Wednesday, October 27, 2010

weekly update: 25-31 october

i'm finding as the training progresses that i'm hard pressed to even remember back a day or two to what i've put out there on the roads. so in order to preserve the detail i'm committed to updating the log on a more (semi) regular basis...

training week (25-31/10/2010):



mon: 15km (1:08) steady run/21km (1:31) steady

- on what has become the norm i ran the first session at lunch. started out feeling the quad fatigue from yesterday afternoon's 40k'er but loosened up and felt good over the last 30mins. pushed a little hard and worried that i'd have a tough three loops of the two bridges loop three hours later. fueled up with 1.5 litres of freshly squeezed organic orange juice and a dozen fresh dates. race fuel test!

- on the second run i felt great and even managed to run the last 5 odd kms at under 4min pace. thought it would be a good idea to break out of the ultrarunning shuffle!

tue: 60min recovery run

- not surprising today's run was tough. got through a loop in 30mins and was heading back to work back convinced myself that i needed to HTFU and keep going. thankfully i did as the last 30 minutes was blissful.

** discovered that not all smoothies are good no matter how much fruit you add to them. not sure that adding avocado, beets and greens together in the one mix can be successful.


wed: 15km (1:06) steady/31km (2:15) easy

- went out at lunch for a loop of the lakes feeling good after yesterday's easy day. worked, ate and then 90 minutes later got out again. the storm provided some interest as i started thinking about what the safest place would be to get struck by lightening. might start carrying some food/drink with me as the runs get over two hours. discovered my new superpower - jedi vision. my awareness on the way home was out of this world. 

thu: 11k (somewhat) easy // 20k w/ 12k moderate (0:49)

- actually made it out of bed after another night of sleeplessness. i would have thought with the increase volume there would be a direct correlation with an increased need to sleep but unfortunately my body hasn't got the message. on to the run... not much to report. felt good on the flats and small rises but quads didn't want to help out on the climb up from the railway. achilles a little tender to so better keep an eye on it.

- will get out at lunch and try and put in a good 20k.


fri: 17k (1:15) // 13.4k easy (2 x two bridges loop) 

- went out at lunch for yet another 15k loop of the lake to discover that 3/4 of the way around the bridge was fenced off and i had to turn around and back track. don't think i fueled enough prior to the run as i could feel my edges beginning to tear. i was focusing on running at an easy effort trying to establish my mental strategy for race day thinking about what it will be like to run through the night and into the morning... but that all went to hell when i realised i had to run an extra couple of kms. discovered a large hole in my mental fabric. need to patch that up so i can continue to operate and adjust when things don't go according to plan.

- will head out after work for another triple loop before heading home giving me just over 100 miles for the last five days. feeling that my body is handling the mileage effort without stressing over it.

sat: 13k (1:01) easy run
- after a day of physical work run got ugly and decided to cut it short. planned on trying again tomorrow.

sun: 30k (2:23) easy
- another day spent on house renos left me with a sore back and dog tired but headed out to log some miles. finished up with a sore foot and in need of a rest day (tomorrow).


total: 200km run

Monday, October 25, 2010

i'm losing my mind...

another solid week. nothing really stands out as far as training is concerned but big smiley stamp for consistancy and volume.


training week (18-24/10/2010):


mon: 10km recovery run/20km steady

tue: 12k easy/20k moderate

wed: 15k easy/20k moderate (1:28)

thu: 23k moderate (1:47)

fri: 14k easy/21k steady (1:33)

sat: rest day

sun: 40km run (3:08)


total: run 195km
** (more than I added up in my head. must be tired)

finally sorted out most of the crew. last time i went away with these guys (non-runners but good mates) on a fishing weekend it involved a trip to the cooma emergency room. all i can say about that is what happens on camp, stays in camp... there are only so many things you'll do for a mate!

plenty more to organise including accommodation and race nutrition/hydration strategy.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

my name's on the list

'ith nervous anticipation i went on the computer last saturday to check whether my name was on the confirmed entrants list for this years C2K. i was not expecting the list to be published but the page update confirmed my entry has been excepted. blind terror followed...

for those that don't know C2K or rather Coast to Kosciuszko is a 246km ultra marathon race from the beach in Eden to the highest point of Australia the summit of Mount Kosciuszko. i feel tired just contemplating that thought.

training/fitness update:

for the last few months - OK probably since TNF100 in May i've been plodding along, regurgitating my usual training week of around 100km monday-friday with another run or two over the weekend dependent upon my motivation and desire to get out of bed for a typical weekly mileage somewhere in the 110-140km range. i've also been commuting to work and back a few times a week on the bike and on average squeezed in a spin class or two just for the variety and which also provides a way of working hard when the body is feeling a little ragged after a few too many runs. i've also been on an adventure with sleep train for some added variety.

increasing mileage

since i put in my appllication for C2K i have been slowly creeping up the mileage but nothing serious as i had low expectations for actually being accepted this year - but you never can be too sure can you?

over the last 8-9 days my daily average has crept up from around the usual 20km/day closer to 30km/day and i'm excited to report that i've already felt an increase in fitness. i'm hoping when i go beyond 200km/week i have the same sort of experience i had before TNF in 2008.

i'm not going crazy with the long runs or weekly mileage just aiming to be consistent and include a couple of runs around the 30-40km distance, a few in the 20-30km range and the remainder recovery runs in the 10-20km.

this weekend i'll get out for something a little longer - but how long is too long? 50-60km or perhaps i need to go out and work on something a little longer. what about back-to-back long runs? nothing planned or set in stone and no schedule to work off. no quality sessions planned either but i'll make sure to include some short sprints or fartlek when i'm feeling good to help with the leg turnover.


training week (12-17/10/2010):

mon: 1 ride; 12km recovery run

tue: 1 ride; 2 runs totalling 30km (10k easy/20k moderate)

wed: 2 runs totalling 30+km(12+k easy/18k moderate run)

thu: 2 runs totalling 27km (10k easy/17k moderate)

fri: 18k easy

sat: 25k run (2:00)

sun: 32km run (2:30)

total: run ~174km - 10 runs; 2 rides