Go Hard

A good time out from this race I had big goals. Not only was I looking for a PB, but I was aiming to absolutely smash it. Reality got in the way. Life, work, sleep (lack of) and plenty of other things collectively limited my training time. That isn't an excuse or complaint, but an acceptance of the way things are. As a result I haven't devoted any time to updating this blog. The energy or interest in it hadn't been there. After all, I was struggling to get in the training I needed. Coming into the race I'd refined my goal to still having a crack at breaking my 2:58 PB. Some of training had gone quite well. I felt very comfortable at race pace, my nutrition was well tested and I had honed my sense of pace and efforts very well. What was missing was any extended sessions at race pace or any runs at all beyond 32km. That was a big deficit in the required endurance. Despite the last point I still planned on the sub-2:58 with an all or nothing race plan. Race morn...

Three weeks of training have been covered. A couple of points from my original plan have turned out not to be working for me. First is that I have some significant gaps in my long run. Mainly that it falls apart when I attempt to up the pace beyond anything down at the slow ultra end of the spectrum. No where near the marathon range. Second point is I was trying to cram too many key runs close together. Trying to squeeze in fast 400s, hill reps, a half marathon pace run and a long trail run into one week meant I wasn't performing well in key sessions. Plus it combined to cause some knee trouble requiring a couple of days off running and reducing a weeks volume down to 45km. That won't help if it gets repeated. The solution can be characterised by doing a little bit less a whole lot better .  For the long run I will focus on bringing up the average pace weekly, rather than pushing out extra kilometres beyond 30km. I know I can run further slowly, but I really need to bring up th...

I'll keep this one fairly dry. With the first lot of training already under way, I've noticed I've got some significant gaps to address. Having run a 100km last September and covering a 56km race earlier this month just do not translate anywhere near to the level I wanted. Time for some honest training. I'm aiming to the Traralgon Marathon in mid-June. On the way I'll have a good crack at the Australasian Police & Emergency Services Games in April where I'll race the 5000m, 10km cross country and half marathon in quick succession. I'll throw in a handful of other races along the way. My training will be geared towards developing the speed endurance required to perform well at the Games  with the background of developing marathon specific endurance alongside this preparation. Beyond the games will then become completely directed at the marathon, depending on my strengths and weaknesses as they develop. So the following guidelines will take me into Ap...

It's settled. My goal this year is to run my fastest marathon. After throwing around timeframes and race selection, I've decided to target the Traralgon Marathon in June this year. Given where my current fitness is the timing is tight, but it fits in with other aspects of life. Also, extending the plan out further makes me prone to make some of my more common training mistakes. Training from now will be geared towards the marathon, and this should still allow me to hit my goals at the Australian Police and Emergency Services games along the way. I've just put a few days of good basic running in the diary and am feeling good. A few days off work, beach and camping certainly made that easy. My legs are feeling recovered from Two Bays. Now the challenge is to get the required consistency in mixing it with rotating shift work, family commitments and all the other aspects life throws up. Along the way are plenty of other runners sharing similar goals of running sub-3 hour or fas...

So many people writing posts about New Year Resolutions and goals for the year, it feels almost obligatory to do the same. I like proper, meaningingful statistics based on good research that have a large dose of realism and practicality mixed in. From what I can find it appears that at the 6 month mark, that people are 10 times more likely to stick with a resolution made for the New Year than at any other time. Even so, this better success rate is still somewhere between 14-46% depending on what you read. So the majority fail anyway. The continually regurgitated basics of goal setting apply here. Otherwise, it's a pointless exercise. I'll keep this running related but I think the following caries over to any goals or resolutions. First up there is a difference between setting goals and working towards goals. Put another way you can list a goal, but there's a lot more to it to make it happen. Importantly, a goal has to be measurable and should have a time line attach...

This is a long post. Yet, is probably as short as I can be when explaining how I am putting together my training. My aim is to strive for continual improvement. A system that builds upon current fitness and from race to race. There are a lot of elements common between 10km to ultramarathon and I aim to improve my abilities across this wide range. Of course that will require times of specific focus. I'll just always keep in touch with the other abilities required at the different distances. My race plans at this stage include: Two Bays Trail 28km - January Emergency Services Games - April Surfcoast Century - September There will be a number of races in between. I just haven't worked out which ones yet. To give myself an objective guide the basis of my training will be aimed at working towards a sub-2:45 marathon. Even if I don't race a standard marathon next year it should give me the basis I need to then adjust focus for my other events. For a 2:45 marathon t...

My race plans for the year are far from set in concrete. A number of competing interests and opportunities that may or may not come around means the racing schedule is at best only written in pencil. Already there have been a few revisions. At the moment I will focussing my efforts into the Emergency Services Games (10km Cross Country and Half Marathon) in April. Beyond that I might be heading towards an early marathon, but that is just at the maybe  stage. Later in the year I want to try my hand at a trail 100km race. So all training throughout will keep that in mind. One race which I have changed my mind about a lot is the Maroondah Dam Trail Run 50km . At the end of 2011, it was a definite. Into 2012 I had other plans (a potential holiday) or just that I didn't trust I my conditioning leading in. After a few changes I finally decided to run it. Today I entered. So on 19th February I will trying my hand (or feet) at my first trail ultramarathon. Given my other goals, ...

The change over into a new year is always a good opportunity to take some time to look at where you have come from and where you are heading. 2011 started with a lot of promise with some very good race results and placings. It was clear I could reach higher levels of performance than previously without a huge volume of training. However, it didn't last. I made some training mistakes. The most significant was probably too much running around my anaerobic threshold without any genuine recovery between these hard sessions. The result was some significant overtraining and resultant drop in training volume, intensity and consistency. This led me away from a marathon PR and some injury problems afterwards. On the positive side the year provided a lot of information about how I can and can't train. Comparing this information against the back drop of my previous years of racing and training I should be able to get train much more effectively. So what does the new year bring? I...

I need big goals. I train at my best when working to push my limits. Examples of when I got my training right, worked very and had life on track have always been when working towards significant targets. The main one's that come to mind are: 1st marathon 1st Ironman triathlon 1st sub-3hr marathon There have been others. For my big goals to work, I also need a genuine desire to achieve that goal. It has to be more than just doing something a bit better or faster than before. It has be more than just going somewhat faster. An element of fear has to be there. That fear may simply be the fear of failure, or it can be as big as wondering if I can even complete the race. So far it has always come from initial throw away thoughts that spark a little further interest. At some point I follow up that interest and it develops into almost a need to pursue the next challenge. At the moment triathlon doesn't fuel my passion. Running does. I want to go back and run a faster marath...