April Powers

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Book Review – “Two Hours” by Ed Caesar

This book is of course about the ultimate running goal: the when, where, how and by whom the first sub-two hour marathon will be run. The rate at which the marathon record has fallen toward the two hour mark in recent years is making many think this will happen sooner rather than later.

Caesar covers all the factors that will constitute a successful attempt: genetics, training, methodology, pace-making, weather, race type, mental preparation, money and of course, drugs, but more on that later. The central figure in Two Hours is Geoffrey Mutai, at the time the book was written the holder of title of fastest-ever marathon, his blistering 2:03:02 at the 2011 Boston Marathon, not a world record of course because Boston is not a qualifying event for the title, and in any case, now beaten by Dennis Kimetto’s 2:02:57.

He follows Mutai’s humble upbringing in the mountains of Kenya’s Rift Valley, neatly introducing us to the natural, easy world of Kenyan running; the influence of western training methods and money and the impact it has had on the people of the region, not all of which has of course been for their benefit.

Many readers will be impressed not only with the work ethic and discipline of even modest Kenyan runners, but also the mental ruggedness that separates the true elite from the merely world-class athletes and Caesar does a superb job of capturing this important essence of Kenyan excellence.

The matrix of factors that determine exactly when and how the two hour mark will be broken (and there seems no question that it will in fact happen) is complex, and this maze of circumstance may delay its inevitable realisation. Whilst the physiology of endurance athletes suggests sub-two hours is entirely possible, the chances of everything being ideal for an attempt at the mark is still remote.

Caesar reaches no dramatic crystal-ball conclusion about when the first sub-two hour marathon will be run. Rather he points out that as the mark is approached, the complex issues surrounding the record grow rapidly more complex. For example, the number of race routes that are fast enough to permit the attempt dwindle as the records fall. The weather increasingly becomes a factor, ruling out even more races, and then there’s the time of day, morning being widely considered a poor time for such an attempt. And these are just the factors that are outside of the athlete’s control.
 
He also asks if it will necessarily be a black African to break the record, citing some evidence that suggests the African’s greatness is as much to do with their mental toughness as their physicality, and that culture has a a big impact on the sport. Get this mental aspect  right, and it’s still possible that other nations will again rise to the forefront of endurance running.

Caesar doesn't shy away from the muddying element of drug cheats, either. I have been told myself by an Olympic athletics coach that it’s “inconceivable” that elite marathoners are not using performance enhancing drugs. Caesar doesn’t attempt to prove this one way or the other, but does note that Kenyan drug cheats have in fact been caught and that illicit drugs are simple to find and purchase throughout Kenya. Despite this, Kenya refuses to acknowledge the use of drugs among their athletes, and also refuses to establish a blood-testing laboratory within its borders. Meantime, the use of EPO for boosting the endurance and recovery rates during off-season training  is widely speculated. Caesar’s portrayal of Mutai however strongly suggest that the true top athletes have no need for these sorts of drugs, but points out that the riches on offer for athletic success in such a poor part of the world make denial of the temptations of drug use naive in the extreme.

This is a great piece of writing – you’ll learn a lot about the psyche and physical training methods of Kenyan running, much of which is eye opening. It’s also an easy read in what is a difficult subject. Chapters on genetics and training methods are craftily written and kept brief enough to not lose focus on the humanity of the athletes. Caesar is first and foremost a people person, not a sports physiologist and his writing keeps the athlete’s personality upfront so that we can empathise with even the greatest athlete. They are after all human, and this is often lost in the world of big money with its emphasis on record after record. As Caesar says, Kenya pumps out champion after champion, each of whom has only a handful of years in the limelight before fading into oblivion. Some, such as poor Sammy Wanjiru the Olympic champion, winner of London and dual winner of Chicago marathons, failed to deal with success well at all with tragic consequences.

I loved this book. On the whole it is a bright, positive endorsement of our sport and the power of the human spirit, and I highly recommend it.
 
 

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Race Report: 2016 Lindfield 10km Fun Run

I moved alongside the tallish middle-aged guy in the yellow shirt - it's a little over half way through the race and clearly he was suffering as much as I was. I cracked the usual joke we’ve all heard countless times before but which yet remains an acceptable ice breaker:

“When do we get to the fun part?” I asked, trying to sound less out of breath than I actually was.

“Well I sure don’t know” he said in an alarming accent which sounded American but which was almost instantly revealed as being Canadian;

“I just moved here from Toronto. This is my first race in Sydney.”

“Well my friend, welcome, but you’ve managed to pick the hilliest, nastiest, most brutal 10k fun run in Sydney. The person who named this a fun run is either a first class masochist or hasn’t actually ever run the thing!” A couple of other runners nearby grunted their agreement. It only occurred to me later that this was probably an unfairly callous thing to say to the guy in his first Australian race, but hey, it was the truth!

Seemingly not offended (or just too tired to show it), we chatted for a while, and he told me how he ran a “few” London marathons back in the ‘90s, but that these days he was limited to shorter runs. It was a nice bit of banter and took our minds off the task at hand for a while, but he soon fell off the pace and I had to get back to once again dealing with the reality of the situation.

The reality was that this was my first race in very nearly a year, so I had little real indication of how well I might run, despite this being the fourth year in which I had completed the event.  I had no illusions about a PB, that much was clearly out of the question. I had hoped for a time around 60 minutes, but realistically knew I would be happy with anything under 65. This is after all, a race with some nasty hills and quick times are very much not the order of the day.

Rain had been forecast, but as I milled around earlier with the others near the starting line, it was warm and muggy with rain clouds in the distance along the coast but which were unlikely to move inland. It was a good crowd that turned out, and once again the Can Too cancer research fund-raising runners constituted an enormous part of the crowd, all resplendent in their orange running tops. Many of them were clearly taking this very seriously, doing warm up laps and drills in the final few minutes before the start. I decided against warming up as I was starting right at the back of the field, so the start would be slow enough to constitute a warm up in my reckoning.

Once under way it became clear just how warm the weather was. Whilst probably only around 20 degrees Celsius or so, the humidity had returned making it quite unpleasant, especially when the sun shone. Almost immediately I saw the first race victim, a young woman who it seems had taken a tumble over the kerb and was distraught and clearly not about to get and run any further. Later in the race though I would pass a rather more serious case, with a man lying under a space blanket and being attended to by two emergency services people, one of whom was urgently enquiring on the two way radio as to how soon the ambulance would arrive. I see this sort of thing too often in races, but one doesn't generally expect it in these shorter "fun" events.

My own race went pretty well. I tackled the hills, certainly not with ease, but arriving at the tops of them without too much distress. A cool breeze which sprang up as I hit the 7km mark made the last part of the race much more pleasant, and I crossed the line stopping my watch at 60:09, and I am pretty pleased with that, although it is far off my PB for this event. Depending on which way you look at it, it was either my third-fastest time for this race or my second-slowest. It depends, I think, how far through the bottle of red you are when contemplating it. For now, I’m taking it as a positive result given my stop-start last twelve months of running. If I can maintain a similar pace on the flat in Canberra next week for the half marathon, I might yet post a reasonable time there too.

For now, it’s another race bib on the man cave wall, and finally I can break my three days of abstinence and enjoy a bottle of red wine with dinner tonight.

Next up: the Canberra half marathon, seven days hence.

[Sweder]

Tis report does nothing to alter my views on 10ks. Hideous, eyeballs-out beasts.
Well done old man

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I am still sore and weary from Sunday's race, and today's short, easy 5km plod was anything but simple. I felt it doing me  good to get the complaining legs moving again however, so a worthwhile effort.

Only one more short run is scheduled this week in what is a mini-taper prior to the half marathon, and a welcome step-back week in general. I have to say that I am really looking forward to the half marathon. This should be fun, and at this early stage the weather forecast looks perfect.

Happy days.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Tis report does nothing to alter my views on 10ks. Hideous, eyeballs-out beasts.
Well done old man

There's a lot of truth in that, and apart from supporting what is my local good cause, fund-raising event, I really don't know why I do this race. That said, there is some pseudo-masochistic pleasure in running a tough event, although I concede hitting your head with a hammer would be far less trouble.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

A short (5km) but hard and fast hill climb went very well today, once again lifting my confidence ahead of Sunday's race.

Except that a poor choice of sock/shoe combination left me with a nasty blister on the right heel. Oh well, blister plaster to the rescue, hopefully.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Race report to follow shortly, but I completed today's Canberra half marathon in 2h04m09. For a litmus test, this being my first half mara race in a very long time, I am pretty pleased. Had I paced it properly, I'm certain I could have broken two hours again, but that wasn't the primary concern today.

Anyway, I'm happy.

Race report very soon.

This photo apres race with Next Door Andy, whom some may remember from previous posts, and of course, my book (still available from Amazon!)... and some (especially Antonio) may recognise the shirt I'm wearing.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Nice one! Look forward to the report. Will there be beer?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Nice one! Look forward to the report. Will there be beer?

No beer, BB, but we did enjoy a very nice 2008 Coonawarra cabernet with dinner that evening. Don't worry, the booze is in no danger of being left alone!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

2016 Canberra half marathon race report.

A little over 2,000 people started this race in perfect conditions: cool, sunny and with the friendliest atmosphere I’ve yet encountered in a race of any sort. The starter actually had to encourage people up to the starting line as everyone politely left space for anyone who wanted it. Everyone it seemed was more interested in chatting with the other starters, family and friends, rather than the usual jostling and shoving for front positions with urgent messages from the MC for everyone to move back as the front, elite runners were being pushed over the starting line. No, none of that. Instead this time the call was for everyone to please come forward ready for the start which was only seconds away, yet there was bags of room up front for everyone who wanted it.

When I last ran this race three years ago, the ultramarathon, marathon, and half marathon races all started at the same time, making it a log jam of over 4,000 people in a smallish park a little west of the current starting point. This year each race started at a different time, making it a far more civilised and manageable beginning to the race. The starting line was directly in front of old parliament house, a logical and memorably scenic place to start a major Canberra running event. Glorious, in fact.

This time I was running the event with a friend and occasional running partner Next Door Andy, whom some may remember from previous posts. He’s a far faster runner than me, but has been out of action for some time with a back injury, so this was to be a double celebration as we both return to the running and racing habit.

The only disappointment was that the annual hot air ballooning festival, which last time I was here coincided with the running festival, was already over a week earlier, and so we wouldn’t have the magical sight of dozens of hot air balloons floating gently over Lake Burley Griffin as we ran our race. Never mind, the friendly atmosphere more than made up for the loss of balloons, and we were under away on time, two thousand happy runners amiably chatting as we jogged our way up the first and only significant hill around the old and new parliament houses, a three kilometre loop up, around and down Capital Hill.

I had no really clear idea going into this race of what I wanted to achieve, other than obviously to finish it of course. Having not raced a half marathon in nearly two years I wasn’t optimistic about running under two hours, and a PB was definitely out of the question. Realistically I thought 2h05m would about as suitable a goal as I could set. That still meant maintaining a pace of 5:55 for each kilometre. Accordingly I set off aiming to run each kilometre split somewhere between two-hour pace of 5:40 and 5:55.

The first kilometre had me behind the eight ball straight away at 6:14. However, this was obviously the most congested part of the race and the uphill section, so I wasn’t unduly concerned. The second split was 5:53; better but I still needed to up the pace a bit. Kilometres three and four came in at 5:33 each however so I was back on target and feeling comfortable. I settled in and began to really enjoy the run. The crowd support along this first half of the course was excellent, the weather remained perfect and I felt good and very comfortable trundling along at my target pace.

At ten kilometres Mrs MLCMM was on the sidelines cheering and later confirmed that indeed, at that point I was looking good and had barely broken into a sweat. Here though we cross Lake Burley Griffin on the King Avenue bridge and have to settle in for some long, hard kilometres along the waterfront on the far side of the lake.

I passed the half way mark in 1:00:42, so knew already that sub two hours was looking unlikely, but my target range was still well and truly achievable. Kilometres eleven through fifteen passed well enough, but I was having to work harder to maintain the pace, and then by 16km my body just wouldn’t respond anymore. The mind was willing but my pace dropped back to training speed and I just had to hang  on and try to finish as strongly as possible.

Returning back across the lake via the Commonwealth Avenue bridge was a somewhat heartless affair. You know it’s nearly over but still have to cover that last two kilometres, and maintaining a decent pace by then was very, very hard.

According to my GPS, 21.1km came and went and there were still two corners to turn before the finish line! The race distance is of course properly accredited and I have to assume my GPS didn’t handle two longish tunnels all that well, but that doesn’t help when you’ve mentally and physically run your race already! Spotting Next Door Andy (who had already finished his race in 1h34m!) and his wife Vanessa cheering me 50 metres from the finish line spurred me on however, and I crossed in 2h04m09s, comfortably inside my target time, but a salient lesson learned (again) about pacing.

Given that this race was really a range-finding mission for me after such a long time between races at this distance, I am quite happy with that effort. If my target for later this year is to break 4h30m for the full distance marathon, then this is comfortably on target, but I won’t make that call until after running the Sydney half marathon in five weeks. There were certainly periods during the last part of this race when I thought “bugger the full marathon, this is quite hard enough”. However, as we well know, the hardship that creates those thoughts rapidly fades once you have that medal round your neck.

Afterwards, drinking coffee at the National Art Gallery outdoor café in the glorious sunshine with Mrs MLCMM, Next Door Andy, his wife Vanessa and their three girls, it was easy to talk ourselves into running another marathon in the second half of this year, but maybe that was the endorphin buzz talking. As I say, let me get through the next race first and I’ll re-assess things then.

From where we sat however, we could see the last of the marathon and ultramarathon runners rounding the penultimate corner to end their races, and I had to weigh up where I’d rather be: sitting in the beautiful sunshine in the nation’s capital, drinking coffee with a half marathon finisher’s medal around my neck, or rounding the last corner to finish another full distance marathon?

And I have to say that… well, I’ll come to that later.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Still a little sore and weary from Sunday's race I never-the-less hit the streets this morning for a half hour jog to keep things on track and test out the legs. Whilst a little sore, I still felt strong, which I think is always a good indicator of improving fitness. My pace was also quite acceptable given the conditions which remain unusually warm for this time of year. After a record-breaking hot March, April continues well above average, albeit not to the same extent as previous weeks.

Although today's run was of no great significance in itself, today does commemorate a dramatic day, it being exactly ten years since my dear Dad died. Unfortunately he never saw me complete my first marathon, but was always encouraging and I'm sure he'd be pleased to know I have not only reached that milestone, but have carried on. He was always big on perseverance which he saw as a noble trait, and he had no time for laziness. The phrase he hated most in life was "I can't be bothered", and on the (very) rare occasions I saw him angry as I grew up it was usually because I had said something along those lines. His example made a huge impact on me, and it was largely, perhaps solely due to him that I persevered through my own early running injuries to eventually reach my goals, and I'm of course so very glad I did.

So, tonight I'll raise a glass of 10 y.o. Laphroaigh in honour of my Dad, and look forward to honouring him with many more races and finisher's medals to come. Cheers Dad.

[Charliecat5]

So, tonight I'll raise a glass of 10 y.o. Laphroaigh in honour of my Dad, and look forward to honouring him with many more races and finisher's medals to come. Cheers Dad.

Dads are funny things.  The older I get the more I appreciate mine... fortunately he is still firmly rooted in this world. However, I will raise a glass with you this evening to honour our Dads, wherever they are.  Cheers.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Snouts in the Trough

If you didn't care what happened to me,
And I didn't care for you,
We would zig zag our way through the boredom and pain
Occasionally glancing up through the rain.
Wondering which of the buggars to blame
And watching for pigs on the wing.
                    (Pink Floyd - Pigs on the Wing, Part One)

The latest round of work hassles are gathering like a perfect storm. The machinations of the psychopaths that inhabit the lower and middle levels of management at my place of employment have brought me to a perfect understanding of how Nazi Germany came to be; for there are at every turn seemingly ordinary people who are more than willing to don the leather and the jackboots, clicking their heels and silently rehearsing the title obersturmbannführer with which they have anointed themselves. They then lay into the workers with their refined sense of arrogant disregard for the basic tenets of humanity, seeking only to fulfil their sad, empty, soulless lives with hatred and vitriol, cunningly disguised as agile management systems and six sigma standard deviation charts which are incomprehensible to them but to which they pledge allegiance like some latter day managerial swastika.

The depths of depravity to which humanity can sink is not now found in the red light district of Amsterdam or the slums of Soweto. It is on the boards and in the meeting rooms of the corporate world, where the demise of caring, professional and loyal workers are plotted with infinite care and precision by their management, their laughing, corporate snouts all the while plunging deep into the troughs of plenty provided by tax payers and shareholders alike.

It is fortunate then that I have similarly plunged deep into the trough of half marathon training, with today's very tough hill climb successfully sweating out the anxiety, stress and angst that is now regrettably synonymous with my working days and nights.

Motivation, like optimism and pessimism, has a tendency to feed upon itself, and I am so very glad my motivation is strong just now, and that the troubles of work only further fuel that determination to train hard and well and which enables me to focus on the things that truly matter, and over which I have some control. Last time these employment headaches reached a boiling point I was not so motivated to train, and so instead ended on the medical treadmill of doctors and psychologists. Whilst they were mildly helpful, to be fair, the one thing they insisted would be enormously beneficial would be to return to running with a vengeance. They were, of course, correct, but at the time it was almost impossible to dig deep enough to find the motivation I required.

This time, it's different. I am already in the thick of training, and with two recent races successfully completed I am fit, healthy and fully ready to ramp up the training to prepare not just for the next race, but to overcome the poison I absorb daily in the toxic environment of my workplace.

Running most definitely is the answer.


My three bosses.

[Charliecat5]

The depths of depravity to which humanity can sink is not now found in the red light district of Amsterdam or the slums of Soweto. It is on the boards and in the meeting rooms of the corporate world, where the demise of caring, professional and loyal workers are plotted with infinite care and precision by their management, their laughing, corporate snouts all the while plunging deep into the troughs of plenty provided by tax payers and shareholders alike.

I have similar issues with my boss... he's a bloody idiot.  I am never quite sure how to deal with him though, as my boss is... me...

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

More pigs

You know that I care what happens to you,
And I know that you care for me.
So I don't feel alone,
Or the weight of the stone,
Now that I've found somewhere safe
To bury my bone.
And any fool knows a dog needs a home,
A shelter from pigs on the wing.
                   (Pink Floyd - Pigs on the Wing, Part Two).

My previous post may have seemed like the ranting of someone who has suffered a bad day at work, but in truth it is the culmination of thirty-plus years of observing/suffering corporate Australia.

I believe the problem stems from an extreme form of a widespread new doctrine that I actually have a little sympathy with, and that’s the idea that “you can be whatever you want to be”. Of course we all understand that it’s simply not the case that everyone can become the astronaut or rock God that we all aspire to be, but I do like the concept of persuading kids and adults alike to do and be the best they can, at whatever level that might be.

The problem however is that we are now suffering a huge influx of low and middle level managers who genuinely believe an extreme form of that doctrine, which is that with their master’s degree in business administration, their worn out copies of Zig Ziglar motivational tomes and countless hours of viewing Game of Thrones they can and damn well will achieve whatever it takes to further their own careers and line their own nests.

And so we are at the mercy of an amoral corporate mindset in which lowly managers are hell bent on destroying their own departments and everyone within them for a productivity bonus and another one-line entry on their curriculum vitae as to how they saved such-and-such an enterprise x squillion dollars a year in operating costs. Never mind the awful trail of destruction and devastation to people’s lives they leave in their wake, or even the fact that they have destroyed the very efficiency and efficacy that they claim to have improved. No, they are 21st century visionary managers and can save your corporation/department/business/enterprise from ruin for just a few hundred thousand dollars/euros/pounds per year.

Where, how and why the basic humanity of man has been cut asunder from 21st century corporate culture I do not know, but I do believe it is a cyclical thing which will pass, but it will seemingly take another generation or two. It’s savage, and it’s brutal, and it appears to be the personification of the conscience-lacking corporate entity come to earth in human form. With no soul to damn, and no conscience to keep it awake at night it slashes and burns with the full authority of the boards of directors to whom they answer. And should one of them fail, or fall in a hail of gunfire from another tormented worker who ‘goes postal’ with a cheap Chinese assault weapon, then there is an army of replacements to choose from as the business schools and post-graduate campuses spit them out en masse with promises of huge salaries and fat bonus cheques if they sack as many people as they can.

It is small wonder then that today, a cross-training day, I took to walking the district seeking out new and invigorating trails to help cope with the senseless onslaught of a selfish, sociopathic world. And I succeeded! A trail I haven’t used for some time has been opened up to provide a couple of very useful alternative routes which will give me a decent amount of trail running, hill climbing, and can help me avoid the worst of the highway traffic on my Lane Cove National Park run. It will also help me burn off the excess venom that is building within me each and every day I have to suffer my maniacal bosses at work.

To hell with all that! Bring it on, you corporate demons, I’m ready for you! [spits on hands and attempts a menacing glare before exiting stage left, then lacing up the running shoes and heading for the beer fridge].

 

 

 

 

 

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Ramp it up.

A long, slow run was scheduled for today, and it was essential that I take it a little easy as this is supposed to be a post-race step back/recovery week. However, as the previous week was also a relatively low kilometre week and I am feeling fine I did want to shake things up just a little. I therefore extended the scheduled 15km by an extra kilometre and included a 2% incline, in other words, an elevation gain of 320 metres over the 16km distance. Nothing too serious but still a noticeable step up in difficulty.

It was just what I needed, if I'm honest. The slope made it it just that much harder; it was still 'conversational' pace, but hard enough to give me a great endorphins hit and the knowledge that it was a job well done. Plenty of sweat and a moderate total of 26 careful step-back kilometres for the week. Given that it was a week of night shifts and follows last Sunday's half marathon race, I am quite pleased, but am now looking forward to ramping things up a bit.

Accordingly, I have 41 kilometres scheduled for this coming week, although with another batch of night shifts it will be tricky to cram it all in, but with the weather finally cooling off somewhat, I'm confident of giving it a good red hot go.

Onwards and upwards!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Grin and beer it.

With temperatures remaining in the mid twenties Celsius and humidity still nudging 90%, we are having something of a late summer stint here, but yesterday I did detect for the first time that initial distinct chill note in the air at the end of the day that hints at the winter to come. For the time being though, the warmer weather is helping with beer consumption, which remains regrettably low. I really need to work on that some more.

My plan for the day was to arise early and deal with the scheduled 10km run before assaulting a long list of must-do activities on what was a busy day. However, I was so tired upon waking that I groggily re-arranged things in my mind, which included running tomorrow instead of today, and went back to sleep. I even thought I felt a twinge of cramp in my right calf to help justify my decision.

Well, uh uh. My subconscious mind was having none of that it seems, for I awoke some time later with an attack of extreme guilt and actually feeling physically really quite fine. And so the run was done some little while later than scheduled, but done it was. This was another moderately tough hill climb, done slowly enough to count as aerobic zone exercise, but tough on the legs.

I have to say that afterwards I felt amazing, and zipped through the day with that feeling of leg strength that saw me climbing steps and slopes as if they were nothing. Even the knees had very little to complain about, and so I'm really pretty stoked.

With night shifts starting again tomorrow I will try to squeeze in an extra shorter run before work to keep the miles up but removing pressure from myself by being able to do a shorter run at the end of the week when the grip of night shift-induced jet lag will make longer runs near impossible.

Difficulties of scheduling aside, man I'm loving this!

[Antonio247]

Congratulations on that fantastic half marathon race you ran in Camberra, MLCMM! What a great homage to your dad!

You seem to be quite fit. I'm sure you can run a marathon again in a few months' time if you go on training and you're lucky with injuries.

I'm very glad you wore Almería half marathon T-shirt in that friendly race.

Saludos desde Almería

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Cheers, Antonio!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

The terror of the night.

Well, the terror of the night shift, to be precise. Despite today being a rest day I snuck in an extra short 5km outing so that I can cut back my Friday run, when I'll be jellied of brain and wobbly of leg following more of the accursed night shifts.

This run was actually a little tricky. I actually felt pretty good, but it was warm and muggy again, and I wore my too-tight red running top which made everything especially warm and sweaty. I know the Climate Council is issuing all sorts of dire "we told you so" messages about the extreme weather we're having, and I can confirm it is damned warm for this late in the season. Wearing the wrong running shirt made things doubly uncomfortable, but I still ran it reasonably well and am pleased to have knocked off a few more kilometres and thus take the pressure off my Friday outing.

I'm beginning to think a little more seriously about a time goal for my next half marathon, the Sydney Half in just over four week's time. Not that I'm especially fussed about setting a PB as such, but I want to set myself up for possibly having a crack at a full marathon PB a little later, and/or perhaps the much tougher ask, cracking the two and a half hour mark for the Point to Pinnacle in November. To do that, I really need to (just as a starting base) be able to fairly comfortably run a flat half marathon under two hours, and I'm not really quite there yet.

My training is going well however, and with quite a bit of hill work thrown into the mix I'm feeling ever more confident. Just where I'll end up remains to be seen, but a few more weeks of motivated, high intensity work and I'll be in a much better position to work on some serious goal-setting for the latter half of the year.

Oooh, this all sounds rather serious, doesn't it?

Maybe this will fix it: