Saturday: Rest Day

No training this morning.I hope to be fresh for a hard session tomorrow. I know it is New Years day but hey I don't drink I just have to deal with a late night from watching the fireworks at Sydney Harbour.

Friday: 22k @ 5.26

A recovery/easy run right on the pace that was set. No issues from yesterdays session. I thought there might be a slight issue of some kind as yesterdays session was not what i usually do.

Thursday: 8 x 1k

Well it was May that I did a couple of sessions like this. At the moment at the pace I want to do them at they are tough - no wonder I have in the past preferred to go longer each day and avoid these sessions. However I guess if I want to have a chance of going quicker they have to be done.

When I started I really did not think I could/would finish the session.

Pleased to report they were all done between 4.13/4.17 pace with one at 3.53 when a mate come past and did one with me and thankfully kept going leaving me with 2 to go, 

Easy 3k before and after. 

Wednesday: Base 21k @ 5.26

I had to work hard after yesterday's session. A bit faster than the 5.40 intended.

Tuesday: Key session 1 of the week

Today was very different that what I usually do. I had set the 1.2k tempo session at 4.35 pace which I did not think I would do but I would have a shot at.

3k warm up @ 5.40

5 x 1.2k done at 4.29 pace. Felt easier than I thought and the pace was even it each one and in fact in a couple I went out too quickly and had to ease back.

The 10k run at the end @ 5.40 was tough and I really had to work very hard to complete it at the slower end of the range. Anyway its done very much as planned. 

16 weeks to Canberra Marathon

Well yesterday was 16 weeks to the marathon and I have decided that I am okay fro C2K and I will set a program

I plan to run about 110 - 120k per week in a full training week. It will be less if I run a longer race at SMC or a marathon as training.

The week will have 2 key speed sessions days and maybe a 3rd depending and the other days will be steady running at a set pace to make up the total k's. Those days will be in the 18 -22k length and run at between 5.30 - 5.40 pace.

This week the 2 key sessions are :

S 1:
3k warm up at 5.40
5 x 1.2k @ 4.35 pace
10k @ 5.40

S2:
3k warm up at 5.40
8 x 1k @ 4.15
5k warm down at 5.40

Today Monday it was 19k @ 5.28

Where to now for 2012?

Marathons 

Well always the focus is Canberra Marathon in April however this year I have 3 planned marathons before that and so the training will be interrupted by running them but all a re new so I will do them.

The SMC marathon on the 16th January was unexpected and may not occur again. There are reasons why my Club is putting in on that I do not need to go into here. Simply to say for some it is the last chance to get a qualifier for 6ft in March. The cut of is 4.20 and I expect I will run a sweeper. At that pace it should bea very comfortable training run.

A couple of weeks later on Australia Day I will travel to Brisbane to run a very small marathon put on by 'Digger'. The pace will be a bit quicker but no more that a 5.30 pace training run. That is there will be only a day or 2 taper.

In February there is a marathon at Caboolture and I don't think they have included a marathon. Maybe time to have a bit of a quicker hit out. But we will see how training in progressing 

Training

I am a follower of Lydiard but usually that means I am usually do nothing but base building training and getting good results but I think I could run a few marathons quicker and so I need add something to the training.That means some sessions that incorporate some shorter quicker repeats.

I usually do not do them as I find then difficult mentally and they seem to inflame the Achilles but hey are in and I will see what happens. So my weekly program will include a few of these sessions instead of the usual long runs that get quicker as time goes on. I will still be doing these but not daily and I will be paying much more attention to pace.

I will be working on 3 or 4 weeks blocks. That is he pace for that period will be set and as best as I can I will maintain it even though as the block progresses the pace gets more comfortable. I will maintain the pace for the black and then review my fitness with the aim of increasing the pace of each session. 

Rather conventional for most programs but something I have not done fora few years.

Lets hope it does not in the short term result in any injury or niggle and in the long term gives me a couple of marathons during 2012 quicker than I have run for a while.

Wednesday: Another easy morning around the Bay

Feeling much better and less fatigued. Running very freely and enjoying the 'no training' running. However the slow and steady recovery has been thrown into some chaos with SMC announcing overnight that they would put on a marathon on the 15 January. there are valid reasons why the club is doing it an I support it.

Its an official marathon so I will be running but probably as the back marker at 4.20 pace. I then have another on the 26 January in Brisbane. Nioooce start tot he year.

Today's 9k was at 5.43 pace not that it matters compared to the same route on Monday at 6.36.

Tuesday: Another recovery run

Out again. This is not training. This is just about getting everything moving smoothly and not rushing while the body is still in recovery mode. I will not do any serious training until early in January although I will have a daily run. 

Monday: Recovery Run

Out for my first run post C2K. About an hour and 10k. Nothing but just turning the legs over.

How much was running in C2K?

Before the event I spent a lot of time talking to Sue who was head crewie and we knew we needed a good manageable plan for the way things would work as between the crew and me. After much discussion and reflection on what did work last year we decided on the following strategy:

• For the first 150k or so the car would stop about 1 hour ahead of me;
• I would run with a hand held and carry food with me;
• I would not stop at the car;
• two of the crew would be about 200 metres from the car and would meet me and as I was walking I would have at least 600ml of fluid and eat a selection of food they would offer;
• As i got near the car if there was anything special I wanted one would run ahead and get it;
• As I left I would take a fresh hand held with just water and a small plastic bag with some food;
• I had a bum bag to carry a phone and the food;
• Then I would continue.

That is pretty much how it happened until about 150k although the stops after 100k were down to about 45 minutes.

The first actual stop at at 104k when I had teas at about 7.30pm (having been moving for 14 hours). It was some warm soup, a complete change of clothes for the night and 20 minutes later I was away.

We had another 20 minutes stop at Dalgety from 3.00am. There is a hall mainly for the crew to eat and sleep. I went in sat down and had some soup anda coffee and was out on the road by 3.20am.

At about 6.30 am just before the short but steep climb we had another 20 minute stop, I had breakfast and another complete change of clothes into shorts and  top for the day. Shoes and socks were never changes during the whole event as I had no issues with them. 

The next stop for about 10 minutes was at about 185k when I given a couple of coffee's. That was about 10.00am. It was then a non stop push to Charlotte's Pass which we arrived at, at 7.30pm except for a couple of roadside massages.

At Charlotte's Pass we had tea and got ready for the 20k round. We were there about 20 minutes.

I am not sure how long in total we stopped for but about a little over an hour. Other than that I was always moving forward in some way. 

Some more C2K

 Sunset on Friday

  Another hill somewhere

 Dead Tree at 104k

  Food or Fuel 

 Crew help 

 Crew help on the move 

 

Somewhere on the course

240k and Coast to Kozci

Well last weekend I ran this event and finished in 43 hours 37 minutes. 

Firstly I have no doubt I may not have finished with out the dedicated support of my wonderful crew. The three girls and mothers all travelled from interstate and gave up so much of their time to help me. All crews do it tough but I only know what mine did for me and I could not have asked for or wished for more. So Sue, Anne and Sharene thank you girls. We had a race plan and a crew plan based on what did not work well last year and some added things. It seems this year we got it right.

Last year I was not well when I started and really continued to struggled until I was timed out at Dalgety at 148k. 

This year I was healthy and fit. My mind was very positive although I knew that the course  and distance needed a lot of respect. However I was positive mentally and that helped. 

The first day went so well I was concerned that maybe I had pushed a bit too hard. Last year it was dark for me at around 90k and well short of the dead tree. This year he plan was to have tea at the start of the sealed road into Dalgety (at 106k) and be on the way before sunset. I was so pleased to be at the dead tree right on 7.00pm and on my way along the road to Dalgety at 8.00pm having eaten and changed.

We arrived at Dalgety at 3.00am about 4 hours ahead of last year. We had 30 minute stop and had 3 hours up on the cut off when I left at 3.30 am. That was in front of where we planned to be and so decided that to finish all we had to do from then on was to maintain a pace that equated to the cutoffs and we would be okay provided I held out. So the pace dropped a bit and we made the cut off to the River at Thredbo at 189k still 3 hours ahead of the cut off. We left Charlottes Pass at about 8.00pm a were 4 1/2 hours ahead of the cut off. We now had 7 1/2 hours to cover the last 20k.

Sounds easy but I had already covered 220k, it is a relentless climb up to the top of Mount Kozsci and the weather was getting colder (about 2 degrees at the top excluding and wind chill factor).

However the wheels feel off badly after reaching the summit and in particular I  had severe pain in the kidney area that made standing upright almost impossible and so I was supported by both arms on the way down by 2 of the girls. 

The other was having her own problems and I added some vivid hallucinations as I was stumbling down. I believed at time we we in an ice cave and the roof was getting lower and so we needed to crouch down. It was also the night of the moon eclipse but I could not clearly see the moon because of all of the camouflage netting over the track we were walking down. So it made for a very interesting 20k round trip that took much much longer than it should have but was made it with 2 1/2 hours to spare.  

A wonderful experience and for somebody my age (despite the saying that 60 is the new 50)I am thankful I have the health to be able to complete events like this.

 200k just before Perisher and a rare downhill

 Some injury treatment

The 'Dead Tree' at 102k - yes I was happy

 Crew at the start just before 5.30am