“The fact that you have been knocked down is interesting,
but the length of time you remain down is important”
Austin O’Malley

This week started off badly, with my leg blowing up again on monday’s run. I only managed 6km
The rest of the week was aimed at rehab for the leg but unfortunately I could only manage 6km again on sunday.
With my Comrades qualifier in 4 weeks, the Melbourne marathon is simply to close to be able to prepare properly for it. With much regret and disappointment my Comrades 2009 is over
I will probably not run for 2-3 months, try to get the leg right and if it gets better, Comrades 2010 remains a possibility…

 

“The things which hurt, instruct”
Benjamin Franklin

“Giving up is just too easy.
Stopping before any results have time
to show themselves is all too common”
Justin Herald

This was a better week, which started quite well with a hill session on monday and a decent run on tuesday. I actually felt fitter on tuesday and was able to get faster towards the end, although it was still a slow pace.
On thursday my run was still very slow, slower than the previous week, so maybe I was starting to suffer a bit
Friday I could only manage 5km as my shins were sore, and so I haven’t been able to run since.
I’m hoping a bit of rest and treatment gets me back soon. Unfortunately I stepped on the scales on sunday morning and I am still 7kg overweight, I haven’t lost anything yet! This week I aim to step it up with more ab work and some evening sessions…

 

“You have to have confidence in your ability
and then be tough enough to follow through”
Rosalynn Carter

“Success is not measured by what a man accomplishes,
but by the opposition he has encountered,
and the courage with which he has maintained
the struggle against overwhelming odds”
Charles Lindbergh

Although this was a full week, it did not have the volume I would like. It can be frustrating starting up again, but we must all start somewhere.
Monday I backed up well from Noosa with a hill session, but by Tuesday my legs were sore so I had to go for a walk. By Wednesday I was starting to get physically tired as i’m not used to the exercise.
I managed a decent interval session on Thursday but on Friday my left shin/ankle area was sore so I cut that short.
Sunday I had to make up my long run, and although I wanted to give up after 10-12km, I struggled through to 24km. Next week I have to back this up again…

 

“If you ever get a second chance in life for something,
you’ve got to go all the way”
Lance Armstrong

Since the end of Comrades 2008, I have returned home, inspired but still with back issues.

I have been consulting with health professionals and a CT scan of my lumbar spine has indicated small disc lesions but nothing serious.
Whilst these have probably contributed to my problems I have a large neural tension problem in my back and legs. With good management and rehabilitation I hope to get it under control and return to run comrades 2009 better prepared than my 2008 attempt.

For the first month or so I have done a handful of runs over short distances. One thing is for sure, you lose fitness very quickly! And the 7kg I picked up in South Africa have not helped at all!

I entered the Noosa half marathon on August 24, and ended up running 1:44.
It was not a comfortable run with my legs getting tight and sore after 6-7km, and although I slowed i managed to just come in under 5 min/km pace. With the Melbourne marathon 6 weeks away I have a lot of work to do…

Thursday 12 June – Sunday 15 June

Thursday we started with the Comrades expo, at the Durban exhibition centre. It started with “Chariots of fire” playing and then the opening of the doors. All I can say is that it was extremely inspiring just standing there listening to the music.

It was UN-BEE-LEAVABLE! Absolutely awesome. There were lots of exhibitors – shoe companies, nutrition, sportswear, general well being, you name it.
Then there was the Comrades shop!!! What a great place filled with clothing and lots of other must have items.

Friday morning I joined the Comrades bus tour for international novice runners. We drove over the route, with a 20 time veteran giving commentary describing the route in detail. It was good to see the hills (the big 5), although as our guide said, it is not the big hills that kill you, it’s all the smaller ones, as when you drive you route you get to see there is very rarely any flat, you are always travelling either up or down. And for the first 50km, predominantly up! We stopped at the wall of honour, and at the Comrades museum in Pietermaritzburg.

Sunday…Comrades day…The Ultimate human race…We woke up around 4am and left at 4.30 to walk to the Comrades start line. There were heaps of people around all ready, many even running and doing warm-ups, crazy people! I guess 89km is just not enough for some people.

A square perimeter some 500m around the start line stopped non-runners from getting too close. At 4.45am the vast majority of runners were already lined up, not much hope of getting a good spot if you came laterWe stood waiting some 20-30 mins just over 500m past the start line. The national anthem of South Africa played some 10 mins before the start, and then with 5 min to go, there was the unmistakable tradition of Chariots of fire. Even though I wasn’t running, it was awe inspiring. Then a minute later the gun went off and over 11500 runners were off, amidst a rapturous applause.I’m not sure if the front runners were sprinting or not, but they were travelling mightily fast. For such a huge number of runners they didn’t take that long to go through, probably between 7-10 minutes. Although the biggest cheers were for the last people, the ones who were behind all the official vehicles that were late and desperately trying to join the official field!

We stopped at Cato ridge, a designated viewing spot. Cato Ridge was some 60km into the race. And we were seeing mostly silver medallist (sub 7.30) hopefuls and Bill Rowan medallists (sub 9.00) running. It was a good experience but lost something by not having someone for us to watch or cheer.We ended in Pietermaritzburg at the finishing arena. We had just missed the first and second woman, but saw number 3 and 4 come in. Leonid Shevtsov, won the mens race in a new course record of 5.24!

I can’t wait to get training and be part of this magnificent running event in the down run of Comrades 2009!

“I think everyone should experience defeat
at least once in their career.You learn a lot from it”
Lou Holtz

On monday the leg was still sore and the motivation and mental strength to get out of bed and continue with other exercise was lacking.
By tuesday I decided that if I was to run Comrades I needed to be able to do perform one last decent run of around 25km. I managed to run 8km before deciding I just couldn’t go any further. At this point I decided to pull out.
The next couple of days however I renewed my hope one more and tested my leg out with 10km on thursday. I was pretty certain I couldn’t run after this but Rheanna got my hopes up once more and we have been working pretty hard on treating my back and leg.
Over the weekend I was hopeful I could get better and run but Sunday I could only manage 6km and the leg has been quite sore. Probably the worst it has been. So it is now all over for 2008.

Words can’t express the disappointment at not being able to run but the reality is I have no one to blame but myself. The lack of consistency in training has been the biggest problem and highlighted a number of areas I need to work on. With the earlier date of May 24 for Comrades 2009, I have less than a year already to get right and start training for the tougher down run…

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling,
but in rising every time we fall”
Confucius

“A man is not defeated by his opponents but by himself”
Jan Smuts, SA General

This was an extremely frustrating week.
On monday I ran 14km and was joined by Daniel. It was a nice easy run.
Tuesday I ran Mt Coot-tha (hill run) and managed a strong 25km in a fairy decent pace. Wednesday was backed up with an easy 12km.
I was starting to get a sore back during the week but was feeling pretty good after the previous couple of weeks.
On Friday morning I wanted to do a 30km run, the last decent run before Comrades. It was a struggle to get up but I hauled myself out of bed. It started out okay but after 4km or so I could start to feel a tightness through my left calf. I contiuned running as these things usually go away pretty quickly, but by 6km I had to stop as it was getting worse and I didn’t want to aggravate it. At 2.30 in the morning and 6km from home, I started the walk back very pissed off. It would have taken almost an hour to walk home so I had to suffer the embarrassment of catching a taxi home.
Saturday and Sunday it wasn’t much better. It’s so frustrating as I should have all the hard work out of the way and starting to taper down. The last thing I want is to be worrying about trying to get my back and leg right and still get some decent mileage in because I haven’t been able to run. The week ahead I have to get it right…

“A life spent in making mistakes
is not only more honourable but more
useful than a life spent doing nothing”
George Bernard Shaw

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life,
all my troubles have strengthened me…
you may not realize it when it happens,
but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing for you”
Walt Disney

After my week of milestones in week 35, I have had 2 of my worst weeks. Laziness, injury and tiredness have all made this a tough period.

In the first week tuesday I ran Mt Coot-Tha and did 20 by doing 2 laps. Whilst it felt fine at the time, I think the large amount of downhill strained my shins which aren’t used to that. I took a few days off to recover and by the weekend I was both lazy and extremely tired which conspired to stop me getting out of bed to train.
On the saturday I woke up with a sore right achilles/shin. Considering I hadn’t run in 3 days I was a bit perplexed but decided to rest it. It has taken a while to start to settle, playing havoc with my emotions!

This last week I have only run 3 times for a total of 40km. Not ideal preparation but I can’t change that fact now.
With 4 weeks to go, I need to step up and have a couple more decent weeks of about 80-90km, with a 25-30km in there somewhere.
Getting the tapering right so that I am fresh on race day is the challenge, as I actually feel better the more I run and usually feel sluggish with rest.
The end is nearing…the countdown is beginning

“To describe the agony of the marathon
to someone who’s never run it is like trying to explain
colour to someone who was born blind”
Jerome Drayton

“Learn to run when feeling the pain; then push harder”
Kenyan runner William Sigei

A week of milestones and a mental shift has seen me become a lot more confident of tackling Comrades.

On monday I ran 10km and was joined by Daniel. Thanks for running with me. It may have been a bit slow for me but it helped to have an easy run.
Tuesday I ran up Mt coot-tha which involved a steady 2.2km climb to the top. A total of 26km made that a tough mid week run.
Wednesday I decided to take it easy and was meant to do 10-12km. I pushed and managed 15km which involved a short but steep hill mid way.
Thursday was an easier session as I looked to let my legs recover.

Friday was my long run and I had a daunting goal of trying to run 60km, as I knew I had to do this to have any form of endurance to run Comrades. Waking up after 5.5 hours sleep was tough, and I just wanted to stay in bed, but I knew I had to do this run. It started out well at 5 min/km pace. I ran towards creek road which involves almost 3km of undulations (not 2km hills like in Comrades but at least there are 3-4 500m inclines). By now my pace had slowed to about 5.15/km. I ran past my work and turned around after 22km. By now I was needing the toilet as I hadn’t been able to go twice before my run like I usually do, so I headed home and got there around 37km. I was struggling a bit, slowing down and my feet were starting to get a bit sore. I had a drink, a banana and went to the toilet. I also took a couple of nurofen to make sure I didn’t get a headache as my shoulders can get tight with a long run.

I started off again and felt okay although I was running 5.30 pace. I had another drink stop at42.5km and that broke up the 12-13km out and back I was trying to do. I reached the 12km mark and realised I had now run almost 50km, my highest equal run, but hey I was still feeling quite good, running a bit faster and I wasn’t stiff or sore in my legs like I should be. Oh well, maybe the last 10-12km wouldn’t be that bad.
I actually felt quite good and my pace was getting better and better. From 50-55 I was running 5.10/km, and from 55-60 I got down to 5.00/km. I was feeling really good at 60km so decided to run another 5km, although my right ankle had a slight niggle starting. I ran the last 5km in about 4.52 pace. I was happy to have achieved 65km, in a time of 5hrs 43m and for the first time I feel like an ultramarathoner. After all that is just over 1 and a half marathons.
Unfoftunately I wasn’t able to get a nap in at all and had to go to work, but I lasted till 5pm and went home 30 mins early.

Saturday was an easy day although again I felt surprisingly good. I couldn’t run fast at all but not nearly as stiff as I usually am after a long run.

Sunday I decided to tackle mt Coot-tha again even though I knew I shouldn’t push too hard. I drove out to the bottom as I wanted to do a shorter run. My aim was 8-16km, depending on how I felt. I ran up the first 500m incline. Boy was it tough with slightly stiff legs. Then a flattish 1km before a 2.2km steady incline up, up up…Then the next 4km or so were mostly down but a little undulating. Before descending down. the loop being about 9.5km. I wanted to do the hill again, visualising the big 5 of comrades, so I thought i’d run to the top and turn around to give me 16km. The second time around was slightly tougher and much slower, running just over 6.00/km. I decided i’d just do another lap so I ended up running 20km.

I’m happy to have done a 65, my longest ever run. Now I can wind down in the road home to Comrades. It was also my biggest ever week with 144km, beating the 122km I mananged early november. My biggest goals now are just to keep up some steady runs, stay injury free and make sure I don’t get sick! The last few days i’ve had a slightly phlegmy throat so I’m looking forward to an easy week coming up and looking after my health…

“The secret of my success is this:
Every time, I tried to go as far as I could.
When I climbed the hills, I saw the mountains.
Then I started climbing the mountains…”
Ted Turner

“Good things come slow – especially in distance running”
Bill Dellinger

This week was meant to be a big one. It started off well with a 9km and then a 25km midweek run up Mt Coot Tha which involved a 1.7km steady climb. (Similar to running up ngauranga gorge for those who know Wellington)
That was tough, Comrades has 5 big ones that are all longer than that with Fields hill lasting 3.2km!
Then by wednesday I was starting to get sore. I had an easy wednesday and thursday but come long run time on friday morning I tried running but decided I needed the rest as I didn’t want to aggravate the little niggles I was feeling.
Over the weekend I could and Should have trained but I have taken it easy. After 3 hard weeks maybe the rest could be good and I need to put together another 2-3 tough weeks and do a 60km run in May. Back to work…

“The real contest is between what you’ve done
and what you’re capable of doing.
You measure yourself against yourself and nobody else”
Geoffrey Gaberino