Post marathon

So it's now been 3 full days of rest after Mudgee and a little time to reflect on it. My recovery (if you take out the injuries), has been remarkably quick. In fact on Monday I felt pretty good, and by Tuesday was walking very freely with no real aches or pains. I expected the quads to be a lot worse than they were, but I think this maybe down the the slower pace I took in the race.

So that bears positive now, and the fact that I can recover quickly is good. The other good news is that I think the knee is pretty much fine. A slight ligament strain as we thought, but the bad news is that the soleus is not great. I'm walking fine, but when I break into anything resembling a trot I can really feel it. I wanted to see if I could get out running again this weekend, but I think I might have to give it a miss and really have a full week off. It's really important that I'm 100% for Glasshouse, and if that means another couple of days then so be it. I also have to get all of my kit and food sorted too. I'm using this as a full on test of kit, food and bag and will be trying some new things. Namely full length leggings, OMM rucksack and other types of food which are TBC at this stage.

Post Mudgee I was also slightly disappointed with my run. However it also makes me realise that if I can run that slow and still post a 3hr 46min then things aren't that bad. My last 8kms were awful, taking 46mins. But the good thing was that I felt good up to 32kms, which is encouraging. If I'd felt bad anything before 30kms I'd have been worried, but I'm pleased with that aspect, so onwards and upwards. Glasshouse is the next biggie, then it's a focus on Melbourne to try and run a PB - looking for a 3hr 20something... not sure what yet, but something around mid twenties would be awesome. One thing at a time though!

550kms + 42.2 kms

That's how far I drove in 12 hours to go and run a marathon - albeit a very lovely marathon in Mudgee, about 3 hours northwest of Sydney. I have to question my own sanity sometimes. I got up at 2:30am on Sunday morning, drove 3 hours and was on the startline at Mudgee for 7am.

As you'll have read from previous posts, this was always one of those touch and go ones for me. I struggled in the second half of Wagga, straining my left knee ligament and also a strain on my left soleus muscle. However it cleared up well during the week and felt OK. However the reality was that it was still not better, as the first 2kms of the marathon told me.

In fact, the first 10kms were really quite tough, the reality of getting last week's marathon out of the legs. However from 10-32kms, things were actually OK, and I really started to enjoy it. I deliberately set out pretty slow as I have one eye on the Glasshouse 100km in 3 weeks. The plan was to do around 1hr 50min splits, coming in at around 3hr 40min. All went well for the first half and the pace was very comfortable, however at 32kms, the injury and the effects of last week really started to catch-up with me.

At 32kms the wheels came off again and mentally, the next 5kms were probably the toughest 5kms I've run. I was a little disappointed with myself as I felt that I lost the mental battle somewhat. I resigned myself to walking up some of the hills, when really I should have dug deep and run. I guess it's a fine balance though, given that I was running with an injury or two - but personally I feel like I let myself down a bit on this section. However at 37kms I had a word with myself and managed to polish the final 5kms off OK coming home in a personal worst 3hrs 46mins. OK, so in the grand scheme of things 6 minutes slower than I was going to run, but I know where those 6 minutes went, and I'll toughen up a bit more ahead of Glasshouse. I'll also hopefully have the injuries cleared as well.

Good to see some of the other guys from Wagga Wagga, and also to Anth who ran a PB, top work on the back of last week's very challenging run. Looking back I didn't realise it, but I've done a race every weekend for the last 5 weeks, 3 marathons and 2 shorter 'sprint' races of 7kms and 14kms. The body is somewhat tired now, so I'll be having a rest of 3-4 days, before some light running towards the end of the week and the weekend.

In terms of where I'm at for the MDS, things are looking pretty good. I wanted to get to a stage where I run back-to-back marathons, and I've achieved this and the body actually feels OK post run (just the niggles I mentioned). In the grand scheme of things, 6 minutes doesn't matter and I'm happier about the fact that I've done the back to back's and in respectable times too. So a bit of rest, a few lighter weeks of about 50kms and then Glasshouse House!

Mudgee Marathon

So, I went for a little jaunt on Wednesday evening and given that I'd only had two full days of rest, I felt OK. Admittedly this was just a nice easy 10kms, and was very slow (54 mins), but I didn't feel too shabby.

It's been a tough call as to whether or not I was going to enter Mudgee, but I know I'll regret it if I don't. I just hope I don't regret it for the wrong reasons come race day. The knee is OK. I can still feel a slight strain on the ligament, and the soleus is still tight, but I really will be taking this one nice and slow, around 3:40 pace I think. So rather than blasting out of the blocks again like last weekend, this weekend will be sure and steady from the start, then I'll see how I go for the second 21kms.

However it will be an early start for me. Rather than stay in a hotel the night before, I'm going to head off at 3am and get there for around 6:30am. Hopefully all will go OK, and this will be a great test of where I'm at ahead of the Glasshouse 100km race in 3 weeks time. It seems funny to see where I've come, but running back-to-back marathons like this would have been beyond me even 4 months ago. It still might be, who knows, but I have to have a go. It's going to hurt, but I'll just tell myself to keep it steady and just get through it ahead of Glasshouse with no major injuries. I already have two minor strains on the go, I don't want to make them any worse. Of course the sensible head on me would have passed this marathon, but I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now and really want to do 2 in 7 days. If I'm serious about running well in the MDS, then I have to do this - fingers crossed without doing myself some serious damage! As a result, training has been light this week (just the 10kms), but that's cool.

Marathon Man

So two days after the Wagga Wagga trail marathon, I'm raring to go for this weekend's Mudgee marathon. The only thing stopping me is the diagnosis from a trip to the physio yesterday. I have a slight strain in one of my ligaments on my left knee. Which has been around for a while in fact. It's not overly painful or indeed that bad, but it's making me reconsider trying to do another marathon this weekend. Additionally I have a strain on the soleus muscle in my left leg too. Once again, this has been around for a little while too.

So I'm left with a few decisions. I'm going to go for a run this evening, nothing too harsh or long, but just to see how I feel, and then take a call on it me thinks. I really want to get back-to-back marathons in the bag, and plus this one is a road marathon so shouldn't be too bad, but there are some vicious hills I hear! However I know I'll have to go slower than Sunday, and I'm wondering if that will annoy me at all? Plus, I don't want to do any additional damage as I have the Glasshouse 100km lined up for September also. I signed up for this earlier in the week, and can't wait, although I wont be saying that after the race I'm sure. This will be my first ultra and I'm kind of throwing myself in at the deep end a little, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Two and a half marathon... yikes! I need to get properly prepared for this one, really sort out my food and drinks - it should be a great experience!

Wagga Wagga trail marathon

So my first venture into trail marathon running. Even though Hunter Valley was mainly off road, this was a different kettle of fish, with some serious trails, gravel tracks, boulders at the finish, a tunnel o run through (well crouch and run through) and even some sand thrown in for good measure. At the dinner the night before, someone told me that it was a pretty flat course - thanks for that!

The first 10kms were nice and easy, along the banks of the river, and a few stiles thrown in for good measure too. However at kilometre 10, that all started to change as we slowly climbed uphill, through a golf course, and onto the serious trails and tracks in the forest. You know you're high when you're running past the town's radio mast! The first half was pretty good, but once again, like Hunter I went out way too quick, and my calf also pinged at around 17kms, which when you're doing a 42km race, does not make the race all that pleasant.

In a sense, this was a good character building race. I was very worried about my calf, and at one point I thought I'd be lucky to just get around, but it didn't seem to get any worse. It was just uncomfortable on the hills, so to that end, from 25kms onwards walked up the bigger hills. This was more out of necessity than out of love for my calf. I'd spent myself somewhat on the first half of the race, and the realty is that I'd only be going slightly quicker if I ran, but expend much more energy if I ran.

So at 25kms, the wheels well and truly came off, and for 10 very long kms, I was not happy at all. I also overdid it on the whole sodium front. Looking back I can see why. I had about a litre of water with Nuun tablets in first thing in the morning, which gets the sodium in the system. However I also had 4 salt tablets during the race, and this combined with the Nuun meant that I got stomach cramps around about the time the calf went. So with the calf trouble and the stomach cramps I really wasn't a happy boy at all. It's also when your mind plays tricks on you and tells you that your body doesn't like it. However this is where the heart rate monitor really comes into it's own. I kept a very consistent 150-160bpm all the way through, and even at the end, the last 7kms actually felt very comfortable all things considered with the above.

So I rocked in at 3hrs 37 mins, which I was fairly happy with, given the course and the issues I had. This was was a good learning curve, and it's these types of races I need to tell me what I like and how I cope with shit when it's thrown at you. It was also great to meet up with some other runners, Anth and Ray - although I'll blame Anth for the stupidly fast first half-marathon! Only joking, I just need to not run as fast for the first half next time.

So next week, and possibly Mudgee. I'm going to see how the calf holds up and make a call on it on Wednesday I think. Plus my left knee is quite tender. This has been an ongoing thing from Hunter Valley and its a little concerning. It's not overly painful, but it's just there, so a trip to the physio might be in order me thinks. Onwards and upwards!

More of the usual with a side order of shin splints

So the usual 10km route last night. Although reading the blog of another marathon runner last night, his work rate astounds me! 26k and 28k respectively on a school night! How the hell can you fit that into the day. I guess you make time for that kind of thing really if you want to! But considering I'm running an ultra in March, it makes me think I should be upping my game somewhat! Anyway, I will stick to my plan!

So last night was in all truth a frigging nightmare of a run as the shin splints were terrible. With 3-4 days to go before a marathon, it really worries me, but I know they tend to come and go quite quickly with no rhyme or reason. As I mentioned before I think a lot of it has to do with the cold weather, and at the moment I really want it to warm-up. It's funny that when I speed up, the shins start to hurt less, but there's no way I can keep that kind of pace going for 42kms. So ironically, even though I felt like I was going backwards at some points, I ran the route in 47 minutes, 2 minutes quicker than last night when I felt like I was bouncing along. There is no reason really...

So tonight I'm not running, going to rest the shins, even though I feel I could go out. And think I'll do a casual 10kms on Friday night ahead of the race on Sunday. The plan is to go steady I think, as I want myself to be in shape for a run in Mudgee the following weekend. So cold ice and lots of stretching is order of the day this evening!

The usual...

So back on the grind... God I make it sound interesting don't I? :) A very chilled 10kms in 49 mins, with some hill strides thrown in for measure. A little worryingly was the fact that my shins really started to hurt last night. I do think that it's simple down to cold weather, I never got this in the summer. So after the 10kms, I did a couple of hill sprints on the hill I live on, which is a rather nasty 200m climb, and about a 1:11 gradient, so a good workout. So I did 4 of those, and then called it a night. I'll keep on with a fairly normal training programme during this week, 6 miles a night, and then marathon on Sunday. Not quite sure how to take this one. I really want to do back-to-back marathons, and do another one next Sunday. In theory I should take this one fairly slow and do it in around 3:45mins pace, but knowing me I won't. So I'll probably bust a gut, and then see how I feel, but really want to try and do 2 on the trot!

Is the MDS all it's cracked up to be?

So over the weekend I got wondering about whether all of this is really worth it? When you look at the cost, time and effort that most people put into this, I really started to ask myself the question. There's been quite a bit of talk on here about the cost of the MDS for us Brits, but when you also look at the training involved and then the extra costs such as kit, the races we enter etc... will I stand there at the finish line and think, "Yes that was worth every penny?"

There's no doubt about it that I'm doing this race (I've told far too many people and committed myself), but since taking up running back in October last year to train for this, it opens your eyes up to a completely new world. I thought I would do one marathon as a test of fitness and then head down and train. However I've since entered a variety of races and quite a few marathons, and I do really enjoy doing the marathons. As I become more ingrained into the running world, I think you begin to realise that there's more to life than the MDS. So what is the MDS really for? In my opinion, and it's been said before, it's generally for people who haven't done an ultra of a multi-day event before. It's one of those races where when you first talk about it to people, they think it's stupid and something that 'normal' people shouldn't do. But this is the very point I think, it is a race for normal people, not elite runners as such.

Maybe I'm having motivation issues? I know that I find it very hard now to drag myself out for the long training runs, which 6 months ago weren't an issue. I find that I now have to enter myself into marathons to get my long runs in because quite frankly I find them extremely tedious and dull. Maybe it's the winter over here in Australia. I hate running in the dark and cold now, whereas in the summer, going out for runs after work was easy and enjoyable. Who knows? I think when I weigh everything up, personally I think the MDS in terms of the cost us Brits have to pay is not worth it. I know I'll enjoy doing the race and it will be a great achievement (hopefully), but when I look at what's being spent on it, there's probably far better options out there, which admittedly, hold less stature.

Finally a word for the British organisers, Best of Morocco. The only way to describe this outfit is shoddy and expensive, like most British products we have to endure. Something seriously has to be done about the British method of entry. As the audience becomes more educated and knowledgeable, so these guys will really have to up their game. At the moment they are quite frankly atrocious and simply take the piss with the cost of the event. I can see why it is 'blind' people, like myself who first enter into this race don't batter so much as an eyelid when we do enter, because we don't know any better. We have very little knowledge of running and the scene so to speak when we first get on board. However as we progress and increase our knowledge and expertise, so does our ability to question all of this. I really hope that the MDS organisers review their choice of suppliers and make the British entry much fairer in line with the rest of the world.

Anyway's the training will continue, but then part of me thinks, do I really need to do massive loads of training? From October onwards, I really was planning on upping things quite a bit - 10% a week, and peaking at 90 miles of something. But then I think - do I really need to? I guess the Glasshouse 100km race will really sort me out as that is likely to bring me back down to earth. At the moment my thinking is, "Well I can run a marathon in 3hrs 30mins", that's alright isn't it? I guess I'm being a bit lazy also. Whether I fluked Hunter Valley I'm not sure. I thought I was further back in fitness than that, but it appears not so. I shouldn't be so cocky and complacent and the Glasshouse 100km race is something I probably need to tell me that I'm not all that and I still have work to do. Anyway's onwards and upwards :)

City to Surf weekend

So this week was back on the full training programme, but only 35 miles this week, with the marathon next Sunday. Saturday was going to be a longer 15-16 miler, but I felt quite rough on Saturday morning, so in the end, did 10 miles, which is about right to be honest given that the City to Surf was the following day and then marathon. For the first 4-5 miles of that run I felt awful and considered just doing 6 miles on the Saturday, but I soldiered on, and actually started to feel a lot better post 6 miles, coming home in a very conservative 1hr 20 mins for 10 miles. The good thing however is that I didnt feel like I had run 10 miles, and the legs felt good. It was just the chest that was giving me issues. What concerned me was that even though I thought I was going slow, my heart rate was up at 155-160 for the whole time, and that was a worry.

So a 6:30am start on Sunday morning and it was down to the City to join 75,000 other nutters for the annual City to Surf race. The course was actually a lot hillier than I expected. There is one area called Heartbreak hill which is a 2km hill that winds and turns and you think you're nearly done when you come to one corner and then it just goes on. However it was the hills at the start of the race that caught me out more, and getting caught out needing to go for a jimmy whizz after 1km too! Anyways, the plan was to take the first 10kms pretty slowly to be honest, but not as slow as I actually did them. I was planning on hitting 10kms in 45 mins, but actually got there in 48 mins! Shit I was going slow, so I put the afterburners on for the last 4 kms, and knocked them off in 16 mins, to come home in 64 mins, so OK. Nothing to set the world alight, but given I had a cold that week, and I was wearing my backpack too, 64 mins was OK on a course like that. Next week, Wagga Wagga marathon... back to the distances I like :)

Casual 10km

So after deciding during the day not to run last night and ease myself back into the pattern follwoing my illness, I went out and ran. But it was good. A very casual 10kms in 48 minutes which I was fairly happy with. I didn't push it hard at all, but with the cold and chestyness, I was breathing a little heavy towards the end, but by no means uncomfortable. I must say though I was feeling slightly weary, but that's only because of the illness I'm sure.

Rest night tonight me thinks, or maybe a short 4 miler, then going to do a longer run on Friday night, around 13-15 miles nice and easy before next weekend's trail marathon. This will be my first proper trail marathon, so again not sure what to expect from it. I thought Hunter Valley would be slow as it was mainly off-road, but look what happened there! Anyway, I'll keep any expectations at bay and just run the race. I found that I was so relaxed ahead of Hunter Valley that I really didn't worry about times and splits. As a result I did go out a little too hard and paid slightly on the way back, but I think that had more to do with the lack of longer distance runs done in the 3 months between Canberra and Hunter Valley. Anyway's City to Surf this weekend - I'll use this as a speed session. First 5 kms fairly relaxed, and then 8kms of afterburners and lungbusting throwing-up-ness me thinks. I hate this shorter ones... I'm so not a sprinter :)

Steady as she goes...

So although not 100% back on track, I've decided that enough is enough and I have to get out there, so it was a slightly longer 8.5 miles (or 14kms) for me last night. It seems weird talking in miles now, given that no-one over here uses the term, so I think I'm going to have to start using kilometres from now on! Ohhhh how I'm losing my Englishness fast! Anyway, 14kms it was, and although I started off pretty steady, I ended up going round a little quicker than I probably should have done, in 67 mins. I'm really conscious of pushing it at the moment as, given that I'm still not 100% and I don't want to prolong the illness. I did that last time, and it stuck around for 2 weeks. So although I proposed another run tonight, it's going to be a rest day and then a run on Thursday and Friday me thinks, as it's city to surf day on Sunday.

I had initially set myself a goal of under an hour for this, however with the illness, it's likely to be around the 62 - 63 mins mark now. However these little sprint races are good, as they increase overall fitness and stamina. Friday though, I'm going to try and get a longer run in (around 15-18 miles), just ahead of the Wagga Wagga trail marathon next weekend. Wicked can't wait for that!

What a write-off...

After two very good mid-week runs over 6 miles each last week, it was back to the usual... illness! It's getting beyond a joke now. This time I was properly struck down with flu and acheyness, however I did manage a very cheeky (but slow) 4 miles last night, which was good as I could look at my heart rate and not push it hard at all, keeping it around 135 all the way round. I think I'm over it now almost, so will be back out tonight. Again slowly and not too hard at all, but I need to get some serious training in now for the next few weeks as I have a serious 2 months coming up with:

- City to Surf (14km sprint): August 10th
- Wagga Wagga Trail marathon: August 17th
- Glasshouse 100km: September 14th
- Sydney marathon: September 21st
- Melbourne marathon: October 12th

However I've done just a poultry 92 miles in July, through a combination of going back to the UK, being injured and being ill. The only bright point being that I ran a marathon PB over a tough course, but that is probably more due to the fact that I've been able to rest up somewhat in the lead-up to it. In fact, the very light month has probably in all fairness done me some good. I'm half way through the training or thereabouts and it's a good thing to take it slightly easy.

Anyway's positive thinking and onwards and upwards for the next 8 months!