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)
Friday, April 29, 2011
Cheese, Beer, Paris, Hash & Recovery!
As I mentioned in my last Blog I was in extreme pain after the race. The pain in my lower back over the next 4 days was excrutiating to say the least. I won't pretend for a minute to compare it to child birth, which obviously never know about, but it was the worst pain I have ever experienced in my lifetime. It probably didn't help that I'd caught the train from Rotterdam and gone to Paris and was intent on seeing the sights, no matter how much pain I was in. The 700 metre walk from the train station in Paris to my room seriously took more than 30 minutes to complete. I was actually passed from an old lady with a walking frame.
I've never been to Europe before so I wasn't about to sit about the room and twiddle my thumbs, so I forced myself to walk around Paris. What an amazing city! So beautiful! As for the locals, well, exercising diplomacy I'll just say that I've never come across so many arrogant individuals in 1 place.
I didn't see much for the first 3 days in Paris. I could only manage to get to Sacre-Couer, Notre Dame, Versailles Palace, The Eiffel Tower and the local laundry. After 2 weeks abroad, I had run out of clean clothes and had to do the washing. I had no idea how to use the machines and the instructions were in French. Luckily there was 1 other person in the place and he knew how to operate the machines. Nice to come across a helpful local.
I'm very partial to cheese and normally I refrain from eating any at all. However, I do allow myself to indulge a little after each marathon. Cheesecake washed down with a few beers is usually my favourite post marathon dinner. I wasn't in Rotterdam for long enough to get the lay of the land, so I just settled for mushroom risotto and a few dutch beers. I was too sore anyway to go looking for pizza & cheesecake. The beers tasted good though. I made up for it in Paris though, nearly every meal I could find there seems to contain cheese whether I wanted it or not. Cheese toasties, pizza, panini's etc etc. I never did find any cheesecake and it wasn't until I got home that I tucked into a slice. I sampled some local beers in Paris but switched quickly to Dutch beers, which along with Belgian Beer is more suited to my palate.
I must say that the French girls are the prettiest I've ever seen.
Versailles Palace was a highlight for me. The gardens are out of this world. Unbelieveable! The extravagance of the place certainly explains why the French revolted against the Royal family.
11/4
I didn't do much my first day in Paris. I went to Sacre-Couer and sat through most of a service there. I wanted to stay the whole time out of respect, but my back was just to sore and I couldn't understand a word spoken anyway, so I discreetly left. The Catherdral was beautiful inside and out.
12/4
Day 2 in Paris involved a trip to Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. It was quite ironic that I should visit Notre Dame when I was hunched over with a sore back.
13/4
On my 3rd day in Paris, I went to Versailles Palace with a German guy & Cypriot guy that I met at the hostel. My back was so sore and I couldn't keep up with them and ended losing them.
14/4
AM - My back was slightly better on the 4th day in Paris, so I decided to go for a jog. I think the scenery took my mind off any pain and I ended up jogging 9.5 km's in 47:36. I had only planned on jogging 20 mins and catching the metro back, but the scenery was so spectactular I just kept going. Ran past Moullin Rough, down to the Arc De Triomphe, along the Champs Elysees, past the Louvre, over the River Seine and finishing at Notre Dame. Definitely one of my favourite ever runs, despite dodging a lot of traffic.
15/4
AM - 7.9 km's - 38:08 - Still in Paris. Again ran to the Arc De Triomphe but caught the metro back from there. Felt pretty good and didn't notice the back pain much.
Spent the rest of the day and until late in the evening checking out the sights of Paris. Most of which I had already seen, but wanted to see again. The Eiffel Tower at night is pretty special.
16/4
Back to Holland and into the city of Amsterdam. I couldn't help but notice all the buildings that looked like they were falling over in different directions. The red light district was something else. I've never walked past scantilly clad girls in shop windows before. Mostly ugly one's but a few eye catchers. Whilst I've never been to Amsterdam before, obviously I had an idea of what it was about. I must say though that the smell of hash was far worse than I had expected. I'm a pretty nerdy type and have never touched any drug in my entire life, but I reckon one could get high just passively taking in the smelly air whilst walking around. Amsterdam was without doubt the most expensive city that I stayed at. Still I liked the canals, the parks, the architecture and was amused at the red light district etc. The one thing that struck me was the number of bikes around. I knew there would be a lot, but hadn't expected so many.
Anyway, on the subject of running, I put in a really nice run on my first day in Amsterdam. Surprisingly I was feeling great and ended up running 14.3 km's in 1 hour. I started off very easy and without really trying to or noticing it, I'd picked up the pace to low 4:00's and was still feeling fantastic. I ended up picking the pace up to marathon pace and putting in a 3:24 second last km just for the sake of it.
17/4
PM - 10.3 km's - 50:06
Second last day in Amsterdam, spent the day walking around the canals & parks.
All up just 42 km's for the week.
18/4
PM - 8.3 km's - 38:02 (around Schipol Airport, Holland)
Last day before heading home. I spent the day wandering around Amsterdam with Sugi, a Balinese guy I met at the hostel who is living in London. We headed to Ann Frank House. Whilst being there was undoubtedly profound, sad and moving, it also reminded me of how lucky I am to have been born free in Australia. For the past week, I was quite homesick and missing the kids, my family and my g/f Sammy. I really enjoyed my time in Europe and marvelled at the things I saw over the past 3 weeks, but without doubt, there's no place like home.
19/4 & 20/4
No running these 2 days as I was in the process of flying back to Australia. I had considered a jog in KL, whilst in transit but I was so sleepy that I crashed on a lounge at the airport and slept for 4 hours. Spent the next 2 hours in the priority lounge gorging myself. Had a few beers, 2 mains & 5 servings of ice cream plus other sweets.
Home Sweet Home on the 20th.
21/4
PM - 13.9 km's - 1:01:29 - Progressive effort.
22/4
Back off again, but this time with the kids to my parent's place on the South Coast (Kianga).
Rested again. Tired and stiff after the 5 hour drive. Ended up falling asleep within 10 minutes of arriving and not getting back up for another 5 hours. By that time it was too late to jog. Still getting over the jetlag.
23/4
Still getting over the jetlag, but actually put in a really solid run over hills. One of my favourite runs that I alwasys like to do when I go down to Kianga. I start at Mum & Dad's place on the beach, head out to the forest and then up a steep hill. At the 7 km mark the road levels out involves an underlating section for several km's before heading back downhill. Cross over the highway and then a nice 7 km beach run section back home. All up 23.7 km's for the loop, with over 500 metres of ascending.
Covered the distance in 1:44:51 progressively picking up the pace and getting down to low 4:00's over the final few km's and quicker than marathon pace at the end. Average pace was 4:25's. From memory, I think this is probably the quickest average pace that I have ever done for this particular run.
24/4
PM - 9 km's - 40:18 (progressive effort again)
All up 54.9 km's for the week in 4:04 hrs.
So there it is. 2 Blogs summarising the past 5 weeks. I'll update the current week in the next few days and will make more of an effort to keep up to date.
I've never been to Europe before so I wasn't about to sit about the room and twiddle my thumbs, so I forced myself to walk around Paris. What an amazing city! So beautiful! As for the locals, well, exercising diplomacy I'll just say that I've never come across so many arrogant individuals in 1 place.
I didn't see much for the first 3 days in Paris. I could only manage to get to Sacre-Couer, Notre Dame, Versailles Palace, The Eiffel Tower and the local laundry. After 2 weeks abroad, I had run out of clean clothes and had to do the washing. I had no idea how to use the machines and the instructions were in French. Luckily there was 1 other person in the place and he knew how to operate the machines. Nice to come across a helpful local.
I'm very partial to cheese and normally I refrain from eating any at all. However, I do allow myself to indulge a little after each marathon. Cheesecake washed down with a few beers is usually my favourite post marathon dinner. I wasn't in Rotterdam for long enough to get the lay of the land, so I just settled for mushroom risotto and a few dutch beers. I was too sore anyway to go looking for pizza & cheesecake. The beers tasted good though. I made up for it in Paris though, nearly every meal I could find there seems to contain cheese whether I wanted it or not. Cheese toasties, pizza, panini's etc etc. I never did find any cheesecake and it wasn't until I got home that I tucked into a slice. I sampled some local beers in Paris but switched quickly to Dutch beers, which along with Belgian Beer is more suited to my palate.
I must say that the French girls are the prettiest I've ever seen.
Versailles Palace was a highlight for me. The gardens are out of this world. Unbelieveable! The extravagance of the place certainly explains why the French revolted against the Royal family.
11/4
I didn't do much my first day in Paris. I went to Sacre-Couer and sat through most of a service there. I wanted to stay the whole time out of respect, but my back was just to sore and I couldn't understand a word spoken anyway, so I discreetly left. The Catherdral was beautiful inside and out.
12/4
Day 2 in Paris involved a trip to Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. It was quite ironic that I should visit Notre Dame when I was hunched over with a sore back.
13/4
On my 3rd day in Paris, I went to Versailles Palace with a German guy & Cypriot guy that I met at the hostel. My back was so sore and I couldn't keep up with them and ended losing them.
14/4
AM - My back was slightly better on the 4th day in Paris, so I decided to go for a jog. I think the scenery took my mind off any pain and I ended up jogging 9.5 km's in 47:36. I had only planned on jogging 20 mins and catching the metro back, but the scenery was so spectactular I just kept going. Ran past Moullin Rough, down to the Arc De Triomphe, along the Champs Elysees, past the Louvre, over the River Seine and finishing at Notre Dame. Definitely one of my favourite ever runs, despite dodging a lot of traffic.
15/4
AM - 7.9 km's - 38:08 - Still in Paris. Again ran to the Arc De Triomphe but caught the metro back from there. Felt pretty good and didn't notice the back pain much.
Spent the rest of the day and until late in the evening checking out the sights of Paris. Most of which I had already seen, but wanted to see again. The Eiffel Tower at night is pretty special.
16/4
Back to Holland and into the city of Amsterdam. I couldn't help but notice all the buildings that looked like they were falling over in different directions. The red light district was something else. I've never walked past scantilly clad girls in shop windows before. Mostly ugly one's but a few eye catchers. Whilst I've never been to Amsterdam before, obviously I had an idea of what it was about. I must say though that the smell of hash was far worse than I had expected. I'm a pretty nerdy type and have never touched any drug in my entire life, but I reckon one could get high just passively taking in the smelly air whilst walking around. Amsterdam was without doubt the most expensive city that I stayed at. Still I liked the canals, the parks, the architecture and was amused at the red light district etc. The one thing that struck me was the number of bikes around. I knew there would be a lot, but hadn't expected so many.
Anyway, on the subject of running, I put in a really nice run on my first day in Amsterdam. Surprisingly I was feeling great and ended up running 14.3 km's in 1 hour. I started off very easy and without really trying to or noticing it, I'd picked up the pace to low 4:00's and was still feeling fantastic. I ended up picking the pace up to marathon pace and putting in a 3:24 second last km just for the sake of it.
17/4
PM - 10.3 km's - 50:06
Second last day in Amsterdam, spent the day walking around the canals & parks.
All up just 42 km's for the week.
18/4
PM - 8.3 km's - 38:02 (around Schipol Airport, Holland)
Last day before heading home. I spent the day wandering around Amsterdam with Sugi, a Balinese guy I met at the hostel who is living in London. We headed to Ann Frank House. Whilst being there was undoubtedly profound, sad and moving, it also reminded me of how lucky I am to have been born free in Australia. For the past week, I was quite homesick and missing the kids, my family and my g/f Sammy. I really enjoyed my time in Europe and marvelled at the things I saw over the past 3 weeks, but without doubt, there's no place like home.
19/4 & 20/4
No running these 2 days as I was in the process of flying back to Australia. I had considered a jog in KL, whilst in transit but I was so sleepy that I crashed on a lounge at the airport and slept for 4 hours. Spent the next 2 hours in the priority lounge gorging myself. Had a few beers, 2 mains & 5 servings of ice cream plus other sweets.
Home Sweet Home on the 20th.
21/4
PM - 13.9 km's - 1:01:29 - Progressive effort.
22/4
Back off again, but this time with the kids to my parent's place on the South Coast (Kianga).
Rested again. Tired and stiff after the 5 hour drive. Ended up falling asleep within 10 minutes of arriving and not getting back up for another 5 hours. By that time it was too late to jog. Still getting over the jetlag.
23/4
Still getting over the jetlag, but actually put in a really solid run over hills. One of my favourite runs that I alwasys like to do when I go down to Kianga. I start at Mum & Dad's place on the beach, head out to the forest and then up a steep hill. At the 7 km mark the road levels out involves an underlating section for several km's before heading back downhill. Cross over the highway and then a nice 7 km beach run section back home. All up 23.7 km's for the loop, with over 500 metres of ascending.
Covered the distance in 1:44:51 progressively picking up the pace and getting down to low 4:00's over the final few km's and quicker than marathon pace at the end. Average pace was 4:25's. From memory, I think this is probably the quickest average pace that I have ever done for this particular run.
24/4
PM - 9 km's - 40:18 (progressive effort again)
All up 54.9 km's for the week in 4:04 hrs.
So there it is. 2 Blogs summarising the past 5 weeks. I'll update the current week in the next few days and will make more of an effort to keep up to date.
About time I updated the Blog!
It's been well over a month since I last updated the BLOG. I returned from Europe just over a week back and immediately headed down south to Narooma over Easter and spent time with the family. As such, I'll give a day by day run down on what I've been up to and a little commentary on the Rotterdam Marathon afterwards.
4 weeks to go
14/3 - Left heel sore.
- Did 20 mins swimming (30x25 plus warm-up & warm down)
- 40 mins deepwater pool running (hard/easy)
15/3 - Left heel still sore
AM - 45 mins deepwater running (30 secs on/off hard/easy)
PM - 8 x 300 (1) - 53/50/51/52/53/51/53/52 (grass) followed by 4 km tempo (dirt) - 14:07 (consistent 3:31/3:32's). Solid session - All up 15.2 km's including warm-up & warm-down.
16/3 - Left heel still sore, plus calf.
PM - 25 km's - 1:53:44
17/3 - Left heel & calf still sore.
AM - 45 mins deepwater running (hard/easy) followed by 5.5 km's light jogging - 27:30
PM - 6 km's (700 hard/300 float) - 20:13. Solid session. Finished strongly, but with sore heel & calf. All up, 14.2 km's including warm-up & warm-down.
18/3 - Heel & calf still sore.
AM - 1:00 deepwater running (hard/easy)
PM - 10 km's - 50:03
19/3
PM - 34 km's - 2:26:35 (included 16 km's of marathon paced intervals). Felt sick & struggled with the trots.
20/3 - Still suffering niggles
50 mins deepwater running.
All up - 103 km's of actual running, plus 4 hours pool running & swimming - 11:47 hrs (excluding swimming)
3 weeks to go
21/3 - Left hammy sore again but higher up.
AM - 25 km's - 1:53:02 - included 5 x 1000 @ 3:18 pace.
PM - 12 km's - 1:01
22/3 - Left hammy still sore
AM - 6 km's - 31:23
PM - 11.5 km's - 55:00 (finished with 5 x 100 metre strides)
23/3
AM - 15 km's - 59:06 (progression run)
- 3 km's easy (4:15/4:10's), 5 km's steady (4:00's), 2 km's marathon pace effort, 1 km 1/2 marathon pace effort, 1 km 10k effort, then eased back final 3 km's to marathon paced effort. Felt very solid and at no stage overdoing it. Didn't consciously pick up the pace, it just felt easy. Slowed deliberately though when I looked at the watch and saw a 3:29 1 km split. Pulled up fine.
24/3
AM - 10.5 km's - 52:30 - included 5 x 30 second strides.
25/3
AM - 9 km's - 40 mins
- 6.5 km's to 7 km's at roughly 4:00 km pace then slow recovery jog. Felt fine.
PM - 4 km's - 22:00
26/3
PM - State 10,000 (Track) 34:48
- Solid race. Felt relaxed and didn't really push hard. Soles of feet sore due to spikes. Sore after 2 km's and got progressively worse. Finished strongly despite intense pain in feet. Ran solo the whole way. A little windy but reasonably cool. Confident that with a little support and without the intense pain (led to blisters), I could get close to PB or possibly improve on it. Overall, hapy with run considering I didn't taper and am in a marathon training block.
All up 16 km's including warm-up & warm-down.
27/3
AM - 27 km's - 1:59:52
- Jogged 9 km's then picked up the pace to easy / steady. Soles of feet extremley sore due to blisters sustained after last night's race. ot enough sleep. 26 hour flight to London that afternoon. Feet "blew up" (swelling) due to flight and blisters (both feel on outside and toes) got much worse, eventually bursting.
All up 136 km's - 10:18 hrs for the week.
2 weeks to go
28/3 (London time)
PM - 10 km's - 51:16 (London - Picadilly Circus / St.James Park / Hyde Park / Picadilly Circus)
- Very tired & stiff after flight. Sore blistered & swollen feet.
29/3
AM - 15.5 km's - 1:10:10 (London - Regent Street / Hyde Park / Soho)
- Included 8 x 100 steady strides on dirt @ Hyde Park. Felt okay byt feet still sore.
30/3
AM - 10.0 km's - 47:15 (London - Soho / Hyde Park / Westminster Abbey / Trafalgar Squae)
- A little tired.
31/3
AM - 21.8 km's - 1:32:22 (London - Soho / Hyde Park).
- Included 2 x 6 km's at marathon paced effort (1 km easy recovery).
- A little sluggish. Took a little while to get into some rythym. Averaged 3:49's for first interval & 3:45's for 2nd.
1/4
PM - 9.6 km's - 48:20 (London - Soho / Hyde Park)
2/4
AM - 3 x 1600 (Edinburgh - Pilrig Park)
- Ran barefoot and struggled with both the soft grass & freezing & windy conditions. All-up 12.2 km's - 54:43 mins. Didn't worry about split times, irrelevant in the conditions. Gave 95% effort.
3/4
AM - 14 km's - 59:45 (Edinburgh - Leith / Holrood Palace)
All up - 93.1 km's - 7:03 hrs
Marathon week
4/4
AM - 4.2 km's - 20:42 (Perth, Scotland)
Great to be in the home town of my Scottish ancestors from Mum's side of the family.
5/4
PM - 12.3 km's - 53:39 (Malswick / Newent in Gloucestshire England)
Progressive run. 4 km's jogging, 4 km's easy, 4 km's at marathon pace effort. A little hilly and windy. Felt a bit sluggish and stiff. NB: Had spent 6 hours driving prior to run. Overall okay with effort. Didn't push hard.
Really beautiful countryside.
6/4
PM - 8 km's - 39:57 (Reading, England)
Jogged then finished with 5 x 100 metres off 1 minute jog recovery.
7/4
PM - 8.6 km's - 41:05 (London - Soho / Hyde Park)
Included 6 x 30 seconds
8/4
PM - 2 km's - 10:00 (Rotterdam)
Did a lot of walking and was feeling a bit tired after flight over from London.
9/4
PM - 4.1 km's - 20:02
10/4 - ROTTERDAM MARATHON - 2:42:37
13-17 degrees / 50% humidity / 13-17 km/h easterly winds / clear skies (11 am start)
Got sunburnt during race. Was hoping for better conditions but not to be.
Found the going tough over the last 10 km's. Slowed to 4 min pace at 38 km's but was putting in 100% effort. Took gels and water at 1 hours / 2 hours / 2:20 hours. Possibly a little depleted and dehydrated. Very salty & sunburnt at the finish.
Net split times as follows:
5 Kilometer 18:51 (18:51)
10 Kilometer 37:40 (18:49)
15 Kilometer 56:39 (18:59)
20 Kilometer 1:15:23 (18:44)
Half marathon 1:19:42
25 Kilometer 1:34:36 (19:13)
30 Kilometer 1:54:01 (19:25)
35 Kilometer 2:13:37 (19:36)
40 Kilometer 2:33:36 (19:59)
Overall, despite missing a sub 2:40 & PB, I was pleased with my race & effort given the restricted preparation due to injury. No complaints though. I started the race feeling great, but was no doubt a little under-prepared. 2nd best marathon time. 9th age / 111th overall from 7500 odd finishers.
The big downside was the severe pain in my lower back after the race. Suffered excrutiating pain for the next 4 days and couldn't run at all for the following 3 days.
4 weeks to go
14/3 - Left heel sore.
- Did 20 mins swimming (30x25 plus warm-up & warm down)
- 40 mins deepwater pool running (hard/easy)
15/3 - Left heel still sore
AM - 45 mins deepwater running (30 secs on/off hard/easy)
PM - 8 x 300 (1) - 53/50/51/52/53/51/53/52 (grass) followed by 4 km tempo (dirt) - 14:07 (consistent 3:31/3:32's). Solid session - All up 15.2 km's including warm-up & warm-down.
16/3 - Left heel still sore, plus calf.
PM - 25 km's - 1:53:44
17/3 - Left heel & calf still sore.
AM - 45 mins deepwater running (hard/easy) followed by 5.5 km's light jogging - 27:30
PM - 6 km's (700 hard/300 float) - 20:13. Solid session. Finished strongly, but with sore heel & calf. All up, 14.2 km's including warm-up & warm-down.
18/3 - Heel & calf still sore.
AM - 1:00 deepwater running (hard/easy)
PM - 10 km's - 50:03
19/3
PM - 34 km's - 2:26:35 (included 16 km's of marathon paced intervals). Felt sick & struggled with the trots.
20/3 - Still suffering niggles
50 mins deepwater running.
All up - 103 km's of actual running, plus 4 hours pool running & swimming - 11:47 hrs (excluding swimming)
3 weeks to go
21/3 - Left hammy sore again but higher up.
AM - 25 km's - 1:53:02 - included 5 x 1000 @ 3:18 pace.
PM - 12 km's - 1:01
22/3 - Left hammy still sore
AM - 6 km's - 31:23
PM - 11.5 km's - 55:00 (finished with 5 x 100 metre strides)
23/3
AM - 15 km's - 59:06 (progression run)
- 3 km's easy (4:15/4:10's), 5 km's steady (4:00's), 2 km's marathon pace effort, 1 km 1/2 marathon pace effort, 1 km 10k effort, then eased back final 3 km's to marathon paced effort. Felt very solid and at no stage overdoing it. Didn't consciously pick up the pace, it just felt easy. Slowed deliberately though when I looked at the watch and saw a 3:29 1 km split. Pulled up fine.
24/3
AM - 10.5 km's - 52:30 - included 5 x 30 second strides.
25/3
AM - 9 km's - 40 mins
- 6.5 km's to 7 km's at roughly 4:00 km pace then slow recovery jog. Felt fine.
PM - 4 km's - 22:00
26/3
PM - State 10,000 (Track) 34:48
- Solid race. Felt relaxed and didn't really push hard. Soles of feet sore due to spikes. Sore after 2 km's and got progressively worse. Finished strongly despite intense pain in feet. Ran solo the whole way. A little windy but reasonably cool. Confident that with a little support and without the intense pain (led to blisters), I could get close to PB or possibly improve on it. Overall, hapy with run considering I didn't taper and am in a marathon training block.
All up 16 km's including warm-up & warm-down.
27/3
AM - 27 km's - 1:59:52
- Jogged 9 km's then picked up the pace to easy / steady. Soles of feet extremley sore due to blisters sustained after last night's race. ot enough sleep. 26 hour flight to London that afternoon. Feet "blew up" (swelling) due to flight and blisters (both feel on outside and toes) got much worse, eventually bursting.
All up 136 km's - 10:18 hrs for the week.
2 weeks to go
28/3 (London time)
PM - 10 km's - 51:16 (London - Picadilly Circus / St.James Park / Hyde Park / Picadilly Circus)
- Very tired & stiff after flight. Sore blistered & swollen feet.
29/3
AM - 15.5 km's - 1:10:10 (London - Regent Street / Hyde Park / Soho)
- Included 8 x 100 steady strides on dirt @ Hyde Park. Felt okay byt feet still sore.
30/3
AM - 10.0 km's - 47:15 (London - Soho / Hyde Park / Westminster Abbey / Trafalgar Squae)
- A little tired.
31/3
AM - 21.8 km's - 1:32:22 (London - Soho / Hyde Park).
- Included 2 x 6 km's at marathon paced effort (1 km easy recovery).
- A little sluggish. Took a little while to get into some rythym. Averaged 3:49's for first interval & 3:45's for 2nd.
1/4
PM - 9.6 km's - 48:20 (London - Soho / Hyde Park)
2/4
AM - 3 x 1600 (Edinburgh - Pilrig Park)
- Ran barefoot and struggled with both the soft grass & freezing & windy conditions. All-up 12.2 km's - 54:43 mins. Didn't worry about split times, irrelevant in the conditions. Gave 95% effort.
3/4
AM - 14 km's - 59:45 (Edinburgh - Leith / Holrood Palace)
All up - 93.1 km's - 7:03 hrs
Marathon week
4/4
AM - 4.2 km's - 20:42 (Perth, Scotland)
Great to be in the home town of my Scottish ancestors from Mum's side of the family.
5/4
PM - 12.3 km's - 53:39 (Malswick / Newent in Gloucestshire England)
Progressive run. 4 km's jogging, 4 km's easy, 4 km's at marathon pace effort. A little hilly and windy. Felt a bit sluggish and stiff. NB: Had spent 6 hours driving prior to run. Overall okay with effort. Didn't push hard.
Really beautiful countryside.
6/4
PM - 8 km's - 39:57 (Reading, England)
Jogged then finished with 5 x 100 metres off 1 minute jog recovery.
7/4
PM - 8.6 km's - 41:05 (London - Soho / Hyde Park)
Included 6 x 30 seconds
8/4
PM - 2 km's - 10:00 (Rotterdam)
Did a lot of walking and was feeling a bit tired after flight over from London.
9/4
PM - 4.1 km's - 20:02
10/4 - ROTTERDAM MARATHON - 2:42:37
13-17 degrees / 50% humidity / 13-17 km/h easterly winds / clear skies (11 am start)
Got sunburnt during race. Was hoping for better conditions but not to be.
Found the going tough over the last 10 km's. Slowed to 4 min pace at 38 km's but was putting in 100% effort. Took gels and water at 1 hours / 2 hours / 2:20 hours. Possibly a little depleted and dehydrated. Very salty & sunburnt at the finish.
Net split times as follows:
5 Kilometer 18:51 (18:51)
10 Kilometer 37:40 (18:49)
15 Kilometer 56:39 (18:59)
20 Kilometer 1:15:23 (18:44)
Half marathon 1:19:42
25 Kilometer 1:34:36 (19:13)
30 Kilometer 1:54:01 (19:25)
35 Kilometer 2:13:37 (19:36)
40 Kilometer 2:33:36 (19:59)
Overall, despite missing a sub 2:40 & PB, I was pleased with my race & effort given the restricted preparation due to injury. No complaints though. I started the race feeling great, but was no doubt a little under-prepared. 2nd best marathon time. 9th age / 111th overall from 7500 odd finishers.
The big downside was the severe pain in my lower back after the race. Suffered excrutiating pain for the next 4 days and couldn't run at all for the following 3 days.
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