22nd September, 29km, Span

This morning was the last of the long runs with the MM07 training group.
The plan was for 28km, but we had been given a little criticism for our courses being slightly longer than indicated - I say 'its not so easy to map a course accurately AND make it interesting to run AND make sure there is water AND make sure there are shorter options in the event of trouble etc'. But I figured today was not the day to push any boundaries, so the mapped course was 27.3km and it worked out at pretty close to that - by my 205 anyway.

The group were in good spirits today, and after the first 9km (when we were on the beach path) they settled into very consistent 6min/k for the remainder of the journey.

All up we were on the road for 2hr40min.
A little extra distance getting to and from the car.

For me it was perfect. During the run I had little or no discomfort in the troubled leg, and post run I have had no soreness - even forgot to use creams / pills to settle it down. So its all looking good. I'll decide tomorrow night if I will rest all week just to be sure.

So far I'm very happy with the 205, but still trying to figure out what info I need on the various screens. Has anyone else changed theirs from the default settings?

Next Saturday is a mere 15km, so we'll just do some mucking around in the city precinct to keep it gentle and light.

20th September, 14km, Perseus.

I delayed the run from last night to this morning, when it began to poor with rain I was pleased about the decision.

After dropping my 5yo to kinder it was off to the Lillydale Lake for some flat ground running.
It was a strange time today, when I began running it was cold drizzly and blustery, but after a little while it was OK. I then had to determine how far to run today, it began as a 8km or 12km decision - not sure why. But then I decided that 14km or one third marathon distance at 4m55s pace would be a good idea.

If you have ever run around Lillydale Lake you will know that getting 14km out of that area without covering your footsteps too many times is tough. So I was on a mission to keep it interesting..... this was the outcome http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/australia/lilydale/150987530

I ended up with an average pace of 4m51s with the splits slowly improving without perceived extra effort. Feeling extremely confident now that 4m50-4m55 required to ensure sub 3.30 for the pace group is well within my comfort zone.

Again the lower leg was noticeable, but I would not call it pain full. It seems to get better further into the run. Today the quads felt a little heavy at about 5km but loosened up again, so I am assuming that it was a bit of lag from the hills on Monday.

I'm thinking that after Saturdays long run I might have only 1 short loosener on Sunday or Monday, then rest the week out. It might be enough to get rid of the niggle so I can go into the final week without any reservations. The work has been done now so a 5-6 day rest will not hurt. I'll decide on Saturday night.

17th September, 9.5km, Vomero

Tonight was the first run with my new toy the Garmin Forerunner 205.
For those who aren't runners, its a wrist watch with a built in GPS. Not navigational, but a tracking GPS for measuring distance / speed / elevation etc. Very cool.

So for the first time in a long time I ran with a watch.....

I had enough time to figure out how to get it to chime every km, so that was interesting when running to be thinking 'surely that was a km gone??', but then other times it came around quicker than I thought.

It was supposed to be a gentle recovery type run tonight, but after I got going I could not resist attacking the hills near home. Overall it was a few ticks under 5min/km, but happy considering I only rolled down the hills.

Lower right leg seems to be better on the uphills so no stress tonight. Still just a case of getting no better and no worse. I am finding that the recovery is much better with very little residual pain after the run, only a mild reminder in certain positions.

The days are ticking by towards the big day, still feeling good but beginning to get into the mode of planning the race. I've got to get my splits fixed in my mind so there are no stuff ups on the day.

15th Sept, 35km, Span

Long run with the MM07 training group today.
After a better week which had a couple of good runs completed meant I felt a whole lot better about the long time on the legs.

The niggle in the leg was noticeable early in the run, but then disappeared for most of the run. Only coming back again once we were well past 2hrs on the road. But it does not get any worse than mild discomfort, so with some care it will not be a problem for Oct 7.

The run itself was enjoyable today, everyone was moving along pretty well, a large group of 13 runners. We were basically running the Capital City Trail, but amended it slightly to allow for some different scenery along the way.

The plan was for 32km, but it seems that by the time we were done it was closer to 34km. For me I ran an extra loop of the MCG concourse just to sweep up any stragglers if needed, but also to get some distance in late in the run at a better pace.

I'm feeling very positive about the requirements for Oct 7, I feel that 5min/k pace will be very comfortable and my fitness is good. I'm even beginning to wonder what to aim for in the weeks after the event, since I've got a big base (for me) just need to tweak the speed for possibly some fast shorter races. Time will tell if this is ambitious.

So I'm back onto the creams and pills to get this leg right. I will keep running every second day now until the race.

13th Sept, 15.5km, Vomero

Running in daylight was nice.

Got soft and parked at the Lillydale Lake. Then ran up the trails to Mt Evelyn. Followed Warby Trail back to Lilydale, then through the burb to the bottom end of the Warby Trail, then along the creek to Lillydale Lake.

Once back I decided on another lap of the lake to bring the distance up. Had assumed it would be about 14km, but turned out to be more than 15.5km. I suppose this time next week, I will know while actually running..... Garmin 205 is on the way!!

Felt good during the run.
Leg niggle is still there but not getting any worse. The faster lake lap proved that. So just need to get more cream and drugs onto that one.

I was going to run tomorrow, but the sensible me decided that a well spaced program until the Marathon is wise, so no consecutive days for me.

11th September, Span, 9km.

Still not feeling 100%, I headed out for a very gentle - keep the legs moving - type of run.

Chest still a little blocked up, but nothing to worry about.
A slight niggle in the lower right leg is a bit of a concern, so on the anti-inflams and massage etc to keep that in check.

This run had 3 decent climbs in the 2nd half of the run, felt really good just keeping a steady cadence to get to the top of each one.

All in all, just nice to be out and about.

8th Sept - 34km, Skylon

Tough week, flu / chest / throat trouble.

No running during the week, spent Friday afternoon in bed.
Felt OK on Saturday morning.

Not long into the run I realised it would be an interesting session with an inability to collect a full breath into the lungs. Not helped by me leaving my bag of sugar behind....meaning no fuel if it got really tough.
Very pleased the pace was easy, so I was never actually in distress or trouble.
After a while it was OK just to keep ticking over.

With about 5-6km to go the fatigue started to come on.
The last 20min or so was very tough.

Upon finishing the body and mind just failed, so it took a little while to feel OK after the run. Nothing a sit down, some water and some sugar didn't fix.

Even though it was not ideal, it was still good to get another run of more than 3hrs30min on my feet.

1st Sept, 38km+, Span

Quick post.

MM07 training group.
Lots of stop start running.
Slow gentle pace.
2 sections of very fast to catch the group after dealing with back markers.
Last 3-4km of main 33km run were shuffle / walk with other runner.
Extra 4km of 5-5.30pace after a rest to check for another runner.
To and from car extra little bit.

All up over 4hrs on my feet with over 3hr40min of actual running.

Legs felt great afterwards, tired but no pain / trouble.
24hr later not even a 'mild objection' from the legs, so I must be doing something right.