30 June, 2008

GC Marathon only a few days away

Yesterday Tigger and I did a nice cool 16k. We practised a slow run for Tigger's pacing duties at the GC Half :-)

A friend expressed concern, over a coffee at Park Road yesterday, that Tigger should ensure that there is not too much helium in her pacer balloons. Tigger, being of slight build, may have difficulty keeping her feet on the ground.

Bring on the Marathon.

23 June, 2008

Not Long Now

Less than 2 weeks to the Gold Coast Marathon. I am looking forward to this event. I really just want to stay relaxed and enjoy it. The trouble is that I find it such a boring course which makes it hard to find enjoyable distractions. Not many of the runners provide a suitable distraction. I am certainly not in the PB stakes, and I don't share Robert Song's aspirations, though I will offer him every bit of support and encouragement that I can. It seems that I have a real mental hurdle to overcome in relation to GC. I just want to finish still smiling.

Yesterday, while Craig flitted off to Fiji, Tigger and I did 26K. It was pretty cool. It seemed that every time we turned a corner, the temperature dropped another degree. We managed an average pace of 4:58 which we thought was good. I think Tigger will have to carry a load of bricks to slow her down for her pacing job in the GC Half.

16 June, 2008

Turn around & 3 Weeks to GC

At last my health seem to be improving. Last week I ran 14K on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday was very slow, Thursday was less slow, ans Friday I decided to do my Friday effort run and finished the 14K in 1:06:31, av pace 4:45. this was 9 minutes better than Thursday and a good boost.

On Sunday I met Tigger and Craig at Park Road at 5AM. It was quite cold and in the breeze along the river was even colder. Us tough Queenslanders make no concessions to the cold (what we call cold) where running gear is concerned, just our usual summer gear, except Tigger, being a girl, wears gloves. It was a 34K morning and we headed for the Brisbane Cruise Terminal at Portside.

Along the way, Tigger mentioned that she had run on Saturday and I thought she meant a 6K at Sherwood. It wasn't until we reached Portside, the 17k turnaround, that she mentioned that she had run 28k. What stamina!

Craig is running really well and should have a good run in his debut marathon at the Gold coast. He informed us that immediately after our 26K next Sunday, he and his family are heading for Fiji for a week. We tried to convince him that it would not be beneficial to his marathon training and that he should reconsider. He didn't seem to be taking much notice.

We finished our 34 in 2:53, av pace 5:05.

09 June, 2008

Only 4 weeks to GC

What shocking preparation I have had for a Marathon. I have to keep downgrading my expectations. Last week I ran 14K on Wednesday and 28.6 yesterday. This is hardly what one would call confidence building. My problem has not been injury, but a bad cold and sinus problems have had me feeling pretty yuck.

Yesterday I felt better than I had for a while and met Tegwen and Craig at Park Road. Tegwen, also, has been sick, but Craig on the other hand is thriving and pulled up well after his first Half last Sunday at Doomben. Craig is on track for competing well in his debut marathon at the Gold Coast in less than 4 weeks. We completed our 28.6 in 2:27, average pace 5:08.

Next week we will be doing 34K. We will then begin our taper (mine started straight after Canberra). the following Sunday will be 26K and the last before GC will be about 18K.

Tegwen will be a pacer for the Half at GC. She has a challenge before her as she is pacing the 2:20 group. The challenge will be to run at that pace while resisting the temptation to run faster.

02 June, 2008

Queensland Half

Yesterday I ran the Queensland Half. What a great morning. I didn't have any particular goal in mind, but always tell myself that anything under 1:40 will be good. I hadn't run since the previous Sunday due to a heavy cold, and was still not feeling too bright but determined to enjoy the run. I did enjoy the run.

While waiting for the gun to go Craig tapped me on the shoulder. He looked keen and confident. I saw him during the run but didn't manae to catch him afterward. So I can't report on how his first Half went.

I was pretty happy with my result, 1:35:07. I felt that I gave it my all but, having said that, it never stops me from wishing that I could have done better. I read Ron Peters' race report on CoolRunning. Ron came first in my category yesterday in 75:34. Ron deserves such results because, as he says, he trains hard and races hard and I know that both are true, the results don't lie. I, on the other hand, train and race and am sort of satisfied with my results.

After collecting a random draw prize, a watch, a memory stick and a free massage, I decided to head home. I thought it highly unlikely that I would have been placed in my category because, besides Ron, I thought there were a number in our category ahead of me. I was wrong. I received a message when I got home to say that I came second. I guess Ron did only beat me by 20 minutes.

Official results: Rob 1:35:10 and Craig 1:48:07 - well done Craig!