Well its that time now where I am about to head off to NZ for the marathon however over the last 4-5 weeks I have had so much happening that my focus hasn't been on running so my attitude to this one is running for a fun time and if its a fast time then thats just a bonus.
Last Sunday I did the Geelong River Run 5km in 19.03 which was slower than I expected so I am not in any great form but I will enjoy the unique experience of the Mountain to Surf Marathon and then focus on building up the fitness over 2013. I am happy that I have avoided marathon-mania and I have not become too excited about it.
I fly out tomorrow so I will no doubt publish a race report soon.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
Happy with where I am at but need to stay there
Well things have been moving along well lately and I have had a few weeks where I have reached 100km but I have not been able to do that consistently which is the main thing I will need to do if I am to reach certain goals this year.
As I prepare for my marathon in 3 weeks, I am definitely not focussing all of my attention on one race. I am more interested in having a solid 2013 and maintaining the fitness rather than running a good marathon and then falling in a heap after that which has happened to me in the past. So this time I will approach the marathon as an important race but not with the same level of importance that other marathons have had.
To prepare for the marathon I have been doing some downhill sessions to adapt my legs to the impact of running downhill. Basically the faster you run downhill, the more pain you will be in later on as it really burns your quads! I have been doing research about downhill running and I must say that I do wish that I had began doing the downhill sessions 6 months ago as after doing a 7km downhill run that I completed in a time of 25.46, my quads were so sore that I could barely walk for the next few days but they do say that you get used to it and with some conditioning, you can then take advantage of downhill sections of races. Only time will tell I suppose!
My weight has just dipped below 70kg which is the first time this has happened since 2009 and this week I have done a 10km race and a 3km time trial. The 10km was done in 39.35 and the 3km in 10.45. In 2 weeks I will be doing a 5km race which should hopefully give me a new PB for that distance and then the week after will be the marathon where I may or may not run a PB. Either way I will be focused on recovering quickly and keeping the fitness I currently have as we all know that consistency is paramount to success.
I will be sure to update this blog before I head off to NZ, hopefully with a new 5km PB!!!
As I prepare for my marathon in 3 weeks, I am definitely not focussing all of my attention on one race. I am more interested in having a solid 2013 and maintaining the fitness rather than running a good marathon and then falling in a heap after that which has happened to me in the past. So this time I will approach the marathon as an important race but not with the same level of importance that other marathons have had.
To prepare for the marathon I have been doing some downhill sessions to adapt my legs to the impact of running downhill. Basically the faster you run downhill, the more pain you will be in later on as it really burns your quads! I have been doing research about downhill running and I must say that I do wish that I had began doing the downhill sessions 6 months ago as after doing a 7km downhill run that I completed in a time of 25.46, my quads were so sore that I could barely walk for the next few days but they do say that you get used to it and with some conditioning, you can then take advantage of downhill sections of races. Only time will tell I suppose!
My weight has just dipped below 70kg which is the first time this has happened since 2009 and this week I have done a 10km race and a 3km time trial. The 10km was done in 39.35 and the 3km in 10.45. In 2 weeks I will be doing a 5km race which should hopefully give me a new PB for that distance and then the week after will be the marathon where I may or may not run a PB. Either way I will be focused on recovering quickly and keeping the fitness I currently have as we all know that consistency is paramount to success.
I will be sure to update this blog before I head off to NZ, hopefully with a new 5km PB!!!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Very busy but still finding time for a run
Well things have certainly been progressing and although I haven't had time to update this blog lately, I have found time to run and I have increased my weekly kms to the extent that I finished off 2012 with a 100km week which was the first time I had done that for a few years. I have also done 30km+ runs 3 times over the last month which was the first time I had ran more than 30km since 2009.
The effect of the big training load did show last Saturday when I did an awfully slow 34.17 for 8km. I did throw in the towel over the last few kms but regardless that is still a horrible time for someone who has been running much quicker in training. A recent 24 minute fartlek session saw me cover more than 6km even though the pace was varied due to it being a fartlek.
My weight has now come down to 71kg and I will probably lose a couple more between now and March.
So now there is less than 8 weeks until the marathon although I am not going to be as focused as I have been with previous marathon campaigns, it will still be a great experience. Rather than just focus on one race, I want to focus more on maintaining my fitness level for the rest of 2013. With all marathons that I have done in the past, I have had recovery issues that have led to my fitness declining over the months that followed. This time I am determined to recover properly and keep that level of fitness no matter what it takes. I think nutrition will play a big part.
So although the marathon will be a fun experience, the focus is clearly on a consistent 2013. The year has started off well so lets hope I can keep building and then maintain it.
The effect of the big training load did show last Saturday when I did an awfully slow 34.17 for 8km. I did throw in the towel over the last few kms but regardless that is still a horrible time for someone who has been running much quicker in training. A recent 24 minute fartlek session saw me cover more than 6km even though the pace was varied due to it being a fartlek.
My weight has now come down to 71kg and I will probably lose a couple more between now and March.
So now there is less than 8 weeks until the marathon although I am not going to be as focused as I have been with previous marathon campaigns, it will still be a great experience. Rather than just focus on one race, I want to focus more on maintaining my fitness level for the rest of 2013. With all marathons that I have done in the past, I have had recovery issues that have led to my fitness declining over the months that followed. This time I am determined to recover properly and keep that level of fitness no matter what it takes. I think nutrition will play a big part.
So although the marathon will be a fun experience, the focus is clearly on a consistent 2013. The year has started off well so lets hope I can keep building and then maintain it.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Time for some serious training!
So things are finally starting to come together and I am looking forward to 3 months of solid work before March 3rd.
My weight is down to 72kg and last week I managed just over 90km. I also did a 5km time trial in 19.05 which was very good considering the lack of quality training I have done lately. I have no doubt I can take at least a minute off that time over the next 3 months.
Time now to keep the momentum building. After a long wait, I seem to be finally making some progress.
My weight is down to 72kg and last week I managed just over 90km. I also did a 5km time trial in 19.05 which was very good considering the lack of quality training I have done lately. I have no doubt I can take at least a minute off that time over the next 3 months.
Time now to keep the momentum building. After a long wait, I seem to be finally making some progress.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The will to survive
Well, 2012 is a year that is just getting crazier and crazier for me but mostly in a good way. Over the last few weeks something major happened again that prevented me from running for more than a week although I certainly wasn't complaining.
I have since ran every day for the last 10 days and I am now determined to finally get back into some consistent training and make it to sessions consistently which is the one thing I have really failed to do this year.
There is now four and a half months to go until my marathon and its time to really pull the finger out and start working towards a very overdue PB.
Stay tuned for more.
I have since ran every day for the last 10 days and I am now determined to finally get back into some consistent training and make it to sessions consistently which is the one thing I have really failed to do this year.
There is now four and a half months to go until my marathon and its time to really pull the finger out and start working towards a very overdue PB.
Stay tuned for more.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Life's other distractions clearly taking over.
Well I have been a bit slack updating this once again. The last months has been ok and I have done some reasonably good kms however I have missed some key sessions due to my mind being elsewhere. I don't like to write about personal stuff on this blog but those who have run with me recently will know that I have a lot going on at the moment and I also had something major happen just a few weeks ago which meant I didn't run for a about 4-5 days. Sadly when I am stressed or not in a good mood, I just can't run which is something that most others are the complete opposite about. Most will run to take away a bad mood or stress, for me I can only run if I am in a good mood and I have always been like that.
Anyway the last four weeks have seen me average about 75km which is good progress as far as I am concerned. My weight is down to 73kg which is pretty good also.
I did my first race for the year at the De Castella 15km and I realised the importance of race fitness. I need to do some races to get back into it so I will be heading to Burnley this weekend to take part in a 10km fun run just to turn the legs over and have some sort of hitout. Should be fun.
Anyway thats all for the moment, hope to update this in a few weeks.
Anyway the last four weeks have seen me average about 75km which is good progress as far as I am concerned. My weight is down to 73kg which is pretty good also.
I did my first race for the year at the De Castella 15km and I realised the importance of race fitness. I need to do some races to get back into it so I will be heading to Burnley this weekend to take part in a 10km fun run just to turn the legs over and have some sort of hitout. Should be fun.
Anyway thats all for the moment, hope to update this in a few weeks.
Monday, August 20, 2012
A bit of momentum once again.
Well it's been a while since I updated this but I am happy to report that I have done some good kms over the last month or so. Sadly there have been no races and not much quality training but I am getting back to a good base so I can't complain.
Here is how the last few weeks have looked:
Week ending 19/8 - 82kms
Week ending 12/8 - 55kms
Week ending 5/8 - 76kms
Week ending 29/7 - 68kms
Week ending 22/7 - 44kms
Week ending 15/7 - 62kms
So overall things are slowly coming together. I have more than six months left before my marathon in NZ so I will keep building the base and try to do some more quality sessions.
Here is how the last few weeks have looked:
Week ending 19/8 - 82kms
Week ending 12/8 - 55kms
Week ending 5/8 - 76kms
Week ending 29/7 - 68kms
Week ending 22/7 - 44kms
Week ending 15/7 - 62kms
So overall things are slowly coming together. I have more than six months left before my marathon in NZ so I will keep building the base and try to do some more quality sessions.
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