WEEK - 17K
MONTH - 154.5
YTD - 362.5
Firstly I will start with the answers to the questions posted by Tesso and Lulu. The questions were; Was the 5kTT result a PB? and how does it compare to my pre-injury times?
To be honest I cant remember my exact 5k PB but I think it was high 17's. That was my teenage years so my old man PB is probably yesterdays time. The only TT I did before my surgery was a few days prior and I ran 18.38 so I am running better now than before. My training is a little more regular now, running with others and having goal races to train for has certainly caused my times to improve.
This morning at Brisbane Road Runners was the self select run, a 7k loop that could be done up to 5 times. As usual I hadn't made a concrete decision on what I wanted to do, however it wasn't going to be anymore than 3 laps as I had no gu's or gels which I really need beyond this distance.
I arrived at 5.30 and whilst lining up Clairie asked what I was doing today, on the spot I said 14k there the decision was made. I then intended to cross the line and get my place card and then continue on for a slow jaunt as a recovery for 3k.
Lining up you could tell that most were doing some serious K's the atmosphere was casual, no point bursting out of the blocks when you are about to run 21+ km. I have to admitt I hate running a slow pace, well maybe not hate but find it hard to ease up and run casual. The starters gun went and I took off immediately blowing my late decision race plan off and making an entirely new one in a matter of seconds.
The plan now was to run a decent but not flat out pace for 1 lap (7k) and then 10k easy, which I am pleased to announce worked almost perfectly. As I mentioned most were doing long runs so the pace apart from a few was quite tame, so I sat with Claire G. She was also doing some ridiculous distance but is also an outstanding athlete so the pace was good. We were consistantly running under 4 min k's and got to the 5k point in 19.43, I eased off a little as I was probably annoying her, messing with her race plan and completed the first lap in 28.40 odd minutes.
This is where the plan became unstuck for a moment, I had an unforseen pit stop to the loo which chewed up about 4mins of my time before rejoining the run, It didn't worry me at all, the time was here nor there. This is where my slow part of my run started, I must say I find it quite hard to remain focussed on sticking to a consistant easy pace, which is something I will need to do for the GCM. I did however manage to keep to the plan and was running slightly under 5min/k pace for the remainder of the run.
The total for the day ended with 17k, 7k medium-fast, 10k easy paced, total time 82.02 mins including the pit stop. It was good to get more than an hour into the legs even though 20 mins is not much it is a start, I might take the plunge and increase my next long run to 1.45, I think I need to skip a few weeks and increase the distance a bit faster. I just hope this doesn't take a toll on my body, time will tell.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
TRACK AND TIME TRIAL
WEEK - 32.5k
MONTH - 137.5k
YTD - 354.5k
Thursday - This was track day, the day turned out to be a nice night in terms of weather which was my concern. I arrived a little late and done a quick warmup and stretch before Phil turned up. His plan was basic 5 x 800m sets with a 400m jog recovery. Hard work but over pretty quickly. I think he wanted to get home and watch the games as much as I did so I was quite happy. I felt good and had pretty consistent times, they were:
2.39
2.37
2.38
2.35
2.36
Friday - Lawn bowls, if anyone says that this is not a sport and those that compete are not athletes then obviously you have never done it. My butt was sore from all that squating you do when you roll the bowl, great fun though not particularly good to do before a TT though :)
Today - The monthly 5k TT with the Run Inn was today. I was unsure of the time I was capable of but after a nice long slow warm up I was feeling good. Before the start I told myself I would be happy with sub 19 mins. The run started at 6.30 am and the weather was calm, this suprised me alot as it is run near the water and today the effects of the 2nd cyclone was supposed to affect the SE Qld coastline. Im glad it didn't, head winds are horrible.
I took off at a reasonable pace, unsure of the speed per Km, apparently there is a K mark painted on the road but I didn't see it. Must have been running too fast ;) however I do know where the 2k marker is and I passed that in 7.10 so I was well under 19 min pace. By the turn around I was still feeling good and had the usually speed demons in front of me but well insight. This helped me alot to keep the pace high. I noticed that I was slowly gaining on them and thought Im going to keep this pace or run out of legs. No harm in trying so I picked the pace up, with 1k to go I got on Phil Klein's shoulder and sat there for a few seconds and then upped it again overtaking him with about 500m to go. Steve Lucas was the next person and I pushed hard to get near him, once I did I tried to suprise him and sprint past but when I got to within 2m of him he heard and picked the pace up. There was no way I had enough for another burst and he crossed a second before me. He was wearing those sunnies with the mp3 player, obviously he didn't have the music going. DAMMIT :)
I crossed the line in forth and was very happy mixing it with those guys, they are probably still recovering from the 6ft but Ill take it. The time 18.07.
Tomorrow - BRRC self select run 7 - 35k one to five loops of a 7k track, unsure what I will do. A long one or a mid size one, will make a decision tonight or on the line tomorrow ;)
MONTH - 137.5k
YTD - 354.5k
Thursday - This was track day, the day turned out to be a nice night in terms of weather which was my concern. I arrived a little late and done a quick warmup and stretch before Phil turned up. His plan was basic 5 x 800m sets with a 400m jog recovery. Hard work but over pretty quickly. I think he wanted to get home and watch the games as much as I did so I was quite happy. I felt good and had pretty consistent times, they were:
2.39
2.37
2.38
2.35
2.36
Friday - Lawn bowls, if anyone says that this is not a sport and those that compete are not athletes then obviously you have never done it. My butt was sore from all that squating you do when you roll the bowl, great fun though not particularly good to do before a TT though :)
Today - The monthly 5k TT with the Run Inn was today. I was unsure of the time I was capable of but after a nice long slow warm up I was feeling good. Before the start I told myself I would be happy with sub 19 mins. The run started at 6.30 am and the weather was calm, this suprised me alot as it is run near the water and today the effects of the 2nd cyclone was supposed to affect the SE Qld coastline. Im glad it didn't, head winds are horrible.
I took off at a reasonable pace, unsure of the speed per Km, apparently there is a K mark painted on the road but I didn't see it. Must have been running too fast ;) however I do know where the 2k marker is and I passed that in 7.10 so I was well under 19 min pace. By the turn around I was still feeling good and had the usually speed demons in front of me but well insight. This helped me alot to keep the pace high. I noticed that I was slowly gaining on them and thought Im going to keep this pace or run out of legs. No harm in trying so I picked the pace up, with 1k to go I got on Phil Klein's shoulder and sat there for a few seconds and then upped it again overtaking him with about 500m to go. Steve Lucas was the next person and I pushed hard to get near him, once I did I tried to suprise him and sprint past but when I got to within 2m of him he heard and picked the pace up. There was no way I had enough for another burst and he crossed a second before me. He was wearing those sunnies with the mp3 player, obviously he didn't have the music going. DAMMIT :)
I crossed the line in forth and was very happy mixing it with those guys, they are probably still recovering from the 6ft but Ill take it. The time 18.07.
Tomorrow - BRRC self select run 7 - 35k one to five loops of a 7k track, unsure what I will do. A long one or a mid size one, will make a decision tonight or on the line tomorrow ;)
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Out of Sorts!
WEEK - 23.5K
MONTH - 128.5K
YTD - 345.5K
It has been a weird past two days, I dont generally get sick but Sunday night I was feeling a bit under the weather. This continued all night and I woke up Monday morning feeling pretty ordinary. This however was in the back of my mind as my wife started to get stomach cramps on the Sunday night which also continued onto yesterday. Being 31 weeks pregnant you cant take any chances so we decided to go to hospital via my work to get the day off. We got there about 730 am and went through a few physical tests including multiple blood tests, which eventually showed that we were not having our bundle of joy just yet. The baby is lying in the transverse (across) position and due to the size and stage of the pregnancy he/she should be starting to rotate. This means that the baby is putting pressure on various nerves etc which has caused the cramps. So after 5 hrs we finally got out of the hospital and went home to rest.
In saying this yesterday was a day of nil activity, we did however return to the hospital that night but on a pleasant note, well as pleasant as ante natal classes can be. I wasn't really wanting to go, feeling sick, watching caesarian and natural birthing videos is not a good mix let alone missing out on the much awaited Craig Mottram race. I do however need as much help as I can get so the mottram race was taped :)
Tuesday I was feeling much better and went to work, no-one had organised any PT so I decided to begin my weeks training. I began running with a mate of mine who has been pretty slack with his fitness, he is still relatively fit so we ran together for 8k where he called it quits for the morning. I continued on for another lap of the cct and finished the morning off with 12k in just under 5 min pace.
Today is usually Wednesday Run group at the Run Inn, I decided to do my run in the morning instead. Cassy (wife) is working tonight which means I generally have an hour to wait after the run has finished to pick her up before heading home. Im buggered by this time and felt this was the best option. Anyway, the plan was to run for about an hour which is shorter than the usual duration on a Wednesday, however once you add up all the stoppages it probably works out to be pretty close.
So back to the run......
It was quite humid this morning, I plodded around not really caring of pace just maintaining a comfortable rhythm for the entire hour. At work there a few tracks that have distances marked so I followed these and arrived back at work in 57.30. I didn't worry about running for the last 2.30 which was a bit slack on my behalf and ended up covering 11.5k for the morning.
Tomorrow is track day, 4k total of intervals, hopefully the weather holds out, at the moment it doesn't look too promising. Fingers crossed.
MONTH - 128.5K
YTD - 345.5K
It has been a weird past two days, I dont generally get sick but Sunday night I was feeling a bit under the weather. This continued all night and I woke up Monday morning feeling pretty ordinary. This however was in the back of my mind as my wife started to get stomach cramps on the Sunday night which also continued onto yesterday. Being 31 weeks pregnant you cant take any chances so we decided to go to hospital via my work to get the day off. We got there about 730 am and went through a few physical tests including multiple blood tests, which eventually showed that we were not having our bundle of joy just yet. The baby is lying in the transverse (across) position and due to the size and stage of the pregnancy he/she should be starting to rotate. This means that the baby is putting pressure on various nerves etc which has caused the cramps. So after 5 hrs we finally got out of the hospital and went home to rest.
In saying this yesterday was a day of nil activity, we did however return to the hospital that night but on a pleasant note, well as pleasant as ante natal classes can be. I wasn't really wanting to go, feeling sick, watching caesarian and natural birthing videos is not a good mix let alone missing out on the much awaited Craig Mottram race. I do however need as much help as I can get so the mottram race was taped :)
Tuesday I was feeling much better and went to work, no-one had organised any PT so I decided to begin my weeks training. I began running with a mate of mine who has been pretty slack with his fitness, he is still relatively fit so we ran together for 8k where he called it quits for the morning. I continued on for another lap of the cct and finished the morning off with 12k in just under 5 min pace.
Today is usually Wednesday Run group at the Run Inn, I decided to do my run in the morning instead. Cassy (wife) is working tonight which means I generally have an hour to wait after the run has finished to pick her up before heading home. Im buggered by this time and felt this was the best option. Anyway, the plan was to run for about an hour which is shorter than the usual duration on a Wednesday, however once you add up all the stoppages it probably works out to be pretty close.
So back to the run......
It was quite humid this morning, I plodded around not really caring of pace just maintaining a comfortable rhythm for the entire hour. At work there a few tracks that have distances marked so I followed these and arrived back at work in 57.30. I didn't worry about running for the last 2.30 which was a bit slack on my behalf and ended up covering 11.5k for the morning.
Tomorrow is track day, 4k total of intervals, hopefully the weather holds out, at the moment it doesn't look too promising. Fingers crossed.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
A New Record
WEEK - 53K
MONTH - 105K
YTD - 322K
After track the other night, and a short but tough PT session at work, yesterday was a run free day. This meant that to crack the illustrious 50k for the week I had to run 3.8k today.
A while back a work mate of mine asked if I would drive one of the cars he had for his wedding. His wedding was this morning, a small gathering of family and close friends. I was very surprised he had asked me to be part of this occassion, I have only known him for a little over 12 months so to be asked was very nice. Anyway this meant that my run would have to be late afternoon.
I arrived home about 3pm after driving and waiting around for the photos to be taken etc. It also meant that I was in the hot sun for a good part of the day with very little opportunity to eat and drink. By the end I was starving and had a bite to eat and chilled out to watch the womens triathlon I recorded earlier that morning. Awesome, Emma Snowsill she makes it look so easy. I actually dozed off a few times and at 5pm it was time to take Cass (wife) to work.
This I thought was a good opportunity to get some gear packed and head down to the track, the intention to do more than 3.8k to crack the 50. I also had ideas of doing 14k not only get 50k but crack 60k but that got squashed when I eventually arrived at the track at 6pm.
By the time I started running the sun was almost down, running around a bumpy grass track in fading light is tough, you cant judge uneven ground that well. I took off slow for the first k until the body was warm and gradually increased each k after that for 5k. I felt comfortable and actually finished in under 21 mins. I had a quick drink from the water bottle and had a 400m walking recovery.
It was quite dark by this stage but I thought I would do another 3.8 to finish the week off with 55k but after a lap or so I decided to cut it short and stopped at 1.8k in a time of around 7 mins.
This has been my biggest week for as long as I can remember, and in fact has felt like one of the easiest. Next week I will try and incorperate a long run in the schedule, I need to get the distance in my legs if I want to improve on my Warwick time in May and maybe do the GCM. My decision on the GCM will be made in the next two weeks, Im 80% sure that I will try the full. Please someone talk me out of it :)
MONTH - 105K
YTD - 322K
After track the other night, and a short but tough PT session at work, yesterday was a run free day. This meant that to crack the illustrious 50k for the week I had to run 3.8k today.
A while back a work mate of mine asked if I would drive one of the cars he had for his wedding. His wedding was this morning, a small gathering of family and close friends. I was very surprised he had asked me to be part of this occassion, I have only known him for a little over 12 months so to be asked was very nice. Anyway this meant that my run would have to be late afternoon.
I arrived home about 3pm after driving and waiting around for the photos to be taken etc. It also meant that I was in the hot sun for a good part of the day with very little opportunity to eat and drink. By the end I was starving and had a bite to eat and chilled out to watch the womens triathlon I recorded earlier that morning. Awesome, Emma Snowsill she makes it look so easy. I actually dozed off a few times and at 5pm it was time to take Cass (wife) to work.
This I thought was a good opportunity to get some gear packed and head down to the track, the intention to do more than 3.8k to crack the 50. I also had ideas of doing 14k not only get 50k but crack 60k but that got squashed when I eventually arrived at the track at 6pm.
By the time I started running the sun was almost down, running around a bumpy grass track in fading light is tough, you cant judge uneven ground that well. I took off slow for the first k until the body was warm and gradually increased each k after that for 5k. I felt comfortable and actually finished in under 21 mins. I had a quick drink from the water bottle and had a 400m walking recovery.
It was quite dark by this stage but I thought I would do another 3.8 to finish the week off with 55k but after a lap or so I decided to cut it short and stopped at 1.8k in a time of around 7 mins.
This has been my biggest week for as long as I can remember, and in fact has felt like one of the easiest. Next week I will try and incorperate a long run in the schedule, I need to get the distance in my legs if I want to improve on my Warwick time in May and maybe do the GCM. My decision on the GCM will be made in the next two weeks, Im 80% sure that I will try the full. Please someone talk me out of it :)
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Feeling Fresh
WEEK - 46.2K
MONTH - 98.2K
YTD - 315.2K
Monday morning after the 1/2 the day before I was very suprised about how the body was feeling. I had a little tightness in the calf but apart from that nothing else was a concern. In saying that I didn't feel like running so it turned out to be a rest day.
Tuesday Morning I had a late start which meant I could squeeze in a light jog before going to work. The morning was hot, and by the time I finished I was drenched. I ended up completing 6.5k very slowly, over 5 min/k pace. Not much else to say about it, so on to Wednesday.
Yesterday was the Mid week medium run. I went with my normal group and we were told by Phil to run for about 80-85 mins. The pace was on from the start, however I got chatting and didn't realise how quick we were going until the first drink stop. We had a short break and continued on the most boring track you can only imagine, a completely straight bike path with no lights with the occassional smelly dead animal and stagnant water. Beautiful.
The next rest break was at the 8k mark. Matty the guru on run tracks gave us a choice of two ways we could continue, one of which involved large hills the other some small rises but mainly flat and shorter. So we decided to take the hilly track.......NOT! and carried on. The time at this stage wasn't even 40 mins and we already heading back. Phil has been getting concerned about how our group always seems to be back first, we have been pretty slack in increasing the runs and has hinted that we should be getting more strict on the time we spend out there.
The remaining distance was maintained at a decent pace, a few of the younger fella's took off for the last km but the remainder of us decided to stick together and return to the start as one. We ended up finishing the night with 14.4km in a time of 69.30. Around 10-15 minutes shorter than what we were supposed to do, we vowed last night that next week will be a longer duration but at a slower pace. Should be fun :)
Tonight was back to the track, I haven't been for a while and struggled to get there tonight. I wasn't tired but the Games are on and I hadn't seen any of it yet and was having withdrawals. I did however drag myself down there, which now Im glad I did, I really needed to go.
The group was small but everyone seem to have someone to chase as it is a handicap start. The program was 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 600m, 800m a total of 4.2km. I felt pretty good the recovery is alot better but the legs did feel it a little more.
The times for the reps were:
1000m - 3.20
800m - 2.38
600m - 2.03
400m - 1.17
600m - 1.59
800m - 2.42
I am also quite impressed about my mileage for this week, I will more than likely crack the 50k for the first time in years. However it does help quite a bit when your week starts off with a 1/2 marathon.
Happy Trainng :)
MONTH - 98.2K
YTD - 315.2K
Monday morning after the 1/2 the day before I was very suprised about how the body was feeling. I had a little tightness in the calf but apart from that nothing else was a concern. In saying that I didn't feel like running so it turned out to be a rest day.
Tuesday Morning I had a late start which meant I could squeeze in a light jog before going to work. The morning was hot, and by the time I finished I was drenched. I ended up completing 6.5k very slowly, over 5 min/k pace. Not much else to say about it, so on to Wednesday.
Yesterday was the Mid week medium run. I went with my normal group and we were told by Phil to run for about 80-85 mins. The pace was on from the start, however I got chatting and didn't realise how quick we were going until the first drink stop. We had a short break and continued on the most boring track you can only imagine, a completely straight bike path with no lights with the occassional smelly dead animal and stagnant water. Beautiful.
The next rest break was at the 8k mark. Matty the guru on run tracks gave us a choice of two ways we could continue, one of which involved large hills the other some small rises but mainly flat and shorter. So we decided to take the hilly track.......NOT! and carried on. The time at this stage wasn't even 40 mins and we already heading back. Phil has been getting concerned about how our group always seems to be back first, we have been pretty slack in increasing the runs and has hinted that we should be getting more strict on the time we spend out there.
The remaining distance was maintained at a decent pace, a few of the younger fella's took off for the last km but the remainder of us decided to stick together and return to the start as one. We ended up finishing the night with 14.4km in a time of 69.30. Around 10-15 minutes shorter than what we were supposed to do, we vowed last night that next week will be a longer duration but at a slower pace. Should be fun :)
Tonight was back to the track, I haven't been for a while and struggled to get there tonight. I wasn't tired but the Games are on and I hadn't seen any of it yet and was having withdrawals. I did however drag myself down there, which now Im glad I did, I really needed to go.
The group was small but everyone seem to have someone to chase as it is a handicap start. The program was 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 600m, 800m a total of 4.2km. I felt pretty good the recovery is alot better but the legs did feel it a little more.
The times for the reps were:
1000m - 3.20
800m - 2.38
600m - 2.03
400m - 1.17
600m - 1.59
800m - 2.42
I am also quite impressed about my mileage for this week, I will more than likely crack the 50k for the first time in years. However it does help quite a bit when your week starts off with a 1/2 marathon.
Happy Trainng :)
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Half Marathon Club Champs
WEEK - 21.1K
MONTH - 73.1K
YTD - 290.1K
My inability to make a decision about my race plan was still in my mind. A few people have sugested to go for my dream goal of Sub 90 as they feel that my 95 min target is a bit tame. They know alot more about these distances than me so whose to argue :)
I arrived at about 5.40 this morning with my wife who came along for support. This was wonderful as she had to work a few hours after the race and is also now 7 1/2 months pregant. I dont know how she puts up me stressing about races and my dilemma's about what pace I should run etc, she doesn't doubt my ability to achieve my goals which is great because I always do.
Anyway I registered and went for a slow km or so warm up and after a couple of stretches it was time to begin. The race began with the shout of GO! followed by the gun 100m later. The track was the normal 5k loops however a smaller 1.1k loop was completed beforehand. I was feeling great and the weather was helping matters alot. The sun was behind cloud and remained there for 3/4 of the race.
What I have noticed over many years of running in club races is that I must run a weird pace, I never seem to be able to run with people, there are always people ahead or behind me and im always stuck in the middle. That or I smell, Do I? :) well if that is the case then I pity those who run behind me.
I dont bother wearing the Garmin for these races as each km is marked, this keeps me occupied working out splits in my head as my watch doesn't show the lap splits. This makes it hard however to remember what went on throughout a longer race. I have a memory like a goldfish.
Back to the race, after the 1.1k loop followed by the first of four 5k loops I crossed the start/finish line in 25.12, so well under the 90 min pace and feeling awesome. I continued on with this pace and ended up catching a bloke named Don. He was also out in no mans land so we introduced each other and ran together for about 10k. At the 4k mark of the second lap (10.1k) I was just under 42 mins and thought jeez this is looking good, I was still feeling comfortable and not really pushing it at all. The third lap was much the same however about 1k into this lap I said to Don that I was going to ease up a little, I didn't need to at the time but I knew that I will hit the wall some time in the future. He convinced me to keep going and at the 13.1k mark we crossed at 55.12 which was still 28 secs in front of 90 min pace. I however didn't know this at the time, my math is not so good after 13k of running.
Not much to report for the remainder of the 3rd lap and crossed the start finish line in 68 mins flat, This amazed the hell out of me, a month ago for the 10 mile champs I finished in a time of 73.05 so this was 5.05 min faster than that with still 5k to run.
It wasn't rocket science to work out that I had to run under 22 mins to run under 90 mins and by the first drink station I had talked myself out of it, I thought 91-93 mins is still good, dont kill yourself it will still be your quickest 1/2 by a long shot...... I hate that Guy.
This last lap was a killer, the first km was slow and the quads started to pack it in. My breathing was still fine but I was running out of legs fast. The pace slowed alot or what felt like alot and the sun was now out which didn't help my cause at all. By the 19.1k mark, I was wrecked I have no idea what time I went through that point in. I was starting to feel horrible and I actually started getting goose bumps, I was cold... What tha! which was a wierd experience. I began running with my hands on my hips, I had definetely hit the wall and with 1500m to go I tried to increase the pace, and for a while I began running well again. This part of the course is nice, alot of shade which probably helped alot. The 4k marker for the last lap came up, 1k to go, there was no fuel left in my body, it felt as though it was now consuming itself to get the required energy for what I was asking it to deliver. Looking back now the last 3k where I felt bad and felt that the pace had really slowed, probably wasn't as bad as it seemed. The fact that no-one passed me and that with 1k to go I had 4.25 to get spot on 90 mins really backs this up, the mind was playing games, not suprising considering the delirious state I was in :)
This last km was hard, you can't actually see the finish line until about 150m to go, I reached the start of the footpath and the watch said I still had 2 minutes to get there, my mind was telling me no chance, however the body took over I was grimacing and dug deep, hurting bad I saw the finish line. I then looked at the watch and thought there is a chance. I let rip, sprinting for the line not looking at the road just my watch thinking im going to do it, I increased the pace for the last 50m my eyes now focused on the electronic timer, 20m to go 5secs to do it in, I crossed the line exhausted in a time of 1.29.58 (89.58) a massive PB of over 7 minutes and my dream goal of Sub 90. I knew I did it but I checked after the presentations if it was 58 or59 secs and it was 58 secs. Two PB's in a week, I cant believe that, hard to top this one.
To top things off I came away with a shiny silver medal, stepping up from the bronze a month earlier.
Congratulations also to Clairie who had an amazing morning placing in the overall female standings and first in her age group. Oh yeah a massive PB to boot :) Tesso had an awesome run also claiming a gold medal for her age. By the way cheers for the encouragement it certainly helps and very appreciated.
Thanks again to my wife Cassy, it is always great to have you there.
It was a shame that we had to get depart early, Cas had to work so we left not long after the presentations, it would have been nice to remain in the city and celebrate the morning with a massive greasy breakfast. Maybe next time
Peace Out!
MONTH - 73.1K
YTD - 290.1K
My inability to make a decision about my race plan was still in my mind. A few people have sugested to go for my dream goal of Sub 90 as they feel that my 95 min target is a bit tame. They know alot more about these distances than me so whose to argue :)
I arrived at about 5.40 this morning with my wife who came along for support. This was wonderful as she had to work a few hours after the race and is also now 7 1/2 months pregant. I dont know how she puts up me stressing about races and my dilemma's about what pace I should run etc, she doesn't doubt my ability to achieve my goals which is great because I always do.
Anyway I registered and went for a slow km or so warm up and after a couple of stretches it was time to begin. The race began with the shout of GO! followed by the gun 100m later. The track was the normal 5k loops however a smaller 1.1k loop was completed beforehand. I was feeling great and the weather was helping matters alot. The sun was behind cloud and remained there for 3/4 of the race.
What I have noticed over many years of running in club races is that I must run a weird pace, I never seem to be able to run with people, there are always people ahead or behind me and im always stuck in the middle. That or I smell, Do I? :) well if that is the case then I pity those who run behind me.
I dont bother wearing the Garmin for these races as each km is marked, this keeps me occupied working out splits in my head as my watch doesn't show the lap splits. This makes it hard however to remember what went on throughout a longer race. I have a memory like a goldfish.
Back to the race, after the 1.1k loop followed by the first of four 5k loops I crossed the start/finish line in 25.12, so well under the 90 min pace and feeling awesome. I continued on with this pace and ended up catching a bloke named Don. He was also out in no mans land so we introduced each other and ran together for about 10k. At the 4k mark of the second lap (10.1k) I was just under 42 mins and thought jeez this is looking good, I was still feeling comfortable and not really pushing it at all. The third lap was much the same however about 1k into this lap I said to Don that I was going to ease up a little, I didn't need to at the time but I knew that I will hit the wall some time in the future. He convinced me to keep going and at the 13.1k mark we crossed at 55.12 which was still 28 secs in front of 90 min pace. I however didn't know this at the time, my math is not so good after 13k of running.
Not much to report for the remainder of the 3rd lap and crossed the start finish line in 68 mins flat, This amazed the hell out of me, a month ago for the 10 mile champs I finished in a time of 73.05 so this was 5.05 min faster than that with still 5k to run.
It wasn't rocket science to work out that I had to run under 22 mins to run under 90 mins and by the first drink station I had talked myself out of it, I thought 91-93 mins is still good, dont kill yourself it will still be your quickest 1/2 by a long shot...... I hate that Guy.
This last lap was a killer, the first km was slow and the quads started to pack it in. My breathing was still fine but I was running out of legs fast. The pace slowed alot or what felt like alot and the sun was now out which didn't help my cause at all. By the 19.1k mark, I was wrecked I have no idea what time I went through that point in. I was starting to feel horrible and I actually started getting goose bumps, I was cold... What tha! which was a wierd experience. I began running with my hands on my hips, I had definetely hit the wall and with 1500m to go I tried to increase the pace, and for a while I began running well again. This part of the course is nice, alot of shade which probably helped alot. The 4k marker for the last lap came up, 1k to go, there was no fuel left in my body, it felt as though it was now consuming itself to get the required energy for what I was asking it to deliver. Looking back now the last 3k where I felt bad and felt that the pace had really slowed, probably wasn't as bad as it seemed. The fact that no-one passed me and that with 1k to go I had 4.25 to get spot on 90 mins really backs this up, the mind was playing games, not suprising considering the delirious state I was in :)
This last km was hard, you can't actually see the finish line until about 150m to go, I reached the start of the footpath and the watch said I still had 2 minutes to get there, my mind was telling me no chance, however the body took over I was grimacing and dug deep, hurting bad I saw the finish line. I then looked at the watch and thought there is a chance. I let rip, sprinting for the line not looking at the road just my watch thinking im going to do it, I increased the pace for the last 50m my eyes now focused on the electronic timer, 20m to go 5secs to do it in, I crossed the line exhausted in a time of 1.29.58 (89.58) a massive PB of over 7 minutes and my dream goal of Sub 90. I knew I did it but I checked after the presentations if it was 58 or59 secs and it was 58 secs. Two PB's in a week, I cant believe that, hard to top this one.
To top things off I came away with a shiny silver medal, stepping up from the bronze a month earlier.
Congratulations also to Clairie who had an amazing morning placing in the overall female standings and first in her age group. Oh yeah a massive PB to boot :) Tesso had an awesome run also claiming a gold medal for her age. By the way cheers for the encouragement it certainly helps and very appreciated.
Thanks again to my wife Cassy, it is always great to have you there.
It was a shame that we had to get depart early, Cas had to work so we left not long after the presentations, it would have been nice to remain in the city and celebrate the morning with a massive greasy breakfast. Maybe next time
Peace Out!
Saturday, March 11, 2006
The Calm before the Storm!
WEEK - 37K
MONTH - 52K
YTD - 269K
Today I woke up late which was a wonderful feeling. It is my first day off in almost two weeks which may not sound like much to most people but I really need my weekends. After two complete days of rest I knew that today I had to get out there and turn the legs over before the 1/2 tomorrow.
It wasn't until 6pm that I got my act together and went for a jog. 5min/k pace for 5k was the plan and that is exactly what happened. Nice and easy, the legs felt good and the weather was awesome. Not much else to say beside the fact that Im bit unsure on how the run tomorrow will pan out. I dont have a race plan and I have been trying to figure out what I should do.
As stated in my last post, 97 mins is my PB, 95 mins is my goal and my dream is Sub 90 min. I dont know if I should go hard and try and stick on the sub 90 pace which is 4.15/k and just try and hang on or ease up stick on the 95 pace 4.30/k and then try and increase for the latter stages of the run. My other option is forget about it all, just run on how I feel, if Im tired slow down and if Im feeling great then keep the pace up.
Well enough worrying about it, I forgot to mention that I am also running in the Brisbane Half in which the ADF State Teams 1/2 Marathon champs are being run in conjunction with this event. You enter the race competing for the State that you enlisted in, So go the Blues I'll be obviously running for the mighty NSW Team, however I must keep this quiet seeing that I have resided in the Toad territory for the past 6 years :)
MONTH - 52K
YTD - 269K
Today I woke up late which was a wonderful feeling. It is my first day off in almost two weeks which may not sound like much to most people but I really need my weekends. After two complete days of rest I knew that today I had to get out there and turn the legs over before the 1/2 tomorrow.
It wasn't until 6pm that I got my act together and went for a jog. 5min/k pace for 5k was the plan and that is exactly what happened. Nice and easy, the legs felt good and the weather was awesome. Not much else to say beside the fact that Im bit unsure on how the run tomorrow will pan out. I dont have a race plan and I have been trying to figure out what I should do.
As stated in my last post, 97 mins is my PB, 95 mins is my goal and my dream is Sub 90 min. I dont know if I should go hard and try and stick on the sub 90 pace which is 4.15/k and just try and hang on or ease up stick on the 95 pace 4.30/k and then try and increase for the latter stages of the run. My other option is forget about it all, just run on how I feel, if Im tired slow down and if Im feeling great then keep the pace up.
Well enough worrying about it, I forgot to mention that I am also running in the Brisbane Half in which the ADF State Teams 1/2 Marathon champs are being run in conjunction with this event. You enter the race competing for the State that you enlisted in, So go the Blues I'll be obviously running for the mighty NSW Team, however I must keep this quiet seeing that I have resided in the Toad territory for the past 6 years :)
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Mid week long run
WEEK - 32k
MONTH - 47k
YTD - 264k
Wednesday mornings at work are dedicated to your sport training in preparation for the race or competition that is conducted the following day. My sport is Triathlon however no other training takes place other than running and the occasional ride. In saying that I must remember to change my goals for the year that are stated in my profile, I think that the Noosa Tri goal wont happen this year, I need to much work on my swim and with my new family addition due in May I think I will dedicate my small amount of time to running.
Getting back to the training, I arrived at work early knowing that some of my work mates were doing remedial training and fitness testing. While they were doing the push up and sit up element I went for a slow 3k run arriving back just in time to pace for the 2.4k run. I was helping the same person as a couple of days ago and between that day and the test yesterday he has been doing some runs during his lunch time. This showed as he improved by 15 secs for the run leg and completed it in 10.50 which was an excellent result for him.
The time was 7.30 by this stage which is the official start of the work day, Triathlon training, I decided to continue of for another 4.6 k to round the morning out to 10k, the sun was out in force by this stage and was getting very hot so I was glad that I had started a little earlier. Overall the 10k was completed in 4.30 pace but in very irregular fashion alot of stoppages but 10k nonetheless.
Last night saw me arrive at Phils group for the Wednesday night run, it was very quite probably half the usual attendance due to the amount of races on this weekend, 6ft, Bribie Tri etc. I decided to drop a group down and take it easier for the night. The group was quite big which could only mean that the other groups were very small. Phils plan was to run about 75 mins, the pace was steady for the majority of the run with some sections like the hills people ran a little harder.
The last k I decided to increase the pace and left the group just to stride out a little and get the heaviness from my legs. By the end the group ended up running close to 80 mins and a total of about 14k.
Today was a rest day, I decided not to do my Triathlon at work or go to Thursday track, tomorrow will be the same another rest day. I think Satrurday will see me do a slow lap around the block maybe around 5k just to get the legs working for the 1/2 on Sunday.
Sunday will see me enter my 3rd individual 1/2, 4th if Im counting Warwick. My realistic goal is 95min my dream goal is 89.59 min, however anything under 97 mins PB (Warwick) will be great.
MONTH - 47k
YTD - 264k
Wednesday mornings at work are dedicated to your sport training in preparation for the race or competition that is conducted the following day. My sport is Triathlon however no other training takes place other than running and the occasional ride. In saying that I must remember to change my goals for the year that are stated in my profile, I think that the Noosa Tri goal wont happen this year, I need to much work on my swim and with my new family addition due in May I think I will dedicate my small amount of time to running.
Getting back to the training, I arrived at work early knowing that some of my work mates were doing remedial training and fitness testing. While they were doing the push up and sit up element I went for a slow 3k run arriving back just in time to pace for the 2.4k run. I was helping the same person as a couple of days ago and between that day and the test yesterday he has been doing some runs during his lunch time. This showed as he improved by 15 secs for the run leg and completed it in 10.50 which was an excellent result for him.
The time was 7.30 by this stage which is the official start of the work day, Triathlon training, I decided to continue of for another 4.6 k to round the morning out to 10k, the sun was out in force by this stage and was getting very hot so I was glad that I had started a little earlier. Overall the 10k was completed in 4.30 pace but in very irregular fashion alot of stoppages but 10k nonetheless.
Last night saw me arrive at Phils group for the Wednesday night run, it was very quite probably half the usual attendance due to the amount of races on this weekend, 6ft, Bribie Tri etc. I decided to drop a group down and take it easier for the night. The group was quite big which could only mean that the other groups were very small. Phils plan was to run about 75 mins, the pace was steady for the majority of the run with some sections like the hills people ran a little harder.
The last k I decided to increase the pace and left the group just to stride out a little and get the heaviness from my legs. By the end the group ended up running close to 80 mins and a total of about 14k.
Today was a rest day, I decided not to do my Triathlon at work or go to Thursday track, tomorrow will be the same another rest day. I think Satrurday will see me do a slow lap around the block maybe around 5k just to get the legs working for the 1/2 on Sunday.
Sunday will see me enter my 3rd individual 1/2, 4th if Im counting Warwick. My realistic goal is 95min my dream goal is 89.59 min, however anything under 97 mins PB (Warwick) will be great.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
A Looong Time Between Drinks
WEEK - 8K
MONTH - 23K
YTD - 240K
The day began at 4.20 am where I woke up feeling pretty excited and a bit nervous. This morning was my first run with the Pat Carroll group and on the schedule was the 3k TT. I had most things organised for work the night before so all I had to do was wake up and have some breakfast. I left fairly early as I dont know the city that well especially the south side, which turned out to be a good call. I ended up getting a little lost, unsure of the exact location of the start area, The Ship Inn. I eventually found it about 5 minutes before the start of the warm up.
I arrived the same time as Tesso and Clairie who introduced me to Pat, we hung around for a bit before heading off to West end which is the start of the TT. I carried out some stretches before Pat arrived who then began barking orders to begin some stride throughs. I am usually the one who pays off warm ups, however I do run and feel better when I have completed one. This morning I was certainly warm, the sweat was dripping off me quite a bit.
Before we headed off Pat introduced the newbies to the group myself included and also informed us of some of people who were acting as pacers. There were about 4 pace groups one for 13.30 another for 12.50 then 11.50 so Pat decided he was make things simple and said he was pacing for 10.50.
The aim today was to run under 11.15, I haven't ran this distance under race conditions for a few years so I was unsure what I would be able to do, so 3.45 per Km sounded good. The course is a 1k out a 1k back and then out again. Out and back courses always play with my mind, the fact that you know exactly what you have left is an obstacle in itself.
The start of the run was great, no-one got in my way and I had a clear run, too clear and to my suprise there were only about 7 people in front of me. I maintained this pace and felt good but still expecting a heap of people to pass me. One thing that scared me was that Pat was one person who was not in front of me, that meant only one thing, I'm an idiot and running some ridiculous pace that will end any minute now. The 1k turn around came quickly I glanced at the watch and saw 3.29. I was still feeling fresh so I kept going, by the 1500m mark I started to struggle a little which was the point where the 10.50 group passed me, however it was more like Pat and one other. I stuck right on his shoulder and reached the turned around for the last Km in 7.11 definetly a slower one 3.41.
I was feeling tired but certain that the 11.15 would be achieved, I remained on Pats shoulder, I have a tendency to let people go only to regret it later so I tried to stay with him. I thing I noticed was that throughout I was struggling to breathe while Pat who is a metre in front of me screaming out words of encouragement to people in the group, what a great motivator. At the 2.5k mark I started to get my second wind and noticed that the pace had stepped up a little, I was feeling smooth and very happy with the way I was going, a guy from beind me came sprinting past and I was thinking he was going a little early only to look up and see the finish line was all of 100m in front of me. I stepped the pace up a bit to finish off strong, the best I have felt for a long time.
When I crossed the line a time was read out, a time that I couldn't believe. 10.38 a PB (3.27 last km), not sure by how much but I cant remember breaking 11 mins before so at least 22 secs. I was so suprised, I haven't ran a PB for years it has been a long time between drinks and I am so glad I made it there this morning.
Also congratulations to Clairie and Allyson who also had awesome runs and gained PB's for their efforts.
I hope to make this a monthly ritual, not getting PB's, though it would be great, but making it for the TT, Im sure the boss want have a problem with it.
MONTH - 23K
YTD - 240K
The day began at 4.20 am where I woke up feeling pretty excited and a bit nervous. This morning was my first run with the Pat Carroll group and on the schedule was the 3k TT. I had most things organised for work the night before so all I had to do was wake up and have some breakfast. I left fairly early as I dont know the city that well especially the south side, which turned out to be a good call. I ended up getting a little lost, unsure of the exact location of the start area, The Ship Inn. I eventually found it about 5 minutes before the start of the warm up.
I arrived the same time as Tesso and Clairie who introduced me to Pat, we hung around for a bit before heading off to West end which is the start of the TT. I carried out some stretches before Pat arrived who then began barking orders to begin some stride throughs. I am usually the one who pays off warm ups, however I do run and feel better when I have completed one. This morning I was certainly warm, the sweat was dripping off me quite a bit.
Before we headed off Pat introduced the newbies to the group myself included and also informed us of some of people who were acting as pacers. There were about 4 pace groups one for 13.30 another for 12.50 then 11.50 so Pat decided he was make things simple and said he was pacing for 10.50.
The aim today was to run under 11.15, I haven't ran this distance under race conditions for a few years so I was unsure what I would be able to do, so 3.45 per Km sounded good. The course is a 1k out a 1k back and then out again. Out and back courses always play with my mind, the fact that you know exactly what you have left is an obstacle in itself.
The start of the run was great, no-one got in my way and I had a clear run, too clear and to my suprise there were only about 7 people in front of me. I maintained this pace and felt good but still expecting a heap of people to pass me. One thing that scared me was that Pat was one person who was not in front of me, that meant only one thing, I'm an idiot and running some ridiculous pace that will end any minute now. The 1k turn around came quickly I glanced at the watch and saw 3.29. I was still feeling fresh so I kept going, by the 1500m mark I started to struggle a little which was the point where the 10.50 group passed me, however it was more like Pat and one other. I stuck right on his shoulder and reached the turned around for the last Km in 7.11 definetly a slower one 3.41.
I was feeling tired but certain that the 11.15 would be achieved, I remained on Pats shoulder, I have a tendency to let people go only to regret it later so I tried to stay with him. I thing I noticed was that throughout I was struggling to breathe while Pat who is a metre in front of me screaming out words of encouragement to people in the group, what a great motivator. At the 2.5k mark I started to get my second wind and noticed that the pace had stepped up a little, I was feeling smooth and very happy with the way I was going, a guy from beind me came sprinting past and I was thinking he was going a little early only to look up and see the finish line was all of 100m in front of me. I stepped the pace up a bit to finish off strong, the best I have felt for a long time.
When I crossed the line a time was read out, a time that I couldn't believe. 10.38 a PB (3.27 last km), not sure by how much but I cant remember breaking 11 mins before so at least 22 secs. I was so suprised, I haven't ran a PB for years it has been a long time between drinks and I am so glad I made it there this morning.
Also congratulations to Clairie and Allyson who also had awesome runs and gained PB's for their efforts.
I hope to make this a monthly ritual, not getting PB's, though it would be great, but making it for the TT, Im sure the boss want have a problem with it.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Helping out
WEEK - 5k
MONTH - 20k
YTD - 237k
I am glad to announce that my boss is allowing me to go to work a little late if need be, therefore I am able to give the Pat Carroll run group a go and have a crack at the 3k TT.
Today schedule for work PT was a small interval session. The course was set out on very lush spongy lawn, you could hardly feel the impact but it was like sand pretty tough to get any sort of pace happening. The session went for about 20 mins which was done at a very high intensity, the course would have been all of about 300m max with a 100m walking recovery, we done this about ten times. After the session we played a bit of touch footy to cheer everyone up that hates running.
A fellow work mate of mine is having a bit of trouble passing his fitness test and was contemplating going for a run at lunch time, however as time went on his motivation was diminishing rapidly so I offered to go with him. We decided that we would run the 2.4k track that he will be assessed on. I worked out the 400m splits he needs to achieve and off we went. I told him to stay with me and get a feel for the speed that he needs to run. To pass he has to get under 11.18 which is 1.53 per 400m. The course is realtively flat with a gradual incline in the middle that continues for about 400m. We got to the 1200m mark in a time of 5.16 and going well, the next 400m was a little slower but we were still ahead of time, we crossed the 1600m mark in 7.11. The last 800m was a struggle for him but I just kept reassuring him, we had just over 4 mins to run the 800m, we ended up crossing with 13 secs to spare in a time of 11.05. Too bad this didn't count as the test but he has improved 10 secs in a week and a half. He still has around a month before he is reassessed, so I think he will have no problems if he continues with some extra training.
Tonight my legs are a little tired and I also have some slight muscle soreness which is wierd, I would have ran just over 5k today but the fact that it was a sprint type interval session on soft grass really worked my legs over. I need to go have a feed and have an early night it is going to be an early one to get to the TT, somewhere in the vicinity of 4.15 - 4.30 am. YUK! The things we do.
MONTH - 20k
YTD - 237k
I am glad to announce that my boss is allowing me to go to work a little late if need be, therefore I am able to give the Pat Carroll run group a go and have a crack at the 3k TT.
Today schedule for work PT was a small interval session. The course was set out on very lush spongy lawn, you could hardly feel the impact but it was like sand pretty tough to get any sort of pace happening. The session went for about 20 mins which was done at a very high intensity, the course would have been all of about 300m max with a 100m walking recovery, we done this about ten times. After the session we played a bit of touch footy to cheer everyone up that hates running.
A fellow work mate of mine is having a bit of trouble passing his fitness test and was contemplating going for a run at lunch time, however as time went on his motivation was diminishing rapidly so I offered to go with him. We decided that we would run the 2.4k track that he will be assessed on. I worked out the 400m splits he needs to achieve and off we went. I told him to stay with me and get a feel for the speed that he needs to run. To pass he has to get under 11.18 which is 1.53 per 400m. The course is realtively flat with a gradual incline in the middle that continues for about 400m. We got to the 1200m mark in a time of 5.16 and going well, the next 400m was a little slower but we were still ahead of time, we crossed the 1600m mark in 7.11. The last 800m was a struggle for him but I just kept reassuring him, we had just over 4 mins to run the 800m, we ended up crossing with 13 secs to spare in a time of 11.05. Too bad this didn't count as the test but he has improved 10 secs in a week and a half. He still has around a month before he is reassessed, so I think he will have no problems if he continues with some extra training.
Tonight my legs are a little tired and I also have some slight muscle soreness which is wierd, I would have ran just over 5k today but the fact that it was a sprint type interval session on soft grass really worked my legs over. I need to go have a feed and have an early night it is going to be an early one to get to the TT, somewhere in the vicinity of 4.15 - 4.30 am. YUK! The things we do.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Unplanned 15k
WEEK - 33.6K
MONTH - 15K
YTD - 232K
Go Girl asked in my last post if I am in the Military, so I will answer this before I begin.
Yes, I am an Electrical Fitter in the Army, I enlisted after completing about a year of study at Uni in 1998.
Leading on from this, I have arrived back from exercise a little early due to the bad weather, which I was quite happy about. Although I still have to work all weekend it is still a whole lot better than sleeping under the stars in the rain. It also meant I could squeeze in another training run before the end of the week which I desperatley need.
Last night I went to the Qld Academy of Sport to watch the Telstra A series Athletics meet. It was a good night apart from the cool weather and rain. Some pretty impressive times were achieved in horrible running conditions. I also saw two competitors that I used to run with years ago. Cheryl Webb and Michelle French, these two are both walkers, Cheryl is competing in the 20k walk at the Commonwealth games and Michelle is part of the AIS walking squad. I used to run with them during the winter season of Athletics when I was at school in Penrith, NSW. It is great to see that they have done so well.
Toady after getting home from work I was damn tired. I decided to have a little power kip for about 45 mins and got up just after 5pm. I had to go for a run, this week has been pretty dismal in regards to training. I suited up and decided to take the small camel back that I haven't used for a while. I only put half the amount of water in it so it didn't bounce around so much. At 5.30 I set off, the plan was to run 15k with no time constraints. The weather was cool and on some parts of the run the head wind was strong. I felt great the whole way, didn't stop at all besides the occasional traffic light. It is so much better carrying water, the camel back was awesome so I must endeavour to take this more often. I finshed off the run very strongly with a 4min last k which felt easy, overall the the 15K took 73.02.
I hope my training goes this well for the week coming, I might be able to lower my 1/2 marathon time, Sunday week. I am also going to see if I can start work a little later on Tuesday, I want to do the 3K TT with Pat's group. I haven't run this distance for a long time and would love to get under 11 mins, but I think that is a bit of a dream. I will talk to the boss tomorrow.
MONTH - 15K
YTD - 232K
Go Girl asked in my last post if I am in the Military, so I will answer this before I begin.
Yes, I am an Electrical Fitter in the Army, I enlisted after completing about a year of study at Uni in 1998.
Leading on from this, I have arrived back from exercise a little early due to the bad weather, which I was quite happy about. Although I still have to work all weekend it is still a whole lot better than sleeping under the stars in the rain. It also meant I could squeeze in another training run before the end of the week which I desperatley need.
Last night I went to the Qld Academy of Sport to watch the Telstra A series Athletics meet. It was a good night apart from the cool weather and rain. Some pretty impressive times were achieved in horrible running conditions. I also saw two competitors that I used to run with years ago. Cheryl Webb and Michelle French, these two are both walkers, Cheryl is competing in the 20k walk at the Commonwealth games and Michelle is part of the AIS walking squad. I used to run with them during the winter season of Athletics when I was at school in Penrith, NSW. It is great to see that they have done so well.
Toady after getting home from work I was damn tired. I decided to have a little power kip for about 45 mins and got up just after 5pm. I had to go for a run, this week has been pretty dismal in regards to training. I suited up and decided to take the small camel back that I haven't used for a while. I only put half the amount of water in it so it didn't bounce around so much. At 5.30 I set off, the plan was to run 15k with no time constraints. The weather was cool and on some parts of the run the head wind was strong. I felt great the whole way, didn't stop at all besides the occasional traffic light. It is so much better carrying water, the camel back was awesome so I must endeavour to take this more often. I finshed off the run very strongly with a 4min last k which felt easy, overall the the 15K took 73.02.
I hope my training goes this well for the week coming, I might be able to lower my 1/2 marathon time, Sunday week. I am also going to see if I can start work a little later on Tuesday, I want to do the 3K TT with Pat's group. I haven't run this distance for a long time and would love to get under 11 mins, but I think that is a bit of a dream. I will talk to the boss tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
I've turned soft
WEEK - 18.6K
FEB/MAR - 139K/0K
YTD - 217K
Well as some of you may know I didn't get to the run on Sunday. I met up with a few mates that I went through trade school with on Saturday night one of which was his birthday. I haven't seen them for some years and after a few drinks I ended the night at about 3 am. I woke up feeling ordinary to say the least about 4 hrs after the race would had finished. Looking back it was a good night but I should have cut it short and went home alot earlier. Ahh well!
Feeling a bit flat on Monday I dragged my sorry butt out the door for a romp around the block. After about a Km I started getting a stitch which gradually got worse and at the 2k mark I had to stop for a few minutes. I dont usually get stitches and this was a bit of a shock, it was pretty bad and it felt like it was tearing my insides apart. I started running again a few minutes later after the pain subsided but the insides didn't feel the same for the remainder of the run. The afternoon was quite humid, alot of rain has been falling in the area for a while now which hasn't help things. Before I stepped off I set up the virtual runner on the garmin which I haven't used before, I found it quite good I set it for 10K and 45mins, I ended being something like 230m ahead of the little man and completed the 10k in just under 44mins.
Yesterday my aim after work was to do the same run, 10k, I started off better, no stitch but the site where it affected was quite tender, it must be like having a muscular cramp on the inside. I was running a quicker pace and by the 5k mark the time was a little over 21 mins. I was feeling good but the daylight was fading fast, the clouds were very black and by the 8 k mark I decided to call it a day and took the shorter way home. I wasn't worried about the rain but I didn't feel like messing around with lightning. I finished the run at 8.6 k in around 37 mins.
Im going away on exercise for a few days, so pretty much the previous two days have been my weeks training. I pretty chuffed that this hasn't coincided with any of the club races, however I will now have had two consecutive weeks of ordinary mileage certainly not a great lead up to the BRRC Half Marathon Champs on the 12th. Anyway have fun, I know I will be...not!
FEB/MAR - 139K/0K
YTD - 217K
Well as some of you may know I didn't get to the run on Sunday. I met up with a few mates that I went through trade school with on Saturday night one of which was his birthday. I haven't seen them for some years and after a few drinks I ended the night at about 3 am. I woke up feeling ordinary to say the least about 4 hrs after the race would had finished. Looking back it was a good night but I should have cut it short and went home alot earlier. Ahh well!
Feeling a bit flat on Monday I dragged my sorry butt out the door for a romp around the block. After about a Km I started getting a stitch which gradually got worse and at the 2k mark I had to stop for a few minutes. I dont usually get stitches and this was a bit of a shock, it was pretty bad and it felt like it was tearing my insides apart. I started running again a few minutes later after the pain subsided but the insides didn't feel the same for the remainder of the run. The afternoon was quite humid, alot of rain has been falling in the area for a while now which hasn't help things. Before I stepped off I set up the virtual runner on the garmin which I haven't used before, I found it quite good I set it for 10K and 45mins, I ended being something like 230m ahead of the little man and completed the 10k in just under 44mins.
Yesterday my aim after work was to do the same run, 10k, I started off better, no stitch but the site where it affected was quite tender, it must be like having a muscular cramp on the inside. I was running a quicker pace and by the 5k mark the time was a little over 21 mins. I was feeling good but the daylight was fading fast, the clouds were very black and by the 8 k mark I decided to call it a day and took the shorter way home. I wasn't worried about the rain but I didn't feel like messing around with lightning. I finished the run at 8.6 k in around 37 mins.
Im going away on exercise for a few days, so pretty much the previous two days have been my weeks training. I pretty chuffed that this hasn't coincided with any of the club races, however I will now have had two consecutive weeks of ordinary mileage certainly not a great lead up to the BRRC Half Marathon Champs on the 12th. Anyway have fun, I know I will be...not!
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