Kenyan Fartlek Again

Yesterday went to running club again, the weather was almost perfect for running aside from a bit of wind. After a 2.5km warm up and some drills, we started the session. I was training with Chris, Haftu, Duggie and Jasper, so quite a small group. Started with 2 minutes hard then 2 minutes easy and we did that 4 times. I led the second one and it felt good. No niggles from the 24/7. After the third one Jasper dropped out I think he had an injury, but I don't know for certain. We completed the fourth one and then had a 4 minute break before starting 1's. We did 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy 6 times. I led the first and 4th one, but by then it was only Haftu , Chris and I running so each of us led 2 reps. Finished the session no worries and I really enjoyed it. First proper training after the 24/7 and it felt good. About 9.8km in all including warm up and cool down.

5k Easy

Today did an easy 5km. Just a run after the last 2 days of resting after the 24/7. It felt really strange running on concrete after so many kilometres on grass. Did it in 23:41, calves were a bit sore, but it was expected. I'll go to running club tomorrow.

24/7

Yesterday was the start of the 24/7.(Read previous post for explanation).We got to the school oval at 7:30 to collect our registration packet and to start setting up our tents. The registration pack included: Electronic bib tags to record our laps, Dinner cards and breakfast cards that we had to hand in we had those meals. We set up our tents then waited for the speeches before the actual race. A representative from the chosen charity explained what the money we raised would be used for. Then the coordinators of the challenge told the starting runners to line up at the start and then they were off. The clock started, and it was very fast. Harry went out quick to avoid the wave of slower runners behind him that would block our way. The track was a 550metre loop so our team would be over taking people all the time. We were going fast at the start, but we all feeling good. There was one problem though and that was that the score board wasn't working and it was giving teams laps when they hadn't done them. Because of our pace and the fact that nobody was overtaking us it was obvious that we were first, but the scoreboard said we were ninth. We slowed down a bit not wanting to use lots of our energy if it was going to be wasted. Each of us had 4 half an hour breaks during the race and one 3 hour sleeping time during the night according to my schedule. The race started at 10am and by 5pm we were ok. Some of us went to get dinner and food while the other kept running. The scoreboard still wasn't fixed although the technicians were working on it. At 9pm 2 people had their sleeping break and I had a half hour break. I was starting to hurt. My knee was starting to click and my calves felt like someone was slowly pulling them apart. I kept going. In the dark at 11 at night. You are just running and you are hoping its going to end soon. You have no hope as the clock says you are only just past halfway and everything hurts. They whole 300m is just a wave of pain until you hand the baton to the next person and you collapse in a chair. By 1 in the morning you are hurting even more. I couldn't bend my knee well and but I was pushing through. My calves were awful and the tendon behind my knee was killer. The scoreboard however was fixed, but we missed out on some of our laps because the recording system had broken as well. To make matters worse the team behind us was slowly gaining. We continued and found ourselves 10 laps ahead of the second place team and it was staying at that interval. At 3 in the morning it was my 3 hour sleep time and I collapsed in one of our tents. Before I knew it I was asleep and was woken  up at 6 in the morning to start running again. I shuffled along when the baton was handed to me trying not to let anyone pass me. The sun was starting to come up now and this gave us more energy. We extended our lead to 12 then 15 laps. I was still struggling  however and I just wanted it to end. When there was only 3 hours left I tried to push on. I did, picking up my pace a bit more every time it was my go to run. With an hour left we were going alright. We had a 20 lap lead and wanted to extend it. I was absolutely spent, I was struggling through. It wasn't like I was gasping for air. I felt like I was just breathing normally but my legs were wrecked. The pain was awful. When it finished I was so happy. We listened to some after speeches and we had to go up on stage because we won. The scoreboard only counted the last 15 hours of the challenge and it missed the start when we were really moving. I reckon I ran about 45km in all. Next year I'm going to do it, but walk it instead of running. I think I will be sore for about 4 days after this.

24/7 Explanation

Rest day today as I have a huge race tomorrow. This is not a normal race. It is a 24 hour relay style race. Teams are made up of 7 members, who take it in turns to run for 24 hours. It is to raise money for a charity. This year the charity is State Schools Relief, who provide aid for those who can't afford to go to school. This event is run by our school and about 900 kids are participating this year. This is how it works. Students will run around the oval with a baton. Each lap is about 550 metres long.  Each team member has a microchip on their number bib and as the student crosses the lap start and finish line the machine records a lap. Only one student is running at a time. They can run for however long they like, but it is recommended to have a plan and not just wing it.

This year, we have gathered the fittest year 10's in the school and we are going to try and win. The winning team is the team with the most laps recorded. Our team is called A.S.A.D.A Approved.( Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency) We did this last year and managed to pull and incredible second place, but this year we are going for gold. Our team is made up of these members: Me. Harry Amner- A Sprinter who can run 100m in just over 11 seconds. Also a very solid 400 and 800m runner. Matt Mahoney (Mahone)- An extraordinary cyclist for our age, who often rides 70k a pop on the weekends. Willem van Denderen (Vandend)- A huge sports fanatic, who follows and plays most sports. Jonno Krieger- An athlete who recently trained for the state cross country, pulled a ripper 17:30 for 5km, loads of natural ability. Tim Dobson (Dobbo)- An exceptional hockey player (last year in this event, Tim pulled us through the night with his non-stop effort). Karl Wegman- A want to be Air Force officer and the best cadet you can find. He often does huge hikes with weighted backpacks and army equipment. Nic Chapman (Chappo)- Our team manager and PR representative. He unfortunately isn't able to do the challenge with us this year due to sporting commitments.

Our team has a very organised 24 hour schedule thanks to Matt and our plan is to run half lap increments as we have learned through experience that this is the most effective way to tackle the challenge. Really looking forward to it weather it looking to be ok. I have plenty of food and clothes as it is going to get pretty cold. Should be incredible.

Race + Kenyan Fartlek

Yesterday had the next round from the school athletics. I was running the 1500m. Alright day for running, good temperature, but very windy. The race started and I led. I have almost no experience in this race so I didn't know what to do. Just kept running at the same pace with a tall kid from another school and one of my mates behind me. Went through the first 400 in 73 seconds. Continued at the same paces until 800 where I considered kicking but decided not to. I am not a very good sprinter at all so I should've kicked at 800. I continued like this feeling great. Went through the 1km mark in 3:17 and just kept the same pace. At about 250m to go. The tall guy behind me just went. I tried to continue with him, but I can't sprint. He beat me by about 20m. I ended up running a 4:42. I had recovered in 2 minutes while the leader continued breathing hard for another 2 minutes after. I made poor decisions and therefore lost the race. After a talk with Cheyne (running coach) I now know what to do.

About 5 hours after the race I had training. We weren't doing a hard session as most of us were racing tomorrow. Just 2 minutes fast, 2 minutes slow 4 times. Then 1 minute fast , 1 minute slow 4 times. Felt really good, despite having raced. Did the session no worries and about 9.3km in all.   

400's

Today went to running club and after a 2.5km warm up we got down to business. Perfect weather for running, no wind and not too cold. We did the 400's in sets of 3. I was running with Haftu, Dean and Duggie. For the first set we had a 1 minute recovery between each, but the reps were to be slower. The times for the first set were 76s, 72s, 74s. The 400's also were not on the track. They were on a gravel path which is a 1200 metre loop. The loop also has a hill in it so the first rep of all the 3 sets was always the slowest. After the first set we had 3 minute break and I was feeling pretty good. I have done quite a lot of 400's in the past so the lactic didn't hit me as hard as the others. For the second set we had a 2 minute rest in between each one, but the reps had to be a bit faster. The times were 72s, 68s, and 70s. We then had another 3 minute break before starting the next set. For this set we had a 3 minute break in between each one but the reps had to be faster still. The times were 72s, 66s, and 64s. Really good session, feeling a bit sore in the calves, about 7.3km in all.

Easy 12km

Today did an easy 12km with dad. Hot and windy, so not the best conditions. Still a nice run though. Dad stopped at 9k to drive the car home that he left at a party. I finished the last 3km off. Picked up the pace a bit, but not much. Ended up with a time of 53:51(4:48's). 59km for the week.