After a slow week last week with only 54k and still feeling sore on Sunday I have decided not to run the nationals in June. I simply won't be ready and the last thing I want is another disaster like last year. Caboolture 24hr is now my focus although at the moment I'm probably only about 70% chance of running it.
This quad soreness is taking some serious time to heal and I am taking a complete week off this week to try and speed things up. Bunbury 50k is also out of the question as I really just want to get back into some decent training and racing will just set me back even further. April will be a complete right off with only about 150k, but I'm hoping that by resting now I will be able to resume training in May - giving me almost 3 months to get ready for Caboolture.
On a separate note, Dave ran an unbelievable 223k at Coburg last weekend to book himself a spot on the Australian Team for 2011. There are now 5 runners with 220k+ distances in the last 12 months so the team is filling up fast and the standards are sky rocketing. I can't run 220k at the moment, I feel that 210k would be my limit if I had a good race so I'm certainly not expecting to make the team any time in the near future. 200k remains my goal for the year, I just hope I can get back into training soon. The up side is I get to focus some more time on completing the first unit of my Masters, which is certainly much more intense than a bachelor degree.
Nate
I am a 27yr old ultra runner from Rockingham WA, married to Kate and we have a son called Noah. I run because I have a passion for it and I find freedom in pushing the limits of my ability.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Slowly but Surely
Recovery is going well, although taking longer than expected. The problem turned out to be some deep tissue soreness in my quads and that means massage - painful massage. Dave tendorized me a few times last week and I have had a few goes on the massage roller. Seems to be helping as I managed 54k last week with 2 x 1hr runs on the weekend with minimal soreness. Will be doing 1hr every 2nd day this week with a 1/2 hour in between. Pulled up a little sore after yesterdays hour in my left quad sore punished it with a rolling pin for an hour or so. Seemed to work well so might keep doing that.
I am confident that I am slowly on the mend, but I will need to focus on working my quads for the next few weeks. So long as I keep massaging them, they should come good eventually and I can continue to build up slowly. Bunbury 50k is the next race however I need to get at least 2 x 50k training runs done before I'll race it. Not going to do anything that might jeopardize the 24hr race now. I made the decision last week that if I don't feel 100% ready for the Nationals in June then I have the option of skipping them and aiming for Caboolture instead, which is about 5 weeks later. This decision will probably need to be made by the end of May.
In the mean time I'll just continue to do what I can, run every day and massage, massage, massage.
Nate
I am confident that I am slowly on the mend, but I will need to focus on working my quads for the next few weeks. So long as I keep massaging them, they should come good eventually and I can continue to build up slowly. Bunbury 50k is the next race however I need to get at least 2 x 50k training runs done before I'll race it. Not going to do anything that might jeopardize the 24hr race now. I made the decision last week that if I don't feel 100% ready for the Nationals in June then I have the option of skipping them and aiming for Caboolture instead, which is about 5 weeks later. This decision will probably need to be made by the end of May.
In the mean time I'll just continue to do what I can, run every day and massage, massage, massage.
Nate
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Still recovering
80k last week and started to feel a bit better towards the end of the week. No long run, just ran every day and sometimes twice a day. I am really wishing I hadn't done any speed work the other week as I seemed to be recovering well until I did that session. 40 miler is now definitely out of the question.
Went for a 15k run today and quads were sore by 9k and slowly became worse even though I slowed to what felt like 6min/k. This is really getting beyond a joke now! with barely 300k in March and still not back to any decent training I have starting to think that my 24hr prep is going to be affected. I mean I haven't run over 3hrs in 5 weeks since the 12hr so strength and fitness will be suffering. I can't believe this might be happening 2 years in a row.
Not happy right now!
Went for a 15k run today and quads were sore by 9k and slowly became worse even though I slowed to what felt like 6min/k. This is really getting beyond a joke now! with barely 300k in March and still not back to any decent training I have starting to think that my 24hr prep is going to be affected. I mean I haven't run over 3hrs in 5 weeks since the 12hr so strength and fitness will be suffering. I can't believe this might be happening 2 years in a row.
Not happy right now!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Long Road to Recovery
Haven't posted in a while, work has been pretty busy and I haven't really done much to be honest as I am still trying to get over the 12hr race. 15k the week after the race and then started to build again with 83k the following week including a 2hr run on the weekend, which I pulled up really sore from. Ankle seems so be recovering well but I just get so sore during my runs. Last week I thought I was getting back on track with a couple of great 15k runs, one of which was 1:07.40 (32:26 second half). I think this actually made things a lot worse as I was sore the following day and sore during my 3hr run on the weekend.
I will be unlikely to start in the 40 miler now as I know I won't be ready to race the distance and if I'm not racing, I don't see the point. It will probably just take another few weeks to recover and that will seriously affect my 24hr preparations. I have just done 2 x 10k runs this week and although I am pretty sore after them, I am confident of gradually getting over the soreness.
I suppose the up side of taking so long to recover is that I and really looking forward to getting back into some good training. The first 3 months of the year have been quite solid and I should end up with roughly 1300k at the end of the month. This gives me a solid base to work with and then really pick things up over the next 8-10 weeks.
Nate
I will be unlikely to start in the 40 miler now as I know I won't be ready to race the distance and if I'm not racing, I don't see the point. It will probably just take another few weeks to recover and that will seriously affect my 24hr preparations. I have just done 2 x 10k runs this week and although I am pretty sore after them, I am confident of gradually getting over the soreness.
I suppose the up side of taking so long to recover is that I and really looking forward to getting back into some good training. The first 3 months of the year have been quite solid and I should end up with roughly 1300k at the end of the month. This gives me a solid base to work with and then really pick things up over the next 8-10 weeks.
Nate
Monday, March 1, 2010
12hr Race Report
What a day!!
Arrived at the track at 7am and began setting up PA system, clock, food, drinks, shelter - there certainly is a lot to set up for a track race. Thankfully with some great help that was pretty much all done by 8:30 and then I had a chance to focus on my race. The day hadn't started great with me forgetting the ipod (with the 14hr race playlist), my handheld bottle and making some questionable driving errors on the way to the track. I was grateful for the chance to sit down and get into race mode.
A quick bite to eat and we were off at 9am. I had chosen to wear my long sleeve cricket shirt for the race as the forecast was 36 and I didn't want to be putting sunscreen on every hour or so. Ultras always have a pretty low key start and although Susannah settled into her own pace, the rest of us just cruised around together. Not much happened in the first few hours, the temp was ok and the breeze really helped. I found the going was tough along the home straight but apart from that not too bad. 3hrs in and I was still feeling good. I was gulping the sustagen at a rate of about 800ml/hour and also having the odd cup of water so hydration was going well. At around 4hrs I noticed that I had a few laps on Dave and I went through 50k first in 4:51, Struggled a little after 5hrs and managed to get to 60k in 6:00.36 so pretty much right on target.
The next few hours felt tough and the lap sheet reflects that. I was just feeling exhausted, not sick, just really tired, so I had a few minutes sit down and occasionally walked a lap. 70k in around 7:30 and I knew 120k was gone now - no drama, my goal was always 110k and I had anticipated a slow down over the second half of the race. Battled on trying to focus on continuing to drink and eat. Didn't feel like much to each but the oranges seemed to go down nicely.
At 9hrs I had done 83k and Mick told me I needed 27k in the last 3hrs to make 110k. My heart sank as I knew I was gone, 9k/hour doesn't sound like much but I had been runing less than that for a few hours now. Between hours 6-9 I had covered only 23k. I set my sights on holding my form and getting 105k. Kate had a chat to me and tried to convince me I could do it but that didn't work. Then Mick had a brief word to me and I was still convinced that I couldn't do it but decided that I still had something left. I had always intended to smash myself at this race as it was a good test race for the nationals in June.
This is where I got angry - not at my crew or the other runners, but at myself. Ultra running is a very personal sport - the atmosphere is great and a real sense of community and of course you need a team of people supporting you. But you get to a point where you need to go inside yourself and find something. I felt like for the first time in about 18 months I was able to go inside and find something. All of a sudden I was pulling out 2:20 laps, then 2:15, then 2:10 and then 2:00 min laps started coming. I was tired and hurting but I had to go for it.
10hrs down and I now only needed 8.5k/hour to get 110 - down from 9k/hour @ 9hrs. This made me feel good and I started to think that I might be able to do it but I knew I couldn't relax yet. A lot can change very quickly so I continued to push hard. Although I did come to my senses and stop running 2min laps, I knew that if I kept a good, sustainable pace going I could get 110k. I wanted to leave myself as little to do in the last hour as possible to account for any mishaps. I went through 100k in 10:48.33 and had 71:27 to do the last 10k. It was great to have only 10k to go and I was confident in doing it.
11hrs done and only 8k to get in the last hour, so I eased off a little to try and ensure I lasted the hour, lap times were still between 2:20-2:30. I was starting to feel the effects of really pushing it for the past 2hrs and as I came around the bend into the home straight on lap 259 I sensed I was in trouble. I moved to the outer lanes so as not to impinge the other runners and the stopped. I felt a little dizzy so knelt down to steady myself and then just collapsed. The last 2hrs of pushing hard caught up to me and I found myself gasping for air. I was exhausted, fighting back tears and could barely breath. It wasn't long before my faithful crew and some runners were on the scene and after a few minutes I got up and they walked me to complete the lap. I was very aware that I didn't want them to carry me or physically support me in any way.
Walked over the line and all I could think about was how much time that little hissy fit had cost me and that made me angry. So I poured some cold water on my face and started to jog again ever so slowly. Bernadette accompanied me for a few laps and eventually I asked how many I needed for 110. Only 10 laps was the reply, 4k and I had 33 minutes to do it, this brought a smile to my face as I thought I had more than that and I knew at that moment that I would do it comfortably. I continued to just cruise around the track, not pushing, just cruising and eventually went through 110k with 3 minutes to spare. Later realised that a lap was missed so my final total was 110.848k. Stoked with that!
Pack up was painfull as all I wanted to do was lie down. Eventually headed off around 10:45 and once in the car I must admit I shed a tear or tear, mainly relief that everything was done. I pulled up pretty well after 7hrs sleep, my ankle was really sore but seems to be getting better. Played some basketball on Monday and might try a short run on tuesday. Thanks to everyone who helped me out on the day, especially Kate, Mum, Pete and all the race volunteers. I couldn't have raced/directed without your help
Arrived at the track at 7am and began setting up PA system, clock, food, drinks, shelter - there certainly is a lot to set up for a track race. Thankfully with some great help that was pretty much all done by 8:30 and then I had a chance to focus on my race. The day hadn't started great with me forgetting the ipod (with the 14hr race playlist), my handheld bottle and making some questionable driving errors on the way to the track. I was grateful for the chance to sit down and get into race mode.
A quick bite to eat and we were off at 9am. I had chosen to wear my long sleeve cricket shirt for the race as the forecast was 36 and I didn't want to be putting sunscreen on every hour or so. Ultras always have a pretty low key start and although Susannah settled into her own pace, the rest of us just cruised around together. Not much happened in the first few hours, the temp was ok and the breeze really helped. I found the going was tough along the home straight but apart from that not too bad. 3hrs in and I was still feeling good. I was gulping the sustagen at a rate of about 800ml/hour and also having the odd cup of water so hydration was going well. At around 4hrs I noticed that I had a few laps on Dave and I went through 50k first in 4:51, Struggled a little after 5hrs and managed to get to 60k in 6:00.36 so pretty much right on target.
The next few hours felt tough and the lap sheet reflects that. I was just feeling exhausted, not sick, just really tired, so I had a few minutes sit down and occasionally walked a lap. 70k in around 7:30 and I knew 120k was gone now - no drama, my goal was always 110k and I had anticipated a slow down over the second half of the race. Battled on trying to focus on continuing to drink and eat. Didn't feel like much to each but the oranges seemed to go down nicely.
At 9hrs I had done 83k and Mick told me I needed 27k in the last 3hrs to make 110k. My heart sank as I knew I was gone, 9k/hour doesn't sound like much but I had been runing less than that for a few hours now. Between hours 6-9 I had covered only 23k. I set my sights on holding my form and getting 105k. Kate had a chat to me and tried to convince me I could do it but that didn't work. Then Mick had a brief word to me and I was still convinced that I couldn't do it but decided that I still had something left. I had always intended to smash myself at this race as it was a good test race for the nationals in June.
This is where I got angry - not at my crew or the other runners, but at myself. Ultra running is a very personal sport - the atmosphere is great and a real sense of community and of course you need a team of people supporting you. But you get to a point where you need to go inside yourself and find something. I felt like for the first time in about 18 months I was able to go inside and find something. All of a sudden I was pulling out 2:20 laps, then 2:15, then 2:10 and then 2:00 min laps started coming. I was tired and hurting but I had to go for it.
10hrs down and I now only needed 8.5k/hour to get 110 - down from 9k/hour @ 9hrs. This made me feel good and I started to think that I might be able to do it but I knew I couldn't relax yet. A lot can change very quickly so I continued to push hard. Although I did come to my senses and stop running 2min laps, I knew that if I kept a good, sustainable pace going I could get 110k. I wanted to leave myself as little to do in the last hour as possible to account for any mishaps. I went through 100k in 10:48.33 and had 71:27 to do the last 10k. It was great to have only 10k to go and I was confident in doing it.
11hrs done and only 8k to get in the last hour, so I eased off a little to try and ensure I lasted the hour, lap times were still between 2:20-2:30. I was starting to feel the effects of really pushing it for the past 2hrs and as I came around the bend into the home straight on lap 259 I sensed I was in trouble. I moved to the outer lanes so as not to impinge the other runners and the stopped. I felt a little dizzy so knelt down to steady myself and then just collapsed. The last 2hrs of pushing hard caught up to me and I found myself gasping for air. I was exhausted, fighting back tears and could barely breath. It wasn't long before my faithful crew and some runners were on the scene and after a few minutes I got up and they walked me to complete the lap. I was very aware that I didn't want them to carry me or physically support me in any way.
Walked over the line and all I could think about was how much time that little hissy fit had cost me and that made me angry. So I poured some cold water on my face and started to jog again ever so slowly. Bernadette accompanied me for a few laps and eventually I asked how many I needed for 110. Only 10 laps was the reply, 4k and I had 33 minutes to do it, this brought a smile to my face as I thought I had more than that and I knew at that moment that I would do it comfortably. I continued to just cruise around the track, not pushing, just cruising and eventually went through 110k with 3 minutes to spare. Later realised that a lap was missed so my final total was 110.848k. Stoked with that!
Pack up was painfull as all I wanted to do was lie down. Eventually headed off around 10:45 and once in the car I must admit I shed a tear or tear, mainly relief that everything was done. I pulled up pretty well after 7hrs sleep, my ankle was really sore but seems to be getting better. Played some basketball on Monday and might try a short run on tuesday. Thanks to everyone who helped me out on the day, especially Kate, Mum, Pete and all the race volunteers. I couldn't have raced/directed without your help
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Taper Begins
A solid week with 115k. Worked up the daily runs to 18k this week to give 72k during the week. Decided against a 50 long run and opted for just a 31k cruise on Saturday arvo which I did in 2:31, not fast but comfortable. Sunday was 7k in the morning and 5k in the evening all easy running, played cricket in the afternoon too.
I began the taper on Friday and It occured to me that the only way I can improve my performance on Sunday now is to rest up. Averaged 111.6k/week over the last 8 weeks, which includes a 69k week for the half, so I am confident in the training that I've done. I know I'm not in the best shape of my life but I'm happy with where I am at this stage of the year.
Looking at the forecast it's 41 for Sunday! I'm sure it will get cooler as the week progresses but regardless it WILL BE HOT so the race changes dramatically. The day is all about survival and hopefully pick it up when the breeze kicks in and the sun goes down. I think the IM Marathon last year will help me out as it was about 40 that day out on the course and I felt that I coped alright. The mantra for the day will be HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE!!! Can't wait.
Nate
I began the taper on Friday and It occured to me that the only way I can improve my performance on Sunday now is to rest up. Averaged 111.6k/week over the last 8 weeks, which includes a 69k week for the half, so I am confident in the training that I've done. I know I'm not in the best shape of my life but I'm happy with where I am at this stage of the year.
Looking at the forecast it's 41 for Sunday! I'm sure it will get cooler as the week progresses but regardless it WILL BE HOT so the race changes dramatically. The day is all about survival and hopefully pick it up when the breeze kicks in and the sun goes down. I think the IM Marathon last year will help me out as it was about 40 that day out on the course and I felt that I coped alright. The mantra for the day will be HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE!!! Can't wait.
Nate
Monday, February 15, 2010
A good week
Not a bad week this week with 127k done after the HM last weekend. Had a few easy runs early in the week and my attempt at a speed session was fairly average mainly because I was still sore from the half. 8 x 400 w/ 200 float done in 20:05 (4.8k) so not quick but it was my first real speed session in about 7 months. Was lapping in about 90s.
Thursday's 17k was great, running to netball to watch Noah while Kate played. Got to the court (8.5k) in 37:05 which I was happy with and then just an easy run home in 41:xx. This will be a regular session I think so I look forward to reducing that time in what will be a true tempo session.
Sat long run was a shocker. Worked all day and was on my feet for most of it. Arrived home just after 6pm and left about 6:30. I hadn't had a lot to eat but was trying to drink plenty of sustagen during the early stages. Ran to the track and found it had to get going and my stomach wasn't feeling great. As the sun went down I decided that I didn't really feel safe running around a public oval in the dark in a dodgy area so put the foot down and focused on knocking out 20k on the track then head home and off on a trail run. I was so exhausted that by the time I got home (26k) I knew I had to eat something. Sat down for 25 min and wolfed down some food and then headed out for another couple of hours. The last 21k wasn't my best running but I survived to finish the 47k in 4:26 (not including the break). Backed up with 10k easy the following day.
I want another 130k+ week this week then a taper for the 12hr of 30min a day. Will look to do a lot of circle running this week to get some last minute prep for the 12hr. I want a minimum of 100k during the 12hr and really I'd like to post 110k+, but I'll just try and keep moving and see what happens. Details for the week are below
Thursday's 17k was great, running to netball to watch Noah while Kate played. Got to the court (8.5k) in 37:05 which I was happy with and then just an easy run home in 41:xx. This will be a regular session I think so I look forward to reducing that time in what will be a true tempo session.
Sat long run was a shocker. Worked all day and was on my feet for most of it. Arrived home just after 6pm and left about 6:30. I hadn't had a lot to eat but was trying to drink plenty of sustagen during the early stages. Ran to the track and found it had to get going and my stomach wasn't feeling great. As the sun went down I decided that I didn't really feel safe running around a public oval in the dark in a dodgy area so put the foot down and focused on knocking out 20k on the track then head home and off on a trail run. I was so exhausted that by the time I got home (26k) I knew I had to eat something. Sat down for 25 min and wolfed down some food and then headed out for another couple of hours. The last 21k wasn't my best running but I survived to finish the 47k in 4:26 (not including the break). Backed up with 10k easy the following day.
I want another 130k+ week this week then a taper for the 12hr of 30min a day. Will look to do a lot of circle running this week to get some last minute prep for the 12hr. I want a minimum of 100k during the 12hr and really I'd like to post 110k+, but I'll just try and keep moving and see what happens. Details for the week are below
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)