Running (out of) enthusiasm

The meet at WAAS was interesting. It was very busy and is obviously much better attended in the past because everything ran very late. On the one hand it's great to see so many athletes around, but on the other, racing at 9:45 isn't the best.....

I got shunted to the second heat which I wasn't thrilled at ( I suppose the Masters singlet isn't seen as the mark of quality ), but it also gave me the opportunity to watch an excellent run by Courtney Carter and the rest of the guns ; it was a star-studded affair with CC, Marc See, Steve Stingemore, Aaron Pattison, Roberto Busi, Todd Ingraham, etc. Marc See paced CC to 3k in 8:33 and then he hung on to run a 7 sec PB of 14:24.95 - fantastic running!

My legs felt really heavy in this race but somehow managed to hang on and run 16:49 for the 5, just behind Emily Loughnan who ran an excellent 16:48 (a PB). We went out too fast (3:13 for the first k) and I dropped back because I was really feeling it - went through 3k in 9:58 which was the goal, but just slipped in the last few laps, although I was gaining on Emily who had got out to 20m lead at one point. I guess if I can run like that when feeling pretty average, it's a good sign....

Ran with Sas in KP the next morning on a brisk 14.5km double loop (4:39 HR 149) ; picked up a couple of others who ran with us too. Felt a little shagged at first but improved through the run ; very tired at the end though.

Later that morning headed down south for a few days. On Sunday I didn't feel like running, so didn't and the feeling continued Monday morning. Guilt got the better of me Monday evening so I did a nice 10k from Carters Rd to Burnside Rd and back on the forest trail - a beautiful place to run off a large lunch.... No running Tuesday either, but did another 9.5km Wednesday morning @ 4:35 HR 150. It was cool but my lungs just felt tight, so this was a bit of a struggle. Probably down to the glass of wine I had the night before.

A highlight was meeting Mary Burke-Heydon who is an old friend of Jo and ran with her on Sunday morning. She is an amazing runner who I think is starting to get back into it and is possible for the nationals in April. She won the 1996 City to Surf in 45:46, but has run it in 43:xx and has a 2:45 marathon to her name. She owns Heydon Vineyard down there with a small but very high quality selection of wines.

Big Night at the WAAS

Going to WAAS tonight for a track 5k at the Interclub meet. Looking forward to seeing how I go on the new track ; I'm quite excited at the prospect of testing myself against the young guns which is a good sign. I know I'm not 100% but hopefully I'll put in a good showing. It's going to be tough though ; the race starts at 8:40pm - usually at this time I'm brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed!

Thursday morning was pleasantly cool (18°) for a change, and I had the extra challenge of pushing Bailey Coates around the Mends St bridges in a running pram ; it's not a great deal of extra effort except for the uphill bits. Ran with Sas and Becks (who I think scored a new PB for the circuit) - 9.59km @4:42 HR144.

Friday morning just did a gentle 6km @4:39 HR 142 in preparation for the race at the stadium later.

Update: Just heard that Courtney Carter will be running tonight.... new goal is not to be lapped twice!

What happened to all the oxygen?

Gee, I'm looking forward to another cool morning like we had a couple of weeks ago...

Monday morning we started at the usual 5:45am but it was still about 31° according to the car's thermometer. We ran down Malcolm along Mounts Bay to UWA and up the back side of the park up to the car - 9.93km @ 4:41 HR 144. Felt tough this morning, no doubt a hangover from the race the day before and also because of the oppressive conditions.

Talking of oppressive conditions, after another 41° day, at Tuesday night intervals we had 34 degrees and absolutely no wind. It was overcast too - it actually felt best when we were running and creating a bit of breeze ; once stopped, the sweat was just pouring! The session was 5x800 with 2:30 SR. I didn't go full out this evening because I'm doing a 5km track race at the new stadium on Friday and would like to go for a decent time. Splits were 2:42 / 2:37 / 2:36 / 2:37 / 2:34. Also did 5 x 80m full out sprints with Bjorn and Sas after the session ; got to keep that speed work going! All in all, a good session, and I was feeling pretty strong.

Wednesday morning, did a recovery run in East Perth out to Tranby House in Maylands ; 10.53km @ 4:44 HR 140. Felt like it should have been cooler ; it was 23° but 76% RH so the air still feels like there's no oxygen in it. Hopefully this is all just good conditioning for Friday night. Had the usual quad shot macchiato afterwards - what a great way to start the day!

To quote Cerutti, "You only ever grow as a human being if you're outside your comfort zone." ; I think we've all grown a bit in the last few days...

Crazy people

I've been feeling a little more energised this week, although the running economies have been slipping a bit as the temperatures have been rising, but that's not really surprising. That said I feel like I may have gone back over the threshold of whatever deficiency has been holding me down for the last couple of months and now the down days are one-offs if they happen at all.

Friday was an easy 9.5km with Sas out to Pt Majestic and back @4:46 HR 144. The weeks hard efforts caught up with me so the first few k's were a struggle, but my demeanor improved as the run went on.

Saturday we headed for the hills and did the now standard run up Darlington road, through John Forrest Park, up Oxley/Hedges rds to Brooking, to the Shiraz tap and down the hill (map) for 21.55km @ 4:39 HR 142. Very strong easterlies this morning which we felt in places, but they blew us down the trail and definitely kept things surprisingly cool. I felt great today, I think because it was cooler than it has been of late, and I'm just feeling a bit better ATM. Sas is running well but still struggling to get a decent nights sleep so these are a bit of a mental battle. Time for a week at a health farm I think....

On Sunday I was at the race-director's seminar which was informative and very useful, seeing as Kim & I are the RD's for the Point Walter run on Feb 14. Any WAMC members who want to help out, I can guarantee a plum job....

After the seminar, the attendees helped to set up the Burswood Twilight race, which was fun in the 43° heat. Getting the finishing chute barriers out of the shed was fun, it must have been over 50° in there!  I think doing this helped acclimatised me for the race, along with a bit of 'pre-cooling' i.e. a couple of cups of refrigerated water down the back of the neck just before the start.

Numbers were definitely down for the race, for which  most people scaled back their efforts I think. it was still 41° at 6pm. I ran it fairly hard but always well within myself because a bout of heat exhaustion at this stage would be somewhat idiotic. I was pleasantly surprised at how good I felt in the conditions. I had Tina Major on my right shoulder for a lot of the run and also seemed to be running comfortably. I finished 4th in 17:50 - my target was 18:00 so I was rapt! Scored a new max HR for the season which was surprising because I never felt that bad ; the radiator boiled over a bit after I finished, but that was bound to happen.

Getting hotter...

.. the weather that is. Not looking forward to the Burswood Twilight on Sunday evening when the temp is forecast to be 41°. I'll be jogging that one I think....

On Tuesday in fairly warm and windy conditions we did a nice pyramid session with relatively short breaks. I am reliably informed that the lap was 412m, and the 200m was a bit short, so the session was 190, 412, 600, 824, 824, 600, 412, 190. I did an extra couple of 190's after the (instructed) session was done and then did some 80m sprints across the oval to finish off. I think my speedwork has beenlacking, so I'm trying to make up for it. Splits were 36.1/76/1:56/2:41/2:43/1:57/74/31.6/31.8/31.9/12.2/12.3. A good session ; I felt nauseous by the end and think I might have spewed if I'd done any more. Legs felt OK though....

On Wednesday morning ran slightly longer 10.53km in East Perth @ 4:46 HR 141. It was fairly warm already but still pretty pleasant conditions for this one, and it was nice to run somewhere a little different. Finished up with a most excellent quad-shot macchiato at Cobalt....

Thursday morning, again the standard Mends St Perth Bridges loop at a fairly sedate pace ; 9.6km at 4:48 pace HR 141 ; very pleasant morning with no wind, but the sun really started to pack some punch by the end (and we finished at 6:30am!).

In the evening I went to the track at Coker, just doing the 600m and 400m races with a good warmup. Pretty happy with the results, both PBs by about a second I think - 1:38.6 for the 600m and 61.6 for the 400m. Seeing as I'm racing on Sunday I decided not to do the long one and go away happy with the evening's work....

Good weekend

On Saturday ran the Darlington Half course in fairly nice conditions ; pace was 4:36 HR150, so a good strong run. Felt fairly good but pretty tired doing the drills on the cricket oval. Very pleasant run, though.

On Sunday went down to Matlida Bay to do the Christchurch 5k with the club. Conditions were a little warm in the sun with very light winds ; about as good as you get at this time of year. We had gone to Somerville open air movie the night before so hadn't had what I would call a full night's sleep so felt a little tired still. Did a fairly good warmup and had a chat with a few of the usual suspects loitering about the place, including Epi who has a few tough decisions to make regarding his knee ; hope it all works out for you. I reckon you recover well so hopefully recovery from this will be quick.

This isn't a PB course but I was happy with a decent solid pace run, finishing 3rd in 17:36.  I could have run harder, but didn't feel the need as my placing was solid (the winner was ~40 sec ahead at the finish )from 2k in and no PB was in the offing - I just wanted a decent hitout today and got that, with a slightly harder than tempo effort. I think my running is delicately balanced at the moment, and I don't want to fall into a hole at this point, and happy to claim a shiny bronze medal - much shinier than last years (I guess the WAMC have a new batch in)!

Splits were 3:25/3:37/3:32/3:33/3:28 ; no finishing burst or anything - 2k split is slow because of the fairly steep climb up to Birdwood parade.

Monday morning we ran from King's Park along Mounts Bay to UWA and up the western perimeter path for a change - 9.91km @ 4:44 HR138. Absolutely beautiful conditions today - 15° 67% SSE11/17 - and the air felt really fresh - the best I've felt in a while. Hopefully a corner has been turned...

Good days and bad days..

Still struggling a bit with lack of mojo, although I do have good and bad days which is an improvement from just bad ones!

On Saturday did a fairly brisk 22.22km from Darlington up to the freeway and back  @4:30 pace. This was a good day although the HR 158 was a little high, I felt pretty good and the legs held together well.

Took a rest day on Sunday and went down with kim to the masters event in Ashfield from a park there down to the Garret Bridge and back. A lovely spot just to hang out under the trees and watch the rowers on the river.

Monday was the usual KP loop - 8.5km @4:30 HR 151, another good day. Fairly cool considering it was 38 degrees the day before but boy it felt warm in the sun!

Tuesday JK's intervals ; 2k ; 4min SR ; 1k 2:30 SR ; 2 x 500m with 90sec SR. Tough session because it was 31 degrees and felt nasty. Didn't felt overly sprightly but hit some decent splits - 6:50, 3:15, 1:33 and 1:34. JK seemed a little down because he seems to have reinjured himself, and he was just getting back toward some racing fitness and it all seemed to be going well. Fingers crossed this is a minor aberration, but he's been though this so many times he's not a happy bunny that it's all gone south again...

Wednesday just a 6k recovery @ 4:41 HR 145, very warm again at 26 degrees and with the previous night's session made this a real recovery - fatigues and a fairly high HR.

Thursday morning went to Mends to run the Mends loop with Sas and Becks. Ran fairly easy 4:48 and I felt OK but again a slightly higher HR than expected. Kim brought Z-bear down for a walk-run and she had a nice romp afterward with Becks' GR-Lab cross, Jack. Afterwards, coffee at Atomic - mmm...

Thursday evening went to Coker to race an 800m and do the 3k at 5k race pace. Conditions were cool 24° but a strong wind up the home straight WSW27/38. Didn't feel overly enthusiastic about running this evening.

We had a visit from one of the club's latest members, Scott Tamblin, who also happens to be the state #2 800m runner, last season doing several results around 1:51. Really brought home the difference between elite-ish runners and us try-hards.  I think I'd just gone past the cut in mark on the back straight and he was already heading into the bend at the end of it. 55 second first lap, and his stride length was unbelievable. I felt like I was standing still. I was quite happy with my 65/71 ; close to a PB, but need to work on the strength to get the second lap closer to the first. So does Scott, who put in a super-weak 61 second lap 2....

A bit later I ran a reasonable 3000m in 10:10, but it was harder work than I wanted it to be. Pace was solid though, but with not much zip in the legs. Solid night I guess.

Friday morning did a recovery 6k @ 4:52 HR 140 ; quite tired in the legs but felt better by the end. Although the air was cool the sun still packs quite a punch.

2009 in review and the year to come...

Summary: a year with a shaky first half and a great second half.

Running Boston was a highlight - I've never been in better shape in my life. Too bad about the niggles that grew into a medium scale injury that scuppered race day. Brilliant event though, and I'm looking forward to going back some day, maybe 2012. The endurance base also set up a great second half of the year which saw me get PB's in every distance up to and including 12k.

The second half of the year saw me spending a lot of time at the track  - lots of speedwork and lots of short distance racing. I'd never have thought that I'd be running 3k in 10 and 5k in 17 minutes and it feeling comfortable. It's also been a great learning experience for me, and I'm starting to see that 1500m/3000m/5000m are my optimum distances ; marathons, not so much. However, you can't beat the endurance base you get from marathon training, so I'll still be trying to do one a year.

The year ahead sees the first target being the Australian Masters Championships held at the new Perth stadium over the Easter weekend in which I'm looking to compete in the 800, 1500 and 5000m events. past results indicate I should be competitive ; I don't care about medals - I just want to compete to the best of my ability ; I will need to tailor my training to make sure I peak for this and not get burnt out too early, as happened toward the end of the 2009.

The other highlight promises to be the New York marathon in November ; I'm not aiming to race this one hard  - a time around 3 hours will do me fine, and if I get it right I shouldn't be wasted for 10 weeks afterwards. I am determined to learn the lessons from Boston - lower mileage in the training more speedwork and do actual recovery runs instead of junk miles, - most of all  I want to get to the start line uninjured and enjoy the experience.

Vale 2009

Very light week so far - on Tuesday I used the 'rest' day to go for 26km cycle ride. I quite enjoy cycling but don't often have the time for it. Conditions were horrible though, very hot, airless and oppressive. It wasn't sunny but still around 36 degrees but there seemed no respite from the heat because it seemed to radiate from every surface, and there was no wind to move the air around.

Wednesday just the usual 6km at 4:31 HR 144 651bpk. A bit cooler so much more pleasant for running.

Thursday, I did the New Years Eve 4km at the club ; a record turnout apparently. It was relatively cool but very windy (SSW35/46) which made the section from the bridge south to the club a bit of a challenge (map). The first 2k north to the Windan and over the railway bridge was fairly comfortable at 6:40 (and very graciously, all the people ahead of me turned left at the junction because they were doing the 8k), but the fun started on the  way back. The first obstacle was running back into the stream of seemingly oblivious runners on a narrow path. It was like driving the wrong way up a busy one way street ; so many people with heads down not expecting traffic coming the other way. On occasion I had to pass oncoming people to the right and had to slam the brakes on quite a few times to avoid collisions, all the while shouting 'runner' . Not the best way to run the 3rd k of a race.... then came the last k into the teeth of a 35km/h wind. The quads were screaming and I knew that the guy coming second wasn't that far back - I knew the conditions were just as hard for him and I think I actually pulled away even though I thought I had slowed a lot. Pretty happy with the finish time of 13:50 in those conditions ; and a gold medal which I felt I earned for once.

Sas had a good run, also picking up some bruises from oncoming runners and finishing 3rd. Biscuitman was out there doing the 8k and had a good solid run - no leg pain which is the most important thing.

Managed to stay after until about 9:15 to see in the New Year (Sydney time!) - no appetite at all so just nibbled on fruit and carrot cake....

New Year's day hooked up with Sandgroper, Sas and Kim's gang to do 30 minutes from Trigg followed by a leg soak in the sea and brekkie at Wild Fig. A nice way to start the year ...