My increase in energy

Someone recently asked me for some insights into my training and my vast improvements in PBs. I put it down to an increase of energy that I got from changing my diet in the last year. I stopped eating red meat and chicken and started eating plenty of veges and drinking 'supergreens'.

I didn't run very much in the past - just did the bare minimum to make the distance of the races but now I just feel like running all the time and I am enjoying it so much that I train a lot more.

That's it basically. I don't have much clue as to what training I should be doing but I get some ideas from reading magazines, books and Cool Running (of course!) and then I do what feels right each week (along with the long runs that hardly ever feel right lol). You can see my running log here.

My plan is to sit down after the Melbourne Marathon and create a better structured training plan for over summer so I can beat all my personals bests again next year!

Misson Accomplished!

Today I ran the half marathon in under 90 minutes! All the training has paid off and I have a new PB of 85:51!

More to come later - off to sleep now...

The Race

I work up on the morning of the race at 3.30am. The plan was to get up at 4am but once awake, I decided to get out there early. A clear day, it was still dark but was forecast for sun - not that I was expecting to be out in the sun too long given a 6.20am start.

After eating a Powerbar and getting ready, I had to wait for the train to Milson's Point as I was way too early! The pre-start was pretty easy going and we didn't even line up until about 15mins before the race - very different than the City2Surf start. I didn't get a great start, being stuck behind some slow runners but it cleared out after a couple of hundred metres and my quest to beat the 90 minute mark was under way.

I knew as I was going over the bridge that I was going out too hard but I decided just to keep going at under 4min/ks for as long as I could - which turned out to be about 7km...

I took an energy gel at about 9km and after the turn around point I just tried to stick as close to 4min/k as I could on the way back into the city. As the hills (inclines really but who's counting?) starting looming I found I was slowing down and ran a couple of 4:15s and even a 4:21 at one point. I could tell that by the 16km mark, I had lost the sub-84 goal that I secretly had and that I would be lucky to go sub-85. Then not soon after I realised I'm looking at 86+ unless I picked up the pace.

As I got into the familiar surrounds of Hickson Road at around 18km, I made an effort to catch the three guys I could see in front of me. I had spent the last 4-5km running pretty much alone and I figured I was the tail end of the sub-85 hopefuls. I didn't have much left as we came into the finish stretch at the Opera House but managed a little 50m sprint to the line. My guntime turned out to be 85:59 so I'm glad I dug in at the end!

As I crossed the line, I was happy to finally put the sub-90 goal to rest. After the Melbourne Marathon, I will start work on some new goals. Sub-80, here I come!

The long run and the half

Since I last blogged excitedly about running the City2Surf in a pb, I have logged around 258km over five weeks including three long runs of 30km, 33km and 36km on three consecutive Sundays. The 33km run was the biggest struggle I had, mostly due to a lack of fuel before (breakfast) and during (I only had one gel) the run. I hit the wall at about 28km and my love of running disappeared somewhere between Darling Harbour and the Sydney Opera House. I think additional contributing factors were starting too fast (4:30 min/km) and starting too late in the morning as the sun heated up the city fairly quickly that day.

I prepared for the next week's 36km run with all of that in mind, and got up at 5am to eat breakfast and beat the sun. I almost never eat before running but since the pain of the previous week, I now plan to always eat before any 30km+ run. I also took along three gels (tried GU for the first time instead of Powerbar, which I like better now because they are not as thick) and my trusty 3L Camelbak, freshly cleaned with a newly purchased cleaning pack. At $50, it was a massive rip-off but at least the water tasted good for a change and the gross mold I discovered in the tube was gone. I kept to a steady 5 min/km as much as I could and had the best long run I've ever had! Glad I figured out what works and what doesn't before the Melbourne Marathon in three weeks.

My focus switched after the 36km to the Blackmore's Half Marathon here in Sydney on September 20th. I feel very confident of breaking the 90 minute mark and I am really aim for close to 85 mins now. My plan is to go out at 4 min/kms and hold on for as long as I can. I know I can do it over 14km (as done in City2Surf) and I'm hoping I will be able to keep it up during the 21.1km until I get close enough to smell the finish line.

The race starts at 6.20am so I will be up at 4am getting prepared and heading to catch the train to Milson's Point at 4.40am. I have a preferred start (bib number #612) so I think I will get a good clear run. The sub 90 minutes half marathon is what this blog has been all about since I started it over 18 months ago and the moment of truth is only two days away. I am injury-free and I already have my Brooks Racer ST4s out and ready to go. I can hardly wait!