I'm Back

Usually when I haven't blogged in a long time it means I haven't done any running. I'm happy to report that my training has been consistent since my last entry. I've been running 5/6 times a week usually with between 40 - 55 kms a week and also done a little cycling. I had orignially intended on doing either the Sydney or Melbourne Half Marathon but neither of those races eventuated - maybe next year.

A couple of weeks ago one of my mates from work asked if I was interested in climbing the Pyramid with him - he's a little on the overweight side and said it was something that he really wanted to do. It was a peach of a day and even though we started at 7am it was stinking hot. Some of the pics I took are much better then the previous ones I have posted here. I really enjoyed taking my time walking up and it was a whole different experience from running up there a couple of weeks before when everything was a blur and I don't even recall taking in the sights and views.

My National Geographic Cover

From the top of the Pyramid looking towards Cairns and Trinity Inlet. You can see a little smoke from a fire that burned for several days on the mountains to the right of the inlet.

Looking out to Russell Heads and Behana Gorge.

Looking onto the Atherton Tablelands and down at Goldsborough Valley. Once upon of time there was very little residential housing in the valley - its taken off in the past 5yrs.

Taken from about 1/4 of the way up.

Cairns Sportsfest 5km

Yesterday I lined up for my third competitive race in 3 weeks. It was the Sportsfest 5km Fun Run on the Cairns Esplanade. This run is part of the festivities held all weekend on the Esplanade and is topped off today with the Coral Coast Triathlon. I was hoping for a good time because the course is very flat and is paved and boarded (love running on wooden boards) the whole way. There was about 100 people competing in the 5km run (the other is the 2.5km) and this is the first race I've competed in where they were use timing chips. We assembled at the start line and someone must have got over excited and fired the gun early - I was still at the very back and tightening my shoelace and everyone was caught unaware. I was behind a wall of runners for the first 100m but eventually got clear and out into the open on the footpath. I had no idea how I wanted to pace this run so just went with the Hail Mary method of go out hard and hold on for dear life at the end. I also promised myself I would not look at my watch at any stage during the run. I was feeling pretty confident for the first half of the run as I overtook lots of runners and got to the half way point in what I felt was a good time. The moment I turned around to come back (its an out and back course) I was hit with an almighty headwind off the ocean. Straight away I had that awful feeling that it wasn't going to be a good run and knew I would stew on this for a week just as I had about the fiasco of the Pyramid Race. I used to have a real problem with running hills but I think I've somehow got over that, my problem now is running into headwinds. I felt like I was going nowhere and every stride was an effort and zapped me of all my energy and strength. About 100m after the turnaround point, I was overtaken by a runner. This wasn't a good sign and it was becoming like deja-vu from last weekend on the run down the Pyramid. I'm happy to say that was the only runner who passed me the entire race (in the end he only beat me by about 40metres) and on the back 2.5km I even caught a few runners. My final watch time was 21.25 but I'm hoping my official chip time will be a few seconds faster as I didn't get over the timing mat until after I started my watch. I heard a couple of the faster runners discussing what a mean headwind we ran into and how disappointed they were with their times. This made me feel a little better and fairly content with my time (my PB stands at 20.38).

I've had a fairly big wake up call in the last 2 weeks and realise its time to get a little more serious with the training and get some structure in it as well. I was going to run the Melbourne Half-Marathon in October but for some reason plane flights to Melbourne at that time are ridiculously over-priced. I'm now going to set my sights on the Sydney Half in 4 weeks (confirmation to come in the next few days pending time-off from work approval).

Back To Reality With a Thud - The Pyramid Race

I've been suffering my usual post City2Surf depression, but made the decision on Monday I was going to run the Pyramid Race since I ran well above my expectations on Sunday.

They say the Pyramid Race is about 12km - I think you have about a 6km run out and back and the run up and down must cover about 6km (its 922m high). I had 3 runs during the week after C2S and was feeling ok. When I woke up this morning I wasn't feeling great but still decided I was ready to tackle it. The race starts at 2-30pm and it was overcast with the odd drizzle. They had close to 100 starters and a good mix of both male and female runners. I started off at a steady pace and was still feeling good when I got to the base for the run up. The first few steps up the mountain immediately had me wondering 'what have I got myself into??' You have to make it to the half way point of the Pyramid in under 60mins otherwise they ask you to hand your bib in and start going back down again. I made it to half way in about 45mins but I was hurting badly. The top half of the Pyramid is really steep and rocky, you are at some points crawling on your hands and knees and these were the spots that really took it out of me. About 3/4 of the way up it started to rain - that made the rocks so slippery and it was as if you were on ice. Just on about 3/4 the first placed runner came down - he was flying. I can't believe how fast these guys run down the mountain! The runners coming down have right of way so you have to move off the track as they are very narrow, unfortunately this slows you down considerably as there is a steady stream of runners once that first runner has gone by. I made it to the top in about 1hr 19 and took 2 drinks and had about a minute break. On the way up I was only overtaken by about 3 people but because I had a break at the top that all changed.
I started the descent and was in absolute agony. By this stage I had developed a huge blister on my heel and each time I leaped from rock to rock it was rubbing against my shoe. I'm a terrible runner when it comes to downhill as I have a gumpy left kee that I feel is going to give out on me. I didn't feel like I was going slow but I was overtaken by a heap of runners coming back down. When I finally came off the mountain it was 1hr59 (my goal time to finish was sub 2hr so that was out the window). My legs were like jelly and shaking and it was difficult to break into a proper running stride. I made it back into town and towards the finish line there was kids lined up wanting to give me High 5's and the announcer called my name and everyone was clapping and cheering - great feeling despite the finish time of 2hrs13mins.

I have no excuses, I just wasn't ready to run a race like this. Its a run I've always wanted to do as I grew up in Gordonvale and always said I would do it one year - and now I have. Its a disappointing attempt as I doubt I'll probably ever get to run it again and set things right. At least I can say I've run the Pyramid Race, by far the toughest run I'll ever race.

City 2 Surf '07

Another City 2 Surf has been and gone and this one was by far the most satisfying for me. A few months back I was laid up with Glandular Fever - I missed 3 weeks of work, put on a heap of weight and the running came to a grinding halt. I had contemplated giving the race a miss this year, but this has become an annual pilgrimage for me and even if it meant walking I made the decision I'd still enter. My first training run was back on the 10th June - I ran for 20mins and it almost killed me. The training picked up and I started feeling pretty good - in the end it was more suited for a 5km run then City to Surf and I knew the last 4/5kms was going to hurt and be a real test. The goal - sub 75mins!

The first thing I realised when I landed on Saturday was how warm it was - there was almost no difference between the temp from when I left Cairns. I spent most of Saturday afternoon just walking around the City trying to 'run' my new shoes in. I had a nice early night and slept like a baby. When I woke on Sunday morning and walked out onto the balcony at the hotel it was as if I was still in Cairns! I didn't even have to take an old sweater to donate to the girl guides at the start line. I got to the start pretty late and could see a couple of Cool Runner caps about 30metres in front - unlike some people, I didn't feel right pushing my way up to the front so was quite content to stand and wait for the gun (horn). To make sure I got the full City 2 Surf experience and in keeping with tradition I did use the portaloos!

This was my first A1 start and to be honest I couldn't really tell much difference from my A2 start last year. I still got knocked around at the start and nearly went A over T at about the 3km mark. My original intention was to run with my mate who came from Toowoomba who was also aiming at a sub75 time. We ran together for about 5metres ( no not 5km ) before we lost touch - I never saw him again. I am terrible at pacing myself and can never gauge my pace but I was feeling very comfortable for the first few kms apart from a really dry mouth. I took a drink at the first station but have decided that I just haven't quite mastered the art of running while drinking from a cup. I didn't get much of a drink but managed to snort half the cup. I went through the 3km marker on around 13:30. Around the 5km point I saw a Cool Running Cap in front of me so put a bit of sprint on and introduced myself to 'Rags'. He told me he was aiming for sub 68mins. At that point I was still feeling pretty fresh and thought I would stick with Rags as long as I could and hopefully get dragged through for an even better time then my original goal. I really enjoyed running with Rags but got seperated at one of the drinks stations - he went to the left, I went to the right and I never got sight of him again until after the finish.

Heartbreak Hill was testy but didn't kill me, the only negative was that I had really bad pains in the stomach at one point and felt like I was going to hurl. Thankfully this didn't last long and once we got back onto flat ground I just eased up on the pace and it went away. I looked at the big clock at the 7km marker and it had just ticked on over 34mins. This was really encouraging for me as I kept telling myself if I could just hold it together for the next 7km a sub 70mins was definitely on the cards. For the next few kms I was just crusing along - I was amazed at how many people I saw on the sides of the footpath getting help from the ambulance. I guess the one thing in my favour was that the heat didn't really bother me that much - I had been training in these conditions for the last 2 mths.

I did it really tough from about 9kms to 11kms. Those pesky smaller hills were hurting more then Heartbreak Hill and I could feel my pace dropping and the legs getting really heavy. I kept telling myself not to look at my watch anymore and just run to how my body felt but as we were approaching the 11km marker one of the guys alongside me asked another what the time was - it was 53mins. Sub 70mins was still on the cards - I just had to stagger my way for 3kms more in 17mins. Last year if you believe the km markers I did the very last km in over 6mins - I thought about this and decided I needed to try and put the accelerator on for the downhill on the next 2kms. I am not sure at what pace I was going but it felt like I was flying. At one stage a guy ran past me and said 'are we on pace for sub 65?' I told him 'not a chance, but sub 70 for sure'. Poor guy - in hindsight I hope he did crack 65 as he was sprinting and this was just after the 11km marker.

Its strange but as many times as I have run this race there are parts of the course I forget or how difficult parts are - the final Km is one of them. I could see the finish line and still hadn't looked at my watch. I had nothing left - I just wanted to fall over. Then I saw the 13km marker! What?! No wonder it took me 6mins for the final Km last year. I could see the finish line to my left yet I had another 1km to run. This nearly killed me, I knew I couldn't maintain the pace I had run for the last 2kms but I did my best. I came round the final turn and could see the clock off in the distance - it was still showing 65mins. I sprinted thinking I could crack 66mins but eventually conceded defeat. My watch time was 66:06 - my card time 66:12 and I couldn't have been happier.

I was haunched over and one of the volunteers came over to help me put my bib number on my time card - my hands were shaking and I couldn't for the life of me do it. He told me what a great run I had done and it was 10º hotter then last year - a total stranger to tell me I had just done a great run was pretty special and made me feel really proud. To top it all off I finally met Tesso just after walking through the finishing gates - how great is that? Got to speak with Tesso for a few minutes before spotted Rags and caught up again.

I hung around the bag collection area for about 45mins waiting for my mate from Toowoomba but couldn't find him, by this time I had developed a huge headache which I put down to dehydration and sitting in the sun. So I took a smelly bus ride back into the city and had a cold shower at the hotel and nanny nap. A great day and can't wait to do it again next year!

What next for me? Melbourne Half Marathon is looking good at the moment.

Work Sucks But I Need The Bucks!

I had a full on week - I was at work most mornings by 6am which didn't impress me much and was lucky to get out before 5pm. Thankfully, my running didn't suffer and I still managed to stick to my routine.

I read alot of Blogs this week and was amazed at how many people are out of action with injuries or carrying injuries. It made me think about my short running career. I've been training on and off for almost 2yrs now and can happily say I've never been injured - apart from little things like an annoying ingrown toenail or sore ankles and knees and as shameful as this is I must admit I never stretch before a run (apart from the obligatory try and touch my toes once) or after a run. Most mornings I wake up the day after a run feeling like I've been hit by a bus but nothing that ever prevents me from continuing to run. Touch wood I continue to be injury free.

Today I went out to the Pyramid and decided to run up to the half-way point. The legs felt like lead weights for the first 2mins but after I warmed up they weren't too bad. I was breathing like a racehorse and I noticed now that I must have cleared all the crap off my chest because I've got a bit of a cough. I ran to the half way point in 30mins (not too shabby) and stopped and had a drink and short talk to a couple who were coming back down from the top. I always find running back down to be hell on my knees and ankle and today was no different - it took me 20mins. When I got back home this afternoon I went for a 30min run to finish off. The annual Pyramid Race is August 19th (week after City 2 Surf) and after todays effort I'm 90% sure I'm going to have a crack at it this year. Stay tuned.

2 weeks until City 2 Surf and I'm starting to get excited! Turn up the thermostat Sydney because I'm a bit of a nancy boy with the cold now that I've been living in the Far North for almost 2yrs.

Sunday 22nd:
17.00kms
94.55

Monday 23rd:
8.00kms
45.15

Tuesday:
Rest Day

Wednesday 25th:
8.00kms
42.59

Thursday 26th:
8.05kms
40.00

Friday 27th:
8.00kms
43.11

Saturday 28th:
8.00kms
43.48

Total Kms 22nd July - 28th July:
57.05kms

Well That Was Embarassing!

I've had a couple of embarassing moments in my life and this is definitely up with the best. Late yesterday afternoon I was at one of the suburban shopping centres getting some groceries. I came back and put the grocery bags on the roof of the car and tried to open the door of the car with my keys - it wouldn't work, no big deal as this happens sometimes because the key is slightly bent. I took the key out and gave it another go, still no glory. By this time one of the girls working at a Brumby's Bakery was looking at me very curiously - mind your own business and get back to work I thought. I tried again, still no luck and I was starting to get a little bit worried now as I only have one key on my keyring for the car so I couldn't try another one. I gave it one more go and it just wasn't going to work. I tried to bend the key a little thinking that yeah this will make a world of difference. Brumby's Bakery girl was still looking at me and wondering what on earth was taking place here. I tried to unlock the door with the now straightened out key - NOPE. I was both agitated and perplexed and with Brumby girl watching me feeling a little uncomfortable. I looked around and suddenly saw the rim covers on my wheels which looked a little bit different - I took a step back and had a good look at the car when it suddenly dawned on me 'this is not my car!' It was identical in every single way except for the rim covers. I looked around and sure enough my car was three parking spaces down. I casually walked away and went towards my car when I turned around and saw Brumby's Girl come out of the store to watch me I didn't know what to do so I turned to her and said 'thats not my car it just looks like it' - now the poor girl was even more confused and must have thought I was either a hopeless criminal or an escapee from a psych ward. She continued to watch me as I finally got next to MY car and I opened it with the key and said to her 'see? this is my car ' and thankfully she let out a laugh and turned around and went back into the store.

Anyway now to matters running. Ingrown toenail is fine. I couldn't get an appointment to see a podiatrist until Tuesday so I hacked it out myself with the surgical tools of a steak knife and stanley knife. It was a job well done and as good as new. I didn't run on Thursday as I didn't perform this procedure until Thursday night. Friday was a public holiday here and I think that may have been the last one for the year (yikes). I did an 8K circuit around home which incorporates heaps of tiny little hills and one mean mother hill. I felt fantastic for this run - probably due to the fact it had been a pretty easy training week up until then. I felt comfortable going up the hills and strong coming down. For the last 1K I practically sprinted it. Yesterday I did exactly the same circuit. I really didn't feel like running it and it took all of my willpower to get the shoes and gear on and get going. Its amazing how in the space of 24hrs you can feel so different about running the same course. I felt fat and like I was a big loping elephant who had no co-ordination. With about 10mins to go I thought to myself that my time would be about 5mins slower then the day before. When I finished and looked at my watch I nearly fell over when I saw that I was only 30 seconds slower. Bizarre!

Today I always planned on doing an 80/90min run at a very casual pace. I wore my heart rate monitor as I wanted to take this run very easy. I started out well and for the first 20mins I kept the heart rate steady but felt like I was almost walking. Then I had a steep incline and thats when the heart rate monitor almost ended up in the cane fields. The heart rate got up to about 175 and thats when it starts beeping - no big deal as I figured once the hill was conquered I could ease up and the heart rate would drop down again. I eased back in pace and thought that everything would be cool bananas again but no, the watch kept beeping and beeping and beeping. At one stage I looked at it and it said my heart rate was at 206! No way! I put up with this crap until about 45mins when I took it off and shoved it in my fuel belt. Up until then I had just been plodding along and at that pace I felt like I could have run for 12hrs. I picked up the pace a little and came out onto the Bruce Highway (Highway 1) with a zillion cars zooming past me. I really picked up the pace at about the 60min mark and was alternating between running on the side of the highway and the grassy headlands of the canefields - not good for the ankles! I felt really strong from about 60 to 80mins and would love to know what pace I was going - felt like I was flying. Then about the 85min mark I hit the wall. I was absolutely knackered - I would have hate to seen what I look like because I felt like I was all haunched over and no longer upright and just struggling to put one foot in front of the other. I eventually made it back to my place in 94mins and 55 seconds. As for the distance - I have no idea but I intend on measuring it tomorrow. I got a feeling the body is going to be aching all over tomorrow.

Thursday:
Rest Day

Friday:
8.00kms (some hill work)
42.37

Saturday:
8.00kms (some hill work)
43.06

Total Kms 15th July - 21st July:
46.30kms

Ingrown Toenail

Ouch! This popped up overnight. All day it was bothering me and when I put my running shoes on this afternoon it nearly killed me. I know I shouldn't have run because all I did was make it worse and I think because it was causing me so much discomfort my action was all out of whack - which will probably result in an injury. Tomorrow I'm going to try and get an appointment with a podiatrist and see what can be done - if need be I will hack away at it myself. There is no way I am going to let this stop me from running City 2 Surf. A couple of days break from running is now on the agenda and I will jump on the exercise bike so I don't lose any fitness.

On a postive note I did a sharp 40min run on Monday night at just under 5min/k pace and tonight I ran 40mins at 5min/k pace complete with sore toe. Yesterday was a rest day as I was absolutely beat - work is chaotic at the moment but thankfully its a short week with Friday being our Show Holiday.

Monday:
40mins
8.1kms

Tuesday:
Rest Day

Wednesday:
40mins
8kms