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