SP's words of advice were well timed (see last week's entry). My intention this morning was to head to the local sports club and run 8km on their grass track. When I got there however the rain had set in and I discovered they had used the ground for football. I did only one desultory lap which confirmed that it was way too boggy for running, so I headed home, and there began some serious soul-searching. The rain had well and truly set in by then and it was cold as well. The thought of a cooked breakfast and coffee was terribly appealing. But Monday is generally a long day for me, and if I don't run in the morning, it is very difficult to run at all.
Figuring you only live life once, I headed out for a wet 8km on the streets. (The fact that right at that moment Lleyton Hewitt was being creamed by Roger Federer in the US Open final had absolutely nothing to do with my decision).
As it turned out, the run wasn't too bad. I ran the first 5km at what I thought was a gentle plod, but turned out to be 27:47 - very fast for me, but that only ensured I hit the wall and so got home in a very ordinary time indeed, and not without a couple of walk breaks. But I did manage a decent last kilometre of which 80% is uphill, so I wasn't displeased (thanks to coach SP's words of wisdom).
Ordinary performances, but I feel I am running again.
Alright! Completed 12 kilometres tonight in good fashion. Brilliant! From a week ago when I couldn't run 3 kilometres without major trauma, I now feel strong and confident again. It wasn't fast, and it wasn't pretty, but it was relatively painless and non-stop, so I can go into Sunday's race knowing I can make the distance.
I had scheduled an 8km for today, but I figured if I only ran 8km, then I'd have to do another longish run before Sunday. I also figured if I could run 8, then I could probablt push on and run 10. I also knew that if I could run my usual 10 km circuit, I could also tack on another relatively flat 2km loop at the end to bring it up to race distance. And it worked - I went out slow and steady and got through beautifully. My run music this time was (rather oddly) Sandy Posey's "Girl Most Likely" ... I couldn't be accused of not having eclectic tastes on that front. Weird choice, but it just kind of got stuck in my head, and the beat was about right for my pace, so it worked. So country music is good for something, after all
I ran the 12km in 1h 13 minutes. As it's a rather tricky, undulating course, and the race on Sunday is flat, perhaps something close to an hour isn't totally out of the question. We'll see. Depends how I pull up tomorrow I guess.
Certainly this gets me nicely back on track in terms of marathon training. I have pretty much thrown the Hal Higdon schedule out the window thus far, but I have managed 9 runs in 9 days, so I've some mileage happening at last.
Well OK, OK... the real explanation is a lot more boring. It's just a different view of the local hill climb I mentioned in SP's training diary... perhaps this will make more sense.
You're supposed to run UP that hill by the way, unless you want your quads to implode.
Today is a rest day, and a well earned one in my humble. Not that I've done much by the standards of you super-runners in this forum (you know who you are), but hey, I'm just a newbie.
The weather today is absolutely splendiforous. Imagine the perfect spring day, and today is it. Just stunning. I couldn't resist taking a drive along the route of Sunday's run and geez it looks good. Super-flat for starters, and the city chiefs at the end of the run are tizzying the place up a treat. The finishing area is already set up, and all along the Anzac Highway (along which the race is run) workers are trimming the grass, putting up bunting and signs and tidying the place up to look absolutely spiffing. Consequently there's a real air of excitement you could say - if you were in the habit of using cliches, in which I guess I am guilty, despite trying to avoid them like the plague...
Well that's another nicely flowing monologue destroyed.
Ah, but I hope you get the picture. So I'm pretty darn excited I have to say, and really looking forward to the race, which is a complete turn around to a week ago when things looked decidedly more gloomy. But then, that's what spring weather can do to you I guess.
Thanks YP. It would be nice to think I could go close to the hour for the 12km, but I've only just got back to that distance in training and am running nowhere near that fast. I'm also 5 kilos overweight ('bout 11 pounds in the old money). Still, I'll be disappointed if I can't at least beat 66 minutes. The atmosphere and race conditions should pull me through a lot faster than training speed (famous last words perhaps).
Anyway, very soon I will know. Whatever the outcome, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy it
Rounded out the week with an 8km - again, not fast, nor pretty, but it feels fantastic to be clocking up some kilometres once more. This week saw 6 runs for a total of 38 kilometres, including a 12 and two 8s. Most of those runs included some half decent hills too. Funny to think just over a week ago I was in the doldrums struggling to manage even a few k's. Whilst there may have been a bit of a negative mindset there contributing, I think persistence was the key to finally shifting the virus and getting back into the swing of things. RunningCommentary was a primary motivating factor too, so thanks champs.
I've also taken a healthier approach to diet, especially as I have a few kilos to shift. Not that I've ever been much of a heavyweight, but when you normally weigh in at 75kg, an extra 5 kilos is a lot, so I look forward to saying adios to the pud. The run tonight generated an abnormally large sweat, so maybe I've shifted some already. Shouldn't take too long anyhow. A little less of the processed junk and a little more Antonio diet should do wonders.
So I'm all set for Sunday's race ... should be a bonzer bottler you-beaut (ye quaint olde Aussie lingo)!
Yes SP, it's kind of weird, but really neat to know there are some fellow not-so-young runners who can empathise non-judgmentally with the struggles and strains of trying to do your best, and who can offer exactly the right type of advice, well-timed kicks-in-the-pants and also offer a "rightfully" left-field sense of humour with it.
The fact that half of them are named "Andy" and have a hill fetish adds a certain charm too.
Bit of a bugger not being able to share the odd beer though.
As I've said before, start near the back, stick with the pack for the first couple of klicks and watch youself pass people throughout the race. Great for moral.
I'm hill free for 10 days now, and I know I can last a whole month....
Good luck, MLCM. Take it easy and enjoy the race as much as possible.
I should follow Antonio diet as well since I´ve gained a few kilos this summer as it is usual for me but the fact that I have to get up early, go to work, eat less between meals and train more will be great to lose a little weight.
Cheers and thanks for all your well-wishes! I finished the race in a tad under 70 minutes - not what I was hoping but tremendous fun none-the-less, and not altogether disappointing if I'm honest with myself.
Will post a race report (and a photo or two) as soon as I'm out of hospital.
This is called a fun run, but it also attracts professional athletes partly due to the $2000 prize money for the winner, and partly because it is one of Australia's oldest established runs, being first held in 1973, when it was won by Derek Clayton, then the long-established world marathon record holder.
The current record for the 12km is 33:42, a time I hoped to emulate, or even better, only in my case the time relating to the half-way point!
The day started cold and cloudless, with the promise of a warm, sunny run. The day began for me at 5:45 with a breakfast of fruit and yoghurt. Then a quick 30 minute drive to the start point very close to the Adelaide Oval. Parking wasn't a drama, so there was ample time to find the gear truck, soak up some of the carnival atmosphere and chat to a few friends.
This year saw a record number of entrants at 15,000 so the amtosphere was fantastic. I had decided on a time window of 60 - 66 minutes, the 60 being based on my 10km time of 50 minutes back in February, and the 66 being a reasonable estimate based on my training times over the last week.
The starting point is opposite government house and a parade ground, so the starting "gun" is actually a whopping great 6 inch howitzer/gun thingy, a fact apparently lost on most people, because when it went off there was a strange mix of the expected cheering with a lot of unexpected profanity and another rush on the toilets.
Following Riazor Blue's advice, I started a fair way back in the field, and it was several minutes before we finally shuffled across the start line and headed into the great unknown.
My "realistic" expectation of 66 minutes works out at 5:30/km pace, which I thought not unreasonable for a flat course and a huge crowd. The first kilometre was mostly traffic management, but worked out quite well at 5:40, and then as the crowd thinned it was relatively easy to find a nice rhythm and settle in for some decent 5:30 kilometres.
There were plenty of spectators and roadside bands to help us on our way - my two favourite bands were the "Second Wind Ensemble" - a brass and woodwind ensemble playing some jazzed up Star Trek music, and a bunch of kids no more than 13 or 14, diminutive behind their guitars and outrageous drum kit, called "The Granny Flat Rock Band" and who were belting out a pretty fair rendition of what I think was some Vanhalen classic. There was even a busker, although I'm not sure what he expected us to throw in his guitar case, other than perhaps empty drink cups. He did have a big grin on his face though, so perhaps he just had a wonderful sense of the ironic
Although fancy dress isn't really a big part of this run, there were
still some pretty memorable characters, including a fully tartaned,
be-kilted Scotsman on roller skates, two near-naked guys with one half of their bodies totally painted in gold body paint and the other half green. Lots and lots of corporate groups, charities, fitness clubs andthe like made it a very colourful affair. A number of dogs were also taking their owners for a run and having a great time.
I held my pace really well for the first 6 kilomtres, getting to the
half-way point in 32:51, 9 seconds inside my target, and feeling quite comfortable.
However! Inexplicably, at that point my right calf started cramping - a problem I have not had since I started running. Not even once! That is actually saying something, because for years when I was cycling, I suffered terrible cramps, and so have been extra-cautious since running, and up to this point, successfully so.
Anyway, cramping there was, and I had no choice but to slow down to keep it manageable. For the next 4 kms I slowed to about 6 minute pace, putting my target time out of the question, but at least keeping me running. The 11th kilometre was especially bad, but as we neared the end the calf suddenly came good again and I was even able to sprint the last 300 metres in front of my adoring fans, overtaking all those who had passed me in the troublesome 11th kilometre, and thus finishing nice and strong in a shade under 70 minutes... which was very close to exactly 35 minutes behind the winner.
I was a little surprised shortly after to find my face covered in salt,
which I guess would explain the cramps. I can only surmise that with the weather being a little warmer, and perhaps my being a little underhydrated, I had been caught out. I shall know better next time.
The salt was metaphorically rubbed in a little more when I found a mate of mine in the thronging mass of sweaty bodies and he told me how disappointed he was with his time of 40:40!
I'm not normally a "crowd" person, and was quite happy to get way from the after-race events, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the race itself. The camaraderie is weird but wonderful (a complete stranger who crossed the line the same time as me shook my hand, pleased as punch and congratulated us both). A couple of my friends are P.E. teachers and had several of their students running the race, and to see the faces of those kids, and especially the faces of their parents, was immensely encouraging.
I may not run this race every year, but I'll definitely look to run it again next year and crack the hour!
I've attached a photo taken before the start. Cricket fans will perhaps recognise St.Peter's Cathedral on the right in the background, and the light towers of the famous Adelaide Oval to the left. A fantastic place to start a race!
Well done, MLCM. I was under the impression earlier that this was a 10K, and have been glowing all day in the knowledge that your 70 mins meant you are slower than me. But 12 kms? Damn, that's rather annoying.
But a good start for your marathon training. You need to work out what happened with the cramping though you're probably right about the dehydration.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
Congratulations, MCLM. It´s a pity you had some discomfort in your right calf. Actually, it´s something I also experienced after my 10 km race in Mojácar. That´s why I didn´t take part at Vera 10 km on 12th September. Anyway, now I´m all right again.
I expect you feel fine soon and reach your goal in the marathon and other races.
A fine run, MLC Man. Bonza ! It sounds like you hit your pacing right on, until the cramping started. But it's another step on the way to Hobart safely completed, so well done.
13 Sep 04 - 19 Sep 04
