As many of you know (who doesn't?), the city to surf 14km run was this past weekend. Oxygen had many clients involved in it and I just wanted to send out a little congratulations to them, as many of them had done this for the first time.
Me - 58:34
Mark Smith - 1:01:49
Claudia Ganora - 1:23:40
Chris Jackson & Guy Tsafnat - 1:27:15 1st time
Sinead O'Haire - 1:36:30 1st time
Hillier Mackell - 1:38:15 1st time
Sonie and Steve Shaw - 1:55:43 1st time
Jacqui Jeffrey - 2:09:00 1st time
Way to go everyone, you did so well in taking up the challenge, especially you first timers. Steve Shaw didn't really do any specific training for the run and completed it, so anyone can complete the course.
Sinead was sick for about two weeks prior to the event and completed it. Jacqui had never thought about doing a run like this until entering. Awesome stuff!
As for my own race. I started in the the first group after the elite runners, but was at the back of the pack with Claudia and Mark as we got there a bit later than I had imagined. So I ended up shuffling through the hoards of people for most of the first 3 to 4 km (not sure as they aren't marked until 7km). There was a lot of sprint through a hole and slowing down once I got behind a slower group with no hole to move through. Now I remember why this is called a fun run and not a race where you can set a PB for 14k.
When I got past the 7k mark things start to spread out and I didn't have as many people to move around to get a good pace going, so I pushed up the hill and past several people along the way, even a guy who didn't want to let me by as he put his arm out and said "No", but I just kept running and went through his arm and straight up the hill never to see him again.
Heartbreak hill isn't as bad as everyone thinks, as long as you have done some hill training, which I of course have done plenty of living in Coogee/Randwick area.
So once i got over that and the next hill, I was cruising along at a nice pace and thought I would push hard to the end and even pick it up going down the hills. However, when I took in some of my drink and kept running at that pace I started to feel a little sick in the stomach. This is when I looked down at my HR monitor and noticed I was reading 185 going downhill.
Even though I wanted to go faster and felt like I could muscularly, I wasn't able to because of the sick feeling I was getting. I didn't have to back off any, but certainly couldn't push the pace any faster.
Getting to the 13k marker was awesome as I knew the race was almost over and I could push the pace a bit here and wasn't feeling sick anymore, so I tried my best to catch as many people as I could before crossing the finish line. With that many people running is was a bit harder as there wasn't a whole lot of open space and most people finishing in that time are also trying to push the pace to the end. This is a great mental battle of can I go any harder even though I feel complete spent or just keep the legs moving.
Overall a great time that I am happy with considering the amount of people on the course. As a runner I get irritated at the people who are slower than me and want to be so close to the start line (especially with a chip for timing), but as a personal trainer I love to see everyone out there giving it a go! Way to go to the 75,000+ people for making the effort!
13 August 2009
Pink Run
Congratulations to all of you for your participation in the run Sunday. You all did well. This was a challenging course being off road, so your times are awesome.
First the 10k results are Claudia (although your name is entered as Rebecca Pope, but you have two different numbers) finished in 1:02:24, which is a 6:14/k pace and was 76th overall and 16th in her age group.
Then Jo Phelps (who I didn't know was running but she came to say hello after the run) did 1:03:58, which is a 6:23/k pace and was 86th overall and 20th in her age group.
Next is the 5k group with Sonie finishing in 25:09, which is a 5:02/k pace and was 4th overall and 1st in her age group.
Emma Trehy completed the course in 27:47, which is a 5:33/k pace and was 11th overall and 3rd in her age group.
The real Rebecca Pope finished in 35:51, which is a 7:10/k pace and was 80th overall and 12th in her age group.
Finally I did the 1k in 3:38 was 6th overall and 3rd in my age group.
I am very proud of all of you for your efforts and look forward to running with you all soon. Keep up the great work.
Those of you doing the C2S let me know, so we can make plans for where to meet afterwards. Have a great week riding the high on a job well done.
As for me, I did the 1k male sprint and didn't have the best run I wanted. I finished in 6th place with a 3:38. Although it is a fairly fast time I wanted under 3:30, but wasn't quite prepared for the race.
On Thursday before the race I had given blood, which always takes a bit out of me. Then I didn't actually think I would be able to run the race as I had a touch footy game on that day and they changed the start time of the race, which was at the time I was supposed to be playing footy.
I didn't get a proper warm-up in and struggled thought the run and was really feeling quite tired at the end and just wishing it to be over.
Oh well, you can't have a great race every time. Just move on and learn from the experience!
First the 10k results are Claudia (although your name is entered as Rebecca Pope, but you have two different numbers) finished in 1:02:24, which is a 6:14/k pace and was 76th overall and 16th in her age group.
Then Jo Phelps (who I didn't know was running but she came to say hello after the run) did 1:03:58, which is a 6:23/k pace and was 86th overall and 20th in her age group.
Next is the 5k group with Sonie finishing in 25:09, which is a 5:02/k pace and was 4th overall and 1st in her age group.
Emma Trehy completed the course in 27:47, which is a 5:33/k pace and was 11th overall and 3rd in her age group.
The real Rebecca Pope finished in 35:51, which is a 7:10/k pace and was 80th overall and 12th in her age group.
Finally I did the 1k in 3:38 was 6th overall and 3rd in my age group.
I am very proud of all of you for your efforts and look forward to running with you all soon. Keep up the great work.
Those of you doing the C2S let me know, so we can make plans for where to meet afterwards. Have a great week riding the high on a job well done.
As for me, I did the 1k male sprint and didn't have the best run I wanted. I finished in 6th place with a 3:38. Although it is a fairly fast time I wanted under 3:30, but wasn't quite prepared for the race.
On Thursday before the race I had given blood, which always takes a bit out of me. Then I didn't actually think I would be able to run the race as I had a touch footy game on that day and they changed the start time of the race, which was at the time I was supposed to be playing footy.
I didn't get a proper warm-up in and struggled thought the run and was really feeling quite tired at the end and just wishing it to be over.
Oh well, you can't have a great race every time. Just move on and learn from the experience!
27 July 2009
How fast can you dash?
Today I did a workout with Sonie at Grant's Reserve (GR) that was a very fast session. It involved doing 10x100m all out efforts with 90 seconds recovery. I have also started running in my five fingers for all my runs and have noticed a difference in my speed, so hope they help today.
When I first thought about this workout, I was thinking it seemed a bit easier than some of the other crossfit endurance workouts with 90 seconds recovery after each 100m. I went to mapmyrun.com and plotted a straight line on GR to figure out how far 100m was and decided to use a tree and rubbish bins as my targets to stay away from the holes in the ground.
Sonie and I ran from the studio down along the beach front and back to GR and did a couple technique runs before getting started after picking the starting point and end point for each 100. This was not a completely accurate way of measuring for the 100m, but I found some spots that we can use again to reproduce the same distance if we ever need to do this again or want to.
The first one seemed to go well as I ran 13.3 with Sonie a few seconds behind me. This direction was a slight bit downhill, but I was completely happy with that time and hoped I could keep it up. It was important to do the warm-up drills as this allowed me to focus on my quick feet for this distance without losing my technique, as I have done a bit longer distance and tended to lose some of my form when trying for an all out effort.
The 90 seconds didn't go by too quickly this time so I was recovered enough for the next one, which I did in 13.8. As I said going this direction was a slight incline and not really noticeable on this one so still happy with my time. Sonie was staying close as well and only getting 85-87 seconds of recovery since I was doing my lap time with each run.
I continued along with times of 13.3 for the third, 14.0 for the fourth, and 13.3 for the fifth set. I was starting to think the recovery wasn't feeling like 90 seconds as they were getting tougher to keep going. I had to refocus myself knowing I was halfway through to make sure I was getting the best effort out of myself.
I was ready to go on my 6th effort going up the ever so slight incline and got 13.9, which I was happy with as I wanted to stay under 14 seconds for the rest of them if I could. On the 7th interval I got 13.6, but actually thought it was the hardest one so far as my technique felt a bit off and I really had to work to control my breathing and recover during the 90 seconds to get myself ready for the 8th effort.
As I recovered for this one I focused on the fact that this was the last three we had to do and I had already done seven, so what was three more. I tried to refocus on my quick feet and leaning forward a touch to get another good time. I was able to get 14.2, which I was happy with as that is still quite fast.
With only two to go I didn't care how painful they were going to be as they were the last two, so I gave them a bit more focus and effort to see if I could go faster than I had previously. Not bad when I saw 13.4 on the watch.
So only one to go and on the incline. Could I get there in under 14 seconds for the last one even after 9 previous sprints. Just missed it with 14.2 and Sonie was very consistent with her efforts as she seemed to finish within 2-4 seconds after I did with each of her sprints.
I was very happy with my efforts as it averages out to 13.7/100m. If I could keep that up for a 1k effort I would be able to run it in 2:17. Hmm, not that I think I could do and all out 100m effort for 1k, but it does make me think I can run 1k faster than I have in the past.
The five finger shoes make me feel like I am lifting my foot off the ground quickly, since they don't have any padding to speak of and I don't want to pound on the foot. Not that I was a heavy footed runner before, but these shoes make it even easier to keep good technique.
My glutes and hamstrings are so tired after this session that it was hard for me to walk up the hill to get home today after my running and 2 PT sessions. They are still sore after some self massage and stretching, so I know I wasn't using my quads too much today!
We will see Sunday how fast I am, as I am doing the 1k pink fun run at Centennial Park. http://www.funrunpink.com.au/ after the ladies run either a 10k, 5k, or 2.5k loop.
I can't wait for the C2S with an aim of 55minutes or faster.
When I first thought about this workout, I was thinking it seemed a bit easier than some of the other crossfit endurance workouts with 90 seconds recovery after each 100m. I went to mapmyrun.com and plotted a straight line on GR to figure out how far 100m was and decided to use a tree and rubbish bins as my targets to stay away from the holes in the ground.
Sonie and I ran from the studio down along the beach front and back to GR and did a couple technique runs before getting started after picking the starting point and end point for each 100. This was not a completely accurate way of measuring for the 100m, but I found some spots that we can use again to reproduce the same distance if we ever need to do this again or want to.
The first one seemed to go well as I ran 13.3 with Sonie a few seconds behind me. This direction was a slight bit downhill, but I was completely happy with that time and hoped I could keep it up. It was important to do the warm-up drills as this allowed me to focus on my quick feet for this distance without losing my technique, as I have done a bit longer distance and tended to lose some of my form when trying for an all out effort.
The 90 seconds didn't go by too quickly this time so I was recovered enough for the next one, which I did in 13.8. As I said going this direction was a slight incline and not really noticeable on this one so still happy with my time. Sonie was staying close as well and only getting 85-87 seconds of recovery since I was doing my lap time with each run.
I continued along with times of 13.3 for the third, 14.0 for the fourth, and 13.3 for the fifth set. I was starting to think the recovery wasn't feeling like 90 seconds as they were getting tougher to keep going. I had to refocus myself knowing I was halfway through to make sure I was getting the best effort out of myself.
I was ready to go on my 6th effort going up the ever so slight incline and got 13.9, which I was happy with as I wanted to stay under 14 seconds for the rest of them if I could. On the 7th interval I got 13.6, but actually thought it was the hardest one so far as my technique felt a bit off and I really had to work to control my breathing and recover during the 90 seconds to get myself ready for the 8th effort.
As I recovered for this one I focused on the fact that this was the last three we had to do and I had already done seven, so what was three more. I tried to refocus on my quick feet and leaning forward a touch to get another good time. I was able to get 14.2, which I was happy with as that is still quite fast.
With only two to go I didn't care how painful they were going to be as they were the last two, so I gave them a bit more focus and effort to see if I could go faster than I had previously. Not bad when I saw 13.4 on the watch.
So only one to go and on the incline. Could I get there in under 14 seconds for the last one even after 9 previous sprints. Just missed it with 14.2 and Sonie was very consistent with her efforts as she seemed to finish within 2-4 seconds after I did with each of her sprints.
I was very happy with my efforts as it averages out to 13.7/100m. If I could keep that up for a 1k effort I would be able to run it in 2:17. Hmm, not that I think I could do and all out 100m effort for 1k, but it does make me think I can run 1k faster than I have in the past.
The five finger shoes make me feel like I am lifting my foot off the ground quickly, since they don't have any padding to speak of and I don't want to pound on the foot. Not that I was a heavy footed runner before, but these shoes make it even easier to keep good technique.
My glutes and hamstrings are so tired after this session that it was hard for me to walk up the hill to get home today after my running and 2 PT sessions. They are still sore after some self massage and stretching, so I know I wasn't using my quads too much today!
We will see Sunday how fast I am, as I am doing the 1k pink fun run at Centennial Park. http://www.funrunpink.com.au/ after the ladies run either a 10k, 5k, or 2.5k loop.
I can't wait for the C2S with an aim of 55minutes or faster.
02 July 2009
1k at a time
This Tuesday (30-6-09), I took Sonie with me to do some 1k all out efforts. We started by running to Centennial Park via Randwick Junction as we live close to each other. It was an easy jog to the park followed by 2x1k efforts with 2 minutes recovery.
While jogging down to the park, Sonie and I decided that i would run with Sonie on this workout to help with the motivation as she said she wouldn't do speed work on her own. So without knowing the course for the 1k, but describing it to her a bit, we started our journey on the first all out effort over 1k.
She started out quite quick and I was trying not to push her any harder than she was going, but I wasn't staying behind her either. I was thinking it was a pace I would be struggling to keep up with for myself, but she kept at it. Her breathing laboured, she did start to slow a bit after reaching the halfway point, but she kept pushing through. There is a short tiny hill to the finish on the 1k towards the restaurant with about 150m to go and this is where I noticed a decline in running speed, but still going hard.
When Sonie could see the 30 KPH painted on the ground around the bend, she picked it up to finish strong. I was completely amazed at the time when I looked at my watch and saw a time of 3:45. What an awesome time. I thought Sonie was going to hyperventilate as she struggled with her breathing. she started to get more control of it as I said she should try to get deep breathes in and out instead of rushing them.
However, there wasn't much time to enjoy it with only 2 minutes to recovery before going again. She wasn't completely recovered before we started so I knew this was going to be a challenge. I didn't know how much of a challenge because when we got about 250m into the run she had to stop as she said she couldn't see much and felt like she was going to pass out. We promptly stopped running and I tried to get her to catch her breathe and calmly walk slowly. I will only say that is an all out effort if ever there was one.
Sonie is so keen, she recovered and felt better after some slow deep breathes and walking that she wanted to give it a go, so we finished off with about 500m of all out effort. She finish the 500m in 1:48 which would have put her on target for another 3:45. Although, I don't think she would have run it that fast again, I couldn't ask her to go much harder. What an awesome effort.
After a jog to the park entrance, I told Sonie it was my turn, but I wanted to make sure she was okay before leaving her on her own to get home. so I returned to the same start spot and got into it.
I finished the first one in 3:26 and felt a little disappointed with myself as I think I should have gone a bit harder and gotten under 3:20, but I didn't have time to think about it as I had another one after 2 minutes.
My second effort was a bit easier start with the slight downhill and a gentle tail wind, so I took advantage of those two things and got into a quick pace from the start. I was trying to get as close the the same time as I could and needed the quick start to do it. This also meant I would have to maintain the pace for the whole km. I felt myself starting to slow down about halfway through, so I focused on quick feet and getting the leg back.
This helped me get back into a rhythm and allowed me to have a strong finish to the end to complete the second 1k in 3:26 as well. I know I had given it my all that time as I didn't even want to walk afterwards. I just stopped and tried to catch my breathe.
I was happier with the second one as I had nothing left and felt I could have given the first one a bit more of a push because I didn't feel the same after it as I did the second. Overall this is a great workout and very tough as the speed work has been much shorter in distance recently.
While jogging down to the park, Sonie and I decided that i would run with Sonie on this workout to help with the motivation as she said she wouldn't do speed work on her own. So without knowing the course for the 1k, but describing it to her a bit, we started our journey on the first all out effort over 1k.
She started out quite quick and I was trying not to push her any harder than she was going, but I wasn't staying behind her either. I was thinking it was a pace I would be struggling to keep up with for myself, but she kept at it. Her breathing laboured, she did start to slow a bit after reaching the halfway point, but she kept pushing through. There is a short tiny hill to the finish on the 1k towards the restaurant with about 150m to go and this is where I noticed a decline in running speed, but still going hard.
When Sonie could see the 30 KPH painted on the ground around the bend, she picked it up to finish strong. I was completely amazed at the time when I looked at my watch and saw a time of 3:45. What an awesome time. I thought Sonie was going to hyperventilate as she struggled with her breathing. she started to get more control of it as I said she should try to get deep breathes in and out instead of rushing them.
However, there wasn't much time to enjoy it with only 2 minutes to recovery before going again. She wasn't completely recovered before we started so I knew this was going to be a challenge. I didn't know how much of a challenge because when we got about 250m into the run she had to stop as she said she couldn't see much and felt like she was going to pass out. We promptly stopped running and I tried to get her to catch her breathe and calmly walk slowly. I will only say that is an all out effort if ever there was one.
Sonie is so keen, she recovered and felt better after some slow deep breathes and walking that she wanted to give it a go, so we finished off with about 500m of all out effort. She finish the 500m in 1:48 which would have put her on target for another 3:45. Although, I don't think she would have run it that fast again, I couldn't ask her to go much harder. What an awesome effort.
After a jog to the park entrance, I told Sonie it was my turn, but I wanted to make sure she was okay before leaving her on her own to get home. so I returned to the same start spot and got into it.
I finished the first one in 3:26 and felt a little disappointed with myself as I think I should have gone a bit harder and gotten under 3:20, but I didn't have time to think about it as I had another one after 2 minutes.
My second effort was a bit easier start with the slight downhill and a gentle tail wind, so I took advantage of those two things and got into a quick pace from the start. I was trying to get as close the the same time as I could and needed the quick start to do it. This also meant I would have to maintain the pace for the whole km. I felt myself starting to slow down about halfway through, so I focused on quick feet and getting the leg back.
This helped me get back into a rhythm and allowed me to have a strong finish to the end to complete the second 1k in 3:26 as well. I know I had given it my all that time as I didn't even want to walk afterwards. I just stopped and tried to catch my breathe.
I was happier with the second one as I had nothing left and felt I could have given the first one a bit more of a push because I didn't feel the same after it as I did the second. Overall this is a great workout and very tough as the speed work has been much shorter in distance recently.
28 June 2009
Stairs of Death
On Friday I took the run squad for a little jog towards Maroubra along the coast to the end of the path in South Coogee, with the sole intent of coming back to the stairs of death (coogee stairs that take you up to Denning St) and did them three times with only a walk back down as recovery.
The stairs are quite shocking for first timers as they go on further than they seem when you first look at them, as it is only the half way point you can actually see from the bottom. I did warn them we were going to do these so the warm up was supposed to be easy.
I wanted everyone to give 100% effort going up the stairs each time and take as much time as they needed to go down the stairs for the recovery, but keep moving. I timed my first trip up which took 1:17 at an all out pace.
I was hurting when I got to the top. The recovery was nice, but more difficult than I thought as it made my thighs burn even more than going up the stairs. The second one was going to be great fun...in a demoralizing way.
So I get to the bottom of the stairs which means it time to go back up. I started up at the same pace I had the first time up them. the pace was quite hard to keep as my legs were burning, especially the thighs from taking two steps at a time. There is this one section which the double step seems like taking three steps, as they are quite big and then the burning sensation really hits.
I'm past the halfway point and finding it harder, but still keeping a good pace. I am really aiming to get as close to my first time, so I keep pushing up the stairs at a frantic pace trying to forget about the searing pain in my thighs and glutes, just trying to think about quick feet. Oh, my calves seem to be on fire too.
I find it hard to keep the pace at the top, but know it is almost over so push myself to keep going. I finally make the top in 1:24, so not as fast as I wanted, but not as slow as I thought with the burning legs.
The trip down this time was horrible and took me almost a minute longer as the burning continued throughout my legs while taking it easy going down the stairs. I knew the third one was going to hurt, but I wanted to get as far up it as I could before the runner came down too far. I wanted them to know I was still pushing hard even though I was in pain because I knew they had to be hurting as well.
So on to the real reason I call these the stairs of death, the third time up trying to go as fast as possible with just under 4 minutes of recovery (under 3 on the first return) and legs already gone from the first two goes. But up we must go for a final time. This is by far the hardest and slowest, but not from a lack of effort as I really wanted to see how close to 1:30 I could get.
It was just after the halfway point in which I had to stop taking 2 steps at a time because it was too hard to lift my leg that high. So I was now taking one step at a time, which seemed easier at first, so I thought i would be able to pick up the pace. However, soon after starting to take one step, my calves were starting to feel the effects of these stairs and my foot was coming off the steps as fast.
I started to walk the flat, so I could push myself through on the stairs, with a little under a 1/4 of the way to the top. Then I was barely able to get my leg high enough to do one step at a time and was bent over at the waist and throwing my arms up in the air to create enough momentum to get my legs up each step. My heart was pounding my chest, my lungs felt like they were on fire and my legs working just enough to get them barely high enough to get on the next step.
When it was all finally over, I thought to myself, "why did I say we would return to the bottom after the 3rd set?" because I had no desire at all to see those steps again after how my legs were feeling.
I had a massage after the stairs after not having one for three weeks (I usually get one a week) and was in a serious pain as those knots (more like steel cable) were pressed on to loosen them up. I was not sure how a run on Saturday would go, but I was going to make an effort, so I didn't have to run before touch footy Sunday.
The stairs are quite shocking for first timers as they go on further than they seem when you first look at them, as it is only the half way point you can actually see from the bottom. I did warn them we were going to do these so the warm up was supposed to be easy.
I wanted everyone to give 100% effort going up the stairs each time and take as much time as they needed to go down the stairs for the recovery, but keep moving. I timed my first trip up which took 1:17 at an all out pace.
I was hurting when I got to the top. The recovery was nice, but more difficult than I thought as it made my thighs burn even more than going up the stairs. The second one was going to be great fun...in a demoralizing way.
So I get to the bottom of the stairs which means it time to go back up. I started up at the same pace I had the first time up them. the pace was quite hard to keep as my legs were burning, especially the thighs from taking two steps at a time. There is this one section which the double step seems like taking three steps, as they are quite big and then the burning sensation really hits.
I'm past the halfway point and finding it harder, but still keeping a good pace. I am really aiming to get as close to my first time, so I keep pushing up the stairs at a frantic pace trying to forget about the searing pain in my thighs and glutes, just trying to think about quick feet. Oh, my calves seem to be on fire too.
I find it hard to keep the pace at the top, but know it is almost over so push myself to keep going. I finally make the top in 1:24, so not as fast as I wanted, but not as slow as I thought with the burning legs.
The trip down this time was horrible and took me almost a minute longer as the burning continued throughout my legs while taking it easy going down the stairs. I knew the third one was going to hurt, but I wanted to get as far up it as I could before the runner came down too far. I wanted them to know I was still pushing hard even though I was in pain because I knew they had to be hurting as well.
So on to the real reason I call these the stairs of death, the third time up trying to go as fast as possible with just under 4 minutes of recovery (under 3 on the first return) and legs already gone from the first two goes. But up we must go for a final time. This is by far the hardest and slowest, but not from a lack of effort as I really wanted to see how close to 1:30 I could get.
It was just after the halfway point in which I had to stop taking 2 steps at a time because it was too hard to lift my leg that high. So I was now taking one step at a time, which seemed easier at first, so I thought i would be able to pick up the pace. However, soon after starting to take one step, my calves were starting to feel the effects of these stairs and my foot was coming off the steps as fast.
I started to walk the flat, so I could push myself through on the stairs, with a little under a 1/4 of the way to the top. Then I was barely able to get my leg high enough to do one step at a time and was bent over at the waist and throwing my arms up in the air to create enough momentum to get my legs up each step. My heart was pounding my chest, my lungs felt like they were on fire and my legs working just enough to get them barely high enough to get on the next step.
When it was all finally over, I thought to myself, "why did I say we would return to the bottom after the 3rd set?" because I had no desire at all to see those steps again after how my legs were feeling.
I had a massage after the stairs after not having one for three weeks (I usually get one a week) and was in a serious pain as those knots (more like steel cable) were pressed on to loosen them up. I was not sure how a run on Saturday would go, but I was going to make an effort, so I didn't have to run before touch footy Sunday.
27 June 2009
A grueling sessions that makes me walk
On Tuesday morning I decided to do a session that was a nice jog to the park as a warm-up followed by 10x200m sprints. I would be going all out for the sprints and get 5 times the recovery between sprints. I've done some 800m sprints with only the same amount of recovery before and thought this would be a great session. So, I got the the oval and found the 200m mark on the white railing to get started with these all out efforts.
It started out really good with a time of 32 seconds, instead of adding up all the time I would get for recovery I decided to stick with 2:30 for the recovery for all of them as I was hoping to stay around 32 seconds for each sprint.
It started out really good with a time of 32 seconds, instead of adding up all the time I would get for recovery I decided to stick with 2:30 for the recovery for all of them as I was hoping to stay around 32 seconds for each sprint.
I knew I was going to have to push myself to new levels to hold this time for each sprint, but I was determined to make it happen. I decided to focus on quick feet on the next couple of sprints. This was very useful as I still kept my times between 33 and 34 seconds as the first one at 32 seconds was the fastest.
After the 5th or 6th sprint, I wasn't recovering the same as the first few, which made it harder to keep up the speed, so I really had to focus on what good things were going on during the sprint and not notice how hard they were. I changed my focus to leaning forward, but it didn't help as much as the quick feet.
So for the last three I really focused on this by telling myself quick feet, quick feet as I was running. I also noticed that I was starting to breath really hard at the beginning of the sprint when I wasn't even out of breathe. So I had to spend some time thinking about controlled breathing instead of quick feet. I was a little concerned that my speed might take a hit when focusing on controlled breathing, so I didn't slow it down to much and got back into my focus on quick feet.
It all helped, as I manager to keep all of the sprints to under 35 seconds. I was extremely pleased with that outcome. However, I was completely drained when I started to job home along the park. As I jogged to the Randwick gates I was barely moving and shuffling my feet (the one thing I tell all my runners they shouldn't do if they want to run better). When I got to the gates I decided to just walk home as my legs were feeling very heavy.
I was happy with that as I know I had given it my all during the sprints, so not too concerned to walk home. I did jog the final 500m or more as my legs recovered somewhat from the sprints after the bit of walking up to Belmore Road.
21 June 2009
Sri Chinmoy Cooks River 4k and 8k Race
On Sunday I did the Cooks River run hosted by Sri Chinmoy. They hold a series of races in Sydney that have varying distances, which are usually a 4k, 7 or 8k, and 14 or 16k run. This is great because anyone can participate in the races at the distance they prefer. I tried to get other from Oxygen to participate in this race, but there was only one other person to give it a go.
So at 7am I got picked up by Emma and Michael to take a trip out west past Marrickville to Hurlstone Park. We got part way there and got a flat tire. After taking a little time to change the tire we find that the spare is also a bit flat. So we hobble along to a petrol station only to find they don't have a hose for their air pump. Then we go another km or so to another station and find an air pump that works. Unfortunately the tire has a slow leak in it, so it won't stay pumped up.
So Emma and I went to get a cab, while Micheal tried to figure out what to do about the flat tire. Thanks Michael and no big concern as we got the race and had a good showing!
Now why is this part of my story about running? I like to get to the race a bit early to do my registration and have time for a nice warm-up with some slow moving stuff to get the body ready for the hard session that is about to take place, then get into some speed work to prepare my body for the race pace, which is almost always faster than my training pace. There is something about racing that is completely different to training runs. Then after a nice warm-up I take a little time to visualise myself running the race. I see how well my technique looks and feels, how mentally focused I am, as well as how happy I am to be running hard.
So I didn't get my normal warm-up in as I only go there just before the race started with enough time to get a short warm-up in, which include my normal warm-up of easy jog, shuffle, grapevine, (oh no, I left out the skipping) and a few short sprints. Why do I skip? It puts the legs under a higher stress than just a jog, which is what a race pace run will do. It makes all the leg muscles work at a very high capacity (if you are trying to skip as high as possible) to activate as much muscle as possible and prepare all the leg muscles for the race. You can't do more that 20 jumps though as this is quite demanding on the legs. I usually do some slower stuff with my technique and pick up the pace as I go along to get the feeling of proper technique in my mind. This helps make the visualisation easier.
So I'm running the 8k race and Emma is running the 4k race. The way Sri Chinmoy does there races is the longest one goes off first to get them on their way, then about 5 minutes later the middle distance races goes, and finally the short race after about 5 minutes. So the 16k runners get started and I have a few more minutes to prepare myself for the race.
The course is 2 laps for me of an 4k loop, Emma will only do one loop, along the cooks river bike path. There is a part of the course that is not on a path and due to the recent rain is quite muddy. This is a short part or the course, but it certainly was going to be a little challenge.
They start us off for the 8k race and warn us of a puddle coming up soon after the start. I just run through it as I like to get off to a fast start and didn't want to go via the grass just yet. It was more than a puddle as my whole shoe was soaked on the first step. So much for dry feet today.
I led the race for the first 200-300m until the eventual winner comes by me at a casual pace, says hi and keeps moving along. I think to myself for a second, maybe I should try to stick with him for a bit, but realised I was already going faster than I should be this early in the race, so I just kept my pace.
So here I am for a long time running with one guy in front of me and several people behind me until I caught a few of the slower people doing the 16k. Then we get to a little loop around a grassy area (not too muddy) before turning around and heading back along the other side of the river. I quickly notice another guy quickly approaching me and a few others not far behind. I was slowly passed by the next person, but kept up with him for a while. I figured I was doing my best and thought I just had to focus in on my technique a bit to keep the lead on the next few runners.
So I spent the next km working on leaning forward and kicking my heels back. It was just after the 3k mark that the muddy section came along and picking a good route was not easy as even the thicker grass areas were a bit swampy, so it was hard to get good footing when running though this section. Thanks goodness it wasn't too long and I finally got out and back on track and into my pace.
At the 4k mark, I was just ahead of the time I needed to be at to beat my time of 31 minutes from the last 8k race I did (Mother's Day Classic). Since I was aiming to beat this I had to continue with the pace. Although I seemed to zone out and thinking about the marathon coming up and if I was doing enough training or if it was the right training program before I knew it my pace had dropped a little and at the 6k mark I was now behind my time.
So I needed to work really hard to try to bring it back within reach and I only had 3k to run, so now was the time to pick up the pace. Back into the intense focus on the skills of running and it helped a bit as I seemed to be gaining on the guy in second place. That was until I got the muddy section. My legs were tired and not getting any grip by working on quick feet slowed me down a bit as I was sliding around as the mud was deeper from all the runners going through so much.
I lost a bit of time through there, but tried to pick up the pace for the final 4oom or so, had to slow down going over the bridge (slick wood and a few runners from 4k and 16k crossing as well) a bit before I was able to pick it up for a sprint finish and keeping my third place finish.
I crossed the finish line in 31:43, well off my goal time, but I had a 192 heart rate when crossing, so I don't think I could have gone much harder. I ended up taking third place overall in the race, so I was quite pleased with the finish based on the conditions of the course.
Emma ran an excellent race and was at the finish when I was running in. She didn't have a stop watch to know her time for sure, but was aiming to beat her 4k time from the Mother's Day Classic of 22:35. She found out later in the day when the results were posted she ran 20:10 and 5th overall in women over 17 for the 4k run. She smashed her time with a super run and I am so pleased with her effort in all the hard training she has put in to reach this goal of getting back into the running after her back surgery. Well done Emma.
So at 7am I got picked up by Emma and Michael to take a trip out west past Marrickville to Hurlstone Park. We got part way there and got a flat tire. After taking a little time to change the tire we find that the spare is also a bit flat. So we hobble along to a petrol station only to find they don't have a hose for their air pump. Then we go another km or so to another station and find an air pump that works. Unfortunately the tire has a slow leak in it, so it won't stay pumped up.
So Emma and I went to get a cab, while Micheal tried to figure out what to do about the flat tire. Thanks Michael and no big concern as we got the race and had a good showing!
Now why is this part of my story about running? I like to get to the race a bit early to do my registration and have time for a nice warm-up with some slow moving stuff to get the body ready for the hard session that is about to take place, then get into some speed work to prepare my body for the race pace, which is almost always faster than my training pace. There is something about racing that is completely different to training runs. Then after a nice warm-up I take a little time to visualise myself running the race. I see how well my technique looks and feels, how mentally focused I am, as well as how happy I am to be running hard.
So I didn't get my normal warm-up in as I only go there just before the race started with enough time to get a short warm-up in, which include my normal warm-up of easy jog, shuffle, grapevine, (oh no, I left out the skipping) and a few short sprints. Why do I skip? It puts the legs under a higher stress than just a jog, which is what a race pace run will do. It makes all the leg muscles work at a very high capacity (if you are trying to skip as high as possible) to activate as much muscle as possible and prepare all the leg muscles for the race. You can't do more that 20 jumps though as this is quite demanding on the legs. I usually do some slower stuff with my technique and pick up the pace as I go along to get the feeling of proper technique in my mind. This helps make the visualisation easier.
So I'm running the 8k race and Emma is running the 4k race. The way Sri Chinmoy does there races is the longest one goes off first to get them on their way, then about 5 minutes later the middle distance races goes, and finally the short race after about 5 minutes. So the 16k runners get started and I have a few more minutes to prepare myself for the race.
The course is 2 laps for me of an 4k loop, Emma will only do one loop, along the cooks river bike path. There is a part of the course that is not on a path and due to the recent rain is quite muddy. This is a short part or the course, but it certainly was going to be a little challenge.
They start us off for the 8k race and warn us of a puddle coming up soon after the start. I just run through it as I like to get off to a fast start and didn't want to go via the grass just yet. It was more than a puddle as my whole shoe was soaked on the first step. So much for dry feet today.
I led the race for the first 200-300m until the eventual winner comes by me at a casual pace, says hi and keeps moving along. I think to myself for a second, maybe I should try to stick with him for a bit, but realised I was already going faster than I should be this early in the race, so I just kept my pace.
So here I am for a long time running with one guy in front of me and several people behind me until I caught a few of the slower people doing the 16k. Then we get to a little loop around a grassy area (not too muddy) before turning around and heading back along the other side of the river. I quickly notice another guy quickly approaching me and a few others not far behind. I was slowly passed by the next person, but kept up with him for a while. I figured I was doing my best and thought I just had to focus in on my technique a bit to keep the lead on the next few runners.
So I spent the next km working on leaning forward and kicking my heels back. It was just after the 3k mark that the muddy section came along and picking a good route was not easy as even the thicker grass areas were a bit swampy, so it was hard to get good footing when running though this section. Thanks goodness it wasn't too long and I finally got out and back on track and into my pace.
At the 4k mark, I was just ahead of the time I needed to be at to beat my time of 31 minutes from the last 8k race I did (Mother's Day Classic). Since I was aiming to beat this I had to continue with the pace. Although I seemed to zone out and thinking about the marathon coming up and if I was doing enough training or if it was the right training program before I knew it my pace had dropped a little and at the 6k mark I was now behind my time.
So I needed to work really hard to try to bring it back within reach and I only had 3k to run, so now was the time to pick up the pace. Back into the intense focus on the skills of running and it helped a bit as I seemed to be gaining on the guy in second place. That was until I got the muddy section. My legs were tired and not getting any grip by working on quick feet slowed me down a bit as I was sliding around as the mud was deeper from all the runners going through so much.
I lost a bit of time through there, but tried to pick up the pace for the final 4oom or so, had to slow down going over the bridge (slick wood and a few runners from 4k and 16k crossing as well) a bit before I was able to pick it up for a sprint finish and keeping my third place finish.
I crossed the finish line in 31:43, well off my goal time, but I had a 192 heart rate when crossing, so I don't think I could have gone much harder. I ended up taking third place overall in the race, so I was quite pleased with the finish based on the conditions of the course.
Emma ran an excellent race and was at the finish when I was running in. She didn't have a stop watch to know her time for sure, but was aiming to beat her 4k time from the Mother's Day Classic of 22:35. She found out later in the day when the results were posted she ran 20:10 and 5th overall in women over 17 for the 4k run. She smashed her time with a super run and I am so pleased with her effort in all the hard training she has put in to reach this goal of getting back into the running after her back surgery. Well done Emma.
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