Thursday, May 29, 2008
Early morning run
So decided to get up and run to work, with a few extra miles thrown in as it's only 3 miles to work. On the schedule today was only 5 miles as it's my shorter week. Really nice to have these thrown in, as it gives the body chance to recover slightly! Although my left ankle is feeling all that stable at the moment, but that could still be the after effects of the weekends exertions to be honest. However despite thinking that I was going pretty slowly I still went round averaging 7min 35sec miles, which I was quite amazed at as I thought I was really taking it easy - still I'm not one to complain! Another gentle 4 miler into work tomorrow morning as well me thinks, then a longer 10 miler, but very easy on Saturday, with another 4-5 on Sunday to make for a nice easy week. Then we crank it up again - 7 weeks until the Hunter Valley marathon, still not sure how much I'll race this. The good thing is that I head back to the UK for 2 weeks early July, so what with seeing everyone and stuff, training will be reduced which is good for my taper, but I'm not going to taper too much - I need to keep getting the miles in. Note to self: Hunter Valley is not the goal - the MDS is!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Short but sweet
So this week is my lighter week. I've decided to a lot stricter on enforcing this than I have been in previous months (mainly because I was training for the Canberra marathon), and make sure that my body has a lighter load one week a month. It be fair it probably neds to given that I ran myself into the ground (quite literally) over the weekend effectively doing 20 miles a day average over Saturday and Sunday. Looking back am really pleased with that as this whole 'bouncebackability' thing is really key to the MDS. However my legs are pretty stiff this week, and even though it's Wednesday, my legs are still a little sore. However despite really not wanting to go out last night I dragged myself out and did a very short shuffle of 3.5 miles just to get the legs moving again, and on the basis of this morning, I think it worked out quite well.
I'm also really not liking the whole running in the dark thing at the moment either. In the UK I never had an issue with this, but I think I've been spoilt so much out here in Sydney. So, I'm thinking to try and switch to monring runs, as it's so much nicer. However I'm not the greatest at getting my lazy ass out of bed each morning!
I've also decided to make sure I do a really long run once a month, and by this, I'm talking 26+miles - so will probably be taking myself off the the Blue Mountains quite a bit and spend a whole day running. It's going to be nine months of hell! I also can't believe that I'm 9 months in - or exactly half-way. I think the good news is that I'm right where I want to be, probably a bit further if I'm honest when I first started this whole adventure. I also think that looking at other people's trainin and seeing how well they are doing really spurs you on as well. It's also quite a challenge tryiong to keep things in perspective when you go off and do races. I did schedule myself to run the Hunter Valley half marathon in a few months. But the more i think about it the more I think, what use is running a half marathon to me in the desert? Not much if I'm honest - so I've upgraded to the full marathon. However now I'm thinking, how much do I 'race' this so to speak? I said that I wouldn't be running anymore road marathons because they screw you up! However I want to do the miles, and part of me says, just take it steady and use it as an endurance run. The other half of me really really wants to break the 3hr 30min mark - but in doing that I know I'll bugger myself up for a few weeks. The reality is that the Hunter Valley marathon is not the end goal - it's part of the journey, so really I should take it fairly easy and not race it - but I'm just too damn competitive, I knwo I am!
I'm also really not liking the whole running in the dark thing at the moment either. In the UK I never had an issue with this, but I think I've been spoilt so much out here in Sydney. So, I'm thinking to try and switch to monring runs, as it's so much nicer. However I'm not the greatest at getting my lazy ass out of bed each morning!
I've also decided to make sure I do a really long run once a month, and by this, I'm talking 26+miles - so will probably be taking myself off the the Blue Mountains quite a bit and spend a whole day running. It's going to be nine months of hell! I also can't believe that I'm 9 months in - or exactly half-way. I think the good news is that I'm right where I want to be, probably a bit further if I'm honest when I first started this whole adventure. I also think that looking at other people's trainin and seeing how well they are doing really spurs you on as well. It's also quite a challenge tryiong to keep things in perspective when you go off and do races. I did schedule myself to run the Hunter Valley half marathon in a few months. But the more i think about it the more I think, what use is running a half marathon to me in the desert? Not much if I'm honest - so I've upgraded to the full marathon. However now I'm thinking, how much do I 'race' this so to speak? I said that I wouldn't be running anymore road marathons because they screw you up! However I want to do the miles, and part of me says, just take it steady and use it as an endurance run. The other half of me really really wants to break the 3hr 30min mark - but in doing that I know I'll bugger myself up for a few weeks. The reality is that the Hunter Valley marathon is not the end goal - it's part of the journey, so really I should take it fairly easy and not race it - but I'm just too damn competitive, I knwo I am!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Big weekend; Bigger week
Well this weekend was my take myself away weekend (or rather to the missus - a romantic weekend away in the Blue Mountains), and introduce myself to a bit of trail running. Yet again, I've not really done much in the way of trails, so I decided to throw myself in at the deep end, and have a bash a part of the Six Foot Track, and old path that runs from the edge of Katoomba through to Jenolan Caves, a distance of 45kms through the gorgeous Blue Mountains, about 2 hours outside of Sydney.
For starters, I didnt realise that Katoomba is actually around 1050m above sea level, and secondly, when I reached the start of the track, that the first 400m were down the cliff face. Not technical in anyway, but we're talking at least a 25% gradient, going down rocks and a few mountain streams thrown in for good measure also! Not really what my Asics Kayano's were developed for, but as I found out they held up pretty well I thought!
Anyways, I loaded up with 4 litres of water and various other bits and pieces to talk the OMM up to about 7kgs, so pretty heavy stuff - again my shoulders paid for this come the end of the day! The plan was to try and run 26kms one way and then back again. However the reality of the gradient and nature of the course soon put that one to pay once I'd bought a map and saw what I had let myself in for. For starters, I had 3.5kms to actually get to the start of the track, so there was 7kms gone already from the route!
So with beautiful weather I set off. I decided to walk the 3.5kms to the track as I'd been having trouble with my shins this week, and some cronic shin splint pain. I found that normal calf stretching just really didnt do it, so walking for 15-20 mins seemed to gett hem going properly. Reaching the track I had to negotiate the first part called Nellie's Head which is the 1100ft decent in literally around 3-4kms. Add a little mountain streams and rocks, and you can get the picture, pretty tough going down, but once down there, a really nice gentle 6-7km run along a dirt track road, before hitting the fields. Now this is where I went wrong, and took a slight 'off-track' detour for around 2kms, but fortunately I found my way back on track and set-off again, flowing down hill and eventually reaching 15.5kms down the track in around 2hrs 30mins. I'd reached the basin of the Blue Mountains so to speak - one of it's lowest points at around 900ft above sea level.
Here I decided that this was to be my turning back point as otherwise it would be dark by the time I got back. So add the 3.5kms to start and the 4kms getting lost and we're talking a nice 23kms run over some pretty technical terrain. However the return journey was a different kettle of fish, this is where it started to go wrong. I think maybe my preparation was not particularly great to be honest, and I was slightly dehydrated before I set-off or something, but I proceeded to plough through 2 litres of water in around 5kms on the return journey, and literally ran out of water, bar 1/2 a litre of chocolate recovery drink with 12kms to go - not good. It also became patently clear that running back was not going to be an option either. Without really realising it, I'd descended nearly 2,500ft. I now had to get back up there. So off I set, and was feeling quite low. Concentration was not great also, and after a couple of kms, I hit a stone and feel arse over tit. Nice, not... with a 7kgs backpack on. However I pulled myself together a bit more, but the lack of water wasn't helping matters. I also should have taken some salt tablets too - I was burning it up, so lesson for next time.
The next 7-8kms weren't as bad as I thought, and I alternated between running and walking, and got through them fairly quickly in comparison. The reality though is that I knew I was shot. You hit a point, and you know your body is battered, and you just have to go into auto pilot. It's a shame, as I would have liked to have run much more of the 42km route than I actually did. But I have to put things into perspective and the reality is that running up 2,500ft of ascent in 15kms is pretty tough going by anyone's standards. I mean, that's a 1:6 hill ratio, so maybe I shouldn't be so tough on myself!
However I got to the base of the cliff climb, and this is where it started to get really really tough - and I did reach a real lowpoint. No water, and a 25% gradient - life was not good. However I guess this is where the mental toughness comes in, and you remember these moments when you're having the good times. I was completely shot, but I knew that I had to keep on putting one foot in front of the other. My legs were in pieces, I felt dizzy every time I stopped, but I had to carry on, and carry on I did. By this stage it had also started to get dark, but I reached the top and just had a bit more of a hill climb to go, before I left the track and hit the raod for the final 3.5kms home... bliss!
When I got to the top I remembered I had an energy gel. I smashed that inside me and started a slow jog back the 3.5kms I had come to get to the B+B. arrived a bit of a wreck after 5hrs and 45 mins on my feet. Some good things to come out of it - it was great time on my feet and I learnt a fair bit about my body. I was annoyed at the 'slowness' but I underestimated the course somewhat and indeed, just how much elevation there was in the part of it I did on the way back.
The next day...
So after a hearty meal of pasta that night, the following day I did a nice 6 mile walk around some of the easier tracks around the Blue Mountains, although me and the missus still did a climb of 1100ft on one of the routes, which was great for lossening up the thighs. And once home in Sydney, I decided that I hadn't quite done enough, so took myself out for a 6.5 mile recovery run last night too, taking the weekend total to 38.5 miles, and a 60 mile week for the first time ever. Really pleased with the amount of miles, although 20 of them were probably walking, but still all good. This week is a lighter recovery week, which I do the last week of every month, before stepping on the gas again first week of July. Boy do I need it, my quads feel like rocks right now :)
For starters, I didnt realise that Katoomba is actually around 1050m above sea level, and secondly, when I reached the start of the track, that the first 400m were down the cliff face. Not technical in anyway, but we're talking at least a 25% gradient, going down rocks and a few mountain streams thrown in for good measure also! Not really what my Asics Kayano's were developed for, but as I found out they held up pretty well I thought!
Anyways, I loaded up with 4 litres of water and various other bits and pieces to talk the OMM up to about 7kgs, so pretty heavy stuff - again my shoulders paid for this come the end of the day! The plan was to try and run 26kms one way and then back again. However the reality of the gradient and nature of the course soon put that one to pay once I'd bought a map and saw what I had let myself in for. For starters, I had 3.5kms to actually get to the start of the track, so there was 7kms gone already from the route!
So with beautiful weather I set off. I decided to walk the 3.5kms to the track as I'd been having trouble with my shins this week, and some cronic shin splint pain. I found that normal calf stretching just really didnt do it, so walking for 15-20 mins seemed to gett hem going properly. Reaching the track I had to negotiate the first part called Nellie's Head which is the 1100ft decent in literally around 3-4kms. Add a little mountain streams and rocks, and you can get the picture, pretty tough going down, but once down there, a really nice gentle 6-7km run along a dirt track road, before hitting the fields. Now this is where I went wrong, and took a slight 'off-track' detour for around 2kms, but fortunately I found my way back on track and set-off again, flowing down hill and eventually reaching 15.5kms down the track in around 2hrs 30mins. I'd reached the basin of the Blue Mountains so to speak - one of it's lowest points at around 900ft above sea level.
Here I decided that this was to be my turning back point as otherwise it would be dark by the time I got back. So add the 3.5kms to start and the 4kms getting lost and we're talking a nice 23kms run over some pretty technical terrain. However the return journey was a different kettle of fish, this is where it started to go wrong. I think maybe my preparation was not particularly great to be honest, and I was slightly dehydrated before I set-off or something, but I proceeded to plough through 2 litres of water in around 5kms on the return journey, and literally ran out of water, bar 1/2 a litre of chocolate recovery drink with 12kms to go - not good. It also became patently clear that running back was not going to be an option either. Without really realising it, I'd descended nearly 2,500ft. I now had to get back up there. So off I set, and was feeling quite low. Concentration was not great also, and after a couple of kms, I hit a stone and feel arse over tit. Nice, not... with a 7kgs backpack on. However I pulled myself together a bit more, but the lack of water wasn't helping matters. I also should have taken some salt tablets too - I was burning it up, so lesson for next time.
The next 7-8kms weren't as bad as I thought, and I alternated between running and walking, and got through them fairly quickly in comparison. The reality though is that I knew I was shot. You hit a point, and you know your body is battered, and you just have to go into auto pilot. It's a shame, as I would have liked to have run much more of the 42km route than I actually did. But I have to put things into perspective and the reality is that running up 2,500ft of ascent in 15kms is pretty tough going by anyone's standards. I mean, that's a 1:6 hill ratio, so maybe I shouldn't be so tough on myself!
However I got to the base of the cliff climb, and this is where it started to get really really tough - and I did reach a real lowpoint. No water, and a 25% gradient - life was not good. However I guess this is where the mental toughness comes in, and you remember these moments when you're having the good times. I was completely shot, but I knew that I had to keep on putting one foot in front of the other. My legs were in pieces, I felt dizzy every time I stopped, but I had to carry on, and carry on I did. By this stage it had also started to get dark, but I reached the top and just had a bit more of a hill climb to go, before I left the track and hit the raod for the final 3.5kms home... bliss!
When I got to the top I remembered I had an energy gel. I smashed that inside me and started a slow jog back the 3.5kms I had come to get to the B+B. arrived a bit of a wreck after 5hrs and 45 mins on my feet. Some good things to come out of it - it was great time on my feet and I learnt a fair bit about my body. I was annoyed at the 'slowness' but I underestimated the course somewhat and indeed, just how much elevation there was in the part of it I did on the way back.
The next day...
So after a hearty meal of pasta that night, the following day I did a nice 6 mile walk around some of the easier tracks around the Blue Mountains, although me and the missus still did a climb of 1100ft on one of the routes, which was great for lossening up the thighs. And once home in Sydney, I decided that I hadn't quite done enough, so took myself out for a 6.5 mile recovery run last night too, taking the weekend total to 38.5 miles, and a 60 mile week for the first time ever. Really pleased with the amount of miles, although 20 of them were probably walking, but still all good. This week is a lighter recovery week, which I do the last week of every month, before stepping on the gas again first week of July. Boy do I need it, my quads feel like rocks right now :)
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Frustrations
I just don't get it at all... my shins have been giving me some grief now for a few days and today it all hit a bit of a head, and after 3 miles of my planned 10miler tonight, I just ground to a halt. Maybe it's the fact that I need some new trainers... more than likely. However despite the pain somewhat, I carried on walking. I thought I'd at least walk my proposed course, even if running was an arse. So off I set, and walked 4 miles, and the pain eased up. I got to my nice steep hill, and by the time I was there, the pain had pretty much gone. For some reason running uphill doesn't seem to hurt them at all. So I thought I'd have a crack at 8 hill sprints/strides, each of 200 metres in length, with a walk recovery down them. So 8 hill strides I did, and it all felt OK to be honest. It's a pretty steep hill as well, about a 1 in 10, and at around 150m, the legs are really burning!
So I ran back down home, and added on another mile running, and the shins felt all OK. Yes they were sore still, but I could run comfortably. So from grinding to a halt, to running all within an hour - I just don't get it at all, bizarre. So all in tonight I did 9.5 miles, which on reflection ended up being an OK night. OK, so 4 miles I walked, but I walked them pretty quick, plus I had about 4.5kgs in the backpack as well (which I wore on the hill sprints too). Oh well... tres bizarre!
So I ran back down home, and added on another mile running, and the shins felt all OK. Yes they were sore still, but I could run comfortably. So from grinding to a halt, to running all within an hour - I just don't get it at all, bizarre. So all in tonight I did 9.5 miles, which on reflection ended up being an OK night. OK, so 4 miles I walked, but I walked them pretty quick, plus I had about 4.5kgs in the backpack as well (which I wore on the hill sprints too). Oh well... tres bizarre!
No easing up!
So yesterday was meant to be my mid-week, chilled run. So off I went at lunchtime with the anticipation of doing around 9 miles if I could fit it in, but after a few miles, I ended up running with this guy around Botanical Gardens, and we just ended up running together for a few miles. But Jesus was his pace fast! After talking a bit, I discovered that his PB for 10kms was 30 minutes! Blimey! So I kept up with him for 4 miles, and when I got back to work, decided that another lap would not really be in order, given that I'd now done two tempo runs two days on the trot. No particularly wise, but hey ho, all good stuff and good training for me I guess! So tonight will now be my mid-week longer 'chilled' run, before trying to tackle a bigger run in the Blue Mountains this weekend. Going to see how I go, but would love to get beyond 20 miles for this one, given that I'm making the trip out there, so we'll see how we get on.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
New week - hard running
Tonight was the usual 7 miler, but instead of doing a casual 7 miles as I used to, it was a fast tempo run. So the first 1.4kms was spent warming up at 11km/h, and then I ramped it up to 14km/h for 8kms, before dropping it down slowly for the last 1.8kms. Hard graft, but I deliberately wanted to do this as I have a bit of a goal for the Hunter Valley half-marathon I'm doing on July 20th. I really want to try and break 1hr 35 mins, and at the moment I reckon I'm around a 1hr 37min, so I need to find a couple of minutes from somewhere. So hence the hard tempo running tonight, and what will probably be my normal Tuesday night run from now on - oh how I'll look forward to those :)
Tomorrow is the casual 10miler - my midweek longer distance run, which I'm going to try and do over lunch tomorrow if I can - get into work early. Which is not that hard at the moment because the Sydney early mornings at the moment are beautiful and fresh. So much better than the miserable shite thatwas London!
Tomorrow is the casual 10miler - my midweek longer distance run, which I'm going to try and do over lunch tomorrow if I can - get into work early. Which is not that hard at the moment because the Sydney early mornings at the moment are beautiful and fresh. So much better than the miserable shite thatwas London!
Good Week
So I finished off last week with back-to-back half marathons over the weekend. As I mentioned below, I did the harder faster run on Saturday, followed by a very leisurely stroll in the Sydney half marathon. I helped a girl from work get round in 2hr 21mins, as I decided fairly early on that I wasn't going to race this, give the amount of races and hard work I'd been doing for the last few weeks. Also, I'm secretly saving myself for the Hunter Valley half-marathon also in July which I'm going to try and break 1hr 35mins in :)
However the Sydney half was great fun, and loaded up with a 5kg backpack we set off and had a lovely time and I got great satisfaction from pacing someone and helping them achieve their goal. It's back top normal for me this week, and this weekend I'm hoping to get out to the Blue Mountains for some trail running and a bit of fun around there, so watch this space!
However the Sydney half was great fun, and loaded up with a 5kg backpack we set off and had a lovely time and I got great satisfaction from pacing someone and helping them achieve their goal. It's back top normal for me this week, and this weekend I'm hoping to get out to the Blue Mountains for some trail running and a bit of fun around there, so watch this space!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Steady week
Thursday's training was postponed as I had my company's 15th birthday party, so after a bit of boozing that night, I did a very casual 4 miles on Friday night ahead of the big back-to-back half-marathon weekend. The plan is to run today's 13 miles fairly hard, and I did doing 12.5 miles in the end in 1hr 37 mins with just the camelbac for company :)
Tomorrow is a nice and early start doing the Sydney half-marathon, which I'm not racing, given that I only ran the marathon a month ago, plus it's not a fast course as there are some pretty steep hills - so all in, not arsed about racing this one. And I said I would be a pacer for a girl from work also. So I'll load up the backpack tomorrow with some weight and use this as a bit of an endurance run off the back of today's quicker run.
Tomorrow is a nice and early start doing the Sydney half-marathon, which I'm not racing, given that I only ran the marathon a month ago, plus it's not a fast course as there are some pretty steep hills - so all in, not arsed about racing this one. And I said I would be a pacer for a girl from work also. So I'll load up the backpack tomorrow with some weight and use this as a bit of an endurance run off the back of today's quicker run.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Nice and steady
So last night was the mid-week 10 miler... nice and steady, and in some ways a bit of a break from the harder 7 mile thrashes that I normally do during the week. I actually really enjoyed it too, keeping a nice steady constant pace at just over 8 minute miles which was very comfortable - and going round in just over 1hr 20mins. Nothing much other to report on that really, apart from I had the usual 4kgs in the rucksack from work, it was dark, and oh, my camelbac was leaking slightly so I had no water the whole way round, but on a ten miler in the evening here you can just about get away with it.
Which actually leads me to the question around how I'm going to transport my water around in the Sahara. My ideal scenario would be to carry just one camelbac and have it in the rucksack. To me that seems so much easier than faffing around with having a couple of bottles and building straw networks for them too. However the incident last night made me realise that probably a reason why people don't have them, in case of leakages etc... For me it's ideal though, I like the fact that I can just have a straw run over my back and next to my mouth. I also think I
m going to have a hard time of it with two bottle perched on my shoulder straps. Yes they would balance out the weight a bit, but to be honest, fuck that... seems like hard work to me. Ideally I think I'll probably have a comprise of the two bottle int he sides of the rucksack, and then build some straw mechanism to come out of them... time to start trying stuff out me thinks.
Which actually leads me to the question around how I'm going to transport my water around in the Sahara. My ideal scenario would be to carry just one camelbac and have it in the rucksack. To me that seems so much easier than faffing around with having a couple of bottles and building straw networks for them too. However the incident last night made me realise that probably a reason why people don't have them, in case of leakages etc... For me it's ideal though, I like the fact that I can just have a straw run over my back and next to my mouth. I also think I
m going to have a hard time of it with two bottle perched on my shoulder straps. Yes they would balance out the weight a bit, but to be honest, fuck that... seems like hard work to me. Ideally I think I'll probably have a comprise of the two bottle int he sides of the rucksack, and then build some straw mechanism to come out of them... time to start trying stuff out me thinks.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
And so another week begins...
After feeling tired over the weekend (usual pattern for me to be honest), last night was a 7 mile blast with hill sprints. All in, I have about 12 hills of varying length that I run up at around 75-80%, some of them take over a minute to run up, some only 20 seconds, but by the time I was done on hill 12, I was pretty whacked to be honest.
It's a good session though and breaks up the monotony of the longer distance runs, of which i have a 10 miler planned for tonight (oh how I can;t wait for that one)... but still needs must. Looking forward to the Sydney half-marathon this weekend. However I'm not racing it as to be honest, I've come to the conclusion that you just bugger yourself up in races. Instead I'm doing a half-marathon of my own the day before, so I can do back-to-back halfs, with around 4kgs in the backpack also. I'm sure I'll look very strange at the start-line come 7:30am on Sunday morning.
It's a good session though and breaks up the monotony of the longer distance runs, of which i have a 10 miler planned for tonight (oh how I can;t wait for that one)... but still needs must. Looking forward to the Sydney half-marathon this weekend. However I'm not racing it as to be honest, I've come to the conclusion that you just bugger yourself up in races. Instead I'm doing a half-marathon of my own the day before, so I can do back-to-back halfs, with around 4kgs in the backpack also. I'm sure I'll look very strange at the start-line come 7:30am on Sunday morning.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Leisurely Sunday recovery run
Well after the exertions of yesterday, today was a very leisurely Sunday afternoon recovery run, but boy was it hard to begin with. My legs were very heavy and felt like they were cemented in concrete to begin with. It doesn't help that where I live is surrounded by hills, and the first 3/4 mile or so is literally all uphill. But hey, it's a good workout and will stand me in good stead. However once I got into the swing of things, I opened up a little during the last 2 miles, and managed to put in some faster strides, and was fairly pleased with the run in the end.
I'm also being much more sensible about my running now, and am thinking more about the end goal rather than hitting loads of miles each week. If I carry on trying to blast myself each week I'm going to be a mess come next March. I always used to worry that I would lose fitness if I didn't get a certain number of miles in, but now emphasis is on quality, not quantity. I'll still be doing 45 miles a week minimum for the next 5 months or so, but make sure that I work hard for those, than do 55-60 badly. My fitness has come on leaps and bounds. Four months ago I was an 8min 30sec mile a minute man. Now I'm a comfortable 8 minute mile man, as shown by yesterday's run with a 4.5kg backpack on and doing 16 miles. So no need to worry there. More of the same now for the next few months, before upping things around July for the Glasshouse 100km race, the next big test!
I'm also being much more sensible about my running now, and am thinking more about the end goal rather than hitting loads of miles each week. If I carry on trying to blast myself each week I'm going to be a mess come next March. I always used to worry that I would lose fitness if I didn't get a certain number of miles in, but now emphasis is on quality, not quantity. I'll still be doing 45 miles a week minimum for the next 5 months or so, but make sure that I work hard for those, than do 55-60 badly. My fitness has come on leaps and bounds. Four months ago I was an 8min 30sec mile a minute man. Now I'm a comfortable 8 minute mile man, as shown by yesterday's run with a 4.5kg backpack on and doing 16 miles. So no need to worry there. More of the same now for the next few months, before upping things around July for the Glasshouse 100km race, the next big test!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Why is it...
That just 2 days ago, a simple 3 mile run caused me very painful shin splints and brought me to a standstill. Yet a good 16 miler, in 8 minute mile pace (I thought I was going very steady)... including 2 x 1.25 mile tempo runs included, and I felt great!
All very strange. Was very tired at the end of it I must admit. I was going to do 18 miles, but I ran out of fluid, and I did work hard on the two tempo runs in the middle of the run, so I thought it balanced out pretty well. So, what was going to be a dreadful week, has been brought back on track. I also think I'm probably trying to do too much as well. I read an interesting article from the www.themds.co.uk forum today and it suggested that marathon runners only really need to do 35 miles a week. Admittedly I'm running slightly more than that, but I feel that I should re-set the targets slightly me thinks, and aim for 45-50 miles a week, rather than trying to push 55 miles a week. I also think I should revert back to training 5 days a week, not 6. It is probably too much at this stage. Anyways... a nice 7 miler recovery planned for tomorrow. we'll see how that goes and if the shin splints stay away.
All very strange. Was very tired at the end of it I must admit. I was going to do 18 miles, but I ran out of fluid, and I did work hard on the two tempo runs in the middle of the run, so I thought it balanced out pretty well. So, what was going to be a dreadful week, has been brought back on track. I also think I'm probably trying to do too much as well. I read an interesting article from the www.themds.co.uk forum today and it suggested that marathon runners only really need to do 35 miles a week. Admittedly I'm running slightly more than that, but I feel that I should re-set the targets slightly me thinks, and aim for 45-50 miles a week, rather than trying to push 55 miles a week. I also think I should revert back to training 5 days a week, not 6. It is probably too much at this stage. Anyways... a nice 7 miler recovery planned for tomorrow. we'll see how that goes and if the shin splints stay away.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Update... maybe not so fresh
Decided to run home tonight after this morning. Only 3 miles, but had a bit of shin splint issues... hmmmm... not great and probably not very wise doing back-to-back sessions in one day, but hey... nevermind. So 11 miles today in total. Back on track for the week, but think I'll have a rest day tomorrow as I have a long run planned for the weekend.
Fresh as a daisy
Well almost. I listened to my body last night and didnt go for the planned 10 miler. I was just shattered, mainly through work, but the exertion of 5 days straight running, and generally needing a day without running. However I did getup at 6am this morning for my run and managed to kock off 8 miles in around 65 minutes, which from a speed perspectie is pretty nippy, and is a clear sign that my fitness has come on leaps and bounds from when I first started this little adventure.
Admittedly my shins did play up a little, and a I passed work at 3 miles (I do a city loop on top of the run into work), I did consider calling it a day there, but nope... I carried on. I decided to also pick up the pace somewhat too as for some reason, when I run quicker, the shins and legs generally hurt less. Probably because the feet are coming into contact with the ground less and the impact is not so great. In essence I thought to myself that Id rather ahve my lungs hurting than my shins or hip. The good thing is the TB problem didnt rear its ugly head either. So all in all, this morning's run was pretty good, and set against the backdrop of a beatiful Sydney morning, running around the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. I dont think it gets much better than that! Ideally I think I'll have another rest tomorrow, as I have a 30km (18 mile run) planned for Saturday, and this will be my first big run since the marathon.
Admittedly my shins did play up a little, and a I passed work at 3 miles (I do a city loop on top of the run into work), I did consider calling it a day there, but nope... I carried on. I decided to also pick up the pace somewhat too as for some reason, when I run quicker, the shins and legs generally hurt less. Probably because the feet are coming into contact with the ground less and the impact is not so great. In essence I thought to myself that Id rather ahve my lungs hurting than my shins or hip. The good thing is the TB problem didnt rear its ugly head either. So all in all, this morning's run was pretty good, and set against the backdrop of a beatiful Sydney morning, running around the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. I dont think it gets much better than that! Ideally I think I'll have another rest tomorrow, as I have a 30km (18 mile run) planned for Saturday, and this will be my first big run since the marathon.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Weary man
Well I think I may have slightly underestimated the Bondi Barefoot race a little. I thought, yeah a simple 10km, no problem. However my legs over the last few days have been very heavy, coupled with the fact that I'm doing 13/14 hour days at work has made training a little more arduous this week. I'm also wondering if training 6 days a week is a little too much too. I've incorporated more speedwork into my training now, so I'm wondering if I need to do my session on a Monday, and should indeed take that as a rest day? Or if not, just drop the intensity a little. Or maybe I;m just tired at the moment and being a bit of a lameass :)
The session on Monday night was OK actually, a brisk 4 miles as planned, but only on the treadmill. But last night has to rank as a real shocker. I knew I was tired, my legs felt tired, my whole body felt tired. However stubborn old me got his gear on and ran home from work, and was simply just shattered to be frank. I didnt warm up properly either before I left and as a result, the shin splints kicked in too, which made matters worse, suffice to say I was literally hobbling around my shortened 5 miles (from 7 miles) course last night. I got home, wasted... but after a good night's sleep last night I'm feeling much better. It's all a bit hectic at the moment, but hopefully things will settle down soon and training be fine. I remember before my marathon that I used to be shattered most nights, and I think because April was a weird month in that for the first two weeks I was tapering, and then the last two was building back up following the marathon, it was a strange month. So May is now my first full month back into it all again, so my body is probably trying to get use to it all again!
The session on Monday night was OK actually, a brisk 4 miles as planned, but only on the treadmill. But last night has to rank as a real shocker. I knew I was tired, my legs felt tired, my whole body felt tired. However stubborn old me got his gear on and ran home from work, and was simply just shattered to be frank. I didnt warm up properly either before I left and as a result, the shin splints kicked in too, which made matters worse, suffice to say I was literally hobbling around my shortened 5 miles (from 7 miles) course last night. I got home, wasted... but after a good night's sleep last night I'm feeling much better. It's all a bit hectic at the moment, but hopefully things will settle down soon and training be fine. I remember before my marathon that I used to be shattered most nights, and I think because April was a weird month in that for the first two weeks I was tapering, and then the last two was building back up following the marathon, it was a strange month. So May is now my first full month back into it all again, so my body is probably trying to get use to it all again!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Bondi Barefoot 10km soft sand run
This was my first foray at soft sand running. I'd run on the beach before, but near the shoreline where the sand is harder. This was a proper soft sand Achilles killer as the organisers billed it. To make things harder for myself I ran a half-marathon yesterday too as i wanted to mimic as much as possible (at this stage), things as they would be out in the desert, but minus about 20 degrees of heat!
So after a very casual 1hr 50min half marathon yesterday, I must admit the thought of doing 10km on soft sand wasn't very appealing, and doubled by the fact that I'd never really done anything like this before, but hey what the heck, you have to have a go!
The first couple of kms were pretty tough actually, but once you get into a rhythm, it was actually OK. Also if you get in the footsteps of someone else, it makes it much easier :)
So into my rhythm, I was taking it pretty easy and felt very comfortable clocking in at around 5min 50 sec kms. The goal was to come in around an hour as I thought 6min kms was reasonable given you re running on soft sand. Then at around 7.5kms I pushed on, and found someone else to stay behind. However as I pushed for the finish I made a massive balls up, and thought I'd finished, but in fact had another 300 metres to go. So muggins here had stopped, and lost himself around 30secs before i realised, and then ran the final 300 metres to the finish in dead on 59 mins. So all in all, quite happy. The winner came in an unbelievable 42 mins, which is quite simply phenomenal, I can just about do that on the road!!!
I also learnt a lot about where possible hotspots are too on my feet. I did do it barefoot and because of the movement on the sand as you run, I got two smallish blisters on both feet on the toes next to the big toe. So something to note when I do the real thing next year with over-sized trainers. However a great race to do on a beautiful Sunday morning on Bondi Beach. There's also a half marathon on soft sand on Manly Beach in a few weeks, so think I'll do that too, but tape my feet up this time!
Pretty pleased though as I wanted to see how I would feel doing this on the back of doing a 21km run... and it felt pretty OK to be honest. I'd also recommend to my cyber buddies that you get yourself down to some soft sand and do some running on it. I learnt a lot from doing it, and will incorporate into my training much more regularly from now on.
So after a very casual 1hr 50min half marathon yesterday, I must admit the thought of doing 10km on soft sand wasn't very appealing, and doubled by the fact that I'd never really done anything like this before, but hey what the heck, you have to have a go!
The first couple of kms were pretty tough actually, but once you get into a rhythm, it was actually OK. Also if you get in the footsteps of someone else, it makes it much easier :)
So into my rhythm, I was taking it pretty easy and felt very comfortable clocking in at around 5min 50 sec kms. The goal was to come in around an hour as I thought 6min kms was reasonable given you re running on soft sand. Then at around 7.5kms I pushed on, and found someone else to stay behind. However as I pushed for the finish I made a massive balls up, and thought I'd finished, but in fact had another 300 metres to go. So muggins here had stopped, and lost himself around 30secs before i realised, and then ran the final 300 metres to the finish in dead on 59 mins. So all in all, quite happy. The winner came in an unbelievable 42 mins, which is quite simply phenomenal, I can just about do that on the road!!!
I also learnt a lot about where possible hotspots are too on my feet. I did do it barefoot and because of the movement on the sand as you run, I got two smallish blisters on both feet on the toes next to the big toe. So something to note when I do the real thing next year with over-sized trainers. However a great race to do on a beautiful Sunday morning on Bondi Beach. There's also a half marathon on soft sand on Manly Beach in a few weeks, so think I'll do that too, but tape my feet up this time!
Pretty pleased though as I wanted to see how I would feel doing this on the back of doing a 21km run... and it felt pretty OK to be honest. I'd also recommend to my cyber buddies that you get yourself down to some soft sand and do some running on it. I learnt a lot from doing it, and will incorporate into my training much more regularly from now on.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Beautiful sunshine...
So another couple of days and some more runs. Yesterday was another 'city run' taking in my 5 mile loop around Sydney CBD, the Botanical Gardens, around by the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. It's probably one of the most scenic routes you can think of doing in the world. Especially in lunchtime... however right by the Opera House and round Circular Quay for a mile or so are these dreadful brick floors which absolutely kill the calfs.., really not good for you at all.
Today saw my longest run yet since the marathon 3 weeks ago, a steady 13 miler in a steady 1hr 52 mins. Pretty much what I'd planned as I'm doing a 10km sand race tomorrow so didnt want to push it in anyway. However a little concerning was the ITB problem which reared it's head around 8 miles in, and continued to stay with me until the end... nothing serious or hurting, but not promising... oh well. I guess its my first 'full week' back so to speak since the marathon, and on the 13 miler today I could have easily carried on, but not really sensible when I have a race tomorrow! I say 'race'... i'm not actually going to go in there and try and win the damn thing, I'll be taking it fairly steady to be honest with you, using it as a training run. Well we'll see what tomorrow brings...
Today saw my longest run yet since the marathon 3 weeks ago, a steady 13 miler in a steady 1hr 52 mins. Pretty much what I'd planned as I'm doing a 10km sand race tomorrow so didnt want to push it in anyway. However a little concerning was the ITB problem which reared it's head around 8 miles in, and continued to stay with me until the end... nothing serious or hurting, but not promising... oh well. I guess its my first 'full week' back so to speak since the marathon, and on the 13 miler today I could have easily carried on, but not really sensible when I have a race tomorrow! I say 'race'... i'm not actually going to go in there and try and win the damn thing, I'll be taking it fairly steady to be honest with you, using it as a training run. Well we'll see what tomorrow brings...
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Back into it...
I can tell that my schedule is back into the hardcore stuff again as my body is knackered! But a nice knackered, the kind of satisfied knackered. So have done a couple more runs since the last post, again the first on the treadmill, and quite a hardcore session actually. It consisted of a 11.2km (7mile) run, with the first km as a warm-up, and then alternating between fast and slow kms, with the quick one at 14km/h and the "slow" km at 11km/h... initially I thought it was a bit too much, but I got through it OK. However on my run yesterday lunchtime I certainly felt the pace somewhat as my legs where very heavy running around Sydney at lunchtime. That said, despite it being by midweek 'easy' run, I still went round in roughly 55/56 minutes, so not too bad a pace, but more reflective I think of my overall fitness increasing in recent months.
This weekend I'm entered into the Bondi barefoot 10km challenge on the sand at Bondi Beach. I'm not racing this one as a.) I only did the marathon a few weeks ago and b.) This is the first full week of training again, so the Bondi barefoot is a bit of a recreational run for me. I'll be doing a 12/13 miler the day before as well... so taking it easy me thinks. The knee is still aching a little, but not a major concern.
This weekend I'm entered into the Bondi barefoot 10km challenge on the sand at Bondi Beach. I'm not racing this one as a.) I only did the marathon a few weeks ago and b.) This is the first full week of training again, so the Bondi barefoot is a bit of a recreational run for me. I'll be doing a 12/13 miler the day before as well... so taking it easy me thinks. The knee is still aching a little, but not a major concern.
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