Double run #2!
I meant to go out earlier this week but between laziness and a killer sore back, that plan got pushed back. Today I did the botanical garden loop in the morning and Kershaw garden loop in the afternoon. Lots of gardens! Yay!
Sadly, I forgot yet again my music. I hadn't charged my ipod yet. I'm forgetting what it's like to run with music! I wonder if it will make a difference...
Botanical Garden Loop
Distance: 4.61k (I cut it short...lazy!)
Total time: 26.51
Avg pace: 5.50
Elevation: 80m
This run was on my own, bu surrounded by plenty of other early morning walkers & runners. Well, when I say 'early morning' I mean 6am. So not super early morning! But it was nice to see so many others up and about. And boy, it sure was warm at that time!
Kershaw Garden Loop
Distance: 5.05km
Time: 27.40min
Avg pace: 5.29
Elevation: 19m
This run was with the Rocky Road Runners. And yay that I found a girl who ran my pace! We kept up with one another the first km before I started talking with her, as I wasn't sure how our paces would match.
Once again, the fast runners were too fast and the slow runners too slow. But the pace was good. I was happy with the starting pace - 5.09 (a bit faster than my 8k race pace). I slowed down a bit near the end but this made it easier to talk. The gal I ran with was a delight and we had a lovely time. She was slightly faster than me which is what I love, as it pushed me that little bit harder than I might have gone. And the coolest part? She is 12! Her whole family runs, including her 6 year old brother (who, for a 5k loop, must have finished it in under 40min). I'm impressed. I hated running with a passion until the age of 23. I started as a necessity and it slowly grew on me like mould on cheese.
I guess you could say I am now absolutely covered in running mould!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Birthday Race
What better way to celebrate my birthday than running a 5k race? It was a lovely morning, although a stressful start. I was the least prepared I've ever been for a race and the friend I ran with was also disorganized, so that I had to return to the house more than once to pick stuff up that was forgotten. Thankfully I lived close enough to the race that I COULD return home and we made it to the start line in time! Next time, I think I'll insist on packing everything the night before! The race was nice. The goal of the organizers was to get 80 people, and they got more than that. The course was flat and the weather was nice - hot, but nice.
It was weird running a 5k race. I have "run" one once before in my life when a friend dropped out last minute and gave me her entry form. The race was so packed I had to walk the first 2k and so didn't bother to actually time it. Otherwise, my shortest distance is an 8k. I ran that in about 5.15 pace so I suppose technically I could have run this faster - 5.00, maybe? Less? But I wasn't so keen to hit a PB and didn't care to try. When I run the 500k relay I will look at it as a race. A birthday fun run? Not so much.
Total time: 28.15min
Average speed: 5.44
Elevation gain: 12m
It was weird running a 5k race. I have "run" one once before in my life when a friend dropped out last minute and gave me her entry form. The race was so packed I had to walk the first 2k and so didn't bother to actually time it. Otherwise, my shortest distance is an 8k. I ran that in about 5.15 pace so I suppose technically I could have run this faster - 5.00, maybe? Less? But I wasn't so keen to hit a PB and didn't care to try. When I run the 500k relay I will look at it as a race. A birthday fun run? Not so much.
Total time: 28.15min
Average speed: 5.44
Elevation gain: 12m
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Leaden Legs, Lightened Legs
Now that half marathon training is over for the season, it begs The Question: How does one train for a 500k relay? Answer: I'm not sure.
So I thought I'd experiment by training like I'm running it. I've been told I'll be doing 4-6k two to three times a day for 3 days. So I've decided to try training by going twice a day for 4-6k.
This morning was my second run since my half marathon. I won't count last week's run, as it was mostly a "introduce myself to the running group" sort of run. I did a 3k loop in stifling heat and called it a night. Woof!
Today I felt I would be much more recovered. So day one of the 500k training has begun!
...And boy, did my legs feel like lead. I guess it didn't help I started this morning with a bang. And by "bang" I mean a really steep, tall hill right outside my door. The whole course felt like a hill, in truth. Up-down-up-down. And my poor lead legs were beat!
First run: Loop through the Botanical Gardens (morning run).
Distance 5k
Elevation gain total: 97m (this is the total elevation: I went up & down)
Total time: 31.00min.
Pace: Average pace was 6.17min/km. The fastest pace I hit was 4.05min/k (going DOWN a hill).
Boy did my legs feel like lead! But my fancy gadgety watch was certainly entertaining to use and gave me all this cool data. :)
Rocky Road Runners - Railroad/Old Bridge Loop.
This was the same 3k loop as last week, but I ran it twice this time. I was hoping to run it with other people but in the end I ran in a gap between the faster and slower group - too slow for fast and with no desire to go slower (I saw this as a training run more than a social run tonight). I was feeling a bit tired from this morning, but I really wanted to push myself and see how well I could do. The lack of hills made a difference! My legs felt much, much better this arvo than this morning.
Distance: 6.17k
Total time: 35.28min
Elevation gain: 17m (notice the difference this had on my time from this morning!)
Pace: Average - 5.45min, fastest - 4.27min.
So I thought I'd experiment by training like I'm running it. I've been told I'll be doing 4-6k two to three times a day for 3 days. So I've decided to try training by going twice a day for 4-6k.
This morning was my second run since my half marathon. I won't count last week's run, as it was mostly a "introduce myself to the running group" sort of run. I did a 3k loop in stifling heat and called it a night. Woof!
Today I felt I would be much more recovered. So day one of the 500k training has begun!
...And boy, did my legs feel like lead. I guess it didn't help I started this morning with a bang. And by "bang" I mean a really steep, tall hill right outside my door. The whole course felt like a hill, in truth. Up-down-up-down. And my poor lead legs were beat!
First run: Loop through the Botanical Gardens (morning run).
Distance 5k
Elevation gain total: 97m (this is the total elevation: I went up & down)
Total time: 31.00min.
Pace: Average pace was 6.17min/km. The fastest pace I hit was 4.05min/k (going DOWN a hill).
Boy did my legs feel like lead! But my fancy gadgety watch was certainly entertaining to use and gave me all this cool data. :)
Rocky Road Runners - Railroad/Old Bridge Loop.
This was the same 3k loop as last week, but I ran it twice this time. I was hoping to run it with other people but in the end I ran in a gap between the faster and slower group - too slow for fast and with no desire to go slower (I saw this as a training run more than a social run tonight). I was feeling a bit tired from this morning, but I really wanted to push myself and see how well I could do. The lack of hills made a difference! My legs felt much, much better this arvo than this morning.
Distance: 6.17k
Total time: 35.28min
Elevation gain: 17m (notice the difference this had on my time from this morning!)
Pace: Average - 5.45min, fastest - 4.27min.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Melbourne Half Marathon completed
Apologies to all who have been anxiously sitting at the edge of their seats biting their nails for this most riveting review of the Melbourne Half Marathon.
I can’t believe I achieved a semi-goal of running 3 half marathons this year! I only wish I had achieved my other goal of actually hitting a sub-2 hour. Alas, I seem to have difficulty with this elusive time. It always seems so achievable…for the first couple of kms.
My first “destination” race! Yes, I know I did the Gold Coast…but it didn’t feel like a destination race as this one did! My time in Melbourne was fabulous, despite the unfortunate race I ran on Sunday. I was feeling good in the lead-up to it, but in my excitement made a couple of very silly mistakes.
1. I started the race dehydrated. I should have drunk a lot of water this past week, especially the day before the race, but I didn’t. Fearing the need of a toilet break in the middle, I certainly didn’t drink a lot the morning of the race!
2. I didn’t check my ipod. Although charged, it must have been bumped during my travels and turned on by accident. The battery was dead, which I didn’t realize until a few minutes before the start. No upbeat music for me!
3. The big one…I went out too fast. This one was the real shame, as I knew – and know! – better. Caught up in the excitement, I tried to keep pace with some friends and we were flooring it for the first few kms. Silly, silly me. I certainly paid for this mistake in the 4th km where a massive stitch (such as I have not seen since my first half marathon) nearly doubled me over for the next 3kms.
I knew I was in trouble when I barely hit the 10k in a sub-60min mark – def not on pace for a personal best! (During my personal best race, I hit it in less than 54min). I also noticed how the dehydration affected me. The water stations were every 3k. After every one I perked up and ran a full minute faster over the next km before slowing down once again. At one point I was doubtful I would finish with a sub-2h30min time. It was disheartening, for sure. But I kept plugging on, not once stopping to walk (I did slow down at the water stations to grab some water, and the congestion made me a bit slower than I might otherwise have been).
My kick at the end was nearly non-existent. I normally pick it up in the last 3kms, with a strong kick in the last 500m or so. This time, I barely had any kick. This may have been made more difficult by the narrowing of the trail (I could have beaten one girl if I’d had a bit more room to manoeuvre) and by the fact that it was on a slight hill.
“Official” time: 2.13.17. I would like to point out that the track was over 200m longer than the 21.1k it should have been. This may not seem significant, but I estimate it did add on an extra 2.5min to my final time.
For those who would like to see some race photos & videos of my finish. (To help you orientate, I finish near the lefthand side of the screen, amongst the big crowd of finishers. I am wearing a blue shirt and a bright green baseball cap – but that doesn’t show up so well in the video).
I can’t believe I achieved a semi-goal of running 3 half marathons this year! I only wish I had achieved my other goal of actually hitting a sub-2 hour. Alas, I seem to have difficulty with this elusive time. It always seems so achievable…for the first couple of kms.
My first “destination” race! Yes, I know I did the Gold Coast…but it didn’t feel like a destination race as this one did! My time in Melbourne was fabulous, despite the unfortunate race I ran on Sunday. I was feeling good in the lead-up to it, but in my excitement made a couple of very silly mistakes.
1. I started the race dehydrated. I should have drunk a lot of water this past week, especially the day before the race, but I didn’t. Fearing the need of a toilet break in the middle, I certainly didn’t drink a lot the morning of the race!
2. I didn’t check my ipod. Although charged, it must have been bumped during my travels and turned on by accident. The battery was dead, which I didn’t realize until a few minutes before the start. No upbeat music for me!
3. The big one…I went out too fast. This one was the real shame, as I knew – and know! – better. Caught up in the excitement, I tried to keep pace with some friends and we were flooring it for the first few kms. Silly, silly me. I certainly paid for this mistake in the 4th km where a massive stitch (such as I have not seen since my first half marathon) nearly doubled me over for the next 3kms.
I knew I was in trouble when I barely hit the 10k in a sub-60min mark – def not on pace for a personal best! (During my personal best race, I hit it in less than 54min). I also noticed how the dehydration affected me. The water stations were every 3k. After every one I perked up and ran a full minute faster over the next km before slowing down once again. At one point I was doubtful I would finish with a sub-2h30min time. It was disheartening, for sure. But I kept plugging on, not once stopping to walk (I did slow down at the water stations to grab some water, and the congestion made me a bit slower than I might otherwise have been).
My kick at the end was nearly non-existent. I normally pick it up in the last 3kms, with a strong kick in the last 500m or so. This time, I barely had any kick. This may have been made more difficult by the narrowing of the trail (I could have beaten one girl if I’d had a bit more room to manoeuvre) and by the fact that it was on a slight hill.
“Official” time: 2.13.17. I would like to point out that the track was over 200m longer than the 21.1k it should have been. This may not seem significant, but I estimate it did add on an extra 2.5min to my final time.
For those who would like to see some race photos & videos of my finish. (To help you orientate, I finish near the lefthand side of the screen, amongst the big crowd of finishers. I am wearing a blue shirt and a bright green baseball cap – but that doesn’t show up so well in the video).
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
race day tracking
I meant to do some tapering runs. I really, really did. But then I didn't. Today was my first tapering run since Brisbane (about a week and a half ago). I did a slow, easy 26min jog. There were a few hills but I kept intensity to a minimum. Hard to believe Melbourne half marathon is just a couple days away!
For those of you who are interested, there is reportedly 'race day tracking' so you can see how I'm going in the race without having to be there. How do you do it?
1. Go to www.melbournemarathon.com.au
2. Click on 'race day tracking' - it is a button the left hand side.
3. There may be a place where you need to type in my bib number. My number is 13115.
Then see what happens! Remember I am entered in the HALF marathon! Not the full marathon!
The time I start is 8am Sunday. In other time zones, this equates to the following:
Brisbane - 9am Sunday
Calgary -4pm Saturday
Florida - 6pm Saturday
For those of you who are interested, there is reportedly 'race day tracking' so you can see how I'm going in the race without having to be there. How do you do it?
1. Go to www.melbournemarathon.com.au
2. Click on 'race day tracking' - it is a button the left hand side.
3. There may be a place where you need to type in my bib number. My number is 13115.
Then see what happens! Remember I am entered in the HALF marathon! Not the full marathon!
The time I start is 8am Sunday. In other time zones, this equates to the following:
Brisbane - 9am Sunday
Calgary -4pm Saturday
Florida - 6pm Saturday
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
with a cherry on top
It appears that my wits went begging when I moved to Rockhampton and I've only just discovered I hadn't posted anything on my final long run before tapering (and my last run in Brisbane!). Here is what I had written on the Sunday (the day after).
Yesterday I went for my second 25k run. My beautiful back posse group deliberately paced it slower, as last time we had gone far too quickly and it destroyed me for the entire weekend. It was a lot of fun. One of the fast runners decided to join us and we were actually able to talk the entire distance (rather than gasping for air). Brilliant!
It was a new route, too. Up in the same direction but on the other side of the river this time. So I knew the first 6k out but the last half was a mystery. There were a few big hills. Not really steep but looooong hills. The kind where you think you’re at the top turn the corner…and there’s more uphill!
With 2k to go I ran past a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. In a quick flurry we decided I’d finish my run and then head back to catch up with her while she continued to walk in the same direction as I.
I finished my run – 25.5k! Farthest distance yet. And, perhaps most importantly, longest time I’ve spent on my feet: 2.39.44sec. In “long slow distance” time on your feet is actually more important than speed – that’s what speed sessions are for.
And just to add that extra cherry on top, I did a slow (super slow) jog back another couple hundred metres to meet up with my friend. I think it was more a flail than a jog, but I did it.
On a final note, I’m writing this from my new living accommodation in Rockhampton – about an 8h drive north of Brisbane. There is a running group up here which I’ve yet to meet, but I shall dearly miss my Galeforce Running Squad! It has been an amazing year of training and I’ve come so far. Group workouts, baby! It’s all about the group workouts.
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