Secret Blog for Killing Track and Parkrun PBs

No less than 10 right angle turns and one dead turn all on concrete or bitumen. The only other time I've run the course was just after rain and very slippery, not so today. I ran the entire course as a warm up in 14 minutes. In the handicap itself I started conservatively on the down hill out section and had lots in reserve for the climb back up the hill. Splits: 3:27,3:24,3:35=10:26  In 2013 it was 10:30 and racing full gas but slippery. The ankle seems to have survived OK. I will do an afternoon loosener after some more stretching and physio. From then on it is just easy running until we leave for Paris on Thursday.

Very wet and lush on the circuit this morning along with a fog and very high humidity...later a nice sunny morning. 18km all up with the first 10km progressively quicker, the last 8km recovery mode. Splits: 505,430,421,416,415,414,410,410,400,400 then recovery. Hopefully I have left the ankle issue behind now. A change of shoes and lots of self physio during the week has me back on track. From Tuesday to Friday I did the same run each day with the dog, 6km up and down the mountain. I expect tomorrow will be at the ACTVAC handicap where I can do a short 4km effort at marathon pace.

I started the marathon taper two days ago, only running 6km on each of the last two days. The ankle tendon inflammation returned on Monday during a 70 minute run, the day after a 20km run. Until further notice I will run inside where the pain starts and hopefully that means the tendons can return to normal again or close to it in the next 10 days of easy running. I may run a little longer on the weekend. So the pressure is off for trying to run a quick time. I will have to run a conservative Marathon de Paris use a good running technique to get through without risking a lifetime injury. I'm still confident I can run a decent time. It all depends on the ankle now. Post race I have scheduled the rest of April off and happily so...to regroup both mentally and physically the best I can.

On the grass and with training shoes a solid 20km all done at lower and mid-threshold. Once again I concentrated on where my left foot was landing to ensure I got through the session no worse off than before I started. Most of the run done on the hilly 2km loop and switched to the 1km loop for the final 4km to make life a little easier. Had two easy sections with 2km warm up and 2km float after 14km to ensure it was a build up not tear down session. On the 4x1km loops I ran only fast enough to break 80 minutes for the 20km (had to run 17 seconds for the final 100m). Splits: 8:30,7:38,7:37,7:41,7:49,7:54,8:01,8:35,4:07,4:00,4:10,3:53=79:59 I will do a short recovery run this afternoon (4km) to make it 25km for the day.

All images courtessy of Geoff  

Just like last week an easy run at Stromlo in the morning (13km) with a harder run in the afternoon (8km). Tomorrow will also be a repeat of last week with a long run of 90 minutes. I concentrated during both runs on correcting my left foot plant and thankfully there was no pain while doing the right thing. I can still feel it's still inflamed or damaged when I get lazy with my thoughts. Weekly volume is just over 100km. I don't need to do more and only less in the final few days before the marathon.

I have been in a holding pattern for a week. With two weeks to a marathon I have inflamed tendons in the ankle directly from running in spikes in the 10000m in Hobart. I am still running 10km a day but nothing very fast, longer on the weekends. At this stage I just need to make the start line without taking any risks. All the hard work is done anyway. It may be biomechanical...I made some changes this evening and they seemed to work. Unless I am completely stupid in the next 14 days I will line up for Marathon de Paris in good shape and run hopefully well. A blessing is that I will have to be much more cautious early in the race...hopefully that pays off later...see what happens.

The old Keith is back, I saw him start cautiously in the 3000m, work up to the leader who was less than half his age, tussle with him for a few laps, then thump him down the home straight. 10:33 5000m has been his goal this year although the 10000m was probably his best result. He has been great in both. A virus or such set him back a month ago but he is bouncing back to great form again in the final weeks of the season. Next week is the ACTVAC Championships over 5000m. That is Keith 5507 in Hobart. A stellar year for Keith. Mr Long out in front, possibly #1 M55 in 5000m this year given Keith Bateman has been injured. There are plenty on M55 who have the potential and form to run under 17:30 or even 17:00 on any given day in Australia...a very competitive age group.

I have been listening my body for a week. It has been telling me it needs rest and is very lethargic. Today I jogged 4.5km to the track, no strides, very windy and wore the marathon shoes. 3200m starting very slow (3:35/km) and finishing at 3:20/km. Jogged 4.5km home. Jogged 4km with Bella. I went through 3000m in around 10:15. Tomorrow will be another long recovery day. On Thursday I hope to do something more intense if the body is willing. The ankle seems much better. Very sure it is hamstring/back related. Total for the last 7 days around 120km.

After a delay of updates to the old site an new site has emerged and is currently being updated and migrating the old data. I submitted my 2013 results last night and they are now live. The new site looks much better with some added functionality. Some 2014 results (only for the 10000m?) have been harvested from the Australian Masters Athletics Championships held in Hobart a week ago. It will take some months for the site to 'bed in' and rankings to be a true picture. 3000m is now a World Rankings event as is the mile. All of my 2013 results come from early in the year. I had a major fail in not getting to the starting line in the Victorian 5000m Championships and Zatopek 10000m lower grades events when I stumbled and broke my ribs days before.  Below a snapshot of the new site.

Woke late this morning and jogged down to the Weston Creek Half Marathon course at around the 2km mark (4km from my home). I needed many stops and starts to get going with some referred pain from my back and hamstring running down to my left ankle. This niggle a result of all the hard racing last weekend. It wasn't long before I saw the leaders returning home and then some friends (KT the first, 3rd female). I said hello to all of them. I ran out just over 10km from home and turned around...my not half marathon. My splits got progressively quicker from 5:40/km down to 3:40/km on the return home. The final 4km up the hill was very slow into the wind. Well done to all who took out placings.

Tuesday complete day off, Wednesday 12km easy, today 12km including 8 x 100m, 1500m even paced @ 3:10/km, 72 second last lap (4:41). I am back into it again with just over 3 weeks to the marathon. I wore spikes in the 1500m and proved the tendons are still inflamed or  damaged. So back on with the strapping tape and no minimalist shoes until after the marathon. I don't think it is an issue. Tomorrow will be another easy 12km. I will then go through one or two 140km weeks with a final hit out over 5000m ten days before the marathon. In those two weeks I hope to get in two very long runs and two 90 minute runs. The final week will just be easy running and a few short tempo runs to remind me of 3:20-3:30/km. From here on in it is just about getting to the start line in good shape.

With two pieces of ankle tape and another run around the course I did make it to the start line again and in good spirits. The only other ACTVAC runners competing were Steve RJ, Kym and Geoff. The course as I described in a previous post, the race went as I thought. Chris M35 led Darren M35, Daniel M45 and myself M50 on the first lap, including that majestic view of the Derwent. The pace was quick but comfortably hard. After the first set of climbs there were three with Daniel having dropped off. At the end of lap 1 Chris had dropped off leaving Darren and myself to fight it out like last year. I know from last year Darren likes to slow, draw you in, surge repeatedly until he is solo. Today I let him surge and then respond more slowly to keep the lactate levels in check. By the start of the bottom set of climbs for the final time Darren realised I wasn't going to drop off. He slowed the race down enough for me to attack but his response was the same...draw me in and surge. The pa...

I only ran one lap of the course yesterday on my warm down. The main purpose was to see if it is safe for my ankle (I think it is). I can't think of another course like this and if it were my main event I would have trained specifically for it. Basically 400m on a grass flat, then all down on a smooth gravel trail a long long way, a short flat to connect with a sometimes rougher uphill gravel trail all up in two brutal parts connected by a longer flat section. No good for spikes, the shoe I wore yesterday on my left foot will be fine so long as I put another shoe on my right. If I start the left ankle will be taped. I am guessing it will be fast from the gun on the grass flat and onto the long downhill section. The uphill sections will be selective on both laps as they are quite steep and sometimes rough, the grass flat and down on the second lap will allow lactate reduction as it will be fully maxed out after one lap, the final ascents deciding the final order of things. There wi...

Windy this morning that often made a difference the way races were run. W5000m: Jane ran the perfect race, sitting in out of the wind on the rails until 1000m to go broke away briefly but was overrun by Francesca (won also won 1500m yesterday in stylish fashion). 18:50 for Jane, Francesca 1842, Anna coming home strongly for 3rd. Kym gave her all, very happy to run 19high. M55-59 5000m: Keith ran a brave 3rd in 18:02. A bunch of four was whittled down to 3 & then 2 who ran just under 18 mins. For Keith some bad luck in the last few weeks set him back a peg. Still a few chances to chase those times he has been looking for. It has been a great season so far by any measure. David 19:13, classy. M45-54 5000m: Three of us broke away at the start. Rob M45 led early, then SteveQ M50 until around 3.5km, then Rob again until the finish. It was slow early (16:40 pace), Rob picked it up to win in 16:18, me dropped with 250m to go 16:22, SteveQ 16:39 ran strongly to the fin...

Didn't get to race the younger runners today, I am too old. It was M50-59 and W40-49. The young ones early race at 8am Christopher Sullivan TAS ran 34:42, but was under 33:20 pace at 2000m. In the 945am race: 76, 74 my first two laps, had lapped the field by 4600m, lapped everyone again except second place. After the initial 2 laps I was bang on 33:20 pace, had a slow 9th kilometre and a 72 final lap for 33:28. Faster than in my runs in Melbourne and Canberra. Better conditions today(warm with a breeze here), more people to lap more often today. None of my friends raced 10km today, all in for 5000m tmoz. Kathy raced 1500m This afternoon 1st w60 in 5:51. ACTVAC runners Geoff 4th 37, David 41. Women were Fiona 41:02, Andrea 41:48 and Tracey 44:02 in W40, Deb 41:39, Carolyn 45:39, Claire 47:43 in W45 (all Tasmanians except Claire). Very happy with that run. Now to back up for 5000m tomorrow.

Jog to track, 5 x 100m, 1200m 3:54, jog back home. 10km all up. I am done for this taper. Fly to Hobart tomorrow morning and the only running I will do is jog to the track and back to register. Today I didn't feel great in the strides so bailed on the 200s, a little lacking in blood sugar, then rolled around for 3 laps without any pressure, consecutive 78 second laps to remind me it is not easy. No niggles, no excuses, looks like I will make the start line in one piece, that's the hardest part. Really looking forward to a tough weekend of running and seeing how everyone goes. Keith is there already. He is keen.

Jog 5km, 4 x 100m strides, 1600m 5:03, jog 5km. Warm and some wind but nothing to slow me down too much. I had to find a slot on the track as there were plenty of groups out there. Only had to pass half a dozen people and had some help in the the runners in front of and behind were moving at a similar pace to me. In two days time some more strides, some easy running until Australian Masters Athletics Championships. Keith did a hard session today. The others should have done a similar session to me.

Reduced my long run day by one third as it is during my taper week. No loosener in the afternoon as usual and an out and back 20km down to, by the lake, and back up the mountain. Looking back it has been an unusual summer. No track available for a couple of months which coincided with my broken ribs. Just prior to that I was in great shape but failed to make the start line in Melbourne for the Victorian 5km and Zatopek Lower Grades 10km due to the ribs...that was a major disappointment and a lost opportunity. Since then I only allowed myself one week easy during which I ran a 9:29 3000m in good conditions and a very hot 10000m in 33:59. It has all been for the marathon this summer. Next weekend I should be fresh and ready to run well. I am hoping it is good conditions for my first race the 10000m so I can have a real crack at a time. The cross country doesn't matter, it's only about putting my body in front of as many of the others I can and should be an ''all in...

A touch of drizzle for our final set before Australian Masters Athletics Championships. The set: Stromlo 5km XC on 2.5km circuit as Intervals: 5 x 3 minutes, 30 seconds jog recovery. In other words a 5km run broken up with 4 x 30 second jog intervals (75 metres approx). The times: Me 17:24 ; Steve 18:05 ; Keith 18:52 ; Jane 19:13 (season best). If you take off 60 seconds from those times you get roughly what we have been doing on track. The most promising is Keith theoretically back under 18 minutes still recovering from the recent virus and Jane who beat her 5km effort from last week despite having 2 minutes doing not much along the way (giving her an 18 minute low prediction for track). We are all on target for our best runs of the season next weekend. (Kathy is doing 6km jogalong tomorrow as her final hit out). Yesterday for me was an 18km run around the lake at around 4:10/km. Felt easy. That's long run #23 in this marathon prep. On Monday or Tuesday I have a 2000m on tra...