The Run to Melbourne: November 22-28
With the longest run of the condensed Melbourne build in the bag, it was all downhill from here.
The week featured several personal milestones which were satisfying in light of the adversity we’ve known all too well in recent times.
Monday, November 22
Rest day.
PM. Work.
Tuesday, November 23
Despite high humidity and solid wind with plenty of flies about, I was moving well coming off the rest day, dialling into tempo pace without too much effort and registering 15.30 km in 60 minutes flush.
PM. Work.
On my return, I reflected on reaching 200 days without an alcoholic beverage. For something that was only meant to last until the Gold Coast Marathon, it’s hard to believe it’s come this far.
I’ve certainly been enjoying my share of non alcoholic beers lately, though I’m absolutely willing on Melbourne to be in the rear mirror so I can finally get back on the real stuff, it’s been a good run!
On the theme of streaks, I had earlier recorded 500 consecutive days of learning German on Duolingo. Borne out of wanting to remain productive during the initial lockdown last year, it’s become a force of habit these days.
A standard daily routine will comprise of a run followed by breakfast, accompanied by up to an hour of learning German - with varying degrees of success, followed by stretches, with work usually in the early afternoon.
Save to say I remain a long way adrift of being able to conduct a fluent conversation or responding on prompt in German!
Wednesday, November 24
I’m unsure what hit me, because as much as I covered the ground well on Tuesday, I struggled equally as much today at a much more leisurely pace.
My legs felt generally heavy as though DOMS had arrived very belatedly from the weekend, though it wasn’t anything crippling.
I placed my lethargy down to the tropic like humidity which had set in, because 15 km @ 4:30 was nothing special on paper, yet I was out of action for the balance of the day.
The adrenaline did spike with the arrival of the Melbourne Marathon race bib. Alongside the act of registering for the event itself, it really sinks in that this is happening when it’s in your hands. Let’s just hope there’s no repeat of Gold Coast!
Thankful not to have work, I somehow found my way through 100 pages of reading from the comfort of bed, before summoning the motivation to prepare dinner.
Thursday, November 25
No longer affected by the fickle outdoor ambient, the morning was dedicated to housekeeping ahead of a busy run through the weekend.
The trip across to Clifton Hill for training was uneventful, arriving with plenty of time in hand.
For the first time since group sessions resumed, we were venturing away from the track and a short trek across the Eastern Fwy.
The lead group had six reps of the Yarra Bend Rd ‘Teardrop’ carpark at roughly 900 m, to tackle.
It’d been a while since any formal hill training, so the elevation profile of this session - on tarmac, immediately downhill, with a brief respite at the foot before an enduring return ascent which seemingly plateaus, only to rise several times further, rapidly caught up with the legs!
Without the foresight, the first rep at 3:09/km pace was a little ambitious, so I made a fairly swift assessment to dial the intensity down.
3:19, 17 and a trio of 3:16’s/km to close out the session spoke to this, and if nothing else it was a consistent effort.
Having had massages or social engagements post training in recent weeks - making for late nights, it was a nice change to head straight home after.
Friday, November 26
Fresher than usual for the earlier return, the recovery run was slightly quicker than ideal, though it was hard to resist in a refreshing downpour. The wind hadn’t yet set in, making for enjoyable running conditions.
I was satisfied with the HR off the session, at 135 bpm avg for 10 km @ 4:31 pace.
PM. Work.
I began to develop some soreness in my left shin through the afternoon on the feet. I placed it down to the loads it was subjected to on the concrete downhills on Thursday evening, and I performed some gentle rolling on it after returning from work.
Saturday, November 27
With the shin no worse than yesterday, I just about did enough to hit tempo range without feeling great, battling on the return leg with the wind in vintage form.
It was a rapid turnaround to less frequent opening shift at work, where an overnight spillage - thankfully nothing too pricey, just very messy, greeted me no sooner than I’d entered the store.
This left me with a decent cleanup job in the first hour or so around assisting the needier patrons who surface at this time of the year.
Following work, the shin was generally sore from a solid stint on the feet over the previous 24 hours, though it hadn’t developed into anything worrisome ahead of Sunday morning’s long run. The discomfort was alleviated once I was out of the boots and the feet were elevated.
My brother Harry arrived later in the evening. After viewing ‘Dunkirk’ in glorious 4K, I didn’t get to bed until quite late ahead of the early start, though it’s always nice to spend time together after being deprived of so many opportunities throughout the pandemic.
Sunday, November 28
I didn’t struggle as much as I feared I might with a 5:45 alarm (ask me again in a fortnight when it’s set for 3:45 ahead of Melbourne…), actually waking beforehand, and I was reassured by the shin displaying no signs of trouble.
As the greater Bayside region’s roads were locked off with multiple events taking place in post lockdown times, the standard Beach Rd trip to Albert Park had to be foregone.
I still reached the meeting point in plenty of time, and the conditions on arrival boded well for a strong hitout before the taper really took effect.
There was a tight knit Vigor contingent on hand, counting Julie-Ann Undrill, Steve Russell, Hugh McCarthy, Justin Kahlefeldt and yours truly.
My program called for the first 10 km @ tempo pace, so Justin and I immediately set off on the road.
It was an encouraging sign that we were able to chat comfortably whilst whittling off sub 3:50’s from the third km, as I wondered whether my HR strap was working - mid 140 bpm readings seemed quite low for that pace. It wouldn’t remain that way for long!
We wished each other good luck on hitting 10 km, as I knuckled down for the next ten at threshold/goal marathon range - ideally anything under 3:30. Hugh had completed his own warm up and latched on through the carpark to start the third lap.
Whilst the first km was bang on 3:25, which is what we’re targeting on race day, my stomach began to feel uneasy as the previous night’s curry made itself known. Usually, I’ve handled these dishes well ahead of a long run, though it seemed it wasn’t quite as accommodating this time.
It wasn’t anything debilitating and certainly not as bad as I’ve encountered in the past, when runs have been destroyed by the need to find the nearest bathroom and unable to continue after, though it was uncomfortable attempting to sustain such a pace in discomfort.
As it was, Hugh was charting a vicious course and I would have struggled to hold on to him whether my stomach was flaring or not, still managing sub 3:30’s!
Hugh turned the wick up even further next lap around, with 3:24, 22, then a 3:18 - with Hugh faster than that, definitely had me shaking my head at his mystical qualities.
Any thoughts I’d had about pursuing a third lap at threshold were firmly off the menu, so I was happy to sign off with a 3:21 and 27 - making for a block well above targeted pace, and let Hugh have at it.
The relief of backing out of that intensity was almost immediate, even whilst moving at a similar pace to the tempo ‘warm up.’
That said, it was extremely tempting to park it after a fifth lap with the stomach periodically reminding me that it wasn’t happy. I pressed on for a final tour, allowing the pace to drop into four minutes.
31.9 km @ 3:46 in two hours flush was slightly faster than ideal two weeks out from Melbourne, though considering it’d been a battle for the latter two thirds, there were a lot of positives to be drawn and we’ve given ourselves every chance of having a great morning on December 12.
The run had also ticked my yearly mileage above 5000 km, which is always a solid reference point. I’ve had years where I’ve run over 7000 km, though in terms of quality, this year has almost certainly been my most consistent, so Liam and I have found a perfect balance.
I wasn’t able to put the feet up so soon, with plenty going on for the rest of the day.
That afternoon, I was incredibly fortunate to have taken possession of a car from Liam’s cousin, Kurt - who I’ve referenced in recent weeks, whilst he inherits his great Australian outdoor in an RV bound dad’s car.
The only snag is that it’s manual, so there’s going to be some learning curves to endure before I can hit the road without causing much embarrassment!
I also count myself fortunate in that my brother’s profession as a mechanic means he’s a one stop shop for the newly acquired Subaru - who he works for…
A trip to Mt Eliza - not in the manual that won’t be venturing anywhere so far anytime soon, allowing Kurt to collect his dad’s car, was a blast from the past, having resided there for so many years.
What wasn’t a blast was enduring the eternal level crossings works along the Mordialloc to Frankston Nepean Hwy corridor - 40 kph bliss, the bane of everyone’s existence!
Alongside a barely functional air conditioner, it was quite a sweaty return trip in the warm conditions and I was more than glad to get through the door around 4 pm.
Another productive week banked with 101 km on the board and falling sharply from here, Thursday’s upcoming session is the last true test before reigning the intensity in.