Find your reason

The HBF run went alright, all things considered.

The final time was 45'00", way below expectations. After a fast first km (3'20, partly downhill), I settled with a couple of people (including a surprisingly determined 12-year old, who will eventually cross the finish line a good 30secs ahead of me) traveling at 3.35/km. I thought this was quite ambitious, but the legs were feeling good, and I didn't want to lose this group and end up running on my own. I still don't know if I made a good decision, or perhaps I should have aimed to run at a steady 3.40 per km.

Anyway, when the going got tough, I didn't get going, for the lack of significant training showed up. At around km 4, my shoe got untied! What a novice!! I was so worried at the start about stretching and checking my dodgy calves, that I forgot to tighten up my shoes...  Luckily, I managed to cover almost the entire distance with flapping shoelaces, without tripping.

I began to suffer a lot by km 8 (still run at 3.41), and lost contact with my group. One thing that sucks about this race is that the 12km run merges with the half marathon pretty soon (at km 2), which condemns you to a never-ending slalom around and between much slower (and tired..) runners, who have been on their legs for an extra hour. I don't know how much that added to the final distance, but it certainly made a difference.

I eventually dragged myself over the last 3km at 3.50 pace. I don't know if a calmer start would have made things different, but I like to think that it would and that, without all the zig-zags, I would have hit the 44 mins benchmark as planned.

The next day, I celebrated by buying a new pair of shoes, the Mizuno Wave Rider 21. I went for a run yesterday (legs in pieces) and today (legs in semi-pieces), and they feel great. I wasn't comfortable doing more kms on my Nike Zoom Air Pegasus 34, which are still amazing but I will keep for the quicker work. So the morale is good, and the will to do is still there.

Let's see what happens now.

Edit: The official race website put me at an average pace of 3.41/km. Many people on the FB page have complained about race measurements, claiming that while the half marathon was certified, the 12km wasn't and in fact it was about 1/2 km longer. I don't how credible this all is, but I like it!

StairMaster, Bibra Lake and a hollow body

Things are going well, while autumn struggles to kick in, at least here in the West.

Two weeks have gone, of which one I did not run, as I had to go interstate for work, carrying a cold from my kids. I did, however, lots of work in the gym, especially on the StairMaster. It's a whole new level compared to the standard treadmill - it burns your legs, lungs and heart in about 10 minutes.

However, not running is not great for running purposes, so when I eventually returned to Fremantle, I adopted a low profile and a "let's start again, once again" attitude. Instead, a surprisingly positive week followed. Here are the details:

Monday - 8km in progression with the guys from WAMC 

1. 4.26
2. 4.26
3. 4.06
4. 3.56
5. 3.52
6. 3.45
7. 3.39
8. 3.37

Tuesday - 10km at 4.46
Wednesday - Rest (core work at home) - (have you tried hollow body holds?)
Thursday - 10km at 4.37, with 6x1' (3.25-35) and 1' jog
Friday - 11km at 4.48
Saturday (today) - Park Run in 17.50 (average 3.34/km, passing the first km in 3.47)

If I make it for a recovery run tomorrow, that'll be around 60km total this week, which is spot on. Still a very long way to go, but it feels good!

A good week

A surprising two weeks of continuity in running. I managed to bring the daily runs to 10km, this week I clocked in 50 km in 5 sessions, even with some "attempted speed".

On Monday, I did a good progression over 8km with the people from WAMC. We started at 4.30/km, then I built up km by km, the last one was 3.38.

On Thursday, I brought my body back into a long forgotten world, aka sub 3.30/km speed, with 3x1 km on the road: 3.34, 3.31, 3.23 rec 3, jogging.

Saturday was ParkRun day. I ran the first 2km at 3.35, then fatigue kicked in but I still managed to finish at 3.40 average (18.20). It made me aware of how crazy this all project is. But I also know I don't not qualify as "trained", with my total 2 weeks of running...


The plan for next week is to increase slowly the mileage, aiming for 55/60km weekly. I will have to travel interstate for work , and am donating blood on Tuesday - so will see how that goes!

Getting rid of the cobwebs

A good run yesterday with the folks from the Western Australian Marathon Club. They meet every Monday evening at Point Walter, a great spot along the Swan River, just south of Perth. You get to meet like-minded people, enjoy a beautiful scenery, train your stamina, and get a glimpse into how billionaires live (google image “Melville Beach Road” for an idea).

Monday night they schedule tempo runs of various lengths, so I joined in and run with a couple of dudes how were doing the 8 km. We started at around 4.20 pace, chatting about Italy’s non-elections and the WA running scene. After 5 km, I increased the pace progressively and ended up running the last 3 km at 3.40-45, without stressing. Felt nice. Overall, just under 12km.

In less than six months, I am supposed to run 42km at around 3.30. Here are some positives about the current situation:

1. I’m in a reasonably good shape. Have not put any weight on, still at around 62 kg as when I was 20, I think I could skim a couple of kilos of that, if/once the weekly km go up
2. No major physical issues. My calves remain a bit stiff, but hopefully I’m doing the right work to keep them at bay 
3. Despite a chronic lack of consistency, it seems that once I manage to line up a few runs (I think I have had around 10 runs over the past 2 months, and never over 8km) my body gets set for running at decent paces (see yesterday). So, I’m not starting from total scratch
4. I am working from home at the moment, so I can organise my days pretty easily, do lots of core work at home (using the Pomodoro Technique, 25 mins writing and 5 minutes working out - more on this later), eat well, and even sneak in a power nap in the afternoon if all the stars are aligned

On the downside, I have no idea how (if!) I will manage heavier running loads. At the moment, at a mere 30km a week, everything is like a pleasant stroll. But when (if!) I’ll get to do 30 km in one day, it’ll be very tough – and I have no idea how my 40 year-old body will cope with that. 

Also, six months (actually, just under 24 weeks) is a long time, and it will be hard to keep focused and maintain the motivation to run like a crazy person amidst work, family etc. And the risk of over-training will be one of the major threats to fend off - e.g. I will have to be very careful with increasing the running load over the weeks.

That said, the goal for this month is to stick to 8-10km per session, 4 times per week. Do lots of core work, especially on glutes, which have been flattened by years of philosophising on my ass. Trying to run a bit faster every now and then, and enjoy life.