C2S 2006

Week - 14k
Month - 62k
YTD - 815k


Arrived home last night after deciding to drive from Sydney to Brisbane in one day instead of two. It was a nice relief to wake up this morning knowing that I didn't have to drive another few hours today.

So what has been going on in the last week or so. The days leading up to the C2S were very casual only one run along the beach of Terrigal was done before the race. I dont know what possessed me in running 10k on sand but I did, and my legs complained about it that night and on Saturday.

Anyway we arrived in Sydney on Saturday afternoon after driving down from the Central Coast. After checking in to our hotel, Cass and I went for a walk around Darling harbour and the like for a few hours. After returning to the hotel we were a bit tired and remained there until the race the next day.

Waking up I was quite excited about running the C2S for the first time since 97. I had forgotten about how big this race actually is, the A1 starting area quite early in the morning contained more runners than the usual races I have been doing over the past few years.

After standing around for what felt like an eternity the crowd shifted forward and then the gun fired, I was cold and stiff and didn't feel like getting straight into it at all. I didn't start my watch until I passed the line and even at that stage it wasn't for a few more seconds that I could actually get some speed.

Everyone took off like gazelles and I tried not to get too caught up with everyone but knew that I was running way too fast. I had a guy take a face plant in front of me at high speed and slowed to help him up but he seemed ok. About 1k into the run it settled down a bit and some normal running took place.

I couldn't remember any of the course and the amount of hills suprised the hell out of me, even before heartbreak I was struggling up the hills which wasn't a good sign. I reached HB and put the head down and pumped the arms, the only thing was the legs didn't want to go, I was tired, the breathing was heavy and I was feeling hot.

The little guy in my head told me to stop and reassess the goals but I pushed on and tried to keep in contact with those around me. I reached the top and was exhausted, I ran until the drink station at the top and took a drink and walked for about ten metres and then set off. The clock at the top was just over 30 minutes so I was still on good time but I was hurting.

I wanted to break 60 mins, but thought, 61-62 mins was still a good effort. I continued and every hill I died on there was no steam left. I had to make the time up somewhere so I pushed a little harder on the downhill sections. By the 10km mark (41.28) I was starting to struggle even on the flat and was hanging out for the long downhill section into Bondi. I knew I could recover there a bit and battle on for the last km.

I passed the 12k sign and knew that I didn't have long to go before the end. I just needed to keep the legs turning over, however once I hit the flat just opposite the shops I had nothing left, I reckon I was running around 5 min/k pace and even that was hurting me. Reaching the big left hand turn for the run down to the finish I gritted my teeth and at times closed my eyes and dug deep I heard the announcer saying something about sub 60 and knew that I still had a chance. I passed a few people on the way down and crossed the line in 58.4x however I must have taken my time to get my time card so my official time was 58.52, my watch time was 58.27. I was also quite impressed about my position making it into the top 1000, #897

I was pretty happy about my time, I reached my goal but am bit disappointed as to how I ran it. I ran horrible and looking back I could have taken alot of time off that. Maybe next year!

Anyway, Noosa in two days and I haven't ran since the C2S. I am going for a jog today and leave tomorrow for the trip up there. Im not sure how I will go, I wish I had done some more training so I could have a shot at my PB but I dont think that will happen. I will just enjoy the weekend and see what comes from it.

I'm Off!

Week - 14k
Month - 38k
YTD - 791k

not in the smelly way either, well I hope not :)

I am leaving today to travel to Sydney, so this will be my last opportunity to blog for a good week and a half. Sad day :( for the blogs that is not the holiday.

Just a quick update of the happening's of the past few days. After I posted on Sunday I headed out again and done a nice casual 7k run. It was the slowest I have run, I think ever for a training session which felt good. Not much else to say about it, total time was around 39 mins.

Monday morning I woke up all keen to attack the beep test, I was feeling fresh after the casual running the day before. However when we began I was told that the first run through would be only to level 9. Very disappointing, I thought my plan to drop out after the last person would not eventuate due to the low level. Oh how I was wrong, there were people dropping out at level 4, just to give you an indication of how far that is, the basic entry requirement for the Defence Force is 7.5 which totals around 1120m in over 6mins. I was shocked and I know it sounds harsh but these people should not be in the Defence Force. By level 8 or so I was the lone person running up and down the 20m course and by level 9 I was warm but certainly not struggling.

The next run through was with a partner, they would run down and back and then you would do the same. We started from where we left off at level 9 and continued to level 12. Only half the group even attempted to do this but those who did it actually made it to the end. Another 2 min rest and we were back into it, this time in groups of 3 where it was a relay, one person standing at one end and two at the other. At the end with two people, one person takes off and runs 20m to the person standing opposite tagging that person and then setting off with the beeps and so on. We again started where we left off at level 12 and continued to level 15.

Overall the session was run well if only the fitness of the workplace was at a standard where everyone would get a good workout from it.

Well, that's it, sorry about the rant but it does annoy me alot, it wouldn't concern me too much if something was being implemented to help the situation, however nothing is ever said and I am in no position to change things .

Now to the exciting stuff, I hope to see some of you at C2S, but they may be a hard task, if not I will read all about the efforts of everyone later. I may even catch up with some of you at Noosa, BRRC or even Glasshouse, how good is that? I dont ever get tired of thinking of the great events coming up, however I will probably be tired after them all though :)

Good luck to everyone.

What's on the Agenda

Week - 5k
Month - 29k
YTD - 782k


I thought I would take this opportunity to jot down my plans for the next few weeks. Over the past 6 weeks there has been many great events and the next month is no different.

Aug 13 - C2S, goal - Sub 60 mins
Aug 20 - Noosa Half Marathon - Fun event, happy with anything under 93 mins
Aug 27 - BRRC 14k club Champs - Sub 60 mins
Sep 03 - GH 30k - To finish, it will be another distance record if sucessful, I just hope I am not working that weekend, that would suck :(

A last minute cancellation of a day course I was doing yesterday allowed me to regain my weekend. Sweet! This not only meant that I could spend time with Cass's brother and partner who were down for the weekend, I could also go for a run early in the morning and still have the day to do stuff.

7am I set off for 10km around the neighbourhood, however not before I spent looking for my runners to later remember that I left them at work. This wasn't good, I had run in my previous shoes a few days before and got some shin aches, so I decided to give another pair of Asics I have a go. They are in good condition but I had found them too spongy and never really used them again.

Flirting with danger I took off easy being cautious but was pleasantly suprised to find they were ok. Once warm I increases the pace, the Ipod was playing and the weather was perfect, I relaxed and enjoyed the remainder of the run. 10k in 46.05.

This morning I took the hounds out for a jog, one at a time around the 3k loop close to home. A combination of running and walking in fairly warm weather. Although I would have only ran about 4k I was sweating a bit and the dogs were buggered, which was the aim.

I may head out in 1/2 hour or so for another jog, not to sure how far but it will be easy, I cant afford to push it hard without my shoes and orthotics.

Tomorrow at work we have a beep test cct planned, this is pretty taxing on the legs so I will only run until the last person drops out. Going on the fitness of my workplace that shouldn't be too high :)

Unmotivated :-(

Week - 14k
Month - 14k
YTD - 767k

Yesterday I was asked to condut a PT session at work for some members of the workplace. The aim was to get those who dont normally do much running to get some training in before the cross country race that is being held next week. A little late I know, but better late than never I guess, and if nothing else it gave me the opportunity to do some training during work hours which is always a bonus.

I was told to do some hill training, so I quickly decided on a track which basically used every hill on the barracks. The pace was slow going and full of whinging, it is quite disappointing to see people in the Army that struggle to run 5 min/k pace for more than 4k. Anyway we ran most of the way as a group but I allowed those to tackle the hills individually and meet up at a designated area for a standng recovery before continuing. Overall not a bad workout, I pushed relatively hard up the inclines so I got some benefit from the session. About 6k was the total distance in about 35-40 mins including breaks.

Today I had planned to get to the Run Inn for the mid week run group, I had pulled up extremely well after GH and was very happy about that. It wasn't until I got home that I had a motivation shift, a turn for the worst. I really didn't feel like doing anything so the trip to run group was off the program.

Around 1/2 an hour after I got home I reluctantly laced the shoes and headed out the door. I have a loop that runs very close to home which is 3k in total so I decided to remain on that. The reason was if I decided to pull the pin I wasn't too far from home, pretty slack I know.

The first lap was tough going and it took a bit to warm up, after that I settled in and felt ok. I still wasn't enjoying it but continued for another lap plus an out and back 2k track. A total of 8k was completed 39.10.

After I stopped I had a slight ache in the legs so I iced up, im sure it's nothing but will keep and eye on it. Hopefully next run I will have my mojo again.

Glasshouse 24K

Week - 48k
Month - 130k
YTD - 753k

After Friday's rare downpour it wasn't looking good nor did I believe the weather lady that the weekend was going to be clear, bright blue skies. When Saturday morning arrived they were spot on, the day was great and I ws pretty excited about the prospect of doing this race.

We left home about 6 am for a 8 am start thinking that it would take around an hour to get there, we arrived 35 mins later and then realised that the directions on the entry form stated 1-1.5 hrs from Brisbane. We already live 30 mins from the city, Ahhh well, at least we weren't late.

Before the race, I was chatting with Hannah, Clairie, Tesso, Vegie-Girl and met Davo for the first time which was nice. He live close to me however we have never bumped into to each other whilst training. Apart from that I was preoccupied playing with Sam amd talking to Cas and her friend that I lost track of time. So much so that I didn't go for a warm up and was even strapping on my 1001 gadgets that I decided to run with when everyone was walking to the start line.

I made it and was straight into it not long after lining up. I felt relaxed but obviously subconciously I was nervous as passing the 3k mark in 12.43. I made myself slow down to around 4.30 pace for the next few k's which saw me go through 5k in 21.55.

By this stage the sun was out and mixed with the wet ground made it that fairly humid, I was beginning to feel a little fatigued. I decided to have my first gel around the 7k mark which seemed to help. It was also a good time to visit the bush for a minute or so as the line up for the toilets before the run was quite big.

The terrain at this stage was fairly good, apart from one section of single trails it was very wide dirt roads with a good mix of flat and hills. The gel had kicked in and I was feeling fairly good again although it was or it felt warmer than usual I was maintaining a good pace. I passed through 10k in 46.43 and from this stage on the tracks became quite abit harder.

Some of the climbs were very difficult and the fact that they didn't really begin until the 12-13k mark probably made it seem that much more difficult. For the next 14k the pace really slowed and out of those only two k's were clocked under 5 mins.

The scenery was great I had really forgotten how good it is to get out in the bush and get dirty. This was my first trail run but I done alot of mountian bike riding in the Blue Mountains before which I really enjoyed.

I really paid attention to my fluid and food intake and sacrificed some positions and time just to get through it. I actually stopped to walked while eating which I am glad I did. The last 4k of the run was the hardest, cardio wise I felt good but the legs aren't used to the distance and I began to fatigue quite quickly. Small hills felt like mountains and almost broke me, I was lessened to a walk around a section that I later found out was called Hamburger Hill. I can't remember why but the first section of this climb is pretty steep. It was wet and the rocks were slippery, I had trouble keeping grip while I walked up it and if I tried to run I dont think I would have been able to stop myself from face planting if I did slip.

I had no energy and went through this km nudging 7 mins. It probably wasn't a bad decision to walk, the scenery at this point is awesome the view of the mountain is amazing. I got to the top of the hill and continued on through the downhill section. I was unsure how far I had to go and was begging the line to be close, I was going sooooo slow but I do anything about it I had nothing left. Rounding a corner I saw a row of parked cars with the school that we began at through the trees. I tried to picked up the pace but the legs got angry and repaid me with a small cramp. A warning I guess so I remain the pace my legs agreed with.

Hearing the small crowd gave me a second wind, I didn't really speed up but it just made the pace I was running much easier. I entered the school and saw Cass and Sam with Cass's friend sitting next to finish line.

Sam is usually sleeping everytime I finish an event so I think he knew that this race was going to be a tough one for his dad and stayed awake just to see him finish :) I am pleased that I got through it one piece, a little bit of muscle tightness but nothing major. This is my greatest distance I have ran in one go and I am pretty chuffed. I completed the 24k course in 1.55.13.

Bring on GH 30, Sep 06.