Weekly Update

Just 67km for the week. Ive been pretty soft due to the weather and dodgy knee.

2 decent treadmill runs on an incline had me running with zero knee pain. So this morning I went out for a 30km effort and marathon pace to see if I would hold up.

The run was from Greenwich towards Manly via The Spit Bridge and then back again. Knee was niggling after 5 or 6 km but not enough to complain. A few hills disrupted the easy rhythm but that's what i was after as im told  the M7 marathon isnt particularly flat. I went through the half marathon mark in 1hr 25 which was bang on pace then my knee really started to bother me. Thought about waiting for a bus to take me home but then realised that it was Sunday and i could be waiting hours for any public transport to turn up so I nutted out the remaining 9km and ended up with 2hrs 1 min and 32 seconds. 13 of those kilometres being sub 4 (faster than planned marathon pace) There was a fair bit of time wasted at traffic lights but it was just a training run after all. Fitness wise it felt fine, energy wise i felt excellent. I had 500ml of water and 1 gel and that was all i needed. Once my knee is better id say 2.45 for the marathon is well within reach. A couple of chiro sessions this week will hopefully get me on the start line next Sunday.

Solid Week

Knee still not right but the good news is that its not stopping me from running. Pain isnt getting any worse and it comes and goes in waves. It is stopping me from running fast but just to be out running is a bonus. I'll have to go back and see the chiro before the marathon at the end of the month otherwise it will be an uncomfortable debut.

Without going in to too much detail i finally had a solid week of training hitting 124.4km in 11hrs 21minutes with 5 days of running. Happy to hit the mark whilst also having rest days.

Run of the week would have to be the 6ft out and back with Dan Bleakman. This run is total beast and takes you from the start of the 6ft track to the top of Pluvi and back again. Highlights were crossing the freezing creeks, running mini mini, the numerous kangaroos and discussing the European dominance of ultrarunning. Low light was Nellies Glen....


Thanks Dan for a great run. Exactly what I needed!

Knee on the mend

After visting the chripractor on Wednesday and being told that my knee and hip were incorrectly tracking I took yet another day off running and resumed on Thursday with a double run. Knee started off sore on both occassions but the pain went away. Not perfect but a definite improvement. 

A weekend away in Orange was in store this saturday and sunday. I planned to test my knee and run around the local area. I had a brief look at a map and saw there was an obvious loop i could run. I figured it would be 30km at the most. I wrapped up warm as the wind chill had the temperature below freezing. The terrain was rolling hills on bitumen, dirt road and some trail thrown in for good measure. I carried a water bottle and 1 small museli bar and 20 bucks to stock up mid-way. 

I was cruising along quite nicely, my knee only being slightly irritating. I probably got a little carried away with the pace as i went though the half marathon mark in 1hr 34 but it was feeling easy. After knocking back my museli bar and the majority of my 500ml worth of water i plodded on. I was beginning to get a little anxious that i may have underestimated the distance. The area was desolate and after running through a freezing creek I was getting a little cold. Soon after the 30km mark I hit a bit of a wall. I was feeling pretty much depleted and the hills were taking it out of me. I was cooling down and the combination of a smaller than average breakfast ( i was a guest and didnt want to appear rude by having my usual mountain of food) and having stopped eating by 6pm the night before ( i would normally have a MASSIVE breakfast prior to going to sleep) meant I had hit the wall. Not a fun experience. I somehow managed to make it home in 3hrs 37 minutes covering just under 43km. Just over 800 metres of elevation which is reasonable. Plenty of walking on the last sections but i was grateful to be able to run at all. It wasnt pretty but im fairly confident that i should be ok for the marathon at the end of the month. Sub 2.50 is off the cards  as I dont think my knee will hold up but i'll give anything for a sub 3hr finish. 

Having said that, now that im running there is no way that i'll be tapering for the event. I'll no doubt take the day off beforehand but that will be it. I need to start getting in some solid miles in preparation for the Great North Walk in November. A 3 week European beach holiday over August/September isnt going to help matters but may be just the tonic i need to get over my niggling injuries - and I cannot wait!! 

78kms for the week which isnt too bad considering I wasnt able to run further than 4km's on Tuesday.

Onwards and upwards!

Weekly update

Well it's been a week of rest on the running front. After pulling up painfully on sunday I attempted a run on Wednesday and my right knee was super sore just 6pm in.

Yesterday I had a posture check and it turns out my right side is 10kilos heavier than my left. So im rather lopsided and this could be attributing to the knee pain.

I've been doing plenty of strengthening exercises and experimenting with different types of taping. Today I had a small run with phill and ran at her pace and knocked out a very easy 45 minute run with just a little discomfort at the end. So I think slow and steady is the way to go. Will be avoiding all speed work so I won't be attending Monday night interval sessions.

I also fished out my old orthotics and stability runners as recommended by the physio. So will stick with this for a while then slowly remove the additional items one by one as my condition improves.

All up it was around 15km for the week. Let's hope next week sees me logging some proper numbers otherwise it will be back on the rowing machine

Not Much Happening

I havent been blogging as i havent been doing a great deal.

Mileage isnt where i want it to be as i've been dealing with a niggling ITB injury. Having the patience to not run is the biggest struggle. I've been working on core strength and lots of leg exercises and stretching diligently.

70kms last week and nothing this week. Leg is feeling heaps better so i hope to slowly build up.

My plans for a debut 2.49 road marathon now looks seriously optimistic. I think im going to need to re-evaluate this based on my current level of training. I'll probably be lucky to break 3hrs. The next couple of weeks will be telling..

Weekly Summary 06/06/11 - 12/06/11

Had an ok week of running. I was interstate for work the first couple of days of the week so didnt really do too much. A couple of quick runs here and there topped off with a great recce of the Great North Walk 100 course with a few ultra legends of the sport.

Some slight knee/ITB niggles which are irritating me - if this continues i'll have to look to get down to the acupuncturist to fix me up.

Monday - 5.56km - 21min 48 secs - 3.55min/km
Quick run whilst in Melbourne around a local park. Felt relatively easy and would have happily knocked off 10km at that pace if i had the time.

Wendesday - 22km - 1hr 34min 43sec - 4.18min/km
Run from work to Frenchs Forest. Felt pretty strong the whole way. Happy with the run.

Thursday - 13.62km - 54min 23sec - 3.59min/km
Another boring road run. Went out a bit too quick and felt like packing it in after 6km then came good again a few km's later.

Saturday - 41.32km - 4hrs 11mins - 6.04min/km
Awesome time running with Andrew Vize and Darrel Robins of 'Ultra168' and Beth and Brian Cardelli. We ran part of the Great North Walk course from Checkpoint 4 - 6. Will be a super tough run in November with the heat but I cant wait. Andrew has written a more eloquent write up here.

Sunday - 10.20km - 52min 41sec - 5.09min/km
Recovery run around the Cascades. Keeping my heart rate low (142 bpm) - something I havent done in a long time. Due to the excessive rain the creeks were overflowing which was good fun. Felt easy but my right knee was playing up. Need to get rolling.

Total - 92.67km - 7hrs 55mins

I finally feel like i'm getting back into the swing off things after TNF100. Body certainly not 100% but I dont think it ever has been. Will be looking to work on speed in the upcoming weeks which means mileage will suffer but thats cool. Its great to change it up and i'll have plenty of opportunities for big mileage running in the lead up to GNW later this year.

Best run ever!

I wont bore you with a weekly summary as i havent even hit 100km for the week, this being as its only my first proper week of running since TNF100 just over 2 weeks ago.

Today however I had what felt like the most enjoyable run ever. The route is just over 12.7km and is out and back over a fairly rough and hilly trail with 3 deep streams through it.

I last run this about 6 months ago in a then record time of 1hr 1minute and 30 seconds.

Today I just felt awesome and everything fell into place. I felt like i was flying the whole way apart from when i stacked it 2km in and shredded my body to ribbons - just a minor hiccup in what was otherwise the perfect run for me.

I made it to the fininsh in 54 minutes and 57 seconds shaving over 6 minutes off my previous time. With over 250 metres of elevation on this short run i felt like this was a pretty solid effort.

Feels good to be back!