2009

Just a brief note about 2009:
4016k in total so a little down on last year but still happy to get over 4000k. Learnt a lot this year and looking forward to logging some better, more consistent training.

Only 1 PB this year 21.1k 1:24.04 at the Busselton half marathon.

Happy New Year

Six Inch 2009

Splits
4k - 20:41
10.5k - 52:xx
23k - 1:54
Conveyor Belt - 2:17
35k - 2:58.30
41k (Marrinup) - 3:36
46k - 4:11.57

Felt great for about 30k but then really struggled through Oakly Dam and lost a fair bit of time. By the 35k aid station I knew I was in trouble but was hoping I could still hold on for a sub 4hr. Didn't happen, lost 5 minutes on my 2008 time between 35k and 41k so basically gave up the chase. Ran out of water with 5k to go which didn't help but given the hot conditions I wasn't too dissappointed by the time. Seemed like most people struggles over the last 11k.

Looking forward to next year. After seeing the splits this year I reckon I have a sub 3:50 in me on a good day.

97k for the week

Nate

Weekly Summary

A bit of a nothing week really. Only 68k as the long run didn't eventuate and I ended up not running on Thursday or Sunday. Had a couple of good hour runs but that was it really. 20k on Saturday night was tough (I think it was closer to 21k) and then Family got the remainder of my time.

Not too concerned as I should be fresh for Six Inch and hopefully be a good chance for a sub 4hr time. Dave is still my tip for the win, although he hasn't had a great year (distances less that 50k) experience and natural climbing ability will come into it. Top 5 should be fairly close though.

Still looking to get close to 100k this week including the race but we'll see how we go. BTW pulled up unbelievable from the IM Marathon, basically no pain/soreness at all.

Nate

Weekly summary

What a week! Tried to semi-taper for the IM marathon and that went well, although I felt terrible at the beginning of the week but picked up towards the end. Managed 36k before the IM which I was happy with and would have got more however Friday got away from me and I didn't run.

Saturday was hot, hot, hot!!! Our swimmer (my Uncle) had a great swim with 54:xx and our cyclist was having a great ride for 160k then hit the wall big time and came in around 5:55. Now I mentioned it was hot and not long before I started I heard someone say it was 35 degrees - and it felt it too.

I had given up all time goals now and was simply looking to run how I felt. Started out at a comfortable pace going through 6k in 29:50, then I started to feel the heat and the legs felt so heavy. I felt like I'd been running hard for 2hrs and it wasn't even 1hr. I was throwing 2 cups of iced water on my head at every aid station to try to keep cool and it was working. But to give you an idea of the heat, I would be wet after every aid station but by the time i reached the next one (2k) I was pretty much dry!

Felt fantastic between 15k and 25k and put in some real solid k's and 3:20 was looking like a possibility, but then my stomach problems started. I was so hungry as I started just after 1pm and hadn't really had lunch. The unusual start time played havoc with my nutrition strategy so at 25k I decided to go into survival mode. I walked the aid stations and ensured I drank water, cola and had some food. This slowed me down a lot but I was still running well between aid stations. I was also beginning to feel the cumulative effect of the heat so drinking was my number one priority. I wanted to get through the run well but not spend a few days recovering.

I battled through to the 36k mark and was starting to feel a little better and with 6k to go I decided to lift the pace. I still stopped at one more aid station but only breifly and then I began my finishing run. I was flying over the last 3k or so and looking at my splits from the net I covered the last 6.2k in just over 28 minutes. I was very relieved to cross the finish line in 3:37 (3:39 including transition) and although thirsty, hungry and so hot, I actually felt pretty good. I ended up with the 13th fastest marathon time out of the 110 teams and we came 20th in 10:31, not a bad effort at all really.

I ran 7k the next day and felt good so will be back to training this week for six inch in 2 weeks time. All up I managed 85k this week.

I'm a Dad

Now I know this is a running blog but this is a special post about the Birth of Noah Matthew Fawkes on 1st December at 5:01am. It's funny because Kate was told by the doctor that the birth would progress quickly - so I joked about her beating my marathon PB of 3:10. Well, she smashed me by giving birth in a total of 2hrs and 51minutes!! Waters broke at 2:10am Tuesday morning and Noah was born @ 5:01am.

Feels so good to finally have him here after waiting so long and Kate was amazing as she was not able to have any real pain relief because of the speed of progression.

Both Kate and Noah are doing well although I think Kate could use an extra few hours sleep. I am back at work today and then will take a few days off for the IM and of course to do baby stuff.

This week will probably be fairly light on for k's with around 80k including the marathon, but we'll see. I want to run everyday before the race and I just saw that Perth's forecast for Saturday is 37 degrees! Busselton will probably be 4-5 degrees cooler but we're still looking at 30+ for race day. If it's too hot then I'll just be in survival mode and won't push too hard at all.

Welcome to the world Noah

Weekly Summary

82k this week and still no real progress with the Baby! No long run this week as I had to stay close to home just in case things happened - it's really tough just waiting for something that just doesn't seem to happen.

Sessions of note were a solid 20k run Wednesday morning in 1:35 - felt really good and time would have been faster but slowed to warm down pace over the final k or so. Speed session was a struggle again, I really don't think I have my speed legs yet as I just don't seem to be able to get any rhythm at all. Might cut the 1k reps to 500m when I start again just to try and ease into it.

IM Marathon this week but the baby still hasn't come so unsure what will happen. Starting to get really concerned as I need to be in Bunbury on Thursday to register and then friday is the race briefing. Baby really needs to come before Wednesday or I'm in real trouble. Till then we just wait and pray that it will all work out ok.

Weekly Summary

Much better week this week with some quality session in the bank. Managed 106k and felt good throughout. Speed Session on Thursday was tough with the wind but still did ok. Did my first track session in my 24hr prep for next year - a solid 20k at PL. Will continue to do this once a week for the remainder of the year and then pick up my track running.

Long run this week was awesome out in Serpentine NP. Some massive climbs (about 3 or 4) and I took them all slow and steady having not done too many hills lately. Felt real nice to get some tough trails done and I'm sure I'll be back out there again in the future. Total time of the run was 2:51 - so about 30k, then another 5k with the dog when I got home.

This week is an unknown as the baby is due on Friday (hopefully earlier). Still hoping for around 100k and certainly not tapering for the IM marathon. Only problem is that I HAVE to be down in Bunbury on Thursday 3rd Dec to register for the IM and then Friday morning for the Race Briefing. If the Baby is late - then I have a serious problem. Here's hoping everything is on time and there is no problems.

Nate

Speed Sessions

Finally got out for my first speed session in about 8 weeks and I decided to get serious and take a gps and a can of spray paint to mark out some acurate 1k and 2k markers. I have been using a rough 1k course for a while but after gps measuring it turned out to be only 910mtrs! All those sub 3:30 1k reps I was doing 2 months ago were actually closer to 3:40, which is significantly slower. My 2k course was also short by about 90mts. Dissaponting but at least I now have an acurate course to train with.

Howling winds and it being my first session in a while prevented fast time with my 4 x 1k times being 3:48, 3:56, 3:47, 4:01. On the second and 4th k there was about 700mtrs running straight into the wind so that affect times. With such a slow start I look forward to seeing these times drop significantly over the next few months.

Weekly Summary

Another 100k this week but there wasn't a whole lot of quality there. Struggled with really sore legs and Back from Cricket on Sunday and was essentially running in recovery mode for the majority of the week.

Had a good 40k in the hills on Saturday although my lack of hill training showed over the last 15k and I had to walk some of the steeper sections. Did the first 6k in 29:15 and was feeling good arriving at Kingsbury Rd (23k) in just over 2hrs. From here though the hills got the better of me and things slowed dramatically finishing in 3:50 - about 1:45 for the last 17k. I knew I needed to work on the hilly stuff so I know I'll gain a lot out of the run, as the saying goes 'if it hurts, it's working!'

Finished the week with the Peninsula 10k in 42:xx, not as fast as I wanted but was pretty sore from the 40k and it was my first real speed session in a few months.

The more I think about the IM marathon the more inclined I am to not push too hard. I'm not in good shape so realistically a PB is not on the cards and the temperature could be a big factor. I'm sure things will change on race day but if I could go under 3:30 I would be happy - I'm there for the experience not to PB.

Looking forward to having some better sessions this week

Nate

Back up to 3 figures

Hit 100k this week for the first time in about 6 weeks and it feels good, although quite tiring. Started running in the mornings this week which basically means getting up at 4:30, running for and hour then getting ready for work and leaving at 6:45. It's quite tough but feels good to get the run done early. Trying to get to bed by 8:30 to get some decent sleep.

Hour runs were slower than previous week due to AM starts and taking 20 min or so to warm up, generally negative split though so that was nice. Had my first speed session on Wednesday evening - 2k warm up - 4k in 15:45 - 2k warm down. Not too sure on the accuracy of the course, although I think the laps are 2k but maybe my halfway split is not quite acurate?

Long run was the Kwinana 32k course, felt sluggish for the first 7k and stomach couldn't seem to settle after the weetbix. Picked it up between 7 and 12, reaching 12k in 56:40ish then headed out for the 8k loop. Within 1k I was vomiting on the side of the road as the remainder of the weetbix came up and out. It seems that as I haven't run on a full stomach in about 2 months I can't really handle it any more. Needless to say I eased off for a while and managed to complete the 8k loop in 39:30ish so lost a lot of time here. This meant that I had to run sub 55min for the final 12k to break 2:30 which was my goal. That was going to be tough as it was warming up and meant I needed to negative split this section. Had my first Gu and put my head down, pushing the entire way and eventually stopping the clock at 2:29.56. Very happy to go under 32 for this as I know I'm not in the best form but this showed that I'm still travelling ok. Warmed down with a slow 4k with Tiko.

This week will continue to run for an hour in the morning, except Wed when I'll do a fast 20k in the evening to get some better heat training for the Ironman. Long Run will be trail to get some Six Inch training and addition strength. Also running the Peninsula 10k on Sunday and hoping for somewhere around 40min although unsure as it will be the day after a long run.

All in All feeling quite good about things and hey the Baby could come at any time now so that is very exciting.

Nate

I'm Back

Finally home after over 3 weeks in Malaysia and China and getting ready for a busy few months. Baby due in less than 4 weeks, IM Marathon on Dec 5th and Six Inch on 20th then training really begins for my next 24hr assault.

Managed 61k and 75k/week repsectively in China which was great and a 2hr run during the first week. Much of the second week was at altitude with 2 days in Kunming (1950m), 3 days in lijiang (2400m) including about 2hrs at 3300m, then another 2 days in kunming (1950m). I felt the difference and posted some distance PB's over some well used 1hr courses in my first few days back.

Looking to build the k's and some quality tempo runs over the next few weeks in prep for the IM Marathon. Revised my goal from sub 3hr to sub 3:10 and a pb as I think the midday start will have a large impact. 34k run last week into a howling wind the whole way. Was still running under 5min/k @ 20k then fell apart a little. A combination of the wind tiring my legs, the midday start (I was really hungry and only had 3 gels) and not having run over 2hrs in 3 weeks. Still good to get back out there again.

I would like to alternate long runs between trail and road over the next month. This week will be a 32k road run(with hills) and the plan will be to run sub 5min/k by as much as possible. Next week I'll head bush for about 40k.

Also want to do the Peninsula 10k next Sunday to get a bit of speed in the legs.

Nate

A race against time

Physio's diagnosis - A tight, stressed and tender VMO!

He gave it a good thrashing on the table and then some acupunture to try and speed things up a little bit (never had that before and it was wierd). Now it's just a matter of trying to get it as loose/relaxed as possible before the race. All in all it was a positive outcome as it could have been much worse.

I will go for a light jog tomorrow (maybe 3k) and see how it goes. I will likely start the 100 miler and see what happens - I am still less than certain I'll finish the race and I'll have to through all time goals out the window.

Frustration continues to mount after a horrible 8 months (running wise that is)- I just want this year to be over!

Not Again!!

Just when I thought the year was starting to look up, it all came crashing down again. The knee soreness from last weeks run has hung around and at the moment I can't run more than 15min with it getting really sore. I'm pretty sore it's a VMO issue and I would rate myself only a 30% chance of completing the 100 miler - heck it's looking unlikely that I'll manage even 10k! Need to try and get to see a physio ASAP to see what can be done.

Taper

The start of the taper went well with 4 x 1hr runs completed during the week and a 4hr long run on Sat. As we were heading to the farm on Sat I decided it would be easier to leave at 7am and get Kate to pick me up at 11am giving me 4hrs of road/verge running. Made it to the public toilets in Jarradale (35kish) in 3:14 and wasn't to fussed about pushing too hard after this. My right knee was becoming quite sore from the camber of the road and by 3:30 I was only running for about 5min at a time as the knee was sore. Made it to 4hrs and then started walking and after another 15min Kate arrived. Pulled up really well although I had a hit of cricket yesterday and felt the knee twinge a few times.

Was planning on a 30k this Sat but will now only do 20k as I felt quite tired on the weekend. hopefully knock out some more 1hr runs this week but if the knee is sore then a few days off will be the order of the day. With only 13 days till the 100 miler it's time to recover, get fresh and get hungry for a good performance.

Starting to get excited!!!

Another solid week with 118k done. Normal hour runs during the week with the first few being tougher than usual due to 9.5hrs in the stirlings. Planned on a 70k from Jarradale to North Dandalup return on Sat with Rob joining me for the first 18k. The pace for the first 18 was very comfortable and I was greatful for the company - Thanks Rob!

When Rob turned around we had done 18k in 2:10 and I thought that it was now time to get into a good stride and make up some time. I had wanted to break 8hrs for the run and after the first 18k I was in danger of falling off the pace. Ran really well to ND Dam with intermittant showers keeping the temp cool. Running over the dam wall I experienced something I never have before and hope never will again - It started to hail!!!! I was running across the dam wall so there was no cover for at least 600mtrs so all I could do was tilt my hat and lean to the side to try and avoid getting hit in the face. It was rather painful and I was glad it only lasted for about 90 seconds.

Eventually reached the ND campsite in 3:42 (35k) so had made up some time over the last 17k. Had a good ITB stretch and was off again at 3:48. Plan was to fill up my bottle at the Public toilets at the dam so as to preserve the campsite water. After a quick toilet stop and a bottle refill I was off again to try and get home in a reasonable time. I felt good and with the ipod cranking I was in heaven.

At 5hrs I got a call from Dave and at that time I was on track for a 7hrs 20min finish time which was way better than I was hoping for but I was travelling really well. By 5 1/2 hrs I was starting to feel like I needed more calories. I had brought the same amount as when I did the waterous loop with Rob (8:15) but it was becoming clear that the increased pace was forcing me to burn more calories and I was going to be short. Had a walk and a sandwhich to try to get the energy levels up but I had gone into the red zone and it was gonna take a lot to get me out.

15K to go and the time was 6:08 so I'd lost a lot in the last 45min and I was entering survival mode. 7:20 was gone, 7:30 would be tough so I set my sights on 7:35. The last 15k wasn't pretty but I survived to get home in 7:34.48 (7:35).

Really happy with the time considering the slow start, hilly course and huge blow-up at the end - even happier with the fact that I didn't feel any muscular soreness at all during or after the run. The effort in the stirlings has made a huge difference to my strength and I felt I could have easily run on after a good feed.

Feeling confident about the 100 miler now. My plan will be to run a point to point strategy rather than stopping every hour. I will have minimal stops for the first 80k with the aim of finishing the first lap in under 9hrs. Another goal is to get past the Kingsbury Rd section on the 2nd lap (115kish) before it gets dark as this is not well marked and very overgrown. My calculation say that should give me about 13.5hrs to do 115k. Not fussed about the finish time - just happy to finish my first trail 100 miler sub 24hr remains the goal with sub 20 a possibility and sub 18 a dream - just see what happens on the day.

40k this saturday signifies the beginning of the 'taper'

A Good Week

Another good week capped off by a solid 9:25 run in the Stirlings on Sat. Drove down after Youth Group on Friday night arriving @ 2:30am. After getting ready for the morning start I got to sleep at about 3am. 2hrs later I was up, eating breakfast and off at 6. Started with the 8k run up to the Bluff Knoll carpark which took 53min, with the heavy pack and some pretty serious climbs. Quick refill of the water bottle and up Bluff Knoll I went. Made the top in around 53 minutes and set off to try and find the ridgetop walk track.

Spent a few minutes looking then found the track and headed off, thats when I lost the track and started heading off track. Ended up following a water run-off track - thinking it was the right track! after about an hour I realised I was heading in the wrrong direction and was forced to bush-bash back up the mountain. After 45min or so I was back on the track. Problem was I was now 4hrs into the run and hadn't covered all that much of the walk - finishing in 8hrs was now going to be a struggle. Tried to make up time wherever I could and was going really well for the next 3hrs or so.

At 7hrs I realised I had taken a wrong turn and ended up at the caves. Without knowing exactly where I went wrong and without a detailed map I thought it best to abandon the ridgetop walk and head down the mountain. I took another track down off the mountain that was seriously steep and going down it was extremely tough on the knees. At 8hrs I was over the steepest part of the descent and was able to break into a run. Another hour and a half of running and I was at the meeting place and Kate picked me up. Obviously dissappointed to not get through the entire ridgetop walk but I started out wanting a good 8hr hike/run and a good strength work out for 100 miler, which evidently I got so really happy with my effort.

Next week a 70k trial run to test out pacing options for the 100 miler, hoping to get through in about 8hrs.

Another Solid Week

Continued to run 1hr a day Mon-Thur this week and was feeling strong throughout the runs. Rested on Friday and fronted up to Nanga at 6am Saturday unsure of what would happen. Rob was running the waterous loop (64k) and I was tagging along for an undefined distance. I hadn't run over 20k in 5 weeks and wasn't sure how long the body would hold up. Dave joined us for the first 20k before Bel picked him up and after Bel decided not to run 20k with us, my 40k backup plan was gone. If I continued with Rob I had to do the full 64k - no pikers option, no matter how long it took I'd have to finish.

I was feeling good at 20k so bit the bullet and continued on after a quick toilet stop and stretch. We weren't running fast (about 8 or 9k/hr) which helped me a lot as I found that pace very comfortable. Hit waterous camping ground (27k?) and quickly realised there was no water! I only had a handheld bottle which had about 150ml left and the next water was at Bidja Campsite @ 52k! Rob filled up at the creek but I resisted, didn't want to risk the bad water even though it was flowing quite fast. I was well hydrated and the rain and comfortable pace meant that sweating wasn't an issue.

We continued to plough away and ticked off little check points. not long before Bidja I decided to run ahead of Rob to get water as I had to make a 1k detour to the campsite. felt great to pick up the pace but then a blister started to make things interesting. After a quick pit stop Rob caught up and we ran together for another k or so before I felt good enough to push on again. Hit the detour spot, dropped my glove for rob, headed to the campsite for a good stretch and a drink. Was at the campsite for maybe 7 minutes then set off again in my quest to catch Rob. My glove was gone which told me he had passed that spot so I headed off after him. After 20 minutes or so of solid running I caught up and settled back into a nice comfortable pace.

At 8hr I left Rob again knowing that we only had a few k to go and time wise I needed to get home. Finished really strong in 8:13 with plenty left in the tank. Blister was my only real issue but they can be managed. All in all I went home feeling confident in my ability to run the 100 miler - and even pull out a sub 24hr time. With a couple of 6-8hr runs planned over the next few weeks I am confident of hitting the startline well prepared.

Nate

A Solid Week

87k this week which is pretty much the best training week in terms of volume for about 8-10 weeks. Was planning to do 30k on Sat but Kate remembered that we had our first mid-wife appointment at the hospital on Sat morning so changed the plans a litte. Ended up doing 20k Sat morning in 1:44.29 which included some decent hills. Ran the same course on Sunday morning in 1:44.26 so nice and consistent even though I had to work a little harder on Sunday. The best news is the knee held up well and only minor discomfort during the runs

Feeling unsure about the 100 miler, I'm so happy to be training again that I am really concerned about pushing too hard too soon and getting injured again. At the moment I still plan on being at the start line for the 100 although a likely scenario would be to run the 50 miles and then assess whether I feel I could continue without the risk of injury.

Waterous loop this weekend will be a test. Using Rob's 25/5 strategy I am confident of getting to 40k fairly comfortably, but whether I push on past that will be decided on the day.

A big few weeks

It's D-Day for my 100 miler prep and the next few weeks will tell the story. This Saturday will be a 32k run followed immediately by a 10k walk to make 42k total. Next weekend I'll do the Waterous loop (65k) by running 45k and then walking 20k, I expect this to take 8hrs. The following weekend I'd like to head down to the stirlings and have a crack at the ridgetop walk loop which would take aroud 10hrs of running/hiking in one of WA's only mountain ranges.

These three runs are all about testing the body to see how it copes, getting some good time on my feet and building strength. I feel that so long as I maintain a solid stretching program for my ITB'S after EVERY run I will avoid major problems. If I can get through these few runs then it's only 4 weeks to the 100 miler and I'll just look to run 40-50k each Saturday until race week, maybe run 30k the weekend before the 100 miler. Tapers are overated as all of my best runs have been done on little or no taper.

Nate

Last Week

Another week building the k's, managed 66k which I was pleased with and a 20k long run which went really well. Very little pain at all during the 20k which was completed in 1:46 so nice and slow. My knee actually pulled up really sore on Saturday but I'm pretty sure that was more to do with having to rush around after the 20k and not having enough time to really stretch properly.

Will be looking to run hour runs all week and then a 20-30k long run, depending how the rest of the week goes.

I'm Back Baby!!!!

Well I reckon I've finally shaken the latest round of injuries and can finally look forward to logging some decent k's in prep for the 100 miler.

Took Tiko for a 32k walk on Saturday and finished in 4:58 (with about 1.5k of running included). Felt awesome to get out for 5hrs again and get in a long session. Felt pretty tight in the afternoon so only ran for 2k. Sunday I was going to try for 1hr (longest run in over 4 weeks) and after a slow start, really picked up and finished running really strong - well under 5m/k by the end. The best part about it was despite feeling the tightness early on, after about 20 I felt good and today I don't feel any ill effects at all!

Will be looking for 1hr/day this week and hopefully a 20k run on the weekend (if I get time). If this goes well I'll be out for a 30k run next weekend - woohoo!!

As you can tell I'm pretty excited about all this, It's true what they say that you don't know what you've got till it's gone!

Nate

Road to Recovery

The road to recovery has been long and slow but I seem to be progressing. Runners Knee has been the culprite, which set in after the 47k run in the last post. Ran 6k/day last week with times varying from 30min to 44min, but just happy to be able to run at all. I am finding that so long as I don't push the pace at all then my knee holds up well but as soon as I start to push then the pain sets in.

This week I'll try and increase distance to 8k/day and so far this has been good with 2 runs of 42-43min. At the moment around 5:15/k is a comfortable running pace. Obviously the focus at the moment is the Dwellingup 100miler in 9 weeks so there will be no speed work at all only endurance. Realistically I need to pul out of this injury period now if I'm going to be up for the 100 but I'm quietly confident of getting up for the race.

Another Podiatrist appointment tonight so hopefully all is good there and I can continue the slow build up.

Weekly Washup

92k this week so continuing to build up slowly. Work commitments meant I couldn't do the 1k reps session on Tuesday but had to settle for 1hr with 15min w/u - 5 x 2min hard w/ 3min recovery - 15min w/d. Tempo run went well with the first 4k in 18:41, 6k in 23:52, then 3k in 15 to finish a tough session.

Long run was the first real distance run for a while so unsure what to expect. First hour with Dave was quick - at least 13k and that sort of set the scene for the rest of the run coming through 47k in 3:47. I had to have a few little breaks towards the end as I was feeling pretty tired but survived ok. What I did realize was that there is no way I will be in decent form for Caboolture, I'm just not ready. So I won't be going, it just doesn't feel like the right thing to do and ever since deciding not to go I have felt at peace with the decision.

My right knee has pulled up fairly sore after the run - almost like I knocked it and it's bruised. Had to take Sunday off and quite possibly a few more days also. Hopefully I can be ready for a 30kTT this Sat to see whether I can go sub 3hr at Perth or not. By my calculations I'll need to do 2:07 for 30k to be on track. So we'll see what happens.

Weekly washup

Another 80k week down and some good sessions logged. Was really sore from the hard hill run on Wednesday, which meant the long run was more painful than it should have been. Will be looking for around 90-100k this week with a 45k(ish) long run on Sat. Next week is the 100k trial race so don't need to do anything stupid, just keep increasing things gradually.

Calves are still tight but not causing any pain, as long as I continue to give them a big stretch they should not be much of an issue anymore. Still loving the asics and looking forward to tackling that 100k!

Long Run

37k today in a total time of 3:10, a little slower than I hoped but not too fussed at all really. Felt comfortable the entire way. Ran with Dave who did 20k before we started so we had a few more walk breaks than last week. Hopefully won't pull up too sore tomorrow and finish the week off nicely.

Tempo

Suffered a bit last night due to going hard during the hills session. Managed to complete the session and very close to the target pace.
4k w/u - target 19:00, actual 18:49
6k tempo - target 24:00, actual 24:17
3k w/d - no target pace just comfortable.

I was doing my 2k course and I noticed that the first k was usually around 3:52 and the second k was more like 4:10-15. This leads me to believe 2 things, 1. The second k might be slightly long 2. There is about 400mtrs of grass verge in the second k and this will not doubt decrease pace.

Overall happy with the session, although it was quite tough but I get a rest day today before the long run tomorrow which will be nice.

Hills

I am posting regularly at the moment as I have missed talking about my running as I have been unable to do it due to injury. It helps me get excited about things and I enjoy seeing improvements.

Hills last night and as I was driving home after work I could see the clouds looking pretty dark over Rocko. Sure enough, just out of Kwinana the heavens opened and I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to get wet. Grabbed the Dog, back to Kwinana and started the run. Was freezing and raining lightly but that was to be the end of it - no more raing for the remainder of the run!

I wasn't expecting to run too hard as it's been a while since I've done any hills. Basically took it easy going up and tried to pick up the pace on the downhills. Long story short came home in 49.35 (roughl 10k) which was my first time under 50 minutes for that course. Felt really good to score another Pb and I could really feel the speedwork paying off.

Tempo run tonight, couldn't complete it last week as I was sick so hopefully can get through without too many hassles. The plan is: 4k @ 4:50/k, 6k @ 4:00/k, 3k warm down. Time will tell

Intervals

Another intervals session last night (or reps to be more exact). Was much more consistent than last week with 3:27, 3:24, 3:26 and around 3:24 (watch didn't start). My course is NOT flat and I'm starting to see that the 'out' direction is a little slower than the 'back' direction. The course is basically a U shape with 2 right angle turns. Heading out it's straight and flat for 250mtrs, sharp left turn and then another 250mtrs with a gradual uphill(rising maybe 3-4 meters). Sharp left again and a fairly steep desent for 5-10mtrs then a flat 500mtrs to finish. The return leg is obviously the exact opposite with hills becoming downhills and vice versa.

PB for the 'out' leg is 3:26, PB for the 'back' leg is 3:24.

Hills tonight on a 8.5k trail in Kwinana with a run there and back so should be about 1hr or 12k total.

Good Bad Good Bad

Latest news on Nate's injury: Bought a new pair of shoes yesterday (Asics 1140's) and tried them out. I was concerned about my calf as you will see from yesterday's post and decided to try for an easy 30min jog. From the first few steps I took I felt like I was running on nice fluffly pillows! During the run I felt like my calves were healing themselves - it was incredibly. Very little pain from the calves at all and this makes me even more convinced that my Addidas Salvations had a big part to play in my injury plagued year. I don't think that were a good fit for me and I also don't think they lasted any where near as much as Asics, so after 3-400k they'd had it whilst I used them for another 300k.

Too soon to say whether this is the end of my calf issues, maybe I'll never see the end of them but I am feeling better about the whole thing. Hopefully I'll be able to complete all my sessions this week and continue on the path of trying to salvage something from the year. 1k intervals tonight, will try and go sub 3:30 for all of them.

Nate

Weekly Washup

70k for the week, making it my biggest week in about 10 weeks!

Some good speed work and a 36k run on Saturday in 3:01 which I was a little surprised at. Although there was a 40 minute break in the middle as I came across a Pink and Grey Gala with it's feet bound and tied to a barbed wire fence! Called RSPCA and they sent someone out to have a look.

Calf was really sore on Sunday, which is just sooo frustrating it's not funny. What has a guy gotta do to get over this thing. I've been stretching like crazy and nothing ever seems to happen. Will try for a half hour run this arfternoon followed by about 20 minutes of stretching to see what happens.

It's getting beyond a joke now and I am really starting to doubt that Caboolture is going to happen. I mean it's only 8 weeks away and I am still not training well and haven't been for 2 months, 2009 is fast becoming a complete right off.

Revitalised

Been a while since my last post and what a couple of weeks it's been. I don't use the word depression lightly but that's exactly what I experience after the dnf at the 50k. The lowest point in my running career by far but things are slowly but surely picking up again.

I'm focusing now on getting back to basics and have devised a typical training week which includes Tempo run, intervals, recovery and long run and will just be slowly building up. Even after 1 week I'm surprised at how much pace I picked up. Tuesday was 3k w/u 4x1k w/ 2 min jog recovery then 2k w/d and my k splits were 3:31, 3:31, 3:27, 3:24. Stoked with that as I've never broken 3:30 for a k ever.

Have a bit of a cold at the moment so could complete the tempo run last night (planned on 4k @ 4:45/k then 6k @ 4:00/k then 3k @ 5:00/k) so just ended up with 6k in around 27:30.

In 3 weeks I'll be doing a 100k trial race which will be my guide for Caboolture. If I run sub 11hrs (closer to 10hrs) then I'll consider doing Caboolture 24hr, but if not then 200k is not a reasonable goal and I won't go. I'm really enjoying running fast at the moment and want to get my times down.

Aside from Caboolture, I also want to focus on the Busso IM marathon and put in a good sub 3hr performance there and then carry some form over for a cracking 6-Inch. Hopefully I can finish the year better than it started.

Nate

Bunbury this week!

Still trying to work out how to enter! Have emailed the RD and President to make sure I can enter on Sat but so far no reply.

Training has been going well. Last Sunday was a hard hour (probably too hard) and I covered about 14.5k, pulled up fairly sore. Some 30 minute runs during the week, not too fast but built into them. Wednesday was another hard hour but with hills in kwinana. First 8k with rolling hills in 34min and then I ran my true hills course (4k) which is just up for 1k then down the other side and back up and down. Ended up easing off towards the end as I was getting sore so finished with 13k in 58 minutes which I was happy with.

Was still quite sore on Thursday's run so took 2 days off running. Went for a nice 17k on Sunday and run comfortable although chuck in a few faster sections just to get ready. Taking it easy this week and hopefully be fresh for Sunday, my only concern will be how long until I start to get sore. I'm pretty sure I'll be feeling it before I finish the marathon but we'll see what happens.

Goals for the race will be marathon PB (hopefully sub 3hr) and 50k PB (hopefully sub 3:40). Plan is to run the first half in 1:28 and assess things from there. This will be a good position to go sub 3hr but also means that I only need a 1:40 second half to get a marathon PB which should also mean a sub 3:50 50k. This all means nothing if I can't enter though!

May week #1

Recovery week this week so wasn't sure what to expect. Managed 3 1/2 hour runs Mon-Wed but was sore in the quads after all of them. Calf was sore on thursday so decided to rest up for a few days, bypassed the long run on Sat and opted for a hard hour run this evening. Started out pretty eratic today and couldn't find a rythm at all, so was probably running too fast early on. Without knowing exactly how far or fast I ran I would say it was 14k minimum and probably closer to 14.5k as it ended up being 1:01.15 (shows I went out too hard).

Feeling pretty good about the 50k in a few weeks. Still haven't decided whether I'll have a crack at a sub 3hr marathon or just go conservative an ensure a sub 4hr 40k. I'm thinking conservative is the way to go, aim for a 3:05-3:10 marathon and then continue on for a 3:40-3:50 50k. Focus for the next 10 days will be speed, no need for endurance but the pace I need to run could be a factor. Feeling pretty confident especially given my result at Busso earlier this year, which was with no speed work at all.

Bunbury here I come!

Just read on Coolrunning that Mick had a real tough day at the office at the Worlds this weekend. He passed out after about 13hrs and never made it back onto the track. My thoughts are with him and Val and I hope it's nothing too serious and he recovers quickley.

Nate

Coburg 24hr

Wasn't the race I was hoping to have, that's for sure. Had a great few days before the race to relax, rest and get the campervan all sorted. Silly me thought the race began at 9am instead of 10 so we were set up well and truly by the time we started.

Things went to plan for the first 3 hrs chalking up about 10.5k/hr feeling comfortable and then things started to deteriorate. We were changing direction every 4hrs and that began to take its toll on my body with the hip flexors screaming. Had a few massages from a guy trackside and these confirmed what I suspected - I was in trouble. kept churning the laps out for another 3hrs and by 7hrs I had done almost 70k but was starting to go down hill quickly. 8hrs and 78k was a real low point, I knew my 200k plan was gone and I was really hurting, running was just so painful and I was beginning to really seize up.

After a pep talk I got back on the track and began ticking off the laps again getting through about 8.5k/hour for the next 4 hrs. Passed 100k in about 11:30 which was a track PB so that was nice but well down on where I should have been. 30 min later at the 12hr mark I was completely done, I could barely move and feeling really sick - My race was over!

Went to bed for a few hours and after some troubles vomiting, managed to get a good sleep. Woke up and dragged my body back onto the track for the final 4 hrs where I walked, shuffled roughly another 20k before the race finished, ending up with 122k or so.

Obviously very dissappointed with the race, but not demoralized. At the end of the day my body just wasn't strong enough to cope with the track and I suffered accordingly. I am really tired after 5 months of solid training for this one event and I really want to take a step back for a while and rediscover my passion for running. I know now where I stand in Ultra running and it is well behind where I want to be. I believe I just need some time to develop a stronger body that will help me deal with things better.

I would love to do a 100k race in the near future (road course) and test the waters out. Speed is something I've never really tried for but is something that excites me at the moment - I want to run faster! Bunbury 50k in a few weeks should be a good opportunity to target a sub 3hr marathon and then continue on for a good 50k time. This is a race that I would dearly love to win one day and who knows this might be my year.

I haven't ruled out Caboolture again this year but will just see how we go. Sub 3hr marathon is top priority at the moment and my training will reflect this with more speed work (tempo runs mainly).

I know I can run 200k+ in 24hrs and I certainly won't stop trying, but it might be a year or 2 before it happens. One thing I know for sure is that I still have lots of goals that need achieving, it's not a question of if it will happen but when it will happen.

Nate

Not Long Now

Race Week is here and I haven't run for almost a week to try and get the calf right. I decided I need to run before the race so will probably head for a light jog on Wednesday to see how I feel. If I am still sore than it's not going to make things worse and I'll just need to be prepared to deal with it for the race.

Getting pretty excited now, am ready to give it a crack and see what happens. I definitely think 200k is possible if I pace it right and have a good race, but I am determined to learn from the race regardless. If I don't get it it's not the end of the world!

Fly out tomorrow night and lots to do before then so I'm really looking forward to getting to melbourne and relaxing for a day or so before the race.

Some Encouraging News!

Last week was a good week, Only 40k running but with some very positive results.

Run#1 was 20k at Perry Lakes, went out hard and was suffering by 14k with legs starting to hurt from the bend. I then slowed right down and the pain subsided considreably. Lesson learnt - Running slower reduces the effect of the bend on the legs and the pain can be managed!

Run#2 was another 20k at Perry Lakes in the opposite direction. I had purchased some 1/2 tight skins to try, wanted to see what effect they had on the legs. Went out solid with 1st 10k in 47 minutes, then walked a lap to refuel and ended up doing 12.2k in the first hour (with the walk lap). Picked it up and felt fine and gradually increased my pace until the end and clocked 46.54 for the 2nd 10k to go 1:36.54 for 20k track and my legs felt really good. Lesson Learnt - Skins reduce the effect of the bend on the legs.

Combine these 2 lessons and I'm getting more and more confident that by starting conservatively, and wearing the 1/2 tights I should be able to manage the 400mtr loops much better that at the 6hr.

Had a massage with Nathan Doig on Friday and it was painful, man it hurt! Problem was just some severly tight calfs and massage/stretching is the only thing to do. Haven't run since the session although I went for a 10k hilly walk (1:29.36) on Sat and a 32k walk yesterday and feel fine today. Yeah wanted to gte some time on my feet before the 24hr so after some advice from a trusted source I decided to do a long run but to walk instead of run! Walked from Mandurah to Rockingham on the rail trail which has consistent rolling hills. Strength and time on my feet were priorities and managed to finish in 4:55.34 and then walked another 5 minutes to make it an even 5hrs. Averaged 6.5k/hr which is great, really felt the legs working and my feet were getting a little sore towards the end which is good. Calf feels good today so will go for a 30min run this arvo and keep stretching like a madman.

Nate

Another week

83k this week over 4 runs:
2 x 15 track sessions
1 x 18k
1 x 23k track session (460mtr loops)

Feeling more comfortable with the 400mtr loops, getting stronger with some Core and Leg strengthening.

Will go for a long run this week on Sat, try for about 30k running and then maybe 2hrs of solid walking afterwards.

Calf is still sore, will try to get a massage this week. Funny thing is that the longer I run the less it hurts! After 2hrs on SUnday I could barely feel it at all, whereas it was really sore at the beginning.

Some Thoughts

My calf still isn't right, not sure what's wrong with it but rest is really the only thing that seems to help it. As a result of this any significant training over the next 4 weeks is not really an option and I just have to manage whatever I can.

All this has me thinking that maybe Coburg isn't going to be the race to break 200k. So far nothing is really going to plan, the last 5 weeks have been average and my biggest problem will be coping with the 400mtr loops. Frustrating is the only word to discribe it really, I mean I'm in great shape, have worked my butt off this year and I may not even get to show what kind of form I'm in because the short loops will trash my legs after only a few hours. Don't get me wrong, I'll give it a red hot go (or a slow steady go) but I'm preparing myself to not get 200k this time.

If I fail in this attempt, I'll probably return to Caboolture later in the year to attempt the 200k again. Nicer track, surface and with 180k there last year I'd be confident of a significant improvement. It's still 7 weeks before the Commonwealth Champs so the window will still be open for this year.

This is not a whinge post, rather me just coming to terms with what might happen in a few weeks

Recovery Week

Recovery week is over with 42k done, alot less than I planned but have been a little sorer than expected. I MUST get 2 weeks of good training done now, this is not an option as the last 3 weeks have only produced 195k, which in turn has trashed my average weekly k's for the year (now down to just below 130k/week). If I can manage 140k/week for the next 2 weeks I'd be happy and then begin the 2 week taper again.

Did 1hr on a 450mtr track in secret harbour on Sat then stopped as I was really sore (from the 6hr). We start visiting Perry Lakes this week, plan is to do 1hr on Tues and Thur evening after work alternating direction each day. Another track session in Secret Harbour on Sunday morning will give me about 4hrs of circular running per week which I'm hoping will be enought to strenghten the appropriate muscles for the 24hr.

A nice surprise

Logged onto the AURA website the other day and noticed that they had announced the awards winners for 2008. Male Ultra Runner of the Year - Martin Fryer (no surprise here), Female Ultra Runner of the Year - Kerry Bremner (no surprise). The surprise came next 2008 Rising Star - Nathan Fawkes! (big surprise). Now I knew that I'd had a good year, much better than 2007 when I also won the award, but wasn't really expecting to win it 2 years in a row!

Funny how these things happen just when you're feeling a little down. In 2007 I found out only days after a knee injury cut my 5 day (350k) Bibbulmun track run short and I was feeling terrible after some dissappointing results that year. Now I'm feeling dissappointed about the 6hr race and get the award again (the day before my brithday as well). I certainly don't run to get awards, I run to be the best I can be and reach my potential, but it's amazing how these small awards can give you a boost when you're low and renue your confidence.

When things don't go to plan

What can I say, just a bad day really. Originally I booked in the 6hr race to be a practice run on the track for the 24hr in April. I wanted to see how my body would hold up on the surface. My race went to plan for the first 90 minutes churning out about 19k and feeling comfortable. Then the problems started, my inside leg began to get sore and it became obvious that it was suffering from the constant curve of the track. After 2hrs I began trying to compensate with my other leg and that too became quite sore. We changed direction after 3hrs but by this time it was too late and my legs were shot. I was demoralised as I knew I was running well, none of my injury concerns were an issue and despite running the same pace as my training runs my legs were gone after just 3hrs. To make matters worse I had worked my way into 2nd at the halfway point only to completely fall apart.

Walking the last 75 minutes was a time to take stock and try to process what had gone wrong. I could have pushed through the last hour but oculdn't see the value in it given the 24hr is just 5 weeks away.

So what have I learnt? Well, the biggest challenge in the 24hr is going to be the curve of the track. The race will change direction every 3hrs but it's no good if my legs can't get through 3hrs in one direction. I need to work on this - I'll begin doing at least 1 session per week at Perry Lakes (provided I can get in to use the track) and another session in Secret Harbour which has a 450mtr loop around the oval that has some good curves. If I can get used to running the bends then I'll perform better at the 24hr.

I'm trying to look for positives and I wouldn't change a thing if I had to do it again. I know that 13k/hr is sustainable for 4-6hrs and on a more familiar course I would've been able to hold it. I know now what to work on and I have 5 weeks to do it. I will also need to have a detailed plan of projected lap times and distance calculations for the 24hr so that I can go slower and be confident of achieving my goal.

Feeling pretty good

At the airport in Sydney and about to fly to Melbourne tonight. It's just started pouring with rain and apparantly the weather is similar in Melbourne (or at least it will be tomorrow). Went for a 1/2 hour run yesterday around darling harbour with kate and it felt good - a little sore but nothing too bad. Not feeling overly confident of going over 70k but that might be a good thing. 8am start tomorrow so it'll be an early morning and a late night but i'll download my thoughts of the race on Monday.

Doh! Just heard that the tar mac has just been closed so flight will no doubt be delayed. This could get messy!

March Week #1

Week started well with 3 days of solid training, although I've had a niggle in my calf since last Saturday's run and it didn't appear to be getting better. It felt like a slight strain and after realizing that I couldn't run it out, I decided I needed to rest up and get it right for Coburg this weekend. Thursday and Friday were complete rest days and I didn't go for a run until Saturday evening but after 4k I thought I should stop. The calf soreness was still there and running wasn't going to help it. Played Cricket on Sunday Arvo which was a nice way to get some exercise without too much running. I was only planning on a 1 week taper for Coburg but it will end up being 10 days, so I'm not too concerned.

Not sure whether I'll run at all this week or not, priority # 1 has to be getting the calf right for Sunday. Went for a 45 min walk this morning to get some exercise in and will do the same every morning this week. If I start to feel better, will throw in some 30 min runs

Feb Week #4

Another week done and dusted!

Picked it up to 172k this week with some quality session in there as well. Another solid speed workout on Wednesday evening with 6k in 23:45. I run these without a warm up so the first lap (2k) is generally slow and then the challenge is to try to get under 4min/k for the run. Lap times were: 8:22, 7:48, 7:35. A good run also on Thurday evening, getting through my 12k loop in 54 minutes allowing a nice slow cooldown jog to make the hour.

Ran with Mick and Dave on Saturday for a nice swift 50k. Started at Peachy rd and ran up the heritage trail to Ash road and back for 50k. The run up the hill took 2:08 and the return leg in 1:57ish to finish in 4:05. Wanted to go closer to 4hrs but happy with that given the first leg was so slow.

backed up with 20k on Sunday morning and felt good throughout. On a downer I dislocated my finger at cricket on Sun arvo which has provided some pain in the last few days. Went for a catch and the top 3rd of my little finger was bent back to about 45 degrees, managed to pop it back into place almost immediately so not too much damage done. It is pretty bruised and swollen but doesn't affect running too much, I haven't missed a session so I am happy with that.

Only 1 more week of training to go until a 1 week taper for Coburg 6hr. Coburg 6hr Goals: 1. Run 70k 2. Run more than 70.8k to get the Official AURA 25-29 Age Group record 3. Run more than 72.4k to beat the Unofficial AURA 25-29 Age Group record (Peter Gray ran this in 1991 when he was 27 but without any official documentation the record remains unofficial. I was told by AURA records secretary Dave Billet that if I beat 70.8k then I would be credited with the record).

Time will tell

Feb week #3

Brought up the 1000km for the year this week, which is a nice little boost. Week started well with a couple of morning runs but then the tiredness caught up with me and ended up sleeping in on Wednesday and Thursday. This meant that I was forced to do my 20k run in the evening heat which wasn't nice and I struggled towards the end. Through in a speed session this week (tue pm). 3 x 2k building up, lap splits were 9:10, 8:10, 7:46. Not a real fast hit out but more than I usually do, was nice to clock a 7:46 on the last lap which felt good.

My through the night run on Friday didn't come off and I bailed @ 20k, luckily I have an understanding wife who came and picked me up :-) Decided to take Saturday off completely to recover somewhat, although I had to work. Went for a nanna nap at 6pm Sat night for 20 minutes and woke up at 8:30pm! So I got up, had a drink, said good night and went back to bed!

Up again at 3:30 Sunday for the postponed long run. Headed down to Mandurah along the rail trail and felt ordinary. Funny thing is that onceI arrived in Mandurah (32k) I started to feel good and decided to go for 50k rather than 40k. Made it back to the train station in 4:16, for what I estimated was 48k, then just another 3k home from the Rocko station to make it 50 with a bonus K if I needed it! Total time was 4:30 for 50k - not the quickest run but I was running strong toowards the end which is the main thing. Ended the week with 162k again.

Oh I almost forgot, after 50k Sun morning, we had the under 30 vs Over 30 Church T20 cricket game in the Arvo. I am the <30 captain so had to play and it was great fun. A couple of stumpings in the field then 30 with the bat. SHould have made more but took on the field 1 too many times and was run out - Doh! Ended up loosing again, dropped catches and misfields cost us and it was always going to be tough chasing 171 for victory in 20 overs. We we all out for 113, which although better than last year was still well below par - Considering Dave and Myself put on 50 for the first wicket. Next year

Feb Week #2

Back into training this week and happy to log another 160k+ week. Was fairly sore from the half for the first few days but struggled through. Starting to really suffer time wise, just too much on outside of running that makes fitting in sessions really tough. Have resolved myself to the need for changes next week to reduce the stress.

Wednesdays 2hr run was possibly the toughest training run I've EVER done. When I arrived home @ 5pm it was 40 degrees, I had something on at Church @ 7:15 so needed to leave ASAP to get the session in. First few k's were ok and I had a quick (3 seconds) cold shower at Waikiki Beach. After this point things got tough. Temp hadn't dropped much and the breeze was hot, I was still running at a good pace - maybe 12.5k/hr. Another shower at Warnbro Beach (10k) and another at Port Kennedy Beach (13.5k). Once I moved away from the beach things got worse, temp rose, I was dehydrated and soon lost all kick in my legs - I was in survival mode. During the last few minutes I was deliberately running through any sprinklers I found to provide some relief. In the end I made it, barely and resolved never to do it again.

A solid 30k on Saturday morning before going to work, was comfortably under 5min/k so happy with that. Sunday was a 40k with no real time goal at all, just wanted to log the k's. 1:48 at halfway and managed a 1:37 on the return leg and felt stronger the longer I went. Really happy that the last hour was faster than any others. Total k's for the week 162k and closing in on the 1000k for the year. Bring on next week.

Feb week #1

AHHH a rest week. It was nice not having to drag myself out of bed every morning to go running and even nicer not having to go out for too long after work. Was feeling great on Tues so ended up doing 1 hr and then a good run Wed with 2hrs (24k). Basically still wanted to get good runs on Wed, Sat and Sun just cut down the k's in between.

Went down to Busso on Saturday morning for the 1/2 marathon. Thought it would be a good chance to run well being during a rest week and substituted the long run nicely. I wanted to go sub 1:30 again and was really looking forward to running with Mick and Michael. Started well and I wanted to stick with Mick as long as possible and then hold on in the later stages. Michael and another guy took off quick and a group of 5 runners formed the chase pack (myself included) 1st km in 3:48 and 2k in 7:34! I thought, "this is insane, I'm never gonna hold this pace!" but I decided to just roll the dice and hold on as long as possible. At 3k Myself and another guy dropped about 10 meters off the pack, but were still running strong. At the 5k turnaround I was about 20 meters off the pack and by 6k I was still feeling good but around 50mtrs behind. I decided to surge and try to get back on which I did at 7k then sat behind for a while. Kept thinking I would clip the guy in front so I ran out wide and suddenly found myself on Mick's shoulder. I decided to go to the front and do my bit and the next time I glance sideways I noticed I was alone. Going through the 10.5k turnaround I noticed I had a 20mtr lead. Ran strong over the next 5 and by the final turnaround had maybe 25mtrs on Mick so tried to surge again which went well for 3k then I started to have a few stomach issues and slower over the final 2k. I was running scared and managed to hold him off by about 40sec to come second and achieve a lifetime goal which was to break 4 min/km for a half (although it was 3:59/k I'll take it!). A little disappointed there were not prizes for 2nd/3rd considering there were about 100 spot prizes but I had an unexpected 4 min PB so I was happy.

Sunday's run went well with a nice 20k fairly comfortable to log 90k for the week. Looking forward to a good week this week although hopefully the scans on Wed ahow good news for my foot. No issues over the weekend so looks good, now we just wait and see.

Hit a snag

I've been carrying a slight foot problem since 6-Inch and it has finally got to the point where I need to check it out. Basically was getting quite sore around the foot/ankle area after 4hrs running. On wednesday it was sore after 1:30hrs and remained sore afterward. Ran yesterday and experienced some discomfort so I'm booked in for x-ray and ultra sound on Wed 11th. Hoping it's nothing too serious and just need a week or 2 to recover. Worst fear is a stress fracture which would mean 6-8 weeks, effectively ending my Commonwealth Championships bid this year as Coburg 24hr would be too close. I believe the Nationals are now in July so that might be an option if necessary.

Trying to keep my spirits high, just praying it's nothing serious. I'll still run the Busso half this weekend as I doubt I'll do any further damage and it's only mild discomfort. Been running with it for 7 weeks now so another few runs won't hurt.

Weekly Washup

Another solid week with 160k logged. This week I planned to increase my Wednesday and Sunday runs. Wednesday is now a solid 2hr session and I felt pretty good this week although struggled a little at first but still managed 26k in 2:01.32. Was really tired the following arvo for my trail run and recorded a PW of 53:46 for the 10k loop, not too concerned as I felt really average and just completing it was a challenge.

Long Run was back with Dave this week and we wanted to christen the new Perth-Bunbury Hwy so after running to the Fwy we headed south along the still dirt hwy with the plan of getting to Pinjarra road, running back into Mandurah and getting a train home. At 5:30 the road workers started to come out and as we weren't meant to be on the hwy we decided it was time to get off before we got caught. We made a slight detour and ended up running back to Dave's house for 42k, then another 8k to make it up to 50k. Total time (including stops) was 4:48 and it felt really easy, after the rest week I really need to up the long runs to 60k to get the most out of them.

Sunday was real tough as I had attacked a blister on Sat night and it was insanely sore Sunday - had trouble even walking. At the trail I decided to just walk and let the dog run around and after a few painful attempts at running, I managed to get going and completed the 18k necessary to finish with 160k for the week.

The body has been struggling over the last few weeks and I have been constantly tired all year from the training/work commitments. As a result it's definitely time for a rest week, to freshen up and get rid of a few niggles. Will just run when I want to this week, hopefully still get 2hrs on Wed but we'll see. Busso 1/2 on this weekend so heading down for that and hoping for a solid sub 1:30 (maybe even a pb). With over 630k in January I'm too concerned about keeping up the k's this week. Just relax, recover and get back into it next week for a 4 week block until Coburg 6hr.

Weekly Washup

Another solid week and the build up continues with 151k logged this week. I've been running significantly faster in training than previous high mileage training blocks and I am really starting to notice the difference. The focus this week was a 50k run with Mick on Sat, I really wanted to get an idea of where I was at and see whether I could stay with him at a good pace. As a result I just took it easier on tuesday and Wednesday, clocking 49:00 and 1:34 respectively for my 10k trail and 20k road courses. This helped me feel a lot fresher throughout the week whereas last week was a tired slog.

Saturdays 50k started with a sleep in! I know how great is that the 6am start was good although the potential for a hot finish was there. Met at WAMC rooms and started along the river following the marathon course. At Canning Hwy went round the penisula run and then back to Canning Hwy, then followed the Marathon course again around past raffles. We were both running well and after about 20k ran into Lyn Barnard, ironically just after me saying that she burnt me off at Rotto 2 years ago. The 3 of us continued to run well and after a few k lyn called it quits and the pace picked up again.

Went through 36k in 2:44 and then 42k in 3:21 (Actually my second quickest marathon!). A guy from Sydney jumped on our tail for about a k and then went back to his hotel room and we continued on. It was starting to get warm and after dropping my pack off at the car at the 46k mark we went out for a final 4k out and back. with 2.2k to go we needed to run 10 minutes for a sub 4hr, I wasn't really interested in pushing and was content to just run comfortably all the way. Finished in 4:00.33 for what is now an unofficial PB, and ironically 1 sec quicker than six inch. I was stocked with the run as although I had a few flat spots, I was never really struggling with the pace and in the end felt comfortable. The following day was an easy 15k of rolling hills which felt fine after the first few k. Overall a very satisfying week and I am now aiming for 70k+ at the 6hr race.

Weekly Washup

Another solid training week in which I logged 140k with some really good quality sessions. 3 Double days this week and Tuesday saw a Huge 4 min PB on my 10k Kwinana trail run (with over 400mtrs climbing), which I ran in 46:46. Backed up the next day with a new 20k course PB of 1:29.26, which was my first time under 1:30 for over a year. Felt pretty tired on Thursday but got through. Rest on Friday for a HUGE weekend.

Managed only 2hrs sleep on Friday Night and up at 1:15am to get ready for the long run. Dave arrived at 2:40 and we left soon after. Needed to get to Byford in 3hrs to meet the other group for a trail run so that equation was 34k in 3hrs. Started well knocking off 12k in the first hour and continued for another 30min or so until I started to get tired. The usual problem of the cumulative toll of the high weekly k's leaving little speed in the legs by Saturday. Still ran ok, getting to Byford in 3hrs (30k) and then was picked up. Within the first 3k of the trail run I realized this was not going to happen, so I piked and ran into Armadale, which was closer that I thought so continued on to Kelmscott then caught the train home for a 50k total. Wen Snorkling to recover, slept for 10min, then got ready to head to Mandurah for my sister in law's wedding. Had a great night with an awesome Buffet BBQ, good free drinks and some great dancing. Left the reception about 1am and got back to our hotel room at 1:15 (24hrs after getting up). Still had some adrenaline going so flicked on the telly to see the Sydney Marathon telecast from 2008 - SCORE!!! Although I already knew who won, still watched it until about 2am when the body finally decided to call it quits, 25hrs after getting up. Woke up at 8:30 and had to get up as we needed to check out by 10, then the day got going again. Felt surprisingly good during the arvo 16k run and was happy to get to bed at 9:30. A good solid 140k week.

R4YL adiRunners Programme

Saw this article on Coolrunning calling for expressions of interest for the 2009 R4YL adiRunners Programme for young aspiring distance runners. It was obviously targeting track/road runners over the Olympic distances but I emailed them to see whether it would be worth me applying. They replied that it would definitely be worthwhile and that although they were targeting the distance runners, they would consider an Ultra Runner if I fitted the criteria they were after. Just sent off my application so I guess we just wait and see what happens

Weekly Washup

Another 130k week and it felt more comfortable that last week. Finally had a good 20k run on Wednesday after about 5 weeks of struggling to get any speed. It was pretty hot (34) and managed to start well and then continued to run well finishing in 1:32.08. Felt better on the long run, probably due to the rest day on Friday. Did the freeway run with Dave which was 47.3k from my place to the 24hr maccas on Williams St for a 50c cone before catching the train home. It's another 1.8k run from the train station home so an even 49k for the day. About 5hrs to get to perth, but the run time was 4:23 (47.3k) and I was strong at the end, beating Dave in the run up the williams street hill.

Finished the week with a hard 10k on Sunday afternoon, struggled to get any sort of consistent pace and had some stomach issues but was still happy with 42.47.

2008 Wrap - Up

Some highlights from 2008.
The year started with a knee injury, and I was feeling flat, that is until I was notified that I'd been awarded the Australian Ultra Runners Association Rising Star Award for 2007. This provided me with a much needed motivation boost, I had to prove that I was a worthy winner fo the award. I kicked off my account with a PB at the 40 miler (5:43) with a late fade due to lack of training. Started to ramp up the training and completed 70k trail in 7:36 just before I went to Cambodia for 2 weeks. In May I recorded a PB of 4:02 at the Bunbury 50k to run 3rd Male. The MB100K was a huge PB of over 3hrs 11:18. Next was the Perth Marathon, which without a taper was another PB in 3:10.53. I was in full training for Caboolture 24hr at this point however minor niggles prevented a flawless preparation. Caboolture was a significant point in my running career when I finally put up a strong performance running to prove to myself that the rising star award was not a fluke 180.63k in 24hrs. A dnf in the Dwellingup 50 miler was not unexpected as it was only 2 weeks after Caboolture, then a few weeks later I ran my first 1/2 marathon in almost 2 years at freo, finishing in 1:31 and picking up a bad knee injury.

Cambodia again for 2 weeks with very little running, a good time to refresh myself after Caboolture and regain some motivation. Returned just before Rotto and decided against the marathon, opting for the 10k instead and a slow build up to six inch. Put in some good consistent training and was rewarded with a 4:00.34 at Six Inch to run 4th without a taper. Was running well the next day and the training continues.

2008 Stats
Total k's - 4343
Weekly Avg - 83.5k
Biggest week - 190k
Ultras - 5 (not including training runs over 42k)
Marathons - 1
PB's - 7

All in all a very satisfying year!