Go Hard

Another longish drive out to Ballarat for another go at the Victorian Police and Emergency Services Games Half Marathon. As usual I found amusement in watching the temperature gauge in the car drop the further I got from home and the closer I got to the race. As an added bonus the wind was a strong and icy southerly. A little extra cold just for fun. I wore gloves for this one. The half marathon is an initial 3.1km out-and-back kind of loop followed by three full laps of 6km around Lake Wendouree on the Steve Moneghetti Track. This is dead flat, has a bit of bitumen, but is mostly loose gravel. Looks quick on paper, but the gravel tends to suck just a little bit out of each toe off. It is a simple course and I quite enjoy it. This year the wind was up and looked like it was going to play a role. At the start I only spotted one person I knew to be worried about, Clarkey. We've gone back and forth against each over the years. He commented that there's always someone extra fas...

That time of year has come around again. Time for the Victorian Emergency Services Games . A chance to mix it up with the other services (because we can be a weird bunch), forget about work, have some fun, friendly and if wanted, some fierce competition. First event for me was the 10km cross country. My fitness seemed reasonable going in. Originally I had planned to train through the race, but the week turned out to be an inadvertent taper. A lot of training was missed for a few reasons. The main one being sleep. Fifteen and fourteen hour back to back nights took their toll on me this time. So I turned up expecting to feel pretty fresh. Instead my legs felt quite flat and heavy, at least until the gun sounded. Then my legs just kicked straight into race mode. There were some course changes this year. More country and less bike path, some extra hill and a bit less flat. I liked the difference. The field had plenty of new faces and missing some of the regulars so I had no idea ho...

If there is one thing the town of Ballarat does a lot, it is be cold . This year was no exception. The good news is tradition continued and the wet stuff didn't fall from the sky during the race. Icy wind was really the only weather issue to contend with. Not too bad for racing. With popularity increasing the field was up to 47. This included some extra quality up front including the current record holder. Some new blood and some regular rivals. Should be fun. Last week's cross country confirmed my weak points in racing. In particular that was my top end specific endurance. Anything above the so-called anaerobic threshold I struggled to hold for any reasonable time frame. The intensity level of the half marathon should suit me better than a 10km. Of course, if I went out too hard or surged, that was going to be costly. In almost every year at this race I have gone out pretty hard. This time I hoped to change that. Lake Wendouree hosts the 6km Steve Moneghetti Track . A ve...

The Victorian Police and Emergency Services Games is back on. As has become my usual I've entered both the 10km cross country and the Half Marathon. These events are a week apart. First up was the cross country. My expectations weren't as high this year. I haven't been able to get in the type of training that has helped me achieve some pretty good results in previous years. I still didn't want to miss it. Some good rivalries has developed over time, and I might be lucky and pull out a break through performance. The course is two laps that are each billed as 5km, but being the same as previous years the consensus is its long. My GPS gave my 10.7km for the full race, but I will accept its about 500-600m long. Not an issue being cross country, but it helps knowing this when comparing times. I like the setup. Starting with an uphill grassed section, then some downhill, with a couple of turn going from grass, to dirt road and finally onto a paved bike track. The ground t...

I have absolutely enjoyed the Australasian Police and Emergency Services Games. Most years I get to compete in the state version, this year adds in competitors from around Australia and neighbouring countries and has created a new level. The level of competition stretches across all the sports from complete beginners to elite and everything in between. I've had the luxury to enjoy a lot of the track and field both as a competitor in the 5000m and as a spectator for the other events. The great culture amongst emergency service workers appears to be universal and delivers a friendly, but intense rivalry and competition. My second and last event at these games was the half marathon. It was the race I was really aiming for. Not to take away from the 5000m, but my heart definitely was for the 21.1km. I do tend to favour the longer stuff. Plus with less than two months to my next marathon I probably need to be better at the longer event. Conditions were great. A cool...

With all my years of running, I would I don't have much experience on the track, and 5000m definitely hasn't ever been a feature. At the end of last year I was struggling to find any sort of speed in my legs. To find the improvements I wanted, the 5000m was the perfect event to put me out of my comfort zone. From all around Australia and from New Zealand, across the various emergency services 33 lined up on the blue at Lakeside Stadium . In my Ambulance Victoria colours I felt as ready as I could be. There was clearly a vast range of abilities and it was too hard to tell pre-race who would be at the pointy end. I was happy to see fellow ambo and semi-regular rival Mark Clarence in the mix. We all crowded the start line, but once the gun sounded the spaces opened up immediately. Looks like my recent training had dialled in the pace and I moved through the first 1000m right on 3:36 as planned. This was my opening bench mark, setting up a reasonable first kilometre and allowin...

Leading into the Australasian Police & Emergency Services Games, I was a little conflicted with how to lead in. I want to race at my best, but I know if I went in with a full taper then my preparation for the marathon to follow would suffer. Not because of any lost training sessions, more so because if I hit a true peak in performance, then there is very likely a slump to follow. So I took an approach that hopefully still has me performing well without carrying undue fatigue through my races and still has me improving in the weeks afterwards. As usual, what went on paper ended up a bit different when it came to putting the runners on. This is what the previous two weeks of training has looked like: Sat: 4x2km at 10km pace, with 400m jog recovery. Total 17km. Sun: Easy 18km. Mon: An attempted interval session, but realised I was getting sick (thanks to a sharing family), realised it wasn't going to happen. So ended up taking it easy for 12km. Tue:  Easy 11km Wed: Fe...

Out of the four races, this is the main one I've had my eyes on. A half marathon in around the Steve Moneghetti Track, Lake Wendouree . The course dead flat, a mixture of gravel and bitumen path. Starting with a 3.1km out and back, then 3x6km laps around the lake. No where to hide on this one. A liquid breakfast, and coffee on the way for the 1.5 hour drive. For the first time the weather was brilliant, brisk morning, little wind and great sunshine. Some rubbish talk and a relaxed warm up I was feeling pretty good. The original plan was to be in 1:22:00 shape, and of course hopefully faster. Time for execution. Plenty of space up front from the starter's gun. I was in 3rd with the winner of last weekend's 10km cross country striding out ahead and fellow ambo, Adrian splitting the difference for 2nd. I wanted to keep the leader roughly in sight over the first few kilometres in the hope it could somehow keep me in contention. That didn't last as long as I wanted, ...

With four races in five weeks there is the enjoyable challenge of trying to find a way to improve from race to race. Having one week between the 10km cross country and the half marathon, doesn't leave much opportunity for a big session if I want fresh legs on race day. So what's the approach? Sunday : Race, 10km Cross Country Monday: Relaxed 14km over some of the more technical trails in Plenty Gorge. Keeping the intensity down, should help move the blood and lymph through the legs, but the difficulty of terrain should provide a technique challenge and stimulus for the smaller, intrinsic muscles used on more difficult trail that will come into play at Marysville and the Great Train Race in following weeks. Tuesday: Easy 14km, but reasonably quick run back into different trails in Plenty Gorge. The legs were showing a fair bit of soreness carried over from the cross country, but they were flicking over nicely over the rocky ups and downs. Again general condition and techniqu...

Finally the tests start. Race number one of four over the next five weeks. First up, a 10km cross country. It is one of the many events of the Victoria Police & Emergency Services Games . Last year I was lucky enough to take the outright win, and this time I felt like I was in similar, if not better form. Of course who turns up on the day has a lot to do with placings. Whatever the case this time I was in the mindset for a top effort. Weather conditions were perfect, sunny and warm. The course had some minor changes again this year. Looks like a bit of extra distance was added again. Consensus after the race seems there was an extra 600m or so for the 10km, or 300m for each of the two 5km laps. Even allowing for the issues with GPS accuracy, I've since compared last year's map with this year and it is longer. Not meant to be easy, and I prefer a course that is too long than too short. The run starts with a decent uphill over grass, recently mowed this year, so not too s...

Into the final few days before the first of a series of races means there isn't much training I can do to add to my fitness. Call it tapering, peaking or whatever, the focus is now on ensuring I am recovered from training, have skills, efficiency, mental state and tactics to make the most of the fitness I have built. Seems like the ideal time to go over my recent preparation. The outline for the training plan was: My version of week is 8 days 2 key runs: 1 long 1 intervals around race pace Long run alternates between 3 hour on trails, with 23-25km at set speed faster each time Intervals progress with distance of fast pace, then increase recovery pace Hill repeats are included Near weekly hill sprints or drills for speed and technique All other runs vary between recovery to easy but moderate volume efforts Recovery is important Being able to perform the key sessions at required standard is paramount The details can be read in: It Goes A Little Something Like Thi...

About eight weeks (8 day version) is what I have to get up to standard. Two months is another way of looking at it. What's involved? Of course I need to clarify exactly what I'm training for. First up is the 10km Cross Country. A course that is a mixture of mainly flat bike path plus a couple of hills, with some thick and slow going grass. I feel the course runs nearly 2 minutes slow. Here I need to be in 37 minute 10km form (38-39min on this course). To do that I require a mix of fast flat speed and good strength. The cross country is backed up a week later with the half marathon. An absolutely flat circuit around Lake Wendouree. Based on previous years I need to be around 1:22 shape to be with a chance of top spot. I'm setting my sights on cracking the race's overall best time of 1:19:59. Then it's two weeks before the M2M. Here I have 19km of very steep, hilly dirt and fire trail for leg one. Then maybe under 3 hours later the relay comes back to me for a fai...

A more relaxed morning this year, having stayed the night in Ballarat instead of driving up in the early hours. An option that's much friendlier on the wife and kids. My liquid pre-race mix, a coffee and a bit of extra water down the hatch and I had plenty of time to spare with the kids. Eventually the clock wound down and we got ourselves to the race start. The conditions were pleasant, no where near as cold as last year. A simple warm up and I felt ready. The Plan Wanting to continue the trend from last week's cross country, I was again looking for the outright win. Still it is 21.1km, plenty of time for plans to go right, wrong and change. My approach this year was to have a base plan coupled with a few options that I could choose from depending on how the race unfolded. Taking from last year's mainly successful effort, I started with a pure time trial approach.  The thinking being, that for the most part, the fastest time wins, and usually the way to the fastest ...

One week between the 10km cross country and the half marathon. To get the peak right, this is where experience and the art of training really comes into play. There just isn't enough science to give definitive guidelines here. That leaves me working from a subjective base. This is not a typical training week. I have built all the fitness I can. Instead, the training and resting is only about being able to get the most out of myself for a top half marathon on Sunday. Rest hard, recover and spike the system to prevent a loss of form and grease the groove to feel natural on race day. Sounds almost like a near meaningless mission statement. Time for what really happened. The 10km cross country, was run within my abilities. Even with a fast surge for a bit over 1km, I didn't overly extend myself. That combined with a mixture of gravel and grass for half the course, meant my legs weren't too beaten up. I pulled up with just some moderate tightness and no injury concerns. So ...

Now that it's here, it feels like I haven't spent much time training. That might be because my body seems so rested after the taper. Haven't felt like that for a while. Awake a little earlier than planned thanks to an enthusiastic 3 year old. A relatively warm morning suggests the race will be great conditions. My wife is also racing the 5km version too. First time we've competed in something at the same time. Should be fun. The 10km is a two lap course. A significant hill on each lap but about 3/4'ers being mainly flat. Despite having worked hard to improve my hill running, I'm under no illusion that it is my strength. That is still the down hill and false flats. That said, hopefully the uphill won't be an area I lose position or time. My plan for the race was to go for the overall win. I haven't achieved that yet, but have always been at least in the top 5. To achieve this the aim of the first lap was to just keep myself right up at the pointy en...

The final week before the Emergency Services Games. No more killer sessions. The hard work in training has been done. No hard runs will add to my fitness now. Instead this week is about ensuring I am recovered enough from the previous weeks of training and making sure I am primed to run fast on race day. The taper is a mixture of art and science. This is what mine looks like. My taper is seven days. Sunday to Saturday inclusive, with my first race, the 10km cross country being the following day. The half marathon will be exactly one week later. Getting out of bed on the first day was painful. The accumulated stress of the 5 weeks of training had come to a head. The 10 hill repeats up the 245 the previous day certainly added to that. My usual tibialis posterior difficulties were showing up. Adding to this my left leg and foot had some new flare ups. The tibialis anterior was fairly tender, but my worry was the pain across the top of my foot. The extensor tendons were sore, there was...