|
2013:
2013 Blog
2012:
2012 Blog
2011:
2011 Blog (Oct - Dec)
2011 Blog (Jul - Sep)
2011 Blog (Apr - Jun)
2011 Blog (Jan - Mar)
2010:
2010 Blog
You get out what you put in.
- Unknown.
|
Weekly Training Blog - Updated Sunday reflecting the week ending Saturday:
Sunday 26 December 2010 - Merry Christmas to everyone. We had a great day here at home with family yesterday. Roast pork, ham, fresh carrots, beans and zucchini from the garden, all the bread and trimmings and a 'real' plum pudding with brandy custard for dessert. Plus of course chocolate, lollies, cheeses, dips and you name it through the day!
During the week I trained well. I felt a bit like a science experiment though as all my running was done in consistent pace sessions, in lane one of the Athletics track. I have 310 individual laps of data as proof.
Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (yes Christmas day) I did 40 x 400m laps at 2:04 per lap (5:10pace). This was the 'datum' if you like from which we then gathered benchmark data for the other sessions at closer to, and eventually over LT. These session were Monday 50 laps (20km) at 1:56 per lap (4:50pace), Wednesday 50 laps at 1:53 (4:43pace) and Friday 50 laps at 1:50 (4:35pace).
After each of these sessions I hit the Abs for 20 minutes and then within an hour of that (apart from Christmas day) went and cycled 20km around the velodrome (more laps) at 27.2k/h (11 minutes per 10 laps) to relax the legs.
All in all I'm very happy with where the fitness is at post C2K. I needed to test my LT this week – which happened Friday when although my HR wasn't especially high I was unable to complete the 50 fast laps – in order to determine if I should go to Launceston 12 hour or not. And if so, to help me determine what sort of pace I should start at and what sort of distance I might be able to achieve.
Anyway, considering this week of training started just 7 days after C2K I'm pretty happy that I've been able to get through 120km of running and 140km of cycling injury free and feeling pretty good.
Next week will be a shorter distance week, but with faster sessions both of running and on the bike. Right now Launceston is looking like a 'go'.
Sunday 19 December 2010 - My Coast to Kosciusko race report is available on the live feed page.
As can be imagined I took it pretty easy this week. The Sunday breakfast after C2K was very special to me and I enjoyed the bacon, eggs, beans and tomatoes. Even enjoyed the long drive home with Ken and Justin, having earlier left Sabina in Jindabyne who was meeting her family there later in the day for a few extra days of R&R.
Monday I also took it easy with just a bit of walking and some light stretching. I had serious DOMS Monday and Tuesday and a swollen left ankle plus a bit of a stiff neck. By Wednesday all these niggles seemed to be ironing themselves out so Justin and I went out for 65km cycle at fairly solid pace. I had no worried getting through this and so Thursday went out for a 5km jog at 5:30pace. Definite pressure in the left ankle and calf, but it didn't feel like an injury and didn't intensify during the run.
I've suffered from the flu pretty much all week which hasn't helped, but even through this I managed 10 laps of the aths track (400m) at 4:50pace (1:56per lap) on Friday. Cardio didn't appreciate this but it convinced me that I'm not injured at least.
More cycling Saturday and 10.5km around the aths track at 5:00pace. Still suffering the flu but it's also nearly gone. Muscle systems feel like they're repairing well and while I still need a few weeks to iron everything out properly I'm ready to get back into proper training. This next week I'll up the km and the pace if I can to see where i'm at LT wise and consider getting to the line at Launceston in 4 weeks.
Merry Christmas to everyone.
Sunday 12 December 2010 - What an awesome, inspiring and satisfying week.
Between Sunday and Thursday I had only run 27km in my final taper for C2K, but certainly made up for the lack of training kilometres on Friday and Saturday!
This weekend I completed "C2K" (Coast to Kosciusko), a 240km run from sea level (coast near Eden NSW) to the highest point in Australia, Mount Kosciuszko, 2224m above sea level. I managed this in 32:14:28, setting a new ladies record for the event. Although I was confident I could run 240km, I was a bit nervous about the hill climbs. My preparation was less than ideal due the small injury I sustained about 10 weeks earlier. This injury reduced the amount of hill training I was able to do prior to C2K and as such I was not certain that I had the muscle strength to do the job. I had also cut out all 'normal' strength and abs work during the recovery so I felt underdone.
5:30am Friday I started the race along with 38 other runners. During the next 32 and a bit hours I ran, walked and trudged over the hills to the summit of Mount Kosciusko and back to Charlottes Pass fighting gale force head winds (40 – 75km/hr) and with the help of my awesome support crew managed to break the ladies record by a little over 15 minutes. Ken Self, our endurance cycling friend generally looked after the data management, Sabina our new running friend and burgeoining ultra-runner herself (who we only met for the first time on Thursday afternoon) looked after all my food preparation and kept the car organised and Justin of course worked on the strategy and kept an eye on me. All three of these beautiful people ran and walked with me when I needed it and were never short of encouragement. Thank-you so much, and what an event hey!
This morning successful first time C2K runners each received an akubra hat as a trophy and each runner was given a specialised hat pin and warm words from the event orgamisers. It is a race filled with passion and committment and every athlete has their own story and reason for being there. I felt priveledged to be a part of it all for 2010. C2K is fast becoming one of those iconic, must do challenges for distance runners and fair enough. It has a bit of everything and is a true test of character.
I will follow up this brief entry with a full run report once I have been able to get some sleep and taken the time to absorb the weekend. In the meantime you can follow my race on the live updates page at Coast to Kosciusko
I'm tired right now of course, but apart from a swollen left ankle I think I'm in pretty good shape. Will hopefully get out for a 'test' run as early as tomorrow afternoon and certainly not later that Wednesday. I also plan to cram in a lot of easy cycling this week.
Sunday 5 December 2010 - A very busy week, but not so much training. The joys of the taper. I do feel a bit tired because I've been working hard, and because it's been hot and humid. At least more so than we're used to of late.
Running this week amounted to just 48km, and although this feels like so little I know it's the right amount to allow me to feel fresh on the C2K line. Feeling like I need to get out the door for a run is probably a good sign that the taper is working well.
Next time I blog I'll hopefully have finished C2K. I am hoping for a fast time, but as a first-timer to this event a cautious approach is prudent, especially since there are so many factors that we can't control.
If you would like to follow my progress, my crew will be providing updates to this website every hour or so from about 5:30am on Friday 10-12-2010. You can access the live feed pages under Results & Events, or just click this link: Coast to Kosciusko
Sunday 28 November 2010 - Good positive week and I feel like "I'm back" – underdone for my next event (C2K), but no longer injured.
The week started cautiously after the 6hr Moe run with cycling the preferred exercise. My runs (10 – 15k) were on undulating courses (local golf course) and then hills on Friday and Saturday to help me identify a target HR and intensity for the hill parts of the mountainous Coast to Kosciusko (C2K) course in two weeks. Due to injury I have not done the hill training I'd planned over the past 6 weeks, so now I need to focus on determining what my body can do in its current state.
Friday Justin and I ran 4 x 1.5km of 10% hills (total gain 600m). I ran up the 10% at an even pace - at the point that the pressure does not increase in my legs. Saturday we ran 2 x 2.5km of 6%. I was happy with the overall pace - 5:22 per km for the 10k session with again 600m of climb / decent.
Just a note: Justin often runs these type of training sessions with me. As my Trainer, Coach and Crew Leader for competitive runs it is imperative that he knows what I "look like" when I'm struggling and when I'm trotting along comfortably. This enables him to have a better idea of when to offer assistance in races.
This week I finished with 70km running and 152km cycling and I'm looking forward to more short sessions this week and the final C2K taper.
Wangaratta Fun Run plans are coming along nicely too – Promotion is well underway both locally and regionally and online entries are being received from all over - many Melbourne suburbs, Geelong, Albury, Wodonga, Alexandra, Kilmore, Seymour, and even a few from our home town Wangaratta! With the level of interest generally it would be wise to enter quickly if you want a "goodies" bag worth more than the entry cost! Click on fun run in the menu bar above for all the details.
Sunday 21 November 2010 - I'm very happy as I write this. Yesterday (Saturday) was Moe 6 hour and after much deliberation during the week Justin and I decided that the only way I'd have any real idea about injury recovery was to do a long run. Earlier in the week I had completed 2 x 10k easy sessions and continued to feel the glutes and some minor pain in the hips. I wasn't optomisitc. I even had a bone scan on Friday to rule out a stress fracture. The results did rule that out thankfully.
Clearly I couldn't have a serious go at Moe with the lead-in, and so just aimed for a consistent pace and consistent heart rate that was somewhere around 5:20pace. Although I ran a bit stiffly and was continually 'feeling' for the glutes and hips to get sore and put me off the track, they didn't. I was fine. I was very happy. And even today I have woken up and travelled back home in as little discomfit as I've felt for quite a few weeks, so a good time at C2K is feeling much more achievable right now.
Bernadette Benson was the winner of Moe incidentally with a distance just a touch over 70km. She ran really well in the heat and looked fantastic. I understand that her distance has allowed her to break some Canadian records so good on her. Even better, she was the outright winner on the day and it's always good to see the boys get "chicked" :-)
 So feeling optomistic, I'm set for a good week of training. More cycling than running probably and no fast paced running, but enough to bring back some of the fitness I feel like I've lost.
Running this week = 90km, cycling = 115km. For those that like charts / graphs, here's my pace / HR from Moe (notice the attempt to keep the HR nice and steady. This resulted in about 6 seconds per lap slower at the finish than the start).
Sunday 14 November 2010 - Injuries suck. We all know this of course and find our own ways to deal with it. Unfortunately I let myself get depressed and with that my will power to control my eating dissolves. In the last 3 weeks of niggles and injury I have managed to put on nearly 1% body fat - All that hard dieting work undone…..bugger. This further increases my depressed state, so it is a vicious circle. If anything is going to get in the way of a possibly brilliant running career, it will be my lack of ability to deal with injuries. Injuries, that when you do the miles I do cannot be entirely avoided.
Yes I am afraid I am a sook! - I have a supportive family, the Fun Run arrangement are powering along, work is going good, I am excited about C2K in December and my health (except for the minor injury) is great – so life is really very good. I need to refocus and get on with it.
Okay – now refocused.
On the positive side, my energy levels are high due to the extended forced extended taper. Because I have not had a chance to increase my lactic threshhold (by doing the speed work necessary in the weeks leading up to Moe 6hr), my revised expectation for the race next weekend is to use it only as long run training and a test of recovery. Not expecting a great result distance-wise - so long as I am still running by the end it will be useful training and besides, a chance to network with other runners and get away for the weekend with family.
Did manage 80km this week
but most of it on grass and none of it at a pace fast enough to build LT and give me a decent crack at Moe. Also cycled 110km.
Sunday 7 November 2010 - Not much to report this week. Not that's positive anyway! OK, it was a taper week ahead of Moe, but 17km is a bit ridiculous. Normally in this week I would have liked to run close to 100km, but in shorter, faster sessions. Nothing over 15km and average pace for the week somewhere about 15 - 30 seconds per km faster than usual base training weeks. Also managed 150km on the bike at an easy pace and so feel that the body is in a bit of a holding pattern now.
By the end of the week the glute was responding well and has moved from being in pain when I run to just feeling a bit tight and lumpy. I can't really test it out properly ahead of Moe now as that will upset my taper completely. I'll just hope for the best. The main focus in the short term is to get rid of the tightness and feel completely comfortable running and so will continue with massage and ultrasound for the next week.
The bigger objective right now is Coast to Kosciusko in 4 weeks, so if I start in Moe and experience any difficulties i'll pull out. Always disappointing to do that, but better that I'm prepared for that possibility now rather than pushing through an event that doesn't have a lot of relevance to my longer term plans.
Sunday 31 October 2010 - A very mixed level of good and bad happenings this week:
On the exercise front, my pace sessions were only partially successful because I have flared up a small injury. Despite home massage therapy, icing, anti-inflammatory medicine, stretching and a visit to my local sports physio, my left knee, ITB, hip flexor muscles and gluteus niggles have worsened. This week I cycled and ran less than planned. Although not running Friday or Saturday, the nagging injury still bites. Tomorrow's Tungamah 10k race/fun run may not go so well. So I feel a little stressed and depressed about the injury side of things.
On the positive side, the Wangaratta Fun Run we are organising for 9 Jan 2011 is roaring ahead in leaps and bounds. Media releases have started and I have been busy pounding the pavement to drum up support and sponsors. Local businesses have been extremely positive and we now have sponsors offering goods and services totalling over $5000. – Thanks heaps. Have a look at the FUN RUNS (in menu bar above) to see further details. Justin has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to measure the course, prepare promotional materials, keep updating the website, create entry forms and much more. Hopefully in the next week (or so) I will be out distributing the promotional posters throughout the community.
Sunday 24 October 2010 - Yippy! I feel a bit like a young filly!
This week I only ran 61km's and cycled about 150km's – about 1/2 the distances I have been doing. This was to allow me to recharge my body after hard dieting for the past couple of months and large volume.
I feel great and ready to attack the fast-pace training sessions in the next few weeks to set a good distance at the Moe 6hr run (now 4 weeks away).
Number 1 rule for me in the coming couple of weeks – Go hard but "DON'T GET INJURED". It is sometimes difficult to know how 'hard' to push in speed training to ensure you do not become injured.
Also last week we gained Council approval for us to go ahead with the Wangaratta Fun Run. Justin has been working hard behind the scenes while I have started to seek local business support. Now gaining momentum – it has the promise of becoming a great event to encourage community involvement and get people out and running.
We are full steam ahead in many ways. Lots to do, and loving life.
Sunday 17 October 2010 - Effective training and very busy at work. I have taken on extra paid work this week, which has made my usually busy lifestyle extremely hectic. Time management and multi tasking is imperative.
A couple of milestones reached this week –
Firstly, I have now run over 100kms per week 6 weeks out of the past 7 weeks - the only week I did not reach 100k was due to a planned rest week whilst I was slightly injured. The last 3 weeks were 180km, 178km & 150km.
Secondly I am now the leanest I have been – since early childhood…. My weight is generally under 52kg each morning and fat % under 13% - The 'diet' is officially over and my body will continue to alter in shape in order to settle to my new leaner body mass. I intend to maintain this level of body-fat until the next serious 'base build' campaign when we will have figured out if and how much further a reduction in body fat percentage may assist my long distance achievements.
In five weeks I will compete in a 6hr run in Moe. To be in good shape do this, my entire mindset must now change. As written on my 'Training Philosophy' page Justin and I indentified key areas I need to improve to make me a better 24hr running athlete. Our training motto follows the line of the FFSL – Fitter, Faster, Stronger, and Leaner. Over the past 2 months I have worked hard on the Leaner and Fitter aspect of training. Now I have to switch to 'Faster' and 'Stronger' mode. My next 4 weeks training concentrates on increasing my VO2 max – by reducing run distances, while increasing the number of fast/high intensity sessions. These much higher heart rate sessions are designed to increase the ability of my heart to supply energy to my muscles. Although many of the sessions sound fast and painful, I am looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead.
The next few days (after stopping the diet) will probably be rough. I am still tired and my muscles are exhausted of the energy required for higher intensity workouts. Tomorrow's 30k faster pace long run may be a challenge.
Sunday 10 October 2010 - Good week of successful training in fat-reduction mode. Huge week mileage of 180km running for the second week in a row essentially and my muscles feel like mush - exactly how I am meant to feel. Friday's attempt of a hill session just did not work because the fatigue built up in my legs within the first few metres of the first hill rep - I only managed 4 reps before deciding just to finish my expected session distance on flat terrain.
One benefit of high mileage is that I am currently running with a lower HR versus pace.
Friday afternoon Jasmine (daughter) and I travelled to Melbourne by train to meet up with Justin who worked in Melbourne for the day. Bright and early Saturday morning Justin and I ran 30km with Jasmine following on her bike along the beautiful shoreline running and cycling track. Jasmine is a really good little cyclist and has no problems keeping up with our running for good distances. After a hearty breakfast during our run and late lunch we went to the movies and later 10 pin bowling before dinner and back to the hotel for bed.
As is our usual set up of late, we did a pinch test first thing Saturday morning and again a good result. 1 more week of dieting is all I can afford now before we need to focus on powering up the body and increasing pace in training in preparation for a good attempt at a fast run at Moe 6hr event on 20 November.
Sunday 3 October 2010 - Another good positive week. It was the second week of school holidays for our 7yr old daughter Jasmine. We had a full week of play dates at home, excursions with Mum for shopping & Dad for the movies and lunch, as well as a friends party, which has helped keep her occupied throughout the week.
With my cold and flu symptoms easing, my training clicked along without any major concerns. Although a large running mileage week my body seems to have settled into a hectic but sustainable pattern. I passed a couple of milestones this week having run beyond 4000km for year and coincidentally, passing 4000km cycling for the year as well.
Justin and I ran the path selected for the 10k Fun Run this week and the distance is perfect. Our local council is hopefully close to giving us approval for the event and everything seems to be on track for our inaugural 5 and 10km event in January 2011. Once we gain approval, I will start knocking on local businesses to find out what support and sponsorship they may be interested in providing in the coming month. The course is surely beautiful winding along side the golf course and creek, and there are no road crossings – I am also excited because we have our first confirmed entrant.
This week I broke my long run into 3 x 2hr runs on Sunday (2hrs rest between each run) in order to reduce any likelihood of muscle break down – especially considering my system was obviously struggling with illness and fatigue caused through dieting. I still need to lean off a little, but this doesn't necessarily mean losing weight, especially if that weight is muscle!
Improving through the week and feel rather chuffed tonight by doing 60km today around our local athletics track. Finished with 184km of running for the week.
Sunday 26 September 2010 - Have to say that was a successful week – Training during illness is never fun and adds additional mental and physical challenges to overcome. At times I felt so ill that I questioned the benefits of this thinking.
It is hard and my body was letting me know that the stresses were too much at times this week so I was careful. Despite this I was able (with support from Justin) to plough on through my designated program running 133km (long run 50km last Sunday), cycling 217km, doing 4 strength sessions, 4 Ab workouts and walked twice (5km hard each time).
Having 6 new pairs of sneakers to try out (3 light weight and fast & 3 long distance and supportive shoes) also made getting through the program easier.
I seem to be mostly recovered from the cold and flu now and look forward to the next week.
My pinch test showed a good improvement too and I'm back to about 13.5% body-fat, so hopefully only a few more weeks of dieting to low training fat levels about 12.5%.
Sunday 19 September 2010 - Buggered. Feel horrible (head cold), sore, DOMS and depressed. This week was more to do with introducing strength work (weights), dieting, speed/hill work, while having reduced running volume. I seem to cope well with high mileage/low intensity weeks, but sore muscles reduce my resolve to cope with dieting.
Sun – Thur, I seemed to be getting through my training sessions reasonably well. Jasmine our daughter got the dreaded 'lurgy' which she has most graciously shared with me..., which has made the last couple of days tough. My hill session on Friday was compromised both by DOMS from introducing more strength type activities this week and a general feel of exhaustion that comes from being ill.
Overall I only ran 77km, but cycled 220km, and added to this was 3 x 40 – 50min strength sessions, 3 x 20min 'Ab blast' sessions, 4 x 5km walks and stretching most days. Most running was done at a solid pace as were many of the short cycling sessions.
Added to the insult of feeling unwell was that my pinch test (using calliper test measuring 7 skin-fold locations we have been using for many months) was not satisfactorily reduced enough to give me a good mood today. Yes this result can oscillate up and down a bit hence we do it frequently, but today I was hoping for a good number!
Sometimes training sucks.
Hopefully better new next week.
Sunday 12 September 2010 - An exhausting but satisfying week. Large volume consisting of 160km running & 217km cycling – Aim of the week was to exhaust my body in order to program it to be able to utilise fat more readily – benefit also to lose weight. I have been dieting hard and training even harder! Great training and I feel like I am back training in earnest.
My week started with my 90km run Sunday which was in windy wet conditions. I was thankfully accompanied by Justin and Jasmine for the final 13km lap. Although my gluteus were very tight and my left quad was rather knotted and sore the following day I managed 26km run and 20k cycle on Monday. Was supposed to do 30k = 20am/10pm but only did 6k in the evening because of the pulling and general soreness in the left knee.
Tuesday ran 10k and cycled 26k; again less than the planned 30k (20/10), but this, being the first 90k long run week, I was happy that I could run at all.
Wednesday was a tough long cycle - 120km and HR 128bpm average.
Thursday I hit a wall energy wise though my quad was much better. Totally stuffed but succeeded in a 1/2 reasonable attempt at an interval training run (12km = 1km warm up 6 x 1km hard/1km easy). The evening 5k walk was absolutely horrid.
Friday dragged my sorry butt for 10k run in the rain. Saturday was more leisurely 10km in the morning then housework and preparations for a dinner party. Roast chicken and dessert YUM and I don't even feel guilty.
J. reduced the volume over the weekend and this sets me up for next week - focussing more on speed work, strength and more dieting. I will be glad to get those extra pounds off that were gained during the main event season. About 2kg to go I think to get to my goal body fat of 12%.
Sunday 5 September 2010 - End of a solid week. Marathon PB in shepparton last week the highlight and having never seen the course, not tapered or carb loaded in any way (in fact I'm dieting!) I'm happy. Probably not the fastest time I'm capable of at 3:28:10, but still a PB is a PB, yay! 105km for the week which is my first time over 100 since Caboolture and managed a bit over 150km on the bike as well. Feeling a bit tired from the dieting but reasonably optomistic about getting through my 90km training run tomorrow.
Sunday 29 August 2010 - Nothing special about this week. Just regular training with no long runs on account of a few lingering niggles that I don't want to push. Am going to run a marathon in Shepparton tomorrow which will be the first time significantly over 20km since Caboolture. I'll start at a solid pace but won't push it and if the knee or any other part threatens to get "properly" injured I'll pull out. 75km running and 205km cycling this week.
Sunday 22 August 2010 - I'm starting to feel like I'm getting over Caboolture. The body is far from perfect and I have an injured knee still, but at least when I run I feel like I can breathe! Got through 74km at 5:21pace though most of it on grass and only short sessions - longest was 22.5km today as a bit of a test of the knee. Niggly, but improving.
Sunday 15 August 2010 - Oh geez this week was hard. Only ran 20km (4 x 5km sessions) and definately have an injured knee. In general I just feel like crap after the strain that Caboolture put on the body. I'm enjoying the success of that race though and am allowing myself a few treats before I ramp up the training and get into some solid base building in a few weeks.
Sunday 8 August 2010 - No running this week. Pretty much just a week of "wallowing" whilst at the same feeling fantastic. So happy still that I managed to break Helen's record in tough conditions. Body is weak and sore but I'm already starting to look forward to what's ahead.
Sunday 2 August 2010 - Wow, my 5th Australian Open record for the year breaking Helen Stangers long-standing 48 Hour distance at Caboolture. I ran 333.026km in 2 days and never stopped for longer than 5 minutes. Even then it was only to get my feet tended to. I'm so tired and sore, but who cares. the body will recover. Also happy that we got our travel right this time after stuffing up Brisbane 6 weeks ago. Taper was right and everything seemed to go pretty smoothly - so far as it can for a 48 hour race.
|
