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 :)