April Fuels

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

The days are shorter, the clocks have gone back an hour and all the winter sports are well under way. The weather, however, seems not to have read the memo, and remains warm to hot throughout, even chucking in the occasional summer electrical storm to fool everyone into thinking winter may never come. And so the floor fans remain in place, heaters haven't even been considered, and the duvet remains in the bag it was placed into at the end of last winter.

My middle of the night run this morning, then, was a thoroughly pleasant affair in a mild 20 degrees or so, with a nice breeze to dry my sweat. 3:30 a.m. is a mightily early time to be running, even by my pre-dawn standards, but I found myself awake earlier than need be and just decided to make use of the extra time for a prolonged early plod.

The normally busy streets around my neighbourhood take on a wholly different character at that time of night, and rushing people, cars and trains all vanish to be replaced by hordes of hopping bunnies, croaking frogs and a few fruit bats. It's a side of the suburb very few people ever even see, with far fewer still experiencing the full heightened-senses impact of a run through it all as the world sleeps.

I ran 9km at that hour, loving every minute of it. It almost feels like some weird religious thing, seeking some strange running nirvana whilst embracing the darkness and transmogrification of a suburb moved from chaos to serenity by the mere transition through night. I completed my run, got ready for work, took the train into town, walked another 2km and was still at work by 6 a.m.

As ridiculous as it all sounds, I loved it, and it set me up really well for the day ahead, which was a rough one as we transition from one old system to a brand-spanking but poorly conceived, cheaply designed and badly installed new one. Yet, thanks to my nocturnal meanderings I sailed through it all and came out the other side still smiling.

You have to be happy with that.

   

[Bierzo Baggie]

Great to see you are well and truly out there again and just to say I love your unusual pre-work excursions amongst the fruit bats! I can appreciate the "unrealness" of it all ....a bit like running in fresh snow!

[Sweder]

I love fruit bats. The whooping of their mighty wings serenaded Mrs S and I during our honeymoon twilights on Soneva Fushi.

I saw some native Indonesians shoot one down with a blow-dart on a tea plantation in the mountains outside of Jakarta in 1984.
Damned thing had a 6 foot wingspan. I have a photo somewhere, I'll dig it out. I didn't enjoy seeing the great beast brought down, but I marvelled at the skill involved, and accepted that the hunters were after food, not sport.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

6 foot?! Our bats are only half that size. Thank-f*cking-Christ!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

A perfect storm and a perfect response...

What a week; long days of work at the usual antisocial, body-slamming hours and topped off with two consecutive nights of major disasters the like of which we normally only see maybe once a year, but both of which I copped in one weekend. Then I came home after all that at 7 in the morning desperate for sleep only to find roadworks in progress a mere handful of metres from my bedroom window. Sleep? I think not. Throw in the gypsy summer we're having, with a top today of 35C (an April record for Sydney ... global warming, anyone?) and you can see why I had it firmly fixed in my head to skip today's planned run. More than justifiable, certainly, by any standard.

So why then did I jump into running togs and hit the treadmill at the height of the day's heat and with exhaustion the only fit adjective to describe my physical and mental condition at the time?

I know not. But, here's the thing: astonishingly, I thrashed out my strongest and quickest run of the campaign so far: 10 kilometres, all uphill, and at a pace not seen by me in nearly a year and a half! Go figure it out for yourselves, because I can't. I can only guess my perseverance in running at least something when I've least felt like it in recent weeks has suddenly culminated in an alien presence invading my body and taking over for reasons known only to itself. I mean, that clearly wasn't me running today, was it?

This is freaky, but crikey, it feels OK. If this is possession by another being, I'm not at all opposed to it.

But I do now have a craving for weird food combinations...

[marathondan]

Someone once said that running is the answer, I think.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Someone once said that running is the answer, I think.

The question doesn't bear thinking about, then.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Virtual Realirunning

The warm weather continues here, so the treadmill remains my chief outlet for cranking out the k's, which I don't really mind as it gives me control over what I'm doing, which I rather like, what with me being a certified control freak (and which is why I work for a living in a control room). Control, however, does not necessarily guarantee pleasant running conditions, and so apart from the addition of plenty of music to my training sessions, I've added the relatively new phenomenon of virtual runs to ease the monotony.

The treadmill I currently use does, in theory, allow you to plot a run route using Google maps, and then follow it on a tablet or laptop via Google street view as you run, with the treadmill adjusting incline according to the terrain data on Google maps. In reality, however, it's a dog and pretty much unusable, and so I've given up on it. Instead, I've downloaded a stack of 'virtual runs', i.e. someone running a route or a race with a GoPro on a gimbal, shooting in HD and uploading it to the interwebby thing for all to use whilst on their treadmills. It makes for an amusing distraction, and it's fascinating to see other parts of the world through a runner's eyes whilst on a simulated run.    

Today, for example, I ran the Beachy Head marathon or, at least, edited highlights of it. I now know why so many people take 6 hours or more to complete it ... it's a brute! Very picturesque, though, of course. What was really interesting was how viewing the downhill sections of the Beachy Head Marathon made the uphill treadmill a little easier, as did running under simulated race conditions ... sort of. Perhaps my brain is just easily suggestible, I'm not sure, but it certainly helped.

So another 14.6km covered today (not, of course, a marathon but still a useful distance) at a brisk pace on a 2% incline. Good, satisfying training, definitely. 

Overall, I'm feeling fitter and stronger, and there are even the early signs of that wonderful 'legs of steel' feeling you get after a few months of solid running.

Or maybe it's just my imagination again?

[Charliecat5]

Virtual Realirunning

Today, for example, I ran the Beachy Head marathon 

You should have popped in for a cup of tea.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Virtual Realirunning

Today, for example, I ran the Beachy Head marathon 

You should have popped in for a cup of tea.

That would be virtual reali-tea, yes?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Hot, hard, work.

Everyone here is talking about the weather, as the heat and humidity continue despite now being half-way through autumn. Birds are nesting, fruit and vegetables have gone into spring mode and everyone and everything is confused. We're told by the weather boffins this will continue for several more weeks yet, possibly well into winter. In one sense I'm happy for the warmth continuing, but there's no denying the freakiness of the weather is more than a little concerning.

So anyway, here today we had another 35 degrees Celsius with high humidity, but I also had scheduled my toughest tempo run of the campaign thus far and just had to get on and do it despite the conditions. And so I did, and indeed it was my toughest run this year, but like all tough runs successfully undertaken, it leaves you with an indefatigable feeling of wellness for the rest of the day. Some call this smugness, but what would they know?

Wellness and perhaps a little smugness aside, I still have plenty of work to do. The Sydney half marathon is just a touch over five weeks away (yes, I've decided I may as well run this one again, and have entered), and my long runs are not nearly long enough. There's still time, but only just, and I'm not confident of a particularly fast time on race day, but as I keep saying, that doesn't really matter. Better times and better races lay further ahead, so long as I keep at it.

Work will interrupt somewhat, and already has, as disasters occur and new systems come online, which makes the workplace very draining, as well as staff shortages, all requiring extra days of work. The good part of continuing to run despite all this is that I cope with the hours and conditions at work so much better: an important therapeutic aspect of the sport I've known about for a long time, but all too often fail to act on. This time, however, all is looking good.

But gee, this weather sure is strange.

   

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Eight days a week.

My first missed run of the schedule was yesterday. It was a long, twelve-hour day at work, the first of eight consecutive work days this 'week', and a troublesome one, at that. Upon returning home, there was more trouble requiring alcohol and comfort food, and so the run was missed.

Is this the beginning of the end? Will the Joker once more run amok in Gotham City?

Stay tuned, bat fans.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Hanging in there.

The Joker, as alluded to in the previous post, has indeed run amok in Gotham City, with the result that I have missed another scheduled run, the second in two weeks. Despite this, I managed to pull out a 20km long run this morning which brought my weekly total to over 35km, so it's certainly not a write-off. What is missing is the fine tuning, the tempo runs and the interval training that builds speed, form and that elusive confidence. Instead I have completed sufficient miles, but too many of them are of the 'junk' variety. I hate calling them junk miles, as in reality there is no such thing; they're all important and worthwhile, but I tend to just grind them out and I don't feel anything especially different about it all afterwards.

As usual, I'm over-thinking it, of course. Whatever, the first big test of all this training is the Sydney Half Marathon, now just four weeks away, and here I am with too few long runs in the bank. The 20km outing this morning was my longest run in absolutely ages*, and does go some way to boosting my morale, certainly, and I have to say for the most part it was run very comfortably indeed. The pace was slow, but intentionally so. The last 20 minutes was tough, but not impossibly so. A couple more runs like that one and I will feel a whole lot better about the looming race day.

The weather has finally cooled slightly, with temperatures now down in the low to mid-20s, and the humidity mercifully all but gone. We're still waiting for that first, crisp evening that delineates the seasons by announcing the imminent arrival of winter for a spell. Not that I'm in any hurry, the weather now being little short of idyllic

Conditions weren't so idyllic for the unfortunate Scot, Callum Hawkins on the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Marathon recently. I watched the whole thing unfold on the final day: saw Hawkins take the lead, open a clear break and then increase it. He was running strongly, and the Aussie Michael Shelley was clearly resigned to battling for the silver medal, and the commentators all but handing the gold to the Scot. Then the first signs of trouble; the angry throwing away of his cap, then the wavering, the stuttering steps, the colliding with the barriers and the first stumble. Then the recovery, the second collision and finally the complete collapse right on the 40km mark. It was tragic to watch, and yet an indication of how even elite athletes can misjudge the conditions and overdo things.

Hopefully nothing quite so tragic will occur tomorrow, during the running of this year's London Marathon. I've a night shift to work, which means I'll get the chance (if things are quiet) to watch it on TV, courtesy of Rupert Murdoch who, despite everything, has given us some televiewing benefits. It's interesting to note that Michael Shelley, who ran past the prostrate Callum Hawkins to go on and win the gold medal, probably has the London Marathon to thank for his victory. The highly fancied and significantly faster Kenyans were absent from the Gold Coast, preferring the lure of big prize money and prestige that the London Marathon offers, over the seemingly lesser glory of representing their country at the Commonwealth Games. Well, given the money on offer, who can really blame them?

At least that's not a choice I have to worry about. Ahem.

And speaking of Callum Hawkins, check this out...

*My longest run since June 24th, last year, to be precise.

[marathondan]

Sounds like you are there or thereabouts, even if not every cell in the spreadsheet has turned green. Let's hope you can fit in a couple more quality ones, and you will be set for a mini taper.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

A Million Little Steps

How about that Eliud Kipchoge, eh? And Mo Farah's British record, of course, and what about Vivian Cheruiyot's surprise win? The London Marathon is always a brilliant event, but this year was something special again. I was keen to see the athletes who were missing from the Commonwealth Games marathon - notably the Kenyans, but also Mo - and especially Kipchoge. I mean, wow, when did he last lose a marathon? Well, I can tell you, actually, because I looked it up. It was his second place at the Berlin Marathon way back in 2013, and Wilson Kipsang had to run a world record to beat him! Kipchoge is one of those super-rare athletes that make you realise what an incredible privilege it is to have the good fortune to be alive at the same time and be able to witness someone like that. Simply astonishing.

My own running, by comparison, is barely worth mentioning, but it's my blog, so here we are. In short, if you're talking about general fitness rather than specific race goals, then it's going extremely well, with another good little outing today: stronger, faster and increasingly confidence-building, it all is. I won't bore you with the statistics of the outing, except to mention one thing: I began this campaign 62 days ago, and my fitness tracker tells me that in the early hours of this morning, whilst at work on yet another night shift, I surpassed 1,000,000 steps taken (both running and walking) since I began training again back on 20th February. That's an average of just over 16,000 steps per day. A million is a lot ... imagine how long it takes to earn a million dollars (or pounds or euros), or gain a million Twitter followers. Well, taking a million steps is probably not as hard as that, but it's still a big number. It would be a daunting prospect if you decided to do it as a part of your training. I'm impressed, but then, as we've already established, I do tend to be intrigued by big numbers.

Impressive or perhaps not, I think it calls for a drink.

Cheers!

   

[Charliecat5]

I think that calls for a drink.

Cheers!

Isn't 'beer runs' something that happens the morning after a session on the Guinness?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I think that calls for a drink.

Cheers!

Isn't 'beer runs' something that happens the morning after a session on the Guinness?

You not be eating enough porridge, boy.

[Seafront Plodder]

A Million Little Steps

 Kipchoge is one of those super-rare athletes that make you realise what an incredible privilege it is to have the good fortune to be alive at the same time and be able to witness someone like that. Simply astonishing.

 

Ditto Federer of course.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

A ripper, really tough tempo run yesterday, and an almost total lack of muscle soreness today has left me in a great mood, and really looking forward to my recovery run tomorrow, ahead of the weekend long run. Along with growing fitness and developing strength, I think disciplined warm-up and cool-down routines have definitely helped in avoiding injury and minimising general soreness.

I'm also stretching more, although probably not yet enough to see any serious benefit. Rather than stretching religiously before and after a run, which I've always found too boring to do for any more than brief periods of time, I'm slowly building up a small repertoire of standing stretches which I can do easily anywhere, anytime. And so I'm slowly improving by simply doing few stretches in idle moments through the day. 

What else? Nope, that's about it. Running, warm-up, cool-down and a few bouts of stretching is about it so far, but it seems to be working. I'll start throwing in some interval sessions soon, and lengthening the long slow runs.

I'm getting there, I really am. It's most encouraging.

[Charliecat5]

A ripper, really tough tempo run yesterday, and an almost total lack of muscle soreness today has left me in a great mood

I'm getting there, I really am. It's most encouraging.

Pah!  You can keep quiet with all your positive running stories.   Iv'e had a shocking couple of weeks.  Sore legs, sore back, and bloody hey fever.   I ran with the Herd on Tuesday.  We only did 5 miles and I nearly died.  They refused to let me stop and walk.  

I was thinking about ditching the running and taking up knitting, until I discovered the knitting crowd are a bigger bunch of weirdos than you lot...

As you were... but just do it quietly...