see how you feel at 35 km” (yes Scott, I was thinking of your advice at this point). So, that’s what I did, and surprised myself by feeling BETTER at the 35 km mark! In fact, I was feeling good, and starting to enjoy myself.

“Hang on, I’ve got a chance at a PB here……” so, I sped up a little. At 36 km I sucked another Gu, some water, and charged on. By now I was starting to pick up a lot of people. I was starting to see myself as some sort of evil energy sucking runner – using the energy of every person I passed to make myself go faster. Now, I have to admit that none of these last 7 km’s were stunning pace, but the slowest of them was 4:54 – and it was uphill. The 40th km was a 4:41, but I could see the last hill coming up, and wasn’t sure it was going to go well because I was starting to hurt and my HR was up at about 170. The hill knocked some wind out of me, but that km was still a 4:52.

Then I hit the crowds lining the outside of the MCG. THAT was amazing! It really put some life into my legs (and it was a bit down hill!), especially when I saw El again, so I was doing a decent pace when I rounded the corner and entered the tunnel to “The G”…. and I nearly tripped as I looked up at the most impressive grand stand I’ve ever seen (even empty). But, I stayed upright, rounded the corner and blasted along as best I could, listening to the crowd and focusing on the line; the last 1.2 km was 5:16 (av. 4:23). After crossing the line, I knew I’d done a PB (by 35 seconds), I’d had a fantastic run, and I could’ve cried (except that I was too busy gasping for breath). I was extremely happy to have run a technically better race than GC, and have enjoyed it so much!

Then, the day was ended in perfect style (after food and water) having a beer with the other bloggers (Mat, Tess, Robert Song and others).

Yes, I’m hooked……

Official time: 3:26:44

5 km splits:

25:15.9
24:34.2
24:21.3
25:00.9
24:22.5
24:47.5
24:39.5
24:08.1
9:08.7 (2.2 km)

Max HR 179, Av 150.
I’ll try to keep my posts shorter for a while…..

2007-10-08T11:23:00.001+09:30

Um, how did that happen?

Quick post to update the result, more details later in the week.

I went into the race thinking that I'd go for 3:30 and be happy with what I got - and I'm happy!

Thankfully my flu sorted itself out by Saturday morning, so I felt not too bad, well hydrated and a fair amount of energy. So, I ran a technically superior race, didn't fade towards the end (haven't looked at the exact splits, but I suspect I went a bit faster in the last 7 k's) and ended up doing 3:26:44 (official) - a 35 second PB. Mind you, this pales compared to Mat's 25 minute PB (yep, 35 seconds a km!).

Only bad thing is, I'm now really hooked, because I thoroughly enjoyed the race! Hmmmm, what to do next year.....

Also had a blast catching up with the running crew at the pub after the event - even if I did flake after 1.5 hours!

2007-10-05T15:42:00.001+09:30

Last run to the line – so to speak.

Well, I’m almost over the flu; I just wish that the race was another week away. Alas, one plays the hand one is dealt. But, maybe it’s not as bad as I think.

Tuesday, I did 11 km in 49:47 (4:31). I had planned for 13 km, but my legs were getting a little heavy, breathing a bit harder, and coughing more frequent and insistent. So, I said to myself “What are you trying to prove? You have shown that you can run 11km at a decent pace, now it’s time to let your body heal from the flu a bit more, not punish it!”. I think I made the correct decision, because the extra 2 km at this stage of the program wasn’t worth it!

Last night I did a speed session (more for my peace of mind than any real fitness benefit). Did rolling 400’s, 6 @ 3:12-3:28 pace, 5 @ 5:30-6:00 pace. Including warm up was 6.5 km. Felt quite good, legs were strong, and didn’t break down into a coughing fit, just had a couple of isolated clearing coughs (if you get my meaning). Added to the fact that this morning was the first in 2 weeks that I didn’t spend 5 minutes coughing after arriving in the shower, I have some faith that I’ll be able to breath on Sunday!

So, the plan is to go to Melbourne and line up to have some fun. I’m going to head out at about 5:55 pace (just sub 3:30 time) (EDIT: Yes Tesso, I did mean 4:55), but I won’t try too hard to stick to it. I’m going to try and keep my pace below 5:15 though (3:41:30). Maybe I’ll just see how long I can draft Tesso and Mat……

2007-09-26T17:45:00.000+09:30

Sick, sick, go away, come back.....

.... well, some time after Melbourne. Yes folks, that's right, I've come down with a cold. Thankfully, I'm in taper, so I figure it doesn't matter too much if I don't run a lot.

Saturday: Long. 25 km, 1:53:32 (4:32). I was very happy with this run, because I felt strong, drank very little, and didn't use any energy supplements of any kind. Funnily enough, my maths skills don't improve when I run - I planned to do 21 km, but miscalculated my turn around (it wasn't an out and back course). But, it turned out better because I did my planned pace for 4km more distance!

I was supposed to run Corporate Cup today, but because I can't get up the stairs at work without puffing, I figured it was time to make a decision not to run. So, I'll just do a slow, short one on the weekend, and possibly a couple of shorty's next week, placing the emphasis on recovery. In fact, if I don't feel better in the morning (which I don't think I will), I'll be staying at home tomorrow because I'm not productive anyway.

Scott - now I wish I had thought of your suggestion - not run so hard first time and leave room for improvement!

Tesso, drop me an email (accessible through www.marinebiology.adelaide.edu.au, under staff) and I'll send you my mobile number so we can coordinate post marathon drinks.

Getting excited!

2007-09-20T12:57:00.000+09:30

The taper begins..... with soreness!

Saturday was my last long-long run before Melbourne, which technically means that I'm in taper (Tesso: I suppose that means I'm tapering for 3 weeks). However, I'm thinking that my planned 21 km run this weekend may end up being somewhere around 25-28 km, just because I'm not feeling particularly ready.

So, how did I celebrate the beginning of my taper? By returning to Karate training on Monday night after 2 weeks away (because of work commitments). What happened? We ended up doing over an hour of exercises up and down the hall (squats, jumps, lunges, you name it), plus another hour of other stuff. Result: I basically couldn't move my legs on Tuesday! I would complain, but it was just too much fun.

Tuesday: Tempo. 8 km in 34:25 (4:18) + 1km warm up = 9 km. This HURT because my legs were so stiff. It took about 7 km before I could stride properly. But, I'm telling myself (notice that I keep "telling myself" stuff so that I can live in denial?) that it is good training for the last 6 km when my legs don't work so well.

Thursday: Speed. One of the guys told us in Tuesday that he had a secret session planned for today's speed session. As a result, we got the biggest group in a while! It turns out that he just bought a new boat, so he was feeling rather nautical. We did 2 x 1 nautical mile (1.852 km) and 1 x 400 m to finish up. Rather a bizarre distance, longer than 1600, but not quite 2 km.... Kinda fun though. Did them in 7:08 (3:51) and 7:04. All up it was a short session (5.3 km), but I'm not complaining because my legs are still sore from Monday's (and Wednesday's) training.

Tesso, thanks for your comments to El, she really appreciates them. As a side note, I've nearlly got her convinced that we should do a run/walk of the 34 km leg of the Trailblazer! Sucker.

Oh, and in reply to your comments about my speed being good:
1. You could hold that speed for more than 1 km (your 3kTT's can attest to this); and
2. I'm worried that I've got enough speed for Melbourne, but that I'll have nothing after about 35 km!

2007-09-18T11:43:00.000+09:30

A runner is born!

Well, this post has to be about El. On Sunday, we did the City to Bay – 12 km of fun run from Adelaide to Glenelg (note, Glenelg is a palindrome - spelt the same forwards and backwards). The day was perfect for running – not hot, not cold, slight breeze to keep you cool but not a headwind. The start went well (once we finally made it to the line in the pack!), and the first 3 km flew. Around the 6 km mark, the pace was still a little high, and El hit the middle-of-race slump, dropping a bit of time. By 7 km her knee was giving her some pretty serious grief, and things were taking a down turn. But in true competitive style, she started to wind up the rubber bands from the 9 km mark, getting progressively faster and making the last km the fastest of the race.

Distance: 12 km
Time: 73:50 (unofficial), av. 6:09

El isn't disappointed, but neither is she ecstatic, because she felt that training was going well with about 4 weeks to go, so changed the A goal from 78 minutes (av. 6:30) to 72 minutes (av. 6:00). However, I think this is is an astonishing improvement, with El’s previous best race the 6 km C2B last year, which she did in 43:44 (av. 7:18). Double the distance, and 1:09 faster per km – I’m impressed. The question is, what’s the next race????

Now a little about me.

Saturday: did 32km, 2:35:59 (av. 4:52). Basically the same time as the last 32 km I did before GC, but my av. HR was 5 beats lower this time. I’m trying to convince myself that means I will at least finish in Melbourne!

A side note – the wisdom of resting the day after your long has come home to roost. After doing City-Bay with El, both knees and my left shin are hurting. This is the first time in a while that anything has hurt. Must remember that one……

2007-09-12T19:42:00.000+09:30

The best laid plans.....

There is a saying in the military that has many forms, and the wording differs, but the central concept is the same. It goes: "The best laid plans go to s*&^ when the first shot is fired". Well, the first shot was fired on Friday afternoon.....

Thursday: Speed session with the Track Times crew: 2 x (5 x 400m). Good run.

Friday: We have needed to clean out our boat shed at work for a while (about 1.5 years actually). A couple of the PhD students decided that because they had to use it, they should initiate a clean - the incentive for the mob being involved was beer and a BBQ. FANTASTIC initiative! I arrived at 3 pm and consumed approximately 4 beers while cleaning (NOTE: the 1st beer was the afore mentioned 1st shot). All went well - cleaning got done, beer kept on - until the carton ran dry, when we moved to a pub. I'll cut a really long story short enough to say that I remember having 2 Tequila shots sometime near midnight, I've been told I had at least 6.....

Saturday: As I was teaching all day on Sunday; Long run (see the point now?). I had the rather ambitious plan of 38 km, because it was the 36 km point that I started to hurt at GC. Should have remembered this between beers 1 and 2. BUT, I did manage to shape up enough by lunch time to run 24 km in 1:55:44 (4:49), followed closely by a run with El (6 km, 36:25, 5:58). Total: 30 km of HELL! (NOTE: I have convinced myself this is good training for running while dehydrated). Scott, no matter what I planned, I haven't ever run that far in the lead up either... Tesso, I'm glad that you got closer to 38 km than I did!

Side point: that was my most k's for a single week (skiing forced my previous long to the Monday) - 75.5 km.

Monday: Nemesis dead! There was one training session that I never managed to complete properly in my lead up to GC, but Monday night I finally did it: 3 x 1600m, ~ 3:47 pace, 400 m RI's. Total of 10.2 km. Very happy about this one!

Wednesday: Corporate Cup. I was apprehensive about this run because I had to do it at lunch time (usually 6:30 am), because I've basically been working 5:00-7:30 am, 8:30 am-8:00 pm (NOTE: I can't wait for this week and it's deadlines to be over!). But by some miracle, I came, saw and conquered (well, survived). 7.2 km in 29:02 (4:02), 17 second improvement. Total 9.5 km.

I have worked out over the past year that I can't sustain a HR above 170 for long. Today's run was av. 166, and I clocked my highest ever max of 188. Yep, I was hurting.

Anyway, my plan is to do 32 km on Saturday and pace El through the C2B on Sunday. Tesso, thank you for you good luck wishes for El; she was touched that someone who hasn't met her would be wishing her well (and impressed that you're such an accomplished runner too!). We may even have to see if we can all meet for a beer after Melbourne and trade stories?

2007-09-05T19:25:00.000+09:30

Missed it by THAT much.....

No, I'm not talking about a goal time, you'll have to read below.

Last week:
Wed 29th: Corporate Cup, 7.2 km, 29:19 (4:04). Happy with this one because my goal for the whole series was to do sub 30; new goal to do sub 4:00 av.....

Fri 31st: CANBERRA!!! El's long run. 9.2 km, 54:06 (5:54). Her progress still astounds me. This run had a hideous head wind, no water to drink and she still styled it in! September last year El's longest and fastest run was the 6 km City-Bay in 43:44 (7:18). I reckon that's some improvement (and she's doing the 12 km C2B in 2 weeks).

Sat 1st & Sun 2nd: Skiing. Goal - have fun and NOT do a knee. Success 110%.... BUT I must confess to coming down a transit run and being a little too blase, and going a little too fast (ok, a lot), because we'd been doing a couple of black runs and my confidence was up. What do they say, it's the pebble that you don't see? Well, I certainly saw the tree as I rounded the corner, realised I was going too fast and took the only option - throw my weight to the left ski, lift my right leg and HOPE. As it turns out, the tip of my right ski just nicked the tree and sent me sprawling in a soft pile of snow. My friends were concerned that I didn't get up, until they realised it was uncontrollable laughter keeping me on the ground.

This week:
Mon 3rd: Canberra long run around Lake B-G. 21.4 km, 1:46:00 (4:57). Very enjoyable.

Tonight: Tempo. 16 km, 1:11:48 (4:29).

Up to do an early speed session tomorrow, then to the physio for a last check on my ITB (a little tight, but not sore). Planning to do 38 km on Saturday, then I'll be dropping off the km's 'cause it's only 4 weeks til Melbourne!

2007-08-26T12:53:00.000+09:30

Adelaide Marathon....

No, I wasn't racing - I was official photographer and support crew (well, all I did was yell encouragement) for team Dave. It was a nice way to start the day, and I've got to say, a marathon is much easier when you're driving the course and just standing there every 5 km! It was a stunning day; clear, cool to start (but warm to finish) and just a light breeze..... BUT, in case you're wondering, you'll have to wait until Dave updates his blog to see what happened.......

Now back to me. Since last I wrote, my training has been:

Saturday 19th: 30.5 km, av. 5:01 km's. Note: this run nearlly killed me......
Tuesday: Tempo, 10 km, 43:43 (4:22)
Thursday: Speed, 2 x 1.8 km @ 3:47 + w/up, w/d = 7 km
Saturday 25th: 36 km, av. 5:05. Felt MUCH better!

I was a bit worried after last Saturday's 30 km, because I really struggled and I wanted to do 32 km.... But, I think I was just really run down from work, and I headed up into the hills (not the smartest). Felt pretty good during the week, and yesterday's 36 km felt very solid. It also happened to be an absolutely stunning day to run along the beach! The ITB is only a little tender (not sore, YAY!), but my new orthodics gave me a rub point during the week (just walking around work), which turned into a BIG blister in my left arch - any super home remides?

Exciting news is that my next long run is in Canberra on Friday, because I'm heading to the snow for the weekend - YAY!!!!!

2007-08-15T17:32:00.000+09:30

A flying update.....

Ok, so just about to run out the door, but thought I'd keep people updated so that you know I'm still alive (but extremely jealous of all those who are on holidays).

The end of the last episode saw me on the eve of the first Corporate Cup (henceforth CC) run for the year. Had a cruisy run, mainly because I ran into someone that I hadn't seen in a while, so ended up chatting and doing the 7.2 km in 33:10 (4:36), av HR 145.

That weekend I did a 20 km long (av. 4:50, HR 148) + 8 km with El (av. 5:59).

During that week I did a 5 km Tempo @ 4:12, av HR 158 (+4 km warm up/down).

Weekend long, 29 km av. 4:53, av HR 151.

In today's CC I put in more effort, even though it was a bit of a slog for the first 5 km until I warmed up - 30:42 (4:15), av HR 165.

Interestingly, I seem to be ok with my endurance at the moment (after my ITB lay-off), but I'm having trouble with the shorter, faster runs - but this could also be the extreme tiredness I've got going at the moment. Thankfully, I'm managing the ITB with 1 Long and 1 Tempo per week, and I'm introducing speed again on Friday. Should be enough to get me to the start (and finish) in Melbourne in 8 weeks - especially because my new target is to have fun and finish!

Must away...... more soon.

2007-07-31T16:56:00.001+09:30

Quick update.

I've been really busy at work now that semester is back in, and I also have a new honours student to get set up. All = long days and no time to blog!

I've been going easy the last couple of weeks to make sure that my ITB doesn't flare up and slow me down, but it seems to be coming along well with strengthening exercises and massage (has anyone else experienced the pain of the foam rollers?). So, I'm back into it properly this week - gives me 10 weeks to get ready for Melbourne, which I reckon should be good on top of my GC prep.

So, tonight I got out there and did 6 x 800 m, ~2:50 ea (3:32 pace). Felt good, only the smallest ITB niggle.

Tomorrow I do the first of the Corporate Cup races - it's a 7 km team race every fortnight for 14 weeks (i.e. 7 races). Interestingly, there is different awards for the fastest team and the most improved. Anyway, I intend to use it as my tempo run every 2nd week, with my program tempo on the other weeks. Should be fun!

2007-07-17T16:06:00.000+09:30

Bruiser.

Yep, that's right, I've been playing with the physio. He's excellent, and has sorted out my ITB in 2 sessions - well, 2 sessions + exercises + a foam roller for self massage. Apparently it was all caused by weakness in my right hip, leading to my ITB coming forward on my knee and rubbing in places it shouldn't rub. But, the moral of the story is that I've been given the ok to get back into training later this week (which is good, because I've been going stir crazy).

But, this does bring my plans into sharp relief. I'm now thinking that Melbourne (11 weeks away) is a better option than Adelaide (5 weeks away). I think I'll be much happier with my effort after a few extra weeks training, and to be honest, I'm not sure I can really be ready for Adelaide in 5 weeks (regardless of the GC build up). In the last 2.5 weeks I've only done 25 km. The extra time will also allow me to go to the podiatrist (physio's suggestion) to get some biomechanics fixed now rather than later. Besides, it looks like El can come to Melbourne with me, so I will have a support team!

As for title of this post, the dialogue of my second session goes like this:
Physio: "Wow, I did give you a decent bruise last session"
Me: "Yes, but I don't mind, because whatever you did has worked so far, and if it keeps me running, I don't care"
Physio: "I have a confession to make, I'm known on the national hockey circuit for the bruises I give. Right, lets have another look at that leg...."

2007-07-11T11:27:00.000+09:30

Thinking.

Yep, even though some people say it's dangerous, I've been thinking. I don't think I actually believed that I'd get this far, so I find myself in a bit of limbo! So, I've mostly been thinking about where to next, and what I really WANT to do. It seems that the elation after the race can really spur you on, but also lead to a bit of a low (runners depression?). Last week I was too sore to run, this week I've got a cold that leaves me breathless if I walk up half a flight of stairs (especially in the cold mornings!). But, never fear, I know that when I get back into it next week, I'm going to be back with a vengeance (cause lets face it, I do truly love to run!). Besides, I'm feeling disgusting with only 1 week away from running!

Before GC, I was a little too keen. I was like a kid with a new toy on Christmas day - it was totally consuming. I was planning to do GC, then in late August the Adelaide, then in early October Melbourne. El rightfully pointed out that maybe I should run GC, see how I felt post race, then decide what else I would do....

My current thinking is that I don't want to burn out in my first year (either physically or mentally). I want to keep going for the next few years and, above all, continue to ENJOY running marathons! So, my plan now is to run Adelaide (in 7 weeks) for the experience and fun, but not try too hard for a PB. Then I think I'll back off until next year.

What I need from you guys is some advice on what to do in the off season. I'll continue to run a few shorter races, and train 3 times a week (any more might be pushing the friendship with my legs). I was thinking maybe mid distance on Tuesday, speed on Thursday with the Track Times group, and a longer run on the weekend (varying up to about 20km). What do you think? What do you do when you're not preping for a marathon? Should I use Tesso's tactic and do core strengthening?

And lastly, my thoughts on next year:

1. Canberra (cause all the cool kids seem to do it);
2. Gold Coast (cause it was awesome);
3. Adelaide (cause it's just right here, and the field is smaller, so I place higher!).

2007-07-03T19:38:00.001+09:30

The day that was.

Sorry this post is a bit slow - I always wondered what took people so long to post race reports, now I know - life just gets busy post race! So, here's my Gold Coast Marathon (and first to boot!) report:

The day that dawned was spectacular - no real wind, perfect blue sky, not cool, not warm. The atmosphere at the start area was amazing - it somehow felt "bigger" than Adelaide events (ok, so I'm comparing 1,000 runners to 16,000.....). Not sure if it was the feel or not, but for the first time ever I went for a decent warm up before an event (a slow 1km + stretching). To my (pleasant) surprise, it didn't make me feel tired, just relaxed.

Squeezing myself into the crowd on the starting line was interesting, it took me about 5 minutes to get to just in front of the 3:30 pace group. My plan was to attempt 3:25 and see how I went - falling back to 3:30 if things got tough. Off the start, I kept with the 3:30 crew for the first km so that I didn't go out too fast (4:58). After that, I started on my plan for 3:25 (av. 4:51).

The first 10 km was easy, just cruisin'. In fact, I had a hard time reining myself in. But, after the first 3 km or so, I slotted into my pace bracket (you know that group of people running the same pace as you that you seem to stay with most of the race?). I even fell in beside a young bloke who was also doing his first marathon (unfortunately he fell back at about 25 km).

The next 20 km up to the half way mark were also good, and I held my time consistent without too much effort. In fact, I was having a great time just watching the many entertaining people along the side of the course (I counted no less than 3 jazz bands!). I was also looking for Tesso going the opposite way at the turns - and she gave me a "who are you look" when I called out her name. Mind you, both times someone just behind me called out at just the same time (man, is Tesso popular or what?), so maybe it was just a look of confusion!

But, then it happened. At some point in the 30th km I started to feel a little bit of effort was needed to maintain the pace. No worries, I'm sure I can just put in a little extra and keep it up - so I did, but even with the extra effort kms 31-33 still got slower. At this point I could hear the advice given to me by Scott "don't even be tempted to go 10 seconds faster, no matter how good you feel". Ok, so at this stage I'm realising that 3:25 was ambitious!

34-37 were HARD, physically and mentally. I was bleeding time - 10 seconds/km for 3:25, but thankfully only 2 seconds/km for 3:30. At this stage I started to do the mental maths. I knew I was far enough ahead of 3:30 that I could lose something like 20 seconds/km and still make it..... that thought didn't help much, because I had to admit that 3:25 was gone.

38th km. Possibly the HARDEST thing I've ever done in my life. It was the slowest km of the race (5:20.9). I hate to admit it (especially to you guys), but I honestly thought I should just quit. I realise now that my mind was just giving up because it hadn't ever run 38 km before, but thankfully my legs were smart enough not to listen. In fact, this is where I thank everyone for the support - if it wasn't for all of the Bloggers I'm in contact with, I probably would have given up at that point. But, frankly, I couldn't disappoint you guys!

That's when something bizarre happened. I got to the 38km marker, and it was like someone hit a switch - all of a sudden I realised that the next marker I saw would be 3km to go. Heck, that's just a stupid little time trial - I'm not going to let that beat me! So, I started to get faster again. Not that it hurt any less, but my mind was back in it. Thankfully, just before the 41 km mark, the first of the 3:30 pace runners caught me with his "group" (down to about 5 people). Like hell if I was going to let the 3:30 pacer pass me (besides, he was so encouraging!). So, I slotted in front and went for it (relatively speaking). Thanks to his support, I ended up doing the 42nd km in 4:48, last 200m in 52 seconds (and believe me, I was pushing!).

5km times were:

5 km = 24:07 (4:49)
10 km = 23:58 (4:47)
15 km = 24:05 (4:49)
20 km = 24:23 (4:53)
25 km = 24:34 (4:55)
30 km = 24:22 (4:52)
35 km = 25:17 (5:03)
40 km = 25:42 (5:08)
42.2 km = 10:52 (4:57)

Total = 3:27:19 (4:54)

Overall, it was an amazing experience; one which I intend to repeat soon (but I'll talk about my plan next blog because this has become huge). I feel like I have really achieved something, but can now see that there's more to do (yes, it is addictive.....). Besides, I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. Tesso, you were correct, my face hurt from smiling, and it was good to be able to share it with the Brissie bloggers - it would have been a bit sad to have that glow of achievement and not be able to share with anyone! So, thanks! Scott, next time I'll try not to go 10 seconds/km too fast, but I can't promise to set a goal time that's not too fast.....

Oh, and as for recovery, my muscles surprised me. All muscle soreness was gone by Wednesday, it's just unfortunate about the ITB pain (but I'm getting that sorted by the physio on Thursday).

Onwards and upwards!

2007-07-02T17:30:00.000+09:30

Quick update.

Well, the Gold Coast Marathon is over. It was probably the most humbling experience I've ever had. First, it was truly challenging, both mentally and physically. Second, it's humbling to see how many people take on this challenge, and quite frankly, kick it's butt! I certainly have a new found respect for anyone that runs marathons. If nothing else, running GC showed me that we're not out there doing it alone!

Work is crazy, so I don't have time to get into the full race report, but will do it soon, I promise!

What can I say other than I'M ECSTATIC. I have to say that I didn't really understand how hard it would be, but in the end I got my time - wanted 3:30 (av. 4:59), got 3:27:19 (av. 4:55)! Very happy. In fact, I think I'm still on a high (even though I'm still avoiding stairs where possible.....).

On other highs, I finally got to meet some of the Brisbane Bloggers - Tesso, Robert Song, Peter, and others (sorry, I was a big vague in the recovery area.....). It was great to put faces and voices to the typing!

But, that's where the day had a bit of a downer. I was invited to go to the pub with those guys for a beer that afternoon, which I would have LOVED to do. Unfortunately, my family decided that they would be greedy with my time, so I didn't get there. Not only did that mean I didn't get to chat with you guys, but I also didn't get to meet Mat. Sorry guys!

I'm going to finish with some thank yous:

1. To the support and advice of the running fraternity (it got me to the line);

2. To the PCRG pace runners, they did a FANTASTIC job!;

3. To the volunteers for the GC marathon (they made it happen);

4. The public for supporting from the side lines (they even gave some laughs!).

5. Special thanks go to the young boy at the 7 km mark, wearing a cheeky grin and holding a sign saying "Suck it up!". I laughed so hard that I nearly lost stride. Maybe he should have been at the 37 km mark....

2007-06-26T11:16:00.001+09:30

With the pain comes gain!

Obviously not much news from me - I'm in taper (and would you believe it, I'm feeling lazy and guilty about how little I'm running!). Basically taking it easy with shorter, slower runs and trying to keep up with the sleep! Speaking of sleep..... 5 to go!!!!!!

In other exciting news, El is training her butt off! Her last 3 long runs have been her longest ever; 7, then 8, and finally 9 km on Sunday. Now, I'm not going to tell you that there was no pain. There was lots, but she's too stubborn not to finish the planned run. Trying to have a bit of an easier week for her this week, because there are a few niggles (bit of hip, bit of archilles/calf) and her body is a bit tired. But, I think all is well overall, and on track for City to Bay in September (although she still claims not to be a runner - but now she has a cheeky smile when she says it!). I reckon the figures say it all:

Date: 10 December 2006
Distance: 3 km
Time: 21:25
Av: 7:08

Date: 24 June 2007
Distance: 9 km
Time: 56:18
Av.: 6:15

2007-06-13T11:51:00.000+09:30

Last run to the line.

Well, I've officially made it to the taper! I must confess, I didn't think my body would make it, and my shins (and knees) are telling me that another 2 weeks may just have been too much. Did my last long run on the weekend - 32 km in 2:36 (av. 4:52), and was extra happy that my av. HR was only 150. But, now is the time to back off and rest up, so I'm confident of a good run (conditions permitting!).

Now for a couple of "race" questions.

1. Water stops. In the lead up 1/2's, I've been walking through the water stops to make sure I get the water in. How do you guys deal with water stops (walk or choke on the water slops out of the cup?)?

2. Does GC have cups of water, or those nice little packets that you drink out of a tube ('cause they sound like you might not choke)?

3. I'm getting new shoes tomorrow (because my current "good" pair have done 550km!). How many k's do I need to break them in before a race?

Looking forward to my first marathon, and then the week or so of rest that will follow (followed by 7 weeks of training for the Adelaide marathon - and hopefully a better time!). Also looking forward to seeing sunny Queensland for the first time in months (I hope it is sunny!).