A lovely big weekend

On Saturday I did the Manly to Palm Beach 30k Fatass run. It was a beautiful day, the views are truly wonderful and I never get tired of running near the ocean. I hooked up with another girl right at the start. She kept up a pace that was not feeling easy at all for me and I kept thinking I should tell her to go on ahead, but I figured she was free to do that if she wanted. In the end we ran the whole way together and it was really nice to have the company. We were only going about 5.30 pace but I was struggling a bit, I haven't done a 30k run before 6ft. Its quite hilly too. We finished in 2.47 and I was definitely spent at the end. I think I would have been a lot slower if I had been running alone. I will need to do a fair few more of these if I want to run a marathon soon. It was a great feeling to finish at Palm Beach and when we were driving back down the peninsular it seemed like a very long way to have run. I wasn't at all tempted to do the 60k return trip, but the option to do a full marathon distance and return to the Newport Arms hotel next year could be a winner.

On Sunday was the Working Week Series 8 Hour Mtb race at Appin. I had organised my friends Jocie and Simone to do a team of 3. It was freezing and foggy when we arrived and there was a lot of muttering about a "very technical" course. It was a 9.5k loop which none of us had ridden before. I did the first lap and as usual it was very slow and congested for the first half of the lap but it got better in the second half. There were some pretty challenging sections, and plenty of stuff I had to walk, but overall it wasn't half as bad as it was made out to be and I really, really enjoyed it. It was almost all single track which is just so fun. Jocie was next up and I started straight into the eating and drinking. Jocie came back from her lap with a big smile, but she'd had a big stack on the way around and was bleeding. Fortunately Simone didn’t notice that before she went off for her lap! Jocie had nasty cuts, grazes and bumps on every limb and a very sore shoulder, but was still keen to keep going (crazy girl). Simone returned in one piece and said one lap was enough for her. It was my turn again and I was a little more nervous this time thinking of Jocie, but had another very enjoyable lap and rode a few bits that I had failed at on the first lap.

Jocie and I swapped off turns for another 2 laps before she decided that considering her numerous injuries, it was sensible to call it a day. Now that our team had gone from 3 to 2 to 1, I could have stopped too. But I was really enjoying myself and the course and not feeling tired at all. I felt amazingly good actually considering the long run the day before and my lack of mtb training. Oh well, make hay while the sun shines, so I kept going. After my 5th lap my hands and wrists were very sore. This is because I grip the handlebars and brakes way too hard, which is very poor form. I was going to stop then as there wasn't any "point" going on - we were not going to win our category or anything like that. But there was a nagging voice in my head saying - this is an 8 hour race, you need to ride for 8 hours. Plus I was definitely still enjoying myself and had a few more scores to settle with the course, so I went back for one more lap. I was so glad I did because this time I managed to do both the creek crossings perfectly for the first time. There were still 3 bits I couldn't do (a biggish drop-off, a biggish step-up and a tricky rocky climb) but I had improved on lots of other bits which was just what I was hoping I would get out of this race. Plus a tidy 55k of mtb in the legs. I couldn't ask for more. :)

By the time we got back to Sydney I was very very verrrrrry tired. I crawled into bed, didn’t set the alarm and slept for 12 hours.

SMH Half Marathon Race Report

I had no idea what to expect for this race. Last year I did 99 mins which was just from post-Ironman fitness and 2 weeks solid running beforehand. This year I have less endurance fitness, but a lot more running under my belt. I felt I had been training pretty well for the past 6 weeks, doing regular speed and hill work. The only thing lacking a bit was long runs but I have done 3 longer than 20ks, so it wasn't too bad. I thought that the next nice round number down (95 mins) was probably a bit out of reach, but I might get there on a good day. McMillan predicted 96 mins based on my 10k time from 2 weeks ago and I thought that was do-able. My result was 97.20 gun time and 96 mins flat chip time (which I am taking) so I am happy, but not over-the-moon, completely chuffed, floating 10ft off the ground happy. But still happy.

I found the pacing a bit hard, and was never sure if I was going too fast or too slow. I don’t feel like I have enough experience racing this distance yet, as its only the 3rd half-marathon I have done. I was fairly happy with my mental effort, I pushed myself pretty hard, especially over the last few kilometres. But I lost concentration and probably slowed down too much a few times. I really struggled going up the Hunter St hill both times. I have no idea why because the Argyle St hill felt great and the Mrs Mac's chair pinch was fine too.

It was a beautiful day and the new finish in Hyde Park is a huge improvement over Hickson Rd. Afterwards we sat around with Mum and Danny eating bacon and egg rolls and drinking coffee and enjoying the sunshine. Its expensive to enter and very crowded, but this is still a truly fantastic race.

Tom cruised it to finish in 104 mins - safely under 5 min per k pace - and he really enjoyed himself. He claims he is now "back" which is great. We are both going to do the 15k NOSH footrace in 2 weeks and then Woodford to Glenbrook at the end of June.

SMH Half Marathon Training Taper Week

For the record, this was my final week of training before the Half.

Monday
AM - Gentle run on some hilly dirt tracks in Castlemaine. I intended to do an easy 8ks, and all was going well until I got completely lost. Ooops. Fortunatley I turned on the "Back to Start" function on my Garmin and followed the arrows back. I have such a poor sense of direction, its scary.

Tuesday
Complete day off

Wednesday
PM - Swim squad. I enjoyed this session. The highlight was 6x100 where I managed to do each one on 1.40. This is slow pretty slow, but I was really trying hard and that felt good. We probably did about 3.2k.

Thursday
AM - 45k ride at SOP. I went with group 4/5 again and felt pretty good. A return to Group 3 should be on the cards soon.

Friday
AM - 6k easy run to the river. No watch but I felt good and my legs felt pretty fresh, which I was hoping for after doing next to nothing all week.

Saturday
No running, but we ended up doing quite a bit of walking around South Head and I felt really tired at the end.

All good - I had planned a very light week and that’s what I did. I really wanted to do another swim but I just couldn’t fit it in.

SMH Half Marathon Training Week 5

Monday

PM - Swim squad - I am really struggling with motivation to swim, but once I get there I never regret it. But unfortunately tonight I did regret it because I backed our new car into a tree when I was leaving. :( I was very annoyed with myself about this.

Tuesday
AM - Got up at 5 to ride and halfway out to Homebush I slipped on some sand on a corner and fell off my bike. I grazed my left knee and thigh and got a small but deep wound on my right thumb. I thought I was okay and was determined to keep riding, but my wheel was a little bit buckled so after a few attempts I turned around and went home, had a shower, cleaned my wounds and got back into bed.

Lunchtime - I felt okay so I went to Pain in the Domain. I went with Group "4b" and the pace was better than last week. But I really struggled mentally and was kind of mentally flagellating myself the whole way around. I do this quite a lot normally, but today the negative self talk was completely out of hand. 10k total.

By the end of the day I was in a real funk, just feeling very down and almost teary. I guess I was annoyed at myself about the car and the bike and yet another graze on my knee which was now infected and very sore. Maybe it was something hormonal too. Anyway, today was not a good day.

Wednesday
AM - Up for my usual medium run around the Bay. I felt better and decided to try and challenge myself (and more so my negative thoughts) by doing the whole 7k around the Bay in less than 5 min k pace. I did this without too much difficulty and felt considerably cheered up. 14 total.

Thursday
AM - I decided to get back on the bike ASAP and went out to Homebush. I was pretty nervy on the corners at first, but I felt okay by the end of the ride. I went with group 4/5 which was all old blokes and had a good time.

PM - Hill reps with Tom. After riding in the morning I was expecting to feel cactus but I had quite a good session, keeping each rep under 1.30. I only did 6 as Tom had had enough, but I could have easily done another couple I think. 10k total.

Friday
PM. I went for a swim after work at the new-ish Ian Thorpe pool in Pyrmont. I just did 2k continuous easy. It’s a nice pool and there is also a sauna which I enjoyed for 20 mins after my swim.

Saturday
AM - Long run with Tom into the city. After 10k Tom turned for home and I pushed onwards, running along Hickson Rd and trying to do some positive visualisation for the race next week. I felt good and by the time I got home I had done about 26k with an average pace of 5.15. I was happy with that. I just wish I had done a few more of those in the past few weeks.

Sunday
AM - I was staying down in Melbourne with my friends Josie and Ben and planned to do an easy 10k run with Jasper the friendly dog. Unfortunately after a few ks Jasper lost her enthusiasm and it became a very slow plod, with me literally dragging her along. But it was funny and nice to have some four-legged company.

I finished with 10k in a very slow 60 mins. But it was a PB for Jasper. :)

So, my last week of dedicated half-marathon training and another decent total - 70k running, 2 swims, 1 bike. I am pleased with my consistency, especially with doing PITD and the hill reps.

Next week will be very easy with little running, I feel like my legs need a good dose of R&R before the race. I still have no idea what my goal should be. But I am thinking I need to run with a smile (enjoy it) and finish with a smile (know that I did a good time).

SMH Half Marathon training Week 4

Monday

Rest day

Tuesday
AM - Ride at SOP. I was slack and went with Group 5. The pace was not easy, but it was comfortable. Next week I will have to go with Group 4. 40k approx with a coffee break.

Lunch - PITD. I had promised myself I would go with Group 4, so I did. Unfortunately the pace felt too fast for me, I struggled to hang on and I couldn't put in a good effort on the intervals. I was vindicated at the end when we finished in 28:40, which was only 10 seconds slower than Group 3! Next week I will try and get a group 4 and 1/2 going and aim for about 30. 10k total.

Wednesday
AM - Medium long run around the Bay. I planned to do 5k in the middle at sub 5 min k pace - and I still felt okay at the end, so I did an extra 1k fast. 14k total.

Thursday
AM - Lilyfield Rd hill reps. A somewhat slack session and I only did 6 reps not 8. I missed having Tom there to motivate me. 11k total.

Friday
I had planned to swim in the morning but we had a late night at the theatre so I slept in instead.

Saturday

Striders and Athletics NSW 10k Champs at Homebush. My plan was to do the first 5k in 4.20s and the second 5k in 4.15, which would have me finish in 42.55 - a new PB and under 43 minutes. The first k was way too fast (3.55) but I settled down after that and did around 4.10s, then slowed down a bit to 4.20s. I was watching my Garmin closely and thought I was on track with my average pace under 4.15. The Garmin ticked off 10k in 42.15 (fabulous!) but sadly there was another 250 meters to go (bugger!), so I crossed the line in 43.08. It was a PB (compared to 43.21 at North Head 2 months ago) but, considering the kind of training I have been doing recently, I had been hoping for a more significant improvement. Tom was happy with his run on limited training - back under 45 mins, and heading in the right direction.

Sunday
I was down in Canberra and determined to do something resembling a long run. I headed off with a plan to do 2 laps of Mt Ainslie plus some extra hilly single track bits and that’s exactly what I did. The first 10k didn’t feel that great, but once I settled into it I felt much better. It was a beautiful gorgeous lovely Canberra day, perfect for running. I was stuffed at the end - 25k in 2.5 hours.

So, a decent week. 70k running is good. One ride is good. No swims is very bad. The 10k race was a bit disappointing but I still feel motivated to try to improve and be a runner. My thoughts are now turning to my goal for the half marathon in 2 weeks. Simply "better than last year" is not good enough, but 95 mins is too much of a stretch. Hmmmm.