It's been a while.....

My last post was just after the Run 4 the Kids in April, so apologies to anyone who has been checking in to see if there is any new material.

 

The last 5 weeks have been pretty busy and this week is shaping as one of the most nervy weeks ever.

In the week after R4K, I joined a group for a long run, I ran for 2 hrs and then joined them for what was supposed to be 90mins, but it turned into almost 2hr30min. So I was on my feet for over 4hr30min, and the 2^nd half was in some very hilly and tricky terrain. A rough estimate indicated that my distance on the day was somewhere between, 40-42km. I pulled up in pretty good shape after this run and so mentally I felt I was almost ready to tackle a marathon.

 

Then after my cousins wedding I got hit with a flu and that turned into a sniffle I could not shake. On April 29 I ran for 2hr58min and covered 34km, this was to be my last 3hr run and my final checkpoint before entering the Great Ocean Road Marathon. I felt great during the run and also good afterwards with no significant niggle or soreness. I entered on the 3^rd May. 18 days before the event.

 

On May 7^th (my late Mums birthday), I ran my 3^rd attempt at the Great Train Race against Puffing Billy. A little uncertain about what to expect on the day, the cold had not completely left me and I’d missed a couple of runs. It was an atrocious day with heavy rain and cold. But during the race I felt pretty good and did not notice much effect from my cold/flu. I ran a 4min pb, but the train also went quicker on the day, so it beat me by 90 sec. At 56m20s I was happy enough, but annoyed that I lost 35s waiting for the train to pass me at one crossing….  After the race I had some soreness and stiffness in my calves and hamstrings, so a little concerned. But a steady 2hr run last Saturday has taken that away and now the legs feel mostly good. Except the calves objected a little on a steep hill near home, but there is nothing that steep in the run on Sunday.

 

This week I have been doing short sharp runs, just to keep the legs ticking over and the nerves at bay. I originally thought I would just plod these runs, but I have found using a bit of steady pace more beneficial, it gets the nerves out, and I think it will help me feel like the pace on Sunday will be very cruisy so mentally a winning position to be in.

 

We travel down to Apollo Bay on Friday arvo and I think this will be good so I can get comfortable in the motel etc and not be arriving in town less than 12 hours before the race. All the family is coming down which is excellent, and my cousin and her family is staying with us.

 

4 sleeps. Then 45km of what will hopefully be a memorable event for the right reasons.

 

Update on # of training runs for the year: 64 (5 ahead) despite a couple of quiet weeks recently.