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Post Mortem GORM 2012

Posted by Caterpillar , 01 June 2012 - * * * * * · 397 views

Post Mortem GORM 2012 TRAINING
This was the third time I followed the Pfitzinger 88-113km/wk training program with a few tweaks.  Given there were 27 weeks to train post recovery from MM2011, I repeated Mesocycle 3 a few times, incorporating tougher interval sessions of 4x1600m , and a short 6km recovery run on Mondays. Training was going great through January and February.  I...



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Runner......know thyself

Posted by Caterpillar , 09 April 2012 - * * * * - · 237 views

Here's the low down on the past 2 months.

After recovering from my blood bank donation in early January, and enduring the January heat, did some great running in a cooler February. Ran daily for an average mileage of 16.3km/day and an average speed of 12.6km/hr. Very happy with the inspire 7s, and I can't thank WetWeek enough on recommending them....



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Grinding Away

Posted by Caterpillar , 22 January 2012 - * * * * - · 285 views

Some serious training happening, having done 438km for December and heading for similar mileage for January. Gave blood earlier this month, which usually slows me down for a few weeks, but I think I've recovered from that now. Up to 20+ donations. You get treated very nicely by staff at the blood bank.  :Smug:  

Very happy with my overall mean training...



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Back On The Wagon

Posted by Caterpillar , 28 November 2011 - * * * * - · 149 views

have completed my first 30km long run since the Melbourne Marathon, 7 weeks ago, and 6 months to go until the Williamstown Marathon.

Have recently re-calculated my minimum and maximum HR for the Pfitzinger training zones, and uploaded them to my garmin. My actual max HR is a few beats higher than that predicted from my age, so my new training zones have...



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Post Mortem Melbourne Marathon 2011

Posted by Caterpillar , 16 October 2011 - * * * * * · 224 views

Short version:

finished with a net time of 3:10:12. An official boston qualifier for 2013. Best time since my 20s.  :yahoo:


Long version:  

Bad night's sleep before race morning. Got to sleep okay, but woke within 4 hours. Decided to have my prerace meal then instead of a few hours before the race, which entailed sugared hot drinks and pancakes....



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Taperitis

Posted by Caterpillar , 04 October 2011 - * * * * - · 389 views

Have been amiss in not posting during the pointy end of the current training cycle, and race day is only a few sleeps away  :huh: . Time has flown quickly since I last said "14 weeks until race day". So here's a summary.

Uneventful recovery after Willy and got back into the Pftizinger training cycle. All started well. However scraped the skin...



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New Nose For The Grindstone

Posted by Caterpillar , 26 July 2011 - * * * * - · 187 views

Well and truly back into a new training cycle, with my eyes set on the Melbourne Marathon on October 9th. Took a good 5-6 weeks to recover, and was able to transition into week 4 of the first mesocycle of the 88-113km/wk Pfitzinger program. Currently on week 2 of the second mesocycle.

Given the current training program is the same as last time, aside from...



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Race Report Sri Chinmoy Williamstown Marathon

Posted by Caterpillar , 04 June 2011 - * * * * * · 144 views

The day before the marathon has become a bit of a ritual, with solace in its familiarity, having done 5 marathons in the past 2 years.

The morning starts with a short slow jog of no more than 5km, and a continuation of the carb loading which began the day before, kicking off with a low fibre sugary breakfast cereal, orange juice, and grazing through lunch...



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8 Days To Willy Marathon With A Waikiki Detour

Posted by Caterpillar , 21 May 2011 - - - - - - · 117 views

About to enter the final week of my 3 week tapering cycle of the Pfitzinger program, which was punctuated by 6 days in honolulu. My plan was to continue with the program, expecting it to be fairly easy given the reduction in volume. However I underestimated the effect of heat and direct sunlight has on me during training. I rarely train when its sunny;...



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Reflections On 5 Weeks To Willy Marathon

Posted by Caterpillar , 23 April 2011 - - - - - - · 254 views

5 weeks to go to the Sri Chinmoy Williamstown Marathon, and into the business end of the 3rd mesocycle of the Pfitzinger 18week 87-113km/wk program.

1. Seriously struggled with the back to back hard days entailing a 10km race followed by a 30km long run, which felt like the last quarter of a marathon.   Doing the race in the DS Racers probably didn't...



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Run The Rock Report

Posted by Caterpillar , 09 April 2011 - - - - - - · 233 views

Did the Run the Rock 10km at Hanging rock this morning, which was my very first 10km race. Warm morning, great venue, challenging course, entailing a combination of grass, road, and trail including a lap around hanging rock. Ran in my DS Racers. Undulating in parts, most prominent on the trail section. I wasn't sure what pace to head out, and reading...



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10 Weeks To Go....

Posted by Caterpillar , 19 March 2011 - - - - - - · 81 views

into the business end of the second mesocycle, with a quicker long run tomorrow, followed by a recovery week. Problems with aches, tenderness, and tightness with calves, anterior tibials, and hamstrings a few weeks ago improved a little after swapping over to a new pair of runners.  The middle of my right hammy has been tight for a while, and am long...



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Mesocycle 2

Posted by Caterpillar , 17 February 2011 - - - - - - · 90 views

2 weeks into the second mesocycle. Still well ahead of schedule, so added a few weeks to the first mesocycle and will do the same for the current mesocycle. Long runs are considerably and consistenly quicker now. I never appreciated the importance of relative 'rest' days until I started following this program.

Took 20 minutes off my previous best...



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3rd Week In...

Posted by Caterpillar , 03 January 2011 - - - - - - · 87 views

just completed my 3rd week of the 'advanced training' 88-113km/wk schedule. Different to my previous program, in that Monday is a rest day, the Sunday run is a little shorter but faster than previously, but make up for it with longer mid week runs, as well as a couple of 'recovery' training days during the week. It's going to be a...



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Tired

Posted by Caterpillar , 11 December 2010 - - - - - - · 62 views

Very tired this week, and tight hamstrings after my second long run post MM at quickish (5m15s/km) pace. Only partially recovered after a rest day mid week. Will drop the distance of the long run back a bit and start following the 88-113km per week workouts from "advanced marathoning", which is very different to my normal habits of a steady pace...



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First Genuine Long Run Post Mm2010

Posted by Caterpillar , 28 November 2010 - - - - - - · 107 views

First long run of 30km post MM. Very wet, windy, and slippery conditions with areas of flooding along the Merri Creek meant I had to stop and do some cross country, take the runners and socks off to squeeze the water out, and in the end took a detour home with 5km to go. 5m06s pace given the conditions wasn't too bad; might have been able to do 5min...



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Time Trial Sundays

Posted by Caterpillar , 21 November 2010 - - - - - - · 86 views

Sundays have taken on the pressure of a time trial, given I'm trying to get my Sunday run as close as possible, if not better, than 5min/km. 79km for the week, at an average pace of 4min48s/km which makes for my fastest week outside of a taper week.

My 1km of fartlek during Saturday's 7km was done in 3m52s with an average HR of 170. Very happy...



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Average 5min/km For 3 Weeks

Posted by Caterpillar , 14 November 2010 - - - - - - · 64 views

Achieved my short term goal of an average 5min/km for 3 weeks in a row. Hamstrings feeling better. Felt very tired on Monday, which improved as the week progressed. Looking again at the rear view mirror, I had been averaging 5m20s/km for 18 months up until MM2010, so am hoping that the pace of the last 3 weeks will continue. Did 73km for the week just gone,...



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A Week Is A Long Time

Posted by Caterpillar , 07 November 2010 - - - - - - · 80 views

Did a crappy 16km on the last day of October after what was a good 7 days. Did a gruelling 10km the day before on hilly terrain, and I may have run out of glycogen half way into the Sunday run. Pace and heart rate slowed and my breathing became very laboured during the second half. Had been planning for a better than 5m15s pace but ended up with a 5m25s...



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Log Books

Posted by Caterpillar , 30 October 2010 - - - - - - · 78 views

have been keeping a log of times and distances since late 2008 on dailyburn, and switched to garmin connect after purchasing my 405CX in early June. Also manually transferred a few months of data across from daily burn for comparison. Am scrutinizing the weekly reports very closely. I notice that my cadence rate falls when fatigued and unrested. Interesting...



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Running Form

Posted by Caterpillar , 26 October 2010 - - - - - - · 77 views

Have made incremental changes to my running form over the past year or so, in the hope of improving efficiency. There is a lot of information in cyberspace on the topic, which can be overwhelming. I've been able to increase my running cadence, and strive to do to at least 180 steps per minute, but I think 190 is better. Trying to keep an upright torso,...



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Contemplating Sri Chinmoy Williamstown Marathon 29/05/2011

Posted by Caterpillar , 16 October 2010 - - - - - - · 116 views

at the 34km mark of the MM I was seriously asking myself why I persist in beating myself up doing marathons. Then, having just snuck in under 3:20:00 at the end, with a bit of a kick for the last few hundred metres, I started thinking about the next one!
Want to feel less rushed for the next, so will give Hobart a pass this time around, and set my...



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Melbourne Marathon 2010

Posted by Caterpillar , 08 September 2010 - - - - - - · 216 views

My prep hit a bit of a snag on June 27th with a bad left anterior tibial compartment syndrome which put me on the sidelines for 3 weeks. Could barely walk for a few weeks. Have been making up for lost time and did 120km last week. Weight still not where I want it. Anyway, looking forward to tapering: 11 days away. The Garmin has been a wonderful companion....



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Garmin Forerunner 405cx

Posted by Caterpillar , 20 June 2010 - - - - - - · 74 views

bit the bullet and bought myself a garmin for my birthday. Selected the 405CX over the larger version because it can be worn as a day watch. The downside is poorer battery life, and less tolerant of water. Also bought the optional foot pod, for cadence. Great little gadget, and am uploading my data to garmin connect. Takes a while to learn all the features...



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Post Mortem Sri Chinmoy Williamstown Marathon

Posted by Caterpillar , 30 May 2010 - - - - - - · 157 views

unofficial time of 3hr 22m plus change. Windy condition, losing around 5min or so (according to Maggot). Came 32nd out of 162 finishers, making for a percentile rank of 80%, which is an improvement on Hobart. Nevertheless, still a disappointing time given my training thus far. Well hydrated throughout, but still felt hot despite the cloudy and windy...



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Preparing For Sri Chinmoy Williamstown Marathon 30th May

Posted by Caterpillar , 09 May 2010 - * - - - - · 144 views

Mixed results in my preparations thus far. Either pulled or tore the upper part of my left calf about 13 days ago after 3 days of high mileage, requiring a day's rest, and slow and gradual increase in daily mileage, and when I think all was well, lower calves seriously tightening up. Am trying magnesium and reducing caffeine intake. Trying to stick to a...



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Running Shoes

Posted by Caterpillar , 14 February 2010 - - - - - - · 184 views

Telltale twinge in my knees for the first 15 or so minutes of my run signalled that my runners had expired. Have been running in the Asics 11xx series for a few years. They only seem to last 500-600km. Switching to Asics 2150s, and dropping size from 10.5 to 10. Their specifications  state that they are slightly lighter than the 1150. Hopefully they'll...



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Melbourne Half Marathon 1995

Posted by Caterpillar , 23 January 2010 - - - - - - · 54 views

training slowed down considerably after the Warrnambool marathon, and not feeling that great in 1995. Mustering no more than around 80km per week, so went for the half instead of the full. Also developed gastro in the days before the race but decided to soldier on. Couldn't tolerate a lot of fluids before the race. Back then the half started at the same...



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Warrnambool Marathon 1994

Posted by Caterpillar , 21 January 2010 - * - - - - · 316 views

Warrnambool Marathon 1994 This was my very first marathon, at the tender age of 27. In 1992 had managed to lose the weight I accrued through my university years, going from 74kg to around 60kg, and running around 5km per day. Spent a year in gorgeous Warrnambool in 1993 and thought I'd train for the marathon, which was a goal I had since my late teens. Running 10km, twice per...



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Damage Report From Cadbury Marathon 2010

Posted by Caterpillar , 19 January 2010 - - - - - - · 186 views

Did the race in Asics DS trainers and had not done any genuine long runs in them, so it was a bit of a gamble. Normally train in Asics 1150. Sore right gastroc at the halfway mark, but didn't get any worse as the race progressed. I had noticed a very tender upper right calf during my sports massage in the preceding months. Soreness in both quads by the...



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My History Of Running

Posted by Caterpillar , 17 January 2010 - * * * * - · 68 views

My history of running in a snapshot. First started regular jogging at 12yo, around 3-4km/d. A bit pudgy back then, but managed to trim down to around 53kg at the age of 14 (I'm 165cm). Did some cross country races. Cranked up to 10km daily by around 14yo, able to be done in 40 minutes. Became a little lazy in university, and battled with my weight which...



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Cadbury Marathon January 10th 2010

Posted by Caterpillar , 17 January 2010 - - - - - - · 85 views

3hr 20m 8s for last Sunday, which technically is a Boston Qualifier for me, but this race wasn't in the list of accredited races for Boston qualification. I came 38th out of 128 finishers, making for a percentile rank of 70%. Steady up to around 32km, then slowed down to 5min kilometres for the last 5km. The veteran stalwart, Lester Smith, caught up...



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