An Abandoned Run and the next 12 Months
Abandoned Run
I actually got myself out of bed at 5.30 this morning to go for a run, before jumping right back in and sleeping for another hour and a half! I just did not feel like it today and it was only going to be a quick recovery run anyway. I can guarantee that if it was any other session I would have been out the door rather than dreaming. Then again I overindulged at a work dinner last night so I really should have made the effort...too many courses…and I really know better than to choose the creamy sauces!
May Total
Luckily I pulled back on a few runs towards the end of the month as my total was looking like spiking a bit too quickly for my liking. Ended up with 176km, which is about 30% up on last month. This doubled my previous monthly increases and was a bit more than I expected.
I don't anticipate hitting this level in June as there are no real long runs before the half, and I'll probably ease back for a week or two afterwards which would result in a more modest total. May even pull out the bike as well...if I keep threatening it I'm sure it'll happen sooner or later!
Macleay River and Beyond
So in getting away from non running matters, some comments from go girl, jorex and blkbox have got me thinking…
Macleay River Half
My goal for a fair while has been plus or minus 1:45, so I’m going to stick with that. I reckon that if I was feeling good on the day and everything falls into place I can dream about getting closer to 1:40. Then again if I was feeling a bit out of sorts 1:50 would probably be closer to the mark.
and beyond...
I’d say it’ll be fairly full on at home in the second half of the year. Very generally I’d like to consolidate and build on the fitness I’ve very recently acquired. I’m thinking that I’d benefit from strapping the heart rate monitor back on and doing some more low HR aerobic running sessions. Over the rest of the year do at least a couple of 10km events and another Half Marathon or two. Basically set myself up to start a marathon training program for next year.
More specifically…
It would be nice to work on a bit more speed to have a crack at the 45 minute mark over 10km, which was one of my goals for the year. So a couple of Sydney Striders 10km are a certainty before the end of the year.
The Gold Coast Half Marathon is my backup event in case something unforseen caused me to miss the Macleay. It’s in the back of my mind to duck up there anyway for either the Half or the 10km. It sounds like a big turnout is on the cards, and of course there’s always Go Girl’s Marathon debut to cheer on! Depends a lot on how I pull up after the Macleay River Half, and also on whether it’s practical to actually get up there at the time.
So with Baby #2 due on 13th August the City to Surf is not an option. Although Jodie went a week over with Isabel, the fact that she was in labour for less than 4 hours means that I’m not going anywhere at all around that date!
Lake Macquarie Half Marathon at the end of August is a possible option.
At this stage I’m not really enthused about the Blackmores/Sydney Half in September for some reason, but it might be a chance if none of the others come off before that time.
Reading Jen’s blog has planted a seed about the Sydney to the Gong bike ride in November, which I’d really love to do again. The only problem I’ve realised is that it’s the same day as the Port Half Ironman. Not that I’d be racing in the HIM, but that’s not the point! :(
Central Coast Half Marathon early December: definitely maybe (actually more definitely than maybe).
Whilst I haven’t given too much consideration to which marathon I’d like to aim for, my first thought is that Canberra Marathon might be a good place to start. I heard some good reports about it this year, and it’s sooner than most others, so that would leave the rest of the year open to take advantage of my hopefully further improved fitness! Hey, I might even be able to build a family holiday to our nation’s capital around it!! ;)
There may be an event or two that I don’t know about yet that I may get the urge to enter. That’s a good consequence of all this blog and CR reading…lots of ideas for fun events pop up all over the place…I’m always open to suggestions!
Well there's a long answer to a short question(s)! It was a bit rambling, but I’m glad to have it all written out now so I can refer back to it. Obviously I won’t get to all of these and who knows what life will throw at me in the meantime, but they are just some options at this stage.
I actually got myself out of bed at 5.30 this morning to go for a run, before jumping right back in and sleeping for another hour and a half! I just did not feel like it today and it was only going to be a quick recovery run anyway. I can guarantee that if it was any other session I would have been out the door rather than dreaming. Then again I overindulged at a work dinner last night so I really should have made the effort...too many courses…and I really know better than to choose the creamy sauces!
May Total
Luckily I pulled back on a few runs towards the end of the month as my total was looking like spiking a bit too quickly for my liking. Ended up with 176km, which is about 30% up on last month. This doubled my previous monthly increases and was a bit more than I expected.
I don't anticipate hitting this level in June as there are no real long runs before the half, and I'll probably ease back for a week or two afterwards which would result in a more modest total. May even pull out the bike as well...if I keep threatening it I'm sure it'll happen sooner or later!
Macleay River and Beyond
So in getting away from non running matters, some comments from go girl, jorex and blkbox have got me thinking…
Macleay River Half
My goal for a fair while has been plus or minus 1:45, so I’m going to stick with that. I reckon that if I was feeling good on the day and everything falls into place I can dream about getting closer to 1:40. Then again if I was feeling a bit out of sorts 1:50 would probably be closer to the mark.
and beyond...
I’d say it’ll be fairly full on at home in the second half of the year. Very generally I’d like to consolidate and build on the fitness I’ve very recently acquired. I’m thinking that I’d benefit from strapping the heart rate monitor back on and doing some more low HR aerobic running sessions. Over the rest of the year do at least a couple of 10km events and another Half Marathon or two. Basically set myself up to start a marathon training program for next year.
More specifically…
It would be nice to work on a bit more speed to have a crack at the 45 minute mark over 10km, which was one of my goals for the year. So a couple of Sydney Striders 10km are a certainty before the end of the year.
The Gold Coast Half Marathon is my backup event in case something unforseen caused me to miss the Macleay. It’s in the back of my mind to duck up there anyway for either the Half or the 10km. It sounds like a big turnout is on the cards, and of course there’s always Go Girl’s Marathon debut to cheer on! Depends a lot on how I pull up after the Macleay River Half, and also on whether it’s practical to actually get up there at the time.
So with Baby #2 due on 13th August the City to Surf is not an option. Although Jodie went a week over with Isabel, the fact that she was in labour for less than 4 hours means that I’m not going anywhere at all around that date!
Lake Macquarie Half Marathon at the end of August is a possible option.
At this stage I’m not really enthused about the Blackmores/Sydney Half in September for some reason, but it might be a chance if none of the others come off before that time.
Reading Jen’s blog has planted a seed about the Sydney to the Gong bike ride in November, which I’d really love to do again. The only problem I’ve realised is that it’s the same day as the Port Half Ironman. Not that I’d be racing in the HIM, but that’s not the point! :(
Central Coast Half Marathon early December: definitely maybe (actually more definitely than maybe).
Whilst I haven’t given too much consideration to which marathon I’d like to aim for, my first thought is that Canberra Marathon might be a good place to start. I heard some good reports about it this year, and it’s sooner than most others, so that would leave the rest of the year open to take advantage of my hopefully further improved fitness! Hey, I might even be able to build a family holiday to our nation’s capital around it!! ;)
There may be an event or two that I don’t know about yet that I may get the urge to enter. That’s a good consequence of all this blog and CR reading…lots of ideas for fun events pop up all over the place…I’m always open to suggestions!
Well there's a long answer to a short question(s)! It was a bit rambling, but I’m glad to have it all written out now so I can refer back to it. Obviously I won’t get to all of these and who knows what life will throw at me in the meantime, but they are just some options at this stage.
posted by PortRunr @ 2:55 pm
5 Comments:
At 4:17 pm,
Rachel said…
Wow! Jam packed year planned. Makes for some good goals and training motivation.
Baby #2 as well! You will be busy :)
At 8:35 pm,
Tesso said…
Ah, so many races, so little time. Its so much fun planning and yours sound great.
So what is it now, just over a week to the Macleay River Half. Getting close now. But we'll hear none of this 'feeling out of sorts' talk. You will be fine. Just stay away from those creamy sauces the night before!
At 10:04 am,
Mandy said…
No Hypo Half on the schedule? booooooooooooooooo I didn't know baby #2 was coming...I will need pictures.
At 11:17 am,
miners said…
Great looking goals P. I was actually going to suggest the Lake Macquarie & Central Coast Half Ms for you. They're both great events.
Of the marathons, I reckon Canberra stacks up as the best for your first. Not deadflat, but not too demanding, and (usually) much cooler than the other races. GC killed me with monotony and the hot conditions.
There are also a couple of good trail runs that the CRs can give you better advice about - Willy to Billy, Woodford to Glenbrook, Fitzroy Falls etc... Timing might not work with some of them this year, but good to keep in the memory banks :)
btw - I'll be at Town Beach at 6.00 for a 90-120 minute slow run tomorrow if you're interested!
At 8:16 pm,
TD said…
Very impressive list of races there and very well thought out. The Canberra Marathon certainly gets my vote, but you know me I think. I'm a tad biased. Good to see you have the priorities in the right order, too, at C2S time. A lot of those races also must be real scenic types and I will be looking forward to your reports of them.
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