On December 6th 2014 I ran Inverloch parkrun in 18:18 to set a new PB. It was my 4th PB in a seven week stretch, which also included two 20 minute pacer runs. The PB progression was 18:40, 18:35, 18:22 and then 18:18.
The following day I ran a 39:03 10 km in very difficult conditions on Phillip Island. I was in form but as Christmas and the new year approached my times went back to the 18:40s and that particular peak in form was over.
At that point in my running I had already run my first competitive half marathons and had made the decision to run the Melbourne marathon in the following October. The holidays marked the point where I started to really lift the distances, dramatically increasing my one hour plus runs.
In March 2015 I put the marathon build up on hold and focussed on getting some speed back. I ran a fast 5000m at the Vic Masters track and field championships in Doncaster (18:26) and then on March 21st, the following Saturday ran an 18:19 at Inverloch parkrun, missing the PB by one second.
The marathon training increased again and the times went out.
On ANZAC day we ran a freedom run at Inverloch parkrun and I was running a bit late, so I only did a small warm up. Early in the run I felt a small pop around the right achilles. I completed the run but on cooling down it really stiffened. I tried to run a Vic Masters 10,000 metres the next Tuesday but had to pull out mid way. I was due to run the Puffing Billy run the next Sunday and ran at a reduced pace. It was a real struggle. I had to cut back the running and slow right down when I started to get back to it.
The strain mended but I ran with stiffness for a long while afterwards. I ran the half marathon at Traralgon in late June and ran the first 15 km in right on 60 minutes, but then faded as I had lost a lot of fitness. That day I had a chat to a local running legend Ian Cornthwaite and made a decision that I would need to get my running to the point where I could run twice in a day. I didn't achieve this until early August when I followed up a 12.5 km run with a 13.4 km run. Both averaged quicker than 5 minute pace.
I ran the marathon in 3:20:58 and followed up with a 61:04 in the City to Sea. The stiffness had gone but so had my pace over 5 km. I couldn't get my times down under 19 minutes. I went from September 26th (2015) until January 16th with no times under 19 minutes - that was fifteen parkruns. It took a long time to recover from the marathon, not helped by the fact that I immediately went into training for the City 2 Sea in Melbourne.
My feature event for 2016 was going to be the City 2 Sea in Sydney. I ran a solid Great Train Race in May and then set myself for a fast 10 km at Traralgon in early June. I spent May really working on some speed. I set myself a three week plan at parkrun, ending the week before Traralgon. The first week I got under 19 minutes with an 18:47. In the second week I ran an 18:38. In the third and final week I went all out. I had a rest day on the Friday and was feeling good on Saturday morning. I went out hard, starting with a 3:30. I ran the rest in the 3:40s with the slowest a 3:45 in the fourth. I gave it everything and ran an 18:19, missing by a mere second for the second time!
The next week I rested on the Saturday and ran a real fast 10 km at Traralgon (38:07), working with Michael Tripodi to help keep the speed up.
I tried to build up speed in August, leading up to the City 2 Sea. Everything went wrong in that campaign. In the end I was quite ill when running in Sydney and was well off my best.
Once I recovered it was back to training for another half marathon at Melbourne. On Melbourne marathon day it was a warm morning with a strong northerly. The run was right on track seven kilometres in until I hot the wind. In the end I lost about five minutes in the final two thirds. After the run, sitting in the stands, I watched a young friend run the 5.7 km and tun in third place. It got me thinking as to why do I like running - the answer was to run FAST. I decided then and there to cut back the distances and pick up the speed.
The Wonthaggi Road Runners had been running intervals on a Monday after work for most of the years. I started working harder on them and was running sets of three runs - Monday morning, Monday after work (intervals) and Tuesday morning. I also put some in on Thursday morning, Thursday after work (Headlampers) and Friday morning. The headlampers was starting to become a problem with the slow group run hurting more than the other runs.
I dropped my average distances down from around 11 km to about 8 km. I pushed my average run speed up past 12.5 km/h (they had been below 12 km/h at times).
For the Road Runners group run (Headlampers) on the Thursday after work I started running extra little bits to the run so that I could get in intervals. I put a lot more interval runs and fartleks into my running program.
In late November I started running double up intervals at the Monday interval session. It involved a 200m interval, a short walk and jog and then a repeat of the interval in reverse. It was a solid session that was followed up the next week.
The other change was to end my shorter 6 km runs with a fast kilometre. I was able to finish a lot of those shorter runs with a kilometre in the 3:50s. One morning I finished with a 3:43.
The speed was back. I ran an 18:33 in late November at Inverloch parkrun - to claim the 50 to 54 years Age record. The next week I ran a solo out front run and got back in 18:42.
In the previous months I had been experimenting with slower starts and trying to run faster later in the runs. I had come to the conclusion that I would need a fast start to get near the record. I was hoping to get close and make an assault at it in late December or in January with the warm air to run through.
On December 10th, 2016, I turned up fresh, having rested on the Friday. I ran the usual 3 km warm up and decided that conditions were pretty good. I had no real expectations and decided that I would just sit on Bill Barry and let him carry me through to a good time - but I did toy with the idea of taking off real fast and having a crack. As it turns out I did both.
As parkrun started Bill took off and I went with him. I was struggling with the breathing in the first 800 m. I dug deep and stayed on Bill's shoulder. I love the hill up to the park. It hurts like hell but I can always find a good push. I pushed up past Bill and then he passed me again up top. Bill led into the turn and my watch signaled a 3:28 for the first - much faster than I had expected.
I stayed on Bill's shoulder - the plan being to try and pass him near the end, but with our speed it was looking more difficult. We ran a 3:34 for the second, ran out over the new bridge, turned and ran back to the start to record a 3:38 for the third. As we approached the bridge turn I actually had the thought that it would be great to slow around it and give my heart a moment to slow. The running was that intense! With three sub 3:40s I was starting to do the sums in my head but the intensity of the run was too much and the thought just disappeared.
On the way back to the final turn I noticed that Bill's breath was really shortening. As we got to the park I surged the hill and took the lead. I lead the final turn to record a 3:39 for the fourth. I pushed out of there to try and lead the way home. I had taken the lead much earlier than I wanted to but it was no longer a race. We were pushing each other to something special. I knew that we were close to PBs but just couldn't get the figures to work in my head. My only thought was "don't slow now" - I didn't want another one second miss.
About half way back I noticed my heart rate was on 182 - a new high. With about 400 m to run I felt the lactic acid build in my legs. When running my pace usually varies quite a bit but the pace graph shows that from this point my pace just went flat. I called Bill through - he had found a little extra - and then just pushed as hard as I could. I crossed the line six seconds behind Bill - he ran a great last section - and asked for my time. 18:06! I had SMASHED the PB! (as had Bill). The fist pump went up and a loud exclamation. 18:06 - I hadn't dream't that I would be getting that low any time soon.
Bill and I have been running together for well over two years now. Sometimes he is fast and others I am. Today we pushed each other. Anyone who tells you that running is an individual sport is just wrong. There is no way either of us would have run that fast without the other pushing. It was a team effort all the way.
