Week - 31k
Month - 128.5k
YTD - 1203k
Well for this year anyway :-)
Life has been quite hectic lately with family and the like so this a belated recap of the Mt Nebo Fatass event.
Wednesday the 27 Dec, the annual Mt Nebo Fatass event took place again thanks to CR's Fatbloke. In it's 3rd year about 20 of us rocked up bright and early. This was my first ever Fatass event and I must say that it was a great day. I saw some familiar faces and met some new people which is always good.
5 am came around and we all took off in a gaggle, the pace was slow by all but it didn't take long for the speedys to step it up and take off. This left Tesso, Mat and myself amongst a few others who ploddered along at the back.
The day was perfect for running, overcast, slight drizzle of rain and a light breeze. I knew it was a tough track and now that I have done it, I think I would have been in the hurt locker if the sun was out.
The pace was very casual which was helped by the fact that I don't think there was a flat section on the entire course. The company was great with plenty of conversation happening for the entire day.
At around the 14k mark we had a decision to make either turn around or keep running. The problem with continuing on was the transport factor. Our cars are left at the bottom and so it is a bit of a gamble to run to the top knowing that you may not be able to get a seat in someones car.
Anyway we decided to continue on which I am glad we did, it nice finishing an event and catching up with those who were ahead or behind you. It also good for a laugh when people get lost and hearing their excuses.
By the 2 hr mark my legs where starting to become tight, especially my hip flexors. Due to the terrain being so tough it is more of a shuffle than a jog so after a quick stretch and getting onto the last bitumen section I got to stride out and the legs felt good again.
We reached the Cafe and got a bite to eat after about 2.30 and around 23km. After sitting around for 10 minutes or so most people had arrived at the shop. Not long after many were either leaving in their cars or setting off for the return leg keen to get home and relax.
I hung around for a little longer, there was not many spare seats left so I rang Cass up who was fortunately at Arana Hills to come and pick me up. I left a few people at the Cafe and set off for another 3k jaunt down the road to meet Cass at Jollys lookout.
In total close to 26km for the day, by the time I got picked up I was pretty cold and was glad to be in a car heading home for nice hot shower and a rest.
It was a great day and thanks to Tesso and Mat for the company, I will certainly be putting this run in the calender for 07.
Happy new year :-)
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
BRRC Christmas Eve 10k
Week - 10k
Month - 97.5k
YTD - 1172k
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Brisbane bunged on a cracker of a morning with perfect weather for the last road runners event of the year. On the program was a 10k or a 5k run starting at 6 am or 6.30 am respectively.
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Some of the family came down for a look with Fiona (BIL's fiance) wanting to do some training herself. Not quite up to the distances on offer we had organised that she would join me on my second lap for 2k.
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At the start line Tesso introduced me to a fellow blogger who was visiting from the ACT, Tuggeranong Don. I don't tend to meet alot of interstate bloggers/runners so it was nice to meet him.
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Not long after, the race was about to begin. My plan was to have a solid run but not an all out effort. I decided on around half marathon pace rounding it up to make a nice even figure of 4.20/k. This would equate to a 43.20 run. I have the Mt Nebo Fatass event on Wednesday so this would be a good hitout before then.
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I felt great the entire run and was consistantly clocking splits well under my planned time. Usually I would have been concerned about this but my breathing and legs were coping easy.
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I completed the first lap (5k) in a tad over 21 minutes. Fiona was waiting for me just past the start finish line so I grabbed a drink and then headed off with her for the planned 2k.
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I eased up on the pace, however was later told that I still ran too quick for her. Sorry Fi. She said that she was right to continue on her own and allowed me to take off at about the 1k mark.
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By this stage a few people had caught up which gave me someone to run with. This included Tuggeranong Don who was picking up the pace quite abit for the last lap.
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I probably shouldn't have but I ran with him for a few km before upping the pace again with 2k to go. I didn't check my splits for the last 3k but I am guessing they would have been at or under 4 min/k pace.
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I ended up crossing the line in 42.29, so thanks to Tuggeranong Don for keeping me honest. I was pretty happy with todays effort.
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I had a chat with him after the race before heading back home for some yummy cooked breakfast.
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I am now looking forward although a little nervous to Wednesday, probably going to be my toughest run to date.
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In the mean time I think some upper body activities are in order to celebrate the festive season. Perfect!
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Merry Christmas everyone!
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Oh and if you wondering why there are full stops everywhere, for some reason blogger wouldn't let me have a space between the paragraphs. Maybe the pic has something to do with that.
Friday, December 22, 2006
1 hour local run
This afternoon I was wrecked, and said to Cass that I was going to have a 1/2 hour power nap. Two hours later I woke up feeling pretty ordinary, a slight headache and probably a little dehydrated.
I started to come good after another 1/2 hour after some fluid and decided to go for my planned run. A lot later than usual but perfect weather.
No plans to run a set distance just spend 1hr out there around the streets. I visited alot of parks, aswell as the running track just to keep on the softer stuff for a change.
I felt pretty good and got back home just before it got too dark. I ended up completing 12.16km in the hour so just under 5min/k pace.
Some of the family arrive tonight so tomorrow will more than likely be a run free day or just a shorty. BRRC 10k run on Sunday the last event of the year so I might try and drag some of the rellies down for a jog bright and early along the Brissie river.
I started to come good after another 1/2 hour after some fluid and decided to go for my planned run. A lot later than usual but perfect weather.
No plans to run a set distance just spend 1hr out there around the streets. I visited alot of parks, aswell as the running track just to keep on the softer stuff for a change.
I felt pretty good and got back home just before it got too dark. I ended up completing 12.16km in the hour so just under 5min/k pace.
Some of the family arrive tonight so tomorrow will more than likely be a run free day or just a shorty. BRRC 10k run on Sunday the last event of the year so I might try and drag some of the rellies down for a jog bright and early along the Brissie river.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
I am now on.................
Holidays :-))))
I couldn't stand being at work doing bugger all for the remainder of the week, so yesterday I decided to put in for some more leave to begin my Xmas break today, instead of Friday. Yippee! I am not due back to work until the 10 jan 07 :-)
This morning Sam didn't care that his Dad was now on holidays, he was up at 5am all bright and chirpy. I should use this time more wisely and go for a run with the pram, but I find it hard to become motivated that early.
Instead I just let him crawl all over me for about an hour before he decided to have another sleep.
It was all steam ahead at the household today in preparation for the family & friends coming for the Xmas period. The day was chewed up with cleaning and last minute Xmas shopping. At about 5pm when Cass was leaving for work Sam and I headed out for a casual run.
Nothing special about this run, just around the local area. I ran a different route which was a bad decision especially having the pram. The terrain was a little rough at times however Sam didn't seem to mind. I did slow to a walk on some sections where the footpath seemed to disappear.
I also noticed that every second car seems to stare at me when I run with the pram. It makes me paranoid like I am doing something wrong.
Anyway all up we ran 7km at a nice casual pace finishing in 37 mins.
Week - 17k
Month - 75.5k
YTD - 1150k
I have just realsied that I have only 50k to crack 1200 for the year. I guess this is my last goal for 2006, I have 10 days left, shouldn't be too hard if I get to next weeks Fatass event.
I couldn't stand being at work doing bugger all for the remainder of the week, so yesterday I decided to put in for some more leave to begin my Xmas break today, instead of Friday. Yippee! I am not due back to work until the 10 jan 07 :-)
This morning Sam didn't care that his Dad was now on holidays, he was up at 5am all bright and chirpy. I should use this time more wisely and go for a run with the pram, but I find it hard to become motivated that early.
Instead I just let him crawl all over me for about an hour before he decided to have another sleep.
It was all steam ahead at the household today in preparation for the family & friends coming for the Xmas period. The day was chewed up with cleaning and last minute Xmas shopping. At about 5pm when Cass was leaving for work Sam and I headed out for a casual run.
Nothing special about this run, just around the local area. I ran a different route which was a bad decision especially having the pram. The terrain was a little rough at times however Sam didn't seem to mind. I did slow to a walk on some sections where the footpath seemed to disappear.
I also noticed that every second car seems to stare at me when I run with the pram. It makes me paranoid like I am doing something wrong.
Anyway all up we ran 7km at a nice casual pace finishing in 37 mins.
Week - 17k
Month - 75.5k
YTD - 1150k
I have just realsied that I have only 50k to crack 1200 for the year. I guess this is my last goal for 2006, I have 10 days left, shouldn't be too hard if I get to next weeks Fatass event.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
3 x 3000m Track session
I am the type of person who prefers training in the afternoons, especially if it is a solo run. Yesterday was no different, I didn't end up getting the running buddies Regatta session as Cass had a late one at work the night before. It wouldn't have been fair if I up and left at 5am in the morning for her to look after Samuel.
I waited until around 4.30pm before I began to get ready for a run. Just as I was getting my gear together a huge crack of thunder sounded. I looked outside for one of the few times I did that day and noticed the sky was black as and the wind was picking up. Great! I wasn't going out running during a storm, I had already been caught in one a few weeks ago at Mt Coot-tha which wasn't too pleasant.
So there went another day without a training session.
This morning I woke up with all intentions of doing a tough session. My legs had gotten over the shock of the PT sessions a few days ago and I was keen to get out there. The day was overcast however it didn't look as though it was going to storm so I decided to do my session at the preferred time.
4.30pm I left on the pushy and rode to the local 400m grass track. The plan was to run 3 x 3k runs with 10mins recovery between each. I wanted to punish myself for being slack and thought this would be a perfect session to do it.
I had 2 goals in mind, one tough one which I had talked myself out of before I got there and one that wouldn't be to bad. The 1st goal was to run all 3 under 12mins and the 2nd goal was to run under 12, 12.15, 12.30.
When I arrived at the track, I done a thorough warm up with heaps of stretching and even done some strides. I felt good and thought bugger it I am going for the the A goal of all sub 12mins.
The weather was a bit cool to begin with but throughout the session it was almost perfect. A minor headwind on the corners of the track but nothing major.
I set off for the 1st set and realised after the 1st lap that I began at the 400m mark instead of the 200m mark. Not a major problem just that I will finish the 3000m at the 200m mark. I felt good for the majority of the set however towards the end I was pushing a little harder than I would have liked to maintain the same splits. By the end I was puffing pretty hard and knew I was in for a tough day.
The 10 mins went suprisingly slow and I had caught my breath and had time for some stretching and a quick jog. I was a bit sceptical as to how hard I would be able to go. I set off for the 2nd set and felt a little heavy in the legs at first. This eased up quite quickly and was very happy with the way I was feeling. I began in the right spot this time and was under 12 min pace at the first km, the 2nd km I was right on 8mins however I wasn't too concerned and picked the pace up for the next. I finished quite strong and actually felt better at the end of this one.
10 mins later.....
The last set, again the legs felt a little heavy and the mouth was a bit dry. I didn't want to drink too much water in case I got a stitch. I was really concentrating on pacing myself for this one, I was just waiting for my body to say that's it I have had enough and fade but it never happened. I felt great and was easily remaining under pace running very consistant splits. My legs felt better and better, just turning over quite nicely. The last lap I felt like I was pushing a bit harder however my split doesn't really show that. I was glad to finish in what was a tough yet very satisfying session.
I haven't done a crazy session like this for sometime so it was good to see where I am at for the shorter stuff. My calves were a little tight after the run however the slow ride back home was a good cool down and I feel sweet now. I also achieved my goal of 3 sub 12 min 3000m :-)
****3km SPLITS****
(1)............ (2)............ (3)............
1.30........... 42............. 42.............
1.32........... 1.35........... 1.32...........
1.33........... 1.37........... 1.34...........
1.32........... 1.38........... 1.35...........
1.32........... 1.37........... 1.36...........
1.33........... 1.34........... 1.35...........
1.34........... 1.34........... 1.36...........
47............. 1.31........... 1.35...........
11.38.......... 11.52.......... 11.48...........
I waited until around 4.30pm before I began to get ready for a run. Just as I was getting my gear together a huge crack of thunder sounded. I looked outside for one of the few times I did that day and noticed the sky was black as and the wind was picking up. Great! I wasn't going out running during a storm, I had already been caught in one a few weeks ago at Mt Coot-tha which wasn't too pleasant.
So there went another day without a training session.
This morning I woke up with all intentions of doing a tough session. My legs had gotten over the shock of the PT sessions a few days ago and I was keen to get out there. The day was overcast however it didn't look as though it was going to storm so I decided to do my session at the preferred time.
4.30pm I left on the pushy and rode to the local 400m grass track. The plan was to run 3 x 3k runs with 10mins recovery between each. I wanted to punish myself for being slack and thought this would be a perfect session to do it.
I had 2 goals in mind, one tough one which I had talked myself out of before I got there and one that wouldn't be to bad. The 1st goal was to run all 3 under 12mins and the 2nd goal was to run under 12, 12.15, 12.30.
When I arrived at the track, I done a thorough warm up with heaps of stretching and even done some strides. I felt good and thought bugger it I am going for the the A goal of all sub 12mins.
The weather was a bit cool to begin with but throughout the session it was almost perfect. A minor headwind on the corners of the track but nothing major.
I set off for the 1st set and realised after the 1st lap that I began at the 400m mark instead of the 200m mark. Not a major problem just that I will finish the 3000m at the 200m mark. I felt good for the majority of the set however towards the end I was pushing a little harder than I would have liked to maintain the same splits. By the end I was puffing pretty hard and knew I was in for a tough day.
The 10 mins went suprisingly slow and I had caught my breath and had time for some stretching and a quick jog. I was a bit sceptical as to how hard I would be able to go. I set off for the 2nd set and felt a little heavy in the legs at first. This eased up quite quickly and was very happy with the way I was feeling. I began in the right spot this time and was under 12 min pace at the first km, the 2nd km I was right on 8mins however I wasn't too concerned and picked the pace up for the next. I finished quite strong and actually felt better at the end of this one.
10 mins later.....
The last set, again the legs felt a little heavy and the mouth was a bit dry. I didn't want to drink too much water in case I got a stitch. I was really concentrating on pacing myself for this one, I was just waiting for my body to say that's it I have had enough and fade but it never happened. I felt great and was easily remaining under pace running very consistant splits. My legs felt better and better, just turning over quite nicely. The last lap I felt like I was pushing a bit harder however my split doesn't really show that. I was glad to finish in what was a tough yet very satisfying session.
I haven't done a crazy session like this for sometime so it was good to see where I am at for the shorter stuff. My calves were a little tight after the run however the slow ride back home was a good cool down and I feel sweet now. I also achieved my goal of 3 sub 12 min 3000m :-)
****3km SPLITS****
(1)............ (2)............ (3)............
1.30........... 42............. 42.............
1.32........... 1.35........... 1.32...........
1.33........... 1.37........... 1.34...........
1.32........... 1.38........... 1.35...........
1.32........... 1.37........... 1.36...........
1.33........... 1.34........... 1.35...........
1.34........... 1.34........... 1.36...........
47............. 1.31........... 1.35...........
11.38.......... 11.52.......... 11.48...........
Friday, December 15, 2006
Back on the Treadly!
I had another run free day today. I am still a little sore and thought that one more day would do me good. This morning I played a few games of doubles squash with some fairly unco blokes from work, it was quite amusing and not too taxing on the body.
After another quiet day at work, we were knocked off at lunch time. Cass was hosting her mothers group Xmas party/lunch which mean't that I couldn't disrupt her to pick me up from work. I had my bike there so I decided to jump on that and ride home.
It was a fairly leisurely ride, there was no requirement for me to rush things, I had 16 mothers and 17 babies in my house at the time ;-) I still however managed to get home in pretty good time of around 50minutes for 23-24km. I hadn't rode my bike for a while and it actually felt good to get the legs working without the impact.
The weather was quite warm however which was probably the only downside to the ride. I will get out tomorrow for my first training run since Sunday. I would like to get over to the Regatta, however Cass is working till Midnight tonight, so I am unsure if she would to tired to do the morning routine for Sam or not. We will see, if not I will cruise around the area for a boring solo effort :-)
After another quiet day at work, we were knocked off at lunch time. Cass was hosting her mothers group Xmas party/lunch which mean't that I couldn't disrupt her to pick me up from work. I had my bike there so I decided to jump on that and ride home.
It was a fairly leisurely ride, there was no requirement for me to rush things, I had 16 mothers and 17 babies in my house at the time ;-) I still however managed to get home in pretty good time of around 50minutes for 23-24km. I hadn't rode my bike for a while and it actually felt good to get the legs working without the impact.
The weather was quite warm however which was probably the only downside to the ride. I will get out tomorrow for my first training run since Sunday. I would like to get over to the Regatta, however Cass is working till Midnight tonight, so I am unsure if she would to tired to do the morning routine for Sam or not. We will see, if not I will cruise around the area for a boring solo effort :-)
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Please Sir no more....
After a few days off work I returned yesterday only to be smashed in probably the hardest PT session of the year. It was a circuit that trashed the whole body. Squats, Lunges push ups, situps, along with heaps of activities involving weights. What tha! we are mean't to be winding down for the festive season.
Well anyway I woke up this morning very sore to say the least. My legs were soooo tender around the groin and quad region that I found it hard to walk without looking like a cowboy from a John Wayne movie.
Arriving at work today I knew the next 1.5 hrs was going to be a struggle. As 90% of the people at work are currently on Xmas leave there is not a great deal of work to be done. So to fill in time we tend to do alot of PT and sporting activities. A tough life I know but this morning I wasn't really feeling like doing much at all.
The PT session ended up being alot easier than yesterday and was helped by the fact that I actually conducted one of the sessions. The soreness did subside a little after the activites and throughout the day but I am still pretty tender.
This afternoon the boss allowed us to go to the pool, just to laze about and cool down. I completed a few laps in hope of feeling a little better, which seemed to work. We spent about an hour there before moving on for the afternoon PT session of volleyball. A nice easy casual game was a perfect way to end the day.
Arriving home, Cass had the whip out and made me mow and whipper snip the lawns, she is a mean nasty women, no sympathy at all :-)
So the last few days have been fairly hectic. Although I haven't done too much running Im hoping that the pain I have inflicted on my body has had a postive effect. I hope to get out for a jog on the weekend.
Well anyway I woke up this morning very sore to say the least. My legs were soooo tender around the groin and quad region that I found it hard to walk without looking like a cowboy from a John Wayne movie.
Arriving at work today I knew the next 1.5 hrs was going to be a struggle. As 90% of the people at work are currently on Xmas leave there is not a great deal of work to be done. So to fill in time we tend to do alot of PT and sporting activities. A tough life I know but this morning I wasn't really feeling like doing much at all.
The PT session ended up being alot easier than yesterday and was helped by the fact that I actually conducted one of the sessions. The soreness did subside a little after the activites and throughout the day but I am still pretty tender.
This afternoon the boss allowed us to go to the pool, just to laze about and cool down. I completed a few laps in hope of feeling a little better, which seemed to work. We spent about an hour there before moving on for the afternoon PT session of volleyball. A nice easy casual game was a perfect way to end the day.
Arriving home, Cass had the whip out and made me mow and whipper snip the lawns, she is a mean nasty women, no sympathy at all :-)
So the last few days have been fairly hectic. Although I haven't done too much running Im hoping that the pain I have inflicted on my body has had a postive effect. I hope to get out for a jog on the weekend.
Monday, December 11, 2006
K2D 2006
Week - 25k
Month - 58.5k
YTD - 1133k
***Warning, quite a long one***
My Kurrawa weekend didn't go exactly to plan and it started to fall to pieces before when even headed down the coast.
On the Friday the day before we were mean't to leave we had a message on our phone saying that the accommodation that we had placed a reservation on was not available over that weekend. The only thing that was available was something that was way too expensive as it was really only to save us from getting up early and driving to the coast from Brisbane on the Sunday.
So Saturday arrived and because we were expecting to be on the coast for the day we had no plans. Basically we hung around the house and veged out. No training took place, as I wanted to feel fresh for the next day.
For some reason we didn't get to bed early at all on Saturday night. There was fire works somewhere close by that were scaring the dogs and Sam was a little grumpy. At around midnight the dogs decided that they would scratch at the door, for what reason I had no idea but I wasn't impressed. I went back to sleep after telling the hounds to shut up (polite version)and within the hour Sam decided he wanted to wake up. When Sam doesn't want to sleep he thinks no-one does either. Cass and I settled him back down and finally got back to bed somewhere around 1-130am. Not too bad really until you know that your alarm is set for 245am
Waking up was a struggle and lucky for me Cass woke up because I didn't even hear the alarm go off. She said she even woke me up twice and I had answered her but I don't even remember that. Anyway 310am I crawled out of bed got dressed and realised that I was going to be pushing it to get to the Gold Coast before the race start.
Lucky for me I was running the second leg and that my partner was more prepared than I. We in fact got there at 450am and when we pulled up there was still a huge number of people registering. In saying that the race was delayed by 35 minutes.
Once the race had started I really had no idea of the course and basically just followed the stream of runners stopping every few k's and helping my partner out with drinks and food. For a person who has never run anywhere near this distance before he was going great. He made the turn around in around 2 hrs 2 to 2 hrs 5mins unsure of the offficial time.
I then set out from Duranbah at approx 7.40am. The run was going great and I was consistantly clocking between 4.30 - 4.50/k. The weather was warm however I really never felt like it was really bothering me that much. I made sure that I was taking enough water and powerade along with my gu and other food.
I passed the 13k mark spot on an hour, I continued to maintain the same pace until about the 16k mark. It was a steady hill that went beside the national park, fairly shady and should have not really been that difficult. This was were the wheels really fell off. I just lost all energy in my legs, I could feel all the liquid and food that I had consumed over the past 1hr 20 or so swishing about in my stomach.
I began to get stomach cramps and was reduced to a walk for a short time. I reached the point a couple of k's before Miami Hill where we had to run up another hill and get our number checked off. By this stage I was hurting pretty bad, my wife and running partner had met me there and gave me another drink and my last bite to eat. I felt better after a short break and began running again. I came good around the 18k mark clocking again around 4.45/k before having another bad episode.
The next 4k saw my splits increase dramatically with two in the high fives and two around 6.30, which included Miami Hill and the stairs. I had told Cass whilst my partner was running that at the bottom of the stairs I would take Sam for the remainder of the race in his pram.
Although I had nothing in the tank, I still took the pram with Sam and ploddered along, I had multiple walk breaks and some uplanned breaks when Sam lost his hat. It was pretty tough, I wanted to go quicker so Sam wasn't in the sun for to long but I just couldn't. He didn't really seem to care though and went to sleep about 5 minutes into the run.
I came up to a marking on the footpath that said 1km, I was hoping that this was for the race I was doing. I continued to follow the path and saw the finish line way up ahead. I then realised that I was not going to get there following the path so it was off the beaten track we went. It was a little on the bumpy side for Sam over the grass however he didn't really wake up until the finish line when those who had finished were cheering everyone in.
I am again unsure of the official time however the Garmin showed 25.2km in 2.06.57 with rest breaks of over two minutes bringing it up to 2.09.05.
Although I was not really interested in what time I did, I was fairly disappointed with how I ran the last 8k. I guess I can't blame anything other than my lack of training which has got me thinking about my plans for next year. I will share this at a later stage.
After the race I felt fairly sick in the stomach, I didn't enjoy the nice food on offer at the BBQ which was a shame. Cass was tired, she had very little to eat as she was helping both myself and my partner out on the course along with looking after Sam who was being a grump, he was starting to get the flu. In saying that we left not long after and headed home, it was unfortunate that we had to but we all felt pretty ordinary by the end of it.
Congrats to everyone out there yesterday, I had a tough one but hopefully everyone else came through it with great results.
Month - 58.5k
YTD - 1133k
***Warning, quite a long one***
My Kurrawa weekend didn't go exactly to plan and it started to fall to pieces before when even headed down the coast.
On the Friday the day before we were mean't to leave we had a message on our phone saying that the accommodation that we had placed a reservation on was not available over that weekend. The only thing that was available was something that was way too expensive as it was really only to save us from getting up early and driving to the coast from Brisbane on the Sunday.
So Saturday arrived and because we were expecting to be on the coast for the day we had no plans. Basically we hung around the house and veged out. No training took place, as I wanted to feel fresh for the next day.
For some reason we didn't get to bed early at all on Saturday night. There was fire works somewhere close by that were scaring the dogs and Sam was a little grumpy. At around midnight the dogs decided that they would scratch at the door, for what reason I had no idea but I wasn't impressed. I went back to sleep after telling the hounds to shut up (polite version)and within the hour Sam decided he wanted to wake up. When Sam doesn't want to sleep he thinks no-one does either. Cass and I settled him back down and finally got back to bed somewhere around 1-130am. Not too bad really until you know that your alarm is set for 245am
Waking up was a struggle and lucky for me Cass woke up because I didn't even hear the alarm go off. She said she even woke me up twice and I had answered her but I don't even remember that. Anyway 310am I crawled out of bed got dressed and realised that I was going to be pushing it to get to the Gold Coast before the race start.
Lucky for me I was running the second leg and that my partner was more prepared than I. We in fact got there at 450am and when we pulled up there was still a huge number of people registering. In saying that the race was delayed by 35 minutes.
Once the race had started I really had no idea of the course and basically just followed the stream of runners stopping every few k's and helping my partner out with drinks and food. For a person who has never run anywhere near this distance before he was going great. He made the turn around in around 2 hrs 2 to 2 hrs 5mins unsure of the offficial time.
I then set out from Duranbah at approx 7.40am. The run was going great and I was consistantly clocking between 4.30 - 4.50/k. The weather was warm however I really never felt like it was really bothering me that much. I made sure that I was taking enough water and powerade along with my gu and other food.
I passed the 13k mark spot on an hour, I continued to maintain the same pace until about the 16k mark. It was a steady hill that went beside the national park, fairly shady and should have not really been that difficult. This was were the wheels really fell off. I just lost all energy in my legs, I could feel all the liquid and food that I had consumed over the past 1hr 20 or so swishing about in my stomach.
I began to get stomach cramps and was reduced to a walk for a short time. I reached the point a couple of k's before Miami Hill where we had to run up another hill and get our number checked off. By this stage I was hurting pretty bad, my wife and running partner had met me there and gave me another drink and my last bite to eat. I felt better after a short break and began running again. I came good around the 18k mark clocking again around 4.45/k before having another bad episode.
The next 4k saw my splits increase dramatically with two in the high fives and two around 6.30, which included Miami Hill and the stairs. I had told Cass whilst my partner was running that at the bottom of the stairs I would take Sam for the remainder of the race in his pram.
Although I had nothing in the tank, I still took the pram with Sam and ploddered along, I had multiple walk breaks and some uplanned breaks when Sam lost his hat. It was pretty tough, I wanted to go quicker so Sam wasn't in the sun for to long but I just couldn't. He didn't really seem to care though and went to sleep about 5 minutes into the run.
I came up to a marking on the footpath that said 1km, I was hoping that this was for the race I was doing. I continued to follow the path and saw the finish line way up ahead. I then realised that I was not going to get there following the path so it was off the beaten track we went. It was a little on the bumpy side for Sam over the grass however he didn't really wake up until the finish line when those who had finished were cheering everyone in.
I am again unsure of the official time however the Garmin showed 25.2km in 2.06.57 with rest breaks of over two minutes bringing it up to 2.09.05.
Although I was not really interested in what time I did, I was fairly disappointed with how I ran the last 8k. I guess I can't blame anything other than my lack of training which has got me thinking about my plans for next year. I will share this at a later stage.
After the race I felt fairly sick in the stomach, I didn't enjoy the nice food on offer at the BBQ which was a shame. Cass was tired, she had very little to eat as she was helping both myself and my partner out on the course along with looking after Sam who was being a grump, he was starting to get the flu. In saying that we left not long after and headed home, it was unfortunate that we had to but we all felt pretty ordinary by the end of it.
Congrats to everyone out there yesterday, I had a tough one but hopefully everyone else came through it with great results.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
I'm not Crazy! although......................
you may think so in a second or two.
I wulod lkie to try an exepriemnt, I saw an emial decsirbnig how yuor brain prcoesosrs olny a few leettrs in ecah wrod wihlst we raed. Msot poelpe wlil be albe to raed tihs as lnog as the frist and lsat leetrs are in the crorcet postioin. I tohught tihs was perety cool and amzanig how our bdoy wokrs.
OK, back to normal, well if you call my ramblings normal I guess. I haven't done anything since Pats TT however I plan to go for probably my last run before Kurrawa on Sunday. I am pretty excited about this weekend which basically begins tomorrow for me. I have taken a few days off work so I don't have to be back until next Wednesday. Yippeeeeeee!!!! Now I can sit back and relax and enjoy my last run. I will then head down the coast on Saturday for what will be a great weekend all round.
With no expectations, no real goals for this event I just hope to get through it in one piece and enjoy the weekend made up of the stuff I love doing.
Oh, and to all my family that read this, I know what you are thinking.....Crazy Fool!
Peace Out!
Next Edition - The Kurrawa Adventure!
I wulod lkie to try an exepriemnt, I saw an emial decsirbnig how yuor brain prcoesosrs olny a few leettrs in ecah wrod wihlst we raed. Msot poelpe wlil be albe to raed tihs as lnog as the frist and lsat leetrs are in the crorcet postioin. I tohught tihs was perety cool and amzanig how our bdoy wokrs.
OK, back to normal, well if you call my ramblings normal I guess. I haven't done anything since Pats TT however I plan to go for probably my last run before Kurrawa on Sunday. I am pretty excited about this weekend which basically begins tomorrow for me. I have taken a few days off work so I don't have to be back until next Wednesday. Yippeeeeeee!!!! Now I can sit back and relax and enjoy my last run. I will then head down the coast on Saturday for what will be a great weekend all round.
With no expectations, no real goals for this event I just hope to get through it in one piece and enjoy the weekend made up of the stuff I love doing.
Oh, and to all my family that read this, I know what you are thinking.....Crazy Fool!
Peace Out!
Next Edition - The Kurrawa Adventure!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
3k TT - The last one for 2006
Week - 26.5k
Month - 26.5k
YTD - 1101k
Working the afternoon shift today meant I could make it to Pat's this morning for the monthly TT. I haven't been for a TT for what seems like an eternity, it was actually March the last time I did a TT there so Im glad I got the opportunity to do the last one for the year.
I arrived there 5.40am just in tie to register before heading off to the start line as our warmup. I met up with Clairie and Tesso of whom I haven't seen for a while either which was good.
The atmosphere is always great at these sessions which is why it is always so popular, there is heaps of encouragement from everyone before, during and after the session. Pat had also organised two bongo drummers to play at the startline which added to the atmosphere.
Lining up at the starting line Pat ran through the course, the track had changed since last time I did it with only one turn around at 1500m whereas the last one had a few more, I think 1k loops.
Anyway, I was unsure what time I would like to come in at however I did know that with a big race this weekend that I didn't want to go 100%. The race started and for the first 100-200m it is weaving and dodging until everyone finds their place and it settles down.
I quickly settled into a comfortable pace not long after and never looked at my watch until the turn around where I got there is 5.22. I thought this was a little too quick for what I wanted to achieve today and slowed the pace down for the next half.
At about the 2k mark there is a little hill that I usually gets me especially at the BRRC runs but this morning it wasn't that bad. I got over that and enjoyed the last 1k, I stepped the pace up a little towards the end to come in at 11.05.
It was a good 30 secs outside my time done in march, but it made for a good solid session. I was certainly puffing at the end but recovered pretty quickly.
We all hung around and cheered those left out on the course, some louder than others, Clairie ;-) before heading back to the Ship Inn for a nice cold drink and fruit.
At the time I didn't realise but Tesso actually ran her fastest 3k this year, not a PB but a Season Best, so it was a good end to the year and some ominous signs for this weekend. Nice one Tesso!
****Edit****
Oh I almost forgot it was my first blogging anniversary yesterday, and I thought I would never continue to do it - It's addictive, at least it's a healthy habit however maybe Cass has a different opinion :-)
Month - 26.5k
YTD - 1101k
Working the afternoon shift today meant I could make it to Pat's this morning for the monthly TT. I haven't been for a TT for what seems like an eternity, it was actually March the last time I did a TT there so Im glad I got the opportunity to do the last one for the year.
I arrived there 5.40am just in tie to register before heading off to the start line as our warmup. I met up with Clairie and Tesso of whom I haven't seen for a while either which was good.
The atmosphere is always great at these sessions which is why it is always so popular, there is heaps of encouragement from everyone before, during and after the session. Pat had also organised two bongo drummers to play at the startline which added to the atmosphere.
Lining up at the starting line Pat ran through the course, the track had changed since last time I did it with only one turn around at 1500m whereas the last one had a few more, I think 1k loops.
Anyway, I was unsure what time I would like to come in at however I did know that with a big race this weekend that I didn't want to go 100%. The race started and for the first 100-200m it is weaving and dodging until everyone finds their place and it settles down.
I quickly settled into a comfortable pace not long after and never looked at my watch until the turn around where I got there is 5.22. I thought this was a little too quick for what I wanted to achieve today and slowed the pace down for the next half.
At about the 2k mark there is a little hill that I usually gets me especially at the BRRC runs but this morning it wasn't that bad. I got over that and enjoyed the last 1k, I stepped the pace up a little towards the end to come in at 11.05.
It was a good 30 secs outside my time done in march, but it made for a good solid session. I was certainly puffing at the end but recovered pretty quickly.
We all hung around and cheered those left out on the course, some louder than others, Clairie ;-) before heading back to the Ship Inn for a nice cold drink and fruit.
At the time I didn't realise but Tesso actually ran her fastest 3k this year, not a PB but a Season Best, so it was a good end to the year and some ominous signs for this weekend. Nice one Tesso!
****Edit****
Oh I almost forgot it was my first blogging anniversary yesterday, and I thought I would never continue to do it - It's addictive, at least it's a healthy habit however maybe Cass has a different opinion :-)
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Regatta - Mt Coot-tha loop
Week - 19.5k
Month - 19.5k
YTD - 1094k
Still had a bit of the guilts today so this afternoon I rang my Kurrawa partner and asked if he would be interested in doing the loop starting from the regatta. It is close to 15k and a fairly tough run with plenty of hills......obviously.
We arrived at the regatta about 4.45pm and after a quick stretch we headed off. A fairly sedate pace to begin with. My partner has never ran more than 12k so I thought it was a good idea for him to be acquainted with a longer distance especially when he will be required to run 25k in a weeks time.
We were chatting most part of the first section however I did warn him that the conversation will stop once we hit the hills. We encoutered the first hill near the Botanic gardens and got through this pretty well, we had a quick break at the next water tap before tackling the main hill. This winds up for about 2.2k and is fairly constant, at times the hill eases up but the last section is probably the worst.
My mate was going really well for a virgin Mt Coot-thanite he remained close to me until the last 500m or so when he said his legs had a turn for the worst and he needed to walk.
We arrived at the picnic area just after the climb, I was feeling great I had never down that climb that easy before and while I was waiting for my partner the weather took a turn for the worst. Large lightning bolts, heavy range and heaps of thunder saw both of us stuck under a shed for the next 1/2 hour. Im not keen running when there is heaps of lightning especially when there are huge Tv antenna's around.
The rain never really cleared but the lightning eased up so we headed off. It was quite cold to begin with and the wind was strong. Visibility was down to about 50m due to the low level cloud so we had to be mindful of the traffic coming up the mountian.
Due to the delay we automatically increased the pace, we were keen to get home now, we were drenched and the legs felt a little drained. We had a quick drink at the lookout before the downhill section back to the regatta.
I was pretty impressed with how my mate went, considering he hasn't done that sort of distance before he seemed to cope well. Overall the distance was 14.59k and we completed the loop in 1.14.44 (5.07/k), obviously this doesn't include our break.
This will probably be my last long-ish run before the big day, I was pretty happy with how I went today, I seemed to run that pretty easy which is a great confidence booster. I will do another couple of shorter ones, not the greatest lead up to a big race but I rather be under cooked than over trained risking injuries.
Hopefully next post I will have some pics and the story of the Go kart race. All I can say is that is didn't go quite as planned :-)
Happy Training!!!!
Month - 19.5k
YTD - 1094k
Still had a bit of the guilts today so this afternoon I rang my Kurrawa partner and asked if he would be interested in doing the loop starting from the regatta. It is close to 15k and a fairly tough run with plenty of hills......obviously.
We arrived at the regatta about 4.45pm and after a quick stretch we headed off. A fairly sedate pace to begin with. My partner has never ran more than 12k so I thought it was a good idea for him to be acquainted with a longer distance especially when he will be required to run 25k in a weeks time.
We were chatting most part of the first section however I did warn him that the conversation will stop once we hit the hills. We encoutered the first hill near the Botanic gardens and got through this pretty well, we had a quick break at the next water tap before tackling the main hill. This winds up for about 2.2k and is fairly constant, at times the hill eases up but the last section is probably the worst.
My mate was going really well for a virgin Mt Coot-thanite he remained close to me until the last 500m or so when he said his legs had a turn for the worst and he needed to walk.
We arrived at the picnic area just after the climb, I was feeling great I had never down that climb that easy before and while I was waiting for my partner the weather took a turn for the worst. Large lightning bolts, heavy range and heaps of thunder saw both of us stuck under a shed for the next 1/2 hour. Im not keen running when there is heaps of lightning especially when there are huge Tv antenna's around.
The rain never really cleared but the lightning eased up so we headed off. It was quite cold to begin with and the wind was strong. Visibility was down to about 50m due to the low level cloud so we had to be mindful of the traffic coming up the mountian.
Due to the delay we automatically increased the pace, we were keen to get home now, we were drenched and the legs felt a little drained. We had a quick drink at the lookout before the downhill section back to the regatta.
I was pretty impressed with how my mate went, considering he hasn't done that sort of distance before he seemed to cope well. Overall the distance was 14.59k and we completed the loop in 1.14.44 (5.07/k), obviously this doesn't include our break.
This will probably be my last long-ish run before the big day, I was pretty happy with how I went today, I seemed to run that pretty easy which is a great confidence booster. I will do another couple of shorter ones, not the greatest lead up to a big race but I rather be under cooked than over trained risking injuries.
Hopefully next post I will have some pics and the story of the Go kart race. All I can say is that is didn't go quite as planned :-)
Happy Training!!!!
Seedy Saturday!
Week - 5k
Month - 5k
YTD - 1079.5k
I never made it to the Mount Coot-tha run yesterday as planned, instead the night before Cass and I went to Arana Hills leagues club with a few mates and wives for some dinner and drinks. It turned out bigger than I had planned with far too many beverages going down range. In saying that I woke up feeling very ordinary and didn't really come good all day.
I ended up dragging my seedy feeling body out around 6pm for a short run. I was feeling guilty but I wasn't real sure how my body would react to running after lounging around all day. The run actually felt pretty good although I think I was still dehydrated as it took a while before a drop of sweat formed.
I think it was a good decision just going for the 5k. Along the way I saw a koala with a little one on it's back in a fork of a tree. There are koala signs around my area but I have never seen one, until today.
Around the 3k mark I was feeling great and my pace kept creeping up, I had started with a 5.21 min/k and by the end of the run I had made up that time to clock under 5min/k pace. I completed the run in 24.55. Not long after, I started to feel ordinary again, I was glad to go to bed that night, hoping that I would better this morning.
I am pleased to say that I feel good today, I am just writing this quickly as I am going to the Australian Swimming Champs this morning for Day 1 heats at Chandler. I am looking forward to it should be a good few hours. I might try and get out this afternoon for another run.
1 week to Kurrawa :-)
Month - 5k
YTD - 1079.5k
I never made it to the Mount Coot-tha run yesterday as planned, instead the night before Cass and I went to Arana Hills leagues club with a few mates and wives for some dinner and drinks. It turned out bigger than I had planned with far too many beverages going down range. In saying that I woke up feeling very ordinary and didn't really come good all day.
I ended up dragging my seedy feeling body out around 6pm for a short run. I was feeling guilty but I wasn't real sure how my body would react to running after lounging around all day. The run actually felt pretty good although I think I was still dehydrated as it took a while before a drop of sweat formed.
I think it was a good decision just going for the 5k. Along the way I saw a koala with a little one on it's back in a fork of a tree. There are koala signs around my area but I have never seen one, until today.
Around the 3k mark I was feeling great and my pace kept creeping up, I had started with a 5.21 min/k and by the end of the run I had made up that time to clock under 5min/k pace. I completed the run in 24.55. Not long after, I started to feel ordinary again, I was glad to go to bed that night, hoping that I would better this morning.
I am pleased to say that I feel good today, I am just writing this quickly as I am going to the Australian Swimming Champs this morning for Day 1 heats at Chandler. I am looking forward to it should be a good few hours. I might try and get out this afternoon for another run.
1 week to Kurrawa :-)
Friday, December 01, 2006
The wheels are in motion
Week - 23.5k
Month - 88k
YTD - 1074.5k
Cass is working tonight so usually on these nights I give training a miss as I have the little Sammy to look after. Tonight however I tried something new. I have a pram that is sort of in between a jogging pram and one that is built entirely for smooth surfaces. It has pump up tyres however it has a far amount of bells and whistles that make it not very suitable for running.
Now Samuel is 7 months old he is strong enough to support himself pretty good so I thought I would take this opportunity to conduct a few modifications to the pram and give it crack running with it.
After about ten minutes I was happy with the outcome, a little air was placed in the tyres before putting the little man in to make it roll a bit better. I strapped him up waited for the garmin to lock on and then we were off. To begin with it felt a bit weird having only one arm at a time swinging but it was much easier than I thought. Sam was enjoying it alot however it was a little chilly and quite windy. The pram went great it rolled straight and was easily handing the pace, the only negative point which is minor is going up and down gutters and driveways was that I had to slow right down.
About 3k into the run Sam feel asleep and remained that way for the next 1/2 an hour. At around the 7k mark I knew I was working a bit harder just to maintain around 5min/k pace especially when I encountered hills around this point. I continued on for another 3k or so rounding the session off with 10.2k in 51.48.
I really enjoyed running with the pram, I think I will add this to my training a bit more. It will also give Cass a break aswell. I was considering buying a proper jogging pram however I am satisfied with how this one went so I may hold out and see if this one holds up with a few more k's. Along the way I was even thinking about pushing Sam for the last 10k of Kurrawa. I will have Cass meet me at some point and will take him. I will have to make sure that he is well covered and have a heap of sunscreen applied, especially if he is anything like Cass and I, we get burn't from the moons rays ;-)
Tomorrow will be a rest day, it is my Corps birthday so we have a sports day and a billy cart race. Being a light weight with a bone structure similar to a coat hanger I am behind the wheel. It should be fun, we also have a secret weapon if we are losing, we have built a canon that is attached to the cart. It is fueled by aerosol and has a ignition button that makes whatever is up the spout come out, pretty fast when it is pressed. So we don't hurt anyone we will be only using soft objects and the occasional tennis ball. I will take some pics of it and post them in the next few days.
Depending on how I feel I would like to make it to the Regatta for Hannah's monthly Mt Coot-Tha run. I have not had much sleep lately so it will be struggle but it will be my last chance to cram in a decent run before the 10 Dec.
Month - 88k
YTD - 1074.5k
Cass is working tonight so usually on these nights I give training a miss as I have the little Sammy to look after. Tonight however I tried something new. I have a pram that is sort of in between a jogging pram and one that is built entirely for smooth surfaces. It has pump up tyres however it has a far amount of bells and whistles that make it not very suitable for running.
Now Samuel is 7 months old he is strong enough to support himself pretty good so I thought I would take this opportunity to conduct a few modifications to the pram and give it crack running with it.
After about ten minutes I was happy with the outcome, a little air was placed in the tyres before putting the little man in to make it roll a bit better. I strapped him up waited for the garmin to lock on and then we were off. To begin with it felt a bit weird having only one arm at a time swinging but it was much easier than I thought. Sam was enjoying it alot however it was a little chilly and quite windy. The pram went great it rolled straight and was easily handing the pace, the only negative point which is minor is going up and down gutters and driveways was that I had to slow right down.
About 3k into the run Sam feel asleep and remained that way for the next 1/2 an hour. At around the 7k mark I knew I was working a bit harder just to maintain around 5min/k pace especially when I encountered hills around this point. I continued on for another 3k or so rounding the session off with 10.2k in 51.48.
I really enjoyed running with the pram, I think I will add this to my training a bit more. It will also give Cass a break aswell. I was considering buying a proper jogging pram however I am satisfied with how this one went so I may hold out and see if this one holds up with a few more k's. Along the way I was even thinking about pushing Sam for the last 10k of Kurrawa. I will have Cass meet me at some point and will take him. I will have to make sure that he is well covered and have a heap of sunscreen applied, especially if he is anything like Cass and I, we get burn't from the moons rays ;-)
Tomorrow will be a rest day, it is my Corps birthday so we have a sports day and a billy cart race. Being a light weight with a bone structure similar to a coat hanger I am behind the wheel. It should be fun, we also have a secret weapon if we are losing, we have built a canon that is attached to the cart. It is fueled by aerosol and has a ignition button that makes whatever is up the spout come out, pretty fast when it is pressed. So we don't hurt anyone we will be only using soft objects and the occasional tennis ball. I will take some pics of it and post them in the next few days.
Depending on how I feel I would like to make it to the Regatta for Hannah's monthly Mt Coot-Tha run. I have not had much sleep lately so it will be struggle but it will be my last chance to cram in a decent run before the 10 Dec.
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