Foxy Loxy

Running
19Km in 1:40:51, average pace 5:18

Ok, Ok, yes, a bit of a quick pace for a long run, but please, allow me to ’splain myself.

I picked up Michelle and we met Jay at Seville Station. Michelle was on the “easy” week of her Marathon Training plan so was only looking for 15Km and Jay is building again after an injury layoff. I was looking for around 20km easy after last weeks 26.5km in the hills as a result of a temporary loss of my sanity so I suggested that the girls run 7.5km, I would run on another 2.5km and turn around and chase them back to the cars.

So we ran on to Worri Yallock and after a quick detour to the loos (unlike some people who think it is OK to go behind a tree in a picnic area we opted for the public toilet option, remind me never to have a picnic at Worri) we were up to 9km, so I said goodbye and went on to complete another 1km before turning around. See, I am a total nuff nuff with numbers, it wasn’t until I was about 3km from Seville that I realised I should have gone another 1.5 km as I missed the loo detour on the way back, doh! which is why my planned 20km turned into 10km.

Anyway, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t catch the girls, not with only 10km to do it in (my maths is bad but it’s not that bad) I was still feeling good, so after the slower pace of the first 9km I decided to go for a negative split and up the pace on the way back. Let’s just call it a race prep training run and be done with it, I am just slightly apprehensive going into the Run for Kids in April with no long races behind me since the HM in October, so I don’t think a few sessions like this will hurt.

The upshot is that the final 10kms were pretty quick and I finished in about 49:35 with only 1 45 second break to suck down some drink and re-adjust the Fuel Belt. Here are the splits for the last 10….
10 – 4:52
11 – 4:52
12 – 4:47
13 – 4:58
14 – 5:14 (steady incline of about 800 mtres, I visualised the on ramp to the Bolte Bridge)
15 – 4:51 (woo hoo, down the other side)
16 – 4:56
17 – 5:02
18 – 5:07
19 – 4:54

Then back at the car Jay and Michelle were having a stretch having beaten me by about 5 minutes (I think, will have to check), so the Fox did not quite catch the Rabbits, but I gave it a good shot and it was a fun way to motivate myself to put a bit of speed on. I hear tell that Jay picked up the pace on the way back, determined not to get caught, so it pushed us all round.

It was a great run and I had that transcendental feeling that I have not felt in ages. It was a pretty flat track today, just the one steady rise about 15Km in, but I absolutely flew up it, I was almost at the top before I realised what I had done. Wish my feet always felt like they had little wings on.

On the subject of the Fuel Belt, I can safely say I will never be 100% happy with it and I will certainly never race in it. However I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it was. I can’t wear it around my waist, too much like trying to run in a corset, however it generally stayed on my hips. It was a bit of a fiddle at first and did pop up a bit, but I got used to pushing it down on the fly and only had to stop once to cinch it in tight again. And it was a nice change to be able to drink, it has meant I have not had to spend the rest of the day today filling myself full of water to re-hydrate.

Weekly Summary
A pretty good week with some fast runs and a return to the mid-week long run.

Mon – Intervals, 500mtre and 4 by 250 mtre – With warm up/cool down 7km
Tue – 10km easy
Wed – 11km easy
Thur – 13.5Km quick
Fri – 42km bike ride
Sat – 10km easy
Sun – 19km easy/quick, negative split

Total – 70.5Km

Also just a small weight loss showing on the scales. I am not actively trying to lose weight, if it comes off it is purely as a result of the mileage. I don’t really trust the BF measurement though, only a caliper test will tell that, I am pretty sure my BF would be less than 23%.

I have finished this week with that satisfying sense of weariness that I have not had for a while. It is good to get my base back and now I can build from here. Still not 100% sure what the approach should be, but being that I am preparing for winter and longer distance racing (anywhere between 3.5Km and 21.1 Km) I guess it makes sense to keep working on the endurance with some speed work thrown in for sharpness. I plan to use 70km as a rough base and vary weeks between 65km and 85km for the next couple of months. I am not currently training for a Marathon so no need to go nuts.

Righto, time to go to the shops, I need a banana for my breakfast cereal tomorrow.