Loose wheel nuts at the Melbourne Half

I share a phrase with my mate Bruce to describe what happens when a runner dramatically slows at some point during a race: "their wheels have fallen off". That phrase could have been used to describe me at the 14k mark of the 2012 Melbourne Half Marathon. More accurately my race was sabotaged by loose wheel nuts. Running on the slight downhill of St Kilda Road my right leg suddenly buckled. It was the 'pinched nerve thing' that I've experienced before (not for quite some time and rarely in races).

It disappeared after a couple of strides but I realised I'd have to ease the pressure that PB pace demands. I felt it on three more occasions during the next 3 kilometres (I was quite worried that I'd have to stop running) but eventually my reduced speed soothed the affliction and I made it to the finish line inside the 'G. My time was 1:44:31, well away from the 1:40 was hoping for. I was very happy to 'make it' and still able to smile at the typically perfect and spectacular running weather that Melbourne produced for our enjoyment.

My race started well — I ran with Liz for the first 4k and we weren't too inconvenienced by 'slower traffic' running up the hill just after the start. Again I 'ran by feel' and didn't look at the Garmin for the entire race (its beeping function is broken so thankfully no awareness of splits). One distracting thing was the erratic running of the pacing balloons (the ones that I saw). The 1:40 group for the first half were about 400 metres ahead, but I'm guessing were running at 1:38-9 pace. The first 1:45 balloon (I thought it was the only one) ran past me at 16k and disappeared ahead. Consequently I guessed I'd end up running about 1:47-8. Then just before the 20k mark on the William Barrack Bridge a second 1:45 balloon overtook me! It turned out he was running closer to the mark — about 1:44 pace. I'm not a big fan of pacing balloons.

Summing up, it was a great weekend and a pleasure to share with Speedygeese friends from Canberra. Coach Geoff (unable to race) was out on the course cheering us on. Most ran incredibly well. A special mention for Andy who ran 3:25 (at age 52) in his first marathon! Next up for me will be some track racing and perhaps another attempt at a half marathon in April. I'd like to run a good one!

Garmin splits: 4:52, 4:39, 4:37, 4:38, 4:44 (23:30), 4:50, 4:44, 4:48, 4:55, 4:52 (24:09), 4:50, 4:55, 4:57, 5:04, 4:59 (24:45), 5:06, 5:07, 5:08, 5:12, 5:18 (25:51), 5:14 + 1:01 (197m)

Carbo-loading at La Camera: Susan, New Balance, Andy, Suzi and Liz

The 15k tempo run

I mentioned in my last post the idea of completing a 15k tempo run a week out from the Melbourne Half. This happened yesterday morning — a cool and cloudy day with some light rain falling late during the run. I had the company of running mates: Andy, Jen, Kelley, Mick and Tori. We ran one of my favourite 'long run' loops which starts on the Mount Ainslie trail (we hike the 600 metres or so up to the start from behind the War Memorial — Kelley jogged there as she doesn't like walking).

The first 3k took us along the main trail, down a narrow bush track to Campbell Park then towards the Duntroon golf course. This turned out to be the 'warm-up' as I chatted to Mick about his marathons, injuries and plans to return to track racing. 5:38, 5:41 and 5:30 for those kilometres. I wound up the pace as we ran down to and around the perimeter of the golf course. We re-grouped at Molonglo Reach before running the rest of the course which follows the bike path through the Wetlands, beside the lake to Commonwealth Bridge then back to a finish point at the bottom of Anzac Parade. This part of the loop is flat apart from the bridge, and easy running.

After the Wetlands, Andy and Jen took up the pacing duties. Easy running for both, as it was a little slower than Andy's expected marathon pace and slower than Jen's usual long-run pace. I was hanging on, not in total comfort. Mick, Tori and Kelley (chatting all the way) were about 50 metres behind. My kilometres from 4 to 15 went: 5:07, 4:49, 5:10, 5:02, 5:01, 4:59, 5:04, 5:15, 5:11, 5:26 (the bridge), 5:08 and 5:17. I was quite happy to stop at 15k with the others. Kelley though, insisted on jogging the 1k back up to the War Memorial (there's something strange about marathon runners). The 15k took 1:18:19 to run (5:13 per k or 8:24 per mile), so not quite the 15k at 5:04s I was thinking about last week. It was still a good run though and a confidence-booster for Melbourne. If I don't break 1:40 I'll be hoping for a result near the 1:41:50 that Canute ran last weekend — and also hoping for similarly pained and dramatic finish photos!

An unpredictable half marathon

I'm running in the Melbourne Half Marathon on 14 October. It's been 3 years since my last 21.0975 k race. In Melbourne in 2009 I ran 1:43:00. This year I'd like to run faster — hopefully under my M50 PB of 1:40:48. For me this means running fast for a very long time. I'm not sure that my recent training is pointing in that direction.

Canute blogged recently about his many months of preparation for the Robin Hood Half, in which he was originally targeting a time of 100 minutes. Although his aerobic fitness is better than at any time in recent years he's been finding it hard to complete the race-specific training. Key sessions were to be long runs with the last 5k run at half marathon goal race-pace (4:44 per km). He's been finding it difficult to maintain paces of 5 mins/km for any appreciable distance. I haven't done anything like that in training so can I be confident of running under 101 minutes?

My recent training has been okay without being brilliant. McMillan predicts a 1:40:44 half marathon if I run as well as I did at the Gold Coast 10k (45:11). Long runs have been a little on the light side: 15, 15, 20 and 20 over the last five weeks. Kilometres, not miles! I think I may attempt a long (15k) tempo run a week out from the race. Back in 1991 I completed such a run on the Wednesday prior to my half marathon PB — ran a lap of West Basin (15.5k) at 4:11 per km pace. On the Sunday I ran 1:21:38 which is 3:52 per km pace. So maybe if I could complete a training tempo run 33% slower than HM goal pace I'd be on target? That'd be 15k at 5:04 ks. I think that's possible.

Melbourne had better be warmer than the Bush Capital 16k!

A 5k race on a beautiful day

What a day! Just about perfect Spring weather in Canberra: A cloudless blue sky; soft warmth from the sun (temperature during the race was 13C); fragrant smells from blossoming trees; a barely noticeable breeze rippling the lake. An ideal day for racing!

This year I decided to enter The Canberra Times 5k (normally I race the more popular 10k). Good decision — the number of starters was about ideal (a couple of hundred runners with the rest of the field being walkers). We ran for a very short distance on a road then cut to a bike-path, but even so, by that time I was in 'free space', running next to a couple of girls with a young boy just ahead. Once again I raced by feel, starting the Garmin then not looking at it until the finish. The start felt a little fast (lack of speedwork showing up there) and I wasn't surprised when Jill sprinted past well before the bridge.

Once over the bridge I settled into what I thought was the right effort level for a 5k race. I found myself running mainly with unknown young runners: girls, boys and teenagers. The only Masters runner I could see (besides Jill) was Gary, who had also sprinted off at the start and was running about 200 metres ahead next to a young girl (who ended up being the third female to finish). I eased past Jill just beyond the 1k flag then soon after we moved onto the road detour (a small hill around an old landslide). The 3k flag was on the beach just beyond the Boathouse and at this point I still thought I was moving well (my stride felt smooth). I was gradually catching people while enjoying the pleasing feeling of not having any runners overtaking from behind. Splits show my pace lagging in the fourth kilometre (I do recall the race feeling hard at this point). After we ran under Kings Avenue Bridge our race joined the slow finishers of the 10k for the last kilometre to the finish. Even so, there was plenty of running room.

I kept the pressure on but a young boy and a twenty-something man that I'd been catching surged away. The final 80 metres of this race are a little cruel as the field is diverted off the bike path up a grassy bank to the finish. I stopped my Garmin and was happy with what it showed — 22:34. Not sure of my place yet or how I faired in my age-group. The pace was the same that I ran for the Gold Coast 10k but there's something about this course that doesn't make it a super-fast one. So I'm happy with the time — 5k-specific training of the type that Pete Magill recommends will reduce it quite a bit over Summer. Bring on the track!

Splits: 4:26, 4:32, 4:28, 4:40, 4:28.

On the beach for July's Runners Shop 5k

I'd like to run with Joanie

I'm happy with how I ran in my 28th City to Surf a couple of weeks ago. The goal going in was to duck under 70 minutes for the 14k (the new standard — reduced from 75 minutes — for retaining an A-group 'red' start). On the Thursday prior to the race a sore throat indicated the onset of a cold. This turned into a pretty nasty one as I'd totally lost my voice by the Monday. Once again I raced 'watch-less' and felt like I was moving well (and fast enough) when Warrick came up beside me as I ran into Rose Bay and said: "Hey Ewen, you're going well!"

My 'no watch' running method was somewhat compromised by hard-to-avoid large race clocks at 7 and 10k. The gun time at 7 said 35:XX and 50:XX at 10 — I guessed I'd taken about a minute to reach the start-mat so knew that my sub-70 goal was safe. I didn't bother letting it all hang out running down the hill. During the race I wasn't overly concerned when I came up behind runners who were moving a bit slower than my pace. I'd ease around them when it was safe to do so. Down at Bondi my final time was 67:54 (4:51 per k), run at an average heart-rate of 144. I was one happy chappy!

Canute observed in a comment on my last post that my pace has slowed by a little over 1% per year since 1988. Exactly 1% and I'd have run 66:24 which I think is possible on a good day and starting closer to the front of the A-corral. August the 12th this year wasn't a good day. The weather was more typical of the Pacific Northwest in winter. It was cold and we were running into a fresh southerly for the last 6k of the race. Not a lot of fun!

Slowing as we age is a fact of life. Unless, like Scott Brown, you started running in your forties — then you can look forward to defying the ageing clock by steadily improving for 10 or more years. I started running in my twenties and reached my 'PB peak' in my mid-thirties. Since then, it's been all downhill! To keep racing fun I try to run obscure time goals (like breaking 20 minutes for 5k), or score 'wins' over rivals with similar running form. I now have a new somewhat obscure racing goal: I'm going to try and run with Joanie.

'Joanie' is Joan Benoit-Samuelson — Olympic gold medallist and former world record holder in the marathon. She's three weeks younger than me — still running, and racing well. At the L.L. Bean 10k on 4 July this year Joanie broke the U.S. record for the F55-59 age-group, running 38:07. Now there's no way I'll ever run 38:07 again, but what's interesting about Joanie's time is that it's just over 20% slower (20.5 to be exact) than her PB from 1983, 31:37. My lifetime PB is 36:33 so I think it'd be a fun challenge to try and run 20.5% slower than that (44:03). This would be an M50 PB by 51 seconds, so not easy. I'll try and do it at one of the track 10,000s over summer.

 Joanie running in Brunswick, Maine (photo from her Facebook page). I ran 7k there on the morning of 27 July last year.

Mo, Rupp and the 1988 City to Surf

I've just watched the replay of the men's Olympic 10,000 metre race from London. It was an exciting race! The slow-striding Mo Farah won with a sustained 500 metre 'sprint' (last lap in 53 seconds), finishing ahead of training partner Galen Rupp. A triumph for coach Alberto Salazar, who I remember watching as one of the favourites for the '84 Olympic marathon, along with Rob de Castella (who shared Australian commentary with Steve Ovett for the London race). Rupp was featured in the July edition of Running Times. As per usual, the magazine also had a section for Masters runners. I'm always fascinated by the training and running philosophy of the chosen 'Age-Group Ace'. Ever since I started running I've been a rusted-on middle-of-the-pack ace. For a bit of fun I'm listing my training for the 1988 City to Surf in 'Running Times style'. Looking at it 24 years after the fact it reads like the training of a different person. The only session I could do now would be the 'easy day' — if I ran at race effort!

TRAINING REGIMEN Aug. 1-14, 1988

MON: 9k easy with Drummoyne Rugby Club runners & Bruce in 38 minutes (4:13 per k)
TUE: 15k at Lane Cove Park in 70 minutes (4:40 per k)
WED: 6K track session (Rotary Field grass track) - 10 x 300m, 53.5 ave, 2 sets (100 walk recov)
THUR: 7k incl 3000m track race at Hensley Field in 10:11 (3:24 per k)
FRI: 14k at Lane Cove Park 'steady' in 61:40 (4:24 per k)
SAT: 8k race at Auburn in 30:21 (3:47 per k)
SUN: AM: 15k easy at Harbord; PM: 11k bush track run at Lane Cove

————

MON: Rest day
TUE: 14k at Lane Cove Park in 59:40 (4:16 per k)
WED: 7k track session (Rotary Field) - 10 x 300m with George, 54.5 ave, 2 sets + 3 laps of sprinting straights, jogging bends
THU: 5k incl 800m race 'steady' at Hensley Field in 2:21 (69/72)
FRI: 7k at Lane Cove Park 'easy' in 33 minutes (4:43 per k)
SAT: Rest day
SUN: Race: 14k City to Surf - 590th in 53:33 (3:49 per k) PB

Still with a 'preferred start' in 1990

Galen Rupp: contented and happy after the London Olympics

The Runners Shop 5k

When I pencilled this race into my schedule I thought it might be possible to run 'fast' (which I'd define as 22 minutes or better). The course now has a hill (due to a detour around a landslide) and a U-turn at 1/2 way, but I'd still rate it as a fairly quick road course. Once again I ran by feel, never looking at the Garmin until I reached the finish. 22:40 — that's a bit slow. McMillan had predicted 21:45!

As a race though, it went pretty well. Wore my trusty Kinvaras again and took off along the beach at the start at what I felt was the appropriate effort. During the first kilometre I gradually pulled back a few fast-starting youngsters and overtook my rival Hugh as we finished the detour. I passed another three teenagers during the rest of the race, not quite getting to Brooke (3 seconds ahead) as I 'sprinted' across the 100 metres of hard packed sand to the line.

I think there were two things that worked against me in this race: I didn't taper off my training over three days as I had for the Gold Coast 10k, and my work hours for the past two weeks have been long and tiring. So I'm not terribly disappointed. It was what it was. My next attempt at a 'fast' 5k will be at the Canberra Times Fun Run in 46 days' time. As a 'tune-up' I'll be running my 28th City to Surf — love that race!

Splits: 4:32, 4:26, 4:36, 4:35, 4:31. AHR 147, MHR 155.

The City to Surf - Australia's biggest race!

A 10k from 2005 Reprised

Whew! Surprise, boyish excitement and relief are the emotions I felt when I looked up at the finish-line clock in the final blue-carpeted straight of the Gold Coast 10k on Saturday. The net time of 45:11 (checked later that day on the website) was my fastest 10k since 2008, and not far off the 44:53 track 10,000 I ran in 2005. Wow! At this event in 2010 I raced with Andy, Jo and Ruth — finished in a perplexing 49:26 — wondered afterwards how I could get back to running a fast 10k. If I would. I'm 55 years old, "push'n 60" as some 'friends' love to remind me, an age where springy muscles sometimes rebel and injuries are a clear and present danger.

The race went surprisingly smoothly. I walked up to the start from my digs at the Marriott in darkness, enjoying the mild temperature, wearing singlet and shorts, ready to race. Jogged a slow 2k and ran 4 x 50m strides to waken the muscles. I positioned myself about 50 metres back from the line amongst a crowd of 6000-plus runners. The first kilometre over the bridge produced the expected stop-starty, zig-zaggy running, but not overly so. After the U-turn I was running smoothly with sufficient personal space to feel relaxed. Atypically, as soon as the gun went off, I decided I'd start my Garmin when crossing the start-mat and not look at it until the finish. I ran by feel! This worked beautifully. I raced various people I picked out in the crowed: The greying long-haired dude with backwards baseball cap; the blonde girl in aqua singlet with a seductive light stride; the lady in pink shorts and blue crop-top; the long-shorts, bare-foot bloke. I tried to catch them, stay with them or keep them in sight as they moved ahead. Racing while blissfully unaware of the ticking clock was calming. I just monitored my effort, movement and position relative to others in the race.

I felt fairly strong throughout the race, although sensed a lag in my pace around 7k (which showed up in the splits). I fought against this tiredness and became excited when I heard a bloke reply to his mate "we're running four and a halves." At 8k I was wishing it was over, so I take that as a sign I was racing at maximum effort. Around the corner, over the bridge and suddenly there was just 1k remaining. I went for a long drive for home (as that is the best way to save time), passing some, others passing me, then managed something resembling a kick as I entered the last straight. Happy!

On Sunday morning I watched the marathon 'on the run' with Em from Melbourne, trying to spot running friends in the crowd. It was quite inspiring. Maybe I'll run another marathon one day. That evening I enjoyed a celebratory meal (and a wine or two) with Andy (who'd run the marathon), Beki, Em, Kelly and Janice down at Broadbeach. The perfect way to conclude a successful weekend!

Splits: 4:29, 4:31, 4:25, 4:27, 4:32 (22:24) 4:35, 4:38, 4:36, 4:33, 4:24 (22:47) - 45:11 @ AHR 148.

 Andy snapped a photo as I turned the last corner

10k Progression
Year	Age	Time
2012	55	45:11
2011	54	46:23
2010	53	45:57
2009	52	45:44
2008	51	45:07
2007	50	44:54
2006	49	-
2005	48	44:53
2004	47	42:20
2003	46	44:14
2002	45	43:07
2001	44	40:39
2000	43	39:16

Enjoying a walk on the beach after the race

I just want to play ball

I have a race coming up — 10k on the flat roads of Surfers Paradise this Saturday morning. A 6:30 A.M. start — not my favourite time of the day to unleash a cold, creaky body into the fray of a fast race. I should awake a couple of hours earlier. Yes, that might work. In 2010 I ran 49:26 but wasn't in the aerobic shape that I am this year. Back then my 10k local runs were at 750 heart-beats per km or higher — now they're consistently around 700. I should be good for around 680 in a flat 10k race so that indicates a possible time of 45:20. I'd be happy with that. I haven't had a serious race in a while so I'm keen to play ball. At least I've never missed out on the chance to play ball — like the women marathoners of the '70s or women steeplechasers of the '90s.

Joanie is 55, runs 70 miles a week [I saw this on Jeff's blog]

A couple of interesting images have shown up on Twitter: stills of the foot-strikes (captured from high-speed video) of every competitor in the U.S. Olympic Trials 10,000 metre races — men and women. The variation is quite incredible: there is heel-striking, toe-striking and mid-foot striking — all from elite (fast) distance runners. I think it shows that how the foot first makes contact with the ground is the least important aspect of running form. Forget about foot-strike. Think about hip extension, body position, relaxation and cadence if you wish to improve your running form.

 The foot-strikes of elite 10k runners is somewhat variable

The Runner Whisperer

I've been thinking more about that Sally Kipyego quote I mentioned in Sally's 14:43 Secret: "Julia, don't try to be great, just do every day pretty good like you're supposed to, and then you'll be great." There's a book called The Horse Whisperer (made into a Robert Redford film) that tells the story of how a traumatised horse and rider are coaxed back to a normal relationship by a horse whisperer, Tom Booker. The methods a horse whisperer uses are gentler and kinder by comparison to traditional horse training techniques. I think I should apply a similar philosophy to the training of myself as a runner. Hammering out 'PB interval sessions' or running weekly races with the desperation that a sheep station is riding on the outcome, seems to me like traditional horse training. Runner Whispering has to be a better method of finding that holy grail of improvement — the 'doing every day pretty good' that Sally Kipyego advises.

I've also been thinking about what's needed to be a successful distance runner (besides carefully selecting one's parents). In my search, I stumbled upon the blog of a running philosopher, Jeff Edmonds. One of Jeff's older posts caught my eye: 'Keep it Simple, Yo! Distance training, from 5k to 50k'. Jeff mentions that speed per se is not the problem for distance runners who want to run faster. The problem is extending one's speed over the distance of the race. For example, I can run 1k in 4 minutes, so how can I train my body to hold that speed for 4 more kilometres. Jeff's answer in three words: "run a lot." He put up one of his own weeks of training as an example — 83.2 miles, all 'easy' running except for 5 miles 'tempo' and 8 miles 'moderate'. He was hardly suffering a horse whipping in the tempo run — 5:40 mile pace (about 3:30 per k), which is quite modest for a 15:48 5k runner. Jeff is now running less 'mileage centric' training (about 70 miles/week including 2 'workouts'), but I'd still categorise that as whispered training.

I'm whispering my own training along quite well. Ran 80k last week, including an 8k tempo run (5:07 per k) and one of those 'almost perfect' easy runs on Friday (would have loved to have been racing that day!). This morning I raced 'easy' over the rarely run distance of 5 miles in the Sri Chinmoy event down at Telopea Park. The last time I raced 5 miles would have been in the late '80s or early '90s. Needless to say, I didn't threaten my lifetime PB (which is around 29-flat from memory), but ran a pleasing 38:43 at a comfortable average heart-rate of 143. My next big race is the Gold Coast 10k on 29 June — should be a good tune-up race for the Runners Shop 5k in late July and a happy break from the depths of a Canberra winter.