Injury Over?

Well after a disastrous post-Marathon September in which I only managed 9km all month, due to a foot injury, it seems to have finally healed. Halle-bloody-lujah.

I hate not running for so long. I ate badly and felt awful. I was pleased to note however that when I finally got out again yesterday I hadn't lost too much fitness. It appears you can take a few weeks off running without too many issues. I guess I was afraid I would drop back to the level of unfitness I was at before I started running 2 years ago, but thankfully that's not the case.

So in a fit of optimism I have registered for the 10K Fremantle Fun Run on Sunday. This will be the 3rd year in a row I have done this race, and I'm hoping to beat last years time by going under 47 mins.

Injured. Bah!

Been painful under the heel since the mara 2 weeks ago. Taking it easy. Will probably miss the Freo half. Really annoying. Sigh.

City 2 Surf Marathon 4:20, new PB!

C2S Marathon, 42.2km, 4hr 20

Beat my first marathon time by 5 mins, which is good 'cos this one was way hillier. I paced it almost perfectly as you can see from this Garmin output:


The spikes are where I walked through the drink stations and a toilet stop. Average pace was about 6:08 mins/km which I maintained to the end. In fact, the last km was my quickest at 5:38 mins!

Overall an improvement on my last marathon 8 weeks ago where I faded badly after 35km. One thing I changed this time round was to take a solid Powerbar and some snakes with me. I was pretty hungry by 32k and the Powerbar was just the ticket. I ate the snakes throughout the race, had some leftover at the end. There was plenty of water and powerade on the course so no liquid issues.

The day itself was fun, met up with loads of CoolRunners, the course was great and very scenic taking in the Swan River, Kings Park and round Challenge Stadium. It was fun joining up with the 12k runners at the halfway point, although by the time I got there most had disappeared and it was only the walkers left.

The only downside was getting home after the event which took an age on bus, train and foot.

Next stop is 6min kms the whole way, but not till next year :-)

C2S Marathon in 2 Days

So, here I am again, 8 weeks after my last marathon, ready for another one. Well, not really ready...you know what I mean. This one is hilly...but should be a great route around the Swan River and Kings Park.

Run for Gold 10k – New PB!

10km – 46:39

Today the weather was perfect, nice and cool and I knew I had the chance to break my sub-47 bogeyman. The previous day I ran 18k and felt strong (I was actually meant to do 26k for marathon training but didn’t feel up to it). I had a nice warm-up for 15 mins which I think made all the difference. As we set off at 8am I made sure to have a decent first km, as I normally start out way to slow. I was pleased to do it in 4:52 and from then on I knew all I had to do was keep the pace slightly faster. After that my 1k splits varied between 4:25 and 4:43, with the fastest being my last km. It’s always good to have something in reserve for that last km, I felt I paced the race pretty much perfectly. Last year I did this in 49:40 so a big 3 minute improvement.

My right leg is feeling a bit sore around the knee so a day of rest tomorrow.

C2S Marathon – 6 Weeks to go

I pulled up pretty well from the Perth Marathon two weeks ago. I took 4 days off running then I hit the road again, training for the next Marathon on 30th August. This is the inaugural City to Surf marathon and I’m very excited about it as it promises to be something special. However it is much more hilly than Perth…so my rather lame 4:25 may not be bettered, but I certainly will be having a go.

Last week I did 43km and this week I’ve started off with a 19k long run. Met Knoddie half way who mentioned the Northern Suburbs Running Group had a 7am start at the Botanic Golf Club. I should make the effort next week to join them.

I’m basically following Hal Higdon’s 8-week between marathons plan. All going well so far!

Perth Marathon 2009

42.2km - 4hr 25mins

Well, as a marathon virgin I didn't really know what to expect, and I turned up with my hopelessly optimistic pace band of 3:58 (ha!).
It was a glorious Perth morning as we set off and I settled in a comfortable pace of about 5:50min/km. My plan was to do a negative split of 2:01/1:59 to get me a sub-4. Oh how naive I feel now!

Almost immediately I needed a toilet break
Passed the Coolrunning cheer squad at Raffles, thanks guys it really made a difference. Caught up with TB777 who seemed to be struggling, good on you for finishing regardless. It was great seeing all the speedy guys run back the other way and I applauded as many as i could.

I felt really good for the first 21k, passing it in about 2:06. But already I was 5 mins behind schedule. No worries I thought, I'll just go a bit faster now! Bad idea. Damn you Garmin Virtual Partner for taunting me so, that pixelated dude was now 800m ahead of me.

I caught up with Mjail who was going great guns at that point, I'm so sorry the wheels came off but you did slug it out to the end, which is a huge achievement in itself.

Running along the river was beautiful, I was enjoying myself as I passed Raffles and got another lift from the gals and a jelly sweet from Lou! But now, my plan was starting to fall apart. Hitting the freeway at 30k I realised I was slowing down and there was nothing I could do about it. I tried to sustain 6min/k but it was becoming a slog. The field had really thinned out and it was starting to feel like a solo training run. I felt a little better passing Como at around 35k. But soon after I had to walk as I simply could not even shuffle. I didn't feel too bad about this as I assumed I would recuperate and be able to run again. However, the last 6km was pure torture and consisted of walking interspersed with shuffling along at about 7:30min/km.

Orlando passed me at about 40km and compared to me looked positively flying! I could see the WAMC clubhouse in the distance and really had to force myself along. It was also getting quite warm by now. With about 800m to go I started to run again as I wanted a good finish photo! By this time I was almost delirious (as in nauseous) and was blurting out all sorts of rubbish to random people

Once again the indomitable cheer squad were at the end for a final Go Coolrunner as I took off my hat and smiled at the camera whilst trying not to throw up! I crossed the line at about 4:25, so I missed all my targets but I wasn't concerned at all. 2 years ago I couldn't run 500m, so I ain't complaining.

Afterwards I had plenty of food and drink courtesy of WAMC. It was great. I even had a champagne toast thanks to Pelagie (by the way congrats on winning your age group!).

Well done on everyone involved, competitors, spectators, marshalls and caterers. It really was a very special day that will live with me forever.

Now...who's up for the C2S marathon?

P.S. Mcmillan calculator had me down for 3:45! Basically I didn't train enough, but lessons definitely learned.

Tomorrow is Marathon D-Day...

I'm gonna aim for 4:10 with a hard goal of sub-4. I've printed the pace bands for my wrist with a 3:58 goal. We'll see what happens. I hope there's pancakes at the end like last year (I only did the relay then).

Let's hope I get a good night's sleep!

One week to go till the Marathon...

Starts drumming fingers impatiently...
I applied online for the entry, then realised I had put in my email address wrongly. Typical. Must be nerves.
Did my last "long" run. Only 18k. Hope it's enough.

Perth Half Marathon

21.1k 1:47:00

I had been looking forward to this, as my previous 2 HMs (Perth and Freo last year) were a bit soft at around 1:54. I knew I could do a lot better, and was pretty confident of getting a new PB especially after all my marathon training.

I got to Burswood really early, still in the dark at 6:50am! I actually got lost on the way as I don’t know the area. There was hardly anyone else around and I had the toilets all to myself. I hate queuing for them.

After a decent warm-up I met up with a few other Coolrunners and then it was time for the start. The announcer said there were around 900 entrants which is a big increase on previous years. I started at the back which is probably a mistake because it took a good couple of minutes to get going. Next time I must get the confidence to start further up.

I had planned my 5km splits in advance, aiming for 27m, 26m, 26m and 25m. I also set my Garmin Virtual Partner to a pace of 5:10 mins/km. As it turned out I felt really good and the weather was nice and cool with no rain. I got the first 5km in 26:41 and the second in 25:17m. I knew I was well under my target time and just had to keep up the pace. I ran a lot of the way with fellow Coolrunner Mjail who set a perfect pace. At the turnaround at UWA I had a quick blast of powerade from the stand. I actually walked through all 4 drink stations as I find I can’t actually drink if I run. I felt really strong on the way back and the next two splits were both under 25 mins, so I knew I was going to be well under 1:50. With about 1km to go I decided to go for broke and sped up to overtake a few people, doing my fastest pace all the way to the end for a time of bang on 1:47. I was thrilled to take such a big chunk out of my PB!

The race was won by local boy Courtney Carter in the amazing time of 1:07, over 3 mins ahead of second place.

Next up is the marathon in 2 weeks, really looking forward to it now!

A bit better this week

26km @ 6:28 pace and 18km @ 5:43 pace

So far this week I’ve managed a 26k and an 18k. Not too shabby. Made a huge mistake on the 26k by setting myself a target of under 2 hr for 21.1k. Not normally a problem if I was racing, but in training I take it a lot easier for the first few kms so I had to do the 20 and 21km at about 4:40 pace! That’s my current 10k racing speed :-) So needless to say I completely smashed my legs doing this (I did achieve the goal though). I had to stop and walk, the next km took 10:44! I couldn’t get going at all after that and basically just walked home. I’m still recording it as a slow 26k, just to remind myself not to be so much of an idiot next time.

The 18k fared much better, I averaged 5:43 pace. Felt comfy the whole way, and for the last 6km was able to up the pace to about 5:10 min/km.

I still feel I am too slow to get going/warm up. Maybe that’s a good thing?

Couple of 8k runs

Slacked a bit this week so far. Was supposed to have done a midweek 15k but only managed 8k at lunchtime. Plus I did 8k yesterday. Not really marathon training distances, but I noticed my right knee was a bit sensitive and gave a jarring pain every so often, so maybe it’s wise I eased off.

30km (Week 13)

30km 2hr57 @ 5:55

This morning I did my long run from Burns Beach out to Sorrento and back, for a total of 30km. The Hal Higdon plan said 29 km but come on, who's going to not do one more measly km so they can hit the big 3-oh?!

I was pretty pleased mainly because it was under 6 min pace. If I can hold that I'd be looking at a 4:10 marathon time.

I was also pleased because I had no twinges or aches, well apart from the usual neck ache. For that I need to do some core strength training I think.

5 weeks to go!

Challenge Fun Run 10k and Ideal Weight

10km 47:48 @ 4:44

I improved my time on last years Challenge 10k by over 2 mins, so I was pleased. I always enjoy the race, there's always a big turnout (~500). Did a pretty big negative split 24:31/23:17. This was mostly due to starting out way too slow (1st km in 5:20). This is always a problem for me. I mustn't be warming up properly. If I could do that 1st km like the other 9 I would have knocked off another 35 secs. But then again, maybe I would have tired out sooner too? Hmmm.

I was reading this article on Runners World which discusses the effect of weight loss on running times. They provide the following table which shows how much your times may improve by if you lose weight:

WEIGHT LOST	5K	10K	HALF-MARATHON	MARATHON
2 lbs	12.4 secs	25 secs	52 secs	1:45
5 lbs	31 secs	1:02	2:11	4:22
10 lbs	1:02	2:04	4:22	8:44
20 lbs	2:04	4:08	8:44	17:28

So if I lose 10lbs (~4.5kg) I could in theory improve my 10k times by over 2 mins, with no other changes to training! I suppose that makes sense. They also argue that you are more likely to train better at the lighter weight, so the improvement could be even more pronounced. Maybe this is the best way to sub-45 for me?! Best maybe but tough too. I think I could do with losing the weight, I'm 5'11 @ 170lbs and have a definite belly that ain't doing any good.

64km this week, highest ever!

At last, I got over 60km running in one week. It's only taken me nearly 2 years! I hope a few weeks of this is enough for me to finish the Perth marathon with a degree of pride. Whether it's enough for a sub 4hr is open to question.

I did a 6.8k progressive run today. That's where the pace increases with each third (roughly), so you end up finishing faster than the rest of the run. Seemed to work well and I enjoyed it apart from a god-awful stomach stitch (cramp?) at the start that caused me to stop several times. It really was very painful. Luckily it went away after about 2km. Huge winds also didn't help my times, and anyway the Garmin battery had expired so I don't know how long it took!

Good 5k mid-week tempo

5km 23:47 @ 4:45 HR 172

As I am doing the Challenge 10k on Sunday I thought I should try for a decent tempo hit out today. I decided to do a 1.5km warm-up, which is something I don't usually bother with. I'm glad I did 'cos I felt much better when I started the 5k. The Garmin has a "Do Workout" function that precisely measures 5k and bleeps when it's reached. I managed to sustain a 4:45 pace which I was pleased with. My aim in the 10k is to try and go sub-47 but I may be asking too much. Well, it means I need to sustain a 4:42 pace. I was completely knackered after 5k at 4:45 so I dunno, the race atmosphere might get me there.

River 14k

14km 1hr 11 @ 5:06 HR 163

I took 3 days off running so was keen to get back today. What a difference! The rest really did me good and I was cracking along at a fair old pace. I ran between Canning and Mt Henry bridges and then along the Applecross side of the Swan. Felt really good, had a few sub-5min kms also. Of course the old ticker was quite high at an average of 163 but I really enjoyed the pace and felt good to have a longish mid week session. As they get longer it will become increasingly hard to schedule them in around family life. I may switch this run to Sat, with the long run on Sun. Might be a bit much for two days in a row though. We'll see.

Burns Beach 20k

20km 2hr03 @ 6:08 HR 138

Only about 4 hours sleep, thanks to baby waking at 4:50am and me doing the honours. Headed to Burns Beach for a run at 7am. Took it really slow going out for the first 10k, taking about 1hr05 with every km over 6 min pace including a 3 minute pit stop at Mullaloo toilets. Felt a slight twinge in my right knee which is disconcerting. After the turnaround at Hillarys I decided to increase pace. I was pleased to be able to go faster with just about every km, finishing the 20th km in 5:09 pace. However average pace was still well above 6 min. I'd be looking at a marathon time of about 4:20 at that pace. Good to see HR at 138, the lowest I've had.

My Birthday - plus 21k

21km 2hr05 @ 5:59 HR 146

Today I did something that until recently I would have considered completely insane - I got up at 5:30am on my birthday, drove to the coast and went for a 21km run, from Burns Beach down to Hillarys and back. I took it easy and enjoyed it, increasing the pace near the end. There are plenty of little hills round Ocean Reef to keep things interesting. There were plenty of other runners about, even a few Coolrunners (Knoddie saw me but I had my headphones on). 

Also today was the London Marathon, where Martin Dent came in 14th around 2:15. Not a bad effort!

Anzac Day 8k

Well today was not meant to be a run day, according to my Hal Higdon Novice Marathon plan. But the family were with friends, and I had volunteered to help fix a friend's computer up in Clarkson. That didn't take long so I took the train back to Joondalup and decided to sneak in an 8k run. Well it was either that or do the dishes! That's one of the things I like about running - you can just up and go. I'm lucky 'cos I have a pretty good regional park 200m away, Yellagonga. I did the 8k in 40:33, and was pleased to see increased pace all the way to the end, doing 4:30 pace for the final km. Again I didn't warm up till about halfway. This seems to be a recurrent theme with me, and something to be aware of, especially for 10k races where I may need a longer warm up.

10k run, Week 8 of marathon training

9.9km 51:34 @ 5:13 HR157

Felt good in this arvo's 10k (well 9.9). I'm pleased that the 1k splits show I can increase the pace throughout the distance. First km was 5:37 and final km was 4:58. I suspect the slightly cooler weather (low 20's) has helped. I definitely felt more comfortable at the end instead of the usual sweat drenched monster.

During the run I wore my new Sansa Clip mp3 player. This is like an iPod Shuffle except has more features and is cheaper. It has a little screen and an FM radio, and can clip onto running shorts or singlets etc. I only bought the 1GB model for AUS$40. Thumbs up for it so far.

Canberra and Boston Marathons 2009

Last year I said I would try to do this year's Canberra marathon, but in the end I had to drop it due to things like having a baby. Fortunately WA was represented by famous CR StellaBella who was running her first marathon. She did really well to finish in 4:54 and I think she surprised herself. There have been videos on YouTube of some CRs finishing, which I have loved watching, and the presentation ceremony. CR's own Dave Criniti won the men's marathon in 2:26 I think. 

On the other side of the pond the Boston Marathon took place on Monday and I managed to watch it live on a webcast. Ain't the Internet great. Deriba Merga took out the mens in 2:08 (think he came 4th in Beijing Olympics) with the American Ryan Hall in 3rd. Australia's (and another CR) Lee Troop came a brilliant 13th. There were some more CRs there, including djc42 who I think finished in 3:02. 

I just love watching and reading anything about marathons at the moment, trying to absorb it all before July.

Gallipoli 8k Fun Run

Time: 38:10, pace 4:47

This was the annual 8k race held in Kings Park, run by Synergy and part of Anzac week. It's a great little run with a few hundred competitors taking part. This year Olympic pole vaulter Steve Hooker was in the 4k race. While I was warming up a bloke started talking to me about Masters Athletics. I said I might be interested and they seem a friendly bunch, a bit older than the usual runners. I think you need to be over 30 to do Masters. So I'll fit right in :-)

West Aussie running legend John Gilmour said a few words at the beginning, then the bugle played and there was a minutes silence. I always find this very moving. And then we were off! I was hoping for 4:45min/km pace which would give me a 38min finish.

I had done this run last year, but I'd forgotten about the 1km climb at the start. This really took the wind out of my sails, and I took 5:22 for the first km. Luckily the downhill was next and I did 4:38 and 4:12 for the next two, so I was back on track. I found it quite tough as the start was at 9am and the sun was already quite high and hot. I managed to just hold the pace for the second 4k to finish in 38:10, over a minute better than last year. So I was pleased with that, especially coming off the back of yesterday's 18km LSD.

The 8k race was won by Courtney Carter, who is turning into something of a sensation here in WA.

Afterwards me and the family had a slap up binge brekky at Zamia's cafe which didn't leave much change out of $90 (gulp).

At last a proper long run

Ok it's 12 weeks to the Perth Marathon on 5th July. Looking at my old spreadsheets (I'm a statto) I see the last run I did that could be described as long was the Freo HM 7 months ago. Since then I've done a handful of 13k runs and that's it (lots of short ones though). So...maybe I'll be a little underbaked for the Perth mara!

So anyway, this morning I headed out at 6:50am for an 18k run. It was warm. A bit humid too. I set the Virtual Partner on the Garmin to 6:00min/km pace, but soon discovered this was too optimistic. I am a really, really slow starter in the early morning and so the first couple of kms were done in 6:20 pace. After that I had warmed up and moved to a steadyish 6:00 pace with a couple of 5:30s in near the end to get the heart rate up. 

Total time was 1:52, distance 18.4km, HR 141.

I am quite liking the Heart Rate Monitor on the Garmin. The info is quite revealing. For instance, today as it was a LSD (Long Slow Distance) run I knew I had to keep my HR in the aerobic zones of 2 and 3. My average HR was actually 141bpm which gives me an indicator as to how hard I'm pushing myself. For comparison, a fast run (for me) at 5:00min/k pace over 6k my HR was 154.

The Garmin even shows an HR graph on screen which is cool, but I'm not sure of it's usefulness.

To do a 4hr marathon I need to run at 5:40 pace. Right now this seems very unlikely!

My current fitness points more to 6:00 pace and a 4:15 finish. Still, I have plenty of training left to do and after all, I shouldn't wish for too much for a first marathon!

Speaking of Garmin, the strap on my 405 has broke after only 2 weeks use! Admittedly I had been using it as an everday watch too, so it was getting bashed around a bit. My missus couldn't believe I'd be so stupid as to wear a $400 GPS watch continuously, but I thought that was the whole point of the 405? Otherwise I would have got a 305 which is chunkier but has an easier to read screen. Anyway, I fixed the strap by brute forcing the flimsy pin back into place, but I reckon it's been weakened. So...now I'll only wear it for training and races. 

What's it all about?

I have been running regularly for nearly 2 years. That's long enough to realise I'm taking it seriously. I want to start documenting my progress and thoughts about running, and hopefully others will gain some motivation and/or derision.

Let's see where this goes.