Melbourne Half-marathon

Wasn't too sure what to expect to be honest, but poor timing of the toilets meant no warm up and a quick jump of the barrier to get closer to the front in 11,000 people. To be fair I did line up for the toilet 40 mins before the race that was a stressful wait.

Got out okay I was fine once I was running. Had my eye on 80 mins and the first km was a bit slow, but I was more focused on just getting through 10k feeling alright. Dropped my gel on purpose about 5km in, it was getting annoying and sweaty and just wanted it gone. Overtaking people up until about 6km then settled in with a guy. Went through the Glenhuntly drinks station and got a big yell which was great. Stayed with that bloke until about 10km where I realised I could definitely go a bathroom break right now. Decided against it I was going to lose too much time.

Hurting a bit a 12km but still felt okay, just heavy. Settled in with a group from then until about 16. Defintely hurting from 14 onwards. Just real sore, managed to keep myself together though, I didn't blow up which was great. Just so mentally difficult. Group went on at 17, but they were a bit eager so ended up reeling them all back in. Closed it out nicely, just hurting way too much. MCG finish was great, got over the line and quads were a mess and everything just really sore. So so tough honestly. Ended up with 82:30, 74th place and I'll take it to be honest. First half marathon so I didn't have huge hopes for an insane time, but I'll definitely take that one. Got some huge respect for those silly distances, just unreal.

Some lessons for next year. I'll try and spread them out a bit, I'm definitely keen to keep some speed for the track.

1. Maybe potatoes instead of pasta the night before, I really reckon 80 mins could've been on if it wasn't for me needing to shit.

2. Gentle jog before we leave the house might also help with this.

3. Get a preferred start through aths vic. Should've done this in all honesty, and it would've meant I could've warmed up easily.

4. Take a gel, practice taking it and running fast at the same time and have a good system for carrying it that isn't annoying.

5. Better prep, missed a few long runs and didn't have the most consistent few months leading into it with achilles problems, getting sick and messing with the training schedule. Getting those things closer to right would definitely leave me with more confidence and a better base. 

Saw loads of people with those 4% shoes, don't know if I rate them to be honest they definitely feel like a pay-to-win kind of thing especially as that 2:00:25 was as unofficial as it gets. Maybe I'm just salty about losing to people with them, but it does seem like a bit like that banned swimsuit a few years back.

buzzing

Have lot of energy at the moment because I've barely been running. Worked a fair bit the last 2 weeks so that's good. Monday night just did the first bit of the session with the guys, goal was to feel strong the whole time and I reckon I managed that. 

600, 600, 400 with 400m jog between each. 1:49, 1:45, 67. Then jogged a few more laps and took yesterday off. 

Taper update

6 days now until the race. Last week took the tuesday off before doing 8 x 200m on the track with 200 jog recovery on the Wednesday. That was a good workout, all reps in 29-30s.

Thursday just jogged 10km in 46 mins and Saturday ran with Mum for an hour along the soft trail at Sandy for 12km. Took Sunday off and now will probably just exercise every other day up until the race. So training tonight, Wednesday then maybe a little run or a water run on Friday so should be good.

600s

Starting with a little less now. Jumped on the track with the boys for 4 x 600m w/ 400 jog. The others did a couple more reps. Legs felt flat and slow right off the bat I think the flat long run on concrete yesterday would've done that. Ended up running fairly well though which is a good sign on wobbly legs. 

1:46, 1:47, 1:45, 1:43

I'll take it. Tried to book a massage for today but no luck. Got on for Friday instead. Will rest up today, then another little workout Wednesday. 

Wishy washy

Had an awful hill session Saturday morning. Didn't sleep well Thursday or Friday so I think it was just being tired. 2 rough hill sessions in a row though and they are unpleasant at the best of times. Was glad just to finish 8 reps in the end. Considered resting again Sunday but I knew that'd be foolish.

Clocks jumped forward so ditched ferny to save a 5:30 equivalent wake up and settled on beach with Sammy. Had a great run with Sammy, 21.5km in 1:39. Smashed a carb gel at halfway, went down okay with a bit of water, but it sat well although I didn't feel like I had loads of energy afterwards. Maybe the pace wasn't hot enough. Deciding when to try again on a harder run. Maybe tomorrow halfway through the session. Maybe at hills next week.

Anyway the taper officially starts tomorrow. My goal is just not to have sore legs by the time the race rolls around. I'm so used to running on tired legs that I feel like I'm slacking when I don't have them. Definitely a problem in my races, I think that might be a factor in where I'm going wrong.

My prep hasn't been perfect, but it hasn't been awful either. I feel like I'm definitely fit enough to run well, but it's about getting this taper right now. Still 2 weeks away so I might go 75% mileage this week with a couple of complete rest days then 40% mileage or less next week. 

8 x 400 and Mid-week long run

The others were doing 200s again on Wednesday, so I jumped in with Chris Winter for some 400s on the track instead. I don't know how I feel about 200s, unless I'm doing at least 12 its doesn't feel like much. I guess it's great for speed, I might try combine them with a tempo later in track season, because I'd rather train with other people than solo. 

Ended up training really well. The water running did me wonders, heart and lungs feel like they've really had a workout, combined with the strength stuff it was pretty perfect. 

68.7, 68.3, 68.6, 69.8, 69.5, 69.2, 69.3, 65.9

Over the moon with that last rep. 13.2km all up.

Last night ran with Jase, JB and Liam and little bit on my own. Took it easier which I felt better about. 15km in 1:08:32 so 4:34s., great pace really enjoy the run. Then did 5 x 60m strides with Liam plus a few drills. Then did some more strength, calves and glutes and called it a day. About to go for a Friday water run now. 

Figuring it out

Could've probably used another day off on Monday, but felt so much better after not running Sunday. Trained with Will doing that same acceleration each lap tempo run. Ended up running 22:00 for the 6km, pretty similar to last week with a slower start and a faster finish. Then onto the track for 100m on 100m off for 3 laps solo. 14.6km all up.

After the plan to only run 5 days a week, settled on a sturdy strength session and a water run for the Tuesday program. Legs felt a bit jelly like before getting in the pool after the squats and calf raises, but I think building that strength will help me a lot more than the impact of easy tuesday miles. 

Water run was great. Did 2 sets of timed monas in the pool so basically 30 mins of thrashing about trying to stay afloat at different intensities. You recover pretty fast but the hear rate gets really high, a lot higher than you'd expect, so only took 15 seconds between reps. Felt so good afterwards and legs feel a lot better than they were Saturday morning even after a tough workout the night before. Happy with how the plan is going and looking forward to training tonight.