Melbourne Marathon Race Report - 2015

Well somehow I didnt blog about my 11th Marathon. Generally I like to construct what I would like to post in my head over a few runs, then I find it best to sit and knock the whole thing out in one go.

Melbourne was different, it was so emotional for 2 reasons - and its taken me a while to process the feeling and renewed motivation for running.

Without revisiting old ground, I have spent the year forcing myself to run marathons. Looking for my old motivation. I didnt race at any other distance, didnt run a half or a hard 10k. I went from 7 to 11 marathons without being race fit. I just logged enough miles not to die. Always hoping that on one run it would "click" and all of a sudden I would have my mojo back. It never came when I wanted it to.

Looking back over my Garmin data I didnt log too many miles through September, and having the 3 weeks between marathons really didnt give me a chance to recover or get any fitter.

Marathon week arrived and I was looking forward to just a mini holiday, after the stress of the Capricorn Coast Running Festival it was a relief to have the weekend to havea  few beers and unwind.

Then I recieved a call. BOOM. Ben calls from NZ saying he is coming over to run. At first I was hesitant because it was a lot of cash to be spending, but he says he wants to come. SO in an instant our Marathon party grew! I was so excited, it had been over 12 months since Ben returned to Wellington and I missed really missed his friendship, running with him, and hanging out. Maybe part of my running mojo was with Ben, as soon as he announced they were heading back to NZ it sort of just vanished. We had spent all of 2012 running together, training for my first ultras, under Ben's coaching I PB'ed across all distances. It was my biggest running year.

When we touched down in Melbourne it was clear Ben was either pregnant or really serious about hitting the gym, he looked huge like a white kiwi Hulk. I had talked him into running the marathon and not just spectating. He said he hadn't run for months, and it was obvious he was telling the truth.

On the way down in the plane - I said to Brenden he has to have a crack at a 3.30 marathon. He had never been fitter, the weather was perfect and he had to just enjoy this moment as he might not get another chance like it. He was not quite sure as he was training heavily for Noosa triathlon, and wasnt certain he would recover. We hatched a plan, that if he felt a tweek to any pain in his glute (where he had problems) that he would just back the pace off and finish the marathon as a training run.

My original plan was to shave the 9 minutes off my time from Sydney and finish the year with a 4.00 marathon. Ben said he was going to run 5.40s for as long as possible then I could leave him behind. Yeah right. Like I would be leaving him behind! My plan was just to enjoy the day out with my brother.

So we met Greg (who was injured) and met his mate Matt who was running his first marathon, Matt joined Ben and I and we set off to try and run a even split 4.00 marathon. Everything was on track, we held back really early - then eased into 5.25-5.30 pace. We caught the 4.00 pace balloons around 12 or 13km and then got seperated with Matt. We spotted Brenden a couple of times, as he was on the other side of the road. He looked really comfortable, running his own pace.

We ran on, and by 25km I started to get tight. My legs just felt like lead, and my stride length just got shorter and shorter.  It was sort of a relief to get to that point having run solidly knowing could take it easy with some walk breaks and still finish under 4.30, and this is exactly what we did. For the next 17km Ben and I just enjoyed being out, talking, running. Ben even called his wife Mel in the middle of the race! Definately not your typical marathon!

As we neared the end, the moment and emotion started to bubble up within me. I missed Ben. I missed being fit. I wanted more out of myself. I realised finally that I can achieve more with running, I am not done yet, I wanted to get back to feeling like I had in 2012. As we rounded the last corner, there were runners everywhere - 5km, half marathoners, marathoners. The finish line was super crowded, but Ben and I savoured the moment. Crossing together, arms raised.
We run for those who cant.

Within moments we found Brenden and he had run 3.30. I was so pumped for him. A marathon PB in the middle of his triathlon training. Officially he finished with a 3.30.01 - 2 seconds and he would of been sub 3.30! He had run a perfect negative split marathon.

As we had a few beers and watched Bathurst it really started to kick in, the feeling that it was time to dig in and really have a crack at a 3.30 marathon. If Brenden can do it, there is no reason why I couldnt. I had run all year with him, and know that if I got my endurance back there is no reason I can't smash it.

Ben made his way to the bus station and we said our final goodbyes, promising it wouldnt be too long between our next visits.

As I had a few ciders with Brenden in the airport I felt different, I had been here before, I knew the feeling, MOJO. All of a sudden I wanted to run. I was ready to reapply myself and rip in.

2015 goals start today.

Before I even think about races, I needed 2 things, to get to my racing weight and to build a decent base.

So starting stats 14th October 77.3kg ave weekly kms 50km/week.
On Sunday I weighed in at 72kg and have averaged 70km/week for the last 6 weeks. Feels good to ramp things up, drop the puppy fat and start to feel comfortable running again.

The goal is to get to racing weight, not sure but somewhere around 69-68kg by the end of February then ramp things up for a big crack at Gold Coast and Melbourne Marathons.

I'll start posting weekly updates of training etc just to keep myself accountable.

Run smart

Pex

2013 Year in Review (sort of)

It’s certainly has been a weird year – something’s have progressed and improved and others certainly have either plateaued or regressed.

As a dad and husband I certainly feel like this has been my best year yet – I have invested more positive energy into the boys and they are really showing some signs of maturing into well rounded and responsible kids. In hindsight I raced too much last year, which included too many weekends away. I also travel for work sometimes, so being away from the family certainly takes its toll on the family unit and messes up everyone’s routine.  I have certainly felt a strong feeling of guilt, about spending quality family time pursuing my own selfish pursuits. This feeling shouldn’t be confused with investment to be a better athlete, which I strongly believe can occur on a reasonable daily activity level (like running in the morning and gym at lunch). What I am referring to is the long distance travel to all points of Australia to race.

This year I feel like I haven’t raced enough, but I have progressed with my strength and speed – I just don’t have a heap of participation medals to go with the training effort.

In thinking about 2014 one big difference is that Joel starts prep and will be at school with Hayden. Which means Bel will probably work a bit more. At the end of the year I traditionally plan out what events I’m most likely going to target for the year. Only 1 event is certain and that is the Gold Coast Marathon which I will run with Donald. I probably will run the 10k the day before and aim for a sub 45 min run (my PB is 43.55). That way I can push the faster training still and get a few long runs up, I don’t want to be the one complaining at 35km with 7km to go!

Apart from that – there are 2 other trips which I am desperate to do. The first is a family trip to Sydney to watch a Manly Sea Eagles home game. Manly play arch rivals Melbourne at Brookvale on the Saturday night and hopefully the stars align and I can get there for my birthday weekend which is Round 1. The other trip is a family trip to New Zealand to go skiing with Ben, Mel and the kids. In reflecting about the cash I spent racing last year, money would be better spent on a couple of decent family holidays. This is different to investing in my health, such as running gear, gym fees etc.

Which is the hard part of planning trips. When I look back at 2012 I feel very guilty about the money I spent on myself, which could have been spent on the family. It’s not like I was spending our food money on racing, but with events it certainly chews into the family travel budget. As the boys have matured (Hayden is nearly 8 and Joel is 5) – there are more adventures we can all have together on the weekends - memories for life. It was often a lonely feeling calling home after I raced to talk to the kids.

The big thing floating around with my running is should I have an all-out crack at a marathon PB after Gold Coast. Maybe aim for Sydney marathon in September or Sunshine Coast in August I have never done Sydney and it would be nice to have another “state” completed. With regards to track racing, hopefully work gets me to Brisbane for the QLD State Masters Champs in March. I’ll start to ramp up the track work soon, and hopefully with the extra gym work I have been putting in I will see an immediate improvement. I ran close to a grass 200m PB yesterday, after 4 weeks off so I know the gym work is paying dividends.  

With blogging it has been difficult to write. Less events have meant less to write about.  I have really enjoyed this year spending more time with the family and less time measuring my self-worth on race results, which I have a habit of doing. A pattern I fall into is wanting to push and test myself, then once that improvement curve ends, I lose interest and move on. Maybe I could just be happy at being a multiple marathon completer just running 4 days a week.

I think some of this is also that I am missing planning road trips, racing and travel with Ben, as he has been back in NZ for 2 months now it is starting to sink in that he isnt coming back. I miss having him here to chat with and it probably is one of the reasons that I am failing to plan anything for 2014.

As you can hear, a lot of stuff is up in the air. I know the effort it takes to pull on a marathon PB and a part of me wants that, but I also am aware of the bitter taste of a marathon struggle, where you don’t perform as expected. It can be a soul searching exercise.  The other issue is I have invested 12 months to get faster – and I have seen some real progress, but as I mentioned before the lure of a marathon finish line is like nothing else. Of my 7 marathons, only 1 (Canberra) did I not feel like a rock star when I finished. That’s a lot of good memories and positive emotions bottled up in running 42.2km!

In talking about racing, Gav Bendall is about to run Australia’s longest and arguably toughest Ultra the Coast to Kozi a 240km race from the Pacific Ocean to the top of Mt Kosciusko! Another friend Mat Grills is also doing the race, and I wish them all the best and safe journeys whilst taking on this epic adventure.

If you are wondering what the event date is for the Spring Classic next year, it is the 5^th of October, so book it in! It is a week before Melbourne Marathon and a month before Noosa Triathlon.

Race Review and Spring Classic

 

Welcome to my late race report. I thought I would bundle all of these words together to form some sort of blog/make sense of what I am doing with my life. I can honestly say that last weekend when the CQPhysio Group Spring Classic was on, was the busiest I have ever been in my life. It’s also in the top 5 most stressful moments of all time.

I will talk about the Spring Classic from my perspective later (as an event) but if you are skimming this and not going to read the whole thing – I want to quickly say that we at HRE have taken your feedback on-board and will make a number of improvements for next year. Some of these items were due to budget constraints, others simply growing pains. We want you, as an athlete, to have the best experience so aim to improve every time we bring you a HRE event.

The couple items for next year that will be improved;

• Earlier start time for all events, 6.15am start for the main race
• Longer course, course will go all the way to the roundabout for the 10k and half marathoners – thus reducing the laps and congestion at the turn around points
• Army of aid station volunteers – and larger aid stations
• Better race precinct, a half marathoners finishers area, bottle of water for every finisher, more kids entertainment, more food options, better viewing area of finish line,
• Pre-race pick up all day in Yeppoon on Saturday, all day in Rockhampton Friday
• Communicating our sell out points earlier (sorry if you missed out we only have insurance for a certain number, will raise this to 1500 next year)
• Singlets will be for sale, so if you want a cool singlet you simply order it before the cut off date – if you want one you can get one
• Early bird entry fees – discounts for people who like to sign up early
• Participants hand book, so you have all the details in one easy to reference book prior to the race

Thanks to everyone who raced, we loved bringing you the big city race experience here in CQ – bigger and better next year!

Before I get onto my experience as a race organiser/spectator I will go back 3 weeks to my racing in Townsville.

We had a family trip to Townsville – a chance to get out of town, and for me to test out my winter training. I had nominated for the Masters division but in a conversation with ANQ they placed me in the open division. This didn’t seem to be a bad thing, I wasn’t looking to win any events, just use the faster runners to “pull” me through for a PB.

When I was lining up one of the kids said I was a huge 800m runner! Huge as in muscular. I am no whippet like the other middle distance kings.

My one little gripe was the timings of the event. The races didn’t start on time, so by the time I warmed up etc. We had to wait – up to 45 minutes till the start of our races. The first race was the 800m and I was looking to run under 2.20. The race included the opens and under 18 mens, the pace was insanely quick and I went out way too hard going through the first 400m in 62 seconds, down the back straight I completely blew up and was passed by just about everyone. Finishing in 2.21 I was spent. I should of ran the first lap in 1.05-1.06 and wasn’t “listening to my body” – by the time I got to the car I was dizzy, the 5minute drive to the motel was hell. When I parked the truck, I stepped out and vomited everywhere! I made it upstairs, laid in the cold shower and tried to recover.

Bel thought I was going to die, and kept asking “is this more fun than marathons?” in her really concerned caring way. I love her so much, she was really worried about me. At that point I was glad she wasn’t at TNF to see me near death! 20 minutes later I was back, feeling better! Weird.

The 400m was my showdown event. I really wanted to bury myself and run under 60 seconds.

The same again, the race was moved and I had to run later in the day. They again combined a number of races. Kids were talking about running 55s – so I knew I was going to be close to last again. I settled into my blocks and tried to push out hard, and go balls out. Coming down the home straight I was pushing and knew I was close to a minute, it felt quick. Maybe because of the heat or wind, but it felt faster than the 61 seconds I was awarded with. The elusive sub 60 minute 400 still eludes me. I’m not far off it.

Sunday was a mess. The kids had a swim at the water park and by 11am Bel was feeling sick, we went back to the motel and she had a migraine (from the heat I think) and was down for the count. So I went and ran the 200 by myself. I have run a 27.00 self-timed on the track and a 27.89 on the grass self-timed and was really hoping I could execute a sub 27 200. As I was in my blocks the gun went and I launched out as hard as possible, again it felt really quick, the adrenaline was pumping and I put in a huge dip at the line. I waited around for my time and disappointingly ran a 27.39 – there isn’t much in it I guess between a good race and a great one.

 

A learning from the event, is not to warm up so early. The other factor was being prepared to wait. Just waiting killed my energy and buzz.

So the next 12 weeks will be about building a base again and after Christmas concentrating on the Queensland Masters Athletics Games again. I need to be stronger out of the start and build a better tolerance towards the end. A few improvements should see more running PBs.

Donald has been hounding me about the blog, and to be honest I really miss the finish line of a marathon. I have committed to running at least 2 next year. Maybe I could run 3 and get my marathon total to 10. I don’t have a burning desire to run a PB just do it for the experience. Track is where my energy is still going.  

Speaking of Donald he ran his first half marathon on Sunday. As we spoke on Monday for the debrief I can hear in his voice that a lot has changed, his focus on becoming a better athlete is 110% - there is nothing that will stand in his way of GC 2014. I said to Bel last night, that it is motivating to hear how he is changing his life. He will become a better man by running. If you are willing to listen, you learn so much about yourself.

So last week arrived, I had been given the honour of Master of Ceremonies at my Cousin’s wedding. Owen was marrying his fiancé Cedar in Byfield. She is absolutely the perfect life partner for him, so caring and compassionate, but also will take charge when required. They are so much in love, and it just warms my heart to see them both so happy together.

The MC duties however provided a logistical challenge with setting up the CQPhysio Group Spring Classic and being in 3 places at once, of course the wedding reception was in the rainforest so no mobile reception!!! Painful!

With regards to the event – Jason and I started HRE in January 2011 with the dream of bringing a big city race to CQ. Sunday actually felt like we had achieved that goal, with 900 runners tackling the beach front it was a sight no one had ever experienced.

A lot of work goes into events, and it included us working 38 hours straight over Saturday and Sunday to pull it off. For those of you that have already provided feedback (good and bad) we are listening and will make course changes, start early, improve aid stations, have more organised finishers precinct, and do a full 2 day race pack pick up. There are a few other details which we want to get right to ensure all runners have the best possible race day experience. If you have any feedback let us know at humanraceevents@hotmail.com

Whilst on the thank-you list, I must thank all of the Aid-Station Volunteers and Luke Fallon for working over time getting aid to people. Like I have said earlier, aid stations will be better stocked and resourced next year – one of the growing pains this year.

The race itself was run and won with the favourites in the 5km and 10km men’s getting the money, Paul and Miles both ran great races. Drew came in from Emerald late in the week and wanted to run his first half marathon, a new course record of 1.16 it was insane to watch him carve his way through the field. Rodney ran really well also, setting himself up for another big block of ironman training leading up to Port Mac. Raelene and Gav get prepared to run the Coast to Kosciusko Ultra – Rails wins the 10k event! Loved seeing our Cooee Bay Pharmacy pace runners bringing people home on their goal times!

 

 

 

For my little family, Joel and Hayden loved the kids dash again! The kids ran the same course as the adults Mile Bolt – I loved it. I loved seeing Hayden and Joel race hard and push themselves. Hayden really surprised me in the 5km – he ran 26 minutes, which is another 2 minutes off his 5km PB. I bet you all think we train and I pressure him, but it’s the opposite. We do no training, just ride our bikes and kick the footy. I am ever conscious of not making them both do too much whilst they are young. I want them to have fun and enjoy it.

For me the greatest moments are when people are suffering yet still have the courage to push through to finish. Nicole was aiming for 2hrs and fell off the pace, and finished with 2.07. I know she is capable of running under 2hrs – but it just wasn’t her day – next year for sure.

Also a big shout out to Aaron and Leah Benson who were married the day before. Leah was adamant that she was going to pace run no matter what and made it quite clear she would “protest” if she was left out! We had her bib made with “Just Married” on it. It was so cool. Aaron decided his form of protest would be to take our cash and ran 3^rd in the 5km! Awesome to have both of them there running and sharing their experience with everyone.

That about covers it for the last few weeks, I am back in the gym and doing some track sessions and general running at the moment.

Be safe

Pex

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.

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