Week 25 - A Good One

Year to Date to Week 25

Distance:  1,894.05 kms in 25 weeks at ave  75.76 kms  (  up from 74.4 kms last week )
Last week:  107.85 kms

Altitude:  39,019 metres in 25 weeks at ave  1,440 metres ( up from 1,420 metres last week )
Last week:  1,922 metres

Today was the end of week 25 for the year, and a good one running all 7 days if you count a short 3.2 kms last Wednesday as a running day.

The weekly target at this stage is to consolidate around the 110 kms, and increase all through July and August to top out with a couple of weekly totals at the 165 kms ( just over 100 miles ).
Given that most of my long Saturday training is undulating to hilly, I work on the lack of distance will be made up by the amount of climbing I do. Strength will ultimately help more than pushing beyond my limits chasing distance.
At this stage, the plan has been written, I must follow it to avoid burn out, injury or sickness.
Really need the winter weather to hold to cold & dry, no more rain. If we get rain, please let there be snow on the western mountain range so we can get a run done up there to enjoy a proper winter wonderland.

Sri Chinmoy Week

Running:  Year to Date

Distance:  1,786.2 kms in 24 weeks at  ave  74.4 km ( down from 74.8 kms last week )

Altitude:  34,097 metres in 24 weeks at ave  1,420 metres ( down from 1,478 metres last week )

The week was highlighted by a trip to Sydney for the Sri Chinmoy ultra events consisting of a 24 hour, a 12 hour & my fun run, the 6 hour.
I didn't really taper for this & treated it just like a normal weekend training run having just a day off on Friday.
A normal 400 metre lane track at Campbelltown on the southern outskirts of Sydney with busy traffic close by as well as the train line. No problems with either and the occasional passing train just a slight distraction.
The other major distraction as far as the girls were concerned was the rugby league players going through their warm up routine in the middle of the arena. The guys were massive in size, obviously built for footy, doubt they would last an hour on the running track.
Run for me started well for first 3 and half hours, then I developed a tender spot on top of my left foot. As well, another tender spot across lower back. Worked out both were related, the foot being the referred pain site. Not really a foot problem. May be another issue in there somewhere, all interconnected.
A visit to the medical tent to get foot taped as a precaution, then back out to finish off the last hour and pick up some pace. I had slowed and walked more than I wanted in that 4 hour section.
Finished off with a good last hour to clock up 54.9 kms in the 6 hours. The clock doesn't stop if you do, so the overall km rate is not reflective of the actual running time having sat in the medical tent for around 15 minutes doing nothing.
A short cold shower after the run, then crewed during the night getting 2 x 1.5 hours of sleep in the early but coolest hours.
A typically good event put on by the Sri Chinmoy group with a runner from New Zealand setting a new world record in the 24 hour event for his first 12 hours in my age group of M60 of around 132 kms.
I haven't ran this week due to travel on Sunday and then 3 days of rain since Monday.
I did manage to get a small window of opportunity to get to the very cool waters of the Murrumbidgee River on Monday. Great help and I should be back in action on Thursday or Friday, weather permitting. All aches & pains have gone & new training plan has been written for next 2 and half  months.

Loading Up The Base - Week 23

Running:

Distance:  1720.7 kms  in  23 weeks  at  ave  74.8  kms  ( up from 73.25 kms last week )

Last 6 days:  109.1 kms

Altitude:  33,997 metres in  23  weeks  at  ave  1478 metres  ( up from 1473 metres last week )

Last 6 days:  1585 metres

Posting this on a Tuesday as I won't run tomorrow. Last rest day was back on Sunday 24th May and that was the only non running day in past month.
I have been managing the recovery well, mixing up both distance & difficulty ( hilly) with the long tougher training runs followed by some very short ( as low as 3-4 kms).
I usually use the weather as a reason to rest, but we have had some nice autumn, now winter days although some have started out very cold ( -5 degrees, big frosts ). We don't usually get snow, although it's not uncommon once or twice during a winter if there is bad weather front coming up from the south.
This winter is unusually dry, no rain to speak of now for a couple of months.
Nothing much to report with a long weekend just past allowing 75 kms to be done over the 3 days. Not too hilly, no mountain tops this time around.
I have a 6 hour run on the track in Sydney this weekend which will be a few good kms, hopefully, but will result in Friday & Sunday being rest days.

The Weeks Are Getting Bigger

Year to date:

Distance:

1611.6 kms in 22 weeks at ave 73.25 kms ( up from 72.27 kms ave to week 21 )

Last week 93.85 kms

Altitude:

32,412 metres in 22 weeks at ave  1473 metres ( up from 1346 metres ave to week 22)

Last week 4151 metres

Another really good week of running & climbing a few hills.
Highlight by far as Ewen has mentioned in his comments on my previous post, was running up and down Stockyard Spur 6 times in the Neverest challenge.
This is a very steep climb from the end of Corin Dam up on to near the top of the Brindabella Mountain range. While only 2.1 kms of distance, there is just over 500 metres of vertical climb in those 2 kms.
The purpose of the day was to raise funds for the people of Nepal whose lives have been devastated by the recent earthquakes. The guys from the ANU Mountaineering club had been planning to climb up to Mt Everest, but their plans were disrupted by the damage from the earthquake.
They decided to start a campaign to raise some funds and delay their trip until later in the year when the infrastructure might be better able to handle an influx of tourists.
It started out as 2 people, a plan called " Neverest" and a desire to get up and down Stockyard Spur 18 times. The same height as Mt Everest. May be they could raise a few thousand dollars.
Then others decided to come on board. Relay teams plus a few more individual runners? would also attempt to get up and down. At the moment I think fund raising is over $ 30,000.
I chose 6 times up and down. That's one third of the full challenge but still 25 kms and 3000 metres of height.
I had been up Stockyard Spur twice before, I knew what to expect. It's unforgivingly difficult. I looked at my Garmin only once to get the gradient, 30% and going higher at one stage. Didn't look again.
The first 200 metres is Ok, up hill but not steep until the sign says, " steep for next 2 kms ". After that, except for about 40 metres of flat after 1 km, the rest is mostly walking, and slow at that.
Previously I had made it to a clearing up at 2.3 kms high where a helicopter could land in an emergency in around 36 mins. On Saturday, my times for the up hill were between 34 and 31 mins for the 2.1 kms. Best time up was on lap 5, not that it was a race or time challenge at all.
Down hill is scary at times, but runnable with care. Average time still around 20 mins.
Conditions were cold to start, -2 degrees, a bit colder up high. Sunny and beautiful day otherwise.
The relay teams and full distance runners started at 9 pm on Friday night. I started at 7 am on Saturday morning as I didn't want to run in the dark on a dangerous course.
The medical people in attendance surprisingly had nothing to do for the entire time.
Otherwise, the rest of the week has been straightforward, nothing too much either before of after the Neverest challenge.
I did the monthly running handicap on Sunday, the next day after Neverest. Quads were ok on the day, however energy levels were down as expected, so I just jogged around near the back of the pack making sure I didn't finish last. A couple of days & quads are fine now.