Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Break My Stride

Matthew Wilder 1983.

2008 running year in review:

3:14 Canberra Marathon - highlight
Sub 40 min 10k - 39:34 Lake Monger
Sub 19 min 5k - 18:55 Lake Joondalup
3000m time trial - 10:38

3:19 Perth Marathon off inadequate prep was OK
35min PB in the SixInch - very pleasing (and only just realised I ran only a minute slower than Dave did in 2007)

Of note in recent times has been a real meditative pleasure coming through my running, and with it a desire to run every day.

2009 Running Goals:

Put simply - SUB 3 HOUR MARATHON

Attempt #1 - Canberra Marathon (April) flights and accomodation have been booked, my wife's coming with me this time (!) and a downscaled post marathon holiday compared with last year - a week in Sydney.

Attempt #2 - Perth Marathon(July)

Subsequent Attempts_Other marathons are possible, depending upon the result. There is a chance I may need to take up swimming in a hurry to do the swim leg of Busselton in December.

Other distance PBs will need to come if I can do it, but they are secondary.


This is a challenging target, and I'd rate myself at best a 50:50 chance of achieving it. I am aware of several runners, all better than I, who have come so close but not quite got there. Everything will have to go right to scrape under that barrier. (Hopefully I can get dragged along by Clown who will do it with his eyes shut)

Many thanks to the other running bloggers, you all provide me with motivation in one way or another. I hope you all have a successful 2009.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Running

Evermore (2006) - don't love this song, but I'm starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel

Recovery week post SixInch and Christmas/Boxing Day overindulgence. I really enjoyed having 4 days off for the first time since April/May holidays.

Just 40km in 4x10k approx. Overall pace a bit fast at 4:35s, but included a 5k tempo.

Couldn't resist the Jim Kidd post Christmas sale - Bought Asics 2140s with Asic Speedstars free - these are a little lighter than the DS trainers (which are coming to the end of their run) but still significantly more supportive than the Mizuno Idaten - for tempos and 10k-HM races. Still too light for marathon I suspect.

I'll post midweek with New Year Review/Goals

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Running Up That Hill

Kate Bush 1985

Six Inch Track Report

I had felt borderline viral/congested all week, so I took it fairly easy with Mon,Tues (race),Thurs,Sat runs total 32km

Saturday night I left the family Xmas party early and got about 4hrs sleep before a 2:45am rise, drive down to dwellingup then back to the start. Much bigger crowd than last year - over 20 I think.

I set off on the uphill first 4k much more comfortably than last year, but still found myself in 5th. Joined with Nathan and we upped the pace well under 5min/km. About 10k one of the Irish guys ran up to us, asked how fast we were going - I said 4:40 and he sped off ahead of us. Soon thereafter we saw him miss a turnoff, shouted to him, but his Ipod prevented him hearing us, and he was going too fast to readily catch.

About 14k or so Nathan let me go ahead. so I set on a plan to stay ahead of him as long as possible, knowing his endurance is great, and he'd catch me eventually. I run better when chased.

I managed to maintain the pace well up to the 23km mark (first drink stop) - not having walked and being 1hr58. Nathan was within a minute of me though. I was also told I was third, 2 of the other early leaders having made wrong turns too.

I realised I'd gone out too hard, but was already 14min up on last year at halfway. I reasoned that if I could stay ahead of or with Nathan to 35km stop, I could slog home in 4:15, my aim.

The next 12 km are some of the hilliest of the course, and I walked the steeper uphills and made it up down the hills, managing to maintain 5:10-5:15s despite the walks. I was surprised to get to 35k without Nathan in sight, and again stopped for 10 sec only before carrying on. 35k was smack on 3hrs, and I reasoned I could slow to 7 min kms and just make my target.

Fear of being caught driving me on, I maintained sub5:30 pace to 40k, and then after a section where i could look back 300m I couldnt see anyone following and realised I could come third. Soon I also realised sub4hrs was in the offing. At this point anything resembling a hill I was walking up, but only for seconds before running again.

I crossed the line third in just under 3hrs58 - a 35minute improvement on last year! I certainly hdn't taken it easy in the end, and was cramping up pretty badly for me.

As I had predicted, Craig Dufty was the dark horse in the race and won in a new course record of 3hr36, with Dave Kennedy a few minutes behind. The 3 stray runners were found and ended up running 3-5km longer than the course in total. They were a good hour behind me so I'd like to think I'd have got third anyway.

Now I'm tired but happy - the marathon time plus an hour rule of thumb and a 35min improvement in 12 months don't mean I could run a sub 3hr marathon today, but are confidence building nonetheless.

Nice to meet/carpool with Coops, who backed up well 13days after LasVegas Marathon. Bernadette broke the womens record by over an hour, Gunner stopped by at the end to say hi and TB completed (I hope - hadn't finished when I left) another mammoth effort on his injured ankle.

5k splits (2007 splits in brackets)
27:54 (31:37)
24:18 (27:28)
24:49 (27:17)
24:40 (27:31)
26:11 (29:44)
25:59 (28:05)
26:09 (31:51)
27:08 (32:23)
25:45 (32:08)

plus 960m 5:00

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Perry Lakes 3000m (Da do run run)

(not a real song title for not a real post)

Quick update for Clown's benefit, as he couldn't make it
Blustery southwest wind was into your face on the final straight of each lap

The slower race went first, and was won in 11:20 or so by the faster of the boxers who has been doing intervals recently - not sure why he didn't run with us.

We started off and quickly split into groups - First two young guys from intervals, then a group of 7 - including Jon Kappler, Sugar, Gina G-Cassey and Tony Stahl. They ended up finishing all between 9:50 and 10:00.

I sadly ran much of the race alone, feeling more exposed going into the headwind. One guy briefly pulled ahead of me for a lap then I took him again, and the 'green tshirt guy' well known to us from intervals cruised past me with 400m to go as though he was out for a sunday jog. I think I came 11th (clearly a few ringins who dont usually run tuesdays!, and no blond guy who is usually around our pace)

77/84/84/89/89/89/89/37 -10:38 for the 3k

This was about what I was expecting but had hoped for 10:30 flat if I ran really well. I think I ran a little too within myself in the middle laps.

Great fun anyway, held off on a long cooldown to start saving the legs for SixInch
This time is VDOT 54.9 - on track for what it's worth!

Band On The Run

Wings 1973 - who said Paul went downhill after the Beatles?

75km week, capped off by a sad performance at City Beach 4k race

Mon 11.2k @4:44 154 - easy
Tues 12.5k@4:13 - intervals
Wed 11.15k@4:36 157 -
Thu 9.65k@5:01 148 - recovery
Fri 10.53k@4:45 156 - easy
Sat 9.94k@4:59
Sun 9.74k@4:19 - race

Tuesday Intervals - 300mx4, 60sec.500mx4 90sec, 300mx4

55/55/55/56
97/97/95/95
57/57/56/59

Pretty good session, first interal finished about 8th, but by the end of the 500s was 3rd.

Sunday, 4k race
Slept in and missed my morning routine. Ridiculously narrow start - went out hard to get some space. Pushed too hard early but going OK when an extremely urgent call of nature came - cut out at 3.2k to toilets!

3:27/3:34/3:37 - 10:39 at 3k (about 10:42 on the course) +200m @3:46
Given that sub 10:40 is the goal for the 3k track rac, I guess this is OK, but felt pretty dumb pulling out of a 4k race (until I later found that Clown had pulled out with a similar ailment at 1.7k)

This week - 3000m track, taper for SixInch. Will I continue my everyday run (25days now)?

Sunday, December 07, 2008

The Long Run

The Eagles, 1979

101km this week - nice to crack the ton again. (9 points in the 60 runs 60 days comp after 8.5 last week)


Monday 10.7k 5:05min/k, 147bpm average - recovery
Tuesday 10k @ 4:19 - intervals
Wednesday 10.5k @4:59, 151 - recovery
Thursday am 10.7@4:48, 155 - recovery
Thursday pm 9.5k with tempo/10k pace section
Friday 8.1k @5:01 149
Saturday 10.6k@4:46 - hilly fartlek (forgot HRM)
Sunday 31.2k@4:45


Tuesday intervals, an easier session - 10x300m 60sec rest
57/55/55/54/55/54/54/55/54/53 - peak HRs just touching 190 again

Thursday pm, tried out my new racing flats with a 10k pace session over 5.5k
3:41/3:44/3:48/3:54/3:54/1:54 last 500m - av HR 180, peak 184
Went through 5k in 19:04 - only 10 seconds off my 5k PB so pretty happy as I felt I could keep that up a while longer

Sunday long run. Started off 1st 6k alone at 5:00s then met Rob and we pushed it up to 4:40s and held this kind of pace for the rest of the run, for a few km in the middle running 4:30s then slowing a tough at the end.

Mild taper this week, but mainly just not doing a long run on sunday should cut the mileage. Now being at Day17 of consecutive running days, I'm tempted to stretch that out for a while longer, so we might see some pretty slow and short ones here and there in the next 3 weeks.