Getting out the door

In June I published a post about motivation and inspiration. This week I had to take a leaf out of my own book and practice what I preach. Sometimes it can be very difficult to view your own training objectively. If someone asks for some advice, generally, I can have a look at what they have been doing and what their goals are and come up with a pretty good suggestion or solution. But when it comes to looking at my own training I can and do make lots of silly mistakes and do things that contradict what I would normally advise someone else not to do. Since my two week break I have been logging some good volume with weeks of; 102km, 133km and 161km. With only two weeks of high volume before my race taper I intended to run around 160km each week.

This week started off strong and I continued making significant deposits into the running bank. On Monday I ran with my kids before a good undulating workout. On Tuesday I struggled with motivation and during the first couple of kilometres, considered turning around and going home. With a high volume of accumulated distance in my legs and lots of early starts at work I was getting quite tired and was struggling to find the motivation to keep pushing. I was still focused on my goal but in the back of my mind I was trying to find excuses not to run.

I find that getting out the door is the hardest part and generally feel much better afterwards. So on Tuesday, as I struggled through the early part of the run, I thought about how lucky I was to have my health and fitness and focused on trying to enjoy my run and not think about the 30km or so ahead of me. As is often the case I had a great run and managed to get a PB on my Mt Archer climb. I hit the bottom of the main climb having completed 8.78 km and as I took a drink and time check, a cyclist came past. GAME ON. At first he thought he was alone but after a quick look behind my competitive intent was exposed. I developed a good rhythm and got into the zone, focusing on my breathing and keeping the cyclist in view. He started with about a 100 metre advantage and as we climbed the distance between us would yo-yo depending on the gradient and whether he was seated or standing. I was still about 100m behind him, as we approached the saddle, when tragedy happened. He turned around and went back down the hill. D'oh, I thought I could catch and pass him by the summit. I briefly considered taking a breather but was still 'in the zone' so continued onwards and upwards. My kilometre splits were all low to mid six minute kilometre range and I made it to my 5km end marker (top lookout near the antenna's) in 31mins 45secs a PB by 1 minute 3 seconds. After a quick breather and admiring the magnificent vistas I ran around a few of the lookouts before heading down the hill again. On my way home I passed by the Central Queensland University grass running track. Quite a few of the Rocky Road Runners meet for their speed work sessions on a Tuesday so I thought I would say hi. I love the energy of running with a group and I couldn't resist running a couple of fast (too fast) 200's with them. I hadn't done any speed work since the Gold Coast Marathon and as a consequence felt a bit tight for the rest of the run home.

On Wednesday I ran the same undulating course as Monday but felt a little tired, which is understandable I guess. After the run I enjoyed a little jog around with my kids which always lifts my spirits. Like me they were a little tired so we only did one lap around the block. By the time I got home from work on Thursday I had hit the wall and could not face going out for my planned 30km run. I briefly considered driving to run with the Thursday pack but couldn't even face that, the door remained shut. It can be a fine line between doing too much and not doing enough. I firmly believe that it is better to be slightly under-prepared than over-trained. There is always the possibility of pushing that little bit harder or longer in a race if you have slightly undertrained but there is little or no chance of coming back if you are over-cooked. I felt bad about abandoning my run and kept trying to justify my decision but I am glad that I stayed at home. With my big volume and consecutive early shifts I felt that I was always tired and not spending as much time with Mel or the kids as I wanted. As it turned out I had a great afternoon and evening at home with my family and got to spend some quality time with both of my wonderful children.

Friday was always going to be an easy 10km run but after I got home from taking the kids to school I took the opportunity to mow the lawn which usually takes 1.5 hours. I was very hungry and needed to eat before running but decided to abandon the run in favour of cleaning the car. I could've run in the afternoon but I wanted to save myself for Saturday's long run. I was so tired by the end of the day that I almost neglected to make up my drinks and prepare my gear for the run in the morning.

My alarm went off at 3:45am. I got up but then went back to bed. I lay there debating on the virtues of staying at home again. I was still tired and wanted to go back to sleep, the only trouble was that I was awake and knew that I would be angry with myself if I missed three days of what is supposed to be a big week of training. It turned out that all I needed was two days off to refresh both mentally and physically because I managed to run a quickish long run to make it back-to-back weeks of 50km Saturdays. I did my own undulating 11km loop before joining the group. The pace remained quick for most of the run, especially when running for a short time alongside Marty at sub 4:00min/km pace. As the run progressed the group whittled down to Michael, Marty and myself. Thanks to M & M I managed to keep a good consistent pace with great company so that I only had to run another 7km or so by myself at the end. At the conclusion of the run I was tired but not shattered and began turning my mind to the 10km race on Sunday.

At about 7:00am on Sunday morning I stood on the start line of the Balance Podiatry Pink Ribbon 10km fun run. I knew that running a fast 10km race after running a quick 50km the day before would always be a challenge. Even as the starter's gun fired I did not really have a time or place goal. I honestly thought something like 45mins or at best around 42mins would be achievable and considering the huge turnout (around 250 people for the 5k, 10k & kids run) I was not worried about a place. I settled into a good fast rhythm and was surprised at how good I felt. I passed a few runners in the first couple of kilometres as the leaders pulled ahead and looked down at my watch to find that I was running at just under 4min/km pace. My legs were a little tired but not heavy which enabled me to push out with a longer, stronger, faster stride. I continued to pass a few runners so that I started the second 5km lap in 6th place with Marty just ahead. I ran a consistent race with close to even lap splits to finish in 39mins 39secs for 5th overall. The course was slightly short with my Garmin reading 9.8km but I was incredibly pleased with my surprising performance and was unofficially about 20-30 seconds away from Michael who took home third place. A huge thank you to Kelly, Leah and their volunteers who put on a great race. Well done to all the people who placed and who completed the run and in the triathlons / duathlons held at Yeppoon.

I would also like to acknowledge the truly remarkable achievement of my cousin Cameron Brown (no, not the triathlete), who last night became World Champion in both the singles and pairs at the Aerobics World Championships on the Gold Coast. Cameron has dedicated himself to his sport for many many years at the elite level. I'm so proud and happy for him to reach the pinnacle of his sport and being crowned World Champion is a testament to his dedication and drive. Well done cuz.

Weekly totals:

Mon - 2.07km - 15mins 39secs - run with Holly and Ethan
- 15.05km - 1hr 18mins 35secs - undulating run
Tue - 31.10km - 2hrs 43mins 55secs - hills incl' Mt Archer
Wed - 15.05km - 1hr 20mins 43secs - undulating run
- 1.12km - 8mins 57secs - run with Holly and Ethan
Thu - Rest day
Fri - Rest day
Sat - 50.25km - 4hrs 17mins 16secs - long run with group
Sun - 2.52km - 12mins 50secs - warm up for 10km race
- 9.80km - 39mins 39secs - 10km Pink Ribbon race
- 4.10km - 20mins 26secs - warm down

Totals - 131.06km - 11hrs 18mins 05secs

With only one more week of high volume and three weeks to go until race day I am getting very excited about the race. I've never been to Cairns or Port Douglas before so I am looking forward to what will be another exciting adventure.

Keep running.