tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26513120187553277502024-02-19T13:00:17.841+11:00PB Down UnderAthletic endeavours of an ordinary kind.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351362929986243024noreply@blogger.comBlogger172125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-86757667113587271512015-10-15T21:43:00.002+11:002015-10-15T21:43:55.355+11:0016 of 16: Now<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 16 of 16</h2>
And so it is race week. My whole year has been working towards this week and the race which caps it off. I've dreamed, I've planned, I've sweated. I've given it everything. And in the last few weeks I've battled a hamstring tendon injury which has threatened to unravel all of this hard work. The time is now. All that matters is what I do now. It all comes down to <b>now</b>.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SqtbcEta0E_ZuLmeWIx0P9Xrn_lg8Koa-I6iXGxK2WIBQR7z1m5BESoN6QLCFQNrZooJbxBySrS10-G8U3eeTXpQdwbBecJTXUwPEC8oJrJC1h2coyr-QGv_gmNRP-8_74by5a5y9aQ/s1600/IMG_4459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SqtbcEta0E_ZuLmeWIx0P9Xrn_lg8Koa-I6iXGxK2WIBQR7z1m5BESoN6QLCFQNrZooJbxBySrS10-G8U3eeTXpQdwbBecJTXUwPEC8oJrJC1h2coyr-QGv_gmNRP-8_74by5a5y9aQ/s200/IMG_4459.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
<b>Tuesday 13 October</b><br />
<br />
Tonight I went to see Rob for my last physio session and he taped up my hammy to try to lift the pressure off it. It felt a bit like getting a butt-lift with some tape and felt completely weird. After this, as it is daylight savings and was a lovely night, I went for a 5k run around home.<br />
<br />
This was my best run in ages. I'm clearly not nearly 100% but I could run semi-comfortably at about 4.37 pace, including a couple of km's at 4.33. This was the fastest speed run I've done in weeks and was a bit of a confidence boost!<br />
<br />
<b>Thursday 15 October</b><br />
<br />
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<br />
This final short run has usually been a bit of a celebration, the pace and distance being neither long enough or hard enough to cause any kind of stress. Today, as with most of the last few weeks, it as been another test. A time to see how my hamstring is repairing itself and trying to work out what kind of race I can expect.<br />
<br />
After Tuesday's reasonably good run I was optimistic here for another good one. The weather was quite warm (over 30 degrees) and it was a bit windy. My hammy had not felt great all day and I ran accordingly. It was not as fast or as comfortable as Tuesday night and I finished this 5k with a slow 5 min last kilo up the small bridge where on Sunday we will begin the race.<br />
<br />
<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Steady As She Goes <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/412060606" target="_blank">5k @4.37</a>; good run after physio<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - One Last Run <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/413272289" target="_blank">5k @4.46</a>; last run - hot<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 16 of 16</b> (this week): 2 runs, 10.0 km, 0:47 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/15-of-16-hang-on.html" target="_blank">Week 15 of 16</a></b>: 3 runs, 27.5 km, 2:18 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/14-of-16-get-healthy.html" target="_blank">Week 14 of 16</a></b>: 2 runs, 31.6 km, 2:47 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/13-of-16-finish-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 13 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 58.9 km, 4:55 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/12-of-16-pacing.html" target="_blank">Week 12 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.1 km, 5:19 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/11-of-16-big.html" target="_blank">Week 11 of 16</a></b>: 6 runs, 76.1 km, 6:58 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/10-of-16-strength.html" target="_blank">Week 10 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 48.8 km, 3:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/9-of-16-consistency.html" target="_blank">Week 9 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.2 km, 5:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/8-of-16-half-way.html" target="_blank">Week 8 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 59.0 km, 4:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/7-of-16-re-ignite.html" target="_blank">Week 7 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 55.9 km, 4:35 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/6-of-16-changes.html" target="_blank">Week 6 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3:31 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">Week 5 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4:21 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/going-long.html" target="_blank">Week 4 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5:38 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/long-and-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 3 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4:46 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/firing-up.html" target="_blank">Week 2 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/a-new-start.html" target="_blank">Week 1 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4:11 hrs<br />
<b>Total: 66 runs, 812.8 km, 69:07 hrs</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-364166462792079172015-10-08T22:01:00.001+11:002015-10-11T21:07:10.037+11:0015 of 16: Hang On<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 15 of 16</h2>
After a reasonably disastrous last ten days I am just trying to get everything together before race day. I was back at the physio on Tuesday and am on a regime of exercises and light running only. My assessment is that running long or hard causes pain and break down, so I'll keep it to 5-10k runs only at an easy 5m/k+ pace. I just need to <b>hang on</b> and hope that i can give it one incredible effort during the race. I'm not sure that hanging on is the same thing as 'peaking' but this campaign has been reduced to this. Que sera, sera.<br />
<br />
<b>Wednesday 7 October</b><br />
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<br />
With easy running only on the plan I gave Tuesday's session a complete miss and so started off with Nike Run Club as my first outing this week. I asked to go into a shorter and slower group so was pacing a 5k team at 5.30 pace with one of our new leaders, a young Canadian guy, Jeff. With daylight savings upon us it was fantastic as we could see our whole way around and were able to stop wherever we wanted for our team photo!<br />
<br />
Onto more important matters, with an easy pace my hamstring had no concerns. To be honest, this was as good as it has felt on a run since the injury. That said, this was the slowest pace I've run at since then too. But I was hanging on. And it felt ok, so that's encouraging!<br />
<br />
<b>Friday 9 October</b><br />
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<br />
Another cracking day in Melbourne and a perfect afternoon for running. Today, as with all my runs at the moment, I am not following my original plan and am instead running pretty easy, just trying to keep the legs ticking over without causing undue stress on my hamstring. I did a 7k run which took in just over 5k of the marathon course - the bit around the Tan deep into the race where it starts to get really tough.<br />
<br />
The first kilometre was uncomfortable as my body sorted itself out. The little niggles took a bit to settle down, but I was into a rhythm after a mile or so. After this I turned left onto Alexandra Avenue and onto the marathon course.<br />
<br />
I felt ok - not bad, not brilliant. The hamstring was noticeable, but not very bad. Of course, I wasn't stretching it out at all so I expected good-ness! I made the decision to test it out just a little on the run down Domain Road and for a kilometre I upped the pace from 5.10's to 4.40. Thankfully everything felt good, but after less than five minutes I reverted to my slower pace to see out the run back around onto Flinders Street.<br />
<br />
So a good run done, with a little mini-test, and I passed. Of course, this is a long way from running 42 km's at a pace faster than this little test but it's a start!<br />
<br />
<b>Sunday 11 October</b><br />
<br />
Today was my last chance to get in a decent long run prior to the marathon next weekend. It's a distance and pace (16k @4.30) that I have run many times during this preparation, but obviously with my hamstring still misbehaving, today I had quite different aspirations. All I hoped for was a run relatively free of pain, at a sub-5 min pace with hopefully a few kilometres in there at close to race pace.<br />
<br />
I set off in the afternoon from Elwood at the bottom end of the marathon course. It was sunny and a south-west wind greeted me, meaning mostly tailwind. The first four km's were quite fast (relatively) with 4.36, 37, 40 & 40. The fifth km along Fitzroy St up the small incline was only slightly slower (4.44), so I went through 5k with an average pace of just under 4.40. This is not fast by any stretch but it is better than I have run in the last couple of weeks and I was pretty pleased.<br />
<br />
After a pair of 4.41's a combination of not wanting to push it too much as well as some general hamstring tiredness caused me to slow up and I completed the back 8k of this run at only 4.59 pace. This included the harder section around the Shrine and some slower parts through Southbank and to Port Melbourne with a headwind. I finished the 15.6k at a 4.50 average pace which is my fastest in some weeks.<br />
<br />
That I am writing about split times at all says that this was a good run. I was conscious that after about 1h15m my hamstring has become quite fatigued the last couple of weeks so I wanted to keep to no longer than this time. I got to test out a little pace and it wasn't too bad. This is not the run I would have expected a month ago, but it is a run that I am now happy with.<br />
<br />
I am keeping optimistic that with another week of rehab and easy running, on race day it will be even better!<br />
<br />
<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/407975634" target="_blank">4.9k @5.29</a>; easy run<br />
<b>Friday</b> - Mara-Easy <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/409190680" target="_blank">7k @5.10</a>; easy run with one faster km<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Last Chance Saloon <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/410518446" target="_blank">15.6k @4.50</a>; ok run over part of marathon course<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 15 of 16</b> (this week): 3 runs, 27.5 km, 2:18 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/14-of-16-get-healthy.html" target="_blank">Week 14 of 16</a></b>: 2 runs, 31.6 km, 2:47 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/13-of-16-finish-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 13 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 58.9 km, 4:55 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/12-of-16-pacing.html" target="_blank">Week 12 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.1 km, 5:19 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/11-of-16-big.html" target="_blank">Week 11 of 16</a></b>: 6 runs, 76.1 km, 6:58 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/10-of-16-strength.html" target="_blank">Week 10 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 48.8 km, 3:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/9-of-16-consistency.html" target="_blank">Week 9 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.2 km, 5:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/8-of-16-half-way.html" target="_blank">Week 8 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 59.0 km, 4:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/7-of-16-re-ignite.html" target="_blank">Week 7 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 55.9 km, 4:35 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/6-of-16-changes.html" target="_blank">Week 6 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3:31 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">Week 5 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4:21 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/going-long.html" target="_blank">Week 4 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5:38 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/long-and-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 3 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4:46 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/firing-up.html" target="_blank">Week 2 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/a-new-start.html" target="_blank">Week 1 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4:11 hrs<br />
<b>Total: 64 runs, 811.8 km, 68:19 hrs</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-79280768688426073612015-09-29T22:27:00.003+10:002015-10-04T11:20:58.926+11:0014 of 16: Get Healthy<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 14 of 16</h2>
I am into my taper now and my focus for this week is stunningly simple - <b>get healthy</b>! On Monday morning it was off to the physio, my very good friend Rob O'Donnell at <a href="http://www.sspc.com.au/" target="_blank">Southern Suburbs Physio Centre</a> who suspects I may have a case of hamstring tendinopathy. He is optimistic and so am I. He has me doing a series of back arches, a bridge and self massage (to 'annoy the tendon') and we'll see later this week how I am going.<br />
<br />
Importantly, there is no running until Thursday when I am permitted only to do an easy effort. So this means the Tuesday interval session is out as is Nike Run Club, which will be the first Wednesday I have missed since I began last April. I'm actually pretty sad about that but it is the right thing to do. If I am lucky then I may be back running ok by the weekend. At least that's my plan!<br />
<br />
<b>Thursday 1 October</b><br />
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<br />
I have rarely been as nervous ahead of a run as I was today. After doing my exercises and NO RUNNING for three days I was desperately keen to see if the rest and treatment was working. No matter f this was having a positive effect or not I knew I'd be apprehensive. I was under strict instructions to run only at an easy pace, so for me I decided that meant do my usual 10k route at just over 5m/k.<br />
<br />
My first steps out of the office building were tentative. I wanted to run but I didn't want to run. Maybe knowing would be worse than not knowing .... I took it very easy and it felt ok. I could still feel the twinge, though it was nothing like on the weekend. Of course, after being home yesterday and spending a part of the morning weeding and cleaning (ie, doing lots of squats) I was actually a little sore from that and so found it hard to work out what was causing the sensations.<br />
<br />
But it was positive. Certainly an improvement. A couple of times I resisted the temptation to stride out just to see if I could. I'll leave that for the weekend. I remain optimistic that magician-Rob will sort me out. He's good like that. Tomorrow morning - a public holiday here in Melbourne - he will see me again. More good stuff.<br />
<br />
I'm looking forward to the weekend run and hopefully being able to stride out again! (Now, if I could just rid myself of this chest infection I've picked up from my family!!!)<br />
<br />
<b>Sunday 4 October</b><br />
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Only two runs this week and I had very high hopes for this one. After some rest, exercises, good treatment and promising signs on Thursday I was optimistic that I might be able to run at or very close to my target pace of 4.30 for this half marathon effort today.<br />
<br />
It was the start of daylight savings and with a good night's sleep I got out at just after 7am while it was not too warm and the wind was calm!<br />
<br />
As has been the case with this injury, I tend to know fairly quickly what kind of run it will be. Unfortunately today the sensations were not good at all. Oddly enough, at first the pain was around on the upper front of my left thigh - not at the back in the hamstring. Go figure! A few times in the first kilometre my leg almost buckled underneath me and I crawled a 5.23 to being with. I kept going, hoping that it work work itself out. After all, last Thursday I had run and felt much better than this.<br />
<br />
I gradually tried to pick up the pace on the slow incline up East Boundary Road, covering the next three k's in 4.57, 4.50 and 4.38. My form felt ragged and it was not easy but I wanted to get down to something like my target pace. But it quickly faded and I slowed to near 5 m/k pace then to 5.10's and by 14k I was shot.<br />
<br />
It was as if my right hamstring was out in sympathy with the left. I had absolutely no drive through there and it became a struggle just to put one foot in front of the other. The journey up South Rd was horrific, no quicker than my super long and hot 37k run a few weeks back if I allow for time at lights.<br />
<br />
This is so upsetting. I wish that the race had been two weeks ago when I was in great form and feeling wonderful. Now I'm just a bit of a physical wreck and, to be honest, am not quite sure how to get right. My goals have rapidly slipped away and I'm staring at just my final goal - finish - to motivate me now!<br />
<br />
<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Thursday</b> - Tentative Steps <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/403861224" target="_blank">10.4k @5.08</a>; easy run<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Going Backwards <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/405686247" target="_blank">21.2k @5.22</a>; very sad run<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 14 of 16</b> (this week): 2 runs, 31.6 km, 2:47 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/13-of-16-finish-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 13 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 58.9 km, 4:55 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/12-of-16-pacing.html" target="_blank">Week 12 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.1 km, 5:19 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/11-of-16-big.html" target="_blank">Week 11 of 16</a></b>: 6 runs, 76.1 km, 6:58 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/10-of-16-strength.html" target="_blank">Week 10 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 48.8 km, 3:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/9-of-16-consistency.html" target="_blank">Week 9 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.2 km, 5:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/8-of-16-half-way.html" target="_blank">Week 8 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 59.0 km, 4:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/7-of-16-re-ignite.html" target="_blank">Week 7 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 55.9 km, 4:35 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/6-of-16-changes.html" target="_blank">Week 6 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3:31 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">Week 5 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4:21 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/going-long.html" target="_blank">Week 4 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5:38 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/long-and-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 3 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4:46 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/firing-up.html" target="_blank">Week 2 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/a-new-start.html" target="_blank">Week 1 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4:11 hrs<br />
<b>Total: 61 runs, 784.3 km, 66:01 hrs</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-67752470283655528432015-09-22T23:24:00.002+10:002015-09-29T22:10:36.987+10:0013 of 16: Finish Strong<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 13 of 16</h2>
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This is the final big week of training before the three week taper to the race begins. Everything so far has held up ok and I'm optimistic about having another week of good runs. My focus this week is on <b>finishing strong</b> - especially for my two main runs - a 13k marathon paced tempo and a very important 32k @4.39 pace on Sunday. It is very important to go into the race knowing that I can run it out strong until the end. Last week's half marathon was a great example of doing this ... some more this week please!</div>
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<b>Tuesday 22 September</b></div>
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Another week begins in Melbourne and more of the up-and-down weather which typifies Spring. Today began with rain and even some hail; though by lunchtime the weather was just super-windy (!) but fine and even sunny. Consequently I was over-dressed with a warm undershirt on for my <b>interval run</b> today. The plan was simple: 10x 400's with 400m RI. In past campaigns I have run these at the track or on a measured section of street. Today I ran them over my usual 10k loop beside the Yarra River.</div>
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From early steps of the run I didn't feel great. My back was in some degree of pain which was really impacting my stride and form. It was about 3k into the run before this settled down which meant that my first two repeats, though I was pushing hard, were relatively slow at 1.35 apiece. The third was my quickest at 1.26 along a flat if somewhat exposed section of the trail. I think this one is closest to the pace I might have run on a regular track, but who knows!</div>
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The remaining seven intervals were all remarkably even in 1.31-34, despite the terrain ranging from flat a super-windy to solidly uphill. The effort was all very similar too with my HR reaching low 160's on each rep. When I look back a year too I can see that my 400m recovery this time round was much quicker (around 2 mins vs around 3 mins last time). So whilst the times are so-so I think this is actually a pretty good set.</div>
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And to make things even better, I scored a free six-pack of beer in a promo too. All you had to do was connect up your Strava account and run 6k or more to qualify. Easy-peasy!!<br />
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<b>Wednesday 23 September</b><br />
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Another cold evening at <b>Nike Run Club</b> tonight and I was leading a "compact" group of 10k runners with Claire at the royal pace of 6.30m/k. Oddly enough, sometimes a slower pace can make you feel sore as it is not your normal stride. The toenail on my left foot had also cut my toe again (aargh!) so it was an up and down run for mid-week.<br />
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<b>Thursday 24 September</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig9jzaHD7p0WkRElz-LDx6JhY-5YloetAsqA8VE0mmzN41twXIJWNzgEHeCu2bLvAqN7i2k5kl3bHGHkmpliL1ni-YOoAkNwcJqkE1-EWYFoy_sOel3eAM3e6Y-veHFxHZLIjGlWjsZ8c/s1600/IMG_4397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig9jzaHD7p0WkRElz-LDx6JhY-5YloetAsqA8VE0mmzN41twXIJWNzgEHeCu2bLvAqN7i2k5kl3bHGHkmpliL1ni-YOoAkNwcJqkE1-EWYFoy_sOel3eAM3e6Y-veHFxHZLIjGlWjsZ8c/s320/IMG_4397.JPG" width="320" /></a>Onto Thursday and the morning dawned still and sunny - a perfect start to the day. Of course, by the time I was running it was cool, overcast and windy. Have I mentioned how sick to death I am of this wind!!! The distance and pace (13k @ 4.30) held no fear today. In the last month I've run 2x 16k runs and last weekend a half marathon at this pace. No problems there. But today I woke up with a really sore lower back. It is a weak spot for me and is normally stiff and uncomfortable in the morning, but this was way worse and I took a couple of pain killers to deal with it. So I wasn't really feeling physically great.<br />
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The plan for this week is to finish strong, but from pretty early on I was really struggling. My kilometre times were all pretty even, but they felt laboured and hard. None of the relaxed zip I had on Sunday was with me and every step was forced. On the return leg I really noticed the wind, although in retrospect it was probably no worse than most days when I run here.<br />
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As for finishing strong, I ran the last 5k in 22.31 (so right on 4.30 pace) compared to 22.22 and 22.19 for the same stretch on my longer 16k runs recently. Not much of a time difference, but it was slower and definitely not much fun.<br />
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Tonight I am sore and walking slowly. I am also extremely tired. I really need this rest day tomorrow so that I can have a great final long run on Saturday.<br />
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<b>Saturday 26 September</b><br />
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In my thoughts, today is the climactic run of the whole training program. It is the fastest <b>long run</b> at just 9 sec/km slower than marathon pace and everything has been building to this. Unfortunately, on Friday morning, I woke with the worst back-ache I can remember in a long time. My lower back which normally doesn't feel good, was terrible and I was on to the drugs immediately just to be able to function. I was barely making my way around the office on Friday and when I had my customary run the the fish and chip shop with Keira to collect dinner I almost buckled over as nerve pain shot through my left hamstring. This was bad; and I took another wad of drugs that night to try to be right for Saturday.<br />
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Come the morning and I could tell that although it felt better it was far from right. I had a choice - run now, or wait it out for a day and hope it improved. I decided to run. Within 100m I could tell this was not going to be great. The nerve pain meant that I could not stride out with my left leg and I was kind of shuffling; each step causing a ripple of pain through my hammy.<br />
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My first couple of kilometres, as I tried to work through the pain and hoped that things would 'click' into place, were just off target pace at 4.42. As I began to head down South Rd I tried to gradually pick up the pace but it seemed stuck at around 4.41 or so - occasionally just under, mostly just over. Conditions were ok, a slight headwind (not much) and a fog too until it cleared up after about 90 minutes.<br />
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By the time I got to 15k I was at Point Ormond and turning back to start a 17k section on the marathon course. Up to this point I had tried several times to lift the pace, but could not muster anything. My legs just did not want to work, even though my heart rate was very relaxed mid-high 140's. The next 2 km's told the tale for me. Up to this point I still believed I would be able to pick it up and recover my lost seconds. But on this section down to Head St and back that disappeared.<br />
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4.40's became a pair of 4.50's and then my back just gave in and I could barely run at all. The final 3k's of my run before I pulled the pin at St Kilda were a 5.05, a 5.42 and finally a crawling 6.00. I was totally broken. I felt miserable. My legs were fine. I had energy, but I could not run. I briefly tried to get going again but it was no use. Around me I could see other runners looking like they too were doing course recce with their runs. I was heartbroken and caught the tram into the city and then home.<br />
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This is not how I imagined my preparation would go and is bitterly disappointing at this time. I've made a physio appointment and am off to see my mate Rob O'Donnell on Monday morning. Hopefully something can get sorted out in short order so that I can be running again soon!!<br />
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<b>Sunday 27 September</b><br />
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That part of me that hopes miracles happen wanted to run today. I resisted in the morning and rode my bike instead which was just as well as even that caused me pain. By the afternoon, with the sun once again shining brightly I could no longer resist the urge and I packed my runners so that I could run home from Port Melbourne after we visited my dad.<br />
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That attempt only lasted ten steps before the pain screeched me to a halt and I, sadly, climbed into the car for the ride home. We stopped at North Rd so the kids could go the the playground there and I once again tried to get into some kind of stride. After a couple of false starts I managed to get going a little. Make no mistake, this was still pretty lousy and a long way from actually running for me, but I was moving.<br />
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I got to Brighton Baths then decided to continue on so I could do 5k. I turned at Dendy St, picked up a slight tail breeze and gradually began to wind up the pace. There was nothing fast here. The injury stops me from running freely so I just kind of hobble along, but each km got faster and the last few were in 4.55, 4.50 and 4.46. It was so good to do something, even if it wasn't really running.<br />
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This week I need to get it right!</div>
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<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
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<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - 10x 400's Beer Run <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/397550451" target="_blank">10.4k @4.41</a>; 10x 400m with 400m RI<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - NRC Pacer Home Run <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/398373808" target="_blank">10k @6.25</a>; easy Nike Run Club session<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - Tough 13 <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/398952426" target="_blank">13k @4.29</a>; hard marathon pace<br />
<b>Saturday</b> - Broken <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/400148333" target="_blank">20k @4.52</a>; pinched nerves suck<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Tester. Nope, really broken <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/401005195" target="_blank">5k @4.58</a>; wanted to run long, still in pain<br />
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<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 13 of 16</b> (this week): 5 runs, 58.9 km, 4:55 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/12-of-16-pacing.html" target="_blank">Week 12 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.1 km, 5:19 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/11-of-16-big.html" target="_blank">Week 11 of 16</a></b>: 6 runs, 76.1 km, 6:58 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/10-of-16-strength.html" target="_blank">Week 10 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 48.8 km, 3:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/9-of-16-consistency.html" target="_blank">Week 9 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.2 km, 5:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/8-of-16-half-way.html" target="_blank">Week 8 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 59.0 km, 4:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/7-of-16-re-ignite.html" target="_blank">Week 7 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 55.9 km, 4:35 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/6-of-16-changes.html" target="_blank">Week 6 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3:31 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">Week 5 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4:21 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/going-long.html" target="_blank">Week 4 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5:38 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/long-and-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 3 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4:46 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/firing-up.html" target="_blank">Week 2 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/a-new-start.html" target="_blank">Week 1 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4:11 hrs<br />
<b>Total: 59 runs, 752.7 km, 63:14 hrs</b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-31126586243217247752015-09-15T22:51:00.001+10:002015-09-20T21:46:13.961+10:0012 of 16: Pacing<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 12 of 16</h2>
This week signifies the end of the third quarter of the marathon training program; and the penultimate big week before tapering for the race. The program and hopefully my fitness really starts to come together now as the race looms large. With a slight tweak to my long run plan for this weekend I am going to have two marathon-paced long runs this week; a 16k on Thursday and a 21k on Sunday. So my theme for this week is '<b>Pacing</b>' as I really want to focus on getting this dialled in and correct.<br />
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<b>Tuesday 15 September</b><br />
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Today was an unusual day. After my super-long and exhausting run on Sunday I wasn't sure how tired my legs would feel for today's <b>speed session</b>. So what did I do ... two speed sessions! The first was my normal/planned one and the second was Nike Run Club's first trial of their <b>Speed Run</b> which I agreed to pace.<br />
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But first things first. At lunch time I headed down to Olympic Park to run 3x 1600m with 400m recovery. Of course, as the frequent reader of this blog will know, that track is 520m long so I run 1560m with 520m recovery. (Come to think of it, there is no reason why the recovery cannot be 400m, I just choose to run the full lap ...) The target (mile) pace is somewhere between 6.01 and 6.26, depending on which pacing chart I choose to use. I chose the "Furman 3.15" target of 6.11 which would equate to a 6.02 for this odd distance.<br />
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The last time I ran this session (back in <a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">week 5</a>) I had stuffed the calculations, ran a slow first rep in 6.07, on target 6.01 second rep then died again for 6.07 to finish. This time I wanted to run absolutely even laps of around 2 min each. The wind was gusting in one direction but I've had worse so was confident I'd be ok!<br />
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The first rep was bang on target with an even three laps in 6.01. Everything felt controlled and I was going hard but not flat out. So far so good. An easy recovery then into the second rep which was exactly the same - perfectly even laps to finish in 6.01. I was a little tired now but determined to finish strongly and ran the third rep in 5.59. I was ecstatic with this and let out a little shreik for joy. Just what I wanted and, amazingly, my legs didn't feel so bad.<br />
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In the evening it was <b>Nike Run Club</b> and Coach Mathieu Dore had a set of 500m reps at Anderson Street planned for us. I was leading the "5 min group" which meant our reps would be at a target pace of 4.15. The idea was to run at that pace for ~250m leading into Anderson St hill, then turn the corner onto the hill and complete ~250m at that same pace. Strength-endurance as he called it. My group comprised about ten folks, a couple of whom are very fast and ran off in front, the balance of whom just stuck to my tail.<br />
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It was pretty hard trying to (a) get the pacing right, (b) offer encouragement, (c) dodge other runners/walkers and (d) keep the pace going up the nasty hill. To be honest I'm surprised it went as well as it did! The first rep was exactly 4.15 pace (a small miracle) but the course was short. Mat fixed this for the subsequent four reps which we ran in 2.05/6/7/8 mins so around 4.18/19 pace. Trust me, no one was complaining that the pace was "too slow" and I think the runners really enjoyed this great challenge.<br />
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Lots of fun and for me an 18k day and I feel really good. Bonus!!<br />
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<b>Wednesday 16 September</b><br />
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Another cruisy run for <b>Nike Run Club</b> tonight. This one a 10k at 6 min pace with two other run leaders - Hannah and Lexi. We had such fun in a small group and even picked up the pace near the end. All very easy with a nice team dinner to follow!<br />
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<b>Thursday 17 September</b><br />
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Today was a serious run (aren't they all)! Another longish <b>marathon paced</b> effort of 16k. I ran the same course as two weeks ago along the Yarra and conditions were fairly similar - cool with a little breeze. I am fairly certain this run did not feel any easier than last time, hence I call them mara-tempo runs as they are certainly an effort, but a controlled one.<br />
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I'm sure my Garmin measured slightly differently to last time as I ran past the giant gum tree where previously I turned. Maybe it added 15-20 seconds overall, and I finished in a time about 10 seconds faster. That said, the goal was not to run faster, but to run with less effort than last time so I was trying to stay relaxed and controlled. Without a HR monitor on this time it is hard to say if this effort was less, but it was a good run.<br />
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Sunday will be a 21k half marathon race at the same target pace (and along much of the same path/road). Should be fun!<br />
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<b>Sunday 20 September</b><br />
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<b>Photo Credit: Instagram @m.l.campbell</b></div>
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Some days stuff just goes well. Today was one of those days! In lieu of a 24k fast finish run I decided to run the Sri Chinmoy Half Marathon at Burnley. The plan was simple - run at target marathon pace (4.30) and I'd have my good mate - and ace runner - David Weeks with me as my personal pacer.<br />
<br />
The morning was just brilliant - cool and sunny with only a light breeze. The course there is over a five kilometre loop with a brief and-out-back at the start to bring it up to 21.1km. From the gun we were right into our stride and settled into a pace of ~4.29. After the 'introductory' km we completed the first full 5k lap in 22.25min. All was good and we chatted away as we watched the other runners go by.<br />
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The course is essentially flat with only a short 100m long rise in one spot. By now I was right in the groove and we ran a very even pace for the next 10k, completing the next two laps in 22.17 and 22.14. This was perfect and I was very happy. By now the wind had picked up a little and the sun felt a bit warmer. On marathon day this would be hard, but today it was ok.<br />
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Feeling good we made the decision to try for a fast finish. I did some rough calculations and worked out that my <a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2009/05/sri-chinmoy-half-marathon-williamstown.html" target="_blank">all-time half marathon PB of 1:33.20</a> hrs was possible if we really picked it up. The next 3k were good in 4.20/16/15 then on the 'uphill' and into a now stronger breeze I struggled, back to 4.26, but finished at 4.10 pace to close with a 21.23 min last lap and an overall time of 1:33.20!<br />
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Two very different races six years apart with identical results. I am very happy with this result, it is exactly what I was hoping for.<br />
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On a side note, a long toenail on my left foot cut the adjoining toe again today (this happened in the same spot a couple of weeks back!) I felt it from pretty early on but just ignored the pain - what else can you do! And I also tried some new runners today - a pair of super light Nike Lunaracer+ 3's. These are da-bomb! Like little ninja-slippers on my feet. Very happy with these.<br />
<br />
<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Miles Done Better <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/392495360" target="_blank">9k @4.41</a>; 3x 1560m with 520m RI<br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - NRC Pacer Speed Run <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/392611943" target="_blank">8.9k @6.03</a>; 5x 500m Anderson St<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - NRC Pacer Home Run <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/393335659" target="_blank">10k @5.49</a>; easy run<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - Mara-Tempo <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/393885108" target="_blank">16k @4.29</a>; marathon pace<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Three Chimneys Half <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/395832977" target="_blank">21.1k @4.25</a>; marathon pace then fast finish<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 12 of 16</b> (this week): 5 runs, 65.1 km, 5:19 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/11-of-16-big.html" target="_blank">Week 11 of 16</a></b>: 6 runs, 76.1 km, 6:58 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/10-of-16-strength.html" target="_blank">Week 10 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 48.8 km, 3:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/9-of-16-consistency.html" target="_blank">Week 9 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.2 km, 5:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/8-of-16-half-way.html" target="_blank">Week 8 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 59.0 km, 4:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/7-of-16-re-ignite.html" target="_blank">Week 7 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 55.9 km, 4:35 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/6-of-16-changes.html" target="_blank">Week 6 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3:31 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">Week 5 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4:21 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/going-long.html" target="_blank">Week 4 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5:38 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/long-and-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 3 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4:46 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/firing-up.html" target="_blank">Week 2 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/a-new-start.html" target="_blank">Week 1 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4:11 hrs<br />
<b>Total: 54 runs, 693.8 km, 58:18 hrs</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-62028221290827386282015-09-08T22:03:00.002+10:002015-09-13T21:15:51.776+10:0011 of 16: Big<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 11 of 16</h2>
My theme for this week is '<b>Big</b>' as this will be the biggest week of this campaign and I expect to cover around 70-75k, culminating in a 36-38k run on Sunday. I'm looking forward to this week. It is a lot of fun and if I can get safely through this then race day is almost in sight!<br />
<br />
<b>Tuesday 8 September</b><br />
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The first session of this week was a series of 1/2k <b>intervals</b> with 400m recovery between each. I ran these on my favourite Yarra path and (yada, yada) windy again ... but hey, nothing I can do about that.<br />
<br />
The run itself felt very controlled. I was never running flat out and measured my effort through each rep. None of them were particularly fast and all were slightly slower than the target pace range of 3.46-55 for the 1k and 7.49-8.00 for the 2k. I'm pretty much used to this and it doesn't worry me much any more. I just do them as fast as I can and have some confidence that I am able to run the endurance runs at the required level. So my times today were 3.58/8.02/3.59/4.01. The one that surprises me is actually the 2k time as it really is at the same pace as the shorter efforts. I'm not sure if this means I am 'sandbagging' the short runs??<br />
<br />
I did this same session last year and my times today were similar for the 1k reps, solidly faster for the 2k rep and the recoveries were all faster. Overall this continues to add up to me being fitter than at the same time last year and is just the reinforcement I need!<br />
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<b>Wednesday 9 September</b><br />
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It was a case of switch then switch again for my <b>Nike Run Club</b> group today. I was rostered for the 10k 6 min group, then changed to the 7 min group and finally, as we were leaving to start our run, moved once again to the 6.30 group. No problemo for me, just means I have to think twice about what pace I am running before we set off. Thankfully, with Nicx at the front it was easy going as we began on a beautiful, crisp Spring evening.<br />
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Our group was reasonably compact and stayed together for the most part which was great. A few hundred metres in I even had Danielle run up behind me and join the team so it was a very cruisy 10k chatting away and having fun.<br />
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<i>By the way, as of today I have run 1462km which is more than the 1458km I ran for the whole of last year (which in itself was my best year). Very happy, and another reason why I should be confident that I will run a faster marathon next month!</i><br />
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<b>Thursday 10 September</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRBsyuBx78JGyEUudhAD6sV17OcuBUNbR0Ride9Nroi4UhTnoKouQn-rhG8puYw0OuwEM0csumEndLYsPNhBGlZsz_HAAthAAVv5mH0m7i6c6b-egZtg_EZqLmP0cFCCxxHCb0-CnSco/s1600/IMG_4268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRBsyuBx78JGyEUudhAD6sV17OcuBUNbR0Ride9Nroi4UhTnoKouQn-rhG8puYw0OuwEM0csumEndLYsPNhBGlZsz_HAAthAAVv5mH0m7i6c6b-egZtg_EZqLmP0cFCCxxHCb0-CnSco/s200/IMG_4268.JPG" width="200" /></a>I was surprised at the planned <b>tempo run </b>for today. According to the Furman app I have it was a reasonably easy 8k at marathon pace with warm up and cool down. Considering last week the tempo session was a straight 16k at marathon pace this would be a doddle. I ran my normal Yarra loop, cutting the warm up to 1km and was right into the groove.<br />
<br />
My splits were pretty even in 4.29/32/29/28/30/32/24/31 - the 'faster' one being when my Garmin got confused and didn't seem to know what was going on. In any case, all very even, no problems. It was a beautiful Spring afternoon and life was good. Until I returned to the office and went to record my training session in my worksheet and found - to my horror - that perhaps it should have been run at mid-tempo pace of 4.14-4.20. Aaargh!!!!<br />
<br />
So, really, I'm not sure what is going on. I'm chalking this up as a successful session, even if I'm not sure I did the "right" one. I know this is not really a big deal in the scheme of things, but is annoying all the same!<br />
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<b>Friday 11 September</b><br />
<br />
An unplanned run today. It was a beautiful day - save for a strong wind - and I took the time for a short and easy lap of the Tan at lunch time. Great to be out running without worrying about time or distance or pace.<br />
<br />
I have to mention the inside of my right shin has hurt a bit over the last few weeks and still did today. There's one tender spot to touch. Hmm, not sure what this is.<br />
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<b>Saturday 12 September</b><br />
<br />
Today there was an all-day session at <b>Nike</b> for all the Run Club "pacers" as we are now called - "run leader" is so last season! It was a pretty cool session where we learned all about the evolution of NRC on a global basis, and we are about to see a whole bunch of new runs introduced into our program. It is very exciting and we were asked to bring our running gear for a couple of sessions.<br />
<br />
I kind of thought we may actually be running but, as it turned out and for good reason, there was little actual running and most of time was spent learning the drills and extra stuff that goes into the sessions. On the plus side, this is just fantastic as it is all about turning runners into athletes which, of course, will make them better runners. It is very cool. On the down side, I am (currently) very much a runner, and not much of an athlete, so the drills, jumping squats, one legged work etc just made me very sore.<br />
<br />
Aaargh! So the day before the longest run of my program I did new stuff that has left me sore and less able to run. Hmm, maybe not the smartest thing I've ever done.<br />
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<b>Sunday 13 September</b><br />
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Today was all about <b>going long</b>. This is my "Rod O'Donnell Session" named after my physio who suggested that I need to do at least one very long easy run in the program. Last year, for Gold Coast Marathon, I really felt like this session helped me know that I could run out the full distance and I was keen to do about 3h15m or somewhere between 36-38k.<br />
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The weather this weekend has been warm and today the warmest. It was also windy with a strong northerly blowing (of course). So by the time I left home it was already 20 degrees and it would reach 24 by the time I had finished. And the wind blew at 20-30kph so it was less than perfect for running. Though of course it was a wonderful day to be out and about so every man, woman and child was down at the beach or so it seemed - making the path a crowded affair.<br />
<br />
I set my early pace at 5.15-5.20 and wanted to pretty much maintain it somewhere in that range. When I turned onto the beach I really noticed the wind. Not being too fussed about my precise speed I let the pace drop a little over the Brighton 'bumps' then it sat pretty much right on target all the way to Port Melbourne. I turned at the Centenary Bridge pylon with 18.79km done at an average of 5.19 m/k. This was at the slow end of my plan but the heat and wind was noticeable - and I wasn't in a hurry so who cares! I was more focussed on trying to keep everything easy as I knew it would soon get hard!<br />
<br />
With the wind at my back I found I didn't really get any quicker and the next 6-7k passed at pretty much the same pace as the previous 6-7. Now that I look at my stats I can see that at around 26k as I passed through Point Ormond near Elwood my pace noticeably slowed. The next 4k were all 5.23-26 but the real damage was yet to come and they would be my fastest k's from that point on.<br />
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I was now at Brighton Baths and stopped for a long drink. I had the last of three gels and with just over 8k to go - much of it uphill - I settled in for the big push. I ran the next two in 5.33/35 and then turned up South Road. My plan before the run was to go harder up here, lifting my average pace and finishing strong. But now that had been jettisoned and I just wanted to get home.<br />
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Five minute km's became six minute km's and threatened to get even slower. I've had worse runs along here, but not many! About all I could focus on was trying not to let my average pace fall below 5.30, a feat I managed to do, finishing the 37.1km in 3:23 at 5.29 min/km. That was hard! Certainly not the same "sensations" I had a year ago on the equivalent run. On the positive side, the conditions were hard and it always takes a few runs to acclimatise to warm weather so better that I start to do that now!<br />
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And so <b>Big</b> was certainly achieved for this week. Six days of running (ok, maybe five if I exclude yesterday) and 76k's covered which is my biggest week ever.<br />
<br />
<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - 2 and 1's <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/387425946" target="_blank">10.4k @4.33</a>; 1k/2k/1k/1k<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/388300660" target="_blank">10k @6.24</a>; very easy run<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - Spring Returns <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/388892503" target="_blank">10.4k @4.36</a>; tempo 8k @4.30<br />
<b>Friday</b> - Cruisy Tan <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/389593118" target="_blank">6.4k @5.14</a>; easy lap of the Tan<br />
<b>Saturday</b> - NRC Pacer Drills <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/390309841" target="_blank">1.6k @13.22</a>; drills and stuff<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Easy Gets Hard <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/390957213" target="_blank">37.1k @5.29</a>; longest run, windy and warm<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 11 of 16</b> (this week): 6 runs, 76.1 km, 6:58 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/10-of-16-strength.html" target="_blank">Week 10 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 48.8 km, 3:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/9-of-16-consistency.html" target="_blank">Week 9 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.2 km, 5:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/8-of-16-half-way.html" target="_blank">Week 8 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 59.0 km, 4:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/7-of-16-re-ignite.html" target="_blank">Week 7 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 55.9 km, 4:35 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/6-of-16-changes.html" target="_blank">Week 6 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3:31 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">Week 5 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4:21 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/going-long.html" target="_blank">Week 4 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5:38 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/long-and-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 3 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4:46 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/firing-up.html" target="_blank">Week 2 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/a-new-start.html" target="_blank">Week 1 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4:11 hrs<br />
<b>Total: 49 runs, 628.7 km, 52:59 hrs</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-40736149937444663282015-09-01T23:06:00.001+10:002015-09-06T22:17:51.019+10:0010 of 16: Strength<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 10 of 16</h2>
My training plan is now into double figures (week ten) and I am starting to nail more of my sessions. This week my theme is '<b>strength</b>' as I want to finish all my runs feeling strong, as though I could keep going further or run faster. I want to start to feel on top of this program, not just keeping up with it.<br />
<br />
<b>Tuesday 1 September</b><br />
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Spring has sprung! Or at least that's what everyone's Instagram posts were telling me today. I wasn't so sure, but when I got outside at lunch time there was no doubting it. The weather was just that little bit warmer and the wind had even died down a bit too. This was a great day for a run!<br />
<br />
The session was similar to one I did last year, though the program from Furman's app has only four reps (the book had six). I did four, but felt let off a couple. Target pace was somewhere between 4.31-47 for each rep. I ran down to near Punt Road along the southern side of the Yarra and would run a 1200m course down to the steps just west of Swan Street bridge. After a two-minute rest interval I'd run back. Repeat four times and that was the main set.<br />
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On the first interval I started reasonably and looked at my watch about 200m in. It said I was at about 3.45 pace so that was spot on. I kept what I thought was an even tempo for the balance and was pretty shocked to see a 4.55 on the clock when I finished. Aargh!!! I think this was laziness and inattention more than feeling bad. I resolved to actually run harder on the next rep.<br />
<br />
I was pleased to see a 4.32 for the second rep and a similar time of 4.34 for the third. By now I was getting tired, but I think that is the idea, and the fourth rep was good at 4.37 without being special. Overall I did them reps on a good average pace but they weren't as even as I'd like.<br />
<br />
Compared to a year ago they were definitely faster, so once again I get confirmation that I am in better shape this time. And my achilles - it was no bother!<br />
<br />
<b>Wednesday 2 September</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRSMpyilp4XBOlxS9337O1BrN6yNvYD4ssMZvMSwAuga3UGOW-TqSoVMJ0oZJw-0BolId3okbfM3HygCEZ4K7T_alcaafnoDSdOyqLZDpC2NO3lKpq2XjQn76alQnP2UDjuNfokIYdQ0/s1600/10k+%25405.30m-k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRSMpyilp4XBOlxS9337O1BrN6yNvYD4ssMZvMSwAuga3UGOW-TqSoVMJ0oZJw-0BolId3okbfM3HygCEZ4K7T_alcaafnoDSdOyqLZDpC2NO3lKpq2XjQn76alQnP2UDjuNfokIYdQ0/s640/10k+%25405.30m-k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Tonight kept the theme from last Thursday's <b>Nike Run Club</b> 'Fastest Mile' event, being another wet and cold affair. We've been pretty lucky in general, but tonight was solid rain for the whole run of the 10k run. Not that it made a difference to us. There were no complaints and lots of laughs being had in the 5.30 group as we returned to the standard even paced runs after eight weeks of tempo, intervals and magic miles.<br />
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<b>Thursday 3 September</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFj-3rwJfoJfBsRmLUomREvGfLIeVIvppXB9KQD5YRKn3AbSMsj_6m0bpI2oUy5w4KqFqjdEiTXqnp7v0oskJIZlBKpoWNBIzyXP0YqnMLIGwEq-rchfHM1SiVZ96QlFe4SSV_BnUJ5A/s1600/IMG_4252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFj-3rwJfoJfBsRmLUomREvGfLIeVIvppXB9KQD5YRKn3AbSMsj_6m0bpI2oUy5w4KqFqjdEiTXqnp7v0oskJIZlBKpoWNBIzyXP0YqnMLIGwEq-rchfHM1SiVZ96QlFe4SSV_BnUJ5A/s320/IMG_4252.JPG" width="320" /></a>I wasn't sure where I'd fit this run in today. Normally my lunch runs are 45-50 mins in length but this one was a <b>16k tempo</b> run and was going to take nearly an hour and a quarter. Luckily I could arrange my schedule in a way that meant I could take a longer lunch break and just work later into the evening to make up the time. Thank goodness for flexible work arrangements (and a lack of meetings today). Like many other runs in this campaign, it would be my fastest long tempo run that I'd ever done - at a marathon pace of 4.30 min/km.<br />
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In keeping with my mantra this week of strength I wanted to make sure I was in control for this whole run. This meant running steadily, not banking any time, and dealing with the inevitable wind. I ran an out-and-back course along the Yarra River from the city all the way out to the Yarra Boulevard at Richmond where Sri Chinmoy hold their races.<br />
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The run itself was pretty standard. This pace doesn't feel easy, but it is not hard. Maybe a 6.5 out of 10 on the difficulty scale, rising a bit towards the end as the effort needs to increase. The wind was a factor, but I didn't let it bother me, and I focussed on trying to run every split the same.<br />
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My outbound splits were pretty good: 4.30/29/31/31/34/29/32/33. The 'slow' km was over the small undulations near MacRobertson Bridge, so I was only 8 sec behind pace at half way and felt good. I didn't really try to pick up the pace at all, but just wanted to continue to run strong. I ran the return 8k in splits of 4.30/26/27/27/28/28/27/30 to finish 10 sec ahead of pace. This is pretty bloody perfect as far as I am concerned and I was really happy.<br />
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As a comparison, I ran the same session last year around home, so a slightly flatter course. My heart rate stats for each 8k are identical (bizarre) but my speed this time is 9 sec/km quicker. I think that's more validation that I am in better shape and should be confident about my race goal.<br />
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<b>Sunday 6 September</b><br />
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Today, Father's Day, and a chance to do whatever I wanted! It started off nicely with a cafe ride with Brooke which I always love. By the time we were making our way home the north wind was starting to pick up. (Have I said how much I am hating the wind these days!) The forecast was for it to get stronger throughout the day which it did. I spent the early part of the afternoon at the shops with my family then I just lay on my bed and slept; doing anything - or nothing - to avoid going for my planned long run. I was due to do a 'fast finish' 24k and had been looking forward to this, but it all got too hard and as the time passed, then got away from me, it looked like I'd actually do nothing at all.<br />
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At five o'clock I jumped up and got dressed to run. Out the door a minute later and it was straight into a 13k circuit down Dendy St to the beach then returning via South Rd. I was feeling a little angry, or emotional, not really sure, but didn't run sensibly. I decided I wanted a steady run to the beach then hard on the return. I started ok, but with second and third kilometres of 4.30 then 4.18 I was just being silly. I backed right off and ran the one in 4.32 then four km's in the 4.40's.<br />
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Heading up South Rd and I really tried to pick it up. Slightly uphill and with a cross-headwind I ran the next five k's in 4.34/29/34/18/30 - adjusted for the gradient that makes them all sub-4.20's. So I did get my 'fast finish' to the run, even if I didn't do the extra 11k that the plan called for. Not what the plan called for, but a long way from a total disaster.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - 1200's <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/382192356" target="_blank">9.7k @5.16</a>; 4x1200<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/383115265" target="_blank">10k @5.32</a>; easy run in the rain<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - Marathon Tempo <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/383730972" target="_blank">16k @4.29</a>; even paced 10 miler<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Hour of Power <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/385878010" target="_blank">13.2k @4.34</a>; hard hour in lieu of 24k long run<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 10 of 16</b> (this week): 4 runs, 48.8 km, 3:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/9-of-16-consistency.html" target="_blank">Week 9 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.2 km, 5:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/8-of-16-half-way.html" target="_blank">Week 8 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 59.0 km, 4:57 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/7-of-16-re-ignite.html" target="_blank">Week 7 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 55.9 km, 4:35 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/6-of-16-changes.html" target="_blank">Week 6 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3:31 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">Week 5 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4:21 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/going-long.html" target="_blank">Week 4 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5:38 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/long-and-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 3 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4:46 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/firing-up.html" target="_blank">Week 2 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4:30 hrs<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/a-new-start.html" target="_blank">Week 1 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4:11 hrs<br />
<b>Total: 43 runs, 552.6 km, 46:00 hrs</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-82094165702068936912015-08-25T22:33:00.003+10:002015-09-01T22:33:07.498+10:009 of 16: Consistency<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 9 of 16</h2>
After what seems an endless few weeks of up-and-down training my theme for this week is going to be <b>consistency</b>. I'd like to be consistent within each run and from day-to-day. I'd like to have a solid week of feeling good about what I am doing and how I am doing it. I'd like a series of runs where I feel on top of my form - comfortably uncomfortable as some say. And I'd like all of this starting today!!!<br />
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<b>Tuesday 25 August</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XofCCGJZCQJzW-x60IlOFiRZP69VMgrzSmEV12RcV-JHIH0HtMPw50puAvXyg-nW8Ci6T9VzDm1BWbM-d1j38yDzrPXfvLLiNl2uy6N-R0LXnpNVMZn35Lh4b2fR7-qjg6w9sgjwPZA/s1600/track+25+august.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XofCCGJZCQJzW-x60IlOFiRZP69VMgrzSmEV12RcV-JHIH0HtMPw50puAvXyg-nW8Ci6T9VzDm1BWbM-d1j38yDzrPXfvLLiNl2uy6N-R0LXnpNVMZn35Lh4b2fR7-qjg6w9sgjwPZA/s320/track+25+august.jpg" width="320" /></a>After my great run on Sunday my legs were feeling suitably tired yesterday and even today they were less than zippy. My right calf seems good, but my left achilles is a bit tender and I was somewhat apprehensive about today's sprints. When I looked out of my office window at midday and it was raining it was all I could do to actually drag myself out of my chair and down to the change rooms.<br />
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By the time I ventured outside the rain had cleared and it was ok for running. Damp underfoot (obviously) but not cold and a light-moderate breeze blowing. I am sure that on one of these sprint days I will get calm weather, but that was not today.<br />
<br />
I headed down to Olympic Park which is becoming a regular now. Last year it was more 'street speed' but this year it is Olympic Park with its weird 520m track. The session was simple and straightforward - 2x 1600m at 6.11-6.26 pace then 2x 800m at 2.57-3.05 pace, all with 1 min rest interval.<br />
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<i>Now for a side note about these training paces. My program is a bit two-headed this year, or perhaps even four-headed depending on how you want to count your heads. But I digress! I am following the Furman FIRST program once again but am using the McMillan pace ranges for some of the faster runs. And, to complicate it even more, I started with the 3.15 program and am now trying to use the 3.10 pace targets. Stay with me here as I give you an example ... Furman has a 1600m rep time of 6.11 (3.15 plan) and 6.01 (3.10 plan) whereas McMillan has a range of 6.25-37 (3.10) and 6.16-26 (3.10). Go figure, so that means McMillan reckons I can run slower on his faster plan than Furman has me going on his slower plan. So I have kind of Frankenstein-ed the whole thing and have a 6.11-26 target on my 3.10 plan. All of which is, to say, that there probably is no single road to success!!</i><br />
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All of the above is in the "Training Paces" section of my Training Plan worksheet which is linked below; and each week I look at it again just to be sure of how fast I should be running.<br />
<br />
Now, if all of this isn't enough, since I am running on the 520m track my actual interval distances are not 'standard' so today I ran 1560m and 820m which meant I had to do even more time conversions to work out 'equivalent' times for the regular plan. Ridiculous!! Let's be super-simple - I try to run as fast as I can for any rep whilst keeping the times <b>consistent</b>!<br />
<br />
Today there was a kids footy match on at Olympic Park (it doubles as Collingwood's training facility hence the odd distance and shaped track) so I had to be careful of balls coming at me as a zoomed around on each rep. The first rep went by in 6.01 which I knew was very quick, right at the top end of expectations. It took a lot out of me. My achilles was in pain and I was doubled over the fence trying to catch my breath during my minimal 1 min rest. Of course, when you are tired the wind seems much worse and I was rather pedestrian in my second rep, doing a 6.15 (aargh)! So much for consistency!!!! These times calculate out to 6.10 and 6.25 for 1600m so bizarrely on plan or close enough to it. I'd have preferred to run a pair of 6.08's but stuffed this up.<br />
<br />
On to the 800's (or 820's) and I did 3.10 (OMG, I am getting worse) followed by an acceptable 3.05. These are 3.05 and 3.03 equivalents so again right in the target range but they did not feel good at all. I really struggled with these and on my first day of "consistency" I ran probably my most inconsistent track times for ages. Go figure!<br />
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I have ice on my achilles tonight and hope a couple of easier days of running might help it recover.<br />
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<b>Wednesday 26 August</b><br />
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<br />
Tonight's <b>Nike Run Club</b> run was the last in our eight week Zoom Boom promotion leading into tomorrow night's Fastest Mile event. In the course of this series we have introduced runners to some tempo, fartlek, intervals and the fast mile. It has been a lot of fun and tonight was a more relaxed session with just the mile then running according to our pace plan. We had to make a small detour around William Barak Bridge which was closed off at our normal ramp and so we got in a 'bonus' 500m for the night. It was a good gentle run, and even though I ran with heel raisers I could still feel my left achilles.<br />
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<b>Thursday 27 August</b><br />
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Tonight, on a cold and rainy Melbourne evening, we did our Nike Run Club <b>Fastest Mile</b> event at Lakeside Stadium in South Melbourne. It was a bit sad that we had such poor weather because only 20 or so people turned up for what was a fantastic evening. After some warm ups and drills from our coach Mathieu Dore, it was into our fastest mile. We had the legit starters gun and full electronic timing and I led the 8.30 mile group. We set a modest tempo around the track and after 800m I had lost one off the front and all bar one of the rest off the back. With 200m to go I ramped it up slightly to bring my last runner through the line in 8.27. It was a lot of fun - and even the rain and wind died down for the mile. If we could do it all again on a balmy autumn evening it would be just fantastic!<br />
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<b>Friday 28 August</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMuJXs9wzsEev_AS9Ci7zIlGU-n-oZMx5pETSyYTJKFTry0d21N0JzN0uIwg-woxI3VAgjwg5I6X5hZhEFECdGDHDg2iv6EqKlAE_8uhpLwRutsGWUjuhMwUVRrztZX82daO2Bn-Qn_X8/s1600/IMG_4230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMuJXs9wzsEev_AS9Ci7zIlGU-n-oZMx5pETSyYTJKFTry0d21N0JzN0uIwg-woxI3VAgjwg5I6X5hZhEFECdGDHDg2iv6EqKlAE_8uhpLwRutsGWUjuhMwUVRrztZX82daO2Bn-Qn_X8/s320/IMG_4230.JPG" width="320" /></a>It was back to the future on Friday as I did my <b>tempo 7k</b> on this day (just like old times) before I switched it up to a Thursday. I was conscious of a couple of things: firstly that my achilles was still not very happy with life - possibly not helped by now running on it for four consecutive days - and that in a week with the theme of consistency I had run a poor first session and now faced a generally bigger task of running an extended distance at a set pace. The day was somewhat windy but not horrible and I was optimistic that I could "hit the target" for the main set of 7k @4.14-4.20 pace.<br />
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I planned my "old faithful" course around the Yarra, incorporating just a 1k warm up before getting into the business. The first 3k were 4.16/16/13 which was good - conservative, not blowing myself up, and I felt in control. The fourth km is a bit harder and takes me up and over the freeway bridge and I was happy to get this done in 4.17. A stock-take at this point and I felt strong, average pace was on target at around 4.15-16 and I believed I could run this one out. The final few km I ran in 4.09 (nice!), 4.15 (up the incline at stop to Chapel St) then a 4.07 to finish off feeling great.<br />
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I was really pleased with this run, completing the 7k main set at 4.13m/k so one second faster than the quick end of my target pace. It felt very good going into the weekend with this one done so well.<br />
<br />
<b>Sunday 30 August</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6E_fQxlJSypzj8xetBp3n_dkvHLrqJyQAODT3o5XP0vXyATOUa-HAZ60Kssf6zaj0kn0_L7uDLS6yuo380S51AsvLBttgpnqMEiD00EKSSIp3L50qDQLRJVThyphenhyphenzYTVJU_ftt0fdM4oCE/s1600/IMG_4237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6E_fQxlJSypzj8xetBp3n_dkvHLrqJyQAODT3o5XP0vXyATOUa-HAZ60Kssf6zaj0kn0_L7uDLS6yuo380S51AsvLBttgpnqMEiD00EKSSIp3L50qDQLRJVThyphenhyphenzYTVJU_ftt0fdM4oCE/s400/IMG_4237.jpg" width="266" /></a>After my first Saturday ride in a while and another ride down to St Kilda to met instafriend Adam Murphy for this run, I was a bit worried that I may have used up a bit too much energy going into the most challenging <b>long run</b> of the campaign so far. At MP+19 sec/km this was to be a 32k effort at 4.49 pace. This would equal the fastest long run I'd done in training for Gold Coast - and I still have seven weeks (and faster pacing) to come. The plan on this almost pan-flat course was to run easy out to Sandringham (10k), gradually pick up the pace down to Port Melbourne (26k) then steady to the finish at St Kilda (32k). Or, in other words, we'd probably be 20 or so seconds behind target at 10k which we'd gradually reel back in then run the last 6-10k on exactly 4.49 target pace. Time would tell!<br />
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This was also the longest run I've done with someone else which meant two things for me. First was the small pressure not to crack (umm, that would be embarrassing) and, second, I suspected chatting away may slow us down somewhat. And so, when we turned at Sandy with 10k done at 4.52 pace (30 seconds behind) it was not completely unexpected.<br />
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The next 3k didn't get any better and so I tried to lift the pace so we could pull the deficit back. Unfortunately the next 3k were only covered in 4.46/48/50 so I began to get a bit worried. We had a cross-tail breeze which was 'freshening' as they say and with 16k done we were still averaging 4.51 so I was still 30 seconds back from where I wanted to be. Of course, in the grand scheme of things this is absolutely no big deal, but in my head I wanted my 4.49 pace and so after another 4.49 km apparently (I didn't realise this at the time) I put the hammer down and we ran a 4.38 then a 4.44. We got back to St Kilda now averaging 4.50 which was better, but still 20 seconds off. I was getting concerned.<br />
<br />
By now I was really starting to feel tired and the wind became more cross- than anything so it was just hard. My heart rate was rising as it normally does but was still controlled. It was time to step it up. The next 5k went by in 23.47 (4.45 pace) and so for the first time I saw a 4.49 cumulative average on my watch. I was very happy but this had come at some expense. My HR was up to mid-150's and I was only just hanging on. I was really glad to make the final turn at Port Melbourne and be heading back to St Kilda.<br />
<br />
At this point I thought back to last week where I ran the last 6k up South Rd and felt good. This would be a much easier course (dead flat) but I definitely didn't feel nearly as good, even though the average pace was the same. We ran these last kilometres pretty evenly at 4.48 pace and I was pretty happy to finish. My heart rate was now over 160 so this effort had come at a toll. Oddly enough, my achilles felt perfectly fine, but I was exhausted. This was a great run to finish and looked perfect on paper, but it wasn't anything like I thought it would be.<br />
<br />
The end of a big week, 65k done, and time to look forward again.<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<b>Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Watching Footy <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/376838274" target="_blank">8.1k @4.45</a>; 2x 1600m and 2x 800m<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/377690878" target="_blank">10.5k @5.30</a>; easy run with magic mile<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/378458165" target="_blank">4.2k @8.06</a>; warm up, drills and fastest mile (8.30 group)<br />
<b>Friday</b> - Hit The Target <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/379064275" target="_blank">10.4k @4.27</a>; incl tempo 7k @4.13<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Run With Murphy-Man <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/380528599" target="_blank">32k @4.49</a>; long run ... a bit hard<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 9 of 16</b> (this week): 5 runs, 65.2 km, 5 hrs 30 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/8-of-16-half-way.html" target="_blank">Week 8 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 59.0 km, 4 hrs 57 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/7-of-16-re-ignite.html" target="_blank">Week 7 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 55.9 km, 4 hrs 35 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/6-of-16-changes.html" target="_blank">Week 6 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3 hrs 31 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">Week 5 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4 hrs 21 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/going-long.html" target="_blank">Week 4 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5 hrs 38 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/long-and-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 3 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4 hrs 46 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/firing-up.html" target="_blank">Week 2 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4 hrs 30 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/a-new-start.html" target="_blank">Week 1 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4 hrs 11 mins<br />
<b>Total: 39 runs, 503.9 km, 42 hrs 2</b><b> mins</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-74733181086099652652015-08-18T23:02:00.001+10:002015-08-23T16:53:22.562+10:008 of 16: Half Way<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 8 of 16</h2>
This week marks <b>half way</b> in my marathon training program and by the end of this week I will have a really good sense of where I am placed and how realistic my goal looks. As is often the case for me I have found the first month a little hard as my body adapts to the rigours of sprints, intervals and tempo workouts. By now I am normally well into the swing of things and am looking to increase my target as my fitness improves. But, being a little more optimistic this time, I increased that a couple of weeks ago and so everything still feels pretty hard.<br />
<br />
This and the next four weeks are the really big ones. I've got to make them a success!<br />
<br />
<b>Tuesday 18 August</b><br />
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I normally run at lunch time these days but my work schedule today meant that I did not get out as planned and so deferred my run until the evening. It was a good night in Melbourne, cool with hardly a breath of wind and so I went down to Olympic Park for my session of 400's. The plan was two sets of 6x 400m in 1.24-27 with 90 sec rest between each rep and 2.30min between sets. Given the odd distance of Olympic Park I would run the 400m then walk 120m during the recovery to complete a full lap.<br />
<br />
From the start I felt pretty good. Each rep followed a similar pattern where I'd run strong for about 250m then hang tough for the last 150m. None of them were flat out and I quickly dialled in a pace of about 1.24 for each rep. The range between fastest and slowest was only 4 seconds which I am pretty pleased with.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately my calves are still feeling tender and though they are not stopping or hindering me, I certainly know they are there. Would like to get these under control before very long.<br />
<br />
Overall, quite pleased with tonights first session for the week, I certainly found the 400's to be far more manageable in pace than the longer 800-1660m reps I have been doing.<br />
<br />
<b>Wednesday 19 August</b><br />
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<br />
Nike Run Club tonight and another chance for me to lead with my now favourite - and mostly the only - group I run with, the 5.30 pace 10k group. This is a really great team and we normally have in excess of 20 people running with us. This week was the first chance for me to lead with one of our newer leaders, Claire Hodgart, a speedy track athlete; and so I dutifully pointed her to the front of our bunch and off we went!<br />
<br />
In addition to our now standard magic mile we did 3x 1k efforts at about 5m/k pace. Most folks did really well with this pace, though a few struggled as we would expect. It has been great to see the general improvement in everyone over the last seven weeks and next week we bring the Zoom Boom campaign to a close with our 'fastest mile' run on Thursday.<br />
<br />
Felt good tonight, though legs still tired.<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Thursday 20 August</b><br />
<br />
When I looked out my window at work today I could see a mostly sunny day with a bit of cloud cover. A short time later when I got outside I discovered the rather nasty wind that was blowing and which would make my <b>tempo run</b> along the Yarra another blustery affair.<br />
<br />
The prevailing north west wind is essentially behind me on the way out, unfortunately when I am mostly protected by the freeway and bridges, then right in my face when I have nothing but clear water beside me on the return leg. All of which is to say that when you have a crap run you reach into the grab-bag of excuses to help explain why you ran like rubbish!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJraCvhyphenhyphen3J_yvpvd6CPxm_2MukAHy2BTCFQTNNarZD6JM6lBUaGPPGbzMQlC_FL4Rdb6g0YLBTItg4XV9q1n1YCHndYR-Br4RQBfVl13aCtHBhmpb-F9oOap0RP6Gk6mOVY_hQRblb_Q/s1600/IMG_4197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJraCvhyphenhyphen3J_yvpvd6CPxm_2MukAHy2BTCFQTNNarZD6JM6lBUaGPPGbzMQlC_FL4Rdb6g0YLBTItg4XV9q1n1YCHndYR-Br4RQBfVl13aCtHBhmpb-F9oOap0RP6Gk6mOVY_hQRblb_Q/s320/IMG_4197.JPG" width="320" /></a>My legs have not yet recovered fully from City to Surf and I am having good runs followed by bad runs. They are consistently sore, my calves especially. I am walking slowly and today running was a drag. But I was still optimistic of being able to meet my target pace of somewhere between 4.04 and 4.10 for the 5k. After a mile warmup down to Morell Bridge it was into my work.<br />
<br />
The kilometre splits really tell the story: the first one was a 4.04 so not super-fast and right on target. I felt ok at this stage. The second was a 4.11, a bit slower, but not outrageously so. The third km takes in the small rises up to Macrobertson Bridge and I slowed here to a 4.20. Not wonderful and getting slower but this is a harder km so I thought I was still good to bring it home fast. Then it went south. Well, actually, I went west, but my times went south! Into varying levels of cross- and head-winds I began to struggle. I had no zip, no power, no nothing; and crawled the fourth km in 4.17; only to get worse and finish the last one in 4.32.<br />
<br />
So where I'd hoped to complete 5k in 20.20 or so, I was a rather woeful 21.24. I jogged miserably back to the finish where I hoped I could just crawl into a hole.<br />
<br />
What have I learned? I though about this a lot in the final few k's of my run today. I'm not really sure is the short answer. I am not certain what my body is telling me. Perhaps it is just tired and needs some rest and maybe a good massage on the legs to get them going again. Or maybe shifting up the target paces is too much. Maybe I am trying to 'force' my speed to this level, rather than letting it come to me. In any case, I need to monitor this very carefully. My long run on the weekend will tell me an important tale.<br />
<br />
<b>Sunday 23 August</b><br />
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<br />
My training at the moment is proving to be a real rollercoaster ride and today it was back to a high as I tackled a 29k <b>long run</b>. It was a beautiful day in Melbourne, sunny and hardly a breath of wind, and running was a real joy.<br />
<br />
After Thursday's debacle I had left two full days of recovery with not even a bike ride to break the monotony. I slept a lot over those two days and just tried to get my legs into some kind of shape again. I was a little apprehensive when I headed out this morning as I was not sure how I'd feel, but within a km I could sense that I'd be ok. The course was the reverse version of one I did a few weeks ago down to mentone then back along the beach before returning up South Road.<br />
<br />
When I look back to my training from years gone by I would rarely have selected a course like this do do my long runs on the basis that any inclines slow you down and the fewer of these the better as I am trying to target a specific pace. These days I'm not so worried and figure that the small undulations just help to make me stronger as I progress towards my goal.<br />
<br />
And when it comes to pacing I now usually follow the "Weeks Method" (named after my good mate David who first showed me how successful this can be) and keep an even pace throughout rather than trying to 'bank' time for a late slowdown. On a course like this where the last 6k is reasonably challenging as it rolls steadily upwards it means dealing with both the mental and physical challenge of maintaining pace late in a run. I think this has served me well and should do so again.<br />
<br />
I started off very easily with a first km in just 4.59 and gradually picked up the pace over the next 5k, turning onto the beach at Parkdale and passing 10k at a 4.51 average. This was the easy part of the run - feeling fresh and mostly downhill. I knew the next 13k along the beach to South Road would be the tester. I made a conscious effort to pick up the pace a little here even though the terrain is a bit up-and-down through Beaumaris. I did this section at 4.48 pace and so turned up South Road with 6k to go right on my target pace of 4.49.<br />
<br />
Now the challenging bit! To run successfully up here I need to lift my effort so that my pace can stay even and on plan. When I look at the data I can see I did just that, upping the HR from 152 to 157 and logging a solid pace of 4.47 for the last 6k. I have rarely run under 30 min for this section and did so today whilst feeling very controlled. I arrived back home with 29k done right on 4.49m/km. I could not be happier with this run; a great end to what started as a good week and had a mid-stream blip just to thrown me off. Next week: consistency!<br />
<br />
<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - 12x400 Chewy Mints <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/371611812" target="_blank">9.5k @5.35</a>; 12x 400m<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/372417407" target="_blank">10.1k @5.29</a>; incl 3x 1k and magic mile<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - O Legs Why Have You Abandoned Me <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/373070246" target="_blank">10.3k @4.45</a>; incl 5k tempo @4.17<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Sunny Days Are Here Again <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/375291756" target="_blank">29k @4.49</a>; beautiful long run<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 8 of 16</b> (this week): 4 runs, 59.0 km, 4 hrs 57 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/7-of-16-re-ignite.html" target="_blank">Week 7 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 55.9 km, 4 hrs 35 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/6-of-16-changes.html" target="_blank">Week 6 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3 hrs 31 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">Week 5 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4 hrs 21 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/going-long.html" target="_blank">Week 4 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5 hrs 38 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/long-and-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 3 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4 hrs 46 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/firing-up.html" target="_blank">Week 2 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4 hrs 30 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/a-new-start.html" target="_blank">Week 1 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4 hrs 11 mins<br />
<b>Total: 34 runs, 438.7 km, 36 hrs 31</b><b> mins</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-5518743658151901892015-08-11T23:01:00.001+10:002015-08-16T17:40:35.657+10:007 of 16: Re-ignite<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 7 of 16</h2>
I am well into the middle section of the marathon training program and it is time to get the big, hard work done. After an easier (?) week last week culminating in the City to Surf race I need to quickly get back into the swing of the full marathon program. The challenge is do this this whilst allowing enough recovery from what is a very tough event and one that tends to trash your legs for a week or so. My mantra this week will be 'Re-ignite' as that is what I feel I need to do to get back onto the main track after my little diversion!<br />
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<b>Tuesday 11 August</b><br />
<br />
After Sunday's City to Surf my legs were not yet ready for a hard interval session so I ditched this in favour of a shorter and easier <b>recovery run</b>. There was a bit of a breeze blowing along the river, but it was not so bad once I crossed the road for my easy lap of the Tan Track.<br />
<br />
It was a lot of fun to run in the sunshine at no particular pace, just for sheer joy, and my legs felt ok whilst doing it - even if they are still sore once I stop!<br />
<br />
<b>Wednesday 12 August</b><br />
<br />
Back to <b>Nike Run Club</b> tonight and another 10k run with the 5.30 group. This week was another big group of around 25 people and we headed via the MCG to Fitzroy Gardens where we completed our magic mile. Then it was over to the Olympic Boulevard and around the Tan to complete our 10k. We also did a solid 4k effort too which really extended the team a little. I could tell it was a challenging pace as the chatter stopped and the breathing became more pronounced. It was a lot of fun as usual!<br />
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<b>Thursday 13 August</b><br />
<br />
My legs are still not 100% but they are good enough for this <b>tempo set</b>. Last week's pace changes meant the 9.5k tempo should be at 4.23 m/k but I set a target of between this pace and the previous target of 4.29 with a plan to see how I felt.<br />
<br />
Thankfully I felt a whole lot better than last weeks tempo run where I struggled at 4.21 pace. Right from the start I was just under 4.30 and despite a slight diversion at Punt Road because the path was closed, I held a pretty even pace the whole way.<br />
<br />
I'd rate my intensity here at about 7 out of 10 so a long way from full gas. It was good to be running reasonably strong. My right calf is a little sore (I felt it twinge on Monday and it hasn't come good yet) and my upper back isn't feeling great either. Minor stuff, just have to monitor it and see how it goes.<br />
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I'm looking forward to Sunday's 21k run!<br />
<br />
<b>Saturday 15 August</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFlqDeJdewdVwhf3_EUrCWUG75W8iQHAyIWwbc05LZvK6IiLWmYl5eZInyA6d-2tn73UCKy45MiVLvZ6XE9BlCAeSweSKn8pU6Rog4pgGKtf__boaBceA1D9MgOfOIkUvL_Wp1u7Cqxg/s1600/IMG_4182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFlqDeJdewdVwhf3_EUrCWUG75W8iQHAyIWwbc05LZvK6IiLWmYl5eZInyA6d-2tn73UCKy45MiVLvZ6XE9BlCAeSweSKn8pU6Rog4pgGKtf__boaBceA1D9MgOfOIkUvL_Wp1u7Cqxg/s400/IMG_4182.jpg" width="300" /></a>Today in Melbourne was pretty good for winter. The wind was not too bad and the sun was out. I once again bypassed a Saturday ride so that I could do my long run today and get an extra day of rest or a light run in on Monday. The plan was for a 21k run at 4.39 pace (MP +9sec/km). This was by far the fastest planned run I have attempted as a result of me changing up the pace ranges last week. Last year my target marathon pace was 4.40 so this is a big step up and I am going to be wary as I could end up 'racing' my training runs if I'm not careful.<br />
<br />
The course I ran was a reverse of the Henry Dendy's Brighton run I did a month back. On that day I struggled my way to a 4.59m/k average and it was not good. To go a full 20 sec/km quicker seemed a big step up. I headed off down South Road and my form was a bit ragged. Some days I feel smooth, and others it just feels a bit less fluid. Unfortunately this was one of those days. I could still feel that my legs were sore/tired from last weeks race so I'm sure that was part of it too.<br />
<br />
A slower first km then a couple of quicker ones, then right onto target pace. I turned onto the Beach Rd at just over 6k averaging 4.37 so I was right on target. This part is slightly downhill and I knew the return up North Road might be a couple of seconds slower so this was right where I wanted to be. The good part about the next 3k or so is that it is along the beach path and so you get to see other runners. Sometimes this makes a real difference, just being able to see people out and about and it takes your mind off yourself for a while. Picking up a slight tailwind here my pace increased to 4.36 m/k but still in an ok range.<br />
<br />
By 10k I was onto North Road for the long haul back towards home. This is quite an undulating section with some steady rises and also a few short and steep ones. Despite the odd minor downhill it is gradually going up and I was pleased to run at 4.40 pace for this section even if it came with a small increase in heart rate.<br />
<br />
Turning onto East Boundary Road and I wanted to pick up the pace but my legs were just tired. Even though it is a net downhill here I was only able to get down to 4.38 m/k and even a last km push only rendered a 4.41 km to finish. Overall this was a hard run on tired legs (with a right calf that is not very happy about life either). Good to get it done, but not 'butterflies and unicorns!'<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxmaslXVl6g0VjpFdo8Y3bvjsPz4V8P3M4HEiRCEyqwKA_rhMh-S-TSn4MjqMlPzjGHzR8S1c8faRsBFEs3stDrvI58ZvoPmM39bJorBxUHjpQ42oWucBVlVIDSKHSVGYfV8kQjR-Rdg/s1600/IMG_4187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxmaslXVl6g0VjpFdo8Y3bvjsPz4V8P3M4HEiRCEyqwKA_rhMh-S-TSn4MjqMlPzjGHzR8S1c8faRsBFEs3stDrvI58ZvoPmM39bJorBxUHjpQ42oWucBVlVIDSKHSVGYfV8kQjR-Rdg/s200/IMG_4187.JPG" width="200" /></a><b>Sunday 16 August</b><br />
<br />
After a nice bike ride with Brooke this morning to the cafe, on a beautiful afternoon I went out for an easy 5k recovery run. All good. A nice way to end the weekend!<br />
<br />
<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
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<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Cruisy Tan <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/366208724" target="_blank">7.9k @5.20</a>; easy lap of the Tan<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/367129196" target="_blank">9.9k @5.31</a>; magic mile and tempo<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - Down, Around and Back <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/367791108" target="_blank">11.5k @4.34</a>; incl tempo 9k @4.27<br />
<b>Saturday</b> - Reverse Henry Dendy <a href="http://www.strava.com/activities/369162973" target="_blank">21.2k @4.38</a>; faster long run<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Suburban 5 <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/369984973" target="_blank">5.3k @5.06</a>; easy 5k recovery<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 7 of 16</b> (this week): 5 runs, 55.9 km, 4 hrs 35 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/6-of-16-changes.html" target="_blank">Week 6 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3 hrs 31 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">Week 5 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4 hrs 21 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/going-long.html" target="_blank">Week 4 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5 hrs 38 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/long-and-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 3 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4 hrs 46 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/firing-up.html" target="_blank">Week 2 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4 hrs 30 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/a-new-start.html" target="_blank">Week 1 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4 hrs 11 mins<br />
<b>Total: 30 runs, 379.7 km, 31 hrs 34</b><b> mins</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-6783222587031163682015-08-09T21:03:00.003+10:002015-08-09T21:24:41.056+10:00City to Surf 28For three-fifths of my life the second Sunday in August has been the annual pilgrimage to Sydney for the City to Surf fun run. Over the years I have travelled on overnight buses to get there (when I was a poor student) and now planes (luxury by comparison). I've stayed in good hotels with my family, dodgy pubs by myself, and at friends homes where we have had pre-race parties fuelled by beer and donuts whilst singing Midnight Oil songs.<br />
<br />
The race itself has been a mixed bag too. Early days of learning the course followed by some fast times. Years of turning up undertrained and overzealous and flaming out long before the halfway point at Heartbreak Hill. Times the warm (coming from a Melbourne winter) weather has got to me and even rare cold and rainy days.<br />
<br />
I've seen pretty much everything along this course too. Many, many bands – playing ‘Eye of the Tiger’ from the roof of the Golden Sheaf has always been a favourites. The Hari Krishna handing out oranges, kids giving away lollies, the Smurfs and their early morning spirit intoxicated cheering, (too many) people collapsed on the side of the road – some unfortunately never to recover, and more fancy dress costumes than I could imagine.<br />
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This race is part of Sydney culture, it is at the core of the Australian running fabric and is renowned internationally as one of the major road races on the world calendar. It has been won by the glitterati of Australian running history – Andy Lloyd, Rob De Castella and Steve Moneghetti leading the charge. <br />
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It has changed a lot over the years, mostly for the good, but not always; and in 45 years the race has grown to in excess of 80,000 participants. I have loved every one of my 27 previous participations and looked forward to this year and number 28 as much as ever.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDYn6FhI0LxyL6UP0LuKvdbW5ZYnAncmzEWnZPgRXTv7OWYpK-5O_c5GRAsc8F5Ynkklp-kJ1k_XjsO6cRKlBmtY3tXJmhYCBipr-O-n0MLLOhuZGQPE5E353U7kFSzqPt2hVd8WpYPI/s1600/IMG_4144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDYn6FhI0LxyL6UP0LuKvdbW5ZYnAncmzEWnZPgRXTv7OWYpK-5O_c5GRAsc8F5Ynkklp-kJ1k_XjsO6cRKlBmtY3tXJmhYCBipr-O-n0MLLOhuZGQPE5E353U7kFSzqPt2hVd8WpYPI/s320/IMG_4144.jpg" width="240" /></a>Though I would only have a short stay in Sydney I was lucky enough to be hosted by two of my wonderful Nike Run Club friends, Dean and Shriya, who are both living in Sydney now. I was collected on a glorious sunny Saturday afternoon in their ‘Go Get’ car which all the cool inner-city kids use and whisked away to lunch at The Grounds of Alexandria. This place, a former pie factory, was an array of cafes and carts selling all manner of food and drink. The place was humming and we enjoyed burgers before getting some donuts for a treat. My first Nutella donut and it was marvellous!!!!<br />
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I was made to feel very welcome in their city fringe apartment and we chilled out for a few hours before heading off to a little Italian restaurant called Pastabella for dinner. The food was nice but the crowning glory here was the Nutella pizza topped by strawberries and banana (<i>Nutella is a thing these days!</i>). This was simply sensational, no words can adequately describe this tasty goodness. I went to bed a slightly full but very satisfied man.<br />
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I slept beautifully and vaguely remember a dizzying array of dreams keeping my slumber entertaining. We woke just before 6 am and after some peanut-butter toast and a cup of tea we headed outside to catch our cab which had been booked the night before. Unfortunately we were a few, ok ten, minutes late and he had justifiably headed off to get another fare. Facing a long walk or an uncertain wait for a bus, my hosts unveiled another of their modern genius inspired ideas and hailed an Uber cab. The guy arrived in about two minutes and we were driven in pleasant comfort to the race start. It was magically easy! <br />
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Recent changes to the bag handling procedure meant we needed to drop our clothes off by 7 am and it was good to see that last years baggage debacle had been addressed and we moved swiftly through this procedure. A quick pit stop in the ‘Leaning Porta Loo of Hyde Park’ (I seriously though it would topple over and I'd be covered in … ). A chance meeting of another former Melbourne Run Leader Michelle, another photo opportunity, and we headed down to the start area.<br />
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There was little crowd to speak of and Dean and I shimmied our way down right near the front while Shriya hung over the fence for a chat before moving off to her start area. The last 45 minutes before the start passed quickly as the sun rose above the tree tops, defrosting our cold hands and legs, and entertainment played out on the big screens. When the preferred and later, seeded, runners move in at the front we get the opportunity to move forwards, seeking our way to the intersection and only ten rows back from the front. 80,s retro aerobics warm-up, the National Anthem, a countdown, helicopters overhead and the starters gun fires. We were off!<br />
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It is maybe 10 seconds before we cross the timing point for the official start of our proceedings and we run down Park Street towards the Kings Cross tunnel. This part of the course is a great downhill and many a fast time has been kiboshed by running like the clappers down here only to feel the burn a kilometre later. Today one guy felt the burn as he tripped whilst trying to run past people by skipping up on the kerb. Ouch!<br />
<br />
Though Dean and I had started side by side, we were parted soon after in the melee. Heading up into the tunnel we were briefly reunited before Dean moved ahead. My plan was reasonably simple – run hard but conservatively and use my endurance to run strong in the back half of the race. I knew the uphills would not be my friend, but equally the downhills would offer me a chance to run more aggressively and pull back time.<br />
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Up and over the hill to Edgecliff and I was feeling good, except I had a big urge to make another stop for ‘number twos’ and this hindered my free running style somewhat. I made the decision to keep going and not stop at all costs, hoping there'd be a ‘De Castella Sponge’ on course if the need arose.<br />
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At three kilometres after another steep downhill we run past the Golden Sheaf Hotel which, on this day of go-to-whoa bands and entertainment was bereft of their band. Very sad, they were missed by many! <br />
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The next 1500m is a series of small rollers and I maintained a good rhythm here though noticed I was getting passed by smaller and lighter runners including one ten year old looking kid who I'd first seen not long after the start. I don't remember passing Dean but somewhere along here I did and headed into the only flat section of the course at Rose Bay in good shape. I was running all the tangents on the course in an effort to save seconds, even if this meant crossing from one side of the road to the other.<br />
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I'd also made the decision not to take any drinks as the weather was not too warm and I tried to draw some breath for Heartbreak Hill which begins right at the 6km mark. There is no avoiding the difficulty of this hill. It is steep for one kilometre and continues on for another kilometre before you get any respite. As the saying goes “it never gets easier, you just go faster” and so I consoled myself in the knowledge that even though it felt as hard as ever, chances were I was running ok! I felt like I crawled up the steep section, but in reality I zig-zagged my way up here at 5.22 m/k pace. About a third of the way up Dean roared past, tapping me on the back and offering encouragement. I fear I only grunted in acknowledgement.<br />
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Eventually I reached the top and enjoyed a small downhill as we approached 'cemetery corner,' a tight right hand turn on a steep 40m hill. I was surprised to catch back up to Dean at this point and offered a reciprocal tap as I went by. I didn't expect my stay at the front to last long!<br />
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This section of the course is quite varied. A series of left and right turns, some nice downhill with a few short and steep climbs punctuate the road up to the high point on the course at about 10.5km. I was still running strong and was looking forward to the big downhill into North Bondi. Soon enough it was upon us and I zoomed through this section, doing the fastest 2k’s on the course in 3.54 and 3.48.<br />
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Right at the bottom of the hill I saw a guy in the hands of medical staff as he lay prone on the ground. Over the years I think I have seen more people in trouble at this point than any other. Perhaps it is the sight of the finish which puts their psyche into overdrive and their bodies into reverse.<br />
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It is still 1000m to the finish from here and the road at Campbell Parade bends to the left as it rises imperceptibly to the eye, but agonisingly so for the weary body. I focussed on running strong all the way to the finish and took the sharp left hand u-turn onto the last straight before looking up to the clock and seeing that I would be good to finish under the hour.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6E1djWVv5bMLbnpothvYBfG_KqSu51u0leOeXz7C19nYA3Sb6SLIiSAgslF3u1sa6YN8euQzz9lL8N07zhzEpxSK-pVgI-MSesFO2qAGYGLEzKoqeBlJK1L2X13iuBMxsos3v2jC5Ato/s1600/C2S+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6E1djWVv5bMLbnpothvYBfG_KqSu51u0leOeXz7C19nYA3Sb6SLIiSAgslF3u1sa6YN8euQzz9lL8N07zhzEpxSK-pVgI-MSesFO2qAGYGLEzKoqeBlJK1L2X13iuBMxsos3v2jC5Ato/s320/C2S+2015.jpg" width="320" /></a>A final burst of energy and I crossed the line in 59.35 which was only a handful of seconds slower than last years amazing time. I was very happy and only had to wait a few seconds before Dean crossed the line too. As we congratulated each other we saw more Sydney run leaders Tom and Ganesh finish too. Very cool. Another photo ensued!!<br />
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We moved around to the baggage area, collected our things and sat down to wait for Shriya to finish her race which she had started in a later wave. It was here that I got to meet former Melbourne run clubber Brendan and his sister; and Sydney head coach Rachel. Cool.<br />
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When the time came to get up my legs reminded me that they were very sore and tired, and they begrudgingly carried me along the shore so we could cross the road to a café and brunch. Mmmmm. It was then off to a local watering hole to meet the Sydney crew for some beers and stories. This was heaps of fun and we shared a good laugh or ten before Dean and I walked back to Bondi Junction.<br />
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A short train and bus ride later and we were back home for a shower and some chill-axing before I made my way back to the airport for the trip home. It was a super fun trip and a wonderful way to spend time with like-minded friends. For now it is time to get my legs back in order and continue the hard training ahead for Melbourne Marathon!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.20699020000006-34.711976400000005 149.91609670000005 -33.0229974 152.49788370000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-85802595957246014602015-08-04T22:14:00.002+10:002015-08-09T21:39:23.723+10:006 of 16: Changes<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 6 of 16</h2>
After five weeks of the program I have decided to recalibrate my training times towards achieving a 3:10 marathon which is an even 4.30m/k pace. I am really confident that I can achieve this time. My long runs are going well and I'm generally running faster than at an equivalent time last year. I am confident of hitting the long run paces and I will use the McMillan pace targets for my intervals as these are a little more generous than Furman (translated: I can actually do these)!<br />
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I am adopting the changes from this week and will monitor this for the next month to see how I am going.<br />
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<b>Tuesday 4 August</b><br />
<br />
First up session with the new times was a track set. Today I was working from home which gave me the opportunity to head out for a late lunch down to the Moorabbin Athletic Track (G R Bricker Reserve). It's a fairly desolate place down there and I have almost never seen another runner, just the odd person walking their dog ... off the leash which drives me nuts but that's another story!<br />
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Today was another cold and windy day in Melbourne and I didn't really warm up too much for the whole session. It was a stiff headwind in one direction down the back straight and a tailwind home. I'm not sure this cancels out and it certainly felt hard.<br />
<br />
The set was 2x 1200m in 4.31-47 (McMillan gives a range) and 4x 800 in 2.57-3.05, all with a 2 minute rest interval. My target, given there is a range of times, is to be somewhere in the middle. The 1200's were remarkably even (and in the middle!) at 4.38 and 4.37. They were comfortably hard, the long rest was appreciated. On to the 800's and I should be able to run under 3 mins, but ran these in 3.01/05/05/02, so on target but slower than I'd hope.<br />
<br />
All things considered, this was a good start to my revised plan. Yippee!<br />
<br />
<b>Wednesday 5 August</b><br />
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This week at <b>Nike+ Run Club</b> I was able to run once again with one of my favourite pace groups - the 10k 5m30s group, this time with Vanessa as co-leader. We had a crew of over 20 with many regular faces which makes for a great atmosphere. As part of the Zoom Boom campaign we are running a variety of different paces within each run. Tonight, after the warm up, was 1 min harder/1 min easier then 2h/2e and so on up to 5h/5e. Of the harder bits we were normally around 15s/km faster than the target average pace of 5.30, so somewhere around 5.15.<br />
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After completing this series of efforts we re-grouped at the top of Anderson Street for our "magic mile" which I think a lot of people have come to enjoy. The way I approach this is to run near the front and try to encourage and cajole people along at whatever pace they wish to do. For a 5.30 group, this team was fast and we cranked out a mile in 7 min (4.20 pace). Just wow!!<br />
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Once again, I was a very happy and proud run leader, as these folks continue to extend themselves.<br />
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<b>Thursday 6 August</b><br />
<br />
Today's session was an 8k <b>tempo run</b> with a target pace of 4.14. After completing a shorter 6k effort last week at 4.10 pace I expected this one to be manageable. I decided to run up and down on the north side of the Yarra, thus avoiding a road crossing and likely traffic light stop at Chapel Street. After a 1k warm up the plan was to run at 4.18-19 on the way out then pick it up and run 4.09-10 on the way back. Simples!<br />
<br />
Outbound I was right on pace with 4.18/21/18/19 for those k's. I was aware that this did not feel especially easy and feared I was running with whatever wind there was behind me. Turning around and the next km was also in 4.19 though this is over the 'undulating' part of the course so I thought was ok. But when I tried to pick up the pace there was nothing. My legs felt flat and empty and had no zip at all. The next couple of km's were in 4.24 and 4.22 so I was going backwards and when I tried to run a really hard last km it only came out as a 4.26. This was so depressing and I finished the 8k at the ordinary average of 4.21.<br />
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I took the unprecedented step of getting on the foam roller on Thursday night (I'm not really a fan of that thing) and am desperately trying to recover something ahead of Sunday's City to Surf.<br />
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<b>Sunday 9 August</b><br />
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Today was my 28th City to Surf and after the disastrous run I had on Thursday I was not confident on how I'd go. As it turned out I had a very good race, slightly slower than last year but still under one hour which is a fantastic time for me.<br />
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I have posted a separate <a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/city-to-surf-28.html" target="_blank">race report for this event</a>.<br />
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<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
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<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - G R Bricker <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/360766618" target="_blank">10.1k @5.12</a>; 2x 1200m and 4x800m<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/361635307" target="_blank">10.0 @5.25</a>; incl 1-2-3-4-5 harder/easier and magic mile.<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - Tempo 8 <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/362272886" target="_blank">10.0 @4.31</a>; incl 8k @4.21<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - City to Surf <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/364573854" target="_blank">13.95k @4.16</a>; hard race!<br />
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<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 6 of 16</b> (this week): 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3 hrs 31 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/5-of-16-build.html" target="_blank">Week 5 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4 hrs 21 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/going-long.html" target="_blank">Week 4 of 16</a></b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5 hrs 38 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/long-and-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 3 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4 hrs 46 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/firing-up.html" target="_blank">Week 2 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4 hrs 30 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/a-new-start.html" target="_blank">Week 1 of 16</a></b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4 hrs 11 mins<br />
<b>Total: 25 runs, 323.9 km, 26 hrs 59</b><b> mins</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-15512540456411456062015-07-28T22:37:00.002+10:002015-08-02T16:55:29.203+10:005 of 16: Build<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 5 of 16</h2>
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The first block of four weeks is done. Wow, time flies. In many respects, the 16-week period of the plan represents four macro-level blocks. You build for the first three, then taper for the fourth leading into the race. So this week is the first of a new block, the beginning of the second quarter, and I am well on my way. Jack Daniels and others talk about refining the plan and target times no more than every four weeks as it can take this long for changes to accumulate in the body. I have begun this plan with a target of 3:15 for the race, but a (not so) secret desire to get into shape to run a 3:10. So I am looking for evidence that I can sustain the faster paces associated with the 3:10 plan.<br />
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My theme for this week is <b>build</b>. The key sessions this week are just that bit faster than a few weeks ago and it is important that I can stay on top of them. I also want to use this theme for my runs, trying to pay better attention to pacing and building into each run rather than going flat out from the start.<br />
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<b>Tuesday 28 July</b><br />
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There's a slight and disturbing trend emerging with my pace setting during this program. More than once I have set out with absolutely the wrong target pace in my head. Obviously this is not the end of the world (!) but sheesh, it's not like I have much to remember when I am out running. Today's <b>interval session</b> was another case in point.<br />
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It was a plain and simple set: 3x 1600m in 6.11 min with a 400m RI. If done on a regular aths track, no problemo, 4 laps plus 1 lap! When done at Olympic Park, however, it requires far more maths. Not difficult maths, but some. And when you head off for a run and you haven't even thought about the maths you are courting problems, as I was soon to discover.<br />
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For this track is ~520m around, a completely irregular distance of ever one was concocted. So, whilst heading down the hill to the track I began to work out what a 6.11min/1600m was for three laps of this track. Which was all fine except in my head 3x520=1660 and not 1560. Proudly, I worked out that 60m meant about 12 sec extra per rep; so when I started off I had a time of 6.23 for three laps in my head - let's call it 2.07 min/lap and be done with it I thought!<br />
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Now, if you haven't gone to sleep or clicked to another web page somewhere, you'll realise this was completely screwy. But I started my laps blissfully ignorant of the error. On the positive side, I was consciously holding back for the first lap, wanting to pick up the pace for each of the three laps rather than go out fast and die. So when I rounded a fairly conservative lap one and saw 2.04 on my watch I knew something was amiss. These times would not be easy and I knew I wasn't running this well. (See only took me 520m to work this out!)<br />
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Some very quick maths ensued and I realised I had stuffed the calculations completely. Doh! I quickly established a new target of 6.00 min even for the 1560m, though I now know the correct target was 6.02! Anyway, 6 min it was which meant 2 min/lap which meant I was way behind! A couple of faster laps and I finished rep one in 6.07. Wow, what a saga to get to this point!<br />
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Ok, on my rest lap I came up with a new plan - run the first lap in 2.02, the second in 2.00 and bring it home in 1.58. All sounds pretty easy. The next rep went fairly close to that plan and I closed with a 1.59 lap to finish in 6.01. I was very happy with this although I was stuffed! I crawled my way around the recovery lap and tried to pick it up again for rep three. This was a bit ugly and I did it in 6.07 - back where I started.<br />
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The cool down back to work was horrific. My calves were screaming in pain as they clearly had not enjoyed this session. I suspect they are still in revolt after last Monday's track session. Perhaps they knew they were back at the scene of the crime! Time for an easy day.</div>
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I also think I need to revisit my target times. The Furman plan is very hard on these short sprints and I find them way too hard. McMillan gives a range of times and even the fastest is slower than the Furman suggestions. These work much better for me!<br />
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<b>Wednesday 29 July</b><br />
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Back to <b>Nike Run Club</b> tonight and I opted for a shorter 5k run as I wanted to rest my legs a little. I really enjoyed this 5m30s pace group as we trundled around the Yarra and Olympic Park environs. Each week we are also including the "magic mile" (at least that's what I call it) where we encourage our runners to "Find their Fast" and go for it! Today this group was really quick, running more than 30 sec ahead of their pace group speed. I was such a proud run leader :-)<br />
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<b>Thursday 30 July</b><br />
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Today in Melbourne was another absolutely beautiful, calm, sunny winter's day. Oh, wait a minute, no it wasn't. It was a cold blowing a gale day, which is fine if you are staying inside, but not so much fun if you have a tempo set to do at lunch time. But I'd rather run in the daytime and at least see what I am doing so off I went down to the Yarra to knock out a 5km <b>tempo run</b>. The program called for a 2k warm-up followed by 5k @4.10 pace then 3k cool down to finish.<br />
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Due to the ongoing path works near Chapel Street I shortened the warm up to 1km so that I'd be well finished my fast bit before getting to the road crossing. Of course, since I'd be running fast, I extended the fast bit to near 7k so that I could have a go at my 'CR' time on a favourite Strava segment. An extra fast km never hurt anyone, did it?<br />
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In keeping with my mantra for the week of "build" I was careful not to overextend early. The first 3k are mostly sheltered and offer a bit of a cross tailwind so I was careful not to get carried away here. I did these k's in 4.05, 4.03 and 4.12 for the one that ends with some uphill. So far so good. I was feeling in control. The last couple of k's are a mix of uphill, downhill, headwind and tailwind - pretty much everything - and I ran these in 4.13 and 4.07 which is ok but not fast. This gave me a 5k split of 20.40 (4.08 pace) which was pretty good! I continued on for my Strava segment, covering this only 5 sec outside my best time which was done just before the Gold Coast Marathon last year when I was in great form and on a great day. Very pleasing!!<br />
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I finished a total of 6k hard in 4.10 pace which is ace and continued on for the 10k run into a light drizzle and nasty wind. A good run, very happy with this!<br />
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<b>Sunday 2 August</b><br />
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The last run of the week and the big one, my <b>long run</b>. The weather yesterday morning was forecast to be rain and wind, so I went for a ride and deferred the long run till today. As it turned out, the rain disappeared by mid-morning yesterday and by today the wind had picked up so it was probably worse. Aargh! Oh well, that's life in a Melbourne winter. It's going to be windy. I remember back in 2009 it was really windy for almost every long run and on race day it was perfect. I hope for much the same this year!<br />
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Today's loop was once again down to the beach then south along the shore to Parkdale, before returning inland via Nepean Highway and Chesterville Road. The target pace was 5.04m/k but I intended to run a bit quicker than this and try be around 5m/k if I could. I was right onto the pace from early on and kept it fairly even at 4.55-5.00 for the first 20k down to Parkdale. This was the easier part of the run, I knew it would be harder slightly uphill and into the wind on the return.<br />
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I worked hard and ran these in about 5.00-5.08. I was tired, and y left knee was feeling a bit sore, but I was not overly fatigued. Once again I had three gels - one just as I started then two more at 60min and 100min into the run. These worked well. Coming up the last km I was even able to lift the pace slightly to get back to an average of 4.59m/k for the run. Very pleasing!!<br />
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<b>Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
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<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Three More Miles <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/355596942" target="_blank">9k @4.48</a>; incl. 3x 1560m @6.08/01/07.<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/356519745" target="_blank">4.9k @5.24</a>; easy with magic mile.<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - Flippin' Windy 5 (and a bit) <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/357043081" target="_blank">10.4k @4.33</a>; incl. 5k @4.08 (6k @4.10)<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - It's a bit ... windy! <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/359157639" target="_blank">29k @4.59</a>; strong long run in windy conditions<br />
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<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 5 of 16</b> (this week): 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4 hrs 21 mins<br />
<b>Week 4 of 16</b>: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5 hrs 38 mins<br />
<b>Week 3 of 16</b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4 hrs 46 mins<br />
<b>Week 2 of 16</b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4 hrs 30 mins<br />
<b>Week 1 of 16</b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4 hrs 11 mins<br />
<b>Total: 21 runs, 279.7 km, 23 hrs 27</b><b> mins</b></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-78662189400549758002015-07-21T21:17:00.002+10:002015-07-26T16:16:27.252+10:004 of 16: Going Long<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 4 of 16</h2>
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After a great end to last week I am really looking forward to the week ahead. My theme is "going long" as the long run this weekend is the first of the 32k runs. One of the features of this Furman program is the early and continued appearance of 32k runs - five in all, getting progressively faster towards race day. If I am travelling well then these are very enjoyable, though definitely not easy!</div>
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<b>Monday 20 July</b><br />
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After reshuffling my run days last week and doing my long run on a Saturday i was able to fit in an 'extra' run on Monday this week. One of the Nike Run Club leaders, Lincoln, is offering track sessions at Olympic Park in preparation for the marathon so I took the opportunity to join in. As you can see from the photo, it was a beautiful Melbourne evening as I headed down to the track. Tonight I'd also be doing my first run in Nike Free 4.0 runners. I figured this was a short, sharp session on a reasonably soft surface so that would be a gentle introduction to this style of shoe.<br />
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After a warm-up Linc took us through a series of drills focussing on form. I typically ignore this aspect of running though know I should be doing it, so was happy it featured here. The main set was one I am very familiar with - the famous 'Mona Fartlek' session. This consists of 20 minutes of running, with alternating hard/easy intervals of the same duration. So there was 2x 90sec, 4x 60sec, 4x 30sec and 4x 15sec with equivalent recovery bits after each one. Sounds easy - only 10 minutes of hard stuff which, as Linc pointed out, should be at 5k pace, with the easy bit at marathon pace.<br />
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I pointed out to him that I'd run this session before, but paced it differently (wrong) and done sprints with easy recovery. I would try to run this one a little better!! In reality, though, I fell somewhere between the extremes. The fast bits were definitely quicker than 5k pace and the recovery at slower than marathon. When all was said and done I'd run about 4.77km in the 20 minutes which is not bad.<br />
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As for the shoes. Well, hmmm, they are definitely on the "Free" side and put a lot more stress on my calves (and feet and quads) than my regular runners. I'll definitely have to use them sparingly, though to be honest, there's a fair chance they may become casual shoes and I'll stick to something a bit more cushioned for running.<br />
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<b>Tuesday 21 July</b></div>
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After last night's session my legs were not happy campers today. The program called for 5x 1km efforts with 400m recovery but I ditched that completely in favour of a very <b>easy run</b> of just under 5km. Even that hurt! So much for adding in an extra session this week. Aaargh!!<br />
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<b>Wednesday 22 July</b><br />
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It hasn't been such a great start to the running week. After Monday's shoes challenges my feet, calves and legs were pretty sore. A slow run yesterday and today I was still sore - especially in the calves. At <b>Nike Run Club</b> I was given a 'free ticket' to choose which run I wanted to do and so chose to go fast and long in the 10k 5m/k group. As a designated 'extra' when it came to the magic mile at Fitzroy Gardens I had the chance to set a fast pace at the front for the quicker runners to chase. Surprisingly I ran pretty well and with some good speed. The balance of the 10k was a mix of faster/slower pace with Linc setting the tempo up front. It was a good workout for me and a good run all things considered. Nice to get back on track for this week.<br />
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<b>Thursday 23 July</b><br />
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The <b>tempo run</b> is normally my favourite of the week, being "a good distance at a good pace." Each of the last few weeks this run has become faster and today it was 6.5k at 4.20 pace. Another pleasant but windy lunch time greeted me for this one with my legs still iffy after Monday. My pacing was pretty good and I was into the target zone from early on into the main effort.<br />
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I must be getting old(er) and forgot how far the effort was, cutting it short at only 6k, 500m less than planned. Aargh! But at least it was just under target pace so a good run. Not as easy as I'd hope, but a nice effort.<br />
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<b>Saturday 25 July</b><br />
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I had once again altered my run schedule so that the <b>long run</b> would be on a Saturday. I'm hoping this will give me the chance to squeeze in another (easy) run each Monday. Today was the first of the really long runs at 32k. That said, it was also the slowest, with a target pace of 5.14 m/k (which unfortunately in my head was 5.12). The morning was pretty windy and i decided to do a big lap into the city then along the Yarra and back home. That would give me the hardest part first, with a tailwind for most of the return journey.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQ0ReAmbK6YyJT10ekYPKLQ8guWfdNBMCN-D8bfocOapc8fWayjLzt3_lddhr_EZ1LDQxa8wZsJdoCTzyRWsRjIR8wTkdcoD7g5FNRKeTwDzqUKIxHu6Xk9eUZLwQgc58BXCLOnZmrdU/s1600/IMG_4075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQ0ReAmbK6YyJT10ekYPKLQ8guWfdNBMCN-D8bfocOapc8fWayjLzt3_lddhr_EZ1LDQxa8wZsJdoCTzyRWsRjIR8wTkdcoD7g5FNRKeTwDzqUKIxHu6Xk9eUZLwQgc58BXCLOnZmrdU/s320/IMG_4075.jpg" width="240" /></a>My legs were still not 100% after the track session on Monday, but I knew they'd be good enough at this pace. I had one gel before I started then planned to take one after one hour and two hours. My pace was reasonably good right away and I remained a few seconds ahead of plan all the way into the city and down to the Yarra at the Tan Track. At just after 14k it was a right turn onto the Yarra trail and a path which I run a lot during the week.<br />
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I didn't plan to pick up the pace here, but hoped that it might feel a bit easier with the wind over my shoulder. As it turned out, the next 5k were all pretty similar to those which had preceded them and I was starting to feel fatigued. It was only after I crossed Glenferrie Road that the pace quickened. Not sure how (or why) but the next 4k were all under 5m/k. Weird! Then it got hard. I ran 5k through to 28k where the path finishes and I cross a footbridge up to Belgrave Rd at 5.16 pace. Admittedly, this does include the grind up a hill, but I was definitely feeling tired.<br />
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Of course, with the sniff of home, I tried to run strong and completed the last 4.8k or so at about 5.01 pace, finishing 32.8k at 5.08 pace. This is too far under plan - like last week - for me to call this a well paced run, but I have aspirations above my training paces this year and so wish to see how realistic they are by running just a little bit quicker in training. All in all, very happy with this run. Just very tired!</div>
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<b>Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
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<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Monday</b> - Mona Fartlek with Linc <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/350021494" target="_blank">8.1k @5.51</a>; drills and Mona Fartlek 4.77km<br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Eaaaasy <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/350562315" target="_blank">4.6k @5.23</a>; legs too sore to run<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/351438129" target="_blank">9.9k @4.58</a>; magic mile, fartlek, solid going.<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - 6 Fast in 10 <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/352071700" target="_blank">10.3k @4.37</a>; incl. 6k @4.18.<br />
<b>Saturday</b> - The Grand Boucle <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/353393888" target="_blank">32.8k @5.08</a>; big, long run - windy and hard.<br />
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<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 4 of 16</b> (this week): 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5 hrs 38 mins<br />
<b>Week 3 of 16</b>: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4 hrs 46 mins<br />
<b>Week 2 of 16</b>: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4 hrs 30 mins<br />
<b>Week 1 of 16</b>: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4 hrs 11 mins<br />
<b>Total: 17 runs, 226.5 km, 19 hrs 5</b><b> mins</b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-22410577845418387292015-07-17T21:02:00.000+10:002015-07-26T14:16:59.442+10:003 of 16: Long and Strong<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 3 of 16</h2>
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Marathon training week three and I am really into the swing now. The routine is there, I am (gradually) getting used to doing the sprint sessions again and my distance is building up. My main objective this week is to have a good long run on the weekend. The plan is for 27.5k and I want to run this feeling strong, something which I have struggled to do in the first two weeks. I feel that really nailing these long runs is the key for me and I aim to do these better than last year (and I was pretty happy with those!)</div>
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<b>Tuesday 14 July</b></div>
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This week began with a <b>descending interval</b> set of 1200m, 1000m, 800m, 600m and 400m; each with a 200m recovery. The target times for these were way quick and, to be honest, I kind of set them out of my mind as I ran. Which is to say I just ran each as hard as I could, knowing that I was unlikely to make any of the times. I find that the target times up to 800m intervals seem ok, but above that I struggle.<br />
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Like so many of my runs these days, I incorporated the set into a loop along the Yarra totalling just over 10k. This means that I get some headwind, some tail, some inclines and some downhill. Which is pretty fine for a tempo set, but for intervals means that you can be out a bit just from variations in the terrain and conditions.<br />
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Absolutely none of which bothers me. I just run hard!<br />
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How did it feel? Well, ok for the 1200 and 1000 - though when I check the times they were only run in 4.01 and 3.58 pace so slow-ish (vs target). The 800 was a bit better, the 600m a struggle (I ran a slower pace than for the 800) and the 400 I just pushed hard. It was a bit higgledy-piggledy but that's life. Unfortunately not my greatest session, but good to tick another one off!<br />
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<b>Wednesday 15 July</b><br />
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<b>Nike Run Club</b> on Wednesday was week 2 of the "Find Your Fast" promotion and I led what has become my favourite group, the 10k 5.30m/k crew. It was just me leading the team around and we incorporated some faster sections with slower recovery parts, instead of the regular steady-paced effort. The crowning achievement was the 'magic mile' where we are encouraged to go for it, and I stayed with our slowest folks who still ran less than 5m/k which was fantastic. Lots of fun as always.<br />
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<b>Thursday 16 July</b><br />
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Normally my second main session for the week is on a Friday, but I shuffled some things around this week so I could run on Thursday. (Oddly enough, this is the first Thursday I have done any exercise in six months!) This week's <b>tempo was 8k</b> - just like last week - but at 4.29m/k which was 8sec/km faster than last time. After my warm up km it was into the work and I set a pretty steady pace the whole way round, never really deviating too much from the plan. I covered the 8k at 4.27m/k so a few seconds ahead of plan and feeling good. I tend to enjoy these runs more and find them way more manageable than the sprints. I'm thinking of changing my long run to Saturday this week so the Thursday tempo will work for that too!<br />
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<b>Saturday 18 July</b><br />
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I have been looking forward to this <b>long run</b> all week and after some ordinary weather for much of the last fortnight Melbourne turned on a cracking morning for this one. It was a beautiful winter's day - cool and sunny with a light breeze which would be behind me for most of my run.<br />
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This week "long and strong" was my focus so I had placed a special emphasis on having a great run today. My first two long runs had not left me feeling energised and I wanted this one to feel great. I decided to run down to the beach at Elwood, then along the last 16k or so of the Melbourne Marathon course. The target pace was 5.04m/k so the same as last week and not something which should feel particularly hard.<br />
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I headed down South Rd and was immediately into a bit of a groove at just under 5.00 pace. Turning right onto the beach path and I felt good. My pace remained fairly even and I reached Elwood (12k) averaging 4.56m/k. I stopped here briefly for a drink of water and a High 5 gel before kicking on again. So far so good and I was well ahead of schedule. I figured that I'd slow a little around the back of the Tan so wanted a 30 sec buffer, but was travelling well ahead of that pace so kept going.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1h-rq_ETMEjvXTOCbIXEUs2c0oQnZCi_5scVmY-4TAg09Ywanu2AjfQOA36ovuKCnBcX9YU4O7KHg2sQO_jyXQ6Wbl-rycuq8fGFblMJ-0Xfzqwy5oxFTbyMy7qC6oMBdv1J_rBa47Nc/s1600/IMG_4048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1h-rq_ETMEjvXTOCbIXEUs2c0oQnZCi_5scVmY-4TAg09Ywanu2AjfQOA36ovuKCnBcX9YU4O7KHg2sQO_jyXQ6Wbl-rycuq8fGFblMJ-0Xfzqwy5oxFTbyMy7qC6oMBdv1J_rBa47Nc/s320/IMG_4048.jpg" width="240" /></a>I followed the beach path all the way into St Kilda at which point, after a short loo stop, I headed over the road and joined the 'course proper' at Fitzroy Street. As I headed up the slight incline I thought of all the folks who complain about the "hill" here when, in fact, it is only a gentle and short rise. Or at least it is when you are feeling good as I was.<br />
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Turning left on St Kilda Road and though it feels like you are on the home stretch, in reality there is still 12k to go. My pace definitely quickened along here and I ran the next 8 km's in sub-4.50 pace. At the Arts Centre while I waited to cross the road I watched as a tram driver slowly and deliberately demolished the back half of a car which had made the mistake of sitting across the tracks. Amazing!<br />
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I reached the Tan Track and with 7k to go I had my second gel. The rise up to the Shrine felt really hard but was still a 4.58 so I guess it was more in my head than anything. By 22.5k I had reached the turn at Domain Road and proceeded to run freely up to Federation Square. The next four km got quicker and quicker down to a 4.42, probably getting carried away by running through the lunchtime crowd!<br />
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I rounded the bend to the MCG and ran all the way up to Punt Road where I stopped my watch in some kind of amazement as I had averaged a 4.52m/k pace for this run. And whilst I had an absolute buzz running this fast today and it felt great, I know I need to be careful to run more closely to plan, lest I leave my best efforts out on the training track. But I am really happy with this long and feel pumped for the weeks ahead!!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Descending <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/345587745" target="_blank">10.3k @4.44</a>; 12/10/8/6/4 aargh!<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike+ Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/346442128" target="_blank">10.0k @5.37</a>; fartlek style easy run<br />
<b>Thursday</b> - 5 Miles of Tempo Goodness <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/347043239" target="_blank">10.4k @4.35</a>; incl 8k @4.27<br />
<b>Saturday</b> - Cracking Day for a Run <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/348360728" target="_blank">27.6k @4.52</a>; a bit fast, but beautiful<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 3 of 16</b> (this week): 4 runs, 58.3km, 4 hrs 46 mins<br />
<b>Week 2 of 16</b>: 4 runs, 52.4km, 4 hrs 30 mins<br />
<b>Week 1 of 16</b>: 4 runs, 50.0km, 4 hrs 11 mins<br />
<b>Total: 12 runs, 160.7 km, 13 hrs 27</b><b> mins</b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-84552102039379965622015-07-07T20:27:00.000+10:002015-07-26T14:19:36.607+10:002 of 16: Firing Up<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 2 of 16</h2>
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It's now the second week of my Melbourne Marathon training program and it's time to start firing up my legs. After a difficult first week I really want to have some successful runs. I know from experience that it can take a few weeks for me to start feeling good with this program, but the sooner the better I say! </div>
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<b>Tuesday 7 July</b></div>
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The first session of the week was a relatively easy <b>speed session</b> of 4x 800m with a 2min RI. Today, with beautiful weather at lunch time I decided to head down to the Olympic Park track (Westpac Centre) and run there. Of course, this track is a little odd distance, I think it is ~520m around; which means using the track markers that I do equates to ~840m per rep. And I feel every one of those extra 40m! And instead of a 2min rest between reps I just walk back easily to the start point so ~200m before running hard again. Sounds complicated but is pretty simple!</div>
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The target pace was 2.57min per 800m and, of course, I had not worked out what this equated to, so it is only now that I can see that this means a 3.06min time for the 840m I did. </div>
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I started on the first rep and went out way too hard. I think I got a bit carried away and found the last few hundred metres a struggle. I completed this in 3.08 - which I now know is just a bit behind plan, but at the time I thought it was way slow. I took the next three reps more sedately at the start and finished stronger, doing these in 3.06, 3.07 and 3.07. In retrospect I am very happy with these times. </div>
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When pushing hard and breathing deeply I can feel my chest wheezing just a little so I know I am still not 100%, so to run strong is great and gives me some confidence! Nice :-)<br />
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<b>Wednesday 8 July</b><br />
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This week was the start of a new season of <b>Nike+ Run Club</b>, with the theme of "Find Your Fast" where, over an eight-week period, we will be encouraging runners to improve their time over the mile distance. It's pretty cool, with a measured mile each week, some new courses, an extra run each week on the track and some cool guest coaches. The "Zoom Boom" will be in full swing.<br />
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I led the 6m/k 10k group by myself tonight as we were short of leaders. A small group of gazelles were keen to run off the front, but most of us stayed together until the mile where we spread apart. I tried to run at ~5.30 pace here so a bit quicker than our overall average. Lots of fun!<br />
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<b>Friday 10 July</b><br />
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To Friday and the second <b>fast run</b> for the week. On paper it looked pretty easy to be honest. 8k @4.37m/k with a warm up and cool down attached to it. I'd run on my normal Yarra River loop where I can average 4.30's for the whole run with only moderate effort. So I thought this would not trouble me. As it turned out the day was a bit windy and my legs are not feeling very zippy. In fact, they feel heavy and sluggish. So what should have been a comfortable run actually required some effort in the back half to bring it in on schedule.<br />
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I think I need to get a massage or something (stretching??? foam rolling!!!!!) to help here. And I can feel some visits to my trust physio Rob O'Donnell at <a href="http://www.sspc.com.au/" target="_blank">Southern Suburbs</a> coming on too.<br />
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<b>Sunday 12 July</b><br />
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Some days are just plain hard. This weekend a cold front has descended on Melbourne bringing low temperatures, wind and rain. It is decidedly ordinary and if not for commitment to "the plan" I would definitely have stayed at home today. But the plan called for a <b>24k long run</b> and so out into the rain I went to get the job done.<br />
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I headed down South Rd to begin, knowing that I would pick up the north-west wind for the section along the beach. I felt ok to start with, except a little tight in my right hamstring. Target pace was 5.04m/k so about 5 sec/km slower than I ran last Sunday for only a few km longer. I planned to run at ~5m/k to start with, knowing that the last 6-7km back from the beach up to home would slow me down a little.<br />
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I went through 6k @4.55 average and turned onto the beach path where I could definitely feel the tailwind. When I reached the Black Rock clock tower at just over 12k I was still averaging under 5 m/k so was happy though feeling cold. My cool new Nike Vapor jacket was keeping out the wind but was not designed to keep out rain for an hour so I was wet through.<br />
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The next 4k are undulating around Beaumaris and by now my right hamstring (or popliteus) was starting to feel pretty tight and I could not stride out freely. Turning onto Charman Rd I had about 100 seconds "spare" so knew I could run 5.12's from here home and be on target pace. I tried to shorten my stride and keep the cadence up and ran pretty well up to and past Southland. By now I just wanted to get home and ran conservatively strong through the finish, completing 24.2km at 5.03m/k.<br />
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I am pretty pleased with this run on an ordinary day. When I reflect on this week I have hit my target pace for each session, but none of them have felt comfortable. I've certainly 'Fired Up' as was the plan, now to build on this and get to a point where the pace feels good instead of a struggle.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
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<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Four 800-ish's <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/340702605" target="_blank">7.9k @5.00</a>; 4x ~800m with 200m walk recovery<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike+ Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/341502450" target="_blank">9.9k @5.59</a>; easy run<br />
<b>Friday</b> - Windy Tempo <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/342810134" target="_blank">10.3k @4.43</a>; incl 8k @4.36<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Rule #9 <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/344164794" target="_blank">24.2k @5.03</a>; cold, wet & windy<br />
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<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 2 of 16</b> (this week): 4 runs, 52.4km, 4 hrs 30 mins<br />
<b>Week 1 of 16</b>: 4 runs, 50.1km, 4 hrs 11 mins<br />
<b>Total: 8 runs, 102.4 km, 8 hrs 41</b><b> mins</b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-33947211437568638992015-07-02T23:36:00.002+10:002015-07-26T14:19:47.259+10:001 of 16: A New Start<h2>
Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 1 of 16</h2>
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Well, here I am at the beginning of another marathon campaign. This time I am targeting the Melbourne Marathon on 18 October. I begin this build up in reasonable shape, but not quite where I had hoped to be. Through the start of 2015 and right up until March I was running really well and was doing some long runs on weekends in conjunction with the Nike+ Run Club Run for the Kids training sessions. By the end of March I had just under 500km in my legs vs less than 200km at this time last year.<br />
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Then came my shoulder surgery which set me back for a few weeks and it was only in the last week of April that I got going again. Into May and at the start of the month I <a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/doing-double.html" target="_blank">did "the double"</a> of <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/296988905" target="_blank">Puffing Billy Great Train Race</a> and <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/297254504" target="_blank">Wings for Life World Run</a> on one day. I was exhausted and did very little the following week before getting sick a week later. By mid-May I was in the doldrums, running a pedestrian <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/310406744" target="_blank">Sri Chinmoy Half Marathon</a> at Como Landing in my sick state.<br />
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Keen to start getting some decent weeks worth of kilometres back into my legs I again ramped it up, with my first 50km week in a month to start June. This was punctuated by an awful <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/318597606" target="_blank">8x 1km workout</a> where everything was just super-hard. I had no zip. My body was just not responding. A somewhat shorter week followed, but this finished with perhaps my worst run so far, a "long" run where I could only manage 10k at 5.17m/k pace. <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/324942429" target="_blank">Struggle Street</a> it was and I was still not completely over the cold I had contracted a month earlier.<br />
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A very easy week followed in mid-June, my cold flared up again, and I became even more frustrated. Last week was just under 50k including a tempo 10k (hard but ok) and a 19k run to "<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/333748990" target="_blank">Emerald City</a>" in the Dandenongs with my run club friend Adam. I got through and did not feel bad, but was not good. Which brings me to this week and the official start of training. As I say, I am in ok shape, but frustratingly not where I expected to be at the start of July.<br />
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I am once again following the Furman Run Less, Run Faster program with my own tweaks. I plan to add an extra run or two each week into the mix and some of the longer runs will extend up to 3:15 hrs or so. I've read through the Jack Daniels book and had planned to adopt this but it is very hard to make a plan out of it. There are so many options and variables and it when I read it I realised that Furman adopts his main principles anyway, so why not just stick with something which has worked for me before.<br />
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And what am I aiming for? In reality, if I can run the same or slightly faster than Gold Coast last year then I will be very happy. So let's say a sub-3:15 is my goal for this year.<br />
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<b>Tuesday 30 June</b><br />
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The first training session and straight into <b>mile repeats</b>. Not many, to be fair, just three with 400m recovery in between each. Like last year, most of my speed sessions will be run in 'natural' locations away from athletics tracks. Which can make pacing more interesting but that is what I want. For this session I chose to run at the Fitzroy Gardens near work. Three-quarters of a lap is ~1550m so I decided that would be good enough, with about 400m of recovery to complete the full lap before beginning again.<br />
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The plan called for each repeat to be in 6.11min which I knew would be pretty hard to do, even if it is a net downhill on the course I was running. The first rep took me 6.12 so the time was right on - even if it was a shorter distance. But boy did it hurt! The second rep felt harder and was slower :-( in 6.15. The final rep was to be a big struggle and I heaved and fought my way around in 6.26 so my pace was ~7sec/km slower for that one.<br />
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On my cool-down run back to the office I could barely lift my legs (I think I even stopped on one of the inclines). I felt pretty stuffed from this effort and I am hoping that these sessions don't all feel like this one did!<br />
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<b>Wednesday 1 July</b><br />
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For over a year now I have been privileged to be a run leader with the <b>Nike+ Run Club</b> here in Melbourne and so Wednesday nights I run with the crew there. These are one of my 'bonus' runs each week as I could be running short or long, slow or fast - who knows! This week it was the 10k group at 5.30m/k pace. I really enjoy this group as there is a wonderful spirit in the team. This week alone there were accomplished half-marathoners through to people contemplating a first marathon. Lots of stories to hear and lots of good running chat to be had. Loved it. Felt good!<br />
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<b>Friday 3 July</b><br />
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The end of the work week and my traditional lunch time run day. Today's session was my first <b>tempo set</b>. I generally find these comfortable if I am in good form and they fall into two categories - shorter/faster and longer/slower (duh!) Today was a shorter/faster variety which meant a 3k effort @4.10m/k with 3k before and 4k after.<br />
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On the Yarra River 10k loop I have there is only one challenging (read: undulating) bit and that comes at 4-4.5k so this would be right in the middle of my fast section. My form has been a lottery too, so I wasn't sure how I would go.<br />
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The first of the three 'hard' km's I did in just 4.17 and my reaction was 'uh-oh, here we go again.' Through the undulating section and over the bridge I picked up the pace and was pleased to knock out the second km in 4.10. From here I ramped up the effort even more and ran strong, completing the last km in 4.03 for a perfect on-target 3k effort @4.10 pace. Sure!<br />
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Was pretty pleased to run this well, a great workout to finish the working week!<br />
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<b>Sunday 5 July</b><br />
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Today was time for my first long run of the program, a <b>half marathon</b> at what should be a pretty comfortable pace of 4.55m/k. And whilst nothing has been coming easily as of late, I was optimistic of getting this one done on plan. I set out a one-lap course which would follow the border of the <a href="http://victoriancollections.net.au/items/4f72b00997f83e03086040f4" target="_blank">parcel of land Henry Dendy acquired </a>in 1841. Amazing to think that he bought these 5120 acres for just one pound per acre and, even though the true value was at least five times that, he was bankrupt just four years later! I tried to imagine what it must have been like all that time ago - probably a few more trees, swamp and snakes with less roads than now. Lol.<br />
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It was a little bit windy out so I expected the first part to be a little slower but to pick up time 'downwind' along the beach before the run up South Rd. As it turned out the first 5k was right on target pace but I felt like I was having to push a bit harder than expected. I could feel my chest wheezing just a little when I breathed deeply on this cold day. The long section along North Rd to the beach was ok with a crosswind and I turned onto the beach at 11.5k with an average pace of 4.55 so still spot on target.<br />
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As it turned out, even with the breeze behind me I could only muster 14 sec to the good of my plan in 4k. More concerning was the fact that I was starting to feel tired and I turned onto South Rd without the 'zip' I knew I'd need to get up home on my planned pace. I pushed through as best I could, but within 1500m I had to stop as I felt nauseous and like I was going to throw up. I didn't, but it was not good. (In retrospect, maybe the two bagels and banana I ate 45 min before heading out was not such a great idea!)<br />
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From here I just plodded along trying to limit the damage and at least stay at less than 5m/k pace. With a little push through the final kilometre I achieved this (just) but it was not nearly as good a run as the Sri Chinmoy Como Landing Half Mara six weeks prior where I had recorded the same time, despite being sick that day.<br />
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Let's hope next week is better!<br />
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<b>Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T3g83CPtWfdaTIRL8goTotYdl0wV1rDee0yeSaLj9gQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">whole training plan here</a>.<br />
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<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Park Speed: 3x Three Quarter Fitzy's <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/335881744" target="_blank">8.5k @4.55</a>; 3x 1550m with 400m recovery<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/336748196" target="_blank">9.9k @5.29</a>; easy run<br />
<b>Friday</b> - Three Hard <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/337981201" target="_blank">10.4k @4.40</a>; incl 3k @4.10<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Henry Dendy's Brighton <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/339291653" target="_blank">21.1k @4.59</a>; definitely not comfortable<br />
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<b>Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 1 of 16</b> (this week): 4 runs, 50.1km, 4 hrs 11 mins<br />
<b>Total: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4 hrs 11</b><b> mins</b><!--5--><!--5-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-91963897092032419492015-05-17T20:55:00.000+10:002015-06-07T09:29:34.908+10:00Doing the Double<div class="p1">
I typically run only half a dozen or so races each year, more or less spread out through the seasons, giving me a good amount of time to recover and prepare for each one. So when my friend Roger told me he wanted to run the <b>Puffing Billy Great Train Race</b> on the same day that I had already committed to doing the new <b>Wings for Life World Run</b> I had a dilemma. As it turned out the dilemma wasn't which one to do – but whether to do both! Nervously, I chose to do the double which would mean a race in the morning and a race later that evening.</div>
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My preparation had been strong for eight weeks through February-March as I did some long runs in training for the Run for the Kids where I ran a good time but a poor race. Minor arm surgery at the end of March meant a week of no running followed by a fortnight of very slow runs; all of which added up to a good base to my ‘cake’ but no ‘icing!’</div>
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Overall I was happy with my form, though not expecting to be in top shape like last year where I had run strong chasing Dave the whole way. Unfortunately, just to mix things up, I strained my right thigh on Wednesday night whilst leaping around for photos at run club. Aargh! My Friday run was absolute pain, but ice and ibuprofen were enlisted to help and I felt ok, if a little unsure, on race morning.</div>
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<b>Puffing Billy – The Great Train Race</b></div>
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With the weather pattern in Melbourne during autumn being typically up and down I was very happy to see a perfect day dawn for the race. It was cool, but not cold, with no wind or rain. Race start is at 9.30am but we left home by 7.15 to arrive before 8 and avoid the crowds fighting for limited car parks. This worked a treat and we were parked and pooped before the crowds arrived en masses ten minutes later.</div>
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Roger and I walked up the hill to the fire station and found a seat on a wall where we could relax and watched the assortment of runners go by. An hour before race time and people were already warming up and stretching, taking last drinks and depositing their clothes on the truck. We just sat and talked. No hurry just yet!</div>
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My race plan here was to run comfortably hard, hopefully with a time of under an hour. I wasn't sure if my thigh would be ok and I knew I needed to keep something in reserve for my second race that night. It was an ambitious but achievable plan, or so I thought.</div>
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We assemble pre-race in assigned groups. Once again I was in the second group. It doesn't seem to matter how fast I run or how high I place here the organiser won't put me in the front group and I see Adam on the front row with me just like at Run for the Kids. He is in amazing form and this race is on home territory for him and I know he will be minutes ahead of me.</div>
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After the national anthem sung by Mike Brady – another tradition – we’re off! I am running almost from the gun having snuck up towards the front and my thigh feels ok which is good as it is immediately under pressure on the steep downhill which comprises most of the first kilometre.</div>
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500m down the road I run up beside Tristan Miller (52 marathons in 52 weeks) and say hi for the second time this week after he was our guest run leader at run club on Wednesday. We go through 1k in 3.45 and I let him go, backing off into a more comfortable pace as we go under the trestle bridge and up the first incline to the small Selby township. In the distance I hear the toot toot of Puffing Billy - I am ahead for now but he sounds close!</div>
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After Selby is a long downhill to the first of four level crossings. These are the critical moments in the race to beat the train and, in normal circumstances, to beat the train you must be ahead at each of these points. Rolling down the last couple of hundred metres to the one and I can hear the train is very near. I don't need to, but a quick glance over my shoulder confirms that it will be touch and go whether I make it through or not. </div>
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I am disinclined to sprint a few kilometres into an hour-long race, but with only 20m or so to the crossing the bells and lights start up and officials begin dragging the barrier across the road. I sprint through on the right side in the mud just off the road, in the last three through this crossing and am pleased I did not need to stop. The train is obviously on a fast one this year and I know from experience there will be little point trying to run hard to beat it from here.</div>
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Since forever the first aid station has been at the bottom of the “big hill” right on 5km, but this year is moved to a better place a bit earlier at the 4km mark. In any case I skip this one and continue at my moderate pace. I know I am not running fast here and other runners begin to disappear ahead. My quads don't feel supple and each step is an effort. I'm running at 95% effort for a 90% return and when I hit the bottom of the Selby-Aura Road climb at 5km this fact is made even more stark.</div>
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I have no real strength up the hill and so I plod along, getting to the top comfortably and through the crossing although there is no sign of the train which is long gone. Around the corner and I grab a sip of water at the aid station. Running downhill my legs are not very happy and when I come to the really steep part I find I am blocked by runners going in slo-mo which only shortens my stride and increases the pounding. I elbow my way through and pass about 10 people in 100m.</div>
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Around the corner and through the third crossing where I hear an official say the train is about 3.5 minutes ahead, and it is back uphill. At this point I go past an unusual lady who has set up a card table by the side of the road with what looks like a tea party going on. I decline to sit down and join her though I am intrigued by this oddity!</div>
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Finally I am running strong and I go past the Paradise Valley Hotel – an inappropriately named establishment if ever there was one – to begin the long drag up to Emerald city. The feeling I am having now is that I am running in control and whilst not overly fatigued my legs are sore. The crowd at the Emerald crossing, the fourth and final one on the course, are amazing. There are lots of people here clapping and cheering and I give several kids a high five as I go past.</div>
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Once through the township and having avoided the temptation to stop by the rather wonderful bakery there, I crest the top of the final incline and begin a steady 3km of descent to the finish. Most of this is on a trail beside the railway and is just beautiful, especially in autumn with the red, brown and yellow leaves carpeting the ground.</div>
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Whilst I haven't been running to a time goal and know I will be slower than last year, I glance at my watch and do some rough calculations. I am currently on 4.33 pace and so need to run about 4.20’s to get this to a 4.30 average which would be nice. Even better, if I ran stupendously quickly I might just sneak in under an hour for the race.</div>
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There are two final tricky points to negotiate here, the first being another steep downhill section of about 150m where, until last year, there was a u-turn to head to the finish. At least now you continue straight on which makes slowing down a little less abrupt. The last challenge has always been there, a small but significant rise about 100m from the finish line. I'm not sure I've ever been a “sprint to the finish” kind of guy, but I always slow down a bit here then kind of stumble to the line.</div>
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I cross the line, press the stop button on my Garmin (can't forget to do that!) and look at my finish time. It is an hour and nine seconds; about a minute slower than last year and just shy of my aspiration of less than an hour. That said, when I could hardly run on Friday I would gladly have taken this as my finish time and with another test looming that night, I had the additional “excuse” of saving myself for that one.</div>
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I grabbed a Gatorade, found my bag then headed off to get a massage. The team of students here double up on each recipient and on one side I had Mr Gentle, with Miss Strong on the other. Needless to say within about ten seconds they had me levitating off the table and writhing in pain! But, suspecting this would be good for me, I tried to bear it (no grinning).</div>
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From there it was off to the finish line and in time to see my insta-friend Gina and then Roger cross the line. The look of joy on their faces and the others near them says that this was a great event and that their efforts had been rewarded!</div>
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The last exciting part of the race experience is the Puffing Billy train ride back to Belgrave and we thoroughly enjoyed his journey on a lovely morning. After some treats from the Belgrave bakery (yum!) it was off home and try to recover for the night run.</div>
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<b>Wings for Life World Run</b></div>
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Backing up for a second race is something I've done only a few times. A couple of times it was a swimming race and a triathlon. Only once was it two runs (morning and evening) but those were only 8km events . I've also done several 12- and 24-hour running relays which, whilst being a series of individual efforts with recovery bouts in-between, were largely back to back. So here I was with the hardest run (physically) I do each year under my belt looking to do a half marathon later in the day. <b></b></div>
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Ideally in this situation you'd do nothing more strenuous than lie down and have a sleep, but as a dad I had a fun filled afternoon walk and play at the local park with my daughter to look forward to. So I spent a lot more time on my feet than I might have wished.</div>
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Arriving at the race venue in Elwood around 8pm I was amazed at the size of the event. It was pitch black, save for the lights and huge video screen, but the place was abuzz.</div>
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With athletes in their mandatory safety vests and headlights it was somewhat like a miners convention but the weather was kind to us, so whilst cool, it was not raining or windy.</div>
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About 20 minutes before the start I wandered up to the start area to find it mostly empty. So I took up a spot on the second row and waited for the show to begin. Within 10 minutes it was full up with runners stretching all the way down the starting straight and around the corner.</div>
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Just in front of me was two-time Olympian triathlete Courtney Atkinson and all around were smiles as big as could be! My legs are sore, there was no way around that, but I hoped that I could maintain my “easy” 5.10m/km pace which would see me complete a half marathon before the pace car caught up.</div>
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At 9pm exactly (11am UTC) Melbourne and 34 other locations around the world began! We blasted around the corner and within a few hundred metres were onto Beach Rd. Almost immediately a runner beside me careered into a traffic bollard and hit the deck. His mates roared with laughter and he was derided as he got up and made his way back to the field.</div>
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I think it was the adrenaline that got to me and I ran the first km in 4.30. Much faster than I had planned but not a suicidal pace in normal circumstances. I did a quick body check and I felt ok. If anything, running felt easier on me than walking. Go figure! </div>
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The next few kilometres continued at this pace and I took in the great crowds along St Kilda Street, including many kids in their pyjamas who had come out to cheer. For the second time today 9and third time in a week) I said g'day to Tristan Miller who I saw standing by the roadside at Brighton. Beside Brighton Baths, at the first aid station, I saw my run club colleague Nicx and we high-fived as I grabbed a cup of Red Bull. For the second time that night I thought in retrospect that this was not so great a decision!</div>
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My pace was very even and I got to 5k in 22.30min. Right on the 5k marker near South Road a woman ran up beside me and sat just on my left shoulder. With two wide lanes of road to use and not many runners near us I thought it was odd that she would stay so close, but it didn't bother me as I thought she was just going to pass on by.</div>
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After a kilometre of running side by side I realised she wasn't going anywhere – and she perhaps came to the same conclusion about me. And so we ran. Step by step, breath by breath, no more than a foot apart from each other yet neither saying a word. This continued through Sandringham and up the steady incline towards Black Rock. We definitely weren't racing each other but it was an odd kind of silent support we were providing. </div>
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Five kilometres later we were still together, centimetres apart on a wide open road. We passed others and occasionally they passed us. And still no words were spoken. Going through the next aid station I'm not sure if neither of us wanted a drink or if neither were prepared to slow down for one lest the rhythm of our motion be interrupted. And so we kept on.</div>
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Past the Black Rock clock tower and the road begins a series of small rises and falls. They are not hills, but you certainly notice them as your pace changes. Our pace had slowed somewhat, now averaging 4.40min/km and I was starting to notice that my legs were rather tired, the strong pace we had been keeping finally catching up with me. I half suspected that I may slide off the back here but this did not happen. We continued to run lock-step, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but never drifting apart. </div>
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Almost 15 kilometres into the race and after nearly nine of running side by side like a silent Buddhist Monk I could see the next aid station just ahead beside Charman Road. I needed a drink and with overwhelming fatigue starting to set in I decided to stop and bring this duet to a close. For the third time this night I took a cup of Red Bull and, no great surprise, for the third time this night I almost immediately regretted swallowing it! That stuff is potent and deep into this race it was a bit much for my stomach which began to swirl.</div>
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By this stage I had run hard for 28.5km on the day and I was so tired. My target of a half marathon looked well in reach and so I backed the pace off dramatically and began to jog along. I could see at every car park along the route were buses waiting to take runners back to the start once the pace car had caught them and wondered if I should just get on one right now!</div>
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I also wanted to take a ‘nature break’ as they say in cycling but wearing a high-viz vest and a headlight doesn't help you to blend in if you stop by the side of the road. Aargh! A little further down the road at Mentone I ducked into some proper toilets and found relief for my gurgling stomach and intestinal tract. And so my slow jog restarted with my next focus of getting to Mordialloc.</div>
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A small but boisterous group of men greeted me at the 20km mark having just exited a local bar. I'm sure they were surprised to see me and the many other runners dressed like Emmett from the Lego Movie making our way along the road in front of them. But they cheered (or yelled something at me, it's hard to be sure!) and that made a difference. A hundred metres further on, just as the road turns to meet the Nepean Highway was an aid station.</div>
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I'm pretty lucky as many of my Nike+ Run Club run leader friends were working at this event and it was Monique who greeted me here with an enormous smile and welcome cheer which she co-opted her fellow drink station helpers into amplifying. It was great and gave me another lift. </div>
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Straight after the aid station we left the road to go under the bridge on a narrow pedestrian footpath. It occurred to me to stop here, thinking that the catcher car would not be able to find me – ha, ha, clever me! Until I remembered that I actually wanted the car to catch me up as I was so exhausted. I crossed my fifth and final train crossing for the day here, thankful that I had avoided having to stop at every one!</div>
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Onto Station Street and the final stretch. I was running real easy along here, stopping to walk every now and then or to take a photo. I was also on the lookout for the next bus to take us back and as 20km turned into 22km it occurred to me that I had not seen one for a while. My Garmin watch soon ticked over 21.1km and I gave myself a little woo hoo for achieving my goal. Unfortunately the catcher car was nowhere in sight so I continued on.</div>
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Finally, at 22.5km I saw a bus. A single lonely bus. So I stopped running and just walked as I knew the car would soon be here to end my race. Other runners, more in keeping with the spirit of the event to keep going as fast as they could until caught, sprinted past me, encouraging me to keep running! But I was well beyond that and at 22.7km, with over 36km of racing for the day in my legs, the catcher car drove past and I was done.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p3">
I turned and walked slowly back to the bus I had seen and waited with a group of other runners in the cold night air to get on. Eventually we boarded and I sat beside another run club regular, Linda, and we shared stories of our runs. We headed back to Elwood and I learned that one of the other buses nearby had broken down, stranding runners who had to wait for a replacement. The most we had to endure was a five minute wait at Elwood to get off whilst the bus driver negotiated a place to park. Getting off the bus we were given a neat WFLWR lapel pin, something different from the more common medal.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01rqkd9oYGxyURKWNJskq3p9umbc1sEl-V0zZUeGY3-2gnv7nPXFsymv_0tL0VW_53Cxvn5xTnou1_BluF5J19Xpb4ItKkRKSMNbmr7CcjG1pSJm8iJQWV9En-uKXHobffELNVdOFCQg/s1600/11178334_10153785506388765_1458432198284186000_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01rqkd9oYGxyURKWNJskq3p9umbc1sEl-V0zZUeGY3-2gnv7nPXFsymv_0tL0VW_53Cxvn5xTnou1_BluF5J19Xpb4ItKkRKSMNbmr7CcjG1pSJm8iJQWV9En-uKXHobffELNVdOFCQg/s640/11178334_10153785506388765_1458432198284186000_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Photo credit Instagram @nicxnick</b></td></tr>
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I returned to collect my gear bag and was greeted by more run club leaders: San, David, Debbie and Nicx who had returned from aid station duties. It was so good to see familiar faces at near 1am whilst I changed from running top into cycling top for the ride home. 30 minutes of riding later I arrived home and I “blacksnaked” into bed without showering, too exhausted to stand any longer.</div>
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Five hours later I was up for work and I struggled not only to walk, but to stay awake. I made it only to 3pm before leaving to go home and sleep. Which I did. For a long time. And it was good!</div>
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<br /></div>
Days later I feel mostly ok. A week of easy running and good sleep will see me back to full training next week. I'm not sure I'd sign up to “do the double” again, but I'd certainly love to do the WFLWR again. It's a unique event with a cool twist. And if the weather was as kind as we had this year it would be a winner!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-89188734814341796242014-07-07T22:11:00.000+10:002014-07-08T12:51:32.854+10:00Gold Coast Marathon<h2>
Gold Coast Marathon 2014 Race Report</h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYs0b1gkybdx0kKnGFU8ukmkfMkGaccjfCrrmy9ACplxRqDtu3nwRSMZ4u7-L4_v0qYDRNEO5ZHw6JihVi2VSyr0E60azZf1KM-yf3thAOnAvkZctVjT_rUWiFBtmaJYcuNK32X56nyBs/s1600/gcm2014.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYs0b1gkybdx0kKnGFU8ukmkfMkGaccjfCrrmy9ACplxRqDtu3nwRSMZ4u7-L4_v0qYDRNEO5ZHw6JihVi2VSyr0E60azZf1KM-yf3thAOnAvkZctVjT_rUWiFBtmaJYcuNK32X56nyBs/s1600/gcm2014.png" height="81" width="320" /></a>Hi. I am guessing if you are at this page it is because you wish to read the long, detailed version of my Gold Coast Marathon race. If so, read on down below! If, on the other hand, you thought you were coming for the brief version then here it is:<br />
<br />
<i>Travelled to the Gold Coast on Saturday.</i><br />
<i>Up early on Sunday and began the race at 7.20am.</i><br />
<i>Started out faster than planned, but held on well despite the usual setbacks.</i><br />
<i>Finished in an all-time 'PB' for me of 3:15.47 hrs.</i><br />
<i>Am completely wasted now, but really happy :-)</i><br />
<h4>
The Day Before ...</h4>
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On Saturday morning I travelled up to the Gold Coast from Melbourne, arriving at 1pm and heading straight to the expo to register and collect my race number. There were only a few people in the queue for so that was really easy and I had a look around the stalls.<br />
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This was the usual affair - lots of things to look at but little that tempted me to buy anything (which is good). Of most interest to me was the Pat Carroll stand where I met Nick who, coincidentally, would be pacing the 3.15 group I was most interested in. When I asked him about his approach, he said he would go a bit faster at first to catch up to gun time then maybe run a minute quicker first half (~1:36.30) to allow for some slow down. That sounded good to me so I said I would see him soon after the start!<br />
<br />
I walked to motel, about 3km away, via Woolworths where I stocked up on bananas, rolls, Gatorade and treats I ended up carrying the whole way home. For the latter part of the afternoon I just put my legs up and relaxed.<br />
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For dinner I went across the road to Milano's Pizza & Pasta where I ordered a gnocchi with Napoli sauce. The sauce was nice and the gnocchi a bit rubbery, but the big bonus was in a bag I thought must contain some garlic bread. But no, inside were four hot cinnamon donuts. So much for eating well!!!<br />
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I set my alarms on the iPhone for 4.00am and the iPad for 4.15am and went to bed around 9pm.<br />
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<h4>
Race Day</h4>
After a good sleep my alarm went off and I checked the time ... 5am! Aaargh!!!! How did that happen. I'm still not really sure but I had managed to screw up two alarms. Thankfully I had left plenty of time to get ready so this was an inconvenience more than a disaster.<br />
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I had a nourishing (?) and tasty (?) breakfast of cold gnocchi, a Gatorade, bread roll and a banana before a quick shower and out the door. Angelo at reception got me a cab which arrived pretty quickly and I was soon at the Exhibition Centre ready to catch a shuttle bus to the race venue. I got a seat and settled in; taking in the delicate aroma of Tiger Balm and Dencorub.<br />
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We arrived at Southport by about 6.15am and it was a short 5 min walk to the race precinct. The Half Marathoners were all on the road except for a few stragglers. The venue is a big place, really well set out with great facilities. I make toilet stop number two for the morning, take a few photos and then am off to put my bag into the compound.<br />
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On the way to start line I make a last detour via the loos for what I hope will be the last time for the morning! After this I head over to my start corral which was "A" and the first one after the seeded/elite runners. Sweet! I went straight in and found a spot beside the 3.15 pace sign. It was not crowded and a really relaxed atmosphere.<br />
<br />
The temperature was very pleasant now, perfect for running, though the sun was starting to come up and I figured it could get warm later. The half marathon starts first at 6am so they definitely get the better of the conditions.<br />
<br />
Just prior to race start, marathon legend Rob De Castella gives one of his patented (scripted) rousing pre-race speeches. I'm not sure that reminding us that Pheidippides gave his life for the marathon had the desired effect but he certainly implores us to work hard when the going gets tough later in the race!<br />
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Right on 7.20am the gun goes and we shuffle off. The start area and much of the course is quite narrow but it takes only 20 sec or so to cross the start line and I get my Garmin going. I am just in front of the 3.15 pacer and use the first part to get into my stride.<br />
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Through the first few km people are sorting themselves out and there are lots of folks going forwards and backwards establishing the pace they hope will take them to a good time. Somewhere on the bridge I am caught by Nick and his large pace group. I settle in near the front, trying not to get whacked in the head by his balloon.<br />
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We set a very even pace, even if it is a little faster than I had planned to run. The Garmin, as expected, measures a little long and it is noticeably getting ahead of itself with each kilometre. So I use the course markings to help assess pace. So where Garmin says we have done 22.45 for the first 5k, the course markers say we've done 22.56. Both of which are ahead of target pace which was 23.40 for each 5k.<br />
<br />
When I had talked race tactics with Rob O'Donnell we had agreed that I should stick with this bunch and if the pace was too hot to drop back. It is now that I realise we didn't really agree what 'too hot' was and I cannot help but wonder if this is what he meant! In any case, it feels comfortable - and not suicidal - and so I stick with the group.<br />
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By now I am well warmed up and do a quick head to toe body check: my left shoulder is a little tight (I stretch it out) and my left achilles doesn't feel very good. Not super-bad or anything but I worry that in another 25k it may be problematic. On the positive side, both my popliteus' are in good shape. I figure this is probably a balanced scorecard and I should be happy at this stage.<br />
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One thing that has been fantastic the whole way so far is the crowd. They are everywhere and are cheering like crazy - including a fellow at about 7k in who is convinced we are 'nearly there' now. The other thing I was expecting, and am finding troublesome to manage, is the camber of the roads. I am trying to stay towards the middle of the road to avoid this but the narrowness and size of our group is making this difficult.<br />
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The kilometres continue to tick off as we head south towards Burleigh Heads. Just out of Surfers our pacer darts off for a toilet stop. It feels odd running without him and we joke about making a break on him! Soon enough he is back in our midst and we we continue on. We go through 10k just near Broadbeach in 45.58 (official time, not Garmin) which means the last 5k was 23.01 - only 5 sec slower than the first 5k.<br />
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By now, despite several evacuations prior to the start, I need to go to the toilet again. Aargh! I just keep running and hope that the sensation will pass. We are right down at the southern end of the course now and the crowds continue to build. Conditions remain good for running; the sun is out but there is good shade along here. We get down to Miami and turn right past Robbie McEwen's Piccolo Cafe (no Robbie in sight!).<br />
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We get to 15k just before the turn at Burleigh Heads. I am feeling ok, but not as good as I had hoped. The last 5k was 22.54 so we are running a very even pace of 4.35m/k so far. I know that to drop off the pack will probably be harder than staying with them at this pace as so continue on. We make the first u-turn on the course and begin the long road north to the finish line and beyond.<br />
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The next 5k is more of the same except instead of watching the faster runners going back the other way, we are now the 'quickies' and we get to see the enormous mass of humanity heading down to the turn. I am not sure how they all fit on the road in places as it is only 3-wide and there are thousands of people here. Lots of folks in dress-ups, most looking good, some looking really ordinary which is not so good for them.<br />
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It is worth mentioning the aid stations they have here. It is really good with stops every 2.5k or so alternating between water and sports drink (Endura). The hardest part is working your way over to make sure you get a drink. As expected, you get the odd one down the back of your shoe from the guy behind but generally it works well. I had my first gel at ~12k and have been taking sports drink wherever possible.<br />
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Soon enough we are at the 20k timing point and go through slightly quicker in 22.47 for the last 5k. More significantly, we soon cross the half way mark in 96.43min meaning we are still right on 4.35m/k pace. (Compared to Nick's target time of 96.30 which he told me about at the expo on Saturday we are right where he wants us to be.)<br />
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Time to take stock ... with a target time of 3:17, running even splits would be 98.30min per half so this pace is quick but not stupid-fast. (As a comparison, 'stupid-fast' is running 4.29m/k which I did back in 2009 when I suffered a spectacular second half slow down en route to a 3:18.38.) I feel ok, not really tired; legs are still strong. My stomach is starting to grow tired of the sports drink so I monitor this, especially as I have just taken my second gel. Oh, and I still need to go to the loo. All in all, this is an acceptable position. Not as 'great' as you could hope for but 'pretty good' which is what you normally get!<br />
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By the time we get to 25k we are almost back in Surfers. Our pace continues at the same metronomic level with another 22.56 for the last 5k. By now I am looking for a loo and know there are some along here which I have used before. At just after 26k near Elkhorn St I dash across the road and in for a pit stop. 46 seconds later I emerge somewhat lighter and feeling refreshed. Of course, by now my pace group is nearly 200m up the road and I have an important decision to make: do I chase to get back on or do I just run my own race from here on. When I look at the road ahead I can see my 'mob' still 20 or so strong and there are only a few people in between.<br />
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I decide the only course of action is to get back with them. My bike riding background has shown me that life in the bunch is infinitely easier than life on your own and I expect it will be worth the effort to bridge across. Of course, I knew this wouldn't be easy. They were, after all, running 4.35 km's so it was going to take some real work. (To be honest, at that point in the race I was not sure if I could do it, but I ramped it up and had a go.)<br />
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Suffice to say I ran the next 2k @4.15 m/k and was very happy when I tagged back into the front of the bunch. Thankfully the pace here had not shifted at all and I was back down to 4.35m/k to recover my breath. Though I wouldn't have planned to take a toilet stop it was pleasing to know that at 26k into the race I could actually lift the pace significantly for a sustained effort. This has never been the case in previous marathons where normally by this point I am running steady and trying not to slow down. So a positive in there for me!<br />
<br />
We soon round the bend at Southport and are back onto the bridge over the Nerang River. It is here that we cross the 30k marker and, oddly enough, we've done another 22.56 for the last 5k (although I had a fair variety of pace in there). Our pace is amazingly even and that is the third 5k split we have done at exactly 22.56. The other three have been 22.47, 22.54 and 23.01 so pacemaker Nick is doing a fantastic job and we are still bang on 4.35m/k for the race so far.<br />
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A couple of km later and we pass the start line, reaching the only real incline on the course. This hill goes for all of 50-100m and is not very steep, but it is a rise and is enough to slow us down a little. Our pace through this km is about 4.49 which is the slowest of the day so far and the next few km are in 4.42 to 4.40 so we are definitely slowing just a little. We go through 35k with a split of 23.51 so have conceded nearly a minute of our previous 5k pace for this leg.<br />
<br />
At this point I am doing another body-check and still feel ok. I remember agreeing with Rob a strategy of trying to push the pace at 32k if I was feeling good. I had consciously held back at 32k as our overall pace was quite a bit quicker than I had imagined I would be running which is to say I thought I'd be running 4.40's and try to lift to 4.35 or so. After the last few 'slower' km I decide it is time to see if I can pick it up.<br />
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I go off the front of my bunch and it feels like I am flying along. I am conscious of passing people and am also aware that the sun is now starting to feel quite warm. Within a km I have been caught back up - so much for my audacious plan - and I slot back into the now diminishing group. The second and final u-turn is just ahead at 36.7km and I have now fallen 5m behind the pace leader. When I make the turn it becomes clear that our once large group has exploded somewhere in the last 5k. There is no noticeable pack any more, just a pace leader and his balloons and a few of us trying gamely to stay near him.<br />
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After a solid 4.38 for the 37th km my pace starts to waver and I drop in a 4.48 followed by a 4.40 then a 4.46 through to the 40km mark. I am desperately trying to rise for the run home but am really struggling to maintain any form or even pace. I am noticing the heat now and am generally feeling pretty ordinary. The 5k split here is 23.45 which is quicker than 30-35 but slow once again. Race time is 3:05 hrs and I figure if I can hold it together for the last couple of km I will get my 3:17 target time.<br />
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The 41st km is my worst. I stop at the aid station to get some water, having long ago ditched the sports drink that I was chucking up in any case. It is 5.10 for this km, fully 20 sec slower than for any previous km of the race. The wheels have suddenly loosened and if I do not get it back together they will fall of completely.<br />
<br />
Thankfully the end is very near and we turn back onto the Gold Coast Highway where the crowds are amazing. I nearly run into a couple of folks crossing the road as I get tunnel vision along here and am only peripherally aware of people nearby as I focus on the finish. I am now lifting and my pace gets back to the low 4.30's for the final 500m to the finish line.<br />
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Around a couple of bends and I can see the finish line just ahead. I glance at the clock which indicates a 'gun time' of just over 3:16 but my watch tells me a 'net time' of 3:15.47. I raise my arms in triumph and yell a shriek of delight as I finish the race having surpassed my wildest dreams! And, just like I did at Melbourne Marathon back in 2009, I soon collapse to the ground in a crying mess of emotion. After focussing on this one goal for 14-weeks, training like a madman and never missing a session, it is all a bit too much. I am exhausted. I am ecstatic!<br />
<br />
When I review the splits (below) there are two things I am really happy with. The first is that even though I was slowing down in the last 10k I was still passing people. My 'race rank' climbed at each point, from 666th at 5k to 544th at 30k and 425th at the finish. It is such a buzz not be be going backwards and seeing everyone pass you. The other stat I like is that the drop off between the first half and second half (96.43 to 99.04) is only 2.5% which is pretty good and testament to how strong I was at the end of my long runs. It is also pleasing given that the early pace was much faster than planned, so to hold onto this is great.<br />
<br />
When I finally sit down on a chair I can begin to assess the 'damage' from the race. The first thing I notice is that my face is completely caked in salt. I cannot believe how bad it is. Clearly the heat took a real toll. And then I notice that my toes are not feeling so good. On the right foot one has got an ugly blister right on the tip (mega-ouch) and on the left I can see blood right through to the top of my shoe. To be honest, I was not really aware of either of these things during the race - obviously had some bigger problems to deal with! Suffice to say I ain't walking anywhere fast for a few days.<br />
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So there it is, another marathon program done and dusted. Despite having done many marathons I consider this only the second one that I have really trained specifically for. And to run an all-time PB is just incredible. When I did 3:18.38 in 2009 I thought that would be my lifetime high-water mark. To do 3:15.47 at my age (46) is just fantastic and is another Boston Qualifier time, substantially ahead of the 3:25 required standard.<br />
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But I cannot rest on my laurels. City to Surf is in 7-weeks and I have a goal to run under the hour there - something I have not done in over 20 years. But first, recover!<br />
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<b>Strava File:</b> <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/162366795/overview" target="_blank">http://app.strava.com/activities/162366795/overview</a><br />
<b>Official Stats</b>: <a href="http://tiktok.biz/goldcoastmarathon/2014/m02322" target="_blank">http://tiktok.biz/goldcoastmarathon/2014/m02322</a><br />
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<b>Splits:</b><br />
<br />
<table border="0" class="vdatTable" style="background: url(http://tiktok.biz/IMG/BG/bgViewResult-dMid.gif) 50% 0% repeat-y rgb(230, 230, 230); border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px auto 15px; width: 675px;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="vsplit-hdr" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">split point</td><td class="vsplit-hdr" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center; width: 60px;">split time</td><td class="vsplit-hdr" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center; width: 50px;">s/rank</td><td class="vsplit-hdr" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center; width: 60px;">race time</td><td class="vsplit-hdr" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center; width: 50px;">r/rank</td><td class="vsplit-hdr" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center; width: 80px;">activity</td><td class="vsplit-hdr" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center; width: 50px;">distance</td><td class="vsplit-hdr" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center; width: 50px;">pace</td><td class="vsplit-hdr" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center; width: 50px;">speed</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-sub" colspan="9" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; padding: 15px 0px 5px; text-align: center;">Five Kilometre Splits</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">5KM</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">00:22:56</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">666</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">00:22:56</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">666</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">RUN</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">5.00</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">04:35</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">13.07</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">10KM</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">00:23:01</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">671</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">00:45:58</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">666</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">RUN</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">5.00</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">04:36</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">13.03</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">15KM</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">00:22:54</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">614</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">01:08:52</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">642</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">RUN</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">5.00</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">04:34</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">13.10</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">20KM</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">00:22:47</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">566</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">01:31:40</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">618</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">RUN</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">5.00</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">04:33</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">13.16</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">25KM</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">00:22:56</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">519</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">01:54:36</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">581</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">RUN</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">5.00</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">04:35</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">13.07</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">30KM</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">00:22:56</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">430</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">02:17:33</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">544</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">RUN</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">5.00</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">04:35</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">13.08</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">35KM</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">00:23:51</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">371</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">02:41:24</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">492</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">RUN</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">5.00</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">04:46</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">12.58</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">40KM</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">00:23:45</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">321</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">03:05:10</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">441</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">RUN</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">5.00</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">04:45</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">12.63</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">Finish</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">00:10:37</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">466</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">03:15:47</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">425</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">RUN</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">2.20</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">04:49</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">12.43</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-sub" colspan="9" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; padding: 15px 0px 5px; text-align: center;">Half Way Splits</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">Half Way</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">01:36:43</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">599</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">01:36:43</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">625</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">RUN</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">21.10</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">04:35</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">13.09</td></tr>
<tr><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px 5px;">Finish</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">01:39:04</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">466</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">03:15:47</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">425</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">RUN</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">21.10</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">04:41</td><td class="vsplit-dat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 9pt; padding: 6px 0px 4px; text-align: center;">12.78</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6Southport QLD, Australia-27.9673072 153.41451540000003-28.0233997 153.33383440000003 -27.911214700000002 153.49519640000003tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-53631767934444751072014-07-04T21:26:00.000+10:002014-07-04T21:26:17.378+10:00Focus<h2>
Gold Coast Marathon - Race Week</h2>
This week is the calm before the storm that is race day. All that can be done has been done. There is no getting fitter or faster. There are no 'last minute sessions' to tune up. It is all about making absolutely sure that you stand on the start line ready to wring every last piece of value you can from what you have done over the last few months. It is time to <b>focus</b>.<br />
<br />
<b>Tuesday 1 Jul</b><br />
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Today was the last of the 'harder' runs though, to be honest, it was not very hard at all. More like a steady-easy run with six 90-sec (400m) 'lifts of pace' spread throughout. It felt, as you would hope, pretty comfortable. The weather, thankfully, whilst overcast was quite pleasant for running. Not cold or overly windy; and it was good to get out. On the niggle side, everything seemed to be good to go today and once I had warmed up for a kilometre there were no problems. I have been wearing my racing shoes this last few runs and they are all good; along with some heel-wedges to offset any achilles problems I might have.<br />
<br />
As has generally been the case this prep, the six intervals today were not run on a track and so were a little more organic in actual distance, ranging from 410-430m, depending on when I noticed my watch. Consequently, splits ranged from around 1.27-34. On average, probably all less than 1.30 so right on pace, no issues there.<br />
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I took my phone with me today (I don't normally do so) and took a few photos as I ran along the river. This was a bit of fun, especially when I got to my third fast rep and was promptly stopped by a barrier across the path so the Parks Victoria barge could 'escape' from its mooring. This was no big deal for me today as I just turned around and started to rep again heading in the other direction ... but on many of my other training runs this might just have done my head in!<br />
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This afternoon also saw a last-minute visit to my physio Rob O'Donnell. A cancellation meant that I could be squeezed in this afternoon and - bizarrely - when they rang to let me know I was just starting my run and had my phone on me! Rob has been a great help - not just with physio treatment but with running advice and help with race day strategies and general mental prep. Thanks Rob!<br />
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Only Nike Run Club tomorrow and an easy 5k at marathon pace on Friday to go now!<br />
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<b>Wednesday 2 Jul</b><br />
<br />
After my visit to the physio yesterday I must say "things" are a bit tender. The rigorous massage to my calves really woke them up and today they are letting me know what they thought of it. All will be good in a couple of days, but today!!!!!! And, being race week, it is time for every other part of my body to get in on the 'niggle act.' Today it is my groin. Just a twinge here or there - and it did not bother me running - but a reminder in any case.<br />
<br />
As for my run, tonight was the last session of this 12-week season of Nike Run Club and I was leading a 5k group at 5.30m/k pace. In practice, we ran a bit slower than this as the faster folks went off the front early on and the slower folks wanted to run closer to 5.45. Which was all ok by me and I ended up running with Danielle and Marvin from Telstra for the last few km's. All easy, all good.<br />
<br />
As a side note. Today I stepped on the scale and it was 77.7kg which is just fantastic. This is about as low as I have weighed in a very long time and is 4kg lighter than when I raced my PB at Melbourne Marathon back in 2009. I am excited about this as less weight = faster time! It's the small things which add up!<br />
<br />
<b>Friday 4 Jul</b><br />
<br />
It is done! Every session is complete. When I started on this journey I created a training plan. It had 58 sessions (including the race) and over 750km in 98 days (14 weeks). I have not missed a session. I have not been sick. I've had only minor injuries - though in 'hypochondriac week' (aka race week) these seem to have multiplied a little! Everything that I set out to do in preparation has been done. I have felt strong in my long runs and I have gotten progressively faster for all my efforts. I have even been so brave as to increase my target pace by 10 sec/km.<br />
<br />
Today was a very <b>easy 5k</b> run at marathon pace which I did without issue at lunch time along the Yarra River. I felt good, no niggles, and my heart rate was low even in the strong wind. Pace was right on target. Just what I wanted it to be.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow I fly to the Gold Coast and on Sunday at 7.20am the race starts. I plan to run 3h 17m (4.40 min/km) or better. All that remains to be seen is how I execute my plan. I just want it to start now!<br />
<br />
<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my whole <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11JdNFkRojcZndiT25wMGlfcGc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">training plan</a> are here.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Last Sprints <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/160197568" target="_blank">7.4k @4.31</a>; 6x 400m with 400m recovery<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/160717347" target="_blank">5.7k @5.47</a>; easy lap of Tan<br />
<b>Friday</b> - Marathon 5 <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/161539356" target="_blank">5.1k @4.37</a>; easy 5k at marathon pace<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Weekly Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 14</b> (this week): 3 runs, 18.2 km, 1 hrs 29 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/prepare.html" target="_blank">Week 13</a></b>: 4 runs, 43.7km, 3 hrs 37 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/taper-one.html" target="_blank">Week 12</a></b>: 4 runs, 46.0 km, 3 hrs 45 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/hold.html" target="_blank">Week 11</a></b>: 4 runs, 61.2 km, 4 hrs 59 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/extend.html" target="_blank">Week 10</a></b>: 4 runs, 55.8 km, 4 hrs 28 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/35.html" target="_blank">Week 9</a></b>: 4 runs, 66.4 km, 5 hrs 39 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/sleep.html" target="_blank">Week 8</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 4 hrs 37 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/feel-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 7</a></b>: 4 runs, 60 km, 5 hrs 10 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/the-middle-ages.html" target="_blank">Week 6</a></b>: 4 runs, 54 km, 4 hrs 36 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/recovery.html" target="_blank">Week 5</a></b>: 4 runs, 46.3 km, 3 hrs 57 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/consolidation.html" target="_blank">Week 4</a></b>: 5 runs, 71.7 km, 6 hrs 24 mins <i>(biggest week ever!)</i><br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/running-into-easter.html" target="_blank">Week 3</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 5 hrs 9 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/oops-ive-done-it-again.html" target="_blank">Week 2</a></b>: 5 runs, 48.6 km, 3 hrs 51 mins<br />
<b>Week 1</b>: 4 runs, 41 km, 3 hrs 28 mins<br />
<b>Total: 57 runs, 728.3 km, 61 hrs 09</b><b> mins</b><!--1-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-20488741369408539032014-06-29T18:21:00.000+10:002014-06-29T18:21:47.833+10:00Prepare<h2>
Gold Coast Marathon - 2 Weeks to Go</h2>
With just two weeks to go till race day it is time to start thinking and making my final <b>preparations</b>. Everything from travel and meals on the weekend through to race day nutrition. What I will wear (before and during) and - most importantly - how to get my body into tip-top shape. All the hard training is done. I just need to make sure I get the most from it.<br />
<br />
For most of this training block I have battled either minor injury (popliteus) or borderline sickness (touch wood, I've still avoided this). In the last week and a half it has been a new nemesis - the achilles tendon. When I run it has (thankfully) been mostly just a niggle; but at times during the day I can hardly walk - it is really diabolical. My home remedies (stretching, ice, tiger balm, compression socks) are not getting this one any better so time to get some help. Physio Rob here I come!!<br />
<br />
<b>Tuesday 24 Jun</b><br />
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It is hardly possible to describe the conditions that I ran in today. In one sense, the fact that I actually did anything at all is very satisfying. That it wasn't really what I wanted is not great, but hey, who cares! The program was 5x 1km (sub 4.00min, hopefully sub 3.55) with a 400m rest interval. The first time I tried this run, way back on 8 April, it was a disaster. "Street Speed 1" was on a rainy night and I was molested by tree branches as I tried to go fast on the streets near home. I wanted redemption!<br />
<br />
This time I ran at lunchtime (to avoid the dark) and planned to run along the Yarra (to avoid the branches). Unfortunately the weather was horrendous today. As the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-24/emergency-crews-inundated-with-calls-for-help-wild-weather/5546354" target="_blank">ABC news said</a>, we were hit by a "weather bomb" which is not quite anyone's idea of fun! When I made my way down to the river I could see there was no way I'd be running there. The running path was inundated in numerous places. Forget the Nike's, I would have needed flippers to go along that path.<br />
<br />
So I made a last minute decision to run the upper path. Which kind-of worked, except there wasn't really a 1000m stretch to run along. So my first interval was a bit up and down, across a bridge, then along a bit more ... until I realised I'd run 1.1km ... and, oh heck, who cares; it is pi$$ing rain, wind at 10-million knots and my achilles hurts.<br />
<br />
Another change of plan and I headed over to Westpac Centre track to run there. This would mean 2-laps (just over 1km) with 1-lap (just over 500m) recovery. I ran the hard reps in 4.15/19/19/18 - so a very slow pace, but it was a hard slog. At times it felt like I was jogging on the spot. I could not go fast enough to raise my heart rate above 160. This was "ugly running" but I completed the session (or at least completed "a" session) and am pleased with that.<br />
<br />
Of course, my achilles tendon is now in revolt. Not such a good day!<br />
<br />
<b>Thursday 26 Jun</b><br />
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Two days have passed since my run in apocalyptic conditions. My achilles tendon (did I mention it was the left one) has varied between "I feel good" and "I can hardly walk."At <b>run club</b> yesterday I asked to lead one of the 5k groups and was lucky enough (thanks Dean) to get the beginner group so 7m/k it was which is about as stress-free as a run can get. So that was good. After the achilles warms up a bit it seems to settle down somewhat so that is promising. Hills are not so pleasant but flats (lots of those at Gold Coast) are ok. I ran with some 'heel raisers' in my shoes too to take some of the pressure off the tendon.<br />
<br />
Of course the real question is <b>why am I running at all</b>??? I don't really have a great reason for this. I am suffering a classic case of "I'll just monitor this one and if it gets really bad I will stop" which of course means "I am just going to run through it." To find out how the story ends ... keep reading this blog!<br />
<br />
Oh, and of course, as of this afternoon I can feel a chest cold coming on. Waaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
<b>Friday 27 Jun</b><br />
<br />
This morning I fronted up for a massage - my first in very many years. Ryan down at <a href="http://www.sspc.com.au/" target="_blank">Southern Suburbs</a> Physio got a quick briefing from Rob and away we went. Obviously the focus was on my legs, calves in particular and anything to get this achilles back in business. Suffice to say Ryan is good, my calves were like rocks and now my legs hurt from the process. In a few days I will be all the better for this (thanks Ryan)!<br />
<br />
A lot of thought was given on whether to run today or not. With my dodgy achilles, a full-strength massage in my legs and wind blowing-like-crazy it would have been an easy decision to pass it up. Of course, I ran.<br />
<br />
The main session today was <b>5k at short tempo</b> pace (4.13m/k) and with a warm-up of 3k I thought at least I could see how I was feeling and skip the hard effort if needs be. With a 30-50 kph north wind blowing it was easy going at first and I felt pretty good so decided to up the pace when 3k rolled around. Even so, I took the first 1-2k of this at a steady tempo to ease into the work and make sure everything was ok. Whilst I could 'feel' my achilles it was not overly troublesome so I worked through the remainder of the effort into the wind and feeling strong.<br />
<br />
I am very happy with the time for this 5k (20.55) as it is right on target @4.11m/k and did not feel super-hard at all. There is a Strava segment of ~4k along here that I had previously run (quite hard) in 16.49 and today I did 16.11 so I think this is a great indicator of just how good my form is right now.<br />
<br />
Feeling good. Just need to keep it going and get my body strong and healed.<br />
<br />
<b>Sunday 29 Jun</b><br />
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As I look back this has been an unusually hard week. Tuesday's lunchtime run in horrendous weather signalled the start of winter in Melbourne and didn't bode well for me. A dodgy achilles but then a massage (it felt ok again) and a good run Friday followed by another ordinary run today. It has been one step up - one step back for quite a while now. I felt sick earlier in the week, ok in the middle, and no good again now on Sunday afternoon. Everything is a bit of a crap-shoot for me right now and I just hope the gods smile on me come next Sunday!<br />
<br />
Apart from running, today was the annual <b>Melburn Roobaix</b> bike event which I do on the tandem with Brooke. We were entered and looking forward to this one for quite a while and even though the weather forecast for today was miserable we were committed and going to start.<br />
<br />
All of which meant that I needed to do my <b>16k run</b> early if I was going to get it done at all. So at 7.30am I was out on the road and running! I had not eaten since last night and I think the lack of energy, cold temperature, wind and a little rain conspired to take away whatever oomph I might have expected to have. It was a genuine slog and I had absolutely no rhythm at all. Compared to last weeks long run which felt beautiful and controlled, this one was all over the shop.<br />
<br />
Although when I look at the splits it doesn't seem so bad - a slower first kilometre then reasonably even splits through to 10km, then another bizarrely slow kilo then some faster splits to finish. In the end I finished right on target pace (4.40m/k) though slower than I had run this twice before in recent weeks.<br />
<br />
In any case, this run - and the riding event in the afternoon - certainly took it out of me. I am quite tired now and will need to have a good start to race week!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my whole <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11JdNFkRojcZndiT25wMGlfcGc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">training plan</a> are here.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Horrendous Weather <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/157465716" target="_blank">11.5k @4.42</a>; 5x 1000m with 4-500m recovery<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/158306588" target="_blank">5.7k @7.07</a>; easy lap of the Tan<br />
<b>Friday</b> - Yarra Tempo <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/158692463" target="_blank">10.4k @4.36</a>; brisk 5k in the middle<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Ragged Run <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/159273060" target="_blank">16.1k @4.40</a>; rough and ready 16k at marathon pace<br />
<br />
<b>Weekly Summary:</b><br />
<b>Week 13</b> (this week): 4 runs, 43.7km, 3 hrs 37 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/taper-one.html" target="_blank">Week 12</a></b>: 4 runs, 46.0 km, 3 hrs 45 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/hold.html" target="_blank">Week 11</a></b>: 4 runs, 61.2 km, 4 hrs 59 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/extend.html" target="_blank">Week 10</a></b>: 4 runs, 55.8 km, 4 hrs 28 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/35.html" target="_blank">Week 9</a></b>: 4 runs, 66.4 km, 5 hrs 39 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/sleep.html" target="_blank">Week 8</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 4 hrs 37 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/feel-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 7</a></b>: 4 runs, 60 km, 5 hrs 10 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/the-middle-ages.html" target="_blank">Week 6</a></b>: 4 runs, 54 km, 4 hrs 36 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/recovery.html" target="_blank">Week 5</a></b>: 4 runs, 46.3 km, 3 hrs 57 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/consolidation.html" target="_blank">Week 4</a></b>: 5 runs, 71.7 km, 6 hrs 24 mins <i>(biggest week ever!)</i><br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/running-into-easter.html" target="_blank">Week 3</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 5 hrs 9 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/oops-ive-done-it-again.html" target="_blank">Week 2</a></b>: 5 runs, 48.6 km, 3 hrs 51 mins<br />
<b>Week 1</b>: 4 runs, 41 km, 3 hrs 28 mins<br />
<b>Total: 54 runs, 710.1 km, 59 hrs 40</b><b> mins</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-34214622476745512332014-06-22T16:08:00.000+10:002014-06-22T16:08:42.936+10:00Taper One<h2>
Gold Coast Marathon - 3 Weeks to Go</h2>
With the hardest part of the marathon program behind me now, it is time to recover and get strong before race day. It is 'taper time' and I am looking forward to really hitting all my session times for the next three weeks. The goal now is to keep my high level of fitness, shake the niggling injury/illness concerns and be ready for a huge race day. Three weeks to go!<br />
<br />
<b>Tuesday 17 Jun</b><br />
<br />
Runner's World Magazine's <i>Chief Running Officer</i>, Bart Yasso is well known in running circles for many things, but perhaps most of all for his observation that for many runners the time they can complete a set of <b>800m efforts</b> in roughly approximates their projected marathon time. So, 800's in 3m10s equates to about a 3hr10m marathon. His workout, the <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/yasso-800s" target="_blank">Yasso 800's</a>, is described here and the run I did today is a very close approximation to this.<br />
<br />
Today I was back at the Westpac Centre in conditions similar to the last time I ran 800's there back in April - a bit rainy and a bit windy. Last time it was 6 reps and I averaged about 3.11 for each. Today was 8 reps and the plan was a 3.06 average pace.<br />
<br />
On my warm-up the "popliteus roulette" game was played once again and this time came up with "minor right knee problem" which meant I click-clacked my way down the hill to the track. Whilst waiting to cross at the traffic lights I massaged and stretched a bit more which made enough of an immediate improvement that it didn't really bother me thereafter (amazing)!<br />
<br />
Onto the track and I set out with the intent of building through the session rather than going out at full-tilt and hanging on. When I completed the first rep in 3.04 I thought I may have stuffed up my pacing (!) but it felt ok and I did the next three in 3.03/05/06 so was very happy at half way done. By now there were some folks kicking a footy around and even a few other runners so it didn't feel so lonely, not that it spurred me on or anything. With some good focus I ran the final four reps in 3.04/03/04/04 which was just fantastic. Everything within a 3-second spread, no drop off in speed at the end, and an average of 3.04 for the entire set. Yippee!!!<br />
<br />
<b>Wednesday 18 Jun</b><br />
<br />
An easy run tonight at <b>Nike Run Club</b>, leading the 5k beginner group. We had about a dozen at the start, but before we got to Anderson St the group had exploded into mini-groups spread far and wide. I finished the run - right on the designated 7m/k pace - with one runner, Jane, for company. She is planning to do a half marathon at Run Melbourne then her first marathon in October. Very exciting to hear her story! My achilles were both a little tender tonight, but no big deal.<br />
<br />
<b>Friday 20 Jun</b><br />
<br />
The last working day of the week and a chance to try out some new runners (and my potential race kicks) for an <b>8k burst along the Yarra</b>. I saw Rob the Physio for a tune up last night and some final advice for race day. He suggests if I am still feeling good at 32k to go for it, rather than waiting till the last 5k. Popliteus both feeling fine today - no problems - but my left calf/achilles has been a bit sore all week and still is.<br />
<br />
Today's run was planed as 8k @4.22m/k so i ran an out-and-back course along the Yarra River. It is pretty flat, but today was a little windy - mostly tailwind out and mostly headwind back so I knew it would be easier/faster at first. All good, no problems with that. The run itself was good. Apart from the calf/achilles I felt controlled and relaxed. Most k's were in the 4.12-16 range with a couple slower and a couple faster. In the end, a good run, if maybe a little quick, with 8k done at 4.15 pace.<br />
<br />
I'll need to stretch and massage my calf prior to Sunday's 21k run at Albert Park Lake.<br />
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<b>Sunday 22 Jun</b><br />
<br />
Today is the longest race-pace run on the whole program, a 21k effort at 4.40m/k. Three months ago this would have seemed a vey long stretch, but now it feels like quite a comfortable run - not easy, but comfortable! I took the opportunity to do this as part of an organised event, the <b>Sri Chinmoy Half Marathon</b> at Albert Park Lake. So whilst I would not be racing, at least I would have some company plus drinks etc. My mate David Weeks, who is just beginning on his program for his first marathon in October, came along for the run too.<br />
<br />
Weather was pretty much perfect today. Dry, sunny, cool and only a light breeze. The course was four laps of the lake with appropriate "extensions" to make up the distance to 21.1km. My plan was simple - go out at 4.40 pace and keep it there with no variation.<br />
<br />
And that is pretty much exactly what we did. The 5k segments were covered in: 23.21, 23.10, 23.03 & 23.18 with a slightly quicker 4.27 m/k last one to finish us off just under 1:38 hrs at 4.38 m/k. It is great to do a half marathon feeling like you could have run a lot faster!<br />
<br />
Sri Chinmoy races are famous for the post-race pancakes so we made sure to get a couple of these and at the presentations Dave was good enough to have finished third in his age category (imagine if he was trained and had tried harder)!<br />
<br />
My left calf/achilles was not too bad today (probably 80%) and my right popliteus was a minor annoyance only for the first km or so before settling down. Otherwise, most of the "sensations" were good for this race.<br />
<br />
Two weeks to go!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my whole <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11JdNFkRojcZndiT25wMGlfcGc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">training plan</a> are here.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Westpac 800's Redux <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/154568597" target="_blank">11.2k @4.45</a>; 8x 800m with 200m walk recovery<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/155026049" target="_blank">5.7k @6.56</a>; easy lap of Tan<br />
<b>Friday</b> - Yarra Scoot <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/155792985" target="_blank">8k @4.15</a>; brisk run along the river<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Sri Chinmoy <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/156470020" target="_blank">21.1k @4.38</a>; comfortable half marathon run<br />
<br />
<b>Weekly Summary:</b><br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/taper-one.html" target="_blank">Week 12</a></b> (this week): 4 runs, 46.0 km, 3 hrs 45 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/hold.html" target="_blank">Week 11</a></b>: 4 runs, 61.2 km, 4 hrs 59 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/extend.html" target="_blank">Week 10</a></b>: 4 runs, 55.8 km, 4 hrs 28 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/35.html" target="_blank">Week 9</a></b>: 4 runs, 66.4 km, 5 hrs 39 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/sleep.html" target="_blank">Week 8</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 4 hrs 37 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/feel-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 7</a></b>: 4 runs, 60 km, 5 hrs 10 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/the-middle-ages.html" target="_blank">Week 6</a></b>: 4 runs, 54 km, 4 hrs 36 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/recovery.html" target="_blank">Week 5</a></b>: 4 runs, 46.3 km, 3 hrs 57 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/consolidation.html" target="_blank">Week 4</a></b>: 5 runs, 71.7 km, 6 hrs 24 mins <i>(biggest week ever!)</i><br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/running-into-easter.html" target="_blank">Week 3</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 5 hrs 9 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/oops-ive-done-it-again.html" target="_blank">Week 2</a></b>: 5 runs, 48.6 km, 3 hrs 51 mins<br />
<b>Week 1</b>: 4 runs, 41 km, 3 hrs 28 mins<br />
<b>Total: 50 runs, 666.4 km, 56 hrs 03</b><b> mins</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-28979317414150015492014-06-13T19:57:00.000+10:002014-06-15T19:26:07.663+10:00Hold<h2>
Gold Coast Marathon - 4 Weeks to Go</h2>
With less than a month to go till race day this is my last "big" week. And after last Sunday's strong run - but disastrous popliteus outcome - I am again treading the fine line between fantastic fitness and injury/illness. So the mantra this week is '<b>Hold</b>' as that is what I need to do right now. My fitness right now is good enough to run a great marathon. I just need to hold it for one big week and then a taper.<br />
<br />
<b>Tuesday 10 Jun</b><br />
<br />
Since Sunday I have been trying a few different things to get my right <b>popliteus</b> back in order. In the absence of being able to get into a physio I found some self-massage techniques on YouTube ... what could possibly go wrong! The one which seems to have had some good success is getting my thumb in behind the knee just above the calf on the medial side where the popliteus joins. Today it felt ok when walking though did not enjoy it when I sat for any period of time.<br />
<br />
As of this morning my run plan for the week was another day of rest today then do my first session tomorrow at lunchtime with the Nike Run Club tomorrow night. But with it feeling ok I decided to go out this evening and see how it felt. Typically it feels ok or dodgy within the first km so I tend to know straight away. This time it felt ok so I continued on to do my session.<br />
<br />
The plan was 10x 400m with 400m recovery so I went around the corner to a nearby street where I have previously scared the neighbours by running up and down like a crazy-man to do it all again. I took the 'soft' option and ran the 'downhill' stretch (about 1% fall) but it is 10m or so long so I guess that evens out! My plan was to take it easy and get progressively faster if possible - all reps to be under 1.30.<br />
<br />
The first rep, especially, I just wanted to test out the 'pop' and see if it would be ok. It was and I ran 1.30. The next couple were 1.29 and 1.29 so pretty even. I picked it up for the next few, running 1.27, 1.28, 1.27 and 1.27. Feeling good! I finished the last three really strong in 1.25, 1.25 and 1.24. I am pretty stoked. Great times and all sensations were good.<br />
<br />
Just 'hold' it together now!<br />
<br />
<b>Wednesday 11 Jun</b><br />
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<br />
Wednesday night is <b>Nike Run Club</b> night and tonight was an absolute cracker, weather wise, especially compared to last week which rained heavily and kind-of sucked. Today i was leading the 5k group at 5.30 pace with Hannah on our lap of the Tan. You can see from the pic above that we had our normal fun time! The only thing of note was about a third of the Tan track was completely unlit, ie - pitch black. I could see nothing at all! Thankfully our group made it back safely and exactly on 5.30 pace. Yee hah!<br />
<br />
<b>Friday 13 Jun</b><br />
<br />
Another day, another run. This one was a marathon paced 13k which I got to do along the Yarra River at lunchtime. It is a beautiful place to run - mostly bike path, partly pontoon floating on the river. Today was sunny but a little windy, though I couldn't figure out from which direction as it seemed to swirl all over the place.<br />
<br />
On my now daily game of 'injury roulette' I spun a lucky number. The right knee was ok and the left one about 95% so no real issues there. Legs don't feel very supple, so maybe I need a proper massage to loosen them up a bit.<br />
<br />
The run itself was good. I tried to keep an even pace around 4.40m/k which I did, making the turn at half way at 4.39avg. I dropped in one slightly quicker km on the return home (4.25) as I chased a runner up the path ... didn't get him! All good and cruised up the Exhibition St hill to finish 13.1k @4.36m/k. Very happy with that!<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<b>Sunday 15 Jun</b><br />
<br />
In the "olden days" of marathon running the programs I followed - ok, the ones I saw and should have followed - all built up to a single, almighty 20 mile run. (32k for us Aussies, but they were all written for the US market.) This was three weeks out from the race and today was that day. But times have changed - not only am I actually training for races, but the programs have adapted too, and this was my fifth run over 30k.<br />
<br />
But it is still a pinnacle run, and the pace of these long runs has been getting steadily faster with this one at only 9 sec/km slower than target race pace. I got up early and was on the road by around 7.20am, trying to mimic to some extent what race day will be like. Except on race day I will be in a motel, not have my normal breakfast, will have a long bus ride to the start and the weather will be much warmer. So not really anything at all like race day but what's a few minor details between friends.<br />
<br />
Unlike 2009 and my last significant marathon, this time round I am intent on running as even a pace as possible and not "banking" any time for a late race slow-down. I have tried to adopt this a bit in training too, with some success. It is a big deal for me mentally as I've had to convince myself that I will not slow down and can run faster if I manage the early pace a bit better. My training in 2009 was at a target marathon pace of 4.38m/k (race time 3:16) but I ran too hard at the start and finished at 4.42m/k (3:18). This time round my training is at 4.40m/k which is slower but I am absolutely planning to run a successful race at 3:17. So even though I am training a bit slower I am planning to race faster. As I said, my head has had to get around this bit!<br />
<br />
Today's run was an "old favourite" course down South Rd to the beach then along the foreshore path to Middle Park and return. In practical terms this means downhill-undulating for 8.5k to Brighton Baths then flat for 15k before the inverse uphill-undulating to finish. It is normally windy, and was today with a stiff southerly blowing.<br />
<br />
The other big bogey for me today would be my knees; or more specifically my popliteus muscles. The right one had flared up again big time last Sunday and the left has been niggling away for the last month. I could not afford for them to be a factor. On my shorter runs this week they'd been ok and, within 500m, I could sense that they would be ok for me today. Yippee!<br />
<br />
After an easy first km in around 5 min I used the gradual downhill to slowly ramp up the average pace. By the time the course flattened at Brighton Baths I was right on 4.48m/k average and there it stayed all the way to 25k. Along the beach I had run about 4.45m/k with the wind and 4.50m/k into it - though my HR jumped from mid-140's to high 140's in order to do so.<br />
<br />
I turned into South Rd and knew the business end of the run was about to start. This is where it traditionally gets hard and many a day I have fallen apart on this section. The last time I ran this course was for a <a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/sleep.html" target="_blank">24k run back in late May</a> and on that day I ran quite strongly, covering the last 6k in 29.17min. Today I pushed (HR up to mid-150's) to maintain my 4.49 target pace and, strangely enough, covered the final 6k in 29.17! Total run of 32.04km in 2:34.24 hrs at 4.49 m/k. Perfect!<br />
<br />
More pleasing is that the final 6k today was about half a minute faster than I did for the same run back in 2009. Coupled with my <a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/extend.html" target="_blank">Fast Finish 24</a> last Sunday I can confidently say that I am running as well as ever and, more importantly, am finishing the long runs with something left in the tank. This is really encouraging and gives me huge confidence going into the race.<br />
<br />
Three weeks to go :-)<br />
<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<b>Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my whole <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11JdNFkRojcZndiT25wMGlfcGc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">training plan</a> are here.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Street Speed 5 <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/151740179" target="_blank">10.7k @5.11</a>; 10x 400m with 400m recovery<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/152205156" target="_blank">5.3k @5.30</a>; beautiful evening for a run<br />
<b>Friday</b> - Marathon 13 <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/152961250" target="_blank">13.1k @4.36</a>; lunch time marathon pace<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Long Run (the last) <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/153605482" target="_blank">32k @4.49</a>; perfectly paced long run<br />
<br />
<b>Weekly Summary:</b><br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/hold.html" target="_blank">Week 11</a></b> (this week): 4 runs, 61.2 km, 4 hrs 59 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/extend.html" target="_blank">Week 10</a></b>: 4 runs, 55.8 km, 4 hrs 28 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/35.html" target="_blank">Week 9</a></b>: 4 runs, 66.4 km, 5 hrs 39 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/sleep.html" target="_blank">Week 8</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 4 hrs 37 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/feel-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 7</a></b>: 4 runs, 60 km, 5 hrs 10 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/the-middle-ages.html" target="_blank">Week 6</a></b>: 4 runs, 54 km, 4 hrs 36 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/recovery.html" target="_blank">Week 5</a></b>: 4 runs, 46.3 km, 3 hrs 57 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/consolidation.html" target="_blank">Week 4</a></b>: 5 runs, 71.7 km, 6 hrs 24 mins <i>(biggest week ever!)</i><br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/running-into-easter.html" target="_blank">Week 3</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 5 hrs 9 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/oops-ive-done-it-again.html" target="_blank">Week 2</a></b>: 5 runs, 48.6 km, 3 hrs 51 mins<br />
<b>Week 1</b>: 4 runs, 41 km, 3 hrs 28 mins<br />
<b>Total: 46 runs, 620.4 km, 52 hrs 18</b><b> mins</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-44470697462758112052014-06-08T16:48:00.000+10:002014-06-10T21:14:41.037+10:00Extend<h2>
Gold Coast Marathon - 5 Weeks to Go</h2>
Time is flying by with just five weeks to go till race day and only the final couple of weeks of big sessions ahead before taper. My theme for this week is '<b>Extend</b>' as that is what I really must start to do if I am going to meet my marathon race target. This week I really want to run a fast speed session; a solid marathon paced 16k (feeling better than two-weeks ago) and conclude the week with a fast-finishing 24k.<br />
<br />
<b>Tuesday 3 June</b><br />
<br />
Today's session was one of the "easier" sprint sessions on the program which is good as my legs are still pretty sore/tired after Sunday's long run. I headed out at lunch time and the rain was coming down though it was not too cold. Only the hardy runners were out today ... and ex-Olympians. Whilst waiting to cross the road at Flinders St a fellow walked up beside me, smiled, and said "the training has gotta go on" - making reference to running in the less than stellar weather conditions. I recognised the fellow as six-time Olympic rower and three-time gold medallist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tomkins_(rower)" target="_blank">James Tomkins</a>. I replied to him that "you would know more than most!" He laughed and advised me "not to go too hard." So with that advice in my head I set off for my run!<br />
<br />
I ran a simple course along the Yarra today. Each of three reps were 1600m hard with a 400m recovery interval. The two reps heading south-ish had a slight tail breeze; but not too much. The bigger problem was being able to see through the raindrops on my glasses.<br />
<br />
In short, I was happy with each of my reps; running 6.19, 6.24 and 6.23 for the miles. So an average of 6.22min against a target time of 6.33min. Significantly faster than target which I think is good (???) as last time round my paces for these intervals were a bit slower than this. If I can translate this short distance speed into good pace for the long runs I will be very happy indeed!<br />
<br />
<b>Thursday 5 June</b><br />
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<br />
Last night was my weekly <b>Nike Run Club</b> session; as always, probably my favourite run of the week. And even a winter downpour could not dampen the spirits of my co-run-leaders and all the runners who came along to complete their run. Together with Leigh and Natalie I led a 5k run around the Tan at 5.30 pace. We got drenched, we got dirty, we had lots of laughs and a great time. What more could you want!<br />
<br />
Tonight I tried the foam roller on my legs. Nothing more to say. Move along.<br />
<br />
<b>Friday 6 June</b><br />
<br />
Not sure I am friends with the foam roller. My legs really hurt today. Not running-sore; but massage-sore. Add into the mix that my left popliteus (?) is now not very happy and I have a brewing revolt going on with the lower half of my body. Against that backdrop tonight I had another <b>16k marathon pace</b> workout on the plan. I last did this two weeks ago and it felt hard-ish, so with my legs as they were I was not sure how I would go at all. Thankfully it was not raining and the temperature was good - cool with little breeze.<br />
<br />
Decided to wear my Run Club issue <b>Nike Lunar Glide 5</b>'s and I have to say I just love these runners! For me they offer a great blend of light-enough weight with good cushioning. I have a neutral stride so do not need any fancy motion control stuff and these shoes fit the bill magnificently. This was only my second run in them at any reasonable pace and they were wonderful.<br />
<br />
Which I guess sums up the run in general. I really loved it! Target pace was 4.40m/k and the plan was to stick as close to this as possible on the (very) slightly undulating two-lap course. As always, try to run the last lap a bit faster than the first. All of which is exactly what I did. My km splits were very even, each 8k lap was almost identical (36.57/37.00), HR in the range of 143-148 for all except the last uphill km where I pushed a little. Overall, it was 8 sec faster than last time - let's say identical - but with an average HR of 146 vs 150 a fortnight ago. I am very pleased!<br />
<br />
<b>Sunday 8 June</b><br />
<br />
This marathon training block has been an absolute rollercoaster. When things have looked grim, they got better. And when they've looked great, they go to crap. After Friday's wonderful run I was really looking forward to this <b>24k long run</b> today. I decided to run the same course near home which is about 8k per lap with the intent of going out slower than target pace then ramping it up every 8k.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, for the second time in eight days I have stuffed up my target pace and got it wrong. Though, unlike last week where 8k @4.22 became 8k @4.12 in my head (and run @4.09); this week the pace should have been 4.46m/k but I thought it was 4.49. Aargh! No big deal in the scheme of things but something small which I should be getting right. That stuff up aside, I planned to run the first lap (8k) @4.55-57, the second lap @4.49 and the third lap @4.41-43. So faster each lap and finishing at just over target marathon pace. Sounds easy!<br />
<br />
The rollercoaster continued today when I started running. Almost straight away my right popliteus, which has been fine this last fortnight, was giving me bad pain. Most recently the left one has been niggly, but now the right is stuffed again! And I was wearing the same shoes (Lunar Glides) as Friday when all was good. I am so confused. I tried as best I could to ignore this and just ran. It hurt!<br />
<br />
Pain and target pace aside, the actual run was really good and went according to plan. I ran the first lap at 4.57 pace (HR Avg 135), the second lap right on 4.49 (HR 140) and finished the third lap at 4.42m/k (HR 147). The whole run was 24.2k @4.49 so it came out perfectly, despite my popliteus being in a bad way.<br />
<br />
If I can run this well when things are sh*t then it gives me lots of confidence about how I will run when things are good. Bring on next week!<br />
<br />
<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my whole <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11JdNFkRojcZndiT25wMGlfcGc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">training plan</a> are here.<br />
<br />
<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Three Miles <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/148899064" target="_blank">10.0k @4.47</a>; 3x 1600m with 400m recovery<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/149348953" target="_blank">5.5k @5.28</a>; rainy lap of Tan<br />
<b>Friday</b> - Bentleigh 16 <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/150068532" target="_blank">16.1k @4.38</a>; marathon pace effort ... niice!<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - Fast Finish 24 <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/150783725" target="_blank">24.2k @4.49</a>; faster, faster, faster<br />
<br />
<b>Weekly Summary:</b><br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/extend.html" target="_blank">Week 10</a></b> (this week): 4 runs, 55.8 km, 4 hrs 28 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/35.html" target="_blank">Week 9</a></b>: 4 runs, 66.4 km, 5 hrs 39 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/sleep.html" target="_blank">Week 8</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 4 hrs 37 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/feel-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 7</a></b>: 4 runs, 60 km, 5 hrs 10 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/the-middle-ages.html" target="_blank">Week 6</a></b>: 4 runs, 54 km, 4 hrs 36 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/recovery.html" target="_blank">Week 5</a></b>: 4 runs, 46.3 km, 3 hrs 57 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/consolidation.html" target="_blank">Week 4</a></b>: 5 runs, 71.7 km, 6 hrs 24 mins <i>(biggest week ever!)</i><br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/running-into-easter.html" target="_blank">Week 3</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 5 hrs 9 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/oops-ive-done-it-again.html" target="_blank">Week 2</a></b>: 5 runs, 48.6 km, 3 hrs 51 mins<br />
<b>Week 1</b>: 4 runs, 41 km, 3 hrs 28 mins<br />
<b>Total: 42 runs, 559.2 km, 47 hrs 19</b><b> mins</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2651312018755327750.post-69419354174367556212014-06-01T21:56:00.000+10:002014-06-01T21:56:59.886+10:003.5<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 17.152000427246094px;">
Gold Coast Marathon - 6 Weeks to Go</h2>
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42 days till I run 42km. Doesn't sound like much. Isn't much I guess. In some ways it feels like such a long time with so many runs to do and yet, on other days, it seems too close for comfort and I wish I had another month to get in some more quality training. But it is what it is and it will be over in the blink of an eye; so best I enjoy all of it along the way.<br />
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This week's theme is '<b>3.5</b>' as that is how many hours I am scheduled to run for this Sunday. The original Furman plan is for 32k but the O'Donnell plan is 3.5 hours. The Wilson "hybrid plan" is 32k at target pace then 50min easy running to make up the time. I don't want to think about how far that is to run! (Or how i will feel afterwards!) But that is later ...</div>
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<b>Tuesday 27 May</b><br />
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Today's run was four hard reps of 1/2/1/1 km with 400m easy in between; which I ran over my favourite lunch time course along the Yarra. So, whilst there were target times I wanted to hit, with the varying terrain and headwind on the return leg it was just a case of run as hard as you can for as long as you can!<br />
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On the plus side, each rep had an average HR of 164 which about right for me on these, especially as the rest is active. Also a positive is the 1k times were pretty even, being 3.58/3.57/4.01. Unfortunately the 2k rep in the middle was about 10 sec slower than I'd wish for (8.16) but it does have the most incline in it so is probably a fair time in any case.<br />
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All of which is to say that I ran ok, legs not too bad from last week, and my times were acceptable if not great.<br />
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<b>Friday 30 May</b><br />
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Another work week has come and gone and with it another couple of runs. On Wednesday night it was <b>Nike Run Club</b> time. Most recently I have been doing the 5k groups but, at a 'special request' from Marie (from Germany) and Keira (from USA) I was doing the 10k @6m/k group. It was a great night, a small group of only seven and with co-leader Hannah we had a ball as this tight-knit group ran around the MCG, Fitzroy Gardens and Tan Track. Lots of fun!!<br />
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Tonight it was back on the streets, this time for an <b>8k tempo</b> set. Conditions were perfect: cool with hardly any breeze; and after a short warm-up it was straight into the main 8k on my standard course up to North Rd and back down to South Rd.<br />
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<i>Ok, as I write this now I realise I have totally stuffed this one up!!! When I check my plan it says target pace of 4.22m/k which, of course, is my mid-tempo pace. But - somewhere out when I was running - this evolved in my head into a 4.12 target pace (short-tempo) against which I ran a 4.09 pace. Aargh!!</i><br />
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I now understand why this felt so bl**dy hard. I thought it was pretty quick for an 8k run. And, yes, it was. If only I paid more attention to what my plan actually says! Anyway, I guess I have had a good workout, and should be pretty pleased that I completed this one at a manageable heart rate too. Amazing what you can do when your mind is convinced of what it must attempt.<br />
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<b>Sunday 1 June</b><br />
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Everything had been building up to today. This whole week was themed on today's <b>long run</b>. Oddly enough, the course and exact distance I would go was made up on the day which is rather more organic than you'd expect for such a pivotal session. Whatever happened this would be my longest training run ever so I was a bit nervous.<br />
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Weather today was average - rainy and cool, but not cold. I headed out at midday to run a slightly longer version of my 'Big Lap' course from a fortnight ago; going all the way into the city instead of cutting across to the Tan. This would bring it up to 36k which I decided was long enough!<br />
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The original 32k session had a target pace of 4.59m/k so I set out to run near enough to this pace. It was a fairly consistent drizzle from the start with a little headwind into the city which made for less than exciting running conditions. It felt ok, but not easy. I didn't seem to have great rhythm and my right knee wasn't good. Turning onto the Yarra trail after 15.5k and my average pace was right on the 4.59 target.<br />
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Along here it started to get harder. Unlike two weeks ago where I picked up the pace and felt great on this stretch; today it was not so enjoyable and my knee was sore. I think between my knee, the conditions, and my confused pace it started to mess with my head. The next 9k along the path to East Malvern was a procession of slow/fast k's as I fought to maintain rhythm and form. Through 29k I was still at 5.03m/k average but knew the next few would be slower as I rose over the railway footbridge and up the Belgrave Rd hill.<br />
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Once I got to 32k - average 5.06m/k (time 2:43) to this point - I dropped the pace right back. The next 4k was really running for time so the faster I went the further away from my target 3.5 hours I would be. All counter-intuitive to how I would normally run. It was fairly comfortable - even with a dodgy knee - and I completed the 36.1k in 3:08 at 5.12m/k pace. So both goals partially met at best.<br />
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In retrospect, I think having the 'split target' sessions has probably just confused me. Doing 32k at a set pace or running purely for time with no set distance/pace are both ok. When I have combined them it has got weird. Today I felt like I should be going faster in order to make pace for the 32k, but wanted to go slower so as to get as close to 3.5 hours without doing 40-odd k's. In the end I did neither really well - running too slow for 32k and too fast to pad out to 3.5 hours. My learning here is to pick one thing and stick to it!<br />
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Nutrition wise, today I had a gel before starting then five more at about 40min intervals. The last two especially were really needed and I felt the kick almost immediately which was great. That said, the last one was a struggle to ingest and I think I chucked half of it up. I think alternating gels with sports drink will work better on race day.<br />
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<b>Training Program:</b><br />
Full session details for my whole <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11JdNFkRojcZndiT25wMGlfcGc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">training plan</a> are here.<br />
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<b>Strava links for the week:</b><br />
<b>Tuesday</b> - Yarra Speed <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/146108235" target="_blank">10.4k @4.42</a>; 1k, 2k, 1k, 1k efforts with 400m recovery<br />
<b>Wednesday</b> - Nike Run Club <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/146486194" target="_blank">10.2k @5.54</a>; small group run<br />
<b>Friday</b> - Fast 8 <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/147195578" target="_blank">9.7k @4.24</a>; 8k tempo @4.09 pace<br />
<b>Sunday</b> - The Bigger Lap <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/147933080" target="_blank">36.1k @5.12</a>; very long run<br />
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<b>Weekly Summary:</b><br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/35.html" target="_blank">Week 9</a></b> (this week): 4 runs, 66.4 km, 5 hrs 39 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/sleep.html" target="_blank">Week 8</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 4 hrs 37 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/feel-strong.html" target="_blank">Week 7</a></b>: 4 runs, 60 km, 5 hrs 10 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/the-middle-ages.html" target="_blank">Week 6</a></b>: 4 runs, 54 km, 4 hrs 36 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/recovery.html" target="_blank">Week 5</a></b>: 4 runs, 46.3 km, 3 hrs 57 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/consolidation.html" target="_blank">Week 4</a></b>: 5 runs, 71.7 km, 6 hrs 24 mins <i>(biggest week ever!)</i><br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/running-into-easter.html" target="_blank">Week 3</a></b>: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 5 hrs 9 mins<br />
<b><a href="http://pbdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/oops-ive-done-it-again.html" target="_blank">Week 2</a></b>: 5 runs, 48.6 km, 3 hrs 51 mins<br />
<b>Week 1</b>: 4 runs, 41 km, 3 hrs 28 mins<br />
<b>Total: 38 runs, 503.4 km, 42 hrs 51</b><b> mins</b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1