Six Inch 2008

Six Inch was good this year, I had been getting back into running again after some down time and had my sights set on a good time. 4:10 was the goal (1hr slower than my marathon pb) although I knew that a good day would see me closer to 4hrs. The climb up goldmine hill is always tough however I think I was better prepared this year. Was in 6th place, which was a bit of a surprise and passed duffer half way up, I don't think he liked that as he soon passed me again and I didn't see him till the finish. Towards the top of the climb I went passed John Nuttall, but he too passed me as the course flattened out. I could see Epi just ahead and I knew we would be running a similar pace so set my sights on catching him and having some company.

4k in 21.04 and a few seconds behind Epi but not too concerned, caught him just after whittakers mill and we ran together for about 10k. We were in 5th and 6th at the time, which was a little unexpected given how fast we were running and then when I heard footsteps behind us I thought, "For goodness sake! Who's passing us now!" It turned out to be Jason O'Hanlan who had got lost and was just repassing us. A minute later the track makes a left turn and Jason kept going straight, we called out to him but his Ipod was on so loud that he didn't here us, we were screaming at him but nothing. We briefly thought about chasing him but he was going about 30s/km faster and we probably would have stuggled to catch him.

We past 10.5k in 53 minutes so were well up on my 4:08 splits. I decided to have a gel and whilst going up a hill Epi started to pull away, don't think he picked up the pace I was just taking it easy going up. Let him go as the early pace was making me feel a little tired and there was a long way to go. I soon lost sight of Craig however I was still under my 4:08 splits so I though that he was going out too hard and would blow up, after all his goal was 4:15.

Struggled coming into the drink stop however I saw Craig leave just before I got there so I figured he had about 1 minute on me. Went straight past the drink stop, not a second to lose. I knew Craig could climb quicker than me so wasn't expecting to pick him up too soon, more like around 35k, but I kept pushing hard trying to make up time. Made the conveyor belt in 2:23, only 2 minutes ahead of my splits, so again tried to up the pace.

Made it through 'Snake Hill' at Oakly dam this year which was a relief and then focused on the 35k mark. Reached it in 3:02.14, almost six minutes ahead of time. This was always going to be my reassessment point to see whether sub 4hrs was realistic. I needed to run the last 11k in 57:46 to go sub 4hrs and that was close enough so I went for it. Was still a couple of minutes behind Craig, but expected him to blow up over the last 10k so was confident I could catch him. I'm an Ultra runner, so pride myself on finishing well in any race and I knew I could run well to the end. At Marrinup there's 5k to go and I reached it in 3:35.04 - 24.56 for the final 5k was going to be tough but possible. Still hadn't seen Craig and at this point I started to realise that he must be running a blistering race and gave up thoughts of catching him. Well done Craig on a great run, the thing that came to my mind was "Fortune favours the brave." I let him go at about 16k because I didn't want to push too hard too early, he did and it paid off.

The last 5k were a struggle and that tree over the track really didn't help. At 3:57 I realized sub 4hrs was going to be out of reach but only just. The disappoint was evident as I crossed the line in 4:00.34, just seconds from breaking 4hrs and less than 3 minutes behind Craig. Felt fine afterwards and thoroughly enjoyed chatting afterwards over a few beers and some good food. Thanks to everyone for making the run what it was, after running all 4 races I can honestly say this was the best one yet.

P.S On the drive back we saw Christian running back to North Dandalup along Del Park Rd. Stopped and gaave him some water a had a quick chat, the man's a machine and I was a little envious that he would end up with 70k for the day. Awesome effort.

Nate

Weekly Washup

Well another increased milage week and I'm working through that constant tiredness that comes with it. I know it's gonna last a while, same as my last big training block, but having done it before doesn't make it any easier. Struggled throught the long run on Saturday, Mandurah rail trail in 2:38.47, a long way off my 2:27 PB but I was still happy with a sub 2:40. I suspect I was still feeling the effects of last weekend.

Logged 115k for the week which I was happy with and hopefully about 110k next week, although I'll just run how I feel during the week to try and freshen up a little for Six Inch. Feeling confident about my sub 4:10 goal and If I have a good day, sub 4hrs might be on the cards, time will tell.

4000k reached

Just ticked off a bit of a milestone in my running career - 4000k for the calendar year! I was on target to achieve this last year however injury over the final 6 weeks prevented it from happening. Really, really happy to get it done this year especially considering I was injured for Jan, Feb and took about 6 weeks off (very little running) after Caboolture. Basically this means that I should get at least 4160k this year which works out to be an 80k average for 52 weeks.

While it's nice to tick off these little milestones I am well aware that I am only really starting my Ultra career and next year I will be looking at closer to 5000k. With my 2009 races including 6-foot, Coburg 6hr, Coburg 24hr, Bunbury 50k, Kep 100k, Another 24hr later in the year and 6-Inch as well as probably 3 marathons, training will need to be high and consistent. I am not one to shy away from a challenge, and I am well aware of the challenges that are to come. But I something that was said on Sunday during Church really spoke to me, Eph 4:1 '... I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have recieved.' I feel called to run and I am determined to live my life worthy of this calling.

Nate

Six-Inch Prep

Started the Sharpening phase of my Six Inch prep this weekend with the aim of getting some speed in the legs. I opted for the Jarradale to Kingsbury rd run which is an out and back 30k with a couple of significant climbs. My PB for the course was 2:37 and I was confident that I could give this a shake.

Started well getting to the base of the valley (5k) in 24.07 and then started the climb up the other side. Next 5k was a little slower in 26:26 for a 10k split of 50:33, which was a little slower than I wanted. picked up the pace over the next 5k which is relatively flat and was surprised with a 22:40 5k split to give me 1:13.13 for the half way, I was on target to break 2:30.

I generally positive split by about 2 minutes on this course so I figured I was on target for a 2:28. Next 5k split was 22.30 and at this point I realised that I could be in for something special. Held a solid pace through the next 5k and was busy working out my finish. The last 5k is predominantly uphill and usually takes 27+minutes and I wanted to get there in 2hrs to give myself some breathing space for the sub 2:30. Arrived a the base of the valley in 1:57, leaving 33 minutes togo sub 2:30, which was now a certainty. The first few climbs out of the valley I just took it easy, trying not to build up the lactic acid and once over the last one I picked it up again. I knew that if I was quicker than 28 minutes I'd get a negative split as well so was focused on that. Arrived at the finish in 2:23.58 for a 14 minutes PB and a 2:30 negative split. I was stoked with the run and have gained a lot of confidence for 6-Inch - I firmly believe I can go under 4:10.

The Next Chapter

Well, after Caboolture I needed some down time, so had 6 weeks with minimal running only (3 weeks of which I was working overseas). Have since began training again with my focus being the 6-Inch marathon (46k) in December. Just focusing on getting in some good marathon training and developing some consistency again (100k/week with a 30-40k long run).

2009 goals have been slowly emerging and the main goal is the Coburg 24hr where I will attempt to improve on my last 24hr and have a crack at 200k. Ambitious goal but I do think it is possible and feel confident that I can achieve it with the right training. After Coburg the goals may vary - I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about the Commonwealth Champs in Sept, but this is dependant on my Coburg performance.

I will possibly head over east in March to attempt the 6-foot, Coburg 6hr Double on the 14th-15th March. This would be my birthday present (18th March) and would involve running 6 Foot on Saturday, flying to Melbourne that night and running the Coburg 6hr Sunday morning. Sounds epic but shouldn't be too much more than what I will be doing at that point anyway. This would allow me to fine tune a few things for the 24hr which is 5 weeks later.