Training Log Archive: Craig

Couldn't be bothered in the morning. Thought about using the ankle as an excuse but it wasn't going to work so I had to run on the treadmill after work. Tried to just keep it easy at 12km/h and 0 incline but had to do a km each at 2%, 4% and 14km/h in the middle to break it up a bit. Ankle felt fine and left heel was only a little bit sore. Splits...
6:20 (127)
5:01 (133)
4:58 (134)
4:59 (138)
4:58 (146) 2%
4:58 (155) 4%
4:19 (151) 0%
4:58 (142)
4:58 (142)
4:59 (142)

Warm up run to start at Julimar.

Julimar State Series. Started with a plan to make very definite route choices and run aggressively for the first 4 controls and then back off and cruise through the middle before finishing strongly. The plan was working quite nicely apart from a minor wobble on 2 until I rolled my right ankle again about 200m before number 4. I hobbled to 4 contemplating whether to continue or not (5 was a long leg to the furthest point on the course so I had to make a decision now). I decided I probably should turn back but I would keep going anyway just because I'm stupid. After about 5 minutes it had improved enough so that I could run almost normally as long as there was nothing under foot. Every time I ran down a hill I was very conscious of wanting to look at the map but being too scared to take my eyes off the ground. Still managed to orienteer reasonably well around the rest of the course but rolled the ankle slightly another 4 or 5 times. I really should start taping it or wearing a brace. Still managed to win by over 20 minutes because everyone else is even more of a cripple than me.

Standard 10k loop. Sore around left heel again. I think it is actually a combination of the retinaculum around the peroneal tendons where they run behind the lateral malleolus and the bursa at the achilles attachment. This eased after 5 or 10 minutes but later it was getting sore where the tibialis posterior tendon runs around the back of the medial malleolus. It is probably mostly a reaction to running the relays after a month without any orienteering. Apart from the sore left heel/ankle I felt quite good.

C • Good to see you back training ... 2

One hour on the indoor trainer split into 20min immediately before dinner and 40min straight after. First time on a bike of any description in many months. Trying to give my left heel a bit of a rest and it is feeling better.

Usual 10k loop. Sore around left heel again, eased but never went entirely. Felt pretty good most of the time but had a few tired patches. Pushed a bit harder for the last 5 minutes because it started to rain (last km 3.27).

Easy lap of KP (short loop) with Alan. Stayed with Alan all the way to try to help him run a PB. He couldn't remember exactly what his best is but we must have gone very close. Felt very easy to me but my left ankle/heel/achilles area was quite sore for the first half. Feeling a bit tender under outside of left ankle afterwards, maybe I did something to it on Sunday that I don't remember?

Usual 10k loop, same as yesterday. Still feeling a bit tired but much better than yesterday, lasst km in 3.59 felt easy. Heart rate finally seems to be getting back towards normal. Resting HR was still a little high but while running it was always as I expected rather than the 15 bpm higher that it has been until today.

Standard 10k loop. Feeling tired stiff and sore but still felt a little smoother and more relaxed than my previous few runs.

WA Relays at Yetar Spring. Running 2nd and 4th leg in team with Matt Seward running 1st and 3rd. 2nd leg course 1B. Pretty easy course in fast open country. Lost around 5 or 10 seconds on one slightly misplaced control. Happy with the navigation but feeling very slow up the hills. Didn't feel sick, just unfit. Started 2 min behind John and came in 8min ahead mostly because I ran the shortest easiest course while John was doing the longest hardest leg. Matt did well to be only 2min down after Sarah ran my course while he did a longer tougher one.

4th (last) leg of relay, course 1D. Much tougher course this time with about half the controls in rock detail in the green. Ran well for most of the course but lost about 1min on a short leg to an isolated small group of boulders. Physically felt no different from the first course. I went out in the lead but I still thought we could be caught as I knew this leg was much tougher than my first leg so if John had that course last he could make up a few minutes. It turns out Sarah ran the easy leg first so we were never in danger and won by 11 minutes.

About 30 minutes of jogging around before, between and after relay legs.

Usual 10k loop. Felt a bit stronger today but still a bit stiff and generally uncomfortable, probably just the lack of running in recent weeks. Heart rate still higher than normal but not too alarming.

Intended to go for a run but it didn't happen.

Feeling a little more sick this morning and tight hamstrings convinced me to have yet another rest day.

Short loop in Kings Park alone. Matt said he would come but didn't show as usual. Felt a little better than yesterday at times but had some bad patches as well.

Usual easy 10k loop. Decided to stop worrying about my heart rate but stick to easy running until I feel completely better. Didn't feel great but I think I just need to get used to running again after a couple of weeks doing almost nothing.

I'm going to have to stop looking at my heart rate so I can get back into training. Weight is getting close to a record.

Sprint race at Murdoch uni. After my easy run yesterday I thought I better wear the heart rate monitor again today to make sure I didn't overdo it. I set the upper limit at 165 which is normally about threshold pace but before the start I switched the signal off because it wasn't registering properly. It was lucky I did switch it off because my hear rate was over 165 for 50% of the run, if I had tried to keep it under 165 Rachel might have beaten me.

Warm up for sprint race.

Couldn't hold out any longer, had to go for a run. Part of the reason is my weight is continuing to climb and my body fat is reaching record highs of 8.8% (was averaging about 6.2% a few weeks ago). Did the same loop Rachel ran with Erin in the morning. Wore the heart rate monitor to see if my heart rate matched my expectations. Every time I looked it was 10-20 above what I would have guessed. Felt as though I was taking it very easy but after 20 minutes my lower calves started to feel tight followed 5 minutes later by my quads. As soon as I stopped running I got a few mild cramps in my upper calves. I should have stayed in bed.

C • Hope you are feeling better so... 4

Resting heart rate is finally starting to come down. Finally gave in and went to the doctor yesterday and he gave me some antibiotics in case my cough is a bacterial infection.

I'm starting to think I will never run again.

Definitely sick now. Hardly slept even though Liam slept about 8 hours. Resting HR is highest I have ever seen (about 15 above normal). This should at least convince me not to try to race on Sunday which is probably a good thing.

Happy birthday to me.
Woke up with a slight cough. Checked Resting HR for first time in months and seems a bit high. Had planned a bit of a jog or bike ride today but couldn't be bothered.

Very slow shuffle around Kings Park on my own. Right knee was sore at the beginning but only lasted about one minute. Hip ok. Quads still stuffed. Calves a little stiff but not as bad as they usually are after a 10k road race. Looking good for a 14km state series race on Sunday.

Quads still sore particularly going down stairs (I could do it forwards at least). Hip feeling ok now and knee almost ok. Tried a few short jogs during the day and each time it seemed a little easier. I almost scared an old guy off his bike by chasing him up a hill at 9:30pm. Might try a short run tomorrow.

Quads very sore. Having great difficulty getting in and out of chairs. Right kneecap and hip sore but both improved slightly from last night.

Event: Perth Marathon
 

Perth Marathon
Perfect conditions, 7 degrees and calm at the start rising to about 16 and 10km/h winds by the finish.
Warm up consisted of joggging 500m at walking pace and 2 x 30m at marathon pace. I started at what felt like a comfortable pace which turned out to be 4:05. This was a little slower than I was hoping for but I thought it might pick up naturally as I warmed up so I kept the effort the same for the next 2km which went by in 8:10. The plan was to run sub 4 for as long as possible and then hang on the best I could so I tried to up the pace a bit. I averaged about 4.02 through to 9km with my hamstrings feeling a bit tight before getting into a more comfortable rhythm at 3.56 for the 10th km which I reached in 40.20. I thought this might be a little too fast but I held this pace through to 24km before my quads started to tighten up. I managed to hold the pace around 4.00 through to 28km but my quads were getting progressively worse and the pace started to slip to average 4.08 for the next 6km before the real decline began. From 34km my quads were getting so sore that I couldn't stop my stride from getting shorter and shorter even though I still felt I had plenty of energy. Each km from 34 on was about 5 seconds slower than the one before and I was just hoping I would make it to the finish before I seized up completely (I had already passed a few who had). With one km to go I decided it was worth risking an attempt to lift the pace a bit and I managed to go from 4.44 to 4.23 but that was enough to convince me I was right not to risk trying any earlier. Overall I was a little disappointed not to get under 2:50 but happy that I managed to avoid blowing out really badly at the end. Perhaps I pushed it a little too hard from 10 to 25km but I had a very similar experience with my quads in my first marathon 15 years ago when I just took it easy all the way so maybe the pace wasn't the problem. In hindsight I should have made sure I did a better warm up as I really didn't feel comfortable for the first 8 or 9 km.

Summary Splits (5k)
5k 20:15
10k 19:55 40:20
15k 19:41 1:00:01
20k 19:51 1:19:52
25k 19:48 1:39:40
30k 20:17 1:59:57
35k 20:55 2:20:52
40k 22:51 2:43:43
42.2k 9:57 2:53:40

Detailed Splits
1k 4:05.2
3k 8:10.1 12:15
4k 4:03.4 16:18
5k 3:56.6 20:15
6k 4:03.8 24:19
7k 4:00.0 28:19
8k 4:02.6 32:21
9k 4:02.1 36:23
10k 3:56.8 40:20
11k 3:59.2 44:19
12k 3:56.8 48:16
13k 3:56.1 52:12
14k 3:56.2 56:09
15k 3:52.8 1:00:01
16k 3:59.7 1:04:01
17k 3:56.2 1:07:57
18k 3:57.9 1:11:55
19k 3:59.3 1:15:54
20k 3:58.0 1:19:52
21k 3:55.7 1:23:48 (half way 1:24:11)
22k 3:57.2 1:27:45
23k 3:56.3 1:31:42
24k 3:58.2 1:35:40
25k 4:00.1 1:39:40
26k 4:01.6 1:43:42
27k 4:00.4 1:47:42
28k 4:01.5 1:51:44
29k 4:08.6 1:55:52
30k 4:05.1 1:59:57
31k 4:08.1 2:04:05
32k 4:04.5 2:08:10
33k 4:11.3 2:12:21
34k 4:12.2 2:16:33
35k 4:18.6 2:20:52
36k 4:22.9 2:25:15
37k 4:34.5 2:29:49
38k 4:29.5 2:34:19
39k 4:40.9 2:39:00
40k 4:43.1 2:43:43
41k 4:44.3 2:48:27
42k 4:23.5 2:52:51
42.195k 0:48.8 2:53:40 (2nd half 1:29:29)

C • my quads are hurting just read... 4

Easy 5k run as a final loosener before the marathon tomorrow. Everything seemed to hurt today but not very much. My weight has gone up over a kilo in the last couple of days so I hope it has all gone into my muscle glycogen stores.