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Putting it bluntly, my 10,000 metre race last night was a failure. I was attempting to improve on my M50 PB set in December last year, but missed by 28 seconds. I placed 11th (from 18 finishers) in 45:21.64.

The conditions for the ACT Masters' track race were pretty good for November in Canberra — about 23°C (73°F) and calm. I had a plan in my mind to try and run about 1:45 per lap (4:22 per kilometre), which, allowing for a slight fade, would result in a time of under 44 minutes.

Despite having an easy 3 days (including 2 rest days) prior to the race, my legs didn't feel fresh at all. The race was hard from the start, and that feeling lasted for each of the 25 laps. Initially I ran behind Dale for a couple of laps until I sensed he was slowing. I moved ahead and ran through the first kilometre in 4:23 — not bad, but it was feeling ominously harder than it should have. I picked up the pace a little, and could sense Nadine (breathing heavily) and Roger on my heels.

At 4k I started to slow, and Roger moved decisively ahead. There was nothing I could do to keep up with him. Nadine's breathing became quieter, so I was by myself through 5k in 22:14. For the rest of the race I was running alone, and wishing for it to be over. I thought I had enough of a buffer to come in under 44:54, but my pace drifted, and it was not to be. I was close to an M50 PB, but not close enough. To do it in January I need my legs to cooperate, and be feeling fresh and eager to run. Come on legs!

Salchows — 4:23, 4:20, 4:26, 4:29, 4:36 (22:14), 4:35, 4:42, 4:46, 4:42, 4:23 (23:08).

91 miles

In the end, I ran 147 kilometres last week. Canute was perceptive — the temptation to try and surpass my previous high week from 1991 (140k) was overwhelming. Especially after Speedygeoff dragged me along on an unexpected 14k "warm-down" around Lake Ginninderra after our equally woeful 1500 metre races on Saturday.

I'm glad I did it. Elite distance runners do this type of mileage year-round, and I now have a little appreciation of what it actually feels like to run twice-daily. And Bill, there's no secret (unless durable genes are a secret) — I just completed most of the runs at an easy pace — except for two races, which were more like speedwork than races.

A tale of two weeks:

1991 (140k)
Monday 25 Feb - 20k on bike-paths in 95:01 (4:45/km)
Tuesday 26 Feb - 2pm, 6k easy in 29:03. 6pm, 14k including 10k race in 41:30
Wednesday 27 Feb - 12.3k on trails in 56:06 (4:34/km)
Thursday 28 Feb - 17k at Aranda, including 8 x 600m in 2:03
Friday 1 March - 15k on trails in 71:24 (4:46/km)
Saturday 2 March - AM, 33k at The Cotter in 2:39:30 (4:50/km). PM, 7k including Interclub 4k Fun Run in 15:11
Sunday 3 March - 16k at Stromlo very slow in 84:00 (5:15/km)

2008 (147k)
Monday 27 Oct - AM, 13k trails in 1:28:27. PM, 6k moderate in 34:37
Tuesday 28 Oct - AM, 7.3k trails in 45:54. PM, 13k trails in 1:14:54
Wednesday 29 Oct - AM, 7k easy in 41:48. PM, 14.3k flat in 1:28:53
Thursday 30 Oct - AM, 7k easy in 44:54. PM, 10.5k including 5k track race in 21:53
Friday 31 Oct - AM, 10k trails in 60:42. PM, 13k trails in 1:18:38
Saturday 1 Nov - AM, 10k trails in 62:18. PM, 17k including 1500m race in 6:02
Sunday 2 Nov - AM, 7k easy in 45:47. PM, 12k trails in 1:11:24

Farewell, My Lovely

I expect my twice-daily dalliances with running will finish on Sunday. I'm on target this week for 135 kilometres (84 miles) — that's after covering 130 clicks last week. If I make it to Sunday without the wheels falling off, this will be my second biggest week ever. In late February '91 I ran a 140 kilometre week. A fortnight later I raced my lifetime PB for 5000 metres — 17:33.5.

I'd like to continue with 'doubles', but my work isn't conducive to play. Swinging a sledge hammer on a railroad gang, knocking down them cross ties, working in the rain, tends to develop a lingering tiredness, and a propensity for Walken-like instant sleep.

"How's the running been?" I hear you ask. Well, my friends... in three words — fun, tiring and illuminating. There's a chink of light shining on some physiological improvements. In my two races, I've felt strong, but understandably not that speedy or fresh. I raced a 3000 metres in 12:32, and last night recorded 21:54 in the 5000 to finish last. Yes, last! I was lapped twice by the female winner, a very svelte looking Jackie Fairweather. My time shaved negative 24 seconds from my M50 PB. I was hairier than a San Franciscan hippie! The illuminating part of the two races has been the feeling of having a strong heart and lungs. The Polar showed an average heart-rate of 89% for both races, which is encouragingly low. The legs however, were cantankerously tired and uncooperative.

I hold some hope though, that my 'holiday of running' will bolster my chances for an M50 PB in the 10,000 metres on November 13. If not, I'll still take with me a greater insight into how it feels to run fourteen times per week.

Tempted by the 10,000

My stratospheric goal for 2008 was to race 3000 metres in 11:07. Although there are two months left, I can't see any way I'll be running that fast by year's end. I'm going to extend the goal until the finish of the track season (March '09) and beyond. Maybe forever! Scary thought: I might be pushing my Zimmer Frame around the AIS track as a 95-year-old, still chasing a "respectable" 3000 metre time.

For a diversion from this singular goal, I've pencilled in two 10,000 metre track races for attention. The first is organised by the ACT Masters on 13 November, and the second is the ACT Championship event on 15 January. I'd like to improve my M50 PB. Doing these two races shouldn't unsettle the 3000 metre plan too much. I'm encouraged that my training partner Kathy was able to race well at distances from 800 to 10,000 metres last season — she was ranked 5th in the world for her age in the 1500m, and won the ACT 10,000m Championship earlier this year.

I'm currently on two weeks' leave from work, and indulging in my love a little by running twice daily. I last tried this in 2005, attempting to emulate Eliud Kipchoge. In the past 7 days I've covered 121 kilometres (75 miles). My hard (speedwork) sessions are suffering a little, but not too much. My faster speed was OK a month back — 10 x 200m in 38.1, so I'd like to retain (or improve) on that, as well as restore some aerobic condition with the higher mileage weeks.

I'm fashionable!
My Six Foot shirt matches this sign at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Em is for Melbourne

On Sunday morning I raced 10k through the streets and parks of that most cosmopolitan of Australian cities, Melbourne. She was at her sparkling best — warm and welcoming. At 9.30am, around 4,720 similarly obsessed individuals charged off towards St Kilda Road. After passing stranded tram passenger "spectators", we turned left and ran along the lovely shaded avenues of King's Domain.

It was somewhere in this delightful park, around 2k into the race, that I became overwhelmed with the thought that I was close to moving like Christopher. I was feeling good! Runnin' like Walken. My movement was fluid — in my wild imagination I was a perfect example to children, teenagers, adults and fellow ancients, of how to run.

This is why I'm happy with a seemingly average finishing time of 46:38 — I felt strong and in control throughout the race. I was also towards the pointy end of the field. As we ran beside the Yarra River, with 3k to go, I was running in groups of two or three, with gaps to runners ahead. Before long we were racing down the William Barak Bridge, past cheering spectators, and into the stadium used for the 1956 Olympics — The MCG. I was the 211th of the 10k runners home. Not long after finishing, I heard my name called and turned to see a smiling Em. She's a runner I've always wanted to meet. It's hard to believe, but I think she loves running more than myself. One day soon, she'll be free of injuries and running well.

Bill recently suggested that I may be a better runner now than my younger self. By the numbers, I'm not. I'd need to be running around 42 minutes for 10k races. In Melbourne on Sunday the numbers didn't matter. It was how I was feeling as I was moving that mattered — fast, smooth, racy, and as happy as Em, to be a runner.

Between 6k and 8k the race follows paths with superb views of the Yarra River

Just like Christopher

As much as I love running in mid-pack obscurity, there are times when I daydream about being like Christopher. Moving like him. As far as I know, he's not a runner. He's not the Christopher from Calwell; who was once one of the best middle-distance runners for his age in Australia; who's now training for Olympic distance triathlons.

The Christopher I'm talking about is the one in the Weapon of Choice video. There's one skill this particular Christopher demonstrates that I do quite well — sleep. Point me to a lounge chair and I'll be snoring like a trooper in 30 seconds flat. His other skill is the one that I'll never have — a natural flair for mesmerising movement. The kind of natural movement that's inspiring to watch, and when seen in a runner, offered as an example of "how to run".

Movement like Herb Elliott winning gold by running away from a class field in the Rome Olympics. Like Haile Gebrselassie smiling his way to a 2:03:59 marathon. Like Tirunesh Dibaba in Beijing, sprinting to a phenomenal 29:54.66 victory in the 10,000 metres. I daydream about having that sort of natural running movement. I'd like my mate Trevor to point to me as I run on the grass track at Calwell and say, "Patricia, that's how to run!" instead of, "Don't run like that!"

Progression – 1980 to 2008

The lazy hazy days of summer are beckoning. I enjoyed a fragrant long run (and the company of other ACT Masters) around and over Mount Stromlo this morning. We covered 14 kilometres, at times savouring superb views of a distant city and lake — views that before the 2003 bushfires, were obscured by towering Radiata Pines.

I'm still plugging away with my training, confident in chipping some time from the M50 3000 metre PB. I'm not confident it will be a 51-second chip. A chunk of wood that size would require a massive axe, and a broad-shouldered swing — a swing that I fear is beyond my 2008 puny-muscled ability.

Nancy and Jason are devotees of spreadsheets, so I've compiled the one below for their (and other number-nerds') viewing pleasure. It follows on from 'Progression – 1992 to 2007', and shows my best track-race and half marathon performances for each year since I started running. From 1980 to 1982 I was blissfully unaware of the esoteric pleasure and elbow-bumping challenge of track racing. I can remember one road race from 1979. It was my first — the 9k Wagga Wagga City to Lake Fun Run, in which I placed 418th. Funnily enough, I conveniently fail to remember the time on the finish-line clock!

Year	800m	1500m	3000m	5000m	10,000m	1/2 M
2008	2:48.55	5:38.49	11:58.44	21:29.58	-	-
2007	-	-	12:15.43	21:45.27	44:54.57	1:40:48
2006	2:55.70	5:47.89	13:28.37	-	-	2:26:25
2005	-	-	12:21.06	21:03.0	44:53.45	1:41:57
2004	2:42.49	5:32.59	12:23.0	20:54.9	42:20 (r)	1:38:40
2003	2:40.7	5:28.7	12:02.7	21:48.18	44:14 (r)	1:42:39
2002	2:39.19	5:27.1	11:57.95	20:24.9	43:07.8	1:40:04
2001	2:37.1	5:11.6	11:21.0	20:06.1	40:39.4	1:34:51
2000	2:33.7	5:09.1	11:32.8	-	39:16 (r)	1:37:39
1999	2:29.2	5:11.9	11:19.4	20:04.0	41:15 (r)	1:36:55
1998	2:31.4	5:08.1	11:21.3	19:46 (r)	41:09 (r)	1:39:26
1997	2:24.6	4:58.9	10:53.7	-	38:51 (r)	1:33:22
1996	2:27.9	4:59.4	10:34.2	18:58.4	39:33 (r)	1:25:18
1995	2:19.8	4:56.4	10:31.8	18:36.5	38:17 (r)	1:23:31
1994	2:27.4	4:54.7	10:46.4	18:21.8	38:20.7	1:23:54
1993	2:22.2	4:49.1	10:16.4	17:59.8	39:39 (r)	1:25:25
1992	2:20.2	4:50.9	9:56.9	18:17.5	37:57 (r)	1:24:01
1991	2:16.9	4:39.8	10:04.2	17:33.5	36:33.8	1:21:38
1990	2:20.5	4:52.0	10:27.6	17:51.0	36:55 (r)	1:23:06
1989	2:18.3	4:40.2	10:04	17:35.2	37:31 (r)	1:21:47
1988	2:21.0	5:07 #	9:56.6	17:37.4	36:25 (r)	1:23:33
1987	2:18.5	4:48.9	9:56.5	17:50	37:12 (r)	1:24:58
1986	2:15.06	4:41.1	10:27	18:01	36:46 (r)	1:22:15
1985	2:15.2	4:43.0	10:24	18:31	38:31 (r)	1:25:55
1984	2:21.7	4:53.6	10:32	18:33	38:29.4	1:24:14
1983	-	5:02.0	11:12.9	19:35.8	42:13.5	-
1982	-	-	-	-	44:00 **	-
1981	-	-	-	-	41:36	3:28:28 *
1980	-	-	-	-	36:35 (9k)	-
(r) = 10k time run on a certified road course. * Marathon. ** Canberra Times 9.6k. # Mile.

800 the Movie

I ran another M50 PB last Sunday — for 800 metres. I was racing in the slowest of four heats at the ACTA High Noon meeting. I'm not as rapturous as I'd normally be about a PB as it was my first ever 800 in the 50+ age-group! It had been over two years since I'd savoured the exquisite pain that is the 800 metres. In January 2006 my time was 2:55.70. Last Sunday I ran 2:48.55.

I thought about titling this post "Laurent Yves St Claire-Monfrere's revenge". As fortune would have it, I was racing my adversary from the 3000 metres on 27 July, Lily du Maurier-Passante. If you recall, young Lily accompanied me for the whole race and steadfastly refused to be overtaken — surging like Tirunesh Dibaba every time I dragged my ponderous body to her side.

This time I fashioned a tactic to thwart Lily's surging style. At the sound of the gun, I sprinted hard from the curved starting line and positioned myself ahead of Lily as we ran up the back straight for the first time. The race was being led by one of the three adults in the race — another master, somewhat younger than myself. In second and third place, running side-by-side were U14 runners Caitlin and Corey. I sat behind these two and ran through the first 200 metres of the race in 40 seconds.

I steeled myself to accelerate should young Lily try to overtake. Luckily she didn't, and I was happy to follow C&C through the first 400 metres in 84 seconds. Then I ran as fast as possible for the next lap, arms pumping and throat burning. C&C sprinted with 100 metres to go, whilst I was already at maximum speed and starting to get that lactic-arms feeling. The finish line couldn't come soon enough. I safely held my fourth place, with Lily finishing fifth, just over a second behind.

In one respect, the 800 metres is very similar to the marathon. A couple of days later, I'd forgotten the pain and was already planning how to improve in my next race. Madness? This is the 800! Runners... Prepare for glory!

Racing 12k on the grass at Stromlo is less painful than the 800!

300s and the 3000 metres

I'm sorry if I bamboozled some readers with a surplus of numbers in my last post. I'm prone to an obsession with numbers — is this obsession stranger than my buddy Susan's fascination with torture and closets? Another blogging friend (and fast marathoner), Bill, commented that I appear to be attempting some reverse-aging sort of thing. Ah Bill, if only that were possible!

I'm blessed in that all my runs these days feel exactly the same as they did 20 or more years ago. Every single one! The long runs, the tempo runs, the track sessions, the easy runs, the races, the dawdle through the bush runs, the run 'til you drop then crawl home runs. They all feel exactly the same, and I love every one of them! The only difference these days is the numbers. Give me feeling over numbers anytime!

Two decades ago I was a Sydneyite and habitually ran track sessions on the exquisite grass that is Rotary Field, Chatswood. My favourite session was "300s". I liked the simplicity — simple is as simple does. I ran 300 metres of the 400 metre track fast, then walked 100 metres to recover, repeating this ten times. I'd start a fast 300 every 2 minutes, which gave me a little over a minute for the 100 metre recovery walk.

Another thing I liked about this session, is that it gave a fairly accurate indication of what time I might run for a 3000 metre race. If the total time of my ten 300s added up to 9 minutes (54 seconds for each 300), I could expect to race 3000 metres in around 10 minutes. So I'm running 300s again.

I've produced a table which predicts my 3000 metre race time from a session of 10 x 300 metre repeats. Try a session of ten 300s if you like and let me know how you go. Don't cheat on the recovery time! The formula I've used to calculate the recovery time is '300 time x 1.222 = recovery time' (54 seconds x 1.222 = 66 seconds). The formula for the 3000 metre race time is '300 time in seconds x 0.185185 = 3000 metre time in minutes' (54 seconds x 0.185185 = 10 minutes).

10 x 300m predicts 3000m race time
300m time	Km pace	Mile pace	Recovery	3000m race
50	2:47	4:28	61	9:16
51	2:50	4:34	62	9:26
52	2:53	4:39	64	9:38
53	2:57	4:44	65	9:49
54	3:00	4:50	66	10:00
55	3:03	4:55	67	10:11
56	3:07	5:00	68	10:22
57	3:10	5:06	70	10:34
58	3:13	5:11	71	10:44
59	3:17	5:17	72	10:56
60	3:20	5:22	73	11:07
61	3:23	5:27	75	11:18
62	3:27	5:33	76	11:29
63	3:30	5:38	77	11:40
64	3:33	5:43	78	11:51
65	3:37	5:49	79	12:02
66	3:40	5:54	81	12:13
67	3:43	5:59	82	12:25
68	3:47	6:05	83	12:35
69	3:50	6:10	84	12:47
70	3:53	6:16	86	12:58
71	3:57	6:21	87	13:09
72	4:00	6:26	88	13:20
73	4:03	6:32	89	13:31
74	4:07	6:37	90	13:42
75	4:10	6:42	92	13:53

Sunset over Lake Burley Griffin from the Boathouse — 3 September 2008

Evaluation Runs

The table below shows the results from the four evaluation runs I've completed since 17 June. I do these runs on the track at Calwell using the same method each time:
Firstly, a 2.5k warm-up followed by some strides. Then 2 laps of the track (in lane 6) to raise the heart-rate to 138 (84% of my maximum). I then run a further 5 'miles' (1,748 metres) of the track at HR138, recording the split time and average heart-rate for each 'mile'.

Something new is the 'Diff 1 and Ave' result. This is the difference in seconds between the first 'mile' and the average of the last 4 'miles'. Mystery Coach tells me the evaluation runs show how a runner is doing in either the distance or speed phases of training. A small 'Diff 1 and Ave' number is usual in the distance phase, while in the speed phase this number is larger.

After looking at the figures, I'm not sure whether I'm going well! I know my speed training is improving. I've been running 300 metre repeats — most recently 7 x 300m in 65.4 seconds with a 1 min 25 sec recovery. More about this in a future post.

I hope everyone has recovered from the Beijing Olympic Games. So many great moments! Both the marathons were incredible, as was Kenenisa Bekele, winning gold in both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres. What a runner!

	5 x 1748 metres @ AHR 138 (8.74km)
	17 Jun		24 Jun		8 Jul		19 Aug
	Time	AHR	Time	AHR	Time	AHR	Time	AHR
1	8:51	137	9:19	138	9:19	139	9:11	138
2	8:59	138	9:27	138	9:26	138	9:20	138
3	9:05	137	9:26	138	9:25	138	9:24	138
4	9:02	138	9:29	138	9:36	138	9:27	139
5	9:01	138	9:28	138	9:37	138	9:29	138
TOTAL	44:58	138	47:09	138	47:23	138	46:51	138
Ave last 4	9:01.8		9:27.5		9:31		9:25
Diff 1 and Ave	10.8 sec		8.5 sec		12 sec		14 sec