Canberra Marathon Training

Though I am feeling much better and my legs aren't objecting so much to running I am not all that pleased with my progress thus far.

On Sunday I had plans to do around 34K. Tigger and I had agreed a new route and we were looking forward to giving it a go. However, Tigger called in sick so Craig and I set out with Craig intending to do only 21K. We headed from Park Road via Gregory Tce to the Royal Brisbane Hospital then onto Newstead and back along the River. I left Craig as we were running through New Farm. The humidity was absolutely horrendous and already I was having thoughts of cutting my run short. I ran along the floating walkway an onto the Story Bridge then round through Dockside, back under the bridge and along Kangaroo Point. I was feeling pretty awful by this stage and the plan was to run through South Bank, West End via Riverside Drive and round to the Green Bridge at UQ and back to Park Road. As I was running through South Bank I thought "this is madness" and headed across the Victoria Bridge and along the River to Park Road, passing Craig along the way. I was relieved to get back but had only run 24K. A tad short of the original goal.

On Monday, Australia Day, a group met at Tigger's place and we ran 14K. I was surprised at how well I had pulled up from Sunday's run. Back at Tigger's place we had a sumptuous barbecue breakfast complete with Mr Tigger's coffees.

I have been running a bit too slow for my liking and am hoping to improve on this over the next few weeks. I do feel as if my legs are getting stronger and am ready to start some speed work. It is now a matter of disciplining myself to do it.

Hope at last

At last I am starting to feel as my legs are willing to run again. Up until now I have felt as I have to will every step. On sunday I did 28K at an average pace of 5:11 per K and on Tuesday I did 7K at 4:57 pace. I can tell you, I was very happy. I am glad to be getting my running legs back as Tigger will be back on Sunday and I might stand a chance of keeping up with her.

I still haven't settled in to any sort of training regime. I had better do so as the Canberra marathon is getting closer. This will be my 5th Canberra Marathon. As usual I am really looking forward to it. I have booked my flight and my room at the Telopea Inn. I love this marathon becasue of the friendly atmosphere and the course. It has enough undulation to suit my needs. I find I do better on an undulating course than I do on a flat course like the Gold Coast.

What an incredible year.

What an incredible year it has been. My big adventure in the US came and went and I ran 5 marathons all up, a record for me. My marathon times covered the extremes of my marathon career: April; Canberra 3:15:38 (PB in 2007 3:14:55), July; Gold Coast 3:21, October; Chicago 4:38 (all time PW), October; Niagara Falls 3:56, November; New York 3:49.

I have loved the amazing experiences that running has bought into my life. What makes the experiences so special are the people. Runners are the best! Thank you everyone for allowing me to share my 2008 with you.

Happy New Year to you all.

Rob

ps; I have booked my flights for Canberra 2009.

Tigger's Tale

Tigger's take on our Sunday run:

On a humid Sunday morn
In the heat after the storm
SOME of the suspects did meet
Feeling heavy of feet.

When COD did not show
We decided to go
In theory, Eddie the man
Was the leader with the plan!

With just the odd hill
And a lot of strong will
Eddie seemed to set a pace
Usually reserved for a race.

Surely it wasn't the heat
That was making our hearts beat
It had to be Eddie the Man
The leader with the plan?

Eventually we came to a stop
As we didn't have a plot
There was no retort
At the suggestion we go short.

After an hour and a half
We were back at the start
Having heard more Eddie tales
And when all else fails ...Go for COFFEE

Struggling

I have been finding it a bit of a struggle to get back into normal everyday life routine since my holiday. My first week back at work was hell. The second was a slight improvement. I have been running a bit, but not a lot. Tigger and I did one lap of Mt Coot-tha from Park Road on Sunday. I was sure glad to get to the top, however, my knees hurt a lot on the downhill run. My left leg is still giving me a lot of trouble, especially when I walk. I can't seem to make it work properly. Must be old age, or maybe three marathons in 4 weeks...no that wouldn't be it...I'll stick with the old age theory.

I bought a Garmin 405 at the Chicago Marathon Expo (the Expos in Chicago and New York were absolutely incredible. We spent hours at each one.). I have finally spent some time and worked out how to use it and wore it on Sunday. It worked really well. At least as well as Tigger's new 205. With the purchase of the 405 I received a free book titled My Life on the Run, the story of Bart Yasso. Bart is known in the US as the "Mayor of Running". I was inclined to just put the book aside because I thought the guy must be up himself to write a book about his own life. I am glad I didn't because what I have read so far is very good, witty, entertaining and inspirational. I recommend it.

Home

Home again. What a holiday! What an adventure.

I have had such a great time. It is hard to believe that it is all over. Thanks to my wonderful friends, Darryl and Gidget, I managed to survive and stay sane.

Three marathons completed:

Chicago 12 October 2008, 4:38:31
Niagara Falls 26 October 2008, 3:56:04
New York City 2 November 2008, 3:49:01

After my Chicago experience I seriously considered not doing the Niagara Falls marathon in order to be better prepared for New York. On the Saturday before Niagara I ran on an athletics track and seemed to be in bad shape but had a feeling I needed to try some hills. So on the Sunday I did about 8Ks of hill work which I coped with quite well. That gave me enough confidence to tackle Niagara Falls marathon.

Thankfully there was no repeat of Chicago at Niagara. Though my left leg gave me some cause for concern, it was a much more enjoyable run and I was confident that I should be able to give a repeat performance in New York a week later.

The lead up to the New York Marathon was a great experience in itself. The Marathon Expo was awesome. My credit card took a bit of a hit. I caught up with CoolRunners, Rags, Vurt and Ellie. On the Saturday, Race Day eve, we took part in the International Friendship run. The course ran from The United Nations to the marathon 26 mile mark in Central Park. There were 16,000 participants. It was a great event. Runners were displaying flags and country colours and having a good time. We just walked the whole way, about 4k I think.

On Saturday night we went to the pasta party at Tavern on the Green in Central Park. What a piece of organisation that was. They had a huge marquee and arranged it so that people were given various attendance times so that it meant the the many thousands of diners could receive their pasta and drinks, be seated and eat with it seeming like there was no pressure to eat an move out. The queue just kept steadily flowing in at one end, people dined in a fairly casual manner with terrific music pumping everyone up, and then they flowed out the other end with an ice cream in a cup and some cookies. Amazing!

We had to be on the bus at 6:00 AM in order to get to the starting area on Staten Island. It was very very cold. My group was scheduled to start at 9:40. It was a relief when we were called to head for our starting corals. I was among the first few to make it to the coral. I was standing there shivering when low and behold, who should walk in but CoolRunner Rags. Chatting with Rags helped pass the time until we had to move to the start line.

The race itself was absolutely incredible. I loved every kilometer of it. I just ran at an easy pace. Anything under 4 hours was going to be a bonus. If I could equal Niagara, all the better. The atmosphere, the crowds of onlookers, running through the streets of New York, chatting to other runners, I was all a wonderful experience. By about mile 21 my legs were killing me. From the hips up I was fine. From the hips to the tips of my toes was all pain, but I wasn't going to let that spoil this great adventure. I was wearing a singlet with AUSTRALIA on it so I got plenty of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie's form among the crowds lining the course.

Running along 1st Avenue in Manhattan was awe inspiring. It was a sea of runners from one end to the other, almost 4 miles. I was thrilled to reach the finish line in 3:49:01, 7 minutes better than my Niagara Falls time. I had achieved my goal of three marathons. Sure, Chicago was disappointing, but I did finish and it was a wonderful event. Chicago is a beautiful city and I have been through 29 of it's neighbourhoods.

I have to pay tribute to Darryl and Gidget, who not only had to drag me around for almost 6 weeks, they completed the Chicago and New York City marathons and the 10K event in Niagara Falls. That is a fantastic effort. As the Americans say, "Gooooood Joooob". We did go on to do another marathon event....last Saturday we spent 14 hours at Disneyland.

Well the adventure is over. I hope the memories will stay with me for ever. Thanks everyone for all your support. It has meant so much to me.

New York

New York! New York! What a place. What a race. It was such a thrill! Such an experience. I loved the whole event. A complete turnaround from Chicago. I will take more time on my return in order to do justice to the experinence. I was thrilled with my 3:49:01. Wow!

Darryl and Gidget did an awesome job and it was great to be at the finish to see them come in together.

Niagara Falls

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all your comments and good wishes. Today i finished the Niagara Falls Marathon in about 3:56. After Chicago was very happy with that. The weather was almost perfect - very cool and sunny for the most part but very windy. the wind came from all directions. it was a picturesque course. Staring in Buffalo, crossing the Peace Bridge into Canada and then along the Niagara River and finishing at the Falls.

I ran the whole race, no walking, but took it very easy with next week's New York Marathon in mind. My left leg was still sore and stiff and my feet hurt a lot but i was very happy with the result.

The holiday has been terrific. We have been staying in Barrie, a town about half an hour from Toronto. We have spent some time in wilderness country but haven't seen any bears or moose.
I experienced my first snow. Snow fell all day for one day and covered everything. By the following evening it had all melted.

Our hotel room in Niagara looks out over the falls. Awesome!

We will spend some time in Toronto on Monday and fly out to NY on Wednesday. Very exciting.

Bye for now.

Rob

In Chicago

Hi Everyone,

Here I am in Chicago. It seems like a lifetime ago since I left home on my big adventure. Our plane was delayed in Brisbane and we only just made our connection in Sydney by running. After a 13.5 hr uneventful flight we made it to San Francisco at 10:15 AM on Wenesday, almost 2hrs before we left Brisbane. Our luggage didn't make it to the plane and didn't arrive until the following evening. Wednesday ws the longest day of my life. By sheer will power we stayed awake until 8;30 Wednesday night US West Coast time ( had about 3 hours sleep on the plane).

SF was great. We had a great time at Fisherman's wharf, walking up Lombard St, riding the Cable Car down the hill and visiting Alcatraz where we tried to leave Gidget (Michelle) in a cell.

Friday was taken up with travelling to Chicago and registering for the marathon. We booked into the Palmer House Hilton where we have a very good room on the 19th floor. While lying on my bed I can look out the window to Lake Michigan. We are very lucky.

Saturday saw us back at the Marathon Expo which was huge - nothing like it in Australia. We rested on Saturday afternoon. I was drinking lots of water to keep hydrated for the marathon.

Sunday morning we rose at 5:45 and headed for the Marathon at 7:45. We were only about 5 minutes from the start. It was quite warm even at that stage. the Race began at 8:00 with over 33,000 starters. I didn't feel too bad though my left hamstring had been a bit sore. I maintained a steady 5:00min per K pace for the first 10k but I new somehting was wrong when I was thirsty before the first water stop. I was drinking lots at each water station, and there were plenty of them, but dehydration was already a problem for me and my hammy was really acting up. I got slower and slower and had to start doing some walking. I finished the first half in 1hr 48 mins, my slowest ever. I gradually got worse and worse and the temperature was climbing. Many people had started walking by this stage. It was ah horror marathon for me and the finish couldn't come quick enough. I felt shocking. I tried running but would just have to give it away.

I finished in 4:38, but I did finish and I got my finishers medal. Gidget finished in 6: 15 and Darryl about 20 minutes later. Absolutely fantabulous efforts on their parts. Gidget ran the whole first half and Darryl ran the first 12k and walked most of the way from there. Congratualtions Darryl and Gidget.

The organisation of the event was amazing. Everything ran like clockwork. The volunteers did a tremendous job. At least 80% of the course was lined with people cheering us on. At the finishing line some friends and relatives were waiting for their loved ones with bunches of flowers.

We spent Monday recouperating and had massage this morning then went to Navy Pier and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Tomorrow we head for Pittsburgh to spend some time with Darryl's rellies. I have to get myself in to nick for the niagara Falls Marathon which I will be taking very easily.

Bye for now,
Rob

Ready, Set, Go.

The big adventure starts on Wednesday. We head to Sydney then straight to San Francisco. Next Sunday is the Chicago Marathon. My bib number is 2039.

Yesterday I went to West End and ran a 10k at the Brisbane Road Rrunners Club. It was great to catch up with Tesso and Clairie at long last. Clairie did 20K yesterday but I was not able to stay for her finish. She was doing pretty well when on the occasions I saw her. It was also good to catch up wit other Coolrunners too. It was good to meet you Funrunner.

Craig came along to the club and did the 10K also. He really enjoyed it and has signed up as a member. Craig is doing the Half in Melbourne next Sunday.

I have been saving the big news till last. Yesterday Tigger finished the 62K Tambourine Mountain run in 7Hrs 14Mins to be the 2nd female across the line. Congratulations Tigger. What a terrific effort. It was a hot and humid day as well. When I spoke to her during the afternoon after the race she sounde bright an chirpy, not spent and exhausted.

My next post will be from the US, probably Chicago.

9 more Sleeps

Yes, just nine more sleeps and I am off to the US on my big adventure. I have been taking the training pretty easy, which means I have hardly done any in the last week. Yesterday I did 16k from Park Road with Tigger. We averaged 4:57 which was OK. However while I was running I was thinking how am I ever going to maintain this pace for 42.2K. It never fails to astound me that I am able to run the actual marathon at a faster pace. I do have to be careful though, and regulate my pace well in order to run the whole three.

Yesterday Tigger introduced me to friend of hers who has lived in New York and run the marathon twice. He was able to share some of his experience which was very helpful e.g because the race finishes in Centarl Park be mentally prepared for the fact that once you first enter Cenral Park you still have about 3.5 miles to the finish line.

Ghicago in 3 Weeks

Whow! I can't believe it, only three weeks until the Chicago Marathon. My bib # is 2039. I guess I had better start tapering.

Tigger and I did 31K this morning. Craig is away on holidays with his family. We ran from Park Road and did the circuit via tha Goodwill bridge, Highgate Hill, Brisbane Corso, Tennyson, Chelmer, Indooroopilly, UQ and Coronation Drive. The storm season has started early this year. We had storms last night so it was fairly humid this morning, though not too bad. As I am typng I can hear another storm rolling in. The thunder sounds almost continuous so it is hard to judge how far away it is. We don't usually get the storms until October.

I was having a look at photos of the 2007 Niagara Falls Marathon. I can't believe the amount of cloths the runners were wearing. I must have been quite cold. That makes me a be nervous. I haven't had much cold weather running experience really. It did get down to -2 here early in August so I wore a long sleeve top and cotton gloves, However the runners in the photos are wearing long pants, jackets, beanies, thick gloves etc. That's scarey! Singlet, shorts, and a cap may be a little underdone I think.

Twice over the Mountain

Tigger has decided to enter and a 62K ultra which is to be held on 5 October. This ultra marathon inlcudes running up Tambourine Mountain. Tigger did warn Craig and I that she was keen to do hills today, so when we met at Park Road this morning it was decided that we should do a double loop around Mt Coot-tha. I didn't exactly feel in the frame of mind to tackle such a tough run but had suspected that it might be on the program.

It was a terrific morning for running, and except for the long hall up the hill on each loop it was a very enjoyable run. I was concerned whether or not it was the right thing for Craig to be doing since he didn't have a very good run last Sunday, however, he had rested all week and assured us that he would be OK. As it turned out he was, and made it back to Park Road without taking any shortcuts.

Having run the mountain, I am pleased to say that my legs feel good. There is no stiffness or soreness so it would seem that my training is on track and going well. As I have said to my travelling buddies, Darryl and Gidget, the training isn't just about getting you across the finish line, it is also about how quickly you recover after the race. When you have places to go and things to see, as we will on our trip, the recovery time will be very important.

Ah! That's better!

After last Sunday's crazy run I took it fairly steady during the week. I rested on Monday and ran my 14K circuit Tuesday to Friday with Thursday being my quickest with an average pace of 5 minutes. On Saturday morning Craig and I met Tigger at her place and we ran a circuit through Tennyson, Fairfield, West End, Southbank, Toowong and Indooroopilly to get Tigger and I home in 2:48 for a 32K run. Craig didn't fair too well and after dropping behind at Highgate Hill, took a shortcut back where he was waiting for us when we arrived. Tigger's husband once again treated us to espresso cofffee which is always good. I finished a very pleasant Father's day with a 7K run bringing my total for the week to 95K.

We, that is my my friends Darryl and Gidget, and I, leave for the US on the 8th October. We fly from Sydney direct to San Francisco where we spend a couple of days before heading to Chichago. The excitement is building.

You Don't have to be Crazy

You don't have to be crazy but it sure does help. I wasn't able to run early on Sunday and was determined to get my long run in somehow. So I decided to drive with Robyn to her workplace at the Carindale Shopping centre which is about 45 minutes form our home on the Brisbane side of Ipswich. I set out from Carindale at 1:00 pm, the hottest part of the day, to run home. I didn't realise just how hot it was. Considering that August was our coldest August in 8 years, I just couldn't believe that the heat would take such a toll on me.

I ran along Old Cleveland Road to Stones Corner, then along Logan Rd, Stanley St, Southbank, Victoria bridge, Coronation Drv, Sylvan Rd, Western Freeway bike path, Centenary Highway bike path, through the back blocks of Wacol to Gailes and Goodna then up the hill to Bellbird Park where home is. 39K in 3:46 and it nearly killed me. It was a very tough run. As Tigger would say, "plenty of character".

I hope I am not crazy enough to try anything like that again.

That bought my total K's for the week to 102 which is the most in a very long time.

Noosa Half

Another Noosa Half successfully completed...well sort off. There is no official record to show that I completed the race, or even started for that matter. My timing chip, no 496, didn't work. I was pretty upset about it, to put it mildly. Anyway enough people who know me saw me out there running my little heart out. Tesso cheered me on. Thanks Tesso.

I finished in about 1:34:45 and was very happy with that. Tigger was the 2:10 pacer, and finished a few seconds under that. Well done Tigger. Craig finished in 1:45. Great work Craig. Craig and Tigger will be running the Melbourne Marathon on the same day as I am running in Chicago.

Training is going well. I hope to concentrate mainly on endurance. Pace is secondary. I might have an opportunity to increase my pace alittle in the Niagara Falls Marathon because the competitors for that only number 360 at this stage. There are less than 7 weeks to go for the Chicago Marathon. Niagara is 2 weeks after that, then New York is 1 week after Niagara. Am I getting excited!

Another 34K Day

Craig was back from his debut City 2 Surf in Sydney last Sunday and he was keen to get another long run under his belt as he is training for the Melbourne Marathon. Tigger is still OS. Craig an I decided to do the same run I did last week, out to Portside and back, a total of 34K. It was a beautiful day for running today. The temp was just right. I made it back to Park Road in 2:55. Craig had dropped back a bit but was happy to let me go.

Niagara Falls International Marathon

Chicago Marathon was going to be my last long run before the New York City Marathon. Chicago is now the second last long run before New York. The Niagara Falls International Marathon will be held the weekend before New York. I had already entered the 10K event there but have decided that I just cannot miss the opportunity to run the marathon, so I am upgrading my entry. You may think I am crazy, and you are probably right, but I am not running to win or even for a PB. I just want to do it and believe that I can without spoiling New York.

From the web site: "The Niagara Falls International Marathon starts by the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo N.Y. The first 6.5km (4 miles) of the race travel the beautiful majestic parkways of Buffalo before crossing the Peace Bridge into the historic old town of Fort Erie, Ontario. The route then follows the beautiful Niagara River Parkway and finishes at the magnificent Niagara Falls". How could I miss that?

What I want is just to have the experience of running those three events. I am very excited!

I my last post I reported a great week of running. Sadly last week I was suffering from a very bad cold and only did 14K on Tuesday and then 34K on Sunday. I was really disappointed. My 34K on Sunday was at 5:18 pace. A couple of snails passed me. This week I am making an effort to get the mileage up. The temperature here in the mornings has been down to the -2 and -3, cold even by Canberra standards. Yesterday I thought my fingers might snap if I tried to bend them. Today is a public holiday for the Ekka (Royal National Show, or the Brisbane Exhibition which abbreviated to the Ekka). I haven't been to the Ekka in years and have no intention of going this year so today I started my run at 10:00AM and added 4Ks to my 14K circuit to give my 18 which I did at average pace of 5:20 (no snails passed me because it was too late in the day for them but an old lady sideswiped me with her zimmer frame as she zipped by on the inside)

Biggest Week in a While

Finally, I feel as if I am back into training mode. My total K's for the week was 86. That is the most I have done in a long while. Oddly, I chose our coldest week so far this year to do it. On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I ran my 14K circuit. The times went 1:12, 1:15, 1:16 and 1:08. The temperature on Thursday dipped to -1c. I know it gets colder in places, but for me that was a tad too cool. On Fridays I like to put in a bit of an effort, hence the 4:50 per K pace.

Today Tigger, Craig and I went for a bit of character and set out from Park Road at 5:00AM. We ran out along the Western Freeway to Jindalee, then through Oxley to Oxley Road and along there to Indooroopilly, St Lucia, Toowong and back to Park Road. 30K of character.

I entered the Noosa Half yesterday and look forward to catching up with Scott.

Twigger will be away for a couple of weeks and Craig is running the City 2 Surf in Sydney next Sunday. So I will be doing 34 on my own.

Park 2 Park Half Marathon

Yesterday I ran my fifth Park @ Park Marathon in Ipswich. The event is organiised by the Ipswich Hospital Foundation. It would have to be one of the best organised events in which I have run. I really enjoy participating even though it is a very tough run, being 4 laps of a hilly course.

It was quite chilly at the start line and it seemed like an eternity before the gun went off . The first lap is 6.1K followed by three 5K laps. I got off to a slow start, my feet were numb and it took me a while to get moving.

My splits were 28:36 (6.1K), 23:57, 23:39, 23:36. My Net time was 1:39:50, 2 minutes slower than last year. Must be old age.

It is disappointing that more people from Brisbane don't make the effort run this event. Tigger ran it for the first time yesterday and enjoyed it. There were a couple of guys who came all the way from Tweed Heads.