Moved Home ... A New Blog

Hi Bloggy Friends

As promised, I have moved to a new blog-home. You'll now find my ramblings over at "PB Down Under" where I hope you'll join me!

Cheers, Paul :-)

First run back, next event and the hazards of running ...

First run back today after the marathon. Was looking forward to this as my legs have felt really good the last few days. Then I started running (easily) and realised that I still have some recovery to go. Covered 5km at a gentle pace but my baby cows are now very unhappy! Will continue to take it easy for another week or so.

I have decided that my next big running event will be the Great Ocean Road Marathon next May. This 45km event runs from Lorne to Apollo Bay along one of the most spectacular coastlines anywhere in the world. At this stage I don't plan to run it hard, just coast along and enjoy the scenery.

Finally, saw these two articles recently about strange things that happen in marathons. The first was in the Des Moines Marathon where a train (!) stopped the leading runners 400 metres from the finish of the race. Bizarre! Would never happen here, of course, because our trains are so hopeless they wouldn't likely be running in the first place!

The second one was the sad passing of three runners in the Detroit Marathon and Half Marathon. Crikey, how often do you hear of even one runner dying in a race, let alone three. That race director must have really annoyed some black cats or something.

Finally, I need a new name for my blog. "2009 Marathon Diary" is so passe now. Any ideas?

Reflections on Race Day

 These are some thoughts on my race day and how it unfolded.

Race Morning

• Woke up at 4.45am.
• Shower to help warm up the muscles .
  
• Breakfast of oats and peaches.
• Take my drugs (antibiotic, vitamins and ventolin - so I can breathe!)
  
• Taxi picked me up at 5.30am.
• Everyone else still asleep!
• Weather is perfect, 9 deg's or so and no wind.
  

At the MCG

• Got out of taxi just before 6am at Hisesnse Arena where a dance party was still in full swing.
  
• I looked at the people coming out of the party and thought "you guys are nuts."
• They looked back at me probably thinking the same thing!
• Walked over the footbridge to Gate 2 at the MCG and entered the stadium
• A quick visit to the loo then up onto the concourse to look around
• First time I have been to the MCG since all the stands were redeveloped ... it is amazing
• Sat down and took in the atmosphere while listening to some music
• Feeling pumped, but relaxed, this will be a big day
• Walk down to deposit clothing bag then over footbridge to start - lots of up and down stairs here; must be careful not to trip (that would be embarrassing)
  
• Woman in front of me (talking to her friends) says she hopes her bra doesn't fall off during the race. I said I hope so too cause I'd hate to trip on it!

Race Start

• I desperately need to go for (another) pee. I remember all the talk about police not tolerating peeing behind trees. Too bad. (Sorry tree.)
  
• Rob De Castella (Marathon World Champion, world record holder, Boston winner, multiple Comm. Games champ, etc.) gave the pre-race rev-up speech. Just fantastic! This guy has no time for wimps.
• Get a spot in the front corral very easily.
• They introduce (the late) Kerryn McCann's son who will start the race. His mum won the 2006 Commonwealth Games marathon here at the MCG in an epic race. Feel sorry for this kid.
• The gun goes off at 7am and we are off. Only takes me 10 seconds or so to cross the line and I am running basically straight away. No problems there.
• Glad to be on my way.
  

First 10km

• The biggest "hill" on the course is over within the first 400m as you rise up on a bridge over the train lines.
• Through the first kilometre in just over five minutes, feeling good. The 3.10 pace leader is behind me already. Hmmm.
  
• Running along St. Kilda Road, fellow blogger Jason runs up beside me and says g'day (first time we have met!)
• Worry a bit at the second km sign as I have either slowed dramatically or it is way later than it should be.
• Cruise up St. Kilda Road enjoying the scenery, take a drink at the first aid station.
• Through 5km in 22.59min (target was 23.10) so happy with this start.
• Round the corner into Fitzroy Street; young female copper gives a "Go Cool Runner" to the guy beside me.
• Onto the Grand Prix track around Albert Park Lake. Notice lots of swans beside the road; they seem oblivious to the thousands of runners passing them by.
• Ask a guy beside me what time he is planning to run. He says 3:15. I think that is quicker than I plan to do. Not sure if I should slow down. Pace feels easy, conversational.
• Take a drink and gel at the 9km aid station and wind our way back up from the bottom end of the lake.
• Pass through 10km in 45.26min (last 5km in 22.27). Plan was 46.20. I know I am going fast, but is it "too fast?" (How fast is too fast anyway????) Still feels easy.
  

10km to half way

• Glance over and can see the u-turn at the very bottom of Pit Straight - further down than I thought it was going to be. I know the Elwood end of the course must now be different (shorter) to what I though too.
• Over a timing mat, around the corner then down into Pit Lane. No need to put on my 'speed limiter' but have to shuffle over to get another drink. Try a water sachet and cop a face full as I open it.
• Have been running with my CR mates for 6km now. They say hello to every other CR out there. I wonder if they can keep it up.
• We exit back onto Fitzroy Street then run down to the beach and turn right towards Port Melbourne.
• I feel comfortable along here. It is my 'stomping ground' and I know every landmark up and down this stretch.
• See the two Ethiopian leaders going back the other way. Gosh, they look quick!
  
• Through 15km in 1:06.55hrs (last 5km in 21.29). Plan was 1:09.30. Is this marker in the right spot ... seems awfully fast. Doesn't feel that fast.
  
• After my really successful run on the second half of this course a few weeks back I am just looking forward to getting to half way.
• Beautiful conditions along the beach; make the turn at Port Melbourne (think of mum and dad - who live nearby).
• Another drink, gel, water sachet at the aid station; not losing time now. 
  
• Through 20km in 1:29.51hrs (last 5km in 22.56). Plan was 1:32.40. This is definitely going too quick. Anyway, almost halfway now. Have a neat group forming around us as we move through to St. Kilda.
• Over the halfway timing mat in 1:34.45hrs. Ok, this has definitely been too quick. Plan was 1:37.46 or up to a minute ahead of this. But three minutes quicker! Curse myself for doing this. Suspect I am going to pay for it later (soon).
  

Halfway to 30km

• Looking forward to this next stretch down to Elwood and back. I know this bit really well too and expect to see family and friends at the turn.
• There is a big crowd on the "hot corner" at Fitzroy Street as they cheers runners going in three directions. Gives you a lift!
  
• Just after halfway the "3:10 bus" comes up behind me ... and passes me by. I have also lost my earlier CR companions too.
• Nearing Elwood I have my first signs of discomfort. Not major problems; just not as relaxed as before.
• Do a right-left-right-left combo at Elwood Beach to get through the carpark; then another left after 100m to head back to the road. This is the only "technical" (as they'd say in cycling) section of the course.
• Through 25km in 1:52.19hrs (last 5km in 22.28). Plan was 1:55.50. Have held on nicely through here. Am getting further ahead of schedule, now up to 3.31.
  
• Turn right to head down to turnaround at Kingsley Street (where my mate lives). He is there with his son Colin and - most importantly - my crew are there with him (Fiona and our girls Brooke and Keira)!!!
• Stop to say hi to all and give the girls a quick kiss. That's not outside assistance is it???
• Run away from them back towards St. Kilda, trying to look strong and relaxed, even though I don't feel that way. Am later told I looked ok (not great) but a lot better than some!
• Still feeling ok, but I know it is getting harder. The return stretch to Fitzroy Street seems longer than I would have thought.
• Love the crowds up here and make the turn onto Fitzroy Street. Do not notice what many people call "the hill" along here.
• Cross 30km in 2:15.58hrs (last 5km in 23.39). Plan was 2:19.00. Even I can do the simple maths - still 3.02 ahead of schedule; but now losing time instead of gaining it. The tide has turned. Time to dig in.
  

30km to The Finish

• 250m further up the road and OMG ... there is a wall of half marathon runners streaming out in front of me.
• I go from having plenty of space and a few marathon runners to pace off to havingwhat feels like the entire universe of slow runners blocking my path.
• We turn onto St. Kilda Road in the service lane where we will be crammed together for the next four km. 
• I dodge and weave through the crowds whilst trying to maintain my diminishing pace. 
• I miss an aid station because I cannot get near it for the crowds.
  
• I miss three of the next five km markers as you cannot see anything for all the runners.
• I hope the half runners will keep going straight at the Arts Centre so I can get some peace! Aargh! No such luck, they make the turn with me.
• Through 35km in est. 2:40:48hrs (last 5km in 24.50). Plan was 2:42.10. I still maintain a small buffer of time to my goal.
• Finally, just before 36km, they turn off and I am alone with a rather diminished field. I have my first bad moments around here and need to stop to yell at myself! Come on, I am so close now, just keep going.
• The 37th km takes 5.37 which will be my slowest of the day. Stop some more. Beat my thighs and yell at them some more. I am still 5sec in front of my target time; but I know this will be the last time I am ahead.
• Round the bend onto Domain Road and a gentle downhill. Pass by a spectator who yells out "you're a gladiator." I don't really feel like one but this lifts my spirits and gives me an emotive soundtrack for my brain. Just the tonic!
  
• Turn back onto St. Kilda Road. There are now people walking, running and everything in between. I go past the "Cobbers" memorial to the battle of Fromelle. Remind myself of what they went through and how weak I am in comparison. Resolve not to stop any more.
• This resolve is good - while it lasts - but I have a couple more bouts of stopping for a few seconds over the next km or so. Not sure why???
• Have merged back with the half runners but try to ignore there presence. 
• Through 40km in est. 3:07.28hrs (last 5km in 26.40). Plan was 3:05.20. If I can hold it together I'll run 3:18 or so.
  
• Go through Federation Square and right onto Flinders Street. Must run it home from here. Soon the MCG looms large in my vision as we veer right and down a gentle hill to Jolimont.
• Less than one km to go now and my time is good. I start to get a bit emotional but keep it in check. Run around the outside of packs of half mara runners; feeling strong.
• Left into the MCG tunnel and out onto the arena. What a buzz, running on the MCG. Start out running on the matting, but quickly decide to run on the turf.
• An official shunts me across other runners into the marathon finishers chute. I choke up with emotion as I cross the line in 3:18.38hrs. Woo! Hoo!
• Am filled with a feeling of sheer relief. Eight months of preparation, lots of problems along the way, but I DID IT.
• I lay on my back and notice the heat in the sun for the first time. Just stare up at the grandstands in awe of them and of what I have just done.
  

Post Race

• Down the ramp into the bowels of the stadium to collect my gear and finisher medal. Why didn't we get the medal as we crossed the line like every other event I've done?
• Have a piece of banana and a drink. It is very crowded down here.
• Wander over to the physio section where my mate Rob O'Donnell is running the show (Southern Suburbs Physiotherapy Centre). Because I am a client of theirs I get straight in. Woo! Hoo! No queue.
• A quick rub down then back up into the sunshine to find my mate Roger.
• Leaving the 'G I collect a Timex Ironman watch for my wife (with iPod control for only $50) and also my race kit which has the most pathetic souvenir towel in the history of crappy souvenirs. Who cares ... my finish time is my souvenir!

Days Later

• Learning to walk again :-)
• My cold, for which I have been on antibiotics, gets dramatically worse. No real surprise there.
• I take an interest in the Boston Marathon for the first time. After all, I do have a qualifying time!
  

3h 18m 38s

I have seen many people break down in tears at the end of athletic events and often wondered why. Today I found out. As I entered the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the final 300m of the marathon I could barely hold back the emotion. And once I crossed the line it all came out. These were not tears of joy - and certainly not of sadness - but of sheer relief. Eight months of absolute hard effort distilled into a single moment and it was too much.

The clock read 3h 18m 38s. When I started this marathon journey in February I would have laughed if someone had told me such a time would be possible. And this week when I was sick and on antibiotics (still am) I thought it had evaporated. Today I cannot imagine that it is reality. It will take time to sink in.

After all of the cr@p weather (read: chronic winds) we have had in Melbourne over the last few months it was an absolute joy to have relatively benign conditions today. No wind to talk about and reasonably cool for the most part. This was one out of the box.

First 10km - the warm up
By all accounts the first 10k of a marathon should be a bit of a stroll in the park. Time to look around, enjoy the atmosphere, say g'day to fellow competitors and generally get into the groove. For the most part I did this (even bumped into Jason for the first time!), but found pacing rather difficult as the organisers seemed to be having problems working out where to put the markers. That said, I was probably going a little quick. My target pace was 4.38m/k and I hoped to run the first half in around 4.35's so 10km in 4.32's probably wasn't the best idea in the world.

To Halfway
By 10k you are running on the Melbourne Grand Prix track which circumnavigates a local lake and is a regular road most of the time. It is pretty cool running here and even the swans come out to say hi. From here you pop out onto Fitzroy Street and down to Beach Rd where you'll spend the next 15km.

I have run up and down this stretch of road more times than I care to think about in the last 20-odd years so I know it fairly well. I think that familiarity may have bred contempt - or at the least complacency - as I went through the next 10km a minute quicker than the first 10; crossing halfway in 94.47min.

Now, to put this in perspective, my time at halfway was only a minute and a half slower than my super fast half marathon time in May. And I was running ahead of the 3:10hr pace leader. I think I knew then that I had stuffed this one up. Only a few km later I knew this was the case as I could feel myself slowing.

The Premiership Quarter
I knew that the third 10km of the race would be where I needed to work really hard. It is here that fatigue really starts to set in and you can see your time goals disappear at a rapid rate. The bulk of this section was down to Elwood and back - again, a road I know well. I also knew my family and friends would be at the far turn so I wanted to (hopefully) look strong when I passed them - mostly so they didn't think I was about to expire.

By about 24-25km I was having the odd wobble and definitely wasn't feeling 100%. I knew that my pace had slowed but it was still 4.36m/k so I was actually putting more time "in the bank" which was great and what I had hoped for. So whilst I had gone out a bit too quick, I ran this 10km right about where I would have hoped. It just felt slow!

Just after the 30km mark was where the hoardes of half marathon runners joined the course (they started an hour after we did). From there it turned to crap!

The Business End
Everyone knows that marathons don't really start till about 30-32km. I had looked forward to this fact as I really wanted to explore my own character in being able to run through what would occur to me at this point.

So at the point when I most needed to be able to run my own race, concentrate on my own pace and rhythm, I found myself dodging and weaving (literally) through thousands of people running another race. For the next five km I could barely find a distance marker and could not get to an aid station because they were so clogged. For a major marathon this was a disgrace.

There was some respite for 3km (36-39km) where our courses diverged and we marathoners were once again left to ourselves. Ahhh, the serenity. It was here that I had to stop a few times and beat my thighs and yell at myself to get going. I was now running slowly (5.15-5.20m/k for a few) and was doing it tough.

As I still harboured dreams of a sub-3.20 (and a Boston Qualifier Time) I knew I had to keep going. So I willed myself to continue. With about 4k's to go a spectator yelled out "you're a gladiator" to me and that fired me up, giving me a vision and some useful theme music to play in my head. No more stopping now, must run.

The last couple of k's are quite easy. A bit of downhill, you can see the stadium in the distance, you know you are home. Just run it strong to the finish I told myself - which I did.

The last few hundred metres is like a major Olympic Marathon as you come through the "tunnel" into the stadium and run a lap to the finish line. And the MCG is a modern-day colisseum befitting a race like this. It is just sensational!

I yelled with joy as I crossed the finish line in 3:18.38hrs. Sure, a couple of minutes slower than my target time, but who cares!!!! A massive PB for me by over 12mins (and that time was 12 years ago at age 29).

All my goals were achieved:

1. Finish
2. Run the whole way (I say I did this cause I stopped a few times, but did not walk!)
3. Run a PB (sub 3.30)
4. Beat my good mate Roger's best time (3.24)
5. Run a Boston Qualifier standard (3.20)

Aftermath
Like most marathoners, I'll need a bit of a break to recover physically from this one. I'll also need to find a new goal or two ... anyone know which way Boston is from here?

PS - I am now walking like this:


Intermediate Splits (some of the km markers were way off!)
1-10km 45.26min (5.03/10.40/-/-/22.59/-/31.48/36.30/41.10/45.26) -4.32m/k
11-20km 44.25min (50.06/54.28/-/62.28/66.55/71.28/76.02/80.35/85.13/89.51) -4.26m/k
21-30km 46.07min (94.19/(half 94.45)98.47/103.15/107.45/112.19/117.01/121.43/126.25/131.12/135.58) -4.36m/k
31-40km 51.30min (-/147.12/-/155.53/-/165.44/171.21/176.39/182.00/?187.28) -5.09m/k
41-42.2km 11.10min (192.56/-/198.38) -5.04m/k

Course Map
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3252368

Last Thoughts

It is Friday morning and as I sit here I know that in less than 48 hours it should all be over. Done in the blink of an eye. And that's the thing with big events like this. You spend a very long time preparing for them, thinking about them and then - in no time at all - they are gone. So I thought I would take this time to reflect on the last 8 months and the amazing journey it has been.

How it Began
It all began in February with an email from a friend (thanks Kim!) inviting me for a run and asking if I'd be interested in running the marathon in October. I was dreadfully out of shape at that time, with not much running for a number of years, but decided to give it a go. My best time was only 3.30hrs and my last marathon was in 2002 (3.47hrs) and I always felt that I had never really run to anything like my potential, so this was just the excuse to give it another go.

I also set myself a two-year goal which was to run a faster marathon time than a good mate of mine (thanks Roger!) This would mean running better than 3.25hrs. I hoped that this year I might be able to run close to 3.30hrs - maybe even a PB - and then next year, with lots of miles under my belt, I could give 3.20hrs a shake.

So I began running again in mid-February with only a broad idea of how I should structure my program. I printed out a 'Runners World' plan and began to follow it. The part I did not like - have never liked - about these running plans is they all have you running 5-6 days per week. I knew that I'd be unlikely to sustain this level of consistency so looked around for an alternative.

Run Less Run Faster
In late March it happened, my epiphany as I called it when I discovered the Furman FIRST guys and their book "Run Less Run Faster." This was the breakthrough for me. Finally a program that I knew I could stick to. Three runs per week, no easy stuff, just high quality running. I immediately set myself to use this program for my Half Marathon (Sri Chinmoy at end of May) and marathon (Melbourne Marathon in October).

I found this program took some getting used to. The long run pace, in particular, I found to be quite quick. It was certainly no "easy long run" as I had typically experienced in the past. On the plus side, since I was coming off a reasonably low base, my fitness was constantly improving so I adapted quickly to the intensity of the sessions.

Half Marathon
Going into the Half Marathon I was confident that I could run the target pace (4.45m/k) I had set a couple of months earlier. In fact, I had found the tempo run pace (4.38m/k) so controlled that I optimistically decided to recalibrate my target time to run 4.39m/k (1.38hrs) for the distance. I figured I had improved heaps in the two months so why not give it a go!

Well, something amazing happened, and on race day I ran a 1.33hr time. To this day I am still not sure how I ran that fast, but it felt great. A wonderful race strategy executed to perfection. Of course this meant I had to totally rethink the marathon plan as this half mara time indicated I could run somewhere near 3.16hrs for the big one. Hmmm.

Marathon Program (Weeks 1-5)
The first part of the program would culminate in a 30km run at the end of July after which I would make the final decision on whether to commit to the marathon or not. And it was a close thing. The early track sessions were a disaster. I found the Furman target paces way too quick and was blowing up after a couple of reps. I eventually decided to run to how I felt (ie, as hard as I could go!) and these times matched what Greg McMillan indicated I should be doing so I once again felt like I was on target.

I was no sooner on track again when sickness struck. A diabolical case of sinusitis laid me low for a couple of weeks, causing me to miss a couple of sessions and cut a couple of long runs short - and run them horribly slow!

I went into the Sri Chinmoy 30km event not really expecting much but hoping for the best. And the best was what I got. This time in the form of 'Tiger Boy' from the Cool Running chat site. He drove the 5-min/km bus to perfection that day, motivating us all to a great result. On the back of this effort I entered the marathon.

Marathon Program (Weeks 6-13)
These are the long serious days of the program. This is where the big efforts are done and the big gains are made. I knew if I could get through this part then I'd be mostly there as there were four 32km runs in these 8 weeks. Over the course of these runs the improvement flowed: from 5.16m/k for the first 32k effort right down to 4.45m/k for the last one.

Thrown in another bout of sickness, my fastest City to Surf in six years, a couple of good track sessions and this segment had a bit of everything. Importantly though, I came through it in good form, injury free and in good health. Only the taper to follow!

Marathon Program (Weeks 14-16)
The final three weeks of the program is the taper period, time to freshen up and peak before the race. For me it also signalled the onset of more sickness. What started out as tightness in my chest has now developed into a nasty throat infection, runny nose and a dose of antibiotics. Not exactly what I was hoping for.

I've had some great runs in there too, including a good 21km over the last half of the marathon course a couple of weeks back. So here I am two days out from race day with nothing to do but rest.

Thanks!
Of course, I could not have reached this point without the support and inspiration of so many people. I have already mentioned Kim who inspired me to take on this quest; and my good friend Roger who has not only supplied a target time for me to beat, but has more importantly supported/sledged me along the way. Thanks mate! To my mate Andy, I promise to Go Hard or Go Home. What would Jens do, eh?

To my work colleagues, neighbours and friends who have heard me endlessly rabbit on about this race for more than six months. I appreciate your good humour in listening to me. Rest assured, it is almost at an end now.

To my fellow bloggers, you have each provided more inspiration, encouragement and laughs than you can imagine. Your stories of struggle, achievement, good times (and bad) have more than once made me wonder why I have bothered to publish my own drivel on the internet. (Even my wife doesn't bother to read my blog!) But I will think of each one of you at some time during the race and draw upon your efforts as motivation for my own. Thanks!

Always show in list

• Canute's Efficient Running Site
• Do It.
• Go Hard
• Life is a Marathon...
• Mel Tries To Run
• Now the plan is this.....
• Running and Living
• Running Spike
• Twenty Six Point Two

Finally, to my family: Fiona, Brooke and Keira. You remain the most important thing in the world to me and I would not be here without your love and support. Thank you. Brooke, I am sorry you won't be able to run the final 200m with me as you normally do in my races. Perhaps just as well. Might be a tad embarrassing to be outrun by a five year old proudly proclaiming to have "crushed her dad like a paper cup!"

I'll let you all know on Sunday how it went.
Paul :-)

Antibiotics

Not the preferred title for a blog post three days before the marathon but one which actually pleases me as it means that I at least have a fighting chance of getting to the start line feeling ok.

After spending this week getting progressively worse I finally managed to see a doctor today. And the marathon gods smiled on me a little as this doc was himself a marathoner and knew what I was going through, what I am going to go through (!) and what I needed.

So I am on the drugs now and am happy about that. A day of rest at home tomorrow (I have a very understanding boss too); easy Saturday - then the big race.

This morning I went out for a 5km run which I did in 23.40min (4.44m/k). I felt very ragged, far from smooth and with no rhythm at all. Not the best final run I could have but not really of much concern as I just wanted to roll my legs over.

Now to Sunday!

Farewell to the Track

In preparation for the marathon this weekend I have run down at the Moorabbin Athletics Track 22 times this year. More than 130km. Over 320 laps. Any way you look at it ... a lot! Mostly in the dark. Very often windy. Sometimes with unexpected canine company. Rarely with any other runners.

Tonight was my last session there (for a while at least) and it felt kinda strange. Like saying goodbye to a friend for a while. As it was, this 'friend' served up a bit of everything. Plenty of wind, the odd spot of drizzle, and a few fast laps. A reasonably good summation of our relationship this year!

The main set today was:
6 x 400m (1.28/1.31/1.27/1.28/1.26/1.24) (400m RI)

Did this whilst still battling my throat lurgies.

Happy with these times.

One more run then race.

Consistency and My 100 Runs

One of the hallmarks of my return to running this year has been some proper consistency. Week after week I have recorded my three planned runs with only an occasional miss due to extreme illness. As more than one friend has pointed out - imagine if you had trained like this 20 years ago. Hmmm, I wonder.

Today I clocked up my 100th Run for the year with over 1200km covered. This year is now as big (by total km's) as the last five combined. (Says more about the last five than this one in all reality!) But no wonder the results have come.

Today's run was 16km at marathon pace (4.38m/k). I have not been able to overcome this minor chest infection and it was just plain annoying today. I feel like it is holding me back about 5% and no amount of magic potions seems to get rid of it. As long as it gets no worse I'll be happy.

Other than that and a minor left calf strain the run was good. Nice conditions, sunny with a light wind. And a small neg split. All is good.

Total run: 16km in 1:13.39 hrs (4.36m/k)
Lap 1 36.53 (-/4.35/4.34/4.35/4.32/4.36/4.41/4.45/-)
Lap 2 36.46 (-/4.41/4.37/4.34/4.32/4.31/4.33/4.38/-)

Saw the first weather forecast for next Sunday (race day) too:

Mostly sunny. Winds northeasterly averaging up to 25 km/h.

Min 7. Max 22.

Perfect!

A final tempo run

These tempo runs have variously been fantastic, uplifting experiences or outright disasters during this prep. Today was the third time I had run this particular set: 10km with 5km in the middle at short tempo [aka hard] pace. The tally stood one great run and one disaster. I am feeling a little sore in the throat and tight in the chest right now, so what would the decider be??

In short - a winner! Not exactly sure how much of a winner as my watch ran out of recording memory (100-laps and I have none free!) But, as I glanced down each km I could see about four and a quarter minutes flashing by so it was aroud 21.15min for the fast 5km which was exactly where I wanted to be.

I am really counting down now. Only four more runs till THE BIG ONE. I am nervous as all heck. Every day I pass by the MCG going to/from work and I just stare at it. We have a big date, a rendevouz. I just hope we will be nice to each other.

The last big set

There's a training adage that says you need about 10-14 days to feel the benefit of any training session. Which means that today is perhaps the last session that will add to my fitness level for the marathon From here on it is about maintaining the fitness I have accumulated. So with that in mind I tackled my second-to-last track session this evening.

The set itself was pretty straight forward. 5x 1km reps with 400m float as the rest interval. Conditions were ok, not too cold or windy, and I hoped to go around 3.59 average for each of the reps.

As usual, I took the first one a little easier and did a 4.01 (hmm, slower than I would have liked). But I built up each of the subsequent reps, doing 3.59, 3.58, 3.57 and finally a 3.52. That's what I like to see: getting faster on each one! And a great 3.57/8 average being a small improvement on the last time I did this session.

This was especially pleasing as I have a bit of a sore throat and my chest is still not 100%. Cannot shake this illness, but it is not holding me back dramatically. As long as it gets no worse I'll be happy.

Stocking up some karma

After Friday's debacle of a run I was really worried. In fact, I think that mild paranoia is a personality trait of most marathoners - especially in the latter stages of training before the race. To my family, friends and work colleagues - I apologies in advance for the next two weeks!

I wanted to complete this run - 21km at marathon pace - over the last half of the Melbourne Marathon course. I know it reasonably well, but I wanted to get it ingrained in my head, hopefully make friends with it, and get some 'positive karma' that I could draw upon come race day.

I have split the marathon course into small pieces and today I would run four of them - the Elwood leg (8km), St Kilda Rd (5km), Shrine loop (5km) and MCG (3km).

To say conditions were ordinary is an understatement. The good lady wife dropped me off in St. Kilda where I think the whole suburb is in mourning after yesterday's loss in the AFL Grand Final. I could barely get out of the car it was so windy!

I received some good advice/words of wisdom from fellow blogger 'canute' who reminded me that the purpose of this next two weeks is to "sustain the muscle ‘memory’ of race pace, and your confidence, while allowing your muscles recover from the preceding months of hard work. This goal can be achieved with a relatively small amount of running at race pace." For me this took a little of the "must do" out of the run and made it more a "keeping the faith" run.

With no particular pacing strategy in mind and no real km markers memorised (just a few checkpoints) I set out just to run comfortably. I hoped that comfortably would equal fast when I checked out the stats back at home. Did I mention how windy it was????? At Elwood Beach the waves were crashing in way up the beach and foam covered the roadway at least 50m from shore. Nuts!!

I cruised back to St. Kilda and was pleasantly surprised to see I was running ahead of target pace. Up Fitzroy Street and left in St. Kilda Road. This is a lovely tree-lined boulevard and, thankfully, it offers reasonably good protection from the elements. I made my way down here to the Arts Centre where you turn left to do a loop around the gardens surrounding the Shrine. I had covered this 5km in just over 22min so was thinking either I am running well or my distances are all way out!

The next part of the course is the only "lumpy" bit and, to be perfectly honest, it is pretty flat. It is here that you also get your first glimpse of the MCG, albeit with still about 7km left to go. But it is inspiring. Unfortunately the water taps here on the famous 'Tan Track' are USELESS. Not a single one worked which was a bugger 'cause I had just swallowed a gel and was in desperate need of some water. Aargh!

After making your way around part of the Tan you make a u-turn to take you back to St. Kilda Rd where you head for home. On this corner, just by the shrine, there is a monument of a Digger (Aussie soldier) carrying his mate over his shoulders. Entitled 'Cobbers' it commemorates the WW1 Battle of Fromelle where 5500 Aussie soldiers died in just over 24-hours. It was great to pass this in training. On race day it will be inspiring. I went through this 5km section right on race pace at 4.38m/k.

From here it is only 3km to the finish and probably the easiest bit of the course. Down to Federation Square and turn right into Flinders Street. Along here then down the gentle hill to Jolimont; right turn into Brunton Avenue and only a km to the MCG which has loomed large in your vision for a few k's now. The MCG is a modern-day Colisseum, holding in excess of 100,000 people at major sporting events. I think there'll probably be oh, 100, there to see us marathoners, but I could imagine a much bigger crowd as I made my way down here this morning.

I felt strong and finished in great shape. The total journey of 21km in 96 mins at an average pace of 4.33 m/k. Just fantastic! Absolutely thrilled with this. I hope to travel as quickly and efficiently in a fortnight over these same roads!

SK-Elw-SK 8.05km 36.36min -4.32m/k
to VCA 5.02km 22.21min -4.27m/k (13.07km in 58.57min)
to Grant St 4.86km 22.33min -4.38m/k (17.93km in 81.30min)
to MCG/Punt Rd 3.16km 14.28min -4.34m/k (21.09km in 95.58min)

Map of Run:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3220424

Early Warning!!

I have been right on the edge this week as I try to keep evil-spirits away before this race. I have had some minor chest congestion and a tickling throat along with some general lethargy at work; just not feeling right. I got through my track session on Wednesday ok. "Adequate" times but certainly not fast - I think I should have been 3-4sec quicker on each.

But today it became a real worry. I headed out this morning to do my 8km tempo run (4.22m/k pace) and was immediately in trouble. For the first km it was just working out the pain from this stupid "fascist foot" (aka plantar fasciitis) but I quickly realised it was worse than that. My breathing was laboured and my stride and footstrike choppy.

I picked it up for the second km, barely held on for number three and was going backwards by four. Needless to say by this stage I was 1.08min behind schedule and decided to call it quits, returning home by the 'short route' and feeling woeful.

At first I thought it was just low blood sugar but I did not pick up after breakfast and spent the rest of the day feeling a bit shaky - much like I do if I have a second cup of coffee in the morning! So right now I am a bit worried. I know I am suffering from something though I am not sure what. I just wish it would come full-on so I can deal with it and move on. Not much time to play with now.

I wonder how I'll go on Sunday with my planned 21km at marathon pace. Might be interesting!

Total run: 6.3km in 30.02min (4.45/4.32/4.37/4.42/4.43/5.10/-)

800's and Bart Yasso

Back down to the track tonight for a set of 8x 800's. Was looking forward to this session but have been struggling with the beginning of a cold in my chest again (aargh!). Hopefully I can ward off the evil sickness-spirits without much impact.

It was a windy evening tonight, thankfully minus the rain we have seen a bit of here recently. I seem to be doing a reasonable job of dodging the worst of the weather at the moment. Thank god for training only three days per week!

Covered the reps in a 3.09min average with a 3-second spread so a fairly even paced effort:

8 x 800m (1.30 min. RI) in 3.08/3.07/3.09/3.09/3.09/3.09/3.10/3.10

Yasso 800's
There is a fairly well-known (read: marathon geeks have heard about it) article that appeared in Runner's World way back in 2001 about something they called "Yasso 800's" after the fellow who coined the theory, oddly enough called Bart Yasso.

The basic premise is that a runner who has put in requisite training for a marathon should be able to complete a set of 10x 800's in about the same time min:sec as they can do the marathon hrs:min. So running 800's in - like me - a 3:09 average suggests I can run a marathon in around 3:09 (others suggest up to 5-min slower than this time).

Of course, some people are better suited to running short intervals than long races, but on the whole, he found this applied from elite marathoners all the way down to (ahem) plodders.

It certainly is one more thing that gives me confidence that I can run to my 3:16 target.

32km Done ... Let the Taper Begin

Today was my final 32km run before the marathon in three weeks time. The whole preparation has been building to this run - and I could see why. It was the single session I feared the most as it was long and quick (10sec/km faster than my fastest long run to date).

As always, my plan was to get a minute or two of time "in the bank" for the return journey - especially the last 6km up South Rd. Obviously this would be a bit harder today since the overall pace was already quicker. Conditions were good and wind was not a major factor (maybe our luck here in Melbourne is changing).

Felt good for the most part out to the turn at Middle Park, going through 16km in 74.44min, so by then I had 1.13min up my sleeve. I consolidated this for the next 5km, going through half marathon distance in about 98.40 and ultimately getting to the final 6km with a wonderful 2.22min to play with.

As it was, I ran strongly up South Rd (fastest time yet for this prep) and lost only 10 sec/km; finishing the 32k 1.19min ahead of schedule. Fan-bloody-tastic! It was no easy run at all, but it was controlled and run perfectly to plan. I have real confidence in running the marathon to a similar plan.

Only three weeks to go now. Let the taper begin!

Total run: 32km in 2:31.45hrs - 4.45m/k

1-6km 27.56min (4.40/9.21/13.55/18.33/23.16/27.56) - 4.39m/k
7-12km 28.10min (32.43/37.21/42.02/46.45/51.27/56.06) - 4.41m/k
13-16km 18.38min (60.47/65.19/69.57/74.44) - 4.39m/k
17-20km 18.39min (79.19/84.00/88.34/93.23) - 4.39m/k
21-26km 28.36min (98.06/102.52/107.38/112.25/117.12/121.59) - 4.46m/k
27-32km 29.46min (126.57/131.49/136.50/141.52/146.48/151.45) - 4.57m/k

"Nice one Centurion!"

Headed out for my 13km run tonight knowing that this is my last big weekend before the taper. I'll cover 45km before Sunday night and if I can get through this in good shape then I'll be happy that all the really hard stuff is done.

Great conditions again tonight - I ran just on sunset. Nice temp and no real wind. This run should be a cruise. It was! A lazy 12.9k in 59.50min - bang on 4.38m/k over the rolling course around home.

Very pleased with that. "Nice one Centurion!"

I could have written this ....
One of the blogs I enjoy reading is Ana-Maria's "Running and Living." She has just posted a description of how she feels during the various phases of a marathon build up. Wow! It is like she is channelling my thoughts. This is exactly how I have gone. There must be something universal in there.

I feeeeeel good ..... I knew that I would

(With apologies to James Brown.) But I am now starting to feel really confident. Had a great run tonight, a set of 10x 400m with 400m float in between. Thought I might run about 1.30min for each given last time I ran a 1.31 average. Conditions were great. I repeat. Conditions were great. Still pleasantly warm at sunset and only a breath of wind. Ahhh, heaven.

Ended up running a 1.27 average with splits of: 1.26/1.28/1.27/1.28/1.28/1.27/1.26/1.27/1.28/1.27.

Felt strong and relaxed the whole way and probably could have done more. This is a great improvement on the April times and is, for the first time in this program, a track session completed at the FIRST target times. Not that this matters much to me, but yippee!

Two more runs of this, monster week, then taper begins.

Physio thanks
Perhaps some thanks to my physio, Rob O'Donnell, at Southern Suburbs Physio. He gave me a tweak last night which I am sure just loosened things up a little. I am lucky because his business is running the massage at the Melbourne Marathon and as an existing patient I'll get special "back room" treatment. (I think this is good????)

Inspiration
Inspiration for runners comes from many places. I get a fair dose of mine from reading what other runners have to deal with and overcome as part of their journeys. One that has stuck with me is the blog of LBTEPA (I still have no flippin' idea what that means???). Read this post of her recent 35km training run for the same marathon I am doing next month. Tell me after that you do not feel (just a bit) inadequate. Inspiring!

The Last Half

Many people say marathon running is all about the last half. Plenty of folks can start out strong, but it is those who "bring it home" who typically do best. Greg McMillan's ideas on the long run are all about training yourself to do just that - finish strong.

Today's run was one of those - the "fast finish" as he calls them. The others I have attempted have not been terribly successful. I have not really found it possible to lift the pace late in a long run. Holding it steady is about the best I can manage.

The goal today was 24k at 4.44m/k so I was planning to run a half marathon race (Sri Chinmoy at Burnley) with a few k warm-up to get me going. The plan was to run the half at target marathon pace (4.38m/k).

Things did not exactly to plan this morning and I got to the race venue later than expected. In fact, with only a couple of minutes to go to race start I was still trying to make final 'evacuations' in the loo. I just made it in time for the moment of silence and the official 'go' so no warm-up k's today.

The weather was not like anything we've had for a while in Melbourne. At 9pm last night it was still 29 deg's and by race time it had cooled to about 18 deg's. Couple this with some bursts of rain and it was rather more humid than we normally get. But, at least the wind had subsided!!!!

As for the race itself, I think I am happy, at least with the end result. But I totally stuffed up my pacing. I thought I was taking it easy at the start, but ran the first couple of k's way faster than target pace. And died! For the next 8k's all I tried to do was get my pace back under control so that I could at least finish. It was really that bad. I went through 10km in 46.51min with a string of 4.40+ k's.

At 10km, with everything back in control I decided to give it a bit of a go and pick up the pace. After all, it was supposed to be a 'fast finish' run and I had comprehensively managed to do the 'slow start.'

And, miraculously, I did get faster, putting together a group of 4.30+ k's for the next couple of laps. It was great to pass people again who had disappeared off into the distance earlier in the morning. I ran to 20km in 92.49min, with the second 10km in 45.58min, so a big neg split for those.

I ran strong to the finish, notwithstanding my 5 year-old daughter Brooke joining me for the last 100m and, in her words, once again "crushing me like a paper cup!"

Total time for the event was 1:37.41hrs so - bizarrely - 4 seconds under target time for the day. Hmmm, not sure how I managed that. It looks like a well executed fast finish run, but trust me, it wasn't!

Part of my cheer squad (Keira) after the race

Race Splits
1km 4.17min (4.17)
2-6km 23.33min (4.24/4.43/4.46/4.52/4.48) Full Lap 1 - 4.42m/k
7-11km 23.32min (4.48/4.42/4.43/4.48/4.31) Lap 2 - 4.42m/k
12-16km 22.51min (4.32/4.33/4.39/4.42/4.25) Lap 3 - 4.34m/k
17-21km 22.55min (4.29/4.35/4.45/4.46/4.20) Lap 4 - 4.35m/k

Gale Warning (who is Gale anyway?)

It seems like every time I check the weather forecast before a run in the last few months it looks something like this one. "Gale warning" and "damaging winds" have become synonymous with Melbourne recently. It is driving me nuts! Whatever happened to pleasant days which are "calm" or with a "light breeze" I wonder.

In any case, it was this forecast which I heralded my second run this week, a 16km trip at target marathon pace. I did the same workout only two weeks ago and it didn't feel particularly easy then. What a difference a fortnight makes. It felt much better tonight (despite the wind).

Today I covered the two-lap course in 1:13.54hrs at 4.37m/k (a second below target pace). The two laps were in 37.00min and 36.54min so a negative split too without really trying to do so. Wow! And this pace felt much cruisier than last time. This is what it is supposed to feel like. I'm pretty pleased with this one.

Who was it that said "I love it when a plan comes together." Mine certainly is!

Four minute mile

Sounds good, doesn't it. And fast. I did one. Well, my version of one.

Tonight's track session was 3x 1600m with 400m easy in between. I felt good, conditions were as good as I've had for a while, the session was short. Everything was there for a fast set.

Covered the first one in 6.36mins which is what I ran them in back in April. I had expected to go closer to 6.30 but don't run the first one flat out so was happy with this. Pushed a bit more for the second one which I did in 6.26 (pleased with this) then ran the last quicker again in 6.23 (stoked with this)!!

So where do I get the four minute mile from. Simple. 1600m is the metric equivalent of the mile and 6.23min for this distance is a tick under four minutes per kilometre. A mile at four minute pace!

A Confession and An Ark

A Confession
I've been going around doing athletic events for many years now, more than 22. And - apart from feeling old when I write that sentence - I have a confession to make. It is this: I have built up my running this year waaaay to quick.

Why is that a big deal? Well, I am now, more than ever, aware of the need for my body to recover and recuperate. In earlier years I'd build up to a marathon with 8 weeks of (sporadic) training. I know I shouldn't have done it then. I know I can't do it now.

So I got onto this Furman FIRST program which I really love. Trouble is, I probably should have built up my running gradually for a year or so before starting the program earlier this year.

When January rolled around this year and I was doing an occasional triathlon I could barely run the 5km leg such has been my lack of running. Let's look back at the last six years of running for me:

2004: 27 runs (356km)
2005: 19 runs (110km)
2006: 25 runs (259km)
2007: 26 runs (343km)
2008: 28 runs (190km)
2009: 88 runs (1051km) ... and still plenty more to come!

Hmm, yes, I see the problem now. More running this year than in the last four combined. Actually, it is more running in the last six months than those last four years. And by the time Christmas rolls around it will be more than five years crammed into one.

Life in the fast lane! Is it any surprise I suffer the odd injury or two? Just don't tell my physio (hi Rob!)

An Ark
I decided to skip my run tonight and do it tomorrow instead. It has been bucketing down here all evening. I am going out into my garage to build an Ark instead. It might come in useful.

How to Have Fun on Father's Day!

In the olden days the marathon programs I followed all built up steadily over a long period of time reaching a crescendo exactly three weeks out from race day with the almighty thirty-two kilometre run. This time round I decided to get on board with the blokes at Furman and their FIRST Marathon Program.  It is based on a different view of the world: Run less. Run harder. Run long (more often).

With this 16-week program I have run 32k in weeks 6, 9 and 11 (today). Week 4 should also have been 32k but I shortened it due to sickness (to 25k) and I have one more to come in week 13. That's a 32k run once every three weeks on average. Either they are on to a piece of training wizadry that no-one else has considered or they've run out of ideas for other distances to run!

In any case, it certainly means lots of long training days like today. It certainly means that I am not worried about the first 32k of the marathon. These long runs are starting to feel a bit easier now and I am gradually getting a bit quicker each time. More importantly, whereas the last 6k was originally a big struggle, I now find that it is hard, but I can run at a strong, controlled pace. This is very motivating.

Conditions today were fairly typical with a northerly wind blowing (not as strong as some weeks but still there) and overcast with temp in mid-teens. Pretty perfect for running I guess. The only thing different today was my nutrition. Normally I'd take a couple of gels on these runs but I had run out so I had a PowerBar instead which I nibbled along the way. I prefer the gel whilst running as they are easier to ingest, but the bar gave me a small boost often.

I also took my heart rate monitor out today to gauge my effort levels. This was good news too. It was typically in the range 146-150 with the final 6k surge up South Rd to home at around 154. Overall average was 150bpm which compares to something in the mid-160's which I expect to see come race day.

Finished the run in 2:27.45hrs (4.56min/km) which was 39-sec ahead of target time. Excellent! I am also getting quite adept at running slightly faster early on to get a minute or so "in the bank" for the harder bit at the back end. I plan to utilise the same strategy on race day so it is good to practice it.

1-6km 28.35min (4.47/9.34/14.18/18.58/23.48/28.35)
7-12km 29.41min (33.35/38.30/43.27/48.30/53.26/58.16)
13-16km 19.44min (63.17/68.08/73.02/78.00)
17-20km 19.36min (82.57/87.51/92.35/97.36)
21-26km 29.34min (102.32/107.24/112.24/117.29/122.19/127.10)
27-32km 30.35min (132.21/137.22/142.28/147.24/152.20/157.45)

Good. Sort of. I think?

I am not sure how I went tonight. I was there, of course, it was me who actually ran around-and-around that track again. But I am not really certain about whether I ran well or not. Which is odd (on many levels) since normally I'd be quite definite on this.

After a great week last week and some solid rest from my last long run on Sunday I felt as good going into this track session as I have all preparation. I don't think I can blame the wind, even though it was blowing in the opposite direction to how it normally does. I am not sure why, but that put me off; it felt all ass-about.

I just didn't have it. Bugger, since I was looking forward to this session which was reps of 1k-2k-1k-1k with 400m float in between. I really thought I'd knock out some solid sub-4's for the km reps with maybe an 8.10 for the 2k. Not even close. Not awful times. Just not very good.

Now is not the time to mention the secret injury which has been ....

Total run: 10.4km in 54.31min

w/up to track and 200m strides (11.48)
1km hard (4.00), 400m easy
2km hard (8.27), 400m easy
1km hard (4.03), 400m easy
1km hard (4.01)
c/down to home (12.21)

Picking up the pace

Only a 24km run today. It's all relative I guess. Not so long ago 24k would have been an 'OMG this is a freaking long way run,' but not now. And lest I think things are actually getting easier, those wacky guys a Furman (whose program I am following) decree that this run would ratchet up the pace to make up for the shorter distance. Lots of fun!

The last couple of weeks I have found the first km or so a bit hard. Not pace hard, but just getting my body into the groove and my head in the right place. Both times I have wondered if I'd be able to finish the planned run. Not sure why.

These runs are basically in four parts: down to the beach, along the beach foreshore and back, then run back up to home. And, given terrain and wind have not varied at all, it is essentially an easy warm-up down to the beach, hard slog into the wind, easier run back with the wind and hard slog uphill to home. I think the time splits below show that out.

Today, if it was at all possible, the wind was probably stronger than it has ever been???? Certainly it had more "west" in it and less "north." In any case, it was unpleasant on the run from Brighton up to Elwood. I pray that we get a relatively calm day for the race. This wind just sucks big time.

I certainly picked it up for the first 6k of the second half of the run, covering this in 4.42m/k which is quite good. Obviously the mother of all winds was behind me so it probably isn't that great. What I was pleased with, though, was the time up South Road. I traditionally struggle along here. Today, somehow, it was a quick-paced struggle - despite walking for a few seconds when it just got a bit hard.

Overall, very pleased with this run. The training plan says to run it in 1:56 and the watch says I did 1:55.44 so right on target. Another woo hoo! And a great end to the running week.

Total run: 24km in 1:55.44hrs (4.49m/k)

1-6km 28.32min (4.45/9.30/14.09/18.56/23.46/28.32)  4.45m/k
7-12km 29.22min (33.20/38.04/42.52/47.51/52.44/57.54)  4.53m/k
13-18km 28.15min (62.32/67.10/71.56/76.37/81.22/86.09)  4.42m/k
19-24km 29.35min (91.02/95.59/100.54/106.01/110.49/115.44)  4.55m/k

Only three more big weeks now!

When is Marathon Pace not Marathon Pace?

Tonight's run was a 10-miler (16km) at marathon pace (4.38min/km) which means it should be comfortable, not overly hard. After all, in six weeks I am supposed to run 42km at this pace. OMG!

Now it was only a few months ago during my half marathon training that this same speed was my mid-tempo pace. And apart from that one very fast race I'm not sure that much has really changed. Which means that the 16km tonight felt like a fair workout and anything but a cruise about town.

I ran my regular North Road loop doing two laps to give me 16km. They were fairly even, run in 37.27min and 37.39min. There was also the now obligatory wind blowing which kept it a bit more interesting than I'd like, but what can you do!

Overall a pleasing effort. A few seconds behind target pace, but still ok. I am confident that come marathon day, this same pace will feel a whole lot easier.

At Last ... Improvement!

It has taken until week ten of this program for me to replicate or improve upon any of my track session times from the half marathon program earlier this year. But tonight I finally did it! It feels so good to see some times that are faster than I have ever gone.

Tonight's set was 3x (2x 1200m) with 2min rest between intervals and 4min rest between each of the three sets. I last ran this set on 8 April (another Wednesday night) with times generally around 4.56min for each rep.

Tonight I did the now customary "first rep steady, not too fast, don't blow up before you've even started" routine. This seems to be working. Perhaps more accurately, now that I have ditched the Furman target times which were sooo fast for me that I was exploding after the first rep, I am better able to pace my efforts.

This time the reps were completed in: 4.56/4.52 - 4.53/4.52 - 4.53/4.46

What I am looking for is a comfortable first rep, even in the middle, and fastest last rep if possible. Realistically, tonight's times tell me I could probably have pushed to around 4.50min for each of the reps.

But who cares!!!! This is fast for me, faster than last time, right in the McMillan time ranges (4.44-4.59) and felt great.

Yippee!

Bits 'n' Pieces

Good Reading
Saw an interesting article today on Active.com:
Getting Past the Wall on Race Day by Gale Bernhardt.
This site actually has lots of great info ... but then, you probably already knew that.

Blog Probs
Also, thanks (and apologies) to those who have pointed out that Blogger's wonderful security word feature for posting replies has been troublesome! I have removed it (it was on by default) so you should be able to post a reply now ... I hope.

Birthdays
Had a fun diversion from training yesterday as we celebrated my eldest daughter Brooke's fifth birthday with a party at our local traffic school. It starts with the instructor giving the assembled throng of kids a walkthrough of the course whilst explaining the road rules. It ends with the same mass of kids riding in every direction on both sides of the road in something resembling a highway on the sub-continent. Amazingly, no crashes and no road rage.

Tonight we went out to celebrate both my wife and Brooke's birthday (Brooke is the day after mum) at an Indian restaurant. It was Brooke's choice so we could indulge in her favourite "orange chicken."

As you can see from the pic here, little Keira enjoyed it immensely!

32 redux

Today was the second 32km run of this program (with two more to come). The last one was way back on 2 August with a slower target pace (which I did not make). So I was not really sure about whether I'd make the pace today or not - which was 4.57m/k.

I decided my best chance was to go out at a reasonable pace and get some time "in the bank." I also knew that with this awful wind (again!!!) I was going to need to run conservatively for the first half. Hmm, time in the bank AND conservative pace. Not sure how to resolve that one.

Anyway, felt good going out, even into the strong wind along the beach. The sun was out, lots of people - including some obvious marathon training groups - so perhaps it just felt better all round. Made the turn at Middle Park in 78.41min so I had to run 79.43min for the return leg to make pace.

This focus on making pace today is a little odd given that with my track runs I have decided to ditch the target pace calcs. Maybe the long run paces just seem more important??

For the first 10km of the return leg I was making up about 5sec/km and feeling good. Rounding the turn at South Rd and I reached the 26km mark with still 1.15min up my sleeve. Though I felt much better than last time round I knew that this last 6km is mostly uphill, traditionally slow, and will be where fatigue kicks in. So it was no certainty I'd be right.

I held it together (just) to 31km and had 5.24min to run the last km. This is a hard last km and I was a few seconds slower to finish just 6 seconds off the target time. Actually, this is probably pretty remarkable in any case, to run that close to a target time over that long a distance.

I was (still am) tired, legs fatigued, but no injuries and felt pretty strong. Very happy with a great end to the week.

1-6km 28.54min (4.51/9.38/14.25/19.08/24.05/28.54)
7-12km 29.44min (33.46/38.43/43.38/48.45/53.43/58.38)
13-16km 20.03min (63.40/68.39/73.34/78.41)
17-20km 19.36min (83.39/88.34/93.20/98.17)
21-26km 29.10min (103.14/108.02/112.53/117.50/122.46/127.27)
27-32km 31.03min (132.33/137.35/142.41/146.34/147.57/153.02/158.30)

This also finished off my biggest week to date, with the 3 runs covering 53.99km in 4:24:43hrs.

Running can be fun!

Completed my second session of the week last night, a 10km tempo set and - surprise, surprise - it felt good again! I had almost forgotten what it was like to run without sickness or injury, but it was niiiice.

It was another windy night - as the whole week has been in Melbourne - so conditions were not at their best, but it did not really bother me. I've noticed that, too. When you feel good then climatic conditions don't seem to be nearly as big an influence as when you are not on such good form.

The main part of this set was the 7km at mid-tempo pace (target 4.22m/k). I have not been pacing my tempo runs very well recently so consciously took this one out at a steady pace, with the intent to finish strongly, not in a heap like some other efforts.

Ran just under 4.30 pace for the first 5km then hard on the easier section towards South Rd with a 4.18 and 4.20 to finish the 7km in 30.58min (4.25m/k).

I am really pleased with this. Pretty close to target pace, certainly reasonably fast, and much better than all recent efforts.

Ahhh, maybe I can run well after all!

Back on (the) Track

Gosh, it seems like ages since I ran on the track (actually, it is three weeks) and I was looking forward to tonight's session. I have certainly found the sessions this time round to be a lot harder than before and my times have generally not been as good. Not sure why: sickness, cold weather, night running, windy conditions? In any case, it just hasn't been what it was four months ago.

So today I decided to ignore target times and just run according to how I felt. Or, put another way, just run each interval as hard as I think I can. This felt somewhat liberating and I actually enjoyed myself here for the first time in a long time.

The session is the same as one I did back on 1 April so I had a clear point of comparison. This consisted of:

w/up to track 2km
1600m hard (7.00), 400m easy
3200m hard (13.53), 800m easy
2x 800m hard (3.13/3.16), 400m easy
c/down to home 2km
Total: 12km in 59.26min

Apart from the first 1600m which, in retrospect, was a little slow, the others repeats all felt about right and were within a few seconds of my April times. And, overall, door-to-door, the session was about seven and a half minutes quicker than in April so I definitely ran the easy bits much quicker too. Not that this is an objective in itself, but it means I was not getting as much rest between intervals. I am happy about this!

I think I might run like this more often.

Sandy Point Half Marathon

I live and run near the beach so I am used to the fact that there is nearly always a wind to contend with down there. But this morning was bordering on ridiculous. Today we had to deal with a 50kph (gusting to 60kph) northerly wind during a two-lap out and back course from Sandringham to Brighton.

In order to get the k's up for the day I ran down to the venue at Sandringham. Nice and easy, 7km at 5.25m/k pace. There was only 15min to race start when I arrived so I quickly got my race number and free 2XU compression socks and went to the start line.

A side-bar here on these compression socks. I have been wearing some Skins socks to bed regularly. I find they make an enormous difference to my recovery, especially when I have sore calves as I had this week. But I hadn't worn them in an event. Now these 2XU ones are soooooo sexy (not!). More like something Zorba the Greek threw out. But since there were so many people wearing them today I decided to give them a go. (They probably helped too!)

My plan for the race was to run steady 5m/k pace for the first half then a "fast finish" (straight from the Greg McMillan handbook) at 4.38m/k. I ended up running 51.26min (4.53 m/k) to half way so was pleased with that, then put in a burst for a couple of km back into that bl**dy headwind. I managed to pass quite a few people but paid for the effort as I was soon tucked in behnd a couple of other guys biding my time till the final turn.

At that point I decided to go for it. It went something like this:
Brain to Legs: ok, run faster now, you have a tailwind and there's only 5km to go.
Legs to Brain: you don't run much, do you?
Brain to Legs: I COMMAND THEE to run quicker.
Legs to Brain: ok, you're pi$$ing me off now, I am going to run SLOWER.

So, rather than knock out a fast finish, I actually ran slower for the second half, a 52.10min (4.56m/k). This gave me an overall time of 1:43.36hrs (4.55m/k) and a total run for the day of 28.13km in 2:21.43hrs (5.02m/k).

This is a general improvement on most of my times, but I had wished for more - not much - just 5 sec/km. But considering the awful wind, a sore throat that returned after only three days of feeling good, and some still sore calves I should be pleased. And am!

When does this training get easier?

At some stage in most running programs your body seems to catch up - or perhaps just give in - and the pace of the sessions gets easier. Half way into this program and that point doesn't seem like it is ever going to come.

After an easy session on Wednesday night I still am not fully recovered from the City to Surf. My calves - especially the left one - are still really tender.

The session tonight was one that I have done before, about a month ago, and back then had a great run. So I was feeling optimistic about having another good run here. I even managed to squeeze it in before nightfall so was looking forward to running in daylight too.

After the 3km warm-up it was into the hard 5km at short-tempo pace (4.13m/k). I went through the first km in 4.16min so was right on where I needed to be. Unfortunately it kind of went downhill from there with subsequent k's in 4.24/28/32 and 30. Just plain harder than it should have been. A 5km time of 22.10mins being a whole 53sec slower than last time.

I am getting a bit over all this target pace stuff. Whereas for the half marathon program it seemed to be right-on for me, this time round it seems way too fast. I have my suspicions as to why:

1. During the half program I was still coming from a low fitness base so was still on the way up.
2. The target pace this time is based on a blindingly great run in the half marathon which was the "peak" of my fitness, with taper, racing flats, etc. That is, this pace was about as good as it gets and is not maintainable ... it's a peak!
3. Recovery from the longer runs in the marathon program is slower meaning the track session (especially) is much harder.

Anyway, I'll persevere. Even if my runs are slower than target pace that's ok, it just means I'll probably be in great shape to run a 3.20 or 3.25 marathon instead of a 3.16. No problem there!!

City to Surf

For me there is never any question what I'll be doing on the second Sunday in August. It is running in the City to Surf fun run in Sydney. I have been doing so for 22-years now, since 1988, and even though this year I am following a strict training regimen for the marathon, this race was always going to replace whatever training run I had planned for that day.

In this case a hard, hilly 14km race replaced a 21km run.

After the week (fortnight) I have had I was not sure what to expect. I am still not over this infection and, to make matters worse, on Thursday night I suffered two massive cramps in my left calf DURING MY SLEEP which left me very sore for the last few days. How pathetic is that, I am now suffering injuries even while I am resting at night!

I decided that, because of this, I would not run with any particular time in mind which is highly unusual for me as I have a finely honed series of target splits for any given finish time on this course.

The day began very cool due to no cloud cover which meant that it would warm up to a nice temperature (probably around 10-15 deg's) by the time the race started at 9am. I managed to get a good spot not far from the front and was able to run within about 30-seconds of the gun.

You can see from the graph below that this course is not flat which means that you need to take the first 6km at a steady pace, with plenty in reserve for Heartbreak Hill which starts at 6km. If you can get to the top of that in good shape then you are well placed to run strongly to the finish.

I have learned this lesson (the hard way) several times in my years here but with rising age has come not only wisdom but the sense to actually follow it and for the last couple of years I have run really well paced races.

One thing I find a lot is that I actually race well. I am reasonably adept at maximising whatever training I have done and turning that into a performance on race day. My half marathon at Williamstown was a great example of that. It means that - as I am finding in this training block - I may have trouble meeting target times for intervals etc that my race times say I should be able to do.

There may be other factors here too (wearing race shoes, the atmosphere of an event, etc) but whatever it is I generally race better than my training might indicate.

In the end that was probably the case here too. I ran 61.35mins which I am really happy with. I had great strength at the end of the race (which you'd expect) and probably could not have gone much harder. This is my best time since 2003 (60.53) and fifth best ever (fastest is 56.56). If I could lose 8kg and get down to the race weight of those halcyon days I am sure I could give even my PB a decent shake.

The fact I am finding it hard to walk today is probably no surprise!

Being sick is OFFICIALLY giving me the s$%#s

Ok, ye marathon gods, what in the heck have I done to upset you all??? Why do you seem so hell bent on keeping me from even getting to the start line of this race? Did I trod on a fairy or something? I am not sure, maybe you just have the WRONG PAUL WILSON ... there are, after all, so many of us. Whatever it is, can you just bug off and leave me alone.

There, got that off my chest. Which is just as well, since this week my wonderful sore throat decided occupation of my neck was not enough and it wanted lungs too. So here I am, it's hard to swallow, difficult to breathe and I am trying to run a marathon program. It just ain't happening.

I gave the track session of this, week seven, the flick on Tuesday in an attempt to get better. But it has not worked. So rather than miss a second session I have set off tonight to do my tempo set.

This was always going to be difficult as it is blowing a gale outside but I was optimistic of maintaining somewhere near the 4.31m/k pace dictated for the 10km main set. Well, what a joke that turned out to be. I ran 47.56min (target 45.10) and felt like crap. The last three km's were each over 5min's which is just disastrous.

Still, I did it. I am just not sure if that is the right thing or not?

This Sunday is City to Surf. Hmmm.

32 today ... 32 today ...

No, it's not my birthday, and - unfortunately - I am several years the wrong side of 32 (crikey, where did they all go???). Rather, 32 is the number of k's I ran today.

After how I have felt this week (and still feel) I was not altogether sure that I'd do this run; but I headed out the door leaving my mobile phone at home ensuring I'd have no option but to run all the way home.

The course I ran was a familiar one from home down South Rd to the beach then along the path through Brighton, Elwood and St. Kilda to the u-turn at Middle Park (16km). Today I was blessed with running into a mongrel North-Westerly headwind all the way up the beach which was no fun. It also had the effect of sapping my strength for the return leg when I needed it.

The target pace for today was 5.06 min/km and as is obvious from the splits I ran on target for the first half into the wind (great stuff!) and picked it up early on the way back, maintaining a 30-40sec buffer to target all the way till I began the journey up South Road. (This rolling uphill stretch is fast becoming my nemesis on long runs.)

Unfortunately I "ran" 6.04min/km's along here and so finished about 5min behind target time. The reality of this is that it is still much faster than I have previously run these kind of training runs. Plus, I have run 32k with 10 training weeks still to come (incl. another 3x32k runs) so I should only get better.

I had a Power Gel at 13km (yummy Chocolate) and again at 24.5km (god-awful coffee latte or something). I am sure these made a difference as I certainly did not suffer from hunger knock. My legs held out generally well, especially pleased with right hamstring which was no real issue at all.

Overall, very happy with this result (even if the last 5k was a bit ordinary!)

Splits
1-6km 29.53min (4.58/9.51/14.44/-/24.50/29.53)
7-12km 31.08min (34.57/40.07/45.24/50.40/55.51/61.01)
13-16km 20.37min (66.20/71.24/76.29/81.38)
17-20km 19.50min (86.34/91.28/96.20/101.28)
21-26km 30.39min (106.29/111.31/116.41/121.51/126.59/132.07)
27-32km 36.24min (137.52/143.38/149.46/155.59/161.47/168.31)

Still running ... still sick

Well, still not feeling the best. My throat is sore and glands are up, but I went for my run anyway! This one was a tempo run of 8km at a target pace of 4.22 min/km. Did my normal course up to North Rd.

Probably went out a bit hard for the first couple of k's but it felt easy ... until I was coming through to 4-5k by which time it was not feeling so easy! I thought I ran strong through 6-8k but actually lost a fair bit of time there too, ultimately finishing in 35.39min.

Shouldn't be too disappointed, though, as this is about a minute faster than my previous times over this course (and oh, I am sick too).

One step up, one step back

After a great run on Sunday it was back to sickness (I cannot believe this is happening ... again!) and a lousy run on Wednesday night.

The track session was supposed to be 2x 1200m (4.45min) and 4x 800m (3.05min) with 2-min RI between. Now I don't know if it was the tight hammys, difficulty breathing from this new throat infection, the little bit of wind or just a case of "you're a wuss" but I could not get going at all.

Covered the 1200's in 4.55 and 5.04 which was not great, then the first two 800's in 3.19 and 3.25 at which point I just went home. When you know you can complete a set of 800's in 3.05 pace then this is just getting ridiculous.

Unfortunately I have had a lot of really poor sessions this time round and I am rarely getting into the groove that I had back in April and May. I've lost my run-mojo.

Hope it comes back soon.

Marathon Entry is Go!

I have never run a negative split for a run as long as this one, so am doubly pleased with a great effort over 30km at Sri Chinmoy in Parkville today. After around 1k I hooked onto the "5-min bus" being driven by 'Tiger Boy' from the Cool Running chat site. This guy is amazing. He managed to herd a group around six laps of this course keeping us all bang on target time (as you can see from the splits below).

For me it got hard on the fourth lap by which time my right hammy was giving me grief and I thought I might call it quits at 20km. (I suspect the true problem may be further up in the gluteals somewhere??) But, with Tiger Boy's cajoling and coaching I actually found it easier just to sit in with the team; the last 10k actually going by quite quickly.

So, with this run under my belt, I have entered the marathon and have been allocated the number 2012. Now the real work begins!

Sri Chinmoy, Parkville, 30km. (Each 5k is one lap)
1-5km 25.13min (5.10/10.02/14.51/20.08/25.13)
6-10km 24.39min (30.15/35.08/39.58/44.49/49.52)
11-15km 25.01min (54.26/59.47/64.37/69.45/74.53)
16-20km 24.51min (79.55/84.52/89.41/94.44/99.44)
21-25km 24.58min (104.47/109.45/114.40/119.47/124.42)
26-30km 24.54min (129.41/134.38/139.30/144.37/149.36)

A good one at last!

I didn't exactly see it coming, but I have at last posted a good result for a run. The session last night was 5km at short tempo pace (4.13m/k) after a 3km warm-up with a 1.5k cool-down afterwards. I ran my normal North Road loop which I have found difficult to run fast on as it is a (gentle) rolling course with lots of side streets to upset the rhythm.

After the warm-up I covered the main 5km in 21.17min (4.14/4.16/4.16/4.15/4.16) which I was really happy with. This is the fastest 5km I have run for a very long time and considering my current selection of ailments I am very pleased with it.

Total run 9.5km in 45.13mins.

3 more miles

Today I had the rare chance to run a track session in the daylight as I took the day off (spent the morning on kinder duty with Brooke). My legs - quads mostly - still felt a bit sore from the Sunday run and I guess I'd only rate myself as about 80% but I ran anyway.

This session was straightforward, 3x 1600m intervals with 1min rest in between. My target time was anything under 6.30min having previously run a similar session in 6.36 pace. Today the bogey would be a strong wind (once again) and perhaps the fact that since the Tour de France started and I have been eating biscuits while watching it each night I have put on 2kg!

In short, these intervals were run in 6.42 min (bad) then a pair of 6.59's (worse). I decided to complete the session as I am getting the feeling that if I back off every time I am not making target pace then I may not be doing much running at all!

Total run of 8.8km in 44.45mins.

End of an ordinary week

I ended up missing my second run session this week too. I was still too sick to even contemplate running, missed a day of work, and ended up on antibiotics for the sinus infection. All in all, not a happy camper.

Throw in a visit to the physio and even a new pair of runners was barely enough to lift the spirits. I really thought about tossing it all in for the marathon this year. But I guess you have those moments occasionally - and probably will on race day too - so best to find a way to deal with them and move on.

Which I did.

Today I headed out for what originally was planned as a 32km run. But after everything that has happened (or not) in the last week I decided to run a shorter course of 25km over a loop down to the beach and back home via Cheltenham. It is a fairly undulating course so I ignored my watch for the day.

Which was just as well as I really suffered once again. The new runners were great (some New Balance 859's) and my calf did not have any of the pain of last week (phew, and thanks Rob the physio). But my right hammy was just really tight and I could not stride out after about 15 or km's.

My pace began at 5 min/km for the first half a dozen, slowing to 5.12 min/km for the next 12km through Black Rock and Beaumaris. The final 7km up Charman Road and to home were woeful. At around 5.50 min/km these were the slowest I have run in a long time. It was not overly warm (though thte sun was out) but there was a pretty ordinary headwind along that section. Even so, the time was due to me ... not the conditions.

Total run (and weekly total) of 24.97km in 2:13.20hrs at 5.20 min/km.

Hmmm, well, at least I finished.

Oh no, why me!

Missed my first training session tonight. And, strangely enough, not due to any of the ailments mentioned in previous posts (though it could have been). No, instead I have managed to get sick again. This week I have been suffering from - I believe - sinusitis (diagnosis from my wife and several work colleagues).

The bridge of my nose feels like it has been hit with a baseball bat. I feel awful. I am sick of being sick. I cannot believe the run of illness I have had recently. It is driving me completely nuts.

So I have decided to miss one session. Who knows, it may even help my achilles mend too (I am seeing the physio tomorrow night about that one).

Are the wheel nuts coming loose?

Today was another big step up in the run distance, this time to 27km. Which of itself is no big problem, I am actually enjoying the long runs, even if the weather is not the best at this time of year. What is bothering me is the growing number of physical niggles, some of which are now giving me real cuase for concern.

Today's run was similar to last week, a run from home down South Rd to the beach then following the bike path down to St Kilda and return. I was not even sure that I'd be able to do this run today as this pain through my hip into my glute has gotten worse over the last couple of days. It bothered me a little at the start and I suspect my running style altered a little to accomodate this.

The wind today was a fairly consistent north-wester so into my face outbound and assisting on the way back. The run felt good down South Rd then a bit harder into the wind where I first started to notice the right achilles in a bit of pain. Completed the outbound 13.56km leg in 67.20min. It was good to pick up the tailwind and I covered the distance up to 21km still comfortably on target pace 5.02 m/k vs 5.06 m/k. Unlike last week I was not having any hunger-knock so was happy about that but the achilles was not having fun.

The final 6k up South Rd was not pleasant. I covered this at 5.42 m/k pace and my achilles was very very painful. The last km took 6.26mins which means I was on target pace right up to that point. I have iced it tonight but I am very concerned about it and will need some physio treatment on it (and my hip) this week.

And tonight little Keira casually pointed out that I really do need to go and see about my right shin. For a couple of months now it has felt tender to touch and I have feared some kind of bone problem. It has certainly got no better with time and when Keira leaned on it tonight I nearly jumped through the roof in pain. Must get that seen to this week too.

Weekly total: 3 runs for 46.49 km in 3:59.57 hrs

Distance Summary [red] and Future Plan [blue]