Tuesday, March 30, 2010

no title...

rain and a short week have placed the challenge on hold. i did forgot that this week was to conclude with the easter long weekend. perhaps i should be more aware. i also forgot about the easter parade the children are involved in at school - should be fun with one going as an avatar and the other going as satan.


with the challenge on hold i will be just focusing on building the mileage and hitting as many trails and hills as possible. i have tried adding some intensity over the last few weeks but during my run today i could feel that i need to focus less on speed and go back to focusing on aerobic development. looking back over my training log to see blank pages staring back at me i sometimes wish that i would become a little less zen and a bit more obsessive compulsive. i seem to remember some big weeks in the lead up to last years race and less time spent focusing on quality.

with all the rain i decided to cancel the trip into the city and instead go for a run. so glad that i did as i had one of my best runs for the year. i parked the car in glenbrook and hit the trails around knapsack popping out for a down and back of mitchells pass where i felt great and managed to show a mountain biker the fastest way up the mountain. stopped for a quick chat before we both went our seperate ways on the trails - i went the fastest way up and he hit the flatter trails. finished up with six repeats of hare street where i focused on bounding up rather than straight out speed.

post run plums have never tasted so sweet...


hoping to get out on the north face course over the long weekend and maybe some kedumba repeats.
 
monday training:
 
lunch) 57min easy (13k) - extended river loop
 
pm) 74min incl. 45min easy trails, mitchells pass down/up (7min), trails, 6 x hare street, cooldown jog

Thursday, March 25, 2010

lunch run challenge

next week i'm going to try and wake up each day early enough to get my key session completed but for a second daily run i am going to try and run the same route every day during my lunch break. here is the route...

(view of the nepean river looking south west)

if i'm feeling good and want a little extra i can make my way all the way into glenbrook and cut through to mitchells pass via knapsack - a little longer but adds in some nice lower mountain fire trials that always elevate my mood...

friday...?

taking an easy day yesterday seems to have somehow sapped all of my energy. what it did do though was leave my legs feeling great. i was under the assumption that with plenty of good, fresh food going into my body and an easy/short day on my legs the energy to go long and/or harder today would be there when called upon. seems to be a misconception and this is definitely starting to become the pattern - an easy rest day leaving me feeling tired and lifeless the following day when a quality session is planned. does anyone have any thoughts on replacing the short easy days with long easy endurance days for recovery? might be worth exploring...

today's training:

am) sleep

pm) 40-odd mins easy run (jog?)

late pm) quality run session if energy levels return (if not will substitute with a spin on the bike).

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

no ego thursday

the ego cried out for mileage but i took the smarter option and went for the recovery day option. first up hit the bike for 35mins and felt nice and relaxed spinning the legs over. the urge to run was strong but i listened to my head rather than my body. also had to be at work early...

over the next few hours before lunch my legs were screaming at me "can we please go out and run a little longer than what you have in mind for us - how about 90 minutes?" but when the time came around i was strong of will and stopped with a single loop of the river and completed the run feeling great and wanting to run more.

hopefully the recovery day will help me put out a good long effort tomorrow. if not i'll just go with my typical moderate to hard everyday approach, zero structure plan.

today's training:

am) 35min easy bike

pm) 40min easy run (9k) - loop around river w/ side street extension

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

no glenmore park boy was harmed...

no glenmore park boy was harmed in the making of this morning's run. while every intention was there i adhered to the BMMC code of conduct and ensured that no foot was placed into the forbidden territory. i skirted the boundaries looking for my prey before heading back to the more familiar river loop.


quads felt a little tight on the return leg so decided to act like a triathlete so stopped and stretched - felt that this display showed weakness so moved on at a faster pace. happily fueled up my glycogen depleted legs while adding this run to the log.

run details:

am) 56.30' steady (13k) - work - river loop + extension into regentville

pm) 1h13' trail run - oaks fire trail

- legs felt fatigued and felt like i was pushing it just to get up the hills and maintain an easy pace but when i hit the turn around i noticed that i was running close to my personal best for this run - 38mins up/35mins back. almost cracked it after and couldn't eat anything solid for a few hours. the brain was screaming out for something fizzy and loaded with sugar but i knew better and made myself a green smoothie (apples, oranges, rice milk, coconut oil, hemp seed protein, flax and a couple of handfuls of spinach). recovery from day to day has been amazing so i'll make sure i keep up with the nutrition and not slack off.

better schedule an easy day tomorrow and not race the fitness which will only lead to overtraining... been there before. hoping for a couple of big days back to back starting friday morning.

tuesday triple

felt good to abandon the car again for the run into work and back. perhaps the greatest way to get in some good training while reducing my ecological footprint and vehicle running costs.


i planned on running some hills on the way in but left late after making sure my daughter got to school in time for dancing. to make up for it i headed over to leonay at lunch and ran up cliffbrook drive until my congested lungs decided they had had enough. gave in and finished the run back to work with a 1min fast/1min slow fartlek session along the river.

the third run for the day i'm planning on running hard until the legs give out and i find my way over to meet the family at kickboxing.

high on life....

run details:

am) 42min easy (10km) - with loaded pack

noon) 62min w/ 4 x 250m hills + 15min of fartlek (~12-13km)

pm) 30min run w/ 20min hard - felt surprisingly good and strong

Monday, March 22, 2010

monday easy

after yesterday's long run i was expecting to feel it in my legs this morning but when i headed out the door my legs felt pretty darn good. ran the basic underpass loop waiting for the sun to cast it's glow upon the land.

second run at lunch was a little tougher but i cruised around taking in all the sights - penrith stp, rugby park, baseball fields, new developments, river walk, rowing club and back to work. completed the run with some fast strides to loosen up the hips. mellow tunes on the ipod.

details:

am) 51min easy (~11km) - underpass loop

pm) 46min easy (~10km) w/ 6x20" fast/40" jog - avg 151HR (max 164)

Sunday, March 21, 2010

things don't always go as planned...

when you plan out a season you expect to have to have a few good performances. ok maybe one or two don’t go as planned but looking back over the last 12 months it’s hard to see the successes amongst the failures. the north face 100 was probably the last good effort and while i was happy with the way that turned out i felt like i was lucky on that day. to sum that day up – for the first two hours felt lethargic and weak with thoughts about dropping out, started feeling stronger for about the next six hours or so and enjoyed chasing down runners before blowing my nutrition and running home on fumes but happy that i felt great at the end. looking back though i definitely feel like i could knock off considerable time on that course – probably over the first and final sections.


after that effort i lost my mojo again. thoughts of going after a marathon pr at the cities marathon ended as soon as i tried to put in a long run and found that mentally i couldn’t motivate myself to run longer than 90 minutes at a time. a few weeks out with the training not going as planned i decided to pass on the marathon and start thinking ahead towards 12ft. having a good run there in 2008(?) i thought that perhaps i could get myself in shape to break 10 hours but even with this goal the training log clearly showed a lack of long runs and volume and when the day came around i decided that i would just go out and run based on how i was feeling. i ran pretty well to pluvi and was on track for a good 6ft but at the top i faced another mental battle and self-doubt persuaded me to turn around and head back down the hill. i ran back down pluvi and sat on the side of the trail until the next runner passed which was sean and i decided that i would run with him back up to the top (and maybe all the way). at the top sean was having some issues so he told me to go on. i ran for about 15mins and then felt the need to call my wife to see how my son (and the team for which i was coach) was going in his/their last soccer game for the season. of course getting a mobile phone signal also meant that i needed to run back about a kilometre. after the phone call i decided to push it to catch up with the runners who had passed me by now. after catching them and running with them for a bit i then decided to fang it down to the caves and then reassess my desire to turn around or seek a lift. i hit the caves in just under the 5 hour mark. with a refreshment in hand i started walking back up the steep climb and 2/3 of the way up i decided to sit on a rock enjoy the sunshine and cheer on the runners as they passed on their way down. my day was finished. the joy of being out on the trails with other runners ended any negativity that i was feeling about the day.

well that turned out to be a longer summary than was meant...

following 2009/2010 race disasters included:

2009 world masters – felt like i was in shape to run around 36:30 for the 10km, splitting the first 5km in 18:05 feeling good but halfway through the second lap my hips and back started seizing up and the pace dropped off. still ran a pr but immediately after the race i started feeling sick and during the opening ceremony i was feeling like i was going to pass out. running the cross country race a few days later confirmed that i was suffering from the chicken pox. apparently as i was to discover getting the chicken pox as an adult is not pleasant. i was left very tired and broken down which lingered for months.

next up was bogong to hotham...

bogong to hotham 2010 - two months preceeding the race training went well and with a plan designed by sean i was feeling as fit as ever and confident that i would have a good race. during training some signs that i hadn’t fully recovered from the pox were evident mainly during long climbs were i felt weak and breathless but they weren’t an every day thing and i thought with a good taper and nutrition plan i would shed the fatigue and start feeling strong again. my confidence carried me to the bottom of the first climb but as the gradient increased i immediately knew that my day was not going to go as planned. at least i had a good holiday with the family.

and then six foot…

six foot 2010 - after bogong i realised something was seriously wrong with my body. a few discussions and talk of being deficient in various minerals etc including iron were tossed around. armed with some basic knowledge i tried to address these various deficiencies using nutrition and within a few weeks i started feeling better.

training for six foot started well with a few sessions run with sleep train but after a few weeks i was again feeling tired which put an end to thoughts of racing well. i even found that i was so tired leading up to the race that i was no longer getting in my morning runs shifting them instead to my lunch break which led to a reduction in time to train and volume. i also started out trying to run long on the trails but barely one attempt was successful in breaking the two hour duration. that run about six weeks out was the breakpoint in which i decided to just run the event and hopefully use it as a catalyst to start my training for my bigger goal – the north face 2010.

i won’t bore anyone with a recount of six foot but i was happy that i could have an easy day out there not pushing too hard, enjoy the hospitality of the rfs and other runners, battle the cramps and finish in 4:20.

the best outcome of the day though was that i think my motivation has finally been reignited. my plan is to also make myself accountable through this blog by recording all of my training (except the secret stuff probably of which there will be very little). it will also help to be able to go back over the log and find out what works and what doesn’t for future events.

training: week 1 (post-six foot)

sunday: most of the day spent on my feet shopping, fixing bikes and riding in the back yard. legs a little tight and sore.

monday: day two and the legs were not happy but felt ok during a 25min run around the streets. did a rpm class in the afternoon and really pushed it hard (should have backed off the intensity but didn’t). hardly got the heart rate or breathing up but sweated buckets.

tuesday: legs still very sore but took them out for a 40min run. felt loose and definitely ran faster than i should have.

wednesday: 50min run around the river.

thursday: strong 55min (12k) run while waiting for scouts to finish. great night out.

friday: spin class and 30min run at lunch

saturday: worked all day but managed to hit the trails of knapsack on the way home before finishing up at glenbrook oval for some 400s in 78-80seconds with a 1min recovery.

sunday: success!! – 2hr run on the m7 from the car park to the marathon turnaround point for a distance of around 28km.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

underdone

i haven't put in the work necessary to perform this weekend but i'm still hoping to have a good time. the north face was always the focus and i guess now is a good time to start preparing for it. does that mean i should forgo the taper and train through this weekends race or not? reduced training loads always mess with my sanity...

running with no watch or gadgets has really made keeping track of my running a somewhat meaningless task but i'll try and put something down from what i can last remember... which isn't a lot!

thursday: workout? - think it was a tempo effort - maybe 6k steady + 5k tempo + 6x200m fast // probably a second run in the morning or afternoon?
friday: slept in again (or did i?) - 2 x 10k runs - 1 easy, 1 tempo
saturday: planned to get out for a longer run but slept in again - 30mins easy at lunch
sunday: thought about running long but tired from the day before - ran workout 4x1km (~3:35/k), 4x500m (~1:40), 4x300m (in 50 something) - didn't feel hard but not really into it

while i haven't been keeping a training log i have been consistent with running between 20-35km per day during the week and except for the weekends not going as planned as i have been busy either working or with children's activities i'm still logging over 100km each week - probably closer to 150km without a long run which i'll start focusing on after six foot...

hopefully i'll have something more exciting to post from race week...

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

almost a training week...

thought i had better post something here before people think that i've stopped running...

took a while to get over some health/fitness issues i experienced after bogong but things seem to be much better now and the training is starting to resemble something that looks like i might be training for something again. still struggling to run longer than 2 hours without wanting to quit but it's more of a mental issue than a physical issue thankfully. i'm enjoying getting out again but i've been battling boredom while out on my longer runs. better sort this out quickly so that i can put in the necessary miles for north face. the plan is for more than last year.

ok enough rambling...

training:

i've stopped wearing a watch or keeping track of my runs over the last 2 months but i'm sure that during the week i have been logging between 20-30km on most days. just out running with no structured quality... an hour here an hour there... mostly twice a day except on the weekends.

had a good run at lunch yesterday covering about 12km in around 51mins and while driving home with thoughts of heading out for another run (i was planning a hill session) i saw scambullant running loops around the local grass track and decided to give that a go. turned up past the high school and by the time i reached the oval scam was leaving so it looked like a solo effort was in order. first time on the track for as long as i remember and i wasn't expecting much. the legs were also a little tired from the lunch run which was only 4 hours prior but i was happily surprised with the outcome...

the unplanned session ended up being 4x800m (2'), 4x400m (1'), 4x200m (1' walk back to start)

4x800m
800m - 2:47
800m - 2:44
800m - 2:42
800m - 2:41

4x400m
400m - 1:21
400m - 1:12
400m - 1:16
400m - 1:17

4x200m
200m - 0:31
200m - 0:30
200m - 0:30
200m - 0:31

just compared this workout with a similar effort in september 2009 two weeks before world masters - surprising

4 x 800m - 2:51, 2:51, 2:49, 2:49
5 x 400m - 1:24, 1:22, 1:22, 1:21, 1:19
4 x 200m - :35.6, :34.6, :32.7, :32.1

felt better and better as the session went on. i have a real love/hate relationship with the track but i know i should get out there and do it if i hope to improve. i'll call this week one of my quest for speed and build up to a larger volume of workload. perhaps i should be tapering for 6ft sometime in the next week or so... racing always gets in the way!!!