Thursday, December 23, 2004
Getting to here...
You don't get up one day and decide to undertake a marathon training program that starts at 100km/week and peaks at 140km, so I thought I'd give a bit of background on how my running has gotten to this point.
Quick bio:
Took up running when I was 19 - started running with a colleauge at lunch times, and had to get very good, very quickly to keep up. First 10km race Jan 1990 - 40:30.
Did some track running in 1991 while I was living in Melbourne (2:05 800m, 4:34 1500m), then got a bit serious when I move backed to Sydney in 1992. Ran a 10km PB of 37:45 in March, then went to 34:58 in May, then 32:59 in July. Discovered my training (going out and running 10km quickly every day) didn't give me much longevity that season, and was quickly back to 36:00 for 10km. Also ran a 16:08 5000m during this time (and a City to Surf I would rather forget).
In 1993, I got more involved in track running, and got my PBs down to 1:58 for 800m and 4:08 for 1500m. In 1995, I get really serious about track, and ran 50.5 for 400m and 1:54.9 for 800m. Became disillusioned at the end of the season, and didn't run much in winter.
Tried a comeback for 1996, but sprained my ankle after my first session (playing basketball!). Got back into things by just going out and jogging each day. Was soon up to doing 30km runs with the Sydney Striders, and giving the 6:20am group a run for their money. Ran my debut half marathon in Jaunary 1997, running 1:15:45, a PB that remains to this day (but will fall in the next few months!). Was targetting Canberra marathon in 97, but sprained my ankle again two weeks before hand.
From 1997-2001, my running was very sporadic, sometimes going months without training, and often getting injured when I did, trying to make up for lost time. In 2002, I put my head down, and set my sights on the World Masters Games in Melbourne. Once again tried to do too much, too quickly off a miniscule base, and basically couldn't train in the month beforehand. Ended up missing the final (9th fastest qualifier for the 400m and 800m final). But missing these races meant I was refreshed for the 400m hurdles, which I won in a very modest 61 seconds (although I spent about 2 seconds on the blocks to make sure I didn't false start a second time!).
Since then I have trained pretty consistently, missing only one period (Dec 2003-Jan 2004) with injury. 2003 was a pretty good year, with bests of about 16:54 for 5km, 35:20 for 10km and 1:17:20 for the half - ironically all these were set on tough, hilly courses! I also ran my third City to Surf in a PB of 53:20.
This was also the year of my marathon debut, where I was targetting 2:50. Went through halfway in 1:24, feeling good, but at 22km, my calves started cramping, and I was forced to do the next 20km on perserverance alone. Ended up running 3:10:00, which some folk would dream about, but for me it was a very disappointing day (one of only two races I have cried at the end of!). Didn't make any real mistakes, apart from probably doing too big a long run 3 weeks beforehand (38km). Strengthening my calves will be a focus this year, as I have had problems in a couple of other races since then.
Well, my quick bio wasn't that quick, so I will leave this past year for another entry. Quick summary of the last two days running:
Wednesday 22nd December, 6:30pm
16km easy - 1:13:41 (4:36/km) ave HR 143
Had a late lunch (although stuck to the lemon squashes) and had to pull up at about 20 minutes to let my stomach settle (one reason I will stay away from ultras). Took it easy the next few kms, but recovered OK, and managed to complete the session. The schedule said 19km, which I could have done, but I will work towards this over the next couple of weeks.
Thursday 23rd December, 8:30am
10km recovery - 44:31 (4:27/km) ave HR 143
A much more telling recovery run than Mondays, as I had something to recover from. Felt the hills a bit more, and consciously eased back. Planning a long run tomorrow (27km) in lieu of Boxing Day (17km) and the CoolRunning 5km challenge on Monday.
Quick bio:
Took up running when I was 19 - started running with a colleauge at lunch times, and had to get very good, very quickly to keep up. First 10km race Jan 1990 - 40:30.
Did some track running in 1991 while I was living in Melbourne (2:05 800m, 4:34 1500m), then got a bit serious when I move backed to Sydney in 1992. Ran a 10km PB of 37:45 in March, then went to 34:58 in May, then 32:59 in July. Discovered my training (going out and running 10km quickly every day) didn't give me much longevity that season, and was quickly back to 36:00 for 10km. Also ran a 16:08 5000m during this time (and a City to Surf I would rather forget).
In 1993, I got more involved in track running, and got my PBs down to 1:58 for 800m and 4:08 for 1500m. In 1995, I get really serious about track, and ran 50.5 for 400m and 1:54.9 for 800m. Became disillusioned at the end of the season, and didn't run much in winter.
Tried a comeback for 1996, but sprained my ankle after my first session (playing basketball!). Got back into things by just going out and jogging each day. Was soon up to doing 30km runs with the Sydney Striders, and giving the 6:20am group a run for their money. Ran my debut half marathon in Jaunary 1997, running 1:15:45, a PB that remains to this day (but will fall in the next few months!). Was targetting Canberra marathon in 97, but sprained my ankle again two weeks before hand.
From 1997-2001, my running was very sporadic, sometimes going months without training, and often getting injured when I did, trying to make up for lost time. In 2002, I put my head down, and set my sights on the World Masters Games in Melbourne. Once again tried to do too much, too quickly off a miniscule base, and basically couldn't train in the month beforehand. Ended up missing the final (9th fastest qualifier for the 400m and 800m final). But missing these races meant I was refreshed for the 400m hurdles, which I won in a very modest 61 seconds (although I spent about 2 seconds on the blocks to make sure I didn't false start a second time!).
Since then I have trained pretty consistently, missing only one period (Dec 2003-Jan 2004) with injury. 2003 was a pretty good year, with bests of about 16:54 for 5km, 35:20 for 10km and 1:17:20 for the half - ironically all these were set on tough, hilly courses! I also ran my third City to Surf in a PB of 53:20.
This was also the year of my marathon debut, where I was targetting 2:50. Went through halfway in 1:24, feeling good, but at 22km, my calves started cramping, and I was forced to do the next 20km on perserverance alone. Ended up running 3:10:00, which some folk would dream about, but for me it was a very disappointing day (one of only two races I have cried at the end of!). Didn't make any real mistakes, apart from probably doing too big a long run 3 weeks beforehand (38km). Strengthening my calves will be a focus this year, as I have had problems in a couple of other races since then.
Well, my quick bio wasn't that quick, so I will leave this past year for another entry. Quick summary of the last two days running:
Wednesday 22nd December, 6:30pm
16km easy - 1:13:41 (4:36/km) ave HR 143
Had a late lunch (although stuck to the lemon squashes) and had to pull up at about 20 minutes to let my stomach settle (one reason I will stay away from ultras). Took it easy the next few kms, but recovered OK, and managed to complete the session. The schedule said 19km, which I could have done, but I will work towards this over the next couple of weeks.
Thursday 23rd December, 8:30am
10km recovery - 44:31 (4:27/km) ave HR 143
A much more telling recovery run than Mondays, as I had something to recover from. Felt the hills a bit more, and consciously eased back. Planning a long run tomorrow (27km) in lieu of Boxing Day (17km) and the CoolRunning 5km challenge on Monday.
