Week so far

Sunday

 

Day after the marathon - what else a sleep in and no thought of running but I felt okay. No real stiffness and the achilles while an issue were not as bad as the could. Be I wear prescription orthotics but these are some years old. They are firm in the heal that has been causing me some issues.

 

I now have an off the shelf pair from the US that have more cushioning in the heel. They seem to reduce the amount of achilles discomfort when running and the after affects.

 

Monday

 

I said to Rach and JD and would come down to Timbrill Park and restart the short fast sessions that they have been doing. The warm up was 9k WTF !!!! It is only 5k to the park and I was there when they went past so I joined them for another 2 out and back. By then I was not only warmed up but over done.

 

I thought I could only manage 3 x 1k @ 5 pace and so said I would just hang out the back .... and don't wait for me. BUT as is often the case what the mind thinks and the body can do is pushed are very different. Managed 4 x 1k @ about 4.20/4.10 pace. It was a slow trot home.

 

Tuesday

 

The rain overnight was wild as Sydney caught the tail end of the cyclone from QLD. I could have run in the rain but decided a rest was a wiser choice.

 

Wednesday

 

The usual with JD. Things are getting serious. No 'tyre kicking' about times at the moment. 'Lets beat last weeks time' was all that was said as we headed off and not much more was muttered or grunted on the lap. Clearly the Canberra focus is with us. JD was about a minute in front of last week and I ran 30.53 and about 1 minute 15 seconds quicker. Our promise as we parted, that we would continue the improvement but would expect less.

 

Feeling really positive. It helps when two major family law matters have resolved in the last week with a lot of work and pressure building up over the last few months. Despite running this morning it was a big morning in Court and thankfully it was resolved as it should have been months ago in favour of my client. They have been draining physically and mentally and no wonder this afternoon I feel less stressed.

Australia Day Marathon near Brisbane: 4.04.04

This is run on Australia Day, so it was Saturday.

In the few days before Queensland on the coast was receiving some wild wet weather and it was in and around Brisbane. The forecast was rain if it was too wild the event was to be cancelled. The rain was not an issue for me as least the sun and humidity would not be present.

I flew to Brisbane on Friday afternoon with the weather overcast. Late in the afternoon the rain came and it was steady all night. However it eased and for the start at 5.00am it was dry but with a total cloud cover with the chance of rain at anytime. During the event there was the odd shower which very refreshing but in the last hour of my run it was very heavy at times, but that was more a blessing than not.

Some may hate the course set up. A 2.k out and back and then 4 x 10k loops being 5k out and 5k back. So you see the often. But is a small event and that makes management and drink stations very easy. I am fine with it. Must be I ran last year with the same course.

As I said in an earlier post just under 4 would be nice but more likely close to 4.15. The time was a bit slower than last year but reflected well my current fitness level. The aim was to run a pace that I could maintain the whole distance despite the growing fatigue arising from the distance. Having 10k loops made that easy. Each of the 4 were in the 56/58 minute range. It was a marathon and a race but it was also a good solid training run. I did not taper and ran it at a controlled pace all the way that hopefully will have some positives for building my endurance base.

Overall pleased to run a time that reflects my fitness level. Two weeks to the next one on a dirt 500m oval combined with other events. First time to Caboolture. Should be intersting. 

Wednesday: so it was the usual lap of the Bay

I was out of the house when the cars still needed their headlights on. That meant I could take my time to the 6am meet time. So I was well aware of the heavy cloud and the gentle cool breeze coming from the south. An absolute perfect start to the day and the days session.

 

Today I was well warmed up and did not need to hurry so I was relaxed. The usual small talk and for a change a realistic guess at the pace. I thought a 4.45 per k pace for the 6.92k lap would be about the limit for me. JD agreed he was about in the same shape.

 

It was just a bit quicker for the first 3/4 ks but that is usual. Then JD just started to ease away maintaining the pace and I ever so slowly lost ground and slowed. My finish 32.17 for 4.40 pace so better than expected with JD about 30 seconds in front of me.

 

Still a little bit of work to do to get back down close to 30 minutes.

Back in 2013

First post for the new year.

 

Since my last post I have been running but not in the way of structured sessions with a focus on the combination of weekly sessions, and fitting them into a monthly cycle with peaking for a particular race. Usually by this time of the year I am well into a program to peak for the Canberra Marathon in April.

 

Clearly I need to work one up rather quickly.Maybe a short intense build up will do - rather in the circumstances it will have to do. However any program I have will be interrupted by the 2 marathons I have entered that are before Canberra. They, or at least the recovery from them will just be factored into the weekly sessions after them.

 

I thought some of my poorer results might have been the result of not incorporating more weights and core strength into the training I do. I now have those two types of sessions set into the week. No major but maybe as I am getting older they might assist instead of just running. The sessions might also assist with preventing some injuries.

 

I continue to have the Bay laps on Wednesday with JD and any others who might make an appearance. Timbrell speed sessions are on Monday with JD and Rach but I have not made any this year. BUT they should be included and hope to be there more often that not.

 

Saturday is Australia Day and for the second year in a row I will be running a marathon close to Brisbane. Last year the heat and humidity were brutal - so that have 5.00am start. No great expectations except last year I was just under 4 hours and hope and do not expect to do the same this year. Maybe closer to 4.15 +.