WEEK 17 Not Long Now Or Are We There YET ?

WE CAN'T STOP

Molly at Kings Park on Saturday before the Monday ANZAC Day Service

Trigg Trails ( Monday 25 April 2016  run ) So wasn't really part of this weeks training but the picture shows the trails run on Saturday's run

17 Weeks in and it is 3 weeks to go before the Ultra-Trail Australia 100 at Scenic World Katoomba in the Blue Mountains ,New South Wales.

My 2nd 100km race and the second time I am running this course. I have now passed 1200 km of running and despite a mild scare of sore calf and tendon , the rest and drop in running last week , anti inflammatories and rolling seemed to have worked. No speed work this week just some hill repeats and the legs have stood up. The weight has been good and dropped to 67.5 kg but has been stable at 68 kg to 68.5kg which is the lowest I have been in 5 years .

Monday : I did a short 6 km run at lunch and in the evening I backed it up with a 6km run in the cold with Molly .The I did a recovery wind trainer session for 30 minutes just spinning the legs at high cadence  .



Tuesday : Another easy run of 7km and in the evening rode home via Bassendean  and then rode to work the next day for about 35kms. On Wednesday day I ran to Kings Park and then did 10 repeats of Mount street , 65 m and about 400m in length and with the run up Malcolm street was probably about 700m and 9km in running distance, In the evening I did an extra 6km with Molly . Thursday , ran 7km at lunch and then rode to cross fit but skipped the session and rode home for 35 km and then rode to work again the next morning for 47km in total .I ran again to Kings Park via Kokoda Trail and then 10 descents of Mount Street going down as fast as I could manage but only running up 2/3 of the way and walking the rest . The total distance done 9.5km and about 700m of elevation.

pictures from DNA Tower on Sunday.Kings Park

Saturday , an easy run at Trigg for 70 minutes and 8.5km along the limestone trails. In the afternoon did a 45 minute cross fit session with 30 repeats of various exercises including overhead squats with 15kg bar , push ups GHDs, wall balls, sit ups , rows , slam balls  and then practiced my kipping but only managed 2 pull ups at a  time .On Sunday , back to Kings Park with 3 hours running around the Park and along the river before 6 repeats of Kokoda , then 6 repeats of the DNA tower and finally 6 repeats of Mount Street ,I think the elevation would be over 900m.

The weather held up so no rain and we met another Ultra Trail Australia competitor Alex training and hoping to go under 14 hours for the silver buckle. Finished the 3 hours feeling pretty good with 400 calories of tailwind , no real issues with the legs and they were not feeling too bad. Ran 20km .

Total for the week 78 km and 9.5 hours with 3.5 hrs cycling and 45 mins cross fit.

Week 16 A little Sore

Learning from Experience For Molly & JD



Rollers ...my new best friend

There is a certain enjoyment in running that I have come to experience only recently and it is down to the way the programme has been crafted by Zach .80% of the running has been on the basis of taking it slow and easy. No demands , just run easy and run for time on the feet .This seems to be working but has really made me slow down and even walk but more importantly I am breathing and enjoying the run. See the piece by Sarah Russel   Why Run an Ultra on the Runners Connect Website 

Quite the opposite to running with my dog , Molly , it is fast and furious for the first few miles and then a trot before it sadly ends in a lie down in the sand . The unbridled love and joy of first being out on the run gives way to the dreaded distance and misjudged pace which is the kill switch for a great run. But after all she is a dog not an ultra runner.

The week started with the usual Distance of Choice and with a hard 4 days behind I was feeling a little sore in the left calf .Unfortunately on Monday  I ran an easy 10km but by 8km the left calf was pulsating and hurting .I got home but the leg was stiff and the muscle really sore . The next 3 days were just trying to recover .I had a good massage from Adele and that helped but decided against running for 3 days. On Friday I ran an easy 75 minutes or 10.6kms and it felt OK but I could feel a tightness at the base of the tendon in the left calf  at the Achilles tendon . I also got some anti inflammatory cream and tablets and that helped.

Saturday's run was a lot better .I ran for an hour at Trigg and felt it but there was no pain . In the afternoon we did a short cross fit session with just bench press up to 52.5kgs for me and then practicing some kipping moves .



Sunday a long 3 hour run at Kings park with the pack .As it was overcast and drizzling we all got to wear our rain jackets . I also tested out my nutrition.I had 600 calories of Tail wind for the 3 hour run but I was only starting to take in Nutrition at about 90 minutes into the run. I also had a Vespa Concentrate which I made up with lemon cordial and drank half at the start and the rest at the half way mark. I did feel a little faint at the hour mark but that soon passed. I kept a very slow pace and after about 50 minutes of running round Kings Park ended at the Kokoda Trail and with the 10 or so walkers and runners at Kokoda  I did 5 repeats or 325 metres , then it was on to the  DNA tower and I ran up and down the grassed area of the tower before 5 repeats or about 150 metres of elevation. Finally  I hit the 2 hour mark and ran to Mount Street and ran down the street and ran partially up the hill walking the rest for 5 repeats of 325metres before running back to where we started .19.6km and I estimate about 900m of elevation although Garmin is showing less .

A very short running week with under 50kms of running but the leg was holding up and no speed work this week .

Week 15 The last Push

Friday 8 April Evening Run along the Swan River

Saturday Trigg Beach

Short Clip of the trails in Trigg

Molly with her Toy Bear (Recovery Expert)

This was a great fairly easy week after the previous week with the Monday long run.

Monday , did a short 7 km run in the morning and a 5km run in the evening at easy pace which was between 6.30 and 7 min per km. On Tuesday it was a 6km easy run and then rode to cross fit via Subiaco so was a long 45km ride and then a 30minute session of cross fit.

Wednesday fast session running to work (see below ) and managed a 15 minute warm up (approximately) then 8 minutes hard  x 3 with a 5 minute recovery between . I managed to keep the pace at 4.40 and then 4.36 and the final 8 km was about 5 minute pace .With the last 15 minutes a cool down into the city . Ran 10.7km in 61 minutes.

    

 Wednesday morning run

Thursday I ran an easy 7km and then in the evening a short cross fit session with 30 minutes .  On Friday a run a round Kings Park and then along the river and up Kokoda to finish with 12 km in 85 minutes .

On Saturday ,I  ran the trails behind Trigg . I ran late morning as the others ran earlier but we met up for coffee at Kailis after the run. The weather was nice and cool and enjoyed the run . Ran a total of 11.25km in 80 minutes.

On Sunday did the same course but we ran 2 hours and again I ran on my own but finished up in Trigg with about 16.5kms done

The legs were a bit tired bit managed a reasonable week of training . I ran about 76kms and just under 9 hours with 1 hour of Cross fit and 2 hours of cycling. The start of the last few weeks of training before tapering for the Ultra. The crucial issue is to focus and try to remain fit and injury free. The weight remains down and hovering between 68 and 69 kgs.

WEEK 14 ULTRA TRAIL AUSTRALIA 100 ...I see the light

 Long As I Can See the Light

Friday's Run on the coast as the Sun sets

Is it the end of the tunnel or the lights of a train and train wreck about to happen? That is the question after 14 weeks of training , some big weeks of mileage a real big change in my diet and eating habits a near 10 kg drop in weight and 7 kg since December 2015.These are the the questions and the dilemma after a hard Easter Monday run which was sub optimum. I did learn a few things and a few facts about the training I have been doing.

After 3 months I have surpassed the number of kilometers of running I have done for the whole campaign leading up to North Face 100 last year . Last year I ran about 800 km and this year I have already done close to 950km and I have 6 weeks to go.

Most of the runs have been at a pace to ensure I was maximizing my fat burning capacity and I was below 65% max VO2 . In the 40 miler as I tried to increase my pace to ensure I did not miss the 5 hr/46km cut off I was unfortunately burning more Carbohydrates and pushing my HR up as well and combined with the fatigue I was already carrying from the 33 km run the previous Wednesday , I was really just going to suffer and never quite become the efficient running machine and not just bonk or tire . I didn't quite bonk but I did get the legs pretty fatigued and felt tired which was not the case the previous several long sessions.Interestingly despite a sore knee I felt find a day later , I did rest on Tuesday and only ran a short 7km on Wednesday but the legs were fine with a little fatigue but a year ago I was hobbling after any long run

On Thursday I rested again .Friday a double easy run with 7km in the morning and 8km in the evening .Saturday a 70 minutes run on the trails around Trigg with about 9km and On Sunday similarly about 66minute run at Reabold with 28 minute at between 5 minute and 6 minute pace  with the last 2km a bit slower as I ran up the inclines .I managed 10.2km and had coffee at Georges wishing him Bon Voyage as he headed to Morocco for the Marathon De Sables  .

Saturday's Cross Fit Work Out

An easy recovery week and with Mondays run covered about 87 km for the week in about 9.5 hours and 30 minutes of cross fit.

After a 1000km