anton inspired...

i re-read an article about anton krupicka last night and am feeling inspired to run as many miles as time allows for this week... at least 200 kilometres. should be doable.

i am also hoping to get out on the course once or twice this week with the plan to cover at least 75% of the course over two runs. maybe i can round up one or two other runners to provide for some camaraderie but it will be unlikely as most don't appreciate the early morning wake ups. but i will need to be on the trails by 4am to allow me to get to work.

before i forget - so far this week...

saturday: 15 km - 1:12 - knapsack stairs loop
shoes: nike pegasus sleep: about 3 hours broken

ended up being a long day before heading out for a run. turned the alarm off to try and get a bit more sleep before heading out for soccer. after soccer drove over to tahmoor and worked on house renovations for about 6 hours before heading home. my wife jacki convinced me that a run would be good. i was feeling a little upset in the tummy and lethargic but headed out anyway. pushed it a little trying to beat the failing light and ended up running the loop six minutes quicker than last week. felt good immediately after run.

sunday: 32.5 km - 2:38 - oaks fire trail (woodford to glenbrook plus home)
shoes: nike pegasus pre-run fodder: sticky thai black rice and waffles

spent the day with the family up the mountains (katoomba and leura). went to the cafe where my step-son and his girlfriend work and had a good lunch. on the way home jacki dropped me off at woodford so that i could get a run in. carried a headlamp, mobile phone and a water bottle the nathan pack to see me through. running from the drop off point to the woodford station and i felt like i was breathing much harder than the effort required and i was concerned that it was going to be a long night in the bush. i needed to have not worried as i took it easy and ran well down the trail and up to the rangers station at glenbrook. on the hills i felt strong on the ups and on the downs i concentrated on trying to minimise the impact on my quads to avoid smashing myself up. gate to gate in under two hours.

monday: 15.2 km - 1:13 - hilly trail run

after work parked the car at the rangers hut (glenbrook) and headed off for a loop through the bush. an old favourite - oaks-bennetts ridge fire trail-euroka. ran easy on the flats but pushed the hills.

tuesday: 10 km - 0:43 - short tempo

squeezed in a run with about 4 kilometres of running sub 4min/km pace. with all the long runs and hilly trail work of late i didn't think i would be able to get my legs turning over faster than the easy pace i have settled into. i even threw in a couple of surges over the final 3k around 3:30-3:40 pace and my legs started loosening up. hill work still to come this afternoon. long run tomorrow.

second run: 15 km - 1:17 - penrith to blaxland

with the rain falling i left work with the intentions of running up home via knapsack stairs. felt good heading up mitchells pass and headed down to the gully and started up the stairs to find that a tree had fallen down across the track. back tracked and headed up the stairs on the other side heading towards glenbrook. had a great run along the single track in the rain with streams falling from the cutting and along the track. got soaked and had fun.

wednesday: ~ 8 km - 0:36 - running in the rain

resting hr: 38 :: shoes: nike pegasus

monty the dog needed a run and with all the rain it seemed i was the only volunteer. but boy did it bucket down. only a short one today as we had some house guests.

thursday: 20 km - 1:25 - tempo (10 km out in 45 mins/ 10 km back in sub 40)

shoes: asics flats :: feeling: lethargic

wow what a run. i started out in the pouring rain and i was thinking "what an idiot" but i had no thoughts of bagging the run. not today it had to be done. running down along the path which parallels the river and i felt like a big kid. no one else was out so i had some fun jumping puddles and running through torrents of water as it flowed into the nepean river. i don't remember ever being so wet.

i was struggling to find any rhythm so decided to take it to the hills running a couple of loops up and down the back streets of leonay. fourty minutes into the run the rain stopped and i started feeling a little tired so i started running back to work. five minutes later and i was running quicker than i have in months and it felt effortless. perhaps all this aerobic running has some merit. a good day...

motivation

generally after a race and the accompanying runner’s high has worn off i usually find myself in a post race funk. feeling drained and unmotivated often leads me into a state of depression. to avoid this i need to run. running lifts my spirits, relaxes me and makes me a happier person to be around - it's my drug of choice and i need it. so does my family.

after a race however i usually find that while the mind is more than willing and i want to run i am unable to create the physical willpower needed to actually lace up my shoes and head out the door. with experience though i know that once i get back out there and start running i will feel better after a few days.

this time around though my motivation is fueled with failure. my dream of having a good run at six foot didn't eventuate and it has ignited my running juices. the upcoming adventures of my running friends have also inspired me to think about my own new challenges.

i have to be careful though as i have a tendency to take on and do too much although as steve prefontaine would say “to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift”. well i think it’s time for me to give it my best. what does this mean? for me it starts with a commitment to get out of bed early. no more snooze button and earlier nights to bed.

getting out of bed early requires discipline, commitment and a goal (i.e. race, adventure, challenge goal). i’m trying to get into a habit of getting up at 4:30am everyday so that i can get my training in each day. if i fail to get up and put the run off saying to myself that i will run at lunch or after work i know that i end up cutting the run shorter or missing it altogether due to competing commitments.

so this week signals the start of the 4:30am wake up call.

it's been a good week to start. here's the last 7 days...

saturday: 15 km - 1:15 - stairs
shoes: asics hyperspeed 3 sleep: 5 hrs

headed out for the run about an hour or two after soccer. a long warmup before hitting the stairs at knapsack. just ran up it once today at a hard intensity but will add another climb each week. reached the top with only a single walk break (~10 seconds). looped around both lookouts before heading home via the lagoon.

sunday: 18 km - 1:30 - easy
shoes: nike pegasus sleep: 4.5 hrs

managed to get out for two easy runs today. second run at night with my wife up to warrimoo and back along the hwy via the underpass was a much missed experience. felt tired towards the end.

monday: ~ 29 km - 2:30 - easy
shoes: nike pegasus sleep: 5 hrs

spent some time thinking about my running goals for the next few months which helped when setting the alarm for a 4:30am wake up. first run was a 75 minute run around the darkened streets of home - up to warrimoo, down the highway to glenbrook and return past the lagoon. a good 16 km loop. second run was in the heat around work out and back into one of the new developments. struggled through the middle section of the run as i started succumbing to heat exposure and dehydration. took it easy for about 10 minutes and surprisingly felt great over the final stretch finishing at a slightly faster than tempo effort.

tuesday: 12 km - 1:00 - hillwork
shoes: nike pegasus

every second tuesday i'm at home with my two year old so i manage to squeeze in a run on the treadmill in the gym while he's in the creche. i find the treadmill incredibly boring which leads me to playing with the speed and incline. today was no different. warmed up for about 25 minutes and then set the incline to 10%, the speed at 10kph and grinded out for about 20 minutes (at 85% effort). recovered for 5 minutes with the treadmill set at 15% and power-walked. setting the incline back down to 1% it felt like i was running downhill. finished up with 200m repeats at max speed (20kph). the iPod was cranked with some heavy tunes...

ended up being a great session and one i'll definitely be keeping in the schedule. think i will continue to add time each week to build up to about 60 minutes of climbing. legs are getting stronger...

wednesday: 10.6 km - 0:50 - easy
shoes: nike pegasus sleep: 5 hrs

easy run up to warrimoo and back. legs felt good.

thursday: 25 km - 2:00 - easy
shoes: nike pegasus pack: nathon hpl020 (i think)

didn't feel like running when i got up but felt better after an easy run to work. the run home was much tougher as the heat and humidity built up before an impending storm. ran along the river and up the to glenbrook via the trail to lapstone station and up the back roads to home. looked for all the hills and felt strong. sub 4 min/km pace over the final 600 metres left my legs feeling very shaky. cooled down in a cold bath to help with recovery. kids were very helpful and found it amusing to poor cold water over daddy - i was less amused.

friday: 30.5 km - 2:30 - long
shoes: nike pegasus sleep: 5 hrs

woke up at 4:30am and with a moments hesitation pulled myself out of bed and into my running clothes. woke up with a coffee and headed out. felt super comfortable running up to winmallee shops and a little further before turning around and heading home. it was very humid and my hydration was less than optimal. i should have been carrying a water bottle as i couldn't find a tap in the dark. a lesson learned!

totals: running - 140.1 km

Six Foot Track 2009

Here's the report....

After a slow start to begin training this time around I had a few good weeks logging over 160km with a few good runs with fellow lower Blue Mountains locals Sleep Train, Scurry and Mister G in the National Park and around the streets and hills of home. But in hindsight maybe a little too late as I missed out on some invaluable long runs.

While the training was starting to come together and my fitness was improving, life's obstacles got in the way three weeks out and training ground to a virtual halt. I even contemplated not running which reflected my emotional, physical and mental status. However, the ever positive and enthusiastic Sleep Train helped psyche me up and suggested that I should have a crack at a sub 4 hour finish and which I was quietly confident a month out that I had it in me. His suggestions of a diet fueled with watching DVDs of Gallipoli and 300 would help ignite my primal fires and I took his suggestion on board. But 6FT is hard to predict.

After a very sleepless night when my two year old decided that party time started at 1am the alarm sounded a few short hours later, rudely awakening me and it seemed I had only just closed my eyes. After getting up without waking anyone I made my way into the kitchen to consume my first coffee and a big bowl of oatmeal cooked in rice milk and a banana. Continuing to follow my previously successful pre-race routine an hour later I drank a 600mL gatorade and took two S-caps (still two hours to race start). Everything continued according to plan with the scheduled toilet deposit and mellow time with my wife before leaving to pick up Simon.

On all my runs over the last week I felt full of energy and had to hold back and not run beyond my fitness but not today. I felt flat, heavy and lethargic - not a good sign. And not what I was expecting. After a short warmup jog to loosen up and shake off the staleness I headed over to the start to see the Wave 1 runners head off (and also try and get into a good position at the start line myself as I knew it was going to be a chaotic race for a good position heading down the stairs.

Getting into position at the front the gun fired and I took off with the other runners but was surprised how quickly some of them went past on their way down. I was being a little cautious after slipping here at 12FT last year (painful memory). I got caught behind a couple of slow descenders but when the tracked made it possible they graciously moved over to allow me to pass. At the bottom of the stairs when the track opened up I decided to push the pace and see if I could make up some time on my way to the river. I was surprised when I quickly started catching and passing some of the wave 1 starters. I thought perhaps that I was going a little fast but I didn't feel like I was pushing beyond my limit.

I reached Megalong around 37:30 and at this stage I was a little concerned that my stomach was feeling very full. I took my first GU somewhere here with some water. I had a great run as always along the single track to the river which I reached in 1:12. About 1:30 into the run I grabbed a Hi-5 Gel and consumed it with 2 cups of water but immediately I regretted it when I almost gagged. The rest of the climb was with a sloshing stomach which didn't appear to be taking in liquids or nutrition. I tried eating some banana and watermelon at one of the aid stations which didn't go down well either. I was continuing to alternate between drinking sports drink and water from station to station but when my hands starting swelling I knew that I was getting into trouble. I reached Pluvi in around 2:26 (about 6 minutes behind plan) and didn't have much in me to pick it up along Black Range.

Upon reaching Deviation in around 3:15 from memory I noticed that I was starting to feeling good, my stomach had cleared and my energy levels had picked up. I had a great run through to the road running all but the steepest hill, hitting the road right on 3:30. Having run 12FT a couple of times I knew that I could easily run home in about 35 minutes and I was happy with the thought that I'll finish in around 4:05.

I'm always amazed at the clarity one has when sailing through the air. As careful as I was trying to be due largely to my tired state I didn't manage to lift me feet quite as high as needed. I clipped the top board on a flight of stairs and in slow motion flight reminiscent of the photographic sequences of a matrix fight scene I sailed through the air and rotated onto my side to take the impact of the fall squarely on my hip and shoulder. I lay on the ground stunned and winded but knew immediately that I had to get up and move before I stiffened up with post-run stiffness (rigor mortis). Argh! Within a few 100 metres I knew I was struggling. I could run but I had thrown my back out and the pain would build up to a point that I was forced to either walk or stretch out a little before I could run again. I had gone from feeling good to feeling very down about the race and found that I no longer cared about my finishing time as my goal of running in the 3:55-4:05 range had slipped away.

I continued on in this state of mind working through the pain and trying to run as much as I could as I just wanted to get it over and done with. Catching up with a Wave 1 starter he asked if we would make it under his goal time of 4:30 and I realised that if I picked it up now and ran to the finish that I could run under 4:20. That became my goal and as painful as it was over the final descent I made it and immediately I felt content. Finished in 4:19:36.

My contentment immediately changed to excitement and jubilation as I heard from Blue Dog that my sometime training partner had not only won the race but in the process set a new course record of 3:15. A time that could stand for many years. Unless Ben decides that he would like to raise the bar again.

On my way into Caves House I ran into Andrew Lee who I knew was a local as I had passed him on the streets around home and after introducing myself and asking how he had gone discovered that he had run in second place. Way to go Warrimoo!!!!!

Now I'm inspired to get myself back into peak shape. My wife would say it's about time that I start thinking like this again. She has to live with me.