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.
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