Training Log Archive: Craig

Thought I should try to get in a longer run today since I didn't run yesterday and I'm just doing the H4 tomorrow. Didn't actually have a plan but I felt like keeping it flat to begin with so headed for the river. Felt reasonably from the start and got rolling pretty well so just tried to keep it going. Thought about going around the bridges but thought it would be too far so decided I should turn at 45 minutes and just do an out and back. Saw the front runner mob doing a tempo near the Narrows and then lifted the tempo a bit myself when another runner passed me at Elizabeth Quay. I didn't reach 45 minutes until after crossing the causeway so it was too tempting to do the loop coming back on the South side. My legs were starting to feel it a bit by that stage but there was a nice gentle tailwind so the pace lifted a little more. By now I was starting to treat it as a half marathon race effort. Heading back to the Narrows I made a plan to back off a little crossing the bridge and then push harder for a couple of km from the Narrows to the boathouse just to see how it felt. Definitely having to concentrate harder to keep the faster pace but could have sustained it a bit longer if I really wanted to. Distance was just under 21km when I got home so I kept going to the end of the street to make it a half marathon.
French toast served up just after walking in the door was very much appreciated.

C • H4 8

Hit with Liam. After my run this morning I suggested that he should find someone else to hit with but he didn't. Didn't feel too sore but I wasn't moving my feet very well from the start and really ran out of steam after about half an hour.

Zamia trail tempo while Liam had a tennis lesson. Felt reasonably fresh on the warm up but didn't feel as though I was really moving freely so went for a longer flatter route up to the start. Still didn't feel as though I was really moving freely on the downhill first half but felt quite strong and controlled coming back up the hills and ended up a bit faster than last time overall. Stuck to a short slow warm down this time since my Achilles flared up the last time I did this loop hard and ran quite fast on the warm down.

Night ride with Matt. Similar to last week with a little extension out to Maylands and back. Matt initially suggested heading out to Leach and Tonkin but thought better of it once out there. A bit nippy out this week but at least it was dry and calm.

Steady lap of KP with Rachel. Generally felt reasonably good but struggled to keep up with Rachel on the downhills.

H2 at Jorgensen Park.
There was quite a good field entered for this so I tried to push it quite hard thinking it could be a tight race but Ricky and Hadrien didn't end up getting to run due to the dead body found near number 4.
I was second starter I think and caught Robert Graieg at number 2 so was having to switch controls on from there. Several of them beeped strangely when switching on, similar to when Sten failed to register at one in front of me at the relays at John Forrest, so I punched most of them twice. Two of them registered as extra punches which messed up the splits a bit but I think I punched twice at more than two.
I had an ok run with my biggest issue being distracted coming into 17 when I stopped to tell Amy where she was when I would have been checking my final approach to the control and then dodging a family of 4 coming up the track I was going down right at the point I should have been leaving it if I had known what I was doing. Probably lost 35-40 seconds all up so still would have been struggling to beat Mitchell Crook's time for that leg.

Got back to find that Robert Graieg had found a dead body just above control 4 just a few minutes after I must have run right past it. Liam had started just after me so would have come through just a couple of minutes later. He didn't notice the body either but did see Robert there using his phone for what must have been his initial call to the police. Very glad that it was Robert who found the body and not either of us.

Finished about 15 minutes clear of Aldo who was mostly quite close to me but lost 5 minutes each on 8 and 11.

C • Body 1

H2 - Splits