Not a great long run

Did a long run on Sunday morning and overall it was less than ace. I should quantify though the first half was pretty good. Ran through Mt Eden to the Strand and out to the bottom of Cliff Road in St Heliers. This is just past the turn-around point at the back-end of the actual marathon course. Bumped into Andrew at around Kohi and said hi. He was just finishing his run and had got the timing right as it was starting to heat up.

Got to the turn-around point, 15.87k, in 1:23 and change. Too quick it seems reflecting on what happened on the second half.



Second half was still ok till around 27km and then I just ran out of steam suprisingly quickly. Felt like no energy at all(!) and ended up alternatively walk and very slow jogging the last 4 or so km. If that was the wall I don't want to go anywhere near it again, a bit scary really.

I think I did ended up doing whole thing in around 3 hours.

Since training is all about learning something here are some things I am going to remember.

- first time I've tackled something over 30km, its a different kettle of fish
- make sure I'm adequately fueled up to handle the long run
- start earlier than 8:30am to limit dehydration
- water alone just doesn't cut it over 21km
- improve the mental game

On the positive side the weather was glorious and lots of runners around along the waterfront. Quite a nice atmosphere almost like a race.

The other "positive" is I'm trying to shake a spring cold, running without one should be easier.

This Sunday I'm going to tackle this course again but will be starting earlier. We'll see whose boss this time. It's a bit like a Rocky sequel ;)

Today, though, I'm doing a "short" 8km home. Nice day for it.

A Long Run through the Sunrise

I'll start this off by reporting on my Saturday run which was more moderate length. Decent Saturday morning run around 9am. Pretty close to PMP on rolling terrain.

13.68km / 1:07:33 / 4:55min/km.

13 odd km on its own isn't too bad. Backing that up the next day with a longer, albeit slower, run is tougher. I think thats part of the plan.

This morning I was out the door at 5:30am on a there and back to Kohimarara beach of all places. 14km each way. The middle 12km from the strand to Kohi and back is a flat part of the Auckland marathon route.



28.03km / 2:33:37 / 5:28min/km

Split time at the Kohi Road turnaround was 1:18:32. So suprisingly did the second half a little quicker. Didn't really feel like it but positive in that the pace was a negative split (second half faster than first).

Mentally I had split this into 4 sections. 8km to the waterfront, 6km to Kohi, 6km back, 8km from the waterfront home.

The first section was running in the dark sort of stuff and then the sun started to come up. Running along the waterfront with the sunrise is pleasant :)

Lots of cyclists around and one or two runners.

The last 8km were tougher I was starting to feel the effects of the weekend's running catching up on me. The run up Grafton road was a bit of a grind to be honest and just plodded along. I suppose it was good for mental training if nothing else. Past Mt Eden Village started to get it together again. The bottoms of my feet starting to get a bit sore towards the end but calves were OK. Feel OK now though.

That's week 8 done. Week 9 is an easier "step-back" week which is well overdue.

Now for some questions:

Mike: Wouldn't really say I have this training sorted. It's more like I have my head above water at the moment and my body is keeping up with it. It's getting harder though as the weeks progress!

I'm learning a lot on the program as well as well as getting in pretty good shape. Close to 70km this week.In terms of times I think I might be capable of 5min/km's which would get me something close to 3:30. I've never raced this distance before so not confident of that at present. Not too worried about the first half its the second that will be tough :). I do have 10 more weeks of training to help me along though! That all said my main aim is to get to the finish in one piece and not looking like something the cat dragged in.

Bruce: The early starts seem bad initially but once you get going its actually very pleasant. Hardly any traffic, very quiet etc. Helps now that we are getting more sunshine hours.

Long Run - Tourist Attraction

Yesterday midday my wife was out getting her hair done and my son was staying over with his grandparents. This meant I had a window of around 3 hours so I decided to shift Sunday's long run to Saturday. This turned out to be a good idea as the rain stopped.

Last week's long run I felt was done a bit fast (16.43km @ 5:15min/km) so for this one really focused on keeping it slow and easy. To make sure added a couple of "judder bars" - One Tree Hill and Mt Eden. Worked quite well too the hills weren't too bad with a slower pace.

This is the longest I've ever run in one go before so somewhat of a milestone. Got a bit ragged towards the end I suspect I was starting to hit the wall just a little.

26.18km / 2:29:37 / 5:45 min/km.



Elevation:


Lots of interesting scenery on this run. Notably at about the 7.5km mark is Acacia cottage - Auckland's oldest surviving building - from about 1841 moved to Cornwall park in 1920.


Photo by therebmeister

Listened to music on this run and had some U2 from the "Joshua Tree" album playing when I was going round Cornwall Park. Very fitting.

Second half of the run was a little surreal. At the top of Mt Eden about 17km in I was asked to pose for a photo with some tourists from India. Maybe they needed evidence for someone mad enough doing the run up to the top? Oh well :)

I don't think I could tackle this sort of course every week. The calves wouldn't like it all that much.

Sunday will be doing Saturday's run of 7 miles at PMP. That should be 'interesting' - legs don't feel all that bad but will be doing something flat.

Week 5/18 - Getting Used to the Long Run

Still sticking to rules, just completed everything the plan threw at me for week 5.

Saturday : The plan said 7 miles - no pace rules.
Did: 11.57km / 54:40 / 4:43min/km.

Nice winter's morning to go running. Only a very brief smattering of rain. For some reason felt really positive on this run. Maybe it was being out in the sun for a change.

Sunday: The plan said: "14 miles at a slow pace. Does this workout seem too easy for you in your advanced state of condition? I'll give you permission to convert this into a 3/1 workout. That is: run the first 3/4 of the workout at your normal, hopefully comfortable, long-run pace. Then over the final 1/4 of the distance, pick up the pace by about 15-30 seconds--not all the way to marathon pace, but somewhat close"

Did (at 7:30am this morning)
24:18km / 2:13:34 / 5:31min/km.
This run was great. I really concentrated on keeping it slow but with better running form. In a comment Phillip offered some good advice which was "The key is a slightly faster turnover and shorter strides with less power, rather than tensing up to keep the pace down.". So concentrated on shorter strides, keeping the cadence up and dropping the power. Works quite well.
Added a little pepper on the last quarter and finished the run strong.
As the plan says: "If you can finish these long runs feeling and looking good, it will be a big boost to your confidence".

The run itself is as below:



After a few streets through leafy Epsom, into Cornwall Park, up the hill, round the park again, through Broadway, round the Domain, down Lover's Lane, up Grafton Road, up Mt Eden Road, and then along Balmoral to home.

I even got cheered, or rather crowed at, by roosters at about the 6km mark. Roosters have nasty spurs but these guys are tame. Which is lucky because on a slow run I could have been in trouble...

Conditions were great.

Andrew in answer to your question on my last post. Angelsea road isn't the same climb as the one in Run Auckland. Ponsonby being on a ridge there are plenty of 'fun' hills from the city. Angelsea, Franklin, or even College Hill. I reckon Franklin road just before Christmas would be quite cool. That street is well renowned for christmas lights.

Unchartered Territory

Long run this afternoon. I went out with the intent of going for a 2 hour run - the furtherst I had ever gone before was the half marathon distance so it is all unchartered territory.

In fact I had mapped out this puppy yesterday. Up Mt Eden Road, along Newton, down Ponsonby, Curran, past the marina, through the viaduct harbour, up Queen, over Grafton Bridge, through the domain, through Newmarket and then cutting through Epsom for home. Interesting mix of scenery from suburban, marina, urban, park, and back to suburbia.

Optimistically figured on 5min/k pace so 2 hours = 24 km. Took a 600ml water bottle with me.


Think the mapmyrun.com markers are off a bit in the google earth export...

First 12km were OK and was probably ahead of time.

The climb up Queen Street was a bit of a grind, could feel pace dropping from about 16km through 20km but for some weird reason felt a bit better from 22km through 24km.

24.1km / 2:02:14 / 5:03min/km

Pretty close to the target pace - but probably started too fast.

I don't think dehydration was too much an issue, as I was drinking from the bottle through out. Probably running out of energy a bit though.

Calves felt ok, my feet were more an issue feeling sore towards the end - not used to the distance (and current pair of shoes needing replacement soon).

I was pretty much done by the end. Right now the marathon would chew me up and spit me out, still I suppose thats what the 4.5 months of training are for :). I have a lot of respect for people that get out and run anything over a half marathon - it's tough!

No run tomorrow or monday, although I'll go for a swim.

Long Riverside Run

Just got back from Hamilton where I had spent Thursday and Friday for work. Hamilton is largely built around the Waikato river and there is a riverside walk on both sides - so I mapped out a course from the hotel:



Rained quite heavily from the 11km mark and my calves started complaining a bit largely from the forbidden stair climb of the day before. Kept a nice easy pace but towards the end I found that wet shorts is a bad recipe for chaffing - ow!

21.29 km in 1:48:25 (5:05min/km).

The course and views along the route were magic. It's all reasonably flat and when it was raining it felt like running through a rain forest at times. If you are ever in Hamilton I would recommend it. Some photos:


A view of the river at around 2km


Memorial Park - 5.5km before it started raining.

The ducks loved the rain - I saw one do a kind of slide/waddle over the track and into the river. Passed a couple of other mental people "enjoying" the conditions.

Footbridge over the river at 14km.


16km? and soaked through. Not in a happy place due to chaffing issues...


19km saw the Waipa Delta (paddle boat) cruise past.

Worst moment was getting back into the hotel looking like something the cat had dragged in. Needless to say got some strange looks from the hotel staff at the front desk!

The hotel has a small gym and so the next morning had a go at a few weight machines. Bit sore now though so a rest day today!

A long run

Summer has really hit Auckland this weekend. Lovely weather.

Before it warmed up too much I went for a long run (started at 8:15am) - I planned to run a Half Marathon distance at a "comfortably hard" training pace and as an excuse to take in some areas of Auckland I hadn't run to before. Aiming for endurance rather than speed.

I called this run "Waterfront Expedition" - because it was a trip to part of Auckland's harbour. Here is an lovely photo from Chris Gin of the Westhaven Marina (around 8.5km into the run).

Did the 21.14km in 1:39:46 for a 4:43min/km pace. It was harder than I thought toward the end - tough work with no aid stations although I did chance upon a water fountain near the viaduct harbour (America's cup base when it was hosted in Auckland). Did I mention it was warm?



Marked a few points on interest on the elevation map:



Some highlights for future reference

- At 3.6km crossed the North Western motorway on a foot bridge off Haslett Street.
- At 4.8km went through Western Park off the Eastern side of Ponsonby Road.- hadn't been through here before - quite nice under the trees.
- At 6-7km went through cafe and restaurant strip of Ponsonby. No time for latte today though.
- 7-8km was a long downhill towards Westhaven Marina and the start of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Running alongside the water was nice (and different). Most of my routes are in suburban streets. Stunning views.
- 8-10km. Went under the bridge and along Westhaven drive. Dead flat and lots of boats to look at.
- 10-12km went along the Western Reclamation better known as the "Tank Farm". Something a bit different with the industrial setting.
- The intersection of Gaunt Street and Hasley street brought back memories. This was the start line of the Auckland Quarter Marathon which I did in 2007.
Felt quite thirsty about that point and lucked out with a drinking fountain down the road! I'll have to remember that for the future!
- The run then started to head uphill proving that what comes down must go up again. Started up Albert street and passed my work building on the right.
- 15km hit the bottom of Myers park and the stairs alluded to in my last post. After the stairs the rest of the run my pace dropped quite a bit - could feel it.
- 16 through to 21km was fairly familiar territory up past Mt Eden and back towards home. The up hill section was pretty tough but a second wind of sorts on the downhills.

Felt good afterwards and pretty pleased to clock a sub 1:40 for the training run. Have to admit I was pushing hard towards home to come in under 100 mins.

Rest day tomorrow! ADRA half in 2 weeks so am going to wind back the running distances a bit (i.e. taper)

A slightly speedier long run

A gorgeous sunny day today in Auckland. A good morning for tackling the 18.8km Long Run to the Domain from last week.

A bit speedier today...pleased with the progress.

Today: 18.80km in 1:29:39 for a average pace of 4:46min/km.
(Last week I did the same course in 1:33:18).

The effort level was a touch higher today but tried to keep the pace consistent over the whole distance.

I didn't see any rubber ducks although at around the 6km mark the path passes by a small lake with a few friendly geese...


Photo by Velvet Android.

Felt great afterwards!

(Almost) Going the Distance

Long run day today.

The route was similar to my last long run but I tacked on a 'prologue' west of Dominion Road to bump the distance up. The ending was a bit different too cutting through the cute little Centennial Park down my road.

Naming the route a safari was overstating the truth a little but Cornwall Park does have some animals - sheep, cows and a few tame roosters.



Here is a brief breakdown of the run:
0 - 2km : Suburban Balmoral/Sandringham Streets. Basically flat.
2 - 6km : Leafy Epsom Suburbs. Some very nice looking houses here and quite pleasant running conditions. Slightly rolling terrain.
6 - 10km : Entering One Tree Hill/Cornwall Park. My favourite section has got to be the Twin Oak Drive with dirt trail adjacent to the road. Love running this stretch.
10 - 12km : Intestinal fortitude required for heading up One Tree Hill. Some shuffling ensues but I didn't stop. Great view.
12 - 14.5km : Nice and flat heading out the park. Got to do the Twin Oak track again!
14.5km - 19.1 km : Suburban streets. Some downhill. Welcome relief after that climb :)

Kept the pace very relaxed and did the 19.1km in 1:37:07. This is around 5:05 min/km.

That'd have me doing the half marathon distance (21.1km) somewhere around 1:47-1:48. Not too bad considering the hill and still gearing up to that distance.

Check out the elevation.
max: 154m
min: 40m
ascent: 126m
descent: 124m

The hill climb had my running turn into a sort of shuffling part up but I got a second wind from the downwards part. Wasn't easy at all.



This sort of distance is really new territory for me and my body is still getting used to the idea. Actually I think its more my legs that start feeling it near the end the breathing is still OK. Need to watch fatigue setting in and maintaining good running style.

In other news for May I did a total of 96.1km in training and racing.

For June I'm going to mix it up with one long run/week, some hills, and some tempo runs. My next 10km race (Run Auckland 5) is in 3 weeks so need to balance the longer distance training with shorter speedy runs. Looking forward to it.

I hope training with these hill climbs is going to pay off come race time.

Rest day tomorrow - yay!

It's Queen's Birthday (a public holiday) here in New Zealand on Monday so may plan to go for a shorter run. Depends on a weather a little though and what the "organiser of non work time" (aka wife) has to say about it.

Volcanoes : Mt. Mangere (15.84km)

A sunny afternoon, big hill climb up the mountain and wall around the 13km mark.

Time was 1:27:32 (slow pace of 5:31 min/km).

Hit a bit of a wall around 12km mark and everything slowed down. Hadn't had much to eat the day before so perhaps that was it. Crap.

Here is a photo from one of the trig points looking back the way I had come - along the The Old Managere Bridge to the left.
Lots of people fishing from the bridge. The mountain itself has only a rough track up to two different trig points. Its a bit rough and the footing unstable so took care up there.

Next week will see me start on a proper training program for the Run Auckland Series.



Here is the route:

Volcanoes : The Domain - There and Back Again (17.25km)

Technically a volcano but not much of a climb (that came later!). Time of 1:27:01 (5:01min/km). Interesting it seems my "long-run" times are currently hovering around the 5min/km pace. Not that I could maintain that pace for say a marathon but certainly a training base for a half. At that pace a half marathon time would be a little over 1:45.

Mentally I had split this run into 4 stages:

1. Suburban/Urban from my start point in Royal Oak through the suburbs of Epsom and Newmarket to the start of domain drive. (to 5.5km)

Aside from a gradual climb at the start it was all pretty flat. Newmarket was quiet at this time of the morning. (7:00a.m.)

2. The domain itself running a loop round the cone. (to 8.7km)

A few people running and ecercising - good time for it still quite cool. The loop around volcano was pleasant enough.

3. Through backstreets of Newmarket, Remura West, and Epsom (to 13km)

Big steep downhill at Ayr Street which of course meant a correspondingly uphill round the corner through to Remura Road. This compensated for missing out on a climbing a hill.

Calves starting to get a bit sore at this point. This is likely me still getting used to distances approaching the 1/2 marathon.

4. Through Cornwell Park, One Tree Hill back to the start. (to 17.25km)

Bit of a second wind in this stage. A few joggers coming the other way down Puriri Drive.

Here is an aerial photo I pinched off the 'net.





Next Saturday will see a proper volcano in the form of Mt. Mangere. This will also feature some ocean views and a bridge crossing.

Volcanoes: Mt. St. John, Mt. Hobson (14.93km)

Scorcher! There is a reason why most people aren't stupid enough to go running in the middle of a sunny day. It started off with a gentle breeze but that died away fairly quickly and then it got hot. Still what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Overall pace was on the slow and easy side 01:16:20 (5.06min/km) - still this distance is very much long run territory for me right now.

In keeping in line with the last posts (that is 'Laufen bis der Vulkane') the mission today was to pick a route that took in two small volcanic cones in Auckland that I hadn't visited - Mt. St. John and Mt. Hobson.

The first stage of my run took me through the now familiar Grand Drive a gradual climb through one of the entrances of One Tree Hill. You can run on grass up here which is good for some variation. This leads into Twin Oak Drive which has trail adjacent. Running through the park is great for fresh air. Here is a picture looking back on Twin Oak Drive with the trial to the right.



Around the 6km mark the summit climb to Mt. St. John. This wasn't too bad (it isn't very much of a volcanoe!) and included some steps. Good view. Here is the crater itself from the summit ridge.



Around 8km hit Mt. Hobson this climb had a bit of a rural feel to it following what looked like tractor tracks - a few walkers around probably thinking I was mad running in the heat. The way down was a better track and made me think it was the official route. View from the top to the suburb of Newmarket. The iconic skytower can be seen in the city centre.




The remainder of the run took in suburban streets through Remuera, Epsom, and One Tree Hill. Cut through the park in the other direction from Atarangi Rd.

Legs getting sore in the homeward straight which was a reminder to me about doing too much too soon (i.e. I did the Big King run just 2 days prior). Might take a 2 or 3 day break...

Here is the route:

Volcanoes: One Tree Hill, Mt. Eden (20.5km)

Yesterday saw me do 20.5 km in 1:48:21 (5:16 min/km). Went at a slowish pace because this distance was new territory for me and the hill climbs were a bit fierce. In hindsight I think this distance was a bit much considering my previous "long run" was pitched at the 13km mark.

The run included summit climbs of both One Tree Hill (steepish):



and Mt. Eden (not so steep but a longer climb). Great view of downtown Auckland btw:



Towards the end my calves were getting quite tight, after the 10km mark, and a little dehydrated near the end. Guess I'm just not used to the distance (yet).

Before the run I was interested to see how my knees would handle it - wasn't too bad at all. I think the new shoes are doing the trick but perhaps still recovering a little from running in the old ones.


Total distance this week ending 22 Dec 07 = 34.74km.