PB Down Under

"Isn't there another way ... sharkbait, hoo ha ha!"

2012-01-10T22:54:00.000+11:00

If you want to be "sharkbait" at Lorne's annual blue water classic - the Pier to Pub - then there is "no other way" except to complete the 1.2km event ten times. And this year I managed to do that. Not consecutive though, far from it, with my first go being all the way back in 1990. So it's been a long time coming; but something I'm quite proud of as I consider myself a reluctant swimmer!

This year the 'Surrey Street & Friends Crew' was back and had added a new member. Bec joined last year's P2P novice Shelby with seasoned pro's John and Mark back for their third tilts at the race. The road trip to Lorne now commanded a people-mover to get us all down there and thankfully John was able to oblige. (Soon we'll need a mini-bus!) But some things don't change and the stop at Winchelsea for a coffee and donut went down well (at least for the coffee drinking, donut eating team members).

As is to be expected, on a 150km road-trip before a big event, there's plenty of time to trot out the excuses for why we won't finish; will be slow; be worse than last year, etc etc and most of those heard on this journey sounded pretty well practised. (I'm sure some will claim these were not excuses, but what sort of a story would that make?) From memory, they went a bit like this:

Bec: I only took up swimming recently; I've never swum this far [my comment: actually pretty fair as far as excuses go; understandable if she has a heavy dose of nerves]
Mark: I have tennis elbow - which he got from smacking people around at karate [sounds reasonable but I'm not falling for it; has been in the pool for a month or two now and is swimming ok]
Shelby: after last year I hadn't decided if I wanted to do this again; only came down because Paul is doing number ten; only started swimming again last month [lovely sentiment; but it's hard to believe excuses from an ex-superfish swimmer]
John: never in doubt really as he swims all year round in the bay, but complained something about a 'hurty finger' [nothing less than a strong finish expected from our team 'quiet achiever']
Paul: delved deep into the suitcase of excuses and could come out with nothing better than a dislike of jellyfish and other critters [looking independently at this one, it is weak; I've never seen anything more threatening than seaweed in the water at Lorne]

By the time we reached Lorne we were all pretty nervous, really. No time for lunch, just onto preparations as we registered for the event and walked casually up the beach to the start line at the Pier. It's on this walk every year that I think "gee, this is a long bloody way" and wonder why I'd choose to swim it; especially as you get the finisher's shirt before you start!

Unlike a couple of years ago in the late swim start incident which is routinely mentioned about a dozen times each year since (!) we had plenty of time and were able to prepare serenely in the marshalling area prior to our wave start. Not that there's much to do except zip up the wetsuit. And if you're John or Mark (ie, hard men of the ocean) not even that as they swim sans-rubber. We were able to view a wave start from the Pier and could definitely notice that there was a bit of a current in action as the start buoys were clearly pulling on their moorings as the tide receded (like my hairline). So it would not be a fast year.

Photography sidebar: As my regular half a dozen or so blog readers would know, my speciality is getting pictures during an event. This is a relative doddle when it comes to cycling and running; but not so easy when it comes to a swimming race. This year I set myself the task of working out how I could safely carry my camera through a swim - having it accessible to take photos, but not get in the way when I was swimming. I came up with an over the shoulder strap arrangement, complete with buckle and floating camera handstrap. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to test it out before race day so I really just hoped it would do the trick. In short, it was sensational and worked a treat and meant that for the first time I could get pics of this great event.

Shelby and Bec started - and finished - their swim before us "Masters" men got wet. (Which amounts to a great head start for them at the bar!!) Unfortunately the event organiser managed to split Mark, John and myself up, meaning I took to the water one wave in front of them. That first step into the cool (ok, cold-ish) water never gets any easier and I had to catch my breath as I swam the 50m out to the start line. Treading water at the start the Herald-Sun newspaper photographer got me and some other blokes to pose for a pic. I thought it only fair to take his photo in return which I think surprised him a bit! Within another minute we were off.

The yellow swim-can at the start has a number "20" on it and they count down every 60m with another until the finish. This makes it rather easy to get a sense of how far you've gone, or have to go, which can be motivating and deflating all at the same time. I soon settled into a rhythm, only interrupted by my sporadic stopping for photo opportunities. Unlike the bike or run it is a bit harder to "plan" where you'll get good shots from, but it certainly gave me something to think about other than the race.

Once I got to half way the distance just seemed to disappear and before I knew it I was around the final buoy and heading to shore. As the tide was almost fully out this year it was a long wade and run up the sand to the finish line, where I crossed in 25m40s. A long way from my fastest time and a couple of minutes slower than last year. (Time to practice my excuse for the pub ...)

A short while later the team regrouped in the Lorne Hotel to begin a long afternoon of drinking and story telling; interrupted only by my brief visit to the awards ceremony to collect my shark bait medallion. Best comments from the arvo:

Bec: (time 32m43s) "I think I might be hooked ... even though I was completely terrified! At least I will know what to expect now!" [my comment: will definitely be quicker next year now that she knows the course]
Mark: (28m12s) "a great time too despite much angst leading up to the day about my general lack of conditioning and overall motivation. Nothing like that cold water around the nether regions going out from the ramp to snap you out of your slumber!!" [a great result given the dodgy elbow; and, like me, needs to find a way to stop the times continuing a downward trend!]
Shelby: (24m05s) "I'm just so incredibly stoked to know that I beat Tony Abbott - next year I'm going to try and beat Baillieu as well!" [absolutely smoked the course this year; personally I'm hoping she doesn't decide to actually train for this event!]
John: (45m32s) "even though I smashed my previous record by a good 5 minutes, I'm bringing along an outboard motor next year, that way I get to be first to get a table at the pub, and also no need for search parties to see if Jack isn't being winched to hospital by search and rescue helicopter." [proved once again that slow and steady might not win the race, but will have a lot of fun!]
Paul: (25m40s) I think some friends captured it well with these comments: "your commitment to reporting is impressive" but from another "stop taking photos and swim!" [kind of sums it up really]

I'm not exactly sure what time we left the pub, but it was well into the evening by the time we made it home. I cannot claim to have been our fastest swimmer or the most inebriated at the bar; but I can say that I had the most fun. Ten swims complete - and plenty more ahead!

Shark bait. Hoo ha ha! (And for those unfamiliar with the 'Finding Nemo' reference, here's a clip from You Tube to explain.)

My career record at Lorne now looks like this (not getting any faster, but certainly having more fun!):
2012 - 25.40
2011 - 23.20
2010 - 19.27
2004 - 23.02
2003 - 18.42
1998 - 19.37
1993 - 23.30
1992 - 17.54
1991 - 20.50
1990 - 20.37

A full photoset is on Flickr.

The Big Lap - Around the Bay in a Day

2011-10-20T23:09:00.000+11:00

Here in Melbourne it is probably the ultimate citizen cycling event. Not the hardest; but certainly the one most people ask if you have done. It is the Around the Bay in a Day ride organised by Bicycle Victoria and run each October since 1993. I think this is the seventh (?) time I have taken part.

This year a group of six of us rode together - more or less - for much of the journey. Dave Wilkinson, backing up from his marathon debut last Sunday, had soft legs. Dave Weeks, backing up from a boys weekend, was just feeling a bit soft! Andrew Matthews was in his first Around the Bay; Bill Wood looked strong as always and Dave's brother Peter Wilkinson not only looked strong, but rode that way too.

Heading off from South Melbourne at 6am in the morning we headed to West Gate Bridge and the first "climb" of the day. It is pretty gentle and the views are great - especially at first light and with a full moon. The next 10k or so is a bit of a parade as we take off-ramps then on-ramps back and forth on the freeway then a large detour through the suburban (stinky) petro-chemical heart of Melbourne in the inner west. Thankfully the course this year - changed once again - returned us to the freeway at Altona rather than having to endure the back blocks through Point Cook like in recent years. This was a welcome improvement, though the rising westerly wind was not!

A touch over 30k into the ride and we headed through Werribee still in search of a perfect bunch going at the right speed. The occasional "too fast" group had gone past us, and we had passed plenty of slower riders. But it was like Goldilocks, and alas "just right" was nowhere to be found.

We rejoined the freeway and eventually settled behind a small group doing a comfortable 28-30kph for the next 15k into our rest stop at Point Wilson after 50k. The wind was noticeable but was not yet super strong; and so far we hadn't encountered any real rain showers.

After our quick "comfort stop" it was back onto the road where, only 8k down the road, Dave Weeks suffered his now customary ATBIAD puncture. About 60k earlier than last year, but just as frustrating for him nonetheless. (As an aside, I cannot recall Dave having any punctures in all the years we've ridden except for on this ride. He must save them up!)

Back on the road and in less than 10k we were on the North Shore just outside Geelong; and only 5k further along we entered Geelong proper and started to feel the breeze over our shoulder and backs. This was welcome relief as the wind had now picked up strength. It would be behind us, more or less, for the 30k run into Queenscliff and the ferry.

As we did last year, we hit some rain showers near Geelong. Not as heavy or as long as last time, but enough to make it a bit unpleasant. It was during one of these showers, as some of our crew were putting on rain jackets, that Peter Wilkinson and I slipped away off the front. Not a planned move, but before we knew it we were belting along with clear road in front and behind.

After climbing the Leopold hill then racing the next 4k at about 40kph I decided enough was enough and let Peter go. Unfortunately for him, 2k down the road he dropped his chain at the bottom of the next hill and I went past again. Fully expecting him to be back on very quickly I joined in a small group with three others for a couple of k's. Not sure where Peter was - but subsequently learning he was just making the juncture with our group - I attacked off the front so I could ride with a clear view of this narrow road.

It was not far to Queenscliff and I put the hammer down, riding at 38kph for the 11k into town. At one time, sensing another rider behind me, I gave the flick of the elbow to call him through, but was disappointed when I was left "out to dry" and still on the front :-( I'm not sure I believe Peter when he says he couldn't come through!!

We made it into Queenscliff after 106.5k at just after 10am and in time to catch the 11am ferry!! The rest of the crew were with us shortly thereafter and we ate lunch while waiting to get on the boat. A few were starting to look a bit tired.

At midday, almost two hours after arriving at Queenscliff, we were finally on our way from Sorrento. The going was quite good as we continued to pick up what was now a pretty strong cross-tailwind. Within 5k or so we had picked up a bunch (led by some NAB bankers) and they set a good pace as we cruised easily through Blairgowrie, Rye, Rosebud and Dromana.

At this point you turn away from the beach and after a short trek inland arrive at the base of the only significant hill on the return leg; a climb up Balcombe Hill. It's 2.2km long at an average gradient of only 4% but is steeper (averaging near 6%) for a kilometre at the top after you have crossed over the freeway. So the key here is to ride steadily to begin with before putting in any big efforts. I was still feeling good here and with the tailwind thought it was an opportunity to test my legs. (The data from the Garmin tells me I climbed this hill at 20kph so in retrospect it was no surprise that most of my mates were a few seconds behind at the top.) A roaring descent later and it was on to the rolling hills through Mornington and Mt Eliza.

It was on another one of these small rises beside a vineyard that I once again slipped off the front of our group and so found myself riding the next 8k into our designated rest stop at Frankston on my own. With 160k or so now in the saddle I think most of use were feeling tired and the sausage in bread that Andrew bought us had never tasted better (thanks mate!) The wind would now be on our side and getting progressively in our faces so we knew this last 50k would be a challenge.

Dave Wilko and Peter had ridden by at Frankston and made their own pace home (pretty similar to ours as it turned out) - which is to say "not fast." Through to Mordi we once again found ourselves behind the NAB guys and with the buffeting crosswinds the group started to get a bit ragged. I certainly found it about all I could do just to keep in with them, knowing that to drop off would make it so much harder.

After Mordi we were well and truly on "home turf" but unlike last year where we really pushed it along here, this time the pace was rather gentle. Our "Mordi to South Rd" stretch, covered on our Saturday morning rides at 30-35kph, went by at just 25kph. It was a bit sorry, really. I was chugging down PowerBar Energy Blasts like there was no tomorrow (unfortunately they seemed to be having no effect whatsoever). Stopping at traffic lights - and these were now more frequent - was a real pain; the effort of reducing speed then having to gather it again taking a toll.

At St Kilda, with 200k covered a guy at the front of our group managed to do a full somersault. Not sure how, but I suspect wind and fatigue played a big part. When we turned right off the Beach Rd at South Melbourne to head into the finish it was sweet relief - finally the tailwind was back! But the traffic lights were now in oversupply so the final few k's weren't really any easier.

At a quarter to four in the afternoon - later than ever - we arrived at the finish line. Phew! This had certainly been one of the toughest AtB rides I'd done. Kudos to Dave Wilko who completed the course - and the double - a week after his marathon. Amazing stuff.

Now, what next ....

Ride Details
Melbourne-Queenscliff: 106.58km in 3:35.50h @ 29.6kph
Sorrento-Melbourne: 96.98km in 3:22.49h @ 28.7kph
Total: 203.56km in 6:58.39h @ 29.1kph

Garmin
Melbourne-Queenscliff
Sorrento-Melbourne

Strava
Melbourne-Queenscliff
Sorrento-Melbourne

Photo Gallery
Flickr

Genovese Kinglake Swim (oops, I mean "Ride")

2011-09-22T22:52:00.002+10:00

I guess the title of this post tells you that Sunday 11 September was anything but a lovely day's riding in the beautiful countryside. Which is a shame as this ride should be exactly that! A few thousand people enter this event, billed as a "Spring Classic" expecting to be treated to a great day out. Unfortunately, this year, the "Spring Classic" proved true to its European origins and Belgian-style weather prevailed and only the Flahutes survived.

To borrow a description of the interwebs, "Flahute racers focus on such classics as the Ronde Van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix, those tough northern classics filled with some of the worst roads and weather imaginable in bike racing. The only thing tougher than the races themselves are the guys that win them. They are the real Flahutes." Yep, they'd have enjoyed this day!

Dave Weeks and I were the only hard-men of our riding crew to venture out to Whittlesea for this event. But about 15k from the start we found ourselves in the middle of the biggest traffic jam you could possibly imagine. Not your average "leave it till the last minute to get there" jam. No, this pickle was caused by some stunning roadworks which had reduced the road to a single lane of the each-direction-take-turns kind. So what had looked like a nicely timed drive to the start became a slow-motion crawl which saw us arrive long after the start. By the time I completed my regulation pre-event bowel evac we didn't get underway until 50 minutes beyond the appointed start.

By this time it had started to rain, really rain, and it took us about 7k just to catch the sag wagon. At least now we were in the event proper and would have the psychological advantage of passing slower riders as we picked our way through the field. And there was a steady procession of them as we wound our way through the fantastic towns of Arthurs Creek, Cottles Bridge and St Andrews. A local had even painted a large yellow "Cadel's Hill" just out of Arthurs Creek (where his mum lives).

By the time we reached the start of the Kinglake climb it was starting to pour down, but this is the highlight of the event and I was riding well so I wanted to really test out my legs. At the base of the 7k climb I upped the pace to a level not far off my maximum. It felt great to pass so many people; though in reality, they were just out having fun like us. This was one of only two times in my life where I'd describe conditions as riding "against the tide" - so large were the torrents of water cascading down the hill in front of us. The sunglasses came off and were tucked in the pocket for now.

About 3k into the climb Dave came rolling past me for a turn at the front. At that point I was just starting to feel the effects of going out (too) hard and with 4k to go it seemed a very long way. I had also somehow managed to convince myself that I had dropped Dave earlier on in the climb so to see him again looking strong was a double blow. I quickly lost my momentum and with it about 20m. About half a kilometre later I recuperated enough to claw back onto Dave's wheel and just sat there.

Every time I have ridden the Kinglake climb I have travelled well on the less steep part but suffered when it kicked up for the last 2-3k. In November last year when Weeks, Wilko and I were riding here I was right with them until this part when I lost contact. Doh! I feared it was about to happen again ... and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't. With less than 2k to go I went back to the front to try to set the pace again, hoping I could discourage any last minute attacks. Of course, all this was going on only in my head and Dave just sat there content to ride to the top!

The weather was particularly ugly up here and visibility was poor. But from memory we knew there was a small coffee shop to which we quickly retired. It was somewhere here that the flahute in us said goodbye and the middle-aged bloke checked in. With very little discussion - and no debate or disagreement - we decided to take the shorter ride route back into Whittlesea; cutting out 50k from the distance. After all, we'd already proved we were tough (hadn't we?) so no need to underline the point!

Of course, once we made our way back onto the road, my teeth chattering loudly from the shivering cold, we began the rise towards Kinglake West and it started to hail. Ok, we got the message, we were pussies, but we had plenty of mates up there. We blasted along the road here and it wasn't long before we were making the descent into Whittlesea.

In the dry, like last year, this is a 70kph blast. Heaps of fun on a wide road with gentle bends. On this day it was a 60kph hold on for dear life as the wind and rain buffeted you. I've done scarier things on a bike, but not many, and was glad when the road levelled out and we had only flat ground to ride.

Rounding the corner into the finish I felt proud of what we had done but a little hollow. Strangely enough the sun was out now (though the big black clouds were clearly visible on the hills) and it was hard to imagine that conditions had been so bad a short while previous. An extra 50k would have been nice; but 70k was good nonetheless.

Just need some extra distance in the legs prior to Around the Bay in a month!

City to Surf - the ultimate "fun" run

2011-08-25T22:36:00.000+10:00

People - well, non-runners - often ask why they call these events a "fun run." After all, as they see it, running just ain't fun! Those people should come to Sydney on the second Sunday in August and check out the City to Surf. This is 14km of pure, unadulterated fun! (Apparently there's a serious race on as well, but I don't really see much of that!)

In this, my twenty-fourth straight participation, we had rain for only the second time I can remember. By race start it had dissipated, but in the hour before the gun it came down fairly hard. Enough to ensure we were all drenched and the roads stayed wet (and slippery). But hard to complain about that and it didn't really affect proceedings at all. Once the starter says "go" it is business (and fun) as usual.

This year the race attracted (another) record field of around 85,000 who now begin in several waves over a period of an hour or more. The first group began at 8am - the earliest ever and a far cry from the leisurely starts at 10am we enjoyed for so many years. To get in this group you need to run under 75 minutes for the course and this was my only time goal.

My training this year had been interrupted by over three months of sickness which meant I went in with little in the way of distance in my legs. This course is notoriously difficult, especially in the 'back end,' so I planned to go easy until Heartbreak Hill, steady up the hill and give it whatever I had on the downhill and run into the finish. This strategy has served me well many times.

The course begins with a run downhill to the Kings Cross tunnel (1.2k) then a solid climb up to the Edgecliff Centre (2.4k), a descent to Double Bay (3k) and a short rise and fall into Rose Bay (4.5k). You want to get here in good shape, despite there having been a few "lumpy" bits already. Along Rose Bay is the only true flat section on the course, about 1.5k long, and it is here you get to enjoy a couple of aid stations, some beautiful views across the harbour and the smurfs (see above). [The Smurfs have a lot of fun ... they have a boom box and make lots of noise ... they wear lots of blue body paint ... they have been drinking since very early in the day! And I have no idea what was on that smurf's head.]

My hydration policy paid a little too much in the way of dividend and I had to stop at a portaloo along here; but better to be "feeling free" as I began the climb up the aptly named Heartbreak Hill.

Aside: It seems to be mandatory for any run worth its salt to have a "heartbreak hill." This race has one. The Boston Marathon has one (but it's a pussy compared to this). And the Bay to Breakers in San Francisco - after which this race is modelled - has one (though they call it the Hayes St Hill). Some races get even more poetic with the names for their hills - like the Peachtree road race in the US which has a hospital at the top of their 'heartbreak' so they call it 'Cardiac Hill' instead!

This year I slowed to a walk a couple of times on heartbreak to, ahem, take photos. At 2km in length with the first km really steep I had lots of company (though none of them had cameras). No shame here. Lots of good runners starting to look a bit ragged. And with stunning views back to the city at least there is something to look at!

Cresting the top and there is some respite before 2.5k of "undulations." This is the part of the race where those who have gone out too hard start to pay the price. Along here, at about 10k, I passed Batman and a Roman Centurion who both challenged the old adage about "if you dress up like a cartoon character you'd better make sure you have the running capability to back it up."

From 10.5k to about 13k is the easiest part of the course - if you like quad-pounding downhills. This is the chance for kilogram-heavy runners with long legs like me to make up some ground on the diminutive skinny dudes (often women & kids) who have smashed you up the hills. And it is close enough to the finish not to be worried about having to save anything for later.

Rounding the bend at the bottom of the hill, going past the North Bondi SLSC, there is one of the great views in running. Bondi Beach and the finish line loom large and it feels like you'll be there in just a few seconds!

Unfortunately there is still a km to go. You need to run past the finish before doubling back to it - a cruel course twist that catches many folks unaware as they launch a finish sprint 500m too early and run out of puff. Even when you make the final u-turn onto the finish straight it is still 400m to go. In my case, enough time to pull out the camera for some final snaps before crossing the line in 68 minutes and change. (Goal accomplished!)

Next year the silver anniversary - number 25!

Melburn Roobaix - Welcome to Hell

2011-06-26T21:29:00.136+10:00

The annual Melburn Roobaix ride is one of my favourites. And if the sellout crowd of 1000 is any indication, it is a fave with lots of others too. It is not a race; and is much less a cycling event than a social gathering on bikes. And for a city with a rapidly growing bike culture it is an ride that fits the bill perfectly. It is loosely modelled on the famous Spring Classic, the "Paris-Roubaix," which has road sections interspersed with 'sectors' of 'pave' or cobblestones before finishing with a lap of a velodrome. Unlike Paris-Roubaix, the 'Roobaix' follows a different course each year and apart from the finish at Brunswick Velodrome, the course is a secret until the day. Heck, even the start location isn't published till the week before!

This year was the third time I have taken part and we were once again blessed with good weather (though some would argue that this is an event meant for the Belgian-style hard men who only come out if there is a chance of sleet). But we did have a reasonable amount of wind; and rain in the days prior made small lakes in some of the cobblestone lanes we'd ride over. So it was all easy going.

I met my friends Ben and David at the start point just after 10am where we signed in, picked up our map and musette and watched the crowd stream by as they began. We saw guys dressed as French bakers (complete with bread sticks), a fellow in a suit looking like he was just about to ride to work, people in jeans on fixies trying to look cool and hip (but being totally out-cooled in this crowd), a dude with a huge boom-box on his bike belting out the hits, couples on tandems, kids being towed by parents, Boba Fett (I kid you not, complete with helmet!). You name it, we saw it.

Oh, yes, and there was this cat-guy-thing (see pic). As you can see, he had a skin tight catsuit - complete with ears and mask - stilettos, red nail polish and a bike with a sticker touting "one less fixie." As far as I could figure out he was riding by himself. But maybe not! On any other day the object of ridicule and derision, here he was just one of the crowd and no big deal. The crazier the better at this event. And he was certainly right up there. As for us, we were boringly clad in regular cycling gear - gasp, lycra!

We headed off at around 10.30am to begin our odyssey. 40-odd kilometres and a dozen cobblestones sectors to go! The map you are given shows the location of the cobblestone sectors but leaves the navigation between those up to you. So a large part of the event is getting from one to the next. This is something I love doing and I end up playing the role of domestique, leading my mates (and a bunch of others) around the countryside. Most often we get there as planned but reading maps, taking photos and riding a bike in traffic are not three things you'd normally do all at once, so occasionally we'd end up a little off course and need to reset ourselves. All the more fun. This year the organiser incorporated a lot more bike paths into the (obvious) route between sectors,showcasing what a wonderful network of off-road trails we have here in Melbourne. There were certainly lots of places I've never seen before.

But the real fun is on the cobbles and it was on these sections that the biggest smiles came out. For those not used to this it can be a bit of a shock. The stones really do give man and machine a pounding. More than one water bottle, cage, spares or computer were jettisoned along these bits; especially for those who go the harder option and ride a bike with narrow road tyres (for the record, not me). These are not smooth cobbles, these are rough patchwork quilts of things with mortared gaps if you are lucky and gaping holes if you are not. They are an insight into how Melbourne's suburbs were established a hundred years ago; with a network of access lanes behind houses for night carts and men delivering firewood. It is amazing how many of these have actually survived, these days used as access into backyards and shortcuts between streets.

Ben, David and myself were cruising along beautifully, having completed seven sectors and were making our way along the storm-drain beside the Citylink tollway (doing our own impressions of the great drag race scene from Grease) when disaster struck. Ben was riding a beautiful Boardman produced cyclocross bike with tubulars (fine Czech-made ones he tells me) and one of them partially rolled off the rim, bringing him to sudden stop. Apart from the massive flat-spot on the tyre where it had dragged along the ground there was no great damage (except to Ben's confidence) so we were able to refix the tyre and get going again. But Ben was never the same. (I guess living in fear of a major crash will do that to you!)

Two and a quarter hours after starting we turned off the final cobblestone sector and headed into the Brunswick Velodrome for our victory lap. Under blue sky and with sun shining we completed the course - 39km of (almost) hell. Heck, I dunno what those pros complain about!

The Great Train Race - Puffing Billy (or should that be Puffing PB?)

2011-05-01T21:49:00.003+10:00

For an event with "only" 3000 or so competitors in an out of the way location in the hills, the annual Puffing Billy Great Train Race always draws in the television coverage. Which is perhaps reflective of its same draw on athletes. For 30 years now runners have come to Belgrave to test their legs against the restored - and in great shape - Puffing Billy steam train. The 13km course with 250m of climbing, a similar amount of descents, and four train crossings is a true test. Everyone leaves with a story to tell; though few leave with a victory over the train!

This year, continuing a very good run, we once again had perfect running weather. It was about 13deg's by race start at 9.30am, with overcast skies and not a breath of wind. Before the start the announcer introduced Leader of the Federal Opposition, Tony Abbott, to the microphone and he received a kind applause as he stepped up. Oddly enough, a few minutes later, when the train driver was introduced to the crowd he received nothing but boos and hisses! Seems unusual, but in this race, the train driver is the natural enemy of the runner!

For something different this year I arranged for Fiona, Brooke and Keira to travel on the race train so they would get a first hand view of the race from the best seats in the house. I even rigged her up with a gps logger so that I could compare the speed of the train through the course with my own pace. Finally I'd be able to answer those questions like "just how fast would I need to be to beat the train to the top of Menzies Creek?"

There was some hope this year, fuelled by the train driver who suggested he might be on a 56min pace, that I'd at least get to the Trestle Bridge before (or at the same time as) the train. But as I ran down the first hill towards that point, I could hear the train's whistle and knew that this would not be the case. As the photos above show - not many runners were coming down the road when the train crossed; but plenty of them were ahead of me when I got there 90 seconds later. This would be as close as I got to (not) seeing the train which was clearly "on song" for a second year running.

From the bridge begins the first climb of the race which goes for about a mile at just over 4% through to the small township of Selby. It's always a bit of a shock to a system not used to running hills to finally see one and today was no different. So I just relaxed and tried to settle into a manageable pace. From Selby you take a right turn onto Selby-Aura Rd and begin what I think is the prettiest part of the course. This is a gentle downhill along a narrow winding road through a beautiful fern gully lined with towering gum trees. It takes you through to 5km where the first aid station is located - and where the fun begins!

The Hill hits you before the water you've just swallowed is even in your stomach. And it hits you like a wall. The tarmac is left behind and you are running on dirt (or at least it used to be) and gravel. The first 1.3k is what most would consider "the hill" and this climbs up to the Menzies Creek crossing at a brutal-feeling 7.4%. Around the corner it still goes on with the total climb ending up a gnarly 2k@5.8%. And you've no sooner crested this behemoth when the mother of all downhills appears in front of you. This is a 200m out of control, steep as it gets, dirt/gravel piece of rutted road. I've seen many people come to grief here and every time I get to the bottom in one piece I am thankful!

The worst is over by then. 8km are done and if you have any strength left now is the time to use it. Today I did not have any (!) courtesy of a raging cold I've had for a week now. All forms of exercise have ceased and I probably should not have raced today!?! So whilst my pace quickened, there wasn't much in the way of zip or feeling good.

Through the fourth and final crossing at Emerald (10km), take one final drink at an aid-station and crest the small hill through the town. I've always struggled on that small incline (not really a hill) along the aptly named "Heroes Ave." Run strong through here and it is 2.5km of good downhill to the finish line. Suffer on this part and it's likely you'll be jogging to the line. Today I ran "ok" :-)

I took the last part of the course very sedately not wanting to overextend myself. It is very easy to run hard here (I normally do) but today was just about finishing so I cruised down the last hills, around the corner, and up to the finish line where Fiona, Brooke, Keira (and Puffing Billy) were all waiting. 66.49mins is not bad today. I'll take that. Now if I can just get rid of this cold!

And the stats out of the gps? Not pleasant reading - unless you are a fan of the train!

9.32.56am - race start
9.34.55 - train starts moving (so two minutes just to get going, always wondered how long he took to get down to the station)
9.37.54 - train at Trestle Bridge (no wonder I didn't see it)
9.44.10 - train at crossing #1 (Selby-Aura Rd)
*** train stopped before Menzies Creek crossing for 6m30sec !!!
9.59.31 - train at crossing #2 (Menzies Creek)
10.03.02 - train at crossing #3 (Belgrave-Gembrook Rd)
10.09.16 - train at crossing #4 (Emerald)
*** train stopped at Emerald Station for 4min !!!
10.22.47 - train stopped at Lakeside

So if the train "ran" 50.49 that would mean the driver crossed the line 59sec after the train stopped.

"Doing it for the Kiddies"

2011-04-17T20:59:00.001+10:00

I cannot do the Run for the Kids without thinking of that very funny Aussie comedy duo Roy and HG and their wonderful invocation to "do it for the kiddies." Cause that is what this race is all about. There are no other races I do where you see so many reminders of little children with lives at best interrupted or, at worst, taken away too soon. It is very moving and a stark reminder that we are blessed to be able to go for a run in the sunshine.

Today was my fifth R4K and I've only missed this race once in 2008. It's had a variety of courses over the years - originally finishing in front of the hospital itself, but now moving to what seems like a permanent location at Alexandra Gardens and a settled route and distance of 14.4km. Even if you were in no way motivated to "do it for the kiddies" you could find plenty of excuses to do this race. For me it's because it takes in plenty of roads you just cannot run on any other day of the year - traversing the Domain Tunnel and parts of Citylink including Bolte Bridge. It's a once a year chance to see Melbourne from a spectacular new vantage point.

The weather for today's race was about perfect: quite cool early in the morning but when the sun came out it got up to about 15 degrees C (60F). I wasn't really sure what my goal was for today (which is a sure way of not hitting it!). My training has been ok, but not great, so I decided I wouldn't be in 'full race mode.' I wasn't sick (like last year) so I wouldn't be in 'take it easy and video the race' mode. So I opted for the 'just run how you feel and have some fun' scenario.

We got underway at around 9.20am after the 5k group had cleared the first bridge on the course. It's a fairly narrow start area and stays that way for a while so it pays to try to get a spot up near the front or you'll be waiting for ages to cross the start line. I was underway within about 15 seconds of the gun so was plenty happy with that. The first km through to the tunnel is pretty flat and just a chance to try to find some rhythm.

The conditions once you enter the tunnel change dramatically. Obviously the light is very different but it is also humid. And even though the sun wasn't very hot it was definitely less comfortable inside the Domain Tunnel than outside. For the first third of the tunnel you plunge deep underground before a flat section and then the final rise out to the other side. By 3km you have reached the first aid station, porta loos and the end of the tunnel.

The climb continues here for a while as you rise up onto the Citylink tollway. Somewhere along here, between the city high rise and mountains of apartments I started to feel fatigued. Not good. Too early for that! Time to settle in to a better routine. Not that the current one felt wrong: 3-5k had been covered in 4.33m/k @ 162HR so it should have been ok. But is just didn't feel ok! I'm not sure that rattling off the next km in 4.31 was the alteration in pace I had in mind, but that's what happened.

At this point I was 6k into the race at the aid station just before the sweeping bend up and onto Bolte Bridge. With a km of uphill next on the agenda I knew this part would either make or break me and a 5.10m/k @ 168HR just about finished me off. I was genuinely tired now and still has almost 7k to go. Hmmm, at least the worst was over and the next part was all downhill.

Looking back, I know that I was tired here. My race videos, shot every km or so up to this point, suddenly dried up. The run off the bridge and right around towards Docklands went by in a daze. Through 9k and even the Nike Powersong tunnel of noise failed to rouse an extraction of the camera from my pocket. (Pity that, as this was a fanstastic part of the course with about 400m of speakers booming out - in my case - Eye of the Tiger.) Nice touch, I felt great here. Then the music ended and I felt ordinary again.

Reaching the 10k mark along the waterfront felt like a big milestone when in reality it just signalled the fact that crowds were about to get bigger from here to the finish. That in itself was probably worth a bit as all the clapping and cheering helps push you towards the end. Channel 7 had an aid station right out the front of their building, complete with people handing out sweat bands (not sure why, seemed odd to me?) and a little further on was a troupe of cheerleaders: "Let's Go Runners, Let's Go" they chanted. Certainly very enthusiastic and colourful!

The last 'obstacle' on the course is the small bridge at Collins Street over to Flinders Street. This one broke me. Had to walk for a few seconds just to catch my breath. Crikey, never thought it would be this hard! (Moreover, am really worried about coping with the hills at Puffing Billy in two weeks.) I consoled myself with the thought that this was probably making me stronger and just got on with getting to the finish.

Not far down the road you cross the Yarra for the fourth (of six) times and turn left beside the casino. How on earth a fun run with 30,000 competitors can use a narrow pedestrian-filled thoroughfare is beyond me. They seem to get away with it (!) but it's an obvious point of change on the course. Another crossing of the river shortly after and onto Flinders Street for a short step up to St Kilda Road where you turn right and head for the finish.

I'd managed to cover the last couple of km at 4.35m/k pace so was still travelling ok even if it was feeling much harder. Into the last few hundred metres and I just cruised along. About 100m from the finish the 4.5m/k Nike pace leader (Elly) ran past. Obviously she'd got caught in traffic or maybe the pace leaders ran to pace from the time they crossed the start line as this race is chip timed? In any case, she was further back than I'd have thought.

Around the last corner and over the finish line. Done!

Final time for me was about 66.53min (~4.39m/k). I'm pretty happy with that. This is not a race that I've ever completed super-fast so to run that pace is quite satisfying. But I know I have a lot of work to do before Puffing Billy in a fortnight!

Run for the Kids Nike Training Runs

2011-04-14T21:11:00.002+10:00

Early days by the Yarra when the sun still shone

One of the great runs on the Victorian calendar is the Run for the Kids, a fifth year event to raise funds for our Royal Children's Hospital. This year, for the first time, I decided to take part in their organised training runs, sponsored by Nike. I've certainly found that committing to these organised sessions is a good way to make sure I don't pike out if the weather looks iffy or I feel tired!

The venue for the runs was Federation Square and they went for 8 weeks from 23 February. The top photo shows the first day, bathed in beautiful sunshine at the tail end of summer. (Seems so long ago now.) On that day I did a hard and fast 4k before graduating in subsequent weeks to the steady paced longer runs of around 10-12k.

I cannot speak more highly of the organisation for these runs. They have people looking after your bags, pace team leaders (for 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5 min/km groups) and drinks/lollies before and after. And it doesn't cost a cent! Thank goodness for sponsors!

The pace team leaders were wonderful too - full of encouragement and good cheer whilst keeping the pace even (if sometimes a little faster than advertised!) I had the pleasure of running with Elly, Jeremy, Rupert, Jose and Emma over the weeks I ran and they were all ace. (Emma - you ran the legs off me during that last session around the Tan. How humbling to be totally out of breath whilst you skipped around chatting away!)

So, eight weeks and many k's later it is done and we all await the race on Sunday. Should be a lot of fun. The weather forecast is great, the pace leaders will be out and I'll be there with my camera to have some fun whilst I run the 14.4k.

Ready to head off from Federation Square

Great Ocean & Otway Classic Ride 2011

2011-04-03T12:40:00.005+10:00

Riding the Great Ocean Road

There are few more iconic places to ride a bike in Victoria than along the Great Ocean Road and each of the last five years has seen SuperSprint Events run one of the most popular events on the calendar, attracting 3500 people to the famed course. This was my third time around, having done the first two rides in 2007 and 2008, and I would line up with my mate Dave (pictured above) as we tackled the 145km course.

It was an early rise on Saturday morning as we made our way down the Geelong Road in time for the 7.30am start in Torquay. By the time we reached the venue traffic was fairly busy and getting a good park would be difficult so we parked up the top of a nearby hill and rolled down to the line after a quick (compulsory) pit-stop for me.

The early groups had begun their rollout by the time we arrived and so we moseyed up to get as near to the front as possible. With a headwind and rain showers predicted for the early part of the ride it would be important to try to get into a good group and take cover for as long as we could. After the compulsory gag from the event organiser we were off and going.

Course Map

The first 20-30km is spent largely getting sorted out and finding a spot in a group going at the "right pace." On a large ride like this you quickly get a sense of which wheels it is safe to ride on versus those you should avoid and it took until Moriac for things to settle down in our part of the bunch. The weather until this point had been ok but it soon started to drizzle, making conditions slippery and nervous in the now large group.

The focus for me and Dave was to make it to Deans Marsh (75k) where we could take a pit stop and prepare for the climb over the Otways. This was made somewhat more difficult as by now we were both keen for a 'natural break' as they say. But our group was travelling at a reasonable pace and we were disinclined to give it up so we just hung on.

Making the left turn for the last 8k into Deans Marsh I decided to go to the front of the now labouring bunch. I knew there'd be a slight tailwind in this section and without really trying I found that a gap had opened up on my mob. Not what I'd planned but at least I had clear road. So I did what every self-respecting hard-man-of-the-road would do and put the hammer down! What had been an easy 30kph for the last 20k was a 35kph push for a 5k TT. I waited for a minute or so at Deans March as Dave pulled in with the bunch. A toilet break rarely felt so good!

The road over the Otways is no straightforward up-and-over climb. I'd describe it as four distinct sections over the 12k distance. The first rise is 1.5k@5.9%; followed by a false flat totalling 2k@0.8%; another climb of 1.5k@7.5%; and finishing with a series of three short climbs over the final 7k of the ascent. It is a beautiful road and one of the highlights of the ride.

Through the Otways

Reaching the top at Benwerrin you then get to enjoy a wonderful descent into Lorne. The roads were wet from the rain so I took things rather easily for the first 4k down the hill, but as my confidence (bravado?) grew and the roads dried out a little I opened it up for the final 5.5k where I averaged a touch over 50kph (my benchmark downhill speed). Woo! Hoo! A lot of fun. We rolled into the beachside town of Lorne having covered 97k in 3.23hrs (28.7kph average). Time for a pie, donut, coffee and short break.

The holiday mecca of Lorne

By the time lunch was over I had really cooled down. The temperature had never really climbed and I found myself shivering as I remounted the bike. Thankfully the wind was basically behind us and so it wasn't long before I was feeling ok again. The 30k section of road between Lorne and Anglesea is the other main attraction of this ride. It is the "Great Ocean Road" part and on any other day can be a bit hairy to ride as the road is narrow, winding and there are lots of tourists looking at the sights - instead of concentrating on driving on what is for them the wrong side of the road.

By this stage, however, Dave was starting to feel the pinch so we rode at a steady pace and enjoyed the sights. (Well, I did. I'll have to check with Dave to see if he remembers them at all.) The views along here are magnificent and the road undulating, it is beautiful cycling territory. Before I knew it we were descending into Anglesea having finished this scenic stretch.

The final 17k to the end at Torquay begins with a gentle (2k@4.3%) climb before a gradual downhill run into the finish. So sad to say I lost my mate Dave here. It was one uphill too many. Since we were so close to the end and there were still lots of groups on the road I knew he'd find a bunch to ride with so I once again got into ITT mode and soloed for the last 15k, averaging a nice 35kph. It was great to finish a ride like this feeling strong - all that commuting to work has really made a difference.

Dave finished only a minute or two behind and looked rather better than his suffering might have indicated! On the ride back to the car we wished we'd parked at the bottom rather than the top of the hill - but it wasn't all that bad. And the chocolate milk and dim sims at the roadside stop halfway home have never tasted so good!

More photos from the day on Flickr.

Finished!

Degani Kinglake Ride 2010

2010-09-13T21:41:00.000+10:00

After weeks of riding in the rain it was such a relief to see just a few clouds in the sky on Sunday for this event. Only a few weeks ago on our 'course reccy' we could see nothing at all as Kinglake was shrouded in fog and - at times - heavy rain as I struggled through 72k. This day I'd cover an extra 40k+ (115k in total) on a tour from Whittlesea through Kinglake to Glenburn, Flowerdale and return.

The event (it is not a race), now in its third year, is over what could be described as a stunningly picturesque course through some of the foothills near Melbourne. Not two years ago, on Black Saturday 7 February 2009, it was a different situation and much of this area was devastated by bushfires. In the exact area of the ride 120 people died and over 1200 homes were burned. So the ride has become a part tribute-part fundraiser for people in the area too.

Amazingly, as you ride through there now, with fields of verdant green and trees sprouting new growth it is hard to imagine what it must have been like at that time, such is nature's regenerative power.

We got underway, in a field of a few thousand, at just after 7.30am and headed off for the first 30k of rolling terrain through Yan Yean (where there's a cool water reservoir - so that's where they keep it!!), Arthurs Creek, Cottles Bridge and St Andrews. You can see from the pic below that this section is on narrow country roads - really beautiful.

It is just out of St Andrews that the 'real work' of the day begins with a climb that is just over 7k long. Thankfully it is relatively 'shallow' and so it is no big deal to just pop into a small gear and spin your way to the top. It's also a chance to take in some of the scenery (the fires mean less trees so you can see more!). What is scary, though, is just how fast some people can ride UP a hill. I mean, crikey, the least they could do is actually LOOK like they were struggling a bit!!

And so by 9.30am the hardest obstacle had been conquered and I was sitting back enjoying a brief coffee stop before heading down the hill to Glenburn. This part of the trip was a blast as the road for 20k is straight down, mostly gently at around 1.4%, and you can cruise along as I did at about 37kph.

But as Isaac Newton might say, "what goes down must go up" and so the next 12k from Glenburn along 'Break O'Day Rd' (how quaint) is about the same gradient but heading skywards. By this time I was starting to feel a little tired and my riding buddies were nowhere to be seen so it was just as well that the views here too were magnificent. Through Flowerdale and to Hazeldene, a slight wind now at our backs, it was time to begin the slow ascent back up the "other side" of the Kinglake hill.

This climb hits 6% for about 2k which felt really hard cause we were all tired, but which in reality is not so bad for not so long. Another 1k at about half this gradient and by 100k you are back at the 'top' - this time near Kinglake West. After a short flat section it is time for fun as the road slopes downwards for the final 10k into the finish. It was a real buzz reaching a speed of 69.8kph without doing anything more than dropping low on the handlebars.

I cruised around to the finish in just under 4.5hours feeling tired but exhilarated. Of course my friends had long since finished (they didn't stop for coffee) but were kind enough to wait for me. Which was just as well as I didn't fancy a long ride home on the bike!

Thanks to my mate Dave for once again being chief team car driver and getting us there and back!

Next stop - Around the Bay In a Day!

City to Surf 2010

2010-08-28T21:03:00.000+10:00

A friend of mine remarked today that my blog posts are now coming a long time after the events about which they are written. He is right. Maybe my fingers have been tired recently or something, I'm not sure. I certainly am amazed by folks who can write multiple posts every week for years.

A few weeks ago was the City to Surf fun run in Sydney which I competed in for the 23rd straight year. But this was the first time I had travelled to the harbour city with my whole family in tow. So it was part holiday-part race (with the emphasis on the holiday bit).

My training in the lead up had not been strong but was ok. After the half marathon I knew I'd be good for the 65-70 minutes this race would take me and so I decided to take along my iPhone and shoot some video from "inside" the race.

Race morning dawned beautiful - as it seems to most years. Cool and crisp without a cloud in the sky. The race now starts at 8.30am (for many years it was 10am) so it means you'll be finished long before it gets anything like warm. Perfect running conditions.

I positioned myself near the front and was running within a few seconds of the gun, crossing the line shortly thereafter. The race itself was a lot of fun, a real cruise around the course. I felt relaxed and in control the whole way, even up the hills. Of course, stopping (for professional purposes only) probably helped somewhat and my time of a tick under 68mins reflects the comfortable pace.

After the race I joined my family for a trip to Manly on the ferry and a walk around the Sydney Opera House. Lots of fun!

Run Melbourne, one year on

2010-08-14T20:47:00.000+10:00

A year ago when I ran in this event it was at the end of my first week of dedicated marathon training. That day I hit a time of 1:43 which felt a bit harder than I thought it would (coming off a 1:33 half a month earlier). This year I had no significant level of training behind me and the race was not run as part of any plan. At best it would be a run to how I felt and I hoped for something around the same 1:43 (or less).

On this day the ride into the start at Fed Square was into a block headwind and, not wanting to push really hard just before a race, it meant that by the time I was making my way to the line the race had actually begun (little did I know!).

When I arrived at the line I sure found out (!) and so off I went in pursuit of my start group who, as far as I could figure out, were 2-3 minutes up the road. And whilst I wasn't really worried about my official time I was a bit bummed that I had missed the chance to run with all the folks I'd been run training with each Tuesday night for the last couple of months.

I went through 5k in 23.45min feeling quite good. Obviously I had started to pass lots of people which was kind of motivating even though I wasn't really racing them. And at 5.5k there is a u-turn on the course so I began to see lots of people I knew coming back the opposite way. And by 7.5k I had caught up with one of them so we decided to run together.

This really helped to pass the k's since we just chatted our way around the course. I went through 10k in 47.45min so was on target for a time of around 1:41 or so. Halfway on this two-lap course went by in 53min even.

The course itself is quite picturesque covering parts of the city near Federation Square, most of the Tan Track around the Botanic Gardens, Rod Laver Arena [home of the Aus Open tennis] and the Melbourne Cricket Ground [home of cricket and AFL]. It is flat(-ish) with just enough up-and-down to give you some variety. Over the three years the organisers here have done a great job to build the event up into a must-do on the winter calendar. They also offer 10k and 5k distances for the less endurance-minded folks and kids.

Down towards the business end of the event and I went through 15k in 1:11.45hrs so was still covering the ground at a very even pace. But this 5k had been a bit harder with the first signs of fatigue creeping in. And so where previously I'd been chatting with my friend I now found myself quiet (to her relief?) and focussing on the run.

Through 16k and I was yo-yo'ing off the back a bit and having to work hard to get back on even terms. The (very) slightly uphill through to 17k at the Morrell Bridge was the last straw for me and the aid station at the bridge had me stopping to soak up some refreshment and see if I could re-energise myself for the run home.

It sort-kinda worked (?) which is to say I ran most of the way thereafter, but stopped a couple of times for a drink or to shoot some video on my iPhone (an excuse to stop). 20k was covered in 1:39.30hrs so I had slowed by over 3mins in 5k and when I crossed the finish line (nearer to 21.5k) in 1:47.00hrs I was glad just to have finished.

A faster race than the Sri Chinmoy event a few weeks prior - and no blisters this time - but nothing to write home about. And by the time I rode home - another 45 mins - I was well and truly stuffed!

"Some days you're the hammer, some days you're the nail"

2010-07-08T22:44:00.000+10:00

Lance Armstrong said these words after completing Stage 3 of this year's Tour de France - comparing himself to the nail on that day. I know how he felt! Last Sunday I went down to Como Landing on the Yarra River to take part in one of my favourite half marathon courses.

My running recently has been ok. Not any great volume but enough solid 12-14k sessions to give me confidence going into this race. I hoped to run around 1.40 or so, but would have been happy with 1.45. But long before I got anywhere near the race venue I realised this was unlikely. On my Saturday morning bike ride and again on Sunday as I rode to the race venue I felt quite sluggish with no zip whatsoever. I wasn't terribly fussed though, as this was more just a catered training run over a fun course than a race, so I would just take it as it came.

The course here is a simple three 7k laps of a path that runs along the Yarra River. It is basically flat with a few small rises near bridges and the like. It was a cool morning (then again, it is winter) but not super old and no wind or rain so pretty much ideal.

I began the race running quite well and cruised easily through 6k @4.49m/k pace so on target for a time of around 1.42. Unfortunately by that time a blister had started to form under the arch of my right foot and over the next 4k it got progressively worse to the point of not being able to run (well, not effectively).

I tried swapping my socks over between my feet, thinking that maybe a spot on them was rubbing, but to no avail. These were "old" socks and "old" shoes so there was no real reason why this should have happened. But it did and, with little to gain from this race, I considered just completing the second lap (14k) and pulling out.

But it is very hard to do that and so after the second lap I went over to the first aid guys and got a big band-aid to stick on my foot. It helped for one km (!) and I ran much better, but it was soon back to misery and I shuffled around the balance of the final lap to complete the course.

I finished this run in 1.53 (plus stoppage time of 3 further minutes) so a far slower run than I had imagined. Not to worry, it was great to get out and do another 21k run and it was a positive that I did not pull out of the race.

Melburn Roobaix - The Hell of the Northcote!

2010-05-31T22:02:00.001+10:00

Where would you see a woman wearing jeans, a fat bloke in a suit and a guy on a unicycle all in the same event? Only one place: the Melburn Roobaix. This is what I call an event for people riding bikes rather a bike event. It is certainly no race though there are lots of fast folks. It is like Woodstock on two wheels and takes in a selection of Melbourne's cobblestone laneways as it winds its way through the suburbs towards a finish at the Brunswick velodrome 30k or so later.

Because of increasing numbers the start of the fifth annual event was switched away from the middle of the city and with entries capped at 400 the actual location was not announced until two days before. Unfortunately the locals of Hawthorn had their peaceful daytime at the park interrupted for an hour or so by the gathering masses. Upon registering you are given a musette containing the event map and list of checkpoints. It is your job to navigate a route between the checkpoints gathering answers to the questions posed at each one - a kind of quiz on two wheels.

You can see from the map that it is a rather circuitous route although as the organisers say on the course details "You could ride straight to the pub and await the raffle if you choose. Wouldn't be much of a story to tell the grandkids though." Which kinda sums it up!

Progress through the first few checkpoints was chaotic to say the least as the "mob" was yet to disperse and traffic jams ensued. There was also a fair bit of dodging the Sunday afternoon traffic through some busy streets which added to the fun!

I took the unorthodox decision to ride with my camera draped around my neck which meant I took more pics but also lived in fear that one slip on some wet cobbles would send me and my camera to the hospital. (Thankfully we both survived intact!)

The course included not only "normal" roads and cobblestone lanes but also gravel tracks and unmade "goat tracks" through the scrub. It is this complete lack of formality and normal-ness that makes this ride so attractive.

Through halfway or so we stopped for a coffee before beginning the final sections of the course.

We recreated that great scene from Grease where they race down along the drains (only we didn't have any hot chicks in tight yellow pants waving us off at the start) before tackling the main climb of the day up the "Koppenburg" (or something just like it). At the top we were greeted by some nice Red Bull girls handing out cans of the stuff. (Maybe they should have been down by the drains?)

The event finishes with a lap of the Brunswick velodrome before retiring to the pub for a few beers and the sharing of tall stories.

My favourite quotes from the day included the guy to whom I had said "thanks" for letting us ride on his cobblestone lane. His response: "You can keep it if you like." And to the young woman who, when a phalanx of riders were waiting for a break in traffic, had the bright idea to ride up to some nearby pedestrian lights and activate them. Her comment "That's why girls come on these rides!" Touche!

See all my pics from the event on Flickr.

Doing It In A Group Can Be Fun

2010-05-28T22:25:00.000+10:00

Before the start of the Run Melbourne training group session

I had forgotten what it is like to run with other people. Not in the racing sense which I continue to do frequently, but for training. In all of last year when I did more running than ever before - it was all by myself. Essentially this was so that I could run each and every session according to my plan and pace rather than some group pace.

I used to run with other folks - in fact this used to be 90% of my running - but apart from being less structured it was also in a time "BK" (before kids) when I could run when I wanted to. Now it is just different!

So what a change to hook up with the training groups for the Run Melbourne event in July. It was my first run in over three weeks too as I have been suffering from (yet another) nasty chest infection. [For the record, I am TOTALLY OVER getting sick.] But I ventured down to Federation Square on Tuesday night this week to join the crowd of about 300 people taking part in various sessions and speeds over 6-12k. Of course I decided to do the longest (12k) and fastest (5m/k) session on offer - completely ignoring the fact that whilst the "c.2009 Paul" would cruise through this without raising a sweat, the "c.2010 Paul" might find it a bit harder!

<p>&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/australia/melbourne/838127504888873304"&amp;gt;Run Melbourne Training Session - 12k&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/australia/melbourne"&amp;gt;Find more Runs in Melbourne, Australia&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</p>

As you can see from the map, it is a bit of Tour of Melbourne which takes in many of the inner city sights and parks. It is lovely at night ... and would be equally so in the daytime when you might be able to see a bit better! The guys taking the group ran at a pace which felt much harder than 5m/k and my suspicion is they were taking a pace inclusive of stops. In any case, it was much more difficult than I would have expected this pace to be for me!

As our group of about 20 circled around the place we regularly crossed paths with others doing different distances. It was really cool seeing so many people out and about.

Three days later and my legs are still a little sore from this run. But gosh it feels good to once again be out on the road! And I have rediscovered what fun it can be to run with others.

Great Train Race 2010

2010-05-05T22:47:00.002+10:00

After last year's abysmal showing (by the train - not me) it was kind of inevitable that old Puffing Billy would this year show what she was capable of and rip out a fast one. But crikey, 51.49mins for the 13.2km journey up and down some big hills. That seems hardly fair!

Not that it mattered to me. I was glad just to be there having a go. No aspirations (delusions?) of grandeur as this time I set out to have a fun run in the countryside and shoot some video before returning on the train with Brooke (Miss 5y.o.) who had looked forward to this for a long time - like since last year's race.

It was another perfect day weather wise for the race - about 10deg.C. with no wind or rain in sight. (We've had a few of these in a row now so we'll be due for another shocker soon!)

The race begins with the runners heading in one direction and the train driver in the other as we begin our respective journeys. After about 1.5k of solid downhill the first "meeting" occurs as runners go under the famous Trestle Bridge and you get your first sense of whether you or the train are having a good day. Normally at this point I see the train either just in front or just behind me. This time it had gone ... completely. The driver was obviously on a mission.

From here it is uphill through to the lovely hillside town of Selby before turning right down a narrow winding tree-lined road (lane?) for the next few k's. This section of the course is just magnificent running country and I love it.

Then it gets hard. Really hard. First is a steep uphill that goes on for 2km and this is almost immediately followed by one of the nastiest downhill sections you will ever run. Then a short up and down hill followed by another 2km of uphill. This is not an easy course! My blog post from last year has a graphic of the hills.

But this year all of that stuff was pretty easy really. I ran quite slowly (for me) and enjoyed it immensely. Normally where I am ready to puke (or worse) I was this time running along enjoying the scenery, the crowd and the free boiled lollies being handed out by some kids along the route. (I guess no one told them that runners find it hard to eat that stuff during a race!)

It was only when I was in the last kilometre that I heard and saw the second train (which is the designated one for the ladies to race against) so I sped up a little to make sure I at least beat *something* on the day.

My final time of about 1:12hrs was very modest and some 12-minutes slower than last year. But I felt great and have recovered beautifully. It was a great day - especially for my eldest daughter Brooke who got to ride the train and eat some cinnamon doughnuts when we got back to the car.

Thanks as always to my wonderful spouse Fiona who trundled everyone around the place to ensure we all had fun. We'd never be able to do it without her!

Here is my video of the race. Enjoy!

For the record, only 64 people beat the train this year. I was not one of them.

PS - I should mention that on the morning of the race I did my lower back in completely. You know, one of those "oh my god I cannot move" moments. I shouldn't have raced. But who wants to disappoint a five year-old who has her heart set on riding the train?

Good Pain at Last

2010-04-27T22:18:00.001+10:00

I don't pretend that my injury management attempt over the last month has been anything more sophisticated than "let's not run and see if it gets better" but with only one week till a hard, hilly race at Puffing Billy I thought it best to at least go for a run of reasonable length to see how my body is coming along.

To say it has been frustrating and even getting me down a little is not the half of it. But it is the kind of nefarious (definition here!) injury that I know from experience is almost impossible to accurately track down the case of and treat. In fact, the only similar thing I can recall is something which ailed me about a decade ago and which made running and cycling all but impossible. Which is to say it is lower back pain leading to an inability to stride properly (or at all when it is bad). Aargh! To bad - I am going to run anyway.

So run I did. All 15km's of it at Princes Park for the Sri Chinmoy event last Sunday. Which was a good idea and a bad one all at the same time.

Getting a high five from Brooke

It was a good idea as it gave me some confidence that perhaps I could run without being hobbled by injury. It wasn't 100% but certainly after the first couple of k's it didn't seem to be a big deal. Importantly, I was not suffering the symptoms I have previously either during the run or after it - so very happy with that. Maybe my back struck a deal with my legs that only one of them would hurt at any one time because just as I was thinking how good it was to be pain-free(ish) my legs really started to feel the strain of not running for four weeks.

The 15k course is three 5k laps - the same course that I covered back in July for 30k. This time round my objective (hope?) was to run around 5min/km at a steady pace for the whole race. And so whilst it got a "bit hard" in the second half as my lack of condition begun to tell I was pretty happy to run laps in 25.27/25.45/25.34 for a total of 1:16.46hrs.

A couple of days later and my quads are sore and hammys tight but there is no hint of the injury I have been suffering nor are my calves sore (another weak point for me). I expect to come right later in the week and hope to run once more before the Great Train Race on Sunday.

At last, good pain!

Kids are Amazing

2010-04-04T09:03:00.000+10:00

Children never cease to amaze me - and none more so than mine (who I guess I see more often)! On Friday we went along to a Good Friday Children's Hospital Appeal fun day. It was lots of fun with kids and adults everywhere. My 5 year old, Brooke, did the normal stuff like face painting and seeing the Dora the Explorer show. Then she shocked me.

"I want to go on that" she said, pointing to the 10m high rock climbing wall. "Sure" I said, not sure that she'd actually go through with it once she realised what it was about. Oh me of little faith. She was itching to get on it and was clearly younger than the other kids having a go. But, strapped in, off she went. Up and up and up ...

Brooke on the rock climbing wall

It took her a while, as you'd expect, as she tried to work out the best way to scale the heights. She was quite happy looking down and talking to us and showed no fear (unlike her mum who think a step ladder is too high to climb from terra firma). The guy running the thing said "gee, she's determined" which is only the half of it!

In the end she got almost to the top before fatigue set in and she had to return to earth - a little sad not to have made the top but very happy with what she'd done. Amazing stuff!

I'm glad that's over

2010-03-23T21:13:00.001+11:00

It hasn't been an especially memorable triathlon season for me this year. My first race had the swim cancelled; I was ho-hum in the second; dodged jellyfish in my third outing; hung out with corporate types in race four; and finished the season on Sunday by doing only the run leg in a team event.

Nothing to write home about in that lot so, as I say, I am glad that season is over.

PB and Roger

This race I did with my mate Roger who, these days, inhabits the tail end of triathlon fields with myself! He was also the inspiration behind my marathon race effort last year (goal #4 was to beat his best time of 3:24). He was keen to do the swim and bike, letting me finish with the run. I was happy to let him do the swim - especially as there had been a number of sightings of a blue shark in knee deep water in our bay this week. My favourite quote from the shark expert was "The blue shark should not be approached, if it is sick then its behaviour will be affected and unpredictable." All the more reason for me to stay on dry land. As fate turned out there was no shark and NO JELLYFISH either.

While Roger headed out onto the 20km bike leg I went for a lap of the 5km run course as a warm up. I took it nice and easy, trying to relax (I was still sick from last week) and stretch out this damnation back/hamstring injury. (Not sure what it is but after six weeks I think I should go see someone about it. Duh!) Windy conditions made it anything but a stroll along the beach.

So I returned to transition after my warm up and waited till Roger returned. Soon enough I was out on my real 5km run. This started off ok as I motored down to the turnaround - not fast, but feeling good and passing lots of people. On the return it went pear-shaped and I watched people who looked to be going pretty slowly in front of me pull away. It felt awful. I ran about 23.40min which was a full two-minutes slower than I had run in the race on the same course back in November. I have clearly lost a fair bit of form in that time.

Oh well. We had fun. And I got a few bags of lollies for my daughters!

I am rather looking forward to dealing with my injury and getting on with a good running season ahead!

Run for the Kids

2010-03-14T21:07:00.002+11:00

As has become almost customary for me in recent times I fell sick again in the week leading into this race. A niggle sore throat all week feel deeply into a chesty cough and loss of voice (almost) the day before the race. So once again I was faced with the dilemma of what to do on race day when you are less than 100% well.

And since I was doing this race only because it is a fund raiser for our local Children's Hospital I decided to just go out and have a very easy jog around the 14.4km course and ... shoot a video.

Mr Spielberg I am not but here is the story of my race ... [warning: it goes for 10 minutes]

Enjoy!

On the Road Again

2010-03-09T21:13:00.000+11:00

After what seems like an eternity I finally managed to eke out a decent long run on the weekend. After struggling my way through a bunch of 12k runs I decided to give a 20k+ run a whirl. This one would start at my place and work down through to the beach at about 7k then follow the shore for a rolling 13k or thereabouts. All sounds easy!!

Thankfully the temperature on Sunday was more conducive to good running at around 20C, but the humidity had staked a claim at 80-90% so it was decidedly unpleasant given our normally low-humidity climate.

I didn't really expect to make it the whole way in great shape and so when it started to get really hard at around 15k I was not surprised. This pic was taken at about that point and shows I was starting to feel the pinch somewhat.

I kinda stumbled my way from here to the finish where my wife and kids picked me up and we went for some muffins and coffee!!! So pleased to have this one under my belt. (I also know I must be getting back into the swing since I have developed another sore throat since the run!)

You can see in the pic I had my headphones in. They were attached to my iPhone as I wanted to try a few new things:

1. Compare the distance logged on the iPhone (Map My Run app) to my beloved Garmin 310XT. Result: they were similar - Garmin recording a more accurate track.
2. For the iPhone app, try out the voice updates after every km. Result: this one drove me mad after about 3k's.
3. Listen to a few podcasts while out for a run. I copied this idea from Ana-Maria (Running and Living). Result: loved it! Listened to an interview with Bill Rodgers and later Tom Warren, both off The Competitors Radio Show. Will definitely do this again.

6 Things You May Not Know About Me

2010-03-04T23:06:00.001+11:00

This post responds to a challenge on a fellow runner's blog (Running & Living) to share a few things that readers may not know about me. Hmmmmm.

1. As a child I lived in three different houses in the one street - and it's not that big a street!. As an adult I have lived in two different houses on the one block (after we demolished and rebuilt). I suspect I may have issues with moving very far?

2. I work as an IT Manager but have degrees in Commerce (Accounting and Business Law) and Early Childhood Education. Life takes some interesting turns. Go figure!

3. I have several fetishes - donuts and maps being right up near the top, with technology-toys and bikes being not far behind. As I look in front of me I can also see way too many sports books sitting on my bookshelf too.

4. I keep a hold of far too much old stuff for no particular reason other than maybe one day I might use it. I think I have inherited that from my dad whom we call Noah because he has two of everything. Our garage has not housed a car for a few years now. At least 10 bikes call it home.

5. I have completed 5 marathons, 8 Ironman triathlons and hundreds of other fun runs, triathlons, swims and cycling events in an athletic career spanning 23-years. My longest 'streak' in this lot is 22 consecutive years of doing the Sydney City to Surf fun run.

6. Having my two kids - Brooke and Keira - brings me infinitely more pride and happiness than everything in point #5. My two year old used her mum's iPhone to post a photo of herself on facebook last week. No help at all. Just by herself. She was so proud. We were gobsmacked!

So, what are six things people wouldn't know about you???

Corporate Triathlon 2010

2010-02-28T19:32:00.002+11:00

Over 5000 corporate types took part in the annual triathlon here in Melbourne today and I took my place among them, pulling on my Telstra shirt with a couple of colleagues, Kylie and Derek, over the 400m swim/10km cycle/4km run course.

5000 bikes in the transition area

The weather was decidedly ordinary for the last day of summer with a cool, windy 17 deg's (62F) persisting for the morning. With so many bikes to get into the compound the organiser gets you to do it the day before so race morning is rather sedate with not much to do except get ready to race. Which in my case means sit back for a couple of hours until it is my turn to go.

The format for the event is each member of the team completes the whole race before passing a timing band to the next team member who does the whole race and the third person does the same before crossing the finish line. Our team set out with modest goals - enjoy the day, don't get injured ... and do whatever it takes to beat the other teams from our company!

Paul, Kylie and Derek before the race

The first team member starts as part of a designated "wave" of about 100 leaving on 2-minute intervals. We were off 28 minutes so had plenty of time to get nervous before getting underway. Suffice to say after two hours I was more than ready to get started.

Of course (!) by the time I began it was 10am and the wind had really picked up; bringing with it a large chop on the ocean and some ugly waves too. Regular readers of my blog will know my last race ended in ignominy with an untimely ride in the boat after a jellyfish-encounter. You can imagine my horror when I read a few days back about nasty bluebottle jellyfish being spotted close to Melbourne (they normally are 'up north' in warmer waters). I was less than impressed.

Early indications on this swim were good, though, no jellyfish to be seen. That said, I was closing my eyes a fair bit so maybe they were there! The rough conditions played havoc with the field and I spent a lot of time dodging slower (petrified?) swimmers as they came to grips with the unpleasant water conditions. I exited the water in just over seven minutes. Woo! Hoo! Now for the fun bits.

Being such a large race the run through to transition is "elongated" to say the least. There is all of 800m worth of running from water exit to the start of the bike leg. Add a 300m run from the team handover point down to the water and another 300m+ in bike to run transition and you have 1.4km of running without even stepping onto the run course!

The bike leg at this race is always interesting. There are bikes - and people - of all sorts. Which, translated, means at any point along the course there is likely to be a rider of dubious athleticism and woeful bike skills blocking the road. Makes for a fun time if you are going head down on your tri bars at 40kph! Of course, back into the wind 40kph became 30kph and reality struck. Back into transition and onto the run.

After a week off with my latest crazy back ailment that renders me barely able to walk and definitely unable to run I was a bit nervous about the final leg. Needn't have worried, though. It did not bother me at all and I ran really well, recording 16.25min for 3.8km (4.19m/k). Very pleased with that, the best I've had in ages.

Let's see how I pull up tomorrow!

Marysville Lake Mountain Challenge Ride

2010-02-22T20:42:00.000+11:00

On 7 February 2009 the worst bushfires ever seen in Victoria devastated this state, killing 173 people and wiping many towns (literally) off the map. The small town of Marysville was one of these and 34 people died here with almost every building and residence destroyed. In the time since, many sporting groups have played their part in trying to get things going again. Last weekend it was the turn of the cycling community with the Marysville Lake Mountain Challenge Ride.

I took part with a few friends as we covered 80km’s including the 20km climb up to the cross country ski location of Lake Mountain.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/ride/australia/-marysville/392126682692520539"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Marysville Lake Mountain Challenge Ride&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-ride/australia/-marysville"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Marysville, Australia&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

The day began with a two-hour car trip up to the start with much amusement to be had at some of the innovative directions coming from the vehicle’s GPS unit. Thankfully we were not relying on it for actual navigation! On the final approach into Marysville we were greeted with the sight of one of the steep hills we’d need to ride up later in the morning. Suffice to say this did not instil me with anything other than trepidation.

Walking to the start - looks pretty green here!

Once in town it was pretty clear that although there were still a lot of green trees around (isn't nature amazing!) this was still only a shell of a town. Very few shops remained or had been rebuilt (including the famous lolly shop that was now operating from a shipping container). More disturbingly was the high number of "For Sale" signs beside vacant blocks of land. It will be a long time till this community recovers.

And so onto the ride. It was a beautiful morning, pleasantly warm and a light breeze. The first 15km through Buxton was all downhill and really easy as you'd expect and the following 11km was a gentle uphill - still very easy going. Then it was time for the left turn towards Marysville and "the hill" I had seen in the car earlier on. It was short, only 2km long, but at an average gradient of 9.6% including 0.5km@12.5% in the middle. OUCH! That woke me up. After that it was an easy descent back to Marysville to complete a 35km loop. The easy part was done.

Now for the climb up to Lake Mountain. I had never ridden this climb but knew it was hardest early on before getting easier further up. Hmmm, sounds straightforward enough, but it is a 20km+ climb so even easy is hard, and a 4.5% average grade will probably feel a whole lot worse near the top.

Well, "they" were not kidding about the early part being hard. The first 4km averaged 8.4% and included another 2km@9.6% (for the second time today!)

Lake Mountain toll gates - less than 10km to go!

After that it was much easier, getting more gentle higher up the climb and the final 9.5km after the toll gates were "only" at 3.6% (ho hum!) The scenery varied, from completely blackened tree trunks through to lush green regrowth. You definitely knew a big fire had passed through here recently but you also got a sense of how quickly regeneration could occur.

Reaching the top after a climb of just over 100-minutes it was time for some lunch, photos and a video.

I love descents and this one was no exception. There is something exhilarating about roaring down the side of a mountain at 50-60kph. And before long we were rolling back into Marysville and the finish.

Another great day, another great expedition!

PS - my long run the day after this was not quite so much fun as my legs were still quite fatigued from the ride. Oh well, them's the breaks I guess.

A triathlon first ... in the worst way

2010-02-15T21:50:00.002+11:00

I'm still here ... just. Hmmm, it's a bit easy to let one week stretch into two into a month and before you know it all notions of keeping a blog have gone out the window. When last I posted I had just completed the Pier to Pub swim. Crikey, that seems like half a lifetime ago! So what's been on since then.

Gatorade Triathlon, Sandringham - 10 January 2010
750m Swim, 20km Bike, 5km Run

I'll say a few things about this race.

1. After completing (and loving) the P2P swim the day before I wasn't really in the mood for another race the next day. I felt fine physically, just didn't have my head in the right spot. Never a good way to start.
2. I decided to race because you get a free copy of the daily paper (and my swim results would be in it!) and a bag of lollies (which my five year-old had asked me to give to her). Not great reasons, huh!
3. I hate jellyfish! Actually, hate is too weak a word. I really detest the disgusting little things. And I knew they'd be in the water and I wasn't really in the mood to deal with them.
4. In 22-years of triathlon I have never not finished an event. Until this one. When I started running into the head-sized jellyfish I decided to take the easy way back to shore. Thankfully the race director, a friend of mine, doesn't mind if you just wait it out till the last competitor from your group leaves the water and you can join back in. So in the results I "finished" but in my heart I know I DNF'd. Oh, the shame. You can understand why I have not posted in over a month.
5. Oh, the bike ride was average and my run ok.

So not much of a race and hence I was a bit over the idea of telling everyone about it. But hey, it's done now. So there!

After that race it was full-on into bike riding for the rest of January with a trip to Victoria's High Country and then a holiday in Adelaide watching the Tour Down Under.

I'll save that for the next post.

Cheers, PB :-)

PS - I think I've been seduced by this whole Boston Marathon thing again. I have started planning a trip there for the 2011 race (my qualification will get me entry to that one). But I cannot believe how expensive hotels are in Boston. Aaargh! So a bit more research to do yet.

Pier to Pub Swim

2010-01-09T20:58:00.001+11:00

Today was my first athletic event of 2010 and is one of my all-time favourites - even though I am not all that keen a swimmer! It was the Pier to Pub swim in Lorne about two hours south-west of Melbourne. Over the years I have done this race about 7 or 8 times, but not since 2004.

It began about 30 years ago as an event for the local surf lifesavers, swimming from the pier (in the background of the photo) around the shoreline to their surf club, a distance of 1.2km. It has grown into the largest blue-water swim in the world (or so I am told) with over 4000 people taking part. This part of the coastline is along the Great Ocean Road, regularly rated as one of the top scenic drives in the world. The water is sparkling clear, the beach is fantastic, it is one fantastic event. (Coincidentally, this is also the start point for the Great Ocean Road Marathon which I am planning to do in May.)

Myself and two other guys who live in my street (yeah, friendly hood I live in!) were all doing the race today. Our road trip down the coast was punctuated by only one donut stop ... which was augmented in Lorne by an early lunch of, yes, another donut. Before we knew it we were in a hurry and had not really enough time to get up to the start line, get the wetsuit on, put gear into bag and into truck, wait in the marshalling area, swim 100m out to the start line and wait for the gun to go.

I put my wetsuit on and threw my gear bag into the bushes since my group were already at the start line ready to go! Bye-bye iPhone I thought until a guy offered to take my bag up to the truck for me (superstar!) I was still 50m or more from the start line when the gun went so had no chance of swimming a fast time. But at least I'd have clear water!

After getting my heart rate back down to normal levels I just started to pick off swimmers ahead of me whilst enjoying the cool water, pristine views and lovely day. It seems a long way, but less than 20-minutes later I am running up the beach and across the finish line. My friends followed soon after.

Miraculously my gear bag had made its way back to the start area and so before I knew it I was dressed again and ready to go. In so many ways this race is like doing a 5k after having run a marathon - it is over almost in the blink of an eye.

And after so many years of competing, I finally completed the "full" event this year, journeying across the road behind the surf club to the Lorne Hotel where an ice-cold beer was enjoyed by me and my swim buddies. Ahhh, perfection!

PS: On the way to to the car I picked up another donut just for good measure. Bewdiful.

2009: The Athletic Year in Review

2009-12-23T22:38:00.001+11:00

It’s often true that the only time you realise how far you’ve come is when you stop to look back. And when I look back over the last year I can see a whole lot of performances that I would only have dreamed about at the start of January. This year, in the fading twilight of my prime athletic years, I have set several all-time PB’s and achieved many more results better than anything of the last five years. Here’s a [long] review of this amazing year.

-- January --
The start of each year has most recently been a cycling focussed period and this was no different with two big rides on the calendar to start and finish the month. This was the first time I have done Amy’s Ride and it was a lot of fun to ride around the Bellarine Peninsula near Geelong with a few thousand others - including some guy called Cadel Evans who just happened to go on to win a World Road Championship later in the year.

A week later it was the first triathlon this season that actually had a swim (the first two races had the swim cancelled) and another wonderful morning of racing. Not fast, but good to be out there. The final event was one of my favourites, the Audax Alpine Classic, and for the second year I did the shortest ride up Mt. Buffalo. This is my favourite Alpine climb with beautiful views over the Ovens Valley and I am always sad when we drive back home after the few days up at Bright.

4-Jan: Amy’s Ride, Geelong. B 120km. 4:00.28hrs.
11-Jan: Gatorade Triathlon, Sandringham. S 750m/B 20km/R 5km. 1:23.36hrs.
25-Jan: Audax Alpine Classic, Bright. B 72km. 3:17.03hrs.

-- February --
This was the month that I began running again. After spending the better part of a couple of years doing only modest levels of running - and with (no great surprise) only modest levels of achievement - I received the following note from a friend “Want to run the marathon in Sept/Oct and I need someone to coach me! Are you up for a run & a catch up in the next couple of weeks...i could meet you at the tan for old times sake! K.” That day I committed to running the marathon and set myself on a two-year plan to run a 3:20hrs time.

My first race didn’t exactly set the world on fire, with a time that would have equated to a 3:23 marathon if I’d been able to hold that pace for 42k! It was two-laps through our zoo, staring at gorillas, zebras, kangaroos and the like and is a fun race to do. It was also a start. Add in a triathlon later that week then another 8k race later in the month and I was back solidly in the groove. Still a long way to go, but at least on the journey.

11-Feb: Super Sunset Series, Melbourne Zoo. R 8km. 38.30min.
15-Feb: Gatorade Triathlon, Elwood. 1:15.43hrs.
25-Feb: Super Sunset Series, Princes Park. R 8km. 37.00min.

-- March --
I began March with our family holiday to the Gold Coast and ran most days there but found the humidity to be energy-sapping and really struggled to run for any length of time. But I ran five times that week and clocked up 35km so was pleased nonetheless. (I have not run five times in a week since!) Coming back from the holiday and it was two races in quick succession. The first was the final of the Sunset Series, another 8k, this one around the famous Tan Track at he Botanic Gardens. I went out too hard on the first lap and suffered intolerably on the second before taking a toilet break that temporarily expunged the suffering. An ordinary race made worse by the fact that I forgot the key to my bike lock and so had to ring for help to take me home!

Later that week I raced a 10k on the very flat Yarra Boulevard course and set myself to run under 45-mins. A controlled effort saw me finish in 44.58mins which I was very pleased with - my fastest time in a number of years. This time would be my baseline result for the half marathon training program.

In the third week of March I bought a book that would be pivotal in changing my whole training routine for the year. “Run Less Run Faster” was always going to appeal to me and I immediately reset my training plans to adopt the principles from the book. Early attempts to follow the pace described in the book were difficult. What have I done!

11-Mar: Super Sunset Series, Tan Track. R 8km. 39.30min.
15-Mar: Sri Chinmoy, Yarra Boulevard. R 10km. 44.58min.

-- April --
The month began with the Run for the Kids, a fundraiser for our local Children’s Hospital, which runs on many roads normally off limits to runners (like tunnels and bridges). I ran a solid time here, but within my limits, my focus remaining on the bigger training program and the half marathon in May. It was also the month that I got stuck into my track sessions and rediscovered the joy of running around in circles at night!

An interlude from all the run training was the annual Melburn Roobaix. This event is a little hard to describe, except to say that it is for people on bikes! In essence, you have a bunch of checkpoints you need to go to, each of which neatly coincides with a stretch of cobblestones, and ultimately finishing with a lap of a velodrome. As the name hints, this is a part-tribute to the Paris-Roubaix bike race which is on at a similar time of year. Lots of fun this one!

18-Apr: Melburn Roobaix. B 40km. 2:16hrs.
5-Apr: Run for the Kids, Melbourne. R 14.1km. 1:04.51hrs.

-- May --
This is when it all started to come together. I began May with one of my favourite races, against an old steam train called Puffing Billy. This race has a bit of everything: roads, trails, uphills, (steep) downhills and four train crossings. To beat the train is quite an achievement. Normally! This year there was some kind of train problem and it ran slow enough for most halfway decent runners to give it a licking. So I chalked up another victory over the old engine. Highlight of the day is the ride on the train back to the start, which my daughter Brooke just loved.

After this race it was final preparations for the half marathon. I got sick in race week (no good) and even got a bit ambitious with my race plan. My 10km pace from March had predicted a 1:39.09 half which I adjusted to 1:38.07 based on nothing more than how I felt during my tempo runs. I figured I could maintain my long tempo pace for the full journey. Or at least I hoped to be able to!

On a perfect running morning I went through 5km more than a minute under my revised target pace in 22.02min and 10km in 44.15min. Woo! Hoo! A faster 10km in this half than I ran flat out in March. Hmm, I was either going to die a miserable death in the second half or was on a great run. The running gods were on my side and I ran strongly to finish in 1:33.20hrs - an all-time PB for a half marathon. Amazing - not bad for an old bloke I thought!

If adopting the new training plan from “Run Less Run Faster” was the catalyst, this was the proof. I was now a real runner again. Suddenly my horizons opened up and I began to harbour thoughts of fast marathons, PB’s, sub-3:20’s … I started June trying not to get ahead of myself. As I knew all too well, the hardest part about a marathon is getting to the start line.

3-May: Puffing Billy Great Train Race, Belgrave. R 13.2km. 1:00.35hrs.
31-May: Sri Chinmoy Half Marathon, Williamstown. R 21.1km. 1:33.20hrs.

-- June --
June began with a few weeks off to recharge the batteries before beginning the 16-week marathon program. I enjoyed this time and ran just for the pleasure of it. The real work came around again soon enough and on 24-June I ran my first track session of the marathon campaign. Later that week (on my birthday) I did the ‘Run Melbourne Half Marathon’ which was two-laps around some of Melbourne’s major landmarks. This was a very cold morning but I enjoyed the event although found trying to run a 1:44 half a lot harder than a 1:33 half did a month earlier. One week down!

28-Jun: Run Melbourne Half Marathon, Federation Square. R 21.1km. 1:43.19hrs.

-- July --
In July I got sick (again) and in one week missed two sessions and cut my long run short. Add to this the struggles I was having with my track sessions where I was not really able to make the time targets, throw in some muscular problems for good measure and I was not a happy camper. I felt like it was looming as just a bit more than I could handle. So I made some changes. Most importantly I ignored the track pacing targets and just adopted a “run as fast and as even a pace as you can” strategy. And I also decided that the 30km run at the end of July would be where I’d make a call on my progress and whether I’d enter the marathon or not.

My target for the 30k was to run 5.06m/k for each of the six laps. This was to be my longest run so far so I was uncertain how I’d go. Thankfully I managed to hook in with an (informal) pacing group who planned to run 5m/k. Close enough I thought and joined in. The difference that running in a group made was enormous. When the going got tough I knew it would be much easier to sit in the bunch at a higher pace than drop off the back and run more slowly. And when I recorded a negative split for the distance I was stoked. My marathon campaign was back on in full swing and I entered the big race.

26-Jul: Sri Chinmoy, Princes Park. R 30km. 2:29.36hrs.

-- August --
The first week of August I ran a 32k - the first of these - and then prepared to run the City to Surf. The C2S is an event I love to do, even though it is in Sydney - 1000km from my home. I’ve been running it each year since 1988 so I know the course pretty well. Unfortunately sickness struck again and I was not well in the week leading into the race, missing another training session, but was really pleased to run strongly to my best result in six years. Maybe a sub-hour result is a chance next year?

A week later and it was another half marathon. The plan here was to run about 7km to the start and do the first half conservatively, then pick up the pace in the back half. It didn’t really pan out that way. The wind was really strong and I was fatigued enough by 15km that I more or less plodded my way to the finish. But they gave us some compression socks in the race kit so that was a great bonus.

Another 32k run to finish the month and I recorded my biggest month of running ever and first time over 200k’s. (I remain unsure how people can run that far in a week???)

9-Aug: City to Surf, Sydney. R 14km. 1:01.29hrs.
16-Aug: Sandy Point Half Marathon, Sandringham. R 21.1km. 1:43.36hrs.

-- September --
The plan would build to a crescendo in September with a couple more 32k runs, some long tempo sets and the last of the really hard track sessions. I knew if I could get through this then I would be well placed for a great marathon. By this stage I was also getting sick of the stupidly strong winds that were plaguing Melbourne every time I went for a run. Winter had been chronically windy and normally spring was worse! My mind started to think of the horrors that could occur on race day.

I finished the two 32k runs in great shape. My pace was getting faster in each one and was right on target. Sandwiched between these two runs was another half marathon, this one again intended to be a ‘fast finish.’ Strangely enough, it turned out that way, though not really through good execution. I ran the first few k’s way too hard and then spent seven k’s trying to get my heart rate, lactic acid and head all in a good place again. With that done I picked up the pace and ran a strong second half with a big negative split to finish right on target time. I was happy that I could still conjure a ‘result’ with such poor execution and this gave me more confidence.

I began my taper with a 21k run over the last half of the marathon course. On another stupidly windy morning I set out for what I hoped would be a cruisy but slick run. It felt great, very controlled, and when I finished in 1:35.58hrs I was thrilled. My second fastest half marathon distance run ever had just been done on a miserable day by myself! This was great motivation that would hold me through to race day.

13-Sep: Sri Chinmoy Half Marathon, Yarra Boulevard. R 21.1km. 1:37.41hrs.

-- October --
I am not certain that I was particularly good company through early October. Added to all the pre-race nerves was a big project delivery at work and, to top it all off, another bout of sickness during race week. Aargh!! I was thoroughly sick of being sick and it was happening again in a race week (third time this year). I ended the week on antibiotics and just hoped against hope that my body would be ok enough to run a good race. I had worked so hard and it just didn’t seem fair that it could be taken away from me. (Actually, mostly I think I just couldn’t face the thought of having to go through all this training again!)

Race day dawned a perfect day - cool and hardly a breath of wind. Who would have thought after the rubbish we’d had! After the lead up I’d had I set a target pace of around 3:16 but did the ‘gumby’ thing of going out too hard, covering the first half in 1:34.45. (I promise, it felt sooo easy that I thought I could keep it up.) Any half-knowledgeable reader knows what happened next: a big bear jumped on my back and the last 10k were crazily hard. I held it together just enough to run to a 3:18.38hrs time. A huuuge PB and a Boston Qualifier time standard for my age group.

I felt immense relief. It was accomplished. My illness got dramatically worse in the days that followed and I barely ran again for the rest of the month.

11-Oct: Melbourne Marathon, MCG. R 42.2km. 3:18.38hrs.

-- November --
My post-marathon R&R period got extended a little and before I knew it we were deep into November and I had barely run at all. Time to get fired up again, this time for a summer triathlon season, an open water swimming race or two and some decent bike rides. I started swimming again and by month’s end I was back into good form with a six-year best time over 1500m.

The first triathlon of the season once again (like last year) became a duathlon due to an overnight rain storm. I rode ok and had a great second run over the 5km. What a buzz it is to pass so many people while none pass you!!

22-Nov: Gatorade Duathlon, St. Kilda. R 1.5km/B 20km/R 5km. 1:10.08hrs.

-- December --
The final month of the year has disappeared in a flash - as December often does. A little more swimming, the occasional run and bike ride and far to many fruit mince pies! And to make life more interesting I discovered a new way to have time off work (and training) by pinching a nerve in my bum. So I couldn't manage anything but sit in a chair for five days which was not a whole lot of fun.

No real surprise then that the triathlon in the middle of the month was a little more sluggish than I had hoped for. But at least I was moving again, if not quite at the same speed as before.

And in the final run up to Christmas, as my clothes seem to be fitting just that little bit tighter, I am looking forward to a whole five weeks holiday and the chance to get stuck into some real high quality training again.

13-Dec: Gatorade Triathlon, Elwood. S 500m/B 20km/R 5km. 1:16.27hrs.

Merry Christmas to all and a safe, happy, healthy and fit 2010.

HIGHLIGHTS

Fastest Marathon ever (3:18.38hrs).
Boston Qualifier standard for marathon (Male 40-44).
Fastest Half Marathon ever (1:33.20hrs).
Fastest City to Surf in six years (1:01.29hrs).
Improvement in running: from 4.49m/k at the Zoo 8km (February) to 4.42m/k for Melbourne Marathon (October).
Fastest 1500m swim in six years (29.50min).
Beating the train at the Puffing Billy race (first time since 2000 - ok, the train was slow this year!).
More running km’s this year than in the last five years combined and most in one year ever (>1300km).
More swimming km’s this year than in the last four years combined.

Back in Action

2009-12-13T14:43:00.002+11:00

After the horrible pinched nerve of last week which rendered me all but inert for the better part of five days it was a great relief to be back up and about this week. The ailment seemed to go as fast as it came (thank god) and I have been moving this week with no real problem. Very strange! Took it a bit easy in the sense that I did not run until Sunday as I figured that would be the thing most likely to flare the problem back up.

Gatorade Triathlon Series. Elwood.

Today was Race 2 of the Gatorade Triathlon Series and we had a swim - unlike Race 1 where the only water was that coming from the heavens. And the swimmers were rewarded, with an on-shore breeze whipping up the chop and making for an uncomfortable start to the race. I took a few mouthfuls of water and found the going tough, but not so tough as the several I saw making their way back to shore in the rubber ducky. My 500m took 10.27min and I was very glad to get out of the water!

Back onto dry earth and made my way through transition to the bike leg. This is a 2-lap 20km course along the dead flat Beach Road. Again, only the breeze made it tricky. I couldn't really get any zip to my riding today and just rode along at a comfortable pace as the super-cyclists roared by. My pace was fairly even with the laps both in 19.20min at an average for 20.5km of a tick under 32kph.

Through transition again and out onto the 5km run where I hoped to feel comfortable. Alas, I did not! I wasn't running badly, just with no real pace. As the technique experts would say, I was running "with a long time on stance" as my feet seemed glued to the tarmac and I just couldn't get going. I guess that's what a couple of weeks with no running (and a stack of fruit mince pies) will do. In any case, only two dudes passed me while I ran by a lot of folks and I covered the 5.1km in 21.55min.

Happy enough to finish the race. Nothing really great, but nothing really diabolical either. Unlike my mate Roger who kissed the road after crashing into a witches hat (traffic cone) on the bike - I think it walked out in front of him.

When I arrived home my five year-old Brooke put it all into perspective. She wasn't interested in the race or how I went. She only wanted to know if they gave me a bag of lollies in my race kit and if she could have them. Kids!

Weird Stuff

2009-12-02T21:25:00.001+11:00

A new blog entry, a new photo for my blog home page, and a new way to injure myself.

Not a whole lot of training going on around here recently. After a busy last weekend on family duties (that's my excuse) I found a new and improved injury to keep me off the training track. This one even has my physio confused, but consensus of conjecture is that I have pinched a nerve in my lower back which is giving me the pain in my right buttock. (Strange word, that ... buttock!)

Regardless, this pain is extraordinary ... and odd. I can sit ok, but anything else brings on excruciating pain. Can I stand up ... only for a few minutes. Can I sleep ... nope, not really. Can I walk ... I have an inkling of my old age as a 15 minute trip took me 40 minutes yesterday - had to stop several times to sit down. Which isn't to say sitting is pain free, just pain minimal. Everything else, game over. And this pain just laughs at all the drugs my wife has given me to consume. (Don't ask me what they were, I just put them in my mouth and swallow.)

So, thank goodness I don't have anything important on - like running a marathon - I think I would have gone mad if that were the case. But this is really annoying. And getting worse. Not happy :-(

Oh yes, and the new photo for my blog home page. I thought I needed something there seeing as you all have such amazing pics on yours. So I dug out a relic from 1999. This pic - taken by my wife - is of me (running) during the swim leg of a Half Ironman Triathlon in the Victorian town of Shepparton. And before you ask - no, I am not a deity. I cannot run on water (though I can talk under it some would say!). At this race we were swimming in a man-made swamp - I kid you not - near the normal swimming lake which was off-limits due to a blue-green algae infestation. As the course bent around to the right I found myself "beached" and had to get up and run for a few metres. Of course, that is when my wife shot the photo. Thanks dear!

Proud Moments

2009-11-28T18:56:00.000+11:00

It's been a big week for achievements in our household. The most minor of these was my effort on Thursday at the pool in swimming under 30-minutes for 1500m. I've been going there for a month now with my mate Mark as we train for the Pier to Pub in early January. Our times have been around 32-minutes up to now with a best of 31.45min last week. So imagine my surprise when we tipped in at 29.50min this week. Wow! Very happy with that one.

The biggest achievement this week was from the littlest member of our family, Keira, who decided at the grand age of just over two years she would finally walk her first steps! It has been a very long journey with two worried parents trying their best to remain calm whilst every other kid crawled, walked and ran when ours just bum-shuffled her way around. But she must have been paying attention to how it is done cause when she finally did walk it was for a very long way, 20 or so steps, rather than the 2-3 you'd normally expect first up. Go figure!

Finally, it was the turn today of our biggest girl, Brooke, to chalk up a first as she competed (?) today in her very first fun run. It was the 2km junior event run as part of the Great Australian Run. Brooke was so proud as she did her warm ups at the start although her running is a little odd. She prefers the sprint then walk method ... with the occasional stop to say hello to the swans which grace the lake we ran beside. At the finish she outsprinted dad to take her first medal. A big morning, finished off with a play at the nearby adventure park and some yummy food from our favourite cafe. What more could a girl want?

And what more could a dad want?

Drought-breaker Dave and the would-be triathlon

2009-11-22T21:27:00.001+11:00

A mate of mine called David Hansen (Super Sprint Promotions) has been running triathlons in Melbourne for over 20-years. In that time he has organised hundreds of events including triathlons, runs, bike rides and even the Olympic Games Triathlon in Sydney. He really knows how to put on a show and his events are normally sold-out.

In the last couple of years, though, his season-opening race has become better known for something else. Today - as last year - the swim was cancelled because of a Noah's Flood rain storm that hit Melbourne before, during and after the race (my rain gauge overflowed at 50mm). Throw in a reasonable dose of wind and it was quite an apocalyptic scene.

Which makes it all the more amazing that about 1500 folks braved the conditions to turn up and race. I had been looking forward to the swim (NOT!) and so wasn't too upset when it was replaced with a 1.5k run. My age group was off 41-mins after the gun so I had to wait around a bit till we got underway.

Run 1.5k
This run was more a token to break up the field a bit before we got on the bike than anything else. About 300m in there was an enormous water crossing which you could either ford for a few steps or leap up onto an uneven bluestone wall and run along. I rekindled my childhood and took to the wall. After a little more than six and a half minutes it was back to my bike.

Bike 20k
The ride has always been my favourite leg of a triathlon, but generally not my best one (hmm, strange that). And whilst I have spent most of this year focussing on improving my run it has been the cycling that has given way. So much so that it was only today that my yearly cycling distance outstripped my running distance.

The ride at this race is a two-lap affair. It is dead flat with only wind - and rain - to contend with. My cycle computer had given up the ghost in the rain so I had only a passing notion of how well I was going. But I felt good and in control despite the conditions. That said, a few folks blew by me like I was standing still. Sheesh!!

Happy to get off the bike in just over 37min for an average speed of just over 32kph (20mph). Not quick by normal standards but a good yardstick of my current condition.

Run 5k
I was really looking forward to this bit. Though I've not done much for a month I thought I was still in reasonable nick to run a fast 5k. Again, tough conditions with a headwind on the way out and my feet already soaking wet from the ride. Then, to make it worse, a torrential downpour on the return leg.

Funniest thing was the aid station attendants asking me if I wanted any water - as if I didn't have enough!!! Had a great run in any case and no-one passed me whilst I cruised by a lot of folks. Went through the (slightly long) 5k in 21.37min (4.14m/k pace) so my fastest triathlon 5k in about six years. Very happy.

Aftermath
As if it had not rained enough during the event, after the race it came down in biblical proportions. I was lucky enough to be 'rescued' by my long-suffering-and-very-understanding-wife, complete with two kids, and this saved me a miserable ride home. At least I feel as though I did some decent training today!

Warm Weather Running

2009-11-15T21:36:00.000+11:00

For as long as I can remember I have suffered intolerably on my first few warm weather runs each year. No matter how great a shape I am in beforehand, when the temp's ratchet up from 15 degrees (59 F) to 25 degrees (77 F), my pace suffers a precipitous fall. I thought (hoped ... prayed) that today it would be different. After all, I am now super-marathon-man!

Alas, it was not to be :-(

I set off on a regular run down South Road hopeful of setting a 'PB' for this course, especially seeing as I had run it so well in my marathon training. It is a 12.5km run with a net elevation drop (it is undulating) of 40m on the way out and obviously uphill the same on the way back. Not hard, but not easy. And so often my nemesis.

I have never run under the hour for this course - except for my last 32km training run for the marathon where I covered it in around 59.50min as the first 6 and last 6 k's of that run. Certainly I could now run a similar time or better without the 20km in between!

I cruised down to the turn in 28.46min (4.36m/k) at a pace that felt very controlled, but getting harder as I heated up. Surely I could run back home in 31 minutes???? Ok, I'll cut this bit short. No I couldn't. It was run/walk/jog/walk/walk/jog all the way back. A return leg of 36.05min (5.46m/k) and a total time of 64.51min (5.11m/k). Aargh!!!!!!

Well, I did it. But it is clearly not one of my more convincing efforts. Hopefuly as I get used to the warmth (this is not heat, I will run in 100+deg.F later in summer) my times will come back down.

Or maybe I'll just focus on my cycling for a while. After all, my training calendar does have six of our state's highest rideable peaks on it over the next few months (Mt Buller, Lake Mountain, Mt Buffalo, Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Baw Baw). Goodness knows we'll probably throw a seventh (Mt Donna Buang) or eighth (Dinner Plain) in our pursuit of "stampys" for the Alpine Ascent Challenge. But that for another post.

Fighting the Sloth Within

2009-11-14T14:39:00.001+11:00

It is 34-days since the marathon. In that time I have run a grand total of three times for a sum of 15-kilometres. Hmmm. Not much, eh? In so many ways it is like the whole thing never happened. Or at least happened so long ago to be just another distant memory in my sporting annals. How does that happen? For eight months it was hard not to run; it was what I did, it was my routine. Now it seems hard to do; I have no routine.

Not that I've been completely lazy. I've been swimming a few times (not with the jellyfish and stingrays at our beaches here) and have entered the Pier to Pub swim I mentioned in my last post. Crikey, I've even got my first triathlon for the summer next weekend. So I have a lot to prepare for. Just not the dedicated motivation to do so in a structured way.

And I still dream of the Boston Marathon. I've even ordered some books from Amazon about the race. I am not sure if it is because I really want to do the race or if it is just because it is the first major race I have ever qualified for on my own athletic merit! In any case, my qualification (as far as I can read) will also cover me for the 2011 race, so I have some leeway there.

Must go now ... my two-year old Keira has just woken from her slumber and the song-like sound of "dadda ... dadda ..." is coming from her room. I wonder what she thinks about in her spare time .....

A New Blog ... PB Down Under

2009-10-30T14:40:00.000+11:00

With the completion of my 2009 Marathon Campaign it is time for a new blog - and one whose name will endure beyond a single event. So here it is: "PB Down Under" - a blog about my otherwise ordinary athletic endeavours.

Thanks to my friends in the blogosphere who made suggestions for the new name. You each gave me some ideas which helped with my choice. A special commendation to Spike with his proposal "Disco Underlord of Running" - you've no idea how close I came to using that one!

A Run and a Swim
Had my first good run after the marathon on Tuesday. A little bit warm and I didn't have great rhythm, but banged out 5km over the loop around home in 22.22mins. Happy with that time. My left calf is still not 100% but is mostly ok.

And on Thursday morning I went for my first early-morning, and longest, swim in five years. Not that it was any epic effort or anything, just a steady 1.5km but my swimming is basically non-existent these days so good to at least get something on the board. Covered the journey in a (slowing) 32.03mins. Ok for a first effort.

Went to the pool with my neighbour who has convinced me to enter the Pier to Pub Ocean Swim here next January. It's a 1.2km swim from the Lorne pier to the Life Saving Club (originally it finished at the pub hence the name). It's a classic swim now in its 30th year. I've done it about six or seven times, the last one in 2004.

Lots more work to do before then!

First run back, next event and the hazards of running ...

2009-10-21T22:26:00.000+11:00

First run back today after the marathon. Was looking forward to this as my legs have felt really good the last few days. Then I started running (easily) and realised that I still have some recovery to go. Covered 5km at a gentle pace but my baby cows are now very unhappy! Will continue to take it easy for another week or so.

I have decided that my next big running event will be the Great Ocean Road Marathon next May. This 45km event runs from Lorne to Apollo Bay along one of the most spectacular coastlines anywhere in the world. At this stage I don't plan to run it hard, just coast along and enjoy the scenery.

Finally, saw these two articles recently about strange things that happen in marathons. The first was in the Des Moines Marathon where a train (!) stopped the leading runners 400 metres from the finish of the race. Bizarre! Would never happen here, of course, because our trains are so hopeless they wouldn't likely be running in the first place!

The second one was the sad passing of three runners in the Detroit Marathon and Half Marathon. Crikey, how often do you hear of even one runner dying in a race, let alone three. That race director must have really annoyed some black cats or something.

Finally, I need a new name for my blog. "2009 Marathon Diary" is so passe now. Any ideas?

Reflections on Race Day

2009-10-16T15:08:00.000+11:00

These are some thoughts on my race day and how it unfolded.

Race Morning

Woke up at 4.45am.
Shower to help warm up the muscles .
Breakfast of oats and peaches.
Take my drugs (antibiotic, vitamins and ventolin - so I can breathe!)
Taxi picked me up at 5.30am.
Everyone else still asleep!
Weather is perfect, 9 deg's or so and no wind.

At the MCG

Got out of taxi just before 6am at Hisesnse Arena where a dance party was still in full swing.
I looked at the people coming out of the party and thought "you guys are nuts."
They looked back at me probably thinking the same thing!
Walked over the footbridge to Gate 2 at the MCG and entered the stadium
A quick visit to the loo then up onto the concourse to look around
First time I have been to the MCG since all the stands were redeveloped ... it is amazing
Sat down and took in the atmosphere while listening to some music
Feeling pumped, but relaxed, this will be a big day
Walk down to deposit clothing bag then over footbridge to start - lots of up and down stairs here; must be careful not to trip (that would be embarrassing)
Woman in front of me (talking to her friends) says she hopes her bra doesn't fall off during the race. I said I hope so too cause I'd hate to trip on it!

Race Start

I desperately need to go for (another) pee. I remember all the talk about police not tolerating peeing behind trees. Too bad. (Sorry tree.)
Rob De Castella (Marathon World Champion, world record holder, Boston winner, multiple Comm. Games champ, etc.) gave the pre-race rev-up speech. Just fantastic! This guy has no time for wimps.
Get a spot in the front corral very easily.
They introduce (the late) Kerryn McCann's son who will start the race. His mum won the 2006 Commonwealth Games marathon here at the MCG in an epic race. Feel sorry for this kid.
The gun goes off at 7am and we are off. Only takes me 10 seconds or so to cross the line and I am running basically straight away. No problems there.
Glad to be on my way.

First 10km

The biggest "hill" on the course is over within the first 400m as you rise up on a bridge over the train lines.
Through the first kilometre in just over five minutes, feeling good. The 3.10 pace leader is behind me already. Hmmm.
Running along St. Kilda Road, fellow blogger Jason runs up beside me and says g'day (first time we have met!)
Worry a bit at the second km sign as I have either slowed dramatically or it is way later than it should be.
Cruise up St. Kilda Road enjoying the scenery, take a drink at the first aid station.
Through 5km in 22.59min (target was 23.10) so happy with this start.
Round the corner into Fitzroy Street; young female copper gives a "Go Cool Runner" to the guy beside me.
Onto the Grand Prix track around Albert Park Lake. Notice lots of swans beside the road; they seem oblivious to the thousands of runners passing them by.
Ask a guy beside me what time he is planning to run. He says 3:15. I think that is quicker than I plan to do. Not sure if I should slow down. Pace feels easy, conversational.
Take a drink and gel at the 9km aid station and wind our way back up from the bottom end of the lake.
Pass through 10km in 45.26min (last 5km in 22.27). Plan was 46.20. I know I am going fast, but is it "too fast?" (How fast is too fast anyway????) Still feels easy.

10km to half way

Glance over and can see the u-turn at the very bottom of Pit Straight - further down than I thought it was going to be. I know the Elwood end of the course must now be different (shorter) to what I though too.
Over a timing mat, around the corner then down into Pit Lane. No need to put on my 'speed limiter' but have to shuffle over to get another drink. Try a water sachet and cop a face full as I open it.
Have been running with my CR mates for 6km now. They say hello to every other CR out there. I wonder if they can keep it up.
We exit back onto Fitzroy Street then run down to the beach and turn right towards Port Melbourne.
I feel comfortable along here. It is my 'stomping ground' and I know every landmark up and down this stretch.
See the two Ethiopian leaders going back the other way. Gosh, they look quick!
Through 15km in 1:06.55hrs (last 5km in 21.29). Plan was 1:09.30. Is this marker in the right spot ... seems awfully fast. Doesn't feel that fast.
After my really successful run on the second half of this course a few weeks back I am just looking forward to getting to half way.
Beautiful conditions along the beach; make the turn at Port Melbourne (think of mum and dad - who live nearby).
Another drink, gel, water sachet at the aid station; not losing time now.
Through 20km in 1:29.51hrs (last 5km in 22.56). Plan was 1:32.40. This is definitely going too quick. Anyway, almost halfway now. Have a neat group forming around us as we move through to St. Kilda.
Over the halfway timing mat in 1:34.45hrs. Ok, this has definitely been too quick. Plan was 1:37.46 or up to a minute ahead of this. But three minutes quicker! Curse myself for doing this. Suspect I am going to pay for it later (soon).

Halfway to 30km

Looking forward to this next stretch down to Elwood and back. I know this bit really well too and expect to see family and friends at the turn.
There is a big crowd on the "hot corner" at Fitzroy Street as they cheers runners going in three directions. Gives you a lift!
Just after halfway the "3:10 bus" comes up behind me ... and passes me by. I have also lost my earlier CR companions too.
Nearing Elwood I have my first signs of discomfort. Not major problems; just not as relaxed as before.
Do a right-left-right-left combo at Elwood Beach to get through the carpark; then another left after 100m to head back to the road. This is the only "technical" (as they'd say in cycling) section of the course.
Through 25km in 1:52.19hrs (last 5km in 22.28). Plan was 1:55.50. Have held on nicely through here. Am getting further ahead of schedule, now up to 3.31.
Turn right to head down to turnaround at Kingsley Street (where my mate lives). He is there with his son Colin and - most importantly - my crew are there with him (Fiona and our girls Brooke and Keira)!!!
Stop to say hi to all and give the girls a quick kiss. That's not outside assistance is it???
Run away from them back towards St. Kilda, trying to look strong and relaxed, even though I don't feel that way. Am later told I looked ok (not great) but a lot better than some!
Still feeling ok, but I know it is getting harder. The return stretch to Fitzroy Street seems longer than I would have thought.
Love the crowds up here and make the turn onto Fitzroy Street. Do not notice what many people call "the hill" along here.
Cross 30km in 2:15.58hrs (last 5km in 23.39). Plan was 2:19.00. Even I can do the simple maths - still 3.02 ahead of schedule; but now losing time instead of gaining it. The tide has turned. Time to dig in.

30km to The Finish

250m further up the road and OMG ... there is a wall of half marathon runners streaming out in front of me.
I go from having plenty of space and a few marathon runners to pace off to havingwhat feels like the entire universe of slow runners blocking my path.
We turn onto St. Kilda Road in the service lane where we will be crammed together for the next four km.
I dodge and weave through the crowds whilst trying to maintain my diminishing pace.
I miss an aid station because I cannot get near it for the crowds.
I miss three of the next five km markers as you cannot see anything for all the runners.
I hope the half runners will keep going straight at the Arts Centre so I can get some peace! Aargh! No such luck, they make the turn with me.
Through 35km in est. 2:40:48hrs (last 5km in 24.50). Plan was 2:42.10. I still maintain a small buffer of time to my goal.
Finally, just before 36km, they turn off and I am alone with a rather diminished field. I have my first bad moments around here and need to stop to yell at myself! Come on, I am so close now, just keep going.
The 37th km takes 5.37 which will be my slowest of the day. Stop some more. Beat my thighs and yell at them some more. I am still 5sec in front of my target time; but I know this will be the last time I am ahead.
Round the bend onto Domain Road and a gentle downhill. Pass by a spectator who yells out "you're a gladiator." I don't really feel like one but this lifts my spirits and gives me an emotive soundtrack for my brain. Just the tonic!
Turn back onto St. Kilda Road. There are now people walking, running and everything in between. I go past the "Cobbers" memorial to the battle of Fromelle. Remind myself of what they went through and how weak I am in comparison. Resolve not to stop any more.
This resolve is good - while it lasts - but I have a couple more bouts of stopping for a few seconds over the next km or so. Not sure why???
Have merged back with the half runners but try to ignore there presence.
Through 40km in est. 3:07.28hrs (last 5km in 26.40). Plan was 3:05.20. If I can hold it together I'll run 3:18 or so.
Go through Federation Square and right onto Flinders Street. Must run it home from here. Soon the MCG looms large in my vision as we veer right and down a gentle hill to Jolimont.
Less than one km to go now and my time is good. I start to get a bit emotional but keep it in check. Run around the outside of packs of half mara runners; feeling strong.
Left into the MCG tunnel and out onto the arena. What a buzz, running on the MCG. Start out running on the matting, but quickly decide to run on the turf.
An official shunts me across other runners into the marathon finishers chute. I choke up with emotion as I cross the line in 3:18.38hrs. Woo! Hoo!
Am filled with a feeling of sheer relief. Eight months of preparation, lots of problems along the way, but I DID IT.
I lay on my back and notice the heat in the sun for the first time. Just stare up at the grandstands in awe of them and of what I have just done.

Post Race

Down the ramp into the bowels of the stadium to collect my gear and finisher medal. Why didn't we get the medal as we crossed the line like every other event I've done?
Have a piece of banana and a drink. It is very crowded down here.
Wander over to the physio section where my mate Rob O'Donnell is running the show (Southern Suburbs Physiotherapy Centre). Because I am a client of theirs I get straight in. Woo! Hoo! No queue.
A quick rub down then back up into the sunshine to find my mate Roger.
Leaving the 'G I collect a Timex Ironman watch for my wife (with iPod control for only $50) and also my race kit which has the most pathetic souvenir towel in the history of crappy souvenirs. Who cares ... my finish time is my souvenir!

Days Later

Learning to walk again :-)
My cold, for which I have been on antibiotics, gets dramatically worse. No real surprise there.
I take an interest in the Boston Marathon for the first time. After all, I do have a qualifying time!

3h 18m 38s

2009-10-11T21:50:00.000+11:00

I have seen many people break down in tears at the end of athletic events and often wondered why. Today I found out. As I entered the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the final 300m of the marathon I could barely hold back the emotion. And once I crossed the line it all came out. These were not tears of joy - and certainly not of sadness - but of sheer relief. Eight months of absolute hard effort distilled into a single moment and it was too much.

The clock read 3h 18m 38s. When I started this marathon journey in February I would have laughed if someone had told me such a time would be possible. And this week when I was sick and on antibiotics (still am) I thought it had evaporated. Today I cannot imagine that it is reality. It will take time to sink in.

After all of the cr@p weather (read: chronic winds) we have had in Melbourne over the last few months it was an absolute joy to have relatively benign conditions today. No wind to talk about and reasonably cool for the most part. This was one out of the box.

First 10km - the warm up
By all accounts the first 10k of a marathon should be a bit of a stroll in the park. Time to look around, enjoy the atmosphere, say g'day to fellow competitors and generally get into the groove. For the most part I did this (even bumped into Jason for the first time!), but found pacing rather difficult as the organisers seemed to be having problems working out where to put the markers. That said, I was probably going a little quick. My target pace was 4.38m/k and I hoped to run the first half in around 4.35's so 10km in 4.32's probably wasn't the best idea in the world.

To Halfway
By 10k you are running on the Melbourne Grand Prix track which circumnavigates a local lake and is a regular road most of the time. It is pretty cool running here and even the swans come out to say hi. From here you pop out onto Fitzroy Street and down to Beach Rd where you'll spend the next 15km.

I have run up and down this stretch of road more times than I care to think about in the last 20-odd years so I know it fairly well. I think that familiarity may have bred contempt - or at the least complacency - as I went through the next 10km a minute quicker than the first 10; crossing halfway in 94.47min.

Now, to put this in perspective, my time at halfway was only a minute and a half slower than my super fast half marathon time in May. And I was running ahead of the 3:10hr pace leader. I think I knew then that I had stuffed this one up. Only a few km later I knew this was the case as I could feel myself slowing.

The Premiership Quarter
I knew that the third 10km of the race would be where I needed to work really hard. It is here that fatigue really starts to set in and you can see your time goals disappear at a rapid rate. The bulk of this section was down to Elwood and back - again, a road I know well. I also knew my family and friends would be at the far turn so I wanted to (hopefully) look strong when I passed them - mostly so they didn't think I was about to expire.

By about 24-25km I was having the odd wobble and definitely wasn't feeling 100%. I knew that my pace had slowed but it was still 4.36m/k so I was actually putting more time "in the bank" which was great and what I had hoped for. So whilst I had gone out a bit too quick, I ran this 10km right about where I would have hoped. It just felt slow!

Just after the 30km mark was where the hoardes of half marathon runners joined the course (they started an hour after we did). From there it turned to crap!

The Business End
Everyone knows that marathons don't really start till about 30-32km. I had looked forward to this fact as I really wanted to explore my own character in being able to run through what would occur to me at this point.

So at the point when I most needed to be able to run my own race, concentrate on my own pace and rhythm, I found myself dodging and weaving (literally) through thousands of people running another race. For the next five km I could barely find a distance marker and could not get to an aid station because they were so clogged. For a major marathon this was a disgrace.

There was some respite for 3km (36-39km) where our courses diverged and we marathoners were once again left to ourselves. Ahhh, the serenity. It was here that I had to stop a few times and beat my thighs and yell at myself to get going. I was now running slowly (5.15-5.20m/k for a few) and was doing it tough.

As I still harboured dreams of a sub-3.20 (and a Boston Qualifier Time) I knew I had to keep going. So I willed myself to continue. With about 4k's to go a spectator yelled out "you're a gladiator" to me and that fired me up, giving me a vision and some useful theme music to play in my head. No more stopping now, must run.

The last couple of k's are quite easy. A bit of downhill, you can see the stadium in the distance, you know you are home. Just run it strong to the finish I told myself - which I did.

The last few hundred metres is like a major Olympic Marathon as you come through the "tunnel" into the stadium and run a lap to the finish line. And the MCG is a modern-day colisseum befitting a race like this. It is just sensational!

I yelled with joy as I crossed the finish line in 3:18.38hrs. Sure, a couple of minutes slower than my target time, but who cares!!!! A massive PB for me by over 12mins (and that time was 12 years ago at age 29).

All my goals were achieved:

1. Finish
2. Run the whole way (I say I did this cause I stopped a few times, but did not walk!)
3. Run a PB (sub 3.30)
4. Beat my good mate Roger's best time (3.24)
5. Run a Boston Qualifier standard (3.20)

Aftermath
Like most marathoners, I'll need a bit of a break to recover physically from this one. I'll also need to find a new goal or two ... anyone know which way Boston is from here?

PS - I am now walking like this:

Intermediate Splits (some of the km markers were way off!)
1-10km 45.26min (5.03/10.40/-/-/22.59/-/31.48/36.30/41.10/45.26) -4.32m/k
11-20km 44.25min (50.06/54.28/-/62.28/66.55/71.28/76.02/80.35/85.13/89.51) -4.26m/k
21-30km 46.07min (94.19/(half 94.45)98.47/103.15/107.45/112.19/117.01/121.43/126.25/131.12/135.58) -4.36m/k
31-40km 51.30min (-/147.12/-/155.53/-/165.44/171.21/176.39/182.00/?187.28) -5.09m/k
41-42.2km 11.10min (192.56/-/198.38) -5.04m/k

Course Map
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3252368

Last Thoughts

2009-10-09T12:52:00.000+11:00

It is Friday morning and as I sit here I know that in less than 48 hours it should all be over. Done in the blink of an eye. And that's the thing with big events like this. You spend a very long time preparing for them, thinking about them and then - in no time at all - they are gone. So I thought I would take this time to reflect on the last 8 months and the amazing journey it has been.

How it Began
It all began in February with an email from a friend (thanks Kim!) inviting me for a run and asking if I'd be interested in running the marathon in October. I was dreadfully out of shape at that time, with not much running for a number of years, but decided to give it a go. My best time was only 3.30hrs and my last marathon was in 2002 (3.47hrs) and I always felt that I had never really run to anything like my potential, so this was just the excuse to give it another go.

I also set myself a two-year goal which was to run a faster marathon time than a good mate of mine (thanks Roger!) This would mean running better than 3.25hrs. I hoped that this year I might be able to run close to 3.30hrs - maybe even a PB - and then next year, with lots of miles under my belt, I could give 3.20hrs a shake.

So I began running again in mid-February with only a broad idea of how I should structure my program. I printed out a 'Runners World' plan and began to follow it. The part I did not like - have never liked - about these running plans is they all have you running 5-6 days per week. I knew that I'd be unlikely to sustain this level of consistency so looked around for an alternative.

Run Less Run Faster
In late March it happened, my epiphany as I called it when I discovered the Furman FIRST guys and their book "Run Less Run Faster." This was the breakthrough for me. Finally a program that I knew I could stick to. Three runs per week, no easy stuff, just high quality running. I immediately set myself to use this program for my Half Marathon (Sri Chinmoy at end of May) and marathon (Melbourne Marathon in October).

I found this program took some getting used to. The long run pace, in particular, I found to be quite quick. It was certainly no "easy long run" as I had typically experienced in the past. On the plus side, since I was coming off a reasonably low base, my fitness was constantly improving so I adapted quickly to the intensity of the sessions.

Half Marathon
Going into the Half Marathon I was confident that I could run the target pace (4.45m/k) I had set a couple of months earlier. In fact, I had found the tempo run pace (4.38m/k) so controlled that I optimistically decided to recalibrate my target time to run 4.39m/k (1.38hrs) for the distance. I figured I had improved heaps in the two months so why not give it a go!

Well, something amazing happened, and on race day I ran a 1.33hr time. To this day I am still not sure how I ran that fast, but it felt great. A wonderful race strategy executed to perfection. Of course this meant I had to totally rethink the marathon plan as this half mara time indicated I could run somewhere near 3.16hrs for the big one. Hmmm.

Marathon Program (Weeks 1-5)
The first part of the program would culminate in a 30km run at the end of July after which I would make the final decision on whether to commit to the marathon or not. And it was a close thing. The early track sessions were a disaster. I found the Furman target paces way too quick and was blowing up after a couple of reps. I eventually decided to run to how I felt (ie, as hard as I could go!) and these times matched what Greg McMillan indicated I should be doing so I once again felt like I was on target.

I was no sooner on track again when sickness struck. A diabolical case of sinusitis laid me low for a couple of weeks, causing me to miss a couple of sessions and cut a couple of long runs short - and run them horribly slow!

I went into the Sri Chinmoy 30km event not really expecting much but hoping for the best. And the best was what I got. This time in the form of 'Tiger Boy' from the Cool Running chat site. He drove the 5-min/km bus to perfection that day, motivating us all to a great result. On the back of this effort I entered the marathon.

Marathon Program (Weeks 6-13)
These are the long serious days of the program. This is where the big efforts are done and the big gains are made. I knew if I could get through this part then I'd be mostly there as there were four 32km runs in these 8 weeks. Over the course of these runs the improvement flowed: from 5.16m/k for the first 32k effort right down to 4.45m/k for the last one.

Thrown in another bout of sickness, my fastest City to Surf in six years, a couple of good track sessions and this segment had a bit of everything. Importantly though, I came through it in good form, injury free and in good health. Only the taper to follow!

Marathon Program (Weeks 14-16)
The final three weeks of the program is the taper period, time to freshen up and peak before the race. For me it also signalled the onset of more sickness. What started out as tightness in my chest has now developed into a nasty throat infection, runny nose and a dose of antibiotics. Not exactly what I was hoping for.

I've had some great runs in there too, including a good 21km over the last half of the marathon course a couple of weeks back. So here I am two days out from race day with nothing to do but rest.

Thanks!
Of course, I could not have reached this point without the support and inspiration of so many people. I have already mentioned Kim who inspired me to take on this quest; and my good friend Roger who has not only supplied a target time for me to beat, but has more importantly supported/sledged me along the way. Thanks mate! To my mate Andy, I promise to Go Hard or Go Home. What would Jens do, eh?

To my work colleagues, neighbours and friends who have heard me endlessly rabbit on about this race for more than six months. I appreciate your good humour in listening to me. Rest assured, it is almost at an end now.

To my fellow bloggers, you have each provided more inspiration, encouragement and laughs than you can imagine. Your stories of struggle, achievement, good times (and bad) have more than once made me wonder why I have bothered to publish my own drivel on the internet. (Even my wife doesn't bother to read my blog!) But I will think of each one of you at some time during the race and draw upon your efforts as motivation for my own. Thanks!

Always show in list

Finally, to my family: Fiona, Brooke and Keira. You remain the most important thing in the world to me and I would not be here without your love and support. Thank you. Brooke, I am sorry you won't be able to run the final 200m with me as you normally do in my races. Perhaps just as well. Might be a tad embarrassing to be outrun by a five year old proudly proclaiming to have "crushed her dad like a paper cup!"

I'll let you all know on Sunday how it went.
Paul :-)

Antibiotics

2009-10-08T20:22:00.000+11:00

Not the preferred title for a blog post three days before the marathon but one which actually pleases me as it means that I at least have a fighting chance of getting to the start line feeling ok.

After spending this week getting progressively worse I finally managed to see a doctor today. And the marathon gods smiled on me a little as this doc was himself a marathoner and knew what I was going through, what I am going to go through (!) and what I needed.

So I am on the drugs now and am happy about that. A day of rest at home tomorrow (I have a very understanding boss too); easy Saturday - then the big race.

This morning I went out for a 5km run which I did in 23.40min (4.44m/k). I felt very ragged, far from smooth and with no rhythm at all. Not the best final run I could have but not really of much concern as I just wanted to roll my legs over.

Now to Sunday!

Farewell to the Track

2009-10-06T22:32:00.000+11:00

In preparation for the marathon this weekend I have run down at the Moorabbin Athletics Track 22 times this year. More than 130km. Over 320 laps. Any way you look at it ... a lot! Mostly in the dark. Very often windy. Sometimes with unexpected canine company. Rarely with any other runners.

Tonight was my last session there (for a while at least) and it felt kinda strange. Like saying goodbye to a friend for a while. As it was, this 'friend' served up a bit of everything. Plenty of wind, the odd spot of drizzle, and a few fast laps. A reasonably good summation of our relationship this year!

The main set today was:
6 x 400m (1.28/1.31/1.27/1.28/1.26/1.24) (400m RI)

Did this whilst still battling my throat lurgies.

Happy with these times.

One more run then race.

Consistency and My 100 Runs

2009-10-04T19:32:00.000+11:00

One of the hallmarks of my return to running this year has been some proper consistency. Week after week I have recorded my three planned runs with only an occasional miss due to extreme illness. As more than one friend has pointed out - imagine if you had trained like this 20 years ago. Hmmm, I wonder.

Today I clocked up my 100th Run for the year with over 1200km covered. This year is now as big (by total km's) as the last five combined. (Says more about the last five than this one in all reality!) But no wonder the results have come.

Today's run was 16km at marathon pace (4.38m/k). I have not been able to overcome this minor chest infection and it was just plain annoying today. I feel like it is holding me back about 5% and no amount of magic potions seems to get rid of it. As long as it gets no worse I'll be happy.

Other than that and a minor left calf strain the run was good. Nice conditions, sunny with a light wind. And a small neg split. All is good.

Total run: 16km in 1:13.39 hrs (4.36m/k)
Lap 1 36.53 (-/4.35/4.34/4.35/4.32/4.36/4.41/4.45/-)
Lap 2 36.46 (-/4.41/4.37/4.34/4.32/4.31/4.33/4.38/-)

Saw the first weather forecast for next Sunday (race day) too:

Mostly sunny. Winds northeasterly averaging up to 25 km/h.

Min 7. Max 22.

Perfect!

A final tempo run

2009-10-01T22:32:00.000+10:00

These tempo runs have variously been fantastic, uplifting experiences or outright disasters during this prep. Today was the third time I had run this particular set: 10km with 5km in the middle at short tempo [aka hard] pace. The tally stood one great run and one disaster. I am feeling a little sore in the throat and tight in the chest right now, so what would the decider be??

In short - a winner! Not exactly sure how much of a winner as my watch ran out of recording memory (100-laps and I have none free!) But, as I glanced down each km I could see about four and a quarter minutes flashing by so it was aroud 21.15min for the fast 5km which was exactly where I wanted to be.

I am really counting down now. Only four more runs till THE BIG ONE. I am nervous as all heck. Every day I pass by the MCG going to/from work and I just stare at it. We have a big date, a rendevouz. I just hope we will be nice to each other.

The last big set

2009-09-29T22:32:00.000+10:00

There's a training adage that says you need about 10-14 days to feel the benefit of any training session. Which means that today is perhaps the last session that will add to my fitness level for the marathon From here on it is about maintaining the fitness I have accumulated. So with that in mind I tackled my second-to-last track session this evening.

The set itself was pretty straight forward. 5x 1km reps with 400m float as the rest interval. Conditions were ok, not too cold or windy, and I hoped to go around 3.59 average for each of the reps.

As usual, I took the first one a little easier and did a 4.01 (hmm, slower than I would have liked). But I built up each of the subsequent reps, doing 3.59, 3.58, 3.57 and finally a 3.52. That's what I like to see: getting faster on each one! And a great 3.57/8 average being a small improvement on the last time I did this session.

This was especially pleasing as I have a bit of a sore throat and my chest is still not 100%. Cannot shake this illness, but it is not holding me back dramatically. As long as it gets no worse I'll be happy.

Stocking up some karma

2009-09-27T18:19:00.001+10:00

After Friday's debacle of a run I was really worried. In fact, I think that mild paranoia is a personality trait of most marathoners - especially in the latter stages of training before the race. To my family, friends and work colleagues - I apologise in advance for the next two weeks!

I wanted to complete this run - 21km at marathon pace - over the last half of the Melbourne Marathon course. I know it reasonably well, but I wanted to get it ingrained in my head, hopefully make friends with it, and get some 'positive karma' that I could draw upon come race day.

I have split the marathon course into small pieces and today I would run four of them - the Elwood leg (8km), St Kilda Rd (5km), Shrine loop (5km) and MCG (3km).

To say conditions were ordinary is an understatement. The good lady wife dropped me off in St. Kilda where I think the whole suburb is in mourning after yesterday's loss in the AFL Grand Final. I could barely get out of the car it was so windy!

I received some good advice/words of wisdom from fellow blogger 'canute' who reminded me that the purpose of this next two weeks is to "sustain the muscle ‘memory’ of race pace, and your confidence, while allowing your muscles recover from the preceding months of hard work. This goal can be achieved with a relatively small amount of running at race pace." For me this took a little of the "must do" out of the run and made it more a "keeping the faith" run.

With no particular pacing strategy in mind and no real km markers memorised (just a few checkpoints) I set out just to run comfortably. I hoped that comfortably would equal fast when I checked out the stats back at home. Did I mention how windy it was????? At Elwood Beach the waves were crashing in way up the beach and foam covered the roadway at least 50m from shore. Nuts!!

I cruised back to St. Kilda and was pleasantly surprised to see I was running ahead of target pace. Up Fitzroy Street and left in St. Kilda Road. This is a lovely tree-lined boulevard and, thankfully, it offers reasonably good protection from the elements. I made my way down here to the Arts Centre where you turn left to do a loop around the gardens surrounding the Shrine. I had covered this 5km in just over 22min so was thinking either I am running well or my distances are all way out!

The next part of the course is the only "lumpy" bit and, to be perfectly honest, it is pretty flat. It is here that you also get your first glimpse of the MCG, albeit with still about 7km left to go. But it is inspiring. Unfortunately the water taps here on the famous 'Tan Track' are USELESS. Not a single one worked which was a bugger 'cause I had just swallowed a gel and was in desperate need of some water. Aargh!

After making your way around part of the Tan you make a u-turn to take you back to St. Kilda Rd where you head for home. On this corner, just by the shrine, there is a monument of a Digger (Aussie soldier) carrying his mate over his shoulders. Entitled 'Cobbers' it commemorates the WW1 Battle of Fromelle where 5500 Aussie soldiers died in just over 24-hours. It was great to pass this in training. On race day it will be inspiring. I went through this 5km section right on race pace at 4.38m/k.

From here it is only 3km to the finish and probably the easiest bit of the course. Down to Federation Square and turn right into Flinders Street. Along here then down the gentle hill to Jolimont; right turn into Brunton Avenue and only a km to the MCG which has loomed large in your vision for a few k's now. The MCG is a modern-day Colisseum, holding in excess of 100,000 people at major sporting events. I think there'll probably be oh, 100, there to see us marathoners, but I could imagine a much bigger crowd as I made my way down here this morning.

I felt strong and finished in great shape. The total journey of 21km in 96 mins at an average pace of 4.33 m/k. Just fantastic! Absolutely thrilled with this. I hope to travel as quickly and efficiently in a fortnight over these same roads!

SK-Elw-SK 8.05km 36.36min -4.32m/k
to VCA 5.02km 22.21min -4.27m/k (13.07km in 58.57min)
to Grant St 4.86km 22.33min -4.38m/k (17.93km in 81.30min)
to MCG/Punt Rd 3.16km 14.28min -4.34m/k (21.09km in 95.58min)

Map of Run:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3220424

Early Warning!!

2009-09-25T19:21:00.000+10:00

I have been right on the edge this week as I try to keep evil-spirits away before this race. I have had some minor chest congestion and a tickling throat along with some general lethargy at work; just not feeling right. I got through my track session on Wednesday ok. "Adequate" times but certainly not fast - I think I should have been 3-4sec quicker on each.

But today it became a real worry. I headed out this morning to do my 8km tempo run (4.22m/k pace) and was immediately in trouble. For the first km it was just working out the pain from this stupid "fascist foot" (aka plantar fasciitis) but I quickly realised it was worse than that. My breathing was laboured and my stride and footstrike choppy.

I picked it up for the second km, barely held on for number three and was going backwards by four. Needless to say by this stage I was 1.08min behind schedule and decided to call it quits, returning home by the 'short route' and feeling woeful.

At first I thought it was just low blood sugar but I did not pick up after breakfast and spent the rest of the day feeling a bit shaky - much like I do if I have a second cup of coffee in the morning! So right now I am a bit worried. I know I am suffering from something though I am not sure what. I just wish it would come full-on so I can deal with it and move on. Not much time to play with now.

I wonder how I'll go on Sunday with my planned 21km at marathon pace. Might be interesting!

Total run: 6.3km in 30.02min (4.45/4.32/4.37/4.42/4.43/5.10/-)

800's and Bart Yasso

2009-09-23T21:47:00.000+10:00

Back down to the track tonight for a set of 8x 800's. Was looking forward to this session but have been struggling with the beginning of a cold in my chest again (aargh!). Hopefully I can ward off the evil sickness-spirits without much impact.

It was a windy evening tonight, thankfully minus the rain we have seen a bit of here recently. I seem to be doing a reasonable job of dodging the worst of the weather at the moment. Thank god for training only three days per week!

Covered the reps in a 3.09min average with a 3-second spread so a fairly even paced effort:

8 x 800m (1.30 min. RI) in 3.08/3.07/3.09/3.09/3.09/3.09/3.10/3.10

Yasso 800's
There is a fairly well-known (read: marathon geeks have heard about it) article that appeared in Runner's World way back in 2001 about something they called "Yasso 800's" after the fellow who coined the theory, oddly enough called Bart Yasso.

The basic premise is that a runner who has put in requisite training for a marathon should be able to complete a set of 10x 800's in about the same time min:sec as they can do the marathon hrs:min. So running 800's in - like me - a 3:09 average suggests I can run a marathon in around 3:09 (others suggest up to 5-min slower than this time).

Of course, some people are better suited to running short intervals than long races, but on the whole, he found this applied from elite marathoners all the way down to (ahem) plodders.

It certainly is one more thing that gives me confidence that I can run to my 3:16 target.

32km Done ... Let the Taper Begin

2009-09-20T21:16:00.000+10:00

Today was my final 32km run before the marathon in three weeks time. The whole preparation has been building to this run - and I could see why. It was the single session I feared the most as it was long and quick (10sec/km faster than my fastest long run to date).

As always, my plan was to get a minute or two of time "in the bank" for the return journey - especially the last 6km up South Rd. Obviously this would be a bit harder today since the overall pace was already quicker. Conditions were good and wind was not a major factor (maybe our luck here in Melbourne is changing).

Felt good for the most part out to the turn at Middle Park, going through 16km in 74.44min, so by then I had 1.13min up my sleeve. I consolidated this for the next 5km, going through half marathon distance in about 98.40 and ultimately getting to the final 6km with a wonderful 2.22min to play with.

As it was, I ran strongly up South Rd (fastest time yet for this prep) and lost only 10 sec/km; finishing the 32k 1.19min ahead of schedule. Fan-bloody-tastic! It was no easy run at all, but it was controlled and run perfectly to plan. I have real confidence in running the marathon to a similar plan.

Only three weeks to go now. Let the taper begin!

Total run: 32km in 2:31.45hrs - 4.45m/k

1-6km 27.56min (4.40/9.21/13.55/18.33/23.16/27.56) - 4.39m/k
7-12km 28.10min (32.43/37.21/42.02/46.45/51.27/56.06) - 4.41m/k
13-16km 18.38min (60.47/65.19/69.57/74.44) - 4.39m/k
17-20km 18.39min (79.19/84.00/88.34/93.23) - 4.39m/k
21-26km 28.36min (98.06/102.52/107.38/112.25/117.12/121.59) - 4.46m/k
27-32km 29.46min (126.57/131.49/136.50/141.52/146.48/151.45) - 4.57m/k

"Nice one Centurion!"

2009-09-18T20:42:00.000+10:00

Headed out for my 13km run tonight knowing that this is my last big weekend before the taper. I'll cover 45km before Sunday night and if I can get through this in good shape then I'll be happy that all the really hard stuff is done.

Great conditions again tonight - I ran just on sunset. Nice temp and no real wind. This run should be a cruise. It was! A lazy 12.9k in 59.50min - bang on 4.38m/k over the rolling course around home.

Very pleased with that. "Nice one Centurion!"

I could have written this ....
One of the blogs I enjoy reading is Ana-Maria's "Running and Living." She has just posted a description of how she feels during the various phases of a marathon build up. Wow! It is like she is channelling my thoughts. This is exactly how I have gone. There must be something universal in there.

I feeeeeel good ..... I knew that I would

2009-09-16T20:28:00.000+10:00

(With apologies to James Brown.) But I am now starting to feel really confident. Had a great run tonight, a set of 10x 400m with 400m float in between. Thought I might run about 1.30min for each given last time I ran a 1.31 average. Conditions were great. I repeat. Conditions were great. Still pleasantly warm at sunset and only a breath of wind. Ahhh, heaven.

Ended up running a 1.27 average with splits of: 1.26/1.28/1.27/1.28/1.28/1.27/1.26/1.27/1.28/1.27.

Felt strong and relaxed the whole way and probably could have done more. This is a great improvement on the April times and is, for the first time in this program, a track session completed at the FIRST target times. Not that this matters much to me, but yippee!

Two more runs of this, monster week, then taper begins.

Physio thanks
Perhaps some thanks to my physio, Rob O'Donnell, at Southern Suburbs Physio. He gave me a tweak last night which I am sure just loosened things up a little. I am lucky because his business is running the massage at the Melbourne Marathon and as an existing patient I'll get special "back room" treatment. (I think this is good????)

Inspiration
Inspiration for runners comes from many places. I get a fair dose of mine from reading what other runners have to deal with and overcome as part of their journeys. One that has stuck with me is the blog of LBTEPA (I still have no flippin' idea what that means???). Read this post of her recent 35km training run for the same marathon I am doing next month. Tell me after that you do not feel (just a bit) inadequate. Inspiring!

The Last Half

2009-09-13T17:31:00.000+10:00

Many people say marathon running is all about the last half. Plenty of folks can start out strong, but it is those who "bring it home" who typically do best. Greg McMillan's ideas on the long run are all about training yourself to do just that - finish strong.

Today's run was one of those - the "fast finish" as he calls them. The others I have attempted have not been terribly successful. I have not really found it possible to lift the pace late in a long run. Holding it steady is about the best I can manage.

The goal today was 24k at 4.44m/k so I was planning to run a half marathon race (Sri Chinmoy at Burnley) with a few k warm-up to get me going. The plan was to run the half at target marathon pace (4.38m/k).

Things did not exactly to plan this morning and I got to the race venue later than expected. In fact, with only a couple of minutes to go to race start I was still trying to make final 'evacuations' in the loo. I just made it in time for the moment of silence and the official 'go' so no warm-up k's today.

The weather was not like anything we've had for a while in Melbourne. At 9pm last night it was still 29 deg's and by race time it had cooled to about 18 deg's. Couple this with some bursts of rain and it was rather more humid than we normally get. But, at least the wind had subsided!!!!

As for the race itself, I think I am happy, at least with the end result. But I totally stuffed up my pacing. I thought I was taking it easy at the start, but ran the first couple of k's way faster than target pace. And died! For the next 8k's all I tried to do was get my pace back under control so that I could at least finish. It was really that bad. I went through 10km in 46.51min with a string of 4.40+ k's.

At 10km, with everything back in control I decided to give it a bit of a go and pick up the pace. After all, it was supposed to be a 'fast finish' run and I had comprehensively managed to do the 'slow start.'

And, miraculously, I did get faster, putting together a group of 4.30+ k's for the next couple of laps. It was great to pass people again who had disappeared off into the distance earlier in the morning. I ran to 20km in 92.49min, with the second 10km in 45.58min, so a big neg split for those.

I ran strong to the finish, notwithstanding my 5 year-old daughter Brooke joining me for the last 100m and, in her words, once again "crushing me like a paper cup!"

Total time for the event was 1:37.41hrs so - bizarrely - 4 seconds under target time for the day. Hmmm, not sure how I managed that. It looks like a well executed fast finish run, but trust me, it wasn't!

Part of my cheer squad (Keira) after the race

Race Splits
1km 4.17min (4.17)
2-6km 23.33min (4.24/4.43/4.46/4.52/4.48) Full Lap 1 - 4.42m/k
7-11km 23.32min (4.48/4.42/4.43/4.48/4.31) Lap 2 - 4.42m/k
12-16km 22.51min (4.32/4.33/4.39/4.42/4.25) Lap 3 - 4.34m/k
17-21km 22.55min (4.29/4.35/4.45/4.46/4.20) Lap 4 - 4.35m/k

Gale Warning (who is Gale anyway?)

2009-09-11T22:56:00.001+10:00

It seems like every time I check the weather forecast before a run in the last few months it looks something like this one. "Gale warning" and "damaging winds" have become synonymous with Melbourne recently. It is driving me nuts! Whatever happened to pleasant days which are "calm" or with a "light breeze" I wonder.

In any case, it was this forecast which heralded my second run this week, a 16km trip at target marathon pace. I did the same workout only two weeks ago and it didn't feel particularly easy then. What a difference a fortnight makes. It felt much better tonight (despite the wind).

Today I covered the two-lap course in 1:13.54hrs at 4.37m/k (a second below target pace). The two laps were in 37.00min and 36.54min so a negative split too without really trying to do so. Wow! And this pace felt much cruisier than last time. This is what it is supposed to feel like. I'm pretty pleased with this one.

Who was it that said "I love it when a plan comes together." Mine certainly is!

Four minute mile

2009-09-09T21:01:00.000+10:00

Sounds good, doesn't it. And fast. I did one. Well, my version of one.

Tonight's track session was 3x 1600m with 400m easy in between. I felt good, conditions were as good as I've had for a while, the session was short. Everything was there for a fast set.

Covered the first one in 6.36mins which is what I ran them in back in April. I had expected to go closer to 6.30 but don't run the first one flat out so was happy with this. Pushed a bit more for the second one which I did in 6.26 (pleased with this) then ran the last quicker again in 6.23 (stoked with this)!!

So where do I get the four minute mile from. Simple. 1600m is the metric equivalent of the mile and 6.23min for this distance is a tick under four minutes per kilometre. A mile at four minute pace!

A Confession and An Ark

2009-09-08T22:18:00.000+10:00

A Confession
I've been going around doing athletic events for many years now, more than 22. And - apart from feeling old when I write that sentence - I have a confession to make. It is this: I have built up my running this year waaaay to quick.

Why is that a big deal? Well, I am now, more than ever, aware of the need for my body to recover and recuperate. In earlier years I'd build up to a marathon with 8 weeks of (sporadic) training. I know I shouldn't have done it then. I know I can't do it now.

So I got onto this Furman FIRST program which I really love. Trouble is, I probably should have built up my running gradually for a year or so before starting the program earlier this year.

When January rolled around this year and I was doing an occasional triathlon I could barely run the 5km leg such has been my lack of running. Let's look back at the last six years of running for me:

2004: 27 runs (356km)
2005: 19 runs (110km)
2006: 25 runs (259km)
2007: 26 runs (343km)
2008: 28 runs (190km)
2009: 88 runs (1051km) ... and still plenty more to come!

Hmm, yes, I see the problem now. More running this year than in the last four combined. Actually, it is more running in the last six months than those last four years. And by the time Christmas rolls around it will be more than five years crammed into one.

Life in the fast lane! Is it any surprise I suffer the odd injury or two? Just don't tell my physio (hi Rob!)

An Ark
I decided to skip my run tonight and do it tomorrow instead. It has been bucketing down here all evening. I am going out into my garage to build an Ark instead. It might come in useful.

How to Have Fun on Father's Day!

2009-09-06T17:21:00.000+10:00

In the olden days the marathon programs I followed all built up steadily over a long period of time reaching a crescendo exactly three weeks out from race day with the almighty thirty-two kilometre run. This time round I decided to get on board with the blokes at Furman and their FIRST Marathon Program. It is based on a different view of the world: Run less. Run harder. Run long (more often).

With this 16-week program I have run 32k in weeks 6, 9 and 11 (today). Week 4 should also have been 32k but I shortened it due to sickness (to 25k) and I have one more to come in week 13. That's a 32k run once every three weeks on average. Either they are on to a piece of training wizadry that no-one else has considered or they've run out of ideas for other distances to run!

In any case, it certainly means lots of long training days like today. It certainly means that I am not worried about the first 32k of the marathon. These long runs are starting to feel a bit easier now and I am gradually getting a bit quicker each time. More importantly, whereas the last 6k was originally a big struggle, I now find that it is hard, but I can run at a strong, controlled pace. This is very motivating.

Conditions today were fairly typical with a northerly wind blowing (not as strong as some weeks but still there) and overcast with temp in mid-teens. Pretty perfect for running I guess. The only thing different today was my nutrition. Normally I'd take a couple of gels on these runs but I had run out so I had a PowerBar instead which I nibbled along the way. I prefer the gel whilst running as they are easier to ingest, but the bar gave me a small boost often.

I also took my heart rate monitor out today to gauge my effort levels. This was good news too. It was typically in the range 146-150 with the final 6k surge up South Rd to home at around 154. Overall average was 150bpm which compares to something in the mid-160's which I expect to see come race day.

Finished the run in 2:27.45hrs (4.56min/km) which was 39-sec ahead of target time. Excellent! I am also getting quite adept at running slightly faster early on to get a minute or so "in the bank" for the harder bit at the back end. I plan to utilise the same strategy on race day so it is good to practice it.

1-6km 28.35min (4.47/9.34/14.18/18.58/23.48/28.35)
7-12km 29.41min (33.35/38.30/43.27/48.30/53.26/58.16)
13-16km 19.44min (63.17/68.08/73.02/78.00)
17-20km 19.36min (82.57/87.51/92.35/97.36)
21-26km 29.34min (102.32/107.24/112.24/117.29/122.19/127.10)
27-32km 30.35min (132.21/137.22/142.28/147.24/152.20/157.45)

Good. Sort of. I think?

2009-09-02T22:51:00.000+10:00

I am not sure how I went tonight. I was there, of course, it was me who actually ran around-and-around that track again. But I am not really certain about whether I ran well or not. Which is odd (on many levels) since normally I'd be quite definite on this.

After a great week last week and some solid rest from my last long run on Sunday I felt as good going into this track session as I have all preparation. I don't think I can blame the wind, even though it was blowing in the opposite direction to how it normally does. I am not sure why, but that put me off; it felt all ass-about.

I just didn't have it. Bugger, since I was looking forward to this session which was reps of 1k-2k-1k-1k with 400m float in between. I really thought I'd knock out some solid sub-4's for the km reps with maybe an 8.10 for the 2k. Not even close. Not awful times. Just not very good.

~~Now is not the time to mention the secret injury which has been~~ ....

Total run: 10.4km in 54.31min

w/up to track and 200m strides (11.48)
1km hard (4.00), 400m easy
2km hard (8.27), 400m easy
1km hard (4.03), 400m easy
1km hard (4.01)
c/down to home (12.21)

Picking up the pace

2009-08-30T21:55:00.000+10:00

Only a 24km run today. It's all relative I guess. Not so long ago 24k would have been an 'OMG this is a freaking long way run,' but not now. And lest I think things are actually getting easier, those wacky guys a Furman (whose program I am following) decree that this run would ratchet up the pace to make up for the shorter distance. Lots of fun!

The last couple of weeks I have found the first km or so a bit hard. Not pace hard, but just getting my body into the groove and my head in the right place. Both times I have wondered if I'd be able to finish the planned run. Not sure why.

These runs are basically in four parts: down to the beach, along the beach foreshore and back, then run back up to home. And, given terrain and wind have not varied at all, it is essentially an easy warm-up down to the beach, hard slog into the wind, easier run back with the wind and hard slog uphill to home. I think the time splits below show that out.

Today, if it was at all possible, the wind was probably stronger than it has ever been???? Certainly it had more "west" in it and less "north." In any case, it was unpleasant on the run from Brighton up to Elwood. I pray that we get a relatively calm day for the race. This wind just sucks big time.

I certainly picked it up for the first 6k of the second half of the run, covering this in 4.42m/k which is quite good. Obviously the mother of all winds was behind me so it probably isn't that great. What I was pleased with, though, was the time up South Road. I traditionally struggle along here. Today, somehow, it was a quick-paced struggle - despite walking for a few seconds when it just got a bit hard.

Overall, very pleased with this run. The training plan says to run it in 1:56 and the watch says I did 1:55.44 so right on target. Another woo hoo! And a great end to the running week.

Total run: 24km in 1:55.44hrs (4.49m/k)

1-6km 28.32min (4.45/9.30/14.09/18.56/23.46/28.32) 4.45m/k
7-12km 29.22min (33.20/38.04/42.52/47.51/52.44/57.54) 4.53m/k
13-18km 28.15min (62.32/67.10/71.56/76.37/81.22/86.09) 4.42m/k
19-24km 29.35min (91.02/95.59/100.54/106.01/110.49/115.44) 4.55m/k

Only three more big weeks now!

When is Marathon Pace not Marathon Pace?

2009-08-28T22:23:00.000+10:00

Tonight's run was a 10-miler (16km) at marathon pace (4.38min/km) which means it should be comfortable, not overly hard. After all, in six weeks I am supposed to run 42km at this pace. OMG!

Now it was only a few months ago during my half marathon training that this same speed was my mid-tempo pace. And apart from that one very fast race I'm not sure that much has really changed. Which means that the 16km tonight felt like a fair workout and anything but a cruise about town.

I ran my regular North Road loop doing two laps to give me 16km. They were fairly even, run in 37.27min and 37.39min. There was also the now obligatory wind blowing which kept it a bit more interesting than I'd like, but what can you do!

Overall a pleasing effort. A few seconds behind target pace, but still ok. I am confident that come marathon day, this same pace will feel a whole lot easier.

At Last ... Improvement!

2009-08-26T21:21:00.000+10:00

It has taken until week ten of this program for me to replicate or improve upon any of my track session times from the half marathon program earlier this year. But tonight I finally did it! It feels so good to see some times that are faster than I have ever gone.

Tonight's set was 3x (2x 1200m) with 2min rest between intervals and 4min rest between each of the three sets. I last ran this set on 8 April (another Wednesday night) with times generally around 4.56min for each rep.

Tonight I did the now customary "first rep steady, not too fast, don't blow up before you've even started" routine. This seems to be working. Perhaps more accurately, now that I have ditched the Furman target times which were sooo fast for me that I was exploding after the first rep, I am better able to pace my efforts.

This time the reps were completed in: 4.56/4.52 - 4.53/4.52 - 4.53/4.46

What I am looking for is a comfortable first rep, even in the middle, and fastest last rep if possible. Realistically, tonight's times tell me I could probably have pushed to around 4.50min for each of the reps.

But who cares!!!! This is fast for me, faster than last time, right in the McMillan time ranges (4.44-4.59) and felt great.

Yippee!

Bits 'n' Pieces

2009-08-23T20:48:00.000+10:00

Good Reading
Saw an interesting article today on Active.com:
Getting Past the Wall on Race Day by Gale Bernhardt.
This site actually has lots of great info ... but then, you probably already knew that.

Blog Probs
Also, thanks (and apologies) to those who have pointed out that Blogger's wonderful security word feature for posting replies has been troublesome! I have removed it (it was on by default) so you should be able to post a reply now ... I hope.

Birthdays
Had a fun diversion from training yesterday as we celebrated my eldest daughter Brooke's fifth birthday with a party at our local traffic school. It starts with the instructor giving the assembled throng of kids a walkthrough of the course whilst explaining the road rules. It ends with the same mass of kids riding in every direction on both sides of the road in something resembling a highway on the sub-continent. Amazingly, no crashes and no road rage.

Tonight we went out to celebrate both my wife and Brooke's birthday (Brooke is the day after mum) at an Indian restaurant. It was Brooke's choice so we could indulge in her favourite "orange chicken."

As you can see from the pic here, little Keira enjoyed it immensely!

32 redux

2009-08-23T15:23:00.000+10:00

Today was the second 32km run of this program (with two more to come). The last one was way back on 2 August with a slower target pace (which I did not make). So I was not really sure about whether I'd make the pace today or not - which was 4.57m/k.

I decided my best chance was to go out at a reasonable pace and get some time "in the bank." I also knew that with this awful wind (again!!!) I was going to need to run conservatively for the first half. Hmm, time in the bank AND conservative pace. Not sure how to resolve that one.

Anyway, felt good going out, even into the strong wind along the beach. The sun was out, lots of people - including some obvious marathon training groups - so perhaps it just felt better all round. Made the turn at Middle Park in 78.41min so I had to run 79.43min for the return leg to make pace.

This focus on making pace today is a little odd given that with my track runs I have decided to ditch the target pace calcs. Maybe the long run paces just seem more important??

For the first 10km of the return leg I was making up about 5sec/km and feeling good. Rounding the turn at South Rd and I reached the 26km mark with still 1.15min up my sleeve. Though I felt much better than last time round I knew that this last 6km is mostly uphill, traditionally slow, and will be where fatigue kicks in. So it was no certainty I'd be right.

I held it together (just) to 31km and had 5.24min to run the last km. This is a hard last km and I was a few seconds slower to finish just 6 seconds off the target time. Actually, this is probably pretty remarkable in any case, to run that close to a target time over that long a distance.

I was (still am) tired, legs fatigued, but no injuries and felt pretty strong. Very happy with a great end to the week.

1-6km 28.54min (4.51/9.38/14.25/19.08/24.05/28.54)
7-12km 29.44min (33.46/38.43/43.38/48.45/53.43/58.38)
13-16km 20.03min (63.40/68.39/73.34/78.41)
17-20km 19.36min (83.39/88.34/93.20/98.17)
21-26km 29.10min (103.14/108.02/112.53/117.50/122.46/127.27)
27-32km 31.03min (132.33/137.35/142.41/146.34/147.57/153.02/158.30)

This also finished off my biggest week to date, with the 3 runs covering 53.99km in 4:24:43hrs.

Running can be fun!

2009-08-22T20:48:00.000+10:00

Completed my second session of the week last night, a 10km tempo set and - surprise, surprise - it felt good again! I had almost forgotten what it was like to run without sickness or injury, but it was niiiice.

It was another windy night - as the whole week has been in Melbourne - so conditions were not at their best, but it did not really bother me. I've noticed that, too. When you feel good then climatic conditions don't seem to be nearly as big an influence as when you are not on such good form.

The main part of this set was the 7km at mid-tempo pace (target 4.22m/k). I have not been pacing my tempo runs very well recently so consciously took this one out at a steady pace, with the intent to finish strongly, not in a heap like some other efforts.

Ran just under 4.30 pace for the first 5km then hard on the easier section towards South Rd with a 4.18 and 4.20 to finish the 7km in 30.58min (4.25m/k).

I am really pleased with this. Pretty close to target pace, certainly reasonably fast, and much better than all recent efforts.

Ahhh, maybe I can run well after all!

Back on (the) Track

2009-08-19T21:06:00.000+10:00

Gosh, it seems like ages since I ran on the track (actually, it is three weeks) and I was looking forward to tonight's session. I have certainly found the sessions this time round to be a lot harder than before and my times have generally not been as good. Not sure why: sickness, cold weather, night running, windy conditions? In any case, it just hasn't been what it was four months ago.

So today I decided to ignore target times and just run according to how I felt. Or, put another way, just run each interval as hard as I think I can. This felt somewhat liberating and I actually enjoyed myself here for the first time in a long time.

The session is the same as one I did back on 1 April so I had a clear point of comparison. This consisted of:

w/up to track 2km
1600m hard (7.00), 400m easy
3200m hard (13.53), 800m easy
2x 800m hard (3.13/3.16), 400m easy
c/down to home 2km
Total: 12km in 59.26min

Apart from the first 1600m which, in retrospect, was a little slow, the others repeats all felt about right and were within a few seconds of my April times. And, overall, door-to-door, the session was about seven and a half minutes quicker than in April so I definitely ran the easy bits much quicker too. Not that this is an objective in itself, but it means I was not getting as much rest between intervals. I am happy about this!

I think I might run like this more often.

Sandy Point Half Marathon

2009-08-16T13:27:00.000+10:00

I live and run near the beach so I am used to the fact that there is nearly always a wind to contend with down there. But this morning was bordering on ridiculous. Today we had to deal with a 50kph (gusting to 60kph) northerly wind during a two-lap out and back course from Sandringham to Brighton.

In order to get the k's up for the day I ran down to the venue at Sandringham. Nice and easy, 7km at 5.25m/k pace. There was only 15min to race start when I arrived so I quickly got my race number and free 2XU compression socks and went to the start line.

A side-bar here on these compression socks. I have been wearing some Skins socks to bed regularly. I find they make an enormous difference to my recovery, especially when I have sore calves as I had this week. But I hadn't worn them in an event. Now these 2XU ones are soooooo sexy (not!). More like something Zorba the Greek threw out. But since there were so many people wearing them today I decided to give them a go. (They probably helped too!)

My plan for the race was to run steady 5m/k pace for the first half then a "fast finish" (straight from the Greg McMillan handbook) at 4.38m/k. I ended up running 51.26min (4.53 m/k) to half way so was pleased with that, then put in a burst for a couple of km back into that bl**dy headwind. I managed to pass quite a few people but paid for the effort as I was soon tucked in behnd a couple of other guys biding my time till the final turn.

At that point I decided to go for it. It went something like this:
Brain to Legs: ok, run faster now, you have a tailwind and there's only 5km to go.
Legs to Brain: you don't run much, do you?
Brain to Legs: I COMMAND THEE to run quicker.
Legs to Brain: ok, you're pi$$ing me off now, I am going to run SLOWER.

So, rather than knock out a fast finish, I actually ran slower for the second half, a 52.10min (4.56m/k). This gave me an overall time of 1:43.36hrs (4.55m/k) and a total run for the day of 28.13km in 2:21.43hrs (5.02m/k).

This is a general improvement on most of my times, but I had wished for more - not much - just 5 sec/km. But considering the awful wind, a sore throat that returned after only three days of feeling good, and some still sore calves I should be pleased. And am!

When does this training get easier?

2009-08-14T21:08:00.000+10:00

At some stage in most running programs your body seems to catch up - or perhaps just give in - and the pace of the sessions gets easier. Half way into this program and that point doesn't seem like it is ever going to come.

After an easy session on Wednesday night I still am not fully recovered from the City to Surf. My calves - especially the left one - are still really tender.

The session tonight was one that I have done before, about a month ago, and back then had a great run. So I was feeling optimistic about having another good run here. I even managed to squeeze it in before nightfall so was looking forward to running in daylight too.

After the 3km warm-up it was into the hard 5km at short-tempo pace (4.13m/k). I went through the first km in 4.16min so was right on where I needed to be. Unfortunately it kind of went downhill from there with subsequent k's in 4.24/28/32 and 30. Just plain harder than it should have been. A 5km time of 22.10mins being a whole 53sec slower than last time.

I am getting a bit over all this target pace stuff. Whereas for the half marathon program it seemed to be right-on for me, this time round it seems way too fast. I have my suspicions as to why:

1. During the half program I was still coming from a low fitness base so was still on the way up.
2. The target pace this time is based on a blindingly great run in the half marathon which was the "peak" of my fitness, with taper, racing flats, etc. That is, this pace was about as good as it gets and is not maintainable ... it's a peak!
3. Recovery from the longer runs in the marathon program is slower meaning the track session (especially) is much harder.

Anyway, I'll persevere. Even if my runs are slower than target pace that's ok, it just means I'll probably be in great shape to run a 3.20 or 3.25 marathon instead of a 3.16. No problem there!!

City to Surf

2009-08-10T23:28:00.000+10:00

For me there is never any question what I'll be doing on the second Sunday in August. It is running in the City to Surf fun run in Sydney. I have been doing so for 22-years now, since 1988, and even though this year I am following a strict training regimen for the marathon, this race was always going to replace whatever training run I had planned for that day.

In this case a hard, hilly 14km race replaced a 21km run.

After the week (fortnight) I have had I was not sure what to expect. I am still not over this infection and, to make matters worse, on Thursday night I suffered two massive cramps in my left calf DURING MY SLEEP which left me very sore for the last few days. How pathetic is that, I am now suffering injuries even while I am resting at night!

I decided that, because of this, I would not run with any particular time in mind which is highly unusual for me as I have a finely honed series of target splits for any given finish time on this course.

The day began very cool due to no cloud cover which meant that it would warm up to a nice temperature (probably around 10-15 deg's) by the time the race started at 9am. I managed to get a good spot not far from the front and was able to run within about 30-seconds of the gun.

You can see from the graph below that this course is not flat which means that you need to take the first 6km at a steady pace, with plenty in reserve for Heartbreak Hill which starts at 6km. If you can get to the top of that in good shape then you are well placed to run strongly to the finish.

I have learned this lesson (the hard way) several times in my years here but with rising age has come not only wisdom but the sense to actually follow it and for the last couple of years I have run really well paced races.

One thing I find a lot is that I actually race well. I am reasonably adept at maximising whatever training I have done and turning that into a performance on race day. My half marathon at Williamstown was a great example of that. It means that - as I am finding in this training block - I may have trouble meeting target times for intervals etc that my race times say I should be able to do.

There may be other factors here too (wearing race shoes, the atmosphere of an event, etc) but whatever it is I generally race better than my training might indicate.

In the end that was probably the case here too. I ran 61.35mins which I am really happy with. I had great strength at the end of the race (which you'd expect) and probably could not have gone much harder. This is my best time since 2003 (60.53) and fifth best ever (fastest is 56.56). If I could lose 8kg and get down to the race weight of those halcyon days I am sure I could give even my PB a decent shake.

The fact I am finding it hard to walk today is probably no surprise!

Being sick is OFFICIALLY giving me the s$%#s

2009-08-06T21:37:00.000+10:00

Ok, ye marathon gods, what in the heck have I done to upset you all??? Why do you seem so hell bent on keeping me from even getting to the start line of this race? Did I trod on a fairy or something? I am not sure, maybe you just have the WRONG PAUL WILSON ... there are, after all, so many of us. Whatever it is, can you just bug off and leave me alone.

There, got that off my chest. Which is just as well, since this week my wonderful sore throat decided occupation of my neck was not enough and it wanted lungs too. So here I am, it's hard to swallow, difficult to breathe and I am trying to run a marathon program. It just ain't happening.

I gave the track session of this, week seven, the flick on Tuesday in an attempt to get better. But it has not worked. So rather than miss a second session I have set off tonight to do my tempo set.

This was always going to be difficult as it is blowing a gale outside but I was optimistic of maintaining somewhere near the 4.31m/k pace dictated for the 10km main set. Well, what a joke that turned out to be. I ran 47.56min (target 45.10) and felt like crap. The last three km's were each over 5min's which is just disastrous.

Still, I did it. I am just not sure if that is the right thing or not?

This Sunday is City to Surf. Hmmm.

32 today ... 32 today ...

2009-08-02T20:23:00.000+10:00

No, it's not my birthday, and - unfortunately - I am several years the wrong side of 32 (crikey, where did they all go???). Rather, 32 is the number of k's I ran today.

After how I have felt this week (and still feel) I was not altogether sure that I'd do this run; but I headed out the door leaving my mobile phone at home ensuring I'd have no option but to run all the way home.

The course I ran was a familiar one from home down South Rd to the beach then along the path through Brighton, Elwood and St. Kilda to the u-turn at Middle Park (16km). Today I was blessed with running into a mongrel North-Westerly headwind all the way up the beach which was no fun. It also had the effect of sapping my strength for the return leg when I needed it.

The target pace for today was 5.06 min/km and as is obvious from the splits I ran on target for the first half into the wind (great stuff!) and picked it up early on the way back, maintaining a 30-40sec buffer to target all the way till I began the journey up South Road. (This rolling uphill stretch is fast becoming my nemesis on long runs.)

Unfortunately I "ran" 6.04min/km's along here and so finished about 5min behind target time. The reality of this is that it is still much faster than I have previously run these kind of training runs. Plus, I have run 32k with 10 training weeks still to come (incl. another 3x32k runs) so I should only get better.

I had a Power Gel at 13km (yummy Chocolate) and again at 24.5km (god-awful coffee latte or something). I am sure these made a difference as I certainly did not suffer from hunger knock. My legs held out generally well, especially pleased with right hamstring which was no real issue at all.

Overall, very happy with this result (even if the last 5k was a bit ordinary!)

Splits
1-6km 29.53min (4.58/9.51/14.44/-/24.50/29.53)
7-12km 31.08min (34.57/40.07/45.24/50.40/55.51/61.01)
13-16km 20.37min (66.20/71.24/76.29/81.38)
17-20km 19.50min (86.34/91.28/96.20/101.28)
21-26km 30.39min (106.29/111.31/116.41/121.51/126.59/132.07)
27-32km 36.24min (137.52/143.38/149.46/155.59/161.47/168.31)

Still running ... still sick

2009-07-31T23:10:00.000+10:00

Well, still not feeling the best. My throat is sore and glands are up, but I went for my run anyway! This one was a tempo run of 8km at a target pace of 4.22 min/km. Did my normal course up to North Rd.

Probably went out a bit hard for the first couple of k's but it felt easy ... until I was coming through to 4-5k by which time it was not feeling so easy! I thought I ran strong through 6-8k but actually lost a fair bit of time there too, ultimately finishing in 35.39min.

Shouldn't be too disappointed, though, as this is about a minute faster than my previous times over this course (and oh, I am sick too).

One step up, one step back

2009-07-30T21:51:00.000+10:00

After a great run on Sunday it was back to sickness (I cannot believe this is happening ... again!) and a lousy run on Wednesday night.

The track session was supposed to be 2x 1200m (4.45min) and 4x 800m (3.05min) with 2-min RI between. Now I don't know if it was the tight hammys, difficulty breathing from this new throat infection, the little bit of wind or just a case of "you're a wuss" but I could not get going at all.

Covered the 1200's in 4.55 and 5.04 which was not great, then the first two 800's in 3.19 and 3.25 at which point I just went home. When you know you can complete a set of 800's in 3.05 pace then this is just getting ridiculous.

Unfortunately I have had a lot of really poor sessions this time round and I am rarely getting into the groove that I had back in April and May. I've lost my run-mojo.

Hope it comes back soon.

Marathon Entry is Go!

2009-07-26T17:33:00.000+10:00

I have never run a negative split for a run as long as this one, so am doubly pleased with a great effort over 30km at Sri Chinmoy in Parkville today. After around 1k I hooked onto the "5-min bus" being driven by 'Tiger Boy' from the Cool Running chat site. This guy is amazing. He managed to herd a group around six laps of this course keeping us all bang on target time (as you can see from the splits below).

For me it got hard on the fourth lap by which time my right hammy was giving me grief and I thought I might call it quits at 20km. (I suspect the true problem may be further up in the gluteals somewhere??) But, with Tiger Boy's cajoling and coaching I actually found it easier just to sit in with the team; the last 10k actually going by quite quickly.

So, with this run under my belt, I have entered the marathon and have been allocated the number 2012. Now the real work begins!

Sri Chinmoy, Parkville, 30km. (Each 5k is one lap)
1-5km 25.13min (5.10/10.02/14.51/20.08/25.13)
6-10km 24.39min (30.15/35.08/39.58/44.49/49.52)
11-15km 25.01min (54.26/59.47/64.37/69.45/74.53)
16-20km 24.51min (79.55/84.52/89.41/94.44/99.44)
21-25km 24.58min (104.47/109.45/114.40/119.47/124.42)
26-30km 24.54min (129.41/134.38/139.30/144.37/149.36)

A good one at last!

2009-07-25T15:17:00.000+10:00

I didn't exactly see it coming, but I have at last posted a good result for a run. The session last night was 5km at short tempo pace (4.13m/k) after a 3km warm-up with a 1.5k cool-down afterwards. I ran my normal North Road loop which I have found difficult to run fast on as it is a (gentle) rolling course with lots of side streets to upset the rhythm.

After the warm-up I covered the main 5km in 21.17min (4.14/4.16/4.16/4.15/4.16) which I was really happy with. This is the fastest 5km I have run for a very long time and considering my current selection of ailments I am very pleased with it.

Total run 9.5km in 45.13mins.

3 more miles

2009-07-21T20:23:00.000+10:00

Today I had the rare chance to run a track session in the daylight as I took the day off (spent the morning on kinder duty with Brooke). My legs - quads mostly - still felt a bit sore from the Sunday run and I guess I'd only rate myself as about 80% but I ran anyway.

This session was straightforward, 3x 1600m intervals with 1min rest in between. My target time was anything under 6.30min having previously run a similar session in 6.36 pace. Today the bogey would be a strong wind (once again) and perhaps the fact that since the Tour de France started and I have been eating biscuits while watching it each night I have put on 2kg!

In short, these intervals were run in 6.42 min (bad) then a pair of 6.59's (worse). I decided to complete the session as I am getting the feeling that if I back off every time I am not making target pace then I may not be doing much running at all!

Total run of 8.8km in 44.45mins.

End of an ordinary week

2009-07-19T19:30:00.000+10:00

I ended up missing my second run session this week too. I was still too sick to even contemplate running, missed a day of work, and ended up on antibiotics for the sinus infection. All in all, not a happy camper.

Throw in a visit to the physio and even a new pair of runners was barely enough to lift the spirits. I really thought about tossing it all in for the marathon this year. But I guess you have those moments occasionally - and probably will on race day too - so best to find a way to deal with them and move on.

Which I did.

Today I headed out for what originally was planned as a 32km run. But after everything that has happened (or not) in the last week I decided to run a shorter course of 25km over a loop down to the beach and back home via Cheltenham. It is a fairly undulating course so I ignored my watch for the day.

Which was just as well as I really suffered once again. The new runners were great (some New Balance 859's) and my calf did not have any of the pain of last week (phew, and thanks Rob the physio). But my right hammy was just really tight and I could not stride out after about 15 or km's.

My pace began at 5 min/km for the first half a dozen, slowing to 5.12 min/km for the next 12km through Black Rock and Beaumaris. The final 7km up Charman Road and to home were woeful. At around 5.50 min/km these were the slowest I have run in a long time. It was not overly warm (though thte sun was out) but there was a pretty ordinary headwind along that section. Even so, the time was due to me ... not the conditions.

Total run (and weekly total) of 24.97km in 2:13.20hrs at 5.20 min/km.

Hmmm, well, at least I finished.

Oh no, why me!

2009-07-15T23:27:00.000+10:00

Missed my first training session tonight. And, strangely enough, not due to any of the ailments mentioned in previous posts (though it could have been). No, instead I have managed to get sick again. This week I have been suffering from - I believe - sinusitis (diagnosis from my wife and several work colleagues).

The bridge of my nose feels like it has been hit with a baseball bat. I feel awful. I am sick of being sick. I cannot believe the run of illness I have had recently. It is driving me completely nuts.

So I have decided to miss one session. Who knows, it may even help my achilles mend too (I am seeing the physio tomorrow night about that one).

Are the wheel nuts coming loose?

2009-07-12T23:32:00.000+10:00

Today was another big step up in the run distance, this time to 27km. Which of itself is no big problem, I am actually enjoying the long runs, even if the weather is not the best at this time of year. What is bothering me is the growing number of physical niggles, some of which are now giving me real cuase for concern.

Today's run was similar to last week, a run from home down South Rd to the beach then following the bike path down to St Kilda and return. I was not even sure that I'd be able to do this run today as this pain through my hip into my glute has gotten worse over the last couple of days. It bothered me a little at the start and I suspect my running style altered a little to accomodate this.

The wind today was a fairly consistent north-wester so into my face outbound and assisting on the way back. The run felt good down South Rd then a bit harder into the wind where I first started to notice the right achilles in a bit of pain. Completed the outbound 13.56km leg in 67.20min. It was good to pick up the tailwind and I covered the distance up to 21km still comfortably on target pace 5.02 m/k vs 5.06 m/k. Unlike last week I was not having any hunger-knock so was happy about that but the achilles was not having fun.

The final 6k up South Rd was not pleasant. I covered this at 5.42 m/k pace and my achilles was very very painful. The last km took 6.26mins which means I was on target pace right up to that point. I have iced it tonight but I am very concerned about it and will need some physio treatment on it (and my hip) this week.

And tonight little Keira casually pointed out that I really do need to go and see about my right shin. For a couple of months now it has felt tender to touch and I have feared some kind of bone problem. It has certainly got no better with time and when Keira leaned on it tonight I nearly jumped through the roof in pain. Must get that seen to this week too.

Weekly total: 3 runs for 46.49 km in 3:59.57 hrs

Distance Summary [red] and Future Plan [blue]

First Signs

2009-07-10T21:00:00.000+10:00

Tonight I had the first signs of something that worried me. Ok, maybe not the first signs, but definitely the first time I have paid any attention to them. Strangely enough, I had only visited Rob O'Donnell (my physio) on Thursday night at which time I did not really get any of these things tended to. They just didn't seem so important.

My lower back on the right side has felt for about a week as though it is out of alignment, but it has now started to give me real pain through the lower back and gluteal. It is such that even when walking my gait is not normal. Of course, when running it has a bigger effect.

On the run tonight it was giving me a bit of grief. This was the same run I did last week (1.5k w/up, 8k main set at tempo pace and 1.5k c/down) only this time the tempo pace was 4.31m/k (vs 4.38 last week). I never really felt comfortable at all on this run. Could not get into a rhythm, back felt bad and generally a crappy run.

Did the main set in 36.33min (4.34m/k) so not far off target but not a comfortable run and the pace for these tempo sets is only getting quicker in later weeks. I am starting to wonder if these target paces are not just a bit too much for me?

Descending set ... wheeeeeeeee!

2009-07-07T23:01:00.000+10:00

I've never done a set like this before. A simple track session: 1200m, 100m, 800m, 600m, 400m and 200m with a 200m float in between. The pace for each interval should be fast!

Hmm, sounds easy, but the devil is always in the application. I had some specific interval times for each distance but chucked these out and just ran 'flat out' as there was no real rhythm to be found in this set.

I covered the intervals in: 1200 (4.49), 1000 (3.56), 800 (3.08), 600 (2.20), 400 (1.27), 200 (0.40).

The longer intervals were slower than I would have liked and the shorter ones a bit faster than needed. Hard to pace them and found the 200m recovery barely enough, especially for the longer reps.

Overall a good run (in the dark at night again!) of 8.2km in 45.54mins.

Hunger knock is not fun!

2009-07-05T22:21:00.000+10:00

I am not sure whether I like Greg McMillan (McMillan Running) or not. Which is odd since I have decided to "follow his teachings" as it were for my long runs. And Mr McMillan is no fun-freak. In fact, I think his methods are designed to introduce you to new levels of pain and misery during your training. Which is pretty neat, since chances are that race day will bring more of the same so at least you'll be used to it. Which is his theory ... or at least that's how I explain it.

He has two basic tenets which I am overlaying on the general distance/pacing from my Furman program. The first of these is on your "regular" long runs you should not consume any carb's (gels, sports drink, etc). The idea is to deplete your energy stores (about 90+ minutes) then get used to running beyond this when you are tired. This is what I did today. His other principle is the "fast finish" long run which I'll introduce later in the program.

So today was a 24km run at target pace of 5.06min/km. I ran down South Rd to the beach then along the path to Point Ormond and return. At this pace it felt pretty easy from the outset (as it should) and I cruised the outbound leg in 58.49min (4.55m/km pace).

On the return it was a little harder, first into a bit of a headwind then on the rise up South Rd to home. Of course, as expected, the final half hour was very hard. Not only did my right calf begin to get very sore, but I suffered big time hunger knock. I tried just to focus on every kilometre at a time, but by the last one I was nearly tripping over my shadow. The return journey was in 61.22min (5.08m/km pace).

Overall it was a very good result. I covered the journey in a few seconds over two hours at 5.01m/km pace. Perfect! Had some food, iced my calf and watched the Tour de France. All is good now!

Weekly total: 3 runs for 42.09 km in 3:33.07 hrs

Running while sick

2009-07-03T22:53:00.000+10:00

I think it is ok to run while I feel like I do. What do they say: if you have a cold with symptoms above the neck it is ok to run, but if symptoms are below the neck just rest. But what if you have a sore throat (?) ... isn't that in the middle of your neck? Aargh, I am confused, but my reckoning is if I am well enough to go to work then I am well enough to run. So run I did.

Today was an 11km run consisting of 8km at marathon pace (4.38 - still getting used to that concept!) with a 1.5km warm-up and cool-down. I covered the 8km in 6sec under target pace so bang-on once again. It felt a little harder than it did a month ago (no surprise I guess given how I feel) and my quads are a little sore tonight, but nothing major.

Am looking forward to the 24km run on Sunday and bike ride tomorrow morning.

I am also keeping a video diary for this marathon campaign and have uploaded my entry for tonight to YouTube. Not sure if I'll keep doing that, but for now ...

These niggles are driving me nuts!

2009-07-01T22:59:00.000+10:00

Hmm, not sure what happened, but after my good run on Sunday I woke up on Monday morning with a really sore right achilles tendon. So sore that I could hardly walk for most of Monday. So sore that I had my first visions of (said very quietly) not being able to run.

I iced it on Monday and Tuesday nights, chose to defer my first run for the week a day till Wednesday, and hoped for the best. Thankfully, come Wednesday night and my track session, it did not bother me. But I iced it tonight for good measure and probably will do for a while as a precaution.

As if to rub salt into my wounds, I woke on Tuesday morning with a really sore throat which only got worse today. I must have trod on a fairy or something since it feels like I've been suffering one minor malady or other almost consistently for a month or so now. I'll need to get on top of this in quick order.

Which brings me to the run tonight. A simple session at the track of 4x 800m in 3.05min with 2min rest between each. My previous 800's had been run in 3.12 and with my ailments I expected to run somewhere around 3.10 so I was pleased to knock out the repeats in 3.05/3.08/3.04/3.05. I am sure with a good throat, less wind and in daylight I could go a few seconds faster so pretty pleased with that.

Run Melbourne Half Marathon

2009-06-28T22:58:00.000+10:00

Today was the first long run of the campaign and after a mixed week I was looking forward to just getting out and going for a good hit out. The target pace was 4.57min/km so I was not expecting that to be particularly problematic, being some 10 minutes slower than my race a month ago.

Conditions today were very cold (5 deg.C), certainly more than I would have liked, especially as I rode for 40 odd minutes to get to the start.

I took the pace very sedately and just tried to enjoy the atmosphere of an event that takes in two laps around some of Melbourne's major landmarks: Federation Square, Botanic Gardens/Shrine, Rod Laver Arena and the MCG.

My time for the first 10km was 48.29min and I felt pretty good. The second lap began well, I tested the legs at one point and they responded pretty well. By about 14km, though, I found they were tightening up a bit and I lost my zip. I was never really struggling, but as I was well on schedule I decided not to try to push the pace at all. The second 10km I covered in 49.17min and I crossed the line in 1:43.19hrs.

The distance was covered at 4.54min/km pace so a few seconds under target. No niggles or residual pain after the race, calves ok, only some minor chafing under my crutch from some new Skins tights that perhaps rode a little low.

Weekly total: 3 runs for 37.55 km in 3:05.54 hrs

And PS: Happy Birthday to me!

Much better!

2009-06-27T19:29:00.000+10:00

Last night's second run for the week was much better. Phew!

The plan was a 9km run with 3km hard in the middle at 4.15min/km pace and easy bits on each side. Simple, really. I did the hard bit at 4.17min/km so essentially right on target. Felt strong, calves in good shape.

Total 9.25km in 45.23mins.

Rode for an hour and a half this morning, had a great time, looking forward to the Half Marathon tomorrow (actually just a 21km training run masquerading as a race!)

1 of 48

2009-06-24T22:51:00.000+10:00

Is it customary to write excuses at the start of a posting or at the end???? Ok, maybe at the end.

The Facts
What should have been a 3x1600m in ~ 6.35min set at the track this morning turned into 2x1600m in 6.47 and 7.09 then a sorry, tail between my legs, jog home. I could barely have had a worse beginning to my 'official' marathon training program. I had no zip, no nothing, just felt extremely flat and could not run at all.

The Excuse (at least I hope this is why I ran so poorly!)

On Monday I came down with a stomach complaint (an old undiagnosed recurring one that I've had for 20 years or so). It was so bad I had to be off work yesterday, did not feel good at all. This morning it felt ok (???) and I could not put off the run any longer so I went out anyway. And whilst it did not bother me specificlly during the run I suspect it contributed to the sub-standard effort.

I should be right in a day or two and hope the run on Friday is much better!

Will run for food

2009-06-21T18:52:00.000+10:00

This morning, my last run before starting THE PROGRAM, I decided to do something a little bit different. With the endorsement of my tribe I ran from home down to the Ricketts Point Cafe (where they serve fantastic oats and pancakes!) and was met for breakfast.

Certainly the best post-run feast I have had all year and worth the 15+km to get there.

Covered the trip in just over 1:10hrs at 4.52min/km pace. Felt good, but not strong.

Weekly total: 3 runs for 27.17 km in 2:10.39 hrs

Need for Speed

2009-06-18T23:59:00.000+10:00

Tonight I needed to see if I still had any leg speed. It feels like forever since I ran at anything more than a plod and before I launch into the next big 16-week training block I wanted to feel quick again.

So, onthe same 6.3km course I have covered a lot recently I set out with no particular pace in mind, but just to go a bit quicker than I have.

I was pleased to work my pace up to 4.37min/km, only a second faster than my "old" tempo pace and now my designated marathon pace.

Say that again, this is my marathon pace. Hmm, I definitely have a ways to go before this feels comfortable enough to tackle for 42.2. I guess that is what the next 50 or so training sessions are about. We'll see.

Anyway, felt good tonight.

Getting used to these easy runs

2009-06-17T13:47:00.000+10:00

Went for another easy run last night. Same course as for both runs last week. Covered the 6.3km in 30.40min.Conditions were rather good for a winter night. Not too cold, no wind, no rain. It was all rather enjoyable. Seems a shame to have to start flogging myself again from next week! Legs all good now.

Easy week

2009-06-15T20:31:00.000+10:00

I know its my "off season" (aka three weeks rest after the half and before the marathon program) but I still feel bad that I missed my long run yesterday. I was enjoying my sleep too much to get out and go during my allotted time before family duties kicked in.

In any case, my legs (especially calves) feel absolutely great. No soreness whatsoever when I massage them, which has not been the case for a few months now, so really pleased with that!

Plan on three runs this week and final tweaking of the marathon program which I am really happy with. I will post it separately but it is 90% Furman with a twist of McMillan for good measure.

Roll on!

That's Better

2009-06-12T20:47:00.000+10:00

Same run tonight as on Wednesday. Cold again, but no rain. Went a touch harder and felt much better for it. Maybe my technique is a little bit different when I run quicker hence my calves felt ok? In any case, they were much better than a couple of days ago.

Covered the 6.3km in 30.49mins and looking forward to a longer run on the weekend.

Still sore, worrying me now.

2009-06-10T23:40:00.000+10:00

Went for another run tonight. Had put it off for a day as the weather here in Melbourne has been shizen-housen recently. But could not defer any more so went out in the cold and rain tonight. Actually not that bad. Fun even?

Except for my calves.

Even though they feel great day-to-day, when I start to run they really give me a reminder that they are still recovering. Cruised just over 6km tonight at 5min/km pace, felt pretty easy aerobically, but gosh the calves hurt.

Not sure the best way to address this one. I guess stretching and massage would be good starters. Am getting increasingly nervous as my 16-week marathon program is only a week away now.

Fat Ass Melbourne Marathon

2009-06-08T08:10:00.000+10:00

Yesterday, for my long run, I took part in a section of a "Fat Ass" re-enactment of the old Melbourne Marathon course (Frankston to Melbourne). This had been put together through some folks off the Cool Running web site. I took the train down to Mordialloc to join the crew there.

What a hoot! The pace was very easy (which suited me) and we enjoyed chewing the fat whilst we covered the k's. Mrs Wombat was in charge of refuelling and did a wonderful job along the way (maybe I should have had some).

I ran with the guys all the way up to South Road (15km) before continuing up to home (21km). About half way up South Road I was really starting to fade from lack of energy and was glad to get back and have some big sandwiches for lunch (thanks Fiona!).

Total run time was 2:11.40hrs so the longest time on my feet for this whole campaign.

Weekly total: 2 runs for 26.38km in 2:39.43hrs

Ouch, still hurts!

2009-06-06T23:43:00.000+10:00

Went for my first run since the half last night. An easy 5km at a very relaxed pace.

Gosh, my calves still hurt. They are not happy campers at all.

Wore my Skins socks to give the calves some relief last night and today. I think it has made a difference, they feel much better this evening.

Planning to run part of a "Fat Ass" Melbourne Marathon tomorrow. I'll do about 15-20km from Mordialloc. Hope the legs will feel good.

Sri Chinmoy Half Marathon - Williamstown

2009-05-31T12:42:00.000+10:00

Google Map of course

Well, what an amazing race. In short, I could not have imagined running so well. Against a target pace of 1:38.07 (which I thought was ambitious) I have run a 1:33.20. Unbelievable!

Lead Up
My training for the last three months has been more consistent than ever. For 14 weeks I have averaged 33km with no fewer than three runs per week. This may not seem like much, but it means that I have run more to the end of May than for each of the last 5 years in total!

I think the biggest thing was getting onto the Furman FIRST program. This has given me highly specific sessions and target paces and, more importantly, a distance and frequency regime that my body could handle.

Ailments
With all this additional training it is not unexpected that my 40+ year old body should have a share of niggles. Early on it was sore calves. Really sore at first then after a month or so dissipating to being tender to the touch. Thankfully it has not bothered me too much.

Of more concern has been the plantar fasciitis (self-diagnosed) which I first thought was a sore heel. This still bothers me - like most people first thing in the morning is worst (which is no good for morning run sessions and races) - but it has not been a great hindrance to my running. I think I'll need to get more on top of it for the marathon training program.

Finally, in race week, I managed to get a cold. It has not been too bad but I have been sneezing and spluttering which is not good when you are trying to focus on a big race. Thankfully too it did not seem to bother me much during the race.

Race Day
It was pretty cool down at Williamstown this morning. Probably ideal for running though an extra couple of degrees would not have gone astray. There was no sun, a small breath of wind and a mighty big fog!

My intent was to go out steady for 15km (till the turn at West Gate Bridge) then go harder if possible for the last 6km. I even wore a wrist band with my target splits on it (at 4.39/km pace).

The first km went by in 4.26 which had me a bit worried. It felt very easy but was substantially faster than plan. When the next couple of km ran 4.19 and 4.27 I was still concerned, but my heart rate was very steady and around 165 so I thought I'd just go with it and see what happened.

For the first 4.5km or so you are running with folks doing a 10km race so it is not till they turn off that you truly know who is running the half. It was also at that time that the fog was at its thickest so you couldn't really see much anyway! Especially if you are wearing glasses like myself and they get completed fogged over!

At around 7km I hooked in behind a bloke doing my pace. I figured the segment up to West Gate would be into whatever breeze there was so it was better to spend this part tucked in out of the way. (This was good till just after the 13km mark when he dropped down the pace.)

I went through 10km in 44.15 (4.26/8.45/13.12/-/22.02/26.27/30.50/35.19/39.43/44.15) which was nearly 45sec faster than my previous Sri Chinmoy 10km in March at Richmond. Felt great, heart rate still steady at 165 or so, and was confident for the next 10km.

By 14km I was running on my own as the course zig-zags along the bike path towards the bridge. After making the turn I let the pace ramp up a little covering the next 4km in 17.28 (4.22 pace). By this stage I had picked up my own "passenger" and had made the turn back up to the finish line.

The second 10km was in 44.24 (48.45/53.17/57.45/1.02.20/1.06.44/1.11.06/1.15.32/1.19.52/1.24.12/1.28.39) so no real pace differential to the first ten.

I cruised into the track and around to the finish line, hardly believing my eyes at the time on the clock. 1:33.20. An all-time half marathon PB and nearly five minutes ahead of plan. It felt great with my form remaining good all the way around. I could not be more pleased.

Bring on October and the big one!!

Heart Rate graph: dead flat course (lower line) and dead flat HR (upper line)

Last one!

2009-05-28T21:31:00.000+10:00

Well, this morning's run was the last one before the first big race day on Sunday. An easy 5km jaunt around the block. Unfortunately, my crook heel (bl**dy PF) played up and the first 1km was an absolute hobble. As usual, after it warmed up a bit, I was basically ok.

Travelled around in 26.23mins which was too quick for this easy run, but still pretty damn easy. Just race day to come now. Woo! Hoo!

Not this week, please .....

2009-05-26T22:32:00.000+10:00

I must say I find it hard to believe that I would choose this week to get a cold. I am on all the tablets, water, vegetables and other stuff I can think of to make it go away. So far it has not got any worse in two days so I suppose that is something.

And to make things worse my back has gone out. I think I've pinched something about half way down which causes a pain on my right side. Not too bad when I run but mighty unpleasant almost all the time.

Aargh!!

In between all that I went for my last track session tonight. Relatively easy with 6x 400m in 1.34 with 400m RI. Did the repeats in 1.39 (must have been asleep)/1.29/1.30/1.31/1.30/1.26. Pretty happy with that. Didn't feel too stressful.

Only an easy 5km on Thursday, rest and get rid of these ailments before Sunday.

Last long run

2009-05-24T13:36:00.000+10:00

Started to come down with something last night; coughing a bit and tight in upper chest. I hope it will pass. I have worked too hard to have a good half spoiled by a cold.

Today was my last long run before the Half Marathon next week. Only 13km at 4.57min/km so pretty easy.

Didn't feel great. My neck is a bit out so I have restricted movement to the left. Took the run easy and did 12.9km in 1:03.11hrs (4.54min/km) so the time was spot on. Amazing how even when I feel ordinary I can still dial-in the sub-5min pace these days. I think this will be important once the marathon training starts.

Just a set of 400s on Tuesday then an easy 5km run before the race next Sunday. I can't wait!

Weekly total: 3 runs for 33.70km in 2:49:25hrs.

Distance Summary [red] and Future Plan [blue]

Massage and 5km

2009-05-22T21:43:00.000+10:00

Had a massage yesterday, first one in ages. It hurt! I knew it would. I think it hurts even more today. I knew that would too. Wore my Skins socks to try to help the recovery too.

My right heel is still sore (plantar fasciitis?) so I will need to do some active work on that else I am not sure that it will hold up over the next few months of hard training.

Today's session was 3.5km warm-up then 5km@4.29min/km and 1.5km cool-down. I decided to do this session down at the track as I'd be better able to monitor and control my pace.

In short it felt pretty good. I ran 22.05min with splits of 4.18/4.29/4.28/4.28/4.22. At no stage did it feel super hard, just controlled. Definitely not easy, but I felt like I had more in me if I needed. This is my fastest 5km in a long while so I am happy with that too.

Overcoming apprehension

2009-05-20T10:42:00.000+10:00

I was pretty nervous, strangely enough, going into this session last night as the only other time I had done 1km repeats I had failed miserably to make the time target. Albeit, on that morning there had been horrible wind and rain to contend with. Nonetheless I was not certain that I could make the grade for 5x 1km in 4.01min.

Conditions were really good this time for an evening run. Not too cold and hardly a breath of wind. As always, though, it is pitch black down at the track which makes for fairly soul-less running and, I am convinced, slower times. At the very least I find it makes pacing harder as I cannot effectively monitor my splits as I complete each segment.

My plan for this session was to run each interval at 800m pace and try to hold it for the 200m extra! Given that I was completing 800’s in around 3.12 (which equates to a 4min/km) this seemed like a logical plan.

I ran the first rep in a controlled pace at 3.58 which was surprising to say the least. The second I tried to run in the same way and did 3.54 which was shocking, I knew I had got carried away. The third rep I deliberately ran slower (too slow), doing 4.02. The final two reps I just ran (!) and did 3.56 and 3.59. So the times were a bit all over the shop which is not ideal, but they averaged 3.58 which was pretty pleasing.

I’d love to know how quick I could go if I was not carrying this 10kg of extra weight.

Session total: 10.8km in 57.35min

Getting Faster

2009-05-17T09:44:00.000+10:00

Changed my long run to Saturday this week (so I could ride on Sunday morning). The plan was to run 20km at 4.57 min/km pace. The loop I did took me from home down to Southland, Sandringham beach along to Brighton then back up through to Bentleigh and home.

I enjoyed this loop course as you never cover the same ground twice, plus it is gently undulating so you get to mix up the effort a little.

My splits were: 5km 23.28, 10km 47.49 (24.21), 14.63km 1:10.21 (22.32), 19.66km 1:35.10 (24.49). Very pleased with those times, after a faster first 5k then settled in to a pace that was basically maintained the whole way through to the finish.

This would equate to around 1:42 hr half marathon pace and I know in the race I can go much quicker so I am sure a 1:38 or faster is possible.

More of the same and why does my heel hurt?

2009-05-14T22:26:00.000+10:00

Another 8km sojourn around the suburb here this evening. This 8km at mid-tempo pace (4.38min/km) has appeared very regularly on the run program - typically once per fortnight. So I know the pace - and course - fairly well.

Knocked out the 8km in 36.36min which is reasonably similar to other efforts over this course. Maybe felt a bit easier than some so definitely improving.

Made me wonder, though, how would I go keeping up this pace for 21.1km? Guess I'll find out in a week or so.

Why does my heel hurt?
Ok, I probably know the real answer to this. It might have something to do with running more in three months than I have for each of the last few years? Sure, but why does my heel hurt so much???? Strangely enough, it doesn't bother me too much when running. Mostly only when I am barefoot. Running shoes give good cushioning so it is not much of an issue after 5 minutes or so. Anyway ....

Makybe Diva

2009-05-12T20:47:00.000+10:00

This morning's track session felt a little Melbourne Cup-ish. Quite simple too. Run 2x 3200m in 13.52min with a 400m RI.

It was pretty cool this morning but ok for running. My calves are still tender but don't seem to bother me once they are warmed up.

Went out a tad hard for the first interval but brought it home ok to record a 13.48min. Ran the second one very conservatively, right on target pace for 2km then picked it up the last 800m to do 13.47min. Felt reasonably strong with that one.

These times equate to a 21.40min or so 5km which I am sure I could do.