‘The Run to Melbourne’: October 28 - 31
A lingering recovery from the marathon time trial on October 10 meant that a definitive commitment to the Melbourne Marathon on December 12 hadn’t been a foregone conclusion.
That outlook changed in the 72 hours between Thursday and Sunday afternoon last week, after which the viability of getting the body up for another tilt was restored.
With under six weeks until race day at the time of writing, every run from here is crucial, and so it was that the resumption of group training and a hard exit from pandemic restrictions kick started the run to Melbourne…
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28
Having cooled my heels waiting to drive across town for the first official Vigor track session since August 5 - which concluded minutes before Victoria entered a seven (ty seven…) day lockdown, the onset of heavy downpour and increasing winds as I made for the car was slightly frustrating if not so very Melbourne.
A 65 minute trip to George Knott Reserve in Clifton Hill ensued, as memories of the Punt Road peak hour crawl - enhanced by the fickle conditions, returned in short stead.
The rain had barely abated as I stepped foot out of the car, but the rush of seeing many faces for the first time in months overrode any lamentations.
A warm up comparing notes from another lockdown with the Vigor crew gave way to some uncertainty about how rusty the body would be once we commenced the session proper.
With 1 km reps off a two minute float around a sodden track on the menu, it didn’t take long to realise it’d be a long 25 minutes or so.
3:11 through the first rep into a 3:06 second was solid enough, though the impressive pace being set by Mitch Wilson & Andrew McIntosh was out of reach. The discomfort had already set in, so I made an easy call to allow the whippets have at it whilst I enjoyed a slightly extended recovery.
By the conclusion of the third rep in 3:12, my stomach was cactus and I was giving serious thought to drawing stumps following a fourth. An even longer float allowed me to go through in a labouring 3:13, and a fifth felt obligatory even if operating on “saliva and adrenaline”, as Logan Roy remarks in the peerless ‘Succession.’
3:15 was as much as could have been hoped for - feeling every bit as though I’d run a marathon eighteen days earlier, but the job was done and it was great to have this one under the belt.
Following training, a long awaited inspection of Liam and Zoe Delany’s cousin Kurt’s new property in Pascoe Vale - long delayed by the lockdown, was enjoyed over pizza. The noise from outside grew more ominous through the evening, and once I hit the road around midnight, the magnitude of its’ fury became apparent.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29
If the destruction seemed considerable overnight, nothing could prepare me for the path of destruction on my recovery run.
Simply moving forward was an effort at times with wind gusts up to 70 kph, whilst dodging felled branches and entire trees was par for the course.
10 km @ 4:43 wasn’t a bad effort in the circumstances, whilst I reflected that my heart rate - which had been consistently elevated in the weeks following the time trial, displayed encouraging signs of returning to normal with an average of 142 bpm.
Naively, I didn’t cotton on to the likelihood that the mayhem would place train lines out of commission - all were affected as it came to pass, so I had to make a late switch to an Uber trip to work after midday.
The situation hadn’t improved by my return in the evening, so another Uber trip equated to a costly ten kilometres or so transit!
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30
There was no urgency to rush out the door in some very winteresque conditions, so it wasn’t until after 8 that I tied up the laces.
I teed up a few km with Dion Finocchiaro, who was reaching the tail end of an unsurprisingly hectic first full week back at work, as we took in the fallout from the previous 36 hours, and 13.5 km @ 4:37 made bank.
Under the grey skies, I couldn’t find much appetite to stray far from the couch for the balance of the day, which comprised of taking in newspapers, novels, Netflix and non alcoholic beers - the order of the day until crossing the finish line on December 12.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31
The training plan called for 25 km, though having missed a few kms earlier in the week, I was keen to edge closer to a solid two hours on foot.
Another idea which took late formation was the addition of some faster blocks, that I didn’t entirely settle on until the conclusion of the first set of what amounted to a cycle of 4 kms on/off.
The speed was initially hard to come by, with anything under four minute pace feeling like hard work, though my arrival at Albert Park for a solitary lap kicked the legs into gear.
The time came much more readily during the second rep, ending with a pair of 3:40’s - perhaps spurred by the good memories from three weeks earlier, as the run evolved into a quasi progressive hitout between the floats.
I commenced the third and final on set approaching Elwood. As it happened, there was a runner who had just passed me moving at a rapid rate, which later transpired to be Zacca Newman.
This proved to be a good benchmark to continue the progressive theme as I attempted to stay within reach, even if the attrition of pace and distance was starting to toll edging closer to 3:30. Concluding with a 3:29 into a 3:22 was encouraging, yet not a moment too soon for an impromptu ‘session.’
By the time I hit two hours, it was past 29 km and there was no way I wasn’t reaching 30, so I pressed on for a few more minutes before pulling up. 30.11 km @ 4:05 in 2:03 was more than I’d bargained for, though it was an important psychological boost towards instilling confidence in chasing a fast time at Melbourne.
It was enjoyable to have discovered some rhythm even if I really had to earn it at paces which have been relatively comfortable at peak fitness.
Around 96 km for the week was another sizeable upswing from the 32 and 60 of those previous.
Having built such a large base through the year leading into the time trial, Liam and I are content to maintain a ballpark in the low three figure range over coming weeks. With an impetus on having fresh legs to tackle some fast track sessions which could translate to some gains at Melbourne, it’s a sure way to ensure there’s no burnout.
Bring on the run to Melbourne!