Training Log Archive: GM

Lake Gininderra handicap at lunchtime. It was quite windy in the early couple of km, but once onto the dam it calmed down. I tried to focus on keeping my stride a bit longer, and to be strong up any of the rises.

I hadn't run one of these handicaps for 12 mths so I was expecting to better my handicap time, and in the end I was 3:48 quicker, and the last time I ran the lake this fast was 1987.

The only down side was I managed to work up a blister on the bottom of my right foot (wrong socks) which is annoying.

Good warm up, but the blister under my right foot made the warm down a lot shorter and slower.

Run to work. It's warming up - just a cap an no gloves.

RPM class, with MaryMac for half of it until a pain in her knee caused her to pull the plug. Then it was RPM class without MaryMac.

Cockies long run from Hackett with Devil, Sanders, JLA, Hoggster, RobW, Graham, and occasional sightings of MaryMac who did her own thing as usual. Started with Majura up the triple tri track, and for the first time I was able to run the whole way to the top without stopping! Down the road to the pines. Because Hoggster was leading we did a very short bit on the single track then back out onto the fire trail. I did a bit of a surge along here just to break up my slow rhythm. Devil and Graham departed and the rest of us went up over Hackett Hill, then on to the top of Ainslie. The route back was down to tricky track then directly back along the fire trails to the cars.

Breakfast at Wilburs at Hackett shops was good. They have opened up the extra space now which gave us plenty of room to push some tables together. We were joined by Shep, Roy, Al, Max and Mira. Jo was a bit disappointed that they had upped the price of the french toast so it is no longer the sleeper on the menu. I had museli with warm milk plus jagged an extra coffee because the first one they made wasn't extra strong - Acejase would have been proud.

C • proud 3

Metro League at Yarralumla Bays. Not much navigation required so I just ran straight. Hesitated a tiny bit just before 7 because I had drifted right and ended up losing about 20 seconds. Otherwise ok. Jules blasted past me up the slope between 4 and 5 and I passed two others otherwise I didn't really see anyone on my course. I think Julian didn't want a repeat of last week and wanted to make sure Olle didn't beat him this week.

A reasonable warm up, but no warm down.

Body Pump class with MaryMac and about 40 other people - which is more than normal on a Friday. Bumped into LazyDave as we were leaving. He was coming to do some relaxation and yoga after a tough week of relaxing in Vanuatu.

Went for a run at lunchtime and ended up joining RobW, John and Chris B-C for some hilly intervals up on Gossan Hill. The loop is 1km long and we did 4 reps, with about 50 seconds rest between each one for me - the others were much quicker so had more rest. I was pleased with the consistency of the times:

4:27
4:27
4:30
4:31

Good to run with a group too, even if I was just chasing rather than running 'with' them.

Run to work.

Spin class, plus a run to and from gym as a warm-up/warm-down.

A day off so I thought I would take the opportunity for a longer run. From Aranda into Black Mt. Started off heading south to cross the open paddocks at the bottom, then doover-crackenback. From the saddle I headed up and did a lap of circumcision, then continued up and over the top of Black Mt down to the middle car park then another half lap of circumcision. Back down to the saddle then a lap of Little Blackie. Finally along the northern fire trails and back over the GDE to Aranda. It didn't rain, but it was cold and windy so wore long sleeves, hat and gloves and felt comfortable. I tried to be strong up the hills, and up my tempo on the flats. Felt quite strong until near the very end - then started feeling a bit tired. It had been a long time since breakfast.

RPM class. A variation on the usual with a lot more sustained effort and less intervals. Hard but enjoyed the change. Quads are still feeling a bit tired - maybe another week or two according to RobW.

ACT Teams race at Murryong East. I ran with MaryMac on course 1 in the mixed open category. A mass start for everyone with just two courses ... 1A and 1B, which is a bit disappointing because once you work out who is on your split it does encourage following. Having said that it was a lot of fun and racing people head-to-head can be very exciting.

I started off fast and stuffed number 1. I knew I was to the right but Eon was further right and I didn't want to let him out of my sight, but in the end I double checked where I was and headed for the control losing about 30 to 60 seconds. A bit to the right on 3 but relocated quickly but again another 30 seconds. I was with JLA and Graham Fifield heading for 5, and stupidly I saw a control beneath me and just dropped, but quickly realised it was about 100m before our control, but by this time Jo had a lead and was gone. Through to 12 I kept meeting Graham at the controls, but he made a mistake on 12 and I got away. I lost about a minute by over running 16. I should have just gone straight, but drifted across to the track and then didn't cut back in quick enough (running too fast and not navigating enough). Just as I punched 17, the last control, Graham was coming in about 20m behind, so I just sprinted to the finish which started to feel like a long way towards the end.

Top marks to my team mate MaryMac who tried hard and stepped up to run course 1. We were in the mixed open class and Jenny and Geoff looked the goods, but I said to MaryMac I could beat Jenny so she just had to take care of Geoff. When she finished she did say that she hadn't seen him since the start and assumed he was behind her. Unfortunately he was 22 minutes in front. Maybe next time.

It was a fabulous day to be out running in the forest and the event was a lot of fun ... we should have more relay type events, and this format seems to be good.

BL training session at Mt Majura West. Today we were looking at relays and how to concentrate when there are many around you, etc. A short course of 1.5km and 9 controls with splits, and a random start but all within 45 seconds. Bitterly cold out in the wind but quite nice in the trees. Time includes putting out cones and SI units, running around with the squad, and then picking up cones and units.

Metro League race at Mt Majura West. It is a great little area, but I do hate the barbed wire fences. I tried to run with my head up, and fairly straight and with confidence and managed it most of the time. I was a bit off on control 3 it was flat and I was looking for the very shallow dip in the contour to help, but it wasn't there. Also lost 30 seconds on 9 and 11. Miss Jones came through me at 11 so I pulled my finger out and ran hard to try and keep up. Couldn't on running speed, but caught back a bit heading towards the last control and the finish - lucky for me it was a gentle downhill and not up. Finished about 5 secs behind.

About 15 min warm up to stretch my right glute and about 10 min warm down after my course.

Body Pump but no MaryMac for company tonight. Some of the sets were hard tonight with a high number of reps and no breaks.

Felt like a bit of aerobic work after weights so went for a treadmill run and watched the Pan Pac swimming at the same time.

Run from work along Macquarie/Cook bike path then around the base of Aranda Hill, up slug-and-bugger, around the east of Aranda, across the very water logged Aranda playing fields, and back through Emu Ridge. The weather was cool and windy, but there were patches out of the wind which were nice.

I wore my newest pair of runners which looked relatively clean and primarily white, but are now a patchwork of white and brown mud colour.

C • Got to 1

I have had a sore throat and cold the last day so I just did a short run in the drizzle from home before tea. I rugged up so I would stay warm and dry - didn't feel like getting wet tonight.

Lunchtime run from the ABShouse over Gossan, then a loop into Bruce Ridge, and back past Calvary, South Bruce and Emu Ridge. I took it slow and steady at the start but once I had warmed up a bit just ran normally. This is the same run I did with RobW the other week, but with the more relaxed pace today meant I was 4:30 slower.

I toyed with going to RPM with Mary, but legs were still a bit stiff as I walked over to CISAC so I decided a swim was the better idea. As usual I forgot to count laps, but did about 2/3 freestyle and 1/3 breastroke.

C • congratulations 4

Event: Wagga Wagga trail marathon
 

Wagga Trail Marathon. A PB, which was easy because this was my first. The longest I had run before this was the Cockies Christmas run last year, or the Googong half the other week if you want to count a proper race.

The original course is a circumnavigation of Wagga along many parts of the Wiradjuri track, but due to all the recent rain the original course couldn't be used as the trail beside the river was flooded in many places. The organisers decided on Friday to shift the start to the Wagga Boat Club on Lake Albert and make it an out-and-back course. So essentially they took out all the flat bits and made everyone do all the hills twice. At least that is better than running on roads which would be so boring.

I started well and was feeling very comfortable for the first 10km (48:15) but had to keep reminding myself to take it easy. A few km further on I started running with Marcus from Wagga - he is training for the Hawaiian Ironman at the moment but we were going at the same pace so it was nice to run with and talk to someone for a while. He eventually pulled out at 25km and then I was on my own.

The hills weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be, even the climb to the top of Pomingalama wasn't hard, and the views back over Wagga were great. This was a little side excursion to the top of the hill, then back down to rejoin the main trail heading West. This is where I crossed with RobW, but Frogger had passed while I was going to the top and back. I had a rough check of the time at the half way point and I think it was about 1:45 to 1:46, which means I did the second half about 13 minutes slower, but this isn't surprising. Pity, because for a while I was thinking that around 3:30 was possible, but as acejase said "32km is half way"

My calves started getting tight at about 28km so I slowed down a bit to take the strain off. I was still feeling ok passing through the 32km drinks station, but not long after I started to get a few cramps in my left calf. I was then in management mode all the way back to the finish, but only had to walk a couple of times to stretch my legs.

Coming through the drink station at 35km the guy there said "They are just interviewing the winner on the radio". "Great" I thought, but then realised it was probably Grant, and it was, so that made me feel better. For the last km I just tried to relax everything and actually felt quite good - knowing I was about to finish must have helped too.

Grant blitzed the course and the field to win in 2:49 (previous record was 3:03), and RobW was second in just under 3hrs - another excellent effort. I'm not sure of my place, especially with a lot of people running the marathon relay, but hopefully it was somewhere in the low teens. Actually ended up 10th, and 2nd in the M50-59 age group. A long way from 9th though.

I used three gels in the race, taking one each hour, plus a few Gu chews. I grabbed an electrolyte drink about 10 minutes before each hour and ran with the plastic drink sausage in my hand for about 10mins to warm it up a bit - they were very cold. I think the eating/drinking worked well - as did my SPI belt for carrying the gels and chews.


I was a bit stiff and sore as soon as I stopped, but then I walked that out for about 10 minutes, and felt much better. The hot shower at the Boat Club was wonderful too, but the sausage sandwich was awful. Luckily Grant and I stopped at Jugiong on the way back and had afternoon tea with Rob, Al, Max and Mira. The apple and walnut cake was so good, as was the coffee.

Still can't work out why people keep doing these though - they are hard work.

Nice warm up along the shoreline of Lake Albert. No warm down - couldn't face running any more.

C • Great effort Grant 12

C • wow 2

Easy run from home out to the Barton Hwy and back. Tyring out my new SPI belt for carrying gells. After about 10 minutes found a comfy spot for it to sit and didn't think about it after that, which is the main thing.

Easy run with MaryMac from ANU to Haigh Park, then some intervals between the roads. Beautiful day, but there were a few puddles in the grass, and ended up with wet shoes and socks towards the end. Time includes warming up and cooling down. The efforts were fairly random, but around the minute long.

Nice easy run around Spence before tea.

C • I see 3

Run in the dark and drizzle with Devil, Sanders and birthday girl MaryMac. From Aranda across to Black Mt. and a wander around Little Blackie and some of the lower trails to the west of Black Mt. We dropped Mary off at the underpass after about 35 minutes and then did a bit more. So peaceful in the rain, but getting a bit wet towards the end.

My original plan was to go for a swim, but it just didn't feel like swimming weather, so I went and did the lunchtime RPM class. Worked hard.

Followed this up with a quick run on the treadmill to bring up the hour. While I was running I watched the last 15 minutes of the City to Surf. Saw quite a bit of Bruce Graham as he went toe-to-toe with Lara Tamsett ... a cunning way to get maximum TV exposure if you are not one of the first 4, or Mona, or some clown in a Storm Trooper costume.

RPM class - the longer Monday night version. I also did about 20 minutes before the class got going. No MaryMac for company tonight. She was going to pick Robert up from the airport, but could have come in the end because Rob flew Tiger and his flight from Melbourne is 4hrs late! Who would have guessed.

OY event at Mt Marjura East. RobW had set a great middle distance type course. Mainly in the pines but the first 6 controls were up in the casurinas. Lots of controls, changes of direction, leg lengths. Not much time to switch off.

My first big mistake was leaving 7 and glancing at the map and seeing '8' as a long leg so did a quick rough plan and headed off. About 1/3 of the way there I looked at my map and wondered why there was a control circle back behind me. A closer look showed that it was number 8 and the '8' I had seen was actually '18' - I just didn't see the '1'. A quick back track to 8, and then on again probably lost me about 2 minutes, but could have been a lot worse.

A couple of indecisions about whether to cut through the pines which can be quite slow in parts, or run around. The only other bad control was the last where I went a bit too far to the right by not reading the detail carefully.

A nice warm up going up to the start. Thought I should do a bit more running today so went out along the fire trails for about 25 minutes after the race. It is really quite cold in the shade, even in the middle of the day.

Putting out tapes on Farrer Ridge for BL training. We were looking at contouring today, with 4 short courses of 3 controls, each going along a contour - some on steeper slopes, others on more gentle slopes. All the internal fences on the Farrer Ridge area have been removed which makes the orienteering better.

BL training - running around with the squad as they did their skills session.

Metro League at Mt Wanniassa. It was a fund raising event for the JWOC'ers, and the courses were set by Eon before he went overseas. I thought I should support the cause, and also needed a harder run. Enjoyed myself a lot, and tried to push a bit in places, but still not consistently through the whole course. Something to work on.

A short warm up, but no warm down today

Body Pump class with MaryMac.

Run to work ... close to a PB, but the traffic was busy on Gininderra Drive.

Run from work to O'Connor. My original intention was to run to Lucy's for the Wed evening soup run but got caught up at work so rang Mary who kindly picked me up half way - didn't want to run late again.

Wed evening 'soup' run from Lucy's place in Braddon, through Ainslie, then along the base of Mt Ainslie and return. Joined by Devil, Lucy, Richard H, MaryMac and Sanders. I stuck with Mary as promised, and she did really well. The soup was delicious - Jamie Oliver lentil and spinach soup recipe - hot and tasty. And the brownies from the Sanders bakery were very moreish.

C • did you know 4

Lunchtime run with RobW over Gossan, then a loop through Bruce Ridge, and back via Calvary, Sth Bruce, and Emu Ridge. I was worried I would be too slow and was pleased to be able to keep up, but ran a bit faster than if I was alone ... I could still chat so that is a good sign.

Run home from work. I took my light with me today just in case, but it was light enough not to need it. Another sign of spring being on the way.

RPM class. Usual Monday night - longer, fuller, hotter (they forgot to turn on the fans for a while and it was a bit hot and stuffy)

Sunday long run from Hackett with Sanders and Patrick. Both were happy to have a relaxed run since Sanders did the 25km race at the Bush Capital Marathon yesterday, and Patrick has been a bit sick this week.

The weather was windy and cold, but no rain. I was going to just wear a t-shirt and beanie and gloves but when I got out of the car it was on with the thermal top and I was glad I did.

Our route went over the saddle between Hackett Hill and Ainslie and down into Campbell Park, past the gun club and then around the bottom of Ainslie to the concrete path. Up to the top of Ainslie which I did without stopping and this time I managed to chat the whole way - now that's an achievement. Down to the saddle and then around the base of HH on the single track. Patrick headed off home and Sanders and I ran up to the reservoirs and back plus a bit extra at the end to get over the 90 minutes.

Breakfast of museli with fruit and warm milk, plus a really good coffee, at Wilburs at Hackett shops. I felt relaxed at the end. A very enjoyable morning.