Relays, PBs and Hills!

This past 5 weeks has seen a lot of activity.  With the winter season in full swing, cross country and longer runs are the order of the day.

Early in June, I did what’s become my “regular double” - running the 5km Parkrun first thing on a Saturday morning, then backing that up with a fast 1km cross country in the afternoon.  This pairing resulted in my Parkrun time reducing from 26:36 down to 24:56 in the course of a few weeks.  This stands as my PB on my home Parkrun course, and is only 34 seconds slower than my all time 5k PB on any course.  That is my next mark.

Meanwhile, my 1km times, while not PBs are quite good for the fact that I’ve already run a hard 5k in the morning.  I’ve got to around 3:45 for the 1k in this way.

A better indication of my middle distance capabilities was the Global Running Day virtual mile, which I ran in the first week of June.  Like last year, I ran this event at the athletics track, where I had access to a measured mile.  This year, my time was 6:22, 19 seconds faster than last year.  In addition, I made a mental note of my 1500m split as I rounded the home bend.  This was around 5:55, which is faster than my 1500m PB. 

The latter part of the month was dominated by bigger events, which meant taking a break from Parkrun for a while.

The first of these weekends was the Anglesea Ekiden relay.  In this event, multiple runners combine to complete a longer race between them.  I had the third of 3 legs, which was the shortest at 5.8km.  The first 2k was mostly an uphill grind from the seaside caravan park into the hills behind the town.  This was tough, forcing me to slow to a walk on 2 occasions.  Next was the run on narrow trails, before descending back down to seaside level.  Finished my leg in 29:45, which I was happy with under the tough conditions.

The following week was the Bendigo Harriers invitation cross country.  I had a choice of attempting a PB over 1km or running the 3km event.  As the weather was wet, with possible storms forecast later in the day, I decided to inspect the 1km course, which was around the pony club oval, near the pavilion.  With a lot of water on the course, I decided that it was too risky attempting to get my 78kg around at speeds of up to 20 km/h, and opted for the 3k course as the safer option, with slower speeds on a well drained route.

Started the 3k in light rain.  The course was mostly uphill for the first half, before turning around and coming back down.  While the hill was tough, as a grind like the previous week, I made it to the top in just over 7 minutes, which meant I was looking at a good time.  Finished the race in 13:41, after a fast downhill leg, making it my second fastest 3k time.

This weekend was a bit all over the place.  I had originally planned to go to Sandown in SE Melbourne yesterday (Saturday) to run a leg of the AV road relay there.  However, due to withdrawals and team rearrangements, I found myself without any teammates.  With that situation, I stayed behind and focused on local events.

I decided against the Parkrun due to lack of sleep, and slept in a little instead.  For the afternoon, I had the same choice as the previous week - attempting a 1k PB or running the 3k.  After initial indecision, I went with my gut and entered the 3km event.

Unlike the previous week, weather conditions were perfect, and in addition, the road that formed the first and last 650m of the course had been recently graded and was in excellent condition.  Got off to a good start and ran the first km in 4:23, and reached the halfway mark in 6:35.  The next 900m were mostly a slog, before starting the fast downhill run to the finish.  Finished in 13:32, which made the run a new 3km PB, beating the 13:33 PB that has stood for almost 3 years.

This morning was the first of our training sessions away from the track.  We ran a series of 200m hill repeats at a fairly good pace with walk recovery.  This fits perfectly with where I’m at, and should push my performance to the next level for the latter part of the cross country season.  In addition, I’m hoping it will improve my speed endurance for the 400m next summer.

Anyway, the winter season is progressing very well, with excellent progress.  I’m looking forward to seeing what I’m capable of.

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2Xtlax7