COMRADES MARATHON 2009 36 WEEKS - THE END OF THE DREAM

"The fact that you have been knocked down is interesting,
but the length of time you remain down is important”
Austin O’Malley

This week started off badly, with my leg blowing up again on monday's run. I only managed 6km
The rest of the week was aimed at rehab for the leg but unfortunately I could only manage 6km again on sunday.
With my Comrades qualifier in 4 weeks, the Melbourne marathon is simply to close to be able to prepare properly for it. With much regret and disappointment my Comrades 2009 is over
I will probably not run for 2-3 months, try to get the leg right and if it gets better, Comrades 2010 remains a possibility...

Training for week Mon 8 Sept - Sun 14 Sept
Mon 8 Sept	6km
Tues 9 Sept
Wed 10 Sept
Thurs 11 Sept
Fri 12 Sept
Sat 13 Sept
Sun 14 Sept	6km
Weekly mileage	12 km

"The things which hurt, instruct"
Benjamin Franklin

COMRADES MARATHON 2009 37 WEEKS - GOOD, NOT GREAT

"Giving up is just too easy.
Stopping before any results have time
to show themselves is all too common”
Justin Herald

This was a better week, which started quite well with a hill session on monday and a decent run on tuesday. I actually felt fitter on tuesday and was able to get faster towards the end, although it was still a slow pace.
On thursday my run was still very slow, slower than the previous week, so maybe I was starting to suffer a bit
Friday I could only manage 5km as my shins were sore, and so I haven't been able to run since.
I'm hoping a bit of rest and treatment gets me back soon. Unfortunately I stepped on the scales on sunday morning and I am still 7kg overweight, I haven't lost anything yet! This week I aim to step it up with more ab work and some evening sessions...

Training for week Mon 1 Sept - Sun 7 Sept
Mon 1 Sept	11km hill session
Tues 2 Sept	20km
Wed 3 Sept	2 hours total trainer
Thurs 4 Sept	7km intervals, 30' total trainer, 20' cycle
Fri 5 Sept	5km, 1 hour total trainer
Sat 6 Sept	1 hour total trainer
Sun 7 Sept	Rest
Weekly mileage	43 km

"You have to have confidence in your ability
and then be tough enough to follow through"
Rosalynn Carter

COMRADES MARATHON 200938 WEEKS - HEATING UP

"Success is not measured by what a man accomplishes,
but by the opposition he has encountered,
and the courage with which he has maintained
the struggle against overwhelming odds”
Charles Lindbergh

Although this was a full week, it did not have the volume I would like. It can be frustrating starting up again, but we must all start somewhere.
Monday I backed up well from Noosa with a hill session, but by Tuesday my legs were sore so I had to go for a walk. By Wednesday I was starting to get physically tired as i'm not used to the exercise.
I managed a decent interval session on Thursday but on Friday my left shin/ankle area was sore so I cut that short.
Sunday I had to make up my long run, and although I wanted to give up after 10-12km, I struggled through to 24km. Next week I have to back this up again...

Training for week Mon 25 Aug - Sun 31 Aug
Mon 25 Aug	8km hill session, 20' crosstrainer
Tues 26 Aug	55' walk, 30' cycle
Wed 27 Aug	total trainer
Thurs 28 Aug	7km intervals
Fri 29 Aug	6km
Sat 30 Aug	total trainer
Sun 31 Aug	24km
Weekly mileage	45 km

"If you ever get a second chance in life for something,
you’ve got to go all the way"
Lance Armstrong

COMRADES MARATHON 2009:RECOVERING

Since the end of Comrades 2008, I have returned home, inspired but still with back issues.

I have been consulting with health professionals and a CT scan of my lumbar spine has indicated small disc lesions but nothing serious.
Whilst these have probably contributed to my problems I have a large neural tension problem in my back and legs. With good management and rehabilitation I hope to get it under control and return to run comrades 2009 better prepared than my 2008 attempt.

For the first month or so I have done a handful of runs over short distances. One thing is for sure, you lose fitness very quickly! And the 7kg I picked up in South Africa have not helped at all!

I entered the Noosa half marathon on August 24, and ended up running 1:44.
It was not a comfortable run with my legs getting tight and sore after 6-7km, and although I slowed i managed to just come in under 5 min/km pace. With the Melbourne marathon 6 weeks away I have a lot of work to do...

COMRADES MARATHON 2008 - RACE REPORT

Thursday 12 June - Sunday 15 June

Thursday we started with the Comrades expo, at the Durban exhibition centre. It started with “Chariots of fire” playing and then the opening of the doors. All I can say is that it was extremely inspiring just standing there listening to the music.


It was UN-BEE-LEAVABLE! Absolutely awesome. There were lots of exhibitors – shoe companies, nutrition, sportswear, general well being, you name it.
Then there was the Comrades shop!!! What a great place filled with clothing and lots of other must have items.

Friday morning I joined the Comrades bus tour for international novice runners. We drove over the route, with a 20 time veteran giving commentary describing the route in detail. It was good to see the hills (the big 5), although as our guide said, it is not the big hills that kill you, it’s all the smaller ones, as when you drive you route you get to see there is very rarely any flat, you are always travelling either up or down. And for the first 50km, predominantly up! We stopped at the wall of honour, and at the Comrades museum in Pietermaritzburg.










Sunday…Comrades day…The Ultimate human race…We woke up around 4am and left at 4.30 to walk to the Comrades start line. There were heaps of people around all ready, many even running and doing warm-ups, crazy people! I guess 89km is just not enough for some people.

A square perimeter some 500m around the start line stopped non-runners from getting too close. At 4.45am the vast majority of runners were already lined up, not much hope of getting a good spot if you came laterWe stood waiting some 20-30 mins just over 500m past the start line. The national anthem of South Africa played some 10 mins before the start, and then with 5 min to go, there was the unmistakable tradition of Chariots of fire. Even though I wasn’t running, it was awe inspiring. Then a minute later the gun went off and over 11500 runners were off, amidst a rapturous applause.I’m not sure if the front runners were sprinting or not, but they were travelling mightily fast. For such a huge number of runners they didn’t take that long to go through, probably between 7-10 minutes. Although the biggest cheers were for the last people, the ones who were behind all the official vehicles that were late and desperately trying to join the official field!

We stopped at Cato ridge, a designated viewing spot. Cato Ridge was some 60km into the race. And we were seeing mostly silver medallist (sub 7.30) hopefuls and Bill Rowan medallists (sub 9.00) running. It was a good experience but lost something by not having someone for us to watch or cheer.We ended in Pietermaritzburg at the finishing arena. We had just missed the first and second woman, but saw number 3 and 4 come in. Leonid Shevtsov, won the mens race in a new course record of 5.24!

I can't wait to get training and be part of this magnificent running event in the down run of Comrades 2009!

COMRADES MARATHON 2008 WEEK 39: MISSION OVER

"I think everyone should experience defeat
at least once in their career.You learn a lot from it”
Lou Holtz

On monday the leg was still sore and the motivation and mental strength to get out of bed and continue with other exercise was lacking.
By tuesday I decided that if I was to run Comrades I needed to be able to do perform one last decent run of around 25km. I managed to run 8km before deciding I just couldn't go any further. At this point I decided to pull out.
The next couple of days however I renewed my hope one more and tested my leg out with 10km on thursday. I was pretty certain I couldn't run after this but Rheanna got my hopes up once more and we have been working pretty hard on treating my back and leg.
Over the weekend I was hopeful I could get better and run but Sunday I could only manage 6km and the leg has been quite sore. Probably the worst it has been. So it is now all over for 2008.

Words can't express the disappointment at not being able to run but the reality is I have no one to blame but myself. The lack of consistency in training has been the biggest problem and highlighted a number of areas I need to work on. With the earlier date of May 24 for Comrades 2009, I have less than a year already to get right and start training for the tougher down run...

Training for week Mon 26 May - Sun 1 June
Mon 26 May	0km
Tues 27 May	8km
Wed 28 May	0km
Thurs 29 May	10km
Fri 30 May	0km
Sat 31 May	0km
Sun 1 June	6km
Weekly mileage	24 km

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling,
but in rising every time we fall"
Confucius