12 months ago I was in the Blue Mountains getting ready for the biggest race of my life.
12 months ago I was an Ultra Runner and solely focused on getting that buckle and finishing under 20hrs at The North Face 100.
A lot can change in 12 months. Track is back.
In preparation for TNF last year I ran Mt Archer a lot, I learnt to love the suffering up the Mountain and would often complete the 20km round trip from my house to the summit of Mt Archer and back before work in the morning. It was good hard running.
Last week we were excited to finally open the registrations for our new event the Highpoint Access and Rescue King of the Mountain (KOM). Time to lock in the 15th of June into your calendar - this event is a must for anyone who wants an "official" summit time. Race will be from the Pilbeam Drive sign to the summit. I know there are a lot of walkers who do this, and I have seen them power up there - would love to know their times. The event is for both walkers and runners up the mountain
Registrations here: www.hreoz.com
This event will once again provide the bells and whistles that you expect from a HRE event, like electronic timing, a fully closed race course, adequate aid stations, finishers recovery area, race photographer - and especially important for a mountain event - buses back down.
Last year my best time was a sub 35 minute summit, for the near 5km run up the road to the top. With a little over 500m of elevation gain in 5km it certainly is a tough run. I know Ben and Michael can summit in under 30 minutes - sub 30 minutes is insane.
My best effort on the mountain was a "triple" - that's 3 consecutive summits in a row. All up that's 30km with 1500m of elevation gained and descended. I did this with Ben and Rod and I don't know of anyone who has done a quad (4 summits) but if someone is out there - let me know!
For those wondering how my track training is going, I must admit I am riding a huge improvement wave at the moment. I have dragged Ben to the track a couple of times, but he complains of feeling dizzy after!
Last week I was away for work and was able to hit the tartan track in Bundy. Although I got caught in a storm and it was raining I ran a really solid 200m in 28.00 seconds and a new track PB (self timed). So I am heading toward running in the low 27s for the 200m and my goal of a sub 58 400 is looking likely this race season.
Good luck to all TNF 100 racers this weekend, special shout out to Marty, Gav and Raelene who are heading down for Wilsons Promontry 100km.
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Saturday, 20 April 2013
Boston & Aussie8
It was a great chance to clear my head.
Unless you have been living under a rock you would know about the Boston Marathon bombings, and as I type this one of the alleged bombers has been killed and the other is at large. This morning I ran for Boston.
There have been many pieces already written about the bombings, and my deepest sympathies are with the families of the lost and injured. The thing that has hit home to me, was that no runners were killed. The 3 deaths were of spectators watching. It is hard to shake the thought that my boys, my wife, my mum, my friends are the ones who are normally there watching me finish a marathon. Innocent bystanders. Not runners, but your support crew. When you personalise the loss at Boston its hard to imagine how the runners could be feeling - finishing the Boston Marathon is at the top of every marathoners bucket list. Finishing this year would leave very mixed feelings.
As I finished the easy 10k this morning, my thoughts were fixated on Boston 2015. I may have to buy my way in, but I will go there and remember them, I will run for those who cannot run.
I will Run for Boston.
Aussie8
For the past 10 days my recently married mate Luke (Eddie) Edwards has been setting a new World Record for the fastest summiting all 8 of Australia's state and territory highest peaks (mountains).
Click here for Aussie8 website
The three guys have done an amazing job in managing the logistics of getting themselves from State to State and then backing up to summit these awesome mountains. Mt Ossa in Tasmania looked insane with heavy run and freezing temps - can't wait to hear all of the stories.
Having finished last night, I haven't had a chance to get all of the details so I will follow up with a blog after I get a chance to do an interview. It is an awesome achievement, and a record which I doubt will ever be broken.
Pex
Saturday, 6 April 2013
Gone In 60 Seconds
Where has the last 4 months gone?! Wow! So much has happened, yet every time someone mentioned where was the blog, I felt like I didn't have enough of a story to write.
Going back and reading what I wrote last year, I realised I am a depressing melodramatic writer - so I will endeavour to write something a little more upbeat and positive for this year. As Billy (gun HRE pace runner and tax guru) said recently "man your blogs are good, but depressing" - so I will commit to writing stuff which is fun and relevant.
I really love Adam's style of blog theboringrunner.com and whilst I am not as funny as him, he certainly can get his point across in a short blog not an epic novel like I was convinced my blog needed to be like! Plus I love his crazy photos, so more of those to come!
As a recap of what has been happening here are some photos to help fill in the blanks.
Which gets me onto my running plans. At the end of last year I had a little break from structured running. I was feeling a little drained from the lack of results and a couple of bad races where things didn't go to plan.
I rode my road bike a lot, did a bit of training with Big M and even cracked a 100km ride! I won't lie, cycling was fun, and it gave me some time to really think about my purpose in running.
It was around this time that Jason suggested working on my strengths - not fighting them.
By this he meant throwing some effort into shorter distance running, where my power and speed would be more beneficial rather than endurance running.
Now it seems kinda crazy to finally write this, but I won't be running a marathon this year. I might not even run a race longer than 10km! I have decided to give shorter running, particularly Master Track racing a go.
What no marathons, I hear you say! Yep that's right. No marathons on the approved travel plan for this year. Besides Jason and Ben, most other runners have been perplexed by the move. I feel like I am constantly justifying what I am doing, pretending like I don't care, and that I'm just stuffing around.
Well I am not.
I am deadly serious about making it count. I'm pouring a heap of hours into the gym to build a powerful weapon of a body, and after my first track event in Brisbane in March - really feel like I have found my niche and moving in the right direction.
So the plan this year is to race only up to 5km locally and travel for another 1 or 2 Masters track events. There are a couple of races later in the year, and if all goes to plan and my times are heading in the right direction - I plan to run the Australian Masters Track and Field Championships next March in Tasmania.
The events I will focus on will be the 200, 400 and 800 meters. I ran the 1500 at the Queensland Masters Champs, but didn't enjoy the event like the 400 and 800.
So to answer the question that so many have asked "When will I come back to real running?"and by real running the reference is marathons and ultras, well not till at least April/May 2014. Depending on my enjoyment with the track experience, it could be a lot longer. Running fast is FUN! My goal for the 400m is to run a sub 57 seconds race - thus gone in 60 seconds.
With regards to HRE events, they are anything like a sprint! Jason and I have been working everyday on increasing our events. In early January we had a meeting about growing the business and met with the local council about the process for approvals to close down roads to run our events. Its a big step (and expense for us), but the only way in which we can deliver runners the "big city race experience" is to hold events that are on fully closed courses. Its certainly isn't a quick, easy (or inexpensive) process to put running events on, with months and months of boring behind the scenes work we are really close to announcing the new events and locations for 2013, we will also be launching a new website!
Thanks for taking the time to read, and I'm sorry this has been massively long.
Be safe on the roads!
Pex
Going back and reading what I wrote last year, I realised I am a depressing melodramatic writer - so I will endeavour to write something a little more upbeat and positive for this year. As Billy (gun HRE pace runner and tax guru) said recently "man your blogs are good, but depressing" - so I will commit to writing stuff which is fun and relevant.
I really love Adam's style of blog theboringrunner.com and whilst I am not as funny as him, he certainly can get his point across in a short blog not an epic novel like I was convinced my blog needed to be like! Plus I love his crazy photos, so more of those to come!
As a recap of what has been happening here are some photos to help fill in the blanks.
 |
| Joel finally has his training wheels off! Go Joel! |
 |
| Eddie and Bonnie got married - such a great day! |
 |
| Bel and I at the wedding, first night away from the kids for Bel in 2 years! |
 |
| Boys growing up too fast!! |
Which gets me onto my running plans. At the end of last year I had a little break from structured running. I was feeling a little drained from the lack of results and a couple of bad races where things didn't go to plan.
I rode my road bike a lot, did a bit of training with Big M and even cracked a 100km ride! I won't lie, cycling was fun, and it gave me some time to really think about my purpose in running.
It was around this time that Jason suggested working on my strengths - not fighting them.
By this he meant throwing some effort into shorter distance running, where my power and speed would be more beneficial rather than endurance running.
Now it seems kinda crazy to finally write this, but I won't be running a marathon this year. I might not even run a race longer than 10km! I have decided to give shorter running, particularly Master Track racing a go.
What no marathons, I hear you say! Yep that's right. No marathons on the approved travel plan for this year. Besides Jason and Ben, most other runners have been perplexed by the move. I feel like I am constantly justifying what I am doing, pretending like I don't care, and that I'm just stuffing around.
Well I am not.
I am deadly serious about making it count. I'm pouring a heap of hours into the gym to build a powerful weapon of a body, and after my first track event in Brisbane in March - really feel like I have found my niche and moving in the right direction.
So the plan this year is to race only up to 5km locally and travel for another 1 or 2 Masters track events. There are a couple of races later in the year, and if all goes to plan and my times are heading in the right direction - I plan to run the Australian Masters Track and Field Championships next March in Tasmania.
The events I will focus on will be the 200, 400 and 800 meters. I ran the 1500 at the Queensland Masters Champs, but didn't enjoy the event like the 400 and 800.
 |
| Gold medals from Masters State Champs |
So to answer the question that so many have asked "When will I come back to real running?"and by real running the reference is marathons and ultras, well not till at least April/May 2014. Depending on my enjoyment with the track experience, it could be a lot longer. Running fast is FUN! My goal for the 400m is to run a sub 57 seconds race - thus gone in 60 seconds.
With regards to HRE events, they are anything like a sprint! Jason and I have been working everyday on increasing our events. In early January we had a meeting about growing the business and met with the local council about the process for approvals to close down roads to run our events. Its a big step (and expense for us), but the only way in which we can deliver runners the "big city race experience" is to hold events that are on fully closed courses. Its certainly isn't a quick, easy (or inexpensive) process to put running events on, with months and months of boring behind the scenes work we are really close to announcing the new events and locations for 2013, we will also be launching a new website!
Thanks for taking the time to read, and I'm sorry this has been massively long.
Be safe on the roads!
Pex
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Broken
Well I am off to get my back sorted tomorrow - this is weird to write, but something finally gave up after running every week for the past 21 months! Similar but more intense pain than Toowoomba, the top of my back felt like it was pinching and by 6km I just couldn't breath.
I think it was driving the car on Saturday - so hopefully it isn't too serious and Polly can sort it tomorrow.
I finished 18th, in a very slow 1.20 for the 15k. On a recent training run on my own I ran 1.10 - so this result is a very poor indication of where I am at. BUT as they say, the results (or lack there of) are on the board. Last week I finished with the 5th fastest time at the Cap Coast Road Runners cross country, so I won't go and hang myself yet.
I won't depress myself with the splits post the Miami "hill" (a big set of stairs at the 5km mark) but as promised my splits up to that point were:
1km - 4.43
2km - 4.24
3km - 4.31
4km - 4.30
5km - 4.32
After I went through the 5km aid station and started up the stairs, my back just started to tighten and by the time I went down the back side of the hill I just couldn't breath. I slowed, hands on my head trying to breath in get my breath back. So my split times just fell off, I struggled to even run 5.30s.
11.5hrs in the car yesterday to think long and hard about my year ahead. Work is going to get MORE busy with the confirmation the Uni is merging with CQ Tafe and am committed to more study. Something will have to give and considering the racing and sacrifices Bel has made this year
travelling for races will probably be it.
As I am starting to think about 2013 originally I had planned to run Great Ocean Road then Gold Coast then Melbourne. Now it seems Gold Coast will clash with a work commitment, hopefully I can still get there as it will be my 5th GC Marathon.
Onto the other Rocky Runners and they all ran extremely well. Michael was 4th in the 30km, Gav was 6th and Raelene snuck under 3hrs.
Marty finished 3rd in the 50km with a 3.45, Benny ran 3.49 in 6th and Rod finished 9th in 4.06. All of which are insanely quick times, considering the heat and humidity on Sunday morning.
Marty has killed Ultra races this year, 3rd at the 50km, 4th at Glasshouse 100 miler and 2nd at the Caboolture 12hr this year.
Benny looked strong and healthy, the plant based diet is working wonders for him, I know a sub 2.55 marathon is close.
Rodney has finished top 10 in the 3 ultra's he has run this year, considering he isn't full time running it is a huge achievement - looking forward to seeing him further improve once he knocks over the Ironman at Cairns next year.
Seriously these guys are awesome athletes, and the best to travel with. Very lucky to call them mates.
It was great to see Geoff and catch up with my sister - meaning the trip wasn't a total write off.
I'll knock out a year in review post next week.
Be safe on the roads, keep hydrated!
Pex
I think it was driving the car on Saturday - so hopefully it isn't too serious and Polly can sort it tomorrow.
I finished 18th, in a very slow 1.20 for the 15k. On a recent training run on my own I ran 1.10 - so this result is a very poor indication of where I am at. BUT as they say, the results (or lack there of) are on the board. Last week I finished with the 5th fastest time at the Cap Coast Road Runners cross country, so I won't go and hang myself yet.
I won't depress myself with the splits post the Miami "hill" (a big set of stairs at the 5km mark) but as promised my splits up to that point were:
1km - 4.43
2km - 4.24
3km - 4.31
4km - 4.30
5km - 4.32
After I went through the 5km aid station and started up the stairs, my back just started to tighten and by the time I went down the back side of the hill I just couldn't breath. I slowed, hands on my head trying to breath in get my breath back. So my split times just fell off, I struggled to even run 5.30s.
11.5hrs in the car yesterday to think long and hard about my year ahead. Work is going to get MORE busy with the confirmation the Uni is merging with CQ Tafe and am committed to more study. Something will have to give and considering the racing and sacrifices Bel has made this year
travelling for races will probably be it.
As I am starting to think about 2013 originally I had planned to run Great Ocean Road then Gold Coast then Melbourne. Now it seems Gold Coast will clash with a work commitment, hopefully I can still get there as it will be my 5th GC Marathon.
Onto the other Rocky Runners and they all ran extremely well. Michael was 4th in the 30km, Gav was 6th and Raelene snuck under 3hrs.
Marty finished 3rd in the 50km with a 3.45, Benny ran 3.49 in 6th and Rod finished 9th in 4.06. All of which are insanely quick times, considering the heat and humidity on Sunday morning.
Marty has killed Ultra races this year, 3rd at the 50km, 4th at Glasshouse 100 miler and 2nd at the Caboolture 12hr this year.
Benny looked strong and healthy, the plant based diet is working wonders for him, I know a sub 2.55 marathon is close.
Rodney has finished top 10 in the 3 ultra's he has run this year, considering he isn't full time running it is a huge achievement - looking forward to seeing him further improve once he knocks over the Ironman at Cairns next year.
Seriously these guys are awesome athletes, and the best to travel with. Very lucky to call them mates.
 |
| Marty 3rd place! |
 |
| Rod (red singlet) "where is my Ice Break?" Benny (white singlet) "how cool is that bridge" Post 50km! |
 |
| Drowning my sorrows at the surf club! |
It was great to see Geoff and catch up with my sister - meaning the trip wasn't a total write off.
I'll knock out a year in review post next week.
Be safe on the roads, keep hydrated!
Pex
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
More Than One Way to Skin a Cat
There have been a couple of really good articles this week about risk taking and racing.
This article on Running Times here Winner Runs Through It is pretty interesting, it really provided me with some perspective to my racing. This blog post by Wyatt is along the same lines Taking Risks.
So what does it mean for me, and what does it mean for my upcoming race? Well my races have generally fallen into 2 baskets, success or failure. As I move forward with more races under my belt it is pretty clear that I let my watch (as in overall time) tell me if I have been successful or not.
Take my race at Toowoomba, if I had run more conservative and used my speed on the down hills and conserved on the uphills, I would most likely of had a much more enjoyable day (and likely a faster overall time). But I took a risk early and was sitting in the top 10, running hard, only to blow myself up.
So what is a better way to race? Balls to the Wall? Just go for it? Smash your PB but risk blowing up? Or take it easier, never knowing if you could of went faster as you don't leave enough distance to really "go for it"?
I have had 1 race where this worked, it was the Rocky River Run in 2010 - I just went berserk and ran out of my skin, one of those days where it was just easy to run hard. The problem with a race like that, is that it reinforces that type of approach to racing. Which has been my issue since.
If you remember in my pre-GC race post "Running Naked" - I had to run by feel, so I wasn't able to be so fixated by my pace as apposed to effort and listening to my body.
Maybe some people are better at running conservative and finishing strong, whilst others relish going hard and hanging on. At the end of the day, your Personal Best is a TIME and doesn't have an * beside it saying "blew up" or "had plenty in the tank". How you get to the finish line is just that, your personal best.
What we do know from a science perspective is that it pays to conserve at the start and your goal (particularly for the marathon) is to evenly split the two halves of the race. For shorter races particularly the 10k and 5k it never feels very comfortable, as you are near your limit the whole time.
The Running Times article posses an interesting idea, the idea of purposely DNFing a marathon - that is, racing at your absolute limit for as long as possible. I just call this "hitting the wall" :) But seriously it is an interesting idea, as in theory if you have left it all out on the course, you would take 1 step after the marathon and collapse.
On Sunday I am going to give the 15km a different approach to normal, I am going to start conservative and will run harder/faster towards the end. As I know there are about 3 people in the world who read this blog, it is really just a chance to make ME more accountable for my running, and stick to my word.
I will be back next week with a race review.....and KM by KM race splits, so you can see that I ran the first km at 4.50 pace!
Run Safe
PEX
PS - Thank-you for the Movember support, our CQUniversity Team raised nearly $15 000!!!
This article on Running Times here Winner Runs Through It is pretty interesting, it really provided me with some perspective to my racing. This blog post by Wyatt is along the same lines Taking Risks.
So what does it mean for me, and what does it mean for my upcoming race? Well my races have generally fallen into 2 baskets, success or failure. As I move forward with more races under my belt it is pretty clear that I let my watch (as in overall time) tell me if I have been successful or not.
Take my race at Toowoomba, if I had run more conservative and used my speed on the down hills and conserved on the uphills, I would most likely of had a much more enjoyable day (and likely a faster overall time). But I took a risk early and was sitting in the top 10, running hard, only to blow myself up.
So what is a better way to race? Balls to the Wall? Just go for it? Smash your PB but risk blowing up? Or take it easier, never knowing if you could of went faster as you don't leave enough distance to really "go for it"?
I have had 1 race where this worked, it was the Rocky River Run in 2010 - I just went berserk and ran out of my skin, one of those days where it was just easy to run hard. The problem with a race like that, is that it reinforces that type of approach to racing. Which has been my issue since.
If you remember in my pre-GC race post "Running Naked" - I had to run by feel, so I wasn't able to be so fixated by my pace as apposed to effort and listening to my body.
Maybe some people are better at running conservative and finishing strong, whilst others relish going hard and hanging on. At the end of the day, your Personal Best is a TIME and doesn't have an * beside it saying "blew up" or "had plenty in the tank". How you get to the finish line is just that, your personal best.
What we do know from a science perspective is that it pays to conserve at the start and your goal (particularly for the marathon) is to evenly split the two halves of the race. For shorter races particularly the 10k and 5k it never feels very comfortable, as you are near your limit the whole time.
The Running Times article posses an interesting idea, the idea of purposely DNFing a marathon - that is, racing at your absolute limit for as long as possible. I just call this "hitting the wall" :) But seriously it is an interesting idea, as in theory if you have left it all out on the course, you would take 1 step after the marathon and collapse.
On Sunday I am going to give the 15km a different approach to normal, I am going to start conservative and will run harder/faster towards the end. As I know there are about 3 people in the world who read this blog, it is really just a chance to make ME more accountable for my running, and stick to my word.
I will be back next week with a race review.....and KM by KM race splits, so you can see that I ran the first km at 4.50 pace!
Run Safe
PEX
PS - Thank-you for the Movember support, our CQUniversity Team raised nearly $15 000!!!
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Blogging, Racing and Saying Goodbye
So I have been in Blog overdrive this week. 3 posts in a week is some sort of record for me!
SO how did my race go?! Well I can honestly say that I have never felt more in control of a short sprint race ever. As it was 8km (5 miles for my USA readers) I had a well constructed plan, which was to start easy then settle into a pace and actually SAVE some juice for the last km.
Yes I can hear Jason saying "you never stick to plan" "you always blow yourself up early" - which is true, I always log a sub 3.45km first k BUT I knew that I had the pace and am in good shape to run a negative split if I just got my excitement controlled at the race start.
"3, 2, 1, GO" we were off for the Rocky Road Runners Movember club race. Now here is the point where I relaxed, and actually slowed and let a couple of groups of runners through. I was sitting on 4.00 pace but that was still too quick so I slowed, let another couple of people past. First KM 4.17! YES I actually felt like it was easy, so the plan was to run another 4.15-4.20 then start running sub 4.15s. Second KM takes us all the way down to the water stop, great to see Benny there handing out cups (hope his back is better by our next race) - I started to eyeball who I was going to catch on the 3rd KM. Second KM 4.12 feeling great!
So as we wound our way through the gardens I start to pick up some of the other runners - wow this is weird! I NEVER pass anyone. Thats the problem with starting too fast, people are always coming past you as you fade! Not today thought. We run past a couple of people with kids and strollers on the path which slows me from 4.10 to 4.15ish - then just as we get to a fork in the course
BOOM
FAAARRRKKKK
My right foot doesn't land on the path but on the edge and my ankle just rolls under me. I immediately stop and it hurts enough for me not to run another step. So I walk slowly back to the race start. Frustrated that I have rolled my ankle - my mind switches on the big race is coming up in a couple of weeks down on the Gold Coast, so no point wrecking it.
Rest, Ice, Elevation and it is looking and feeling heaps better this morning. I'll take it easy today and see how it is on Monday.
Jason thinks it is Mo Karma as I had accidental shaved my Mo off trying to trim it up Tuesday. Lets hope I have paid the Mo gods back now!
Very impressed with Jacob "Hammer Time" Williams cleaning up Miles, Michael and Gav for the win! It is his first race win, really pumped for him! He was sandbagging all week!
The other big news this week is that Geoff the Grandfather of the Road Runners is leaving for Brisbane. I have said it before but Geoff is the only reason I kept turning up to Saturday morning running. He always ran back and checked on Jason and I as we were struggling out the back.
I have turned into a bit of a Saturday long run snob, running my own pace as prescribed in the session. Saturday group running are a bit daunting, as there are always a heap of faster runners there. When I started running I had Jason to run with, but he improved faster than I did, Geoff was always there to come and run some k's with me, making sure I was OK, and giving me the encouragement to keep running. Geoff encouraged Jason and I to turn the idea of HRE into a reality.
Geoff hasn't run for most of the year, as he has had a few injuries. It was great to see him at running Thursday night, looking forward to seeing him at our Brisbane races.
SO how did my race go?! Well I can honestly say that I have never felt more in control of a short sprint race ever. As it was 8km (5 miles for my USA readers) I had a well constructed plan, which was to start easy then settle into a pace and actually SAVE some juice for the last km.
Yes I can hear Jason saying "you never stick to plan" "you always blow yourself up early" - which is true, I always log a sub 3.45km first k BUT I knew that I had the pace and am in good shape to run a negative split if I just got my excitement controlled at the race start.
"3, 2, 1, GO" we were off for the Rocky Road Runners Movember club race. Now here is the point where I relaxed, and actually slowed and let a couple of groups of runners through. I was sitting on 4.00 pace but that was still too quick so I slowed, let another couple of people past. First KM 4.17! YES I actually felt like it was easy, so the plan was to run another 4.15-4.20 then start running sub 4.15s. Second KM takes us all the way down to the water stop, great to see Benny there handing out cups (hope his back is better by our next race) - I started to eyeball who I was going to catch on the 3rd KM. Second KM 4.12 feeling great!
So as we wound our way through the gardens I start to pick up some of the other runners - wow this is weird! I NEVER pass anyone. Thats the problem with starting too fast, people are always coming past you as you fade! Not today thought. We run past a couple of people with kids and strollers on the path which slows me from 4.10 to 4.15ish - then just as we get to a fork in the course
BOOM
FAAARRRKKKK
My right foot doesn't land on the path but on the edge and my ankle just rolls under me. I immediately stop and it hurts enough for me not to run another step. So I walk slowly back to the race start. Frustrated that I have rolled my ankle - my mind switches on the big race is coming up in a couple of weeks down on the Gold Coast, so no point wrecking it.
Rest, Ice, Elevation and it is looking and feeling heaps better this morning. I'll take it easy today and see how it is on Monday.
Jason thinks it is Mo Karma as I had accidental shaved my Mo off trying to trim it up Tuesday. Lets hope I have paid the Mo gods back now!
Very impressed with Jacob "Hammer Time" Williams cleaning up Miles, Michael and Gav for the win! It is his first race win, really pumped for him! He was sandbagging all week!
The other big news this week is that Geoff the Grandfather of the Road Runners is leaving for Brisbane. I have said it before but Geoff is the only reason I kept turning up to Saturday morning running. He always ran back and checked on Jason and I as we were struggling out the back.
I have turned into a bit of a Saturday long run snob, running my own pace as prescribed in the session. Saturday group running are a bit daunting, as there are always a heap of faster runners there. When I started running I had Jason to run with, but he improved faster than I did, Geoff was always there to come and run some k's with me, making sure I was OK, and giving me the encouragement to keep running. Geoff encouraged Jason and I to turn the idea of HRE into a reality.
Geoff hasn't run for most of the year, as he has had a few injuries. It was great to see him at running Thursday night, looking forward to seeing him at our Brisbane races.
Thanks for keeping us running Geoff!
PEX
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Run Rails Run – Interview
It feels good to be back blogging!
I’ve been doing two hours of hill intervals every Wednesday on the Mount Archer and a long run including hills and trails on weekends. Leading into the GNW my largest weekend was a 4.5hr run on a Saturday in the middle of the day, followed by a 5hr run at Byfield on the Sunday. Gavin and I also used the hill at Kemp beach in our training and also ran a loop around the Razorback Road and Mount Morgan Range to mix it up one day.
I do own a GPS but lately it has been unreliable and gives me the shits. It’s a constant reminder that I’m too slow. I did take Gavin’s GPS with me to help track with the directions and Navigation, but the batteries were playing up, so I turned it off. (I probably put them in upside down) I tend not to use my GPS during races anyway as I find them distracting. I’ve often found them telling me I’m going too slowly, but there’s not much I can do about that. If I could be going faster I would be. I tend to try and listen to my body and put in a certain effort for an event. For a 36hr race I ran at about 75 per cent, but in a 5km race I’d run at 95 per cent. (
About 4km out the sweeper had left me and run back to a guy that was behind me on the last leg. He was positive that I’d make it if I ran all the way but I still wasn’t sure. It wasn’t until I came around the last lookout, turned the corner and finally saw the beach and the finish line a km away with about 15 minutes to spare. Even then there is a really steep descent down on to the beach and I was hoping that it was pretty much straight down, not too much zigg zagging or it would take too long. It was my quickest descent of the entire race.
As I said last week I promised when I kicked the blog off
that it wouldn’t be a training diary and for me, and that’s all I have been doing.
Who wants to hear about me doing 1km repeats or those 400m track
sessions....if I am bored thinking about writing it, I can guarantee you would
of been bored reading it.
A few weeks ago Australia’s hardest 100mile race “The Great
North Walk” was run. Now I know half of my blog readers would be thinking “yes
I know that race, it is insane and only for crazies” and the other half of you
would be thinking “never heard of it”. So the abridged version of the course
description is that it is a point to point 100 mile race run in NSW along the
Great North Walk track. The 100 mile race is actually about 175km, insane –
the elevation profile is ridiculous and normally the heat (over 40 degrees in
the middle of the day) makes dropping out from dehydration is near certainty.
Taking all of that into consideration two runners braved the
elements and embarked on the challenge last weekend. Marty “White Caviar” Hack
and Raelene “Rails” Bendall both had signed up for the 100 mile race, but with
different goals. Whilst Marty was focussed on the pointy end, Rails hadn’t been
training too heavily and was really just focussed on finishing.
To paraphrase Rail’s “I didn’t do anything special anyone
could do it” – this statement pretty much sums up her unassuming, self
deprecating approach to her own achievements. Raelene has completed the 100k at
The North Face and 100k at Glasshouse 100 in September and now Australia’s
toughest 100 miler, by anyone’s standard this has been an absolutely stellar
year, but as I try to load on the compliments Rail’s brushes them aside.
When it comes down to it, she is mentally stronger than any
of the crew we train with. If I am a mixed up mental mess when it comes to
racing, Rail’s is the opposite a strong willed and focussed racer, she knows
her limits and races within them.
So you haven’t been training much
due to work, uni etc – have you just been doing a long run a week to prepare? I’ve been doing two hours of hill intervals every Wednesday on the Mount Archer and a long run including hills and trails on weekends. Leading into the GNW my largest weekend was a 4.5hr run on a Saturday in the middle of the day, followed by a 5hr run at Byfield on the Sunday. Gavin and I also used the hill at Kemp beach in our training and also ran a loop around the Razorback Road and Mount Morgan Range to mix it up one day.
You mentioned the cool conditions
helped this year, how much did that factor into you finishing?
It got hot on the second day and I really started to struggle keeping enough fluid in. I felt like I was cooking from the inside out and having to drink so much makes it even harder to keep solid food down. The middle section of the course is known as ‘The Basin’ and I guess it’s really a big volcanic iron kettle with a rainforest in it. There is no airflow and two years ago they reckon it was over 46 degrees. I honestly believe that with my present fitness, as slow as I ran, I would not have made the finish line if the temperature had been like it was in previous years. I used this as motivation many a time to make it to the finish line. It was obviously my lucky year.
It got hot on the second day and I really started to struggle keeping enough fluid in. I felt like I was cooking from the inside out and having to drink so much makes it even harder to keep solid food down. The middle section of the course is known as ‘The Basin’ and I guess it’s really a big volcanic iron kettle with a rainforest in it. There is no airflow and two years ago they reckon it was over 46 degrees. I honestly believe that with my present fitness, as slow as I ran, I would not have made the finish line if the temperature had been like it was in previous years. I used this as motivation many a time to make it to the finish line. It was obviously my lucky year.
For myself, being caught by the sweepers would mentally snap
me. How did you use being caught by the course
sweepers to your advantage?
Having the sweepers meant that I didn’t have to navigate for the entire back end of the course. It guaranteed me that I wouldn’t get lost and that is a huge relief. Having to navigate takes up heaps of time reading through maps and double checking directions, and until you saw a GNW marker, which were sometimes quite spread out, I was always fearful that I had taken a wrong turn. (Again) I also got to meet some really interesting people. Gary Pickering and Rob Scoines are both running the Coast to Kosi in a couple of weeks and Matt O’Shea broke his ankle less than 11 weeks ago. They also kept me on pace ensuring that I made it to the next Checkpoint in time. Most people run with their own crew and pacers to keep them moving at a descent pace, and as it turned out I had the best local running legends.
For a runner who loves the numbers – it blows my mind that you
didn’t run with a GPS to track distance and pace. Another
great example of how different we all are. Have you considered using a GPS for
your races coming up? Having the sweepers meant that I didn’t have to navigate for the entire back end of the course. It guaranteed me that I wouldn’t get lost and that is a huge relief. Having to navigate takes up heaps of time reading through maps and double checking directions, and until you saw a GNW marker, which were sometimes quite spread out, I was always fearful that I had taken a wrong turn. (Again) I also got to meet some really interesting people. Gary Pickering and Rob Scoines are both running the Coast to Kosi in a couple of weeks and Matt O’Shea broke his ankle less than 11 weeks ago. They also kept me on pace ensuring that I made it to the next Checkpoint in time. Most people run with their own crew and pacers to keep them moving at a descent pace, and as it turned out I had the best local running legends.
I do own a GPS but lately it has been unreliable and gives me the shits. It’s a constant reminder that I’m too slow. I did take Gavin’s GPS with me to help track with the directions and Navigation, but the batteries were playing up, so I turned it off. (I probably put them in upside down) I tend not to use my GPS during races anyway as I find them distracting. I’ve often found them telling me I’m going too slowly, but there’s not much I can do about that. If I could be going faster I would be. I tend to try and listen to my body and put in a certain effort for an event. For a 36hr race I ran at about 75 per cent, but in a 5km race I’d run at 95 per cent. (
To answer a couple of the questions that have been posted, yes you
do walk in Ultra Marathons. Walk/Running (that is transitioning from walking to
running) is a learned skill. Once you power walk a hill, it can often be the
case where it is difficult to start running again. Mentally you can use little
tricks like “I am running once we get past that tree” etc to get you going
again.
Footwear is also a personal choice. You ran most of the race
in Salomon Speedcross 3 – the racing shoe from Salomon. It is light and doesn’t
provide much cushioning, but has excellent grip which is important on the muddy
trails.
How did your feet cope with the
36hrs? I expected them to be worse. Unfortunately I carried some
pre-existing blisters over from my last 100km run and training that hadn’t
quite heeled, so they flared quite quickly. The pads of my feet got pretty sore
after about 30 hours and the last few hours of rock jumping were fairly
uncomfortable. I didn’t lose any toenails though. I wore two pairs of socks on
the first day because it was cold and my feet didn’t swell like they usually
do, and changed my shoes at the 85km mark. I use lanacane on my feet and wear
sockette stockings under my socks to prevent general rubbing.
You said you didn’t drink once from her hydration pack, instead
preferring to drink from two handheld water bottles. You said one contained
endura the other a really weak endura mix (personally I hate endura). How many gels/cliff shot bloks did you consume? I
thought I was taking heaps but when I got to the end I found I had only used 5
packs. I also drank 7 poppers, 15 cokes, 4 cups of tea, pretzels, chippies,
bananas, porridge and some vegie soup.
Yes to answer a question posted, you do go to the toilet
during a long trail race usually off in the bushes out of everyone’s view. Going
“number 1’s” is a good sign of hydration, not going number 1’s is a not a good
sign, a point Raelene made that she went a number of hours without needing to
go to the toilet.
Another question from a Facebook
stalker – did you get tired? And what motivates you to keep going? No I
didn’t get tired. I did have some low blood sugar problems just before sunrise
which left me a little faint and slowed me down for about 45 minutes. I guess
with all the panic of being last and barely making the cut offs with only
minutes to spare I was also busy busting my guts to get somewhere so I just
didn’t have time to be tired. I never had a problem with motivation. I wanted
the finish soooooooo bad that to deny myself the finishers medal would have
been certain heartache that I just didn’t want to contemplate. The GNW has a
lot of credit with other race organisers and a finish here, even if it is in
last place, is worth a lot on future race entries. I also had a stressed out
husband at home who I knew was following me every step of the way, and I
couldn’t come up with a single excuse for not finishing that was better than a
finishers medal.
Besides running with the sweepers at various points later in
the race, you spent time between CP 3 and CP 4 with a running buddy who she has
run with from a number of other Ultras, how did you
help each other get through the rough patch?
My friend Siev did not want to leave CP3, but she agreed to come with me. We got lost together and it ended up costing us an hour. Between the two of us we were able to work out exactly where we’d gone wrong, turned around and kept going. Seiv had decided to pull out at CP4 after running 110km, so she wasn’t too concerned about how long it took her to get there, but as I was continuing, I needed to get there before the 4am cutoff. Without a GPS I had no idea how far to CP4 or how fast we were going. Seiv had it sorted and took charge of the pacing. She was determined to get us there with at least 20 minutes of time to refuel. And she was spot on! Two headlamps at night are certainly better than one. Seiv got another 100km finish instead of a DNF and she gave me the chance at my 100mile finish.
When did you realise you were going
to make it?My friend Siev did not want to leave CP3, but she agreed to come with me. We got lost together and it ended up costing us an hour. Between the two of us we were able to work out exactly where we’d gone wrong, turned around and kept going. Seiv had decided to pull out at CP4 after running 110km, so she wasn’t too concerned about how long it took her to get there, but as I was continuing, I needed to get there before the 4am cutoff. Without a GPS I had no idea how far to CP4 or how fast we were going. Seiv had it sorted and took charge of the pacing. She was determined to get us there with at least 20 minutes of time to refuel. And she was spot on! Two headlamps at night are certainly better than one. Seiv got another 100km finish instead of a DNF and she gave me the chance at my 100mile finish.
About 4km out the sweeper had left me and run back to a guy that was behind me on the last leg. He was positive that I’d make it if I ran all the way but I still wasn’t sure. It wasn’t until I came around the last lookout, turned the corner and finally saw the beach and the finish line a km away with about 15 minutes to spare. Even then there is a really steep descent down on to the beach and I was hoping that it was pretty much straight down, not too much zigg zagging or it would take too long. It was my quickest descent of the entire race.
So what’s next? You just finished
Oz’s toughest 100 miler so what else is there to run?
There’s heaps of Australia I haven’t seen and even more to explore overseas. But I’m broke. So the big plan is definitely the Coast to Kosi next year. It’s a 240km run from a beach near Eden in NSW to the Summit of Kosi in the first week of December. Gavin and I would both like to run it. You need to submit a resume to the race director to be accepted, so the rest of the year will be building that resume. We’ll certainly try to do the Glasshouse trail runs, starting with the 50km Hares and Hounds in early January. Because I like mental things we’ll do the 12hr track race in Caboolture in Feb. We are hoping to do 6 foot track and the North Face 100 again, as well as the 100miles at Glass later in the year. The rest of the year is needs to be flexible around injury and finances. Gavin wouldn’t miss the Goldcoast and there are also other 12 and 24hr track races in winter.
There are a couple of gems of information in our
conversation that I needed reinforced,
we joked that I am a messed up racer – in particular when I start to get
negative thoughts I let those dominate my thinking, called negative self talk.
Raelene said she just snaps herself out of those negative thoughts, she doesn’t
let them fester or dominate her thinking for any extended period.There’s heaps of Australia I haven’t seen and even more to explore overseas. But I’m broke. So the big plan is definitely the Coast to Kosi next year. It’s a 240km run from a beach near Eden in NSW to the Summit of Kosi in the first week of December. Gavin and I would both like to run it. You need to submit a resume to the race director to be accepted, so the rest of the year will be building that resume. We’ll certainly try to do the Glasshouse trail runs, starting with the 50km Hares and Hounds in early January. Because I like mental things we’ll do the 12hr track race in Caboolture in Feb. We are hoping to do 6 foot track and the North Face 100 again, as well as the 100miles at Glass later in the year. The rest of the year is needs to be flexible around injury and finances. Gavin wouldn’t miss the Goldcoast and there are also other 12 and 24hr track races in winter.
That is good advice for everyone, especially new runners
where the going gets tough and you just want to stop – don’t. That feeling and
moment will pass and you can push through it and come out the other side to feeling OK again.
Thank-you so much Raelene, I know you weren't too keen on the interview, but you have acheived so much and it is so great to share it with everyone. Congrats again on the finish!
As a note, Marty was up the front in the top 4 but took a wrong turn and ended up doing an extra 16km before finding the checkpoint. He then dropped from the race. White Caviar will be back to smash up a race near you soon!
Good luck to everyone racing this weekend - hope to see you at the Movember run.
Pex
Thank-you so much Raelene, I know you weren't too keen on the interview, but you have acheived so much and it is so great to share it with everyone. Congrats again on the finish!
As a note, Marty was up the front in the top 4 but took a wrong turn and ended up doing an extra 16km before finding the checkpoint. He then dropped from the race. White Caviar will be back to smash up a race near you soon!
Good luck to everyone racing this weekend - hope to see you at the Movember run.
Pex
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