Saturday, August 05, 2006

Good training run or really crap race?
You decide.
Turned up at Striders 10k race at Lane Cove National Park.Got up at 4am and Drove the 90 mins in light traffic to get there.I normally wouldn't be bothered to go so far for a run except i was trying to prove something to myself ie if i could run 10k in 41 mins.
On the day Glenn Guzzo was pacing the 40 minute group and the next pacing group was 45 minutes so i predecided to run as far as i could with him knowing i wouldn't be able to hold that pace forever though i would at least do a 5k PB.Glenn hit the pace he was aiming for fairly wellexcept for the first km,we passed 1 km in 3:51 according to his blog and 3km in 12:11 ish (by my garmin that was going a little silly by then,time to upgrade i think but no money)
The pace had got to me by then that and not geting a warmup in.I needed a walk break and as that type of thing goes it was the beginning of
slow catastrophic race failure syndrome

Only a few seconds that stop but enough for everyone to keep charging by me a few meters and when i started again i had lost momentum (all this stuff is great in hindsight isn't it?)
I was pressing lap most of the time when i started walking so i could try and analyze it later but quite frankly i have that many splits that it is a mess!

I passed 5k in about 20:07 or 20:21 mins give or take (new PB as consolation prize) and the top of the course 5.5k in 22:16.Sometime in between these marks,probably half way the 40min pace group rushed past looking good and it was another little nail in my coffin.

Now only 4.5k to home but a long way when your mentally shot and feeling tired.Those 4.5 mostly downhill km took me more than 24mins and i was easily overtaken by the 45min bus pacer CR SPUD who had lost all his passengers but finished in 44:59 not withstanding.

The only bit that was any good (or bad?) was that i had so much in reserve at the end i had no excuse but to sprint the last 6 or 700m to the end,barging past about 5 runners into the chute knocking my garmin flying and taking about 5 mins to find it gathering by the time elapsed on it.

Saw heaps of CRs i recognised from races etc but had never met personally but i was down on myself and not feeling very confident so i just had something to drink and went home.My second worst 10k race to date (injured last time)

In the afternoon i fronted up to the ANSW road relays back in Wollongong and was told we didn't have enough runners to make a B team in the opens so i was left just standing there feeling like a knob after the night before having dramas with my wife about spending the whole day running...she wasnt happy about being woken at 4am as she is a very light sleeper to top things off.

I am very sore now and just need to get this crap off my chest.Sorry for the rant.

R2B

Edit:I have some lessons to learn from some experiences lately including this one.Some are more on a spiritual level (eeek that sounds gay!) about mental strength...why i run...and about doing more long runs and training at and near to race pace to give me confidence.Also i need to get back to effective measurement of my training,something which stopped some time after i started blogging :(
Perhaps i can still do this electronically?
Also a mentor/coach and a good training partner would help immensely.

It may sound like a shame to some after all my talk but i think if i can't do 41min for 10k and i only managed 69:45 for 14.4k last fortnight then i am just kidding myself for 60mins C2S.I will try to seek out some 63-65ers at C2S and go with them.

Time to get back to reality of where my training currently is and that is 63-65mins.
Reason is not enough long runs and not enough fitness.Yeah i know two bad runs arn't the end of the world but i do need to get real.As i said to the club handicapper when he added a minute to my handicap at the 9 miler(14.4km) due to my good time at the 3km race 3days before "....theres a world of difference between 3k at the track and 9 miles Gary?!..."This was me thinking i had a shot at handicap honours talking but in reality it is a fact.

Cheers R2B

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, call it a training run. Sounds like sub 40 is on the cards in the not too distant future.

Hey, if you can't rant here, where can you rant.

the_en4cer said...

I still don't know how to pace myself for a 10K run. I ran a 20.38 for 5K a couple of months ago and 2 weeks later put in a 46.15 which to date is my best 10K time.
I know exactly how you feel and where you're coming from.

Spark Driver said...

Sub 40 minute 10km sounds very fast and I'm sure you can do it. Just don't set your sights too high too soon. Sounds as though you may have been better off in the 45 minute group.

Horrie said...

Don't be too tough on yourself R2B. Your life won't end if you don't run sub 60 at C2S. It's a shame you got so down on yourself that you didn't introduce yourself to us yesterday after travelling all the way from Wollongong. Mate, it doesn't matter to us whether you run 41 or 61 minutes for 10km. You're a Cool Running blogger and it would have been good to meet you yesterday. As for your running, run at a pace that you are comfortable with and the time will take care of itself. It's not as if we're running at the Olympics or anything. Hope to see you at another race soon.

Tesso said...

I seem to have the opposite problem, my shorter races are slow. Quite a few of my training partners I finished around a minute behind in our pre Gold Coast 3k TT were a minute or more behind me in the GC Half.

Anyway, I'd be calling it a training run as you had a hard hit out for a fair bit of it. And you had the added bonus of learning something from it.

Catch ya at C2S. Though not literally, you'll be a bit fast for me I reckon! How will we recoginise you?

Anonymous said...

Hey R2B, can I suggest something else? Use the C2S as a training run for KJs 10,000m Track Champs (Aug.31st) ... this is the only way you can compare your 10k time with someone else's ... guaranteed 10km time on the track. Based on your 3km PB (11.06), you will go close to a sub 40! See here ...http://www.cs.uml.edu/~phoffman/ex1old.html

Cheers, BJS

Superflake said...

A good 10k time will come when you least expect it. The Lane Cove course is a very hard course to judge pace on. The pacers get top marks to trying to do it even, let alone trying to do a fast time.C2S is all about getting into a rythym as soon as possible after the start and running the hills well. You can still do the time.

Don Juan said...

Lane Cove is a tough course.

Good idea to get a coach and a program that works for you. The rest will come.

Black Knight said...

You are on the right way for a sub 40 minutes. About the lessons: I learned not to wear the garmin during the races; its mistakes condition my performance.

Unknown said...

Sorry to hear about the tough 10K. Some long runs would probably help and I understand the running at pace to help with the confidence as well. Have fun pondering the possibilities.

Hilda said...

You know you are fast, you will get there in the next race, good luck!

owen said...

Hey mate,

Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog! sorry to hear about your most recent race efforts but you've obviously thought it through and have a plan which is the best thing you can take from a bad race (or a good training run!)

Best of luck at C2S, keep plugging away and the times will fall...

Owen

Anonymous said...

Looking for information and found it at this great site... How to refill dell printer cartridges Superior uniform group white lab coats

Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work lamborghini lm002 autos for sale lamborghini san francisco Vitamin a defiency soccer goalkeeper gloves Sebring body kits plastic digital printing diecast lamborghini model Finlandia saab Extreme cartoons xxx Breast implants beautys http://www.floor-mats-ford.info/Plasticolor_militarytary_floor_mats.html Cisco callmanger documentation erectile dysfunction aids pissing girls 06 Learning styles and education Swimsuit model wallpapers Loss+pill+prescription+weight Waterbed fills house lamborghini murcielego How can i purchase generic tenuate