Mudgee and beyond

I was waiting for a rainy day to update my way overdue blog, but it seems the sun is winning this battle, so I am bite the bullet....

After all those weeks in the gym it was a real pleasure to run in the sun again the last couple of weeks. Finally last weekend we travelled to Mudgee (3 hours west of Sydney) for the 1/2 marathon. Only problem was the destination is famous for its wines and after two days of intensive training in wine tasting and eating too much cheese, I stood, slightly hanged over and overweight, at the starting line on Sunday morning at 6.30am in my thermal running gear.
Hey, they told me it is going to be freezing cold in the outback....I was very happy that the organiser offered these great running shirts to all participants and I found a pair of shorts in the car, because the pre-start announcement of 24 degrees and sunshine for the run made me panic and change in record time to lighter gear....wise decision After a few km running in the shade and out of Mudgee the sun starting coming over those hills and sure enough it warmed up considerably. Very happy man running along in those shorts and light shirt :-) (I heard some guys overheated badly in the Marathon running in too warm gear).
The run made his way through those beautiful vineyards and the whole scenery made the getting up so early worthwhile. I tried to keep to my running plan but soon realised that the Shiraz and Pinot Noir from last night took the better of me and made me slow down a bit....since I was in no mode to talk to other runners in my state I decided to simple keep my head down and ponder on to the finish. The last 4 km were kind of hard and my proven tactic of catching one bright t'shirt after the other ahead of me failed miserably...nevertheless I made it to the finish and when I checked the clock I realised that my time was the same as for last month race - 98min.
Even so I failed in my goal to reach 95 min I was very happy with my time and glad to catch up with wife and friends at the next winery for a glass of White :-) to celebrate.

So looks like my 95 min have to be done next month at the World Masters Game then. Looking forward to that event - expecting to meet many athletes from all over the worlds and sure making new friends.

MdS fellow Action Jackson did a great 2nd place in Mudgee (only beaten by a 18 year old) and he will be a favorite in his devision in October for sure. His 80min for the 1/2 marathon will be for ever out of my reach

The next 6 weeks will be used to somehow find ways to cut those 3 minutes off my time - 180 sec seems not much but when you have to run 10 sec faster every km for 21 km it becomes quite a project....only time will tell
Happy feet

Spring is in the air

Nice week weather wise - first time in a long while I enjoyed a run in the Botanical Garden over lunch time. Sooo much better then then to good, old treadmill at the gym. My knee is giving me trouble again - guess the running on the road has an impact as well as my visits to the chiro practor to fix my spine....seems like the running with the damaged knee made me favoring one side more then the other with the result that my spine is now twisted...so we need to untwist quickly to get me ready for the World Masters Game in October :-)
Happy feet

World Masters Games - here we come

This morning I went south for one of my first 1/2 Marathon races for ages. Sri Chinmoy Sydney (www.srichinmoyraces.org/au/events/sydneyraces organised a great event down south at Dolls Point.
A week after my marathon at the Gold Coast my legs were still a bit weary but once the start 'gun' went off, I and Denis headed off on a fast 4.20 pace...soon we got into a rhythm and we crossed the first 1okm in 46.50 min, I just hoped to be able to keep it up.
Denis went a bit ahead of me and for the second leg I again used my 'catch the next colourful t'shirt' tactic. It worked fine and soon Denis appeared again just ahead of me. Feeling that he is slowing down, I knew I am going to get him. Unfortunately I did sooner then expected because he suddenly pulled out with a calf muscle injury. So I had to focus on a new t'shirt and with 4 km to go, I suddenly 'ran' out of other runners ahead of me...so it just became a long sprint to the finish. 98min for 21.1km, good work for a Sunday morning and on track for the games. Now it is back to training for the next 6 weeks until the Mudgee 1/2 marathon in August - I feel a new PB may be coming up by then :-)
Happy feet

Running for Fred

As you know I signed up for the Sydney Bridge Run and in the process I opened a fundraising page through their website. Please help and make a difference!

Visit www.gofundraise.com.au/run4vision

Too many poor people need our help - they are needlessly blind and we can help them - remember $25 is enough to give a person the eyesight back.

Thanks for your support

Like good wine.....getting better with age....

The Gold Coast Marathon (http://www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au/) is a great race to run fast or at least try to....I was glad the start was at a decent time of 7.30am on Sunday morning. After a long night 2 nights ago, discovering Brisbane's nightlife any extra minute in bed was needed.

Under ideal conditions, cool 19 degrees maximum and slightly overcast with high clouds, over 4'000 runners lined up at the start. Trent (Marathon Man) and I decided to start with the 3.45hrs pacer and then see how we go. Going through the first 10 km in relaxed 52 min and since I was not comfortable with running in a big group of people (which kind of bulked up all around the pacer), I decided to speed up a bit and go ahead of the group.
The next 5 km split showed me a couple of minutes ahead of pace and felling good, I just kept going. Half way was done in 110 minutes. For the second half I decided on a new tactic by simply picking out a bright shirt of a runner a few hundred meters ahead of me and then chase 'it' down. That worked a treat and one colourful 'shirt' after another was left behind. After the final turn at 36 km and still feeling great, I kept this tactic up and without looking at time or distance any longer, I cruised into the finish line realising that with a bit more effort I could have easily beaten my own PB - finishing in 3hrs37min or a mere 1 min slower then my best ever - 8 years earlier. Was very happy with myself and headed back to enjoy the obligate ice bath back at the Sofitel followed by a family size pizza.
Trent was not as lucky and following his short recovery from a flu, he never took off and battled all the way to the finish - but finish he did. Maybe his worst race but remembering my worst a few years back on exactly the same course here can only mean that he can come back and do better next year.

This probably was my last marathon for the year. It seems that my new speed training was already helping to improve my race times and the next couple of months of running and training now for 1/2 marathons and 10 km race can only mean (hopefully) more fast times ahead. Next race will be the 1/2 in Mudgee (www.mudgeetriclub.hwy.com.au/marathon), followed by the Sydney Bridge run (http://www.sydneymarathon.org/) and then we should be ready for some great racing at the World Masters Games (http://www.2009worldmasters.com/)

I am also glad to have already my qualification for The Comrades 2010 (http://www.comrades.com/) in my pocket with the Gold Coast Marathon time.

Happy running everyone.

Training for Speed

It is nice to have weeks with just 50km in the legs, especially as the weather is not at all inviting to go out and run. Today I covered just under 20km in 105min and got miserably wet in the process. The Nike shoes are holding up fine - one small pressure point on the right foot but I am sure I can sort that one out too. I am doing 5km runs now in 4'20" pace, so next step is to get the distance up over the next few weeks.
It is great to not spend hours after hours out running for once and spend some more time at home. Tomorrow, if the weather holds up I try to join up with some runners in the Botanical Garden for a round or two.
Have also signed up for another 1/2 marathon in August - Mudgee Running Festival. Seems like a nice race through wine yards. Just hope it is not going to be too cold then.
Happy running and save training.

Mini-Mos - 10km Race

First test completed. I was getting some new shoes yesterday, Gary at Kenso recommended Nike Air Zoom Triax 11 over my usual Asics DT2130 and they felt great on my feet, so I went along with it and got myself 2 new pairs.
Went for a short speed session that same day to test them out and I have to say they feel great and offer some bounce on the road.
Anyway - Marathon Man and Susie picked me up early today and we drove north over that bridge to Mosman to run the MiniMos Marathon - a 10km race through the neighbour hood of that suburb.
A fair number of keen runners of all ages waited at the starting line and for once the weather was friendly and not too cold. We met some old faces from Morocco as well as 'famous' ones (Tony Abbott). The course was fairly hilly and it was good that I had no clue where the course went. I just put down my head and off I went. I had to find my benchmark for the 10 km - a distance I probably raced 12 years ago the last time.
The first 5 km where hilly and I went through that first leg in 22 min - left Marathon Man behind and attacked the second half of the race. There were a few out and back section, so you got a good glance of who was ahead and who behind you. With an average of 4.33 per km I found enough to sprint the last few 100 meters and managed to finish just a bit over 45 min for the distance. So I know it will be a hard uphill battle if I say that 40 min is the goal for the World Masters Games, but if that course is a flat one and on a good day you never know.

A few minutes later Marathon Man sprinted down Tony A. and finished in less than 50 min - well done! Congratulations to Susie too, who is on track to become MarathonGirl - a mere minute over the hour mark, means that mark can be broken at the Gold Coast in a couple of weeks. We all have signed up for the Gold Coast Marathon. A Marathon des Sables reunion for Josh, Keith, Trent and myself for the big one and another go for Suzie to beat the 60 min for the 10km race.

3 weeks to the Marathon plus another 7 days for the next race - a ½ marathon test – it is all happening. 17 weeks to the Games….