Next up - Gallipoli Run

I've been a bit slack on the blogging again unfortunately.  I update daily on Strands and obviously interact with others there as well so the blog has become a bit secondary.  It is a chance to be a bit more expansive though and is also my permanent record so I need to make more of an effort - especially now that there is a link to this blog on the Running Centre website.

My training for the Gold Coast Marathon officially starts on 12 April  - less than 90 days to go (it was 91 on Saturday when Sandgroper and I were on our long run and we worked it out).  I hadn't really turned my mind to how close it actually was as I have been concentrating on maintaining a good base, being consistent and conservative with the Bridges as my focus over the last few weeks.

The day before my marathon training officially starts, I will taking part in the Synergy Gallipoli Run up at Kings Park.  This is usually held the closest Sunday before ANZAC Day and I am unable to compete as it clashes with junior soccer but it has been moved forward this year due to the National Aths Championships being held on 16-19 April.  Very flatteringly, I have been asked to run for Legacy.  Legacy is a charity that looks after the widows and children of deceased ex-servicemen and women, see http://www.legacy.com.au/

I am going to make another effort to run 3.40/km pace.  As the course goes through Kings park it may be a bit hilly so this will be a challenge but I will be starting at 3.40/km pace this time not 3.21/km in an effort to work my way into a rhythm and a pace I can maintain.

Monday - Took an unscheduled rest day – had my gear out ready to go but had a pretty crappy night’s sleep replaying the race and my training etc and then some weird dreams so decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a miss. I had thoughts that I might try to escape early from work and go for an easy run when I get home instead but it just didn't happen.  I did manage to cheer myself up a bit by plugging my Bridges time into the MacMillan Running Calculator (link in sidebar).  McMillan equates a 37.52 10km to a 2.57 marathon so at least I am in shape to train for a sub 3hr marathon.



Tuesday - Easy bridges loop – felt a lot easier than Sunday!!! I feel like I could run all day at this pace. 12.8km in 56.20 (4.24/km pace).

Wednesday - Another easy bridges loop – maybe slightly harder effort than yesterday but still easy. Another nice morning for a run but a bit humid.

Wore new Brooks Adrenaline GTS10s. Sandgroper did an order through Running Warehouse so took the opportunity to try something different as they won’t ship Asics overseas.

Felt great early – really great actually but I developed a bit of a numb spot in my left midfoot after about 8km. I’ve had this with other new shoes once or twice in the past so maybe its not the shoes but me? I’m sure it will sort itself out but I’ll keep them to shorter runs in the meantime.

12.8km in 55mins (4.17/km pace).

Thursday - Ran down and met Clown @ Burswood. Easy 16km for me.  Good conversation about all things running but especially Boston which is only 18 days away now for Clown.  He is in great shape and has got his weight down under 68kgs - my goal (dream??) weight.  I'm still plateaued (is that a word?) at 72kgs.  I guess I like my food a bit too much for the level of training I do.


16.2km in 1.11.30 (4.24/km pace).  Again, I felt very comfortable running at this pace.

Friday - Easy recovery run – wore my Brooks Adrenalines again – still a bit of wearing in to do as they don’t feel quite right on the middle of my left foot.  8.6km in 38.30 (4.28/km pace).  I ran a bit quicker than my normal recovery pace and didn't wear my HRM.

Later that afternoon we went out to the Aths Stadium to watch the Australian Masters National Champs.   Sugar was running in the 800m.  He finished 4th (but 3rd Australian for a bronze medal) after a bit too much of a gap opened up into a strong headwind up the back straight with 300m to go. 

The standard of competition for the medals was very high although it dropped off a bit after that.  Highlight for me was seeing Suzy Cole of Tasmania run a 2.10 800m in the F40-44 age group.  The M40-44 age group was pretty pacy too - winner did 2.04 and you would have to have had run around 2.08/2.09 to get a medal in difficult conditions.

Saturday - Long run with Sandgroper – the last we will get in before he goes to Ghana.

Quite a coolish start although it was humid so got a decent sweat up. We worked our way into this one, running 4.30/km for the first half, then after dropping a gel, 4.22/km on the way back which was also into the wind.

This run was the same as we did about 3 weeks ago but 2-3 minutes faster this time.

Interesting that we averaged the pace that I said earlier in the week was a pace that I thought I could run all day at. Pleased with this one.

All up 26.5km in 1.58 (4.27/km pace).

We went out to watch Sugar run his 1500m at the Nationals.  Again the condtions were not good and the wind had really picked up.  Sugar seemed to be running easy but got cut off at the wrong time just as the leaders started to make a move with 600m to go.  This left him with a big gap and having to run by himself into the headwind.  Another 4th - unlucky I think, it could have been very different had the move happened at a slightly different point.

Sunday - scheduled rest day from running. We went out and watched Sugar's 5000m at the Nationals.  A fantastic run for a bronze medal in a pretty hot field in what were again, pretty average running conditions.  As Rox said, they should have built this stadium out in Gosnells - there is never any wind out there.  (At least she didn't have to play cricket out there ... )  Sammie had a great time cheering - she is a very enthusiastic supporter.

In the afternoon, we were heading down to Rox's parents in Mandurah for an Easter egg hunt and dinner.  I had decided earlier in the week that I would ride my bike down.  I'd estimated that it was about 70km and was working on averaging 30/km hr so around 2hrs 15 mins.

What was supposed to be a Westerly wind was in fact a very strong (15 knot) South Westerly including the occasional shower of rain.  I briefly contemplated pulling the pin, I could have turned around and ridden back with the wind behind me and gotten back before Rox and the kids left but I decided (probably stupidly) to stick with the original plan.

I had underestimated the distance and the wind and probably over estimated my cycling fitness.

This was a really hard ride – I was pretty much over it by 60km and still had 15km to go. Quite stiff and sore in the neck and shoulders as was down on the drops for most of the ride battling into the wind.

74.43km in 2.46 (26.9km/hour).  To rub salt into the wound, Rox had forgotten my bag with my change of clothes so I had to borrow so clothes from her Dad.  We are not the same size (or even close ...).

I'm sure there was some benefit in doing that ride - it was mentally very hard and there was no opportunity to ease up at all in those conditions so it was a hard workout.

I watched some excellent sport on the telly over the weekend.  Caught the end of the Tour of Flanders on Eurosport which was epic.  It's a one day race - 262km.  I turned on when Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen were slogging out at the front.  Cancellara dropped Boonen on what was the last climb (I think it was 19% at its steepest), with 15km to go and then rode on really strongly to win by over a minute.  The way he rode away seated on the climb was awesome as was seeing them ride over the cobblestone streets.

Obviousl, I also watched the Stawell Gift.  Yet again I think the mile was the best race to watch as the handicappers either get it wrong or get conned every year in the Gift.  The mile was a cracking race though.

Also watch the opening day MLB game between the Yankees and the Red Sox in Boston.  Weather was excellent - over 65F at the start fo the evening game and they said that the temp during the day had been in the mid 70s.  Good news for those running Boston although that might even be a little warm.

About the only bit of sport I didn't see that I wanted to watch was the Bulldogs game although it was only v Richmond.  No live coverage (no wonder) either.

Monday - Recovery run – still a bit stiff and sore from yesterday afternoon’s hard run. Thought my heart rate was a bit elevated (which it was at 141) but this was probably because I was running this route quicker than I normally do.

Pace felt easy but I was definitely feeling the after effects of yesterday. Hopefully this will have loosened me and it will back to normal tomorrow.

8.6km in 39.45 (4.37/km pace).


Tuesday - Moderate pace Bridges loop with some fartlek thrown in. Unstructured – I would just pick a spot up ahead and run hard until I got to it. Mixed up the distance/time of the harder sements and the time between. Didn’t run recovery pace between but instead maintained my moderate pace.

Harder sements would mostly have been around 30-45 secs but a couple would have been 60 secs and one of at least 90 secs.

Felt much better today after feeling pretty tired yesterday. 12.8km in 53mins (4.08/km pace).

Strands has a new function whereby it sends you an email summary the previous week.  I can't paste it in as it appears in my email but here is the text:


Strands.com weekly training report


Weekly Training Log Report

Sunday 28 March 2010 – Saturday 3 April 2010

Hi biscuitman, here's your weekly running report from Strands.com.

Your progress last week:

Total Distance

88.4 km

6 Workouts,1 Races Avg. Pace

04:20 min/km

13.8 km/h

Distance Duration Pace Speed

5 week avg.* 86.1 km   06:38:48   04:37 min/km    12.95 km/h

Last week      88.4 km   06:24:14   04:20 min/km    13.8 km/h

Change           +2.67%     -3.66%       +6.16%         +6.56%

* comparing last week's performance to your previous 5 weeks of training smoothes out abnormal day-to-day variations and provides a clearer picture of how well you're doing.


Your progress so far this year:

Days Trained

85/93

91.4 % Total Distance

1,094.07 km

86:12:02 Avg. Pace

04:43 min/km

12.69 km/h