A bit like Berlin

Yesterday I decided I would try to crack 3:20 knowing full well that I was probably going to find it difficult. Although the preparation had not been bad, I had not had done enough long runs to feel confident I would last the distance.

But then I thought, the heck, I'll do half in 1:40 and then just go for broke.

And I did, but not necessarily for the right reasons.

The conditions were perfect this morning. About 8 degrees at the start, a bit of breeze on the South Perth foreshore and along the freeway, in both directions, but otherwise they could not be faulted.

Got there early enough for an easy warm-up. The right ankle and lower leg felt like a brick and I thought this would hold me back. But in reality they behaved quite well in the run and I had very little joint issues, the odd niggle, but nothing I could not cope with.

The 3:30 bus powered away in front of me and I thought that was a bit silly as I had planned to sit in front of them and then latch on if I had to. The third k they did in 4:15 min/k!

Anyway, I did as I had planned but definitely went too fast in the first 5 ks.

At 14ks I felt my thighs going tired and I knew I was going to be in trouble later on. At that point I was averaging 4:40 min/k for a 3:25 finish (1:10 elapsed time). No bother, I otherwise felt good, slowed a bit and went through half at 1:39:17.

By 30ks I had slowed just a bit and was still spot on for a 3:20 finish (2:22 elapsed time). And then the stomach cramps started as in Berlin, but just a few ks later. And the odd stitch as well. At various times I had to walk and with the by then pretty heavy legs I found it very difficult to get into a rhythm again.

During one of those breaks the 3:30 bus powered past me and I just could not hang on.

The 405 was doing funny things today - HR at 171 at times (??) and on the way out at least, it was way short. In the end the discrepancy was only .5%, but on the way I was not sure whether I could rely on it. The 15 and 30k readings above were real time.

In the end I came in at 3:31:18, not fantastic, but ok in the circumstances. As earlier in the year I doubted I might run one ever again, I have no reason to complain.

I'm not sure what to do about the stomach cramps. In Berlin I had had some stomach issues before independently of the running, but not since. So I think it must be running related. In Berlin I thought I might have overdone it with the nutrition and I took only a couple of gels with me today on purpose so I would not "over-feed".

Really takes the fun out of doing a marathon.

Right now I don't think I'll do the C2S marathon, but rather the half and see whether I can improve the time I set last year - maybe sub-1:30? Eight weeks is just a bit short to prepare for it, especially as Rottnest is another eight weeks later. That is booked and not to be missed (I would have been really sore had my knee turned out bad and I could not run it - but now I am confident of having another fun run there).

Otherwise, legs are a bit sore, stood in the freezing pool for five minutes and had a snooze for an hour, but feel just fine.

Wonder what tomorrow's like ;-))

People, Castles and Lawnmowers

As promised, here a few pictures:

The Holocaust Memorial in Berlin - no picture can describe the intense sadness and horror expressed


A look across

Inside

Race Day - The Swiss Embassy is right next to the Start Area!

What are these people doing heading into the woods?

Mmmmh... must be gathering to line up at the start.

Here's my start block - now how am I going to get over this fence??

I can see the start from 'ere!

The gun went off a few minutes ago, but we are still walking.

After about 5ks - still masses of people.

Finally, the running crowd is clearing - but wait, we're 400m from the finish. This is the picture I had been dreaming about, running through the Brandenburger Tor - awesome!

The following day still in Berlin, whilst passing through Unter den Linden (again, but at a leisurely pace) at the VW/Bugatti showroom - a real life Veyron (with a fan in front).

DDR - Museum - now that is a lawnmower!

Dresden - Altstadt and Neustadt with the Elbe upstream

Dresden - Elbe downstream - this guy is following me, I think!

Prague - the castle on the hill at night. Looks steep and made for hill training.

And during the day - still very steep.

The palace again, from the old town across the Vltava.

Charles Bridge - look, no tourists.

Castle Square - still no tourists (ok, it was 6am).

Nuremberg - another castle, another hill.

And the same at night - from our hotel room btw.

Rotto 2008 - just got my drink at k19, only 23 to go.

Berlin Marathon

Just sitting at the Berlin Main Train Station waiting for the train to Dresden to depart and taking the opportunity of an update. Here what I emailed to Epi and Clown after the marathon on Sunday:
Guys - thanks for you texts, not quite what I had aspired to (despite the senility bonus), but still a PB and under 3:30, so I'm happy. Right now I am back in our apartment after a shower and with my feet up and am giving you the heads up on the next blog which I will get to when I get to an internet cafe.
Anyway, as you could tell from the sms I was spot on track for 3:20 at the HM mark, but then it all fell apart a bit.
From about 24k I was starting to get stomach cramps and felt like throwing up a couple of times. That lasted for pretty much the rest of the race, except for when I had what felt like a stitch but further up right underneath the right ribcage. Anna thinks it's a gallbladder problem, and I have experienced a few times before over the last month, so will need to have it checked out. Also, I think I was a bit underdone in the long runs and generally the last month was a bit of a disaster trainingwise.
Anyway, I don't think I went in too hard in the first half as I did not blow up. I set the 405 to keep me on track at 4:42/k which is 1% off, but proved to be correct overall. Now I just have to figure out (yes, at my age and a degree notwithstanding) how to press the bl...dy button properly at the finish.
Having said that, although the organisation left a few things to be desired (racenumber collection and crowd management today), within minutes of finishing you could get an interim certificate with the splits:
5k: 23:58 - 4:48/k average
10k: 47:43 - 4:45/k ave from prev split
15k: 1:11:15 - 4:42/k
20k: 1:35:00 - 4:45/k
25k: 1:58:55 - 4:48/k
30k: 2:23:20 - 4:54/k
35k: 2:48:51 - 5:06/k
40k: 3:15:07 - 5:15/k
42.195: 3:26:12 - 5:04/k
I liked the sms system, not that it made any difference to me but Anna and the kids were following me by U-& S-Bahn and found the going tough. At least this way they knew I was still in it: did you notice the note at the bottom of the HM notice: laeuft noch: still running - very funny indeed.
Pretty much congested with everyone else having this great idea. Anna is now an expert on the Berlin Public Transport system!
Now, this morning it was REALLY crowded. I waa about 200m from the start line and it took me exactly 4 minutes to cross it.
As promised I have taken some pictures which I will put up on my blog eventually. It's not that easy taking pictures when running, a couple of odd angles and the shakes, but it was well worth having the camera with me.
On a very positive note, although both knee and heel are sore now, neither gave me any trouble today. I was getting a bit of a sore knee in the last few weeks so I was a bit worried about it.
Ok, that's it for now. On Tuesday we are off to Dresden, then Prague, Nuernberg & lastly Zuerich. Unfortunately the Dalai Lama had to cancel the teachings in Switzerland for which we had tickets, but Anna and I will find something to do (a run in the mountains? Haha!)
PS: Sorry about any typos, the keyboard on my phone was designed by someone whose hands were the size of a mouse's.
Two days on and whilst I feel I should have been able to push more, I realise I am only saying that as the cramps have long gone. Anyway, I should also mention that I have hardly been sore and we were trapsing around Berlin yesterday as if nothing special had been done on Sunday. Both knees were a bit unstable on Sunday and occasionally yesterday (strangely the left one more so than the right), but otherwise, I felt worse after the C2S HM four weeks ago. How about that?!
Ok, I will now take it very easy and not do much until we're back. Rottnest is still on but I just plan to cruise there if I feel like doing it. Doing 3:30 again would just be nice.

Recovery, too

Couldn't help myself with the title.

Being sick and having to deal with a more than usually stressful trial really put me back and I have to look at it as an enforced taper.
On Wednesday we finally finished in Court and I was aching to get out on the road. I had one more 30-35k long run planned but on Wednesday I only had time for 13ks at just under MP pace. Managed to do an average of 4:40m/k at level 3 around the hills in Kings Park.

Thursday lunch time I knocked off and wanted to run to Bold Park and down the coast, but was struggling pretty soon. The day before had taken it out of me completely. So I had to be content with 26ks at level 2 and just under 5:30 pace.

In return dinner with Epi, Tiff and Clown was good fun. I really enjoyed that.

With the plane leaving on Friday and being unsuccessful in roping someone else in to do another trial on Thursday and Friday (talk about cutting it fine), I had to work all weekend but took some time off in the afternoon to go along the river etc for 14ks. I felt fantastic with good turnover, level 3 at 4:33 pace. Not bad for an old man....
This week I'll just do two or three runs mainly an interval session and a longish run (15ks) with some fartlek and maybe some peaking sprints. That way the legs won't get too lazy without getting too tired.
The following week I really don't know. I'm sure I'll go out on Sunday morning, maybe on Tuesday or Wednesday in Hamburg and once more once we have arrive in Berlin on Thursday.

I doubt I'll have time to blog again before we take off (and possibly not for a while after).
Berlin, here we come, it's going to be fun.

PS. I have signed Epi and Clown up on the SMS notification at the half and the finish mark. If anyone else wants to get the result straight away, let me have your mobile number.

Sick, too

This will be a very short blog.

One run on Monday (Mount Street x8), then I woke up with a sore throat on Tuesday evening and from there on it went down hill.
Struggled with doing a trial all week and on Friday I was pretty much stuffed.
By now (Sunday pm) I'm on the mend again and hope that tomorrow I'll be ready for a run again.
Three weeks to Berlin and although I should go into taper, I will do the last long run this week and then scale down.

Another weird week

Four weeks to go to Berlin and this week was supposed to be another heavy intensity week.

With only three runs on the books however, it did not quite turn out that way, at least I feel I left one planned interval session out. Whilst I hate doing intervals (because they are hard and unpleasant and I'm a softie), I feel they have been crucial in the improvements I have been able to make over the past eight months.

Today was the C2S Halfmarathon. I had planned to make it a marathon pace run, but then decided I would go for it and just do my best which I thought would be 1:35 or a 4:30 pace. And I did. New PB at 1:34:43, nearly two minutes better than my last PB.

I ran into town to be there within 10 minutes of the start, so that gave me a warmup of just under 5ks. Very pleasant, a little easterly, overcast, ideal running weather.
There were not too many people doing the half, or at least I did not notice as coming from the Kings Park end I crammed into the bunch at the front.
I felt quite sluggish running in and had it not been for the downhill part into the city, I don't think I would have managed to get the legs to turn over at all.
I set the 405 (aka bumblebee) to a 4:30 pace and off we went.
The first hill was not as bad as I thought it would be and I was able to keep the pace nice and steady. By the time I got out of Kings Park again, I was spot on pace even though the hill back out again lowered the pace to just over 5mins/k.
At that stage I had got chatting with a lady who was aiming for 1:40 but was happy to try 1:35. We had been running alongside each other for a while and kept pushing and pulling each other (figuratively speaking) which at the back of Kings Park I really needed as my legs were not quite awake yet. So, Kristie, thanks for helping me out.
That was all ok until we got into Subi and she suggested I head off as she was struggling. I stayed with her for a while, but was feeling excellent and just wanted to have a go. I figured that at the pace we were doing then, if she could maintain it, we would get in at between 1:38 and 1:39 and that did not sound very exciting to me.
So we agreed to meet up at the finish and I took off pushing myself not too hard but just hard enough.
So, according to bumblebee the distance was 21.2, not too different (also pretty much spot on with the k markers on the course) and the time 1:34:43. I got really annoyed with the fact that the organiser had not even managed to put up a clock and did not hit the stop button right, so had to reconstruct my time after putting it through GTC, but it should be pretty ok.
Although I did not take a split at half course I worked out that I did a negative split, which does not surprise me given how I felt after about 10ks. The first 11ks I did 49:24 (1-11) and the last 11ks (11-21 - leaving out the last few hundred meters where bumblebee added a hundred)in 48:23. I do think that I could have done a bit better by pushing myself more in the first 10ks.
But I am very happy as it is. Using Kaufmann's calculator, I will be able to do 3:25, but I think I can do 3:20. Knees, heels and all sort of other bits permitting, that is what I'll be aiming for.
Who knows, I might even qualify for Boston!? (Ha,ha, just joking guys)
I did not stick around at City Beach, but met up very briefly with Kristie (who came in at 1:38 and a bit) and then headed home, cooldown for another just under 8ks at level 2.

Otherwise, here's the week:
Monday: Mount Street x 7 - no PBs today;
Tuesday: planned a brick session with a bit of speed work, but had too much to do at work and it was non-essential so dropped it;
Wednesday: which is when the interval session was due, but again, had too much on at work;
Thursday: LSD with some longer fartleks in between, total 22ks;
Friday: Rest - well it was planned, but I was too busy at work anyway;
Saturday: Rest - see Friday;
Sunday: total 33.81ks as above.

Now I'm just waiting for the Berlin documents to arrive. They are due any day. And on 19 September I'm off.

Pentecost minus one

Nooooo, I'm not religious, but with having enjoyed a classical education any period of seven weeks works out to fifty minus one.

Which means in a round about way that the countdown to Berlin is on.
One week of easy work, three intensive and then three weeks of taper.

Again, I've had an excellent week.
Monday - Hills and Overdistance: 14.61
Tuesday - Donated Blood - hence no training (even though I only did platelet apheresis)
Wednesday - Intervals: 10.71
Thursday - Racepace: 12.07
Friday - Endurance and Peaking Sprints: 7.31
Saturday - Long and Slow: 34
Today - Brick Session 30 on the bike and another 8.11 at Level 2/3 (just to muck around a bit)
Total for the week: 86.81 plus 30 on the bike.

Knees and heel are holding up. I got a bit of a shin splint on Thursday but with a bit of Voltaren Cream and two tablets it just went away.

The hardest part was the long run on Saturday morning. It was very windy and cold and it took about 16ks until I started to warm up properly.

As I mentioned above, this coming week is an easy one. I'll probably come up to just under 60k. That will include the Lake Joondalup 10k on Sunday. If I manage to do the long run on Friday I should be rested enough to attack the recent PB.

Otherwise we have just booked the remainder of the accommodation, train tickets and hire car for the first few days.

Now I'll have to find some places to do easy runs in the week prior to the marathon. I'm really looking forward to it.
Until then though, there is a lot of work to be done until we board the plane.