2015 Salomon Trail Series - Race 2, Plenty Gorge

-3 degrees C. That was the lowest we saw on the trip to Lower Plenty Gorge on the way to Race two of the Salomon Trail Series. The kids were fascinated by all of the frost on the ground and cars, I got excited when we arrived and it had warmed up to plain ol 0 degrees C.

So if race one started on the coldest Melbourne morning in 10 years, and race two started on the coldest morning in twenty years, I'm tipping snow and the 100 year freeze for race three at Silvan....

Back to the race recap. Of all the mornings to forget a long sleeve top, this morning was not the one to do so. At least it was a great reason to proudly break out the Generation Run singlet that I'd been so keen to race in If you've followed my posts you'll know how much of an inspiration Bex and Steve, the team behind Gen Run are to me, my friends and my family.

After catching up with Bex and Steve, and Colette McShane, AKA The Hiit Mum for some happy snaps and pre-race banter it was time to strip down and warm up.

This time I made sure I was well prepared and commenced my warm up about 20 minutes before the race start. It was some gentle jogs along the car park, followed by squats and lunges and repeat. The jog intensity slowly increased each time.

Phase One:

At 9:12 we were off. My goal was another top ten finish, so my first km was ran at a speed where I pushed down the road to keep the lead runners in sight, but not so fast that I'd fade near the end of the race. Although the graph shows a fairly neutral elevation gain, the severity of the ups and down meant that finding a regular pace was proving to be a challenge. The sharp left hander here just before we hit level ground was a real pinch.

Rocking #GenRun and the Skins A400 #equipmentnotclothing

Phase Two:

We dashed across the plain and as we reached the end of the first real rise the trail flattened out into that beautiful single trail that I enjoyed so much last year. We were ducking and weaving through the trees at a steady pace. Entering the 2nd km took us into my favourite section of this race, a free-flowing single/double trail through some beautiful old and young Aussie gum trees. Although the gradient and trail continued to climb, the pace continued to be hot and the field slowly spread. I played cat and mouse with a few of the other runners for a while before I made a move on the last brief dip down into the gully, and the following climb allowed me to break free from the pack and placed me just behind Mr Skins and Mr Green Fluro. I now had the rest of the race to slowly try and real them in.

Phase Three:

At this point we broke through the trees and continued to slowly climb alongside a wide open field. Everytime I thought I was making up ground, the gap between me and Mr Skins and Mr Fluro widened a touch before I reeled it in again. This was the section that perhaps allowed them to play to their strengths in the straight, I'd catch them on the next hill. Speaking of which, the wide open section you can see was a lovely, steep section of at least -12%. Here I bent the knees a little, increased my cadence and lightly danced down to the turning point. I though I was quick, however Strava's GAP suggests I should have gone faster!

Phase Four:

According to Strava, this is where I lost ground. The GAP compares your actual pace (if it were flat) to their algorithms on how inclines and declines should slow you down or speed you up. If your GAP is lower than your actual time, you are running strongly. If it's higher, you could have potentially been going faster. They do also state that it doesn't take into account terrain. This is good because this section was quite narrow and full of twists and turns - great fun! Maybe I wasn't so slow as I had managed to bridge the distance between myself and Mr Fluro Green and Mr Skins to about 20 - 50m.

Phase 5:

The 5th km was a tough one. The double trail we had been running soon came to an end and we took a sharp turn over a creek and onto a very slippery single trail that gradually rose and rose. It was one of those trails where you felt that one wrong step and you's slide down the gully and into the drink. I pushed as hard as I dared, and had my men in my sights. Through all the twists and turns, rises and falls of the cut backs I had them within 20m as we the trail plateaued and we merged with the long course runners. On a slower day this would have been wicked fun.

Here is where I made my mistake. I should have dug that little harder and pulled in behind them. I knew their was a long single trail section to come that followed the river, but I was hoping to nab them in the final 400m uphill Suunto Sprint. I had however underestimated the number of long course runners and my two marks were lost in the crowd.

Phase 6:

Before we started the fast and furious dash along side the river, we had one last, long descent to tackle. With the sun finally burning through the clouds and hitting you in the face, the narrow track dominated by loose gravel and tree roots, this was where you needed to be a mountain lion. Light on your feet and poised. 

I did pretty well, passing a few runners, hopefully aided by my 'Short course passing' war cry. We changed trails slightly onto a dirt track that was only just single trail, there was no room to pass and I had no idea where Mr Fluro and Mr Skins had got too. I was hoping they'd also got caught up in the mix. Finally the trail bottomed out and widened up again and I was able to pick up the pace heading up the gradual climb before the last little side track I call 'peek-a-boo' rise. 

This is where a number of runners came to a halt, catching a breath before hiking the hill. There was no way I was going to stop and I needed all sorts of high cadence, sidestepping trickery to keep moving past. At the top of peek-a-boo rise you seem to just pop up onto the road that we started on, and the long course runners turn left and the short and medium course runners start the final 400m 'Suunto sprint' up, and up, and up the hill to the finish line.  

Final phase:

The picture above looks a lot longer than 400m, and it felt it. This last climb was gruelling, and after being pinged at the post last year I was not going to slow down. I dug deep and headed for home. No one was catching me, but I think I'd past Mr Fluro Green at the bottom of Peek-a-boo rise, would I see Mr Skins before the last timing mat?

As I surged up the last of the road and turned across the flat to the finish line I saw Mr Skins gasping for air just beyond the finish, perhaps having finished 20 - 50m ahead of me.

I crossed the line in 30:30, good enough to see me finish 6th, 5th male and again, 4th in the huge 20-39yrs division. Bec had run and amazing 28:30ish, just behind the winner and Steve was 4th, also under 29:30. I was stoked to be within minutes of them.

Did you race the Gorge? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the race and how you handled the cold and slippery conditions.

Till next time, Thisfish   ThisFishCanRun@Facebook 

My 145 BPM Heart Rate Training - Update 3 2015

Hello again my friends and running family. 

It's been almost 6 months since I commenced this seasons training, training using the Maffetone method of using my heart rate (180 - my age) as the measure of my consistency and effort levels. 

To make a potentially long blog shorter, I started using heart rate training in our Summer to monitor my effort levels and to train consistently regardless of heatwave or not, morning or night. For my EZ runs I run at 145 +/- 5 beats regardless of distance or elevation variance. 

Heart rate training works

I'm happy to share that I've reached a happy place. 

What have I learned in these six months? What have I gained? 

• The machine and the beast.

My EZ runs are where I am the machine. I focus on my form: Cadence, the POSE lean, relaxed hands and breathing - 3 in to every 2 out. Run like a metronome - 180 strides per minute, lift your knees and place the feet, landing midfoot. 

The HI sessions is where you run like a beast. You push the body to it's limits. Your breathing is labored and 2 in to 1 out if you manage, you drive forward with your knees and your arms push the momentum forward. These are the moments of the last kms of a race where you dig deep. 

• Consistency is king.

I was told at the Great Ocean Road Half Marathon that I was like a metronome - my pacing and cadence were that consistent. I've found that my EZ runs are almost like clockwork. At the given time of day, I find that I run at an average pace within 5-10 seconds per km. I have five routes that I like to use and on each one I have gradually brought down my average pace by about 5 seconds per km a fortnight over the last 6 months. 

• Time of day matters.

I had done a little bit of reading about using your circadian rhythm (the natural ups and downs of your heart rate and energy levels) to match your workouts to the appropriate intensity level. Last year nearly all of my running took place at about 6:15am in the morning and I had the luxury of almost any time of day on the weekend. 

This year I have needed to change my routine to running at 5:15am two or three days a week and one 5:15 - 5:30pm run of an evening. I also have the luxury of the weekend run at any given time. 

My reading suggested that EZ runs should take place early in the morning and your HI (high intensity) runs are best later in the day to match your circadian patterns. 

My am runs are generally run between 5:10 - 5:20 km pace. These are run after a warm up of 2x20 push-ups, 2x20 squats, 2x20 clams or calf raises. 

My pm runs have come down from an average of 5:15 pace to my most recent run at 4:38 pace. They hovered at 4:55-5:05 for last couple of months before I changed my weekly work out pattern. You can follow me on Strava to see what I do. 

I don't know what it is, but matching my HI to the evening has also helped my push my limits and hit speed and HR highs. 

• Intensity is vital

To race hard you have to train hard. I am in a happy place at the moment, with my 'flat' race time down to a very consistent 3:51-3:54 km pace. 

As I mentioned, I plateaued for a while. I think this was just before the start of the race season where I had been in the building phase and limited to 145HR runs for all sessions. Since reintroducing a weekly HI session selected from; hill sprints (up and down), Increasing HR pyramids to max and down to 145, Diminishing km tempo runs and uphill tempos I've seen my pm EZ times come down rapidly. I've put this down to getting the right mix of intensities. 

Train hard, race hard

• You've got to enjoy it!

Most importantly, I've loved each and every training session I've had. 

I love my EZ runs, and seeing the pm times come down is highly motivating. I also really look forward to my weekly speed sessions where I can unleash and really run. 

With another two Salomon Trail series races to come and the City2Sea as a minimum on the race calendar I will continue to follow my HR training through to the end of the year. Make sure you follow along to see where my EZ pace ends up (or down if I'm getting it right). 

Happy running my friends. 

2015 Salomon Trail Series - Race 1, Kew

Zero. At 7 o’clock am when we left for Race One of the Salomon Trail Series at Studley Park in Kew, the temperature gauge said zero. On the way in we got excited when we saw it reach two degrees! That was about as warm as it got.

My #SalomonSelfie

Fast forward to 8:55 and I almost miscalculated the starting time. The long course runners had left and the short course competitors were cramming into the starting line. Everyone was finishing the warm up and I was still putting my shoes back on after stripping off the beanie, vest, jumper and trackie pants.

The crowd was huge and the vibe was great, and after a quick pose with my in-laws, and damn good runners Bec and Steve the 3-2-1 countdown was over and we were off.

Almost the podium order?

The first 400m – 800m was along the road, and gradually rose along what was probably the longest and most deceiving incline of the race. The pace was hot, a little quicker than last year’s start and I had to push harder than I wanted just to keep the top 10 – 15 in sight.  About 800m in the field settled and we deviated slightly on to the gravel walking path and raced our way to the first turn-off point. I was sitting happily in about 12^th or 13^th and breathing hard to keep my pace. A glance at the Suunto told me I was pushing 170 BPM and roughly 3:40 pace. This was a little harder than I wanted, and I eased slightly as we raced along the fence line before following the trail down a little hill and alongside the river.

Remembering where we were as we entered the 2^nd km, I stole a quick glance at the Yarra River – it was a still as I’d ever seen it and continued along the trail. As the trail twisted through the towering river gums I finally settled into my rhythm and took control of my breathing and running. This section was picture perfect.

In the distance I could see Mr in Blue and Mr in White perhaps 200- 300m ahead. At roughly 2.5km in I decided now was the time to dig a little deeper and make a little surge. I was averaging 3:55 pace now and I slowly began to close the gap.

As we left the river for a moment and ran back up the path towards the road I managed to reel in Mr in Blue. 3kms in and the slight rise in elevation seemed to catch people out, and this is where my strength has been in the past. Just before we hit the ‘u’ turn to head along some free-flowing single track back along the river I passed Mr in White.

I enjoyed this section of the trail but a glance at the clock showed I had slowed to just on 4:00 pace, slower than anticipated but considering it was possibly just three degrees I was very happy with my positioning. My HR was hitting 172 -175 BPM, the upper limit of where I wanted to be. We ran along more flowing single/double trail by the river, among the trees and by the rowers and kyakers. This race had it all now. Ahead was another Mr in Dark Blue and just ahead of him was another Mr in White. Could I reel them in?

The trail narrowed and as we commenced the 4^th km I was averaging 4:00 pace. We ran past the Studley Park boathouse (opposite side of the river) and by the bluestone wall before turning right over the swing bridge. We had all felt like drunks crossing this on the way to the registration tent, but with fewer people on it now it was straight over. At the far end of the bridge was Mrs Fish and the kids, and their smiles and cheers were what I needed. I was closing the gap on Mr in Dark Blue and we turned for the last 1200m. This was the true trail section of the race – through the trees and scrub on a narrow walking track. My playground! Within a few hundred metres I had caught and passed Mr Dark Blue and it was time to dig deep.

We raced through the trees, and I could see some of the lead runners picking their way along the river, back to the finish. As we hit the turning point I made a split second decision to slow and take the stairs, rather than hitting the slope and riding the angle and taking out the corner.

On the final stretch it was all bets off and time to let the running beast come out to play, the running machine had controlled the HR, focussed on form and guided me through the first 4kms. Now it was upto the beast to run free and get me through to the finish.

The track rose and fell, there was twists and turns and a couple of little jumps to navigate as I slowly reeled in Mr in White. About 400m from the finish was a lovely little sign – photographer ahead. This time there was no sky larking around and mid-air heel kicks – I had to finish!

200m to go I could hear the crowd and had Mr in White in my sights. Digging deep the HR flew into the 180s and my pace dropped to sub 3:20 as I gave it all.

With 100m to go I hit the Suunto Sprint timing mat and reached for home. Mr in White was just ahead and with each step I was drawing him in.

#determination

50m, left he was 10 paces ahead, 20m to go it was 5m. Mr in White crossed the line just in front, did he know I was there? The clock would show 1 second between him in 8^th and 3^rd divisionally and me 9^th, and 4^th in the Mens 20-39 division.

Could it have finished any other way? Just maybe had I taken a risk at the 600m to go turning point and shaved off those stairs.

Was I happy? Yes I was. I took 12 seconds off last years time and finished in the top 10. I had ran the race I wanted - I knew my limits and worked with them on the day. Being full of cold the week before certainly doesn't help. Oh, and I'm incredibly proud of Bec and Steve, who smashed the woman's field and finished 2nd in their divisions respectively.  

In a month we get to do it all again at Lower Plenty. You better get your single trail and hill training in, this next ones a lot harder…. All the more fun!

Cheers for now, Lachie

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How an injury helps

     It’s been a while since my last musings, so what’s been going on? My race diary has been empty since the Marysville Running Festival in November, as the week after my 10k dash my Achilles flared up and gave me grief.

I'd been burning up the trails!

     If I were a car, I’d be the perfect car. You know how when you take the car to the mechanic to get that issue checked and the car is perfect (I swear it’s the International Car Conspiracy) and you feel like a twit, well the morning I was due to see the Physio for a ‘just because’ check-up was the morning my Achilles flared up.        Perfect, I got to go and see Freedom Sports Medicine in Croydon with the issue alive and well.

     I had booked in with Ross for a ‘Free2Run’ assessment. This entailed a range of movement analysis, a running technique breakdown on the treadmill and the follow exercise regime.

     To make a long story short, I had very restricted range of movement in my ankles/Achilles due to extremely tight calves and the entire muscle groups of both feet. This had compounded over time and resulted in the arrival of Mr Achilles Tendinitis. If you’ve had the pleasure of meeting and running with Mr Tendinitis, he does his very best to make each stride as painful as he can. I’d much rather run without him. I also have an imbalance in the muscle development in my legs. If I can describe it right, my right quad is underdeveloped while the calf muscle is very strong. In my left, the Quad muscle is very strong while the left calf is underdeveloped. Essentially I have this weird cross leg thing happening!

     So how did the Achilles Tendinitis develop? Slackness. For a long period of time I was a religious roller and stretcher, hitting the calves, quads and glutes each night. In the last six months I had gotten lazy and it came back to bite me in the leg.  

Me and #RoyalBay pulling the Trigger

The prescribed treatment was 2x 10 minutes of rolling each calf (hmpf, my 2 minutes a day just wasn’t cutting the mustard) and 2 x 2 minutes of golf ball roll overs each day (welcome to the house of pain!). This was to relive the tightness in the lower legs to combat the Achilles. I also had single leg squats, calf raises and glute bridges/ skier’s thrown into the mix to help combat my muscular imbalance. I also figured it couldn’t hurt to get my sexy Royal Bay Compression socks on each night for that little extra 1%.

I threw in a self-imposed running ban right throughout November to give maximum recovery time. This didn’t mean I got to sit on my arse and get fat, it meant hitting the spin bike twice a week and dusting off the mountain bike for some weekend adventures. And… I’ve loved it!

Since getting back on the bike I’ve discovered some great new trails within riding/running distance from home. As a bonus I've also managed to build up the strength in my quads!

This was my view for a while!

Got me some new shades!

Getting arty with the bike, #Strydaforce compression helped

     By refraining from running until late December I’ve really enjoyed learning to run again. Every run is a focus on form, on breathing, on taking in the world around me. Every run I’m getting stronger, learning to find my feet again, learning to get back my desire.

Nothing beats a run with your mates!

     The recovery process has been slow, but it has also given me time to focus on Mrs Fish and her running. And, I was more than a little jealous that she got to run Two Bays without me. It also gave me the opportunity to be at the finish line of one of my favourite events and see all of my DTR mates racing strong.

     Where to from now? I’m hoping that my leg work is going to translate into some quicker times over the coming year, allowing be to continue to grow as a runner.

You know where to find me...

     Well, till next my friends. Now get out there and make friends with your roller!

     Lachie

2014 Salomon Trail Series - Race 2 Lower Plenty - Ambitions

     This race write up is a little more personal, a reflection on what I’ve been able to achieve.

     If you’ve found me on twitter or Instagram (My links are at the end of this post) you’ll know that I went into this race with some ambitions. 

     After my strong placing at Race 1 at Studley Park, and having loved this course last year I readjusted my race goal to what I hoped and dreamed was something achievable. This picture might let you in on what I was set out to achieve at Race 2 of the Salomon Trail series:

     I had followed a similar training schedule to last month, tweaking it to spend more time in the Dandenong’s with my friends in the Dandenong Trail Runners. I also felt I had lost a little stamina by sacrificing my long runs for more intense sessions on the trails. By spending the last two Sundays in the hills I regained that belief that I could pull away on the hills and run strong from go to woah.

     So, how did it pan out for me?

Race 2 was a tough race. I knew the initial part of the run would be flat to slightly downhill before the little rise up into the open plain. I set out with the field leaders, running the first kilometre at a quick but maintainable pace. It was a little difficult to get my rhythm over the terrain but I felt comfortable with my breathing and place in the field, roughly 6^th or 7^th. As we hit the plain I was inspired by Adam, who joked that this time he wasn’t going to spend the race looking at my back. He pushed on ahead and I made the move to go with him. As we turned towards the bush track I was able to pick past him and another and was sitting in 6^th.

     Although I really enjoyed running through the trees and scrub, I was at that point where my breathing was getting laboured and I could feel my quads feeling a little heavy. I was starting to have just a little bit of doubt creep in, and regret for hitting the treadmill so hard on Thursday.

     As we reached the end of this section and hit the rise before the descent down the grassy hill I was ready for that relief, and also rather happy that I’d chosen to wear my inov-8 X-Talons. The grip they gave me in the grass and muck was brilliant, as it was here that the first of the slips and slides started to occur.

     When we turned up the hill and into the next section of track I felt this was make or break time and began to push the pace from the comfortable to the unpleasant. My breathing was laboured and I had to drop to a 2-1 breathing pattern to keep on top of things.

We cleared this section and started our last downhill section into the small valley. Here I was able to find the balance between using gravity to help push the pace and ease my breathing and heart rate a little and managed to make a jump on the runner in front of me. I now had a feeling I was in 4^th or 5^th and I wasn’t going to give it up.

     Again as we entered a new section of single trail that ran alongside the hill, I was glad to have the additional grip of my Talons, as I could hear those behind me battling with the twists and turns. Me, I was able to bite into the ground and push off with confidence. The meandering trail again made a turn upwards and I was starting to feel the pinch. What kept me going was hearing and seeing the frustration or slight fear (sorry if you’re reading this – but it got me going!) of my fellow runner as we started to climb again.

     My return to the long hill runs in the Dandenongs had given me the confidence to know that even though I may have slowed fractionally, I was going to smash the last of these hills. It was the moment of self-belief that I needed and I know that I was able to put some distance between us.

     Just as the demons of doubt were starting to gnaw away again, we merged with the long course runners and I was able to shake them off and kick on.

     The last 2ks or so were tough. The course was undulating with rises and drops and twists and cutbacks that needed sure footing and confidence. I was really feeling it at this point; heavy legs and laboured breathing ad a little bit of hope were going to get me over the line. As we ran along the riverside I remembered that little rise from last year and I was ready for it, no turning left for this little fish. I scrabbled up the last of the trail, up and over the ridge and steadied myself for the final surge. This last few hundred meters seemed to go forever, and I was nearing my limit. In previous runs this is where I’ve been at my strongest. This time I was spent, having finally pushed myself into that next zone.

     I heard the kids on the cow bells and then I saw the Suunto mat and told myself that this was it. As I hit the mat, I was hit from behind (not literally thank goodness) as another short course runner came from nowhere. We hit the sprint and I told him and myself it wasn’t going to happen. Not this time.

     Well, it did. In the final sprint I was pipped at the post. Hundredths of a second split us. I was totalled, physically spent having finally pushed myself into that zone of self-belief, that zone where you dare to dream a little and hold nothing back.

My kids came running over and just about cleaned me up. I was breathing so hard you could have knocked me over with a feather, so two little kids were almost more than I could take.

So this race was about dreams, hopes and aspirations. After my hard work at Race 1 I finally had the confidence to really believe that I could hit my goals. I finally had that taste of success that is needed to push you out of your comfort zone and into the unknown. Yes, it hurts and pushes your limits but it’s an amazing feeling when you finally nail it.

     So what was my aim? Certainly top 10, and that podium is tantalisingly close. To finish 5^th over the line and 4^th in my division is what I dared to dream. To have 3^rd snatched away in the last moments is devastating, but it won’t happen again.

     If your reading this and keen to see what the hills of Olinda have in store for you, please follow along on my Facebook feed. I’m hoping to hit up the hills of Mt Dandenong over the next few Sundays for some fun 10-15k runs.

Cheers again, This Fish

     

You can find me on Twitter and Instagram as ThisFishCanRun

2014 Salomon Trail Series - Race 1 Studley Park

Standing at the start, race 1 of the #SalomonTrailSeries. I was toeing the line, my heart was pumping. The morning chill kept us in check, the perfect testing ground for my STRYDA compression

The hooter went and we took off. I settled into a quick rhythmic stride and worked my way into the lead pack. What was my pace? Earlier in the week I had made the choice to run ‘nude’ no gps, no foot pod and no heart rate monitor. Pure running, feeling my way with each step.

#bitumenisboring - but you gotta get to the trail!

RUnning quickly, we found our stride and shook off the last of the #bitumenisboring before hitting the gravel path. We were soon to find out that sometimes you have to just trust your own course knowledge...

Don’t always follow the marshals lead, as a dud steer lost the leaders precious seconds they were directed straight on as we took the first left around the ovals. ‘Run fair!’ was the cry, and those that trusted our own navigation slowed the pace and let the pre ‘glitch’ order return. From here though, it was game on.

Legs feeling great, I pushed the pace and played a little game of cat and mouse as we ran past the river along the first of the trails.

wE returned to the road before a quick right hander lead us along a double trail/ well-worn track back upto the swing bridge. At this stage I was feeling great and pushed the pace a little.

Yikes! The sway of the bridge and dodging the foot traffic added to the thrill and sent the heart rate racing. One sharp left and we were onto the real trails – these were the twists and turns that I had signed up for.

Passing one or two more runners, I was feeling the pinch and slowed just enough to keep on the tail of those in front. The pace was slowly building as the finish line drew closer.

As we neared the final switchback, the lead runner seemed to be only a few hundred meters ahead. I had to ask myself, ‘would I be able to reel them in?’ I pushed on, daring to dream a little dream.

A Right onto another variation of the trail and under bridge, you could hear the #SuuntoSprint timers buzzing away. I flicked the switch and made my

move, one final burst.

My cheeky #SalomonSelfie

Kicking into sprint mode I passed two more and powered home, almost coming unstuck on some slippery grass. With the final surge I crossed the line in a 5k PB of 19:04 and in 11^th position. I’d later find out I had the 10^th quickest #SuuntoSprint for the day and come 5th in my age category.

So, time to hit the hills and fine tune things before race two at Lower Plenty. If you're keen to come for a run in the Dandenongs, look me up on Facebook and say hello.

Till next time, The Fish

http://www.stryda.com.au/