Surf Coast Century 50km - Sign Up

I've just signed up for the Surf Coast Century 50km in September 2014 at Anglesea in Victoria, Australie. This will be my first Ultramarathon and I'm super excited about the prospect. Last weekend I completed a recce of the location at the Xtreera 10km Trail run event in Anglesea. I finished knowing I wanted more. Both the scenery and the trails were inspiring to say the least. I will be following Jeff Galloway's Fifty kilometer training plan. I will keep you posted on how I am travelling.

ABT - Always be training.

Last week I read Jason Robillard's Never Wipe Your Ass With a Squirrel an off the wall  guide to ultra marathon and trail running. It contains a ton of useful information and tips. But the tip that really stayed with me is how to squeeze in the time to train for an ultra around a busy family life. Jason's method is to use ABT - Always Be Training which has become my new mantra. Quite simply it means that in everyday life we look for opportunities to train the mind, body and spirit for long distance running.

Over and above the per-requisite running training, I'm always searching for ways to train.

Always take the stairs - avoid lifts and escalators.

• Meditate and visualize on the morning commute.
• Avoid the car wherever possible - walk or cycle to the train station
• Cycle to work once a week to replace the mid week long run.
• Swim and water run in the evenings.
• Run to work and back on Monday's as a back-to-back run.
• Walk barefoot around the house or outside wherever possible.
• Commit to a well balanced strength training program.
• Eat for success - eat whole foods only.
• Run before the family wakes up and after they go to bed.
• Maintain the body - massage, reflexology, accupunture, ostoepaththy.
• Mow the lawn, take out the trash, take the kids to the park - keep moving and be active.

By walking to work, cycling and strength training, I'm able to add an additional four - six hours on average  per week to my overall training schedule. Time on the feet and moving being the most critical success factor for ultras. I also count my walking as part of building up my mileage to 50 miles per week.

New Years Resolutions - 2014

After a year off from running long distances in 2013 after the birth of my second son Charlie, it's time to set some goals for 2014 and beyond. I used the hiatus from running long distances in 2013 to condition my body to running in a barefoot style on trails.  After a couple of false starts and a calf muscle strains I feel as if the transition is now complete.

A few days before the new year I ran up Mt Mansuell  near Tinui in New Zealand . Although it was a modest hill with an elevation of only 340 metres the trail was steep, slippery and muddy. I now have my sites set on running my first ultra marathon in July at the You Yangs in Victoria. 

Beyond that lies the Surf Coast Century, Milford Track, Gozo Ultra and my cool impossible the Big Red Run.

Shepparton Marathon (No. 2) - 26/08/2012

Last weekend I ran the Shepparton Marathon in preparation for my second Melbourne Marathon in October. The 2012 Shepparton Marathon was a country race in Victoria which had a grand total of 84 entrants.  It was also a good excuse to get out of town for a couple of days with my faithful support crew of Sonia and Angus. 

After a two hour drive from Melbourne we arrived in time to pick up my race bib from the start/finish at the local footy oval. We checked into the Quest Apartments in central Shepparton. That night we dined on salmon, sweet potato and spinach, a power packed pre-race meal of carbohydrates, protein, greens and Omega-3 oils.

The following morning I walked to the start in near perfect marathon conditions. Cool  enough to warrant wearing a beanie, with the prospect of the day warming to a maximum of 13C. I lined up with half a dozen other early starters at 7am feeling at ease.  

As I was treating this as a training run, I felt under no pressure to achieve a time goal. My only concern was having only just recovered from a virus, I was unsure if I had the fitness to complete the course. All the more reason to take it easy with regular walk breaks from the beginning .

I had intended to run with my trusty iShuffle but the battery was flat. It turned out to be a blessing, as I was able to focus on the run itself including the picturesque Goulbourn River scenery.  It also kept me out of the way of time goal runners and able to engage in conversation with race volunteers and other runners. 

Due to flooding, the original three lap course along the Goulbourn River bike track had to be abandoned. The alternative course was a two lap run from the footy oval through the outskirts of Shepparton (3miles).  Then it was into the bush on a dirt road and out over undulating sand dunes along the banks of the Goulburn River to the first turn around (7miles). 

Having started an hour earlier, it wasn't until after the first turn around that I encountered the first time goal runners.  Back on the sand dunes, the sun came out and I was able to remove my beanie. At the half marathon turnaround (13.1 miles) I changed into a singlet, scoffed half an energy bar.

I was feeling good on the second loop, once I got back into my running rhythm. At the turn off from the suburban streets to the river road, I joked with a marshal that I couldn't go any slower than the "Slow" road traffic sign he was holding.  At the final turn around (21 miles) I ate a couple of  pretzels and a piece of dark chocolate to provide a boost and give some relief from the sweet energy gels and sports drink I'd been quaffing every 30 minutes. 

The 23rd mile marked my previous long run training milestone. Apart from some lower shin soreness, the body felt great.  I increased my pace knowing that I was on the home stretch. At the finish line I felt a sense of elation, in stark contrast to the Melbourne Marathon last year when all I felt was relief that the trauma of running was over. I collected my medal and headed back to the hotel knowing that Sonia and Angus would give me a hero's welcome.

Later that afternoon I took Angus to Kidstown, an adventure playground which doubled as a recovery session for me.   That night we ate at a local hotel - fish and chips for Angus, a chicken parma for Sonia and a big juicy steak for me which I devoured with all the satisfaction of a lion. The following morning we departed for Melbourne with the body well on the way to recovery.

Route: Shepparton Marathon

Actual Distance - 42.2km

Time - 5:32:24

Pace - 7:54 min/km

HR/%/Zone: 141/70/2.0

RPE: 7

Temp:  13.1C

Total for week: 58.2 km

Cumulative Total: 914.53 km

Melbourne Marathon (No.1) - 9/11/2011

After 18 weeks of training and 12 months of build-up, I crossed the finish line of the Melbourne Marathon at 12:20pm. The finish was all that I'd come to expect and more. It was sheer jubilation and exhilaration followed by an overwhelming tide of emotion and flood of pain. It was made even more special by the presence of my son, Angus and my wife, Sonia who had provided me with so much support and inspiration over the previous 12 months.

I didn't sleep much the night before. Thoughts of the unknown had me tossing and turning to the sound of rain drumming on the roof like an executioner's drum roll. I set the alarm for 4:45am so that I'd have plenty of time to eat my race day meal of porridge. If it was good enough for my marauding ancestors in the Highlands, it was good enough for me.

I arrived at the start with 15 minutes to spare. I'd made the decision to wear half compression tights and race socks instead of the full-length tights. Even though the weather would remain cool, I knew that overheating would be my biggest enemy - or so I thought.

I felt a surge of adrenalin as the race started. I kept to my race plan of running three minutes and walking one that I’d adopted since missing three weeks of training due to a chest infection in August. I'd calculated that 72 intervals would roughly equate to 40km, with the final 2 kilometres a glory run, or a martyrs crawl to the finish.

Part way down St Kilda Road I felt a cramp in my right shin every time I walked. It reminded me of the pain I sometimes felt when I used to walk fast while guiding in the mountains. The adrenalin of starting the race meant I was over striding the walking interval. By ten kilometres on the way around Albert Park Lake, the shin pain disappeared as I relaxed into the run.

At the 15km mark on the run down to Port Melbourne, I began to notice some soreness on the outside of my left knee. I'd first noticed a "click" in my knee at the end of the 32km two weeks ago but thought nothing of it. Like the shin pain, I hoped it would pass. During the 18 weeks of training, I'd never had any injuries. If I wanted to finish this thing, it seemed the Marathon gods were not going to let me off lightly.

At the ½-marathon mark, I got into stride with TH Chew a multi-marathon runner from Malaysia. It was then that I knew that something was seriously wrong with my knee. Every time I started a run interval, an excruciating pain would run up from my knee to my hip. A classic illotibal band injury as it turns out. Again, I hoped it would pass. If it didn't, I figured I could manage the injury with the run/walk intervals.
 

Somewhere between St Kilda and Brighton, the race turned from being fun to something more serious – it was now a matter of survival. It was a combination of the weather, the knee, the distance from the finish and crossing the half-marathon mark. The rain kicked in, the wind came up and the temperature dropped. The turnaround at Brighton at 25km seemed a long, lonely way from home.

I wasn’t the only one finding it tough. The field was stretched out and there was steady stream of ambulances picking up those who could go on no longer. Of the 5,720 starters, over 750 dropped out. Ominously, I passed a man wrapped in a space blanket seemingly unconscious being attended to by medics.

To add to the battlefield milieu, I passed a six-strong Australian Army team who ran the distance carrying more than 20kg of combat gear in the boots they wore in Afghanistan. It reminded me of the conclusion of Full Metal Jacket with the Marines marching back to base singing the Mickey Mouse March. Like Joker in Full metal Jacket, despite being "in a world of s***”, I was glad to be alive and I was no longer afraid. Retired marathoners only know one thing - it is better to finish.

It was on the way back from Brighton that I contemplated retiring due to the knee. I soon dismissed the thought and focused on the rhythm of the intervals. As long as I did that, I could keep going. It was about this time that I started to chant a Taoist stanza that I use for meditation.

On the way back from Brighton, I stopped at the aid station porta-loos. The smell of ten thousand runner’s ablutions made me gag. Getting going again was agony. It felt good to cross into Fitzroy Street away from the wild squalls of the bay. At St Kilda Junction, I was given a water bottle from a good Samaritan and I downed an energy gel for the run home.

Somewhere down St Kilda Road around the 34 km mark, I must have hit the wall. I don’t remember the actual place, but my pace became noticeably slower. And as I recall, although memory can be a fickle thing, any question of not finishing disappeared.

But the best was yet to come. As I made my way up toward the finish I heard my name been called out. I turned to see Sonia and Angus with Sonia’s cousin Michelle who had just completed her first 5km run. It was second only to the joy of witnessing Angus’s birth and seeing Sonia walk up the aisle at our wedding. Momentarily I veered toward them but I made a beeline for the finish line, least I seize up and fall in a heap at their feet.

I crossed the line with my hands aloft and a smile on my face.  The aftermath wasn’t so pretty. I immediately became aware of the pain in my legs. As I walked toward the drinks table I felt an over whelming wave of emotion surge through me. It was a response to the knee trauma, as I ground out the second half of the marathon and relief that it was over.  Mixed in there was the residual doubt and fear of having missed three weeks of training. There may also have been an echo of the times I’d backed out of climbing a mountain, or let someone down because I lacked the courage to face my inner demons. Pain is indeed inevitable and suffering optional, at least until you finish.

The walk back to the car was almost the hardest part of the day. Without Sonia’s high spirits, I’m not sure how I would have made it. Sitting in the car was sheer bliss. I devoured a banana, shared my pretzels with Angus and guzzled a sports drink. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it out of the car without assistance, so I asked Michelle hung around. As it happened, I managed to make it from the car to an ice bath without assistance.

After the bath and a lingering hot shower, I lay on the couch for the afternoon. A warm glow permeated my body when I ate my first meal. A foot massage from Sonia was divine. She was my post marathon angel. Later in the afternoon, I managed to walk around the block. It took me so long that Sonia contemplated a search party.

It’s now Friday, five days after the marathon. My legs are now almost fully recovered, even though I never thought they would. I had a sports massage on the Tuesday that worked wonders. I’ve given myself license to eat whatever, whenever. The initial euphoria lasted until the middle of the week. A quiet sense of achievement remains. I intend to return to running next week. Would I run a marathon again? Of course, I am a marathoner. I’m planning to toe the starting line in Melbourne in 2012.

On the road to the 2012 Melbourne Marathon...

Route: Melbourne Marathon

Actual Distance - 42.1km

Time - 5:19:10

Pace - 7:07 min/km

HR/%/Zone: 153/79/3.2

RPE: 9

Temp:  12.5C

Total for week: 54.6 km

Cumulative Total: 578.4 km 

The big eat - Week 18 - Session 2 - 3km

A light run this morning before beginning the big carbohydrate load and a sports massage this afternoon. 

I'm  using the AIS as a guide for my carbohydrate loading: 


The following diet is suitable for a 70kg athlete aiming to carbohydrate load:

Breakfast	3 cups of low-fibre breakfast cereal with 11/2 cups of reduced fat milk 1 medium banana 250ml orange juice
Snack	toasted muffin with honey 500ml sports drink
Lunch	2 sandwiches (4 slices of bread) with filling as desired 200g tub of low-fat fruit yoghurt 375ml can of soft drink
Snack	banana smoothie made with low-fat milk, banana and honey cereal bar
Dinner	1 cup of pasta sauce with 2 cups of cooked pasta 3 slices of garlic bread 2 glasses of cordial
Late Snack	toasted muffin and jam 500ml sports drink

This sample plan provides ~ 14,800 kJ, 630 g carbohydrate, 125 g protein and 60 g fat.

There's nothing more I can do about fitness except rest and stay relaxed. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Looks like the weather forecast keeps moving, currently 20C which is ok with some showers. I guess on the day it will be as it will be. 

Route: Kingsville
Actual Distance - 3km
Time - 0:29:00
Pace - 7:20 min/km
HR/&/Zone: 124/63%/0.8
RPE: 3
Temp:  15C
Total for week: 8 km
Cumulative Total: 526.0 km 

Just in the nick of time - Week 18 - Session 1 - 5km

This morning I took a short run and felt a real spring in my step for this first time since I started running again after my illness 3 1/2 weeks ago. My heart rate seems to have finally returned to per-illness levels both at rest and during my running. I put this down to the training effect of the 32km run ten days ago kicking in (apparently it takes that long) and being fully recovered from the bug. This morning I took a short run and felt a real spring in my step for this first time since I started running again after my illness 3 1/2 weeks ago. My heart rate seems to have finally returned to per-illness levels both at rest and during my running. I put this down to the training effect of the 32km run ten days ago kicking in (apparently it takes that long) and being fully recovered from the bug. I saw a sports medicine Dr last week who reassured me that my elevated HR was to be expected due to my body fighting the illness and the enforced lay off (3 long runs missed over 2 1/2 weeks of training) and that it would gradually return to normal which it appears to have done - just in the nick of time.

I'm still going to take it easy on the big day and stick to my run/walk routine and pick it up in the last 6-10km if I'm still feeling OK. That's the plan anyway. The forecast is for a top of 23C with Northerly wind of about 25 knots which may put to rest any plans of picking it up anyway. Luckily daylight saving started last weekend which means a relatively earlier start and finish before the sun get's too hot , somewhere between 15C to 20C for the duration of the race would be OK.

I'm still going to take it easy on the big day and stick to my run/walk routine and pick it up in the last 6-10km if I'm still feeling OK. That's the plan anyway. The forecast is for a top of 23C with Northerly wind of about 25 knots which may put to rest any plans of picking it up anyway. Luckily daylight saving started last weekend which means a relatively earlier start and finish before the sun get's too hot , somewhere between 15C to 20C for the duration of the race would be OK.

Route: Cruickshank Park
Actual Distance - 5km
Time - 0:39:00
Pace - 7:09 min/km
HR/&/Zone: 124/63%/0.8
RPE: 3
Temp:  15C
Total for week: 5 km
Cumulative Total: 523.0 km