I had a really enjoyable week of running last week. It's been 7 weeks since the Rotterdam Marathon. Whilst I was reasonably satisfied with the marathon, I was very much in need of a physical and mental break. The deliberate strategy of really cutting back the mileage and slowly building it back up has been just what the doctor ordered. Apart from the one week where I was really sick, I've slowly built the mileage each week. Last week I logged 120 km's, whilst not a lot, I'm quite happy with where I'm at. I've been running without injury or pain and to be honest, my enthusiasm for running has increased.
My coach, Sean Williams, scheduled some of my favourite sessions last week. Windsprints on Tuesday, long intervals Thursday and a longer tempo on Saturday (12 km's), all on grass/dirt. I did my longer Wednesday & Sunday runs through the undulating trails near home and the Monday & Friday recovery runs on grass. All up probably only around 20 km's or so on the road (session warm-ups / warm-downs on the way to / from training).
For the past couple of weeks I've been experimenting with Vibram Fivefingers (Bikila's). I've been using these for the Monday & Friday recovery runs and really concentrating on my technique. When I was down Melbourne way for the Victoria Masters 10,000 metre race, one of the girls down there commented that I really hit the ground hard making a loud slapping sound. It got me thinking about my footstrike, which tends to be heel first, especially when I'm fatiguing. The fivefingers are really frcing me to run with a more even footstrike and I've noticed some improvement. I've always ran uphill sections quite strongly. I guess living in the mountains you can't really hide from hills. Despite the solid uphill ability, I'm dead sead terrible with the downhill, especially on the trails. Last Monday I decided to try and do something about this. I usually follow my recovery jogs with 5 relaxed strides. I've been reading a few books & watching youtube stuff on the net and stumbled across some different ideas. The first thing I noticed is that there are various schools of thought. Some advocate, heel first footstriking and others midfoot or forefoot striking. After much research I came to the conclusion that I should just go out and run and do what feels most comfortable to me.
After a few runs in the Bikila's I've sort of adapted to a more midfoot strike without any conscious effort. I have had to make a deliberate adaption though for downhill running. That is leaning a little further forward and inflecting the knee at impact a tad. I've always known that you should lean from the ankles and let gravity do its thing, but it just hasn't felt natural to me. However by relaxing the knees at impact and moving the hips slightly forward, it has made a huge difference to my downhill running/. Instead of running with a natural breaking motion that stresses my lower back (ongoing cause of pain), I actually felt like I had some suspension. The usual pain I get in the lower back wasn't there and I also felt more confident to just let go and let gravity get me down the hill. Last night I crusied quite quickly down a long steep hill that normally scares the hell out of me. It was a great feeling. I'll keep working at it.
Some notes for my own benefit on technique. Others can say it is right or wrong, but at this stage I really don't care. Something to start working on and refine if necessary:
1) Hips forward but relaxed. I'm visualising that feeling of when you do those pelvic floor exercises to work on the TA's. The hips feel a little lower but more forward;
2) Maintain upright posture but lean slightly forward from the ankles;
3) Slight knee inflection on landing. Keeping the hips forward and slightly lower seems to naturally lead to this;
4) Concentrate on firing the hamstrings / glutes on lift-off.
There it is, my work in progress.
Key sessions last week:
Tuesday - 5 km windsprints - 17:02 (90% effort on grass). Floated the curves easily.
Thursday - 3 x 3.55 km's off 2:45 min recovery. Tough session on dirt. Splits: 12:42 / 12:34 / 12:58. Went too hard on the second and struggled on the 3rd.
Saturday - 12 km tempo - 42:24. Solid effort with a negative split and 3:19 final km kickdown. Okay.
Calendar Notes By Date:
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 29/05/2011
Time: 3:40 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: LongRun
Route: Winmalee - School - Bees Nest - Swamp - Winmalee
Distance: 22.50 (km)
Duration: 1:46:31 (H:M:S)
Pace: 4:44 (m/km)
Effort: 6
Notes: Trail run - undulating. 1 longish steep downhill AND 1 longish uphill.
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 28/05/2011
Time: 5:00 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: Recovery
Distance: 3.50 (km)
Duration: 0:20:00 (H:M:S)
Pace: 5:43 (m/km)
Effort: 2
Notes: Warm-down
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 28/05/2011
Time: 4:56 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: EasyRun/Jog
Route: Redfern - CP
Distance: 3.50 (km)
Duration: 0:17:24 (H:M:S)
Pace: 4:58 (m/km)
Effort: 3
Notes: Warm-up
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 28/05/2011
Time: 8:05 AM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: QuickRun
Distance: 12.00 (km)
Duration: 0:42:24 (H:M:S)
Pace: 3:32 (m/km)
Group Run: YES
Effort: 9
Notes: Felt sluggish, but managed to run a negative split and kick down for a 3:19 final km.
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 27/05/2011
Time: 3:30 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: Recovery
Route: Parramatta Park - X/C
Distance: 5.80 (km)
Duration: 0:30:00 (H:M:S)
Pace: 5:10 (m/km)
Effort: 3
Notes: Ran in vibram's and concentrated on foot-strike.
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 26/05/2011
Time: 5:40 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: Recovery
Route: CP - Central
Distance: 3.50 (km)
Duration: 0:20:15 (H:M:S)
Pace: 5:47 (m/km)
Effort: 2
Notes: Warm down
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 26/05/2011
Time: 4:45 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: IntervalTraining
Route: CP - White Fence
Distance: 11.20 (km)
Duration: 0:43:55 (H:M:S)
Pace: 3:55 (m/km)
Group Run: YES
Effort: 9
Notes: 3 x white fence (3.55 km's) - splits 12:42 / 12:34 / 12:58. Short recovery - 2:45. Good pace 1st lap / a little too quick on the second lap / struggled on 3rd lap but maintained even pace.
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 26/05/2011
Time: 3:50 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: EasyRun/Jog
Route: Central - CP
Distance: 6.20 (km)
Duration: 0:30:16 (H:M:S)
Pace: 4:53 (m/km)
Effort: 3
Notes: Warm-up
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 25/05/2011
Time: 1:55 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: EasyRun/Jog
Route: Winmalee - Ridge - Swamp - Winmalee
Distance: 23.10 (km)
Duration: 1:50:46 (H:M:S)
Pace: 4:48 (m/km)
Effort: 6
Notes: Trail run. 2 loops of the Swamp AND Ridge. Rolling hills over the Ridge then long steep downhill followed by relatively flat section through the swamp and long steep hill back up to the Ridge. 8.9 km's each loop. Remainder of run along footpath between the National Park and home. Average H/R 134. A little leg heavy on the second loop. Finished run with 5 x 100 m relaxed strides with jog recovery. Last 3 downhill on grass focusing on technique. In particular placing more weight forward from the ankles and using gravity.
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 24/05/2011
Time: 5:10 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: Recovery
Route: CP - Central
Distance: 5.60 (km)
Duration: 0:31:52 (H:M:S)
Pace: 5:41 (m/km)
Effort: 2
Notes: Warm down
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 24/05/2011
Time: 4:45 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: SpeedWork
Route: Mackay Oval, CP
Distance: 5.00 (km)
Duration: 0:17:02 (H:M:S)
Pace: 3:24 (m/km)
Group Run: YES
Effort: 8
Notes: 5 km straights AND curves session. 90-95% effort on the straights. Floated the curves at around 80% effort. Average H/R 165
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 24/05/2011
Time: 4:15 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: EasyRun/Jog
Route: Town Hall - CP
Distance: 5.60 (km)
Duration: 0:28:00 (H:M:S)
Pace: 5:00 (m/km)
Effort: 3
Notes: Warm-up
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 23/05/2011
Time: 1:00 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: Sprints
Route: Track - Fairfield (Grass)
Distance: 1.00 (km)
Duration: 0:06:00 (H:M:S)
Pace: 6:00 (m/km)
Effort: 7
Notes: Strides - 5 x 100 (1) - Relaxed
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 23/05/2011
Time: 12:00 PM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: EasyRun/Jog
Route: Track - Fairfield (Grass)
Distance: 12.00 (km)
Duration: 1:00:00 (H:M:S)
Pace: 5:00 (m/km)
Effort: 4
Notes: E 60
-------------------------------------------------
Date: 22/05/2011
Time: 8:35 AM
Type of day: Workout
Type of run: EasyRun/Jog
Route: Winmalee - Ridge - Swamp (x2) - School - Winmalee
Distance: 24.60 (km)
Duration: 2:01:33 (H:M:S)
Pace: 4:56 (m/km)
Effort: 5
Notes: Trail run with 2 tough hills.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Victorian Masters 10000
It's been a long time since I put in a decent race, so it was great to get a win in the Victorian Masters 10000 metre track race last week. The time was 34:32, which was only 10 seconds off my PB.
The majority of my running last week was either on grass or trails. After being crook for the 2 weeks prior, it was especially nice to get all planned sessions in.
Brief summary is as follows:
Monday (16/5)
8 km's jogging - 40 mins
Tuesday (17/5)
Vic Masters Race - The race started quicker than I expected. I sat in 5th place through the first lap in 78 seconds. My plan was to aim for even 81's and try and hold on. Whilst I would've liked to go a little easier I wanted to stay in touch as the race was interstate and I didn't know any of the other runners. 3 of the runners dropped off early in the second lap and I went into the lead despite deliberately slowing my pace. I went through the first 2000 in 6:46 and I could hear another guy close behind. This was encouraging because I was hoping for support. Unfortunately he didn't hold the pace for much longer and it was a solo time trial after that. My lack of fitness showed with each 2000 split progressively slowing a little. The last 2000 was a very ordinary 7:04. I gave my all but just couldn't lift. Given the minimal training in recent weeks, I was very happy with the run.
All up 17 km's including warm up and warm down.
Wednesday (18/3)
My legs were still very lactic 24 hours later. I ended up running a very pedestrian 22 km's or so in 1:47. Enjoyable run though around Melbourne's Botannical Gardens.
Thursday (19/3)
My legs were still pretty zapped but turned up for the session with the squad. Session consisted of 5 x 800 hill loop , short recovery and a 3.7 km tempo. All up a little over 12 km's with the warm up and warm down. Interval splits 2:52/2:42/2:38/2:37/2:40. Relaxed tempo at 3:43 pace.
Friday (20/3)
Easy jog of just over 11 km's on grass.
Saturday (21/3)
8 km tempo in 28:39. Relaxed marathon pace start and progressively picked up the pace each km, finishing with a 3:21. All up 18 km's.
Sunday (22/3)
Relaxed 2 hour trail run with a few challenging hills.
All up 112 km's for the week. Plan is to build on this a little next week and ease back the following week for the NSW 10k Road Championships race. After that a few hard weeks leading up to the Gold Coast 1/2 marathon. Will then get back into marathon training mode for the Chicago Marathon.
The majority of my running last week was either on grass or trails. After being crook for the 2 weeks prior, it was especially nice to get all planned sessions in.
Brief summary is as follows:
Monday (16/5)
8 km's jogging - 40 mins
Tuesday (17/5)
Vic Masters Race - The race started quicker than I expected. I sat in 5th place through the first lap in 78 seconds. My plan was to aim for even 81's and try and hold on. Whilst I would've liked to go a little easier I wanted to stay in touch as the race was interstate and I didn't know any of the other runners. 3 of the runners dropped off early in the second lap and I went into the lead despite deliberately slowing my pace. I went through the first 2000 in 6:46 and I could hear another guy close behind. This was encouraging because I was hoping for support. Unfortunately he didn't hold the pace for much longer and it was a solo time trial after that. My lack of fitness showed with each 2000 split progressively slowing a little. The last 2000 was a very ordinary 7:04. I gave my all but just couldn't lift. Given the minimal training in recent weeks, I was very happy with the run.
All up 17 km's including warm up and warm down.
Wednesday (18/3)
My legs were still very lactic 24 hours later. I ended up running a very pedestrian 22 km's or so in 1:47. Enjoyable run though around Melbourne's Botannical Gardens.
Thursday (19/3)
My legs were still pretty zapped but turned up for the session with the squad. Session consisted of 5 x 800 hill loop , short recovery and a 3.7 km tempo. All up a little over 12 km's with the warm up and warm down. Interval splits 2:52/2:42/2:38/2:37/2:40. Relaxed tempo at 3:43 pace.
Friday (20/3)
Easy jog of just over 11 km's on grass.
Saturday (21/3)
8 km tempo in 28:39. Relaxed marathon pace start and progressively picked up the pace each km, finishing with a 3:21. All up 18 km's.
Sunday (22/3)
Relaxed 2 hour trail run with a few challenging hills.
All up 112 km's for the week. Plan is to build on this a little next week and ease back the following week for the NSW 10k Road Championships race. After that a few hard weeks leading up to the Gold Coast 1/2 marathon. Will then get back into marathon training mode for the Chicago Marathon.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Sleep, sleep & more sleep!
This week I've been struck down with a bug & as the title suggests I've done nothing but sleep all week.
Monday
Slept until 11.30 am after going to bed before 9 the night before. Had some lunch and went back to sleep for another 2 hours. Dragged myself out for a pathetic 30 min run / 6 kms. Felt terrible so quit early.
Tuesday
Slept in until 10 am. Forced myself to train by driving the usual 80 kms each way to train with the squad at Centennial Park. In hindsight I probably should've had a day off. All up did around 12 kms. The actual session consisted of 6 x 800 with around 35-40 seconds recovery. My splits were very poor and I finished well behind all of the group. Breathing was really tough and the flu got the better of me. Splits: 2:35/2:35/2:35/2:37/2:39/2:40. This was supposed to be followed by 4 x 200's but I had to bale and just do a warm down.
Wednesday - Complete rest (too sick) - More sleep.
Thursday - Same as Wednesday
Friday - I managed a pathetic 4.5 km jog in 22.5 mins. Still struggling with the flu.
Saturday
All up 14.5 kms. 3'x 2000. Splits 6:55/6:53/6:44. Struggled but at least held it together and progressively picked up the pace each interval. Breathing still tough and still plenty of crap on my chest.
Sunday
Slept in till 10 am. Had lunch and an afternoon nap before another pathetic 30 min jog of 6 kms.
A really crappy week of training and hardly the ideal preparation for a 10000 metre track race on Tuesday night in Melbourne. Would pull out but flights and accommodation has been booked and paid for. Plus I won this race last year and would like to have another crack at it.
Monday
Slept until 11.30 am after going to bed before 9 the night before. Had some lunch and went back to sleep for another 2 hours. Dragged myself out for a pathetic 30 min run / 6 kms. Felt terrible so quit early.
Tuesday
Slept in until 10 am. Forced myself to train by driving the usual 80 kms each way to train with the squad at Centennial Park. In hindsight I probably should've had a day off. All up did around 12 kms. The actual session consisted of 6 x 800 with around 35-40 seconds recovery. My splits were very poor and I finished well behind all of the group. Breathing was really tough and the flu got the better of me. Splits: 2:35/2:35/2:35/2:37/2:39/2:40. This was supposed to be followed by 4 x 200's but I had to bale and just do a warm down.
Wednesday - Complete rest (too sick) - More sleep.
Thursday - Same as Wednesday
Friday - I managed a pathetic 4.5 km jog in 22.5 mins. Still struggling with the flu.
Saturday
All up 14.5 kms. 3'x 2000. Splits 6:55/6:53/6:44. Struggled but at least held it together and progressively picked up the pace each interval. Breathing still tough and still plenty of crap on my chest.
Sunday
Slept in till 10 am. Had lunch and an afternoon nap before another pathetic 30 min jog of 6 kms.
A really crappy week of training and hardly the ideal preparation for a 10000 metre track race on Tuesday night in Melbourne. Would pull out but flights and accommodation has been booked and paid for. Plus I won this race last year and would like to have another crack at it.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Colder weather!
I'm a big country music fan and I really love Zac Brown's song, Colder Weather! Along with Kid Rock's "Born Free" album, this is my favourite music this year so far. I also look forward to running in the colder weather after a hot summer. The only problem is I always seem to pick up a flu early in the season. Lo & behold, the trend has continued. Laying in bed on Tuesday night and I just knew then and there that I'd succumbed again. The only thing I was wondering is how long and how bad? Well I'm still struggling, but not bad enough to stop me from running.
It was Mother's Day today, so I let the diet lapse a treated myself to a single beer.
Summary for the past week is as follows:
Monday (2/5)
Easy jog - 10 km's - 50:12
Tuesday (3/5)
V02 Session - 6 km's (300 float / 700 hard) - 20:45
Felt pretty good. Ran solidly and picked up the pace each 2 km's. 2 km splits: 7:00 / 6:58 / 6:47
All up 15 km's in 1:05:45
Wednesday (4/5)
20 km's - 1:32:02
Flu symptons today. Headache, tiredness, chesty cough, sore throat. Ran okay. Started slowly & picked up pace to an easy pace. Didn't feel well afterwards.
Thursday (5/5)
10.6 km's - 50:55
Felt pretty good, but breathing a little hindered due to flu.
Friday (6/5)
5 km's - 24:25
Felt okay. Light jogging into easy.
Saturday (7/5)
6 km's tempo - 20:59
Struggled with the breathing a bit due to flu, but ran cautiously. Started slowly and picked up a little.
All-up 11.7 km's - 52:18
Sunday (8/5)
Easy long run - 30.3 km's - 2:21:34
Struggled, breathing tough due to flu. Happy though to at least get a decent, albeit slow, long run under my belt.
All up 102.6 km's - 7:57:12 (Average Pace - 4:39)
Reasonably happy with the progress this week. Fairly light week, with a few decent runs in there. Would've been nice not to pick up a flu though.
It was Mother's Day today, so I let the diet lapse a treated myself to a single beer.
Summary for the past week is as follows:
Monday (2/5)
Easy jog - 10 km's - 50:12
Tuesday (3/5)
V02 Session - 6 km's (300 float / 700 hard) - 20:45
Felt pretty good. Ran solidly and picked up the pace each 2 km's. 2 km splits: 7:00 / 6:58 / 6:47
All up 15 km's in 1:05:45
Wednesday (4/5)
20 km's - 1:32:02
Flu symptons today. Headache, tiredness, chesty cough, sore throat. Ran okay. Started slowly & picked up pace to an easy pace. Didn't feel well afterwards.
Thursday (5/5)
10.6 km's - 50:55
Felt pretty good, but breathing a little hindered due to flu.
Friday (6/5)
5 km's - 24:25
Felt okay. Light jogging into easy.
Saturday (7/5)
6 km's tempo - 20:59
Struggled with the breathing a bit due to flu, but ran cautiously. Started slowly and picked up a little.
All-up 11.7 km's - 52:18
Sunday (8/5)
Easy long run - 30.3 km's - 2:21:34
Struggled, breathing tough due to flu. Happy though to at least get a decent, albeit slow, long run under my belt.
All up 102.6 km's - 7:57:12 (Average Pace - 4:39)
Reasonably happy with the progress this week. Fairly light week, with a few decent runs in there. Would've been nice not to pick up a flu though.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Nearly ready to get serious again!
3 weeks have passed since the Rotterdam Marathon and I'm now physically and mentally ready to get serious again! Time to start eating healthy again and give away the beers for a while.
I've got a few races planned over the next 2 months, before getting marathon specific for October's Chicago Marathon:
17/5 - Victorian Masters 10,000 metre track race.
4/6 - NSW State 10,000 Road Championships
3/7 - Gold Coast 1/2 Marathon
I picked up the mileage a bit last week and entered a low key 1/2 marathon on the spur of the moment.
Summary of training last week is as follows:
Monday 25/4 -
12.8 km's - 57:28 - Pleasant run in the rain. Light progressive paced, started at a jog, into easy and finishing steady.
Tuesday 26/4 - 5 km light windsprints session (30 seconds hard / 30 seconds jog recovery)
15.9 km's - 1:10:58 - A little sluggish. Ran the windsprints based on right foot landstrikes. 45 on 45 off. Windsprints mainly over a hilly trail. Didn't focus on times, in fact didn't even time the splits. Effort about 85-90%. Average H/R 142.
Wednesday 27/4
23.7 km's - 1:52:30 - Hilly trail run. Sluggish. Tired legs and stiff in the lower back. Found the downhill over the last 7 km's tough. Average H/R 138.
Thursday 28/4
Rest
Friday 29/4
15.9 km's - 1:14:31 - Easy effort. 1/2 road & 1/2 grass.
Saturday 30/4
Rest
Sunday 1/5
1.6k warm up & 8 km warm down.
Got what I hoped for out of the race. 77:55 - Reasonable time, despite being nearly 3 mins below PB (75:04) set at Gold Coast last year. Felt a little sluggish & lacked speed, however strength was fine. Held a reasonable pace throughout and finished solidly. Expected this considering that I'm still in marathon recovery mode, low mileage, 3 hilly runs over past week, weight gain (3 kgs), and focus on aerobic running instead of speedwork.
All up 99 km's for the week - 7:26:23 (Average Pace - 4:31)
I've got a few races planned over the next 2 months, before getting marathon specific for October's Chicago Marathon:
17/5 - Victorian Masters 10,000 metre track race.
4/6 - NSW State 10,000 Road Championships
3/7 - Gold Coast 1/2 Marathon
I picked up the mileage a bit last week and entered a low key 1/2 marathon on the spur of the moment.
Summary of training last week is as follows:
Monday 25/4 -
12.8 km's - 57:28 - Pleasant run in the rain. Light progressive paced, started at a jog, into easy and finishing steady.
Tuesday 26/4 - 5 km light windsprints session (30 seconds hard / 30 seconds jog recovery)
15.9 km's - 1:10:58 - A little sluggish. Ran the windsprints based on right foot landstrikes. 45 on 45 off. Windsprints mainly over a hilly trail. Didn't focus on times, in fact didn't even time the splits. Effort about 85-90%. Average H/R 142.
Wednesday 27/4
23.7 km's - 1:52:30 - Hilly trail run. Sluggish. Tired legs and stiff in the lower back. Found the downhill over the last 7 km's tough. Average H/R 138.
Thursday 28/4
Rest
Friday 29/4
15.9 km's - 1:14:31 - Easy effort. 1/2 road & 1/2 grass.
Saturday 30/4
Rest
Sunday 1/5
1.6k warm up & 8 km warm down.
Got what I hoped for out of the race. 77:55 - Reasonable time, despite being nearly 3 mins below PB (75:04) set at Gold Coast last year. Felt a little sluggish & lacked speed, however strength was fine. Held a reasonable pace throughout and finished solidly. Expected this considering that I'm still in marathon recovery mode, low mileage, 3 hilly runs over past week, weight gain (3 kgs), and focus on aerobic running instead of speedwork.
All up 99 km's for the week - 7:26:23 (Average Pace - 4:31)
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