14. Keeping Kids on Track & Run for the Kids

....follows 13. Upping the Distances

Monday March 2nd to Sunday March 8th
I recovered really well from the long run and was out running again on Monday morning.  I went out on a 10 km course and ran 4:1 intervals.It took me 3 km to get down into the 4:30s and from there I maintained a good pace.  I ran 8 intervals with the best two being my 6th and my 8th.  I got to the low 3:20s in the 6th and into sub 3:10s in the 8th.  All up I ran 10.6 km at an average pace of 4:41.

On Monday Heather and I went on the school's Year 7 camp at Phillip Island.  I thought that it would be a good opportunity to run some different roads and I mapped out a run, but then forgot to take it with me.  I was up in the dark on Tuesday morning and set off along Back Beach Road towards the Grand Prix race track.  I turned up Gap Road and then found myself almost all the way back after only 6 km so I turned around and headed along the back road into Cowes.  I got to the top of town and turned back towards the adventure resort along the main road pathway.  After a slow start - along strange roads in the dark - I settled on a good sub 4:40 pace and got a good run in.  A very fast finish saw me average 4:41 pace for the 15 km run, finishing it in 70 minutes.

I was up early again on Wednesday morning.  I had decided that I turned too early on Tuesday so I ran past Gap Rd.  When I got to Pyramid Rock Rd it looked like the right spot to turn but the road looked like a gravel road - in the dark - so i kept running.  I turned up Berry's Beach Rd and ran along to the Ventnor-Rhyll Rd.  I passed the other end of Pyramid Rock Rd and then got back to the main road at the top of town.  At one point I had small wallabies running alongside me along the roadside.  I started more slowly this time but I was down to 4:30 pace for the 6th kilometre and maintained that pace for the rest of the run.  It was another great workout and I ran a total of 17.4 km in 81 minutes (average pace of 4:39).

I was back at home - and very tired - on Wednesday night and decided to sleep in on Thursday morning.  When I went out on Friday morning it looked like there was a drizzle so I decided to run in it and get another run in.  When I got out there it was a bit heavier than a drizzle.  It was too dark to do an interval run so I ran a fartlek instead.  I made 8 efforts, reasonable well spaced out.  My speed got down to the low 3:30s for most and in the 4th and 6th I was around the 3:20 pace.  My 8th effort got down to 3:12 pace.  Given the rain I was keen to get back so I only ran 9 km in just under 40 minutes.  I averaged 4:24 pace.

Saturday morning was parkrun and I forgot my watch this morning so I ran with an old style stop watch.  It threw me off a bit but I did get off to a good start.  I was through the 2 km mark in 7:20 but I slowed from there.  I was front running today and nobody was pushing me.  I ended up getting back in 18:48, a bit slower than usual.

We had family and friends over for Matt's 21st on Saturday night and I had heaps to eat and lots of coke.  I had set myself to run a half marathon and set off from the Guide Park towards West Creek Rd on Sunday morning.  I was running solo and hoping to get under 4:40 pace and stay there.  When I completed the first kilometre in exactly 4:40 I reset my goals and decided to push for 4:30s.  After a 4:26 and a 4:28 I slowed but got back on pace with a hard push up the hill to West Creek road.  I was running well and reasonable comfortably - it didn't feel like that pace at all.  I pushed again on the final hill up to Korumburra Road and put in a 4:09 for the 12th kilometre.  It got a little bit hard as I crossed the Powlett again - and around the sweeping bends with their massive camber - but I got back on time and was able to push strongly into town.  I ran 21.6 km all up in 1:35:07 at an average of 4:24 pace.  The first 10 km were covered in 44:29 and the last 10 km in 43:32 to get a negative split.  After stretching down and getting my breath back I felt pretty good.  I had a bit of a break at home and then put in a 21 km bike ride to cool down.  My plan is to run another, slower, half marathon tomorrow.  Today was my third fastest half marathon at 1:32:49 and it was my fastest in practice.  It was also my third fastest 20 km run.

Monday 9th to Friday 13th March
With Monday being a public holiday I was able to get in another long run and decided to see how I would cope with two half marathons in two days.  I had no plans of trying to get near Sunday's pace and was aiming to keep the pace below 5 minute pace.  I was down below the 4:50s in the third kilometre and stayed there for the rest of the run, dipping into the 4:30s at times.  To keep things moving along I decided to put in an effort at intervals throughout the run, deciding to put in a 90 second effort every 20 minutes.  In all I put in five efforts and got my pace to around 4 minute pace in every effort.  The final effort was in the 21st kilometre and I had the pace up before and after to run the 21st in 4:20.  That wasn't enough to get me under 100 minutes though for the half marathon and I hit 21.2 km in 1:40:12.  In all I ran 22 km in 1:44:06, averaging a very healthy 4:44 pace.  I pulled up from the run very well - no sore spots.  I did ice my quads and, later, went for a cool down in the shallows at the beach.

I slept in on Tuesday and went for a short run after work.  As usual the legs were much heavier after work.  I decided on a fartlek run and put in the first effort in the second kilometre to get my sluggish pace up.  My big effort was in the fourth kilometre, up the sight rise of the eastern rail trail.  I covered that kilometre in 3:47.  At the top I turned for home and put in my third effort down McKenzie street towards the main town roundabout, hitting 3:39 pace at my fastest.  My fourth effort was along Wentworth Road just past the North School and hit similar speed to the previous two.  That was my last big effort but, given the end of the rail trail half marathon on Saturday - up a long hill, I decided to push up the home hill and finished with some good speed.  I averaged 4:24 pace on the 9.1 km run.

After a day off on Wednesday the plan was to only run short distances on Thursday and Friday.  So on Thursday morning I set off on my original 6km course and planned to really push it out.  After warming up in the first kilometre I hit 4 minute pace in the second and really amped up the speed from there.  The rest of the run was in the 3:40s with the third kilometre, at 3:42, the quickest.  I broke all of my course records and completed the 6.8 km in 27:36 - and that included a cooldown of about 800m at the end.

I felt just a little sore following Thursday's run and decided not to push it too hard on Friday.  I set out on a short run and stayed at a comfortable pace throughout.  The first few kilometres were quite slow but I steadily built up the pace as I progressed.  I finished off running in the low 4:30s and completed the 7 km run in 34:09, averaging 4:52 pace.

Keeping Kids on Track - Saturday 14th March
I had entered the Half Marathon in the Keeping Kids on Track run this year, after running the 5km and 10km in the past two years.  Given recent form I had decided to push for my second sub 90 but also being aware that it is a tough course.

The first few kilometres goes off towards Kilcunda west and is very hilly.  Much of the 122 metres of elevation is in this section.  Running speeds were very much up and down but I was setting a good early pace.

When we got back through the start line and onto the main rail trail I was running at sub 4:10 pace.  A young runner passed me and put me into 4th place but he was running at sub 4 minute pace so I decided it would be foolish to follow him.  My pace settled in between 4:10 and 4:15 for the entire distance towards Lower Powlett Road.  Thierry had overtaken me in that section and I decided at the turn around to chase him down.  That led to a 4:04 14th kilometre and I was able to pull up to him and run back into 4th place.

Ryan Wissmer and Magnus Michelsson were out in front, running at just under 3:30 pace.  On the turn I got to see them and Ryan was just running so smoothly.  Magnus looked a lot more fatigued.  They ended up winning the race in 1:12:57 and 1:13:24 respectively.

After the turn around it was quite pleasant, at first, having the breeze in out face to evaporate the sweat.  Unfortunately the closer we got to Kilcunda then the stronger the wind became.  I had pulled away from Thierry but was really struggling to keep on the 4:15 pace I needed.  The last hill was real hard work but I could see that I was still under 90 minute pace and pushed up and over it to the finish.

Bill Barry was running just behind me for the whole race and did a great job.  His times had indicated that he was ready to run a sub 90 and we had decided earlier in the week to both give it a go.  I crossed the finished line in 1:28:30, 47 seconds away from my PB, and Bill posted his own PB by running across the line in 1:29:07.  Thierry can in sixth place at 1:30:09.

This is a hard run with the hills and the fact that it is all on gravel.  My average pace was 4:11 per kilometre and that was very heartening.  My 10 km splits were 41:12 for the first 10 km and 42:30 for the last 10.  My 7 km splits were 28:36, 29:10 and 30:06.  I feel that I have pulled up very well from the run and plan to run fast again tomorrow.  The run has given me the confidence to push towards an 84 minute run at Burnley later in the year.

Vic Masters T&F Championships - 5000m, Sunday March 15th
We were on the road at 8am heading towards Doncaster for the Vic Masters T&F championships.  I was in the 5000m at 11:15am.  We were the third race with the 40 to 44s and the 45 to 49s all running together.  It was always going to be a fast race.

I I ran up the George St hill for my warm-up and stretched at the top before running back down.  My legs were pretty good but I was just a little troubled by a tightness in my left calf.  I kept stretching and jogging and gave both calves a massage.  After we started it was fine so it just needed warming up.

My starting position was 7 wide and I got caught out at the start but moved through the group to take up a place near the front.  The first 200m averaged 18 km/h and, after we crossed the line for the first time - and things settled down, a group of four 40 to 45s had made a break that was growing.  I was leading the 45 to 49s for the first 2 laps and then two of them passed me.  I tried to go with them but the pace was too fast and they created an unsurmountable gap.  My first kilometre was a very fast 3:26 but I couldn't keep it going.

I got to a point where I was on my own for a while and then I was slowly hauled in. My second and third kilometres were 3:43 and 3:44.  At the same time the lead runner was catching both of us to lap us.  He flew past (ran the race in 15 minutes something) and that was the first time I was aware that I had a runner on my tail.  He moved up to pass me but I pushed and he settled in behind me (possibly an error).

He sat on my tail for lap after lap and with 2 to go I pushed harder.  He stayed there.  I was really running hard on the last lap and nearly got a break.  He was still there in the mail straight and moved out and past.  I tried to find more but there was no more.  I pushed to the finish and took 4th place by less than 2 seconds.  My official time was 18:26 with a very fast last kilometre of 3:36.  Late in the race I lapped the last placed runner who ran the race in just over 20 minutes.  The pace was pretty hot.

I averaged 3:39 pace and was very happy with the result.  The weekend shows that I am in a good place.  Next weekend is Run for the Kids - across the Bolte Bridge - so I will have a light week then have a crack at beating 60 minutes next Sunday.

Monday 16th March to Saturday 21st March
After a big weekend I started the new week with a longer slow run to recover.  I covered 12.9 km at an average pace of 5:05, running for 65 minutes.  I dropped below 5 minutes for the 9th, 10th and 11th kilometres and finished with a 4:41.  It was a nice hitout.

I took Tuesday and Wednesday off, my first 2 day break since I started the new school term at the end of January.

On Thursday I set off on the 13 km course.  It was dark when I left so I settled on a fartlek run.  I put in five big efforts over the course of the run but didn't get my speed below 3:40 pace until the last two.  I was a bit rusty in this run and my calves were a bit tight.  When I got home I treated both calves with deep heat before stretching down.  I ended up running 13.4 km in 62 minutes, averaging 4:40 pace.

On Friday morning I set my watch to run/walk at 4 minutes & 1 minute and used the beeps to trial an interval.  I was steady for 4 minutes and fast for one but I departed at one point for a longer fast section along the eastern rail trail.  I ran some nice quick intervals and my pace was quite variable.  I covered 12 km in 55  minutes, averaging 4:37 pace.

Saturday morning was parkrun and I was happy to wait and see how it all played out.  I was keen to try some strategies to try and get my pace more consistent over the course of the run.  We set off and It was me followed by Bill Barry.  I was running quite well and comfortably but Bill just stayed on my tail.  He drove me the whole way and, apart from two slowdowns in the 4th kilometre I was very consistent running; 3:39, 3:40, 3:37, 3:44 and 3:40 kilometres to be only one second behind my PB.  I ran the 5 km in 18:19.

Run for the Kids - Sunday March 22nd
My goal for Run for the Kids was to complete the 15 km in under 60 minutes.  We drove to the city on Saturday and had an afternoon at the footy before going out to the Spaghetti Tree restaurant in the city.  Pasta and pancakes to set me up for the run.

I got down to the Alexander Gardens with plenty of time to spare and got in a good warm up before claiming a place near the front of the blue zone.  There were no hold ups at the start and I was on my way as soon as I crossed the start line.  I thought I may have been passed a bit early on but I found myself holding my own.  We hit the tunnel at 1.17 km, after running starting with a 3:41 kilometre.first up.  The Garmin stopped tracking in the tunnel but the timer kept going.  The tunnel is curved and goes down then up so a bit of distance, about 200m was lost when the satellite straight lined as I emerged from the tunnel.

The stillness of the air in the tunnel was stifling.  By the time the opening appeared I had a strong urge to get out and get some fresh air.  Upon leaving the tunnel I was running at a pretty good pace in the low 3:50s and into the 3:40s.

My pave slowed to about 4 minutes going up the Bolte Bridge but I was running strongly and picked up the pace at the top.  I was running at top pace through Docklands but slowed when we turned into Collins Street to get up the hill.  I found it hard work from there, through Southbank and into the Alexander Gardens but I managed to keep pushing and keep my pace up.  When I hit the 14 km mark I had more than 5 minutes to break the hour for my 15km.  I slowed a little in the 15th and then slowed even more for the last little bit after getting through 15 km.

My Strava time for the 15 km was 58:58 but I would have been a bit quicker than that given the lost distance in the tunnel.  My official time for the 15.4 km was 1 hour exactly and my 10 km split was a massive PB at 38:15.