Portsea to Frankston 55km

The Frankston to Portsea 55km ultra marathon is a time honoured event that has been run annually since 1973, making it the oldest ultra marathon in Australia. It would have been terrific to do this event in the lead up to Comrades, however I was double booked on the day in question (11 April), being in Canberra for a 50km event.

However I decided that I wanted to squeeze in a 55km run in the lead up to Comrades... and since Comrades is an event dedicated to the honour of World War 1 veterans, there seem something very appropriate about doing my longest run for Comrades, on ANZAC Day.

So on 24 April, I stayed the night in tropical Rye and drove the short distance to the start line in Portsea on 25 April.

The weather conditions for the official Frankston to Portsea run on 11 April were apparently horrendous, strong cold head wind, horizontal rain... just appalling. As we drove to Portsea for the start of this run, the weather gods were not smiling either, and it poured with rain again. However it had passed by the time we arrive, so I started the event in good spirits... and doing unusual stretching routines....



The day was very much "four seasons in one day" and quickly I was way too hot with the arm warmers on. It was 12 degrees when I started but when the sun came out, it warmed out quickly.

I bought a new 2XU light weight run jacket and run belt, which were fantastic for the event. It was nice not to have to carry a drink bottle like I have been doing in previous long runs.



But the good weather was soon to end... as them thar clouds were turning nasty looking!!



And then of course, the inevitable happened, and the clouds opened ....







Running in the rain was actually very enjoyable. It wasn't particularly cold and the new run jacket was keeping me nice and warm.

In fact, when the sun came out, I was actually getting a bit warm. But the run was very enjoyable, scenic and because I was sticking to my Comrades target pacing, not particularly difficult running. Think a 55km cool down....



The course itself isn't particularly hilly. There are some rolling hills as you depart Portsea, but then its pretty flat for the next 30km and the hills pick up at the 35km mark. But it is a far cry from what will be faced in Comrades...

This photo does make it look a bit like I have just run over the edge of the world...



Approaching about 47km it was getting kind of warm... so it was time for a disrobe, and then I was on my way again, for the final hills and then big descent down Hopes Rise into Frankston and the finish line.





I deliberately chose to run down Hopes Rise (and not the coastal footpath coming down Olivers Hill) as it is steeper, and a bit more of a challenge after 53km. And it was slightly painful on the legs, but managed to trot down ok.



Even from a distance, you can see that the calves are under a bit of strain.



Not sure if this one shows both feet off the ground... or.... the perfect stride for a race-walker with both feet touching the ground!! Either way I am down the hill and homeward bound!!



And with that, it was down to the finish line at "Kittens" at 55km down in 5.58.17. Max HR of 143 and an ave HR of 136... a nice easy training run.



Overall - was a terrific hit out for Comrades. Once again the pacing and nutrition strategy worked well. While I was a bit sorer than I had expected, this was probably due to the 60km bike ride I did the day before... as I have an ironman triathlon in July as well.

I felt good enough at the end to trot off another 6km to have a late lunch at Mum's.. for a nice round 61km day.!!!

Canberra 50k Ultra

The Canberra marathon was officially cancelled following a dispute between two parties over the ownership of the race. Sounds odd doesn't it that there could be a dispute over something so basic... but there you go. As a result the Canberra Government was unable to issue permits for road closures to either party with the dispute before the Federal Court... so the event was cancelled.

There were a few attempts to get the event back on track... but alas they all fell through... much to everyone's disappointment.

However all was not lost. A group of about 25 people hooked up via the internet and arranged our own event on a 10km looped course put together by a terrific local bloke (Chris Gamon) to support Linda Christison.

Linda is an ex-elite marathoner who now is battling the effects of Parkinson's Disease. The race date of 11 April co-incides with World Parkinson's Day... so it was a nice symmetry for her to do the event. Despite the event not going ahead.. officially... we made it happen nonetheless!!!

Race day conditions were pretty good as we met by Lake Burley Griffin at 7am for the start. Some of the slower runners, and Linda and her sister who were going to walk the 50km, set off a bit earlier, but there was a good social crowd gathered for the start.



Weather conditions on the day were great - a little cool, nice and sunny and no rain. Although the wind did pick up during the day.

The course was also dead flat, except for the climb up and over a bridge on every lap, but that was not a severe climb at all.

For me, today was to be another test of my Comrades pacing and nutrition strategy... which like all good things, was dead simple. Run til the HR hits 140, then walk til it falls to 132... repeat til I finish. Nutrition wise I would have a Gu every 30 minutes and a Gatorade every hour.

There was an aid station table set up that I would pass almost every 30 minutes, so I had all the Gatorades stashed there, and stopped for a short chat and Gu on every lap, to make sure that the tremendous people doing all the helping at the table, hadn't been blown into the lake or frozen solid.!! Turns out that playing frisbee in a blanket keeps people pretty warm!!

The run itself was fairly uneventful. I felt completely fresh the whole way, had no nutrition issues, tiredness issues or leg issues, and just happily trotted my way through the run.





It was a really enjoyable day. Being only a small event, there was a lot of support between the participants - lots of waves, and hi 5's and it was a terrific atmosphere. It really felt like a big family or a small club out there. It was one of my more enjoyable runs... to the extent that I think I went slightly looping for some photos... but I was having fun!!



And this would have been a very common sight on the day. Trotting along, Gatorade in one hand, checking out the watch to make sure my heart rate was in the correct zone...



The run itself was as good as I could have asked. The following photo is how I look having just gone past the marathon point...



And then it was over. 50km done and dusted, a terrific hit out in the lead up to Comrades.

The stats for the run show a fairly even effort... as you would expect from the pacing strategy.

1st 10km in 1.04.05
2nd 10km in 1.01.28
3rd 10km in 1.02.47
4th 10km in 1.05.41
5th 10km in 1.04.52

for a total time of 5.18.53 (and a marathon split time of 4.28.08). Average heart rate was a highly comfortable 136...

No wonder I was a happy boy at the end..



After saying our thank you's and wishing our best regards to all competitors and supporters, it was time for some Canberra sight-seeing with my wonderful girlfriend Jill.

My Second Training Marathon

A week after doing my first training marathon, it was time for another one.

This time, the course wasn't quite so hilly, but to make it interesting I ran 15km the day before, and rode 80km the day before that. So the legs were a little fatigued before I even started.

For the Easter weekend, I was staying down in Rye, so this course was mostly flat, but there are a few rolling hills on the way to Portsea and London Bridge, and I did these twice.

The real test for this run, was could I learn the nutrition lesson from last weekend...

I changed both my pacing and nutrition plans from last weekend:

PACING

I would run til my HR hit 140, and then would walk and let the HR drop to 132 and then run again. With lactic acid showing up in the blood at 139, this intensity keeps lactic acid at basically zero.

NUTRITION

Pretty simple. I need 70g of carbohydrates per hour... so its a Gu every 30 minutes and a Gatorade every hour.

THE RESULT

Success on both the pacing and nutrition score. Finished in 4.39, and never felt the energy levels flagging at all.

This is a perfect pace for me for Comrades. The goal there is to get through the first 42km in 5 hours, and the 2nd 42km in 10 hours... which will get me home well before the 11 hour cut off to receive a bronze medal. A very successful weekend of training, and it takes the weekly distance to 80km, a new record.

Happy easter all.
:)