Am I on track?

Am I on track?

Sunday 29 June 2014

Events 1/2014 & 2/2014: A run & a bike ride...

After a very long event-free 6-months, I pinned a number on twice this month! Certainly neither event could possibly even be considered a 'race' - but they were terrific participation events that were great fun to be a part of.

Event 1/2014 - City2South 14km run

Sunday 15th June was my first fair-dinkum running event in years. Can't even remember last time I entered one of these.

I had been training for 6 weeks (off a base of zero!) with a group called "Hill's Angels" - we were the self-proclaimed 'fat & unfit', and were using the City2South event as motivation to start some regular training again.

Runningwise, we had been guided by Paul Trevethan from RifRev. He had shown us the 'run/walk' technique, plus demonstrated plenty of technique skills & tips over the course of the 6-weeks.

As a quick aside - this was all done for free, and I'm incredibly grateful for the way Paul generously shared his knowledge.  There is a wealth of information on their website, including around 150 short 5min videos on all aspects of running. It is well worth checking out - its probably the best free running resource you'll find on the interwebs...

I set out on the day with a few goals. Firstly was to finish, secondly was to get under 100min, and thirdly (my superstretch goal) was to sneak under 90min.  I set myself up with a 2min run/1min walk strategy, which seems to be my current 'sweetspot' for my longer runs.

The short story is - it was a fantastic day!  Weather was perfect (cool & sunny), course was picturesque and a little testing, and I felt terrific.  I was able to stick to my race plan extremely well.  According to Strava, my pace slowed fractionally around the halfway mark (just as we entered the University of Qld grounds in St Lucia), which did correspond with how I felt at the time.  But I managed to pick up again in the last quarter and finish strongly.

Long socks are cool - just saying...

Most importantly - my finish time was 1hr:29min:28sec - I beat my 90min goal by the slimmest of margins! I was ecstatic, and it topped off the day nicely for me.

The evidence...!!

For those thinking about doing a running event - I can highly recommend the City2South. Incredibly well organised along a great course. I'm planning on making it a yearly event for me.

Event 2/2014 - MS Brissie to the Bay 50km bike ride

The next Sunday I was waking up early and pinning on a number again - but this time for a bike ride, much more my usual style...!!

This ride was about supporting my wife through her longest ride ever. She was attempting her first 50km, and so I was saddling up to escort her through the event.

It had been a very long time, probably almost 10 years, since I had done one of these big 'charity ride' type events.  I have to say it was much, much better than my memory of them - I was super-impressed by the organisation and how well they catered for and supported the riders.

The course was a 50km loop, starting from & finishing at Musgrave Park in South Brisbane, and hitting its halfway mark on the Wynnum foreshore. Most roads were 'open' during the event, but police had cordoned off and/or were supervising a few of the busier choke-points.

Again, this was a terrific day.  I had a great time cruising through the 50km on my mountain-bike with my wife, and we completed the course in just over 3 hours.  I would definitely do this event again, I had a great time.

What's next?

No idea!!  I'm still running regularly, and am starting to cycle-commute again too.  I'm keen to enter another running event - I'll probably have a crack at the 10km Bridge to Brisbane in September.  Plus I'll hit up another big community bike ride event too - maybe the Brisbane to Gold Coast 100km, or Robbie McEwen's Gran Fondo on the Gold Coast.  I'll see how my training goes...



Monday 9 June 2014

May 2014 Review

Where have I been, what have I been doing, what's going on...??  Questions which I'm sure have been for from your mind...  (ha!)  I've got some updates, but for now let's get back into 'normal programming' with a look at my numbers for May...

May Mileage:
Running - 92km
Cycling - 66km

Yes, I know - running!! Don't judge me...!!

There is a background story to this.  After wallowing around for 5-ish months, feeling sorry for myself and my sore shoulder, gaining weight, and generally feeling angry about being injured - an unexpected opportunity suddenly presented itself.

The Brisbane Times online news website, which sponsor the 14km City2South fun run, put forward an interesting proposal.  They wanted around 25 people who were unfit and overweight, who could commit to training for the City2South run, and would turn up at training every Wednesday morning before work.  And all this only 6 weeks out from the event!

I decided that this was the incentive I needed to kickstart myself back into a regular training routine.  I put forward an application, and was accepted by the leader of the group.  Now, I just had to remember how to run!!

Training has gone surprisingly well, and I've actually really enjoyed it so far.  Under the advice of Paul Trevethan from RIFREV Running (who has led some of our training sessions), we have engaged a run/walk strategy.  It has worked extremely well to-date, and I'm a convert to this method of starting off running.  No injuries so far, and I've been able to do some decent mileage.

At this stage, my long runs have been 2 minutes run/1 minute walk. This usually equates to around a 6min 30sec overall average pace (give or take).  On race day, I'm planning to push that a little and use a 3 minute run/1 minute walk strategy.

As I write this, the City2South is only a week away.  I'm feeling really good, have trained consistently, and am looking forward to the event. I have three goals for the event:
1. Finish!
2. Stretch goal - Finish the 14km in under 100 minutes
3. Super, highly unrealistic stretch goal - Finish the the 14km in under 90 minutes

What's next?

I've got the City2South 14km run in mid-June.  Plus I'm going to be riding with my wife in the Brissie to the Bay 50km bike ride a week later!  I'll just be cruising that on my mountain bike, helping my wife to get through her biggest bike ride to date.

From there - who knows? I'll see how the body is feeling, and look to set a few new goals to work towards...