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.

Not Much in 2 Weeks

It is now more than two weeks since the Gold Coast Marathon. I haven't done much running since then. On Sunday and I Tigger and I did 28k at a nice steady pace and I have seem to have pulled up OK after that. Last weekend I was in Perth visiting my new Grand-daughter, Lily Rose. She is absolutely beautiful. While there, I a did couple of 7K runs on tracks around the Swan River. What a beautiful city and environment to run in. At one point I stopped to watch several Dolphins feeding on a school of fish. They put on a great show.

Next Sunday I will be running in the Park 2 Park Half Marathon in Ipswich. It is a tough run, 4 laps of a hilly course. I love it though. It is a well organised race in a very friendly atmosphere.

A Few Days Away

Robyn and I are off to the Perth tomorrow to visit my son, Anthony, and his wife, Kym, and our new grand-daughter, Lily Rose. We will be returning on Monday.

Anthony is a Health and Safety adviser for Rio Tinto Minerals. This will be our first visit to Perth. We are really looking forward to seeing Lily Rose for the first time.

I am recovering well from the marathon. I did not realise until I checked my records that my time of 3:20:51 was a course PB for me. That's the icing on the cake.

Post GC Marathon

Well I did it! I went much better than I expected with a 3:21 finish. I had a lot of pain in my right foot for most of the race, which took a lot of concentration to manage. that took away some of the pleasure of the run. However, I managed to keep a fairly steady pace and averaged 4:45. After I reached 35K I was feeling fairly good and was able to relax a bit and run with with a degree of confidence that I wasn't going to blow up. I was very pleased with the result.

Tigger did a mighty fine job in getting her brood in under 2:20. Well done Tigger!

Craig had a horror marathon and started cramping after 20K. This combined with stomach problems caused him a lot of grief but he soldiered on and finished. Congratulations Craig!. Don't give up mate. The next one will be great.

Congratulations to Robert Song! 3:12! Fantastic!

Great 10K Ewen! Congratulations. Thanks for the encouragement from the sideline.

Thanks for your encouragement and company out there Toasty. You did a great time considering your recent injury history. Congratulations.

Plu and the CR cheer squad were in fine form. Thanks so much. It sure makes such a difference.

Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement.

Last Post before the Marathon

I was listening to the radio in the car onthe way to the railway station this morning at 6:50 am and heard part of a live phone interview with a 99 year old female masters athlete. I didn't hear much nor get her name but what stuck most in my mind was that she had just come in from training. I thought, " OMG! How slack am I"

I better start doing some real training.

All the best for a great run on Sunday everyone.

Update: Tigger's comment:-

There's no more to say,
Sunday is the day.
The weather could be better,
But we've trained in wetter.
So it's time to be bold,
Go out to the cold.
And whatever the pace,
Enjoy the race.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Gold Coast - 6 Weeks Out

Only 6 Weeks until the Gold Coast Marathon. Where has the time gone. I haven't put in the effort that I did for Canberra. Last year was the same story and I ran my my slowest Marathon at the Gold Coast in 2007. I am feeling a little more confident about the Gold Coast this year. Though my mid-week training hasn't been up to scratch, my Sunday long runs give me a degree of comfort.

Yesterday, Sunday 26th, Tegwen, my running buddy, was again not able to join us due to illness. When I arrived at Park Road at 5:00AM, it was just Craig waiting for me. Ben was a no show due a back injury. Craig, who was training for his first Half, is now training for his first marathon. He upgraded his Gold Coast entry. Craig was keen to run 3 Hours so we decided to run to the Goodwill Bridge, onto to Highgate Hill, the Corso, Yeronga, Tennyson, Chelmer, Indooroopilly and UQ. At UQ we did a loop around the Uni to ensure that we would hit the three hour mark by the time we arrived back at Park Road. This was the first time Craig had ever run this length of time or distance. He didn't shy away from the extra loop at the Uni and finished still looking strong. We covered 33.5K at an average pace of 5:18. It was a solid and satisfying long run.

Next Sunday Ben, Craig and I are doing the Doomben Half.

A Little Better

It was a slow week but I did manage to run on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. That was an improvement. I just couldn't push myself to any descent pace though.

On Saturday Tegwen ran and said if she wasn't at Park Road by 5:05AM to go as she wasn't well and probably wouldn't make it. She sure didn't sound too good.

Sunday morning was freezing and, not surprisingly, Tegwen didn't make it. I headed out along the river to the Brisbane Cruise Terminal at Portside. I had run to Newstead with a couple of guys, Ben, the PT, and Craig. Ben was having Achilles trouble and our average pace on reaching Newstead, 14k, was 5:20. Ben and Craig headed back while I continued on for another 3k. By the time I got back to Park Road, a total of 34k, I had reduced the average pace to 5:06, the run having taken 2:52:45.

So Much for Good Intentions

Well my intention to exercise willpower and run more consistently didn't translate into reality. I ran Tuesday and Wednesday then fell in a heap. Although the run on Wednesday was really good and run at 4:37 pace for 14K.

Today, being Mothers Day, it has become tradition, apparently, to run two anti-clockwise laps of Mt Coot-tha. Anti-clockwise is the toughest route. Tegwen and I left Park Road at 5:00AM and arrived back 2hrs 40mins later, having covered almost 28K.

Plans for the New York Marathon trip are progressing well. If things go according to the current plan, my last long run before New York will be the Chicago Marathon on 12 October, three weeks before. On the weekend before New York I will be running a 10K race which is part of the Niagara Falls International Marathon event. I am quite excited.

Gold Coast

After three of weeks of lethargy since the Canberra Marathon I have decided to start putting in a bit of effort. I do not want a repeat of last year's dismal Gold Coast marathon performance. It wasn't so much that it was my slowest marathon to date, it was the the dreadful experience over the last 5 or 6 K's which I don't want to experience again. Last year I dropped my bundle between Canberra and GC marathons and simply didn't put in the K's during the week. The Sunday long runs were not too bad because I was running with friends but I found it hard to summon the willpower to consistently do the runs on my own during the week.

Last week I ran on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday (yesterday). My 14K circuit that I used during my Canberra training has had to be altered due to some major road works. My new circuit is now 14.5K. Benefits of the altered circuit are more lighting and more paths which is much safer.

On Sunday I went of to Park Road with intention of running an easy 26K. However, I didn't allow for the fact that Tegwen had invited a couple guys, much younger than me, with whom she runs during the week. Craig is training for his first half and Ben for his first marathon. We set off to Newstead along the river. Craig didn't need to run 26K and Ben wanted to do 2.5 hours. It took us 1:15 to do the 14K to Newstead. That was nice and easy.

At Newstead it was decided that Tegwen, Craig and Cathy would head back to Park Rd via Victoria Park giving them 21K all up. I decided to head back the way we came with Ben to make up a total of 28k. I was quite prepared for Ben to ramp up the pace and leave me behind as he had told me that he is aiming for a sub 3 at the Gold Coast. We did ramp up the pace right from the start. As we chatted along the way, Ben told me that his training schedule was determined by the business which he owns. "What busines is that?" I enquired, "Personal training" was the response. Hmmm! I thought, this is going to be interesting.

So much for my easy run. I know I didn't have to stick with him and possibly he could have easily left me behind but Ben seemed happy enough with the pace we were doing and we setteled into a steady rhythm. We were doing under 5 min K's. By the time we got bact to the City Gardens my legs were tiring but I still felt OK. Under the Riverside Expressway we picked up the pace a little and by the time we were past the Grey Street Bridge I was thinking if I keep running at this pace I am going to throw up. We got back to Park Road in 2:22 for 28.3K, an 8 minute negative split.

Upon checking my Garmin, I found that the 26th K, the one where I felt I mght throw up, was run in 3:28. Maybe I should train more with Ben. Then again, probably not, I might have to pay him.

Canberra Marathon 2008

It's hard to believe it is over. I flew down to Canberra on Saturday morning with Tesso, Iliketoast, Ihatetoast, Matt and Pretty Ellie. Tesso and I arrived in Canberra to find that Qantas had kindly left our bags in Brisbane. This caused some stress as you can imagine. Fortunately I have had the practice, that when flying to marathons, of carrying my running gear in my carry-on luggage. However, stuff like my Garmin, sunscreen, anti-chaffing cream etc., were in my bag. Tesseo had the same problem. During the day we gathered together what we could in case our bag didn't show up. When we came back from dinner the bags were in our rooms. What a relief!

Sunday morning, and the the weather was absolutely dismal. It was threatening rain and was quite cold. About 20 minutes into the race the rain started coming down very steadily and continued for about another hour or more.

I guess, though I hadn't really put in the work for a PB, I did harbour a desire to perhaps create an new one yesterday. My PB hopes were seriously set back when I was overtaken by the 3:15 pacer at abut the 2K mark. I was a bit thrown by that and never managed to catch him, though I saw him and his ever dwindling group as I approached the turn-arounds and as they departed. I certainly did not feel as good this year as I did last year in the various stages of the race. I think the cold and rain caused me to find it a bit hard going and I didn't feel relaxed. I passed the Half mark on 1:38 and was happy enough with that. I knew I was only halfway through and there was still a whole 21.1 Ks to go and anything could happen. I was inspired by Lucky Legs along the way and felt ashamed of any negative thoughts and decided to make the most of what I had left in me. At about 32K my legs were tiring quickly and feeling heavy but I knew from experience that it was possible to get through that stage and make some recovery. This did happen to a degree and I kept going fairly well until the 40K mark where it became a real mental battle to overcome the quickly fading capacity to keep going. Thanks to CR Tim, who was running with me at this stage, I was able to find the resolve to keep up a reasonable pace. I finished the second half in 1:37:28, a negative split. My official net time was 3:15:28 (gun time 3:15:38). This was 33 seconds outside my PB. I was very happy with the result.

My running buddy, Tegwen, came home in 3:28:28. She had planned to do the 50K but the cold and rainy conditions caused her some respiratory and feet problems and she wisely decided not to continue on.

Thanks to all of my regular Blog readers and commenters, for all your encouragement and support. It really does make a difference. It was good to catch up with Ewen, Robert Song, Superflake, Lucky Legs and Horrie and Belinda and Tim, Johnny Dark, and Eagle in Canberra. Iliketoast and Ihatetoast put in an awesome effort on the cheering front. Terrific work! As usual Tesso, Queen of Telopea, was in residence over the weekend and made the stay very pleasant.

One Week Out

Only one week until the Canberra marathon. I have been cutting back on the K's and and taking it easy. We only did about 16 this morning and at about 5:15 pace. I had a few niggles through the week. A sore right calf gave me a scare but I slapped on some Voltaren gel and it seems to have done the trick. I am feeling good and looking forward to being in Canberra. it wil be good to catch up with many running friends. I enjoy watching and cheering the 10K on Saturday afternoon.

I hope it won't be too cold at the start of the marathon. Since I am staying at the Telopea Inn I will try and stay in my room as long as possible. The trouble is though, I like to be out where the people are so I can soak up the incredible pre-race atmosphere. It is facinating to watch the different ways in which runners act in those 15 to 20 minutes before the start.