It seems that the first weekend of June is a popular time to hold running events throughout the country. With the Gold Coast Marathon a matter of days away it’s little wonder that people looking to use that as their Grand Final will look for decent lead up runs under race conditions. Naturally with me building up to a 3rd successive appearance on the Coast, a lead up run was essential to the build up in order to get the kilometres in the legs and to get used to race morning procedures.
The choices were eventually narrowed down to 4. In the past 3 years I have ventured down to Brisbane to do their City2South event. Their 14km event (even though it’s measured officially at 13.6 according to many GPS systems) includes elevation changes which provide a good workout, although last year saw numbers down with many complaining that free entries were given away in promotions to build the numbers. I would have been entitled to start towards the front in the fast class just behind the elite runners, but this year the distance would probably have been a little too short.
Other options would have been to be a first time participant at venues where I have spent time in past years. The Mackay Marina Run offers a Half Marathon and would have been relatively easy to get to via Greyhound Bus (although accommodation may have been another matter given I have never spent more than a single night in the town at any stage of my life), whilst the NT version of the City 2 Surf in Darwin may have only gone for 12km, but would have offered different training conditions given the tropical Dry Season would have kicked in. Returning to Darwin to run this event offers appeal in later years for the Northern Territory is the only part of Australia where I haven’t run in any type of event in apart from school carnivals (which really don’t count given participation in these is about as compulsory as they get without being compulsory). Plus Darwin is a nice place to wander around by day if one can handle the humidity and heat.
Despite all of this the local event will often win the day when it comes to where I spend my hard earned on entry fees. After all, I can sleep in my own bed, and not have to shell out anything for public transport or airfares. Usually the Rocky River Run is held on the final weekend of May, but the move to June came as the organisers changed from the Rotary club to the local CTC company. Apart from adding a Zombie run on the Saturday (something that football in Tannum Sands prevented my from taking part in, not that I would have considered running in that anyway) there wasn’t significant change to the courses or start times, so familiarity would be a source of comfort. Race package pick up too was as it was last year, and fortunately for me a Saturday pick up not only helped me on the Sunday morning to focus on the running, but also gave me a chance to even record some thoughts much to the confused looks on the faces of footy team mates. (Yes I do look ugly don’t I!)
Thankfully the wet weather that lashed the East Coast of Australia largely avoided the area (the bigger falls in the Central Queensland actually were inland, where rain is always welcomed), but with the course passing through the Norbridge Park junior World Game complex I thought that the second lap would see the course boggy with runners looking for better ground, particularly with 10km runners hot on our tail. Apart from cool conditions which saw me wear the long sleeved top as opposed to a singlet, the weather was very nice at race start. For once I was able to get a decent warm up, and I wasn’t as anxious as I was at Canberra for example where everything was rushed.
It was a controlled race start as the main contenders would dash off into the distance. I found myself close enough to a good pack of runners just behind a 1:45 pace runner. For once time wasn’t the main aim of this day, but final race position was what I was looking for with a spot inside the top 50 being the pass marker. It was all going smoothly at a nice tempo…..and then came the stuff up.
Having travelled further than normal, the sunrise in the background provided nice light for this facebook photographer.
This blog is not going to cast accusations over whose fault it was for the failing, but being sent in a direction other than what the course was intended to be seemed strange at the time. From what I believe last year there were some that complained that the course was not long enough to be of half marathon distance, and if they had actually read the small print on the maps provided last year they would have been correct with the course being about 300m short for the half marathon. What probably happened was an over correction, where the runners completed a second loop of the Rockhampton Showgrounds before being sent back where we were supposed to go. At the time I didn’t hear anyone else arguing with the SES volunteers manning that corner, concentration on reaching the distance would have been too great and those folks would have been the wrong people to complain to in any case. Perhaps the local press would have been well served to actually ask someone who ran the course for a comment as opposed to organisers who mentioned a second lap around the World Game fields which was as truthful as a politician promising not to lie for 5 minutes in parliament.
With the times out of sync it was a case of just hanging in to the finish. It was a lonely trip up the straight for the first time just as the 10km runners were warming up, which is something I try to avoid. Knowing the PA announcer personally I try to hide so I don’t get embarrassed but as usual I was spotted. Maybe I should have just worn a singlet and dispensed with the zinc across the nose! The second lap basically passed without incident, although the last 3 kilometres were a struggle with the legs still suffering from the footy on the Saturday. Thankfully I managed to pass a few on the second lap which I can’t recall happening in previous years, and the only runners that passed me were running the shorter distance so all I had to do was stay out of their way. In the end a 47th placing was about as good as I could hope for, it was after all within what I would call a good day personally.
Unlike the last couple of years, I have kept the race bib from the closest run to a local event I’ll get, the Rocky River Run.
It was only then that I checked the Strava app on the phone which had been recording the time and distance (something I won’t be doing for the Gold Coast, worried too much about battery life). Usually I don’t worry about the distance on the iPod, given any type of movement is recorded, heck it even says you’ve run a kilometre if you jog on the spot at a set of traffic lights. When I saw the active distance of 22.7km, and having seen others using the same app also record in excess of 22km, I instantly looked for the facebook page to see if anyone else had similar distances. My mind was eased when I saw that there were a few others that asked about the distance. Of course given that the organisers were in their first year of running the event, teething problems are expected and usually ironed out in their second year. Hopefully next year will be the case, although a change in the course has been rumoured.
As for the preparation for the Gold Coast, the extra distance actually paves the way for me to take on another 2 long runs before the big day in less than 4 weeks time. I’m planning for a 2 week taper, meaning that a long run this Sunday (12 June) and the next (June 19) would be closer to 30 than 20 kilometres. Not having a June long weekend this year in Queensland isn’t helpful in some ways, but I also think my preparation for this year is better than last year’s in so many ways. Touch wood I stay niggle free and hit that start line on the Gold Coast aiming for that sub 4 hour time.
Before I go another reminder of my fundraising efforts for the City2Surf in Sydney. Any donation to Beyond Blue accepted, they’ll be as appreciative as I will be. Visit https://city2surf2016.everydayhero.com/au/mhjeffrey027running-com to give today!
Disappointment can come in many ways, and usually arrives when you least expect it. The build up to what you look forward to often spurs you onto greatness, yet by the end of the event you are left broken both physically and mentally. Regrettably this is an experience I felt as I started, but did not finish, my first attempt at an Ultra Marathon.
It all started so promisingly on race week. The final 40 minute training session was brisk and hit all the targets I had wanted to achieve. The plans were all in place for what I had wanted to do on race day and on the Saturday before. Heck it was the most relaxed I had felt in some time as I slept on the flight from Brisbane to Canberra, then stayed calm as I checked in again to the University of Canberra’s on-campus accommodation, and purchased supplies for the weekend.
Perhaps I may have gotten a little excited on the Saturday before the run. Sure the physical activities were restricted to walking to the nearby Belconnen Westfield centre to purchase sunglasses and a few other things, but perhaps the fuelling went a little OTT. Perhaps the Hungry Jack’s burgers before the whole Crust Pizza for lunch and the early lasagne were to blame (the pre-packaged mashed potato tasted about as appealing as snot on toast and was discarded accordingly after 2 bites). Still I felt good as I managed to retire about 10:30 AM and slept until the 3:00 AM alarm the next morning.
Maybe it was the taxi driver not being as useful as he should have been that had an affect. After all, I’m usually anxious waiting for other vehicular transportation to events such as this. It’s why for events like the City2Surf or the Melbourne Marathon I try to book in a location where walking to the start zone is a viable option. I was dropped off a reasonable walking distance from the start area, but if the cabbie was smart enough to drive via the city as opposed to via the freeway system (half of which was closed off as it was part of the route for the race). Still I managed to get to the start area with enough time to not have to be in a total panic unlike at Wynnum in 2014 so it was still so far so good.
With the time available and the other routines needing to be followed (bag drop and toilet stop amongst others), a proper warm up couldn’t really be done as it would have been had I entered the “normal” marathon. Even chilling out to tunes wasn’t an option for I discovered I had left the earphones in the taxi and a hasty post ultra purchase had to be made. However I consoled myself that the energy not spent on the usual dynamic style warm-up would actually help me later on. As the first signs of light were appearing over Captial Hill, it was time to join about 170 others to start what I anticipated to be a 5 hour slog.
Everything was going perfectly in the first 20km. I was moving at the pace that I had set myself to run, checking the timepiece after a couple of kilometres at first then every 5km or so to ensure I was maintaining what I was looking for. I was content to once again seek out every second drink station as I have almost always done at such races, even though the training had me drinking a lot earlier than anticipated due to the excessively warm conditions. It may have been a lonely slog, but eventually by the time I hit the freeways I was keeping up with a number of others, even passing them on the way.
The slight uphill section towards the turning point at the Northern most point of the course saw me slow to walking pace for the first time, but even through this I was still on track through the 30km marker to achieve the goal. Sadly it wouldn’t be more than 5km later when the worst sign of trouble hit, and hit suddenly. Even though I had troubles with knees leading up to the Twilight Run a few weeks earlier, I contented myself that the injury was a contact injury and that it wouldn’t prevent me running freely when it counted. Indeed for the first 34km there were no signs of any type of injury. But knee problems surfaced very quickly and caused my movement to slow from decent running pace to a limp. I found it was a struggle to effectively put the necessary weight on the knee to continue running.
Foolishly I passed a medical tent at the drinks station signifying 35km, and limped on for another 3km to the next station, which in the ultimate ironical insulting sign was the same place where I had stopped for 10 minutes about 364 days earlier. Last year stopping there was little short of relief, this year stopping there was nothing short of a kick to the balls. All I could do was sit in a chair and await was was known as the “Sad Wagon”, my race officially over, the first DNF of my time as a runner confirmed.
Pride could well have dictated me to walk onwards towards home, although it would have been a struggle for another 2.5 hours and the threat of not making the time cut off to finish would have been real. Of course there was also the future to worry about, where unlike Melbourne when I only had one other event for the year to fulfil, there is too much at stake for future events this year to take the big risk of damaging the knee to an extent where I would require a level of medical assistance that would have meant long periods away from physical activity. Plus there is the fact that my age means that there are plenty of other opportunities in future years to have another crack at the distance. It just may be that doing this in a city where I am not seemingly cursed may be where this happens (nothing against Canberra, it’s just that I haven’t had any luck over the year from running there).
So without a medal to reward me for persistence and with the proverbial tail placed between the legs, I had to somehow limp to a bus stop to catch a bus into town, then collect a cab back to base. The knee took a number of days to recover fully, and I feel no pain in that area today. Unfortunately I was convinced to play a game of footy the next weekend against my better judgement, and rolled an ankle thanks to the strapping not being secure enough. Whilst it hasn’t affected my ability to run, and the Gold Coast campaign has officially started, I still have to manage the pain upon commencing running, a bit like waiting for an engine to warm up. There are just over 9 weeks to go until Gold Coast dawns upon us, and with training already started, redemption for this failure is well and truly the motivation I need to succeed on the big stage.
I promise to write a review of the Canberra Ultra Marathon experience in the coming days (it’s not all positive, stay tuned), but first here’s something I don’t normally do but I figure this year it’s something I should try to support.
Too many of my mates have either had personal problems or even are no longer with us because of the signs of depression taking too much of a hold over their psyche. It’s not a sign of weakness, it’s sometimes a sad reality of life that I hate confronting. But these days there are many people and organisations who are at least trying to help each other out by giving a shoulder to cry on, a ear to listen to or a person to converse with to share their problems.
In Australia Beyondblue is the highest profile of these organisations, and many have chosen to raise money doing various activities. One such event is this year’s City2Surf in Sydney. Normally I just do the event taking it seriously enough as a training event for future marathons. This year however I’m going to try to raise a few funds to do my bit to help others. Whilst there is a goal of $750 on the fundraising page stated, to me there is no upper or lower limit to how much I’d like to raise.
Any monetary donations are accepted from now right up until race day on August 14, and even a few weeks beyond that event.
The page to raise money and to find out more is https://city2surf2016.everydayhero.com/au/mhjeffrey027running-com
To find out more information about Beyondblue or if you are struggling to cope with what life is throwing up at you, then visit https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
The City2Surf is on in Sydney on August 14, and stay tuned to this blog closer to the date as the big day in the Harbour City gets closer.
If you can’t remember back 12 months, and let’s be honest many of you readers out there can’t remember what happened 12 minutes ago, the Twilight Run based in the Brisbane suburb of St.Lucia was probably more suited to be held at Wet N Wild on the Gold Coast as opposed to the University of Queensland. With unfinished business and preparation for the big event in Canberra in less than a month away providing the motivation, it was a no brainer to return to UQ for the 2016 renewal of the event.
Much like in 2014, my pre race preparation involved football on the Saturday in Bundaberg. Unfortunately the oppressive conditions at game time and the reduced numbers in our side probably made me use more petrol than I had anticipated. Still the plan to catch the overnight bus from Bundaberg to Brisbane before a train commute to the Gold Coast for a recovery swim went without a hitch. It was during that swim however where doubts over my physical being surfaced, particularly in my right knee and groin areas. I was convinced that the knee was basically bone bruising as opposed to any type of ligament or nerve damage, and I felt I would be able to run through that pain. The groin however required massage treatment, and it wasn’t until I applied some heat cream to the area (making sure I didn’t spread it to more awkward areas which I had done in the past) saw the groin loosen.
It was a relief to see the organisational aspect of the run had improved this year. Last year there were issues with the lack of portable toilets until it was too late for the longer runners, but upon arrival seeing a whole row of loos near the start area (which I never had to use) was a relief. If anything else it meant heading into what was usually the visitors dressing rooms during Rugby season wouldn’t mean fighting the crowds. Bag drop had moved to upstairs into the grandstand this year, which took a little time to find but in it was probably a better area to keep my belongings.
After deciding to wear the long sleeve shirt that I ordered in addition to the singlet (still in the packaging but I intend to use it in training over the course of the year) it was time to enact the race plan. It turned out to be a blessing when my position in the start area was right behind the 1:55 pace runner and his wife. The plan was to run splits that would help me to reach the goal of a sub 5 hour run in Canberra. After all, this event doubled as the best training run I could possibly want.
In thankfully dry conditions (and no threat of rain or storms ever eventuated, must have been a relief to the organisers) I set off with a small group around the pacer at a comfortable tempo. As usual I was looking for fluids every 2nd or 3rd station, a tactic I will look to repeat in Canberra at least for the first half of the event. The kids on the drink stations like in previous years showed greater enthusiasm than a kid who had consumed 10 coffees with 3 teaspoons of sugar in each. We were right on the pace at the halfway point, although the group started to dwindle.
I began to lose a little touch crossing the bridge across the Brisbane River for the second time, but I thought I was going OK and keeping somewhat in contact until the 15km marker. It was at that stage where instead of the right leg starting to show signs of fatigue and hurt, it was the left lower calf region that started to tighten. Despite others trying to persuade me to keep going, I could only jog for about half a kilometre before needing to stop to stretch the calf. What made it worse was that the loop at Yeronga that would make the extra kilometre for the half marathon (the course on lap 1 catered for the 10km racers which once again started at the same time) had a lack of lighting (not so bad for me given where I’ve done early morning training runs in the past) and was made narrower by a World Game match being played at an adjacent venue. It wasn’t easy to stay in the middle of the lane trying to watch out for slower runners/walkers ahead, trying to keep out of the way of quicker runners behind and looking left to make sure you don’t get skittled by a vehicle.
By the time I passed the 20km marker, I had conceded that at least I had matched what I had aimed for with Canberra on my mind, which was breaking 2 hours for 20km. The intention was to cruise towards the athletics track and the finish, but of course I started to increase the tempo with not a lot to gain. I was then considering launching into a cartwheel just for the cameras and the crowds that were still in the venue. The launch was about to take place………….and then came the cramp in the left hamstring. Fortunately I knew it was only a cramp and not a pull or a tear given I’ve had a history of hamstring injuries (one of which I feel completely ruined last year’s program). It took a couple of minutes for the cramp to ease so I could walk somewhat properly, but the leg now feels normal a few days later.
Ripper Dipper or just another bib for the collection? You Decide!
So another Twilight has been done and dusted, another running year has commenced, another pair of legs has been battered into submission so badly training this week has been minimal. Hopefully the legs hold up for the last long run this weekend in Melbourne, where conditions thankfully may be conducive to better training compared to up here!
My sincere apologies for being off the scene for so long. Part of it can be blamed on Windows wanting to screw itself over so badly I had to reset the system and download everything from scratch, and it has taken this long to get back to where I want to be. Part of it can be attributed to work trying to screw over workers with rotating shifts to place the health of the small workforce to beyond the physical limit, but now is not the time nor place to discuss that (if I did I’d be in more poo than Batman and Superman combined). So enough of the negative, and onto the positive we go.
Not a lot has happened in recent times. The break throughout December has at least cleared the mind, and January hasn’t seen as many kilometres covered as I would have liked. The Central Queensland heat and humidity has been so stifling that training for long times and distances can even be seen as a heath risk, for there have been times where my energy tank has felt empty after 30 minutes of running.
It’s not that I haven’t been maintaining a fitness base, footy training is more than adequate for that. Indeed running 9:13 for a 2.1 km time trial at least showed me that I do have some speed left in the old legs, even if I thought I even kicked a little too early. The problem is that this training is good for football and the dynamic demands that it places on the legs, but not so great for someone looking for an endurance base.
To combat this and with the dreaded 50km event in Canberra looming quicker than anticipated (well it’s still a fair way away but like with most other events it will arrive before I can change passwords to every online account I have), the next 6 weeks is basically the time to get the kilometres into the legs. With the shifts working in my favour for at least the next month, early morning training runs will become common. Distances and terrain will of course vary, with gradual increases in distances being the aim.
One thing I know I have to learn is to find a pace that I’m comfortable with given the goal time for Canberra is going to be about 4:55 (or for those inclined to think in terms of Play School, that’s when the big hand is pointing straight up and the little hand is pointing to the 11, with a couple of dolls having a tea party behind or under said clock). Naturally it would be advantageous to be able to have good pace early to give myself a little buffer should the usual events in Canberra happen. But I also know that Canberra’s course demands use of the head. Knowing when to push and when to be cautious through the undulations is critical. Monday saw me go through just over 8km at a 5:20 per kilometre pace which feels like a solid enough tempo to try to maintain for as long as possible. Certainly if I was only going the traditional marathon distance this pace would translate into a goal pace.
Another thing I’m trialling to get longer distances into my legs is the idea of splitting up a longer run into three unequal distances. For example last Saturday I started by doing a 3km section, then after a short active rest (walking) came another 4km, with a further 5km section following a second active rest. There were provisions for a 6km section to follow but the legs and the mind were not complying after a single kilometre. The next 5 weeks (with the 6th being substituted for the traditional Twilight Run Half Marathon lead up) are going to increase the distances as follows.
13 FEB: 4km/5km/6km (TOTAL: 15km)
20 FEB: 5km/6km/7km (TOT: 18km)
27 FEB: 6km/7km/8km (TOT: 21km)6 MAR: 7km/8km/9km (TOT: 24km, pending fitness from Football the previous day)
12 MAR: 8km/9km/10km (TOT: 27km)
Whilst this won’t substitute the traditional long run every week (chances are I’ll be either replicating or going over slightly longer distances a day or so after with the aim of doing a 30+km effort in either week 3 or 5), training this way could very well replicate the reality of race day, when I may need some recovery time or I may take it easier through hydration stations. During these runs I may also start to experiment taking on board bananas given I’ll probably be needing to take some form of solids on board given it’s my first time at the distance.
Apart from that the schedule for the year has slightly changed due to work commitments and date changes for many events. At this stage the schedule for 2016 may well be…
MAR 20: Twilight Run Half Marathon, St.Lucia
APR 10: Canberra Ultra Marathon (50km)
JUN 6: Rocky River Run Half Marathon (subject to work clearance)
JUL 3: Gold Coast MarathonAUG 14: City2Surf Sydney (14km)
AUG 28: City to Surf Perth (either Marathon or Half Marathon)
SEP 24: Twilight Bay Run (Half Marathon)
OCT 2: Cap Coast Running Festival (Half Marathon or 10km, dependent on transport and fitness level)
OCT 16: Melbourne Marathon
(Any subsequent events after October 16 at this stage is to be determined, but at least one further event will be run. There’s even a possibility that Queenstown, New Zealand, on November 19 may be an event worth considering)
MHJeffrey027 Running 