Maybe staking it a bit high, but I did get up today despite the rain even though I had not even signed up yet.
Run for Gold 2008 - I did not win the race or the Gold - the chances of the latter happening being much greater than the former.
For me though the race was "Gold" with a new PB at 43:13, a pace of 4:19.
I've been so busy the last few weeks that I need to catch up on reporting.
The week before last was a recovery period and I clocked up a total of 45ks doing a few intervals, and two long runs.
The last week was very busy at work and consisted of work (lots of it), eating (just a little), watching TdF and consequently little sleep and a awful lot of running.
I managed to top the 80k mark with the race and a decent cooldown afterwards. Haven't done that for a long time. I think it just about matches my best week before Rottnest two years ago.
My heel is feeling good, at least when I run. It sometimes does play up when I have to walk a distance. The knee is as if it's not there at all.
Nine weeks to Berlin and things are really starting to fall into place.
I have now also signed up for the C2S Half. Four weeks out from the Marathon, that should give me a good indication of where I am. I am kind of hoping to manage 1:35, but it is a bit hilly, so that might be a struggle.
I also intend to do Lake Joondalup in three weeks.
Oh, and on another front, I have splurged out (what's the point of working hard if you can't get some bling....) on a Cervelo P2C. Should arrive next week - I am really looking forward to it!!!
27 July 2008
13 July 2008
Perfect
Or at least as close as.
I managed to get the running training done just I had planned it and by Saturday I was looking forward to sleeping in this morning.
Monday: Interval training 400m, 600m, 800m, 1200m, 800m, 600m, 400m with rest to <110bpm, level 4;
Tuesday: donated Blood;
Wednesday: Long run 17.5k level 2;
Thursday: Hill 5x Mount Street level 4-5;
Friday: Brick Session 50 mins bike, 50 mins run (bike included the first 22k of Kona) level 3;
Saturday: Long run 18.7k (very slow given the heavy session the day before) level 2.
Sunday: nothing!
Total week: 69ks - more than for a long time.
Knee is perfectly fine. Heel still plays up but I can now go longer before it becomes bothersome.
I think I will keep the mid-week long run at the current level and build up on the weekend run.
Next week is week four in the periodisation, so lighter work load on the running side. I'll focus a bit more on riding, swimming and strength.
I managed to get the running training done just I had planned it and by Saturday I was looking forward to sleeping in this morning.
Monday: Interval training 400m, 600m, 800m, 1200m, 800m, 600m, 400m with rest to <110bpm, level 4;
Tuesday: donated Blood;
Wednesday: Long run 17.5k level 2;
Thursday: Hill 5x Mount Street level 4-5;
Friday: Brick Session 50 mins bike, 50 mins run (bike included the first 22k of Kona) level 3;
Saturday: Long run 18.7k (very slow given the heavy session the day before) level 2.
Sunday: nothing!
Total week: 69ks - more than for a long time.
Knee is perfectly fine. Heel still plays up but I can now go longer before it becomes bothersome.
I think I will keep the mid-week long run at the current level and build up on the weekend run.
Next week is week four in the periodisation, so lighter work load on the running side. I'll focus a bit more on riding, swimming and strength.
07 July 2008
Surprises
The start to the week was quite slow, thanks to the bug that decided to like me very much. I was still popping pills on Monday and Tuesday and generally did not feel up to it.
Overall I thought that I would not be able to keep up with the planned schedule and whilst to some extent that was true, it only really affect the bike and swim workouts.
Swim - 0, Bike - 50 minutes instead of 80, no strength training, but a bit more than planned on running.
I hesitated doing heavy work early in the week and also decided to split the long run into two 90 minute sessions. Whilst that is not perfect, it is way better than getting injured or otherwise kicking the system around too much.
So on Tuesday I put in an level 3 session for 35 mins, on Wednesday 63 mins hills (including a few runs up Mount Street with a best at 1:30), Thursday long run 92 mins, Saturday long run 90 mins and on Sunday a brick session 50mins on the bike and 45 mins run, both at level 2/3.
Total running mileage: a surprising 57ks!
I do think I have deteriorated quite significantly aerobically, but even though the heel still hurts occasionally (going downhill) I am at the mileage just prior to the taper for Canberra.
12 weeks to Berlin, that is a time frame I should be able to focus on.
Other than that, I will do more swimming and riding, but they are not the priorities, just yet.
I was watching the best part of IM Europe yesterday afternoon. What these guys do is just awesome. Swimming close to Hackett's time, riding at 42km/h like the pros and to top it off doing a marathon in under 3h. Chapeau!
I think if I manage below 13h, I'll be extremely happy!
But that's a long shot, I'll have just over 12 months to train for that. Whether I'll manage to keep it up, is an entirely different question.
Overall I thought that I would not be able to keep up with the planned schedule and whilst to some extent that was true, it only really affect the bike and swim workouts.
Swim - 0, Bike - 50 minutes instead of 80, no strength training, but a bit more than planned on running.
I hesitated doing heavy work early in the week and also decided to split the long run into two 90 minute sessions. Whilst that is not perfect, it is way better than getting injured or otherwise kicking the system around too much.
So on Tuesday I put in an level 3 session for 35 mins, on Wednesday 63 mins hills (including a few runs up Mount Street with a best at 1:30), Thursday long run 92 mins, Saturday long run 90 mins and on Sunday a brick session 50mins on the bike and 45 mins run, both at level 2/3.
Total running mileage: a surprising 57ks!
I do think I have deteriorated quite significantly aerobically, but even though the heel still hurts occasionally (going downhill) I am at the mileage just prior to the taper for Canberra.
12 weeks to Berlin, that is a time frame I should be able to focus on.
Other than that, I will do more swimming and riding, but they are not the priorities, just yet.
I was watching the best part of IM Europe yesterday afternoon. What these guys do is just awesome. Swimming close to Hackett's time, riding at 42km/h like the pros and to top it off doing a marathon in under 3h. Chapeau!
I think if I manage below 13h, I'll be extremely happy!
But that's a long shot, I'll have just over 12 months to train for that. Whether I'll manage to keep it up, is an entirely different question.
29 June 2008
Baseline
Several weeks between posts and only 13 weeks to Berlin. Don't worry guys, I still exist.
Last week I planned to start with SERIOUS training for Berlin, but was struck with some ugly disease - flu, cold - that kind of thing. So, no training all week for the sake of recovering properly.
Before that I played around with running, swimming, riding in all forms with a variety of easy and hard sessions, just having a lot of fun. I set myself up with a CompuTrainer (had to buy a Windows laptop for that though, eerrrrgh) with a training video of Kona included.
I'll have to improve a lot to make the distance end of next year. In swimming I can already see some improvement, but let's be honest, I'm still no good. My golf score for 50m is 110 (50 strokes plus 60 seconds).
Having to take last week off certainly hasn't helped, but panicking won't either.
The bonus is that my heel feels pretty good, I can even stand on it when I get up in the morning, yeah!
Ok, so the plan is all laid out working up to a peak of about 80ks in the first week of September. I'll include a number of races, if they fit from week to week. This includes the City to Surf, but at this point I am not sure whether to do the 12k or the HM. Whilst I'd like to do the 12k for sentimental reasons - because I'd like to beat my PB, doing the HM would probably fit in better into the training plan.
Maybe I'll also do Lake Gwelup 10k - just two weeks out. But we'll see.
All the best to Epi, Clown & TB & anyone else who is a starter at the Perth Marathon. I'll be there to support jnr in the Kids' Marathon.
Last week I planned to start with SERIOUS training for Berlin, but was struck with some ugly disease - flu, cold - that kind of thing. So, no training all week for the sake of recovering properly.
Before that I played around with running, swimming, riding in all forms with a variety of easy and hard sessions, just having a lot of fun. I set myself up with a CompuTrainer (had to buy a Windows laptop for that though, eerrrrgh) with a training video of Kona included.
I'll have to improve a lot to make the distance end of next year. In swimming I can already see some improvement, but let's be honest, I'm still no good. My golf score for 50m is 110 (50 strokes plus 60 seconds).
Having to take last week off certainly hasn't helped, but panicking won't either.
The bonus is that my heel feels pretty good, I can even stand on it when I get up in the morning, yeah!
Ok, so the plan is all laid out working up to a peak of about 80ks in the first week of September. I'll include a number of races, if they fit from week to week. This includes the City to Surf, but at this point I am not sure whether to do the 12k or the HM. Whilst I'd like to do the 12k for sentimental reasons - because I'd like to beat my PB, doing the HM would probably fit in better into the training plan.
Maybe I'll also do Lake Gwelup 10k - just two weeks out. But we'll see.
All the best to Epi, Clown & TB & anyone else who is a starter at the Perth Marathon. I'll be there to support jnr in the Kids' Marathon.
25 May 2008
Feel the Heel Part 3 or: 20/20 for Dummies
Healing the heel (ha, ha, guys, at least you're getting a bit of joy out of this ...) has proven not to be as easy as I thought. I shouldn't have jumped out that plane, you say. How true, how true.... but not half as exciting.
We live and learn and ..... forget!
Three weeks out from the tumble and the heel still has not cleared up completely. Having said that, the heel itself is no longer the real problem. At present the fascia is much more painful when I run and particularly first thing in the morning. I wonder whether I might have picked up an injury there as well, which has so far simply been masked by the pain in the heel.
Also, after longer runs I end up with sore calves.
That on the other hand is not necessarily a bad thing (so maybe having this injury was a blessing in disguise (now for a pun in French: le talon blessé!)), as for a long time I have tried to improve my stride by striking mid-foot rather than with the heel. The injury has forced me to do that (painfully) and I may get that wish granted after all. It does put a bigger strain on the calves though.
Compared with what I felt last week (after 15ks), today was not too bad after yesterday's 17ks.
This week I managed to do 30ks and have also gone back to the pool. I certainly have suffered a set-back and in reality I will have to leave the Perth Marathon aside. Again, that may not be so bad. After all, Berlin is much more important to me than Perth.
It's now 6 weeks to Perth and 18 weeks to Berlin.
In reality am not going to get ready for Perth and if I tried, there would be a good chance of either pulling another injury or not resolving the current problem.
Therefore preparing for Berlin is now a much bigger priority. Sorry, guys, I'll watch you from the sidelines.
I suppose if someone wanted to do the relay, that would be an option. I'd be fine doing half of it in any combination.
I still plan to do the Perth HM, if only to see where I stand. That is now three weeks out, so hopefully I will have the foot under control.
Fortunately I have little Court commitments in the next few weeks (except for the next few days), so that will allow me to get into a routine with more time on the bike and in the pool.
Oh, yes, and did I mention that my daughter has convinced me to do an Ironman? Busselton December 2009, she will crew me. I suspect though that she will be busy at leavers and in any event only wants to me to shave my legs so she can make fun of me....
Hmmmm, daughters.......
We live and learn and ..... forget!
Three weeks out from the tumble and the heel still has not cleared up completely. Having said that, the heel itself is no longer the real problem. At present the fascia is much more painful when I run and particularly first thing in the morning. I wonder whether I might have picked up an injury there as well, which has so far simply been masked by the pain in the heel.
Also, after longer runs I end up with sore calves.
That on the other hand is not necessarily a bad thing (so maybe having this injury was a blessing in disguise (now for a pun in French: le talon blessé!)), as for a long time I have tried to improve my stride by striking mid-foot rather than with the heel. The injury has forced me to do that (painfully) and I may get that wish granted after all. It does put a bigger strain on the calves though.
Compared with what I felt last week (after 15ks), today was not too bad after yesterday's 17ks.
This week I managed to do 30ks and have also gone back to the pool. I certainly have suffered a set-back and in reality I will have to leave the Perth Marathon aside. Again, that may not be so bad. After all, Berlin is much more important to me than Perth.
It's now 6 weeks to Perth and 18 weeks to Berlin.
In reality am not going to get ready for Perth and if I tried, there would be a good chance of either pulling another injury or not resolving the current problem.
Therefore preparing for Berlin is now a much bigger priority. Sorry, guys, I'll watch you from the sidelines.
I suppose if someone wanted to do the relay, that would be an option. I'd be fine doing half of it in any combination.
I still plan to do the Perth HM, if only to see where I stand. That is now three weeks out, so hopefully I will have the foot under control.
Fortunately I have little Court commitments in the next few weeks (except for the next few days), so that will allow me to get into a routine with more time on the bike and in the pool.
Oh, yes, and did I mention that my daughter has convinced me to do an Ironman? Busselton December 2009, she will crew me. I suspect though that she will be busy at leavers and in any event only wants to me to shave my legs so she can make fun of me....
Hmmmm, daughters.......
18 May 2008
Feel the Heel Part 2
A tad optimistic I was last week as running "freely" is still not happening.
I did a short tempo run mid-week and a longish run of 15ks yesterday and ended up with a very sore calf today, courtesy of not guarding the right foot and not using a normal gait. Running downhills is a particular challenge.
I will just have to take it easy with shorter but more frequent runs. It's happening, but it's just taking an awful long time!
I did a short tempo run mid-week and a longish run of 15ks yesterday and ended up with a very sore calf today, courtesy of not guarding the right foot and not using a normal gait. Running downhills is a particular challenge.
I will just have to take it easy with shorter but more frequent runs. It's happening, but it's just taking an awful long time!
11 May 2008
Feel the Heel
or: Pain is nature's way of telling you you're alive.
I went for a short run today, just around the park, but otherwise I have found moving around quite a challenge this week.
The heel is still quite bruised, although much better than a week ago.
On a brighter note, the knee is completely pain-free.
I think it'll probably take another week until I can run freely again and in the meantime, I'll stick to the bike and might as well go to the pool and work on my stroke!
I went for a short run today, just around the park, but otherwise I have found moving around quite a challenge this week.
The heel is still quite bruised, although much better than a week ago.
On a brighter note, the knee is completely pain-free.
I think it'll probably take another week until I can run freely again and in the meantime, I'll stick to the bike and might as well go to the pool and work on my stroke!
04 May 2008
Crashing down to Earth
Having got quite some heat at the homefront, I thought I would get an A skydiving licence and then be content with the occasional jump.
This weekend was supposed to get me much closer to that point.
Without going into too many details, I have now decided to postpone the plan for a while, a considerable while I think.
It's just too hard to travel up to York, taking time out and having my head properly sorted out to concentrate. I think I need my head too much during the week and don't need the additional challenge.
The first (and only) jump on Friday was quite symptomatic. My first solo and I was really looking forward to it.
Jumping headfirst out of the plane was good fun, I recovered quite ok but manoeuvring was not so good. The landing would have been excellent if it had flared for long enough during the final few seconds.
This way I jarred my right heel (and bumped the right knee for good measure) and now, two days later, I still cannot stand on the heel. But it is improving.
Quite a pity though as things were clicking into place nicely even though it had looked for a while after Canberra as if I had overdone it completely and any further marathons would be out of the question.
I spent some time in the gym today obviously not doing anything involving the use of my right heel, but riding should be ok, so I might jump on the bike this week.
Worst case scenario is that I might have to give the Perth Marathon a miss, but we'll see.
This weekend was supposed to get me much closer to that point.
Without going into too many details, I have now decided to postpone the plan for a while, a considerable while I think.
It's just too hard to travel up to York, taking time out and having my head properly sorted out to concentrate. I think I need my head too much during the week and don't need the additional challenge.
The first (and only) jump on Friday was quite symptomatic. My first solo and I was really looking forward to it.
Jumping headfirst out of the plane was good fun, I recovered quite ok but manoeuvring was not so good. The landing would have been excellent if it had flared for long enough during the final few seconds.
This way I jarred my right heel (and bumped the right knee for good measure) and now, two days later, I still cannot stand on the heel. But it is improving.
Quite a pity though as things were clicking into place nicely even though it had looked for a while after Canberra as if I had overdone it completely and any further marathons would be out of the question.
I spent some time in the gym today obviously not doing anything involving the use of my right heel, but riding should be ok, so I might jump on the bike this week.
Worst case scenario is that I might have to give the Perth Marathon a miss, but we'll see.
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20 April 2008
Fred is well and truly dead
Fred RIP.
Having tried all button combinations, reloaded all software and tried again, I have come to accept that Fred is dead. He does start up when plugged in on the cradle, but as soon as I take him off, he goes off.
I read up on a variety of sites, but there is no hope of it coming to life again. I suppose I could send it to Taiwan to have it checked out, but frankly, I don't think it's worth it.
He has served me well and held out to let me complete the Canberra Marathon with it. Well done, Fred!
So for now I am back to Fred Snr (the faithful one) and the Polar HRM. A bit cumbersome and not as accurate, but it will do for now.
For now is the time between now and when future "Fred" arrives. Silly as I am, I have ordered a brandspanking new Forerunner 405. It's not due out for another couple of weeks and I do hope that they have sorted out any teething problems.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a name for the new model?
Garmin is due to set up an Australian branch office in July, so that should make any warranty claims easier to deal with (boy, do I have confidence in the product...).
And otherwise in the news, I have recovered quite well from the Marathon. We spent another couple of days in Canberra and then three days in Sydney and did a fair amount of walking. That was painful at first, particularly up and down stairs and every time we started walking again after a break, but otherwise good to keep the muscles going.
The right knee was a bit painful at times, but this has settled down again.
Tomorrow I'll be starting with the road to Perth. A bit of speed work and I will also ride the bike to work.
Let's see whether I'll manage to break the 3:30 barrier in July!
Having tried all button combinations, reloaded all software and tried again, I have come to accept that Fred is dead. He does start up when plugged in on the cradle, but as soon as I take him off, he goes off.
I read up on a variety of sites, but there is no hope of it coming to life again. I suppose I could send it to Taiwan to have it checked out, but frankly, I don't think it's worth it.
He has served me well and held out to let me complete the Canberra Marathon with it. Well done, Fred!
So for now I am back to Fred Snr (the faithful one) and the Polar HRM. A bit cumbersome and not as accurate, but it will do for now.
For now is the time between now and when future "Fred" arrives. Silly as I am, I have ordered a brandspanking new Forerunner 405. It's not due out for another couple of weeks and I do hope that they have sorted out any teething problems.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a name for the new model?
Garmin is due to set up an Australian branch office in July, so that should make any warranty claims easier to deal with (boy, do I have confidence in the product...).
And otherwise in the news, I have recovered quite well from the Marathon. We spent another couple of days in Canberra and then three days in Sydney and did a fair amount of walking. That was painful at first, particularly up and down stairs and every time we started walking again after a break, but otherwise good to keep the muscles going.
The right knee was a bit painful at times, but this has settled down again.
Tomorrow I'll be starting with the road to Perth. A bit of speed work and I will also ride the bike to work.
Let's see whether I'll manage to break the 3:30 barrier in July!
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13 April 2008
Operator Error & other unexpected stuff
The Canberra Marathon has come and gone and five hours later I have signed up for the Berlin Marathon. Before I put the knee to the test, I just was not game to sign up for the latter, even though the flights and accommodation are already booked.
I came in at 3:32 (new PB) and even though I did not break the 3:30 barrier, I am quite happy with today's result.
Just when we left the apartment, it started to drizzle and that continued for a while until about one hour into the race when it really poured down.
Soon after though, it stopped and the sun came out. I got a bit concerned that the humidity would make the race more difficult, but there was a breeze and in any event it stayed quite fresh, so the entire race was very pleasant, if not quite ideal at the beginning.
I started out probably a bit too fast, consistently just under 5m/k, except for the stretch up to Parliament House. At the back of it though I had found my stride and really enjoying it.
That was despite the fact that the bottles did not want to stay in the fuel belt, except for the one on the side, meaning that I ended up looking rather dopey with two bottles in my hands and that fashion statement of a fuel belt only holding one bottle!
I stuck to my nutritional plan, if not slavishly, at least quite close. At just under 14ks I had to rearrange my
glasses in the back pocket.
After that Fred had apparently conked out! I could still switch screens but otherwise nothing seemed to move. Oh bother! Fortunately I was running with Jonathan (#327) who was also aiming at 3:30 and he was happy to give me the splits.
It took me about 45 minutes to figure out that I must have hit the start button of Fred and whilst it was still working it was simply not recording. Serves me right for having changed the screens to only show pace and time elapsed etc. D'oh!
Not that it mattered, as I kept to a nice below 5m/k pace and was in line to end up at about 3:28.
Apart from struggling a bit with those couple of hills and ramps on the last lap - and also losing a bit of time pulling Jonathan along - after all, he had helped me out - suddenly, at 38ks, disaster: spasms in the muscles just below the right knee on the outside and I was limping. With that I lost considerable time, at least 2 minutes on those four ks.
And combined with the other time lost, this made the difference between coming in at 3:30 or not.
Nevertheless it was a good experience. The knee held up (my orthopod has now deserved a postcard) and had it not been for those spasms, it would have been ok. The only other trouble I had were stiff calves in the last ten ks which made those little hills a bit more of a challenge. But again, that's ok.
Having started just that bit fast, I was not looking for a negative split, and came it an 1:45 and 1:47 - given the above, that almost counts as an even split.
I took some time walking in the pool and later today will have a dip in the spa and a sauna.
By Tuesday I will be up and (ok, not quite) running again.
Congrats to Epi and Clown for easily doing the Boston qualifying time. Well done, guys, you put in the work and got the return.
I came in at 3:32 (new PB) and even though I did not break the 3:30 barrier, I am quite happy with today's result.
Just when we left the apartment, it started to drizzle and that continued for a while until about one hour into the race when it really poured down.
Soon after though, it stopped and the sun came out. I got a bit concerned that the humidity would make the race more difficult, but there was a breeze and in any event it stayed quite fresh, so the entire race was very pleasant, if not quite ideal at the beginning.
I started out probably a bit too fast, consistently just under 5m/k, except for the stretch up to Parliament House. At the back of it though I had found my stride and really enjoying it.
That was despite the fact that the bottles did not want to stay in the fuel belt, except for the one on the side, meaning that I ended up looking rather dopey with two bottles in my hands and that fashion statement of a fuel belt only holding one bottle!
I stuck to my nutritional plan, if not slavishly, at least quite close. At just under 14ks I had to rearrange my
glasses in the back pocket.
After that Fred had apparently conked out! I could still switch screens but otherwise nothing seemed to move. Oh bother! Fortunately I was running with Jonathan (#327) who was also aiming at 3:30 and he was happy to give me the splits.
It took me about 45 minutes to figure out that I must have hit the start button of Fred and whilst it was still working it was simply not recording. Serves me right for having changed the screens to only show pace and time elapsed etc. D'oh!
Not that it mattered, as I kept to a nice below 5m/k pace and was in line to end up at about 3:28.
Apart from struggling a bit with those couple of hills and ramps on the last lap - and also losing a bit of time pulling Jonathan along - after all, he had helped me out - suddenly, at 38ks, disaster: spasms in the muscles just below the right knee on the outside and I was limping. With that I lost considerable time, at least 2 minutes on those four ks.
And combined with the other time lost, this made the difference between coming in at 3:30 or not.
Nevertheless it was a good experience. The knee held up (my orthopod has now deserved a postcard) and had it not been for those spasms, it would have been ok. The only other trouble I had were stiff calves in the last ten ks which made those little hills a bit more of a challenge. But again, that's ok.
Having started just that bit fast, I was not looking for a negative split, and came it an 1:45 and 1:47 - given the above, that almost counts as an even split.
I took some time walking in the pool and later today will have a dip in the spa and a sauna.
By Tuesday I will be up and (ok, not quite) running again.
Congrats to Epi and Clown for easily doing the Boston qualifying time. Well done, guys, you put in the work and got the return.
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06 April 2008
Ready, Set, ...
And Fred has just scared me again.
I just wanted to check on the average for one of my runs and guess what, Fred played dead again. I have managed to resurrect him again, but I'm really starting to worry.
Fortunately I have my back up plan, but I would like to use Fred as I have programmed him with the pace for each section to get there in 3:30 (3:30:05 to be exact, but that's good enough for me, too).
Otherwise, everything is looking good and the pieces are coming together.
On Monday I did a short speed session with the foot pod trying to stay within the magic 90-95. My natural pace seems to be around 83 but at 90-95 I should be able to do an average of just over 4:33/k. Is that maybe what I am or should be capable of? That would in fact be really nice. Over a marathon that would work out to a time of 3:12!
Tell him he must be dreamin' - right?! My Boston cut off is 3:20 I think.........
Anyway, that matters all very little now. Whilst I am excited about next Sunday, I won't be silly enough to throw out the plan I have concocted over a few months now. If I manage to break the 3:30, great, if not, Perth is still there, and Berlin as well.
I did another 10k tempo run on Wednesday with a comfortable 4:30 pace
and then a longish run of 16k yesterday at just under 5:30 pace. Lots
of fun despite the fact that it came pouring down just as I set out and
it took about 1k to fill my shoes with water.
So, let's go through the checklist:
Mind - check;
Pacechart - check;
Food and Drink - check;
Rest of gear - will be checked by Thursday.
Tomorrow I plan a short Conconi style speed session on the treadmill and then an easy run either Wednesday or Thursday (depending on the weather, if it's good on Wednesday, I'll go off to York to hurl myself out of a plane for kicks), travel Friday, 5k on Saturday with Anna and then.
Also, given the time difference and the fact that the race starts at 7, I will try to get up around 4:30am every morning (the emphasis at this point being on "try").
Are we gonna have fun or are we gonna have fun?!!
I just wanted to check on the average for one of my runs and guess what, Fred played dead again. I have managed to resurrect him again, but I'm really starting to worry.
Fortunately I have my back up plan, but I would like to use Fred as I have programmed him with the pace for each section to get there in 3:30 (3:30:05 to be exact, but that's good enough for me, too).
Otherwise, everything is looking good and the pieces are coming together.
On Monday I did a short speed session with the foot pod trying to stay within the magic 90-95. My natural pace seems to be around 83 but at 90-95 I should be able to do an average of just over 4:33/k. Is that maybe what I am or should be capable of? That would in fact be really nice. Over a marathon that would work out to a time of 3:12!
Tell him he must be dreamin' - right?! My Boston cut off is 3:20 I think.........
Anyway, that matters all very little now. Whilst I am excited about next Sunday, I won't be silly enough to throw out the plan I have concocted over a few months now. If I manage to break the 3:30, great, if not, Perth is still there, and Berlin as well.
I did another 10k tempo run on Wednesday with a comfortable 4:30 pace
and then a longish run of 16k yesterday at just under 5:30 pace. Lots
of fun despite the fact that it came pouring down just as I set out and
it took about 1k to fill my shoes with water.
So, let's go through the checklist:
Mind - check;
Pacechart - check;
Food and Drink - check;
Rest of gear - will be checked by Thursday.
Tomorrow I plan a short Conconi style speed session on the treadmill and then an easy run either Wednesday or Thursday (depending on the weather, if it's good on Wednesday, I'll go off to York to hurl myself out of a plane for kicks), travel Friday, 5k on Saturday with Anna and then.
Also, given the time difference and the fact that the race starts at 7, I will try to get up around 4:30am every morning (the emphasis at this point being on "try").
Are we gonna have fun or are we gonna have fun?!!
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30 March 2008
Is Fred dead?
As predicted, whilst being the start of the taper, this last week was still "heavy" in my books. Total of 58.6ks.
After intervals at the start of the week, I even managed to do two MP sessions totalling 20ks on Thursday.
I then followed that up with a 25k tempo run (ie. 4:56/k) yesterday morning. The intention was to sharpen up the tempo to just under MP and I well and truly managed that. So, guess what, I'm really happy.
Well, if it wasn't for Fred, the Forerunner. Charged him full on Friday, but come Saturday am, he was not even blinking. Put him on the charger and after a while he woke up to say battery empty! Fortunately, I still have the old Fred 101 and he was ready to go with enough battery power (particularly as it was 4:45am and if I had to look for batteries, I would have woken up just about everyone in the house and not been very popular for the rest of the day).
So whilst I could not download the results and clearly the 101 is not as accurate as the 305, he did the trick.
Now the strange thing is that after charging the 305 all day and taking him off last night, he is fully charged today.
Beats me what happened. Maybe Fred just did not want to be woken up that early, was sick of my enthusiasm or whatever. But I will definitely take both with me to Canberra, just in case.
I also tried out the drinks and decided that I will go with that fashion statement of a FuelBelt (NOT!) after all.
I thought I could plonk a 330ml bottle into one of the pockets in a tri top (the idea being that Anna would hand me replacement bottles on the course), but it bounces around like bunny chased by a fox. I managed to stick it into one of the side pockets, which was not too great as imbalanced, but it got even worse as after 10ks I noticed that it had started to chafe my back.
I will see whether I can get better bottles for the belt as the ones that come with the FuelBelt are useless. At least I don't manage to drink out of them without looking like a three month old slobbering all over my front.
I also went to buy a couple of sachets of High 5 and whilst there is nothing disagreeable about it, I haven't quite figured out whether they will be serving the isotonic or the energy drink at Canberra.
In either case, my Endura/HJ mix covers me for both with the addition of a few gels. So I'll stick with that.
This week a few quick runs to keep the speed up and an easy 15 or 16k run on Saturday and that will be about it.
I won't do much week after next except for the 5k run on Saturday in which I'll just plod alongside Anna - she's not a speedster, so that will just loosen me up for the next morning.
After intervals at the start of the week, I even managed to do two MP sessions totalling 20ks on Thursday.
I then followed that up with a 25k tempo run (ie. 4:56/k) yesterday morning. The intention was to sharpen up the tempo to just under MP and I well and truly managed that. So, guess what, I'm really happy.
Well, if it wasn't for Fred, the Forerunner. Charged him full on Friday, but come Saturday am, he was not even blinking. Put him on the charger and after a while he woke up to say battery empty! Fortunately, I still have the old Fred 101 and he was ready to go with enough battery power (particularly as it was 4:45am and if I had to look for batteries, I would have woken up just about everyone in the house and not been very popular for the rest of the day).
So whilst I could not download the results and clearly the 101 is not as accurate as the 305, he did the trick.
Now the strange thing is that after charging the 305 all day and taking him off last night, he is fully charged today.
Beats me what happened. Maybe Fred just did not want to be woken up that early, was sick of my enthusiasm or whatever. But I will definitely take both with me to Canberra, just in case.
I also tried out the drinks and decided that I will go with that fashion statement of a FuelBelt (NOT!) after all.
I thought I could plonk a 330ml bottle into one of the pockets in a tri top (the idea being that Anna would hand me replacement bottles on the course), but it bounces around like bunny chased by a fox. I managed to stick it into one of the side pockets, which was not too great as imbalanced, but it got even worse as after 10ks I noticed that it had started to chafe my back.
I will see whether I can get better bottles for the belt as the ones that come with the FuelBelt are useless. At least I don't manage to drink out of them without looking like a three month old slobbering all over my front.
I also went to buy a couple of sachets of High 5 and whilst there is nothing disagreeable about it, I haven't quite figured out whether they will be serving the isotonic or the energy drink at Canberra.
In either case, my Endura/HJ mix covers me for both with the addition of a few gels. So I'll stick with that.
This week a few quick runs to keep the speed up and an easy 15 or 16k run on Saturday and that will be about it.
I won't do much week after next except for the 5k run on Saturday in which I'll just plod alongside Anna - she's not a speedster, so that will just loosen me up for the next morning.
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24 March 2008
Yoho, here we go!
I am in a good mood, quite obviously!
Three weeks to Canberra and things seem to be clicking into place.
Looking at my mileage (what mileage?) I will be underdone, but at this stage I prefer that to having done too much and having risked burnout or worse, injury.
The last couple of weeks I average a mere 50ks a week and I know that is not much, but after battling with my head so often, I have now got over that hump and am very positive about it.
My base is solid (8 runs >30ks since the beginning of the year, peaking at 38ks) and the right knee is occasionally niggly, but no more than that on the run itself. A bit stiff during the day after a heavy run, but that is about it.
Yes, you guys will be specks in the distance (assuming I wear glasses), but that's ok. I am currently not setting the bar very high. If I manage to better my PB (3:38 - not much to work off, he, he), I'll be happy. If not, at least I will have a good base to work off for Perth.
And if I don't manage to break 3:30 there, I still have more than two months until Berlin.
I had a great 33.5k run on Saturday morning. I spent a little while on Friday working out the nutrition and it all worked out nicely on the run. All I need to do is transfer it onto the Canberra plan. I am fairly confident I can do a 5:10 average which should bring me home exactly on time.
I have spent more time on the Adistars and they are just wonderful. I have already ordered a second pair and will consign my other runners to gardening duties. Since I am a lousy gardener, I now have enough shoes to last me a lifetime.
So, now onto tapering.
I think I am going to give myself a comparatively heavy week this week, focussing on intervals and tempo with a short 20-25k run on Saturday.
Next week I plan on doing short but quick bursts and throw in some riding and possibly some swimming. An easy long run of less than 20k on the Saturday should then round it all off, apart from some Fartlek runs in the week before the marathon.
I think that should do it.
Lots of sleep, too.
Workwise, it also seems to fall into place. One trial next week and otherwise just small stuff.
Onya guys, we'll have a blast!
Three weeks to Canberra and things seem to be clicking into place.
Looking at my mileage (what mileage?) I will be underdone, but at this stage I prefer that to having done too much and having risked burnout or worse, injury.
The last couple of weeks I average a mere 50ks a week and I know that is not much, but after battling with my head so often, I have now got over that hump and am very positive about it.
My base is solid (8 runs >30ks since the beginning of the year, peaking at 38ks) and the right knee is occasionally niggly, but no more than that on the run itself. A bit stiff during the day after a heavy run, but that is about it.
Yes, you guys will be specks in the distance (assuming I wear glasses), but that's ok. I am currently not setting the bar very high. If I manage to better my PB (3:38 - not much to work off, he, he), I'll be happy. If not, at least I will have a good base to work off for Perth.
And if I don't manage to break 3:30 there, I still have more than two months until Berlin.
I had a great 33.5k run on Saturday morning. I spent a little while on Friday working out the nutrition and it all worked out nicely on the run. All I need to do is transfer it onto the Canberra plan. I am fairly confident I can do a 5:10 average which should bring me home exactly on time.
I have spent more time on the Adistars and they are just wonderful. I have already ordered a second pair and will consign my other runners to gardening duties. Since I am a lousy gardener, I now have enough shoes to last me a lifetime.
So, now onto tapering.
I think I am going to give myself a comparatively heavy week this week, focussing on intervals and tempo with a short 20-25k run on Saturday.
Next week I plan on doing short but quick bursts and throw in some riding and possibly some swimming. An easy long run of less than 20k on the Saturday should then round it all off, apart from some Fartlek runs in the week before the marathon.
I think that should do it.
Lots of sleep, too.
Workwise, it also seems to fall into place. One trial next week and otherwise just small stuff.
Onya guys, we'll have a blast!
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09 March 2008
Oh, boy!
What a weird two weeks it has been.
I felt so deflated last weekend I did not even feel like blogging.
Whilst I managed something like 68ks for the week, a record for quite some time, I had real trouble keeping it all together.
To make matters worse, this week the right knee played up so I just let everything go until Friday. By then I had got to the point where the head was ticking right again and I dashed up the DNA tower a few times just to get the week out of the system.
Yesterday I took stock and figured that maybe, despite the fact that I have about as many runners as Imelda had shoes, all of them were worn out - except for the Trance that keep giving me little blisters whenever I go beyond 30k.
So, I reviewed what the podiatrist said and went over to Bob and Jan and pulled apart their shelves. I tried about six pair in different combinations and Phil started to shake his head.
Anyway, I came away with a new pair of Adistar Control and they are just fantastic. Softest but most stable ride ever!
So I went for run with junior, in preparation for the Canberra Kids Marathon and started to feel together again.
Today, I got up early and went round Kings Park, a good 13ks aerobic run. The knee is "still there", but tonight it feels much better, ie. not the twinges I've been having all week.
On a positive note, I went skydiving on Wednesday and managed to have good control in freefall, plus had a super sweet landing, tippy-toe and all, without any guidance at all. Wow! That felt good. Unfortunately however, I am so busy at work now that I won't be able to go back up to York for a couple of weeks.
I have found the entry forms and faxed them off today.
I see that there are currently a mere 7 entries in the marathon from WA, including Epi and Clown. Funny then that the three of us should decide to run it quite independently of each other.
Ok, back to work and let's see what the next week brings.
It'll be stressful all week, but I do hope that we'll finish before the five days the matter is listed for.
I felt so deflated last weekend I did not even feel like blogging.
Whilst I managed something like 68ks for the week, a record for quite some time, I had real trouble keeping it all together.
To make matters worse, this week the right knee played up so I just let everything go until Friday. By then I had got to the point where the head was ticking right again and I dashed up the DNA tower a few times just to get the week out of the system.
Yesterday I took stock and figured that maybe, despite the fact that I have about as many runners as Imelda had shoes, all of them were worn out - except for the Trance that keep giving me little blisters whenever I go beyond 30k.
So, I reviewed what the podiatrist said and went over to Bob and Jan and pulled apart their shelves. I tried about six pair in different combinations and Phil started to shake his head.
Anyway, I came away with a new pair of Adistar Control and they are just fantastic. Softest but most stable ride ever!
So I went for run with junior, in preparation for the Canberra Kids Marathon and started to feel together again.
Today, I got up early and went round Kings Park, a good 13ks aerobic run. The knee is "still there", but tonight it feels much better, ie. not the twinges I've been having all week.
On a positive note, I went skydiving on Wednesday and managed to have good control in freefall, plus had a super sweet landing, tippy-toe and all, without any guidance at all. Wow! That felt good. Unfortunately however, I am so busy at work now that I won't be able to go back up to York for a couple of weeks.
I have found the entry forms and faxed them off today.
I see that there are currently a mere 7 entries in the marathon from WA, including Epi and Clown. Funny then that the three of us should decide to run it quite independently of each other.
Ok, back to work and let's see what the next week brings.
It'll be stressful all week, but I do hope that we'll finish before the five days the matter is listed for.
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24 February 2008
Mental as Anything
Similar to last week, the training this week had more to do with keeping my mind in check.
The start to the week was sluggish, ie I had so much going on in my head workwise that running was simply not a priority.
By Wednesday, this excruciating trial was over and with that the stress levels had dropped. From there on I managed to get some decent endurance/hill training done and intervals the next day.
Then a day's worth of rest and a whole blood donation.
On Friday I was really looking forward to a long run but it was really tough. What I forgot as I was slugging it out on Saturday morning was that I was missing a pint of blood, so no wonder I had to pump that little bit more. Anyway, I am now taking a break from apheresis and whole blood donations and will go back to that no later than after the Perth Marathon.
I did 38k at a pace of 5:43 with the heart rate just nudging level 2. That is actually considerably better than the figures for the 32k run four weeks ago.
I suppose I should be happy. And in reality I am. Although I will never be fast, the consistent tempo and interval training is now paying off. Whilst I may not crack 3:30 at Canberra, for Perth it should be possible.
Apart from a tweak now and then, the knee is as new.
Total distance this week was 67.5. Earlier in the year I thought I would get up to about 80ks a week, but I think I'll give this a miss and rather add a bit of time on the bike so as to take the strain off the joints.
Now, where did I leave these entry forms for Canberra?
The start to the week was sluggish, ie I had so much going on in my head workwise that running was simply not a priority.
By Wednesday, this excruciating trial was over and with that the stress levels had dropped. From there on I managed to get some decent endurance/hill training done and intervals the next day.
Then a day's worth of rest and a whole blood donation.
On Friday I was really looking forward to a long run but it was really tough. What I forgot as I was slugging it out on Saturday morning was that I was missing a pint of blood, so no wonder I had to pump that little bit more. Anyway, I am now taking a break from apheresis and whole blood donations and will go back to that no later than after the Perth Marathon.
I did 38k at a pace of 5:43 with the heart rate just nudging level 2. That is actually considerably better than the figures for the 32k run four weeks ago.
I suppose I should be happy. And in reality I am. Although I will never be fast, the consistent tempo and interval training is now paying off. Whilst I may not crack 3:30 at Canberra, for Perth it should be possible.
Apart from a tweak now and then, the knee is as new.
Total distance this week was 67.5. Earlier in the year I thought I would get up to about 80ks a week, but I think I'll give this a miss and rather add a bit of time on the bike so as to take the strain off the joints.
Now, where did I leave these entry forms for Canberra?
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17 February 2008
Going topsy-turvy
I went skydiving today and managed to nearly spin out when the JM let go. And in many other respects the week was topsy-turvy, too.
Had a strong start to the week with hill repeats on Reabold Hill on Monday, did some gymwork on Tuesday and got caught up with work too much to get out on Wednesday. Intervals on Thursday which were a bit all over the place as I had programmed the Forerunner incorrectly, d'oh.
Saturday long run turned out quite ok. 35k at 5:22/k. After 7ks I thought about giving it all away, my legs just wanted to curl up and go to sleep in a ditch. Good thing the brain told them to keep running.
The knees are doing just fine, the left one is perfect and the right one just gives me the occasional niggle.
Had a strong start to the week with hill repeats on Reabold Hill on Monday, did some gymwork on Tuesday and got caught up with work too much to get out on Wednesday. Intervals on Thursday which were a bit all over the place as I had programmed the Forerunner incorrectly, d'oh.
Saturday long run turned out quite ok. 35k at 5:22/k. After 7ks I thought about giving it all away, my legs just wanted to curl up and go to sleep in a ditch. Good thing the brain told them to keep running.
The knees are doing just fine, the left one is perfect and the right one just gives me the occasional niggle.
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10 February 2008
Waking up to petrichord
Isn't it just great, this smell of summer rain on the warm ground?
Just too sweet to get up and do a heavy interval session. Ok, I'm a wuss and reading Clown's blog I can say at least I'm not alone.
I had planned to have an easy week and it turned out to be even easier than anticipated. I needed a bit of a break both mentally and physically, so only a level 2 run with 2x Reabold Hill on Monday and a MP run of 22.54k yesterday morning, a total, wait for it: 35.55k. Now that's slack.
Having said that, I felt sluggish after the last three weeks but by yesterday I was very happy with the MP run yesterday at just over 5m/k. Nowhere near the young guns, but for now clearly a good point to be.
Although I did not run much, I did three sessions in the gym concentrating on core strength and just a bit of stability exercises for the knees.
I now have to work out next week's program which is going to be tough especially since I'm going to be in Court all week and have my head full of jet engines, boat hull designs, fishtails, spins and emergency stops. And plenty of cavitation - in my head as well.
Taking a positive angle to it a bit of running won't go astray it seems.
Not sure whether I'll do Matilda Bay - just does not fit my program - unless the case finishes before Friday and I can do the long run on Friday and then... I think I'm getting ahead of myself.
First, I'll have a good night's sleep.
Just too sweet to get up and do a heavy interval session. Ok, I'm a wuss and reading Clown's blog I can say at least I'm not alone.
I had planned to have an easy week and it turned out to be even easier than anticipated. I needed a bit of a break both mentally and physically, so only a level 2 run with 2x Reabold Hill on Monday and a MP run of 22.54k yesterday morning, a total, wait for it: 35.55k. Now that's slack.
Having said that, I felt sluggish after the last three weeks but by yesterday I was very happy with the MP run yesterday at just over 5m/k. Nowhere near the young guns, but for now clearly a good point to be.
Although I did not run much, I did three sessions in the gym concentrating on core strength and just a bit of stability exercises for the knees.
I now have to work out next week's program which is going to be tough especially since I'm going to be in Court all week and have my head full of jet engines, boat hull designs, fishtails, spins and emergency stops. And plenty of cavitation - in my head as well.
Taking a positive angle to it a bit of running won't go astray it seems.
Not sure whether I'll do Matilda Bay - just does not fit my program - unless the case finishes before Friday and I can do the long run on Friday and then... I think I'm getting ahead of myself.
First, I'll have a good night's sleep.
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02 February 2008
I need an easy week
The last three weeks have been busy and interesting.
Running wise I managed to do three weeks of intensity training - just!
Today's long run was tough as my legs were dead. Didn't even feel my knees on the whole 33ks which I suppose is a good thing.
The truth is that yesterday's speed session together with a short night just did not allow me to recover. By now I should know that I need a day's rest before and after a long run.
As a result, this run was all about toughening it out mentally. The head was there, the heart was pumping but the legs went awol. So I found myself pushing myself with the heart rate being just barely going to 60%max, really strange. I think I hit 70% three times during the entire run.
Even if from the physical perspective that run was not quite right, certainly mentally the run was beneficial.
But I am really looking forward to an easy week.
I did have a bit of a rough spot (mentally) in the middle week, which explains a slightly lower mileage:
Week of 14 January: 65.28k - 6 hrs 22 mins
Week of 21 January: 56.88k - 5 hrs 46 mins
Week of 28 January: 65.05k - 6 hrs 41 mins
Pretty sad figures compared with the impressive stats of the young guns, Epi and Clown, but I am just happy that my knees are still attached.
Oh, did I mention that I have been distracted by yet another project (that's the Gemini in me) - getting my skydiving A licence. That means that I spend a fair amount of time out at York, predominantly sitting and waiting for the wind to die down... not very attractive running country out there :-((!
Running wise I managed to do three weeks of intensity training - just!
Today's long run was tough as my legs were dead. Didn't even feel my knees on the whole 33ks which I suppose is a good thing.
The truth is that yesterday's speed session together with a short night just did not allow me to recover. By now I should know that I need a day's rest before and after a long run.
As a result, this run was all about toughening it out mentally. The head was there, the heart was pumping but the legs went awol. So I found myself pushing myself with the heart rate being just barely going to 60%max, really strange. I think I hit 70% three times during the entire run.
Even if from the physical perspective that run was not quite right, certainly mentally the run was beneficial.
But I am really looking forward to an easy week.
I did have a bit of a rough spot (mentally) in the middle week, which explains a slightly lower mileage:
Week of 14 January: 65.28k - 6 hrs 22 mins
Week of 21 January: 56.88k - 5 hrs 46 mins
Week of 28 January: 65.05k - 6 hrs 41 mins
Pretty sad figures compared with the impressive stats of the young guns, Epi and Clown, but I am just happy that my knees are still attached.
Oh, did I mention that I have been distracted by yet another project (that's the Gemini in me) - getting my skydiving A licence. That means that I spend a fair amount of time out at York, predominantly sitting and waiting for the wind to die down... not very attractive running country out there :-((!
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13 January 2008
Knees holding up
All in all a satisfying week, even though the left knee is still not quite ok.
I was glad that is was a recovery week as I don't think that any more than the 50ks I managed would have been any good.
I also managed to get rid of the excess Xmas weight and by the end of this week I expect, I'll be in normal range again.
So, three runs in total, three times at the gym, apheresis on Friday and to top it off 20th wedding anniversary on Tuesday with a most excellent present: aerobatic flight in an Extra 300L, the type of plane they fly at the Red Bull Airrace. That was awesome.
Back on earth, I'm now into the intensity stage of the training with four hard sessions which will no doubt be hard on the knees to start with.
Let's see!
I was glad that is was a recovery week as I don't think that any more than the 50ks I managed would have been any good.
I also managed to get rid of the excess Xmas weight and by the end of this week I expect, I'll be in normal range again.
So, three runs in total, three times at the gym, apheresis on Friday and to top it off 20th wedding anniversary on Tuesday with a most excellent present: aerobatic flight in an Extra 300L, the type of plane they fly at the Red Bull Airrace. That was awesome.
Back on earth, I'm now into the intensity stage of the training with four hard sessions which will no doubt be hard on the knees to start with.
Let's see!
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06 January 2008
All set for Canberra
We finally got around to book the flights to Canberra and also the accommodation. We'll be staying at the Medina Apartments, a stone's throw away from the start. Since we're over there, we'll fly on to Sydney for a few days, being school holidays and all.
On the sporting front this has been a very difficult week. The left knee is still pretty buggered, although it's more the knock on it, rather than something structural inside. But to make matters worse the right one has started to play up as well.
I suppose the 4kgs I gained over Xmas have not helped, but the long run today was quite a challenge, especially towards the end. I played it safe by sticking to going round and round and round Kings Park, but I didn't take anything with me and hit the wall at 26ks.
Not to be discouraged, we looked at getting to and staying in Berlin at the end of September.
This week I'll just push it as far as the knees allow me and build up from there - and try to eat properly to lose some of the Xmas excess.
On the sporting front this has been a very difficult week. The left knee is still pretty buggered, although it's more the knock on it, rather than something structural inside. But to make matters worse the right one has started to play up as well.
I suppose the 4kgs I gained over Xmas have not helped, but the long run today was quite a challenge, especially towards the end. I played it safe by sticking to going round and round and round Kings Park, but I didn't take anything with me and hit the wall at 26ks.
Not to be discouraged, we looked at getting to and staying in Berlin at the end of September.
This week I'll just push it as far as the knees allow me and build up from there - and try to eat properly to lose some of the Xmas excess.
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