Another day, another bout of humidity

So, third day on the trot for running, and yet more unbearable humidity. Today's weather report... 24 degrees and the highest yet, 94% humidity. So did a 7 mile recovery run just before some drinks at work, and went round in about 59 mins. Didnt time it as such, just know from looking at my watch before I went out, and when I came back again. But the key thing is that I felt better as the run went on. Started off pretty slugish for the first 3 miles, but the last 4 were good. There's a stretch on my run, between 4-5 miles where I just glide. It's probably the flatest part of my course, but I just seem to get in a zone whereby I run like a demon. There was a guy around 40 metres in front of me when I just started the stretch, and within 200 metres I overtook him, not through the want of trying, but just gliding along, and the run from there was easy for the last 3 miles.So all in all... a good last 3 days of running, coming in at 27 miles, but in probably the hardest conditions I've ever run in. I dont think I've ever run in such humid conditions as this week, averaging arond 83%... but all good. whilst it's been hard, it's be a learning curve, and one from which I'll get better...

Hopefully, the humidity will drop this weekend so I can get a good 15 mile+ run in Saturday or Sunday... bon chance mes braves...

Pole, pole

Tanzanian for slowly, slowly... and boy was that true tonight. The intention was an 18 miler, the reality was conditions similar to last night. 26 degrees Celsius, and 79% humidity and a slow 12.25 miles... going round in 1hr 45 mins. Slow, but hey, considering I was going to bail at 9 miles, I'm fairly happy I did over 12. Quite simply the weather is horrible. I'd rather it was 30 degrees and hot than the humidity we've got here at the moment... but hey, gotta get through it all! Will have another crack later this week when its not so humid!

Back on it

Well, back on it again... went for a 4 mile interval run last Friday, which took last week's miles up to around 39... so so for the week, given i only trained 4 days last week. After a weekend away from it all in Melbourne I got back on it tonight with the usual 8.25 mile loop. The humidity here in Sydney was once again unbearable, and my legs felt a little heavy towards the end of the run. Just checked the temperature, bearing in mind its now half ten at night and its still 25 degrees and 89% humidity... gives you an idea of what i was running in! However I still went round in 1hr 10 mins, so not too shabby...

Tomorrow is the big one... well hopefully if the humidity stays away :)

Strong like bull!

Well another day, another run. Decided to up the ante from last night's 'recovery run'. So increased the weight in the backpack to around 4/5 kgs (am only planning on taking 7-8kgs for thee real thing)... and it was a good run. Plan was to start out steady, and then increase speed for the final two miles, so a good workout all in all. Despite the increased weight I went round the 8.25mile loop I do in 1hr 9 mins, so pretty pleased with that.

As is usual, first mile is always quick, and then it settles down, but the last 2 miles I did around a 7:15 min miles, which ain't too shabby. So now up to around 36/37 miles for the week. One more run tomorrow, between 8-10 again, and then I'm going to have 3 days off as I'll have trained solid for 4 weeks now, so a nice bit of recovery will do me good, although I find it so hard not to run.

I'm off to Melbourne for the weekend for a bit of partying, but will probably take the trainers and go for a gentle 4 miler or something :)

Recovery Day

Well it was quite an easy run to be honest. I did set out pretty slowly (didnt want to over do it on the back of Monday), but although i didnt time it, I went round in approx 1h 13mins ish for 8.25 miles. Although untimed I know it was around that as I listen to a particular mix on my ipod and i know that it's exactly 1hr 17 mins... so know it inside out now :)

All in all, it felt very good... in fact so good that on some of the hills I did some hill sprints, and the workrate required overall to do the run was pretty low... can certainly feel the difference in fitness... key is to keep it going now. Feel like I'm on a high at the moment, and am going to have the weekend off this weekend, as I'll have done 4 weeks of pretty intense training (for me that is), and i reckon my body could do with the rest :)... then after that i'll be stepping up once more into Feb, with 2 months really hardcore training ahead of the Canberra Marathon where I'll tapper down first week of April...

Laters...

Rest Day...

I should run 18.5 miles most days... it makes the logic for rest days easier to come by when you're battling against whether or not to go for a run or not. To be honest, I felt good after the run yesterday, and if push really came to shove, I could have gone out and done a nice 8 mile recovery. However I'm glad I've rested as I feel even better today and ready to do an 8 mile recovery... however I've got to go and do it first, so we'll see how we go.

Who's ya Daddy?

Well i focused on it all day. I took myself into the corner and had a word with myself, beating myself up about how weak I was and how I have to focus on the running. (I seriously think I'm becoming obsessed).

I was so pissed off with yesterday (again! But i really didnt need to be!). So I told myself, tonight is the night I break the back of this training and push myself into new realms. Two and a half hours running, thats what i told myself... no less. I had to do it. 18.5 miles was the course, well over 2 and a half miles more than id ever done.

Job done. 18.5 miles in 2.5 hours... I'm a happy man...


I really feel like I'm getting somewhere now, and a 3.45 marathon looks very realistic given that I'm currently running up and down hills on my route. But you can't say it until youve done it. I hit a bit of a wall at 16 miles and the legs felt very heavy, but thats because ive never run that distance before... however I really dont feel all that bad now. But it's amazing what an extra 3 miles does. I've done a good half dozen runs at the 13/14 mile mark ow and I'm fine until then, but it's a case of getting half a dozen runs in at 18/20 miles now... thats the key. The hardest one is done... more of the same please!

Frustrations

Well after yesterday I'm a little frustrated with myself and the running. I know we all go through these little up and down patches, but it does annoy me. An interesting thread started on the MDS website (www.themds.co.uk), which talks about a run/walk strategy when doing longer distances. I guess my biggest issue at the moment is having the confidence in myself to be able to run a marathon and I'm doubting that. Given that I wanted to go and do 16 miles yesterday I was disappointed that I was so tired after just 7 miles. I know there are factors to consider, but it annoys me. I guess also my preparation at weekends is poor. I usually get up late, my eating patterns go off plan, and I end up not eating up through paranoia that I'll get stitch. Yet when I run after work, I often have my best runs as I'm into a pattern, have eaten well during the day and feel good. Common sense really isnt it!

If anything my run yesterday should have taught me something in that I would usually average around 56-58 mins for the 7 mile loop that I do, and by coming in at 61 mins, whilst walking up hills, tells me that all is OK, even walking up hills. My issue is that I feel walking is a failure and that in doing so I've given up. I guess I'm comparing myself to if I'm doing a marathon, and I should not even be contemplating walking in a marathon! Which I won't of course, but I'm my biggest critic when it comes to things like this, and the fact that I didnt do the full whack annoys me intensely. I guess I need to chill out a little!

So need to rethink strategy a little, and focus on what it is I want to achieve. The problem is that at the moment I'm focusing on a marathon in April (not the mds), so need to behave accordingly. In the short-term I want to be marathon fit. i.e. run a marathon in 3:45mins and feel ok afterwards. That is goal number one... so really I need to just shut up and get out there and bloody well make sure I do it... once I'm done on this... then it's a case of just keeping that intensity up and then adjust training for the mds.

Hmmm, maybe I just need to get out there and run and chill :)

Horrendous humidity

Well, that will learn me. Thinking I can go off and do another 16 miler this week. I had great ideas about it... the weather was really overcast when I got up this morning, great conditions I thought. Not too hot. Oh dear... little did I know that whilst it was overcast, it was 28 degrees Celsius and I've just checked out that humidity is at around 75%. So off I went at normal pace and I was wasted within 3 miles. It's so funny how it affects you. So I seriously slowed down and even walked up some of the hills. It's bizarre just how badly the humidity hit me. My legs felt like they were encased in concrete, and just wouldn't move.

I called it quits after 7 miles. I was a little annoyed, but I knew that carrying on would have been a waste of time, especially when i have a big week next week. (Am planning on running 5 days on the trot because I'm away for the weekend. So just the 37 miles this week (god i make it sound like I'm a failure!)... But even still I managed to get a long run in (14 miler on Tuesday)... however I really want to push up to 16+ a bit more regularly. I'm probably being quite harsh on myself, but that's where I need to be by the end of January... knocking on the 16-18mile door, before knocking on the 18-20 mile door in February for the marathon in April.

Although in all fairness I've done 3 weeks of 40 miles, so maybe that's taking its toll a bit, but more likely it is the humidity. I was literally gasping for air and my heart was having to work so much harder. You could have cut the air with a knife it was so thick.

Laters....

Forcing myself to rest

I hate it... this is the second rest day on the trot and I dont like it one bit. All I want to do is go out there for a little 7 miler. But I'm being good and not doing anything. I'm actually off out for drinks tonight, but even thought to myself that I could get a little run in before I went. Hmmmmmm...

Anway's it's quite a strange week given that I did the 14 miler on Tuesday night, so have done 22 miles this week, which I'll supplement with either 2 shorter runs of 8 miles to take me to around 40 miles for the week, or either I'll do an easy 4-6 miler tomorrow night, followed by a possible 16 miler on Saturday and then rest on Sunday. Am tempted to do the latter as I want to get another 16 miler under my belt, but that will be two long runs in a week. We'll see how I feel to be frank, but it's tempting, and also a good way to see how my body will feel after 44 miles, but with two long runs involved, hence why I think it would be cool to have a crack at it.

Je suis un plonker rodney

Well today was all a it strange in the land of Dan's training. First of all it was meant to be a rest day... i even gorged on loads of food at work knowing that i would be putting my feet up later on. However I got on the ferry home from work and had the tunes playing and I was getting really pumped. Then as I powered up the hill home, I could feel a spring in my step and thought, I know, I'll just go for a quick 7 miler, nothing too strenuous, just get it out of my system. This is from the man who yesterday was feeling the 16 miler in his legs from Saturday and felt a slight recurrence of sore shins.

So off I went, nice and easy 4 miles in and clocked at 35 mins. Then from nowhere I hit stride, I was zoned in and I thought sod it, let's really push it. The final 3 miles done in just under 20 mins... jesus sub 7 min miles for me, it's been a long time since I strung 3 of them together. So all in all 7 miles in 55 mins. A good effort I would say. But did I stop there? No siree, I thought I'd just stretch out and warm down for 3 miles and make it a nice even 10 miler...

But I still felt good, so in the end I ended up completing another lap, doing 14 miles on a school night! And this after 4 days straight training and sore shins. Second lap was a touch slower at 59 mins, but even so, a 1hour 54 mins for 14 miles, with hills... that aint too shabby for me.

The reality is that I think I felt I had something to prove to myself after Saturday's torrid run in the heat. I know that in reality, Saturday's run is going to be like everyday of the mds, just throw in some sand and an extra 10 degrees! But I wanted to show myself that I could hit what I would normally expect of myself. IN the long run, I learnt more about Saturday's run than I did tonight, but tonight's run has put a smile on my face, but also made me realise that I can string together 4days of back-to-back training, with two long distance runs in. So a happy man as I chomp on my BBQ meatfeast pizza reward!

Recovery run

So last night was the start of a new week and a slightly varying route, but it's essentially the same roads, just done in a different way. I'm actually starting to really enjoy the roads where I live, and find them easier to run on than say running to the beach. I think I worked it out as that I dint like crowds and loads of people. Whenever I run in the city or to the beach there's too many people and they annoy me and get in my way :)

Where I live it's very quiet and I just love the fact that it's me and the road. Anyhoos... I did the 8 mile recovery run and must admit could certainly feel the 16 miler in my legs from Saturday, this despite doing a very gentle 3 miler on the Sunday to keep the legs moving. The good thing is that I had no ill affects from Saturday, felt fine, but like I said, certainly felt the miles in the legs last night. I also felt a slight re-occurrence of the old shin splints, which have not been around for almost 2 months... it wasn't bad by any means, but I certainly felt a few twinges, and incidentally, it's always when I go slowly hmmmm anyway, so taking this into account I sped up and turned my recovery run into a steady run, finishing faster over the last 2 miles. Needless to say the 8 miles was knocked off in around 1hr 8 mins, average pace for me and a decent start to the week. The good thing is that I do feel strong at the end of my runs now, which means I am pacing myself well. The real test will come this weekend when I attempt another 16 miler to see how I'm progressing. This will be the second time doing this, but I'm going to do it over my route near home, and not over some of the steepest hills Sydney has to offer and in 30 degrees of heat! Silly Boy. That then will be a true test of where I am. Given times thus far, I'd love to do the 16 miles in around 2hr 10 mins/15 mins... but we'll see...

Another 40+ mile week

Well I thought it would be hard, and Jesus was it. To top off another 40 mile week, I did the dreaded 15 miler, which actually turned into 16 miles... I shall explain! Having not run half of the route before I was a little wary as to how steep some of the hills would be. I knew they were there, but I guess until you actually get there, you don't know.

Things didn't start off great. I worked out the reason I was tired last week was because the Asics Speedsters I have been running in for 3 months have gone in the middle, which is where I impact on the road. Thus my calves were doing overtime, meaning I was tired and sore. Quite simple really! I should have known this, given that they are light racer trainers. Great for road running, wont be so hot in the desert me thinks!

Anyways, so I bought a pair of Kayano's. Everyone raves about them, so I thought I'd part of 100 pounds of HSBC's money and see what all the fuss was about. So really I shouldn't have been doing my first run in them as a 16 miler, but hey I'm stupid. The next issue was my eating. I don't like to eat 4-5 hours before I run, so I got up, had a drink and that was it... no food. The next was my choice of rucksack. I had to buy a makeshift one for the run down to the beach to get all my gear in... so I'll thank the day I get my proper one when I order it!

So off I went in the full heat of day at around 2pm and it was a cool 29/30 degrees here in Sydney. First 10 miles were good. The I hit 'The Hill', or Heartbreak Hill as it's affectionately know around these parts, and I can see why... I steadily went up it, and carried on, and carried on, and carried on some more, and then after around 1 mile of steep incline, all I could see was more hill. Now I could see why they called it Heartbreak Hill, it was breaking mine! But I got to the top a relieved man, and carried on, however I was drinking my drink at a rather alarming rate, and the fact that I had only brought a liter and a half for a 16 mile run was a little silly. Plus I'd found out when I got home that I had only put in half of the recommended dextrose powder than I should have. That will explain the rampant drinking that was going on. I was running in 30 degrees, having not eaten and desperately craving more carbs than were in my drink. Anyhows, I carried on and found myself running down another steep hill, which again was heartbreaking as I knew that I had to turn around and come back up it. This I duly did, however I was now almost spent and very low on drink...

I carried on and another hill came and to be honest I was now bombing. The heat, and lack of carbs and energy was taking its toll and I was at the breaking point. So much so I had to walk up the hill, which was a first for me in any run, plus I went a little off route (in my confused state, hence the 16 miles and not 15). I was gutted, but also I was completely battered. I had two choices, walk the rest of the way (3 miles), or take a breather and walk for a bit, drink what drink I had left and then push on through. I took the latter, and it paid off. Walking allowed me to regain myself, and I pushed on through for the last 3 miles at a very slow pace, but I got there in the end. I kind of know now what it feels like to push yourself to the near edge and Ive definitely learnt from it. All in all I did just under 16 miles in around 2 hours 25 mins ish. At first I was disappointed, but taking into account conditions and what happened i realise it wasn't too bad. So lessons learnt?

- Plan the run better and eat well before
- Take enough drink with me
- Make sure I mix the drink properly with correct levels of carb!

Even more tired...

Blimey, what a week. Did a 9 miler last night on relative flat, with a few hilsl thrown in and boy was I tired afterwards. Funny really because during the run I was OK, but afterwards I was just deed! Think it had a lot to do with the lack of water intake. My camelback has broken-ish, so hard to drink from - which makes it a nightmare when you're running around in 25 degrees all the time. Need to sort that out soonish! Anyway 25 miles for the wek to date with a big 15 miler coming at the weekend... dreading it, but needs to be done. The consolation is that I run to the beach and I have a nice incentive at the end of it... but god damn does it hurt... the route is full of hills:



Oh well, the things we put ourselves through :)

Tired...

So went off for my 8 miler home last night and started like a rocket, but the Sydney traffic and people soon slowed me down, followed by an outdoor cinema blocking my route too in the Botanical Gardens! However not a bad little run and I did really slow myself down to do around 8.5 miles in 1h 8mins, which is fairly quick for me, even though I didnt feel like I was going quick, I guess I was just using more effort!

Off for another 9 miler home tonight, and a different route too. Must admit I am tired, probably due to first week back at work, but also maybe because of the increased milage I'm doing now. Also, I have a little tightness in my right calf, which was evident in my left one last night... all very strange, but should be OK. Makes me wonder though if I should give it a rest... but us guys being guys, well you know!

Interesting discussion on the MDS forum around interval training. I'm in a bit of a quandary because whilst half of me thinks that the main goal of the MDS is to make sure I finish, I also want to do as best I can, so interval training should be part of my programme too to be honest. However I know I should take it one step at a time, as I haven't even completed my first marathon yet! So we'll see... i might make it part of my training tonight as there's a good flat bit for a couple of miles on route home. So I'll spend a couple of miles getting warmed up, followed by intervals and then warm down. Would make the training more interesting!

Back on the road

So after a very gentle 8 miler on Monday, it's another 8 miler tonight, although half thinking about turning into a 10 miler as it's not much of a detour to jog home from work. One thing I have noticed is how tired I am though, but that's probably because its the first week back at work and Ive had some early starts and mentally my brain is probably not used to it. Coupled with the fact that Ive now moved from doing 30 miles a week to 40, so am sure that will take a few weeks to get used to. Overall though I'm feeling pretty good and the key goal for 2008 is to try and stay completely injury free. However my calfs did feel rather tight the other night running, but again I put that down to increased milage, although I do need to be careful as I'm doing a lot of road and hill running at present, so will be taking it fairly steady again tonight doing around 8:30 - 8:45 min mile pace with around 3kgs on the back (camelback basically).

A good week

So after a 'lighter' training week during the xmas period (enforced by myself to stop me over doing it!). The first week of 2008 has been a great start with 40+ miles in the bag and a step in the right direction as I ramp things up for the Canberra Marathon in April, which I've just seen I've been accepted to run in!

The training is going well, and I feel like I'm in a real groove now with the running. Managed three 8.5 mile runs during the week, and then a longer 13 miler at the weekend, which I went round in 1h 45 mins, so really pleased with that as it's a very hilly course and I was taking it quite steady for the first 10, before letting rip a bit in the last 2-3. The good thing is that I didnt feel completely drained by the end of it, so what that tells me is that I'm building up the distances now and feel like I can take on some longer runs, which I will be doing in the next few weeks!

Back to the start of another week tonight with a gentle 8 miler...