Long and Slow

It was time to put in a nice long run.
Up till this point my confidence was a bit up and down. Sure it sounds easy, a 500m track, a lap counter and just run for 6 hrs. But I have never done this sort of race before and in most races or runs when you see the finish or see the final markers you get a bit of a lift and finish well.
Anyway it will be a good experience and I will learn a lot from this event.
Last night was the test and although on the night it will be fairly flat I chose lots of hills and a time rather than a distance. 3 and a half hours. I started very slow and just tried to stay slow. The flats and down hills were fine but the hills were hard to get comfortable. At 3 hours I ran out of aid/water and gels so I just pushed myself the last half hour through the thirst and stayed on flat road. It worked out perfectly as I hit 3.5 hours I was only about 50 meters from a servo and a k from home. I filled my bottles and walked home for a warm down. Expecting sore legs this morning but all is well and apart from being tied ( lack of sleep) I am still alive and feeling good about my efforts.
A couple of quick short runs on the weekend should round out the week and then drop the k's back a bit next week.
Take care

Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi !

Aussie day long weekend was great. A bit of time relaxing and enjoying the Gold Coast as well as some quick early morning runs around Burleigh was what the Doctor ordered.
Back to the grind now and last night I ventured out for a short easy run to break in the new shoes ( Kayano's No15). A very easy 16k with a few short bursts up hills just to build the confidence. I have organised my lap scorer for the 6hr and payed my fee's so all that is left to do is get my gear together and set out a race plan. I will be fighting back going strong early so I might have to blindfold myself. Ha, I will go easy and because this is my first timed event, it will a learning curve to gain experience and bug a few runners for info on their training and routines. I think fun is the key word and I will enjoy this run. I am not setting any goals but the aim is to do the full time and enjoy. Tonight a quick sprint for 3k then rest.
Thursday night will be 30+.
Take care.

Hilly half with easyhalf

It has been a while since I ran the hills of Mt Cotton.
Back when I trained for the BrizVegas Marathon I would do Mt Cotton as my long run and take it very easy and make sure I ran all the hills. Always leaving early in the morning and running most of the roads in the morning light. But in my infinite wisdom decided to head out and tackle the hills in the night. 50% of the roads on the way out and back are lit up but the middle half has no light what so ever. The roads are narrow and bush close to the sides of the road. Every time a car or as in the case of last night 4x4 loaded with spotties came along the road I was blinded and trying to find a safe spot to run. The edge of the road was uneven and not being able to see did not help. My plan was to do 25+k but it was really hot on the way out and the way I sweat it would not take long to run out of water. I really enjoyed the run and although the pace was a bit slow I was comfortable and forgot about all those hills that just keep on coming. Just when you think "oh yeah this is the last hill, nearly there" another 2 or 3 would appear. Apart from the noises in the bushes, the horse that scared the cr#p out of me, roadkill smells, spiderwebs and 4x4 spotties it was just another hilly run.
All up 22.5k at 5:35 pace.
Take care

Pizza mmmm........

A couple of nice early morning runs on the weekend but what I wanted to do was get out to the Brrc 14k and socialize. It was not to be as I had to prepare food for the masses coming over for lunch. I enjoy cooking because I get to eat what I want. Selfish or just plain hungry ?. Anyway a nice run last night out to Pizza Capers out at Cleveland mmmmmmm............. pizza and home to plain old food stuff in a bowl. I pushed on the way out and took it easy home. The first 11k at 5 min/k and ? on the way home. All up 22k in 1 hr 52 min. Nice.
A night of lots of close calls with cars and 5 beeps and 2 waves and someone yelling something !?!.


Thanks to Tesso for the Elvis Birthday Song. Ha that put a smile on my face.
Take care

20k to a good sleep

A couple of days off was all I needed to recover from my mid life crisis (birthday). Ha.
I have never eaten so much over the last couple of days and I thought I might struggle to get back on the road. The plan was 20k but nice and easy. Well that was the plan. The first 3k were 4:30 min/k and I was going well but at about 5k I had to pull back a bit and get into a steady pace. I turned around at 10k in 55 mins and finished the 20k in 1 hr 50 min. So it was nice and even. Tonight rest then a couple of 10-12k fast on the weekend.
Take care

B'day come and gone.

Yesterday was my birthday.
The night before my birthday I decided to do a long run. I was not sure how far I would run but I knew it was going to be at least 21k. Getting older doesn't seem to bother me much but the injuries and niggles become more frequent as you get older. The recovery time seems to stretch out a bit and getting back to normal takes effort.
I loaded up my fuel belt with goodies and set off out to Cleveland. A couple of loops around the main business area and headed for home. A little detour on the way home out to Point O Halloran passing a small party in full swing. Then finish up with a run along the water and head for home. The pace was nice and easy, not once did I even try to push or put in a few strides. The last k was so nice and I felt really good.
All up 25k at 5:40pace.
And yesterday I ate and rested.
Take care.

Weekends !

Sleep, that's what I need. A couple of late nights and early morning runs put a big dint into my sleep. The old battery's need recharging and my body is telling me to go into a dark corner of any room and sleep. I wanted to do an off road track on the weekend but it never happened so I only managed a few short quick runs. 10k &12k. Both under 5 min k's. Tonight a long run then a rest day, well it will be my B'day on Tuesday and a rest, eat and sleep is in order.
Take care zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz................

Food

The plan was to run on Tuesday night but an offer of good food put a halt to that. That would have to be one of my many vices, good food, good wine and great company.
With a tummy full of food there was no way any run was going to happen.
So I planned another 20k. If I eat well during the day I have good energy for the run at night but yesterday I did not eat much (too busy) and I felt it on my way home.
The first 10k were nice and I was going at an easy pace ( 5:15) but the last hill at 5k slowed me down a bit and I stopped to fill my water supplies at 3k to go. The last k really hurt in the way that my legs felt good, my lungs were fine but my energy was gone.
All up 20k at 5:25 pace.
Tonight 15k easy out with a push for home.
Take care.

Easy half !

Back at work yesterday and it was like I had never had a holiday. The madness just didn't stop.
So when I got home all I wanted to do was get out and clear the mind.
For some strange reason I had my mind set on doing 21.1k and boy was it nice. With my fuel belt loaded up with fluid and my new socks on ( Chrissy present) I was ready for at least 20k.
Starting really easy and trying to keep balanced the first 4k was a struggle but by the time I hit 8k I was feeling good. I turned at 11k and headed home still feeling good. It was not till I hit 3k to go when a niggle started and my left leg started to get heavy. 1 k to go, I drank the last remaining fluids I had and picked up the pace to finish strong.
All up 22k in 1 hr 55 min. Nothing flash but a nice run that lifted my confidence a little.
Tonight 15k.
Take care.

Back on Track.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!
The holidays are over and it's time to get back on track.
I have been a bit slack with the blog lately, even though the running hasn't stopped my time has been spent relaxing, fishing and socializing. Most of my run's have been easy 15-18k early in the mornings but now I am back at work and the night running starts again tonight.
My most exciting run was new years morning. I knew that people would still be partying or on their way home from a hard night. I chose to run the main road for this reason and was not disappointed. Not 1k from home was a group of 4 guy's and a couple of young girls. The guy's were throwing punches at each other and the girls screaming at them. They did not even bat an eyelid as I ran past them. Another k up the road was 2 guy's doing the same and although their punching ability was alot to be desired it did not stop them trying. I ran close to them and yelled out "Happy New year". This worked out well as they diverted their anger from each other to me and started to yell abuse. It never surprises me when people get angry they seem to combine all sorts of swear words together and make a sentence out of it. Another k or so up the road was two couples having domestics.
Anyway it was a nice way to start the year.
Take care.