Not far into July I abandoned my spreadsheet and just sort of started "free running" - no watch, no GPS, no idea basically. While it was very "freeing" in a hippy kind of air-headed way, it did remove the discipline from my training and left me short of the kms I should have run.
Never mind, a step-back month was probably a good thing. I've still given up on the spreadsheet (being both too tedious and too bossy) but now have to focus on a few race goals. The first is the 14km City to Surf on August 14th, which is now fully subscribed with something over 85,000 entrants (good grief Charlie Brown)... being the first time I've run a 14km event I have no particular time goal, which is probably just as well as I have done precious little speed training. So, just another training run ... along with 85,000 other people. The fight for the buses back to the start line will be interesting.
A few weeks after that is the Sydney Half marathon, and then it's a very serious two months of intensive hill work ahead of the Point to Pinnacle. Gulp.
I said at the start of July that it had to be a serious month of training. Well it wasn't. This month must be better. I'm still on track (just) but there's still a lot to do. Here we go.
(02-08-2011, 09:10 PM)Mid Life Crisis Man Wrote: A few weeks after that is the Sydney Half marathon, and then it's a very serious two months of intensive hill work ahead of the Point to Pinnacle. Gulp.
Um yes, it's getting close, isn't it?
Not a bad thing to step back, reflect and regroup, as you said. You have a very solid few months behind you. I'm sure the next few months will see great things from you!
Yes indeed. This is your time MLCM. Looking forward to reading about the ramp-up to PtP.
I've just read Charlie Spedding's 'From Last to First'. And really enjoyed it. He's an under-stated kind of chap who achieved an enormous amount as a runner. His potent combination of determination, hard work, thoughtful training and smart psychology makes it a good read for anybody with a big effort on the horizon.
(03-08-2011, 10:57 AM)glaconman Wrote: His potent combination of determination, hard work, thoughtful training and smart psychology makes it a good read for anybody with a big effort on the horizon.
*Hits Amazon*
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Charlie Spedding, little guy with a barrel chest, didn't he win a bronze at the L A Olympics?
One of the last great UK marathon runners (men) I'll definitely be looking out for this next time i'm over.
(04-08-2011, 12:46 PM)Mid Life Crisis Man Wrote: (Sigh)...only the Brits could make a hero out of a bronze medallist.
nope... a marathon runner.
Well in fact to be fair he's a British marathoner I do remember... certainly I clearly recall the epic '84 LA Olympics marathon won by the inimitable Carlos Lopes. I was transifxed by that race - quite probably it was one of the main influences that eventually saw me don some running shoes myself, and Spedding was clearly a major player in that mara... a relatively slow marathon I recall, but then Olympic marathons do tend to be that way I guess.
Crikey, the challenge of running up that mountain pales into insignificance!
More seriously... what's the thinking behind just a week off the sauce? Or are you just starting small and hoping to carry on longer? Or shouldn't I even have mentioned that?
It's hard to get my head around the idea of a crowd of 85,000 runners, but that's how many entered yesterday's City2Surf 14km race ("the world's biggest fun run")... one of them was me. You probably didn't see me on the telly mind - although I was wearing dark shorts, a white T-shirt and a white cap just so, erm, I'd be easy to spot.
Now look, normally I dislike crowds and will do my best to avoid them. The thought of joining over 80,000 of them, queueing for everything and then fighting them to catch a bus and two trains to get back home again afterwards didn't fill me with enthusiasm, I must say. In fact the only reason I did enter was because my employer entered a team, generously subsidised our entry fees and gave us a free good-quality running shirt. That and the idea that it would be good to do the race "just once" for the experience was too good to refuse. So, enter I did.
I arrived very early. So early in fact that the Hyde Park starting point was nearly deserted except for huge teams of volunteers who all seemed bright and cheerful and very happy to help. I was there early to ensure I met up with my team captain (from the work-organised team) who had my team T-shirt to give to me (I was about the only one of the team of 57 who had failed to appear for the previous day's team photo shoot and shirt-handing-out). He arrived about 15 minutes later, along with thousands and thousands of others who began pouring in.
That was also about the time the rain started. Not heavy, but a soaking, drizzling rain that threatened, but somehow failed to dampen the crowd's enthusiasm. I sheltered under a tree for a while with a bloke in his late-60s, a veteran of eight previous City2Surf's and this year returning from knee surgery and thus "starting from the back" and "unlikely to break 70 minutes" for the 14km! My own aim was mainly to run a steady pace, finish comfortably and be happy with anything under 85 minutes ... wishful thinking time was locked in at 80 minutes. I wished the white-haired gent best of luck and went off in search of people of my own level. I seemed however to be surrounded by superb runners. The captain of my team (Andy) was aiming for 62 minutes (he managed 61). My next-door neighbour (another Andy) managed 63 minutes. Another bloke I got talking to on the way to start line was "caving in to age" and had "given up trying to crack the hour". Sheesh! Where were the Elvis Presleys and Roman Centurions drinking beer as they ran that the event is famous for?
Well, of course as I quickly realised, they weren't there yet. With 85,000 starters the field had to be divided into five starting waves spread over 90 minutes. Somewhat amazingly, my finishing time in the Sydney half marathon a few weeks back qualified me for the second wave. I was literally wallowing in a sea of bloody good runners. The Batmans and rhinocerous-costume runners would be there a little later - presumably they were at that moment sitting in coffee shops waiting for the rain to stop and wondering how superheroes ever drank coffee or had a pee in those ridiculous outfits.
Anyway. To the start. The rain had by now stopped and it looked like we'd in fact have ideal running conditions, albeit perhaps a little damp underfoot.
The wheelchairs took off at 7:55, followed by a huge crowd of "elite" runners (like my two Andys and all the pros) and then it was the turn of my wave (green group) at 8:10. Even though there were still another three waves to take off after us (at 8:30, 9:00 and 9:30) there were already many thousands of runners on the road - an impressive sight. I started (as usual) at the back of the pack and had the incredible sight of a six lane major road dipping and then rising in front of me totally log-jammed with runners for a kilometre or more ahead. Quite spectacular.
I started at the back partly because I wasn't especially looking for a fast time but also because I'd had a bad night with a crook back, and even struggled out of bed wondering whether it was a sensible thing to even attempt the race. However a couple of paracetamol tablets later things felt a little better and here I was.
The gun fired (metaphorically as it happened), we stood still, then startling shuffling and 8 minutes later I jogged across the start line and away we went.
As you might imagine, this race was a hugely tactical one - the tactics being how to avoid collisions with fellow runners and to weave a path through the wall of slower runners. However, for the most part it was six-lane road so there was a fair amount of room, but if you were looking for a fast race it would definitely have been a little frustrating at times. I certainly had to concentrate, and there were of course a few bumps and trips and lots of "sorry"s and "coming through"s. Everyone was polite and good-natured though so it was never a big problem.
The course runs from the city centre and through some of its most expensive harbour-side real estate, up the notorious Heartbreak Hill (something of a "mini-me" to the real thing in Boston, but tough enough) at the mid-point of the race and then down to the iconic Bondi Beach.
My first few kilometres were very comfortable and steady at around 5:30 - 5:40 pace. I was relaxed and just generally enjoying running through parts of Sydney I barely knew; enjoying seeing this part of town from a once-a-year perspective. I had worked my way through the pack quite well and then when we hit Heartbreak Hill really started overtaking large numbers. Not that I was going spectacularly well - it was damnably tough - but clearly many runners either weren't prepared for the 2km unrelenting uphill slog or had just gone out with the intention of walking it anyhow. The hill itself was only a few degrees of incline but it's a mental bugger as it seems to flatten out only to have you turn a corner to reveal another brutish climb. And it does this time after time after time. Even when you're certain you've reached the top and there's only blue sky above, it somehow contrives to throw another steep hill at you.
I'd slowed to 6:00/km pace or so up the hill, but still reached the half way point looking good and feeling my "wishful thinking" time was achievable if the last few kms weren't too crowded or hilly. Well they were crowded, but it was essentially downhill so I ramped it up as best I could... except that I misclaculated and began my 2km final "sprint" erm, 3km from the end. Doh. However it was OK in the end. With 1km to go and my legs starting to fade the clock was showing 73 minutes and I knew then I could take it easy over the last stretch. I slipped across the line in 79:15 and was very happy with that.
Then began what I had thought would be the torment of the day - queueing for hydration, bags, buses, trains etc.
In fact the post-race organising was brilliant. Water and isotonic gloop were in abundance, I waited less than ten minutes for my bag, signs and announcements were everywhere and were clear and accurate. I walked to the bus area and hopped straight on; got a seat, it took us to the train station where we hopped straight on a train; again got a seat and before I knew it was back in the city where I caught another train home. I was frankly astonished how incredibly well organised and run this event was - simply the best organised race I've ever entered.
Oh, and as I got off the train at the homeward end of my return journey, I asked another runner how he had got on. "Brilliant!" he smiled, and then added "62 minutes!" Bah!
A week-long drought of alcohol was then broken as next-door Andy (63-minute man) came over for post-race drinks and analysis. Red wine never tasted so good.
Great work MLCM! Very encouraging that you were able to take that hill with some aplomb, and by the sounds of things you fully justified your place in the second wave of runners. Your time is around 56 mins 10K pace, which you gotta be pleased with I think. And how convenient to have a neighbour on hand for post-race analysis and rehydration.
So should we keep an eye out for another report at the same time next year...?
Now then. Sounds like a really interesting day MLCM. Well played on getting into the spirit of the event and giving-it-some-welly on the hill.
It's funny, most of the races I do are small. On Saturday I was in Littondale in North Yorkshire for a 4 miler with a field of less than 70 runners. It was a village gala. We had a pot of tea and some cake in the village hall afterwards whilst listening to a flautist. Charming.
But I'd love to sign-up to a big city race again sometime, like C2S, and have that big-event experience. A great coming together by the sound of it. Good on ya.
(15-08-2011, 07:00 AM)marathondan Wrote: Your time is around 56 mins 10K pace, which you gotta be pleased with I think.
Indeed. My 10km split time was 58:20 - given that includes the big hill I'm well pleased with that effort. In fact, my overall pace for the race taken out to a half marathon would give me pretty much spot-on 1:59:30, which is the goal (ie sub 2 hrs) for the half mara in 5 weeks time. Given that the C2S was an undulating, crowded race I ought to be able to do somewhat better than that. Here's hoping.
(15-08-2011, 07:00 AM)marathondan Wrote: So should we keep an eye out for another report at the same time next year...?
Oh I think so ... it was a great deal more fun than I feared, and the work team have already committed to entering again in 2012, so I suspect you can ink that one in.
(15-08-2011, 04:24 PM)glaconman Wrote: On Saturday I was in Littondale in North Yorkshire for a 4 miler with a field of less than 70 runners. It was a village gala. We had a pot of tea and some cake in the village hall afterwards whilst listening to a flautist. Charming.
What? No beer?? That's just weird.
(15-08-2011, 04:24 PM)glaconman Wrote: But I'd love to sign-up to a big city race again sometime, like C2S, and have that big-event experience. A great coming together by the sound of it. Good on ya.
It certainly was an experience. Like I said, it was so incredibly well organised that it had none of the headaches I usually associate with big number events. After what I'd read here and elsewhere about the Great North Run and major U.S. marathons (for example) I'd rather been put off major crowd races, but this was a beauty. Totally caught me by surprise. I would be more than happy to do it again, but even if I don't, I'm well pleased for having entered it at least once.
That sounds like a lovely run mate. Impressed with your hill form too - bodes well for November. I too am off monster events - I like the sound of G-Man's local galas. Too much jostling for me.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
For the record, I finished 17,768th of 68,901 finishers. Official time 1h19m14s.
Of my corporate team of 44 finishers I finished 5th, and in my age division (M40-49) I came 2,590th of 6,233 finishers. In a few weeks I move up a division and hopefully it'll get a little easier to place better.
Eat My Dust August
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I am on the wagon. For a week. 
