End of Month update

Yes I know its been a while.

The North Face 100k

A few weeks ago I ran TNF100k and had a run I would much rather forget. I had some some very specific training for this to be stronger on the hills. It didn't work and by the first CP at 17k I was bring up the rear of our little group and I told them to leave me. They did and I just then ran the rest by myself which was fine. I really expected to finish under 20 hours.

However by 60k that seemed unlikely and so I eased off. As it turned out too much to soon. A little later I realised I had made the wrong calculations and could have made it but now with the right calculations it was now definitely not possible.

I then rugged up for the nigh and rather enjoyed the last 33k. Finished in about 22.25.

No excuses but I went into with the flu and that just took the edge off the energy levels. Despite that I was always going to finish no matter what the time. I did rather embarrassing get some bling!!! Oldest competitor in the event.

Next two weeks

The flu stayed with me for at least the next 10 days. As result I did not train until the following Monday. I then did just 4 runs each of about 11ks. The first couple of days very slow. I mean over 6.30 per k pace. So really no running that in any way could be called training.

Williamstown Marathon: Sunday 30 May

I initial plan was to run even for just under 4 hours. But on the morning I was thinking I needed to use this a guide to where my fitness level was at considering I have done very little training that is effective since just before the Canberra marathon a month ago.

I thought I needed to know how much my fitness had dropped off in that period and a nice even 4 hour marathon would not tell me anything.

So I decided to run at 3.30 pace and see how long the fitness would hold. I suspected I would fall off but did not know how long I could last.

I ran through the half in 1.45 and was right on pace. I ran through 30k in 2.37 and had dropped 2 minutes. I then could only manage about 5.45ks to the end for 3.47. It confirmed what I suspected that with no quality training in the month the back end of the marathon was going to be slow.

I need to think whether Macleay will be a focus marathon or delay that to Gold Coast. Whatever I do the starting pace for Macleay will be critical so as to run a good even split. At this stage a 3.30 finish may not be achievable.

Today I am fine. No injuries and no niggles. In fact I am much better than I expected. I hope that translates into a quick recovery so that I can spend a week or so on some quality training with no more than a few days taper.

Recovery week

I have spent most of the week in Brisbane working. Because of travel I only ran Wednesday and Thursday around Southbank. I arrived in Sydney very late last night and then had some very early meetings at work so I was okay with not running this morning.

However I will be back into running over the weekend and next week in the lead up to the North Face 100k. I am running with some buddies and we have agreed to stay together so the finish time will be that of the slowest but with a plan of comfortably under 20 hours. It should be fun.

Update and Canberra Marathon

On Wednesday I ran with JD as usual and managed 30.10 for the Bay. Not under 30 but still okay.

Late that afternoon I was off to Melbourne for work. The hotel had a great gym and I decided I was not going to miss the chance to fully use the facilities. The plan in Melbourne was to do gym work each night and run the Tan each morning and have no break before the marathon. I knew that would mean no taper and that meant the marathon could go badly but I was fine with that risk. It is not a focus marathon and I was going to run it as hard as possible but without any taper.

It worked out that way. I spent about 2 hours each night in the gym and gave myself a hammering on weights, bike and rowing machine. I was exhausted at the end of each session. Each morning I was out pounding the Tan for 60 minutes or so. Thursday and Saturday were 3 laps with each getting quicker and Friday was doing hill reps up Anderson Street hill. Each was about 16k in total running. None of that remotely looks like a taper. I must admit as I flew into Canberra late on Saturday I was wondering what the hell I had done.

I had predicted a time of between 3.35 - 3.40 with the plan to try and run 1.45 even splits and then expect a slow down late in the second half. Simple result : 1.43 + 1.42 = 3.25.xx. Very happy and somewhat pleased.

I hope there is time and room for some fine tuning and some better times in the next few.

It had to come - a slow run

Monday was public holiday for ANZAC Day. In the afternoon I smashed myself at the gym for a few hours. I do go but not often and rarely recorded here. Mostly working on leg strength for the hills in some ultra's later in the year. It a pleasant place as gyms go, high on a hill with wall to ceiling windows over looking the water and the Bay run to the west.

It is pleasant as the sun sets and the sky turns those wonderful sunset colours.

Well back to Tuedsay morning. Did the usual 12k loop and was pushing as hard as I could with a slight hope of getting under 55 sooner than I expected. I do not look at my Garmin often while running and only looked at where I usually do. About halfway and 30 odd seconds slower that the PB time and I could not go quicker. Mentally eased off for a 58.15. I few weeks ago I would have been very happy - today pleased knowing the smashing I gave the legs Monday afternoon.

I am away in Melbourne for the rest of the week however I will fit in the usual Wednesday morning with JD. Probably not under 30 as I will run with JD. I may not post again until after the marathon on Sunday.

I am looking forward to it. I am ready and am very happy where I am at with the training. I still have a little way to go and have not tapered etc for this one. I still will push it as hard as I can and expect that will be 3.35 - 3.40 however it could go pear shaped and be well over 3.45 or all things could click for me to sneak under 3.30. I will start of with the hope of running 1.45 even splits. It wont happen but that is the plan.

If I fail it is not the plan just I was not quite as race fit as I thought with really a minimal taper.

Usual lap: 55.23 @ 4.40 (Another PB)

Same loop as Friday and many other days. After a couple of days rest I thought I would be very quick. I was slower than I thought I would be however it was still almost a minute faster than Friday so I suppose should not complain. It is an improvement. And it should be that most days should be quicker provided the day before has not been a thrashing. To me that means all of the long steady stuff over the last 4 months is working as the times are getting to where I hoped I would get to but really did not expect I would get to when I started this recovery in December.

This is the taper week before the Canberra Marathon next Sunday. So with that in mind the training will be still high intensity each day but a big drop in the distance being run.

Predictions for a time for the marathon. I will not be running flat out but I will be running as quick as I can but with some in reserve for the 100k that is 2 weeks later. I will run to finish in the 3.35 - 3.40 range however it could get closer to 3.45. No pressure as this is not a focus marathon with a full taper but just one on the way to the focus marathon at Macleay River and then Gold Coast a few weeks later.

Saturday & Sunday: No run

Too busy on Saturday to fit it in. As I have not slept in on a Sunday for a while I thought as this is the taper week before the marathon next week then a lay in would be pleasant. it was also raining very heavy early in the morning. My wife wanted to know what was wrong with me when she woke up at about 7.00am and I was dozing in bed on a Sunday morning!!!!!

Same as yesterdaty : 56.20 @ 4.45

Unbelievable !!!! 95 seconds faster than yesterday and yesterday was the quickest I had run this 11.8k or so loop. The almost 10% body weight loss might be helping as well as the weight training I have been doing for the last couple of months.

I will no have an aim sometime in May to get below the magic 55. When I started the serious recovery training in late January this loop was about 70 minutes and a struggle.

I do have some marathons before McLeay River but those are not real focus ones. That is I will run them as hard as I can but it will be on a taper of just a few days. I am not expecting them to as quick as I hope to run at McLeay.

I have in May:

• Canberra marathon;
• TNF 100k on 14/15 May; and
• Williamstown marathon on 31 May.

It was a wonderful clear sky and still around the Bay with bright orange sunrise peeping over the horizen just as I was warming up into my run. What a perfect start to another busy day. Ah but I have a treat tonight as I am running a night trail run with Rachael for a gear check for TNF.

Usual 12k odd in 57.55 @ 4.52

I am feeling strong each day and each session seems to be building on that. The times are coming down - the pace is getting quicker and I am enjoying the hurt as I know it is leading to significant improvements almost daily.\

How good is it to be alive, fit and training well and hard. Really life does not get much better. And the garbage that life deals us each day is much easier to handle when the day starts off in such a positive way. I was a few months ago struggling with getting as they say the mojo back. I now know that was in part being depressed in not being as fit as I could be. I am now moving in the right direction and very happy.

I may not run another marathon under 3.15 but whatever the time is I know it is the best that I can do because I am as fit as I can be in the time that I have to train. Bring on a marathon soon please before I break !!!!

Friday night bush run

A night run along part of the GNW from Gladesville for about 20k. I was with Rach and we were both just giving our night gear a check in preparation for TNF 100k in a few weeks. It was a gentle pace but still tough going on some very technical trails. The weather was very humid and we were perhaps a little over dressed but it did start to cool down as the night went on.

Bay 29.48 @ 4.16

Usual Wednesday with JD and our Bay loops. Last week it was 30.40 or so. All week I was thinking about whether I wanted to try for a lung busting effort for 7ks and try for under 30. When I arrived the Proff was there and it was mentioned that perhaps I would have a go at a sub 30.

He said he would hold on to me as long as he could. Well it was really me holding onto him for most of the lap. He managed 29.57 and he says 'I am just getting back into running'. Based on that I am not sure what he will do when he gets fit. He might get back to the 27.xx we did a few years ago.

You guessed it I was very pleased and still a very satisfied feeling. When I started back with JD and the laps of the Bay in 38 I thought sub 30 was gone forever.

It nice to get something you thought you had lost.

18k @ 5.04 in 86.09

A bit longer and a bit quicker as Sunday's effort wears off. I ran this same double loop about 2 weeks ago in 87.41. So a slight improvement.

I am feeling very fit. No injuries. The Achilles is still an issue but becoming less so as time goes on. I still do about 15 minutes day and every day of exercises with them. My weight is down. So I could not as regards training and running be happier. Prgress as regards at getting quicker is happening on almost a daily basis which is very pleasing and helps greatly with the motiviation.

It is usually about this time with these feelings that something goes wrong. Lets hope not.

Recovery 14k @ 5.18

Nothing much to report. I was a bit fatigued but was happy to have a solid run. Felt okay.

SMC Half 96.38 @ 4.33

Well what a surprise. I thought I might just slip in under 1.45. The last SMC half was in January when I was pushed to run 1.58.

Apart from the suprise of running the time the very pleasing thing was the even splits for each 5k on a very changing course. 23.07/22.52/23.06/22.57/4.11. I really thought after the first 10k that lack of fitness would slow me down over the last 10k. Didn't happen!!!!

But I was at max effort so running a marathon will be very different. But I have certainly improved since the last run .

Usual 20.3k : 1.41.54 and another PB

Training is training and racing is racing. So you don't race yourself in training you train at the right pace to have the desired affect on the body so that it can with rest adapt and you get fitter. However if you are coming from a slow base (as I am) then as your base building starts to take effect you will naturally get quicker over the same course when the same effort is used.

That will happen with the law of diminishing returns applying as you start to reach your peak fitness. That means that a greater effort in training is required for small gains.

It seems I have not reached that stage of base building yet. That pleased me for two reasons: Firstly I still have room to get quicker but how much I am not sure but with about a 90 second improvement since 9 April (the quickest before today) I would say there is still a bit to go.

Secondly I thought I might have peaked too soon as the focus marathon is mid June. If I had of peaked then unless I backed off then my times would have starting going backwards and that is not happening.

13.3k in 71.30 @ 5.20: Hills hills and hills

This is a slight variation on one of my loops but adds every hill that is close to the Bay run. I have not run this since late in January when the pace was 7.10 - I think I have improved !!! It is a very solid work out as some of the hills are short and sharp and other are long and need a very sustained effort. I nice time that gives me a chance of aiming for under 70 next time.

Usual Wednesday with JD & a 30.38 Bay Run

For most of the year JD and I share a run together with a couple of laps of the Bay. He is such a nice guy that when we started in on 27 January I was pleased to be led around for a lap of the Bay in 37.07. Over the next month he continued to be patient with me, my huffing and puffing and trailing him with some 36 minute laps. I was pleased I am sure he was waiting for some speed to come to match his fitness.

He said I would get faster and be able to push him. I was not sure he was holding so much back to keep a mate company and happy.

Over the last 7 weeks I have lost quite a bit of weight and am almost down to my lightest of a few years ago. Being significantly lighter does make running just that much easier.

We do not race each other - we are mates but we do like to use the opportunity to push each other past where we think our best. I think I managed for the first time to pull him along a bit quicker than he expected and quicker than I expected.

I think a sub 30 will come soon.

Usual 20.2k : 1.44.30 @ 5.10

After the quick run late yesterday I thought this morning the legs would be heavy but they didn't feel too bad. At the start I thought havinggot below 1.45 for the first time on Friday to go under 1.45 again woul dbe nice considering the long run on Sunday and the shorter but quick run as well.

The first long loop was just a few seconds over 60 minutes and so I knew I woul dhave to dig very deep to get that second loop done in under 45 but just managed with another lung busting and quad burning run up that bloody hill.

A quick afternoon run

An afternoon run is a very rare event for me. I didn't run this morning but had an opportunity to leave work a little early. Got home and was about to make a coffee, check emails and log onto CR when I thought no bugger it lets do a quick lap of the Bay as the sun sets.

My short loop is the Bay Run with a start & finish near my home making it 8.5k. I rarely run this other than the second lap on 21k run. I felt like thrashing it and seeing what happened despite after a day at work feeling more like a rest than a run.

However as is often the case once you get started all the tiredness is left behind and the body seems to produce the energy that you thought you did not have. It started way quicker that I have run for a while and I thought just keep pushing mentally as hard as I can.

Resulted in a nice 39.15 @ 4.38.

Slow 30k @ 5.40

After a number of hard and fast days I knew when I decided to run 30k it was going to be tough. Today was not about pace but just doing the distance at a steady sustained pace. I started off at just over 5.30 which was fine as the morning wore on and the heat started the pace slowed off a bit.

Another PB !!!

Yep managed to run on Saturday morning. I was not in bed until 1.00am and was up by 5.00am to fit this run in with my other Saturday morning chores. It is the 11.8k loop. The weather was just perfect - still, cool and as I started the sky to the east was just changing from black to grey.

I felt pumped despite the lack of sleep. The last time I gave this loop a push was on 27 March for 58.31 and today it was 58.11. Not a huge improvement but following on from the last few days I was pleased.