I recently read Malcom Gladwell's terrific book, Outliers. He examines the lives of highly successful people like Bill Gates and proposes a reason for their success: the 10,000 hour rule. To be the best, you've got to put in 10,000 hours of practice. And not just any practice - focused practice. It's all about constantly analysing your performance (and better yet, having a coach who can objectively analyse your performance) and adapting how you practise, so that you constantly improve. I read this and believed it immediately. The best marathon runners take a good ten years of intense training to reach their peak. All up (running, stretching, cross training) they often train three hours per day, which equates to 1000 hours per year. Ten years of that regime is the blueprint for a running machine. I really liked this concept. A message that I have picked up subconciously over time is that the elite in society are there because they are 'naturally talented'. I used to put these people on a pedestal and would think to myself 'I could never be that person. They were just born that way.' Gladwell shows that this is a pretty bogus idea. The top performers in any field: artists, musicians, athletes, speakers, politicians, pilots, comedians, are successful not because they were born that way, but because they've put in thousands of hours of hard effort to improve their craft. For me it was very empowering to read this. I now truly believe that I can reach any target I set myself, learn any skill I want to learn and become the person I want to become. All it takes is to have a goal and be willing to put in the work to get there. How much work? 10,000 hours. I have to admit though that 10,000 hours is a lot of work. The thought of this much practice felt a bit daunting to me. How could I maintain my motivation to keep putting in the hours of focused practice day after day? Recently I worked it out: I just have to stop thinking about it. Habits for success: Here's my theory: to rack up 10,000 hours, the practice has to become a habit. Instead of thinking about it, you just do it. And once you do it enough, reinforce those neurological pathways and really drum it into your brain, it becomes a habit. An example: running every morning I used to be really bad at getting going in the morning. I'd lounge around, take a good hour to have breakfast, take another half an hour to shower and get changed and then finally get out the door. Often, I'd take the easy way out. I've set myself a target to run the 6km to uni, so I combine commuting with training. But a lot of days, I'd get up and think "I don't really feel like running. My legs are a bit sore. I'm a bit tired.". Inevitably, I'd cave in and just ride my bike in instead, which isn't much of a workout at all. On top of that, I'd get to uni quite late, because I spent so much time mucking around. Recently, I've become much better. I run in to uni every morning and I get there early. What's changed? I've made it a habit. Now when I wake up, I don't listen to those thoughts. I just grab my bag (which I've packed the night before), put on my shoes and run out the door. What I find is that once I get going, I start feeling good. As I run through the streets, the mental fog of sleepiness gradually wears away and I feel energised. What's more, I'm learning at the same time because I've got podcasts or audio books playing on my MP3 player. Running in the morning has become something I just do. It's now a habit. Habits for everything After my success with running in the morning, I'm now looking for habits I can use for all of my goals. Here are some other habits I'm forming: - Hindi practice: I'm trying to learn Hindi right now, so I've decided to make it a habit to do 10 minutes of Hindi practice during my afternoon tea break. - Pushups: every time I walk into my room, I drop down and do 20 pushups. - MIT planning after dinner: I've found that a guaranteed way to have an effective and productive day is to plan my Most Important Things (MITs) the night before. - Yoga before bed: Many nights I find it hard to sleep because I've got so many ideas racing through my head. I've decided to start doing a 20 minute yoga session before bed. This calms me and also improves my flexibility. What are some habits you could use to start racking up 10,000 hours towards your goals? (And what are the habits that are holding you back?)
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Set your brain to autopilot: habits for success
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Lilydale Take on the Lake '8'k: 2nd in 25:21
Enjoyed this race. Had a couple of cups of coffee and then got on the bike for the 30k ride out to Lilydale. Was feeling excellent and had to remind myself not to destroy my legs too much on the climbs before I got to the start line:P
Start line was a bit hectic. Usual bunch of enthusiastic kids crowded out the first row and when the whistle blew, five young guys put the hammer down straight away. I forced myself to stay on even though it felt much too fast. They lasted about a k and a half before dropping off, and I worked my way up a few places. Going round the back end, I think a marshall misdirected us, because I sure as hell did not run 12:20 for the first 4k! (Garmin said 3.55k). Quite a few of the young guys turned out to be doing the 4k, so I found myself comfortably in equal second place with a veteran runner. He instructed me not to worry about him (being in different age categories), but as I did my usual trick of fading after 4.5k, my competitive juices forced me to do exactly that. Summoning up some effort, I focused on holding good form and reeled him back in, catching him with a km to go. It hurt, but it was supposed to, and I finished with a good workout under my belt.
Did a cooldown lap with Jay, who won the '8k' (and the '4k' as well) in 24:17. Impressive guy: he's run 2:25 for the marathon and is aiming for a 68:xx half at Gold Coast. Trains 170k per week, averaging 4:15/k (10k threshold on Saturdays in 31:45). That's what it takes...
Start line was a bit hectic. Usual bunch of enthusiastic kids crowded out the first row and when the whistle blew, five young guys put the hammer down straight away. I forced myself to stay on even though it felt much too fast. They lasted about a k and a half before dropping off, and I worked my way up a few places. Going round the back end, I think a marshall misdirected us, because I sure as hell did not run 12:20 for the first 4k! (Garmin said 3.55k). Quite a few of the young guys turned out to be doing the 4k, so I found myself comfortably in equal second place with a veteran runner. He instructed me not to worry about him (being in different age categories), but as I did my usual trick of fading after 4.5k, my competitive juices forced me to do exactly that. Summoning up some effort, I focused on holding good form and reeled him back in, catching him with a km to go. It hurt, but it was supposed to, and I finished with a good workout under my belt.
Did a cooldown lap with Jay, who won the '8k' (and the '4k' as well) in 24:17. Impressive guy: he's run 2:25 for the marathon and is aiming for a 68:xx half at Gold Coast. Trains 170k per week, averaging 4:15/k (10k threshold on Saturdays in 31:45). That's what it takes...
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Tan Time Trial: 8k in 29:12
Had been feeling decidedly under the weather most of the week (and continued to feel so until Tuesday this week) but still managed to get to the tan at 7.30 on Saturday morning for the monthly time trial. It was a handicap run being the first week of a new season, and I went off with the last group after 14 minutes. There were three of us: a veteran who finished ahead of me in the last race I did and a young (15?) kid I hadn't seen before.
The kid and I took off at 3:20s. I was feeling very comfortable and was pretty confident that I'd take it out because he was already breathing hard after 1km. The perfect time to drop him would be up the Anderson st hill, so I tried to pump up the intensity as we rounded the corner. It soon became clear though that I didn't have the legs for it, and he was still with me as we got to the top, actually gapping me quite convincingly on the downhill (I was impressed - I'm usually the one taking advantage of downhills). Managed to catch him pretty quickly and got back in front for the rest of the lap, but it didn't last. After going through 4k in 14:05, my legs decided they'd had enough. Aerobically I felt fine, but the pounding I put my quads through on Tuesday was obviously still there because I just couldn't generate any power. Tried to keep him in sight, but he drew away, having a much stronger second half than me to finish 30 secs ahead of me in 28:40 (29:12 for me).
Not quite the sub 29 I was going for, but still a 13 second PB is nothing to complain about.
Focus from now on is staying healthy. Can't afford to have many weeks where I take 3/4 days off due to illness. Hadn't been taking my multivitamin, so that's the first thing on the list. Am going to the doctors on Friday to get my serum ferritin (iron), vit B12 and Vit D levels checked out. Haven't had a blood test for over two years now, which is a bit negligent of me. Vegans (and I think all athletes really) should get one every year to make sure everything's in order. Have been feeling very tired lately, so wouldn't be surprised if my iron comes out low.
The kid and I took off at 3:20s. I was feeling very comfortable and was pretty confident that I'd take it out because he was already breathing hard after 1km. The perfect time to drop him would be up the Anderson st hill, so I tried to pump up the intensity as we rounded the corner. It soon became clear though that I didn't have the legs for it, and he was still with me as we got to the top, actually gapping me quite convincingly on the downhill (I was impressed - I'm usually the one taking advantage of downhills). Managed to catch him pretty quickly and got back in front for the rest of the lap, but it didn't last. After going through 4k in 14:05, my legs decided they'd had enough. Aerobically I felt fine, but the pounding I put my quads through on Tuesday was obviously still there because I just couldn't generate any power. Tried to keep him in sight, but he drew away, having a much stronger second half than me to finish 30 secs ahead of me in 28:40 (29:12 for me).
Not quite the sub 29 I was going for, but still a 13 second PB is nothing to complain about.
Focus from now on is staying healthy. Can't afford to have many weeks where I take 3/4 days off due to illness. Hadn't been taking my multivitamin, so that's the first thing on the list. Am going to the doctors on Friday to get my serum ferritin (iron), vit B12 and Vit D levels checked out. Haven't had a blood test for over two years now, which is a bit negligent of me. Vegans (and I think all athletes really) should get one every year to make sure everything's in order. Have been feeling very tired lately, so wouldn't be surprised if my iron comes out low.
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Tuesday night at the track
Forced myself to ignore my leaden legs after the ride home and ran the 5k to the Waverley Athletics track yesterday evening. Once I'd arrived, feeling a fair bit better after the warmup, I was greeted with the news that the session was 5x1500m in 5:00. Recovery = 500m at 4:00/k. Eep!
I did the first rep with Tim, a 100m runner making the jump up to 800m. Felt surprisingly good coming in around 5:05-5:10, not puffing at all. Did the next one with James Atkinson, a 30-32 minute 10k runner (top 40-45 veteran in the state). He dropped me with 300 m to go, but I was amazed to even be able to stay with him for that long. Finished the rep in just under 5:00 I reckon, making it close to a PB for me! Naturally I was pretty stuffed after that, and barely managed to hold it together for the next rep (5:20 maybe?). For the last two, all I could manage was jumping in after James had already done a lap, and still got dropped horribly:P Still, it was a fantastic workout and just what I need. 18k all up with the run home and boy was I sore afterwards!
Tan Time trial 8k on Sat. Hoping to break 29.
I did the first rep with Tim, a 100m runner making the jump up to 800m. Felt surprisingly good coming in around 5:05-5:10, not puffing at all. Did the next one with James Atkinson, a 30-32 minute 10k runner (top 40-45 veteran in the state). He dropped me with 300 m to go, but I was amazed to even be able to stay with him for that long. Finished the rep in just under 5:00 I reckon, making it close to a PB for me! Naturally I was pretty stuffed after that, and barely managed to hold it together for the next rep (5:20 maybe?). For the last two, all I could manage was jumping in after James had already done a lap, and still got dropped horribly:P Still, it was a fantastic workout and just what I need. 18k all up with the run home and boy was I sore afterwards!
Tan Time trial 8k on Sat. Hoping to break 29.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Here we go
3.5k time trial: 11:08 (3:11/k). 3k in 9:38.
Pretty damn happy with that! On the treadmill, so I'm not claiming it as a PB or anything, but it's definitely evidence that I'm a lot fitter than I ever have been before.
Everything (running, cycling, strength, life in general) is great right now!
Pretty damn happy with that! On the treadmill, so I'm not claiming it as a PB or anything, but it's definitely evidence that I'm a lot fitter than I ever have been before.
Everything (running, cycling, strength, life in general) is great right now!
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Another week, another hundred miles
Pulled up quite well from the long run last Sunday, but after a hard core workout on Tuesday, my body felt toasted and it took me until Saturday to feel recovered again. The weekend involved a bout of crash training: 67km in two days!
I ran what I thought would be my long run of the week on Saturday morning: 21k. Did another 9k that night, marvelling at the beautiful sunset reflected on the surface of Lake Burley Griffin.
This morning I woke up not feeling very energetic, but resolved to do an easy 15k anyway. It turned into one of those great runs, where I just kept feeling better the further I went. When I got to Commonwealth bridge, marking the end of my half lake circuit, I didn't feel like stopping and continued on, locking myself in for a full circumnavigation of the lake. Trying not to think about how long the run was going to be (I wasn't actually sure how far the lake extended!), I really enjoyed running through the wetlands. It was perfect conditions for a long run: plenty of sun, but not much heat. Eventually I reached the other side of the lake, relieved to see that it was only going to be 30km, not 40:P Setting my sights on other runners on the path, I zoomed home averaging 4:15s. Ended up with 31km (2:48) on the garmin, my longest run ever! I felt like I could've easily kept on going if I'd wanted to.
Fatigue struck back after the adrenaline wore off, and I flopped around for the rest of the day, barely managing to coax myself out for a second 7k run before dinner. Still, feeling very satisfied with myself for completing another 100 mile week (161.9km). The average pace was slightly better than last week too (6:08/k vs 6:10/k), showing that I'm absorbing the work.
Knee is still niggling a bit, and I have an annoying blister on my middle toe, but apart from that, I'm handling the workload really well. Nutrition and sleep are big factors in how well I recover, so I've been stealing food from the salad bar for midnight snacks and have tried to sneak in naps whenever possible.
I ran what I thought would be my long run of the week on Saturday morning: 21k. Did another 9k that night, marvelling at the beautiful sunset reflected on the surface of Lake Burley Griffin.
This morning I woke up not feeling very energetic, but resolved to do an easy 15k anyway. It turned into one of those great runs, where I just kept feeling better the further I went. When I got to Commonwealth bridge, marking the end of my half lake circuit, I didn't feel like stopping and continued on, locking myself in for a full circumnavigation of the lake. Trying not to think about how long the run was going to be (I wasn't actually sure how far the lake extended!), I really enjoyed running through the wetlands. It was perfect conditions for a long run: plenty of sun, but not much heat. Eventually I reached the other side of the lake, relieved to see that it was only going to be 30km, not 40:P Setting my sights on other runners on the path, I zoomed home averaging 4:15s. Ended up with 31km (2:48) on the garmin, my longest run ever! I felt like I could've easily kept on going if I'd wanted to.
Fatigue struck back after the adrenaline wore off, and I flopped around for the rest of the day, barely managing to coax myself out for a second 7k run before dinner. Still, feeling very satisfied with myself for completing another 100 mile week (161.9km). The average pace was slightly better than last week too (6:08/k vs 6:10/k), showing that I'm absorbing the work.
Knee is still niggling a bit, and I have an annoying blister on my middle toe, but apart from that, I'm handling the workload really well. Nutrition and sleep are big factors in how well I recover, so I've been stealing food from the salad bar for midnight snacks and have tried to sneak in naps whenever possible.
Monday, 11 January 2010
Mileage chasing
I couldn't resist the appeal of the holy grail of round figures: 100 miles. I hadn't really thought about it until Saturday night, but after the 40k on Monday, I was pretty well set up for it. A consistent 15-17k in doubles during the week had me at 123k on Sunday morning and after a 24k long run, the century was so close that it would've required more mental strength not to go for a 13k run that night.
My legs were feeling great all week and I had many a strong progression run. Felt pretty buggered when I woke up this morning though and was absolutely starving!
Recovery time now!
My legs were feeling great all week and I had many a strong progression run. Felt pretty buggered when I woke up this morning though and was absolutely starving!
Recovery time now!
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Recovery
The mantra for last year was 'hard work'.
Stats for 2009:
Total time spent training: 1096hrs (3hrs per day)
Total ran: 3017 km (56 kpw). Average pace 6:13/k
Total biked: 11,716 km
Total xc-ski: 429 km
Observations and thoughts:
Overall I don't think I spent my time very efficiently. I did tear some huge chunks out of my PBs and I'm undeniably a lot fitter than I was at the start of the year, but the fact that my average pace was so slow (worse than when I started running) demonstrates unequivocally that I was valuing quantity over quality.
I basically had the mindset that anything that made me tired would make me fit. Stupid really looking back on it. The road to fitness is through supercompensation and the only way that happens if you allow yourself to recover. I didn't bother with such petty concerns and after pushing my limits one week, I just went on pushing further the next week, digging myself even further into a hole. Classic case of overtraining.
This year will be different. The mantra is 'smart training'. I'll monitor the way my body responds on a three day cycle. If I have shit/slow runs three days in a row, then it's time to back off until I feel good again. I'll also emphasise other aspects of recovery such as improving the quality of my sleep and nutrition.
Sleep:
I'm giving bi-phasic sleep a go. The idea is to break your sleep into two chunks per day. One long core sleep in the evening and one siesta style sleep in the afternoon/early evening. The main motivation for this is time saving - I'm hoping it will allow me to cut the amount of time I spend asleep to 6 hrs per day. I also think it will improve the quality of my sleep and increase my energy levels throughout the day. Over Christmas I took the opportunity to embark on many a nap, and felt so revitalised afterwards that I decided to do some research on the topic.
A lot of people follow such an approach both now (e.g. Scott bird ) and throughout history (e.g. Leonardo DiVinci and Thomas Edison). I'll post more on this as the experiment continues. Two days in and I'm not exactly finding myself super-energised all the time, but nor was I before I started, and I was expecting to encounter such problems for the first week or so until my body adapts.
Nutrition:
In the past few months I've pinned down some food intolerances which were really affecting the quality of my life and I suspect also compromising my recovery from exercise. I already knew I was soy intolerant, but recently also I've become so sensitive to gluten that one piece of gluten free bread with vegemite (which contains small amounts of barley) made me very sick indeed. It's been a big change for someone who habitually consumed loaves of bread in one sitting, but I've discovered many new dishes that I'd never tried before (favourites include 'Socca' - a French peasant style chickpea bread - and Dosa - an Indian crepe like flat bread made from ground rice and lentils) and am now coping well.
Only yesterday I worked out that I don't tolerate fructose too well either. I think it's a universal problem for humans due to a relative paucity of fructose receptors in the gut, but to stay on the safe side, I'm eliminating apples and pears from my diet (I'd been eating up to 6 in one sitting and wondering why I was getting stomach aches:P).
I feel so much better on this new diet than I ever have probably in my whole life. I have more energy, I haven't gotten sick, I recover better. I'm not saying it's for everyone, but I really like the foods I'm eating right now (mainly Southern Indian dishes, but I'm trying to expand my repertoire to include cuisine from every culture around the world).
Preliminary results have been very positive:) I'm in such good shape right now. On Monday, I did a 28k long run with Matt Z and backed it up with a 12km hike back from Canberra airport with 10kg of luggage strapped to my body (didn't fancy paying $30 for a taxi:P). I expected to be completely devastated the next day, but the DOMS never came and my legs feel great.
The plan for the next month is to do around 100k per week. I'm doing doubles with an easy social run in the morning, and a harder solo 5k run in the evening. The volume is no longer an issue - I averaged 90ish km in December 09 - so I'm concentrating more on upping the intensity before I bump up the mileage some more.
My knee is getting better, though it's still not 100%. I don't feel it on most of my runs, but I haven't been game enough to test it out cycling yet. I probably should soon before I lose all of my bike fitness!
Stats for 2009:
Total time spent training: 1096hrs (3hrs per day)
Total ran: 3017 km (56 kpw). Average pace 6:13/k
Total biked: 11,716 km
Total xc-ski: 429 km
Observations and thoughts:
Overall I don't think I spent my time very efficiently. I did tear some huge chunks out of my PBs and I'm undeniably a lot fitter than I was at the start of the year, but the fact that my average pace was so slow (worse than when I started running) demonstrates unequivocally that I was valuing quantity over quality.
I basically had the mindset that anything that made me tired would make me fit. Stupid really looking back on it. The road to fitness is through supercompensation and the only way that happens if you allow yourself to recover. I didn't bother with such petty concerns and after pushing my limits one week, I just went on pushing further the next week, digging myself even further into a hole. Classic case of overtraining.
This year will be different. The mantra is 'smart training'. I'll monitor the way my body responds on a three day cycle. If I have shit/slow runs three days in a row, then it's time to back off until I feel good again. I'll also emphasise other aspects of recovery such as improving the quality of my sleep and nutrition.
Sleep:
I'm giving bi-phasic sleep a go. The idea is to break your sleep into two chunks per day. One long core sleep in the evening and one siesta style sleep in the afternoon/early evening. The main motivation for this is time saving - I'm hoping it will allow me to cut the amount of time I spend asleep to 6 hrs per day. I also think it will improve the quality of my sleep and increase my energy levels throughout the day. Over Christmas I took the opportunity to embark on many a nap, and felt so revitalised afterwards that I decided to do some research on the topic.
A lot of people follow such an approach both now (e.g. Scott bird ) and throughout history (e.g. Leonardo DiVinci and Thomas Edison). I'll post more on this as the experiment continues. Two days in and I'm not exactly finding myself super-energised all the time, but nor was I before I started, and I was expecting to encounter such problems for the first week or so until my body adapts.
Nutrition:
In the past few months I've pinned down some food intolerances which were really affecting the quality of my life and I suspect also compromising my recovery from exercise. I already knew I was soy intolerant, but recently also I've become so sensitive to gluten that one piece of gluten free bread with vegemite (which contains small amounts of barley) made me very sick indeed. It's been a big change for someone who habitually consumed loaves of bread in one sitting, but I've discovered many new dishes that I'd never tried before (favourites include 'Socca' - a French peasant style chickpea bread - and Dosa - an Indian crepe like flat bread made from ground rice and lentils) and am now coping well.
Only yesterday I worked out that I don't tolerate fructose too well either. I think it's a universal problem for humans due to a relative paucity of fructose receptors in the gut, but to stay on the safe side, I'm eliminating apples and pears from my diet (I'd been eating up to 6 in one sitting and wondering why I was getting stomach aches:P).
I feel so much better on this new diet than I ever have probably in my whole life. I have more energy, I haven't gotten sick, I recover better. I'm not saying it's for everyone, but I really like the foods I'm eating right now (mainly Southern Indian dishes, but I'm trying to expand my repertoire to include cuisine from every culture around the world).
Preliminary results have been very positive:) I'm in such good shape right now. On Monday, I did a 28k long run with Matt Z and backed it up with a 12km hike back from Canberra airport with 10kg of luggage strapped to my body (didn't fancy paying $30 for a taxi:P). I expected to be completely devastated the next day, but the DOMS never came and my legs feel great.
The plan for the next month is to do around 100k per week. I'm doing doubles with an easy social run in the morning, and a harder solo 5k run in the evening. The volume is no longer an issue - I averaged 90ish km in December 09 - so I'm concentrating more on upping the intensity before I bump up the mileage some more.
My knee is getting better, though it's still not 100%. I don't feel it on most of my runs, but I haven't been game enough to test it out cycling yet. I probably should soon before I lose all of my bike fitness!
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Feeling good
Had quite a good week both running wise and research wise. Finally managed to get my supervisor to explain exactly what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. Makes me feel a lot more motivated than before when I felt like I was just mechanically putting things through a mass spectrometer without really knowing what the overall point of it was. Sounds like I might get to do some self directed research soon as well because we're nearly done with the original project:)
I'm enjoying running more than I have in a long time and feel like I'm in pretty good shape. Measured my Resting Heart Rate on Wednesday night and was amazed to find it's down to 32! It was around 35 at the start of the year when I was spending 8-10hrs a day on the bike (cycle touring through Spain), so that shows some significant aerobic development (for interest's sake, my RHR was around 55 when I first started running).
Went out for a long run this morning, aiming to do 15k, and thanks to my hopeless sense of distance, misjudged how far it would be around Lake Burley Griffin and ended up doing 21.1k (I did an extra 200 m to reach that special number:P). It was a really nice run and I felt great, picking it up towards the end. Average pace was 5:10/k, which is pretty fast for me!
Finished up with 72k for the week, which is very pleasing. Legs feel good except for my left knee (cycling induced injury from last week) which is quite bothersome when going on an incline/decline. I think I'll be fine if I just stick to the flat though, so I'll rinse and repeat and aim for about 80k. I've organised a running group among the summer scholars and that's been great. Not a huge turnout so far (~5 people per session), but as long as I have at least one person to run with I'm happy.
I'm enjoying running more than I have in a long time and feel like I'm in pretty good shape. Measured my Resting Heart Rate on Wednesday night and was amazed to find it's down to 32! It was around 35 at the start of the year when I was spending 8-10hrs a day on the bike (cycle touring through Spain), so that shows some significant aerobic development (for interest's sake, my RHR was around 55 when I first started running).
Went out for a long run this morning, aiming to do 15k, and thanks to my hopeless sense of distance, misjudged how far it would be around Lake Burley Griffin and ended up doing 21.1k (I did an extra 200 m to reach that special number:P). It was a really nice run and I felt great, picking it up towards the end. Average pace was 5:10/k, which is pretty fast for me!
Finished up with 72k for the week, which is very pleasing. Legs feel good except for my left knee (cycling induced injury from last week) which is quite bothersome when going on an incline/decline. I think I'll be fine if I just stick to the flat though, so I'll rinse and repeat and aim for about 80k. I've organised a running group among the summer scholars and that's been great. Not a huge turnout so far (~5 people per session), but as long as I have at least one person to run with I'm happy.
Monday, 30 November 2009
A week in Canberra
It's only been a week in Canberra, but it feels like much longer. That might be interpreted as meaning that I've been having a crap time, but it's been quite the opposite:) I'm really enjoying life here. It's my kind of city with heaps of running trails just outside my door and bike lanes on every road. Within 5km, one can escape the 'urban jungle' (the term hardly seems to apply when there are so many trees dotted within the landscape) and be out in the bush. There's no sense of being crowded out, and things feel relaxed without being dull. I could definitely seeing myself living here permanently.
Intellectually, I have never been so stimulated. I'm learning an enormous amount because my research project (setting the groundwork for using photosynthetic enzymes to generate Hydrogen gas that could be crucial for a cost effective 'hydrogen economy') is just so interesting and dare I say it, important. My supervisors are very supportive and seem to really value my small contribution and keen to share their knowledge. Meal times (three hot meals a day that I don't have to prepare myself: what a luxury:P) have been terrific, providing an opportunity to talk to all the other summer scholars (all 170 of them) about their projects or just have great conversations about pretty much anything. We've had social events organised for us every night for the last week, which was a great opportunity to meet everyone else. It's tapering off now, but now that everyone knows each other, fun stuff seems to happen spontaneously. Last night we had a fun (and exhausting) game of ultimate frisbee followed by touch rugby (which surprise, surprise, all the kiwis dominated at:P).
Things are going well on the exercise front too. I've been getting out for a run every morning and have started an informal running group to ease the 'loneliness of the distance runner'. Four of us headed out this morning and judging by the number of people who've expressed interest today, it's only going to grow.
Despite the consistent morning jogs, I was feeling a bit guilty about my low monthly total for November (only 45 hrs:S), so tried to really work my body hard over the weekend. Headed out for a ride on Saturday morning, going down the Federal hwy out to Collector, where I was hoping to purchase some kind of sugary substance to revive me for the ride back. Unfortunately, the town appeared to be completely dead, so I had to turn back with only water in my bottles, but still managed to finish off the 130km ride without hitting the wall. There were some good hills along the way that I tried to really attack, and it felt pretty good. Got back absolutely starving, and scared people by eating about five plates of food:P
That evening I rode out to the AIS track for an ACT Athletics track meet. My left knee had suffered quite badly from the morning's efforts and I was in two minds whether to race or not, but it didn't bother me in my warmup, so I decided to have a crack at the 1500. There were only two heats, and I spotted a few AIS tops in the first heat, so decided to give that a miss (wise decision as the loser did 4:30 - I would've been lapped by the winner who did 4:03). The second heat consisted of a lot of young girls and two old men. When a girl who looked like she was about 10 took the lead, I couldn't bear the shame and moved up. It was a poorly paced race that saw me fade badly, only just holding off the 10 year old before being pipped literally on the line by a 16 year old to finish in 4:58 or something rubbish like that. Not a great result at all, but I had been feeling completely flaked out after the ride, so perhaps not surprising.
On Sunday, I sought to make up for it by breaking my 24 hr pushup PB. Over the course of an afternoon, I gutted out 600 pushups in between reading wikipedia articles (started out on 'carbonic anhydrase' and before long was reading about 'Mad pride' with another 50 tabs open:P). I was really pleased with that as it means I have now completed one leg of my 'Twenty four hour challenge'. It'd be awesome if I was in shape to do the whole thing by the end of summer. I think I'm almost there, but bringing it all together on one day will be tough!
Intellectually, I have never been so stimulated. I'm learning an enormous amount because my research project (setting the groundwork for using photosynthetic enzymes to generate Hydrogen gas that could be crucial for a cost effective 'hydrogen economy') is just so interesting and dare I say it, important. My supervisors are very supportive and seem to really value my small contribution and keen to share their knowledge. Meal times (three hot meals a day that I don't have to prepare myself: what a luxury:P) have been terrific, providing an opportunity to talk to all the other summer scholars (all 170 of them) about their projects or just have great conversations about pretty much anything. We've had social events organised for us every night for the last week, which was a great opportunity to meet everyone else. It's tapering off now, but now that everyone knows each other, fun stuff seems to happen spontaneously. Last night we had a fun (and exhausting) game of ultimate frisbee followed by touch rugby (which surprise, surprise, all the kiwis dominated at:P).
Things are going well on the exercise front too. I've been getting out for a run every morning and have started an informal running group to ease the 'loneliness of the distance runner'. Four of us headed out this morning and judging by the number of people who've expressed interest today, it's only going to grow.
Despite the consistent morning jogs, I was feeling a bit guilty about my low monthly total for November (only 45 hrs:S), so tried to really work my body hard over the weekend. Headed out for a ride on Saturday morning, going down the Federal hwy out to Collector, where I was hoping to purchase some kind of sugary substance to revive me for the ride back. Unfortunately, the town appeared to be completely dead, so I had to turn back with only water in my bottles, but still managed to finish off the 130km ride without hitting the wall. There were some good hills along the way that I tried to really attack, and it felt pretty good. Got back absolutely starving, and scared people by eating about five plates of food:P
That evening I rode out to the AIS track for an ACT Athletics track meet. My left knee had suffered quite badly from the morning's efforts and I was in two minds whether to race or not, but it didn't bother me in my warmup, so I decided to have a crack at the 1500. There were only two heats, and I spotted a few AIS tops in the first heat, so decided to give that a miss (wise decision as the loser did 4:30 - I would've been lapped by the winner who did 4:03). The second heat consisted of a lot of young girls and two old men. When a girl who looked like she was about 10 took the lead, I couldn't bear the shame and moved up. It was a poorly paced race that saw me fade badly, only just holding off the 10 year old before being pipped literally on the line by a 16 year old to finish in 4:58 or something rubbish like that. Not a great result at all, but I had been feeling completely flaked out after the ride, so perhaps not surprising.
On Sunday, I sought to make up for it by breaking my 24 hr pushup PB. Over the course of an afternoon, I gutted out 600 pushups in between reading wikipedia articles (started out on 'carbonic anhydrase' and before long was reading about 'Mad pride' with another 50 tabs open:P). I was really pleased with that as it means I have now completed one leg of my 'Twenty four hour challenge'. It'd be awesome if I was in shape to do the whole thing by the end of summer. I think I'm almost there, but bringing it all together on one day will be tough!
Saturday, 31 October 2009
First race of the track season
Stopped off at the Duncan Mackinnon reserve on my ride home from work on Thursday night and arrived just in time for the last heat of the 1500 m. Being the last heat, it was composed mainly of kids and fat, old men, so the chances of getting pulled along to a fast time by the pack weren't looking good. Martin Spiteri from my club rocked up even later than me and seeing as he's been quicker than me at every race this year, I said I'd stick behind him...Didn't happen:P After 200 m, I got sick of being boxed in and running at what felt like a slow pace and shot off. For the next 400 m I was feeling good and had put quite a big margin on everyone, but it didn't last. When the bell rang for the final lap, I had nothing left and couldn't respond when Martin went past and yelled for me to tuck in. My legs tied up badly over the last 200 m and it must've been showing because another guy from my club yelled out 'Don't worry, you're nearly there now!":P
T'was clearly a show of inexperience from someone who hasn't run a 1500 since grade 5, but I'm not displeased with a 4:54 (Martin ran 4:47, so that shows how badly I faded/how weak my finishing kick was:P). Went into the race thinking I'd do somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00, so I guess I met my goal:) Plugging it into the prediction tables, it is a big underperformance (apparently I should be running about 4:37 based on my HM PB), but that just means it'll be easier to PB next time:P
Next race isn't for two weeks, so plenty of time to work on my speed.
---
Training wise I've started doing some interval workouts. Did 4x400 m in 72s with 2:00 on Tuesday and then gutted out 5x400 on Friday. Aerobically I could manage with shorter recoveries, but running at that pace really smashes my legs. The plan is to up the number of reps by one each workout until I can do 12x400 and then start increasing the length of each rep. Ultimately I'd like to be able to do 6x1200 at 3:00/k with 60s JR. I'm a long way off that shape at the moment though..
My strength has been improving in leaps and bounds. It seems every time I hit the gym I'm able to lift/push more weight. Managed 75 pushups on Friday and leg pressed 100kg. Not sure whether it helps my running at all, but it's quite addictive:P
T'was clearly a show of inexperience from someone who hasn't run a 1500 since grade 5, but I'm not displeased with a 4:54 (Martin ran 4:47, so that shows how badly I faded/how weak my finishing kick was:P). Went into the race thinking I'd do somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00, so I guess I met my goal:) Plugging it into the prediction tables, it is a big underperformance (apparently I should be running about 4:37 based on my HM PB), but that just means it'll be easier to PB next time:P
Next race isn't for two weeks, so plenty of time to work on my speed.
---
Training wise I've started doing some interval workouts. Did 4x400 m in 72s with 2:00 on Tuesday and then gutted out 5x400 on Friday. Aerobically I could manage with shorter recoveries, but running at that pace really smashes my legs. The plan is to up the number of reps by one each workout until I can do 12x400 and then start increasing the length of each rep. Ultimately I'd like to be able to do 6x1200 at 3:00/k with 60s JR. I'm a long way off that shape at the moment though..
My strength has been improving in leaps and bounds. It seems every time I hit the gym I'm able to lift/push more weight. Managed 75 pushups on Friday and leg pressed 100kg. Not sure whether it helps my running at all, but it's quite addictive:P
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Back on track
I really didn't pull up well following the Melbourne Half. Because my quads were so stuffed, I was walking around on the outside of my foot and by Monday night, I was getting some serious pain halfway down my right foot. Barely made it through a day of uni on Tuesday and after the foot started to go red and swell up, I started to get seriously worried. It hurt unbelievably to put any weight on it at all and seemed to be getting worse. I woke up in pain halfway through the night, and beset by a paranoia that it might be a career ending injury, I called 'Nurse on call', and was told to get to a medical clinic immediately.
Mum kindly drove me to the Monash Medical centre Emergency Department (not my choice! I had thought we'd just go to a 24 hr GP clinic style thing) where the triage nurse chew chunks out of me and told me I should've just taken pain killers and gone to the doctor in the morning (probably sick of time wasters blowing out their waiting times I guess). I was very prepared to do this, not feeling like I belonged there at all, especially when a girl sitting at the other end of the waiting room started having an epileptic fit... Mum wouldn't hear of it though, and so we sat for about two hours until things quieted down enough for a doc to see me. I didn't mind at all. Unlike the Eastern European elderly couple who constantly berated the paramedical check in clerk for keeping them waiting on their meds, despite being told they could skip the wait completely by going to the private hospital down the road, I didn't want to be seen unless I (or rather the triage nurse) was sure that no-one else in the waiting room looked in worse shape than me. It was quite relaxing really and I got stuck into 'Lore of running' by Prof Tim Noakes (great book and really changed my mind on a lot of things such as carbo loading).
When we were ushered into the consulting room, I could already feel that my foot was a bit better, and after the doc poked and prodded my foot without sparking any serious pain, it was clear that I didn't have the broken foot I ignorantly feared. Another two hour wait for an X-ray confirmed it, and I was told it was probably just a pinched nerve.
Well it was a relief to find out it wasn't that serious (and I'm glad I know that's all it is, because I've had it happen to me before a couple of times, but never that bad, and it's always quite scary) but it seems pulling an all nighter in the ED wasn't the best thing for my health, because I picked up a sore throat that metastasised into a fairly debilitating cold. Basically felt like utter crap for the next six days with a constant headache and a hacking cough. Exercise was put on the back burner out of respect for my lungs. There's probably a good chance that the virus was lurking in my system on the morning of the Melbourne half and that's part of what explained the dreadful first half.
-----
Anyway, I'm healthy again now and after 12 days of the foot still giving me a lot of pain, I was able to do 3k on the treadmill yesterday. I think the enforced rest has actually been quite beneficial because I've been smashing my PBs for the 20k ride into work this week. Back in May when I used to ride in on my road bike, going all out and feeling destroyed at the end, the best I ever managed was 52 minutes. Well that mark has been well and truly eclipsed now. On my 15kg mountain bike, loaded up with 6kg of food and clothing in the panniers, I rode home from work in 50 minutes on Thursday and then yesterday, with a tail wind behind me, managed to do it in 44 minutes! Gave it everything I had and felt fantastic when I got there. The adrenaline kept me going at about 250% productivity for the next few hours:P
I've been doing a lot of weight training in the gym including some leg presses and quad lifts, and I reckon that's helping. I find I can climb hills in my highest gear now, whereas I used to just spin up in my lowest gear. Aerobically I feel like I'm a lot fitter too:) I might give the 1500 m a crack at the aths vic meet on Thursday. Will be interesting to see how I go.
----------------
The training plan for the next month or so involves very low volume. I'm working a lot (58 hours this week!) and need to cram for my exams in 3 weeks, so long rides are out of the question. I'll just be doing the ride in to work, a strength session at lunchtime and a 30 minute run after work. The run will basically be a warmup plus a VO2 max workout every day. Should be fun and hopefully I'll see some big results out of the increased intensity.
--------------
Other news: I've been accepted into a Summer research scholarship program at Australian national university in Canberra, so in a month's time I'll be catching the train up (was thinking about riding up, but decided not to due to the financial opportunity cost of four days of lost work) to do some work on Photobioenergetics. I'm really, really looking forward to this, and my supervisor (Dr Warwick Hillier) is into 24 hr mtb races, so it should be a fun summer!
Mum kindly drove me to the Monash Medical centre Emergency Department (not my choice! I had thought we'd just go to a 24 hr GP clinic style thing) where the triage nurse chew chunks out of me and told me I should've just taken pain killers and gone to the doctor in the morning (probably sick of time wasters blowing out their waiting times I guess). I was very prepared to do this, not feeling like I belonged there at all, especially when a girl sitting at the other end of the waiting room started having an epileptic fit... Mum wouldn't hear of it though, and so we sat for about two hours until things quieted down enough for a doc to see me. I didn't mind at all. Unlike the Eastern European elderly couple who constantly berated the paramedical check in clerk for keeping them waiting on their meds, despite being told they could skip the wait completely by going to the private hospital down the road, I didn't want to be seen unless I (or rather the triage nurse) was sure that no-one else in the waiting room looked in worse shape than me. It was quite relaxing really and I got stuck into 'Lore of running' by Prof Tim Noakes (great book and really changed my mind on a lot of things such as carbo loading).
When we were ushered into the consulting room, I could already feel that my foot was a bit better, and after the doc poked and prodded my foot without sparking any serious pain, it was clear that I didn't have the broken foot I ignorantly feared. Another two hour wait for an X-ray confirmed it, and I was told it was probably just a pinched nerve.
Well it was a relief to find out it wasn't that serious (and I'm glad I know that's all it is, because I've had it happen to me before a couple of times, but never that bad, and it's always quite scary) but it seems pulling an all nighter in the ED wasn't the best thing for my health, because I picked up a sore throat that metastasised into a fairly debilitating cold. Basically felt like utter crap for the next six days with a constant headache and a hacking cough. Exercise was put on the back burner out of respect for my lungs. There's probably a good chance that the virus was lurking in my system on the morning of the Melbourne half and that's part of what explained the dreadful first half.
-----
Anyway, I'm healthy again now and after 12 days of the foot still giving me a lot of pain, I was able to do 3k on the treadmill yesterday. I think the enforced rest has actually been quite beneficial because I've been smashing my PBs for the 20k ride into work this week. Back in May when I used to ride in on my road bike, going all out and feeling destroyed at the end, the best I ever managed was 52 minutes. Well that mark has been well and truly eclipsed now. On my 15kg mountain bike, loaded up with 6kg of food and clothing in the panniers, I rode home from work in 50 minutes on Thursday and then yesterday, with a tail wind behind me, managed to do it in 44 minutes! Gave it everything I had and felt fantastic when I got there. The adrenaline kept me going at about 250% productivity for the next few hours:P
I've been doing a lot of weight training in the gym including some leg presses and quad lifts, and I reckon that's helping. I find I can climb hills in my highest gear now, whereas I used to just spin up in my lowest gear. Aerobically I feel like I'm a lot fitter too:) I might give the 1500 m a crack at the aths vic meet on Thursday. Will be interesting to see how I go.
----------------
The training plan for the next month or so involves very low volume. I'm working a lot (58 hours this week!) and need to cram for my exams in 3 weeks, so long rides are out of the question. I'll just be doing the ride in to work, a strength session at lunchtime and a 30 minute run after work. The run will basically be a warmup plus a VO2 max workout every day. Should be fun and hopefully I'll see some big results out of the increased intensity.
--------------
Other news: I've been accepted into a Summer research scholarship program at Australian national university in Canberra, so in a month's time I'll be catching the train up (was thinking about riding up, but decided not to due to the financial opportunity cost of four days of lost work) to do some work on Photobioenergetics. I'm really, really looking forward to this, and my supervisor (Dr Warwick Hillier) is into 24 hr mtb races, so it should be a fun summer!
Sunday, 11 October 2009
Pain, suffering and enjoyment
Well, it was as I predicted (in fact quite a bit worse than I was predicting in even my most pessimistic scenario!): 1:41:xx. Something about this weekend in October always seems to bring out poor performances in me:P At least it was better than last year though. And in spite of it all, I did end up enjoying the bulk of the run (start and finish excluded).
---
Report:
Carbo-loaded it up the night before and lined up at the start line feeling ok. I did need to take a pee rather urgently but the lines were far too long, so I just hoped it would cease to be an issue once blood flow was shunted away from my kidneys. The other issue was my calves, which were still feeling strained from the workout on Wednesday. That too I hoped would not prove to be a problem. Surely my Linebreak compression tights would overcome the soreness..;)
As it turned out, the latter issue ruined my race. I set out at 3:35/k according to my plan (I knew I didn't have a chance of holding that, but felt a positive split would be the only option given how trashed my legs were feeling) and immediately felt something was wrong. The effort was just too great and I couldn't maintain it. The 90 minute pacer went past me within 500m, and while I was sure he was going way too fast, it definitely was not a good sign.
For the next five km, I basically watched as the whole field went past me. I was unable to respond, breathing hard at 4:00/k. Not only that, but my quads started to burn after just 2km. It was a really horrible experience, and I started to have awful thoughts that my weight loss regime had resulted in major catabolism of my running muscles.
I felt an overwhelming urge to walk and was really not feeling confident about my ability to finish the race. My quads were getting more and more painful and I'd only gone five km! When I spotted a row of portaloos, I took the opportunity to not only relieve my bladder, but to collect my thoughts and think about what I should do. I could pull out now and just take a tram back down St Kilda road. Something was obviously seriously wrong with me and it might be quite a bad move to keep on running. I didn't want to pull out though. The Melbourne half is a pretty special event for me and I didn't want to break my streak.
There was a drink station right near the loos, and I walked over and grabbed a cup of powerade and drank it down. I immediately felt quite a bit better. Buoyed by that, I decided to walk for a bit and see whether things improved. Thankfully they did, and after the two hour pacer went past me, I started running again and found I was able to maintain 3:35/k comfortably. I had obviously been quite dehydrated, despite having made a conscious effort to super-hydrate the night before.
For about 4k I was able to keep up a pretty decent pace, but my quads were really not happy with my running that fast, and it got so bad that I stopped to walk again at the 11k mark. It was pretty embarrassing really and I wished that I hadn't worn my vegan runners singlet. Not exactly a good advertisement of health when you're walking only halfway in!
I started to run again when the 1:50 pacer came past again and this time tried to take it slow, not accelerating hard like I had last time. I'd had a think about it, and worked out that I'd probably subjected my fast twitch muscle fibres to some pretty heavy damage during the workout on Wednesday with the result that they were unable to be recruited to help out with running at faster paces today. I found that when I gently increased the pace, my quads were not too bad at all, and it was perfectly possible for me to maintain 4:15/k.
Comfort restored and no longer worried that I'd lost a heap of fitness overnight, I really enjoyed the next 8km. It was a beautiful day for running: sunny, but not too hot, and with no wind whatsoever:) A fellow vegan noticed my singlet and we ran together for a bit. He was running the full 42.2k and was still looking very strong with 8k to go, but I fear I did a rotten job as a 3:00 pacer:P I was feeling better and better as the race went on (in complete contrast to how HMs usually go for me!) and I think I was constantly upping the pace without realising it. When I unknowingly dropped him up a hill, I decided it would be better for both of our races to go separately, so wished him good luck and moved off.
The final 5k of the race felt so good. I was passing hundreds of people, running 3:35/k and feeling great. The quads were hurting, but I pushed through it. The MCG was visible in the distance now and I could visualise finishing. It was almost a perfect end to the race, but when two marathon runners came past (I think possibly 2nd and 3rd) with incredible suffering on their faces, breathing like they were on their death beds, it felt only fair to push myself in sympathy and I ran with them for most of the last 2km.
It was a downhill finish, and unfortunately that was the last straw for my quads. With 500m to go, I found myself almost unable to run. It was just too painful and I actually couldn't seem to recruit enough muscle fibres to run at even a gentle pace. My whole body was asking, begging, imploring me to walk, but I wouldn't do it and so half limped, half ran to the entrance to the G before finding that finishing spark that allowed me to sprint that lap on the *************** (cliched phrase regarding the artificial grass in the stadium deleted:P).
I crossed the line in 1:41, just avoiding slipping on the stupidly slippery finishing mat (I don't even understand why it was slippery:S It looked like it was anti slip matting!), legs so sore that I had to hobble crab-like down the finishing ramp.
-----------------
I think it took my dad and I about half an hour to walk the 1.5km back to the car. Cannot believe how destroyed my legs are! I'm glad I finished it though and earned another medal to add to my collection. It hurt, but that will only make me value it more. Plus it was actually quite a decent training run. I think I did something like an 8 minute negative split:P
---
Report:
Carbo-loaded it up the night before and lined up at the start line feeling ok. I did need to take a pee rather urgently but the lines were far too long, so I just hoped it would cease to be an issue once blood flow was shunted away from my kidneys. The other issue was my calves, which were still feeling strained from the workout on Wednesday. That too I hoped would not prove to be a problem. Surely my Linebreak compression tights would overcome the soreness..;)
As it turned out, the latter issue ruined my race. I set out at 3:35/k according to my plan (I knew I didn't have a chance of holding that, but felt a positive split would be the only option given how trashed my legs were feeling) and immediately felt something was wrong. The effort was just too great and I couldn't maintain it. The 90 minute pacer went past me within 500m, and while I was sure he was going way too fast, it definitely was not a good sign.
For the next five km, I basically watched as the whole field went past me. I was unable to respond, breathing hard at 4:00/k. Not only that, but my quads started to burn after just 2km. It was a really horrible experience, and I started to have awful thoughts that my weight loss regime had resulted in major catabolism of my running muscles.
I felt an overwhelming urge to walk and was really not feeling confident about my ability to finish the race. My quads were getting more and more painful and I'd only gone five km! When I spotted a row of portaloos, I took the opportunity to not only relieve my bladder, but to collect my thoughts and think about what I should do. I could pull out now and just take a tram back down St Kilda road. Something was obviously seriously wrong with me and it might be quite a bad move to keep on running. I didn't want to pull out though. The Melbourne half is a pretty special event for me and I didn't want to break my streak.
There was a drink station right near the loos, and I walked over and grabbed a cup of powerade and drank it down. I immediately felt quite a bit better. Buoyed by that, I decided to walk for a bit and see whether things improved. Thankfully they did, and after the two hour pacer went past me, I started running again and found I was able to maintain 3:35/k comfortably. I had obviously been quite dehydrated, despite having made a conscious effort to super-hydrate the night before.
For about 4k I was able to keep up a pretty decent pace, but my quads were really not happy with my running that fast, and it got so bad that I stopped to walk again at the 11k mark. It was pretty embarrassing really and I wished that I hadn't worn my vegan runners singlet. Not exactly a good advertisement of health when you're walking only halfway in!
I started to run again when the 1:50 pacer came past again and this time tried to take it slow, not accelerating hard like I had last time. I'd had a think about it, and worked out that I'd probably subjected my fast twitch muscle fibres to some pretty heavy damage during the workout on Wednesday with the result that they were unable to be recruited to help out with running at faster paces today. I found that when I gently increased the pace, my quads were not too bad at all, and it was perfectly possible for me to maintain 4:15/k.
Comfort restored and no longer worried that I'd lost a heap of fitness overnight, I really enjoyed the next 8km. It was a beautiful day for running: sunny, but not too hot, and with no wind whatsoever:) A fellow vegan noticed my singlet and we ran together for a bit. He was running the full 42.2k and was still looking very strong with 8k to go, but I fear I did a rotten job as a 3:00 pacer:P I was feeling better and better as the race went on (in complete contrast to how HMs usually go for me!) and I think I was constantly upping the pace without realising it. When I unknowingly dropped him up a hill, I decided it would be better for both of our races to go separately, so wished him good luck and moved off.
The final 5k of the race felt so good. I was passing hundreds of people, running 3:35/k and feeling great. The quads were hurting, but I pushed through it. The MCG was visible in the distance now and I could visualise finishing. It was almost a perfect end to the race, but when two marathon runners came past (I think possibly 2nd and 3rd) with incredible suffering on their faces, breathing like they were on their death beds, it felt only fair to push myself in sympathy and I ran with them for most of the last 2km.
It was a downhill finish, and unfortunately that was the last straw for my quads. With 500m to go, I found myself almost unable to run. It was just too painful and I actually couldn't seem to recruit enough muscle fibres to run at even a gentle pace. My whole body was asking, begging, imploring me to walk, but I wouldn't do it and so half limped, half ran to the entrance to the G before finding that finishing spark that allowed me to sprint that lap on the *************** (cliched phrase regarding the artificial grass in the stadium deleted:P).
I crossed the line in 1:41, just avoiding slipping on the stupidly slippery finishing mat (I don't even understand why it was slippery:S It looked like it was anti slip matting!), legs so sore that I had to hobble crab-like down the finishing ramp.
-----------------
I think it took my dad and I about half an hour to walk the 1.5km back to the car. Cannot believe how destroyed my legs are! I'm glad I finished it though and earned another medal to add to my collection. It hurt, but that will only make me value it more. Plus it was actually quite a decent training run. I think I did something like an 8 minute negative split:P
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Reality check
I did a final sharpening workout yesterday to get some leg turnover and also work out where I was at fitness wise. Unfortunately it was a bit of a let down. I was hoping to last 1500 m at 3:00/k, but after 500 m, tunnel vision was setting in, and I hit stop before I flew off the back of the treadmill. Did another rep and regretted it as my right calf started complaining and rode home feeling disappointed.
I'd kind of been harbouring fantasies of magically being in 1:12 shape, suddenly a far more efficient runner thanks to all the weight I've lost. Apparently it's not that simple. I'm not even sure that I have lost much weight. Lowest I saw was 59.8kg, on the Friday before my 40 hr week. Theoretically based on how many calories I was taking in (around 1500 per day, setting me up for calorie deficits of 3-4000 kcal per day! crazy! Not sure how I maintained it), I should be down to 56kg, but I actually haven't seen the scales dip below 63kg! Does not make sense..
So yeah, I'll give it my best shot on Sunday, but I highly doubt it's going to be a spectacular result and there's a fair chance I'll limp in over 90 minutes. My training just hasn't been optimal for running a quality HM. Not enough volume over the last two months and in the end, that's more important than aerobic fitness.
This has been a rather pessimistic post, but I am really looking forward to summer track and getting some PBs over shorter distances. I've built up a great base, and with exams coming up, intense, short stuff will fit well with my schedule.
I'd kind of been harbouring fantasies of magically being in 1:12 shape, suddenly a far more efficient runner thanks to all the weight I've lost. Apparently it's not that simple. I'm not even sure that I have lost much weight. Lowest I saw was 59.8kg, on the Friday before my 40 hr week. Theoretically based on how many calories I was taking in (around 1500 per day, setting me up for calorie deficits of 3-4000 kcal per day! crazy! Not sure how I maintained it), I should be down to 56kg, but I actually haven't seen the scales dip below 63kg! Does not make sense..
So yeah, I'll give it my best shot on Sunday, but I highly doubt it's going to be a spectacular result and there's a fair chance I'll limp in over 90 minutes. My training just hasn't been optimal for running a quality HM. Not enough volume over the last two months and in the end, that's more important than aerobic fitness.
This has been a rather pessimistic post, but I am really looking forward to summer track and getting some PBs over shorter distances. I've built up a great base, and with exams coming up, intense, short stuff will fit well with my schedule.
Monday, 5 October 2009
Taper time
I had my mid semester break for uni last week and instead of catching up on study like I should've, I took advantage of the Spring weather that arrived on Wednesday and put in a solid 40 hours of training. The road bike got dusted off and I had four really enjoyable 100k rides from Thursday to Sunday. Felt stronger each time and the sun and warmer temperatures had me riding in just a short sleeve jersey for the first time in months. My dad picked up his new Kona Dew Drop (drop bar commuter/tourer) on Saturday, so I introduced him to Beach rd and he gave me a really good workout! I was struggling to catch him as he accelerated out of the lights, absolutely smashing himself, but loving it (at least until he bonked hard with 5k to go:P)! Great to see:)
Running wise I am still doing very little volume and the only run of note was an easy 12k on Saturday. Legs felt extremely heavy at the start, but I did warm up after about 5k and quite enjoyed the rest of the run. Achilles was still bothering me a little bit, but it was nowhere near as bad as the week before, and I'm pretty confident that with a week to rest up, they'll come good.
I think it was a good time to start tapering because I felt very flat today, and while I probably could've put in another six hour day, the intensity would've been a lot lower. After a good five weeks of thirty hour plus weeks, it's definitely time for a recovery period, and hopefully it'll all pay off with a new HM PB on Sunday.
Running wise I am still doing very little volume and the only run of note was an easy 12k on Saturday. Legs felt extremely heavy at the start, but I did warm up after about 5k and quite enjoyed the rest of the run. Achilles was still bothering me a little bit, but it was nowhere near as bad as the week before, and I'm pretty confident that with a week to rest up, they'll come good.
I think it was a good time to start tapering because I felt very flat today, and while I probably could've put in another six hour day, the intensity would've been a lot lower. After a good five weeks of thirty hour plus weeks, it's definitely time for a recovery period, and hopefully it'll all pay off with a new HM PB on Sunday.
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Sept stats
September:
run: 113.54km (4:44/k avg)
ride: 1124 km
cross trainer: 50:14
Total time spent training: 119hrs
YTD:
Run: 2451km (6:14/k avg)
ride: 9892km
xc ski: 491km
cross trainer: 69:50
TOTAL TIME: 942 hrs (3:27/day average)
Sept highlights:
- HM PB (1:19:15) at Aths vic HM
- Plenty of riding
Lowlights:
- Not much running because of an overambitious racing schedule
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Kinda funny comparing it to last year. I'm actually behind on running mileage, and my average pace is slower. Overall training volume is higher though and I'm obviously in much better shape.
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Had another incident on my bike on my way home last night. Very sore thanks to the sore rib and road rash and hadn't eaten enough, so was riding very slowly. These three young bucks took objection to me taking up space on their road (there was plenty of room to pass), so beeped at me and yelled expletives. I stupidly responded in kind and they pulled over in front of me, the driver got out of the car, and threatened to run me over if I didn't get off the road that instant. Punching me in the helmet as a parting gesture, they got back in the car, and comically had to wait for a good 45 seconds until the traffic let them in, giving me plenty of time to memorise their number plate. Very shaken, I rode home on the footpath, and rang the police, basically in tears (I'm a softie, what can I say?) as I told my story. Doubt anything will happen, but if the dents in the car were anything to go off, this testosterone fuelled jerk is an accident/manslaughter waiting to happen.
My policy of hyper-aggression towards abusive motorists is getting thrown on the scrapheap I think..(at least not unless I've got the strength to get away/the skills to follow through..)
run: 113.54km (4:44/k avg)
ride: 1124 km
cross trainer: 50:14
Total time spent training: 119hrs
YTD:
Run: 2451km (6:14/k avg)
ride: 9892km
xc ski: 491km
cross trainer: 69:50
TOTAL TIME: 942 hrs (3:27/day average)
Sept highlights:
- HM PB (1:19:15) at Aths vic HM
- Plenty of riding
Lowlights:
- Not much running because of an overambitious racing schedule
-------
Kinda funny comparing it to last year. I'm actually behind on running mileage, and my average pace is slower. Overall training volume is higher though and I'm obviously in much better shape.
-------
Had another incident on my bike on my way home last night. Very sore thanks to the sore rib and road rash and hadn't eaten enough, so was riding very slowly. These three young bucks took objection to me taking up space on their road (there was plenty of room to pass), so beeped at me and yelled expletives. I stupidly responded in kind and they pulled over in front of me, the driver got out of the car, and threatened to run me over if I didn't get off the road that instant. Punching me in the helmet as a parting gesture, they got back in the car, and comically had to wait for a good 45 seconds until the traffic let them in, giving me plenty of time to memorise their number plate. Very shaken, I rode home on the footpath, and rang the police, basically in tears (I'm a softie, what can I say?) as I told my story. Doubt anything will happen, but if the dents in the car were anything to go off, this testosterone fuelled jerk is an accident/manslaughter waiting to happen.
My policy of hyper-aggression towards abusive motorists is getting thrown on the scrapheap I think..(at least not unless I've got the strength to get away/the skills to follow through..)
Monday, 28 September 2009
Owch
It was raining heavily as I rode in to work this morning, and on the last downhill stretch on the road before I reached the bike path, my back wheel struck something and the bike careened out beneath me. For a few seconds I swayed out of control and then down I went at 30kph. If I hadn't been riding with one unbalanced pannier it probably wouldn't have happened, but on a wet and slippery road, I had no chance. I went sprawling forward, landing on my side, skinning my knee quite spectacularly. Luckily the rain had numbed my legs, so I didn't really feel the pain and was back on the bike immediately, cursing a little and feeling a little shaken up, but not too bad. Focussing on the hot shower and first aid kit that awaited me at work, I managed to ride out the remaining 15k. What concerned me more than the road rash on my hip and knee was a sharp pain on one of my ribs. I think it was only a glancing blow, but it hurts to walk and I'm definitely not going to try to run with it. Breathing is fine though, so I think it'll only be a light bruise that should hopefully clear up by the Melbourne Marathon on 11th Oct.
I'm less worried now about an enforced taper than I was before last Saturday. I hadn't been doing any running because my achilles was still bothering me, but I forced myself out for an 18ker round Jells Park with the Melb Marathon training squad. It was a struggle, but I made it and was very happy with myself for pushing through with depleted energy stores (I'd packed a little bag of dates for that purpose, but left them in the car) and a right hip flexor that was giving me grief. Achilles felt ok though, so that's a relief:)
Plan for the next few days is to just stick to cycling and maybe get on the wind trainer without using the arms. I'll keep up the volume for the rest of the week and then really taper off big time to let the legs recover.
I'm less worried now about an enforced taper than I was before last Saturday. I hadn't been doing any running because my achilles was still bothering me, but I forced myself out for an 18ker round Jells Park with the Melb Marathon training squad. It was a struggle, but I made it and was very happy with myself for pushing through with depleted energy stores (I'd packed a little bag of dates for that purpose, but left them in the car) and a right hip flexor that was giving me grief. Achilles felt ok though, so that's a relief:)
Plan for the next few days is to just stick to cycling and maybe get on the wind trainer without using the arms. I'll keep up the volume for the rest of the week and then really taper off big time to let the legs recover.
Saturday, 19 September 2009
Aths vic tan relays
Legs still aren't recovered properly. So far this week I've only gotten out twice: once on Wednesday to test out my new shoes (more on that later); and this morning's relay race round the Melbourne botanical gardens.
I was feeling very dead legged; unmotivated; and tired before the start of the race, but some stunning performances (three guys around 12 minutes for the 3.827k course!) from my team mates guilted me into having a go at it. When the third leg runner tagged me, I set off feeling surprisingly good. He'd obviously tried to stay with a few guys around him, so I started at the same time as three other runners. Two of them were in Division 1 (the div above us), so trying to stay with them was probably a bit foolhardy, but it meant I got dragged along much faster than I would've managed on my own.
The first 800m felt great. The effort level was so low I couldn't believe it when I looked down at my garmin and saw 3:15/k. Of course that rapidly changed when we hit the Anderson st hill. I tried to keep up, but for once, it was my heart and lungs that couldn't handle the incline rather than my legs. Luckily they hadn't put too much of a gap on me and I was able to catch up really easily as I swooped down the downhill that follows Anderson St. The group of four had split up by then and I let the intensity drop a little as I drafted off one of the Div 1 guys. In a race this short, you have to be hurting the whole time to do well, but I hung back, sure that he'd ramp up the pace soon. With 1.5k to go, we were still only doing 3:35/k and I realised I was going to have to launch off on my own, with no-one around me. I was quite proud with my effort: I really pushed it for the last k; averaging 3:15 and just missing out on beating a Nunawading runner (my club's arch rivals!). Finish time was 13:31, which is probably about a 2 minute PB for me (hadn't run the tan since high school!). Obviously didn't give it everything though because I'd gotten my breath back within fifteen seconds and was soon out on a recovery run with Matt Morris. The guys finishing around 12 minutes could be seen collapsed on the grass afterwards, absolutely spent. Shows I need to learn how to hurt myself!
My legs had felt fine during the race, but 500 m into the cooldown jog, I could feel my achilles and was really wishing I hadn't locked myself into doing another 3.8k lap. By the end, my calves and right hip flexor were hurting as well. Not a good sign.. The Dingley Dozen race tomorrow is definitely out. I'll take a few more days off and then try to do a few really short, slow jogs. I'd really like to do the De Castella 15k run next Sunday, but will only do so if I've managed to do a painfree 8k run before then.
----
Despite the lack of running, my training volume has been high again this week thanks to long periods spent on the wind trainer. I'm really seeing the benefits from this. It's essentially a strength workout for the arms and legs that also gets the HR up pretty high. I only really started using the trainer in the last four weeks, and the difference has been amazing. My 20k commute into work has become about 15 minutes faster! I find that I'm able to push much higher gears and actually get my HR up to a reasonable intensity instead of just spinning along like I used to do.
Not only that, but my upper body strength has improved dramatically. I work as a Kitchen hand on Tuesday mornings and part of my job is to carry a big pot of chai tea from the kitchen about 50m away to the cafe, where I have to empty it into an urn. This used to be a huge struggle for me, and I wasn't actually able to just pour it straight in (instead I'd bail it out using a milk jug:P). The last two weeks though, it's felt light as a feather (definitely the same volume of chai though!) and I've had no difficulties pouring it straight in.
It's great to see strength improvements coming at the same time as I'm cutting down excess fat. My power to weight ratio must be going through the roof:)
----
New shoes:
Two pairs of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 9s. Tried and tested. These will be used in my long runs.
One pair of Zoot Advantages
These zoots looked pretty cool (designed for triathletes, so waterproof; no laces; super easy to slip on) and they were cheap, so I gave em a shot. Haven't run in them yet, but they feel awesome!
One pair of Adidas Adizero Manas. Couldn't get Brooks ST Racers in my size so I settled for these. Unfortunately they aren't really wide enough for my foot. They're probably still ok for runs shorter than 10k, but anything longer than that would almost certainly result in nasty blisters and/or my toe poking a hole in the fabric!
I have way too many shoes at the moment lol. Probably won't actually use any of these ones for a while, but I was getting foot pain recently which is almost certainly traceable back to doing long runs in some racing flats with more than 500k in them. It means I can now almost have a weekly rotation cycle even when doing doubles!
I was feeling very dead legged; unmotivated; and tired before the start of the race, but some stunning performances (three guys around 12 minutes for the 3.827k course!) from my team mates guilted me into having a go at it. When the third leg runner tagged me, I set off feeling surprisingly good. He'd obviously tried to stay with a few guys around him, so I started at the same time as three other runners. Two of them were in Division 1 (the div above us), so trying to stay with them was probably a bit foolhardy, but it meant I got dragged along much faster than I would've managed on my own.
The first 800m felt great. The effort level was so low I couldn't believe it when I looked down at my garmin and saw 3:15/k. Of course that rapidly changed when we hit the Anderson st hill. I tried to keep up, but for once, it was my heart and lungs that couldn't handle the incline rather than my legs. Luckily they hadn't put too much of a gap on me and I was able to catch up really easily as I swooped down the downhill that follows Anderson St. The group of four had split up by then and I let the intensity drop a little as I drafted off one of the Div 1 guys. In a race this short, you have to be hurting the whole time to do well, but I hung back, sure that he'd ramp up the pace soon. With 1.5k to go, we were still only doing 3:35/k and I realised I was going to have to launch off on my own, with no-one around me. I was quite proud with my effort: I really pushed it for the last k; averaging 3:15 and just missing out on beating a Nunawading runner (my club's arch rivals!). Finish time was 13:31, which is probably about a 2 minute PB for me (hadn't run the tan since high school!). Obviously didn't give it everything though because I'd gotten my breath back within fifteen seconds and was soon out on a recovery run with Matt Morris. The guys finishing around 12 minutes could be seen collapsed on the grass afterwards, absolutely spent. Shows I need to learn how to hurt myself!
My legs had felt fine during the race, but 500 m into the cooldown jog, I could feel my achilles and was really wishing I hadn't locked myself into doing another 3.8k lap. By the end, my calves and right hip flexor were hurting as well. Not a good sign.. The Dingley Dozen race tomorrow is definitely out. I'll take a few more days off and then try to do a few really short, slow jogs. I'd really like to do the De Castella 15k run next Sunday, but will only do so if I've managed to do a painfree 8k run before then.
----
Despite the lack of running, my training volume has been high again this week thanks to long periods spent on the wind trainer. I'm really seeing the benefits from this. It's essentially a strength workout for the arms and legs that also gets the HR up pretty high. I only really started using the trainer in the last four weeks, and the difference has been amazing. My 20k commute into work has become about 15 minutes faster! I find that I'm able to push much higher gears and actually get my HR up to a reasonable intensity instead of just spinning along like I used to do.
Not only that, but my upper body strength has improved dramatically. I work as a Kitchen hand on Tuesday mornings and part of my job is to carry a big pot of chai tea from the kitchen about 50m away to the cafe, where I have to empty it into an urn. This used to be a huge struggle for me, and I wasn't actually able to just pour it straight in (instead I'd bail it out using a milk jug:P). The last two weeks though, it's felt light as a feather (definitely the same volume of chai though!) and I've had no difficulties pouring it straight in.
It's great to see strength improvements coming at the same time as I'm cutting down excess fat. My power to weight ratio must be going through the roof:)
----
New shoes:
Two pairs of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 9s. Tried and tested. These will be used in my long runs.
One pair of Zoot Advantages
These zoots looked pretty cool (designed for triathletes, so waterproof; no laces; super easy to slip on) and they were cheap, so I gave em a shot. Haven't run in them yet, but they feel awesome!
One pair of Adidas Adizero Manas. Couldn't get Brooks ST Racers in my size so I settled for these. Unfortunately they aren't really wide enough for my foot. They're probably still ok for runs shorter than 10k, but anything longer than that would almost certainly result in nasty blisters and/or my toe poking a hole in the fabric!
I have way too many shoes at the moment lol. Probably won't actually use any of these ones for a while, but I was getting foot pain recently which is almost certainly traceable back to doing long runs in some racing flats with more than 500k in them. It means I can now almost have a weekly rotation cycle even when doing doubles!
Sunday, 13 September 2009
Owch: SC Yarra Boulevard HM
As I expected I wasn't properly recovered for this race. I could feel my achilles within the first km of my warmup and was therefore expecting to have to pull out of the race halfway through. Fortunately, everything felt ok once I got moving at the start (seems to happen that way quite often - excitement I guess) and I settled into second place. The leader had gone out way too hard (could hear him struggling within 200 m) and although I wasn't actively trying to get in front, I'd passed him soundly within 2 km and was out on my own. The pace (3:35/k) felt good and looking back at the field at the turn around, I was extending my lead. Went through 5k around 18 flat well under PB pace, but I could feel my form deteriorating. Aerobically I was fine, but my legs were really feeling the strain.
I lasted about 11k before the wheels fell off completely. Going up the little hill for the third time, my calves just would not give me any power and it was hurting a lot to push through it. Given that my 10k split was fairly slow (37:45), I decided PBing was out of the question, so it would be better to just jog out the rest of the race rather than push through and really trash my legs.
I actually quite enjoyed the rest of the race, running with a smile on my face even though my muscles were hurting a fair bit. Finished in 1:31:00, including a ~4 minute pit stop at 15k (having a second dinner at an Indian restaurant last night was probably a bad idea:P). Staggered along for another 2k afterwards to make up 25k for the day. Pretty happy with that, it was the longest non stop run I've done in over a year I think! I'm starting to realise that it's quite important to do some distance on roads to prepare my legs for the onslaught of the unforgiving asphalt.
Rode home via Beach rd to stack up 80km of cycling for the day. Seemed to do wonders for my legs and it was quite enjoyable until towards the end when I was running out of fuel.
Resting the legs (from running at least) seems like a good option for the next few days...
I lasted about 11k before the wheels fell off completely. Going up the little hill for the third time, my calves just would not give me any power and it was hurting a lot to push through it. Given that my 10k split was fairly slow (37:45), I decided PBing was out of the question, so it would be better to just jog out the rest of the race rather than push through and really trash my legs.
I actually quite enjoyed the rest of the race, running with a smile on my face even though my muscles were hurting a fair bit. Finished in 1:31:00, including a ~4 minute pit stop at 15k (having a second dinner at an Indian restaurant last night was probably a bad idea:P). Staggered along for another 2k afterwards to make up 25k for the day. Pretty happy with that, it was the longest non stop run I've done in over a year I think! I'm starting to realise that it's quite important to do some distance on roads to prepare my legs for the onslaught of the unforgiving asphalt.
Rode home via Beach rd to stack up 80km of cycling for the day. Seemed to do wonders for my legs and it was quite enjoyable until towards the end when I was running out of fuel.
Resting the legs (from running at least) seems like a good option for the next few days...
Saturday, 12 September 2009
Recovery
I pulled up pretty sore after my efforts at the Burnley Half last Sunday, so have taken it easy this week. Training volume has still been quite high, averaging over 3 hrs per day, but it's all been on the bike or the cross trainer. Only 12k of running so far out of fears for my achilles tendons. What started out as calf soreness turned into an inflamed achilles on Wednesday and I've been desperately icing it and massaging with anti-inflammatory cream over the last few days to try and get it right in time for the Sri Chimnoy half tomorrow morning. It feels allright now, but I'll see how it goes. Hopefully the 15k ride to the start line will get it loosened up.
Weightwise: down to 62kg
Weightwise: down to 62kg
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