8km incl. 4x600m Intervals

I warmed up on the way down to the Mackillop playing fields for the first of the “VO2” sessions on my program. The guide says to run them at 5km race pace with a 2 minute jogging recovery but warns against getting carried away and doing then too hard, so it seems like a fine line.

I actually did 700m for the first one as I miscalculated, but did a more accurate 600m for the other three. I finished the 2nd and 3rd 600m in the time it took for the 1st 700m! But on the final hit out I was a bit more relaxed and just focused on a good breathing rhythm and maintaining form, and I ended up with a quicker time for an easier perceived effort. Nice finish!

I even had a spectator who hung around to watch me for one of the intervals in the form of a guy who was having a little trouble holding himself steady and had a 1.25L coke that was no doubt more than it seemed, even though it was 7.30am. After a few minutes he probably decided he had more exciting places to be so he continued on his journey.

So that rounded off 137km for the month, which is about 20% up on last month. So in a way the food poisoning did me a favour in terms of having a few days off and not going overboard in my build up!

23km Aerobic Run

As my car was being serviced today I drove to the mechanic in Gordon St and headed off from there around 6am. Bit of a hilly start through the Clifton area before joining the road out to Settlement Point. At the known km markers I was keeping a good pace at just under 6min /km before surprising myself with a really easy 5.15km. I soon realised why as I hit the turnaround and found myself heading straight into a stiff breeze off the water. I still did the return km in 5.45 though.

A few guys from the running group were finishing their run and heading for a coffee as I was heading back, but I still had a long way to go so no stopping for me! (wow, good effort – 4x2 letter words ending in “o” strung together) I made it back to the car in an hour to collect my stash of Espresso Love GU, water, hat and sunnies. I didn’t find the GU as palatable as the High Five that I had tried before – a bit thicker and possibly an acquired taste. But once it was down it was fine and no stomach issues. So whilst I didn’t feel the love to start with, it really did grow on me.

Continuing on through town, I ran along the river to Town Beach, then coastal to Shelly Beach. Seeing as I was back near home sooner than I expected I wound my way back around the Waniora area, picking up a Gatorade at the local shop which went down really well by that stage. Finished up in 2 hours 15 minutes then a 15 minute walk to cool down and some stretches.

Thanks lulu and blkbox…you were right and I woke up fine this morning. I felt pretty good through the run and afterwards. Obviously I’m feeling it a bit in the legs, but not too bad considering it’s the (another) longest run I’ve ever done. I was happy with my pace, and apart from breathing a bit heavier up a couple of the bigger hills to maintain some pace, for the most part my breathing was very relaxed. I remember thinking at the 1hr 45min mark (which is around where I’d like to be finishing the Half) that I still had plenty in me to either go longer or to have gone faster to that point. In fact, I put on a surge during the final 5 minutes of the run just to make sure I could push a bit harder after going for that long.

It certainly makes me appreciate it more when I read about some of the longer runs people do, particularly marathon and ultra runs. I know I can get there down the track, but it’s not bad considering that a couple of months ago I could count on one hand the number of times I’d actually run for longer than an hour.

7km with 12min Hill Effort

After a bit of a warm up I upped the pace for a hilly 12 minute hit out and a fairly decent net uphill at the end of it. Wound my way back home in under 40 min and felt unusually flat after it all. I’ll be wanting to get over that as my 2 hour run is coming forward to Friday.

8km with 4x300m Sprints

I decided to drive into town this morning for a flat run out to Settlement Point. It took a while to warm up with a chilly headwind for the first couple of k’s (not quite -4 deg, but cool enough for Port!).

After I warmed up I was feeling pretty good and felt strong through the sprints. Knocked out a 5 minute km during the cool down that felt really slow and cruisy and seemed more like what a 6 min km usually feels like. So I was pleased about that, and then pulled it back to about 5 and a half’s for the rest of the run back (by 5.5 in previous posts I actually meant 5 and a half, not 5 min 50 sec).

I grabbed a coffee on the way home and drove back along the beaches to check out the surf. It’s looking great again this morning and if I wasn’t working would be keen for a swim. Maybe tomorrow, being Anzac Day. Was a little buzzed by the time I got home after the run, the coffee and the scenery!!

Saturday 17km Run on a Spectacular Morning

Left about 8am and headed in the direction of the industrial area. Worked my way to Westport Park, followed the river to Town Beach, and then hugged the coast home. Said hi to Miners as he rode past on his bike early on in the run (no doubt he was riding back from a café as has become his habit of late! ;) hehe).

It was a truly spectacular morning and I’m glad I did the water sections on the way home. So rather than follow the road I took some scenic detours such as down to Flynns Beach, around Kenny Walk and then seeing as it was low tide I ran along the firm sand at Shelly Beach Following a burst of inspiration combined with the earlier sighting I even finished up by scrambling along Miner’s Run! I took the steep stair climb out and had a leisurely 10 minute walk home.

I persevered with the hand held drink bottle on this run, and didn’t seem to notice it much at all this time. Still, I may look at picking up a fuel belt next time I’m in Sydney. In the meantime I might even develop some upper body tone!! I didn't catch the carrying arm slacking off at all and switched sides every 10 minutes.

The girls were heading out shopping as I returned, so while I relaxed with Breakfast Part II, I got to blast the house full of music which is something I don’t get the chance to do very often since Isabel was born!!

Whilst sitting back looking at the stunning day outside and remembering how good the water looked down at Flynns earlier I soon got motivated for a bodysurf. The Easter crowds had gone, the water was just perfect and there were some great little waves that had a nice kick to them.

So all in all it was a fantastic morning. After a shower and some lunch I feel great now and I’m going to cash in the relaxing afternoon that I’ve earned. The garden and gutters can wait until tomorrow seeing as they've already waited a few weeks already!!

Thursday 9km Tempo Run

I wanted to do the group run for the first time in a long time yesterday arvo out to Settlement Point (8km return) but just couldn’t get away. So I did it this morning instead. It suits the session I was doing as I know the km markers and expected they would line up with the pace I was running.
It worked almost perfectly – 2km warm up at 5.5 min/km pace, then 2 km at 4.5 pace, a 1km recovery, then another 2km at 4.5 pace (just slightly slower), then an easy run back to the start via an extra km through town to the breakwall.

I’ve been very busy with work the last day or two in getting a new project up and running for a customer…just finished setting it all up on their network so finally found the change to blog! Hmmm, wonder what’s happening in the world?!

6km Recovery Run

Ran in and around the Emerald Downs Estate by the golf course this morning. Once again I was aided by the HRM in keeping it nice and easy.

It’s another beautiful morning and the run was very relaxing apart from the dog that charged at me from out of nowhere shortly after I set off. He wasn’t really aggressive - I think he just wanted to join me for some exercise.

Not really sure the recovery beers were much help - probably because they were lights...think I'll stick with the full strength next time. Much better was the ocean fresh BBQ fish...gotta love it when the Snook are biting and there's someone out catching them for you. They were huge beasts, and great eating!!

6km with 4x200m Sprints

After sleeping in this morning I didn’t get away until after 8am. Seeing as I now have my Lighthouse Beach flat sprint and recovery sections all mapped out I headed down there for this morning’s session.

It’s a different scene to what I’m used to when I’m running, with the warmth of the day already building, the sun up in the sky and heaps more people out running, wandering around, walking their dogs and checking out or going for a surf.

After the time off last week I was feeling a little drained towards the end of it all, but that’s to be expected and I feel fine this afternoon. In fact I feel in perfect shape to head off to a mid afternoon BBQ and knock over a couple of recovery beers. I can then consider myself carbo loaded for a recovery run tomorrow morning!

Easy 6km Easter run

The pain is now a distant memory and with some quality family and relaxation time under the belt over the last few days I went for what I wanted to be a really easy hit out at sunrise. Even so I strapped on the heart rate monitor to help keep the HR down in the 130’s for the bulk of the time. It proved it’s usefulness as the temptation to speed up was ever present, but there’s plenty of opportunity for that tomorrow.

It was quieter on the roads than normal even at that early hour, with most others no doubt still asleep or hoeing into chocolate eggs despite the clear fresh start to the day. For me there was plenty of time for that later!

No thanks, no dirty chicken for me

Well, that’s what I should have said. Instead I’ve been floored with a nasty little case of food poisoning for the last couple of days. Prime suspect is the reheated takeaway chicken dish that I had for lunch on Monday!

Tuesday was terrible…made it to mid morning before I just couldn’t sit up or concentrate at all. I ended up lying in bed without the energy or desire to move, yet having that restlessness where you can’t stop thrashing about because your muscles are aching. You don’t want to move because it might make the pain worse, yet keep hoping that a new position will ease the pain just a bit. At its worst it felt like I was in the tunnel where the daylight seems so far away…like you’ll never get out of there. I find it interesting that even though you logically know it will be over in a day or two, at the time you can’t help but get caught up in the drama of the situation and feeling sorry for yourself!!

So I couldn’t do anything more than force a glass or two of water and lemonade and a few pieces of toast down on Tuesday. By Wednesday the pain had eased off and appetite started to return, but the lack of food and drink from the day before were taking their toll. At least I got a lot of rest yesterday. Today I feel a world better. Whilst there is still some discomfort I feel much more alert and even my annoying little head cold has been frightened off.

As far as training goes, I’ll probably consider today my final sickness day, then another 2-3 days to let the body recover properly. I might go for a light run on Sunday or Monday and if I feel fine then I’ll get back into the program. That will put me a week behind, although this week was scheduled as a lighter recovery week and only week 4 of 12 so it’s as good timing as any. If I’m feeling strong again next week I might just blend some of the recovery week schedule in with what should have been coming next week to get back on track. In thinking about it just now I’m getting really keen to get back out again, especially after Monday’s big run.

Thanks to everyone for the welcome messages now that I’ve gone public. I’ve also discovered bloglines - makes it so easy to see what everyone’s up to. I’ll have to catch up on some blog reading over Easter to psyche myself up for next week a bit more!

Monday 17km Long Run

Yay…at 1 hour 45 minutes this morning I just ran longer in both time and distance than ever before in my life!! The Guide advises 20% [faster **] than Half Marathon pace for the long runs, so seeing as I’m aiming for 5 min / km, this was about right at just over 6 min / km. The last 10 minute of the climb home I was starting to feel it, but felt strong otherwise despite the runny nose!

[**EDIT - yeah, good pickup gnscon - that'd be "slower" unless my program is leading up to a very relaxed HM run...and why not, it's not like I have a PB to beat ;) ]

I ran pretty much the same route as last week but went a bit further towards Settlement Point and a few minor variations. This route is hilly at the start (but a net downhill to sea level), flat for roughly 10km and finally a bit of a climb back home.

This was actually a test run for a number of items:

After grabbing a few different gels at the Ironman expo I wanted to test one out. Some people consider gels to be of little use up to HM distance, but figured it can’t hurt to have a bit more energy in the system on the day when you’re going a bit harder than normal. I wouldn’t generally use them while training but wanted to follow the old don’t try anything in a race that you haven’t done in training rule. This was a High5 Citrus and I had it about 30 minutes in after having some fruit before leaving home. Felt some minor tightness in the stomach about 20 minutes afterwards having it for a minute or two, but whether that was just because I was actively looking for that sort of thing I’m uncertain. I can’t really say I felt much of a boost at any stage. Perhaps the final climb would have been more draining otherwise?

I picked up some compression tights last weekend, and gave them the first real test on the run today. They’re not as tight as skins, but mostly I wanted them because long runs tend to get uncomfortable with the legs constantly rubbing and shorts riding up. They were absolutely fantastic –the only thing I noticed was the complete lack of discomfort. I still wore shorts over the top though (for the pockets!).

The other thing was that I carried a water bottle for the first time because of the gel and I was sick of stopping for a drink from the inconveniently placed taps along the route. Also good for a bit of an arm/shoulder workout! It had finger grooves in it for easy holding, and it was great to be able to regularly grab half a mouthful when I wanted to. But I’m thinking a fuel belt might be the way to go as I sometimes “caught” the arm carrying the bottle slacking off, and at the end of the day was a bit of a hassle to have to hand carry it for so long.

ALSO, I tried out the newly purchased bodyglide on a couple of spots on the upper body that usually cop some chafing (no need to use on the legs now) and it came through with flying colours. I can feel some very minor discomfort now, but seeing as it’s generally painful during the course of runs shorter than this, it's a huge improvement.

So I had a real crash test dummy sort of run and got through it with all body parts intact.

Saturday Cross Training (Mow the Lawns)

Spending a couple of hours doing the lawns, edges and a bit of cutting back is always a good recovery/cross training session! And if anyone doesn’t have a lawn to mow they should volunteer to help out with a friend or neighbours lawn…starting with mine.

At least it’s coming into winter so they soon won’t be overgrown within a week. I was reading that the local council has been having serious problems keeping up with the mowing schedule required this year. The last couple of years were fairly normal, but the combination of rain, humidity and sun this year has meant that a lot of parks and reserves have been looking more jungle like that anything else through summer.

Friday 7km Tempo Run

4 x 5 minute efforts this morning around Hamlyn Drive and Granite St out the back of the Waniora area

Early in the morning there’s always more happening and more of interest along the beaches, but it’s still good to head inland for the variety in terms of different things to look at and so I don’t get too used to the same hills at the same point in the run.

Wednesday 7km with 4x250m Sprints

Nothing too exciting – just some sprints down along the flat(ish) sections of MFD down along Lighthouse Beach. Felt pretty good and it feels like my speed is improving over the last couple of weeks.

Monday 16km Long Run

Down Pacific Drive to follow part of the Ironman course for some inspiration. The sea was calm and smooth, and the sunrise spectacular. It was interesting reading all the signs and chalk messages along the way. Ran through town and Westport Park and half way to Settlement Point before turning back and heading for home. It was quite a contrast from the night before, with an empty transition area and finish chute (apart from the hundred of bikes still sitting there waiting to be claimed. All up it took just over an hour and a half and felt comfortable the whole way.

Port Macquarie Ironman

With the girls still fast asleep I drove down to the swim start of the Port Macquarie Ironman around half an hour before the start. Bumped into CR’s Rooster, queen_bee, Green Machine and his wife, all of whom I had previously met at the Half IM last October apart from queen_bee.

After watching the start and some of the swim leg I headed along to the bike transition for a look around and ran into the CR cheersquad comprising The Owl, Go Girl, Jen_Runs, Lulu and Wine Trail Runner. Hung around there for a chat and eventually the athletes started coming through. Notable IDs were Highway man who came through in less that an hour, and Minersrun in around an hour.

Some photos of the morning….

Swimmers waiting to go


Underway



Not hard enough with flying arms and legs everywhere? Well here’s some water chop for you to contend with


Arms tired? Have a walk through the shallows


This is what several hundred thousand dollars worth of bikes look like... edit...wow - more like several million dollars!


CR cheersquad complete with pom poms…faces have been obscured to protect the innocent

Unfortunately that’s it for the photos. When I ventured out later on I was carrying Isabel so didn’t have the camera handy. We all came back into the transition area around the time the leaders were finishing the bike leg and starting the run. The leaders waste almost no time in transition and despite having already been at it for several hours they absolutely fly out at the start of the run. Spent some time around there cheering on the cyclists and runners before getting Isabel back home for food and a sleep.

I ventured out again in the evening when Isabel was asleep. Drove along Pacific Drive where the run leg was going. All the runners had flouro sticks as it was dark now and were running along the southbound lane while the cars could use the northbound lane.

The finish area at Westport Park had a real carnival atmosphere now that it was dark. The finish chute was well lit and the stands running either side of it were packed. The announcer was calling the athletes as they came to the finish, often with some additional information as time allowed. Some people got special attention. I assumed he'd already finished and wasn't at the finish at the time, but Minersrun finished with his son by his side. Another guy had his 100 year old grandmother beside him. After 12 hours of strenuous activity some people still had the energy for a dance before crossing the finish line! After a 7am start, the cut off for the finish was Midnight. I had a long early run planned so couldn't stay till then though.

Maroochydore then Home

Thursday 30/3: 3x5min Tempo Run with 3 min Rec

On flying to Maroochydore last night I got an early start on the end of daylight savings. As such it was easy to get up at 5am for a run. I haven’t been here before so it’s good that we did a quick orientation last night while finding somewhere to eat. Wasn’t much of a problem though as we’re staying on the river in town and I just headed along the river and down the beaches for about 7km all up.

We had a very busy and long day on Thursday.
After my run and breakfast we were working on some of the final preparations to set up our new customer. We then a full day in the office having a look around their offices and production facilities, setting them up and running them through the system and making modifications based on their specific requirements. We then headed out to the hinterland for dinner with the family of a friend and business associate of my boss. This guy has a beautiful residence on top of one of the ridges high in the sky, and to say he has expansive views would be an understatement. It was very spectacular, and a lovely night. So it was late back to the apartment for some well deserved sleep…saying goodbye to daylight savings is good for getting up but you pay for it at the end of the day!


Friday 31/3: 6km Recovery Run

I contemplated heading the other direction up the river but ended up taking a more direct route to the beaches and got to a couple of the ones I missed yesterday.
Just an easy cruise around which was good for rubber necking. It was a bit cloudy and the sunrise was spectacular…purple/pink/orange blazing through the clouds as the sun made its way over the horizon.

Another full on day of setting up and training flew by. Then off to the airport for a late flight back to Sydney just before the curfew.


Saturday 1/4

Drive back to Port mid morning, with a stop at Rebel Tuggerah for a couple of running supplies! Then a visit to the Ironman expo at Port for a few more running supplies – finally got some bodyglide and a couple of GUs to test out on some longer runs.