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.

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

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!!!