Two sleeps to the big race and all is in readiness.
With three hours left before my flight from Sydney to Auckland (leaving at the much friendlier time of 9:40am), there is absolutely no risk of my next post being about yet another disastrous sleep-in. All being well, the flight gets into Auckland at 2:45pm New Zealand time, with the race starting at 6:50am on Sunday (4:50am Sydney time).
The past couple of weeks training after the Melbourne run were OK. I completed every session except one - the final 2 hour 20 minute long run last weekend, where I bailed out an hour short. I’m not sure what the problem was. Mostly it was motivational - I just didn’t feel like going on - and some of it was technical. I forgot to bring an extra gel along, and there were some chafing issues up top which are getting a bit irritating. Still, the second last week saw my second highest mileage of this 137-week quest so far - 61.13 kilometres, just short of the 65.56 kilometres I ran in the countdown to New York back in March.
The final taper week was navigated successfully. Even the sprint session last Monday, which I almost didn’t attempt. It was that equivalent session in June 2015 that saw me tear my hamstring just before the Gold Coast half marathon and ever since, I’ve been deeply suspicious of it (the session, not the hamstring, although that’s still a little tight). I actually decided to skip the session for that reason in the days before this year’s Gold Coast half. But this time, despite my trepidations, it went without incident. My final run yesterday - a 30 minute tempo effort - was also problem free.
My goal for Auckland, which will be something of a stretch, is a sub-1:55. The organisers have arranged pacers for both the 1:50 and 2:00 times, so I’ve decided to just lob in behind the 2 hour pacing group and look to break away in the last 5 kilometres or so, depending how I feel. With my recent back injury, my training for this one hasn’t been as solid or consistent as I would have liked in order to have a realistic shot at a sub-1:50 time. But the Melbourne run felt so strong, I like the idea of cruising along for the first part of the race and trying to pick up the pace over the final part. And, of course, collapsing exhausted over the finish line with nothing left in the tank. It was also quite motivational passing all those runners at the back-end of Melbourne, so hopefully the same thing can happen here and I can come away with a good mid-1:50 time.
This is actually my second Auckland half marathon. The first was back in October 2005 when I ran it in 1:58:09 - in between my first (Sydney, September 2005) and second (Honolulu, December 2005) marathons. It wasn’t a particularly memorable event. I do have memories of getting the ferry over to the very pretty Davenport for the race start in the dawn hours, the run over the Auckland Harbour Bridge towards the end, and the finish in a park. But not much else.
After the race, I’ll be staying in New Zealand for a few days. Over the years, I’ve spent quite some time in the country's South Island but not so much in the North. So I’ve hired a car to drive around it for a few days to see what I can see (including a trek along the famed Tongariro Alpine Crossing - regarded as one of the best one day walks in the world) before returning home. Consequently, I’m going to have to keep you all in suspense about the outcome for a week or so.
Wish me luck!
Thursday, 27 October 2016
Friday, 21 October 2016
‘Race’ Report: Melbourne Half Marathon - Sunday 16 October 2016
It was another wonderful event on the wonderful Melbourne half marathon course. As you might remember, I was only intending for it to be a training run, with the goal Auckland half marathon race coming up in a couple of weeks. I finished in a time of 2:13:32, and as it happened, I’ve probably never felt in better shape running a half marathon.
That said, sharp-eyed readers will remember me writing, very sincerely, only a few days back that “my plan is simply to lock onto the 2 hour 20 minute pacers and follow them to the end. No heroics. No surges. No final lap sprint around the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground. It’s all about staying disciplined and focussed and just seeing out the distance”.
So how did I end up finishing over 6 minutes - almost a kilometre - in front of them? Well, I’m glad you asked. But before I explain, I need to briefly fill you in on the lead-up to the run - which almost didn’t happen for me.
I mentioned in a throwaway comment in the last blog entry that - “I’m a bit nervous now, actually, although it probably has more to do with making sure I get to the airport early enough in time for tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) 7:00am flight to Melbourne than anything else.”
Well, as it turns out, I did miss that flight. For some reason, my iPad ran out of battery power during the night, and so the iPad alarm clock that I had carefully set the night before didn’t go off. When I did wake up, I was shocked to see sunlight out the window. A quick check of the clock on my phone showed it was just after 6:30am. After a silent expletive, I started running through some options about how to get to Melbourne and the consequences of not going. Then the phone rang. It was the airline’s boarding people chasing up late passengers. When I told them I’d slept in and wasn’t going to make it, they sounded quite happy to hear it. I assumed (or hoped) it had more to do with them not having to wait for someone who was at that moment running frantically from the airport carpark than taking some pleasure in my simple misfortune.
I don’t have a habit of missing planes - this was my first. So I didn’t have a plan B. I quickly dismissed the driving option - I simply wasn’t going to make it by the 3:00pm cut-off time to collect my race bib. The ‘abort’ option was also discounted. I'd end up losing both my airfares, one night of my accommodation, my race entry fee and, significantly, miss a medal. The only realistic option was to find another flight. Which I eventually did, although I still don’t want to think about the price I had to pay for it - even if it did include a free in-flight snack and cup of tea.
I eventually made it to the race bib collection point with plenty of time to spare and, after a short wander around some inner city streets afterwards, retired early to my Melbourne CBD hotel.
After a solid night’s sleep, I woke in plenty of time to get ready for the run. The forecast, which was accurate, was for a windy and mild (c.19 degrees) morning and I arrived at the start area about 40 minutes before the 8:00am gun. As with the Gold Coast, my strategy was to join the corral close to the front so I couldn’t possibly miss the 2 hour 20 minute pacers with their balloons and signs going past. And as with the Gold Coast, it worked beautifully.
There were two pacers - an older gentleman (who carried a flag and sign and who seemed to love a chat, even if it meant he had to slow a little and then increase the pace when the conversation was over), and a younger women who carried the balloon and who kept pretty much to herself while running very steadily. I started out locked on to the older guy, but his slightly erratic running style caused me to follow the other pacer. I stayed with her, and the little group which had formed around her, until shortly after the drink station at the 12-13 kilometre point. I moved ahead slightly then to run in some clearer space, but still maintaining the 2 hour 20 minute pace - or so I thought.
After a while, I started turning around to see if I could see the pacers, but without success. I thought for a moment they must have passed me somehow, but I knew I would have seen them if they had. I was also running very slowly thinking they would have to catch up soon enough when I could lock back on. As it happened, I was starting to feel stronger and stronger and the slow pace was getting a little uncomfortable, so I made the decision at about 14 kilometres just to run easily and not bother any longer with the pacing.
By this time, the course was heading back into the city on a long, tree-lined boulevard and as I ran, I noticed I was passing lots of runners who seemed to be struggling in the windy conditions. I felt particularly strong over the last five kilometres, especially over the steeper foot bridges, which I remember being a real problem last year.
I finally cruised into the famed MCG, with the lap of the ground just an incredible experience. I was trying to imagine what it must feel like for the sportspeople who run onto this ground when there’s an 80,000-plus crowd, when I found myself coming into the final straight. For some reason, I decided to sprint the last 100 metres, passing several more runners, and then crossed the finish line feeling remarkably fresh. I remember last year I was absolutely exhausted and need to spend quite some time sitting in the grandstands to recover. This year, I crossed the line, easily ascended the stairs to collect my medal (after I realised I wasn’t going to be able to hang around to thank my pacers for their diligence), and then walked back to the hotel.
Officially, I finished the race in 6,018th place from 9,420 finishers. The word at the start was that there were around 11,500 starters so obviously the race took its toll on quite a few people. The St John’s ambulance people tending to various fallen runners at several spots in the final few kilometres was testament to that.
The pacing results showed that my first 5 kilometres was run at a speed of 9.53km/h, the second at 9.23km/h, the next 8 kilometres at 9.67km/h (this is where I moved ahead of the pacers) and the final 3.1 kilometres at a speed of 9.35km/h (when I was cruising to the finish).
Overall, I was very happy with the race and especially the way I felt so strong throughout. But it was only a training run, and I was a bit disappointed in myself for not showing the discipline to stick with the pacers come what may.
Next up - Auckland. A preview of that one is coming soon.
That said, sharp-eyed readers will remember me writing, very sincerely, only a few days back that “my plan is simply to lock onto the 2 hour 20 minute pacers and follow them to the end. No heroics. No surges. No final lap sprint around the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground. It’s all about staying disciplined and focussed and just seeing out the distance”.
So how did I end up finishing over 6 minutes - almost a kilometre - in front of them? Well, I’m glad you asked. But before I explain, I need to briefly fill you in on the lead-up to the run - which almost didn’t happen for me.
I mentioned in a throwaway comment in the last blog entry that - “I’m a bit nervous now, actually, although it probably has more to do with making sure I get to the airport early enough in time for tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) 7:00am flight to Melbourne than anything else.”
Well, as it turns out, I did miss that flight. For some reason, my iPad ran out of battery power during the night, and so the iPad alarm clock that I had carefully set the night before didn’t go off. When I did wake up, I was shocked to see sunlight out the window. A quick check of the clock on my phone showed it was just after 6:30am. After a silent expletive, I started running through some options about how to get to Melbourne and the consequences of not going. Then the phone rang. It was the airline’s boarding people chasing up late passengers. When I told them I’d slept in and wasn’t going to make it, they sounded quite happy to hear it. I assumed (or hoped) it had more to do with them not having to wait for someone who was at that moment running frantically from the airport carpark than taking some pleasure in my simple misfortune.
I don’t have a habit of missing planes - this was my first. So I didn’t have a plan B. I quickly dismissed the driving option - I simply wasn’t going to make it by the 3:00pm cut-off time to collect my race bib. The ‘abort’ option was also discounted. I'd end up losing both my airfares, one night of my accommodation, my race entry fee and, significantly, miss a medal. The only realistic option was to find another flight. Which I eventually did, although I still don’t want to think about the price I had to pay for it - even if it did include a free in-flight snack and cup of tea.
I eventually made it to the race bib collection point with plenty of time to spare and, after a short wander around some inner city streets afterwards, retired early to my Melbourne CBD hotel.
After a solid night’s sleep, I woke in plenty of time to get ready for the run. The forecast, which was accurate, was for a windy and mild (c.19 degrees) morning and I arrived at the start area about 40 minutes before the 8:00am gun. As with the Gold Coast, my strategy was to join the corral close to the front so I couldn’t possibly miss the 2 hour 20 minute pacers with their balloons and signs going past. And as with the Gold Coast, it worked beautifully.
There were two pacers - an older gentleman (who carried a flag and sign and who seemed to love a chat, even if it meant he had to slow a little and then increase the pace when the conversation was over), and a younger women who carried the balloon and who kept pretty much to herself while running very steadily. I started out locked on to the older guy, but his slightly erratic running style caused me to follow the other pacer. I stayed with her, and the little group which had formed around her, until shortly after the drink station at the 12-13 kilometre point. I moved ahead slightly then to run in some clearer space, but still maintaining the 2 hour 20 minute pace - or so I thought.
After a while, I started turning around to see if I could see the pacers, but without success. I thought for a moment they must have passed me somehow, but I knew I would have seen them if they had. I was also running very slowly thinking they would have to catch up soon enough when I could lock back on. As it happened, I was starting to feel stronger and stronger and the slow pace was getting a little uncomfortable, so I made the decision at about 14 kilometres just to run easily and not bother any longer with the pacing.
By this time, the course was heading back into the city on a long, tree-lined boulevard and as I ran, I noticed I was passing lots of runners who seemed to be struggling in the windy conditions. I felt particularly strong over the last five kilometres, especially over the steeper foot bridges, which I remember being a real problem last year.
I finally cruised into the famed MCG, with the lap of the ground just an incredible experience. I was trying to imagine what it must feel like for the sportspeople who run onto this ground when there’s an 80,000-plus crowd, when I found myself coming into the final straight. For some reason, I decided to sprint the last 100 metres, passing several more runners, and then crossed the finish line feeling remarkably fresh. I remember last year I was absolutely exhausted and need to spend quite some time sitting in the grandstands to recover. This year, I crossed the line, easily ascended the stairs to collect my medal (after I realised I wasn’t going to be able to hang around to thank my pacers for their diligence), and then walked back to the hotel.
Officially, I finished the race in 6,018th place from 9,420 finishers. The word at the start was that there were around 11,500 starters so obviously the race took its toll on quite a few people. The St John’s ambulance people tending to various fallen runners at several spots in the final few kilometres was testament to that.
The pacing results showed that my first 5 kilometres was run at a speed of 9.53km/h, the second at 9.23km/h, the next 8 kilometres at 9.67km/h (this is where I moved ahead of the pacers) and the final 3.1 kilometres at a speed of 9.35km/h (when I was cruising to the finish).
Overall, I was very happy with the race and especially the way I felt so strong throughout. But it was only a training run, and I was a bit disappointed in myself for not showing the discipline to stick with the pacers come what may.
Next up - Auckland. A preview of that one is coming soon.
Thursday, 13 October 2016
Melbourne Half Marathon - Preview
Two sleeps until the Melbourne half and it’s good to be getting back into a racing environment.
After that embarrassing City-to-Surf sleep-in back in August and missing the Harbour Bridge 3.8K (on 18 September) during my back injury hiatus, I haven’t raced since the Gold Coast half on 3 July. And while, technically, this isn’t going to be a ‘race’ for me, it still looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and has feathers like a duck - and I’m still going to be nervous come race morning. I’m a bit nervous now, actually, although it probably has more to do with making sure I get to the airport early enough in time for tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) 7:00am flight to Melbourne than anything else.
I’ve had three solid weeks of running since returning from my back problem, with weekly kilometre totals of 37.13K, 30.84K and 36.02K. This part of the schedule corresponds to weeks 8-10 of Higdon’s 12-week advanced half marathon program, and if all goes to plan, I should be clocking up close to 70 kilometres in the coming week before the final week’s taper leading into the Auckland goal race on Sunday 30 October.
The only training glitch was last Saturday with my scheduled 2 hour 10 minute run. It started out well enough, but as I came up to the first hour, I was bombarded with some quite negative thoughts and quickly lost motivation to see out the run. So I stopped at exactly one hour, with 9.4 kilometres on the clock, jumped on the stair machine for 20 minutes as some sort of punishment and as a vain attempt to salve my conscience, and went home. It was the first time I’d given up like that since a week of missed sessions due to fatigue and motivation problems just over a year ago. It was as disappointing as it was inexplicable, but I guess these things happen from time to time, and you just plough on.
By contrast, the last couple of days looked like being particularly tough - especially today’s 8.1 kilometre run at ‘race pace’ (which, for me, equates to 8 x 1K's at a progressively increasing speed of 10.8km/h to 11.5km/h, with a final 100 metres at 11.6km/h - all at a gradient of 0.7%). But I absolutely smashed it. It was one of those sensational runs you get every now and again where you just don’t get tired and feel like you could go forever. I'm thinking that maybe my brain must have been offering me some sort of compensation for forcing me to pull the plug on that run less than a week before.
Anyway, the Melbourne race kicks off at 8:00am on Sunday 16 October, and assuming I make my flight, my plan is simply to lock onto the 2 hour 20 minute pacers and follow them to the end. No heroics. No surges. No final lap sprint around the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground. It’s all about staying disciplined and focussed and just seeing out the distance.
The Sunday weather forecast at the moment is cloudy with a minimum of 17 degrees, a maximum of 22 and a 90% chance of rain, although mostly in the afternoon and evening. I would have preferred a cooler start, and the cloud means it’s probably going to be a little more humid than I’d like, but Melbourne really is notorious for the changeability of its weather, so anything is possible.
I’ll pick up my race bib at the race expo when I arrive there tomorrow and take it easy at my CBD hotel for the rest of the day. I was in Melbourne a few weeks ago to watch some football matches so I had enough of a wander around town back then to satisfy my curiosity. This time, it’s just business, so it will be a very quiet day and an early night.
I’ll let you know how I fared.
After that embarrassing City-to-Surf sleep-in back in August and missing the Harbour Bridge 3.8K (on 18 September) during my back injury hiatus, I haven’t raced since the Gold Coast half on 3 July. And while, technically, this isn’t going to be a ‘race’ for me, it still looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and has feathers like a duck - and I’m still going to be nervous come race morning. I’m a bit nervous now, actually, although it probably has more to do with making sure I get to the airport early enough in time for tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) 7:00am flight to Melbourne than anything else.
I’ve had three solid weeks of running since returning from my back problem, with weekly kilometre totals of 37.13K, 30.84K and 36.02K. This part of the schedule corresponds to weeks 8-10 of Higdon’s 12-week advanced half marathon program, and if all goes to plan, I should be clocking up close to 70 kilometres in the coming week before the final week’s taper leading into the Auckland goal race on Sunday 30 October.
The only training glitch was last Saturday with my scheduled 2 hour 10 minute run. It started out well enough, but as I came up to the first hour, I was bombarded with some quite negative thoughts and quickly lost motivation to see out the run. So I stopped at exactly one hour, with 9.4 kilometres on the clock, jumped on the stair machine for 20 minutes as some sort of punishment and as a vain attempt to salve my conscience, and went home. It was the first time I’d given up like that since a week of missed sessions due to fatigue and motivation problems just over a year ago. It was as disappointing as it was inexplicable, but I guess these things happen from time to time, and you just plough on.
By contrast, the last couple of days looked like being particularly tough - especially today’s 8.1 kilometre run at ‘race pace’ (which, for me, equates to 8 x 1K's at a progressively increasing speed of 10.8km/h to 11.5km/h, with a final 100 metres at 11.6km/h - all at a gradient of 0.7%). But I absolutely smashed it. It was one of those sensational runs you get every now and again where you just don’t get tired and feel like you could go forever. I'm thinking that maybe my brain must have been offering me some sort of compensation for forcing me to pull the plug on that run less than a week before.
Anyway, the Melbourne race kicks off at 8:00am on Sunday 16 October, and assuming I make my flight, my plan is simply to lock onto the 2 hour 20 minute pacers and follow them to the end. No heroics. No surges. No final lap sprint around the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground. It’s all about staying disciplined and focussed and just seeing out the distance.
The Sunday weather forecast at the moment is cloudy with a minimum of 17 degrees, a maximum of 22 and a 90% chance of rain, although mostly in the afternoon and evening. I would have preferred a cooler start, and the cloud means it’s probably going to be a little more humid than I’d like, but Melbourne really is notorious for the changeability of its weather, so anything is possible.
I’ll pick up my race bib at the race expo when I arrive there tomorrow and take it easy at my CBD hotel for the rest of the day. I was in Melbourne a few weeks ago to watch some football matches so I had enough of a wander around town back then to satisfy my curiosity. This time, it’s just business, so it will be a very quiet day and an early night.
I’ll let you know how I fared.
Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Recovery
We’re now just about a week and a half out from my Melbourne half-marathon training run (Sunday 16 October) and three and a half weeks from my Auckland half-marathon goal race (Sunday 30 October) and things are slowly returning to normal.
As I flagged a couple of posts back, this particular preparation has been significantly hampered by a lower back injury that had me off the treadmill for close to four weeks. But after some judicious stretching (prescribed by the physio) and a rest from running, it's great to be getting back into it.
That’s not to say there weren’t some positives from the break. The injury forced me onto the bike for several hour-long sessions. And while that, the occasional spin class and the stair machine, were all excellent challenges, there’s nothing like clocking up the miles on the treadmill.
Even so, I have decided to continue with some regular time on the stair machine (the Lifefitness ‘Stairmaster’) at the end of most of my training runs now. It’s a deceptively very tough piece of equipment. I progressively crank up the effort level from its easiest setting every two minutes until it reaches level 10, and then see how long it takes until complete exhaustion forces me to stop. So far, the most I’ve been able to manage is 22 minutes, but I make sure it’s never less than 20 minutes.
My first actual run back was an easy 5 kilometres on 26 September (my first run since 31 August). I reached for my back at points during that run but there was certainly no pain. Nor has there been on any of the subsequent - mostly daily - runs.
My first scheduled long run was a two hour effort on 29 September, which also went well. While I was sore and very fatigued for a couple of hours afterwards, and while there were some points during the run where I thought about cutting it short, I was pleased I stuck with it right through to the end.
I have another long run (2 hours, 10 minutes) this coming weekend followed a week later by the Melbourne race, where the plan again is to shadow the 2 hour, 20 minute pacers for the duration. Last year, it was simply to avoid exacerbating a left calf muscle injury. This time, it's just a steady training run over a very pretty running course in a wonderful city.
Finally, after 738 kilometres, I’ve retired the running shoes that took me around both the New York and Gold Coast half marathon races earlier this year. In their place, I’ve now been fitted with a pair of 'Nike Air Zoom Odyssey 2' shoes by my long-time shoe expert at The Running Hub in Sydney’s Potts Point (whose judgement I trust implicitly). He tells me these are the newest version of the Nike’s that I’d been running in and confirmed their suitability after filming me on their in-store treadmill.
And so far, so good.
As I flagged a couple of posts back, this particular preparation has been significantly hampered by a lower back injury that had me off the treadmill for close to four weeks. But after some judicious stretching (prescribed by the physio) and a rest from running, it's great to be getting back into it.
That’s not to say there weren’t some positives from the break. The injury forced me onto the bike for several hour-long sessions. And while that, the occasional spin class and the stair machine, were all excellent challenges, there’s nothing like clocking up the miles on the treadmill.
Even so, I have decided to continue with some regular time on the stair machine (the Lifefitness ‘Stairmaster’) at the end of most of my training runs now. It’s a deceptively very tough piece of equipment. I progressively crank up the effort level from its easiest setting every two minutes until it reaches level 10, and then see how long it takes until complete exhaustion forces me to stop. So far, the most I’ve been able to manage is 22 minutes, but I make sure it’s never less than 20 minutes.
My first actual run back was an easy 5 kilometres on 26 September (my first run since 31 August). I reached for my back at points during that run but there was certainly no pain. Nor has there been on any of the subsequent - mostly daily - runs.
My first scheduled long run was a two hour effort on 29 September, which also went well. While I was sore and very fatigued for a couple of hours afterwards, and while there were some points during the run where I thought about cutting it short, I was pleased I stuck with it right through to the end.
I have another long run (2 hours, 10 minutes) this coming weekend followed a week later by the Melbourne race, where the plan again is to shadow the 2 hour, 20 minute pacers for the duration. Last year, it was simply to avoid exacerbating a left calf muscle injury. This time, it's just a steady training run over a very pretty running course in a wonderful city.
Finally, after 738 kilometres, I’ve retired the running shoes that took me around both the New York and Gold Coast half marathon races earlier this year. In their place, I’ve now been fitted with a pair of 'Nike Air Zoom Odyssey 2' shoes by my long-time shoe expert at The Running Hub in Sydney’s Potts Point (whose judgement I trust implicitly). He tells me these are the newest version of the Nike’s that I’d been running in and confirmed their suitability after filming me on their in-store treadmill.
And so far, so good.
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